The crackles and glowing sway of fire light was hypnotizing, especially seen through the watery distortion of tears; Comet couldn’t bring herself to look away. Maybe it was that she couldn’t bring herself to look at the others around her, or maybe she just hoped they wouldn’t notice. She sniffled and scrubbed at her eyes and drooped downwards against the grass. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed some object sliding towards her and hesitantly looked: it was a flask of water. She felt a long, fuzzy body pressed close to her side and a tan hoof pushed the water ever closer. With a sniff, Comet drew the flask to her and took a swig, muttering a tired, “Thanks,” after she was done. Beside her, Runestone smiled sympathetically at her.
“You okay?” he asked. “I mean... Well... Dumb question. Sorry. But-”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Just...”
“You miss everypony?”
Comet nodded and, to her surprise, Runestone nuzzled her cheek with his soft snout. The unicorn didn’t even bother to feel embarrassed; it felt just like what Pinklily would do and so she accepted the gesture readily.
“I’ll be okay,” she repeated, managing to smile a bit. “Thanks.”
Comet had always wanted to leave Canterlot behind but now, sitting in a modest camp with Runestone and Graham before a fire, heading towards an all but inevitable battle, the unicorn couldn’t help the nerves and longing for her friends that welled up in her gut. Runestone seemed to be adjusting much more readily. She supposed that he had less to leave behind.
The group was settled just a little beyond the cavernous entrance to the mountain pass that had once given way to a smooth tunnel and train tracks. With the trains long since gone and any maintenance out of the question, the craggy entrance seemed dark and imposing. To make matters worse, it was the same place the Sunwalkers had done battle with the Nightspawn barely a week prior.
Comet still carried a sense of worry within her as well, wondering about the creatures in the night, but Graham didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Comet turned to watch him curiously as the griffon flipped gently through the book she had lent him. His expression was thoughtful, but a little concerned. She wondered if it was something he had read, but after a moment came to realize that she had never seen his face not wearing that expression.
“Graham?” she asked. “You’re sure there are no Nightspawn around, right?”
“Certain,” he assured her, looking up briefly from the worn pages before him.“Once one has gone through the full process of becoming a Warden, sensing the Nightspawn becomes second nature. Conversely, they can sense me, but since there is only one of me, it’s often not much of an issue.”
Comet nodded, but then frowned to herself.
“No offense, but... why did you leave the first time?” a little hesitantly.
Beside her, she saw Runestone grimace and he suddenly looked incredibly guilty. She felt even more confused, and Graham sighed and his crest fell back before he shifted to face her, his face stern but there was something else... Perhaps regret? She wasn’t sure.
“Let me be absolutely honest, and clear,” he began. “Being a Warden means to defeat the Nightspawn, by any means, at any cost. As soon as I saw that spell you preformed in the field, I developed a plan that you were instrumental in, and yet could not be aware of.”
Comet felt a sudden shiver run down her neck and Runestone bowed his head, muttering, “Please don’t be mad,” shyly.
“I have fought Nightspawn for almost two-hundred years. I know their methods,” the griffon continued. “I knew that once they were back underground, they were out of reach and in their own element. It would be insanity to insist the Sunwalkers pursue them there. So I left the area, and we waited on them to show themselves instead.”
The blue unicorn felt as if her blood had turned to ice and her throat felt dry; she got to her hooves, eyes wide.
“You let them attack Canterlot?” Her heart was pounding.
“I know it sounds cruel,” Graham said gently, “But by doing so, and with them believing the only Warden was gone, they unleashed all their forces within the area. And you wiped them out, allowing me to return and siphon their energy away.”
“I... I can’t believe...”
Comet couldn’t even articulate. Her mind raced through what could have gone wrong at lightning speed, but the griffon looked back at her with such confidence that it made her feel confused, angry, and yet reassured. She gulped and shook her head to herself.
“What if I couldn’t do the spell?” she demanded.
“You did.”
“But what if I couldn’t?”
“But you did.”
The griffon looked back at her as if he didn’t see her point. Comet was taken aback for a moment until it dawned on her: it simply didn’t occur to him that it could have gone any other way, and he certainly didn’t seem to be someone who would underthink something like this. The unicorn sighed deeply and turned back to the fire, only to see Runestone all but cowering. She supposed he had known of the plan, recalling the something he wasn’t allowed to tell her. She didn’t know how to feel, but her chest hurt.
“Comet, I’m so sorry,” he said quietly. “Graham made me promise not to tell because he was sure that if you knew, you would try to practice the spell too early and make yourself exhausted.”
Comet opened her mouth to protest for a moment, but rethought almost immediately and turned a frowning, probing eye on Graham, who merely smiled knowingly at her. She was shocked. How could he have known that was exactly what she would have done? She pouted and shuffled on her hooves.
“Alright, I get it,” she muttered before flopping to the ground and rubbing her eyes.
Runestone gently rubbed her shoulder as if to reassure her and she sighed again and managed to crack a small smile.
“Forgive me?” the stallion asked cautiously.
She laughed tiredly and nodded, saying, “Yeah, yeah,” and eliciting a relieved grin from her friend as he flopped down in the grass.
“I am glad you’ve come to understand,” Graham said gently. “You did your job perfectly.”
Comet grimaced a little, but she was starting to get the picture, and she looked to Graham as he turned back to the book.
“This is fascinating,” he said. “Both what is here and what is not.”
Comet sighed and tried, in her mind, to insist she get over herself.
“Were you looking for anything specific?” she asked.
Graham tapped his claws against the ground and inclined his head.
“Yes,” he said, “I must have mentioned the Elements of Harmony to you. The main problem with Nightspawn is that they cannot actually be eliminated forever until the Elements are wielded against them, but they have to be used by one who has a specific affinity for them. I was hoping this book might give some hints on how to find the one, pony or otherwise, that must use them. We have been searching ever since Twilight Sparkle left us.”
Comet’s ears perked and she sat up a bit as her mind was jogged.
“Right, I was meaning to tell you,” Comet said quickly. “You need six.”
“Six?” Graham repeated; he leaned in and gave her a puzzled frown.
Comet nodded eagerly.
“Yeah, Twilight Sparkle didn’t use the Elements alone, she had five friends with her,” she explained. “Celestia left a magic imprint in my brain. She filled me in.”
Graham sat back, folding one talon over the other, his crest puffing up. Runestone turned to him with wide eyes, waiting for a response. The griffon clacked his beak.
“It makes sense,” he admitted. “But tell me, Comet Strike, what are the Elements, did she tell you that?”
Comet nodded and then scrunched her face up as she tried to remember. It was a little vague in her mind; the words had come from a dream, after all.
“Kindness, Honesty, Laughter... um... Generosity,” she said, tapping her chin, “Loyalty, and Magic. I think.”
The griffon couldn’t conceal the surprise, and Comet could presume why: that information certainly wasn’t in her book. The unicorn smiled a bit awkwardly and Graham eyed her up and down, sighed, and then smiled tiredly.
“You are certainly full of surprises,” he said.
“So... she was right?” Runestone's ears perked high when Graham nodded once more, and he grinned at Comet. “So I guess Celestia really did speak to you, huh? D... Do you know? Is she coming back? Because that would just be peachy.”
“I can’t say,” Comet replied, shaking her head. “It wasn’t... it wasn’t really her. It was a magical recording of her; I guess some of her memories from before whatever happened. She mentioned that Twilight Sparkle made it.”
“That’s so cool,” the stallion said.
“Mostly it was freaky,” the unicorn admitted a bit shyly. “I think she’s gone now, but while she was... in my brain, I guess, I kept hallucinating her just standing around in places.”
“Okay, yes, I agree, freaky!” Runestone said with a quick nod.
“What a fascinating technology,” the griffon put in thoughtfully. “I suppose I should expect no less from Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure neither you of are aware, but she founded our order.”
“Twilight Sparkle did?” Runestone repeated. “That’s amazing!”
“Makes sense now that I think about it,” Comet said quietly, nodding to herself, “since she was one of the ponies with the Elements of Harmony. I bet her friends were involved too.”
She turned to Graham, brows tilted inwards in puzzlement and she tried to wrap her mind around it.
“Do you know what happened to them?” she asked.
“I wasn’t there for the founding,” he said. “I am old, though not that old. I was told that Twilight Sparkle was only with the Wardens in the early days. She, and I suppose her friends as well, spread the seeds of the Everfree forest around Equestria once Celestia vanished, letting the seasons and days change on their own. She established the spell that would change one into a what we called a Warden. Not much is known after that.”
“So much is missing,” Comet sighed, rubbing her forehead.
Beside her, Runestone’s ears drooped and he looked to the griffon questioningly. Graham answered his unasked question rather quickly.
“There was much conflict in the early days of Celestia’s disappearance. The Sunwalkers were much more violent and controlling then. They were an order developed explicitly to combat the now extinct Cult of Nightmare Moon thought to be responsible for the whole mess. They raided our records, along with all others, attempting some sort of information suppression. I believe they believed if none knew exactly what had happened before, it would not be repeated.”
“How can we know what not to repeat if we don’t know what went wrong?” Comet sighed, rolling her eyes. “Is that what happened to my book?”
She pointed at the tome in Graham’s talon and he nodded, saying, “I believe so.”
“What’s wrong with your book?” Runestone asked curiously.
“Someone scribbled all over it before I got it.”
The stallion pouted as a response.
“Sorry,” he said.
Comet laughed without thinking.
“Why are you sorry?”
“Sunwalkers did it, probably, and I’m a-”
“Shut up,” Comet joked, prodding his shoulder. “Think about it for just a second.”
Runestone looked surprised and blinked back at the unicorn for a moment before his cheeks pinked and he said, “Oh,” and then laughed quietly at himself.
“Sorry. I guess that was stupid,” he said.
She snickered and pushed him lightly.
“Stop apologizing for everything,” she said.
She settled herself down by the fire and folded her forelimbs to rest her head upon them.
Her mind drifted back to Canterlot and she held in a sigh as she closed her eyes. She wondered what Pinklily was doing right now. She missed all her friends, of course, but it was the first time she’d been without the pink mare in recent memory. Though Pinklily was almost two years her senior, Comet had latched onto her as a filly and, especially after Nimbus had left, the two had been inseparable. It was certainly a strange sensation to be away from her now. She supposed they’d all have to start rebuilding Canterlot soon. By the way things were going, she wondered if the Sunwalkers and the unicorns would be working together. She hoped so. It would certainly help smooth relations between the two.
Comet fell into a comfortable sleep quickly despite her uncomfortable circumstances, though her mind drifted in and out of the fog frequently to small sounds in the dark.
Sun was just starting to flick onto Comet’s eyelids when she awoke, her ears twitching to the sharp sound of metal on metal. She shifted, sitting up to find a warm blanket falling away from her. She looked around, confused for only a moment before she noticed Graham and Runestone sparring nearby. Graham, with his long, narrow blade, struck at the stallion a few times as he blocked, and then announced, “Good!” rather proudly. Runestone beamed, though his brow was set in a determined frown, and he lunged with his own blade to be parried and blocked on his own turn, until the griffon sidestepped; Runestone stumbled to the ground, but rolled and righted himself in an instant. Graham chuckled and nodded, assuring him, “Well done,”, gently patting him on the shoulder.
“Really?” Runestone asked.
“Yes, you’re getting quite good,” he replied.
The stallion smiled proudly, and Comet couldn’t help but mirror his expression. He looked much more controlled, and much faster than he had been when she saw him fight last. She stomped her front hooves approvingly, drawing her friends’ attention. Runestone looked surprised and smiled at her, calling, “Good morning!” before trotting over to her.
“Hi,” she said. “That looked good. Did you get better?”
“I think so,” he said brightly.
“He certainly has,” Graham said, his feathers puffing and crest raising up as he smiled. “Runestone has applied himself more vigorously to the training I’ve been giving him than anyone I’ve seen in a long while.”
Runestone’s tail wagged and he looked absolutely elated. Comet booped his shoulder with her hoof. She was proud of him, and it showed clearly on her face. The stallion’s snout pinked just a little and he quickly hurried to begin packing up.
“Leaving right away?” she asked.
Graham nodded and moved to begin dispersing the remnants of the fire pit. Comet rose to help.
It wasn’t long before they moved out, heading for the passageway down the mountain. The entrance to the tunnels, less than a field’s length from where they had camped, was craggy and dark, and at once, Runestone hesitated. Comet looked at him curiously, reading a sort of suppressed panic behind his eyes. Frowning, she set her horn alight and let a ball of blue light spring forth the encircle all three of them.
“Wonderful idea, Comet Strike,” Graham said with a nod.
The griffon strode ahead with no trepidation whatsoever and Comet moved to follow, but stalled in her tracks as Runestone didn’t budge an inch. She flinched a little and doubled back, nudging him gently with her snout.
“C’mon Runestone, we gotta go,” she said gently.
“Has to be this way, huh?” he asked nervously.
“Guess so,” Comet said reluctantly.
He grimaced and leaned forward to peer into the blackness after the griffon, gulped, and sucked in a deep, deliberate breath and trotted in over the stony threshold.
The path down along the old train tracks and through the mountain wasn’t near as daunting as it had been in the dead of night. With Comet’s light shining the way alongside Graham, the tunnel didn’t seem nearly so scary. The place, in many ways, was like the tunnels underneath Canterlot. Mounds of chiseled, grey stone sprinkled with gemstones glittered along their path; it wasn’t as frightening as the ponies had expected.
Deep down, it was cool, but stagnant, and almost unbearably quiet. The place was deadly still, even though there were clear remnants of Nightspawn habitation. Graham remain unfazed, and so Comet tried her best to follow his example. Runestone’s chatter, nervous and rushed while trying very hard not to be so, was mostly what broke the silence, his words echoing off crystal and rock. Nonetheless, it was welcome talk. He related to Comet about fighting a few scattered Nightspawn and training with Graham over the course of the week he had been gone. He spoke very fondly of his time with the griffon, and in turn, Graham seemed flattered though he didn’t add a word. Comet fibbed about her week: she didn’t want him to know that she had spent most of her time moping while he wasn’t there.
---
It took close to two days with only a couple hours rest betwixt to make it to the base of the mountain. The sun was setting in a deep orange glow as the small group emerged from the silent pathway. Comet couldn’t help a gasp, even though all that stretched before her was forest. Graham gave her a warm, knowing smile and strode out into the open, stretching his large, powerful wings high above.
“It is very nice to have the open sky above,” he admitted.
Runestone grinned and bounded out onto the grass.
“Woo! A breeze! Didn’t think I’d miss wind so much!”
Comet snickered and made to follow them, turning back for a moment to look at the massive mountain behind them. It made her dizzy for a moment, trying to fathom that there was a plateau all the way up there; a place she had lived her whole life. She took a few steps back, only to run straight into Runestone, who cut in front of her before she could even turn to apologize.
“This must be really exciting fore you!” he said brightly. “Never been this far from home, huh?”
“I, uh... No,” she admitted; he beamed.
“I’m really excited, too! It’s been so long since I’ve been anywhere without being tied to those Sunwalkers!”
“Must be nice,” she said with a smile.
“You must feel the same, though, right?” he asked, tilting his head. “I mean, you never have to go back to the tower. You don’t have to play by their rules anymore. If you’re a Warden of Harmony, you can do what you want so long as you help defeat Nightspawn. Right?”
He looked to Graham, and the griffon nodded. Comet’s ears drooped back just a little and her mind spun. It was hard to have the thought settle properly in her head. She tilted her head back and forth, and then trotted up beside Graham, peering at him inquisitively.
“So,” she asked a little tentatively, “I don’t have to hide my magic anymore? I can just... use it?”
“Of course, dear girl,” Graham assured her, and then smiled, “I’m counting on it.”
Comet was taken aback for just a moment before her face split into a wide grin. Her eyes were alight, and she couldn’t help but bounce up and down with utter jubilation as a warm, powerful sense of freedom and relief took her. She stammered out a ‘thank you’, and quick as a wink, Runestone had her hooves in his, beaming at her as he bounced up and down with her. She found herself grinning before she knew it, and laughing along with her friend, even as he stumbled and sent them both tumbling to the grass.
“Sorry,” he said through a laugh.
He rolled to his hooves and helped her up quickly.
“This is so exciting,” he said brightly. “Scary. Kind of terrifying, actually. But exciting.”
“I just can’t believe I’m finally out,” Comet said.
She stole a glance up the cliff, and Graham smiled at her before peering ahead pointedly into the woods.
“Come,” he told the ponies, “we mustn’t stop yet.”
“What?” Runestone asked, surprised. “We’ll be walking all night?”
“It’s not safe in these woods,” the griffon stated simply.
The stallion gulped and he and Comet shared a worried look before she nodded and said, “Right, sorry for goofing off.”
She only had to concentrate for a moment to bring back the hovering, blue sphere of light to surround the group. Graham nodded gratefully and beckoned into the woods with his wing. The two ponies followed him, wary as the sun began to set.
---
Lit only by the blue glow of Comet’s magic, the three marched onwards through the woods, cautiously and quietly. The ponies stuck close behind Graham: despite the darkness, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. The unicorn was on guard, nervous; trying not to jump at every sound in the night, and she kept her eyes on him. She did, however, notice the path they were traveling was outlined by the remnants of train tracks.
“Too bad the trains aren’t around anymore,” Comet said a bit absently.
“I agree,” Graham said, chuckling.
“Has anyone ever tried to rebuild them?” Comet asked.
“No, with all the creatures in the forest now, no one wanted to risk disturbing them,” the griffon explained.
“Creatures?” Runestone bleated, shuffling closer to Comet, his eyes wide.
“Yes, Runestone, there are all sorts of creatures in the Everfree Forest. This is why we must be cautious,” Graham stated.
“Right, cautious. Of course,” he said quickly.
He gulped quite audibly and tried his best to trod lightly while keeping up with the others. Comet flashed him a reassuring smile. Her legs were getting tired, but she felt like she could keep going for a while
The dark, cool night was awake with the sounds of owls and bugs; the distant rumblings of larger creatures were unnerving. Graham was calm, but alert, and he took the two ponies deep through the Everfree Forest without a word until the silhouette of a windmill stood out against the bright of the moon.
“We can rest here,” the griffon said quietly, and rather suddenly as well.
Runestone started, hopping closer to Comet in the process; she took a deep breath and peered through the trees curiously at the sparse outlines of buildings until they finally cleared the tree line.
The moon shone a cool, almost protective glow over the straw-thatched roofs of cutesy, timber framed buildings as they cast their shadows across the small stretch of grass before field gave was to forest. Only a flank-high, stone wall encircled the town before them, making Comet raise an eyebrow. As they got closer, however, the unicorn understood: Graham hopped up and over the wall gracefully, and a dark blue barrier shimmered across his body as he passed.
“Oh, that’s a relief!” Runestone exclaimed.
He hopped, missed, and hauled himself over the short wall and Comet, grimacing and wanted not to make the same mistake, took a few steps back, broke into a gallop, and leapt. She stumbled as she landed across the wall, a cool tingling passing through her fur, though she tripped and tumbled to the ground over the stallion that was still righting himself.
“Ah, sorry!” she squeaked.
She rolled upright and dragged him up with her magic, placing him on his hooves as he stared at her with wide eyes. Graham smiled at them and gestured towards the town with a huge wing.
“Welcome to Ponyville, my friends,” he said. “Harmonia is just a little ways more, but I believe you two should take a rest.”
“I can keep going,” Runestone volunteered immediately, but the griffon shook his head and began to prowl towards the town.
“We will head to the inn for a few hours, and then set out again,” he said. “Do not worry, ponies, we can afford a little rest.”
He took off down the darkened road and Comet stole a glance at Runestone, wondering, “Are you really not tired?” He shook his head and smiled a bit.
“Not really, I find I can usually go two or three days without... Oh! I’m sorry!” His ears drooped low and he blushed, drawing back embarrassedly. “I’m sorry, I should have thought about you. You must be exhausted,” he said.
“Um... maybe just a little,” she admitted. “But that’s okay, don’t worry about it.”
She shot him a smile and his ears perked back up, and she nodded after Graham.
“Right,” Runestone agreed, and so they began after him.
Comet didn’t know much about Ponyville, and could hardly see it properly even in moonlight, but she knew that it was the place Twilight Sparkle had lived during most of her time doing grand things for Equestria. The unicorn wondered in passing if her friends, the other five bearers of the Elements, lived there at one point as well.
She noted Runestone gazing around curiously, eyes roaming over small, neat stores and homes.
“This place is right at the edge of the forest,” he said quietly. “I’m surprised it looks so good, still. Dawncliff... that’s where I grew up, sort of- it’s been attacked and rebuilt a ton of times. It doesn’t look anything like this place.”
“Maybe they put up that barrier as soon as things started to go wrong,” Comet suggested. “I think I read that Dawncliff wasn’t actually built until after the first war, so...”
She looked to Graham and trotted a little faster to keep up and asked, “Graham, whose barrier is that?”
“In all honesty, I haven’t a clue,” he replied, “but you were correct in your assessment. It has been over Ponyville since the Nightspawn first appeared.”
“Lucky,” Comet commented.
It wasn’t too long before the small group arrived at a quaint building, lit gently by firelight lanterns. Graham squeezed his wings in close to his sides and opened the double doors quietly. He hunkered down a little and slid into the building; the two ponies followed.
Graham stepped aside as a wafting, comfortable warmth of air and light brushed the ponies, carrying with it the warm, cinnamon-laced scent of apple pie. Comet let out a sigh of relief, taking in her new surroundings curiously. The rustic, welcoming room past the entranceway housed a few tables and a sitting area of couches near a fireplace, where a few ponies were sleepily chatting and sipping at drinks; paying little mind to the newcomers. Packed in against the wall to the left was a long counter, adorned with a few beverage taps and a cash register that looked like it had seen better days. The same could be said about the baggy-eyed, but smiling, orange mare behind the counter; she seemed pleasantly surprised as Graham approached her.
“My, a griffon!” she said in a pleasant, southern drawl. “I haven’t seen a griffon around here in an age! What can I do for you, sir?”
“I would like to rent two rooms for the night, if you happen to have any available,” he said, and then gestured with his wing to Comet and Runestone.
The mare followed his feathers and gave the two a cheery smile. Comet smiled back and gave a polite nod, while Runestone waved a little awkwardly.
“Absolutely,” the mare at the counter assured him, and she tapped the old cash register gently with the tip of her hoof. “If’n you don’t mind me asking, what sort of business does three battle-ready looking critters such as yourselves have in little old Ponyville?”
“Just passing through,” Graham assured her.
“We’re heading for Harmonia,” Runestone put in.
“Ah, joining up with the King, huh?” the mare asked -- she rang up a total for fifteen bits and Graham reached in his satchel to pull out a small coinpurse -- “Well, I wish ya the best of luck there. I hear it’s been a might hairy.”
“Thank you, dear girl,” the griffon said; the mare smiled and stepped out from behind the counter.
“I’ll show y’all to your rooms.”
The mare lead the group away from the seating area and to a set of two rooms side by side before bidding them goodnight. Graham actually seemed a little relieved and relaxed, until he opened the door to the bedroom and suddenly looked a bit embarrassed without saying a word. Comet peeked into the room cautiously, confused. It looked normal, and very nice, clean and cozy as well. She inclined her head, puzzled, until she clued in that the single beds weren’t big enough for the griffon; he’d have to pull both together.
She drew back, shrugged to herself, and turned to the other room, tapping Runestone as she went.
“C’mon,” she said, bumping the door open with her shoulder, and then grinned a little. “Dibs the bed near the window.”
“Oh! Is it okay if-? Okay!” he said, a bit flustered. “Goodnight, Graham!”
The griffon looked surprised as the ponies headed away into the other room, and he let out an almost shy sounding, “goodnight,” as they left. The room was almost identical to the one Graham had shown them: a warm, firelight glow made the room a little gold and orange, highlighting metal sun and star emblems placed lovingly on the walls. Comet flopped down on the bed next to the window, snuggling her legs into the checkered-and-apple pattered quilt and lifted her saddlebag up and off her back. It felt wonderful to be rid of the weight; she stretched contentedly and sighed, laying her head down on her front hooves.
“This is nice,” Runestone commented.
Comet tilted her head to look at him; he took his bag off, as well as his belted sword and began to unbuckle his armour. Comet smiled to herself and her magic whisked the armour off him without any effort at all. He yelped, surprised, and then let out a laugh.
“Thanks,” he said, grinning as pushed the armour into a neat pile before he hopped.
Runestone bounced onto his bed and stretched out on his back, yawning widely. He rolled to the side and leaned over the edge of the bed a little, looking at Comet curiously, asking, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “Just tired. You?”
“I’m not too bad, but it’ll be nice to rest,” he said.
He struggled to kick up the comforter and cuddled into it happily. Comet was immediately jealous and did the same, using a shock of magic to pull the blankets down and then up again around herself.
Lying on her side, her eyes went to the window, looking out at the stars above the roofs of Ponyville houses and the telltale, blue shimmer of the barrier that protected the town. She was about to close her eyes when she heard Runestone hiss, “Psst! Comet? Are you still awake?”
Curiously, she rolled over and looked at him. His mane was already completely out of place with bedhead, and she suddenly felt a certain, superficial kinship with him; she tried not to laugh.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“You don’t mind having me in here? I mean...”
He looked embarrassed.
“I don’t follow,” Comet replied.
“Oh! Well, it’s just, I’m a stallion, and you’re- Graham probably was going to say I share his room and-”
“Okay, one, don’t be a dope,” the unicorn laughed. “Unicorn dorms were co-ed. Doesn’t make a difference to me. Two, no way Graham would fit into just one pony-sized bed.”
“Ooooh,” Runestone replied, eyes widening with sudden clarity.
“Funny,” said Comet, smiling to herself, “he could predict the actions of ponies he had barely met, and Nightspawn, in that Canterlot attack but he didn’t realize a pony inn would have pony-sized beds.”
“Guess that shows where his priorities are,” Runestone said with a shrug, and his eyes narrowed a little and he stated, firmly, “I think it’s good.”
“Me too,” Comet agreed, and her friend perked up again immediately. “I guess if you’re planning life-and-death things to that insane extent, with that amount of detail, it’s understandable to forget some everyday things.”
“Yeah,” Runestone agreed with a smile, but his expression fell almost immediately and he turned to the unicorn, ears drooping. “You’re not still upset, are you? If you are, I really am very sorry.”
“No, not mad,” Comet assured him, quickly masking a yawn behind her blanket. “Why? Do you still feel guilty?”
“No, I- ...Yes. Yes, I do,” he admitted with a sigh; he rubbed a hoof through his mane tiredly. “After I had to leave without telling you what I knew was going to happen, it... it sort of...”
His voice caught and a hoof went to his chest.
“...I’m sorry.”
He grimaced and Comet could have sworn his eyes were glossy. Her heart dropped and she bit her lip, and then let out a gentle, “Hey.” He looked at her almost hesitantly, and she gave him a tired smile.
“You’re a good guy, Runestone, and you did what you had to,” she assured him. “You’ll make a good Warden.”
The stallion stared at her and, finally, gave a bit of a smile and nodded.
“Thanks,” he said, pulling his blankets up. “I think you’re gonna be great, too.”
He rolled over away from her, raising the blankets up over his head.
“Goodnight,” he said quietly.
Comet inclined her head before shrugging to herself and flopped into her bed tiredly, replying with a gentle, “Sleep well,” as she cuddled herself against the comforter. She knew she only had a few hours, but she would relish them nonetheless.
---
The morning sun and Graham’s knock on the door came far too soon, but Comet didn’t have it in her to complain. She righted herself, rubbing her mane and trying to push it into place as she said, “Come in.” The door opened a crack, dark feathers filling the frame as the griffon leaned in.
“I’m afraid it is time to be on our way,” he said.
“Sure,” Comet said, groggily rubbing her head. “Right. Just give me a few minutes.”
The griffon nodded and backed out, closing the door behind him; the unicorn flopped out of bed and to the floor. She stretched and straightened the room with a quick spurt of magic, only to notice that Runestone and his gear were already gone. Comet groaned and muttered an “oh no,” to herself, and rushed to put her saddlebag back on and hurried out the door.
Graham was at the cash register, gently packing some muffins and other baked goods from the innkeeper into a brown paper bag when Comet rushed outside past him, saying a hurried, “Sorry I slept in!” as she went.
Comet was outside in an instant, but lost her breath to the sight before her. In the sunlight, Ponyville almost seemed to glitter. The buildings were rustic and charming, most trimmed with pink and yellow, with chocolate wood and fluffy straw roofs. They looked almost like cakes, designed by an expert pastry chef. Birds, unafraid, chirped and flittered about, passing through the almost perfectly symmetrical, green trees that sprouted willy-nilly throughout town.
Comet’s golden eyes roamed as she gawked with awe, feeling a strange tingling through the soil, only jerked from her trance as she felt an affectionate hoof ruffle her mane. She looked up quickly, her heart jumping, to see Runestone smiling down at her. His mane was almost set aglow in the morning sun and he looked very rested and pleased; Comet couldn’t help but notice that he looked much more in his element out here, away from the confines of the unicorn’s tower and Canterlot altogether.
“Nice place, huh?” he asked. “My first time here, myself. But everypony is so friendly! I’ve met five ponies in the last half-hour who have offered me free hats and baked goods!”
Comet let out a surprised, “Wow,” before she took another, quick look around and peeked down the road one way. She could see the edge of town, lined by its wall; even without that as an indicator, the grass itself was much brighter and greener in Ponyville.
“You look good for only a few hours sleep,” she commented a bit absently.
“I wasn’t really too tired,” he said, following her gaze curiously. “What’re you looking at?”
“This place... I think I understand,” she said quietly, and then looked to Runestone with wide eyed. “This place didn’t lose its magic. The earth... The trees- it’s all still magic here.”
“Ooh... You know, that explains a lot,” the stallion admitted. “We’re in what Age now? Age of the Starless Night, right? If these are pre-Starless buildings, like we thought with that whole barrier before the war thing, this place won’t have ever lost its magic. It never got wrecked by war or anything.”
“Why didn’t I ever read about this?” the unicorn wondered, scratching her head. “Seems like they’d want unicorns studying this place like crazy.”
“They cannot,” voiced Graham suddenly.
The two ponies jumped and spun to look at him, and he smiled apologetically.
“I am sorry, but I could not help but to overhear,” he said, passing each of the ponies a fruit muffin. “The condition of the barrier is that none with but the purest of intentions for the town may enter Ponyville. Those wishing simply to tap into its magical potential would not have gained access.”
“Fair enough,” Comet said with a nod. “But that’s some serious magic.”
“It is speculated that it may have been Twilight Sparkle’s doing,” Graham said. “This was her home, after all. However, the barrier’s magic does not match hers, according to history. So, in all honesty, I haven’t a clue what happened here.”
Comet frowned, a little annoyed with the abject lack of known history between the present and the time of Twilight Sparkle. She wished she had had more time with Princess Celestia to learn about some of the things left in shadows, but she supposed there wasn’t much she could do about it now.
Runestone watched her curiously for a moment, inclining his head, and he poked her with a hoof to draw her attention.
“That’s alright,” he said. “Hey, Comet, maybe you can look into it later? Sounds pretty interesting.”
“Maybe one day,” the unicorn agreed.
Graham seemed pleased and held out a wing.
“Shall we?” he asked.
Comet nodded and he smiled, his feathers puffing a little, and started off down the road. The two ponies hurried to follow, trotting along the gentle, sloping road leading back out of Ponyville. Passing an old windmill and slipping out through the barrier, they began their journey anew, heading back into the Everfree Forest.
Though there was no train-track trail this way, Graham still walked confidently into the woods. The trees were darker here, twisted and reaching, branches like spindly claws and knotholes like black, probing eyes. Comet was nervous for what was to come-- she watched the griffon’s reactions to everything. Runestone seemed twitchy: he was excited, but his nerves were clear.
As they continued through the dark trees, coming up on a ridge that dropped off steeply downward, Runestone, as if he had been holding in the question for a long while, asked, “So, Graham, what happens to us once we reach Harmonia?”
“Each of you will become a Warden, along with any other recruits that have been found,” the griffon replied. “You will be assigned a small group based on complimenting strengths, and you will serve alongside the King’s army as we push back the bulk of the Nightspawn.”
“Oh,” Runestone said, and his ears perked. “Can... Can Comet and I be in a group together? I mean, if you’d want that.”
He looked at the unicorn with wide eyes, and she gave him a reassuring nod, saying, “I’d really like to be in a group with you. I think we work well together.”
“Me too,” he agreed brightly, and ahead of them, Graham smiled.
“I’m sure it can be arranged,” he said; they had come to the edge of the cliff now, and the griffon peered over curiously, inspecting it with one eye and then turning his head to look with the other.
Comet trotted to catch up and hesitantly peeked over the edge, feeling an intense sense of vertigo. She immediately regretted the decision and pulled back
“You do play to each other’s strengths nicely from what I’ve seen. I see no problem with you two forming a group,” Graham said.
“Awesome,” Runestone said with a grin as he caught up, only to let out a yelp at the site of the deep drop and skitter backwards. “That is a long way down.”
Comet grimaced and cast around for something, perhaps a pathway down the cliff. She did, however, notice a few thick spires of stone poking from the trees a little ways away.
“I think I can see the ruins,” she said, pointing.
“Ooh, where?” Runestone asked, and his ears perked up when he spotted what she did. “Oh! Hey, that’s not so far.”
“We should press on,” Graham said a little sharply.
Comet turned her gaze on him, and noticed his face was more stern than normal. Her heart sunk and she felt a chill pass along her spine.
“Nightspawn?” she asked.
Runestone whipped around just in time to see Graham nod; his jaw dropped and he turned a quick gaze towards the sky. Comet followed, noting that there were some clouds slowly drifting in, but not covering the sun quite yet. Nervously, the unicorn glanced around again for a way down the cliff.
“They... They’re following us underground, right?” she asked. “They can’t keep up if we... But how do we-?”
Comet paced, annoyed that she still couldn’t do that teleport spell willingly. Then again, would it even do any good? She couldn’t teleport more than herself, could she? Graham coughed to draw her attention and spread his wings. The unicorn let out an embarrassed, “Oh!” and then rubbed her mane.
“Right! Good idea.”
“The one dilemma,” he admitted. “Is that I can only carry one of you at a time.”
Comet immediately pointed to Runestone, but was taken aback to see him point towards her as well.
“No, Runestone, you go first,” she insisted.
“No way, Graham, take Comet,” he said almost pleadingly.
“But if I get caught around Nightspawn, it’s easier for me to hold them back without getting too close,” the unicorn insisted.
It made her quake with fear to even think about facing them again, but she supposed this was her job now. She gulped and tried to look resolute. Graham eyed them both and then settled on Runestone.
“Oh, no way,” the stallion gasped. “You’re not really going to leave her here on her own?!”
“Reluctant as I am, I agree with her,” he said, and he lowered his body to the ground.
Runestone bit his lip and looked between the two, sighed, and reluctantly clambered onto Graham’s back.
“You... You better stay safe, you hear me?” he told Comet.
The unicorn forced a laugh and saluted him, and with the rushing of wind and heavy wingbeats, the two were gone over the edge of the cliff.
Comet grimaced and turned back to face the woods, gulping. She couldn’t feel the Nightspawn, but her mind put the possibility forward- she couldn’t help but imagine feeling their energy just below her hooves. She gulped and her ears flattened back. Seconds ticked by like minutes, and she could feel her chest tightening with fear. Gulping, she stole a glance up at the sky, her mouth drying to see that the clouds we blowing much closer to obscuring the sun. Sucking her tongue, Comet ground her hooves into the dirt and raised up two solid, ice spikes in her blue, crackling magic.
No sooner than shadows had cast themselves upon the ground and the sky darkened, Comet heard the earth cracking and the dull thud of dirt falling downwards. She didn’t see the hole until a dark, clawed limb shoved its way up into the air. Comet froze for just a moment, fear gripping tight in her chest, but after only an instant of hesitation, she rammed one of her ice spikes down to block the hole. She heard a pained snarl, but another hole opened up just a few feet away. Again, Comet slammed ice downwards into it, summoning up more spikes defensively, but this time, it was no use: the ground gave way completely in a spot, a wiry, winged Nightspawn leaping up, snarling. Comet didn’t waste an instant throwing both icicles at it, sending it tumbling back, but it was immediately replaced by two more, white eyes glowing, fangs bared. These ones, to her utter shock, wore makeshift, grimy armour, and each carried a sword, worn but mercilessly sharp and jagged.
Comet grimaced, frowning as she pulled her magic into bladed tendrils, and raced to meet them as they charged her. She was lighter; faster-- ducked under the first sword as she knocked it upwards and away, her magic tearing through the scrappy armour and into the beast. She felt the sharp, cold sting of the second sword grazing her shoulder and whipped around, eyes watering. She cried out and dashed back towards the cliff, slamming magic, pulse after pulse, against the one who had cut her, only relenting when it disappeared back off the cliff and Comet felt herself slipping too. She yelped and skittered back, whipping around on her hind legs only to see more Nightspawn pulling themselves from the dirt, snarling, hissing and spitting. She gulped deeply, sucking in hard breaths of air that made her lungs burn as she channeled magic back up into her horn. Through her own frantic breaths and heart thumping in her ears, though, she heard the distinctive, deep beating of wings-- she took a hesitant step back and glanced over the cliff. In the brief moment, she saw Graham rushing up towards her. In front of her, there was nowhere to go. She gulped, glanced back once more, and then turned, shouting, “Graham, I’m jumping!” before scrunching her eyes shut and diving from the ledge.
Her stomach dropped and wind whisked her breath away, chilling her to the bone as her eyes watered despite being closed tight. She felt like she was going to be sick, her heart racing and her head spinning and light. The roar of the wind stung her ears until they popped and for a second, all was silent. Her stomach was suddenly lurching anew as she felt strong, warm talons wrap around her and the chill of the air was almost completely gone. The sound of wind rushed back in and she was pressed gently against comforting feathers. She opened her eyes, seeing only black before her through the tears clouding her vision.
“I am very sorry,” she heard the griffon say.
“I’m fine,” she said, though her voice was warbling and weak, “n-no worries.”
She felt nauseous and closed her eyes tiredly.
“Comet? Comet! Please, please wake up, are you okay? C’mon, Comet!”
Comet’s ears twitched and she frowned, puzzled and blinked heavily. Big silver eyes stared back at her, and before she could even ask what was going on, she was whisked upwards into a tight, desperate hug. Startled, she couldn’t help a grunt at a deep, startling pain in her shoulder.
“Runestone, careful with her,” she heard Graham say.
The forelimbs around her loosened and Comet slumped, but she held her friend in return, frowning with confusion as she finally got a glimpse of her surroundings.
Aged stone walls encircled them protectively, lit by the sun pouring in through a few high, slitted windows cut through. Low-lying, white cots were stretched out across the room, along with a high shelf piled with bandages and other medical supplies. The doorway was blocked with a long, ornate sheet of cloth depicting a pelican in flight against the backdrop of the sun, though the light from outside spilled in through the gap between it and the floor.
“How...? Where are we?” she asked; her voice cracked and she gulped to wet her throat. “Is this Harmonia? When-?”
“You don’t remember?” Runestone asked.
He gently let her down and she stood on her own, though her legs were a little wobbly. He looked disheveled; tired, and his ears were folded back. She inclined her head.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Me? Me?” he demanded, eyes widening. “Wh- Huh? What?”
“I don’t understand,” she said, paused, and then rubbed her forehead. “I fainted again, didn’t I?”
“I apologize,” Graham said, his crest flattening; he patted Comet’s back gently. “I should not have left you. I should have found a way down the cliff.”
“I volunteered to stay,” she said. “Anyway, it was scary, but things turned out fine.”
She smiled, but to her surprise, Graham frowned in a concerned sort of way while Runestone looked at her like she was completely insane.
“Comet, you were out for hours,” he said.
The unicorn felt like she had been punched in the gut. She stammered out an awkward, “Wh-What?”, and to her surprise, Runestone embraced her again, more gently this time.
“You’ll be fine now,” he assured her.
“But what happened?” she pressed.
Her friend flinched and released her, but beckoned her towards the other side of the room. She followed him curiously, and he stopped before a tarnished mirror set up against the wall beside a small washing station. A bit hesitantly, the unicorn stepped in closer to get a good look at her reflection and yelped to see a long, deep, stitched up wound on her right shoulder. Her friend looked at her sympathetically but she took in a deep breath, smiling embarrassedly and putting her hoof to her brow.
“Sorry,” she laughed tiredly. “I didn’t think he cut me so badly.”
“You lost a lot of blood,” Runestone said, ears drooping low. “But... I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” she said, booping his snout with hers, and ignoring his sudden shocked, blushing expression, she turned to Graham. “You came along at just the right time. That was awesome.”
The griffon’s eyes widened, but he sighed and bent to rub his beak affectionately against her neck. She couldn’t help but lean into it.
“I am very sorry for what happened. And I am even more sorry to say that that will not be the last time I will place you in danger’s path,” he said gently and pulled back, “but I should have been more cautious.”
“Can we all stop apologizing and worrying over me now?” the unicorn joked; she stretched her back and shoulder, and though it hurt, it was more than manageable. “By the way, Graham, they were using swords, did you see?”
“Oh, come on!” Runestone said in exasperation.
Graham frowned and clacked his beak, saying, “I saw. This is most troubling.”
“They don’t usually, I take it?” she asked.
“No, not unless they have an overarching force controlling them,” he said. “There were rumours in the first war, apparently, that a huge monster, an intelligent one, gave them direction, but not since then.”
“Oh great, it’s worse than we thought,” Runestone said, biting his lip.
“Do not worry, Runestone,” the griffon assured him. “The bulk of the horde has been amassing here, and when they attack, I am certain we have enough forces to thwart them.”
“Here? Do we know why?” Comet inquired curiously.
“Yes, actually. The Nightspawn seem to have an affinity for the Everfree Forest,” the griffon explained. “Where we are now has always been in the Forest, even before it was spread across Equestria.”
He sighed once more as the ponies shared a sudden look of understanding, but nonetheless, he ruffled his feathers contentedly as he looked upon Comet, though said nothing more and turned to head outside, brushing past the decorative curtain.
Comet tilted her head back and forth and then looked at Runestone.
“Get a chance to look around yet?” she asked.
“Are you kidding?” he replied, and when she stared at him blankly he let out a tired laugh, shaking his head. “Of course not, not with you how you were.”
“You... You stayed with me?” she asked; she felt her heart pick up its pace.
He nodded and shrugged, and her ears drooped back shyly.
“Thanks,” she said. “Should we go look ar... Oh, wait, my stuff?”
She cast a glance around, but Runestone shook his head, saying, “Sorry, your bag fell... Graham found your magic book, though. He has it.”
Comet’s heart sunk, wincing at the thought of losing the telescope she had spent so long building.
“Horsefeathers,” she muttered.
Her friend patted her good shoulder gently and then jerked his head at the door, saying, “We could go look around now, if you feel up to it.”
“Sounds good.”
They left the building together, and the immensity of the ruins took Comet utterly by surprise. Ruins wasn’t exactly the right word for the place: the unicorn had expected the structure to be wrecked and crumbling, but it was anything but. It was a fortress still, even if it had seen better days, surrounding them with high, stone battlements and the turrets they had spied from afar. Banners with the mark of the pelican and sun flew above the walls and ponies, heavily armed, patrolled high up. The space inside the massive, sheltered interior was clogged with elaborate tents, presumably bearing the mark of their owners. Ponies of all stripes and types wandered the areas, training, planning; worrying. Griffons were also dispersed thoroughly into the mix, along with a couple zebras, bison and Comet even spotted a couple of diamond dogs.
The blue unicorn looked around in awe, feeling suddenly very small amongst all the bustle.
“This is... This...”
She couldn’t finish. Runestone looked at her curiously and then peered around the encampment in the fortress, gulping.
“I guess this is really a big, serious thing, isn’t it?”
Comet nodded readily, only drawing her eyes away when a female voice called, “Hey,” from behind them.
When she looked, she was startled to see another unicorn there, taller and slimmer than average with a dark blue coat and, to her surprise, darker stripes across the whole of her body, like that of a zebra. Her mane, sectioned in purple and black, fell elegantly down the right side of her neck while the forelock on the left side was brushed almost over her eye. Before Comet could say a word, the exotic-looking unicorn strode in close, looking her up and down, and flicking Runestone in the face with her tail as she caught him gawking.
“You’re that kid that jumped off the cliff, right?” she asked, her yellow eyes narrowing.
“Um... yes?” Comet replied a bit hesitantly.
“You’ve fought Nightspawn before?”
“Yes, we both have,” the blue unicorn said, nodding at Runestone.
The new mare eyed them both up and down a little skeptically for a moment before shrugging to herself and announcing, “I’m Umbra. Newest member of the Wardens of Harmony. And before either of you ask, yes, I’m half zebra.”
“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” Runestone said hurriedly.
“Right,” she replied sarcastically. “Graham asked me to show you around; introduce you to a few ponies. Interested?”
“Sure,” Comet replied right away, and then looked to Runestone, but before she could ask him as well.
Umbra simply said, “Follow me, I guess,” and began to walk away. Sharing a puzzled look between them, the two ponies hurried to keep up.
The frowning unicorn trotted through the encampment, pointing out the Warden’s tent, large and grey with the symbol of a legendary hippogriff with wings spread wide emblazoned across it. Tents nearby, even more elaborate and larger, housed the King, Queen and their top advisors. More, spread out, housed equipment and food stores; even a makeshift eatery. Near the King’s tent, there was a small training area set up. Ponies were practicing there, swinging swords and maces against wooden dummies. More were getting outfitted a little ways away and beyond even that, there was a statue of Princess Celestia where ponies gathered.
“There’s so many,” Runestone muttered to himself.
“Of course there are,” Umbra said with a roll of her eyes. “Ponies from all over the Kingdom are here. Didn’t Graham tell you anything?”
“Yes,” Runestone said a bit defensively, but Comet was more curious than annoyed.
“We’ve been at the unicorn’s tower in Canterlot, they sort of keep us in the dark,” Comet explained, and the striped unicorn’s expression softened a little. “We didn’t even know the Nightspawn were a big deal until they attacked us a few weeks ago.”
“That’s pathetic,” Umbra grumbled, her ears flattening. “They really didn’t tell you? We’ve been dealing with the attacks for months.”
Runestone’s eyes widened and he and Comet shared a worried look as Umbra continued.
“We’ve even had two battles here in Harmonia. So far, we’ve been able to beat the horde back, but Graham said he felt something big coming. He thinks if we can beat that, the Nightspawn will be pushed back underground for a long time.”
Comet nodded; she supposed it was that smart, monster Nightspawn the griffon had mentioned.
“How long have you been a Warden?” Runestone asked.
“Why?” the unicorn asked suspiciously; Runestone’s ears drooped.
“I was just curious,” he said innocently.
Umbra sighed and looked almost apologetic for a moment.
“Three months.”
Runestone’s dejected expression quickly shifted to curiosity.
“So, you’ve fought Nightspawn before, too?” he asked.
The unicorn hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. Comet felt a sting of surprise and the stallion beside her looked visibly so.
“Graham’s kept me and a few other newer members out of the combat up until now,” she said, and when the other ponies gave her questioning look, she simply said, “He has his reasons. I trust him.”
“Now that I’m with you with a hundred percent,” Runestone said, smiling.
Umbra seemed a little surprised, but Comet was becoming more interested in something past the tents. There was a small group of ponies being escorted past the tents by a large stallion in dark steel armour. They didn’t look like fighters; they seemed as out of place as she felt. She paused and Umbra stopped and doubled back, inclining her head to look at what she was staring at.
“Those are refugees,” she said.“There was a small town north of Harmonia that got overrun by Nightspawn a few days ago.”
Comet’s heart went out to them immediately, and she noticed the stallion beside her slump with worry.
“They’ll be alright,” Umbra assured them. “Come on.”
She turned to show them around the corner of the King’s tent, but before the other two ponies could even peer around, the unicorn was backing up, eyes wide, and she knelt to the ground. Runestone peeked first and immediately mimicked her. Curiously, Comet peeked around the tent and was surprised to see a group of four large, rather heavily armed ponies. The pegasus in front of the group, a large stallion with bright red eyes and a dark teal pelt, inclined his head and took off his ornate, gold helmet, rubbing a hoof through his streaked cerulean mane.
“Sorry, your Highness,” Umbra said quickly.
“Highness?” Comet asked aloud.
She looked up at the pegasus for a moment before she felt a shock of embarrassment, but before she could correct her stance, the King laughed and said, “Rise, friends.”
A little flustered, Umbra got up and Runestone followed with wide eyes as Comet sidestepped close to him almost unconsciously so as not to stand out. Beside the King, the other pegasus leaned over. She was a pale violet and wore her blue and white mane tied back high behind her head, and was wearing a similarly ornate, golden armour emblazoned with the images of a songbird along the collar. She seemed curious.
“Oh! Miss Umbra, are these the new Wardens from Canterlot?” she asked.
“Yes, Highness.”
“Well, it is a pleasure to-!” the King began, but before they knew it the mare at his side pushed past him, her wings flaring as she grinned at the three smaller ponies before her.
“Good to meet you!” she announced. “I’m Skylark, the Queen and all that. This strapping young stallion is my husband, Tornado.”
She leaned back and exaggeratedly caressed the underside of the King’s chin and then beckoned the other two stallions behind him forward. To Comet’s surprise, one was a unicorn: pale blue-grey with a long, white mane and eyes like ice. The final was a heavily muscled, black-armoured earth pony with a closely clipped, black mane and a pelt much like the unicorn’s in a much darker shade.
“River Rush, our head General,” Skylark said as she pointed out the dark stallion, and to the unicorn, she said, “And Icicle Star. Resident strategist and battlemage.”
“We expect to be working quite closely with you Wardens,” Tornado said brightly, looking to the General with a smile, “Right, old friend?”
“With all due respect, sire, as I’ve said, we shouldn’t rely too heavily on the Wardens,” the stallion said, though he smiled a little, the expression looking a little foreign on his tired face, “but all soldiers are more than welcome.”
Umbra nodded a little stiffly. Comet wasn’t sure of her trepidation; royalty or not, they seemed nice enough. She smiled and bowed her her head politely, saying, “It’s very nice to meet all of you. Thanks for the welcome.” To her surprise, the group seemed taken aback until Queen Skylark barked out a laugh and beamed at her, bowing her head in return.
“I like you,” she announced. “What’s your name, little Warden?”
“I’m Comet Strike, and this one-” she poked Runestone with her hoof and he seemed to snap out of his stupor, looking a little embarrassed, “-is my friend, Runestone.”
The Queen smiled and the King also looked pleased. Behind them, Icicle leaned forward, eyes widening just a little.
“Did you say ‘Comet Strike’?” he asked quietly.
The look he gave her made her stall uncertainly.
“Do you know her?” Tornado asked curiously.
Seeming almost to ignore the King entirely, Icicle Star’s ears perked forward.
“I know your Archmage. She’s spoken highly of you,” he said.
Comet felt a lump form in her throat, but she forced a smile and said, “Did she? That’s nice of her.”
The other unicorn smiled a little and nodded, looking to the stallion at his side.
“Another strong unicorn is a welcome addition, right, brother?”
The stallion nodded thoughtfully and, quietly, excused himself from the group. Icicle followed, saying, “Looking forward to working with you, Wardens,” as he went.
The rest watched them go; Tornado turned back to the group first.
“Well! The more the merrier, I say!” he said brightly. “Welcome, again, to Harmonia, friends.”
“Thank you, your Highness,” Runestone said a bit shyly.
Umbra bowed again and the two regal pegasi continued on their way. Comet watched them trot off for a moment with lingering curiosity and then turned back to Umbra, expecting the tour to continue. Instead, she found the other unicorn glowering at her and she backed up a step, ears drooping.
“What?” she asked.
“Be more careful!” Umbra snapped.
“What? Why, what happened?” Runestone asked, stepping in as if to his friend’s defense.
“The Queen is notoriously temperamental,” the unicorn growled, and then took a step back and straightened herself gracefully, snorting and saying, “You’re lucky she liked you, speaking so casually like that.”
“Oh! I’m sorry,” Comet replied, her face flushing with embarrassment. “I didn’t know. Sorry...”
“It’s fine,” Umbra sighed. “Just... be cautious.”
“Right. Sorry.”
“How could she have known that?” Runestone asked a bit protectively, but Comet poked him with her hoof and gave him an embarrassed grin and he seemed to relax.
“Anyway,” the taller unicorn said, “Shall we continue?”
She trotted ahead without waiting for an answer, taking the ponies farther into camp until they reached the tent where they had seen ponies receiving their armour.
“Well, what was your name? Runestone? This is your stop,” she said abruptly.
The stallion looked baffled, his eyes widening.
“It is?” he asked.
Umbra responded with a sharp, “Yep,” and pushed him towards the tent.
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you later, Comet!” he said.
Comet waved at him and Umbra returned to her as the stallion headed, baffled, into the tent.
“Can I go with him?” Comet asked.
“No, you’ll just get in the way,” the striped unicorn replied simply.
“Oh.”
Comet’s ears drooped and Umbra poked her gently in the shoulder.
“You and I, we’re not really suited for the physical end of the combat, is all,” she said, her tone softening. “He’s going to get fitted for new armour and do some sword training today.”
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked, confused.
“You know, I didn’t have any orders concerning you, if I’m honest,” Umbra said with a shrug. “I suppose go where you’d like as long as you aren’t in anybody’s way.”
“Right,” Comet said a little awkwardly.
She suspected that the lack of orders was intentional, and her mind was drawn to the long, ugly stitches across her shoulder and back; her ears flopped just a little.
“I guess I’ll just wander,” Comet said.
Umbra nodded and turned to leave.
“Hey, tell Graham I don’t blame him, okay?” Comet called after her.
“Don’t blame him?” Umbra repeated, checking back over her shoulder.
Comet nodded and the other unicorn shrugged.
“Sure,” she said.
Comet felt a sudden, unexpected twinge of fear being alone, but she took a deep breath looked around, her eyes lingering on the tent Runestone had entered. She was tempted to go in there, but Umbra was right: she probably would be in the way. Puffing out a deep sigh, Comet slowly clip-clopped on her way, wondering what to do with herself. She felt sore and overwhelmed, and strangely bare without Runestone with her.
The bustle of the encampment seemed to pass her by for the most part as she looked around. Ponies looked either worried or cocky, and that, too, made Comet a bit uneasy. She wondered as well about Icicle Star. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with more Canterlot business now; maybe not ever. She hoped he would just forget he had even met her.
Frowning at the ground, Comet didn’t even notice where she was until she nearly walked straight into another pony. Immediately, her face turned apologetic and she skittered back, squeaking out a quick, “Sorry!” as the chocolate-coloured stallion in light leather armour hopped back to regain his hooves.
“Oh! Not a problem,” the stallion announced in a rather sharp Manehatten accent. “Hey... You’re new here, right?”
He looked at her sideways, blowing a section of his spiky, burgundy mane from his face as it tumbled into his eyes; she backed up a little and nodded.
“You here for training?” he asked.
Comet blinked blankly at him, staring until she noticed the stone wall and training dummies to their right. She nodded.
“Sure. I mean, yes. I mean...” She sighed and put a hoof through her mane as he smiled with amusement. “Sorry, I just woke up recently.”
The stallion’s bright blue eyes were on her wound in an instant and he nodded as if he understood.
“Well, lucky for you, I’m pretty good at training unicorns,” he assured her, grinning. “I’m Shatter Spear, by the way. Or, Shatter, if you like. You?”
“Comet,” she replied.
“Ah, the new Warden from Canterlot,” he said, smiling, and he looked her over quickly. “They told me a new unicorn was coming. I wasn’t expecting you to show up here. They mostly mentioned an earth pony.”
Comet nodded and Shatter shrugged and beckoned towards the training dummies lined up near the wall, made of straw and wood.
“I could use some training,” Comet said, tilting her head to point out the stitched wound on her shoulder.
“Ah,” the stallion said, nodding.
Shatter guided her in towards one of training dummies and pointed at it.
“Okay, kiddo, let’s see what you can do.”
Comet had to stop a flinch-- Nimbus always used to speak like that to her. She turned to look at Shatter Spear curiously.
“Just... hit it?”
“Yeah, however you want, as hard as you can, let’s see,” he said.
“With magic, or-?”
“No, physically hit it.”
Comet grimaced and braced her hooves on the ground. She focussed on the dummy straight in front of her and charged, only to realize she had no idea what she was doing. At the last minute, she thrust her shoulder forward and rammed the dummy with all her might. A splintering sound satisfied her but in an instant she found herself sprawled on the ground in an awkward tangle with the wood and straw.
A bit embarrassed, she rolled upright, blowing a bit of hay from her mane; Shatter laughed and trotted up to her, brushing her off.
“Okay, maybe physical stuff isn’t really for you,” he said. “...Didn’t that hurt?”
“A bit,” Comet admitted embarrassedl., “Um... yeah, maybe I should just hit it with my magic?”
“Best is to learn to combine physical blows with magic,” Shatter said. “With what you just did, I’m sorry to say, you’d be dead pretty quick.”
The unicorn’s ears drooped and her face flushed with shame, but Shatter quickly patted her good shoulder.
“But that’s why I’m here, kiddo. We’ll start you off slow and you’ll pick it up as we go. But first...” He eyed her bad shoulder, drawing in a sharp breath past his teeth. “Come with me.”
Shatter trotted off in a hurry and, puzzled, Comet followed him away from the training area. First, he took her to a white tent close by with a pink medical cross stuck to the front of it. He shoved his head in and she heard him shout, “Hey, Snowdust, did you see the unicorn with the bad shoulder?”
He was almost immediately pushed back by a white unicorn with a pale pink, tied back mane, glowering at him through the tent opening.
“Don’t shout,” she ordered harshly, and then looked past him to Comet.
She tsked and trotted out, tilting her head and pushing close to the unicorn’s bad shoulder, her pink magic shooting against it to quickly redo a few stitches before getting up in Shatter Spear’s face again.
“What were you doing with her? Your training? That’s the unicorn that jumped the cliff, you idiot!”
“That’s you?” Shatter asked, whirling on her with wide eyes, but before Comet could answer, he turned back to the white unicorn and said, “Is that really all you can do for her shoulder? I thought you-”
“Don’t give me that,” Snowdust said, and her ears drooped and expression softened just a little. “She got hit by Nightspawn swords. They poison the blades. That’s the best I can do. Now, excuse me.”
She rushed back into the tent rather abruptly and Shatter shared a wide-eyed look with Comet.
“Poison?” she said aloud, gulping. “Just great.”
“I’m sorry, kiddo,” the stallion said, ears drooping low. “I didn’t clue in that you were the one who-”
“Is this news all over camp?” the unicorn wondered worriedly. “I... I don’t want ponies treating me like I’m broken. I just want to help. I don’t want anybody worrying about me over this.”
Shatter Spear opened his mouth as if to speak, frowned, and then rubbed his chin, muttering, “Hmm...” He thought for a moment and then a grin spread over his face and he beckoned her to follow him as he raced off. Confused, Comet followed.
To her surprise, he took her to the armour outfitters and rushed inside. Cautiously, she peeked in after him; he was rushing around the tent, baffling a few other battle-clad ponies in there as he scrounged through racks of equipment. Before Comet could even ask what he was doing, he returned to her with a long strap held proudly in his teeth. He leaned down and quickly fastened it around her and drew back with a grin. Comet was surprised to see that he had found a shoulder plate: silver and emblazoned with a wing and probably meant for an archer. She puffed up a little to look at it and smiled despite herself.
“Good?” Shatter asked brightly, and when she nodded he smiled proudly and said, “Well, that shoulder won’t be normal for a while, so you might as well protect it.”
“Thanks,” the unicorn said; her tail wagged and the stallion nudged her out of the tent.
“Let’s try this again,” he said.
---
Comet wasn’t good at combat. In fact, it wouldn’t have been much of a stretch to say she was terrible at it. Her steps were frantic, her kicks off target, and she tripped over her own hooves like a foal learning to walk. She wasn’t deterred, though: she wanted to learn. Shatter Spear didn’t seem dissuaded either, coaching her in her movements no matter how many times she fell. Her body was sore with bruises, but Comet didn’t mind.
A kick slipping threw her for a loop and the unicorn plopped to the ground, wiping sweat from her brow and panting.
“Good effort, kiddo,” Shatter said with a laugh; her carried her a flask of water from which she drank eagerly. “Hate to say it, but you’re still pretty clumsy. Not sure how long you’d last in a brawl.”
“Probably not long at all,” Comet admitted with a nod, “I’m much better with magic.”
Shatter nodded and eyed her up and down curiously in silence for a moment as she took another sip of water.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” the stallion said, “why did you get sent for this training? The Wardens can’t be expecting you to actually be in combat, right? Don’t mean to be rude, but-”
“No, that’s fine,” Comet said. “No one sent me for training, I just thought it would be a good idea.”
Shatter stared at her, surprised, but when his eyes darted to her shoulder guard, he sighed and nodded.
“Gotcha. Ready to go again?”
She nodded and got to her hooves, stretching her back briefly before she set her eyes on her training dummy again. Shatter Spear stood and walked to the dummy, smacking it in the chin and the legs.
“See if you can get these two points.”
Comet nodded and frowned, focusing and, as the stallion stepped out of the way, she rushed the dummy and whirled, hitting it hard in the legs and regaining herself to strike it in the face; she missed the chin but the strike to the face made it wobble. She heard Shatter give a whoop of approval and she turned, only to be knocked down as the dummy smacked into the back of her head.
Shatter laughed and rushed to help her to her hooves.
“My fault, kiddo, you almost had it!”
She rubbed her head, snickering to herself.
“It’s fine,” she said.
She was quickly distracted by a laughter that didn’t seem to quite be on her side. She looked curiously, feeling a sting of shame; Shatter glared at a group of armoured ponies that were approaching, led by a red stallion with a sneer on his face.
“Get out of here, Shatter Spear,” he snapped. “I need this area. You and your pathetic unicorn can go practice on some barrels or something.”
Comet felt her face flush but before she could say anything, Shatter got up and got in the other stallion’s face.
“Get over yourself, Blaze Run,” he growled. “Don’t pick on a filly who is trying her best!”
“Her best is embarrassing. Lost cause. You’re a terrible trainer, and that attempt was embarrassing.”
“Hey!” Shatter Spear grunted. “She’s not so bad, especially considering--”
Comet shrunk back behind him. She really didn’t want to get involved, and recoiled when the red stallion leaned around him to look at her with a strange smile on his face.
“If you don’t think it’s so bad, maybe you should let her try to take me on?”
Comet gulped, but before any more could come of it, the red stallion was sprawled on the ground as, to the unicorn’s surprise, Runestone ploughed into him. He looked completely shocked as the tan stallion towered above him, glowering down as the other soldiers looked at him with surprise.
“Don’t you dare,” he said sternly, a deep frown on his face. “She is a Warden, don’t you dare treat her like that.”
“A Warden?” Blaze Run said.
His bad attitude faded in his surprise for just a moment and he gulped, but got to his hooves quickly, baring teeth and stomping a hoof as he got into Runestone’s face. The young stallion didn’t even flinch as Blaze Run growled out, “You uppity little foal.”
Comet grimaced and got to her hooves and, biting her lip, she drew up a bit of magic just in case, but was startled out of it by light feathers brushing her back. She looked up to see Graham with a stern look on his face and she dropped down immediately as he passed by her.
“Runestone,” he said calmly.
Runestone’s intense gaze went to the griffon and he instantly softened and pulled back a little. The red stallion glanced hesitantly over his shoulder and his ears drooped, his eyes widening as he almost coughed out Graham’s name in surprise.
“Runestone, would you please help Comet back to our tent?” the griffon said gently. “Blaze Run, I would like to have a word with you, if I might. You too, Shatter Spear.”
Gulping, Blaze Run nodded and quickly dismissed the other soldiers; Runestone snorted at him and strode past, joining Comet and nudging her gently. She grimaced and shared a worried look with Shatter before she and Runestone hurried off.
They were quiet and Comet’s heart was beating a little too fast in her ears.
“Are... Are you okay?” Runestone asked quietly. “What were you doing there? You weren’t hurt, were you?"
“Me? Oh, no, I was just trying to train with Shatter Spear,” she said quietly.
She felt a little embarrassed and her ears flattened.
“Umbra didn’t give me anything to do after she sent you off, so I ended up trying to get better at fighting and... yeah...”
Runestone grimaced and gently pressed his snout to her neck; Comet felt her face heat up.
“That Blaze Run guy sure is a jerk,” he grumbled, “He seemed kind of like a creep when he was giving us our training rundown earlier... Ooh, you’re kind of bruised, huh?”
Comet nodded and shrugged, laughing a little and saying, “Well, yeah, I was doing combat practice, and I suck at it.”
“You’re nuts,” the stallion replied, sticking his tongue out at her. “After what happened with the Nightspawn... oh...”
He looked at her with wide eyes and Comet guessed that he had clued in to her motives. His ears drooped and, again, he nuzzled her cheek.
“Just be careful, okay?”
“Thanks.” she said.
She was unable to stop her tail from swishing happily. She felt a little better being with somepony she knew again.
They went back to the Warden’s tent and peeked inside for the first time. The grey tent was empty of ponies, lit by hovering, white magic orbs that gave the place the atmosphere of cool, safe room. Low beds lined one side of the tent in two rows with chests for belongings at the head of each, and the other had a long meeting table laden with maps, notes, and to Comet’s surprise, her books. As they edged inside, beyond that, Comet could see some strange, steel boxes, emblazoned with a six pointed star and framed by a wing on each side, that ebbed the faint tingle of magic.
“Ooh, so this is our place, huh?” Runestone wondered. “Do we get beds? I could use a good bed right about now.”
Comet was curious as well, so she trotted over to the beds. To her surprise, she saw each chest was marked with a Soul Mark, and was even more surprised to find hers there as well. Right beside it was a box that didn’t have a Soul Mark, but instead had a specific series of spots, much like the appaloosa spots on Runestone’s back and flank. Comet beckoned him closer and he, ears perking, joined her and said a surprised, “Oh!” when he saw what she had. Contentedly, he hopped onto what seemed to be his bed and Comet followed his lead, flopping down on hers.
Her friend stretched out and rested his head on his front hooves, closing his eyes. Comet couldn’t help but smile and she relaxed back on the mattress quietly. She wasn’t really tired, but it was nice to rest her body. She supposed she’d really be feeling her training in the next few hours.
Staring up at the ceiling for a little while and Comet began to feel nervous rather than relaxing.
“Hey,” she said, drawing Runestone’s attention, “did you...? Did you hear anything about when the battle might happen?”
The stallion’s eyes opened and he looked at her with a sort of concerned frown on his face.
“You’re worried you aren’t ready, huh?” he asked.
Comet grimaced and muttered, “Yeah, kinda.”
“Stick with me, okay?” he said. “No matter what. You do the magic, I’ll do the rest, and we’ve got all our bases covered. We’ll be okay.”
He said it with such certainty that Comet couldn’t help but feel better, even when he said, “Anyway, I’ve heard that it’ll be in the next few days.”
“Scary.”
“Tell me about it. Still glad you left?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she said with a nod.
Runestone smiled.
“Me too,” he agreed.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while; Comet tried not to think too much. It wasn’t really working, but she was finally starting to calm down when the rustling of the curtain in front of the tent’s door snapped her back into reality. She was surprised to see Shatter Spear walk in slowly, almost cautiously, ears down until he saw her and Runestone. He smiled a little, almost apologetic, and he sighed tiredly and trotted to one of the beds and flopped down, pulling his armour off tiredly. Comet stared at him for a moment, Runestone stared at her, and she sighed and set her magic out to unfasten the armour. Shatter looked at her with surprise and then snickered.
“Thanks,” he said.
He shoved the metal onto his box as he pushed it away from his body. Comet leaned around to see the box before him with the mark of two crossed spears on it, and looked up to see the same mark matched on his flank.
“Comet?” he said. “Sorry.”
“Oh. Okay,” she said a bit blankly.
Runestone leaned forward on his bed.
“Sorry for what?” he asked with honest curiosity.
The other stallion sighed and laughed tiredly, running a hoof through his mane and looked at the unicorn.
“I shouldn’t have pushed you,” he said.
“But you didn’t... Oh. Graham said-”
“Yeah.”
Shatter looked embarrassed and Comet shrugged, gave him a smile.
“No worries,” she assured him.
The stallion looked a little relieved and flopped back on his bed, stretching his hooves high above his head.
“Didn’t realize you were a Warden,” the unicorn commented.
“Oh, I didn’t mention?” he replied, laughing tiredly. “Sorry, kiddo, guess I forgot. Anyway, you okay?”
“I wish everyone would stop asking me that,” she joked. “I’m okay. Thanks.”
“Well, you fell pretty hard-”
“She does that a lot,” Runestone put in with a smile, and jokingly added, “Comet has a habit of full-body ramming things in a fight. And that shoulder plate will help her out.”
“True,” Comet replied, snickering, and even the apologetic Shatter cracked an amused smile.
“Ah, you foals are gonna fit in fine with us,” he said.
It wasn’t long before the tent’s entrance rustled and, feathers bristling, Graham strode in past the curtain entrance. The three ponies inside sat up almost in unison, and Comet immediately got to her hooves and hurried to him, ears drooping.
“I’m sorry to cause trouble,” she said quickly.
“Not at all, dear girl,” the griffon said a bit tiredly, though he smiled. “All is well.”
Comet couldn’t quite bring herself to believe him completely.
“Are you sure?” she asked quietly.
He patted her back gently and nodded.
“If you would like to learn physical combat, you will continue to train with Shatter Spear, if that is acceptable to you.”
“Of course,” Comet said, nodding.
Graham looked to Runestone, stating, “You will also train with Shatter Spear.”
“Oh! Okay, sure,” Runestone said, “but--”
“Blaze Run is a more experienced fighter,” Graham said, “but you will conflict less with Shatter Spear.”
“O-Okay,” the tan stallion said with a hurried nod.
Graham seemed pleased and cast a knowing glance at Shatter; the stallion looked a bit embarrassed and he muttered, “Thanks, Graham,” almost under his breath.
“Tomorrow, though,” the griffon stated, “Runestone, Comet Strike, you should relax if you can. You will be inducted formally into the Wardens tonight.”
“Oh! So soon?” Runestone asked, and he grinned a little nervously when Graham nodded.
“You will do fine,” the griffon assured him, “I will see you tonight.”
The griffon slid out of the tent quietly and quickly, and Comet and Runestone shared a sort of nervous look and she grinned a little.
“Well, that’s big,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” Runestone replied with a laugh.
“I wonder what Element you’ll be...?” Shatter asked to no one in particular.
“Element?” Comet repeated curiously, inclining her head. “So... You must have been through the ritual, right? Can you tell us anything about it?”
“Nope, not supposed to give you any warning ahead of time,” the stallion replied, shooting her a wink. “All I’ll tell you is that I was Generosity.”
Runestone stared at him blankly as the other stallion grinned, but Comet suspected she was starting to clue in. She smiled to herself and nodded.
“I hear you,” she said.
Shatter looked surprised but, after a moment, began to laugh and rolled his eyes.
“Figures.”
---
Shatter seemed more lively now; much less dejected and embarrassed, and insisted they meet the some of the other Wardens. Comet was a little shy: though reluctant to say it, she was worried that the news of the day would still her jumping from the cliff.
Inside the walls of the fortress, a small area was set aside with tables and benches, near large, tapped barrels of cider. Apparently, according to Shatter, many of the Wardens were out scouting in the woods; the ones left behind were either new, recruits similar to themselves, or had been on other business.
At the closest of the tables, playing a casual game of cards were three older creatures, a huge, shaggy red stallion with a short-clipped white mane and two zebra twins. They were utterly identical, with spiky, short mohawked manes, violet eyes; the only visual cue to separate them being a scar across one’s left eye. Comet’s worries were quickly stifled as not a one gave her a second glance.
Shatter nudged her and Runestone towards them and said, “Hey, guys! Good game?” with a grin.
The scarred zebra turned and gave him a small smile while the others didn’t move for a moment until the large stallion slapped a card down on the table. The other zebra groaned and turned her attention on Shatter and the ponies with him.
“Oh, my, new blood,” she said with a smile. “Greetings, little ones.”
“Hi,” Comet said a little shyly.
“Nice to meet you!” Runestone replied brightly.
“This is Comet and Runestone,” Shatter said, and then pointed to the zebra with the scar, “Calfala, and-”
“I’m Tafii,” the other zebra said with a nod.
The large stallion across the table simply said, “Crush,” before tapping Calfala and pointing to the cards she still held. She sighed and placed one facing down in the center of the three of them.
“Have you been officially inducted yet?” she asked as her sister laid out a few cards and Crush grimaced and had to pass one of his over to her.
“No, tonight,” Runestone replied.
“Ah. Good. Thought we might have missed it,” Calfala said. “Be brave, and you’ll be fine.”
“Exciting,” Shatter said, and then pointed a little farther down the hall, past some soldiers eating and towards a small group near the wall and close to the cider barrels. “Why don’t you two go introduce yourselves? I need to do a bit of catching up with these three.”
“Oh. Right,” Comet said with a nod, and began to trot away before doubling back and quickly saying, “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah,” Runestone agreed quickly.
Approaching the group Shatter Spear had indicated, she noticed three ponies and a griffon, garbed in light armour as if they had recently come from training. The griffon, tawny in colour except for the white of her face and flight feathers, noticed them first, her pink eyes growing wide and round with surprise as they approached.
“Well, hey there!” she said brightly, a little bit of the south leaking through in her accent. “Newbies?”
“Yeah,” Runestone said. “Runestone and Comet, good to meet you.”
The other ponies turned with surprise. A light-boned, baby blue pegasus took off his helmet and rubbed a hoof through his white mane as if trying to make himself presentable.
“Cloudrush, hi,” he said.
A yellow mare across the table waved a bit shyly.
“I’m Sunny Fields.”
The last pony, a light purple mare, northern in appearance with a lighter diamond on her brow and matching hooves, her indigo mane in a braid, seemed a little unenthusiastic and simply said, “Flowerdrop.”
“Come sit with us,” the griffon said brightly, patting the bench beside her. “I’m Gaila, by the way.”
“Thanks,” Comet said, and slid onto the bench beside her. “You’re all Wardens?”
“Me and Sunny are,” Gaila replied as Runestone plopped down with Comet. “I’m guessing that you two are in the same boat as Cloud and Flowerdrop?”
Comet nodded and the light purple pony across the table leaned in a little, inclining her head curiously.
“Where’re you from?”
“We’re from Canterlot,” Comet answered, but Flowerdrop shook her head.
“Before that,” she insisted.
“Oh, um... I don’t know, I’ve always lived in Canterlot until now,” the blue unicorn said with a shrug.
Flowerdrop looked a little disappointed but Cloudrush leaned in and seemed a bit more interested.
“I’m from New Cloudsdale. Gaila, too. Ever been?”
Comet and Runestone both shook their heads, but the pegasus smiled, his ears perking up high.
“That’s good, next time Graham goes around looking for recruits you can ask to go there with him, I heard he’s pretty partial to bringing ponies to new places.”
“Is it nice?” Runestone asked.
“Beautiful.” Cloudrush smiled, his eyes brightening. “How is Canterlot?”
“The architecture is nice,” Comet said. “But it’s getting a little run down.”
“Honestly, it’s a little creepy,” Runestone added, and when the others looked confused, he frowned to himself as if considering his words, and continued, “It’s not what it looks like. It’s just got almost a ghost-town feel to it.”
Comet nodded and he seemed a little relieved; in all honesty, she agreed with him completely.
“Weird,” Flowerdrop muttered.
She looked a little unnerved. Sunny Fields, on the other hand, seemed more curious, and lifted her light helmet to scratch under it lightly.
“But... you’re an earth pony? Why were you in Canterlot?”
“He must’ve been a Sunwalker, right?” Gaila asked, her chest puffing out, and her short crest raised up, pleased, when he nodded.
Flowerdrop’s blue eyes narrowed and she leaned in a little, seeming to almost analyze the two newcomers carefully.
“And you two...? You two get along?” the purple mare asked.
“Sure we do,” Runestone said.
Comet smiled and without even thinking about it, stated, “Of course. We’re practically best friends.”
The tan stallion blushed shyly immediately and couldn’t help but sit a bit taller, and Comet shot him a smirk and nudged him with her elbow.
“Oh. Weird,” was Flowerdrop’s only response.
Cloudrush buffeted her head with a wing and Sunny giggled softly as the other mare grumbled to herself and snorted.
“I’m from Dawncliff,” Sunny said, putting a hoof to her chest. “Guard in-training at the time Graham picked me out.”
“I was a thief,” Gaila said with a grin. “Flowerdrop is a great tracker and Cloud is the son of some well-to-do pegasi-- Well trained, though.”
“I couldda told my own story,” Flowerdrop grumbled, and Gaila laughed and ruffled her mane from across the table.
“My way’s faster. Anyway. Nervous for tonight?”
She cast her sparkling gaze around the table. Though she flinched, the purple mare shrugged.
“Nah!” Cloudrush stated proudly.
“I am, a bit,” Comet admitted.
“Yeah, me too. Especially since we haven’t been told much.”
“And it’ll stay that way,” the griffon said with a wink.
“Sorry,” Sunny added a bit shyly.
“What’s with the secrecy?” Comet wondered.
“You’ll understand tonight,” Gaila assured her, patting her shoulder. “You guys wanna go walk around a bit?”
She hopped to her paws and stretched her wings, heading for the outside; the other recruits and Sunny followed as well. Comet looked at Runestone curiously and asked, “Wanna go with them?”
“Do you?”
“I’m a little sore, to be honest, but maybe just for a little while.”
Runestone looked at her with a concerned frown, but before he could say another word, she bumped him lightly with her horn; they followed a little ways behind the others back outside.
Sunset was starting to creep in and Comet noticed an uncommon bustle outside. Ponies in gold amour trotted at a hurried pace, heading for the walls on all sides. Just as she was wondering how they kept the Nightspawn out overnight, she noticed a twinkle of light from one of the walls. A unicorn far in the distance sent up a beam of gold towards the sky above where it was quietly joined by another, and then after a few seconds, three more. A thin, bubble-like film spread between, creating a light dome overhead that tinted the sunlight very gold and gave it a sort of ethereal glow.
“Well, would you look at that,” Runestone muttered. “I guess Pinklily was really on to something.”
“I hope that goes underground too,” Comet said quietly, ears drooping. “But... I guess it must, huh?”
She looked at her friend, and though he looked worried, he nodded and agreed, “I’m sure it does.” Comet nodded as if to reassure herself. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of Canterlot. But of course, Wardens of Harmony were all over this place. Unlike the Sunwalkers --despite their best efforts-- the Wardens actually knew what they were doing when it came to Nightspawn.
Runestone and Comet followed along with the other Wardens and recruits curiously. The others were much more talkative; Runestone seemed a bit shy and Comet was tired. She didn’t really have much to say. The others didn’t seem to mind, though she did notice Flowerdrop giving her funny looks every once in a while.
Just as the group was heading back towards the Warden’s tent at Gaila’s behest, she was stopped, and suddenly too. Umbra stood at the head of the group, appearing suddenly and quietly, startling the group still.
“It’s time,” she said. “Recruits, follow me.”
She beckoned them away from the tent; Gaila and Sunny separated themselves and Sunny said, “Good luck!” as she and the griffon headed into the tent. Umbra looked at them with cold eyes and she seemed suddenly taller; more imposing.
“You’re going to need it. Get moving.”