My Little Pony 1. Part 1: Nature Spark

~Prologue~

_ "In the same way that you cannot know darkness without having first seen the glory of light, it is also true that a country cannot hope to know true peace until it has seen the savage reality of war."_

~ Suresign the Philosopher (Year 248 of Discord's War)

Two crystal guards turned their heads up to the inky black sky when they heard the sound of wings flapping from somewhere high above, but whatever it had been was gone from view before they could manage to get a good look at it. They assumed it was nothing more than bird starting its journey south and resumed their silent vigil in front of the palace gates. The starry night held a faint note of foreboding in the air, but nopony around seemed to notice. Far below the palace's highest towers, the crystal ponies slept peacefully in their beds, woefully unaware of the treachery that was about to take place in their rulers' home.

When the Crystal Empress walked over to her open bedroom window and attempted to close out the cool autumn breeze for the night, a clawed hand reached through and grabbed her in a painfully tight grip around her slender throat. In the blink of an eye, another hand had covered her mouth before she got the chance to scream for her guards, who were posted just outside her bedchambers. She was violently dragged from her room in the dead of night and suspended above the serene city in utter terror. Red eyes were the last sight that she saw before passing out and being carried away.

Quietly, so as not to wake the sleeping emperor, another intruder slipped in through the open window and set about his work in utter silence. He placed various objects around the large bedchamber, objects that would confound the ponies who came to check on their fair empress and lead them to mistaken conclusions. If the work was performed correctly, they would be lead to believe that Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria, had sent her night guards to take the empress prisoner. The resulting war would be magnificent and terrible; a war to rival Discord's.

With the espionage finally completed, the intruder made his way to the window, claws scraping over the polished floors with every step and then jumped out, unfurling large feathered wings as he fell through the sky. They caught the air current a moment later and carried him up into the night, but he made sure to escape just slowly enough so that the crystal ponies standing guard far below would see a winged intruder flying away. The guards raised the alarm as soon as they saw this and alerted the rest of the castle. Before long, every armored soldier was scrambling as they tried to prevent the trespasser from escaping. They were far too late however, the damage was done and their empress was long gone.

The infiltrators met up in the sky high above the heart of the empire and flew off into the dark night. They only had to wait now, wait until the next phase of their employer's plan was ready to be enacted. A war would benefit them greatly; after all, war would give them many opportunities to sell their particular skills to the highest bidder. The two mercenaries laughed as the capitol of the Crystal Empire faced the effects of what they had just done.

In just a few days, the Crystal Empire would blame Princess Luna for the crime and vote to declare a war on Equestria. The ties between the two kingdoms would be severed and all of the nations that had treaties would be forced to pick sides. Enemies would be defined and lines would be drawn. Many would lose their lives in the bloody struggle that followed. War would consume every single nation on earth and it would be so glorious that Discord himself might rise from his stone prison and applaud. Yet those who lived and breathed for violence, well, they would flourish in the coming months…

I. Nature Spark


	2. Head in the Clouds, Hooves on the Ground

~Chapter 1: Head in the Clouds, Hooves on the Ground~

A stray beam of early morning sunlight shone through the window of a small cottage in the forest just north of Dodge, striking a young, unicorn stallion in his half closed eyes and stirring him from his dreams. He awoke the same way he had nearly every day for the past five years, groggy and craving a nice cup of hot tea to shake off the last remnants of sleep. The tired stallion walked into his small kitchen and set about getting the morning brew ready. A faint green glow around his horn was the only sign he was still awake as he stood in the middle of the room, wondering how earth ponies and pegasus managed to get ready in the mornings without magic.

Before long, the tired pony was sipping on a delectable brew with just a dash of honey and planning out his day. This mostly consisted of deciding what to eat for lunch and how long he would spend visiting with his friends. He had nothing of importance that had to be done, so he figured he'd spend most of the day with them. He soon finished his tea and after some leg stretching, went about cleaning up his mess from the night before. Soon the small, mostly unfurnished home was again spotless and the stallion was well into the process of rolling up a bit of his leftover magical herbs for a morning smoke.

He stepped outside and into the crisp autumn air and took a deep breath, enjoying the aroma of decaying leaves that was carried on the wind. Sparking the end of his rolled up herbs and breathing in a velvety mouthful of smoke, he started his slow trot into the nearby town. Autumn had always been his favorite season. All of the colors nature had were on display during the cool, fall months and it wasn't long before he was humming to himself and laughing at nothing in particular. Days like this always brought him back to the time he finally received his cutie mark.

He had always been fairly gifted when it came to magic and could conjure up a few complicated spells just from memory. His only lacking quality had been the drive to practice his abilities. It hadn't come as much of a surprise to anypony however, when he received his mark after sparking up his first joint. From that moment on, most of the ponies he knew just wrote him off as a burnout. The name, Nature Spark, could have been a dead give away from the start, he supposed. It was funny how names seemed to work out like that. He was happy with his destiny though. Growing natural medicines was something that helped other ponies and made him happy.

Between the high and his wandering mind, Nature Spark had completely forgotten to look where he was going and tripped head first over a small shrub in the middle of the trail. Scrambling to his hooves, he shook himself off and quickly looked around to make sure nopony had seen his latest fall. Confident that he was still alone on the old dirt road to town, he proceeded on his way as if he had never stumbled at all. That kind of thing seemed to happen to him quite frequently and he had gotten used to it, but it could still be very embarrassing when somepony saw him. Although from a third person perspective it would seem that Spark was clumsy because of how often he tripped, it was really more of a problem with his wandering mind.

His train of thought would often get led down seemingly endless paths and he could go from ideas about lunch to thoughts about the intricacies of inter species politics in ten seconds flat. This often led to people thinking he was a shy stallion, because there would be long periods of him being silent while he contemplated one idea or another. In reality however, he was very sociable and in some cases it was even hard to get him to shut up. The variety and volume of random facts he could retain astounded most ponies that he got into deep conversations with and it was never a good idea to get him started on the effects of magical plants and potions on a pony's psyche.

After a brisk twenty minute walk down the road, Spark arrived on the outskirts of Dodge, the city he had grown up in. Although it was a nice place when all was said and done, he still preferred to live a little ways away from the town limits. It cut down on the amount of ponies that might accidentally bother him while in the midst of one of his experiments. Not that what he was doing was illegal or even dangerous in the right hooves, but most ponies still frowned upon some of the strong, mystical potions he would concoct. He'd spent a number of years testing out different plants for medical purposes as well as for recreational reasons.

While many ponies would themselves buy a nice sampling of the magical herbs Spark grew, most did not really care for the intense effects of his elixirs and brews. He had carefully studied many taboo mixes though. He could produce powders that gave ponies amazing foresight and grow mushrooms that would slow time around the consumer, but every drug had its dangers. Unintended side effects were the reason he and his two best friends were always performing tests on the new mixtures and tonics he created, just to be safe.

Grinding his hoof on the snub of the joint, Spark pushed his glasses back up his face and knocked on the door of his friends' home. Inside he heard a muffled voice saying something he couldn't quite make out, so just for laughs he began pounding on the door with more vigor.

"Oh, for Celestia's sake, I'm coming! Just hold the hay on for one flipping minute!" The shouts of his pegasus friend grew louder as he approached the door to open it. The door swung open and there stood Spark's old friend, Downpour, glaring at him with unrepressed anger. "I should've known it was you Spark, why the hay didn't you just let yourself in?"

"Meh, it's more fun to wake you up like this" the unicorn replied, chuckling to himself. "Besides, I wanted you to wake up faster than usual. I was thinking that we would smoke one real quick and then go get some food, because I didn't eat any breakfast before I stopped by."

The stocky pegasus yawned and then flopped down on the couch in the crowded living room. Spark took a seat beside him and began rolling up some more of his best herb, letting his well practiced magic do its work while looking around at his friend's cottage. It wasn't a very large house by Dodge standards, but it did have a good sized shed attached, which is where they always went to do their smoking, so as to not stink up the place. There was only one other pony who lived in the house with Downpour, his brother Backdraft, who was their junior by almost two years. They got along well for the most part, at least as well as siblings ever could, but once in awhile they could have pretty heated disagreements.

Finishing the task at hoof, Spark's magic carried the rolled up paper over to Downpour and with a small flash from his horn it was shoved into the pegasus's mouth and lit. "So where's your brother at today?" the unicorn asked, stepping into the shed behind his friend. Downpour puffed on the herbs as he took a seat in the storage shed.

"Sleeping. Where else would that lazy ass be?" Downpour coughed a few times and passed the joint back to his friend.

"Well, I'm going to go wake his flank up and see if he wants to hit this," Spark replied, turning back towards the house after passing the partially smoked herbs over to Downpour. He let the last of the smoke trail out of his nose before stepping back inside. "Draft! Wake your lazy, good for nothing flank up, before your brother smokes all of this green without you!" It took all of a minute before the grey pegasus flew out of his room and into the shed, nearly clipping the door with his wings and leaving Spark standing in the shed's entryway with a grin on his face.

Even though he slept in later than his older brother most of the time, Backdraft was certainly easier to wake up. He was also much more reserved than the older pegasus, who had a short temper. While Downpour would get in a pony's face if they said something he didn't like, Draft was more likely to try and view the situation from their perspective and reach an understanding, except with his older brother. In fact, there were a great many differences between the two pegasus.

Downpour was a grayish blue color and built like a small tank with slow, powerful wings and a short stocky body. His mane was mostly black, but had thin, dark blue streaks running through it. The cutie mark sitting on his flank was of a thick black cloud and had two small, electric blue lightning bolts coming out of it. He often wore a very serious expression, despite the fact that he was usually joking around.

His brother Backdraft, on the other hoof, was nearly as tall as Spark and built about the same. His coat color was a dark grey, as was his long mane. His mane did however, have white streaks in it, which ended in dark blue tips. The younger pegasus's cutie mark was a dark blue pegasus wing. Draft could also look very serious from time to time, but he was more apt to break out in a smile for no real reason.

Nature Spark was taller than both of his friends, without even counting the extra height that his horn added. He had a light tan and brown colored coat with a brown two-toned mane. He wore a pair of black rimmed glasses, which only added to his image of youthful wisdom. His cutie mark was a peace sign with special type of leaf behind it, something which he had loved immediately upon seeing it was there. Honestly, they weren't much different than most other ponies. Although they could act strange sometimes, the three stallions were simply trying to make it through life as happily as possible.

Spark stepped back into the hazy shed and snagged the last of the joint in his magical grip. He smoked down the last bit before snuffing the end in an old tin cup that they always used as an ashtray. Then, after taking a moment to let the high set in, they all walked back into the house and sat down in the living room.

"Where are we gonna go get lunch at?" the elder pegasus asked Spark, "because I'm in the mood for some haycakes and coffee."

"Sounds good to me too." Draft responded to the question even though it hadn't been directed at him. He stood up after that and walked off towards the bathroom, stomach rumbling all the way.

"Yeah, whatever sounds good to you two is fine, as long as we go soon. I need some food in me within the next ten minutes or I'm going to be one unhappy pony," Spark explained.

After another fifteen minutes or so, the trio was off to get their much needed brunch time meal. They had decided to go to Coffee Bean's Diner because it was by far the best place in Dodge to get a well made breakfast at a reasonable price. The affordability and the fact that it was only a few blocks north of the pegasus brothers' house, made it one of their most frequented restaurants in town. The three stallions found themselves in the quaint diner two or three times a week it seemed like.

Walking down the street they saw only one pony they really new that well, a mare that Downpour and Nature Spark had attended school with, Heart Charm. She was a very pretty earth pony that Spark had been crushing on since high school, but he was far too nervous around mares to make a move. He'd always entertained the idea of asking her on a date however, if he ever got up the courage to ask. After another couple minutes of uneventful walking they arrived at their destination, much to the delight of their starving stomachs. Spark shoved open the doors and walked inside the sweet smelling restaurant, with both of his friends following right behind him.

It wasn't until after they had already been seated and ordered their food that Spark realized how much busier than usual the building was. While there were always at least two or three other ponies on a weekday, today was a completely different story. Close to a dozen ponies seemed to have crowded into the diner in just the past few minutes that they had been there. Realizing this, Spark turned to the table behind him and asked the couple sitting there what was going on that had drawn such a crowd.

"You mean you haven't heard yet?" the light green mare questioned, unbelieving. She stared at him like he must be the most oblivious pony in town. "Well, apparently the queen of the Crystal Empire was captured a few days ago and all the blame is being pointed at Princess Luna."

"What? That doesn't make any sense though. Why would our princess have any reason to do something like that?" Downpour replied a bit testily.

"Yeah, I'm afraid that I have to agree with my brother on that one, it just doesn't really add up." Draft's voice held a hint of disbelief. "I mean, that would be like asking for a war. Why would Luna want to start a war right now?"

"True. Discord was only defeated like fifty years ago and we still haven't even fully recovered from that," Spark stated, much to the chagrin of the stallion at the table behind them.

"If you want my opinion, that Luna has always been a little unsteady and I wouldn't put it past her to do something like this for whatever strange reasons she has." The white stallion spoke with more conviction than Spark would have expected concerning the subject.

"My husband is right. I've never trusted her either. She's always been jealous of her older sister and I don't think it bodes well for us common pony folk," the prissy mare added. Spark ignored her attitude and turned back to his friends.

After the short exchange of words, their food arrived and the three friends got too preoccupied with their thoughts to do much more than eat quietly. While shoving bites of syrup soaked haycakes into his mouth, the young unicorn pondered what he had heard. None of them spoke until the last few bites had been eaten and then it was Downpour who broke the silence.

"I think we need to go to the town square. I can almost guarantee that somepony there will know more about this whole situation," he stated.

"Agreed," said both the younger ponies in unison. After they paid for their meals, all three of them stepped out of the dimly lit diner and back into the bright light of Celestia's sun. The sunshine caused them to squint their eyes as they turned and began the walk to the town square, where they hoped to find some answers. It was already around eleven by the time the three of them were rounding the last block on their walk. The fogginess of the herbs they had smoked was starting to fade and the implications of Equestria going to war began crossing Spark's mind. The princesses were going to have to sort out the truth if they wanted to avoid a battle. He was contemplating how the royal sisters might avoid war when he had the misfortune of smacking into the back of somepony's flank.

"Watch it!" was the response Spark thought he heard, but it was hard for him to tell over the sound of the crowd. Only now did he realize that most of the town had come to the same conclusion as the three of them. It looked as if everypony was collecting about a small stage. A large crowd had gathered around the podium, shouting questions at the mayor, an older, yellow earth pony with only trace amounts of white mane left on his head. The mayor cleared his throat and began to address the anxious ponies before him.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, if I may have your quiet attention for a moment, I will answer all of your questions to the best of my knowledge," the earth pony began. Upon hearing that, the crowd started to settle down, eager to learn what news the mayor had received from Canterlot. "I have yet to formally meet with the princesses themselves, as they are very busy in this time of crisis, but I have gotten word from their representatives about the situation."

"What the hay is going on!" someone in the midst of the crowd yelled, to the nodding agreement of the masses.

"Please, hold all of your questions until I am done speaking. Now, as most of you have heard by now, there is a rumor that the empress of the Crystal Empire has been taken by somepony. Due to the fact that their emperor is very sick and their daughter is far too young to rule, it has become a crisis for them. They have also placed the blame for this travesty on our own Princess Luna and they claim to have the evidence to prove this theory." The crowd's shouts seemed equally divided between anger and disbelief at this turn of events. The three friends remained quite in the back, not wanting to miss out on any vital information that the mayor might give. "While I do not believe for one minute that this is the case, if something doesn't happen soon, I am afraid that Equestria will have no choice but to go to war with our neighbors to the north." Downpour, Backdraft and Nature Spark turned and began trotting back to their homes not long after the mayor's speech had ended. What had seemed unbelievable before, now proved to be very true.

"What do you think about this whole situation, Spark?" Draft asked him. "Is this as bad as everypony is making it out to be?"

"To be completely honest with you Draft, yeah, I'm afraid that it just might be," Spark replied flatly. In fact, at that moment, he was afraid it could be even worse then the mayor was willing to let on. Only fifty years after the massive battles with Discord, it seemed highly improbable that Equestria would be able to wage total war and win. He had a feeling that things were about to get very bad very fast, not that he would ever worry his friends about it anymore than he had to.

After both of Spark's friends headed back to their home, he decided that he wanted to do some more fishing for information. He was pretty sure that somepony could tell him more than the mayor had been able to. The bright unicorn wasn't sure why he was so interested in what was going on. It wasn't like he was going to be able to do anything about it, but for some reason Spark couldn't shake the feeling that he should pursue the matter further. There was always that small chance that he could find a way to help, however unlikely it seemed.

Spark decided it would be a good idea for him to visit his mother and find out what she had heard about the events. Scarlet Bloom lived close to where he currently was, as her house sat on the southwest side of Dodge. He decided to head that way so he could talk with her and then stop by Downpour's house on the return trip to his cottage. It would also give him a chance to see his younger brother, Sugar, which was always nice. Maybe if his mother knew something more, then he could figure out how to proceed with the little mission he had given himself.

Spark was only about half way through his walk when his stomach started growling like a manticore. The news of war had killed the appetite he'd had in the diner earlier and most of the meal he ordered had gone to waste. The unicorn paused momentarily to pull a carrot out of his saddlebag and then, after munching down on the delicious snack, continued on his way. Like always, he was lost in his own thoughts, which caused him to run right into a pink, earth pony mare with a loud thump.

"Oh Celestia, I am so sorry, Miss. I really need to start paying more attention to where I'm going," Spark mumbled as he picked up her bags with his magic and placed them over her back again, stopping momentarily as he recognized the cutie mark on her flank. "Wait a minute, Charm, is that you?" he asked, glancing up to her face.

"Huh? Oh, Spark, I didn't even realize it was you," Heart Charm replied as she got to her hooves and brushed the dirt off of herself. "It's partially my fault too. I was looking up at the sky, admiring the sun shinning through the clouds and I didn't even see you there." She blushed slightly as she spoke, causing her cheeks to turn a hot pink color. Spark couldn't help but find the mare adorable.

"I haven't seen you in weeks and then suddenly, twice in one day. What gives?" Spark asked with a chuckle, trying not to blush himself.

"Well, I just started working as the mayor's assistant, so I've been very busy lately. He has me running errands all over town," Charm replied. That was certainly a good bit of luck, Spark thought. She probably knew something more about the situation with the princess.

"You're working for the mayor you said? Then you might be the one to ask about any developments in the Crystal Empire conflict," he stated.

"Oh, well I'm not really supposed to talk about it with anypony," Charm explained.

"Come on, we've known each other for how many years now? You know you can trust me," Spark replied and then smiled sweetly at the earth pony, but some of the effect was probably lost due to his glazed, red eyes. She shifted around uncomfortably from hoof to hoof for a minute before finally giving in.

"Well, as you can probably imagine, the princess is denying any involvement in the incident. What you may not know is that they are claiming to have evidence implicating her royal night guards in the crime," she confessed.

"Really? What sort of evidence are they claiming to have?" Spark asked, intrigued by the claim.

"We don't know that much yet. I hear that the princesses are doing their best to solve the situation peaceably, but who really knows if that will work," Charm added. The pink mare opened her mouth to say something else, but thought better of it and chose to remain silent instead. Spark was just thankful to learn what little information he had.

"Thank you so much for telling me and please, when you can find out anything more, stop by my house. I would love to hear from you again soon," Spark said with a smile. This had to be one of the longest conversations he had with a mare that didn't end in him embarrassing himself horribly.

"Yes, I'll be sure to do that. You have a nice afternoon, Spark," Charm replied. She turned to leave and Spark couldn't help but admire her flank once more as he mumbled a quick goodbye, then he was on his way down the road once again.

Before long, Nature Spark found himself admiring the town around him. Even with the clouds starting to dampen the light of the sun, it really was quite a beautiful place. He would still much rather take a stroll through the Haysead Forest, but all in all, he really couldn't ask for a better town to live by. Let the cities have there stuck up ponies and crowded streets, he thought. A small town would always be where his heart was at. The unicorn's mind then turned to thoughts about what would happen to his beloved home if Equestria really did go to war with the north. He soon found himself quickening his pace, eager to get to his mother's house.

It was late afternoon by the time Spark reached the street that his mother lived on and the rain had just begun to fall. From the looks of the thick, grey cloud cover, it promised to be quite the storm indeed. Galloping the last couple blocks up to his mother's gate, Spark decided that he might just stay the night at her house and resume his little journey once the skies had cleared up. He walked through the door, shaking the dampness from his coat and was greeted by the scent of fresh apple pie cooling in the kitchen.

"Mom, it's me Spark. Are you home?" After asking, he reminded himself to have his mother start locking her door whenever she went out from now on. Dodge might not have been a major city like Canterlot, but something told him that it would still be getting more dangerous around there eventually.

"Spark dear, I'm in the back room with Sugar Leaf," his mother called back to him from the far side of the house. Sugar Leaf was his little brother's full name. Sugar was just a colt and still hadn't received his cutie mark yet. He was a little big for his age and had a lighter coat than Spark, but the same brown mane. After Sugar's father had ran out, Spark had basically raised the little colt while his mother worked to support the family. They may have had different fathers, but Spark still loved his half brother all the same. He had only moved out a year ago, after Sugar was old enough to start attending school and their mother started staying home.

"Spark!" The shout came just a moment before he was bulled over by a light brown blur. "Do you wanna play blocks with me?" Sugar questioned, practically bouncing around as he asked. The same big, blue eyes that their mother had were staring right into Spark's brown ones as he shoved the small body off of himself.

"I'd love to play a little bit later, Sugar, but right now I need to talk with mom, okay?" Sugar looked up at him with his cheeks raised in a chubby smile.

"You promise?" the colt asked.

"Of course I do. When have I ever lied to you?" Spark replied. He smiled at his younger brother and the colt took off running to his room, most likely to get the blocks ready to play with. Spark walked into the back room where his mother was sitting in her chair, reading a book. He sat down in the open seat beside her, waiting for her to finish the page she was on before he tried speaking with her.

Scarlet Bloom was a light brown unicorn mare with hair that was once an apple red color, but now had streaks of grey beginning to show through. The red rose that was her cutie mark had begun to wrinkle as well, but it wasn't that noticeable yet. It wasn't that surprising that her age was beginning to show really, considering her sons were born nearly fifteen years apart. That made her about forty three now, if Spark remembered right. Time sure seemed to fly by the last few years, but he supposed that was just a part of getting older and moving on.

"You said you needed to speak with me, Spark," Scarlet said. His mother was looking at him with her book set aside on the end table beside her. Spark had spaced out and failed to notice that she had finished reading.

"Yes, I assume you've heard the news about the accusation against Princess Luna, because that's what I am here to talk about," he replied. The young stallion shifted slightly in his seat to better face his mother as they talked.

"Oh, yes, of course I did. Such a terrible thing to happen too. I really hope it all gets worked out before somepony gets hurt," his mother responded.

"That's why I'm here. You know almost everypony around town right? Have you heard anything that I might not know about?" Spark asked.

"Hmmm…" Scarlet paused for a moment, lost in thought, before saying, "I'm afraid not, Spark, at least, nothing that you probably don't already know."

"Damn," he blurted, followed immediately by an apology for swearing.

"That's quite alright, dear. I know how much this must bother you," Scarlet replied. She was right of course. Spark wasn't the kind of pony to be happy around conflict or violence. That was the reason his cutie mark was a peace sign. He was a firm believer that violence should only be used as a last resort. It was a quality that he had gotten from his father, who was a gentle soul with a gruff voice that never spoke harsh words or so his mother said. How she and his father had gotten along, Spark could never fathom, after all, his mother was quite the hot head back in her day. He imagined that if he had known his dad better he might have understood.

"Thanks anyway, mom. I guess it would have been too easy if you knew all of the answers to my questions," Spark observed.

"How about I go cut us each a piece of that apple pie I just made. That might help take your mind off of things that can't be helped," his mother suggested, flashing him a sweet smile as she got up from the armchair.

"Sure, that sounds good. I'll go get Sugar," Spark told her. The unicorn stood up and walked off to his younger brother's room, while his mother went to the kitchen. Spark's mind was still preoccupied with thinking about who else might know what was really going on, so he failed to notice Sugar charging him head-first at full speed. "Sugar, we're about to cut the pie if you wa-aaaahh!" Spark was cut short as the blow sent him rolling head over hoof into a pile of blocks.

"Yeah! I got you good, Spark!" the chubby colt shouted. Sugar burst into a hysterical fit of giggles as his older brother got up and shook the hit off. The little pony stopped laughing as soon as he saw his older brother's sly smile though.

"Oh, you got me good huh? I'll show you getting it good," Spark replied as he picked Sugar up in the green glow of his magic and proceeded to tickle the colt until his face turned red and he begged for mercy.

"Spark, haha, Spark, stop it!" Sugar squealed between laughing fits, until his older brother finally set him back down.

"Now let's go get some pie, unless you're ready for round two, of course," Spark said. He gave Sugar the same sly smile and chased the screaming unicorn colt into the kitchen, where their mother had three plates already set on the table "Mmm, this looks great, mom. You really out did your self this time." Spark's mouth was watering at the aroma of fresh baked apples. If there was one food that the herb smoking stallion loved the most, it would definitely have to be his mother's apple pie.

"Thank you, Spark. That is so sweet of you to say. It was always your father's favorite recipe," Scarlet replied, before taking a seat and wrapping a sharp knife in a red glow. She sliced up three pieces of pie and levitated one to herself and the other two to her sons. It was hot and steaming, having just finished baking a few minutes before Spark had arrived.

"Yeah, I remember. He could eat a whole pie to himself… and usually did," Spark chuckled. He could still remember the look on his dad's face right before he would take a big bite of apple goodness.

"I coob eat a whob pah thoo," Sugar mumbled. It was funny watching the chubby colt try to talk around a mouthful of dessert. Wet chunks were falling down his chin and back onto the plate, where he would scoop them up with his hooves and shove them back in his mouth. It was a terrible show of manners, but their mother didn't seem to mind all that much.

"I'm sure you could, Sugar, but if you keep trying to talk with your mouth open like that then you're going to choke," Spark explained.

The rest of the meal passed with the same sort of conversation they always had when Spark visited. He answered all of his mother's questions and asked similar ones in return, making sure to find out how Sugar had been doing in school. How have you been? Fine. Do you have a marefriend? Nope. How are Downpour and Backdraft? Good. The pegasus brothers had become like a part of the family after their father walked out on them and their mother died. She had committed suicide a few years back and it had been awhile before things had returned to a sort of normalcy. The pegasus didn't like to talk about their parents much.

It was getting pretty late by the time the storm let up, but Spark had passed the time playing with Sugar and talking to their mother. He had decided not to stay the night after all, figuring that if he left as soon as it was clear outside he could make it to Downpour's house before the pegasus had gone to bed. He gave his mother and Sugar both a kiss on their cheeks, promising to visit again soon and then he was out the door and on his way. Spark paused momentarily outside of the wooden gate to roll himself up an after dinner treat and then continued on at a slow trot. His horn sparked once, lighting the end of the rolled up herbs while he took a deep drag. He let his mind wander and admired the smoke for a moment, watching it drift up into the air before dissipating into nothingness.

As he walked down the muddy road, Spark continued to ponder many things, but most of all he considered the fate of the Crystal Empress. "Luna bless her, because if she comes to harm, it might not matter if you're responsible or not," the unicorn said aloud. He had the feeling that if that were the case, Luna's subjects would all pay dearly for her transgressions. Hopefully it wouldn't all come to that though. Then his mind turned to the other countries near Equestria. It was very possible that another kingdom could be behind the attack. It couldn't have been the dragons though. They never cared for the politics of ponies and besides, there was nothing for a dragon to gain by framing the princess.

The griffins seemed much more likely to have been responsible. The alliance that had once existed between them and Equestria had been all but dissolved since the time of Discord. At least one of their factions had even sided with that monster, for reasons Spark couldn't comprehend. The abduction could have been the work of one of those original rogue groups, he thought. Then again, for all Spark knew, it could even have been an attack from the Zebra's home land. They lived a very long way away though, so it would be highly impractical for them to start a war. Shaking his head, he decided to stop thinking about the possibilities, until he could find out more information at least. It wasn't long after those last thoughts before Spark arrived at the brothers' house once again. He walked right in this time, not in the mood for messing with either of them. "Hey, it's me, Spark. Where the buck are you guys?" he shouted in the direction of their rooms, but the answer he received came from the shed in the back.

"You are just in time, my friend. We just now lit a joint up to smoke before dinner," the older stallion replied. Downpour then broke into a fit of coughing, which elicited some laughs from his younger brother.

"Where have you been all day?" Draft asked around the joint in his mouth. The grey stallion took a long puff while he waited for Spark to walk in and take a seat beside him in the rotation.

"I went to visit my mother and Sugar. I had to wait for the rain to stop before I came back here," Spark explained. He grabbed the joint with his magic, pausing to light the side that was burning unevenly before he took a hit. Pegasus just couldn't roll as well as a unicorn could, so their joints were always smoldering on one side.

"How is Scarlet? It feels like I haven't seen her in ages," Downpour stated. He had always been her favorite out of all her son's friends. It was probably due to the fact that he had the same sort of brash personality that she used to flaunt as a youth.

"Good as ever, I suppose, although I was hoping that she would know a little more about the whole Princess Luna situation," Spark huffed. He passed the half smoked herb over to the stocky pegasus after he spoke. "She wanted me to say hello to you two for her."

"You didn't learn anything new then?" asked Downpour.

"Well, I did bump into Heart Charm. I guess she's working for the mayor now," Spark answered with a wistful smile.

"Oh, really?" Downpour asked with a hint of humor.

"Yup. She told me that the Crystal Kingdom is claiming to have evidence implicating Luna's guards in the abduction. She didn't know exactly what that evidence was though or if she did, then she wasn't going to tell me," the brown stallion replied.

"What, you mean to tell me that you couldn't charm Charm?" the older pegasus joked. Draft snuffed out the roach into an ashtray after that comment, chuckling quietly at his brother's joke as he did so.

"Ha ha ha, you're a bucking comedic genius," Spark replied sarcastically. The unicorn pushed Downpour's chair over backwards with his magic, spilling the pegasus on the ground and causing all three off them to burst out in a fit of laughter. After they had caught their breath, the stallions got to their hooves and headed back into the small house. They all took a seat in the living room, where they could finish their conversation in comfort. Downpour made sure to grab a couple of drinks before he joined his friends, for when the cottonmouth set in

"So what's the plan now?" Draft asked, taking a cider that his brother offered him. "Where can we find out more information?"

"For tonight I'll just bed down here. If you don't mind of course…"

"Not at all," said Downpour.

"And then I think we should go see Old Mule Chestnut in the morning," Spark suggested with a shrug.

"Are we going to need to grab some more herbs before we go?" Draft asked. Even though he hadn't spent as much time around the old mule as his brother, the tall pegasus knew how much Chestnut loved the green stuff.

"No, I'm pretty sure that I've got enough for all four of us in my saddle bags. We should be just fine," Spark assured him.

"I'll take your word for it," Downpour replied before he tossed back the last of his cider and let loose a mighty belch. The other two ponies finished their drinks as well, each of them following up with their own burp, neither of which was as loud as the older pegasus's.

They decided to play a couple hands of poker, Spark kicking the brother's flanks each time before finally retiring for the night. Downpour and Draft headed off to their rooms, leaving the tired unicorn to crash out on the couch. Spark's mind only pestered him with thoughts for a short time before he was finally able to fall asleep. Between the bad news and the herbs, he was pretty exhausted and though his dreams were about his father, they were very sweet dreams.


	3. One Eye on the Past

~Chapter 2: One Eye on the Past~

Nature Spark was running toward his family at full speed, tearing flank across an open meadow, dirt flying up in clumps behind him as he listened to their calls. Sugar was there cheering his name, as were his mother and father and even his older sister was with them. The next thing Spark knew, there was a strong wind blowing him backwards with the force of a hurricane. It pushed him away from his family and the harder the unicorn tried to struggle against the gale, the stronger it seemed to become. Suddenly, there was water all around. Spark could feel it covering him, surrounding his body and trying to choke the last breath from his lungs. SPLASH!

"What the buck!?" Nature Spark screamed as he shot off of the couch, his brown mane plastered against his wild eyed face. He whipped his head back and forth a few times before realization set in. "Oh…" The glare on the brown stallion's face could have turned a cockatrice to stone as he spoke, "I hope Celestia four hoof bucks you up the flank." Downpour and Draft just chuckled at their friend.

"It would be totally worth it, if you could just see the look on your face right now," Downpour replied with a grin. The two pegasus had to support each other, because the intensity of their laughter wasn't letting them stand alone anymore. "You looked like you were about to rip out Discord's heart and beat somepony to death with it."

"You have no idea," Spark shot back. He got up and vigorously shook his mane out, splashing water droplets all over the small living room in the process. Spark took one more look at them both and gave his best glare before bursting into laughter himself. "Seriously though, you two feather brains are lucky my magic didn't go off and light our faces on fire. Messing with a sleeping unicorn is a really bad idea," he scolded jokingly.

"Yeah, yeah, you're super terrifying. Can we smoke now? Otherwise I'm not going to be able to eat breakfast," Downpour yawned with a quick stretch of his wings, but behind him Draft still seemed a little unsure if Spark was joking or not.

The brown stallion took advantage of the moment and said, "If it happens again, I'm going to use my magic and I'm going to take one of your hooves." The affect was mostly lost however, when Spark couldn't keep a straight face. "I'll roll a joint in a second, but do you mind if I take a piss first? I about lost my bladder on your couch after the whole water bucket joke."

"Whatever. Just hurry up or we'll have to start smoking without you," Draft replied before he turned and made his way towards the kitchen to see what they had for breakfast. Downpour stepped outside to stretch his wings, taking off from the front lawn in a flurry of beating feathers and sending dry leaves blowing in the open front door as he left. Draft just sighed as he walked over and closed the door after his older brother.

While he might not be as nimble as his younger brother, Downpour was by far a stronger flier. Nature Spark had been witness to that when they were colts and Draft had gotten caught in a wind storm. The grey colt hadn't listened when their mother told him to stay inside that day and before long he was swept away in a particularly powerful gust. Spark had been over at their house playing when he saw Draft in danger and he yelled for somepony to help.

Downpour had wasted no time taking off and flying right up to the largest group of storm clouds overhead, narrowly avoiding being electrocuted while he searched for his little brother. Planting his hooves firmly on the large cumulonimbus, the older pegasus heaved and strained against it. Muscles tensing, Downpour shoved against it until most of the storm was pushed away, taking the strong winds with it. With the storm gone, Draft made it back to the safety of the colts' warm home and the loving embrace of their mother. Downpour had touched back on the ground and immediately eaten dirt as his exhausted legs and wings gave out beneath him. When he'd finally gotten back to his hooves and started brushing himself off, Downpour's brand new cutie mark had appeared, much to the bluish colt's delight.

After a short while, the three friends were all sitting in the brothers' shed and having their morning smoke. It was a bit chilly, but Spark got absorbed in his thoughts, so the weather didn't bother him much. He could be a bit oblivious when he was smoking, often times completely unaware what was going on around him, until he eventually snapped back to reality.

"Would you want to live forever?" Spark asked, clearly lost in thought as he stared off with dark brown eyes. "Seriously, never dying of old age year after year, one millennium after another. I'm pretty sure it'd drive me insane." His friends were used to his sudden philosophical questions by now and Downpour didn't hesitate to answer.

"I'd be okay with it. I mean think about all the crazy shit you could do with all that time," his friend replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking about the possibility of Princess Luna losing her mind. I mean, she has been around since like…" he paused momentarily to exhale a puff of smoke that quickly dissolved in the air.

"Since like forever," Draft finished the thought for him. They all took a moment to absorb the idea before he broke the silence once more. "Yeah, I could definitely see that happening. She has seen how many of her friends and loved ones die around her? I don't care how powerful a pony is, that right there is going to buck their head up."

"So what, you guys actually think she did it now?" Downpour asked with a slightly confused expression on his bluish-grey face.

"Honestly, I have no clue, but what I do know is that everypony is full of surprises. We all have the potential to snap under the right circumstances, so if you live forever then the right circumstance is bound to present itself eventually," Spark observed dryly. The joint was snatched from his magic soon after he had spoken.

"Way to be a high killer, Spark. You know that you don't always have to be so bucking morose. Would it really kill you to share a happy thought every once in a while?" the older pegasus asked as he turned up his nose, sending his short, black mane waving slightly. Then Downpour snuffed the joint and got to his hooves. "Anyways, let's just hurry up and grab what we need to go see Chestnut. I'd like to get there before lunch time rolls around." With that he returned to the house, Spark and Draft trailing just a few steps behind him.

"I already got my stuff together, so you two just hurry up and grab whatever it is you need. I'd suggest someone grab a water container because I don't know about you stallions, but I've got the cottonmouth real bad," Spark explained, emphasizing his point by smacking his dry lips a couple of times. Then, realizing that the brothers would probably be a minute or two, he wrapped a small paper in the green glow of his magic. Pulling it out, along with a small amount of herbs, he set about rolling up a joint for the road. "You can never have too many joints rolled after all," he mumbled aloud.

"Talking to your self again?" Draft asked him sarcastically as he cantered up from behind.

"Yes I am Draft. It always makes for the best conversations after all," Spark chuckled.

"What ever you say," Draft replied as he turned to glance down the hallway. "It looks like Downpour is done packing too. Are you about ready to leave?"

"Yup, all finished rolling this fat, beast of a joint," Spark answered, holding it up so that his friend could see. "So let's get a move on ponies." Downpour cantered out of his room and they all walked out the front door, headed northeast towards Rambling Rock Ridge and Chestnut's house. A slight breeze rustled Spark's mane and caressed his face as they rounded the corner and continued down the muddy street.

The old mule's house was a couple hours away at the pace that they were going, but he had a certain way of somehow always knowing everypony's business, so Spark knew it would be in their best interests to talk to him before they decided their next step. The trip would have gone much faster had all three of them been pegasus. As it was though, Downpour and Draft would take turns, one flying and one walking with Spark so that they didn't leave the unicorn far behind. Now that he thought about it, Spark wondered why the brothers hadn't moved into the clouds after their mother died, so he asked Draft as much.

"That's a damn good question and I wish I had a good answer to it, but I don't. If you want to know, well then, you'll just have to ask Downpour when he's done flapping around up there," Draft replied. He gestured toward the sky with his hoof, where his brother was doing what looked like a backstroke across the top of some clouds. "I told him that we might as well move since dad ditched out and mom went and killed herself." Spark winced at his brash statement of what happened. Draft spoke with such anger towards his mother and had ever since her death. "I mean besides you, Spark, there's really no one we couldn't live without visiting monthly. I keep telling him we should move to Los Pegasus and get jobs helping the restoration and expansion effort. He would rather keep wasting time being a burnout here though… no offence." He smiled awkwardly after he finished speaking and Spark chuckled.

"None taken. I am perfectly happy being enough of a burnout for all three of us if need be. It is my special talent after all," Spark joked.

"Seriously? I thought you and Downpour were just bucking with my head when you said that you got your cutie mark from smoking for the first time," Draft replied.

"Well, not really. I mean, I did get it after while smoking, but it was because that's when I decided to use my knowledge of magical herbs to help sick ponies. I may be a burnout, but I'm still very good at the things I do," Spark explained. The unicorn smiled and winked, eliciting a bout of laughter from Draft as they walked into the edge of the forest. When the pegasus was finished, he wiped away a tear and took a few deep breaths before continuing the conversation.

"I still got you beat though," Draft said. The pegasus picked up his pace as he talked, catching up to where Spark was trotting up ahead.

"What?" Spark asked him. A quizzical look was plastered across his brown face, because he wasn't sure what his friend meant.

"My cutie mark story, I think it's better than yours," Draft replied.

"I didn't realize it was a contest, otherwise I would have made something up that was better. So pray tell, oh king of the cutie marks, what would your story be?" Spark questioned as he rolled his eyes.

"I thought you'd never ask," Draft replied with a grin.

The brothers had been on vacation in Los Pegasus with their mother when Draft had received his mark. That was the only place they ever went to for a while; because his mother was certain that eventually the boys' father was bound to show up. It was his favorite city after all. They had been on the way to the markets and shops, where you could find anything your heart desired, or so ponies would say. Somehow Draft had gotten separated from his family. His older brother failed to keep a close eye on him like their mother had asked him to and he wound up down a dark ally in a part of the town that he wasn't familiar with. After fifteen or twenty minutes of him yelling for help somepony finally came flying his way. Only it wasn't really a somepony, it was more like a something.

Draft had only heard about griffons before then, as there weren't any in his home town and very few in Equestria as a whole. It wasn't until he saw the ropes in their talons that he truly started panicking. The grey colt began flying backwards, but was soon trapped with no where to go but up or down. If he tried to go down he might get away, but chances were that he would tire before he could find another entrance into the city. Going up didn't appear much better because the menacing griffon looked like it would be far quicker than him. He didn't have any other options.

It seemed like an eternity to the young pegasus before anything happened. Draft felt something warm on his legs and realized he had emptied his bladder in his fear and started crying. That's when the eagle-lion hybrid made their move, darting forward with an inequine like speed. Instead of freezing up in fear however, the young pegasus decided to launch himself forward, bucking off the wall for speed. In his panicked state he tore down the alley with enough speed to suck the air out behind him.

Ponies nearby only saw a small grey blur and then got swept up in the trail, rolling head over hooves for entire yards before righting themselves. Draft flew and flew, wildly darting down block after block until he reached the main street. It wasn't long after that when the Los Pegasus Guard found him and led him back to his worried mother. It was Morning Mist that pointed out to her son the dark blue wings on his once bare flank. He was overjoyed to see his cutie mark for the first time.

"Holy crap…" Spark mumbled. He had slowed down to the point where he was nearly standing still because he had been so caught up in the story Draft was telling. His young friend was right, the unicorn thought, that story certainly trumped his.

"Why are you two lagging behind so much, am I going to have to come back there and carry you little fillies my self?" Downpour asked, having turned back when he had realized how far behind they both were. "What are you two doing back here anyway?"

"Sorry, your brother here was just telling me how he got his cutie mark. I guess I just got caught up in the story." Spark replied. Hestarted to pick up his pace again remembering that they were trying to get to Chestnut's place before dark.

"You've never heard that story before?" the black maned pegasus asked unbelievingly. "I could have sworn he told you that once."

"No, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered being told a bucked up story like that," Spark answered. Now all three of them were walking down the road together and while they might not make it to the mule's house by lunch, it would be close enough for them. They could always eat something at Chestnut's house if they wanted to and then return to town afterwards.

"Well I think I'm going to go stretch my wings for a bit. Are you guys fine walking?" Draft asked them. The younger pegasus looked from Spark to his brother, who both nodded their heads, before taking off into the cloudy sky.

"In fact we're close enough that you may as well just wait for us at Chestnut's. We won't be too long," Downpour called up to him.

"Are you sure, Downpour? I mean, Old Mule Chestnut doesn't know him as well as he knows me or even you. I wouldn't want him freaking that crazy mule out," Spark said as he stepped over an exposed tree root.

"No you'll be fine, go ahead and go on without us," Downpour called up to his younger brother, who was already a good distance ahead of them.  
"If you insist," Draft shot back. With that the grey pegasus took off in a whirlwind of beating wings, heading down the trail far faster than he could have walked. Once the two friends were alone, Downpour finally said what had been on his mind.

"Okay, be honest with me for a minute now. Just what in the hay are you really hoping to accomplish after we talk to Chestnut? Are you really expecting to be able to do something about any of this?" the stocky pegasus asked his friend.

"Sweet Celestia, I really wish I knew. It's just, I don't know, like a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. It's a voice in my head whispering at me and telling me I might actually make a difference for once," Spark tried to explain. The unicorn shook his head in confusion and continued. "Don't get me wrong now, I love working with magical herbs and helping to heal and spread joy with my knowledge. I just feel like I should try to live up to my father's image. He was such a great stallion. He worked as Celestia's advisor and helped my mother raise my sister and I. I guess I'd just be happy if ponies considered me even half the stallion he was."

"Wow, that is some of that deep shit right there," Downpour replied. He got a slight smirk on his bluish grey face after he spoke, and Spark couldn't help but to smile back at him.

"I guess it was," he mumbled in agreement.

"Speaking of your sister, where the hay did that mare run off to anyway?" Downpour asked. The brash pegasus had always had a bit of a crush on Spark's sister, even though she would never even give him the time of day. It had been a bit of an annoyance when they were growing up.

"I couldn't care less. Suri is a brat who ran off just after Sugar was born. I haven't heard from her since I got her last letter almost six years ago," Spark spat. He wanted to shout just thinking about that useless harlot who had abandoned them.

"Damn, has it really been that long? Let's see…" The pegasus went quite, thinking back to the last time he saw her flank around Dodge Spark assumed. "I guess it's been like six years or so, hasn't it?" Downpour asked a moment later.

"Yup, and I'll be just fine if I don't see her for another six," Spark responded. The unicorn rounded the last corner on their journey and found himself faced with an unusual sight. Draft was in the process of dodging around various objects that were being launched out of Chestnut's open door. There were dresser drawers and clothing sailing through the air as the younger pegasus dipped and dove through the air.

"It's about time you two pricks got here. Spark, would you remind this crazy ass who I am before he hurts himself, or me?" Draft huffed. A wooden stool whizzed by him right then, missing his head by mere inches.

"Hey Chestnut!" Spark shouted. The unicorn galloped to the open door as he tried to get his old friend's attention. "It's me, Nature Spark. You can stop throwing your junk at Downpour's little brother now!" He looked in the front door of the cottage and saw the mule about to hurl a potted plant out the door at the young pegasus.

"What's that now? You say that miscreant looking pegasus, is with you?" Chestnut questioned. The old mule's face scrunched up comically when he asked the question.

Spark couldn't help but to chuckle as he responded, "Yes, that's Draft. He's only been here like half a dozen times. How can you not remember someone that ugly?" Spark turned and smirked at his friend, who stuck out a tongue in response. That's when his older brother flew in the house carrying a good portion of the mule's furniture in with him. Much of it was broken now, but nothing that seemed too important.

"When you get to be my age you have a hard time remembering faces. I think it's because you see so many of them that they start to blur together," Chestnut explained as he took a seat and smiled at the three stallions while they brought in the last of his stuff.

"Don't give me that line. We only call you Old Mule Chestnut because almost everypony who visits this place is our age. I know you're only fifty. I remember you saying that you were born the year Discord was defeated," Spark retorted.

"Okay, you got me. To be honest, I have no idea why I didn't remember him. I guess he just has one of those forgettable faces," Chestnut chuckled. Everypony was now sitting around a coffee table that had been brought back into the living room. Spark used the opportunity to pull off his saddle bags with his magic and began digging through them, looking for his herbs.

"It's a good thing I'm such a nice pony," he said holding up a small pouch, "otherwise I wouldn't be in the mood to give you this right now."

"Oh Spark, you are too good to me," Chestnut replied with a grin. The muddy brown mule's green eyes lit up at the sight of the herbs. Smoking helped him with his medical problems, but he only trusted the herbs that Spark would bring over to his house, which meant that the mule was often running out.

"Don't remind me," Spark said with a wink in his direction.

They spent the next few minutes on small talk while they all smoked up and rested their tired muscles. After a few hours, the house was fairly hot boxed and all four stallions were out of breath from laughter. When they had finally finished, Spark decided it was time to see what the old mule could tell them about the crime that Luna had been accused of. Chestnut seemed to have been expecting the question and replied almost immediately.

"Well, take all of this with a grain of salt," the mule said, "from what I heard though, somepony sighted a large flying creature leaving the Crystal Palace, carrying somepony else with them. I'm told that they also found feathers and such that looked like they were left by one of Luna's royal night guards." He stopped to let the three young stallions process what they had just heard. "Further more, there have been minor conflicts between our countries for years and they worsened when the Crystal Emperor got sickly. His empress has had trouble maintaining order throughout her kingdom and as a consequence, she's been forced to react rather harshly to those who question her rule. This has caused many ponies to dislike her, so it is very possible that a resistance movement is responsible for the incident."

"Why frame Luna though, the resistance wouldn't really want to fight with the Equestrian government as well as their own would they?" Downpour asked the very same question that had been puzzling his friend since the mule had spoken.

"That's something I don't know," Chestnut replied.

"What about the Griffons, Zebras or Dragons? Anyone of them could be responsible too," Draft stated. The younger pegasus was bright, but not as involved in politics as the other three stallions he was speaking with.

"I really don't think it's the Dragons. I don't believe I have ever heard of them getting involved in anypony else's problems," Spark explained as he scratched his head in thought. "They keep to themselves for the most part and even if they didn't, we still have a treaty between our countries."

"Spark is right. The griffons are a possibility since we only have treaties with one of the three factions. The Blood Eyes might have done it, but that would mean that somepony was paying them off for it," Chestnut added. The old mule's face wrinkled up in concentration. "While I wouldn't put it past the Zebras to try something like this, it really isn't feasible for them to go to war with us. I mean could you imagine a war like that? It would probably envelope the world."

"Say we wanted to find out who was responsible, where would be the best place for us to go for answers? You must know somepony who could help. You have been all over Equestria and the Crystal Kingdom after all," Spark asked his old friend.

"What's this about Spark? You and the burnout brothers here wouldn't be planning on getting involved would you?" Chestnut asked. He peered over the table at them, already knowing the answer. "Oh, Luna love me! You idiots are, aren't you?"

"Look Chestnut, Spark here feels like this is something he needs to do and we're going to back him up every step of the way," Downpour answered. He stood up from the table and turned towards the door, taking a few slow steps towards the exit. "Unless you know anything else that can help us, I think we should get going." He started to walk away from the three of them until Chestnut spoke.

"Calm yourself young stuff. I'll help you three out as long as I'm not going to regret it. Do you all understand how dangerous this little mission of yours could get?" Chestnut asked them.

"Of course we do you old ass, we're not stupid," Downpour replied indignantly before sitting down next to his brother once again. "So, where should we go for information?"

"Downpour, shut up for one Celestia damned second and let the man speak!" Draft barked at him. The younger pegasus jabbed him in the side with a wing as he spoke, causing Downpour to wince.

"Thank you very much, Draft. Now, Chestnut, please continue if you would," Spark said with a wave of his hoof.

The mule chuckled for a moment before replying, "I suppose the best place to find out would be the Crystal Palace, but that is at least a two week journey. It might even take longer if you run into trouble. If I were you, I would head to Canterlot first to meet with my good friend Silver Blood. He has connections all over the government, so if anypony knows what is really going on, it would be him. I'll just have to let that old stallion know that I'm sending you three to meet him."

"If we ask Discipula Star for help she would probably be nice enough to deliver a letter for us," Draft said. Plus it would give you a chance to see her Draft, Spark thought, though he didn't really think that she was the younger brother's type.

"That has got to be the best idea you've had all day, little brother," Downpour smiled.

"Alright, so we have a plan now, thank Celestia. I was really getting worried that we were going nowhere fast. It's what, seven o' clock or so? If we want to get anything else done today then we had better get a move on," Spark stated. He stood up from the small table and turned to the mule, who was just finishing the letter for them to give to Star. "I can't thank you enough for all of your help Chestnut. It really means so much to all of us." Chestnut just waved a hoof dismissively.

"It's no trouble. Really Spark, come bother me anytime you have questions about anything. I know I don't pay you nearly enough each month for all of the amazing herbs you bring me," the mule replied.

"See you later, old mule," Downpour replied. He nodded to Chestnut before walking out the front door and taking off into the darkening sky.

"Goodbye," Draft said as he walked out.

"Goodbye, Backdraft, and sorry again for earlier. I've heard that there has been a slew of robberies lately and an old mule like me can never be too careful," Chestnut explained.

"Don't worry about it, there was no damage done," Draft assured him. With that he flew into the sky to stretch his wings with his brother. They clashed in the air and wrestled around for a moment before Draft took off with Downpour trailing after. The older Pegasus could always kick his little brother's flank in a fight, but that was only if he could catch it first.

"You take care of yourself while were gone, Chestnut. I have this gut feeling that things in Equestria are going to get much worse before they start to get better," Spark said with a grimace.

"I will Spark, as long as you promise to do the same," Chestnut replied.

"It's a deal," Spark said with a grin. The two friends embraced each other in a hug before parting ways. The unicorn stretched his legs briefly before taking off in a gallop down the road to catch up with his two, winged friends. They had found out as much as they could from this Chestnut and, after saying a few goodbyes, they would be as ready to go to Canterlot as they would ever be.

Nature Spark was nearly half way back to town before he saw hide or feather of the brothers. He had just slowed down to a relaxed trot and was lighting up a joint when he heard the familiar sound of wings flapping above him. "I swear that you two have a sixth sense for knowing when I'm getting high," Spark called out, not even bothering to turn in their direction as they approached.

"Wow, you were certainly in a hurry weren't you?" Draft said as he landed on the ground next to the unicorn, followed a minute later by his much slower brother.

"You know, if you were better at magic, you could just teleport yourself to town from here," the older pegasus observed. Downpour knew how much that would bother his friend, because Spark had never been able to get more than a few feet when teleporting. It was a skill that his wandering mind just couldn't seem to grasp well.

"Ha ha ha," Spark replied humorlessly. He gave his friend a flat stare. "Well at least I can roll a joint that burns evenly unlike you, butter hooves."

"I bet that Star could help you learn how to teleport further," Draft cut in with a smile, "she's got to be one of the best unicorns to ever use magic, or so I've heard."

"Easy there, lover boy, we already have something to do that's a little more important than teaching me how to teleport better," Spark laughed.

"Maybe he's right, Spark. I mean, wouldn't it be cool if you could teleport us all to Canterlot instead of having to walk for a week?" Downpour asked.

"I hate to tear down the walls of your fantasy world there, but I'm afraid even Draft's marefriend couldn't teleport herself from here to Canterlot, let alone two other people. I'm afraid I'm just going to have to hoof it, and if you two still want to come then you'll have to as well," Spark replied.

"There is no way that I'm about to miss a road trip to Canterlot with you two… and she's not my marefriend," Draft huffed in defiance.

"You should ask her out before we go. You know you like her and what if we never came back?" Spark joked, knowing that his friend wasn't actually interested in Star as a potential marefriend.

"I don't like her like that… and why wouldn't we come back? It's not like Canterlot is unsafe or anything," Draft objected.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, little brother. You heard Chestnut, the Crystal Kingdom is on edge and we're the ones who are going to pay if somepony doesn't do something very soon," Downpour replied. The three stallions grew quite after that as they each got lost in their own thoughts.

They arrived near the path to Spark's house at dusk and decided it would be best to save their goodbyes for the next day. They would go home to pack up what they needed and then get some sleep. In the morning they would have plenty of time to say farewell to friends and family before talking to Discipula Star.

"You guys make sure to meet me at my mother's house before noon and we'll leave from there. Any questions?" Spark asked the brothers.

"Sir, no sir!" the pegasus replied in unison with mock salutes, causing them to giggle hopelessly at each other as Spark rolled his eyes. Then the two pegasus flew off into the night, towards their house where they would get their supplies ready.

After Spark was done packing everything he thought they would need, the herbalist set about making sure each of his plants would be fine while he was gone. He made sure to pick the ones that were ready, so that they would dry out instead of going bad in his absence. He also had to wrap up a few of his already dried herbs to take into town the next day. With those tasks taken care of and the rest of his house in order, Spark crawled into bed to get some sleep.

He thought about his visit with Chestnut for a while, as well as what he was going to tell his mother when he saw her. She would worry about him the whole time he was gone of course, but at least he wouldn't be alone for the trip. Sugar was going to miss him too, the poor little colt. He needed to remember to bring him back a gift of some sort for. Maybe a pet so that he would always have a play mate when Spark was gone. With that thought in his head, Spark closed his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	4. One Eye on the Future

~Chapter 3: One Eye on the Future~

Nature Spark had awoken before dawn and gone outside to have his morning tea and a smoke. The golden sun was just beginning to rise over the tree tops, painting the sky with its breath taking palette of luxurious colors. Times like this were when the unicorn liked to take a moment to thank Celestia for her amazing gift to ponykind. He found his thoughts turning to Luna soon after and wondered if he was the only pony who took her sweet nights for granted. They were so peaceful and mysterious, yet he often chose to ignore them. Spark made a mental note to personally thank her if ever he got the chance. When the birds began their usual morning call he decided it was time to grab his saddle bags and set off for Dodge.

The sky was clear and blue, with a cool breeze blowing through the leaves to compliment the fair weather. Spark was enjoying the sound of birdsong and getting lost in his thoughts as he traveled down the dirt road. Every day that went by Equestria was getting closer to war and he wanted to do his part to stop it. What exactly that meant, he wasn't too sure of yet, but with any luck, Silver Blood would be able to answer that question for him. Though his skills in mystical plants didn't really seem like they would be much use in political circles, Spark couldn't help but thinking that maybe a little herbal medicine would ease everypony's tensions during negotiations.

"Brilliant, I'll just get everypony so high that they'll forget about the whole war," Spark said aloud, chuckling at his own wit.

"Still talking to yourself, Spark?" Draft asked. The familiar grey pegasus had snuck up on him while he was lost in thought. Smirking, Draft gave the unicorn a playful shove with his wing as he trotted up beside him.

"Oh joy, it's the younger feather brain come to ruin my day bright and early," Spark commented dryly. The brown stallion rolled his eyes at his winged friend. "Where is the shorter one of you? For that matter, why are you even here right now? I thought we were going to meet at my mom's house this afternoon?" Spark asked.

"Well, Downpour wanted to go see Mint Drop. Something about trying to get lucky before we leave for the next couple weeks, and although his offer to 'tag team her' was enticing," Draft's sarcasm was thick enough to cut with a knife as he spoke, "I'd rather stick my head in a dragon's mouth if it's all the same to you."

"How chivalrous of you," Spark laughed.

"I have my moments, so what's first on your agenda for today?" Draft asked. The Pegasus decided to hover next to his wingless friend instead of walking. It forced Nature Spark to have to look up at somepony for once, instead of looking down, as was usual for the tall unicorn.

"I was going to walk door to door and deliver all of the herbs that my customers will need for the next few weeks, that way I won't have to be in such a hurry to get back here. Now that I have a little helper with wings though, I think I'll let you handle that while I go and visit with Heart Charm," Spark explained with a grin.

"Let me guess, I'm supposed to do this for free, aren't I?" Draft huffed. Spark nodded and pulled a couple packages out of his saddle bag, his horn's green glow reflecting off the Pegasus's grey eyes. He shoved them into his friend's saddle bags and nodded his head.

"Yup, you should know where to take each of them and the names are written on the packages, so even you can't mix them up," Spark told him.

"Whatever you say, boss," the pegasus replied. With that last snarky remark out of the way, Backdraft took of with his usual speed, leaving Spark to stand there hacking up dust and cursing under his breath.

Spark arrived at Charm's house without any problems, but as he was standing in front of the front door of her house, he began to get nervous. He had planned on walking in and telling her exactly how he felt about her; that back in school he had always admired her drive to succeed, as well as her kind ways. In reality, almost nothing he had ever done to try to impress a mare had gone smoothly. In fact, the last time he went to confess his feelings to a mare, he wound up telling her about the effects of magical potions on the brain of a young pony. He had slept alone that night.

Just as Spark was raising his hoof to knock on the door, it unexpectedly opened mid swing. His hoof met with the pink mare's head and she fell backwards onto her perfectly shaped flank with a startled yelp.

"Sweet Celestia, I am so sorry, Charm. I swear to Luna that I didn't mean to do that. Here, let me help you up," Spark babbled. His horn glowed green for a moment as his magic lifted the mare to her hooves. She still looked stunned and for a few seconds and Spark was afraid that he had hit her much harder than he realized. "Are you okay? Please be okay."

"Spark? I- I'm fine, just a little bit stunned to have, um, gotten bumped into by you," Charm replied slowly. The mare's face flushed that bright pink color that made Spark's knees weak and his hooves shake. "Please, won't you come in and join me for some tea?"

"I would like nothing more than to join you for some tea and sorry again for hitting you in the head. I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing," Spark apologized as he followed the earth pony into her humble home. Charm led him to a dining area in the back of her house and then she set about preparing a kettle of tea for the both of them. Spark had to admire the nimble ease with which she completed the task. What would have taken forever for him to complete without using magic, she managed just as if she was working a spell of her own. Earth ponies were an enigma that he would probably never understand.

"What are you doing today, Spark? Did you come over to find out more about what is happening in the government?" the pink mare asked as she continued to move about the kitchen. Charm blew softly on her cup of tea before taking a small sip. "I'm afraid I haven't heard anything relevant about it," she added, taking a seat near Spark.

"No. I came here to, um, to ask you. No wait. To, uh, tell you something," Spark sputtered. His heart rate was starting to rise again and it felt like it was beating loud enough that she would be able to hear it. The nervous stallion could feel beads of sweat on his forehead and the shaking of his hooves as he tried to talk.

"Are you okay? You seem to be sweating an awful lot," Charm said with a look of concern that made Spark blush a little.

"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine, it's just, Charm, do you remember back in school how you used to work so hard? You had good grades, ran two different clubs and played the harp," Spark replied. He wiped away the sweat from his forehead and practically shouted, "I, well, you see, IjustwanttoletyouknowthatIlikeyoualot!" The confession wasn't nearly as hard as hard to get out as he originally thought it would be. He took a deep breath and searched the earth pony's face to see how she would react, but she simply wore a quizzical smile.

"I'm sorry, Spark, but I couldn't make out a single word of what you just said. Could you repeat yourself a little more slowly, so that I can understand?" Charm asked. She smiled sweetly at the flustered unicorn, who facehoofed before taking in a deep breath to start over again.

"What I wanted to say is, Charm, you are the most amazing mare that I have ever had the good fortune of meeting, so before I die of a heart attack from the anticipation, I'd really like to say something. Every time I talk to you, I find my heart racing and my brain shutting down." By now Spark's gaze was locked firmly with his front hooves and he failed to see that the pink mare had started walking around the table to him. "I was hoping that you felt the same way. I know I'm not the best stallion arou-" His thoughts were obliterated as her lips fused with his in a passionate kiss. When she finally pulled away, he was dizzy and felt faintly as if he were floating off the floor.

"Yes, Spark. I do feel the same way about you. I have for a while, but whenever I thought about telling you I just couldn't get it out," Charm confessed. "You are so kind to everypony around you and I know how much you care about making people happy. Even though I may not fully agree with your methods, I still think that you are the greatest stallion I know." With that she gave him another quick kiss and he became so light headed that he was actually surprised he didn't pass out right then and there.

"I…" Spark croaked. For one of the few times in his life, the intelligent stallion couldn't even come up with something stupid to say, let alone something that would accurately convey how he was feeling at that moment. He settled for flashing an absurd grin and pulling Charm against himself in a relieved embrace.

They spent the next couple of hours talking about how they felt, intermingled with quick breaks to kiss each other passionately, until they were out of breath. Spark and Charm talked about family, friends, work and what the future might hold for them. Yes, they were probably getting ahead of themselves, but it was all just a part of young love. The feelings were intense, illogical and wonderful all at once. Too quickly however, or so it seemed to Spark, it was getting close to noon and the time for him to meet up with his friends.

"I have to go now, but I promise that I will be back before you know it," the unicorn explained to his new marefriend. He gave her another kiss before stepping out the door. The sun seemed to be shinning brighter that it ever had and the air smelled even sweeter then he remembered.

"I want you to be extra careful, Spark. I'm already going to be worried about you the whole time your gone, so promise me you'll avoid dangerous situations," Charm pleaded with him. Her maroon eyes were large and hypnotic for the unicorn and he would have promised her the world if she asked him. For Charm, he might even come close to delivering it too, Spark thought.

"I swear that I will come back to you in one piece besides, I have Downpour and Draft watching my back," Spark replied with a smile. He blew her another kiss and then disappeared down the road. Charm stood on her porch until the last of her new stallionfriend was out of sight. As soon as he was sure that he was out of Charm's vision, Spark got up on his back hooves and started to do the most awkward victory dance anypony had ever seen. It consisted of a goofy smile and plenty of strange hoof movements.

"I got a marefriend, she really likes me. I got a marefriend and she really likes me," Spark chanted in a singsong voice. He was enjoying his own bad melody until he heard somepony clear their throat in front of him. Spark opened his eyes to see Downpour looking at him like his mane was on fire. The cheery unicorn didn't care though, he was so high on good feelings that even Downpour couldn't bring him down.

"You have got to be one of the lamest ponies I've ever seen. What are you dancing around for anyway?" Downpour sighed. Both of the stallions began to head in the direction of Spark's mother's house, figuring that Draft would most likely be doing the same.

"Not even you can bring me down, my friend, because you are looking at the stallion who is going out with the beautiful, Heart Charm!" Spark bragged.

"Funny. Really though, what's got you in such high spirits?" Downpour asked again. The pegasus hadn't believed his friend, knowing how terribly Spark composed himself around pretty mares.

"Oh, I'm not even bucking with you. I told her how I felt and well, I got a marefriend and she really likes me!" Spark began singing at the top of his lungs, all while prancing around the muddy street. Downpour couldn't help but stop where he was and laugh at the display.

"I can't even imagine what she sees in you," Downpour chuckled. Shaking his head, the pegasus resumed flying beside his wingless friend.

"What about you? Your brother told me about your plans to visit Mint Drop. Did you two make friendly or what?" Spark asked his brash friend.

"Actually, I messed up with Minty and that's all you need to know," Downpour retorted. He looked rather grumpy, which for some reason just made the love struck unicorn smile all the brighter. The bounce in Spark's step lasted all the way to his mother's house, where Draft was already waiting for them by the white, wooden gate.

"It certainly took you both long enough, I've been waiting here for like twenty minutes already," Draft complained as he watched them approach the well manicured yard. "You could have told me that you were going to take half of the day."

"Well, why the hay didn't you just go inside, stupid?" Downpour asked as he walked up and bumped his younger brother out of the way, so that he could reach the front door first. It was pretty common for the two brothers to argue with one another, but sometimes Spark could do without the whining.

"Yeah, my mom already told you that you were always welcome in her house," Spark explained for the tenth or eleventh time. He had lost track pretty quickly.

"I know. I just don't feel comfortable walking into her house without you," Draft admitted. He followed Spark and his older brother as they walked into the house. Scarlet was sitting in the living room with a book on her lap, looking a bit tired, but no worse than the last time Downpour and Draft had stopped by to visit. Sugar was sleeping on the couch next to his mother, soft snores rising up from his gaping muzzle..

"Hello, you three, and how are you doing today?" Scarlet asked, glancing up from her place in a thick, dusty book.

"We are doing better than ever, Scarlet," Downpour replied with his usual playful cockiness. "There is such nice weather and your son got a new marefriend." Draft looked over at them both quizzically, having missed out on learning this information earlier.

"Good to hear. To be honest I was starting to think that he liked stallions with all the time he spends around you two," Scarlet joked. She gave a sly smile at the group of friends and her son facehoofed. The two pegasus couldn't help but laugh at the older mare's remark. Spark certainly wasn't gay, but that didn't stop his friends from getting a few chuckles at his mother's jest.

"I think we all just got put in our place," Downpour chuckled.

"Yup," Spark had to agree, his mother had a quick wit and could really hurt somepony's feeling when she had a mind to. The unicorn spent a little while catching the other two ponies up on his meeting with Charm, making sure to leave out the awkward moments which made the story fairly quick to tell. His mother got them a couple of daisy sandwiches and some ciders for lunch, choosing a salad for herself instead. It was only after they had finished eating that Spark began to tell her what they were planning on doing. She didn't seem all that thrilled, but she had long ago stopped trying to prevent her son from following after his crazy hunches. It made it easier for both of them to coexist.

"I'm not sure exactly what you think you can do to help, Spark, but I'll give you some bits for the road and I'm pretty sure that I have something else that might help," Scarlet said. She floated a small bag of bits over to Spark and he put them in his saddle bag, then she brought out a silver unicorn dagger from her room and dropped it in her son's waiting hooves.

The slender object was razor sharp at the tip and was crafted to look like three vines entwined around each other. It felt fairly heavy for it's small size and left a faint feeling of magic tingling in the unicorn's was also a small emerald inset in the front of it and words etched on the back. Before Spark had a chance to read the inscription his mother spoke.

"It says 'May my spark light Celestia's fire in the darkness' and it was your father's from when he was in Celestia's personal guard," Scarlet explained. Spark was as surprised by this revelation as his two friends.

"I thought that dad was just an advisor, why didn't you ever tell me?" Spark asked his mother, torn between confusion and irritation at being lied to for so long. Spark's mother looked away briefly, taking a slow breath before she answered him.

"Your father never wanted you kids to know that he was a soldier and yes, after he stopped fighting, he did act as an advisor to Celestia herself. Even though he was very good at what he did, he never wanted that kind of life for you. If you're going to be in Canterlot though, you would have found out about all of this sooner or later anyway," she replied sadly.

Spark twisted the dagger onto his horn until it fastened down. All of the unicorns in the royal guard had worn daggers like this, while the Pegasus got swords that attached to the front of each wing and earth ponies wore spiked shoes on their hooves. With full armor on as well, it made the royal guard quite imposing to behold. Spark's father had apparently been a part of that elite group of soldiers, but the thought seemed a bit surreal to the unicorn. His only memories of his father, Oaken Field, were all very normal and strangely peaceful, not what one would expect of a soldier.

"How does it look?" Spark asked as he stood up and shook his head back and forth, whipping his mane around and cutting the air with the shining blade.

"It's pretty awesome, to be perfectly honest, just watch where you're swinging that thing. If you poke one of my eyes out I'm going to be a very unhappy pony," Downpour replied, taking a step back just as the blade flashed to close for his comfort.

"… Jealous," Draft squeaked. That single word was all that the younger pegasus had managed to get out. He had always admired well crafted weapons and often thought about joining the military just so he could get some of his own and now Spark, his best friend, had a genuine royal guard dagger.

"Be very careful with that sweetie," Scarlet told him. "Most guard's daggers have an enchantment on them so that they never go dull. I just want you to be able to protect yourself and your friends. If you're feelings prove to be true, your journey might become unsafe. Besides, I can't have you dying before I get a grandfoal." She smiled at her son's uncomfortable expression and he laughed nervously.

"Well mom, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. Charm and I only had our first kiss earlier today after all," Spark replied. He shifted uncomfortably on his hooves and then took off the dagger with his magic, placing it gently in its case and into his bags.

"I know, I know, but I'm not getting any younger and I don't expect your sister to ever bring me home a grandfoal," Scarlet explained. Spark's sister had caused his mother quite a bit of disappointment as well. Scarlet walked over to her son and gave him a hug which he returned before turning to his sleeping brother.

"Sugar. Hey Sugar, it's your brother. I'm going to be gone for a while, so I just wanted to say goodbye before I left," Spark whispered into the colt's ear. He gently nudged Sugar Leaf, who opened one sleepy eye and yawned.

"Spark?" Sugar mumbled. He yawned once more and sat up part of the way while his brother wrapped him up in a hug.

"I'll see you real soon buddy, take care of mom for me while I'm gone, okay?" Spark asked as he squeezed his little brother tightly. The young colt was already sleeping again by the time Spark was finished talking. He gave his little brother a kiss on the forehead and grabbed his saddlebags before turning back to where everypony else was sitting. It was about time for them to get going.

"Aww, you're such a good big brother," Draft said to him in a voice usually reserved for talking to foals.

"Yeah, I'm the best brother ever," Spark chuckled.

The three young stallions said their last goodbyes, each of the boys receiving a quick kiss from Scarlet before she would let them leave. After that business was completed, they took off down the road to go see Discipula Star about sending Chestnut's letter to Canterlot for them. Spark couldn't help but let his thoughts turn to Charm. Sweet Celestia, he still could hardly believe that she had said yes; talk about a confidence boost. With a spring in his step, the joyful unicorn took off running.

"I'll beat you there!" he called back to his flying friends as he bolted around the first corner. Downpour and Draft just smiled at each other and rolled their eyes in unison. It wasn't like Spark had even a slight chance of beating them in a race, after all.

Draft arrived at Star's house first, followed shortly after by his older brother. They landed in front of the gate a split second before Spark turned the last corner to her street and disappeared in a bright green flash of magical energy. He reappeared in another flash, standing just inside Star's yard with a wild grin on his face.

"That was like three blocks! I kicked some flank right there!" Spark hollered. The unicorn was about to suggest they smoke a victory joint before he realized where they were. Discipula Star was Princess Luna's favorite student and probably wouldn't take too kindly to a couple of stoners smoking on her front lawn. Spark figured that his hearbs would be best saved for a later time.

They walked up to the front door and Spark rapped on it with his hoof, making sure that it wasn't about to accidently open on him. After a minute they heard a mare's voice from inside the house and a moment later the door swung open. Standing in front of the three ponies was not a mare; it was a young dragon with red scales and coal black spikes. Spark had heard that some of the princesses' student received dragons once in awhile, but he had never actually seen one of the serpentine beings, young or old.

"Get your flank down here Star, you have visitors," the dragon shouted with the raspy voice of a mare that had been smoking for many years, but Spark just assumed that most dragons must sound like that. It made sense considering all of the fire breathing they were known to do. She led the three stallions through the house, to a room filled with strange objects behind glass cases. "You can have a seat anywhere, Star shouldn't be much longer," she explained.

The pegasus both took a seat, but Spark contented himself with walking around and checking out some of the mysterious artifacts. There were many odd looking pieces of pottery and jewelry, the likes of which he had never seen. One particularly caught his interest. It was a pendant about the size of his hoof with a ruby cut in the shape of a candle flame resting in the midst of it. Spark pushed his glasses up his nose and read the name plate aloud as he gazed at the relic.

"It's wonderful isn't it?" a mare's voice asked from behind him. He spun around to find that Star had walked into the room while he wasn't paying attention. She wore a wistful smile as she looked at the jewelry.

"I suppose it is. What's so special about it that it deserves to be in a locked case though?" Spark asked, mildly intrigued by the strange object. The black unicorn walked around him to admire her trinket more closely as she spoke.

"It's called the Wyrm Stone. It allows whoever wears it to breathe fire like a dragon. It is the only one in existence and was crafted for Princess Platinum at her father's request, or so the legend goes," Star answered. "After her death it was stolen from her final resting place, being traded from pony to pony, until it eventually made its way to me." She gave Spark a smile and then walked back over to the two pegasus sitting in the corner of the room. Without the least bit of strain, Star used her magic to wrap three more chairs in a white glow and teleported them next to her at the table. "Please, have a seat. Now, what can I do for you three today?" Spark sat down and looked over to the third chair, where the dragon was climbing up."

"Uh, well, I'm Nature Spark and this is Downpour and Backdraft," Spark explained with an awkward smile. He gestured toward each of his friends in turn.

"I am Discipula Star and this is Inferno," the small mare replied. She smiled at each of them while the dragon huffed in annoyance.

"Okay, so what do three stallions want with my mare?" Inferno asked, her yellow eyes flashing with mild irritation. "I can't imagine any of you came to enjoy the exhibit."

"Inferno, there is no need to be rude to our guests," Star lectured, glancing back to Spark as she waited for his answer.

"We were hoping that you might be able to help us. Draft said that you might be willing to deliver a letter to Canterlot for us," Spark told her. He looked hopefully at the young mare who was shaking her head.

"I can't, but Inferno could help you out. Would you mind terribly sending a letter to Luna for them?" she asked the dragon.

"Well actually, we need it to go to someone named Silver Blood," Downpour cut in before something could go wrong.

"Then you will have to write that down at the top of the letter, because Inferno's magic is tied directly to the princess for some reason," Star explained.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I follow. How exactly is she going to use magic to deliver our letter?" Spark questioned. The brown unicorn looked dubiously at the scaly creature nearby, then he pulled out the letter that Chestnut had written, adding 'To: Silver Blood' across the top in his own relaxed script.

"Just watch everypony," Inferno said with a sly smirk. Suddenly, the small dragon snatched the letter from Spark's grip and spat a black flame at it, burning it up and sending the smoky fumes drifting out an open window.

"What the hay was that for? If you didn't want to help all you had to do was say as much. There was no need to go all dragon on the letter," Spark raged furiously. They had just wasted most of a day by going to Star's house and now had nothing to show for their effort. It infuriated the brown stallion.

"Just give it a minute," Star urged. She was sitting at the table, still smiling, which only served to make Spark even more pissed off. Suddenly the dragon opened her mouth and poured out another black flame, this one forming a similar letter before dissipating. The three stallions stood with their mouths hanging open, each sporting a dumbfounded expression. Neither one was quite sure what had just occurred.

"Pretty spectacular, is it not?" Star giggled.

"What the hay just happened?" Draft asked as he snatched the letter out of the air in front of his face.

"Yeah, I'm just as confused as my brother on this one. Is that our letter, and if so, what was the point of that trick?" Downpour questioned.

"It's not our letter, Downpour. This is a letter from Princess Luna herself. It says that she would be more than happy to deliver our letter to Silver Blood for us," Draft mumbled as he read the scroll.

"How is that even possible? Are we supposed to believe that our letter was sent to the princess through dragon mail? That doesn't even make sense," Spark argued. His brain was beginning to hurt trying to fathom the perplexities of the situation it had been presented with just a moment before. Even for a unicorn, magic could be endlessly confusing sometimes.

"Well, it is a very long story, suffice it to say that there was a magical treaty formed between the Dragon Lord and the Queen of the Alicorns a very long time ago," Star hastily replied.

"Wait a bucking minute there, missy, and let me see if I heard you right. You said the Queen of the Alicorns. Are you trying to tell me that Celestia and Luna have parents?" Downpour asked her in complete disbelief. The stocky pegasus had a look on his face that must have been shock mixed with confusion and Celestia knew what else.

"Well yes, most people assume that the princesses created the world, but I'm afraid that it is quite a bit more complicated than that. I wish we had more time to talk about it, but I'm dreadfully busy right now and I've wasted far too much time as it is. I need to prepare for my trip to Manehatten and I'm falling behind schedule," Star said as she got to her hooves. She started to show them out the door, but Spark was forming a plan as he walked. The two pegasus were still trying to process the strange mare's story and walked right out without another word, but Spark got a brilliant idea and stopped in the doorway.

"Star, you said that you were going to Manehatten right? Well why don't you pack your stuff and head out with us. It will give you time to teach us ignorant common pony some much needed history. You can visit with Luna at Canterlot while we are meeting with Silver Blood and from there we will escort you to your destination," Spark suggested. The stallion smiled at his own reasoning. It seemed like the perfect plan.

"Um, I suppose that's a good idea. You'll have to wait just a few minutes while I finish packing, but I can't think of a reason not to travel with you three," Star admitted. "I would like to see the princess before I go anyway; there is a strange artifact I found that she might want to see. Okay, I'll agree to travel with you for the time being."

"Are you sure about this Star? I don't know if we should trust these three strange stallions. I don't want you getting in over your head," Inferno asked, looking up at the mare with a stern gaze as she waited for her answer.

"I went to the same school with Draft for a year and almost everyone in town has heard of Spark and his, uh 'medicine'," Star replied.

"It's settled then. You two run inside and pack your things while I inform the others. I'd like to get a move on before it gets late," Spark told her.

The mare and her dragon turned and walked back inside the odd house while Spark went to have a talk with his friends, who were waiting just off Star's property. They spent the next twenty minutes figuring out a more concrete plan of action. Initially Downpour wasn't happy bringing a mare and young dragon with them, but before long he gave in and accepted Spark's logic. It was always nice to have more company when traveling such a far distance anyway.

"Okay, we're ready to leave now. Is there anything else you three need to do before we set out?" Inferno asked. Star had her saddle bags packed full of all sorts of things, but Inferno only carried a lone book with her. Spark realized that Charm would want to know the new plan and mentally kicked himself for not thinking about her before asking a mare to travel with him. Hopefully she would understand why he had arranged the deal. It wasn't as if Charm had a reason to be jealous.

"Yes, there is one place that I need to go," Spark replied. "Can you two escort these ladies to my house? I won't be more than a half hour behind you and we will leave from there." Spark waited for the nods of agreement from his friends before taking off at a gallop towards his marefriend's home. He really needed to talk to her about his plans for the next few weeks, but if they also happened to get caught up in a little bit of harmless fun while he was there, so be it.

Spark ran all the way to Charm's house and burst through her front door, out of breath and dripping sweat as he stumbled inside. His lungs and legs burned with fire, but he'd made it across town fairly quickly, so it was worth it. Charm jumped up out of her chair, startled until she realized who it was that had barged in. When she saw the unicorn's flushed face, the pink mare smiled and got up from her comfortable seat.

"What are you doing, Spark? I thought you were leaving for Canterlot today," Charm grinned up at him. She walked over and wrapped her panting stallionfriend in a sticky embrace while he caught his breath. When he could finally talk, Spark began to explain the change of plans, as well as he could manage to while trying to kiss the mare wrapped up in his forelegs.

Charm accepted the situation much easier than he had imagined and they were soon kissing each other passionately, without the need for flustered words. They started in the living room, exchanging tender touches and caresses, but had soon found their way into Charm's bedroom. When Spark finally walked out the front door of her house, he was a half hour later than he had planned on being and even more out of breath.

"Sweet Celestia, I love that mare!" Spark exclaimed with a satisfied sigh. He was barely a block down the road before he started running again. The entire trip through town was spent in a dazed gallop, but it was still nearly dark before he made it in the house. The winded stallion walked in to see three agitated faces staring back at him from his ragged, old couch. The fourth face belonged to Downpour, who was smiling a big goofy grin at him, for some strange reason.

"Did you have fun there buddy?" Downpour asked with a stupid grin. Spark just started laughing and apologizing to everypony for the long delay.

"Let's just get some sleep here, and we'll leave bright and early tomorrow morning. I'm really tired anyway," Spark said with a drawn out yawn.

"I'll bet you are. I'll bet you are," Downpour mumbled as he grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and went to the spare room, where he would be bunking with his younger brother for the evening. Spark let Star and Inferno take his room and decided to take the couch for himself. When everypony else had gone to bed, he did a quick victory dance to celebrate his coupling with Charm and then flopped down to the couch with a smile on his face. That night Spark's dreams were full of Charm; the smell of her mane, the softness of her skin and the warmth of her body made for the best dreams of his life. Spark got plenty of rest that night.


	5. Lessons Learned

~Chapter 4: Lessons Learned~

"Rise and shine, everypony!" Downpour's voice rang out through the small house as one by one the ponies and dragon were awakened from their sleep. They had soon gathered in the living room to go over their supplies one more time and plan the route they would be taking to Canterlot. Spark's normal routine had been thrown off and as a consequence the unicorn was still feeling a bit groggy. Eventually they got everything figured out however, and Spark went about the task of preparing some breakfast with a helpful dose Star's magical assistance.

"Thanks for your help, Star, this will go much faster with your skilled spells doing most of the work," Spark commented as he piled food onto plates and floated them out to each of his guests. They were all gathered around his small dining room table, which didn't leave much in the way of space, but the four ponies and dragon did their best to make it work.

"Oh it's really no trouble at all, besides I wouldn't want to be dead weight," Star replied. She smiled and soon brought the last of the food to the dining table, where Downpour was in a heated debate with Inferno about proper table etiquette.

"It's just rude to burp at the table you brute," Inferno scolded the pegasus. The little dragon emphasized her point by jabbing her eating utensil in the pony's face.

"Maybe up in Canterlot, missy, but this here is Dodge and letting out a burp is just how I show my satisfaction," Downpour taunted. He followed the statement with an even longer belch causing his younger brother to laugh until he choked on his food. Spark rolled his eyes as he took his seat and began picking at the hot plate of food.

"Why aren't you eating, Spark? Did I burn the food?" Star asked, her large, violet eyes staring at him with a worried expression.

"No, it's not that," Spark answered nervously. "I just don't usually eat breakfast when I'm not high." He smiled sheepishly and forced himself to take a few bites. The food actually tasted really delicious, far better than what he usually made in the mornings. It was all cooked just the right amount and lightly seasoned. Spark could make a decent meal, but nothing like the black mare had prepared.

"You don't have to abstain on our account. This is your home after all," Star told him with a half smile.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to make either of you uncomfortable," Spark replied, glancing between his two newest friends. Inferno just shrugged her shoulders at him and Star nodded her head.

"You heard the lady, Spark. Let's get this journey started off right," the older pegasus chimed in. Leave it to Downpour to jump on the opportunity to smoke.

"I'm with my brother on this one," Draft heartily agreed. "Let's light up a fat joint before we leave." With everypony in agreement, Spark decided it couldn't hurt to smoke a little bit before they started the long walk ahead of them. A little bit of magic later and the three stallions were happily puffing on some sweet smelling herb. Smiles graced the three stallion's faces almost instantaneously.

"Ah, much better," Spark exhaled with a puff of thick white smoke.

The group had finished breakfast and taken care of last minute business before setting off north, for the capitol city of Equestria, Canterlot. They decided to save Star's history lesson for when they made camp later that night, but the ponies found plenty of other things to talk about in the meantime. Spark spoke about some of the magical herbs he had experimented with, which Star found very endlessly fascinating, having never been much for experimenting with that sort of magic herself.

"So you said that certain mushrooms can help you use magic to slow down time?" Star asked with wonder. "That's amazing! How come all unicorns don't use that?" She was practically bubbling over with an enthusiasm that Spark new all too well.

"Unless you're used to the effects of strong mystical drugs affecting your magic it can get very overwhelming," Spark elaborated. "You see, every benefit comes with its own drawbacks. The mushrooms can overload your visual senses and generally causes severe headaches after the effects have worn off."

"That's incredible. I would love to see it in action sometime," Star replied. The mare was hanging off of his every word. She really was a very good student and Spark could see why Princess Luna valued her as much as she did. She soaked up every stupid detail that Spark cared to spout as they walked along the damp road.

"Knowing Spark here, you'll most likely get the chance before this whole trip is over with," Downpour interrupted. He was flying backwards, just so that he could interject on the conversation. He never saw the branch that his head smacked into a few seconds later. "Ow!" Downpour shouted as the branch cracked across his skull. He lost his balance and fell to the ground with a large knot already forming an the top of his head. From that point on the cocky stallion decided to keep his eyes forward while he flew down the trail.

"We should stop in and see Old Mule Chestnut, since we're going to be walking past his place anyway," Draft announced. Spark was mildly surprised to hear the younger pegasus suggest the idea, after what had happened the last time they were at the mule's house. "He may have a few good tips on the best ways to avoid danger while on our trip to the city."

"That's a good idea," Spark replied. "I'm sure he'd like to see us all before we head out for a couple weeks anyway." Inferno glanced over at the grey pegasus with a quizzical expression on her scaly, red face.

"Who's Old Mule Chestnut?" she asked.

"He's one of Spark's friends. I think he's known Spark since around the time that burnout got his cutie mark," Draft chuckled. "Chestnut a bit, uh, eccentric would probably be the best word to use."

"Don't bother sugar coating it for the little dragon, Draft," his older brother piped in. "He's a crazy old ass, plain and simple." Downpour smiled at as he spoke. "I still remember the first time I met him. We took turns shutting ourselves in a cider cask and filling it with some smoke. I got so high that I thought there were rainbows falling out of the sky. It was an intense experience."

"He's not that bad…" Spark contradicted. The unicorn started to defend the old mule and then thought better of it. "Okay, he's exactly that bad, but he's also a good friend and valuable confidant." Spark couldn't even count the number of times he had poured his heart out to Chestnut. He'd even told the mule how much he blamed the government for his father's death, even though he new that his father had chosen that path for himself. With what he had just learned though, Spark felt stupid for having ever held a grudge in the first place.

"He sounds interesting and I can't wait to meet him," Stars replied, but her voice betrayed the confident expression she wore.

"As long as you're with us, it will be just fine," the younger pegasus told her. Leave it to Draft to be the one to reassure the frightened mare, Spark thought. Unlike his older brother, Draft had a way of calming people down when he needed to. It was probably his tranquil demeanor and easygoing presence, a couple of skills which Spark would have liked to have for him, instead of his stern features and semi-awkwardness.

The sun hung bright and beautiful in a nearly cloudless sky as the five companions walked through the forest trails and enjoyed the autumn air. It was probably the last of the pleasant weather that they would be receiving before winter came and Spark, at least, was going to get his fill as he through his head back and let the gentle breeze rustle his shaggy mane. The rest of the trip seemed to go by quickly and before long Spark was knocking on the front door of the mule's house and waiting for his friend to answer.

"Hey Chestnut, it's me, Spark, and I've brought some friends," the stallion announced. He waited patiently on the porch for a moment before the door finally opened. Spark took two steps inside the rustic house and immediately noticed something was wrong. Most of the furniture had been over turned and all of Chestnut's belongings were in disarray, as if there had been a struggle of some sort. "Everypony, get in here now!" Spark shouted back to his companions. The other ponies ran through the front door a moment later, to see what was going on. Before anypony even had a chance to look around, a figure jumped out of the shadows and bucked Spark in his side, sending the lanky unicorn sailing to the dusty floorboards.

Downpour wasted no time charging forward and ramming into the mysterious earth pony with his full weight. The intruder may have had the jump on Spark, but he was no match for the force of a stocky Pegasus crashing into him from above. The earth pony went flying back, landing on the end table which splintered under the impact. Draft followed up his older brother's attack by flying straight down and ramming all four of his hooves into the pony's back leg, breaking it with a sickening crunch.

"Where the hay is Chestnut!" he screamed at the now terrified pony squirming beneath him. "Don't make me break your other leg!" The intruder's brown eyes grew wide at that threat and he opened his mouth to speak, but was in too much shock to do more than let out a croak.

"Draft, you'd better calm down before you kill the pony," Spark huffed. He had gotten to his feet and was walking toward his friend, wincing in pain with each step. "We can't question a dead pony, after all. Let him up so that I can talk to him." Draft stepped away and Spark sat down next to the earth pony stallion and took on the most menacing tone he could muster, which was pretty menacing when accompanied with the glares from his friends. "The mule who lives here is a very dear friend of mine so, if you have any hope of living, you will tell me exactly what is going on." He emphasized his point by pushing down on the earth pony's broken leg. This elicited a pained filled cry from the wounded stallion's throat.

"Please, I'll tell you everything I know as long as you promise to let me live," the intruder pleaded. "I have a family for Celestia's sake."

There was no way Spark or his friends could have ever killed the pathetic looking grey, earth pony, but he couldn't show any sign of weakness or it would break the façade that he now wore. Something terrible had happened to Chestnut, from the looks of his house and Spark wanted to find out what.

"If I decide that you're telling the truth, then you have my word that you will limp out of here without further harm," Spark told him flatly. The stallion seemed to accept his answer and started to explain the situation to him.

"I was hired by some griffons to come here and retrieve something from the old mule; a letter that was delivered to him late last night from Canterlot," the earth pony babbled in fear. "I don't know who the griffon was, but he paid well and I need the money to feed my wife and kids." In the process of telling his story the stallion had pissed himself and Spark could smell the scent of urine wafting up to him. It was disgusting and made the unicorn feel like a criminal, but his friend had been threatened and he had to find out the reason.

"Where is the mule now? Did you kill him?" Spark questioned, placing just a little more pressure on the broken leg eliciting another scream from his captive.

"No! No! When I got here he was already gone, so I started tearing the place apart trying to find the letter," the earth pony cried. "That's when you all showed up."

"Why is the letter so important?" Spark asked. He was relieved to hear that Chestnut was unhurt, but he still wanted to know why his friend was in danger to begin with and the letter was his only other clue.

"I don't know, I swear to Celestia that I don't," his captive blubbered. "Now, please let me go." The stallion started sobbing after Spark backed off a few steps.

"What are you going to do to him?" Star asked, her cute face locked in terror as she fixed her violet eyes on Spark.

"Do you know healing spells? I want you to mend his leg the best you can and then he's free to go," Spark replied. He didn't like hurting anypony and hoped that the damage that had been done wasn't too sever to fix, but that seemed to surprise Star.

"Yes, I know a couple spells that should help," she told him, a bit stunned by the unexpected change in character. The mare stepped forward and her horn began to glow with a white light and she touched it gently against the earth pony's wound.

"Good, then see to his injuries while the rest of us try to find the letter he was talking about," Spark told her as he walked away. "Chestnut probably took it with him, but just in case it's still here; Draft check the kitchen, Downpour go through what's left of the living room and I'll search his bedroom. Make sure to check everywhere." He headed towards the mule's room and the brothers began searching the rest of the house while Star and Inferno took care of the would-be criminal's broken bones.

Awhile later, Spark and his companions had scoured every nook and cranny of the old home, but had come up empty hoofed. There was no sign of a letter anywhere and also no sign of where Chestnut had gone. Spark felt hopeless as he walked over to where Star and Inferno were working on the wounded earth pony, hanging his head in defeat. "How does it look?" he asked quietly. The leg looked a bit swollen and discolored, but not nearly as bad as it could have been.

"It should be just fine in a few days, but it's going to hurt quite bit in the mean time. He lives a good distance from here and I don't know if he will be able to make it back as he is," Star replied. The mare was drained from her efforts, but she had performed admirably. Spark knew how hard it was to work healing magic that well and mentally applauded her for doing such a good job. She had shaved a couple days worth of recovery from the lucky earth pony.

"I have something in my bag that can help with that," Spark explained. He floated out a small bottle of dark green liquid and gave it to the stallion lying in front of him. "Drink this and it should alleviate enough of the pain to get you home. I'll give you an extra bottle just in case that one wears off to soon. The wounded stallion drank down the bitter fluid, choking on it momentarily as the strange taste assaulted his tongue, before finishing the bottle. Relief immediately washed over the pony's tan face.

"Why are you helping me like this?" the stallion asked in confusion. "I'm not your friend and I have done nothing to deserve mercy." Spark just smiled at the poor pony, letting go of any lingering anger before he spoke.

"It's because everypony has good in them and we all deserve a second chance to prove that to ourselves," Spark sighed in reply. He helped the stallion to his hooves with a burst of magic and watched him walk out the front door. The tan earth pony took one last look back before disappearing down the dirt road. Spark hadn't even thought to ask his name, but it wasn't important, because he knew they would remember one another, should their paths ever cross again.

The four ponies and single dragon left Chestnut's place a short while after the wounded stallion had departed and slowly, but surely, the tension faded from the five friends. It was still a nice day, despite the fact that it was getting later in the afternoon and the breeze was cooling down. Spark still intended to get as much joy out of the walk as he could, though he was a bit concerned about Chestnut's disappearance.

"Is everyday with you ponies this intense?" Inferno asked, effectively breaking the silence that had settled around them. The young, red dragon looked around with apprehension. Spark couldn't help but laugh desperately and soon all of the rest were doing the same.

"Thank Luna, no. That's the most excitement the three of us have seen in ages," Draft replied with a smile. "We aren't really the violent type. Well, my brother can be a little bit intense sometimes, but other than that we're pretty mellow." The younger pegasus took to the air to stretch his wings out with Downpour, while everypony without wings continued to walk down the road.

"It's true, I'm generally a peace loving pony unless you threaten my friends," Spark replied, wondering if that would always be the case. The way this trip was starting he was beginning to have his doubts, because he generally had no need to threaten anypony. "I just hope that Chestnut is doing okay, wherever he is." He couldn't help worrying about the old mule.

"I'm glad you didn't kill that pony, for a minute there I couldn't tell if you were serious about it or not," Star told him with evident concern.

"You don't have to worry about that," Spark assured her. "I really don't think I have it in me to kill anypony. Downpour might, if he was pushed hard enough, but I'm just not that kind of stallion." He gave the mare his most reassuring smile, the last thing he wanted to do was scare his new friends off.

"I have to admit, even though I usually don't care for stallions, you seem to be a pretty good pony, Spark," Inferno replied.

"Well thank you, Inferno. I try to do the most good I can for anypony I meet," Spark said with a grin. He noticed the young dragon giving him an odd look. "What was that look for?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering why Star can't seem to find a stallion like you. Most of the boys she brings around are total jerks," Inferno explained. She was about to continue on before she was shushed by Star, who may have been blushing a bit. Spark just shrugged and continued walking down the path.

The trees on their right were beginning to thin out and it let more of the late afternoon breeze blow through. Spark enjoyed the cool sensation on his bruised hide. In all the excitement earlier he had forgotten to have Star take a look at his wound, but figured that it would be fine until they set up camp later that day. That didn't stop him from pulling out his bag of herbs, the unicorn magic surrounding his horn also covering rolling papers in its green glow. A second later and he sparked a small joint on his horn and inhaled deeply on the end. The pain relief washed over the stallion immediately and eased the ache in his side.

"Are you planning on sharing that?" Downpour asked as he dropped out of the sky, landing next to his unicorn friend and sending up a small cloud of dust. A few seconds later and his younger brother followed suit.

"Do I really have a choice with you two leeches hanging around all the time?" Spark asked. He chuckled and passed the joint down the line. "I forgot to thank you two for saving my ass earlier. I would have been pretty bucked if you weren't with me."

"What are friends for?" Draft replied. He snatched the joint from his brother after he spoke, puffing down the last of it and snuffing the roach under his hoof. "Although, if you really want to thank us, you could roll up another one of those," he added.

"Maybe after we cross the river and find a place to make camp for the night. I was hoping to at least get in the vicinity of Rambling Rock Ridge by dark," Spark explained. He slowed his pace so that he could walk beside Star, who was in the middle of lecturing Inferno about some old book. "Ahem, sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you would still be willing to tell us more about the history of Equestria later tonight?"

"I'd be more than happy to, Spark. Knowledge is meant to be shared, after all." She looked to the west, where the sun was just beginning to dip behind the mountains, far off in the distance. "Where are we going to make camp tonight? It will be getting late soon and I can't imagine that you are planning to have us walk all night."

"Of course not. I thought we'd make camp near Rambling Rock, just a little ways north of the river over that hill," Spark told her. The thought of getting some sleep was very alluring to him. It would be a task just to stay awake for Star's lesson, but that was something he really needed to learn. Celestia and Luna's parents; that was a lesson the brothers and him hadn't learned before they dropped out of school. He felt like an ignorant foal, but also wondered why it had never been mentioned by anypony else he knew. Was everypony aware of this or was it just because of her connection to the princess that Star knew so much? Spark decided it was better to leave the thinking for later. Right then, he needed to focus on getting over the river and finding a place to camp.

Spark led everypony to the bridge with a few hours to spare before night settle in completely. The pegasus brothers had both flown ahead to find a sheltered place to set up camp while he, Star and Inferno kept walking. The wind had picked up and the small mare was shivering from the cold. Spark wasn't too surprised, she was pretty of small for her age and a bit skinny as well.

"Don't you have a coat in your saddle bags Spark asked her. "You're going to freeze your flank off walking all over Equestria like that." He noticed how full her bags were and assumed she had packed plenty of gear.

"I should have, but I had too many artifacts and books that I wanted to bring. Along with the food there just wasn't any room for gear," Star replied. She smiled awkwardly at him and Inferno simply sighed.

"I guess it's important to have your priorities straight," Spark responded. He was heavy on the sarcasm, but Star must not have noticed because she just nodded her head in agreement. Sweet Celestia, this mare is naïve, he thought. His horn lit up green and a thick robe was pulled out of his bag. At least he had been smart enough to bring an extra, which he floated over to his companion. "Here, I have another one, so you can have this. It might be a little large, but it beats the hay out of freezing to death." He draped it over the shivering, black mare and she smiled brightly at him.

"Thank you, I guess I should have thought things through a little better," Star replied as her smile softened a bit. Spark turned his attention to the little dragon walking beside her, wondering if she was getting cold.

"I'm afraid that I don't have anything that would work for a dragon, Inferno, sorry," Spark explained with a grimace. The young serpent smirked and blew out a black flame in reply.

"I'm actually just fine thank you," she explained. He should have realized that dragons weren't as susceptible to the elements as ponies were. It must be nice to be a dragon, Spark thought, they were so tough and had a longevity that was almost unbelievable, or so he had heard. Having never met another dragon the unicorn really couldn't be sure what they were actually like.

"So tell me, Inferno, how long do dragons actually live?" Spark asked. He had heard they could live for over a thousand years, but that seemed like an exaggeration.

"I think the oldest Dragon alive today is nearly fifteen hundred years old, but that's not counting the Dragon Lord. Who knows how old he is?" Inferno replied casually, leaving Spark staring back with a stunned expression.

"That's incredible!" He was surprised at the revelation. Dragons had a lifespan to rival Celestia and Luna. He didn't have long to think about it though, they were finally nearing Rambling Ridge and Downpour was returning to them in a fairly pleasant mood.

"We found a nice place in a cave by the ridge," Downpour called down to them. "I'll carry your saddle bags over so that you can hurry up and get there. Just follow me to camp!" Spark and Star levitated their bags onto the stocky Pegasus and he lifted back into the darkening sky, flying just low enough for them to keep an eye on him in the fading light. Spark trotted briskly and Star managed to keep up well enough, considering that Inferno was riding on her back. It was only a short run before they made it to Downpour's promised campsite.

Setting up camp hadn't taken long, unicorn magic made everything fairly easy and having a young dragon to light the fire didn't hurt either. They were all enjoying some dinner and getting warmed up before Star began her story. Spark was happy to be done walking for the day and ate his food greedily as he warmed himself by the crackling fire. Downpour finished eating first and asked if the story could wait until he had checked out the area for danger.

"I'll just take a quick pass and be back here before you know it," the stocky pegasus told them as he stood up.

"That's a good idea, besides my side is killing me where I got tackled and I was hoping Star wouldn't mind checking on it," Spark explained. "I think I may have fractured a rib." He looked over to Star, who tried to answer through a mouthful of carrot stew, but didn't do a very good job.

"Mhmph, wha idn't oo phey fumfing thooner?" Star choked out. She swallowed the food and tried again, blushing crimson as she spoke. "Sorry. Yes, but why didn't you say something sooner?" She shot Spark a worried look while Downpour took off on his scouting mission.

"Seriously Spark, you won't be able to lead this little mish mashed group of ponies," Draft began.

"And dragon," Inferno interrupted.

"And dragon, if you don't take care of yourself," he finished, before digging his face back into his food.

"I thought we were all in this together. Whoever said I was the one leading?" Spark asked as he threw up his forehooves in defeat.

"Oh please, don't get me wrong now, I'm beginning to warm up to your friends Spark, but they're total chicken brains," Inferno replied. They dragon smiled sweetly at Draft as she said it.

"Hey now! I resemble that remark," Draft chuckled.

"Okay I see your point," Spark sighed as he slowly shook his head. "Star, would you please patch up your fearless leader then?" Spark lay down on his side by the fire where she would be able to see better and Star got to work on the stallion, while Inferno and Draft got engrossed in a conversation about what tasted better, radishes or rubies. Having actually tried both, the dragon's points were probably more valid, but debating the fact gave them both something to do while they waited and gave Spark something to listen to instead of the sounds of magic as the black mare worked on him.

"It doesn't seem to be fractured, but I'm sure it got pretty bruised," Star told him with concern. "There isn't much I can do to help it heal more than it will naturally. Do you have any more of those potions that you gave to that earth pony?"

"I have about a half dozen or so, but I think I'd rather save them just in case somepony gets seriously injured," Spark replied. "They aren't easy to brew and besides that I can just smoke some herb. I made sure to bring plenty of that."

"You have to have your priorities, right?" Star laughed. The mare smirked at him and Spark just smiled in return. She seemed to be catching on quicker than he had originally thought she would. She might not have been quite as naïve as he'd once assumed. Downpour returned a moment later and gave the all clear, so they decided that it was about time to start Star's lesson.

"Okay everypony, you've asked me to cover a whole bunch of history, spanning thousands of years," Star explained with a bit of nervousness in her lightly trembling voice. "I'll tell the parts that seem the most important for now, but that still leaves quite a bit to learn. We may have to have a two part story. The first part will be tonight and the next part tomorrow night." Everypony agreed that would be the best way to get through it all. "I can't tell you where Celestia and Luna's parents came from, because I don't think anypony but the Princesses could answer that and I don't dare to ask them." Her face took on a mature quality as she spoke and her horn began to glow. Slowly, white light formed itself into shapes, pictures that changed and moved with her tale. "Our story begins about two and a half thousand years ago in the magical land of Equestria…"

The mother of the princesses had just given birth to her first daughter, Princess Celestia, so she and her husband were filled with a joy beyond words, but that day had marked the beginning of their mortality. Upon bringing a new alicorn into the world, they had unwittingly forgone their immortality and they began to age. Even so, they were still filled with a power that would allow them to live for another thousand years and in this time they gave birth to their second daughter, Princess Luna. In time, the two new alicorns grew up to be incredible, as their parents had. They also aged very slowly when they were young, until they stopped aging altogether. Their parents told them that they would remain as the immortal guardians of Equestria until they day they gave birth to foals of their own, or so the legends go.

The first alicorns raised their daughters for many years, teaching them how to raise the sun and moon and they had other children who were given dominion over other parts of the earth. They showed them how to rule with peace and love to keep their subjects happy and safe. The first alicorns formed treaties with the other rulers; the Dragon Lord, who rules all serpents, the five shamans of the zebra tribes, the Saddle Arabians and the Griffon General. By doing so, they ensured that their children would be able to live in harmony with the rest of the world.

Eventually the original alicorns passed, leaving the royal sisters to rule Equestria in their stead. Under their guidance, Equestria thrived and grew into a veritable utopian society, free of crime and violence. The ponies living in their domain knew only peace and tranquility for over a thousand years. The crops were bountiful, the weather fair and the beasts were tame. Celestia would raise the sun, as her father had before her, and Luna would raise the moon each night, like her mother had once done. Then everything changed with the rise of Discord.

Where he came from is a mystery, maybe even to the princesses themselves, but the draconequus brought chaos and misery with him, wherever he roamed. He withered crops and scrambled the seasons. As his domain grew, so did his power and it caused ponies to panic, hoarding what little food they could find and turning against their neighbors with terrified violence. Their disharmony only fed Discord's power and he began to turn more violent as the years passed by. Fire rained from the skies and the beasts grew savage and bloodthirsty. Ponies were beginning to die helplessly in result of his chaotic works. The princesses fought him with all of their strength, but it wasn't enough to slay the beast. He was as immortal as they were and, fearing that their fight would last forever and kill everypony in the process, the sisters left Equestria, in search of a better way to end Discord's reign.

Believing that their princesses had forsaken them, the ponies of Equestria launched a bloody campaign against Discord. The rest of the nations also went to war in Celestia and Luna's absence. Most sided against the draconequus, but a few broke the ancient treaties to fight along side Discord, in hopes that they would be spared his wrath. Equestria, the Crystal Empire, the Zebra Tribes, Saddle Arabia and some of the Griffon Clans were the only ones to rebel against his power. Many of the griffons, as well as all manner of other beasts, sided with Discord and caused pain and misery wherever they went. The Dragon Empire was the only nation that chose no sides; they remained apart from the battle, knowing that it would only bring destruction and misery upon the world.

Eventually the princesses returned with a new, magical weapon, the Elements of Harmony. Wielding this magical force, they were finally able to seal Discord in stone and end his tyranny over the land. Even so, it was no easy task to convince their subject that they were still the rulers that Equestria needed and deserved. Many ponies saw what happened as a sign of their weakness. It's taken fifty years for Equestria to return to the way it is now, even with the Elements of Harmony and the hard work of ponykind...

The white lights faded as Stars magic was silenced. Everypony was quiet for a long time while they each thought upon her story. Spark was still in shock at the depth of the mare's knowledge. He would have given many things just to know the things that she knew. The only sound for awhile was the quiet crackles and pops that the small campfire produced, sending burning sparks drifting into the night sky. It was Draft who finally broke the silence around the group.

In a voice barely above a whisper he said, "That was incredible, but I thought that you said it would take two nights to tell the entire story." He turned to Star who had her eyes closed as if in meditation.

"I just went over the major events of Equestria, to fully understand what happened you would need to learn the history of each country," Star replied softly. She opened her eyes and smiled at her friends. Everypony was yawning already, except for Inferno, who had fallen asleep sometime during the tale.

"So nopony knows where Discord came from? It's not like he just popped into existence, right?" Downpour asked her. He was staring at the fire and Spark realized that this was probably the most history that the pegasus had learned in his entire life.

"The princesses, the Dragon Lord and maybe the other rulers could have some idea, but I don't know for sure," Star replied. "It could be that the only one who knows is Discord himself, but he's not talking to anypony anytime soon." She got up and stretched her legs and neck, yawning deeply. Her violet eyes flashed in the darkness when the firelight reflected off of them. Looking over, Spark noticed Downpour was staring at her with a look that could have been mistaken for passion. No way, he thought, Star wasn't the type of mare that the cocky pegasus usually went for. Spark figured he was just tired and noticing things that weren't actually there.

"Alright ponies, let's get to bed, we have along day of walking ahead of us tomorrow," Spark announced. He let out one more yawn before lying down and closing his eyes. His last thought was a thank you to Luna, for giving them such a beautiful starry night. Soon after, the other three ponies followed his example and, one by one, they drifted off to sleep under the light of the moon, leaving the small flames in the firepit to die out of their own accord.


	6. Split Paths

~Chapter 5: Split Paths~

Spark could smell breakfast sizzling over an open flame. That thought alone woke the unicorn stallion out of a dead sleep. Opening his tired, brown eyes, he was greeted to the sight of radishes being roasted over the small fire, his stomach growled savagely in response. He sat up from the damp ground, spine popping loudly as he stretched his aching limbs. Sleeping on dirt wasn't exactly the best method of staying limber, not that he had much choice.

"It sounds like Spark is awake," Draft commented as he walked over and set a warm plate of food down beside his friend's head. Spark's mouth watered in anticipation of the delicious meal. He could smell the plump radish and his stomach rumbled more loudly in response.

"I feel like I could eat a house and still have room for dessert," Spark said. He sat up and felt a dull pain in his side, which reminded him that they still needed to find Chestnut. Somehow his life had managed to complicate itself. He figured it just came with trying to play the hero role. "What time is it and why didn't anypony wake me up?" He grabbed a radish with his magic and floated it into his mouth as he waited for one of his friends to say something.

"We've been up for a little over an hour," Star explained. She was in the process of getting their gear packed up and cooking food, her magical prowess putting his to shame.

"Besides, you looked so cute sleeping there we didn't have the heart to wake you," Downpour winked at him and then resumed eating his breakfast. Spark finished his meal off in a few bites and got to his hooves so that he could stretch his legs more. The pain in his side had faded to a barely noticeable ache and he didn't think he'd have any problem keeping up with the rest of the group. Draft walked over to him and handed him the map that they had planned their route out on.

"You know that we could save about a day, maybe more, if we just cut through the ridge right?" Draft asked as he pointed a hoof at the spot on the map, but Spark had a good reason for avoiding that path.

"That area is home to diamond dogs and as stupid as I can be sometimes, even I'm not stupid enough to go galloping around in their territory," Spark told him. Unless you had a good amount of gems to trade, diamond dogs were not to be trifled with. They had sharp claws that could dig through bedrock and he could only imagine what they would do to pony flesh. "I'd rather walk an extra day and a half then put you all in danger."

"I'm on Spark's side," Star chimed in. "It won't do us any good to save a day of walking if we just have to waste it mending injuries." She looked to Inferno who nodded her head in agreement. Spark put the map away and packed up his saddle bags, adjusting them slightly so that they wouldn't rub against his bruised ribs as he walked. Then everypony worked to pack up the camp and started down the road once more. They headed northeast toward the Haysead River, which they planned to follow north until it got dark and they were forced to make camp again.

They walked for hours and spent the time talking and laughing with one another. The group had long conversations with each other about anything and everything that they could think of to pass the time. The stallions got to know Star and Inferno better and she learned quite a bit about them as well. They told her about their different adventures, most of which consisted of Spark making a new concoction and then bribing his friends with big bags of herbs to try them. She listened contentedly as the sun slowly climbed the cloudy sky.

"There I was. I had just sniffed this weird magical powder that Spark mixed up on his dining table," Downpour chuckled. "I look around and realize that I'm seeing everything about five seconds in the future." Everypony was tearing up from laughter at Downpour's story, except for Star, who wore a simply stunned expression.

"You're joking right?" she asked in awe.

"I swear to Luna," Downpour continued. "Spark is sitting there, trying to ask me questions so that he can record the effects…" The pegasus couldn't finish his story he was chuckling so hard so Spark stepped in and finished it for him.

"And he's answering the questions before I can even finish asking them. It was starting to piss me off, so I go to smack him upside the head and he dodges it. I ended up knocking a bottle of cider all over the rest of the powder. I had to start my work over from scratch," the unicorn huffed. Spark stopped walking for a moment to catch his breath and his friends did the same. After they had calmed down, Draft offered to fly up ahead and see how far away the river was.

"It looks like we only have another half a day of walking at this pace," the younger pegasus called back a few minutes later. From the look of the sun, it appeared to be about eleven o' clock or so. Spark called for everypony to take a lunch break and rest their legs and wings for a bit.

"Thank Celestia, it's hard to keep up with ponies all day," Inferno complained. She was downing a flask full of water and rubbing her sore feet as she rested on the ground. Spark hadn't considered the fact that her legs were shorter than the ponies, meaning she had to work twice as hard just to keep up.

"I can always give you a ride," Downpour offered politely, to everypony else's surprise. "It would beat the hay out of walking and I wouldn't really mind. The dragon stared at him with disgust.

"There is no way I'm riding a pony like you," Inferno retorted. She turned her nose up to the pegasus and resumed her foot massage. Downpour looked irritated at her comment as he took a seat beside her.

"Look here, missy, you're stuck with me for the next few days, so I suggest you get over whatever problem you seem to have with me and accept my help, otherwise it's going to be a long trip. You hear me? A long trip!" Downpour barked back. The young dragon looked stunned by his brash behavior, but he just smiled and waited for her answer.

"Okay," Inferno mumbled in reply. She looked around at everypony with a slightly wounded expression. "I'm sorry, it's just that you are very abrasive and the other stallions that I've met don't have a stellar track record. I hope you understand that it isn't you as much as it is me and my issues." She looked to the ground with a small sigh.

"Don't worry about it, Inferno, everypony has their problems and if you ever want to talk…" Downpour told her. He was being sincere for once and Spark couldn't believe his eyes. "Then Draft is always there for you." Celestia damn that stallion, Spark thought as Downpour began to laugh. The bluish pegasus chuckled as he lay down to rest his legs for a bit.

"Let's grab some food before I faint from hunger," Draft said as he began pulling out food and before long everypony was happily munching down carrots and celery. They decided to each take turns making meals, except for Downpour who couldn't make a good sandwich to save his life. The few times he had ever offered to make a meal, Spark had gone without eating.

"What's the first thing you're going to do when we get to Canterlot?" Star asked her new friends. "Are you planning on searching out Silver Blood right away?"

"Well, if you could get us an audience with Luna that would be amazing. I would love to hear her side of the story directly, but if not then talking to Silver Blood is the most important task we need to accomplish right now. Then we can try to figure out exactly where Chestnut disappeared to," Spark replied. He wouldn't feel right if he just left Canterlot without finding some sort of information on the mule's whereabouts, but there was a good chance that Silver Blood would know something.

"I'm fairly sure that the princess will not mind speaking with you. I'll put in a good word; being her favorite student comes with its perks after all," Star beamed back.

"We're going to need to buy some more supplies before we leave too," Downpour said. He was looking through their bags and saw that they had just a little more then they would need to feed the five of them all the way to Canterlot.

"I was hoping to get a look at some weapons and armor before we left. Canterlot has some of the best blacksmiths in the world, aside from Cloudsdale, but they strictly manufacture armor for the Equestrian Military," Draft added. He wanted himself a nice set of wing blades, so that they wouldn't be completely defenseless in case of an attack.

"I have something that I'm going to need to do as well. I guess it will go the quickest if we all split up once we arrive," Inferno said. She figured that they could each handle their own task and be done with everything in a day at most.

"What is it that you need to do?" Spark asked, wondering what the young dragon could possibly have to accomplish, by herself, in Canterlot.

"There's just someone that lives near there that I haven't seen in a while," Inferno replied flatly. That was all she planned on saying about the subject and Spark respected her privacy. Everypony finished their lunches and took a few minutes to let the food settle before they packed up and set off once again. It was just past midday, but the autumn breeze kept them from getting too warm while they walked. Spark decided now was a good time to smoke a little bit more of his favorite plant and the other two stallions agreed whole heartedly. He quickly rolled up some of it and the three were happily puffing it down as they walked along the dirt road towards their destination.

Spark could see the river coming up in the distance and they still had a good four hours of daylight left. He asked Downpour and Draft to take the supplies from him and Star and find a spot to make camp. They loaded up the bags and were on their way in a storm of beating wings. It was certainly nice having them to carry everything through the air, Spark thought as he stepped over a large rock in the path.

"At this rate, I'm pretty sure that we can make it to Canterlot in four or five days," Spark said aloud. "I'll finally get somewhere in this Celestia damned quest of mine. I'm starting to second guess the success I'll have. I wonder what caused me to get so invested in this whole thing in the first place." He sighed and lowered his eyes to the ground.

"I think it is because you are a good natured pony and you hate to see the country you love in conflict. I don't blame you, I feel the same way," Star told him with a smile. "For what it is worth, I think the world would be a much better place if everypony was more like you." Star's words helped to cheer him up quite a bit.

"I think that Draft is coming back," Inferno said as she pointed up at the sky, where somepony was flying towards them quickly.

"Well that was fast, I wonder how far away they set up-" Star was cut off when Spark shoved her back with his magic.

"Grab Inferno and stay behind me!" Spark shouted at her. That wasn't Draft headed for them. It looked more like a griffon to Spark. That earth pony that had broken into Chestnut's house had said that a griffon hired him to rob the old mule and Spark wasn't about to take any unnecessary chances.

"What was that for?" Star asked. She looked up in realization of what Spark was thinking. "Do you think that's the griffon that wanted the letter from Chestnut?"

"I don't know, but I really wish we had some back up," Spark replied quickly. "Get ready to hit him with your magic if he comes for you, but don't attack first." He levitated his horn dagger out and twisted it on. This time he wasn't going to get taken by surprise. The frantic stallion glanced back and saw that Star had brought the Wyrm Stone with her, she fastened it on and her eyes seemed to burn with an inner fire. It was magical and terrifying all at once and Spark was immediately relieved that her skill was on his side as he turned back to face their visitor.

The griffon dropped out of the sky like a stone, dipping towards them with a speed that would rival most of the pegasus Spark had seen. He lowered his horn and prepared a spell that would help launch him forward for his first attack. It was a simple adaptation of a spell that he often used to pick fruit from the tall trees in the Hayseed Forest. The griffon however, landed out of his range and called out to them from a good distance away.

"Are you Nature Spark, the unicorn from Dodge?" the stranger asked. The voice was higher pitched than a pony's and very birdlike, similar to what the stallion had imagined a griffon would sound like. He looked at the griffon warily, happy not to be fighting, but still not trusting the newcomer.

"That depends on who's asking," Spark answered. He started to walk forward, still ready with his magic and the griffon followed suit.

"My name is Strata Slipstream of the Cloud Runners, and I am a friend of Chestnut. He sent me here to find Nature Spark and take the unicorn to where he is staying. I ask again, are you Nature Spark?" the stranger asked again. The griffon was close enough for Spark to see all of him... no wait, her, more clearly.

Spark was about to answer her, but was stunned when he noticed she wasn't like other griffons that he had heard described to him. The newcomer's front half appeared more like a falcon than an eagle, but it was her back half that left Spark speechless. Where he expected to see a lion's body was that of a light grey pony, she even had a sort of cutie mark. It appeared to be a black cloud with a red falcon claw over it. He locked his eyes on the strange mare's, or griffon's, fiercer brown ones and tried again to speak. "I'm Spark, what word do you have from Chestnut? Is he alright?" the stallion asked the griffon.

"He's fine, but he has something that he wants to give you. He asked me to lead you to his location in the White Tail Woods," she replied. The griffon turned as if to leave, but Spark stopped her before she could fly away.

"Wait, two of our companions are setting up our camp not far from here, we'll need to talk to them first," Spark explained as he took off his dagger and placed it back in its sheath. "Follow me and we'll go talk to them."

"Let's make haste, the longer we take the more danger your friend is in," Strata responded. She turned her head and eyed Star and Inferno suspiciously. Spark noticed her look and introduced them both.

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Strata Slipstream," Star said with a polite bow. Leave it to Star to be so formal in a situation like this.

"Please, call me Strata," the griffon replied as she started to follow Spark, who led them towards the pegasus. At this rate I'm never going to make it to Canterlot, he thought before lifting Inferno onto his back.

"We need to run, so I'm going to carry you for now," Spark hurriedly explained to the small serpentine girl. He didn't have time to argue with her about the ride.

"Its fine, we are in a hurry after all," Inferno replied. She grabbed on to his short mane and he took off at a gallop along with Star. The griffon took to the air, apparently much quicker in the sky, as most pegasus were.

In a short time, they arrived at the place where Downpour and Draft had set up the camp. Spark and Star were winded, but Inferno was still full of energy. She hopped off of the unicorn and began to relay what had happened to the pegasus and then started a fire for them, while everypony sat down around it. Introductions were made and soon Strata was in the midst of telling her story to the group.

"Early yesterday your friend, Chestnut, received a letter from Silver Blood in Canterlot. It detailed a plot by the griffons to kidnap the Crystal Empress and frame Princess Luna for the crime. Why they are doing this is still unknown, but fearing spies in Equestria's government, Silver Blood could only trust his closest friend with the information," Strata explained. "During his travels, Chestnut made many friends all over the world and Silver Blood decided that the safest place for the information to go to, besides the princesses themselves, was to him." She paused as they passed around a flask of cider, everypony drinking their fill of the sweet brew before she continued.

"What does this have to do with me?" Spark asked. Though he wanted to see Chestnut, Spark was still unsure how he was supposed to help.

"Yeah and why are you helping us? You look kind of like a griffon to me," Downpour added. The pegasus was very blunt, but he had a valid point. She was a griffon, albeit a strange one.

"Technically I'm what you would call a hippogriff. As for where you fit in to this, Spark, allow me to finish my story and you will see," Strata replied.

"Sorry, please continue," Spark interjected.

"Somehow, the griffons that were involved in the plot discovered what Silver Blood was up to, but fearing having the truth exposed, they hired an earth pony to retrieve the letter so that they could destroy it."

"We had the fortune of meeting him ourselves," Spark told her. He could still feel a dull pain in his side as he spoke, but motioned for the hippogriff to continue.

"Chestnut is very well connected in nearly every nation and when he heard that they would be coming for him, he departed for the White Tail Woods. He's using a safe house provided by one of his acquaintances for now, but eventually the griffons behind all of this will find him," Strata elaborated. "He got a hold of me and requested that I bring you to him. Because of whom your father was, the General of the Cloud Runners will at least hear what you have to say." She stared at Spark, her eyes urging him to hurry so that they could leave. Spark wasn't sure what his father had to do with anything that had happened, however.

"I know that my father was a part of Celestia's personal guard, but I don't see why that would mean that my opinion has any merit," Spark replied.

"You father, and the rest of Celestia's personal guard, saved the Cloud Runners from being completely wiped out by the other two griffon factions. Because of what we are, they see us as an inferior race and hunt us down mercilessly," Strata informed him. "Without your father's protection, we would have been eradicated. He laid down his life for us fourteen years ago, and by the hippogriff code we owe his blood a debt."

"That's what my father died for…" Spark mumbled aloud. He was taken aback. Spark had known that his father was very respected, but had never truly known why until that moment. The truth was a bit overwhelming.

"I'm only helping now, because Chestnut has been a friend to my family for many years and I trust his judgment, but with you on our side we would be able to rally our entire clan to his cause," Strata added. She paused to gauge Spark's reaction, but he was still unsure about how to proceed in this situation.

"What exactly is Chestnut's cause, if I may ask?" Star questioned. The small mare was curious about all of the moves in this complicated game that ponies were playing with other's lives.

"He wants to convince the Cloud Runners to team up with Celestia's personal guard and end the threat of these griffon disgraces once and for all," Strata explained flatly.

"That's barbaric. No race deserves to have their entire population wiped out," Star argued. She seemed angry about how calm the hippogriff was while talking about the genocide of the other races that she shared her skies with. Regardless of how they had acted in the past, violence only begot more violence.

"Do not presume to know anything of our situation mare!" Strata spat back at her. "If it was your family that was constantly in danger, would you not respond in kind?" The hippogriff was furious, her dark eyes filling with a rage which only years of living as prey could forge.

"I could never wish that upon anypony.," Star replied quietly. "There must be a peaceful way to resolve this." As much as Spark wanted to believe what Star was saying, it just didn't seem like there was going to be another way.

"Do you share this naïve little mare's opinion Spark, or do you see the truth of the matter, as Chestnut thought you would?" Strata asked as she turned away from Star. She stared hard at him while he mulled over their options. They didn't really have much of a choice at the moment though.

"I trust Chestnut and Strata would know better than any of us how to deal with these griffons," Spark admitted. The hippogriff smirked in satisfaction, but it was short lived. "I cannot leave with you right now though, s much as I would like to see Chestnut again. I have already given my word to lead Star and Inferno to Canterlot and from there to Manehatten. I hope that you can understand." The hippogriff had a look of anger that quickly settled into one of acceptance.

"You are a stallion of your word and I can respect that. Chestnut may not be as forgiving of course, but if you two are good friends I'm sure he will be in time," Strata replied calmly. She bowed her head slightly and Spark assumed correctly that it was a hippogriff's method of showing mutual respect, so he did the same. Strata was getting ready to take off when Downpour spoke up from behind her.

"I'll go with her," the older pegasus said. Spark whipped his head back and gave him a puzzled expression, as did almost everypony else.

"How is that supposed to help anything?" his brother asked him with a condescending tone. "It's not like the hippogriffs give a buck who you are."

"It's simple moron. I go with Strata to meet with Chestnut and tell him our plan. It will go much faster since we both can fly there. It should take four days tops," Downpour replied cockily, because he actually had a good idea for once.

"We can make it in three, if we fly straight through tonight. It won't be fun, but time is of the essence. Is this acceptable to your companions?" Strata asked him.

"It sounds like the best plan we've got, which is frightening because it's Downpour's plan," Spark muttered as he bumped hooves in approval with his closest friend. It was infinitely better than having no plan at all.

"It's fine with the both of us, but I think Draft is the one you need to ask," Star explained with a gesture at the dark grey pegasus.

"It's fine with me. Just take care, brother," Draft replied. He gave Downpour a hug and helped him pack supplies in his saddle bags.

"With any luck we should see you at Canterlot in just over a week. Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone," Downpour called out as he lifted off the ground and into the cloud strewn sky, followed closely by Strata. "Oh and Spark, take good care of my little brother… or else." With those final words the two took off due west, headed for White Tail Woods and Chestnut's safe house.

The remaining three of Spark's companions walked alongside him for the rest of the afternoon, with little to show for their efforts besides a few gained miles and sore hooves. The sun dipped behind the tree lined hills behind them before they decided to stop for the night. Inferno lit a fire at the bottom of a small clearing in the valley and Spark helped Draft make something to eat, while Star tended to the usual perimeter check until dinner was ready.

"What did you think about Strata?" Draft asked. He was just finishing his turn at making some dinner, since they had decided to eat a little bit earlier than usual. The two stallions wanted to have time for Star to teach them more history and still get to bed early. If they in the early morning, it would get them to Canterlot even sooner. The information that they had learned would most likely already have been brought to the princesses' attention, but just in case it hadn't, Spark thought it would be a good idea to make it to the castle immediately.

"She was a bit to intense for my taste," Inferno commented. She was helping herself to a big jade stone that Star had pulled out of her bag. Spark had no idea how she could eat them, but then again, he didn't know a whole lot about dragons at all. "I can only imagine the friction between those two hot heads."

"Sweet Celestia, I hadn't even thought of that," Star replied with a smile. "They're going to tear each other apart." She began to laugh at the thought of Downpour and Strata together, alone, for an extended period of time. Her giggles were infectious and soon the other three were joining in as well.

"Luna help whatever poor bastards try to mess with them," Draft laughed. At his comment, everypony burst into another round of laughter. When they were finally calmed down a bit, Draft passed around some alfalfa bread and a flask of cider. Everypony ate and drank by the fire, each one taking turns telling their version of what Downpour's trip was going to be like while they relaxed near the flames.

Eventually, all four of them had finished eating and Spark started to clean up. When he had gotten everything put away and the others had set up their sleeping arrangements, he sat down and let out a contented groan.

"I really hope that we get to Canterlot without too much more trouble," Spark sighed. "The way things had been escalating though, tomorrow will probably bring a manticore attack."

"What should I teach you two about tonight?" Star was sitting in front of the fire, her violet eyes dancing with light.

"I was thinking that you should tell us what you know about the griffins. If they're really the ones behind this, then I want to know as much as possible," Spark told her. "Maybe it will help me think of a way to end all of this without bloodshed." The brown stallion watched, in amazement as Star's horn began to glow and she started to weave her magic.

"I'm no expert, mostly because griffins are not too keen on teaching ponies their ways, but I'll tell you what I know of the history of the separate factions," Star said as the white light took shape before her. "A long time ago, they all answered to one general." Her magic formed into the familiar white figures and told the story with her. "The Griffin General saw over each of the four factions. Draft interrupted her story to show his confusion.

"I thought that there were only three factions," he interjected. The look she gave him shut the pegasus up for the remainder of her tale. Spark was again mesmerized by Star's magical story telling as she began again.

The four griffin factions were ruled over by one general in the beginning. There were the Razor Talons, with their larger stature and green or yellow eyes, the Blood Eyes, who have a larger wingspan and red eyes, the Cloud Runners, who all resemble Strata and the last were the Sky Stags, who had an elk like front half and the back half of a rooster. They lived all over the world, above the clouds at one time. Each group was full of great hunters and would often compete with each other to see who the best was.

Eventually though, the Blood Eyes decided that they were superior to the Cloud Runners and Sky Stags, so they began to hunt them down mercilessly. Entire families died at the claws of the Blood Eyes. The general heard of this and grew furious with their actions. He banished them to the farthest reaches of the sky, where they were to remain on pain of death for the rest of time.

When Discord first arose to power however, they saw their chance to strike. In a brutal attack, the Red Eyes wiped out the entire Peryton race. The Sky Stags were no more. Then they turned their attention on the Cloud Runners, but by that time Discord had become a deadly threat to every nation. The griffons were forced to abandon their plans and worry about staying alive. They never forgot what they planned to do to the hippogriffs though and now it appears as if they have come back, with a vengeance.

Near the end of Discord's reign, they broke their treaty with Equestria and aided him in his fight. They even found a way to kill the general, so that they could rule over themselves. When Discord was finally defeated, they fled their homes and waited for their revenge. A war would decimate both of our countries and leave them free to take this land and then destroy the Cloud Runners, so it makes sense that they would choose now to strike. My guess is that they would also slay all of the Razor Talons after that, or perhaps enslave them.

Star finished her story and the white light of her magic faded with her voice. While he had learned many things, Spark hadn't gleaned any wisdom that would help him end this struggle peacefully. In fact, he was now surer than ever that a war was inevitable and it looked as if it would be a large one at that. The gears of destruction were turning, unstoppably in the direction of bloodshed.

"Why all of this Celestia damned violence? It just seems so pointless to me for these Red Eyes to be killing their brethren like that," Spark huffed. He just couldn't understand it. Spark wanted to believe that every living thing had the potential to be good, but if that were true then the world wouldn't have been on the verge of war.

"I really wish I could tell you, but that's something that even I don't have the answer to," Star replied softly. The young mare had a tear in her eye and wiped it away with her hoof as she spoke. "Still, there must be a way to stop the Red Eyes without becoming the monsters that they are. Even if I have to travel all over the world to find it, I swear I will do my best to end all of this without violence."

"It's a nice thought, Star, but you have to be realistic with yourself. If it's a war that they really want, then it's a war that they're going to get," Draft explained. "Have you even thought about what Celestia and Luna are going to do when they find out?" He was more solemn than usual as he spoke, possibly because his brother was out there, somewhere, with a hippogriff that was probably being hunted as they spoke.

"I don't see why all of these other nations can't just follow the example of us dragons. You don't see us causing a whole bunch of unnecessary suffering to everything around us. We just mind our own business for the most part," Inferno commented. "Same with the zebras and Saddle Arabians, although for them it's probably because they're preoccupied dealing with the many savage creatures that live on their continents." Inferno had just said more in that little bit of time then Spark could remember her saying in all of the rest of the time he'd known her. Granted, it was just to brag about how much better dragons were than ponies, but maybe she had a point. Ponies seemed to have an unusual craving for destruction.

"We can't all be as perfect as you Inferno," Draft chuckled at her as he stuck out his tongue. The grey pegasus seemed to be putting on a cheerful front for now. Hopefully it would hold, Spark thought.

"Your maturity is impressive," Inferno replied dryly. "Now, I'm going to bed. Don't wake me until we're about to leave, because I'm beat." Then she laid on the ground and closed her yellow eyes. Just a few seconds later the red dragon was snoring peacefully, small wisps of smoke trailing out of her nose as she did.

"I think she has the right idea," Star agreed. "I'm going to try to get some shut eye too. I'll see you two stallions bright and early." She grabbed a blanket from her white bag and closed her eyes, yawning once before she too fell asleep.

"Do you think that Downpour is going to make it to Chestnut in one piece?" Draft asked. He was really worried about his brother. Sometime you couldn't tell by the way they acted, but those two pegasus really looked out for one another.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Draft. I've seen how your brother fights plenty of times, sadly, and if there's anypony to feel sorry for, it's whoever is stupid enough to pick fight with him," Spark replied. He smiled at his friend reassuringly and then got an idea. "I'll bet we can get high as the sky, now that there are only two of us to smoke." Having been the one to suggest it, Spark pulled out his pouch of herbs and set about rolling up a big joint, the green glow of his magic shining out in the black night.

"That sounds delicious, Spark," Draft smiled back. He took the lit joint when it was offered and inhaled a long drag, trying to clear his mind of worries. If there was one thing that Spark's herb was good for, it was pushing your worries out of mind for a while. The two friends talked about whatever came to their mind, enjoying the peace of the night as they smoked. Their troubles forgotten for a while, they killed the joint and then went to bed. Spark fell asleep first, dropping off into a deep stoned rest, leaving Draft alone with his thoughts for a while.


	7. Being a Hero

~Chapter 6: Being a Hero~

Charm was standing in the middle of a dirt path unmoving as the sunlight shining through the leaves of the trees cast her in an ethereal light. Her beauty was breathtaking and at that moment Spark wanted nothing more than to run to her. She was calling his name, but he couldn't move. She kept calling out to him and beckoning him to her, but try as he might, he couldn't get his limbs to work. He wanted to tell her why he wasn't coming, but his mouth couldn't form the words. She was drifting away from him. He was going to lose her if he didn't do something soon. His heart started to race as panic set in.

"No!" Spark shot up out of his sleep with a scream and it startled Star so bad that she dropped one of her books near the fire. Draft was able to kick it out of the flames before it had caught fire. Everypony turned back to Spark with looks of concern as they returned to their places around the fire.

"Are you okay? Just what in the hay was that all about?" Draft asked. Spark waited for his racing heart to slow before he responded.

"I'm sorry about that," he huffed. "It was nothing. Just a bad dream is all." Spark took a few deep breaths and got to his hooves. "Did you guys make any breakfast yet?"

"No. We only got up like fifteen minutes ago, so you're just in time to take a turn cooking," Star replied with a giggle. She smiled at him and then dug her nose back into the book she had been reading. Books weren't something that Spark was accustomed to having on long trips, but there was nothing to be done about it. He searched through their supplies to see what they had in the way of food. There were carrots, apples, radishes, but Spark settled on making everypony some nice cucumber sandwiches.

"What were you dreaming about anyway?" Inferno asked as she begrudgingly accepted the food the unicorn offered her. She wanted to make her delicious gems last for as much of the trip as possible, so she was left with pony food. "You seemed really panicked while you were asleep."

"It was nothing. I just had a dream that I was trying to run, but couldn't. You know, the usual nightmare type stuff," Spark mumbled. He smiled trying to ease Inferno's concern and it seemed to work, as she went back to picking at her food with a sigh. Spark ate his sandwich and started digging through his saddle bags.

"What are you looking for, Spark?" Draft asked as he noticed his friend, frantically rummaging around through the bags. "Are you looking for this?" he questioned. The pegasus held up a pouch of herbs and grinned slyly at the unicorn. "I'm way ahead of you my friend." He pulled out a nice looking joint and passed it to Spark. "I'm getting better, right?"

"Mhmm," Spark replied. He had to admit that Draft had done a nice job, especially for a pegasus. The unicorn's horn flashed with green light as he lit the end of the joint, inhaling softly, he let the herb work its magic. The last of the anxiety from his dream faded and Spark was ready to start another fun filled day of walking. Mother of Luna, it seemed like all he ever did these days was walk, Spark thought.

"Are you three about ready to get going? The faster we get there, the better," Star said as the stallions puffed away on the herbs. Spark was just wishing that they could all fly the whole way, like Draft. They could have made it to Canterlot by then, but there was no way he would have been able to function without magic.

"I'm always ready. It's these two ponies that you need to worry about," Inferno replied. She gestured absent mindedly as she was in the process of nibbling on the very edge of a sapphire, presumably to get the taste of pony food out of her mouth. It seemed that while she could live off of the same diet as the ponies, the young dragon really wasn't too keen on the taste.

"Yeah, I think we're all ready now, so let's get a move on," Draft replied. He seemed to be in a much better mood this morning. Getting high tended to have that effect on ponies though.

"Maybe we can get through this trip after all," Spark mumbled aloud. He started laughing at himself, and then used his magic to adjust his bags onto his back, noticing that the pain was gone from his side. He knew the herbs were partly to thank for that.

"What's so funny?" Star asked. She glanced back at him, as if she had forgotten something important. Spark continued smiling at her and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. I just had a really ridiculous thought," Spark assured her. He laughed softly a little longer enjoying his high as his mind began to wander.

They had only been walking for a couple hours when Spark's hopes for a day without troubles were crushed. He could see a little filly running towards them. She looked to be a few years older than his little brother, but she was still far enough away that he couldn't be sure. Trailing behind the filly, there was a loud thundering. Whatever the filly was running from was either very large or had a few friends with it. Spark's magic flared green as he brought out his dagger and slid it down, over his horn.

"Draft, get your ass over there, grab that little pony and see what the hay is coming," Spark shouted to his friend.

"Sure thing," Draft replied. The grey pegasus took off like a catapult, kicking up dust and shooting like a blur, across the sky. It took him about a minute to get to the filly and back. Draft was breathing heavily when he touched back down, but hadn't even broken a sweat. The small earth pony was struggling against Draft's forelegs and yelling about how sorry he would be if he didn't put her down. The winged stallion complied, dropping the filly gently on her flank.

"What's after her?" Spark aimed the question to his friend, but it was the filly who answered him first.

"It's this gang a stupid bullies. They threatened my ma n' pa. Told us, if we wanted our farm ta stay intact, we'd have ta pay 'em a bunch o' bits each week. We don't have that kind of money lyin' 'round the farm, so they locked us all up in the barn and set it on fire," she explained with a fairly pronounced drawl. The green filly started sobbing at that point and Spark was already getting annoyed with whoever had done whatever to the heartbroken little pony. "My parents managed ta kick the boards outta one of the windows and push me through, but they couldn't fit themselves. They said I should get away and try ta find help, but those jerks saw me escape n' started chasin' after me. Please mister, you got ta help me."

"You three ready?" Spark asked his companions. He was pissed now; these were the worst kind of ponies, spineless bastards that had to resort to violence against kids. He nodded his agreement to help and looked back at his friends. Draft was hovering just above his left shoulder and Star was to his right. She had the Wyrm Stone around her neck and once again her eyes were filled with mystical fire. "Good. Inferno, you grab the filly and get behind us. If anypony gets through, you singe them, Star" She nodded her head in confirmation. Spark lowered his horn slightly and prepared the spell that would launch him forward faster than he could charge on his own.

A short time later, the gang showed up in a storm of thundering hooves and spray of dirt, slowing to a halt in front of the group of ponies. There were five of the criminals, four earth ponies and a unicorn. It was a yellow earth pony who spoke first.

"Give us that filly you got there, before we have to hurt you," the gangly stallion threatened. Spark ignored him and addressed the entire gang in a stern voice.

"Which one of you stallions is leading this gang?" he asked. Spark eyed them all, sizing them up one by one, as the largest earth pony in the group stepped forward. He was a full head taller than Spark and built like a brick wall.

"I'm Stone and this here is my gang, The Rock Ridge Riders, so unless you wanna take a permanent dirt nap, I suggest you hand over the filly," the behemoth of a stallion replied. He took a step closer and Spark pushed his glasses up his nose and nervously cleared his throat.

"Well Stone, you move one more muscle and I'll buck you up good," Spark answered in a relatively calm voice. "As for the rest of you, this is your last chance to leave unharmed." The ponies looked tough, but Celestia be damned if Spark wasn't going to protect the scared little filly hiding behind him and his friends.

"Any one o' you walks away and I'll end ya myself," Stone replied gruffly. None of the stallions seemed inclined to take Spark's offer over Stone's threats.

"Try to just wound them if you can, Draft," Spark called back quietly. "Star, be ready to take down that unicorn." Stone took another step forward and then everything turned into screams and dirt kicking up around them.

Spark released his spell and immediately launched forward, ramming his dagger through Stone's right foreleg, just enough to hurt. The larger stallion's leg buckled instantly and dropped the him on his face. At that same instant, Draft bolted up in the sky to gain speed and then dropped down with full force onto the side of another pony with a loud crack. The pony fell to the ground with what was probably a broken couple broken ribs. Star used her magic to drop the opposing unicorn to his knees and then let out a burst of flames from her mouth searing the mane of earth pony closest to her, all while Inferno watched over the green filly behind her.

The last stallion twisted around and sent a buck straight to Spark's head, dazing the unicorn and snapping the glasses off of his face. Draft was already making his next move and he reared up, trampling the pony that Star had burned with his fore hooves a half dozen times, knocking the stallion unconscious. Stone had gotten back to his hooves by that time and was charging the pegasus, but Draft was too quick for the earth pony. He launched into the air a few second before being rammed. Star let out another burst of flames at the gang, while the opposing unicorn struggled against her formidable magic.

Spark shook off the wooziness from being bucked and charged back at Stone, ramming the large stallion again with his dagger, this time in the side right behind his left lung. That attack dropped the behemoth to the ground and Spark followed it up with a stomp to his head, knocking Stone out cold. Meanwhile the unicorn had broken free off Star's magical grip and tried to run, only to have Draft swoop down and kick him in the side of the head. He was the last to fall unconscious. With the fight over, Spark walked up to the gang leader and lifted him into a sitting position with his magic.

"This bastard is heavy," Spark groaned. "Do either of you have any rope, so I can tie him up?" He looked to his companions and Draft nodded and pulled a length of rope out of his saddle bags. Spark wrapped Stone up, tying a complicated knot and then shook the brute awake with his magic. "Draft, find out where the filly lives and go see if her parents are alright. I'm going to take care of these five and we'll meet you there when I'm done."

"Sure thing," Draft replied. He walked over to the filly, who shrank away from him at first. Eventually, with the help of inferno, they got the filly to tell them where her family's farm was. Once he found out, Draft rose into the air and took off. More dust was shot past his friends' faces as he did. Spark turned back to Stone, who was now awake, but still dazed.

"You'd better pray to Celestia that they're unharmed or this will be your last day on this world," he bluffed with an angry glare. Spark and Star walked over to the little pony, who was still shaking with fear. Inferno was doing her best to calm the filly, but Spark couldn't blame her for being afraid, those gangers were a frightening bunch.

"It is going to be okay now. We took care of the bad guys," Star cooed in a soothing tone to try and calm her down. "I'm Star and this is Spark. I believe that you already have met Inferno." The dragon smiled at the girl sweetly. "What is your name?"

"M-my name's Honeydew. Are ma parents gonna be okay?" she stammered. The green filly was on the verge of tears again, and Spark wasn't sure what to do. "I wanna see ma n' pa." Honeydew looked up at him with big watery eyes, it was simultaneously the most adorable and heart wrenchingly sad sight that he had ever seen.

"Hop up on my back and we'll take you to see your parents," Spark told her. "If I know my friend Draft, he'll have made it there fast as a whip and saved them." He tried to reassure her, but he wasn't too sure that it was working.

"So ma parents are gonna be okay? You promise?" she asked in her squeaky drawl. He really didn't want to get her hopes up, but she was looking at him like he was her only chance for happiness, so he made a promise that he shouldn't have.

"Sure Honeydew. I promise that your mom and dad are going to be fine," Spark replied. He turned to look at Stone, who by now was out of his daze and glaring silently at the lot of them. "You've got two choices there, Stone. First choice is you following us peacefully to this filly's farm, to pay for whatever you've done and the second choice is you trying to struggle. If you chose the second choice however, I will be forced to buck you in the head again. After which that pony over there…" Spark explained as he gestured towards Star. "You know, the one with the really strong magic who can also breathe fire. Well, she's going to have to drag your fat limp body all of the way there. You don't want to cause a pretty young mare like her that much trouble, do you?" He glared at Stone, who got to his hooves in silence. "Good choice," Spark told him.

"Should I torch him if he runs?" Star asked with a grin. She was getting the hang of his bluffs about violence, or she was bluffing and hopefully Spark was as well. She didn't really want to travel with a killer. Star tried not to laugh as she thought about the absurdity of Spark killing somepony. Spark set off down the road with the filly in tow and Stone behind him, while Star brought up the rear.

Star opened her mouth and poured a wave of fire along Stone's back as the earth pony tried to run away. He took a few large steps, but Star's flames had cut him off before he got far. Spark turned back a moment after and began yelling at the other stallion. Star tried to keep a straight face as Stone nearly broke down in tears.

"I told you not to run!" Spark yelled, holding Stone him in place with the green glow from his horn. Stone cried out in pain as Star's flames licked his hide, singing the ends of his hair. They had nearly made it to the farm before Stone had tried to escape. It was probably because they could see the ashes of the barn from where they were standing. "You're going to answer for what you did, whether you like it or not, Stone." They walked until they were standing in front of what once must have been a good sized barn, but now was nothing more that a pile of ashes and rubble. "Draft, where are you at?" Spark called out to his flying friend.

"We're over here!" Draft replied. He had said 'we' which was a really good sign, in Spark opinion. They all walked up to the small house, where Draft was talking with two earth ponies. Stone had given up fighting.

"Ma! Pa!" Honeydew cried. She jumped off of Spark's back and rushed to her parents, who both wrapped her in a tight embrace. "I thought ya'll were done for. I tried ta run away like ya told me, but they were chasin' me. I ran and ran until these ponies saw me and kicked The Rock Ridge Rider's flanks all up n' down the road." The little filly had tears of joy running down her face as she spoke. Her parents were both crying as well and Spark grinned at the sight of the reunion.

"Stone! Get your good for nothing flank up here," Spark called back a moment later. Stone didn't budge, so Star helped him out by giving the stallion a good kick to his flank. He stepped forward and into the sight of the family. "Guess what Stone? Its judgment time."

"What are you going to do to me?" Stone asked with terror. The threatening mask he'd worn cracked a little now that he was about to pay for what he had done. Spark just smirked back at him.

"You're asking the wrong pony," Spark replied. "It's up to Honeydew's parents. The ponies you threatened with violence and tried to burn alive. The ones whose daughter you were trying to kill along with them. You better wish that some power will listen to a piece of filth like you and decide to make them better ponies than you ever were." The filly's parents looked shocked at the sudden turn of events, but Spark wasn't the one who wanted to make the decision. He could act as judge, but not jury and never executioner. Even if they wanted the criminal dead, the most Spark could ever stomach doing would be kicking Stone around a bit.

"We don't want ya doin' anything more, s'long as he stays away from us, from here on out," Honeydew's father said. He looked anxious for everything to just be over and Spark couldn't really blame him. "Just take him away, please, so we can put all uh this behind us." He hugged his family tightly and then turned back to Draft.

"You hear that Stone? They showed you a mercy that you don't deserve," Spark told the earth pony. "It's all on one condition though, do you swear to stay away from this family and give up ganging for the rest of your life?" Spark was staring at him with a cold hard look that told him there was only one answer that would let him walk away. The large pony actually looked scared for the first time since the whole ordeal had begun.

"I-I-I swear, I swear to Celestia that I'll stay away and give up ganging," Stone cried. It was pitiful to see a full grown stallion graveling and crying like he was, but it was what Spark thought he deserved for his crimes. "The princess isn't going to listen to a worm like you Stone, swear on your life!" Suddenly, Spark twisted around and bucked stone in the head, knocking him to the ground unconscious once again.

"We told ya not ta kill him!" Honeydew's mother shouted in a terrified voice as she shielded her daughter's eyes from the sight.

"Don't worry, he isn't dead," Spark assured her. "I just knocked him out. He'll wake up in a few hours with a concussion and a raging migraine. We'll drag him with us for a while and drop him off a ways away from here. I have a feeling that he won't be bothering you anymore." He smiled at the little family and then turned to leave, because they still had someplace to be, after all. "Grab Stone and let's get a move on, we've wasted almost an hour as it is." Spark took off his dagger, using his magic to wipe off the blood and re-sheath it in his bag. Before he could take more than a couple steps however, he felt a small pair of legs wrap around him."

"Thank ya, Spark. Ya saved my life. You're a hero," Honeydew told him. The little filly smiled up at him with her orange eyes full of joy and it warmed Spark heart.

"I didn't do anything that any other good pony wouldn't have done, Honeydew. I'm no hero," Spark explained as he patted her tangled mane and smiled back at her.

"Naw, my daughter is right mister, Spark was it? You n' your friends saved our lives and our farm," the farmer said as he walked over. "Please, at least join us for some lunch; it's the least we can do ta repay ya." He nodded to the group of friends with a smile. "My wife here makes a great orange cobbler." The dark orange mare nodded her head and motioned for them to follow her as she turned and walked into the house with Honeydew following close behind. "I don't believe we were properly introduced. I'm Winesap and my wife's name is Valencia. Welcome ta Rockridge Farm," the red stallion said as he reached out a hoof towards Spark, who took it and gave it a quick shake before introducing himself.

"I'm Nature Spark and this is Discipula Star and Inferno," Spark replied. "I believe you've had the pleasure of meeting Backdraft already." He nodded toward the pegasus who nodded back.

"Yeah, we got pretty well acquainted after I dived through the roof of their barn, blowing it all to hay," Draft chuckled. Winesap nodded his head in agreement before turning to walk inside the house.

"Let's go get some lunch y'all," Winesap called back to them. Spark and his friends followed the stallion inside where the smell of food was already beginning to fill the small house. Spark's stomach growled savagely, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since the crummy breakfast he had made that morning.

Everypony had finished eating and were all relaxing in the living room of the small ranch house. There weren't enough seats to go around, so Inferno and Honeydew had gone into the filly's room to play for a while, although the dragon was clearly more mature than the little pony. Spark had eaten his fill and was now contenting himself with listening to the stories of Winesap and his charming wife. "We'd be bringin' in allot more money if'n we had a more valuable crop ta sell. Our oranges do alright, but we have to get 'em ta town before they spoil. That n' they don't grow all year round, so come winter we end up without anything ta sell at the markets in Baltimare." Spark perked up his ears at that. Just maybe there was something more that he could do for their family. He only had a few seeds with him, but with his magic he could grow those seeds to full maturity in a little under an hour.

"You said that you need some more trees. I may have a few seeds in my saddle bags that would work for you," Spark said as he fished out a small pouch of them with his magic.

"That's awful kind of ya, sweetie, but its late fall and there's no way that they would grow enough to survive the winter cold," Valencia smiled at him and went back to telling Star her story.

"You just leave that to me. I have a little talent when it comes to working with all sorts of plants and such," Spark whispered to himself. He got to his hooves and walked outside. A moment later he was joined by Draft, who knew first hoof the kind of magic Spark could work on plants.

"You're going to grow these ponies a whole new crop aren't you?" Draft questioned. The pegasus smiled knowingly at his friend as he added, "Well, give me some of those seeds and I'll go get them ready for you." Spark gave his friend half of the seeds and then set about planting the ones he had left. He began to dig up the ground with his hoof and drop in a seed. Once it was in the ground and covered by dirt, Spark would water it a little and then kneel down and touch his horn to the warm soil. Spark's horn lit up with magic, the force coming off of it in layered shades of green power. Soon a small plant poked out of the ground and within minutes it had grown to a full sized tree, complete with red juicy apples that were ready to be bucked down and sold.

Spark continued in this fashion for a few hours with only short breaks. After he had planted his seeds in the ground, Draft pitched in to plant the rest of Spark's, as well as fetching the water that the trees needed. All that the unicorn had to do was work his magic, but that was enough of a challenge that by the time they were finished, Spark's horn had burnt out. He couldn't even levitate a rock to save his life, but he had finished growing a small orchard for the Cider's. He assumed that they would be able to harvest the apples before winter. That would give them enough food and money to live comfortably and still rebuild their barn. Spark collapsed to the ground with exhaustion and Draft brought him a flask of water, helping his friend take a long drink.

"You did really well, Spark. I think you gave this family back their lively hood," Draft assured him. "You should be proud. You really do seem like a hero sometimes." The pegasus chuckled and took a drink of the water himself.

"I'm no hero, Draft," Spark started to disagree, but the pegasus cut him off.

"Please. Don't give me that 'anypony would have done it' line. I know other ponies and most of them wouldn't have lifted a hoof for that filly, if it put their own life in danger. Not only did you do that, but here you are worn out because you had to go a step further and grow them an entire crop." Draft rolled his eyes at the fallen unicorn. "Face it, Spark, you're so nice that you'd probably give up your kidney if it would save a pony you just met." Maybe he had a point, Spark didn't really feel heroic, but lately it seemed as if kindness was the exception rather than the rule. He hoped that wasn't true and that it was just his bad luck that they kept meeting and hearing about so much evil.

"Could you go get the others? I, uh, I don't think I can move yet," Spark groaned. They both started laughing their flanks off as Draft stood up.

"Yeah, I'll go in and get them. Don't go anywhere now," Draft chuckled before flying back over to the house, leaving Spark to lie on the dirt and stare at the cloud dotted sky. It would be winter in another half of a month. If they had to head for Manehatten after Canterlot, then they were going to need some better supplies to deal with the cold. Manehatten usually got a good amount of snow and the last thing Spark wanted was to die in a blizzard heading to, or from, the city. Right now though, he had more pressing matters to attend to, like having Star take a look at his face where he had gotten kicked. Spark could feel it starting to swell up and noticed blood dripping down into his eyes. His adrenalin had worn off earlier and now the pain was starting to catch up to him.

"I'm going to need a new pair of glasses now too. Buck me," he sighed. Spark rolled onto his side and saw Draft leading everypony over to the new orchard.

"Oh my," Valencia gasped in awe as she glanced around the new grove of trees. Her husband started walking around the small orchard, eyeing all of the new fruit they would be able to harvest.

"You weren't kiddin' when ya said that you'd be able ta help us out," Winesap gawked. "I don't know what ta say, son. Thank ya so much for your kindness. I don't think that we can ever repay ya." The farmer tipped his hat to Spark in thanks.

"Don't worry about repaying us, Winesap. This is sort of what Spark does," Draft explained with a smile. The pegasus walked over to his friend and helped him to his hooves. "Spark, you got blood running down your face. Better have Star take a look at it." He turned and motioned for the small unicorn. "Star, do you think you can help out Spark while I go check on Stone. We left him alone back at the house and I don't want him trying anything funny." She nodded her head and Draft turned and flew back over to the small house, where they had left the large stallion just a few minutes ago.

"Oh Celestia, Spark, how do you always manage to get so beat up?" Star asked. She knelt down and got to work repairing his wounds, the white light of her magic soothing his aching face. "You look terrible and I'm guessing that you burnt out your magic doing all of this. You need to take it easy. What would we do if we got in another fight while you were still incapacitated?" She gave him a motherly smile as she finished her healing spell. Spark felt much better when she was done, but still had trouble staying on his hooves. Inferno walked over and assisted him with remaining upright.

"You sure are something else, Spark," Inferno said. The dragon punched him playfully and then apologized when he winced in pain. "I'm so sorry. I guess you probably don't feel to great right about now."

"If you harvest these apples I think it should be enough to get you a new barn and keep your family fed through winter," Spark told them. His gaze turned to Honeydew and he and he winked. "You make sure to do your part to help out your folks, alright Honeydew?" he asked.

"I sure will, thank you, Spark. You're the best," Honeydew replied. The filly ran up and gave Spark a big hug that hurt him again, but she seemed not to notice and he didn't want to tell her to stop.

"Will ya'll be spendin' the night here? It's the least we could do after all of this," Winesap asked as he gestured around at the new orchard.

"I'm afraid not," Spark replied. "We have to get to Canterlot to take care of some very important business and we're already behind schedule for today. Thank you for the kind offer, but we had best be moving on before it gets too late." The farmer nodded in understanding.

"Well if you're ever in the area again please stop by. I'll have my wife cook up some more cobblers," Winesap told him.

"I have some left over in the house. I'll go wrap up a few and you can take them with you. I know your friend Draft can't get enough of them," Valencia added. She turned back towards the house and walked away. Draft was flying back from the same direction, landing in front of everypony a second later.

"It looks like Stone got away," he told them. "Chewed right through the ropes and headed west as far as I can tell. I doubt he'll be back anytime soon though." The pegasus eyed Spark suspiciously. "Are you going to be okay to walk?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine until it gets dark, then we'll set up camp. I may need to have you roll up some joints though. My face got busted up during the fight and I can't see to well," Spark explained before he turned to face Winesap. "You take care of yourself and we'll see you on our way back home." The farmer smiled at him and nodded.

"I'll be sure to do that, Spark. Ya'll take care o' yourselves too," Winesap replied. He gave them each another hoof shake as his wife returned with five cobblers wrapped up in paper. Spark just smiled as she brought them over.

"Take these, sweetie. I bet ya'll get mighty hungry walkin' all day," Valencia said. Star floated the treats into her saddle bags and thanked the mare for her gift. "Think nuthin' of it, hun." The dark orange mare gave them each a hug and said her goodbyes. Honeydew did the same and then followed her mom back to their house leaving the four friends to return to their mission.

"Let's get a move on ponies. Daylight is a wasting," Spark sighed. All three of the unicorn's companions started walking down the road once more, the late afternoon sun at their sides and him in the lead. There were still miles to travel before they slept.

It had taken quite a bit of smoking to keep Spark on his feet as they walked the rest of the day away. At this rate, he thought, I'm going to wind up running out before we ever make it to Canterlot. The group stopped a short distance away from the river and filled their flasks with cold water. It was the last fresh water they would find until they made it to the Canterlot area. With their containers replenished, the ponies started setting up camp for the night. Inferno took care of the fire, once Draft had gathered wood and Star scrounged up a passable dinner out of their remaining supplies.

"What a day, huh?" Draft asked. He was in the process of rolling one last joint to smoke before they hit the hay, his hooves somehow managing to work the paper in a way that seemed physically impossible to Spark. The unicorn wrote it off as a pegasus thing. When it was finished Draft passed it to Spark, who lit it up and took a few puffs before passing it back.

"You know, Spark, you can be really intimidating when you want to be," Star informed him suddenly. She was in the process of heating up some dinner while. "During that fight back there, you took that monster of a stallion down pretty quickly."

"He was threatening a filly. What else was I supposed to do?" Spark asked. She smiled at him and handed him a plate of grilled carrots.

"I know and the jerk deserved it," Star replied. "I'm just saying that I would hate to be on your bad side." She passed out the rest of the food and then got a plateful of her own once her friends had been served.

"She's right. I was watching you all fight and you each did great, but Spark brought down the wrath of Celestia on those ponies," Inferno agreed. "I don't think that they'll ever do anything bad again." The dragon munched down on her gem for the day, savoring each crunchy bite.

"That dagger of yours sure helped out too. You know that most soldiers name their favorite weapon," Draft added. "Have you thought of a name for yours yet?" He was being completely serious, but Spark assumed the pegasus was just joking with him. Naming a weapon seemed like a strange thing for somepony to do.

"I haven't really had the time to think about a name for an inanimate object, Draft. Sorry," Spark chuckled at his friend and resumed eating the steaming carrots Star had fixed for dinner with a renewed vigor. Fighting with ponies really worked up the exhausted unicorn's appetite.

"Well, I'll try to think of one and get back to you then," Draft replied. He had finished eating and was eyeing the cobblers sitting at the top of Star's saddle bags. "Now which one of you feels like splitting some cobbler with me?"

"I will," everypony and dragon said at once. They all started laughing as Star floated out one of the cobblers and divided it amongst them all. They munched down the desert and talked for a while, trying their best to put the earlier fight out of their minds. When they had finished eating, Star walked sat down by the flickering campfire.

"Do you want me to teach you about the Crystal Empire tonight?" Star asked them. She looked around at her friends, but they all seemed pretty worn out to her.

"I think we're just going to have to save that lesson for tomorrow night, Star. I'm sore, my magic is burnt out and all I feel like doing is getting some sleep," Spark replied.

"Agreed," Draft said as he flopped to his stomach. "We'll just have to save that one for later." Star was fine with that, as she too was content to just go to bed for the night, so they all lay down and closed their eyes. The cloudy night sky was hiding most of the moonlight and without the fire it would have been pitch black.

"Good night, hero," Draft quietly chuckled to himself as one by one the rest of his friends closed their eyes around him.

"Good night everypony," Spark yawned. It had been a very long day and Spark had run himself ragged, but he hoped it was something that a night of uninterrupted sleep would fix. The unicorn barely got the words out of his mouth before he too was fast asleep. His magic would certainly need some time to return, he thought as sleep took him.


	8. Flying High Away

~Chapter 7: Flying High Away~

"No. I don't remember ever seeing him that mad before, but you don't have to worry," a voice spoke from the darkness. Spark could hear hushed whispers as he awoke from his dreams.

"Are you sure about that?" Inferno asked. "I like him, don't take this the wrong way, but you saw how fast he took out Stone. Do you think any of us could stop him if he ever snapped?" She was talking about him with Backdraft.

"I already told you, Inferno, there is no way that will ever happen," Draft replied quietly. "Sure, he can throw down when the time comes for it, but he's not the kind of pony that would attack somepony else without a good reason."

"I know. He just surprised me I guess. I still trust you three," the dragon replied. She didn't have a reason not too.

"Three?" Draft asked.

"Yes. Even if your brother can be a little abrasive, I do trust him to make the right decisions," Inferno explained. "Just remember, everything Star and I witness we're supposed to write to Princess Luna about." Yeah, that made sense, Spark thought. Star was the princess's personal student after all.

"I think he's waking up…" Inferno said as she noticed his eyes twitching open. Spark knew they had been talking about him, but it was too ridiculous to even worry about. Sure he had taken down Stone, but that was only because the boulder of a stallion was cocky and hadn't expected them to fight back. Besides, if his friends hadn't been watching his back, Spark probably would have been stomped to death.

"Good morning, everypony," Spark greeted them cheerfully. He decided to just pretend that he hadn't overheard their conversation.

"Good morning, Spark. How are you feeling today?" Draft asked as he sat down beside the unicorn and passed him a joint.

"I feel like I got bucked in the face and then spent the day walking," Spark replied with a laugh. He smiled and took the joint and tried to spark it on his horn, but his magic wasn't working yet. He had almost forgotten that he was burnt out. Hopefully it would wear off soon, before he became to annoyed by the problem.

"You need me to light that on the campfire for you?" Draft asked. The pegasus took the joint back and leaned his face into the fire, after a few puffs it was lit and he handed it back. "Star is still asleep. I'll get breakfast started after we smoke." Draft looked at him and then leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I'm not sure if you were aware, but you look and smell like shit." Then he backed away and chuckled a few times.

"Thanks for letting me know," Spark replied dryly. "I'll go hop in the river while you make breakfast." Spark got to his hooves and made his way to the flowing river a few minutes later. The sun hadn't begun to warm the shallows yet, so it was nearly ice cold as he dipped his hoof, before pulling it out and backing up a few steps. Taking a deep breath to brace his nerves, Spark ran full speed and leapt out into the water. The large splash he made sent a school of fish swimming away from the rocky shore. He submerged his head in the cool stream, letting the rushing water carry away the dirt and grime of a few days travels as he shivered in the slow current. Clean and invigorated, Spark returned to the campfire once he was done and took a seat beside it in order to dry out. The autumn breeze against his wet hide was cold and sent a shiver down the unicorn's spine.

"So, how's breakfast coming?" Spark questioned. The smell of fresh apples, fried in sugar and cinnamon, was drifting into his nostrils and making his mouth water profusely. "It smells delicious."

"They're just about done. Give it like five more minutes," Draft told him.

Spark sighed and decided to spend that time talking to Star now that she was up and about. He walked over to where the mare was seated, reading an old book.

"What are you busy reading there?" Spark asked. He looked over her shoulder at the page, but it was a very boring looking book of magic and he just didn't have the stomach for reading something that dry and educational.

"This? Oh, it's a really interesting book of medical spells," Star replied after a moment. She seemed genuinely enthused about it, which confused Spark to no end. He liked to learn new spells as much as the next unicorn, but there were far more hooves on approaches to learning, which was what he had always preferred.

"Always the faithful student, aren't you?" Spark asked. He smiled at the black coated book worm, but she was engrossed in her medical research and didn't even notice. Star let out a distracted, "Mhmm," then she just continued with her reading, so Spark left her alone with her text.

"Good talk, same time tomorrow then?" Spark called back sarcastically. He snickered at his own joke and walked back to where Draft was busy throwing apple slices onto plates. They looked delicious and Spark ate half of his share before he had even sat down. They were fresh and sweet, with just the right amount of cinnamon to spice them up a little. "Pretty damn good, Draft. Who new you were such the master chef?" Spark shoveled the rest of the pieces in to his mouth and then went back for a couple more. All of the walking had really increased his appetite.

"Star! Get your flank over here and get some food before fatty here eats it all," Draft called out to the mare, who hadn't yet noticed that they were eating. Spark shoved his friend for the fatty comment and walked over to his saddle bags, where he began repacking all of his belongings. He saw his dagger and, remembering what Draft had said about naming it, decided to pull it out and give it a look over.

It really was a beautiful piece of equipment. The enchantments aside, just the extraordinary craftsmanship made it a valuable weapon. The details were intricate, each twisting vine looked hoof carved to perfection and the inscription on the back was done up in beautiful calligraphy. The emerald inset was adorned with patterns as well; a tiny picture of two unicorns rearing up and, what appeared to Spark to be random patters along the edge of the jewel. It was no wonder that ponies became so attached to weapons when they looked like that.

"Did you think of a name for it yet?" Draft asked him. Spark had been so absorbed in examining the blade, that he hadn't even heard the pegasus walk up. He was peering over his shoulder and Spark realized how Star could completely shut him out, as interested as she was in books and such.

"No, but I think you might be right. Something that was this lovingly crafted should have a name, even if it was just made to hurt ponies," Spark replied. It was a shame really; the skill that went into making the dagger could have been put to better use making fine shoes, or maybe some fancy broaches.

"I wonder what your dad called it. You know, back when it was a part of his super secret life?" Draft asked. As sarcastic as he sounded, the pegasus had asked a good question. Spark didn't know much about who his father really was, but maybe somepony in Canterlot would. Perhaps even Princess Celestia herself; after all, Oaken Field had been one of her best stallions.

"I have no idea, but I bet that we can find out when we get to Canterlot," Spark said. "After all, there's no reason to change its name after so long" He put the silver dagger back in its sheath and got to his hooves. "It's about time that we get moving." He was still a little sore and would have been more than happy to sit around all day, but there were places to go and ponies to see. "Let's pack up the rest of this camp," Spark called over to Inferno and Star, who were finished eating by then. They packed up their bags, hoisted them on and moved out. The group was heading northwest and the mountain that Canterlot was built upon loomed in the distance, framed by the rising sun.

They had walked all morning without running into any trouble and Spark was very happy about that. It seemed like every day so far they had gotten delayed and at the rate they had been walking, they would be a day late. Spark didn't want that to happen, but he had heard the news that the Crystal Queen was captured nearly a week ago. Time had sure flown by and, as slow as pony politics moved, he was still fairly sure that war would be declared soon. If that happened, Spark wasn't sure if there was anything anypony would be able to do to reverse the decision. The last thing Equestria needed right then was to go to war. They were still working on rebuilding most of the major cities after Discord's reign of terror finally ended. Manehatten, Los Pegasus and Vanhoover had been hit the hardest, but nearly every city in Equestria had received some sort of damage in the struggle.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch that. What were you saying?" Spark asked. He had been lost in thought and hadn't noticed Draft talking to him.

"I was just asking how far you thought my brother and Strata had gotten by now," Draft asked again. The pegasus was hovering beside him and seemed to be troubled by something.

"If they flew all night that first night, then I would guess that they're probably camped out on the far side of the Everfree Bog," Spark replied. "Why do you ask?"

"That would mean that he should arrive in Canterlot a day after we do, if everything goes according to plan of course," Draft commented. He sighed and hung his head a second after.

"Which it rarely does," Spark replied. He saw his friend's point, if Downpour was delayed for any reason they may have to leave Canterlot before they met up with him.

"I'm just worried about him I guess," Draft said as he picked his head up, changing his attitude dramatically. "I'm sure he'll be okay though, my brother is one stubborn son of a mule after all." Spark had to agree with that. He was more worried about them making it to the city in one piece, rather than Downpour and Strata.

"Do you two mind if we stop here for lunch?" Star asked. "I want to send another letter to Luna and let her know that I'm okay." She hadn't written the princess since they left Dodge and assumed that her teacher would be starting to worry about her.

"Yeah, it's about lunch time anyway, so we might as well," Spark replied. "Draft and I will get the food ready. You and Inferno go ahead and send your letter. I want to continue as soon as we can." He shrugged off his bags and started to pull out food. It was a pain in the flank without magic and he didn't know how Draft managed to do things so quickly with his hooves. Sure pegasus had that strange way of grabbing some things with their wings, but Spark could barely manage to do anything gracefully using only his hooves. He finally did manage to dig out some carrots and started eating right away, giving some out to his companions while he did.

"All done, so what's on the menu for today?" Inferno asked as she walked over to the two stallions. "Carrots, oh joy," She sighed, but she still sat down and ate her fill though. "Is your magic back yet Spark?" He hadn't tried it in a while, so he decided now was as good of a time as any to attempt rolling up a joint.

"I don't know. Let me see what I can manage," Spark replied. He concentrated on levitating the papers out of his saddle bags, his horn glowed green for a moment before letting out a few sparks and fizzling out. "I guess that's a no." He ended up just handing the papers over to Draft. Thank Celestia the pegasus had learned how to roll well, he thought. A minute later Draft handed back some nicely rolled up herb. "Inferno, would you be a dear and light this for me," Spark asked the dragon. He gave her his sweetest smile and she just rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but don't let me hear you say that I've never done anything for you," Inferno replied. She blew out a small flame and dipped the end of the joint into it. Spark took it from her a second later and sucked in a long drag. He held the smoke in his lungs for a few moments and then exhaled, a big grin forming on his face.

"Ah, much better," Spark groaned as he glanced around with a grin. The colors of the earth and sky seemed more vibrant and he was filled with euphoria. There really aren't many things that are better than this, except maybe the affection of a wonderful mare, he decided. That got him thinking about Heart Charm, the gorgeous pink pony was probably missing him as much as he was missing her right then. If only Inferno's magic could send letters to ponies besides the princess, then he could write to her.

"Please pass me some of those carrots. I'm starving," Star said as she walked up, having finished her report to the princess. Spark passed her a few carrots and she took them, practically inhaling each one in rapid succession before asking for some more. "Ugh, all this walking is starting to get to me. I don't think I've eaten like this in years. Draft just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Yeah, but it's not like your going to get fat when we're always on the move like this. Now if you were back in Dodge just sitting around reading and you tried to eat like that you might start to put on a little pudge," the pegasus told her. He snickered and Star smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "What? You know that I'm right. Spark was too busy thinking to join in their joking though.

"So Star, do you think the princess will be happy with your report?" The unicorn asked her. He was fishing to see if she'd admit to spying on him. It wasn't that he really cared, but he thought that everypony had developed at least a little mutual trust. Star could at least have the decency to let him know she was going to write to the princess about all of them. Sure it was Inferno that had told Draft, but he could have at least told Spark in turn.

"I don't see why not. I'm guessing that she'll find our run in with Strata the most interesting," Star replied. "Plus, she may also put out an arrest warrant for Stone, even if he did promise to give up ganging. I doubt that she will be to keen on trusting the word of a known criminal."

"Good. It's no more than what he deserves and bedsides, it will keep us from ever running into him again if he gets locked up," Inferno commented as she got up off the ground and stretched out her scaly body. "I suppose we should get walking again, shouldn't we?" Draft crouched down and looked over at the small red dragon

"I'll give you a ride, no use in all of us getting worn out for no reason," he told her. She gave him a funny look and was about to say something, but thought better of it and climbed onto his back instead. "She's right; we do need to get going again. There's always plenty more traveling to be done," he added.

"Yup, and by the end of all this I'm going to have a flank of steel," Spark joked as he struck a pose that everypony else couldn't help but laugh at. "You guys are just jealous." He stuck his nose in the air and walked off a little ways before turning around and laughing at himself. The sun began to disappear behind some large grey clouds as they continued down the empty dirt road with the cool autumn breeze blowing at their backs with every step.

The group had been traveling in silence for a couple of hours, everypony lost in their own thoughts as they crossed hill after rolling hill. There wasn't much else to do to occupy their time. They had talked about pretty much everything under the sun. I wonder how Sugar and mom are doing right now, Spark thought as he steps over a puddle of mud in the trail. The little colt hadn't even really woken up when Spark said goodbye to him. He really hoped that his little brother wasn't too upset. These thoughts and many more, had been the object of Spark's musings for most of the walk. All of this time to let his mind wander was starting to unnerve the quiet stallion. A few days ago Spark had been positive that leaving for Canterlot was the right thing to do, but the more he thought about it, the less sure he became.

"Somepony better start a conversation soon or I think I'm going to lose my mind," Spark groaned suddenly. His friends gave him a couple funny looks. "I know I'm not the only one who's sick and tired of it being so quiet."

"I know what you mean," Draft replied. "We've been doing almost nothing but walking for the past couple of days, it's only natural that we're starting to get sick of it." The pegasus was feeling the same way as Spark it seemed.

"I know a spell that reproduces the sound of an organ. Does anypony know how to sing?" Star asked. She actually had a pretty good idea. Music always helped to sooth the weary soul, but Spark sure as hay couldn't sing though, at least not very well.

"There is this one song that I used to like, but my voice isn't the greatest. If I sing it you guys have to promise not to make fun of me," Draft told her. He was going to sing a song, which was one of the strangest things that Spark had heard in awhile. He didn't know his friend even liked to sing.

"Of course we won't laugh, please sing for us Draft," Star asked as she fluttered her eyelashes, the way that mares often would when they wanted to get their way, and Draft complied without much hesitation.

"It will only sound passable if you can provide the music. Do you know how to play-" he whispered the rest into the mare's ear, so that his other two friends would be somewhat pleasantly surprised. Star nodded her head eagerly and a second later her horn was enveloped by the usual white glow. This time however, it was accompanied with the sound of an organ drifting around them. When Draft's voice started to mix with the instruments sound, it produced and effect that Spark couldn't have described well enough to do it justice.

_Gotta find a way  
Yeah I can't wait another day  
Ain't nothing gonna change  
If we stay around here  
Gotta do what it takes  
Cause its all in our hooves  
We all make mistakes  
Yeah but its never too late to be true  
Take another breath and say another prayer_

Spark recognized the song, but hearing it accompanied by the organ was something else entirely different. Draft's voice wasn't perfect, but there was a deep longing behind his singing that made the unicorn's emotions surge with his friend's heartfelt words.

_And fly away from here  
Anywhere yeah I don't care  
We just fly away from here  
Our hopes & dreams are out there somewhere  
Won't let time pass us by  
We'll just fly yeah_

Beside Star, Inferno was beginning to tear up and Spark hated to admit it, but he was on the verge of a few Stallion-y tears himself. Star's eyes were closed and she was concentrating on her magic with an expression somewhere between love and sorrow as th music intensified.

_If this life  
It seems harder now  
It ain't no never mind you got me by your side  
And anytime you want  
Yeah we can walk away & find a better place  
Cause we won't let nothing or no one keep getting us down  
Maybe you and I could pack our saddle bags and hit the sky_

That was all that Spark could handle and he was in full emotional mode now. Tears were running down his face. Maybe it was being away from home, the stress of the last few days, or he might just have been a whinny little filly, but he didn't care. The song was raw and beautiful.

_And fly away from here  
Anywhere yeah I don't care  
We just fly away from here  
Our hopes & dreams are out there somewhere  
We wont let time pass us by  
We just Fly…_

Draft's voice trailed off before the song was finished, but Spark didn't mind. Any longer and he would have been blubbering like a foal with a skinned knee.

"Mother of Luna. Draft. Why didn't you ever tell me you could sing? We could have had music this entire trip you ass," Spark laughed awkwardly. He wiped away his tears and kicked his friend in the side affectionately. The music had faded with Star's spell and now she was just staring at the pegasus with her mouth hanging open in awe.

"I told you guys not to make fun of me," Draft replied sullenly. The pegasus glared at his friends and his face turned a little red with embarrassment. Inferno walked up to him and reached up her clawed hand to pat him on the shoulder.

"They aren't making fun of you, Draft. They're completely serious," she consoled. "You don't have the best voice, but you made up for that by pouring out your soul. Look over at Spark, he was crying like a Celestia forsaken mare."

"Was not," Spark lied. He tried to put on his most stern, mature face, but his red eyes betrayed him. "Okay, I may have teared up a moment. Seriously though, Draft. For an amateur, that was pretty bucking good. With a little practice you could probably even make a living out of singing." Draft smiled at his friends who were finally starting to compose themselves.

"Thanks everypony, it means allot to hear you say that, but I'm going to have to say no to singing for a living," the pegasus replied. He started laughing and his friends joined in. The laughter helped to push the last of the sappy feelings out of Spark's mind.

"Well, I don't know about you ponies, but I feel way better now," Inferno said. She was right, everything did seem much better. Spark would never admit it to anypony, but a few tears went a long way in relieving some of the pent up anxiety.

"Are you ready for your turn to sing, Spark?" Star asked, giving the stallion her fluttering eyelashes, but Spark was having none of that.

"Oh no, if I sing, especially after that, everypony here is going to need some serious help to get the memory out of their heads," Spark chuckled. His comment was followed by another round of laughter. After the chuckles died down, the group resumed walking in silence. It was late afternoon by then, and the clouds were still thickening in the sky. It looked like rain was heading their way and Spark sighed as he returned his attention to the road ahead.

It was raining. Of course it was raining, because that was just their luck. They hadn't had their daily delay after all, Spark silently fumed. He was soaked to the bone and his previous good mood was being drowned out by large cold drops of rain. Star had done her best to keep them dry by maintaining a weak field of magical energy around them, but after a few miles she was thoroughly drained. She hadn't wanted to completely burn out her horn and Spark didn't blame her. Not having magic was terrible.

"I hate the rain," Inferno complained. She was trudging along even more miserably than the rest of them. Being closer to the ground, the dragon had collected an impressive layer of mud up to her knees. She stopped in her tracks to scream out some of her frustration and then continued to walk along with her companions.

It had started as a light drizzle at first, but before long had developed into a full blown downpour. Spark had just reminded himself that his friend was still out there flying towards White Tail Woods. Hopefully Downpour wasn't having as bad of a time as they were, he hoped. Knowing the crazy pegasus though, he would probably be loving the foul weather. The driving rain and winds didn't faze him much.

"Should we try to find shelter for the night?" Star asked. She had been worried that her books would get ruined, so Spark had given the mare one of his extra blankets to drape over her saddle bags. Not that it would do much good if the rain kept up for too long.

"No. I refuse to get delayed one more bucking time!" Spark shouted. "We are going to Canterlot and we're going to arrive there on time, like we said we would!" He was yelling for the sake of yelling. It wasn't like the rain would hear his whining and stop for him, but it made him feel a little better to scream. So good in fact, that Spark decided to yell some more. "Aaaaaggggghhhhh!" His voice didn't carry very far in that kind of weather, but it did make him happier.

"Easy there, manticore. No need to have a breakdown just because of a little rain," Draft laughed. Being the pegasus that he was, Draft didn't mind the rain as much as his friends. He might even go so far as to say that he liked a little drizzle now and then, but this was a little much even for him. "You know I might be able to clear the sky above you three if I get a flying start and charge the clouds."

"Yes. Yes. That. Do that… immediately," Spark replied. He didn't know why his friend hadn't mentioned something earlier. They could have been dry the entire time and instead they were calf deep in muck and suffering from wind chill.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do," Draft told him. He flew straight up into the sky and Spark lost sight of him behind the cloud cover. A few minutes passed without anything happening, until suddenly Draft went zooming by with a trail of clouds getting sucked away by his wind current. They could see clear sky and even a tiny bit of sunlight shining through as the pegasus shot past.

"Hahaha, Yes! He did it! Dry, wonderfully blue sky once again," Spark cried. "Celestia be praised." His cheers were short lived however, before Draft even made it back to them, new clouds had moved in to take the place of the ones that the pegasus had just gotten rid of.

"At least you tried, Draft," Inferno huffed in annoyance. "I guess the clouds are just too thick for one pegasus to handle though." She looked downright miserable, so Spark offered her a ride. "Are you sure? I'm pretty caked with mud right now," Inferno replied. Spark just laughed.

"Don't worry about it, I can always just rinse off, right?" he asked with a smile. It wasn't like this rain was showing any sign of stopping soon.

"Well if you insist," Inferno relented. She hopped up onto his back with the barest hint of a smile on her face. It beat the hay out of walking and the group continued on in that manner for sometime.

"I can't even tell what time it is because of all this rain. This bites a big on," Spark whined. At this point, the three ponies were barely moving at all and without his glasses, Spark couldn't see anything that wasn't right in front of his face. After the third time nearly tumbling Inferno off of his back after tripping over a rock or branch or something, he gave up and decided to call it quits. "Alright everypony, buck this. Tell me if you see a sheltered spot to make camp for the night." At the thought of finding a dry place to stay, they all picked up their pace and kept an eye out. Lighting flashed somewhere behind them, lighting up a large group of boulders near a small mountain about a half a mile away. Draft caught sight of it first, and at his behest everypony took off in a gallop straight for it.

They set up camp in a small alcove between the boulders that Draft had found. It had a few leaks here and there, but it was better than nothing and they were thankful for what they had. The first thing they had done was to have Inferno get a fire going and then they started crowding around it trying to dry off. If they didn't have a dragon with them they probably would have gotten pneumonia staying outside in the weather.

Drying out took quite a while and immediately after, they had begun drying all of their belongings. Anything that had been able to retain water was set by the fire while they ate some dinner, which was also a little bit damp. Star's biggest concern had been her books and now there was about seven of them splayed out in the warmth of the camp fire. They hadn't gotten completely ruined, but there was definite water staining on several chapters of three of them. They would still be legible though, and that was what really mattered. Draft was lying on his side rolling up a joint for them to smoke and Inferno was picking mud out of in between her claws as Spark relaxed by the flames. "You know what?" Draft asked out of nowhere. The pegasus had finished rolling and sat up as he spoke "I'd take fighting Stone and his gang over huddling in a dark damp cave any day of the week." You and me both, Spark thought with a smile.

"I guess now is as good a time as any for you to tell us about dragons, Star, unless you're busy of course," Spark said. He facehoofed as soon as he had spoken. Of course she wasn't busy, because they were stuck in a damned hole in a pile of rocks.

"Nope, I don't believe I am," Star replied. "I might as well teach you something while we pass the time." She sat down next to them and started to cast her story telling spell, when Spark interrupted her.

"Just wait for one quick second," he urged. The unicorn got up and walked over to Inferno, handing her the joint that Draft had rolled. "Please." She sighed and lit the herb with a small burst of fire. Spark took it back from her and then settled in to listen to Star weave her tale.

"If I miss anything, Inferno will have to fill it in at the end. She is an actual dragon after all," Star explained. Her horn started glowing, the magic creating figures of white light as Spark got comfortable on the damp earth.

The Dragon Lord is the only original immortal that is known to still be living. If any creature on this earth knows what occurred in the beginning of time itself, it would be him. He lives somewhere on the continent southeast of Equestria, although nopony has ever seen him. He hasn't left his lair in over one thousand five hundred years. There isn't even a pony alive who really knows what he looks like. I don't believe that even Celestia or Luna had laid eyes on him.

He prefers to keep dragons out of the affairs of the other nations for the most part, even declining to do anything when Discord had risen to power. The only exception is a deal he made with the King and Queen of the Alicorns before they died. In return for providing dragon eggs for the top magical apprentices to hatch, Equestria sends large amounts of jewels to the dragon's domain. This is the way it has been since the treaties were made and it is the only reason that I was given Inferno to hatch when I was a filly.

When dragons are young, they function much like the rest of us, but as they age they begin to change. The most obvious change of course is their size. Dragons continue to grow until the day they die. I can't say for sure if this is true of the Dragon Lord, but you can imagine how large he would be if it is. Most of them also develop greed so intense that it borders on obsession. If you ever meet a grown dragon you must never remove any of their possessions. Not if you value your life. Everypony should be aware that they can breathe fire; it comes in many different colors and grows in power as they get older. The last change comes in their sleeping patterns. You've seen how Inferno has the same sort of sleeping pattern as we do, but when she matures, her sleeping pattern will change. She will be awake for decades at a time and then hibernate for just as long.

The most important rule for when you talk to a dragon however is to remember that they are cunning. You don't live for hundreds of years without learning a thing or two. There are many stories of great ponies that thought they could outsmart a dragon and get their gold and jewels, but nearly all of these attempts ended in gruesome failure. You may think that you can trick a dragon, but often times it is really the dragon that is doing the tricking. Keep this in mind should you ever meet one face to face.

Star finished her story and the magic died away, leaving Draft and Spark to stare at her in wonder. The small mare knew so much more than either of the stallions had ever learned. Spark was grateful to have access to her wisdom for his quest.

Well that was, um, frightening," Spark commented. He wasn't really sure what else to say. There were a few of those things that he hadn't known, but he had expected a pony that raised a dragon from birth to have a little more insight into their culture.

"Yeah, I was expecting more of a story and less of a warning," Draft agreed as he dropped the joint that had been left burning in his mouth, after it singed his lip.

"That's us dragons for you, all fire and brimstone with a healthy dose of sadism," Inferno smiled mischievously at the two stallions. "So don't make me mad or I might just decide to eat you." She flashed her teeth and then laughed their expressions.

"Stop scaring them, Inferno. You'll have plenty of time for all of that when you're big and greedy," Star joked as she got to her hooves and began putting away her books, which were mostly dried out by then. Spark and Draft looked at them both with disbelief.

"You don't really think Inferno will get like that, do you?" Draft asked with genuine concern.

"Oh goodness, no. Pretty much all of the dragons that have been hatched by unicorns grow up to be nice, more or less," Star assured him.

"I was just messing with you two. Don't worry about me; I'm not like normal dragons. The few that I've met wanted nothing to do with me," Inferno sighed. Spark wasn't sure, but he thought she sounded a little disappointed when she said it. It must have been hard living in a foreign land, he imagined, shunned by your own kind. He didn't think he could do it and knew that Inferno dealt with it far better than he would have been able to.

"Hey Draft, do you mind rolling one more of those?" Spark asked a little later. "That lesson sort of brought me back down."

"Sure, give me just a second," Draft replied. The dark grey pegasus started working his hooves and soon produced another joint. He was almost as good as Spark at rolling now. Not quite, but certainly close. Inferno lit it up for them and the two stallions started happily puffing on it.

"Do you think I could try some of that?" Star asked softly. Spark was stunned by the unexpected request. He didn't know that Luna's student would smoke herbs.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Spark replied. "Just promise me that Princess Luna never ever, ever finds out. I don't want to spend the next five years in the dungeon for 'corrupting' her pupil or anything. Star shot him a funny look.

"Why would I ever tell Luna about something like that? She'd probably be as mad at me as she would be at you," Star replied. Well it was bound to come up sooner or later, Spark groaned silently.

"Look, I know that you were asked to report everything we did to the princess, so don't buck around with me, okay?" Spark asked. She seemed taken aback by his statement. "What, didn't think I knew?"

"It's not like I was trying to keep it a secret' Star defended. "It's sort of my duty to report what I do and learn to Luna. It's all a part of being her student."

"Well, you still could have let me know that you were acting as her royal highness's spy," he retorted. "I just thought we had some mutual trust going on." Spark took a long drag of the joint and then passed it to her.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't think it was such a big deal," she replied. It wasn't either, so what if she was telling the princess what they were doing this whole trip, Spark wasn't sure why he even cared, but he decided it was for the best to just let it go. He glanced at Star, who was staring at the joint like it was an arcane tome. Draft just snickered at the face she made when she smelled it.

"Look, it's easy. Just put the end up to your lips and breathe in," Draft explained. He mimicked taking a hit to show her.

"Are you sure you should be doing that Star?" Inferno asked. "I don't want you ending up becoming a burnout." She looked to Spark and Draft with her shining, yellow eyes after she said it. "No offence."

"None taken," they replied at the same time. Star had just started to take her hit and began coughing at once. Then Spark remembered that he had brought his best stuff with them.

"I think that one ought to be enough," He told her as he snatched the joint back, before she could smoke any more of it.

"Are you sure? I don't really feel any different," Star replied before she started coughing again.

"I'm pretty sure, just give it a bit. Draft, can we have a countdown please?" Spark asked. He smiled as Draft started to count back from fifteen. Star gave them both a funny look as her coughing eased up a bit.

"…five, four, three, two, one," Draft counted back. He hit one and a huge grin spread across the black mare's face, followed immediately by loud giggling.

"Th-this has got to be the be- the best I've ever felt, ahahahaha," Star choked. She tried to catch her breath and keep talking, but didn't have much luck. "No, ha, no wonder you two smoke all of the time, ahahaha." Star fell to the floor and rolled around hugging herself. Draft and Spark couldn't help but join in her laughter. It was one of the most hilarious sights they had ever seen. The goody-goody mare, Star, Luna's star pupil, was rolling on the ground because she was baked. You just didn't get to see that every day. Off to the side, Inferno just rolled her eyes at the three of them.

"Great. Now she went and smoked herself stupid," Inferno sighed. "I'm going to bed." The little red dragon curled up and closed her eyes a second later.

"She'll be fine in the morning, Inferno. Just let her enjoy herself tonight. She can go back to being a bookworm tomorrow," Spark said with a smile.

The three ponies stayed up for a while longer, telling jokes and stories. They laughed and ate until the high started to wear off and they decided it was time for bed. Star was out like a light about five seconds after lying down, so the two stallions picked up the rest of the supplies and put them away before nodding off themselves.

"Did you ever picture us sitting her like this, Spark?" Draft yawned as he closed his eyes. Spark thought about it for a few seconds before answering.

"You mean huddled in a cave, with Luna's best student passed out in a heap and a dragon curled up near by?' he asked with a laugh. "Nope, I can't say that I did." Spark closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly and letting helping himself to relax.

"Night, Spark," Downpour said sleepily.

"Good night, Draft," Spark replied. He then rolled over and listened to the sound of his friends' slow breathing and the constant patter of rain against stone for a while, until it finally put him to sleep.

*The song that Backdraft sings in this chapter is a slightly modified version of 'Fly Away From Here' by: Aerosmith*


	9. Under Dogs

~Chapter 8: Under Dogs~

Spark had been up for over an hour before anypony else stirred from their slumber. He hadn't slept well and awoke stiff and damp with an aching in his shoulder. Not too surprising, considering that they had all spent the night huddled in an alcove between some large rocks. Inferno was the first of his companions to wake up, yawning widely and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she approached Spark.

"Good morning. What time is it?" she asked.

"It's like six or something," Spark replied. "Do you want some breakfast?" He started to dig some food out of his bags with his hooves and then thought better of it. The stallion decided to give his magic another try and was pleasantly surprised when the familiar green glow surrounded an apple and lifted it out of the bag over to Inferno.

"Hey, your magic is back, congratulations," Inferno commented. She smiled sleepily at him and snatched the apple from the air. Taking a small bite, she sat down by the fire pit. "About last night, I'm sorry we never told you that we were reporting everything to the princess and I-" Spark shook his head and cut her off in mid sentence.

"Don't apologize, I overreacted," he told her. "There's no reason that Star shouldn't be telling Luna everything that she sees and hears, especially when the country is on the brink of war. I should be apologizing to the both of you." He smiled at the dragon and levitated an apple out for himself. Spark bit off a large piece and continued. "I guess the only reason I even cared was because I overheard you telling Draft that I could be dangerous, yesterday morning." She looked surprised for a second.

"You heard all of that huh?" Inferno asked quietly. She avoided his gaze and took another bite of the red fruit, chewing it for a few moments while she thought. "It isn't so much that I think you're dangerous right now, but I saw you fighting against those ponies. As peaceful as you think you are, you have the potential to hurt ponies should you ever lose sight of what's important. I know you're a good pony, Spark. Just never forget that yourself, or everypony around you could get hurt." She finished her little speech and resumed eating her simple breakfast.

Spark thought about that for a while, wondering if she was right. He wasn't the strongest pony around or the best at magic, he couldn't even teleport very well, but every time it came right down to him or somepony else in a fight, Spark had been the one left standing. Even before the fight with Stone. He had gotten into scuffles as a colt and the more he thought about it, the more he remembered being no worse for wear, though the other colts had often needed minor medical attention.

"I guess that I can see where you're coming from," Spark confessed. "Thank you for having this talk with me, Inferno It really means allot to know how much you care." He smiled at the dragon, who simply rolled her large eyes.

"It wasn't an invitation for you to get all touchy feely with me. I was just stating the facts, Spark," the dragon replied. She finished her apple, core and all, and leaned over to light what wood was left in the fire pit.

"Still, thank you," Spark said again. She looked over at him with a much more sincere expression.

"You're welcome, Spark," Inferno smiled back. Then she shot a large flame out of her mouth and soon the logs caught fire in a crackling blaze of warmth and light. It helped to evaporate what dampness had collected around them as she and Spark huddled up closer, waiting for their companions to awaken.

Not long after their conversation had ended, Draft woke up, followed shortly after by Star. The black mare immediately asked for some water because her mouth was incredibly dry. She started guzzling the fluid as Draft chuckled behind her.

"That'll happen from time to time," he explained with a grin.

"I feel like I spent the night with a mouthful of sand," Star choked back around the water. They both took a seat by the fire and Spark passed them each an apple. "Oh good, your magic is working again." Star commented before she took a bite of the apple, juices running down her mouth. She wiped the stickiness off and gasped, "This apple is so good. I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

"That will happen too," the pegasus added. "The first time I smoked, I think I ate my weight in rhubarb pie. I ended up with a raging stomach ache for the next three hours." Draft smiled and she started to giggle and choked on her food.

"Easy there, we don't need you choking to death at breakfast," Spark said as he patted her on the back, until she caught her breath again. They all finished eating and started to pack up camp fairly quickly. It didn't take long before the group was back on the road, with the sun cresting over the mountains ahead of them. They had three days left to travel and were anxious to be done with the first stretch of their journey.

The sky was splashed with grey clouds over its cool blue expanses, but the cover didn't seem to be as thick and full of rain as it had been only yesterday. It might rain again in the next couple hours, but if so it promised to be nothing more than a weak drizzle. Spark figured that something else was bound to go wrong eventually, so he decided to enjoy their little bit of good fortune while he could. He walked along humming a cheery tune that he tried to match up to the sound of their combined hoofsteps. They were currently navigating around some low mountains and after that it would be an open road until they reached the capitol of Equestria, Canterlot. Spark was busy thinking about what he would write in a letter for Heart Charm when he arrived, when he heard a strange sound that interrupted his humming.

"You ever think about the uncanny relation between a pony's given name and their cutie mark?" Draft asked. "It seems like a big-" Spark heard the same noise again and cut the pegasus off.

"Shut up for a second. I think I hear something," Spark whispered. He stopped in his tracks to listen and his friends followed suit. When they stopped walking, the noise seemed to disappear though.

"What is it? What did you hear?" Star asked as she tried to make out whatever he had heard, but it seemed quite to the mare. The only noise any of them could hear anymore was the wind rustling a few bushes. "I can't hear anything, Spark."

"Me either, but I could have sworn that I heard somepony walking nearby," Spark replied. He also had the strange sense that they were being watched. It was a very unnerving feeling and he really didn't care for it.

"You want me to fly a loop around the area and take a look?" Draft asked. He seemed skeptical, but Spark figured it was better for them to be safe than sorry.

"Yeah, I'd feel much better if you would. I feel like we're being spied on," Spark admitted. Draft nodded his head and started flapping his long wings. He flew up a good twenty yards and started to circle around the hills in the area. "Maybe I'm just overreacting. I guess it was just my imagination." The words had no sooner left Spark's mouth before Draft dropped out of the sky a hundred yards away. "Oh buck, Draft!" Spark shouted. He bolted towards his friend as fast as he could with Star and Inferno hot on his tail.

"What happened to him?" Star panted as they cleared the last hill. Spark wasn't too sure, but whatever had happened, it couldn't have been good.

"We're almost there. I think he hit the ground just over this hill," Spark huffed. He crested the top and was met with the stares of at least a dozen diamond dogs. He stopped dead in his tracks as they started running for them. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath as he glanced back to Star and Inferno, who both shared his worry. Spark charged down the hill straight for the closest one almost instantly, whipping out his dagger as he galloped. "The whole reason I had us take the long way was to avoid exactly this situation. We have no choice. We're going to have to fight them off." Star was following a short distance behind him and Inferno was right beside her. The first diamond dog reached him only to get a strong buck straight to the chest, sending the canine rolling back down the hill. The dogs ran on all four legs, but fought on two. This left their chest wide open if you were quick enough, Spark noticed.

Draft was lying unconscious on the other side of the pack. It appeared as if the diamond dogs had thrown a couple large rocks and hit him in the head. Draft's blood was leaking into the dirt as he lay immobile in a crumpled heap. The unicorn saw his friend and made a dash for him, only to have another of the dogs get in his way. He charged forward, intending to impale the creature with his horn, but the dog's front arms had more power than Spark expected. The dull, brown canine took the stallion by his throat and tossed him to the side. Spark flipped, head over hooves a couple times, before landing square on his back.

As Spark lay there, gasping for breath, another of the diamond dogs ran over to him, intending to finish him off. The dog raised its fist, clearly intending to beat the pony to death, but Spark managed to roll out of the way at the last second. He got to his hooves, narrowly dodging a second swing, and wrapped the violent creature in his magic, flinging the dog with all of his force, into one of the other canines in the pack. Spark then spun around to face his next foe and launched himself forward with magic. His dagger entered through the dog's left shoulder. Spark pulled his horn out and kicked the wounded beast a few times, then he heard Star shriek.

"Get away from me you mangy mutt!" Star cried. She teleported behind the diamond dog in a flash of white and followed it up with a kick to the back of its knees. The beast dropped with a scream of anguish and Inferno smacked it in the head with her scaly tail, knocking the canine senseless. When two more of the dogs ran for them, Inferno let out a blistering wave of fire, effectively keeping them at bay for awhile longer. Spark bolted over to where they were as soon as he got the opportunity, jumping over the head of a diamond dog before coming to a stop near Star.

"Do you have any spells that will help us out?" Spark asked the panicked mare. It took Star less than thirty seconds to think of a plan, but it took one of the dogs only fifteen to make it over to them. Spark ducked under two slashes and head butted their attacker in the gut. He wrenched his horn out violently, ripping open a gash about four inches long. The dog cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clutching its abdomen to keep its entrails from falling out as the rest of its pack began to close in.

"They're a subterranean species," Star said as she backed away. "I'm guessing that they only came out because of the overcast sky." Spark was trying to listen while he kicked a different dog, breaking its arm, and then stomped down, shattering its foot. He was too busy reacting to worry about seriously injuring any of the canines. Star bucked the diamond dog in the chest, sending it flying a few feet away while Inferno let out another wave of flames, as the remaining dogs began to advance on them.

"Get to the point Star!" Spark shouted back to her. He could see that two of the dogs had turned and were headed back over to where Draft was. A few others had dug their way back underground and two more were headed right for them. Spark used his charge spell to launch himself up into the air, much higher than he could naturally jump, and landed on top of one of the dogs. Crack! He immediately turned and knocked away a vicious slash from the other. It followed up with a low blow that Spark was to slow to dodge. The dog's sharp claws tore three deep slashes into the stallion's chest, but he managed to toss the dog aside with his magic right after.

Star tried to elaborate on her point, explaining, "If you can cause a bright enough flash, it should temporarily blind them long enough to end this fight."

Spark nodded and his horn started to glow as he got a spell ready that would create a large flare effect, but before he could release it, a large furry hand burst out of the ground under him. He felt it grab him by the hind leg and suddenly twist. There was a stomach churning sound of bone snapping, followed immediately by a blinding pain. Spark knew without looking that his leg was broken in at least two places. "Celestia bucking damn it!" he screamed out, but it didn't stop him from continuing to fight.

Star's horn lit as she cast the flash spell in his place. There was a blinding burst of white light and all of the dogs that were still above ground cried out in unison. The victory was short lived however, because three more of the dogs dug their way back to the surface. Before Spark had time to react they were each wrapped in a white glow and disappeared in a flash, only to reappear twenty feet in the air, howling in confusion. The dogs screamed in surprise until they impacted on the earth.

"Way to go Star!" Inferno cheered. She gave the unicorn two thumbs up as they both ran over to Spark. When he saw that the danger was temporarily halted, the stallion sat down to take a look at his leg. It was bent at an unnatural angle and just seeing it made him feel a little woozy. There wasn't time to cry about the wound right then however, because some of the diamond dogs were already getting back to their feet. "Holy hay these diamond dogs are strong," Spark groaned. He hobbled over to one of them and pushed the tip of his horn against its throat. "Unless you want me to make you into a fur coat, I suggest you tell your friends to retreat right now. We don't want anymore trouble from any of you and I don't think that you want any more trouble from us." The dog looked up at him and gulped.

"Yes, pony. We will leave you now, just don't hurt us anymore," came the gruff reply. The dog had a gravely voice, like it had gargled with sand before their meeting. "We were just keeping ponies away from our den, but we go now. Yes." While Spark was distracted, one of the dogs snuck up behind him. The canine jumped at his back with snapping jaws just as Star shouted a warning at him.

"Spark, look out!" Star screamed, but it was too late. Spark was about to be dog food, but at the last second a grey blur hit the dog in midair, sending it flying down into the hard packed dirt. Draft had woken up just in time to save his friend's flank. Star let out a breath that she wasn't aware she had been holding and Inferno cheered again.

"Enough! All of you leave right now or I will use lethal force to put you down, permanently," Spark said coldly. He didn't want to hurt the diamond dogs any more than he had to, even if they were the ones who'd attacked first, but if one more of them tried to bite him, Spark wouldn't have much of a choice. His leg was already broken and his back and chest hurt something terrible.

"Okay, pony, we give up," his captive surrendered. "You win, just stop hurting us." Spark backed away and the dog took off, diving down one of the holes the pack had dug, presumably to hide in its den while it licked its wounds. Quickly the other dogs also retreated back underground, dragging their unconscious or severely wounded companions down with them. After the last dog disappeared, they filled the tunnels with dirt behind them, which was perfectly fine with Spark, who dropped to the ground in pain. His chest was still running with blood and his leg had already begun to swell and bruise.

"Star, I need you! I'm starting to feel a little light headed," Spark called to the mare. His vision started to fade in and out as she rushed over to him. The last thing Spark saw was her horn glowing white before he faded into oblivion.

Spark opened his eyes again a few hours later and the first thing he noticed was that they weren't in the same place that they had fought the diamond dogs earlier. It looked as if they had continued down the road a good distance, but he had no idea how they had managed. Somepony would have had to carry him all of the way. It seemed unlikely, considering he was fairly tall, but his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"What happened?" Spark asked as he peered around. His voice was little more than a whisper, so nopony heard his question. He tried again, his voice straining as he worked to increase its volume. "What happened? Where are we?" Draft looked over when he heard his friend's voice, smiling happily.

"Oh good, your awake. We almost lost you for a minute there," Draft replied. The grey haired pegasus knelt down beside Spark and eyed him carefully. "You had some nasty gashes on your chest. Thankfully, Star stopped the bleeding. We carried you for awhile, but we still weren't able to make up any of the lost time, because Star had to move you with her magic. We stopped every mile or so to let her rest." Spark looked around and saw the unicorn talking with Inferno nearby. She noticed he was conscious and they both walked over to him. Spark felt pretty rough, but he got to his hooves with a little effort.

"Take it easy, Spark. I mended your injuries, but you lost quite a bit of blood back there, so it's best if you just rest for now," Star explained. She tried to stop him from moving, but he just shrugged her off.

"I feel really banged up, but it isn't anything that will keep me off my hooves," Spark tried to assure the concerned mare. "We can keep going if we take it slow. I am not going to arrive any later than I have to." He took a few tentative steps and when he saw that his legs weren't going to give out, he took a few more. "Let's go." Star and Draft just stared at each other, both thinking he was crazy. Inferno ran up beside him, intending to keep Spark on his hooves in the likely event that he started to falter.

"Come on you two. He isn't going to stop, so we might as well stick by the moron," Inferno called back to the other ponies. They both sighed and began following after their companions. The group didn't travel more than a half mile before Spark needed to take a break though.

"Draft, you have to get into my bag and roll a joint, my leg hurts like hay," Spark huffed as he came to a halt in the middle of a field. The pegasus reached in the bag, fished out the pouch of herbs and began to roll. Once he had finished, Draft passed the joint over to Spark, who smoked the herbs down like they were the last he would ever get. Draft didn't even bother to ask for some, because the unicorn obviously needed it much more then he did. "How's your head doing?" Spark asked as he let out a large cloud of smoke from his nostrils. "You were out cold for most of the fight." Draft laughed at his words, but even when he was beat to hay, Spark was still more worried about his friends than himself.

"I'm fine now. Star says I have a minor concussion, but I told her that I didn't think there was actually anything up there to concuss," Draft joked. Spark chuckled and smoked the last bit of the joint before snuffing it out with his hoof.

"How does my leg look?" the unicorn asked. "It feels much better than it did, but it also feels kind of stiff when I walk." He stretched it out so that Draft could get a good look at it. The leg seemed alright, although it was still swollen to some extent.

"I did my best to heal it and the leg should work just fine after a day or two," Star informed him. "It could take a little longer since you refuse to stop walking on it." She rolled her eyes and then craned her neck to get a better look at the appendage. "It does look pretty swollen, but there isn't really anything I can do about that."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be just fine as long as I can still run and jump when the swelling goes down. I guess I owe you another thanks for fixing me up," Spark replied.

"It was no problem, Spark. Just try not to make a habit of it," Star told him. "We don't have the bandages or the time to keep patching you together every single day." She gave him a playful smile, which he returned. They decided to take a late lunch break, since they were already sitting down, each of them eating the last of the cobblers eagerly.

"This is so good. I just wish that we had more," Draft sighed, talking through a mouthful of the delicious sweets.

"Maybe on our way back through, we can stop by and visit with the Ciders. I'll bet Valencia will make us some more tasty treats," Spark replied as he finished the last large bite of his desert, licking his hooves clean because it tasted so delicious.

"That sounds like a great idea and I'll bet that Honeydew would be happy to see us," Star agreed. She was eating with much better manners than the stallions had, as was the young dragon beside her.

"It's no ruby, but this has got to be the best non-gem food that I've ever tasted," Inferno added. The dragon licked her lips when she finished, then she let out a small burp, accompanied by black flames. "Excuse me," she said with a look of surprise.

"You're excused," Spark said. He started laughing after he said it and Draft joined in. Even Star couldn't suppress a few giggles at the serpent.

"So much for miss perfect manners, huh?" Star asked as she watched her friend blush in embarrassment. A few minutes later, she got to her hooves and stretched out her body with a groan. "That was really good, too bad we have to start walking again."

"Yup, but at least we've only got two more nights before we're in Canterlot," Spark replied. "I bet we can get ourselves some nice comfy beds to sleep in." He was giddy with excitement just thinking about it. "I miss my bed so much right now."

"Me too," Draft agreed longingly. "When we finally get back to Dodge, I'm going to sleep for like a week straight and I'm also going to stuff my face with some good food," he added with a wistful sigh.

When they finally finished eating, the ponies all got to their hooves and continued to walk westward, skirting the last of the hills and mountains. They walked for the rest of the day, but had to stop every now and then for Spark to rest his leg. It was painful, but the unicorn managed to push through his pain and by the time they stopped for the night, the mismatched group had only two and a half days walking distance from Canterlot left to travel. That thought helped them all cheer up a bit as they headed down the path.

Camp got set up quickly that night and they all ate a small meal around their little fire. Everypony, except Spark, was talking and laughing as they enjoyed the warm food. He tried to participate in the fun, but was too exhausted by the long day to gather much enthusiasm. He wondered if Downpour was having as much trouble on his trip. The pegasus should have already reached Chestnut and could possibly have been on his way to Canterlot. If they were delayed any longer, Spark thought, Downpour may even beat them to the old city. If only he had wings, Spark could just fly to the city, never mind having a broken leg, but that was not the case.

"So Star, what are you going to tell us about tonight?" Spark asked. He wanted to hear her next lesson, before he was too tired to stay awake.

"I don't know. I guess the next thing you should hear about is the Kingdom of the Crystal Ponies, but to tell the truth, I don't know a whole lot about their customs or history," Star confessed. "Except that they are, or were, Equestria's closest allies during Discord's War." She dug around in her saddle bag for a minute before coming up empty hoofed. "Hmm, I thought I had a book that might have more information about them, but I guess I misplaced it." Draft had a better idea though.

"Why don't you just tell us what Canterlot and the princesses are like?" he asked. "I don't want to get there and make a fool out of myself or offend Celestia and Luna." Spark realized that the pegasus had a very good point. Coming from Dodge, they didn't exactly have the know how to act appropriately in front of royalty, aide from saying please and thank you. Avoiding the usage of the princesses' names as swears would probably be beneficial as well, he imagined.

"He's right. I have the feeling that we would probably do something stupid if you didn't teach us the proper etiquette for conversing with the aristocratic ponies in Canterlot," Spark agreed. Star nodded her head contentedly.

"I could definitely see the two of them getting tossed in the dungeon for horribly offending somepony important, couldn't you Inferno?" Star asked with a smile. The dragon gave a big grin in return.

"Oh yes, these two have all the couth of a diamond dog," Inferno replied. The two girls laughed at the stallions for a while after that, but Spark and Draft just rolled their eyes at them

"The most important thing, of course, is to always address ponies by their full title, unless they specifically tell you otherwise," Star explained with an heir of seriousness. "You may refer to all of your other friends and me however you wish, but noble ponies like to be reminded of their own importance."

"Probably because they have poor self esteem," Draft commented quietly. Spark snickered at his friend's, most likely accurate, statement. Star continued her lesson unfazed by the pegasus's interruption.

"You must also remember to bow to someone of high importance," Star continued, "and when it comes to the princesses, always bow after entering and before leaving a room that they are in. It takes some getting used to, but it is an important rule to follow." Inferno chimed in with another rule for them as soon as Star had finished speaking.

"Never slurp your soup and always use the proper eating utensils when applicable, also remember to take small bites and use a napkin," Inferno lectured them. Spark and Draft exchanged glances of mutual disbelief. There were so many rules to follow, but the stallions had assumed good manners wouldn't entail much more than saying sir and madam.

"If you are ever invited to dine with somepony, remember to stand up when a mare is arriving to the table and when she is leaving. Also, when in the company of mares, never use foul language or talk about anything that has the remote possibility of being construed as sexual, or offensive in any way really," Star explained. She paused for a moment to think. "In fact, the entire time we are in Canterlot, it may be best for the two of you to avoid talking to anypony whenever possible."

"That's probably a good idea. Not that you two aren't brilliant conversationalists, it's just that Canterlot ponies are mostly all stuck up snobs who get offended at everything imaginable," Inferno agreed. She flashed them a knowing smile. It's like they think we're caveponies, Spark thought as he listened.

"Okay, okay, we get it. Is there anything else that we should know about?" Draft asked, sounding just a bit annoyed by all of the rules they needed to remember.

"We should let them know about the royal Canterlot voice," Inferno mumbled. Spark fixed the chubby dragon with a puzzled expression.

"What in the hay is the royal Canterlot voice?" he asked. Star smiled awkwardly at them before she tried to explain.

"It's kind of hard to describe, but that is the way that the princesses speak with their subject when in a formal setting and, unless you are very close to them, you will almost always be in a formal setting when they are around," Star told them.

"That's all you can tell us about it?" Spark questioned. When she nodded, he just face hoofed at the lack of help. Star shrugged her shoulders at his reaction.

"It's really something that you have to hear to understand," she explained. Spark couldn't help wondering why the short mare's smile seemed to have a hint of mischief to it. It was as if she were hiding something, but he had no guesses as to what she might be keeping secret. Draft began to roll up another joint while Star continued her lecture on etiquette and Spark resumed his silent musings.

"The only other advice that I can give is to remember that Celestia and Luna have been the rulers of Equestria for a great many years, so never ever disagree with their decisions," Star said. Spark scoffed at that, because they may have been immortal, but that sure didn't make them infallible. He wasn't anypony's little flank kisser either, so if he thought that somepony was making a terrible decision, Spark was going to call them on it. He wasn't about to open his mouth and let Star know that though.

"If you keep those things in mind, then I don't see any way that even you two can get into trouble... Oh, and no drugs while we're in the city," Star glared as she told them. "I'm fairly certain that everypony there would frown upon such activities." Inferno winked at the stallions, who flashed strained smiles that weren't to far from grimaces. The lecture on manners may have been a lost cause. Spark had already forgotten about half of what Star had just told them. Oh well, he thought, I can just have her give us a refresher course before we get to the city.

"I have just one question," Draft's said, his voice taking on a somber tone as he spoke up.  
"What is it Draft?" Star asked. She couldn't help but notice his serious expression.

"What's going to happen when Downpour arrives?" he asked them. They had almost forgotten about his older brother. Downpour was one of the most ill mannered pegasus that any of them had ever met, which was fine around his friends, but Spark couldn't help but think that, if they didn't find him before he started talking to the upper class ponies, he would probably end up in a dungeon cell.

"I hadn't considered that," Star answered. "It shouldn't be a problem if we can have one of us meet him at the gate, but that would mean that somepony will have to wait there for him all day." Spark didn't like it, but she had the right idea. It was much better than the alternative at least.

"Well, if that's all the important business that we have to attend to, might I suggest that we get really high while we still can," Spark said as he smiled at his winged friend. "Will you be joining us this evening, Star?" She thought for a second before politely declining.

"After last time I'm just not sure that smoking is my kind of hobby," Star told them. The stallions just shrugged their shoulders in response.

"That is perfectly fine with me. It just means that there is more for us," Draft replied. They burst out laughing, but once they had stopped, Spark used his horn to light the herbs. He was immensely happy to have his magic working again. The unicorn had felt like a wingless pegasus for the last day or so, or how he always imagined a wingless pegasus would feel.

The three ponies sat around the fire for a while, contentedly, Spark and Draft smoking while Star read from one of her large books. Inferno had curled up a couple feet from the blaze and was softly snoring. Spark found the sight of her, curled into a scaly ball, rather adorable and smiled as he turned his gaze back to the campfire. Before long he and Draft had finished with the joint and tossed the tiny end into the rolling flames.

"What to do now…" Draft yawned as he lay down on his back, staring up at the darkening sky. "I guess we could always star gaze." The pegasus had forgotten one important detail though.

"I would love to, but I can't see farther out than I can reach my hoof," Spark replied. His glasses had been ruined during the fight with the Rock Ridge Riders, so star gazing wasn't an option for Spark anymore.

"My mistake, I completely forgot that had happened," Draft apologized as got back up into a sitting position. "Wait, so you fought off all of those diamond dogs while you were mostly blind?"

"Not really. I don't have great vision, but they were pretty large, so nopony could have really missed them coming," Spark explained. He didn't think it was that amazing, but Draft still seemed to. "Besides, both Star and Inferno helped quite a bit. Isn't that right Star?" The black mare was absorbed in her literature and didn't answer him.

"You are either the most dangerous, or the luckiest, pony that I have ever met, Spark," Draft said with a slow shake of his head, which sent a wave down his flowing, grey and white mane. The unicorn laughed his praise off.

"I think I'm just lucky. If we had to go back and fight them again, I'm pretty sure it would be you who would have to save me," Spark laughed.

"Hmm, maybe you're right. I hope we don't have to find out anytime soon though," Draft replied. Spark nodded his head in agreement. "Changing the subject back to your sight, maybe somepony in Canterlot can fix it with magic." Spark had thought of that too, but he hadn't been able to see well from birth, so he doubted that there was anything to be done about it. It was certainly something worth looking into when he had the time though.

"Yeah, that would make things much easier. Glasses are a pain in the flank," Spark commented. They talked for another hour or two after that. Eventually, Star finished with her reading and bid them both a good night. Before long they were feeling the pull of sleep on their eyelids as well. It had been yet another hard day of traveling, with no immediate relief in sight.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Spark yawned and sprawled out on the ground, taking extra care not to put any weight on his hurt leg, which by now had swollen to nearly twice its original circumference.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired too," Draft agreed. The pegasus started to close his eyes, but stopped when he noticed the his friend's injury. "Luna's horn, Spark! Are you going to be able to walk tomorrow? It looks like you've got a damned log attached to you."

"I'll be fine. I just need to sleep for right now and the swelling should be better by morning," Spark assured his friend. He closed his eyes, breathing in and out deeply while sleep crept up on him. Draft followed his lead and soon they were both snoring softly.


	10. She Flies on Pegasus Wings

~Chapter 9: She Flies on Pegasus Wings~

There was something behind Spark. He could feel a very dark presence surrounding him, but every time he would turn around, the feeling would be gone. It was an oppressive sensation that the confused unicorn couldn't seem to shake off. He tried running away, but the feeling of being watched followed him everywhere. It was like a weight pressing down on his entire being, a slowly consuming darkness that would inevitably devour him whole. Just when Spark thought that he had gotten away, something grabbed his leg from behind, sending white hot pain shooting up the wounded appendage. Spark was drenched in a cold sweat when he woke up. He had rolled over in his sleep and his wounded leg had paid the price.  
"Son of a mule, that hurts!" Spark fumed. He sat up on his flank, clutching his injured leg in his forehooves. He was getting really sick of all of the weird dreams he had been having lately and having to deal with his leg only added to the insult. "It must be the stress of this trip getting to me," he spoke aloud to himself.

It was still early, the sun was just being raised over the horizon and there wasn't much light yet, but Spark would never be able to get back to sleep after the dream he had. The unicorn glanced over at each of his friends to make sure that he hadn't woken them while he was having his nightmare and, satisfied that they were still asleep, Spark stood up and decided to go look for some plants that might be useful to them. There was still quite a bit of walking to be done and Spark assumed that a little extra medicine might be a good idea, or at the very least some good spices.

It didn't take long before Spark found some licorice root and dug it up in order to brew a nice tea out of it. He wandered around until the sun was fully above the horizon, taking care not to stray too far away from his sleeping companions, in case the diamond dogs were still around, but didn't find any other plants worth picking. He slowly made his way back to the camp and even though his leg was still sore, the swelling had gone down almost all of the way, which he was very grateful for. Spark walked carefully back to the cove, trying to keep from damaging his leg any further and saw that everypony else was just getting up.

"I'll start some breakfast," he told them, "and I found some licorice root, so I think I'll make some tea if anypony wants some." Spark lit a fire with his horn and began getting everything ready as his companions stirred from their slumber.

"That sounds lovely," Star replied as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned deeply. "How is your leg feeling this morning?"

"It still hurts if I put pressure on it, but I think it will be fine to walk on," Spark informed her. She walked over to inspect his leg and after a few moments, along with a few prods and pokes, gave him a nod of approval.

"Just make sure you try to take it easy," Star nearly pleaded with him. "I wouldn't want you to undo all of the work that I put in to fixing it." Spark chuckled and agreed to her request.

"Something smells good," Draft commented as he sat down by the fire and pulled out a small paper and some herbs. The pegasus rolled up a small joint while he waited for the tea to be ready. "Hey Inferno, could you come light this for me? Spark is a little busy cooking." He looked over to the dragon, who scratched behind her black spikes and ambled over sleepily. She let out a small, black flame when she reached him, and he lit the end of the joint, the strong smelling smoke wafting around his nose.

"Alright everypony, the tea is ready," Spark informed them with a cheerful grin. "Who wants some?" The two other ponies raised their hooves and he obliged, pouring some tea into three empty flasks before taking a seat and sipping the tea himself. "Mmm, that really hits the spot," he sighed contentedly. It was relaxing to just sit down and enjoy a cup of tea from time to time. Spark hadn't realized how much he actually missed the small luxuries of home, like being able to have something hot to drink in the mornings.

After their tea, the four friends enjoyed a simple breakfast of apples before they headed out for the day. Spark did his best to keep pressure off of his leg, but once in a while he would wince in pain as it jarred against the road. It was nothing that he couldn't deal with however.

"At least the sky cleared up. I would hate to watch you try to limp around in the pouring rain," Draft joked. He was trying to be nice, but it just made Spark feel like more an invalid than he had before.

"It's not like I'm crippled over here," Spark retorted. "My leg will be back to its former, impressive shape by tomorrow, just you watch." He adjusted his gait as he spoke, to try and lessen his limp, which was still fairly pronounced.

"Be nice, Spark. He wasn't trying to offend you. He's just looking out for your health," Star scolded the unicorn. Draft nodded in agreement with her and continued flying along the path, with Inferno resting comfortably on his back.

"This is definitely the best way to travel," Inferno said as she stretched her arms out happily. The young dragon was thrilled to be riding around instead of walking and Star smiled over at her friend. The group continued in this fashion for most of the morning, only stopping twice for Spark to rest his leg and catch his breath.

The sun was sitting at the peak of its path across the sky when they stopped for lunch and Spark was more than happy for the break. All of the walking was starting to make his leg hurt again. It didn't help that every hill and valley looked relatively similar, giving most of their trip a monotonous feel to it. Spark was getting physically and mentally exhausted, but refused to let it show through much.

"I think that I'm going to have to rest her for a little while, so you can all drop your bags for now," he finally relented. Star happily unlatched her saddle bags and let them fall to the ground a second later.

"Let me take another look at your leg," she called over to Spark. The injured stallion stuck his leg out and Star took it in her hooves to examine it. "It looks like its beginning to swell again, let me cool it down." The mare's horn began to glow white and slowly, a cold sensation started creeping up Spark's hind leg.

"That actually feels much better. Just how many spells do you know?" Spark asked once the pain had numbed a bit. He smiled at her and slowly bent his leg to see how it felt. Standing up and walking on it proved to be easier and the pain was reduced to a dull throbbing that he could just tune out.

"I've never really counted, but if I had to guess…" Star trailed off. She was quiet as she contemplated his question. "Somewhere around two dozen," the small mare concluded. She said it nonchalantly, but Spark could hardly believe his ears. He could maybe use ten different spells if he tried very hard, but he only knew four or five spells without reading them straight from a book.

"That's incredible!" Spark exclaimed. "I knew that you were good at magic, but that seems ridiculous. How can you even memorize that many different spells?" She blushed at the compliment.

"I guess studying magic is just my special skill, so I pick up on most types of spells easily. Kind of like the way that you're good with plants," Star rationalized.

"That makes sense, but I can't say I'm not a little jealous," Spark replied. "I can only imagine how useful it must be to have such a wide array of magical abilities." Draft had to chime in after hearing him say that.

"Yeah, Spark here can barely survive with the few spells he knows," Draft chided. The brown stallion couldn't really argue with his words though. The few spells Spark did know well, weren't the most helpful outside of a farm or garden.

"At least I can use magic, Draft," Spark retorted smugly.

"Please, keep your magic," Draft huffed. "I would take being able to fly over casting spells any day of the week." Both stallions chuckled at his comment.

"True. If we could all fly, then we would have made it to Canterlot days ago. Not to mention my leg wouldn't have to have pressure on it," Spark admitted. When all was said and done however, he still preferred being born a unicorn over the alternatives.

After a few more, long hours of walking, the small group came upon a thatch roofed cottage, sitting in the middle of nowhere. There was smoke coming out of the chimney, so they could tell that somepony was home, but Spark had to wonder what kind of pony would live so far away from civilization. Even though Spark himself liked privacy quite a bit, he still lived in walking distance of Dodge.

"Maybe we can stay the night," Star said, which didn't surprise Spark in the least. "I would love to sleep in a house instead of outside in the cold. How about the three of you?" Star looked to each of her friends, who all nodded their agreement. Sleeping in a home beat sleeping outside, hooves down. They walked up to the small, brown cottage and Spark knocked. It only took a moment before somepony flung the door open.

"Do I know you?" an earth pony asked. The mare that opened the door was average height and had a rust red coat. "You don't look familiar." She tossed her head back to remove the golden mane from her eyes. "Where are my manners though? Please, please, come on in. Can I get you ponies anything?" She was talking quickly and nopony else was able to get a word in edgewise, until she paused to take a breath.

"Umm, no, you don't know us. We were just passing through on our way to Canterlot and we were kind of hoping that we could rest here," Spark replied awkwardly as he followed the energetic mare into a small living room, where they all took a seat on the few old chairs arranged randomly about the place.

"Well, I would just be more than happy to let you nice ponies rest here for a while," the earth pony said. She fixed the tired group with a big smile. "You are nice ponies, right? Of course you are. I can tell just by looking at you." The strange mare had a high energy level and Spark was almost reconsidering staying there overnight. She didn't seem like the type to let anypony rest for long.

"Oh jeez, I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Alexia Lynn Sapphire, but everypony just calls me Axel," she told them with a toothy grin. What a strange name, Spark thought. "I design and build carts for a living; big ones, small ones, two pony carts and even four pony carts. It's the reason that I have a wheel for a cutie mark. Basically, if you see a cart in Equestria, there is a high probability that it's one of my designs, and you should really see my new flying chariot that I've been working on." Spark swore that he had heard her last sentence wrong and apparently everypony else had as well.

"Beg your pardon, but did you-" Spark tried to ask before Star cut him off with a motherly glare.

"We haven't even introduced ourselves yet, Spark," she said with a frown. He sighed and sat patiently, while Star introduced them all to their host.

"Well, it's great to meet you," Axel told them. She walked up and shook each pony's hoof before sitting back down again.

"Yeah, it's good to meet you too," Spark replied. "Now, did you just say that you created a chariot that could fly?"

"Yes, erm, I'm working on one anyway. I think that I have it ready, but I haven't had a pegasus to test it with," Axel mumbled in reply, her former energetic babbling somewhat diminished as she explained. Spark looked over to Draft and smiled.

"I think my friend here could probably help with that," Spark told the earth pony. The mare's eyes lit up when she heard him.

"Sweet Celestia, that would be such a big help," Axel replied. "I mean, I was waiting for somepony from the stores in Canterlot to stop by and test it out for me, but if I could get it done today that would be the best." Draft stood up and stretched his wings out, just trying to show off a bit.

"I'll help you out, but how big is it?" he asked. "Are you sure it will only take one pegasus? Most of the chariots I've seen seem pretty heavy." Axel started shaking her head in reply.

"No, no, no, don't you worry one bit. It uses pegasus power enhanced by a couple of different enchanted gems," Axel told him. She was getting more animated as she explained the mechanics of her machine. "There's one that balances the cart, one that reduces its weight and another that increases the lift." It sounded incredible to Spark, that such an odd mare was giving the power of flight to everypony. Even if you needed a pegasus to pull you, it was still the next level in transportation. "Would you all like to go out to my shop and see if it works?" she asked them. Everypony readily agreed.

Spark examined the small chariot up close, because he couldn't see it well enough otherwise. It didn't seem much different than any other carts that he had seen in the past. The frame was made out of a lightweight wood, with minimal metal working and he could see the jewels that were inset on the rear underside of the vehicle. It certainly didn't appear very flight worthy, so Spark would have to see it to believe it.

"Strap me in, I want to see this thing in the air," Draft said. Clearly the pegasus was ready to go as he trotted up to the front of the vehicle. If this worked it would change many things for the better, not least of which was the fact that long trips with his wingless friends would take half the time.

"Okay, let me just get this harness situated…" Axel huffed as she fought with the strap. It took a few seconds for her to attach Draft to the chariot and make sure that everything was in working order. "That should do it. Take it for a test run." She didn't have to tell him twice. Draft took a running start out of the shop and lifted into the air. Carrying the chariot didn't seem to be much more of a hassle than carrying Inferno had been for his friend, which surprised Spark as he watched. The unicorn had assumed that it would take somepony with as much power as Draft's older brother to get the vehicle airborne, but he had been proven wrong.

Draft's friends on the ground watched in awe as he pulled the flying chariot into a few of his basic aerial maneuvers. It glided smoothly through the air as he twisted and turned with graceful movements. After he had flown around for a while, Draft decided that it was about time for him to try pulling the chariot around with a passenger inside.

"Alright, which one of you ponies is going to take the first ever ride in the sky?" he asked as he landed near his companions. All of the ponies were nervous and it ended up being Spark that was chosen for the first ride.

"Okay, I'll go first," Spark groaned, "but I don't want you doing any of your crazy spins or flips while I'm in that thing." He stepped into the cart hesitantly, gripping the sides tightly with his hooves. The unicorn said a silent prayer to the princesses and then they were airborne. "Hahaha, we're actually flying!" Spark shouted upon opening his brown eyes. It was one of the biggest rushes of adrenaline that he had ever felt. "I can't believe it; I am actually in the air!" This must be how pegasus felt when they flew for the first time, he imagined. It was an incredible sensation. Draft noticed his friend's enthusiasm and decided to give Spark a better reason to scream. He dipped into a dive and the unicorn nearly wet himself in terror.

"Having fun, Spark?" Draft chuckled as the unicorn yelled at him with a passionate rage. They came about ten feet from the ground before Draft pulled up out of the decline and glided safely into the sky again.

"I told you no crazy maneuvers, you ass!" Spark shouted up at his friend. His emotions were firmly wedged somewhere between anger and glee as he screamed. Down on the ground, the girls looked on with wonder as the stallions made a few loops around the property.

"Wow, Axel, that is amazing. You actually made a cart that can fly," Star gawked as she watched the test flight.

"It's something else, isn't it?" Axel replied. This is what the earth pony had worked so hard for, and the chariot was performing admirably. "I'm so glad that it works right. I wasn't sure that flying chariots were even possible before I started this project." She squealed in happiness at the sight of Draft dive bombing with the cart gliding smoothly behind him. "My father had always dreamed about seeing something like this. I only wish he could have been alive to see it in action." Draft pulled off another couple of simple maneuvers before landing the chariot near his friends.

"That was unbelievably awesome," Spark told them with a smile. "Who's going next?" He hopped off the back of the vehicle with a grin still plastered across his face. Even though it was pretty scary, flying was also the most fun that the unicorn had ever had while sober. "Axel, she's your baby. Why don't you go up and have a ride. Are you still good to pull, Draft?" Axel deserved to ride in her masterpiece and enjoy the fruits of her labor, but running Draft ragged wouldn't be a good idea.

"Oh yeah, this thing is like pulling a pillow, it's so lightweight," Draft assured them. The pegasus cracked his neck and stretched out his wings, preparing for the next rider as Axel bounced over to the chariot.

"Yes, I want to ride!" Axel practically shrieked. "You don't even know how long I have been waiting for this. I mean, I've always wanted to be able to fly and this chariot is about as close as anypony without wings is ever going to get to the genuine article." Axel was practically shaking with enthusiasm as she climbed into the back of the cart and Draft took off, soaring high above the clouds. The pegasus could easily tell how much Axel had wanted to soar, so he gave her a long ride. He flew above, below and even right through the clouds, doing simple tricks and eliciting squeals of delight from the overjoyed mare. They finally came back to the ground a short while later, where Star was patiently waiting for her turn to ride.

"How was it?" Star asked her. She had some anxiety at first, but seeing the look on Axel's face changed that in an instant.

"It was fantastic! Easily the most fun that I have ever had," Axel replied. "I mean, who knew that something as simple as flying could be so much fun?" After hearing the earth pony say that, Star decided that she just had to try it out for herself. Draft took her for a short ride, because by that point he was actually beginning to tire out. Downpour may have been able to pull a chariot around longer, but his younger brother just didn't have the power to keep going for too long.

"You really are a master of your craft, Axel. If somepony would have told me even a month ago that I would fly around in a cart pulled by a pegasus, I would have thought they were insane," Spark admitted as he stood shaking his head, still barely believing what he had just experienced.

"It is pretty cool, isn't it?" Axel asked rhetorically. She pulled the sky chariot back into the shop before turning around and announcing that it was dinner time. "Let's go get some food everypony!" She smiled and led them all back to her home. Everypony was still in amazement; except for Inferno, who was just happy that she hadn't had to fly in the wooden deathtrap. Flying was not something that the tiny winged dragon was comfortable with, at all.

It didn't take long to get a delicious meal made with everypony doing their part to help out. Spark and Draft set the table while the girls made up a big dinner. The deal was that they would cook, if the boys promised to take care of the mess. Spark saw it as a great deal and accepted the conditions without hesitation. The unicorn had grown fond of Star's culinary concoctions over the past couple days. When the food was eventually brought out, he wasn't disappointed by his choice either.

"This all looks and smells so good," Spark said as he eyed the meal. His stomach rumbled loudly in agreement. Draft had to wipe his mouth off to keep from drooling all over the table. There were juicy apples, fresh salad and a steaming platter of baked potatoes; not to mention a sweet smelling carrot cake for desert. Spark was stunned for a few moments as he took in the beautiful sight. Everypony dug right in though, enjoying the taste of the wonderful diner that the girls had prepared.

"Thank you Draft, I think we did a great job too. Everything is really good," Star replied. They ate quietly for a time after that, each of them too busy chewing to make conversation. Even Axel, who had been chattering constantly before, was preoccupied with getting her fill. As Star helped herself to seconds, before finally becoming too full to swallow another bite, she gave up. Soon everypony at the table followed the unicorn's, groaning from the massive quantities of food they had just consumed.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to have any trouble getting to sleep tonight," Spark agreed. He wiped his mouth clean and sighed contentedly. "I don't think that I've eaten that much in… well, ever." His friends all joined him in strained laughter. It took another fifteen minutes before he could move enough to start cleaning up, but with Draft helping they were able to finish the task in no time at all.

"Now that that's out of the way, I think I'm going to have to sit down for a while," Draft said as they finished up. "Between the chariot rides and gorging myself, I don't know how I'm going to move in the morning." Spark nodded in agreement and followed the pegasus out of the kitchen. The girls were talking about Canterlot when they entered the room. Star was saying something about getting to see Luna early, but Spark had missed the first part of her statement.

"What's this about getting to Canterlot tomorrow? We still have another day and a half of travel, at least," Spark informed her. Star turned to look at him with an expression of utter delight.

"Axel said that we can use her chariot, if Draft thinks that he can manage to pull all of us that is," Star squealed happily. She looked to the pegasus for an answer.

"I suppose I could manage with the three of you, if Axel really doesn't mind us taking her baby," Draft shrugged. Spark was stunned that she would even consider letting them take the flying chariot.

"You'd actually let us use your sky chariot to get to Canterlot… but aren't you afraid that we'll ruin it?" Spark asked in shock. Axel just beamed at him and shook her head, causing her blonde ponytail to bob around carelessly.

"Oh not at all, you all seem like trustworthy ponies," Axel elaborated, "and besides, it was just a prototype to see if the enchantments were plausible. I'm going to redesign it, if Draft can fill me in on whatever quirks it may have had." Spark wasn't sure if this was the most generous pony he had ever met, or just the most insane, but he would have put his bits on a little bit of both.

"Of course I would be more than happy to help you out, Axel. It's the least I could do after you've been so generous to my friends and me," Draft assured the earth pony. "Before we leave tomorrow, you and I can go out for another quick ride and I'll give you some notes on how she handles."

"Really, that would be just great. I thought it would take days to get somepony to test it out, what with everypony in Canterlot being so busy and all," Axel replied. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She sure was a hyper pony, Spark thought as he watched her attack his friend with hugs.

"There's no need to thank me, Axel. It's us who should be thanking you," Draft told her with a nervous laugh. "I know I'm not the only one who was getting tired of this trip, so getting to Canterlot by tomorrow night will be a big help." Even if Draft had to stop for breaks, they would still be able to shave off most of a day.

"We can't thank you enough for this Axel," Star agreed. "You really are a kind pony." She walked up and gave the mare a big hug after she had said it.

"Don't mention it," Axel replied. Everypony was enthusiastic about the new ride except Inferno, who was sitting off to the side, lamenting in the fact that she was afraid of heights. She couldn't tell anypony about it, of course, because a dragon who is afraid of heights was just absurd. Inferno didn't know what to do about her phobia, but her friends didn't seem to notice her apprehension yet though, so she thanked Celestia for that.

"What do you think about giving us one last history lesson before we get to Canterlot, Star?" Spark asked her a few minutes later. He was amped by the news that they would make it to Canterlot early and didn't think he would be able to sleep right then. Luckily for him, Star seemed to feel the same way and agreed to his request.

"That sounds like a fine idea, and you are more than welcome to join us of course, Axel," Star invited their host. "I've been teaching these two about the history of the world over the past few days." She got in a comfortable position to tell her story and everypony else crowded close to her. Star's little lessons were quickly becoming the best part of the entire trip for everypony it seemed.

"I would love to, Star, but unfortunately I have been up since dawn working on the sky chariot, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your offer," Axel replied with a yawn. The mare got up and stretched out a bit before walking to her bedroom. "There should be enough blankets for everypony in the closet right by the bathroom. Feel free to stay up and talk all you want and I'll see you in the morning." They all bid her a good night before she walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

"Okay, what should I talk about tonight?" Star asked her friends. "Perhaps I should tell you about the Zebra Tribes? I know that they don't seem to have any part in the predicament that Equestria is in, but you never really know when a little bit of cultural history will be useful to you, right?" Spark and Draft just nodded in agreement, because whatever she wanted to tell them, they would happily listen to. It wasn't like the stallions would learn anything otherwise. Draft didn't care for reading and Spark only read fantasy stories or books about exotic plants, for the most part.

Star began to weave her magic in front of them as she started her tale and nopony noticed Inferno, grabbing a blanket and going to sleep on one of the comfy, stuffed chairs. The dragon wasn't in the mood for a lesson that night. In just a few moments though, both Draft and Spark were enthralled by Star's voice as she told of the mystical zebras and their strange culture.

The zebras have always been a very mystical culture, with deep roots in the production of magical elixirs and enchanted brews. It is no mystery then, why they choose to let their most powerful shamans lead them. There are five leaders, one for each of the five tribes. Zebras live in a far away land, one that is teeming with dangerous creatures and is more wilderness than civilization. They choose to adapt to their environment, instead of changing their surroundings to suit their own needs. They believe that the earth is sacred above all else and that it is their duty to preserve the natural balance between themselves and the wilderness.

I have heard tales of other Zebra tribes throughout the world, but they are all outcasts that practice shadow magic. They worship the power of stones that fall from the sky and perform living sacrifices in attempts to call forth power from beyond the stars. It is for this reason that most zebras see the stars as wicked beings and fear the night. This is also why Equestria's treaty with the zebras was dissolved, because they fear that Luna, being the princess of the night, will one day be corrupted by the power of the stars. It may seem a strange concept to us, but the zebras believed it enough to refuse Equestria's request for renewing the treaty after the fall of Discord.

Although the zebras appear to have no part in the kidnapping of the Crystal Empress, it is still a good idea to be wary of any that you meet. Zebras can be very superstitious and act irrationally because of this. Though many, if not all, of them that have come to live in Equestria do not hold the traditional beliefs of their home land, a few still might. Until the day comes that they see that there is nothing to fear from the princess, I fear that our countries will remain distant from each other's culture.

Star finished her story and, after he had taken a moment to process the strange information, Spark had a few questions that he wanted answered. She had given them a short lesson, but the unicorn was still left a bit confused.

"How is it that the outcast tribes started believing that fallen stars have power?" he asked. The studious mare simply shrugged her shoulders unknowingly.

"I really wish I knew, but they really won't talk about it with anypony," Star replied. "It's a taboo subject that is sure to cause trouble if it is ever brought up in their presence." It seemed strange to Spark, that there would be a culture that would actually make sacrifices to inanimate objects from the sky. It seemed too barbaric to even consider a fact. He could respect other cultures, but even Spark had his limitations.

"Have you ever met a zebra, Star?" Draft asked. It was the next question that had been on Spark's mind.

"I have never met one personally, but I have read a few books about them," Star informed her companions. "Celestia has also told me what bits she can remember from her time in their country, so I believe my information is about as accurate as you can get without visiting yourself." She smiled awkwardly before continuing. "I can only tell you what I have heard though, so take it with a grain of salt, because I don't know everything."

"True, but you sure as hay know more about it then either of us ignorant stallions," Spark replied with a grin. They all shared a laugh at his comment.

"Hey now, I like to think I do pretty well for myself, considering I grew up in a small town like Dodge," Draft defended. The pegasus feigned an offended expression before stifling another bout of laughter, so as to not wake up their sleeping host.

"Wait a minute," Spark mumbled as he took a quick glance around the living room. "Where is Inferno?" Star noticed the little dragon, sleeping soundly in the chair behind him and pointed her out.

"It looks like she decided to turn in early. I can't say that I blame her though," Star explained, "she is a growing dragon after all and these long days of walking are probably starting to take a toll on her." She walked over to her young friend and pulled the blanket up around her scaly neck, so that Inferno wouldn't wake up cold in the middle of the night. It seemed almost like something a mother would do, Spark realized.

"Yeah, I'll bet that she will be pretty happy not to have to walk tomorrow. I don't think that she even got to ride in the cart today. I bet she's going to love it!" Draft laughed. He was fairly certain that he wouldn't have any problem pulling the chariot, even with the weight of all three of his friends dragging him down. The enchantments on the vehicle were something special to be sure.

"I know I got a kick out of it," Spark agreed. The unicorn couldn't wait for morning to come, so that he could get another ride. Star was in agreement with him about that, but he wasn't sure that Inferno felt the same way. She had seemed a little displeased with the vehicle for some reason. Spark had almost asked her about the reaction before dinner, but had forgotten to do so.

"Do you think that it will hold up all the way to Canterlot?" Star asked. She was slightly worried that they would break down in the sky, but they just had to have faith that Draft would be able to safely land it if that were to happen.

"Even though the chariot is just a prototype, it seems just as sturdy as the ones that get pulled on the ground all of the time," Draft replied. "Being in the air should wear it down less, if anything." The pegasus made a valid point. The main concern would be that the magical gems were stable. Spark made a mental note to have Star examine them closely before they took off the following day.

The three ponies talked for another hour or so. All of them were far too excited to sleep, but eventually they decided that, if they were going to try to make it all of the way to Canterlot the next day, a full night of rest would prove beneficial. Each of them grabbed a blanket out of the closet and found places to sleep throughout the living room. Spark and Draft let Star take the couch, while they each found a spot on the floor to sprawl out on. Spark was much more comfortable than he had been outside the past few nights, even lying on the floor.

"Well, I guess I'll see you two in the morning," Draft said. The pegasus stretched one more time and then quickly fell into a deep sleep. Spark yawned and closed his eyes, sleep slowly taking a hold on him as well.

"Mhmm, good night, Draft and you too, Star," Spark yawned back. He never got a response however, because Star was already fast asleep by the time he wished her a good night. Spark was growing very fond of his new friends, he realized as he found himself smiling. Eventually the thought carried him off into a peaceful rest.


	11. Arrival

~Chapter 10: Arrival~

Spark had a dream during the night, but before he even got to his hooves and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the last remnants of it were already forgotten. He had been stirred out of his slumber by the sounds of humming. After stretching out, Spark walked into the kitchen where the sounds were coming from. It seemed that their generous hostess was already up and about with a smile on her face. Axel was definitely more of a morning pony than he could ever hope to be. The smells of cooking food intermingled with her cheerful tune as he followed the sound into the kitchen.

"Well good morning, Spark," Axel greeted him. "I didn't wake you, did I?" She was in constant motion as she talked, her hooves flying from pot to pan all across the kitchen. Spark stood in the doorway, watching as she deftly bustled from counter to counter with various foodstuffs in tow.

"Oh no, I just happened to wake up," Spark replied. It was a lie, but he couldn't see any reason to tell her that she had in fact woken him up. "What exactly are you making in here?"

"I've got some oatmeal cooking, apples sliced up and there will be fresh squeezed orange juice to go with it all," Axel told him. She had already been pretty busy that morning, Spark observed. Why she put so much effort in to making this big breakfast he couldn't fathom, but she seemed to be a genuinely good pony, who just wanted to show them some kindness, so he wasn't complaining.

"Is there anything that I can do to help you out?" Spark asked her as he scanned the kitchen and saw that there was bread that hadn't yet been toasted. "How about I handle the toast and make some tea for those who want it?" He got to work before she even answered.

The pair had a long conversation while they finished making breakfast. They talked at length about Axel's business, making pony pulled transportation, and Spark's mission to try and help the princesses. By the time that they were finished cooking, the other ponies were finally up and about. They were all drawn to the kitchen by the delicious aroma that had permeated the air in the house. Axel told them to take a seat at the dining table, where she and Spark had set out all of the food and they all readily complied with her request.

"It all looks so good," Draft commented, his eyes widening at the sight of such a delectable variety of foods sitting before him. There was everything that Axel had told Spark she was making and then they had cooked up even more. "How are we going to eat all of this?" It was a good question, considering the fact that Spark and Axel had cooked up an excess of everything.

"I guess we did get a little bit carried away, didn't we?" Axel asked. The rust colored mare looked over at Spark and they both started laughing. "Dig in everypony!"

"Thank you for your hospitality, Axel," Star said between mouthfuls of oatmeal laced with juicy blueberries.

"Yes, you really outdid yourself for us. I almost want to say let's be done with this trip and just stay here getting fat," Inferno grinned. The young dragon had even been given a large opal with her breakfast, courtesy of their hostess. "I can't accept this gem though. You should use it for your next flying cart."

"I can't, because it has too many small impurities on the inside and I wouldn't trust it to hold up over long flights," Axel replied. "Enjoy it." She gave the dragon a smile before going back to munching happily on fresh strawberries dipped in cream.

After they had all finished eating, and each of them pitched in to get the mess cleaned up, Axel led Draft out to the chariot. They were going to take another test run so that the mare could get notes on ways to improve the design. While they went to do that, the other two ponies in the house with Inferno and planned for their trip into Canterlot.

"The first order of business will be to meet with Luna and Celestia. I think it would be best if all of us were together for that," Star surmised. Spark could hear the excitement about seeing her mentor in the mare's voice as she spoke.

"That would probably be a good idea," Spark agreed. "After that, Draft and I will meet with Silver Blood and hopefully learn something more about what we can do to help." If he's still around and hasn't gone into hiding like Chestnut, Spark thought.

"I'll be attending to my business while you're doing that," Inferno added. She was acting more subdued than she usually was and Spark couldn't help but pick up on it.

"Are you alright, Inferno?" Spark asked her. "Something seems to be troubling you." She sighed deeply after Spark's question, seemingly unsure of how to answer.

"I didn't want to say anything because it's really ridiculous," Inferno explained. She stared down at her feet, not wanting to make eye contact while she spoke. "I'm afraid of heights. I don't know how I'm going to be able to ride all of the way to Canterlot in the air." That explained why she had been so gloomy this morning, but Spark wasn't sure how he could help the poor dragon with her problem. If they walked, it would only add another day onto their journey and that was time that they couldn't afford to waste.

"You're really afraid of heights, why didn't you ever tell me?" Star asked. "You're a dragon Inferno. You had to know that the need to fly would come up in your life eventually, when your wings develop." Star was very surprised to learn about the dragon's phobia. She hadn't even considered that Inferno could actually be afraid of flying, considering that she was a winged dragon.

"I know how stupid it sounds, but I can't help it," Inferno replied. She was on the verge of tears now and it broke Spark's heart to see her in such a way.

"We're your friends, Inferno, and we will all be right there with you if you need us. Draft has been flying his whole life and there isn't anypony that I would trust more to keep us safe in the sky," Spark assured her. He wasn't sure what else he could say to comfort the dragon. She always put on such an heir of confidence that he'd never thought about the fact that she was still much younger than he was.

"You are so strong, Inferno, and with your friends by your side, I just know that you can overcome this," Star said as she gave Inferno a cheerful smile to help cheer the dragon up a little bit. "How about we go with you on a quick ride just above the ground before we leave for Canterlot? It will give you a chance to acclimate to flying before we leave," she suggested.

"I think I would like that," Inferno replied with a half smile. "Thank you both so much for being such good friends." The dragon dried her yellow eyes, which had begun to water and then they all went outside to see how Draft and Axel were doing with their test flight. Inferno took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves as the three friends walked out into the cool morning.

Axel was in the process of grilling Draft about every aspect of the chariot's functionality when Spark, Star and Inferno walked into the earth pony's workshop. She was furiously scribbling notes down, the pencil wiggling madly in her mouth as she worked. Draft was going through every little detail that he remembered from the few flights he had taken the vehicle on, but the mare didn't seem to have any problem keeping up with him as he relayed the information.

"How did the flight go?" Spark asked as he walked over to Draft, after Axel was finished taking her notes.

"It went well. The only real problem is the weight of it with passengers and the harness," Draft explained. Spark examined the cart more closely while the pegasus talked to him, to get a better idea of what his friend meant. "See, it's made out of a strong, but needlessly dense wood, so if I am going to pull you three all of the way to Canterlot, it will have to be with breaks every hour or so."

"We'll still be making much better time than if we tried to walk though," Spark replied. He was hoping that they could make it to the capitol by the end of the day, which still seemed like a good possibility.

"Right," Draft agreed. "The harness is another drawback, because it's designed like the ones made for earth ponies and unicorns. It needs larger gapped straps to accommodate the full range of pegasus wing movements. I'll do what I can to fix that when we make it to Canterlot, but it should be fine for now, assuming that I don't have to try a series of crazy maneuvers." The two stallions finished their inspection and went to speak with Axel before they departed. The earth pony was busy reviewing her notes one last time when they walked up.

"I can't thank you enough for the notes, Draft," Axel said without glancing up from the paper in her hoof.

"Don't mention it, really. This invention will help all of Equestria one day and I'm happy to have done my part to help," Draft told her. She pulled him into a tight hug once she had finished reading, which lasted longer than he would have liked.

"Still, I would like you to keep the prototype chariot," Axel said. "I think you can get more use out of it than anypony else." She smiled at Draft's dumbfounded expression.

"Are you sure? Won't you need it to make the next version?" he asked her. Draft didn't want to make Axel start over from scratch, but she didn't seem fazed by the possibility.

"I already have my blueprints and with your notes I can redesign the cart and have it ready to fly in just a couple of weeks. Which reminds me; please stop back by here in a few weeks if you get the chance," Axel said with a note of pleading in her tone. "I would love to have you test the new model before I go public with it." Draft couldn't say no to her request. Not after everything she had done for them.

"I would be more than happy to, Axel. Make sure you don't work yourself too hard while we're gone," Draft replied. He hugged the mare one more time before leaving to get strapped onto the chariot.

"If you insist," the earth pony laughed. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you all again pretty soon, so you can check back then."

Everypony else also said their goodbyes after a short time, each of them hugging Axel tightly before they climbed into the chariot. It was about ten o' clock before the small group finally left her house. Spark, Star and Inferno waved goodbye to the rust colored mare as Draft pulled them into the sky, until she finally disappeared from view. At that point, Inferno sank down into her seat and tried to forget where she was.

"What's the deal with Inferno?" Draft called back to his friends when he noticed the dragon squeezing her eyes shut tightly and hugging Star.

"She's afraid of heights, so this is really hard on her," Spark answered the pegasus, while Star was busy trying to calm down the terrified dragon.

"You're kidding me," Draft exclaimed in surprise. The pegasus looked back and saw Spark's serious expression. "Well, why the hay didn't you say so. I'll fly above the clouds so that she can't see the ground down below. It might help her relax a little bit." He started to climb slowly into the air after that, until they finally broke out above the cloud cover. The view was beautiful from that high in the sky. The sun cast a warm, golden light on the tops of the clouds and it gave the scenery a dreamlike feel. The sky was a sea of blue above them and the wind blew past their faces and whipped their manes as the chariot soared through the air.

"Inferno, you have got to open your eyes for at least a few seconds. This is something you aren't going to want to miss." Star told the dragon as she gazed out at their surroundings in wonder.

"I don't think I can do it," Inferno replied. She was practically shaking as she spoke through clenched teeth.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Star assured her. "Spark and I are right here next to you in the cart. You can shut your eyes after one quick peek if you want to." Inferno opened her eyes tentatively, gasping in shock when she took in the full view of her surroundings.

"It's amazing," Inferno mumbled, her mouth hanging open in awe after she spoke. The dragon glanced carefully over the edge of the chariot and saw the blanket of clouds just below them. It almost gave the impression of hovering just above the solid ground, so long as she didn't look in between the gaps in the clouds.

"What did I tell you Spark? It worked like a charm," Draft chuckled. He had glanced back to see Inferno's reaction and shot a wink at his friends before turning his attention back to keeping them aloft. With Inferno's fear set aside, at least temporarily, the other two ponies were free to enjoy the wondrous sight around them.

"I can't believe this view and to think that we are the first ponies to ride in a chariot above the clouds like this," Star gushed. "The ponies in Canterlot will be so envious of us." She was giddy with excitement and Spark couldn't blame her. It wasn't everyday that ponies got to fly above the clouds, unless you happened to be a pegasus of course. Spark sighed contentedly as he lay back on the stiff, wooden bench and stared off into the flawless sky above.

Star and Spark spent the next hour talking at length about how they were going to present their information to the princesses, since there wasn't much else for them to do while riding in the chariot. They decided that it would be best to try getting a private audience with Celestia and Luna, just in case there were spies within the government, as Silver Blood suspected. Star was fairly certain that her teacher would agree to their request and hoped that it would be enough to get Celestia to go along as well. Before long Draft informed the pair that he needed to touch down on the ground for a break.

"I should only have to rest for twenty minutes or so and then we can head back up. The next time we stop to rest it should be about lunch time," Draft huffed. The pegasus landed the chariot as slowly as possible, so that he wouldn't frighten Inferno, but the dragon still kept her eyes firmly shut the whole way down. When they had finally come to a stop, she was the first to jump out and immediately hugged the ground and thanked Celestia that she was still alive.

"I don't care what you pegasus say, I will take walking over flying any day," Inferno sighed. She had a huge grin on her face and Draft couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind once you can use those little wings of yours to fly," he replied. Draft stretched out his own wings as he spoke and then flopped to the ground beside Inferno.

"I really doubt that. Just because I'm going to be able to fly does not mean that I will," she retorted. "I am more than happy to spend my whole life on the ground." While Draft and Inferno were talking, Spark decided that it would be a good time to roll up a nice joint. He sat down on the bench, beside Star, who was reading a book while she waited. Spark began digging through his old saddlebags and Star only glanced up when she heard him start laughing uncontrollably.

"What is so funny, Spark?" Star questioned. She stared at him from over the top of her book with a look of confusion on her face. Spark raised his hoof up to show her a bottle of dark green liquid, trying to catch his breath and talk while he did so.

"I-It's my, haha, my pain potions. I com-completely forgot that I had some of these in my bag. I-I could have used them when, hahaha, when my leg was all bucked up," Spark chortled. He fell over in laughter, nearly breaking the valuable potion in the process.

"I think that you smoke entirely too much for your own good," Star replied dryly. Her expression was unamused and she immediately went back to reading her book, trying her best to ignore the stallion's little breakdown.

After he had finally calmed himself down, Spark went about rolling up the joint and bringing it over to where Draft was resting. The pegasus was lying on his back, staring up at the sky when Spark walked over, lit joint suspended in his magical grip. The unicorn dangled it in front of his friend, snatching it away when just as Draft tried to reach for it, a few times, before finally giving it to him.

"You can have it, as long as you promise that you aren't going to be so high that you forget you're pulling a chariot with all three of your flightless friends behind you," Spark told him with a chuckle as the unicorn sat down next to his friend.

"Even if I did, I'm sure that Star could get Inferno and herself to the ground safely. You on the other hoof, well, I could probably catch you before you hit the ground, but I can't promise anything," Draft jested. He let out a cloud of smoke accompanied by a playful smile.

"You make a solid point and if I hadn't grown so attached to living I'd be inclined to accept that answer," Spark replied. They spent the next fifteen minutes smoking and relaxing, but eventually Draft decided it was time to go. Spark helped his friend fasten up the chariot's harness and they all loaded back up into the vehicle. Inferno once again covered her eyes as they climbed back up into the cloudy autumn sky.

The next leg of the journey was spent talking about nothing in particular, as everypony did their best to pass the time. Inferno remained seated in the middle of the chariot, but had at least gotten to the point where she could look around herself without freaking out. Much of the wonder that Spark had first experienced while flying in the chariot had worn off as the monotony set in. Walking may have been slow, but it did provide a little more excitement from time to time.

"If only we had this thing like a week ago, it would have saved a whole bunch of walking," Spark said aloud. "Although I suppose that we would have gotten bored and Draft would have most likely been less enthusiastic about the trip than he was." He was staring off into the open sky as he spoke.

"We wouldn't have been there to protect Honeydew either and you wouldn't have been able to plant the Ciders a new orchard," Star reminded him. She made a good point, just those two small acts of kindness made the whole trip worth the effort in Spark's mind. "Plus, I don't think Inferno would have enjoyed flying the entire way to Canterlot."

"Not at all," Inferno groaned. She stuck her forked tongue out in distaste. "Bleh." Star and Spark laughed at her disgusted expression.

"Hey Draft, are you about ready for lunch? I'm starting to get hungry back here," Spark asked as he began to dig through his bags. Thankfully, the group had eaten quite a bit at Axel's, so the provisions that were remaining would be more than enough for the four of them.

"As a matter of fact I am getting pretty tired and hungry," Draft replied. "You may want to close your eyes, Inferno, because I'm going to bring her down now." Inferno did, in fact, close her eyes while the chariot sank from the clouds and landed gently back on the ground. Though she didn't tremble with fear as she had the first time, Spark noticed. It seemed that Draft was already getting better at controlling the chariot as well, because they hardly bounced at all as he landed.

"Draft, you just rest up while the three of us get some lunch ready," Spark told his friend. "We'll take a forty five minute break before we continue." He glanced over at the pegasus, who was panting pretty heavily by then. "Does that sound like enough time? I wouldn't want you dying from exhaustion on us."

"Yeah, that'll be fine. Just make sure you roll up some more herbs before we take off," Draft replied. The pegasus didn't lie down as much as he collapsed onto his side after that. Spark left his friend to rest up and went to help Star and Inferno with the lunch preparations. It didn't take the three of them long to make everypony a simple lunch.

They ate a quickly and Inferno had run out of gems, so she was also forced to live off of 'pony food', as she so lovingly referred to it as. Star cleaned up the mess as soon as they were done, while Draft and Spark smoked a small joint before it was time to leave. In no time at all the four friends were back in the air and well on their way to the capitol.

The entirety of the day was spent in much the same way for them. They would make conversation to pass the time and every hour or so they would touch back down so that Draft could rest his wings for awhile. Eventually, even Inferno was more bored of flying than she was terrified. That didn't keep her from closing her eyes whenever they ascended or descended of course, but it did make Spark more comfortable.

It was evening before they had finally reached their destination. The great city of Canterlot jutted out of the side of the tallest mountain in Equestria, a testament to the awesome powers of alicorns. Aside from the princesses, there was really no greater symbol of Equestrian unity than the city itself. It had always stood like a beacon, steadfast and full of glory. It reminded all those who looked upon it that the princesses would always be there to serve and protect them, at least that was what it meant to Spark, just as his father had always told him. Draft's mouth hung open in awe at the sight.

"It's stunning," he mumbled. The city was full of light at that late hour and it gave it a fantastical quality. "Where should we land?" Draft asked as he stared down below.

"There's a front gate that we can pass through if we skirt the side of the mountain and find the road," Star replied. She had been to Canterlot many times before, but was no less impacted by the city's beauty from their heavenly perch than any of her friends.

"I think I see somepony flying our way," Spark informed them. He couldn't be sure because the figures repeatedly disappeared from view, out of the waning light that the sliver of a moon was giving off. "There it is again. Somepony is headed our way… and fast," he added. It almost looked as though they were about to be rammed.

"It's Luna's royal night guard. They must think we're hostile," Star explained hurriedly. The mare sounded frightened and for good reason. The night guard resembled pegasus ponies only in the fact that they had wings, a head and four legs. Everything else about them was strange and, in Spark's opinion, sort of disturbing. They were dark grey, much like Draft, and wore purple armor. The most noticeable differences though, were their bat-like wings and pupils that were reminiscent of cat's eyes.

"Can you dodge them, Draft?" Spark asked. It was probably a stupid question he realized, but one he had automatically thought of.

"It would be a hard enough feat when I was flying alone. There's no way in Equestria that I can do it with a fully loaded, flying chariot," Draft replied. The most the pegasus could do was descend as quickly as it was safe to do and brace for an impact.

"Why the buck would they try to attack us?" Spark questioned. He was hoping that there was some sort of misunderstanding that could be resolved, but the look on Star's face didn't inspire much confidence.

"Luna and her guards are not really known for being that understanding with intruders. That, coupled with the fact that we arrived in a strange flying vehicle, probably marks us as a threat," the small unicorn replied.

"Add in the fact that we are on the verge of war and I'm sure they won't hesitate to bring us down any way possible," Inferno added. The dragon was prepared to jump onto Draft if need be. "Star, Luna's night guards know us. Is there some way you can signal them?" The last thing that Inferno wanted was to fall from this death trap to her doom, but Star just shook her head.

"No. I wasn't given a secret hoofshake or anything. I never expected to be attacked by her guards in midair," Star replied. She thought about their situation hard, looking for any possible outcome that would end without them crashing. "I think I have an idea, but be ready to land hard after we teleport." Spark's tone grew dead serious as he spoke his next words to her.

"You can't be serious. If you try to teleport all of us you're going to-" His voice was cut short as the entire vehicle, pegasus and passengers, disappeared in a dazzling white flash of magic. "-get yourself killed if you try that," he finished as they rematerialized. The chariot was already near the gates of the city and Draft did his best to land smoothly after the surprising change of location. He managed to keep them from slamming head on into the walls surrounding Canterlot, but only after a lot of bouncing and shaking.

"You did it; you actually teleported all of us. That was bucking amazing," Spark exclaimed. He turned to give the mare a hug, but stopped short when he saw her. Star was slumped over in her seat, unconscious and a small trail of smoke was emanating from the end of her horn. "Oh shit," Spark muttered as he immediately dropped down next to her. Star was still breathing, but it was shallow and inconsistent. Her pulse was faint and she was having small spasms every few seconds.

"We need to get her to an infirmary, now!" Inferno was screaming in his face, but it seemed distant and muted to the unicorn. This was all because of him and his stupid mission, Spark thought. First, it had sent Chestnut into hiding and now it had nearly gotten Star killed. The world seemed muted as he contemplated his actions.

"Draft, you have to fly her into the city," Spark ordered as he snapped out of his daze. It would be the quickest way to get her the help she needed. "Inferno, do you know where the closest medical building is?"

"Yes. I'll lead you guys to it," the dragon replied. They ditched their bags at the gate, the more important concern of saving Star taking priority over their supplies and the chariot. Inferno rode on Spark's back and pointing out the way, while Draft carried Star above them, as gently as he could. In a few minutes, they had reached a fairly large building that, the dragon assured them, was the hospital. Spark kicked open the doors of the plain looking structure and ran straight to the counter, with Draft right behind him.

"Please, our friend just teleported all three of us and then passed out. I think she's suffering from extreme magical exhaustion. You have to help!" Spark shouted at the nurse behind the front counter.

"Okay, sir. Calm down and follow me. Your friend is going to be just fine," she replied calmly. The white, unicorn mare led them to a room in the back, where she asked Draft to lay Star down on a hospital bed. Spark followed silently, watching everything happen in a sort of daze. The situation felt surreal as he watched the doctors start working on the small mare, before he was ushered out of the room, along with Draft and Inferno.

The next couple hours went by in a sort of haze for Spark and his friends as they waited for some sort of good news. There were nurses and doctors that came and went the entire time. Some of them stopped long enough to talk to them about how Star was doing, but every time it was just a variation of them saying she was in stable condition. Spark tried to listen, but his mind felt like it was a million miles away at that point. Confusing thoughts pestered the unicorn as he sat, restlessly waiting.

Spark couldn't fathom why Star would have tried to teleport all of them at once. They could have been just fine without her nearly killing herself. The night guards wouldn't have actually attacked them anyway, he reasoned. They were Luna's personal guard; surely they would have realized who was in the chariot when they got close. All of this thinking wasn't really doing much good though, so Spark got to his hooves and decided to find Star's doctor and see exactly how bad her injuries were. He finally found somepony who appeared to be a doctor, talking with one of the nurses a few rooms down from where Star was.

"The black, unicorn mare, is she going to be alright?" Spark asked the stallion. He was trying hard to remain calm, because he knew that getting pissed wouldn't heal Star any faster, but his heart was still racing.

"The patient in room thirty four, suffering from magical overexertion? Well, she did some significant damage to her heart and suffered a major concussion. We have the best doctors working on her, but I don't want to lie to you. It is all very touch and go right now," the doctor explained. "We'll do everything we can, but she may have done too much harm to her heart for us to be able to mend it. I'm sorry." He walked away as soon as he finished speaking, leaving Spark standing in the middle of the hall.

Spark blamed himself for everything. If I wouldn't have suggested that she travel with us she would be fine, he imagined. His thoughts began to turn very dark, very quickly after that. Luna, she's also to blame for this mess, he fumed. No real princess would allow their student to be targeted by their own guards, especially when she was trying to save her kingdom from a damned war. Spark set his mind on finding a drink, because obliterating his thoughts with alcohol seemed like the best course of action for dealing with the situation.

"You two, stay here and make sure Star is okay. I'm going to go get hammered," Spark told them flatly. "There's bound to be a bar still open somewhere in this bucking town." He passed his friends without even a glance in their direction. Draft got up to smack some sense into the unicorn, but Inferno stopped him.

"Let him go. He won't be any help in his current condition anyway," she sighed and then she and Draft resumed their silent vigil. Both of them wanted to talk, but they knew that no words would change anything. Their only choice was to wait.

It took Spark only fifteen minutes to find out how to get to a bar from the hospital and even less than that to walk in the door and take a seat in the back. It was a dimly lit place, but not dark enough to hide the stained wood floors and peeling wallpaper. Spark also couldn't help but notice a healthy coating of dust over everything. It suited his mood perfectly, he decided. It only took a couple more minutes before somepony saw him sitting alone at the table.

"Hey hun, what can I get you?" a waitress asked him. The mare that had come to take his order looked like she might have been very pretty once, but now she was far to thin. Her yellow coat was dull and the mane and tail she wore carelessly braided weren't any better than the rest of her either.

"Get me a double shot of whiskey on the rocks," Spark replied. He didn't think he needed to add 'in a dirty glass' to his order, because it looked as if they never washed their glasses, but rather rinsed them out and stacked them back on the shelves. It didn't matter, he thought, he'd drink out of a trash can right then, as long as he could get wasted in peace. About a minute later, the waitress came back with his drink. Spark tossed it back in a quick gulp. It was the cheap stuff and burnt a trail down the back of his throat all the way to his stomach. He slammed down the glass and ordered another right after.

"Something got you down, hun?" the waitress asked him. The mare seemed nice enough, but Spark wasn't really in the mood to talk, so he just brushed her off.

"I just want to drink, so if you could bother somepony else with small talk I'd appreciate it," he replied with a smile that probably came off as more of a grimace. The waitress hurried off to get him his drink though. "Sweet Celestia, this is shaping up to be one hay of a night." Spark contented himself with staring at the dingy walls while the waitress brought him his next drink. She tried talking again as she set it on the dirty tabletop, but finally took his hint and was silent around him for the rest of the night.

The bar wasn't the best atmosphere to help change Spark's mood, so it wasn't much of a surprise when he found himself just getting more depressed, but he wasn't about to go out and find a better bar. Besides, once a pony got over the filth, it really wasn't such a bad place, he realized. The drinks were cheap, everypony kept to their selves and most importantly, the drinks were cheap.

Spark had five more drinks over the course of the night and got good and drunk before he eventually left. He didn't usually do much drinking, but when the time came, Spark certainly could throw down with the best of them. Even though he had wasted no time getting inebriated, it was still thirty minutes to midnight before he stumbled out of the bar. He wasn't sure which way the hospital was from his location, but he gave it his best guess and started heading east, down the dimly lit streets of Canterlot.

Spark continued walking for twenty five minutes and hadn't seen a single street that looked familiar to his whiskey addled brain. "Way to go Spark, you got yourself lost, at night, in the largest city in Equestria," Spark mumbled under his breath. "How could this get a-" He didn't get to finish talking to himself, because at that moment, he was knocked forward onto his face. Blood filled the unicorn's mouth, but he couldn't feel any pain. "I hope you know that you just bucked up," he spat out, along with a mouthful of his warm blood.

Spark got to his hooves, with a new wave of clarity after being hit, and kicked out at the first thing he saw. The pony went down to their knees and he followed up the hit by grabbing the stallion's leg with his magic and twisting. The bone gave out and the dark grey pony screamed in agony. Somepony else was there too, and they bucked Spark hard in the hip, sending him flying to the ground, where he impacted gracelessly.

Spark got back to his hooves again, trying his best not to vomit as he charged at his attacker, using magic to launch himself forward. Spark really wished that he had his dagger right then, because his horn glanced off of what must have been armor and then he felt a hard kick connect with his back. The unicorn dropped onto the ground once more and this time he couldn't stop himself from spewing alcohol along the street.

"You are under arrest for evading the authorities and attacking a member of Luna's royal night guard," a menacing voice informed him. Spark could see dark grey body and armor and realized that he should have expected it. If only he'd had his glasses and hadn't been wasted, the whole situation could have probably been avoided, but he wasn't that fortunate.

"Well…" Spark started, but he didn't really know what to say. "Shit." He was drunk and didn't doubt for a second that they would throw him in the dungeon. He got the bright idea to try and run after that, but only made it a half of a block away before another guard dropped down from above him. The pony hit him hard too, dropping Spark's jaw to the ground with a resounding crack that shook his brain. It was a terrible way to have spent his first night in Canterlot, was the last thought Spark had before he was knocked out cold and tossed into a cell.


	12. A Royal Pain

~Chapter 11: A Royal Pain~

Splash! Spark was going to kill Downpour for dousing him this time. The hungover stallion opened his eyes and was assaulted with a blinding pain that shot through his head and made his entire brain throb.

"Ahahaha, make it stop!" Spark moaned as he doubled over, clutching his head in his hooves. I'm never drinking again, Spark promised to himself, as he always did the morning after a binge. That sent memories flooding back, like the whole reason he had been drinking in the first place. "Where's Star!?" His eyes opened in a squint and he could make out grey walls and bars around him. "What the hay did I do last night?" Spark mumbled aloud. The last thing he remembered was sitting at a dive bar and then… he couldn't remember actually leaving.

"Get up you drunk, there's somepony here for you," a stallion's voice called to him from the other side of his prison. The guard that had doused him with cold water shook his head in disgust as he opened the cell door. Spark looked up into the face of Draft, who had apparently come to bail him out.

"I leave you alone for one night and you get in a fight with three night guards. What were you thinking?" Draft asked him. He reached out a hoof and helped Spark get up on all fours. The room began to sway before the unicorn's blurry vision and he had to fight the urge to vacate his stomach contents all over the cold stone floor. Spark regained his composure soon after though and managed to walk out of the dungeon with a little help from his friend.

They walked a few blocks before either of them spoke, Spark had been enjoying the quite and trying to clear the haze from his mind, but Draft finally broke the silence.

"She's doing fine now. She woke up this morning," Draft informed him, referring to Star's condition. Thank Celestia, Spark though, because he didn't know how he would have forgiven himself if she hadn't made it. "The doctors say that she can leave this afternoon, but she probably shouldn't even try to use magic for the next few days." That made sense, since most unicorns wouldn't even be able to ever use magic ever again after the stunt she'd pulled off.

"I'm glad to hear it. I want to go check up on her," Spark replied. He felt terrible for everything that had happened the night before. He had handled the whole situation in the worst possible way. Thankfully, his other friends were a little more put together than he was and had kept their eyes on Star.

"That will have to wait. Luna came to visit her after she heard what had happened and we have an appointment to speak with her and Celestia in an hour," Draft informed the unicorn. "I don't think we should be late." He was right, but it would be strange for Spark to meet with the princesses after getting arrested for fighting with the guards. Not that the unicorn remembered why he had even been stupid enough to do it in the first place. His raging hangover wasn't going to help matters either.

"Of course we do," Spark groaned. "Alright, let's get this over with." He would just have to do his best to ignore his raging headache and churning stomach.

"I thought you would be a little more, uh, excited about meeting the rulers of our country," Draft said as they walked down the road.

"I am. I just feel like crap right now. A hangover doesn't make for a great disposition," Spark replied. He would have preferred a few hours to recover and a joint wouldn't have hurt either. "I'll get over it though."

"You know what happened last night wasn't your fault right?" Draft asked after a moment. "It was just one of those unavoidable mishaps." He was trying to cheer Spark up, but the hungover stallion wasn't in the mood to feel better. The fact was, that Spark had played a big part in what happened. "Star doesn't blame you for it."

"I'm glad to hear it," Spark mumbled in reply. He made a vow to himself right then, that he would do whatever it took to make sure that nopony, especially not his friends, ever got hurt because of his decision to go on the stupid mission, ever again. After he got Star and Inferno to Manehatten, Spark planned to continue on alone. It was for the best, he figured.

The rest of the walk passed, more or less, in silence. The city streets were busy, but nopony bothered the two stallions while they walked. It gave Spark plenty of time to think about what he was going to say to the princesses. Apologizing was the foremost idea in his mind. He was honestly surprised that they had still agreed to meet with him after what a moron he had been last night. They must have realized that any information that could help prevent a war would be useful, even if it came from somepony that they hadn't gotten the best first impression of.

Spark paused momentarily in his self depreciating thoughts to admire the city that they were now walking the streets of. It was very large, almost overwhelmingly so. There were ponies of all kinds bustling about the streets, most of them were unicorns, but Spark saw pegasus and even a few earth ponies as well. The buildings became larger and grander the closer to the castle they walked. He couldn't imagine living in such close proximity to all of this noise, because he was a pony who valued his peace and quite, but their was definitely a certain charm to the capitol.

"State your business in the castle," a stallion ordered them. Spark had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the guard standing right in front of him. The unicorn was fully armored and wore a stone faced expression as he addressed them. They had arrived at the castle doors without Spark even realizing it. He faltered for a moment, unable to answer. Thankfully, Draft was more focused on the task at hoof.

"I am Backdraft and this is Nature Spark. We have a meeting with Princess Luna and Princess Celestia in a half hour," the pegasus stated. The guards stepped out of the way and nodded them in. Spark followed his winged friend through the large doors and into the castle. When they were inside, the doors were slammed shut behind them, the noise echoing through the empty corridor causing another flash of pain to bombard the unicorn's head. A tan unicorn stallion met them in the hallway, with a polite bow.

"Gentlecolts, if you would please follow me, I will take you to the great hall," the servant said. He turned and began walking away, so the two friends proceeded to follow him past a series of large ornate doors, stopping finally at the largest entrance at the very end of the long corridor.

"The princesses will see you momentarily. Please have a seat while you wait," the servant told them as he gestured to a couple of antique chairs. The unicorn walked away, leaving them to patiently wait for their turn to have an audience with their rulers.

"Are you ready for this?" Draft asked as he took a seat on one of the chairs sitting outside of the large doors. Spark took the spot next to him and figured out that they preferred pretty seats over comfortable ones in the castle. It was like sitting on a stiff board and the upholstery was itchy.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Spark replied. "I suppose I should lead with an apology for fighting with the guards and then get into everything I know from Chestnut and Strata. With any luck, the princesses will know a good way to proceed with the situation." If not then this whole journey will have been for nothing, he thought.

"After this we can go visit with Star for a while, before trying to find Silver Blood. Hopefully he's still somewhere in the city," Draft said.

"Right, then tomorrow your brother should be arriving and we'll get him up to speed on what's been going on," Spark continued.

"I'm curious to see how his little endeavor went as well," Draft replied. The pegasus smiled at the thought of his headstrong brother traveling all the way to Canterlot with the hippogriff.

"I almost forgot we also need to find out what became of our chariot and saddle bags," Spark gasped. A flying cart wasn't likely to be left alone for long. They would be fortunate if it was still where they left it.

"Actually, Inferno took care of that this morning. Our stuff is waiting for us outside the hospital," Draft assured him.

"Oh, good, that's one less matter to attend to then," Spark replied as he tried to think of any other business that they had to take care of, but couldn't come up with anything that he had forgotten. I guess there's nothing left to do now, but wait for our turn, he thought, as he leaned back in the stiff seat.

The seconds crept by agonizingly slow for Spark as he sat with Draft, just outside of the princesses' throne room. He was normally very patient, but it wasn't everyday that he was waiting to meet the princesses and his nervous energy quickly developed into restlessness. He occupied his mind with thoughts of Charm and decided that, before they went to meet Silver Blood, he would be sure to send her a letter. The lovely mare would most likely be worried sick about him.

Finally the doors creaked open and a small group of rich looking ponies exited from their meeting. Most of them didn't even give the haggard looking unicorn a second glance. He supposed that he must look pretty ragged and mentally kicked himself for not bathing before he met the most important ponies in Equestria. It was just one more reminder of why Spark didn't drink to excess anymore.

"Mister Nature Spark, Mister Backdraft, the princesses will see you now," the servant informed them as he returned from whatever duties had pulled him away before. The two stallions stood up and walked past the unicorn, who had called for them, into the large throne room. The first detail that struck Spark was how beautifully designed the place was. It was larger than any room he had ever been in and the detail in the craftsmanship was astounding. As he looked to the front of the room, Spark saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna seated at their thrones. Their majesty caused all thoughts of the architecture to leave his mind. The unicorn was dumbstruck with the stunning beauty of the sisters as they watched him approach.

They were unlike anything Spark had ever seen. Celestia was radiant and shining, her flowing mane lit with all the colors of the dawn. Her eyes shined with a breathtaking brilliance. Just the sight of the alicorn made him want to be a better pony. Beside her sat Princess Luna, who was quite different, but no less beautiful than her elder sister. Her coat was sleek and dark, with beautiful eyes to match. Staring into her face, Spark was struck by a feeling of mysterious enchantment. No wonder they had been the leaders of Equestria for so long, he thought as he gazed upon their enchantment. Their very presence made it hard for the stallion to think straight. Thankfully, it was Celestia who spoke first; because Spark didn't believe he had the power to break the trance they had him under.

"YOU ARE THE ONE CALLED NATURE SPARK, SON OF THE LATE OAKEN FIELD, ARE YOU NOT!?" Celestia asked him, her voice like thunder in Spark's head. A throbbing pain radiated from his ear drums and reverberated in his skull. He had known that fighting with the night guards would make the princesses upset, but he hadn't expected the yelling to begin so soon after meeting them.

"Yes, Princess Celestia," Spark replied with a bow. He wasn't sure what else to say to her, so he chose to speak as little as possible.

"AND YOU MUST BE BACKDRAFT," Celestia continued as she turned her attention to the pegasus. "WE HAVE HEARD A GREAT MANY THINGS ABOUT THE TWO OF YOU. PLEASE, FORGIVE OUR GUARDS FOR THE MISUNDERSTANDING THAT TOOK PLACE LAST NIGHT. THEY HAVE BEEN ON EDGE EVER SINCE WE HEARD THE NEWS ABOUT THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE'S ACCUSATIONS!" Celestia had just apologized, but for some reason she was still yelling at him. Spark didn't sense any hostility in her words however, so he was confused by the situation.

Draft noticed the befuddlement on his friend's face and whispered to him, "I think this is what Star meant by 'the royal Canterlot voice'." He was right, the unicorn realized, this must have been what Star had meant. That sly little mare had known this would happen, although the hangover was just unfortunate circumstance. Spark was going to have to have a few words with her about setting him up like she had.

"There is no reason for you to apologize on your subject's behalf, my princess. I am just as much at fault," Spark replied. He tried to give his most humble smile, but he was lucky just to be standing, with his hungover brain being verbally attacked the way it was. Every word the princesses shouted was like a blow to his mind.

"DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND US, NATURE SPARK. MY SISTER WAS APPOLOGIZING ABOUT STAR BEING PUT IN DANGER. WHAT YOU DID LAST NIGHT IS QUESTIONABLE AT BEST!" Luna retorted. She did seem to be a little angry at Spark, but he supposed that he deserved it from her. It was Luna's guards that he had fought with, or so Draft had told him. "FOR NOW, WE WILL SETTLE FOR WHATEVER INFORMATION YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING THE KIDNAPPING OF THE CRYSTAL EMPRESS!"

"Yes of course, my princess, but if I may be so bold as to ask," Spark replied carefully, "is there any way that you could lower your voice a few decibels please. You see, I have a dreadful hangover and the yelling isn't helping me straighten out my thoughts any faster." He smiled sheepishly at the alicorns. Spark knew that it was probably very rude to ask that sort of question, especially in his position, but he really didn't think that he would be able to continue if they were shouting the whole time. Draft was just doing his best to hold back his laughter; the whole situation seemed to be hilarious to the pegasus.

"WE SEE YOUR PO-, ahem, I see your point," Luna responded. "I am so used to speaking that way to everypony, that I sometimes forget how startling it can be to hear for the first time. The fact that Star did not inform you of our customs has not helped much either." Now that she was speaking at a normal volume, Spark was able to actually enjoy the sweet melody of Luna's speech. It was soft, but self assured; the perfect voice for a princess.

"Thank you your majesties," Spark replied as he and Draft bowed to Celestia and Luna, before they started their story. Spark told them nearly everything, with Draft chiming in whenever the unicorn accidentally missed something that could be deemed important. It took a while to tell, because Spark had to stop and explain certain facts to the princesses, but eventually he reached the conclusion to his tale. They were all quiet for a few minutes, while Celestia and Luna talked quietly with each other and it was Celestia that broke the silence at last.

"You have given us much to think about, Nature Spark, and the fact that I so greatly respected your father's opinions, adds power to your words. If you are even a small part of the stallion that he was, then what you have said must be taken under careful consideration." Celestia replied, before glancing to her sister to see if Luna had anything to add.

"From the letters that my pupil has sent me, I know that you are a pure hearted unicorn, Nature Spark. I am very grateful for all that you have done for me and am in your debt for what you have done to keep Star safe," Luna explained. "My sister and I will have a long conversation tonight, but I'm afraid that it may already be too late." Her countenance morphed in to one of sorrow as she let Celestia finish her words.

"We have learned that the rulers of the Crystal Empire are going to make their decision about whether or not they will declare war on Equestria, today," Celestia explained to them.

"Oh no, but th-there has to be more time," Spark stuttered. He couldn't believe what the princesses were telling him. He had tried so hard to make it in time. "What if I could bring a witness to them? The hippogriff that Draft's brother is traveling here with, she knows about the griffon involvement. We could try to convince them." Spark just had to do something more. He couldn't accept war as inevitability.

"It is possible that her testimony could make a difference, but I'm not so sure that going without physical proof is in your best interest. If they still decide to start a war, then you may be held as a prisoner," Celestia replied coolly. She looked genuinely worried for Spark, but he wouldn't let that change his mind.

"I'm afraid, your majesties, that you'll find my friend Spark to have a mind that is very hard to change after it has reached a decision," Draft replied, smiling knowingly at the unicorn. "Unless you expressly forbid us from going, then it would seem we have our next mission." The princesses stared at them both for a short time before replying.

"It seems that you follow in your father's hoofsteps to a fault. He too was a stallion determined to make a difference, even at the cost of his own life," Celestia replied as she gave them a nod of acceptance.

"It would seem that my sister and I are in agreement on the matter then. You have our blessing to act as emissary for Equestria," Luna added. "I wish you and your friends the best of luck, Nature Spark. Maybe you can do what we could not and end this war before it begins."

"Thank you, my princesses," Spark replied with yet another bowed after he had spoken and Draft did likewise. "You have done a great kindness by allowing us an audience with you. I hope that I am able to repay the favor. We will leave in a few days time." The stallions bowed once more, out of nervousness, and were then escorted out of the throne room and back towards the castle entrance, by the same unicorn from earlier. Neither of them spoke until they reached the open air again.

"That went better than I expected," Draft stated. He let out a sigh of relief and visibly slumped from the exhaustion of talking with their rulers.

"Yeah," Spark agreed. Now that they were outside, he had an important matter to attend to. "I'll be right back."

"What the hay are you-" Draft stopped midsentence as Spark began to empty his stomach contents, mostly bile and whiskey, into a bush a few yards from the castle's entrance. The pegasus looked around to make sure there were no guards nearby. When he had finished, Spark wiped off his mouth and walked back to where Draft was waiting for him with a slightly annoyed expression on his grey face.

"Sorry about that. I was holding that in the whole time we were in there with the princesses. I didn't figure it would be considered good manners to throw up in the company of the rulers of all Equestria, heh heh," Spark chuckled humorlessly. His mouth tasted sour and he needed something to rinse it out, but that would have to wait. Draft facehoofed and then started walking down the road once again. Spark followed, feeling much better after getting that little bit of unpleasantness dealt with.

"I think that we may have to make the journey to the Crystal Kingdom without Star. It wouldn't surprise me if it takes a few days for her to bounce back," Draft said. They passed the final gates of the castle property and began to head towards the hospital. "I'd imagine that Inferno will want to stay by her side. That will leave you, me and my brother, assuming that he makes it here in one piece."

"I suppose you're right. I have to say that it's probably for the best. I was going to have Star stay in Manehatten if we had to continue anyway," Spark repied. It wasn't that he thought Star was a liability, but the unicorn would feel better if it was only Draft and Downpour accompanying him. The brothers knew what kind of trouble being friends with him could put them in, where as Star did not. Granted, his current objective was a fair bit worse than a 'bad trip', so he would rather make the journey completely alone. Finding a way to keep the pegasus from following would be an improbable task though.

"Really? After she traveled with us for a week, not to mention saving your sorry flank, you'd leave her behind?" Draft asked. He looked aghast that his friend would even consider doing that to Star, though he had planned to do the same thing himself.

"Yes. Even if she was in good enough shape to make it all the way north with us, I wouldn't let her," Spark replied flatly. "The fact is, that she almost died and, whether or not it was my fault, traveling with me will only lead to more risks at this point." Spark wasn't sure why Draft couldn't just accept his concerns.

"I just think that your being a bit hast-"  
"The point is moot, Draft," Spark interjected, cutting the pegasus off. "She couldn't make the journey if she wanted to. Star got hurt trying to save us, or did you forget about that!?" He had no right to yell at his friend, but Spark already felt bad for what he had done. Draft trying to convince him to put her in danger for a second time certainly wasn't going to help anything.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Draft replied as he took to the air and quickly disappeared over the tall buildings. Way to royally buck up, Spark thought, as he mentally kicked himself for the second time that day. The princesses had forgiven him, so he could always go back and shit on their throne or something, if he wanted to make things worse. Spark wanted to blame all of his actions on the booze, but the fact that he was screwing up lately was all on him. He rounded, what he thought was, the last corner before he would reach the hospital. The sun wasn't quite at its apex yet and Spark knew then that it was going to be a long day as he stared up into the cloudy skies.

Spark arrived at the hospital soon after Draft and saw their flying chariot sitting a little ways from the entrance. He didn't see any of their belongings and assumed that they must have been put in Star's room. Draft was waiting for him at the entrance of the building with a stern expression as he trotted over.

"Look, I know that you feel bad about what happened last night, but you need to stow it while we're in there. I know you blame yourself and I do too, but this isn't the time to act like a dick, so whatever issues you have should be saved for later," Draft lectured him. The pegasus was right of course, Spark had no reason to take his feelings out on those closest to him. He blamed it on not getting high at all that day.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Spark sighed defeated as he hung his head in shame. "I should be better than this. No, I will be better. I just… I don't know." He wasn't sure what to say, because he had reacted badly to a bad situation. There wasn't much more the unicorn could do than to try better from then on.

"I know, Spark. You care, maybe too much, but for everypony's sake, can you just try to put on a happy front and get through this?" Draft asked.

"Yeah, that's the least I can do for Star and for the princesses," Spark replied with a forced smile. It wasn't just his friends depending on him now, it was also the princesses and, by extension, all of Equestria.

"She did what she thought she needed to do. You would have done the same," Draft told him. The pegasus may have been younger, but it was Spark that felt like a foal at that moment. "If we have any hope of succeeding with this, then you have to learn to accept the decisions that your friends make. You aren't the only one that wants to keep Equestria from going to war!" Draft lowered his voice as one of the nurses walked out of the front doors. "Mistakes are going to be made, it's unavoidable, but that's the only way we learn how to be better ponies."

"I get it," Spark assured his friend. "Let's go see Star. I'm sure that Inferno is eager to get to whatever business she wanted to attend to." He walked through the front doors as Draft followed behind him.

The hospital was just as stark and depressing as Spark recalled and the memories of his night there hit him like a tidal wave. The rush of doctors and nurses, their talking drowned out by his self pity and his inability to help with anything swarmed through his head. The unicorn took a deep breath and walked beside Draft, down the halls towards the Star's room. The walk felt like it took an eternity to Spark.

Star was sleeping when the stallions entered and they decided it was best not to disturb her for the time being. Inferno was sitting in a chair near the foot of the mare's bed, the dragon's expression caught somewhere between exhaustion and sadness as she waited for her companion to awaken.

"Hey, we're here to relieve you of your watch," Spark told her. She smiled up at the unicorn when he spoke.

"It's about time you showed up. Did you have a fun night?" Inferno questioned. She grinned up at him and Spark wondered how much she had heard about his night. "We talked to the guards this morning," she explained. "They had tracked down the owners of the sky chariot. They said that they lost you in the city streets. By the time that they found you again, you were apparently very intoxicated and tried to fight them when they stopped you to talk." That matched up with what Spark had heard. "I guess we made quite the entrance into the city, didn't we?"

"Yeah, I guess we did," Spark chuckled. He took the chair next to Inferno and peered over to Star. The small unicorn seemed to be stable right then, but had bandages wrapped around her horn. "You said that you had somewhere to go didn't you?"

"Spark and I will be here if she wakes up," Draft chimed in. "We wouldn't want you to miss out on attending to your plans." The pegasus had taken the only other open seat in the sparsely furnished room. The few chairs along the wall weren't much more comfortable than the ones in the castle though.

"Yes. It shouldn't take long," Inferno replied. "I just wanted to see my mother while we were in town." The young dragon hopped off of her chair and walked out the door without another word.

"Wait. Did you say your mother?" Spark called after her. He was to late though, because she had already left the room. Inferno's mother; she must be an interesting dragon, Spark thought, but he couldn't fathom why she would be living in the city. He looked over at Draft, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"I'm not even going to bother asking her about it," Draft grinned back. They looked each other in the eyes and laughed after that. It felt good for them to be tension free, even if it was just temporary and Spark enjoyed the feeling of contentment.

Spark and Draft both waited patiently in the hospital room for what seemed like hours. They talked about the past week they'd had, for the most part, but also about what was likely to happen when they left the capitol. It wasn't long after lunch that Star finally stirred from her sleep, greeting them in a raspy voice.

"Good morning," Star called out as she looked around the room and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "How did the meeting with the princesses go?"

"It went well," Draft told her as he got up and walked to her bedside.

"You are a crafty mare. You know that right?" Spark asked. He joined the grey pegasus standing near her once he had. "You could have given us a better warning about the Canterlot voice." Star stared up to him with feigned ignorance.

"Why, Spark, whatever do you mean?" Star asked softly. She couldn't help but to giggle a bit, which elicited a pained expression on her face.

"Don't you play dumb with me. I had to talk to the princesses with the worst hangover I've had in years," Spark glared playfully. His horn glowed as he pulled up two of the chairs, so that Draft and he could sit down while they talked to their injured companion. "I thought you were my friend."

"You should have seen his face, Star, it was priceless. Then we finally walk out of the front door and he pukes all over one of the bushes," Draft laughed.

"Then it was completely worth it," Star responded. She looked at Spark and he facehoofed at her gleeful expression. There wasn't anything more embarrassing than that.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. So, I guess I should just get down to business," Spark mumbled. The brown stallion's expression changed to one of concern as he locked eyes with the mare. "I'm truly sorry for what happened to you."

"Don't worry about it. I already talked to Luna and she apologized for her guard's uncouth behavior," Star shrugged.

"Yes, but all the same, I still put you in harms way by bringing you with me," Spark told her.

"Oh, and I suppose that you think traveling alone is any safer?" Star asked as she shot him a look that could have frozen water. "Draft was right; you are a martyr. The fact is, that I would have been worse off if I had traveled with Inferno alone, so you have no reason to act all angsty about it. If anypony here has a reason to complain it's me." She made a good point, Spark realized.

"Alright, I concede all angst to you," Spark retorted as he threw up his hooves in defeat. "Can you forgive me though?"

"Of course I forgive you. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" Star asked. She groaned as she forced her hoof out to touch his cheek. "Just promise me that you will be easier on yourself in the future."

"I promise, Star…" Spark replied quietly. He started to tear up and had to excuse himself before he could ruin the mood of the room. The unicorn cleared his watery eyes and decided it was a good time to find a private place to get high. He slowly made his way back outside, dodging the ponies rushing around the halls, and to the belongings they had left in the chariot. It didn't seem like anything had been stolen as he walked up, but Spark double checked all of his gear just to be sure. He found his pouch of herbs, his dagger and the healing potions that he had brought. "Well, at least everything important is still here, that's what I was really worried about."

"You should really stop talking to yourself, at least out loud. It makes you come off a little crazy," Draft informed him with a chuckle as he walked up.

"You should work on not sneaking up on ponies," Spark replied. "It makes you seem like a creep." Spark smirked back at his friend. "Shouldn't somepony have stayed with Star?" he asked a second later.

"I was going to, but her food came and she said that she'd rather not have me staring at her while she tried to eat," Draft explained.

"See, even she agrees you're a total creep," Spark joked. His horn glowed green as his magic rolled up a joint and put away all of their supplies. "Now, any idea where we can go to light this bad boy? I don't want to be bothered."

"As a matter of fact, I found the perfect spot behind the hospital. I saw it when I was flying over to the dungeon to bail you out," Draft told his friend.

The stallions made their way to a small clearing in the middle of some bushes and spent the next ten minutes doing their best to forget about the previous night. It worked fairly well and the pair were soon laughing and making general fools of themselves. Spark counted his blessings that nopony could see them as he chortled and shouted. It probably wouldn't help with the reputation he was forming in this city.

"You don't remember at all?" Draft asked. The pegasus was in the midst of questioning Spark about his memories of the fight, but he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Nope. I'm telling you, I was flat out drunk at that point," Spark replied. "For all I know, they could have made the whole thing up, but judging by my aching body, I don't think so." He stood up and started to make his way out of the bushes and Draft followed behind him. The air had a chill to it still, but Spark ignored that for the time being. He could worry about freezing to death when they all traveled north, to the Crystal Empire. "I just realized that we're going to need some warmer gear if we plan on completing this mission, because it's getting awfully close to winter."

"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about that," Draft replied. The pegasus scratched his head as he considered it. "How much money do we have?"

"Not nearly enough to buy clothing, food and medicine. We might have to get a loan or something," Spark informed his friend. He didn't like owing ponies money, but the unicorn couldn't see any other choices.

"What if we ask the princesses?" Draft asked. "I'm sure that they wouldn't mind funding us. We are going there for them after all." He was right about that, but the unicorn was loathe to borrow money from Celestia and Luna. "It's either that or we find a way to make some quick bits." How they could manage that was beyond either of them though. Spark sighed as he turned to his winged companion.

"Asking the princesses it is then. Maybe Star could do it for us though," Spark mumbled. The pegasus shot him a blank stare. "What? I just think she has a better shot."

"You're pathetic," Draft groaned.

"I know," Spark sighed as he kept walking past his hovering friend, into the hospital where they could leave the cold weather behind them for awhile.

"Yeah, I suppose I could ask Luna to loan you some bits," Star responded to their request, once they had reentered her room. "I don't think she'd have any problem with that. How much do you need?" The mare was looking much better after she had gotten some food down, Spark noticed. Her head was still bandaged, but she told them her skull wasn't aching nearly as much as it had been.

"Enough to get Draft, Downpour and I equipped for the trip," Spark replied. He stopped her before she had the chance to object to his statement. "I know what you're going to say, but there is no way that you are up to traveling that far right now and I want Inferno here to keep you company." Star lay back down with a resigned huff.

"Fine, I'll send a letter to Luna when Inferno gets back, but you owe me one and I still expect you to take us to Manehatten when you get back," Star snapped. She put on a pouty face, which seemed completely unfair to Spark. Not that he was planning on changing his mind about escorting the pair to Manehatten, but that look would have made it impossible if he had been on the fence about his decision.

"I wouldn't even think of breaking my word," Spark replied. He smiled at her and chuckled, "By the way, is Inferno really visiting her mother?" He would have liked to meet the dragon that gave birth to the young girl.

"Yes. She lives in a cave underneath the city," Star explained. "I've met her a couple of times, but Inferno is a little embarrassed of her."

"Really, but why?" Spark questioned. He wondered how a dragon came to be living under the capitol of Equestria, but assumed that it was a long story that was best saved for later.

"Well, that isn't really my place to say. If you want to learn more about her, I would suggest you ask Inferno yourself. I wouldn't expect much of an answer though," Spark replied with a quick wave of her hoof.

"When do you think she'll be back?" Draft asked as he stretched out his wings restlessly. Like most pegasus, he didn't care for cramped quarters.

"I can't imagine that she'll be gone for long. She and her mother do not exactly get along," Star told him. "She usually only visits for a few hours and then comes back in a sour mood."

"In that case, I think I'll go stretch my wings for a while. Are you two fine here?" Draft asked them. They both nodded at the pegasus and he walked out of the room, leaving them to chat until Inferno returned. The time passed fairly quickly though.

It was just a few hours before sunset when Inferno did eventually make it back to Star's room. She didn't seem to be in a terrible mood, but Spark still didn't want to ask her about the visit. The chubby dragon took a chair next to Star's bed and the two friends caught her up on the events of the day. It didn't take long and when they were finished, Inferno appeared to be back to her old self again.

"Going to the Crystal Empire, you say? When are you stallions going to be leaving?" Inferno asked him. Spark hadn't given the trip much thought, besides the plan to wait for Downpour of course.

"The sooner the better, I guess. We need to try and get this situation diffused before it blows out of everypony's control. I'd imagine that we'll leave the day after tomorrow, at the very latest," Spark told her. They would need a little time for Draft to fix up the sky chariot and to gather supplies, but he figured that between the three of them it wouldn't take longer than a day.

"I hate to admit this," Inferno replied, "but I think I'm actually going to miss you two… just a little bit." She smirked at the stallion and giggled.

"Please, you'll probably be crying once you don't have us around anymore. I can see it now," Spark said and then did a poor interpretation of her whining as he spoke. "Oh Star, I miss them sooo much. Spark most of all, because he's the nicest, funniest and most good looking stallion in aaall of Equestria." Inferno just rolled her eyes at him.

A few minutes later, Draft rejoined them in the room and they all spent the rest of the night laughing and talking. Spark was overjoyed that everything sppeared to be going their way for a while. He was especially happy that he wasn't going to wake up in a cell again. The hangover he'd had only wore off a little while after Inferno returned and Spark didn't want a repeat of the experience.

The three ponies and single dragon went to bed earlier than they usual did, still exhausted from their trip to the capitol. Inferno snuggled up with Star on the bed and the stallions grabbed some blankets from their supplies outside. Inferno and Star fell asleep quickly, but Spark and Draft stayed up for a while, talking about whatever came to their still slightly inebriated minds.

"My brother should be back tomorrow," Draft stated.

"Mhmm," Spark mumbled in recognition.

"I wonder if Strata is going to be with him," Draft continued. Spark was pretty sure that the hippogriff would be, because his whole plan depended on her.

"She wants my help pretty badly, so I'll tell her that if she comes with us then I'll go with her and try to convince the hippogriffs to side with Equestria," Spark assured his friend. If she didn't join them, then Spark would have to rethink his strategy quite a bit. "We can deal with that mess when the time comes though. I want to get some sleep."

"Yeah, me too," Draft agreed. "Night, Spark." The pegasus yawned and rolled onto his side. Spark sighed deeply and closed his eyes a moment later.

"Good night, Draft," He replied as he closed his tired, brown eyes and let sleep take him under its spell and into the surrealism of his dreams.


	13. Regrouping

~Chapter 12: Regrouping~

His back was very stiff, that was the first thought in Spark's head when he awoke that morning. His spine popped several times as he got to his hooves and stretched out, but nothing life threatening. Everypony else was still sleeping soundly and the unicorn did his best not to wake them as he used his magic to open the door and leave the room. They had quite a bit to do that day and Spark figured he could get part of it finished while his friends caught up on their sleep. The hospital was less busy early in the morning, so getting out the front door didn't take as long for him as it would have if he'd tried in the afternoon.

Celestia was just starting to raise the sun, so the air still held the cold chill of night. Spark shivered as he made his way to their parked chariot and grabbed a cloak from his bag. He wrapped it around his body tightly and then sat down on the back of the vehicle. His horn began to glow as he floated out some herbs and a paper. The unicorn wasted no time rolling a joint and lighting it up with a contented sigh. The shops wouldn't be open for a while and Spark had no idea when Downpour and Strata would be arriving, so he figured there was a little time to kill.

"What a crazy life you have lately, Spark," he observed out loud. "You're sitting outside of a Canterlot hospital and getting ready to go on a mission sanctioned by the princesses themselves." Spark glanced around quickly after he'd spoken. Draft had a habit of sneaking up on him when he talked to himself and it was beginning to make the unicorn paranoid, but he didn't spy the dark grey pegasus anywhere. He shrugged his shoulders and resumed smoking, the high soon causing his mind to wander.

"I guess now is a good time to write a letter to Charm and I suppose one for my mother couldn't hurt," Spark said to himself. He levitated a piece of parchment and a quill in front of his face, but wasn't really sure where to start. He decided to write to Charm first and began to recount most of the events of the past week, quill scribbling furiously in his magical grip. Spark made sure to tone down the dangerous parts; there was no reason to make his marefriend worry after all. He also wrote down some of his feelings and desires, but they were hard to convey on paper. The frustrated unicorn really wished that he could simply talk to Charm face to face, but that wasn't going to happen for a while it seemed. He scribbled furiously for a few minutes more, as he tried to cram everything he wanted to say into one letter and then signed it 'With Love, Nature Spark'. He had never really written any love letters before, not that this was exactly a love letter, but it seemed an appropriate way to end the note. After he was done with the first letter, Spark began to write one to his mother. It was essentially the same, minus the mushy love stuff, so he finished with it quickly and then rolled both pages up and tied a ribbon around each one with his magic.

"I wonder where a post office is. Guess I'd better go wander around until I find one," Spark mumbled as he strapped on his saddle bags. He shoved the letters inside and left to search out a post office. He could most likely find out where one was from some pedestrian, Spark thought. Somepony was bound to help out if he asked, because he was in the capitol of Equestria, the most peaceful country in the world, after all.

Spark walked around the city for a half an hour or so before he even found a pony that didn't look too busy to help him. She was a turquoise mare with a light blue mane and her cutie mark looked like it may have been ice cream or something. Spark didn't get a very good look because she was sitting on a bench as he approached. The mare, whose name he soon learned was Pepper, pointed him in the direction of the nearest post office. "It's about six blocks that way," she pointed out to him. "It has a big sign out front, so you can't miss it." Spark thanked her and was once again on his way.

It looked to be about seven by the time Spark made it to the post office and dropped the letters off to be delivered. They would take a couple days, but that couldn't really be helped. He paid the mailmare and then decided to find some breakfast. The unicorn's herb induced hunger was starting to get the better of him and his stomach rumbled its unhappiness.

"I wonder where the closest place to get some haycakes is," Spark asked himself. He was missing Coffee Bean's Diner as he walked past block after block of overpriced restaurants. The syrupy soaked cakes he got in Dodge were the best Spark had ever had and he was doubtful that any eatery in Canterlot would have the hometown charm he enjoyed. "I guess I'll just have to settle for anything hot and fresh," he sighed.

Spark walked around aimlessly for awhile, until he found an open diner. It was a decent looking place, a bit fancy for his taste, but most places in Canterlot were. The sign above the door read 'The Hub' and it looked like a busy place. There were quite a few ponies gathered in the building and Spark could only see a few open tables when as he made his way through the throng of bodies. I guess The Hub is where ponies like to hang out, he thought to himself. It must have been a pretty decent place to get breakfast. The unicorn took an open seat in the back where he could pony watch while he waited for some service, but it didn't take long for a pretty, sand colored waitress to spot him and walk over to take his order.

"Hi, I'm Sandra and I'll be your waitress this morning," she beamed at him. Of course you are, Spark thought as he eyed the mare. "What can I get for you today? Our specials are the alfalfa waffles and the breakfast sandwich. Both of those come with fresh orange juice or coffee." Sandra smiled at him and her horn glowed with yellow magic as she levitated a paper and quill out in front of her.

"Umm, you know what, Sandra. I think I'll take some haycakes and a coffee," Spark told her. She scribbled down his order quickly as he spoke.

"And is that going to be all for you?" she asked him after she'd finished writing.

"Yeah, I believe so," he replied.

"Okay, that will be out in just a few minutes," Sandra informed him as she filled his cup with steaming black coffee. "Just let me know if you need anything else." The waitress turned and zigzagged her way through the room full of ponies before Spark could thank her, disappearing through the doors to the kitchen. He spent the time waiting for his meal by checking out the décor and the patrons. The unicorn was struck by the variety of pastel colors surrounding him. Ponies were certainly a very diverse race, though he couldn't fathom the reason why. Spark's food was brought to him fairly quickly, or so it seemed since his attention wasn't focused on the time, even though the diner was very busy.

"Here are your haycakes," the waitress said as she walked up to the table. "Did you need more coffee?" Sandra levitated a plate over to him as she spoke. The haycakes were golden brown and dripping with syrup, just the way he liked them.

"Nope, I think that'll be all. Thank you, Sandra," Spark replied. He gave the cute mare a smile as she left and then took a bite of the delicious looking food. It was good, not quite the same as Coffee Bean's, but very good none the less. He'd have to remember where this place was if he ever found himself in Canterlot again.

Spark finished his breakfast at a leisurely pace and leaned back in his seat contentedly once it was gone. That really hit the spot, he thought. He made sure to leave a few bits for a tip and then exited through the front doors, apologizing as he bumped into another pony that was trying to enter. Stepping out into the cloudy day, Spark took in a breath of fresh air and set off for the hospital. His friends should all have been up by then, so the stoned stallion figured that it was a good time to talk with them about their plans for the day. He certainly had a few tasks to take care of as well.

Star was going to talk to the princesses about financing his excursion and Inferno would be helping her out. Draft would probably want to wait around for his brother to get back, so Spark would wait with him and then they could try to find Silver Blood if they got the time. Once that was over with, it would be time to take Strata, Downpour and Draft with him to the castle so that they could all talk with Celestia and Luna. Barring any unforeseen circumstances he expected them to be able to leave in the morning.

Nature Spark's thoughts had drifted as he traveled the maze of streets and he soon found himself walking down an unfamiliar path.

"I have got to stop daydreaming all the time," he groaned. A quick scan of his surroundings didn't prove to be much of a help, so he tried to retrace his hoofsteps and reach the street he should have turned down originally. He only managed to get even more lost than he had been. Each of the tall buildings in the area looked similar to each other and it was really confusing the half blind stallion.

"Oh, buck me sideways," he said exasperatedly. "Just what I needed right now was to get lost in the biggest city in Equestria." Maybe he could find a pony to point him in the right direction, Spark considered, it had worked for him when he needed to find the post office, after all. He trotted up and down streets for a short while before seeing anypony to ask, but was finally rewarded with the sight of a small, lavender colored pegasus leaning against the side of a brick building.

"Thank Celestia," Spark said, his words coming out between panting breaths. "You, uh, wouldn't happen to know how to get to the hospital from here, would you?" He smiled hopefully down at the mare and waited for a response, but one never came. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that her eyes had rolled up into her skull, so he tried shaking her a little. The mare only slumped to the ground and began convulsing in response. "Aw shit, she's overdosed on something." Spark's mind began to race as he mentally compared her symptoms to different drugs reactions he'd seen before.

Okay, okay, Spark needed to think. Besides convulsions, what was wrong with her? He peered in her mouth, ears, eyes and nose to check for any noticeable peculiarities. She had dry mouth, discoloration of the tongue and her lips were bluing; oxygen deprivation in the blood. Better check her pulse, Spark told himself. He could feel a heart beat, but it was very faint, as was her breath, which meant she'd had trouble breathing. Her tiny pupils were the most telling symptom, however. "Bucking hay, she's overdosing on opiates!" The unicorn knew what he should do, but wasn't sure that he had the right drugs to counteract the chemicals.

Spark began to frantically tear stuff out of his saddle bags, sending clothes and various mixtures flying about. Finally his magic gripped what he was looking for, a small vial full of a clear liquid. "Bingo!" He grabbed the vial and slammed a small metal tube into the end of it. After that was finished, he spun around and jabbed it right through the pegasus's ribs in one swift motion. It pierced into her heart and his magic instantly pushed the fluid out of the vial into the unconscious mare's bloodstream. She awoke with a jolting scream a split second after.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!" she screamed. The pegasus's eyes were wide with terror and she began to shiver from fear. Her gaze darted around the empty street before finally resting on the light brown unicorn that had saved her life. Spark just smiled at her and offered a hoof to help her to her own. "Get the hay away from me you freak!" The lavender mare turned and fled from Spark, soaring away as if he'd tried to molest her. Spark just stared after her with his mouth hanging open in complete disbelief.

"What is wrong with this Luna forsaken city?" Spark screamed at the brick faced building. That was the last reaction he had expected to receive after saving a mare's life. He hadn't even gotten the chance to ask her for directions to the hospital. "Whatever, I'll just find it on my own." His voice echoed off of the rundown walls of the city. Judging only by the buildings around him, Spark certainly wouldn't have known he was still in Canterlot, but thankfully he could still spot the castle, rising above the squalor like a shining beacon of hope.

Spark knew he could find his way back to the hospital if he just got to the main road that led away from the castle, so he faced himself north and set off for it at a steady pace. He was not about to let the city get the best of him. If he could make it through Stone's gang and a pack of diamond dogs, then he could make it through Canterlot.

"It's going to be a long day," he muttered as he tightened his saddle bags and continued down the street.

Once he found the road he was looking for Spark made his way to the hospital with relative ease. He arrived at the front doors before noon and sighed with relief as he stepped through the entrance. The unicorn made his way down the halls to the room where Star was staying and as he entered, Spark was greeted by the sight of all of his friends, even Downpour and Strata.

"Well, look at what the manticore dragged in." Draft commented as he grinned at his friend. Downpour looked pretty beat. He had deep scratches along his left side and one of his ears had a small chunk missing from the tip. Strata was looking a little rough around the edges as well, so Spark asked the obvious question.

"What in the hay happened to you two?" They glanced at each other and broke into a fit of laughter.

"It is a long story, Nature Spark," the hippogriff replied as she slumped into her chair and Spark levitated his own seat over. "I hear that you three had quite the trip as well."

"I suppose we did." Spark shrugged his shoulders and continued to say, "I think we can spare some time to hear your story though. I get the feeling that it'll be a good one." Everypony sat in rapt attention at Downpour and Strata began to recount the days after they had left their friends.

"Wow, you two had quite the adventure, didn't you?" Star asked with a shake of her head. She was especially surprised to hear about the attacking griffons that they had faced on the way to Canterlot. It was pretty apparent that the Red Eyes were, in fact, the ones responsible for the crime against the Crystal Empire. That was the only reason they would have worked so hard to stop Strata from making it to the capitol of Equestria. Thankfully, she and Downpour were safe in the city now.

"I can't believe that you two hooked up," Spark stated, doing his best not to laugh as he spoke. "How, um, pardon me if this comes off as rude, but how is your family going to take the fact that your in a relationship with a pegasus?" The pair had skimmed over some of the details, though not enough to stop Star from blushing furiously and covering her ears, but the fact that they had hit it off so well was a surprise to everypony.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure how my family will take the news. I suppose we will find out when I take you to meet with them," Strata replied. Downpour wrapped a foreleg around the griffon as she spoke.

"Please, baby, what is there to dislike about me?" Downpour laughed. The cocky pegasus winked at his marefriend and she rolled her eyes in response.

"I didn't realize you liked older women, Downpour," Draft said. The younger pegasus was making sure he got his fill of taunting in while he could. It wasn't everyday that his older brother started dating a hippogriff.

"What can I say? I like how dominating she can be in a fight… and in bed," Downpour chuckled. His words caused Star to choke on the water she had been sipping on and consequently, she sprayed it all over Inferno. The young dragon was not amused.

"You two need to keep the dirty talk to a minimum before you give Star a heart attack," Inferno told them. She mock glared at the lovebirds and everypony started to laugh, causing Star's black cheeks to turn a little red.

"Okay, let's put a bookmark in this conversation and we'll get back to it later, I need time to come up with some good jokes," Spark said before he cleared his throat and tried his best to put on a serious expression. "For now, I think we should focus on the tasks at hoof. Star and Inferno, I need you to get the funding from the princesses." They both nodded in agreement. "Now that I think about it, why don't you take Strata with you, so that she can speak with the Celestia and Luna about what she knows." Spark turned to the pegasus brothers as he continued. "While you three are doing that, Downpour, Draft and I will scour the city to try and find Silver Blood. Hopefully he hasn't run away." The two pegasus threw up mock salutes.

"Sir, yes sir!" they shouted as one. Spark facehoofed at their stupid antics.

"Right, we'll meet back here when we've finished and then we can go out and get the necessary supplies. After that, I'll go and talk with Celestia and Luna one last time to make sure that everything is in order. We should be able to leave in the morning, Spark informed his friends. "Any questions?" he asked them afterwards. He looked around the small room, but all of his friends appeared to be on the same page.

Before they left, everypony ate a quick lunch and gathered their supplies up. After dropping everything into the sky cart, they were ready to head out. The girls all left for the castle, Star having just been given the okay to leave from her doctor an hour earlier, while the boys found a quite place to smoke some herbs before they left.

"You asses let me leave without anything to smoke," Downpour huffed as stared at Spark and his brother. "I just spent an entire week sober. I just wanted you to know that." His glare could have scared off Discord as he spoke.

"Yeah, I thought about that after you left… my bad," Spark grinned sheepishly. He really did feel bad about forgetting, but in the heat of the moment sending Downpour off with a bag of premium smokeables wasn't at the front of the unicorn's mind.

"What are you whining about? You volunteered to go and besides, it got you laid, didn't it," Daft asked rhetorically. Leave it to him to point out the silver lining in an unpleasant situation, Spark thought.

"Hay yeah, it did!" Downpour exclaimed. Being reminded of his little foray put the older pegasus back into high spirits and he grinned like an idiot as Spark finished rolling up a very large joint. The unicorn passed it to Downpour once he was finished.

"I'll let you do the honors," Spark said as he stuck out his horn. Downpour puffed on the end of the joint as he sparked it with his friend's magic. The pegasus inhaled deeply and held it in for as long as he could before letting out a cloud of smoke, accompanied by loud coughing.

"That's what I'm talking about right there. If I'd been able to get high after kicking those griffons flanks up and down Equestria I might have felt a little better," Downpour sighed. His eyes grew red before he had even passed the rolled up herbs to the left.

"What did you do with the griffons after you caught them? Did you find out any information from them?" Spark asked, but he wasn't prepared for his friends answer.

"I didn't have the chance," Downpour replied. "They were out for blood, so Strata and I killed all four of them. They're probably rotting in the mountains near the White Tail Woods as we speak." He said it nonchalantly, as if he wasn't talking about ending the lives of four griffons, who probably had families. Draft just sat back and watched the exchange coolly.

"What the buck, Downpour, did you even give them the chance to surrender before you slaughtered them?" Spark asked. The pegasus was fuming as he got to his hooves and began to yell. "I'm guessing Strata told you that was the way it needed to be, huh? Well, that's not the way we do shit around here!"

"You know what Spark? Go buck yourself, the pegasus retorted. "You weren't there and you don't know what happened." Downpour got right up in his friend's face. "I'd suggest that you wake the hay up and climb off your pedestal, before I knock you off. In case you weren't aware yet, we are about to go to war. I didn't want this, but those griffons sure seem to, so if they want to come provoke me, well then, that's there bucking loss! Got it?" The pegasus sat back down with a scowl etched onto his face.

"I know everything is messed up right now, but if we just start killing everypony that we come across who has some issues with us, then what the hay makes us any better than them?" Spark questioned. He tried to keep his voice a little more calm, but it was hard for him right then. The next words Downpour spoke however, took the fight out of the heated unicorn.

"What makes you think we are?" Downpour asked. The stocky pegasus stood up without another word and flew off, his wings slowly carrying him over the city.

"So, that just happened…" Draft mumbled. He was only trying to break the tension, but Spark wasn't in the mood for joking around.

"Buck it. Hopefully that prick remembers to look for Silver Blood," Spark huffed angrily. He turned his back to the grey pegasus walked down the street calling over his shoulder, "Why don't you fly around the city too?", as he left. "Ask around and see if anypony knows where Duke Silver Blood is and if you see your brother, hit him in the face for me."

The clouds had begun to gather as Spark walked around the city and it did nothing to improve his dismal mood. He had been combing the streets for hours, asking everypony he saw if they knew Silver Blood. Many of them did in fact know the unicorn, but none of them knew where to find him. After meeting his twentieth or something dead end, the unicorn decided it was about time to meet up with his friends in front of the hospital.

"I may have to just forget about talking with Silver Blood, hopefully I'm not missing out on any vital information," Spark sighed.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Draft replied as he descended to the ground a couple yards away from where Spark was walking.

"Of course you just happened to be flying down here while I was talking to myself. You know that I really don't do it that often, right?" Spark asked his friend. Draft gave him a skeptical look as he spoke. "No really. You just always happen to be around when my crazy starts to show," Spark assured him. Lightning flashed to the east as more clouds came rolling into the city's airspace, casting shadows across the street.

"Whatever you say," Draft chuckled as fell into pace with the unicorn, so that they could talk about what he had learned while flying around the city. "Anyway, I found somepony who says they know where Silver Blood is hiding out. They told me the duke didn't feel safe knowing that griffons were after his head, so he's hiding in a small town that was founded just a few years ago. He said it's called Ponyville and I guess Downpour passed right over it on his way here," Draft continued. "I caught up with him by the way."

"Oh yeah? Is he in a better mood now?" Spark asked. The unicorn certainly wasn't, but that was mostly due to walking around the city for hours and stewing in his emotions.

"He seems to be in a better mood then you," Draft replied, while he hovered backwards in the air facing Spark. "Now, if you're done with this little pity party, I think we should meet up with everypony back at the hospital. I want to get out of this rain as soon as possible."

"What? It's not eve-" Spark caught himself before he committed the classic situational mistake. Lightning flashed in the sky and the thunder roared anyway. A few seconds later, rain began to fall in raging torrents upon the stone cobbled road. "I didn't even finish saying it!" Spark was yelling at the sky, much to Draft's amusement. "It's not even raining! There, now I said it!"

"Feel better now?" Draft asked with a grin. The unicorn gave his friend a blank stare in response to his sarcastic question.

"No," Spark mumbled. His head dropped low as he stared at the ground. "Let's just go before this day gets any more depressing for me." After that brief meltdown was over with, the two stallions continued on their way to the hospital.

The rain steadily worsened as they made their way through the empty streets. Lighting flashed overhead a few more times, with the crack of thunder not far behind and the stallions were thoroughly drenched before they had made it more than a few blocks.

"I have to say, so far, Canterlot doesn't seem all that great," Draft sated dryly. The pegasus had given up on flying and was now walking alongside his flightless companion instead.

"Tell me about it. I'd be perfectly happy never stepping hoof in this city again," Spark agreed as he used his magic to push his dripping mane out of his face. "I'll take Dodge over this place any day of the year." It didn't hurt that Charm and his family both lived there. They walked in quite contemplation for a while, Spark's mind lost in thoughts of his marefriend and how much he wanted to hold her next to him as they passed block after block.

"Finally," Draft sighed. At his friends words, Spark snapped out of his daydreams and found himself staring at the face of the hospital. He couldn't remember another time he had been so happy to get inside of one. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Yes it was so bad, the unicorn thought, but he just smiled halfheartedly at his friend and walked through the doors.

The girls had already made it back and were waiting in the lobby for them to arrive and Downpour showed up a few minutes later. They were all dripping wet and decided to dry off a little before tackling the next part of their day. Spark made sure to talk to Downpour while he was out of earshot of his other friends.

"I figured I should apologize. I shouldn't have snapped at you, because I know you only did what you had to for survival," Spark told the pegasus. Draft glanced at him, but didn't speak until he had finished drying himself off with a towel.

"That's right. I did what I had to and someday you will too, Spark. You'll face the option to do something horrible to somepony you don't know or let somepony else that you care about get hurt," Downpour replied. The pegasus let out a deep sigh before continuing. "I want to tell you that I made the right choice, but I didn't. There is no right choice in that type of situation Spark, there's just whatever decision you think you can live with. I made mine and I'm prepared to live with it, so save your apologies for somepony more deserving." He tossed his towel to the ground after he finished and started walking towards the others, but Spark stopped him.

"I… I guess I can't really know what you mean until I'm in your place," Spark said quietly. "I'd like to think that I would find a better way, but maybe you're right. Maybe sometimes there just isn't a better way. Even if you won't take my apology, I'm still sorry for what you went through." The unicorn held out his hooves and embraced his longtime friend in a hug.

"I'm sorry too," Downpour replied. The pegasus flicked a tear out of his eye with his wingtip and continued on. "I hope that you never have to make that choice, but with the path we're walking, it seems inevitable." They broke the embrace and Downpour cleared his throat and let out a strained chuckle. "Enough of this touchy feely talk, let's figure out the next move."

When everypony had finally dried themselves off enough, they sat in a circle in one of the unused hospital rooms, after receiving permission from the staff of course, and started to form their plans.

"Let's start with you, Star. How did the meeting with Celestia and Luna go, did you get any bits for the cause?" Spark asked the small mare.

"Mhmm, Princess Luna was quite generous when she heard about our need. Helping clear her name and having her favorite personal student asking didn't hurt either," Star giggled. "You should have more than enough to fix up the chariot, buy some food and whatever other equipment that you think you'll need." The unicorn smiled in satisfaction of her accomplishment.

"Way to go, Star," Spark replied as he held out his hoof for a hoof bump, but the mare seemed at a loss with what to do. She ended up shaking his hoof with an awkward expression on her face. I'll have to teach her about hoof bumping when I have a chance, Spark thought. "What about Strata, did she get a chance to talk with them about the griffon attacks?" He glanced to the hippogriff, who was on her back hooves with her forelegs wrapped around Downpour.

"I filled them in on everything that I knew and they seemed very pleased to hear it," Strata explained. She nuzzled her coltfriend with her beak before adding, "I have to say that your princesses are just as stunning to behold as I have always heard."

"I'm glad to hear it and yes they are quite breathtaking aren't they?" Spark asked. The unicorn's memories of his encounter with the two immortals were crystal clear, even though he had been dealing with a major hangover at the time. "Okay, that leaves our news, unless of course you have something to add, Inferno."

"Not that I can think of," she replied. The dragon scratched her head, but didn't appear to have anything more to say.

"Well, Draft found out that Duke Silver Blood is hiding out in a small little settlement called Ponyville. I believe Strata and Downpour may have seen it on the way here," Spark stated. The two lovers simply nodded while he finished his statement. "I propose that we head there early in the morning, before continuing our journey to the Crystal Empire. First, we will have to buy our supplies though." Strata spoke up when she heard Spark say that.

"Wait, have you forgotten about our arrangement? You need to come with me to meet with the hippogriffs, so that we can form this alliance," the hippogriff told him. Spark had really been hoping that she wouldn't bring that up for a while, but he supposed that was too much to ask for.

"I know, I know, but the only way that would work is if we split up again," Spark replied. He noticed the hippogriff's face was caught between a smile and a grimace. "Oh, no. No way. We literally just met up today and now you want us to split up again?"

"Do you see any alternative?" Downpour asked. Spark didn't have an answer to his friend's question, so he shook his head. "I didn't think so. Let's face it; the only way we can get everything done is to split up again. Star is sick, so she has to stay in the city with Inferno. You and Strata need to go to the hippogriffs and form a new treaty and that leaves Draft and I to find Silver Blood." The pegasus was self assured, but Spark was still the leader of their little team, or whatever it was, and he was going to make the decisions.

"You're right. We do need to split up, but not exactly like that," Spark disagreed. His friends looked intrigued by his words. "First of all, Star will have to stay here of course, however Inferno does not. I think it would be best if she went with Strata and I, so that we can get the treaty formed quicker. Having a direct link to Luna will speed up the process. This is reliant on Star and Inferno being willing to separate of course." He looked into the mare's eyes as he asked his next question. "I hate to ask you something like this, but will you entrust me with Inferno's care? I won't lie to you, this is probably going to be dangerous, but I promise that I will do anything I can to keep her safe. Will you let Inferno join me on the trip to the hippogriff territories?"

"I, uh-" Star looked torn between her desire to see the conflict ended and her protective love of the young dragon that she had raised from infancy. "I…I just can't," she stuttered. Her head drooped low as she covered her face in her hooves and began to tear up. "I want you to succeed, but I would be too worried about her. I couldn't bare it if something were to happen to Inferno." Star looked up into the dragon's face as Inferno put a clawed hand on her shoulder. She blinked back a few tears and sniffed to try and clear her nose.

"I know you want to keep me safe and I know you love me," Inferno explained. "I love you too, but if I can help end this ordeal any quicker then I want to do my part." Her red mouth formed a sweet smile as she spoke. "Please, let me go… mom. I'll be okay if you let me leave." Star seemed at a loss for words when she heard the dragon call her mom.

"Oh, Inferno. I love you so much, but you already have a mother," Star sadly replied.

"She might have given birth to me, but she was never there when I needed her," Inferno shot back. "You've always been the one to care for me and if that's not a mother, then I don't know what is." The little dragon's voice cracked with emotion as she began to talk quietly with (her mother?) Star. Everypony else in the room was just doing their best not to stare at what should have been a private moment between the two, except for Strata, who's female emotions seemed to be exposing themselves because of the tear fest before her.

"That is the most touching conversation I have ever heard," Strata told them. "I wish my mother talked to me like that, but the closest she has ever gotten was when she told me she was glad to see I hadn't died yet." The hippogriff cleared her throat as she suppressed her own tears that were beginning to form.

"Well, this was, uh, unexpected," Spark mumbled. He didn't know if he should try to move the conversation along or if it would be better to let the two wade through their feelings at their own pace. Lucky for him, he didn't have to make a decision, because Star and Inferno had come to an agreement.

"I'll let her go with you, Spark," Star finally said, which made Spark grin. "But if anything happens to her, I will hold you personally responsible and will bring Luna's wrath down on you." Spark's smile disappeared as his brain registered the fact that she could actually manage that feat.

"Like I said, I will do everything in my power to keep her safe," Spark reiterated. He didn't have anything that would mean more to her than his word.

"It'll be fine. I'm not completely helpless you know. I am still a dragon," Inferno replied. She straightened up and tried her best to put on a fierce face. Star just giggled and dried her eyes. "Besides we'll have the flying chariot, so it won't be a long trip, right?" She aimed the question towards Strata, knowing the hippogriff would have the answer.

"I have not pulled this flying chariot, but alone I have made the trip in eight days," Strata informed them. She seemed to think that was good time and Spark realized he had no idea where the hay they were actually going.

"Okay, so three weeks round trip, at the longest. Can you handle being apart for that long?" Spark asked the mother and daughter. Neither of them seemed to object, but Spark wanted them to be sure. "This is your last chance, because we'll be leaving early in the morning."

"I think we will manage," Star replied. The unicorn gave her 'daughter' another hug after she'd said it.

"That still leaves the matter of the Crystal Empire though," Spark said. He wasn't sure how they could reach all of their destinations at once, but he had a rough plan. "Downpour, I want you and your brother to find Silver Blood and talk to him and after that, go straight to Chestnut." Spark assumed that the old mule would still be in the White Tail Woods, if not searching for Silver Blood on his own. "Get them both to write down detailed letters containing everything they have learned about the situation and have them sign them. With a little bit of luck we may be able to stall the war decree until Strata and I get back."

"Ponyville was only a day's flight from here. White Tail Woods is another two and a half," Downpour replied, his brow furrowed in concentration as he spoke.

"The Crystal Empire's border is four days from the woods, but I'm not really sure how far past that the capitol city is," his brother added. Draft shrugged after putting his two bits in.

"They should arrive at their destination a day and a half before you arrive at yours, Spark, if my knowledge of pegasus flight speeds is accurate," Star explained. They should have asked Star in the first place, Spark thought, of course she would know.

"It will have to work for now," Spark replied. "Can you three flyers go and buy some supplies, while Inferno helps me send one last message to Luna before we leave?" Spark wanted to get everything done, so that he could get well rested for the long flight.

"I think we can manage that, but I have to ask a quick question," Draft told him. The lanky pegasus seemed to be in a serious mood, which Spark did not like the looks of. "How are you planning to talk with the hippogriffs when you can't walk on clouds like a pegasus?" The feathered stallion made a good point.

"Um, I, uh… buck me," Spark huffed in defeat.

"Easy, I'll just teach him the cloud walking spell that I know," Star replied. She said it matter-of-factly, as if every unicorn should just know how to use magic to walk on clouds like a pegasus. Spark wasn't sure about his ability to perform that spell, even when he did learn it, but that was a problem for later. He could always practice on the way to the hippogriff homeland.

"See, there you go. Problem solved," Spark chuckled humorlessly. "Now get moving, before it gets dark out." The unicorn shooed his winged friends out the door and to the parking lot outside, where he watched them take off, flying through the pouring rain. "I hope they don't get sick from the cold," he mumbled as they vanished from his sight into the cloud cover.

By the time his friends returned with all of the supplies they had bought, Spark was done writing his letter to the princess and was in the midst of trying to practice casting the cloud walking spell on himself. It wasn't going very well for the unicorn.

"Oh good, you're back. How did the shopping go?" Spark asked his friend's as they approached. He then eyed their full saddle bags with suspicion.

"We got food without any problems," Draft replied as he set his bags down and opened them up, revealing an assortment of ready to eat and easily portable nourishment.

"Clothing is taken care of as well," Strata added. She pulled out heavy cloaks for all of them, as well as fur lined boots that they could wear when they headed north.

"We didn't get any weapons though, so we'll have to hope that the blacksmith opens in the morning," Downpour explained. "That also means that the cart won't be fixed until then. I did buy a map of the Crystal Kingdom though, hopefully it's accurate." The pegasus shrugged off his bags and slumped to the floor. "Glad that's over with."

"Well, we might get a bit of a late start because of the blacksmith situation, but you all did well," Spark told them. "Let's eat and get some sleep. We have a very long couple of weeks ahead of us." They had all dove into the food before Spark had finished speaking and the unicorn shoved his way in, just as famished as the rest of his friends.

After the group had eaten their fill, they set about preparing places to sleep for the night. There weren't any beds in the room, so they all had to settle for the floor. Inferno snuggled up to Star and fell asleep quickly and Star wasn't awake for much longer than her. Draft passed out on a blanket, with his hoof still clutching a half eaten apple. Strata and Downpour were, of course, sharing a bed area and Spark did his best to squeeze into a place where he wouldn't bother anypony. Before he actually fell asleep, Spark heard the sound of two people quietly leaving the room and doing their best not to wake anypony in the process.

"Have fun you two, because after tonight we aren't going to see each other for quite awhile," he whispered into the air and then rolled onto his side. Spark was wishing that he could be with his special somepony right then and all of his dreams that night were filled with Charm.


	14. Hot Tea & Gem Stones

~Chapter 13: Hot Tea & Gem Stones~

"Spark, psst, Spark…Hey Spark!" The whispering in his ear made Spark shoot off of the hard floor, which only served to hurt his already very sore body. The unicorn didn't think he would ever get used to sleeping the ground. If only he were a pegasus, Spark thought, then he could just pack around a cloud to sleep on.

"I'm up. I'm up. What time is it?" Spark asked. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and blinked in the darkness of the room. "The sun hasn't started rising yet."

"No it hasn't, but you did say that you wanted to get an early start, right?" Spark heard Downpour's voice and squinted, so that he could make out the shape of his stocky friend in the dim light that managed to peek through the curtains of the single window.

"I guess I did," Spark yawned as he got to his hooves and stretched his legs as far as he could without stepping on anypony. "Who else is awake?" He said it just loud enough that his friends would be able to hear him if they were already up, but not so loud that he would wake any of them. Until the chariot was working there was no reason for anypony else to forfeit their sleeping time.

"Yeah, I'm up." That was Draft's voice, but in the darkness Spark couldn't see where the pegasus was.

"Alright, the three of us should go see what we can do to fix up the chariot," Spark mumbled sleepily. He started walking to the door, his horn glowing faintly so that he could see where he was stepping. On the way out, the stallions each grabbed their cloaks, figuring that it would be another dreary day of cold and rain in Canterlot. "Hopefully a blacksmith's shop will open soon."

The three ponies exited the bedroom and walked down the nearly empty hallways of the hospital. The only other pony they saw was a janitor sweeping away trash and dirt with an old push broom. It was quiet at such an early hour and their hoofsteps sounded like the beating of drums to Spark. When they opened the front doors and stepped out in to the early morning air, the tired unicorn could feel the chill of winter on his hide.

"By the time we're heading north, winter will be starting," Draft said. The pegasus began to shiver and pulled his cloak tighter as he spoke. "It's going to be damn cold in the Crystal Kingdom."

"Yup, that's why we had to get plenty of warm clothes," Spark said, ignoring his friend's minor misnomer as he and the other two stallions walked up to the beaten up chariot. Spark used his magic to pull out his pouch of herbs and began rolling some up with practiced ease. "First order of business, let's get high. Then we can worry about fixing this baby up."

"Sounds like a good plan if I've ever heard one," Downpour replied, walking around the side of the chariot and inspecting it while he talked. "So this thing actually flies, does it?"

"Yeah, it's really something. I pulled it around for an entire day," Draft responded. He got on the ground and pointed out the enchanted gems to his brother. "These are what do most of the work, but when we first entered the city, well, we came in pretty hot and cracked one. I tested her out and she still flies, but I wouldn't trust the spell to hold under the stress of passengers or long distance flights."

"Which is exactly what I need it for," Spark mused. "So if we can't get it fixed, then I can't go anywhere."

"Exactly," Draft agreed. The young pegasus pointed to another part of the craft next. "We also bent up one of the wheels pretty badly and the harness rigging needs some more work, especially if Strata is going to be flying it." Spark took a long drag off of the joint and exhaled, the cloud of smoke looking even bigger when it mixed with the water vapors in the cold air. He took another after that and then passed it over to Downpour.

"Alright, we'll split up and look for parts," Spark stated. "Draft, you can find us a new wheel frame." The pegasus yawned and nodded his head. "Downpour, because you have such an, uh… intimate knowledge of Strata's body, why don't you try to find a rigging that will fit her well. I'll try to find us a new enchanted gem that will work. I think I remember Axel saying something about getting hers from Canterlot, so I should be able to find something. What one needs replaced?"

"I believe it's the balance gem, an amethyst, judging from the way she rocked around when I was flying with her last. Pretty important if you don't feel like falling out to your death," Draft explained with a dry laugh.

"Yeah, I'd like to avoid that, if at all possible," Spark said as he took the joint, which had gone through the full rotation, and puffed on it a few more times. "Alright, you two can finish this. I'm going to get going, because I have to walk and it will take me longer to find a store." He passed the joint back to the Downpour and started walking down the street, his high just starting to really set in.

The sun was beginning to show its light over the mountain city, but Spark couldn't feel any warmth yet. The only thing that kept him from freezing was walking all around the city, looking for a place to buy enchanted gems. He had only found one shop that looked promising so far, but it didn't open for another hour, so he had some time to kill. He decided to see if the princesses would see him. Spark had a few questions about his father that Celestia might be able to answer.

The unicorn took his time and walked at a casual pace, admiring the more upper-class parts of the city as he passed by. They were nothing like the streets he had been lost in when he saved the pegasus mare the day before. Here the buildings looked well maintained and the streets were kept relatively free of debris, at least the parts of them that he could see without his glasses were. The stores around him were all over priced, but besides that, the inner part of the city seemed like it was more than livable.

Spark made it to the castles outer walls and began to walk up the ornate pathway. There were beautiful stone statues that he hadn't noticed when he had walked it while hung over and the path was lined with large shrubs as well, many of them clipped into the shapes of different animals. It was truly a work of art, but then again, so was the entirety of the castle and grounds surrounding it.

The guards stopped him at the gate just as they had the last time, but thankfully one of them recognized Spark from his previous visit and allowed him through the entrance. Inside, he was met by a unicorn butler and escorted to the athenaeum where he was greeted by the sight of Princess Celestia, sitting at a table and reading from a large, very old looking book. She looked up when he entered and smiled when her eyes met his.

"Ah, Nature Spark. How nice to see you before you leave," Celestia's sweet voice called out upon seeing him. She marked her place in the book and closed it. "How are you today?"

"I am doing fine, my princess," Spark replied. He dipped into a low bow as he answered, but glanced up when he heard giggling coming from the princess.

"You don't have to do that. We aren't in the courts, so there's no need to be formal. If there was I'd be-" She took a deep breath and put on a stoic expression. "TALKING WITH YOU LIKE THIS!" Celestia finished. Her royal voice was just as loud and obnoxious as Spark remembered, not that he would dare to tell her that.

"As you wish, Princess Celestia," Spark said with a hint of a grin. He stood back up and walked over to her table. "May I take a seat and speak with you for a moment." Celestia nodded her head and Spark sat down on the opposite side of the table, so that they could face each other. "I came here to see if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions I had about my father and the work he did for you." The unicorn hoped that he wasn't being an inconvenience to the princess, but her expression was soft and unchanged, as if she had known what he came to talk about already. Which she probably had, Spark thought.

"I will answer what I can, Nature Spark, but there are certain aspects of your father's work that I will not discuss," Celestia replied. She levitated a cup of tea, which Spark hadn't noticed before, to her lips and took a sip. "Before we start, would you care for a cup of tea? I find a cup of dragonwell green tea always helps vitalize me in the morning."

"I would love a cup of tea, actually," Spark told her. The princess called for the butler to bring another cup for her guest and a few minutes later an earth pony brought one to the table. The stallion set the cup in front of Spark and poured some steaming tea into it before he left them to their conversation. "Thank you very much princess," Spark said as he blew on the cup and then brought it to his lips to take a sip. The tea was wonderful. It had a very sweet taste, but not over powering in flavor. Spark only wished that he could have afforded tea so nice. Princess Celestia seemed to notice his awed expression as he set his cup down.

"Do you like it?" the alicorn asked him. "It is one of my most favorite types." She took another sip from her own cup and then set it on the table.

"Yes, I think that it is the best tea I have ever had," Spark replied. Celestia had been right, it did help to invigorate Spark and when the stallion had finished drinking his cup, he felt awake and rejuvenated. The unicorn would definitely have to find a place to get some of that tea for himself, after he was done with his travels of course.

"Now, about your father," Celestia said a moment later. "Where would you like to start?" She sat there patiently for a short time, while Spark mulled over her question. Spark should have thought about what he wanted to know, before he talked to the princess, but there wasn't anything he could do about that anymore.

"Well, let's start with this," Spark said as he levitated his father's old dagger out of his bags. "My mother told me that this was his, from when he used to serve you." He set it down on the table before her. "Where did he get it? And I know this sounds silly, but did he ever give it a, um, a name?" The unicorn grinned awkwardly and thought about how stupid his question must have sounded to the princess. Celestia chuckled quietly and answered him to the best of her ability.

"All of the guards are given hoof crafted weapons. His came from one of the best blacksmiths that I have ever met, Vulcan Firehammer," the alicorn explained. "Vulcan had already retired by the time your father needed a weapon, but somehow Oaken Field managed to convince the old blacksmith to forge one last blade." She paused to take a sip of her tea before continuing. "While most daggers are equipped with an enchanted gem that keeps the blade sharp or allow it to be launched with magic, his was a little different." Spark was literally on the edge of his seat as she stopped to take another drink. "This blade that you have is enchanted to not only stay sharpened, but also absorb poisons and hold them. The next time it pierces flesh it will release those poisons. It is a very deadly weapon, which must be wielded with great care."

"I had no idea," Spark gasped. The stallion was stunned by her revelation. The dagger was a weapon fit for an assassin, but that couldn't have been what Spark's father had used it for. Oaken Field had been such a gentle stallion, at least, that was how Spark remembered him. "Why would my father need this type of enchantment on his dagger?"

"It helped with his work and I cannot say more on the matter," Celestia responded firmly. The unicorn could hear minor tension in her voice, so he did not press the matter further. Instead, he sipped on his tea while she continued to speak. "I can however, tell you that he called it Libra."

"Libra." Spark uttered the word softly and the dagger's gem seemed to swim with dormant energy in response. "As fitting of a name as any I suppose." He levitated it off of the table and back into his saddle bags a moment later. "Is there anything else that you can tell me about my father? I would like to learn all that I can."

"I'm sure that you will find out quite a bit during your travels, Nature Spark, and that is the way it should be," Celestia replied, "but keep in mind that your father was only a pony. There are parts of his history you may not agree with, but I want you to remember that Oaken Field was a courageous stallion, one who would do anything to save the country he cared about and protect the family he loved." Her gaze softened as she finished. "Every pony has the potential for good and evil, it is those of us who are able to keep the two in balance that can change the world the most, Nature Spark." They were both silent for what seemed to Spark like hours, but in reality was more like a few minutes, before the unicorn got to his hooves and bowed to the princess.

"Thank you for speaking with me, Princess Celestia. I have learned a great deal about my father from you," Spark said as he stood up straight and wrapped his bags in the green glow of his magic, strapping them down tightly to his sides. "I have to be going though and hopefully we see each other again, after I have sorted out this crisis."

"I would like that very much," the princess replied. She gave a slight nod of her head, which was as close to returning a bow as the alicorn would ever come. "Good luck, Nature Spark. The weight of Equestria is on you and your friends."

Spark bowed once more to her before he left, saying, "I will do my best princess." The stallion walked down the halls, lost in thought and barely registering the servant who led him back towards the front gates of the castle. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of his late father and the fate of the country. Spark stumbled briefly in the doorway before snapping out of his daydreams in time to catch himself. He needed to find a place to buy enchanted gems before going back to the hospital, so that was the next stop he planned on making.

By the time Spark had found the enchanted gem store again, it had already been open for a while. The shop didn't seem very busy though, so the unicorn didn't think that it would take long to purchase what he needed. Upon entering, he noticed display cases with gems of all varieties placed about the room. Most of them were already infused with certain spells, but there was a sign letting customers know that the owner would specially craft gems for an extra fee. Spark made his way to the counter, where an old unicorn stallion was sitting, with a book floating in front of his face. Spark waited in front of the counter for a few seconds, but it didn't appear as if the wrinkled blue stallion had noticed him.

"Ahem, excuse me sir," Spark said. The shopkeeper didn't acknowledge him, so he tried asking at a higher volume, in case the stallion was hard of hearing. "Sir, I'd like to know if you have a particular gem!" The shopkeeper jumped in surprise, dropping his book and knocking over a half dozen gems in the process. Spark lifted them back onto the table with his magic and apologized to the stallion. "Sorry about startling you like that. I was just wondering if you had a certain type of enchanted gem."

"Oh, it's entirely my fault. If I was actually watching my shop this wouldn't have happened," the old stallion replied. He began to chuckle, a low, friendly sound that came deep from his gut. Spark couldn't help but to smile at the sound. "Now, what kind of gem do you need?"

"I'm looking for an amethyst that's been enchanted to balance a cart full of passengers," Spark explained. "It's for my chariot and I need it today." The older stallion's eyes lit up as his customer spoke.

"You wouldn't happen to know Alexia, would you?" the shopkeeper asked him.

"Axel? Yes I do," Spark replied with mild confusion. "Why do you ask?" The unicorn figured that Axel must have bought her gems from the same store and he was proven right.

"Don't tell me she already broke the last one I sold her," the old stallion sighed. "I swear to Celestia that girl is too spirited for her own good sometimes." The shopkeeper chuckled to himself and turned around. He started walking away and beckoned for Spark to follow him.

"Well, actually, sir, it was my fault that the gem broke," Spark told him. "She gave us one of her carts and we crashed it pretty good coming in to the city." He gave a sheepish smile, to which the older stallion answered with another chuckle.

"What in the hay did you hit to break an amethyst like that?" the shopkeeper questioned. Spark wasn't sure if he should tell anypony about their flying chariot, but they had flown right into Canterlot and this old stallion did sell Axel the original stone, he decided that it couldn't hurt to tell.

"We, uh, hit the ground," Spark mumbled in embarrassment. The blue stallion was speechless for a few minutes and stood there stroking his short grey beard. Finally, he looked at Spark with a large grin.

"She actually did it, didn't she? Haha, I can't believe she built her father's sky chariot!" the shopkeeper exclaimed. His horn lit up blue and an amethyst floated over to him from one of the shelves. "Here you go, son. I had a few extras, because I expected this to happen." He handed the gem to Spark, who tucked it safely in his saddle bags. "In fact, why don't you take two more and extras to replace the other gems?" He floated more stones over, laughing the whole time and Spark placed them next to the amethyst in his saddlebags.

"I'm not sure I can afford all of these though," Spark explained. They probably cost a pretty bit and the young stallion knew he didn't have the funds to waste on spares.

"Tell you what, son. Just pay me for the first one," the shopkeeper told him. Spark was very surprised to hear him say that. "The others I'll give to you, on one condition… Tell Axel, the next time you see her, that I want a free flying chariot." The old man had another huge smile on his face. "Can you imagine the kind of mares I could get if I pay some pegasus to fly me around?" He broke into a fit of laughter soon after speaking.

"Yeah, will do," Spark replied. Mother of Luna, the old man's a pervert, he reasoned. Spark had to suppress a laugh at the thought. "Thank you so much for your generosity sir," Spark said as he handed the stallion some bits for the amethyst.

"Don't mention it," the shopkeeper beamed. His smile vanished an instant later though. "No seriously, don't mention it. It won't help business if ponies think I give away my wares for free." The old man's face lit back up with a smile as he added, "You have a good day now."

"Will do," Spark replied as he left the shop, with more gems than he knew what to do with. The unicorn wondered how successful Downpour and Draft had been in their endeavors. "I bet those two didn't make out as well as I did." He trotted down the road with a smile on his face. It was funny how one act of kindness could make the day seem brighter.

Spark's head was still full of happy thoughts and he had a bounce in his step when he arrived back to the chariot, where both of his friends were already waiting. Downpour was working on the harness, while Draft was lying on his back underneath the vehicle. "What's got you so peppy today, Spark?" Downpour asked. The bluish pegasus was the first to see him arrive, but when he heard his brother talking, Draft wriggled himself out from under the chariot.

"I got us a new balance amethyst and then some," Spark smirked. The brothers both shot him incredulous looks, until he floated out the six stones to show them.

"Damn, Spark. How did you manage that?" the older pegasus asked. "Did you rob an old mare or something?" Downpour grabbed half of the gems as he questioned his friend and his brother took the other half.

"Seriously, we don't have money to be blowing on extra gems right now," Draft lectured. The younger pegasus shook his head in disappointment, but Spark knew how to shut him up.

"Aw, don't worry your pretty little head off," Spark replied. "I got these for free." He gave the two brothers a cocky grin and they looked at him with disbelief evident on their faces. "No, really. I met the shopkeeper who sold the first gems to Axel and when he heard that she actually got the flying chariot to work, the old stallion gave me these six for the price of one."

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Draft admitted as he took the amethyst and crawled back under the cart to replace the cracked gem.

"What was the shopkeeper's name?" Downpour asked before he turned back to adjusting the new harness, double checking each of the fasteners as he went.

"You know what, I forgot to ask," Spark told him and then facehoofed at his own stupidity. "The next time we're in Canterlot, I'll have to make sure to visit him again. He also said he wanted me to ask Axel to give him his own flying chariot, so that he can pick up mares."

"Haha, sounds like my kind of stallion," Downpour chuckled. The older pegasus stepped back from the harness and examined it. "Well, that should do it. I just have to get Strata out here so I can see how it fits."

"Where are the others anyway?" Spark asked. He had expected everypony to be up by then, but only the pegasus brothers were outside with him. "Don't tell me they're still sleeping."

"No, they've been up for a while now. I think their packing up the rest of our stuff and getting some breakfast ready," Downpour replied. The stocky pegasus started to walk towards the hospital, but stopped when he heard a muffled voice. "What was that, Draft?"

"I said, I think Star was paying the bill and she wanted me to tell Spark that she has a surprise for him," Draft said after he had gotten out from under the cart. "Wait up. I'm coming with."

"What kind of surprise?" Spark's spark asked. His curiosity was peaked now, as he tried to imagine what the mare had for him.

"She didn't say, but knowing Star, it's probably some new spell for you to learn," Draft replied. Spark mentally kicked himself as he remembered that he hadn't gotten around to practicing his cloud walking spell that day. The three stallions found Strata and Inferno in the hospital lobby, talking around a stack of pastries as they walked through the front doors.. The smell of warm food made Spark's mouth water and he snagged a hot cinnamon roll before leaving to find Star.

"How long before we leave from here?" Strata asked before he had walked too far down the hall.

"It shouldn't be much longer. Downpour just has to get you fitted to the harness and I'm going to see what Star is up to," Spark called back to her.

"Alright. Let her know that breakfast is ready when you see her," Strata replied before turning back to the conversation she was having with the red dragon.

"Can do," Spark answered. The unicorn walked through the halls and made his way to the main desk, where a nurse was busy filling out forms. "Excuse me miss, but I'm looking for my friend. She's short and black with a white owl for a cutie mark. Have you seen her?" The nurse looked up from her paper work with a slightly annoyed expression as she eyeballed him.

"I believe she's in the dean's office," the mare informed him. "It's down the hall on your left, then through the doors at the end of the hall. You can't miss it." She went back to her paperwork with a huff. Spark forgave her for her rudeness though; he could imagine how much stress came with a job like hers. Hospitals weren't exactly the easiest places to work in and the things she probably saw on a daily basis would have made him lose his lunch.

"Thank you very much," Spark said as he walked away.

Spark arrived at the dean's office doors and was about to knock when they opened up on him. He barely stopped himself from rapping on Star's head as a result.

"Spark, I was just about to go see if you were back yet," Star said with a smile. "Please, come in." She led him into the office and gestured for him to take a seat in one of the brown chairs. "This," she said, pointing to a middle aged mare with curly orange hair, "is the dean of the hospital, Doctor Suture. She is the one who let us stay here the last few days."

"Pleased to meet you," Spark greeted her. The unicorn offered his hoof and Suture shook it, her yellow hide looked soft and her grip felt delicate. Spark assumed that she had been a surgeon before becoming the dean of the hospital. They broke the hoofshake and the yellow mare gently cleared her throat before speaking in a soft voice.

"Nature Spark, young Star here has told me many things about you, one of them being that you have poor eyesight," Suture explained. Spark nodded his head and the dean continued to speak. "She and I have come up with a solution to your problem. You see, I have a spell that I believe can fix your sight."

"You believe it can, but what? It hasn't ever been tested, has it?" Spark questioned dryly. This was beginning to become a theme; smart ponies wanting him and his friends to test new and possibly dangerous inventions. "Why hasn't it ever been tested before?"

"It requires two unicorns to perform the spell. One on each eye at the exact same time, however I haven't found anyone that could learn the spell well enough for me to trust them," Suture replied. She looked at Star and smiled. "Until miss Discipula Star wound up in my hospital, that is. She is quite the talented student of magic, wouldn't you agree?" The stallion nodded his head.

"Yes, she's something else alright." Spark scratched the back of his head and sighed, "Is it going to be dangerous?" He didn't want to end up with worse sight, because then there wouldn't be anyway he could make it to the hippogriffs, let alone all the way to the Crystal Empire.

"Like any magical augmentation there are inherent risks, but I am the best surgeon in Canterlot, maybe even Equestria and Star is very skilled with magic herself," Suture stated assuredly. "It is up to you in the end, but wouldn't you like to be able to see without worrying about glasses all of the time?" The yellow mare waited patiently for him to mull it over.

On one hoof, Spark's vision was pretty bad, but he had more or less gotten used to it over the past few days. On the other hoof, the spell could be dangerous, but it also had the potential to fix his eyes permanently. The unicorn was pretty tired of buying new glasses all of the time, so he finally decided it was worth a shot.

"Okay, I'm in," Spark told them. The mares were both very happy with his decision and it showed in their eyes.

"Great, Spark. I'm so glad that you trust me to do this and I promise it will be fine," Star beamed as she practically jumped on his lap and hugged him. Spark had a passing feeling that he had made a mistake, but he took a deep breath and let the nervousness pass.

"Well then, Nature Spark, I will set up an operating room and we should have you fixed up and ready to head out in two hours tops," Suture said. The older mare winked at him with a sly smile. "You can wait with Star while I prep everything." Spark got the feeling that Suture thought he and Star were an item, which was a bit ridiculous, seeing as how they had very little in common, other than wanting to help the princesses. Spark had far too many things on his mind to pay it much more thought though.

"Come on. Let's go let the others know what we are up to," Star said. The smaller pony walked out the door of the office and Spark got to his hooves and followed her. "I bet that none of them expected this to be the surprise." She giggled as she headed down the long hallway. Nope, they probably wouldn't have guessed. Spark sure hadn't. Their friends were already finished with breakfast when he and Star arrived at the room, but they had left some food out for the two of them.

"What took you guys so long?" Downpour asked when they walked in. He was relaxing in a chair with his forelegs wrapped around Strata, who was sitting in the same chair with him.

"Yeah, we thought that you two had gotten lost or something," Strata chimed in. The hippogriff smiled at her own lame joke. Spark couldn't help but notice that she was quite a bit friendlier now than she had been when they first met. She had been under stress then though, so maybe that was part of it, but Spark couldn't help thinking his buddy Downpour was to thank for the mood change.

"We're going to get Spark's eyes fixed with magic!" Star exclaimed, giving a squee of delight as she told them. She was vey excited about the procedure. Probably the thrill of learning a rare spell, Spark imagined. "The dean of the hospital asked me to assist her in the procedure. It should be quite the experience." The black mare stayed true to her title of faithful student.

"You're going to fix his eyes with magic?" Draft asked, without any trace of enthusiasm in his voice. "Are you sure that's a good idea? It sounds sort of questionable to me." Star fixed the pegasus with an annoyed stare.

"You don't trust my magical ability?" Star questioned him as she walked up to Draft with an indignant expression on her face.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that," Inferno spoke up from beside her. The dragon looked over to Draft for some indication of whether or not she was right.

"It has nothing to do with your abilities. I just don't know if it's safe to mess around with unicorn magic, especially when the unicorns themselves don't know exactly how it works," Draft elaborated. Spark could see his point, though he liked to think he had a good grasp of how magic worked, but he had faith that Star wouldn't attempt something that could badly damage him if she wasn't sure she could manage it.

"Well, Spark has already agreed to let me augment his vision, so we will see who is right in a little while," Star replied in the most cocky voice that Spark had ever heard coming from the short unicorn. She turned in a huff and walked out of the room with Inferno hot on her tail. Spark reminded himself not to question Star's magic in the future, unless he wanted to cause problems.

"Anyway," Spark sighed, attempting to alleviate the remaining tension in the room. "What have you three been up to since I left?"

"We ate some breakfast and spent the last twenty minutes talking about the trip," Downpour replied. He seemed to be in a good mood, considering the stallion was going to be away from his new marefriend for weeks.

"He's lying to you." Draft rolled his eyes as he said it. "They spent the whole time after they fixed the harness, gushing about how much they were going to miss each other. It was kind of sad to watch actually," Draft added. Downpour chucked a folded up cloak at his little brother, who ducked under it and stuck out his tongue in response.

"How adorable," Spark snickered at their antics and then sat down to wait for the dean of the hospital to come to the room and get him.

"You can do this. You can do this. Everything will be fine." Spark had been repeating the mantra in his head ever since the two mares had strapped him to the operating table and pinned open his eyelids, but had only begun to whisper it after they'd pinned his eyelids back. The dean had told him that he would have to be coherent for the procedure and needed to keep his eyes focused straight in front of him. The sigh challenged stallion had started to get worried, but was doing his best to keep calm.

"We're going to place these gems in the holders above your eyes and focus our magic," Suture explained in a doctoral voice. The yellow unicorn was walking him through the procedure before they started, hoping to ease his mind a little. "We will focus the magic into two beams of light that will pass through the enchanted jewels and into your eyes. The effect from the spell will correct your vision, if all goes well." She put a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him. "After we're done you should have perfect vision in a few hours."

"A few hours?" Spark asked with surprise. They hadn't let him in on that important piece of information before hoof.

"Yes," Star replied. "It will take that long for your eyes to adjust, so your vision will be blurry for a while afterwards." Star gave him a reassuring look. "We'll give you a pair of special glasses to wear. They will keep the bright lights from hurting your eyes until they recover from the magical exposure."

"Okay, okay. Let's just get this over with," Spark groaned. He took a deep breath as the mares positioned themselves on opposite side of his head.

"Are you ready, Star?" Doctor Suture asked. The dean checked to see if the younger mare was prepared and received a nod in answer. "Okay, begin the spell." The mares' horns each glowed with magical power that focused at the very tips. Spark could only see them out of the corners of his eyes until they leaned forward. A split second later bright light flashed into the gems which focused the energy into tiny pinpoints that struck his retinas like a hot iron. It was a blinding sensation that caused everything else in the room to go out of focus as twin beams of energy lanced through.

"Woah!" Spark exclaimed. He could feel a strange tingling sensation in his skull that was unpleasant, but nothing that he couldn't deal with.

"You're doing well, Spark. Just a moment longer," Suture assured him. He could hear the dean's voice, but was lost in a sea of light. Suddenly there was a burning sensation in his head as the magic overloaded. Boom! Both of the gems shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces. Spark was fortunate to avoid any shards piercing his eyes, but he was fairly certain that wasn't supposed to happen.

"Oh Celestia, what happened?" Star screamed in surprise. The student's former surety was gone now and Spark felt a dread overcome him. He should not have let them test the procedure on him. He had an important mission to complete and now they bucked it up, doing Celestia only knew what kind of damage.

"What did you do?" Spark asked in a cold tone. He couldn't help but sound angry; they had toyed with his vision and now he couldn't see anything but darkness.

"I-I don't know, it was working fine and then…" Suture trailed off. The dean sounded like a foal who had been caught stealing from their parent. "I'm so sorry, Spark." He felt her place glasses on his face, like they were going to help him now.

"Shit, what the hay am I going to do now?" Spark asked them angrily. He couldn't help it, he was starting to lose his cool.

"It may have still worked, we won't know for a few hours," Suture explained. "You should stay here so that I can monitor your condition."

"No," Spark said flatly. He wasn't going to take the dean's advice. Blind or not, he wasn't going to put off his responsibilities. "I have to leave today if I want to reach the Crystal Empire in time to make a difference."

"Spark, be reasonable," Star urged her friend. She sounded on the verge of tears, but Spark wasn't in the mood to care. "It would be foalish to attempt to leave right now. What if something happened to you? I could never forgive myself." The naïve mare didn't seem to notice the irony of her statement, but Spark ignored that fact.

"I'm sorry, but I still have to do this. Unstrap me from the table so I can leave," Spark replied. He struggled against the restraints until he felt them loosen. "I'll send you a letter later to let you know if it worked or not," the stallion added as got up from the table and felt his way to the door.

"At least let us help you get to the rest of your friends," the doctor told him. Spark felt Suture's gentle touch on his shoulder as she and Star led him out of the operating room and down the hall to their friends.

"We're here," Spark said as he walked into the room, feeling the gaze of his friends all around him.

"I'm so sorry," Suture whispered from behind him. Spark heard the hoofsteps of the dean and then the opening and closing of the door as she left the room.

"What the hay did you do?" Draft's voice held an accusatory tone as he directed the question in, what Spark assumed was, Star's direction.

"I'm not sure. Everything was going smoothly, but the gems shattered and I-I-I'm so sorry," Star apologized before she broke down and began to sob next to Spark. He reached out a hoof and felt around for the mare's shoulder.

"Hey, it's not your fault," Spark consoled her. "I wanted to do this and besides, we still don't know that it didn't work." The mare tried to stifle her crying, but wasn't doing a very good job. "Its okay, Star, I know you did your best to help me."

"I told you this was a bad idea," Draft grumbled. He sounded angry still, but his brother effectively silenced him.

"Draft, shut the hay up for one Celestia damned minute," Downpour barked at him. Spark could hear the stocky pegasus approach him from the left side. "When will you know if it worked?"

"It could be a few hours or so," Spark told him. "I'm going to have Inferno send a letter when I know for sure."

"Wait, you're still leaving today?" Inferno asked. The dragon was beyond surprised to hear him say that. "Are you insane?"

"We're a few hours late as it is. I'm not delaying this any longer. One way or another I am completing this quest," Spark replied.

"You are one brave pony, Spark," Strata chuckled and then she slapped Spark on the back and he nearly toppled over, onto his face. That hippogriff was even stronger than she appeared; no wonder Downpour liked her so much, Spark realized.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm afraid I can't really help pack up though, so you five will have to do the dirty work for me," Spark said, trying to change the subject.

"Don't worry about it buddy, we got this," Downpour assured him. Spark heard the sounds of bags rustling and the movement of his friends around him, but he couldn't do anything to help. If he was truly blind, then the unicorn was going to have a very difficult time adjusting to being so helpless.

"Come on. Let's get you to the chariot," Inferno said as she put a clawed hand on his Spark's side and led him out of the room to the flying chariot outside. The rest of his friends followed close behind them. "Strata was right, you really are one brave unicorn," Inferno told him as they stepped into the evening air.

Loading everything hadn't taken the group long and they were now at the gates of the city, or at least that what Spark's friends had told him. He could feel the cold wind blowing through his mane and smell the scent of dead leaves in the air, but not being able to see was already driving him crazy. He was stuck like a foal in the back of the chariot, while his friends fussed over him. It was absolutely maddening.

"I'm fine everypony," Spark groaned. "I just lost my vision. I'm not a little blank flank foal."

"We're all just worried about you, alright?" Star replied. She had managed to compose herself shortly after leaving the hospital, but still sounded one harsh word away from a breakdown, so Spark did his best to stifle his agitation.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't mean to snap," Spark apologized. He softened his tone as he spoke to the guilt ridden mare. "I'm just not used to being so helpless. It's going to take some getting used to."

"It's okay," Star replied. "I deserve it after what I did."

"Please don't be like that, Star. What happened was completely out of your power," Spark told her. "I don't want to leave with any hurt feeling between us. You're my friend and I forgive the mistake." He felt his friend's forelegs wrap around him in a tight embrace.

"You're too kind, Spark," Star sighed. She let him go and resumed walking a second later.

"Alright, were out of the gates, so I guess this is where we say our goodbyes for now." Downpour's voice came from above Spark and he heard the winged stallion land nearby. "Spark, I want you to be safe." Downpour lifted Spark's hoof and bumped it against his own for him. "I know Strata will take good care of you and soon your vision will return, better than ever. You'll be just fine."

"Yeah, I'm sure I will," Spark replied softly. "See you later, Downpour." The pegasus chuckled nervously and then left to go say his goodbyes to Strata in private.

"Take care, Spark. Make sure to keep Star up to date on what's going on," Draft said with a smile, which was lost on Spark. "I think that mare will have a heart attack if she doesn't hear from you and Inferno everyday." The grey pegasus patted Spark on the shoulder and sat down beside him in the chariot.

"Don't worry about me everypony. It will take more than being blinded to keep this unicorn down," Spark replied. He gave his friends what he hoped was a nonchalant look and laughed. "I'll see you all in a couple of weeks."

Everypony else said their last farewells to each other, Star and Inferno both crying as they did, and then proceeded to do a last minute check to make sure they were actually ready to depart. Star surprised Spark with a kiss on the cheek when no one was looking.

"Charm is a very lucky mare to have a somepony like you, Spark," Star breathed softly into his ear. "I hope I can find a stallion as good as you someday." Spark could feel the warmth of Star's breath and he put a hoof to his cheek as she walked away from him. It almost sounded like she had been flirting with him, but Spark dismissed it as nothing and got comfortable in the chariot. Inferno sat down next to him a few minutes later.

"Are we ready to go?" the dragon asked. Her gravely voice still had a hint of sorrow in it from having to leave the mare she looked to as a mother.

"I don't know," Spark replied, "you tell me." The unicorn smirked at her and she shoved him over playfully. "Hey now, don't pick on the handicapped pony."

"Alright everypony, let's get going, before I rethink leaving my lady," Downpour called out. The pegasus's powerful wings blew air past Spark's head as he lifted off the street and started to fly away. "See you later, hot stuff," he called back to Strata.

"I'll miss you, Downpour, and I will be eagerly waiting for the first night that we're together again," the hippogriff called back shamelessly. Spark facehoofed. Those two were too perfect for each other.

"I'll see you ponies on the other side," Draft said before departing like a lightning bolt after his brother.

"Take good care of my daughter, Spark, and you too, Strata. If anything happens to her I'm holding both of you responsible," Star told them with a serious expression on her face, then the mare gave each of them another hug.

"No worries, mom. I'm in good hoofs," Inferno grinned. Spark hoped that the little dragon was right, but he felt slightly unsure at the moment. Strata however, sounded sure enough for the both of them.

"We will protect her with our lives, Star, you can count on that," Strata assured the motherly pony. It helped to put Spark's mind at ease being able to rely on the hippogriff.

"I'll write you when we stop for the night," Spark added. He didn't know how smooth their trip would go while he was blind, but tried to stay positive regardless. Thankfully it would be three more days before they were flying over the ocean, which gave the stallion plenty of time to practice his cloud walking spell before he needed it.

"I'll be waiting for the letter," Star replied. Without anymore words, Strata took off and the chariot was soon flying above the clouds, at least that's what Inferno told Spark once she dared to take a peek around herself. At least he wasn't the only blind one in the cart, Spark thought with a smirk.

The flight went smoothly, but was spent mostly in silence, as everypony was lost in their thoughts. Spark's vision hadn't returned by the time that they set up camp that night, so Inferno was the one who wrote the letter to Star. There wasn't anything important or new to report, so it mostly consisted of Inferno writing about how much she hated flying and how much she would miss Star.

After sending off the letter via dragon fire, the three friends spent an hour or so talking, it was hard for the stallion to tell how long exactly, and then ate a small meal around the camp fire. They were all pretty beat after the excitement of the day and Spark wasn't in much of a mood for conversation, so he stretched out on his blanket and let his mind drift away, as he was wan to do.

Spark thought long and hard about what Princess Celestia had told him of his father. He really hoped that he would learn the truth about who Oaken Field really was from the griffons, but also wondered whether or not he actually wanted to know. The unicorn wasn't sure what he would do if he found out his father was actually Celestia's personal assassin. Judging from the enchanted dagger, Libra, it sure seemed that way. These thoughts and more plagued the blind stallion's mind as he fell into a restless sleep.


	15. Typhlotic

~Chapter 14: Typhlotic~

The flying chariot was falling out of the sky like a dropped stone. Spark could see the ground rushing towards him at a dizzying speed, but his magic wasn't enough to stop the descent and every second that passed drew the three of them nearer to their deaths. The unicorn's horn flared in vain again as he tried to slow the speed of their fall. There was nothing left that he could do. He had failed to protect Inferno, failed to protect Strata and, worst of all, he had failed to help Equestria. Spark's eyes slowly shut as he accepted his fate and hurtled ever closer to his doom. He whispered an apology to his friends, family, Heart Charm and the ghost of his father.

Suddenly Nature Spark jolted upright, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. He panicked as he looked around, because the world was dark, but then he remembered the events of the previous day and collapsed back to the ground. It was just another crazy dream, a very realistic one, but a dream none the less. The unicorn still had a chance to fix things, although he was still blind. Tears began to form in his eyes and he squeezed them tightly shut, whimpering softly as he did. He was blind.

Spark wasn't sure that he could keep going anymore. His chances were slim when he had his vision and all of his friends with him, but now it seemed pointless for him to even try. The stallion lay there for a while, silent tears running down his face as he lamented over his fate. Only now did the impact of what had happened to him really begin to set in. He was sightless. Never again would he watch the rising sun cast the sky in an array of reds, violets and yellows or see the beaming smiles of those he cared about. He'd be lucky if he could even use magic right anymore. It would be hard to levitate objects when he didn't know their location. Spark was handicapped now and it was breaking him. Tears began to flow freely then, because he had no reason to care how the others saw him when he could not.

Strata and Inferno awoke to the sounds of a grown stallion crying like a foal. Spark had his face buried into a blanket, but his sobbing was still making quite a bit of noise. The unicorn continued in this manner, shedding tears over his undeserved fate, until he felt the touch of a scaled hand on his back.

"Spark, what's going on?" Inferno questioned sleepily. "What's wrong?" Like she really needed to ask, Spark thought. It should have been obvious what his problem was.

"I'm blind, Inferno," Spark sniffled in reply. He turned his head to face where he thought the dragon was. "What the hay do you think is wrong?" He could feel snot running down his nose, so he attempted to sniff it back up. He wasn't sure whether or not it worked, but he didn't really care anyway.

"I know, but it is going to be okay. I'm sure that right now Star and the dean are coming up with some way to fix your sight when we get back," Inferno assured him. She stroked his back trying to comfort the miserable stallion, but it wasn't doing anything more than irritating him. "You will have your vision back before you know it. Just wait and see." Wait and see; Spark lost it when she said that. He began to laugh, a wretched sound that mixed with his sobs, and then glared in her direction.

"Piss off, Inferno. Don't you get it?" Spark shouted the question to the young dragon as he became lost in his rage. "I'm probably going to bucking die at the first sign of danger," he moaned. The hand left his back and he sensed the dragon backing away from him. "I can barely use magic. What the hay do you think is going to happen the next time we get attacked?"

"I- I was just try-" Inferno sounded on the verge of tears, but he didn't care in the slightest. He cut her off with another shout.

"You were just nothing. No matter what you say it isn't bringing back my sight Inferno, so just drop it." A second after he finished his sentence, Spark felt something connect with his jaw, making a sharp crack and sending him sprawling onto the ground in a daze. "What the b-"

"You had better quit this whiney bullshit," Strata scolded him. It was the hippogriff that had hit him, Spark realized. "Have you been listening to yourself? Oh, I can't see, boohoo." Her words struck the unicorn like more blows to the face. "Yes, you are blind now. Guess what though. Crying about it like a little foal is not going to help anymore than yelling at Inferno. I'd suggest that you grow up and stop feeling sorry for yourself, because that is the kind of emotional crap that will get the three of us killed. There wasn't much Spark could say to that, so he remained silent and rubbed his cheek morosely. None of them talked for quite a while, but the stallion could hear the sound of saddlebags being rummaged through and eventually he felt the warmth of a fire. The smell of cooking food soon drifted up to his nose as well, causing his stomach to groan in response. Feeling sorry for himself and whining had made the unicorn famished. Spark got to his hooves and carefully made his way closer to the fire. He stopped near Strata; at least, he thought he did. He reached out a hoof and felt around for the hippogriff.

"Strata, is that you?" Spark asked. He felt a scaled leg and realized that it was Inferno that he had sat beside. "Oh, Inferno," he mumbled in surprise. He had acted stupidly earlier. It wasn't the dragon's fault that he was blind and he needed to apologize for his actions. "Look, I'm really sorry about yelling at you. It's just going to take some time to get used to this. Can you ever forgive me?" He waited for a response, but she was silent for awhile and he began to think she wasn't going to speak to him. Finally she spoke up though.

"Yes, I forgive you. I should have thought about how you felt," Inferno replied quietly. She gave Spark a hug and he squeezed her back. "I can't imagine what it must be like." They broke the embrace and the stallion actually smiled a little.

"So, what's for breakfast today?" Spark asked. He sniffed the air around him as he spoke. "It smells like potatoes and garlic." His mouth watered just thinking about the delicious food.

"That's right. I pan fried some potatoes in garlic for you two," Inferno told him. "I got myself out a nice ruby to eat though." The unicorn heard the sound of crunching as she bit the end off of the jewel and began to chew.

"Sounds good to me, how long until its ready?" Spark asked her. He had been depressed last night and as a result hadn't really eaten much. He was paying for it now as his stomach growled in empty agony. "I'm starving."

"It should only be a few more minutes," Inferno assured her friend. The potatoes sizzled and Spark heard the scraping of something against the pan as the dragon stirred them around. Spark sat by the fire and thought while he waited. There wasn't much else that he could do, after all. Before long, Inferno's voice snapped him out of his mind and back to the real world.

"Food's ready," the dragon cheerfully stated. She handed Spark a plate as she said it, the smell from the potatoes drifting up into the stallion's face and making his mouth water profusely.

"Mmm, it smells so good," Spark replied. "Thanks." He began shoveling food into his mouth ravenously and soon after he asked for seconds. Strata had just finished with her first serving by the time the unicorn was done with his second plateful.

"Wow, you sure were hungry," Strata observed. The hippogriff sounded a bit shocked at the way he had inhaled two plates of food so quickly.

"Yup, I guess blubbering like a little filly really takes it out of me," Spark chuckled dryly. The girls laughed along with him.

"Alright Inferno, we should get this camp cleaned up so that we can leave," Strata said as she stood up. With that, the two girls set about putting everything back into the cart. Spark tried to help, but managed to only get his saddle bags in by the time that they had finished. Eventually, he thought, I'll be able to use my magic properly again. He swore to himself that blindness wasn't going to slow him down, but knew it was easier said than done.

It was a strange sensation being so high up when he couldn't see anything. Spark knew that they were flying above the clouds, but it felt no different than flying a few feet off of the ground. Sure the wind blowing through his mane was colder, but other than that, he may as well have been hovering just above the earth. It was little thoughts like this one that filled the unicorn's head as he sat in the back of the chariot and tried to pass the time. Without sight the flight felt to him like it was taking forever.

"For the love of Luna, it is so boring riding in this thing," Inferno griped. She had gotten over most of her fears about flying by that point and the monotony of sitting for hours on end was beginning to take its toll on the dragon.

"I know what you mean," Spark replied. Without being able to see the sun, the unicorn had no real indication of what time it was or how far they had gone. "Hey, Strata!" He had to shout so that she could hear him over the flapping of her wings and the rush of air past her ears. "How long until we stop for a break?" he asked.

"We'll stop for lunch in about an hour or so!" Strata called back. Spark sighed when he heard her response. There wasn't anything the stallion could do about it though, so he sat back and resumed waiting. It didn't take him long to become restless once again however, and he soon found himself fidgeting around in his seat. He decided the only way to escape from the dreary situation would be to roll himself a joint and try to relax. It would take some very careful work to accomplish without sight though. This would be a good test of his resilience, he thought. Spark dug around in his bag, feeling around for the pouch of bud. He eventually grasped it and was disappointed to feel that it was almost empty.

"This is going to be a long trip," he mumbled as he pulled the pouch out and set it down on his lap.

"What was that?" Inferno asked, having overheard the pony talking to himself.

Spark waved a hoof dismissively at her as he replied, "Nothing, I'm going to try to roll myself a joint." He fished out a piece of rolling paper and carefully focused his magic onto it. "Can you keep an eye on me and make sure I don't spill the last of this while I'm concentrating."

"Okay," Inferno said as Spark felt her clawed hand hovering under the paper, ready to catch the pouch if he should let it drop. Surprisingly, it was much easier to roll than the unicorn had expected. After all the years of using his magic, it seemed to work almost on its own and in seconds he had produced a fairly well made joint.

"Well, that wasn't so hard," Spark observed. Maybe being blind wouldn't be as much of a hindrance as he had dreaded it would be. With a little practice, he might even be able to have some use in protecting the girls when the need arose.

"Wow. That was a pretty good job for being blind," Inferno's told him. He voice held a note of genuine surprise, so Spark knew that he had really done it satisfactorily and it wasn't just his imagination, though he played it off like it was nothing, just for the fun of it.

"Yup, I've got some serious rolling skills," Spark replied. "Not even being handicapped can change that." His cocky grin made Inferno laugh and he could envision the dragon rolling her eyes as she chortled at him. The façade of nonchalance was ruined however, when Spark missed his horn twice while trying to light the joint with his magic. Inferno laughed even harder at that, until he finally got it lit and was starting to puff on the end of it.

The effect was fantastic. Spark could feel the edginess of sitting still for so long rolling off of him as his high set in. By the time he had smoked half of the joint, the unicorn was fully baked and giggling for no real reason. Not having to share his herbs with two pegasus made it last longer and was quite enjoyable.

"Why do you smoke so much of that stuff?" Inferno asked him, as he tried to catch his breath in between fits of laughter and coughing.

"Because it's, well, it's just great," Spark replied. A smile crept across his face as he spoke. "It's like everything that is stressing me out melts away whenever I'm high."

"Sounds nice," Inferno said. Spark detected a hint of longing in the dragon's voice and knew what she was about to ask before she even started. "Do you think I could try some?" Yup, there it was, right on cue.

"Nope," Spark replied. "Oh, no-ho-ho-ho. No way in Celestia's good green Equestria am I going to let you smoke some of this." That dragon must be out of her mind if she thought he was that irresponsible, Spark thought. "First of all, Star would have my horn for that and second, you're still too young." He heard her huff in annoyance and he gave her a consoling smile, or at least he tried.

"I'm not a child, Spark," Inferno argued. "I'm twelve years old for crying out loud." She sure pouted like a little foal when she wanted too though.

"Tell you what. If you ask me again in a year or two I might just let you have some of this, but until then you'll just have to wait," Spark told her. He took another drag and the tip of the joint burned his lip before dropping to the ground. "Son of a-" Not being able to see that he had smoked most of a joint already was going to really be a pain in the unicorn's flank. His lip was sore as hay and he could picture a blister already forming. What Spark didn't see however, was Inferno quietly reaching down and picking up the last of the rolled up herbs. He had thought that it was just smoked too far down, but there was still a little bit left.

Spark turned his head when he heard the young dragon start coughing. No, there is no way that she just did what he thought she did. The stallion sniffed the air around him and, even with the wind rushing past his face, he could detect the faintly skunk like scent of the herbs burning. He shot the dragon a glare that could have frozen water.

"I can't believe you just did that, Inferno. I literally just got done telling you how much trouble I would get in if Star finds out," Spark scolded. Inferno's answer came between bouts of laughter.

"That's if she finds out, ha ha ha," she giggled. Spark felt the soft thud as she fell on the ground in another fit of laughter. It was hopeless to lecture her now. The unicorn supposed he might as well enjoy having somepony to be high with and wait for Star's wrath to come down when they returned.

Spark and Inferno told funny stories and argued over pointless ideas until Strata finally landed to take a lunch break. Spark had to admit that the dragon was much more laid back and fun to socialize with when she had a little bit of the magical plant in her system. There was no way that he was going to leave his pouch of herbs anywhere near her reach from then on though. He tucked the woven pouch back into his saddlebags and closed the top of it, making sure to use the latch on the bag.

A chill wind blew in from the east as they prepared a quick meal to eat. Spark shivered and pulled his cloak tightly around him. The unicorn decided that, after they ate, he should try practicing the cloud walking spell he had learned. He didn't doubt that it would be useful if they were going to where the hippogriffs lived. Spark assumed that it was some sort of settlement in the sky, but wasn't positive. Once he could use it on himself well enough, he could try it out on Inferno as well. Thankfully it didn't require being able to see to effectively cast the spell, otherwise they would have been out of luck. Spark felt a tap on his shoulder just then and turned in the direction it had come from.

"Lunch is a sandwich and an apple," Strata told him as she set the food in his outstretched hoof and took a seat beside him. "I wanted to apologize for my earlier actions. I shouldn't have struck you like that." Spark had honestly already gotten past that whole incident. He wasn't the type of pony to hold minor grudges for long.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it," the blind stallion replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly deserved it for being such a wimp." He took a bite of the apple and it was delicious. The juices ran down the unicorn's chin and he wiped them away before taking another large bite. Canterlot sure sold some good fruit, he thought.

"Still, it was an overreaction," Strata told him. The hippogriff let out a sigh and was silent for a short while before she continued. "In our clan it is important for every one of us to be strong. If we are not, then we do not survive for long. So when I saw you breaking down like that, I responded the way any hippogriff would have, but that doesn't make it right." The unicorn was reminded that not every race had it as easy as ponies did, they were truly lucky to live under the care of the princesses.

"I see where you're coming from," Spark quietly replied. He finished the apple and started eating the sandwich. "I can't imagine what it must be like to live in constant danger like that. I could only hope to cope with it as well as you have."

Spark felt a scaly tale brush against his hide as Inferno took a seat on the other side of him. He heard the sounds of furious chewing as she ate what, he imagined, was her weight in food. It was a good thing Inferno was still a relatively small dragon, because if she was fully grown and got that hungry, Spark didn't think that there would be any leftovers in all of Equestria when she was finished.

"She certainly is hungry this afternoon," Strata stated. Her voice held a hint of suspicion and Spark knew there wasn't much use in trying to keep secrets, so he decided it was best to come clean.

"Well, she sort of smoked some of my joint when I-" He had almost said when he wasn't looking, but stopped when he realized his own stupidity. "When I dropped it in the chariot," the unicorn finished. He prepared for the backlash from the hippogriff, but it never came. Strata started smiling at him instead, though he couldn't tell.

"You are by far the worst dragon sitter that I have ever met. Star is going to be outraged when she finds out," the hippogriff laughed.

"You mean if. If Star finds out, she will be furious, but that's not going to happen if I can help it," Spark replied. He sincerely hoped that Strata would keep her beak closed, but she seemed to have a certain strange code of honor that she stuck to, so he wasn't sure of anything.

"If it's any consolation, I don't think that it's such a big deal. It didn't do anything except make me happy and hungry," the dragon chimed in. After her input, Inferno resumed eating, the sound of crunching and chewing filling Spark's ears once again. He finally had Strata put away their provisions, before the dragon could leave them without a bit of food left.

"Easy there," Spark told her. "If you keep eating like that, then the rest of us are going to starve before we even reach, uh, where exactly are we going anyway?" He hadn't thought to ask before hoof and figured that it might be a good thing to know.

"The hippogriff clan lives in a community above the clouds, called Sahclawi. It's in the skies above the ocean." That cloud walking spell seemed even more important to Spark, knowing where they would be. The last thing he wanted was to screw up the spell and plummet down to the open waters. Even if he somehow survived the fall, there was nowhere to swim to, so he would still die eventually.

"Good to know," Spark muttered as he stood up and stretched out his legs. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go practice a spell." He sauntered off a short ways, feigning a relaxed manner. Inside he was panicked though, because he wasn't as confidant in his abilities as everypony else seemed to be.

Spark stood there in silence, trying his best to remember everything that Star had told him about casting the spell. Once he was ready, the unicorn took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He focused his mind and felt the magic emanating off of his horn. Soon it enveloped him in its power and he felt a strange sensation traveling from the tip of his horn down to the bottoms of his hooves. It was like his legs had gone to sleep and were just beginning to regain blood flow. The feeling was on the verge of being painful, but it soon subsided.

"I hope that worked," Spark mumbled aloud. There was only one way to find out though. "Strata!" He turned his ear towards the camp to listen for her response.

"You don't have to shout," she replied a moment later. He jumped into the air and his heart skipped a beat in his chest. "I'm standing right here." Spark had been so absorbed in his work that he had failed to notice the hippogriff walking up behind him.

"You can't sneak up on a blind pony like that. You nearly gave me a bucking heart attack," Spark lectured her. Panting breaths escaped his mouth as the adrenaline began to dissipate and his heart rate slowed back down to its normal tempo.

"I'm sorry about that," Strata apologized. "I saw that you were performing magic on yourself and thought that I would come see how it was going."

"It's okay. I could actually use your help anyway," Spark replied. He wiped a film of sweat from his forehead as he spoke. "If I did this spell correctly, then I should be able to walk on clouds now. I need you to fly me up to try it out and catch me if I fall through." He couldn't emphasize the last part enough. Just stepping onto a cloud while he was blind was going to be a test of his willpower. If he fell to the ground, the stallion didn't know whether he would have it in him to attempt cloud walking a second time.

"Are you ready now?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess," Spark told her. He felt Strata's forelegs tighten around his waist and a moment later they were airborne. His pulse quickened as they rose higher and higher into the sky. Then, the moment of truth finally came.

"Alright there's a cloud below you. I'm going to set you down now," Strata explained. The hippogriff lowered the pony to the cloud and he tentatively touched the top of the plush surface with his hoof. It felt as solid as the ground to him, so he put a little more weight on it.

"I think that it worked," Spark told her. "I want you to let go, but for the love of Celestia, be ready to catch me if I fall!"

"I'm ready," the hippogriff assured him. She slowly released her grip and Spark's full weight was pressed onto the cloud. His breath caught in his throat as he prepared to drop through, but that moment never came. The stallion stood there in his personal darkness, suspended high above the earth as he smiled.

"I did it, haha!" Spark cheered. He wanted to jump with joy, but it would have been detrimental to his health, so he settled for raising one hoof in victory.

"Good job, Spark. I knew that you would succeed," Strata replied cheerily. He felt the cloud shift slightly as the hippogriff landed beside him. "Star would be proud."

"I think you're right, Strata," Spark agreed. The novelty of sitting on top of a cloud didn't last long for him however, and he soon craved the safety of dirt beneath his hooves. "So, you think that you could take me back down now?"

At first, the darkness that surrounded Spark was little more than an irritant. It was as if his eyelids were sealed shut, but he knew that they were indeed open. The feeling was slightly uncomfortable, but one that the unicorn could deal with. As the day dragged on though, that feeling grew, until it became one of nagging agony that burrowed in the back of his mind like a termite in rotted wood. It became almost oppressive in the endless darkness and his mind was paying the price.

The fact that Inferno had been fast asleep by the time they landed back at the camp was not much of a help either. Strata had helped the stallion very carefully lift the dragon back into the chariot and there she still slept, snoring softly as she dreamt. Without Inferno to talk to, the conversation was contained mostly to the pony's own mind and it soon grew tiresome for the stallion.

Conversation with Strata was difficult to maintain because of the fact that she could not hear his voice very well over the wind that blew past her. At first, Spark had tried shouting back and forth with her, but that became annoying and he soon gave up on it. The stallion sat back on the bench with a huff and tried his best to entertain himself.

Spark's attempts to slay the boredom all fell short, due to the fact that he couldn't see. He couldn't read, even if they had thought to bring a book with them and writing the daily letter for the princess to give to Star was also out of the question without Inferno. Smoking was a mildly enticing idea, but Spark was low on herbs and didn't want to run out too soon. He settled for sitting and thinking, about the only pastime that the unicorn could still partake in.

Spark's thoughts drifted from their mission to his hometown and back again numerous times. He played out scenarios over and over in his head. He imagined coming home to Charm, her cute face reddening with a blush as he kissed her lips with a passion that can only come from being apart from the one you love for weeks on end. The pony imagined seeing his family and having a nice home cooked meal with them. Even Chestnut was in his thoughts. Spark sincerely hoped that one day the mule would be able to safely return to his home, so that they could visit like they used to. He wanted nothing more than for everything to return to normal, but it didn't seem very likely anymore.

Sadly for Spark, there are only so many times that you can imagine a scenario before it becomes a twisted version of what it once was. The fantasy of Charm was plagued with thoughts of her finding a new stallion to be with because he had left her alone. His mother would have passed away and his brother would shun him in anger because of it. Chestnut too would be deceased, never to grace the unicorn with another story of the old days. These twisted thought mocked him incessantly.

Spark attempted to take deep breaths and let the feeling of fear pass, but it would not leave him alone. The cold wind in his mane felt like the fingers of death brushing past him on its way to kill everypony he loved. His cloak failed to give him the warmth that the sun was now unable to. Tears formed in his eyes and fell to the floor of the chariot around his shaking hooves and all the while, that ever present darkness surrounded him in its bleakness.

These thoughts passed through Spark's consciousness repeatedly to the point of making him want to scream out in anger. He clutched his head between his hooves and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Maybe he could just squeeze them out of his mind or simply cut off his thought process all together. He was on the verge of a mental breakdown, but then he heard a familiar voice.

"I guess that I fell asleep for a while, huh?" A small yawn escaped Inferno's mouth as she spoke up. "Wow, the sun has even started to set. I was really out of it, wasn't I?" Well at least Spark knew roughly what time it was now. He planned on going to sleep as quickly as possible after they landed. Even if his dreams were terrible, they still wouldn't drive him crazy, or so he hoped.

"…there is not much else to report. We have set up camp for our second night out and we will write you tomorrow with another update. Faithfully yours, Inferno." She read the letter out loud as she wrote.

"Well now that that's taken care of, let's eat," Spark said as he pulled out a bag of food and shoved some of it into his mouth. The taste of dried banana slices was sweet and his stomach growled in anticipation of being filled. Spark felt the heat of Inferno's magical fire as she sent the letter off to its destination.

"That takes care of our correspondence with Star," Inferno yawned. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to go to bed." She turned and began to make her way for the blankets she had laid out in the vehicle.

"Wait, are you not hungry?" Strata questioned. Inferno must have shaken her head, because seconds later the hippogriff said, "Well, suit yourself."

"She did eat quite a bit earlier. It doesn't surprise me that she would still be full." Spark continued to eat at he spoke, crumbs of bread falling out of his mouth as he did. "I mean, she ate more than I ever could have in one sitting."

"I suppose your right," Strata admitted.

"Mhmm," Spark mumbled as he finished eating and then did his best to help the hippogriff pick up the mess. "Hey Strata?"

"What is it Spark?" she asked.

"I want you to keep an eye on me," the stallion replied. He struggled to find the right way to explain his situation to her. "I, well, I'm afraid that I'm breaking down. I'm trying my best not to let the blindness get the best of me, but…" His voice trailed off.

"Believe me; it's okay to be a little frightened in your situation," she replied. "Sight is a precious gift that most take for granted." Strata patted his shoulder and he gave her a smile.

They finished cleaning up and were soon taking Inferno's lead and crawling into bed. Spark was the last to lie down, due to the fact the he was forced to feel out the place that he had chosen to sleep in. When his head hit the pillow though, it didn't take the exhausted stallion long to fall into a deep sleep with a smile on his face. Dreams were, after all, the only place where his vision still existed in some form.


	16. Downward Spiral

~Chapter 15: Downward Spiral~

Strata and Inferno had already packed up the camp and had breakfast ready before Spark woke up. The rising sun hadn't been enough to disturb the unicorn's rest, so Inferno had to shake him awake. Even though she tried to be gentle, it was still startling for the stallion and waking up blind sent his heart racing madly. Spark spun his head around, frantically searching for danger, until his brain processed the sound of Inferno's voice in his ear and he calmed himself down.

"Mother of Luna, being blind is such a pain in the flank," Spark huffed as he struck the ground beside him in frustration. "What the hay did I do to deserve this?" He sighed and got to his hooves, doing his best to start the morning with at least a mildly optimistic attitude. There was no reason to spread his sour mood around to his friends after all.

"Um, Spark," Inferno mumbled. He had almost forgotten the dragon standing next to him until she spoke up again. "Do you want some breakfast?" The pony started chuckling at her question as he imagined her puzzled expression, which only served to increase his laughter.

"Yeah, some breakfast sounds great," Spark chuckled in reply. He got to his hooves and Inferno placed a clawed hand on his withers as she led him over to the chariot. The cold autumn air sent a shiver through the stallion's body and he pulled a cloak out of his bag, wrapping it tightly around himself. Winter was definitely right around the corner, Spark mused. Before long, they were going to have to stay bundled up most of the time, just to keep from freezing.

"We're going to leave while you're eating," Inferno explained to him. "Strata and I already had breakfast and packed up the camp, so we can get a bit of an early start if we go right now."

"What about all of my junk?" Spark asked as he sat down.

"Strata is grabbing that as we speak," Inferno replied. The dragon took a seat on the chariot bench next to him as she asked, "What do you want for breakfast?" She began rummaging around in one of the bags looking for food a moment later. Spark felt useless as he sat there, waiting for breakfast. They didn't want his help cleaning up the campsite, making breakfast or even carrying his own damn weight. There was nothing that the unicorn could do to help them now. If it wasn't for the fact that his father was some sort of hero to the hippogriffs, Strata probably wouldn't even bother talking to him. The good mood that Spark had tried to force on himself began to fade along with what appetite he had.

"You know what? I'm not really that hungry after all," Spark mumbled quietly. He closed his eyes, not that it made much of a difference, and feigned being tired. "I think I'm just going to try to get some more sleep," he said over a fake yawn and then turned his back on her.

"Yeah, okay," the dragon replied, her rasping voice soft and filled with worry. Spark could hear the concern in Inferno's voice, but he wasn't in the mood to talk to anypony right then. He just wanted to wallow in self pity alone and closing his eyes while pretending to sleep was about the closest the stallion could get.

"Was it all worth it?" he asked himself in a whisper. Is this what you expected when you started this mission of yours? No. How long will you go on and what else will you give up just to prove that you are as good of a stallion as your father was? I'm not sure. Face it; you don't even deserve to wear his dagger. I know. You haven't even begun to help the situation and you've already been handicapped, so do you really think that you can make a difference now? Maybe it is pointless to even try. Spark's brain continued to pester him as he feigned rest. What about your family and your friends, can you protect them? I sincerely hope so, but you're doing a damn good job of convincing me otherwise. What if they pay the price for your foalishness, would you be able to live with that? I don't know. How about Charm, what could you do for her like this? Spark just wanted his thoughts to stop already. He just wanted all of it to go away.

There is only so long that you can keep your eyes closed before you actually fall asleep though and soon enough, Spark's depressing thoughts became depressing dreams. Dreams of being cast in the middle of a war torn Equestria and trying to find his way through without sight. He dreamed of his friends and family abandoning him and leaving him to his fate. Most of all though, the frightened pony dreamed of Charm and how she would react knowing that he wouldn't even be able to see her face anymore. A tear rolled down his cheek as he slept, but it went unnoticed until the wind blew it dry.

Inferno woke Spark up when they landed and informed the unicorn that he had slept all morning. Spark certainly didn't feel very well rested, but he took his friend's word for it. It was lunch time now and they were going to set up camp, so the pony got to his hooves and stumbled out of the chariot, landing face first in mud rather unexpectedly.

"Perfect. Just bucking perfect!" Spark shouted as he spat out slime and did his best to wipe the gunk from his mouth. "Like my life isn't shitty enough already." He stomped off to find dry ground and dropped onto his flank to pout.

"Calm down, Spark. It was just a little mud," Inferno told him.

"Just leave me alone, Inferno," Spark retorted. He was sick of acting like being blind was something that he could deal with. Even Spark had his limits and this was one of them. All his talk about being a good pony was proven useless. No matter what the unicorn did life was going to kick him around. As soon as he was done talking to the hippogriffs, Spark had half a mind to call it quits on everything. "Let the princesses solve their own problems. It's not like there's anything I can do to help now anyway," he whined to himself.

"Don't make me hit you again," Strata told him flatly. The half pony hybrid walked over and took a seat beside the stallion. She was always interrupting his self pitying and Spark was getting sick and tired of it.

"Do it. See if I care," Spark barked back. Strata complied. He felt her fist connect with the back of his skull a split second after he had dared her, knocking him face first into the dirt once again. The unicorn got up and spun around to face where he thought she was. "I swear to Celestia, hit me one more time! Just one more bucking time!" Normally Spark would never even think of striking a girl, but the hippogriff was doing a very good job of changing his mind. Strata walked right up to him and pressed a clawed finger into his chest.

"You couldn't stop me even if you wanted to, now sit down and shut up," she ordered the stallion. Strata gripped Spark's shoulder and forcibly sat him down. He fell to his flank with a grunt and she took a seat next to him. The stallion's skull began to throb from the blow that she had landed. Strata really knew how to throw a punch, Spark admitted to himself, though he would never tell her as much.

"What do you know anyway?" Spark asked bitterly. "Have you ever been blind?" He didn't care if he sounded like a whiney brat. He was pissed off and needed to let out some anger. "Do you know what it's like to be stuck in darkness, unable to see the sunrise or your friend's faces? Do you?" Tears began to well up in the unicorn's brown eyes, but he did his best to hold them back.

"No, I haven't been blind," Strata replied. She sounded much calmer than Spark did, which only irritated him even more. "That doesn't mean I don't know what it's like to lose an important part of your self." She grew quiet for a long time and he almost thought she had left until he heard the sound of her breathing.

"So, what is it that you've lost?" Spark asked. His curiosity was slightly peaked.

"I gave up what soul I had when I killed a group of griffons," Strata explained. She sounded on the verge of tears, which did nothing to help the stallion maintain his own fractured composure.

"They hunted your clan first," Spark recalled. "It's not like you had much of a choice."

"That's just it though," Strata sighed. "The first few that I killed were for protection. They had come to take the lives of my clan, hippogriffs that I cared about. Killing them didn't feel good, but it had to be done."

"I don't see how you gave up part of your soul then," Spark replied honestly. He would have done the same thing if he was forced into the hippogriff's situation, no matter how unpleasant it would have been. Why she was so mellow dramatic about it, Spark couldn't fathom, not that he really had any room to talk given the immature way that he had been acting lately.

"Those times were all when I was forced to fight back," Strata continued, her voice cracking with emotion as she spoke. "I gave up a part of myself last year." The tone of her voice was one of longing, filled with a pain that Spark couldn't yet understand. "I gave it up the day that I decided to take revenge."

"Oh," Spark uttered softly. He had an idea of where her story was going now.

"It was only a few days after my younger sister had been killed by them," Strata explained. "We had always chosen to fight only to protect ourselves." She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves and Spark settled in for what was sure to be a depressing story. "One of my father's friends found her body. The Red Eyes had killed her while she was just flying around having fun. She was still a bucking child and they murdered her…" Spark didn't need to see the tears in the hippogriff's eyes to know that they were there. "They broke her wings and pushed her over the edge of the clouds. My father's friend heard her scream, but he was too late to save her."

"I, Celestia, I am so sorry," Sparks replied. His words seemed too shallow to convey the sorrow he actually felt for her however. The unicorn couldn't imagine losing his younger brother like that. It would have torn him up inside.

"My father told us not to go after them. He said that violence would only lead to the death of our clan," Strata said after a moment. "I didn't understand why he would say that. They had killed his daughter and he wasn't going to do anything about it. It just, it made no sense to me." Spark had no idea what to say, so he remained silent and waited for her to continue with her tale. It took her a few moments to regain her composure before she began to speak again. "I was pissed. I didn't understand how life could be so unfair and I decided that if the rest of my family wouldn't avenge her death, then I would. So I tracked them. I followed their trail for days waiting for the opportunity to get the jump on them. The whole time, I let my hate for what they had done consume me. The rage and pain festered in the deepest parts of my mind like an open sore. One night, I finally got my chance for vengeance." The tone of her voice grew spiteful as she recounted the events and it sent a shiver down Spark's spine.

"What did you do?" Spark asked, not that he needed to, because Strata had finally opened the gates to her past and the story was going to come out whether he wanted to hear it or not.

"They were sleeping and I snuck up on them from above. The only thought in my head was making them suffer. Suffer like they had made my sister suffer, like they had made all hippogriffs suffer for years," Strata replied venomously. "I dove down with a heart full of rage. Living a life as prey had made me strong. Only the strong can survive the life we had been forced to live." She was lost in her own memories and spoke with a malice that Spark hadn't expected, even from a hippogriff. "The first one fell without even screaming. I ripped his throat out in seconds and set my sights on the next target. She woke up before I got to her, probably sensed the hateful energy rolling off of me, ha ha ha." There was no joy in her laugh, only a deep bitterness.

"Strata, I-" Spark fell silent, because there was nothing he could say.

"I could see terror in her red eyes and what truly scares me, is that I kind of liked it. Some part of me relished the feeling of being the predator for once." Strata sniffed back the tears of shame that had begun to form as she continued her tale. "She put up a struggle, but eventually I broke one of her wings. I snapped it like a dry twig and I dropped her off of the edge of their cloud camp… Spark, I let her fall. I heard her screams as she watched her death approach, like the way I imagined my sister screamed when they did the same to her." She took a few more deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. "I felt no remorse for it either." Spark thought about reaching a hoof out to Strata for comfort, but was unsure how she would respond to his touch.

"They pushed you to that point," Spark tried to convince her, but he knew it was only a half-truth and Strata didn't even acknowledge that the unicorn had spoken.

"Her screams woke up the others. I remember seeing the panic in their eyes turn to realization and then into fear. I snapped at that point and all I can remember is the sound of screaming and the feeling of pure rage drowning out my thoughts. Everything went blood red and I guess my instincts took over." Spark finally got the courage to place a hoof on his friend's back and felt her shudder at the memory. She shook off his touch and wiped her burning tears away. "I don't deserve your sympathy and I don't want it."

"Of course you do," Spark replied. "Yes you snapped, but it was only because of what they had done, only because of the blood feud that their clan decided to start." The pony hoped his words would get through to the hippogriff, but they didn't.

"You don't get it!" Strata shouted back. "I looked around when I came out of the daze. They were dead, Spark, all of them… I killed seven griffons that night!"

"You did what you thought was right," Spark replied.

"Ha! That had been a small camp they were using. There were children there, Spark!" Strata angrily snapped. "Three of them were bucking children and I killed them!" The words Spark was about to say caught in his throat. No wonder she was so distraught about what had happened, he thought. "They were torn apart. I left the entire group a shredded mess. Young, old, it hadn't mattered to me and their blood was still wet on my talons." The dam broke then and tears spilled from the hippogriff's cheeks to the ground unabated. Spark was too shocked to even try thinking of something to say. The thought of going through what Strata had, well it certainly put his meager problems in perspective. "My father was right. Seeking revenge had turned me into a monster. I was just as bad as they were, if not worse." She tried to take more deep breaths to ease her aching heart. "I flew away after that. I flew as far and as fast as I could and I didn't stop until I was no longer able to move." She choked out the last few words over more tears. "Then I cried. I cried for my sister and for myself, so don't tell me that I don't know what it is like to give up part of myself. Do you know how mad I was at what they had turned me into, what I had chosen to become?" Her sadness turned to rage as she spoke to him.

"I'm so sorry," Spark whispered.

"I would give up my sight in an instant if it meant that I could stop seeing the faces of those children whenever I close my eyes. Every day since that moment, I've looked into the eyes of griffons that I killed with my own claws! Every day the wretched memory kills a little more of me!" she screamed at the stallion and he sat there quietly while she did.

"I-I had no idea, Strata," Spark softly replied. His words seemed to fail him after that. Compared to Strata's pain, his loss his seemed insignificant and the unicorn cursed his own cowardice in the face of adversity. He didn't deserve to call himself a stallion when he acted like little more than a foal.

"I know you didn't, Spark and I didn't tell you this story to gain your pity," Strata sighed. The unicorn could hear a slight waiver in her voice as she tried to reign in her emotions. "I told you so that you might learn not to harbor resentment for what happened. No good will come of you being angry or bitter about what happened." Her words hung in the air as they both sat in silence. Eventually, Strata stood up and left Spark alone to mull over what she had told him.

The small group stopped for lunch, but Spark had no idea how long they had actually been flying. The food that Inferno prepared for them tasted very good, but Spark was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the flavor. The blind stallion picked at his meal absentmindedly and barley ate anything, even though he had skipped breakfast earlier. It just wasn't a good day for his appetite. Eventually Spark dumped the rest of his plate, saving what he could and leaving the rest for the animals to scavenge once they had left. Inferno didn't appreciate him wasting the food she had prepared.

"Next time you plan on starving yourself, tell me and I'll make sure not to bother making you up a plate," Inferno said with a huff.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Spark apologized. "I guess I'm just not that hungry today." He smiled sheepishly in the direction her voice had come from.

"That's fine," Inferno sighed, "but I could have saved time if I knew you weren't hungry." She took the unicorn's plate from him and began to pack up the camp.

"Inferno?" Spark mumbled.

"Yes, Spark. What is it?" she questioned.

"I just wanted to apologize for how I've been treating you ever since the accident," Spark explained. He hoped she could hear the genuine sorrow in his voice. He had been rude to the dragon when she hadn't deserved it. All she had ever done was try to be a good friend to him and he had treated her horridly.

"Its okay, Spark. I can only imagine what you're going through right now," Inferno replied. "It must be hard to lose any one of your senses, especially when that sense is sight."

"No, it isn't okay," Spark argued. "Yes, being blinded is awful and I really wish it had never happened, but that doesn't give me the right to take it out on you. From now on I promise to stop being a dick… Pardon my language," he said with a smile.

"Wow," she commented. "Where did this sudden change of heart come from?"

"I had a nice long talk with Strata and she helped me put everything in perspective," Spark explained. "I realize now, that there are far worse situations to be stuck in."

"So she kicked your flank again?" Inferno asked him, with a little more joy than Spark would have liked.

"No. We just had a long talk," Spark retorted. "She didn't kick my flank again."

"Whatever you say," Inferno chuckled as she got back to cleaning up the campsite, while Spark just shook his head in annoyance. Spark had a feeling that the dragon would be holding Strata's blow to his face above his head for a long time to come.

It didn't take long for the two girls to get everything packed up again, especially since they hadn't bothered making a fire, despite the cold winds that continued to blow. Spark did his best to help, but only managed to get his own bags packed and loaded before they had finished with the rest. It was a slight improvement over that morning, but not much of one.

"Well, at least I'm getting a little better," Spark acknowledged dryly. Yes, at this rate, you might be able to cross the street alone by next year, that depressing part of the unicorn's brain thought. He chose to ignore that piece of his mind. It didn't do anything good for him anyway.

"Spark!" Strata shouted at him with obvious irritation in her voice.

"Sorry, what's up?" he questioned the hippogriff.

"I said, get in the chariot so we can leave already," she replied. Spark did as he was bid and sat down on the bench. All of the sitting he had been doing lately was starting to hurt the stallion's flank. Spark would be happy when he could take a nice walk, without having some looming deadline hanging over his head. He felt the wheels of the small chariot start to roll as Strata built up speed and then lifted them off of the ground with a kick of her powerful hind legs.

It didn't take long for Spark to get bored of sitting around doing nothing. He almost rolled up a joint, but thought it best to wait until he wasn't around Inferno. He really didn't want to deal with a repeat of what had happened the last time. That reminded the stallion that after he was done napping, he needed to have a talk with the dragon about following directions better. For now though, the unicorn only wanted to get some sleep that wasn't plagued by nightmares, so he rolled over and pulled his cloak tightly over him.

Spark heard shouting cut through his dreamless slumber. Somepony was trying to wake the stallion up. No, not somepony, he realized, some dragon.

"Spark, wake the hay up!" Inferno screamed, emphasizing the command with a slap across his face. He shot up from the bench instantly, still half asleep.

"What the buck? I'm up, I'm up," Spark mumbled in confusion. "What's going on?" The unicorn almost tried to glance around, but that would have been useless. He briefly wondered how long he had been asleep, before the screaming started again.

"We have a big problem!" Inferno shouted. She sounded terrified and Spark's guts leapt into his throat as the chariot dropped down a short distance, before being stabilized again. His heart skipped a beat and he had to stop his stomach from churning over as the chariot rocked unsteadily.

"Tell me what the hay is going on!" Spark screamed back. Something very bad was happening and he didn't want to be out of the loop, especially while they were flying through the sky. The stallion really wished he could see for himself, but there was no time to think about that now. One word was all Inferno managed to get out before something hit the cart.

"Griffons," she replied. The entire craft shook after that and they dropped a little more before Strata was able to steady the chariot once again. They had been ambushed while Spark was napping. Out of all the terrible things that could have happened, this had to be the worst possible thing, he realized.

"Damn," Spark muttered as he turned to where Inferno was seated next to him, most likely gripping the sides of the craft for dear life. "I'm going to use the cloud walking spell on you, just in case something happens." He really hoped that nothing would, but it was better to be safe than sorry, as his mother had always told him.

"What!? What's going to happen?" Inferno asked him. Spark ignored her terrified questioning and instead focused on his magic. He could feel the glow of his horn as he did his best to cast the spell. "Did it work?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"You two, I'm going to try to bring us down!" Strata called back. "This might get a little rough!" The hippogriff had to shout to be heard over the rushing wind as they soared through the air. The front of the vehicle began to dip before she had even finished her sentence.

"I really hope that it worked," Spark mumbled as he shut his eyes and attempted to cast the spell once more. The glow of his horn felt weaker, but the unicorn managed to pull off the magic. He wasn't going to be able to count on his horn to do too much more without getting burnt out though. "Inferno, I want you to try and keep them away from the chariot with your fire. Can you do that for me?"

"I-I-I'll try," Inferno replied, on the verge of tears as she spoke. Spark knew that this had to be one of the worst days of the dragon's life already, but she was facing her fears admirably. They only had to fight off the griffons until Strata could safely land. He had no idea how high up they had been flying though, so it could take a while.

"Good. Can you also hand me my dagger? It should be right in the side pocket of my bag," Spark added. A few seconds later, she placed the metallic weapon in his hoof and he twisted it down on his horn. By the time they got close enough for the weapon to be much use, it would probably be too late to make a difference, but Spark didn't plan on letting the winged bastards get away with attacking him and his friends. He just needed to think of a plan. Warm air shot by the stallion's face as Inferno let out a stream of black fire behind them. Apparently, the Red Eyes had come in for another strike, but Spark hoped that the fire would keep them at bay. "How many are there?" he questioned. The chariot dipped into a steeper dive and Spark felt the cold air rushing past his face even quicker than before. His short tail whipped behind him in a frenzy as the chariot lost altitude.

"Um, I see, uh, three," Inferno stuttered. "I think that there's only three."

"Okay," Spark replied. The blind pony had a plan, but it would be difficult enough while standing on stable ground without a moving target. Pulling it off while hurtling through the open sky would be next to impossible, but Spark didn't really have any other options at the moment. "Tell me where the closest one is. Try to be as accurate as possible." He prayed to Celestia that his magic would be strong enough and that his plan would work.

"Um," Inferno started, until they dropped a few more yards suddenly and the young dragon shrieked with fright. Spark placed a hoof on her scaly shoulder to try calming her down.

"Inferno, I need you to focus," Spark explained as calmly as he could. "Where is the closest griffon?"

Inferno took a deep breath before answering, "To your left and a little ways out." Spark facehoofed when he heard the poor directions the young dragon gave. With him being blind, she had to be very precise so he could guide his magic to the right spot.

"I need you to be very specific," Spark explained to her. "One o' clock, three thirty, ten inches out, twenty yards out or what?" Hopefully she could do this even though she was panicked, Spark thought, otherwise the outlook for all of them was going to be pretty bleak.

"Oh, uh, there's one charging toward us on your, uh, four. It's about, um, maybe fifteen yards out and about head level." That was much better, Spark acknowledged. The rest was up to him now. His horn flared with light as he probed around for the attacking griffon. The reach of the unicorn's magic was put to the test. He didn't feel a connection with anything solid though and his focus began to waver.

"Damn it. Come on, Spark, you can do this," he whispered to himself. One last reach of his power finally yielded results. Spark felt some part of the griffon straining against his grip. "I got you." The sightless stallion's horn flashed with green light as he twisted whatever body part he had grabbed onto as hard as he could. Beside him, Inferno inhaled sharply as she watched his work.

"I think you just broke his wing," Inferno grimaced. "He's dropping like a stone." She sounded sorry for the griffon and Spark understood her apprehension for violence, but it was them or the enemy at that moment. The unicorn would do what he had to in order to keep the promises he had made and if that meant ending a life, so be it.

They both nearly toppled over as one of the griffons rammed into the bottom of the chariot. Spark heard Strata cry out in pain as the harness bit into her flesh. This time he didn't need Inferno to tell him where their enemy was. As soon as he steadied himself, the stallion reached out and took hold of the hybrid creature with his magic. There was a struggle from the mercenary as they fought against the spell, trying their best to break free of his magic. Spark was nearly dragged over the edge of the chariot and would have been doomed, had Inferno not taken a firm hold of his tail right then.

"Ouch!" Spark griped as he fought to keep his concentration on the spell, even as he felt strands of his coarse hair beginning to rip out of his tail. "Just bucking stop already!" he shouted as he ripped hard on the griffon. Finally, Spark felt something on the griffon give, with a loud pop! At the same time, the unicorn's horn sparked and died. The magic dissipated and allowed the griffon to fall out of the grey skies and to his certain death, far below the clouds. Inferno pulled Spark back in the chariot and let out a sigh of relief, but the moment was short lived.

"There's one more and he's diving right for us!" Strata screamed at them as she tried to maneuver out of the path of the incoming attacker. The weight of the cart was slowing her down too much though and she wasn't able to get out of the way in time. "We're about to take a direct hit!" A loud crash sounded out as the griffon nearly toppled them over and Inferno screamed out in terror.

"Inferno, my horn's dead! I need you to torch them when they get close!" Spark shouted. She didn't answer, so he placed a hoof on her shoulder and asked again.

"I-I think I can manage," the dragon replied. Spark knew he had to think of some way to save them. Magic was out of the question, because his horn wouldn't produce more than a spark. His heart raced as he tried in vain to figure something out. Whoosh! He felt hot air rushing past his side as Inferno unleashed a blaze of dragon fire into the air. The stallion's mind shot into overdrive, thoughts racing through his head at an unbelievable speed. Whoosh! Another torrent of flames deflected the mercenary's next attempt, but there was no way that the young dragon would be able to keep it up for long. Suddenly everything clicked into place as Spark came up with an idea. There was no way the chariot could get away with the three of them. His friends were top priority in the unicorn's mind, so that left only one choice that he thought had a chance of success. "Tell me when he comes back around again!" Spark shouted over the rushing winds. Sweat poured from his brow as he dug through his saddle bags, searching for a specific container.

"He's coming back this way!" Inferno shouted back. Spark was having trouble finding what he sought, but he kept frantically rummaging through his belongings. Finally his hoof brushed against the object he was after. "He's almost here!" screamed the red dragon. There was no time for Spark to talk himself out of this then. Good. He opened the small vial and shoved it up to his nostril. The minute the pony snorted the crystalline powder, he felt his heart hammering against his chest as if trying to escape.

"Aaaagh!" Spark screamed. The rush of adrenaline was intense, but it was also the only way he was going to be able to do what he had to.

"What are y-"

"Where is he, Inferno!?" Spark cut the dragon off with a scream. His entire body felt like it was on fire. The blood coursing through the unicorn's system seemed to radiate with static energy and his veins throbbed with every beat of his heart

"Left side and coming fast," Inferno told him. The dragon sounded scared and that only increased Spark's pulse. "He'll hit us in five, four, three-" She didn't finish the count before Spark had launched himself off of the side of the chariot and into midair, aiming right for the griffon.

"What the hay!" Inferno shrieked in surprise. Spark barely heard her scream of horror over the rush of blood in his ears. Time seemed to slow for the stallion and it felt like an eternity passed before he crashed horn first into the approaching mercenary, the force of Spark's entire body weight slamming into his adversary and knocking them off course. Libra's pointed tip pierced flesh and elicited a cry of anguish from the griffon. Claws raked against the unicorn's hide in return as their bodies entangled and they began to plummet to the earth.

Nausea overcame Spark as they spun through the air and he tasted bile when it rose to the back of his throat, but the tearing of flesh drowned out the unicorn's other thoughts as the Red Eye's claws met with his face. The stallion's stomach gave out then and vomit spilled out of his mouth coating the both of them in its sticky filth. The stomach acid burned Spark's throat and had a foul stench. Finally, the falling pony was able to get his legs between himself and his enemy and kick them apart. Now he was in full free fall and the terrible realization of what he had just done hit Spark like a charging hydra.

This was worse than any of Spark's nightmares. He could gauge the speed of his descent by the force of the air rushing past his body, as his mane and what was left of his tail whipped behind him. He couldn't even muster a scream and every breath entering his lungs burned like smoke. His heart was beating so furiously that Spark was surprised it didn't give out. No, that would be too easy, he thought, of course I have to live for the whole ride down. The stallion wasn't as scared as he thought he should be however, and it seemed a little strange to him. Even with the large quantities of drugs in his system, Spark's mind seemed to be in a state of calm. Well, most of his mind was anyway.

You did it, you saved your friends, Spark thought as he plummeted down to the earth. At the cost of your own life, you bucking moron, a darker part of the unicorn's mind argued with him. Tears filled Spark's eyes and were swept from his cheeks by the force of the air rushing past him. It was worth it, he thought. Was it really though? Is Strata going to be able to convince the hippogriffs to form a treaty without you? You only delayed your friends' deaths, moron, his mind argued. No. Even if they can't form the alliance, I know that Draft and Downpour will stop the war from occurring, Spark told himself. Those two slackers, are you serious? Spark really hated his own psyche sometimes. The pegasus brothers would have help from Chestnut, Silver Blood and many others. Spark was pretty sure that they would succeed. Only pretty sure? Shut up. I'm a part of you, stupid, I can only ask what you're really thinking, his mind shot back. Let me die with at least a little peace, he sighed inwardly. The negative voice in the stallion's head finally quieted after that.

Spark wasn't sure how long he had been falling anymore. It seemed like ages, but without being able to see, the unicorn couldn't really tell how far he had dropped or how far was left to go. He said a quick apology to the princesses in his head, not that they could hear Spark, but it did make him feel a little better. He wished the best for his home, his family and his friends. Mostly though, Spark thought about Heart Charm, the mare he loved. He hoped that his death wouldn't break her heart, that she would move on without much pain and that she would eventually forgive him. With that last thought finished, the doomed pony took a deep breath and waited for impact. A few seconds later however, Spark still hadn't died yet, so he let out his breath as a scream of annoyance.

"Celestia damnit!" Spark shouted. "How long until I just die alr- augh!" His body connected with a loud crunch and the air left his lungs in a burst of wet air. Pain lanced through his body, a pain unlike anything that the stallion had ever felt in his life. The breaking of bones sounded like thunder in his head and the coppery taste of blood filled the unicorn's mouth. For a few minutes, Spark lived in pure agony. He cursed the fact that he hadn't smoked one last joint before the end. What a tragedy, he thought. The fight to stay conscious only lasted a brief time before Spark passed into a nothingness worse than he had already been stuck in.


	17. Part 2: Pegasus Brothers

~Part 2~

"_We share the same blood and the same family ties. We spread wings together and soar through these skies. Should one sibling be grounded, the other is too. If you seek blood from one, you seek blood from two."_

~ Moonshine the Poet (Year 271 of Discord's War)

His employer had summoned him for a meeting. This didn't bode well for the griffon. His group had been paid very handsomely to complete another job and had failed miserably. The deaths of his two partners were a testament to that sobering fact. Normally he would have found replacements and attempted to correct his grievous mistake, but his employer was not known for patience or kindness. He was an aristocrat who was used to getting anything his cold heart desired.

The red eyed griffon limped through the doorway of the large manor and into the stark antechamber. He paused momentarily to compose himself before stepping up to the large hardwood door and announcing his presence using the brass knocker that hung from it. Though he appeared to be alone in the building his employer had no doubt placed guards in advantageous positions around the property. The griffon kept this thought in mind as he planned his avenue of escape should the need for him to flee arise.

The door swung open to reveal a dimly lit room containing a few bookshelves and a large marble topped desk, behind which sat the owner of the extravagant home. He slowly made his way into the office and stood before his employer, trying his best to steady the erratic pounding of his heart. "You requested an audience with me sir?" The griffon's voice wavered despite his best efforts to conceal his fear.

"You were given a simple task and yet it is my understanding that you failed to take the life of the hippogriff and her companions. Why is this so?" He had a cold, emotionless voice as he spoke, but the griffon knew the true anger behind his words.

"It was much more complicated than I had expected. Both of my partners were killed by the unicorn, even though he was blin-" The griffon attempted to stop himself, but it was too late. His tongue had already slipped and given away the truth.

"So it is true then. Your team of trained griffon mercenaries," his employer's anger began to show through as he raised his voice in a scream, "was defeated by a blind unicorn!" The griffon jumped when the aristocrat slammed the top of his desk.

"Sir, allow me to explain myself."

"I have no need to hear your excuses. You were paid to do a job and you have failed to complete it. I have no use for your incompetence." The griffon's red eyes grew wide with fear as he felt a sharp pain growing in his chest.

"No, give me another chance!" His cry for mercy did nothing to change the griffon's fate. He began to scream ashe felt his still beating heart being torn from his chest with magic.

"Consider this the termination of our contract." With those final words the griffon's heart was torn free of his body. He stood for a few seconds with a look of pure horror carved into his features before collapsing upon the ground in a blood soaked heap. The magic in the unicorn's horn died down as he called for assistance from one of his servants. "I want this mess cleaned up and I want a cup of hot tea brought to my bedchambers. I will be retiring for the night."

As the lord of the manor left the office and headed for his private chambers, his servants were already busying themselves with the removal of the body. Before long his office was in pristine condition, as if a murder had never taken place there mere minutes before. With that task completed the servant carried away the griffon's remains and dumped them in the woods a mile away from the mansion without even batting an eye at the task. It was a job he had grown used to over the years of serving his master.


	18. Farewell

~Chapter 16: Farewell~

"Alright everypony, let's get going before I rethink leaving my lady," Downpour called as he lifted himself into the air with ease, the beating of his powerful wings kicking up a cloud of dust around him. "See you later hot stuff," he called back to Strata.

"I'll miss you Downpour and I will be eagerly waiting for the first night that we're together again," the hippogriff shouted up to him. Downpour couldn't believe how lucky he was to find a girl like her. It was nearly impossible for the pegasus to tear his lips away from Strata's when he was saying his private goodbye earlier. Too bad we didn't have one more night together, he thought, as he left Canterlot and his friends behind him.

"I'll see you ponies on the other side," Backdraft said, giving one last glance back before launching himself through the air and catching up to his older brother. Leaving Spark alone while he was blind had been hard for Draft, but he had faith in his new friends. It wouldn't be long before they were all together again.

"Took you long enough to catch up," Downpour told him. The older pegasus was joking of course. His younger brother could fly circles around him and he knew it.

"Yeah, whatever you say," Draft replied.

"Don't be such a pessimist, Draft. We're going to see Silver Blood, Chestnut, the Crystal Kingdom and we might even get the chance to kick some flank while we're at it," Downpour told his brother. "Not to mention Spark gave us over half of his herb."

"He gave it to us or you took most of it because he's blind?" Draft questioned. He didn't really have to ask, because he already knew the answer that was coming.

"We're buddies. He doesn't care," Downpour replied. He was pretty sure Spark wouldn't care anyway. The unicorn had never cared any of the other times after all.

"You're a dick," Draft responded dryly.

"Wow, keep acting like that and I won't let you smoke any of it," Downpour retorted.

"Whatever," Draft mumbled as he started flying a little faster, knowing that his brother wouldn't be able to talk as much if he was forced to keep up with him. Downpour took the bait, as he always did because of his competitive nature, and they spent a good part of the evening flying in silence. It gave them both a chance to reflect on the events of the past fourteen hours. It had been one of the more exciting days for their little group of friends and had ended on a rather depressing note, in Draft's opinion. Downpour, on the other hoof, was fairly pleased with his stay in the city, but that was partly due to the fact that he had Strata to fool around with most of the time.

When Draft had split up with Downpour and Nature Spark that morning to find the parts they needed to repair the sky chariot, the young stallion hadn't really known what to expect from Canterlot. All of the stories he had heard about the place were about the castle and the royalty. The pegasus had only gotten to see the upper class neighborhood while searching for Duke Silver Blood, so he never got the chance to see the rest of the city for himself until now. Nopony ever really talked about the less savory aspects of the capitol city. It had taken him by surprise how rundown and filthy some of the lower areas were.

Draft had seen decrepit old buildings with boarded up windows and sickly looking mares that propositioned snooty stallions with sexual favors, just to make a couple of bits. It sickened him to see what went on underneath the glamour of the city proper. What the pegasus had once thought of as a beacon of harmony and peace, was actually just a poor façade for a city filled with wealthy sociopaths and abused commoners. He shouldn't have expected it to be any different than Los Pegasus, but it still broke his heart to see the squalor that hid out of the sight of Celestia's sun.

It seemed that every place in Equestria had its own rotted out areas lately. Draft supposed it was mostly due to the fact that ponies were still having trouble getting over the terrible things that happened during the war. One thousand years of fighting and chaos had left a scar in the minds of everypony that lived to see it and many of them had scarred the next generation as a result. His father was one of those that had been blighted by a war survivor. Draft's grandfather had messed with his father's head until the old pegasus finally broke, so neither Draft nor Downpour had seen their father in the last sixteen years.

Only when Draft noticed a sign announcing that there was a blacksmith's nearby did the pegasus snap out of his less than fond memories of family life. He gently touched down on the ground and followed the directions from the sign to a nearby shop. It didn't seem like much, but the posters hanging in the window assured him of the best prices in Canterlot, so Draft decided to give the place a try. He pushed open the door and was pleasantly surprised to see some decent looking metal work on display.

"Excuse me. I was wondering if you had a new wheel frame for a standard size, two pony chariot," he asked a grizzled looking stallion who was working the sales counter. The shopkeeper was a sturdy built earth pony with a maroon hide and a gruff voice.

"Yeah, I think I have some in the back. Give me just a minute," The stallion replied before disappearing through a large doorway into the back of the store. This was easier to accomplish than I thought it would be, Draft thought as he waited. The pegasus had expected to be looking around all day for a good place to purchase what they needed, but he supposed most blacksmiths kept a good supply of chariot parts in stock these days. The earth pony returned a few minutes later with a wheel that looked as if it would fit properly. Draft gave it the once over and, after deeming it acceptable, paid the stallion some bits for it.

"Where are your weapons at?" Draft asked next. He figured it would be wise to buy some form of protection while he was there. The stallion nodded his head toward the far wall of the shop and Draft thanked him before walking over to the display racks.

There were weapons of all kinds lined up against the wall and, although they weren't royal guard quality, Draft was excited to pick something out. His eye caught on a particularly well crafted set of wing swords and after receiving the okay from the blacksmith, Draft fitted them onto his outstretched wings. They were lightweight, but not something he would want to constantly wear. It gave him a new respect for the guards that walked around in full suits of armor constantly, although many of the newcomers no doubt used enchantments to help themselves fly. Draft admired his reflection in a large metal plate and struck a few poses to judge the weight and reach of the blades. They felt nicely balanced and the pegasus couldn't see any visible weaknesses in the metal work. All in all, he had to admit that they were very sturdy, so he made up his mind to purchase them.

Draft walked back to the counter and asked the shop owner, "how much for these pegasus swords?" The princesses had given them a generous amount of bits to fund their mission, but the stallion still wasn't about to let himself be taken advantage of.

"Two hundred bits," the blacksmith told him. "Take it or leave it." Draft stood there, contemplating his decision for a few moments, before finally deciding to go ahead and purchase the blades.

"Yeah, fair enough," Draft replied as he pulled out a large hoofull of bits and set them on the counter. The shopkeeper scooped them up, with the hint of a smile finally creeping across his well worn face.

"Pleasure doing business," the blacksmith said, as Draft strapped his new weapons to his saddle bags. The pegasus couldn't wait to try flying around with them on. It was going to take him a while to get used to the extra weight, but once he did, they would be well worth the bits he had paid for them.

Now that Draft had bought everything he was looking for, the stallion decided that it was about time to make his way back to the hospital. It would take a little bit of work to get the chariot fixed and he didn't want to ruin Spark's plans by being late. That unicorn was dead set on helping to prevent a war from breaking out and Draft had agreed to help him. The pegasus lifted off of the ground and shot through the sky, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the journey still before him.

Meanwhile, in a separate part of the city, Downpour was having trouble finding a shop that sold harnesses that were designed to fit a hippogriff. It seemed that the capitol of the pony country wasn't an ideal place to shop for what he wanted. The fact that he felt like asking somepony for help somehow made him less of a stallion wasn't helping matters either. It all resulted in the bluish grey pegasus flying around Canterlot aimlessly for much longer than he had any reason to.

Once Downpour had finally located the shopping district, it didn't take much longer for him to find an establishment that dealt in chariot riggings for all races of ponies. He dropped to the ground without any semblance of finesse, sending up a large cloud of dust as he landed. It's about damn time, he thought, as he shoved open the doors of the building and made his way inside. I just want to get this done and get back to Strata, the stallion mused silently.

Downpour browsed display tables for a few minutes, but wasn't seeing anything that would fit his marefriend properly. Strata needed a harness that would accommodate her larger wings and fit form, but all of the merchandise the pegasus was seeing was designed specifically for ponies. He let out an annoyed groan and decided to speak with the clerk about finding something that he could work with.

"Hey, do you have anything that could be adjusted to fit a hippogriff?" Downpour asked the mare. The cashier just stared at him with a slightly befuddled look as he walked over to her.

"A hippogriff?" she asked him with a confused tone.

"I don't think I stuttered," Downpour replied. "You know what a hippogriff is, right? About my size, large wings, front half looks like a falcon and the back half looks like a pony." The stallion made gestures with his hooves as he spoke. "You know; a hippogriff." The shopkeeper stared at him, blinking for a few seconds, before she registered the fact that he was being serious with her.

"Oh, um, I might have something that could be adjusted to fit one," the mare replied as she stepped out from behind the wood topped counter and led him over to one of the store's display tables. "Here, I'd try this one out." She handed him her largest size before returning to her position behind the counter. The harness seemed a little too large around the waist, but Downpour didn't expect to find anything better in the city. He took it up to the counter and set it down in front of the blue sales pony.

"I guess this will have t do," Downpour stated as he dropped some bits on the counter and shoved his purchase into his saddle bag, before turning to leave.

"Thanks for your business," the shopkeeper called out.

"Yeah, sure," Downpour mumbled and then resumed walking out the front doors. "I guess this will have to do." The pegasus sprang off of the ground and with the powerful beating of his wings, began to rise up above the city. It only took him a few seconds to locate the hospital from his aerial vantage point. Once the stallion had it in his sights, it was only a matter of minutes before he landed beside the flying chariot, where his younger brother was already hard at work fixing up the vehicle.

Draft got up off the ground when he heard the sound of his brother landing a few yards away. He dusted himself off and walked up to his shorter sibling.

"Downpour, did you find a harness for Strata?" Draft asked.

"Yeah, I think I found something that'll work," the bluish pegasus answered, pulling out the rigging composed of thick leather straps. "Are the girls awake yet?"

"I don't know. I've been a little busy out here, so I haven't had the chance to check," Draft replied. He grabbed the harness from his brother and proceeded to unlatch the old one from the front of the chariot.

"Well I'm going to go inside and check," Downpour told him. "Do you have everything out here?"

"Yeah, assuming that Spark comes back with that amethyst we need, I should have her ready to fly just in time to leave," Draft replied.

"Good," his older brother said. "I'll be back out in a few to help you out." Draft was already preoccupied with switching out the harnesses and didn't bother responding, so Downpour left him to his work and entered the hospital.

"Wakey, wakey," Downpour whispered, kissing his beautiful lover on the beak as he woke her up. Strata opened one tired, brown eye and smiled sweetly up at him.

"Good morning, early bird," she yawned. Her voice was like music to Downpour's ears. Even though he had an abrasive personality and frequently mocked other stallion's love lives, the pegasus was just as prone to cheesy displays of affection as anypony else was.

"How'd you sleep, baby?" Downpour asked. Strata let out a yawn and stretched her talons out before responding to his question. He just smiled thinking about how cute she looked when she was just waking up.

"My back is a little sore, but that probably has as much to do with the fun we had last night as it does with the poor sleeping conditions," Strata explained with a grin. She bit Downpour on the neck and he felt a flush of warmth radiate throughout his body.

"Oh, my mistake," Downpour retorted. "It looked to me like you were enjoying your self last night." He smirked at the hippogriff and reached out his hoof to help her to her feet. "But I guess if you're in so much pain, then we don't need to go for a fourth round this morning."

"I never said anything like that," Strata replied.

"Oh, for the love of Celestia, can you two just go somewhere else and rut already? I'm still trying to sleep over here," Inferno hissed as she shot them both a glare through sleep crusted eyelids. The two lovers just snickered and left the room in search of an open bed, where they could fool around before everypony was up and about.

After knocking on a couple doors, Downpour finally found a room that was unoccupied and they slipped inside as quietly as they could. Before his eyes had even adjusted to the dark, Strata was already grabbing the pegasus by his short, black mane and pushing him down onto an open bed. Downpour felt his heart beat start to increase as she gently raked her claws down his back. Strata was aware of how rough he liked his women to be and was more than happy to comply. The first time that they had gotten intimate, it had started as an actual argument, one that had somehow turned into rough sex, to their mutual surprise.

"How do you want to do this today?" Strata asked him. The seductive whispering in his ear was enough to make the stallion's brain melt into a useless heap of raw desire. Downpour opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to do more than move his lips wordlessly. Strata saw the look on his face and challenged it with a sly smile. "I guess that I'll just take charge then." Downpour's mind shouted in joy, but his mouth still failed to do more than hang open in awe at the beautiful hippogriff that was now crouching on top of him.

They hadn't even really started yet and sweat was already beginning to coat Downpour's well toned body. His breathing became more ragged as Strata left a series of bite marks down his chest and stomach. He finally managed to let out a groan of pleasure as she traced a line down the side of his neck with a sharp talon. The stallion's entire hide felt like it was on fire and every touch of Strata's body against his sent waves of ecstasy rolling through him. He shuddered with pleasure and reached a hoof down below her waist. Downpour was about to start rubbing it against the hippogriff when the door to the room was flung open, letting in the bright light of the hallway.

"What the hay?" a mare exclaimed. The nurse jumped back in surprise before she finally registered what was going on in the room. "This is a room for patients. The both of you need to leave right now! If you want a place to fool around, go buy a room at an inn!"

"Shit!" Downpour yelled as Strata jumped off of his chest and bolted out of the room. It was difficult for the stallion not to burst out in laughter at the situation he was stuck in. He laid on the bed in shock for a few moments before the nurse began to shoo him out of the room.

"I said get the hay out of here you pervert!" she cried. The white mare threw a bedpan at Downpour and it narrowly missed his head as he slid around the corner in a gallop. I can't believe this, he thought; why the buck did I forget to lock the door? The stallion mentally kicked himself as he ran into the bathroom, where he could wait for his arousal to pass. He gave a disgruntled sigh as he splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to cool down his raging hormones.

"This sucks," he muttered unhappily.

Draft was already in the room talking to Inferno, who hadn't been able to fall asleep again, when Strata burst through the door, panting and soaked with perspiration. The pegasus and dragon stared at her in confusion before Draft flatly stated, "I don't know and I don't care." Then he resumed the conversation he was having with his black scaled friend, while behind them, Star was waking up. The hippogriff grabbed a towel and wiped herself off before opening the door to peek out into the hallway.

"Okay, I'll take the bait," Star groggily mumbled. "Why in the hay did you run in here covered in sweat and out of breath?" Draft facehoofed before Star had even finished asking her question. There was a reason he'd said that he didn't want to know. The mare glanced around the room as if unsure whether or not she was actually awake.

"Downpour and I were trying to fool around and a nurse walked in on us," Strata explained. "She looked pissed, so I ditched him there and ran." That was why Draft didn't want to know. The hippogriff peeked out the door once again, no doubt looking for his brother, Draft thought, before she finally settled on the ground and grabbed a towel to dry off. Inferno pretended to throw up after hearing the hippogriff's answer to Star's question.

"Well, I'm going to go finish working on the chariot," Draft replied. "Star, would you mind paying our bill while I'm doing that?" The pegasus got to his hooves and headed for the door, but he paused before leaving to add, "oh, and if you three wouldn't mind, I could really use some breakfast."

"Mhmm, I have to go see about the surprise I have for Spark anyway," Star replied as she stretched out her legs and rolled of the bed.

"Alright, well I'll be out front if you need me," Draft said before he left the girls to their business and headed outside.

The harness went on without too much trouble, but Draft was still struggling to get the new wheel to fit right. He worked on it incessantly until everything finally fell into place. The pegasus sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. Now I just have to take out the old gem and give the frame a once over to make sure it's all in working condition, he thought. I should be finished pretty soon, no thanks to my brother. His older sibling's failure to assist him didn't surprise Draft in the least. After a decade of having to pick up Downpour's slack he was used to it. The pegasus had no sooner wedged himself under the chariot before he heard the sound of his older brother's heavy hoofsteps clopping on the ground toward him.

"Downpour, does this look level to you," Draft questioned. He was busying himself with prying out the old balancing gem while he waited for his brother's answer.

"Yeah, it seems just fine to me," Downpour informed him. "Hey, I think I see Spark." The stocky pegasus walked away, leaving his younger brother to finish the work in peace. "What's got you so peppy today, Spark? Hey, I said are you ready to land or what? It's getting dark and I have no idea where we're sleeping tonight!"

Downpour jabbed his brother in the ribs, snapping the younger pegasus out of his memories of the day. "Are you listening? I said that it's getting dark and we need to find a place to sleep for the night."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Draft apologized.

"Celestia, you're as bad as Spark sometimes," Downpour commented.

"No. I'm nowhere near as bad as he is," the younger pegasus replied. "At least I don't talk to myself all of the time." Draft started laughing after he said it and his brother joined in.

"You noticed that too?" Downpour chuckled. "I swear he spends too much time alone at his house." The black maned pegasus spotted an outcropping of rocks that looked like it might provide a little shelter from the wind and started diving down for it. "I think I found a good place," he called back to his younger brother.

The two stallions dropped to the ground and took a look at their surroundings. There was a river in the distance and a good flight beyond that, they could see small lights shining through the darkness.

"I think that's Ponyville out there," Draft observed, as his brother began to unpack.

"Yeah," Downpour replied as he pulled out some blankets and started laying them out for a bed, releasing a large yawn in the process.

"Well, why don't we just fly all night and get there already, instead of camping here and going the rest of the way when we wake up in the morning?" Draft asked.

"Because I'm tired and if we go there, then we'll also have to go stomping around the town looking for Silver Blood," Downpour groaned. "Plus we'll have to stay up explaining our situation. It just seems like a hassle."

"I swear, you are the laziest pegasus I have ever known," Draft scolded his older brother and kicked the saddle bags closer to him. "I want to get this done as quickly as possible. We have ponies counting on us, or did you forget?"

"Ugh, fine. We'll go to the stupid town if you're going to be such a cry baby about it," Downpour retorted and then began repacking his bags, grumbling to himself all the while.

"Yeah, I'm the baby here," Draft mumbled. He just rolled his eyes and waited for his older brother to finish what he was doing. Downpour had just wanted to get some sleep, but that didn't seem very likely anymore.

Draft knocked on the door to one of the cottages they had come across, hoping he could get directions to where Silver Blood was staying.

"Hmm, I guess everypony must be asleep," the grey pegasus stated.

"No, you just need to knock like a stallion, instead of a little filly," his older brother replied. Bang! Bang! Bang! Downpour pounded on the door loud enough that anypony who was sleeping in the cottage would be woken up for sure. "See, that's how you get an answer."

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help us out now," Draft commented sarcastically.

"Why do you have to be so negative all the time?" Downpour asked him as he shook his head in disappointment at his younger brother. The reason Downpour got what he wanted out of life was because he asserted himself. He just didn't understand Draft sometimes.

"You're an ass," Draft replied. The door creaked open then, revealing an angry looking mare that was still half asleep.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" the mare questioned. "What is your problem?" She asked through clenched teeth, but Downpour didn't pay it any attention.

"We're looking for Silver Blood. Do you know where he's staying?" Downpour asked. He turned back to his younger brother and shot him a cocky grin. This is how you get stuff done, he thought, as he turned back to face the mare.

"Never heard of him. Now if you'd be so kind as to buck off. Some ponies have to work in the morning," The mare retorted as she slammed her door in Downpour's face and Draft couldn't stop himself from snickering.

"You sure showed me, Downpour," the taller pegasus said between chuckles.

"Yeah, well at least somepony answered the door for me," Downpour shot back. "Let's find a different house and see if you can do any better this time."

The next three attempts were met with similar results and even Draft was becoming impatient. He walked down the street to the next house and knocked on the door loudly, not caring if he was bothering anypony by that point. A grey maned stallion answered the door and gave the two brothers an unamused look before attempting to slam it on them with his magic.

"Wait!" Draft shouted at him. "My brother and I are just trying to find a stallion named Silver Blood. We heard that he was staying in town and we've been looking for him all night."

"And who exactly are the two of you ruffians and why should I care?" the stallion asked as he eyed them both suspiciously from behind his door.

"Look, buddy, we've had a long night," Downpour said, as he shoved his way past his brother and up to the stallion's face. "Our friend Spark went blind, I missed a chance to get laid today, we've been flying around all night and the princesses want us to go to the Crystal Kingdom when we're done here, so can you help us out or not?" Downpour questioned angrily. Draft just stared in shock as the stallion opened up the door for his brother.

"You said that you're friends of Spark, but did you mean Nature Spark?" the stallion asked them.

"Yeah, why?" Downpour questioned.

"I am Duke Silver Blood," the stallion replied. The old unicorn stepped back to allow them passage into the cottage. Downpour didn't hesitate to enter and Draft just groaned and followed his brother in. Now he's going to act all high and mighty, even though I was the one who knocked on the right door, Draft thought. He decided he would just ignore the aggravating bragging that he was sure would be coming.

"Please, have a seat wherever you would like," Silver Blood told them as he motioned to the assortment of chairs around the living room, taking a rocking chair for himself. Draft looked around the room and couldn't help noticing that the furniture all seemed to be cheaply made. I guess he doesn't want to draw attention to himself by living like a duke, the pegasus thought. Draft and his brother each took a seat facing their host, while Silver Blood lit up a tobacco pipe and began puffing on it.

"Um, nice place you have here," Draft observed. He wasn't really sure what else to say, so he tried to make small talk.

"Yes, well. After being chased away by the threat of those blasted griffons, I thought it wise to pay somepony enough bits to give me their cottage and keep their mouth closed about the whole deal," the duke explained. "I would much rather be in my nice manor in Canterlot, but we all must make sacrifices in this time of impending war." Draft wasn't sure whether or not the duke was being serious about making sacrifices, because it seemed like a perfectly good house to the pegasus.

"Okay, Silver Blood, we traveled all the way from Dodge to Canterlot to see you and then we flew here after that, so please tell me that you know something that might be useful," Downpour stated. He just was trying to get straight to the point, like he always did.

"Yes of course, but first I would like to hear about everything that you already know," Silver Blood replied. "Have you heard from my old friend, Chestnut?"

"Yeah, we heard that he was hiding out in the White Tail Woods. I'm surprised that he hasn't come here looking for you yet," Draft chimed in.

"Whit Tail you say? Yes, I figured as much. Well, I suppose that means he will be here any day then. He knows where to find me I'm sure," the unicorn said with a puff on his pipe. "For now, what say you boys tell me your story? I would very much like to hear what you have learned since I left Canterlot a couple days after receiving your letter from the princess." The white stallion puffed on his pipe and waited for one of the boys to begin telling him about their journey to Canterlot.

"You tell him," Downpour said, pointing in his brother's direction. Draft just sighed and took a deep breath before starting their tale. "Well it all started when we were eating breakfast with our friend Spark and…"

The story took quite a while to tell and Draft had to pause once, so that Silver Blood could go into his room and refill the pipe that he seemed to be constantly smoking. When Draft was finally done talking, the room grew quite and Downpour thought that the duke had fallen asleep before his brother had even finished the story. Before he had the chance to say something though, Silver Blood spoke up.

"It seems that it is just as I feared," he mumbled. "The griffons are most definitely behind the empress's capture." The stallion scratched his chin in thought. "The problem is that the griffons would only have attacked another country if they had been paid to do so. Now the real task is figuring out who in the world would want to start a war between our kingdom and theirs."

"We know that. We were kind of hoping that you might have something more intelligent to tell us," Downpour replied.

"Well, Downpour was it?" the duke asked.

"Yes," the pegasus answered.

"Well, Downpour, I can't really help the two of you. I already notified your friend Spark about the possible griffon involvement and ever since then I've been hiding out here," Silver Blood explained. Downpour just facehoofed in annoyance. "What I can tell you is that if anypony might know more about the politics in all of the different nations, it would be Chestnut. That mule has a way of always knowing everypony's business." Silver Blood paused to take a few more puffs from his pipe before continuing. "If I know my friend like I think I do, then he will probably already be headed here to speak with the two of you. I suggest sitting tight right here and waiting for him, but it is ultimately up to you two."

"Well, if you really think that he'll be here soon, I suppose it would be worth the wait," Draft acknowledged. "What do you think, Downpour?"

"You know me. I'm all for spending the night here. I was sick of traveling before we even made it to the town," he answered with a smile.

"Good. It is all settled then," the duke beamed. "You colts can spend the night here and we will all rendezvous with Chestnut at some point tomorrow." Silver Blood got slowly to his hooves and motioned for them to follow him upstairs. It was then that Downpour noticed the duke's cutie mark; a silver star that matched the unicorn's horn, which Downpour had noticed was also a silver color. "I have two guest bedrooms, so you can each have private sleeping quarters for the duration of your stay." The older pegasus couldn't keep his face from breaking out in a smile. It felt like forever since he had slept in a proper bedroom with a genuine bed. Draft seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Silver Blood," Draft said with a bow. Downpour couldn't believe what a suck up his brother was.

"Yeah, thanks," Downpour added as he rolled his blue eyes.

"Don't mention it and please, call me Silver. We are friends by the transitive properties of friendship after all," he assured them with a grin. "I am friends with Chestnut and you are friends with Chestnut. Now that we met, that basically makes us friends as well." He chuckled to himself and the brothers shot each other concerned looks. It seemed like Draft was wondering the same thing as Downpour; Is this old stallion as crazy as his friend Chestnut? The older pegasus had no doubt that they would find out tomorrow.

"Well, I suppose we should all be off to bed. I wouldn't want to sleep the entire day away tomorrow you know," Silver Blood said as he walked down the hall and vanished through one of the doors, leaving the two brothers to pick their rooms.

"I call the biggest room," Downpour exclaimed as he opened both of the doors and looked into each room, before selecting the one he wanted.

"I don't really care which room I get. We're only staying here one night anyway," Draft replied before walking into the other guest room and shutting the door behind him. Downpour flopped down onto his own bed and took a few deep breaths. Oh Celestia, I am going to sleep like a log tonight, he thought. A few minutes later, the pegasus closed his eyes and was proven correct.


	19. The Art of Patience

~Chapter 17: The Art of Patience~

It took a moment for Draft's mind to work out where he was upon waking up in the morning. The strange room came into focus around him as he sat upright in the cozy bed. Once the pegasus had managed to remember the events of the previous night, he fell back on the mattress with a contented sigh and stared up at the plain off-white ceiling. They'd actually found Silver Blood last night, he remembered, like they had originally planned to do weeks ago. A knocking on the door brought the stallion down from his elated thoughts and back into the real world. They still had many more miles to travel before he could really take a rest. After another bout of knocking, Draft rolled off of the bed and swiped a hoof through his flowing mane to push it out of his face. He assumed it was his brother at the door bothering him.

"Draft, wake your lazy flank up," Downpour's voice called from the other side of the wooden barrier. "You already missed breakfast and we have things we need to do today." Great, the tired stallion thought, I just woke up and he's already hurling insults around. Draft opened the door and was met with the irritated visage of Downpour staring back at him.

"Alright, I'm up. What do we need to do that's so important?" Draft asked his brother, giving his stiff wings a good stretch as he left the room. "Besides waiting around for Chestnut all day."

"Well, first I was thinking that we would go smoke this joint," Downpour said as he pulled out the white, rolled up paper and dangled it in his brother's face. "Then I wanted to go check out this little collection of shacks that they call a town."

"Okay, let's go," Draft replied with a yawn. It would give them a way to pass some time at least. They started walking down the stairs and the younger pegasus began to hear the sound of music from somewhere in the cottage. "Where's that coming from?"

"I think Silver is playing the piano," Downpour replied.

"Hmm, I didn't peg him for the instrument playing type," Draft commented. The old stallion seemed a little too stuck up to bother learning how to play, in Draft's opinion. He would have expected Silver to just hire somepony to play for him, but to his surprise the aristocratic pony was actually very good. The docile tones caressed Draft's ears softly as they made their way to the living room

The brothers rounded the corner and came face to face with the sight of the grey maned unicorn, keying a beautiful symphony of notes from a large piano. His eyes were firmly shut, yet his hooves moved with an unnatural ease. Draft stood perfectly still as he absorbed the sounds emanating from the piano, lost in the emotions that the song stirred in his heart.

"Why don't you use your horn to play?" Downpour questioned. "Most unicorns do." Draft's reverence was broken by his brother's interruption.

"Using a spell to play a song takes only the knowledge of the magic used to perform it, my ignorant colt, but if you wish to play an instrument with true passion and skill, playing by hoof is the only method you can use," Silver stated flatly and then rotated on his bench to face the two pegasus. "I take it that you two found the accommodations acceptable?"

"Yes sir. It was nice to be sleeping in a real bed. I hadn't realized how much I would miss that simple luxury," Draft replied as he took a seat on one of the comfortable chairs that furnished the room. "So Silver, where'd you learn to play the piano like that anyway? It was something else." Downpour remained standing in the doorway. The stocky pegasus seemed to be impatient and Draft remembered that he was waiting to smoke. Oh well, he can just wait for awhile, Draft decided, it's not like it will kill him to be patient. He was actually interested in learning more about this odd Canterlot stallion. The duke smiled at Draft and scratched his chin for a moment, as if trying to decide how best to tell his tale.

"As a colt, my father was quite busy with politics, so I had ample time to pursue whatever whims caught my interest," the duke began. "I remember attending the Grand Galloping Gala one year and finding it rather bland." That didn't surprise Draft in the least. Any party filled with stuck up aristocrats sounded very boring to him. "I spent most of the evening whining to my mother about everything I could think of."

"Can you get to the point here?" Downpour urged, his small well of patience having apparently run dry. To his younger brother's amusement however, Silver merely dismissed the brash pegasus rude interruption with a wave of his hoof.

"As I was saying," Silver continued, "I was getting tired of the whole affair, but just before I was about to run amok and get into some mischief, I heard a sound unlike any other. I followed my ears back into the ballroom and over to the musician's platform. There I saw an earth pony playing the grand piano." The old stallion seemed lost in his own story, as if the simple act of remembering had taken him back to that day as a colt. He stared far off for a few moments before he found his voice and continued. "She wasn't the most beautiful mare I had ever seen, but while she played, every eye was focused intently on her. With smooth, deliberate movements she coaxed the most beautiful sonata to ever grace those halls. I was transfixed by this pony. Each note she played evoked a feeling of sorrow and pain, yet by the end of the piece, I also sensed a more subtle feeling that could only be described as hope." A lone tear escaped Silver's eye before it was brushed away. "It was only when the entire song was completed that you could tell it had been there, that fleeting emotion, but it struck a chord in me that night. Ever since I heard her, I have practiced, in an attempt to recapture the profundity of the mare's playing." The room fell silent, well, aside from the sounds of Downpour's annoyed groan as he left the room. Draft thought back to the feeling he got when he sang for his friends and knew what Silver meant.

"Wow, I would love to hear her play sometime," he admitted.

"As would many ponies, but alas, her time has passed along with her songs," the duke wistfully replied. Draft could hear the mournful tremble of the unicorn's voice and he took a deep breath to calm his own emotions.

"That's a pity," Draft said.

"Yes, yes it is," Silver agreed.

Downpour had decided it was time to go outside and light his joint. Sitting around listening to sappy stories wasn't really something he was interested in wasting his time on. The bluish pegasus stood there, with the rolled up herb sticking out of his mouth and realized that he had no way to spark it. What I wouldn't give to have a little magic sometimes, he mused, but I guess being able to fly is more useful most of the time. Downpour started walking down the street, on the lookout for somepony that could lend him a little fire. A quick survey of the area made him realize how small the town really was. There couldn't have been more than two dozen houses and nine or ten shops within its borders, though he could see other farm houses in the distance.

The pegasus scratched his head with one hoof and tried to think up a method of making a quick flame. None of the stores looked very promising, so he was forced to settle for walking back to Silver's cottage and digging out of his saddle bag, the flint stone he had brought with him. Downpour started trotting back the way he had come, but stopped in his tracks when he got a look through one of the store windows. Through it the curious stallion could see some strange looking artwork on display and decided that it might be worth checking out.

"Hello," Downpour called out as he shoved open the door. "Is there anypony here?" The room was very well lit, but there didn't seem to be a sales pony anywhere. The pegasus whipped his head around when he heard the sound of a door slamming in the back of the store. "Hey, can I get a little service here?"

"In this shop of needles and art, the service you seek is the smallest part," came the reply. The voice was accompanied by the strangest looking pony Downpour had ever seen. It was only after his brain took a few seconds to register the weird black stripes that ran down the stallion's body that he realized the shop owner was, in fact, a zebra.

"What?" Downpour asked. The foreigner had a very unusual speaking pattern and it did nothing to put the pegasus at ease. "Look, I was just wondering exactly what it is that you sell here. I see all of these drawings," he said, gesturing around the room as he spoke, "but none of them have prices marked or anything. Do you sell them?"

"The pictures that in here reside are to be placed upon your hide," the zebra explained. The black and white shopkeeper motioned for Downpour to come up to him, so he reluctantly stepped up to the counter. The closer that the pegasus came, the more intricate patterns he could see in between some of the natural stripes on the zebra's hide.

"Wait, are those permanent?" Downpour asked as he rubbed his hoof over one of the designs and found out that it felt the same as a pony's skin. "That is so awesome." He was definitely going to be getting one of those done on him. "So how do we do this?"

"If you wish to ink your skin," said the shop owner pulling out a strange metal poker from behind the counter as he rhymed, "then this needle must go in." Before Downpour could react, the zebra jabbed him in the foreleg with the sharpened instrument. The pegasus winced at the stinging pain and nearly hit the skin artist across the face, but stopped himself when he realized that the stab was most likely just to show him how much it would sting.

"Ouch!" Downpour exclaimed. "That hurt like hay." The pegasus stood there long enough to contemplate how much he really wanted one of the tattoos before suddenly bolting through the front door. "I'll be back in just a few!" he shouted back to the zebra as he ran off. Downpour sped towards Silver's cottage with one thought dashing through his mind, he needed to grab some bits and smoke that joint. If he was high, then the inking would be even easier for him to sit through. Downpour busted through the front door of the duke's home a few seconds later and hauled flank up the stairs.

"What's your problem?" Downpour heard his younger brother shout up to him as he rummaged around in his bags. He chose to ignore the question.

"Got you," Downpour said when his hoof grasped the flint and yanked it out. He lit up the joint at the same time his other forehoof found the bag of bits that he needed. Then the pegasus ran back out of the room, choosing to jump the stairs entirely and nearly bulling over Draft in the process. "Whoa!" Downpour barley managed to slow his momentum a few seconds before sending the both of them tumbling over.

"What are you doing running through somepony else's house like a madmare?" Draft questioned. "Don't you know how rude that is?" His younger brother was such a nag sometimes and besides, he had a good reason for running anyway. Why did Draft feel the need to be so annoying?

Downpour sidestepped his younger brother and walked out the front door explaining, "I'm going to go get some artwork done on my skin and I needed to light this joint. I ran down the stairs to keep the smoke from smelling up Silver's house." Now that he was in the open air, the eager stallion could take a nice long puff from the joint. "You see, I was just trying to be thoughtful." He blew a large cloud of smoke in Draft's face to help him make his point.

"Mhmm," Draft mumbled, "if you say so."

"Oh, I do say so. Now follow me while we smoke this thing," Downpour replied. "I want to show you this really cool zebra shop."

"A zebra shop?" his brother asked.

"Yeah, this zebra runs a shop that takes needles and uses them to make patterns on your hide," Downpour explained. "It looks pretty damn sweet." Just thinking about it made him smirk.

"What?" Draft questioned. Downpour facehoofed at his little brother's stupidity and passed him the rolled up herb.

"Just follow me, okay? You'll see what I'm talking about when we get there. I promise you that it is probably the coolest thing you'll ever see," he assured the younger pegasus. Downpour finished off their joint when it was passed back and snuffed it before walking through the doors of the shop. He led his brother up to the counter and called out for the owner. A moment later, the middle aged zebra walked out of the back and grinned at the familiar pegasus.

"I see you have come back to me and it looks like you've brought family," the zebra said with a smile.

"Yeah, this is my brother. I wanted to show him the shop before we get started," Downpour explained. "You don't mind right?"

"Not at all my feathered friends," the shopkeeper replied, "just pay me the bits and we'll begin." He pointed to a sign which had prices for various sized pieces of artwork. The two brothers walked around the room and began to examine the designs on display. There were strange patterns and symbols plastered on every open wall.

"Hmm, what do you think I should get?" Downpour asked. "I think I want something on my face." He held up one of the pictures to his cheek and turned to face his brother. "That would be pretty damn intimidating, don't you think?"

"I don't know. This stallion seems a little, um, strange," Draft said under his breath, so that the shopkeeper wouldn't overhear him.

"Nah, he's cool. I think he just talks like that because he's a zebra," Downpour shrugged. "Besides, anypony, er, zebra with stripes and markings that cool has to know what he's doing."

"Whatever you say," his little brother said as he headed for the door.

"Whoa, where are you going?" Downpour asked. "I thought you were going to help me pick something cool out and watch me get it done."

"Nope, I'm going to go back to Silver's house to wait for Chestnut, you know, like we're supposed to be doing," Draft replied.

"Oh please, this town is tiny," Downpour retorted. "There is no way in Tartarus that Chestnut will have trouble finding us." Draft was already out the door before Downpour had even finished talking. What a little foal, the older pegasus thought, as he resumed his search for the best design to have inked onto his face. Eventually he found exactly what he wanted and brought it up to show the zebra. "Hey, I want to get this one." The zebra stared at him with the same stoic expression he always seemed to wear. "Over my eye," the pegasus added. The zebra finally cracked a tiny smile and it made Downpour a little nervous, but he took a deep breath and steeled his nerves against the coming pain. It would be worth it when the tattoo was completed.

Time was creeping by at an agonizingly slow pace for Draft. He was so used to always being in a hurry lately, that having hours to spare made him a little uneasy. Thankfully, Silver was around to talk to. The pegasus figured there was a good chance he would have lost his mind without the duke's stories about his youth.

"How exactly did you and Chestnut meet anyway?" Draft asked the unicorn. He had heard about most aspects of the stallion's life in Canterlot and living as a duke, but he couldn't fathom how the mule and the unicorn might have met under those circumstances. Chestnut was by no means royalty.

"Ah, that is quite the story, if I say so myself," Silver replied. The older stallion lit up a pipeful of tobacco and began telling Draft about their first encounter. "I couldn't have been older than twenty four at the time and I had grown weary of the city, so I decided one morning that I would take a vacation. As a young lord, I did not have many duties to perform or ponies counting on me. That made my escape quite easy indeed." Silver chuckled and the sound of his infectious laughter had the pegasus joining in. "Now, I had never gotten out much, so I was unsure where to go. My only recourse was to pick a random town off of the map and set off for it."

"Really, you just picked a place you knew nothing about and then went there?" Draft asked. The pegasus wished he could have done that sometimes. "That sounds exciting."

"Quite so," Silver replied, "but you would know all about that now, wouldn't you?" Draft realized the old stallion was right. He was on his way to a new country that he knew very little about, the thought made the pegasus shiver momentarily. "As I was saying, I took a trip and wound up in Van Hoover. I was woefully ill prepared however, having brought nothing more than my bits and high expectations with me. I nearly froze to death within a few minutes of stepping foot outside of the stagecoach. It was shocking to say the least."

"I can imagine," Draft chimed in, while Silver paused to take a few long drags from his pipe. There was a large cloud of acrid smoke in the air by that point and the pegasus snickered at the thought of his older brother worrying about taking the joint outside. Obviously, he thought, Downpour was just making excuses like he always did.

"I wandered around looking for any signs of an open hotel for what must have been hours, but I had no such luck. There happened to be a blizzard on its way that fateful day and everypony was already bundled up, warm inside their houses and such. I thought I was doomed for sure, until this young mule caught sight of me on the way to his humble abode. I had always been told that royalty was above 'half-breeds', as they were referred to, but I was desperate and when he asked me if I needed a place to spend the night, I gladly accepted. My father would have been outraged had he known what I was up to, but I must say that I found Chestnut and his parents to be quite charming."

"Wait, his parents? I know Chestnut is fifty, so how old are you?" Draft questioned. Then he mentally chided himself for asking such a rude question, but Silver didn't seem to mind.

"I'm fifty seven, Backdraft," the unicorn replied, "seven years that mules senior."

"Wow, I would never have guessed it," Draft admitted. The unicorn looked like he could have been five years younger than Chestnut, in Draft's opinion, but he supposed that was just a part of being pampered for so long.

"Being cooped up in Canterlot your whole life tends to make ponies soft and stuck up, unlike our friend Chestnut," the duke explained. "He has been a hard worker and dedicated friend for as long as I have known him, which is saying something." Silver broke into another round of laughter, which eventually changed into a bout of coughing. It didn't sound very healthy to Draft, but once the unicorn had caught his breath, he continued speaking. "I lived with their beautiful family for over a week before my father sent one of his servants out to find me. I worked, laughed and loved like a common pony and I must say that it was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. Sadly, all good things must reach their end and eventually duty called, so I was forced to return home. Chestnut and I always remained in contact after that, even when he left to go gallivanting around the world for years on end."

"Why did he decide to leave Equestria anyway?" Draft asked. He loved hearing all of Silver's stories. Sitting around and listening to a pony who had years of wisdom far beyond him was a nice change of pace from traveling in boredom for days. The duke looked off into the distance and smoked on his pipe while he mulled over the pegasus's question.

"Draft, my young friend, he left because of heartbreak and if you would like to hear that story, than I think it would be best to hear it from the source," Silver quietly explained. They both sat still in their chairs and Draft thought about all that he had heard, while Silver continued to smoke from his pipe. The tranquility of the cottage was shattered eventually, as Downpour had returned from his tattooing. The younger pegasus glanced over at his older brother when he walked around the corner and nearly choked on his own laughter when he saw Downpour's face.

Downpour had been expecting stunned silence, amazement or jealousy when he showed off his new facial ink, but he hadn't expected the laughter that he received. He had picked out a pattern that looked sort of like a 'D' and had it put on over his right eye. It had taken all afternoon, because the zebra had taken the needle and hammered it into his skin repeatedly to set the ink, but the finished product had looked amazing to Downpour. The fact that it hurt so badly, even while high, just served to make it seem even tougher looking to him. His brother didn't appear to feel the same way about the finished product though.

"You look so goofy," Draft stated. "I love it!" Downpour's younger brother doubled over in laughter and even Silver couldn't hold back a few chuckles at the pegasus's expense.

"You two are just jealous," Downpour huffed.

"Yeah, that's it," Draft chuckled. The younger pegasus took a few deep breaths to stave off his laughter, but started right up again as soon as he looked his sibling in the face.

"Buck off," Downpour said humorlessly.

"I do not believe that there is any need for that type of language right now Downpour," Silver said as he got to his hooves. "I am certain that your brother was simply taken aback at the abrupt alteration of your visage."

"He's right. I didn't mean anything by it," Draft said. "It's actually kind of cool. Not that I'd ever get one, but I think it suits you just fine."

"You probably wouldn't be able to last through a whole session," Downpour replied.

"Oh yeah, did it hurt pretty badly?" Draft asked him.

"Well, he did stab me around the eye with a needle a couple hundred times, so… yeah it did," Downpour said as he flopped into a cushioned chair with a huff. "What have you two been up to the whole time I've been gone?"

"I was just regaling your brother with stories of my youth while we waited here for you and Chestnut," he duke explained before walking down the hall to the kitchen, after finishing with his pipe. "I would imagine that you must be famished. What say you to a late lunch?" Downpour's stomach grumbled his answer for him.

"Some lunch sounds great, Silver," Draft added. The brothers rose up from their chairs and made their way to the kitchen to see if they could lend the unicorn any assistance with the meal. The blue glow of Silver's magic was already filling the kitchen though and he assured the brothers that their assistance was unnecessary, so they decided to wait at the dining table instead.

"Holy hay, Silver, is there anything that you can't do well?" Draft asked the old stallion as he plucked another sweet roll off of the table. The grey pegasus wasn't even hungry by this point, but the food was so good that he couldn't stop eating. His brother was in the same position he was, trying his best to swallow one last bite of the delectable desert that was still sitting on his plate. There had been many fancy dishes that the two pegasus had never even heard of.

"As a matter of fact, I have never been able to paint that well," Silver replied in a completely serious tone, "although I can honestly say I have tried a fair number of times."

"You should teach Downpour a thing or two about cooking," Draft told the older stallion. "I don't think he can slice an apple without burning it."

"Oh, that happens once and now you always have to bring it up," Downpour huffed. Silver opened his mouth to ask a question, but Draft cut him off before he could get it out.

"Don't bother asking," he said. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The two pegasus silently locked eyes with each other from across the table before breaking into laughter at the memory.

"If I eat one more bite, I think I'm going to be sick," Downpour stated as he shoved his plate away from himself. All three of the stallions let out satisfied sighs and got up from the table a moment later. Silver picked up a plate and began to clear the lunch away, but the brothers stopped him before he got the chance.

"Please, let us clean up," Draft said. "You've already done more than enough for us." The younger pegasus took the plate from his host and began gathering up the rest of the dishes, balancing them on his wings with grace that only a pegasus could manage.

"Yeah, letting us stay here was nice enough, but this great meal was icing on the cake," Downpour added as he grabbed the remaining dishes and followed his sibling into the kitchen with them.

"That is very gracious of you both," Silver stated with a smile.

It didn't take long to get everything cleaned up when they were working together and soon the entire kitchen was spotless. Downpour was contemplating rolling up a joint to smoke when he heard a knock on the front door. As he was tossing the last of the perishables into the compost bin, the pegasus heard a familiar voice coming from the living room.

"It took me forever to walk all the way over here. I nearly died from exhaustion on the way. I really wish that they'd just get those damned railroads figured out already. What the hay have you noble ponies been doing up in Canterlot these past couple of years anyway?" Downpour glanced over at his brother and they exchanged knowing glances. Chestnut had finally arrived in Ponyville. "Good Luna, look what the manticore dragged in. Feels like ages since I've seen you boys, but where's Nature Spark at?" Chestnut asked. The old mule looked pretty beat, which didn't surprise Downpour, considering all of the traveling he had been doing.

"He's not here," Downpour responded. "He already left with Strata to go talk with the hippogriffs about forming an alliance like you suggested." He took a seat facing the mule and his younger brother sat in the chair beside him.

"Good, I was really hoping he would take my advice," Chestnut said. "I was worried he would be too put off by the fighting between the griffon tribes to even consider it, but I guess that unicorn has more sense than I give him credit for."

"Well, Strata can be pretty convincing when she wants to be," Draft replied. He hadn't spent as much time with the hippogriff as his older brother, but even he knew that much about her.

"She can be a bit fiery when she wants to be," Chestnut agreed. "Ever since she was young, she's been very outspoken. I suppose growing up as she did would have that effect on anypony."

"Mhmm, that's why I asked her out," Downpour said with a smirk.

"Really? Well, bravo, Downpour," the mule replied. "She's definitely a keeper." Chestnut stretched his legs out with a tired groan before asking, "Do you two happen to have any of Spark's herbs on you? It's been a while since I've smoked and I wouldn't mind relaxing a bit before we get to talking."

"I do not believe that they brought any with them, otherwise I am certain that they would have informed me," Silver said as he turned his head in Downpour's direction when the pegasus cleared his throat.

"Actually we do, but I swear that if I knew you smoked I would have said something earlier," Downpour sheepishly replied. Silver shot him a look that could only be interpreted as one of betrayal, causing the pegasus to feel terrible. How was he supposed to know that rich ponies got high too? He just figured that smoking herbs would be giving those uptight ponies one more reason to look down on him, not that he usually cared, but he actually valued the duke's opinion. Silver was the only aristocrat that Downpour didn't find aggravatingly stuck up. The tattooed stallion sat motionless for a second before he noticed everypony staring at him.

"What are you waiting for, lad?" Silver questioned him. "I have been sitting around here smoking my tobacco all day, when you two could have provided me with a much more suitable plant to pack into my pipe." The bluish colored pegasus smiled awkwardly as he got up from his spot in the living room.

"Give me one minute and I'll go grab some," downpour replied. As he trotted out of the room, he could hear the old friends talking behind him.

"These young stallions today have no manners, do they, Silver?" Chestnut asked.

"I should say not," the duke huffed.

Downpour ran into the spare bedroom he was using and rummaged through his saddle bag until he came up with the pouch of herbs. It wouldn't last long between all four of them, but he figured that he could get more later, someway. Snatching up what he had, Downpour bounded back down the stairs and hopped back into the plush chair. "Okay, I've got it," he told them as he handed the pouch to the white unicorn. Silver's horn lit up as his magic picked and loaded the herbs faster than Spark could have ever managed to do. Within seconds the pipe was cherried and the old stallion was happily puffing away. The pipe finally made its way around to Downpour and he was just starting to take a puff off of it, but paused when he noticed Chestnut giving him a strange look. "What? Why are you staring?" Downpour asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"I hope so," Chestnut blinked. "If not, then I must be much higher than I thought I was."

"He's looking at your zebra tattoo," Downpour's little brother informed him. In all the excitement of Chestnut's arrival, the bluish pegasus had completely forgotten about his new facial marking. It was going to take some getting used to.

"Oh yeah," Downpour mumbled. He touched a hoof to his eye and winced at the contact. "Pretty sweet, isn't it? I got it done at that zebra shop down the road." Chestnut didn't appear to be any more impressed with it than his other two companions.

"It's, uh, interesting to say the least," the mule replied as he scratched his bald head. "If I remember right, that is the zebra glyph for patience. Not something that I would have expected you to get tattooed." He opened his mouth as if to expound on the subject, but seemed to think better of it and remained silent instead. Silver and Draft just looked at each other and began laughing again. Downpour did his best not to show his embarrassment.

The four of them continued smoking on the joint until it was just a nub before Draft finally snuffed it out. Downpour was still trying to get over the fact that he was smoking with an actual Canterlot duke. Seeing a refined stallion getting high tickled his funny bone in a way that the pegasus couldn't quite explain. Of course, once Silver and Chestnut were both thoroughly baked, they sat around and told stories for an hour or more, but Downpour decided to let them catch up. There was enough time to talk about his and Draft's problems later that night. For now the brothers were just happy to lay back and enjoy the company.

"Okay, okay. I see that look," Chestnut said. Draft glanced around confused, because it almost sounded like Chestnut was talking to him. "You're right. I think we've reminisced enough for now. Why don't you two bring me up to speed on the current situation?"

"I wasn't giving you a look," Draft replied. The mule raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Well, maybe I was, but I really wasn't trying to hurry you or anything." The younger pegasus shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He really hadn't meant to rush them, but they did have important matters to discuss and time was ticking.

"You should stop messing with the youngster's head, Chestnut. Can you not see you're making him uncomfortable?" Silver snickered at his old friend's antics and began working his magic to load some tobacco into his pipe.

"I'm old, so it's practically my right to have fun at young ponies' expenses," the mule said with a smile.

"Yeah, my brother is pretty fun to screw with," Downpour chimed in. The younger pegasus facehoofed in annoyance. I guess I didn't hear the announcement for 'Everypony Pick on Draft Day', the pegasus thought.

"Alright, boys, fill me in," Chestnut said, adopting a more serious tone. "Have you found out anything more about who's behind this mess?"

"Actually," Downpour cut in, "we were sort of hoping you might have heard something."

"Me? I've been hiding out in the blasted woods for over a week," Chestnut replied. "The only thing that I know is that there has been patrols of griffons sneaking around the skies of Equestria lately." He let out an irritated grunt before finishing his statement. "Those flying pests have been looking for Silver and I no doubt. I don't think they'll find us though, because I gave them the slip numerous times." Silver appeared relieved to hear the news. "It'll take more than some uppity young griffons to catch this old mule."

"I am most pleased to hear you say that, Chestnut," Silver sighed. "It would seem that the years have not caught up with you quite yet." Smoke streamed out of the duke's nostrils as he spoke. Draft didn't know how the unicorn could stand to smoke as often as he did. If Draft tried that, he didn't think that he'd be able to breath for long.

"Well, the princesses have given us the task of acting as emissaries to the Crystal Kingdom. We'll most likely be leaving for the north in the morning," Draft informed the older stallions. Chestnut grew quite for a few moments as he mulled over what the grey pegasus had told him.

"The north you say? Hmm, that's going to be a brutal trip, it's almost winter after all," Chestnut muttered. The brothers knew that fact all too well. "I'll send you off with a written guide about what to expect during your travels. That's about all I can do to help you out."

"We're happy with any help we can get," Draft replied. Honestly, he would have been happier with some solid information about the perpetrators of the act, but the pegasus supposed that they would just have to settle for some survival information.

"I can say with a fair amount of certainty that our government is not behind the capture of the Crystal Empress. There is not one pony of power that would see any gain from a war at the moment," Silver added matter-of-factly. That narrowed the list down, but not by very much.

"That's not really going to help us," Downpour replied. Draft groaned in his head at his brother's lack of conversational tact. Downpour could be so callous sometimes.

"Thank you, Downpour," Draft said acknowledged with a good amount of sarcasm. "Do you think that the griffons are acting alone?"

"I highly doubt that. Their mercenaries at heart and always have been, so I'm sure that they were paid for their actions," Chestnut replied. "By who though, still remains to be seen." The mule shrugged his shoulders, as if to say that he was tapped out of useful information. The brothers hadn't really learned anything new, but at least they got the chance to converse with an old friend before they had to leave the country for a few weeks.

"Hmm, well, I guess that we'll just have to solve this mystery on our own then," Downpour yawned as he got to his hooves and stretched out his short legs.

"Yeah, thanks for all of the help though," Draft added. The younger pegasus let out a yawn as he stood up beside his brother. "I think that I'm going to head to bed though. We're going to need all the rest that we can get before we leave."

"Now that Chestnut has arrived, I hope that you two will not mind sharing a room for the night?" Silver asked as he tapped the ashes out of his pipe.

"No, not at all," Draft replied.

"I guess its fine," Downpour agreed.

"Splendid. Well then, I guess we will see you two before you leave in the morning," Silver said. The brothers nodded in agreement as they left the living room and headed up the stairs.

"Goodnight, boys," Chestnut added. "I think we'll stay down here and chat for awhile."

"Goodnight, Chestnut," the brothers replied together, "and goodnight, Silver."

"Sleep well, you two," the duke said as they headed for the stairs. "You have many long days ahead of you." The pegasus went to their bedroom after that. They decided to share the room that Downpour had stayed in, because it was larger. After setting up a place for Draft on the ground, it didn't take the brothers very long to drift off into a deep sleep.


	20. Brotherly Bonding

~Chapter 18: Brotherly Bonding~

Celestia's bright sun had just begun to rise as Downpour opened his tired eyes that morning. The pegasus laid there, motionless on the bed for a couple of minutes, allowing his blue eyes to acclimate to the lack of light in the room. With a weary groan, he forced himself out of the warm blankets and planted his hooves firmly on the floor. The brothers had miles of travel looming before them and the sooner they got a jump on it, the sooner that they could return home. Home; the word alone made Downpour long for Dodge. Would he ever see it again? Would Strata return there with him? He should have talked to her about that before they split the group apart, but the stallion had been far too busy soaking up his marefriend's love and affection to bother asking. Well, no time to spend worrying about that now, he thought, I need to get my bags packed and wake Draft up so we can leave.

Downpour began rummaging through his saddle bags, taking inventory of the supplies that he had brought with him. Aside from the food he had packed, there were also two of Spark's healing elixirs, a nearly empty pouch of herbs to smoke, a few rolling papers, a heavy cloak, some warm boots, a bag of bits, his flint stone and an assortment of other drugs that his unicorn friend had given him. There appeared to be two vials of crystalline powder, some dried mushrooms and a small vial of adrenaline. What he would possibly need the drugs for, Downpour couldn't imagine, but Spark had wanted him to take them, so he decided to humor the eccentric botanist.

After stuffing the supplies back into his bags, Downpour decided it was time to wake his brother up, but wondered what the best method of doing so would be. He could always go the nice route and gently nudge his brother awake, but that wasn't really his style. A slight smirk graced the pegasus's chiseled features as he came up with a better idea. He carefully snuck over to the side of his brother's bedding and took a firm hold on the blankets. Downpour had to keep himself from waking the younger pegasus with his chuckling before he was ready to enact his plan.

"Wake up Draft! There's a fire!" he yelled in his younger brother's ear as he wrenched the blankets out from under the taller stallion's sleeping body.

"Whoa!" Draft cried as he shot out of bed and smashed his shin against the desk with a loud bang! Then he fell to the ground in confusion. "What the buck?" Downpour dropped to the floor near his brother, clutching his sides as laughter overtook him. "What the hay is your problem?" Draft got to his hooves and kicked his brother's chest in anger when he saw him laughing.

"Oh come on, even you have to admit that was a pretty good one," Downpour chortled. His brother stared straight into his eyes with an unencumbered rage.

"In what possible way was that a good one!?" Draft screamed the question at him so suddenly that it caused the older stallion to jolt upright. "You are the biggest ass in Equestria. You're rude, condescending and selfish! You're driving me insane with your stupidity!" The outburst was completely unexpected. Downpour hadn't seen his brother so angry in a very long time, not since their mother had died. Had he taken things to far? It seemed like a harmless little joke at the time, but Draft's reaction told him otherwise.

"I was just messing with you," Downpour replied as he stood up. "Celestia, there's no need to get all pissed off about it." His brother turned around and picked up his bags before storming out of the room, leaving Downpour staring after him in befuddlement. What the hay just happened? The stocky pegasus sat down on the bed and reassessed the events that had just taken place. This time he may have pushed his brother over the edge, he thought, as he fell back onto the blankets. "Damn."

Draft took off, stomping down the stairs as he fumed, and came face to face with Silver Blood and Chestnut. He wasn't in the mood to hear what they were going to say about what had just happened. Of course they had heard the whole exchange, the pegasus groaned silently in embarrassment.

"Good morning, Silver. Good morning, Chestnut. How's it going?" Draft asked, feigning nonchalance.

"I feel that I should be asking you that very same question. How are you and your brother this morning?" the duke asked him, with a slight raise of his bushy eyebrows.

"We've been better," Draft admitted.

"I am sorry to hear that, Draft," the duke replied.

"Don't be, it's not your fault," he sighed. The grey pegasus took a seat at the dining table after that. There was a little breakfast already waiting for the brothers, so Draft threw some food on his plate and began eating it, without giving much thought to the taste. It was time to get the journey started, that way they could be finished already and he could go home. Maybe he could move to Los Pegasus when this was all over, the pegasus considered. They hadn't even left for the north yet and Draft was already sick of being around his brother.

"Are you two going to be leaving soon?" Chestnut asked. The old mule sat in the dining chair next to Draft's and began to pour himself a glass of orange juice. Silver decided to take another one of the open seats around the table and three of them got started on breakfast while they waited for Downpour to come down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm sure that we'll be taking off anytime now, after my brother stuffs his face of course," the pegasus replied. Now that he had a few minutes to cool off, Draft was feeling like he may have overreacted a bit. He would have to apologize for responding so badly when he got the chance. In the meantime, he was just happy to have a nice meal and be fully rested.

"Speak of the Draconequus, look who's here," the mule commented. Downpour shot Chestnut an unamused smile before sitting down and loading some food onto his own empty plate.

"Did you get enough sleep last night, Downpour?" Silver asked him. Draft's brother nodded his agreement and finished swallowing his ridiculously large mouthful of food before opening his mouth to speak.

"Um, yeah, I slept really well, actually," the hungry pegasus answered. "I think I've got plenty of energy to make my way to the Crystal Kingdom." As soon as he had said his piece, Downpour resumed gorging himself on the meal before him.

"That's wonderful to hear," Chestnut said as he glanced back and forth between the two brothers, but they themselves had yet to make eye contact. "I finished with a rough survival guide for the two of you. It has a rough map of the territories you'll be traversing, as well as what strains of plants are edible and a few other bits and pieces of information I thought might be useful to you."

"Thanks," the brothers replied in union. Everypony began to eat in an awkward silence after that, until the duke finally got irritated enough to break the silence.

"Alright, that is quite enough of that," Silver stated as he wiped his mouth off on a napkin and then stood up from the table. "Ahem, I must say that the behavior that you two have been exhibiting this morning is not at all conducive to your goals. Both of you are acting like foals and I will not stand for it." The brothers' eyes widened at the duke's sudden outburst. Silver Blood didn't even need to raise his voice to get his point across; the confidence in his tone and direct way he spoke to them was more than enough to convey his point clearly. The pegasus knew the reason why he was such a respected member of the government now. "Now, I believe it would be in everypony's best interests for you stallions to begin acting in a more mature fashion. You are family and should deal with personal situations accordingly."

Draft attempted to argue, "uh, but I, er, that is… ugh, you're right." The unicorn made a valid point. What kind of stallions go around bickering with each other while they are completing a mission for the princesses? It was completely ridiculous. "Downpour, I'm sorry about freaking out on you. I went a little over the top, but I know you really didn't mean anything by it. That's just the way you are."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too, I guess," Downpour mumbled in reply. "I shouldn't have messed with you while you were sleeping." The brothers shook hooves and settled their differences, for a while anyway. "Well, we should probably get going soon.

"The sooner we leave the sooner we get there I suppose," Draft agreed as he picked up his bag and tossed it over his back, while his brother did the same.

Silver floated a pipe over to himself with his magic, lighting it with a blue spark as he said, "that's the spirit." The four friends got up from the table and began somberly making their way outside. "Remember you two; there is an entire country depending on you now. If you do not succeed then war may be inevitable."

"I guess that this is the last time we'll be seeing you for awhile, isn't it?" Draft questioned. The grey pegasus gave Chestnut a hug as he asked. The old mule simply nodded his head in reply. They wouldn't make it to the capitol for a week and if there was any trouble, it would take them even longer than that. "Well, thanks for everything you both have done for us."

"And don't worry about a thing," Downpour added. "We'll have this situation sorted out and be back in time for Hearth's Warming Eve." A cocky smile was once again creeping across Downpour's face and Draft knew that his brother was back to his usual self again. The younger stallion was still a little ticked off though.

"I sincerely hope so," Silver said, puffing on his pipe the entire time. "And do take care of yourselves. You never know just what trials life will set before you, but together I am quite certain that the two of you will triumph."

"Well, until next time," Downpour nodded before kicking off of the ground and proceeding to rise up into the early morning sky. Draft took one last look at Silver and Chestnut, painting a mental picture of the two to commit to his memory before following his brother into the air. One never knew whether the last time they saw a friend would be the last time they would ever see them, after all.

"And remember, we don't know who is behind this yet, so don't place too much trust in anypony that you meet," the mule called up to them. Draft nodded his agreement to Chestnut's warning before turning around and catching up to his older brother. As eager as he had been to leave and get this task finished, there was still a part of Draft that felt as if he should stay. Some unconscious prediction in his instinct that was trying to tell him disaster was on its way, but he did his best to shake off the feeling of worry. His friends could take care of themselves and he had bigger problems.

The steady beat of wings and the rush of the wind across his body were the only sounds that Downpour could hear while he flew. It was a peaceful tempo, the sound of his wings flapping in time with his brother's. The peace of flying through the air on a cool day was a calm that went unmatched in the pegasus's eyes. His mind was blank and his spirit felt free as he soared through the clouds.

Fwoosh! Breath in. Fwoosh! Breath out. Let go of all my frustrations. Fwoosh! Breath in. Fwoosh! Breath out. Release all my fears. Fwoosh! Breath in. Fwoosh! Breath out. The tempo was all Downpour thought of, his body perfectly in tune with the universe around him. Profound thoughts weren't generally the brash stallion's forte and his impulses were a problem for him, but the simple motions of flying worked miracles on maintaining inner tranquility.

The morning had been just a small rough patch in what had otherwise been a perfectly enjoyable day so far. Aside from the monotony of constant traveling, with only the shortest stops needed to catch their breath, the only problem Downpour faced had been the fact that Draft chose to remain silent most of the trip. A couple times he had tried to engage his little brother in conversation, but after failing to get more than one or two words out of the younger pegasus, he gave up. He had thought that his brother had gotten over the prank, but something was obviously still weighing heavy on his mind. Eventually, even the natural tune of flying became a white noise to the bluish-grey pegasus however and the repetitiveness began to grate on his nerves.

"Seriously, how long are you going to keep up the silent treatment?" Downpour asked. "All of this quite is starting to drive me crazy." Draft remained impassive and that was all it took to throw Downpour's state of calm into disarray. "Fine, you want to keep acting like an immature little foal, be my guest." The younger pegasus stopped midflight and whirled around to face him.

"You know what? I don't want to hear it coming from you," Draft heatedly replied. The younger stallion stuck a forehoof in his brother's face and started yelling, his voice growing louder with each emotional word he spat. "You're an inconsiderate jerk. All that you care about is yourself and buck anyone else and their feelings." This was about how Downpour expected his brother to act, because he always stewed on his emotions and then blew up, venting everything all at once. After years of living with Draft, he was accustomed to it.

"What the hay is that supposed to mean?" Downpour questioned. Just because he dealt with it frequently didn't mean Draft's outbursts had stopped bothering him. Just having somepony directing anger towards him was enough to rile Downpour up.

"Like you don't know you dense piece of crap!" Draft screamed.

"I have no idea, so why don't you just spell it out for me if I'm so dense?" Downpour shouted back.

"If you weren't such a raging prick all of the time, maybe mom wouldn't have killed herself!" Draft retorted. Tears of anger were beginning to spill out of the younger stallion's eyes as he screamed out his accusation. That was all Downpour needed to hear before his emotional tranquility was completely shattered. He swung his sizeable hoof out and slammed it squarely into his younger brother's jaw. The scrawnier pegasus went rolling backwards through the air a few times before he righted himself and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"What the buck is your problem!?" Downpour asked him.

"You!" Draft screamed at him as he charged head on. His head connected with Downpour's stomach, knocking the wind from the shorter stallion's lungs and sending jolts of pain through his body. "You are my bucking problem!" Downpour was prepared for the punch that came and his wings pushed him safely out of his younger brother's formidable reach. A swift kick to the kidney was enough to stop Draft's second strike and cause him to drop from the air for a few yards. Downpour dropped into a dive, intending to end the fight by slamming into the furious pegasus with all his weight, but his brother was very nimble and managed to rotate himself around backwards. The stockier pegasus had too much momentum to change his course and felt the unyielding force of a buck straight to the chest.

"Aughh!" Downpour bellowed. The air left his lungs again and the force of Draft's kick sent him flying up in the air a good distance before he started spiraling down to the ground. He ineffectually flapped his wings a few times trying to keep aloft and the whole time his lungs were on fire from the lack of oxygen. That hurt quite a bit, he thought as he gasped for air. Downpour finally managed to take a grasping breath and pumped his wings enough to halt his descent, but his chest was throbbing in pain from the blow. "Celestia damn it! I am going to kick your sorry flank for that one." His wings strained with the effort of flying back up to his younger brother and when he got within talking distance, Draft bolted further away. Obviously he knows what's coming if I get my hooves on him, Downpour thought, so I'll just have to bide my time and get payback later.

"Are you done?" Draft called out to his brother, who answered with the most sincere smile he could muster under the circumstances.

"Yeah, I'm done," Downpour lied. "You got me good, you bucker." As soon as he had finished speaking, the older stallion broke down into a fit of coughing and was pretty sure that he tasted a little blood. Draft must have been really pissed; because that was the first time he had ever gotten the best of him. After catching his breath, the wounded pegasus found a cloud to sit on and decided to take an early lunch break.

Draft glided down to the cloud slowly as he said, "Good, besides I didn't mean t-" A quick jab to the side of his Draft's head cut him off and was all that Downpour needed to feel like they were even again. The taller pegasus dropped to the large cloud with a muffled thump. Even though pegasus could walk on clouds it was really more like stepping on mattresses than solid earth. A short fall would be fairly cushioned, but if you fell from a high enough distance, it was still going to cause some serious damage.

Downpour began to dig something to eat out of his saddle bags, glancing over at his brother, who was still laying face down on the cloud, every few seconds. After about five minutes of him not moving, Downpour figured he should check on his younger brother.

"Hey, its time to eat, so get up, you faker," Downpour told him. His younger brother didn't move a single muscle. "Hey, are you alright," he said as he poked Draft in the ribs a few times in an attempt to wake him. "Damn, I guess I hit you a little harder than I thought." He rolled his brother over and checked his breathing. Downpour could see the rising and falling of the younger pegasus's chest and realized he must have just knocked Draft out cold. "He isn't going to be happy when he wakes up," Downpour muttered to himself as he took a large bite from a peach he had grabbed. Waiting around for Draft to wake up seemed to be the only option, so he figured he might as well slate his hunger while he did so.

Draft opened his eyes and waited for the fuzziness to leave his vision before he even attempted to sit upright. After a couple deep breaths he felt a bit better and got to his unsteady hooves. The world spun around the pegasus as his head swam with dizziness. He spilled his guts over the edge of the cloud he was on and then sat back down. His face was sore and his brain was throbbing.

Draft's head felt heavy and it sank down into his hooves as he mumbled, "You're an ass," to his older brother.

"So you've told me, but I'm not the one who accused my brother of being responsible for mom's suicide," Downpour replied before finishing off his peach and releasing a long burp. "That was something an ass would have said."

"I was just pissed. I didn't really mean it," Draft apologized.

"Don't lie to me," Downpour replied. "I know you meant every word of it." The older pegasus fixed him with a look of anger and regret. "You think I don't feel the same way? You think I don't blame myself every damn day for how badly I treated her growing up?" That was the last thing that Draft had expected his brother to say. "Dad left when I was four, I can't even remember what he looked like anymore. I don't know what color his mane was or if he liked apples or oranges more. I know nothing about him and I know you don't either." Downpour's eyes grew watery as he spoke to his brother, the feelings that he tried to ignore for the past five years finally shattering the surface of his uncaring illusion.

"You're right," Draft admitted. "I don't remember a thing about the old stallion, but I don't see what that has to do-"

"Because I blamed mom for dad leaving," Downpour explained. "I hated her for it and thought that maybe, just maybe, if she had been better, he wouldn't have left us."

"That's stupid though. Dad left because he wanted to and nothing any of us could have done would have changed that," Draft replied. He couldn't believe that his older brother would even begin to think like that. It was nopony's fault but their father's.

"I know it's stupid," Downpour choked quietly. "I know that now, but growing up I couldn't help feeling that way and I took it out on mom." Draft opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't form, so he resigned himself to remaining silent until his brother was finished. "At first I made her life miserable out of hate, but soon it became like second nature to me and I didn't know how else to treat her." The tears finally spilled down his cheeks, but Downpour still fought against them. "I know that's just a lame excuse. The truth is that I hold all the blame, you were right."

"Wow, way to take the thunder out of my first win," Draft mumbled. The pegasus's comment caused his older brother to crack a smile, even through the tears.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Downpour replied. A few deep breaths seemed to help the blue eyed pegasus stave off his crying temporarily. "Sorry about the cheap shot too. I just couldn't let you win." Draft smiled back at him.

"Do you want to toss me one of those peaches?" the younger stallion asked him.

"Yeah, no problem," Downpour said as he threw his brother a peach. Draft took a bite of the juicy fruit and savored the sweet nectar. The two of them sat on the cloud and rested for awhile, glad to have gotten the bad blood out of their systems. Sometimes brothers just needed to fight it all out to make things better.

Now that his brother was talking to him again, Downpour didn't mind the long flight much. He was actually feeling pretty good after their exchange that afternoon. The rest of the day had been pretty calm and they laughed and joked most of the time. For the first time in a long time, they were talking about their parents without getting angry or depressed and it felt really good to him. He still had a reputation to maintain though, so he wouldn't be crying again for a very long time.

"I wonder how Inferno and the others are doing," Draft said as they rode an air current. "Do you think that Spark is holding up alright without his sight? I can't imagine that being easy for him." His older brother stared back at him with a look of concern as they flew.

"I'm sure that they're doing fine, Draft. Strata knows where they're going and she can take care of herself pretty well. Hay, they all can hold their own in a fight," Downpour assured him.

"I guess you're right, there probably isn't anything to be worried about," Draft admitted.

"That's right," Downpour replied. "After they take care of their business overseas they'll head our way and by that time we should have everything taken care of up north." Downpour thought for a second and added, "more or less anyway."

"Yeah, I guess I should be focusing on our problems. We have plenty of distance left between here and the Crystal Kingdom," Draft acknowledged. As soon as he finished speaking the younger pegasus's face took on a look of surprise. "Shit!" Downpour spun himself around just in time to catch sight of a spear as it whizzed past his waist, nicking him in the barrel and drawing blood, before shooting to the ground.

"The buck was-" Downpour didn't even need to finish his question, because swarming down on them from above the highest clouds, was a group of griffons. Their intentions seemed to be aggressive too. Downpour instantly regretted fighting with his brother, as the energy they had wasted would have come in handy right about then. These griffons were part of the Red Eyes and they looked mean.

"What should we do?" Draft asked.

"I don't think we have much choice," his brother replied. The mercenaries were jetting towards them at full speed, cries of battle filling the air around them. "It looks like we're in for a fight!" Downpour yelled at his younger brother, before charging head on into the fray. A split second barrel roll saved him from being speared before he had the chance to get a hit in, but the stocky stallion managed to close the distance on the front of the group. He smashed a hoof with all of the power he could muster into the first hybrid creature's shoulder. The bones shattered on impact and the spear dropped uselessly from its limp claws.

Downpour didn't hesitate to follow up with a headbutt to the griffon he was grappling with and it struck right between the eyes, knocking his aggressor into a daze. A swift blow to the side of the head sent the griffon falling to his death.

"Hurry up and kill these pathetic ponies, we have a contract to uphold!" the largest of the griffons shouted down to the others. That was who Downpour needed to take out, he realized, but the leader's little minions seemed intent on getting in his way. That was their second mistake.

There was movement in the corner of Downpour's eye and he dropped below the first stab of a griffon's spear. The mercenary immediately swung it down and the sharpened metal edge bit into the pegasus's shoulder.

"Gahh!" he howled. Where in the hoof was his brother at? There was time to think about that right then. The pegasus gripped the spear in his teeth and yanked it out of the griffon's talons. A deft maneuver had the spear pointing at the creature's underbelly and a hard thrust plunged it into the vital area. Blood ran out of the wound splattering Downpour with crimson, but he was already focused on his next target.

"Just bucking latch already!" Draft yelled at the metal clasp that he was having trouble with, before he finally got it to lock in place. The pegasus hadn't expected a fight while they were still in Equestrian airspace, but Chestnut had been right about the rogue griffon groups flying nearby it seemed. The moment he saw the spear flying past his brother, Draft had started pulling out his wing blades. The fact that he never had much time to practice with them made it hard to put them on alone, but the advantage they would give him in battle was well worth the extra time.

Draft heard his older brother cry out as another griffon stabbed at him with a long spear. Then he saw Downpour's counter and watched the griffon fall to his own weapon. That's my brother, he thought, as he prepared himself to enter the fight. The sharpened blades added a few extra inches to his wingspan along with some extra weight, but the pegasus was still quicker than most fliers as he shot towards an unsuspecting griffon.

The eagle-lion cried out in pain as Draft's wing tip carved a bloody path across its unguarded back. A few of the other griffons whipped their heads around to see what had happened and two of them charged for Draft upon making eye contact. The skinny pegasus turned his body to face them and began beating his wings, as fast as he could manage with the cumbersome weapons attached.

Draft's heart thrummed as he worked his muscles to their limits, trying to gain as much speed as possible in the short distance he was flying. Two spears lanced out at him and he forced his nimble body into a spin. For a split second, time seemed to slow as he watched the metal tips passing within inches of his face. Then the sound of slicing meat filled the pegasus's ears as his own weapons managed to strike their targets. His two enemies barely had time to let out cries of anguish before they dropped from the sky, a trail of blood following them to their dual graves on the ground below.

A stabbing pain shot through Draft's leg the moment one of the mercenary beasts pierced him with a knife. He felt the cold blade slice through his hock and then the warm blood that ran out of the wound.

"Aughhh!" That hurt like nothing else Draft had ever experienced. He moved just in time to avoid a second stab that was directed for his back and a buck to the throat stopped the griffon's attempts to kill him. The hybrid mercenary couldn't even let out a scream from his crushed throat as he fell from the sky. This one happened to land on a cloud where Draft saw him begin choking to death before the pegasus took off for his next opponent.

There was movement all around Draft as he dipped and dodged around spears and other just as dangerous instruments of death. Instead of taking on griffons one at a time, the agile stallion settled for dashing past whoever was closest and letting his wings slowly cut through their stamina. He could hear the sounds of hoofs breaking bone as his brother worked his way through the griffon ranks, finishing off what Draft started.

"Enough!" The powerful command came from the largest of the griffons and once they heard it, all of the other mercenaries retreated to his side. Downpour flew over to Draft and they hovered in the air next to each other while they waited to see what was going to happen next.

"So are you done here or do my brother and I have to take every last one of you out?" Downpour asked them. The older brother's cocky question didn't seem to phase the head of the griffon group in the slightest though.

"We have more important matters to attend to, so leave these two be for now. I'll hunt them down eventually," the leader said in a cold voice.

"Oh, I'll be waiting, you half and half little shit," Downpour retorted. He looked pissed, but Draft was actually thankful that they hadn't had to keep fighting. He was exhausted and there were still a half dozen of the griffons, not to mention the big one. The leader of the mercs just glared at the black maned pegasus that had spoken, before turning and flying southeast, into Equestria's heart.

"Should we go after them?" Draft questioned. "You and I both know that they're up to something." He glanced over to see his older brother's shaking head.

"No, Equestria can fight off that little band of losers," Downpour replied. "We have more important matters to attend to."

"Yeah, good point," Draft said as the they flew north, keeping a sharp eye out for somewhere to rest for the night.

Downpour was puffing on a joint like a madmare and smoke billowed around his face as he let out great clouds of the strong scented fumes.

"Okay, okay, on three I want you to pull it out," Downpour coughed. He tried to relax the muscles in his haunches as he gave his brother the directions. "One. Two- ow!" The spear tip that had broken off in his flank was out now, but it had hurt like hay to remove the metal shard. "You pulled on two, you ass!" The younger pegasus had seen the metal poking out of his brother's skin when they had landed to set up their camp for the night. Downpour hadn't even noticed the spear tip was lodged in there until Draft poked at it with his hoof. If they had left it in, it would have gone septic for sure, but that didn't make removing it any more enjoyable.

"You would have tensed up if I actually pulled on three," Draft stated flatly.

"Just take this joint and pass me that healing potion," Downpour replied. He exchanged items with his brother and took a swig off of the bottle of green fluid, draining half of it in one large swallow. The effects took hold fairly quick and he could feel the elixir beginning to mend his wounds. "Drink the other half of this, Draft."

"Sure," Draft replied as he took the bottle back and let out a small trail of smoke from his nostrils, "We only have one left after this though." The younger stallion finished off the elixir and tossed the empty bottle back in his saddle bag. "Oh, that's so much better." A smile crept across Draft's face as he sprawled out on his blanket and let the potion work its magic.

"Yeah, thank Celestia that Spark sent us off with a couple of those babies," Downpour agreed.

"Mhmm, those injuries would have probably gotten infected if we tried letting them heal on their own," Draft said. "What do you think those griffons were up to anyway?" His brother let out a relieved sigh as the last of his stab wounds closed up.

"I have no idea, but it couldn't have been anything good," Downpour replied. "I just wish we had some way to alert the princesses, but maybe Chestnut will let her know that he saw Griffons sneaking around." I just hope that the old mule wasn't their target in the first place, he thought, as he rolled onto his side to face his younger brother.

"Yeah, I'm sure him and Silver are already on it," Draft sighed. Silence settled in between them and Downpour nearly nodded off until his brother spoke up again. "Look, about earlier. I just want to apologize again for what I said. I had no right to throw accusations at you like that." Downpour groaned. Why couldn't Draft just drop the subject already? It wasn't something that he needed to keep bringing up.

"Its fine, little brother, the past is the past," Downpour yawned. "Now, can I get some sleep?"

"Sure, sleep sounds like a good idea right now," Draft replied. The two pegasus rolled over and closed their eyes after that exchange. It didn't take Downpour more than a couple minutes to nod off again. During the night he woke up once, to wrap his blanket around himself tightly. It was getting colder already and it made sleeping outside sort of uncomfortable, but nothing the brash pegasus couldn't live with.


	21. City of Clouded Words

~Chapter 19: City of Clouded Words~

A gentle nudging in his ribs woke Draft up from the nice dream that he had been having, about somepony he couldn't recall upon waking. Downpour's smiling face was the first thing he saw upon opening up his eyes and it was a strange sight to behold.

"What in the hay are you smiling about, Downpour?" his brother asked. "You're kind of creeping me out, doing that." Sure it was better than how his brother usually woke him up, but not by a very wide margin.

"So, I wake you up too roughly and I'm a giant ass, but if I wake you up as sweetly as I possibly can then I'm a creep?" Downpour asked. "How's a pony supposed to get on your good side?" The bluish pegasus let the ridiculous smile disappear from his face and sat down on his bedding unhappily.

"There is such a thing as moderation you know. Just because you're too much of a jerk sometimes, doesn't mean that everypony wants you to change into a goody-goody priss all of a sudden," Draft explained as he kicked off his warm blankets and sat upright. An insistent growling from his empty stomach alerted Draft to the fact that he was ravenously hungry. He couldn't remember if they had eaten any dinner or not, because dealing with their wounds had been the only thing on his mind the previous night. He forced himself to stand up and shamble over to his bags, so he could rummage around for some good food to eat.

"I suppose you're right, Draft. I guess that it's just going to take me a bit to stop being so, uh…" Downpour seemed to be having trouble finding the right word, so Draft decided to give him a few helpful suggestions.

"Egotistical, narcissistic, chauvinistic, pretentio-"

"Okay, I get it. I'm a terrible pony that no one could ever love," Downpour huffed in annoyance.

"No, you just aren't as unbelievably amazing as you've always tried convincing everypony that you were," Draft smirked at his older brother, who responded by throwing an orange at his head. The younger pegasus managed to catch it in his forehooves and decided it would make a decent enough breakfast. In a few seconds he had it peeled and was busy popping pieces of the slightly sour fruit into his mouth. "Mmm, holy hay, I was hungry," he announced with a smile. "Thanks for the orange."

"Yeah, I was trying to hit you with it, not give it to you to eat, but you're welcome anyway," Downpour chuckled as he reached down and plucked another one of the plump fruits out of his bag and began peeling it. "So, I guess after we eat, we should probably just pack up our stuff and take off, huh?"

"Unless you have another plan to stop this war from happening," Draft replied. The brothers sat in silence for awhile after that, each of them finishing off their simple breakfast, until Draft spoke up again. "A part of me is really scared, Downpour. What if we can't do this or what if we get there and it's already too late?" The younger stallion had been uncertain if he even wanted to voice what he was thinking, as if the mere act of speaking the thought aloud was enough to doom them to failure. "We're just two average pegasus after all."

"Hey now, we aren't just two average pegasus," Downpour argued. "We are Downpour and Backdraft, defenders of Equestria and bane of the Red Eye scourge." Both of them had to laugh at his words. Just the thought of them as mighty heroes was ridiculous. The princesses believed they had a chance of success though and, no matter how the odds were stacked against them, they would do their best to serve the country they loved.

"Yeah, 'defenders of Equestria', I'll keep that in mind the next time we're getting our flanks handed to us," Draft said with a chuckle. "Alright, let's just get our junk packed up and go."

It didn't take the two of them long before they were soaring northbound again. The days were definitely getting colder, Draft thought, as a shiver ran the length of his body. The further north that they flew the worse the weather would be too. The first day of winter was only two days out and once that came, he had no doubt that snow would be following soon after. Something told him that their trip was going to be a giant pain in the flank, but they would just have to make the best out of it, for Equestria's sake.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Downpour suddenly said. "When did you get those wing blades and why the hay didn't you buy me some when you did?" Draft was pulled from his thoughts by his brother's random question. He looked over to the bluish pegasus with an awkward expression.

"Uh, well… to be honest, I didn't really think about it. I had just assumed that if you wanted weapons you would buy them on your own," Draft replied. It wasn't his responsibility to arm his older sibling after all. "When we get to Cloudsdale on our way north I'll give you what bits I have left so you can get your own." His brother shrugged in response. "What, you don't actually want any?"

"I don't know. I haven't really needed a weapon yet, but if I find something unique then maybe I'll get it for myself," Downpour replied.

"Unique?" Draft asked, a little confused by his brother's statement.

"You know, like something that would leave an impression and make ponies cower at the very sight of me," Downpour explained. The serious expression was too much for Draft and he lost it. The laughter didn't seem to amuse Downpour though and he shot his younger brother a stern glare. "What's so funny about that?"

"I'm not really sure," Draft answered while he tried to hold back his laughter. "I guess just the thought of you with some deadly weapon, scaring ponies for the thrill of it." The laughter won out against Draft's self control and he started giggling at the thought of his big brother terrorizing ponies in a full suit of armor.

"That is something that the old Downpour would do. I'm different now," Downpour retorted. "I think I'll follow in Spark's hoofsteps and become a pacifist." Yeah, Draft would believe that when the moon turned purple and dragons blew rainbows instead of fire.

"If you say so," Draft replied, "but I think you'll probably change your mind as soon as we get attacked again, maybe even sooner."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Downpour snapped haughtily.

"I'm just saying, that when we're in the heat of battle, you probably won't be thinking about holding back," Draft explained. "It's just not in you, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, Downpour." It was strange having this type of conversation with his older brother, Draft thought, but maybe he really did want to change for the better. Still, now probably wasn't the most opportune time to attempt that sort of personal transformation. "Maybe one day everypony can be nice and get along, but I'm afraid that won't be in our lifetimes."

"You might be right, but that doesn't mean I won't try. If that scrawny little unicorn can survive fights without killing anypony, well, then I should be able to as well," Downpour huffed.

"Nature Spark is just odd like that though," Draft shrugged. "I really don't think he could purposely kill somepony, even if his life depended on it." Which in their current situation was likely to be more of hindrance than a help, but maybe Downpour's marefriend would balance that out. If Strata didn't, then she, Spark and Inferno would probably wind up in a bad way.

"True, but I think he's on to something. Acting the way I have been certainly isn't going to make Equestria a better place, but maybe if everypony tried as hard as he does to be better ponies, well, things might just get a little better," Downpour admitted.

Draft nodded his head as thick clouds passed over them. The younger pegasus nearly ran into a few as they flew through the skies. His mind was just too preoccupied thinking about his friends and all manner of other useless worries. He tried to clear his head, but the thoughts wouldn't stop pestering him as they glided onward.

"I really need a break. My entire body is still sore from yesterday and if I don't take a rest I think I'm going to drop out of the sky soon," Downpour gasped. They had been flying all morning without stopping, which normally wouldn't have been too much trouble, but after the fighting yesterday he was feeling pretty awful. The part of his flank that Draft had removed the broken spear tip from had closed, but it was still really tender and every movement of the stallion's leg made it throb annoyingly.

"I hear that," Draft agreed. "I didn't realize how much pain I was going to be in today, so much for the 'bane of the griffons', huh?"

"Ha ha, yeah," Downpour replied. He spotted a fluffy looking cloud that seemed comfortable enough for them to take a rest on, so he motioned for his brother to follow him and they landed upon it in mutual exhaustion. After shirking off their saddlebags, the brothers let out dual groans of contentment. "Oh Celestia, that feels so much better."

"Mhmm, I'll be glad when we're done with this damned quest already," Draft said as he sprawled out on the cushioned surface. Downpour took the opportunity to dig up a little of the herbs out of his bag and handed them to his younger brother along with a rolling paper.

"That's the last of the smokeables, so we better enjoy the hay out of it while we can," Downpour told him as he fell back onto the cloud beside the grey pegasus. His brother had gotten ridiculously quick at hoof rolling joints and within seconds he had task completed.

"Do you have some way to light this thing?" Draft asked him as he handed over the herb.

"I have a flint somewhere in this bag," Downpour replied, rooting around in the jumble of supplies until he grabbed hold of his prize. "Aha, see." A quick flicking of stone caught a spare rolling paper on fire and Downpour was able to light the end of the joint with it fairly easily. After taking a large lungful of smoke for himself, the stocky pegasus passed the rolled up herb to his brother. "It's going to be boring as hay flying for weeks without anymore of that stuff."

"Mhmm, but I'm sure that we can find it growing wild if we just keep an eye out for it." A cloud of smoke accompanied Draft's words, rising into the blue sky above them and spreading out until it had mixed with the cool air. The herb did its job and Downpour could feel every muscle in his well toned body relaxing, even where he had been stabbed in his flank. It was magical. He wasn't sure what they were going to do if they got in another big brawl, especially since they only had one healing potion left, but they would just have to figure something out when the time came.

"I wonder what the Crystal Kingdom is like," Downpour mused aloud as he snatched the joint from his brother's outstretched hoof. "Do you think it's much different than Equestria?"

"Well, it is a pony owned country, so I can't imagine things will be too much different, but I guess you never really know," Draft replied.

"I just hope that the king will hear us out when we get there, otherwise our job is going to be much more difficult," Downpour continued.

"You got that right," Draft replied with a half hearted smile. If the king wouldn't listen, then there was a high probability of them ending up as prisoners of war. Downpour really wanted to avoid that outcome if he could.

Once they had finished smoking, the two brothers spent an hour resting and eating some lunch, but eventually they decided it was time for them to start traveling once again. The afternoon sun was at its highest point in the sky by the time they took off from the cloud and it provided a little more warmth for the pegasus, but there was still a biting chill to the winds that blew past them. At first Downpour was shivering subtly from the cold, but as he worked his muscles more, his body warmed back up.

"Hey, Downpour, do you want to stop in Cloudsdale still?" Draft asked with a glance back to his black maned sibling. "We might be able to find you a weapon, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"Yeah, I know they only manufacture weapons for the military," Downpour replied. "We should have gotten a letter from the princesses stating that we could purchase some arms from the city, but I didn't think about it at the time."

"So what do you want to do then?" Draft asked him.

"Well, we can always try to buy some from a less than reputable source I suppose," his brother suggested. Leave it to Downpour to suggest a questionable business deal concerning weapons, Draft thought, as he rolled his grey eyes with a groan.

"Somehow I don't think illegal arms dealing is something a good pony would do," Draft explained. "We should probably check out some shops and see if there's anything else we need to pick up though."

"Aw, you spoilsport," Downpour replied with a grin. The brothers adjusted their wings and changed course for the city in the sky. The air around them filled with the scent of rainbow exhaust and forging smoke as they drew nearer to the large metal forges. It was truly a testament to pegasus ingenuity, the industrial city complex. Nowhere in Equestria or any other country could have been built anything to compare to the architectural phenomena rising before them.

Backdraft and Downpour swooped down to the edge of the floating collection of clouds that was the base of the city and saw a large number of ponies waiting to get through the front entrance. There were pegasus of all colors and talents milling about in groups and Draft even spotted a few griffons, although none that were from the Red Eye faction. The brothers took a place at the back of the gathering and began the dull task of standing in line for admittance.

"For the love of Celestia, this is going to take for-rutting-ever," Downpour exclaimed in an annoyed voice. "Why is it taking so long? I don't remember the city ever being this hard to get into before."

"I don't know, do you think it's because of the approaching war?" Draft asked. The grey eyed pegasus peered around the large gathering to get a look at the soldiers standing guard. They appeared to be very thoroughly inspecting every cart, crate and saddlebag that was being taken into the city. It was as if they were expecting something dangerous to be smuggled past the gates. "It would make sense that they reinforced their security in case of an early attack." Why the princesses had allowed their largest industrial city to be constructed so close to a border was beyond Draft, but that might have been why he never really understood politics, government just wasn't his strong suit.

"I don't doubt it, but that's going to make it a pain in the flank for us. At this rate we won't be in the city until late afternoon… at least." Judging by the slow pace of the inspections, Draft had to agree with his brother.

"I really wish we had thought to get an official letter, so we wouldn't be having this problem," Draft said before dropping his bags on the ground beside him. There was no reason to continue wearing them if they were only taking a few steps every five minutes or so, he figured.

"You and me both," Downpour agreed as he too shirked his bags and let out a tired yawn. This was going to be a long day, Draft thought, as he watched another pony pass through the metal braced passage into Cloudsdale.

"It's about damn time!" Downpour huffed. He and his brother had been waiting to get into the city for two hours as the guards checked everypony's bags one by one. It was cold, boring and most of all, a huge waste of their time; they did have an important job to complete after all. "I swear to Celestia that you soldiers have got to be the most inept group of pegasus that I have ever had the misfortune of meeting." He could see Draft facehoof at his ranting, but Downpour didn't care because he was ticked off.

"Sir, one more outburst like that and I will lock you up and throw your flank in the mines," a large pegasus guard told him in a stern voice. Each of the armored ponies were about a head taller than Downpour and built just as thick, but he didn't really care at the moment. If Draft hadn't stepped in to do the talking for him, then they both would have most likely ended up in shackles.

"I am terribly sorry about my brother, sir. We have been traveling for days and I think it's starting to wear on him," Draft explained. The guards frowned at the two brothers, but seemed to accept the explanation he gave.

"Please remove your bags for inspection. If they are deemed free of contraband then you may proceed into Cloudsdale," the other soldier told them. The brothers shrugged off their saddlebags at the guard's orders and handed them over to be scrutinized. The soldier combed through Downpour's stuff first and then handed his bags back to him, but the guard that was checking Draft's bags seemed to find something he didn't care for.

"Sergeant Strike, we have weaponry in this bag," the brown pegasus called to his commanding officer as he passed over Draft's wing blades and fixed the brothers with a look of anger. "Don't you two know the new rules? Weapons are to be checked into storage before you are permitted to enter the city." Draft's eyes widened in surprise at the information. That rule had never been in effect before.

"Uh, sorry, sir. We had no idea about that," Draft explained to the guard, but his story didn't seem to appease the pegasus. The sergeant took charge after that and walked up to where the brothers were shuffling nervously in place.

"Why are you carrying weapons with you?" the violet pegasus questioned. "You are civilians, are you not?" The sergeant annunciated each of his words, as if he thought that they were slow.

"Yes, sir, but we're on a mission from the princesses to act as emissaries to the Crystal Kingdom." That statement seemed to take the large soldier by surprise, but only for a moment.

"Well, if that is the case, then I don't suppose you boys would mind accompanying me to a holding cell while we sort this mess out," Strike replied. It wasn't a question and while he was speaking, three other soldiers were already moving into positions around them. Draft really didn't feel like being locked up, but there didn't appear to be any other options for them at the moment.

"If that is what has to happen I guess," Draft sighed.

"What?" Downpour gawked. "This is total crap." Oh please, Downpour, Draft thought, please do not do something that we'll both regret later. "How do you think Celestia or Luna are going to react when they find out you delayed our mission?" Downpour got up in the sergeant's face, but was immediately blindsided by the pegasus's armored foreleg. Draft's older brother hit the ground with a thud.

"That is for me to deal with, not you," the soldier replied. "I have my orders to follow, son." The sergeant turned his back on Draft and began walking through the reinforced gates into the city, his rainbow tail snapping in the air behind him as he went. "Guards, I want you to take them to holding and lock them up. If they give you any trouble, do not hesitate to take them out with force." Downpour was dragged behind the large stallion by the brown pegasus guard, while the other two soldiers took a hold of Draft and led him close behind them.

"Welcome to Cloudsdale," was the last thing Draft remembered hearing before he felt a metal clad hoof slam into the back of his head, blacking out his vision and causing the young stallion to sag limply in the guards' hooves.

"When I get out of this cell, I am going to kick your flanks! You can't just lock up innocent civilians like this, especially not ones that are working for the princesses, you asses!" Downpour screamed at the top of his lungs, but the guard was a master of ignoring ponies. It must have come with the job. He finally gave up and sat down on the wooden bench that lined the back of their dingy cell. It seemed that his yelling had only served to rouse his younger brother from unconsciousness and the pegasus's head rose off the ground slowly. Draft's long grey hair waved back and forth as he surveyed their cell, the white streaks catching what minimal light there was.

"What the hay happened?" his younger brother asked him in a slight daze.

"I'll tell you what happened," Downpour replied angrily. "Those bastards cold cocked me and apparently you too. Then they locked us up in this Celestia forsaken dungeon and I have no idea how long we've been down here." Downpour was so mad that his voice cracked with emotion as he spoke. It wasn't a very good way to start off being a better pony, but he wasn't the one to blame for that, so he didn't think this day counted.

"What the buck is going on in this city?" Draft asked groggily.

"I'm not sure, but I get the feeling that something isn't right in Cloudsdale," Downpour huffed. Draft brother took a seat next to him and rubbed a hoof against the back of his head.

"Am I bleeding?" the younger stallion asked. Downpour took a look at the area that his hoof was touching, but he couldn't see any blood. There was definitely a good deal of bruising though.

"No blood, but I bet you're going to have one hay of a knot back there," Downpour told him.

"Yeah, my head is throbbing already," Draft replied.

"Well, I'd offer you the last bud, but I had it hidden in my bag and we never got our stuff back," Downpour said as he slouched down on the bench in defeat. Their quest to prevent a war was being hindered by political garbage and there was nothing he could do about it. This is what I get for trying to help my country, he thought.

"You had some hidden? You devious little pegasus," Draft grinned at him, but Downpour didn't feel up to returning the smile. There was nothing for them to smile about in their situation and he wasn't even in the mood to fake one. How could his brother be so calm when they were trapped in a cold cell for Celestia knew how long? Downpour closed his eyes and waited for whatever was coming next.

Draft was still sitting on the uncomfortable bench, succumbing to severe apathy, while his older brother had resumed screaming and rattling the bars of their cell. It had been two hours since he had woken up or maybe four, he couldn't really tell without being able to see the sun. The only illumination in the stagnant darkness was a few torches spaced out down the stone corridor and the only other occupants were a couple of even more dismal looking prisoners and one guard, a pegasus who Downpour was in the process of annoying.

"You're going to piss him off you know," Draft explained, to no avail.

"Why the buck do you think I'm yelling at him, because I like the sound of my own voice?" Downpour asked. Before Draft could respond, his brother whispered the answer to him. "Well yes, I do like the sound of my own voice, but I'm actually yelling because I have an idea."

"Oh Luna, what kind of idea?" Draft groaned.

"A good one," Downpour assured him. "Just be prepared to move when I give the signal. I'm going to get us out of here." The younger pegasus sighed at his brother's unrelenting stupidity. At the rate the older pegasus was going, they would end up receiving the death penalty. "Hey, you! Armored bucker, over here!" Downpour continued on with his hollering and bar shaking.

"I swear, sometimes you seem like you're trying to be as dumb as possible," Draft told him.

"Yeah, keep talking down to me," Downpour replied. "We'll see who's dumb when my plan works."

"I won't hold my breath," Draft said as he walked back to the bench and lay down. He wondered how crazy he would go being trapped in a small prison with his brother for the rest of their lives. He assumed it would drive him completely insane in a matter of weeks. Just as the pegasus was contemplating his fate, another voice sounded out in contrast to his older brother's.

"Shut the hay up, before I come in there and beat you senseless! You're driving me nuts with all of that sissy shrieking!" the dungeon guard yelled back at Downpour as he approached their cell.

"Make me, you stallion lover!" Downpour retorted. Now he's done it, Draft thought, we're both about to get our flanks beat all because he called a soldier gay. I really hope he's proud of himself this time. The door to their cell let out an awful screech as it was unlocked and forced open. "Now!" His brothers shout caused Draft to bolt to his hooves in confusion.

"Now what?" Draft asked as he stumbled forward.

"Now help me take this bucking guard out!" Downpour yelled as he wrestled the soldier to his knees. Draft panicked for a minute, wondering what in the hay his brother was thinking. The younger pony finally managed to force his legs to move and proceeded to kick the guard in the stomach. Downpour was delivering blow after blow to the soldier's face, but the pegasus had obviously gotten his job for a reason and no matter how many hits his brother landed, the guard wasn't staying down. Finally Draft managed to react more aggressively and stomped down on the helmet, squeezing it like a vice against the stallion's head.

"What in the hoof is wrong with you!?" Draft shouted the question at his older brother as they bolted out of the jail cell and down the hall. They could hear the guard's pained cries behind them as they fled.

"Nothing, I just can't stand being locked up in a cage," Downpour replied as they reached a fork in the hallway. "Uh, which way should we go?"

"I don't know," Draft snapped at him. "You were the one with the plan to escape."

"Buck it, let's go this way," Downpour said as he took off down the right branch of the corridor and Draft followed behind. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, unable to fly through the cramped halls, until they finally reached another choice. "Uh, this way," Downpour said again.

"No, we need to go left," Draft argued. "If we keep going right then you'll end up taking us in a circle." He galloped down the opposite hallway from his brother, but a few seconds later he heard the heavy hoofsteps of Downpour working to catch up with him. They ran on and on, passing a slew of different doors before they finally saw natural light coming from somewhere ahead of them.

"Told you," the brothers said at the same time when they busted through a door into the soldier's headquarters above. "Shit." Easily a dozen pegasus guards stood between them and freedom now and it didn't look like they were planning to let their prisoners walk out of the building and be on their way.

The two brothers tensed their muscles in anticipation of a brawl. Draft was picking out which soldier he would launch into first and imagined that Downpour was doing the same. After a minute of nopony starting an attack, Draft let his muscles relax a bit and released the breath he had been holding. Something strange was going on. That was when the sergeant they had met at the front gate stepped through the doors and fixed his eyes on the scene before him. Every soldier in the room stood at attention in his presence.

"Good Luna, what have we got here boys?" the sergeant questioned. "Do not tell me that these two civilians escaped from Cloudsdale dungeon… well, did they?" The lower ranked pegasus all visibly cowered at their commander's rage.

"Yeah, we escaped your pathetic little cell," Downpour told him as he stepped forward, "and if you put us back in there we'll do it again."

The larger pegasus glared down at him for a moment before saying, "Now if we had ponies like you in the guard then I think we might be able to squash these thoughts of war before they ever formed." Draft nearly fell onto his face when he heard the sergeant's words.

"Beg your pardon?" Draft asked. He was just as confused as his brother.

"Your story checked out boys, Princess Celestia vouched for you two and I was just on my way to let you out of prison, but it looks like you beat me to it," the sergeant explained. The rough voiced leader of the pegasus headed out the doors after motioning for the brothers to follow him. They glanced at each other, both of them still dealing with minor confusion as they trailed behind the sergeant.

"So you boys can see that, without knowing exactly who is pilfering weapon shipments bound for Canterlot, there is not a damned thing that we can do about it," Sergeant Strike explained. The violet stallion seemed upset, but not nearly as angry as he had been when the brothers first met him. It helped them relax, but just a little bit.

"What exactly does that have to do with us?" Downpour asked. He and Draft were sitting in the sergeant's office and having a talk with the beefy pegasus about what was going on in the city. When they first met him, the soldier had seemed like an arrogant ass, but in reality he was only a semi-arrogant ass. Still, they could have ended up in a much worse situation than they had. He even offered the brothers drinks when they first came in and now they were conversing over mugs of sweet cider.

"It means that I think it would be best if the two of you left the city as soon as possible," the sergeant elaborated. "Who knows what could happen if anypony that is doing illegal arms dealing finds out that two pegasus working directly for the princesses are looking around the city? I wouldn't want anypony to rough you boys up." Yeah, that's a laugh, Downpour thought.

"I'm sorry, sir, but who exactly are these illegal arms dealers selling the weapons to?" Draft questioned. The younger brother was always asking the important questions.

"If I knew that, then I would find them and make them tell me who they bought their weapons from," Strike replied. "The only thing that I do know is somepony has been selling weapons behind my back and the city is not safe for you two boys." That seemed to be the final word the sergeant had on the matter, so Downpour didn't ask anymore questions. The door opened behind them and a mare's voice called their large host out of the room. "Excuse me for a minute."

Once the sergeant left, Downpour immediately began searching through his stuff as discretely as possible, but if anypony had happened to walk in, the stocky pegasus still would have been doomed. He turned his head back to his brother and saw the look of horror on Draft's face. Downpour mouthed the words 'watch the door' and resumed snooping around the large office. Something hadn't sat right about the sergeant's story and he wanted to find out what. The older stallion tried his best to be silent as he rummaged around the military files, but Draft could still feel his heart racing.

After checking through a few drawers, Downpour couldn't come up with anything substantial. He did manage to find a few bits, which he pocketed, after telling himself they were for all of the trouble the sergeant had put him through. All of the paperwork had been confusing to the bluish pony and he didn't learn anything helpful. Just a little while after he sat back in his chair, the door of the office opened and the sergeant called them out. Downpour could hear his brother exhale in relief that they hadn't been caught.

"Well boys, you have my permission to leave now, although I will recommend not leaving the city center out of concern for your safety," the sergeant explained. "Cloudsdale has been a dangerous place as of late. Mark my word though; I will bring this city back to its former glory." They were led out of the military establishment and their belongings were returned at the gates leading out to the rest of the city. "You will have to pick up your weapons at the main gates before you leave the city. I can't have civilians walking around armed after all." The brothers nodded their agreement and walked away in slightly better moods.

"Well, that was something, wasn't it?" Downpour stated as he began looking through his saddlebags, checking to make sure all of his property had been returned.

"Yeah, I'll say," Draft agreed as he also checked his bags and upon seeing that everything was in order, slung them over his back and latched them up. "Just what the hay were you looking for in there anyway?"

"I'm not really sure, but something he said didn't sit right with me," Downpour informed his brother.

"Oh really and what was that?" Draft asked with intrigue evident in his tone.

"The sergeant told us that somepony was taking weapons and selling them on the black market, right?" Downpour asked.

"Yeah," Draft shrugged.

"That doesn't make sense though, does it? The only possible way that that the military wouldn't notice large weapons shipments up and disappearing would be if somepony working for them was forging paperwork or if a high ranking soldier was responsible," Downpour elaborated.

"So what do you think?" Draft asked him.

"I think that we need to dig a little deeper," Downpour replied as they made their way down the shadowy streets of Cloudsdale.

"We don't have anymore time to waste on this little investigation of yours, Downpour. I want to know what's going on in this city as much as you do, but we have an infinitely more important mission to complete or did you forget about the Crystal Kingdom already?" Draft asked his brother, finally irritated with their search.

They had been walking around asking pedestrians if they knew anything about the black market for hours, but to no avail, which Draft had expected. If anypony knew anything, they sure weren't telling the brothers about it. The sun had already set and the day had been wasted. The only thing that they had actually accomplished was needlessly wearing out their muscles and Draft was getting sick of it. He regretted suggesting that they even look for an arms dealer in Cloudsdale, but it had seemed like an okay idea to him at the time.

"I guess you're right. I don't know what I was hoping to accomplish," his brother sighed. "Let's just grab something to eat and head out." Downpour hung his head in defeat and started trotting towards the nearest food vendor. Most of the ponies that ran the stands that dotted the main shopping district were already packed up, but there were a few stragglers trying to make a couple more bits before the evening ended. "Two of your kabobs and two mugs of hard cider please," the pegasus asked as he scratched his black hair.

"That'll be eight bits," the mare behind the counter replied.

"I got it," Draft responded as he dug out some of the coins from his bag. They paid for their meal and downed the hard cider right where they were standing. The brothers decided to walk while they ate though and Draft noticed a slight sway to his steps as the alcoholic beverage began to seep into his mind.

They made their way to the city's main gates as they finished off their tasty kabobs, but when they rounded the last block, Draft stumbled because of his inebriated state and ran into a griffon. He fell over with a gasp and the griffon glared at him before flying off. Something about the half-eagle startled the pegasus, but his alcohol soaked brain made it hard to put a hoof on exactly what it was.

"You all right?" Downpour asked as he helped him back up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Draft muttered. "Did you notice anything strange about that griffon that I bumped into though?" Maybe Downpour had registered something that he couldn't, the younger pegasus thought.

"No, I didn't get a very good look," Downpour replied. "Why?"

"I don't know. There was just something off about his face I think," Draft said. "Maybe I'm just drunk though. It was probably nothing."

"Maybe you are, no, I'm pretty sure you are drunk, because I know I am," Downpour laughed. Hic. "They sure sell some nice cider here." The older brother chuckled as they resumed their swaying walk to the city's exit.

"Hello there, sir guard pony, sir. I'm Backdraft. Your sergeant told me to pick up my, um, my wing blades from here," Draft explained in a drunken slur. The armored pegasus glared at the two brothers from behind his visor before walking off to a wooden door in the back of his watch post near the gates. He returned a few minutes later with the weapons in question and handed them over to Draft with a scowl.

"Next time you two come to Cloudsdale, try to remember that weapons are not allowed to be carried by civilians within city limits." The grey haired pegasus nodded his head in agreement, but his brother didn't seem as content to accept the warning as he had been.

"And you remember our faces, because the next time we're here it will be on the princesses' orders and I'm not taking any shit from you ponies," Downpour retorted as he glared right back at the soldier, before turning and storming off. Draft followed close behind, though in a less straight path.

The brothers broke into an unsteady gallop after that, pumping their feathered wings and slowly traveling a crooked path into the sky. They planned on finding somewhere to camp that wasn't too near Cloudsdale, as they had both gotten enough of the city during the afternoon. They didn't feel like traveling very far however and soon enough Draft careened downward when he saw a flat spot to land for the night.

Downpour was just about finished with the last of his dinner when he heard his little brother gasp behind him. He turned around to see what had surprised the younger pegasus, but a quick survey didn't reveal any new dangers.

"What? What's going on now?" Downpour asked on edge.

"Oh uh, nothing. I just remembered what was bothering me about that griffon." Draft stared off for a while after he answered and Downpour's impatience got the best of him, so he broke the silence.

"Well, what the hay did you notice?" he asked his younger brother.

"I can't be sure, but I could almost swear that he was one of the griffons that attacked us yesterday, but I thought I remembered that they were headed south," Draft explained. "Maybe he was another Red Eye." The slightly inebriated stallion scratched his chin as he recalled the memory.

"You think so, but why would they let a Red Eye into Cloudsdale?" Downpour asked. "Even if they didn't know about the griffon's involvement with the Crystal Queen's capture, which is unlikely, we don't have a treaty with the Red Eyes. It would be asking for trouble." Downpour pondered the idea for awhile, but he was still a little buzzed and very tired, so it was difficult to try putting the pieces together.

"Yeah, that's why I said I can't be sure. It would be very strange. Not to mention the fact that we saw that group fly south," Draft said, pausing momentarily to take a bite of his dinner. "It would mean that they purposely mislead us, so that we wouldn't know where they were headed."

"Why would they care though? It's not like they know who we are or anything," Downpour replied. He didn't see what his brother was getting at, but Draft appeared to be on a roll, so he let him try to work it all out.

"I don't think they know us, but maybe whoever is behind this is much more connected than even Chestnut," Draft continued.

"That's a scary thought," Downpour replied, visibly shuddering at the idea of some mysterious, all-knowing benefactor backing the Red Eyes.

"Mhmm, I agree with you on that one," Draft admitted. It was a ridiculous notion of course. The most likely scenario in Downpour's mind was that the griffons were paid by one of the rebels in the Crystal Kingdom to take out their queen and events just got out of hoof along the line. Everything would get sorted out when they made it to the capitol though, for now he just wanted to sleep.

"Well I'm going to bed, Draft," Downpour stated flatly. He stretched out his muscles as he yawned. Sitting in the cell had done nothing to help relieve the tightness in his limbs.

"I'm going to stay up for a little while," Draft replied. He seemed to be deep in thought still, but his older brother was too exhausted to care.

"Alright, just don't drive yourself crazy. We're still leaving early in the morning," Downpour replied as he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. "Night, bro." Draft didn't seem to hear him though and Downpour fell asleep without ever getting a reply.


	22. Rain of Chance

~Chapter 20: Rain of Chance~

Backdraft was immobilized in a shadowy jail cell and in the distance he could hear the echoes of ponies screaming in terror and agony. Their cries fueled his own frightened struggle as he strained against the cold iron shackles that pinned him to the floor, but no matter how hard he tried to free himself he remained trapped. There must have been a leak somewhere above him, because he could hear water dripping from a crack in the stones, just out of sight. The steady dripping continued in its methodical pattern, slowly driving him crazy with its incessant tempo. Drip. Drip. Drip. Draft was awakened by the splashing of rain against his sleeping body, not the most pleasant method of being stirred from sleep, but it had saved him from the nightmare he was having so he wasn't too displeased with it.

"Ugh, it's raining," he groaned. Well at least it isn't snowing yet, he thought, as he stared up into the overcast skies. The pegasus wiped the dampness from his face and sat up in his blankets, which were completely soaked by then. A glance over to his brother revealed the bluish pegasus still asleep despite the foul weather, his tattooed face staring straight up into the oncoming drizzle. Draft briefly considered waking his brother up, but decided to light a fire first instead. After placing a blanket over their saddlebags to prevent further water damage, he wandered off a little ways in search of reasonably dry wood for the fire.

As he tromped through the sludge that the ground had become, Draft spotted a few small trees, but no branches that were even remotely dry. That idea was a bust, he thought, as he wandered back to the camp. The rain had steadily increased in his absence and by the time he had returned his brother was already awake and in a sour mood.

"Why the hay didn't you wake me up?" Downpour asked with a scowl. There was mud dripping from his legs as he dug around in his bags in search of something.

"Well, I was going to light a fire first, so that you could dry off when I woke you up," Draft replied as he uncovered his own bags and pulled out a damp cloak to wrap around himself. "I couldn't find even a scrap of bark that was dry though."

"Mhmm, way to go," Downpour mumbled as he wiped the grime off from his hide. The mud on his tail wouldn't come off, but eventually the rain would take care of that problem on its own.

"At least I tried," Draft stated. "Anyway, let's eat some breakfast and get going."

"Alright, just let me finish trying to scrape this muck off of my blankets and bags, I can't stand being caked in mud," Downpour told him. The viscous dirt came off of the older stallion's belongings in squishy clumps, but before long his gear was more or less free of the grime and the brothers sat down on a collection of damp stones to eat their breakfast.

"I wish we had some more cider, it might actually help me wake up a little more," Draft sighed as he took a bite of soggy bread and washed it down with a few gulps of cold water from his flask. It wasn't the greatest breakfast he had ever eaten, but it was nourishment.

"Yeah, say what you want about Cloudsdale, but those ponies sure know how to brew some delicious hard cider," Downpour chuckled. After finishing their meal and taking a few minutes to let the food settle, the brothers collected their supplies and strapped on their saddle bags. The two of them sprang up into the air and took off northward through the cold drizzle of rain. Draft hoped that they could make most of the trip before the first snowfall, but as the large storm clouds drew closer it didn't look like they would be that fortunate.

As the morning passed, the moderate drizzle from the sky had developed into a full blown downpour. As they flew further into the heart of his namesake, Downpour tried his best to retain a positive outlook, telling himself that it could be worse, but eventually his resolve began to deteriorate and he started to become mildly irritated with the deluge. Flying beside him, Draft didn't appear to be having a much better time. They had given up trying to fly above the clouds, because the storm had grown to a point where they had to avoid being electrocuted by the frequent bolts of lightning that streaked around them.

At the rate that the temperature was dropping, it wouldn't be long before they were put at risk of catching hypothermia. They needed to dry out their gear and bundle up better, but an apparent lack of burnable wood stood in the way of that goal. If Draft had been victorious in lighting a fire that morning then they may have been able to stave of freezing for awhile longer. As it was, the pegasus were both beginning to shiver as the heat was sapped from their bodies with every minute.

"Sweet Celestia, when do you think this storm will pass?" Draft asked. "I'm practically drowning over here." Even though the brothers were only separated by a few yards, the sound of the torrential rain and the booming of thunder forced Draft to yell the question at his brother.

"I don't know, but if it keeps up much longer than we're going to have to find somewhere to take shelter until it lets up," Downpour shouted in response. Draft's mouth moved as he yelled something else to his older sibling, but the resounding crack of a lightning strike somewhere behind them drowned out the words from Downpour's ears. Once the rumble of the thunder had died down, Downpour asked him to repeat what he had said.

"I asked where exactly you expected us to go to get out of the rain, because I don't see any cover around here," Draft told him. The blue eyed pegasus scanned the sprawling plains below him, but his brother was right, there wasn't a single outcropping of cliff or a covering of trees to be seen. Off in the distance however, Downpour happened to spy what looked like somepony's cabin. He couldn't tell for sure from where they were flying, but it was their only option, so he motioned for his younger brother to look in its direction.

"That's where we have to go," Downpour said. His brother's eyes scanned the horizon and he nodded in understanding when he caught sight of the small structure.

"Is that a cabin?" Draft asked over the roar of the rain.

"I'm pretty sure it is or maybe a watch post of some sort. We'll know when we get closer," Downpour replied. He saw his brother nod in agreement again and the two of them focused the last of their waning strength on arriving to the site as quickly as they could. The heavy raindrops battered the older pegasus's tattooed face and permeated every bit of his mane and tail, but he was completely absorbed in his goals and wiped the moisture away absentmindedly. If the weather continued on the way it had been all morning, then there was a good chance of them being delayed for half a day or more; a delay that they could not afford at the moment. Every day that they failed to arrive in the capitol of the Crystal Kingdom was another day that the ponies crept closer to war.

The thoughts of war spurred the stocky pegasus to push his well developed muscles even harder and seeing his haste, Draft too picked up the pace of his flapping. A distance that normally would have taken them an hour to travel took a mere quarter of that time as they pushed themselves to their limits. The younger pegasus was the first to arrive at the small log cabin, not that it surprised Downpour. He skidded to a stop a few moments later, nearly crashing straight through the wooden front door in the process.

"Do you think anypony lives here?" Draft questioned him as they stepped farther under the small awning that protruded from the roof of the cabin.

"How am I supposed to know? Why don't we just knock?" Downpour's hoof was already thumping against the old wood as he spoke. The pegasus stood there for a few seconds with no response. "Well, I guess that answers your question." Downpour tried pushing the door open, but it was held in place by a lock of some kind, so he turned his tail end to the entryway and gave it a solid kick that sent the wood splintering in its frame. "Whoops, I didn't mean to hit it that hard," he snickered.

"We'll just have to find something to push in front of the opening," Draft said as he walked into the dark building. Downpour followed behind him and the smell of dust and mold entered his mouth and nose when he took a breath. The place was obviously abandoned and there were cobwebs and moldy furniture to attest to that fact.

"Not to shabby," Downpour exclaimed with a slight smirk as he checked out the dingy cabin. It would suit their current needs just fine anyway and that was all that really mattered to him at the moment.

"That should keep out the cold for now," Draft said as he and his brother pushed a rickety table onto its front end and wedged it over the opening where the door had once stood. "I still wish that we had a fire or something to warm up with though."

"I have my flint still, so we could always bust up some of this old furniture and light one," Downpour replied as he dug the small fire starter out of his wet saddlebags and held it up.

"Yeah, but what about all the smoke, genius?" Draft asked.

"We'll light one by a broken window," Downpour retorted. "It should let most of the smoke out and it'll only be long enough to warm up and dry out our gear anyway."

"Alright, but try not to burn the place down. The last thing I want is to be stuck out in the rain again," Draft replied, walking over to a rotting chair and kicking it apart.

"No way, I thought I might just light the walls on fire. That should keep us nice and warm," Downpour replied, his words coming out laced with heavy sarcasm. Draft shot him a glare before resuming the task of breaking up what dry wood he could find around the room. In just a few minutes he had a nice pile made and glanced in his brother's direction to see how the fire was going. Downpour was struggling to get a pile of semidry paper lit, but Draft had a better idea. He tore a hole in the only couch, an ugly flower patterned thing, and pulled out a chunk of the wool stuffing with his hoof. It felt drier than anything else in the cabin, so he figured it was worth trying to light on fire.

"Here, try this out," he said as he passed the wad of material to his sibling. Downpour took it without a word and after a few attempts, got a flame going. It didn't take long for the two of them to get a small pile of scrap wood burning and they began laying their supplies out to dry in its warmth. Eventually the heat filled the rest of the room and the brothers' shivering abated. Now that they had light and warmth the only other need that Draft had to attend to was his hunger. It was still a little early for lunch, but if they were going to be stuck there for awhile, he figured that he might as well eat. Almost all of their food had been ruined by the rain however, even though they had wrapped it up, so he was left with nothing but fruits and vegetables.

"You're eating again, fatty?" Downpour asked when he saw the array of foods laid out near Draft.

"Yes I am," Draft replied. "Did you want some?"

"Yeah, I might as well," Downpour shrugged.

"Oh, so who's the fatty now?" Draft asked with a grin as he passed an orange over to the bluish stallion. He selected an apple for himself and they were soon chewing on them in relative contentment. The fire crackled quietly nearby as they filled their stomachs and waited out the raging storm. Every so often lightning would flash, followed shortly after by thunder, just to remind them why they were sitting in a dingy old cabin in the first place.

It didn't take long after they had finished eating for the brothers to become restless in their confinement and they began pacing around the wooden floors in agitation. Draft regularly checked their cloaks and boots to see if they were dry enough to wear, but the small fire could only put off so much heat and building a larger blaze would only cause problems. His brother was just as impatient as he was. Seeing the black haired stallion pace around in circles and remembering what Chestnut had told them about his tattoo's meaning, caused Draft to start chuckling hysterically. Part of it may have been the nervous energy in him, but it was still pretty funny and his brother's quizzical look only made it worse.

"What they hay are you laughing so hard about?" Downpour asked him.

"Your face!" Draft managed to shout out between fits of coughing and giggles. Downpour's stern expression as he responded increased his younger brother's laughter to a point where the skinny pegasus doubled over and clutched his stomach in pain.

"And what's wrong with my face?" Downpour questioned.

"I don't remember, but be patient… it'll come back to me," Draft choked out. Even his brother cracked a smile at that one and for a few minutes the two of them just sat there laughing as the cabin around them was pelted by a seemingly endless barrage of raindrops. Eventually the pegasus caught their breath and each of them flopped down onto the ragged couch in exhaustion. Draft's sides ached from all of the laughter, but it was worth it in his mind. Now, they were back to simply waiting again and that was no fun at all.

The storm continued well into the afternoon, before the cloud cover finally broke and small rays of sunshine graced the valley with their warmth. Downpour and his brother had done their best to find amusing ways to pass the time, but they had still grown very tired of sitting around in the cabin after only thirty minutes or so. The older stallion was the first one to notice that the steady patter of rain had slowed and just the thought of getting out of the cabin put a smile on his face.

"Hey you hear that?" he asked his brother as he walked over to the open window.

"Hear what?" Draft questioned.

"The rain is finally letting up," his brother replied.

"Oh, thank Celestia, I was going crazy trapped in this crumby pile of sticks," Draft said with a relieved sigh. The grey pegasus made his way over to the window and stood by his older brother. The sight before them was truly marvelous; the lush valley sprawled out in every direction and between the clouds they could see golden sunlight filtering through and slowly drying the fields of grass.

"Well, I guess we should grab our stuff and get going before the rain starts up again," Downpour sighed as he glanced up at the sky. It looked as if the clouds were moving away and the storm was breaking apart, but you never really knew. In the big cities, pegasus controlled the weather and had a say over when it would rain and for how long, but everywhere else nature made its own decisions.

"Maybe we should look around the cabin first," Draft suggested.

"Why?" Downpour asked.

"There could be something useful in here," Draft replied. "You never know." The younger pony started walking around and checking in drawers and along the few shelves he could see. After a quick look around him, Downpour didn't think that they would find anything worth carrying, but he decided to humor his little brother and walked over to the bedroom door. The hinges were a bit rusted, but a little push was sufficient to force it open.

The bedroom was just as dirty as the rest of the cabin and because the door had been closed, the air was even mustier. Aside from a heavily molded bed, the only other furnishings in the room were an end table and a bookshelf. Downpour scanned the bindings of the books, but none of them looked very interesting to him. They were mostly history books about life before Discord's War and although those books detailed happy carefree times gone by, he had no interest in such frivolous tales. It did make him pause momentarily to wonder about who the previous occupant might have been. Surely anypony that chose to live this far from civilization must have had a few quirks, but the small home seemed normal enough, so he shrugged his shoulders and continued searching for something more worthwhile.

Downpour spied a closet on the other side of the room and made his way over to inspect its contents. There were a few articles of time ravaged clothing hanging up as well as some worn boots on the floor, but it was a chest shoved into the back that really caught his eye. It looked very well made and much less dusty than anything else in the cabin, so he figured it was worth checking out. Grasping it with two hooves, he yanked the small trunk from its place in the closet and pulled it out into the main room, so that he could get a better look at it.

"Hey Draft, come help me open up this chest I found. There might be something valuable in it," Downpour called out as he examined the storage box, which was crafted from hardwood and locked with a large iron padlock. Unlike every other object in the house, the chest appeared to be in good shape, almost as if I'd had been maintained recently. A few tugs on the padlock revealed that it was firmly in place and without a key the only hope would be to break the container open, but without knowing exactly what was inside, Downpour was unsure whether or not it would put the contents at risk to do so. His younger brother had the same opinion on the matter.

"Where the buck did you find that thing at?" Draft asked upon seeing the sturdy chest of untold mystery. He prodded it with his hoof, as if he thought it would open at his bidding and bestow its secrets to him.

"It was shoved in the back of the closet and I have no idea how to open it," Downpour explained. "I thought about trying to break it apart."

"But that might break whatever's inside." Draft finished his sentence and leaned in for a closer inspection. "It looks fairly new. Do you think somepony found this cottage and decided it was a good place to store their valuables?"

"The only ponies that would do something like that are either really stupid or have something to hide," Downpour replied. He was betting on the latter option, which would mean that whatever was in it was most likely valuable to somepony and therefore worth scavenging. He had no problem stealing from criminals; it wasn't like that was a crime after all. "I say we take it with us."

"That's ridiculous. Do you know how big of a pain in the flank it would be to carry this with us all the way to the Crystal Kingdom?"

"No, you featherbrain, we'd only have to carry it to a new hiding spot and then we could open it on our way back." It wasn't a bad plan, if he said so himself, although Draft didn't agree with him on the matter.

"Have you even tried looking around here for the key yet?" The older pegasus facehoofed at his lack of common sense. Leave it to his brother to come up with the smart plans. "It could be lying around here somewhere."

"You have a point," Downpour agreed as he stood up from the chest and scratched his head. "Where would they have put the key though?"

"I don't know, probably in the same room you found it in, most ponies are dumb like that, but I'll check around out here, just in case they were a little smarter than your average pony."

"Sounds like a plan," Downpour concurred as he set off to find the missing key. The mystery of what was locked away was becoming very enticing for the bluish pegasus and he hoped that it was something worth the time they were spending on it. It would make him really upset if it wound up being old clothes or some nonsense of that sort. The most obvious place for a key was the nightstand, so he made his way over and tugged open the single drawer, hoping to be lucky enough to find the key waiting there for him. He was rewarded with nothing more than some old papers and a spider's nest. Shuddering at the thought of arachnids crawling over his skin with their creepy little legs, he slammed the nightstand closed and decided to scour the rest of the bedroom for his prize instead.

"I was wrong. This is hopeless, Downpour. I've searched everywhere in this Celestia forsaken cabin and I haven't found anything besides dust and cobwebs," Draft huffed in irritation as he planted his flank on a chair. They had been tearing the cabin apart for a good hour looking for the key, but it was becoming apparent that it wasn't anywhere in the small structure. The only way they were going to be able to get the chest open was to break it apart and his persistence was falling to the point that he seriously contemplated kicking the box into scrap wood right there.

"I give up!" Downpour shouted from the bathroom. It seemed that even his zebra glyph couldn't provide the patience needed to keep up the search. "I'm pretty sure that whoever locked this chest didn't leave the key around here, so any other bright ideas about how to get this thing open?"

"I say we drop the freaking thing," Draft replied with a scowl. Just looking at the unopened chest now was enough to make him unhappy. The locked container sat there with its secrets sealed away, mocking him, his brother and their futile attempts to break into its mysteries. Maybe he was overdramatic, but Draft blamed it on being stuck in confinement most of the afternoon.

"You sound like me," Downpour replied with a smirk. "Alright then, I agree. Let's break this chest open. I want to see what's in it already."

"I want the first crack at it," Draft shouted. His older brother stepped back and gestured for him to go on ahead. The large smile that was plastered across the younger stallion's face had disappeared after his first kick. Instead of splintering apart, like he had expected it to, the box flashed with a magical light and launched his legs back with a force equal to the power of his buck. He crashed face first into the hardwood floor, smashing his lips hard enough that he tasted blood as he got back to his hooves. His brother's cackling didn't help any either.

"That. Was. Great!" Downpour laughed.

"It's some sort of enchantment. I'd like to see you do any better," Draft scowled as his brother continued his amused chuckling.

"Oh, I would love to," Downpour answered once he regained his composure. "Step back and let big brother show you how it's done." His actions failed to live up to his boasts however, as he too was knocked back from the chest with a magical burst of energy. "What the buck?!"

"Yeah, you sure showed me alright," Draft snickered. Downpour glared at him before walking over to a chair and picking it up. Crash! The magic flared again upon impact and the chair practically exploded in his hooves, sending a shower of splintered wood around the room. "Ugh, who enchants an old chest, I mean honestly? What a waste of magic."

"Uh, I think they might," Draft said as he spotted a group of pegasus through the front window, walking towards the cabin.

"Huh, who would?" Downpour asked in confusion.

"Them," Draft said as he pointed his hoof in the direction of the approaching ponies and a look of surprise overcame his brother as the stallion's gaze followed his gesture.

"Not again. How much do you want to bet that they're the ones who enchanted this chest and that they're willing to fight us to keep the contents a mystery?" Downpour asked.

"I'm not betting because I know our luck and there is no way in hay that they won't pick a fight," Draft replied. The pegasus were steadily approaching the brothers and would know something was amiss as soon as they saw the table pushed up against the doorway. "What's our plan?"

"Since when have we ever planned before a fight?" Downpour asked with the barest hint of a grin.

"Good point," Draft agreed as he made his way to one side of the door and motioned for his brother to take a spot on the opposite side. There were five pegasus approaching, but if they got the jump on them, then there was a shot that they might be able to make it out of there alive. Fighting indoors was not something most pegasus enjoyed, not that most enjoyed fighting anyway, but they would have to make due.

Downpour and his brother stood motionless as the unknown stallions approached the cabin. He could hear them talking about what they would each spend their cut of the bits on when the job was finished. That solved the mystery of what was inside the chest and it must have been a pretty large sum if they had such a strong enchantment in place to protect it.

"What the hay, somepony's been in the hideout!" one of the pegasus shouted upon seeing the broken door with a table pushed up against it.

"You're right and by the looks of it, they're probably still in there," another voice responded. "If they take the chest we could all wind up in Canterlot dungeon for the rest of our lives, so I want the head of whoever was stupid enough to cross our path!" Downpour's heart rate began increasing as adrenaline was released throughout his body. A loud crack sounded out as the table was bucked in half and the first pegasus rushed through the door.

He ran right past the brothers as one of his cohorts followed in after him. Downpour launched himself onto the back of the first stallion and began pummeling the back of the pony's head with powerful hits. Downpour tackled the second stallion below the knees and dropped him to the ground where the he began stomping on the surprised stallion. The first two went down easy, but their angry screams alerted the remaining three pegasus in the group and made them leery to enter the log cabin.

"I'll give one chance to whoever is in there, give up our chest and surrender or I'm going to be forced to severely hurt you," the stallion, who appeared to be the criminals' leader, shouted the warning out to them, but neither Downpour nor his brother responded. The only advantage they had was the element of surprise and they intended to use it as long as possible. Let the attackers come to them instead of rushing out and getting their flanks kicked. "No? Well, I'm sorry to hear that."

Both of the brothers had retaken their positions behind the door, but none of the remaining three stallions outside were in their limited line of sight and Downpour began to wonder exactly what they were up to. It didn't take long for him to get an answer to his question because the sound of breaking glass let him know that somepony was coming in through the bedroom window. Another window shattering from around the corner in the kitchen told him that they had just been surrounded. So much for the element of surprise, he mused.

Downpour turned and ran for the bedroom, hoping to surprise the stallion that had broken in, before he made it out of the room. He thought he saw Draft shaking his head and trying to mouth something at him, but his mind was already set on its target. He launched through the partially opened door and slammed into the stallion. The moldy bed broke apart as the two of them crashed into it and began grappling with each other. Downpour was in pretty good shape, but so was his opponent and it seemed as if his plan wasn't going to work out quite as he had hoped.

"There's one in the bedroom!" the cerulean pegasus below him shouted out to his accomplices, before Downpour slammed his forehead into the stallion's mouth. It hurt a little more than he though it would, but it had effectively silenced his foe, so Downpour wasn't complaining. In the main room he could hear the sounds of his brother fighting with somepony else, so he slammed a hoof into the side of the dazed stallion's head and rushed out to lend a hoof, only to nearly spear himself on the tip of a wing blade.

"Well, hello there," the lead pegasus said with a cocky grin, "I thought that there might be more than one of you, so are you the only other pony here?" Downpour just shot him a glare and refused to answer as his eyes scanned around for someway to turn the tables on the tall, yellow pegasus in front of him. "Oh, the strong and silent type, huh?" The yellow stallion glanced over to where Downpour's little brother was in a brawl with the last of the leader's stallions. "You there, surrender now or I'll kill your friend here." Draft's eyes made contact with the leader's and the grey pegasus dropped his hooves in defeat. The stallion he had been fighting with punched him in the stomach and pushed a hoof against his back as he dropped to the ground.

"Damn, this one's a scrappy little bucker. It's a good thing you had your swords ready boss," the tan pegasus that had sucker punched his brother smirked at Downpour before catching sight of the chest. "Hey look, the spell that you had that unicorn put on the chest seems to have held. I bet you two tried pretty hard to crack that baby open, didn't you," the tan pegasus asked in a nasally voice. Just the sound of that stallion talking grated on Downpour's nerves and the fact that he had taken a cheap shot on his little brother made it even worse.

"Of course the enchantment worked, you moron. Why else would I have put it on there? No one is getting anything out of that chest with out this," the lead pegasus replied as he pulled a small key out from his saddle bag. Downpour couldn't believe he was dumb enough to show off the key in front of them and still have the gall to call the other stallion stupid. "Now, what to do with these two?" The criminals turned their attention away from each other and back to the brothers. Downpour didn't even attempt to hide the pure rage in his expression as he stared into the yellow stallion's sea green eyes.

"Aren't we going to kill them?" the tan pegasus asked his boss.

"Yes, but we don't know if somepony will come looking for them or not, so we need to take care of them in a way that will keep us from getting caught," he said as an evil smile began to grace his features, "and I think I know exactly how to do it." Downpour and Draft didn't like the sound of that, but they didn't get much of a chance to dwell on what the yellow pegasus had said, because his follower grabbed a piece of the broken table from the ground and swung it into the back of their heads, knocking them both out cold for the second time that week.

When Draft came to, he found himself in a cage, sitting in the back of a small wagon. Downpour was next to him, already fully awake and silently fuming in anger. As much as Draft and his brother hated being stuck in one place, it seemed as if they were constantly getting themselves captured lately. He hoped to Celestia that it wouldn't become an everyday occurrence.

"So, did I miss anything," Draft asked his brother, before getting onto his hooves with a groan of pain.

"The dumbasses are taking us north to the border," Downpour replied with a slight smile, "something about nopony finding our bodies if they dump them on the Crystal Kingdom side." Well, at least they were traveling in the right direction, Draft thought, albeit not in the most comfortable of conditions.

"What should we do?" he asked Downpour after looking himself over for any serious injuries. Aside from his throbbing head, the grey pegasus could only see a few scrapes and bruises, nothing even close to life threatening.

"Nothing, we'll just let them tire out dragging us north and in the meantime we'll be thinking of ways to break out when that time comes," Downpour replied. His black maned brother appeared to have everything planned out and was waiting patiently, so Draft couldn't help but wonder if the zebra symbol over his eye had actually done something useful. If it was in fact making Downpour patient, then it was certainly worth every bit he had paid for it.

"Wait, where's all of our gear?" Draft asked, remembering that his new swords were still packed in his bags. He looked around, but couldn't see into the front of the wagon and there was nothing to be seen behind them.

"They divided our things between the four of them," Downpour answered.

"Four? I thought there were five pegasus that attacked us," Draft replied.

"Yeah, I think I may have hit the first one a little too hard, because I haven't seen or heard him since I woke up," Downpour grimaced. One more strike against his brother's 'being a better pony' goal, Draft thought, as he took a seat on the floor of the cart next to his brother.

"Well, I suppose that means now we only have to break out of a locked metal cage, take out three armed pegasus with our bare hooves, recover our belongings from their unconscious bodies and liberate their most likely stolen bits. Does that about cover it?" Draft couldn't help but smile a little bit when he asked the question.

"Heh, yeah, I guess that's about right," Downpour replied as he scratched his head, looking as if he was trying to come up with a plan. "Maybe we'll get lucky," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"I wouldn't count on it," Draft replied.

"Alright, let's get this done. I want to finish up here and eat some dinner." The bosses voice sounded out the orders from somewhere in the front of the wagon. They had traveled for hours, apparently long enough for them to reach the border, and it had to have been close to midnight. The night was moonless and pitch-black, so Downpour couldn't hear anything, besides the sounds that their captures were making. It seemed as if the time had come for the brothers to save themselves from a grim fate, but neither of the pegasus had been able to figure out a way to escape from the cage, let alone come up with a plan that wouldn't end in them dying.

"I'm going to charge out and start attacking them when they open the door of the cage. I want you to take off as fast as possible for the Crystal Kingdom, Draft, because no matter what, we need to stop this war and I know they can catch me, but with a little head start, you can be out of their reach pretty quickly," Downpour whispered to his younger brother as the sound of hoofsteps drew closer. Even in the dark he could see that Draft wasn't happy with the plan, but the younger stallion nodded his head in acceptance of it none the less. As hard as it was for Downpour, he imagined it was even harder for Draft, but the life of one pony, even if that pony was your sibling, wasn't worth the lives of an entire country full of ponies.

Downpour tensed his muscles as one of the stallions stepped into view, wearing Draft's wing blades, and pulled out a key to unlock the door to their portable prison. As soon as he heard the lock click, the stocky pegasus kicked his back hooves against the door, sending it smashing into the pony's face with a crunch of breaking bones.

"Draft, go now!" he shouted as he dove through the opening. His brother was a shadowy blur as he shot up into the sky and Downpour sighed with relief that at least one of them would be able to complete their mission.

Downpour dropped a hoof into the already broken face of the pegasus that had unlocked their cell, silencing him permanently. All of his goals to be better went out the door when these ponies had threatened his brother's life and he didn't plan on going down without a fight. The sound of their escape had alerted the other three and Downpour saw the shapes of the stallions galloping towards him in the darkness. He picked up a good sized stone from the damp ground and ran straight for them, releasing a fear inducing scream into the still night air as he galloped.

Downpour sprang for the closest stallion to him, swinging the rock into the side of the pegasus's tan head as he landed. They collapsed in a lifeless heap immediately and Downpour could feel the splash of warm blood on his face as the nasally voiced pony fell. Before he could turn around to face his next opponent, he felt the weight of somepony crashing into his back, the force dropping him to his knees. Downpour flapped his wings wildly and squirmed around as he attempted to get the stallion off of him, but he couldn't seem to shake his attacker loose. Then he felt the pounding of a hoof against his side and he winced in pain at each punch that connected.

Downpour managed to roll onto his back and after ramming into the ground a couple times, his attacker's hoof finally slipped its grip. They both got to their feet and started trading blows for a few seconds before Downpour felt a stab of cold steel sink into his hide about an inch deep.

"Move another muscle and I'll end you right here," came a familiar voice. The criminal leader had decided to sneak up on Downpour once again it seemed, but at least he had managed to take out two of the yellow pegasus's stallions before he had.

"Go ahead and do it you spineless piece of shit!" Downpour spat back at him.

"Ah, so you can speak after all and here I thought the two of you might be mutes," the stallion laughed humorlessly. "No matter though, in just a few seconds nopony will ever be hearing your voice again."

"Talk is cheap, let's get this over with," Downpour replied.

"First, I would like to know where your friend flew off to, because if I have to hunt him down, then I will make sure to give him the slowest, most painful death that I can possibly manage," the yellow stallion said as he gave a slight twist of his weapon. "If you tell me now though, I may decide to kill him quickly." The pegasus smiled, revealing teeth that were nearly as yellow as his hide.

"There are a couple problems with that," Downpour replied. "One, he's my brother not my friend, and two, there is no way that you could ever hope to catch up with him." He smiled right back at his captor, staring coldly into the pony's green eyes.

"Pity, I guess that means I'll have to make it slow and pa-" The yellow stallion's words were cut short as blood bloomed in the center of his throat, a second after Draft's wing blade pierced through it. The grey pegasus yanked his sword back out and the yellow stallion slumped to the ground, letting out gurgling sounds that would have been screams as he bled out on the dirt. Downpour turned to face the remaining criminal, but the pegasus had already taken off flying west as fast as his wings could carry him.

"You bucking featherbrain, I told you to head for the Crystal Kingdom," Downpour said, as he turned back to face his younger brother.

"Hey, I paid good money for these wing blades and I wasn't about to let a bunch of thieves make off with them… oh, and I guess I wanted to help you out too or something," Draft replied with a smile. "Should we take our stuff and go set up camp? I'm kind of tired after all that fighting."

"Screw that, I'm sleeping right here in this wagon. I'm not taking another step until I get some rest, we can deal with packing in the morning," Downpour replied as he stumbled over to the wagon and grabbed a blanket that was sitting on the front seat, wrapping it around his body before lying down on the floor. The truth was that the stocky pegasus wasn't even that tired, but he had just come seconds away from dying and he either had to close his eyes and sleep or have an emotional breakdown and he wasn't about to have a breakdown in front of Draft. Downpour shook with fear as he laid there, but pretended it was just the chill of the air.

"Uh, okay. Goodnight… I guess," Draft shrugged.

"Night," Downpour replied before closing his eyes. The emotional turmoil inside of him wouldn't dissipate, but he kept his eyes clenched shut, trying to will his mind to rest. He could hear the sounds of Draft rummaging around for their gear, but eventually even his brother decided to climb back into the wagon and get some sleep and around the time the sun was just beginning to rise, they were both snoring contentedly.


	23. A Soul's Reprieve

~Chapter 21: A Soul's Reprieve~

His dreams had been plagued by the yellow face of the stallion that had nearly killed him, if it hadn't been for his brother's well timed intervention, Downpour would have been dead last night. The thought that he had come so close to losing his life filled the stallion's heart with an ice cold fear that made it impossible for him to sleep. Lying awake had proved to be just as awful, because he could see every pony and griffon that he had killed and each memory resurfaced in his head. He did his best to push the thoughts back down into his subconscious, but each time it felt as if they stole a piece of his soul away. Inside the pegasus was growing empty and he worried about how long it would be before he completely lost that part of himself that wanted to be a better pony.

"Morning," Draft's voice greeted him as the grey pegasus opened his eyes and yawned. "What time is it and how long have you been up?" Downpour tried his best not to let his inner feelings show through as he gazed at his brother.

"I think it's a little after noon and I've only been up for a few minutes. It was cold so I couldn't sleep very well," Downpour replied. His body shivered involuntarily, as if to lend credit to his words. Now that Draft was awake, Downpour decided it might be a good idea to actually force himself out of his warm blankets, because even if he was feeling depressed, they still had an important task to complete. His muscles ached from the combined strain of the fighting he had been doing and the less than comfortable sleeping conditions, but after a slow stretch, they felt a tiny bit better.

"Really? I slept like a rock all night. I don't think I moved a single muscle," Draft replied cheerily. At least one of them was in a good mood, Downpour thought. "I gathered some of our stuff up last night, so it shouldn't take long to finish packing and eat something."

"Good," Downpour stated.

"Yeah, so we're almost in the Crystal Kingdom. I mean the mountains that divide us are just a short flight way, so we'll be in a new country pretty soon. That's pretty awesome don't you think." Draft began loading their bedding into the saddlebags as he spoke, but Downpour hardly paid any attention to what the younger pony was saying. He had caught sight of blood on the ground and it made his stomach queasy.

"Did you grab the key to that chest from their leader last night?" Downpour asked, hoping that the answer was 'yes' as he did.

"Uh, no I didn't," Draft called back. Can you grab it while I finish packing this junk up?"

"Mhmm, sure," Downpour replied morosely, as he forced his hooves to take him where they had piled the dead bodies of the three stallions. Rounding the back corner of the wagon, he came face to face with the grisly results of what they had done to survive. Never before had the pegasus ever seen what remained after his fights, he was always on the move and never looking back. Now though, Downpour saw their cold, lifeless eyes staring vacantly outward from bruised and bloodied faces. When he caught sight of what remained after he had smashed a rock into one of their heads, his stomach lurched violently and a mixture of food and bile spilled onto the ground, splashing against his hooves as it came out.

Downpour spat the bad taste from his mouth and stepped around the pile of vomit so that he could get to the bodies. He was loath to touch the corpses, but without that key there was no way they could have opened up the chest. Taking a deep breath, he reached out a hoof and pulled the yellow stallion's body from the pile, laying it out so he could reach into the saddlebags strapped on its back. Fighting the urge to vomit again, Downpour unfastened the bag and dumped its contents to the ground. There, among a collection of various useless objects, was his prize. He snatched the key from the ground and hurried away from the macabre sight before letting out his breath.

"Did you find the key?" his brother asked him when he returned to the front end of the wagon. Draft had finished packing up the rest of their supplies and was in the middle of eating, but the very sight of the food made his older brother sick.

"Yeah, it's right here," Downpour replied, holding up the small key to show the grey eyed pegasus. "Do you want to open up that chest now?"

"Don't you want to eat first?" Draft asked.

"No, I'm not really hungry right now," he replied. Draft shrugged his shoulders and continued munching on the apple in his hooves.

"Okay, just let me finish breakfast, err, lunch and then we can crack that baby open," the grey stallion replied. Downpour nodded his head in agreement and took a seat next to his younger brother on the cart while he waited.

"Alright, I'm done," Draft said as he tossed away the core of his apple. "Let's see what's in that thing." The brothers got to their hooves and walked over to the enchanted chest. We're finally going to get inside this baby, Draft thought, as his brother bent down and pressed the key into the padlock. Downpour twisted the key in its hole and the lock clicked open. Draft sucked in a breath as the anticipation built in him. His brother slowly lifted the lid and revealed a pile of bits, more money than Draft had ever seen in one place. His breath left him in a stunned gasp. "Ha… ha ha ha, we're rich!" he exclaimed as he began to hop around in circles, giggling madly.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Downpour replied a few moments later. "Take a closer look at these bits." His older brother passed one of the coins to him with a frown. Draft eyed the piece suspiciously, but it seemed like any other coin to him.

"What about it?" he asked.

"Look at the profiles engraved in them," Downpour replied. Draft did as he said and eyed the coin closely, but there was an alicorn on it like always. Everypony knew that the princesses' faces were on the front and back.

"Yeah, the princess, so what's your point?" Draft questioned his older brother.

"It's not a princess, it's a queen. The Crystal Queen to be exact and on the back is the Crystal King." Draft flipped the coin over in his hoof as he listened to his brother's words and sure enough the images were of the Crystal Kingdom's rulers, not their own beloved diarchs.

"Wait, so these bits are from the Crystal Kingdom?" Draft asked as he dropped the coins back into the small chest. The group of Equestrian criminals had been hiding a stash of Crystal Kingdom bits for some reason. "What's that mean?"

"It means that if we want to spend these bits we'll have to take them with us," Downpour explained. "It also means that those stallion's illegal activities extended beyond our borders. I'd rather not be caught with that much stolen money in a foreign country, so I think it would be best if we only take a small amount with us and stash the rest somewhere for now." Downpour frowned again as he dropped the last bit back into the chest and closed the lid.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Draft agreed, "but I was really hoping we'd struck the jackpot. I was going to buy some souvenirs while we were in the Crystal Kingdom." Downpour facehoofed before locking the chest back up.

"We aren't on vacation here, Draft. We have a job to do, remember."

"Of course I remember, but does that mean I can't get a memento while we're there?" Draft asked with a slight smile. For some reason it seemed to be easier to get under his older brothers skin than it usually was, so he was planning to take full advantage while he could.

"I suppose not, but wait until after we talk to the king alright," Downpour admitted. After he'd spoken, the stocky pegasus took a look around before standing back up with a groan. "I suppose we should get going."

"Mhmm, what are we going to do with the chest though?" Draft asked. If they weren't taking it with them, then they were going to have to stash it somewhere nopony would accidentally stumble across it. The cabin was out of the question, not only because the stallion that had gotten away might return there, but also because it would mean backtracking.

"Good question. I guess I'll carry it with us until we find a good landmark to hide it by, unless you have a better idea," Downpour replied.

"Nope, that sounds like as good of a plan as any," Draft agreed. The brothers walked back to the wagon and hefted their saddlebags across their backs. After latching them tight against themselves, Downpour picked up the chest and held it close to him.

"You ready to get some flying done?" he asked.

"You know I am," Draft responded as he gave his wings a good stretch. They both took a running start and pushed off of the ground, their powerful wings moving them through the air with minimal effort. Even while holding a small fortune in bits, Draft's older brother seemed to soar without any problems. A smile stretched across the grey pegasus's face as he did what he had always done best, he flew.

Flying wasn't improving Downpour's sullen mood like it normally would have. Instead of easing his mind, it only gave him time to stew over his recent actions. How many had he killed? He thought back to the day he fought off the griffons with Strata and could remember at least three that died by his hooves. Another five Red Eyes had fallen to their deaths when he and Draft had fought against them, which made eight. Then there were the stallions that they had taken the chest from, he had slain three of them, so that was a total of eleven deaths that he was directly responsible for. There was most likely a special place in the deepest depths of Tartarus being prepared for him. The direction that Downpour's life was headed was not one that he cared to follow, but he didn't know if it was possible to wash the blood that he had already spilled from his hooves.

"You okay, bro?" Draft's question roused him from his inner torment, but Downpour wasn't willing to talk about what he was thinking just yet.

"Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm fine. This chest is just starting to get a little bit heavy," he lied. "Let me know if you spot a landmark that we'll be able to find on our way back so that I can drop this thing."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out," Draft said, with a hint of suspicion evident in his voice. Downpour figured his depression must have been fairly obvious and did his best to stow his emotions away, but it was hard not to dwell on the past. Focusing on finding a hiding spot for their newfound treasure helped take part of his mind off of things, but there was still a small voice in his head that continued to remind him that he was a murderer. Even if their deaths were unavoidable, he knew he should have tried harder to prevent them. After all, what use was there in living to see another day if you gave up your soul to do so?

"Hey, how about that?" Draft asked as he gestured toward the tallest oak tree at the foot of the Crystal Mountains. "I think that we'll be able to find that tree again on our way back." He wasn't joking; the tree stood a good nine yards taller than any of the trees around it and was thicker by far. Anypony could have picked that tree out from a mile away.

"Yeah, I think that'll work," Downpour agreed as he adjusted his angle in the giant oak's direction. His brother followed his lead and soon they were hovering above the canopy of trees, which had just begun to lose their leaves for the winter.

The brothers dropped below the tree line, dodging the widespread branches on their way to the forest floor. Even though the oaks were mostly barren, there were still enough large branches to block out most of Celestia's sun and the ground was still damp from the previous day's storm. Downpour could smell the earthy aroma of decaying leaves rising from the dirt beneath his hooves. He gazed around the forest and could see no signs that anypony besides them had been there in a long while, so it seemed like it would make the perfect spot to stash their coins until they could return. Downpour thought for a moment about the best way to hide the chest, but then it came to him.

"Draft, can you carve something inconspicuous into the tree, juts in case we forget which one it is for some strange reason. While you do that, I'm going to bury this thing down by its roots." His brother nodded and set about strapping on his wing blades so that he could carve into the bark with their sharpened tips. Downpour popped the lid of the enchanted container open and dug out a couple small hoofulls of coins and dropped them in his bags, so that they wouldn't have to worry about running out of bits before they left the Crystal Kingdom.

"Okay, I carved a 'D' into the tree," Draft said as he stuffed his wing blades back into his saddlebag. If it was a joke, Downpour didn't think it was a very good one.

"Good, now help me finish burying this," he replied. The two brothers broke a sweat as they quickly dug a yard deep hole under the largest root protruding from the tree. Downpour dropped their chest into it and soon they had dirt piled back on top. After stomping the soil back down, they stepped back to admire their work, panting heavily from the task they had completed. If you knew what you were looking for, it would be easy to find, but Downpour doubted that anypony just passing nearby would notice anything amiss and his brother seemed to be happy with it as well.

"I think that'll work. What about you, Downpour?" his brother asked him with a satisfied sigh.

"Yeah, it looks pretty good to me," he replied. Just then the bluish pegasus heard his stomach growling like a timberwolf. Draft's eyes widened with surprise. "I guess I'm kind of hungry after all that," Downpour shrugged.

"You think? Maybe you should have eaten breakfast when I offered, because it sounds like your stomach is turning against you now," the grey pegasus replied between chuckles. "We might as well just eat some lunch here." Downpour didn't want to spend too much time around the tree in case somepony walked by, but it didn't seem as if ponies ever came by there, so he decided it would be fine. Draft tossed him a sack with some oats in it that looked as if they were on the verge of molding. They needed to buy some new food in the next town, Downpour decided as he sat down to eat.

"Seriously Downpour, what's your deal today? You seem really depressed and it's starting to bum me out," Draft asked his older brother. They were just about done eating lunch and Downpour hadn't said more than a couple words, so Draft was getting a little bit worried. It wasn't like his brother to be so reserved and quiet. Usually Downpour would be wolfing down food and making lots of unnecessary noise, but today he picked at his lunch and gave one word responses anytime Draft tried to talk.

"I'm fine," Downpour replied. It wasn't an answer as much as it was another attempt at avoiding conversation, but Draft decided to let it go for now. When his brother was ready to talk, he would most likely let him know.

"If you say so," Draft sighed. The silence between the pegasus resumed as they finished the last of their meals. Draft's mind was occupied with thoughts of his friends. He wondered how Spark, Strata and Inferno were doing on their way to the griffon homeland and how Star was dealing with the absence of the young dragon. He imagined that Chestnut and Silver were probably having a grand old time catching up with each other. It made the young stallion a little homesick thinking about all of them, but he knew that when he and Downpour finished their mission, they could all get together again.

Draft was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize he had already finished eating the apple that he'd been holding, until his teeth connected with his hoof. He bit down hard enough that for a second, the pegasus feared that he had broken a few teeth, but when he felt in his mouth they all appeared to be fine.

"Ouch," he said, tossing away the remaining core of the apple. "Well, I'm done eating now. How about you, Downpour?" He glanced at his brother, who had eaten maybe half as much as he had.

"Mhmm, I'm ready to go if you are," Downpour responded quietly. The bluish pegasus's sullen mood was starting to bother Draft more and more. The two brothers threw their bags across their backs once again and prepared themselves for the next leg of their journey. Draft was hoping that they could get across the mountain range and to a town by the end of the day, a feat that would have been insurmountable to any wingless pony, but one that pegasus could manage fairly easily if they put their mind to it.

"Okay, don't forget this spot, because it might be awhile before we can make it back down this way. Who knows how long it will take to get this situation sorted out, after all?" Draft reminded his brother. After committing the location to memory, the grey eyed pegasus kicked off the ground and began pumping his wings, lifting himself back up over the tall trees around him. His older brother followed slowly behind a moment later. "You're going to be able to keep up with me, right Downpour?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just worry about your self," his brother replied with a slight scowl. If Downpour didn't change his attitude soon, Draft had half a mind to do it for him. He simply shook his head in disbelief at his brother's loss of spunk and began heading north once again. At least there was the pleasant feeling that soaring through the open sky gave him to take his mind off of his brother. Draft steadily pumped his wings and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing his long grey mane behind him, each stroke sending him higher into the sky, until he was flying above the clouds. His brother seemed to be keeping up well enough, so Draft decided to just focus on finding his own rhythm and let his mind wander free as they traveled.

Between the gaps in the clouds, Draft could see the terrain far below and it made him wonder how long traveling through the rough mountain pass would have taken for an earth pony or a unicorn. Being born a pegasus, he had a tendency to take his flight for granted and couldn't imagine going through life without ever feeling the freedom that came with wings. It was no wonder that Spark and the others had been so ecstatic when they had first ridden in the sky chariot and yet, that was just a small taste of what it really meant to fly. A smile graced the winged pony's face as he let the happiness of his memories wash over him.

Draft had finally stopped trying to get Downpour to talk, which was just fine with him. Most of his focus was on keeping up with the younger pegasus, who seemed to have decided he wanted to get to their destination as quickly as possible, but there was still a part of his mind arguing with itself about how terrible of a pony he had become. It was actually starting to irritate him more than depress him at that point. Just as he was considering starting a conversation with his brother to make the thoughts stop, Draft beat him to it.

"Hey, I know you're being all morose and what have you, but I just remembered something." Draft looked back at him as he flew, talking the whole time. "Didn't you say that you had a little bit of herb stashed in your bag, because I'm pretty sure that we still have a rolling paper somewhere," Draft told him with a smile. He was right and Downpour had completely forgotten about the herbs. It was the perfect way to improve his mood and he immediately began rooting around in his saddlebag for it. Opening a small pocket that he had added to the inside, his hoof touched the small bud.

"Yes!" Downpour exclaimed. He hadn't meant to shout as loud as he did, but there weren't many things that could compare to finding something amazing that you had forgotten about. It was like a surprise birthday present to his self.

"Ha ha ha, I thought you might have forgotten about that. Let's find a cloud and roll that stuff up," Draft suggested as he slowly dropped down to the cloud cover. The two pegasus landed on a particularly puffy cloud and promptly dropped to their flanks. Draft pulled out a lone rolling paper as his brother passed over, what the younger stallion assumed was, the last of their herb. With a deftness that unicorn ponies could never manage with hooves, Draft produced a medium sized joint. "So, do you still have your flint?"  
"Mhmm, I got it right here," Downpour replied, tossing the rectangular stone over to his brother. Draft dug through his bag until he came up with another paper and with a flick of his wrist, he lit it on fire. A few puffs later and the joint was burning beautifully for him. Exhaling a very large cloud of smoke, Draft held the joint out to his surly older brother, who snatched it up and proceeded to take a long, greedy drag from it.

"Oh, now that's just amazing," Downpour said, his words accompanied by a long trail of smoke that rose slowly above his upturned face. A smile crawled across his tattooed visage, the first one that Draft could remember seeing all day, as he fell onto his back with a contented sigh. Draft snatched the joint back from his brothers limp hoof before he could accidental drop it through the cloud and took another drag himself.

"Yup, that certainly hits the spot alright," Draft said, dropping onto his back beside his older brother. "So, now do you feel like explaining what had your tail in a bunch earlier or are you still going to pout?" He turned his head to look at the black maned pegasus beside him, who seemed to be unsure of his answer. Draft didn't bother breaking the silence that fell between them; he was going to let his brother open up at his own pace. It wasn't often that the brash pegasus even showed his real emotions, so pressuring him to open up too much might cause him to revert back into his sullen mood.

"It, uh…" The words seemed to be hard for Downpour to find, but unlike him, Draft didn't need a zebra glyph to remind him to be patient. "I'm just, err, I mean… I'm a bad pony Draft," Downpour finally said. "I've killed griffons _and_ ponies now. When I close my eyes, I see their faces and when I open them, I can see blood on my hooves." A pained expression crossed Downpour's face as he forced the words out. "I know I was only trying to survive, but there's this voice in my head that keeps telling me I did wrong. A part of me knows that I should have tried harder to find a way through the struggles that wouldn't have ended their lives."

"You did what you thought you had to at the time," Draft replied, trying his best to console his tormented sibling.

"That's exactly what I told myself, but it's just a lame excuse. The truth is that the voice is right," Downpour sighed. Tears began forming in his blue eyes as he continued, the emotional pain he felt finally spilling down his face. "What I did was unforgivable and I don't know how I can keep living with myself anymore." Draft heard his words, but had no idea how to respond. He would have expected this reaction from Nature Spark, but to see his brother, his abrasive and carefree brother, being crushed under the weight of his own actions left the grey pegasus speechless. "For awhile I thought that saving Equestria was enough to wash the stain from my soul, but now I'm not so sure. How can I redeem myself from the deaths I caused?" Downpour stared into Draft's eyes, as if he expected him to have a suitable answer.

"I-I-I really don't know Downpour," his little brother replied. Draft wished he did, he wished that he could tell his older brother something that would help ease the troubled stallion's conscience, but sometimes there was nothing you could do to help the ones you cared for. This was one such time.

"It's funny, I remember back in Canterlot I told Spark that I was prepared to live with what I had done," Downpour admitted, "but I don't think the full weight of my actions had hit me yet. Now that I've had more time to think, it seems insurmountable to even try to go on." Draft passed the joint, which had nearly gone out during their conversation, back to his brother. After taking a drag, Downpour resumed speaking. "How about you? How are you holding up now that you've ended a life? Has it hit you yet, the fact that one of them may have had a family and that they all had hopes and plans for their futures?"

"To be honest, I've been trying not to think about it," Draft replied.

"Well, let me know if you come up with an answer," Downpour chuckled humorlessly. "I'd love to hear it." Neither of them spoke after that. Instead, they sat upon the cloud and finished smoking as silence filled the air around them once again. Downpour didn't even try to wipe away his tears and Draft didn't try consoling him anymore. There was nothing either of them could do, except to keep moving forward with their mission and hope that one day they could be forgiven for their crimes.

The clouds passed by swiftly as the brothers flew over the frosty mountains that divided Equestria from the Crystal Empire, but Downpour hardly even noticed. Even the icy wind that blew across his face went unobserved by the pegasus. The cold feeling that gripped his heart was far more difficult to ignore however. The talk with his younger brother had done nothing to alleviate Downpour's concerns, rather it seemed to have spread his emotional affliction to his sibling and now the two of them flew in mutual depression.

Every push of their wings took them closer to their destination and yet Downpour felt further than ever from salvation. He had stopped trying to push the dark thoughts from his mind; it was an utterly pointless endeavor to even try. Now his conscience ate away at his resolve, tempting him to give up and let the world fall into the very disarray that his own mind had. The only thing that kept him going was his brother flying steadily beside him and the thought of Strata, the hippogriff he loved. She had told him on their way to Canterlot that she could never hold what he had done against him. She had even told him of her own personal torment and now he could truly appreciate how she felt. Maybe if he was with Strata, she could talk him through his own problems, but they were miles apart and weeks from seeing each other again.

Downpour was so absorbed in his own self-loathing that he didn't notice the heavy cloud cover that had settled in around him. A shout from his brother snapped him back into reality, but it was already too late. They were flying blind within moments.

"For the love of Luna, where the hay did all these clouds come from?" Downpour questioned as he slowly made his way forward through the thick storm clouds as ice began to form across his hide and feathers. In mere moments he was shivering from head to hoof. "Draft, where are you at?"

"I'm over here," Draft's muffled voice called out to him from somewhere in the middle of the gathering storm. It was hard to tell exactly which direction the shout had come from, but Downpour began flying in the general direction. It had begun to snow before he had made it over to his younger sibling, who was shivering just as hard as he was. Once they had met up, the pegasus started to raise themselves above the billowing clouds where they could see more clearly.

"Well, that was very stupid of us," Downpour commented.

"Yeah, I guess that's what we get for acting so whiny and depressed while we're flying," Draft agreed. Downpour spun in a slow circle, surveying the sky around them. The storm was one of the largest he had ever seen and it had accumulated astonishingly quickly. They were going to need a shelter soon or face freezing to death in a blizzard.

"Shit, this storm is huge. I must have really been out of it not to have noticed sooner," Downpour said. "We're going to have to land somewhere sheltered while we still have the chance. Before long I think there's going to be so much wind and snow that we'd get lost and die trying to move on the ground." Draft nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Should we try to get all of the way across the mountains first though?" Draft asked. "I don't really like the idea of spending the night in a cave where wild animals might wander in on us." He had a good point, even if flying in a storm was dangerous, it was still far better than being attacked by whatever fearsome creatures made their homes in the rocky mountain range.

"Mhmm, that'd probably be for the best," Downpour replied as they started traveling once more. "Just stay close by, because I don't want to have to go looking for you again." Draft nodded in agreement and they flew through the storm together.

"I can't even tell if we've made it over the damn mountains from up here," Draft huffed as he turned toward his brother, who seemed to be having as hard of a time seeing through the driving wind as he was. The snow was pouring out of the sky around them and Draft was beginning to lose feeling in his extremities as a result. "W-we need to find s-some shelter soon. If I get much c-colder I think my wings are going to lock up," Draft said through chattering teeth. Every second they flew through the icy air he lost more body heat. Even the cloak wrapped tightly around him and the thick boots over his hooves did little to stop the warmth from leeching out of his skin.

"Alright, let's dive down there and see if we can find a cave or something," Downpour suggested. "Just be very careful, I've never seen a blizzard this bad before." It was true; the storm around them had developed remarkably quickly and had come seemingly from out of thin air. Draft only hoped that this storm was a rare weather exception and not the rule in the Crystal Empire, otherwise he and his brother might not be able to finish their quest.

As soon as they had dropped below the cloud cover Draft was coated with a thick layer of snow. It clung to his mane, tail and wherever his hide was showing through. He could even see ice crystals forming on his eyelashes. They tried to find their way to the ground, but the freezing wind kicked around so much snow that pure whiteness was all that they could see and it became very disorienting in the changing winds.

"Downpour, are you still there?" Draft called out the question into the snow storm, but an answer didn't come from his older sibling. From somewhere high above, the pegasus heard a ghastly wail on the wind, at least he thought it was high above.

"Draft!" he heard his brother's voice call back to him, but it was faint over the sound of the wind. Draft called out again and his brother responded. They continued calling back and forth while they made their way to each other. "Draft!" Downpour called to him for the last time before they saw one another.

"Sweet Celestia, Downpour, I thought we were doomed there for a min-" The wail rose up once more, cutting off Draft's words as it swirled around them on the wind. The brothers glanced upward in mutual unease.

"What the buck is that sound?" Downpour asked. "I've been hearing it every so often since this Celestia damned storm started." His brother's words triggered a memory for Draft and he realized what the sound might be, but it only made him dislike the snow storm more.

"Downpour, do you remember the story of Hearth's Warming Eve?" he asked his older brother as he glanced around himself.

"Well yeah, who doesn't? The head pegasus, earth pony and unicorn all got trapped in a blizzard because of Windigos feeding off of their hate for each other," Downpour replied. A look of frightened realization crossed his face as soon as he had finished speaking. "You think that's what this is? I don't hate you though, honestly."

"I know… I don't think they're feeding off of our hate for each other right now," Draft replied in a solemn tone. At the sound of another wail both pegasus looked around nervously into the storm surrounding them.

"Okay, so why are they creating this storm and what the hay are they feeding on?" Downpour questioned.

"I think that they're feeding off of the hate we have for ourselves," Draft replied. It looked as if his brother was going to argue the fact, but instead Downpour's mouth simply hung open in disbelief.

"I, err, you're, oh buck me…" Downpour's arguments were blown away with the bone chilling wind. "I think you're right and if we don't find shelter soon, I'm pretty sure we won't live to see tomorrow," Downpour replied. The next wail that carried on the wind sounded much closer than before.

"Let's get to the ground, fast!" Draft shouted. The two brothers grabbed one another by the hoof and launched themselves down towards the ground, caring less about flying blind and more about being prey to the Windigos up above.

The Windigo involvement explained why they hadn't noticed the storm until it was right on top of them and also why it was so severe. It didn't explain where the Windigos had come from though. Draft assumed that they must have made a home in the mountains sometime after the first Hearth's Warming Eve, but he couldn't be sure. He had no doubt that Star would have known if she was with them, but he just wasn't as book smart as the studious unicorn. Before Draft knew what was going on, he and Downpour crashed head first into a snow drift. It wasn't the best landing he had ever made by far, but he was just overjoyed to have his hooves on semi-solid ground.

"Come on!" Downpour yelled at him as they began tromping through the piled up snow. There had to be a cave or outcropping of rocks somewhere, at least Draft hoped that there was. If not, then they would surely succumb to the elements.

Downpour wasn't sure how long they had been walking or where they even were. In fact the only thing he was sure of, was that it was becoming difficult to keep his eyes open and he couldn't feel anything below his knees. Three times he fell to the ground and Draft had fallen a couple times as well. They hadn't seen anyplace to get out of the storm and it was becoming more and more difficult to see anything at all in the swirling white winds.

"Do you see anything yet?" Downpour asked his younger brother with the loudest voice he could muster, which wasn't very loud at all.

"I can barely see anything, Downpour," Draft replied quietly. Every step that they took sapped heat and energy from their bodies and the bluish pegasus was beginning to fear that he wouldn't make it out of the blizzard.

"We, we got to, uh…" It was difficult for Downpour to even move his mouth and talk at that point. It felt as if his lips were frozen in place and when he tried to move them around, they wouldn't budge. As he ducked his head and tried to push himself harder, the pegasus caught sight of his own hooves, which were actually beginning to freeze. There was a three inch thick sheet of ice creeping up his fetlock and expanding quickly. "Draft, I don't, uh, I can't do it." He collapsed to the ground beside his little brother, who wasn't really that little anymore, and felt something inside himself give out.

His own self hate had brought the storm down on them and now it was going to get them both killed, unless he sent his brother away. It was his fault that they were in this mess to begin with and Downpour couldn't help but hate himself even more for it. He heard the blizzard beasts cry out above him as the frozen wind swirled around before his eyes. Draft didn't have as much hate for himself as Downpour did, so there was a chance the grey pegasus could make it through the storm while the Windigos fed on him. It was the only way for the mission to be completed in the older stallion's eyes.

"Downpour, you have to get, uh, up," Draft said as he strained to lift his older brother back to his hooves. No matter how hard he pulled and strained the stocky pegasus wouldn't move for him though.

"No, Draft, I can't do it…" Downpour huffed. His eyelids felt heavy as he spoke and his entire body felt numb. It was kind of pleasant actually; he didn't feel the sting of the ice on his coat anymore or the bitter bite of the wind on his face. "It's my fault we're dying out here… the only way, uh, only way you'll make it… is to leave me…" It took what little strength Downpour had left just to force the words out of his mouth. He could hear Draft screaming something at him as he closed his eyes, but it sounded far away and unimportant.

"Downpour… bro, wake the hay up!" Draft screamed. His shouts were accompanied by slaps to his brother's tattooed face, but it did no good. "Oh buck, oh no…" He tried pulling on his brother, but only made it a few yards before the snow bunched up around Downpour's unconscious form too much to get through. He needed to make the job easier or he'd never make it. Draft dropped his saddlebags to the ground and started tossing every unnecessary object out of them to reduce weight. His hoof paused for a moment, hovering above his wing blades, before he gritted his teeth and tossed the metal weapon to the snow beside him. "You owe me one, Downpour…"

Soon Draft had managed to empty the useless junk from both of their bags and had switched everything important into his own. Then he used the sharpened blade of his sword to cut his brother's bag into strips of tough material, which he tied around the stocky pegasus to use as straps to make pulling him around easier. As he knotted the last length of 'rope', Draft noticed the ice that had already spread over his older brother's knees. If they didn't find shelter and warmth soon, then Downpour was going to freeze to death, all because of the Windigos. Draft cursed the creatures above as he began once again to pull his brother across the frozen ground.

Even with the extra leverage he got from his makeshift harness, Draft's progress was achingly slow as he pulled and strained with the dead weight of his sibling, who had ice covering all four legs. Draft flapped his wings and dug his hooves into the snow to gain traction, but he still fell to the ground several times during his struggle. His muscles ached, his grey eyes burned and he wanted nothing more than to give up and sleep right then, but there were numerous ponies counting on them and he kept pushing himself forward. Every step he convinced himself that salvation was just out of sight, that shelter was up ahead and finally he was proven right. There was a small cave in the cliff to his left and he headed for it with a renewed vigor at the thought of safety.

Once inside, Draft began to shove the snow that had blown into the cave into a pile at the entrance. It helped keep some of the biting wind out. It was painstakingly slow work and his hooves were numb and hard to move, but eventually he accomplished the task. The pegasus laid his brother on the partially cleared dirt floor and saw that ice had already covered most of Downpour's body. He needed a fire immediately, so he dug the flint out of his bag, but there wasn't much to burn. A search through the cave yielded a few scraggly plants and a couple small twigs, but nothing that would sustain a fire for long. "What am I going to do?" he asked himself in desperation.

Draft realized that his only hope was to burn the extra cloak he had brought and the cut up saddlebag he had pulled his brother with as well. Along with the little bit of brush, he could get a very small fire going for maybe twenty minutes, but it didn't seem long enough to make a difference. It was the only option that he had to choose from though. Piling up the brush first, Draft struck the flint above it a few times before finally producing a small flame. Slowly he began to feed the fire everything that was burnable, aside from the two cloaks around his brother, the one around himself, their boots and the one saddlebag that held their food and medicine. He had even dumped out the bits they had brought with them.

The small flame wasn't much to look at, but after hours in the snow, it felt amazing, like when Draft had first seen the princesses in all of their regal beauty. The heat melted away a little bit of the ice coating his brother, but it wasn't much. Before long he had run out of stuff to burn and the fire died down, leaving them dark and cold once again. Fearing their deaths, the shivering stallion embraced his brother for body warmth and covered the both of them up in the cloaks. He could feel what little warmth he had absorbed being leeched out of his body as he began to weep. "Please, Downpour, don't die on me… I…" He tried to hold back the tears that were crystallizing on his face as he finished saying, "I don't think I can make it without you."

Draft hugged his brother tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. He had tried his best, and had done everything in his power to save them, but the Windigos had won. As the grey pegasus felt the last of his body heat leaving him, he closed his eyes and wept quietly. He shed a single tear for himself, another for his friends, one for the princesses, one for his country, one for his failure and the last two were for his brother. The last thing Draft remembered was hearing the soul chilling call of the wicked beasts that had caused their current plight and he cursed their name one last time before passing out.


	24. Welcome to the North

~Chapter 22: Welcome to the North~

Downpour opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar surroundings he was in. As memories of the blizzard washed over him, the pegasus panicked. He shot up out of the bed and looked around the strange room. Draft was nowhere in sight, so he needed to figure out how he'd gotten to where he was. Downpour remembered looking for shelter from the devastating storm and then… nothing. His mind was completely blank after that. As he tried to stand up, the stallion's legs gave out beneath him and he fell to the floor gracelessly, while his wings flapped uselessly on his back.

"Draft, where are you? What happened after the storm?" Downpour asked in a wheezing voice. He couldn't hear any response to his pleas for an explanation. The pegasus began to wonder if his brother had made it out of the mountains alive.

Downpour wasn't sure how long he laid there on the floor of the room, but it was long enough to give him ample time to sort through his thoughts. He could remember trudging through the snow with Draft as the ice slowly spread up his legs. Then he remembered getting very tired and he could swear he had heard his brother calling his name before he fell asleep, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember anything after that point. Downpour was terrified that his brother had died saving him and that he had one more death on his hooves. The Windigos should have killed him instead; after all, he was the one that had drawn them in.

The small, cheerfully decorated room around him began to blur as the tears clouded Downpour's sight. He wasn't even sure where he was at that moment, but the heartbroken pony laid there on the floor and cried silently for everything he had done wrong. Suddenly he heard the sound of a door opening behind his head and the hoofsteps of somepony walking into the room.

"What the hay are you doing on the floor?" his brother asked him and Downpour's heart skipped a beat when he heard the question. Draft was alive. A grin spread across his bluish face as he forced his arms up to wipe the tears away.

"Ha ha, yo-you're alive?" Downpour asked with a teary smile. His younger brother leaned over his face, appearing upside-down from Downpour's perspective, and gave him a confused look.

"Uh, yeah… Why wouldn't I be?" the younger stallion questioned.

"I thought we were dead meat when I started freezing in that blizzard. How did you manage to save us?" Downpour asked him as he tried to force himself to his hooves. All of his straining did nothing to change his position however, so Draft had to help him back up to the bed. Every part of his body felt rubbery and useless.

"Well, after you passed out I thought we were pretty bucked too," Draft acknowledged as he took a seat on the edge of the small bed. "I cut up your saddlebags into straps and dragged you into a cave. Then I burned everything we could live without for warmth, but the fire didn't last long. I wound up blacking out soon after that."

"So how did we get here and for that matter, where exactly are we anyway?" Downpour asked. It wasn't a house that he could remember ever having been in before.

"I finally regained consciousness after the storm had subsided. I'm not sure why the Windigos left, but all the commotion they caused had drawn a pony out to see what was happening," Draft explained. Downpour saw a shiver run down the length of his brother's spine at the memory of the magical creatures. "That's when he found us, huddled together and half dead. That stallion helped the two of us make it back to his home, just over the mountains, in the Crystal Kingdom." Well, Downpour thought, at least they had made it across the border.

"So, when do I get to meet our mysterious savior?" he asked his younger brother after he had heard the story.

"Umm, he needed to buy some stuff, so he went to town. I think he'll be back in just a couple hours," Draft said as he hopped off of the bed and stretched out before turning back to face his brother. "For now, I think you should rest. I can't imagine that you're feeling that good after our ordeal, but I can wake you when he gets back if you want."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Downpour said as his brother turned to leave. "Wait, what's his name. I'd at least like to know that."

"Oh, he told me to call him Ursa," Draft replied.

"Ursa? That's a strange name for a pony," Downpour commented. Draft shot him a smile and shook his head as he stepped out of the room.

"I think it'll make more sense when you meet him," the younger stallion replied. That seemed a little foreboding to Downpour, but he decided to shrug it off, at least until he could get some more rest. Then he could meet their oddly named rescuer. The exhausted pegasus closed his eyes once more and fell into a nightmarish sleep.

A sigh of relief escaped Draft's lips as he shut the bedroom door behind him. They had come very close to dying back in the mountains and he was still shaken up from the event. His brother had been in terrible shape when they had first made it back to Ursa's house and most of the night it seemed as if he would never wake up. Draft wasn't sure what he would have done if his brother hadn't made it. As much as his older sibling annoyed him, Downpour was still the one pony that he knew would always have his back, in any situation. Or he used to be; the way his brother had been acting yesterday showed that even the bullheaded pegasus was beginning to wear down from their constant struggles.

There was a comfy looking couch lining one wall of the small living room and Draft decided it was as good of a time as any to get off of his hooves for awhile. As he dropped his flank onto the striped cushions, he noticed a portrait of Ursa, standing next to another stallion that Draft assumed was his brother, although the two looked nothing alike. In fact, the only similarity he could see was the fact that the two of them were both earth ponies of fairly tall stature.

Ursa was a very large earth pony, tall and muscular, with a shaggy blue mane and tail. His emerald green hide was also fairly thick with fur, most likely a result of his family living near the freezing mountains for many generations. He sported eyes that were also a very charming shade of green. His cutie mark was a leaf of some sort; Draft hadn't gotten a very good look at it yet, because it always seemed rude to him, staring at somepony's flank without their permission. The pegasus had talked to Ursa for a couple hours throughout the night and had learned a little of the green pony's family history.

The other stallion in the painting was slightly shorter and of a much slimmer build. He was a dark green shade with a lighter green mane that he wore short, accentuating his long neck. His eyes appeared to be a light blue, bordering on grey. They were both facing forward, so Draft had no clue as to what the stallion's cutie mark may have been, but he wasn't a bad looking stallion by any means. They appeared to be quite happy in the portrait, unlike the only picture that he and Downpour had ever had done with their mother. They had been unhappy with the situation and it had shown through in the picture.

Draft was all set to relax, until his stomach started rumbling from hunger, then he realized he hadn't eaten that morning.

"I wonder what I have for food in my bag," he said aloud, before realizing that he was indulging in Spark's habit of talking to himself. That was something that Draft didn't want to start doing, it made other ponies think you were a little crazy and that was fine for the unicorn, because he was a little strange, but Draft liked to think he was saner than his flightless friend. With a small groan, the pegasus forced his body off of the striped couch and made his way over to his belongings, which he had left near the door to the room his brother was sleeping in.

As he sifted through the over packed bag, Draft came across a small cloth sack that he hadn't bothered opening before. It wasn't his, so it must have been his brother's. Curious as to what was inside; he opened it up and found it contained extra Crystal Empire bits. For some reason, Downpour had seen fit to throw a few into the bag. Draft dropped it back down with a shrug. It was the only money they had now, but there wasn't much, so it wouldn't last them very long. Maybe they could buy some food before they left for the capitol though.

Eventually the starving pegasus found what he was searching for, in the form of a slightly bruised apple. It seemed as if most of their provisions had either gone bad or were close to it, but there were a few pieces of fruit still intact and some oats that hadn't quite molded yet. Not the best tasting of meals, but it was sustenance and they couldn't afford any better at the moment. Draft stood back up to his full height as he took a bite from the softened fruit. At least it tasted okay, he thought, as he wandered back over to his spot on the living room couch.

The apple wasn't great, but it satisfied Draft's hunger and as he ate, he took time to admire the quaint home in which he was a guest. It was built in a similar style to Equestrian homes and had the same sort of charm that he was used to seeing. The walls were a light beige color, nothing fancy, and the hardwood floors were covered with brown rugs in the most walked upon areas. The only real difference between this home and an equestrian one was the location, but it could have been the fact that it was built on the very edge of the Crystal Empire. There was a chance that the architectural style would change the closer they got to the capitol.

After finishing with his breakfast, Draft began walking around the house, looking for a recycling bin. He found it in the kitchen near a counter that was occupied by a hoof operated grain mill, just the sort of device he expected in a country home. After disposing of the apple core, the grey pegasus decided to go outside and take in the view of the property. The previous night he had been far to distracted to take a good look around. Draft headed out the front door, pausing briefly to throw on his cloak and boots in case there happened to be a cold breeze, and was greeted with the sight of lush green fields sprawling out in every direction.

A log fence ran the border of the property line, all forty acres of it. Draft rotated in place, taking in the sight of the open country before him and was amazed by the vast territory, part of which was running up to the mountains behind the house. There seemed to be a number of acres that contained timber and the pegasus reasoned that it was the timber that Ursa made his living from. He imagined it was a very peaceful place to live, as the only sound that he could hear was the wind blowing through the grass. In the warmer months he imagined that birdsong would have broken the silence, but now that it was the beginning of winter, all the birds had left the area.

Although there was a layer of clouds across the sky, it wasn't as cold as Draft had assumed it would be, probably because they had passed over the mountains. He decided to lie down on the grass while he waited for Ursa to return from town. There was a calming tranquility as he felt the breeze run along his body, gently caressing his face as he let out a contented sigh and closed his eyes. It may not have held the excitement of Los Pegasus, but the stallion had half a mind to move somewhere resembling Ursa's place instead, after him and his brother finished their job of course.

The bed was soaked in sweat when Downpour finally woke from his twisted nightmares. He remembered vague scenes of death and ice, intermingled with screams and failure. It was probably the worst sleep he had gotten in his life, but it would have to do for awhile, because there was no way he was going back to bed after that. His blue eyes focused on the ceiling above him as he took deep breaths and steadied his racing heart. He felt hot and sticky, so when the stallion eventually calmed down, his mind had set on bathing. Somewhere nearby there had to be source of running water and preferably a nice meal. He ran a hoof along his forehead, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated as he slept and then he got to unsteady hooves and made his way out the bedroom door.

"Draft?" Downpour called out as he shuffled his way into the main area of the house, but there was no reply from his younger brother. The house appeared to be empty except for him. "Draft, where the hay are you?" There was still no answer, so the shaky pegasus forced his legs to carry him to a couch where he could sit and rest. The fact that his legs and wings felt like lead was a little unsettling for the stocky pony and he hoped that there wasn't any permanent damage from the prolonged exposure to ice. Although it would probably be considered some sort of divine justice for what he had done, he concluded, before banishing the depressing idea to the back of his mind once again. It was those kinds of self depreciating thoughts that had gotten him in his current position in the first place.

During the course of his thinking, Downpour caught sight of his brother's saddlebags and a rumbling in his stomach forced him to walk over to them and find something to eat. His shaky legs gave out halfway to his goal and he wound up crawling the rest of the distance, using his wings as oars to move himself along, happy that nopony was there to see his pathetic display. Throwing open the bag, he rummaged around until he grasped an apple. It didn't look very appetizing, but there wasn't much else for him to pick from, so he took a hesitant bite. Although it was badly bruised, the fruit was still juicy and quelled his hunger a bit. The pegasus wound up finishing the entire thing, core and all, before dragging himself back to the couch.

Crawling around was not only embarrassing, but also very exhausting for the bluish-grey pegasus and by the time Downpour had hauled himself back onto the couch, he was panting from the effort. The bath would have to wait until he had more energy, he decided as he sprawled out on the soft cushions. A few minutes after laying down, his brother walked through the front door with a smile on his face.

"Hey, you got out of bed," Draft said, taking a seat in the only chair in the room. "Does that mean you're feeling better?"

"Actually, I feel like shit, but I wasn't sleeping very well anyway," Downpour sighed.

"Oh, well did you want something to eat?" his brother asked.

"No, I already got myself some food," Downpour replied, although the single apple hadn't really rid him of his hunger. "I could use a bath though. Is there a stream or anything around here?"

"No stream, but Ursa has a well and a bathtub, so I can run you a bath if you want," his brother told him, with a pitying smile that Downpour didn't care for. It wasn't as if he could manage the task by himself in his current state though.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate it," Downpour answered reluctantly, before forcing his body into an upright position on the couch.

"Alright, just give me a couple minutes and it'll be ready," his younger brother replied.

"Thanks," Downpour called out after his sibling, who was already heading into the bathroom to run the water. His head hit the striped couch cushion with a sigh as he waited for his brother's return. Downpour's legs seemed to be regaining some of their feeling, but he was still a long way away from being able to make the journey to the capitol. He hoped that his legs would be working again by the next day; otherwise he might have to send his brother alone, because they couldn't afford to delay their meeting.

The sound of his constant hoofsteps against the wooden floor filled the house as Draft paced back and forth in boredom. His brother was in the middle of bathing and there wasn't much for him to do as he waited. The pegasus had admired every room in the house, except for Ursa's bedroom of course, and had also sorted through their belongings a few times searching for herbs to smoke. Coming up empty hoofed for the third time, he had decided to pace away his nervous energy, lest he be tempted to break into one of the harder drugs that were resting at the bottom of his saddlebag. Draft had ingested his share of magical concoctions Spark had mixed up and knew from experience that they would certainly remove any boredom he had, but being in that state wouldn't make the best impression with their host, should he return.

"Bah, can this day get any duller?"

"Are you talking to yourself?" Downpour asked as he closed the bathroom door behind him. Draft facehoofed as he ceased his pacing and faced his brother.

"Not really, so are you feeling any better now?" he asked, changing the subject away from his own actions. Downpour was bracing himself against a wall, but seemed to be in a better mood as he answered.

"Yeah actually, my legs still feel like rubber," Downpour replied, "but I think they'll be back in working order by tomorrow and my wings seem to be doing well." That was the best news that Draft had heard all day, in fact, it was basically the only news he had heard all day. "Is, uh, Ursa back yet?"

"I'm afraid not. I don't know what's keeping him, but I'm sure he'll be back anytime," Draft told his brother.

"Good, I want to thank him for saving our flanks and letting us stay here," Downpour replied. "It's nice to see that this country has nice ponies like Equestria." Draft was saving that judgment for after he had met more than one pony in the country, but his brother was right; Ursa did seem genuinely nice. "What have you been up to all day?"

"Ugh, nothing at all. There isn't a damn thing for me to do around here," Draft explained as he helped his brother over to the couch. Downpour was pretty heavy, but with a little effort, Draft managed to help the shorter pegasus to his seat. "I walked around the property for awhile, looked for herb to smoke."

"Did you find a-"

"No," Draft replied, cutting off his brother's question.

"Oh, well that's too bad," Downpour huffed. "I guess we could look over Chestnut's notes or something." Draft locked eyes with his brother and shook his head slowly.

"I, uh, had to burn it to keep warm in the cave," Draft reluctantly explained. Downpour opened his mouth to say something, but Draft cut him off before he got a single word out. "I had no choice, it was that or we freeze to death."

"Hmm, I guess I can't really argue with that logic, but that certainly hinders us a bit," Downpour commented. "Do you think that Ursa can help us out?"

"Probably, he told me that he's lived here in the country his entire life, so I'm sure he knows a thing or two about traveling through this area. Speak of Discord," Draft said as he saw Ursa through the front window, walking up the dirt path with saddlebags packed full of whatever it was he had gone into town for. His older brother craned his neck around so that he could see out the window as well.

"Holy hay! He's a big bucker isn't he?" Downpour asked, his mouth hanging open in awe. Draft knew the feeling already. That ganger, Stone, was the only stallion that Draft had ever seen who was larger than Ursa and only in thickness, not height, but Downpour hadn't been with him for that unfortunate encounter, so Ursa was a startling sight to behold. "What? Was his dad a bear or something?"

"I highly doubt it… although that might explain the name Ursa. Maybe you should ask him when he comes in," Draft suggested with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, and wind up getting pummeled," Downpour replied. "No thanks." The door opened as soon as the bluish colored pegasus finished speaking and Ursa walked in, shrugging off his fully burdened saddlebags with a groan.

"Those things were beginning to get a bit heavy," the large earth pony said. His voice was deep and he had a slight accent when he pronounced his vowels, but it wasn't very noticeable. "I picked up a bunch of different kinds of food because I didn't know what you two liked. There's a little of everything."

"Sweet, we'll eat anything." Draft's mouth began watering as he spoke. It had been a few hours since he had eaten that apple and days since he'd had a hearty, home cooked meal. There were vegetables, some fruits and even a couple of pastries that he could see poking out of the bags. It all looked fresh and delicious, although Draft would have been perfectly content with one of the two after the food he'd been eating lately.

"Hello, sir, my name's Downpour. I just wanted to thank you for saving my brother and I. We would have been dead if it wasn't for you." Draft's brother extended a hoof, but Ursa wrapper him up in a hug instead, lifting him off of the couch as he did, much to the surprise of the bluish pegasus.

"Nice to formally meet you, Downpour, but what's with all of this 'sir' talk? I'm not much older than you two," Ursa laughed as he dropped Downpour back onto the couch with a dull thud.

"Really, how old are you? Because I'm twenty and Draft is only nineteen," Downpour replied as he looked up at the large, green stallion with a confused expression.

"I'm twenty five," Ursa told him. That was an unexpected answer. The bigger stallion looked like he was at least in his early thirties, due to his large stature and grizzled mane. The revelation was as surprising to Draft as it was to his brother.

"Oh, I wouldn't have guessed that," Downpour replied. Ursa stood silent for a moment before breaking into a hardy laugh, a deep sound that came from deep in the stallion's gut. Draft couldn't help but join in with his own chuckles and soon the three of them were all having a good laugh.

"Well, that's a surprise. Thanks again for saving us though," Draft said after he had caught his breath. Ursa shrugged his broad shoulders before responding with a smile.

"Don't mention it, so are you two ready to eat?" the crystal pony asked. "There's plenty to choose from." Ursa walked over to his bags and hefted them across his back before heading into the kitchen, while Draft helped his brother follow behind. The grey pegasus couldn't help but admire their host's generosity to ponies he had only just met.

"Alright, let's dig in," Ursa told the brothers as he set the last plate onto the dining table. Downpour couldn't believe how much food was sitting in front of him. There were a variety of fruits and vegetable dishes, along with steaming pies and even a large chocolate cake. It was a literal buffet of foods before his blue eyes and he had to shut his mouth to keep from drooling on the table cloth. The smells alone had been enough to make his mouth water in anticipation.

"Oh wow, this looks and smells so good," Downpour fawned over their hosts cooking as he began piling heaps of hot food onto his plate. A glance to his brother revealed Draft to be doing the same thing and soon they both had a little bit of every dish piled high in front of them.

"Mmm, sweet Celestia, you are a damn good cook, Ursa," Draft acknowledged over a mouthful of cornbread. "I don't think I've eaten this good since we met Axel." One of the ponies his brother had met while he had been heading to or from the White Tail Woods, who had made the sky chariot if Downpour wasn't mistaken. Draft and the others certainly seemed to have had a much better week than he had during that time.

"It's nice to have somepony to cook for again. Living by myself out here for so many years, well, you don't get the chance to cook many big meals," Ursa shrugged as he grinned over his plate. "The food would all go to waste, ha ha ha." It seemed to Downpour though, that the amount Ursa could eat should have been enough to warrant a good sized meal, but to his surprise the large stallion didn't seem to eat much more than he did. That may have been because the pegasus were both pretty famished though.

"So, my brother and I were wondering if you might be willing to help us out," Downpour told him, trying his best not to let his mouthful of carrots fall out. It was probably rude to be talking with his mouth stuffed with food, but everything tasted far too good to stop eating and they had some important topics to talk about.

"Uh, I'll certainly help if I can," Ursa replied.

"Great!" Downpour exclaimed. "You see, we used to have a rough guide about surviving in this country and it had some basic maps and such, but my brother had to burn it to keep us alive." Downpour briefly paused to consider if burning a survival guide to stay alive was ironic or just aggravating. "Anyway, if you wouldn't mind helping us, we could really use another one." Draft nodded his head in agreement, far too absorbed in the act of shoving food into his mouth to verbally respond.

"Hmm," Ursa mumbled. The stallion grew quite for a few minutes while he pondered their request and Downpour thought that he may have asked too much of their new friend, until he saw a smile stretch across their host's green face. "I have a better idea," Ursa told them. "How about I just travel with you both? That way I can give you first hoof advice and it'll get me off of this property for a week or two." It was certainly a noble gesture, but Downpour didn't want to put another pony at risk for their mission, especially when that pony wasn't even a part of Equestria.

"Oh no, I couldn't ask you to do that. We have a, uh, tendency to get into rough situations and the last thing I would want is for you to get injured on our account," Downpour stated sincerely.

"I've already made up my mind to help you two out and besides, I can take care of myself pretty well," Ursa replied. His size alone made the pegasus inclined to believe him, but it still didn't sit right with Downpour. He grudgingly nodded his head in acceptance though.

"Okay, if you insist," Downpour relented. "I suppose we could use all of the help we can get, but if it gets to be dangerous then I have no problem ditching you and flying the rest of the way with my brother." Not that he was in any condition to fly at the moment.

"Of course, it's your quest after all," Ursa agreed.

"Cool, so Ursa's coming with us?" Draft's question was followed by a long burp which he cut off by slamming a hoof over his mouth. "Excuse me," he said in a muffled voice. Ursa just laughed and let out his own powerful belch, one so deep it almost sounded like a bear growling.

"Yeah, I guess he is," Downpour replied with a smirk as he began eating once again. The rest of the meal was spent with each of the stallions too busy filling their faces to talk and by the end of it, almost every last scrap had been eaten. The three ponies groaned with full stomachs as they pushed themselves away from the messy table.

A pinecone with two pine branches around it; of course that was Ursa's cutie mark, Draft thought as he stared with a craned neck. His special talent was probably that he could kick a tree straight out of the ground. Raising his eyes away from the stallion's flank, he noticed Ursa looking at him. Draft quickly turned away and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Ahem, so now that we have the mess cleaned up, what should we do next?" Draft asked. The three stallions each took a seat in the cozy living room. Draft hadn't even needed to help support his brother this time, so it was safe to assume that Downpour was gaining back his strength and they might be able to head out in the morning after all.

"Good question. I guess we'll need to stock up on supplies, but I don't think I can make a trip into town just yet. Do you two want to take care of all that while I wait here?" Downpour asked over a yawn. It seemed that just moving around the house had begun to wear the pegasus out. "Or should we just stop by on our way through in the morning?"

"No, the town is a ways west of here and we'll be heading north tomorrow. I have all of the food we should need, but I'm sure that you'll want some warm clothes and medical supplies," Ursa told them as he shifted around on the couch next to Draft.

"Mhmm, plus I'd kind of like to buy a new weapon. I had to drop mine so that I could drag Downpour to that cave yesterday," Draft explained. It was something that he was really unhappy about, but sometimes you had to make sacrifices for your family.

"There's not a local blacksmith in Equonton, but we might be able to find something. It's worth a shot anyway," the green stallion replied with a shrug. Draft sighed. He should have known it wouldn't be easy to replace. If it weren't for the Windigos, the pegasus would have gone back into the mountains and retrieved his own wing blades, but even if he wasn't feeling any hate at the moment, the risk was still too great.

"I guess we'll just have to see," Draft replied and then looked over to his brother and asked, "Are you sure that you'll be okay by yourself while we're gone?"

"Yeah, I'm not a helpless foal. I'm pretty sure I can manage," Downpour answered haughtily. He was starting to return to his old, disagreeable self.

"I didn't mean it like that. We just might be gone until after dark, so I wanted to make sure that you weren't in pain or anything," Draft explained.

"No, I'll be fine. You two should get going before it gets too late though," Downpour replied in a more level tone. "I wouldn't want all the shops to be closed before you get there." He made a good point, Draft thought, getting to his hooves with a grunt. Ursa stood up next to him and stretched out his long legs, preparing himself to make another trip into town. Draft hoped that he didn't mind doing all of this for them; Ursa seemed to be perfectly fine with it, but you could never really tell how ponies were feeling on the inside.

"Yup, Downpour's right. We should get a move on before it gets dark and the timberwolves start coming out, looking for a snack." Ursa spoke about it nonchalantly, but it made Draft a bit disconcerted to hear.

"Timberwolves?" Draft questioned. "Maybe it's best if you stay indoors while we're gone, brother."

"I'm sure I'd be fine, but I wouldn't want to worry you, Draft," his older sibling replied, with a less than convincing smile, "so I suppose I'll keep to the house." It was a good idea, considering Downpour still couldn't fly very well. As Draft turned to leave with Ursa, he shot a glance back at his brother, who was already closing his eyes.

At the sound of the front door closing, Downpour opened his deep blue eyes. There were more important things for him to do than sleep, such as getting back into a state where he could travel without being a burden. For the past two days the pegasus had been forced to rely on his younger brother and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. With his mind set on changing that fact, Downpour forced his hooves under him and pushed his body off of the couch. He stumbled once, but managed to make it into the center of the living room, his breath already becoming ragged and shallow.

With a distinct lack of grace, Downpour dropped onto his stomach and spread his wings out to full length. Normally he could easily push himself off of the ground with his wingtips, but as he strained and grunted, the exhausted stallion realized that today it was going to be a difficult task. Finally, as sweat beaded all along his body, Downpour managed to complete one full repetition of lifting off of the ground and lowering back down.

"One down," he told himself between gasping breaths. After a few minutes rest, Downpour attempted a second rep. After a long struggle against his own weakened muscles, the stallion forced his body up off of the floor again; only to slam back down as his wings gave out from the weight.

"This is going to take awhile." There was no choice in Downpour's mind however. He wouldn't let himself be dead weight for his brother to carry. It was his responsibility to keep Draft safe, not the other way around, so once again he pressed his wings against the hardwood and tried to lift his body. His wings shook, but he clenched his teeth and pushed up from the ground with a grunt.

"Welcome to Equonton!" Ursa exclaimed as he gestured around with one hoof. The town wasn't very big, probably seven smaller than Dodge, but it did have a sort of rustic charm to it, Draft observed. The two stallions walked down the main road of the town, Ursa waving to a few ponies that he knew as they went, and soon arrived at the first store they needed to visit. It was a general store that advertised medical supplies on a sign out front and the green stallion had told Draft that the owner was a friend of his.

The walk to town had been uneventful, but it had given the two plenty of time to talk. Ursa told him a little bit about the town history; founded a number of years ago as a trading point between the larger cities in the Crystal Empire and Equestria. Having lived his whole life in the area, Ursa knew almost everything there was to know about Equonton. Most of his information was useless facts, but listening to him talk had helped pass the time during their trip, so Draft didn't mind.

"Good evening, Azure," Ursa greeted the sky-blue mare that was standing behind the counter as they entered the store.

"Back again so soon, Ursa? And who is your friend? I don't believe I've seen him around here," the mare asked with a subtle wink that he barely registered. Draft extended a hoof to her as he introduced himself.

"I'm Backdraft. I came up here from Dodge, in Equestria." Azure's pink eyes widened in surprise. Draft guessed that she didn't get many out of country ponies coming into her store anymore, most likely because of the unpleasantness that had developed between the two nations.

"Oh my, then that's quite the trip you've made," she commented as she shook his hoof over the counter. "Well, despite what Ursa may have told you, my prices are fair and my products are great." The mare had an infectious smile that showed off bright white teeth as she spoke. Ursa chuckled a few times before defending himself.

"I would never talk bad about you or your store," Ursa assured her. "After all, where else would I be able to buy everything I need, ha ha ha." Azure rolled her eyes in response before Ursa turned and led Draft over to a set of shelves. "Here are the medical supplies. While you grab what we'll need, I'm going to ask Azure if she can keep an eye on my place while we're gone."

"Uh, yeah, I can do that, but Downpour and I don't really have any money to spend." Somewhere in the mountains was a nice pile of bits sitting next to his wing blades though. "So we might not be able to afford everything we need," Draft mentioned sheepishly as he stared down at his hooves.

"I'll buy it, don't worry about a thing. Just grab whatever you think we'll need," Ursa assured him. Before the pegasus had the chance to voice his objections, the emerald stallion had already walked off to speak with his earth pony friend at the front counter. Draft hung his head slightly as he walked along the hardwood floors, examining shelves that held everything from medical bandages to magic poultices. Eventually Draft had grabbed what essentials he thought they may need to use on the trip and brought them to the front of the store, where Ursa was gesturing wildly as he told Azure a story.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt, but I got everything," Draft said as he set his items on the counter and turned to face his large friend. "Are you sure you want to pay for this Ursa? We've made it all this way without a bunch of supplies, so I'm sure we can do without."

"Mhmm, and we both know how that worked out," Ursa replied. Draft cringed as he thought about crossing the Crystal Mountains. "Besides, I have plenty of money since I live by myself, so it's no trouble at all really," the green stallion told him as Azure began tallying up the cost of the supplies.

"Okay, thanks again," Draft replied. "For everything you've done."

"I thought I said not to mention it," Ursa said with a smile that Draft tried to match. It was strange for Draft to have somepony that didn't know him at all treating him and his brother so nicely. It may have been because of all the unfortunate events of the last couple weeks, but it didn't sit right with the pegasus. Still, he wasn't about to argue with somepony that was helping them out, so he stepped back and let Ursa take care of the payment. After that was taken care of, the two stallions headed out to see about buying Draft a new set of wing blades.

"Ten!" Downpour's voice rang out through the house as he dropped from the air onto his hooves and then promptly feel to his side. Every muscle in the stocky pegasus's body was extremely sore, as well as a couple muscles he hadn't realized he possessed, but he managed to hover for ten straight minutes. Normally that would have been something that even a foal could accomplish, but after the stallion's grueling work out, it felt as if he had run a marathon. It proved that he had the fortitude to make the trip ahead of him, even in the condition his body was currently in.

As Downpour walked into the kitchen he caught a glimpse of the sky through one of the windows. Somehow the rest of the day had passed during his self rehabilitation, without him even noticing. As he greedily poured water down his parched throat, Downpour heard the call of a timberwolf off in the distance. It was a lonely sound; a sound filled with longing and hunger. It reminded him of the Windigos call, in the emptiness that it brought to his mind. He shook his head to clear those sad thoughts out of his mind before they could take root again.

After Downpour had finished rehydrating, but before leaving the kitchen, he heard the sound of the front door swinging open with a loud bang! His heart raced as his mind jumped to the frightening conclusion that one of the wolves had broken through and was coming after him. The ridiculous notion was squashed when he heard his little brother's voice calling his name however.

"Where are you at, Downpour?" the younger pegasus asked. "We made it back from town and I want your help packing our junk, you lazy ass."

"I'm coming, so quite whining like a filly," Downpour chided back as he stumbled through the kitchen doorway. "What took you so long?"

"Ugh, we tried three different places, but nopony had any good weapons. We had to give up and leave before it got dark," Draft explained as he began dumping the supplies to the floor.

"Whoa, how did you pay for all of this?" Downpour questioned. "I thought that you tossed our bits."

"I took care of it," Ursa told him, "and before you start. No, I don't mind and I'm not crazy. I just felt like helping you two out." The large pony had come through for them once again and he hardly even knew them, it astounded Downpour to even consider.

"I, uh, don't know wha-, just thanks," Downpour stuttered in surprise, "again." The bluish pegasus wasn't sure what else he could do to show his appreciation for everything.

"You sound like your brother," Ursa chuckled.

"I already told him we wouldn't feel comfortable accepting this," Draft replied, "but he's very insistent and hard to argue with, kind of like someone else I know." Draft's tone had turned sarcastic by the time he was finished speaking, but Downpour feigned ignorance.

"Really? Who?" Downpour asked with his best surprised face and then both of them broke into laughter. "Well, I guess we should get this stuff packed up then. I don't have a saddlebag anymore though."

"I'll carry your share and mine for now. I can't imagine you'd make it very far with a full load anyway," the green stallion stated matter-of-factly, as they sorted through the recently purchased items. Downpour was about to argue, but stopped when he realized, not only would it be pointless, but Ursa could probably carry everything by himself if he had a mind to. Instead he shook his head in disbelief and started to help the other two ponies with the repacking.

"That's the last of it," Draft yawned as he stood up and tossed his bag beside the front door with the flick of a wing. They had divided up the food, medical supplies and everything else evenly between his bags and Ursa's bags. It had taken plenty of pushing and readjusting to fit enough supplies for all three of them, but eventually they had accomplished the important task. "Whew, I wasn't sure that it would all fit for a second there."

"Yeah, that was a bit of a pain in the flank," his brother agreed as he sprawled out on the floor. Downpour hadn't even done that much to help, but Draft couldn't hold it against him. It was a surprise the shorter pony could even walk around so soon after freezing half to death.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm beat. If I don't get to bed soon, then I'm going to be useless tomorrow," Ursa informed the brothers as he rose to his hooves.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to get to bed too," Draft agreed. Downpour yawned his agreement as well. All three of the stallions looked beat and they stall had a long day ahead of them come morning.

"One of you will have to take the couch, unless you plan on sharing a bed," Ursa explained.

"Downpour can have the couch," Draft mumbled. He was far too tired to even think about arguing over who would sleep where. At this point he would be more than happy to sleep on the floor.

"Thanks, well, goodnight," Downpour called to them as he walked to the bedroom, wings flapping slowly just to keep him from falling over.

"Night," Draft mumbled. He turned to their generous host and was about to wish the generous stallion a goodnight when he felt rough lips pressing against his. "What the hay!?" he exclaimed as he jumped back from Ursa with a look somewhere between surprise and terror. His heart hammered erratically a few times before getting back into a quick rhythm.

"I am so sorry about that," Ursa hurriedly replied. "I should have let you make the first move." The pegasus's mouth hung agape with shock as his brain attempted to piece together what had just transpired. "You're just really cute and I thought, well I don't know. I saw you checking out my flank earlier," Ursa said with a perfectly calm voice.

"I was looking at your cutie mark," Draft whispered as loudly as he dared, "I wasn't checking you out. I'm not into stallions like that." It was ridiculous for Ursa to even assume.

"Re-really?" Ursa asked in astonishment. Draft didn't like how surprised the crystal pony sounded. "I could have sworn that you were, well, uh, this is a little embarrassing. I'll just be going to bed now." Ursa sped toward his bedroom and shut the door behind him, leaving Draft to stand around as he tried to process everything that had just occurred.

"Do I really seem like that kind of stallion?" Draft asked himself as he laid down on the couch. Sure, he had never had a steady marefriend for long, but that was only because he hadn't found the right mare yet. A part of him wondered why anypony would think his barn door swung that way and a part of him wondered why he didn't realize that Ursa's did. There was also a very confusing part of his mind that was worried, because the pegasus had actually enjoyed their kiss. "Ugh, I don't need this right now." Draft turned onto his side and did his best to shut out all of his thoughts, but it didn't work well and the conflicted pony had nearly gone crazy over thinking things, before he finally fell into a restless sleep.


	25. Requited

~Chapter 23: Requited~

There was mild soreness in Downpour's wings as he stretched them out, but the pegasus felt much better than he had the previous day. Plenty of rest had worked wonders on his well toned body and he felt as if he could make it through the day's travels without any problems. Slowly the stallion swung his legs off of the bed and got to his hooves with a yawn. Although he was in a hurry to go, Downpour wasn't looking forward to leaving another comfortable bed and sleeping outside again, so he gave one last, longing gaze at the warm blankets before leaving the bedroom.

"Good Morning!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he strolled through the chilly house. Draft opened one tired eye and fixed it on him with distaste. Downpour ignored his brother's surly expression and continued his loud vocals.

"I see somepony's feeling better today," Draft yawned out.

"I am feeling peachy keen today, oh brother of mine," Downpour answered. Draft rolled off of the couch and lay on the ground for a few seconds before getting up to his hooves. "And how did you sleep?" his older brother asked with a smile.

"Fine, I guess," the younger pegasus replied. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before making his way to the bathroom. "Do you want to wake Ursa up?"

"Yeah sure, then you two can make some breakfast and we'll go," Downpour replied. He saw the back of his brother's head nod in agreement as the grey pegasus disappeared into the bathroom. Even if he had said that he slept fine, Downpour had known Draft long enough that he could tell when something was bothering the quiet pegasus, but something was usually bothering his brother, so Downpour chose to ignore it. He figured that if something important was weighing on his brother's mind, Draft would open up about it eventually and if not, then it was his mistake. Downpour walked over to Ursa's bedroom door as he contemplated this and gave it a few knocks to wake the sleeping pony inside. "Ursa it's time to get up and get ready for the day. We've got miles to travel, so hurry your flank up." Through the door Draft could hear the sounds of the stallion shuffling around for a few minutes before the door finally opened to reveal the disheveled face of Ursa. If Downpour were to judge him based on looks, he would have guessed that Ursa wasn't much of a morning pony; the terrible bed-head and reddened eyes gave him a half dead appearance. His irises made there way to Downpour's face with a mildly annoyed expression. "Oh, you don't look so hot. Maybe a shower before we head out, huh?"

Ursa grunted what sounded to Downpour like a 'yes' before ambling into the kitchen where he set about making something hot to drink. Downpour followed him in, hoping that breakfast would be the next task on Ursa's morning routine. The earth pony didn't even seem to register the pegasus watching him from the table as he slowly fumbled his way through brewing a pot of coffee. His eyes were half closed as he grabbed a steaming cup and took a seat at the table opposite of where Downpour had taken a seat. The first gulp of coffee seemed to renew Ursa's energy though and his eyes fully opened.

"Ah, that's much better," the green stallion said with a soft smile. "Good morning, Downpour. How did you sleep last night?"

"Good morning," Downpour replied. "I slept pretty well actually and I'm feeling quite a bit better now, but I wouldn't mind a cup of that coffee. How about you, did you get enough sleep?"

"Please, help yourself," Ursa replied. "And I slept like a log, as always." Downpour got up from the table and walked over to the coffee pot to pour himself a hot cup of the bitter brew. It smelled strong and was sure to put skip in his step.

"Thanks," Downpour responded as he carried the hot cup carefully back to his seat. "I'm sure Draft will want one too." The younger pegasus was taking a lifetime in the bathroom for some reason.

"Well there's plenty," Ursa acknowledged as he took another long sip from his own cup of coffee, "I'll make us some breakfast as soon as I finish this. Draft told me that you were helpless in the kitchen." A smile graced his face as Ursa confided in the pegasus.

"I'm not helpless," Downpour lied.

"Mhmm, what about the infamous burning apple incident that Draft told me about?" Ursa asked him with a chuckle. Downpour's face flushed with embarrassment at the memory.

"Ugh, that was one time, and he always brings it up," Downpour huffed as he took a sip from his cup. The dark liquid scorched a trail down his throat, leaving the pegasus's tongue sore and tasteless. "Ouch!" That was the hottest drink he had ever had and it left a stinging reminder on its way down.

"Careful, it's pretty hot," the earth pony told him, a few seconds too late. Downpour frowned into the steaming cup that had burned him.

"Thankth for the warning," he lisped over his wounded tongue. Ursa smiled back at him before taking a long drink from his coffee.

"Of course. So where is Draft at?" Ursa asked with the slightest hint at a frown tugging on the corners of his mouth.

"He'th in the bathwoom, I'm thuwe he'll be out in jutht a minute," Downpour muttered and pulled his wounded tongue back into the safety of his mouth, as he waited for his younger brother to make an appearance at the table.

Draft had been staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and contemplating his complicated feelings. It wasn't something that he did very often, but recent events had opened a floodgate of opposing ideas on how best to proceed with Ursa's revelations. On one hoof, he couldn't deny that there was some sort of attraction between the two of them, but on the other hoof, he knew what his brother's reaction would be and felt his own conflicting emotions rising up in opposition already. The fact that there were far more important things that he should have been worrying about didn't help to alleviate Draft's troubles.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked his reflection. Sure he was talking to himself, which he despised doing, but so far his mirror image wasn't responding, so he was at least a little mentally stable. Cold water splashed into his face didn't calm Draft's nerves any, but it did help him to wake up fully before leaving the bathroom. His heart was fluttering in his chest as he considered opening up to Ursa, but the only way he would be able to go through with a conversation of that nature would be if his brother wasn't around and it didn't seem very likely that the circumstance would present itself.

Draft could hear voices coming from the kitchen and smelled the aroma of coffee that permeated the air in the house. It sounded as if Ursa was starting to make breakfast and the pegasus hesitated momentarily before rounding the corner and stepping through the open archway into the kitchen. His brother was seated at the table, sipping on a cup of coffee, while Ursa busied himself with preparing a hearty breakfast for the three of them.

"Smells great," Draft commented in a calm voice, although on the inside he could feel his heart racing. His hormones raged a counter argument to his logical plan.

"Took you long enough in there. Breakfatht will be done in a few minuth, tho do you want thome coffee while we wait?" Downpour asked as he drained the last drops from his cup. Draft shook his head in reply before taking a seat in the chair next to his sibling. "Well, thuit yourthelf, but it'th really good coffee," Downpour lisped out of his burned mouth.

"I'm sure it is, but I just want something to eat," Draft replied to the bluish pegasus, not even acknowledging the annoying lisp his brother had when he spoke.

"I've also got some orange juice if you want a glass of that instead," Ursa told Draft as he continued preparing the food. "Or there's always water." The green stallion's limbs moved with a deliberate fluidity as he worked on making breakfast.

"Umm, juice will be fine," Draft replied. "Thanks." It seemed to the young stallion that Ursa had chosen to be discreet with his affection towards him. A small sense of relief washed through Draft's body, but there was still an edginess that he couldn't shake and it was going to start irritating him if something didn't change. The mere fact that a stallion was physically attracted to him put the pegasus on edge.

"One glass of juice, coming right up," the green pony said as he pulled a cup out of one of his pine cabinets. While Draft observed the delicate ease that Ursa used as he manipulated objects to his will using only his hooves, he found himself wondering what other tricks the green stallion could perform with the dexterous appendages. Draft felt his cheeks burning red as he banished the dirty thoughts from his mind. There was a certain time and place to indulge in fantasies and it sure as hay wasn't right then, especially not with his older brother sitting nearby.

"Do you have a fever or something?" his brother questioned. "You look a little red there." Downpour's remark startled Draft out of his thoughts and the grey pegasus stammered for a moment as he tried to think of something to say. The right words didn't want to come out of his mouth however and he stuttered before answering.

"I-I'm, uh, no," Draft mumbled, facehoofed and attempted to answer one more time. "I mean, no. I feel fine," he replied with a sigh. Downpour no longer had the lisp to his words, but Draft was so occupied with his own problems that the difference went unnoticed. His older brother continued, with no concern over his speech.

"Alright good, because the last thing we need is for you to get sick right now," Downpour responded. "I can only imagine how much of a pain it would be to travel like that." Draft couldn't help but think that being sick wouldn't be half as much trouble as what was actually wrong, but he simply nodded in answer to his brother. Downpour could never understand the complications that Draft was facing; he had Strata in his life after all, while his younger brother was alone.

"Really, I'm fine. I'm just hungry is all," Draft assured him.

"I hope so, because breakfast is served," Ursa said as he walked over to the table with all three plates balanced atop his head. The pegasus each grabbed one and Draft was thankful for the food filling his mouth so that he could put off talking to the green stallion for a little while longer. He knew that eventually the two of them would have to come to terms with their feeling about each other, but Draft still wasn't sure what exactly he wanted. It didn't help that his family had never been too pleased about ponies that were gay. Their father had been against homosexuality and so had their mother. Draft didn't really care, but his brother felt the same way as their parents, so it left Draft in a very uncomfortable position with his emotions.

"Well, you two are certainly quiet today," Downpour noticed. Draft tried to quickly respond and wound up chocking on a piece of toast. Only after he washed it down with a gulp of orange juice was he able to breathe again. "Celestia, are you sure that you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Draft lied. He could feel himself burning red with embarrassment once again and he chose to stare intently at his plate so that he wouldn't accidentally lock eyes with Ursa. He was ready to pack up and leave right then; not the most mature of reactions, but it would have been easier to deal with then admitting how he felt about another stallion, but Downpour had killed his attempt. "So when are we leaving?"

"Uh, as soon as we finish breakfast I guess, unless you or Ursa have something that you need to do first," Downpour explained as he looked to both of them for an answer and saw no expressions of denial from Draft or Ursa.

"Nope, I'm good to go," Draft replied to his older brother. The longer that he could keep up his charade the easier it would be to get to the Crystal Empire without any problems and that was Draft's plan for the immediate future.

"Mhmm, I'm ready as soon as we're finished eating too," Ursa said as he picked at the pile of food sitting on his plate. Draft had been so occupied with his own issues that he hadn't even stopped to consider how Ursa had taken what happened. The green stallion seemed to be feeling down, but Draft wasn't blaming himself for that, Ursa was the one who had tried to kiss him after all. The pegasus had done nothing wrong, except maybe kissing back, but he told himself it was purely instinctual and not really what he wanted. The lie didn't help ease his mind any.

"Well, I'm going to go make sure that I have everything packed. Thanks for breakfast," Draft mumbled quickly, hurriedly leaving the kitchen before he could do something stupid. He busied himself with double checking all of their gear, even though he knew for a fact that everything was there. It helped calm his mind and body down a little bit as he sorted through everything and repacked it. The simple monotony was a blessing from the swirling pot that was the pegasus's thoughts. He needed to figure out exactly how he felt so that his mind could focus on the mission and forget about trivial details, like who he had feelings for.

Soon after sealing up his saddlebag once again, Draft heard the sound of the other two stallions leaving the kitchen. It was time for them to start walking once again, so he slung the heavy bags over his back and strapped them on.

"Are you two ready?" he asked with his back turned to them. Ursa picked up his own bags with the smallest expression of discontent at the extra weight.

"Yeah, let's get going," Downpour replied. As soon as Ursa had strapped on his own saddlebags the three stallions left the house and began walking north, down the old dirt road that cut a path through the fields surrounding them. The sun was high in the sky by then, but the wind held the icy promise of winter as it blew around the plains. Draft stopped and reached into his bag, pulling out his only cloak and wrapping it tightly around his body. Out of the corner of his vision the pegasus saw his brother do the same, Ursa however, remained naked. The cold didn't seem to bother the large earth pony in the slightest. Draft did his best to keep his eyes trained on the horizon, but his best wasn't great and he found himself shooting glances in the direction of the well toned earth pony whenever he thought that he could get away with it.

"So who's in charge right now if the king is so sick?" Downpour asked Ursa with genuine confusion. The green stallion had been catching the pegasus brothers up on the latest political happenings in the Crystal Empire, which wasn't too dissimilar from Equestrian politics, aside from their higher taxation in recent years. There were still minor confusions as he elaborated however.

"That power will go to the next in line for the throne, until Princess Cadenza is of legal governing age. I believe the current steward of the throne is Duke Doré Langue, the head of the Crystal Guard and manager of wartime affairs, as far as I know at least," Ursa explained. He trotted along at a steady pace as he spoke, while Downpour and his brother hovered through the air listening. Draft hadn't spoken much for the entire walk and Downpour saw him casting suspicious looks behind his back, as if he was afraid they would be attacked at any moment. Downpour couldn't really blame his brother though; their luck had a tendency to send an unhealthy amount of danger their way.

"Right, so should we be trying to talk to him then?" Downpour questioned.

"He's definitely the stallion that you want to speak with, but I'm almost positive that you'll need to go through the right channels to set up a meeting," Ursa replied. "I'll help you with everything that I can, but I wouldn't bet on success the first go round." Having a stallion that was a resident of the Crystal Empire traveling with them was looking better all the time and Downpour was glad that Ursa had made the decision to follow along. Draft didn't appear to share his opinion however, as he seemed intent on not even talking to the green pony.

"Draft, why are you being so quiet up there?" Downpour asked. The bluish pegasus waited for his brother's response, but if Draft had heard his question, he sure wasn't acknowledging it. "Draft!" Downpour shouted out, startling his younger brother and causing him to crash face first into the dirt.

"What!?" Draft shouted in an irritated tone. He spat the soil from his mouth as he rose back into the air.

"I was just asking why you're being so quiet," Downpour replied. "I don't think that you've said more than ten words since we left this morning." Downpour's wings hurried their lazy flapping while he flew up to his younger brother. "Are you alright? You've been acting strange."

"I'm fine. I'm just not in a talkative mood and I'd rather not have you bothering me right now," Draft retorted. "Is that okay with you?" His younger brother was much more irritable than he had been since the two of them had left Dodge, so Downpour knew for sure that something was eating at the grey pegasus, but Draft's lips were sealed about it.

"Yeah, bro, I didn't mean to get you all pissy," Downpour replied with an expression of surprise at the unexpected backlash. "Just let me know if you want to talk." Draft didn't respond, so Downpour slowed his pace until Ursa was trotting along at his side once again. "I wonder what that was about."

"I'm sure he'll be fine if you just leave him be for now," the crystal pony assure him. At least Ursa seemed to be in a good mood, his face had brightened up quite a bit once they had started walking and now he was just as happy as ever. Maybe it had been the fresh air or just the coffee finally kicking in, but either way Downpour had somepony to talk to so that he wouldn't have to fly in silence all day. It might take them longer to get to the capitol because Ursa had to walk, but he knew the route so they wouldn't have to worry about getting lost, which was really useful during long distance trips.

"So Ursa, what did you hear about the queen's disappearance? Any ideas on who's responsible?" Downpour asked him as they came to a fork in the road. Ursa walked past where Draft was waiting without hesitation and Downpour followed his lead. They headed North by northeast, the forest growing thicker around the trail as they made their way deeper into the woods.

"I've hear people say it was done by your Princess Luna and I've heard stories about it all being the work of a group of Crystallites looking for a revolution. I can't imagine that Equestria would want to start a war so soon after the end of Discord's War, but the empress's capture being the work of our own citizens is a frightening concept a well. It would most likely end in a civil war if it's true." Ursa never slowed as he explained everything to the stocky pegasus.

"Somepony paid off the Red Eyes to attack us and hinder our efforts to find a resolution as well. That would take a good amount of funding to accomplish and I can't imagine a group of pissed off crystal ponies having large sums of money," Downpour reasoned, trying to figure out a plausible cause for somepony to want a war. It must have been a ploy to gain more money or power, but he couldn't fathom who would go to such lengths to procure such terribly priced rewards.

"Griffon involvement would account for the fact that the perpetrators were spotted flying from the scene of the abduction and the items left behind could have been put there for misdirection, but without hard evidence you will have a hard time of convincing anypony that you speak the truth," Ursa replied.

"We're just here to stall the war declaration while our friend is attending to other matters. Once Spark has finished, him and my marefriend will be meeting us to provide the proof," Downpour explained as he ducked under a low hanging tree branch. The fork in the road had led the three stallions to a path running through a dense part of the forest and the smell of decaying leaves floated in the air as they passed by.

"Hmm, well I hope that it works out, for all of our sakes," Ursa replied. "The Crystal Empire has just as much to lose as Equestria should the two of our countries go to war." The sun, hanging high in the early winter sky, cast the three ponies in a paltry, golden light through the crisscrossing mesh of barren branches. Downpour noticed the sun's position and decided it was a good time to stop for lunch. His whistling stopped both of his traveling companions and caused them to whip their faces around in surprise at the sudden sound.

"It's lunch time! I'm bucking hungry, so let's stop and eat already," Downpour sighed. At the mention of food, even Draft managed to crack a small smile, but the surly expression returned to his face as quickly as it had disappeared. Downpour found the closest log large enough to support his rear and sat down with a huff. The constant walking had worked his already sore limbs into jelly and he was grateful to take a break. He motioned for the other two stallions to pull of their gear so he could find sustenance.

Ursa sat on one side of Downpour and his brother found a spot on the other side. Before long the two stallions were digging lunch items from the saddlebags and setting them out in front of their makeshift bench. The food was all much fresher than anything the pegasus had when they first got to the Crystal Empire. no rotted apples were sitting in the bottom of their bags anymore and the grain was all mold free, so Downpour was content.

"What are you in the mood for, Downpour?" the earth pony asked him as he made a sandwich for himself.

"I'm not sure, maybe a sandwich. I could go for something to drink too," Downpour replied. Everything looked great to the pegasus as he caught his breath in the noonday heat.

"Here you go," Ursa said as he passed over the sandwich he had just made, along with a flask of cider, before starting a new sandwich. "And what would you like, Draft?"  
"Don't worry about me. I got my own food already. Thanks anyway," Draft replied around bites of a juicy, gala apple. Downpour could hear a crisp crunch every time Draft chewed. The fruit that they had was the perfect ripeness, so Downpour decided to eat some while it was at its best. He picked up a succulent orange and set it down beside him.

"Okay. I was just asking," Ursa replied with a hurt tone.

"Seriously, Draft, why are you being such a jerk to Ursa?" Downpour questioned. "He's been nothing but nice to us the entire time that we've known him. The least that you could do is pretend to be in a good mood." The grey pegasus took a large bite of his apple and looked off into the distance, ignoring his brother's request for civility.

"Sorry, I'm just having an off day I guess," Draft replied with a thin trail of juice running down his chin. "I'll try not to be so snappy from now on."

"It happens to the best of us," Downpour responded.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Downpour. I'm sure that your brother just has plenty on his mind right now. I can't say that I blame him for having a sour attitude, considering the state of the government right now and the fact that you two are in the middle of it all at the moment."

"Purely by choice," Downpour added.

"Yes, well, either way it must be quite tiring on him, so minor rudeness is forgivable," Ursa finished with a tone of sympathy. Draft had resumed his silent eating and the other two stallions had their own conversation as they relaxed there, under the shade of the leafless pine trees. The cool winter winds sent a shiver across Downpour's skin as he finished the last of his cider and sandwich. When his friends had finished they all took a few minutes to rest their bodies before heading north east along the dirt trail.

The cloak around his body billowed behind Draft as the chill wind picked up speed. The three stallions had walked all day and were still in the thick of the forest with a storm slowly developing overhead. Draft shot a look to the sky above and saw large black clouds gathering quickly, each minute gaining girth and promising to spill a torrent of rain down upon the land. They were going to have to find shelter or forge their way through the encroaching storm. The last storm they'd traveled through was still fresh in Draft's mind.

"Keep an eye out for a good shelter," Draft called back to the other two ponies, following a short distance behind him. Their conversation had halted as they too noticed the potential rainfall. "I'd say we have about an hour before the sky unloads on us and I would like to have some sort of roof over my head when that happens."

"Hey, you're actually talking," Downpour quipped.

"Yeah, it's a miracle," Draft replied sarcastically. "Can we just find somewhere to spend the night? I'll gladly talk after I know I'm going to wake up without being drenched."

"We can always make our own shelter if we have to. It wouldn't take very long with all of this fine timber around us," Ursa commented as he kicked a hoof against one of the trees growing near the path to emphasize his statement. Although the wood was very nice, without the full leaves of spring it would provide less than adequate shelter, so Draft was hoping for a cave or something similar to hole up in for the night.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I'm sure you're very talented at working with wood," Draft started.

"Mhmm," Ursa mumbled.

"But I'd still rather find a cave or something with a little more stability to sleep under. Who knows how bad this storm will get," he finished, trying his best not to show Ursa any disrespect. Many ponies got a little defensive if you questioned their abilities when it had to do with their special skill, the defining characteristic that granted them a cutie mark. The green pony didn't seem to mind however, so Draft continued his hunt for shelter from the soaking rain. After another ten minutes of walking, lightning arced across the cloud strewn sky and with it came large drops of rain that peppered the stallions as they made their way through the forest.

"I'm not sure that we're going to be able to find a shelter before we get soaked. I think that we should stop and make one while we're still mostly dry," Draft suggested to his brother and Ursa. The two stallions stared at him with relief evident in their features.

"Alright fine. What do you need us to do, Ursa?" Downpour asked as the rain began to slowly intensify its assault on his clothing.

"I can fashion us some covering if the two of you can find long branches and preferably some foliage to help cover it," the earth pony explained.

"I'll head further up trail and look. Why don't you backtrack along the path, Draft?" Downpour suggested. Draft nodded his acceptance and his brother set off to look for fallen branches and other materials that might be useful to them. There was something else on Draft's mind though, a conversation that he needed to have soon, while he and Ursa were still alone in the forest.

"I'm sorry about how I reacted last night," Draft told the green stallion, who was eyeing their current surroundings, most likely looking for the best spot to erect a camp.

"It's fine. I'm sorry that I assumed you were gay," Ursa replied nonchalantly. The word caused an uncomfortable sensation in the pegasus's mind. He had been raised to believe that there was something wrong with a stallion loving another stallion and while he sure wasn't in love with Ursa, there were certainly confusing feeling lying underneath his outer layers. It caused Draft to have conflicting approaches when dealing with the stallion walking around in front of him.

"No, don't be sorry because, well, uh," Draft mumbled. The words weren't coming very easy, but it was something that he needed to get out before it drove him crazy. "A part of me is very attracted to you, Ursa. Some piece of myself that I've ignored most of my life is screaming at me that a stallion like you is what I've always wanted to have. That I need somepony who's kind beyond all logical reason and, might I add, not bad to look at either." Draft spoke quickly, trying to put a voice to his emotions before his brother returned and ruined the admonition. Ursa stood there, just staring at him quietly for a few moments before he continued the conversation, and for those few seconds Draft's heart ceased beating.

"I'm not sure what to say. Does this mean that you feel the same way that I do?" Ursa asked with mild confusion evident on his face. "Because it sounds like you do."

"It means that I need some time to think about it and that I'm sorry for how I've been acting today, it was completely uncalled for," Draft admitted. Ursa nodded his head a few times as he processed what the grey pegasus had told him.

"Okay, time is fine. I'll be waiting for when you've made up your mind though." Ursa leaned forward after he had spoken and kissed Draft with a passion that warmed the pegasus's entire body, despite the cold, wind and rain swirling around him. Draft's mind reminded him that he needed to go look for wood before he got lost in Ursa's embrace and spent the entire night with lips locked in the rain. It would have been an easy thing for him to succumb to at that moment.

"Wow," Draft said as he broke contact, "you're not making this very easy for me you know." Ursa felt his cheeks flush with crimson as the pegasus turned around to leave the campsite.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. There's just something about you," the larger stallion replied. Draft smiled at Ursa's words as he trotted off to procure the necessary supplies to put a roof over their heads. It promised to be an interesting night for him.

The chewing of food was the only sound Downpour could hear over the driving rain as the three stallions ate in relative silence. The tattooed pony swallowed a mouthful of bread and decided to initiate a conversation to pass the time before bed.

"You did a great job with this shelter tonight, Ursa," Downpour commented. "I've never seen anypony put up a makeshift roof that quickly." The green stallion finished off his dinner and chuckled before responding.

"Aw, it was nothing really. After working with wood as long as I have, you get pretty good with your hooves," he replied with a smile. Even Draft seemed to be in a better mood now that they had a shelter. The grey pegasus was actually grinning as he ate.

"It's not 'nothing'. If it weren't for you, Downpour and I would have been pretty bucked right about now," Draft said around a large bite of carrot. His little brother spoke the truth, Downpour knew, Draft and him would have been dead days ago if it weren't for the earth pony saving their mutual hides. Lightning split the sky above them and cast their forest surroundings in an ominous light before the roar of thunder sounded out.

"Yeah, we'd have been pretty doomed if you hadn't helped us," Downpour agreed. It had taken Ursa less than a half hour to build a shelter, even with the rain slicking his hooves. It was a feat that neither pegasus would have been able to match, but it was a simple part of the earth pony's natural talent. Still, Downpour beamed on the inside at having found such a reliable traveling companion in the Crystal Empire.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true. I guess it's a good thing that I followed you out here, huh?" Ursa stared out towards the trail as he spoke. The smoke from the flames trailed faintly up into the cloudy sky.

"Finding you might be the best thing that we've done this whole mission," Draft replied. He smiled sweetly at the green stallion before shoving the food back into his bag. It didn't take long and soon the camp was picked up and the three stallions huddled close while Downpour lit a fire. After a few flicks of his flint, the twigs caught and small flames danced in the dirt pit, safe from the rain under their small enclosure.

"You're pretty useful yourself, Downpour," Ursa observed with mild amusement.

"Well, I manage to survive anyway," Downpour replied. The moon was a mere sliver in the sky as the three stallions warmed themselves by the crackling pit. The cold bite of winter being driven off of them for awhile was a soothing sensation and even the constant static sound of the rain seemed to take on a melodic quality as night enveloped their camp in its mystery.

"It's very peaceful out here. I can see why you're so happy living out in the country, Ursa," Draft observed in a low voice as darkness descended around them.

"Yes, it can be very peaceful out here." After Ursa spoke, Downpour stared up into the heavens, admiring the twinkling light from millions of stars. They hung out of reach, mysterious and beautiful as the watched over the darkness below. It made the normally cocky stallion feel very insignificant to look up to those bright pinpoints and he soon found his eyes drawn back to the fire. Feelings of uselessness could wait until after he came home from the Crystal Empire, when Strata was there to lift his spirits up again.

"How many days will it take us to get to the king's castle," Downpour asked with longing residing in his heart. Every day that he was away from his girl, the pegasus felt less and less sure of himself. It was the first time he had ever felt that way about anypony and it was a bit unsettling for him.

"If we don't have to stop anywhere for long, then it should only take four days to arrive, five at the very most," Ursa informed him. At least their journey was drawing to an end. Downpour made a decision to abstain from any more of Nature Spark's half baked plans in the future; this one had gotten him into quite a mess and it was becoming hazardous to his health. The unicorn had good intentions, but he was one pony trying to fix multiple countries on his own and without his friends, Spark would have been dead for sure.

"Great, I am so ready to be done with all of this walking. I just want to sleep in and spend a day doing nothing when this is all over," Draft stated with a sigh. He began clearing a spot to sleep on and laid out his blankets on the dirt. The ground was mildly damp, but still much drier than it would have been if they were sleeping in the rain.

"I know what you mean, brother," Downpour agreed. He couldn't agree more with his sibling's plan. He would have been perfectly happy spending an entire day in bed, especially if Strata would join him. A smile crossed his tattooed face as he thought about the concept of an entire day alone with her. "Yeah, that would be nice."

"What would," Draft questioned.

"Nothing, my mind was just wandering there for a second. Are you two about ready to get to bed? We have another long day tomorrow," Downpour said, changing the subject. He was pretty sore all over and needed to keep up his strength if he was going to keep up with the other two stallions the next day.

"Yeah, just about. I want to watch the fire for a little longer though," Ursa replied. The green pony picked up a long stick in his mouth and poked at the fire, rotating the warm coals to the top for extra warmth. Each prod turning over more heated embers.

"Alright, well make sure the fire is going when you go to bed. I'm going to pass out now," Downpour yawned as he threw his blankets on the ground and sprawled out, happy to be done flying for the day. The aching pegasus stretched out his legs and wings before shifting around uncomfortably a few times. Eventually he got comfortable enough on the earth and fell asleep shortly after closing his heavy eyelids.

"About what you were saying earlier." As soon as Draft heard Ursa start speaking he knew what the stallion was going to ask him. "How long do you think it will take you to make up your mind? I don't want to pressure you or anything, I'm just wondering," Ursa finished quietly. Draft sat motionless for a few moments, unsure about what he should tell the stallion beside him. He wanted to have a sure answer, but life wasn't always quite that simple.

"I'm not sure, Ursa, but when I find out you will be the first to know," Draft replied. The pegasus scooted closer to the earth pony unconsciously, reveling in the body heat that the large stallion provided. "I think I like you, but it's hard to come to terms with the fact that I might be… well, you know." Ursa's eyes were serene as he stared back into Draft's face and the burning embers reflected off of their glassy surface in the dim light.

"Whenever you need somepony to talk to, I'm here for you," Ursa assured him. It was a cheesy line, but Draft knew that the crystal pony meant every sappy word of it. Ursa had a calm conviction in the words he spoke and his whispering voice made the pegasus's heart beat faster.

"I'll remember that," Draft mumbled as he glanced away, trying to keep the sexual desires in the back of his mind from fully forming. "What's your real name?" Draft asked as he watched the campfire slowly smoldering in front of him.

"Huh?" Ursa asked, surprised by the sudden switch of conversation topic.

"When we first talked, you told me to call you Ursa, but you never said what your real name was. So, what is it?" the pegasus asked again. Draft was genuinely curious about it at that point, as most ponies had no reason to hide their names from him.

"Oh, it's Verd, Verd Monts," the earth pony replied softly. It was a simple name, but one that Draft thought suited him very well. He glanced back into the gaze of the stallion sitting beside him and nearly forgot what he had been about to say as he got lost in those same eyes. It felt like flying above a canopy of trees whenever Draft stared into them and his thoughts became scattered.

"That's a very nice name. I, uh, I like it," Draft stuttered. The pegasus had trouble bringing his words to life as the two of them sat in the pouring rain.

"Well thank you," Ursa responded. Before Draft even knew what his body was doing, he had leaned close enough to Ursa's face that he could feel the stallion's warm breath on his forehead. The sensation sent a small tingle down his spine as he gave in and closed the full distance, pressing his lips firmly against Ursa's in a kiss that blanked out all other thoughts from his mind. It felt like pure joy as he relished in the contact.

Draft's hooves made their way to the well toned muscles along Ursa's back, pulling his body closer with every second that they remained locked in passion. The earth pony's tongue tasted of cider and was just as intoxicating as the beverage for the pegasus. A warmth spread out through the younger stallion's body, even though the fire was nothing more than a few scattered embers, the small amount of light having vanished with the last meager flames in the dirt enclosure. Draft finally broke away from the kiss. His lungs were screaming for air, but his body was screaming for more as he leaned back from the green stallion he was with and caught his breath.

"Wow, this, uh, must make you really confused," Draft said. "I am so sorry about that. Really, I am." He was having trouble making full sentences as his brain tried to begin thinking properly once again.

"I'm actually okay with a little confusion, as long as it's that kind," Ursa replied with a smile plastered across his emerald green face. "In fact, that might be the best confusion I've ever had." Draft smiled back before lying down on his bed with a yawn. It wasn't much of a surprise that Ursa began spreading his bedding down near Draft's, but with Downpour there it made the pegasus a little uncomfortable.

Draft waited until he heard Ursa's snores rising above the sounds of nature and moved himself a short distance away. He was still confused and it was hard to think with Ursa sleeping right there next to him. That stallion made his brain shut off and he needed to think right if he was going to come to a decision. Draft closed his eyes as he sifted around in his thoughts; on one hoof, Ursa made him feel happier than he ever had before, but on the other hoof, he felt slightly ashamed of what ponies might say. Honestly, he was worried about what Downpour might do if he realized what was going on more than anything else. By the time the pegasus had fallen asleep, his mind still wasn't made up about how it felt concerning everything that had come to light recently.


	26. Rain or Snow

~Chapter 24: Rain or Snow~

The rain was still falling as Downpour lay under the wooden lean-to, listening to the constant drone of water droplets connecting with the roof above. He had slept well enough the night before, all things considered, but every attempt at moving his limbs was met with resistance. All of the walking the pegasus had been doing was taking its toll and if he was going to make it through another day, then he was going to need some help. Downpour thought about how he could improve his situation as the repetitive noise of Draft and Ursa's breathing sounded in unnatural contrast to the rain. He decided to check in his brother's bags for one of Spark's mixtures that might alleviate his current discomfort. There was bound to be something magical that could help him.

Downpour worked as quietly as possible to undo the metal latches holding the bag closed and pull out the assortment of magical mixtures, not wanting to wake the two sleeping stallions. Once he had everything set out before him, the aching pony took a few moments to consider what would help him best under the circumstance. The mushrooms were out of the question, as he would have been rendered useless all day if he'd ingested them right then. Adrenaline would only work for about five minuets, but the crystalline powder in the vials tucked at the bottom of the bag was perfect. In high doses it would cause a powerful surge of physical energy, but it also came with minor risk to your heart, if he remembered Spark's lecture correctly. The pegasus planned to use it in small doses throughout the day to increase his stamina.

Just after Downpour had sprinkled a small amount of the powder on his tongue and returned the vial to its place in the saddlebag, he heard the sound of Ursa waking up. The pegasus latched the bag closed and stepped back over to his bedding before the earth pony even opened his eyelids. With two vials of the drug spread out, Downpour would have no problem flying for another day or two and by the time he ran out, his body would hopefully be back in shape again. The thought of how perfect his plan was caused the pegasus to grin.

"Good morning Ursa," he greeted the crystal pony as he packed up his blankets and pulled out some food. "Did you sleep well?"

"Ugh, I guess. How can you be such a morning pony without coffee?" Ursa asked, bringing over his own packed saddlebag. The emerald coated stallion grabbed a piece of fruit and took a bite off of it before taking a seat near the fire pit. "I'm going to make some coffee before we start walking, if you want to have a cup."

"No, I'm fine," Downpour replied with a smile. He sat a few yards from his newest friend and started eating his own breakfast. A few drops of water managed to leak through the branches over night and the ground had started to get muddy, so as soon as he had finished eating, Downpour decided he was going to light a fire. The rain had lessened that morning, but the cold wind had only worsened. "I'll get a fire going in just a second though."

"Alright, thank you," Ursa replied. The two stallions ate in silence until Downpour finished his breakfast and walked over to the saddlebag for his flint. He dug the stone out and brought it back to the fire pit with him, while Ursa stacked the last of their dry wood into a cone shape. "We don't have much dry wood," Ursa informed the pegasus as he kneeled down to light the fire.

"You're just making some coffee, so we don't need much wood anyway," Downpour shrugged.

"That's an excellent point," Ursa observed.

Woosh! "Now that's how you light a fire!" Downpour shouted as the flames spread over the logs. He remained huddled near it, enjoying the warmth that the blaze radiated, before he heard Draft's voice over the crackle of flames.

"G'morning," Draft yawned as he spoke to them. "What are you two doing?" The grey pegasus stretched out every part of his body before taking a seat near Ursa. His eyes were only half opened as he yawned.

"Your brother is lighting a fire so that I can make myself some coffee," Ursa informed the younger stallion.

"Actually, I'm done lighting a fire so that he can make coffee. It took you long enough to wake up, daylight is wasting away, so hurry and eat," Downpour told his brother while putting away the flint. "It won't take Ursa long to finish and then we can leave."

"Dear Luna, what got into you today?" Draft questioned.

"Nothing. I just feel like I'm back to my old self finally," Downpour replied. "That mishap in the mountains is over and done with, so I'm ready to do this." Draft didn't appear very convinced, so Downpour shot his brother a reassuring smile. He had no idea whether or not it helped, but it was worth a shot.

"Downpour is a little energetic for how early in the morning it is, but that's probably a good thing. We have a long way to travel," Ursa added. Downpour decided to tone down his enthusiasm before Draft caught wise and checked the bags. The younger pegasus wouldn't have been happy knowing Downpour was using a vial of the powdered mixture by himself, so it was best to keep Draft in the dark about it for as long as he could manage.

"Just happy to be flying around and walking properly again," Downpour assured them. "I'll be in an even better mood once we're finally talking with the king though. Just wait, I'll even do a dance when we arrive." Downpour grinned mischievously at them.

"I think I'd rather not have to watch that. Thanks anyway," Draft said with a slight scowl. The younger pegasus had gotten his own breakfast and was busy chewing as he spoke, his grey eyes sagging around the edges from lack of sleep. "Somehow I don't think that's a good idea. They'll probably lock you up if you act that loony and they sure won't want you speaking with the king." Draft cracked a smile and Downpour chuckled at his little brother.

"Like I can't break out of a cell," Downpour said with a knowing smile. The bars in Cloudsdale hadn't been able to hold them and no dungeon in the Crystal Empire would either. Ursa looked over with a puzzled expression, but Downpour didn't elaborate. The green stallion shrugged his shoulders and started to brew his coffee in silence. Downpour took a seat and watched the flames licking at the pot while he waited for his companions to wake up completely.

The rain was barely more than a light mist collecting on his hide as Draft flew just under the overhanging tree branches above the trail. They had covered a pretty good distance already and if they kept up their current pace, it would be no problem for them to make the trip in three days. Downpour certainly seemed to be having no trouble keeping up with him as they flew at the same pace as Ursa's long strides. The earth pony was moving at a slow gallop and had been all morning, but he still seemed to be breathing normally. Downpour knew that there was more than just coffee responsible for the stallion's incredible endurance, earth ponies had a natural talent for physical prowess.

Draft dived low, narrowly avoiding a branch to his face while he wasn't paying attention. The grey pegasus pushed his long hair from his eyes before returning to his previous speed. He made sure to keep his eyes focused on what was in front of him after that, but keeping his mind focused was another matter entirely. Draft couldn't stop analyzing last night repeatedly; going over every detail and thinking it was a mistake. Then he'd remember how the kiss felt and thought about how much he wanted that feeling to last. Maybe even enough to stand up to his brother, he thought.

"I think the rain is actually stopping," Downpour told him as he stared up into the grey skies. Draft looked up and smiled at the lack of rainfall.

"It's about time," he said.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up so soon. It has a habit of raining off and on around here. This could go on for days even," Ursa informed them.

"Don't tell me that," Draft huffed. "I'm getting sick of the rain."

"What's wrong, Draft? I thought pegasus ponies didn't mind a little bit of foul weather," Ursa replied as he smiled up at the winged stallion and ran down the damp dirt path, the sunlight glinting off of the water droplets that speckled his emerald colored hide.

"We don't mind it that much, but after flying for so long through the rain, well, it starts to get pretty old," Draft explained dryly. Downpour nodded his head in agreement. Too bad they had to make the journey during the winter months; it would have been much easier in the springtime, when the elements weren't constantly assaulting their wings..

"I guess that makes sense," Ursa admitted. His green eyes glanced back at the road ahead and he leaped over a fallen log that was stretching across the trail. The earth pony cleared it with a small grunt and resumed his steady pace. Draft watched in awe of the stallion's physical fitness as he flew along behind him.

"When will we pass through a city?" Downpour asked their newest friend. "I wouldn't mind sleeping at an inn for a night. I really miss that spare bed of yours."

"Tomorrow night, maybe a little earlier if we keep going like this," Ursa grunted, the efforts of running all morning just beginning to show through his tough exterior.

"I'm going to look around for a replacement set of wing blades while we're there," Draft added. "Being weaponless is a little discomforting." He swerved around a branch and bumped into his brother. "Sorry."  
"Watch where you're going, Draft," Downpour snapped at him.

"I said I was sorry. Calm down," Draft replied. His brother glared at him before speeding up and passing by, Draft didn't even bother trying to fly up beside him. For some reason the black maned stallion seemed to be especially edgy. It was still an improvement over how depressed he had been for the last couple of days though. "When should we take a break?" he asked, casting a glance between his companions.

"I can keep going until lunch time if the two of you are up for it. You did say you were in a hurry after all," Ursa responded.

"If he can than I can," Downpour replied. They were in a hurry, so Draft supposed that pushing themselves would be beneficial. The grey coated pegasus gritted his teeth and focused on the beating of his graceful wings, urging his muscles to keep up their ceaseless work. They might be able to make up for the delay that they'd had while staying at Ursa's house.

Downpour dived to the ground suddenly and informed them that he needed to use the bathroom, so Draft landed near Ursa and they waited for him to take care of his business. The tattooed stallion returned a few seconds later, raring to go once again. Draft and his brother rose back into the air and the three of them continued their tireless travel until just after the sun began to sink from its highest point in the sky.

Downpour's heart raced for most of the time that they were on their break, the magical powder coursing through his body causing a slight tingling sensation in the back of his head. It wasn't unpleasant, but it made the pegasus really anxious to get moving again and he fidgeted his hooves the entire time they sat there beside the trail. Neither of his companions noticed his actions however, so there were no awkward conversations for him to deal with. The edginess was annoying enough on its own however.

The small group didn't bother building a fire, each of them were still sweating and trying to catch their breath. Instead they sat in a circle, facing the direction they were headed and eating a simple lunch. A few carrots and some bread, with good cider to wash it all down was more than enough for Downpour. Draft and Ursa both ate more than that, but he didn't have much of an appetite after using the magical powder throughout the day.

"Great Adagio, you sure aren't very hungry are you?" Ursa asked with genuine surprise. Downpour wasn't sure what he had said at first.

"Did you say 'Great Adagio'?" he asked the shaggy maned stallion.

"Yeah, it's like how you say, uh, 'Sweet Celestia' I believe it was."

"Is that the king's name then?" Draft asked.

"Yes, Emperor Judicieux Adagio the ruler of the Crystal Empire," Ursa elaborated. Downpour and Draft had been calling it the Crystal Kingdom the whole time and hadn't even known the king's name. His bluish grey face flushed in embarrassment. Draft laughed at his brother's reaction, even though he hadn't known any of that either. Once again, dropping out of school came back to bite them in the flank.

"So what's your queen's name?" Downpour asked. The pegasus figured he might as well actually learn about the alicorns that he was going to be meeting with, because his life could one day depend on it.

"Empress Mi Amore Serenade. She is a great leader, but not the best as a solo ruler, which is what she's been forced to do for awhile now," Ursa told them with a solemn look etched on his face. He seemed to like the empress, despite her recent shortcomings. "I know that she was trying to hold everything together, but it has been difficult for all of us since the king took ill."

"I can imagine. I'm sure that Equestria would be in major disarray if one of the princesses was dying as well," Draft said quietly over his food. Having actually met the princesses finally, Downpour nodded his head in simple agreement. They were glorious figures of harmony throughout the land and everypony looked to them for guidance. They had the necessary experience to lead, after all.

"I'm sure that things will get better after we meet with whoever is running the show now," Downpour tried to reassure the earth pony, but Ursa didn't seem convinced.

"I hope that you're right Downpour, I really do," the crystal pony sighed. Downpour decided it was a good time to move the conversation along, before everypony started moping.

"So, Ursa, do you, uh, have any funny stories from your past that you could tell us while we're resting here for a bit?" he asked, in an effort to change the subject. Draft looked over with interest. Stories were the easiest way to pass the time in the brothers' opinions and they were glad when Ursa started telling them one.

"Alright, well I remember this one time, I had barely had my cutie mark for two months, anyway…" Ursa began with a slight grin forming on his gruff features. The two pegasus sat in rapt attention in the rain soaked woods for another twenty minutes before they finally drug themselves back to their hooves. Draft seemed to really enjoy Ursa's telling of the first time the earth pony had tried building a tree fort as a colt. It hadn't ended well, and the story gave everypony a good laugh, but eventually they all had to resume their journey down through the forest.

Draft flew just far enough back from his brother that he could sneak glances at Ursa's well toned flank every once in awhile. It may have been foalish to do so, but Draft didn't care because it was very entertaining and he had a stupid grin to prove it. His visual entertainment was disrupted however, when he ran into the back of his brother, who had stopped in midair without him knowing. A hoof to the back of Draft's head was the older pegasus's response.

"Watch where you're going, fool," Downpour hissed at him in a voice barely above a whisper. The older stallion glanced up to the sky suspiciously. "Hmm, I thought I saw somepony trailing us, but maybe I was mistaken." Downpour resumed his flight, still casting unsure peeks over his shoulder every so often. Draft surveyed their surroundings once, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he shrugged his shoulders and resumed following his older brother through the air. Ursa didn't even bother stopping.

The last of the leaves were falling off of the trees and drifting gently to the ground as Ursa ran by, the earth pony's weight was just enough to dislodge the last few stragglers. The dead foliage that was already on the ground got trampled into the mud with each of his heavy hoofsteps. The sun was shedding some light through the dense branch cover and it was just enough to keep the cold chill of the winter wind from bothering the trio as they raced along the well-worn trail.

Downpour stopped a couple more times throughout the day, but neither Draft nor Ursa paid him much attention, because every time he left, it gave Draft ample time to awkwardly stare at the blue maned stallion and attempt to break the uncomfortable silence that unavoidably befell the two of them. There were many things that Draft wanted to say to Ursa, but whenever the lanky pegasus opened his mouth, the words were lost to him and he would close it again with a small sigh.

"Are you sick or something?" Draft asked his brother when he finally returned from stepping off of the trail and behind the withering berry bushes. "You sure have been stopping frequently." Downpour rose up above the ground once again and started gliding down the path, his wings moving through the air more quickly than necessary to keep him aloft.

"I've never been better, Draft. This is probably the best I've felt since we left Canterlot actually," Downpour replied without looking back.

"Umm, good… I guess," Draft mumbled as he flew up beside his older sibling, grey and white mane trailing behind him in the breeze. "Just let us know if you need to stop for the day."

"Please, I feel like I could go all night if we had to," Downpour chuckled.

"Not me," Ursa chimed in between panting breaths. "All of this running is actually starting to take a toll. I'll be fine until tonight, but that's where I have to draw the line." Draft noticed that the earth pony's hide was coated in a layer of sweat, which was no surprise considering the large distance they had traveled in such a short time. Even though he was an accomplished flyer, Draft too was beginning to feel the burn in his wing muscles as he pumped them methodically.

"Yeah, I'm with Ursa on this one. I'm going to sleep really good tonight. I guess your day of resting worked pretty well for you though," Draft said to his brother.

"You have no idea," Downpour snickered. A sudden peel of thunder in the distance forced a groan from Draft's lips. He had been hoping that Ursa's prediction of more rain would be proven false, but it sounded as if the storm was about to worsen after all. Draft pulled the cloak from his saddle bags, flying all the while, and wrapped it around his body. When the rain finally started, Downpour turned around and asked for one of his own cloaks. Once the three stallions were somewhat shielded from the coming drizzle, they continued on their way, the sun disappearing behind large, dark grey clouds in the east.

Along with his unbridled energy, Downpour was also experiencing an unparalleled euphoria as they made there way north through the forest. It was no more than a very subtle sensation at first, but eventually the joy evolved to a point where the pegasus couldn't help but smile. It was actually beginning to make his tattooed face a little sore. It felt as if no matter what happened, the driving rain or other unforeseen circumstances, he would continue onward with laughter in his heart. The rain continued to fall harder, as if testing him.

"Is it always raining here?" Downpour asked the earth pony below him.

"Well, there's usually a month or two of pretty fair weather, but for the most part it rains off and on in this country, yes. Except in the winter, then it usually snows most of the time instead," Ursa replied.

"Wow, you say that like it isn't a terrible thing," Draft said as accelerated to his brother's side. "I'm pretty sure I'd get sick of that much rain before long."

"Without the rain though, we wouldn't have all of this beautiful foliage and our bountiful crops," Ursa explained. "I've actually grown to enjoy the rain after living my life here." It wasn't that surprising really, after living in Dodge most of his life, Downpour had grown fond of the dry climate in that area. He supposed that almost everypony came to enjoy their homes eventually.

Thunder rolled overhead as the rain increased its intensity, beginning to sneak its way through the fibers of Downpour's clothing. It caused some minor discomfort, but the effects of the concoction he had been ingesting all day intensified the minor irritation into a nagging itch along his back. He absentmindedly scratched at it with one hoof as he flew, making sure not to lose the tempo of his beating wings. The itching sensation migrated to a different part of his body and he continued to fidget around in an attempt to stop it. At least the water rolled right off of his weather resistant wings, he thought as he adjusted his cloak slightly.

"I was just thinking," Draft said as he wiped the water from his muzzle, "about what you said earlier, Ursa. This duke-"

"Doré Langue?" the crystal pony interrupted.

"Right. What has he actually done to find the queen?" Draft finished his question before dropping to the ground and continuing on hoof with the large stallion, so that he could hear better over the sound of the rain, Downpour assumed.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. I know that he's implemented some sort of search, but aside from attending to the usual business of the government-"

"Like trying to declare war," Downpour cut in.

"He hasn't done much else yet. Although I'm not really sure what else he can do at this point." Downpour listened with only minor interest as their newest friend talked to his brother. His mind was more focused on not scratching all the hair off of his flank as he alleviated the itching in that area. It was really driving the pegasus crazy.

Downpour glanced behind his back again, it had become habitual while he was under the powder's effects, and was positive that he saw something this time. There was definitely somepony flying above them or perhaps a griffon, but he couldn't see very well through the rain coming down from the sky in a torrent.

"We have a tail," Downpour said as he looked back to his brother and Ursa. The two other ponies didn't seem to hear him over the sound of their own hoof beats however, so he shouted, "We've got a tail on us!" They heard him the second time.

"What?" Draft asked him as he whipped his head behind him, his long, waterlogged mane snapping around a moment after.

"Above the trees, flying behind us. I noticed them awhile back and they're still there. I can't tell who it is though," Downpour explained as he nodded in the direction of the flying figure above.

"Shit! What should we do about it?" Draft asked him in alarm after seeing the figure for himself. Ursa spotted the stalker next as Draft lifted off the ground to fly near his brother. Both of the other stallions looked like they were pretty winded and needed to take a break, but Downpour felt fine. If they stopped and got attacked, then he might have to do most of the work to protect them.

"I'm sure it's nothing, you two. Why are you jumping to the conclusion that they're hostile? The Crystal Empire is a pretty safe place for ponies," Ursa told them as he slowed his pace to a walk. He was panting heavily and his mane was plastered to his head with sweat and rain.

"So is Equestria, but ever since we left home, problems seem to have followed us," Downpour replied. He flew slowly over head of the large earth pony as they conversed.

"I still say you have nothing to worry about. We should see what they want," ursa replied. "It's probably just a knight on patrol because of the empress's disappearance. They've been everywhere around here for the last few weeks."

"Really?" Downpour asked. It was only a slight relief for the pegasus when Ursa nodded his head. "Alright, I'll take your word for it."

"My word is all I have and it's good," Ursa replied with a tired smile. The constant moving had taken its toll on all of them, but not nearly as much in Downpour's case. He was tired, but another dose of powder would fix that in a few seconds. He couldn't remember for sure how long it ha been since his last dose, but it seemed like it had been awhile, so he decided to stop and use more.

"Let's stop and see if they come down here," Downpour told the other two stallions as he landed on the muddy ground. Downpour walked a few steps behind his brother's back and reached into a pocket on his cloak. He pulled out the vile and sprinkled some on his tongue while there were no eyes on him. The expected rush came a few seconds later as he tucked away the powder once again.

"I think they're landing, but I can't really tell," Ursa observed as he stared up into the sky. Downpour noticed the earth pony's legs were covered in grime up to his knees and it was caking his shaggy tail as well, but the rain was starting to rinse the mud away now that he had stopped. Downpour was glad that he could fly and didn't have to spend all day running in the mud.

"Yeah, I think that you're right," Draft agreed.

"I wish you still had your wing blades, just in case," Downpour said as he walked back over to his brother and Ursa. The figure was headed down to them, but there was only one, so Downpour wasn't too worried about it. The unknown stalker weaved their way down through the tree branches and landed near the three stallions. The newcomer was a white pegasus pony, wearing a lightweight armor that Downpour figured meant they were a knight after all. The armored stallion stepped forward and addressed the three of them in an authoritative voice.

"I am Sir Lumière de Etoiles, a member of the crystal knights. I flew down here to warn the three of you that there have been reports of griffons flying around in the area. It might be a good idea for the three of you to return to your homes as soon as possible," the knight warned them.

"Yes of course, sir. Thank you for your concern. We'll be sure to do that right away," Ursa replied with a polite nod.

"And be careful in the storm," the knight added as he turned away. "It looks like its going to be a pretty bad one." The white pegasus sped back through the trees and into the sky once again as quickly as he had come, then he made a large circle above them before heading east into the pouring rain. Downpour stood there and watched the pegasus disappear into the clouds before turning around and walking down the rain slicked path with his companions.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about," Ursa said as Downpour caught up to him. Draft walked up to the other side of the green stallion and nodded in agreement.

"Mhmm, you were right," Downpour mumbled. The three of them continued walking for the rest of the afternoon, their energy having been exhausted from pushing themselves all day. Downpour shot one last look over his shoulder before they rounded a corner in the path. The knight had mentioned griffons and that didn't bode well for the three of them. Griffons seemed to be the cause of most of Downpour and his brother's troubles lately.

Draft stood impatiently in the middle of the trail as he waited for his brother to respond to the question he'd asked. He had caught Downpour using one of the vials of powder that Spark had given to them and, judging by the nearly depleted bottle, it seemed as if it had been going on for awhile.

"Well what the hay do you think you're doing? You know this stuff isn't good for you if you use too much," Draft told his brother with a disappointed frown.

"Calm yourself, Draft. I've just been using a little to keep up with you two. It's not going to kill me," Downpour replied. "We're in a hurry you know."

"That doesn't mean you need to keep sneaking off to snort Spark's crazy magical mixtures. That stuff can be dangerous, even for him and he's the one who makes it." Downpour just rolled his eyes in response. "I'm keeping my eye on you from now on."

"Fine. Can we go now, mom?" Downpour asked sarcastically as he turned away.

"Yeah," Draft huffed as he followed behind his irresponsible brother and cast a quick glance in Ursa's direction. The green stallion hadn't said anything during their conversation, but that was most likely because he considered it a family affair. Ursa had probably gone through the same thing with his own brother growing up, Draft guessed. Though the pegasus realized that their new friend hadn't even mentioned his brother to them yet. "So what was your family like growing up?" Draft asked the earth pony, hoping to pass the time with a little conversation and maybe learn something interesting as they walked.

"My family? Well my mother was as sweet as can be. She used to make pies and sell them in town on the weekends. Everypony in Equonton used to buy pies from her," Ursa replied. He smiled warmly as he recalled the memory. "My father was more reserved than her, but I never doubted that he loved me. He taught me everything I know about timber and building with wood. He actually built the house I live in with his own two hooves. I moved back in when they moved out west with the rest of our family, right near the coast. I'd like to join them eventually, but I know that I'd miss the old house too much."

"What about your brother?" Draft asked after a few moments of silence had passed. "What was he like?"

"I don't have a brother," Ursa responded, fixing the pegasus with a puzzled look.

"Oh, I just saw that painting in your living room and I assumed…" Draft replied.

"That painting? Oh, he was just a pony that used to be very special to me, but not anymore," Ursa explained. His voice grew quiet and his expression became one of sorrowful remembrance for some reason.

"What, was he you coltfriend?" Downpour chimed in mockingly from the other side of the green stallion.

"Yes, he was actually, but that was awhile ago," Ursa sighed wistfully. Draft's eyes grew wide and Downpour stopped in his tracks with a look of surprise. Ursa turned around in confusion and met Downpour's unhappy glare.

"You rut stallions? What they hay is wrong with you?" The shorter pegasus asked with a sickened tone. "Why the hay didn't you let me know you were like that?"

"I didn't realize it would be a problem for you," Ursa replied.

"Yes it's a problem. That's just wrong," Downpour replied with disgust. He took a step forward and glared up at the larger stallion. Ursa glared back, his usually easygoing demeanor replaced by mild aggression.

"And why is that so wrong?" Ursa questioned. "It's who I am and none of your concern."

"It's my concern when you're traveling with me and my brother," Downpour replied angrily. Draft watched in silent horror as the two stallions started shouting at each other. It escalated to a point where his brother finally took a swing at the green stallion, connecting a hoof with the side of Ursa's head and dazing the larger pony momentarily.

"Downpour! What the hay is your problem!?" Draft shouted the question as he stepped between the two of them. "Get a hold of yourself." Downpour's eye twitched as he tried to sidestep Draft and get to Ursa.

"Get out of my bucking way, Draft. This is between me and that colt lover," Downpour shouted as he pointed a wingtip at the blue maned pony.

"Let him through, Draft. I want to hear what he has to say," Ursa replied in a slightly angrier tone. "I've had ponies talk down to me about my choices before. If he has a problem with me then so be it." Draft forced his brother back one more time when the bluish pegasus attempted to fly over his head.

"We don't have time for this shit right now, so knock it off," Draft shouted at them, but they didn't pay his words any attention. Downpour forced his way past Draft and got into the earth ponies face, hovering above the ground so he could look the stallion in his dark green eyes as he yelled.

"My problem is that you have something wrong with you and I don't want you traveling with us anymore! We'll find out own way from here on out!" Downpour shouted at Ursa's face. The angry pegasus narrowly avoided the hoof that Ursa sent towards his chin. Downpour dodged back and sent a kick into Ursa's face. "You'll have to be quicker than that if you want to hit me, you cock lover." Draft had heard enough of his brother's ignorant talk and he slammed unexpectedly into his sibling's side, knocking Downpour to the ground in a heap.

"How big of an ass can you be, Downpour? Did you forget that Ursa saved our lives and helped us out!? He let us stay at his house for two nights in a row for Celestia's sake, not to mention offering to lead us all of the way to the Crystal Castle," Draft shouted at his older brother as the stocky pegasus got back up to his hooves. Mud coated one side of Downpour's bluish-grey body and he looked pissed, but Draft ignored his brother's expression and continued lecturing him. "Just because he's attracted to stallions you're going to treat him like shit. Well go buck yourself Downpour, you pretentious asshole! You want to know something?"

"Draft, you don't-" Ursa started to cut him off, but Draft continued unhindered, now that he had started letting out his emotions.

"I'm in love with Ursa. Yeah, that's right. I like stallions. Are you going to take a swing at me now?" Draft asked as his cheeks began to flush. Downpour's eyes widened in surprise and he took a step back in shock. Then he glared at both of them with unrepressed malice.

"Give me my stuff," Downpour told his brother flatly as he stretched one hoof out towards him. "I'm going to the capitol by myself. I can't even look at you," he added before turning away. Draft couldn't believe how immature his older brother was being. It was unbelievable that Downpour would even think about acting this way at his age.

"Fine! Take your shit and go if you're going to be like that. I'd rather not have to listen to your stupid arguing anyway. If you wanted to have a problem with me too, well, congratulations, because you have one now," Draft replied as he pulled Downpour's things out of his saddlebag and piled them on the muddy ground at his hooves. There were tears in Draft's eyes, but the rain made them indistinguishable on his grey face. Downpour grabbed his blankets and threw them across his back. Then he picked up his bag of bits and one of the healing potions and shoved them into the pockets of his cloak with a look of hate fixed on Ursa.

Downpour flew off without another word, leaving Draft staring after his ignorant brother as he flew away through the rain. Tears of anger fell from the younger pegasus's grey eyes and splashed on the muddy ground, becoming a part of the water collecting at his hooves. Draft was shaking with a mixture of rage and cold as lightning flashed somewhere over his head, thunder sounding out loudly soon after. His brother was so infuriating sometimes that Draft wanted to hit him for it, but he took a few deep breaths and calmed his nerves instead. Soon his shaking had stopped for the most part.

"You shouldn't have done that," Ursa said from behind him. Draft didn't respond as he took a few more breaths, his heart still hammering in his chest. The grey pegasus stared up at the darkening sky and cleared his throat, the cool rain on his face was calming. After a few seconds he was ready to talk.

"Done what?" he asked the green stallion.

"Told him that you love me," Ursa replied.

"I was pissed," Draft sighed and glanced up at his taller friend.

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you actually love me?" Ursa asked with a note of dismissal evident in his deep voice. "You've only known me for a few days."

"No, I don't love you," Draft admitted, "but I do like you and maybe given some time I could love you." The pegasus took another slow breath. "I'm not making any promises though and I need to have a calm discussion with my brother before I'll talk about this anymore," Draft replied as he started walking down the path through the freezing rain.

"I can live with that answer," Ursa said. He walked beside Draft slowly as they conversed. "We should probably go ahead and find a place to spend the night soon. It's pretty dark and with this storm getting so bad, you won't be able to see your hoof in front of your face pretty soon. Is your brother going to be alright out there?" the earth pony asked as they rounded another corner.

"Downpour? Uh, I'm pretty sure he'll be fine out there for a night," Draft replied. "Besides, he deserves it for the way he acted. What an ass." The rain kept coming down as the stallions made their way down the trail and searched for a place to set up camp for the night. Lighting flashed again, lighting up everything around them in stark contrast before flickering out and leaving them more blinded than before. Thunder sounded immediately afterward.

Downpour stared at his makeshift tent with disdain as the cold rain pelted his hide ceaselessly. He had draped a blanket across a low hanging branch and fastened it down, but the result was barely enough for him to fit under. The thick built stallion squeezed inside with a sigh and wrapped a cloak around himself. He was dirty, wet and pissed off. "Ugh, there is no way I'm staying here all night. I'm just going to keep flying until the rain stops," Downpour told himself. The pegasus ripped down his blanket and tossed the soaking fabric over his back. He fumbled around in the pocket of his cloak for a few moments and pulled out the vial of crystalline powder that he had nearly used up. Downpour stuck it up to his nose and snorted half of the remaining substance before replacing the stopper and putting it away. He felt a flush of heat radiating out to his extremities and took off into the sky quickly, heedless of the worsening storm around him.

Downpour's mind was racing and every thought was focused on what his brother and that freak, Ursa, had told him. It made the pegasus a little nauseous as he thought about it, although that may have been because he hadn't eaten much all day. Downpour and his brother had been told by their mother that it was wrong for somepony to be attracted to their own sex and he had always believed her. It just wasn't natural to be gay, but here was his brother, saying that he chose to be with a stallion loving earth pony.

A flash of lightening arced through the clouds as Downpour wiped the rain from his face. He could hear the quick beat of his heart, throbbing in his head and his eyes darted around blindly for a moment as thunder rumbled. That powder had made him a little jumpy, but he felt like flying all night would be no problem and he picked up the pace of his beating wings. It wouldn't take long for the pegasus to get to the next town at his current speed.

The storm never let up as Downpour flew on and the wind ripped across his twitching body, whipping his blue striped tail behind him, along with his wet cloak. No matter how bad the weather got though, Downpour kept his body focused on flying, even if his mind was elsewhere. The rhythm of the pegasus's beating wings was drowned out in the storm as the darkness grew deeper around him. He felt as if he could keep soaring forever.

Draft lay down on his blanket next to Ursa, safe from the rain under another of the talented earth pony's improvised shelters. The torrential rain was making constant noise as it fell harmlessly to the branches overhead. The ground was a bit damp, but nothing that the pegasus couldn't handle and there was even a small fire going. Downpour had forgotten his flint and, while Draft felt a little bad for him, it was his own fault.

"Thanks for setting this up," Draft said to the stallion beside him.

"It was my pleasure, Draft." A sweet smile accompanied Ursa's reply. He scooted a little closer to Draft and the pegasus looked him in the eyes and grinned back. "Thank you for lighting a fire."

"No problem," Draft replied. After he had been laying there for a few minutes Draft's stomach growled in hunger. He needed to get some food and go to bed soon.

"Was that your stomach?" Ursa cuckled.

"Mhmm, I have to eat some dinner," Draft replied as he got to his hooves and walked over to their saddle bags. He dug around for a bit before pulling out a couple carrots and a flask of cider. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Yes, but I'm also very comfortable right now, so it's hard to get up," Ursa told him with a smile. Draft snickered and launched a couple carrots in the crystal pony's direction with a flick of his slender wing. Ursa snatched them out of the air and took a large bite from one. Draft grabbed a couple more things from his bags and walked back to his place on the ground. "Thanks again," the green stallion said to him as he lay back down.

"Well, I was already over there and I thought 'why not?'" Draft explained with a grin as he began chewing on his own carrot. "It's not like it was any extra work." He swallowed his food and coughed a few times. The pegasus picked up the flask of cider and took a long swig off of it before offering it to his companion. "Are you thirsty?"

"Yes, cider sounds very good right now," Ursa answered as he took the container from Draft's outstretched hoof. The earth pony took a long drink from it before replacing the cap and passing it back. "Nothing like a little cider to warm the belly, huh?"

"Mhmm," Draft agreed. They continued eating in silence, to busy chewing food to make any more conversation at the moment. Draft would have liked a hot meal, but he hadn't wanted to wait for one. He briefly wondered if his brother had eaten anything for dinner, but then dismissed the worries from his head. Downpour was capable of taking care of himself for a night or two. When he had finally finished eating, Draft fell onto his bedding with a satisfied sigh. "Wow, I was really hungry. I guess flying all day does that to me though."

"Ugh, me too," Ursa agreed as he patted his full stomach with a hoof. "Although I think a hot meal would have been better."

"I was just thinking that same thing," Draft told him with a chuckle. "I was also thinking about my brother."

"I'm sure he'll be just fine," Ursa assured him with a comforting smile. They laid in silence for awhile after that, Draft snuggling up closer to the earth pony as the temperature continued to drop and the rain began turning into snow. They were huddled in their shelter next to the dying flames of the campfire, wrapped in each other's legs for a few minutes before Draft heard Ursa start snoring softly. He glanced in the direction his brother had flown off once in worry, before closing his grey eyes and falling asleep next to the larger stallion beside him, relishing in the warmth that Ursa's shaggier coat provided.


	27. The Best Laid Plan

~Chapter 25: The Best Laid Plan~

That morning, Downpour woke up extremely disoriented, with a pounding headache and his body sprawled across the damp ground. His throat was as dry as sand and his muscles were on fire with pain from being worked so hard the day before. The now empty vial of powder he had been abusing was lying beside his head the pegasus noticed, when he finally managed to force his bleary eyes open. Downpour stared at it for what seemed like an eternity before eventually forcing his stomach off of the ground and standing on shaking legs. He checked out his surroundings, bewildered about how he had ended up at the edge of the forest.

Downpour's last fuzzy memories were of speeding down the path as fast as he could manage in the dark, as the storm continued to rage all around him. The strung out stallion had stopped only when he needed another taste of his magical drug and even then, it was only for a few seconds. He must have crashed soon after the last dose wore off, but at least he had made it to his destination. Only a few hundred yards away he could see houses silhouetted against the fiery sunrise. At least he hadn't slept long, Downpour thought as he attempted to move an unsteady limb forward. The pegasus's knees buckled and he fell to the ground with a thud, coating his sweat encrusted hide with more grime.

The fact that Downpour hadn't eaten much yesterday caught up with him at that moment and he rolled onto his aching side as his stomach turned. The pony's blue eyes drowned with tears as he was wracked with dry heaves. Stomach bile seared a path up his esophagus and filled his mouth with a sour taste, but there was nothing else for his body to force out. Downpour hacked and coughed, body shaking violently with each wretched sound, as he succumbed to the side effects of his prolonged drug use. The powder was a fickle mistress, he was learning.

Downpour's brain felt like it was going to swell until his skull cracked open and it made it hard for him to think straight, but the pegasus knew that he needed something to drink very soon, before his stomach turned against him again. He spotted his cloak lying on the ground a short distance from where he was currently curled up and started crawling towards it. He utilized his wings like oars, as he had done back at Ursa's house, and began scooting himself over the muddy ground. The stallion cringed as his aching stomach passed over a root sticking out of the ground, scraping his underside as he passed. It left a long mark from his chest all the way to his more delicate areas.

Downpour sighed with relief when he finally managed to reach the bags and he immediately ripped them open, searching for a flask of cider to quench his thirst and ease his boiling insides. The pegasus screamed in frustration as he came up empty hoofed and it caused him to break out in another fit of raspy coughing and wheezing. His coughing soon devolved into gasping sobs as he dropped his head onto the earth in defeat.

"For the love of Luna, somepony please put me out of my misery," Downpour whined into the empty woods. Anything would have been better than wallowing in the pain and the mud any longer and eventually he closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to sleep, where there wasn't any pain.

Draft awoke in the morning with his forelegs still wrapped around Ursa's midsection and he lay there for awhile, enjoying the warmth that the shaggy earth pony's body provided. The sound of the rain was gone and the sun was cresting over the trees, its life giving light barely shinning through the shelter over their heads. The pegasus shifted his body slightly, attempting to return blood flow to one of his limbs that had fallen asleep, but he accidentally woke up the green stallion he was with.

"Mmm, good morning," Ursa said sleepily as he rolled over to face the pegasus.

"Good morning, Ursa. How did you sleep?" Draft asked as he stared into the tired green eyes in front of him. Ursa swiped away a few strands of his blue mane that were covering his face and smiled. Draft beamed back at him.

"I slept very well. Despite the storm last night, it was actually fairly warm under these blankets," Ursa replied. They both chuckled at that.

"Yeah, we had it pretty good," Draft agreed. "But I wonder how my brother's night was." The thunder had been so loud the night before that Draft had been awakened by the sound a couple of times. If his brother hadn't found a shelter from the rain, the stubborn pegasus would probably get very sick. The thought worried the young stallion, but Ursa reached out a large hoof and stroked it gently across his cheek.

"You worry too much, Draft. I'm sure your brother isn't stupid enough to have stayed out in the rain all night," Ursa's reassured him as his hoof moved to the back of Draft's head and pulled the smaller pon forward into a kiss. Draft's worries disappeared in an instant as he sunk into the larger stallion's embrace, his mind melting into blissful soup. The kiss lasted for only a few seconds, but it felt to him like hours.

"Maybe you're right," Draft whispered as he pulled back from the sensual connection. "I suppose we'll run into him sooner or later anyway. We're both headed to the same place." Ursa nodded his head and propped it up on one hoof, looking back at the grey pony beside him.

"That's the spirit. Now what do you think about lighting a fire and having a nice hot breakfast?" Ursa asked with a grin. "And maybe some cider as well," he added, rising off of his bedding and towering over Draft.

"That sounds excellent," Draft replied. His eyes wandered up and down Ursa's fit body before finally resting on the stallion's green eyes once again. "Do you want me to light the fire while you get the food out?"

"Um, no. How about you just lay there while I do this?" the crystal pony replied. Draft opened his mouth to object, but Ursa wouldn't listen. "I insist. I should have kept my mouth shut around your brother yesterday and it's partially my fault that the whole mess happened the way it did, so consider this my penance." Draft rolled his eyes and yawned.

"If you insist I guess," the pegasus laughed quietly. Draft laid his head back down and let Ursa prepare everything for him. It wasn't the earth pony's fault that his bother had reacted the way he did, that was Downpour's own fault, but if it made Ursa happy to fix him breakfast, then Draft wasn't going to argue the point.

A cool breeze blew past, sending a shiver through Draft's body, so he pulled Ursa's blankets over the top of his own for added warmth now that the body heat was gone. The cozy stallion yawned widely, briefly considering closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep again, but breakfast wouldn't take long to make. He decided to wait patiently and pass the time by sorting through his thoughts. The grey pegasus had quite a few conflicting feelings to resolve before he spoke with his older brother again.

Draft had accepted the fact that he was gay, that much was easy enough, and also that he really liked Ursa. The emerald green earth pony was one of the nicest stallions that he had ever talked to, but Draft wasn't sure if that was enough of a reason to try building a deeper relationship with him. All of these feelings he had were relatively foreign to him and it was both terrifying and exciting at the same time.

Downpour would be a slight problem now, no matter how he proceeded, because of how stubborn and short tempered the older pegasus was, but there had to be a way to convince his older brother that Draft's sexuality didn't change the fact that they were siblings and that he was the same pony he had always been. Draft considered approaching the subject with calm logic, but it didn't seem like a method that would get through to Downpour. Ignoring the problem was obviously out of the question, but it was possible that Ursa could beat some sense into Draft's ignorant brother. The thought of Downpour getting what he deserved made Draft chuckle under his breath and Ursa glanced over from where he was cooking with a bewildered expression on his chiseled face.

"What's so funny over there?" Ursa asked.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about everything," Draft replied with a smile.

"Everything? Well that's quite a bit to think about."

Draft rolled his eyes dismissively at Ursa's dumb joke and replied, "You have no idea. There has been quite a bit on my mind, but I'll figure everything out eventually." Draft grinned at the large stallion, who was stooped over the fire, roasting something that the curious pegasus couldn't see from his current position.

"I should hope so," Ursa replied with a chuckle.

Draft spent the next few minutes contemplating his options while Ursa finished making their breakfast, but all that the winged pony knew for sure, was that he liked Ursa and his brother was just going to have to deal with that fact. It was enough of a decision for the time being. Ursa called Draft over to eat a few moments after he had reached that conclusion and the pegasus begrudgingly kicked off his blankets, the morning air immediately sapping his extra heat. He stretched out both of his sleek, grey wings and ambled over to the fire, where there was warmth and food waiting for him.

"Wow, even out in the woods you can cook some great smelling food. Thank you," Draft told Ursa as he eyed each delicious piece of fried apple slices and roasted carrots. The green stallion blushed slightly at his compliment.

"You are very welcome and here's some cider to wash it all down," Ursa replied as he held a flask out to Draft. "So, is this a good apology?"

"You didn't have anything to apologize about in the first place," Draft explained. "But yes, this is great, Ursa." Draft started eating with fervor, pausing only to take quick breaths and down gulps of cider. The fried apples were covered in a blend of cinnamon and other less obvious flavors that caressed the pegasus's taste buds and the carrots were warm and juicy, the flavor seared inside to perfection. A hot meal did wonders on Draft's mood and by the time he had licked the last taste from his lips, the grey stallion dropped to his back and let out a satisfied belch.

"Whoa, you finished that off quick," Ursa observed. His mouth hung open in awe at the speed with which Draft had consumed everything causing him to forget taking a single bite of his own food as he had watched. "Uh, can I get you any more?" Draft shook his head slowly in reply and caressed his swollen stomach gently with one hoof.

"I think I may have eaten that too fast," Draft mumbled.

"You think so?" Ursa asked sarcastically as he laughed at the overstuffed pegasus sprawled on the ground before him. Draft waved a hoof dismissively at the earth pony and sighed. Ursa rolled his eyes and began eating his own breakfast while Draft let his stomach settle down. By the time Ursa had finished eating the gluttonous young stallion was able to get back to his hooves and walk again.

"Alright, let's get our stuff packed and see if we can catch up to the dumbass. I'd rather not leave him unattended for too long when he's all pissed off like he is. That's a recipe for disaster," Draft said as he slowly started packing up his gear. The thought of Downpour trying to vent his anger in a foreign country made him shudder.

"I'm sure he won't get into any trouble. Chances are that he made it to town and is waiting for us there," Ursa replied as he began to help the pegasus get everything ready for the walk. "Hay, I wouldn't be surprised if he only made it a mile in that weather and then took cover for the night. That would have been the smart thing for him to do."

"On a list of words that I would use to describe my brother, _smart_ isn't exactly near the top," Draft responded.

As soon as they had the supplies tucked into their saddlebags, the two stallions set off northward down the forest path. The sun had been doing its best to dry the earth, but the trail was still plagued with large puddles and plenty of mud. Their hooves sloshed through the muck as they walked sided by side. The blue tips on the pegasus's tail were covered up by dirt before they rounded the first corner. Hopefully I can take a bath soon, Draft thought as he stepped over an especially large puddle of rainwater.

One confusing nightmare after another tormented Downpour's hungover brain as he slumbered in the midst of the forest. Visions of twisted shapes and figures, vague shades of ponies and griffons, stalked his dreamscape. They screamed in a blood crazed fury, the words unintelligible and fearsome all at once. Dark reflections of his inner torment attempted to mirror those that he cared about. The setting of his demented visions was a prison and although he was not in chains, there was still no escaping the creatures that stalked the dark corridors. Then the setting would shift into another, equally horrible place in which he was trapped. No matter how fast and far he flew the shades were always lurking right behind him, preying on his fear.

Downpour screamed aloud in the physical world, each nightmare eliciting a physical reaction from the sleeping pegasus. His heart raced and sweat coated his matted hide as his limbs thrashed about, attempting to fight off the enemies in his own mind. To a passerby he would have seemed possessed by a foul beast from the deepest caverns of Tartarus and in his nightmares, he may as well have been. There were no travelers on the road that day however and nopony to save Downpour from his dementia, aside from the two stallions he had been in the process of fleeing from when he collapsed.

The sun made its way higher into the sky, casting light on the wretched form of the sleeping pegasus while the cold winter wind began to blow through the barren trees that surrounded him. Had Downpour been awakened, he may have found joy in the fact that the storm clouds overhead were being carried off, but in his current state, the small blessing went unobserved. When his screaming finally began to die down, the forest grew quiet once again.

"It looks like we may actually have a nice break from the rain today," Ursa observed as he gazed skyward.

"About time I had a little good fortune on this trip," Draft said with a smile as he sidestepped a patch of mud in the road. "I just hope it lasts."

The pair had been walking most of the morning, but had yet to cross paths with Downpour. Draft figured that Ursa had been right once again, his brother had most likely taken refuge from the storm or perhaps made it to town. His older brother was probably sleeping in an inn right now, enjoying the luxuries of a roof over his head and a soft pillow on a bed. The thought irked Draft slightly. No matter how badly Downpour behaved or what mistakes he made, he seemed to always come out ahead in the end. Draft often wished that he had his sibling's dumb luck. As they rounded yet another unnoteworthy bend in the trail, the two stallions were met with the sight of an emaciated Downpour, passed out along the side of the path, much to their mutual surprise.

"Is that… your brother?" Ursa asked when he saw the shape of somepony sleeping in the middle of the woods.

Downpour appeared to be sleeping peacefully, but also looked as if he was near death. Draft flew to his older brother's side upon seeing him in such a state. When he got closer, Draft could see the filth and sweat covering Downpour's body and the stench of vomit coming from a puddle nearby. Fearing that the worst was happening, Draft grasped his brother's shoulders in his hooves and attempted to shake him awake

"Ursa!" he shouted to his large companion when Downpour failed to respond to his shaking. "It's Downpour alright. I-I think he's sick!" Draft opened his sibling's eyelids, only to find them rolled back into his skull. "Oh shit!" A cold fear gripped Draft at that moment, as he realized that his brother was going to die if he didn't do something.

Ursa skidded to a halt beside the grey pegasus, concern evident on his face as he asked, "What's wrong with him?" Draft looked into Ursa's face with tears burning his eyes and blurring his vision.

"I told him to stop using that stuff, but h-he didn't lis-listen," Draft stuttered, beginning to lose his composure as tears streaked down his face. He tried slapping his brother to wake him, as well as yelling and shaking the unconscious stallion even more, but it wasn't working. Then Draft got a crazy idea. He couldn't use magic to heal, but there was another way that he could still revive his brother.

"What are you doing!?" Ursa questioned in alarm as Draft began ripping everything out of his bags with a focused haste. After tossing aside blankets, food and clothing, the pegasus finally found what he was searching for. His hooves fumbled a few times in his urgency, and he cursed the fact that hooves weren't the most dexterous of appendages, before managing to pull out the small vial of liquid adrenaline that Spark had left them before they parted ways.

"I think this'll work," he told Ursa as he fumbled a few times with the metal needle that attached to the top of the lid. Honestly, Draft wasn't sure that the adrenaline wouldn't just kill his brother instantly, but he hadn't been left with much of a choice. There was another healing potion, but that was only effective on wounds, it couldn't reverse the effects of magical toxins or mental maladies. Once the needle was ready, Draft prepared to stab it into his brother's heart. "Okay. One, tw-"

"Wait! What in the hay are you doing right now?" Ursa asked. The crystal pony had a look of horror on his face as he watched Draft preparing to stab his brother in the chest.

"It's adrenaline. It's supposed to wake him up and get his blood pumping again," Draft hurriedly explained as he psyched himself up for the task before him. Ursa didn't seem very assured by his explanation.

"It's supposed to wake him up? But what if it doesn't?" Ursa's voice trembled as he questioned the pegasus.

"If it doesn't work, then he dies. If I do nothing, then he dies!" Draft screamed at the earth pony. "So if you have a better idea then you have three seconds to tell me what it is… no?" Ursa shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut as Draft raised the container of adrenaline above his head. "One, two, three!" Draft's last count was punctuated by the slamming of the needle through his brother's chest. Downpour immediately shot up with a scream bordering on insanity and began crawling backwards across the ground with confused terror contorting his facial expression.

"What the bucking hay!?" Downpour yelled as he cast a bewildered gaze around himself. His wings were jutting out and his body trembled as the adrenaline coursed through his veins, forcing his heart into an intense rhythm. Draft looked into his older brother's eyes and broke down into hysterical laughter, mixed with uninhibited sobs. "What the hell are you two stallion lovers doing?" Even after brushing shoulders with death, the bluish pegasus managed to be offensive. Ursa opened his eyes and fixed Downpour with a stare of malice.

"We just saved your ungrateful ass, that's what we were doing, you dense bastard!" The green stallion shouted as he got to his hooves. "You should be kissing your brother's forehooves and thanking him for bothering to save your worthless carcass right now!" Ursa took a few steps in Downpour's direction and stood towering over the shaking pegasus. "But instead, you're sitting here calling us names, like you're some high and mighty beacon of perfection!" Downpour stared up at the earth pony in astonishment, his mouth hanging agape.

"Ursa, calm down. He's probably just startled by everything that just happened. Give him a few seconds to breath and collect his thoughts," Draft said as he wiped away tears of sorrow and joy. "Then you can kick his ass for being an insensitive prick." Ursa took a deep breath to calm him before he stepped back from Draft's brother, but he still looked as if he was ready to throttle the stocky pegasus. The blue maned stallion pushed a few strands of hair out of his face and walked off in a huff.

"Wha-what the?" Downpour struggled to force out the words as he slowly collected his wits. "What just happened?" he finally asked in a wavering voice.

"What happened was, you were being a moron and not listening to me when I told you to take it easy on that magical powder. You were overdosing and I stabbed you with a dose of adrenaline to keep you from dying. I'm surprised you didn't get sick last night," Draft explained in a fairly even tone. "If it weren't for us two _stallion lovers_, then you'd be halfway to the afterlife right about now." Downpour stared back at them with realization creeping its way into his head.

"Well, thanks I guess," Downpour replied as he took a flask of cider from Draft's outstretched hoof. "But this doesn't change anything you know." Ursa facehoofed and walked away, probably to avoid pummeling the tattooed pony's face. Draft took a seat on the ground near his brother and sighed deeply.

"I don't get it, Downpour. Why should anything be different in the first place?" Draft questioned. "I'm no different than I was last week."

"Except last week I wasn't aware that you liked cock," Downpour said with a scowl as he quenched his thirst with the last of the cider that Draft had offered him. "I'd say that makes things a little different."

"All crassness aside," Draft replied with minor irritation, "who I decide to have relationships with is none of your business and has no effect on you at all. Not only that, but it makes me happy to be honest with myself about who I really am. Why does that bother you so much? Do you really want me to stay miserable for the rest of my life?"

Downpour opened his mouth and closed it a few times, not sure about what he wanted to say, until he finally replied, "Of course I don't want you to be miserable, but being gay just isn't natural and I don't think I can accept it." Draft hoped his face didn't betray the pain he actually felt from his brother's words. The one pony he thought he could always trust had just let him down. "I'll still finish this mission with you two, but I don't want to see anything sexual or I swear you and me are going to have problems and Ursa too if he gets in my face again."

Draft managed to keep the sorrow out of his tone as he responded, "Okay, Downpour. I was hoping that you might be able to understand, but I'll accommodate your request until we finish this task. After that, I'm not going back to the house though. I'll be finding somewhere else to live." Draft got back up to his hooves with head hung low.

"That's probably for the best," Downpour admitted.

Draft passed by Ursa and continued walking towards the town, which he could see off in the distance.

"Are you okay?" the emerald coated stallion asked Draft as he caught up with him. "Did you two get everything worked out?"

"Yeah. He hates me and I'm moving out, but we're going to put up with each other until we finish what we started," Draft choked. A tear formed in one of the pegasus's grey eyes, but he quickly blinked it away. No amount of tears spilt would change anything and he didn't feel like wasting anymore of them on a lost cause.

"Where are you going to live when you move out?" Ursa asked as he ducked under a low hanging branch jutting into the trail. "Do you want to move in with me?"

"Thanks for the offer," Draft replied, shaking his head slowly, "but we hardly know each other. I like you, don't get me wrong, but I don't know the real you yet. Hay, I don't even really know the real me and I grew up with him." Draft broke out in a smile, but the sadness was still just under the surface. Ursa chuckled softly at his words.

"Well, just remember that the offer is on the table if you ever want to accept it," the earth pony replied.

"I will Ursa," Draft answered as they passed a sign stating that they had reached the city of Calvary, home to the best arena in the Crystal Empire. Downpour passed the same sign a few minutes later, having chosen to keep his distance from the other two stallions. The less they interacted for the rest of the trip, the less likely the brothers would be to get into a scrap over their differences.

Downpour trailed behind his brother and Ursa as they headed toward a cheap inn near the center of town. The sky was clear of clouds and the sun shined down upon the streets as he walked, but his mood had not improved with the weather. If anything the pegasus was becoming more irritated the further they traveled. Though he was still angry at his brother's decision to be gay, Downpour placed most of the blame on Ursa for messing with the younger stallion's head. He knew his brother wouldn't have started having these twisted ideas if the green stallion hadn't pressured him and he began to conceive of methods he could use to try and help his younger sibling.

"Here we are," Ursa said as they approached a large, plain building with a sign overhead that bore the name 'Retour l'Auberge' on a sign above the main entrance. "It's not much, but it's pretty cheap and it'll give us a place to sleep tonight."

The three ponies entered the front doors and walked up to the oak desk, where a pink mare with a bored look on her face sat, twirling a lock of her light blue hair with one hoof. She looked over to the three stallions with a smile as she welcomed them to the inn and asked how many rooms they would need. Ursa approached the desk and leaned against it as he spoke with her.

"Hello, we're going to need a room for the night. How much is that going to cost?" the earth pony asked. Downpour scowled as he stepped up beside Ursa. There was no way that he was going to spend a night in the same room as his brother's wannabe lover.

"Actually, make that two rooms," Downpour said to the pink earth pony. "Do you accept Equestrian bits here?" She looked surprised for a moment before answering.

"Umm, yes we accept Equestrian bits," the mare replied. She told Downpour how much it would cost, but as he began to pull out his bag of money, Draft yanked him away from the counter.

"What the hay are you thinking? We're not made of money, Downpour. What if we need those bits before we make it back to Canterlot?" the younger stallion asked.

"I don't care, they're my bits and if I want to spend them on a separate room from you and your coltfriend, then I will." Downpour practically hissed the words at his brother as he pulled away and walked back up to the counter. He pulled the bits from his dirty cloak and dumped them out in front of him.

"I thought you said that you were going to be paying in Equestrian bits?" the innkeeper asked him with a perplexed tone as she examined the coins. Downpour picked one up and looked at the design. Sure enough, it was from the Crystal Empire. The king and queen's profiles were etched on each side.

"Draft, did you switch my Equestrian bits with these when we were crossing the mountains?" Downpour asked the grey pegasus as he started counting out coins to pay for his room.

"No. I thought that you did before then. I noticed them when we were back at Ursa's place. Those are the bits that you stole from Sergeant Strike, right?" Draft asked as he stepped up to see the coins for himself one more time.

"I could have sworn they were, but why the hay would he have money from the Crystal Empire?" Downpour asked, his previous irritation forgotten for the moment. It wasn't very common for military leaders to spend vacations in foreign countries that had unstable relationships with their own, as far as the pegasus knew. Maybe he collects coins from around the world or something, Downpour thought, as he pushed a stack of bits over to the pink pony behind the counter.

"That's a good question," Draft replied quietly as he stepped back from the desk to let Ursa pay for their room. "Maybe we should ask him on our way home." Draft chuckled quietly, but Downpour wasn't in the mood to joke around with his sibling. The only thing he wanted to do right then was take a bath and get something to eat. Downpour also wanted to take a nap, because even though he had slept most of the morning, it hadn't actually given him much rest.

"Yeah, you go ahead and do that. I already told you that after we're done here I'm not traveling with you anymore," Downpour responded flatly as he took the room key that the blue maned mare offered him. The innkeeper pointed the pegasus to his room and he left the other two stallions without another word, his mind already fixed on taking a long, hot bath.

The rooms weren't very large, but they were only spending one night, so Draft supposed that it wouldn't really matter. He and Ursa had taken turns bathing, only because the tub was cramped enough with one stallion in it, and they were now lying side by side on the soft bed. Having a mattress to sleep on was going to be one of the best parts of the pegasus's day, second only to the wonderful breakfast Ursa had prepared for him that morning. The two stallions let out simultaneous sighs of contentment as they relaxed.

"What do you feel like doing with the rest of the evening?" Draft asked as he stretched out on the bedspread. The beige colored room wasn't much to look at, but the bed was very comfortable and he wouldn't have minded staying there for the rest of the night. "Is there anything to do in this town?"

"There are a few restaurants we could go to if you're hungry or we could check out the shops and see if we can find you a new set of wing blades," Ursa replied. "I know how much you've wanted new ones." Draft's eyes lit up at the mention of new weapons. Ever since he had ditched his old ones in the Crystal Mountains, the pegasus had felt naked, which was strange, since ponies didn't normally wear clothes anyway.

"That would be great. Where's the shop at?" Draft questioned excitedly.

"I haven't been here in awhile, but there used to be at least two blacksmiths that I knew of. I'm sure one of them is bound to be open still," Ursa replied as he sat up from the bed and got to his hooves. "We may want to hurry though. It's getting late and I imagine the shops will be closing soon." Draft launched himself off the bed like a bolt of lightning and flew over to the door.

"I'm ready if you are," he said eagerly. Ursa chuckled and followed the impatient pegasus out into the hallway. They followed the wood floor back out into the lobby, nodding politely to the innkeeper as they passed the front desk, and out into the cold evening air. It was bracing after their warm baths, but Draft hardly noticed due to his excitement at purchasing a new set of swords.

"I think that it's this way," Ursa informed the pegasus as he headed west down the empty street. It seemed as if almost everypony had returned to their homes to escape the cold already and the stallions only saw a few others as they traveled. Draft hovered along side the larger pony with a smile plastered across his grey face. He was very eager to try out some new wing blades, although spending more money probably wasn't the best idea.

"I knew I could find it!" Ursa exclaimed as he pointed to a small shop with smoke billowing out of twin chimneys on the roof. They walked up to the door and the green stallion held it open for his smaller friend, motioning for the pegasus to enter first.

"Wow," Draft commented quietly as he gazed around the store. There were more weapons than he had ever seen lining the walls and tables around him. He saw swords, daggers, lances, shoes and all manner of other weapons on display. His eyes widened in amazement as he rushed over to the closest table and began examining the wares that it held. This was even better than a warm bath for the pegasus and Ursa smiled at his antics, as Draft tested out the different pieces of merchandise, searching for the perfect weapon. It was going to take him quite awhile to find the perfect fit amidst everything.

Downpour had taken a bath, eaten dinner and was now wandering the streets of Calvary looking for some evening entertainment. Most of the stores were closed, but he knew that there was something fun to do somewhere in the city. He just needed to find out what it was and where to find it. There were a slew of bars of course, but the pegasus could get drunk anywhere, so he made up his mind to leave the bars as a last resort. The streets were nearly empty as he flew around aimlessly, hoping to stumble upon some hidden gem of excitement.

Just as Downpour was beginning to consider giving up on the hunt and heading back to the last bar he had passed, he saw a building that was still brightly lit and had music blaring from inside. Curious, the foreign stallion decided that it was the most promising place he had found and began heading for the front doors. As he came closer, the pegasus admired the bright red paint with lime green trim that adorned the oddly shaped building. It was very gaudy and he figured that it must be a pretty fun place if they had gone with such flashy colors.

"Whoa there, its five bits to get in," said a midnight blue unicorn, who was standing so still beside the door that the pegasus hadn't even noticed him.

"It cost money just to get in?" Downpour asked the unicorn with an indignant tone, although on the inside he knew that it must be for a good reason. "Alright, just give me a second." He rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out the bits. The stallion levitated the money from his hoof and nodded him in. Downpour smirked as he stepped through the doors and was met with the loud sounds of music, mixed with the excited yells of stallions that were clearly enjoying themselves.

It took a few seconds for Downpour's eyes to adjust to the dim lighting that was directed at different stages around the large room, but his jaw dropped as soon as he gazed at the scene surrounding him. Every platform held a different, unbelievably attractive pair of mares that were dancing provocatively together, while drunken stallions practically threw money at them. The stunned pegasus had found paradise hidden in Calvary. He made his way through the intoxicated crowd and over to a bar that was tended by a middle aged earth pony with an ear missing on his left side.

"Welcome to the Full House Gentlecolt's Club. I'm Spade, the owner of this fine establishment," the black stallion told Downpour as he took a seat in on an open stool at the bar. "I don't recall ever seeing you in here before. You must be a tourist." Spade cleaned a glass with a rag as he talked and all the while Draft could hear the sounds of enjoyment from the patrons behind him.

"Sort of, I'm from Equestria. The name is Downpour and I'm… here on business, I guess," Downpour replied slowly as he eyed the many bottles of liquor on display behind the stallion. There were more varieties than the winged stallion had ever seen in the entirety of his life, each one looking more delicious than the last. Paradise had nothing on this place, Downpour decided, as he gawked at the massive selection.

"Equestria, ha, what are the odds? That's where I'm from originally. I moved here years ago with my girl and opened this bar when I got sick of working for other ponies day in and day out," Spade told him as he put away some clean glasses and grabbed a beer for another customer further down the bar. "So, what's your poison, Downpour? You look like a rum drinker to me."

"Rum sounds good. How much for a double?" Downpour asked as he reached for his bag of coins. At the rate he was spending money, the bag would be empty by tomorrow night, but he wanted to have a good time. It would help take his mind off of everything for awhile, which he really needed right then.

"First one's on me," Spade replied as he poured a triple shot of dark rum into a small glass and dropped a couple of ice cubes in after. "It's not everyday that I get to see somepony from back home." Spade grinned and Downpour matched his smile.

"Thanks," Downpour laughed as he tipped his glass to the bartender. "I'm loving this place already."

"Everypony does," Spade assured him before chuckling quietly. "Feel free to walk around and find a pair of ponies that you like. There's no shortage of mares to choose from." Downpour tossed back his drink in one gulp and nodded in answer. It wasn't long before the intoxicated pegasus had taken a seat at the front of a stage where a teal mare was dancing with her identical twin. The beautiful pegasus were practically rutting on stage as their bodies rubbed and caressed each other to the beat of the music. Downpour knew that if anything could change his brother's mind about finding mares attractive, this would be it.

As he downed another few drinks, Downpour started to formulate a plan to get his brother back to normal again. Between the fifth or sixth drink, he had stopped counting, and his third private dance, the bluish pegasus had convinced himself that it was a foolproof idea. All he needed was the help of a few of the mares that worked for Spade and he could have his brother as straight as an arrow come morning. A devious grin crossed the drunken stallion's face as a large flanked mare with a violet kiss for a cutie mark ground herself against him methodically.

Draft pranced down the hall, hooves barley touching down on the wood floors as he half skipped and half flew on his way to the bedroom. It had taken until closing, much to the irritation of the blacksmith, but the pegasus had found a set of wing blades nearly identical in size and style to his old ones, except the new set was guaranteed by the blacksmith to be lighter and stronger than his old ones. Ursa followed along behind the happy pony, although he wasn't bouncing around as much as his winged companion.

Draft got to the door of their room and saw a note had been placed on the front of it. It was addressed to Draft from his brother and read:

_Draft, please meet me in my room without Ursa. I'd like to have a talk so that we can clear the air between us. We're brothers after all._

_ From Downpour_

Draft folded the note and opened the door to his room. Ursa walked in just as the pegasus was putting away his new weapon.

"My brother wants to talk with me. I think he might have finally realized how big of an ass he was being to us," Draft told the green earth pony.

"It's about time he stopped acting like such a foal about this," Ursa replied as he sat on the bed. "Where is he at?"

"His note said to meet him in his room," Draft replied.

"Did you want me to go with you?"

Draft shook his head as he responded, "No, Downpour said that he wanted to talk to me alone. I'll be back in just a bit." Ursa rolled his eyes and fell back on the bed.

"Okay, but don't be surprised if I'm already asleep by the time you get back. It's been a long day," the crystal pony told him before yawning tiredly.

"It shouldn't take long, but goodnight, just in case you do fall asleep," Draft replied as he walked out their bedroom door and closed it behind him.

Draft sighed as he made his way down the hall to his brother's room. He had seen which door the mare at the front desk had pointed to when she was giving Downpour directions on where to go, so it was easy enough to find. The nervous pegasus took a deep breath before knocking twice on the wood. There was no answer, so he tried the knob and to his surprise the door opened for him. He walked inside and closed the door behind him, but the pony he was expecting was no where to be found.

"Sweet Celestia! I-I'm so sorry. I thought this, uh, was my, um, my brother's room," Draft stuttered upon seeing two mares kissing each other on top of the bed. The flustered stallione could have sworn that he had found the right room, but that definitely wasn't his brother on the bed. Draft started to back up, but heard a click as the door was locked behind him. He whipped his head around, only to see his brother drunkenly grinning back at him.

"You made it. I wash beginning to wonder if you got my le- letter or not," Downpour slurred before taking a swig off of the flask in his hoof. "Draft, I'd like you to meet Desire and Passion." His brother pointed a hoof in the mares' direction. Who was who, Draft couldn't tell, but the kissing pegasus were obviously twins. Both of them were teal colored with blue manes, but one had a pink stripe in her hair while her counterpart sported a red stripe. They were currently absorbed with the task of licking each others cutie marks and Draft blushed bright red at their shameless show of intimacy.

"What the hay, Downpour? Is this some kind of joke or something?" Draft asked as he looked away from the lesbian ponies and back to his intoxicated older brother.

"I jusht figured that if you actually got the chance to have a good rut with shome hot mares then you might not jump on the first gay stallion to show you a little affection," Downpour replied with a stupid grin. Draft couldn't believe how low his brother had stooped this time. The grey pegasus couldn't even speak he was so angry. "Well?" Draft's answer was a hoof to his brother's jaw, sending the shorter stallion to the floor of the room. All the while, Desire and Passion continued their sexual show on the bed. Draft screamed once in irritation before kicking the door open and storming down the hall to his room, fuming every step of the way.

Ursa was already fast asleep when Draft entered the darkened room, so he quietly climbed into bed next to the earth pony, wrapping a foreleg around his large chest for comfort. Every time Draft gained back a little bit of respect for his brother, Downpour did something inconceivably moronic. The younger stallion tried to take deep breaths and calm his nerves, but it ended up being the sound of Ursa's steady breaths that lulled him into a sense of relative peace once again. An hour had passed before Draft's fury eased and he was able to close his eyes long enough to fall asleep.

Downpour got to his hooves a couple of minutes later, the room spinning slightly from the blow to his head, paired with the copious amount of alcohol in his bloodstream. When he was steady enough to walk, the stocky pegasus made his way over to the bed. "Shit! I really thought he'd go for that," Downpour sighed. He was going to have to try something else tomorrow.

The two mares halted their touching and kissing momentarily to ask, "What would you like for us to do now?" There voices were in perfect unison and drenched in sexuality. It caused Downpour's body heat to rise and his blood to pump faster just listening to their sultry whispers.

"Well, I'm not about to waste all of the bits I paid Spade to get you two sexy mares into my room, so I guess it's just the three of us for tonight," Downpour replied as he felt warmth begin radiating from his loins.

The twins fixed Downpour with seductive smiles and pulled him further onto the bed, until the pegasus was lying on his back with his wings fanned out. As he stared up in drunken amazement, the twins straddled the drunken stallion's body and began grinding their hips against him in perfect rhythm as they kissed and petted each other. Had he been sober, Downpour may have taken into consideration how his marefriend, Strata, would feel about him sharing a bed with two foreign mares that hadn't even told him their real names, but in his rum addled mind it seemed like the best idea ever, so he went along without any argument.

Downpour spent the night with the two sexiest mares he had ever laid eyes on, confused as to how his little brother could have possibly turned them down. They were masters of the art of lovemaking and numerous times throughout the night, Downpour had to excuse himself for a break, just so that he could regain some stamina. Alcohol alone wasn't enough to keep the exhausted pegasus going. Desire and Passion entertained themselves in his brief absences, refusing to stop for even a moment. It was nearly sunrise by the time Downpour collapsed onto the bed from pure sexual exhaustion and fell into a drunken sleep.


	28. Thicker Than Water

~Chapter 26: Thicker Than Water~

Ursa's face clouded with anger as Backdraft related the events of the previous night to the earth pony. Draft had waited just until Ursa had time to shake off his sleepiness before he began retelling the events, wanting to get it out before the larger stallion had the chance to question him first. It seemed like a good idea to get it all out in the open as soon as possible. The crystal pony's reaction was about what Draft had imagined it would be. At first Ursa was disbelieving, then upset and now he was downright furious with Draft's brother.

"He tried to get you to have sex with those prostitutes!?" Ursa asked in a voice wavering with his rage. "I'm going to stomp that little bastard into dust for being so stupid!" the earth pony exclaimed as he hopped off of the bed and headed to the door. Draft knew he should try to stop his friend, but part of him really wanted to see his brother get what he deserved, so the pegasus silently followed Ursa out the bedroom door and into the hallway. He could always intervene if things got too violent, after all.

Ursa marched down the hallway, heading straight for Downpour's room. A mare outside one of the many matching doors kept her distance, sensing the furry rolling off of the large stallion in waves. Although he was pretty easy going, Ursa could be extremely intimidating when he wanted to and it was showing through as they walked down the hall. The pair finally reached Downpour's room and Ursa pounded on the door loudly. It took a little while before Draft's brother answered the door.

Sleeping in had been Downpour's plan when he had finally collapsed after the previous night's intimate activities, but a loud pounding on the door ruined that idea. He opened his bloodshot eyes and had to squint at the ferocity of the light peeking through the window. The distinct smell of sex and stale alcohol assaulted the pegasus's nose as he pushed himself up from the mattress and carefully made his way over the twins sleeping on either side of him. Last night was a bit of a blur, but Downpour definitely remembered having relations with both of them more than once; Strata was going to murder him if she found out. He grimaced at the thought as he stumbled over to his bedroom door.

Downpour's line of thought was abruptly cut off when he opened the door and received a large hoof square in his tattooed eye. The punch dropped the stunned pony to the ground and the next thing that he saw was a large green leg speeding towards his chest. The blow knocked every bit of air from Downpour's lungs and the pegasus tried to suck in a raspy breath as he looked up into the enraged face of Ursa standing in his doorway. His blue eyes widened in realization as he attempted to brace himself against the next ferocious kick.

"You little bucker! I'm going to flatten you for being such a prick!" Ursa's shouts woke up Desire and Passion, who shrieked when they saw the green stallion kicking Downpour's incapacitated body. "What kind of a brother would do something like that!?" The question was punctuated with another hard blow to Downpour's head, sending his mind reeling from the force. The twins' screams continued to fill the air as the earth pony wailed on the hungover pegasus.

"What the hay!" Downpour finally managed to scream as he raised his forelegs to ward off the next barrage of stomps. The pegasus kicked out his legs into Ursa's knee, buckling the leg and dropping the large stallion to his level. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, Downpour followed up with three more kicks directed in the earth pony's broad chest. "Do you think you're going to come in here and bucking hit me, then just walk away. I'll beat the shit out of you!" Downpour pushed his legs under his body and rose to his hooves, preparing to stomp on the back of Ursa's exposed head.

Draft slammed into Downpour before he got the chance, sending both of them tumbling further into the room. The twins' screams punctuated the air once more as they rose off of the bed and flew out of the bedroom in a panic. Downpour managed to get two hooves between him and Draft when the younger pegasus glanced away at the fleeing mares. He shoved his light, younger brother off of him as hard as he could. Draft stumbled a few times before he managed to balance out with the help of his wings.

"I don't want to fight with you, Draft, but I swear if you attack me again I'm going to pummel you for it," Downpour said between gasping breaths. He locked eyes with his younger brother and they stared each other down in silent rage for a full minute before Draft turned around to leave. The grey pegasus helped Ursa, who was staring daggers at Downpour the whole time, to his feet and they left without another word. The door slammed loudly as Downpour slumped to the ground, out of breath and aching from the unexpected attack.

"Damn it…" the pegasus said to himself as a tear of anguish forced its way down his reddened cheek. Out of all the times Downpour had ever messed up, this had to be the worst one yet. The bluish pegasus pulled his legs to his chest and dropped his head onto them. He sat there for over an hour, silently weeping over how badly he had reacted the last couple of days. He knew that Draft was never going to forgive him for what he had tried to do and couldn't blame the younger pony.

Ever since they were just colts, Downpour seemed to be the brother always doing terrible things to ponies. The way the pegasus had treated his mother after his father had abandoned them had been horrid and the way Downpour treated his friends, although Nature Spark was the only pony he could really call his friend anymore, was nearly as bad. Now his brother hated him too. It seemed like the brash stallion was destined to drive everypony away. Maybe it was for the best though, every time somepony got close to him, he would end up hurting them. His tears fell one by one, punctuating each dark thought in his mind as they splashed against the floor. He was a monster.

Eventually Downpour's tears dried out and he found himself unable to cry any longer, so he slowly got to his hooves. The pegasus made his way over to the bed and reached a hoof under the mattress. After feeling around for a moment, he pulled out the second vial of magical powder. He had stolen it from his brother's saddlebag when he'd left the note on Draft's bedroom door the night before. It was just one more deed to add to his ever growing list of transgressions. Draft and Ursa had forgotten to lock up after they left and Downpour had helped himself to the drug. Everything felt better when he was using it and right now he needed more to feel better. He poured a little bit out on top of the small wooden night stand and sniffed it up, coughing slightly as it coated the back of his throat.

The euphoria set in almost instantly and everything seemed to get brighter. Sure Downpour had screwed up pretty badly, but he could always find a way to make it up to his younger brother. The intoxicated pegasus let out a relaxed sigh as the magical properties of the powder numbed the pain of his swollen black eye and bruised ribs. Making up would only come after he had paid Ursa back for the cheap shot the earth pony had taken on him though. Downpour slowly crawled up onto the messy bed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling as his mind drifted off.

As soon as he and Ursa had gotten back to the room, Draft started packing up their supplies. He threw everything carelessly into the saddlebags as bitter tears ran down his face. Ursa stood by and watched as the pegasus angrily forced his boots on and threw his cloak over his slender shoulders. When everything was ready, Draft walked past the earth pony and out the door.

"Where are you going?" Ursa asked as he followed Draft's hoofsteps down the hallway and into the main room of the inn.

"We're leaving," Draft replied flatly. "I'm going to the capitol without him. You're welcome to follow if you still want to." Draft headed for the door, but a firm hoof on his shoulder stopped him. He pulled away, but Ursa tightened his grip and yanked the smaller stallion closer to him. The crystal pony wrapped Draft in a tight hug, which he struggled against momentarily before finally giving in. He sank into the shaggy stallion's warm embrace and laid his head on the earth pony's shoulder. Tears soaked Ursa's back as Draft broke down into sobs, in front of the mare sitting at the front desk.

"It's going to be okay, Draft," Ursa assured him in a comforting voice. "Of course I'm going to go with you." Draft hugged his companion fiercely as he wept; taking every bit of the comfort he was offered. "It'll be alright." They stood like that for a few more minutes before Draft was able to choke back his tears and speak again.

"Thank you," he mumbled in a wavering voice. Ursa stroked a hoof through his long grey mane, trying his best to ease the younger stallion's flaring emotions. "Thank you for standing up for me back there and thank you for being here for me now."

"Well, we've already made it halfway to the capitol, so I figured why not go all the way," Ursa joked. Draft's last whimpers quickly morphed into hysterical laughter, until the pegasus glanced back and noticed the innkeeper watching them with a bewildered expression.

"Ahem, maybe we should do this somewhere else," Draft suggested as he wiped his tear streaked muzzle with a hoof. "I think were scaring the innkeeper a little bit." Ursa peeked over his shoulder and chuckled when he saw the mare's questioning face, her light blue eyes full of confusion at the strange spectacle occurring in her lobby.

"That's probably a good idea," Ursa agreed as they let go of one another. Draft waved goodbye to the innkeeper before turning around and heading out the front doors. She smiled awkwardly after the stallions as they departed.

The sky was dotted with grey clouds as they left the cozy building, a promise of rain soon to come, and there was a cool breeze blowing through the streets. Draft pulled his cloak tighter to keep off the chill as they rounded the block and headed north for the capitol. The two ponies walked in silence until they had exited the city limits, neither stallion knowing what to say to the other, but eventually Draft initiated conversation with his companion.

"Does the duke have power to declare war or is it only the king that can do that?" Draft eventually asked. The pegasus had been wondering exactly how close their countries really were to plummeting into all out war and now seemed as good of a time as any to find out. He sure didn't feel like talking about his own problems right then, but those were the only two thoughts on his mind.

"He's an emperor," Ursa replied.

"What?" Draft asked, completely oblivious to the fact that he and his older brother had been misaddressing the royal family for the past few weeks.

"He's not a king," Ursa reiterated. "He's an emperor." Draft let out an exasperated sigh. The technicality didn't seem very important to the foreign pegasus. King, emperor, prince; they could call themselves whatever they wanted as long as they held all of the power, he mused.

"Is there any difference?" Draft asked the earth pony as they continued down the dirt road leading away from the town.

"Not really, but when dealing with royalty, it's best to use the proper titles when addressing them," Ursa explained. "Ponies with power tend to prefer everypony else know exactly how much power they command." Thinking back, Draft thought he remembered other ponies referring to them properly. Apparently the Equestrian pony had missed those lessons in school though.

"Alright fine, is the emperor the only one that can declare war?" Draft asked again, in a slightly more annoyed voice.

"Unfortunately, I think that the duke has the right to call for a war since the emperor is unfit to rule right now," Ursa replied with a frown. That wasn't the answer that Draft was hoping for, but it only meant that he had made the right choice in continuing on to the Crystal Castle or Palace, whichever they wanted to call it, instead of trying to deal with his family issues. Not that he was very eager to talk with his brother again after everything the inconsiderate older pegasus had done, but it wasn't as if he could just cut off all contact with his only relative, as easy as it would have made his life to do so.

"Great. Is there anything else that I should know before we get there?" Draft questioned. "I'm not exactly well versed in Crystal Empire politics as you can tell." Ursa was silent for a moment as he thought about the question.

"There isn't anything important I can really tell you that school hasn't taught you. You've talked with your own rulers, so just try to behave like you did with them," Ursa shrugged. "That's the best advice I can give." The pegasus groaned audibly at his statement.

"I'm sure school would have taught me about your country, seeing as how we were allies, but my brother and I quit school after our mother died, so I missed out on some knowledge that seems to have gained more importance in my life then I ever thought it would," Draft explained dryly.

"Oh, well I guess that I can fill you in on some of what you missed," Ursa replied with mild surprise. "I can't believe you quit school though."

"Yeah, well, it's kind of difficult to pay for what you need to live without getting a job, so I didn't really have much of a choice," Draft retorted in an irritated tone. He had asked about the Crystal Empire to avoid talking about his personal issues, but it seemed to be an inevitable topic of conversation. "I would have loved to finish school and have a loving family that wasn't totally bucked in the head, but not everypony is so lucky."

"I'm sorry," Ursa apologized as he brushed his muzzle against Draft's neck tenderly. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's not your fault," Draft sighed. "I think I'm just a little touchy about personal subjects right now. Can you blame me?" He gave his large friend a halfhearted smile. Life seemed to be having fun messing with the pegasus lately and it was starting to get very tiresome. If he hadn't met Ursa, well, Draft was pretty sure he would have had a mental breakdown days ago or maybe he would have just gone on in quiet unhappiness, until he violently lashed out at everypony around him.

"I'd be more than happy to teach you what I know," Ursa replied with a grin as Draft returned his affectionate nuzzling.

They spent the next few hours talking about seemingly endless aspects of politics and general life in Ursa's home country. Some of it was essentially the same as Equestria and some of it the crystal pony had briefly covered earlier in their travels, but much of it was completely foreign to Draft. Ursa explained the way their emperor ruled, how laws and decrees were made, who held power over what and many other things that the pegasus did his best to memorize. Much of it he would probably never use, but it was better to be safe than sorry. They even skimmed over important historical events, as the clouds gathered overhead, the two stallions talking for hours to pass the time as they neared their goal.

Snort! Snort! With each little pile of powder, Downpour's troubles seemed to grow smaller and smaller. It wasn't a fix by any means, barely more than a bandage over the gaping wound that was his life, but for the rest of the day it might be enough. Downpour had no idea what he was going to do next. He was nearly out of money and stuck in a foreign country. It didn't really matter to the pegasus anymore though. The war, his brother and his lack of money, none of that meant a damn thing. Nothing would change for him one way or another, so there was no reason to help anypony else. Nopony had given him a hoof when he was down. A wetness around the bluish stallion's mouth brought him out of his thoughts. He wiped a hoof across his face and it came back covered in blood.

"That can't be good," Downpour commented as he pulled a blanket off of his bed and dabbed his nostrils. A red stain bloomed on the fabric as his nose continued to bleed. He figured that it was a sign he needed to cut back on the powder for a little while. "I think it's a good time to go have a drink." The pegasus gripped the soiled blanket with two hooves and ripped off a strip from the sand colored fabric.

A few minutes later Downpour walked out the front door of the inn, with a piece of cloth wedged in both of his nostrils to keep the blood off of his face. With the volume of blood that had been leaking out it seemed like his nose should have hurt, but the intoxicated pegasus couldn't feel anything as he walked down the streets of Calvary. A few ponies that he passed shot Downpour strange looks when they thought he wasn't paying attention, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. It wasn't as if he was ever going to see any of them ever again anyway. With that thought in mind and a smile on his face, Downpour picked his way through town and back to the Full House. The bouncer stopped him at the door again, but he was already digging the bits out of his bag to pay the entrance fee.

The club wasn't nearly as busy as it had been the night before, which wasn't too surprising, but there were still a few severely intoxicated stallions scattered about the dimly lit room. Downpour cut a path straight for the bar, snatching the bloodied scrap of cloth from his nose and tossing in a trash bin as he passed by.

"Spade, my favorite barkeeper, how's business?" Downpour asked as he took a seat at the empty bar. The one-eared earth pony seemed a little surprised to see the bluish pegasus in his bar at such an early hour, but gave a nod in his direction as he poured a glass of whiskey for another patron.

"Downpour, what brings you into my bar at this time of day?" Spade asked as he walked up and leaned against the bar near the pegasus. "It's usually only the regular barflies that buzz around here at this hour… and what the hay happened to your face?" Downpour gave the earth pony a smile, the stain of blood evident around his mouth, before sighing heavily.

"It's a long story," Downpour replied. Spade gave him the once over before turning around and grabbing a bottle from the dusty shelf behind him. Then the bartender grabbed two glasses and threw a couple ice cubes into each one. Downpour watched him as he filled each glass with amber liquid and slid one over to the pegasus.

"I know that look. You see it plenty in my line of work," Spade told him as he took a long sip off of his own alcohol. "So how bad did you buck up?" Downpour gave a pitiful smile as he took a long drink off of his rum, coughing at the fiery burn that stripped the numbness from his throat. It was the good stuff, he realized, as warmth filled his belly.

"It's that obvious, huh?" Downpour laughed humorlessly.

"Not really, but I've learned to notice the subtle signs. Like the fact that you look like you spent the night being dragged through Tartarus by your nose," Spade informed him with a dry laugh. "I take it whatever crazy plans you had with the girls backfired on you?" That was putting it mildly of course, Downpour mused silently.

"I guess you could say that," he mumbled in response. Spade waited silently while Downpour took a few more sips from his glass, allowing the pegasus plenty of time to figure out how he wanted to tell his tale. Finally Downpour admitted, "I bucked up pretty bad this time. I don't know if I can fix it either." Spade just silently observed him as he swirled the half empty glass of rum, no judgment on the earth pony's face or in his mind, as far as Downpour could tell. "My brother told me he was gay." Downpour waited for the gasp of surprise that never came.

"Is that all?" Spade asked dismissively, much to the depressed pegasus's chagrin.

"It's sort of a big deal, Spade," Downpour exclaimed as he frowned into his drink. The pegasus suddenly got the feeling that it was going to take a few refills before he finished the whole story.

"Is it now?" Spade questioned as he gulped down the rest of his drink and set it back on the table. "Hey, Sweetie, do you mind covering me for a little bit while I go talk with my friend here?" the earth pony called to a pretty mare that was waiting tables.

"Go ahead, hun," she replied with a smile. Spade grabbed the nearly full bottle of liquor and walked around the bar, motioning for Downpour to follow him. The one-eared stallion led the pegasus to one of the empty tables in the back of his bar and they both sat down facing each other. Downpour didn't even glance at the beautiful mares dancing on the platforms as they passed; his mind was busy trying to figure out what he was going to say to his new friend.

"Alright, Downpour, what's the short and sweet of it?" the black pony asked as he filled up their glasses for the second time that day. Downpour took another sip from his drink and took a deep breath, readying his mind to open up to this stallion that he hardly knew. Something about Spade relaxed the pegasus though; probably a skill the bartender had gained over the years as he spoke to all sorts of ponies, in all states of living.

"Where should I start?" Downpour asked with a huff. "First off, I want it to be clear that I love my brother. I mean, he's the only family that I have left and nothing will ever change that."

"I see, have you told him that?" Spade asked.

"Not exactly, but I'm sure he knows," Downpour replied, fully believing it to be true. The bartender smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

"You'd be surprised how much it helps to actually tell ponies what you really mean," Spade commented. "Some things that seem obvious to you are much less so to others." Downpour absorbed his words and drained half of his glass before continuing.

"Yeah, that would have been better than what I did," he sighed.

"The girls?" Spade asked, seeming to already have deduced the answer for himself. "Hay, I bet that went badly."

"Mhmm, he didn't seem to think it was as good of an idea as me and, well, we got in a fight over it this morning," Downpour replied. "I'm pretty sure he hates me now."

"I can imagine," the earth pony said. "What happened after that?" Spade's dark blue eyes stared at Downpour from across the small table, full of a calm wisdom that the pegasus could only envy.

"After him and his coltfriend decided to jump me?" Downpour asked. "Nothing. They left and I started using this magical powder my friend made. It helped dull the pain." Just listening to his own voice was enough to make the pegasus sick. He sounded like a whinny little filly and it wasn't something he cared for. "Then I started bleeding from my nose and came here. That's the whole story, more or less."

Spade scratched behind his remaining ear and sighed before replying, "It sounds like you blew everything out of proportion. What were you expecting to happen?"

"I don't know, but not that," Downpour mumbled as he fixed his gaze on the ever draining cup of alcohol in front of him. "I suppose I was just hoping that he'd see a cute pair of mares and forget about trying to rut with stallions. It's just wrong."

"Downpour, if there is one thing that I've learned over the years, it's that you can't pick who you fall in love with. Take me and my wife for example," Spade said, nodding towards the cute, middle-aged mare that he had asked to cover the bar for him. "Sweetie and I are probably the most opposite ponies that ever lived, but when I saw her, well, I knew for a fact that nothing in the world would ever change how I felt about her." Downpour noticed the absent minded smile that crossed the bartender's face just talking about his lovely wife.

"It's not the same," the pegasus replied flatly.

"How so?" Spade asked with one raised eyebrow.

"She's a she. You didn't go off and fall in love with a stallion," Downpour retorted as he tossed back the last of his drink. The warm buzz was extending through his whole body at that point. The pegasus hadn't really eaten for awhile and thus the liquor was hitting him harder than it usually would have. His head reeled as he glanced around the room.

"It doesn't matter. Just look at your self," Spade said as he held out the bottle, offering his new friend a refill. Downpour nodded in answer, hoping that the booze was being poured as a gift, because he didn't have many bits left to waste getting drunk. "You're in love with a hippogriff right?"

"How'd you know?" Downpour asked with surprise.

"Please, you get a little liquor in you and you'll blab about anything and everything under the sun," Spade explained with an amused grin. "You certainly seemed very smitten with the hippogriff when you were telling all of my customers about her." Love was a strong word, but Downpour couldn't deny that he felt a powerful connection to Strata, although the same might not be true for her when she found out what he had done with Passion and Desire last night. He was going to have to get some advice about dealing with that monumental screw up as well.

"Yeah, but what's your point?" Downpour questioned.

"My point is, back in the day, ponies would have said that you falling in love with a hippogriff was wrong, the earth pony elaborated. "I want to know if that would have made you change the way you see her." Spade spoke as if he already knew the answer, which he most likely did.

"Nope. I wouldn't give a shit what anypony else said," Downpour responded. He got the point Spade was trying to make before he even finished getting the words out. His head slumped as the full weight of his stupidity crashed down on his mind. "Damn."

"You see what I'm getting at now?"

"Er, yeah, but I'm still not happy about it," Downpour replied with a scowl.

"The truth is seldom easy to swallow, but it does a world of good to accept things for what they are," Spade assured the pegasus as he glanced around the room. Downpour lifted his gaze to meet the earth pony's eyes and groaned loudly as he contemplated what he was going to have to do to fix things with his younger brother.

"I have one more situation I need advice about," Downpour told the barkeeper as he took a sip from his glass. The burn from the rum had worn off and now all the pegasus could feel was the tingling sensation that spread through his body and out to his extremities.

"Oh, what's that?" Spade asked, genuinely surprised for the first time since they had started their conversation. As bad as the situation with his brother was, Downpour was almost positive that last night's indiscretions were going to completely destroy whatever foundation of a relationship he had begun building with Strata. She was a very proud mare and not likely to brush of his betrayal of trust. Honestly, he was just hoping that the hippogriff didn't skin him alive for it.

"It's about Strata," Downpour finally told the stallion. "I think she's going to be even more pissed at me than my brother is." Spade stared at him with a blank expression, reaching for his cup and belting back the contents without breaking eye contact once.

"Tell me you didn't," Spade said in shock.

Downpour slammed his head into the table and left it there, whispering, "I did," without raising it from the wood. "I cheated on her with the twins and she's going to take my balls as retribution and then leave me in the gutter. It's what I deserve though." He waited for Spade's sage advice to come, but there was no response from the older stallion. Downpour peeked up from the table and saw the bartender rubbing his had as he processed what Downpour had told him.

"I've got nothing," Spade finally told the pegasus.

"Great," Downpour replied as he forced his head off of the table and took another gulp from his rum. Getting drunk wasn't helping much anymore. Now he just felt depressed and drunk. "No advice then?"

"Beg," Spade said replied.

"Excuse me?" Downpour asked, not sure that he had heard the black stallion properly over the faint sounds of music in the air.

"You heard me," Spade said. "Your only option is to bring her the best gift you can possibly find and grovel at her claws. You're going to have to kiss her hooves and plead with her for forgiveness." That was what Downpour thought the bartender had said. "If she really loves you and doesn't know any better, Strata may just take you back."

"That's the best you've got?" Downpour asked as he lay back in his chair with a groan. He had been hoping for some sort of magical fix-all that repaired ruined relationships, but if begging was what it took, then begging is what he would do.

"That's the best advice I can give. I've never been stupid enough to think that I deserve my girl so much I could get away with cheating on her," Spade told him without a trace of humor in his tone or face. "Tell me how it goes." Downpour nodded silently as he stared off into the back of the bar. It was going to take plenty of work for him to undo all of the harm he had inflicted on those around him, starting with making amends with Draft and Ursa. Downpour sighed and tossed back the rest of his drink while Spade just shook his head in disapproval from across the wooden tabletop.

"I guess I have a lot of shit to make up for, huh?" Downpour asked to nopony in particular as they sat in the dimly lit club, the sound of drunken conversation and music being drowned out by his own conflicting thoughts. Not only to apologize to those he loved, but also penance for those that he had killed. Spade sat with the morose stallion for awhile after that, content to be moral support, until intoxicated customers forced the earth pony back to his post behind the bar. Downpour was so lost in thought that he hardly even noticed the stallion leaving. Spade had been kind enough to leave the bottle though and it was gone before Downpour walked back out of the Full House.

The cloud cover overhead had thickened as the morning passed into afternoon and the grey skies looked ready to unleash a cascade of rain at any moment. Draft glanced to the air every few minutes as he walked, anticipating the inevitable dousing to come. Even with his body wrapped tightly in a cloak, the cold winter winds were beginning to take their toll and the pegasus shivered as a particularly aggressive gust forced its way through his clothing. His boots kept the mud and cold from his hooves, but there was still dirt speckling his underside as he and Ursa trudged along the dirt path.

Draft had avoided talking about his brother, not only because it would only aggravate them both, but also because there wasn't much to say on the matter. Downpour had disrespected him and Ursa and then treated it like another one of his jokes. His betrayal had cut a deep wound and Draft doubted if anything would remove the emotional scars, even if time was supposed to heal all wounds. Having a goal to focus on was the one thing that seemed to be keeping him sane at the moment, that and the handsome stallion traveling with him anyway.

"What do we have, like another day of walking after this?" Draft asked, in an attempt to break the silence that had fallen between them at some point. It hadn't been a conscious decision, but the ponies had both needed time to think and that was easier to do when they weren't trying to maintain a conversation.

Ursa shook his head and answered, "No, we should make it by tomorrow afternoon, as long as we don't run into any trouble anyway." It didn't seem likely to Draft that they would. Ursa had been right when he'd told them that the Crystal Empire, as the pegasus had been told to call it, was relatively safe. The only problems they had encountered were Downpour's fault, so now that they had left the irresponsible pegasus behind, it would most likely be easy traveling for the rest of the trip, weather permitting.

"Good, I can't wait to be done with this. Then I'm going to head home and pack up what stuff I need. The sooner I get out of under the same roof as my brother, the happier we'll both be," Draft commented as he glanced up at the clouds once again. The pegasus thought that he felt a small drop of water on his grey face, but he couldn't be certain.

"Have you given any thought to my offer," Ursa asked, with a note of hopefulness in his deep voice. Draft had actually thought about his friend's offer quite a bit, but he hadn't yet reached a decision on the matter. As much as the pegasus enjoyed Ursa's company, moving to another country for a stallion that he had only known for less than a week, seemed like the kind of rash action that only a madmare would take.

"I'm still thinking it over, but I wouldn't hold your breath. We have awhile before I'll be returning home, so that gives me plenty of time to ponder the question," Draft explained as he lifted off of the ground, tired of walking so much. "I promise you that I'll have an answer by then." Draft really didn't want to lead the earth pony on, but a life changing decision like the one he was considering wasn't something to be taken lightly. He hoped that the Ursa understood the reason for his indecision. The crystal pony didn't respond to his answer though.

Choosing to change the subject instead, Ursa asked, "Do you think that your brother will try to follow us?" It was a fair question, as Downpour was ridiculously stubborn most of the time. The brash stallion's pride might actually force him to see the mission all of the way to the end, whether it was for the best or not.

"I suppose it's possible," Draft admitted as they reached a fork in the road. "Although he may have a tough time finding us, seeing as how he doesn't know exactly where to go, like you do." Ursa headed down the left path and Draft hovered in his wake, trusting the older stallion's sense of direction. It had brought them that far without any troubles.

"I don't know about that," Ursa replied. "I'm sure if you were to fly high enough, you could probably see the edge of the city from here. It's pretty damn large and hard to miss." If it was close to the size of Canterlot then Draft wouldn't doubt the green stallion's statement. You could see the Equestrian capitol from quite a distance away.

"Well then, I wouldn't be surprised if Downpour decided to head north after all," Draft commented. "He may even beat us there since he can fly straight to the palace." In fact, the more that the pegasus thought about it, the more likely it seemed that his brother would try to handle the situation before them, just out of some form of spite. The very idea made Draft laugh.

"Uh, what's so funny?" Ursa asked, perplexed by the grey pegasus's seemingly random outburst. Draft shook his head dismissively, not sure why exactly the thought was funny to him.

"It's nothing, I think I'm just going a little crazy today," Draft explained, much to his friend's bewilderment.

Celestia's sun disappeared behind the clouds after a time, leaving the landscape gloomy and cold in its absence. As if they had been waiting for exactly that moment, the clouds released their building deluge down upon the forest, covering the road in mud and puddles within mere seconds. Draft sighed as he retightened his cloak and Ursa did the same. The sloshing sound of the earth pony's boots in the mud mixed with the ceaseless pattering of rainfall, the only two sounds in the empty forest as the stallions traveled along the path.

Downpour stumbled his way down the busy streets of Calvary, heading for the inn to grab his things and talk with his brother. The liquor had done its job a little too well and the pegasus was having trouble maintaining a straight line as he headed to his destination. The grey skies weren't helping to improve his mood and the promise of rain hung in the air, like a weight upon the city. The deluge hadn't yet begun by the time that he made it inside the small lobby of the dull colored building, but it seemed to be on the verge of starting. The pink mare behind the counter glanced up for a moment when the tattooed stallion arrived, but quickly returned to whatever was written on the stack of papers before her.

Downpour stumbled up to the counter and leaned against it for support as he asked, "Can I get the key to my brother's room. I think he might be sleeping and I don't want to wake him, but I need to get in the room." The earth pony gave him a puzzled look as he stood there, doing his best not to fall over as the room swayed in his vision.

"The grey pegasus that you came here with?" she asked as she straightened a sheaf of papers and fixed him with her light blue eyes.

"Yeah, who else would I be talking about," Downpour replied in a slightly annoyed voice.

"I'm afraid I can't," she replied, shying away from the stench of alcohol on his breath as he spoke.

"Why the hay not?" Downpour asked her as he swayed away from the counter momentarily, before gripping the tabletop to steady his legs.

"He checked out earlier today, along with your friend. I thought that you would have known that," she replied in an even tone. Downpour stared at her for a few seconds, unsure whether the mare was joking or not, but her face held no sign of humor as she met his drunken gaze.

"Oh, well then. I guess I'll go grab my things and check out," Downpour replied as he let go of the counter and cut a zigzagging path down the hallway. Thankfully his room wasn't very far away and he made it there without hitting the floor; a rather large victory for the pegasus considering his current state. After fumbling with the lock a few times, he managed to get the door open and stumbled straight for the bed. Downpour's back hit the mattress and the room began to spin around him, so he immediately sat back up. His stomach was starting to revolt against the corrosive fluid that filled it and he felt a bad taste rising in the back of his throat.

Downpour grabbed the trashcan and hugged it against him as he vacated his insides of alcohol. It burned much more coming out then it had going down, but eventually the winged stallion started feeling well enough to get to his hooves, eyes watery from the searing pain in his throat and nose. He washed out his mouth and grabbed the few items he had left scattered about the room, holding back another wave of nausea at the sight of his vial of powder. He didn't plan on touching the magical concoction again for awhile, but he grabbed it anyway and placed it in his pocket.

Once he had everything stuffed into his cloak, Downpour threw on his boots and headed back out the door. His plan was to checkout, find somewhere to get a bite to eat and then pick up his brother's trail. With any luck, he could find the younger pegasus and apologize before nightfall. The innkeeper had an annoyed expression as she glanced up from her paperwork to see him standing in front of her desk once again.

"I'm checking out," Downpour told her as he placed the room key on the counter. She took the key without saying anything and the pegasus shrugged his shoulders as he turned away from her and headed out the front doors into the dreary evening outside.

Downpour had barely made it outside of the city limits when the rain began to fall from the sky in fat drops, which covered the woods in a very short time. Every exposed part of the stocky pegasus was soaked in seconds and the cold winds sent shivers through his body. Between the liquor and the rainfall, he didn't make very good time as he picked his way around mud puddles. As soon as he sobered up, Downpour planned on taking to the air, but drunk flying in a storm wasn't something that the pegasus was eager to do, so he continued on hoof for most of the afternoon.

"This is getting ridiculous," Draft nearly shouted, just to be heard over the torrential rains that hammered down around him and Ursa. It hadn't taken very long for the rain to develop into a raging storm and it was getting difficult for the stallions to see more than a few yards in front of them as they walked. Draft didn't doubt his friend's ability to find his way, even in the relentless deluge, but it was getting very cold and he was eager to get out of the rain for the rest of the day.

"Yeah, it's about time that we stop and make a shelter, before the storm gets any worse," Ursa agreed as they slowed their pace and then stopped along the side of the trail. "Grab whatever large branches you can find and we'll just set up camp right here."

"That sounds good to me," Draft replied as he made his way into the woods and looked around. Everything was soaking wet for miles, so a fire was out of the question, but between the two of them, they managed to find enough large branches for Ursa to erect a small covering. Draft was pretty certain that even with a roof over their heads, the two of them were in for one damp night of sleep. At least they would have body warmth to help keep the cold off, he thought, as he watched Ursa grapple with the last few branches on the lean-to.

"Alright, well that should help a little anyway," Ursa observed as they started clearing a spot under the covering to sleep on.

"Mhmm, it's pretty damn good, all things considered," Draft agreed as he laid out their blankets and took a seat on top, doing his best to keep his filthy hooves from spreading mud all over.

"It's still a little early, but we may as well eat dinner now. There isn't much else for us to do in this weather," Ursa suggested. Draft nodded in agreement and pulled some provisions from his saddlebags.

The stallions talked as they ate, cracking jokes and telling stories to keep their minds off of the fact that the temperature was dropping rapidly. If Downpour was planning on following them, then he was going to have a tough time doing it. Even though the sun hadn't yet set, it was very dark in the forest and getting darker by the minute. Between that and the driving rain, it would have been next to impossible for him to find them in their little shelter beside the trail. Thunder boomed from off in the distance as Draft bit another chunk off of a piece of bread.

It wasn't long Draft and Ursa had finished dinner that the two stallions slipped under their damp blankets and snuggled up to one another. The warmth that they provided each other was a welcome break from the chilling bite of the winter winds that blew through the woods. Draft could smell Ursa's damp mane as he buried his face against the larger stallion, but it wasn't an unpleasant scent. It was this smell of musk and nature that filled the pegasus's mind as he closed his eyes and fell into a content sleep.

"Shit, shit, shit," Downpour chanted as he was repeatedly blown back and forth through the grey skies. The raging winds above finally forced the bluish pegasus back to the ground. He had sobered up rather quickly as the cold water drenched his mane and tail, sapping the heat from his body. Downpour had tried flying soon after the rain began, but was met with much more resistance than he had anticipated. He settled on walking through the forest, but it was very slow going and he wasn't even sure that he was still heading in the right direction as the sunlight vanished. In the morning Downpour was going to have to fly up and try to find the proper direction, but it wasn't as if he was going to get very far off track if he kept walking at his current pace, so the determined pegasus gritted his teeth against the cold and continued on.

"I really hope those two didn't make it too far today," Downpour said aloud, before slipping in a large patch of mud and catching himself with his wings. As much as he loathed using any more of his powder, the only way the pegasus was going to be able to keep going would be with a little push, so he pulled out the glass vial and held it under the flap of his cloak. A little sprinkling of the magical mix and Downpour felt the vigor retuning to his body, allowing him the energy needed to force his way through the storm. Draft wouldn't be happy when he found out that his older brother was still using, but that was just one little problem piled on top of much larger ones in his life. The blackness of night set in around Downpour as he continued to walk along the trail, sure that if he stopped moving, the cold would take him in its deadly embrace.

"Hopefully Draft will take some pity on me when he sees what I went through just to apologize," Downpour mumbled to himself. It was lonely in the dark woods and talking to himself seemed to keep the slightly drunken pony's racing mind occupied, so Downpour decided to practice what exactly he planned on saying as he sloshed through the mud, his boots filling with sludge and his short mane dripping with icy water.

If anypony had been around to see him, Downpour would have appeared to be a crazy stallion, walking aimlessly through the woods during a terrible storm and he might as well have been at that moment. The pegasus was arguing with his thoughts as the sound of falling rain continued on unabated. He would walk and walk until he found his sibling, Downpour decided. Little doses of the powder and the goal of redeeming himself in Draft's eyes kept the pegasus going through the dismal night and he only stopped moving to force a small bit of food down his throat every couple of hours as the storm worsened around him.


	29. Grey Skies Ahead

~Chapter 27: Grey Skies Ahead~

Icy water splashed into Draft's face, waking him from dreams of foggy mountains and rain. It took a moment for his steely grey eyes to adjust to the early morning light that shrouded his and Ursa's little camp, but when they did the pegasus was met with the dripping wet face of his older brother staring down at him. Downpour looked terrible, his lips were frozen in a smile that could have been mistaken for a grimace of pain and his eyes were bloodshot, with one swollen and bruised from where Ursa had hit him the day before. Downpour shivered silently as Draft rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in the damp blankets that covered his midsection. Ursa was still sleeping peacefully beside him, so he carefully got out of bed without disturbing the larger stallion and stood facing his brother.

"What the hay are you doing here, Downpour? I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you again," Draft spat at his brother as he got in the stocky pegasus's face.

"You did. You did say that, but I needed to talk to you," Downpour explained as shivers wracked his damp body. Draft sighed as he leaned down and pulled one of the blankets off of Ursa, causing the earth pony to groan and roll over on the makeshift bed that they had been sharing. He draped the blanket across his brother and fixed an irritated gaze on his sibling's tattooed face.

"Well, what are you doing here?" he asked again.

"I'm so sorry, Draft," Downpour finally said through chattering teeth. It looked as if he had been walking all night, Draft realized as he looked his brother up and down. His boots were caked in mud and his short, black mane was plastered to his head. "I'm sorry for everything that happened." Draft waited silently for him to continue. "I just, I guess I freaked out… and that was wrong."

"No shit," Draft replied flatly. He walked a few steps away from the camp and took a seat on a partially rotted out log that had fallen to the ground a couple yards away. Downpour followed his lead and sat down beside the lankier stallion, turning his body to face the younger pegasus beside him.

"I had a long talk with Spade and he made me realize how foolish I've been to think that love is something you can control," his brother expounded. "Or that who you love changes the fact that you're my brother." Downpour's tired eyes begged for forgiveness as he spoke.

"Who?" Draft asked, curious as to what pony had been able to get through his brother's thick skull and change the stubborn pony's mind.

"A bartender," Downpour explained. That made sense, Draft thought, nopony else would be willing to talk to Downpour for an extended period of time. "He gave me some good advice and I decided to find you and apologize. I walked all night just to catch up to you. I'm cold, wet and tired, but I made it here," Downpour said, following up the statement with a loud sneeze. Downpour had probably caught some sickness spending all night in the foul weather, but Draft decided that it was nothing less than what his brother deserved.

"I don't think that I can forgive you. This isn't the first time you've screwed up this badly and how am I supposed to know if it will be the last?" Draft asked. Downpour was silent for awhile as he considered his brother's question.

"I suppose you can't. Not yet at least, but I promise that I will do everything I can to make it up to you. You're my brother, Draft, and I'm sick of hurting everypony I care about," Downpour explained as a cold breeze whipped by their place on the log. Draft stared at his brother silently for a few minutes, trying to gauge the sincerity of his words. Downpour seemed genuinely sorry for his actions though, so Draft decided to give the older stallion another chance. He only hoped that it wouldn't come around to bite him in the flank.

"You walked all night, huh?" Draft asked with a hint of humor in his voice. His brother nodded his head as his teeth chattered from the cold. "Moron," Draft chided as he got up from the log and walked back to the shelter that Ursa had built. He glanced back and saw his brother still shivering on the log, so he called out, "Well, come help me light a fire before you freeze to death over there." Downpour smiled at him, his lips far bluer than they normally were, and walked over to Draft's side.

"Thank you, for giving me another chance. It means the world to me, Draft," Downpour told him as they cleared a circle of dirt to use as a fire pit.

"Ugh, when did you get so mushy? It doesn't suit you," Draft replied as they both stood up and peered around, searching for scraps of wood and stones in the dim forest clearing that served as their camp.

"I don't know, I think the cold is affecting my brain," the older pegasus replied with a chuckle, which turned into a horrible sounding coughing fit.

"Let's find some wood and get a fire going. You don't sound too good right now," Draft told him. Downpour nodded his head in agreement as he tried to clear his throat of phlegm. The pegasus both walked around looking for dry wood, but had to settle for slightly damp twigs instead. Still, with some extra effort, they managed to get a small fire going; a welcome escape from the biting cold that surrounded them. The brothers hunkered close and warmed their bodies by the crackling flames as the sun slowly broke over the eastern horizon, casting thin rays of light between the grey clouds.

Ursa had been glaring at Downpour ever since he had opened his eyes and seen the tattooed pegasus sitting by the fire. Downpour tried not to give it much thought, but it was hard when a stallion twice his size had a grudge against him. He hadn't even attempted to apologize to the earth pony, knowing that any words would be met with stoic silence at best and a hoof to his other eye at worst. Downpour kept his gaze trained on the fire as much as he could, ready for the inevitable fight that was bound to start, but to his surprise the green stallion hardly acknowledged him. Ursa wouldn't even make eye contact, preferring instead to talk only to Draft as the two ate a quick breakfast.

The old Downpour would have been chomping at the bit, just waiting to pay Ursa back for his cheap shot from the day before, but during his long walk through the rain the pegasus had decided that fighting with the earth pony would only widen the gap between him and his younger brother. He had made a promise to himself that he wouldn't throw the first punch. If Ursa happened to start something, then he'd fight back of course, but until that happened, the short tempered stallion would try to avoid any conflict. His coughing had gotten worse, a sure sign that his brother had been correct in assuming that spending all night in the rain had gotten Downpour sick, and each time he spit out larger globs of snot. Eating had made the pegasus feel a little better, as did the fire, but he was still very sore and completely exhausted from his traveling. It was going to be difficult to keep up with his brother and Ursa, but he'd try his best not to slow them down.

"Alright, the sun is up and we're done eating. I'd say it's about time we get moving," Draft informed his companions as he shoved the last of their supplies into his saddlebags and threw on his remaining gear. Downpour had left his own boots near the fire, along with his cloak, hoping that they would dry out, but to his dismay, the boots were still damp on the inside. They made squishing noises as he walked on them. His cloak was much drier though and that was a little something to be thankful for.

"I'm ready when you are," Ursa replied to the grey pegasus.

"How about you, Downpour?" his younger brother asked him. Downpour really didn't feel like walking more, but he nodded his head anyway, so Draft snuffed out the fire and started trotting down the trail, with the sun just beginning to peek through the growing clouds that loomed overhead. Downpour sighed and followed wordlessly behind the other two ponies, doing his best to keep his mind off of how tired his body was.

"Do you still think we'll make it to the palace today?" Draft asked the earth pony. Downpour remained silent while the two conversed, saving his focus for the task of not tripping over his own fumbling hooves. Every step was difficult, but the pegasus gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain.

"It will probably be evening before we get there, but I think so. Yes," Ursa replied. That was good news to hear and the corners of Downpour's mouth curved in a slight smile at the thought of his journey ending.

"Good, I'd imagine we won't be able to meet with anypony until tomorrow though," Draft commented.

"Probably not," Ursa agreed. One more night wasn't so bad and then Downpour could start heading home to Strata and his own bed. His wings shot out for balance as he slipped in the mud. It was a good thing that he was a pegasus, Downpour thought, otherwise he would have fallen right on his face. Neither of his companions noticed his misstep and they continued talking without missing a beat. "It could even take two nights. I'm sure that the duke is a very busy stallion these days, what with having an entire, unstable country on the brink of war to run."

"Hmm, well let's hope that we're not waiting around for too long then," Draft sighed. "The more time that passes, the more difficult it will be to change his mind. I can't imagine he'd still call for this war if he knew it could be avoided." Downpour decided to stay in the air after nearly falling again. He hovered behind his brother and quietly listened to him speak. The younger pegasus seemed to know what they needed to do far better than Downpour at the moment. It was almost like he was the more mature brother right then, which was probably the truth, Downpour decided.

"I would hope not," Ursa replied. Downpour glanced up at the clouds, but he didn't feel any raindrops yet. It almost looked as if they would get a break from the rain for awhile. The pegasus could even feel a little bit of the sun's warmth over the cool breeze that blew across his bruised face. His wings flapped in a slow rhythm, nearly silent as they carried him through the humid air. His muscles were overworked, but he still hovered without any trouble. Pegasus's strongest muscles were the ones that composed their wings, used constantly from the time of birth, his especially so. It meant that he could still fly, long after his other limbs gave out from exhaustion.

"I just hope that we aren't already too late," Draft said with a frown.

"Me too," Ursa agreed.

They continued walking without any breaks for the rest of the morning. Draft and Ursa made conversation, while Downpour quietly followed behind them and listened. Once in awhile, Draft would ask his brother a question, but the older stallion tried to keep his answers short. Ursa treated him as if he wasn't even there, which seemed perfectly fine with Downpour. It just meant that he wasn't tempted to fight with the earth pony, Draft figured. It wasn't until they stopped for lunch that Ursa finally addressed the pegasus directly.

"Your brother told me that you apologized to him," Ursa said to the bluish pony as his younger brother got everything ready to light a fire. Draft looked up from the task when he heard Ursa talking to Downpour. The pegasus expected their words to escalate into physical blows, but it never happened.

"Yes I did. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and I apologized for it," Downpour replied as he dropped a pile of semidry wood on the ground near Draft.

"I just want to you know that if you try anything like that again I'm not going to hold back next time," Ursa responded in his deep, confident voice. A flash of anger crossed his older brother's bruised face, but to Draft's surprise, Downpour kept his calm.

"You do what you have to," Downpour replied flatly. Draft shook his head with a sigh. They only had to deal with each other for a few more days, but it wasn't going to be very easy if they continued to act how they were.

"Alright, that's enough from the two of you. Let's just eat some lunch and try not to piss each other off. Does that sound good to both of you?" Draft asked as fire slowly started consuming the sticks that he had piled in the fire pit. Downpour and Ursa nodded their heads silently, still glaring at one another from across the fire. It would have to do for now, Draft decided. "Good. Ursa, can you get out some food and pass it around?" The earth pony reached into his bags and passed some lunch out to his companions. Draft watched as the earth pony glared daggers at his brother, both of them deathly quiet as the pegasus took the food he was offered.

"Thanks," Downpour said over clenched teeth after taking a bite from his apple. Ursa didn't bother to acknowledge that he had even spoken.

"See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Draft asked with a smile. It wasn't returned, but his companions had both stopped glaring at each other long enough to start eating, so that was a slight improvement. Draft felt a little bit like a foalsitter at that moment, just trying to keep the peace between two stubborn colts. "I wonder how Spark and Strata are doing right now. They should be heading this way any time, don't you think?" Draft asked, attempting to get a conversation started. It was the only way he could think of to dispel the lingering uneasiness between everypony.

"I'm sure they are by now. Chances are that we'll see them within the week," Downpour replied before taking the last bite from his sandwich. The stocky pegasus must have been famished, because he had eaten all of his food before Draft had even gotten through half of his own meal. "Unless they decided to stop by Canterlot and pick up Star first," Downpour finished after washing down his lunch with some cider.

"I hadn't thought about that. It sounds like something they might do though, but that would still only delay them for a couple more days," Draft responded.

Draft was glad to hear Ursa's voice chiming in, "I'd think it would be more than just a couple days worth of delay to go all the way back to Canterlot before heading here. You did say that Spark was a unicorn and not a pegasus, right?" Downpour nodded his head and Draft explained the situation to the earth pony.

"They're traveling in a flying chariot that Downpour's marefriend is pulling." Ursa stared at him for a few moments, as if he thought Draft was going to break out into laughter and tell him that he was joking. When Draft failed to laugh, the green stallion asked him for an explanation. "To make a long story short, we met this mare that designed a flying chariot. She gave it to us as a gift in return for me testing it out for her and that's what Spark and Strata are using to get around faster, so we should be seeing them sometime soon," Draft explained in one large breath, glad that everypony was participating in a civilized conversation for once.

"Ah, well that makes a little bit of sense I guess. She really designed a flying chariot?" Ursa asked, clearly amazed by the news.

"She did. It uses enchanted gems and actually works very well," Draft replied.

"I take it that she's an earth pony?"

"Yeah, but how did you know?" Downpour asked, deciding to get back into the conversation, now that he and Ursa weren't busy hating each other at the moment.

"It makes sense. Every major mechanical advancement ever was the result of earth ponies' hard work. We may not be able to use magic or fly like unicorns and pegasus, but we have our own skills which more than make up for that fact," Ursa explained with a cocky grin. "I believe that it's our lack of magic and flying ability that drives many earth ponies to create so many amazing inventions. Many of the most industrious cities are built by earth ponies."

"I suppose so," Downpour acknowledged. Draft chuckled at the green stallion's conviction as he bragged about his own race. It was true though, earth ponies did seem to be responsible for many of the technologies that were used by ponykind. Draft grabbed a flask of cider from the ground beside him and when he tilted his head back to take a drink, the grey eyed pegasus caught sight of somepony flying above them.

"I think another one of those crystal knights is coming down here," he told his two companions. They both followed his gaze to the sky, where a pegasus was indeed heading for them. "I wonder what they want."

"Maybe they're still on the lookout for those griffons that the other knight told us about," Ursa reasoned. It seemed like the most likely scenario.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Downpour agreed. A few seconds later the pegasus made a landing near their encampment. She too was wearing a lightweight armor, just as the previous knight had been. This pegasus was a light purple color however and she also sported a set of wing blades that were much nicer than the new ones Draft had just gotten. The pegasus felt a stab of jealousy as he took in the sight of her armaments.

"Hello there, I am Aurore a member of the crystal knights," she called to them as she approached their campfire. "We've been getting reports of griffon activity in the area over the last few days. Have any of you seen anything suspicious?"

Draft shook his head and replied, "No, I'm afraid we haven't seen anything that would help. We're just on our way to the palace." Aurore glanced at the three traveling ponies and nodded at each of them in turn.

"If you do see anything, please report it to a knight as soon as possible and be very careful, these griffons might be dangerous," she told them before lifting back into the air with powerful strokes from her wings.

"We will be sure to do that," Ursa assured the mare as she flew up into the air and headed northeast, away from their location. "I guess that means that they're still looking." Draft couldn't help but thinking that he would have made a much better knight than the two he had met, because they didn't seem very qualified to keep the peace.

"Mhmm, hopefully they catch whoever it was. We know for a fact that the Red Eyes had something to do with the empress's foalnapping, so whatever they're up to around here can't be good," Draft responded.

"With our luck, they're probably out there looking for us," Downpour acknowledged. It was actually fairly likely if the mercenaries had learned of their plans to stop the war. Draft just hopped that they would be lucky enough to make it into the palace before anything happened.

"Then I'd suggest that we get a move on, before they find us," Ursa said as he tossed his saddlebags around his waist and cinched the straps down tightly. The pegasus nodded their agreement and Downpour put the fire out while Draft grabbed his own bags and put them on. As soon as everything was ready, the three stallions continued down the dirt path to the capitol.

Their camp wasn't even out of sight before Draft felt a cold drop of water hit him on the flank. After the first drop, the pegasus immediately felt two more drops and before long the sky was pouring rain down on them at a furious rate. Draft's mane and tale were soaked in mere minutes and Downpour was sneezing as he pulled his cloak around him. "So much for our break from the storm," Draft sighed as their camp disappeared from view behind them.

"Is that another knight," Downpour asked as he pointed up into the stormy skies above them. Ursa squinted up into the rain, trying to catch sight of whatever the pegasus had seen. "If so, then there's more than one of them this time." There were at least three figures that he could see through the downpour.

"Those don't look like pegasus ponies to me," Ursa replied. "What do you think, Draft?" The grey pegasus fixed his gaze on the approaching forms and groaned.

"I think that our luck just ran out. Those look like griffons to me," he responded as the three figures drew closer to them. "Ursa, can you help me with my wing blades. I get the feeling that they didn't hunt us down for a friendly conversation." The green stallion nodded and started helping the younger stallion with his weapons. Downpour made his own preparations, dumping the last of his magical powder onto his tongue. The rush wasn't as strong anymore, but the pegasus definitely felt his heart beat faster as his body absorbed the magical mixture. Draft saw what Downpour had done and glared at him when their eyes met.

"I thought you were done with that shit?" he asked in an irritated voice.

"That was the last of it, so I sure as hay am now," Downpour replied as he stretched his wings and psyched himself for the coming fight.

"Between being sick and that stupid drug, you're going to wind up killing yourself," Draft informed him as Ursa finished latching on his sharpened wing coverings. "Just promise me that you'll take it easy on the magic substances after this."

"Okay, mom, I'll be careful from now on," Downpour replied sarcastically. He knew that Draft was just looking out for his best interest, but they had bigger problems to deal with. The griffons were directly above them and gaining speed as they dove toward the ground. "Are you two ready?" Downpour asked as he tensed the muscles in his hind legs, prepping his body to launch him straight into the first griffon that attacked them.

"I'm ready," Draft and Ursa replied at the same time. Downpour watched as the griffons hurtled towards them, his heart racing as the first one reached the tops of the trees, but instead of attacking, all three griffons pulled out of their dives. They all flew away from the stallions in the same direction, east.

"That was, uh… unexpected," Draft stated as they watched the three mercenaries vanishing from view, into the rolling storm.

"What do you think that was all about?" Ursa asked as he let out the breath he had been holding. "I thought for sure they were going to pick a fight."

"So did I, but I guess they must have had something more important to do," Downpour replied. His heart was still pounding in his chest and he realized that he had just wasted the last of his powder. "Damn." As soon as he met up with Nature Spark, he would need to have the unicorn make him some more.

"Works for me," Draft said as he turned back to the path and started flying north. "We don't have time to waste on fighting right now anyway." Ursa shrugged and followed after the grey pegasus. Downpour stood where he was, staring in the direction that the griffons had gone for a few more minutes before looking away with an annoyed sigh. Even if they hadn't attacked this time, Downpour was sure that those griffons would be coming after him and his brother eventually. There was some unwritten law somewhere, which said he was destined to run into trouble every few days. Downpour caught up to his brother and Ursa fairly quickly, but was coughing quite a bit as he did. After it continued on for a few seconds, Draft shot him a worried glance. "Are you alright, Downpour, that coughing sounds pretty bad," Draft told him after he had finally caught his breath. Downpour cleared his throat and spat out the phlegm he had coughed up.

"I'll be fine. I think a little sleep tonight will have me right as rain," Downpour replied. "Not to mention a nice dinner and a fire too. If we can get one going in all of this damned rain that is!" he shouted up at the storm. Draft rolled his eyes in response.

"I don't know about of fire, but we'll definitely at least need some shelter if it gets too much worse," Ursa informed the brothers. "We should be able to make it to the city by nightfall, but only if the storm will let us." Downpour surveyed the sky and noted that the clouds overhead seemed even darker and more foreboding than they had been the night before. He didn't expect them to make it to the city by nightfall. He didn't even expect them to make it out of the forest by nightfall.

"Yeah, something tells me that isn't going to happen," Downpour responded. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that it's going to get even worse than it did yesterday." A bolt of lightning lit up the sky, followed by the crack of thunder a moment later, lending truth to Downpour's prediction. Shivers ran down his spine, until he retightened his cloak and ducked his head down, the rain running off of his body in sheets. It made the traveling seem to take even longer and his cough grew worse with each flap of his wings. Soon he was hacking up snot and coughing like an old stallion on his death bed.

"This country has the worst weather ever. It's just showers, day after day!" Draft shouted out to Ursa. The rain was falling sideways in the raging winds and flashes of lightning were becoming more frequent as the ponies made their way down the muddy road. Draft's fur was soaked, even through his clothing and boots, and his mane and tail hung limply, dripping water from the ends. The wind blew icy and chilled the pegasus to his core, sending continuous shivers down his back. Beside him, Ursa and Downpour looked just as miserable as he was. They were both cowering from the deluge inside their cloaks and the shorter pegasus made frequent stops to quell his bouts of coughing.

"It would only have been half as bad if you came in the summer!" Ursa retorted, shouting to be heard over the howling winds and the continuous pounding of the rain against the trees and earth.

"And miss out on all of this, now why would we ever want to do that?" Downpour chimed in, once he had finished with another series of rasping coughs. The bluish pegasus sounded on the verge of collapse as he spoke and Draft decided that it was time to stop for the night. They could always get an early start in the morning.

"Alright, I've had enough of this. Let's just find a place to sleep and call it a night," Draft told his companions.

"Sounds good to me," Ursa answered.

"I thought you'd never say that," Downpour replied between ragged breaths. Draft knew that his brother was more exhausted than he let on and didn't blame him for wanting to rest. The stocky pegasus had been on the move since yesterday afternoon, taking only short breaks to eat. Draft was surprised his brother was keeping his eyes open, especially now that he was out of his magical powder. He had expected his sibling to react poorly to coming down from his high, but the rain seemed to have sapped any energy Downpour had left, leaving a drooping stallion with bloodshot eyes and a severe cold. Eventually the three of them came upon a small clearing that looked as if it would serve their purposes well enough and Ursa motioned for them to stop walking.

"This should work," the green pony informed the brothers. "Why don't you two gather wood and then work on a fire? I'll see what I can do about a shelter and dinner."

"Fair enough," Draft replied. He and his brother set about finding any branches and smaller sticks they could, dragging everything over to the clearing near Ursa. Just as Draft started to walk towards the larger stallion and offer him help setting up a shelter, lightning lit the forest around them and he saw a large shadow being cast on the dirt nearby, the shadow of something moving fast above them. Draft opened his mouth to shout a warning, but whatever had cast the shadow struck him from behind before he got the chance, sending the pegasus sliding across the ground and knocking the wind from his lungs as he crashed into the trunk of an oak tree.

Whoever had crashed into Draft took off into the air as he slid through the mud and another flash of lightning revealed just how much trouble the pegasus was in as he looked up into the dark sky and saw a group of six or seven griffons flying above him. The darkness returned in the wake of the thunder and the hybrid creatures made their move. Draft heard his brother's scream as the older pegasus grappled with one of the attacking griffons, his voice rising up over the sound of the storm. In the blink of an eye, Ursa was also struggling against one of them, his hooves raking the air as he struck out at the winged enemies, who were slashing talons at his muzzle.

Draft pushed himself up from the ground and dropped his saddlebags. He pulled out his wing blades just as a griffon's talons slashed the side of his face open. The pegasus screamed as blood ran out of the wound, dripping down his face in warm streaks. It seemed that the mercenaries they had seen earlier only left to round up some of their friends. Draft lashed out with every limb as his wings lifted him into the windy air. The griffon flew through the tree branches and out of his reach, so Draft dropped back to the ground and hurried to attach his weapons before the griffon made another attempt on his life.

"There's a bunch of these bastards up there," Downpour called out as he assaulted his attacker with a barrage of punches. Draft fumbled with the latches on his swords as the rain slicked his hooves. If only he had a little magic to help make things easier, Draft thought, as he tried again to latch on his weapons. The buckle caught just in time for him to duck low and avoid being cut by claws. He bucked his back legs to the sky and struck a griffon in their side, sending the creature flying into a tree. The half-eagle, half-lion mercenary crashed into the oak branches with a loud crack, before falling limply to the rain soaked earth.

Draft whipped his head around, searching for his next opponent in the cloud covered sky. He didn't have to look far, as one of the griffon's companions cut a path straight for him, hurtling at breakneck speed with outstretched talons ready to shred the grey pony into pieces. Draft jumped to the side and launched himself into the air, intercepting his foe as they broke through the tree cover. The quicker stallion shot past his aggressor, the sharpened edge of his right wing blade sliding through the griffon's right arm with little resistance, eliciting a pained cry from the mercenary's yellow beak.

Before Draft could circle around for another attack, something crashed into him from above, sending his rain soaked body careening toward the ground. The startled pony threw his hooves out in front of him, but he had too much momentum to land gracefully and his legs buckled on contact. Mud filled Draft's mouth and splattered along his cloak as his face impacted with the soggy soil. He tried to get up, but a clawed paw dropped onto the middle of his back, knocking the pegasus back down before he got the chance. His muscle burned with a fiery pain as the griffon's beak bit into his withers. He struggled against the crushing weight forcing him down, but it was to no avail.

Draft spat the dirt from his mouth and sucked in a gasping breath as sharp claws dug themselves into his hide, gripping his flesh tightly in their painful embrace. He bucked wildly, trying to shake the griffon from his back, but his attacker responded with another bite, tearing into flesh and causing the pegasus to scream out in agony. Thankfully, Downpour heard his brother's tortured cries and bounded over to the younger stallion in leaps, slamming headfirst into his attacker and knocking them loose from Draft's back. Downpour continued to assault the griffon with vicious blows to the head as his brother shook the blood stained mane from his face and shot quick glances around them.

"How many of them are there?" Ursa questioned, his voice rising over the sounds of the fighting going on around him. The large stallion was fighting hoof to talon with an equally large griffon.

"I think that there were seven of them at first," Draft called back. "I got one, how many have you fought off?" The earth pony took a few moments to respond as he traded blows with the aggravated Red Eye. Ursa's strikes were slow, but powerful and he soon had the griffon on the ground where he finished the fight with a well placed stomp to the back of the hybrid mercenary's head.

"That makes two!" Ursa yelled back to him as he caught sight of his next victim.

"Only four more then!" Draft responded. The weight of the twin weapons he wore pressed against his raw wounds as the pegasus lifted himself into the air, but the pain was nothing more than a slight annoyance as adrenalin rushed through his veins. The sound of his heart thundered in his ears as he spun in a circle, keeping an eye out for any movement around him. Everything else was dulled by the blinding intensity of the fighting.

"To your left!" Downpour warned him. Draft glanced over just in time to dodge a wide slash of talons and he swung his weapon into the side of the griffon's head, rending flesh from bone as his blade passed through. The mercenary shrieked in rage as he violently lashed out against the lanky pegasus, razor sharp claws failing to connect as Draft dipped and dodged around his slower enemy.

"Just go down already!" Draft screamed into the Red Eye's face as he followed up with another swing of his wingtip. His strike connected with the griffon's chest, parting the hybrid's muscles in a quick slash. Blood splattered Draft's face as his foe let out a dying scream. Draft didn't have time to watch him fall however, as one of the griffon's companions took up the attack with a murderous vengeance in their red eyes.

Draft felt a rush of air on his face as claws passed before his grey eyes, he couldn't get his legs up quick enough and the griffon's wing followed soon after, their wing blade catching the pegasus in his shoulder and cutting open his hide. Draft's slender wings carried him backwards as another slash missed its mark by a hair. His uninjured foreleg pulled back and he unleashed a strong punch into the side of the griffon's beak. Crack! The mercenary threw their head back in pain. Draft hesitated for a split second before lunging forward, lancing his wings toward the hybrid's exposed chest.

Draft saw the strike coming in slow motion, the griffon's blade stabbing at him in perfect synch to his own thrust. Both swords drew blood at the same instant, as they hit their marks in tandem. Lightning arced between the storm clouds, lighting Draft's scream of pain as the blade passed through his muscles and into his lung. His own attack was lucky, placed directly through the mercenary's heart and felling him quickly. The griffon's wing blade leaving the pegasus's chest was even more painful, as it twisted on the way out.

Draft's scream died into moist coughing sounds and the metallic taste of blood flooded his open mouth, dripping down his face as his wings went limp. His vision blurred as he fell from the air and crashed through the barren limbs of the trees below. The only sounds he could hear over the booming thunder was a horrified scream, whether his or somepony else's, Draft didn't know, but his vision started fading as he spiraled to the ground. He struggled once again against the weight of his own body, but his wings were heavy and he blacked out before his fall had ended.

Downpour was helpless to do anything more than stare as he heard his brother's screams and watched the younger pegasus fall. He grappled with the griffon in front of his face; trying to find an opening he could exploit to overpower the tough mercenary. He threw a punch, which missed its mark, and followed through with his elbow, catching the hybrid in the chin and knocking them on their back. The stocky pegasus dove for his opponent, landing on the griffon's stomach causing a sickening crunch of ribs and other bones. His enemy didn't get back up again.

There was no time for Downpour to feel bad about possibly killing again; he was already flying towards the place his brother had fallen from. Ursa was already standing at the spot in the pouring rain, Draft's limp body resting over his back. Downpour glanced around as he approached, but there was no movement that the pegasus could detect. A few bodies littered the woods around the green stallion, a testament to how much damage the earth pony was capable of inflicting. Downpour reached a hoof up to his eye as he remembered how hard Ursa's punches were.

"How is he?" Downpour asked as he skidded to a stop at Ursa's side.

"He-he's bleeding. He's bleeding really badly!" Ursa was on the verge of tears as he yelled over the constant drone of wind and rain. The crystal pony may have even been crying already, but Downpour had no way of knowing in the storm. The pegasus grabbed his younger brother and pulled his limp body off of the larger stallion's back, lying him on the muddy ground so that he could examine the wounds. He sucked in a gasping breath as he saw the large stab wound in his taller sibling's chest. Blood bubbled out with every shallow breath that Draft took.

"Shit! I need you to find Draft's bags. I need you to find the purple elixir and bring it to me," Downpour frantically stated. Ursa stared down in horror for a moment, frozen in fear, until Downpour yelled at him again. "Ursa, go now!"

Ursa finally turned and ran towards the spot where they had dropped their bags, lunging over bodies and protruding roots as he galloped. Downpour pressed his hooves over the wound in his brother's chest, trying to stem the blood flow as he waited for the earth pony to return. His own wounds were insignificant next to his brother's, a few small lacerations and some bad bruising, but nothing that was life threatening. Ursa returned a few seconds later, the healing potion gripped firmly in his mouth as he knelt down beside Draft's dying body.

"This is it, right?" Ursa asked as he spit the glass container into Downpour's waiting hooves. The familiar people mixture contained in the small bottle was a beautiful sight to the shaking pegasus.

"Yeah, this is the one," Downpour assured him. He pulled the cork from the top of the bottle and dumped a little of the fluid onto the open wound, then he sat his brother upright. "Hold open Draft's mouth. We have to get him to swallow some of this." Ursa complied, Holding Draft's lips apart as Downpour shoved the neck of the bottle in his mouth. The wounded pony coughed and sputtered as the purple mixture flowed down his throat, spraying both of his companions with a mixture of blood and the elixir. His grey eyes remained closed the entire time, as if he didn't even have the strength to move his eyelids.

"Is it working?" Ursa's question was more of a plea as they waited to see what would happen next. The slender pegasus had lost quite a bit of blood already, but Downpour kept his hooves firmly clamped over his brother's chest, begging for a miracle to take place.

"I-I'm not sure. I don't want to look," Downpour replied with a grimace. Draft's eyes didn't open as they sat there and he feared the worst; that his little brother wouldn't pull through. He hadn't even gotten the chance to make up for everything he had done wrong yet. Tears mixed with the blood and rain, sliding down Downpour's face and dripping onto his hooves. It wasn't right.

"We need to check on the wound," Ursa told him as he reached for Downpour's hooves and forced them off of Draft's barely expanding lungs. "He has to be okay!" Downpour had to look away; he couldn't bare the sight of his brother's blood staining him up to his wrists or the view of exposed bone and flesh that threatened to pull the younger stallion to the other side of the darkness. "Oh, thank the emperor!" Ursa exclaimed in a choked sob. Downpour forced his eyes open and glanced below him. The tear in Draft's flesh was beginning to heal, the flowing blood reduced to a mere trickle at that point. Downpour's breath came out in sputtering cough. His blue eyes burned as the salty tears of his sorrow spilled out.

"Damn, ha ha, I-I really th-thought that he was going to die on me for a minute there," Downpour choked as his voice wavered between giddiness and sickening fear. He broke into a harsh cough as he spoke, but it barely even registered to the bluish stallion.

"Yeah, me too," Ursa agreed as he fell onto his flank with a deep sigh. It seemed as if the three of them would live to see the palace after all. Downpour wiped his tears away with a dirty hoof, streaking blood over both of his eyes, but the pegasus didn't even care as relief washed through his body. Every muscle trembled as his terror receded and the adrenaline wore off. He felt shaky and weak, but they were going to have to leave immediately.

"We should get him to a hospital as soon as possible. Do you think that you can carry him to the city tonight?" Downpour asked the green stallion, who nodded his head in agreement as they rose to their hooves. Downpour helped drape his brother as securely as he could across Ursa's back and then grabbed up their saddlebags, strapping both sets around his waist as comfortably as possible.

"Are you sure that you're up to walking all night again?" Ursa questioned.

"I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" Downpour replied as the two of them turned towards the trail. "I'll be fine as long as we get my brother to a safe place." The rain didn't let up as the stallions traversed the soaking ground. Mud sloshed around their boots and bolts of lightning split the sky. Each time Downpour jumped, as the shadows of the tree branches morphed into the attacking claws of griffons in the corners of his vision. The pegasus cringed over every gust of wind that threatened to topple his brother over and groaned whenever Ursa nearly slipped. One thing was certain; he was in for another very long night. Downpour groaned as he adjusted the weight on the bags on his back and picked up the pace of his beating wings. The storm hammered against him, but he ignored every drop of cold rain as his mind pleaded with unknown forces to spare his brother from a grim fate.


	30. The Golden Lie

~Chapter 28: The Golden Lie~

Ragged breaths escaped from Downpour's chapped lips as he struggled with the weight of the saddlebags that hung from his waist. He could see the pointed roofs of foreign architecture jutting into the black skies. Fat drops of rain fell from the heavens and broke against his face and damp cloak as he and Ursa tread over the slippery ground. The two stallions hadn't stopped once all night and dawn was just beginning to break as they drew closer to the capitol city. Downpour stopped in his tracks and doubled over in pained coughing as his lungs expelled a conglomeration of mucus. The ponies had almost reached their goal and he wasn't going to let a little cold stop him. The pegasus caught his breath and pushed his failing legs even harder to keep up with the earth pony's admirable pace.

Downpour stared forward, towards the city they were approaching as the woods disappeared into the hills at his back. Then the inevitable happened, he felt the first snowflake of winter cling to his nose, before dissolving into liquid. Gradually, more flakes began to pepper the landscape, small white dots drifting down to coat the colorful spires of the crystal buildings as the two stallions approached. Draft was still draped across Ursa's back, the grey pegasus's unconscious body bouncing slightly with every long stride that the earth pony took. A plethora of fears filled Downpour's mind, swirling incessantly much like the snowflakes around him. Each second that passed brought his younger brother closer to death and panic spurred his wings to lift him into the air once again as he pushed himself to edge of his physical limits.

The sounds of Ursa's hoofsteps and both of their ragged breathing mixed with the thundering of Downpour's heart as they closed the distance. Through the increasing snowfall, he could see the palace, jutting up like a shining mountain from the heart of the Crystal Empire. Had he not been in such a manic state, the pegasus may have stopped to admire the interesting architecture of the crystallic structure, but his gaze only rested briefly on the palace before returning to his brother's limp form.

"We're almost there!" Ursa bellowed. Snow clung to his shaggy body as well as Draft's, wherever their hides were exposed, but the deep chill that Downpour felt inside was not from any ice crystals.

"We have to hurry!" Downpour replied to his emerald colored companion. "Where is the hospital?" The winged stallion's body ached and his muscles protested against the effort as he picked up more speed, but he pushed the pain out of his mind.

"It's not far, but we may have a problem," Ursa's responded between gasping breaths. Downpour squinted through the snowfall in the direction the earth pony was gazing and his heart skipped a beat at the sight before him. There were guards posted at the end of the wide road, standing at the gates of the city and barring passage. The street was completely blocked off and it appeared as if the knights were there strictly to make sure nopony entered the capitol. With his brother so close to death, Downpour was in no mood to be stopped by the knights. If they tried to break through to the road it would surely affect their plans to talk with the duke, the pegasus mused. The outcome for such actions would undoubtedly lead to a prolonged stay in a dungeon cell for the three of them.

Downpour's voice was hoarse as he asked, "What should we do?" Even the slightest delay could mean the difference between Draft seeing the sun rise in the morning or taking his last breath before they completed their quest. Each silent second that passed seemed like an eternity to the pegasus as they approached the barricade.

"I don't see any choice. Draft needs medical attention and I'll be damned if he doesn't get it," Ursa spat out in a gasping breath. Even if Downpour didn't approve, there was no denying the crystal pony's unwavering feelings toward his younger brother.

"That's good enough for me," Downpour said as he narrowed his eyes to reduce the force of the icy wind that assaulted them, as his heart beat in an erratic tempo. Each motion of the pegasus's beating wings elicited screaming resistance from his muscles, but soon enough he was only a few body lengths from the knights. They guards' voices boomed with a command that the pegasus couldn't understand over the sound of rushing wind, but he could clearly see the surprise on their faces as he shot past them. Ursa followed close behind, bounding over the barricade with a flawless grace that belayed his large size.

Downpour didn't dare look back, for fear that it would shatter his concentration, but he was positive that the knights would be hot on their trail. The bluish pegasus slowed his pace slightly, allowing Ursa to lead the way through the foreign city. Beautifully crafted buildings made of the most stunning crystals flashed by in the peripherals of his vision, their craftsmanship going unnoticed by the panicked pegasus.

"Which way now?" Downpour shouted at the Crystal Empire native, but Ursa was too focused on maintaining his speed to reply. The emerald stallion veered off to his left and the pegasus followed him without another word. Downpour thought he could hear screaming coming from somewhere close behind them, but he paid it little attention. The duo weaved their way down mostly empty streets, dodging around towers of sparkling crystal as they approached a large building at the end of the road. He assumed that the building was their destination and being so near to their goal pumped a last burst of energy into his failing body.

"We made it!" Ursa shouted out, a moment before one of the guards from the edge of the city landed before them, blocking the doorway. "Shit!"

"Keep going! I'll take care of him," Downpour exclaimed as he dove straight for the armored stallion. He slammed into the soldier with all of the momentum he had behind him. There was a loud crashing as he toppled over into a tangled pile with the crystal pegasus. Downpour felt cold air whisk past his back as Ursa jumped over his battered body and burst through the doorway. Breath escaped the pegasus's burning lungs in a satisfied gasp as he dropped his weary head to the ground. They had made it to the hospital and that was all that mattered right then. The consequences of their actions might be dire, but at least his brother had a chance now. "Celestia watch over him," Downpour whispered as he rolled onto his back and tried to catch his breath.

Draft's brain felt like it was pushing against his skull in an attempt to escape the bone casing that surrounded it. Every aching throb resonated with pain as the pegasus stirred from his unconscious daze. His shallow breathing sounded wet in his lungs and when he started coughing, the familiar taste of blood greeted him. Opening his grey eyes was near impossible. Not only did his eyelids feel like lead, but the light around the wounded stallion was enough to send shooting pain into his already aching head.

A mix of detached sounds and fuzzy images were all Draft could recall as he lay motionless and waited for the pain to ease. He could remember being attacked by griffons and fighting them off with Ursa and his brother, but he wasn't sure how it all had ended. The idea that he had died, briefly crossed Draft's mind, but he dismissed it. The pegasus seriously doubted that death would hurt so much or that it would come with shackles. He felt the weight of chains as he finally forced his foreleg up to rub his face.

Draft's grey eyes squinted as he attempted to peer around the place where he was imprisoned. It seemed far too clean and bright to be a dungeon; in fact, it almost seemed like a hospital room. It took a few more moments for his vision to clear and when it did, the foreign pony's suspicions were confirmed. He was definitely in some sort of medical facility, although the reason for his bondage was unclear. It didn't feel as if he would be able to leave the room even if he had wanted to. It was at that second that he recalled the events leading up to his current dismal situation.

There had indeed been a fight, one violent enough to send a cold shiver down Draft's spine as he pondered it, and he must have been injured somehow. The pegasus remembered the smell of rain and sweat, the clang of metal weaponry and the sound of booming thunder. He could also see a flash in his mind that painted his griffon foe in stark contrast to the black skies and then there was the feeling of cold steel penetrating his body. The very memory of being impaled was enough to churn Draft's stomach and he threw his head to the side of the bed in time to paint the clean floor with his bloody vomit. Now that he had regained his memories of the fight, he simply had to deduce why exactly he was chained to a bed in what he assumed was a hospital.

"Hello, is anypony there?" Draft asked in the loudest voice he could muster. It didn't have enough volume to have been heard outside of the room however. The pegasus's eyes scanned his surroundings, checking for some hint as to his whereabouts. With any luck he was somewhere in the heart of the Crystal Empire and his brother was talking with the duke right then, but he didn't believe that they would be that fortunate.

That left the question of where exactly Downpour was, to be answered and Ursa's current whereabouts as well. Chances were that the two ponies were fine. Somepony had carried Draft to the place he was, after all, but that didn't explain why they weren't there with him. There was a chance that they were simply out stretching their muscles, he supposed, the small white room wasn't exactly the most comfortable looking place they had ever been in. There were a couple of uncomfortable looking chairs on either side of the bed and a generic painting of a landscape hanging on the far wall. It was all perfectly clean, with the exception of the pegasus's puke splattered on the ground, and very impersonal, exactly what he expected of a hospital room. Knock. Knock. Somepony was at the door and Draft knew it wasn't his brother, because Downpour wouldn't bother knocking. The pegasus hoped that it was Ursa waiting on the other side.

"Uh, come in?" Draft tried to shout. The doorknob rattled and then opened to reveal a pale pink mare with violet and blue hair. It definitely wasn't Ursa.

"You're awake? How are you feeling?" she asked him with a reserved smile as she walked up to his bed and laid a hoof on his forehead to check his temperature.

Draft figured that she must be a nurse and replied, "I've felt better, but I'm alright I suppose. I did get sick off of the other side of the bed though. Sorry about that." The nurse just nodded her head, seeming to be satisfied that he didn't have a fever.

"Don't worry about it. That happens all of the time," she responded.

"Yeah, I suppose it would," Draft said quietly, "Could you tell me something?"

"Hmm? What's that?"

"Uh, how exactly did I get here and why in Equestria am I chained up?" the pegasus asked, lifting his shackled leg to show off the chain, as if the nurse wasn't already aware of it. Draft figured that it was for his own safety or something, but he didn't expect the answer that the nurse gave him, after she'd cleared her throat.

"From what I have gathered, you were brought in here by two other stallions. One was a pegasus like you-"

"My brother," Draft interrupted.

"And the other was a rather large crystal pony," she finished.

"That explains how I got here, but why the shackles?" Draft asked her with a puzzled expression. The nurse tossed her head to get a strand of violet hair out of her eyes and answered a moment later.

"I was told that your two companions rushed the gates and broke past the guards. They are considered dangerous criminals until proven otherwise. The knights have been very strict ever since the conflicts arose between here and Equestria," she explained. The nurse's tone was very professional, as was her demeanor while she examined Draft's eyes, mouth, nose and other areas. Her hooves were cold and gave the pegasus a startle at first, but she was gentle and finished quickly. "It seems as if you'll be making a full recovery, although I would recommend keeping your hooves on the ground for a few weeks."

"How bad was it?" Draft asked. In his memory the sword wound was a vicious blow, the pain of it still vivid in his mind.

"You suffered a stab wound that punctured your left lung. Thankfully it went through clean and there were no bone fragments to deal with, but blood loss and lack of oxygen were the real worries," the nurse continued with barley noticeable concern in her voice. "You're lucky that your companions got you here when they did or you'd most likely have bled out." That explained the reason for Downpour and Ursa breaking into the city, Draft decided. "Between the healing potion that they gave you before you got here and our own medical attention, your lung and chest healed nicely. There will most likely be permanent scarring, but that's a small price to pay for living, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, a little scar doesn't matter to me," Draft coughed. The nurse turned to leave, but the pegasus had one more question that he wanted answered. "Is there any chance that I can see my companions?" The nurse glanced back at him with an apologetic look on her pink face.

"I'm afraid not. Not only are they in prison right now, but if they're found guilty, then you are guilty by association. We're not to let you leave this room," she explained before turning back around and walking out the door. Draft dropped his head onto the bed with an annoyed grunt. He really didn't like being chained up or stuck in a room. There was nothing the pegasus could do about it however, so he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. There was always a chance that everything would be sorted out by the time he woke up, Ursa was helping them after all and Draft trusted the earth pony completely.

The buzz from the fairy lights was a ceaseless annoyance in the back of Downpour's brain as he explained to the knight why he and Ursa had rushed the barricade, for the seventh or eighth time. The lights were bright and directed straight into the pegasus's face. It was all just part of their tactics, he assumed. As were the many variations of the same questions that the blue stallion fired at Downpour in rapid succession. They were very good at interrogations in the Crystal Empire, but unfortunately, they weren't that good on accepting the truth when they heard it. Every aspect of the dingy little cell was probably meticulously designed to break a criminal's spirit and encourage confessions, but he didn't waver in his responses.

"Why don't you tell me again about your emerald colored friend in the next cell over? How do you know him?" the knight asked in a voice that assured Downpour that he was never getting out, until he confessed to being a spy. "Do you think that his story is going to match up with yours?" Downpour was doing his best not to scream out in frustration and lunge across the table. Part of him thought that it might be easier to shake the truth into the thick headed guard, but he took a slow, deep breath and answered again.

"Read my lips very carefully," Downpour said slowly, "I. Am. Not. A. Spy." The knight stared blankly at him as he talked and the pegasus couldn't be sure that his words were actually getting through to the crystal pony. "Ursa is my brother's stallionfriend and he has been helping us get to the city, so that we can speak with the duke. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are trying to avoid a pointless war between our countries." Uncomfortable silence filled the space between Downpour's words and the knight's reply. The drone of the fairy's wings coming from its glass prison had become a constant reminder of the pegasus's own inability to fly freely.

"And the princesses would corroborate your story, along with your friend in the next cell over?" the knight questioned.

"Yes! How many times do I have to say it?" Downpour's temper flared as he reiterated to the stallion his story. "Have one of your colleges go to Canterlot and ask them yourselves. Nopony wants a war between our countries, them especially. That's the entire reason for my brother and me coming here."

The knights hazel eyes stared emotionlessly back at Downpour as he responded, "Your brother being the wounded pegasus in the hospital?"

"Argh!" Downpour groaned. He was on the verge of flipping out, because he didn't know how to make himself any clearer. "Yes, he's my brother and the only reason Ursa and I ran past those soldiers, is because he would have died if we waited around for clearance." The guard sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments before turning and walking through the door to the cell, leaving Downpour to stew on his rage in the cool, damp prison.

They had come so close to completing their mission and now they were being stonewalled by inept knights that couldn't accept the fact that they wanted nothing more than to help. It was beyond infuriating and the bead of sweat that trailed down the pegasus's bluish face was a testament to that fact. Downpour began pacing around the small room in an attempt to burn off his well placed anger, the clacking of his hooves on the dirty stone floor complimenting the buzz of the lights in an especially aggravating way. He only hoped that Ursa, being a resident of the Crystal Empire, was having more luck than he was in getting through to these ponies.

Downpour's thoughts were pulled toward his brother as he waited for the guard to return to question him further. They had gotten to the hospital in time to save Draft's life, but the wounded stallion had been unconscious the last time he had seen him. The doctors seemed to know what they were doing, but Downpour was still very worried about his younger brother. The gash in Draft's chest had been severe, worsened by the long travel, and he had lost a frightening amount of blood.

The knights had led Downpour and Ursa away in chains soon after Draft was carried off into one of the medical rooms. They had reacted in the way that the tattooed pegasus expected, treating them like hostile enemies, despite the fact that he was explaining the reason for their misconduct. The guards had refused to speak with him until he was secured in a cell below the palace floors. The pegasus had expected hostility, but never thought that it would be so difficult to reason with the knights. If they did send somepony all the way to Equestria, then there was a good chance that he would be locked up for days. The thought didn't sit well with him.

Eventually Downpour heard the sound of hooves on stone, as ponies approached his cell. It sounded as if there were a few, but he couldn't be sure how many. The curious pegasus didn't have long to wonder, as two guards walked up and an unarmored stallion followed them into the room. This newcomer was a unicorn and judging by his fancy clothing, the stallion was also very wealthy. He stood rigid and carried himself with the manner of a pony used to having his way. Downpour figured out the stranger's identity before he had the chance to introduce himself.

"I am Duke Doré Langue, current steward of the king's throne and I have been informed that you wish to speak with me," the unicorn greeted him.

"That's correct," Downpour replied as he sized up the pony before him. The duke was taller than he was, with a crimson body and golden mane, which he hid under a tall hat. The stallion seemed more suited to swindling money than ruling over an entire empire and the way he spoke made Downpour uneasy, for some reason that the pegasus couldn't be sure of. "I was sent here by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to negotiate peace between our countries. We have reason to believe that it was a tribe of griffons who kidnapped your queen."

"Interesting," was the duke's reply. The unicorn turned and whispered something to the guards before looking back to Downpour. "I don't see any reason for you to be imprisoned any longer then. Why don't you join me at my home and we can discuss the situation further." The crimson coated stallion turned and left, without waiting for Downpour's reply. The pegasus waited for the guards to remove his chains and then followed after the aristocrat. "We'll take your friend with us to the hospital, where the two of you can speak with your wounded companion, before we venture to my manor."

They stopped in front of the next dingy cell and Downpour waited while the knights released Ursa. The green stallion looked more shaken up than he was, as if the knight's questioning had taken a heavy toll on the earth pony, but it also could have been worries about Draft's health. Either possibility seemed just as likely to Downpour. Still, now that Ursa was released and they were going to the hospital, both stallions could breath easier. It really helped when they were given back their saddlebags, which had been confiscated while they were chained up.

The duke introduced himself to Ursa and, after taking care of the usual greetings, the three ponies left the dungeon together and headed towards the hospital. Once there, Downpour would be able to speak with his brother and let him know the situation. The pegasus was eager to check his younger sibling's condition. Being so close to completing their task put a bounce in his step, despite the fact that he hadn't slept in over thirty hours. Being free to stretch his wings did wonders to improve his mood as well and the fresh air felt wonderful against his sweat coated face. Things were finally looking up for them.

The hospital was silent as Draft waited for somepony to speak with him. The restless pegasus wasn't even sure how long he had slept, but it couldn't have been more than a couple hours, because the sun was still shining brightly through the frost covered window in his room. He had tossed and turned the entire time, going from hot to cold as he fidgeted in the blankets. It didn't help that his leg itched where the chain was fastened to him. By the time somepony opened the door to his room, Draft was ready to tear out his own hair from boredom. As the plain white door swung open, it revealed a disheveled black and blue mane, belonging to his exhausted older brother. Judging from the dark bags under his blue eyes, Downpour hadn't gotten any sleep yet. At the rate he was working himself; Draft was worried that his sibling would wind up in the hospital with him.

"Draft!" Downpour shouted happily as he entered the white room. The beautiful, dark green eyes of the stallion he was infatuated with, drew Draft's focus to them as Ursa trailed in behind the bluish pegasus.

"Downpour! Ursa! It's good to see some familiar faces," Draft replied with a smile, as his companions crowded into the small area around his bed. Thankfully somepony had already cleaned up his vomit while he was sleeping, so there was no risk of somepony stepping in it. It took a few moments for Draft to realize that a third stallion had also entered the room with them. It was a unicorn that the pegasus had never seen before, but based on the way he carried himself, Draft didn't doubt that he was somepony important in the city. "And you are?" he asked the newcomer.

"Forgive me. I am Duke Doré Langue, the current steward of the king's throne and manager of wartime affairs for the Crystal Empire," the crimson unicorn replied, his words emotionless and precise. He struck Draft as being just as uppity as any other aristocrat, but the young pegasus held his tongue out of respect.

"It's very nice to finally meet you, sir," Draft quietly replied.

"Likewise, young Draft," the duke responded in a tone that Draft couldn't read very well. Something was off about the golden maned stallion, but the pegasus couldn't put his hoof on what it was.

"How are you feeling, little bro?" Downpour asked him as he approached the bed, breaking his thoughts about the duke. "You lost so much blood back there and then it took us so long to make it here, I- I thought you weren't going to make it." Draft pretended not to notice as his normally brutish sibling wiped away a lone tear that had managed to spill from his tattooed eye. "Thank Celestia that you're alive."

"No, thank you two. I would have been pretty bucked if you hadn't gotten me here when you did," Draft explained as he reached out his hooves for a hug. "The nurse said that if it had taken five minutes longer, I probably would have woken up brain damaged." Downpour leaned down to his brother and they wrapped each other in a quick hug, before breaking apart awkwardly. "I owe you guys my life."

"Actually, Ursa did all of the work carrying you and whatnot. I was having a hard enough time just getting myself here," Downpour chuckled as he glanced at the emerald stallion, with the nicest look that Draft had seen him give in days. Ursa leaned over Draft's body and embraced his smaller form in two powerful forelegs. Draft melted into the contact, the feeling of warmth and care flooding his body with emotions that were best kept private.

"Don't ever do that again, Draft," Ursa choked out quietly.

"I wouldn't dream of it, but even if I do, I know that you'll be there for me," Draft whispered back, "To catch me when I fall and carry me when I'm weak." His words were accompanied by tears, just a few, but enough to wet Ursa's shoulder as he stood there holding the grey stallion that he loved.

"That was really gay," Ursa snickered as he broke the embrace. Draft let out a short chuckle of agreement. The pegasus wasn't usually so emotional, but nearly dying had a way of rattling him apparently.

"Shut up," Draft laughed.

"Ahem, as touching as all of this is, and as much as I'm sure you would all like to converse with one another for a longer duration, I must insist that Downpour and Ursa accompany me to my home," Doré Langue interjected. "There, we will be able to take care of this war business, which I am sure we are all eager to do, no?" Both stallions nodded their heads in agreement and Draft wished that he was well enough to go with them. Coming so close to preventing a war, only to be left behind near the end, didn't seem fair. It felt like some sort of cosmic joke on him; Draft, the stallion that was too weak to complete his mission, too weak to help his brother and almost too weak to survive.

"Are you going to be alright here? If you want me to stay then I will," Ursa assured him, but Draft couldn't do that. He wasn't so selfish that he would ask the earth pony to stay with him; there were far more important things to be done, even if he didn't want to be alone. Even if the pegasus wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in the crystal pony's embrace.

"Ursa, I'll be fine. Now go and make sure that we never have to see war come to our homes," Draft replied softly as he waved his companions out the door. "I don't want to see the two of you again until this whole thing is over." His older brother nodded in agreement, the exhausted pegasus looking as if he might collapse at any moment. The duke followed him out with a slight nod of his head. Ursa stopped long enough to mouth three little words that made Draft's heart beat faster. I love you. He still couldn't respond in kind though. Even after all that had happened, Draft wasn't sure if he really loved Ursa and it made him feel awful to admit.

"Welcome to Doré Manor," Duke Doré Langue announced, with a practiced flair that only somepony accustomed to showing of their wealth and power could manage. The duke's forelegs were raised in an over exaggerated gesture, the large, ornate, crystal mansion behind him in the early evening light had a creepy quality to it, the kind of ominous presence that houses with long histories tended to exude. "It has been in my family for many generations. It was built before Discord's War, although it was much less extravagant back then. Over the years, my family has built upon the foundation of our ancestors, to create the illustrious work of art that you see before you."

Downpour rolled his eyes at the needless theatrics of their host. Rich ponies flaunting their immense wealth was not something that the stocky pegasus cared for and compounded with the fact that he was dead tired, it put the Equestrian on edge. His mission was to negotiate peace with this stallion however, so he would mind his manners and put up with the duke's eccentricities if he had to.

"It is quite a sight, sir," Ursa replied, in evident awe of the looming architectural marvel. There were four spiraling towers that led up into the purple and orange sky. Snow drifted down around it, frosting the peaks wherever it settled. They were adorned with detailed patterns that would have taken a lifetime to carve by hoof. Downpour hoped that magic was the method of construction, as the thought of poorer ponies working their lives away to erect this needlessly boisterous home aggravated him.

"I agree, it is certainly," Downpour tried to play down his distaste as he finished, "quite the amazing sight." Duke Doré Langue appeared pleased with their mutual admiration and a smile graced his thin lips as they walked up the sprawling, cobbled stone path to the great wooden doors of Doré Manor. The path was lined with trees, which were all nearly barren and only added to the foreboding quality of the snow covered property. Their hoofsteps echoing off of the inlayed stones was the only sound that could be heard during the stallions' approach, until the large doors slowly creaked open.

"Good evening gentlecolts and Master Doré Langue. I have taken the liberty of having dinner made while you were out," a soft spoken earth pony informed them from his place beside the open door.

"Good. Please escort our guests to the dining room. I will be joining them shortly," the duke replied.

"As you wish, master," the servant said as he turned, motioning for Downpour and Ursa to follow him and walked through the main hall, past hanging portraits and a large fireplace, before stopping at the doors to the dinning room. "Have a seat wherever you would like. My master will return shortly and I will have tonight's meal brought out then." The duke's servant bowed low before leaving them alone in the ridiculously large dinning hall.

Downpour's mouth hung open in amazement as he surveyed the room around him. The table was large enough to accommodate at least thirty ponies comfortably and was stained a rich, dark color. Above it hung a chandelier that looked to be made of crystal, which didn't surprise the pegasus in the slightest, and was glowing with a magical light. There were a few large windows at one end of the room and doors leading off to different parts of the manor along the other three walls. Everything was white and gold, aside from dark brown trim that adorned the very detailed trim that ran throughout the crystallic building.

"Holy shit… have you ever seen a house this big?" Downpour asked his larger friend as they both absorbed the luxurious sights that surrounded them.

"No, I can't say that I have. The amount of wealth that was put into this place, well, it rivals the Crystal Palace in quality," Ursa replied.

"Yeah, it's nearly as nice as Canterlot Castle," Downpour told him. Though the castle was still larger, because there were a number of ponies that constantly moved in and out of it, this mansion seemed to be occupied by the duke alone, aside from the few servants that he must have needed to take care of the place. "I don't see how anypony could live in this place without going crazy from loneliness."

"Yes, it did take some getting used to when I first inherited it." Downpour jumped at the sound of their host's voice. He hadn't even heard the duke's hoofsteps, which seemed odd considering that every floor was done up in crystal tiles. Apparently the master of the house was quite practiced in traveling silently through his home. He moved like an apparition when he wanted to, so Downpour made a mental note to hold his tongue unless he could be sure he was alone, from then on.

"I'm sorry. I meant no offense by my words, it just seems so empty in here," Downpour quickly replied. The last thing that he wanted to do was offend the one stallion that they needed to speak with about delaying the call to war.

"Worry not, young Downpour. It is true that life alone in this house has been quite lonely, but for a stallion in my position, it is for the best," the duke told him. "Now please, have a seat. I believe dinner will be brought out momentarily and we can attend to business while we eat. The two of you look as if you might enjoy a hot meal."

"Thank you, sir, and yes, we are quite famished after the day's events," Ursa's cordial response came, as the green stallion took a seat in one of the plush chairs that lined the long table.

"Yes, I would like to apologize again for the uncouth behavior of my knights," Doré Langue continued. "One cannot be too careful in times such as these you know."

"That is quite alright, Duke Doré Langue. I'm sure that they were only acting with the best intentions for their country. I have no doubt that the Equestrian Royal Guards would have responded in kind," Downpour replied. He would maintain a respectful façade as long as the situation called for it. Despite what his friends might believe, the pegasus could act very respectful when the need arose.

"I am quite certain that you are right. Thank you for your understanding of the gravity of the situation," the duke answered.

"How could we not be? I can't imagine how terrifying it must be for your country since the disappearance of your empress," Ursa chimed in.

"Mhmm, things have been quite hectic for the past month. What with all of the preparations for war going on and the investigation into the empress's capture, I have scarcely had any time to attend to matters at home," Doré Langue acknowledged.

"Well, at least you have loyal servants to take care of the manor," Downpour replied, more haughtily than he meant to. A set of doors along the back wall opened then, revealing a servant pushing a cart loaded with platters of food and jugs of liquid.

"Ah, it would seem that dinner is served," the duke stated. The plates were placed along the table and Ursa and Downpour were served their food, along with the duke, before the earth pony left again as quickly as he had entered. "Please, eat as much as you would like. There is no shortage of fine cuisine in my abode." Downpour may have been uncomfortable in the large mansion, but that didn't stop the pegasus from eating his fill of fancy dishes. Ursa also ate with a renewed vigor, as neither of them had taken the time to eat while rushing his younger brother to the hospital.

The hours after his brother and Ursa had gone left Draft with nothing more to do than think. A guard had come in and unlocked his chains, at the request of the duke, Draft was told, which was a small comfort for the pegasus. A nurse would stop by every once in a while to check the bandages wrapped across his chest, but that was the only break he got from the monotony. He had been informed that it would only take a day or two of recovery before his body would be in good enough shape for him to leave, so he tried his best to wait patiently for the time to come.

It looked as if Downpour would have everything taken care of by the time Draft was released. The knowledge that his brother was acting responsibly for once was a little hard to swallow, but Draft knew that Ursa would be there to keep the short tempered pegasus on the right track.

"Hay, he might even be able to handle the situation without us having to wait around for Spark to meet us here," Draft said aloud, needing to hear something other than the silence of his room. It would have been nice for the pegasus to have a way to communicate with his friends abroad, but Nature Spark's need for instant communication with the princesses outweighed his own desire. Even if Downpour was able to convince the duke of Luna's innocence, it would still be beneficial to have the hippogriffs' aid in eradicating the threat of griffin attacks. Strata seemed to have good standing in her tribe and Spark was very convincing when he needed to be, so there was no doubt that the two of them together would be very influential. Draft figured that they had most likely finished their task and begun the journey north already.

The only one of his friends that Draft hadn't thought of in awhile was Star. Princess Luna would keep the unicorn busy with something, Draft imagined. In fact, the talented mare was probably taking charge of a number of important jobs for the princess. She was definitely smart enough to assist in political decisions. How she was dealing with the absence of Inferno was another matter entirely however. The young mare loved the dragon as her own child, even if she had trouble admitting the fact to herself. Being apart for so long would probably tear her up inside, if she wasn't kept busy.

Draft sighed quietly. Thinking about his friends was passing the time, but it only served to make the pegasus feel even more useless than he had before. The memory of being stabbed, of nearly dying, it sat near the front of his mind. The thought was always close by, a silent mocking reminder that if the winged stallion ever slipped up again, it might be the last time. He decided to admit his feelings for Ursa the next time he saw the crystal pony. Life was far too short to second guess feelings that were so strong.

The duke had let Downpour and Ursa finish their main course in concentrated silence, for which the pegasus was very grateful. It was over drinks and dessert that the three of them finally attended to their pressing business. The slightly bitter taste of crystal nectar filled Downpour's parched throat as he drained his first glass quickly.

"You see, sir, we have good reason to believe that the evidence you found was left behind by griffons in order to implicate the princess of the night in a crime, which not only did she have no part in, but was also unaware of, until your government's accusations were brought forth against her," Downpour explained.

"I see," Doré Langue replied. "Unfortunately, even if I believe your explanation, without any evidence I am not sure that I could change the minds of the court in their decision to go to war. Is there any way that you can prove your words to be true?" The duke didn't appear very ardent to dealing with the problem right then. The crimson aristocrat chewed slowly, savoring each bite of his meal as time passed by.

"Well, no, sir, I do not have any evidence with me. My friends are away on business at the moment, but they can meet us here if that is what needs to happens for this problem to be sorted out," Downpour assured the unicorn.

"I see. Ursa, as a resident of the Crystal Empire, would you say that these two are trust worthy?" the duke questioned the earth pony, before taking a drawn-out sip from his beverage.

"I would trust these two with my life," Ursa stated flatly. Downpour had to stop himself from choking on his crème pie. He knew how Ursa felt about Draft, but hearing the crystal pony vouch for him was unexpected, especially after everything he had done over the past few days.

"Then I see no reason that I cannot trust them as well. I will speak with the courtiers tomorrow and relay your words. I may be able to buy you some time. Have your friends meet you here and I will allow them to present their evidence," Doré Langue explained. "If war can be avoided so easily, then I believe that I should try." Downpour exhaled, letting out the nervous tension he had been storing. The princesses would want to hear about this as soon as possible. He would have to send them a letter tomorrow. It would take awhile without magic, but they had more time now.

"Thank you, Duke Doré Langue. I will inform Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of your decision as soon as possible. Our countries have always maintained a pleasant attitude toward each other and I know we all would like for that to continue," Downpour replied, glad that he would soon be able to drop the flank kissing tone he had adopted in order to please their golden maned host. It made the pegasus feel like a hypocrite to pretend to be so prissy.

"Think nothing of it," the duke said as he stood up from the table. "Please, I welcome both of you to stay in my manor tonight. It is already dark outside and, as you can plainly see, I have enough space to accommodate you. There are seven different rooms to choose from. Find one that suits you." Downpour was about to decline the duke's offer, but wound up yawning instead. He hadn't slept for awhile and a comfortable bed sounded very good at the moment. He supposed it couldn't hurt to stay the night, as they didn't have a room to stay in anywhere else, after all.

"I suppose I can't refuse such a kind offer," Downpour replied.

"Thank you again, sir," Ursa added.

"It is my pleasure," Doré Langue told them as he headed out of the dinning room and into the main hall once more. "I will have my servant show you the rooms." There was a small flash of light from the tip of the duke's horn and a moment later his servant entered the room. Doré Langue appeared to have some sort of communication spell, because the servant knew what his master wanted, without the unicorn telling him.

"Please, follow me," was all that the servant said, before leading them up one of the two staircases in the room. They had been told that there were seven rooms, but Downpour wasn't a picky pony and took the first one that he was shown. Ursa left a few seconds later to pick out his own room, leaving his companion alone in the large bedchamber.

It didn't take long for Downpour to unpack his belongings and then he decided to enjoy the private bath attached to his room. The hot water steamed up the large mirror that overhung the crystal topped sink as he filled up the large tub. As tired as he was, the pegasus hadn't cleaned himself off in days and a bath sounded like a good way to relax. The tub filled quickly and Downpour shut off the flow of water before gingerly dipping a hoof into the bath. It was very warm, but felt so good on his aching muscles. He slid all of the way in with a deep sigh.

The only way Downpour could have possibly relaxed anymore, would have been with a joint or even more of the magical powder he had been using. Just the thought of using more of the substance made the exhausted stallion's body jittery. It was very fortunate that he had run out of the stuff, anymore and he might get addicted to it. The pegasus settled for sliding down into the water until it reached his chin. The heat eased his joints and cramps, every frayed nerve soaking up the relaxing warmth. It was bliss.

After a half hour or so, Downpour decided that he should get into bed, before he wound up dosing off in the water. The grey pegasus reluctantly forced his body out of the bath, which took quite a bit of effort, and grabbed a towel that was hanging on the wall nearby. He dried himself off quickly and left the bathroom in a burst of escaping steam. The fluffy comforter looked inviting as he stumbled over to the bed. It was strange, Downpour had been tired all day, but now he felt as if his legs were going numb from exhaustion. He had barely reached the bed before collapsing haphazardly on top of the blankets. His eyelids felt so heavy that he closed them before he could even cover himself. It almost felt as if he had been drugged. Downpour groaned as the thought tried to work its way into his brain, but he was asleep before his head registered what had happened.


	31. Corrupted

~Chapter 29: Corrupted~

"I wonder where Ursa and my brother are," Backdraft said aloud as he peered about the dull, white room he was stuck in. He was sure that they would drop in to visit him the first chance that they got, but the bedridden pegasus had yet to see neither hide nor hair of either of the other stallions that morning. There was always a chance that the two of them were preoccupied by more pressing matters, but something about Duke Doré Langue had made him uneasy. It was more than just slyness that Draft had detected in the unicorn's voice when they spoke briefly the day before, there was also a faint hint of malicious intent that he had felt from the duke. Of course the Equestrian had no way of substantiating his fears, but that did not make him worry any less. Something was amiss and, as the minutes ticked by, he became more certain that the duke had done something with his brother. Sitting up was easy enough, but as soon as Draft tried to get off the small hospital bed, pain wracked his body. His insides felt like they were being prodded with a hot brand whenever his body twisted too far.

"Where's Spark with a big sack of herbs when I need him?" Draft asked himself as he forced his shaking legs over the side of the hospital bed. One hoof after the other, the pegasus slowly stood up on weak limbs. Even that small motion was enough for the stallion to begin sweating, but he had something important to attend to and no amount of pain was going to stop him. Draft made it a few steps from the door when the nurse from the day before opened it up, at the same time he was reaching for the brass knob. Her magenta eyes widened in surprise as she jumped back in shock.

"Aagghh!" the mare screamed before registering who was in front of her. "What are you doing out of bed? You're going to hurt yourself walking around like that." The pink pony placed a hoof on his shoulder and attempted to steer the pegasus back to his bed, but he quickly pulled away from her.

"I know, but I have somewhere important to be," he replied.

"Important enough for you to risk permanently injuring yourself?" she asked him.

Draft didn't even hesitate before responding, "Absolutely." The nurse seemed stunned for a moment, but she relented with a small sigh.

"Fine, you'll have to sign out, but I would strongly recommend that you reconsider this. If you push your body while it's still in the process of healing, then something very bad could happen to you," the mare explained.

"I know, but I need to speak with my brother immediately," Draft replied to the short nurse.

"He left here with Duke Doré Langue, so I'm sure that there's nothing to worry about," the earth pony assured him. She seemed genuinely unconcerned that anything could be wrong, but Draft decided to get her opinion of the duke anyway. Even rumors could have some basis in truth after all.

"What do you think of the duke?" Draft asked.

"What do you mean?" she questioned, blowing a few strands of violet hair out of her eyes absentmindedly as she stared back at the pegasus.

"Well, since he's taken the position as steward of the throne, how has he done? Is he a worthy leader?" Draft elaborated. The grey stallion waited for the nurse to answer, his eyes fixed on her face, looking for any telltale signs of deception or fear. If the duke was actually as menacing as the subtle aura he projected, then the nurse would never speak an ill word about him.

"I'm not sure that I-," the mare paused for a moment, as if considering how best to word her response to his question. "Well, he has done as good of a job as any pony could expect to in times such as these. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I was just curious about the stallion that we traveled all of this way to speak with," Draft replied. "Now, what do I have to do to get out of this place and be on my merry way?"

"Oh, right. Let me just go grab the papers to sign and you can leave after that," she assured him as she turned tail and walked out of the small room. Draft tried to be patient as he waited for the nurse to return, but he was anxious to speak with Ursa and Downpour. His hoof tapped out the seconds as he stood, leaning against the bed for support. His side ached a little bit, but it was nothing that he couldn't live with.

"Calm down, Draft, there's probably nothing to worry about," the pegasus tried to assure himself. Even speaking the words out loud did not make them feel any more comforting however.

Downpour's head was reeling as he lifted his lids and tried to focus his gaze on the small point of fuzzy light ahead of him. He had always heard stories about ponies seeing a bright light at the end of a dark tunnel when they were dying, but nothing about this felt like the pegasus ha always imagined it would. The light flickered in and out as his vision adjusted. Downpour tried to move his body, but he was chained upright, standing on his hind legs with his forelegs raised above his head. It was extremely uncomfortable and didn't leave him very mobile. Somehow he had managed to get himself tossed in some sort of dungeon again.

"Hello," Downpour called into the darkness. A slight flickering of a torch against the far wall was the only reply he received. "Hel-," Downpour tried calling out again, but broke down into a coughing fit instead. His throat was dry and his lips were chapped and bleeding. A combination of dehydration and cold, he figured. His head felt heavy and his thoughts crept through his mind at a tortoise pace, but the pegasus was more worried about not being able to feel anything in his forelegs. They had been suspended above him long enough for the blood to have drained out and that gave the cold air a chance to freeze them more quickly. His back legs still had some feeling in them, but they were beginning to go numb as well. The pegasus could tell that he had been chained there for a couple of hours at least.

Downpour needed to find out how he had gotten himself locked in another cell. He thought back to the previous night, when he and Ursa had been in the duke's mansion eating dinner. They had talked about what could be done to prevent the war and then… Downpour's memories were scarce after that. He wasn't even sure if he had made it to bed or not. The pegasus closed his blue eyes and took a few slow breaths as he attempted to recall the events that had taken place after dinner. The duke's servant had been showing them to their rooms and he had gone to bed… after taking a bath, he remembered. The only explanation that made any sense, was that he had been drugged.

"That cock sucking duke drugged me!" Downpour shouted out, which sent a painful burning up his parched throat.

"As a matter of fact, I did not," a familiar voice interjected from the darkness. "I had my servant do that for me. What good is a servant if I always have to get my own hooves dirty, after all?" Duke Doré Langue was walking down the long, dimly lit corridor to Downpour's cell. Shadows pooled where the duke's light orange eyes should have been and it gave the unicorn an unholy countenance as he laughed at Downpour's pain. "I must say how ecstatic I am that you decided to hang around Doré Manor. I couldn't have planned this any better if I had tried." Downpour attempted to lunge at the crimson coated fiend, but his chains held fast and he nearly broke his foreleg in the attempt. "Tsk, tsk. You have quite the temper, my young pegasus prisoner. If you're not careful, you might just hurt yourself." The duke jabbed his hoof into Downpour's exposed stomach as he spoke, nearly causing the hanging stallion to vomit. The pegasus almost wished that he had gotten sick, right on the duke's smug face.

"You'd better kill me right now, because if I get out of this, then you're a dead stallion," Downpour promised. Doré Langue just smiled at his feeble threat.

"Be careful what you wish for, Downpour," the duke replied. "I will kill you, but only when the time is right."

"Yeah? Why don't you unlock these shackles and we can settle this right here and now, stallion to stallion?" Downpour questioned as he glared down at the aristocrat. The duke smirked at him, his slender horn begining to glow with golden light as he cast some sort of magic. "What are yo-," Downpour hadn't finished asking his question before he felt a sharp pain in his chest. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest and it drowned out his words in a terror filled scream.

"Do you still think that you have even the slightest chance of killing me? I could end your life before you ever get close enough to try," Doré Langue explained calmly. "Now be a good little pony and enjoy the little bit of time you have left to breath." The glow faded from the aristocrat's horn and the gripping pain left the pegasus's chest.

"What the hay do you want with me?" Downpour gasped as he tried to suck air into his rasping lungs. His heart ached with every beat and he felt dizzy still.

"Hmm, I thought you might be a little more intelligent than you look, but I suppose that there's no harm in giving you a little taste of my plans before I end your life," Doré Langue smirked. The duke paced back in forth in front of Downpour as he began to explain his vile intentions. "You told me that somepony hired the griffons to capture the empress, but what you didn't realize, is that I was the one who planned the crime. I am the pony who paid them." Downpour's mouth hung agape as he tried to process the news. He really wasn't very bright. He had walked right into the home of the pony that was trying to start the war he had been sent to stop.

"But why?" Downpour asked in disbelief.

"I was elected to rule in place of the emperor and empress should anything happen to either of them, not that it mattered," Doré Langue spat. "Even if I had known how to kill an immortal, I would have died long before I ever had the opportunity to rule. My only choice was to speed up the process." The duke's pacing increased and his smile grew as he stroked his own inflated ego. "First, I began by poisoning the emperor with the strongest toxins that I could find, but it has been a very slow process and we are not very patient stallions."

"Who?" Downpour asked, confused by the mention of another player in this game of death and betrayal.

"Somepony far more wicked than I, but he's none of your concern. I plan to deal with him after he has served his purpose." The duke lost a little of his maniacal joy and stopped pacing as he spoke about this mysterious stallion. "We decided that it would best serve our purposes to get rid of the empress in a quicker fashion and then kill her at our leisure."

"You're a monster!" Downpour screamed. The duke just went on smiling up at him, as if the title was something to be worn proudly.

"Well, even if I am, it is only because I was driven to these extremes." Doré Langue continued pacing across the cold stone floor as his words became more heated. "Do you have any idea what it is like to have all of that power dangled in front of you, only to know that the day will never come when you will receive it? To serve the same stallion year after year, decade after decade, all the while seeing total control just out of reach of your open hooves?" the duke asked. "It's enough to drive anypony to madness."

"Millions of ponies have served the same rulers for their entire lives," Downpour retorted. "Why change a system that has worked perfectly for so long? It's insane."

"Worked perfectly? The system hasn't worked since Discord's War," Doré Langue laughed. "The ancient treaties are broken, entire cities are in ruin and harmony has gone from these lands!"

"That's all on Discord. You need to give the Crystal Empire and Equestria time to rebuild, time to rehash our ties with the other countries," Downpour pleaded. The duke's glare was intense and the pegasus could sense a writhing anger just behind his orange eyes.

"Time? I have given my life to my home!" Doré Langue hissed up at his prisoner. "Thirty years I have begged and pleaded with Adagio and Serenade to listen to my plans for a peaceful world. They never listened, the emperor and empress that I have served so faithfully believed that their rule was absolute and perfect!" Mad didn't even begin to describe the stallion standing before Downpour. The duke was practically shaking with rage as he recounted every perceived slight against him.

"What makes you think that you could have done any better in those thirty years?" Downpour asked. He needed to keep the duke talking. If he did manage to escape, then every detail of the crimson stallion's plan would need to be reported back to the princesses.

"Already I have gotten the griffons on my side, along with a few other groups and as soon as I conquer Equestria, I will unite the other countries," the duke explained, stopping just long enough in his pacing to adjust the large hat he wore. Downpour couldn't believe the unicorn's madness or the fact that he seemed to really believe his own words. "Think of it; ponies, griffons, minotaurs, zebras, diamond dogs and every other race all helping each other, standing together under one rule."

"Your rule of course," Downpour said as he glanced around the room, looking for some method of escape while he egged the duke on.

"Of course," Doré Langue simply replied. "Who better to lead the world than the one pony with the vision to enact this plan?" Downpour couldn't see any way of getting himself out of the situation he was in. He needed to warn the princesses and his brother. Draft needed to know who the duke really was, before the younger pegasus was taken prisoner as well.

"Do you really think that you can just take control that easily?" Downpour questioned. "You're asking for a battle as horrible as Discord's War." Duke Doré Langue stopped mid step and grinned up at Downpour.

"War drove us into this disharmony and now war is the only way to fix it," he informed the pegasus. "There will be casualties, but in the end, everypony will accept my rule." The crimson stallion walked towards Downpour, until they were mere centimeters away. "I will lead us all into a new age of harmony and they will sing of my great deeds for generations to come." The pegasus replied by spitting in the duke's face.

"The princesses will use the Elements of Harmony to stop you, before you ever get the chance," Downpour argued. The duke chuckled and wiped the spit from his muzzle before slamming a hoof into his prisoner's ribs.

"It's too bad that you'll never get to see the new world." With those final words, Doré Langue turned tail and walked out of the chamber, leaving Downpour to hang there in the cold, damp depths of the dungeon. The pegasus's breath was ragged and his entire body ached as he dangled helplessly. He only hoped that his brother would figure out something was wrong in time to prevent the war and save his life.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could direct me to the home of Duke Doré Langue," Draft asked the first pony he saw upon leaving the hospital. The brown stallion directed him west, down the main road and informed him that the duke's manor was down a dirt path just a little distance from the city limits. Draft thanked the crystal pony for his help and set off to find his older brother, wincing with each stride.

Aside from the large number of guards patrolling the city, it almost seemed as if the Crystal Empire wasn't in the midst of starting a war. Ponies bustled about the streets, attending to their everyday business and none of them seemed to pay any attention to the foreign pegasus, even with his chest being bandaged. The guards kept an eye on Draft, but no more than he would have expected considering the way his brother and Ursa had gotten him into the city. Word of their behavior had no doubt spread quickly through the knights' ranks.

It was strange for Draft, knowing what was occurring in the government and seeing all of the citizens acting as if nothing was amiss. Everywhere he looked, the city was serene and beautiful. Frost had collected along the shimmering crystal buildings after the snow had fallen and sunlight sparkled along the rooftops. If he closed his eyes, the pegasus could almost convince himself that everything would be alright in the world and that the shiver down his spine was nothing more than the cool caress of the winter wind, but he knew better. A dark storm was gathering and he wasn't sure that it could be stopped.

It didn't take long for Draft to reach his destination. The ornate roof of the duke's crystallic abode peeked up from behind the barren trees around it. His hoofsteps made the only sound around him as he followed the path up to the gates of the building, each crunching step sounding more ominous the closer he drew to the massive home. The manor cast a large shadow over the trail, blocking what little warmth Celestia's sun had been providing. The pegasus approached the well crafted doors and knocked twice, the thump of his hoof echoing through the valley around him.

Draft sucked in a deep breath, readying his nerves for whatever was going to happen next. If his instincts were correct, then there was a good possibility that he would not be walking back out through this entrance. He was preparing to knock again when the door finally swung open, revealing an older stallion, shorter than Draft, with a graying mane and tired eyes.

"Can I help you sir?" the earth pony asked him in a gentle voice. Draft released the breath that he had been holding in, eyeing the open room behind the stallion as he did.

"Yes. I am Backdraft. I believe that my older brother, Downpour, and my friend, Ursa, came here with Duke Doré Langue," Draft explained. "I was just wondering if they were still here. I need to speak with them about something important."

"I am very sorry, sir, but the master of the house is away on business right now. I will be sure to inform him that you stopped by," the servant replied, hastily shutting the door in the pegasus's face. Whatever was going on, Draft was certain that the servant knew about it, but he highly doubted that he would receive any help from the old stallion.

"Damn, I guess that I'll just have to go track down the duke myself," Downpour spoke into the air, as he turned away from the looming gates of Doré Manor and followed the well worn path back to town. Once again his hoofsteps were the only sound that could be heard coming from the worn trail as a light snow began to fall.

Blood ran down in crimson lines, streaking Downpour's forelegs as he repeatedly tried to wrench his hooves through the metal shackles that bound him in place. The captured pegasus bit his lip hard enough to draw even more blood as he attempted to stifle his pained screams. No matter how hard he yanked and twisted, the shackled stallion was unable to free himself, but he wouldn't stop trying. He had no idea when Doré Langue would return to kill him, but he did not plan on being around when the time came.

"Augh! Just! Let! Go!" Downpour screamed, each word accompanied by a hard tug on the chains. It felt like he had been hanging for days, although it was most likely just a couple of hours, and his already waning strength was nearly depleted. His attempts had done nothing to help, the shackles held just as firmly as when the pegasus had first tried pulling against them and blood loss was beginning to make him very woozy. The only thing that kept him going was the knowledge that his brother would be in the same situation if they failed to stop the duke.

A few more tries proved to be just as fruitless as the rest had and Downpour sagged in defeat, with nothing to show for his efforts except more bloodshed. Tears fell from his eyes and splashed against the dirt marred floors as his chin dropped to his chest. For all his strength and determination, the stocky stallion was still helpless to save anyone. First his best friend had gone blind, then he had let Ursa get captured and now he was being held prisoner while his younger brother, the pony he cared for more than any other, was hospitalized, unaware of the looming danger. He was a failure.

There were no windows, so Downpour had no clue as to how long he hung there; moping about his inability to change his own fate. Eventually, he lifted his blue eyes again. The pegasus glanced about the chamber, desperate for anything he could use to escape. The room was dark, but his eyes had adjusted long before and he could see every rough stone in the wall and every bit of dirt that coated the cracked floor, but there was nothing in there for him to utilize. His only hope would be to free his aching hooves from the iron shackles, by any means necessary.

A crazed smile crept across Downpour's ragged face as he decided on his next actions. He began to chuckle madly, a psychotic sound that melded with enraged screams as he yanked and twisted his hooves with a renewed vigor. He swung his forelegs back and forth, smashing them against the stone wall with what remaining strength he had. The clang of metal against stone was nothing compared to the sound of bones snapping as he crushed his wrists into fragments. His screams grew in volume with each strike, until his legs went numb and he began to laugh wildly.

"I'm coming for you, Doré Langue! Do you here me?" Downpour screamed into the empty cell as he wrenched down on his mangled hooves. Between the broken bones and the blood that had lubricated the metal, the pegasus was able to finally slip his forelegs free. He dropped to the ground, his fractured limbs unable to halt his fall as he dropped free from his chains and collapsed onto the cold, damp ground. The stallion fought to stay conscious, but his vision grew black and the room began to spin, until he passed out in a bloody heap with his back legs still bound to the prison floor.

The light snowfall that had started during his brief visit to Doré Manor had worsened as Draft walked along the roads of the Crystal Empire. Judging from the immensity of the dark clouds overhead, it looked to him as if it would reach a violent crescendo soon. Wandering around the town during a snowstorm would have been a bad idea even if he was in perfect health. If he tried it in his current condition, the pegasus was going to have serious problems. To add to his ever growing pile of setbacks, the skinny stallion's stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since leaving the hospital. He would be hard pressed to find a meal, considering his brother hadn't given him any money before he and Ursa left, not that there would have been much to give after paying off his medical expenses.

A gust of freezing wind sent a shivering spasm through Draft's body, causing a shooting pain through his chest where he had been stabbed. He pulled his cloak more tightly around his body and continued on undeterred. The servant at the duke's mansion had informed him that Doré Langue was away on business, so the pegasus assumed the aristocrat must be at the palace, considering he was leading the Crystal Empire while the empress was missing. Draft could see the pointed spire of the Crystal Palace reaching up into the sky, even through the falling snow. It was really a beautiful sight, shimmering in the dim light of the winter sun, but not one that he had time to stop and admire.

"I'll ask for food when I get to the palace," Draft replied to his empty stomach after it growled at him once again. Even if the duke wasn't in the palace, it would still be a place to get warm and hopefully stay, at least until the storm blew over. The injured pegasus just had to hope that they didn't turn him away because of how he looked. His cloak was filthy and the harsh wind had tangled his normally well kempt mane into a long series of grey and white knots. The bandages and dirt on his body probably wouldn't help matters either. "Sweet Celestia, I could really use a nice hot bath right about now."

Knight's heads turned to follow Draft's motion as he walked slowly up to the entrance of the palace. Their faces were mostly expressionless, but he caught sight of dirty looks coming from a couple of the guards as he passed. As long as he was allowed into the palace, the Equestrian couldn't care any less what they thought about him, but he was eventually stopped at the gate. Two stallions, donning armor that appeared to be of a higher quality than the other guards' armor, stood rigid on either side of the doorway, blocking his path with pointed spears.

"Halt! State your name and your reason for entering the palace," the knight on his left said in a booming voice. It seemed unnecessary considering he was only a few feet away, but Draft decided it would be best not to cause any trouble.

"My name is Backdraft and I am here to speak with Duke Doré Langue," Draft replied with as little annoyance in his voice as he could manage.

"The duke never told us he was expecting a dirty vagrant. I'm afraid that I will have to ask you to leave," the guard on his right responded with a glare. Draft was sore, tired, dirty, cold and his normally considerable patience had run out, but he took a slow, deep breath and tried his best to reason with the guard ponies.

"Listen, I'm sure that you take your job very seriously and that is a very good thing, but look at me. I'm dead tired, I haven't eaten and I have bandages wrapped around me because I was stabbed through the chest not long ago," Draft explained flatly. That caused the guards to glance at one another in surprise. "I really need to speak with the duke about a matter most urgent. If one of you gentlecolts would escort me to him, I am sure he will explain to you who I am." Draft smiled tightly and waited for a response, but he didn't get the one he was hoping for. The guards glanced at each other and the stallion on the left nodded slightly.

"Now you listen. You have about thirty seconds to turn your mangy flank around and trot away from this gate, before I take this spear tip and ram it straight up yo-"

"You will do no such thing!" Doré Langue shouted to the stallion in a stern voice, the voice a father might use when lecturing a misbehaving child. Draft couldn't help but to smirk at the guards as they snapped to attention with cheeks burning red from embarrassment. "And if I ever hear you talking like that to a helpless pony again, I will have you cleaning the palace floors faster than I can crack a whip." Draft hadn't expected the duke to come to his aid, but it still didn't change his opinion that something wasn't quite right with the gold maned pony.

"Thank you, Duke Doré Langue," Draft said as he stepped past the knights, snapping his long, knotted tail in their faces as he passed.

"Of course, Backdraft, I apologize for the uncivilized behavior of my stallions. The emperor was always rather lax with his subjects and so it seems to have spoiled his soldiers a bit," the duke replied.

"No worries," Draft assured the unicorn. "I'm just glad to be out of the snow." The pegasus's stomach chose that moment to let his hunger be known, rumbling more loudly than it had all day. The duke's orange eyes widened in surprise and he chuckled softly.

"You sound like you could use a bite to eat."

"Yeah, I haven't really eaten anything in awhile," Draft replied.

"Well, follow me to the dining room and I will see if I can get something brought to us, while we discuss whatever business was important enough for you to leave your hospital bed and come to me for," the duke told him as they walked along the halls, hoofsteps echoing throughout the crystalline structure.

"That sounds wonderful," Draft replied as he gazed about the palace. The pegasus's plan was to fill his stomach and then see if the duke would take him to Ursa and his brother, wherever they were. If his suspicions proved false, then no harm done, but if the duke really was up to something, the young stallion would need an escape route, so he made sure to memorize the path they took to the dining room. Like Spark had told him, "better safe than sorry."

Darkness. Darkness and pain washed over Downpour as he lay, broken, on the floor of the dungeon. Time meant nothing to the bleeding pegasus as he fought his way from unconsciousness. It was a losing battle. Then he heard a voice calling his name from the depths of his mind.

"Downpour." He felt as if he should recognize the voice, it seemed oddly familiar, but he was having enough trouble dealing with the pain and wanted nothing to do with the sound in his head.

"Downpour, where are you," the voice called out again. "We have to get out of here." The voice wasn't in his head after all. It sounded like… Ursa. Downpour forced his eyes open, but all that he could see was the stone floor his face was pressed against. He tried to call out, but his voice was little more than a raspy whisper.

"Help," he choked.

"Downpour, are you in there?" Ursa called out from just beyond the entrance of the cell. Tears filled the pegasus's eyes as he heard the approaching steps of his friend. "Downpour, what the hay did he do to you!?" A whimper was the only response Downpour could manage. "Don't worry, I-I-I'll get you out of those chains. Just, uh, just hold on for a little longer." Downpour trusted Ursa, as much as he could ever trust a pony he had only known for a week, and the sound of him leaving gripped the bloodied stallion's heart with dread. Downpour didn't know how long would it take for Ursa to return or if he would come back before Doré Langue returned to finish off the pathetic excuse for a pegasus that was bleeding out onto the floor of his dungeon. The sound of somepony approaching came a few minutes later however, and Downpour closed his eyes, sure that he was about to die.

"Sorry it took me so long. I had to find something to break the chains with," Ursa told the pegasus as he let out a breath of relief. "I'll have you out in just a second." **Bang! Bang! Bang!** The sound of metal hammering against metal seemed deafeningly loud in the silence of the stone room. If anypony was around, they were sure to have heard the noise. Soon after Ursa's last strike, Downpour felt himself being lifted up from the ground.

"My forelegs are broken and I don't think I have enough strength to fly out of here," Downpour managed to choke out before Ursa could let him go.

"Alright. I'll just carry you out of here then," Ursa replied as he hoisted the pegasus's dead weight over his back. "Don't worry, because your brother would kill me if I left you behind."

"Thank you," Downpour whispered. The earth pony simply nodded.

As soon as Ursa adjusted Downpour's weight, he set off at a quick trot out of the cell and down a dimly lit hallway. Downpour's head was hanging down, so the only thing he saw as they moved was the floor passing by. He could hear Ursa's labored breath as they darted down hallways, seemingly at random. It seemed that the earth pony was just as clueless as he was about where they were being kept. It seemed likely that a psychopath would have had a dungeon built under his own mansion, which meant that even if they made it out of the musty tunnels, they would still have to sneak out of Doré Manor without being spotted by any servants or Doré Langue himself.

"I think I see a staircase up ahead," Ursa said in a gasping breath as he rounded a corner. Downpour's head jerked around painfully as the larger stallion picked up his speed and hurdled up the stairs, but it was far better than staying down in the dungeon. They stopped suddenly and Downpour forced his head up to see what was wrong. "Damn! The door is locked," Ursa said in a panicked whisper as he turned his flank to the solid piece of oak that blocked their passage. Downpour was about to ask what their next move should be when the crystal pony's hind leg shot out in a hard kick. There was a glint of metal as his hoof flew back and the door splintered on contact, causing a cacophony of sound as the wood fell into a useless pile of scraps.

"What was that?" Downpour questioned, his own pain momentarily forgotten during the spectacle he had just witnessed.

"That's how I freed you from those chains. I found some horseshoes, which are enchanted, if I'm not mistaken. They were in a small room with other devices that the duke probably uses to torture his victims. There was blood staining the table they were sitting on. That stallion is seriously bucked in the head," Ursa explained as he tore through the ornate halls of Doré Manor. Downpour was already aware of the duke's insanity though. Waking up chained in the old stallion's dungeon was enough to tell the pegasus that much.

"What the-" the servant's words were cut off before Downpour had even known he was there as Ursa plowed straight through the older pony. Normally the pegasus tried to respect his elders, but this stallion had known what his master was up to all along and had no doubt helped the twisted aristocrat with his misdeeds, so Downpour managed a smile when he glanced back and saw the crystal pony lying motionless on the floor.

"There's the front door!" Ursa yelled, not bothering to keep quite since they were so close to freedom. Downpour was nearly flung from the green pony's back as Ursa skidded on his hooves, whipping his rear end around and kicking a gaping hole in the double doors with a fluid motion that seemed to the pegasus as if it shouldn't have been possible. Once again, Ursa's great size proved to be no hindrance to his acrobatic abilities. Downpour was thankful for that fact.

"Let's get the buck out of here, so I can find that narcissistic bastard and teach him some Celestia damned etiquette," Downpour said, knowing full well that he was in no condition to swat a fly, let alone fight with a unicorn. Ursa nodded his head and took off at a slow gallop through the swirling snow. It should have been freezing, especially with how much blood Downpour had lost, but the only thing the pegasus felt was his burning rage.

The smell of hot food was making Draft's mouth water in anticipation as he sat across from Duke Doré Langue and longingly watched a servant placing steaming dishes before them. After pouring them each a glass of crystal nectar, the servant left the room so that the two stallions could converse in peace. The duke seemed content to let Draft fill himself with the delicious food before they got to business and, although Draft was in a hurry to find his brother, it would do no good if he collapsed from hunger, so the hungry pegasus immediately began gorging himself on the cuisine with as much civility as he could muster under the circumstances. It was wonderful.

"You should try the crystal nectar. It is some of my own vintage, made using ingredients from my own personal orchard," Doré Langue told him with a cocky smile. Draft tipped the gem encrusted glass back and took a long swig of the beverage. It wasn't as sweet as he had imagined it would be, but it was still quite good.

"Wow, you say that you made that yourself? It's very tasty," Draft told the duke before taking another sip from his glass.

"Not me personally, but the ponies who work for me at my manor did and I taste each batch before hoof, just to make sure that it is up to my high standards," the crimson stallion explained.

"My compliments to your workers then," Draft said. He wiped his mouth off on a silk napkin and cleared his throat, ready to talk now that he had some food in his stomach. "In speaking of your home, I went there looking for you and my companions." Draft thought he saw Doré Langue's eyes widen in surprise for a split second, but then the duke's expression returned to normal.

"Oh? I'm sorry you had to travel all that way for nothing," the duke responded.

"As am I," Draft replied. "Your servant directed me to here and said that I could find my brother and Ursa with you, so I came to the palace right away." Draft watched the duke's face as he spoke, hoping for another break in the older pony's calm façade, but the crimson stallion's expression remained flat.

"He did, did he? Well, they are actually right up stairs. They wanted to speak with the emperor, so I told them I would see what I could do," Doré Langue said. "Unfortunately, the emperor is very sick, so I cannot allow a series of visitors to go parading in and out of his room all night, but I'm sure that they'll return shortly."

Draft was certain that the duke was lying, so he decided to call the aristocrat's bluff. He would wait patiently near the duke's side in order to keep a close eye on him and if anything was amiss, he would be there to put the duke in his place. If his brother did happen to come back from meeting with the emperor, then there was no harm done, but if the grey pegasus didn't see signs of either of them in an hour or so, he would know that Doré Langue was corrupt.

"I suppose I will just have to wait here for them. You don't mind, right?" Draft asked as he picked over the last scraps of his meal. He glanced slyly at the duke out of the corner of his eye.

"Not at all, Backdraft. I would be more than happy to show you around the palace while we wait," the duke offered. "I think that you'll find the architecture used in the building of this crystal marvel is quite different from anything that you've ever seen in Equestria." Either this gold maned stallion was a master of deception or his friend and brother really were just fine. Draft was beginning to doubt his own instincts.

"That would be lovely," Draft told the unicorn. He nearly jumped back from the table when the duke's horn lit up with magic, but nothing seemed to happen. The duke must have noticed a bit of confusion on his face because he smiled at Draft and readjusted his elegant hat.

"Magic is quite useful for directing the help around," the duke explained. Draft was about to ask what he meant, but a moment later the servant returned and began cleaning up the mess. It seemed that Doré Langue was able to communicate telepathically with ponies. The thought worried Draft. "Shall we?" the crimson stallion asked as he stood up from the table. Draft nodded his head and followed his host out of the dining hall to begin the tour.

A nurse let out a startled shriek as Ursa tore through the hallway with Downpour still draped across his sweaty back. She would probably be alerting the guards, but they had no time to explain themselves. Downpour's wings shot out to steady his body as the earth pony weaved through hallways and headed for Draft's hospital room. The pegasus's forelegs had finally stopped bleeding, but they were still throbbing with pain and jostling about was only making it worse. The thin scabs cracked and split as he bounced around. Ursa slammed into the door a moment later, knocking it open with a loud crash and surprising the nurse that was making up the bedding. Draft was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is the pegasus that was in this room earlier today?" Ursa yelled the question and the pink nurse winced. She was terrified and couldn't reply, so the large stallion asked again.

"He-he left. He said he needed to speak with you two, so I think he headed off to Doré Manor," she replied, on the verge of frightened tears. There was no time to feel sorry for the mare however, because if Draft had gone to the manor and hadn't found them, then he would have gone looking for the duke elsewhere. Chances were that he had gone to the palace in hopes of finding them.

"The palace!" Downpour shouted to Ursa. The emerald stallion nodded his head and turned tail, taking off down the hallway that they had just ran through. Downpour was worried that the duke would harm his brother before they got the chance to tell him what the aristocrat was really up to, but he sincerely hoped he was wrong.

They made it to the front of the hospital, where two knights were already waiting for them. With no time to explain, Ursa settle for plowing right through the stunned guards, knocking the armored stallions down with his momentum as the two of them burst through the hospital doors and out into the blizzard. Downpour glanced back in time to see the knights untangling themselves and getting back to their hooves. The chase was on and it seemed that his friend had no intentions of being caught again.

"Hold on as tight as you can," Ursa told him as the earth pony pushed his body to the extreme. Snow flew back from his metal encased hooves as they darted down the empty streets. Ponies had all headed inside when the blizzard began to worsen and now the streets were barren. That was a small blessing for the two of them, as without any witnesses, the knights would have more difficulty tracking them down. Ursa's hoof prints were wiped away clean by the icy winds of the storm just moments after being left behind and still he ran on, never slowing.

Duke Doré Langue led Draft through the open halls of the Crystal Palace, spouting random facts about the architecture and history of the various rooms that they passed by. Draft did his best to look as if he was listening, all the while trying to keep track of their position in the immense tower. He barely acknowledged the smooth cut crystal pillars or the hoof carved etchings that ran all throughout the halls. The pegasus's ears perked up however, at the mention of a powerful Crystal Heart.

"I'm sorry, but I missed that last part. What were you saying about a Crystal Heart?" Draft asked the duke.

"I was just telling you about the Crystal Fair that is held each year to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies. The heart is used as a centerpiece for the festival and as the citizen's own hearts are filled with joy and love, it is absorbed by the enchantment of the Crystal Heart and reflected throughout the empire," the duke repeated.

"That sounds amazing," Draft admitted. "I wish that we could have arrived here during the fair."

"It is quite a sight to behold. During the fair, you get the opportunity to see the true glory of the Crystal Empire. Ponies here are said to be the most beautiful creatures in the world, especially under the spell of the heart, although I wouldn't want to sound like a braggart," Doré Langue said with a chuckle. Having met Ursa, Draft was inclined to believe the duke's words. Crystal ponies did appear very beautiful.

"That's amazing."

"Yes it is," the duke agreed. "Empress Mi Amore Serenade started the fair many years ago in order to help spread harmony throughout the land. Of course, these past few years, Emperor Judicieux Adagio has been growing sick and ponies here are finding less and less to be joyful about, so I fear that without the empress returning safely, we may not hold a fair this year." From his position behind the duke, Draft could not see the stallion's face, but he thought he detected the slightest hint of amusement in the unicorn's speech.

"What will become of the citizens without the fair though?" Draft questioned. "I would think that somepony in your position would be pushing for a fair more than anypony. How else are you planning to maintain the peace and harmony that your country holds so dear?" Before the duke could reply, one of the crystal knights came barreling down the hall at full speed, with a panicked expression etched across his face.

"Duke Doré Langue, sir. Somepony has broken into the palace! We have reason to believe that it's the ponies who forced their way into the city the day before," the guard shouted as he came to a grinding halt in front of his leader. Draft inhaled sharply, steely grey eyes widening in surprise as the duke's lies came crashing down around them.

"You imbecile!" Doré Langue screamed at the guard before whipping his head around to face Draft. The aristocrat's orange eyes flashed with rage as Draft took a few steps back from him and prepared to flee the palace. Before the pegasus had made it more than three steps, the duke's magic had already been summoned to stop him in his tracks. A powerful golden glow had enveloped the grey pegasus's wings and held them firmly in place. "I knew that you and your brother were nothing more than spies!"

"What are you talking about?" Draft asked, confused by the duke's sudden accusation. "You're the one that's corrupt and as soon as my brother and Ursa find me, you're going to pay for what you did with the empress." Draft spat the words back at Doré Langue. He wasn't sure what trickery the duke was trying to pull, because he knew without a doubt that his brother was no spy and he certainly wasn't one either.

"Great job catching this one, sir," the guard said with a grin. "I'll take some knights and round up the other two infiltrators." The armored earth pony turned and fled down the hallway, blue tail disappearing down the stairs as he called out for more knights to assist him.

"I can't say that I am happy about this, but I must say that breaking into the palace was a sure way for them to convince my soldiers that a war with Equestria is our only option. I should have no problem convincing the rest of the council that it is our best plan as well," the duke said as his mouth parted in a wicked grin. Draft squirmed and twisted, trying to break free of the unicorn's magical grip, but no matter how hard he tried, the gold aura of magic held strong.

"It was you!" Draft screamed. "All along, it has been you who paid those griffons to capture the empress. You wanted to start a war with Equestria. You're the monster."

"It's funny. Your brother said the same thing while I had him hanging in my dungeon," Doré Langue cackled. "I'd rather not explain myself again and it won't matter after I've dealt with the three of you anyway." Draft felt the tug on his wings as Doré Langue pulled him closer. The pegasus tried to dig his hooves into the ground, but they skidded across the polished floor with little resistance. "You remember how I called to that servant with my magic earlier? Well, that was only one use for my little telepathy spell. I think you'll find use number two to be quite a bit more terrifying."

"What the hay are you doing?" Draft asked as he felt his eyelids being pinned open. The duke stared straight into the center of his grey eyes and his horn began to glow more brightly. Draft could feel something happening. It was like a pressure in his brain; slowly building in intensity until it was all that he could focus on, then came the voice.

"Backdraft, I want you to listen very carefully to my words," the duke's voice told him. "Your brother, Downpour, and your friend, Ursa, are both traitors to ponykind. They have come here to kill you and me and claim the throne for their own." Draft tried to struggle against this foreign presence in his head, but he couldn't push the voice out. "Backdraft, I am your true friend and you know that I have always had your best interest at heart. You must stop them from killing us by any means necessary." Something was wrong. Draft was sure that his brother would never harm him, but Duke Doré Langue had always been there for him, as far as the pegasus knew. That didn't seem true, but the younger stallion couldn't seem to think straight. It was impossible for his mind to work out what the truth actually was.

"What are you doing to me?" Draft asked in a whisper as he stared into the face of the duke. Those orange eyes were all that the pegasus could focus on. He couldn't feel the pain in his chest or the rapid beating of his heart. Only those orange eyes and the voice in his head seemed to matter. It was as if everything else had melted away, leaving only the two of them.

"Backdraft, you know that you must keep the Crystal Empire safe, right?" Doré Langue asked him.

"Yes, of course I will," Draft replied slowly. He would always fight to protect the innocent ponies of the world.

"Then you must kill your brother and Ursa, before they kill you, Backdraft. You must defend the peace and harmony of The Crystal Empire and Equestria to the death," the duke impressed upon his mind. "I am your only true friend and I am counting on you, Backdraft." Downpour tried to struggle once more, but the duke's words made perfect sense. It was his duty to protect the empire. "You will not let me down will you?" Draft couldn't find even a hint of a lie in what the duke was telling him anymore. Doré Langue had always looked out for his best interests and the interest of the empire.

"Yes of course, Duke Doré Langue," Draft replied. "I will defend the empire to the death."

"Good," the duke said with a satisfied smile. Draft could see the beads of sweat on the crimson stallion's forehead and hear his labored breathing. The pegasus felt bad that the duke was so worried about Downpour and Ursa's intrusion. He would make them pay for terrorizing his closest friend and the empire he had sworn to protect, even if it cost him his life. The magical light dissipated and the brainwashed pegasus nodded to the duke before setting off down the hall at a slow canter, looking for Downpour and Ursa. He could hear the aristocrat's laughter as the clock struck midnight. Draft would make his closest friend, Duke Doré Langue, proud of him.


	32. Long Way From Home

~Chapter 30: Long Way from Home ~

A hindrance was what Downpour felt like, being strewn across Ursa's back. His forelegs may have been broken, but the pegasus was determined to put his wings to good use, even if it killed him. If he remained a helpless pile of fur and feathers, it was sure to get the both of them captured or worse. While Ursa continued his reckless journey through the polished halls of the palace, Downpour stretched out his wings to get a feel for the remaining strength of his muscles. It was now or never, he decided, as he lifted his feathered appendages into the air and brought them back down in a pitiful attempt to gain some lift. Seeing his failure, the injured stallion took a deep breath and forced his wings though their motions one more time.

"What are you doing?" Ursa asked as the pegasus's weight momentarily lifted off of him before dropping back down and nearly sending them stumbling onto their faces. "Are you trying to get us killed, Downpour?"

"As a matter of fact, no, I am not," Downpour replied in an aggravated tone. He attempted to rise into the air once again and this time his wings wavered from the effort for a split second, before finally catching the air and holding his body aloft. "I'm trying to keep us from getting captured." Ursa glanced back in astonishment and Downpour shot him a wink.

"You're crazy. You know that, right?" Ursa asked in a huff. Downpour chuckled, too focused on staying in the air to bother replying to the earth pony. It was difficult, but he was managing to keep up with his companion, even as his broken legs dangled limply beneath him. The two stallions rounded a corner only to spot a trio of knights further down the sparkling hallway. Downpour's wings pumped forward with as much force as he could muster, slowing his momentum enough for him to turn around. Ursa whipped his body around in an instant, but his hooves slid over the smooth floors for a few yards before he was able to gain traction and head back in the direction they had come from. They could hear the guards' shouts coming from their backside as they searched for another route.

"I see stairs down that hallway," Ursa said. Downpour glanced in the direction that the emerald stallion had motioned to and saw a winding set of steps leading up higher into the Crystal Palace. Without knowing exactly where the pegasus's younger brother was, they had no choice but to wander the building haphazardly and hope to cross his path.

"Works for me," Downpour replied as he banked left in the direction of temporary escape. With his legs hanging uselessly below him, there was more drag than he was used to and he nearly missed the turn. The airborne pony could feel the solid edge of a pillar brush against his outstretched wingtips as he took the corner. If he wasn't careful, he was going to end up crashing to his inevitable death.

Sweat glistened along both of their hides as the pair topped the stairs and headed left, down a corridor that was nearly indistinguishable from the others that they had already traversed. Downpour could hear Ursa's labored breathing over the sound of his beating wings; it seemed that carrying him had taken a heavy toll on the larger stallion's formidable stamina. They couldn't keep fleeing forever, he acknowledged, because the guards would eventually overtake them.

"This isn't working. We need to find Draft immediately," Ursa called over his shoulder. The words had no sooner left his mouth when a pair of guards dashed out from an intersecting path, cutting off their route and forcing them into an ill-timed conflict.

"Shit! We have to go back!" Downpour shouted as he forced his body into a flip. The sudden change in direction nearly got the best of him and the three guards that had been on their tails had finally caught up. There was nowhere for them to run.

Downpour's eyes darted back and forth, salty sweat dripping from his tattooed face as he fervently searched for some way of escape. There were only two ways through the hall, back down the stairs and straight ahead. They were cut off. The pegasus's heart began to race as the knights proceeded to close in around them. Their only choice was to fight their way through, he decided.

"Do you think we can take them?" Ursa asked as he took a few steps back. Downpour looked over his shoulder, meeting the crystal pony's questioning face with a halfcocked smile, and chuckled humorlessly.

"Nope, but we're damn sure going to try," Downpour replied as their well armored enemies took a few more steps towards them, forcing the pair backwards until they were nearly flank to flank.

The knights made the first move, a jab from the youngest guard's spear narrowly missing Ursa's right shoulder. The guard pulled his weapon back with a practiced skill and stood back in formation with his compatriots. Ursa countered with a fake charge, causing three of the guards to jump back far enough for him to maneuver his rear legs around to face them. The next guard to lunge at the earth pony encountered a metal clad hoof into his neckline, denting the armor with a thunderous clang of metal on metal and sending him sliding backwards across the crystalline floor a few yards. They were well trained however, and the soldier returned to his position in mere seconds, visibly shaken, but still in fighting condition. Even with enchanted shoes, Ursa was going to have a hard time defeating them.

Downpour was even worse off. With his legs broken, the pegasus's only advantage was his aerial position. Thankfully, the pegasus knights seemed to be positioned elsewhere in the city, most likely where they could survey the streets, and so his enemies were all grounded. The largest of the knights thrust his spear upwards, aiming for Downpour's exposed chest, but the pegasus was more agile, even in his bruised and broken condition. He managed to avoid being impaled, the spear tip flashing harmlessly past his side. A second guard followed immediately with a powerful jab of his own spear. Downpour could see his reflection as he barrel rolled to the side, his tattooed eye staring back at him from the metal point. He remembered what Chestnut had told him about the zebra symbol. He needed to be patient, now more than ever. If he could wait for the perfect moment, he may be able to exploit a weakness in their attacks.

The next blow was a buck directed at Ursa's head. The guard's weaponized back legs kicked out in a blur of motion catching the earth pony by surprise. He ducked low in an attempt to avoid the lightning quick strike, but his size worked against him. The strike grazed the back of his neck, knocking off the emerald stallion's center of balance and nearly causing him to drop down to his knees. Two of the knights took advantage of Ursa's faltering stance and struck out with spears poised to draw blood. Swish! The edge of the first spearhead missed by a hair, but the second found its mark, burying itself in his left shoulder. Downpour could hear him grunting in pain as the weapon was pulled free from his flesh, a drop of blood falling from the superbly crafted edge.

Downpour's foes stared intently at him and he stared back, waiting with bated breath for them to make their next move. A slight twitch in the neck was all that he needed to see in order to avoid the thrust of another spear. Time seemed to slow as he watched the metal point careening towards him. The pegasus dodged to the side, letting the wooden pole slide against the inner part of his back legs. He squeezed his thighs together in a vice grip and twisted his body in a swift motion, snapping the wooden pole near its apex and rendering the weapon useless. He could see a spark of fearful recognition in the soldier's magenta eyes as the crystal pony realized his enemy would not fall so easily.

A thin streak of blood spilled from the inch deep wound on Ursa's shoulder, streaking his emerald hide with crimson, like a buffalo's war paint. The knight's formation was perfect, his reaction time refined and his motions in sync with the others as they sidestepped back and forth, feinting and trading weak blows meant only to gauge the emerald stallion's defenses. They made one mistake however, because every one of them saw Ursa's great size and assumed it affected his agility, but years of treading through forest paths, running along uneven, treacherous ground and carrying lumber had honed the earth pony's agility and grace. The very second one of his enemies would attempt to attack without restraint, he had already begun to parry and throw his own blow in return.

Downpour dipped and dived, wings working overtime to move him gracefully through the air. The tired pegasus could feel the muscles from his back all the way through his wings beginning to wear down, protesting each time he forced his body into a roll or flip. If he didn't incapacitate these guards soon, then he was likely to collapse from exhaustion. The guards seemed to know this, attacking with pathetic jabs and slices meant only to keep him moving. They were simply trying to wear him out, biding their time for his inevitable crash landing. They may not have to wait long, he realized, as one of their spears managed to bite into his front leg, sending a fresh rush of searing pain in the already mangled limb.

Ursa was tiring as well, the effort of carrying Downpour for miles having taken its toll on the earth pony. Every assault of the knights came closer to cutting through a vital area. He had multiple slash marks now, running across his flank and shoulders. Each time he tried to send a buck into one of them, he was too slow. They were cutting through Ursa's endurance blow after blow, eating away at his resolve like water running over the dirt, until it eventually wore a fatal scar into the earth. His breath came in ragged bursts, erratic and shallow as his body screamed for a moment of peace. Then a familiar figure strolled around the corner, cantering up from behind the soldiers at a steady pace.

"Draft!" Ursa cried out as he weaved around a guard's kick. The metal clad hoof passed harmlessly beside the earth pony with the unbalanced force of a sledge hammer. Hearing Ursa's cry, Downpour glanced back over his shoulder and saw his younger brother coming towards them. Draft's mane was a tangled mess and his fur was filthy and bandaged, but there was no mistaking the grey pegasus. Even being bandaged from chest to stomach, hee was efficient enough in a fight to change the winds of their vicious battle.

Downpour's minute distraction was a terrible mistake and he paid the cost in blood. He felt the cold steel of a spear slide effortlessly into the barrel of his chest. It was quick enough that the pegasus didn't even realize he had been struck, until the knight yanked back on his weapon, tearing out a small chunk of his flesh along with it. Downpour cried out in pain as his body spasmed from the attack. His wings jutted out as every nerve in his body sent a static jolt to his brain. The wounded pony dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap. Even the high amount of adrenaline surging through his veins wasn't enough to numb the agony of the combined wounds.

Ursa caught sight of a feint attack originating from one of the younger guards, but instead of avoiding the stallion's spear, he took the half hearted thrust into his haunches. It stung like hydra venom, but the effect was exactly as the earth pony had expected. The guard was anticipating his sidestep and was completely unprepared for him to absorb the blow and retaliate with a merciless kick. Ursa's hoof connected squarely in the knight's armored throat, collapsing the metal plate and pinching the neckline together. The soldier dropped to the floor in seconds, as his mouth made suckling motions, trying to breathe in air that was unable to pass through his collapsed windpipe. Ursa had a great disdain for violence, especially when it was used lethally, but he would do anything to save the stallion he loved, even if it meant taking a life.

"Draft, are you alright?" Ursa questioned frantically as he avoided the retaliation from the fallen knight's companions. "Have you been injured?"

"Why isn't he responding," Downpour asked, his attention focused on the stallions he was battling with. All three of the armored foes attempted to hit the pegasus while he was down. Two of them thrust spears while the disarmed guard tried his hoof at stomping on the winged stallion's flailing body. Downpour performed a roll just in time to avoid having his skull trampled into paste, the guard's hooves slamming into the crystal ground with a resounding crack.

"Enough!" called the all too familiar voice of Duke Doré Langue from down the hallway, as the power hungry steward marked with three gold bits stepped around the corner into Ursa's sight. His steps were slow and deliberate as he crossed the polished corridor of the palace over to where the two friends were in the midst of fighting. "You have done a good job, but I can take it from here, soldiers." The knights continued to stare down Downpour and Ursa, unsure of the reasoning behind their current leader's instructions. "I said stand down!" the duke commanded in a booming voice.

"Something is wrong," Downpour whispered discreetly into Ursa's ear, eyeing the duke suspiciously.

"Yeah," Ursa agreed, "Draft is acting as if the duke hasn't done anything wrong, but even if he doesn't know that the duke is corrupt, he should at least be trying to help us drive off these guards." Draft's gaze was fixed on the two of them and his grey eyes stared unwaveringly as he approached their position. The knights each backed away slowly, finally heeding the duke's advice and retreating from the strange situation. Downpour couldn't blame them; they weren't paid to question authority, after all.

"Are you okay?" Downpour asked his brother as the guards retreated down the stairs, dragging their wounded companion behind them and presumably returning to their various posts around the palace. "Did he hurt you?"

Doré Langue's face lit up with a devious smile as he replied, "Your brother is perfectly fine, Downpour."

"No one was talking to you, Doré Langue," Ursa spat at the crimson unicorn.

"He just needed a little bit of reeducation and now he's seeing the world in a whole new light," the duke said as he approached them.

"What are you talking about? What did you do to him!?" Downpour screamed, worry for his brother pushing his blood pressure to a boiling point. Draft still hadn't answered for himself. The younger pegasus's eyes appeared glazed over as he tread across the sparkling floors to his companions. Something was seriously wrong, Downpour decided, as he met his sibling's faraway gaze.

"I simply informed him of your true intentions and he began to see things my way," Doré Langue responded with a chuckle. The unicorn stopped a few yards away from his enemies, golden tail swishing back and forth carelessly as he watched the effects of his actions unfolding before his cruel, orange eyes.

"Draft, please say something," Ursa cried out, his pained emotions laid bare in the tremble of his deep voice. "What did he do to you?" Draft's face blazed with an unexpected anger as he finally answered Ursa's plea.

"Shut the hay up, Ursa," Draft hissed back. "I know why you're here and I refuse to let you harm the duke." The young pegasus's plumage flared out as he approached, his grey wings standing on end emphasizing the furry in his words. "You think that you can come here, into Doré Langue's palace and threaten his life without consequence? I will defend my friend to the death." Downpour couldn't fathom what his brother was saying or why he was acting so strangely.

"What the buck did he do to you?" Downpour asked.

"He looked out for me, unlike you!" Draft replied coldly. "He's always been there for me and now I'm going to repay his kindness!" Behind Draft, the duke was laughing.

"What are you talking about?" Ursa questioned. "The duke is a vile stallion. He's the one who paid the griffons to capture the empress. He's trying to start a war with Equestria!"

"Lies," Draft spat back at the emerald pony. "Doré Langue is a good stallion and you are his enemies."

"No, he's tricked you. Can't you see that?" Downpour asked. His words fell on deaf ears. Draft continued to advance on his former companions, rage oozing from every pore on his body. Ursa and Downpour's mouths hung open in shock at the lanky pegasus's demeanor. It looked as if Draft meant to kill them and the thought sent a mutual shiver up their spines.

"You don't get it yet, do you?" Duke Doré Langue asked them from his place behind Draft. "He won't listen to you. Draft belongs to me now." The duke's words were accompanied by another bout of wicked laughter. "You should have run away while you had the chance you foals, because now you're going to die." Draft lunged forward suddenly, mouth practically foaming with hate as he struck out at Ursa. The larger stallion was so stunned that he didn't even attempt to block the blow. Draft's left hoof connected with the side of the earth pony's head. Crack! Ursa stumbled back into Downpour, half dazed from the hit.

"Are you crazy, Draft?" the earth pony questioned in a daze. "It's me, Ursa. I thought you cared about me."

"The only thing that I care about, is protecting ponies from your sick plans!" Draft screamed as he swung at Ursa with his right hoof. Downpour leapt into action, knocking his brother's foreleg to the side in time to keep Ursa from receiving another shot to the face. Draft didn't hesitate in his attack, throwing a quick jab at his brother's exposed chest. Downpour danced back on his rear legs, keeping just out of reach of his brother's punches. Draft had always been more agile than him however, and without the full use of his front legs, Downpour had no real defense against the onslaught of flying hooves sent his way.

"Draft, think about what your doing. I don't know what he did to you, but we're not your enemies here, he is," Downpour grunted.

"Do you see, Draft? They're trying to trick you and turn you against me, your oldest friend," Doré Langue said as his horn was enveloped in golden light. Downpour waited for a spell to strike either him or Ursa, but nothing happened. Then he remembered the night they had been dining with the duke. The crimson pony was able to communicate with his servants telepathically.

"Ursa," Downpour whispered to his friend as they continued slowly back stepping from the enraged young pegasus assaulting them, "I think that the duke is using his magic to mess with Draft's head. We need to lead him out of the spell's range." Ursa nodded his agreement as they started backing up, more quickly than before. Draft matched their pace, still swinging at them with every step. Every so often he would land a hit and Downpour's already severely wounded body would flash with pain, but it was a small price to pay for his brother's safety.

While Downpour was occupying his brother, Ursa was busy looking for a distraction that would buy them enough time to get away from the duke. His dark green eyes passed over the well kempt hallways, scanning for anything he could use, until they finally settled on one of the large crystal pillars that were spaced throughout the palace. The earth pony worked out an idea while Downpour occupied the duke by continuing the fight with his younger brother.

Without any warning, Ursa ran over to the nearest pillar and positioned his body. He braced his front legs as much as he could against the slick floor of the corridor and bucked out with his rear legs, with all his might. The large earth pony's natural strength, combined with the enchantment woven into the spike studded shoes he was wearing, caused a boom like the sound of an explosion going off. Downpour glanced over, ears ringing from the sound, and saw a spider web of cracks shoot out from the point of impact, traveling all around the column in an instant. Draft didn't even acknowledge the attack and threw another hoof towards Downpour's head without missing a beat.

A couple seconds later and the pillar gave way, crystal grinding against crystal as it collapsed to the ground, falling in a path that would land on the duke, just as Ursa had planned. Doré Langue called out in surprise as he leapt away, narrowly avoiding being crushed to death. The aristocrat's age worked against him though and the column fell on his back leg, pinning it against the floor under an immense weight. The duke cried out in anger and pain, momentarily distracted from his enchantment on Draft.

"Let's go!" Ursa commanded Downpour as he darted past the bluish pegasus and disappeared down the hall. Downpour saw his chance and leapt into the air, wings working their hardest to put distance between him and the demented aristocrat.

"Follow them and kill them!" Doré Langue screamed, taking the bait just as Ursa had expected. Downpour smirked as he heard the sound of his brother taking flight after him. They had needed a way to get Draft away from the duke's magical influence and Ursa had found one. Now they simply had to escape the palace without being caught by Draft or one of the knights and then get far enough away that Duke Doré Langue couldn't alter the grey pegasus's thoughts anymore. Downpour groaned as he caught up with Ursa; it was all easier said than done.

Draft's enemies were trying to escape, but they had seriously underestimated their current situation. They were both tired from fighting their way into the palace and had plenty of wounds to show for it, while he was fully rested and completely absorbed in his task. The duke wanted them to pay the price for their crimes and his hooves would take the toll in blood. The winged pony's mane whipped behind him in a blur of grey, white and blue as he increased his speed and started gaining on his would-be killers.

They had tried lying, fighting and now running away, but there was only one way that this would end and Draft intended to be there when it did. The two stallions ducked around a corner, trying to keep out of his line of sight, but Draft was much quicker than they were. He shot around the turn in a whirlwind of ragged breath and beating wings. His entire body burned with the fury of what they had done. They had threatened the life of the duke and ponies everywhere, now they had to pay.

"He's your brother." The voice sounded so real, but there was no way somepony had been speaking to him. "You can't do this." It was coming from his head. Draft clipped a pillar with his wing, sending the pegasus into a spin that nearly ended with him crashing to the polished floor. The confused pony shook the strange thoughts out of his mind and focused on the task at hoof. He saw a glimpse of Ursa's blue tail, as it disappeared down a set of stairs out of sight, and took off after it.

"Turn and fight me like stallions, you cowards!" Draft shouted after his former companions as he careened around the corner and shot down the stairs. His hooves touched the wall and he ran along it, keeping his momentum from working against him.

"Come and get us," his brother called back from the bottom of the palace. Draft smirked as he worked to fulfill Downpour's request.

"He's getting closer," Ursa said when he glanced back and saw Draft shoot out of the staircase in a rush of wind. Draft could see the earth pony's panic as their eyes met and for an instant the pegasus felt sorry for him, but the thought passed as quickly as it had come and his anger was renewed. All three stallions passed by a guard, who stared after them with a stunned expression as they tore through the palace. The duke had called off his soldiers so that Draft could defeat their foes on his own and he wouldn't let the duke down. Both of his enemies were beginning to tire and Draft was close enough that he could see the sweat on Ursa's hide, glistening in the light of the torches that lined the smooth walls of the corridor.

"This is wrong," the voice chimed in his head. It was a strange sensation, because it sounded like Draft's own voice speaking in the depths of his mind. He tried to shut it out, but it was insistent, repeating its mantra that he was making a mistake in attacking them. The pegasus was so sure of himself though, because Doré Langue had told him that Ursa and Downpour were his enemies and he believed the old unicorn.

"He's going to reach us." Ursa's words were barely audible over the sound of the rushing air that blew across Draft's ears, but the voice in his head was much clearer and its message resounded in his mind. The young pegasus screamed in confusion, his heart beating in double time as he closed in on his prey. The crystal pony's tail was a mere hoof reach away from Draft; he could see every blue hair fluttering behind the running stallion as he closed the distance. His brother was flying just above the earth pony's head, close enough for him to feel the wind tunnel behind the slower pegasus as he soared. They were certainly quick, but Draft was still faster. Ursa's front hoof lost traction, causing the earth pony to slip up in the tempo of his galloping hooves. The split second delay was all that Draft needed to catch his enemy, but he hesitated.

"You don't want this," his subconscious screamed at him. Draft tried to ignore the words, but it was enough of a distraction for the emerald pony to resume his reckless charge. The pegasus wasn't sure what was happening to him. He felt as if his own brain was rebelling against him. He grit his teeth together hard enough to hear the enamel being ground away and forced himself to fly even faster towards his goal.

They were nearly out of the palace, Draft realized, as the ornate glass windows whisked past in a flash of color. One of the emperor's servants jumped out of the way of the earth pony's path, fear etched in her features as the intruders passed by in a blur. Draft saw the terror in the mare's azure eyes and it fueled the beating of his wings. If he didn't end this chase soon, then innocent ponies would be put in harms way. He wished that the duke hadn't called off his soldiers. It didn't make any sense to him, because they could have been helping to stop the criminals.

Downpour shouted, "We're almost out!" as he neared the gaping doorway in the palace's front chamber. The guards posted on either side of the entrance never expected what was about to happen. Downpour shot past their heads, leaving a trail of confusion and a large, charging stallion in his wake. The knights barely had time to shout for help before Ursa burst through the doorway, slamming into the side of one of the armor clad stallions and knocking a spear from the other one's mouth. Draft didn't bother slowing to check on them, not when he was so close to reaching his enemies.

The three ponies tore through the freezing winter night, Ursa's hooves thundering across the snow covered streets in time with the furious flapping of the flying stallions' wings. Behind him, Draft could hear the sounds of the knights mobilizing, a mere whisper over his body's own noise. It wouldn't matter though, he was flying close enough that he could have reached out and gripped Ursa's blue tail between his teeth had he wanted to. A few seconds later and Draft was flying directly over the earth pony's broad shoulders, ready to take the much larger stallion out.

Draft shouted, "It's over!" as he dove down on his enemy, slamming into Ursa's emerald hide with his full weight. They hit the ground like a meteor strike; a tangle of limbs and fur crashing through the drifts of snow and leaving a messy trail, like a scar in the pristine white blanket that covered the dark streets of the empire. Without any hesitation, the pegasus sprang to his hooves and began to pummel his enemy mercilessly. His hooves struck the crystal pony's body like a barrage of hail, each hit bruising flesh and eating away at the stallion's resolve.

"Look at what you've done," his mind commanded him as he continued his assault. "Ursa is your friend. This is wrong." Draft's movements slowed as the thoughts forced themselves to the forefront of his mind. Something felt wrong to the pegasus, but he wasn't sure why.

Before Draft could consider the matter further, he was struck from the side by his brother. Downpour's thick skull cracked ribs as he charged down on his younger brother, knocking him away from Ursa's limp form. It took a second for Draft to realize what had happened and Downpour took the opportunity to pin the smaller stallion's legs to the ground. Even while he was wounded, Downpour's weight and strength were enough to keep Draft from breaking free.

"Draft, listen to me. You don't know what your doing," Downpour tried to explain. "Doré Langue tricked you. He used his magic to get into your head and make you attack us." Draft tried to kick his hooves, but something his brother was saying crept through the duke's lies and wormed its way into his head.

"No, he- he's my friend. He's always been there for me," Draft argued.

"When!? When has he ever been there for you?" Downpour questioned. Draft opened his mouth to speak, but he had no answer for his brother. He couldn't think of a time when the duke had ever actually been there for him. "It was all a lie, that's why you can't tell me," Downpour assured his brother. "He forced those thought into your head with his freaky unicorn mind spell."

"No, it was- it was you two who were trying to hurt me, hurt all of us," Draft retorted as he struggled under his sibling's weight. What his brother was saying sounded right though and it scared him. If Downpour was telling the truth, then it meant Duke Doré Langue had been in his mind and twisted his very thoughts.

"Why would I do that, Draft?" Downpour asked him. "I am your brother and I would never do anything to hurt you… well, unless you deserved it." Downpour gestured over to where Ursa was slowly getting up from the ground and told him, "Ursa, he actually loves you. For some reason he cares about you in a way that, quite frankly, I still find a little bit weird." Draft looked over to the crystal pony, who was walking over to them on shaky legs. Draft stared into his brother's face and saw the concern in Downpour's deep blue eyes.

"I, ugh, I can't think straight. Everything feels all jumbled!" Draft exclaimed. He had stopped struggling. The voice in his head that had been telling him something was wrong had gotten more insistent and now he could hardly remember why the duke's words had seemed so important to him.

"I'd love to give you more time, but we have company headed our way," Ursa said, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the Crystal Palace. Draft followed his gaze and saw a group of knights stampeding from the cool blue tower and heading down the street, straight towards them. "If we're going to go, it needs to happen right now."

"Come on, Draft. You know us and you know that we're trying to help you," Downpour told him again. Draft nodded his head in response. Doré Langue's words were still in his mind, but they were being drowned out by doubts and memories.

"Alright, let's go," Draft agreed. His brother smiled down at him and wrapped his grey body up in a weak hug with wounded front legs, before rising back into the air above him. Draft pushed himself off the snowy ground and shook the flakes of ice from his fur, smiling back at Downpour and Ursa as he did. A moment later, the three of them took off down the empty street, the hooves of an entire battalion of soldiers thundering behind their backs as they made their way through the sprawling city.

It had been difficult to get past the guards at the entrance of the capitol, but thanks to the ruckus back at the palace, all three of the exhausted ponies had been able to sneak past the barricade without being spotted. They were still well away from being safe though. Every time they looked back in the distance, they could see patrols flying through the cloud strewn night skies, fanning out from the palace in an ever widening search.

The small group had already run for a couple of miles and Downpour was having trouble staying in the air, his wings struggling to keep him aloft as he forced himself onward. He wanted to sleep, more than anything else the pegasus needed rest. It had been days since he had slept through an entire night, not counting Doré Langue drugging him in his mansion. If they hadn't had an entire platoon of soldiers after them, Downpour would have collapsed right then. He passed over a large snow drift and couldn't help but think that it looked like a plush, white blanket. If he could just lie down and close his eyes for a few minutes, it would do wonders on his stamina, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Please, tell me that there's somewhere we can stop close by," Downpour pleaded with Ursa, his eyelids held open by sheer willpower as he struggled to keep up with his companions. "I haven't slept in forever and I can't really feel my legs anymore."

"It's not safe here. We'll probably have to travel all night and well past morning," Ursa replied. Downpour's head sagged when he heard the news, because it was going to be another long day for him. "I can carry you again if I have to." Downpour peeked over at the emerald pony from the corner of his tired eyes and saw how exhausted he was. As nice as Ursa's offer sounded to his sleep deprived brain, Downpour's pride had already taken a savage beating during their brief visit to the capitol and he wasn't about to let it take another blow.

"No, I- I'll manage," he groaned.

"I'll keep an eye out for any place that looks like it will give us protection from wandering eyes," the earth pony replied, "but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." Ursa shot a glance behind him after he spoke, checking on the silent, third member of their ragged group. Draft followed behind his friends quietly, his brow furrowed in concentration. Downpour couldn't blame the younger stallion; having somepony prying into your thoughts couldn't have felt very comforting.

"Are you holding up alright?" Downpour asked his younger brother. Draft mumbled an incomprehensible response, which the stocky pegasus took to mean he was managing. "I'm glad we got you out of there." Draft just nodded his head.

It had stopped snowing at some point, all though in all the excitement, Downpour hadn't noticed. There was still a slight breeze and the wounded stallion wished that he still had his cloak, but all of their supplies had been taken by the duke, so he had to do without. He certainly wasn't about to go back and get them.

"So, what happens now?" Ursa asked in a tired voice.

"We need to get back to Equestria," Downpour said. "The princesses need to know about Doré Langue as soon as possible." Ursa nodded his head in agreement.

"I guess this means that I can't go home," the earth pony acknowledged. "I'm sure Duke Doré Langue will have his stallions watching over my place before we get there."

"I'm sorry, Ursa," Downpour sighed. "I know that you grew up there and maybe one day you can go back, but until the Doré Langue is taken care of, it isn't safe here… for any of us." Downpour looked over and saw a tear roll down the stallion's emerald cheek. He couldn't imagine what it must be like, not knowing if he would ever be able to see home again, so the pegasus had no idea how to comfort his friend. Draft would have known what to say, but it didn't look like he was going to be talking for awhile, so they all continued on their way in silence. They were fatigued, famished and frustrated, but they were also alive and that was enough for Downpour's face to be graced with a slight smile as he flew.

"I can't. I just- I can't do it anymore," Downpour complained. Draft snapped out of his inner thoughts long enough to glance up at his brother's sudden words. "I don't care if they find me and kill me, because if I don't get at least a little bit of sleep soon, then I'm going to die anyway and at least the knights would probably give me a quick death," Downpour huffed as he dropped to the ground in a sweaty heap of dirty fur and feathers.

They had been traveling nonstop all morning and now the sun was high enough in the sky that Draft assumed it was nearly noon. It hadn't felt that long to him, but then again, he had been lost in his own thoughts for most of the trip. The grey eyed pegasus peered around, examining his surroundings and realizing that he had no idea where they even were at the moment. The trees made it obvious that they were somewhere in the woods, but they hadn't been following the path like they had on the way to the city. Ursa must have been leading them south, through the denser part of the forest so they wouldn't be easily spotted, Draft assumed.

"Yeah, I think we can stop here for a bit, but no fires and no wandering off," Ursa told them as he took a seat near the spot Downpour had collapsed. "The last thing we need is for one of the duke's soldiers to find us."

"My legs are pretty numb. How long do you think it will take before they get infected and fall off?" Downpour asked with a pained chuckle. Ursa didn't seem to find his words very funny and he grimaced as he leaned in to examine the wounded pegasus's broken limbs. "Are they really that bad?" Downpour asked when he saw the crystal pony's expression.

"I think that we need to get you to a hospital very soon, before they get infected or worse," Ursa told him in a humorless tone. "Until then, there really isn't anything that we can do without any medical supplies."

"Well in that case," Downpour said as he rolled onto his side, "I might as well just go to bed." Ursa shook his head slowly with a sigh of disbelief.

"Is he going to be okay?" Draft asked, speaking for the first time in hours.

Ursa glance glanced up, gave Draft a tired smile and replied, "After everything that we've been through, I sure hope so." Draft smiled back and sat down next to his friend. "How about you, Draft, how are you feeling?"

"Wrong, I ju- I just feel so weak. I mean he used his magic to control my thoughts and I can't help but wonder what else he changed in my head," Draft told his friend. "You don't know what it was like. He actually had me convinced that I had to kill both of you and I can't understand why I believed it." Draft ran a hoof through his unkempt mane and took a slow, deep breath. "I just want to forget about it."

"I can't say that I blame you," Ursa replied as he stretched out onto his back. Draft took the earth pony's lead and sprawled out on the cold ground. Thankfully, most of the clouds had dispersed and much of the snow cover had melted away, so he only had to deal with mud instead of ice. The two stallions stared up into the bluish skies, watching the gentle swaying of the barren tree branches above their heads as they rested their weary bodies.

"Ursa, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you," Draft said with watery eyes as he turned his head to gaze into his companion's visage.

"Oh, what's that?" Ursa asked in a hushed voice.

"I think- I think I love you," Draft replied, warm tears spilling down his face as he scooted closer to the large stallion beside him. The pegasus had promised himself that he would tell Ursa how he felt and now he had. It felt good to get it off his chest, to finally admit what he had been feeling for awhile, but it also left Draft feeling terribly exposed. He had opened his heart up and waited to see weather he would feel the warm touch of affection or the cold grip of rejection.

Ursa smiled softly at the grey pegasus and told him, "I know and I love you too, Draft. From the first time I tried kissing you I've felt this way and I'm glad to hear you admit that you feel the same." The earth pony rolled onto his bruised side and pulled Draft closer to him, strong forelegs wrapping around the smaller stallion in a caring embrace. Draft closed his eyes and buried his face into Ursa's chest. He could feel the comforting tempo of the shaggy stallion's heartbeat against his cheek and he wept softly in the safety of his lover's embrace.

They stayed like that until well after noon, holding each other close in the middle of the withered forest, with only the sounds of Downpour's shallow breathing to remind them that they weren't alone. Draft cried quietly, the confusion and pain of the last few days melting away like snowfall in the sunny heat of Ursa's love. The pegasus wished that he could have stayed that way forever, but there were promises to keep. Eventually they would have to move on, but for that short period of time, Draft felt like he might live to see true happiness one day, with Ursa, his very special somepony.

There were only a few more miles between them and Calvary, but the couple hours of rest hadn't been enough for Downpour. Now he was having a hard time simply keeping his eyes open, let alone navigating safely through the twisted branches of the forest. His brother seemed to be doing much better though. Ursa and Draft had been walking side by side and talking in hushed voices interspersed with plenty of quiet giggles. It seemed that the two love birds were feeling much better after their short break. He didn't bother asking why, because he didn't care to know the details.

"When do you think we'll reach Calvary?" Downpour asked. The answer didn't actually matter too much, but he was getting bored of being the only one not talking and boredom was making him sleepier than he already was, so he asked anyway.

"It will probably be pretty late, even if we keep all of our future rest stops as short as possible. Traveling through this part of the woods is pretty slow going compared to using the trail," Ursa explained.

"Shouldn't we be avoiding towns anyway?" Draft asked. "There's a good chance that Doré Langue will have knights watching over all of the cities in the empire." Ursa nodded his head in agreement, but Downpour had another idea that he wanted to run by them and it involved heading straight into the town.

"I think we should chance it," Downpour told them as he matched their pace so that they could converse easier.

"Why in the hay would we do that?" Draft asked his older brother.

"I might know somepony that can help us out," he explained. "I met this stallion called Spade. He's the one who owns the Full House." Ursa and Draft shot him confused glances, so he elaborated further. "It's the bar that I met those pegasu-"

"The prostitutes," Draft interrupted in an annoyed tone.

"Mares of the evening," Downpour replied with a scowl. "Anyway, I talked to Spade quite a bit and he seems like a trustworthy stallion. He told me that he has quite a few connections from here to Equestria."

"So you think he can help us out?" Ursa asked.

"I think that it's certainly worth a shot, unless one of you has a better idea." Judging by the looks on their faces, Downpour didn't think that they did.

"It sounds like a pretty risky shot in the dark, Downpour," Draft told him. His brother was right, but Downpour couldn't see any other options. They had no food, water or medical supplies and without money, they wouldn't be able to buy any. They were all completely drained of energy and wounded, him most of all, so town was looking like their best option for survival. He just had to hope that Spade would be willing to help.

Downpour gave his friends some time to mull over his idea in silence, which is why he was able to hear the sound of flapping wings coming from beyond the tree line. Draft looked up at him as he slowly rose up to peek over the branches. The tattooed pegasus held a hoof in front of his mouth to silence his younger brother, without remembering it was broken in several places. He winced from the pain, but bit his tongue to keep from crying out.

There were knights flying over the forest, searching for them, Downpour figured, but they were still a few hundred yards away. He dropped back down until he was hovering near Ursa's shoulder, gliding as silently as he could to avoid being discovered. His companions both looked up at him with concern in their eyes.

"What's wrong?" Draft asked in a whisper.

"Doré Langue's knights are searching the woods. There are at least five or six of them, maybe even more," Downpour whispered back. "We need to get out of here as quickly and quietly as possible." Ursa and Draft nodded in silent agreement and the three stallions picked up their pace. The pegasus both flew on silent wings while Ursa did his best to step gingerly around fallen branches. They needed to reach Calvary in a hurry or risk being captured and dragged back to Duke Doré Langue.

The lights of Calvary burned bright against the moonless sky, tiny embers in a coal black night that marked their only chance of safety. The air was cold and still against their filthy hides and Draft envied Ursa his shaggy coat as the skinny pegasus shivered quietly beside the emerald pony. There was less than a mile between them and the stallion, Spade, who they were going to meet with. The skies appeared to be clear of prying eyes at the moment, but the three stallions crept cautiously over the muddy terrain none the less.

They had been dodging patrols every step of the way since they had spotted the first group while sneaking through the woods and it had left them all slightly paranoid. Together they had managed to stay one step ahead of the duke's search, but Draft was worried that this was where their luck would run out. Entering the city would be difficult, especially looking like they did. A trio of beat up ponies was sure to be remembered by any witnesses, so they had to make it to the Full House without being seen.

The outskirts of the city were deserted, besides a few houses which still had candlelight flickering in the windows, but the three stallions stuck to the shadows and back alleys to be safe. The cobblestone streets made it hard for Ursa to move stealthily and he had to stop and take off his metal shoes to quiet the sound of his hoofsteps. Draft and Downpour took turns flying up to the rooftops, keeping lookout in case any soldiers happened to be traveling by. Draft's heart hammered in his chest every time he heard even the softest of sounds from his surroundings, but he knew that is was too late for them to back out now.

"Which way is it?" Draft mouthed to his older brother, hoping that there was enough background light for Downpour to read his lips. His tattooed sibling nudged his head east and they set off down an alley, sides pressed against the building as they moved single file towards the center of the city. One false step could mean the death of them all. Draft reminded himself of that fact with every silent breath he took. He would kill himself before he gave Doré Langue the chance to get in his head again, but that would only be his last resort.

"It's straight ahead," Downpour whispered into his companions' ears. Draft and Ursa peeked around the corner of a small green building and saw Spade's bar lit up with colorful fairy lights like a bonfire in the middle of the city.

"Are you bucked in the head!?" Draft asked his brother.

"How are we supposed to make it to the doors without being seen?" Ursa followed up. They had snuck so close, but now it looked as if they weren't going to be able to make it after all. Draft sighed in annoyance as he tried to think of a new plan, but Downpour had other ideas. Before his brother could stop him, Downpour strolled casually out of the alley and headed directly for the Full House. Draft and Ursa had no choice but to follow his lead and walk as if they belonged, all the while wishing they would go unnoticed.

Draft couldn't believe that it was working. All three of them made it to the doors of the bar without arousing suspicion, although now Draft was more worried about dropping dead from a panic attack. The colorful paint and flashing lights of the building swirled around the pegasus's vision as he cast furtive glances back and forth. They stopped at the entrance long enough for his older brother to whisper something to the bouncer and then they entered into the bright, noisy building that was known as the Full House.

Everywhere Draft looked there were intoxicated stallions and mares, some of them sitting at the bar, but most gathered around stages. Mares of all colors and races danced atop colorful platforms in time to the upbeat music. Downpour seemed to be right at home, walking directly to the bar and taking a seat in front of the one eared bartender. Draft followed behind and took an empty spot next to his brother while Ursa took sat beside him. He gazed around the room, taking in the sight of a variety of ponies, any of which could have blown the whistle on them in an instant. It felt very exposed being in such a crowded place, but Draft had no choice but to trust his older brother.

"Can we get three shots of apple whisky?" Downpour asked the earth pony behind the counter. The black stallion turned around and his face lit up with recognition.

"Holy Tartarus, look at what the manticore dragged in," Spade observed with a smile.

"More like dragged in, chewed up and spit out," Downpour replied with a matching grin. Draft assumed that this bald headed stallion was Spade, the pony who was supposed to help them get home.

"Three shots of whisky coming up," Spade told them as he turned around and snagged a bottle off of the large shelves behind him. "Who are your friends?" he asked as he poured them each a healthy shot of the dark liquor.

"This is my brother, Backdraft, and his coltfriend, Ursa," Downpour responded before tossing back his drink without the use of his hooves.

"So I take it you worked out your issues then?" Spade asked, motioning to Downpour's visible wounds.

"Yes, but that's not how I got so bucked up," Downpour responded. One of Spade's eyebrows rose in mild surprise at the pegasus's statement. "We had a run in with Duke Doré Langue," he informed the earth pony.

"Ah, so you've seen our new leader at his finest then."

"I guess you could say that," Downpour replied.

"So what did you think?" Spade asked as he waved over one of his employees to cover the bar for him.

"He's insane, but we have something else we need to talk to you about right now," Draft said in a tone that urged discretion. Spade walked around the bar where Draft and his companions could talk to him more quietly. He motioned for them to follow him and led them to a table in the corner of the bar. They took their seats and resumed their conversation in hushed voices.

"You have friends from here to Equestria, right?" Downpour asked. Spade nodded his head in reply. "We need help getting back home. The duke is after our heads because of what we know and I don't feel like spending any more time in his dungeon. Do you think you can help us out?"

"I just might be able to work something out," Spade replied with a grin, "but first I think you should meet with some friends of mine. They're loyal to the emperor, out true ruler." Ursa gasped quietly and the pegasus brothers glanced over in confusion.

"You're with the-" Ursa started.

"The Crystal Resistance," Spade acknowledged with a smile. "You tell us everything you know about the duke and we'll see to it that you three make it home in one piece." All three stallions looked at each other and chuckled with relief.

"Deal," they replied in unison.


	33. Part 3: Luna's Protégé

~Part 3~

"_In all my studies, never have I encountered greater mystery than when I examined politics. For something meant to be so straight forward and pure, it is truly an example of manipulation and corruption at its finest."_

~ Scroll Wyrm the Scholar (Year 294 of Discord's War)

Duke Doré Langue was seething with rage as his most loyal servant worked on wrapping a splint around his broken leg. Thanks to his high status in the empire's government the duke was afforded the best possible care within mere minutes after Ursa had kicked over a pillar onto him. Potions and spells had worked wonders to restore the damaged limb, but his body's natural healing process still had to mend the last of his broken bones. Doré Langue dismissed the old stallion as soon as he finished wrapping the bandages, because he needed some time alone.

As angry as he was to have been blindsided by that vile excuse for a crystal pony, he was even more infuriated that Draft had gotten free from his spell. Nopony had ever escaped his magical clutches before and if he couldn't find a way to rectify the situation his true power would surely be exposed. Then his only fear would come to pass; Equestria's princesses would come after him wielding their all powerful Elements of Harmony. He needed more time to destroy the emperor and the empress before that happened, but he had no idea how long it would take.

"Humble, I need you back here," Doré Langue thought to the old stallion. It made it infinitely easier to manage his affairs being able to communicate telepathically with his workers from a distance. That was the first spell that he had worked on mastering after he finally decided to put his devious plans into action.

"Right away sir," Humble thought back to him. The grey maned earth pony stepped through the door to his study a few moments later.

"I need you to send a message to the griffons. Tell them that I will pay them twice their price to bring me the heads of Downpour and Ursa. Draft I think I would like alive."

"Right away sir," the stallion replied.

"I also want them to kill the stallion, Nature Spark. He's working for the princesses just like those pegasus and I will not have them ruining everything that I have worked so hard to complete," the duke explained. He was trying to contain his temper; it would do him no good to get angry. He would need a clear head to devise a new plan.

"Shall I also call a meeting with the council for tomorrow morning? I imagine that they will be eager for an explanation of today's mishaps." Doré Langue thought for a moment, considering how best to spin the events that had taken place in the palace.

"Yes, I think that a meeting will benefit everypony involved. Now go take care of all of that and be back here in time to bring me my evening tea," the duke commanded.

"Of course sir," Humble replied with a bow. A moment later and the old stallion had disappeared out his door, leaving Duke Doré Langue to think in peace.

A couple hours after Humble had left Doré Manor the duke heard somepony causing a ruckus downstairs. He got to his hooves with a small sigh, taking care not to tread heavily on his wounded leg, and left his study to investigate the disruption to his personal time of reflection. As he tackled the difficult task of walking safely down the winding stairs with a splint on, Doré Langue heard a strange sound coming from one of his unused rooms. It almost sounded like laughter, although he had never heard any signs of joy from his employees in the past.

"Which one of you imbeciles is making that inconvenient disturbance!?" the duke shouted impatiently as he followed his ears to the source of the laughter. It was coming from his personal library, where he kept the books that he hardly ever had a need for. As he approached the door the duke noticed a strange glow shining through the gaps of the closed entryway. One of his servants was practicing magic under his very nose, but he couldn't remember hiring any unicorns.

"I've had quite enough of this nonsense," he called out as he opened the door to the library. Waiting for him with a crooked grin was a Black unicorn, sitting in his reading chair and smiling with teeth bared. "S-Sombra?" the duke asked, startled by the sudden intrusion of his unexpected guest.

"Well hello Doré Langue," the unicorn replied with a laugh as he examined several of the books held before his face in a green glow. "How have you been?"

"I, uh, things have be- just what are you doing in my house?" Doré Langue asked. The very presence of Sombra in his mansion was an unwelcome intrusion.

"Is that how you treat your old student and partner?" Sombra asked, feigning a hurt expression.

"How did you get in here?"

"Doré Langue, you surprise me. What did you expect from your best student?" the black stallion questioned. "It's a simple matter to get inside somepony's home, of course I never learned your little magical suggestion trick, but I find pain to be a useful enough motivator." Sombra's eyes flashed with wicked glee.

"It is very rude to enter a stallion's home uninvited, especially if you harm one of his servants in doing so," the duke replied, unamused by his student's violent antics. "What is so important that you found it necessary to disturb me right now?"

"Yes, I heard about those pegasus that escaped your clutches," Sombra responded. "It's a pity really. I would hate to believe that you're losing your touch this far into the plan." Sombra smiled again, his white teeth sparkling in the light of the single torch glowing in the large library.

"It was a small mistake; one that I will see resolved on my own, thank you very much," Doré Langue replied with a scowl. Although Sombra had been the only student to survive his teachings, the duke had always been wary of his pupil's often drastic actions. The fact that he had been studying ancient magics in an attempt to discover a method of killing an immortal only served to heighten his suspicions, but there was no alternative if he wished to sit upon the throne permanently.  
His student glanced up from the dusty old tomes he had been reading to tell him, "I've just come back to let you know some good news."

"Oh, and what might that be?" Doré Langue asked.

"I've uncovered a form of magic that appears to be very promising," he replied. The duke smiled at his pupil who was no longer a confused young unicorn, but now a true master of his craft. Sombra smiled back as he used his magic to return the books to their proper places on the shelves. "What do you know about shadow magic?"


	34. Ashes to Ashes

~Chapter 31: Ashes to Ashes~

As the wooden wheels of the cart splashed along the road to the former town of Ponyville, Discipula Star sat in the back, trying her best to keep her mind off of Inferno, whom she hadn't heard from since receiving a letter from her the day after Nature Spark's unfortunate fall from the sky chariot. Princess Luna had sent off the letter she wrote in response, but Star hadn't received further communication from her serpentine daughter. It was a strange thought that she considered the young dragon her daughter, but one that she was more than happy to dwell upon. She had raised Inferno from the time she hatched her from a red and black egg; the first task that Luna had ever tested her magical abilities with and she loved her dearly.

Inferno's letter had been shocking enough for Star, but only three days after receiving it the princesses had also gotten the news that Ponyville had been set aflame. The rural town was the destination of the cart she rode in, but from what she had heard it sounded as if there wasn't much left of the place. Griffons had been reported fleeing from the scene of the arson and Princess Luna had requested that Star travel to the city and lend her help in managing the clean up efforts after the disaster. It was mostly to keep her mind off of her friends, but she knew that Downpour and Backdraft had been headed through Ponyville, hoping to find the mule, Chestnut, so her friends were still at the forefront of her mind.

It had to be more than mere coincidence that the small town was the target of griffon attack soon after the pegasus brothers had left Canterlot, there was no tactical advantage to attacking such a small farming town. She was planning to look for clues as to whether or not Downpour and Backdraft had actually been in the area during the time of the fire and if so, whether or not they had been able to escape the town in time. Luna had informed her that the fire was very severe and had consumed many of the homes and shops before a pegasus weather team had managed to cause a large enough deluge of rain to snuff the flames and there were a number of ponies that had died with many more having been injured.

As the cart bounced over a pothole in the muddy dirt road, one of the guards escorting her called out, "We're nearing the gates miss. You should gather everything that you need, so that we can get right to work."

"Thank you Brass Heart, I'll make sure everything is ready by the time we arrive," Star replied as she began organizing her belongings back into her saddlebags. There wasn't much she had brought with her; warm boots, a cloak, some food, quills and parchment which all fit nicely into her bags. The last item she packed inside was the Wyrm Stone, her enchanted necklace that bestowed the wearer with the fire breathing abilities of a dragon. Ever since she had left from Dodge with Spark and his friends, Star had been keeping the enchanted jewelry with her for extra protection.

Though she was well versed in a variety of spells, Star was not much of a fighter. She had managed well enough using levitation and teleportation, the staples of a magic student's abilities, but without her friends nearby she felt very exposed. Just a few weeks ago the thought of needing to be able to defend herself would never have crossed the mare's mind, but with the threat of war looming overhead like a storm and the recent attacks on Equestrian soil, she felt it wise to learn some magic that could be used in a fight, until she had time though the Wyrm Stone was her best method of protecting herself. She sighed morosely as she tucked the necklace away and latched her bags.

"We're nearing the town miss," Brass Heart informed her as she picked up her bags in the white glow of her magic and levitated them onto her back. It was time to see the damage wrought by the griffon mercenaries.

Everywhere Star gazed there were ashes, covering the streets, piled over the charred skeletons of cottages and swirling about in the winter breeze. It looked to her like dirty snow, a macabre illusion of winter peace that had fallen around the small town. It clung to her hair and stuck to her hooves as she slowly walked through the ruins of Ponyville. The princess had been unable to describe the true horror that now stared back at Star from every crumbled wall and shattered window. She didn't dare to look any closer at the houses, fear that she would find the remains of innocent, hardworking ponies lying beneath the splintered wood and ash. It made her sick even thinking about it.

"What should I do to help?" Star asked the first guard she passed in the streets. He was tall, donning cinder covered armor and a grim expression, clearly even somepony trained to fight could have troubles facing the horrors of conflict.

"Do you have any medical training?" he asked in a rough voice.

"Some. I can manage basic first aid well enough," she replied.

He pointed towards the south end of town and told her, "Survivors are taking shelter in a barn that was untouched by the blaze. I'm sure that they could really use your help mending wounds and taking care of burns."

"Alright, I'll head down there now," Star responded.

It was a short walk to the barn and easy enough to find, there were ponies milling about the entrance, waiting for any news about their loved ones. Star walked up to the open doors, mumbling quite greetings and condolences as she passed. Nopony paid her much attention, too engrossed in their own injuries and worries to acknowledge another pony entering the barn. To them, Star was just one more ash coated pony in the wake of the tragedy that had befallen their town. It broke her heart to see the tears of fillies and colts whose only concerns should have been making friends and getting their cutie marks, but had now lost everything they once had.

Star noticed an older mare with a yellow hide near the back of the barn, speaking to one of the volunteers, her orange mane streaked with soot and her eyes looking sad. She made her way to the familiar mare, taking care not to disturb sleeping patients and nurses that crowded the small area. It seemed as if most of the town had been injured in the inferno and there didn't seem to be enough help to go around.

"Doctor Suture," Star called out to the tired looking mare standing near the back wall and directing the volunteers around. "It's Discipula Star, I'm here to help you with first aid." Suture glanced up with a surprised look and whispered directions to the nurse she was speaking with before walking up to meet Star.

"Star, it's nice to see you again," she said with an exhausted smile.

"We haven't spoken since the incident at the hospital," Star replied with a solemn tone. Suture nodded her head slowly and than motioned for Star to follow her to the back of the barn, where they could hear each other better over the sounds of the makeshift emergency room.

"Yes, I'm very sorry about that. I felt terrible for what happened to your friend Spark. I actually became very depressed and nearly considered giving up medicine altogether." Star was shocked to hear the news, even if Spark had been blinded by the procedure it was as much her fault as it was Suture's. They had been attempting a risky spell and it had failed, but the thought that Suture would give up medicine because of it was completely outrageous.

"Yo- you can't give up medicine. No one else is going to be able to restore Spark's vision if you do and what about all of the patients that you help everyday!?" Star asked, her voice rising in pitch with the intensity of her words.

"Star. Star, calm down. I said that I was thinking about it, but I could never give up medicine. The first rule of being a doctor is to do no harm and I can't live without rectifying what happened to Spark," the doctor replied, her face beginning to warm with a smile at the sight of the younger mare's concern.

"Oh… good," Star said sheepishly, unsure as to whether Spark was even still alive to help. Not knowing was making the studios young unicorn sick with worry.

"Of course once I heard about the fire that occurred here I had to put my research on hold to come help out with the survivors," Suture explained. "There are some pretty severe burn victims and more minor injuries than we can deal with, so I appreciate the extra help."

"Yes, well, I needed something to keep my mind off of my friends right now anyway and I'm more than happy to help, although I only know basic medical spells."

"Don't sell yourself short, Star. I have seen the talent you posses when it comes to magic and I'm sure you could be a fine doctor if you wished to, but for now even basic care will be very much appreciated," Suture assured her. "Why are you so worried about your friends anyway. The last I heard they were well on their way to helping save Equestria from going to war?"

"I haven't seen any of them in about a week and it's been days since my last letter from Inferno, so I've been practically pulling my mane out fussing over the thoughts of what may have happened to them," Star huffed. "Not to mention with all the help we've tried to give, Ponyville still ended up being set ablaze. I, ugh, I just felt so useless being cooped up in Canterlot."

"I know the feeling," Suture replied sadly. After a few moments of awkward silence the doctor cleared her throat and began directing her new volunteer. "Okay Star, first I'll need you to set up at a table and then I'll let the nurses know to bring you any patients whose wounds are within your skill range to mend. Sound good to you?"

"Absolutely," Star replied as she scanned the crowded barn for a place to work. It didn't take long for the short black mare to set up at a table in the back of the barn and soon after she was hard at work, magically wrapping cuts and scrapes and setting broken bones. There were burns that needed rubbed with salves and covered with cloth and plenty of other tasks that helped Star forget about her friends, even if it was for just a short while. "I'll take the next pony in line," she shouted loudly, doing her best to be heard over the constant roar of the crowded room.

The remaining hours of the morning passed rather quickly for Star and keeping busy seemed to be helping her not to worry about Inferno so much. She mended, bandaged and healed stallions and mares of various colors and ages, but the majority of them were earth ponies. Most were quiet as she worked, only making the smallest grunts and groans as she prodded and felt their bodies for breaks and injuries, but there were a few who, even in the aftermath of such great loss, were able to remain cheery and talked with her while she helped them. It put a smile on her face to hear about their simple lives, plowing their fields or tending their gardens. Earth ponies had always been fascinating to Star; the way they lived without magic, their ingenuity, their physical prowess and their unparalleled abilities in the arts was amazing to Star. She heard about the rural lives they had lived prior to the arson and it helped sooth the wounded ponies when they talked.

Every so often though, Star would catch sight of somepony who had been in the thick of the searing fires and had been badly hurt. It was beyond her skill to help those ponies, though Suture and a few other experienced doctors did what they could. Star had to close her eyes and take a few slow breaths whenever she glanced at the disfiguring burns and blisters on those unfortunate enough to have been caught in the midst of the disaster just to keep from breaking down into tears. She couldn't understand how the griffons could live with themselves after the havoc they had wrought.

"Star, this is Belle," Suture said as she walked up behind the black unicorn, who was just finishing attaching a splint around a small filly's hind leg. The pale green pony looked up at Star, an appreciative smile stretching across her muzzle from ear to ear.

"Thank you Star," the young pony said as Star levitated her off the table and sent her back to her waiting parents with a polite nod.

"You're very welcome Rose," Star called after the adorable little filly as she scampered under the legs of larger ponies on her way to her family. Then she whirred around to face Suture and the newcomer, Belle. "Sorry about that. What can I help you with?" Suture smiled at her and shook her head dismissively.

"It's quite alright, but Belle is actually here to help you. You've been working hard for hours and I think it's time that you stop and eat some lunch. There will still be plenty more for you to do when you get back," the doctor informed her.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I am kind of hungry," Star replied.

"Don't worry, I'll let you have your table back when you finish lunch," Belle said with a wink. Star nodded absently at the purple earth pony as she gathered her belongings and headed for the side door of the barn, stepping gingerly around sleeping patients and dancing around bustling nurses as she walked. Suture followed after her as soon as she had Belle ready to take care of injuries, they nearly made it outside before Suture was called back to help with another severely wounded stallion.

"Sorry Star. You can start eating lunch and I'll meet you out here as soon as I can," Doctor Suture assured her.

"Alright, I'll be right outside if you need me," Star replied as she disappeared out the side door. The barn was sturdy enough, she had noticed, but it could have used a thorough cleaning and a new paint job. It smelled like wet hay and burned flesh on the inside, which she had gotten used to eventually, and it was much smaller than she would have liked, but beggars couldn't be choosers and she was happy that it had even survived the fire. The entire northeast portion of Ponyville had been reduced to a smoldering heap of cinders and most of the remaining buildings had structural fire damage that would render them useless. It could take months for the residents to rebuild, even if the survivors had all been in perfect health.

Although the front of the barn was still quite crowded with ponies waiting for their turn to see a healer, there were only two others near the side door, a mare and stallion who were so absorbed in their own conversation that they didn't even notice the short, black mare tiptoeing out the exit. Star walked to a small table and sat down, sighing heavily as the stress of the last few hours began to slowly dissolve away. There was much more for her to do, but a moment's peace would go a long way towards calming her nerves. She worked her levitation spell, giving no more thought to it than she did breathing, and pulled out her lunch, setting it on the cracked wooden table. It wasn't much, but she knew that she didn't have long to eat anyway.

Star had nearly finished eating by the time Doctor Suture found a second to escape from the bustling, temporary infirmary. The older mare was sweating from the combined heat of a few dozen bodies being stuck in the same room for hours on end. Her orange mane was frazzled and pushed behind her ears haphazardly, but Star didn't mention any of this, knowing that she wasn't about to be winning any beauty contests herself at the moment.

"Hey," Star called out softly as she wiped a few stray crumbs from her fur, "Is it time for me to head back in there?"

"Yes, but I wanted to speak with you for just a second before you leave," Suture replied. The yellow doctor took a seat at the table, across from Star and shrugged off her saddlebags onto the dirt.

"What about?" Star asked as she packed up her bags while Suture unpacked her own. "Is something wrong?"

"No, well, no more than what was already wrong. I've just been giving more thought to what happened when we tried to fix Spark's eyes," the doctor explained.

"Oh, that," Star sighed.

"Mhmm, I think I finally figured out the problem."

"Because I'm not good enough at delicate medical procedures?" Star asked as she slumped down on the wooden bench.

Suture took Star's hoof in her own with a sympathetic smile as she assured her, "No. That's not it at all. You performed amazingly." Star wasn't convinced. "I'm fairly certain that it was my choice in gems that ruined the spell. There must have been flaws in the gems that I had us use, so I've been thinking that if we were able to find two large, flawless diamonds we would have a better chance of success when we attempt to reverse the condition." Star perked up at the idea. It sounded like a plausible solution, but it also opened up a slew of other problems, mainly finding two diamonds that would meet the strict requirements.

"You really think that the gems were the problem?" Star asked hopefully. The yellow mare nodded as she released her younger friends hoof. "Where are we going to find two diamonds of that caliber though?"

"That's my current dilemma," Suture replied, "and the reason I wanted to speak with you."

"Me? But what can I do?" Star asked incredulously.

"Well, I was thinking that you could write to Inferno and see if she can procure some that would work," Suture replied. Star thought for a moment.

"I'll see what I can do," she replied, although she wasn't sure that Inferno would be of much help, she usually ate any gems that she collected.

"Thank you Star. That's all I'm asking." Star nodded wordlessly and stood up from the table. As nice as the peace and quite of her lunch break had been, it was time for her to return to work. She walked away from the worn table, leaving Suture to eat a quick meal alone, and took a deep breath before pushing open the door to enter back into the chaotic roar of the barn.

Star was immediately greeted by the unfortunately familiar scent of smoke and burns that hung stagnant in the muggy air. She strained on the tips of her hooves, trying to see if her table was open for her, but being a little on the short side, all that she saw was the ever shifting crowd. She flicked her mane out of her eyes and began fording through the mob until she found Belle working on a patient.

"Hey Belle, do you know where an open table is?" Star asked as she peered around the room. It looked as if every space was being used, but it never hurt to ask.

Belle finished wrapping up a stallion's burned leg and glanced back saying, "I'm almost done her, if you want your table back."

"No, that's okay. I can go find another place. You just keep working," Star replied as she turned away from the busy mare. There was bound to be some small corner she could set up at and she had no qualms about finding it. Star tightened her bags to her sides and made her way around Belle's work station and headed back into the thick of the waiting ponies.

Most of the ponies with life threatening injuries had been tended to and were now sleeping on cots thrown up along one wall of the barn or had headed off to one of the other few surviving buildings to rest. There were still plenty more patients to see however and Star found an open table as quickly as she could and headed straight for it, doing her best not to bump into anypony as she walked. A few times she mumbled apologies whenever she did happen to get pushed into another pony, but her words were just a whisper among the cacophony around her.

Eventually Star made it to the empty table and laid her saddlebags under it where they would be relatively safe from being trampled into the dirty floorboards. It wasn't long before she was back at work, her first patient being a mare with hair that had turned white and knees that shook as she walked. There was a long cut along her auburn side that was scabbed over and bruised and a few smaller scratches along the legs on her left side. Star helped the frail pony up on her table and gave her a warm smile.

"Before I start, does anything feel like it's broken or did you receive a head injury at some point?" Star asked the question, just as she had numerous times that day.

"The ribs by my cut are very sore, but most of my bones ache from time to time these days," her patient replied in a relatively happy tone. At least she seemed to be doing better than many of the younger ponies that had been injured, Star thought as she handed a bottle of water over.

"That's great," Star told her, "Have some water and I'll get you fixed up in no time at all." The mare smiled as she took the bottle in two of her trembling hooves and took a small sip. Star took a slow breath and got right to work, happy to be helping once again.

"Alright, now I want you extend you leg out all of the way and tell me how it feels," Star said to a brown stallion who was just a bit taller than she was, although she had learned that he was a good ten years her senior. The stallion nodded as he stretched his foreleg out as far as it would go. "How did that feel?"

"It's still a little sore, but it feels much better than it did," he replied.

"That's great," Star said with a grin. It felt good to see the smiles on the faces of her patients after she took their pains away. If she hadn't been so happy with her place as Luna's personal student then she may have actually thought about becoming a real doctor, but until the princess sent her away, which she knew would never happen, she would keep faithfully following her mentor's lessons in magic.

"Thank you so much young lady," the stallion said with a chuckle as he flexed his limb a few more times.

"I'm just happy to help," Star responded. "I'll see the next pony over here!" Her voice was heard by at least one pony in the crowd, because a few seconds after calling there was a new patient standing before her little medical table. It was an earth pony colt, tall for his age and sporting spindly little legs, but he didn't seem to be hurt. "Where did you get your owie?" she asked. Star got her answer when the little pony turned his head to face her. She gasped with shock at the sight of his burned face.

"My face got burned," he said in a wavering voice as tears spilled down the undamaged side of his face. Star nearly broke down at the sight of the colt crying in front of her, but she did her best to maintain a strong appearance for his sake.

"Oh honey, why didn't your parents get you up here sooner?" Star asked with a sympathetic voice as she picked him up gently in the power of her magic and sat him down in front of her. His green eyes teared up even more and he had to sniff back his sobs before he could manage a reply.

"I- I ha- haven't se- en them since the fire a- at our house," he sputtered over a quavering bottom lip. Star couldn't keep the tears from clouding her vision anymore and she had to blink a few times so that she could look into her young patient's face. Even beyond the dirty tears and burns Star could see that the little colt was once very handsome, but repairing the damage was far beyond her own expertise.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay honey. I know somepony who can help you and then I'll take you to go look for your parents," she reassured the frightened little pony, picking him up in the soft white glow of her magic and pulling him in for a hesitant hug. If there was anypony who could do something for this colt, then it would be Dr. Suture, Star decided before leaving her table to look for her older friend.

"Thank you," the colt whimpered into her mane as she carried him on her back through the maze of shuffling bodies. Star choked on her reply and settled for a simple head nod instead.

Suture had finished with her lunch and was already occupied with her third or fourth patient of the afternoon when Star finally stumbled up to her table with the young colt in tow. She waited for the yellow mare to finish up with a simple broken bone repair before interrupting her work.

"Excuse me, Suture," Star spoke up from behind her.

"Star, what can I help you with dear?" Suture asked. The doctor took in a sharp breath at the sight of the teal colt, face still half-wet with fearful tears. "Oh Luna! What happened?"

"He couldn't find his parents after the fire and he was overlooked in all of the hustle and bustle of the infirmary. He's pretty badly burned and I don't think that my magic is good enough to help him, so I was wonderi-"

"Yes, of course I'll take care of him for you," Suture interrupted. Star let out a sigh of relief and lifted the colt onto Dr. Suture's table. He was frightened at first and seemed hesitant to let the yellow mare near him, but a few reassuring words from Star helped put him at ease.

"What's your name?" Suture asked as she leaned in to get a better look at his damaged face. Star mentally kicked herself for not having thought to ask his name sooner, but she had been so taken aback by the sight of the wounded colt that it had completely slipped her mind.

"My name's Spearmint," he replied as he wiped his teary eye with an ash covered hoof. It was a name that suited the teal colt with his light blue and light green mane. Star glanced sideways and could make out the four leaves of his cutie mark beneath the dirt coating his flank.

"That's a very nice name. Mine is Suture," the doctor told him in a gentle tone that could have put even the most edgy of patients at ease. "My friend Star wanted me to heal your burn and then we're going to try to find your parents. Would you like that?" Spearmint nodded his head with an enthusiasm that surprised Star, considering how bad his burns must have felt. Just the mention of his parents caused the colt's face to light up with joy and Star hoped that she could see to it that his happiness lasted, but if he hadn't seen either of his parents yet it wasn't a very good sign.

"Do you need me to help with anything?" Star asked her friend as she prepared her table for the procedure.

"If you could just talk to Spearmint while I start performing the spell that would help. I'd like for him to be at ease, because it will make this go much faster," Suture replied. Star nodded her head and walked around the table to where she could talk face to face with Spearmint.

"Suture is going to start her magic in just a second and she'll have you feeling much better in no time at all," Star explained to the colt.

"It's not going to hurt is it?" he asked in a trembling voice. Star glanced up at Suture, unsure of how to answer his question.

"It's probably going to sting a little bit," Suture told them. Spearmint's brow furrowed with worry, so Star placed a hoof on the table beside him.

"I want you to take my hoof and if it starts to sting too bad then I want you to squeeze it as hard as you can," Star said to the scared colt. His small hoof grabbed hers and he nodded his head. "I think we're ready now." Spearmint took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut as Suture's horn began to glow. Soon the colt's face was enveloped in the light of the doctor's healing magic and Star watched as the burned flesh on his face slowly started to mend itself.

A few times throughout the process Star felt Spearmint's grip tighten on her hoof and she was surprised by how strong of a grasp the young pony had. His green eyes remained closed the entire time, but Star talked him through the healing as best as she could. Hearing her voice seemed to put him at ease and he didn't squirm as Suture worked, so it was a relatively simple procedure, but even with all of her skills Suture was unable to heal his face perfectly and the scars of his burns would always remain. By the time she had finished sweat was rolling down Suture's face and she was breathing heavily, but Spearmint's wounds were mended.

"You can open your eyes now," Star told the teal colt. "Your burns are all gone now." He hesitated for a moment before opening his good eye to look at Star. She smiled back and he opened his other eye as she picked him up from the table with her magic and set him on her back. Suture slumped down into her chair, completely exhausted after the effort of healing such a severe wound and Star took the opportunity to get them all something to drink.

After grabbing water for all three of them, Star returned to her friend's side, with Spearmint still firmly attached to her mane. She passed a cup of water back to the colt and gave another to Suture before taking a seat.

"How does his face look," the doctor asked before gulping down her water greedily. "I did my best, but it was a pretty bad one."

"You did an amazing job. There's still some scarring, but it's far better than anypony else could have done," Star assured her.

"My face doesn't hurt anymore," Spearmint told them both with a grin. "Thank you Suture and thank you Star." The mares smiled back at the little pony who had crawled down off of Star's back to give his savior a hug. Suture held out her arms and wrapped him up in a hug which he eagerly returned. Star was the next one to get caught in an affectionate embrace and she let out a small giggle as her nervousness about the procedure dissipated.

"As soon as Suture is feeling better we can go look for your parents," Star whispered into his ear. Spearmint squeezed her neck even tighter, which Star took as a show of thanks. "Not so tight, you're going to choke me," she gasped out. He softened his grip and Star broke out into a fit of laughter which Spearmint happily joined in on.

"Where else would they have gone," Star asked Spearmint as they left the site of what was once his home, but now was nothing more than broken memories and ashes. Like most of the town around it, the colt's house hadn't fared well against the blaze, one of the drawbacks of wooden houses with thatch roofs. His entire street had been reduced to scraps and it appeared as if everypony who lived in the area had either died in the flames or had been badly burned. There was no trace of Spearmint's parents anywhere.

"Did you have friends that lived in the town or did your father work around here?" Suture asked.

"My dad sold stuff in the market," Spearmint told them. Star groaned as she remembered seeing the remains of the market on her way through Ponyville. There was no chance that his parent's would have hung around there.

"Did anypony leave the city before you set up the infirmary?" Star asked her friend. "Maybe they were really hurt and tried to find a hospital nearby."

"I can't imagine any parent leaving without their child, no matter how badly they were hurt," Suture replied. Star sighed, because she knew that Suture was right. If Spearmint's parents were alive, then they would be somewhere in the town, but they were quickly running out of places to look.

Star craned her neck to look up at Spearmint's face as he clutched her mane and hung over her head, so she could ask, "Do you have any other family in Ponyville like cousins or grandparents that they could be with?" Spearmint nodded his head excitedly and pointed towards the south end of town.

"My Auntie Cinnaswirl lives that way," he told them with a smile. Star and Suture gave each other their own smiles, glad to have some small hope of reuniting the young colt with his family. Even if it was just a small chance, it was still the only hope they had and if worst came to worst they could settle for leaving Spearmint with his aunt.

"Great, we'll take you to your aunt and see if your parents are waiting for you there," Star told him as she stepped over a pile of broken boards that had once made up a wagon. She was getting worn out from carrying Spearmint all over the town, but he felt safer on her back and Suture was still far to tired to carry him, so she grit her teeth and continued trudging along under his added weight.

"Exactly how far away does your aunt live," Suture asked after stumbling in a pothole and nearly falling on her face.

"All the way to the edge of town," Spearmint replied with an oblivious grin that elicited another groan from both of the mares who were leading him.

"Great," Star replied sarcastically, "At this rate we might even make it there before dark." The colt nodded his head, unaware that she wasn't actually happy about the long walk ahead. Star just rolled her eyes and tried to focus on not tripping over the debris that littered the streets of the burned town.

It was a starry night, so even though the three ponies hadn't actually made it to Cinnaswirl's house before dark there was still enough light for them to travel by. Spearmint had fallen asleep at some point without Star even noticing, but when they made it to the edge of town she reluctantly had to wake him up. His soft snores stopped as she gently shook him awake, doing her best to keep him from falling off his place on her shoulders, which had gone steadily numb as the evening wore on.

"Is this the right house?" Star asked as they approached a small yellow cottage. Spearmint mumbled something that Star couldn't make out as he rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes. "Spearmint, is this your aunt's house?" He nodded his sleepy head and curled back up to go to sleep, grasping her black mane loosely in his small teal hoof.

"I think that was a yes," Suture chuckled as they approached the door of the cottage. There were no lights on, but it was dark, so whoever lived there could have been sleeping or so Star hoped as Suture knocked on the door a few times.

"Please be home," Star mumbled under breath as they waited for an answer. The seconds ticked by with no movement from behind the door, so Suture knocked again, pounding a little harder this time as what little patience she had left began to wear thin. "Damn. I guess we'll have to look again tomorrow," Star said as she turned away from the front of the small home.

"Wait," Suture told her, "I think I hear somepony coming." Star walked back up to the door and pressed an ear against the wood. There were definitely sounds coming from inside the cottage, so she knocked again.

"Just one cotton-picking second," came a mare's voice from the inside of the dark home. "I heard you the first time, so there's no need to go causing a ruckus." The door opened a few seconds later, nearly causing Star to fall to her face and revealing a brown mare with a curly pink and red mane. She looked half asleep still and Suture quickly apologized for the disturbance.

"Are you Cinnaswirl?" Star asked hopefully.

"That's what my nephew calls me," she replied with some confusion. "Why do you ask?" Star and Suture breathed out mutual sighs of relief. It had taken nearly half of the day, but they had finally found somepony in Spearmint's family.

"We brought your nephew Spearmint here," Suture explained.

"For the love of Luna, is he alright?" Cinnaswirl gasped. "I was looking for my sister and her family all day, but I never did find them. I thought for sure that they died in the fire after I saw how bad their house had gotten burned. There was nothing left and I- I was… where is he?" she asked in a voice that started to waver with concern. Star lifted the sleeping colt off of her back and floated him over to his aunt, he woke up right before a barrage of kisses were planted along his cheek.

"He was burned pretty badly when I found him, but Dr. Suture here fixed him up to the best of her ability," Star explained. Spearmint wiped his cheeks clean of his aunts kisses and started to nod off in her embrace.

"What about my sister and her husband," Cinnaswirl asked desperately. Star shook her head slowly, choking on her words as she tried to explain.

"We were looking all evening, but we haven't found either of Spearmint's parents," Suture interjected. "We are so sorry." Cinnaswirl hugged her nephew tight against her shoulder, tears spilling from her magenta eyes as she rocked his sleeping body slowly, back and forth in place.

"I- I can't believe that they- they're…" her voice trailed off, unable to put words to the horrible facts of what she had learned. "Thank you for bringing Spearmint to me. I was so worried about him," she told them in a quiet voice.

"It's the least we could do," Star replied. The three mares stood awkwardly on the porch of the cottage until Star broke the silence once again. "Spearmint is a sweet kid and I won't leave until I've checked this entire town for his parents."

"Take care of yourself and him," Suture added. Cinnaswirl nodded her head and thanked them both again before walking back inside her home and closing the door. Star and Suture took a few moments to compose themselves before heading back to the barn, where there were still plenty more ponies who needed their help.

"What are you going to do tonight," Star asked as they walked the desolate streets of Ponyville, the sound of their hooves echoing off of the dilapidated remains of buildings. "I don't think I'm going to get any sleep."

"Yeah, I don't think I can sleep after this day either, but we have a busy day again tomorrow, so we should at least try," Suture replied. Luna had been right about Star getting her mind off of her friends, but she wasn't so sure that she was feeling much better. She still missed Inferno and was worried about Downpour and Backdraft and felt sorry for Spark, but now she also felt bad for the entire town of Ponyville as well. Star nodded her head quietly as the two friends walked by the light of the stars, each of them reflecting on the tragedy and joy that the day had held for them.


	35. Grave Nightmares

~Chapter 32: Grave Nightmares~

Sleep had been a most elusive goal for Star during the night, but eventually she did drift off into dreamland, which was very useful for her as the protégé of Princess Luna. As convenient as it was to send letters through Inferno, speaking directly with her mentor by way of dreams was an even more useful tool. It had been quite the shock for Star when the princess first spoke to her in her dreams, but as time passed and Star honed her skills it became the easiest way for them to stay in touch while they were apart. Now Star was once again walking through the fantastic world that was her own dreams and waiting for her mentor so that she could give her an update of the situation in Ponyville.

Star walked past rows of artifact displays, mirror images of the cases in her own home, and took a seat in one of the chairs lined up before a long table. Luna would often meet her in this place, because it made Star feel relaxed to be somewhere that seemed like home. Star waited patiently for her mentor, knowing that she had her own duties to perform before she would make it into Star's dream, so she passed the time by trying her best to control the dream world around her. Star began her little exercise with a few simple tasks; changing the color of objects, moving them with her mind and even creating entirely new ones by sheer force of will. This was her world, her creation and she could control it in any way that she wanted to, although she hadn't known that the first time Luna came into her dream.

Nightmares had been plaguing Star back then, because she was moving to Dodge, away from Princess Luna, and she would be on her own for the first time. It was a moment that most ponies saw as an exciting time in their lives, starting their journeys into adulthood, but Star was not most ponies. She had never been the most confident of mares and the added stress of having a young dragon to take care of hadn't helped, so she had frightening dreams for the first few nights, but then Luna visited her. She had been having her usual nightmare, one in which she was all alone without even Inferno by her side and lost in a strange place. It had all seemed so real to her at the time, but then she saw her mentor descending from the dark, writhing skies of her own psyche. The princess had told her it was a dream, all in her mind, and that she could control it if she really tried, but there were things that Star had never wanted her teacher to know, things that she had been unable to hide. Now she tried most nights to keep her subconscious in check, so that Luna wouldn't see how troubled she really was, because how could her princess, so self-assured and perfect, ever want a student who was so scared and weak?

Star sat at the table and conjured illusions of her friends, vague relics of the real ponies that she hoped would provide some small comfort for her as she waited. The sound of flapping wings shook Star from her focus and the shades dissipated as Princess Luna descended through the roof of her safe place, passing through the surreal barriers that her student had formed.

"Discipula Star, it is good to see you my faithful student," Luna called as she touched down on the wooden floors. "I see you have gotten better at controlling your dreams." Star sprang up from the table and bowed low to her matriarch.

"Princess Luna, it is good to see you as well," Star replied. "How are things in Canterlot?" she asked as she stood up and took her seat once again. Luna smiled at her student, starry mane billowing in a nonexistent breeze as she took the seat facing her.

"It has been rather hectic for us at the palace. My sister is troubled by the events in Ponyville and many ponies have been troubled in their sleep, so I have been quite busy as well," Luna explained, her blue eyes gleaming as she spoke.

"Have you gotten a letter from Inferno yet?" Star asked hopefully. Luna's strained smile disappeared, which was all the answer that Star needed.

"I am afraid not Star, but I assure you that you will be the first to know when it does arrive," Luna replied. "You should not worry so much though. I am sure that Spark is doing fine and they are most likely well on their way to the hippogriff homeland." Star nodded quietly, wishing to believe her mentor's reassuring words, but unable to cease her pestering concerns. "How is your work in Ponyville coming along? I trust that you found Doctor Suture when you arrived."

"Yes I did, princess, but there are many ponies that need our help and it will take awhile before the townsponies feel safe again," Star explained with a frown.

"I have faith in you, my student, and I know that with your help all will be made right again," Luna assured her. Star wasn't convinced. It seemed like an insurmountable task that she was facing, but she would do her best to live up to her teacher's expectations.

"I hope that you're right, princess," Star told her. Luna smiled quietly and then stood up from the table and Star followed her lead, knowing what was coming next.

"I would love to see how you have improved in your dream walking," Luna said as she stepped back from the chairs. Star took a deep breath and focused her mind. "I want you to begin with something easy."

"How about flying," Star asked her, eager to begin the lesson and get her mind off of the troubles of the real world for a short time.

"That sounds like an excellent place to start," Luna chuckled as she pushed off of the floor and hovered above her student's head. There was no need for magic or wings while in the dream world and Star lifted off of the ground with just a thought. Luna watched as she performed a few simple maneuvers to show her control and focus, before landing back on the floor.

"That was very well done Star." Luna landed next to her student and proceeded to create two large stones out of thin air. They floated over to Star before dropping to the ground with a loud thud. "You remember how this works I presume?" Star nodded her head and lifted the stones into the air by thought alone. They wobbled for a moment in front of her face before resting perfectly still in the air before her.

"I remember when you first had me do this in real life, as a filly," Star chuckled.

"As do I," Luna replied with a straight face. "You were so nervous that when they finally lifted off the ground you levitated them right into you own chin." Luna finally cracked a smile as they both recalled how Star had fallen on her flank, eyes wide with surprise, and then started crying. Star's focus wavered and one of the stones dropped a few inches before she stopped it.

"Now what, princess?" she asked once her mind was refocused on the task at hoof. Luna didn't answer her at first, instead she took a slow breath and Star could see the room shifting shape in the corner of her vision.

"I want you to stay focused on the stones. No matter what happens around you those two objects should not fall." Star nodded her head slightly, wondering just what her mentor was up to. Her answer came suddenly as the floor beneath her feet fell away. Star gasped as she prepared to fall and the stones wavered from there position before she was able to right them. A quick glance revealed her to be standing over a vast emptiness and Star had a difficult time tearing her eyes away from the sight.

The world shifted again and Star was now standing in the palace, but the usual commotion of ponies moving about the grounds was nonexistent. She stood alone in the vast chamber, until the shadows began to move around her. It was subtle at first, a small glimpse of motion that would vanish before she could fix her eyes on it, but soon there was movement all around her.

"Pr- princess?" she called out to the emptiness. Star felt something brush past her legs and one of the stones fell to the tiled floor as she jumped away from the cold touch. "Princess Luna, are you doing this?" she asked as she whirled around in a circle. The shadowy forms would dart back from her gaze, hiding in the corners and behind pillars just out of her sight, only to reappear behind her as silently as they had left.

Luna was nowhere to be seen, but now Star could hear something. It was faint at first, like a whisper in the back of her mind, but the more she tried to focus on what the voice was saying the louder it became.

"Loneliness!" came a shout from all around her and the remaining stone fell from her mental grip as she shrieked with terror. "Failure!" the voice called again as she took off running through the halls.

Star tried to focus, knowing that she could control this world by willpower alone if she could just stifle her panic, but the twisting shadows were reaching out from all directions and the walls of the palace seemed to be closing in around her.

"Death!" The word echoed through her mind and the halls as the palace walls melted away and fire burned around her. It was worse than any nightmare Star had been through and no matter how hard she closed her eyes and screamed she couldn't wake from the horrors.

"Enough!" Luna's voice called from overhead. As the princess descended, eyes glowing with moonlight, the shadows receded and the flames died away. "Come to me Discipula Star. It will be alright." Star opened her eyes and saw the princess above her and she floated up as she blinked away the tears that had formed in her violet eyes.

"Where d- did you go?" Star choked out. Luna pulled her close as their surroundings returned to the familiar safety of Star's own home.

"I never left you Star," Luna softly told her. "I was simply trying to test your focus by allowing a small portion of you fears to creep into your dream, but I had not realized just how much terror you repressed." Star buried her face into Luna's mane, enjoying the feeling as the mystical wisps of magic brushed along her coat. "I do not understand where all of these doubts and this fear come from, my faithful student."

"I'm not sure either, but I try my best to keep it locked away," Star replied.

"Discipula Star, I have not been teaching you to dream walk so that you may hide from your nightmares, but so that you may learn to face them unflinchingly," Luna told her in a stern voice.

"I'm so sorry princess. I don't think that I have what it takes to do that," Star whimpered. "I'm terrified. I'm afraid that I'll let my friends down, fail Inferno, disappoint you and…" Star's words were cut short as she began sobbing into her teacher's mane. She hated herself for showing such weakness, but facing even that small portion of her fears had frightened her to her core.

"You won't," Luna replied in a gentle tone.

"Huh?" Star pulled her face back and wiped more tears from her eyes.

"You must have more faith in yourself Star, like I do. Not just any pony could do the things that you have done. I picked you to be my personal student for a reason and I believe that it is time for you to accept that truth," Luna explained.

"I'll- I'll try," Star reluctantly replied.

"Good." Luna smiled down at her student and the room began to shimmer behind her. "For now I must return to my duties. It is not wise for a princess to be off guard in times such as these, but I want you to think about what I've said and we will talk about this later." Star nodded her head as the princess floated up into the slowly fading dreamscape. "Remember, Discipula Star, I have faith that you can do anything which you set your mind to and so should you." Star bowed low as Princess Luna vanished into the blackness and the dream began to fade away.

Early morning light was streaming through the barn windows and although everypony else seemed able to sleep right through it, Star's dream had left her unwilling to go back to bed right away. She sat up from her cot and stretched her legs out before dropping to the dusty wood floor. The bed she slept in while staying at Canterlot was a luxury she always missed while she was away, but considering that her friends were most likely sleeping on bare ground, if they were alive, Star felt a little ashamed of that longing for comfort. After a long yawn she grabbed a cloak and picked her way through the maze of sleeping patients and volunteers until she reached the side door of the barn, trying her best not to wake anypony up as she swung it open on rusty hinges.

The sun was just beginning to rise and a cold winter breeze blew across the empty fields. Star shivered as she pulled her cloak tight and sucked a deep breath in her nostrils. The country air was fresh and clean, not at all like the musty barn she had been sleeping in, and it reminded her of home. Dodge was a fair bit larger than Ponyville, especially after the fire had destroyed a good quarter of it, but Dodge also retained most of the small town charm that Canterlot had left behind ages ago. It was the main reason Star had decided to stay in the town, despite her nagging fears and cowardice about being alone so far from Canterlot. Eventually she had grown attached to the small town and now she couldn't imagine living anywhere else in Equestria.

She let out her breath in a puff of vapor and caught site of her friend sitting at the table where they had eaten lunch the day before. Star had figured that she would be the only one up so early, but it looked as if Doctor Suture had been sitting there for awhile.

"Suture, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Star asked as she made her way to the table. Suture glanced back with a look of mild surprise before returning her gaze to the sunrise.

"I love watching the sky as Celestia raises the sun in the morning, especially in winter when the clouds are painted so many wonderful colors. The peace and quite relaxes me and it's even better here than it is in Canterlot," the older mare explained to her young friend. Star took a seat next to her, facing the direction of the sun, so that they could enjoy the sight together.

"You don't mind if I stay here and watch it with you, do you?' Star asked.

Suture smiled and shook her head, saying, "Not at all. In fact I'm sure it will be even better enjoying it with a friend." Star returned her smile and took another deep breath of the fresh air, while in the distance the clouds changed from white to gold, orange and red. It really was a beautiful sight, Star thought as she watched the show. Even if she was Luna's student, Star couldn't deny that her teacher's older sister was extremely gifted in her own way.

The bottom of the sun finally broke over the distant mountains and Suture sighed as she pushed herself up from the table. It had been a relaxing bit of time that they had spent together, but it was a new day now and there was much for them to do. Patients would be waking up soon and there was breakfast to be cooked and served. Ponies would begin lining up for medical care again and Suture wanted to be ready to treat them as soon as possible.

"I suppose we should get back inside," Suture said as she started walking towards the old barn.

"Mhmm, maybe we'll actually get everyone taken care of today," Star mumbled as she followed her friend to the door.

"Yes, that would be nice," Suture agreed as she held the door open.

Not long after Star had reentered the barn, other ponies had begun to wake from their slumber, with stiff backs and empty stomachs. Right away there were volunteers sitting by small stoves and cooking breakfast for everypony. Star had a different job however and as soon as she finished with her breakfast Suture put her to work. The doctors had all worked late into the night making sure that anypony with a life threatening injury was healed, but there were still plenty of other medical problems to be dealt with and when she had finished that, Star planned on helping to rebuild the town.

"I'm ready over here," Star called to a nurse as soon as she had a table set up and her supplies set out. It was dim in the barn and she hadn't exactly slept well, so at first Star was a little slow, but with the glow of her magic for light and a few soft slaps to her face she was ready to begin. The nurse waved over her first patient, an earth pony stallion just a few years older than her, and she was soon poking, questioning and wrapping patients again. "What seems to be the problem mister..?" she asked as he took a seat on the table.

"Call me Clyde miss, uh," he paused to let her answer.

"Star is fine."

"Alright, Miss Star, my shoulder has been killing me for the past few days," Clyde said, brushing his light brown mane out of the way so she could get a look at the problem. Star pressed gently on the area in question and the sand colored stallion winced at the contact. It didn't look as bad as most of the wounds she had been dealing with.

"It looks pretty swollen to me, but thankfully I don't think that it's broken. You probably just pulled a muscle or something," She explained to him. Her horn glowed faintly with light as she levitated a sling in front of him. "The most I can do is put it in a sling and tell you not to move your leg around. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied with a smile. Star was about to call over her next patient, until she noticed the stallion hesitating to leave.

He turned around and quickly blurted out, "Would you care to go on a date with me sometime?" Star was shocked for a few minutes by the suddenness of his question.

"I, uh, well I'm kind of," her tongue stumbled as she tried to come up with an excuse to give him; dating wasn't exactly something she was interested in pursuing in her current state of mind. "I'm sorry, but I have so much to do around here." It wasn't a lie, but Star could tell that he knew she could have made time, had she been so inclined.

"Another time perhaps," Clyde replied with a polite nod before turning away from Star and walking quickly away from her table. Star facehoofed at her inept social skills, letting out a low groan as she did. She had always made a fool of herself when stallions tried to court her. It was just one of those things that you couldn't really learn from studying and as such, she had never gotten the hang of it.

"Stupid," Star chided herself. He had even been pretty cute she realized, not to mention that he obviously thought she was as well. "Next patient," she called out, ready to move on and put the awkward exchange behind her. Maybe she would see him around again and get the chance to redeem herself, she thought.

Star made it through the rest of her busy morning without anypony else flirting with her, at least not that she noticed, and soon there was only one more patient standing between her and a quick lunch break. As she gazed about the room Star noticed that every bed was full and there were only a few more patients to help. After the serious injuries had been dealt with the rest of the work had been relatively easy. Soon there would be no tasks left in the barn that a few of the nurses couldn't take care of by themselves, so she would be able to go help rebuild. She couldn't wait to be out in the fresh air again.

Her last patient was an elderly mare who seemed to have suffered minor burns along her side and was now sporting a blue and grey mane that had been singed quite short on one side. Star helped her onto the table and opened a jar of burn ointment.

"Is there anything bothering you besides the burns?" Star asked as she scooped out some of the mud colored gunk and began applying it to the seared skin with a gentle hoof. The ointment smelled awful, but she had gotten used to it by then.

"Nope, it's just the burns that need taken care of," the mare replied.

"Okay, well I'm going to put this salve on them and wrap you up with some bandages. You should be good to go after that, just don't remove the wraps for a day and they may need changed tomorrow," Star replied.

"Thank you so much young lady."

"I'm just happy to help," Star said as she coated the last of the burns in the thick mixture and floated a roll of cloth bandages into her waiting hoof. "I'm just sorry that there's nothing I can do about your mane."

"It's quite alright. I've been thinking about cutting it short anyway," the old mare chuckled. "It's become a bit of a nuisance to comb it out every morning." Star giggled right along with her as she continued wrapping up the mare's burns.

"That should do it," Star told her a few minutes later.

"Thank you again," the mare replied as Star helped her off of the table. "You are a Celestia sent blessing." Star was going to correct her and say that it was actually Luna who had sent her, but she just nodded her head instead. Her patient left the barn when she was finished and Star began putting away her supplies so that she could take her lunch break. It had been a busy morning and she had worked up a good appetite, but that was no reason for her to leave a mess for somepony else to clean.

"It looks like we're just about finished here," Suture said as she walked up beside Star. "I can't thank you enough for all your help."

"It was the least I could do," Star replied as she stuffed the last of the medical supplies into a bag and walked it over to the back wall, where the left over supplies were being stored. Suture followed her from there to the side door, skirting the busy area at the center of the barn, and together they walked out of the building into the cool afternoon day.

"Would you like to eat lunch with me," Suture asked as she headed for the same table from which they had watched the sunrise that morning.

"I'd love to," Star answered.

"Great. I was hoping that you'd say that," Suture replied. They sat down at the familiar old table and pulled out their lunches, a couple of mediocre sandwiches. "So what are your plans now that you're done in the clinic?" Suture asked before taking a large bite from her lunch.

"Well I figured that I'd talk to the ponies in charge of repairing the town and see if there was anything I could do to help them," Star replied. She stared at her sandwich, fighting the urge to wolf it down because she was sitting with her friend and it wouldn't be proper. She took a large bite regardless and ended up dropping crumbs and daisies all over herself and the tabletop. "Figures," Star sighed, much to Suture's amusement.

"Don't worry about it Star. It's just you and me right now anyway," the doctor told her with a wink. Star shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to eat her food ravenously, dropping a good bit more of it on her self in the process. "I'm surprised that you aren't chomping at the bit to get back home and see if Inferno has written you back yet."

"Star swallowed her mouthful of food, nearly choking on the last gargantuan bite and wiped her mouth off before finally replying, "I already spoke with Luna and there hasn't been any news from my friends anyway."

"When did you speak with the princess?" Suture asked with a bemused expression. "I don't remember you getting a letter."

"It was, uh… magic," Star told her, unwilling to delve into the details of her dream walking lessons with the princess. Suture seemed to accept her answer or didn't feel like pressing her for further information while they were still eating. "Anyway, helping out around here is the only think that keeps me from spending my entire day worrying about all of them, so it's probably for the best if I keep busy."

"Alright, I'm sure that they'll be happy for the extra hoof. There's quite a bit of clean up to do along with the repairs and rebuilding," Suture acknowledged.

"Mhmm," Star mumbled as she fished a container of water from her saddlebags lying on the ground by her hooves. She snatched it from the air and took a long swig to wash down the last remnants of her lunch and sighed with contentment. "Do you think all of those ponies are going to make it? Some of their burns looked pretty terrible."

"There's a risk of infection anytime your dealing with burns and that barn wasn't exactly the most sterile place, but I'm sure that they'll all pull through just fine." Suture ate the last of her sandwich, without making a mess as Star had done, and stretched herself out across the table. "I still can't believe that something like this could happen here," she sighed.

"I can't either, but rest assured that the princesses are taking measures to prevent another disaster like this from occurring," Star told her. "Last I knew, they were sending out guards to start patrolling Equestria's borders."

"I guess we're really at war then," Suture replied.

"It certainly looks that way." Star stood up from the table and picked up her bags, slinging them over her back carelessly and using her magic to secure them. "I guess I should go find whoever is in charge of fixing this mess. What are you going to be doing?"

"I still have a few things to take care of here and I'll probably be busy with that for most of the day," Suture replied as she picked herself up from the table and yawned. "I'm sure I'll see you before you leave though."

Star nodded her head and said, "Of course. I'll be spending at least one more night here." She started to leave, but realized that she wasn't sure where to go. "Umm, any idea where they're working at?" she asked.

"I'd check the town square. They're probably going to start there and then work their way out," Suture told her. Star nodded and gave a quick wave before turning back north and setting off. Suture waved back with an amused smile before heading towards the barn to finish her own job.

Doctor Suture had been correct in assuming that everypony would be gathered near the center of town and Star found the crowd of Ponyvillians gathered around what was left of the large building that had served as the area's political hub. There wasn't much left of the building, just a few charred boards that had made up the structure and ashes scattered about in the rubble, but the foundation was still intact. The fire had destroyed everything in its path, but the northern part of the town had fared the worst.

Star made her way to the mass of ponies and slowly pushed her way past them, looking for somepony who was leading the mob, but it was difficult for the short unicorn to see what was going on with so many tall, earth pony stallions and mares towering over her. Eventually she managed to creep through until she was near the front of the pack and could hear the gruff voice of a middle aged stallion barking orders to the citizens gathered around.

"I reckon that we're gonna need 'bout half of ya'll workin' just ta' get this mess o' ashes an' broken wood cleared outta here," the large white stallion told them, "so this half can start on that." He pointed to leftmost part of the group and after a few grumbles and groans they split away from the group and headed off to start their work. "I'll need to divide the rest ah ya up in three groups. One group is gonna be startin' on constructin' the frames for new buildings an' another is gonna start combin' the area for anything we can salvage." The two smaller groups also broke away from the gathering, leaving a small portion of the ponies standing before the stallion giving the orders.

"What do you want the rest of us to do," the stallion next to Star asked their leader. Star was eager to know as well; she had gotten lumped in with this last group without even realizing that it was happening. It looked as if she would be able to keep busy after all.

"I'm afraid to tell ya that ya'll got the worst job," he said in a slightly more sympathetic voice that Star didn't find very comforting. He removed the dusty hat that he wore and bowed his head slightly. "We need ta' burry our dead and its gon' be up ta' us to do it." Star felt her stomach twisting up in knots. She was willing to help with most jobs, but she really hadn't expected to get this one. The stallion looked back up at them with watery eyes and placed the old Stetson back on his head, covering his disheveled, tan colored mane. He blinked a few times in surprise when he caught sight of Star. "I'm sorry miss, I didn't realize that ya'll were standin' right there."

"That's alright," she replied.

"Is there somethin' that ah can assist ya with?" he asked with a bewildered look as he stepped down from the town hall's foundation.

"Actually I came here to help you and apparently that means digging holes," Star told him with a sad smile. "I'm star. What's your name?" She held out a hoof and the stallion shook it with a hard grip that any working pony would have been proud to have.

"They call me Half Step, but mah real name's Alabaster," he replied after releasing Star from his iron grip. "I 'preciate the offer ta' help, but I can't ask a lady ta' take part in such morbid work. It wouldn't be right ah me."

"I don't mind as long as I only have to help dig holes," Star assured him. She didn't think she could hold back her nausea if she saw the bodies being moved, but moving dirt was a task that she could tackle fairly easy using her magic.

"Well thank ya in advance for all your help little miss," Half Step replied with a tilt of his hat.

"You are very welcome Mister Half Step," Star replied as she flashed her white teeth to the gruff older pony. "Where are we going to prepare the graves?"

"There's a cemetery on the west end o' town. It's a little small, but there ain't a whole lotta other places we could dig up, so I reckon it's our best bet," Half Step told her. "Just follow me an' I'll show ya where ta go." As Half Step turned to leave Star noticed his cutie mark, a hoof print that looked like the type of burn that a branding iron would leave on somepony, but the only ponies she had ever heard of being branded were all criminals. She decided to keep a close eye on the white stallion just to be safe.

By the time that Half Step and Star got to the graveyard the rest of the ponies were already hard at work digging out holes for their relatives and friends. It was a tough job and every pony wore a grim expression as they scooped the earth out and tossed it into the growing piles around them. Half Step grabbed a shovel as soon as he arrived and took the nearest empty spot. Star watched his muscles tense and his expression turn to stone as he planted the tool into the ground. Star found her place beside him and her black horn flared up with magic as she began scooping chunks of dirt free and started her own pile to the side of the new grave.

Even with the cold winter air swirling around her a sweat soon broke on Stars furrowed brow as she focused on tearing out large chunks of soil and stones. Her horn radiated waves of black magical light in varying intensities as she labored over the strenuous task. Beside her Half Step was working with even more fervor and was managing to dig twice as fast as she was without the help of magic. Star glanced down the line when she stopped for a moment to wipe the perspiration from her face and saw that every stallion and mare in the cemetery was working faster than she was, so she took a deep breath and dove back in, determined to keep up with the earth ponies.

By the time she finished digging her first grave the other ponies were well into their second holes. Star couldn't believe the stamina that the citizens of Ponyville had. Her jaw ached from clenching her teeth together as she tried to pick up her pace and she was so worried about keeping up that her pile of dirt started spilling back into the hole. She heard a chuckle from behind her as Half Step walked up with a shovel clenched firmly in his teeth. Without any words he pushed the dirt pile further back from the grave and gave a quick nod of his head before walking back to his own spot in the graveyard. Star gave a disheartened sigh and got back to work.

The very second that she finished digging her first grave Star trotted over to the next place in the cemetery plot and got to work on her next one. What she lacked in strength and stamina she intended to make up for with tenacity. She tried her best not to think about what she was doing all of the work for, but since nopony around her was in the mood to talk she couldn't keep her mind from dwelling on the subject. Star didn't know how many innocent ponies had died in the fire, but she figured that every hole she dug would stick in her mind and by the time they were done the number of deaths would be burned in her memory forever.

"Alright everypony, let's take a break," Half Step called to the crew of dirty ponies, who were all feeling winded by then. "No use in workin' ourselves to death diggin' graves. That kind o' irony isn't as funny as it sounds." It actually didn't sound the least bit humorous to Star, but she was still grateful that he had called for a rest. Her head was aching from the effort she had put in and there was a thick layer of dirt and sweat covering most of her body, but thankfully her dark coat hid most of it from view.

"Is there any water?" Star asked as she dropped herself onto the pile of dirt beside her. It was much more comfortable than sitting on the hard packed earth everywhere else and she was already dirty, so it didn't matter if she lay in dirt. "I am seriously parched after all that." Half Step grabbed a flask and passed it to her with a slight smirk.

"You did a mighty fine job out there Miss Star," he told her as he took a seat in the dirt near her. "I never knew that unicorns were any good at manual labor."

"Yes, well I must say that it was quite a challenge trying to keep up with you earth ponies," she replied as she uncorked the bottle. Star took a long swig and immediately spit it out in a fit of coughing and gagging. "What the hoof is this?"

"That there is some o' the finest scotch in Equestria," Half Step chuckled. She had been expecting cold water to sooth her dry throat and instead was greeted by the burning alcohol. Star wasn't as amused by the situation as he seemed to be. "I reckon it takes a bit o' getting' used ta, but there's nothin' better to help you work hard."

Star spat the taste out of her mouth and replied, "I think I'll stick to water. No offense." Half Step stared her down and for a moment and Star thought she may have actually offended the earth pony, until he started laughing.

"That's just fine Miss Star," he chuckled, taking back the liquor and giving her water instead.

It wasn't long after that their break ended and everypony got back to work. Star's head was aching from the exertion that digging graves had taken, but she knew that trying to dig using the earth pony method would only prove to slow her down even more, so as the late afternoon sky sank lower on the horizon she continued to push herself. Everypony else finally seemed to be slowing down as well, which was a small relief for her, but they still weren't doing much talking. The only sound she could hear was labored breathing and the crunch of shovels striking the earth as they all dug the final resting places of ponies they had known most of their lives.

"We're bringing in the remains," one of the stallions told Half Step as he trod towards them over the uneven grounds of the cemetery.

"Alright, I think we dug enough graves for 'em," Half Step groaned as he climbed out of the hole he had just finished with. "Bring 'em on in."

A few feet away Star was climbing out of her own hole and she overheard the news. It had been the hardest day of work she had ever been a part of and every breath she took seemed insufficient to fill her burning lungs, but she also felt accomplished, as if what she had done there had meant something. It was a good feeling and her only regret was that it had been for such a detestable reason.

"You wouldn't mind if I called it a day, would you?" she asked Half Step as she wobbled over to him on aching legs.

"Not at all," the white stallion replied with a weary smile. "You did mighty fine work today Miss Star and it was a pleasure ta meet ya. I just wish it'd been under more pleasant circumstances."

"As do I," Star responded. She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of wheels approaching them and her gaze fell upon a cart, carrying the first pile of corpses and being pulled by a couple of stallions that she had seen in the crowd around Half Step earlier that day. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

"That all depends on what the favor is," Half Step told her.

"I had some friends that were in town around the time of the fire and I've been worried that they might not have made it out before the arson." Half Step fixed her with a knowing look. "Just let me know if there are any pegasus or mule bodies that get buried here tonight."

"I reckon that I could do that," the earth pony replied. "There ain't a whole lotta them 'round these parts, so they'd stick out."

"Thank you, it would mean so much to me," Star told him before she turned to leave. Then she remembered Spearmint's parents and turned back around again. "Oh, and if you happen to know the colt Spearmint..."

"I believe I've seen him 'round before."

"Please let me know if his parents are among the departed," Star finished quietly.

"Sure thing Miss," Half Step replied with a polite nod. Star thanked him again and turned to leave the cemetery just as the cart rolled through the wooden fence. She could see the burned leg of somepony sticking out from under the blankets that they had covered the bodies with. It was charred black and nearly made her vomit as she stared at it. Star ducked her head and walked quickly away from the disturbing sight, leaving the Ponyvillians to tend to their dead in peace.

The walk back to the barn was long, but Star didn't mind it in the least. She was grateful to have some time to unwind after a day of digging graves. Her mind was awash with conflicting emotions; sadness, uncertainty and even a little pride in a job well done. She was still concerned about her friend's wellbeing of course, and until she heard about their fate one way or the other she would be worried, but as the light of the sun receded the black unicorn harbored a slight hope that maybe things would be better in the morning. Tomorrow she would be heading back to Canterlot and that was always a welcome destination for her.

The lights were out by the time the barn came into view and it loomed over the open field creating a dark void in the starry night sky. When a cloud passed over the face of the moon she could almost believe that she was the only pony left in the world because of how quiet everything around her was. It was a sobering feeling and made her pick up the pace of her steps as she approached the rundown structure, the steady rhythm of her hoofsteps contrasting against the stillness of the town. Only the slight breeze rustling the long stalks of wheat in the distance was there to remind her that life still went on.

The old side door creaked as she shoved it open and the distinct smell of the makeshift hospital greeted her as she entered into the dark room. It seemed as if everypony was fast asleep and Star crept carefully around the cots and dreaming ponies as she felt her way to the back wall, where the volunteers had made their quarters. Star thanked Luna when she saw her bed was unoccupied and she removed her saddlebags, placing them under the cot so that they wouldn't be disturbed if somepony had to get up in the middle of the night. Noiselessly she crawled onto the bed and pulled the lone cover over herself, although with the body heat that was trapped in the barn she knew that the blanket would be kicked aside in her slumber.

Star closed her eyes and listened to the combined sounds of everypony's shallow breathing as she attempted to will herself asleep, but as exhausted as she was, sleep still eluded her. Concerns about anything and everything troubled her mind and she tossed and turned for awhile before finally opening her eyes with a huff.

"Can't sleep?" Suture asked from the darkness beside her, causing Star to gasp with surprise. She hadn't expected anypony to be awake at that hour.

"Not really, no," Star replied as soon as her brain registered where the voice had come from. It seemed that Doctor Suture had as much trouble with sleep as she did.

"Did you have a bad day?" her friend asked sympathetically.

"No, I just can't stop thinking about what happened here and about my friends," Star whispered. "I'm sure that I'll fall asleep eventually."

"If you want to talk I'm awake now," Suture told her.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. You just try to go back to bed," Star replied as she closed her eyes again.

"Well I'm right here if you change your mind," Suture assured her.

"I know," Star said with a yawn. "Good night, Suture."

"Good night, Star," her friend replied before falling back asleep.

Star lay awake for another hour, trying her best to stop the ceaseless thoughts that plagued her. Not only was she bothered by problems in the real world, but after her talk with Luna the night before, Star was worried about what terrors her sleep might hold for her. She finally drifted off into a restless slumber, filled with graves and shadowy figures. Her blankets didn't last for more than an hour before being shoved onto the dusty barn floor and Star tossed and turned all through the night, until Luna came to visit with her as she had so many nights before.


	36. Those Darkest of Memories

~Chapter 33: Those Darkest of Memories~

It had taken all of Star's formidable concentration to drive back the demented shadows of her nightmares before Princess Luna arrived for their nightly meeting and by the time she saw the graceful form of her mentor descending into the dream version of her home she was already tiring from the effort. Luna's hooves touched down on the floor without a sound and Star forced a smile and bowed before taking a seat at the table. The princess returned her smile and folded her large wings before taking the seat opposite of her student. Star was aware that her nightmares were being held away by only the thinnest of mental barriers and she hoped that the princess wouldn't notice.

"Good evening Princess Luna," Star greeted her, with as much cheer as she could muster under the circumstances.

"Hello Discipula Star. How was your day in Ponyville?" Luna asked. "I do hope that everything went well for you." Star would have liked to tell Luna that her day had been great and that everypony was feeling better than ever, but it would have been a blatant lie. The truth was, that she had spent all day digging the graves of ponies who had never deserved to die in the first place and she still hadn't heard from her friends.

"It was… an experience," she finally replied. Star figured being vague was the best course of action, because the princess had her hooves full dealing with the rest of Equestria and there was no need for her to spend time worrying about something that she couldn't help anyway. "Has there been any word from my friends yet?" Star asked, hoping to change the subject away from her own activities.

"I am afraid not Star," Luna replied softly, "but I have no doubt that we will receive word from them soon." The princess was trying to cheer her up and Star appreciated it, but she was beginning to lose faith that her friends were alright. Star knew that her spirit would be utterly shattered if some harm had befallen them, especially Inferno, but she tried to put on a brave face for the princess.

"I'm sure that you're right princess," she replied with a strained smile. Luna seemed to pick up on her inner feelings, which shouldn't have surprised Star considering her mentor was co-ruling Equestria for generations, and she reached her hoof out to her for comfort.

"Tell me what is weighing so heavily on your mind my little pony," Luna said in gentle voice, like the whisper of the wind on a still night. It was a voice that had often been used to comfort Star as a filly and had lost none of its affect on her. "I can see that something is troubling you and I do not want to see you locking it away." Star turned away, unwilling to meet her teacher's gaze for fear of seeing her disappointment, but the princess placed a hoof on her cheek and gently turned her head until their eyes met. "If you don't open up and let those dark feelings out into the light then they will fester and grow in the darkest parts of your mind until they corrupt your very soul."

What Luna had told her made sense, yet Star paused for awhile before answering the princess. She considered lying about her true emotions, but realized that somepony of Luna's wisdom would no doubt see through her fickle words, so she reluctantly decided to acknowledge her own fears. It seemed like the best course of action to the young mare and Luna awaited her thoughts with a compassionate concern.

"It- it's everything," Star finally replied. "I spent yesterday morning working in the temporary clinic that Doctor Suture was running and then after that I spent my afternoon digging graves." Luna gazed at her with a knowing pity as Star fought off her tears. "I just don't know how this could happen. Why do bad things have to happen to good ponies? Why can't the world live in harmony?"

Luna sighed deeply and closed her eyes as she explained, "I wish that I could give you an answer that would make you feel better my faithful student, but I can not." The sound of Star's forehead hitting the table caused Luna to open her midnight blue eyes and gaze down at her. "It could be that Discord caused a permanent change in the world that created chaos, but part of me knows that disharmony was always lying somewhere deep inside ponykind and with these times of confusion and violence it has managed to seep out." The princess's words did little to comfort her student, but Luna continued unabated, "What I can say is that as long as there is friendship and love in Equestria than we will always have hope. Hope for a future in which every race can live together without fear."

"Do you… do you really believe that princess?" Star asked as she forced her head up from the wooden tabletop. "Do you really think that harmony will prevail after so much evil has been spread across the land?"

"I do," Luna stated with a shimmering smile that lifted Star's spirits. If the princess could continue on with hope in her heart, then Star would be no different. She would do whatever was needed to return Equestria to the harmonious utopia that ponies had written of in the books she had read. No matter if her friends were successful in their quests or if Discord himself rose from his stone prison, Discipula Star would stand beside her princess to the ends of the earth if that was what it took to restore the peace that everypony had once known.

"Thank you," Star replied as a she wiped a lone tear from her black cheek. "You were right; it is much better to confront your emotions rather than hiding them from the light." Star reached her forelegs over the table for a hug and her mentor responded in kind, embracing Star with the gentle care that a mother would show her child. Even in the dream world it was enough to ease Star's relentless nightmares and she felt the pressure of holding back her inner darkness receding just a little. "Ahem, not to change the subject, but I was wondering what the news is from Canterlot. Have you already sent soldiers out to patrol the borders?"

"Yes, the royal guards have been dispatched in all of the major cities from Manehatten to Los Pegasus and all around the border," Luna assured her.

"That's good news. I'm sure that will prevent another disaster like the one that occurred in Ponyville," Star replied as she formed a cup of tea on the table in front of her. She took it in her hooves and sipped quietly from the cup. Although the beverage didn't actually exist, the mundane act of drinking tea helped calm her nerves and between that and the soothing presence of Princess Luna she began to feel more at ease.

"I agree, but I still wish that these precautions were not even necessary," Luna replied, following her student's lead and conjuring her own cup of hot tea. "I have also seen fit to send out my own soldiers to watch over the night, but even so, my sister seems to think that we should enforce a strict curfew on all of Equestria. It seems that she and many of the diplomats feel that the nighttime has become unsafe due to the attack on Ponyville." Luna seemed to be quite irritated with her elder sibling's decision. "I have tried to convince her that my nights are no more unsafe than her days, but ponies seem to fear the unknown, so she refused to listen to my logic." Star had never before seen the princess of the night in such a mood and was unsure about how to respond to her statement. It almost seemed to her as if Princess Luna was resentful of her sister, but she didn't want to believe that it was the case.

"I don't feel unsafe during the night, "Star replied truthfully. "I actually find the quiet stillness to be quite peaceful." Star grinned awkwardly, hoping that Luna would be distracted from her negative thoughts and it seemed to work.

"Thank you Star. I know that there are a few ponies who still relish the night as much as I, but lately it seems as if my work goes unappreciated," Luna responded morosely. She sipped the last of her nonexistent tea and with a slight wave of her hoof the cup disappeared. "I just wish that my Celestia respected my gifts as much as everypony respects hers."

"Forgive me if I overstep my boundaries princess, but I am certain that Princess Celestia has just as much admiration for your nights as you have for her days," Star said uncertainly, hoping that she hadn't displeased her immortal teacher. It was silent in the dream world for a few moments and Star feared the worst.

"You mean to tell me that she doesn't care in the slightest then?" Luna asked with a straight face, until she broke out into a fit of giggles a few seconds later. Star joined in and she could feel the tension of their meeting leave her mind as they laughed. "You are probably right my faithful student. I suppose that it is I who has learned the lesson today." Luna fixed her with a joyous smile which Star eagerly returned.

"I'm glad to have been of some help," Star replied.

The two mares sat in the luminescent glow of Star's dream world, enjoying the relaxation of each others company for a short time, but eventually the princess's duties called her back to the real world and she had to bid her student a fond farewell until their next meeting. Star thanked her for the sage advice, and Luna did likewise, before she gave her a hug and watched the princess ascend into the starry skies above her safe place.

"Good night, Princess Luna," she whispered into the air as she watched the last sparkling horseshoe of her matriarch disappear from view. "I suppose I should try to get some rest now." Star closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift into the uncertainty of her ever shifting dreams as Luna's moon glowed above the old barn in which her physical body lay.

"Wakey- wakey." Star could hear the familiar voice penetrating her fitful rest, but she tried to ignore it. She hadn't gotten a full night's sleep in nearly a week and she was loathing giving up even a few minutes of it. "I knew that you would get to sleep eventually, but I'm afraid that its morning and you need to get up Star," Doctor Suture told her. Star cracked one eyelid and saw the older mare standing over her, as the doctor's wavy, orange mane dangled just above her nose.

"Okay, I'm getting up already," Star mumbled as she rolled onto her stomach and then completed the maneuver until her legs were hanging over the edge of the cot. "You couldn't let me have this small piece of happiness?"

"I wish I could, but unfortunately there are plenty of sick ponies who need this space a little more than you," Suture replied as she helped Star onto her hooves. "Tonight is always another chance for you to actually get some rest though." Star blushed with embarrassment as she realized how selfish she had been. Suture handed her the saddlebags she had placed under the small cot and the two of them headed towards the side door, where they could get some fresh air.

Patients were just waking up, most of them milling about the room still groggy from sleep as they wandered around the dim barn. Suture navigated around swaying forms as she led Star to the nearest exit. Nurses were just beginning to prepare breakfast, but Suture had decided that they should eat outside, so Star followed her yellow friend, stepping around everypony who wandered through their path.

"Sorry about that," Star told her friend, "I guess that I was just caught up in the coziness of finally getting to sleep." Suture just nodded her head as she held open the door with its peeling red paint. Star walked out into the open air, thanking Celestia that the sun was hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds. "At least it isn't bright out here," she mumbled to herself as she stumbled towards the table. She hadn't pulled her cloak out of her saddlebags yet and the early winter air made her teeth chatter and sent a shiver along her spine as she slumped down onto the bench.

"You didn't sleep very well last night, did you?" Suture asked as she joined her young friend and placed their breakfast on the table. Star shook her head and yawned in reply. "I suppose I can try to make some room for you to sleep a little longer if you would like."

"No thanks," Star said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stretching out in an effort to rouse her body as she did. "I appreciate the offer, but there are a few things that I must see to before I leave for Canterlot and I get the feeling that if I were to fall asleep again I would lose most of the daylight." They both giggled as Star used her magic to unlatch her dusty, white bags and call forth her worn cloak. She wrapped it around herself and sighed with relief as it eased some of the chilly bite of the breeze.

"You're returning home today then?" the doctor asked as she cinched her own covering tightly around her body and started eating.

"Yes, I just have to speak with a couple ponies first and then I'll be on my way. How long are you going to stay here?" Star asked as she took a bite from her own bowl of oats.

"Oh, I have a few things left to supervise, but if all goes well then I should get back in three or four days at the longest," Suture replied with a wave of her hoof. "Have you found out anything more about your friends?"

"No I haven't, but that's why I'm going to talk with Half Step today. I asked him to let me know if they buried any pegasus or a mule in the cemetery last night. Part of me wants some closure, but I'd still much rather go through not knowing what happened than be certain they are dead," Star explained in a voice wavering with sadness.

"I can only imagine," Suture told her. They sat in silence for a short time, each one relishing in the cold winds that caressed their face and helped shake the last remnants of sleep from their weary minds as they finished eating. Eventually the sounds of Sutures stomach rumbling broke the tranquility of the moment and Star snickered into her hoof. "I guess that means that I should go get some more breakfast," Suture said with a mildly surprised grin. The doctor got up from the table and took one last look at the sun beginning to creep out from the large, grey clouds that had been covering it before turning to go back inside. "Are you coming?" she called over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll be there in just a bit," Star replied. She needed a little more time to wake up and collect her thoughts before returning to the crowded and musty barn. Princess Luna had shared some of her wisdom last night and Star knew that she needed to confront her nightmares, but it would not be an easy task, especially while she was still preoccupied with worries of her friends. She needed to take care of her duties in Ponyville and get back to Canterlot, then she could put to rest the dark shadows that haunted her nightly dreamscape.

After breakfast Star performed one last check of her saddlebags, making sure that she still had everything that she had brought with her. After donning her black boots and tucking the Wyrm Stone securely in her bags she latched them closed and strapped them to her back with the slightest flash of magic. Once her belongings were together, Star decided to find Suture and tell her goodbye before going out into the town to speak with Half Step. She found her friend near the back of the barn, speaking with the remaining volunteers about what tasks they would need to tend to that day.

Doctor Suture gave them their directions with the self assuredness that she had developed over almost a decade of running the largest hospital in Canterlot. Star had no idea how the facility was managing during the yellow mare's absence, but she was sure that they would be eager to have their Dean of Medicine back soon. She waited patiently as her friend gave the last few directions and the ponies wandered off to start their days. Suture smiled to Star as she walked up.

"I just thought that I'd tell you goodbye before I head out," Star explained as she reached out for a hug. "I'll be on my way to Canterlot as soon as I finish up in town." Suture took her in a quick embrace, practically choking off Star's air supply as she squeezed tightly around her neck. It was unusual for the generally gentle doctor. "I'll miss you too, but you're choking me," Star rasped as she pulled back from her overenthusiastic older friend.

"Sorry, you've just been such a big help these past couple days and I know it hasn't been easy for you," Suture said. Star tried to shrug her shoulders nonchalantly, but the orange maned mare wasn't buying it. "Just take care of yourself, okay? I'll see you back in Canterlot when I finish here."

"Heh, it's a deal," Star replied with a smile, which Suture returned before a loud crash from the front of the barn tore her attention away. It looked like one of the volunteers had accidentally knocked over a table, spilling medical supplies all over the dusty barn floor and causing a ruckus.

"Ugh, I better go and deal with that," Suture huffed. "I'll see you again soon."

"Goodbye Suture," Star called out as she turned to leave, but the doctor was too busy dealing with the mess, and the mare who caused it, to respond to her farewell. Star shrugged and continued on her way, dodging the various ponies who were hurrying about the cramped space as she left through the large front doors.

The sun had managed to find its way out from behind the ample cloud cover and there was a slight warmth shinning down from above, but the cold sting of the wind was still enough for Star to puller her cloak tight. She was glad that she had remembered to put on boots that morning because it looked to her like winter was well on its way. She turned north and headed for the town square, figuring that it was the best place to start looking for Half Step and the other Ponyvillians she had dug graves with.

Sweat glistened along the broad, white shoulders of Half Step's back as he and a team of three other athletic stallions pulled against a rope that connected to a large piece of roofing that had collapsed. They were only a few blocks from the town square and Star had spotted them easily as they slowly made their way to the edge of town with the wreckage in tow. Half Step was grunting and groaning as he fought with the weight of the roof, but the rest of his team seemed absolutely exhausted and it appeared as if he was doing most of the work at that point. Star had decided that it might be better to wait until a time when he wasn't quite so busy to speak with him, but Half Step spotted her from the corner of his eye and called for a break, which the other stallions seemed thankful for.

"Why hello there, Miss Star," Half Step said as he allowed the rope to fall limply from his powerful jaws. "Did ya come here ta help us again?" he asked with a smile.

"Sorry, but not this time I'm afraid," Star told him as she closed the distance between them. "I'm actually returning to Canterlot later today, but I wanted a chance to speak with you before I left."

"Don't I feel special," the white stallion chuckled as he pulled off his hat. Half Step beat the Stetson against his hide a few times to remove some of the dust that had accumulated over the course of the morning and replaced it on his head. "I 'spose ya want ta know if'n we seen yer friends last night, huh?"

"Yes," Star replied simply. Half Step started walking away from her without a word and Star followed in confusion as he led her to the remains of a building, where he promptly took a seat on a charred wooden beam with a satisfied sigh.

"Sorry 'bout that, but my legs are hurtin' somethin' fierce after tryin' ta pull that there hunk of roofin'. Those boys ain't exactly the best help around," he stated with a mildly annoyed tone.

"I noticed that you were doing most of the work," Star agreed.

"Anyway, about yer friends; I didn't see any pegasus bodies among the dead, but I'll keep looking an' I'll send word ta Canterlot if ya tell me where the letter needs ta go," Half Step told her. Star let out a deep sigh of relief at the great news. She had been worried about the brothers, but if they hadn't been found yet then chances were that they had made it out of Ponyville before the fire was started.

"Thank you so much. If you hear anything else just send a letter to Princess Luna and she'll see to it that I receive it," Star replied. Half Steps eyebrows rose when he heard her mention the younger princess of Equestria.

"I didn't realize that ya'll were that close with the princess o' the night," he said with surprise. "I mean, you look a little bit like a city mare, but you don't really seem the type ta walk 'round like you have a stick up yer…" He noticed Star blushing and caught himself. "Eh, never mind." Half Step pulled his hat low over his eyes to hide his embarrassment at using such uncouth language in front of a lady, until Star began laughing.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she giggled.

Half Step cleared his throat and replied, "Good, because that was how I meant it. Now before you get yer hopes up too high I got some bad news as well." Star could feel her heart drop in her chest like a lead weight, completely reversing her spirits in an instant. "One o' my boys did find the body of a mule and nopony in town seemed to know him, but he was found in the same house as a unicorn. The unicorn was some kind o' rich pony by the looks of him, but I remember you sayin' that yer friends were here to meet with a mule, so I thought you should know."

"Oh no," Star mumbled under her breath. It sounded like they had found Chestnut and if that were true then Nature Spark was going to be heartbroken when he found out. She hadn't known the mule personally, but from everything Spark had told her about him, Chestnut seemed like a very kind mule and a close friend. "Has he already been buried?"

"Yes'm. I figured it was the right thing ta do, but if ya want I can have him moved ta Canterlot for ya." Half Step's voice grew somber as he spoke and the wind began to pick up, as if sensing the depressing nature of their conversation. Star shuddered and retightened her old cloak, which had gotten loose during her walk.

"No, I didn't actually know Chestnut very well, but my friend Spark had been his friends for years and I'm sure when he gets back from his business overseas he'll want to visit the grave," Star explained.

"Well ya know where ta find it," Half Step replied. "I 'spose I should be getting' back ta work now." Star nodded sympathetically as the stallion forced his body off the piece of wood they had been using as a seat, groaning from the effort as he did.

"I should probably get going too. I'd like to make it to Canterlot by dark," Star said as she stood up. "It was nice meeting you Half Step and I do hope that we will see each other again somewhere down the road."

"Likewise Miss Star," Half Step replied with a tip of his faded brown hat before ambling off to finish removing the formidable heaps of ruble from around the town. Star stared after him for a short time, admiring the way his words were able to snap the other stallions to attention and the look of determination on his face as he got back to work. She still had no idea what his cutie mark meant, and wasn't rude enough to ask, but she was sure of one thing; Half Step was going to be an anchor during the small town's time of uncertainty and sorrow.

One last wave of her hoof and Star was off, looking for the nearest royal guard who would take her home. Princess Luna had sent her with an escort, but it seemed that the soldiers had occupied themselves with patrolling the area around Ponyville while she was busy helping out. Star decided her best course of action would be to find the wagon she had arrived in and wait there until she saw one of the familiar stallions. As long as they left by noon, she could be in the capitol by midnight at the latest and a comfortable bed sounded very welcoming to the small mare after sleeping in a tiny cot for two days, so she wanted to arrive in time to get a little sleep.

The sky overhead was thickening with dark grey storm clouds and the gentle breeze that began that morning had grown forceful and now blew ashes through the air, peppering Star's cloak and every bit of fur she had left exposed. If the weather continued on its current course Star expected freezing rain would develop by that night. She felt bad for those ponies whose homes had been destroyed and would now have to share the cramped barn until the storm passed. "At least it will help wash away the ashes and maybe even some of the pain," Star said aloud as she ducked her head low against the oncoming gust.

The cart was abandoned when she finally made it to her destination, but it had a roof and she was happy to have some shelter against the freezing elements. Star tossed her bags in through the side door and hoisted herself up after them, eager to curl up with a blanket and get warm while she waited for the guards to return. The wagon rocked from side to side as the wind fought to overturn it, but the cart was large and Star knew that it would take a much larger storm to damage it, so she unfolded one of the blankets that had been left inside and wrapped it around her slim, black body without bothering to remove her cloak or her boots. She wanted all of the extra warmth she could get while she waited.

"Miss Star, are you ready to leave?" the voice shook her out of her sleep and she shot up in the wagon, only half awake and very confused. Her head flew back and forth as she glanced around the small area, trying to get her bearings as she recalled where exactly she was. "Are you alright Miss?" the guard asked her in a concerned voice. Star's cheeks burned red with embarrassment as she remembered what she had been doing in the wagon. At some point during her wait, the tired mare had fallen asleep without realizing.

"Umm, yes," Star blurted out as she scrambled about, picking up the various things that had fallen out of her bags during her nap. "Just give me one moment and I'll be ready." The guard nodded his head as he tried not to crack a smile, but Star didn't even notice him on the verge of laughter as she hurriedly packed up and relatched her ashy, white saddlebags and tossed them in the corner of the vehicle. "Okay, I'm ready to go when you are," she huffed.

"Alright Miss Star, and you're sure that you haven't forgotten anything?" the soldier asked as he checked the wagon over for any damage. Star thought for a minute, but she didn't believe that anything had slipped her mind.

"Yes, I'm quite sure," she told him with a polite nod. The guard looked around a bit more and then, having deemed the wagon fit for travel, closed the door and went to get harnessed up along with his partner. Star could hear the wind howling outside of the wagon walls and she felt sorry for the guards, but they would have said that it was part of their duties and they were right, so Star reluctantly sat down and tried her best not to think about it. Instead, she busied herself with writing a letter using one of the few pieces of parchment left in the wagon that hadn't blown away during her stay in Ponyville.

Star intended to have a letter for Inferno and Spark written by the time she got home, that way she could have Princess Luna send it off posthaste. The quicker she mailed them, the quicker they would respond, or so she hoped. She had sent several letters since they had been gone, over a week now she realized, and they still hadn't written back. The princess tried to convince her that they were most likely not in a situation where they could write back, but day by day Star was losing faith that her friends were still alive.

"I should have never let Inferno go with them," Star grumbled as she floated a long grey quill above the paper and contemplated what she wanted to say. It needed to be straightforward and forceful, without coming off as too bitchy, Star decided. The quill flowed effortlessly over the long piece of parchment as she put her thoughts into words and wrote them out with a practiced ease. Her script was measured and precise, nary a flaw to be seen anywhere on the paper, until the wagon hit a dip and jostled Star around, sending the quill streaking across the front of the letter with an ugly black smear. "Damn!" Star cursed, a little more loudly than she had intended, as she dropped the quill to the ground before it could do any more damage.

The letter was still legible, but the ugly mark on its face bothered Star, who could be a bit of a perfectionist when it came to writing. Waves of white light glowed around the page as she held it in front of her face and stared blankly back at it with annoyance, willing the ink to come of the paper. To her great surprise the ink did actually start to move and she focused the thought as the blotch was pulled from the paper in a black, liquid ball. It hovered in front of her for a moment and she stared back with her mouth hanging open in disbelief that she had been able to pull off a new spell, not that she hadn't successfully cast many more complicated spells, but they had all been learned from the princesses or from books.

A huge grin slowly crept across Star's muzzle as she forced the blob of ink back into its bottle and examined the clean lines of the letter she had written. There was not a trace of spilled ink to be seen and Star was pretty impressed with herself. She rolled up the parchment, wrapped a tight little bow around it and stuck it in the top of her bag, where it would be safe until they entered Canterlot and Luna could send it off to Inferno. Star giggled as she sealed the top of her bags and sat down to practice her new trick. It wasn't complex or even very flashy, but it was a spell all her own and she loved it.

Lightning flashed outside and thunder bellowed in the cloudy skies, but all of this went unnoticed by Star as she practiced her magic. Whenever she had her mind set on a task that interested her, Star was a master of tuning out the world around her. The glow of her horn and the removal of ink from paper were the only thoughts in her mind as a storm brewed outside and heavy rains began to fall. She vaguely registered the sound of rain hitting the roof, but it was a distant thought, like somepony's voice coming from far off.

The trip to Canterlot was a fairly arduous one without a flying chariot, Star realized as she stared out of the small window and watched the rain cascading down around the rolling fields that separated Ponyville from the mountain on which Canterlot resided. Star had thought that perfecting her new spell would kill most of the time, but she had grown bored after just a few hours. As it turned out, an ink removal spell wasn't exciting enough to hold her attention for very long.

Lightning arced through the sky in a bright flash, crashing down into a tree only a few yards from the cart with a loud, boom! Star's heart hammered in her chest from the sudden scare and she decided to back away from the window for a little while. She sat on the single bench and let out a bored yawn as she contemplated what she could do to pass the time. She thought about reading, but the only book in the cart she had read twice on the way from Canterlot, so she wasn't very keen on going through it for a third time.

Eventually, Star gave up and decided to try getting a little rest. She hadn't slept well the past couple times and although the wagon wasn't the most comfortable place to lay down, she was feeling pretty drained after the emotional and physical stress she had endured while helping the Ponyvillians. Just seeing Spearmint alone had been hard, but then she had spent an afternoon digging graves and learned that Chestnut was dead to top it all off. It felt like everything was falling apart and she just wanted it to stop for a couple of hours, so that she could get some genuine sleep or at least work out her issues.

The weather didn't want to oblige her, but Star wasn't about to let that stop anything. If something were to go wrong, the guards pulling the wagon would alert her, so there was no reason for her to stay awake. Star grabbed her saddlebags from the floor, punched her hoof softly into the side of them a few times so they were relatively soft and then placed them on one side of the bench to use as a pillow. As she curled her legs up with her, Star was thankful that she was short enough to fit comfortably, although it was the only time she could remember where being short had actually helped. With a final stretch and one last yawn, Star closed her eyes and let the constant pitter-patter of the rain lull her into a relaxed sleep, as the royal guards continued to pull the wagon through the growing storm.

Sleep came quickly for her, unlike the night before, and she was soon sucked down into the world of her subconscious mind, which she manipulated using conscious thought. Dream walking was a fairly simple concept that was easy to understand, but difficult to accomplish. It required keeping part of your mind alert while you slept and resulted in the slumbering pony not getting as much rest as they usually did. Star tried to refrain from dream walking three nights in a row, because she didn't want sleep deprivation to start affecting her work, but there was something she needed to accomplish on this night, something that couldn't wait.

Star opened her eyes and saw the shimmering illusion that was her safe place, but as much as she liked to stay in a place that resembled her home, it was not going to work for her current task. Star willed the room clear of everything, until she stood in a large empty hall. It was plain and dull, but provided plenty of space in case something unforeseen occurred. Before starting, she worked on her breathing; inhale- she tried to calm her mind, exhale- focused on the task at hoof, inhale- this was her world, exhale- and she would master it.

The shadows began to creep out from the corners almost immediately after she dropped the mental barriers that held them back. She could see them twisting and writhing in the corners of her vision, creeping closer as the wormed their way out from the depths of her mind. Star knew that the shadows weren't real, just the unconscious fears taking shape with the power of her dream walking, but she could still feel her heart beat increase as one of them brushed past her rear legs. It felt cold and wet when it made contact and it was the most vivid sensation she had ever felt in a dream. Princess Luna had been right about the darkness growing as it was kept locked away from the light, but now Star intended to do something about it.

The shadows were covering most of the walls now, practically trapping her in their shifting, swirling darkness as they closed in on the small unicorn. She stared coolly back at them, focusing on maintaining her breathing. Although she didn't actually need air in the dream world, Star continued her pattern because it helped her focus and stay calm, which she needed in the face of her nightmares. Star allowed her fears to take shape, giving them a chance to make themselves known, something she had deprived them of for years now, and they took the opportunity greedily.

The tendrils of shadow melded together in a squirming heap of bubbling black fear, gaining substance until it began to form into a coherent shape before her violet eyes. First, Star could see a leg reaching out from the mass and then another followed after. They were small and nonpony, but Star knew who the shadows were forming before they had finished and she was also fairly sure that she knew why they were taking the shape. The small form stood before her as the endlessly deep black of the shadows began to fade into colors. First a lighter black and then shades of red developed, until Inferno was standing in front of her.

It was an illusion of course, but if Star hadn't known any better she could have believed it was actually her dear little dragon walking towards her with sadness in those yellow eyes. Star took a few tentative steps, expecting the nightmare to attack her or something else equally aggressive, but what she didn't expect was for it to speak.

"Mother, why did you let me leave?" Inferno's voice asked. Star shuddered from the sound. She should have known it would speak, the darkness only existed because of her thoughts after all, but when it called her mother Star's skin crawled. "It was dangerous and you knew it, but you still let me go Star and now I'm dead," the creature continued to approach her as it spoke, reaching out its small red arms as if it wanted a hug. Star began to slowly back away, beginning to rethink her whole plan as the skin along the illusion's body began to blister and burn.

The little dragon-thing was burning up; something that Star was certain wasn't even possible for a real dragon. Its charred skin began to fall off in burning clumps, dropping to the ground as piles of ashes as it came closer. The princess had wanted Star to face her fears and now she was, but she wasn't sure what she needed to do to make the nightmares stop.

"Don't you love me anymore?" the things asked before its jaw came apart and landed on the ground with the various other pieces of the creature. It was now more bone than anything, yet it still crept ever closer while even its skeleton began to burn and crack. "You said I was like your daughter, then why did you forsake me?" The voice was coming from everywhere now and it had grown deeper and more aggressive. Star backed up until she hit something solid and she looked back to see the broken remains of a building. It looked like it had come straight out of Ponyville and when Star looked around she noticed that the entire hall had been replaced by a twisted version of the town, one still consumed by flames and filled with the cries of dying ponies.

The fire gave off no heat and the smoke didn't choke her, but the sight was still enough to make Star ill. It was as if she was seeing what had happened that night as it occurred and all the while the tortured shade of Inferno came closer, a violent laugh escaping from its misshapen head and rising above the screams.

"I do love her and I never stopped!" Star screamed out to the beast as it approached. "I care about Inferno more than anypony else in the world and I know that Spark and Strata will do everything in their power to protect her!" The laughter faded away, but the creature was still walking towards her. It began to change, growing in size and morphing into a horrifying mockery of the real Inferno. "The only reason you exist is because I care deeply for her and instead of accepting that fear I tried to ignore it, locking you away in the deepest depths of my psyche, but no longer!"

As Star confronted the shadowy creature, which had now grown to the size of a cottage and was covered in fiery tendrils that reached towards the small mare, she felt the nagging pressure of her terror begin to dissipate slightly. Star could feel every word she screamed lancing through the nightmare and destroying its hold on her. She took a few steps forward and the darkness shirked back from her, so she took another and then another. The creature screamed in fury as it lashed out at the unicorn with clawed arms, but Star stood her ground and the appendage exploded on contact in a burst of flames and thick black smoke.

"You only exist as an extension of my terror and my inability to accept that fear as part of who I am. I thought that being afraid would hold me back and make me fail, but now I realize that being too scared to confront the possibility was only making it worse." With every word Star took another step, approaching the twisting shadows that had now begun to shrink down as pieces of it fell away, disintegrating from her very presence. "I made you and I can destroy you!"

"Nooooo!" the creature screamed in agony and rage as it began to bubble and churn into itself. "There is more than just your fear for your friends lying in the pits of your heart and you know as well I that some things should never see the light, for we are one in the same Discipula Star!" A new shape began to rise out of the inky darkness and the burning town began to fade, replaced by a memory from the past. A place that Star knew all too well began to gain substance around her. She tried to force it away, but the crushing fear of the memory was too much for her to bear and as she fought for control something else rose up from the squirming shadows.

A hoof stepped out of the mass, followed by another as something pulled itself up from the ground. Star's heart raced as her worst fears were realized and she tried to back away from the stallion that the shadows had formed. It was her own mind, and she was aware of that fact, but the agony that the memory caused her held Star firmly in place. The wood walls of her childhood home surrounded her, cutting off any hope of escape and she screamed in terror as the shadowy stallion took its first step towards her, the putrid green of its hide just beginning to form over the blackness.

"Get away!" Star screamed at the nightmare as it approached.

"Miss Star!" the soldier yelled as he shook her awake. Star's eyes flashed open with panic as she let out a terrified shriek. "Star, you were having a nightmare, but it's alright." Her heart hammered in her chest as she glanced around, waiting for the stallion from her nightmares to reach out from the shadows.

"You were screaming your head off in here, so we came to check on you," the other guard told Star as he stared at her with a mix of worry and confusion. She gasped for breath as her senses returned to her. Sweat coated her entire body and her belongings had fallen to the floor during her sleep once again. She kicked her hooves wildly, untangling herself from the blanket, so she could gather them up and put them away. The two stallions watched her with mutual concern as she fumbled to get everything back into her saddlebags.

"I'm fine now," she told them once she had caught her breath and her heart rate had slowed again. "It was just a nightmare, that's all." The guards looked at each other with disbelief.

"It sounded like you were dying back here," the first one replied.

"Yeah, we thought you were being attacked," the other agreed. Star threw her bags to the floor angrily and the soldiers jumped back.

"I said I'm fine!" she shouted at them as she stood up from the bench. "You two just worry about getting us to Canterlot." The soldiers nodded their heads, afraid to speak as they watched Star stand there, shaking with rage and fear.

"Yes'm, we should be there in just an hour or so," one of them said as they both scurried away from her. Star sank to the floor as soon as they were out of sight. She hadn't meant to lash out at them, they didn't deserve it, but the memory of her nightmare was so vivid and the terror clung to her thoughts like cobwebs. She curled into a ball on the floor of the wagon and began to cry as the guards started to pull her the wagon. She had wanted to confront her fears, but it had been too much for her to manage on her own. There were some memories that needed to remain buried, she decided, as lightning flashed in the windows and the thunder followed.


	37. Therapeutic

~Chapter 34: Therapeutic~

The open halls of Canterlot Castle were a welcome sight for Discipula Star as she wandered through them, fighting the sleep that was tugging at the corners of her eyes. It was a couple hours past midnight, but sunrise seemed a faraway point to the tired mare as she wandered aimlessly from room to room in an attempt to keep from falling asleep. She knew what waited for her in her dreams and she dreaded seeing the nightmarish form of her father form from her fears. The stallion who had tormented her mother, her sister and her, until he had finally died.

Star's father, Novussky, had once been an upstanding citizen, or so her mother had told her. He worked in Canterlot as a clerk at one of the small shops, but his passion had always been writing. Unfortunately he lacked any real talent and his manuscripts never seemed to sell, so when he spent all of the family's money on publishing his books they wound up with next to nothing. They were forced to move into a tiny house on the edge of the city and his wife, Silk Melody, had hated it. Star's mother was a fairly accomplished singer and could have made a good living on her talent, but her husband refused to stay home with the girls, believing that only a stallion should bring in money and a mare should raise foals.

A few years passed as Star's parents grew more resentful of each other and their financial situation worsened. Her father had developed a gambling problem and when he started losing money that he didn't have, Novussky began to drink as well. It wasn't longer after he started coming home drunk that he finally lashed out on his wife. He beat her unconscious while Star, only four years old at the time, watched in horror along with her younger sister. It was the most terrified she had ever been in her life and it was caused by the stallion who was supposed to protect her.

The beatings became a common occurrence, until her mother decided she had finally had enough and fought back. He was larger than her though, and his magic was stronger, but her mother continued to fight him off, until he turned his sight on Star and Dieslux. He threatened to start hitting them if his wife wasn't going to listen to what he told her, so she relented and allowed the beatings to continue. She knew his threats were genuine and she wanted to take her daughters and run, but the thought of what he might do if he found them again kept her from leaving.

Another two years passed, with Star and her sister unable to escape from their share of the abuse, until their world changed. Novussky was walking home drunk one night, as he often did after a night of gambling, when he decided he was too tired to stumble all the way to his house. The abusive stallion decided to teleport instead, which is commonly known to be very dangerous in an intoxicated state and had long ago been outlawed due to the serious risks that went along with the act of magically moving your body through space. He ended up in several pieces scattered along the streets between his favorite bar and their home. It was a disturbing sight for the few ponies who witnessed the event.

The funeral took place later that month and their mother cried for the stallion she had once loved, while Star's sister watched on with an emotionless mask that would become her common expression in the years to follow. Star cried as well, but unknown to everypony except her, they were tears of joy. She knew that with his death, life in their family finally had the chance to improve and they might actually have the opportunity to be happy for more than a day at a time. A few others attended the affair, ponies that Star's father had worked with who didn't know what kind of monster he had become. Afterword Silk Melody and her children went back to their small home and tried their best to forget about the stallion who had caused them so much anguish.

Star was accepted into the school of magic later that year and managed to catch the eye of Princess Luna, who saw a potential in the small black filly that had gone unnoticed by those around her. For the first time in Star's life the future looked bright to her and she began to enjoy the world like never before. Her studies came naturally and she consumed the knowledge found in books with a voracious appetite, one which she had developed in her attempts to escape from her dysfunctional family. Her cutie mark appeared soon after she discovered a talent for retaining the information she gathered as well as a keen eye for artifacts and other objects of historic value.

With Princess Luna by her side, Star developed into the intelligent and beautiful, albeit socially skittish, young mare that she was today. Now she traveled around the world searching for relics from the past and taking them to museums where they could be put on display for all to see. It was a life that she couldn't have even dreamed of as a filly and now she was even doing her part to help all of Equestria in its time of war, but now her father's vileness was back and Star felt as if his wicked touch would tear her happiness apart as it once had.

The sound of hoofsteps echoing through the open corridor stirred Star from her depressing thoughts. She turned towards the noise and saw Princess Luna walking towards her with a look of concern on her dark blue face. Star realized how she must look; eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, a dazed expression from being lost in thought and walking alone through the castle. She smiled awkwardly and began walking towards her mentor, who was used to staying awake at all hours of the night, unlike Star.

"Discipula Star, what are you doing awake at this hour?" Princess Luna asked. "It is very early still. You should be in bed my little pony." Star loved when the princess referred to her as 'her little pony', even if it was slightly foalish. It reminded the small mare how much the princess actually cared about her.

"I know, princess, but I just can't go to sleep. The nightmares are too much for me, so I'm just going to stay awake," Star yawned.

Luna gazed sympathetically down at her student and sighed, "You cannot stay awake forever Star. Eventually everypony must sleep, no matter how terrifying their dreams may be." Star shook her head, trying to keep the exhaustion from creeping up on her. "I thought that you agreed to confront the darkness anyway."

"I tried, I really did, but it was just too much for me to deal with," Star explained with a disappointed look.

"Nonsense," Luna replied, "I will go with you and we will take care of this once and for all. I will not have my protégé running from her subconscious."

"Please don't make me go to sleep," Star pleaded with her mentor. "I can't confront him. I- I'm just not strong enough to do it." The princess fixed her with a look that could have terrified anypony who saw it.

"DISCIPULA STAR, WE HAVE TRIED TO REASON WITH THEE, BUT OUR PATIENCE GROWS THIN. YOU WILL OBEY OUR COMMANDS AND LIVE UP TO THE STANDARDS THAT WE KNOW YOU CAN!" the princess of the night shouted at her, using the royal Canterlot voice. The outburst caught Star completely by surprise and she could do little more than whimper and nod her head. She had forgotten how commanding Luna could be when she wanted to. "Good, then let us retire to one of the guest rooms and we will take care of this problem right away."

Star followed behind her teacher in silence as they located a free bedroom that would suit their needs. It was far enough away from the other occupied rooms that if Star began to scream they wouldn't be disturbed. Luna's horn flashed with magic as she pulled back the covers and lifted her student onto the mattress. Star was about to protest once again, but Luna didn't give her the chance. There was a flash of light and Star was asleep before she knew what had happened.

"Alright Star," Luna called down to her student as she descended from the shimmering sky of Star's dream world. "Let us confront these demons that you have hidden away in the far reaches of your mind and expose them to the light once and for all." Star was petrified; because she had never told the princess about her father for fear that Luna wouldn't accept a student who came from such a broken home. It was too late to stop though, the princess was standing on the edge of her nightmare and Star was too exhausted to hold the barrier any longer.

"I'm sorry Princess Luna," Star whispered as the shadows began to seep through the walls of her dream home. They came more quickly than before, gaining shape within minutes and looking even more terrifying than Star had remembered. She felt like running away or trying to wake up, but she knew that Luna wouldn't let her. The confrontation was happening whether she felt ready or not.

"No matter what happens here, Star, just remember that I have faith in you and I know that you can overcome any obstacle if you simply set your mind on it," Luna assured her as the swirling darkness began to solidify into the shape of Star's father. "Who is it that haunts your nightmares?" Star didn't answer, instead she began backing away from the shadows as they gained color and the features were defined.

It didn't matter how hard Star had tried to forget her father, his image was ingrained in her memories. The nightmare replicated every detail of Novussky, from his putrid green coat to the furious expression that he had always worn around their home. Star whimpered and tried hiding behind the princess, but Luna knew that only her student could confront the dark memories that tormented her dreams.

"Is- is that your father?" Luna asked in confusion as she glanced back at her cowering student. "Is he the one who has tormented your mind so?" Tears spilled down the black mares cheeks as she reluctantly nodded her head.

"My father used to abuse my mother endlessly and then he would do the same to my sister and I," Star blurted out through her tears and shaking. The twisted shade of Novussky stepped forward and began to approach the two mares, cackling as he watched Star cower in fear. Writhing shadows pushed their way out of his form in places, reaching for Princess Luna and Star as he drew closer.

The room around them had morphed into a demented reflection of her family's home. The dark shadows drowning out all of the light around them as the nightmare gained power from Star's terror. The screams and cries of Silk Melody and Dieslux echoed through the darkness and Star's mind as the beast approached them with hate in its eyes and the smell of alcohol on its stale breath.

"Star, don't try to run from me you worthless piece of shit!" the creature bellowed as it lashed out at the princess in an attempt to get to her. Luna stood her ground, willing the darkness back, but Star's terror was too great and the beast was too strong. The princess was sent tumbling to the side, leaving Star exposed and screaming. Her fear fed the nightmare, making it even more powerful and eliciting a mad laugh from its green, open maw. "You need to listen to your father!"

One hoof reached out from the dark form of Novussky, stroking Star with its cold wet touch. Suddenly the beast struck Star across the face, dropping her to the ground with a loud crack and sending her tortured mind reeling. Never before had a nightmare actually been able to physically hurt her, but it seemed that the darkness had fed on her fear for far too long and was now more powerful than her. Star scrambled away from it and towards her princess, who was walking towards the darkness with fury in her eyes.

"Star, you must confront this nightmare. It is no more than a bad memory that has festered in the darkness and the more you fear it the stronger it becomes," Luna told her.

"I can't," Star whimpered as the darkness charged towards them.

"You can, Discipula Star. You need only to believe in yourself and know that it lies only in your thoughts and without your fear it holds no power over you." The corrupted form of Novussky raised its foreleg in the air, with its squirming tendrils of shadows jutting out in all directions and swung at Princess Luna with a deafening roar.

"Nooooo!" Star screamed as she jumped in the path of its strike. The green leg struck Star in the side, knocking her back into the princess. Star got to her hooves, eyes blazing with a newfound courage and she charged directly at the creature, screaming, "You will not harm the princess!" The creature reared back on its hind legs, readying itself for another attack, while Star continued unabated. "And you will not hurt me ever again!" The nightmare struck Star, but instead of sending her reeling as it had before, the beast's vile, green arm shattered into pieces, trailing an inky black ichor from the wound as it howled in pain. "Yes, I was afraid of my father, but he is dead now and the power he had over me is long gone, as is the power you held!"

"You worthless bitch!" Novussky screamed in rage as he swung again. His remaining leg also shattered on contact with Star's ethereal body, splattering her with its stagnant lifeblood as it drew back from her. Luna watched with proud admiration as her student finally confronted the memories that had haunted her for years. The princess smiled as she saw the black mare putting the nightmare in its place and she walked up to stand beside her pupil.

"The scars that my father left in my life will always be a part of me, but I will no longer be a slave to the fear they caused," Star spat at the wounded beast.

"You can never be rid of me you little whore!"

"Go to Tartarus you sick bastard." Star followed up her words with a hard kick to the creature exposed stomach, sending it flying back with an enraged death cry as it dissolved into pieces and vanished from existence. The shadows of the room receded with it, leaving the reflection of Star's home at Dodge in its place. She could feel the cold grip of the memory releasing her mind and she sighed with relief, sinking to the floor from exhaustion now that the battle was over.

"You've done very well my little pony," Luna said with a comforting tone as she kneeled down beside her tired student. "I don't believe that the nightmares will bother you any longer." Star smiled up at her teacher with tears shimmering in her violet eyes as she pulled the princess into a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Princess Luna," she replied. The princess held Star for a moment, offering comfort until her trembling had subsided. "I would never have been able to do this without you."

"I'm not so sure that is true, Discipula Star, but you're welcome none the less," Luna told her. "Now, you should get some sleep. You look utterly drained after that ordeal." Star nodded her head as she released the princess from her arms. Sleep sounded like a fantastic idea to her and she was going to enjoy a night of peaceful rest.

"I think you're right," Star yawned. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Of course, Star. Sweet dreams my faithful student," Luna said as Star sprawled out onto the floor and her dream world began to fade away. The princess of the night rose into the air on large, silent wings and ascended from her student's mind as Star drifted off, proud that the young mare had claimed victory over such a powerful memory.

The thick blue curtains that framed the bedroom window hadn't been drawn the night before and what little sunlight that poked between the clouds, had found its way directly to Star's face. Her violet eyes fluttered open, accompanied by a long yawn as she stretched her stiff legs out. Star had no idea how long she had been sleeping, but she felt better than she had in a week. A night without nightmares had done wonders to refresh her and she felt like a new mare as she rolled out of bed with a sigh.

After another good stretch, Star scooped up her saddlebags and cantered out of the bedroom she had been using. She was thankful for the servants who would make the bed and tidy up so that she didn't have to. It was just one of the perks of staying at the castle. The other perk was getting to enjoy the great breakfast that the cooks served every morning and Star headed down the stairs and over to the dining room, nodding politely to a couple other ponies on her way.

The castle was never empty, even while the princesses were away, but it could still feel quite lonely if you spent too long walking through the immense halls with only the sound of your own hooves for company. When Star had first arrived to the castle for her lessons with Princess Luna she had managed to get lost twice in the same day. Years later and she was still apt to take a wrong turn when she wasn't paying attention, but today her only focus was taking a break, so she found the dining hall without any trouble.

Nopony was in the dining room when Star arrived and it looked as if they had finished cleaning up breakfast awhile ago. If she wanted something to eat she was going to have to go out it seemed. Star was about to leave when she caught a glimpse of her reflection on the polished surface of a plaque hanging on the wall. Her hair was a tangled mess of black, blue and purple and her eyes had bags under them.

"There's no way I'm going out like this," Star huffed as she turned around and headed back to the stairs, intent on taking a bath before she journeyed out into the city.

Connected to the large bedroom she was staying in, there was a bathroom with a large tub in which she intended to scrub off and relax. Star shoved open the door to her room and let her saddlebags slide off of her back and fall near the entryway. With just a thought, Star used her magic to turn on the tap and add bath salts to the water in the tub. The aroma of lemon grass wafted out from the steaming room as Star entered.

Star dipped one hoof into the water and then, after a slight adjustment to the temperature, she stepped in up to her shoulders and slid the rest of the distance with a contented sigh. The warm water felt great and the smell of the salts were heavenly, but best of all was the feeling of washing off the ashes and sweat that had collected on her coat during her stay in Ponyville. The white light of her magic glowed dimly through the hazy steam as she turned off the water and closed her eyes, letting her body soak in the warmth and serenity of the bath.

Eventually Star set about scrubbing her mane clean, the sweet smelling soaps took care of the ash and dirt easily enough, but she had to take her time when she began cleaning her hoofs. The task was simple enough with magic and the scrub brush only tickled a little as she bathed. Once she was dirt free and had finished rinsing the soap from her mane and tail, Star floated over a towel and began drying off, as quickly as possible because the castle could be quite drafty. Her hair may have been clean, but it was still a mess and while she was looking for a hairbrush, Star heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Who is it?" she shouted out while still rummaging through the contents of the cupboards. It figured that somepony had to come to her door before she was ready.

"Discipula Star, it is your princess," called Luna's voice from the other side of the thick wooden door. "I just wanted to check on you and see how you are feeling today."

"Please, Princess Luna, come in," Star said as she hastily threw open the door, blushing with embarrassment at making the princess wait. "Sorry about that. I was looking for a brush." Luna smiled in reply as she floated a blue brush from the steamy bathroom out to her student, without having to look. "Thank you," Star replied.

"I see that you slept much better last night. You certainly seem to be cheerier today," Luna said as she made herself comfortable, taking a seat on the small couch near the foot of the bed. Luna's large body made the furniture seem small in comparison, even though it was long enough for Star to sleep on very comfortably. Following her teacher's lead, Star took a seat in one of the chairs while she began to brush out her mane and tail.

"Yes I am, thanks to everything that you've done for me," Star replied.

"I merely gave you a gentle nudge in the right direction, my little pony, nothing more," the princess assured her. The princess was always very modest, but Star knew that without Luna's wisdom and guidance she wouldn't have been able to learn as much about magic as she had and for that Star would be eternally grateful. "You just needed to trust in your abilities. I have taught you so much about magic and you have proven yourself time and again, yet you still seem to doubt your skills. I only hope that next time will be different," she finished.

"I will certainly try, Princess Luna, but I'd like a day off first," Star replied as she finished brushing her mane and began work on her tangled tail. "If you don't mind, that is." Luna matched her grin and they both began laughing.

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Luna told her with a wink. "After the last couple of days you deserve some time to relax."

"Thank you, princess," Star sighed. She hadn't been looking forward to more practice on her magic, even though she loved learning everything she could, it was still nice to indulge in trivial activities.

"And just what is Discipula Star going to do with her newfound freedom today?" Luna asked with a raised brow.

"First," Star replied, "I'm going to get some lunch in town and after that… I suppose I might see if Suture is back at the hospital yet. She has an idea about how we can repair Nature Spark's sight." Star remembered the letter she had written on the way back to Canterlot and used her magic to pick it out of her bags, which were still lying near the front door. "I almost forgot to have you send this letter," Star said as she floated it over to the princess."

"I will send this letter for you, Star, but remember," Luna said, leaning in close, "You have the day off to relax. I don't want you working yourself into the ground, my faithful student." Star flashed the princess an offended look before breaking out in a grin, to which Luna responded with a subtle eye roll.

Feeling clean and rejuvenated, Star walked along the cobblestone streets of Canterlot on her way to a diner known as The Hub. It was the same place she went to eat whenever she found time to enjoy a nice meal away from home or her studies. It wasn't far from the castle, just a short walk down three different streets, but the clouds had brought a winter chill with them and Star still decided it best to bundle up before she had left. Her black boots dulled the sound of her hoofsteps as she traveled and her cloak whipped behind her whenever the wind picked up.

She had only planned her day until lunch and now she was faced with the task of deciding what to do with the rest of her day off, a decision that she contemplated on her way to the diner. On a normal day Star would have asked for Inferno's input, but the little dragon was still away. The black mare hoped her last letter would get a response so that she could stop worrying so much, but there was nothing to do except wait. She hoped that a day of relaxation would take her mind off of the problem.

Rounding the last corner on her way to The Hub, Star was met with the sight of a busy establishment. Thankfully there was no line, so Star walked through the open doors and found a seat near the front, stepping past a group of ponies who were waiting for a larger table to free up so that they could eat together. They looked a few years younger than Star and seemed unhindered, the weight of politics and war forgotten among the passing fancies of adolescence. Star envied them their ignorance.

"I'm Sandra and I'll be your waitress this afternoon," a tall, sand colored mare said as she approached Star's table, before she recognized Star as a regular and her face lit up. "Oh, hey Star."

"Hello Sandra, I think I'll just have an order of hay-fries and some tea," Star replied with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Sandra asked. "We have some great apple pie that just came out of the oven."

Star thought for a moment before replying, "No, just the fries and coffee for now. Thank you." Sandra shrugged her response.

"Okay, just give me a few minutes and I'll bring that right out." Star nodded her head and Sandra left to tell the cook her order. Star watched her leave noticing her sand dollar cutie mark and wondering, not for the first time, what Sandra's talent was. There weren't any beaches in Canterlot, so her cutie mark seemed out of place, but Star knew that it could be considered rude to ask, so she had never found out.

Pony watching was a great way to pass the time and there weren't many places better for that than The Hub. There were always stallions and mares of every race coming and going through the diner, most of them tourists who want a taste of the Canterlot experience, but some were locals who knew a good restaurant when they found one. Star was definitely classified in the latter group, even if she technically didn't live in the city anymore. Canterlot would always feel like a home away from home to her.

Star stared out at all the ponies, moving about their days as if nothing was amiss and she became so lost in thought that it was a few moments after Sandra started talking to her that Star took notice. Star's tea was sitting on the table, steam trailing from the pot that Sandra had brought it in and she poured herself a cup as she apologized to the waitress for having missed what she was saying.

"I'm so sorry about that, Sandra. I guess I was kind of lost in a daze for a minute there. What was it that you were saying?" she asked with an apologetic smile.

"I was just asking about your studies," Sandra replied, the sea blue curls of her mane bouncing as she giggled. "It must be exciting to study under Princess Luna." Star smirked as she thought about her improvised therapy session from that night.

"Yes, I suppose it can be," she replied. She couldn't imagine Sandra facing the types of nightmares that she had, not many ponies could have, but dream walking was only a small part of the collective lessons she had learned under Luna's guidance. Along with the ancient history, magical artifacts and complex spells, Star couldn't imagine doing anything else with her life.

"Well, I put your tea on the table and you fries should be out in just a bit," Sandra said as she spotted a new group sitting down at an empty table. "Just wave me over if you need anything."

"I'll be sure to do that," Star replied absentmindedly as she took a slow sip from her cup of tea. It was hot enough to scorch her tongue, but the sweetness was perfect and Star took a drink despite the burn. Her stomach growled at her, a protest because she hadn't eaten all day, but she knew that her food would be there soon, The Hub was good about quick service, so she ignored the rumblings.

Her patience paid off a little later, when Sandra walked out of the kitchen, a hot tray of fries suspended above her head in the yellow glow of her magic as she navigated around the tables and chairs littering the floor. It looked like she had even brought out a slice of the fresh apple pie, despite Star's refusal for desert.

"Here you are," Sandra said as she gently set the plate of food in front of Star with a perfect balance from years of waitressing. "I know that you said you didn't want any pie, but it's on the house," Sandra winked.

"If you insist," Star replied with a smile. The desert did look appetizing with its perfectly golden-brown crust and whipped topping. Star figured that if there was ever a time for pie, it was while she was taking a day off, so she happily accepted. "Thank you very much, Sandra."

"Of course," Sandra replied, "I have to go wait on some other tables, but you can call me over if you need anything else."

"I think I'll be fine," Star told her before grabbing some hay-fries. Sandra left to take more orders, leaving Star to finally eat her lunch. They hay-fries were cooked to perfection, just the right amount of crunch, and her tea had cooled down to a bearable heat, so Star ate happily while she continued to look out over the restaurant floor. It was a good start to her personal day.

A light snow had begun to fall upon the city by the time that Star arrived back at the castle. The clouds that had been obscuring the sun earlier that day had spread far enough that the entire sky was grey and dark. Good weather or bad though, Star still intended to have a relaxing day off, doing something other than worrying about her friends or her studies. Maybe it was selfish, given the political conflicts and outright attacks on Equestria, but Star had been on the brink of a complete mental breakdown the night before and she needed time to unwind.

The palace was much busier when Star walked in the door. It seemed that the first snow had driven everypony inside and now there were stallions and mares hurrying to and fro as they attended to important matters. Star tried to ignore the commotion as she zipped towards the stairs, doing her best to avoid unwanted attention because it was her day off. She made it up the stairs and around the corner of the hallway without being bothered, her black tail disappearing in the blink of an eye as she trotted to the room she was staying in, with less grace than was considered proper.

The last corner was in sight and Star ducked around it as quickly as she could manage, running muzzle first into Princess Luna's chest and sending both mares toppling to the ground in a tangle of black and blue. Star didn't know what she had hit until her eyes finally focused and she saw the confused, and slightly irritated, face of her mentor just inches away.

"I am so sorry!" Star blurted as she scrambled to untangle her mane from the princess's starry tail. "I was in a hurry and I just wasn't watching where I was going a-"

"Star!" Luna interrupted, breaking the young mare's frenzied apology. "It's alright, but please watch where you are going next time. You could really hurt somepony running through the halls like that." Luna's frown gave way to a warm smile as she used her magic to untangle the two of them and help Star to her hooves.

"You are very right, princess. It will not happen again," Star promised.

"I had something else that I wanted to tell you," Luna said as she plucked a stray feather from her ruffled wing and then smoothed out the remaining plumage.

"Good thing we ran into each other then," Star said before her brain could stop her mouth, "not that it's good that we physically bumped int-"

"I know what you meant, Discipula Star," Luna sighed. "As I was saying, you have a guest and I had her wait in your room. I assumed that would not be a problem. She seems harmless enough, although a bit hyperactive at times."

"Oh, well thank you," Star replied, confused as to who would have come to the castle to visit with her. She didn't exactly have a large assortment of friends. Aside from Inferno, and now Spark and the pegasus brothers, Star couldn't really think of anypony who would have even known she was in the city. Her family might stop by, but Luna would have told her if it was family visiting.

"You can continue with your day off now," the princess told Star as she started walking away. "I have a few meetings later, but I'll let you know as soon as I get a letter back from Inferno." Star nodded and bowed before hurrying to her bedroom and pushing the door open. She was curious to see who would be waiting, but when the door swung back Star was met with an empty bedroom.

"Hello?" Star called out as she closed the door behind her and stepped slowly into the open room. "Is anypony here?"

"Discipula Star!" a high pitched voice shrieked from behind the bathroom door. Suddenly a flash of red and gold came streaking out of the bathroom and colliding into Star like an arrow, striking her with open forelegs that sent Star rolling backwards. "It's so good to see you again. I mean it's been like what, fifteen days and I don't remember how many hours since I saw you last." There were rust red legs gripping Star's torso as a golden ponytail dangled above her head, bouncing quickly, in time with the chattering of Alexia's words. "I was hoping that all of you guys would be here; Inferno, Nature Spark and Backdraft, but Princess Luna told me that you were the only one still here."

"It's good to see you too Axel," Star wheezed from under the larger mares body. It wasn't that Axel was large; in fact she was about average height and maybe a little thinner than she ought to be, but Star had a small frame and it was currently struggling to support the peppy earth pony's weight. "I really can't breath in this position though."

"Oh my Luna, I am so sorry about that," Axel gasped as she jumped off her friend and offered a hoof to help her up. "I guess I just got a little jumpy while I was waiting is all. I hope I didn't hurt you." Star took a few raspy breaths, allowing her burning lungs to get a break before she took Axel's hoof and was yanked to her hooves.

"That's alright Axel, I'm fine now," Star replied. Axel looked just as Star remembered her, hair done up in a messy ponytail and spots of dirt scattered about her coat from hours spent tinkering with mechanical devices. Despite all of that though, Axel managed to exude a cuteness that worked well with her bouncy personality. How she suppressed that personality while working was beyond Star, but the rust colored mare had created a flying chariot, so Star was in no place to question her focus.

"The main reason that I came to Canterlot," the earth pony continued without skipping a beat, "was so that I could give the revised prototype of my flying chariot to an old friend who runs an enchanted gem store downtown. After I finished with that I had some time left to kill, so I thought I'd visit my newest friends and then I talked to the princess and she told me that-"  
"I know Axel," Star cut in. "We just went through that part."

"Oh yeah," Axel replied, following Star over to the couch sitting at the foot of the bed. "So what have you been up to lately?" Star was surprised Axel asked her, the jittery mare seemed more at home talking then listening, but Star decided to try having a conversation despite that.

"I was in Ponyville the last couple of days," Star began.

"Oh, that's a pretty town. I've been there once or twice… or maybe three times. I don't really remember," Axel responded, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the rural town had been burned to the ground no long ago.

"It used to be, but didn't you hear about the fire last week?" Star asked in shock.

Axel paused for a split second to think before replying, "No, I don't think I did. What fire are you talking about?"

"The fire in Ponyville that burned most of the town to the ground and caused quite a few fatalities," Star explained, still in disbelief of her friend's cluelessness. "I was there for a couple days taking care of sick ponies and helping dig graves, Axel. It was horrid." Axel's hazel eyes widened in horrifying recognition as Star's words made the connection in her erratic brain.

"I can't believe that. I was just working so hard on my flying chariots that I must have completely missed the news. I get so lost in my projects," Axel explained. "What happened? How did it start? How many ponies got hurt? Is there anything I can do?" The jittery earth pony fired off questions at Star one after another to the point where the unicorn couldn't decipher the jumble of words. She tried shushing the red mare, but Axel couldn't hear Star over the sound of her own voice, so Star finally had to put a hoof to her flapping lips to stop the barrage.

"Just give me a minute and I'll fill you in on everything that you've missed," Star assured her. "You just have to promise not to interrupt until the end of the story." Axel's ponytail snapped up and down like a whip as the earth pony nodded her head excitedly. Star's relaxing day had taken a sudden, strange turn it seemed, but it was good to have a friend to talk to, even if she had been expecting to visit Doctor Suture instead.

Watching Alexia Lynn Sapphire's constantly changing facial expressions while listening to Star's story had the black mare on the verge of laughter the entire time. Axel seemed to over exaggerate everything she did, but it didn't seem to be on purpose. The enthusiastic earth pony did manage to wait until the end of Star's tale to ask questions though, which was a pleasant surprise for the unicorn.

"And that's basically everything," Star finished. "I have no idea what happened to any of my friends, Equestria is on the brink of all out war with the Crystal Empire and I had a bit of a mental breakdown after helping out in Ponyville." Star had told Axel about the nightmares she had been having, but not the full picture of what actually caused them. As nice as the red mare seemed, Star didn't know her well enough to want to confide in her about something so personal.

Axel's hoof shot up enthusiastically, as if she were asking a question in school, when she questioned, "How long do you have to wait before you go and look for them?" Star stared at Axel for a moment, shocked that she hadn't thought of that idea herself. She had to stay behind when all of her friends left, because there was an issue about the amount of weight in the cart and she had still been hurt after their crash landing at the gates of the city a few weeks ago.

"Uh, I guess I never really considered that as an option," Star replied. It would be nice to see Inferno again, but she didn't even have any idea where they were. The hippogriffs hadn't exactly made the location of their hideout public knowledge. "I wouldn't even know where to begin though."

"Well that's too bad. I would have liked to see everypony again, but I guess I'll just have to make the most of seeing you, Star. I know it's already getting dark, but we can go find something fun to do," Axel explained in her usual fervor of words and gestures. "We can go get something to eat, catch a late concert or even find a nice pegasus to pull us around in my new sky chariot for awhile." The grin on Axel's face was finally too much and Star couldn't hold back her laughter anymore.

"You are a riot, Axel," Star replied. "I didn't catch half of what you just said, but I did hear the words sky chariot, so I'm going to say we should do that." Axel nodded her head, eager to show Star her finished flying chariot.

"Alright, but first we're going to need to persuade somepony to pull us," Axel responded as she bounced off of the couch and headed for the door. Star chuckled as she got to her hooves and followed after the hyper mare. It didn't take long for the two of them to bump into one of the pegasus that guarded the castle. He looked bored and Axel saw her opportunity to get somepony to fly them around the city.

Axel may have acted a bit immature most of the time, but her whole demeanor changed when she began talking the white pegasus into pulling them in her chariot. She didn't say it was for the sake of perfecting a new invention, like she had with Draft, but she did flash seductive smiles and adopt a more intimate tone to her quick paced words. Axel was a few years older than Star, but had a much better handle on the concept of flirting, which she had never expected.

The guard caved in to Axel's request quickly and they were up in the sky before the sun had set. The new chariot wasn't much larger than the last one Axel had made, but judging from the steady ease with which the pegasus pulled it, the new cart was much lighter and more agile. The familiar rush of being in the sky hit Star as soon as they lifted off of the ground and they began to soar over the city of Canterlot, the lamps along the main roads just being lit because Celestia would be lowering the sun soon.

It was cold in the chariot even though Star and Axel had bundled up. The clouds were large and dark, on the precipice of starting a snowstorm, but nothing for ponies in Canterlot to worry about. Star knew first hand that the weather would be changed with magic long before it had the chance to cause any significant problems. A light snow was all that ever fell in the capitol.

"I'm really pleased with the new design," Axel said as she pulled the ribbon out of her mane, allowing her long golden hair to stream behind her in the cool breeze. "I was worried that if I made it this lightweight I would have problems with the main structure of the vehicle, like when it lands or takes off, but with more powerful gems running it, this cart is much better." Star was trying to focus on what her friend was saying, but feeling the wind rushing past her face and seeing the sun sinking below them, the last golden rays shining along the storm clouds, was an intense feeling and she got caught up in the moment.

"I still can't believe you made flying chariots," Star giggled.

"I could never have done it without my father's hard work," Axel assured her. The thought of Novussky passed through Star's mind, but she ignored it, not because she was afraid, but because she was in a good mood and didn't want the thought of her father to ruin it. Flying over the city was a better way to unwind than Star would have ever thought of. She liked spending time with Axel because the older mare knew how to enjoy life, something that Star hadn't been doing enough of the past couple of weeks.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Star asked, a new idea beginning to form in her head. "Will you still be in town?"

"I was going to head home tonight actually," Axel replied with a frown.

"You can't do that," Star blurted in a shocked voice. The thought of Axel traveling the entire way beck to her house at night was an unpleasant one for Star. She knew that Princess Luna was keeping the nighttime safe, but the thought of what happened in Ponyville sent a shiver down her spine. "I mean, it would be rude of me not to offer you a room in the castle after you traveled all this way to visit." It was only a day of travel to get to Axel's home in the flying chariot, but Star ignored that fact.

"I would like to stay in the castle because it's, well, it's the castle. I can only imagine how comfortable the beds are and don't get me started about the food." Axels bit her lip absentmindedly as she mulled over her choices.

"It is quite nice," Star assure the red mare. "Besides, I was hoping that I could ask you for a favor." Axel looked up with a questioning glance, still biting her lower lip as she cocked her head. "I was hoping that you would accompany me to Manehatten."

"Manehatten?" Axel asked. "I haven't actually ever been there before, but I like new experiences. A new experience is the best way to get a new idea and a new idea is the best way to come up with a new invention."

"So that's a yes?" Star asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Absolutely," Axel replied with a grin.

"Great, it will be a much better trip if we fly and then I also won't have to be alone," Star sighed. A guard was usually always accompanying her on long trips, but most of them weren't very chatty and it could be very boring. Axel would certainly change the level of energy during her short stay in Manehatten and they would be able to get there in just three days, instead of nearly a week as it usually took.

Star sat back with a contented smile and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of wind sweeping though her hair and listening to Axel's excited ramblings. It might not have been quite what she had in mind for a day off, but Star was happier than she had been for awhile. She had another friend to spend time with and a faster method of getting to Manehatten so that she could take care of the business she set out to finish when she left Dodge with Nature Spark and his friends.

They finished with their ride just as Luna began raising the moon and Star was yawning. Axel seemed to be moving a little more slowly as well, fatigue from working long hours Star figured. They both headed to Star's room, still talking and laughing on their way up the stairs, until Star noticed a small letter pinned to her door. She snatched it up quickly and began reading the small, slightly messy script. Axel peeked over her shoulder, trying to see what was so interesting.

"Is it from Inferno and Spark?" Axel asked with an eager tone.

"Yes," Star replied with a smile as she opened the bedroom door and Axel followed her inside. It had seemed like forever since she had heard from her little dragon, but now she had a letter and she could find out how they were doing before bed.


	38. With Love, Inferno

~Chapter 35: With Love, Inferno~

_Dear Mother Star Mom,_

_ I am so sorry that I have not written you back before now. I am sure that you must be worried sick about us, so I'm sending this quick letter to let you know we are safe in the hippogriff tribe at the moment. There are many things that I need to tell you, but the sun is setting and I do not have much light left at the moment. I will send you a letter detailing the full story of Spark's near death scare as well as the events leading up to our current dealings with the hippogriff tribe. Please do not worry about us. Try not to worry about us too much. I miss you mom and my next letter will be sent off at first light. I love you._

_ Your daughter,_

_ Inferno_

Star read the short letter for the fourth time that morning, tears of joy spilling from her eyes to land on the worn page with a splash of longing. The small script of Inferno's writing stared back at her teary eyed face as she sat in bed next to a sleeping Axel, whose body was just as restless while sleeping as it was while awake. Star had slept well enough, despite the red mare's tossing and turning, thanks in part to the letter she had received. The weight of her worry was not yet gone, but it had certainly receded after Inferno's assurance that her friends were doing well.

The letter had said that Inferno would be sending off another one soon, so Star was waiting patiently to hear more of the young dragon's story. The last time Star had heard from her scaled daughter was when she got the letter detailing Spark's leap from the flying chariot and his subsequent fall into the clouds. Apparently the only thing that kept him from falling to a gruesome death on the surface was the cloud walking spell he had cast on himself and Inferno mere minutes before jumping. The clouds had been enough to catch Spark, but he had been in critical condition when they found him.

The trip to Manehatten that Star had planned was going to have to wait until she got Inferno's next letter, so the early start she was hoping for was going to be pushed back. It didn't bother the unicorn any, because they would still make great time in Axel's new chariot, but Star was very eager to complete her business and get back to Canterlot in case her daughter planned on returning soon. She would know from the next letter if that was the case or not. A slight stirring from Axel's side of the bed alerted Star to her friend's awakening as she folded up the letter and placed it on the nightstand beside her bed.

"Mmm, good morning," Axel mumbled as she opened her eyes to see Star already awake and just crawling out of the comforting warmth of the blankets.

"Good morning Axel. Did you sleep well?" Star asked as she stretched her body out with a yawn. Sitting up in bed had left her back sore, but a good stretch was enough to fix the minor discomfort.

"Yes I did," Axel replied with a bright eyed smile. "How about you?" The earth pony looked wide awake within seconds of opening her hazel eyes and Star had no idea how she managed to be energetic every second of the day.

"I slept pretty well, but you move around in your sleep," Star told her with a playful shove. "I don't know how many times I had to fight you for the blankets."

"Yeah, I've been told that I'm a restless sleeper, but at least I don't snore," Axel giggled. After popping her neck, which made Star cringe, Axel hopped out of bed and took a deep breath, smiling all the while. "Are we still going to Manehatten?" Her golden blonde mane was sticking out madly in every direction.

"Mhmm, I'm just waiting on Inferno's next letter, which should be here anytime, and then I'll be ready to leave," Star replied.

"Alrighty, well, I'm going to take a quick bath, if I have enough time," Axel said, with a questioning glance to Star, who nodded her head.

"Do you want me to bring some breakfast up to the room for you?" Star asked the earth pony as she vanished into the bathroom.

"Yeah, that would be great," Axel called out as she turned on the faucet. "Thanks a bunch." Star just nodded her head and let out another yawn before walking over to the nightstand. She grabbed the small letter and dropped it in her saddlebags, which were on the floor beside her bed, before turning to leave.

"I'll be back in a bit," Star called to her friend, but Axel didn't seem to hear her over the sound of running water, so Star opened the bedroom door and left Axel to get ready for their trip.

The castle halls were already bustling with activity, even though it was fairly early in the morning, the sound of hoofsteps echoed off of the marble walls down every turn. Besides the usual breakfast preparations being tended to, there were also dignitaries from every major city in Equestria staying in Canterlot to meet with the princesses, many of them residing in the castle for the duration of their visit. Star did her best not to impose on the servants as she descended the spiraling stairs into the main hall and made her way to the dining area, where the smell of freshly baked bread and other mouth watering foods was drifting through the air.

Yesterday Star had missed out on eating the breakfast that was served in the dining hall, not a surprise considering how exhausted she had been, but today she had been awake just before Celestia had begun to raise the sun and had plenty of time to eat. She eyed the steaming plates of food as she levitated a tray from the table and began floating a variety of dishes onto it. Star had no idea what kinds of food Axel liked, but she figured grabbing a little portion of everything would work well enough, so she quickly filled her tray and stepped out of the way of a mare who was carrying a large pitcher of fresh orange juice.

"Oh, allow me to help you with that," Star offered as she lifted the pitcher from its precarious balancing point on the mares head and set it on the table, all while keeping her tray of food aloft.

"Thank you so much," the servant replied in a cheery voice. "There's been so much to do these past few days, what with all the mayors and royalty that have been gathering to discuss the conflicts with the Crystal Empire."

"I know what you mean," Star replied. "I'll just try to keep out of the way." Star shot the earth pony a friendly smile before leaving, which the servant quickly returned before hurrying off to finish serving breakfast.

On a normal day Star would have eaten at the large table, along with everypony else in the castle. Princess Luna usually wanted Star right by her side during gathering, but this time was different. The normal atmosphere would be gone, replaced by debating and tension as every pony who held even a small amount of political sway tried to force their opinions on the others. Star wanted no part of that coming fiasco, so the sooner she could get back to her room, the happier she would be.

The stairs were in sight, only one small obstacle between Star and her bedroom, but the sound of a birds cry made her turn around. Philomena, Princess Celestia's pet phoenix, flew into the main hall, flame colored plumage bright and flashy against the muted colors of the marble castle. Following just a few steps behind the immortal bird was its equally immortal master. Star bowed low, keeping her focus on the slowly cooling food suspended above her head.

"Good morning Discipula Star," Princess Celestia called to her.

"Good morning Princess Celestia," Star replied as she stood up from her bow and started to walk up the stairs once again.

"Star, before you leave," Celestia said before the hungry unicorn could top the steps, "I believe my sister wished to speak with you about a letter. I assume that it is from Inferno and Nature Spark, although I can't be certain."

"Oh, thank you for telling me, princess," Star replied as a smile crept across her face. Inferno had written back already and Star couldn't wait to find out what the letter contained. Her heart beat sped up as giddiness began to overtake her.

"Of course, now if you will excuse me," the princess spoke in a voice that was losing its carefree tone, "I have a long day of listening to ponies argue ahead of me."

"Of course," Star replied with another bow as Celestia walked through the doors of the dining hall, followed shortly after by her phoenix. Star did not envy the princess her job ruling over the country. Politics had never been her favorite subject and, as well adjusted to formal living as she was, Star still would much rather not have to act like a stuck up priss day after day. At that moment Star's eye caught the first politician walking down the hall, with many more soon to come, so she hurried up the last few steps and disappeared down the hallway carrying her tray of food in front of her.

Breakfast was going to have to be rushed, Star decided as she nudged the bedroom door open with her owl-marked flank, because she needed to read Inferno's next letter as soon as equinely possible. Axel was just walking out of the bathroom, golden blonde mane wrapped up in a towel, when Star walked into the room and levitated the plate over to the small coffee table lying a few feet in front of the couch. Axel smiled widely as she took a seat, taking in the sight of delicious breakfast foods.

"Oh my, this all looks so amazing. I love good food, but since I live alone I never bother to cook anything, well, except when I have visitors, but that doesn't happen as often as I'd like," Axel rambled as she started throwing various vegetables in between two slices of freshly baked bread. "I've been told that I'm a pretty good cook and I could make myself dinner every night, but then some of it always goes to waste and besides, I get so lost in my tinkering that I usually forget to eat anyway." Star just nodded along as she prepared her own plate of food.

"I can understand that," Star replied as she leaned back into the plush, purple couch. "I always, well, almost always have Inferno with me, so I never have to eat alone. I can see why it would be such a chore to cook for one pony though."

Axel nodded her head vigorously as she mumbled, "Mhmm," through a mouthful of her breakfast sandwich. With her mouth full of food, Axel wasn't able to chatter on like she usually did and the two mares ate their food in relative silence. Star was trying to finish her meal quickly so that she could find Princess Luna and Axel was too engrossed with her enjoyment of the fancy cuisine to do much more than hum her contentment. Halfway through the meal, Axel pulled off the towel, freeing her long mane and tossing it behind her with a quick flick of her head. Star couldn't help but notice how much prettier Axel looked when she let her mane out of the ponytail.

"You should wear you mane like that more often," Star mumbled over a bite of an apple. "I think it looks much better down." Axel rolled her eyes with a giggle, which nearly turned into a choking fit as she tried to swallow her food simultaneously.

"I would, but it's always getting in the way when I work," she explained.

"Oh, so why don't you cut it short then?" Star asked, perplexed by her friends choice. "Wouldn't that make everything easier?"

"Yeah, but then it wouldn't be long," Axel replied. Star just stared at the red mare in confusion until she took the hint and elaborated. "I like to be able to wear it down when the occasion calls for it, like if I go on a date or something. Granted, that doesn't happen often, but when it does, I like to look my best and as you said, it looks better down," Axel explained with a look that made Star feel like she was the one who wasn't making sense.

"I guess that is a good point," Star mumbled as Axel got back to eating her breakfast. "Uh, I'm done eating, so I am going to speak with Princess Luna about our plans and then I'll be right back. Are you fine with staying here?" Axel tried to open her mouth and then realized it was stuffed, so she settled for a simple nod of approval instead. "Okay, I'll be back in a few then," Star told her as she slipped back out the door.

The meeting was taking so long that Star had just about given up on waiting for Princess Luna to leave the throne room. She would have gone in herself, but it wouldn't have done much good. She still would have had to wait for everypony to adjourn before she could speak with the princess and interrupting the meeting by opening the doors didn't sound like a very good idea anyway. Star sighed as she slumped down in the ugly wood chair she was sitting in, contemplating whether or not she should return to her room and check on Axel. The bubbly, red mare was probably going crazy left to her own devices in the castle, but Star didn't want to miss her chance to speak with the princess, so she decided to stay put for awhile longer.

Knowing that Inferno had already sent her next letter had Star practically shaking with anticipation, not only because she now knew that her friends were safe, but also because there was a good chance that an agreement had been made between Spark and the hippogriffs. Strata had seemed confident that her tribe would side with Equestria, they had every reason to, but until she knew for sure, Star was going to worry. It was just in her nature to dwell on things of that sort.

The sound of the large, double doors of the throne room opening stirred Star from her thoughts and she glanced in their direction just as the first pony walked out. He was an earth pony, mayor of one of the smaller towns judging by his appearance, and soon enough the other politicians were following him out. Star jumped out of her seat and made her way around the group of ponies, nodding politely anytime she made eye contact. The throne room was mostly empty by the time she found her way in.

Princess Luna was sitting at her throne in full regal beauty, conversing quietly with her elder sister about the meeting that they had just sat through. Neither of the alicorns looked particularly pleased as they spoke to each other, but Luna seemed especially irritated and Star began to rethink interrupting her mentor. She had waited long enough for Inferno's letter though, so she took a deep breath and cleared her throat in an attempt to politely inform the sisters of her presence.

"Yes, I can see you there Star. Just give us a moment and I'll get you the letter," Luna replied in a slightly abrasive tone.

"Sorry your majesty," Star apologized as she sat in one of the many empty chairs gathered in a semicircle around the raised platform that the thrones resided on. It was a very rare occasion that Luna ever said a harsh word to Star, but something seemed to be riling the princess up and Star couldn't deny that her curiosity was peaked. Politics weren't her passion by any means, but occasionally Luna would talk with her about various policies and decisions while Star was practicing her magic. It seemed like Luna's only way to blow off steam without disrupting the expected civility of Canterlot.

"You forget sister, that we both rule Equestria together and I will have this decision put to a vote," Luna said in a voice only slightly below a yell. It startled Star enough with its sudden volume that she nearly fell out of her chair and onto the polished marble floor.

"Luna, please be reasonable," Celestia begged.

"I am being reasonable Celestia. Why should there be a curfew? Why should ponies be afraid of the night that I bring them? It is no more dangerous than your days and I will have the decision put to a vote. We will let the citizens of Equestria decide for themselves," Luna lectured her older sister, just barely containing the anger that boiled behind her words. "That seems more than reasonable to me."

Celestia closed her eyes, as if trying to get through to her younger sister was physically draining, replying, "I know how you must feel dear sister, but I am only doing this for the safety of our ponies. It will only be in effect until the time comes when we have resolved our problems with the Crystal Empire and these griffon mercenaries." Luna didn't appear to be listening to her elder sibling's attempts at reasoning and she stood up from her throne without another word to Celestia and started walking away at a brisk pace. Star stared at the scene as it unfolded, knowing that it was rude and most likely not in her best interest, but unable to look away.

"Follow me, Discipula Star," Luna bid her as she passed. Star got up, still stunned by what had happened, and followed her mentor back out of the throne room, wincing as the thick wooden doors slammed shut and sent an echo reverberating through the open halls. A few servants were cleaning the castle, but they quickly scurried away as the princess passed them, as if sensing that she was in a bad mood.

Princess Luna walked quickly, trying to burn up the excess adrenaline that arguing with Celestia had caused. Star did her best to keep up, but her legs were only half the size of her teachers and she was forced to take two quick steps for each one of Luna's long strides. It was the first time that Star had heard a cross word pass between the two rulers, although she imagined that in their immortal life they had fought before, it was simple nature for siblings not to get along some of the time. Still, seeing the two alicorns having such a disagreement was unsettling for the young mare and she wondered how bad Equestria's position truly was for them to be at odds with one another.

"Princess Luna, is everything alright?" Star asked, hoping that her mentor had calmed down enough not to bark at her. "What happened back there?" Luna continued walking in silence for a little longer before suddenly stopping in her tracks, causing Star to nearly rear end her from the effort of trying to keep up.

"My sister thinks it wise to impose a curfew on all of Equestria, so that no children leave their homes after sunset and nopony leaves town after dark," Luna told her. Her blue eyes were watering with tears of frustration as she vented to her pupil.

"I'm sure that she is only doing what she believes best," Star replied. Luna didn't appear to be very pleased with Star's statement and her dark blue muzzle contorted with anger. Star thought she was about to get a verbal lashing, but instead Luna closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath. When she opened her eyes again the momentary rage that Star had picked up on was gone, replaced by a calm, but slightly distant expression.

"What my sister seems to forget, my little pony, is that we both have a say in the fate of Equestria and I am perfectly capable of watching over my ponies during the night," Luna explained as she resumed walking down the wide halls. "It is not the night that is unsafe my dear pupil, only those who would try to hide their misdeeds with it."

Star wasn't sure how to reply to Luna's statement. Both of the Princesses seemed to have equally good reasons for their opinions. It seemed like a wise choice for them to place the decision in the hoofs of the politicians from each city, but the thought of anypony besides the immortal alicorn princesses making the choice seemed wrong. Celestia and Luna had ruled over Equestria for thousands of years and even in the face of Discord they had remained united, so Star couldn't figure out why they would be bickering over something as small as a curfew at such an important time. There must have been more to it than that, but Star wasn't sure if she would be overstepping her boundaries to imply such a thing.

"I hope that you two are able to reach a compromise that everypony is comfortable with," Star said, for lack of a better response.

"As do I, my faithful student, as do I," Luna agreed, "but for now you have something else that requires your attention. It is for my sister and I to work out our differences, not you. I sincerely hope that you do not dwell on this trivial matter when you have other worries on your mind."

"Of course, princess," Star replied as she followed her teacher around the last corner to her royal bedchamber. She would certainly try not to worry, but it was simply in her nature to do so.

Princess Luna led Star into her room and levitated the letter from its place on her large desk into Star's waiting grasp. Star immediately began reading the letter in the middle of Luna's dimly lit room, ignoring the fact that very little light made its way through the thick black curtains that covered the princess's bedroom windows.

"I am very sorry Star, but I have to prepare to resume the meeting, so I will ask you to take the letter to your own room to read it," Luna told her. Star nodded her head, understanding that it was imperative for her teacher to be clear headed and calm for the proceedings and she bowed once before leaving Luna's bedchambers and trotting down the hall to her own room, nose buried in Inferno's letter the entire walk.

_Dear Mom,_

_ I trust that my first letter made it to you without any troubles. Now that I have more time, I think that I should tell the story of our travels since Spark's fall from the sky. There are some less important details that I will skim over, but it is still a long tale as you can most likely tell. _Every second that my life was in dange _I think about you often._

_ Spark was in critical condition by the time that we found him lying still, on top of a cloud, and Strata and I had feared the worst. He had saved our lives by doing what he had done, but he nearly paid the price in his own blood, of which there was plenty spilled upon the plush landing. We immediately got him into the chariot and found him still breathing, although most of our belongings were lost during the frantic descent to recover him. I did the best job of tending his wounds that I could manage given what few supplies remained._

_ He had ingested some sort of _drug_ powder that he had brought with him mere moments before his blind leap off of the side of our chariot and I believe that is the only reason his heart was still beating when we found him, but what damage it did on his body I cannot say for certain. What I do know is that he had a series of broken bones and deep lacerations over parts of his body, which I wrapped in cloth and bandages. It was enough to keep him from bleeding out. One of his lungs had also collapsed, but I managed to inflate it again with a bit of ingenuity. We arrived at the hippogriff's settlement just a couple days later._

Star had to pause for a moment after reading the paragraph to dry her eyes. Once again one of Inferno's letters had caused tears of joy. Star was proud of her little dragon, who it seemed had been able to singlehandedly keep Spark alive. A smile brightened Star's teary face as she continued reading.

_ At the settlement Strata got him proper medical attention and the doctor, for lack of a better word, was able to heal most of his more serious injuries and stave off the growing infection that had developed. Spark remained unconscious for a few days and we dreaded that it might have been too late, but we could do nothing more for him and there were still other matters to attend to. I was unwilling to leave Spark's side for the first day and a half, but eventually Strata was able to convince me that negotiating an alliance between Equestria and the hippogriffs was a more pressing concern._

_ The hippogriffs _were frightening at first _received me well enough and I know that I have Strata to thank for that. They seemed deeply troubled by Spark's condition and I believe it has something to do with his father, although you will have to ask Spark himself for the full story on that matter. We spoke about forming an alliance a couple of times, but with only my words to go on, they were apprehensive. It wasn't until I received my first letter back from the princess, bearing the royal seal of Equestria, that they took my words to heart._

Star had to reread that last sentence, because she thought it said Luna had sent off a letter, but she had never been informed of that fact. Inferno was her daughter and the princess had seen fit to keep Star uninformed of her correspondence. Star had been worried sick about the little dragon and Luna could have eased her mind days ago. She gritted her teeth and tried her best to remain calm while she finished the letter. Princess Luna obviously must have had a good reason, Star thought, although she had no idea what it might be.

_ We were already nearing an agreement when Nature Spark awoke and his added influence was enough to expedite the entire process. That is why I was able to send a letter to the princess, detailing the full terms that the hippogriffs laid fourth for their alliance. It seems to be a beneficial plan for both parties, but I am not well versed in politics and the like, so I can't say for certain. What I do know is that Strata seemed to be happy with the outcome._

_ As for Spark, he was _very wounded_ a bit tender when he regained consciousness, but nothing seems to have been irreparably damaged, although his blindness was still a burden on him. You'll be happy to know that he is coping quite well and seems to have accepted what happened. I worried about his mental state for awhile, but he has found a way to navigate well enough and has even been practicing his ability to cast spells without sight. He told me that he had found a way to use his magic to sense the world around him, but it didn't make much sense to me. I suppose I will just have to leave the magic to you, mother. Perhaps you can explain it in a way that makes sense._

A chuckle escaped Star's lips as she remembered how difficult explaining magical spells to Inferno was. The young dragon was content just knowing what a spell did, not why or how. Not that anypony besides unicorns could ever really grasp the full nature of unicorn magic anyway, but Star had tried to teach Inferno as much as she could.

Inferno's brief description of Spark's abilities surprised and intrigued the black mare though. If he had learned a way to sense the world with magic it could be quite a discovery and it would offer her a rare opportunity to study something completely unheard of in the books she had read. Star made a mental note to find out exactly what Spark was capable of and filed it in her head behind getting to Manehatten, but before poking her nose into Luna's business.

_ There are still details that must be decided upon and preparations to be made, but with any luck we should be on our way to the Crystal Empire to meet with Downpour and Backdraft within a few days. We were all heartbroken when we read your letter about the fire in Ponyville. I wanted to write back, but it was not a good time. I hope you forgive me for making you wait so long to hear back from us. It wasn't my intention to delay so long, but events unfolded at a quick pace for us and I can only hope that you understand._

"Oh, Inferno, of course I understand," Spark mumbled under her breath as she read the letter. "That doesn't mean that I have to like it though."

_ Have you gotten any word from the pegasus brothers and what more has come out of Ponyville? I know you said that you were there helping the survivors and I read what you said about Chestnut. I wanted to tell Spark about his death, truly I did, but I do not believe that I have it in me to do so or that he is stable enough to handle the news at this moment. I hate to ask, but is there any way that you could deliver the news to him when we get back to Canterlot? _I don't wan _I cannot do it._

_ I love you _Star_ mom and I miss you more than anything. I know that it has been less than two weeks since we last saw each other, but it seems to me like a lifetime and another world. I know you worry about things, me especially, but I am doing fine and with Spark and Strata I feel safe. I hope that you are doing just as well. Please write me back as soon as you can, your letters are the only thing keeping me from breaking down._

_ Love always,_

_ Inferno_

_P.S. Spark wanted me to remind you that what happened to his vision was not your fault and he in no way blames you for his typhlosis. I am almost positive that means blindness._

Star sniffed back her tears as she set the letter on the nightstand and rolled over on her cushioned bed, drying her eyes as she met Axel's gaze. The normally hyperactive mare had sensed her emotional state while reading the letter and had chosen to keep herself quite until Star finished, but now she sprang up on the mattress with a flurry of questions already spurting from her chattering lips. Star had expected the interrogation, but it was hard to answer any questions when she couldn't tell where one ended and another began, so she had so shush Axel, who's hazel eyes widened in surprise.

"Now, one question at a time please," Star said, attempting to veil her mild annoyance with the earth pony. "What did you want to know?" Axel paused in thought, mouth still hanging open as she considered Star's question. Star watched as Axel's teeth slowly bit down on her lip as she continued to think.

"Oh, I know!" Axel burst out, breaking the silence so suddenly that Star actually had to keep herself from screaming with surprise. "How is the prototype chariot holding up?" Axel asked with a look of gleeful anticipation. Unfortunately for the rust red mare, Inferno's letter hadn't mentioned the state of their vehicle in detail, so Star was at a loss.

"Um, honestly, I have no idea," Star sheepishly replied, "but I can say that everypony is alive and well and they will be coming home in no time at all." Star may have been stretching the truth a bit, but it seemed like the best response to her friend's unconventional question. "I also know that the cart is in one piece." It wasn't much, but she hoped it would suffice for an answer.

"That is great," Axel replied. "I'm so glad that it's actually working out for them. I had a few worries, but apparently they were unwarranted." Star didn't get the chance to ask her to elaborate before Axel hopped off of the couch, beckoning Star to follow her. "We should probably get a move on. Don't you think?"

"I suppose you're right," Star told her, enjoying the softness of her bed for one last time before reluctantly forcing her body up.

"Of course I'm right," Axel said with a grin, "Manehatten waits for no mare." Star quietly groaned as she stood up and floated her saddlebags from their spot on the cold floor to her back. She had been packed since she arrived in Canterlot, but she still took one last, longing gaze at her luxurious room before following the bouncing mare out into the hallway.

Axel inspected the sky chariot, checking over every possible point of weakness, before deeming it ready for extended air travel while Star spoke with Princess Luna, who had come to see them off. The princess was clearly still distressed about the current decisions being made in the government, bit it wasn't Star's place to question her teacher, as much as she wanted to. Luna acted cordially, although less personal in her farewell than Star was accustomed to, but it seemed insignificant given the circumstances.

"If Inferno writes me again," Star said as she tossed her bags into the chariot.

"I will forward it to Manehatten, unless of course you are planning on leaving before it would arrive," Luna replied with a smile. "Do not worry so much Discipula Star. Your friends are doing well and I have commanded two guards to pull your chariot, so you and Alexia will be protected." Star nodded her head, understanding that she tended to obsess over details once in a while, but only the most important ones.

"Before we leave, I just have to know one thing," Star said in a voice just above a whisper, so that Axel wouldn't overhear. "Inferno said that you had been sending letters back and forth, so why is it that you never told me?" Star had been expecting Luna to have a simple explanation ready, but the princess seemed just as surprised as Star had been, until realization hit her and she smiled down at her student.

"Did Inferno tell you that she had been exchanging letters with me?" Luna asked her, "or did she mean she had been exchanging them with my sister?" Star facehoofed at her stupidity. She didn't usually jump to conclusions as she just had, but when it came to her daughter, Star's reason was clouded by emotion. She glanced up at her mentor and gave an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, princess, I should have known that you would never keep something like that secret from me," Star mumbled in shame.

"Listen, my faithful student, you have nothing to apologize for. I know that you were only worried about Inferno and hurt at the thought of me keeping secrets from you," Luna replied. "I will have a talk with my sister, because I would like to know why she forgot to inform me of the letters as well." Luna's brow furrowed as she spoke and Star noticed her teacher's face clouding over with distaste. "She had been most irritating as of late and I believe that it is time we spoke privately about the current situation."

Star did not envy anypony who would be staying in the castle during that conversation. The royal Canterlot voice was bad enough under normal circumstances, but if there were two heated princesses arguing than the noise would be terrible. Axel wandered over to Star, seemingly satisfied with the condition of her creation, just as Star and Luna were saying their last farewells.

"I will return as soon as my business permits," Star told the princess as she crawled into the small chariot. Her normal means of transportation was much more accommodating, but in exchange for speedy arrival, the sky chariot seemed well worth the minor discomfort that Star would go through. "Just be sure to view the coming discussions in a logical light while I am away," she added as Axel took a seat beside her.

"I will do my best, Discipula Star," Luna replied. "I must say that though, that I wonder these days which of us is the student and which is the teacher." Luna's smile broke Star's earlier concern and they exchanged waves of departure one last time before the guards began to pull the chariot into the cloudy skies.

Luna walked away as they rose, returning to her unwanted position in the ongoing meeting, while Star stared after her, whispering a quiet farewell to her mentor. Beside her, Axel was practically bouncing on the bench with excess energy as the cart rose above the thick cloud cover and into the waning light of Celestia's sun. The golden blonde mare seemed to be in an even better mood as they soared over the verdant valleys that lay below the capitol and Star noticed Brass Heart taking a look back at them when he heard Axel's enthusiastic giggling.

"Is there anything that you are looking forward to while we're in Manehatten?" Star asked, hoping to inspire some sort of conversation that would help pass the considerable length of time during their trip. "I know that they do not really have a well respected blacksmith, but I'm sure that there are plenty of other shops that carry objects of value to a mare in your profession."

Axel chuckled as she replied, "I guess that's true, but you sound like an old mare." Star's face took on a hurt expression as her friend continued in the unimpeded response. "It isn't like we need to plan out every aspect of our trip to Manehatten. I mean, where is the fun in knowing every second of every day is planned out?" Star tried to feign her agreement, but Axel's words made no sense to the young unicorn. She had always viewed a well planned schedule as something to be highly valued and the thought of running purely on instinct was foreign to her.

"Umm, I guess you have a good point," Star admitted as she considered her friend's words. "I figured that you would just follow me to the museum and we would be done after that, but now that I think about it, doing so little during a trip to Manehatten seems like a waste of time and energy."

"That's exactly what I was trying to tell you," Axel replied with a smile as she poked through her own saddlebags, looking for something to snack on. "We have the fastest ride in the world and I think we can manage to take a few days to relax before heading home." Star's strict moral discipline made her yearn to disagree, but Axel's logic was flawless and even made the black mare reconsider her own, boring plans for the city. "I'm sure that two fine mares like us can find something fun to do."

"Hmm, Okay," Star agreed, "but what did you have in mind?" Axel's smile seemed more mischievous than Star liked, but she simply laughed it off.

"I haven't the slightest idea right now, but when I see something I will let you know," Axel giggled.

"Sounds like a plan… or lack of one anyway," Star said as she leaned back on the cushioned bench seat of the chariot, glancing ahead, where she could see Brass Heart flying around in the distance as the other guard pulled them along.

"Mhmm, but I have one more question." Star snickered because she had expected Axel to ask more questions, she was a very curious earth pony. "Are these two going to be following us around the entire time?" she asked, gesturing in the general direction of their escorts.

"Sort of," Star replied truthfully, "they will be around, but I doubt that you'll even notice them, unless something happens that they have to deal with." Princess Luna sent guards with Star on most of her travels, so their presence went mostly ignored by her, but Axel wasn't used to having somepony keeping an eye on her and seemed a bit uncomfortable with the idea. "I promise, once we land you probably won't even see them again until we're ready to leave."

"If you say so," Axel replied, still eyeing the back of the white stallion pulling their cart with suspicion. Star just rolled her eyes and sighed. It was still going to take at least three days to get to Manehatten, but traveling with Axel was sure to make the trip more exciting. When they finally arrived Star would attend to her little bit of business and then she'd follow Axel into whatever adventure caught the red mare's fancy. "Manehatten, here we come!" Axel yelled out the side of the chariot, startling Star, who immediately began giggling at her friend's antics.

"Woohoo!" Star screamed, joining Axel in her shouts of glee before a cool breeze made her shiver. The late afternoon sun was enough to keep them warm as they soared above the colorful landscape that surrounded Canterlot, but Star pulled a thick blanket from her bags anyway, wrapping it around herself for when the breeze picked up again. "You want some of this blanket?"

"Yeah, it is kind of cold up here," Axel replied as she scooted close to Star, snatched half of the blanket and quickly threw it over her body. "Ah, that's much better." Both mares started laughing, loud enough for the pegasus pulling them to glance back with curiosity, as they stared over the edge and watched the rolling hills pass far below.

There wasn't much that could be done to help pass the time as Star and Axel rode in the chariot on their way to Manehatten. Talking and sleeping were pretty much the only choices the mares had being hundreds yards above the earth and they made the best of it. Axel did a wonderful job of keeping the conversation going, whether she was explaining mechanics to Star or just talking about past experiences, the blonde maned earth pony refused to let silence settle in.

"I'm not saying that it was perfect, but I think if you saw it in action you would be pretty impressed," Axel said, referring to one of the farming inventions that she had been telling Star about. "It's terribly impractical, but who knows what can be done with the concept in the future. Maybe I'll refine it when I get the time." Star just nodded her head, content to let Axel keep the flow of words going, but the red mare had a different idea. She gave Star a sly look as she asked, "Is there a special somepony that you have your eye on?" Star groaned quietly in annoyance at the abrupt turn the conversation had just taken. Every time she spent time with mares her age they always asked the same questions.

"Not at the moment, no," Star replied. Axel stared at her for a second, as if waiting for Star to elaborate, but when she saw that it wasn't going to happen she pushed a little more.

"Well, why not?" Axel asked. "A cute mare like you, super smart and personal student to Princess Luna no less. I imagine that you have stallions just tripping all over each other trying to get you to notice them. I know I would, if I were a stallion that is, although if I were a stallion then I guess I might not think like I do now, so who really knows."

"Not really," Star replied to the first part of her friend's statement. She certainly hadn't noticed it anyway, aside from that one stallion she had helped back in Ponyville, but that encounter hadn't really been her finest moment. "I guess that I'm just too absorbed in my studies to manage a relationship right now. Not to mention I haven't had much luck in the stallion department in the past."

"How so?" Axel asked, intrigued by her new friend's words.

"I just can't ever seem to find a good one," Star admitted with a casual wave of her hoof. It actually felt kind of good when she opened up about her personal problems with Axel. She didn't exactly have many friends and those that she did have, like Spark and Draft, hadn't been around long enough for her to feel like opening up, but Axel had managed to get her to speak candidly after only a day. "Take the last stallion I was seeing for instance. He seemed like a nice enough pony, until he found out that I have Inferno to take care of and then he couldn't get out of my presence fast enough… the ass."

"Yeah, he sounds like a total jerk," Axel giggled in agreement. "You aren't the only one though. I'm always so buried in my inventions that I hardly even talk to anypony, so a stallion that could keep my interest isn't likely to cross my path." Star nodded her head, wondering if there was a pony alive who would have been capable of holding the earth pony's interest. It seemed unlikely.

"Oh well, it's their loss," Star said with a smile which Axel returned.

"Miss Star," the soldier pulling them called back. "Are you about ready to land for the night?" Star gazed up at the sky, noticing how low the sun had sunk without her realizing. It would be dark soon and even though she wasn't tired, landing did seem like a good idea. There was no reason for them to travel during the night because neither she nor Axel had any other engagements they needed to rush back for.

"Any time you'd like to land is fine by me," Star replied. The pegasus gave a nod as he adjusted his powerful wings and began their descent to the ground. Star and Axel took one last look back towards Canterlot and the setting sun as they sank below the clouds. The cloudy skies were lit up in an assortment of violets, reds, and oranges as the last rays of light reflected off of them. The winter air was cold, but they had time to make a fire and they also had plenty of warm blankets, which would be piled with them in the chariot. Star wasn't sure where the guards were planning on sleeping, most likely on the ground near the chariot, but she did notice Brass Heart carrying enough supplies for the both of them.

The cart touched down with only minor jostling as they landed, completely opposite from the crash landing Draft had made the first time they flew to Canterlot. A flash of magic and Star unlatched the harness from around the guard, whose name she still hadn't learned, which he thanked her for before wandering off to meet Brass Heart and gather his bags up. The two stallions would take care of a fire, while Star and Axel busied themselves with preparing the cart to sleep in.

After a few minutes, and with only minimal trouble, there was a comfortable bed for the mares in the chariot and a crackling fire not far away, which Brass Heart and his partner were huddled up to. Star smiled and mouthed a silent thank you to Brass Heart when they locked eyes. He gave a polite nod in response and went back to his conversation. Axel saw the exchanged and snickered softly until Star shot her a confused glance.

"What is so funny?" Star asked as she nudged a pillow out of her way and sank down onto the makeshift bed. She pulled back a few blankets and did her best not to undo their hard work as she carefully slipped between them.

"I saw that look you gave that soldier, Brass Heart was it?" Axel asked with a devious smirk that Star found completely unwarranted. Brass Heart had been her escort many, many times and there had certainly never been anything romantic between him and Star. Axel was just jumping to conclusions, but it did cause Star to consider asking Brass Heart on a date. He had always been polite and Luna obviously trusted him quite a bit.

"He's just an acquaintance," Star replied as she closed her eyes and tied to ignore Axel's gaze, which she could feel staring at her in disbelief. "I'm serious."

"Whatever you say," Axel said as she squirmed her way into the covers beside Star. "I think he's interested in you, even if you aren't interested in him." Axel may have been right, Star had no clue, but it was a question that could go unanswered for one more night. Star was comfortable, warm and wasn't about to crawl out of the bed to go find out. "I'm just saying that you should give him a chance."

"Good night, Axel," Star said, ignoring her words for the time being.

"Mhmm, good night, Star," Axel replied with a yawn. Star wasn't very tired, but listening to the sound of the campfire burning and Axel's soft breathing helped her get to sleep without much trouble. The blankets and their shared body heat was enough to keep the mares warm through the night, despite the icy wind that picked up while they slept.


	39. A Forest Oasis

~Chapter 36: A Forest Oasis~

The sensation of water trickling down her chest broke through the thin barrier between reality and Star's peaceful dreams as a snow flake melted on her soft, warm coat. Her eyes fluttered open with mild confusion as she shielded them from the bright, white expanse of the sky. All around her snow fell gently from the heavens, covering the area in a blanket of winter purity. She shivered involuntarily and pulled the blankets that had shifted down her body back up, while simultaneously wriggling her herself down. It looked early in the morning still and Star was unwilling to give up on her warm sleep so easily. Beside her Axel lay still, face and legs exposed to the elements, but seemingly unaffected. Star sighed as she reached over, without letting her leg leave the blankets, and tugged the covers back over her friend.

A quick peek over the edge of the chariot revealed both of their escorts sleeping by the snuffed remains of the fire, wrapped tightly in their own assortment of blankets. Both of the white pegasus looked to Star as if they were sleeping quite peacefully despite the cold weather. She could see the tiniest bit of Brass Heart's dirty blonde mane spilling out from under the blankets pulled up around his head and part of Dawn Glory's blue tail twitching slightly along the ground as he dreamt.

A breeze picked up as Star turned her gaze skyward once again, sending a collection of descending flakes swirling away from their original destination. It was certainly cold, she thought as she pulled the blankets up even higher, covering her black muzzle and protecting it from the icy chill. Sleep seemed to be a fickle mistress however, and Star lay under the blankets, breathing softly and steadily, but unable to return to her dreams.

Even if sleep was unattainable, Star refused to leave the warm embrace of her makeshift bed and settled on staying as she was, but thinking about what Axel and she could do once they arrived in Manehatten. It was only another two days away, barring the weather having a sudden, violent turn, and her business at the Equestrian Museum of Natural History would be done with by the end of their first day in the city. There were plenty of highly regarded restaurants in Manehatten, but eating wasn't exactly an exciting activity, no matter how good the food was. Star considered buying tickets to a stage show, but she would have to see if Axel liked any of them enough to remain seated for a couple hours. It seemed a bit unlikely to the unicorn.

A stirring from Axel's side of the chariot alerted Star to the rust red mare's waking and she peeked her head out of the blankets just far enough that her violet eyes could see her friend's reaction to the snow. Star had expected to see Axel cower into the safe heaven of her bed just as she had, but instead the earth pony simply rolled onto her back and let her mouth hang open. A few small flakes descended into her waiting mouth, melting into cold droplets before trickling down the back of her soft, pink tongue. Star tried to suppress a giggle at the sight. She should have expected something like that from the blonde mare.

"Are you awake?" Axel asked in her ever cheerful voice. Her light, bubbly tone was pleasant, even though she had just woken up and Star envied her slightly for being such an obvious morning pony.

"Mhmm," Star mumbled her reply, slipping the blankets down enough to expose her muzzle. "Good morning."

"Morning," Axel said as she met Star's gaze. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty well actually," Star replied, "although the snow woke me up a little bit ago." She followed her response with a glare aimed up at the expanse of clouds hanging low in the early morning sky. Axel giggled at her dour expression.

"What's wrong? You don't like the snow?"

"Not when it's falling on my face without me knowing," Star said with a frown that quickly melted into a grin. "I do like playing in the snow though." Axel nodded her head in quick agreement. "I have an idea," Star told her friend with a sly nod towards the sleeping stallions near the snow coated fire pit. "Are you in the mood for a little mischief?" she asked, knowing in advance what Axel's answer would be.

"Definitely," the earth pony replied, matching Star's devious smile as she kicked off her blankets. Star did likewise, shivering slightly at the sudden absence of warmth.

The two mares grabbed their boots and cloaks, donning them quickly to escape the bitter cold that surrounded them. Once they were dressed, Star whispered her plan into Axel's ear, eliciting hushed giggles from her as they decided on how best to proceed. Axel nodded her head in acceptance of Star's idea and began rolling a ball of snow around on the ground. It was soon nearly as large as Star and they were ready to put the plan into action. Star used her magic to lift the hefty ball into the air and she stepped quietly over to the sleeping guards with Axel following close behind.

"One, two, three," Star whispered, releasing the frosty pile from her magical grip and letting it fall with a muffled poomf onto Brass Heart and his friend, covering them in the freezing substance with a hearty laugh.

Both of the stallions shot up from the pile in a bewildered rush, giving dual shouts of surprise as they feverishly glanced around to figure out what had just happened. Brass Heart's wild eyes finally landed on the two giggling mares and he shot them both dirty looks as he sprang to his hooves, wings fluttering wildly as he tried to shake the clinging snow from them. Star and Axel fell over laughing at their escorts' response to the prank, tearing up as they leaned against one another.

"Very funny," Brass Heart told them as he helped his companion up from the snow. "I'm going to get you two back for that one," he said as he brushed the last of the snow from his mane and tail.

"That was great," Axel managed to say between breathless laughter as she stood back up. Star reached a hoof out and Axel helped her to her hooves. "I didn't think that you had it in you Star."

"It was pretty funny," Star agreed as she smirked at Brass Heart, who rolled his sky blue eyes dismissively and began scooping snow away from his belongings. Star stifled another giggle as her horn lit up with magic and she lifted both stallions' blankets into the air, giving them a few quick shakes do dislodge the remaining icy crystals that clung to the damp fabric and sending a fresh spatter of snow onto Brass Heart in the process.

"You did that on purpose," he huffed as he wiped a hoof across his face.

"I swear, that time it was an accident," Star laughed.

"Mhmm," he mumbled as he lifted the polished armor from his bags and began to fit it onto himself. He struggled with the last couple of latches that held his chest piece in place, so Star used her magic to help him while the other guard donned his own equipment. "Thanks," Brass Heart said as she finished.

"It's the least I could do," Star replied, "Now how about you two stallions get a fire started while Axel and I get some breakfast ready." Both soldiers nodded their heads in compliance and walked off to gather wood, leaving Star and Axel to handle the meal preparations.

Breakfast ended up being a simple affair, but the taste of hot food on such a cold morning was very welcome and it didn't take long for all three ponies to finish eating. Star and Axel cleaned up afterwards, while Brass Heart and Dawn Glory, which Star learned was the other guard's name, set about packing the rest of their camp. Everypony was in high spirits after the harmless prank that the mares had pulled and laughter filled the snowy field as they worked.

"I think that's the last of it," Dawn Glory huffed as he hefted both his and Brass Heart's bags across his strong back. It had been his job to pull the sky chariot the day before, but it looked as if he and Brass Heart were switching places today, probably because he was feeling a bit sore after hauling them through the skies for so long. Even if Axel's new chariot was more lightweight than her last model, it surely couldn't have been an easy task to fly for hours with the harness strapped to him.

"It looks like it," Brass Heart agreed as he stepped to the front of the vehicle and allowed Star to help him into the leather straps. "Are you girls ready to take off?"

"Star gave one last look around, making sure that they hadn't left anything behind, before responding, "I think we are." The pegasus gave one quick nod before stretching his long wings up to the sky and giving a forceful push down as he started pulling the cart down the snow covered hill, powerful muscles rippling under his heart shaped shield cutie mark. Star let out a soft sigh as she pulled her cloak taught around her midsection and sank down into the cart to try and get out of the cold wind that rushed past as they slowly lifted off of the ground and rose into the sky.

Snow drifted overhead, carried on the soft breeze as Dawn Glory joined them in the air, flying high above the cart where he would have a better vantage point to see potential threats. Star hoped his extra caution was unwarranted, but with the way things had been going lately she was grateful for the extra eyes watching over them anyway.

"I still haven't been able to decide on something fun for us to do," Star said to Axel as she pulled her gaze from the pegasus above them and turned to face her friend.

"I told you not to worry about making plans," Axel scolded her playfully. "Manehatten is a pretty big city, so I'm sure we'll stumble upon something exciting if we just wander around for awhile."

"I guess you're right," Star admitted.

"You bet your flank I am," Axel replied. "You have to stay open and aloof during trips like this or you might miss out on an amazing opportunity." If anypony would know something like that, Star figured it would be Axel, but she was so used to setting specific goals that the thought of doing anything without forethought sat a bit uncomfortably with her. She decided it was best to trust in her friend's instincts though, and dropped the subject for the time being. "So what exactly are you taking to the museum in Manehatten anyway?" Axel asked after a short silence.

"Oh, well I found this strange artifact during my last excursion into the San Palomino Desert," Star replied, face visibly glowing as she began talking about her work. After a few minutes of rummaging through her white saddlebags Star pulled out a small slab of rock and showed it to Axel, who glanced at the relic with puzzlement. Star noticed her questioning look and started to elaborate. "There are some very old ruins on the east side of the mountains, near the river that runs through the desert, and I found this artifact while digging there." Star passed it over and Axel gingerly accepted the fractured stone tablet, cradling it in both hoofs so that it wouldn't slip and fall.

"What are the symbols carved into it?" the earth pony asked as she studied the pictograms that adorned the artifact. They were meticulously hood carved, Star had noticed upon first finding it, and despite its fragile appearance the slab had stood the test of time fairly well.

"That is exactly what I am hoping to figure out," Star explained as she took the piece of rock back from Axel's outstretched hoof. "Doctor Glyph, one of the researchers at the museum and a long time acquaintance of mine, should be able to decipher the writing etched into this artifact." She tucked the relic back into her bags, where it would be safe until they arrived in Manehatten. "I'm hoping that if she translates what it says I may be able to figure out what part of the decrepit temple it came from. Perhaps I can even find the rest of the old tome."

"That's pretty amazing," Axel replied, much to Star's delight, "and here I thought that my career was exciting."

"Well, it can be," Star replied, "although when I don't find anything of historic value it can be a bit… dull, but those times when I make a discovery it's like finding a missing piece of the puzzle that is Equestrian history. I never know exactly what my next artifact will reveal or how it will change the way ponies view our past."

"Really," Axel asked, perplexed. "I always assumed that the princesses would have written books about the past. I mean, they have been around for thousands of years." Star nodded her head, understanding exactly why Axel would perceive that to be true.

"They have helped in filling in much of the past, but they cannot be everywhere at once, so there are many events that they weren't personally present for," Star explained. "Not to mention the fact that just because they are immortal doesn't mean that they don't forget things over time." Axel contemplated her answer in silence for a moment, biting her bottom lip absentmindedly, as she habitually did while deep in thought.

"I guess that makes sense," Axel finally yielded. "I suppose I just assumed that there weren't any secrets that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna weren't privy to." It was a common mistake, one which Star had made in the past. Too many Equestrians viewed their rulers as omniscient beings who saw all and knew all, but that wasn't the case. Many of Star's own discoveries were just as much of a surprise to Luna as they were to her.

"During the chaos of Discord's War for instance," Star said as she thought through her many conversations with the princess about those dark days, "there were many events that went largely unnoticed by most of ponykind and were therefore never recorded by scribes. It's actually alarming how much of the past is shrouded in mystery." Axel listened intently, somehow maintaining concentration on what Star was saying, despite her usual problems with keeping her attention focused on one topic for so long. "The origin of the immortals is probably the greatest mystery in the entire world, but even the princesses have no idea where they come from."

"Surely somepony must know something, even if Celestia and Luna don't," Axel stated with a confused look.

"I would imagine that the remaining immortals know, like the Dragon Lord. If that is the case though, then they have refused to let it slip," Star replied with a shrug of her narrow shoulders. It was a subject she had often dwelled upon; how the world was created, where magic came from and what granted her mentor and the other immortals their everlasting life, but she had no idea how one would even go about uncovering such things. "It's a mystery," she sighed as she shifted into a more comfortable position on the sparsely padded bench of the sky chariot.

A companionable silence overcame the chariot after their conversation, both mares perfectly happy to simply sit and enjoy the ride for once. The sound of Brass Heart's steadily pumping wings and soft creaking of the wooden chariot filling the gentle breeze that whisked by them as they flew were almost melodic. Star took a deep breath, filling her nose with the damp scent of fresh snowfall as she leaned her head back and stared up into the sky. The sky was dim, just the soft glow of the sun barely managing to shine through the dense storm clouds that continued to thicken as they flew further northeast. It was very peaceful and Star let her eyelids close and enjoyed the feeling of icy flakes gently caressing her cheeks as they passed by her.

"At least we can get a couple rooms at one of the local inns," Star stated as she huddled closer to Axel, the both of them doing their best to stave off the biting chill of the growing snowstorm. What started as a light, barely noticeable snowfall had steadily escalated throughout the day as more and more clouds were carried south from the Crystal Empire and into northern Equestria, right into the path that Star and her companions were taking to Manehatten.

"Mhmm, and Hallow Shades is surrounded by dense forest, so the storm should be much less severe while we're there," Brass Heart added as he tossed another log onto the small fire that everypony was huddled around for warmth. The flame was small and just managing to continue burning as the wind picked up speed and fury. "We're going to have to fly low for the rest of the trip though. I wouldn't want to chance passing the town and getting lost in a blizzard."

"Yeah, th-that sounds like it w-would be pretty awful," Axel said through chattering teeth as she squeezed herself against Star even more tightly than before. "I t-t-take back wh-what I said about s-s-snow being fun. This is the w-worst." Star had to stifle a giggle at the sound of the earth pony's stuttering response. She too was cold, but Axel seemed to be having the worst time out of the lot of them.

The worsening storm had driven them to stop for an early lunch and Axel had already been shivering before they landed, but by the time Brass Heart and Dawn Glory managed to get a fire started she had to be wrapped around Star and shrouded in numerous blankets just so she could stop shaking enough to speak. It was the first snow of winter that Equestria had gotten as far as Star knew, and it was proving to be quite severe snowfall at that. The two stallions seemed to think that they could reach town by nightfall without getting lost though, so Star and Axel had a nice warm bed indoors to look forward to.

"Should we get going soon?" Dawn Glory asked as his eyes bounced back and fourth between the three other ponies. His question was answered by a gust of wind that picked that moment to snuff the last flames of their pathetic heat source, leaving them to either move on or sit there and freeze. "I guess that answers my question," he sighed.

"Ugh, I suppose you're right," Brass Heart groaned as he got to his hooves and slowly made his way back to the sky chariot. The other three sat for a moment longer, unwilling to leave the comfort of their blankets. "Ahem," Brass Heart sounded out in an attempt to rouse them from their temporary havens.

"Okay, we're coming," Star told him flatly. Axel let out a tiny whimper as Star got up and took the blankets they had been sharing into her magical grip as she returned to the vehicle. "You had better hurry up Axel. You don't want to fr-" Before Star could even finish speaking Axel was tackling her sideways into the small cart, sending both mares crashing to the floor in a pile of blankets.

"S-so c-c-cold," Axel shivered as she squeezed Star tight enough to make it difficult for the black mare to suck in any air.

"Can't breathe," Star choked out from under Axel's shaking body. The earth pony glanced down and then hopped back to her hooves with an apologetic look on her face. Star could hear quiet snickering coming from Brass Heart as he fastened the harness to his frosty armor and she shot him a dirty look while catching her breath.

"S-sorry ab-b-bout that," Axel mumbled through teeth that were practically vibrating. Her red face was practically frozen in a painful grimace and Star couldn't help but to feel a little sorry for her.

"It's quite alright," Star replied as she wiped away the snow and gingerly sat down on the bench. It had grown ice cold, even in just the short time they had been stopped, and Star let out a tiny squeal of surprise which caused another fit of quiet laughter to come from Brass Heart's direction as he finished tightening the last few straps that held him in place. Axel quickly joined Star on the freezing seat and they began wrapping themselves in every blanket they had.

"I t-take back every nice word I ever s-said about snow," Axel pouted. Star noticed that being huddled in the protection of blankets had somewhat lessened the earth pony's shivering and chattering, but it was still awfully cold. Star was grateful for the ride to Manehatten; walking would have been an ordeal she didn't believe she could have handled, even with two guards escorting her.

"Me too," Star concurred, "I'm never going to go out in the snow again after this trip." The two mares glance at each other and broke into giggles. They knew that they would play in snow as soon as they had the chance, but being caught in a blizzard was something they would seriously try to avoid in the future.

The chariot rocked slightly as a particularly vicious gust of freezing wind assaulted them. Brass Heart's powerful wings fought against the storm, thrusting up and down with slow, deliberate strokes as he tried to maintain their momentum. Large white flakes whipped around everypony, being tossed and turned on the winter winds as they fell from the grey skies and although it was sometime in the afternoon, Star couldn't tell where the sun actually was. A dull, grey light surrounded them and gave the feeling that they were caught between night and day.

Dawn Glory had taken a new position just over their heads so that he wouldn't get separated from the group. It wasn't as if he would have been able to see danger coming through the driving snows anyway. As the sky chariot met with further resistance from the blizzard, Star noticed that they seemed to have lost much of their forward movement and were now creeping along slowly. I appeared the Dawn Glory noticed as well, because he took up position behind the chariot and planted his hooves firmly against the back wall. Both pegasus were panting as they got the chariot moving once again and Star wondered if there was something she could do to help.

Teleporting the four of them anywhere was completely out of the question after what happened the last time she tried moving an entire vehicle of ponies. Star considered levitating the chariot, but it already seemed fairly light, so she didn't think it would make much of a difference. Suddenly an idea hit her; she could try to part the wind. If she redirected it around them, then there wouldn't be hardly any resistance for Brass Heart to struggle against. Star pondered the best approach for a few moments before deciding that redirecting wind could most likely be done by adjusting the spell for causing wind to blow in the first place.

The soft, white glow of Star's magic was a stark contrast to the pure white flurry of snow that swirled around them. She focused on parting the wind, sending it around the sides of the chariot before allowing it to resume its natural path behind them. They lurched forward suddenly as Brass Heart began pulling them with ease, nearly causing Star to lose her concentration and fall onto her flank. Brass Heart glanced back, giving Star a thankful smile and Dawn Glory's sigh of relief meant that he too was happy to have the extra help. Star flashed a brief grin in return before closing her eyes and returning all of her attention on the spell.

"That right there is pretty amazing," Axel said as she watched the blizzard passing harmlessly beside them. The last of the earth pony's stutter disappeared with the freezing wind and she sighed contentedly as they flew through the storm with a renewed vigor. "How far away is the town?" Axel called out to the guards, hoping at least one of them would answer.

"We should arrive before dark… or at least before nightfall anyway," Dawn Glory replied, realizing that it would most likely get dark more quickly with the storm raging all around.

"Great, I am so ready to be done with this bad weather," Axel huffed, although she wasn't sure that anypony had even heard her. Star was completely absorbed in her task, as were Brass Heart and Dawn Glory. Axel resigned to slumping down on the bench and did her best to return feeling to her numb legs while Star continued working her magic on the harsh elements.

The afternoon crept by painfully slow as Star and her escorts struggled to keep fighting the wind. They made good progress during the times when Star was casting her wind spell, but whenever she was forced to take an inevitable break, their momentum was severely decreased. Axel was forced to sit back and allow the others to do all of the work, but she wasn't happy about it. When she brought the fact up to Star during one of her breaks, the black mare assured Axel that creating a flying machine was more than enough of a contribution to the effort. It seemed to help ease Axel's mind slightly.

The blizzard seemed to have reached its apex and was beginning to wind down as Star began to use her magic once again. The bitter rage of the winds lessened and Star could feel the resistance against her magic die off a bit, allowing her to move it aside with less effort. Brass Heart seemed to notice the change as well and a smile broke through the grim look of determination that had overtaken his white face as they flew.

"It looks like the storm is dying down finally," Brass Heart shouted back without turning his gaze from the direction they were traveling. "We should arrive at Hallow Shades in an hour or two."

"Thank god," Axel sighed. "It's so boring sitting here while everypony else is having all the fun." Star opened one eye and fixed her friend with a look of utter disbelief, but Axel was smirking like she had expected that reaction from the unicorn.

"I suppose I'll let you cook dinner for everypony tonight as a way to make it up to you then," Star replied with a devious smile. Both mares got a good laugh out of that.

"Fair enough," Axel agreed with a nod. "I am the better cook anyway." Star let out a mock gasp of surprise before breaking into more laughter. A few minutes passed with Star returning her focus to parting the wind and Axel digging through their saddlebags to see what supplies she had to work with. "Is there anything fun to do in this town?" Axel asked as she sorted through what little food they brought for the trip.

"What, Hallow Shades?" Star asked as she cracked one eye to look at Axel.

"Mhmm," Axel mumbled her reply before latching the bags back up and pulling her cold forelegs back into her itchy brown blanket.

"Nothing to write home about," Star said flatly. "I've stayed there a few times on my way to or from the city, but it's a fairly small town." There were a few inns and residences, as well as the usual small town shops, but nothing exciting enough to stick out in Star's memory. "I suppose we can always take a look around town to be sure, although you would have to walk through the snow to get anywhere," Star added, knowing how distasteful walking anywhere in the bad weather would sound to her friend.

"Never mind," Axel retorted. "That sounds just awful now that I think about it. I would much rather stay inside where it's warm and dry and not windy." Star closed her eye and snickered quietly. There was something that could slow down Axel after all.

"Who knows, maybe the blizzard will let up early enough for us to go out," Star said as she continued to cast her spell. It was beginning to give her a minor headache using her magic for such prolonged periods, but they were close to landing so she tried to push the pain out of her mind.

"Not likely," Axel snorted in reply.

"I think I can see light up ahead," Brass Heart broke in, causing Axel to hop up from her seat and peer out into the oncoming wind. "Up there, do you see it?" Brass Heart pointed to a small speck of light on the ground below and Star opened her eyes long enough to confirm his suspicions.

"Looks like a town if I've ever seen one and obviously I have," Axel told him, her usual bubbly tone returning at the thought of getting out of the cold.

It wasn't long before they were flying over the light that they had seen and as Star released her spell she gazed over the edge of the sky chariot and could just make out the outline of buildings against the snowy ground. The vehicle rocked as the wind resumed its assault against it and Star decided she should at least keep using her magic to assist Brass Heart until they landed, so she grit her teeth and made one last effort to part the gust.

"Going down," Brass Heart called back as he adjusted his wings and brought them into a slow descent. Axel rechecked their saddlebags, making sure everything was packed up so that they could get inside as quickly as possible before taking her seat again. Star's horn continued to glow as they dropped the last few yards onto the ground, landing in the thick snow with a muffled thump.

"Thank Luna," she huffed as she let her magic die out and slumped back on the bench, exhausted from the effort of her spell casting. "That was quite an ordeal."

"Mhmm, hopefully the weather isn't as bad for the rest of the trip," Dawn Glory agreed as he landed next to the chariot, kicking up a flurry of snow as he shook off his icy wings. "It's my turn to pull the chariot tomorrow."

"I guess we will just have to wait and see," Star said as she lifted her saddlebags onto her back. Axel did the same while also snatching up the assortment of blankets they had been using and draping them over her bags. "Is that everything?"

"I'm pretty sure," Axel said with a nod. "Let's get going." Both mares jumped down from the chariot and started walking towards the snow covered cottages ahead of them, pausing only briefly to see if Brass Heart and Dawn Glory were following them. The two soldiers were a few steps behind, Dawn Glory carrying their belongings while Brass Heart pulled the chariot through the thick snow.

The first few building they passed by were all cottages, belonging to the ponies who had made Hallow Shades their home. Most of the streets were empty, but soft light could be seen streaming through the windows of the buildings and smoke trailed out of every chimney, confirming that the town was very much alive. It looked very serene Star noticed as they walked across the town, their hooves crunching softly with each step and the chariot leaving twin paths cutting through the fresh snow only to be filled in as more flakes fell upon the dirt.

Hallow Shades was a small town, nestled in the midst of a thick forest and cut off from most of the outside world. Few travelers came through, but those who did knew how peaceful it could be. Star was one of those few and although she generally only stayed for a night at a time the innkeeper at the Village Inn always remembered her face. Star led her companions along the quiet streets and to the familiar log structure, forcing the door to open with her magic, despite the large pile of snow that had collected before it. The warm air that rushed out to greet them was a welcome relief.

"Hello," she called out into the dimly lit interior of one of the few two story buildings around. She looked back to Brass Heart, who appeared confused about what to do with the chariot, and told him, "You can take that out back. I doubt anypony in this town would vandalize it." It was a very close knit community, so even if something had happened, Star was sure that somepony would know who had done it.

"Just a moment," came the sweet, singsong voice of Caresma, the owner and proprietor of the inn. "I'm just removing my tea from the fire and I'll be right there."

"Take your time Cary," Star replied as she walked up to the rough wood counter, followed by Axel and Dawn Glory, who both seemed to relax upon entering the cozy room. It was dimly lit by candles placed on various tables and along the front counter where Caresma did her business. The walls were logs that had been left in there naturally rough state and decorated by various paintings. It was a cozy little oasis from the storm outside and everypony seemed to relax just being there.

"Is that Star I hear in my humble little inn?" Cary called from the back room, where she made her home. "It is!" she added with a gleeful shout as she trotted over to Star and picked her up in a twirling hug, as she always did upon seeing the young unicorn.

"And I brought friends," Star replied with a gesture towards her companions after Cary finally released her from the embrace. "Cary, I'd like you to meet Axel and Dawn Glory." Cary was an earth pony in her early thirties, sporting a magenta coat and a dark pink mane with light pink highlights that she wore in a tight bun. She gave a big smile as she nodded to each of Star's companions.

"Please, call me Dawn," the soldier replied with a polite nod.

"Very pleased to meet you," Cary said as she turned around and walked behind the counter to take care of business. "I'm guessing that you three didn't come all the way out to my neck of the woods just to visit though."

"You guessed right," Star replied, "Although there is actually one more stallion who will be joining us. He is just taking our chariot to the back." Cary glanced up at Star with one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Oh, are you four on a romantic getaway or something," she asked, much to Star's embarrassment.

"No, nothing like that," Star blushed. "I actually have business in Manehatten and Axel is accompanying me. These two gentlecolts are simply our escorts." Dawn nodded his head, as if to confirm Star's statement and Axel stifled a giggle at Cary's insinuation.

"Well that's their loss," Cary replied with a flash of her white teeth. "Star here would make a lovely wife." Star gave a sigh at the innkeeper's antics, but it didn't seem to faze Dawn in the slightest. "I assume that means that you'll want separate rooms then?" Star nodded her head just as Brass Heart walked through the front doors.

"I parked the chariot out back," he told his companions as he walked up to join them at the counter.

"Great, now you can enjoy this glorious warmth with the rest of us," Axel replied, clearly ecstatic to be out of the foul weather. "Cary was just getting our sleeping quarters sorted out and then we can get some food." Star hadn't realized how hungry she was, but at the mention of dinner she felt the effects of her hard work from earlier.

"Sounds good to me," Brass Heart said.

"Okay your rooms are opposite of one another, up the stairs and to your left at the end of the hall," Cary explained as she handed over two keys. Star picked them up with her magic, giving one to Brass Heart and keeping the other for herself. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Mhmm, thank you so much Cary," Star replied to the magenta mare as she turned to away from the counter, followed by her three companions. It wasn't hard for them to find their rooms, the inn only had about a dozen of them, and soon they had split up, the stallions heading into their room to unpack while Star and Axel did the same.

"How long have you known Cary?" Axel asked as she casually inspected the small room, her eyes resting momentarily on the lone painting that hung above the single bed. "You two seem to get along pretty well."

"I've known Cary for, um…" Star had to think back to the first trip she had taken to Manehatten that left her staying in Hallow Shades overnight. "Three years I think." Axel jumped onto the bed unceremoniously, bouncing into the air a few inches before coming to a rest and sprawling out with a yawn.

"Wow, so you've been traveling all over Equestria for quite a while now?" Axel asked as she let her drooping eyelids close over her hazel eyes.

"Mhmm," Star mumbled as she set her folded cloak on top of her winter boots and turned around to face Axel. "Hey, you're supposed to make dinner tonight, you can't fall asleep!" Axel's eyes shot open again and the blonde mare groaned as she rolled off of the small bed, all four hooves making a scraping sound across the wood floor as she shuffled over to the door.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember," Axel yawned.

"Where are you going?" Star asked, darting glances between their saddlebags, where she was certain their food was, and Axel who had opened the bedroom door and was halfway out into the dimly lit hallway. "Our bags are right here."

"I know, but I was going to go ask Cary if I can use her stove. I remember her saying that she was taking her teapot off of it, so I know she has one and I'm pretty sure that everypony would rather have a hot meal than a cold one," Axel rattled off without stopping. "I'll be back in a second." The earth pony shut the door behind her as she left, leaving Star alone in the small bedroom.

"I hope she hurries up," Star mumbled aloud as she walked over to the single bed and slumped onto the tan, flower patterned blankets. Axel and her had no problem sharing a bed, that was just the sort of thing that two mares their age did if they were friends, but Star realized that she hadn't thought to ask Dawn and Brass Heart if they wanted separate rooms. Unless they didn't mind sharing a bed either; the thought caused Star to giggle uncontrollably. One of them would probably just sleep on the floor she decided as she stared up at the plain wood ceiling, illuminated by the two candles sitting on the single desk.

The sound of somepony opening the door stirred Star from her musings and she glanced over to see that Axel had returned. The rust red mare had been serious when she said she would only be a second.

"Cary said it was fine if I use her stove, so I'm going to go make us some food and I'll get you when it's ready," Axel hurriedly reported as she scooped up the bags and rushed back out of the room before Star got the chance to respond. It was fine with Star though, she was perfectly content to let Axel handle the preparations on her own. Fighting against the strength of a blizzard for so long had left Star physically and mentally exhausted and she was having a hard enough time simply staying awake. She let her eyes closed, deciding to give them a quick rest before dinner.

"Wake up!" Axel's exclamation was punctuated by her jumping onto the bed, sending Star flying into the air, still half asleep with panic in her wide eyes. Star's heart was racing like mad as she landed back on the mattress with Axel staring into her face with a wide smile that Star seriously considers smacking off of her.

"What the hay was that for?" Star asked her hyperactive friend as she sprawled out on the bed and waited for her pulse to slow. She had no idea when she fell asleep or how long she had been out of it, but Axel had told her that she would come get her for dinner, so it couldn't have been more than a half hour or so.

"Well you just looked so peaceful sleeping there and I don't often get an opportunity like this because you wake up earlier than me, so I thought I'd give you a little surprise," Axel explained, between an infectious laugh that Star had to fight against returning.

"Next time, just a little nudge on the shoulder would be fine," Star replied as she sat up on the bed. "Did you finish cooking?" Axel nodded her head enthusiastically as Star hopped down from the bed and gave a quick stretch of each leg, followed by a drawn out yawn.

"I made a big pot of soup and there's some fresh bread too," Axel said as she practically shoved Star out of the room and into the hallway, where Brass Heart and Dawn Glory were already waiting for them. "Cary helped me make it and between both of our skills I think this meal is going to be amazing." By the last word the volume of Axel's cheery voice had risen to nearly a yell and Star shushed her as they trod over the worn carpet that ran the length of the floor.

"There are probably ponies sleeping already Axel. You need to keep your voice down," Star explained as they descended the rickety stairs of the inn and were met by Cary. "Hello again," Star said with a quick wave to the older mare.

"Are you all ready for some dinner?" Cary asked with a sweet smile, "Because I think with Axel's help I have managed to outdo myself this time." It certainly smelled like the truth, Star thought as she caught the aroma of squash laced with various herbs and spices. The enticing scent was enough to get her mouth watering and a quick glance to her companions showed them to be under the same effect.

"Mmm, that smells so good," Brass Heart said as they followed Cary, who led them around the front counter and through the open archway that separated the main lobby from her home.

"Mhmm," Dawn hummed in agreement as they walked into Cary's dining room and saw the spread of food that she and Axel had set out for them. There wasn't only soup and bread, as Axel had mentioned, but also grilled vegetables and what looked like a large carrot cake.

"When you said you would make dinner I never thought it would be so extravagant," Star told Axel as she let her gaze drift from one end of the table to the other. "I'm not complaining though."

"Yeah, I guess we may have gone just a tiny bit crazy with the cooking, but we got around to talking while we worked on it and before either of us knew what happened we had cooked up all of this," Axel explained with a smile and an absentminded gesture towards the meal. "Anywho, how about we all dig in?" Nopony had to tell them twice. Brass Heart and Dawn waited until the mares had taken their seats before finally sitting down and giving in to their temptations. Everypony filled their plates until it looked as if food would spill over the edge and there was still plenty left over.

Normally Star enjoyed a bit of conversation while she ate, but her friends were so preoccupied with getting their fill as quickly as possible that she had time to let her mind wander. A glance around the small room didn't reveal any changes since the last time she had been to the Village Inn. Cary had the same simple painting hanging on one of the log walls and the usual green rug, worn down from years of abuse, spread out across the floor. It wasn't overly large and there were no unnecessary luxuries, but Cary had always seemed to like the place that way, even though she probably could have moved into a bigger house.

The sound of a serving spoon scraping lightly on the bottom of the large pot of soup alerted Star to the fact that she had sort of tuned out and slowed her eating while everypony else was ready to grab seconds. She immediately dove back into her food, shoving down bite after bite with gusto, but only because she was secure in the knowledge that her friends would be far too busy eating to pay her bad manners any mind. It wasn't long before she finished her first plate and helped herself to some more, although not nearly as much the second time.

"So how long have you been operating the inn," Brass Heart asked, able to talk now that his eating had slowed to a normal pace.

"Just over a decade now," Cary replied after she finished chewing and swallowing the food in her mouth. "Ugh, I just realized how old that makes me sound." She shot Brass Heart a smile, which he returned with a chuckle.

"Well you certainly don't look it," he told her.

"Oh, I like him," Cary said with a wink to Star, who was too occupied with her chewing to acknowledge the older mare's gesture.

"Pardon me if I'm being rude, but are you married?" Dawn asked.

"Why, are you interested?" Cary responded with an amused giggle. "In all seriousness though, I was married at one point, but my husband passed away." Although she still wore a smile, everypony gathered around the table could see it had lost some of its sincerity.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Dawn replied.

"Me too," Cary told him in a quite voice, "but let's not spoil this pleasant evening with that sort of talk. Does anypony want thirds?" Her question seemed to effectively change the subject, although Star figured it would have been dropped anyway. Everypony let out a groan as they stared at the remaining food and clutched their overburdened stomachs. There was no way any of them could fit another bite.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'm going to quit while I can still stand," Brass Heart explained as he forced his body up from the small wooden table. Dawn nodded his head in agreement, disheveled light blue mane spilling over his green eyes before being brushed away with a limp hoof.

"What about this delicious cake that Axel and I made?" Cary asked them, feigning a wounded expression as she caught Brass Heart's blue eyes with hers.

"A rain check," Star interjected before Cary could guilt her companions into eating until they burst. "I say we all have cake for breakfast."

"I'm sure that's healthy," Dawn replied in a sarcastic voice as Axel and Star got up from the table and joined him and Brass Heart by the doorway of Cary's dining room.

"I'll hold you all to that," Cary assured them before waving them off.

"Don't worry Cary, I wouldn't miss eating some of that amazing cake," Axel called back to her. "Thanks again for helping me cook dinner. I couldn't have done such a great job without the extra hooves." Cary gave her a nod and a smile before they all left the comfort of her small home and stepped back into the open lobby of the inn.

Star looked from Brass Heart to Dawn and finally to Axel; every one of them looked like they were on the edge of being sick from overeating and Star was no exception. She regretted how much she had consumed, but it had been delicious and everypony else had been doing the same thing, so she got caught up in the rush. Her stomach groaned in mild protest as she took the first squeaking step up to her room.

"I am going to sleep so well after that meal," Axel said with a slightly dreamy look on her face, as if she might fall unconscious at any moment. The two stallions mumbled their agreement and Star nodded her head with a yawn. She could feel the corners of her eyes being tugged down as the lethargy of so much food began to set in. All four ponies slowly made their way to the end of the hall, pausing for a moment to bid one another a good night.

Axel and Star wordlessly sank on to the bed, relaxing as their heads hit the soft pillows. Star felt like she was sinking into molasses as she fought against the drowsiness she felt, long enough to squirm under the thick blankets. Axel didn't seem to have as much trouble and after letting out one final yawn she was fast asleep. Star's was about to join her in sleep until she realized that they had left the candles burning on the desk. One light flicker of magic and she solved that problem.

Now that she had confronted her issues, Star was content to let her mind wander on its own while she sank into her dreams. There was a wonderful joy to letting them happen naturally and as colors and sound shifted around her, Star found herself relaxing in a way that she hadn't for awhile. She had almost forgotten what it was like to dream walk without having fear and worries pressing on the edges of her mind.

"Discipula Star," Princess Luna called out as she passed through the boundaries of Star's wandering mind and touched down on her dreamscape. "I have been wondering when you might be falling asleep."

"Good evening Princess Luna," Star called out with a smile as she stood up and met her teacher at a table she had conjured for the two of them. She bowed once before taking her seat, while Luna remained standing where she was. Star had expected her mentor to join her for awhile, but Luna looked as if she only had a moment. "Are you busy tonight, princess?"

"Yes, but I thought it would be nice to stop in and see how your trip has been thus far," Luna replied with a smile. "I was told that there was a bit of foul weather up north and I wanted to be sure that you were safe." The princesses concern was well founded, a blizzard of that magnitude was nothing to take lightly, but they had been relatively safe in the sky chariot.

"I appreciate the concern, princess, but we arrived in Hallow Shades earlier this evening without much trouble," Star explained. "I am more curious to hear how you have been though. Are you and Princess Celestia still arguing?" Luna shifted uneasily from hoof to hoof, as if she was unsure if it was a good idea to burden Star with the truth.

"We are still in disagreement over some policies, but nothing to be worried about, my little pony," Luna assured her. "Now as much as I would love to visit for awhile longer," Luna added as she glanced around the pleasant scene Star's mind had created, "I really must be off to visit other dreams." Star nodded her head in understanding.

"Farewell, princess," she replied as she stood up and gave another quick bow.

"Good night, Star," Luna replied as she gave a mighty push of her wings and ascended into the skies of Star's dream, causing a shimmering ripple as she passed out of the borders and into whatever lay between the worlds.


	40. Big City Lights

~Chapter 37: Big City Lights~

Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound of somepony's hoof rapping against the bedroom door broke the silence that Star had been enjoying as she lay in bed beside the restless form of a sleeping Axel. Reluctantly, but quickly enough to prevent another series of knocks from waking her friend, Star rolled out of bed and made her way to the door. She stumbled once as her rear leg got caught on the straps of Axel's saddlebags, which had been left lying haphazardly in the middle of the room, but managed to get the door open before her visitor became impatient.

"Oh good, you are awake," Brass Heart said as he met Star's tired gaze. "I was worried that I might have woken you up, but I figured it was about time anyway."

"Axel is still asleep, but I've been up for a few minutes," Star replied.

"You might want to wake her up pretty soon. I figured it would be a good idea to get an early start. The weather is fairly calm at the moment, but who knows how long that will last." Star nodded her head as she gave him an appraising glance. Brass Heart looked as if he had been awake for an hour or more already with his bright face and fully suited in his armor. Star blushed as she realized how lousy she must look in comparison. Her mane was a mess and she hadn't washed up yet, but if it was off putting then Brass Heart did an excellent job of pretending it didn't bother him.

"You're probably right, but I think I'll go grab us each a slice of that cake that we passed on last night," Star replied. "Axel will probably be much more cheerful waking up with cake to eat."

"I didn't know she could get more cheerful," Brass Heart chuckled. "Well I guess I'll make sure that Dawn is finished packing and we'll meet you downstairs whenever you're ready.

"That works for me," Star replied with a smile as she walked out into the hallway and closed the bedroom door behind her. Brass Heart turned to leave, his heart shaped cutie mark catching Star's eye just as he entered the room opposite hers. The black mare blushed again as she realized where she had been staring and she turned towards the stairs with a yawn. She had gotten a decent amount of sleep the night before, although Axel's constant shifting around on the bed woke her more than once, but it didn't feel like enough to her.

The sight of two other ponies in the main lobby, both of them earth ponies just a few years older than Star, made her regret not running a comb through her black mane before leaving the privacy of her room. Her insecurities were unnecessary due to the fact that both ponies were too involved in their discussion to give Star more than a passing glance, but she still quickened her pace so that she could find Cary and leave. The sound of humming resonating in the back part of the lobby alerted Star to the older mare's whereabouts and she headed in the direction of Cary's home with a smile on her face.

It appeared that Cary had the same idea as Star and was in the midst of slicing the cake into pieces when she walked up. The sound of Star's hoofs making muffled noises against the worn, green carpet made Cary pause in her humming and glance up with a smile. The earth pony was already wide awake, wearing her usual apron sporting the name Village Inn across the front in dark green lettering. One of the best aspects of staying at Cary's inn was that she offered home cooked meals to all of her guests and today was no exception.

"Good morning, Star," Cary called out in her singsong voice as she went back to cutting the cake into several slices.

"Good morning," Star returned.

"Did you sleep well?" Cary asked around the hilt of the knife without drawing her attention away from the delicate task.

"I always do when I'm here," Star replied with a smile as she watched the grace with which Cary worked.

"I'm glad," Cary responded as Star opened one of the wooden cupboards above the sink and floated a few small plates over to the table where her friend was working. "Would you like a piece of cake," Cary offered.

"Two please," Star replied. "I'm sure that Axel will want one when I wake her."

"Does she really need cake?" Cary asked with a laugh. "It seems like sugar would be the last thing that mare would need." It hadn't taken much interaction for Cary to realize how hyper Axel could be.

"Haha, probably not, but I'm sure that she'd be unhappy if I didn't at least offer her some," Star explained.

"What about the other two?" the earth pony asked, referring to Brass Heart and Dawn. "I wouldn't want to leave them out."

"Oh, I'm sure that they will be down here to get some anytime," Star assured her.

"Here you are," Cary said as she nudged two plates across the table in Star's direction. "Let me know if you need anything else before you leave."

"I think this will be fine for now, but on our way back through we'll probably stay another night," Star replied as she lifted both plates in the white glow of her magic.

"I'll be here," Cary replied with a smile. Star gave a quick nod as she held the plates in front of her and turned to leave.

"Thanks again," Star called back to her friend as she walked over the threshold separating Cary's residence from the rest of the inn. She gave a polite nod as she passed the other guests sitting at one of the few table scattered throughout the main lobby, waiting for Cary to serve them breakfast, before heading for the stairs. The plates wobbled for a split second in her magical grip as she ascended the steps into the hallway above, but she quickly righted them.

Neither Brass Heart nor Dawn passed Star in the hall as she carried the twin plates of desert to the room where Axel was still sleeping soundly. She assumed that they had already finished packing and were outside preparing the sky chariot for their imminent departure. The early start they were hoping for would put them in Manehatten before dinner, so Star was as eager to leave as her two escorts.

"Axel, it's time to wake up," Star called out to her friend as she pushed the bedroom door open. "I brought you some cake." Star walked in the room just as Axel opened one bleary hazel eye.

"Cake?" Axel yawned as she sat up in bed, her senses slowly returning as she fully awakened. "That sounds amazing."

"I thought you might think so," Star replied, "now get up and eat so we can pack our bags and head out. We've got another full day of traveling before we reach Manehatten and I'd prefer to get an early start." Axel nodded her head absentmindedly in response as she squirmed her way out of the tangle of blankets binding her legs. She rubbed the last groggy sleep from her eyes as she ambled over to the small table where Star had set down the cake and her face lit up with a grin as she reached for her piece.

"How long have you been up?" Axel asked as she brushed a few stray strands of her mane behind her ear. Star didn't remember the earth pony letting her hair down before bed, but sometime during her restless sleep Axel's hair had managed to come lose and hung behind her face in a disarray that made Star feel better about her own bed head.

"Not long," Star replied as she took the first bite of her unhealthy breakfast. Even though it had been out overnight, the rich carrot cake was still super moist. The taste of sugar and carrot tickled Star's tongue as she chewed and swallowed, immediately following up with another bite. "I spoke with Brass Heart and then went downstairs to grab breakfast," she added, gesturing at what they were both eating.

"Mmm, this cake is so good," Axel gushed. "It's the perfect way to start the morning." Star mumbled her agreement over a mouthful of carroty deliciousness and took another bite. Within minutes both mares had finished their food, Axel even making sure to lick her plate clean before setting it on the table with a contented sigh.

"Okay, now that that's over with," Star finally said, "I suppose we should get our stuff packed up and I still need to brush out my hair."

"Oh shoot, I knew I was forgetting something," Axel huffed as she stared up at her own tangled mess of blonde mane. "I completely spaced grabbing a brush." Star rolled her eyes and snickered.

"You can just borrow mine until we get back to Canterlot," she said as she dragged her white saddlebags across the floor to her. It took only a few tries for Star to snatch her blue brush out of the pouch and pass it over to Axel. "Just try not to take too long. I'd rather not keep Brass Heart and Dawn waiting all morning."

"Okey-dokey," Axel replied with a smile as she took the brush from Star and pulled it through her messy mane. Star decided to pack up her belongings and make the bed while she waited for her turn. Cary normally tended to the rooms after her guests left, but Star always tried to tidy up after herself when she stayed in town. It seemed polite and Cary was busy enough as it was.

Brass Heart and Dawn Glory were waiting out front with the sky chariot when Star and Axel eventually made their way out the door. Both were wearing their usual armor and Dawn was already strapped onto the front of the chariot by means of the various belts and latches protruding from the vehicle. The stallions nodded politely to the girls and continued the conversation they were having about the best cake in Equestria; a conversation no doubt inspired by Cary's offering of desert for breakfast, Star figured.

Axel tossed her bags into the chariot and Star did the same, although she was more careful to set it down gently for fear of damaging the artifact resting at the top. The earth pony remained on the ground when Star climbed into the chariot, insisting that she needed to crawl underneath and double check the gemstones that held them aloft. She didn't seem to mind that the ground had a thick layer of muddy frost on it, so Star shrugged in reply and let her attend to the task in peace.

"Is everything in order?" Star asked her red coated friend.

"Yeah, it looks like she's holding up alright," Axel's muffled reply came as she wriggled her body out from the undercarriage. "I was a bit worried after the blizzard, but it looks like she took the beating in stride. When we get to Manehatten I may have to stop to get a few bolts replaced, but we'll just have to see."

"Glad to hear it," Star replied as she offered a hoof out to help Axel into the chariot. "Watch your step."

"I hope you weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye, Discipula Star!" Caresma shouted out with a half serious frown as she trotted through the wooden door of the Village Inn.

"Of course not Cary," Star replied with a wave of her hoof. "I assumed you would come out here sooner or later if you weren't too busy."

"Too busy to see you off?" the older mare asked with mock shock, "Never." Star leaned over the edge of the cart as her friend walked up, giving Cary a quick hug before sitting back down on the cold bench.

"I'll see you again in a couple days," Star reminded her.

"I'll be waiting," Cary replied. "Goodbye everypony, it was very nice meeting Star's friends." Cary gave them a wave which everypony returned before Dawn gave a hard pull on the chariot, getting it rolling across the frost crusted ground before spreading his wings and making a final thrust as they lifted into the cloudy skies. Star looked back at her friend one last time to see Cary smiling as she returned to the inn. Axel pulled a blanket out of her bag, offering half to Star as they both settled in for the trip.

The blizzard had passed over them, being blown further south and taking its harsh winds with it, leaving the four ponies to travel with relative ease. There was still enough of a breeze to make Axel shiver anytime part of her body poked out from the blanket she had covered her and Star with, but it was noticeably warmer than the day before. As Dawn pulled them through the vast winter skies, Brass Heart took up a position high above them where he could keep a lookout.

To the best of Star's knowledge there hadn't been any further problems with griffons in Equestria and it seemed as if the extra patrols were to thank. The princess' plan was working out and Star figured that Brass Heart's vigilance was probably unnecessary, but she knew it was better to have the extra protection and not need it than to want it and not have it. The unicorn found her violet eyes drawn upwards, to the tiny speck that was Brass Heart, every so often.

They soared over the forest surrounding Hallow Shades, finally clearing the lush, green area as the sun shifted into late morning. Star noticed how peaceful it was in the air between Axel's ramblings and the gusts of wind that whisked by them. The sugary treat that they had all indulged in that morning was enough to have the earth pony bouncing in her seat as they rode, so Star did her best to keep the conversation going in an attempt to keep Axel's mind off of the fact that there was nothing for the two of them to do. It worked well enough for her.

"How long will it take to find the parts that you need for the sky chariot?" Star asked for the sake of making conversation, not because she had any real concerns about Axel not having the time.

"It shouldn't take too long, although I'm sure the selection won't be as extensive as what I would be able to find in Canterlot," Axel replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "I guess we'll just have to see though."

"I'm sure that we will still have plenty of time to waste before we leave," Star said as she gazed up at the vast, grey cloud cover. "Either way I'm sure that it will be a great experience for you."

"I hope so," Axel responded, "I've always been meaning to take a trip into some of the other cities, but I always seem to get caught up in building something; it's funny how time can just slip away from you."

"I know the feeling," Star replied as she thought about Inferno and how long it had been since she had seen the young dragon. It had only been a few weeks, but it seemed like an eternity to the black mare. She missed Inferno's sense of humor, even though it could be a little sarcastic most of the time, and the smile that she got just being near her. Just when they had begun to accept the full depth of the connection they shared, Inferno had been swept away by Spark's need to make a difference in the fate of Equestria. It left Star feeling like she was missing an important part of herself.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Axel asked, giving no hint to exactly what she was referring to.

"What is?" Star returned as she brought her attention back to her friend.

"How peaceful it is," Axel replied. "There's a war looming on the horizon, possibly even in the first stages of being fought and yet…" the red mare trailed off.

"Mhmm, if I didn't know any better I could almost believe that the events of the past few days were just a dream… or a story I read in one of my books," Star finished.

Though it appeared peaceful at the moment, Star couldn't help but feel that it was more like the calm before the storm. They were just passing through the perfect stillness that belayed the imminent disaster soon to follow. No matter how much she wished it was all an elaborate hoax, Star knew the savage reality of what was occurring. The absence of her friends was a constant reminder.

"It will all turn out okay," Star assured Axel as she pulled her short legs up onto the bench, where they would be kept warm under the blanket.

"Do you really think so?" Axel asked.

"Yes, I'm sure of it," Star replied, although she was having enough trouble convincing herself that it was true. "Princess Luna and Princess Celestia have always protected us and as long as they are both leading Equestria then I have no doubts." The words sounded hollow to Star, but she had apparently been convincing enough for Axel, because the blonde mare gave a relaxed smile.

"You're probably right," Axel said as she slouched down on the seat. "I don't even know why I'm worried." She gave a laugh as she looked out over the land stretching out beneath them. "Having fun in Manehatten should be my only concern today." Star wasn't surprised at how easily Axel was able to switch gears so easily, it fit her bubbly personality to be able to flip from serious to lighthearted in between sentences.

"It will probably be too late to do much tonight," Star admitted, "but we can find somewhere good to get dinner and then I can drop off that artifact at the museum first thing in the morning." Axel's face lit up at the mention of a good meal.

"I am going to get about a dozen deserts," the earth pony said as she licked her lips at the thought.

"We already had cake for breakfast though," Star replied. Axels didn't seem to care about that fact. "Haven't you had enough sugar for one day?"

"You can never have enough sugar," Axel replied with a deadpan expression that made Star fall over laughing. "I'm serious."

"Okay, dessert it is," Star said as she sat up from the bench and wiped away a tear that had formed in her sparkling eye. Axel could be a very strange pony sometimes, but Star had to admit that she was having the most fun she'd had in quite awhile. Axel must have been thinking along the same lines, because she leaned over and gave Star a big hug for no apparent reason. Star smiled warmly as she returned the gesture.

Star and Axel's conversation continued throughout most of the morning, although they never returned to the topic of war, for which Star was grateful. Eventually discussing food proved to make the two mares hungry for lunch and Star called out for Dawn to take them down for a landing, which he eagerly complied with. Just because the wind had died down didn't mean that pulling a chariot around all day was an easy task and any breaks were welcome relief for the pegasus guard. They began their descent as soon as Star was able to catch Brass Heart's attention and motion for him to follow them.

They made camp at the base of the mountains, finding a spot that was level enough that Dawn would be able to get the vehicle rolling again without any problems. Brass Heart was elected to collect firewood, which was a simple task considering there were still trees scattered around, while Dawn Glory rested his aching wings for a bit. Both mares worked on making something to eat, even though it wasn't nearly as extravagant as what Cary and Axel had prepared for them the night before.

The blizzard hadn't passed through the area they were currently in, so it only took a couple of minutes after Brass Heart returned for him to get a fire lit and soon everypony was huddled around the roaring blaze. Dawn sat, absentmindedly poking a stick at the burning logs while he and Brass Heart reminisced about the early days of joining the royal guard. Axel and Star joined them a moment later, passing over two sandwiches and a flask of water, which Brass Heart declined in favor of his own flask, which appeared to be full of liquor.

"You know that alcohol only makes you colder, right?" Star asked as she took a drink of water and set her flask down on the damp ground beside her.

"That's alright," Brass Heart replied, "because I'll be flying all around in just a little while, so I'm sure I'll warm right back up." He followed up his statement by flashing a quick smile and taking another swig before holding the flask out. "Anypony else thirsty?" he asked, glancing to each of his companions and shaking the flask at them.

Dawn reached for the metallic container as he replied, "I guess I'll have a-"

"Ladies first!" Axel shouted as she snatched the liquor away.

"…drink," Dawn finished as his hoof swiped the empty air where the flask had once been. "Never mind," he mumbled as Axel tipped her head back and took a long drink of the bitter fluid before handing the container back to Brass Heart.

"Mmm, that's really good," Axel told them as she wiped the little bit of alcohol that had dripped down her slender neck. "What kind is it?" Brass Heart stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds before cracking a wide smile.

"That was homemade apple pie moonshine," Brass Heart chuckled, "and I don't think I've ever seen a mare take that big of a drink." Axel shrugged her shoulders while beside her Star sighed and rubbed her temple in slow circles with one hoof.

"It tasted fine to me," Axel replied.

"I'll bet it did," Brass Heart said as he passed the drink over to Dawn. "Just give it a few minutes and you'll probably like it even more." After Dawn was finished Brass Heart offered the flask to Star, but she didn't really care for liquor and having it surprise her the last time she drank some was an even more unpleasant memory.

"No thank you," Star said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Suit your self," Brass Heart replied with a shrug as he capped the top and set it back down. Everypony took the opportunity to follow Star's lead and start eating, pausing only to take a drink or move closer to the crackling fire. By the time the food was gone, so was the apple pie moonshine and with its demise came an increase in the amount of laughter filling their small camp. Most of the noise was caused by Axel, who was giggling more than usual under the influence of the booze, but both Brass Heart and Dawn shared a few good laughs as well.

The fire had died down to smoldering coals when they finally decided it was time to leave again. Star's horn flickered to life with white light as she scooped up a pile of soggy earth and dumped it on the remaining embers. Brass Heart and Dawn both stretched out their legs and wings before Dawn got his body situated at the front of the chariot where Star helped latch him to the vehicle. Axel grabbed what supplies they had gotten out of the bags and packed them up securely once again, giggling aloud all the while. Brass Heart took off first, returning to his position high above them, just a speck of white against the swollen, grey clouds. Dawn got a running start and pulled them up after him, although staying a good distance lower than his friend.

"Next stop, Manehatten," he called back as his wings caught a current and he began to glide.

"Woohoo!" Axel screamed with a laugh as she flopped down onto the bench beside Star, who snickered quietly at the earth pony's antics. The alcohol had certainly served its purpose, Star thought as she watched her friend waving her forelegs in the air. Axel noticed Star giving her a weird look and it only made her laugh even more. It was going to be an interesting flight.

Time passed quickly or at least it seemed that way to Star as she sat in the sky chariot next to Axel, who had fallen asleep soon after the effects of the moonshine had worn off, staring at the sun as it began its slow descent into the western horizon. Snow had begun to fall during that time, but Axel had been to drunk for it to cause her any grief and Star didn't mind the few flakes that landed on her, sticking in her mane and eyelashes until they melted away. Dawn had mumbled something about his hooves going numb, but that had been awhile ago and he never brought it up again, so Star figured it must not have been too uncomfortable. Only Brass Heart hadn't made his opinion about the light snowfall known, but that was due to the fact that he was still flying above them and Star couldn't be bothered to yell about such a trivial matter as that.

Some slight turbulence caused the chariot to shake at that moment, making Axel's head slide down to the bench, where it landed against the mares' shared blankets with a quiet thud. The sugar crash from the alcohol and cake had left Axel completely out of it however and her eyes didn't even twitch at the soft blow. Star stifled a laugh as she pulled the blankets down over her friend's legs and then proceeded to grab her cloak out of her white saddlebags, folding it up into a rough square so that Axel could use it as a pillow. Star lifted up her blonde maned head and shoved the pillow underneath it before setting her gently back down, all without waking her.

Star took a deep breath, allowing the frosty evening air to fill her lungs before exhaling a cloud of vapor that was quickly carried off on the breeze. The light of the setting sun painted the skies behind them with a myriad of warm colors and Star turned back for one last look before night set in and the daylight dissipated. It was beautiful, that much was clear to anypony, but it couldn't hold a candle to the brilliance of the stars on a clear night away from the city lights, though many ponies might disagree. Ponyville was perfect for Star gazing, Star remembered as memories of walking the ashen streets surfaced in her mind.

Dodge was beautiful in its own way of course, otherwise Star would have never decided to move there, but over the years it had grown enough that the stars were unable to shine as brightly. Canterlot was worse of course, a telescope was usually necessary to view all of the smaller stars, yet both cities held a different kind of beauty. There was something to be said for the sight of architecture, designed and built by hoof, rising out of nature and creating order out of the chaos. It was in the nature of ponykind to impose a semblance of harmony over all of Equestria. Still, on clear nights, Star could almost believe that the world would be better off in its natural state, but she banished those thoughts quickly. It went against the will of the princesses to think like that, they were responsible for raising the sun and moon and proved that it was in everypony's best interest to manipulate the elements for their benefit.

"Manehatten isn't far now." Dawn Glory's voice was an unexpected intrusion that snapped Star out of her wandering thoughts and brought her back to the bench of the sky chariot, next to a still sleeping Axel. Star realized that the earth pony had maneuvered her body enough that her head was resting against Star. She had been absentmindedly stroking her friend's blonde mane and was surprised that it hadn't woken her.

"Axel, it's time for you to wake up," Star whispered into her red ear, causing it to twitch in response. "I can see the city lights up ahead. I thought you might want to see Manehatten from the sky, it's really pretty." One of Axel's hazel eyes cracked open, eyeing Star for a moment before its twin opened as well. Axel let out a tiny yawn as she stretched her legs out and smiled up at Star.

"How long was I asleep for?" Axel asked in a voice still rasping from the burn of the alcohol she had consumed with lunch.

"Well you fell asleep sometime during my story about the time I visited Galloping Gorge, so it was most of the afternoon," Star informed her as she gestured to the last rays of sunlight poking out from behind the Foal Mountains in the distance.

"I think I may have drunk a bit much," Axel admitted after sitting up and clearing her throat. Snow speckled her face now that Star's hoof wasn't there to stop it and Axel shivered as she pulled the scratchy blankets over her again. "When did it start snowing again?" The rust red mare stuck her tongue out and let a few snowflakes melt on it while she waited for Star's reply.

"A couple hours after you fell asleep," Star replied as she tugged the blankets back from Axel, who had taken the majority of them, leaving half of Star's small body exposed to the cold. "You didn't even notice it." Axel shook her head and stared innocently out at the view ahead of them. Manehatten could be seen, a shining beacon against the vast darkness of the ocean. It was actually an island, surrounded by the salty ocean, but in the last few months the citizens had begun to build immense bridges connecting it with the rest of Equestria, although they were still years from being finished.

"It's amazing," Axel said in a voice barely above a whisper, her gaze held in rapt attention by the sight of the sparkling lights of the city on the water.

"It does hold a certain charm," Brass Heart agreed as he pulled up beside the slowly descending chariot. "Did you two pack up everything?" Star and Axel nodded their heads, attention still fixed on the cityscape as they approached their destination.

Snowflakes fell from the sky, reflecting the luminescence of the city and looking like fireflies as they drifted to the ground below. The sound of the ocean lapping against the foundation of the new bridges mixed with the ever present breeze, creating a harmony that was slowly drowned out by city noise as the cart entered Manehatten. They touched down near the southwest entrance and were greeted by the guards stationed there.

"State your names and your business in the city," one of the soldiers called out to them, his surprise at their mode of locomotion barely contained as he addressed the two stallions escorting Star.

"I am Brass Heart, member of the royal guard and this is my partner, Dawn Glory," Brass Heart called back as he strode up to the gates next to Dawn, who was pulling the chariot along the brick streets. "We are here under the orders of Princess Luna to escort Miss Discipula Star and Miss Alexia Lynn Sapphire to the Equestrian Museum of Natural History." Brass Heart's tone changed as he addressed his comrades, from the laidback tone of a friend to a more professional one.

"Of course," the guard replied, as he motioned for two of his subordinates to open the gates for the new arrivals, "Princess Luna informed us that you would be arriving soon." The gates swung open, causing a low rumble to sound as the worn hinges ground against themselves. "Pardon the formality, but we have been under strict orders to stay extra vigilant due to recent events." Even here, the aftershock of the Ponyville fire was affecting the lives of ponies. Star imagined it was the same in every city across the land.

"Trust me, we understand," Dawn said as he began to pull the sky chariot over the uneven ground and into the city proper. Both stallions gave a nod to the other soldiers as they passed by and the other soldiers responded in kind.

"Welcome to Manehatten," the lead guard announced as his stallions closed the gates behind them with a resounding boom.

Although from a distance one could believe Manehatten was a city at sleep, as they entered the gates all four ponies were greeted with the site of the city's citizens all around, bustling across busy streets to and from whatever business they had even as night settled in around them. Lamps stood at the end of every street corner, basking the roads in their glow and allowing everypony to see clearly at any hour, but at the cost of drowning out most of the natural light of the moon and stars above.

"I can't believe you were worried about what we were going to do for fun here," Axel said as she took in the sights and sounds that clashed around them.

"Well, they do call it the city that never sleeps," Brass Heart replied with a wink.

"I can see why," Axel said with a renewed vigor. "It's nothing like Canterlot." It was true. Though Canterlot was bigger, and even had a larger population, Manehatten boasted newer buildings, some of which reached over six stories above ground. It also housed the main trading ports for international business and so there was also a diverse mix of races and cultures living in harmony throughout the city.

"Where are we headed first?" Dawn asked, eager to remove the harnesses binding him to the wooden contraption in which the mares rode.

"I suppose we should check into our rooms at the Dragonquine and then we can decide how to spend the rest of our night," Star replied.

"That works for me," Dawn huffed as he began pulling the chariot once again, "Which way is it?" Star hopped out of the cart; followed by a bouncing Axel, in order to reduce the weight that Dawn was forced to drag.

"Follow me," Star said as she headed down the busy street in the direction of their hotel. The roads were crowded, as they always were in Manehatten, but they found their way into the flow of vehicles and were soon zigzagging through the maze of tall buildings and rushed ponies.

The Dragonquine Hotel was one of the largest in the city, expanding over an entire block and reaching up six stories above ground, with another few below. Only the richest of ponies and dignitaries from other countries could usually afford to stay in such luxurious accommodations, but being Princess Luna's protégé had its perks and Star had been given a room on the fifth floor. After parking Axel's sky chariot beside the many other wagons lined up along the rear of the building, Star and her companions snatched up their bags and hurried through the front doors, where they were greeted by a pair of employees who offered to carry their belongings for them. Star and Axel both accepted the offer, but the two stallions chose to tackle the task themselves due to some sort of military pride, Star assumed.

The main lobby was larger than most homes in Dodge and packed with ponies of every color and race, along with a zebra or two. Star even caught sight of a minotaur before he exited through the same doors that they had just entered. Star walked up to the polished marble counter, where three ponies were busy tending to guests, and took her place in line, followed by her three companions. Each of them talked in hushed tones to one another, commenting on the incredible architecture of the lobby, from the hoof carved buttresses supporting the walls to care that went into the design of each unique painting spaced around the large room. The hotel was the pinnacle of Equestrian ingenuity and a testament to Manehatten's diversity as it boasted designs from every race.

The line moved quickly and soon Star was walking up to the desk saying, "I am Discipula Star and I'm checking in to my rooms for the next three days." The desk clerk was an olive green unicorn and she glanced up from her log book at the sound of Star's voice.

"Welcome to the Dragonquine Hotel," the mare replied with a painfully weary smile, "You said your name was Discipula Star?" she asked as she hoofed through the stack of papers sitting on the counter.

"That is correct," Star replied as she cast a glance back to Axel, whose head was whipping back and forth like a madmare as she tried to take in all of the sights.

"Ah, here we are," the desk clerk replied when she found the page with Star's booking information. "It looks like your rooms are adjacent and on the… fifth floor." Star nodded her head in conformation. "They've already been paid for, so you can head up whenever you're ready." Despite the mare's obvious exhaustion, she managed to sound sincere as she addressed them.

"Thank you very much," Star said as she took the keys that the unicorn slid across the marble surface to her.

"Enjoy your stay," the mare said without breaking her smile as Star turned around and passed one of the keys over to Brass Heart.

"We will," Star replied as the four of them turned towards the stairs and walked away, with the two employees trailing behind with Star and Axel's bags.

The walk up to the fifth floor was arduous, but the fact that Star didn't have to carry her own bags was a relief. They only passed two other ponies heading downstairs, a newlywed couple judging from the way they gushed to each other as they passed. By the time they reached their rooms even Brass Heart and Dawn were beginning to sweat and all six of the ponies were a bit winded. The thick red carpet muffled the sound of their hoofsteps as they trod down the hallway and opened the door of the mares' room.

"Holy mother of Celestia," Axel mumbled as her jaw dropped at the sight of the extravagant accommodations. There were not only two beds with some of the finest pillows and blankets, but also three floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a view of the streets below. It was the nicest room Axel had ever seen and the amazement showed on her face as she walked over to the crystal clear glass and gazed down at the city.

"Where would you like us to put your bags miss?" one of the hotel employees asked as he walked into the center of the room.

"Oh, just set them anywhere," Star replied as she waved a hoof dismissively in his direction. "Just be careful with them. I have very fragile things in my bags." The gangly earth pony nodded his head and walked over to the far side of the beds, setting down Star's belongings as gently as he could manage to. The other bellhop did likewise and then they both turned and walked out of the room, leaving the four friends to themselves.

"We're going to go drop our stuff off in our room and we'll be right back," Dawn said as he turned to leave.

"See you in a minute," Brass Heart added as he trailed after his blue maned friend. Star gave them a polite nod as they departed for their room and then proceeded to join Axel at the window. The earth pony was absolutely enthralled by the stunning cityscape laid out before her, its sparkling lights and luxurious architecture sprawling out for miles around.

"I haven't seen anything that looks like a museum yet," Axel said as she pressed her face up against the glass. "Where is it at?"

"It's on the opposite side of the building, down a few blocks," Star explained.

"That would explain why I haven't seen it then," Axel giggled as she backed up from the window and sat herself on the corner of the closest bed, the weight of her well toned body sinking down into the overstuffed quilts and plush mattress. "This place is amazing," she said as she threw her body back onto the bed with a sigh.

"Mhmm, it's quite a bit different than Canterlot," Star agreed. Axel stared up at the vaulted ceiling and Star decided to join her on the bed. The small unicorn dropped her head onto the blankets beside Axel. "As soon as Brass Heart and Dawn get back we can try to find a restaurant that looks good. You are hungry, aren't you?"

"I could always use something good to eat," Axel assured her.

"Well there is no shortage of places to choose from," Star replied with a grin. "Diner's here serve food from all over he world, be it griffon, zebra, minotaur or pony cuisine." Star could feel her stomach rumble as she spoke; reminding her that lunch had been hours ago.

"I'm pretty sure that I'll eat pretty much anything," Axel stated as she shot up from the bed with a laugh, her blonde ponytail swinging from side to side as she moved, "Unless they serve something extra nasty like dirt." Star rolled her eyes before forcing her legs over the bed and standing back up on solid ground. At that moment there was a knock on the door, signaling that Brass Heart and Dawn had finished tossing their bags into the room next door.

"Are you girls ready to go hit the town?" Brass Heart asked as he brought out another flask of apple pie moonshine that he had been hiding behind his wings. Axel turned to Star and gave her a deviously cute smirk before nodding her head enthusiastically. Star facehoofed and accompanied the action with an annoyed groan.

"Oh, loosen up a little bit, Star," Brass Heart told her in a voice that had lost all of the sternness it had held when addressing fellow officers. "You're wound so tight that you're liable to break if you aren't careful."

"Fine," Star huffed with a nearly contained smile as she took the bottle from his outstretched hoof and tossed back a large gulp. It was very good, Star realized as the cold fluid washed down the back of her throat, coating her taste buds in cinnamon-apple flavor. "Mmm," she hummed with a smile.

"Alright, let's get a move on," Dawn shouted with a clap of his hooves. Everypony else cheered as they headed out the door of the hotel room and headed down the hall. One of the employees walking past shushed them, but they all laughed it off as they turned the corner and headed down the stairs on their way to the streets of Manehatten and the nightlife it held.

The flask of alcohol was bone dry before they could all agree on a restaurant, but there happened to be a nice looking place that had posters on the wall advertising the fact that they sold over two hundred varieties of liquor, so Dawn suggested they stop in and see what there was to eat. If Star had been reluctant to drink at first, by the last swig of apple pie moonshine her feelings were in tune with the feelings of her three companions, so all four ponies agreed that this place was as good as any.

The interior was brighter than Star would have liked, the harsh lights burning her night adjusted eyes as they entered into the upscale establishment. The patrons of the restaurant were clearly upper-class ponies, their fancy clothes and perfect posture blended seamlessly with the old fashioned styling of the décor. One fact was abundantly clear, Star and her companions did not fit in with the posh crowd in the state they were in, but none of them were using their best judgment at the moment, so they found a seat, ignoring the sign telling them to wait until they were seated, and waited for somepony to take their order.

Star glanced around the room looking for a waiter as she absorbed the effects of the polished brass candleholders sitting upon the finest silk tablecloths at every table. The sound of mellow music could be heard flowing through the atmosphere, some sort of orchestra that was playing on a large stage in the back Star realized. She turned around in her seat to get a better view of the restaurant floor and accidentally toppled over her glass, causing it to ring sharply as it struck the table. A few of the other customers glanced over at her with disapproving looks, so she quickly sat back down with embarrassment burning in her cheeks.

"I think we may have picked the wrong type of place for having a good time," Star mumbled across the table to her friends. Everypony glanced around the room, finally noticing the disturbance they were making. They sat back in their seats and attempted to blend in, but it still felt as if they were being watched.

"Here comes the waitress," Axel observed as she looked over Dawn's shoulder. A light blue pegasus, carrying a tray of water glasses with her wings. She stepped up beside Star and wordlessly placed the glasses on the table in front of each pony with a well practiced ease before pulling a pad of paper from a pouch on her blouse and setting on the empty tray.

"Have you made your decisions?" she asked without even trying to hide her smug distaste at the newcomers. Star had been ready to leave, but hearing the waitress address her like she was pathetic, just because she wasn't dressed up in frilly clothes and acting like she had a stick wedged up her flank, made Star want to stay just out of spite.

"Not yet, but why don't you be a dear and fetch us each a different alcoholic drink and maybe we'll have decided by the time you get back," Star replied, her smile thinly veiling the contempt she had for the whole restaurant.

"I'll just go do that," the mare responded haughtily. Star ignored her tone, like she usually would have done with the whole situation, but the moonshine was clouding her judgment a bit. As the waitress left their table to get them their drinks, Star decided to finally open up the menu sitting in front of her and figure out what she wanted to order.

"Everything is so expensive," Axel commented as she scanned the pages of the menu. "I can't believe how much they want for a plain salad. It's ridiculous."

"Don't worry about the cost," Star told her with a smile. "Princess Luna sent me off with plenty of money, so I am buying for everypony." Axel glanced up with surprise evident in her hazel eyes.

"Are you sure, Star?" she asked. Star nodded her head, causing her vision to sway momentarily, something that she didn't want to repeat. "Okay then, I guess I know what I'm getting."

"Yeah, I believe I'm ready too," Brass Heart agreed as he set his menu down on top of Axel's. Star decided on a grilled vegetable platter, which left only Dawn undecided. The other three waited patiently for him to pick something.

"Just a second…" Dawn mumbled as he buried his face further into his choices. "Umm, I think I know what I want." He passed his menu over to Brass Heart, who set it on top of the other three. The waitress, who hadn't even seen fit to introduce herself, returned a few minutes later with their drinks in wing and asked them again if they were ready to order. Star nodded her head, noticing that the mare's tone had changed since she left. It seemed like the waitress had realized that Star could be a bitch if that was what she wanted, so she changed her attitude around.

"I think we are," Star replied. They went around the table and relayed their choices to the light blue pegasus, whose cream colored hair spilled over her forehead as she leaned down to write their orders. "Did you get everything?" Star asked in a more pleasant tone now that the other mare seemed to be acting more respectably.

"Yes I did," the waitress replied. "I will be back with your order momentarily." Without another word she hurried off, notebook in tow, to go tell the chef what they wanted for dinner. It was late in the evening and Star's stomach was empty, except for the burning alcohol. She felt the room spin around her and tried to steady her nerves by taking deep breaths, but the atmosphere of the restaurant seemed stuffy in more than one way and nausea began to set in.

"I think I need a little fresh air," Star suddenly said as she pushed herself up from the table. Her friends met her gaze with confusion as she stumbled back and turned to the front doors of the upper-class diner.

"Are you feeling alright?" Axel asked, but Star was already out of earshot and almost to the door. The three remaining ponies looked at one another, each of their gazes asking the same question; who was going to go check on her? "I'll be right back," Axel sighed as she stood up, leaving Brass Heart and Dawn to finish whatever conversation they were having before the interruption.

The room was swaying slightly as Star walked down the isle and up to the double doors of the restaurant. She felt nauseous, but she would die of embarrassment if she made a scene in such a respectable location. Her status as Princess Luna's personal student meant that she had an important reputation to maintain, because her bad behavior would reflect badly on her teacher. It was something she had lived with for a long while.

Star shoved one of the doors open and stumbled out into the cool night air, where she could breathe easier. The shock of a cold breeze against her body helped sober Star up a fair amount, but as she looked around the feeling of the world swaying slightly wouldn't leave her. She closed her violet eyes and tried to take in slow, deep breathes, but it didn't seem to help much. Star's ears picked up a conversation coming from nearby as she tried to calm her nerves.

"You tell him that if… wants his supply to continue, then he needs to pay me twice the… that I received last time. It has gotten much more difficult to transport… over the borders now that the princesses have sent out more patrols." Star couldn't tell the direction because her head was spinning, but she could make out most of the words. Whoever it was, they certainly sounded like they were doing something they shouldn't be and if Star hadn't been feeling so ill she may have gone to investigate further, but at the moment it was all she could do just to stand there and listen. It sounded like somepony was trying to get money from somepony else.

"I understand that it is difficult, but I don't… that you realize what you are asking me to do. Duke… is not a patient stallion and I don't know how he will react to… demands, but I highly doubt that it will be rational," another voice, this one sounding almost like it wasn't a pony at all, replied to the first. Star swore she heard something about a duke, which meant that whatever was going on had something to do with politics.

"Well then I suppose our… is over with," the first voice responded. It was a difficult conversation to follow when you couldn't hear every word, Star realized.

"… reasonable for a moment. I will speak with… and see if we can't work something out," the second voice pleaded. There was a moment of silence and then the sound of the door opening drowned out the remainder of the conversation.

"Are you feeling sick or something?" Axel asked, her loud voice startling Star out of her concentration and nearly making her fall onto her face. The remainder of the conversation was lost to Star.

"I'm actually feeling much better now," Star replied as she opened her eyes and scanned the dimly lit streets around her, looking for the owners of the voices she had just heard. Movement from the alley to her right caught the corner of Star's eye and she glanced that way in time to see what appeared to be a large stallion in a military helmet disappearing around the corner. "I just needed some fresh air," she mumbled to Axel as she turned back towards the restaurant.

The two mares walked side by side back to their seat, where the waitress, who Dawn was now addressing as Wisper, was just setting the last plate of food down on the table. The stallions thanked her as Star and Axel took their seats and prepared to eat. The food looked spectacular, but the portions weren't very large and Star wished that they had gone somewhere less expensive, where she could have gotten enough food to actually satisfy everypony.

None of her friends seemed to mind the dismal portions, most likely due to the half empty glasses of alcohol, so Star just shrugged her shoulders and began eating. The vegetables were crisp, the seasonings were fresh and everything was cooked to perfection. The majority of their evening was spent quietly chewing and only when everypony had scraped the last bite of food from their plates did somepony break the tranquility with words.

"Thank you Star," Brass Heart sighed as he shoved his empty plate away from him. "It may be overpriced, but it was pretty good." The other three ponies nodded their heads in agreement.

"You are all very welcome," Star replied before tossing back the last of her drink. "It is the least I could do after dragging you all up here on such short notice."

They all sat and talked for a while longer, giving their stomachs a chance to settle down before the long walk back to the hotel. Although the city would still have plenty to do all through the night, all four ponies at the table looked like they might pass out at any moment, so they decided to save any more excitement for the next day. Eventually they left the restaurant, promising to never go there again as they walked side by side down the brick streets of Manehatten.

After getting lost a few times, Star eventually found the way back to the Dragonquine and they made it into the main lobby shortly after midnight. Nopony in the building paid the four of them any mind; the employees were used to seeing guests stumble through the front doors at all hours of the night, so they made it to the stairs without any mishaps. Star and Axel supported each other as they slowly climbed up the four stories separating them from their beds, while Brass Heart and Dawn opted to fly straight up the middle of the winding staircase. It was rude, but in their intoxicated state the mares didn't mind. The stallions reached the hallway they wanted long before Star and Axel managed to get there and they had already retired before Star could force her key into the lock on the bedroom door.

Star stumbled once, over somepony's saddlebags, but Axel was there to support her. They made it into the room and got the door shut behind them and then both mares dropped face first onto their respective beds, Axel not even bothering to cover up before falling asleep. Star managed to use her magic to pull a blanket over her friend before getting under her own and closing her eyes. Axel's mumbled thanks was the last sound Star heard before sleep consumed her.


	41. Mare's Tales

~Chapter 38: Mare's Tales~

Blood red color pulsed in the back of Star's eyelids as she woke out of her dreamless slumber, throbbing in painful time to the beating of her heart. Her skull felt like somepony had taken small knives and unceremoniously jabbed them into it repeatedly, leaving her entire head screaming in pain. Star peeked out of one eyelid and the rays of the morning sun assaulted her without mercy. It was the first time she had ever drunk enough to have a hangover and she hated it.

Sweat soaked blankets clung to her fur as Star sat up and tried to stop her mind from reeling. Her stomach lurched and she dropped back onto her back, taking shallow breaths as her nausea slowly dissipated. Her throat was parched and she had a foul taste in her mouth, but she was too dizzy to get herself a drink. As soon as the hungover unicorn regained her composure, she tried to get out of bed one more time.

Star managed to get her hooves on the ground and take three steps before her stomach rebelled, then it became a mad dash for something she could throw up into. Star settled for pushing open a window, sticking her face out and hoping for the best. The busy sounds of Manehatten greeted her with an obnoxious clamor and the burning sensation of the alcohol was infinitely worse coming up. She tried to focus her bloodshot eyes and see what had become of her bile, but looking down at the street below only made her more ill, so she gave up on caring. The obnoxious sounds of the outside world disappeared as she retreated back into the safety of her hotel room and shut the window behind her.

Somehow she and Axel had made it back to the hotel last night, Star realized as she saw her friend sprawled out across the other bed in a tangle of red blankets and blonde mane, but the memories were fuzzy. She remembered walking around town and even most of what happened at the restaurant, but the trip home was spotty at best. Trying to think only caused Star's brain more grief, so she decided to drink some water and go back to bed. The museum could wait until her hangover was gone.

With only that thought on her mind, Star half-stumbled half-walked her way to the bathroom, where she could get something to drink that would help remove the nasty taste in the back of her throat. The doorknob was a bit tricky for her with hooves, but the thought of using magic in her current state sent a throbbing down Star's horn and into her cranium. Finally she managed to get the door open, with just a little help from her mouth.

After blinking a few times to clear her vision, Star located the sink and turned the faucet on, allowing the water to get nice and cool before she leaned down to get a taste. The water was cold and refreshing, washing away the burning vomit as she swallowed mouthful after precious mouthful. Once she had her fill, Star dunked her entire head under the faucet, hoping that the cool fluid would ease her migraine and it seemed like it actually helped her a bit.

"Sweet Celestia, just make it stop," Star mumbled as she made her way back to her bed, one hoof firmly pressed against her aching temple. She tripped over something on the ground and fell onto the floor with a loud bang that sent a buzzing sensation through her swollen brain. Star cursed her hooves, the floor and whatever she had tripped on before forcing her body back up.

"Star, is that you?" Axel asked as she sat up from the bed with her hooves vigorously rubbing the crust from her eyes.

"Yes it's me, but please stop yelling," Star groaned in reply as she crawled back into bed and gingerly laid her head on the soft pillow. It smelled of her sweat and saliva, but Star was feeling far too tired to care. "Just go back to bed."

"But don't we need to go to the museum today?" Axel asked in a voice that made the normally excitable earth pony sound as if she were half asleep.

"Not now," Star pleaded, "we can go later."

"Okay," Axel agreed as she dropped back into the knot of blankets she had been sleeping in and fell back to her dreams. It didn't seem fair that Axel was able to get back to sleep so easily. Now that she was awake, Star couldn't get comfortable enough to keep her eyes closed and relax. It felt as if every subtle twitch of her body sent pain lancing through her nervous system. If this was how heavy drinking always ended, then she was going to refrain from ever partaking in so much booze again.

"For the love of Luna, can I just get a little bit more sleep?" Star begged to the empty air, "Even if it's just for an hour or two." There was no answer, of course, but Star squeezed her eyes closed and tried again anyway. This time she actually managed to calm the pulsing in her skull long enough for sleep to overtake her. It was bliss.

"Star, I think that it's about time you get up and get ready for the day." Star squeezed a pillow around her head in an attempt to muffle Axel's loud voice. She was still tired and just the simple act of sitting up seemed like too much trouble, let alone actually getting ready to go to the museum. "We have places to be and ponies to see," Axel added as she tried to coax the black unicorn off of her mattress.

"No, it can wait until tomorrow," Star pouted into the comfort of her blankets. Although her hangover had died down to little more than some minor discomfort, Star was worried that movement would bring it back in all of its painful glory, so she thought it better to stay in bed. Axel didn't appear to agree with her and tried once again to use diplomacy to get Star to move.

"I don't know this city Star, but if you don't take care of your business then I'll have no choice except to find something to do on my own," Axel explained as she nudged Star's shoulder. "You don't want that to happen, do you?" Star's hoof reached out like she was going to push herself up, but instead she simply grabbed more of the blankets and pulled them over her head with an annoyed grunting sound.

"Go away," her muffled voice called out from under the pile of fabric. Axel ignored her pleas to be left alone and decided to try more aggressive measures.

"You asked for this," the earth pony said as she yanked Star, blankets and all, off of the bed and onto the floor. Star's let out a panicked scream as she was forced into the air and dropped to the ground with a graceless thud. "Hey, it looks like you finally decided to get up," Axel laughed as Star struggled to free herself from the tangle of bedding.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch," Star spat as she kicked the last clinging cover from her rear leg, "I let you sleep in whenever I can, but you won't let me get just a few extra hours." Axel sighed as she pointed out the window. Star followed her gaze, but wasn't sure what she wanted her to see. "Okay, it's the city…" Star acknowledged as Axel began waving her outstretched hoof frantically towards the sky. "Just use your words Axel!" Star shouted at her, still missing what she was supposed to be looking at.

"The sun you foal," Axel replied as she took a few steps forward and tapped against the glass window. "It's already past noon and I don't know about you, but that doesn't strike me as just a couple extra hours of sleep!" Star stared passed her irritated friend and gasped. It had to be at least two hours past noon and Star had meant to drop off the artifact in the morning.

"Pony feathers, you're right," Star said as she turned and ran to the bathroom. She hated being late for anything, but today she was going to be lucky if she made it to the museum before closing. Star snatched up her brush with a small burst of magic, that caused her head only slight aching, and began combing her hair while simultaneously brushing her teeth.

"I usually am right," Axel replied jokingly while she began picking up her belongings that had been scattered along the floor and putting them back in her saddlebags. "Should I go let the boys know where we're going?"

"Yesh," Star said over her toothbrush, "I'll be out in a shecond."

"Okay, make sure not to rush too much or you're liable to forget something," Axel told her before walking out the door. Star wondered when exactly she had stopped being the responsible one of the group. It was all the alcohol's fault, she rationalized. If she hadn't drunk so much the night before then she would probably have already been to the museum and back by noon.

"It doesn't help anything to dwell on what has already happened," Star mumbled under her breath as she combed the last few tangles out of her silky black mane and started working on her tail. Once that was finished she splashed water on her face, wincing at the sight of her reflection which showed the obvious bags under her eyes. There was nothing that could be done for that at the moment though, so Star ignored the mirror and left the bathroom.

Unlike Axel, whose belongings Star had unknowingly spilled out of the earth pony's saddlebags that morning, her stuff was already packed up and ready to go. She double checked her white bags, making sure that she hadn't left anything out as Axel suggested she do, before levitating her cloak on and following it with her warm boots. Although the weather in major cities was usually mild, there were always exceptions and Star did not want to be out in deep snow with just her bare hooves.

Taking one last look back at the room and seeing nothing amiss, she opened the door and walked out into the hotel, where Axel was leaning against the far wall, waiting for her. Star looked up and down the hallway, with its cushioned carpets and ornate pillars, but Brass Heart and Dawn were nowhere to be seen.

"They had some place to be I guess," Axel stated as if she had known what Star was thinking. "They wanted me to tell you that they'll be back sometime tonight, so I guess it's just you and me that are going to be together today." Axel smiled warmly as she shrugged her shoulders, the events of last night didn't seem to have lingered with her.

"Oh, okay then," Star replied, only slightly confused as to why she hadn't been told that the two stallions would be disappearing on her sooner, "I suppose we should just get a move on. We are running late after all."

"Lead the way," Axel said as she motioned for Star to start walking. There was nopony else in the hall and Star assumed it was simply because they had all finished sleeping hours ago and were now loose in the city somewhere. It was actually very quiet as they rounded the corner and started walking down the stairs. "Are you feeling any better now that you've been awake for a little while?" Axel asked.

"Much, much better," Star replied truthfully. Not having a headache was a blessing on its own, but now that she had been up and moving for a bit, Star could feel the stiffness leaving her joints as well. "I don't think that I am ever going to drink again."

"Oh, that's what everypony says when they're hungover," Axel giggled as she practically skipped down the winding staircase, "a few more times and you'll be fine.

"Let me ask you something," Star said suddenly, causing Axel to nearly trip as she stopped in her tracks.

"Ask away," Axel said as she caught her balance.

"How is it that you were all sunshine and rainbows this morning when we both drank the same amount and I felt like somepony had danced a jig on my head while I was asleep?" Star asked. The imagery made Axel snort as she tried to hold back a laugh.

"A jig, huh? Well, if I had to guess, I would say it's most likely because you probably never drink and I usually celebrate everything exciting with a drink. You can imagine how many bottles I've gone through over the last couple years," Axel replied as they both stepped into the main lobby of the hotel.

"Then I don't think I'll ever get my tolerance up, because I'm never drinking again," Star reiterated with a huff. Axel just laughed it off and continued following her out the double doors of the Dragonquine and into the bustling city. Last night had been fairly busy, as far as Axel had known, but now that daylight had arrived, the streets of Manehatten were absolutely swamped with ponies; standing, walking, trotting and some even galloping down the sidewalks, along with the odd creature or two from another race. Axel let out a long whistle signifying her amazement.

"Everypony sure is in a hurry around here," the earth pony observed as she peered around the busy block.

"Mhmm, and we should be too," Star replied as she turned in the direction of the museum and set off at a brisk pace. Axel noticed her leaving and scrambled to follow so that she wouldn't be left behind. It was easy for a tourist to get lost in a city like Manehatten and although there were more guards than usual thanks to the princesses' new orders, it could still be a dangerous place for a mare on her own.

"Wait for me," Axel called out as she ran to catch up with Star, narrowly avoiding crashing into an older gentlecolt in the process. Star turned back and waited just long enough for Axel to catch up before she took off again, determined not to delay in her task any longer. The sun was already starting to dip behind the tallest buildings as they rounded the first block and she wanted to get to the museum before it closed around dinner time.

The Manehatten Museum of Natural History and Archeology was itself a relic. It was one of the oldest buildings in Manehatten, formerly housing the governor and his staff in the days of Discord's War, but was now used as a display for Equestrian wildlife and foliage, as well as artifacts from the past that were once considered mere myths and legends. It was a two story structure, which was built in an outdated style. It had a very archaic feel with its marble pillars and great archways, much like Canterlot, which was probably why Star felt so at home in the place.

There were two guards posted at the front entrance, but they didn't even bother to stop Star, knowing exactly who she was from her many previous visits. Star would never boast, but she was in fact responsible for at least a half dozen or more of the exhibits on display at the moment. Walking around was almost like a scrapbook of her accomplishments, but even better because everypony got to enjoy them. Star paused in the large doorway as she waited for Axel to finish gawking and catch up to her.

"Where are the pieces that you've brought in?" Axel asked as she dashed from stand to display case to picture hanging on the wall. "I'll bet that yours are some of the most amazing ones." Axel returned to Star after she had seen everything in the lobby, but there were eight other rooms on the ground floor alone, so Star knew she would be running off to see more sooner or later.

"I believe that there are seven of my discoveries on display in this museum, but I cannot be certain without checking myself," Star replied as she traced a familiar path through the lobby to the unremarkable door along the back wall. "My name will be on a paper or something similar at each exhibit that I've had a part in, if you wanted to try and find them all," Star added, hoping that it would be enough of a challenge to keep Axel occupied while she spoke with Doctor Glyph.

"Seven of them, are they all together?" Axel asked. "No, wait… don't tell me. I'll find them all on my own," she finished. Before Star could even consider responding, the red mare was off like a lightning bolt, heading straight for the next display. She tried not to think about Axel breaking something, but she whispered a short plea to the princesses just to be safe.

Star knocked on the door to Doctor Glyph's office, worried that she may have gotten to the museum too late and that the doctor was already busy somewhere else. Nopony answered for awhile, but just as Star turned to fetch Axel and leave there was a rustling from behind the door, followed by a small cough as it opened up just a crack. A unicorn mare with an indigo coat and a bluish-grey mane was watching Star from the other side. The mare was only a bit taller than Star, but didn't look much older and she was wearing a thin rimmed pair of glasses, which she pushed further up her nose before opening the door all the way.

"C-can I help you?" the mare asked in a timid voice that made Star feel as if she were walking on eggshells.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you, but I was hoping to speak with Doctor Glyph," Star explained in a soft tone, so that she wouldn't spook the shy mare.

"Pro-professor Glyph is out of the co-country at the moment," the mare practically squeaked at her. Star nearly giggled at the absurdity of the mare's reaction, but she didn't want to startle the bookish unicorn so she held her laughter.

"Oh, what a pity," Star replied. "Do you have any idea when she'll be back? I have an artifact that I was hoping she would be willing to take a look at." The indigo mare shifted around on her front hooves uncomfortably for a moment.

"Umm, I suppose you can leave it with me and I'll keep it locked in the safe until the professor gets back from Saddle Arabia." If it had been possible for Star's jaw to hit the floor, then it would have at that moment.

"She's all the way in Saddle Arabia!?" Star shouted, causing the skittish mare to wince. "Sorry about that," she apologized, "I just had no idea that she was going to be traveling so far or I would have come sooner." It would have been a good idea to send a letter before she traveled for almost three days, but it had been a spur of the moment decision to come and it was useless to think about.

"Yes, she, um, she got asked to be p-part of an expedition that was going there to search through some newly di-discovered ruins," the indigo mare replied.

"Do you have any idea when she might be back?" Star asked, hoping that the answer would be in a day or two, but the shy unicorn just shook her head in reply. "Well, I suppose I'll just leave this tablet here then." Star's horn glowed white as she used her magic to fish the artifact from her saddlebags and held it in front of the skittish pony in the doorway. "Would you just make sure she gets it as soon as possible, uh," Star stopped talking when she realized that they had never exchanged names. "I'm sorry. My name is Discipula Star and what is yours?"

"You're the Star that discovered the Alicorn Amulet!" The sudden outburst from the indigo mare caught Star off guard and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "My name is Aeon and I am a huge fan," she added with a sparkly-eyed smile.

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you," Star said as she shook Aeon's hoof. "Anyway, if you could just keep this somewhere safe until Doctor Glyph returns, I would really appreciate it." Aeon nodded her head slowly, still staring at Star as if she were the most fascinating pony in the world. It honestly made Star feel more uncomfortable than the mare's previous shyness had. "I need to get going now."

"Oh, wait," Aeon said as she snapped out of her hero worship, "I have been studying under the professor for quite awhile now, so I would be more than willing to take a look at this and write you a letter if I decipher any of it." Aeon's eyes pleaded with Star and complimented the way the indigo pony's lip quivered too perfectly, Star caved instantly.

"As long as you don't damage it then I don't mind," Star replied with a grin.

"I will be extra careful, I Promise." Aeon just smiled up at her without saying anything else, so Star thanked her and walked away. She figured the stone tablet would be in capable hooves. If Doctor Glyph trusted Aeon to look after the museum while she was away, then Star could trust her with the stone tablet for awhile.

Axel had barely made it through the first upstairs exhibit when Star found her still dashing around madly, stopping only long enough to read the quick description plates by each display. It was nice to see somepony enjoying the museum so much, even if she would probably forget almost everything she had read in a couple of hours. Star called out her friends name from across the plain white room, but Axel simply held up a hoof in reply; as if to say, give me just a moment. Star waited for her to finish reading the information on the last pottery case before trying again.

"Axel, are you about ready to leave?" Star asked as the rust red earth pony turned to face her.

"I guess so, but I thought you would be talking to your friend for longer," Axel replied, clearly unhappy that she didn't get to see everything in the museum first.

"I would have, but she is away on business right now and nopony knows how long she'll be gone, so I'm just going to leave my finding here for when she returns," Star explained.

"Can we at least check out the last five rooms before we leave?" Axel asked as she gave Star a pitiful look. It worked well enough. Star knew that they had the rest of the day to spend together anyway, so an hour or two in the museum wouldn't hurt anything.

"Mhmm, that is perfectly fine with me," Star said with a smile, "I can even give you an amateur tour of the remaining exhibits." Axel perked up at the suggestion.

"That would be amazing," the blonde mare beamed. "I already saw all but two of your contributions; the two pieces of ancient pottery, the ancient carving of the Windigos, that really old armor and the old potion book." Each artifact that Axel mentioned brought back fond memories for Star, memories of her hard work paying off.

"In this next room is one of my favorite discoveries," Star told her friend as they rounded the corner and approached a large stone block that looked as if it had once been the base of a statue, "It's the legend of the Mirror Pool." Axel approached the strange block, which had a number of odd markings etched into the flattest side.

"What does it say?" Axel asked as she walked the perimeter of the ropes barring ponies from touching it.

"Just read the piece of paper on that stand in front of it," Star replied as she pointed at the small wooden podium. Axel walked up and began reading the inscription aloud, though Star already had the rhyme memorized:

_Where the brambles are thickest there you will find_

_A pond beyond the most twisted of vines_

_And into her own reflection she stared_

_Yearning for one whose reflection she shared_

_And solemnly sweared not to be scared_

_At the prospect of being doubly mared_

_She cleared her mind and did not dwell_

_Upon those desires she could not quell_

_And received a power she sought to abuse_

_Until her original self she did lose_

"What is that supposed to mean?" Axel asked once she had finished reading. "Why is it talking about a pond? What does it mean by doubly mared? And where the hay did you find this relic anyway?" Star giggled for a moment. She hadn't expected Axel to understand when she only knew a small part of the whole story.

"It's part of a legend," Star explained. "There is said to be a mystical pool, hidden deep inside a cave somewhere in the Everfree forest, which can grant the user a double." Star paused in her explanation as she remembered how long she had searched through that Celestia forsaken forest, looking for the Mirror Pool. In the end, timberwolves had chased her away before she found anything even remotely close to what she had been looking for.

"Really, have you seen it before? Where is it? Does it actually work?" Axel snapped out questions one after another, giving Star no opportunity to answer until she had finished speaking. "Is it permanent? Is it dangerous? Have you ever tried using it?" Axel stopped talking once she realized that Star was just staring at her with a look of mild annoyance. "Sorry, please continue."

"As I was saying, the legend tells of the Mirror Pool and where to find it, as well as giving a warning to those who would seek to use its power for themselves, but unfortunately it lies in the Everfree forest, or so the legend goes, and I was unable to locate the cave before I had to leave, but one day I may attempt another excursion to seek it out," Star finished as she stared at the large stone. It hadn't been the only thing she had found in the forest, but she was told to keep the other discoveries to herself. There were mysteries best left alone, or at least that was what the princesses had told her when she brought up the decaying ruins she had found. The curiosity had held her attention for weeks before she was able to ignore it.

"So what exactly would this pond do if you found it?" Axel asked.

"I'm not positive, but my theory is that it would basically bring your reflection to life as a sort of twin that functions on simple desire. I would love to prove my theory right, but that will have to wait for some time down the road," Star replied.

"If you do ever find it, I would love to see what it can do for my self," Axel said as she contemplated all of the machines she could create with a second set of capable hooves working beside her. There was no possible way that Star would ever let her use such dangerous magic of course, but it couldn't hurt to dream.

"As would I," Star agreed as she turned away from the large stone and walked over to another one of the many displays scattered about the large grey room.

Before long they had seen everything that the museum had to offer, with Star explaining as much history as she could about each exhibit. Axel was amazed that the black unicorn could recall so many details about so many different subjects and Star was just happy to be back in her element once again. It seemed like forever since she had left her own collection in Dodge and she longed to see it again. Some of her most sentimental pieces were on display in her living room and although they may not have been the most valuable relics she had found, Star cherished each one dearly.

After Star finished her tour, she and Axel decided that it was about time to get something for a late lunch, both of them starting to realize that they had skipped breakfast. Star didn't mind though, she doubted food would have settled well in her stomach that morning anyway. The walked out of the museum side by side, only passing one other small tour group along the way. It looked like the museum wasn't getting much attention that day, most likely because everypony would rather be inside their cozy homes, Star imagined. She hoped that would change when Doctor Glyph added the new stone fragment to the museum's collection.

"Where should we go?" Axel asked as they stepped outside, into the cool breeze and snowfall that had enveloped the city while they were inside.

"Anywhere besides that place we went to last night," Star giggled.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Axel agreed as she hopped down the steps and passed the large marble sign that announced the building as being the Manehatten Museum of Natural History and Archeology, though in reality it housed many different types of exhibits, from scientific discoveries to magical objects.

With no specific direction in mind, both mares began walking down the street in the direction of the hotel they were staying at, hoping to pass by a good place to eat on the way there. Star pulled her cloak tight, glad that she hadn't forgotten her boots that morning. Even Axel had been prepared for inclement weather and was sporting a wool lined cloak and a pair of faded brown boots. They may not have been the best dressed ponies in Manehatten, but at least they were warm.

Star pushed the small iron key into the lock on the door of their room with her magic, giving it a quick twist as she shoved her way inside with Axel right on her tail. They had settled for getting deep fried foods from one of the vendors that had a cart stationed on the block next to the Dragonquine. It was salty, fattening and smelled delicious. Star's mouth watered as she sloughed of her clothes and crawled onto her bed. Axel did the same, all while balancing her food on her back, a skill which Star envied. Once they were both comfortable enough, both mares started eating.

The food tasted wonderful, as food that was terrible for you usually did, and Star ate ravenously because it was her first meal all day. Axel had the same idea and the sound of loud chewing filled the air of their room as they both dug in. Neither spoke for awhile, content to let a comfortable silence set in as they ate, but eventually Axel slowed down enough to start a conversation.

"How long have you been doing this whole archeology thing?" Axel asked before taking another bite of her deep fried noodles. The food was foreign to Axel, but it had looked good and she liked new experiences, so she decided to try it and was very happy that she had.

Star finished swallowing and replied, "I've been studying magical artifacts for years, but I didn't go on my first expedition until I was thirteen and that was with a larger group." Star took another bite, chewing and swallowing quickly before she continued. "It was only two years ago that I lead a team of my own." Her team had consisted of just her, Doctor Glyph and another mare from Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns, but she decided to skip that part.

"Wow, you seem awfully young to be traveling all over Equestria, especially to dangerous places like the San Palomino Desert and the Everfree Forest," Axel commented, even though she was only four years older than Star. It was true of course, Star was one of the youngest mares to have ever gotten multiple displays in the Manehatten museum and she also had a few displays in Canterlot and Los Pegasus as well.

"I suppose," Star replied with a shrug. She wasn't one to brag about her accomplishments, but it still felt nice to receive praise now and then. "How about you Axel, how long have you been building chariots and such?" she asked. Axel thought for a moment, as if trying to remember exactly how long it had been.

"My father was always building things in his shop while I'd sit and watch," the earth pony finally replied, "but I must have been around eight or nine when I first started actually helping him out. I mean sure, I would bring him whatever tools he asked for, but that wasn't really building anything." Axel took a sip of water to wash down the last of her lunch as she reminisced. "The day I first built a working wagon was the day I got my cutie mark and I've been inventing and building ever since."

"That is insane," Star replied with an astonished smile. Axel's dedication to her work deserved to be recognized, but Star figured that would happen on its own as soon as her flying chariots became available to the general public. "Here I was thinking that I had started my profession young, but you were basically born doing what you do," Star said as she shook her head in disbelief. "No wonder you were able to perfect a flying chariot."

"I don't know that it's perfected," Axel muttered. "There are always ways of improving inventions and I'll probably keep redesigning it until the day I can't work anymore, but I suppose it is something to be proud of." The earth pony smiled back at Star as she admitted it to herself.

"Absolutely," Star chuckled as she finished off her noodles and floated both of their trash to the garbage bin beside the single desk. "Well, we've still got about half a day to kill. What do you feel like doing?" Axel considered their options for a moment before she finally came up with an idea.

"You said there are plenty of good shows to see, right?" Axel asked.

"Mhmm, we can stop in at one of the theaters and see if there's a play or we can find a musical to watch," Star offered.

"Are you sure the boys wouldn't mind?" Axel asked as she hopped up from the bed and started grabbing her boots.

"They're the ones who ditched us this morning, so they have nothing to complain about," Star smirked. Axel seemed to accept that response and began forcing her boots on while Star levitated her clothes from their pile on the bedroom floor. "What kind of show did you want to see?" she inquired after she was suited up for the cool winter air once again. Axel snatched her cloak from the marble floor and tossed it over her back.

"I think we should try to find a play or something," Axel replied once she was fully dressed. "That sounds like fun, right?"

"Mhmm," Star agreed, "let's go see what plays are going on right now. I'd imagine the desk clerks will know the best place to go." Axel nodded her head as she followed Star to the door.

Although the main reason they went to Manehatten was so that Star could talk to Doctor Glyph, she took comfort in the fact that her friend was enjoying herself. It was worth the travel just to see Axel's face light up when she saw something new. A short vacation was just what Star had needed as well and now that she knew Inferno and her other friends were doing well, she could actually relax a bit.

There were only a few other guests in line at the counter and once they had been taken care of Star walked up to the pony behind the desk and asked where they could find the nearest play. The young mare directed them down the road to the Equestrian Drama House and after a brisk walk through the snow blanketed streets they arrived at their destination; a large building that looked as if it had recently been remodeled. The design was very flashy and it was painted with a mural of an old city across the front.

Star led the way as they walked through the open doors of the packed theatre and got in the winding line for the ticket seller. There were at least twenty or thirty ponies in the lobby alone and Star imagined that the stage room would be fairly packed, but they had already come this far, so she decided it was best to stick it out. A full house could only mean that it was a performance worth viewing after all.

Minutes ticked by slowly, while the cacophony of noise from the crowd rose and fell like the tides. Eventually Star tuned everything out except the tapping of Axel's restless hoof as she tried to be patient. It might have been the longest Star had ever seen her stand in one place, but she couldn't be sure. Finally, after twenty minutes of the line slowly creeping forward, it was Star's turn to purchase tickets.

"Yes, I'd like two adult tickets please," Star told the young stallion working the ticket stand. He looked a year or two younger then Star, but that may have been because of the brightly colored vest he was wearing. It was most likely a requirement for his job, but it still looked a bit silly on him.

After paying a ridiculous price for the tickets, thankful that Luna would be taking care of her expenses, Star walked towards the back of the lobby with Axel right behind her. She shoved the door open and walked into the brightly lit theatre room and her suspicions were confirmed. Nearly every place had been taken and there were only a hoofull of spaces left that had enough room for both of them. Star headed for the closest spot, nudging Axel along with her magic as she finessed her way through the crowd.

"Here we are," Star said as she sat down with a huff. Axel joined her after pushing past a couple of older ponies who were deep in conversation.

"So, any idea what this play is about?" Axel asked as she got comfortable.

"That is a good question," Star replied. "I know that it's still too early for any of the Hearth's Warming Eve performances, but as to what is showing here, I haven't the slightest clue." Star shrugged her shoulders as her violet eyes scanned the large room, looking for any hint as to what she had just paid to watch. The stage curtains were closed and there weren't any posters in the theatre announcing the play. Star could have asked somepony, but she figured the answer would come to her in just a moment.

It took awhile for everypony to take their seats and quiet down, so Star spent the time pony watching. It looked as if the majority of theatre patrons were older mares and stallions, but she did see the occasional young adult mixed in with the crowd. Axel shifted back and forth in her seat, eager for the performance to star, but to her credit, she did manage to stay silent the most of the time.

"I think it's starting," Axel observed after a few minutes of watching the shifting crowd around them. True to her word, the lights around the stage room were snuffed as the last few ponies took their seats and a couple of seconds later the narrator of the play walked out from the shadows and into the lights of center stage.

"Two households, dissimilar in race, in fair Equestria, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hooves unclean," the statuesque stallion began. That alone was enough for Star to figure out what play they would be performing, though why now instead of in a couple months she couldn't fathom. "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; whole misadventured piteous overthrows do with their death escalate their parents' strife," the narrator continued in a booming voice that was made for the stage and echoed throughout the large theatre. "The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, and the continuance of their parents' rage, which, even their children's end, nought could remove, is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; the which if you with patient ears attend, what here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend," he finished as the curtains were slowly pulled open, revealing a stage set with a backdrop that appeared to be some sort of rural valley with two large castles on opposite hills in the background.

"This is the story of Hearts and Hooves Day isn't it?" Axel asked as she watched the actors and actresses canter onto the stage.

"I t most certainly is," Star replied.

"I haven't actually seen it acted out before, but I remember the story," Axel said before an older mare turned around and shushed her. The blonde mare apologized and sat quietly while up on the stage the lead actor began to speak.

The story was an old one that everypony, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, were very familiar with. The act started with two ancient kingdoms involved in a blood feud, constantly fighting and causing disharmony, until one day when a prince from one of the kingdoms met the princess of the other at a royal ball he had snuck into. Though his affections had once rested with a mare from his own kingdom, he fell madly in love with the princess at first sight and she him, but they were both far too fearful of what their parents might do to openly confess their love to one another.

The performers portraying each character in the play were obviously veterans at the act and each line they uttered commanded the full attention of the audience, so even though both Star and Axel knew the story well they still sat in rapt attention. The backdrops were beautifully designed, as were the clothes that everypony on stage wore, but all of it paled in comparison to the actress portraying the alicorn princess. She was a tall white unicorn, flawless in coat and strawberry blonde mane with poise and style that dwarfed the other actors and actresses along side her.

As the first act finished and the curtains were drawn, Star sat wondering just who that majestic mare was and why she had not moved to the Canterlot theatre. She was by far the best thespian that Star had ever encountered and could have wowed even the most discriminating of audiences. Star had never before considered being attracted to somepony of the same sex, but she imagined that there were many ponies, stallions and mares, who had fallen for the illustrious unicorn on stage. The way her the red highlights in her mane caught the stage lighting and flowed along with the grace with which she moved was breathtaking. Even the fake pegasus wings she wore for her role as alicorn royalty looked as if they would have suited her perfectly in real life.

"She's amazing," Axel said as she stared at the actress with an expression of pure awe. "I've never seen somepony so beautiful in my life." Star was inclined to agree, although Princess Celestia and Luna were still been lovelier in comparison, but that would have been an unfair comparison anyway. The curtains closed as the stagehooves changed scenes, only to be reopened a few minutes later.

"Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie, and young affection gapes to be his heir; that mare for which love groan'd for and would die, with tender princess match'd, is now not fair," the narrator began as he set the scene for the second act. "Now the prince will be loved and love again, when bewitched by the charm of brew, but to his foe supposed he must complain, and she take love's sweet nectar from fearful hooves: being held a foe, he may not have access to breathe such vows as lovers use to swear; and she as much in love, her means much less to meet her new-beloved any where: but potion lends them power, time means, to meet tempering extremities with extreme sweet," he finished, describing the prince's intentions to ensnare the princess's affections that he believed lied elsewhere and the eventuality of their forbidden coupling.

The next act opened with the scene in which the earth pony prince, being smitten with the vision of beauty he had met at the dance, concocted a love potion from the pages of an old spell book. He then proceeded to pay one of the maids in the home of his family's enemies to dose the fair princess's beverage without her knowledge and then, while she was under the effects of the brew, he drank the potion himself before climbing up to her balcony so that he could gaze into her eyes and seal the spell, unaware that the brew in which he forced upon his love and drank willingly himself was a lover's poison.

Every player spoke their lines with what was undoubtedly a well practiced ease, but Star had no doubt that everypony in attendance was too memorized by the star actress to have noticed any slip ups anyway. It was a production the young unicorn had seen many times before and yet, at that moment, it was as if she was seeing the tale unfold with new eyes. By the time that the second act had come to a close and intermission was called the entire theatre was in a state of stunned silence. Entire minutes passed before anypony even left their seats to stretch their legs.

Star and Axel walked out to the lobby side by side, neither of them daring to speak for fear of shattering the grand illusion of the epic performance. Judging by the hushed whispers around them, Star concluded that the entirety of the audience felt the same. Star made up her mind right then to meet with the actress should the opportunity arise and possibly create her own opportunity should it not.

"How long will it be until they start the next half of the play?" Axel whispered.

"It shouldn't be long," Star responded in an equally hushed tone. They wandered the lobby absentmindedly for a short time after that, both enraptured by the memory of the mare, yet neither willing to speak of her lest it jinx the perfection that they had witnessed. It was a strange feeling, but one Star didn't find at all unpleasant.

"The show will be commencing in a few minutes, everypony please take your seats," the narrator announced in his loud voice from atop the stage. Star and Axel filed in along with the rest of the crowd, but there was no pushing or shoving this time, rather it seemed as if the intensity of the play had subdued everypony present. Once every vacant place had again been filled, the narrator began his brief introduction to the third act. The curtains were opened once more to reveal the scene in which the prince's friend realizes the prince's mistake and seeks a way to rectify his grievous blunder.

The prince is far to absorbed in the throes of the poison to do anything but runaway with his love so it falls to his closest friend to find a cure, lest the lover's parents go to war, each blaming the other family for their missing heirs. The prince's friend hides both successors in an old temple until his return and ventures into the darkest depths of an ancient dragon's cave, where he believes the dragon will have a cure. Of course upon entering the dragon's domain the loyal stallion is toyed with an eaten, leaving the two enchanted lovers to fend for themselves.

During any other performance the third act would have been regarded as the most enthralling part of the piece, but it had a distinct lack of everypony's favorite thespian and so it went underappreciated. There was the faintest murmur of relief as the curtains were drawn and the stage set for the final scene, in which the two kingdoms go to war as a result of misplaced hatred and the lover's waste away under the effects of the poison they had consumed. The audience waited with bated breath as the dark blue, velvety curtains were pulled apart again.

The stars of the show were center stage, in the midst of their marriage ceremony while elsewhere their kingdoms were crumbling and their ponies suffering in vain. It was a tragic ending, but one that most ponies had seen unfold upon the stage time and time again, yet by the last scene there was nary a dry eye in the building. The audience wept silently for the demise of the kingdoms and the death of the prince, but their actual tears fell only for the princess, whose performance far exceeded any expectations. As the curtains closed and the lights died out, every pair of forehooves in the crowd began to beat upon the polished floor in a roar of applause and when they reopened to allow the performers to take a bow, the intensity of the noise was deafening.

The actress portraying the princess was the last to exit the stage, blowing a kiss out to the audience, one which every stallion, and likely a fair majority of the mares, wished was for them. The stage lights were snuffed and the dimmer lights that surrounded the theatre room were relit as everypony shuffled back out into the lobby. Star and Axel followed the flow of the crowd, faces painted with dazed smiles as they entered the large, front room and wandered out the doors.

It was getting late in the evening and the air was cold as Star and Axel left the theatre, but not quite freezing for once. The skies were basically clear, although most of the stars were still drowned out by the unnatural light of the city, and it had stopped snowing. The mares' hooves sloshed under them as they trod through the melting snow that had accumulated on every street over the past couple of days. Star was practically prancing as she left the tranquility of the theatre in exchange for the noise of the streets.

"That was fantastic," Axel exclaimed as after taking a deep breath of the crisp evening air. "I've been to a couple of plays before, but nothing compared to that."

"Mhmm," Star mumbled in agreement.

"It was beautiful," Axel continued.

"Yes she was," Star blurted before she realized what she had just said and then blushed bright red with embarrassment. "I meant the play! It was beautiful." Axel just giggled at her flustered state.

"You don't have to be such a prude, Star. Just because you can admit that a mare was attractive doesn't make you a lesbian," Axel explained, "although it certainly makes it more likely," she finished with a smirk. Star stuck her tongue out childishly to which Axel replied, "Thanks for the offer, but I like stallions." The earth pony trotted ahead and Star's cheeks burned an even brighter shade of red as she realized what her friend had meant.

Star was a bit frustrated at how mature and relaxed Axel could be when talking about sexual matters, but still act completely foalish at other times. Star was basically her opposite in that regard. She had always been a bit naïve, but it had started to become apparent to her in the past couple weeks, perhaps because she was spending so much time with ponies her own age, instead of the middle aged scientists and professors she usually associated with. It was a bit unsettling for the black unicorn.

"We should try to meet her," Star said, remembering the promise she had made to herself in the theatre. She wanted to try, before her giddiness from watching the play faded away.

"Meet who, the actress?" Axel asked with a mixture of amusement and skepticism. "I'm sure that everypony is clamoring to meet her, so what makes you think that she'll talk to us?"

"Because she's sneaking out of the alley straight ahead," Star retorted. Sure enough the elegant white unicorn was turning the corner from the alley and walking away at a brisk, yet dignified pace. "Let's go talk to her," Star suggested again.

"Well, look who found her moxie," Axel giggled as they took off at a quick trot to catch up to the mysterious mare. She looked back at them as they approached, a small sigh escaping her lips, still lush and pink from the stage makeup. Now that she was out of the costume she had worn in the theatre and the fake wings had been removed, Star could clearly see the actress's cutie mark, a leaf with three small whitish-pink flowers. They were most likely cherry blossoms, Star deduced.

"I'm not giving out autographs today," she spoke flatly as Star and Axel slowed down to match her pace. Her head didn't even twitch in their direction as they took up positions on either side of her and walked along the slush covered sidewalk.

"That's perfectly fine," Star replied, "because we didn't come for an autograph." The mare's eyebrows raised in curiosity as Star spoke. "I was just hoping that I could get your name." The actress laughed aloud and for a moment Star thought she might be laughing at her attempt to strike up a conversation. It was a bit strange, but to the younger unicorn's surprise, the white mare's laugh was one of relief.

"Thank the princesses," the actress huffed. "If I had to sign one more paper or answer another stupid question then I was going to snap." She flashed a smile that, while still strikingly perfect, showed an inner deviousness that caught Star and Axel off guard.

"That's all well and good," Axel replied, "but you still didn't tell us your name." The tall mare eyed them both suspiciously for a few seconds as they walked down the stone streets of Manehatten, before deciding that they were no threat to her.

"My name is Surinam Cherryblossom, but I suppose you can just call me Suri," she informed them with another smile. "What should I call you," she asked, since Star and Axel were both too dumbstruck to introduce themselves on their own.

"Oh, I am Discipula Star."

"And I'm Alexia Lynn Sapphire, but almost everypony just calls me Axel, because I build wagons and such for a living." Suri offered a look of pity to Axel that went unnoticed by either mare.

"That is a very lovely name for somepony with such a, um… crude profession," Suri observed with only the slightest hint of humor. "Wait, did you say your name was Discipula Star?" Suri asked in shock as she turned to face the smaller, black unicorn beside her.

"Umm… yes," Star reluctantly admitted. She wasn't sure why Suri would know who she was, even if she did happen to be Princess Luna's student.

"The Star who has all of those exhibits on display in the museum uptown?" Suri pressed. Star let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. For some reason she really cared what this stranger thought about her.

"Mhmm, I'm an archeologist, mostly, but I also study magic under Princess Luna," Star explained.

"Show off," Axel jokingly mumbled under her breath.

"Color me impressed," Suri said as she looked from one mare to the other. Then a genuine smile crept across her face, not one of her stage smiles or even one of her fake autograph smiles, but a smile that meant she just had an epiphany. "You two look like you know how to have a good time," Suri observed.

"Damn right," Axel blurted out with a laugh.

"I guess so," Star agreed.

"Then how would you like to go to this little place I visit after work when I need to unwind?" Suri asked them with her most seductive look yet. Star and Axel melted in her gaze and nodded in agreement. "Good, just follow me."

All three mares continued down the street at a more relaxed pace now that they were all on friendly terms. Star and Axel hadn't the faintest idea where Surinam was leading them, but she had the presence of somepony that you couldn't help but to like, so they would have followed her anywhere in the city. For her part, Suri had no idea whether or not the two mares were dangerous or if they had been telling the truth about whom they were, but they seemed harmless enough and she was in the mood to drink.

The sky grew darker as they walked down block after block, streets after street, twisting and turning all over town. The moon was waning, but still hung very high in the sky, accompanied by a few stars that managed to outshine the light pollution of Manehatten, and Star took one last clear headed glance at it before they reached their destination. It was a small door in the alleyway side of a large building. It looked grungy and unused, but Star could hear the faint sound of music coming from the other side.

"What is this place," Axel asked, equally confused by the dreary location.

Suri flashed her perfectly aligned teeth before replying, "Wait just a second and you'll see," she then proceeded to pull the chipped door open with a pink flash of her magic. Suri nodded her head to the side, signaling Star and Axel to enter first. They walked slowly, single file, until they heard the slamming of the door behind them and felt Suri nudging them forward with a giggle. "Welcome to Cockatrice."


	42. That Warm, Fuzzy Feeling

~Chapter 39: That Warm, Fuzzy Feeling~

Never before in her entire life had Discipula Star seen a sight like the one that greeted her as she crossed the threshold into the place that Suriname Cherryblossom called Cockatrice. She was immediately hit by a wave of acrid smoke and thought numbing noise as they passed through dark black curtains into the main room. Even Axel, who was by far more experienced in sexual matters than her unicorn friend, was staring at the crowed with a stunned expression. Suri didn't seem to be phased by what was going on, having been to Cockatrice many times in the past, so she was able to canter in without any problems, but Star had to concentrate hard just to pick her hooves up and walk.

Cockatrice, it turned out, was no more than a medium sized room that was swarming with intoxicated stallions and mares who were busy dancing and satisfying other desires. The music was deafening and unlike anything Star and Axel had ever heard. It was a seemingly random collection of strange instruments being played alongside a thundering drum that rattled the very walls with each low beat. Everywhere Star looked she saw bodies shaking and twisting as they danced uninhibited with anypony nearby, grinding against one another in ways that made Star uncomfortable just to have witnessed. It was an utter madhouse and everypony loved it.

Suri lead them around the edge of the pulsating crowd of dancers to a long counter in the back that stretched from one wall to the other. There were two ponies; a mare and stallion, behind the counter serving up what Star could only conclude were strong alcoholic drinks. Suri walked up to the bar and said something to the female bartended, but Star couldn't hear what it was over the pounding beat of the song playing. It was stiflingly hot and very dark in the room, but there were also strange lights that would flash on and off at seemingly random times, lighting up the air, which was hazy with smoke and smelled of sweat. The whole effect was beginning to make Star dizzy and panicked as she peered around.

Suri turned back a few seconds later, levitating three small glasses before her as she faced Star and Axel with a smile. She floated a glass in front of each mare, intending for them to drink the odd colored fluid at the same time, but Star was a bit reluctant. Whatever it was had a bluish color and was faintly luminescent. She hadn't planned on drinking again, especially so soon after her horrendous hangover. She tried to tell Suri as much, but the beautiful white mare was staring back at her with an eager grin and Star faltered in her resolve.

"Bottoms up, bitches!" Suri screamed over the roar of the odd melody as she tilted all three glasses down their throats with a sudden flash of pink light. It caught both of the other mares off guard and they coughed and sputtered as soon as the tangy fluid had gone down. Star licked her lips and wondered why this drink tasted so much different than the apple pie moonshine that Brass Heart had shared with her.

"What in the hay was that stuff?" Star asked, yelling just to be heard even though Suri was less than a yard away. It didn't burn like most alcohol she had tried, but it had a distinct aftertaste that stuck on her tongue.

"Mostly liquor," Suri replied as she floated the three small glasses back to the bar top and brought back three different drinks.

"What does that mean, mostly liquor?" Star asked, trying not to worry, but doing a poor job of it. "What else was in that drink?" Star couldn't hear it, but she could see Suri let out an annoyed sigh, as if Star's question was a hassle to answer.

"A little of this and a little of that, but nothing that will hurt you," Suri shouted back. "You trust me, right?" Axel shook her head yes, but Star was reluctant to put faith in somepony she had only known for an hour.

"I guess," she finally relented. Suri beamed back at them as she shoved the new drinks into their faces. Star took a deep breath to steady her nerves before taking a sip from the diamond shaped glass. This new drink tasted like any other alcohol, but was served with pieces of fruit in the bottom and around the rim. It was delicious and Star relaxed a bit more as she took a longer drink.

Suri downed nearly half of hers in one shot and then nodded her head to the side before walking away, leaving Star and Axel to follow after. The tall, white unicorn lead them further into the crowded bar until she reached a closed door, painted the same dark color as the other walls so that it was almost impossible to notice unless you were standing right in front of it. Star wondered just how far down this rabbit hole Suri expected them to follow.

On the other side of the inconspicuous door was a hallway, painted a deep red color and dimly lit with blue lights so that it created a violet aura about the place. Star took a nervous drink from her ice cold beverage as she and Axel followed after the flower marked flank ahead of them. There were other doors spaced at equal intervals throughout the entire hallway, but Suri led them past each one until they reached a dead end, where one final door stood. It was painted the same red and Star noticed that there was no visible handle anywhere on it, only a few spell markings that glowed faintly white in the blue lights that washed over them.

Suri pressed her slender horn against the door and there was an audible click which broke the silence that Star hadn't even noticed was there. The sound of the obscenely loud music was little more than the occasional muffled thump from the back room. It had been such an abrupt change that it had gone completely unnoticed by her and Axel for a little while. The door swung in and Star tried to peer around Suri and get a glimpse of what lay beyond, but the room was pitch black.

"Come on in," Suri told them as her horn sparked once more and the room was lit with a standard light that Star found quite welcoming. "I thought you two might like to talk back here for awhile before we head back out to the bar."

The room was fairly small with most of its space taken up by a red couch that ran along three of the four, dark red walls. There was a small wooden table in the middle, where Suri set her glass next to a jewel inset in the center before taking a seat. Axel joined her on one side of the couch and Star on the other. It was a much more intimate setting and yet didn't make Star nearly as uncomfortable as the dance floor had. This was a very strange place and she found herself wondering exactly how Suri had known about it. There certainly weren't any bars like this in her home town.

"So where are you girls from?" Suri asked in a relaxed voice.

"I live in Dodge, although I travel all over Equestria," Star replied before taking a long drink of her liquor. She could feel a strong buzz in the back of her head already and she smiled involuntarily.

"I live in a house just north of Rambling Rock Ridge," Axel answered after.

"Dodge, huh? I used to live there," Suri informed them, "Although that was, oh, maybe six years ago now." The white mare picked her glass up from the table and downed the last of it before setting it back down. "It was too small for my tastes though.

"I can imagine," Star said as she tried to get comfortable on the overstuffed cushions of the wraparound couch. After a few seconds of effort she gave up and settled for another sip from her slowly disappearing beverage. "How exactly did you know about this place anyway?" Star asked.

"Well, back when I was just making a name for myself as an actress I used to work here part time. One of the stallions that I dated for awhile owns the place, so he set me up with a job," Suri explained as she reached a hoof out and lightly tapped the small ruby in the center of the table. Star was about to question her reasons for doing so when a voice called out, seemingly from the jewel itself.

"What can I get you Suri?" the voice asked. Star had heard of call stones before, but she had never actually used one. Two stones were enchanted with the same spell so that, when activated, whatever sounds one picked up, the other would project from up to a block away. They would have been more widely used if they weren't so impractical, Star imagined, but they served their purpose perfectly in the bar, where loud music would have made shouting from across the room impossible.

"I just need another round for me and my two new friends back here," Suri said into the air. "Make it two honey rums and another poison joke for me." If she was having another poison joke, then that must have been what the glowing blue drink was that they had first, Star deduced. There was no way it actually contained poison joke though, because that would have been insane. Most likely they had named it after the magical plant because of the color, or so Star hoped.

"Coming right up," the stallion replied before the sound from the call stone died down once again. Suri tapped her hooves on the floor as she sat with her dark green eyes closed. Her long eyelashes fluttered a split second later as she opened them with a smile.

"That's right, I was telling you about when I started working at Cockatrice," she giggled. "As you can imagine, Manehatten is a very expensive city to live in and I was having some trouble getting recognized as the immaculate thespian I am, so I had to moonlight here almost every night." That explained how she knew about the club, which seemed as if it was a fairly well kept secret.

"Wow, that must have left you pretty busy," Axel commented as she finished her drink and set the empty glass on the wooden table beside Suri's.

"Yes it did, but there are worse places to spend your nights," the actress replied.

"Why exactly is this place so… um…" Star wasn't sure how to word the question, but Suri picked up on what she was asking anyway.

"Exclusive? Strange? Exciting?" Suri asked with a careless wave of her hoof to punctuate each word. "You would have to ask my ex-coltfriend, because he's the one who owns the place, but…" She paused in her answer to lean in closer, so Star and Axel did the same. "I think he's just trying to be eccentric so that he can get me back," Suri finished before bursting out into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Star replied, completely missing the sarcasm as she picked up her drink. It was almost gone and the ice had melted, so she pressed the rim against her lips and tipped her head back, finishing the remainder in one gulp before slamming the glass on the table with a look of distaste on her face. "I'm not sure I'm going to drink anymore after that one," Star said as she shuddered from the feeling of the alcohol hitting her stomach.

"Aww, why not?" Suri asked.

"She's a bit of a lightweight," Axel answered. Star shot her red coated friend a glare, but it didn't hold because Axel had only spoken the truth. Star really wasn't much of a drinker and there was no shame in that fact.

"Just one more drink?" Suri begged, "And then we can go out and dance. I promise that you'll have a good time." Suri puckered her bottom lip and fluttered her eyelashes with the most pitiful look she could manage, which was very pitiful indeed considering she was an actress by trade. Star once again caved into the attractive mare's begging and feared that it would become a habit if she spent much more time with Suri.

"Alright, one more and then we dance," Star sighed.

"Yay," Suri cheered as she clapped her hooves together quickly. Star just rolled her eyes. She was actually feeling pretty good right about then, much better than she had expected to anyway. She's only had one drink and a shot, but her body felt tingly all over and she repeatedly found herself smiling for no reason.

There was a knock on the door and a second later the bartender opened it and hurriedly placed three new drinks on the small table before picking up their empty glasses and retreating out the door, presumably to go serve even more drinks. Suri quickly grabbed her poison joke shot and tossed it back like it was water. Star and Axel settled for sipping on their own drinks, which were very sweet to cover up the strong liquor.

"How are you two feeling now?" Suri asked with a grin. When Axel set down her drink to answer, Suri snatched it up and took a sip before quickly returning it.

"I feel really light and fuzzy," Axel giggled as she watched the white mare steal some of her amber colored beverage.

"Yeah, me too," Star agreed with a slow nod of her head. Suri's laugh, like a little filly who knows a dirty secret, seemed to echo in the small room and Star watched her movements like they were happening at half speed. It was a strange sensation, but not altogether unpleasant and Star's mind traced back to the poison joke that they had all drank. She thought about asking what had been in the luminous drink, but doubted that Suri would have ever given a straight answer.

Time lost all meaning for Star in that back room as Axel, Suri and her talked and laughed, all while drinking more and more. The faint buzz eventually grew in Star's head until she was completely wasted, but unlike last time she still felt awake and alert, although her reaction seemed a bit delayed. She was now almost certain that something besides alcohol was in the poison joke, but she couldn't bring herself to care anymore. She was having a great time with Suri and Axel and that was all that mattered.

"Okay, okay," Suri said suddenly, interrupting the pointless conversation that Axel and Star were choking on laughter over, "I think that it's dancing time." Her words were slightly slurred, but much less so than Star would have expected considering they had each consumed two more drinks at some point during their conversations and fun. Suri stood up, swaying for a moment before she caught her balance and walked to the door. "Are you coming or what?" she asked when she looked back to see Star and Axel still sitting on the couch. Both mares got up and followed their new friend out the door, giggling madly all the while.

The dance floor was still packed when the three mares walked back into the main part of the bar and the music was still blaring loudly from somewhere Star couldn't pinpoint. Suri lead them right into the midst of the pulsating throng of ponies, moving with a flowing grace that Star and Axel were unable to come close to. A few of the other dancers smiled at Suri or waved, but most of them just cleared themselves from her path, as if she were royalty in this place, which Star figured might actually be the case. Once they had approached the near center of the crowd the music changed, like somepony had been waiting for Suri before they switched songs.

There was a deep rumbling like the sound of a stampede over hard packed dirt. It resonated in Star's head, forcing itself into the core of her being and when it finally reached its crescendo there was a loud boom accompanied by flashes of light and rain. Star gazed up to the ceiling as she felt the first wet drop splash across her face. She wiped a hoof over the spot and it came back red, but she didn't remember getting cut on anything. She laughed at the absurdity of her situation. As the lights went out she noticed the red fluid was glowing and there was more falling down from somewhere up above.

The music started up again as the last echoes of the boom died off, the pounding of drums increasing in intensity until it was the only sound that Star could hear. It even drowned out most of her thoughts as splatters of various florescent colors coated her body and lights began flashing madly creating a strobe effect that was both disorienting and exciting. As Star tore her gaze from the ceiling, she saw an intense spectacle; Suri, covered in the same glowing fluid and dancing wildly with a look of pure nirvana.

The tall, white mare spun and kicked in time with the frenzied drums, reminding Star of some sort of ceremonial Zebra dancer like she had seen pictured in a book. Suri slid across the floor and pirouetted on one hoof, a move that Star wouldn't have thought possible for an intoxicated pony, as the rest of the dance floor sprang back to life around her in a thunderous roar of cheers. It seemed that everypony had been waiting for Suri to make her move on the dance floor and Star could see why. She glanced to her left, where Axel was staring intently at the unicorn, almost like she was hoping to absorb some of her beauty and talent through the eye contact.

It was unlike anything Star had ever witnessed, probably unlike anything anypony she had ever associated with had ever witnessed, but she loved it. The raw energy and pure sexual desire that radiated from the whole room was just as intoxicating as any hard liquor and she felt her initial warm fuzziness intensifying with each drum beat. Suri opened her eyes, dark green irises reflecting the strange dark light that shone over the dance floor. Star got lost in the depth of those eyes as her new friend motioned for Star and Axel to join her on the dance floor.

Neither mare hesitated, too absorbed in the energy of the moment to bother being self-conscious about how they might look in comparison to Suri. Star simply let go, allowing her body to move of its own volition, as if something had possessed her. Normally Star was terrified of losing control, it was the reason she had never smoked herbs a second time, but for some reason, in Suri's presence, the small black unicorn felt perfectly at ease losing herself. Axel joined her, both of them spinning and flowing in tandem, somehow in sync despite having never danced together before.

As Suri joined them in their dance everypony else in the crowd stepped back, staring in admiration at the three mares as they dipped and hopped around one another in an exotic display. Star felt like she was watching with them, a separate entity from her own body, watching as it ground itself against the soft, warm bodies of the mares beside it and being caressed in kind. The dance was primal and sexual, but also graceful and beautiful. It was as if Star was a part of Axel and Suri and they were a part of her. If it was possible for there to be a moment of perfection in the world, Star imagined it would have felt something like what she was feeling right then.

The dance continued for what seemed like an eternity, but also too short a time and eventually the drums died away and a brief silence overcame Cockatrice before the crowed suddenly burst to life with a thundering of hooves against the floor in applause. Star stood there, stunned, gasping for air and slick with sweat that wasn't all her own as the other ponies cheered for Suri, Axel and her. Her knees felt weak and her lungs burned, but all of that paled in comparison to the overwhelming joy inside.

"I think I need another drink," Suri gasped as she headed for the bar, completely ignoring the mob of ponies that parted before her. Star and Axel followed after, trailing behind her perfectly shaped white flank as she led them across the dance floor. By the time that they reached the bar the club had returned to normal, everypony dancing once again as if Suri's interruption had never occurred.

"That was unbelievably amazing," Axel quietly squeed into Star's ear as they stood at the bar waiting for Suri to order them something.

"I know," Star agreed. "I can't believe we actually danced like that in front of all these strangers." Star could feel her heart fluttering from just talking about it and it made her beam back at Axel with an unrestrained intensity.

"Hey Mix, can we get three honey rums," Suri called. It wasn't a question, but more of a polite command. Mix, which was apparently the male bartender's name, grabbed a bottle in his mouth and poured three glasses of the amber liquor. Suri passed one to Star and the other to Axel, both mares accepting the next round of drinks without any complaints this time. Star knew she had drunk much more than she should have, but she didn't feel very intoxicated, at least not to the point where it was affecting her negatively.

"That was intense," Star shouted to Suri as they made their way to the hidden door in the back of the club once again. "Do you dance like that every night?"

"Only when I've had a stressful day," Suri replied as she held the door open for the other mares. They walked down the quiet violet hued hall, stopping momentarily for Suri to open the door at the end, before they were once again sinking into the red couch. "Did you two have fun out there?"

"Yes, it was incredible," Star replied as Axel nodded her head in vigorous agreement. "It was so raw and provocative." Suri laughed at Star's passionate tone.

"Yeah, I usually have a pretty good time when I dance and the drinks help too," the actress admitted as she sipped on her rum.

All three ponies were still out of breath, Star more so than her friends because she wasn't used to so much intense physical activity at once. Her black mane was plastered to her head with sweat and her tail was sticking to her legs as she squirmed on the couch trying to get comfortable. The honey rum was cool though and it helped wet her parched throat. Tomorrow was sure to bring the pinnacle of all hangovers, but until that happened she was going to continue enjoying herself.

"What time is it," Star asked after a few minutes of silent drinking while everypony caught their breath and cooled down. "It feels like we've been her for days and I'm sure that Brass Heart and Dawn are going to start panicking if Axel and I don't get back to the Dragonquine soon."

"Oh yeah, I had completely forgotten that they don't know where we are right now," Axel said as she set down her glass and looked to Suri for an answer.

"I'd have to guess it's almost sunrise," Suri told them. It didn't seem to faze her in the slightest that they had been drinking all night and Star imagined the reason was because she often spent her nights that way.

"For the love of Luna, I hope they haven't already started looking for us. I'll never here the end of it," Star grumbled as she got to her hooves, glass of liquor still levitating in front of her.

"Who are Brass Heart and Dawn anyway?" Suri asked with a sly smirk. "Are they your special someponies?" Star wasn't surprised that she had drawn that conclusion, but it still made her chuckle as she shook her head. "Oh, so they're just here to…" Suri trailed off and made an obscene gesture with her tongue and hooves to finish the statement. Star usually would have been embarrassed, but this time she merely laughed it off. That certainly wasn't the reason for the soldiers accompanying them, though she figured Axel wouldn't have minded if it was.

"They're our escorts," Star explained. "Princess Luna did not want me traveling all the way to Manehatten by myself, plus we needed a pegasus to fly the chariot." Suri fixed her with a look that said she thought Star was losing her mind. Star realized that it must have been because she mentioned a flying chariot, which was far from a common sight anywhere in the world as far as she knew.

"Maybe I shouldn't have let you drink quite so much," Suri told her as she took the half empty glass of alcohol from Star's magical grasp.

"We really did come here in a flying chariot though," Star protested, "tell her, Axel." Axel was clutching her sides as she silently laughed, but she managed to catch her breath a few seconds later.

"It's true," the earth pony explained. "I built a chariot that can be pulled in the air by a pegasus." She wiped a single tear from her eyes after she had spoken.

"Are you bucking joking?" Suri asked as she gave Star her drink back. "Can I see it, oh, can I ride in it?" Suri asked, clearly entranced by the prospect of riding around in the air. Her dark green eyes pleaded with the two mares as her bottom lip quivered slightly. She was a master of manipulation and Star knew what Axel's answer would be before she even opened her mouth.

"I don't see why not," Axel gave in.

"Okay, but we should really get back to the hotel soon," Star chimed in. "We can ride all we want tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure that Brass Heart will kill me himself if we don't get back before sunrise." Axel and Suri both nodded in acceptance of her suggestion and all three mares tipped back the last of their beverages before preparing to leave the bar. Suri led the way out, stopping only long enough to bid Mix a good night before they left the still lively atmosphere of Cockatrice behind them.

There was something warm wrapped around her waist; this one thought prevailed over all others as Star slowly opened her eyes. She looked to her left side, towards Axel's bed, coming face to face with Surinam, who was still passed out after their nighttime excursion. Even with a messy mane, splatters of florescent gunk and a small strand of drool hanging from the side of her mouth Suri looked positively spectacular and Star decided that waking her would be too cruel, so she contented herself with laying still for awhile longer. The day had already been in full swing for awhile, if the light streaming through the bedroom windows was any indication, but Brass Heart and Dawn Glory hadn't stopped by the room, as far as Star knew. They must have had a busy night as well, she figured.

Axel was still fast asleep and Star could see part of her leg sticking out from the disaster area that was her pile of blankets and pillows. For some reason Star was actually feeling pretty good, which was strange considering she had drank nearly twice as much last night as she had the night before. She decided it best not to question why and just thanked the princesses the she could open her eyes without screaming in agony. The black unicorn took a deep breath as she tried to relax and fall back to sleep, but her mind was already alert and sleep seemed to be slipping away from her.

The feel of Suri's soft breathing, warm against Star's neck, wasn't helping much either. Star liked the feeling of having somepony snuggled up beside her, but she sincerely wished that it were a nice stallion instead of a promiscuous mare. Suri had no doubt spent many nights in stranger's beds, Star imagined, so waking up next to her shouldn't have come as such a surprise, but Star couldn't really remember much about what happened after they had left Cockatrice and headed back to the Dragonquine. Hopefully nothing lewd had occurred while she was not in her right mind, although Star couldn't help the small flash of a smile that overcame her at the thought.

The minutes passed with only the sound of her friend's shallow breathing to keep Star company, slowly turning into hours, but eventually the tall mare curled up next to her began to stir. Suri yawned, her breath smelling of stale liquor as it washed over Star. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times as they adjusted to the bright light and a smile crept over her white muzzle, though whether it was from the memories of last night or from a good dream Star couldn't be sure.

"Good morning," Star whispered so that she wouldn't wake Axel.

"Morning," Suri replied before leaning forward and suddenly pressing her lips against Star's in a quick kiss. In those few seconds Star felt her pulse quicken and her body temperature flare. Star pulled back quickly, with a mixture of surprise and embarrassment on her face as she stared at Suri. A mare had just kissed her; the shock of the realization forced her into a stunned silence for a few long seconds as her brain tried to process the fact.

"What was that!?" she asked, her voice raising a few octaves as she did.

"What was what?" Suri asked in genuine surprise, clearly not understanding what had set her new friend off.

"Yo- you just kissed me on the lips," Star replied as she sat up from the bed. Suri was probably the most physically attractive unicorn that Star had ever laid eyes on, but that didn't mean that she actually wanted to be intimate with her.

"Mhmm," Suri mumbled in reply, before she made the connection between Star's upset and the quick show of intimacy. "Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Suri said as she tried to suppress her laughter, "that's just how I am, but I understand if you don't like that sort of thing. I have lots of friends that are prudes." Star was shocked, but not because of the kiss anymore.

"Did you just call me a prude?" she asked, the jest hitting home for her.

"Yeah, but it really isn't that big of a deal," Suri replied. "I'll just have to make sure to watch my displays of affection around you. Not everypony is as comfortable with their sexuality as me, after all." Suri smiled and Star couldn't tell if she was being genuine or just teasing her.

"Now wait just a minute," Star blurted, "I'm not a prude just because I don't go around kissing ponies at random. Some of us do have a modicum of decency you know."

"You're right, not kissing random ponies isn't what makes you a prude, but the fact that you're a prude is why you're too self-conscious to kiss a mare."

"I am not a prude," Star snapped. Whether Suri was simply teasing her or not it was irritating Star, most likely because she already had formed a complex about her relationship problems. Being called a prude wasn't helping matters any.

"Prove it, filly," Suri haughtily replied as she leaned closer to Star, eyes closed and plump, pink lips puckered with the slightest hint of a smirk around the edges of her mouth. She didn't seem to believe that Star would actually kiss her back and that fact alone was enough to push the prudish mare over the edge.

"Fine," she replied as she leaned in and pressed her lips firmly against Suri's, whose dark green eyes sprang open in surprise. Star had meant to give a quick peck, no more than what Suri had started with, but as she felt the softness of the white unicorn's lips and the heat of her breath, Star melted into the connection. Suri was very skilled at kissing and, as soon as she recovered from the shock of Star's sudden forward action, she began moving her head to the side and working her mouth as she reached a foreleg around Star's midsection, enjoying the feeling of their coats against one another. A voice in Star's head told her she had proved her point and that she could stop now, but the feeling of being this close to somepony was something that Star hadn't felt in awhile, something she had been desperately craving without even realizing it.

Without any warning, Suri rolled her body over, so that she was now on top of the smaller unicorn, pinning her legs against the mattress with her own as she darted her tongue into the younger mare's mouth. Star let out a small gasp as she felt Suri's weight shift onto her, but she still didn't put up any resistance, even as the promiscuous mare's tongue began probing her mouth, leaving behind the taste of stale alcohol and a faint hint of cherries. Star closed her eyes, getting lost in the moment as her body reacted to the closeness of Suri's involuntarily, her hips rocking slightly as the kiss deepened even further, her own tongue lashing out to meet her new friend's.

"Wow, I was just joking when I called you a lesbian," Axel's voice cut through the moment like a sharp knife through an apple, ripping Star out from her sordid fantasies and dropping her back into the reality of her current situation. She had just been caught by one of her very good friends, tongue deep inside another mare. Dragon's fire couldn't have burned hotter than Star's cheeks did at that moment as she shoved Suri off of her and buried her face into her pillow, throwing blankets over her head and letting out a muffled scream of frustration at herself. She could hear Axel's laughter being joined by Suri's and she tried to tune it out, much like a certain wetness that had collected under her blankets. If embarrassment could kill, then she was about to have a heart attack.

If Star had to pick a word to describe her current feeling, mortified would have probably been her top choice, either that or ashamed, both were ample descriptions. Even with her head firmly pressed into the bed and her eyes squeezed together, Star could feel her friends' gaze on her as they had a laugh at her expense. She wasn't a lesbian; that much Star was sure of, but it was going to be next to impossible to convince them of that fact. She knew that eventually she would have to meet their gaze, but her brain screamed at her to stay under the blankets until Suri and Axel had left. That wasn't going to happen of course, but she wished it could.

"Star, I was just joking," Axel told her as she sat on the edge of the bed and nudged her gently on the shoulder. Star flinched away from the contact, tears welling up in her violet eyes before being absorbed by the feather pillow. "I don't blame you for kissing Suri, hay, I probably would have too if she gave me the chance and I'm damn sure not a lesbian."

"Yeah, I've kissed plenty of girls, but that doesn't mean I don't like stallions too," Suri assured her. "Can you please just come out of the blankets? I promise we won't laugh anymore." They waited for a few seconds to see if their words had gotten through, but Star wasn't budging from her down bunker.

"It's not that big of a deal," Axel continued, "and it isn't like anypony else has to know. It can be our little secret." Star could feel both of the mares sitting beside her now and her cheeks had stopped burning, but she still wasn't sure she could face them again.

"You promise that you won't tease me?" Star's muffled voice asked.

"Cross our hearts and hope to fly," Axel responded. Star was still for a few moments before finally peeking out from the safety of her blankets. Axel and Suri were smiling at her, trying their best to look comforting as she forced herself up from the bed, wiping away the salty trail that the tears had left upon her cheeks. "See, it's not a big deal, Star."

"I guess you're right," Star admitted as she shoved the blankets off of her and met her friend's stares. "I'm not sure why I did it, but Suri was mocking me and I just had to prove I'm not a prude," Star sniffled.

"Well I think you've done a fine job of that," Axel giggled.

"If it makes you feel any better, you were actually a very good kisser," Suri said with a sweet smile. It did actually make Star feel a bit better and she managed to smile back at her friends as they got up from the bed.

"I suppose it does… just a little," Star admitted with a bashful smile as she stood next to them. A knock on the door interrupted their talk right then and Star had a fairly good guess as to who it was. "Just a second," she called out before whispering to Axel and Suri, "Not a word about what happened. I'm serious." Suri nodded her head in compliance and Axel made a zipping motion over her lips, signifying that Star's secret was safe with her.

Star took one last glance back at her friends, still covered in colored splatters and sporting messy manes, before putting a hoof to her lips and shushing them as she opened the bedroom door. Brass Heart and Dawn were waiting in the hall, looking absolutely frazzled with dark bags under their eyes as if they hadn't slept all night and day. Their manes were pushed back carelessly, allowing stray hairs to stick out this way and that and giving them the appearance of ponies who were far less than professional guards.

"Good morning," Brass Heart yawned.

"What in the hay happened to you two?" Star asked, her manners momentarily forgotten as she tried not to break down into laughter at the comical nature of their disheveled faces. The glanced at each other, exchanging some silent message between themselves before replying in unison, "It was a long night," and walking into the room.

"No, please come in," Star said dryly as she walked over to her bed and took a seat. Axel and Suri joined her, the latter smiling at the two new arrivals as she did.

"You must be Brass Heart and Dawn," Suri addressed them with a smile as she combed a hoof through her unkempt mane. Ate least everypony in the room looked like they had a rough night, Star thought as she glanced up at the violet and blue bangs hanging in her eyes.

"Yes," Brass Heart replied, "and you are?"

"My name is Surinam Cherryblossom," the white unicorn replied. Dawn shot Star a questioning glance as both stallions took in the sight of the attractive mare in front of them. Star mouthed the words, "it's a long story," as Dawn smiled back at Suri.

"Nice to meet you," Brass Heart replied, with a little more enthusiasm than Star was comfortable with. It wasn't as if she and Brass Heart had any sort of tangible connection outside of their professional relationship, but Star still felt a pang of jealousy at the obvious attraction showing through his greeting. She was fairly sure she was jealous of Suri and not Brass Heart, but she questioned herself none the less.

"Back to my question," Star restated, in a shallow attempt at changing the subject, "where were you two all night?" The soldiers exchanged uneasy looks once again and Star wondered what they were hiding from her.

"We could ask you the same thing," Dawn retorted.

"I was out drinking all night," Star said, taking both stallions completely by surprise. It seemed as if just one night of Suri's influence had more of an effect than Star could have anticipated, but she liked it. She felt more confident than she had in a long time, although if word got out about the kiss she had shared with the actress then Star was aware of how fast her thin emotional armor would crumble. Brass Heart shook the momentary surprise off as he strode over to the other bed and took a seat opposite the three mares.

"We had some business to attend to," he stated, all hint of humor gone from his casual demeanor as he spoke. "Star, I promise that I will fill you in after I have spoken with Princess Luna, but for now all that I can say is that we'll be leaving today." He spoke with the unwavering sternness of a soldier and Star could instantly tell how useless it would be to argue.

"Alright, we'll start packing right away," Star complied. Brass Heart and Dawn Glory gave simple nods of acceptance before standing up and walking to the door in a few long strides.

"We'll give you girls two hours before we leave," Dawn called back before following Brass Heart out the door and leaving the three mares to wonder what had just happened. Star was used to being left out of the loop when it came to certain matters, Equestria's wartime decisions being the most prominent, but she knew that Brass Heart would have told her at least a small part of what was happening unless he had been expressly forbidden, so she was worried when he had kept silent. She had no idea what Luna had sent them to Manehatten for, but one thing was clear as day; it wasn't just to keep a close eye on Star.

Star and Axel threw their belongings into their saddle bags with as much haste as they could muster under the circumstances, while Suri lay on the bed, watching them work with a passive calm showing through her dark green eyes. They worked in near silence until they were done; only the quiet rustling their clothes as they stuffed them into the bags could be heard. Star had been hoping to have one more night of relaxation with Axel, not to mention her new friend, Suri, but something important was calling the stallions back to Canterlot and Star was in no position to protest, so she stowed her minor complaints away. Having a bad attitude would only make everything worse.

"I'm coming with you," Suri suddenly spoke up, breaking the noiseless trance that Star and Axel had fallen into as they prepared to leave. Out of all the words Star had expected to hear coming out of the white unicorn's immaculately shaped mouth, those had been the most unexpected. Although Suri did seem the type of pony to up and leave everything behind on a whim, Star couldn't fathom a reason for her to ditch town with two mares she hardly even knew, but when she opened her mouth to protest, the words wouldn't form for her. Axel just laughed, as if Suri had told a joke, but the serious expression showing behind the strawberry blonde bangs let the earth pony know she was completely serious about leaving with them.

"Don't you have shows left to perform though?" Star asked as she latched both of her saddlebags closed. "You can't be serious about leaving just like that." Suri just shrugged as she lay back on the bed with a relaxed grin.

"There's a line of mares from here to Filly Delphia, who would be all to eager to replace me," she commented dryly, "Besides, I've been thinking about trying my hoof at the big theatres in Canterlot for awhile now and this is just the excuse I've been looking for." Star wasn't one to argue, especially considering she had been wondering why Suri hadn't already started acting in the Canterlot productions, but she would still have to check with her escorts just to be sure. Brass Heart and Dawn were operating under the princesses' strict orders and Star would never do anything against her matriarchs' wishes.

"Oh, well, the more the merrier," Axel beamed. "I'm pretty sure the extra weight won't be a problem for the flying chariot." Suri sat up with a half serious glare and Axel faltered in her speech. "Uh, not that you would add much weight anyway, but I was just thinking, uh, I mean, I probably weigh more than you do and, err…" the earth pony threw her forehooves in the air as she stopped trying to save herself, while Suri just giggled.

"I only meant that I'd like a ride if it wouldn't be too much of a burden," Suri explained, "But I wouldn't want to put you out." She glanced over to Star, whom she could tell was the more responsible of the two, giving a questioning smile.

"I can certainly ask the boys if it would be alright, but I can't make any promises," Star replied. Suri had her wrapped around her hoof and Star knew it.

"That's all I'm asking," Suri said as she got off the bed. "I should probably go grab my things, but I don't live very far from here, so you should still make the two hour deadline that mister strict stallion gave you," she said with a rigid stance meant to imitate Brass Heart. Star and Axel giggled at the accuracy of her reenactment.

"Alright," Star replied, "let me go talk to Brass Heart and I'll let you know." Star set her bags down by Axel's and opened the bedroom door. She walked across the hall, glancing down at the carpet with its fancy woven patterns and stopping at the door across from hers, giving two sharp knocks. Dawn responded a moment later, opening the door with a tired yawn.

"You're ready to go already?" he asked as he pulled the door open further, allowing Star a glimpse of Brass Heart who was sitting on the floor, wrestling with his own bags, until he looked up to see who had knocked.

"Not exactly," Star told them, "I actually have something to ask you." Dawn raised a dark eyebrow in reply. "My friend, Suri, was wondering if she could hitch a ride with us to Canterlot." Brass Heart took a deep breath, closed his eyes, placed a hoof against the side of his head and began rubbing his temple in small circles. "If it's too much extra weight then I understand, I just wanted an answer before she went to grab her things… On second thought, it was a stupid idea," Star mumbled as she turned away.

"Star," Brass Heart called out, stopping her in her tracks, "It's not that, I was just considering whether or not it would be safe. If something were to happen on the way back, then another pony would only divide my and Dawn's attention further. I just want to keep you and Axel safe." He opened his eyes, fixing them on Star who could see the stress that he was dealing with in the dull spheres.

"I understand," she replied quietly and continued on her way. What he had told her made perfect sense; if they were attacked then it would be much easier for him and Dawn to protect two mares instead of three, but Star was fairly confident she, at least, could take care of herself. Convincing either of the soldiers of that fact would be a difficult task though.

"Star," Brass Heart called again, causing the black mare to whirl around in irritation. Star had already told him that she understood his reasoning, so lecturing her more was just going to put her in a bad mood.

"What!?" she shot back, causing him to jerk his head up in surprise.

"Would you please stop trying to walk out on me?" Brass Heart asked in a perfectly even tone, while Dawn just snickered from his place beside the cracked door. "I was just trying to tell you that it's fine, but I'll need your help keeping us safe should things go south for some reason." Star's face glowed crimson for the second time that day. Making an ass of herself seemed to becoming habitual for the unicorn.

"Oh," Star huffed, "then I guess I just overreacted, didn't I?" Brass Heart just smirked at her as she turned and walked out of the room, leaving the stallions to finish their packing. "Well, that went better than expected," Star mumbled into the air as she crossed the hallway and knocked on the door to her and Axel's room.

"What did they say?" Axel asked as she swung the door open, in the middle of Star's second knock. She must have been waiting for me on the other side, Star thought as she walked in the room, trying her best not to let the answer show on her face as she looked at Axel.

"They said," she began in a morose tone, laughing on the inside as she saw Axel visibly droop at the anticipated answer, "…yes!" Star finished with a smile. Axel glanced up and gave her a playful shove as she matched Star's expression. "Hey where did Suri go anyway?" A quick look around the room revealed it to be quite empty, aside from Star, Axel and their belongings.

"Uh, haha, funny story about that," Axel replied, dancing around the question in a way that made Star instantly suspicious. "I sort of told her that the answer would definitely be yes, so she already left to go grab her stuff, but its okay because the answer really was yes, right?" Star rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Mhmm, no harm done," Star said as she lifted her bags up with a levitation spell and brought them over to her. She did one last check to make sure both bags were sealed before strapping them across her small back. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yup, I've got everything right here," Axel replied, turning to show Star that her bags were already on. "I looked around the room to make sure we didn't forget anything too." Star gave a quick nod as she strode over to the window, wanting to get one last glimpse of the city from her room before she left.

Wagons and chariots of all shapes and sizes passed by the front of the Dragonquine, along with a seemingly endless stream of ponies walking to and fro. The cloud cover that had plagued the skies during most of their stay had mostly dissipated, along with what snow had been covering the streets, so that now there was only a thin layer of frost in some places. It was undoubtedly cold, that much Star was sure of, but nowhere near as bad as it had been during the blizzard. She seriously hoped that they wouldn't have to deal with severe weather like that again.

"I guess we can go tell the boys that we will be waiting for them by the sky chariot," Star said, turning away from the window with a wistful smile. She had enjoyed her vacation, but the grim reality of life beckoned her back to Canterlot and she wasn't the type of pony to fight against what was expected of her. She had really hoped to see her acquaintance, Doctor Glyph, but that would have to wait for another time.

"Sure thing," Axel called back as she skipped out of the room.

Star had been right when she suspected the air would still be cold. The temperature was low enough for her to see her breath fog up as she exhaled and she wound up putting on her boots as she and Axel waited for the others to arrive at the chariot. Star was lying on her back and staring up at the grey-blue evening skies, watching a lonely wisp of cloud as it was slowly pushed across her field of vision on gentle breeze. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose, satisfied with the way the two puffs of vapor hung above her momentarily before they mixed in with the winter air. She felt much better now that she had taken a quick bath and combed her mane and tail.

Thump! "Son of a-," Axel's words dissolved into aggravated grunting as she scooted herself out from under the chariot, where she had been in the process of inspecting all of the various moving pieces and enchanted jewels which kept it aloft. Star had offered to help, but the bubbly earth pony had refused, so she settled for waiting on the bench seat in the chariot instead.

"Are you okay down there?" Star asked without bothering to peel her gaze from the creeping cloud above. She could hear a scraping sound as her blonde friend squirmed the last few inches out from the chariot.

"Yeah, I just hit my head," Axel grumbled as she grabbed the edge of the chariot and hoisted herself up. Star felt a hoof on her thigh as Axel forced her legs off of the bench and sat down next to her. "Where in the hay is everypony?" Axel asked in a huff. It hadn't taken long for her limited patience to run out and now that she had inspected every part of the chariot she had nothing else to do.

"We're right here," Dawn said as he and Brass Heart walked over to the mares, the former carrying their belongings while the latter was prepared to pull the chariot. They both had donned their armor once again, and Star admired it as they set about getting Brass Heart attached to the various straps.

"Fantastic, now we just need Suri to get here and we'll be ready," Star said as she forced her body up from the bench, letting out an involuntary shiver when the cool air made contact with her exposed stomach, before she tugged her cloak back around her.

"She isn't here yet?" Brass Heart asked with his annoyance clear in his voice.

"No, but I'm sure she'll get arrive any second," Star replied, trying not to let the pegasus's dour attitude affect her. Whatever he and Dawn had been doing last night had left them in a bad mood, but Star knew that it was most likely with good reason. Brass Heart had promised to fill her in when they got back to Canterlot and part of her couldn't wait to hear what was wrong, but another part would have rather never known. What boded ill for the soldiers boded ill for all of them, she assumed.

"Mhmm, there she is now," Axel said as she waved her foreleg in the air as a greeting, even though Suri would be there in just a few moments anyway.

"See, there is nothing to worry about," Star said, following up her statement with a smile that she hoped would ease Brass Hearts mind a bit. He did smile back, but she could tell that it was forced because of how wan it appeared. A combination of what was apparently very bad news and a night without sleep had left both pegasus looking worse for wear. They both had bags under their eyes and she assumed if they were to take off their helmets, the manes underneath would be in complete disarray still.

"Sorry it took me so long," Suri apologized as she trotted up to the side of the vehicle at a ladylike pace, "I wasn't sure what to pack, because I wanted to travel light, but I really liked most of my clothes." Star and Axel laughed as Suri's face took on a pouty look while she floated the three bags she had brought into the chariot.

"We can always send for the rest when we get to Canterlot," Star replied.

"Yes, that's all well and good, but can we please get going now?" Brass Heart asked. "I've been awake for two days straight and this chariot isn't the lightest thing in the world, not to mention we're going to have to travel all night to get to Hallow Shades." The blue eyed soldier craned his neck and stared back at them as he spoke, so Star smiled weakly at him and nodded her head. She hadn't thought about where they would stay that night, because she and the other mares could always sleep in the chariot, even if it was a bit crowded, but the stallions had to keep moving all through the night.

"Yeah, we're ready to go Brass Heart," Star mumbled as she helped Suri into the chariot. Axel scooted herself over on the bench so there would be enough room for all three of them to squeeze onto it. Thankfully Suri was skinny for her height and fit in without much trouble. Brass Heart gave a final nod before he started pulling them forward. Once he had gained enough speed, the pegasus shoved off of the ground with a grunt and furious beating of his wings. The gems kicked in at that moment and the sky chariot began lifting into the air.

"Mother of Celestia," Suri exclaimed, "it really is a flying bucking chariot." Her face lit up with wonderment as she peeked over the edge of the vehicle and watched the ground below them. "I thought that you two were screwing with me at first, but this is insane." That had been Star's initial reaction upon first seeing a chariot fly as well, but she had managed to contain herself.

"Why would we have lied about something like that?" Axel asked between fits of laughter. "That wouldn't have made any sense."

"I don't know," Suri replied in a voice squeaking with excitement. "I just didn't know that it was even possible for a chariot to fly."

The chariot slowly rose into the sky, passing by the six floors of the Dragonquine and continuing up until they were at cloud level. The streets of Manehatten were little more than pen strokes on the earth from their current vantage point. The sunlight was beginning to fade and the lights of the city were blinking into existence randomly. Even if the night sky was drowned out, the city had its own stars that came out every night and disappeared before first light.

The city that never sleeps; Star now knew it to be true, without a doubt. Each of them had spent the whole night awake, though some for different reasons than others, and now they were going to return to Canterlot, where a nationwide curfew was being decided upon. She couldn't imagine anypony in Manehatten following the laws, but Princess Celestia would probably send more guards to enforce the curfew if it did pass. Star could only see that causing more problems in the long run.

"Goodbye Manehatten," Axel said as she stared back at the city, slowly growing smaller as they left it behind. "I had fun, what about you?" She looked at Star who didn't have to think long before nodding her head.

"I had a good time as well," she replied.

"You're welcome," Suri said with a flash of white teeth and a laugh. The three mares settled back into their seats once the city had all but vanished from view behind the cloud cover. Although Manehatten had been cleared of foul weather, a light snow began as the chariot drew further away from the city limits. Suri shivered and scooted closer to Axel, who pulled her saddlebags over and began rummaging through them, finally yanking out a thick blanket. She spread it out and was glad to see it managed to cover all three of them well enough.

"Thanks," Suri said as she made herself comfortable on the bench, stretching out with a drawn out yawn as she did. "I am so tired after last night. Those couple hours of shut eye that I got weren't even close to enough." Star shared her friend's sentiments as she too could feel the pull of sleep on her heavy eyelids.

"Mhmm, I think that I might just get a few winks in before we get to Hallow Shades," Star said as she quit fighting to stay awake, allowing her violet eyes to close.

"Oh, you two are no fun," Axel told them. "What am I going to do while you sleep?" Star cracked one eye open and glanced at the earth pony.

"I suppose you can keep an eye on Brass Heart and make sure he doesn't fall asleep too," Star replied. "I know he's probably feeling even more drained than I am, but unfortunately he doesn't have much of a choice if we're going to get to Canterlot soon."

"I guess I can do that," Axel huffed as she slouched down on the bench and blew a stray strand of blonde mane that had gotten loose from her ponytail out of her face.

"Thank you, Axel," Star said as she closed her eye again. "If you do end up needing to get some sleep, you can wake me up and I'll take over keeping an eye on Brass Heart." Axel mumbled a response and then Star let her mind relax, savoring the joyous feeling of falling asleep. They would make it to the Village Inn sometime in the early morning and most likely rest up there, but she needed at least a couple more hours of sleep before then if she was going to function properly. The sound of Suri, softly snoring, was the last thing Star remembered before she drifted off, hoping that Princess Luna would meet her on the other side.


	43. Idle Hooves

~Chapter 40: Idle Hooves~

A faint shimmer of golden light caught Star's eye as she looked up into the billowing clouds that covered the midwinter sky. Sleep had proven to be just what she needed and by the time Axel had woken her up to take a turn keeping a wary eye on Brass Heart, she was feeling up to the task. Princess Luna hadn't visited her dreams overnight, but Star hadn't expected her to. With everything that had been going on the past couple weeks, dream walking was probably a low priority for her teacher. Star yawned and a small flake of snow landed gently on her tongue, melting in an instant.

The snow had continued unabated all through the night, but thankfully had refrained from developing into an all out blizzard. A thin layer had accumulated along the floor of the chariot and Star wondered if Axel's next revision to her vehicle would be some sort of cover, but she wasn't sure if the weight would be too great with one. Suri slept through the whole night, neither Star nor Axel trying to wake her, because they both figured that a full nights rest was uncommon for the adventurous unicorn. That left Star to sit with her own thoughts as her friends slept and she kept watch over Brass Heart, who had somehow managed not to pass out midflight.

With Manehatten behind her, but the memories of her short escape from the tragedies that had occurred over the past few weeks fresh in her mind, Star turned her thoughts toward the future. There were important decisions being made as she sat there, decisions which would not only affect the fate of Equestria, but also the entire world. If somepony was trying to incite a war between the Crystal Empire and Equestria, then it stood to reason that they would soon turn their sights on other countries. While Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wielded the Elements of Harmony, Star had no idea what the other nations would be able to do to protect themselves.

Over years of studying magical artifacts, Star had learned that there were very powerful forces that could be used for good or evil. She had personally discovered relics which could grant the user power beyond what they had ever thought possible, yet all those paled in comparison to the Elements. The princesses' secret weapon had the potential to banish evil from the world completely and yet, if they had tried to use it on another country without receiving that nations blessing, the fallout would be dire. Even if all the princesses wanted to do was help, without the citizen's express permission, they would only cause more strife. That was the only reason that they hadn't taken the Elements of Harmony to the Crystal Empire in the first place, though Star wished that they could have. It may have been the only way for anypony to save Ponyville from its undeserved demise at the claws of the griffons.

It didn't help that they were completely in the dark as to who had initiated the Crystal Empress's capture to begin with. While the griffons had carried out the act, the princesses had made it clear that they did not believe the mercenaries had acted of their own volition; rather somepony had hired them to do the deed. The only question left to answer was exactly who had motive and means to enact such a dastardly crime. Once the perpetrator was identified it would be far easier for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to convince the Crystal Empire to allow the use of the Elements.

Thankfully, as long as Downpour and Backdraft were able to accomplish what the princesses had set them out to do and there was indeed evidence to be gathered, they would all know soon enough who was to blame. Star could only hope that the pegasus brothers returned in safety. Nature Spark would play his part as well, because if the Red Eyes were working in tandem with Equestria's enemies it would only make it that much more difficult to stop the looming threat of war. They would need any aid they could gather for the struggle that was sure to come.

Star stopped in her silent contemplation as she felt the first warm rays of red-gold sunlight radiating on the nape of her neck. It was a soothing sensation and she took a deep breath of crisp morning air as she absorbed some of the warmth. Winter had come, but it would be getting far colder before the year was over and if the blizzard they had passed by was any indication, this year was going to be colder than usual. Even now, as Star gazed out into the horizon, she could see the snow continuing to increase as the clouds made a serious effort to cover all of northern Equestria in an icy blanket.

"We're almost to Hallow Shades," Brass Heart huffed as he continued the ceaseless beating of his feathered wings. Star had nearly forgotten that she wasn't the only one awake. The soldier had remained nearly silent throughout most of the night, but had somehow managed to keep from falling asleep.

"Alright, I suppose I should wake Axel and Suri," Star acknowledged. The two mares had been sleeping peacefully, Suri for longer than either Axel or Star had managed, but they would be landing soon and the faster they got their gear packed and made it into the Village Inn, the happier she would be.

"I think that's a good idea," Brass Heart replied. "Have you seen Dawn Glory flying up there?" the pegasus asked, casting a quick glance in the direction of the conglomerated cloud cover that had formed during the night.

"Not in a little while, no," Star told him as she too looked around for the telltale glint of armor somewhere far above. She gave up after a few minutes, sure that Dawn would be keeping a close enough eye on them that he wouldn't be left behind. "I can't seem to find him, but I'll keep an eye out."

"Okay, I just hope he didn't fall asleep on a cloud somewhere," Brass Heart chuckled. He was joking of course, but Star didn't want to rule out the possibility. Even if Dawn was a trained soldier, skipping a night of sleep after traveling for three days couldn't have left him feeling very alert. The last thing they all needed right now was to be forced to find him if he had passed out somewhere in the clouds.

Axel's hoof nudged Star as the earth pony shifted around in here sleep. She had been surprisingly still during her slumber, most likely because of how late they had stayed up drinking the previous night, but it now appeared as if she was going to awaken whether or not Star tried to get her up. A red leg poked out from under the blankets as Axel stretched her limbs in all directions, accidentally bumping Suri in the process. The white mare woke with a start, her dark green eyes darting around wildly as her head shot up from the side of the wooden chariot.

"Sorry," Axel yawned as she realized what she had done. "I didn't mean to wake you up." Suri blinked at her a few times as she remembered where she was, giving a faint smile of recognition once it all clicked.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Axel," Star told her. "I was about to wake you two up anyway. We should be arriving in Hallow Shades pretty soon." Star pointed out past Brass Heart to the forest down below. "You can see part of the town showing through the tree cover if you look carefully." The sun hadn't yet fully risen above the horizon, but Star had noticed a couple of the buildings as she squinted.

"Thanks for letting me sleep so long," Axel said with a smile before rubbing her eyes and giving another yawn. "I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"Mhmm, you slept like a foal," Star giggled.

"Um, I think it was more like a rock… or maybe a log," Axel replied, lightly tapping a hoof against her chin as she thought about it. "Either way I don't think I slept like a foal, they never seem to sleep very well in my experience." Star just sighed as she glanced past the earth pony at Suri, who had already pulled a brush from her bag and started combing out her flowing strawberry blonde mane.

"How about you Suri, did you get enough sleep?" Star asked.

"Absolutely," Suri replied with a smile, "I feel completely refreshed." She certainly looked that way, Star thought as she observed the elegant mare's look of contentment. Star wished that she could look half as good when she got up in the mornings. Suri's mane wasn't even that messy, even though she had spent an entire night sleeping in a moving vehicle with it blowing out behind her. "What are we going to do when we get to town?" the white unicorn asked as she stood up to better reach her tail with the small wooden comb.

"Well, Hallow Shades isn't that big of a town to be honest, so I don't know what there is for us to do," Star explained.

"We can always chat with Cary," Axel suggested. She seemed to have taken a liking to the sweet, older mare. "I'll bet that between the four of us we can cook up some food that's even better than what she and I made the last time we were here." Axel grinned eagerly at Star and Suri, the former giving a halfhearted smile in return while the latter merely groaned.

"I'm not a very good cook," Suri said with a look of distaste. Star laughed at how unhappy the taller mare sounded with the prospect of spending any amount of time in a kitchen. "I will certainly eat whatever you make though."

"Don't be like that," Axel replied, "Everypony has to learn how to cook at some point in their life. What are you going to do when you have children to feed?" Suri stared at Axel with a dead eyed expression for a moment before breaking down in hysterical laughter. Star joined in, because the idea of Surinam ever having a foal was a wild idea.

"I'm sorry, Axel, but I just don't see that happening," Suri replied once she had gotten control of herself. "I've never been great with foals. That was always more of my brother's kind of situation." Star hadn't been aware that Suri had any siblings and was reminded of the fact that she hardly even knew the slender unicorn riding with her to Canterlot. It wasn't as if she knew Axel all that well either, but after a few weeks Star had begun to think of Axel as one of her closest friends. Spending awhile so close together had a tendency to do that, she supposed, either that or make two ponies loath one another.

Star was about to ask Suri more about her family when Brass Heart interrupted her thoughts, saying, "I'm taking us down for a landing, so don't stand up while we're still moving." He glanced over his shoulder to see if they had heard him over the constant sound of the rushing wind and his flapping wings, so Star nodded her head in confirmation. A few seconds later and the sky chariot began its slow decent to the earth.

The ponies living in Hallow Shades were just beginning to rise for their morning routines as the chariot made its bumpy landing into the snow covered clearing on the edge of town, its reinforced wheels cutting twin paths in the snow as they touched down. Even with Brass Heart being exhausted, their second venture into the town had gone much more smoothly without the blizzard to contend with. Star was grateful for that fact as she looked up into the sky, where only a light sprinkling of snowflakes could be seen.

"You weren't joking when you said this place was small," Suri observed as they neared town. There were only a few buildings that even had a second story and they were all inns. The few stores that were around sold only the essentials, relying on traveling merchants to procure any luxuries they may have wanted and Star had only noticed one bar over the many times she had passed through. Suri would most likely be bored to tears by the time they left.

"That's why I suggested that you spend the day learning how to cook," Axel retorted, "but no, you don't like to cook." Axel's serious expression only lasted a few seconds before it broke into a smile once again.

"I think that there's one bar somewhere around here," Star told them. She had no interest in drinking herself, but if her friends felt like having a few then she would at least accompany them, just to make sure they were behaving. The thought of Axel and Suri together, drunk and unsupervised was a frightening one.

"One bar?" Suri gasped, as if it was an inconceivable idea.

"Well, I've only seen one anyway, but I suppose we could walk around town and find out if there are more," Star replied.

"Yeah, we could actually walk around the town too," Axel laughed, "It would probably only take us an hour."

"If that," Suri added dryly. It was obvious that the actress had grown used to living in a booming metropolis, but there wasn't anything else that Star could do for her at the moment, even if she tried her pouty face again.

"You mares feel free to hop out anytime," Brass Heart broke in, annoyed at having been standing in front of the Village Inn for the past couple of minutes, fumbling with the latches on the harness binding him to the chariot.

"Sorry," Star apologized as she snatched up her white saddlebags and swung them over her back. Axel grabbed her own faded brown bags and Suri lifted the three bags she had brought with her as well before all three ponies stepped down from the chariot and onto the snow caked dirt road leading up to the front doors of the inn. Star glanced back, horn flashing white as she helped Brass Heart get out of the chariot harness and followed Axel and Suri to the log building.

A gust of warm air, smelling faintly of cinnamon, greeted the four ponies as they entered the lobby of the inn. Judging by the scent hanging in the air, Star assumed that Caresma had risen with the sun and started preparing cinnamon rolls for her guests. Her stomach growled out its expectation of food as they crossed the room to the open doorway separating the inn from Cary's home. Nopony else was in the lobby at the moment, but with the innkeeper's reputation for cooking it wouldn't be long until the few guests who had rooms would be crowding in.

"Cary, are you back here?" Star called out to the magenta earth pony as she stepped in front of her friends.

"Yeah, I'm right in the middle of making breakfast," Cary shouted back, though not so loud that it would disturb whichever guests were still asleep. Star walked into the back apartment that Cary called home, followed closely by her three friends. "I thought that was your voice I heard," Cary said with a quick glance over her shoulder to confirm the identity of who she was speaking with.

"I told you that I'd be back," Star replied.

"I know, but I knew it was you because your friend Dawn is already here," Cary told them, much to everypony's surprise.

"That good for nothing," Brass Heart grumbled. "I can't believe he would ditch us like that. Does he have any idea how much trouble he could get into if the princess finds out he abandoned his post!" Star hadn't thought Dawn's absence was a big deal, but Brass Heart sounded as if he was about to explode.

"Don't be too harsh on him now," Cary told the pegasus in a motherly tone. "He's only been here for maybe ten minutes." Cary's calm statement seemed to pacify Brass Heart, at least for the moment.

"What are you making?" Axel asked as she cantered up to the counter Cary was working at, eyeing the cinnamon scented dough that the older mare was in the midst of kneading. "It smells scrumptious," she added with a big grin.

"Oh, I'm just whipping up some cinnamon rolls to go with the fresh fruit on the table out there," Cary replied without even glancing away from her task. Star hadn't even noticed the fruit out in the lobby; mainly because the smell of Cary's homemade cinnamon rolls were overpowering her senses. She had once again skipped a meal and, although she wouldn't have minded losing a few pounds, her stomach had issues with her poor eating habits as of late.

"No wonder you said we should cook," Suri said as she joined Axel near the counter and watched Cary work the dough like she had many, many times over years of running the Village Inn. "I might actually try to learn if I can make something that smells this good." Axel bumped her on the shoulder as she snickered.

"I wouldn't get too far ahead of yourself," Axel told her. "We should probably just start you off with something simple."

"Maybe a soup?" Cary suggested as she looked up to see who exactly Axel was talking to. "Hello, I don't believe we've met," she said, holding out a flour coated hoof to Suri as she introduced herself. "I'm Caresma, the owner of this fine inn." Suri reached a hoof out and Star could see that she wasn't thrilled about getting flour on her hooves, but she managed to hide her mild distaste from everypony else.

"It's very nice to meet you," Suri replied. "My name is Surinam Cherryblossom, but you may call me Suri." Cary nodded her head as she committed the name to memory. The innkeeper had a knack for remembering the names of all her guests, especially the ones who stayed more than once.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you too, Suri," the older mare replied with a warm smile before turning to Star. "Three years I've known you and never once have you brought along a friend when you've stayed here, but now you bring four different ponies in one week?" Cary laughed as she returned her attention to her cinnamon dough.

"Yes, I suppose I've just gotten quite a bit more popular as of late," Star replied.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Brass Heart interjected. He had been silent since hearing about Dawn's whereabouts, waiting patiently for the four mares to finish talking, but when it became clear that they were more than willing to spend the next few hours chatting nonstop, he decided it best to cut into the conversation, as rude as it may have been to do so. "Could you tell me where Dawn is? I don't mean to be rude, but I am worn out and I'd like to get some sleep if you wouldn't mind." His face split in a weary grin when he finished speaking and Cary clicked her tongue in distaste.

"You should have spoken up sooner, hun," she informed him with a piteous expression. "Dawn already checked into the same room that you two shared the other night. Just go on up and knock on the door, although you might have to knock hard, because he looked pretty beat too." Brass Heart nodded his head and thanked the earth pony before excusing himself from her house to go to bed. Star assumed he would be sleeping most of the day, if not all through the night as well. She had no idea when they were leaving, but knew that Brass Heart wouldn't let a little sleep deprivation be a hindrance to following the princesses' orders.

"What were all of you doing last night, anyway?" Cary asked with one slender eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Not what you're thinking," Suri answered for them. "I just took Axel and Star to see the nightlife in Manehatten," she explained.

"Yeah, we went to this really neat bar and drank and danced and had a great time," Axel chimed in. Cary laughed at Axel's insistence that they had a good time, reading more into the overzealous mare's statement than she ought to have.

"Did you now?" Cary asked.

"Mhmm," Axel responded. As oblivious as Star could be sometimes, she had at least known Caresma long enough to be able to detect the inference of sexual promiscuity in the chubby mare's tone.

"All we did was drink and dance," Star reiterated, much to Suri's amusement. She had apparently picked up on the undertone of the question and had seen the humor in Axel's response. Star had only a trace amount of blush evident on her face, which was much better than how she would have responded to the line of questioning only weeks before. Her recent adventures had tempered her blatant naivety to manageable levels.

"Then we slept for a few hours before leaving," Axel continued as Cary finished kneading the dough for her cinnamon rolls and started preparing them. The innkeeper's hooves moved quickly over the sticky substance, perfectly flattening and rolling it within seconds.

"Well, I'm glad that you had a good time," Cary replied before gripping a knife in her mouth and cutting the rolled up dough into roll sized slices that she could bake. "You've always been too serious for your own good, Star, so I'm glad to hear that you took some time to unwind a bit."

"Yes, I think it did me good to relax for awhile, but duty calls so I believe that I'll be leaving you once again after tonight," she replied with a sad smile. Axel and Suri watched the brief exchange silently, allowing the two friends a moment to talk without any interruptions, although it was hard for the rust red earth pony.

"Just remember that I'm always here if you need somepony to talk to," Cary assured the young unicorn. Star nodded her head in reply. She didn't have many friends, but the few ponies that she could genuinely refer to as such were there for her whenever she needed them and that was a great comfort for her.

"Thanks, Cary, I will," Star replied as she walked up and wrapped her forelegs around the pink maned mare in a tight hug, startling Cary into a fit of surprised laughter.

"Okay, okay, I've got to get these rolls in the oven, otherwise there are going to be a bunch of hungry ponies beating down my door," Cary chuckled. Star released her and stepped back from the wooden counter, giving the earth pony a wide berth to take the tray in her mouth and maneuver it into the blazing oven behind her. "Are you three going to be joining me for breakfast?" she asked once the cinnamon rolls were taken care of.

"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't," Axel replied with a wide smile.

"Okay, then I need you two to get the table set," Cary said to Star and Suri, "and Axel, I want you to help me finish up this last batch of rolls."

"Sur thing," Axel beamed as Star and Suri walked over to the cupboards and started pulling out plates and glasses. It wouldn't take long for the two earth ponies to finish making breakfast, but Star's stomach reminded her that it would never be fast enough. Brass Heart and Dawn were most likely famished as well, so Star considered waking the dozing pegasus, but decided against it. They would have only been in a bad mood anyway, she imagined.

"Alright, that's the last of it," Star said as she took a seat on one side of the small table. Suri nodded her head as she took a seat beside Star and the two of them waited patiently for breakfast, chatting quietly between one another as they did. Star liked talking to Suri, she was a very world wise mare for only being a couple years older than her, but every second the black unicorn worried that her friend was going to bring up the kiss they had shared back in Manehatten. They were going to have to talk about it eventually, Star knew, but now wasn't the time nor the place. Star breathed a sigh of relief when their conversation was interrupted by Axel, toting a tray full of steaming cinnamon rolls that she placed next to the fruit. It looked as good as it smelled and Cary gave them permission to start eating while she brought food out to the lobby for her other guests. Star didn't hesitate to take the pink maned mare up on her offer.

The slightly painful feeling in her stomach told Star that she may have eaten too much, so she pushed aside her empty plate and slowly leaned back from the table. The rolls were delicious and she had eaten three of them, as evident by the sweet stickiness all over her lips which she was in the process of licking off. There had also been two plump oranges that she managed to eat as well. Star's stomach was overly satisfied and she felt a bit like a glutton. At least it was a rare occasion that she ate that way, Star thought as she looked over to her friends.

Axel was in the process of licking her plate clean and Star worried that the high sugar content may have been a bad idea, but it was too late for her to do anything about it now, so she just had to hope the earth pony would burn off the excess energy without doing to much damage. Axel set her plate down and suppressed a belch, which she apologized for. The red mare took a sip from her glass of juice before adopting the same position that Star had, clearly done gorging herself for the time being.

Suri, not too surprisingly, had managed to eat with a bit more care and restraint, settling on one cinnamon roll and a small apple before calling it quits. Star didn't know whether the taller mare was actually full after that or whether she just cared about her slender figure too much, but either way Star envied her commitment to eating with grace. Manners were important in Canterlot and Star was very well versed in them, but when she was away, with only her friends around her, it was just easier to eat like a common pony, without having to worry about offending anypony else.

"I suppose it's a good thing that I made that extra batch," Cary observed with a laugh as she eyed the empty baking pan. Their host had only eaten about as much as Suri, because Cary was usually snacking while she baked, which was most likely the cause of the slight pudginess she had developed over the years. While most mares wouldn't have been thrilled about even a little extra weight, Cary wore it without shame, or even much acknowledgement, and it gave her a very motherly quality that only served to boost her reputation as running the best inn north of Canterlot.

"Mhmm," Axel agreed as she set her empty glass back on the table and dabbed her mouth with a crinkled napkin, "Thank you again for the wonderful breakfast. I haven't eaten that well since, um, the last time we were here." Cary just shook her head with a faint smile visible on her face as Axel laughed.

"Yes, it was spectacular Caresma," Suri agreed.

"Oh please, just call me Cary," the older mare told her, "Any of Star's friends are my friends." Cary smiled her chubby cheeked smile at the white unicorn.

"Alright," Suri agreed with a matching smile, "The food was delicious Cary, thank you very much."

"I have to agree, although I wish somepony would have stopped me after I finished my second roll," Star said.

"I was too busy licking the sugar from my plate," Axel laughed. "I didn't want to waste a single drop."

"Yes, we noticed," Suri giggled. "I suppose that we should get this table cleared off now, hmm?" Her large green eyes glanced between each of the other mares, but none of them seemed to be ready to move, "Or I guess we could always sit here for a little bit longer," she told them as she rolled her eyes.

"That sounds like a good idea," Star replied as she waited for her midsection to stop hurting. "I don't believe I could move right now, even if I wanted to."

"That's okay, Star," Axel told her, "I'll help Suri clean up and you can just wait here until we're done. I want you to think up something for us to do though."

"Sure, I'll see if Cary has any ideas," Star replied. Axel gave a quick nod before picking up her plate and walking back to the kitchen, followed a moment later by Suri, carrying her own dishes in the soft pink glow of her magic.

"Ideas about what to do around town," Cary said, trailing off as she thought about the question, "What exactly are you three looking to do, something specific or just whatever you can find to pass the time?"

"I know Suri would probably prefer to go to a bar or something, but to be honest, anything that you think would be fun will work," Star replied with a shrug.

"I see," Cary mumbled, still lost in thought. Star sat there quietly for a few seconds, giving her friend time to come up with an idea, but Cary didn't seem to have any clue. "I'm not really sure what you three would consider fun around here, but I know there are two bars on opposite ends of town," she informed the small unicorn. "I'd start at McGallophree's Pub and ask the old stallion if he has any ideas. That bartender has been serving drinks around here since I was your age and before. Take a left when you walk out the front doors and follow the road until you reach the last building. It looks a bit rundown on the outside, but Mister McGallophree takes good care of the inside, so I'm sure you'll be comfortable enough."

"Alright," Star responded, "That is as good of a place to start as any." It would work out fine even if the bartender didn't have anything for them to do, because her friends could at least get a couple drinks. It was better than sitting around doing nothing all day. "How about going to a bar?" Star asked Axel and Suri as the two mares walked back into Cary's dining room to grab the last of the dishes.

"That works for me," Suri replied as she lifted up the empty serving tray and fruit platter. "I'm always in the mood for a cold drink."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Axel agreed as she took Cary and Star's plates and glasses, balancing them on her head with earth pony skill.

"It's settled then," Star said as she finally stood up from the table, "We'll head on over to McGallophree's Pub to get a drink and then we can make our next plans from there." Her two friends nodded in agreement before taking their last load of dishes back to the kitchen sink.

"You three girls have fun," Cary said. "I'd go, but…" she gestured all around her, indicating the inn needed somepony to look after it at all hours. Cary took two weeks of vacation every year, but aside from that she was at the inn all day everyday. There were weekly visits to the town market so that she could buy what supplies she needed to keep the place running, but Star couldn't imagine those being much fun. Caresma loved the place though and ever since her husband had died, she put her all into maintaining the old log structure and the guests within. "Besides, it's a bit early for me to start drinking."

"Oh, I completely agree," Star replied. "I don't even plan on drinking, myself, but I know that Suri and Axel will want to and I don't mind spending the day in a bar if they're having fun." It wasn't like she couldn't talk and laugh with them if she was sober.

"We'll just see about that," Suri laughed with feigned menace. Axel joined in on the laughter, though she was unable to force even a small bit of villainy into hers.

"Well as long as you're having fun," Cary said as she got to her hooves and started scooting each of the dinning room chairs back in. "I'll be here whenever you three are ready to call it a day and I'll let Brass Heart and Dawn know where you are if they happen to wake up."

"That would be very helpful," Star replied, knowing that Brass Heart would be less than thrilled if they disappeared without his knowledge. Even being in a small town like Hallow Shades, Star knew that terrible things could still happen. Ponyville had seemed like the pinnacle of a laidback rural town, one of those places where the world felt at peace with itself, but all of that changed in an instant. Star shuddered at the memories of the blackened remains she had walked through.

"Axel, Suri, are you ready to leave yet?" Star asked her friends.

"Mhmm," Axel replied, "Let's get going." Star gave a last wave in Cary's direction before turning to follow her friends back into the lobby. There were a few ponies milling about the cozy room now that breakfast was waiting for them and Star gave a few polite smiles whenever she made eye contact. The Village Inn was at least getting business through the winter, Star observed as she saw another young couple descending the stairs. That was good news.

"It's to the left, right?" Suri asked as she cantered out of the building ahead of them, eager to get a few drinks in her. Star may not have been a big fan of drinking, but she had to respect the actress's dedication to staying intoxicated. She knew plenty of stallions who would have never been able to keep up with Suri.

"That's what Cary said," Star replied. "I guess it's straight down this road. It's one of the last buildings before the edge of town." She pointed her friends in the right direction and noticed that the snow had died down to just a few small flakes drifting around here and there. It was still cold enough for Star to readjust her cloak more tightly around her though.

"I'll race you!" Axel said as she galloped past both of her friends as fast as she could. Star was going to let the hyperactive mare run there alone, but to her surprise Suri took the earth pony up on her offer.

"Good luck!" Suri called back as she took off in pursuit of Axel, leaving Star staring at her well toned flank in disbelief. She knew that there was no way she was going to keep up with her friends. Axel was running on a sugar rush that Star couldn't match and Suri's legs were much longer than hers, giving the older mare a longer stride and subsequently, a much quicker pace, but she decided to give it her best shot anyway. The sound of twelve hooves trampling over the snow covered dirt filled Star's ears as she tried her best to catch up.

The bar was easy to spot, sitting at the very end of the road as if it were attempting to keep tourists from leaving in that direction and sporting an eye catching forest green paintjob, that wouldn't have been as obtrusive if there hadn't been snow everywhere. Star gazed up at the sagging roof as she trotted up to the front doors, where Axel and Suri were already waiting for her. They had run fast enough that Star had given up chasing them after a short while, although she maintained a quick trot so that they wouldn't have to wait long. She could see the effects of their sprint in the heavy breathing they were doing as they both leaned against the frosty wall of the pub.

"What took you so long?" Suri huffed as she nudged the heavy wooden door open. "I thought you had gotten lost for a little while." Suri walked into the bar, followed by Star and Axel.

"Yes, well we can't all be long legged or ridiculously energetic," Star replied. "Which one of you won anyway?" Axel giggled as she raised a hoof.

"Yes, Axel won, but I told her that I want a rematch at a time when she isn't hopped up on sugar, because that's just not fair," Suri stated as they walked out of the small antechamber-like room and into the greater bar area.

Judging from the decorations, Star figured that the place hadn't seen any remodeling since it opened. There were portraits of soldiers from the end of Discord's War decorating nearly every wall, along with Statues and medals commending various ponies' acts of valor and bravery sitting on shelves in the back. This was exactly the kind of place that Star loved to see. History was practically oozing from the smooth, wooden walls. While Axel and Suri had their drinks, she could take some time to wander around and get a better look at everything.

"Hmm, I've seen better," Suri said as she headed to the polished, wood topped bar. "I have to admit that it does look far better on the inside than it does on the outside though." Cary had been correct when she said that Mister McGallophree took good care of the place. Star couldn't see even a hint of dust on any of the tables, even though it appeared as if most of them didn't get much use these days. Axel walked up to join Suri for a drink, although the owner of the establishment was nowhere to be seen, so Star took the opportunity to walk around.

The first thing she wanted to inspect was the shelf holding all of the various medals and other objects from the war, so she headed to the back of the bar. There looked to be a few dozen medals from many different years, spanning the entire war. Some of them were hundreds of years old. Star wanted to pick each one up and examine them more thoroughly, but she would never do something like that without first getting permission from the owner. Whoever Mister McGallophree was, he clearly had a respect for those who fought in the war and Star admired his attempt at honoring them in his bar.

Her gaze lingered on a few of the oldest looking medals momentarily as she tried to read the names which had been all but worn off over the years. Anything she could learn from this collection would be of great educational value, because much of the time during Discord's reign of terror had been left undocumented. Objects such as these were one of the only tangible links to what had once been Equestria's darkest time.

Sitting on the shelf beside all of the medals were a few other artifacts of equal significance. Star saw two different daggers, covered in rust and badly dulled, but in better condition than any others she had ever seen, as well as a strange pendant that caught her eye. It was a small triangular piece of some sort of polished metal, hanging off an unremarkable chain. Two wings protruded from the top points of the upside-down triangle and the head of a unicorn stuck out from in between them. The most interesting part of the pendant however, was the blood red ruby in the center of it. The gem was perfectly cut and held no discernable imperfections that Star could see with her naked eye, but the most striking aspect was the way it drew her eyes into its depths.

She reached a tentative hoof out, hovering just above the strange relic for a few moments as she felt a strange sensation. Her horn throbbed, but not painfully like when she had a migraine from over exertion. It felt as if there was a spell trying to force its way out, a very powerful spell. Star brushed her hoof against it slowly and her breath caught in her throat at the contact. It felt like a spark of pure energy shot through her foreleg and pooled in her horn. She felt powerful just touching the amulet and wondered what it was and why in Equestria it was in the possession of a barkeeper.

"You ought not to touch things that don't belong to you," a rasping voice whispered into Star ear, causing her to jump and nearly knock over the entire shelf of medals and artifacts. "Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?" Star whirled around to see who the rasping voice belonged to, only to meet face to face with the withered light orange countenance of a very old earth pony.

"I- I am so sorry, I wasn't going to break it," Star hurriedly apologized. "I- I was just admiring this, um, wartime collection and I noticed that strange pendant there." The old stallion's face broke into a wrinkled smile at Star's stammered apology.

"That's quite alright cutie," he replied. "Besides, I doubt that you could have hurt that amulet, even if you had wanted to." His eyes looked past Star, resting on the red jewel for a moment before he snapped back into the conversation. "My name is Lucky McGallophree and you are?" he asked, drawing Star's attention away from his display.

"Oh, I am Discipula Star an archeologist and student of Princess Luna," she introduced herself with a quick bow, "My friends and I are passing through on our way back to Canterlot and Caresma told us that this was the best place to get something to drink."

"Well then she told you the truth," the barkeeper chuckled. "Has been the best place to get a drink for the past sixty-five years." Star could tell the earth pony was very advanced in age, but exactly how old was a mystery. Cary had told her that Mister McGallophree had been tending bar in town since before she was Star's age, but hadn't said for how long before. Star wouldn't have been surprised to hear that the bar had opened before Discord's war ended; it certainly would have fit in with its minimalist fashion styling and basic furniture.

"Great," Star replied with a smile. "I don't really drink myself, but both of my friends at the bar do and I'm sure they will be the best customers you get all day."

"That really wouldn't be saying a whole lot, missy," Lucky McGallophree snickered. "The only other customers I ever get these days are my friends and the occasional tourists that Cary sends my way." Star followed the earth pony up to the counter, where he opened a small swinging door and walked behind it. "Sweet young lady that Cary is," he mumbled aloud as he wandered over to the pair of young mares sitting in front of his bar.

"She certainly is," Star replied, though she doubted the stallion's hearing was good enough to have picked up her statement.

"Sorry about being so slow," Lucky apologized as he hobbled up to Axel and Suri. "I hate to keep beautiful mares waiting, but these old bones don't work like they used to." Both mares just shrugged it off because they weren't in any hurry at the moment. "What can I get for you?"

Suri didn't even have to consider the question before replying, "I'll take the strongest shot of whiskey you have, followed by your hardest cider." She backed up her request by dropping a hooffull of bits onto the counter.

"And for you, young lady?" Lucky asked as he scooped the bits up and dropped them into a small box on his side of the bar.

"Um, I'm not really sure," Axel replied, "What would you recommend?"

"Hmm, I suppose you might like a pink whiskey," Lucky told her as he started grabbing various glasses and bottles from the old shelves behind him. Star could see quite a few bottles, although not nearly as many as in Cockatrice, but most of the ones she saw looked to be of a much older vintage. Above all of them, hanging on a polished brass plaque, rested four perfectly maintained horseshoes, the kind used in war. The metal looked pristine and there was a razor thin blade protruding from the shoes that would have been worn on the forehooves.

"Whose are those?" Star asked, pointing a hoof up at the plaque as she took the stool next to Suri. "They look like they're almost new."

"Those belonged to my great-grandfather originally," the old stallion told her. "They've been passed down from generation to generation since the war. I meant to give them to my son, but he's never been the type of stallion to care about heirlooms of that nature. I don't think he's even gotten in one fight his entire life and although I can appreciate that, well…" Lucky trailed off as he turned his focus to pouring drinks for the two mares who had ordered them.

"They're beautiful," Star commented as he passed a shot of whiskey over to Suri and placed a large mug of cider next to it.

"Mhmm, I try to keep them in good condition," Lucky told her. He poured out two shots of the same whiskey that Suri had gotten into a tall glass and mixed in some pink liquid that smelled like lemons before giving it a quick stir and placing it in front of Axel. Star had to admit that it looked like it would taste pretty good. "Can I get you anything, Miss Star?"

"Um, I think that I will have a glass of juice," she replied. "I'm not really much of a drinker." The old stallion nodded his head before turning around to grab one more glass from the shelf.

"How does some pink lemonade sound?" he asked as he picked up the large jug that he had used to mix Axel's drink.

"That will be just fine," Star assured him with a smile. He poured her a tall glass and dropped a few ice cubes into it before setting the drink in front of her.

"I have some crates to unpack in the back," Lucky informed them, "but you can just give a holler if you need anything else." The three mares nodded their heads in unison as he took his leave.

Suri's horn glowed pink as she lifted the shot glass to her lips and took it in one swig before slamming it back down and following it with a sip from her cider. Axel took a taste of her drink at the same time and then, deciding that it was just as good as Lucky had promised, she took a longer drink. Seeing how much her friend had enjoyed the pink whiskey, Star helped herself to a large drink from her own lemonade. It was tangy and sweet as it went down, the perfect combination.

Star had no idea what time it was, the windows inside the bar were covered by thick curtains in order to keep the natural light out, but she did know that both Axel and Suri were very intoxicated. Suri's former job had paid well enough, Star deduced, so she had plenty of coin to spend on drink after drink for her and Axel. Star had quit counting what number the mares were on, but she was almost positive it was around six or seven, not to mention the couple of shots that they had taken in between mixed drinks. Star eventually caved in to Suri pressuring her and ordered one drink, a pink whiskey, the same thing that Axel had started out with.

Lucky had finished unpacking crates and cleaning off every table in the bar earlier, though nopony else had come in after the three mares, so now he was enjoying his own drink each time he poured one for Suri. The old stallion had clearly been a heavy drinker in his prime, but now he was having trouble not spilling liquor all over the bar after just four whiskey sours. Lucky had plenty of interesting, as well as very humorous, stories to share though and he kept all three ponies laughing while they drank. Star was glad that they had decided to come to McGallophree's Pub, because she couldn't imagine having a better time anywhere else in Hallow Shades.

"Sho, there we are," Lucky continued his current story, slurring his words pretty heavily at this point, "we had jusht finished an entire, hic, an entire keg… and my old buddy, Prim, deshides that we should try our hoovesh at alligator wreshtling." It seemed like all of Lucky's stories involved copious amounts of alcohol. Star wondered how he hadn't succumbed to poisoning based on how much he used to drink. "Needlesh to shay, it wash a very bad idea and that'sh how Prim lost his right leg up to the knee." Star couldn't believe that the old stallion was still smiling after telling such a horrid story, but Suri and Axel had no qualms about joining in on his laughter after he let loose.

"No alligator wrestling for you two," Star said as she took another small sip from her drink.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Suri giggled.

"Oh, I don't know," Axel replied, "it sounds like it could be fun." She was joking of course, but Star still decided to keep a closer eye on the rambunctious earth pony. If one of her friends was going to do something stupid while they were drunk, then it would most likely be Axel. The earth pony glanced over at Star and noticed her serious expression. "I was joking," she assured the unicorn.

"Mhmm, well I'm still going to ke-," Star began to reply before the door to the bar opened up. Everypony swiveled around to see who had entered.

"Cary was right, you are still here," Dawn said as he walked through the doors and stood beside the bar. "I came to get you because we're going to be leaving soon."

"Aww, but we only just started drinking," Suri complained.

"According to what Cary told me, you three have been here most of the day," Dawn replied as he took a seat beside Axel.

"What time is it?" Star asked, realizing that she may very well have completely lost track of the time in the dimly lit bar.

"It's a little after four," Dawn told her. Star's eyes widened in surprise at the pegasus's answer. They had spent a good six hours in the pub without even realizing it.

"I had no idea it was that late," Star admitted. "Alright, I suppose we should finish up our drinks and get going." Axel and Suri picked up their glasses and swallowed the last few drinks all at once before hopping up from their stools. Star did the same, her face puckering slightly at the overpowering taste of the tangy liquid. "Thank you for a wonderful afternoon, Mister McGallophree," Star said with a polite smile.

"Anytime," Lucky replied with a drunken grin of his own. "It was nice to have three gorgeous young ladies to talk to." The three mares giggled as they waved goodbye to the old earth pony and turned to follow Dawn back to the Village Inn. Star noticed Axel and Suri had a slight sway to their stride, which meant that she probably would have had a chance of winning a race against them, although she doubted either mare was in the mood to do more than canter slowly.

"Did you get enough sleep," Axel asked Dawn as they left the well-worn building behind them. "Because I could always try to convince Brass Heart to let you sleep a little bit longer while we have a few more drinks back at the bar." Dawn snorted as his face broke out in a smile.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Axel, but I got plenty of sleep to last me until we get back to Canterlot," he replied. "In fact, I believe that Brass Heart and I are going to take turns pulling the cart so that we get all of the way to the city in one go." Star was very surprised to hear that coming from the soldier who had abandoned his post to take a nap, but figured that it was Brass Heart's decision to do so.

"And you're okay with this?" Star asked.

"To be perfectly honest, I would much rather make the trip in two days with a night of rest between them," Dawn admitted, "but Brass Heart wasn't too happy with me flying ahead of you to the inn, so I think I'll let him have this one." That made sense to Star. Brass Heart was known to be painfully rigid in following orders, so Dawn's little slip up would be something he wouldn't tolerate very well.

"At least I can still sleep on the way," Suri snickered.

"Good for you," the stallion replied mirthlessly. "I should have gotten a drink while I was at the bar." Suri and Axel laughed at his bad mood, but Star chose not to. She was just happy to have two escorts with her that were so faithful to their job.

The snow hadn't faltered in its continued assault on the ground and had even grown worse during the mares' time in the pub, so that as they walked Star was forced to stop for a moment and tie the sash on her cloak. Her horn flared white for a moment as she readjusted her damp garb before continuing on her way. The charm of winter was already beginning to lose its luster in her eyes and she couldn't wait for the season to end, even though it wasn't yet Hearth's Warming Eve.

The majority of the trip back to the Village Inn passed uneventfully, the constant muffled thumping of four sets of hooves against the ground was broken by the occasional statement from a fairly intoxicated Axel as they walked. Star's mind drifted off as she got lost in the monotony and she once again found herself wondering what exactly had caused the princesses to call them back so suddenly. The question would go unanswered, she knew, until they arrived back in Canterlot, but it didn't keep her from imagining worst case scenarios as she followed her friends down the ice crusted road. By the time they reached their destination, Star had considered everything from another attack on Equestria to an ill fate for her friends away from home.

"I'll go let Brass Heart know that we're back if you three would like to say goodbye to Cary before we leave," Dawn said as he shook the snow from his slender wings. "Try not to take too long though," he added as he held the door open for the three mares.

"Mhmm," Star mumbled as she walked into the lobby of the inn, with its warm air and comforting looks. Cay was standing behind the counter, having already finished with lunch, but not yet preparing for dinner when they walked in. Dawn gave a quick nod in her direction before heading straight up the stairs to find Brass Heart. "Good afternoon, Cary," Star called out as she wiped her hooves off on an old matt sitting in front of the entrance. Cary put so much effort into keeping the inn clean that Star hated to make another mess for her.

"It looks like you three had a good time," Cary observed as she glanced up from the parchment scattered across her wooden counter. "I trust that Mister McGallophree treated you well?" Axel and Suri followed Star up to the counter, the former stumbling slightly as she walked with a drunken gait.

"Yes he did," Star replied. "I really admired his bar as well. I haven't seen that many war medals and the like outside of a museum before."

"I thought you might enjoy seeing his collection," Cary said as she flipped over one of the papers in front of her and made a little note on the side with a flick of her quill. "That collection has been in his family for years, but maybe you could convince him to part with it. He's always talking about how his son won't want to take care of everything, so he might be open to putting them on display in a museum."

"That would be wonderful," Star replied with a smile. She knew that the Military Museum in Cloudsdale would love to add the collection to their exhibits. "Remind me to ask the next time I'm in town," Star told the older mare.

"I can certainly try to remember, but it all depends on how long it's going to be until I see you again," Cary explained. "Sometimes you go entire months without visiting." Star knew it was true and felt bad about how infrequent her trips to Hallow Shades were, but it was a long trip and her studies with the princess, combined with her work as an archeologist made it difficult to for her to find the time.

"I will definitely try to get up here more often," Star assured her, "although with the way everything has been going lately I get the feeling that it's going to get more and more difficult to do so." She almost mentioned the curfew that might be put in place soon, but thought better of it.

"Don't worry, Cary," Axel spoke up, "I'll make sure that she comes back real soon. I'll be coming with her of course."

"Are you three ready to leave?" Brass Heart's voice called out at he descended the stairs with Dawn. "We need to get moving soon." Star wished that she could spend just a little longer with Cary before she left, but there was no use drawing out her goodbyes, so she nodded to Brass Heart before turning back to the magenta earth pony behind the counter.

"I guess we're leaving now," Star said, doing her best to disguise her disappointment behind a weak smile. "It was great to see you again, Cary." The older mare leaned over the counter and wrapped Star up in a hug.

"It was really nice seeing you too, Star. You take care of yourself, hun," Cary told her as she broke the embrace and turned to the other mares. "It was very nice meeting Star's friends as well. Axel, Suri, I want you to keep an eye on her for me." Axel nodded her head quickly a few times in response.

"Don't worry, she's in good hooves," Suri assured the innkeeper. "We'll see you soon, Cary." With their farewells taken care of, Star and her two friends left the comfort of the inn, giving one last wave at their gracious host before walking out into the cool Equestrian evening. Brass Heart and Dawn were waiting out front, having suited up in their armor and finished packing. Brass Heart gave a half smile and a nod in Star's direction when their gazes met as she was climbing into the chariot, before taking off with his and Dawn's saddlebags, leaving the other soldier to pull the mares through the cloudy winter skies.

In light of the bad weather that seemed intent on following them all of the way to Canterlot, Star decided it wise to once again pull out the blanket she had brought along and drape it across her, Suri and Axel. Though it managed to reach across all three mares, the alcohol had already caused her friends' body temperature to drop even further and Star found herself crowded by Suri as Axel squished in closer on the far side of the white mare. Despite the fact that Suri harbored no apparent intent to grope her, Star still shied away from the added contact at first, but finding no more room for her to scoot away she was forced to endure the closeness of the other mare's body against her own.

The kiss that she and Suri had shared meant nothing significant to the actress as far as Star could tell, but it had caused the younger unicorn to question her own sexuality. She hadn't even considered dating mares before the incident in the hotel room, but the memory of Surinam's lips against hers was burned into Star's mind now and a part of her was perfectly content with that fact. Confusion clouded her mind and she knew the best way to banish it would be to talk the situation out with her newest friend, but Star was worried about how Suri would respond. Even if Suri hadn't made a big deal about Star's reaction to their kiss at the time, she might act differently when they were alone.

Star was unsure whether she would have preferred Suri to make another move or rebuke her request for closure altogether. The thought of rejection was almost as frightening as the prospect of finding out that she really did have romantic feelings for a mare. Star could only hope that the two of them would get a chance to be alone and discuss everything that Star was currently panicking about, but that would only work if Suri agreed that there was something worth discussing. Star couldn't imagine that the brief connection had actually had a lasting effect on the actress.

Suri was talking to Axel about something and her foreleg bumped into Star as she moved her hooves around animatedly while she spoke, causing the black unicorn to flinch away again, as if she was a filly who had been caught by surprise in the midst of breaking a rule. Star's forehoof hit something in the front pocket of her cloak as it moved, but Star didn't remember leaving anything in there. Curious, she reached a hoof into the pocket and felt something cold and hard; a piece of metal. She could have sworn that she had left the Wyrm Stone in her saddlebags, but she had forgotten more important details before and it wasn't much of a surprise that she had, considering what had been on her mind lately. Star's horn flashed with magic as she pulled her bags over.

She opened the side that looked the least overstuffed and pulled out the amulet, only to gasp in shock at what she saw. She had been right about it being an amulet that she felt in her cloak, but it certainly wasn't her Wyrm Stone hanging limply from her hoof as she stared at it. The glint of red gem and sparkling metal was all she needed to see before shoving the magical necklace into her pack before anypony else could see it, not that they would even know what it was. Star still didn't even know what it was, or how it had found its way into her pocket for that matter.

She could remember seeing it on the shelf in Mister McGallophree's pub and feeling the power it radiated as she ran a hoof over it, but she hadn't actually picked it up. Lucky had interrupted her before she could do much more than brush against it, yet there it was, inexplicably resting in her saddlebags. The old stallion had to have slipped it into her pocket at some point during the day, at least, Star tried to convince herself that was what had happened. Whatever the odd little relic was, Star needed to study it further before she even thought about using it.

"What do you think Star?" Suri's voice broke through the black mare's thoughts, startling her back into the moment as she kicked her bag over to where her friends' belongings were sitting.

"About what?" Star asked, her muddled feelings about Suri all but forgotten at the discovery of the magical device.

"About the three of us making an annual trip up to Manehatten from now on," Suri huffed, as if she couldn't believe that Star had failed to listen. "I think that we should go to Cockatrice at least once a year, or more if we can manage."

"Mhmm, that sounds like fun," Star mumbled in response, her mind still dwelling on the mystery of the red gemmed necklace. Suri seemed to accept her answer and turned back to Axel so they could continue their conversation, leaving Star to her thoughts once again. Star was thankful for the peace, because she was grappling with whether or not it would be best to turn around and take the amulet back to its owner.

On one hoof, Star considered, Brass Heart would be hard pressed to turn back now, but on the other hoof, Star would have wanted any of her artifacts returned as soon as possible. The fact that Lucky may have very well slipped the device in her pocket also occurred to her, but Star wasn't positive that it was actually what had happened, though she couldn't fathom another reason for it to be there; it wasn't as if she had stolen the amulet, after all. The old stallion's carelessness with such an obviously powerful relic wound up being the main factor in Star's decision to hold onto it until they reached Canterlot, then she could show it to Luna and get the princess's advice.

With a course of action decided upon, Star was finally able to relax a bit and even participate in Suri and Axel's conversation. It was a way to pass the time since they were going to be in the air all night and day and she was in desperate need of a way to keep the endless wash of thoughts in her head from wearing away at her sanity. She wasn't exactly sure when, but at some point Star had begun to have more personal issues than she could deal with at one time. It was hard for her to even prioritize everything she needed to take care of at that point. Between repairing Nature Spark's eyes, continuing her studies, sorting out her personal problems and now figuring out what to do with Lucky's strange little trinket, Star felt like she her brain was being pulled apart and that wasn't even addressing the bigger issue of the war.

Star did her best to shut out the maelstrom of worries as she talked with Suri and Axel until long after the sun had set, all while Dawn continued to pull them ever closer to the capitol and whatever was waiting for them there. The anticipation was eating at Star and once her friends had fallen asleep, she decided to try one more time to dream walk, in hopes that her mentor would be waiting for her. Star was disappointed when she finally managed to cross through to her dream world however, because the princess was nowhere to be found. She gave up waiting after an hour or so and begrudgingly settled in for a more peaceful sleep, without the much needed advice.


	44. A Stained Conscience

~Chapter 41: A Stained Conscience~

The wind was freezing as it blew through Star's mane, whipping it behind her in a wavy black stream as they traveled above the clouds. Normally Brass Heart would have been pulling them at a lower altitude, but it had started snowing hard enough that the extra chill in the air above the clouds was still far better than the snow that would have accumulated in the chariot after just a few minutes. Star didn't even bother keeping her blanket on anymore, due to the fact that it had absorbed enough moisture to render it completely useless for keeping Axel, Suri and her warm.

True to Brass Heart's word, they had traveled all through the night, with Dawn and Brass Heart switching places just after sunrise. All three mares had slept in shifts throughout the night, two asleep while one kept an eye on Dawn to make sure he didn't tire out in midair. It wasn't the most comfortable situation for anypony, but they had made very good time and would be reaching Canterlot sometime that afternoon, so Star couldn't complain too much. The worst part of the whole experience was the inescapable boredom, but even that could be remedied with a little conversation, although Star was running out of things to talk about with her friends.

Now that they had chatted about Suri's time spent in the theatre, Star's archeology and Axel's mechanic work, it was becoming difficult to find new topics. There was always family and the past to talk about of course, but Axel seemed to be the only one of them who was comfortable bringing it up. Star certainly didn't feel like telling her new friends about her life before becoming Princess Luna's student and Suri seemed to be avoiding anything about her life before moving to Manehatten six years before, so they had settled on superficial subjects, but those were becoming fewer by the hour.

"I have to admit that I haven't exactly been following what has been going on in Equestria lately or any politics for that matter, but I've heard a few ponies mention the Crystal Empress being taken from her palace and bits and pieces about the war," Suri said with a shrug. "I know I should probably care a little more, but it's sort of hard when you aren't face to face with the effects of everything." That was a very dangerous way of thinking, but Star knew that it was a very common occurrence.

"I imagine that being in Canterlot will probably change that a little bit," Star told the actress. "It becomes more difficult to ignore all of the bad things that happen when you're living in the capitol of the country and half the population is involved with the government in some form." It was the absolute truth too, because whether it was through the military or a governing office, somepony you spoke to every day was bound to mention something about what was going on in the world, although usually with their unique spin on what they said.

"Yeah, I only go to Canterlot maybe once a month and I'm still usually up to date on what's happening," Axel agreed. "Although to be honest most of the political junk doesn't ever make any sense to me, but I guess that's why I'm not in charge of anything more than my own house," she laughed.

"Thank Luna for that," Star teased, eliciting laughter from both her friends.

"Very funny, but I don't see you two making any world altering decisions in the government either," Axel retorted, "besides, I might actually do really well as mayor or something, if politics weren't so boring that is." Axel's statement was something all three mares seemed to be in agreement on; although Star had to admit that government proceeding weren't quite as bad when she had her mentor there to explain everything.

The chariot jerked down suddenly, causing Suri to let out a frightened scream and all three of them to jump in surprise. They dropped below the grey clouds very suddenly and Star was worried that Brass Heart had run himself ragged trying to fly straight to Canterlot in one attempt, but was confused to see his wings still moving slightly as he brought them closer to the earth.

"What in the hay was that about!?" Star shrieked at him. Brass Heart had nearly given her a panic attack when he dove down without any warning, but the look he gave her when he glanced back caused the rest of Star's words to catch in her throat. His eyes were steeled over and he wore a grim expression that made the unicorn's blood run cold.

"Shhh," he hissed back to her, "there's a group of griffons up there and judging by the armor, I highly doubt that they're friendly." Star's head shot up as she tried to see through the thick blanket of clouds, but to no avail. There was no way for her to know how many of the mercenaries the soldier had seen or even how close they were, but she didn't dare speak anymore for fear of them overhearing. A sky chariot full of ponies would render Brass Heart useless in a fight and Star knew that there wasn't much she could do to keep the vehicle from spilling them over the side should they be attacked.

Somehow these griffons had managed to slip past all of the guards and made it nearly to Canterlot, which was their most likely destination. They had probably used the clouds as cover, moving with the snowstorm to avoid being seen from the ground, Star assumed. She hadn't expected to actually run into trouble during her little excursion, especially after the princesses sent out more frequent patrols around the Equestrian borders and major cities. The only part she didn't have any theories about was how they had breached country in the first place. Somepony must have made a grievous error while trying to follow their orders.

"Where is Dawn?" Axel asked, just loud enough to be heard over the wind.

"He was flying up ahead, so I'm sure he caught sight of the griffons before I did. As soon as I get you three safely to the ground I'm going back up to find him," Brass Heart explained as he continued his quick descent.

"Then you two will come back and we'll all outrun them, right?" Suri asked in a voice that betrayed the fact that she didn't really expect him to reassure her.

"There's no way that we'd be fast enough with this chariot and going by hoof would be even slower," the pegasus replied. "The only way we're getting out of this is to either, hide and hope they pass us by or for Dawn and me to take them by surprise." Star didn't even have to ask which plan Brass Heart was going with, but her friends didn't know him as well as she did. Though the guards had been sent to escort her and Axel, their loyalty was always to their princesses and country above all else, so there was no chance in Tartarus that they would let the mercenaries reach Canterlot.

Axel's chariot fell to the earth like a broken tree branch, the air whizzing past so fast that it stung Star's eyes even while she squinted. Brass Heart pulled up at the last possible second and the wheels of the chariot ground through the dirt as he pumped his wings in reverse to slow them down, coming to a bumpy rest on the snowy outskirts of Foal Mountain. The icy flakes that he had kicked up hadn't even settled before he tore away from the chariot and shot straight back up into the bleak winter skies, the polished iron of his armor glinting in the little bit of sun that managed to reach him as he climbed.

"Shit," Suri mumbled, "so what the hay are we supposed to do?" Star assumed that she was the only one of her friends who had actually been a part of a real fight, even if she had just stood back and helped while Nature Spark and Backdraft did most of the work, so she needed to keep her promise to Brass Heart and make sure her friends stayed safe. The best way to do that was keeping them away from the danger altogether.

"Alright, we need to pull the chariot into the closest cover we can find, just in case any of those griffons try to lose Brass Heart and Dawn below the clouds," Star said as she hopped out of the chariot. "Suri, I need you to grab our bags while I help Axel move the vehicle," she commanded as her friends tore their gaze from the sky.

"I saw some trees back there, over the hill," Suri replied as she pointed in the direction they had just come from.

"That will work," Star told her as Axel jumped from the chariot and trotted up to the harness. Star used her magic to strap the energetic mare into the harness while Suri tossed all of their bags over her slender back and used her magic to keep them from falling. "Okay, let's go," Star said as the white glow of her magic wrapped around the chariot and she gave a hard push to get it rolling through the snow.

Once the vehicle was rolling, it didn't take much effort from Axel and Star to get it over the hill and under the cover of the snow frosted trees. Even though most of the leaves had already fallen off, there were enough branches crisscrossing overhead that Star was reasonably sure that they wouldn't be spotted, but she thought it best to take her friends a short distance away, just in case one of the mercenaries happened to notice the chariot while flying by the area.

"I want you to stay down," Star said as Axel, Suri and her galloped deeper into the woods, "Stay behind the trees and don't make a sound." Once she felt that they had gone far enough Star focused her magic on the snow and pushed some of it over the trail they had left behind them, because the falling snow wasn't covering the tracks fast enough for her.

"That was brilliant thinking," Suri complimented her, "but I can't help feeling that you're a little too good at this type of thing." The same thought had been going through Star's mind as well, but she knew part of it was luck and the other part was just her ability to think quickly when under pressure. She didn't say as much though, because she was trying to be silent, unlike her two friends.

"Where are Brass Heart and Dawn? Do you think that they're hurt? Are we going to be safe down here? What if they don't come back? How would we make it all of the way back to Canterlot without being caught?" Axel's questions came out in a panicked squeak as she crowded behind the tree trunk near Star, shaking from a combination of fear and cold. Star wanted to comfort the blonde mare, but it was a terrible time to try.

"Shhh," Star hissed at her. "I'll be right back. Stay here." Axel and Suri nodded quietly as Star crept away from their hiding spot, headed towards the chariot and her best chance of protecting them if they were discovered. In her haste to get them to safety, Star had forgotten to grab the Wyrm Stone, so she clearly wasn't as collected under pressure as she had thought.

She made it to the chariot without any problems and tore open the cloth covering of her white saddlebags. Sitting on the very top of her belongings was the amulet that she had gotten from Lucky's pub the other day. Star could feel the power pulsing from it as her hoof brushed against its cold metal. It felt like raw power and she knew it would work wonderfully for protecting her friends. She picked it up and brought it towards her neck as she unclasped the chain, but stopped it just a few inches away from her neck. It felt powerful, that much she knew, but there was something about it that made her uneasy. The magic field that it radiated called to her in her mind, but the feeling that reached her head was not a pleasant one. Star looked into the red gem, the low light it emitted pulling her violet eyes into its depths as she stood exposed, in the middle of the woods, while the griffons were somewhere above her. Finally she managed to snap out of the trance that the relic had her under, shoving it into her pocket as she dug deeper into her bag, looking for her trusty Wyrm Stone, the magical device that she knew would work for her.

Her hoof snagged on its thick band and she tugged the heavy necklace out, clothes and papers spilling out of her bag as she tried to hurry. It took only a moment for Star to use her magic to secure the enchanted charm to her neck and then she took off running back to the tree where her friends were hiding. She could feel the burning warmth that grew in her chest from wearing the Wyrm Stone, despite the icy chill of the wind and falling snow. Smoke escaped from her nostrils with every shallow breath she released and by the time she reached Axel and Suri, Star's entire body was warm to the touch.

"What in Equestria were you doing out there?" Suri asked her when she skidded to a halt beside the white mare, who would have been almost impossible to see in the pristine snow, were it not for her shiny hair, wine red cloak and matching boots.

"I had to grab something," Star replied as she recovered her hoofprints. "If one of those mercenaries does manage to find us, I don't want to be caught defenseless."

"Well, what did you grab then?" Axel asked as she glanced around to see if Star was carrying anything with her magic. All of the questions were starting to annoy Star, not only because the sound was more likely to get them discovered, but also because she just wasn't in the mood to explain her actions.

"This," Star whispered as she flashed them a peek at the candle flame shaped gemstone hanging from her ebony neckline. "Now be quite." The two other mares finally took her advice and the only sound around the three ponies while they waited, was the rustling of snow laden tree branches bumping against one another in the wind. Even their breathing was quiet as time seemed to slow to a standstill and they waited with hammering hearts for the pegasus' return.

Star lost track of how long they had been standing behind the trees, but at some point Axel and Suri had huddled up to her for warmth. She was far too preoccupied with staying perfectly still for her brain to even register the closeness of the mares' bodies against hers this time though. Even if she had, having her friends close to her, where the warmth from the magical fire burning in her chest could reach them and keep their teeth from chattering, was the best way to stay quiet. Even the wind had died down after awhile, leaving the woods eerily still around them.

The sound of Star blowing the purple and blue part of her forelock away from her eye was the loudest thing they had heard after awhile and seemed to ease the feeling of impending doom that had hovered in the still air. She felt Axel's body shift slightly as the earth pony adjusted her stance to a more comfortable position and felt the warmth of Suri's breath being exhaled as she relaxed. Whatever was happening above the clouds seemed to have moved away from their position for the time being.

"What do you think happened?" Axel asked, finally breaking the death grip of silence. "Should we try to make a run for it?" Star's first instinct was to keep her friends there longer, but being in one place for so long had put her on edge and she was just as eager to take some sort of action, even if it was just retreating.

"Yes, but only move as quickly as you can without making a bunch of noise," Star said as she took her first tentative step out from the group of trees they had been hiding behind. "Let's go." They moved single file, stepping as softly as they could while Suri used her magic to clear any trace of their trail as they walked.

The three mares made it back to the chariot without incident, but Star wasn't sure what the best move would be from that point. She considered having Axel reattach the cart so they could take it with them, but decided that it would make far too much noise. Instead she grabbed her saddlebags and gently tossed them over her sides, signaling for her friends to do the same. Once they were all packed, Star began walking away from the vehicle in the direction that she thought Canterlot was in, just as quickly and quietly as they had walked to get there.

They reached the snow packed valley at the bottom of the hill, their boots making soft crunching noises underhoof as they trod through. Star had just begun to relax a little more when the sound of wings cutting through the air sent her heart racing once again. She looked up, a small part of her still hoping to see the glistening armor of Brass Heart or Dawn, only to meet the fierce gaze of a wing blade wielding griffon as she dove down on them with a shriek of fury. Star shoved Axel into the snow and ran past Suri, fire blazing behind her violet eyes as she approached the mercenary.

Smoke trailed from Star's nostrils and her angered scream reeked of brimstone as a torrent of searing flames left her mouth when she leapt towards her would-be attacker. The griffon had no idea what had just happened as roaring flames singed the hair along her underbelly, passing just below the mercenary's path as she pulled up from her winged assault. Suri and Axel stared on in horrified amazement as the griffon continued into a full arch and headed back for their friend, who had already managed to whip herself around and prepare for the next attack. The ruby dangling from Star's neck glowed faintly just like her eyes as she reared up and let loose a stream of fire into the freezing air, just inches away from golden brown tail trailing behind her enemy.

"I purposely missed both of those times, but if you keep coming then you'll force my hoof!" Star screamed into the sky. The last thing she wanted to do was injure another living being, even if it was just a griffon from the Red Eyes tribe whose only loyalty was to the bag of coins they were paid in, but Star's attacker ignored her pleas for peace.

"Save it for someone who cares, you pathetic excuse for a pony," the griffon shrieked back in a gravely voice. Star could see that reason wasn't going to work, so she steeled her mind for the inescapable violence to come. She had seen some fighting while traveling with Spark, but this would be the first time she had ever been forced to cause serious harm herself and she only hoped that she could handle it.

The metallic blades on the mercenaries wings cut the air like a lightning strike as the clawed attacker headed straight for the unicorn in front of her. Star met her enemy head on, but this time she was too slow and the griffon's claw raked across her right shoulder, marring the crisp snow around Star with a splattering of her warm blood, while the fire she tried to spit struck the ground uselessly, sending up a billowing cloud of steam shooting into the sky. Her leg nearly gave out as her nerve endings sent pain lancing through her body, but she managed to hold her ground.

Then the griffon changed course, setting her sights on Axel and Suri because they looked more vulnerable. Star's eyes widened in recognition of the mercenary's plan as she heard her friends scream in terror, but Axel managed to dive out of the way just in time, plowing into Suri and sending them both rolling safely into the powdery snow. When the griffon attempted another assault on the two mares, Star saw Suri's horn light up in various shades of pink as she used her magic to hold a wing in place, causing the hybrid girl to spiral out into the ground. Star galloped over in seconds, running much faster than she had managed to do when racing her friends now that their lives were at stake, but the mercenary righted herself and was back in the air before Star could stop her.

"Star, look out!" Suri screamed, just in time for her to jump out of the reach of the griffon's razor sharp talons when the mercenary came back for another strike. Suri watched as Star fought with the griffon, her mind screaming at her to do something, but her body unwilling to comply. Luckily for her, Star was doing a good job of holding her own against the better trained adversary, thanks in full to the Wyrm Stone she wore.

"Die you equine bitch!" the griffon screamed at Star as her feathered wings snapped closed and she spiraled into a dive, pointed beak aimed directly for Star's back. Time seemed to slow down for Star in that instant and clarity settled over her mind, pushing away her panic, anger and fear. She realized that no matter what her personal feelings were, this griffon was either going to kill her or be killed by her. Those were Star's only options and it took a fraction of a second for Star to decide her next move.

"You first," Star replied as she unleashed a final inferno into the mercenary's face, lighting up the hair and feathers in a gruesome bonfire that crashed to the ground just a yard from where Star was standing. The sound of sizzling fat was distant as Star watched the result of her counterstrike and the acrid smoke that floated into the sky seemed surreal to her. The hybrid creature gave one last, intelligible scream of agony as she was consumed by heat and steam, until she finally lay still, in a smoldering heap of skin, bone and ash. Star had killed her; the thought brought the small unicorn to her shaking knees and her fiery purple eyes welled with hot tears.

Suri was sickened by the scene too, but unable to rip her eyes away as it played out, until she eventually turned her head and vomited onto the cold ground. The smell of burning flesh reached her then, mixing with the scent of her own steaming spew and forcing her stomach into another series of violent convulsions. No amount of drinking over the past few days had been able to elicit the reaction that Star's fighting just had, but as Star looked back at her she merely saw Suri wiping her mouth with a relieved smile.

"Are you alright?" Axel asked Star as she walked over to the shivering black mare that had fought tooth and hoof to protect her.

"Mhmm," Star lied, even though the wound on her shoulder was still dripping blood and the griffon's last scream echoed in her mind. "I think that I just need a minute. Keep an eye on the sky and tell me if another one of those rogues is coming." Axel nodded her head, somehow dealing with what had happened better than her two friends, but Star's eyes were firmly locked on the ground, so she didn't notice. Without warning, Star's guts decided to follow Suri's lead and eject their contents all over the half melted snow at Star's hooves.

"Are you sure that you're doing alright, Star," Suri asked as she placed one perfectly manicured hoof on Star's shoulder. "I know that I wouldn't be, after something like that." Star could only continue kneeling as she tried to keep from hyperventilating.

"Yes, I- I'll be fine," Star told her as she got up from the ground and took a deep breath. She had just committed murder and though it was in self-defense, Star knew that the memory would haunt her for the rest of her life, however long it was. "We should start moving again."

It took more concentration than normal for Star to mover her legs and the screaming in her head wasn't helping much either. Suri and Axel followed behind her, casting worried glances that she could feel drilling into the back of her head, but she didn't bother saying anything. After what they had just witness, Star figured that they had every reason to be concerned, she certainly was. All of that would have to wait however, because Star heard the sound of wings flying towards them again.

Star glanced over her bleeding shoulder her and both of her friends followed her nervous gaze, sighing with immense relief when they saw that it was Brass Heart and Dawn that they had heard. The two soldiers weren't flying like they had been injured and Star was very thankful for that, but their armor wasn't in the immaculate condition that it had been in the last time she saw them. More dents and scrapes became evident the closer the pegasus got to them, marks of a hard won battle no doubt.

"Thank the princesses!" Dawn exclaimed as he dropped to the earth in front of the three mares. "We saw the empty chariot and thought the worst." The blue maned stallion breathed a sigh of relief as he yanked Star into an unexpected hug. "You shouldn't have worried us like that."

"Sorry," Star mumbled as Dawn released her. "I was just trying to keep us out of harms way, so we tried to flee."

"You're hurt," Brass Heart commented when he noticed the dark stain that had been slowly spreading down the black unicorn's foreleg.

"Yeah, one of those griffons found us, but Star fought her off," Axel explained, pointing back to the seared remains. The spot was hard to miss, because it was the only real blemish on an otherwise smooth, snow coated hill. "You should have seen her back there. It was amazing." Star's escorts looked back over, but she turned her head away before they could make eye contact.

"There was nothing amazing about it," Star said flatly. "I just did what I had to in order to keep us safe." Star walked past everypony else without another words as she headed for the sky chariot. She worked her magic to remove the Wyrm Stone from her neck, holding it before her as she walked. By the time she reached the vehicle a stream of tears hold begun to run down her cheeks and fell to the ground with every drop of her blood that also dripped out. She wiped her foreleg across her face as she tucked the enchanted necklace in her bags and then did the same for the other amulet, which had been resting safely in her pocket during the fight.

The only part of the ordeal that Star found a tiny bit of solace in was the fact that she had refrained from using the charm that she got from McGallophree's Pub. If using the Wyrm Stone had such a devastating effect on her mind, then Star couldn't imagine what would have happened had she released the surplus of raw magical energy she felt inside the strange amulet. There most likely wouldn't have been a trace of her foe left after she had finished, but maybe that would have been better.

"We should leave from here," Brass Heart said as he walked up beside Star. "The princesses are expecting us and I'm not one to keep them waiting." Star gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before climbing into the cab of the chariot. Suri and Axel crowded in beside her a few seconds later, but they did their best to give Star her space. Everypony could see that the black unicorn was very troubled by what had occurred, but none of them knew how to comfort her or if she even could be comforted.

"Star, I jus-," Suri began, but as she met her friend's gaze she saw only a cold stillness and her voice caught in her throat. "Thank you," the actress finished quietly. Star just looked away, staring off into the distance as she tried to forget the last few hours.

Soon after the awkward exchange, Brass Heart resumed pulling the three mares through the cloudy skies above Equestria. It was silent, save for the sound the pegasus's wings made as the fought to keep the extra weight aloft. Star closed her eyes and tried to get lost in the tempo of his flying, hoping that the repetitive drone would be enough to overpower the inequine screams she was hearing. It wasn't, but Star's eyelids remained closed and she pretended to sleep. It was the easiest way to avoid any more conversations until they landed in the city.

The rest of the morning came and went without incident and they continued to travel through the afternoon, skipping lunch altogether in order to make up for the time they had lost fighting the mercenaries. Star didn't mind not eating for once; her stomach didn't really feel up to the task anyway. She eventually opened her eyes again, because she didn't want to risk falling asleep before she had a chance to speak with her teacher. Nightmares about her father were one thing, but Star didn't even want to glimpse what her subconscious would conjure up after she had killed that griffon. Princess Luna would be able to ease her mind though, or at least, Star hoped she would.

Canterlot was in front of them, perched on the side of the mountain in a way that would have been impossible without having used magic to build the old metropolis. It was framed in the setting sun's light, its features obscured in shadow as the sky chariot approached it from the north east. It was a very striking vision to behold from their airborne position and Star heard her friends gasp in amazement at the sight. Star too was impressed, but her awe was quelled by the inner turmoil she was trying to keep from showing. Though Luna had told her ignoring the dark thoughts would only cause more problems, Star only intended to keep quiet for a little while longer.

The snow had stopped falling, she realized as they began their descent into the city. Star's breath still fogged up n front of her, but she could at least enjoy the wind through her mane without her ears going numb, if she had been in the mood to do such. Dawn pulled up beside them as the vehicle drew closer to the cobblestone street they were going to land on. He looked nearly as ragged as Brass Heart, although he wasn't breathing as heavily. The fight had taken a toll on both of the stallions and they would most likely need a long rest before going out on any more missions.

"I can't believe that we're finally back in Canterlot," Axel sighed as the wheels of her chariot thumped against the smooth stones below them. "That was some vacation, but I have to admit that it feels nice to be back."

"I just want to take a long, hot bath, eat a good meal, maybe have a drink or two and forget that this entire bucked up day ever happened," Suri stated as Brass Heart tucked away his wings and slowed to a trot. As soon as the chariot stopped moving, Suri was standing on the ground with a satisfied smile. It seemed as if the novelty of flying had worn off after being stuck in the chariot for so long.

"Don't forget your bags," Axel told the white mare as she joined her on the street.

"I wouldn't do something like that," Suri replied as she hefted the three bags she had packed with her magic and dragged them out of the wooden aircraft. Star had remained silent for most of the trip and hadn't moved an inch since Canterlot came into view, but now she slowly climbed down from the chariot, white saddlebags in tow. Her hooves made sharp clacking sounds as she walked over to Brass Heart and cast a quick spell to help him out of the harness he was struggling with.

"Thanks for the help," Brass Heart said as he shrugged off the last strap. "Dawn and I have to go speak with the princesses, but after that I'll be around if you want to talk about what happened." Star didn't acknowledge his offer, she was on the brink of breaking down into tears and she wanted to be away from everypony else when it happened, but Axel and Suri had other plans. The soldiers took wing, flying off to attend to their business and leaving the mares to take care of themselves.

"Star, would you help me show Suri to the room she'll be staying in while she's here?" Axel asked as she trotted up beside her, with Suri right behind. "I wasn't sure if she would be sleeping in her own room or if she was going to be sharing yours. I need to get back to my house tomorrow, but I'll have to spend the night here as well." Star hadn't even thought about the sleeping arrangements during the trip and not even Luna was aware that Surinam was with them. She was fairly sure that it wouldn't be a problem, but with the royal sisters being as stressed as they were, there was always a small chance they wouldn't be happy with a surprise guest.

"I suppose for tonight it would be best if the two of you sleep in the room I usually stay in," Star replied in a quiet voice, "but I'll ask Luna about setting up one of the other bedrooms for you to stay in until you get back on your hooves," she told Suri.

"That would be wonderful Star," Suri said with a half smile as they walked aide by side through the streets of Canterlot. Brass Heart and Dawn had seen fit to drop them off on one of the roads near the castle, so they didn't have far to walk. Being a royal guard had its perks; one of them was less hassle when entering the city. It took only a few minutes of walking for them to reach the manicured lawns and ornate path leading up to the main gates of the princess's home.

"Mother of Luna," Suri muttered under her breath as she turned her head up to see the very top of the tallest towers reaching towards the grey heavens. It was a view that Star had grown used to over the years, but she still remembered her first impression of the castle, back when she was a foal. It was the largest ponymade structure in Equestria, an actual fortress of immense white stone and golden spires that stood as a testament to the power of the Equestrian citizens when they worked together.

"Yeah, I said the same thing when I first saw the place," Axel laughed. "If you think that's amazing though, just wait until you see the spread they set out for dinner and don't even get me started on all of the deserts available." Star sighed as she continued along the wide path to the castle gates, a slight smirk managing to break out on her face as she walked along, but her smile was gone by the time they were standing in the vast halls.

"Follow me," Star told her friends as she led them over to the spiraling staircase leading up to the second floor, where they could find the bedroom she used when staying in Canterlot. They only passed one of the castle servants on their way to Star's room. The others must have been tending to something important, Star assumed. The odds were in favor of another meeting with the various government officials. "Here it is," Star said as she pushed open the tall white door and showed them in.

"Where should I put my things?" Suri asked as she scanned the tastefully decorated bedroom. Everything was just how Star and Axel had left it before they took off on their trip to Manehatten, except for the bed which had been made in her absence.

"Anywhere is fine," Star replied as she shirked her saddlebags to the floor beside the single couch at the foot of the large bed. "I have to find Princess Luna, but get settled in and Axel can take you to get something to eat. She knows where the dining room is and if you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask any of the servants you see wandering around here."

"Okay, but I think I would like a bath first, if you don't mind," Suri replied as she lifted her bags up and set them gently onto one of the couch cushions.

"Mhmm," Star mumbled as she headed for the door, "just make your self at home. I shouldn't be long." Suri nodded her head as Axel pointed her to the bathroom and Star left them to unwind after the long trip. She also could have used a bit of time to relax, but she also desperately needed to confide in her teacher and that was the more pressing need at the moment. She figured that Luna would either be in the throne room or her bedchambers, so she headed to the former to begin her search.

Canterlot Castle was emptier than Star was accustomed to, but as she made her way to the imposing, double doors closing off the throne room, she heard the drone of arguing voices coming from the other side. There was definitely some sort of important discussion taking place, but this time she was in no mood to wait, so she shoved open the doors as quietly as she could manage and walked into the spacious and brightly lit room.

Nearly every seat was occupied, Star noticed as she looked over the gathering, but everypony was so engrossed with their shouting and debating that only a few looked back to see the morose little unicorn who had entered. Star looked around and after finding a place in the back, she stood waiting for the meeting to end. They were almost finished, if the impatient rustling she heard coming from the mass of various colored equines was anything to go by. Up on their ornate thrones, the royal sisters began to address their subjects in their booming Canterlot voices.

"ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE NEW LAWS, PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HOOVES," Princess Celestia commanded them. After a few moments of grumbling and quite whispers the majority of politicians put their hooves into the air, much to the distaste of Princess Luna.

"AND ALL OPPOSED?" the younger princess asked. The few ponies left who hadn't agreed with whatever new laws they were deciding on threw their right hooves up, even though everypony could plainly see which way the majority had voted for. Star couldn't hear it from her spot in the very back of the large room, but she could see her mentor sigh as she lowered her hoof.

"THEN, BY A MOJORITY RULING, THE LAW HAS BEEN PASSED," Celestia told her subjects. "A CURFEW HAS BEEN SET AND FOR THE SAFETY OF THE CITIZENS, EVERY ADULT IS TO REMAIN IN THEIR RESPECTIVE TOWNS DURING THE NIGHT HOURS AND CHILDREN WILL BE RESTRICTED TO THEIR PARENT'S HOME AFTER SUNSET." Now Star new why Luna had seemed so agitated with the sway of the group. She had been rigidly opposed to a curfew ever since the subject had first been broached by her elder sister and for good reason. She already felt that the work she put into keeping her nights majestic and safe went largely unappreciated, but now the Equestrian citizens would be restricted to life during the daylight hours. "WITH THAT LAST MATTER RESOLVED, WE HEREBY CALL THIS MEETING TO A CLOSE," Celestia finished with a bang of one gold clad hoof.

Slowly, with only a minimal amount of sighs and grumblings, the politicians stood up from their seats and made their way to the doors in the back of the throne room, filing out past Star without a second glance as she waited for the crowd to dissolve. She could see her teacher's dark eyes close while she sunk into her throne as the last pony exited and her sister stood up to leave. Celestia stepped down from the raised platform that their sparkling thrones rested on and walked down the hallway, the sharp clicking of her hooves muted by the red carpet that stretched from one side of the room to the other.

"Oh hello, Discipula Star," Celestia said when she noticed the black unicorn waiting in the back of the room.  
"Good evening Princess Celestia," Star replied with a low bow. The princess smiled back at her, but the look faded as she spoke again.

"I think that my sister may need somepony to talk to," the regal alicorn said in a low voice as she passed, "and it looks like you may as well," she continued, catching the melancholy mood that Star was projecting. Star gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to the princess before her sun marked flank disappeared out the large doors.

Star turned back to the princess of the night, walking slowly as she approached her mentor with a strained smile. Luna opened her eyes at the sound of approaching hooves and forced a smile of her own, but the two mares sensed their mutual unhappiness and reverted to their previous straight-faced countenances. Star bowed to her princess, more from habit than because Luna would have wanted her to, before taking a seat on the edge of the raised marble flooring. She turned slightly to better face her mentor, but it was a few minutes before either mare spoke.

"It's good to see you, Discipula Star," Luna said as she sat up in her throne in order to retain some semblance of matriarchal image. Did your travels go well?" Small talk wasn't what Star had sought out Luna for, but she latched onto the mundane conversation easily, despite the mood she was in.

"Well enough, I suppose," Star replied. "Doctor Glyph, my associate at the Manehatten Museum of Natural History, is currently in Saddle Arabia on an archeological dig or something similar, so I wasn't able to speak with her about my last finding, but I left it in the care of one of her students. I will have to make another trip up to the city when she comes back." Normally the princess took an active interest in her student's work, but today it felt like she was just going through the motions, which was fine with Star; misery loved company after all.

"That's wonderful, Star," Luna replied, dropping the usual formalities since they were alone in the throne room now. The sun had been setting when Star entered the room, but now there was hardly any natural light left shining through the stained glass windows that lined each side wall, Star noticed as she peered around. The heroic scenes depicted in each painstakingly designed frame were growing dark as Celestia finished lowering the sun in preparation for her younger sister's seemingly unwanted night.

"Oh, I also brought a friend back to Canterlot with me," Star added as she returned her attention to her sulking mentor. "Her name is Surinam Cherryblossom. I met her at the Manehatten Theatre, after a production of their Hearts and Hooves play. She asked to join us on our trip back to Canterlot and I told her it wouldn't be a problem." Luna seemed to perk up the slightest bit at Star's news, but she couldn't be sure. "I hope that won't be an issue," Star continued as she looked to Luna for her answer.

"No, I'm quite sure that your judgment is developed enough for you to decide whether or not one of you friends can stay at the castle, so long as it's only temporary of course," the princess replied. Star and her teacher sat in silence for a few moments until Luna suddenly got to her feet, saying, "I'm very sorry, my faithful student, but I must prepare to raise the moon. Would you be opposed to continuing our conversation in my chambers," the princess asked her.

"Of course not, Princess Luna," Star replied as she got up from the floor and followed her starry maned teacher out of the throne room and down the mostly empty halls of the castle. They passed a few servants on their way to the princess's room, but Celestia was nowhere to be seen. Star imagined that she was busy conferring with Brass Heart and Dawn Glory about the group of griffons they had battled and wondered why her mentor was not their with them, but chose to keep silent for awhile.

The last vestiges of the sun's illumination were slowly fading from the world as Celestia completed her work for the day, leaving her younger sister to take up her post and raise the moon. Princess Luna was preparing to do just this as she and Star continued to catch one another up on the events of the past few days. Neither had managed to bring up what was actually weighing heavy on their minds, but Star could feel the words pushing to get out of her mouth as the pressure of her feelings reached their peak.

"Princess, I -," Star had almost given voice to her problem, but paused midsentence, causing the blue alicorn to glance up questioningly at her young student.

"What is it, Star?" Luna asked as she took a seat on her large bed and waved Star over to her. "Is there something troubling you, my little pony?" Star wanted to tell her right then, but she merely nodded her head. She felt that speaking what she had done out loud would only make it true, though the details of the griffon she had killed were burned into her memory already, so Star couldn't have pretended it never happened, no matter how much she wished she could.

"I found this amulet," Star said as she pulled the winged pendant from the pocket of her cloak, which she realized she had been wearing amongst high class ponies, despite the fact that it was tattered and filthy from her travels, not to mention stained with her blood on one shredded shoulder. "I'm not sure what it is, but I can feel powerful magic radiating from it." She held the enchanted necklace up to the dim lights of her teacher's bedroom, showing Luna the magical device.

"You haven't worn it, have you?" the princess hastily questioned her as she recognized the pendant for what it was.

"Umm, no I have not," Star replied, a little confused by her mentor's reaction. Star had certainly felt something was off with the amulet, but she didn't believe it warranted such panic. "Is there a reason why you ask?"

"This is no mere magical trinket in your possession, Star," Luna told her as she stared at the amulet, the light reflecting off its polished metal as it rotated back and forth slightly in the place it hung. "The Alicorn Amulet, for that is the name it was given, is a very powerful tool for increasing the wearer's magical abilities tenfold." Star brought the Alicorn Amulet closer to her face, eyes catching on the red jewel that seemed to churn with excess power as she took in her teacher's wisdom. "With all power, however," Luna continued, "there is a cost and this device is no different. The price of wielding the amulet is the eventual corruption of the wielder."

"What do you mean by that," Star asked. The tone Luna had spoken in gave her words a frightening amount of bluntness that made Star suspect she should take the Alicorn Amulet very seriously. "How would it corrupt them?"

"The Alicorn Amulet is old," Luna told her. "It was created in the early days of Discord's Reign by one of the most skilled wizards to have ever lived. The enchantment that he created for it was very complex and very powerful." Star released the necklace from her grasp, letting it fall to the blankets that she and Luna rested on while the princess continued her story. "Of course all of that power came at a price that even the wizard couldn't have known, until it was too late."

"What happened to him," Star questioned as she scooted closer to her mentor and further away from the magical charm lying beside her. "He just stopped using it, right?"

"I am afraid not, my faithful student," Luna replied sadly. "You see, in order to make the Alicorn Amulet a useful weapon, the wizard decided to put a simple curse on it as well as the enchantment. The curse was that it could only be removed by the one who wore it, that way it could never be used against him. The problem came when the price of using such power made itself known. He was slowly driven to crave the feeling of using the magic to fight and instilled with a bloodlust as the years went on, corrupting him to the point where he would never remove the amulet of his own free will. Eventually, the amulet poisoned his mind enough to kill him, but not until he had wrought destruction over the land." Luna fell silent while Star thought about how close she had come to putting on the Alicorn Amulet and what she would have done if she had.

"I am very relieved that you brought this to my attention now, before you tried using it for yourself. I would hate to see you marred by such a terrible relic," Luna said as she used her magic to pull the Alicorn Amulet towards her. "For now, I think it would be best if this cursed trinket didn't see the light of day." The princess levitated a small box over to her and placed the red jeweled charm into it before closing the lid and setting the box back on her dresser on the far side of her bed. It didn't seem like the safest place for such a powerful device, but Star assumed that Luna would be finding somewhere else to keep it permanently. "I'm sorry that you had to deal with this problem on your own for as long as you did."

"To be honest, princess," Star replied, "I really wasn't bothered by the amulet until now." Star was quiet for a few moments as she tried to collect her courage so that she could finally unburden herself. "Something terrible has been plaguing my mind though and I'm not sure how to live with it."

"What is it that has you so vexed, Star? 'Tis not like you to behave in such a depressing manor," Luna questioned. Star opened her mouth, but even the thought of giving voice to her problem seemed to hurt. After a few moments though, the small unicorn managed to blurt out what she was trying to say.

"I killed one of the mercenaries that attacked us," Star practically shouted at her mentor. "I didn't want to, but she left me no choice." Star glanced up at Luna, who wore a stunned expression, before breaking down into frantic sobs. Her misdeed was finally out in the open, but Star had no idea how her princess would respond and it scared her.

"Oh Star," Luna sighed as she reached a silver clad hoof out to her student and pulled the smaller mare towards her. "I am so very sorry that you had to experience something as dreadful as that. I had truly hoped to keep you from being tainted by this war, but I see now that some things are out of even my power." The princess folded her forelegs around her student as she tried to comfort the weeping mare and Star sank into the contact as she sniffled and sobbed.

"I can hardly close my eyes without seeing the girl's face in my head, her eyes wide with terror as the flames consumed her. The screams permeate my every thought and I haven't truly felt peace since that moment," Star admitted through the watery haze of tears that clouded her vision. Luna didn't respond for awhile and Star began to think that her teacher despised her after hearing what she had done, but when she met Luna's gaze, Star saw only sympathy and sadness in her dark blue eyes.

"I am so very sorry, my little pony," Luna replied in a soft tone as she squeezed her student tightly. "I should have been there for you, but instead I was here, lamenting over trivial matters that are unimportant in the grand scheme of things and for that I cannot apologize enough." Star squeezed her forelegs just as hard around the princess as she tried to quell her gasping cries. "You should know that you have done nothing that anypony else wouldn't have done in your situation though. I know that you would never make a conscious decision to seek out violence or disharmony, Star. You are a good pony at heart and what happened could never change that."

"I tried to talk her out of it, but she kept attacking me," Star blurted in a wavering voice, thick with emotion. "Then she tried to hurt Axel and Suri and I just snapped. I knew that she wouldn't quit until one of us was dead, so I did the only thing I could." Star struggled with the words for a moment, stuttering as she said, "I- I killed her. I bu- burned her alive. It was awful." Star sank her face into her teacher's dark coat, letting her tears finally fall unrestricted as she cried over what she had done.

"Shhh," Luna whispered as she slowly stoked Star's Black mane with her hoof. "It's going to be okay, my little pony. I know that it hurts now, but you must not torture yourself over what had to be done. I know that you are a good pony inside." Star could do nothing more than try and stifle her whimpering as she let Princess Luna console her. She felt a little better having opened up to somepony about her feelings, but still couldn't shake the feeling of uncleanliness that clung to her mind.

"I can't imagine what I would have done if I decided to use the Alicorn Amulet instead," Star mumbled through tears and fur, hoping deep down that she might feel better if she acknowledged that things could have been worse for her. It didn't work, but the princess seemed to hold her even more tightly, which felt good to Star as she lifted her head enough to wipe the salty tears from her cheeks.

"Are you going to be alright, Star?" Luna asked after a few silent minutes of holding her student in her forelegs as the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon outside of Luna's bedroom window. The room was left very dim, but Star could still see her princess's face as she smiled weakly.

"I think I will be," Star replied, "… now." She gazed up at her mentor, violet eyes still watery as she stood up from the soft bed they had been sitting on. "I have you to thank for that," she added as Luna got up from the bed and stood beside her.

"I only listened while you unburdened your heart, Star," Luna replied, fluttering her wings slightly before folding them to her sides once again. "That is the very least that I could do and I want you to remember that I am here for you anytime."

"I know, princess," Star replied as she forced a smile of her own. "You have the moon to raise though and I still have Axel and Suri to keep me company for now, so think that I'll be fine." Star honestly didn't feel as good as she tried to appear, but her teachers duties were more important than the issues of one confused mare, so she decided it was best to make peace with her depressing thoughts for awhile. "I'll see you again in the morning."

"Of course, Star," Luna replied. "Please take care of yourself though and get that wound bandaged. I hate to see your mind so troubled. It is most unbecoming of a princess's student."

"I will, Princess Luna," Star said with a bow. "Take care of yourself as well. I know how much the new curfew must irritate you, but I know your sister is only looking out for everypony's best interests." Luna nodded her head, albeit a bit curtly, before Star opened the bedroom door and ducked out into the empty hallway.

Star had been hoping to speak with Brass Heart and Dawn Glory before bed, but her talk with the princess had taken much longer than she anticipated, so she decided to retire for the night. Thankfully, it seemed as if most of the politicians had dispersed after the meeting that evening and the castle was relatively quite. It gave the small unicorn a chance to enjoy some peace as she slowly made her way through the maze of corridors to the room she would be sharing with her two friends.

"I'm sorry that I was gone so long," Star called out as she casually pushed the door to her bedroom ajar. "There were quite a few things that I needed to tell Princess Luna about and it took more time than I thought. I hope that it didn't cause either of you any problems." The door clicked shut behind Star as she surveyed the room before her. Axel and Suri were nowhere to be seen, so she decided to check the bathroom, assuming that one of the two would be taking a bath.

A clean, but empty, bathroom greeted Star as she peeked inside. The air was still a bit foggy so she knew that wherever her friends had gone, they couldn't have left too long before she arrived. They had most likely gone downstairs to grab a late dinner, Star decided. There was nothing to be done about their absence of course, so Star took the opportunity to clean her self up, since she hadn't bathed since they had all left Manehatten two days before.

Star's cloak dropped to the floor as she carelessly shirked it off and stepped onto the porcelain tiles of the bathroom, glancing briefly in the mirror as she passed and seeing the mess of mane perched upon her head. She had been walking throughout Canterlot Castle in a state of utter disarray, but the thought didn't bother her as much as she had expected. Compared to murder, bad manners just seemed insignificant to the black mare.

The glow of her white magic reflected off of the smooth metallic faucet as Star turned on the flow of hot water and allowed the resulting burst of steam to waft into her face as she stood over the tub. There were a number of different bath salts and other mixtures for guests to add to the water, so Star selected a faintly pink powder that smelled of roses and poured some in while the tub finished filling. Once everything was ready, she turned off the faucet and slowly stepped into the bath, giving an involuntary shiver as her body made contact with the hot water. The air was beginning to smell like the rose scented salts as she took a deep breath and slid further into the tub, stopping just as the water reached her neck and giving a contented sigh, despite the slight stinging coming from her shoulder.

Her conversation with Princess Luna hadn't gone quite the way she had expected, but it did leave her feeling a bit better about her violent actions. It may have been due to the fact that she found out how close she had come to being enslaved by the magic of the Alicorn Amulet, but something about her current situation seemed much better than it had. Star was never going to forget the face of the griffon she had killed of course, but as she sat in the warm water and focused on nothing but her slow breathing and thoughts, the black unicorn felt like she might be able to live with herself.

Star closed her eyes and ducked under the water, allowing it to soak into her messy, black mane as she scrubbed her aching body clean. She hadn't even realized how sore she truly was until her body began to relax again. Fighting had left her limbs tired and depression had left her mind exhausted, but the sound of the bedroom door being opened told Star that she wasn't going to be able to sit in the water much longer; her friends had returned.

"Is that you, Star?" Axel called out from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Yes," Star shouted back, "I'll be out in just a few minutes."

"Okay, we brought some food up if you're hungry," Axel replied as Star finished scrubbing her hooves and stood up from the sudsy bath, using her magic to wring most of the water from her mane. After standing above the water for a moment, so that she could wring out her tail as well, Star stepped over the edge of the porcelain tub and pulled two towels from the brass rack near the sink, one she wrapped around her head and the other she used on her tail, after a quick rubdown to get the excess water from her coat. She also brought out a small bandage and quickly wrapped up her injury, now that it was clean.

"Thanks for bringing food up," Star said as she walked out of the bathroom in a cloud of scented steam, "but I'm not feeling very hungry tonight." Star walked over to the large bed, which was covered in purple and gold silk, and took a set on the edge.

"Are you sure you're holding up okay?" Suri asked her, having picked up on Star's melancholy mood earlier that day. "If there's anything I can do-"

"I'm fine, Suri. Thanks for asking," Star told her with a smile. "I had a long talk with the princess and I think that I'm going to be just fine, after a good night of sleep of course," Star added with a drawn out yawn. She really was tired, but she also just wasn't ready to open up to her friends yet. In the morning, after she was rejuvenated from the trip, Star figured that she would talk with them about everything, except maybe the Alicorn Amulet. Luna had seemed to want the pendant to stay a secret and Star would never go against her teacher's wishes. "You two can stay up as late as you want and just come to bed whenever you feel like it."

"Alright," Suri replied from her place on the couch at the foot of the bed, "We'll try to keep quiet s that you can get some rest. Just don't hog the bed or I'll have to shove you out of the way so Axel and I can squeeze in when we go to sleep."

"Fair enough," Star giggled as she threw back the soft blankets and slid in between them. The silk felt wonderful against her body and although the towels wrapped around her weren't the most comfortable, Star knew that she was going to sleep well that night, as long as she didn't have any bad dreams. "Good night, you two."

"Good night, Star," her friends replied in unison as the small unicorn closed her eyes and sank into her pillow. It was only a couple of minutes before she had drifted off, the stress of her trip melting away as she began to dream.


	45. It's Been Awhile

~Chapter 42: It's Been Awhile~

Discipula Star awoke that morning with Axel's hoof firmly planted against her black cheek because once again the earth pony had slept restlessly. On her other side, Suri was sleeping with one foreleg casually draped across Star's chest, making it impossible for her to get out of bed without waking at least one of them. That didn't stop the small unicorn from moving Axel's hoof however, though she tried to do it as gently as possible. With that small discomfort attended to, she let out a yawn and resigned herself to relaxing in bed for a little while longer. There wasn't anything important she had to attend to that morning anyway.

Without getting out of bed and walking around, Star couldn't tell if the aches and pains in her limbs had vanished, but she was able to peer down at her shoulder and see that the bandages had retained only a small stain of blood, which was a good sign. Seeing the wrapped up wound brought back all of the memories of the previous day and the black mare had to take a deep breath and clear her mind to stop tears from forming. Talking about what had happened with Princess Luna had helped enormously, but her dreams had still been unpleasant, filled with screams and fire enough to keep Star from trying to fall back to sleep as she lay between the silk sheets.

After a few more minutes of enjoying the peace and comfort of her bed, Suri rolled over, her lithe form freeing Star from the embrace that had pinned her to the bed while she continued to snooze. Star took her chance and carefully squirmed her way out of the blankets, doing her best not to nudge either of her friends. Once her body was free, she tiphoofed over the plush mattress and onto the cold tile floor, making sure to step lightly as she entered the bathroom to prepare for the day ahead.

The bathroom door clicked shut, much more loudly than Star would have liked, but leaving her to comb out her mane and tail without waking the other mares. Thankfully, her bath the night before had left her clean and made the grooming relatively quick and easy, so it wasn't long until she put away her comb and began brushing her teeth. Next, Star took off the bandage and checked her cut, which had healed fairly well overnight and didn't require anything more than fresh dressing on it. With that last task tended to, she was ready to leave her room and find Brass Heart and Dawn. She had meant to talk to the pegasus after the conversation with her mentor, but it had been getting late by the time they finished, so she decided to put it off, but now that Star had a few moments to herself, it seemed like a good time.

Axel and Suri were still fast asleep as the white owl on Star's flank vanished through the doorway and she entered the open halls of the castle. Nopony else was around as she made her way to the stairs, intending to leave through the front doors and make her way around to the back of the castle grounds, to a much smaller building where the soldier's slept while they were on duty. She wasn't positive that Brass Heart and Dawn would still be there, but because of how late they had arrived the day before, Star figured it was a good possibility. If they didn't happen to be there though, she did know where their homes were, although pestering them outside of work wasn't something Star was keen to try unless there was a very important matter she needed to discuss with them, which was far from the case on this day.

"Good morning, Miss Star," one of the maids greeted her as she descended the stairs into the large front chamber of the palace. It had taken some time for her to get used to the formality with which the princesses' employees treated her with, but despite her requests that they treat her no differently than they would one another, everypony still called her, Miss Star.

"Good morning to you as well," Star replied with a smile as she headed straight for the large, imposing front doors of the castle. "Oh, do you think that you could do me a favor?" She turned to face the older mare that had greeted her, deciding that her friends may wonder where she had gotten to if they awoke to find her missing.

"Yes, of course," the earth pony said as she stopped her dusting to face the small, black unicorn. "What do you need?"

"I have two friends sleeping in my quarters," she explained to the maid, "if they happen to wake up before I return, could you please let them know that I went to speak with Brass Heart and Dawn Glory and that I will return very soon?"

"I will keep an eye out for them," the mare replied as she returned to her work.

"Thank you very much," Star said as she pushed open one of the massive doors with her magic. The morning light was partially obscured by thick clouds, but she still had to squint as she walked outside, into the chilly city. She had forgotten to grab her cloak before leaving, though even if she had remembered, the state it was in would have stopped her from wearing it anyway and so she was forced to trot quickly as she made her way across the frosty cobblestone walkway to the main street.

Every breath Star took resulted in small clouds of vapor as she hurried past immaculately sculpted shrubbery animals and exited through the ornate, wrought iron fence that surrounded the castle's front yard. When the weather was warmer, she loved to walk the grounds and admire the hard work that the many landscapers put into tending the gardens, but on this day the majority of flowers were already withered and long gone, leaving the grounds rather bland. A gust of cold air rushed by as Star rounded the corner and left the shrubs behind, causing her to shiver and quicken her pace to a near gallop in an attempt to warm her body back up.

"I wish that winter was over already," Star huffed as she continued down the pathway at a steady clip. Spring was undoubtedly the young unicorn's favorite season, mostly because the castle grounds looked spectacular for those few months, but it was also due to the much more mild weather that settled in.

It wasn't long before Star reached the plain, stone faced barracks that guards called home while protecting Canterlot. Most of them also owned houses throughout the old city, but it was far easier for them to live on the castle grounds in the event that they were suddenly called to duty. The barracks didn't look like much on the outside, sharing none of the decadent charm that the main building held and the inside was no different. Soldiers were offered only the basic comforts, but their strict schedules and numerous duties left them little time for leisure between working hours anyway, so none of them were bothered by the decorations or lack thereof.

Two earth pony soldiers stood guard at the only entrance, faces stoic as they kept watch for intruders, as well as the rare escapee, because not all new recruits could hold up under the strict rules and discipline. Star didn't recognize either of the stallions, but she smiled at them and received a nod in reply as they uncrossed their spears, so she assumed they must have seen her around the grounds at some point.

"Good morning," Star said as she walked up to the doors. They merely offered another nod in reply as they pushed open the thick wooden passage for her, but that was to be expected when it came to speaking with soldiers who were on duty. Their superiors frowned on excessive socializing during working hours and everypony followed their orders, rigidly for the most part. "Thank you," she called back as she entered the building, before they closed the doors behind her.

The front room was by far the best furnished in the entire structure, but still only held a long oak counter, behind which stood a straight faced soldier with slightly fancier armor than either Brass Heart or Dawn wore, a few small tables and some uncomfortable looking chairs. Star ignored all but the former as she made her way to the stallion, busy shuffling through papers, and cleared her throat to announce her presence as politely as possible, although it would have been impossible for the pale grey pegasus not to have heard her enter the barracks. The sound of her steps echoed throughout the entire chamber as she walked.

"Excuse me," Star addressed him as his sharp orange eyes glanced up at her, "I was just wondering if Brass Heart and Dawn are staying in the barracks at the moment." The stallion looked back down and continued sorting through various pieces of parchment as if he was far too busy to bother with the unicorn mare, which Star realized might have been a genuine possibility considering the state of Equestria at that time.

"Actually Corporal Brass Heart and Private Dawn Glory are tending to some classified matters at the moment," the stallion replied in a droll tone, "but if you leave your name then I will be sure to have them contact you when they return." He slid a piece of blank parchment across the counter to Star and waved his hoof casually towards a container of quills. Star often forgot that Brass Heart outranked his friend because of how casually they acted around one another when working together, but it was only when they were escorting her or while on leave, otherwise Brass Heart was as strict as he needed to be. She took a short quill in her magical grip and jotted down a quick note for Brass Heart and Dawn Glory to find her in the castle whenever they got the chance.

"Thank you for your time, sir," she said as she finished writing down her name and dropped the quill back into the container with the others.

"Mhmm," he mumbled without bothering to look up from a very wordy scroll he was staring at. The stallion didn't seem very fond of his job, but Star figured than any soldier stuck doing deskwork would feel the same, so she couldn't blame him. Taking his continued silence as her queue to leave, Star turned around and headed back to the front doors of the barracks, which she shoved open with her magic.

It was still early in the morning and Celestia's sun hadn't yet completely broke over the mountains to the east, leaving much of Canterlot in shadow still. The air was just as brisk as ever and Star shivered as she left the shelter of the stone walls. Since both Brass Heart and Dawn were away for an undisclosed amount of time, she was left without much to do besides returning to her room and checking on her two sleeping friends, so she made her way back down the cracked, cobblestone path to the front yard, smiling politely at the earth ponies standing guard as she passed by. This time she could swear that they smiled back at her, but when she glanced back they were wearing their usual stony expressions again.

Despite nearly running headfirst into somepony watering the few plants that managed to hang onto life during the freezing winter months, Star made it back to the palace with a fair amount of haste. There were a few other ponies up and about this time, as she made her way back up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. Waiting for her, attached to the door, was a small scroll that she immediately took down and carried into the room. Somepony had to have put it there in the little bit of time that she was out that morning and Star was anxious to see who it was from.

Inside the room, Axel had finally gotten out of bed, although Suri was still sleeping soundly. Star wondered just how late the two of them had stayed up, but figured that it didn't matter much considering that the actress was technically unemployed right then. The theatres in Canterlot would be ecstatic to have a beautiful and talented mare such as her working for them of course, so she wasn't too worried about her friend taking a few days off to relax. Star walked right in and sat down on the couch at the end of the bed, unraveling the scroll and holding it in front of her face with her magic as she did.

"Morning," Axel called out as she walked over and took a seat next to the unicorn. "What do you have there?"

"It's a letter from Inferno and Nature Spark," Star replied with a big grin as her eyes scanned the small script.

"Oh really? What does it say?" Axel asked.

"She says that they're going to be arriving back here sometime today," Star squealed after she had finished reading. Star's smile grew even wider as she wrapped the scroll back up and levitated it over to her nightstand. She had been waiting for her friends to return for awhile now and was eager to see her daughter again, but the letter hadn't said when exactly they would be returning, still, after a few weeks, Star was happy just to hear that she would be seeing them soon.

"That's great news," Axel said as she wrapped her forelegs around her friend. "I guess that means that I should delay my trip home. I wouldn't want to miss out on seeing them again before I leave."

"You don't have to do that, Axel," Star told her. "I know that you need to get back as soon as possible."

"Are you kidding me?" Axel asked as she stopped squeezing the smaller mare. "My house will be fine for another day and besides, I want to get a look at my chariot and see if they've been taking care of it."

"Well, if you insist," Star replied.

"I do," Axel said as she stood up from the couch and gave a quick stretch to her legs, "but before that I need to take a bath and get some food in me. Have they started serving breakfast yet?"

"I didn't check while I was downstairs, but I wouldn't doubt it," Star replied. "I can go grab us some food while you wash up."

"Alright," Axel said as she walked over to the bathroom. "Make sure to grab enough for Suri too. I'm sure that girl will be hungry whenever she finally decides to get up." Star nodded her head as Axel slipped inside the bathroom, leaving the black mare alone with her anticipatory energy.

Her previous downtrodden mood from that morning was forgotten as Star got up from the couch and skipped over to the door, humming all the way as she left her room and headed back down the carpeted hallway. She wasn't sure if Luna had read the letter before leaving it on the door, but Star was eager to tell the princess the good news if she hadn't. That could wait until after breakfast though, Star decided as she rounded the corner to the stairs and bounded down them as quickly as she could. Today was shaping up to be the best she'd had in awhile.

Breakfast was in full swing by the time Star walked into the dining hall and the smell of food permeated the air. Servants were busy bringing out a wide variety of different dishes as Star grabbed a tray to hold plates for her and her two friends, so she did her best to stay out of their way while she browsed the offerings of fresh pastries and fruit dishes. Once she had piled what seemed like enough food onto the three plates, Star slipped back out of the room as quickly as she had come, while a few other ponies staying at the castle passed by her on their way to get something to eat.

"Discipula Star, are you having a pleasant morning?" Princess Celestia asked as she walked into the large front chamber of the castle, Philomena flying by her side.

"I most certainly am," Star replied as she gave the best bow she could without spilling the tray that floated before her. "I found out Inferno and Nature Spark are going to be back in Canterlot today."

"That is wonderful news," Celestia replied as she continued on her way to the dining hall. Star still remembered that Celestia had been the one who hadn't told her about receiving letters from the young dragon and most likely already knew that they would be returning, but she was in too good a mood to bother dwelling on the fact at that moment, so she headed up the winding staircase with a smile on her face. The smell of food made her stomach rumble as she topped stairs and headed back down the hall and she brought a small, cream filled pastry to her lips and took a bite as she approached the door to her room.

Using just a bit more concentration, Star managed to let herself in, despite the fact that she was carrying the large serving tray with her. Suri was still asleep as she set the tray on the small table by the couch and Axel appeared to still be in the bath, so Star helped herself to some breakfast while she waited for them. Since nopony was around to impress, she didn't bother with manners as she took bite after bite from every dish on her plate. The unicorn knew that eventually she would have to get back into the habit of eating like a lady, but that could wait for another day.

The last of Star's peaches and cream disappeared down her throat just as Axel opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, looking a refreshed and cute as ever with her damp mane hanging down her neck haphazardly. The earth pony stopped in her tracks, hazel eyes closed as she sniffed the air and let the scent of gourmet food wash over her. Then she opened her eyes and sighed as she walked over to the couch and sat down next to Star.

"That smells amazing," Axel commented as she slid a large plate of food in front of her on the table. "I love the meals they serve here."

"Mhmm," Star mumbled in agreement before washing down a mouthful of food with a gulp of orange juice, "they certainly know how to make a good breakfast."

Suri didn't stir from the bed until after Star and Axel had finished eating and she merely grunted a nearly intelligible greeting before holing herself up in the bathroom. She didn't seem to be much of a morning pony, unless you counted the many nights she stayed up through the sunrise. Both mares ignored their friend's rude behavior as they tidied up after themselves, even though the maids would have attended to it while they were out during the day. It was just a habit for Star to clean up her own mess and Axel followed her lead. Before long the bedroom was as spotless as it had been before they spent the night in it, aside from Suri's plate of food which was growing colder by the minute.

"Suri, Axel and I were going to take a walk around town to pass the time," Star called to the closed door of the bathroom, where the sound of running water could be heard. "Are you about done in there?"

"Yes, I'll be out in just a minute," the white unicorn shouted back. "I've just have to comb my tail and I'll be done."

"Okay, take your time," Star replied as she returned to the couch to wait with Axel. The vibrant blonde mare had regained her boisterous attitude by the time they had finished eating and was fidgeting impatiently, eager to start her day. The sound of the bathroom door opening was enough to send the earth pony leaping to her hooves.

"Okay, I'm all ready now," Suri told them as she walked over to the side of the bed and stuffed a comb back into one of her bags. "How do I look?" She gave a twirl, her strawberry blonde mane shimmering in the light as she showed off the extravagant dress she had donned. Star had seen her dragging the silver trimmed, red gown into the bathroom, but the image of Suri actually wearing it was simply stunning. It was cut much shorter than any of the dresses that Star had ever worn, which was a rare occurrence outside of royal balls anyway, but it suited the long legged unicorn perfectly.

"You look spectacular," Star sighed as she lamented the fact that she couldn't pull of something so sexy. Suri literally beamed at the compliment.

"Yeah, you look fine," Axel huffed impatiently, "now can we please go?"

"Sure, thanks for the compliment," Suri replied sarcastically as she followed the rust red mare to the door. "Where are we going anyway?"

"I don't believe that we actually decided," Star said as she got off of the couch. "I think we were just planning on walking around until we found a store to browse through or something, unless you have an idea."

"Not really," Suri replied as they headed down the hallway and approached the stairs, "I haven't spent much time in Canterlot, so I'll just follow your lead."

The weather was as nice as could be expected, considering it was winter, as Star, Axel and Suri found themselves walking along a busy street lined with various shops. The sun was bright and there were few clouds to block out the warmth of its rays, although a cool breeze had developed as the mares traveled. With an unknown amount of time to kill and no real destination in mind, Star had decided to lead her friends down to the heart of the city, where most of the stores were located, in hopes that something would catch their interest. It wasn't long before Suri pointed out a large boutique and they all decided to check it out.

Elegant dresses stood in the large windows of the shop as Star held open the door for the other two ponies, painfully aware of the fact that Suri was much better dressed as she watched the white unicorn's gown flutter in the breeze as she entered. Inside there were many more ensembles on display in the bright lights overhead. Star saw dresses and tuxes as well as many more exotic outfits as she followed her friends through the shop, examining each piece as they passed them. The quality of the clothing was amazing, but that was only to be expected coming from the capitol of Equestria.

"Oh, this one is just lovely," Suri exclaimed as she eyed one of the more revealing dresses. The tall mare had a weakness for flashy outfits, Star noticed.

"Only you could pull of something like that," Axel giggled as she watched Suri lift the outfit to her side in order to get a better idea of how it would look on her. Star couldn't help but to think that her friend would look stunning no matter what she wore.

"It would certainly draw plenty of attention, I'm sure," Star acknowledged as Suri hung the gown back on the metal rack she had taken it from, "although I wouldn't get it myself." Star was more inclined to dress in something less revealing, despite the fact that she normally wouldn't even wear clothes. Something about short dresses with low cuts that drew attention to the flank didn't appeal to her.

"Why not?" Suri asked as she riffled through the other clothes on display. "I'll bet that you would look great in something like this," she added, levitating out a skimpy white skirt with gold trim and a matching blouse.

"I don't know," Star replied as she examined the outfit that Suri had picked out, "I guess I could try it on."

"That's what I like to hear," Suri giggled, "besides, anything would be better than that old cloak you normally wear around." Star had to admit that the skirt did look cute and that her cloak was indeed very worn out. Star sighed as she unbuttoned the blouse and put it on, along with the skirt. In a few moments she had buttoned the top and stood so that her friends could get a good look at her, giving a little twirl for effect.

"Suri was right, it looks really good on you," Axel commented.

"Do you really think so?" Star asked as she craned her neck to get a better view of the skirt around her waist. It was more revealing than anything she would have picked out, but she had to admit that it didn't look bad on her by any means.

"Mhmm," Suri agreed. "You should definitely buy it and you should get something too, Axel."

"Yeah, I guess I could," Axel said as she walked over to another rack of clothes. "I don't know about a skirt though. I wouldn't have many opportunities to show it off." The earth pony began to browse through some less frilly clothing, looking for something that she could work in without any problems. "What about this?" Axel held up a pair of overalls that weren't flashy in the slightest. Suri shook her head dismissively and Star just laughed at the red mare's choice.

"Really? That looks like something made for a stallion," Suri groaned.

"I know, but I'm not really a dress wearing kind of mare," Axel told her as she threw on a plain shirt and the coveralls. "See, I think they look fine." They did look cute on her, but once again it was something Star could never see herself wearing.

"It's a good thing you met me," Suri sighed as she pulled a different outfit off of the display and tossed it to Axel. "Try this on instead."

"Fine, if you insist," Axel replied. "I'm only doing this because you asked though." After taking off the coveralls and shirt, Axel replaced them on the rack and began struggling with the dress that Suri had given her. Finally she got it on and showed the result to her friends. It was a much longer dress than the one Suri had picked out for herself and was a dark brown color with green trim.

"That looks much better," Suri said with a smile. "Don't you agree?"

"I guess," Axel replied.

"It does look very good on you, Axel," Star said as she glanced over to the counter, where the shopkeeper, a blue earth pony just a few years older than she was, stood watching them. "Shall we go purchase these?"

"I'm happy with mine," Suri said as she headed towards the counter.

"I don't see why not," Axel replied as she followed after the white unicorn, "I still don't know when I'd ever wear this though."

The three mares wore their purchases as they walked up to the counter and Suri was kind enough to pay, mostly because Star hadn't thought to bring any bits with her. The shopkeeper, who was also the mare that had sewn every article of clothing in the store, thanked them for their patronage and bid them a good day before they left. Suri opted to wear her new clothes as they continued on their walk, draping her second dress across her back for lack of a better place to keep it.

"Where should we go now?" Axel asked as she stepped out into the open air once again. "I'm sure that we still have some time to waste before they get back."

"Before who gets back from where?" Suri asked, since she had been asleep when Star received the letter from Inferno.

"Oh, some of our friends were away in the hippogriff territory, but they sent me a letter saying that they'd be returning today," Star explained as they continued down the cold, stone sidewalk.

"Hippogriffs?" Suri asked as she followed after her younger friends. "I've never met a hippogriff before."

"Well, I guess that you will get your chance to later today," Axel said as she fidgeted in her new clothes, trying to get the dress to hang comfortable as she did her best not to step on it. Star was just glad that the blouse she was wearing didn't rub against her shoulder wound very much as she walked.

"Why were your friends there?" Suri asked, curious to learn more about Star and Axel's other friends.

"They were sent by the princesses to rekindle the old alliance we once shared, for the war," Star explained.

"So we really are going to war with the Crystal Empire then?" Suri asked with a hint of sadness evident in her usually light voice.

"I'm afraid so," Star replied, "because of the accusations that were made against Princess Luna and the recent attacks by Red Eye mercenaries, there really are no other options for the princesses to take."

"I still don't get why anypony would want to start a war," Axel chimed in.

"Nor do I," Star agreed, "but somepony is behind this, for whatever reason and now both countries will be made to suffer." All three mares grew silent as they contemplated the truth of Star's statement. It had been over fifty years since Discord's War had ended and the effects were still being felt across Equestria. Towns that were still in the process of rebuilding would be put in danger once again and lives would be irreparably changed by the deaths that war would bring.

"Hey, I know the stallion that owns this place," Axel said in an attempt to switch subjects and lighten the dreary mood. The earth pony headed for a small shop that apparently sold enchanted gems, much like the kind that she had used to make her chariot fly. "Maybe Gentle Gem has some new enchanted jewels that I can use in another project." Axel opened the door and hurried in, skipping all the way. Star and Suri followed their friend into the shop, figuring that it would at least pass the time.

"Is that Alexia Lynn Sapphire that I see in my shop?" an old, blue unicorn asked as he peered at the three customers from his place behind the old counter. Axel smiled at him and skipped over to where he was standing. "I was wondering when I might be seeing you again. Did those gems work out all right?"

"They worked amazing," Axel giggled. "The new chariot is flying like you wouldn't believe. We took it on a trip clear to Manehatten and back without any problems."

"That's great to hear," the stallion said as he glanced over the earth pony's shoulder and waved at the two other mares who had followed her in. "Are these two friends of yours?"

"Sorry, yes," Axel blushed, "Gentle Gem, allow me to introduce Discipula Star and Surinam Cherryblossom." Both mares gave a small wave as they were introduced before walking up to stand beside their friend.

"It's very nice to meet you, sir," Star said.

"Please, call me Gentle Gem," the stallion chuckled. "It's very nice to meet some of Axel's friends. This girl gets so involved in her work that I wasn't even aware she had any." Axel shot him a look of mock hurt at his comment.

"Uh, I have more friends than you can imagine," the red pony replied.

"I'm sure you do," Gentle Gem chuckled, "so what can I do for you on this fine winter day? Is there something specific that you need?"

"Not that I know of," Axel replied, "but we had some time to waste, so I thought I'd look around and see if inspiration would strike me."

"Well take your time," Gentle Gem replied with a smile, "I'll be right here if you need help with anything."

"Sure thing," Axel said as she turned around and trotted towards the closest display case, where a variety of beautiful gems could be seen, glittering in the light. There were jewels of all sizes, cuts and enchantments. There were call stones, levitation stones and a number of other stones that Star had never even heard of. It seemed as though anypony could pull of many of the spells that Star had memorized if they had enough money to buy a collection of enchanted gems.

Axel took her time, examining every item on display and reading the notes beside the jewels that described what magic they were infused with. She seemed to pay particular attention to the largest of the levitation stones. Star assumed it was for another flying chariot, but knowing Axel, it could have just as easily been for a brand new invention. Suri didn't seem to find the store as interesting as her friends, which seemed strange considering her obsession with fashion. It may have been because most of the gems weren't the kind somepony would wear, but she was patient none the less and didn't complain once while they browsed through everything.

It was after seeing a good sized emerald that Star remembered Doctor Suture's request for her to find two flawless gems that could be used to repair Spark's eyes, so she started looking around for suitable diamonds. She looked through every case in the store and though there were many jewels that looked like they would have been suitable, Star couldn't find two that were alike, nor two that were spell free. She decided to ask Gentle Gem if he had any in storage that would fit what she was looking for before they left.

"Hmm, I'm not really seeing anything that's jumping out at me at the moment," Axel sighed, "but I suppose I can check back at another time. Are you ready to go yet?"

"Yes, but I wanted to ask Gentle Gem a question before we leave," Star replied as she headed back to the grey maned stallion. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if you had two large diamonds that haven't been enchanted yet."

"I think I have a few in the back," the shopkeeper replied. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"I need two large diamonds of equal size and cut, that are flawless," Star explained. "One of my friends went blind while I was assisting a doctor with a new procedure and the only way to reverse the damage is with the right gems."

"That's terrible," Gentle Gem replied, "but I'm afraid that I don't have anything here that fits those criteria unfortunately." Star's head sagged down at the bad news and the old stallion sighed. "I can certainly keep an eye out for something that would work though, but you have to promise me that you won't be all depressed until then. I hate to see a pretty young mare frown."

"That would mean so much to me," Star replied as she smiled back at him. "Thank you very much."

"It's the least I could do for the friend of one of my best customers," he replied as he glanced over at Axel who was walking up beside Star. "Did you find anything today?"

"No," Axel huffed, "but I'll check back in a week or so and hopefully something will catch my eye then."

"Well, you know where to find me," Gentle Gem replied as the mares turned to leave. "Have a nice day, you three."

"You too," Axel called back as she opened the door to the shop. The three mares left the store behind and stepped out onto the cold sidewalk, wondering where they should go next. Star wasn't sure what to do, so she started walking further down the road with Suri and Axel by her sides. It was late in the morning, but she figured they could still stand to spend another couple hours in town before returning to the castle. The sun was still shining and the cold breeze had all but quit as they walked past more shops.

It was a bit after noon when Star, Axel and Suri arrived back at the castle with only their new clothes to show for the trip. The three ponies had considered going out to eat, until Axel pointed out that some of the best food in the city was waiting back at the castle, for free no less. Star never got tired of eating the seemingly endless assortment of fine cuisine that the chefs made everyday and Suri had only eaten two meals at the castle, as far as she knew, so the black unicorn was more than happy to save some bits by eating at her home away from home. It would also put them in the vicinity should Inferno and Nature Spark happen to arrive.

The usual hustle and bustle was taking place in the lower floors as they entered through the heavy front doors. Maids and servants wandered around cleaning and tending to various tasks while still managing to keep out of the path of the few aristocrats who happened along their trail. Instead of heading for the stairs and up to her bedroom, Star decided they may as well grab their lunches first, so she led her friends to the dining hall, glad to see that all of the food was still warm and waiting to be eaten. It was no surprise that lunch was still being served, considering how long some of the meetings could run and the fact that there were always many different mouths to feed.

"Whoa, I didn't realize it would be so crowded in here," Suri said as she followed Star through the doorway. "Why are there so many ponies eating here?" Star had to agree that there were quite a few ponies sitting at the long table in the midst of eating and conversation. The room was alive with the roar of chatter, so much so that only those who were looking towards the door when the three mares entered even knew they had come inside.

"I suppose it's because of the new laws that the princesses have been deciding on," Star explained. "Even though they of course have the final say in all matters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna always put laws they are having disputes over to a vote, which has been happening more and more recently." Suri and Axel followed Star to the long serving table along the opposite wall of the dining table. The fact that there were so many different guests busy with different tasks meant that food was available to be taken to whatever room a pony was working in, though most preferred the high class atmosphere of the dining hall. Star was not one of those ponies.

"That doesn't sound very good," Axel said as she took a tray that Star passed to her and began scanning the table for something good to eat.

"No, it's not," Star sighed. Talking about it was slowly ruining her appetite, but she started piling some food on her plate anyway. "I have no idea why they've been arguing lately. It really isn't like them to disagree so much, but I think the stress of dealing with a nation on the brink of war is beginning to get to them." Star dropped a pile of mashed potatoes on the plate, next to some other vegetables, as she spoke.

"Shouldn't they be used to it after the long war they fought with Discord?" Suri asked as she picked through a large basket of fruit, finally selecting the very best looking apple for herself. Her plate held barely any food and Star assumed that was the reason for her being so thin, despite her height.

"I think Discord's War is part of the reason they've been so worried," Star answered. "I'd imagine the princesses are afraid to start another thousand years of fighting and death." Star noticed that the conversation wasn't the best to have before a meal at that moment and decided to change the subject. "I'm sure that they'll be just fine soon though, so we shouldn't worry. They have been ruling Equestria for a very long time after all."

"That's true," Axel acknowledged before snatching up the only three cream filled pastries left on the table. "Yes! Good thing I got the last three."

"That's okay, I'm not really much of a pastry eater most of the time anyway," Suri said as she finished filling part of her plate and stood back from the table, waiting for the other two mares to finish.

"That's good to know, but I got all three of these for me anyway," Axel said in a completely serious tone that made Star laugh aloud, until she remembered that she was standing in a room full of hyper critical aristocrats and she had a reputation as Princess Luna's faithful student to maintain. Being so close to royalty did have its occasional drawbacks and the expectations were a major one.

"I'm ready to head back to the room," Star said as she stifled her giggling.

"Mhmm, I think that I'm ready too," Axel agreed as she snatched up a grape from the table and popped it into her mouth. Suri was already headed for the door, so Star and Axel caught up with her as quickly as they could manage without spilling food all over the floor, which was easier for Star with her magic. The earth pony seemed to manage just fine though, balancing the plate on her head as she walked across the marble floors.

The commotion in the front hall of the castle was still going on as the three mares slipped up the spiraling stairs and around the first floor corner on their way to Star's bedroom. There was one maid dusting the different paintings and pottery on stands spaced along the hallway and Star smiled politely as they passed by. The castle had been much livelier over the past few days, from what Star had heard, and it was all because of the government officials who had been staying there while the new laws were argued over. She would be glad when it was all over and life could return to a semblance of its former peace, but that seemed a faraway dream at the moment.

There was no note on the door this time, so Star pushed it open without a second thought and stopped it from swinging shut with a hoof until both of her friends had entered and then she let it slam on its own. The room was just as they had left it and Suri lifted the dress she had been wearing that morning off of her back and tossed it casually to the floor near her bags. It didn't look as if she cared for her belongings very well, Star noticed, but it could have just been clothes that she treated that way. Many city mares tended to go through dresses and the like fairly quickly anyway.

Axel and Star sat down first and then Suri had to squeeze in next to them, which wasn't actually much of a problem for the actress. They ate their lunches casually, talking in between bites while they enjoyed the delectable cuisine. Everything seemed normal for awhile as they relaxed and enjoyed themselves and Star could almost imagine that everything was fine when she closed her eyes. It would be even better when Inferno came home, Star thought as she listened to Axel rambling on about possible machines she was thinking of building.

Eventually they finished eating and set aside their plates, content for the time being, but a knock on the bedroom door stirred Star from the couch where she was just getting comfortable. She stood up with a small sigh and made her way to the door, blowing the purple and blue strands of her forelock out of her eyes as she walked. The black unicorn realized that it could very well be that somepony was letting her know Inferno had arrived, so she quickened her pace and threw open the door.

"Good afternoon, my faithful student," Princess Luna said with a smile. "I just felt I should let you know that Inferno will be here very soon." Star squeed when she heard the good news. Her daughter would be home soon.

"Thank you for telling me, princess," Star said as she wrapped her mentor in an impromptu hug, before realizing what she had done and quickly releasing her grip with a nervous laugh. "Um, we'll be down shortly."

"Of course, Star," Luna said with a smile, "I will meet you down there."

The princess left after that exchange, heading down the hall towards the stairs as Star closed her bedroom door and whirled around with a smile. Suri shot her a questioning glance as she trotted back to the couch. The nervous energy from earlier had come back in full force and the black mare felt as if she were walking on air. She hadn't realized just how much she had truly missed the little dragon, her adopted daughter.

"The sky chariot should be here soon," Star practically shrieked as she jumped up and down with excitement.

"Great, well what are we waiting for?" Axel asked as she sprang off the couch, equally excited by the news. Suri just looked over at them and got to her hooves as well, curious as to whom the new arrivals were.

They all headed for the door one after another, still wearing their new clothes as they left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. The princesses were both already there, looking just as majestic as ever with the mystical manes blowing in a phantom wind as the stood waiting. Star, Suri and Axel joined them, looking almost as beautiful as the sisters in their fancy attire, though certainly not as regal. Star couldn't wait to scoop up Inferno in a hug and stare into her enchanting yellow eyes. It seemed like an eternity since she had seen the dragon's face, though they had only been apart for a few weeks, but now they would be reunited again.

Nopony had told Star exactly how long 'soon' was, but she assumed because of the few words that Luna had spoken before he and her sister left to wait in the throne room, that it might be a little while. It was a good twenty minutes before the front doors of the castle were finally pushed open and time seemed to creep by slower than melting ice as Star stood motionless as the minutes ticked by. Light spilled into the dim hall as a figure walked in followed by another shorter form and then by one last shaped with wings protruding from the sides. As the door clicked close Star blinked a few times before running towards her friends at full speed.

"Inferno!" Star cried as she scooped the red dragon up with her magic and pulled her into a waiting embrace. "I've missed you so much since you've been gone." Star punctuated each work with a quick peck on her daughter's cheeks, ignoring the black spikes jabbing into her forelegs as she did.

"Spark!?" Suri asked in surprise, causing Star to glance up from her affections long enough to notice the perplexed look on the white mares face. She seemed to know Nature Spark, very well judging by her tone of voice. "What the flying buck are you doing here?" Suri walked over to the brown unicorn in a few quick strides and Spark turned his head at the sound of her approaching hoofsteps.

"Don't tell me that's Suri," Spark said as his horn began to glow faintly with a green aura. "For the love of Luna, it is. What are you doing here and where is Star?"

"I'm right here," Star replied.

"Me too," Axel chimed in as she bounded over to the group.

"Why is my sister here?" Spark asked as he turned in Star's general direction. The black unicorn paused in confusion as she tried to figure out what her friend was talking about, until the realization hit her.

"Surinam is your sister," Star gasped. "I had no idea that you even had a sister."

"Yes, she is my sister, but why is she at the castle and more importantly, why is she with you?" Spark asked as he took a few steps in his older sister's direction.

"I met Star in Manehatten and decided to come back to Canterlot with her," Suri explained in a slightly condescending voice. "How do you know her and where were you anyway." Suri glanced over to Star as she asked, "Is he your friend that was visiting the hippogriff territories?"

"Yes, Nature Spark accompanied me to meet with my clan and form a new alliance," Strata spoke up as she walked up from behind the brown haired stallion. Suri jumped back in surprise, but whether it was from seeing a hippogriff or hearing the news that her brother had actually been over seas, Star wasn't sure.

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna asked me to go as representative for them," Spark explained to his sister, who didn't seem to be aware of her sibling's sightlessness at the moment. Spark was looking in her direction, but Star didn't know how he was able to tell where she was with all of the commotion everypony was making. She did recall Inferno writing about him finding away to move around without help though, so Star assumed that had something to do with it.

"Why would they do that?" Suri asked in confusion.

"Because of who our father was," Spark explained, but Suri didn't seem satisfied with his short answer.

"Yeah, he was an advisor for the Princess Celestia, but why would that give them any reason to send you to the hippogriffs for them?" Suri asked.

"Dad was much more than an advisor, but I'll tell you what I found out about that later," Spark replied rather solemnly, "for now I could really use a shower and something to eat and then I need to speak with the princesses." Suri still wasn't content with her brother's explanation, but she couldn't think of a worthy argument, so she bit her tongue for the time being. "Is there a room that I might be able to use?"

"Um, yes," Star told him, "just have Axel take you to one of the servants and they can show you to an empty room."

"Axel is here?" Spark asked as his horn began to glow faintly once again. Star noticed that whenever he was looking for someone he began using magic and it almost seemed as if the glow showed him where everypony was in relation to him. It was fascinating to say the least and Star made a mental note to ask him about it when she got the chance. Doctor Suture would most likely be interested as well, she figured.

"I'm right over here," Axel said as she hopped up and down in place. "Follow the sound of my voice." Suri glanced over at the display with sudden realization and let out an audible gasp. Axel and Spark headed for the stairs in the back of the hall, leaving the others to sort through the strange development.

"Did Spark go blind?" the white mare asked in horror. Star's heart skipped a beat as she tried to reply. She was the one who had damaged Spark's vision and now she was going to have to explain herself to her new friend, Spark's sister.

"Y-yes," Star stammered as she stared intently at the red carpet on which she stood, "Doctor Suture and I were trying to fix his eyes so that he wouldn't need to wear glasses and something went wrong." Star raised her gaze enough to see Suri staring at her with a mixture of surprise and anger. "I can fix it and I will, I promise you, but first I need to gather some things."

"Why in Tartarus didn't you tell me any of this before?" Suri asked, clearly upset at Star's ignorant withholding of information.

"I had no idea that you even knew who Spark was, let alone that you were his older sister," Star explained.

"So, you're Suri," Inferno said as she finally broke out of Star's embrace. "He talked about you a little bit, but I couldn't get much out of him, except for the fact that he hadn't seen you in years." Suri turned her gaze down to the small dragon addressing her, probably wondering just who this serpent was, Star imagined.

"Yes I am and you are?" Suri asked as she smoothed her dress with one hoof.

"My name is Inferno, Star's daughter," the dragon replied casually, causing Suri to shoot Star a bewildered look.

"I've raised Inferno since she hatched," Star explained as she fidgeted with her skirt. It felt a bit hot in the palace and the clothes seemed to be making things worse, but Star wasn't about to run off and change right then.

"Well then, it's very nice to meet you, Inferno," Suri replied with a forced smile. Star certainly hadn't expected there would be any tension when she reunited with her friends, but she obviously hadn't foreseen the complications that had arisen.

"Likewise," Inferno agreed, reaching out a clawed hand, which Suri shook briefly before turning her attention back to Star.

"I swear to you that I will explain everything tonight, but first I need to get Strata and Inferno settled in," Star told her friend, "and I may need to speak with the princesses as well," she added.

"You'd better," Suri huffed, "because there are plenty of questions I have that could use some answers." Star nodded her head in agreement before returning her focus to Inferno and Strata.

"We'll get the sleeping situation figured out later, but I'm guessing that you'd both like some time to clean up and unwind a little before our meeting with Celestia and Luna," Star said as she walked over to the falcon headed hippogriff.

"Yes, that would be nice," Strata acknowledged as she and Star embraced one another in a quick hug. "It was quite the journey."

"I can imagine," Star replied. "Just follow me to my room and I'll get the two of you all settled in. Do you want me to bring up something to eat?"

"That would be most appreciated," Strata replied with a weary smile as she followed the black mare to the stairs. "We haven't had a good meal in days."

"Yeah, the food we had went stale pretty quick and sleeping in the sky chariot isn't much fun," Inferno sighed. Star was inclined to agree with the red dragon, since she had suffered through the discomfort of trying to sleep during a long flight only a few days before. It hadn't been the best night of sleep she'd ever had, but it also wasn't the worst.

Suri stayed downstairs while the other three girls headed for Star's room. The black unicorn was worried that her friend was upset, but she needed to attend to her daughter and Strata before she could even think of attempting to resolve her issues with Suri. It was definitely shaping up to be a strange night, Star noticed as they ascended the marble steps. The joy of seeing Inferno again was enough to make the awkwardness manageable however and the impact of a treaty with the hippogriffs was not lost on the small unicorn either. She just hoped that the good news would help ease the tension that had been developing between the royal sisters over the past few weeks.

Star had waited patiently why her friends recuperated from their travels, but by the time they had all finished, the princesses were prepared to meet with everypony, so she never got a chance to clear things up with Suri or to talk more with Inferno. Then they had all walked through the halls quietly, except for the occasional comment from Axel and the short reply from whoever she was talking to. Star shoved the doors open for everypony and they all entered one by one into the throne room, which was empty save for the two alicorns upon their seats of power. The door banged shut and Star nearly jumped at the sound as she walked toward the front of the room.

They all bowed to the princesses, who both gave simple nods in reply, before standing in front of the raised dais. The air seemed stuffy to Star, though the room was very large for how few of them there were in it. Every second seemed to carry a heavy weight and she realized that they were on the precipice of war and the meeting they were having could well decide Equestria's future. Her knees nearly buckled as the room swayed around her, but she managed to stay on her feet. Star had thought that killing one griffon was bad, but war could mean thousands of deaths and there was a high probability of having to kill again just to survive.

"We are very happy to see that you three have made it back here safely," Princess Celestia began, forgoing her normal Canterlot voice for a more subdued tone. Star snapped out of her panic in time to hear Spark replying.

"As am I, Princess Celestia," he said. "I suppose that I should start by telling you that the hippogriffs have agreed to the new alliance and are to be expected in a month's time," the blind unicorn added flatly. Star sensed something different about the stallion, but she hadn't spoken with him long enough to decipher what and now wasn't the time to try and figure it out. Celestia and Luna merely nodded upon hearing the good news.

"My clan will need time to prepare ourselves for war and move our hippogriffs to Equestria, so it will be a month at least," Strata said in her high pitched tone, though it was somewhat diminished as she tried to keep quiet. "You will have say over when we strike, but not over how we strike. Hippogriffs fight our own way and that is the only condition of our new arrangement."

"That will be acceptable, Strata Slipstream," Celestia replied. "I assume that you will be returning to deliver the message right away."

"No, my clan has faith in your word," Strata replied, "Because you stand to lose as much as we do if this war goes the wrong way," she added sternly. Star was beginning to wonder if she should even be a part of the conversation. The princesses had asked her to come, but the small mare had no idea if she should talk or even what she would say if she did open her mouth.

"I see, very well then," the elder of the royal sisters replied, "I will tell my soldiers to be expecting your assistance." Star actually wasn't sure why she and Axel were present, not to mention Inferno. The dragon had accompanied Spark to the hippogriff homeland and most likely was aware of everything that was happening, but she was little more than a child and Star wondered why the princesses wanted anypony besides Spark and Strata present.

"Is there nothing more for you to tell us?" Princess Luna asked. She had been silent for the entire exchange and seemed a little irritated when she finally spoke.

"Nothing that cannot wait, my princesses," Spark replied.

"Then we may discuss the information we have received from Downpour and Backdraft," Celestia stated. "The reason we requested that you return to Canterlot immediately, instead of first meeting your friends in the Crystal Empire is due to the fact that a unicorn known as Duke Doré Langue, the next in line for the throne of the empire, is thought to be behind the entire war. He has somehow gotten power over the king and intends to usurp the throne and in doing so, create a war with our beloved country."

"Furthermore," Luna said, taking over explanation almost seamlessly after her sister's brief pause, "the pegasus brothers have made contact with a group of rebels who have been fighting against the duke. They are willing to help us, but have warned of a possible coup within the Equestrian Royal Guard and from what they have gathered; it is someone who holds a fair amount of power." Star glanced around and saw that everypony, including Axel was still remaining perfectly still as they listened to their matriarchs speak.

"We are looking into the possibility, but have yet to find any truth to the accusations. Still, it is best if we keep what has been spoken here between those of us in this room. If there is a traitor in our government, then we will find them and deal with them most severely," Celestia explained, her voice growing colder and louder as she spoke of the unlikely deception. Star couldn't imagine why anypony would turn against the princesses, especially after they had defeated Discord and saved all of Equestria.

"Where are Downpour and Backdraft now?" Spark asked as he stared up towards the ornate thrones, but not directly at either of the alicorns.

"If they were able to cross the mountains safely they should be close to Ponyville by now," Luna replied, her dark blue eyes softening a bit as she detected the brown stallion's concern for his friends' wellbeing. "It is likely that the brothers will be returning to Canterlot in the next couple of days." The mention of Ponyville reminded Star that she head to break some devastating news to Nature Spark sometime in the near future. The thought of that particular conversation made her feel a bit ill.

"That is very good to hear," Spark replied. "Is there any other business that we must get to tonight?" The princesses turned to one another and whispered incoherently for a moment before returning their attention to the ponies gathered.

"We are done for the night," Celestia told them, "but tomorrow we may need to speak with you all once again, so please do not leave the city for a few days." Star noticed Strata glancing between each of the alicorns suspiciously without saying a word, while Spark simply nodded once in compliance. Nopony would leave the city though, not when they were on the verge of war. "You are all dismissed." Everypony bowed to the royal sisters before turning to leave in one small group, the sound of their combined steps echoing off the smooth walls and reverberating through the high ceiling. They all walked silently and at the same pace as they left the princesses to speak in private.

The large double doors of the throne room slammed shut behind them once again and Star let out a sigh as she looked to each of her friends, noticing for the first time that Suri wasn't among them. The small unicorn had been so overwhelmed by everything that was happening; she hadn't even noticed the older mare was missing. Something told her that Suri was taking the unexpected reunion with her brother worse than she had let on and decided to look in the bedroom for the actress.

"I haven't slept well in days," Spark said as he turned to try and face the pony he was addressing, "so I'm going straight to bed, but we can talk tomorrow, Star." She started to nod her head before realizing her mistake.

"That is perfectly fine, Spark," she said cheerfully as he turned to leave. "It's good to have you back here, I missed you." The stallion stopped in his tracks, but didn't look back at her.

"It's good to be back," he replied quietly before heading towards the stairs with Strata right behind. Axel skipped along after them while Star walked beside Inferno, who rested a hand on Star's back as they made their way to the bedroom. Nothing else was said until after Spark and Strata had been shown to their separate rooms and Axel closed the door behind her, Star and Inferno. Suri was already lying on the bed half asleep as they all walked in, but she sat up at the sound of the door closing.

"The room right next to this one is open, so I figured that you could share that with Axel," Star said as she met Suri's green eyes with her violet ones. "Now that Inferno's back I think the bed might be just a bit crowded for all of us to sleep in." She laughed softly, but Suri just stood up and grabbed her bags without saying a word. Star could tell that she was cross, but had no idea how to help the fact. She had wanted to beg Suri for forgiveness, but didn't feel she should have to. Star hadn't been aware that they were siblings and it didn't seem as if they were very close, but for some reason the white mare was acting like she had been severely wronged.

"I'm going to bed right now, so be quiet when you come in please," Suri said as she walked by Axel, carrying three bags of belongings in her magical grip.

"I'm tired too, so I'll just go to bed now," Axel said as she followed after the strawberry blonde tail walking through the door. "Goodnight, Star. Goodnight, Inferno."

"Goodnight," mother and daughter replied in unison before the door closed and they were alone in the room. Star took a deep breath and let it out, the tail end of her exhalation forming into an exhausted yawn as she turned towards the bathroom.

"I just bathed when I got here, so I'm ready for bed right now," Inferno said as she climbed onto the comfy mattress, tiny wings flapping uselessly behind her as she struggled to get up. Star smiled at the dragon before closing the bathroom door and levitating out her tooth brush. After a quick brush and rinse, not to mention a few other necessities, Star left the bathroom, ready to talk with Inferno. The young dragon was already snoring softly though, as Star careful joined her on the bed.

"Goodnight, Inferno," Star whispered as she wrapped her forehooves around the dragon's chubby midsection. "Sweet dreams." Star laid still, listening to the shallow breathing of her daughter for a short time as she tried to slow down the thoughts in her head. The feeling on having Inferno so close to her again was a welcome one for the small mare and she soon calmed down enough to drift off into the dreamland, where the princess of the night happened to be waiting for her.


	46. Bonds of Friendship, Part 1

~Chapter 43: Bonds of Friendship, Part One~

"Princess Luna!" Star exclaimed as the shape of her alicorn mentor became clear through the shimmering haze of the dream world around her, "I wasn't expecting you tonight." Star walked over to the small table her mind had conjured as the usual image of Star's home in Dodge formed around them in a swirling mist. Luna sat quietly staring up into the sky, which was turning into the starry night that she held so dear to her. Something was on the princess's mind, Star could tell, but it took some time before Luna began to speak to her.

"How is Inferno?" the princess asked as she attempted to ease into the core reason for her visit. "I know that the trip must have been hard for her." The princess had been the one to give Star Inferno's egg to hatch and subsequently had brought the young dragon into the black unicorn's life, for which Star would be eternally grateful. She had taken interest in their relationship ever since.

"She was very tired, so we haven't gotten to do much talking since she returned, but I think she is doing just fine," Star replied as she stared into the princess's dark blue face and detected the unease inside her dark eyes. She wouldn't press her mentor to open up however, only Luna could decide for herself if she wanted to confide in Star.

"I'm glad to hear that," Luna continued, "I was wary of sending such a young dragon off to such a dangerous place, but I had faith that Nature Spark would protect her. He is a very upstanding unicorn, albeit a bit to serious for his own good." The princess was right of course, Star too had noticed that Spark could be a bit reserved sometimes, but unlike Luna, she had also seen him in a more relaxed setting. Star wondered if he would still be the same now that he had returned.

"Yes, he's seemed more distant since his trip, but I suppose we haven't really had the opportunity to talk about everything yet," Star said as she attempted to move the conversation along, though it carried little more substance than small talk. "Strata seemed to be acting in her usual manner though." The hippogriff reminded Star of Brass Heart when he was on a mission, very headstrong and rigid to their codes.

"Yes, the hippogriffs can be quite blunt with their thoughts, but I must confess that it seems a much easier form of politics," the alicorn responded, "without the song and dance of tradition and well mannered manipulation." It seemed as if Luna's thoughts were turning more serious, so Star took the opportunity to ask her teacher what was bothering her.

"Is there something on your mind, Princess Luna?" Star asked as she turned her face to the night sky, tracing the constellations in her mind as she waited for an answer. The princess quietly contemplated her response for a few, still moments; the dream was windless and silent until she found her voice.

"I- I am… afraid, my faithful student," Luna told her hesitantly. Star found her gaze drawn back to the princess's visage, which was lined with worry and sadness, but the deep, blue eyes staring at Star did indeed seem afraid to her. "War is coming upon us, there are no doubts in my mind of this fact, but what worries me the most is not this conflict." The princess trailed off and didn't say anything else for awhile.

"What is it, princess? What could have possibly frightened you?" Star asked. The thought of something terrible enough to worry her immortal ruler was not something that the small, black pony took lightly.

"That when I was accused of a crime, many Equestrians turned on me as if I were actually capable of doing something like this," Luna replied softly and then took a long, deep breath before continuing. "Not only do they fear the dark of the night, but they distrust their princess as well. Not Celestia, of course, because they all love her and everything that she has done for them, but they are so quick to forget that I was by her side through every step, whether I agreed with her or not. I stood by her because that is what sisters are meant to do for one another, yet when I am in my time of need, she would choose to fuel the fire by enacting this ridiculous curfew, as if I am to blame!" Luna was practically screaming by the time she stopped to take a breath and Star nearly flinched as her mentor slammed a hoof down on the table when she spoke of her sister.

"My princess," Star began, "I can assure you that you ponies have nothing but the utmost respect for you and if they are afraid of the night, it is only because it is in pony nature to fear the unknown. I am sure that once a face is put on our countries enemies, the citizen's tensions about what really sparked this war will be put to rest." Luna's expression softened just a bit as she listened to her pupils words. "As for Princess Celestia, you should bring your concerns up with her if you feel this strongly about them. I know that she cares deeply for you and you for her, so I see no need to keep up this constant bickering. You both want only what is best for the country." It felt strange to Star, that she was giving advice to the princess instead of the other way around, as it almost always had been.

"Perhaps you are right, my little pony, about the citizen's at the very least. I can only hope that they will stand united against whatever threat we face in the coming months, for there will be bloodshed, make no mistake." Luna's face reverted to the cold, expressionless look it had been as she spoke. "As for Celestia, she will make her choices and I will make mine. Though we may both have the same goal, our methods of attaining it seem to be differing greatly." The immortal seemed to have made up her mind already, but Star attempted to change her views, because it was what she would have expected Luna to do for her, were their places changed.

"I urge you to speak with your sister, princess," Star replied. "If nothing else than it may at least change the way she looks at the decisions she has been making as of late." The princess of the night appeared to give Star's words long consideration before she tried to change the subject.

"Thank you for the advice, my faithful student," Luna sighed, "I may heed your advice soon, but for now, please, tell me how you are holding up after your experience the other day." Star caught the princess's aversion for what it truly was, but decided it best to go along with the new line of conversation, even if it was something she had been pushing from her mind throughout the day.

"I've been keeping as busy as I can and that seems to help," Star said as she traced a non existent pattern over the table at which she sat, just for something to do while she tried to connect the words that would properly describe her current state of mind to her teacher. "I didn't sleep well, even after our talk, but that may have been because the memory was so fresh in my mind. I'm hoping that tonight will prove to be different." Luna nodded slowly as she listened to her student confessing her true emotions. "I don't know if you picked up on it, but I nearly had a panic attack during our meeting earlier. The griffon I killed, the war and everything that it means… It was as if the reality of everything hit me at once," Star told the princess. "I thought I was going to faint for a moment in there, but I pulled myself together."

"I hadn't even realized anything was wrong," Luna admitted. "I am very sorry, Star. I will try to keep my personal issues from interfering with my role as your princess and mentor from here on."

"Just as long as you do it the proper way," Star replied with a grin. "I do not want to see you ignoring your problems, because that only serves to make them worse." Star was paraphrasing what Luna had told her just a couple weeks ago, but it was enough to make the immortal mare give a slight smile in return.

"Such deep words of wisdom from such a young pony," Luna said as her smile grew even wider. "You must have one of the best mentors in all of Equestria." The two mares locked eyes as their strained smiles cracked apart into full laughter. Though the joke wasn't actually that humorous, it helped ease the tension of their conversation and soon they were both gasping for breath as the giggles died down. It had been awhile since Star had heard Luna genuinely laugh about anything. The sound of the alicorn's cheer was a heartwarming one, in Star's opinion.

Once both mentor and pupil felt more at ease, the conversation flowed naturally as it always had. They spent the better part of a night catching up on recent events and Star's friends, as well as her studies, but eventually the princess's duties called her away and Star was left to spend the last few hours of sleep actually resting. It was a welcome break from her recent sleeping schedule and unlike the night before, Star's dreams were relatively peaceful. Morning came to soon however, and all of the troubles with it.

A frantic feeling overtook Star when she awoke to find that Inferno was no longer by her side in the large bed. The haze of sleep only left her confused for a few moments as she whipped her head back and forth, black mane swinging wildly, while she looked for her daughter. In the bathroom, water could be heard running and Star sighed as her hammering heart began to slow down again. After being apart for weeks, Star's maternal instincts made her a bit overprotective it seemed. The small mare stretched her legs and let out a contented yawn as she crawled out of bed.

Through the two tall windows, Star could gaze out at the sunrise and saw the skies which were laced with clouds that looked as if they were trying to conglomerate over the city. She hoped that it wasn't some sort of warning about the day ahead, but quickly pushed the foolish thought from her mind. There was a well defined difference between magic and superstition and Star liked to think that she knew which of them to put her trust in, but even some of her own archeological findings had blurred the line between the two. Still, it was useless to try and see signs of the future in the weather at the very least.

As Star walked over to the single couch and took a seat, she contemplated what she was more afraid of; explaining to Suri how she meant to fix Spark's eyes or tell Inferno what she had done to the Red Eye mercenary that had attacked her. Suri had acted beyond mad when Star had spoken to her the night before and she had every reason to be, but Star would do everything in her power to receive her friend's forgiveness. Telling Inferno about the murder she had committed was also a necessity in Star's mind, although she had promised never to mention the Alicorn Amulet, so parts of her story would be glossed over.

"I wish that Princess Luna would have given me some good advice last night," Star mumbled to herself as the bathroom door was finally opened. Inferno stepped out looking refreshed and wide awake, despite it still being early in the morning. The small dragon ambled slowly over to the couch, giving a long stretch of her tail and small wings before she sat down. As she saw her daughter's leathery wings spread to their full size, Star could almost swear that they had grown during their time apart, though it may have just been her motherly emotions overreacting again.

"Good morning," Inferno said as she looked over at Star.

"Good morning, Inferno," Star replied with a soft smile as she made her way to the couch, "Did you sleep well last night?" The young dragon nodded her spiked head as Star took a seat next to her.

"Much better than I have the past few nights," she laughed. "I'm pretty sure that I fell asleep as soon as my head touched that pillow."

"Mhmm," Star agreed, "you were already snoring by the time I was done using the bathroom. I can't blame you though, after traveling such a long way."

"The trip back wasn't nearly as bad as the trip there, though," Inferno told her as she stared at the golden light streaming through the bedroom windows and creeping ever so slowly up the far wall. "I didn't think that Spark was going to survive the ride." Star remembered Inferno's letters, but she only had the vaguest idea of what had actually occurred during the dragon's trip. If it was hard on her though, Inferno certainly didn't show it when they had first gotten back, but now it sounded as if she wanted to get it off her mind by sharing the experience with her mother. Star was more than willing to lend an ear, of course.

"He seems to be doing fine now," Star observed.

"Yes he is," Inferno agreed. "We were pretty high above the clouds when those griffons attacked us and he fell a long way after leaping out of the chariot. By the time we managed to find him, there entire top of the cloud he'd landed on was stained red with blood." Inferno stared off slightly, gaze fixed on something beyond the smooth bedroom walls as she told Star about her journey. "I did what I could to help him and Strata pushed her body to the brink of total exhaustion trying to get to her home as quickly as we could, but Spark was still on the threshold of death by the time we arrived. From there our only option was to let the hippogriff's doctor patch him up, although doctor might be too forgiving of a word; he was really more akin to a zebra witchdoctor." The little dragon gave a snorting laugh as she spoke about the doctor.

"You saved his life, Inferno," Star told her with a compassionate smile.

"He saved mine first," Inferno replied casually, like keeping a close friend from bleeding out was a mundane activity. "I only repaid the favor." Inferno glanced over and caught Star wiping a tear from her cheek. "What? What's wrong?" she asked, a bit confused by her mother's response.

"I was just so worried about letting you go, because I might never have seen you again. Now, hearing everything that you've been through, I'm so proud of the dragon you're growing up to be, but I'm also heartbroken that you'll be forced to suffer through the horrors that this war will bring," Star explained, tears held back by only the thinnest strands of resolve that she could muster. "You deserve better than this." Star closed her eyes to try and hold the floodgates closed, until she felt a small, scaly hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, mom," Inferno consoled her in a soft voice. "As long as I'm with you then I have everything that I need." Star glanced down, violet eyes resting on her daughter's yellow ones, and tried to reply, but she choked on her own words and settled for pulling Inferno into her waiting forelegs instead. The two sat like that for a few moments, until Star finally wiped the last of her tears away and regained her composure.

"I feel much better now," Star laughed. "How about the two of us go downstairs, grab something to eat and continue this conversation over breakfast?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Inferno agreed with a smile. They hopped off the couch together and headed for the door. Star took a look back outside the window, where the sun had finally crested the horizon and was slowly beginning to cast its light upon Canterlot. The clouds were beginning to thicken overhead, a promise of the storm to come, but at that moment the world outside looked tranquil. It was the start of a new day and Star was resolved to make the best of the time she had with those close to her, because her heart warned her that the time could be over all too soon.

None of their friends appeared to be awake yet, or if they were then they'd made the decision not to hang around their bedrooms, so Star and Inferno walked down the hallway alone and rounded the corner to the spiraling staircase that led into the main hall. The usual servants passed by in the corner of the black mare's sight, but she paid them no mind. Her attention was entirely focused on the scaly girl walking beside her. Inferno kept on hand resting on her mother's back unconsciously, as though she were afraid they would be torn apart once again. Star noticed this, but chose not to mention it, for she too craved that comforting contact.

Without Suri influencing her behavior, Star had opted not to wear any clothes and hadn't even taken a bath that morning, which was only considered odd because they were in Canterlot, where a lavish living style encouraged bathing every day. The feeling of the small skirt and stallion's eyes constantly on her flank had bothered her enough to last at least a month, though she had to admit that the blouse had looked nice enough. Perhaps if she picked out something she liked then it would make her more likely to wear clothes, Star figured as she and Inferno walked up to the large Dining room doors.

The room wasn't even close to being as full as it had been the night before, but there were still a few ponies milling about slowly as they walked off the last traces of sleep and readied themselves for whatever the day had in store. Star and Inferno made their way to the serving table and tossed a few items on their plates before hurrying back toward the door. It swung open a second before the dragon reached out to grasp the brass handle, as Princess Celestia strolled through. Star was beginning to notice a pattern developing; one in which she happened to see the princess every morning around breakfast time. Whether it really was just a coincidence or the princess keeping an eye on her, Star couldn't be sure, but she did know that Celestia appeared to be in a good mood.

"Good morning, Star, Inferno," Celestia smiled and nodded at each of them in turn. Both girls bowed back to their princess at the same time, though Inferno nearly tipped her plate too far as she did. "Are you two having a pleasant morning together?"

"Yes we are, Princess Celestia," Star replied, "and a good morning to you as well." Star stood up from her bow and darted out the dining room door, even though it looked as if Celestia had been about to say something else. Inferno ran after her, confused about the abrupt end to their conversation with the princess. The truth was that Star was worried that the royal sisters had been arguing again, considering her mentor's state of mind during their dream rendezvous, and the last thing the small unicorn wanted was to get caught in the middle of family affairs, especially if they wanted her to choose sides later on. She respected both alicorns and served them faithfully, but there were errors made by them both that were plain to her.

"Why did you take off like that," Inferno huffed as she finally managed to catch up with the longer legged pony. "Celestia was still speaking to us."

"I know, but she and her sister have been arguing constantly since this whole mess began and I refuse to take sides. They're both being absolutely stupid about everything. Equestria needs them to stand unwaveringly, side by side, as they have since the beginning of our country," Star rambled on, refusing to slow down now that her thoughts had begun to spill forth. "The two of them are going to lead us down the path of destruction unless they can start working together, Inferno, because the only way we will be able to win this war is by the bond of friendship ponies share with one another. Without the strength of those bonds, well, then our government, nay, our entire country is going to be consumed by the flames of war that will soon cover the land."

"I hadn't realized that things were that bad between them," Inferno replied with a stunned expression as the approached the winding stairs.

"I may have over exaggerated a bit," Star sheepishly admitted, "but it is going to be a serious problem if they can't resolve their petty differences, though with that damned curfew in effect, I don't see it being a smooth process."

"There's a curfew now?" the young dragon asked as she took the steps one at a time, careful not to spill her plate of food. "When did that happen?"

"Yes, everypony is to remain within city limits after sunset and children are to be confined to their homes," Star explained. "Princess Luna was dead set against it, for obvious reasons, but Celestia thought it was for the best, so they put it to a vote. You can imagine how Luna felt when the law was passed." Inferno nodded her head slowly, understanding how hard it must have been for the younger alicorn to deal with her own subjects basically rejecting the nights that she brought them.

"It sounds like you've had nearly as much excitement as I've had since leaving," Inferno laughed. Star sighed as she pushed open the door to her room. Inferno entered first and she followed after, placing her plate on the small table before walking around to sit at the comfortable red couch that she seemed to eat at more days than not lately.

"It has been quite hectic around here," Star admitted, "but nothing as bad as the Ponyville fire." Inferno shot her a look of disbelief and recognition at the mention of the arson which took out most of the rural town.

"Princess Celestia mentioned something like that in one of her letters," Inferno replied, "but I had hoped that it was a mistake. The griffons actually set fire to the town then?" Star could see a small light of hope in the yellow eyes of her daughter and hated to be the one who extinguished it, but lies had never helped anypony in the past, so she decided to tell Inferno everything that had happened, however much it hurt. In turn she hoped that Inferno would regale her with the tale of her time after reaching the hippogriff settlements. She had already mentioned exchanging letters with Celestia and Star was curious to see what else she had been kept in the dark about.

"…so the day that we decided to leave Manehatten, Suri made up her mind to come back to Canterlot with us, of course I had no idea that she was even related to Nature Spark at that point, not that it would have affected my decision to let her come anyway. We stopped by Hallow Shades to see Cary on our way, but aside from that it was basically a flight straight back to here," Star explained as she approached the end of her story. The only parts left to tell were the run in with griffon mercenaries and the problems between the royal sisters, both of which she would have preferred to avoid altogether. Star had made up her mind to tell Inferno the whole story though and that was just what she was going to do, if she could keep her composure anyway.

"Wow, what are the odds of that? I mean, out of all the ponies in Manehatten, you just happen to befriend Spark's sister. Makes you wonder if it was fate or something, doesn't it?" Inferno asked after Star paused in her story.

"Mhmm," Star mumbled in agreement.

"Is something wrong?" the dragon asked. "I know that Spark mentioned that his sister could be a pain, but she must not be that bad if you managed to travel with her for so long in that cramped chariot."

"No, it's not that," Star replied wistfully. She actually liked Suri quite a bit, though she hadn't conveyed the truth about her confusing feelings towards the white mare to her daughter in depth, but that was only because she didn't fully understand herself. "It's what happened on our way back to Canterlot."

"How bad was it?" Inferno asked, catching the mournful tone in her mother's words. Star was quite for a few minutes as she tried to straighten the whirlwind of her mind into expressible thoughts. It had been a tragic experience for her, but it was something that Inferno deserved to know.

"We stumbled upon a group of mercenaries on the outskirts of Foal Mountain," Star replied once she had found her words.

"Red Eyes," Inferno knowingly stated.

"Yes," the black mare told her daughter, "Brass Heart took us to ground before they spotted us and I hid in the forest with Axel and Suri for what seemed like hours, but eventually we decided to try and make a run for it." Just telling Inferno the story was enough to bring back the memory of the bitter breeze against her hide and the crunch of snow beneath her hooves as they ran. Star could almost taste the icy air that burned her lungs with each ragged breath and it sent a small shiver down her spine. "That's when we heard the sound of wings coming from the sky behind us."

"One of the griffons saw you," Inferno whispered, clearly enthralled by Star's story. "What did you do?"

"Well, at first I tried to talk her down," Star explained, "but that wasn't as effective as I had hoped it would be." Star took a slow breath as she got to the heart of her story, her mouth tasting of brimstone even as she swallowed dryly. "The griffon, she kept coming down on me and even managed to get a piece of my shoulder," Star said as she turned to show Inferno the long, scabbed over gash above her foreleg.

"I was wondering how you got that," Inferno admitted, "but I figured that you would tell me eventually." The two plates of food sat on the small table, growing steadily cooler as the minutes ticked by. Occasionally either Star or Inferno would remember to take a small bite of something, but the food was forgotten again just as quickly.

"Even then I didn't want to hurt her, but she tried to attack Axel and Suri after that. When I saw my friends in danger I realized th-that there was only one option. I had t-to," Star paused as she tried to say the words that weighed so heavy on her heart, "I had to protect my friends, so I killed her. I used the Wyrm Stone and she burned alive because of it… I can't believe I did something so horrible." Even after her talk with the princess, Star still had a hard time dealing with the vivid memory of the fight. It seemed surreal to the small mare, that she was mentally capable of ending a life. She felt as if she should have been completely torn apart by the experience, but somehow she was getting through each day without completely hating herself. It was both terrifying and a welcome relief, but telling the story a second time had still been difficult.

"You did what you had to for yourself and the ponies that you care about," Inferno consoled Star as she reached out a gentle claw and wiped away a single tear that the mare hadn't even realized managed to escape. "You were faced with a tough choice, but I know you and you're strong enough to live with it, plus you have me and all of our friends to lean on." The dragon smiled up at her adoptive mother and Star was filled with pride over how caring and mature her daughter sounded at that moment.

"Thank you, Inferno," Star said as she hugged her scaly body. "You can't imagine how good it feels to hear you say that, especially after everything that has happened over the past month." Star took a few slow breaths to calm down as Inferno prepared to finish her own story. After a few seconds, Star had collected herself and glanced over to see if Inferno was ready to continue from where she had left off. The young dragon was taking a bite off of a large green apple when Star cleared her throat politely.

"Ahem, where was I again?" Inferno asked after swallowing her food. "Oh, that's right. When we first got to the Cloud Runner's settlement I was terrified of falling through to my death because Spark wasn't awake to cast his cloud walking spell anymore. Strata was nice enough to let me ride on her back most of the time, but that was belittling and just plain embarrassing." The red dragon snorted a small cloud of smoke as she recalled the humiliation of having to rely on the brash hippogriff. "Thankfully the sky chariot can land on clouds."

"Really?" Star asked in surprise. She hadn't even considered trying to land on the clouds, but the fact that the chariot could was something Star intended to remember for her next excursion, just in case.

"Mhmm," Inferno replied. "I have to thank Axel for her foresight with that little feature; otherwise I would have been in a pretty bad situation. There weren't many places to land near the hippogriffs' hidden home, just a few deserted islands scattered about the open ocean far below."

"Oh, remind me to thank her for that when I see her today," Star mumbled in reply. It was difficult hearing about how close Inferno had been to dying, but the black mare continued to remind herself that her daughter had gotten home safely, so there was no reason for her to worry at the moment.

"Sure… anyway," Inferno continued, "Strata and I spoke with the general, who basically runs the clan, about the proposed alliance between them and Equestria, but they seemed less than convinced. I don't think they give outsiders much respect, unless they've earned it, but Nature Spark happened to be an exception." When Inferno paused to take a breath, Star used that time to actually eat a little food, although she didn't have much of an appetite anymore and everything on the plate was room temperature, which was acceptable for the fruit, but unpleasant when it came to the pastries. "I'm still not completely sure of what his father did to earn the unwavering respect of the hippogriffs, aside from laying down his life to help protect them, but I believe Spark himself actually spoke with the general about his father's past, though you would have to ask him for the full story. I'm not convinced that he's ready to tell anypony though."

"I'll certainly let him know that I'm always willing to lend an ear if he wants to talk, but pressuring him for the story when he's not ready to tell it would only make matters worse, I think," Star replied as she wondered just what the brown stallion had learned about his family during the excursion overseas.

"You always were very tactful," he red dragon admitted. "I was not that bright though and when I tried to ask him about his father, Spark snubbed me and wouldn't talk for the rest of that day, but eventually, over the course of meeting with the hippogriffs and being forced into a close proximity for an extended period, he managed to calm down and everything returned to normal, for the most part. Eventually Spark even began to get through to the general, especially with the help of Strata, who's father is close friends with him, not to mention the written correspondence we had with Princess Celestia."

"Something that she saw fit to keep from me," Star spat a little more vehemently than she intended. The thought of being kept in the dark about her own adoptive daughter, let alone her friends, was more than enough to piss the magical mare off.

"I had no idea that you weren't aware of our letters," Inferno said as her eyes widened in surprise. "I'm not sure why she would keep something like that from you, but the princess had her reasons, I'm sure."

"Yes," Star agreed, "and I intend on asking her what those reasons were at some point," she added.

"Regardless, once Nature Spark had regained consciousness, there was a sort of party and the next day we began discussing the terms of our treaty, of which there were very few as you heard from Strata last night," Inferno explained.

"Mhmm, the hippogriffs are our allies, but will fight with their own moral code," Star replied, recalling Strata's boldness when informing the princesses of the conditions.

"That's right," the young dragon said with a nod of her spiked head. "Once that was taken care of, there wasn't much left for us to do except return to Canterlot. By that point Nature Spark had discovered his little magic trick for sensing the objects around him, most likely from practicing every night, although I didn't witness it."

"So that's why his horn was glowing," the mare commented, "I thought it might have been magic allowing him to, basically, feel out his environment. Remarkable."

"Mhmm," Inferno mumbled, clearly not as interested in unicorn magic as her mother. "So we flew back here, but we took a little more time coming home because we were trying to avoid any Red Eyes. They've been swarming on the outskirts of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, from what I've heard."

"I wouldn't doubt it. Some of them even managed to get over our borders," Star said as she glanced down at the mark in her shoulder.

Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound of somepony at the door interrupted their discussion, so Star got to her hooves and wandered over to see who it was. Nature Spark was waiting just outside her bedroom, with Strata walking away after having shown him the right room, Star guessed. The light brown stallion's horn glowed faintly green as the magic slowly felt out the area around him. Star just stood and watched for the few seconds it happened, paying close attention to how well the spell worked for her friend.

"Good afternoon, Star," Spark said with a smile.

"Is it afternoon already?" Star asked as she looked back to her bedroom windows and saw that the sun had indeed rose high in the sky over the course of her and Inferno's discussion. "Huh, I guess I lost track of time. Anyway, please come in."

"Thanks," Spark said as he stepped into the room and slowly made his way to the couch. "Good afternoon to you as well, Inferno," he replied before taking a seat beside the dragon. Star walked over and sat on the other side of the stallion and pushed the cold plates of food out of the way.

"What brings you by?" Star asked as Spark leaned back into a more comfortable position on the couch cushions. Spark turned to face her, the dagger on his horn glinting in the light as he started speaking. Star hadn't even noticed it before that moment and wondered why the stallion was wearing it around the castle, but decided to save the inquiry for another time.

"I figured that it might be a good idea to tell you all about our journey to the hippogriffs, seeing as how you put me in charge of protecting Inferno and I failed miserably," the light brown unicorn explained with a slightly pained expression.

"Inferno already told me about everything, Spark," Star explained as she rested a hoof on his shoulder. "I know that you did everything you could, even risking your life, to protect her and she came back to me in good health, so don't be so hard on yourself."

"That may be true," the stallion replied, his faded brown eyes staring just past Star's face, though he couldn't actually see anything, "but I still want to explain myself, not to mention fill in some holes that I know Inferno wasn't able to." Star assumed that he was speaking of what he had learned about his father, but couldn't be certain. His words had peaked her curiosity none the less, so she nodded her head before remembering that she had to verbally answer him.

"Alright, I would be more than happy to listen," Star told him.

"Thank you. Inferno, would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?" Spark asked the young dragon, who was already standing up, as if she had expected the question and knew her answer in advance.

"Yes, of course," Inferno said as she headed for the door, "I'll go see what Axel is up to and bother her for awhile… or the other way around." Once the door closed behind her daughter, Star turned to face Spark, despite the fact that he probably wouldn't have known the difference. It was simply well mannered to do so and Star was nothing if not polite when she had to be. For his part, Nature Spark closed his eyes as he began to speak, as if trying to visualize the experience in his mind, though he hadn't seen any of it.

Star sat in rapt attention as Spark detailed the trip east from his own limited perspective, giving a more vivid definition of the sounds, scents and feeling that somepony with eyes would have been incapable of. His version of the trip there was short, as he had spent the entire ride wavering in and out of consciousness, but he did recall that every time he managed to move his hooves they made contact with Inferno, who didn't leave his side once during the ride. It made Star swell with pride to hear somepony else speak so highly of the little dragon, who she felt so protective of.

"What happened after you woke up in the hippogriff settlement?" Star asked, hoping to help steer the conversation towards Spark's father without being completely obvious about it. A little tact could go a long way into helping somepony open up, Star knew from experience. "Inferno told me that they treated the both of you very well."

"Better than I had expected considering what Strata told me about hippogriff culture," Spark admitted, "but it was only because of my father that they did." Star waited quietly for her friend to continue, knowing that he was on the verge of telling her something that had obviously affected him emotionally. "My father, Oaken Field, was more than just a key member of Princess Celestia's personal guard," Spark told her in hushed tone. "He was her method for achieving harmony, by any means necessary."

"What are you talking about?" Star asked, not fully understanding the implications that the stallion was making.

"The hippogriff general told me that my father was basically nothing more than Celestia's weapon. If there was a problem with one of the other nations trying to overstep the boundaries that she had in mind for them, then Celestia would send my father, along with the other ponies in her personal guard, on missions inside the borders of other countries to force the order that she wanted them to live by," Spark elaborated, much to the disbelief of the black mare.

"That's not possible," Star argued. "There is no way in the world that either of the princesses could do something so barbaric."

"I can't speak for Luna, but the general's words about Celestia were both convincing and detailed, although he saw it as a reasonable course of action for her to have taken," Spark replied calmly, "though I'm not sure that I agree with him on the subject," he added a moment after.

"So, you're telling me that your father worked as-," Star began.

"Our princess's assassin," Spark finished in a cold voice. "Celestia asked him to use force, sometimes even kill when she deemed it necessary, and for some reason he followed her orders, up until the day it killed him."

"I- I just can't believe it," Star stuttered in denial. "I can understand the need for harmony to prevail, but there is always a diplomatic approach to those kinds of situations. Princess Luna would have at least spoken up to her sister."

"If she had known," Spark replied, "then you are probably right in assuming that, but I'm not so sure that Celestia keeps her younger sister in the know for situations of that nature. You can ask her yourself if you'd like, because I'm certainly going to." Even through the dull brown of her blind friend's eyes, Star could see the anger and confusion he was holding in. The small mare knew that there was something more that he wasn't telling her, but she wasn't convinced that she even wanted to know, or that he would be able to keep his anger in check if he were to open up about everything, so she didn't ask.

"And if Luna was in the dark about her older sister's actions, what then?" Star questioned her friend. "Am I supposed to tell her that Celestia has been keeping secrets and making decisions behind her back? Their relationship is already strained as it is, between the accusations made against her by the crystal ponies and the new curfew, I just don't know how the princess of the night would handle one more blow." Spark was silent as he mulled over the mare's words, but soon he had a sort of answer.

"I think that you know Princess Luna better than anypony in the world and certainly far better than me, so you'll just have to make that decision on your own," Spark told her. "I'm sure that isn't what you wanted to hear, but it is the only answer I can give you." An uncomfortable silence fell between the two ponies as they sat on the couch, but eventually Star spoke up again, filling the void with words.

"I suppose since you trusted me enough to tell me something like that, then it's only fair that I tell you about my experience in return," Star sighed as she quelled the many questions popping up in her mind. Only Princess Celestia could explain her actions, so worrying about them right then would do her no good, Star realized.

"Oh… and what kind of mischief did Miss Discipula Star get into while we were gone?" the stallion asked with one raised eyebrow. "Did you forget to practice your magic for a day?" He was joking, of course, but Star wasn't in the mood to laugh anymore and Spark's smile disappeared when he sensed her mood change.

"I killed a griffon, Spark," Star told him in a flat voice that belayed the lump in her throat as she spoke. "On our way back from Manehatten, after Axel and I met your sister, we stumbled upon a group of Red Eyes that had managed to get into Equestria, most likely through whomever in the government is betraying the princesses to their enemies," Star began, much like she had when telling Inferno.

Nature Spark sat still and quiet as he listened to her retell what had happened during her fight with the griffon that attacked her and her friends. She watched his face for any signs of what he was thinking, but he wore only a stoic mask as she spoke to him. By the time Star had reached the end of her tale, he still hadn't said a word, but eventually he took a slow breath and softly cleared his throat.

"Just a month ago I probably would have scolded you or questioned your reasoning," Spark replied in a quiet, but affirming voice, "but I would have made the same choice as you, obviously. I'm starting to learn that, even if I may detest the truth, sometimes in this world you are left with the choice except to fight for your life or bow down and die. I know that it may same easier to have laid down and died right now, instead of living with what you've done, but remember, by taking one life, you spared your own and two others. I don't know if that helps, but it is the truth."

"I've been hearing that quite often the past couple of days," Star acknowledged. "It sounds like good advice every time I hear it, but I can still see the griffon's face right before she went up in flames, every time I close my eyes." Her eyes watered a little, but she was getting better at holding them back each time she told somepony else about what had happened. Star wondered if, by retelling over and again, the memory might fade more quickly or if that would only serve to etch it further into her mind. "I can never change what happened that day, even with all the magic of the world, but I can fix another mistake," Star continued as she stared into Spark's eyes. "I will do everything I can to help you see again."

"That's very kind of you to say, Star," Spark mumbled, "but I'm getting used to being blind and with magic I will manage." The light brown stallion sighed as he sank into the couch a bit further, clearly not as content with his current disability as he was acting, but resigned to suffer through with some dignity. "I don't need your hopeful promises or pity and I especially don't want you blaming yourself for what happened. It was my choice to go through with the test after all."

"Doctor Suture knows how we can fix your eyes," Star told him. "I just have to get two large, flawless gems that are the same cut and her spell should work just fine next time." The small mare sat with a smile, waiting for her friend's response, but his face didn't hold the same hope that hers did.

"You're saying it should work next time, but what makes you think I would risk attempting something like that again?" Spark asked her in a tone that almost sounded disgusted to Star. "I went blind last time, Star, and just because I don't blame you or the good doctor, that doesn't mean that I'll risk losing more. What if it did even more damage to me? For all you know it could kill me." Star was speechless for a few seconds and feared that Spark would storm off, but to her surprise he simply took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Star replied in a voice just above a whisper.

"You shouldn't be," he replied. "I know that you only want to do what you think is right, but I think we should both just live with this one." Spark gave smiled after he had finished speaking, but it looked a little thin and even his dull eyes seemed to hold a bit of sadness as they gazed off into the walls of the castle.

"Perhaps you're right, Spark," Star answered, though she was still set on finding the gems she needed, convincing him to give her one more chance and correcting the mistake she had made. "Well, I'm glad we had that talk and all, but I didn't eat much for breakfast as you ca-," she stopped herself before finishing her sentence, aware that she almost misspoke. Star didn't want to remind Spark of his sightlessness, but it was difficult to adjust her speech. "Anyway, I think I'll grab a late lunch."

"Late?" Spark asked as he sat up from the couch. "What time is it now?"

"Just after noon, I think," Star replied as she turned to gaze out her window. "I've spent half the day in this room talking to you and Inferno." Star's eyes widened in surprise as she realized that they had asked the small dragon to leave a couple hours before and hadn't seen her since. "She's probably been waiting for me all morning!"

"Who?" Spark asked, confused about the black mare's sudden outburst.

"Inferno," Star replied. "You asked her to leave a couple hours ago and I hate to keep her waiting when I haven't seen her in so long." Star hopped to her hooves and Spark let out a small groan before following suit. The two ponies headed out the bedroom door and down the hall, in search of their scaled friend.

Nature Spark's cutie mark was a peace sign, with a leaf behind it, but Star ignored that fact as she stared at the stallion's flank, knowing that he wouldn't be able to catch her doing so. It wasn't as if she was checking him out or anything, the short mare was just trying to imagine how hard it must be for somepony whose special talent was helping other ponies achieve some sort of peace to accept the fact that their father was a killer. Star imagined that it must have turned her friend's world upside-down when he first heard. Worst of all, the brown unicorn seemed afraid that he was destined to follow his father's past and even though Star wanted to comfort him, she wasn't convinced that he was wrong.

"Do you think that she's already in the dining room?" Spark asked, snapping the black mare from her thoughts.

"Oh, umm, she might be," Star replied, only a bit startled by the question. "Either way I'm going to need to eat something soon anyway." Spark chuckled as his horn glowed faintly. The door opened a second later, once he could feel its form.

"Do you see her anywhere?" Spark asked, counting on Star to scan the room for any sign of Inferno. Star gave a quick peek around the room, which was fairly crowded at the moment, before concluding that her daughter was nowhere to be seen.

"No, I don't think that she's in here," Star replied as she headed for the serving table, determined to get at least a few bites of food in her stomach before continuing the search. "Just a second," she called back to Spark, who stood by the door, waiting for her.

Star snatched a few random pieces of fruit and quickly ate them one after another. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to hold her over until she had a minute to actually finish a meal. She paused at the end of the table taking hold of a cream filled pasty before meeting Spark back at the doors. A bite of the warm pastry proved to be just what Star had been craving and she left with a smile on her face and Spark right behind her.

"Where else would she have gone if she was trying to kill some time?" Spark asked Star as he trotted up beside her. "Do you think that she would have gone to town?"

"It's possible," Star replied after swallowing a mouthful of delicious baked goods, "but I don't think she would have wandered that far. Chances are she's with Axel or Strata." Star would have added Suri to the list, but the small dragon hadn't seemed too fond of Spark's sister for one reason or another.

"Okay, well where would they have gone then?" Spark asked, only slightly irritated by her lack of a real response.

"Uh, maybe we should ask one of the servants or something," Star mumbled when she couldn't come up with any ideas.

"Sure," Spark said as they entered the main hall, "but you can do the honors," he added with a slight trace of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

There was only one maid in the hall with them, so Star walked over and inquired about her friends. The earth pony directed Star to the yard, where they had apparently been headed just a few minutes before. The mare confirmed seeing a small dragon and a hippogriff, but had been too distracted by the sight to notice if an earth pony was with them. Star relayed this information to Spark and the two of them headed out the large front gates of Canterlot Castle and into the cool afternoon.

The sun was still shining, though it was partially obstructed by clouds, but the wind chill did its best to negate the warming rays. Star regretted not having put on her cloak before leaving, even if it was in less than desirable condition. The bite of the wind didn't seem to have any discernable effect on Spark, who still wore a flat expression. Star realized that she hadn't seen a genuine smile from the stallion since his return. The very thought made her a bit uneasy.

"Are you sure that you're feeling fine, Spark?" Star asked with a twinge of concern. "You seem to be a bit more morose than I remember."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Spark replied. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm just feeling a little weary from everything that has been happening lately. I didn't expect any of this when I set off to see if I could learn something in Canterlot. Chestnut had told me that my journey could be dangerous, but I don't know if he even realized what he was saying." Star stopped cold in her tracks. She hadn't yet told Spark about what happened to his old friend, even though she had been planning to that morning. She didn't know when she would get the chance again, so she tugged him off of the cobblestone path they had been walking along, much to his surprise, and forcibly sat him down on a small bench in the side yard of the castle grounds as she tried to gather her nerves.

"What in the hay do you think your doing?" Spark asked as he caught his balance after nearly stumbling straight over the wooden bench.

"Spark, there's something I need to tell you," Star explained. The stallion didn't need to see her face to know something serious was on Star's mind. "You heard about the fire in Ponyville, didn't you?"

"Mhmm, a group of mercenaries set most of the town ablaze," Spark replied, his previous stoic façade showing cracks of anger. "What is this about?"

"Spark, your friend Chestnut was hiding out in Ponyville, along with Duke Silver Blood," the black mare replied. "I was there helping out after the flames were extinguished. Almost every building around had been reduced to nothing more than ashes and many of the citizens that weren't injured died in the inferno." Spark sat in silence, but Star could almost hear the questions churning in his head as he stared straight at her.

"What are you trying to tell me?" he asked, in a cold voice that made Star's hooves shake a little as she pushed part of her forelock back from her eyes.

"They both died in the fire, Spark," Star replied in a soothing voice as she tried to take his hoof in her own. Spark flinched back, pulling his hoof away from the contact as he waited for her to continue. "Somepony I met over there found their bodies and we buried them in the cemetery on the outskirts of the town." The stallion was visibly crushed by the news, sinking into the bench as he tried to process what he had heard.

"I want to see his grave," Spark finally said, in a soft voice.

"What?" Star asked, not because she hadn't heard, but because she couldn't fathom why he thought it would be a good idea to visit his friend's grave considering everything that was going on.

"I want to see his grave!" the brown mane stallion shouted as tears began to run down his muzzle and he stood up from the bench. "I should have been here for him and the least I can do is to pay my respects now that I know." Star had never heard him speak with so much frustration and anger before. Every time that Spark had fought an enemy he was angry, but this was different. He looked like he wanted to either lie down and cry or go on a violent rampage.

"I understand what you're saying, but I think you should give this some time," Star replied, hoping to talk him down from his emotional state. "The princess said not to leave the city anyway, so there isn't much that you can do right now, without going against her wishes." Spark took a deep breath, but his confusion and pain were still evident, now that his stone-faced expression had crumbled.

"Do you think that they burned down the entire town just to get to Chestnut?" Spark asked as he sat back down and took a few slow breaths.

"Silver Blood as well, but yes, I wouldn't doubt that they were the intended targets," Star answered in a soft voice, wary of reigniting the stallion's misplaced aggression over what had happened. "I get the feeling that they had a hunch as to who was behind the crystal empress's capture."

The two ponies sat in silence for awhile as the sun began to dip just above the western horizon. Star placed a hoof on Spark's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him a little, but if he even noticed, the stallion certainly didn't show any reaction. Star watched him as he stared off into the distance, not watching anything ahead of him him, but lost in thoughts of the past as he wiped away a stray tear from his cheek. Star knew he and Chestnut had been close and couldn't imagine how hard it must be to come home, only to learn that somepony you cared about was gone forever. By the look on her friend's face at that moment, Star judged that it was torture.

Eventually Spark stood up from the old bench and Star did the same before they both continued walking down the cobblestone path. They still hadn't found Inferno and it was getting late. Star was fairly certain that if her daughter had been outside, she had most likely returned to the castle by then, but it never hurt to make sure. The cold wind picked up as the reached the spot where both sky chariots had been left, carrying plump flakes of snow with it. Nopony seemed to be around, but Star stopped long enough to look up into the sky, where more snow had begun to fall, before telling Spark as much.

"I guess we should go back inside and take another look," Spark suggested, the last traces of pained emotion hidden away once again.

"You're probably right," Star agreed as they walked back up the path, side by side, but neither of them in the mood for conversation. Star looked back on everything that she had learned and heard about, wondering just how she was supposed to separate heresy from the truth, but having no answer. She intended to ask Princess Celestia about the whispers of controversy that seemed to pervade her past actions, but there was nothing to keep the alicorn from lying to her all over again. If she couldn't trust her leader, then the small mare didn't know who else she could trust.

The main hall was empty when Star and Spark pushed open the castle doors, everypony seeming to have vanished in their absence, so she led her friend straight to the hallway that would take them to the throne room. The only times Star had ever seen the castle as empty as it was right then, was when there was some sort of meeting taking place and even then, servants were usually still bustling about the halls. The sound of movement from behind the closed doors of the throne room confirmed the black mare's suspicions that the princesses were holding council with somepony. Spark stood next to her, ear pressed to the door as he listened, until Star decided to shove open the door and see what was going on.

Inside the throne room were far fewer ponies than Star had been expecting to find. In fact, as she gazed around the large room, the short mare realized that she knew almost everypony in the room. Her friends each looked back at her and Spark with reactions ranging from startled confusion to mild irritation. Her eyes sprang open in amazement when she even caught site of Downpour and Backdraft, along with a large green earth pony standing near them. Spark walked in a second later and leaned in to whisper in Star's ear.

"Who else is in here?" he asked her, trying to feel out the entire room with his magic, but failing miserably.

"Celestia, Luna and all of our friends," Star replied, "and by that I mean even Downpour and Backdraft."

"Really!?" Spark asked his voice echoing through the mostly empty room and causing Axel to clamp a hoof over her mouth to stifle her snickering.

"Yes, now everypony is staring at us, so hurry up," Star said as she walked down the strip of carpet that led clear to the dais whereupon the two princess's thrones sat. Star stopped and dipped into a low bow before finding a spot to stand in the midst of her friends and Spark did the same just a moment after, choosing to seek out the pegasus brothers and standing near them.

"Discipula Star," Princess Celestia addressed her with a slight nod, "Nature Spark," she added with another nod, "I was beginning to wonder where you both might have run off to. I'm very sorry that we started this meeting without you, but time is of the essence of course." She fixed her eyes, so light that they sometimes appeared pink, on both of the late entrants into her throne room and gave them a stern gaze, as if to remind them both that nothing was more important than the war, so they had best shape up.

"Now, after you met up with Mister Verd Monts on the other side of the mountains, where did you go?" Princess Luna asked, bringing the focus of the room back to the two pegasus, who had apparently been in the midst of telling their story when Star saw fit to interrupt them. The princess's mentee stared down at the ground as she listened to her friends' words, too embarrassed to meet either of her matriarchs' gazes. Of course her views of Princess Celestia hadn't changed, Star still believed that the white alicorn had some questions that needed to be answered, but also knew that none of that would matter if Equestria lost the war.

Eventually she glanced up and peered side to side, taking in the sight of all her friend's faces as they gazed either up at the princesses or towards Downpour and Backdraft. It had been weeks since everypony was together, but somehow, as Star gazed at them all one by one, it felt like they had only said goodbye a short time ago. Despite the hardships and confusion, the loneliness and anger, when the violet eyed mare looked around the throne room of Canterlot castle, she felt as if, with her friends by her side, she could accomplish any task that faced her.

"With Ursa's help, we were able to make it to the city of Calvary in no time at all, and then from there it was a relatively easy trip into the heart of the Crystal Empire," Draft continued as he told Celestia and Luna of their travels in the enemy nation. Star listened more intently, once she got out of her own thoughts.

"That was where our good fortune ended," Downpour cut in. "Duke Doré Langue, the acting leader of the government while the Crystal Emperor is sick and his empress missing, is responsible for the attacks on Equestria." If Downpour was speaking the truth, then the true face of Equestria's enemy had been revealed, which Star knew would mean Princess Celestia and Princess Luna could wield the Elements of Harmony against him.

"Not only that, but he cast a spell on me that messed with my mind and made me attack my own brother," Draft explained in a more quite voice, as if the memory still hurt him. "It was like he could force thoughts into my head when he was near me."

"Yes, but once we got Draft out of the range of the duke's magic, they spell faded fairly quickly," Downpour added. "Fortunately we got out of the city and made it back to Calvary, where I met with somepony who is a part of the resistance movement that began when the emperor first started to grow ill. It seems that many of them had suspicions of foul play since the beginning, but with no way to prove it and with Doré Langue controlling the government and military, the ponies in the resistance have been forced to remain underground to avoid death… or worse."

"Then this duke is an enemy that we cannot afford to take lightly," Princess Luna commented as she met her sister's gaze and exchanged silent words with her.

"I agree," her elder sister added, "we will have to handle this situation delicately to avoid innocent casualties."

Suddenly the large doors behind Star's back were flung open with a loud bang! She whipped her head around to see two soldiers galloping down the carpet. When they made it to the dais and gave their bows, she could see that the stallions were in fact, Brass Heart and Dawn Glory, back from whatever mission they had been away on. Princess Celestia glanced down at the guards, who met her questioning eyes with cold, but respectful looks as they spoke.

"We have some very bad news, princesses," Brass Heart told them as he stood rigid, with a stoic expression plastered across his face. "We've just learned that Sergeant Rainbow Strike has been selling weapons to the enemy and has taken the city of Cloudsdale hostage with the soldiers under his command." A chorus of gasps accompanied his news, coming from everypony except the princesses, whose eyes lit up with fury when they heard.

"If this is true, then his punishment will be swift," Luna stated in a commanding tone as her face darkened with anger.

"And severe," Celestia added as she stood up from her throne, mystical mane billowing behind her in a magical breeze as her narrowed her eyes. Star glanced at her friends, each of them wearing the same mixed expressions as they saw the brief burst of rage from their matriarchs. The rumors of a traitor in their midst had proven to be true and neither alicorn looked as if they were willing to grant mercy for the sergeant's crimes. "This meeting is adjourned," Celestia said as she took her seat once again, reverting to her previous calm and collected demeanor and giving a dismissive wave of her gold clad hoof to the gathered ponies.


	47. Bonds of Friendship, Part 2

~Chapter 44: Bonds of Friendship, Part Two~

Four pegasus, two unicorns, one earth pony from Equestria and another from the Crystal Empire, a hippogriff and a dragon walked through the grand doors of Canterlot Castle's throne room ahead of Star as they all left the princesses to discuss their next course of action privately. Star got one last glimpse of her mentors face, stern and calculation as she began to speak, before the doors slammed together in one deafening crash, leaving the outer hall deathly silent. The only sound echoing off of the walls were their various steps as they headed for the great hall, none of them speaking as they contemplated the dangerous turn of events.

Cloudsdale was the main manufacturer of Equestria's weaponry and had been ever since Discord's War, Star knew. With the despicable sergeant, Rainbow Strike taking the city hostage, along with his band of traitorous soldiers, it would mean a serious blow to the nation's war effort. Canterlot had its own forges and there were a few others in the major cities, she remembered, but not nearly enough to supply the entire army. If Equestria was left so defenseless it would mean a heavy death toll that Star was certain neither Princess Celestia nor Princess Luna would settle for. That left them with very few options, the most logical of which would be trying to take the city back before the Crystal Empire or more specifically, Duke Doré Langue, could take advantage of their circumstances.

Everypony stopped walking once they had entered the great hall, the previous solemn silence broken as Spark punched Downpour in the arm and laughed. After that a frenzy of conversation began all at once as everypony rejoiced in being together again after so long. Brass Heart and Dawn Glory walked up to Star amidst the cacophony and tried to smile as they greeted her. She could see that they were happy to see her again, but the news they had been forced to bring was dampening their spirits.

"It's nice to see you again, Miss Star," Brass Heart said politely. Star just sighed as she smiled back at him.

"You don't have to be so formal all of the time, you know," the black mare informed her armor clad friend. "We've known one another for years now."

"Sorry," the pegasus shrugged, "it's just a habit when I'm around the princesses."

"How have you been doing?" Dawn chimed in, remembering how badly Star had been dealing with the life she had taken. "You look like you feel a little better."

"Yeah, I think I'll live," Star replied, "for a little while longer anyway," she added with a slight scowl. Both soldiers nodded their heads understandingly a few times. They had seen more than their share of fighting and killing over the years and even they were still bothered by it from time to time, but they had orders to follow, Star knew, while she didn't. Her decisions were her own and she had to accept that fact.

"Sorry to have interrupted what would most likely have been an otherwise joyous reunion," Brass Heart added as he peered around the room. Star too gazed at each of her friends, catching fleeting smiles and the occasional laugh.

"I think that there is still plenty of joy to be found here," Star replied with a flash of white teeth. "It will take more than a war to break our spirits."

"It looks that way," Dawn chuckled as he turned to leave. "Brass Heart and I have a bit more business to take care of for now, so if you'll excuse us." Brass Heart shot Star a quick smile before turning away and following the other pegasus out the main doors of the castle and into the twilight, leaving Star to talk with her friends.

"Downpour, Backdraft, it's great to see you both again," Star beamed as she approached the two brothers, who were in the midst of sandwiching Spark in a rough embrace filled with laughter.

"Star! It's great to see you as well," Draft replied as he broke away from the other stallions and stepped over to her. "I'd like you to meet my coltfriend, Ursa." Star only lost her composure for a split second as the tall, green earth pony she had seen in the throne room walked up beside her friend. "I think you were late for the first part of our little story, but Ursa and I met when he saved my brother and I from freezing to death in the mountains." Ursa gave a sheepish smile as he rolled his eyes.

"The only thing that I did was pull two featherbrained pegasus out of an icy cave," the shaggy stallion interjected I a deep voice that had a notable trace of a northern accent. "Draft was the one who kept him and his brother from dying at the hooves of Windigos." Star fixed Draft with a look of surprise, since that was the first she had heard of their run in with the mythical creatures of the icy winds. She had only read about the Windigos in legends, but to actually make contact with them was a frightening concept to her anyway.

"Don't sell yourself short," Draft said as he playfully jabbed the larger stallion in his cutie mark, which Star noticed had two tree branches and a pinecone. "You saved both our flanks more than once."

"Well, it is very nice to meet you, Ursa," Star said with a polite nod. "I guess I should thank you for taking such good care of my friends. Luna knows they need the extra eye on them from time to time." Ursa joined her giggling with a deep laugh, while the pegasus by his side blushed bright crimson.

"I don't think that we're that bad," Downpour interjected as he joined the small group. "We made it back here safely enough."

"Yeah, but just barely from what I've been hearing," Spark chuckled as he too joined in the conversation. Soon enough everypony, plus Inferno and Strata, had gathered in a sort of circle as they continued to catch up on what they had all been doing over the past few weeks. They had all told the princesses what they had wanted to know, but the short recaps had done none of their experiences justice, as Star soon found out.

They each told their stories, in as much depth as they cared to share, while the sun set outside and Luna began to raise the moon. Every few sentences one pony spoke would be interrupted by a question or occasional jest by somepony else, but eventually they all got the chance to speak. There was laughter and tears, even some anger, but at the core of everything, the black mare could feel the bonds between her and her friends.

When it was her turn to speak, Star got the chance to tell everypony exactly what she had gone through since they parted ways all those weeks ago. She told them about the Ponyville fire and the deaths of Chestnut as well as Silver Blood, which Downpour and Backdraft had already learned of during their journey home. Star's dream walking, as well as the terrors she had faced in her own psyche remained as a secret that only she and Luna were privy to, but she happily shared her time on the road to Manehatten with Axel and the days they had spent in the city by the sea with Spark's older sister, Suri. All her friends even listened as she retold her fight with a Red Eye mercenary.

As soon as everypony had told their stories the group broke apart again. Downpour left somewhere with Strata, while Draft and Spark started to talk with Suri. Inferno took Axel and the two headed for the dining room, presumably to get some dinner while it was still warm. Star walked up to her friends, violet eyes fixed on Suri's as she approached. Though she had actually seen the white mare again, Star hadn't yet gotten the opportunity to explain what happened to Spark's eyes nor to explain how she felt about the older unicorn. Star knew that she might never get the chance to talk with Suri unless she pulled her away right then, so she took a deep breath and interrupted their cheerful conversation.

"Suri, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" Star asked in the middle of Draft reminiscing about when the three had been living in Dodge. The actress flicked her shimmering green eyes to Star with a small sigh and then excused herself from the conversation before following her Star down the hall without exchanging a single word. Star peeked over as Suri caught up to her and they started up the beautifully crafted staircase. She didn't expect anypony to try eavesdropping on them, but she also wasn't willing to take the chance, especially if she really decided to open up to the older mare.

"What is this about?" Suri huffed as she and Star rounded the corner of the empty hallway. The black unicorn stood just a short distance from her, biting her lip awkwardly as she tried to come up with the right words to say.

"Are you mad at me?" Star asked at first, "because I'm sorry for what happened to your brother and I have a way to fix his eyes, so please don't hate me." The white mare sighed as she lowered her gaze to the ground.

"I'm not mad at you at all, Star," Suri explained in a hushed tone. "I know that you would never purposefully do anything to hurt Spark. You aren't like me." Star met Suri's gaze when the actress finally tore her eyes from the floor, only to see tears glistening in the corners. "I'm angry at myself, for the things I've done."

"What do you mean?" Star asked as her friend wiped at her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

"Six years ago, just after my mother had her third child, my youngest brother, Sugar Leaf, I left home because I was angry." Though she spoke in soft tones, the true pain of the older mare's words still got through to Star and it helped her understand the reason for her friend's recent actions. "Our father had died eight years before, when I was still very young, but it hurt for so long afterwards. I didn't understand why it happened and it didn't help that my mother chose not to smile for a long time after his death. When I found out she was pregnant, I had just finished school and instead of trying to accept the fact that she had found somepony new, I left home."

"That's what all of this is about?" Star asked as Suri began to whimper quietly. "You feel guilty because you weren't around for your family for so long and after seeing Spark, seeing what had happened to him in your absence, it hurt you, didn't it?"

"Yes… it did," Suri replied as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I haven't even seen my youngest brother since he was a foal and I haven't spoken to Spark in just as long. I know I acted stupid in the past, but I've matured since I've been gone and I want to be there for my family now, though I'm afraid that it may be too late." Suri had seemed so care free since the moment that Star had first met her, that the black mare was caught off guard by her friend's revelation. "What if Spark doesn't want me around anymore or what if my whole family feels that way? How would I live with myself?" the crying mare asked with in a pleading voice.

"You're right to be afraid," Star slowly answered. "There is a chance that he won't accept your apology and that you will never get the chance to make it up to him." Star locked eyes with her friend and tried to convey with them some feelings of comfort as she spoke. "Everything worth achieving in life takes risks, Suri, but that makes it so much sweeter when you finally receive what you strived for. I think you should at least try to tell your brother what you just told me, even if it's frightening to do so. His answer may just surprise you."

"Thanks for the advice," Suri replied, with a little more sarcasm than Star had been expecting, "but I already know what I should do. The problem is getting the courage to actually go through with it." Suri bowed her head in shame as she sniffed back more tears, trying to stifle the sobs that were on the verge of breaking free. "Six years, Star. I left and didn't even try to talk to any of them for six years. What kind of pony does something like that?"

"We all make mistakes," Star replied as she reached a tentative hoof to her friend's alabaster cheek and wiped away one of her stray tears. "It's in pony nature to do the wrong thing sometimes, but that doesn't mean you should ever give up on trying to be a better pony. A big part of life is learning from those mistakes and striving to become the type of pony you want to be, but nopony can do it on their own. That's why we build friendships and family ties, because life can be hard and even downright cruel. It all comes down to enjoying the time you have with those closest to you and hoping that tomorrow will be better than today… Hoping that you will be better tomorrow than you were today" Star finished speaking and pulled the taller mare into her forelegs to comfort her. Suri was surprised at first, but then sank into the contact as her small sobs turned into choking laughter and the stress began to melt away.

"You know, you're surprisingly smart for your age," Suri laughed as she pulled back and looked the black mare in her soft purple eyes with a small grin.

"Blame Princess Luna," Star jokingly replied. Suri took a deep breath and sighed as she rubbed the last of the dampness from her face with the back of her hoof and tried to put on a more cheerful façade before leaving, but as she turned towards the stairs, Star reached out and stopped her. There was something important the small unicorn had been meaning to confess and she wanted to get it over with while she had the opportunity. "Suri, wait. There's something that I need to tell you before we go back downstairs."

"Oh, that's right," Suri commented, "you were the one who pulled me away to talk and here I am whining about my problems instead of listening to yours."

"I think I'm in love with you," Star replied suddenly, much to Suri's unexpected amazement. "I don't know why, but every time I think of you I smile and I wanted to get it out in the open before anything else happens," Star told her friend, hoping against hope that the feelings she had were shared by the beautiful mare before her. "I'm not sure why and I doubt that you feel the same, but since the first time I saw you, up on that stage, I can't help but to think of your face when I try to clear my mind, Suri." The white mare's stunned expression was slowly replaced with a more compassionate one and Star knew her friend's response before it even left her delicate lips.

"This is about our kiss, isn't it?" Suri asked with a smile that almost seemed piteous to Star, who simply nodded her head. "Listen to me, you're a great mare, Star and someday I know that you'll make somepony very happy…" Star could feel her friend's words crushing down on her and it became hard for the small unicorn to breath as she listened. "But you're not in love with me and as much as I consider you a dear friend, that's all that there is between us. You fell in love with the idea of me, with the excitement that the thought of us together filled you with, nothing more."

Star stood motionless as time seemed to creep to a standstill around her. She had known that there was a good chance Suri wouldn't have mutual feelings for her, but Star had still held out hope and confessed how she felt. What she hadn't expected was for the older mare to completely dismiss her attraction as nothing more than a passing infatuation, as if she were a filly. Star felt a bit hallow inside, even while Suri leaned forward and wrapped her up in a warm embrace.

"No," Star whispered into her friend's soft neck.

"What was that?" Suri asked, because the single word had been muffled as it was spoken.

"I said, no," Star replied, a bit more forcefully as she pushed away from the hug. "You can tell me that you don't feel the same and that you never will, but you don't get to dismiss what I told you as nothing more than a passing crush, Suri. If you don't love me the way that I love you I can live with that, but it was difficult for me to admit the connection I felt between us. If this isn't love, then I never want to feel the genuine emotion, because I don't think I could handle the loss." Star met her friend's eyes, which were filled with sorrow and confusion, as she wiped away the first tears that had just begun to form in them.

"You're right, Star," Suri replied in a soft tone. "I have no right to make light of what you told me or to pretend that it wasn't real, but I don't want to hurt you." Suri smiled down at her as she continued to speak, making Star feel even worse, for reasons she couldn't comprehend. "You are a wonderful pony. I've seen how much you care for your friends first hoof, but I'm not. I've done horrible things to those I cared about in the past and I'm not sure how to start making up for it or even if I can. I'd like to tell you that someday we might be able to be together or that I will eventually grow to feel the same way about you that you do about me, but that isn't fair… to either of us." Star's gaze was fixed on the ground as she listened and it remained there for a few still moments afterwards, until Suri broke the lonely silence. "Please, say something."

"What am I supposed to say?" Star asked the beautiful mare standing before her as she looked up into her sad, green eyes. "I wanted my answer and now I have it." Star turned to leave, but this time it was Suri who reached out a hoof.

"Star, wait," the actress said as she grabbed her friend's shoulder, "just tell me that we can still be friends. Even if I don't love you in quite the same way as you love me, that doesn't mean that I don't want our friendship to continue to grow. These past few days, through the good and the bad, I've grown to care about you more than anypony else since I left my family… I- I don't want to lose that now." Suri's voice held a low note of pain as she spoke and Star wanted to comfort her, but she needed time to comfort herself more than anything at that moment.

"Okay," the black mare mumbled before pulling away from her friend's grasp and heading down the hall, towards the stairs and all of their other friends waiting below. Star could feel Suri's eyes on her back as she walked away, but she wiped the last traces of dampness from her face and tried to force a smile, despite the heartbreak she was feeling. All of her friends were going to be smiling and laughing, as would she, but her smile would be a bit more strained, thanks to her friend.

Everypony was still hanging around in the main hall when Star descended the spiraling stairs and joined them; except for Downpour and Strata who had yet to return from whatever intimate reunion they had been holding somewhere else. Star could feel a bit of bitterness well up in her at the thought of them both sharing in something that she may never get the chance to, but she snubbed the thoughts before they could fully form. Princess Luna had often told her that jealousy was unbecoming, especially in her protégé, so she always did her best to quash selfish feelings before they started.

Even Inferno and Axel had returned from the dining room and were in the process of finishing off their quick meal as they talked and laughed along with the others. Star could feel her tears pushing against the thin veil of contentment that she had constructed as she stepped down from the last stair and joined her friends. Inferno flashed a smile at Star and made room for her mother in the misshapen circle that they had formed. Star took a few slow breaths before grinning back and walking up beside the small dragon, who was licking the last few crumbs from her red lips with a forked tongue.

"Where have you been?" Inferno asked with most of her attention still fixed on Draft and Spark, who were in the midst of telling yet another story from their past. "I left to get something to eat and when I got back you were gone."

"Sorry, I just needed to talk to Suri in private for a minute," Star apologized.

"Oh, where is Spark's sister anyway?" Inferno asked as she cast a quick glance about the room to try and spot the elegant, white mare. Star too looked around, but it appeared that Suri hadn't followed her downstairs. Star actually hoped that her friend felt at least a small fraction of the heartbreak she had felt, even if it was a despicable thought to entertain. Star cared for Suri more than she had ever wanted, but it was that same care that was forming into bitter jealousy and she hated herself for it.

"I don't know," Star finally replied, "I guess she must have gone to bed." Inferno just nodded her spiked head, most likely because she too was getting sleepy. Star knew that she should have told the young dragon to get some sleep, because it was already getting late, but she also knew that everypony deserved to spend as much time with one another as possible, so she didn't bother telling Inferno to leave.

"And all three of us are running back to their house as fast as we can manage," Spark nearly shouted with a huge grin as Star tried to follow the story that she had walked in on, "but what none of us remembered is that Downpour had locked their door before we left. Now the three of us are stuck outside their house-"

"We're all stuck outside, fumbling with the doorknob, trying to get in before we all start getting sick in the front yard, but my brother can't seem to find the house key," Draft broke in, tears of joy welling in the corners of his grey eyes as he tried to contain the laughter bubbling just under his words. "I guess he dropped it at some point, because Spark ended up finding it in the dirt, but by the time we got the door unlocked, it was already too late for us to do anything." Spark had to take over the storytelling again as Draft collapsed to the floor in a fit of choking laughter. Star wasn't sure why he thought the tale was so humorous, but everypony else seemed to be enjoying it as well.

"So we get the front door open, but by that point Downpour and I have already started throwing up in the bushes. Draft, on the other hoof, has decided that he can make it to the bathroom and takes off into the house like a bat out of Tartarus, hooves clamped over his mouth as he's flying," Spark chuckled before pausing to catch his breath and finish the story. "As it turns out, their bathroom door is pretty solid, because Draft slams into it hard and the damn thing doesn't budge, until he scrambles back to his hooves and pulls it open." Star watched as Draft picked got off the ground, all while trying to stifle his wild laughter.

"And I finally make it into the bathroom," Draft broke in, intending to finish the tale on his own, "but I was just a second too late and as I step in, vomit goes spraying everywhere." The two stallions broke into whooping laughter again as they hugged one another for support. Axel giggled a couple of times, but it looked to Star as if she was just trying to be polite and Inferno didn't even manage that much. Obviously Spark and Draft had a different sense of humor from anypony else that was around.

"That is disgusting," Star informed them with a disappointed sigh.

"Ahem, well I happened to think it was hilarious," Spark replied with a completely straight face. Before Star could open her mouth to retort the brown unicorn was already laughing again.

"Right… I'm going to get something to eat," Star mumbled as she walked away shaking her head. Even if their stories were lame, she was happy to see all of her friends again, but Suri's rejection had still managed to dampen her spirits. It was a problem that the young mare was hoping a good meal could help fix. She hadn't eaten much all day, mostly because of how busy she'd been, but also because her nerves were wound so tight. Now that her friends had all arrived and she knew they were as healthy and happy as they could be under the circumstances, Star figured that she could spare a few moments to satisfy her rumbling stomach.

Outside the beautifully crafted stained glass windows that adorned the halls, Star could plainly see that Princess Luna had begun to raise the moon at some point, most likely during her conversation with Suri. The stars looked beautiful to her, twinkling behind the colored glass of the windows and Star stopped in her walk to stare into the night for a few moments. The moon was nearly full and it looked like it was a beautiful night out, despite the fact that it had been an especially cloudy morning. Star wondered how her teacher had managed to bring such a perfect night, but felt as if Luna had done it just for her and her friends. The thought made Star smile as she continued on to the dining hall.

"Good evening, Princess Celestia," Star called out upon seeing her supposedly benevolent ruler on the other side of the dining room doors, in the midst of drinking a cup of tea at one of the long tables. "How are things with your royal highness tonight?"

"Ah, Discipula Star, how very nice to see you, and I am managing just fine," the princess replied with a polite smile. "Have you been enjoying seeing all of your friends again?" She sipped from her tea as she waited for Star's response.

"I suppose that I have," Star replied as she made her way over to the other table, which was still laden with almost cold food. Star didn't mind the fact that it wasn't hot and fresh anymore, as long as she got something to eat. "We are all eager to hear how you propose to control this unfortunate situation in Cloudsdale. I trust that you and your sister reached a decision after you dismissed our previous meeting."

"I believe we have," the alicorn called over to the small mare, who was busy munching down a few carrots. "Luna and I will call a formal meeting for tomorrow, but once she has finished raising the moon, the two of us will need to speak with you and your friends once again."

"Of course, princess," Star replied as she turned away from the buffet, her stomach now content for the time being. "I will let everypony know not to go to bed until then," she added as she wandered over to the table and took a seat near her immortal ruler, "but I was hoping that the two of us could discuss a few things first."

"I can see no reason why not," Celestia told her in between sips of her hot beverage. "What is plaguing your mind, Star?" Star scoffed quietly, because there were many things on her mind, but only one which she needed to speak with the princess about.

"Well, I've heard some troubling things as of late," Star began, staring towards the mystical alicorn, but never making direct eye contact as she spoke. "I'm not sure that what I have heard is the truth or if there is even any hint of the truth in it, but I still feel the need to find out for certain." Star finally met Celestia's gaze which was one of quiet contemplation with just a hint of suspicion as she watched the young pony.

"You make this sound very serious, Star," Celestia explained. "Is this a conversation that would be better had in more private quarters?" Star simply shook her head and continued undeterred.

"Not at all," the black unicorn replied. "I just heard a passing rumor that Spark's father, the late Oaken Field, was very loyal to you."

"That is very true, but I fail to see the point you are trying to make," Celestia replied, with the suspicion Star had seen in her eyes finally bleeding out into her tone of voice as she responded. "Most citizens of Equestria are very loyal to my sister and I. You are one of them, aren't you?"

"Of course, Princess Celestia," Star said with a nod, "but the rumors pertained to him following orders that may have been given behind Princess Luna's back. I understand the need for harmony to prevail throughout the world, but is it genuine peace if it is attained through shadowy means?" Celestia narrowed her eyes as the magic from her horn gently lowered the small teacup to the surface of the table.

"Discipula Star, I think you have forgotten who you are addressing," the princess replied in a calm, but cold voice. "I am your princess and you are one of my subjects, the bond you have formed with my younger sister in no way negates that fact. Furthermore, the decisions I make and the methods I employ to procure harmony and prosperity for my country is my own business and you would do well to remember that." Celestia raised the teacup to her lips once more as she looked away from Star out the window, where the moon hung high in the starry sky. "Have a good night, Discipula Star," Celestia said calmly before blowing softly on her steaming cup of tea, "and remember that there will be another meeting soon."

"Whatever you wish, Princess Celestia," Star replied as she stood up from the large table and took a quick bow. Celestia merely sighed as she continued to stare off at the window, so Star took her leave. The sound of her hoofsteps echoed through the mostly empty dining room as the black mare left her ruler to contemplate what Star had told her. She hadn't gotten any definitive answers one way or the other from the immortal alicorn, but Star was fairly certain about the truth of what Spark had told her. The confrontation had left her heart racing and she wasn't so sure it had been a good idea.

The energy level had died down a bit among Star's friends, the small mare noticed as she approached the small group. Even though Strata and Downpour had rejoined them, looking quite a bit more frazzled and out of breath than they had been just a couple hours before, the noise they were making had been diminished. Everypony looked rather exhausted and Star even let out a small yawn as she walked over to them. Inferno shot her a tired smile, which Star returned before coming up to stand beside the young dragon, who was still listening to everypony else tell stories.

Star met Strata's gaze and she gave a polite nod, which the hippogriff acknowledged with a quick nod of her own before returning her attention to her coltfriend, Downpour, who was busy joking with his younger brother and Spark. Axel too seemed enthralled by the conversation, though Star couldn't imagine why after having heard the last story that her friends had regaled them with. It must have been something that relied less on vomit for its comedic value though, because even Inferno had a grin on her scaly red face as she listened with rapt attention.

"That's exactly why I think we should get a painting done while we're all here together," Star heard Downpour telling Spark. The blind stallion shrugged his shoulders, but didn't protest his friend's suggestion, so Downpour glanced around to evaluate everypony else's opinion on the idea. "You think that getting a painting done with all of us is a good idea too, don't you Star?"

"Umm, yes," Star replied with a smile. "I think that would be the perfect way to record the friendship we all have. It will be good for nostalgia to look back on this time once this senseless war is finally over with."

"My thoughts exactly," the bluish pegasus beamed. "So does anypony know of a good artist around here?" Everypony stopped to consider Downpour's question for a few moments, until Star spoke up once again.

"I know about plenty of famous artists in Canterlot," the short mare explained, "but I think I should ask Princess Luna who was responsible for the last portrait she had done, because it turned out beautifully."

"That sounds like a great plan to me," Spark said right before arching his back and letting out a tired yawn. "Just wake me up whenever they get here and I'll be ready to pose for them." The light brown stallion took his first step away from the group and towards his bedroom upstairs, but the sound of Star clearing her throat stopped him in his tracks before he could take another.

"Actually, Spark, Princess Celestia informed me that she and her sister would need to speak with us one more time before we all retire for the night, so I'll have to ask you to wait just a little while longer," Star informed him, much to the blind unicorn's dismay. "In fact, she should be ready for us very soon."

"Ugh, I certainly hope so," Strata commented, "because Downpour and I were just about to go to bed."

"Notice that she said we were going to bed, not to sleep," Downpour added with a sly smirk, only to get one of Strata's elbows in his ribs as a response from the slightly annoyed hippogriff. "Sorry," he mumbled in apology a second later. Star's cheeks reddened and she glanced away as they kissed.

"Do I have to sit through this meeting too?" Inferno asked as she stared up at her adoptive mother with large yellow eyes. Star was a pushover when it came to the young dragon and she couldn't fathom a reason for the princesses to need her there anyway, so she decided to allow Inferno to skip out on the meeting for that night.

"No, I'm sure that the princesses would not mind your absence," Star replied as she pulled her daughter in for a hug. "I believe that they are just hoping to confer with us about the proper reaction to Cloudsdale being under enemy control."

"Thank Luna, because I can barely keep my eyes open right now," Inferno yawned in reply. "I'll see you in the room when you're done down here."

"Alright, hopefully it won't take too long," Star replied as the small dragon turned tail and began ambling slowly towards the stairs.

"You're serious then?" Spark asked as he turned in her direction, dull brown eyes looking bloodshot around the edges while he fought the urge to hide somewhere and sleep in peace. "It's got to be well after midnight now and Celestia really wants to hold another meeting?" He followed his complaint up with an exhausted sigh.

"Unfortunately, yes," Star told him, "not to mention the fact that they'll be holding a much larger meeting sometime tomorrow to tell the rest of their citizens the decision they have reached."

"I can understand that," Draft interjected from his place beside the large green stallion, Ursa, whom Star had only spoken a few words to. "I just don't see why she needs to speak with all of us tonight. We played our parts, did we not? I thought after we got back from her little missions that would be the end of it."

"Draft, this is your home that you're talking about," Ursa scolded his coltfriend, "Don't you want to do everything in your power to keep it from harm?"

"I have to agree with Ursa on this one, little brother," Downpour added, with a nod of his head, "as tired as I am of all of this devious shit, I want to help in any way I can." At that moment, Star noticed the large tattoo over the brash pegasus's right eye. It was obvious enough that the black mare wondered how in the world she had ever missed it, even if she'd had many things on her mind. It looked like a large zebra glyph and Star couldn't hold back her snickering as she stared at the mark. "Are you okay, Star?" he asked when her laughter finally got out of control.

"What did you do to your eye?" she giggled, much to Downpour's confusion.

"Oh, you mean my tattoo," he replied flatly, "I'll have you know that it is the zebra glyph for patience." Star tried to keep a straight face as she responded, but failed miserably and nearly fell over as laughter wracked her chest.

"I know what the hay it means," Star explained in between gasping breaths and giggling, "but that still doesn't explain why you, a pegasus, got a giant zebra glyph tattooed over your eye."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," the black maned stallion mumbled, "besides, Strata likes my tattoo, don't you, honey?" The hippogriff gave a weak smile and glanced around without actually answering, which made everypony except Downpour break into laughter. "Everypony here is a prick," he pouted.

"Easy there, Downpour," Strata said with a teasing smile, "I was just joking with you. The tattoo doesn't actually look that bad, but you should definitely ask me before ever getting another one… especially on your face, because I'm the one that has to see that when were-"

"Anyway, as I was saying," Star interrupted with a slight blush beginning to form on her dark cheeks, "I'm fairly certain that the princesses will want to respond quickly to the situation in Cloudsdale." Everypony nodded their heads in agreement because they knew that without Cloudsdale's expert forges, the Equestrian military would be hard pressed to keep out an invasion from their neighbors to the north. "Unfortunately the city is basically a fortress, capable of holding out for a very long period of time."

"Exactly," Spark replied. "That is why I don't see how we can be of any help to her. It isn't as if any of us have a military background."

"True," Draft agreed, "but look at how much we've accomplished for them anyway. It is thanks to us that the princesses know who are real enemies are and that the hippogriffs have agreed to be our allies in this war. As much as I hate to admit this, we have all shown an uncanny ability to muddle through dangerous tasks and come out alive." Though the younger pegasus's words were very true, Star still found herself agreeing more with Nature Spark. She had already taken one life and the thought of getting further involved in matters made her cringe, but she was loyal to Luna and would do whatever the princess asked of her.

"Now you understand, if we can help provide a solution to our country's problems then we should at least offer our services to the crown." The group seemed somewhat divided to Star. The pegasus brothers, as well as Strata and Ursa, seemed to be in favor of more fighting at the moment, but Spark and Star were apprehensive. Axel hadn't said much up to that point and Star glanced in the earth pony's direction to try and gauge her opinion.

"Axel, how do you feel about all of this?" Star asked her.

"Me?" Axel questioned with a look of surprise, "Well, I don't know that I can be of much help anyway, but I certainly don't think that I could hurt anypony."

"Even so," Downpour cut in, "you can provide a service that nopony else in Equestria is able to. You can give us total control over the skies."

"You mean by building more sky chariots?" Axel asked. The tattooed pegasus merely nodded his head in response. "Yes, I suppose that I could begin manufacturing chariots for the military, but there's no way that just one or two vehicles will make a difference. I can only work so fast with two hooves and I don't think I can get more hooves, unless there's a spell for that"

"…or, what if they gave you control of an entire crew to manufacture chariots on a larger scale?" Spark asked once Axel had finished. "Would you be willing to provide the princesses your service, even knowing the death toll that it would have on our enemies?" The more Star thought about what the light brown stallion was asking, the more she saw it as a genuine possibility. Princess Celestia would undoubtedly want the advantage that a fleet of flying chariots would provide, but Axel seemed to be rethinking her previous response.

"I suppose that I hadn't really given that too much thought," the normally bubbly mare replied in a more demure tone. "What do you all think I should do if she offers?" All of Star's friend cast unsure glances between one another and even Star had to admit that she didn't have an answer for Axel.

"I think that only you can decide for yourself whether or not you would be capable of something such as that," Spark told her, "but we may be getting ahead of ourselves," he added with a smile that Star assumed was less than genuine. Spark had been the one to bring up Celestia's previous questionable actions regarding her foreign affairs to Star and she knew that he was the most likely of all her friends to approach the princesses' requests for them with some reservations.

"Spark makes a good point," Ursa agreed. "I think that we should hear your rulers out before making any final decisions." Everypony else seemed to agree with the large crystal pony and muttered as much to one another.

"It looks like we won't have to wait too long for their response to the situation," Downpour observed. Star glance back towards the doors leading into the throne room of the castle and saw both Celestia and Luna approaching them with very serious expressions on their faces. Star couldn't shake the feeling that the royal sisters looked as if they had been arguing once again.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna," Spark greeted them with a bow, which everypony else copied as the alicorns approached them.

"We have come to request an audience with all of you," Luna told them without even a hint of a smile behind her flat expression.

"Please, join us in the throne room," Celestia added as she looked at them each in turn. "There are some important matters that we wish to discuss with all of you."

"Of course, your highnesses," Star replied with another bow. Princess Luna nodded in reply before her and her sister turned back to the doors through which they had just exited. Star glanced over to her friends, as both alicorns disappeared back into the throne room, and she was met with looks of apprehension as well as seriousness. They all seemed to know how important the next few hours would be in deciding their future and none of them were taking the fact lightly.

The meeting was due to start any minute, but Star knew that Suri would want to attend so she hurried up the spiraling staircase and trotted down the empty hallway, her hoofsteps echoing off of the smooth, white walls as she ran. Despite her and Suri's previous talk, which ended rather badly on Star's part, she was aware that the white mare would want to be a part of the coming discussion, especially considering the fact that her younger brother had decisions to make as well. Whether or not Suri would want her brother to join in the conflict, she couldn't be certain, but Suri was her friend and needed to know what was happening.

The bedroom door loomed in front of Star as she raised a hoof to knock, but the memory of how she had acted after being rejected by the actress made her pause as she considered what her friend's reaction would be. There was a good chance that Suri would still be a bit upset with her, which Star knew she probably deserved, but the importance of the meeting took precedence over her feelings and she reluctantly rapped on the solid wood. It took a few minutes before Star could hear the sounds of her friend crawling out of bed and making her way to the door.

"Star?" Suri asked, still half asleep as she pulled the door open. "What's going on?" Suri blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting that the torches along the wall caused.

"You need to come downstairs with me," Star informed the taller unicorn, who still seemed a bit confused by her unexpected wake up call. "The princesses have requested our attendance in a private meeting to decide their next move and I thought that you might like to make an appearance, seeing as how Spark will be deciding whether or not to assist the war efforts further." Suri shook her head, as if trying to dislodge the last, lingering traces of sleep before replying and it looked to Star as if the actress had been crying.

"Yes, of course I want to be there," Suri replied with a yawn as she retreated back into the dark bedroom. "I'm a little surprised that you came to get me though. I thought you would still be mad at me, after the whole… well, you know."

"I wouldn't say that I'm mad at you," Star explained as Suri's horn lit up with a pink aura. She appeared to be searching for something, but Star had no idea what it might be. "I'm… disappointed with how that whole conversation went and displeased with my reaction to everything, but it wouldn't be right of me to blame any of that on you, Suri. You're my friend and even if that is all that we'll ever be, I would never do anything to lose that." Star tried to hide the sadness she was feeling behind a smile and it seemed to work, because the white mare just smiled back at her as she lifted a comb with her magic.

"Thank you, Star. It means so much to me to hear you say that," Suri replied as she began to run the comb through her flowing mane. Star stood in the doorway, simply staring at the pony in which her affections rested, until she remembered the reason for waking the elegant unicorn in the first place.

"Your welcome," Star replied finally, "but we really don't have time for you to be standing around trying to fix your hair." Star walked into the room and gave her friend a magical push towards the door, much to Suri's surprise. "You look fine anyway and it's just our friends that are going to be there."

"Not to mention the princesses," Suri added in a huff as Star ushered her out of the room and down the hallway. "Fine, fine, I'm going."

By the time that Star led Suri down to the first floor, everypony had already entered the throne room and were waiting on them. Star's friends glanced back; a couple even rolling their eyes, as she and Suri pushed open the large doors and entered the nearly empty room. The tall, double doors swung shut with their usual loud booming that reverberated in Star's ears as she hurried down the red carpet and took her place beside the other ponies. Celestia cast a less than understanding glance in her direction which made Star cringe back, even as she felt Suri wander up next to her.

"It is so nice of you to join us," Princess Celestia addressed them, clearly very annoyed at having been kept waiting for even a few moments during such an important meeting. Star blushed as she opened her mouth to reply, but Suri cut in before she got the chance to speak.

"We are very sorry princesses, it is my fault that Star was late," the white mare explained with a low bow. "It will not happen again." Star followed her friend's lead and dipped into a bow. Luna nodded at them both politely, but her older sister seemed to have already moved on from the minor show of disrespect.

"Sister, I think it would be best if we were to cast a silencing spell before we begin," Celestia suggested as her horn began to glow.

"A wise decision," Luna agreed as she joined her elder sister in casting the spell.

"What exactly is a silencing spell?" Suri asked Star in a whisper. The studious mare wasn't the least bit surprised that the actress didn't know of the spell. Silencing a room was something that was generally only used in very specialized fields such as mining and the like, where loud noise could be disastrous. The princesses, of course, were using it for a slightly different reason.

"They must be considering the possibility of more traitors within Equestria's government," Star explained in a hushed voice as the princesses finished casting the spell. "A silencing spell will effectively mute our voices to anypony outside of this chamber, so there is a much lower probability of an enemy eavesdropping on our meeting." A small flash of light from both alicorn's horn signaled that the room had been silenced and Star turned her attention back to the raised dais.

"That should prevent any unwanted listeners," Celestia said as she looked back down to the faces gathered before her. Everypony waited quietly for either Celestia or Luna to begin speaking, but it was Spark who decided to speak first, much to Star's disbelief. It was unthinkable for one of the princesses' subjects to address them in the throne room without being spoken to first, but the blind stallion didn't seem to care.

"Am I wrong to assume that the two of you have already agreed on your approach to this problem with Sergeant Strike?" he asked, staring up at the alicorns sitting upon their thrones, just as if he could actually meet their disapproving gazes. It almost seemed as if Spark had lost a small portion of his humility when he lost his sight, but Star also considered that he may just have been growing tired of having to deal with the politics that obfuscated most Canterlot pony's true intentions. Star could relate to a distaste of the political aspect, although she would never have dared to speak as disrespectfully in the same setting that he had.

"No, Nature Spark," Luna replied, seemingly uncaring of his lax mannerisms while addressing her and her sister, "you are indeed correct. My sister and I have decided that the threat posed by Rainbow Strike is to be considered our top priority."

"That said," Celestia continued, "we believe that it would be in the best interest of our nation if we withheld the severity that his treason poses from the general population. It would be quite counterproductive to panic the citizens of Equestria needlessly."

"Needlessly?" Spark asked, practically spitting the question to the princesses. "Pardon me for any disrespect, Your Highness, but I can't help feeling that the possible deaths of an entire city, not to mention the capture of a few major weapons manufacturing facilities would be something that your citizens would want to be informed of." Star cringed as she watched her friend recklessly lecturing his immortal matriarchs, but didn't dare speak, for fear of reprimand. "I find it morally reprehensible that you would even consider keeping this a secret from ponies who look to you for truth and guidance."

"Nature Spa-" Luna began, until her older sister held up a gold clad hoof to silence her reply.

"Your objections have been noted," the larger alicorn replied as she lowered her hoof back down again, "but you would do well to remember your place, Nature Spark." Celestia's normally friendly expression turned much colder as she stared into his faded brown eyes. Being unable to see, Spark remained undeterred, but Star shrank back enough for both of them. "Though I respected your father greatly and placed a high value on his opinions, your minor accomplishment in the hippogriff clan has not granted you amnesty from Equestrian law and I will remind you that it is my sister and I, not you, who have led this country into prosperity over thousands of years."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Spark replied in a voice that sounded much less sure than it previously had, "I apologize for my uncouth reaction to your decision."

"To combat the problem posed by this treason in the military, we have decided to send in a small contingent of ponies who we know to be loyal to the crown. They will enter the city discreetly and take care of the problem with a minimal amount of casualties to either side," Luna said, clearly trying to draw the attention of her sister away from Spark. Star had never actually seen either of the princesses react as sternly as Celestia had, but she had also never seen anypony who had behaved so abhorrently as Spark. It was very clear that he disagreed with Celestia's preferred method of ruling and Star wondered if he would even consider helping either of them again.

"Yes, what is it, Downpour," Celestia asked as she glanced at the bluish-grey pegasus with a hint of confusion in her eyes. Star too looked in his direction, only to find that he had one hoof raised above his head, as if trying to ask his teacher a question in school. Star had to bite her lip to stifle a laugh that tried to escape at the sight.

"I volunteer to go with the group that is infiltrating Cloudsdale," he explained in a more eager voice than Star would have expected, considering what it was that he was asking to do. "That bastard locked my brother and me up in a cell for most of a day and I should have known he was a treasonous little basilisk when I found those Crystal Empire bits in his desk drawer."

"Mhmm, I wouldn't mind the chance to kick his flank around either," Draft agreed, "of course, that is for you to decide, princesses," he added quickly, having seen the reaction that Spark's previous outburst had gotten.

"I suppose that makes our decision much easier to make then," Celestia replied.

"Yes, we will send the both of you, along with a small group of trained soldiers," Luna explained. "I would be remiss if I didn't remind you that casualties, especially of any innocent citizens, will not be tolerated." Downpour and Backdraft nodded their agreement, which seemed to satisfy the princesses.

"If Downpour is going, then I will go as well," Strata stated, without even a small hint of asking for permission. It sounded to Star as if the hippogriff took the conditions of the alliance between her clan and Equestria quite seriously, because she seemed intent on making her own decisions, regardless of what Princess Celestia or Princess Luna wanted.

"That is acceptable," Celestia replied with a slight nod of her head.

"I would like to go as well," Ursa chimed in, only to be silenced by Draft's hoof against his lips.

"You can't even fly Ursa," the younger pegasus explained to his lover, "besides, you're going to have to get in contact with Spade and help him communicate with the princesses. I have no doubt that the resistance will prove to be invaluable."

"Draft is right, Verd Monts," Celestia told him, "It would only hinder the efforts of them and our soldiers to have to cart you into Cloudsdale. Fear not though, if you truly wish to lend your support, then I am certain we can use your help." Ursa nodded his head without another word while the two alicorns whispered to one another.

"Then we are to be separated once again?" Spark asked the royal sisters, clearly unhappy with the idea of being apart from his companions so soon after being reunited.

"I am afraid so, Nature Spark," Luna replied in a sympathetic voice.

"While they are busy in Cloudsdale, I would like you to go with Ursa and meet with this resistance, Nature Spark. They may be able to get you into the capitol of the Crystal Empire and, because this Duke Doré Langue has yet to have seen you, I believe that you may be able to take him by surprise," Celestia explained. This time Star was unable to hold her tongue, as she had been during the entire meeting up to that point.

"Have you forgotten that Spark is blind, princess?" Star asked in disbelief, while her mentor sighed and massaged the place between her dark blue eyes with one silver clad hoof. "Perhaps once I have fixed his sight he could accomplish such a task, but to ask now, while he is still in this condition, seems thoughtless."

"Star, I am perfectly able to function without sight," Spark cut in, eliciting a smile from the elder alicorn. "However," he continued, which caused Celestia's smile to vanish almost as quickly as it had appeared, "I have other business that I must see to first."

"What business is more important than protecting your country?" the princess of the sun asked him.

"That is my business, but if you would still like my help after I have finished with it, then I would be willing to lend you some assistance," Spark explained, on the verge of overstepping his boundaries for the second time that night.

"Very well, we will accept these terms, although that will not prevent us from finding a secondary solution to the problem," Luna stated before her sister could yell at the brown stallion again. "As for our last decision, Celestia and I have decided that Axel's sky chariots would be a valuable asset to have in the coming battles, so if she is willing to lend her talents, we have set aside an entire building dedicated to manufacturing her vehicles." Axel swallowed dryly and cast quick glances to her friends as she tried to decide what she would do. "I would also place Star by your side to help with the enchantments that you use to make these chariots defy gravity," Luna added.

"I, uh, I- I think I need to think about it," Axel stuttered.

"Very well, Alexia Lynn Sapphire, but time is of the essence," Celestia replied, "so I will need your answer come sunrise." Axel nodded her head meekly in response.

"If she does agree, then I will be more than willing to assist her," Star spoke up from her place beside Suri, who hadn't said a single word since they had both arrived.

"I expected as much, my faithful student," Luna said with a hint of a smile.

"Then, I believe we can end this meeting on that note," Celestia informed them flatly. "I will give each of you until after I have raised the sun tomorrow to decide your answers, but before you go, I would strongly urge you to consider what it means to be a patriotic citizen of this country and remind you that countless lives hang in the balance." After the princess's voice fell, silence permeated the air of the throne room. Everypony seemed to be measuring the weight of their rulers' words as they slowly bowed down in respect one after another, even Spark who had shown the least respect out of them all.

"It is late, so you eight should try to get some sleep," Luna told them. "These decisions may be the most important choices you make in your life, so I would suggest that you do not take them lightly." Once the younger alicorn had finished speaking, they were all dismissed from the room. Suri was the first one out, being the closest to the doors, but Star wasn't far behind.

An heir of discomfort hung about as Star and her friends left Canterlot Castle's throne room and walked through the eerily empty halls. On any other day, Star would have expected there to be a few stray servants and maids taking care of what jobs hadn't been attended to during the day, but on this night she assumed that they had been ordered away by the princesses in an attempt to prevent sensitive information from leaking out. It made sense to the small unicorn that the royal sisters would be so careful after the betrayal by one of their sergeants, yet Star couldn't help thinking that the deception needed to stop somewhere.

Keeping the capture of Cloudsdale out of the citizen's knowledge, she could almost understand. Panic would only lead to more problems and if Rainbow Strike caught wind of the princesses' plan to take the city back; it could lead to the deaths of innocent ponies. What Star couldn't understand was why she and her friends were the only ones whom the alicorns trusted with the information. None of them were part of the government or military and yet, for some reason Celestia and Luna had an inordinate amount of faith that they could change the tides of the conflict. The young mare couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else, some other truth, just under the surface of her matriarchs' words.

"Are you still set on going to Cloudsdale?" Spark asked, his tired voice breaking the silence and stirring Star from her confused thoughts. Though he didn't look at them, the black unicorn was fairly sure she knew who he was addressing with his question and Downpour's answer confirmed her guess.

"Even if the lives of innocent citizens weren't at risk," Downpour replied with a hint of bitterness permeating his words, "I would still fly my flank into that city and beat the living shit out of that waste of airspace. He locked me in a damned cell and then acted like my brother and I were the ones who had done something wrong. Him and all of his little traitor buddies need to be brought to justice." Draft nodded his head along with his older brother's little speech, apparently feeling the same.

"Then I suppose that there is nothing left to say except good luck, to both of you," Spark replied with a twinge of sadness. "I hate to see my best friends rushing of so eagerly to fight, but I understand the need to end this problem, so please, just take care of each other." Spark walked over to the brothers and draped a foreleg around each of their next in a sort of group hug, which Downpour promptly wriggled his way out of.

"And what about you, Spark?" the shorter brother asked. "Why are you so reluctant to fight for your country?" Spark pulled his remaining leg from around Draft's neck as he turned towards his oldest friend with a look of sorrow.

"I'm not reluctant to fight for my country, Downpour," Spark finally replied in a quiet voice, "I'm reluctant to fight at all." Star watched as Spark's shoulders visibly slumped, as if straining under the weight of his emotions. "My father fought, for years and years, without ever telling me. He took lives in the name of protecting his country and while I can see why he did it…" Spark's voice trailed off as he closed his dull eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid, Spark." Suri's voice was quiet, but she had remained silent for so long that Star could hear every word and every tiny flicker of sadness and comfort that were mixed in it. "No matter what our father did, no matter what lies he told us to try and protect our views of him and no matter how much of him you see in yourself, you are not him, Spark. You are my brother and a kind hearted stallion. If you don't want to fight I can understand and I will support you in your decision, but don't you think that if you have the potential to help end the bloodshed before it grows worse, you should stand up for what you know is right?"

"Suri? I-" Spark's words were cut off as his sister wrapper her forelegs around him and squeezed gently as she continued to speak.

"I know that you may not agree with everything that the princesses have done in the past, that's clear even to me, but the fact is that at this moment, they are only doing what they must to win. The line between saving lives and taking them may be blurred or even nonexistent from time to time, but I know that if anypony can walk it, you can," Suri explained as a shimmering tear, seen by everypony except the one who it was for, rolled down her soft, white cheek.

"I'll… I'll think about it," Spark said before pulling away from his older sister's embrace and turning towards the stairs, while his magic glowed faintly. "I think I should try to sleep on this," he told them as he walked away, "…and you may all want to do the same," he added as his hoof made contact with the first stair. Everypony stared after him, faces a mixture of teary eyes and warm smiles, until his two-toned tail vanished around the corner at the top of the spiraling stairs and broke their trance.

"Oh Celestia, I think you two made me tear up," Axel said with a tone that sounded like something between sniffling and laughter. "That was beautiful, Suri."

"Yeah, it looks like running off to be an actress had some real world applications after all," Downpour joked, only to receive an icy glare from the white mare in response.

"Don't be a dick," Draft told him with an accompanying jab to the ribs, "or next time I'll kick you in your busted up shins."

"I guess that duke really did a number on you, didn't he?" Star asked as she glanced down at Downpour's forelegs which looked fine on the outside, aside from some dark bruising and what may have been a bit of swelling.

"Sort of," Downpour chuckled in reply. "He left me chained in his freaky basement dungeon and I broke my own bones to get free. Of course I passed out immediately after that and Ursa had to save my flank, so… not exactly one of my finer moments." He scowled a bit as he recalled their escape from Doré Manor. "Thankfully the Crystal Resistance ponies had some medical training and managed to get me walking around again, although the bad weather makes my legs ache something terrible."

"I know how to make you feel better," Strata broke in, flashing him a seductive smile as her clawed hand grasped the short crest of his mane and she tugged him towards the stairs, much to his delight and Star's embarrassment. Even now, the black mare still blushed crimson around gratuitous displays of affection and she entertained the thought that her bashfulness had something to do with Suri's rejection.

"I'll see you all in the morning," Downpour called out as he and Strata took to the air and flew straight up to the second floor. Star could hear their combined laughter as they disappeared from view.

"I think they have the right idea," Draft agreed as he took a step towards the white, spiraling staircase.

"You mean sex?" Ursa asked with a bit more enthusiasm than he had probably intended, causing Star to burn an even brighter shade of red.

"I meant sleeping, but if you play your cards right…" Draft shrugged his shoulders as he began to ascend the stairs. Ursa mumbled a quick 'good night' to Star, Suri and Axel before trotting after his young love and leaving the mares alone in the empty hall. Star wished that she could have had a special somepony like all of her friends seemed to have and cast a quick glance over at Suri, who was staring off at nothing, before pushing the self pity from her head.

"It's getting close to dawn and Celestia will be waiting for our answers," Star yawned, "so I think I'm going to call it a night as well." Axel nodded her head in agreement; hazel eyes only half open as she took the first step towards her bedroom. Star followed her for a few seconds before turning around to see Suri, still standing in the same place she had been. "Are you coming?" she asked the strawberry blonde unicorn.

"Yes," Suri replied in a voice just over a whisper, "I'll be going to bed in a little while, don't worry. I just need a few moments of peace to think is all." Suri flashed a weak smile to which Star responded with one of her own before giving a quick nod and turning back to Axel, who had nearly gotten to the top of the stairs already. Suri had said she needed some time alone and Star was fairly certain that she knew why; to figure out what she wanted to tell Spark before he figured out his answer to the princesses.

Axel mumbled something intelligible before slipping through the door to her own room and Star continued down the hall by herself. It had been an unusually long day and her hooves were aching right along with her head as she pushed open the door and stumbled inside. There was just enough light for Star to make out the sleeping form of her daughter taking up most of the bed, but after a small flash of magic she was able to make room to lay down. Star leaned over and gave the young dragon a kiss on her red cheek. Small wisps of dark smoke accompanied Inferno's snores, but the black mare was able to completely ignore all of that as she closed her heavy eyelids, falling asleep in an instant.


	48. One Last Hurrah

~Chapter 45: One Last Hurrah~

As Discipula Star had fallen asleep she'd immediately felt the pull of her dreams and gave in, letting her mind carry her under. Princess Luna was there to greet her on the other side with a worried look as the dream world began to take shape around them. Though she had been exhausted when she'd finally gotten to bed, Star could see that she wasn't going to be getting much rest before sunrise came around and sighed at the prospect of spending time with her friends when she was half asleep. Her duties to the princess came above all others however, and Star could tell that Luna had something important to speak about; otherwise the alicorn wouldn't have dragged her into the dream world.

Star bowed to her teacher and Luna nodded back politely as they sat down, two chairs materializing out of the sparkling mist with just a thought. The environment took shape and gained substance around the mares as they each got comfortable at the small table that had formed between them. Star conjured up some tea to help relax her already frayed nerves and give her something to do as she listened to her mentor. The princess didn't bother creating a drink for herself; instead she sat, thinking about what she wanted to say. Star waited patiently, in no hurry to leave now that she had accepted that there would be no rest for her that night.

"I wanted to thank you, my faithful student, for offering to lend your assistance to Axel if she chooses to build chariots for the military," the dark blue alicorn finally said, as she stared up into the sky, where the roof had been replaced by stars and a moon, as Luna would often do when visiting her student. "It is good to know that you care so much about Equestria. I just wish all of your friends did as well."

"I don't think that is very fair to say, Princess Luna," Star replied as Luna dropped her gaze back down the young unicorn. "My friends would do anything to protect their fellow citizens. The only reason that Spark is having trouble accepting your request is because of his father's work for your sister." Star met her teachers gaze as she took a sip of tea and saw a flash of curiosity in their dark depths.

"Oaken Field made many diplomatic journeys into our neighboring countries," the princess retorted. "He served his country faithfully for many years and died a hero. Nature Spark should count himself lucky to become even half of the stallion his father was," she huffed. It had sounded like denial to Star, more than anything else, and the black mare groaned quietly.

"And how many of those diplomatic missions ended favorably for Equestria?" Star asked with a fair bit of sarcasm.

"Every one," the princess replied.

"And why is that?" Star asked, hoping that her questions would lead the princess to the proper conclusion.

"That is because Oaken Field did whatever he had to in order to ensure that harmony prevailed throughout the world. Him and other loyal ponies like him are the reason that Equestria has risen up, out of the darkness of Discord's reign and into the majesty of ours!" Princess Luna replied, catching Star completely off guard. "The decisions that my sister and I have made are ours to bear, but we have only done what was needed to keep our subjects safe. Perhaps one day the world will no longer have need of battle or war, but I would refrain from holding your breath until then." Star stared up at her ruler and mentor in utter disbelief for a moment.

"You knew what was happening all along," Star mumbled.

"Of course I've known, Star," Luna replied in a soft voice. "I am not some ignorant foal you know. I am an immortal who has lived a long life and no matter how much distaste I have developed for violence and bloodshed over the years, this world is not perfect and I have learned to accept that fact. If we could all learn that truth, then maybe we could all find a way to make this world better." The princess sighed wistfully as she returned her gaze to the sky once more.

"There has to be a better way than taking lives though," Star said, her voice sounding almost like a plea as she too looked up into the starry dreamscape, her drink all but forgotten. "How can we hope to make a better world if our methods require violence in response to violence? Where does the bloodshed end?" Star squeezed her eyes shut tightly, not wanting to shed anymore tears, but angry that her teacher had proven to be so much different than she had always thought. "Instead of using force and weapons to combat this new threat, you could just use the Elements of Harmony." Even as she suggested the idea, Star knew that it was pointless, but it was the only alternative the young unicorn could see.

"You know very well why that will never work, my little pony," Luna replied. "As much as I would like to take my sister and end this right now, the Crystal Empire would only see it as an act of unwarranted aggression towards them and respond in kind. They have powerful weapons as well and the violence would only multiply, but if we can end this problem quickly and quietly, then maybe we can keep more ponies from dying." The princess's logic was flawless and even though Star was still trying to find an argument against it, she wasn't having any luck.

"The resistance knows the truth," Star replied hastily, "Downpour and Draft said as much, so wouldn't they tell the crystal ponies what really happened? They could explain everything for you and I'm sure the citizens would believe it." Luna smiled at her young student, but it was more out of pity than anything else.

"I know you just want to find another way, but Celestia and I have considered all of the possibilities, Star. If this duke can really manipulate the minds of ponies around him, then he may have done so to other prominent figures in the Crystal Empire's government. He may have even poisoned the Crystal Emperor's mind, in which case the war would just continue without him anyway." Star groaned as her head hit the table in front of her, sending a ripple down its surreal form.

"I hadn't thought of that," Star admitted to her mentor.

"Nor have you thought about what he plans to do with the Crystal Empress," Luna added in a solemn voice. "If he has managed to have an immortal taken prisoner then it means that he must have a plan for her. I shudder to think what twisted form of magic he has used to keep the empress indisposed while he puts his plans into motion."

"Are you suggesting that his powers are strong enough to rival yours and Celestia's?" Star asked in disbelief. "That is not possible."

"Even though alicorns, such as my sister and I, may be immortal, there are still ways to hurt us, my faithful student," Luna replied. "We may be powerful, but we are not invincible, despite what you may believe."

"How would Doré Langue have even acquired that kind of power?" Star asked with a tinge of fear managing to show on her face, despite the small mare's best efforts to prevent it from happening. "How could he find a way to harm an immortal?"

"That is a very good question, my little pony," Luna replied solemnly. "There is powerful magic all thorough the world, but there is always a hefty price to pay in order to attain such power." Star got the feeling that the princess was speaking from experience, but chose not to question her mentor further. "I can't imagine the terrible sacrifice one would have to make in order to wield a magic strong enough to slay an immortal."

"What do you mean?" Star asked in horror. "Are you saying that he may have found a way to end the lives of alicorns? Do you think he could kill you?" Star could hardly believe the implications of such an idea. The princesses had ruled over Equestria since its beginning and had even locked away Discord, a veritable god of chaos, but now their lives were being threatened by a mere mortal. Star felt sick as she waited for Luna to answer her question.

"There is no way for me to know that, but I think that we would be wise to prepare for the worst," Luna replied. "That is why my sister and I wish to end this now, before he can put his plan into action and before it is too late to save Equestria. If we were to fall then there would be little hope for our country."

"I see," Star said quietly. Though she hated the deception and the violence, Star was finally beginning to understand the need for it. The duke's power was a greater threat than she could have ever guessed, so Celestia and Luna were willing to do whatever they had to in order to end the threat, even if it put the lives of Star's friends at risk. It was a purely logical plan and Star knew that it was also the only way to prevent the countless other deaths that a war would lead to.

"If there was another path to follow then Celestia and I would take it, but I'm afraid that at this moment you and your friends are Equestria's best hope for a future," the princess explained. "Though our enemy may be strong, I believe that the bonds of friendship shared between you, Nature Spark, Downpour, Backdraft and all of the others are stronger still. If there is a group of ponies in this world who can stand up to Doré Langue's tyranny and claim victory, it is you and your friends, my faithful student. You have said that you will always trust me, so please; trust me when I tell you this now." Star stood up from the table and inhaled deeply as she tried to process everything that her teacher had revealed to her.

"I do trust you, Your Highness," Star replied with a respectful bow, "but that will not prevent me from trying to find an alternative solution to this problem," she added as she banished the steaming cup of tea from the tabletop. "I will do whatever I can to prevent needless pain and bloodshed."

"I would have expected nothing less from you, Discipula Star," Princess Luna replied with a smile. She got to her hooves a moment later, mystical mane billowing behind her as she rose from the slowly vanishing table and chairs. "It will be dawn soon and my sister will be expecting your answers, so I must take my leave now."

"Before you go, I have something to ask you," Star replied as the large alicorn stretched out her wings and gave a powerful push with them, launching herself into the dreamy sky. "My friends and I wanted to get a painting of all of us, to memorialize what could possibly be the last time we will all be together." It was painful for the young mare to acknowledge that she may never see all of her friends again, but the truth often hurt.

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Luna replied. "What would you ask of me?"

"I just remembered the last portrait you had done was very beautiful," Star explained, "I was hoping that you might be able to procure the same artist to paint ours."

"You mean Twinkey Doodle? Of course, my faithful student, she does fantastic work and I would be more than happy to commission her for a portrait of you and your friends," Luna said with a smile as she continued her rise into the air.

"Thank you," Star replied as she watched her mentor fly into the shimmering air, until the princess vanished, leaving her alone in an empty dream world. It wasn't long after that Star awoke from her sleep.

Dim light shone through the tall windows of the bedroom, casting a pale glow over the bed as Star's eyes fluttered open. She arched her back as she yawned and then rolled over to see her daughter sprawled out across the bed with blankets only half covering her smooth, red scales. Star leaned over and gave Inferno a quick peck on her cheek before reluctantly forcing her body up from the mattress and swinging her legs off of the side. Sleep still clung to the corners of her violet eyes as she made her way to the bathroom. Though she had fallen asleep without any problems, Star didn't feel any less restless than she had before waking.

The bathtub looked inviting to her as she opened the bathroom door, but Celestia was expecting her and her friends soon, so Star put off bathing for a while longer. Magic enveloped her horn and the faucet as she ran water in the sink and settled for splashing the cold liquid in her face to help wake her up. A shiver ran down her black body as the water made contact with her, effectively jolting Star out of the half asleep state she had been in moments before. Star sighed as she grabbed a towel and rubbed her face dry. The conversation she'd had with her mentor was still weighing heavy on the small unicorn's mind as she walked back out of the clean, tiled room.

Inferno was still snoring softly; little puffs of smoke trailing from her nostrils with each shallow breath and Star decided it was best to let the young dragon sleep for awhile longer. Her daughter's presence wouldn't be required when they met with the princesses, but Star knew that she would still want to see everypony off, if they did in fact decide to leave the next day. Inferno would be staying in Canterlot with her and Axel, of course, but the other's separate missions would take them away from the capitol for an unknown amount of time. The young dragon would be sorry to see them leave, but Star knew she would understand the reasoning behind their decisions. Inferno was very perceptive for her age, as the young mare knew all too well.

Star glanced out the window, only to see the rising sun peeking out from behind the low hanging clouds in the early morning sky. It appeared that the minor break from the weather that they had gotten would be ending soon, so Star grabbed her old cloak from its place on the floor before she left, wrapping it around her small body as she shut the bedroom door behind her and took off down the cold hallway. She nodded to the only other occupant, a middle aged mare who was busy dusting off some of the various knickknacks on display as she passed.

Suri and Axel's room was the closest to Star's, so she knocked on their door first. It took a couple bouts of loud rapping before she heard somepony, most likely Suri, shouting something from the other side of the locked entrance. Star snickered softly as she listened to the sound of the two mares crawling out of bed. Axel opened the door a few seconds later, with a bright smile, despite the dark circles under her eyes. Star grinned back as she peeked over the earth pony's shoulder and saw Suri stumbling towards the bathroom.

"It's about time to meet with the princesses," Star explained to Axel, who nodded as she opened her mouth and let loose an exhausted yawn. "Hurry up and get ready, then meet me downstairs. I'm going to make sure everypony else is up as well."

"Sure thing," Axel replied as she pushed back the mess of blonde hair that hung over her face. "We'll be down in just a minute."

"Alright, just make sure Suri doesn't take too long primping herself," Star added, "I would hate to be late again." Axel just nodded her head again as Star turned around and headed back down the hall towards Spark's room.

There were already sounds of movement coming from the blind stallion's room by the time Star made it there. She could hear her friend humming quietly as he got ready for the day. The black mare tapped her hoof against the door a few times and it opened a moment later as Spark let her in. His horn was glowing softly as he gave a slight smile and stepped back to let her in the dark room. The curtains were drawn and very little light made its way in, the result of her friend's inability to see anything anyway.

"Good morning, Star," he greeted her as she walked past him, "I'm guessing that you were up bright and early as well." His shaggy brown mane was in total disarray and his dull eyes were red in the corners, courtesy of a sleepless night, she figured.

"Yes, well I was talking to Princess Luna and didn't actually get any sleep, but I guess you'd know all about that," she replied with a grin that went unnoticed by the larger unicorn beside her. Spark just chuckled as he used his magic to feel his way to one of the four chairs in the room. "It's sunrise now, so we don't have long before the princesses will be expecting our final answers on their requests."

"I thought as much," Spark stated with a quiet groan. "I suppose this means that I won't be getting any sleep until tonight… too bad."

"That will just make it even better when you do fall asleep, right?" Star giggled.

"If you say so," Spark replied sarcastically as he scratched the back of his head with a hoof. "Is everypony else awake already?"

"I still have to go wake Downpour and Draft, but your sister and Axel should be almost finished getting ready," Star told him.

"Okay, I guess I'll meet you downstairs in just a few minutes then," Spark said as he got up from his seat and did his best to escort Star to the door.

"Okay," she replied as she followed him, "I shouldn't be long." Spark just nodded as she left the dark room behind. The short mare was already walking down the hall when she heard the sound of his bedroom door clicking shut behind her. Star had a pretty good idea of what everypony else's answers would be, but she still wasn't sure about Spark. He had appeared to be against helping the princesses any longer, if it meant that he would have to fight and possibly kill, but he could also be very wise and Star thought that his logic might win out in the end.

Downpour, Backdraft and their respective loves had been staying in rooms on the opposite end of the long hallway through which Star was currently trotting. It took a few minutes for her to reach their rooms, which were thankfully side by side, but just as she did one of the doors opened and out stepped Downpour. He looked oddly cheerful for how early in the morning it was and as Star glanced behind him she could see the reason for his smile, as well as his flushed cheeks. The black mare gave an awkward wave in the direction of the large bed, where Strata was splayed out in a most compromising position.

"Meeting with the princesses in just a few minutes," Star mumbled quickly as she began to blush brightly. Downpour just chuckled as the young mare hurried to his brother's room.

"Alright, I guess I'll go hop in the bath real quick, instead of getting some breakfast," the stocky pegasus replied with a wide grin.

"Sounds fine," Star told him as she knocked on Draft's door. Though neither Downpour nor his marefriend seemed perturbed by Star nearly interrupting them, the bashful unicorn was still eager to retreat downstairs, where there was less likely to be any further awkwardness for her. Much to her delight, Ursa answered the door a second later looking as if he had just woken up, rather than having just finished with more intimate activities. The crystal pony rubbed the side of his head with one large hoof and released a deep yawn as he answered her knocking.

"Good morning," Star greeted him with a smile, hoping that the embarrassment she was feeling wasn't noticeable to him in his sleepy state. "It's almost time to meet with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, so make sure Draft is getting up." Ursa nodded slowly, his shaggy blue mane shaking along with his head before he peered back into the dim room.

"Draft, it's time to get your cute little flank out of bed!" Ursa shouted back to the sleeping pegasus, who proceeded to wave a dismissive hoof at him before promptly rolling over in the covers. "Don't worry," Ursa said as he turned back to Star, "He's actually pretty easy to wake up, so I'll get him down there on time."

"I'll take your word for it," Star laughed as she turned to leave, using her magic to fidget with her worn clothing in an attempt to keep her face from turning an even brighter shade of red than she knew it already was.

With everypony finally awake, Star was left with a little extra time before their meeting with the royal sisters and she contemplated grabbing a quick breakfast while she had the chance. Unlike last night, Star saw plenty of ponies throughout the castle, attending to their usual tasks with a very respectable vigor, considering that they had been awake and busy long before her. The occasional wave or smile was directed towards the hungry mare as she headed down the stairs and took a left, towards the dining room, and she did her best to reply in kind as she walked through the chilly corridors.

Star paused outside of the large doors for a moment, curious as to whether or not she would just happen to run into Celestia on this day, but as she entered the sweet smelling room, with its long tables and vast quantities of gourmet food, the elder princess was nowhere to be seen. Star shrugged her shoulders as she glanced at the few other ponies scattered about the room and headed for the serving table as her stomach softly groaned its appreciation.

"Discipula Star, it is good to see you up and about so early." Celestia's voice startled Star into nearly dropping her plate as the large alicorn somehow managed to sneak up behind her. Star gathered her composure quickly and whirled around, flashing a sparkling smile as she greeted the princess of the sun.

"It is very nice to see you as well, Princess Celestia," Star returned with a polite bow. "I've already woken everypony up, so they should be ready to speak with you very soon." The princess's white muzzle broke into a smile as Star occupied herself with sorting through one of the fruit baskets, looking for the perfect orange to have with breakfast.

"That is wonderful to hear, Star," Celestia replied as she lifted a large yellow banana up from the table and removed the peel with a quick flash of magic. "Luna and I will be in the throne room waiting." The immortal bit the end off of her soft fruit as she turned to leave and Star began to wonder why the princess seemed to be in such a cheerful mood, considering everything that she'd been dealing with over the past month. It was a strange turn of events that made the young mare a bit wary of the coming talk.

Princess Celestia exited the dining hall as quickly as she had entered, leaving the few other ponies still in the room with Star bowing at her flank as the large doors slammed shut behind her. It was only after the alicorn had left that Star considered the possibility that her show of happiness had been an act she'd put on for the other ponies in the dining hall. Since there were obviously traitors within the government, Star assumed that the princess's pleasant demeanor was nothing more than a charade, because the confused unicorn couldn't think of any other reason for Celestia to be smiling.

Star had only to wait in the main hall for a few minutes before her friends began to show up; first Axel and Suri, who were followed by Spark just a moment later, with Draft and Ursa right behind him while Downpour and Strata arrived late, having just gotten around to pulling themselves from their bedroom. Once they had all converged in front of the overly ornate throne room doors, Star figured that it was about time to speak with the princesses and told her friends as much. Everypony's expressions seemed to be a bit more strained as Spark used his magic to open the doors and they all went in.

On the other end of the room Princess Celestia was already waiting for them with a flat expression in place of her previous smile and Princess Luna was just taking her seat. Star led the way with Spark taking up the rear as they traversed the carpeted distance and stood facing the white dais on which the shining thrones rested with their celestial occupants sitting on top. Star and her friends bowed, as was always customary before addressing royalty and then Luna began to speak.

"Our faithful subjects," she began as her gaze drifted between each of them, "I hope that you have given deep thought to what we have asked of you and though Celestia and I would be eternally grateful for your assistance, we would never wish you to go against your beliefs, so it is with this in mind that we await your responses."

"So tell us, my little ponies," Celestia continued seamlessly after her younger sister, "will you aid us in protecting Equestria, your home as well as ours?" Star glanced to either side of her, trying to read the expressions on her friend's faces as they prepared to answer their immortal rulers. It was Downpour who replied first, which didn't surprise Star in the least, as he had been so sure of his choice the night before.

"I, Downpour, will accept your request," he replied, in a much more formal tone than Star had expected of the ill mannered stallion. "I will travel to Cloudsdale with your soldiers and assist them in taking back the city."

"As will I," Draft added right after. The pegasus brothers glanced at one another, passing a silent message in the way that only siblings could.

"Then we thank you for your assistance," Celestia told them with a simple nod of respect. "The soldiers should be ready to leave by the end of the day. You will travel under the cover of darkness, capture the traitor, Rainbow Strike, and bring him back to Canterlot, where he will answer for his crimes against the crown." Celestia's tone was firm, but calm as she spoke, an improvement over the anger that she had shown the last time she had discussed the despicable sergeant.

"I assume that you will be accompanying them to Cloudsdale, Strata Slipstream," Princess Luna said as she cast a quick glance in the hippogriffs direction.

"I will fly by Downpour's side," Strata replied simply.

"And what about you, Alexia Lynn Sapphire?" Luna asked the red earth pony, whose normally cheery face was scrunched up in thought. "Have you decided whether or not you would be willing to build more sky chariots, so that we may control the skies over this war?" Axel paused for a moment and Star leaned in anxiously, for she had already given Luna her word that she would assist Axel, should the mechanic decide to lend her expertise.

"I- I will," Axel said as she slowly nodded her head. "If you can provide me with workers, material and a place to build them, then I will deliver you your chariots." Star saw the briefest flash of a smile on the edges of Celestia's mouth as she heard the earth pony's answer.

"Thank you, my loyal subject," Celestia replied. "With your assistance in this matter I believe we can take control of the air back from the Red Eyes. You will have your workers, materials and all of the space that you require, within the week." Axel mumbled her thanks, but Star could see that her friend wasn't as thrilled with the prospect as the princess appeared to be.

"Do not forget that you will have my faithful student, Discipula Star by your side every step of the way," Luna added with a quick wink in the black mare's direction.

"I suppose that just leaves Nature Spark to give us his answer," the elder alicorn stated as she looked down to the brown stallion with a look that had made greater ponies fall to their knees. Spark of course couldn't see this, so the effect was lost on him, but Star nearly dropped into a bow on the spot and Celestia's eyes were not even on her. "Have you decided whether or not you will fight for your country?"

"I will," Spark replied in a flat tone with an equally expressionless face. His answer seemed to take everypony, even Celestia and Luna by surprise. Star noticed that her mouth was actually hanging open in shock and quickly closed it as she stared over at her blind friend. Celestia leaned back in her throne with what looked to Star like a smirk as she eyed the group of ponies below her.

"Then it is settled," Princess Luna stated with a genuine smile on her face. "Nature Spark will accompany my sister's personal guards into the heart of the Crystal Empire, where they will seek out Duke Doré Langue and put an end to his corrupt rule."

"Not quite, my princess," Spark retorted. Any hint of a smirk on Celestia's face vanished before the words had finished escaping his lips and she sat rigid in her golden throne once again. "I will do my best to put a stop to Doré Langue, but only after I have taken care of some important business. Your guards may do as they wish, of course, but I will be finding my own way of dealing with Equestria's enemies."

"NATURE SPARK, WE HAVE TOLD YOU THAT WE WILL NOT STAND FO-" Celestia's began to reply in the Canterlot voice, until a sharp look from her younger sister caused the elder princess to stop and regain her calm. "If that is the path that you wish to take, then I will not stop you," she continued in a more measured tone, "but you should keep in mind that unless you are following our explicit orders we will not be held liable for your actions and any mistakes you make will be your own… are you prepared to live with the consequences of your decision?"

"I am, Princess Celestia," Spark answered as he bowed low in respect.

"Then so be it," Celestia replied.

"You all know what your duties are," Luna said, hoping to ease some of the tension in the room, "so you are free to take the rest of the day to prepare and say your farewells, for tomorrow Equestria goes to war." Everypony bowed to the royal sisters as Luna finished speaking and turned towards the door, in almost perfect harmony. Just as they started to leave however, Princess Luna called out, "Star, I would like a quick word with you before you leave." Star turned back to the thrones, wondering what else her mentor could possibly have left to say.

"What is it, Princess Luna?" she asked as she approached the dais slowly, panicked thoughts racing through her mind as she took each tentative step. It wasn't until the doors had closed behind the last of Star's friends that the younger alicorn finally spoke to her.

"I have sent word to Twinkey Doodle and she will be here later today to paint the portrait you wanted," Luna replied. Star sighed as the tension left her body.

"Thank you very much, princess," Star replied with relief, "I cannot wait to tell my friends." Star looked up to her teacher and thought that she was going to say something else, but Luna seemed to change her mind at the last second, flashing Star a sweet smile instead.

"You may go now, my faithful student. Please enjoy the rest of the day with your companions," Luna told her as the young mare turned to leave.

"I will," Star called back as she headed out of the door and into the main hall, where her friends were waiting for her in various states of worry, except for Spark who still wore the same flat expression that he had during the entire meeting. Star trotted over to them with a reassuring smile on her face and they all visibly relaxed upon realizing that there was nothing wrong.

The news about somepony coming to paint a portrait of them had Star's friends in a fairly good mood after she told them about it, even Spark's stern countenance had broken into a small grin when her heard. With no clear answer as to when that would be taking place however, they were all stuck trying to find a way to pass the time they had that involved something more than simply sitting around and talking. Although the conversation was flowing just as smoothly as it ever had between everypony, knowing what the next day was going to bring had filled their bodies with a nervous energy that they desperately needed to burn off.

Star excused herself from their heated debate about whether to go grab a drink, which Suri had suggested, or check out the world renowned Canterlot maze in the gardens behind the castle, like Downpour wanted to do. She decided it was a good time to check on Inferno just as the two began flinging insults at one another, which had nothing to do with what they were currently arguing about as far as she could see. The black mare just shook her head in exasperation as she heard the sound of Suri shrieking something hurtful about Downpour's intelligence and the first part of the colorful name he called her in return. Normally Star would have tried to calm them down, but Spark had assured the small unicorn that they generally acted that way around each other.

Just by glancing out the window Star could tell who was going to win the fight, because the dark clouds that she had seen outside when she woke up had grown darker still and the first flakes of snow were already beginning to drop down on the city. There would most likely be a thick layer by the afternoon, Star judged from how quickly the storm had formed. Though Canterlot didn't get much in the way of inclement weather, she could still remember the few times that a snowstorm had managed to hit the city. Inevitably a weather team was always dispatched to manage the situation, but with resources such as they were, she wasn't sure if they would get around to it anytime soon. Just thinking about the bad weather was enough to make the small pony pull the sash of her cloak tighter with a small burst of magic as she reached the top of the stairs and turned down the wide hallway that led to her room, among many other places.

Star had spent an extraordinary amount of time in the castle as a foal, all part of being the princess's protégé, but even so, the young mare had yet to explore every room. The athenaeum had been one of her favorite places when she was younger, but her studies had, for the most part, moved out of books since then and she never seemed to have time to simply relax and browse the vast collection for something interesting to read anymore. Of course it would be impossible for her to convince the others to spend their last day together reading, but Star certainly wanted to spend a little time on the activity herself, if she eventually got the opportunity to do so, which didn't seem very likely given the duties she had just been charged with less than an hour ago.

Rather than lament on the fact that she wasn't going to get the chance to immerse her mind in a good read, Star was going to wake her sleeping daughter and then return to her friends to see if they had decided on how they wanted to spend their last day together in Canterlot. Star pushed open the door to her room and walked inside to see that Inferno had indeed woken up during her absence. The dull light that filtered through the bedroom windows illuminated the messy bed and Star set about making it up again while she waiter for the young dragon to finish her morning routine. A quick levitation spell was all it took to straighten up the pillows and blankets and once that was done she sank into the comfortable couch and decided to write a letter to Suture to help pass the time.

There wasn't much to tell her friend, Star realized as she pressed quill to paper, except the bad news that she'd had no luck finding the gems they needed to repair Spark's vision. Aside from that the unicorn wrote down the usual pleasantries and as much about what she would be doing that she could, without giving away any important details that the princesses would want to keep under wraps. The result was just a couple short paragraphs staring back at her as she finished her signature and put away the remaining paper and her writing utensil. Inferno left the bathroom just as she finished rolling up the note and tying a small ribbon around it.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Star laughed as the chubby dragon walked over to her, looking like she had gotten far more rest than her mother had been able to. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mhmm," Inferno mumbled as she took a seat next to her adoptive mother, "but you could have woken me up." Star shrugged her shoulders before wrapping Inferno up in her forelegs with a smile.

"We had to meet with the princesses and I figured you could use the rest," she replied. "They've requested our help with some very important matters last night, so everypony is going to be busy for awhile, but we have the rest of the day to enjoy ourselves before that happens."

"What kind of help did they ask you for?" Inferno asked. The tone she used made it clear to Star that the dragon was a little unhappy with having missed out on something that sounded so important. Star wanted to tell her everything, but she wasn't so sure that the princesses would be happy with her if she did. She decided to just tell her daughter the important parts of the meeting, such as the fact that they would be staying in Canterlot to help Axel with something and everypony else would be leaving the city soon, instead of getting into troublesome details.

"I'll explain on the way," Star replied with an apologetic smile, "but we should get downstairs before everypony leaves without us."

"You know as well as I do that would never happen," Inferno said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Still, I don't want to keep them waiting all morning," Star explained. "Besides, I'm sure that you'll want to grab something to eat before we leave."

"Alright," Inferno huffed as she got up from the couch. Star followed her out of the room, making sure to tuck the letter she had written to Suture in the pocket of her cloak as they headed down the hall. Since Suri's suggestion that they go to a bar and have a few drinks seemed the most likely activity everypony would agree on, Star figured that she would just drop the letter off to be delivered while they were walking through town.

"So tell me what I missed," her daughter said as they approached the staircase.

Although Star's rundown of the two meetings had been fairly brief, Inferno seemed to accept what little information her mother had shared as enough. The red dragon was a bit unsettled to hear that her friends would all be putting themselves in danger, although what kind Star hadn't elaborated on, but she accepted this as well. She was perceptive enough of course, to realize that she hadn't been told the full story, but trusted the fact that her mother knew what she was getting into, which was strange to Star, because she wasn't even sure that she knew what she'd gotten herself into.

"Well I suppose your rush to get back to everypony makes a bit more sense now," Inferno commented as they entered the main hall, where everypony seemed to have agreed that a bar would be fun, but were now having trouble choosing which one. The little dragon waved at them as she passed by, but only Axel noticed, giving an enthusiastic wave in response. "I'll just eat something really quick and be right back."

"Okay, but don't eat so fast that you choke on something," Star replied, her newfound maternal instincts showing through once again. Inferno waved a hand in the air as she walked off, as if to say that she was worrying over nothing and Star just smiled as she shook her head slowly.

"Hey Star!" Downpour called out to her from the far side of the large room. "We decided to take a walk around the city and check out the first bar we stumble on." It sounded like a decent enough compromise, Star thought as she wandered over to the small group.

"Wait a minute… can Inferno even go into a bar?" Draft asked her. It was a question that she didn't know the answer to, as she had never actually been a big fan of drinking and had never tried bringing her daughter into a bar. "I know that she's a dragon and they age differently than ponies or whatever, but she still looks a bit young to me."

"Um, well I guess we'll just have to take her and see, because I'm not really sure," Star replied as she walked up. "The worst they could do is telling her to leave, in which case I can find something for us to do while you have a few drinks."

"But that doesn't sound like much fun for you," Axel observed. The earth pony scrunched up her face in thought for a moment, looking exactly as she did whenever she was working on her chariots, until and idea seemed to strike her. "Wait! Why don't we just pitch in on a barrel of cider and go crazy?" she shouted, jumping up and down out of sheer excitement at the prospect of so much alcohol.

"Doesn't that seem a bit excessive to you?" Star asked.

"Brilliant!" Downpour and Suri shouted at the same time. They both wore equally mischievous grins that worried Star a bit when she saw them.

"Then we can take it back here and drink the night away," Axel added.

"I have to say, that actually isn't a bad idea," Spark replied. "Not only will we all be able to drink without leaving Inferno and Star out, but that way we also won't have to stumble all the way back here once we're drunk." Star groaned quietly as she considered what her mentor would think of their plan. Princess Luna wouldn't be pleased with her faithful student getting inebriated in the castle, Star assumed, but it was already too late to change her friends' minds.

"I don't drink that often anymore," Ursa said, just as Star saw her daughter walking out the dining hall doors, "but I have to admit that some good, strong cider does sound mighty tasty right about now." The emerald green stallion licked his lips after he had spoken, much to the young dragon's confusion.

"What sounds tasty?" Inferno asked as she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth to clean a trail of what Star imagined was orange juice from her face.

"Everypony decided to pitch in some bits on a keg of hard cider," Star explained.

"Sweet deal," her daughter replied with a smile, "I get to have some too, right?"

Maybe when you're a little older, Inferno," Star told her, before her friends decided to put their two bits in.

"Aw, don't be such a stick in the mud, Star," Axel whined.

"Yeah, it's not like she's going to get in any trouble when she's with all of us," Downpour chimed in, while Strata nodded her head in agreement.

"Just one glass isn't going to kill her," Spark added.

"I don't know, I think I'm on Star's side for this one," Ursa replied. "She's just a child after all."

"A child? I'll be thirteen years old in two months," Inferno huffed in defiance.

"Isn't that just a baby by dragon standards though?" Ursa asked in confusion.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that we're in Equestria," Draft replied with a smile and playful jab to his coltfriend's side. Star just rolled her eyes with a small sigh after hearing their complaints.

"Fine, you can have one mug of cider," Star told her daughter.

"Only one?" Inferno complained.

"Okay, two, but I'd better not hear any more whining or it will be none," Star relented. Inferno grinned up at her with glee as she wrapped her stubby arms around the motherly mare in a hug.

"I promise," she replied.

"That settles it then," Spark said as he stomped his hoof on the marble floor for emphasis, "let's go buy ourselves a barrel of booze!" A chorus of cheers from everypony accompanied his statement as they headed for the door.

"Wait a minute," Star replied. "Shouldn't we ask the princesses if it's okay that we get drunk here?" Spark groaned as he turned in the direction of her voice.

"Considering everything we're going to do for them, I'm sure they won't mind if we have a little fun first," he reasoned. He made a fair point, but Star was still feeling a bit uneasy as they headed for the front doors.

"I guess," she mumbled in response, "but we can't get too crazy."

"Of course not," Suri said with a laugh as she walked up beside the smaller unicorn, "we will all be on our very best behavior. Won't we?"

"Absolutely," Downpour replied with a chuckle.

"Can we go now?" Draft asked from his place in front of the castle doors. Star nodded her head while Suri and Spark pushed against the large doors with their magic, holding them ajar so that everypony could leave. Star followed her friends out into the snowy afternoon, thankful that she had remembered her cloak when she awoke that morning. The sun was completely covered by thick, dark clouds and an icy layer of snow had already coated the ground outside. Her breath came out as small plumes of vapor that were quickly blown away in the cold winds and her hooves crunched through the snow with each step.

"Which way to the closest bar?" Downpour asked as he led the group down the perfectly manicured yard and up to the iron gates that marked the edge of the castle's property. "Well, the closest bar that will sell us a barrel of cider anyway," he amended.

"Ugh, just wait for me," Star sighed as she trotted up to where he was. Star wasn't sure why he hadn't let her take the lead in the first place, seeing as how she was one of the two ponies in their group that had spent more than a few days in Canterlot anyway. Axel could have found a bar as well, but the earth pony was bouncing around so much that Star wasn't sure if she'd have been able to stay focused. Once the black mare was out front however, it didn't take long for them to find a suitable establishment to purchase their alcohol from and she even had time to drop off the letter to Suture along the way.

The Salty Plot wasn't exactly the sort of place that Star felt comfortable at, with its sickly yellow lighting and dust covered tables. The air reeked of stale smoke and sweat as she entered and the few other patrons all looked as if they'd been their since the night before, sporting bloodshot eyes and disheveled manes and tails. Star scrunched up her nose, trying to keep the disgusting scent from reaching her senses as she looked back to make sure the pegasus brothers were still following her inside. The dismal bar made her uncomfortable, but a small sign in the window had said that they sold barrels of alcohol. That and the fact that most of the other bars were closed still, made it the best place to get what they'd set out for.

The bartender was a ragged mare who looked like she might have once been tough enough to take Downpour in a hooffight, but had long since drank her way through the glory days, if they had ever actually existed. She shot Star an appraising look before flashing a smile that contained fewer teeth than most foals had. The black mare returned an uneasy smile that she imagined was more akin to a grimace as she walked up the low counter and cleared her throat of the bad taste that had settled inside.

"Now, what's a pretty young thang like you doin' in a place like this?" the mare asked in a voice that was surprisingly clear considering her appearance.

"The, um, sign outside said that you sell alcohol by the barrel," Star replied in a voice squeaking with discomfort.

"That's right," the bartender replied, ruffling a set of wings that Star hadn't noticed before. "What sort of liquor was ya'll hopin' ta buy?" she asked a moment later as she watched Downpour and Draft walk up behind the small unicorn.

"We were looking to purchase a barrel of your hardest cider," Downpour replied, taking over the conversation, much to Star's relief, "and if you don't have any of that, then I suppose we will take some dark rum." The bartender stared back at the stocky pegasus with a blank expression for a few seconds before spitting out a wad of phlegm onto the filthy floor.

"Hey Hops, I need ya ta bring me out a barrel o' that ol' cider from the back," the grungy looking pegasus called over to one of the large stallions sitting at a table in the corner, "and make it snappy or so help me Luna, yer gonna need ta find a new job." Star glanced back to see him getting to his hooves with a bit of unsteadiness. "…ya worthless piece o' shit," the bartender added as her employee headed towards the back door of the small building, griping quietly all of the way.

"Thank you very much, Miss..?" Downpour asked with raised eyebrows as he waited for her reply.

"Don't bother giving me any o' that Miss shit," the surly mare told him, "it's not going to get you a better price." Star snickered quietly at her friend's bewildered expression, as did his younger brother, although a bit more loudly.

"Okay, whatever you say," Downpour said as he peered over to the back of the bar, where the stallion, whom the bartender had called Hops, was rolling out a grimy old cask. "How much do we owe you?" The pegasus behind the counter fixed him with a slightly annoyed look as she pointed to a large sign above her head, where prices for a variety of alcohol blends in varying amounts were displayed.

"Way to be observant," Draft chided as Downpour began digging through his saddlebag for the sack of bits that everypony had helped fill.

"Shut up, Backdoor," Downpour shot back at his brother as he tossed their money on the counter. The stocky pegasus began snickering at something after that, but Star had somehow lost track of what he had found so humorous. It wasn't until the mare behind the bar left, presumably to lock her gains up somewhere safe, that the oblivious unicorn decided to ask her friend why he was laughing.

"Uh, did I go into a fugue state in the middle of that or something? Why are you laughing?" she questioned. Downpour began laughing even harder after that and couldn't seem to catch his breath long enough to answer her.

"He thinks he's a bucking comedic genius because he called me Backdoor," Draft explained dryly. "Obviously his sense of humor is a bit foalish, but what can you do?"

"Why is that funny?" Star asked the younger pegasus.

"Yeah, Draft," Downpour managed to choke out, "why's it funny?" Draft rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh at his brother's antics.

"And you're supposed to be the older brother," he mumbled as Downpour finally began to calm down. "It was a joke about me being gay," Draft explained once his brother had finished chortling like a madmare.

"How is backdo-" Star began to ask; until she saw Downpour making an obviously obscene gesture behind his brother's back. Draft seemed to be aware of this because he kicked one of his rear legs out and caught the shorter pegasus in the shoulder hard enough to make him stop. "Oh!" Star exclaimed as she realized what he was getting at, "Gross, that's not something you should joke about in a public place." Downpour just mumbled something in a sarcastic tone before turning back to the bartender who had returned from hiding away her money.

"It's going to be extra if you want it delivered by tomorrow," the mare explained.

"That's okay, we'll just carry it ourselves," Draft told her as Hops placed the large cask of liquor beside them.

"Well, it's been a pleasure doing business then," she replied with a nearly toothless grin that make Star shudder.

"Yes, likewise," the black mare returned politely. "Alright, Downpour, Draft, you two carry this thing. I'll hold the door open." The brothers nodded in agreement before all three ponies turned away from the bar and walked out the doors of The Salty Plot. Everypony else was outside in the snow, having decided that it was preferable to going in such a dilapidated bar. They all seemed a bit impatient as Star walked up to them with the pegasus right behind her.

"That took a little while," Ursa commented as Draft and his brother flew over and dropped the barrel onto the snow packed sidewalk.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth it once were all tossing back mugs of cider," Downpour answered. "This bucking thing is heavy though, so you're carrying it."

"Don't tell Ursa what to do," Draft barked at his older brother, "he's my coltfriend, not yours." Downpour threw his forehooves up in surrender.

"Fine, you carry it then," the stocky pegasus replied, "I'm just saying that I don't feel like hauling it back to the castle because the cold is making my forelegs hurt enough as it is." Star had nearly forgotten that Downpour had broken his legs in multiple places not long ago. It made sense that the cold would cause them to ache.

"It's fine, Draft, I actually don't mind," Ursa told him. "Can you help me put it on my back though, Star?" The small mare nodded her head as a magical glow radiated from her horn, enveloping the cask in a white glow. Once she'd lifted it onto Ursa's strong back, Axel helped strap it down with a length of rope that she'd inexplicably had with her. Star didn't question why, she was just happy that she wouldn't have to keep the barrel steady all of the way back to the castle.

"I think it will stay now," Ursa said as he shifted around a bit to see how steady the barrel would be. "Let's get going." As soon as he had spoken, they set off, everypony keeping a close eye on the liquor and the large stallions hoofsteps as they traveled through the icy city. One missed step could mean the loss of the entire barrel and nopony wanted that to happen, especially not Suri, who didn't take her eyes off of the cask once the entire trip, Star noticed.

Besides a few strange looks from some of the guards, it was a relatively simple task getting back to the castle and once inside Star led everypony to a large, empty room on the third floor, which was used far less than the floors under it. They hadn't been there for more than a couple minutes before somepony tapped the barrel and realized that they still needed mugs to pour the cider into. Inferno volunteered to grab some from the dining hall, mostly because she would get the fewest odd looks from anypony who happened to see her carrying so many of them. Downpour was rather impatient however, so he came up with a slightly different idea.

"Okay Spark, you and your sister hold it up and then I'll pull the lever and the cider will pour straight into my mouth," Downpour explained to them. "Then we can get this celebration started. Star groaned as she watched him get into position, head tilted back and mouth hanging open while the two unicorns gripped the cask with their magic and hefted it over him. Downpour winked over at them as he reached up and pulled the lever, sending a stream of alcohol cascading into his mouth as he desperately tried to swallow fast enough to keep from choking. It didn't work out very well for the stocky pegasus and his chest became soaked with liquor as he coughed, sputtered and released the handle of the tap.

"Ha ha ha, what the buck happened?" Draft asked as his brother stood under the barrel, booze dripping from his damp coat.

"That is some really strong cider," he gasped in reply, much to everypony else's amusement. "I'm not even sure you can call that cider. It's more like moonshine with a hint of apples."

"Let's just wait for Inferno to come back with the mugs then," Star suggested. Downpour nodded his head as he shook off, sending fine drops of alcohol all over his friends as he did. "It should only be a minute."

"Yeah, that sound like a good idea," Axel agreed as she peered around the large room. "Hey Star, what is this room anyway?"

"I think it was some sort of work room for somepony at one time, but it never gets used anymore," the small mare replied as she took a seat at one of the tables. There were a few other tables of various sizes with mismatched chairs stuck around them and some mostly empty bookshelves lining one wall. It was a fairly unremarkable room, but it did have a door leading out to a small balcony, which is one of the reasons Star had picked it out. It had seemed like the perfect place to have some fun without disturbing everypony else in the castle, especially Celestia and Luna.

"Inferno's back!" Suri shouted as she spotted the little dragon pushing open the door with her tail and stumbling in, the armful of mugs tipping precariously in her grip until Star took hold of them for her. "It's time to drink!" Everypony joined in a chorus of cheerful hollering as they each grabbed one of the mugs and rushed over to the waiting barrel and even Star found herself grinning like an idiot as she followed them over.

Laughter and conversation filled the room as they all filled their cups to the brim, frothy cider spilling down the sides as they bumped into one another trying to be the first ones served. Star waited patiently for her friends to finish before pouring a mug for her and another for her daughter. Inferno grinned up, meeting her violet eyes as she thanked her mother for the drink. Star just smiled back as she raised a mug to her lips to take her first sip of the strong liquor.

"Wait!" Spark shouted, causing Star to jump in surprise and nearly dump the beverage all over her face. "Before we start, I'd like to say a few words," he continued, sightless gaze drifting around the room as his horn began to glow with a faint green light. "Some ponies go their entire lives without ever discovering the true joys that friendship can bring and it happens more often than it should, but as I stand here, in the midst of you all, listening to the joyous sounds of laughter and happiness around me I know that I am not one of them. Whatever troubles tomorrow may bring and however short our time together may be, I just want all of you to know that I could travel the whole of the world and never meet another group of friends half as wonderful, not to mention half as strange, as you all are."

"Hear, hear!" Downpour shouted back to the blind pegasus as they all gathered closer together.

Spark raised his glass into the air above his head and slowly each of his friends did the same, even Inferno, who was clearly tempted to take a sip off of her drink while he was still speaking. "I propose a toast, to the undeniable magic of friendship and the harmony that it is always sure to bring!"

"To friendship!" everypony cheered in unison as the bumped their mugs together, sending a cascade of foam dripping down on their heads. Then one by one they all lowered the drinks to their lips and took long swigs. Inferno immediately leaned forward and began choking and gasping as she tried to swallow the mouthful of unbelievably hard cider. Star found out why as the beverage washed down the back of her throat, leaving a trail of fire that only had the vaguest traces of apple taste to it.

"Whew! That is some good shit," Draft commented as he shook his head back and forth, as if trying to shake away the taste.

"Damn right," Downpour agreed, giving his little brother a slap on the back.

"This stuff is nasty," Inferno told them as she stuck her tongue out and fixed the mug in her claws with a look of disgust.

"Yeah, but can't you feel that tingling sensation radiating out from your stomach?" Suri asked the young dragon.

"I guess," Inferno replied.

"Well the more you drink the better it gets," the white mare replied with a laugh. She was right of course and Star could feel a small buzz already reaching her head and making her grin. The liquor was definitely strong, that much had been clear to the small unicorn as soon as she had taken her first sip, so one cup would be more than enough for her daughter, she decided.

"Does anypony have a deck of cards?" Draft asked as he took a seat at one of the nearby tables, "because we should play a game while we drink."

"That sounds fun to me," Ursa replied as he took a seat next to his winged coltfriend, "but I don't have any."

"I can go grab a deck," Star offered. "I usually keep one in my room in case I get bored waiting for Princess Luna."

"A card game sounds fun," Spark agreed as he wandered over to them, followed by Downpour and Strata, "but I'm going to need some help," he added, waving a hoof in front of his face to emphasize the fact that he wouldn't be able to see what cards he was dealt. "Inferno can be on my team though, so she can play and I'll do a majority of the drinking. Does that work for you?"

"Mhmm," the red dragon mumbled as she walked up beside him. Star was glad to see that her daughter was having a good time and thankful to Spark for trying to include her in the fun as much as possible. All of her friends seemed to enjoy the young dragon's company, but he seemed to be especially fond of her.

"Okay, well I'll go grab the cards and be right back," Star said with a smile as she took one last swig from her mug before setting it down and heading for the door.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure to save you a little cider," Downpour called out after her. Star just rolled her eyes and chuckled at the thought of them even attempting to finish of the entire barrel before she got back. That would certainly be a sight to see, she thought as she stepped out into the empty hallway.

Star was walking past the athenaeum on her way back from grabbing the cards out of her room when she overheard her mentor's voice coming from somewhere inside the oversized library. She'd tried to avoid the princess when they had all returned from the oddly named bar where they had purchased the cask of cider, but she decided it might be a good idea to make an appearance while she was there. The sound of the younger alicorn's voice, raised in anger, made her pause just inches from the doorway however, as she listened to the princess's words.

"What do you mean it's missing?" Luna's voice was hushed, but Star could hear a note of panic in it as she spoke. "If that book has fallen into our enemy's hooves it would explain how he was able to take the empress hostage and why the emperor has fallen ill. I don't have to tell you what kind of problem that poses for us as well, sister." It sounded to Star as if both of the princesses were in the room and the sound of Celestia's voice confirmed that.

"I am aware," Celestia replied, her tone colder, but much less frantic than her younger sister's, "but this doesn't change our plans in the slightest." Obviously the book in question held the secrets to a powerful magic of some sort, perhaps even the very magic that Luna had warned of in her dreams, Star realized. "The situation in Cloudsdale will be taken care of and Nature Spark has already agreed that he will confront Doré Langue. No matter how he chooses to do so, the duke will likely be forced to use whatever powers he has acquired and then we will know exactly what we are dealing with," Celestia stated.

"Then you do intend to use the stallion as bait?" Luna asked with a twinge of disbelief. "That is monstrous, Celestia, even for you." Star could hardly manage to breathe as she pressed herself against the wall, trying to stay out of sight around the corner while simultaneously leaning in as far as she could to listen.

"Perhaps it isn't my finest moment," Princess Celestia admitted, "but you know as well as I do that if he figures out the spell then there will be little we can do to stop him. I doubt even the Elements of Harmony would be enough. I may not particularly like Nature Spark-"

"Because he reminds you of his father," Luna interrupted.

"But if there was any other option I would still take it," Celestia continued, only slightly put off by the smaller alicorn's statement. "The fact is that, until we know exactly how many spells in the book he has managed to figure out, it would be folly to put our lives at risk trying to stop him." Star could hardly believe what she was hearing. Ordering the deaths of Equestria's enemies to save the lives of their subjects was one thing, but to hear them admit to putting her friend in mortal danger just to save themselves was something altogether more horrid. Star backed away from the wall slowly, having heard enough to make her sick. She took off down the hall at a gallop, accidentally knocking over a vase as she brushed past and most likely alerting the princesses to her presence.

By the time Star made it back to the room that her friends were waiting for her in, she was gasping for air and her face was flush. She was torn between two options; the first being a confession to everypony about what she had just heard, which would most likely end in them changing their minds about helping the princess, and the second would be keeping silent, but living with the knowledge that she had played her own part in their potential deaths. The confused unicorn stood motionless as she contemplated which option would cause the most harm, but she already knew what logic dictated. If she told her friends that the princesses were using them like worthless pawns and they did refuse the duties they had been given it could potentially lead to the deaths of thousand, but they were her friends and rationality was being dwarfed by personal feelings.

"Hey, it's Star!" Downpour shouted drunkenly as he spied the small mare standing in the doorway. "Did you find the cards?" Star snapped out of her thoughts and smiled as she levitated the deck out to show him. "Great, let's get this game going," he replied as she walked over to the table.

"That took you a little while," Strata commented as she eyed the unicorn with a hint of suspicion.

"Yeah, we thought you might have gotten lost," Draft joked.

"Oh no, I was, uh, just talking to the princess," Star lied. "She wanted me to tell Spark something, so can I talk to you out in the hall for a minute, while they get the game set up?" Spark glanced up at her with obvious curiosity in his expression.

"I suppose so," the brown stallion replied as he stood up from the table, taking care to take his drink up in a magical grip before he started walking towards the door. Star couldn't help noticing how long he could maintain the constant pulse of magic that he used to maneuver, but she figured that necessity was the best teacher. Star glanced behind her, only to see the pegasus brothers making kissing gestures at them as they left the room. Star just rolled her eyes and turned back around.

"So what's this really about?" Spark asked as soon as they were a good distance away from the door, "because I know it's more important than you're letting on."

"How could you tell?" Star asked as she looked into his faded eyes.

"It's amazing the small inflections that you pick up in pony's voices when your mind isn't bogged down by sight," Spark replied with a wry smile. "Now, what has you on edge?" Star shifted from hoof to hoof nervously for a moment before finally gathering the nerve to respond.

"I, er, well I overheard something," she started in a barely audible voice. Spark didn't seem to have any trouble hearing her though, so Star continued on. "Princess Luna was talking to Princess Celestia about a book."

"Okay…" Spark replied. He sounded a bit annoyed that she would pull him away from a mostly full barrel of hard cider for something so inconsequential, but his attitude changed when he heard the rest of his friend's story.

"Just listen," Star pleaded with him. "They were talking about a spell book that went missing, something that could potentially imbue whoever studies it with a power to rival that of the elements." Star saw the brown unicorn's eyebrows rise upon hearing the news, but his expression was still difficult to read. "They seemed to believe that it could have fallen into the duke's hooves, which means if you go to him there is a good chance that you won't come back."

Spark surprised her by replying, "I already knew there was a risk to confronting him, but thank you for telling me." It was a calm response, instead of the anger or fear she had been expecting.

"Didn't you hear me? He could be wielding a power to rival the princesses'," Star reiterated to her friend, who still wore a flat expression, despite her words.

"And what would you have me do, stay here and cower?" he asked.

"Yes!" Star nearly shouted. "Danger is one thing, Spark, but to face Doré Langue now is pure folly." Spark took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if trying to find the right words to say.

"When I was in the hippogriff's settlement," Spark finally spoke in a calm voice, "I met General Pecktraeus, who told me about the day my father died. He knows the griffon responsible for slaying him and offered me a deal." Spark's eyes opened again as he told her this and she saw hate beneath the foggy brown surface of his irises. "If I agreed to stop the duke, who has been supplying the griffons with the wealth and weapons they need to exterminate the last of the hippogriffs, then the general will deliver me the griffon responsible for my father's death." Star looked back at her friend as understanding washed over her.

"And what will you do then?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but hoping that she was wrong.

"An eye for an eye," was Spark's simple reply.

"So there's no convincing you otherwise, is there?" she asked.

"No," he replied.

"What about our friend's though, should I at least tell them what they're getting themselves into?" Star questioned him.

"You can if you so wish," Spark told her, "but I doubt that it will change anything and in reality, it would most likely just put a damper on what would otherwise be an enjoyable evening." He spoke the truth, but Star wasn't happy about it. "I'm sure they all have their own reasons for wanting to be involved, aside from their loyalty to the princesses."

"Fine," she replied venomously, "I'll keep quiet and you can seek your revenge, but just remember to dig two graves." Spark just nodded his head in understanding, which only frustrated her further.

"Now, we're going to go back inside and have a good time, because these are our friends and we wouldn't do anything to upset them on what could possibly be our last night with all of us together, right?" Star didn't get the chance to respond because the sound of hoofsteps came echoing down the halls. Both ponies turned in the direction of the noise and Star saw a white pegasus with a black and teal mane walking towards them, carrying what appeared to be an easel and other art supplies in her wings.

"You must be Discipula Star," the mare said with a smile as she walked up to them. "My name is Twinkey Doodle. Princess Luna asked me to come here and paint a portrait of you and your friends." Star had nearly forgotten about the artist's visit in all the excitement of the day, but she forced a smile and held out a hoof to the newcomer.

"Yes, I'm Star and this is Spark," she replied with a gesture to her companion. "Everypony else is right inside, if you want to get started"

"Yes, the sooner I can start, the better," Twinkey Doodle said as she headed for the door, with Star and Spark following behind. The artist was a pretty mare, Star observed, with a unique cutie mark depicting a paintbrush with a ribbon of rainbow colors trailing from the end that spiraled partway down her leg. The black mare sighed as she tried to put on a joyful expression, despite the turmoil in her mind. Her friends needed her to be cheerful and that was exactly what she was going to be.

The portrait took awhile to complete and by the time Twinkey Doodle was far enough along that they could continue with their farewell party everypony was already fairly intoxicated. They all invited the artists to stay and have a few drinks when she was finished, which she happily accepted, and before long the room was once again filled with the sounds of flowing alcohol and laughter as they played a few card games and drank even more cider. Eventually, as the hour grew very late, the buzz Star had been feeling morphed into full blown intoxication and her previous concerns melted away as the liquor settled in her stomach.

The party lasted well into the night, although Star's memories did not. By the time they all decided to get to sleep, the barrel was nearly emptied and nopony could walk without leaning against one another, even the artists, who was even more of a lightweight than Star. There were a few tearful goodnights exchanged as they all went to their separate room, as well as some overzealous displays of affection between the two couples who were present. All in all the young unicorn couldn't have asked for a better last night with her friends, but even through her alcohol addled state of mind a feeling of sadness was present and as she and Inferno laid down in bed, a few tears ran down Star's cheeks. The last thing she could remember was hugging her daughter's sleeping form tightly as she cried herself to sleep with the knowledge that war would be coming with the sunrise.


End file.
