Frost from Fire

by The Calm and the Quiet

Chapter 4

Valiant led them back to the only space he could call his own: a tiny room off the main hall crammed with four hard bunks. It was immediately apparent which was Valiant’s: it was veined in glowing lines of bright blue magic. They ran up and down the posts like veins, like tangled ivy. The pattern was almost natural, though the pulsating light was anything but.

Ghostwriter pursed his lips. Valiant had raw magical power, immense and deep. Most unicorns were like fireflies, aware of their own light, able to control it, not to burn themselves or waste too much energy. Unicorns like Valiant were like wildfires. As long as they had the right conditions, they would burn forever.

As soon as Valiant stepped onto the tiny square of stone his bunk rested on, the lines grew brighter, responding to his presence. He flopped on his bed. “So tell me, little brother, how was the trip over here?” He smiled. “Besides the kidnapping?”

Ghost settled onto the bunk across from his. Sir Cypress, looking entirely too massive for such a close space, folded up his legs and sat on the floor.

“It’s hardly of consequence,” Ghost said, waving a hoof dismissively. “I’m more interested in the Castle.”

Valiant made a little bobbing gesture with his head, half weary nod and half amusement. “I knew you would be. How else would I have gotten you out of that Tower?”

Ghost remembered his frantic midnight letter and thought, I can think of a few more things that would get me out.

“Reconstruction’s stopped since Lord Frosthoof died. You know that.”

“I didn’t ask for things I know,” Ghostwriter scoffed. It was bad enough that he’d already run into a dead-end: Doctor Somnus had skipped town weeks ago according to his former neighbor in Umbertown. So it seemed for now what happened to Cypress’s wife was going to be put to the back of the shelf. Irritating, yes. But she was already dead and no longer was a pressing issue.

Not like Eglantine’s disappearance—and more foals from more towns, all missing from their beds. The reports rolled in every day. Bluebell had sent him a list of names in his letter dish just that morning. Canterlot was missing two fillies from last months.

Valiant rolled his eyes. “Princess Celestia sent word to General Arbiter. He hasn’t told us what it said yet.” A frown creased his mouth. “Though rumor is that Tyto does. He received the letter, so he must know.”

“Tyto?”

“The blacksmith.”

“Blacksmith and Celestia’s personal friend. He goes to visit her in Canterlot.”

“Personal friend?” Ghost echoed. In the Tower, that meant something different. It was code for more intimate relations.

Valiant seemed to know exactly what Ghost was thinking. “Completely friendly, trust me. In fact.” He slid off, sliding a bit on the stone floor. He caught himself with magic, floating back to proper balance. “Let’s go meet him.”

Ghost looked distastefully at such a wasteful use of magic. “I thought we’d talk about the Castle.” And about Nightmare Moon. But he could hardly speak so freely in front of Cypress, as well as Valiant knew him.

“Nonsense.” Valiant wasn’t having any of Ghost’s flippancy. Flinging a hoof over Ghost’s shoulders and drawing him close, he said, “I’ll buy you dinner if you come to meet Tyto now. What do you want? How about honey-mint oats? You love that.”

“I hate that,” Ghost said, looking away. “You love that.”

“Well, then, you can sit and glower over some tea while I enjoy delicious dinner. Cy? Honey-mint oats? Huh? Huh?”

“Please don’t tell me you eat that disgusting slop,” Ghost said disparagingly.

Cypress shrugged one massive shoulder. “Food’s food.”

Ghost sighed.

The Great Hall was covered in tarps and sawdust. Through the holes in the ceiling, watery sunlight filtered in, tinged green from the encroaching forest. From everywhere came the sound of hammering, of hoofwork, of ponies shouting orders up and down the sides of the building. In the center of the room, somepony had laid long low tables. Spotted here and there were workponies on break, Solar Guard watching, captains going over blueprints. They were wearing helmets to protect from falling debris.

After picking out a section of more-stable roof to sit beneath, Valiant went to go get food. As soon as he was gone, Ghost leaned over to Cypress. “After this, we find Slipstream.”

Cypress nodded, but he seemed distracted.

Ghost frowned. “What’s the matter now?” he demanded. “We’re on the trail. What more do you want?”

He looked up. His eyes looked watery. “Eglantine,” he said simply.

Ghost was struck silent. He looked away, uneasy, as Valiant floated three trays of honey-mint oats, setting them with a bang of metal in front of each pony.

“Honey-mint oats!” he cried. He lifted his spoon, soaked in blue magic. “I swear, anything with mint in it is delicious. They say spearmint is good for concentration. At the School for Gifted Unicorns, Princess Celestia made us chew it before our major exams.” Turning to Ghost, he said with a full mouth, “Do you remember that, Ghost?” Flecks of oats flew from his mouth.

Ghost flicked a piece of oats off his face with a tendril of magic. “I didn’t go to the School, Valiant.”

“Oh. That’s right.” Valiant swallowed. “I forget sometimes.”

Forget about me, that is. Valiant was a good six years older than Ghost. Their friendship, if it could be called that, had been strained throughout their childhood because of that. It didn’t help that Valiant was a prodigy and Ghost was the weird little brother, withdrawn and sullen, whose command on magic had never held a candle to his brother’s.

Not that he was bitter or anything.

“Silver is doing well. Since you didn’t bother to ask.” Valiant gave him a sly look. “Sephie, too.”

Silver, Valiant’s wife, was a calm, quiet thing. She and Ghost got along famously during Valiant’s homecomings, sitting in the library without speaking, reading in peaceful silence, while Valiant entertained their daughter in another room. Sometimes Silver would make a comment on her book, and Ghost would nod, and then the quiet would resume. Sephie got on Ghost’s nerves, as any child would, but he was very attached to Silver.

“That’s good,” Ghost said, a little annoyed. If Valiant had given him a chance, of course he would have asked about his sister-in-law and niece. That was common conversation protocol. “Has Sephie got her cutie mark yet?”

“Not quite. Probably too young.” All at once, Valiant was bragging again, puffing out his chest. “I got mine when I was her age, though. Do you remember? First in the class. Eight years old. That’s when Princess Celestia put me in her school.”

“Considering I was two, no, I don’t remember.”

Valiant shrugged. “That’s your loss, then. I remember like it was yesterday. Ah, I was just playing in my room, trying to lift all my wooden soldiers at once, when I accidentally lifted the entire house. It was like my brain had been pried open and all this light poured down into it. Like—”

“Like the heavens had been set on fire and your eyes were full of it. And then Celestia came down borne upon a cloud of golden sunshine and said, ‘Dear Valiant, you are truly the best thing that Mother Nature has ever created. Please do me the honor of being my most faithful student.’ And then she cast a rainbow in the sky, and Mother and Father rejoiced that such a perfect specimen could have been born to them, and ponies were dancing in the streets, and I spoke my very first words: ‘Goddess bless Valiant, for he shall one day rule the world with his magical might.’ Does that about cover it?”

“A more fanciful version,” Valiant said, with a smile. “I don’t recall a rainbow or ponies dancing in the streets, though I appreciate the vision.”
Ghost propped his chin on his hoof, trying not to yawn. “I’ve heard this story a thousand times, Valiant.”

Valiant huffed. “No need to be so sharp, little brother. You’re poky as a timberwolf.”

Ghost allowed that with a wave of his hoof.

Amazingly, Valiant got Cypress talking, and more than two words at once. His cutie mark should be a great big mouth, Ghost thought, spooning a mouthful of oats in his mouth. Minty sweet.

“General Counterstrike gave me leave.” Cypress had set his helmet down on the table. Ghost eyed it. It seemed impossible that anypony could wear that and still be able to run. “As soon as I wrote to you, I left.”

“I know. When I didn’t get your response, I got worried.” Valiant’s mouth went to one side. “I’m glad that you found my brother. Isn’t he brilliant? I told you he was brilliant.”

Cypress gave another of his nods. “He’s helped.”

“That’s my brother!” Valiant said proudly. He beamed over the table, a spatter of oats on his chin. “He’ll find Eglantine. I know it. I can feel it in my bones.”

“Don’t you plan to help?” Ghost asked. Behind him came the sound of scuffling, shifting hooves and clattering metal. It was hard to concentrate.

“Of course. I’m going to find your pegasus Slipstream. You’re going to talk to Tyto.” Valiant’s eyes tracked something just over Ghost’s shoulder. They widened.

Suddenly, he shoved Ghost away with a burst of magic. In the space Ghost had just vacated, right in the middle of his honey-mint oats, crashed a good-sized Solar Guard member, a heavyset yellow earthpony. He landed on his back, his hooves askew, a look of deep, profound confusion on his face that only came from a concussion.

Valiant didn’t look surprised at all. He nodded from where the soldier had come from. “That’s Tyto. Good luck.”

Ghost followed his gaze.

A skinny, dark brown dragon stood on his hind legs, front claws balled up in fury. Smoke poured from his nostrils. He had wings that folded along his back, streamlined as a bird’s. They were a coal-black that matched the markings around his black eyes, eyes made only darker by the startling stark whiteness of his face. He was so thin that he looked concave, his chest jutting forward and his stomach curving under.

“That’s the last time you insult my steel behind my back, Goldenrod!” he snarled with a voice like rasping stones. “If you have something to say, say it to my face, like a real coward.”

“I have a feeling real cowards wouldn’t say anything to anybody’s face,” Ghost muttered to Sir Cypress.

The dragon’s sharp ears pricked up. “Who said that? You?” He dropped to all fours and came forward, lithe and quick. He reared back up and got in Ghost’s face. Ghost had to tip back his head to look at him. “Who are you? You’re not a soldier. You’re not even a war unicorn, are you?” He tipped his head. Ghost could see himself reflected in the dragon’s black eyes. They took in his white mane, his gray coat, finally resting on the satchel, marked with its golden sunburst. A look of surprise flitted across his pale face. “You’re a Scribe of the Tower. Oh, this is great.”

“Ghostwriter,” Ghost said. “Pleasure.”

Tyto waved a clawed paw. “I know who you are. Leeches, all of you. Sneaking around trying to get the latest scoop, digging up old secrets, trying to find bad blood between nobles just to stir up the hornets’ nest. Despicable.”

“You have strong opinions for not being a pony.”

Tyto’s surprise turned into outright fury. “What’s that supposed to mean? I can’t have thoughts because I’m not your kind? What are you, some kind of new-age racist? Not good enough that your Moon Princess nearly killed all of us, but now you want to blame the dragons for that, huh? What makes you so special? Just because I don’t have a pretty quill on my flank means I’m not worthy of an opinion? Well? Say something! You certainly didn’t hold back before, you smudgy little foal. Speak up.”

“I would if you’d quit blathering.” Ghost turned around and got down off his stool. “I’m told you’re Celestia’s friend.”

“Princess Celestia’s friend. What of it?”

Easily derailed. He hadn’t met many dragons, but he knew their type. Once they got Tyto’s age—maybe two, three hundred years old—they were just like teenaged ponies. Quick to rage. Quick to distract.

“My source tells me you’ve received her next plans for the reconstruction effort.”

Tyto’s brows rose. “And you think I’d share that with you?”

Bull’s-eye. So he did know. Valiant was right. “All I wanted to know was if she’d launched a game plan for the effort. Thanks to you, I know that she has.”

Tyto opened his mouth. Then it dropped further in shock. “You tricked me. Nobody tricks me.”

“I’m a quick study. The pretty quill on my flank should have warned you.” Tyto’s face flared with fury once more but Ghostwriter turned to Valiant. “I’m ready to speak to Slipstream now.”

“You can’t,” Tyto said flatly. “She’s out on patrol.”

“Then I’ll go find her.” He started away back out of the Great Hall. Behind him, he heard two sets of hooves—and one set of taloned claws.

“It’s against the rules to distract a pegasus on patrol,” Tyto hissed. “You’ll only get her in trouble. She doesn’t deserve that. She’s a good girl.”

“You know her?”

He snorted a line of smoke. “Of course. I write to Celestia about all the soldiers here. I know everypony.”

“Don’t you mean Princess Celestia?” Ghost asked.

“Ghost, cut it out,” Valiant muttered. “Sorry, Tyto, he doesn’t have very good manners.”

“Oh, this is the brother you’re always talking about?” Tyto’s expression was flat as he turned back to Ghost. “I imagined him taller. And quieter. And all-around better.”

Ghost ignored him. “It’s mid-afternoon. Her patrol would be where?”

Valiant chewed his lip as he thought. “Probably the verge of the Everfree, between the Heart of the Forest and the Castle.”

“Do you know how to get there?”

Valiant gave him an affronted look. “Of course.”

“Then lead the way. I have some questions to ask.”

Tyto gave Valiant an incredulous look. “You’re really going to break protocol to interrupt an Air Strike patrol?”

“Are dragons usually this rules-y?” Ghost asked Valiant, aggravated almost to bursting.

Valiant just shrugged, grinning his carefree smile. “I’m off duty.”

Tyto clapped a paw to his forehead.

The Heart of the Forest was the darkest, most tangled section of greenery Ghost had ever seen. It made the trip to the Castle look positively tame by comparison. The ground squished underhoof as they made their way into the depths of the trees, where even the most agile pegasus could wrench a wing.

“How much further?” Ghost was already panting. He ducked beneath a thick mesh of vine, twisting his head to keep from catching his horn.

“Why?” Tyto taunted. He walked on all fours once more, but even then, he was tall as Sir Cypress. Just infinitely lighter and thinner. “A little walk is too tough for the poor foal’s hoofies?”

Valiant was lifting entire ecosystems with magic, letting them fall back to earth in his wake. A log he hoisted was scored with the clawmarks of some fell beast, clustered with mushrooms with white heads and purple spots. “We’ll run into a channel soon enough. An outpost lies at the end of it. That’s where the Strikers land and give their reports.” He turned around to smile at Ghost, drying a small stream into hissing steam with barely a thought. “Just a little longer, Ghost.”

Dangerous, he thought, stepping daintily over the dried riverbed. The water flowed immediately as soon as Valiant relinquished his magic, but Ghost noted a few dead fish bobbing along the fresh current. He doesn’t think before he acts. He could kill a pony without any more effort than a blink.

And he would, too. That was what was so hard to think, that his whimsy, laughing-eyed, careless brother would someday be a real war unicorn, blasting a bloody hole through Celestia’s enemies. But that was what he’d been trained to do. A soldier. It was a path Ghost had never even considered.

The channel in the woods widened. Here the ground was stomped flat. A small wooden building sat up against the bulky mass of a twisted tree. The forest had almost reclaimed it. Vines stroked the sides and choked the windows.

Sir Cypress lifted a massive hoof and knocked. Valiant stepped up next to him, jumping to attention when the door opened. “Valiant, Cadet Athame of the Solar Guard, and company, sir!”

It was an old pegasus stallion. His blue coat was shaggy from northland blood. “Stand down, cadet,” he said gruffly. “I’m Captain Stratos. What can I help you with? It’s not every day that a pony journeys to the Heart. Much less you, Tyto.”

Tyto folded his arms and glowered sourly. “I was conscripted.”

“Quite.” The pegasus turned rheumy eyes on Valiant once more. “How can I help you, son?”

“I want to talk to Slipstream. Is she here?”

Now he frowned. “Did Arbiter send her? Is he finally going to court-martial her?”

“Uh…” Valiant said, glancing at Ghost for help.

Ghost almost smiled. This just keeps getting better and better.

The old pegasus didn’t need any more prompting. He blew out his breath, brows furrowing. “Since we got that girl, she’d been nothing but trouble. That’s the problem with having foals who are still wet behind the ears take the offer. It’s an honor to fly with the Strikers. Thousands of young pegasi would leap at the chance. But this Slipstream, she doesn’t even show up. That first day when Flurry brought her in, I knew she’d be trouble.”

“Why’s that?” Surreptitiously, Ghost slid his parchment and quill out of his satchel and started writing.

Captain Stratos shook his head. “She didn’t want to fly. She wanted ground duty. Now tell me what kind of pegasus doesn’t want to be up in the air.” Unfurling his wings almost unconsciously, he went on. “I tried to force her. A lot of the new recruits come into their own by the end of the first week with a little pushing. But Slipstream just seemed to pull back even more.” He frowned. “I wasn’t even too terribly hard on her. She has potential, but not if she insists upon staying on the ground. A pegasus’s place is in the sky. That’s what the Goddess gave us wings.”

“Where can we find Slipstream?” Ghost prompted. Ideas of where pegasi belonged and where they did not were not of consequence. Stratos was getting distracted by the sound of his own pride.

Stratos said, “Usually at the Sky Barracks. They’re a little ways into the Heart, by the Sun Gate.”

“Very well.” Ghost’s parchment and quill returned to their place in his satchel. “Thank you for your time, Captain.”

Stratos nodded, still muttering about duty and pegasi, even as the group moved on.

“Sour old pegasus,” Tyto said, as soon as they were out of earshot. “He only has hard words for his recruits. The pegasi dislike him.”

“But they follow him,” Valiant pointed out.

Tyto twisted his mouth. “That means that they respect him for his position. More ponies could do away with this idea of position by birth instead of battle. In the old days, captains were up-jumped recruits from nowhere towns. Now they’re all bluebloods.”

“What changed that?” Valiant asked.

Tyto shrugged. “Prowess in battle means little now. We’ve not been at war for fifty years.”

“Since Nightmare Moon,” Ghost said. It wasn’t a question. Even the sound of her name made him uneasy.

Tyto stopped. “Don’t say that name.”

“Why? Nervous about a pony long gone?” Ghost gave him a hard look, smiling meanly. “Now who’s acting the foal?”

Tyto’s nostrils flared. He strode forward and seized Ghost by the strap of his satchel, jerking Ghost’s front hooves off the ground. “Listen, you—”

Instantly, he was surrounded in a halo of blue magic. Valiant flashed into being directly in front of the dragon, right up in his face. His expression was darkly furious. Energy crackled around him like lightning. “Let go of my brother,” he said in a voice that was echoing with the force of power. It even started to glow in his eyes.

Sir Cypress lunged forward. He’d twisted his head, reaching back to grip the hilt of his sword with his teeth. He hadn’t drawn it yet, but he could at any second. Waiting. For Tyto to do something. For Valiant to stop him.

Ghost couldn’t breathe properly. The strap cut off his air supply. His eyes started watering.

Tyto froze. Ghost didn’t know if that was because he couldn’t move or because he was frightened. His claw was still closed around Ghost’s strap.

Valiant peeled his magic back from Tyto’s claw. “Let go. Now.”

Tyto’s eyes slid to Valiant. Resentment was in them, yes, but also acute curiosity. He let go.

Ghost stepped back, rubbing his neck. His breath was wheezy. The strap had cut into the soft skin there.

Valiant didn’t drop the field from Tyto’s body. He turned his back on the dragon and reached for Ghost’s neck. “Let me see.”

“I’m fine,” Ghost said stiffly. His pride was sorer than his body.

But Valiant wouldn’t take that as an answer. He gently touched Ghost’s throat with a hoof, tracing perhaps the outline of a fresh bruise. The anger was still in his eyes. Sparks of blue leapt from his coat.

Uh-oh. Once Valiant’s magic got away from him, he could cause some serious damage. He’d lit more than one rug on fire in his youth, and once the starts of Sunfall City’s woods.

“Valiant, look, I’m okay. It’s not a problem. Look.” He turned his head to display his neck. “It was nothing.”

Valiant’s nostrils were flared. His chest heaved. But slowly, he was coming down from it. The tension in the air subsided.

The aura around Tyto winked out of existence. At once, Tyto sucked in a huge breath of air, placing a claw against his chest.

So I was right. Valiant paralyzed him completely. In the minute or so of being entrapped, Tyto had been unable to breathe.

Goddess help the pony who hurts someone Valiant loves.

Cypress let go of his sword. “Slipstream,” he said, breaking the charged quiet.

“Right.” Valiant snorted, pawing at the ground still. “I like you, Tyto, but if you ever lay a claw on my brother again, I’ll rip you apart.”

Tyto didn’t say anything. He was rubbing his claw over his opposite wrist. Behind him, his tail flicked like a cat’s.

Nopony spoke until they got to the Sun Gate. It was a crumbling affair of stone and old gold. Through a haze of grime, Ghost could barely detect a golden sunburst at the apex of the arch. The rusted gates were parted, and beyond, the towering shape of the barracks was visible.

It was broken into ten or fifteen stories. Each had a platform with no railing: a take-off position. Even now, there were pegasi launching themselves into the air, winging away into the red, dying day.

Two Solar Guard stood at the front: the only unicorns in sight. “Cadet Athame,” one said. “And Tyto. What brings you to the Sky Barracks?”

“We need to talk to a pegasus,” Valiant said. “I’d appreciate the favor, Galdr.”

The unicorns shared a look. “Sure, Valiant. But it’s getting late, and the Everfree is dangerous at night. It might be best if you stay here for the night.”

Ghost brightened at that. The Barracks looked much homier than the ruins of the Castle or Valiant’s tiny bunk.

Galdr led them to a guest room off the third floor landing. It was circular—Ghost had noticed before that pegasi, like unicorns, preferred circles in their design plans more than earthponies and their square, straight rooms. Circles felt easier, more dynamic. Perfect of magic or flying, it seemed.

“This should be room enough for the four of you,” Galdr said. He’d taken off his helmet and hung it on a shoulder hook, like Cypress. His mane was a riot of red and gold. “I’ll have the matron bring you meals when she feeds the pegasi.”

That was all good and well, but there was business at hoof. “Slipstream?”

“Her room’s at the top floor. We have an elevator at the center of the Barracks. The attendant there will help you up.” Galdr turned to Valiant. “Any note on where they’re placing you yet?”

Valiant shook his head. “Still working on it. I thought they’d put me in the Sunburst Brigade, but the Princess is too busy with this Frosthoof thing to report yet.”

Sunburst Brigade? The elite unicorn team, comprised only of unicorns with pure magical talent. Of course they’d want Valiant. He was the only seven-pointed cutie mark in the world. Strange that he hadn’t bragged about it yet.

Galdr made a noncommittal gesture with a hoof. “I’m sure she’ll find the time after this has been settled and the murderer has been found. Until then, you’ll have to hold out.” He looked over his shoulder. “I have to get back to post now. Let the matron know if you need anything.”

“Will do,” Ghost said, already walking out past him, towards the elevator. After a moment, the rest followed.

The attendant was a young pegasus with a rainbow-streaked mane, strapped into some kind of harness. As soon as they were all on, he beat his wings powerfully and the elevator shot up.

Ghost watched the red-orange light of the sunset above come into sharper view as the elevator soared up. “How?”

“Enchantments.” The pegasus was out of breath as the elevator came to a stop. “They magnify my wingpower. Amplify how much weight I can lift.”

Ghost frowned. “Why not just have a unicorn do it?”

The pegasus gave him a look. “Because this is a pegasi Barracks.”

Oh. Ghost hadn’t thought that mattered.

The attendant pointed Slipstream’s room out to them. As soon as they were out of the elevator, he flared his wings, and it began to coast back to the ground floor. Ghost watched it go, looking for signs of enchantment. There: white lines of magic veined the harness and the floor where the pegasus was standing. A very powerful, very simple spell. He wondered where it drew the energy from.

When he came out of his thoughts, the rest of the group had already moved on. Tyto was out in front, paused at the door. He knocked. “Slipstream? It’s Tyto. Can we talk?” There was no answer. He knocked again. “Slip?”

Tyto turned, shrugging. “I guess she’s not home.”

Valiant’s horn flared up, no doubt to shove the door in, but Ghost stopped him. “Wait a second. Let me try something.”

The heat-seeker spell relied mostly on his own body temperature. He felt his lungs fill with cold air as the spell did its work, filling his vision with red, yellow, orange smudges.

Valiant’s horn was a point of pure black, so hot that it traveled all the way down his skull and into his spine. Tyto was second-hottest, but his body heat seemed pooled in his stomach, right beneath the sharp, bird-like point of his chest. Cypress looked almost entirely blue—his armor reflected the spell.

Ghost turned to the door. Inside, he could detect mostly blue and purple empty space, but there, right in the corner, was the tiniest smudge of orange.

He broke the spell with a flick of his head. Turning to Tyto, he nodded.

Tyto laid his paw flat on the door. With barely any effort at all, he pushed.

The door splintered as it opened, swinging noisily open. In the corner, as Ghost had guessed, huddled a form beneath a blanket. All he could see was a tuft of yellow mane.

Tyto didn’t move into the room. “Slip?”

The blanket moved a little bit.

Valiant and Sir Cypress looked awkward. They stood at the door, scuffing their hooves, looking at everything but the blanket. Ghost strode forward and sat in the only chair in the room while Tyto went to the bed.

He sat down on the edge, draping his tail down onto the floor. Resting a claw gently on Slipstream’s shoulder—or what Ghost assumed was her shoulder—he said, “Come on, sweetheart, come out of there. We’re worried about you.”

The blanket shifted and a tiny face peeked out. Slipstream was small for a pegasus, with a pure white coat to rival Valiant’s. “Tyto?” she whispered. “Who’re they?”

“Friends,” Tyto said, his gentle smile twitching a bit. “We want to ask you some questions.”

Slipstream bunched the blankets up closer around her face. “Are you going to make me fly with the Strikers? Because I can’t! Not until she goes back to sleep.”

Tyto frowned. “Who?”

Ghost leaned forward, taking out his quill and parchment, preparing himself.

Slipstream’s face was stricken. “The silver mare.”

Oh. The quill wilted a bit against the parchment.

“What silver mare?”

But now Slipstream seemed distracted. “What time is it? What time? Is it tomorrow yet? Please tell me it’s tomorrow, Tyto, please—” She started to shake.

Tyto took her in his arms, rubbing her back. He looked up helplessly at Valiant, who looked like he wanted to disappear from the emotional filly.

Ghost nodded at Tyto, prompting him. Tyto sighed.

“Slipstream, my friend wants to ask you some questions.”

Ghost stepped forward, bringing his chair up to Slipstream’s bedside. “Do you remember Egg, Slipstream? From the orphanage?”

“Egg,” she said vaguely. Her eyes looked out of focus as she shook.

“Happy Homes,” he went on. “You were bunkmates with her. Friends.”

“Friends,” she whispered. “Yes, Egg was my friend.”

“Was?” Ghost was aware of Sir Cypress stepping forward, coming closer to hear the filly’s hushed words.

“I…” She licked her lips. “I wanted her to take the offer with me. She thought her father would come for her. She didn’t want to. I…I pushed her, told her he wasn’t coming back, that all our parents were dead. I don’t know if she believed me.”

“She was kidnapped the day before you took the offer,” Ghost said, scratching his notes as quietly as he could.

Slipstream nodded. “We got in a fight,” she whispered. “She went to bed after I did. I slept in the top bunk. I woke up in the middle of the night and—” Her eyes widened, so completely open that Ghost could see the whites all the way around her irises. “I can’t be here. I can’t be here. I can’t be here.” She started shaking all over again, her eyes out of focus. “I can’t be here. I can’t be here. Don’t you understand? Tyto? I can’t be here.”

“She’s having a panic attack,” Ghost noted.

Tyto gritted his teeth. He hugged her close, shushing her, rocking her. “Slip, it’s okay. Nopony’s going to hurt you. You’re safe here.”

But she struggled. Wriggling out of his grasp, she went to the window and looked outside, down towards the ground. She screamed shrilly. “Oh, Celestia. No, no, no, no. Please no.” She collapsed onto the ground, burying her head beneath her forehooves, and sobbed.

Valiant looked down at her helplessly. “Maybe we should try this again in the morning.”

Tyto went to Slipstream’s side. “Come on, Slip. Let’s get you back into bed.”

She went numbly, snuffling, still trembling as Tyto tucked her in, smoothing her covers flat. When he went to move away, she hooked a hoof around his claw. “Tyto?”

He bent down to eye-level. “Yes? Do you want me to stay with you?”

Slipstream’s teeth were chattering. “Lock the door when you go,” she said, and refused to say more.

---

That night, Ghost could hardly sleep. He tossed and turned in his cot. He couldn’t get comfortable. Slipstream’s words kept coming back to him: Lock the door when you go.

She was terrified. Plainly. And of something she wouldn’t speak about. Something she wanted to escape.

Ghost turned onto his opposite shoulder. Through the darkness and the bleariness of having his glasses off, he could see Sir Cypress’s dark green outline. Ghost wondered if he was sleeping, too. Above Cypress’s bunk was Tyto’s. The long dark trail of his tail fell out.

“I can’t be here,” she’d said. Why would she say that? Why take the offer if she couldn’t be where pegasi went when they did? It didn’t make any sense. Ghost hated it when facts didn’t line up.

He must have drifted off sometime during the night, because at dawnbreak, he was awoken by the sound of fluttering wings and shouting.

Ghost tumbled out of bed, scrambling for his glasses. Cypress was already up and slinging on his armor. Even without magic, the motion was well-oiled. It was on within seconds, but not before he saw Cypress’s cutie mark. Ghost had always thought he’d have a sword or a mace or something brutal, but it was none of that. A trio of angular red flowers, clustered closely together. They looked almost like red stars. Cypress blossoms, Ghost realized.

Out in the hall, it was madness. With a terrible wrench to his gut, Ghost understood why.

Galdr ran by, followed by a pack of Solar Guard. Valiant stopped him with a shout, but Ghost didn’t bother. He knew. He just knew. Somehow in the pit of his stomach, he knew.

“Galdr, what’s happened? Are we under attack? I don’t have my armor.”

Galdr had awful sadness in his eyes. “We’re not under attack. We’ve already had one.”

Valiant frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Tyto did. He spread his wings and flew, straight up, straight to the tenth floor, to the room in the corner, to where a tiny form had huddled beneath a blanket the night before.

Galdr bent his head. “There’s been a murder. Slipstream has been killed.”