> Brotherhood is Magic
>  by GauntletsofRai
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	

...did send forth her sister into the reaches of the heavens and imprisoned her within the moon. Now she awaits the time that will come when her one thousand years of penance are complete, when night shall rain upon the lands for eternity. 

         
-The Ballad of Nightmare Moon, page 214.                                      

Thomas sighed and rubbed his eyes as he placed the old book back on the shelf where he had found it. He wasn't one for fairy tales, but this story was apparently historically accurate, or so the author had claimed. What he couldn't get his mind around was the disturbing image of Princess Celestia, the benevolent picture of all that was good in the world, banishing her only sister into the moon. Princess Celestia wouldn't do that... would she? Even for as long as Thomas of House Twilight had known the princess as his personal teacher and mentor, there was still a lot he didn't or probably never would know about her. Legend said that she was at least a thousand years old, which he had held as true since his father had told him stories of when he'd seen the princess as a boy, almost forty years ago, and how she hadn't changed one bit since then. Even if he didn't know everything about the princess' past, he was sure that she would never lie to him.          
He had been thinking since he started walking to the princess' chambers to meet with her, per her request. As he reached the door to the chamber, he flattened his straight black hair where it had stuck up and straightened out his deep purple tunic the way he always did when having audience with the princess. He took a few nervous breaths and then opened the door cautiously.  
"Princess Celestia, you wanted to see me?" He looked around the wide chamber, still in awe at the high-vaulted ceilings painted with murals of the sky and clouds that he could swear were moving. For some reason, every time he saw that ceiling, he was filled with awestruck wonder, even though he had seen it hundreds of times. He searched the room until his eyes settled on the familiar form of the princess. She stood tall and glimmering in the evening sun that poured through the stained glass windows that circled her chamber. The strangest, and in Thomas' opinion the most beautiful thing about her, was her hair, which cascaded down her shoulders in rippling pastel greens blues and pinks. When she turned to face him, her deep and wistful eyes rested upon him, and she addressed him in tones as smooth and warm as honey.    
"Hello Thomas. Come, sit down! Have some tea." Thomas walked reverently to the princess and sat down in the chair she gestured to. He picked up a cup of tea that she poured and sipped it while he waited for the princess to begin speaking. "I wanted to tell you about a special assignment I have for you."     
Thomas almost choked on his tea when she told him that. A special assignment?! What could it be? She actually trusts ME with a special assignment?! He choked down his excitement and spoke as coolly as was possible for him in his current state of unrest. "Um, what assignment would that be princess?"                  
"There have been reports of strange things happening in the lands to the north. Some say that demons are roaming freely in the open, and some say that there is a powerful necromancer that has awoken. I have no confirmation to any of those theories, but there is no doubt that something very unsettling is going on." The princess rose gracefully to her feet and stood by the window, looking at the red sun sinking in the horizon without blinking. She sighed heavily and turned to Thomas. "I have lived through some very difficult and disturbing times, Thomas, but if this disturbance turns out to be what I think it is..." She lowered her head and stared at the ground, her eyes filled with thousands of years of sorrow. "Your assignment is to find the source of this disturbance, and end it. I would go myself, but I have other matters to attend to." She approached Thomas, who was now rigid with anticipation in his seat. "I have faith that you will complete this task, Thomas. This is the most important thing I have ever asked of you, but I know that you can accomplish it."    
Thomas leapt to his feet with determination. "I won't let you down, Princess! Just tell me where to go, and I'll be there by morning!"    
The princess eyed him with what can only be described as amusement. "Thomas, I know you are confident in your abilities, as am I, but you won't be going alone." Thomas' expression changed from elation to disbelief so quickly  that it was almost comical, which he noted from the princess' stifled smirk.      
He sat back down and stared at the ground in despairingly. Truth be told, Thomas did not work well with others. Partly because he was always afraid he would do something that would upset someone, or cause someone to turn on him. This would often lead to him doing exactly what he tried to avoid. He looked back up at the princess, speaking with caution. "Who will you send with me, princess?"                   
The princess revealed a scroll from her sleeve and handed it to him. "This is a list of the five men I want you to take with you on this trip. You can find each of them in the town of Mannsville." FIVE others? I would have been fine with one, maybe even three, but FIVE? Thomas' heart sank even lower than he thought was possible. He would have to lead a group of five men, and each of them from a place he had never visited? He felt as though he might heave right in front of the princess, he was so nervous.    
Princess Celestia laid a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "I have been observing these men for quite some time now, and I am confident that they will be very useful in this mission." She straightened up, moved back to the window and formally addressed him. "Find these men first thing tomorrow, and then head along the North Road to Manesburrow east of White Tail Woods. When you arrive there, speak to Thane Edwin about the strange occurances." 
She looked back at Thomas, more friendly now. "By the way, how is Spike doing?"    
Remembering the hatchling dragon he had received to care for several years ago lightened his mood. "Very well, princess. He mastered his message fire just yesterday."   
A genuine smile broke across the princess' face. "Very good indeed! You can contact me during your mission if you run into any trouble." She once again placed her hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes with her assuring stare. "Sleep well, and good luck on your journey, my faithful student."            
Thomas bowed and exited the chamber. Once he closed the door, he let out a sigh as though he had been holding his breath the entire time. He walked back to his room in the castle, still dazed by the task set before him. As he reached his room, he climbed into bed, not bothering to change his clothes, and stared at the ceiling until he finally fell asleep.  

* * *

> Jack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Jack stood ankle-deep in mud as he wrestled with the giant stump that blocked the new path he had cut through his apple orchard. This particular stump must have been on the land since before his father's father was even born. I wonder if grandad ever had as much trouble with this damned stump. He straightened up as the first rays of light poked through the apple trees on the hill in the distance. It was almost worth getting up before the rooster crowed every morning, just to see that sunrise. Working on a farm most of his life, Jack wasn't too good with words, but every time he saw that sunrise, he felt like he could write the most beautiful poem in the world, if only he knew how to put his thoughts on paper. Sure, he could read some basic letters and numbers, if only for business' sake, but he strayed away from any books most of the time just to keep from feeling stupid, since he didn't know half the fancy words in those old books from the town library. Sometimes, when he heard those learned wizards that passed through town from up north, he wanted so bad to go pick up as many books as he could carry and read them all, just to understand some of the things they talked about. But then he would tell himself what he always told himself when he felt like that. I'll do some learning when I'm not so busy on the farm. That would satisfy him for a while, but deep down, he knew that that would never happen unless he sold Sweet Apple Acres, or he turned old and gray and unfit for farm work.                    
Such thoughts would often plague Jack's mind as he stared at that magical sunset. He looked back down at the stump and remembered his work. He hooked his fingers and held on to his rope as tight as he could, and leaned forward, away from the stump. With a grunt and a final pull, the stump came loose from the mud around it. He felt the resistance of the stump fall away, and gave a sigh of relief. He straightened his stiff back and then threw the stump off the road as hard as he could, satisfied with his work. He wiped away a trickle of sweat from his eye as he saw a dark shape moving down the road towards him. He made out the shape of a man, with another shape crawling along the ground beside it. What in sam hell is that? As they came further down the road, he realized just what that crawling shape was. It was much smaller than the monstrosities that glided over the tree tops burning everything in sight, but there was no mistaking what it was.         
As the shape that was indeed a man approached him with the little creature by his side, Jack stepped out into the road to greet him. He could tell right away from the way he walked, along with his crisp, neat purple jacket with a pink and lavender stripe on one side, that this stranger was from Camelot in the mountains. The stranger wore a very nice sword with a jewel in the pommel at his hip, but Jack immediately recognized the staff he carried as the weapon of a Camelot wizard. He was used to the wizards that lived in Mannsville, but they were usually hedge-wizards that could do no more than healing magic, or levitation. Well I'll be, a real proper wizard! Jack knew that a wizard like that could no doubt teach him a limitless array of things, but he put that idea away as he approached the strange wizard.     
"Hey there, stranger! Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!" The strange wizard stopped and gave Jack a look of what he thought was condescension. He was just shorter than Jack and much leaner, which didn't say much, since Jack was easily the tallest and well-muscled man in Mannsville besides his older brother Big Mac, who put anyone and everyone to shame with his size and strength. The stranger brushed his straight black hair out of his face, which was in contrast with Jack's unruly straw-colored hair hidden beneath his pa's old ranch hat.     
Jack extended his hand for a hand shake, and the stranger did likewise. "Name's Jack. I own these here grounds. Were you lookin' fer Mannsville?"                                                     
The stranger looked blustered as he fell prey to Jack's notoriously vice-like hand shake. "I'm Thomas, and yes, I'm headed for Mannsville. You wouldn't happen to be Jack Apple of the Apple family would you?"   
"The one and only! What can I do fer you, Thomas?"   
The strange wizard, now known as Thomas, regally straightened his posture and produced a scroll with a royal solar seal. "By request of Princess Celestia, you have been chosen to accompany me and four others on a trip to the North for an investigation of strange happenings that need immediate attention."   
Jack scratched his head and peered at the scroll, trying his best to read some of the words written in the flowing royal script. "Me, on a mission? Do ya' mind me askin' why?"                      
Thomas the wizard relaxed a bit and tucked the scroll back in his belt. "Princess Celestia believes that you and the other four men on this list are the right men for this particular job. Gather enough provisions for three or more days and meet me at the center of Mannsville. We and the other men depart at noon. Good day, Jack."        
The wizard Thomas and his little friend started for the road, but Jack stepped in front of them, blocking their way. "Hold on friend, You don't know you way 'round Mannsville, and I wouldn't be a very good host if I didn't come along with ya'!"   
"Oh, that won't be necessary, I think I can-"   
"Nonsense! You can join us for breakfast at the homestead!"          
The wizard Thomas looked almost appalled at the suggestion. "No, really, you're too kind, but I already ate. Really, I'm fine."     
Jack propped his arm around the wizard's neck and started walking him down the road. "Now, I aint takin' no fer an answer! It wouldn't be proper at all fer me to leave ya' hungry and lost in a town you've never been to! I'll make sure Granny Smith cooks up an extra batch of eggs, and then I'll show ya' around Mannsville myself!"         
Jack drug the protesting wizard along the road to the old farm house, with the little purple creature towing along beside them.                                         

* * *
                                                 

Jack smirked at the wizard sitting across from him at his kitchen table, who looked miserably stuffed. Jack was leery of letting Thomas' little pet in the house, but Thomas had insisted that Spike (the creature's very fitting name, due to the row of green spikes across his back) was completely safe to have indoors, since he had apparently raised him from an egg, or so Thomas said.      
Jack's little sister, Applebloom (Thomas seemed to double-take at the name, though Jack thought it was a right proper name for a cute little girl) was restlessly curious about the creature Thomas had brought along with him, and who was now devouring a plate of eggs and bacon on the floor near the table. "Is he a real live dragon?"          
"Yes, I raised him myself from an egg."   
"How come he's so tiny? I thought dragons were suppose'ta be ginormous!"  
"Well, he's only a baby dragon, but he'll grow bigger when he's older."  
"Does he eat a lot?"     
Jack shot Applebloom an angry, silencing glance. "Now Applebloom, it aint polite to annoy our guest here with yer' silly questions." Applebloom gave what Thomas later described as the most heart-wrenchingly adorable pout he had ever seen, as she left the table and left the room. "Don't mind her, she's a real drama queen, if ya' get my meaning. Welp, I guess we better head on out to find the crew." Thomas stood up and groaned as he held in his protruding belly.      
Jack grabbed his pack of provisions for the trip and buckled his heavy broad sword across his back as he and Thomas approached the door to leave. "I know most 'o them guys on yer' list there, so it shouldn't be a problem at all to find 'em. We can round up all of 'em by noon, no sweat!"       
Thomas eyed the large dented sword as Jack buckled it on. "That's a pretty big sword. Mind if I ask where you got it?" 
Jack puffed up with pride as he pulled the sword from its scabbard for inspection. "Why, this here is my most prized possesion! Pa used it in the war of the Nine Rivers, 'bout thirty years ago." Jack beheld the sword wistfully and spoke quietly now. "He said I could have it if I promised to protect the farm, 'iffin there came a time when he wasn't around any longer." He sighed and sheathed the notched sword with a melancholy smile. "Guess I get to keep my promise."    
Thomas looked almost apologetic for having asked. "Are you sure you're okay leaving the your farm? The quest might take a few days, maybe even a week."   
Jack amiably slapped Thomas' shoulder. "It won't be no problem, I reckon Big Mac can handle things pretty well, on account of apple season just ended. Besides, if I'm protectin' Equestria, I guess that counts as protectin' the farm too."     
Just then, a towering shape appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, surprising Thomas with its uncanny stealth. "Well, speak 'o the devil! Big Mac, did you hear? The princess asked for me to go on a quest! Can ya' believe it?"     
The monstrously muscled man with the same straw-colored hair as Jack grasped Jack's hand in a brotherly embrace. "Nnope," he said, drawing out the word in his enchanting drawl.      
"You can handle a little farm work without me for a few days, can'tcha?"      
"Eeyup." And with that terse goodbye, Big Mac waved them both out the door.               
Jack and Thomas exited the homely farm house with Spike just behind them, and hopped over the stile in the fence at the end of the spacious yard that sloped down the hill that the house rested on top of. Jack had been regaling Thomas with tales of wizards he had met in the past around Mannsville, when a dark hooded figure carrying a box bumped into them from around the curve in the road. The contents of the box spilled out on the ground and Jack stopped to help him pick them up. 
"I'm awful sorry 'bout that, mister. I should really watch were I'm going." The contents of the box were revealed to be several bottles of thick green liquid.          
The hooded figure stood up to reveal a shriveled face with two mismatched eyes and a toothless smile. "That's quite alright son! Say, could I interest you in some 'o this finely brewed multipurpose elixir? It'll cure whatever ails ya, and makes a mighty fine broth for stewin'! Only three bits a bottle!"     
Jack smiled at the old man as he reached for his coin pouch. "Well I reckon that sounds like a mighty fine elixir you got there! I'll take one!" He dropped three gold bits into the old man's hands and took the bottle he offered him.   
"Oh thank ye' son! Your patronage is greatly appreciated!" With that, the old man skipped off down the road at a pace that Jack would have thought impossible for a man that age.      
Once the man was gone, Jack put the bottle in his pack and started off again. Thomas spoke up, a look of confusion on his face. "What is that stuff?"  
"Oh, it's probably just snake oil, but I guess a few bits aint bad fer' a  potion of any quality at any rate, don'tcha agree?" 
"I suppose, but I really wouldn't drink it until I found out what it is."    
"Oh, no doubt, friend. Would you mind takin' a look at it? I bet you know a heap about potions and things like that, right?"      
Thomas perked up, looking a little prideful. "Well, I dabbled in potions for a year or to. Sure, I'll take a look at it."  
Jack tossed him the potion and he caught it, albeit just barely. Jack lead the way down the dirt road until they reached the top of a hill that overlooked the quaint little cluster of shingled buildings that was Mannsville. As Thomas looked down on the village he had seen in numerous paintings, he started to really appreciate the quiet beauty that a small town has, completely foreign from the beauty of the gleaming spires of Camelot. Thomas thought that if the other four men were anything like Jack, it  might not be such a horribly uncomfortable quest after all. A thought which he immediately dismissed, as a blur of color slammed into his side from out of nowhere.       

* * *

> Dash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dionysius, or Dash as he like to be called, sat sullenly on the edge of the high wall that surrounded the observatory atop the mountain formally know as the 'Cloud Vale.' He looked up at the clouds that hung just a few feet above his head and gave a sigh of discontent. He had been assigned to manage the observatory that the seers used to study the night sky and divine the future. When you lived in the Cloud Vale, you either gained 'the foresight' and became a seer, or you joined the Equestrian National Guard. And since Dash had about as much foresight as a fish had legs, he was immediately shipped off to the Guard's training camp. He had soared through the ranks, beating all the other recruits in the areas of physical prowess. But he was so fast, that he was banned from the racing track. He was so good with a bow, that he had been banned from the archery contests just to keep it fair. And he was so competitive, that he was finally banned from the practice fields all together after he almost killed a new recruit with a fatal neck blow. General Hollding, the master of arms,  had declared his training complete, if only to get rid of him. I really didn't mean to hurt the kid, honest! Dash had checked on the recruit every hour of every day for four days straight to see if he was okay, but that hadn't changed the fact that he was a reckless hothead.      
Since Dash wasn't old enough to join the Guard yet, he was biding his time doing menial tasks while he was still banned from the practice field. His least favorite being that he had to 'manage' the observatory, which he thought was the most stupid job ever, since no one even used it during the day. He spent most of the week sitting around and moping on the wall, looking down the steep mountainside, or up at the clouds. What he wanted more than anything though, was to fly. It was a big pastime  with the people of the Vale to fly on their specially crafted gliders that floated on the wind. Most times they were used to get a closer look at the clouds in order to form various weather predictions, but they were also invigoratingly fun to ride. Last time Dash flew his glider while he was at his 'post', General Hollding had given him an annoyingly long lecture about responsibility in the battle field, and had made him scour the chain mail in the armory until sundown, which was much later than sundown at the bottom of the mountain, due to it's monolithic height.     
Dash renewed his anger at this injustice as he saw three gliders fly by the mountainside, coasting on the updrafts of thermal air that escaped from strategically placed crevices in the mountain. He pushed a hand through his flamboyantly colored hair, done in stripes of each color of the rainbow, denoting him as an honorary member of the Color Guard; a special forces squad that led the most covert operations. He had been promised a position due to his abilities as soon as he reached the age of 19, which was considered the age of military acceptance. He had fought with the General about this, but the law strictly prohibited him from joining until he was of age. Needless to say, the specially made tunic of cyan blue for his house color, with a rainbow stripe down the spine and sleeves, had quickly lost its luster after the first few weeks of menial chores.    
"Look at those amateurs. I could fly circles around those kids!" Dash looked down at his glider, a staff-like piece of sturdy wood about seven feet long, with fan-like wings that folded neatly to the sides when not in use. He was tempted to take it and jump, right here and now, and show those kids a few things about what REAL flying was all about. There was no doubt that Dash was the best flyer in all of the Cloud Vale, but he liked to remind people as often as he could. After all, he knew where each of the updraft channels were, and could easily fly around the mountain and back up again in ten seconds flat, without the General being any the wiser. Jumping at the challenge he just gave himself, Dash picked up his glider and extended the wings, which shot out to either side. He reconsidered for a moment as he looked down the steep mountainside, but the feeling passed as he shoved his feet and hands into the stirrups and jumped into the wild blue yonder.       
Flying was like nothing else in the whole world. The sensation of falling overwhelms you at first, but when you pull up and ride the draft of air beneath you, you feel invincible. Faster than the winter winds, Dash zoomed across the face of the mountain, going diagonally so as to curve around the contour of the mountain. As he hit the first updraft, he shot straight up into the air, shouting with adrenaline fueled ecstasy as he shot through the clouds. As he leveled out, he turned to the right and headed down towards the next updraft, and saw the three amateurs from earlier. Feeling particularly showboat-ish, he caught the updraft and headed straight towards the middle of their sloppy flight formation. He pulled his wings in and did a wicked corkscrew as he shot between them, breaking their pattern. He pulled his wings back out and turned to see their faces, but what he saw made his smile drop faster than a rock thrown off a cliff. General Hollding was coming around the mountain on his own glider, just above the cloud level. OH SHIT.              
Dash banked hard to the left in order to put himself out of the General's line of sight. He hugged the side of the mountain, catching the updrafts as he went. But it was no use, since the General would see that he was not at his post before he had time to get back up to the observatory. He thought hard about what to do, struggling to hit the updrafts while at the same time making sure he wasn't too close to the mountainside. He swerved too far to the right and missed his next updraft, sending him lower and lower by the second. He strained his watering eyes, looking for a vent nearby, but the last one was the only one for another three miles on this side of the mountain. A vicious blast of air bore down on Dash's back, driving him down even further. He fought to keep his position against the wind without hitting the mountainside, straining against the wings of his glider.   
Just as he was about to give up hope, an idea struck him. He could free-fall for a few hundred feet, and then catch the first of the updrafts on the side of the mountain and ride the rest of them back up. It was risky, but it was the only option he had right now. He would most definitely get chewed out harder than ever, but punishment was a small price to pay for not dying.                 
He pulled in his wings and dropped like a stone, still hugging the side of the mountain. He searched for the vent on the mountainside; a dark crevice with a wooden scaffold on the outside. he spotted it immediately and opened his wings ever so slightly to push him in the vent's direction. He opened his wings to catch the full breadth of the updraft and a sudden wind caught him from his underside and pushed him away from the mountain. He screamed as he began to spiral out of control towards the ground. By the time he had regained his balance, he was dangerously close to the tree line that ended with the property of the local apple orchard. He pulled up on his wings as hard as he could in order to catch the wind and slow down, but just as he was inches from the ground, a man in a purple tunic, holding a staff, and another taller man in an orange jacket stepped out of the orchard into the open air.      
Dash tried to yell and warn them, but his voice stuck in his throat as he made a b-line towards the purple clothed one, who he now recognized as a wizard. He braced for impact as he soared straight towards the wizard, but instead of hitting a solid mass like he expected, he had the sensation of belly-flopping on the still surface of a pond. The force of the impact was cushioned considerably as Dash and the wizard both hit the ground, the force field stopping what would have been a nasty and fatal collision.       
"What the hell?" The large man with the straw-colored hair lifted Dash off of the wizard, who laid groaning on the ground. Dash shook himself before he blacked out, and looked down to see that, thankfully, his glider had not been broken in the crash. Dash disentangled himself from the large man and brushed himself off, wincing at the various bruises that covered his body.   
The wizard grabbed his staff and propped himself back up into a standing position. "Where did you even come from?" 
Dash kicked his glider upwards with a flick of his foot and caught it with his outstretched hand. "Just a flying mishap, happens all the time. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go."  
The taller one stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Just who are you, anyways?"      
Feeling cornered, Dash shot back with a retort. "Wouldn't you like to know?"      
The wizard spoke up, tapping Dash on the shoulder with his staff. "You wouldn't happen to be Dionysius of the Cloud Vale, would you?"    
Dash brushed the staff away with apparent disgust. "It's Dash, first of all. Second, how did you know who I am? You want an autograph or something?"     
The wizard tried to hide what appeared to be disgust on his face. "I noticed you're part of the Color Guard. Princess Celestia has requested that you accompany us on a quest to the North, to investi-"    
"Psh, yeah right. Why would the Princess choose ME for a quest? I'm not even officially part of the Guard yet."      
"I don't question the Princess' decisions. I'm Thomas, by the way. This is Jack, he owns Sweet Apple Acres. He and three others will be joining our quest."                                          
Dash eyed the both of them suspiciously. He wasn't one to jump into something he wasn't sure was even real. "You got some kind of proof this is a real quest?"    
The wizard Thomas pulled out a scroll with a royal solar seal on the outside."Alright, I guess that looks pretty real." Although Dash couldn't deny that the documentation was real, he was still wary of the two men before him. "Just let me get my stuff, and I'll be right with you guys."   
"Sounds good. Meet us and the rest of the team at the Mannsville north gate at noon." Thomas held out his hand for a handshake, and Dash grasped it and shook. The big one, Jack, reached out his hand as well. Dash grabbed his hand and squeezed back as hard as he could, rivaling the large man's vice-like grip. They went silently at it like this for a few seconds, sizing each other up, before Thomas broke them up with a cough of impatience. Dash walked away, trying hard to keep his pride intact, and jumped into the air on his glider.       

* * *
           

"What a hothead." Jack shook his head as the rainbow striped menace flew off.    
Thomas muttered under his breath. "let's hope the rest aren't as big of ass holes."   
"Pardon?"   
"Oh, nothing." Thomas pulled out the scroll once more and looked at the names on the list. He pondered for a while as the two resumed their pace down the road towards the village. "The next person on the list is Roald Westmorland. It says he owns... a clothing store?"     
"Hey, I know him. He made this jacket I'm wearin' right now. He even added my fam'ly crest, free of charge!" Jack pointed to the group of three red apples that was masterfully stitched onto the breast of his orange jacket. "Come to think of it, he just happens to be a wizard, just like you!"    
Thomas rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he walked along the road. It would be interesting to meet another wizard such as himself. He had often encountered other wizards at Camelot, but had never knew any of them besides his professors personally. I wonder if he knows any advanced magical theory? The rest of the way to the village, Thomas became more and more excited at the prospect of meeting a wizard he could discuss magic with. Not that Jack wasn't good company, but let's face it, he knows as much about magic as a, well... apple farmer.           

* * *

	
> Shane
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shane tip-toed as quietly as he could around the Carousel Boutique; Mannsville's residential raiment manufacturer, or at least that's what Roald called it. Roald, the owner of the store, had informed Shane that his pants were ready and repaired. Shane winced as he recalled the images of his embarrassing mishap at the town fair, when his pants split right down the seam in front of everybody. He had run to his cottage that was situated as far from the town as conveniently possible, and hid from everyone for a week. Currently, Roald was Shane's only real friend, as he was the only one in town that respected his "demure" attitude and "impeccable subtlety." Truth be told, Shane had only one friend because he was deathly afraid of other people. And it didn't help that he had become the laughing stock of all Mannsville, an idea of Shane's that Roald was constantly trying to dismiss. But Shane didn't want to take any chances, so he approached any place in Mannsville with utter caution.    
Roald knew how shy Shane could be, so he gave him access to the back door, to pick up his orders without running into anyone. He unlocked the door with the key Roald had given him, and slipped inside before anyone could see. He closed the door and gave a sigh of relief before moving through the storage room that led outside. Shane felt honored that Roald trusted him enough to give him the key to the room that held his entire stock, including some very valuable gemstones. The most interesting thing about Roald was that he could sense where gemstones were hidden in the ground. This ability had granted him a considerable amount of wealth and standing within the community. He even overcame his position as a middle class citizen and had now been ranked with some of the kingdom's most notable nobility. But the best thing about Roald was that he was always generous. He had offered to tailor Shane's pants for free, but Shane insisted that he pay for them, so Roald had cut his normal price in half. Shane sure was lucky to have a friend like him.  
He peered around, looking for his pants, but couldn't find them. "Roald, are you here?" Shane called very meekly, even though he hadn't seen anyone walk into the store for at least ten minutes now. Shane entered the doorway to his left into Roald's stitching room, filled with swatches of cloth every shade of color, and numerous mannequins and clothing diagrams. Shane spotted his repaired pants hanging on a rack by the wall and happily went to grab them. He stopped as he tucked the pants under his arm, hearing a noise. Someone was talking to Roald. An unfamiliar voice was talking to Roald. Shane flattened out the wall and began breathing heavily. He had made sure no one else was here, but it turned out he wasn't as thorough as he should have been. I'll just step out, really quite, and they won't even notice I was here. As he slid towards the door, he couldn't help but overhear the conversation that was going on behind the wall.   
"An important investigation? I don't mean to sound rude, but wherever would that be? I had though Equestria was in a time of peace!"         
The unfamiliar voice spoke now. "We are to receive orders as to where the disturbance is once we've gathered the party and are ready to depart."    
"But I just don't understand why the Princess would want ME, of all people, to accompany a band of warriors into battle? I'm not really one for fighting."   
A mission from the Princess? Shane knew Roald was on the up and up with many of Equestria's finest, but a request from the Princess was BIG news indeed. If this was true, Roald would probably go to live up in Camelot, near the Princess as a war hero. He would get notoriety and fame beyond what he had already acquired, and Shane would be left alone in Mannsville, without a friend in the world. He had to see who this was talking to Roald, but crippling fear still bolted his body in place. He stilled himself, breathed in and out a few times, then slowly poked his head around the corner.  
Roald was standing in front of the counter, which was placed to the left of the shop's front entrance. There were two strangers standing with there backs to Shane; one was in a purple tunic and had straight black hair, while the other was taller and more muscled, with an orange jacket and bushy straw colored hair. Then Shane looked down and saw a purple shape on the floor. He didn't know what it was at first, since it was unlike any animal he had seen, which was quite a few considering that he had taken care of and cataloged every local fauna there was. When he realized what it was, he let out an audible gasp, and the three turned to look in his direction. When he had realized what he had done, he ducked back out of their sight as quickly as possible.     
"Shane, is that you? Come out here, it's alright! These men are just here to invite me on a little outing!"   
Shane stepped out, ashamed that he had been hiding, and walked into the light, partially hiding his face behind the curtain of his hair, which he combed all to one side. He rubbed his neck awkwardly as the two men greeted him. Their names were Thomas, the shorter one, and Jack, the taller one.         
Shane meekly muttered out his greetings. "Um, hi, I'm Shane. You said something about a, um, quest?"    
The one in purple, Thomas, spoke up. "Yes, a quest to investigate the north of Equestria on account of some disturbances in the area."      
Shane spoke up, more boldly than he would have normally. "Um, is that a baby dragon?"   
Thomas looked down at the purple creature on the floor, and then back at Shane. "Yes, this is Spike. I raised him from a-"   
Shane half-sprinted towards Spike and picked him up in an embrace. "WOW, I've never seen a baby dragon before! How old is he? Does he eat gemstones like I've heard?"       
Roald, obviously shocked at Shane's frankness, gaped at him for several seconds. "Shane, my goodness! I don' think I've ever seen you like this!"   
Shane, remembering himself, put Spike back on the floor and headed for the door wit his head hung low and his shoulders stooped. "I'm sorry, I should go."   
But before he could leave, Thomas put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, Shane? As in Shane of Blackheed in the Cloud Vale?"       
Now it was Shane's turn to look surprised. "Yes, how did you know?"   
Thomas pulled out a scroll from his belt and showed him the royal seal attached to the front. "You're on the list to accompany us as well! Princess Celestia has cordially requested that you-"  
Shane turned white as a sheet at the news. "Me? Why? I've never been in the army! I don't even know how to fight!" He fell to his knees and grasped Thomas by his shirt. "Please, I'll do anything! I can't go on the mission, I just can't!"  
"Pull yourself together, man!" Roald marched over to Shane and picked him up by the collar, dusting him off as he set him on his feet. "It's perfectly safe! It's just a reconnaissance mission, that's all! Plus I'll be there with you all the way, so there's nothing to worry about."                     
The bigger man, Jack, approached Shane as he struggled to control his breathing, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Like he said, there aint nothin' to worry 'bout. I give ya' my word that I'll do my best to get both 'a ya'll back here, safe and sound. You two'll be safer than a egg in a basket."              
Shane looked straight into Jack's honest eyes, and gave him a reassured glance as he grasped his forearm. He turned back to Thomas and spoke with greater resolve than he had ever showed before. "Alright, I'll do it. When do we leave?"    
Thomas looked back at his scroll, frowning in concentration. "I'd like to get ready and going by at least noon today."  


* * *

Shane instantly lost his new found resolve and went as rigid as a statue. "Welp, we better get to goin' now." Jack dropped a pack of provisions onto Shane's rigid back and pushed him out the door, his feet scraping against the floor, like a stone statue. Thomas and Roald, who had spent more time than Thomas would have liked picking out a suitable outfit and combing his hair into an elaborate swirl that rested on one side of his head, walked out the door behind Jack and Shane.    
Roald had chosen a short but elegant silver-gilded sword, and an artfully spiraled, slender mahogany wand, which extended from his outstretched arm about three feet, which was much shorter than Thomas' six-foot staff of ash wood. Shane didn't own a weapon, so Roald had lent him a wicked double-edged battleaxe that had obviously seen a few battles of it's own. Jack looked at the vicious weapon now hanging from Shane's back as he slowly regained the ability to walk. "Hey Rolad, I didn't peg you as a battleaxe kinda' guy."      
Roald stopped combing his hair and acknowledged the weapon."Hm? Oh, that old thing. Yes, it was my father's weapon he used in the battle of Nine Rivers oh so long ago. He gave it to me when he retired from the army, but I never found a use for the thing."    
"No kiddin'? My Pa' fought at Nine Rivers! What squad was yer' pa in?"      
Roald, now finding common ground with the brutishly large man, gave a surprised smile. "Why, he was in foot squad four. Did you know of him?"   
"Well I'll be, my Pa was in squad four! Wait a minute..." Jack looked back at the axe, a look of recognition crossing his face. "Are you tellin' me that YOUR pa was Strongaxe Westmorland?!"     
"Oh, yes, that was his nickname they gave him. They said he slew over one hundred men at that battle, all by himself."  
Jack looked back at Roald, his eyes now full of new found respect. "I can't believe I'm goin' on a mission with the son of Strongaxe Westmorland!" Jack gave Roald an affectionate punch on the arm, while Roald flinched and rubbed his bruise, laughing nervously.   
"Well that must mean that your father was the legendary Wolfsbane! My father talked very often about him!"    
"No kiddin'? I had no idea they even knew each other!"   
Thomas looked back at the rugged farmer and the fashion designer, who were now chatting away like old friends. "Well it looks like you two are getting along just fine." They were so deep in conversation about various stories and tales of their fathers that they didn't even here him. He sighed and looked back at his scroll, which he had started carrying in his hand. "Well that looks like everyone except for the last one on the list. Does anyone know a Peregrine Pious?"  
Roald immediately stopped his conversation and looked disgusted at the mention of the name. "Oh fiddlesticks, not HIM."  
* * * 

	
> Pippin 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Oh my word, that is simply disgusting!" The group of unlikely companions stared at a lump of dirty pink clothes snoring loudly on a pile of trash just behind the local bakery with the sign above the door that read: 'Sugar Cube Corner.' The object of everyone's attention muttered a stifled groan and shifted it's weight among the piles of trash. Roald looked as though he might retch at any moment, albeit rather theatrically. "THE Princess Celestia personally chose THAT to go on a quest of national importance?"     
Thomas looked doubtfully at the man sleeping peacefully in the garbage. "If that's Peregrine Pious, than yes. Though he's not looking so Pious right about now." In response, the forlorn mass of faded pink again let a groan escape into a bag full of molded bread, knocking a few broken bottles away with a fitful kick of his leg.                  
"I'm sorry, but as much as I respect the Princess' wishes, I am NOT going on a quest with HIM."            
The ring of the bell above the shop's door sounded as Jack walked back to the group, holding a bag of sweet rolls. He looked down the gutter and saw the man lying in the trash, and spoke through a mouth full of sweets. "Who's the bum?"   
A breeze fluttered by the group, lifting the smell of the sweet rolls with it. Thomas could have sworn that he could see the smell, like steam rising off of a cup of hot tea, and floating towards the forlorn bum. The palpable smell circled the man's head like a halo, and entered his nostrils as he inhaled. As soon as the smell of the sweet rolls entered his nose, the pile of garbage exploded into a miasma of refuse, with him at the center. As the group of adventurers ducked to avoid the onslaught of garbage, the man, who was about Thomas' height, but as muscled as Jack, stood poised like a wolf searching for prey with his back to them. He sniffed around, and then turned his head towards them, his eyes literally hungry. When he spotted the bag in Jack's hand, he let out a raucous exclamation into the alleyway. "SWEET ROLLS!" Shane ducked behind Jack as the madman dashed straight forward and abruptly stopped before him. "I'd know Mrs. Cake's sumptuous cinnamon sweet rolls anywhere!" He looked up at Jack with puppy dog eyes and held out his hands. "Just one? I'm good for it!"         
Jack rolled his eyes and dropped a hot sticky sweet roll in the maniac's hands. Almost immediately, he tore into it, tearing away large chunks like a ravenous wolf. He paused when he noticed the group, especially Roald, who had his hand over his mouth, staring at him in disgust. Frowning as though they had barged into his house uninvited, he glared at them, his mouth full of sweet roll. "Can I help you?"       
Thomas looked affronted, but proceeded anyways. "Are you Peregrine Pious?"     
The insane man suddenly straightened his posture and elegantly bowed, a gesture which was neutralized by the sweet roll icing around his mouth. "At your service, milord. And what can I do for you this fine day?"           
Thomas narrowed his eyes and shook the puzzled look from his face. "You have been requested by Princess Celestia to accompany us on a journey to the north of here, to investigate-"  
"A mission you say? What's in it for me? HMM?!"          
Thomas struggled with the impulse to apply force to the man's head, but succeeded in regaining his composure. "For completing this task, you will receive the highest honors from Princess-"  
"OK, I'll do it! You only had to ask once!"     
Thomas sighed and passed a hand over his face. "Well, that was easy."    
The lunatic in the faded pink tunic strolled into the shop he was previously sleeping outside of. "Let me just get my things, and we'll be on our way!"    
"Wait! I haven't even told you where we're going, or anything!"   
He stopped and shook his head as he turned back to Thomas and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. It's OK! Just a little reconnaissance mission, nothing to worry about! I pinkie-promise, you'll be safe and sound with your best friend Pippin at your side!" Pippin sighed deeply as he pulled Thomas into a rather awkward hug. "We're friends, right? I like to think we're friends."      
Thomas, who was now thoroughly disturbed, disentangled himself from the raving madman. "How did you know all that? Just who are you, anyways?!"   
Pippin pulled a scroll from behind Thomas' ear and twirled it between his fingers. "It's all right here in the mission plan!" He stopped and assessed the group. "Wait, where's Dash? Haven't you found him yet?"     
After the initial shock of this thoroughly strange man knowing almost everything instantly, Thomas increased his anger and snatched the scroll from Pippin's hand. Infuriated, he poked a finger at the incriminated lunatic, accenting his statement with a poke. "Listen, I don't know HOW you're doing all this, but this is a SERIOUS mission! Just GET your stuff and lets GO." 
Pippin backed away, his hands held up in the air defensively. "Alright, ok, fine, jeez. Serious, I get it! No funny business! Just cool your jets captain!"     
Thomas took his advice and 'cooled his jets.' "I'm sorry, it's been a long day, and frankly you just kinda threw me off-balance for a second, I... I... uhhh..." Thomas looked back at where Pippin had been standing, only to find empty space before a swinging door. With an incredulous look on his face, he turned towards the other members of his group, who all sported the exact same puzzled looks on their faces.   
Jack sputtered for a moment and then regained his tongue. "What just happened here?"    
"That man has to be the most insane person I have ever seen! Are we going to trust our lives with this lunatic?! How do we know he won't kill us in our sleep?!"      
Thomas sighed heavily again. "Look guys, if the Princess thinks he's okay, than I'm okay with him too. Just trust her judgement. Besides, did you see how he cross-analysed me like that?  He's probably a trusted spy to help us gather intelligence!"  
"Yeah guys, give him a chance!"   
"Exactly! Now if we can get to town... square..." Thomas turned slowly to see Pippin, standing unnoticed among the group. Thomas jumped and grasped the front of his tunic. "SHIT!" He panted like he was having a heart attack.     
"You okay pal?"      
Thomas went on panting, trying to recover from the shock Pippin had given him. "How? Where? Oh never mind, let's just get going already."     
"Okie Dokie Lokie, Capn'!" The extremely improbable man rested his hand on an iron flail that hung from a chain about a foot and a half long.                 
"Just don't call me captain, okay? Thomas is fine."              
"You got it, caaaa.... Thomas!"                  
Thomas shook his head in amusement and gathered up his very strange party, heading for the center of Mannsville.   

* * * 
                     
Thomas and his band of misfit soldiers stood in the Mannsville town square, next to the notice board covered with various announcements and help wanted posters. He tapped his foot impatiently and looked up at the sun, which was now visibly past noon. "Where is Dash? He should have come by this way to meet us at the North Gate!"               
Jack approached them from the north side of town, shaking his head. "He wasn't up at the North Gate. I don't know where he coulda' gone off to."       
Thomas threw his hands into the air and  walked away. "Come on men, I don't have time for this."       
"Where'll we go next?"   
"We'll just have to make our way to the Cloud Vale and hope we meet him on our way there."            
"Can't we just go on without him?" Roald asked.    
"No. Princess Celestia gave explicit instructions to have ALL of our party here before we proceed."      
The team walked on for some time, hoping to see Dash along the way, but had no such luck. Thomas grew more and more anxious with each step. The Princess was counting on him, and he was going to let her down by failing to gather the group she had arranged for him. With each thought of letting the Princess down, his resolve strengthened, and he started to walk faster and faster. I am going to find this guy, no matter what. Even if I have to drag him along by his heels.    


* * *
       

The group gathered at the base of the second largest mountain in Equestria, excluding the one which Camelot was carved into. This mountain was much taller than a mountain of it's girth should logically be. A subject which Thomas had studied years ago, and still had not grasped. Each side of the mountain was a sheer cliff face from the point Thomas and his party stood. He could see the gleam of the city near the very top, and now spotted two shapes gliding down to meet them. These shapes were two men on gliders, each of them garbed in armor that should have been much too heavy for the gliders to carry. As they alighted, all the hope that one of them was Dash had faded. Instead, two almost identical soldiers in the armor of the Equestrian National Guard approached them.    
"Ho, travelers. What business have you in the Vale?"         
Thomas stepped forward resolutely and held out the royal seal on the scroll the Princess had given him. "By order of Princess Celestia, we have come to retrieve Dionysius of the Color Guard for a special operations mission."           
The first guard looked at the scroll and studied the seal. "Right this way, sir Thomas of Twilight and guests."    
The second guard took the bow strapped to his back, fitted an arrow with a blue tip on the end, and shot it as high up as he could. The arrow was obviously enchanted, as it gave off a trail of blue smoke as it rose and struck the side of the mountain. After a few moments, a gleaming box of wood with a metal frame lowered itself down ruts in the mountain that Thomas had failed to notice before. Soon the box had reached them, and the guards stepped inside, gesturing for the group to follow, and looking a bit anxious at Spike, the look on their faces denoting that they had obviously never seen a dragon before.    
As they were all inside, the lift groaned and slid upwards at a quick but steady pace. Shane clutched the guard rails and started to turn green, while Pippin hawked an irreverently large loogie and spat it over the edge, laughing with glee as it plummeted towards the ground.       
Jack leaned over to Thomas and whispered in his ear. "I din't know you were a knight!"          
"I'm not, it's just a title."   
'"Oh, that's good." Jack looked relieved as he turned his head to look at the ground which shrunk beneath them. It was strange, but Thomas knew that somehow, Jack felt relieved that Thomas was not a knight, because then he would be unbelievably uncomfortable around him. Thomas dismissed it for a hunch, but deep inside, he knew something between him and these strange men were forming. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.       

* * *

 
> Dale
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Dale stumbled through the overgrown thickets, scraping himself as he went. He clutched a box to his chest and tried not to think about what was inside it. He failed, as the image of what he was about to do kept playing through his mind, over and over again. He had just wanted the pain to stop...           


* * *
                   

Dale stood at the side of a fresh grave, watching as the stonemason's two burly sons fitted the headstone into the soft hole in the ground. He tried his best to hold back the tears that were welling up in his eyes as he clutched the stump of his right arm. He started to breath more quickly as the pallbearers approached the grave with a wooden box on their shoulders.  
As far back as Dale could remember, he wanted to be a knight. He would hear tales of brave warriors who rode into battle with suits of gleaming armor, and long, beautiful swords that could swipe through an enemy like soft butter. He would beg his neighbor, Mr. Donnel, to let him ride one of his horses, even though he was far too young. Dale felt a rueful smile twitch at the corners of his mouth as he remembered the time that Mr Donnel had let him ride one of his newest ponies around the fence, and had even promised not to tell when he fell off the same horse and bruised his side. The happy thought quickly dissipated as he remembered the fire that had killed Mr. Donnel along with his uncle Bowie just two years ago. It was that same fire that had caused a burning timber to crush his arm, which required immediate amputation. Sometimes, he could still feel the fingers move...   
When Dale was a child, his father had left his mother and him for dead, and drank away most of their possessions. He had grown up a soft child with no father, so when he was six years old, his mother's brother Bowie had promised to take care of him and teach him to be a man. Those were the best seven years of his life. He had learned to fight with wooden swords, and how to chop wood, and wrangle sheep and goats. He had learned to ride, and how to shoot an arrow, and for the most part, he learned how to live. He had never remembered his father, but he often remembered his mother crying late at night while she called out his name softly. Although he had not known the man, he had vowed to make him pay for whatever he could have done to make his mother cry.          
Those seven years of happiness had literally gone up in flames as his Uncle Bowie, Mr. Donnel, and two others had died in the fire that consumed his Uncle's barn. Two months later, he had recieved word that his real father had been found dead in a ditch near the town, but even the sight of that man that had caused his mother so much discomfort dead and gone, still he felt no better. Along with his father figure had gone all of his possessions; his bow, his hatchet, and a drawing of his mother he had created to remember her face. But most importantly, he lost his arm.         
He had gotten over his initial shock of the fire after about two years, but his dreams of being a knight were crushed in one fell swoop. He had tried to fight with his left arm, but failed miserably. He could no longer shoot a bow, or rope livestock, or even split wood without sending chunks flying every which way, and ruining any hatchet that he held. He had tried to draw faces like the one he lost in the fire, but every last one looked worse and worse until he was so frustrated that he tore up all of his paper and threw away every one of his quills. Dale had thought that his life could not possibly get any worse, and so he went to a tree deep in the woods with a rope. He had tied the rope around his neck and was about to jump, when he imagined the look on his mother's face when she saw him, her only son, dangling from a tree. He pushed the rope off of his neck, and ran back to the village to meet his mother, to tell her that he loved her and would never ever leave her.  
But when he entered his home, he approached his mother's bedroom and looked inside. His mother lay dead and cold on her bed, a bloody handkerchief grasped in her cold, dead fingers. He had laid down in his own bed and didn't get back up for four days. When they came to take his mother's body away, they had thought he was dead as well, but seeing that he was still alive, yet unresponsive, they left him there with a plate of food each day. He had gone back to the tree after the four days, but when he jumped off the branch, it broke and all he got was a scar around his neck and a broken ankle. There was no way at all now that his life could get any worse than it had now. You would expect that now, something even worse would happen because I just dropped a "nothing worse could possibly happen," but this is not a segue to another unfortunate event. There is literally nothing worse that can happen to this poor, dejected boy. Well, almost nothing...           


* * *
                   

Dale approached the mouth of a deep cave that sloped down into the earth. He had been walking for weeks through Equestria, and had finally reached his destination in the Everfree Forrest. He stared at the cave, which he now noticed, was set in the side of an old stone castle that had been torn down years and years ago.  Though it was a relatively small castle, it was still larger than any man-made structure he had seen.  
An almost invisible cloud of deep blue crept along the ground, and seeped into the mouth of the cave. Dale noticed the haze, which he had been following since his journey's beginning, and followed it warily into the cave. The object within the wooden box glowed hotter as he came closer to the haze, and he shuddered with wonder at what could be inside.  
The haze had come to him just hours after his mother's funeral, wrapping itself around him and whispering into his mind. So sad... why do you cry my boy? Dale had jumped at the unfamiliar voice. 'Who are you?' he called aloud in panic. I am your friend Dale, let me help you dry those tears upon your face... 'How, I can't even see you!' Poor boy...you've lost so much... but I can give it back to you... He cried out in defiance. 'You don't have anything I want!' How do you know such things? I can give you many things, my dear boy... gold and jewels... possessions beyond any man who ever lived, all for you... all you must do is one thing for me, and all that you desire shall be yours... Dale hesitated for a moment, and then quickened his resolve. 'I want to have a new arm.' Oh yes, of course, that is but a mere trifle compared to the riches you shall receive... I shall give you an arm that has power tenfold of that which you lost... Dale thought again as he looked back at the fresh grave that had been dug just that morning. 'I want my mother back. If you can't give me that, I don't want anything else.' The presence paused and made an awkward silence. After the pause, it spoke again. Do this thing... and you will once again look upon your mother's face... All doubt faded away as the presence spoke. "Yes, I'll do it! Whatever you want!' Dale couldn't be sure, but he had heard a low hissing that sounded somewhat like laughter. The task is simple, yet very important indeed...  The presence explained that he need only to retrieve the wooden box buried somewhere deep in the Everfree, and to bring it to the cave that held its 'true body.' Finding the box was easy enough, even though he had to dig with only one hand, but the forest crept in around him and haunted his every waking thought, moaning and screeching with the sounds of a hundred sneaking predators.                 


* * *
  

Dale looked at the ceiling of the steadily sloping cave, and saw hundreds of bats nesting above on countless stalagmites. He looked for so long that his attention drifted away from the ground, and he tripped and rolled down the cave's sloped floor. He reached the end of the incline rather unceremoniously as he hit a stalactite with his back. He groaned in pain and shakily got to his feet. But he quickly forgot his pain as he observed the tunnel ahead of him. At the end of the tunnel was a faint blue light that radiated with wonder and awe. Dale felt drawn to the light, like a moth to a flame. He stumbled the rest of the way down the tunnel on his damaged ankle, peering at the beautiful light, and clutching the box which gave off a comforting warmth.    
He reached the end of the tunnel and stepped into a cave that extended upwards as far as he could see, punctured at the top with a single hole. He focused his attention back down to the ground and gasped in awe as he found the source of the blue light. A smooth stone that looked almost exactly like the full moon in the night sky shone with an unearthly blue light. The haze that held the presence's conscious enveloped the stone and formed the rough shape of a face with two eyes as black as night. Though the lips moved, he heard only a whisper within his mind. Well done, my faithful servant... I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me... These gifts that I give you are but paltry recompense for the kindness that you have done for me...           
The box that he held opened of its own accord and floated before Dale's face. Inside was a key that looked to be carved of pure obsidian. The key shot out towards the stone and vanished inside of it. For a while, nothing happened, but suddenly, the stone split perfectly in two halves, and a rush of air pulled inwards towards the stone. The stone shattered and  revealed a figure crouching on the pedestal where it once stood. It was as black as the night, and absorbed all of the light that entered the cave as it rose to it's full height. The shape revealed a curvaceous feminine body with hair and clothing made solely of a billowing black haze speckled with glowing points of lights like stars in the night sky. It turned to face Dale, and he gasped when he saw the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Her face was smooth and white as the surface of the moon, with sharp, angled cheek bones and full black lips. She was so beautiful that Dale started to cry. Not an ugly red-faced crying like he was used to, but merely an awestruck flow of tears that ran down his face. She held both beauty and quiet power behind her face as she smiled at him and spoke in a gentle and almost sensual tone. "I am most pleased to see you with mine own eyes, my child.  I cannot thank you enough for releasing me from that awful prison." She alighted from the pedestal with a lithe motion that bespoke both power and elegance, and approached him. She placed her long white hands tipped with nails as smooth and black as obsidian around his face as he trembled at her touch. "Now for your first reward." She lifted her head back and exposed her perfect white throat as a power Dale could only begin to imagine welled up inside of him. Instead of staring blindly into the cave, he now saw each stone and stalagmite in fullest clarity as though it was full day.         
He felt a moment of ecstasy as he floated inches above the ground, his hurts and pains all retreating from his limbs. He felt with a sense of joy that his fingers on his right hands closed themselves into a fist, and he looked down at his hands in wonder. He felt a limitless joy at seeing both of his hands together, now fuller and stronger, and tipped with black nails like those of the beautiful lady's. He then realized that he was clothed in a sleek black and silver suit of armor, fitted with crescent moons of pure ivory at the very tip of his pointed and segmented vambraces. His chest was armored in the same lustrous black metal that his vambraces were made of, segmented at intervals like a rib cage that ended at his sternum, which was covered by another ivory crescent moon bordered by wicked bats wings. He felt a helmet on top of his head, which left his face open but for a slender nose-guard, and felt a magnificent crest at the very top, along with a set of what felt like more bat's wings encompassing his head. He had never felt more powerful in his life.               
The dark princess smiled pridefully at him as she produced a sword from a black cloud in her hands. "You look splendid, my faithful servant. But what is a knight without a sword?" She pulled the sword from it's scabbard as it gleamed in the moonlight. It was long and powerful, it's cross guard another set of bat wings that curved slightly at the tips. At the pommel was a gemstone of pure onyx, which drew in all light around it instead of gleaming. The dark and powerful princess motioned for Dale to kneel, and he eagerly dropped to his knees, recognizing the gesture that she was about to bestow from his numerous knight's stories. The dark princess tapped the tip of the sword on both of his shoulders and spoke with a powerful voice. "I dub thee, sir Dale of the Nightguard, commander of the army of shadow that shall bestow unto me my rightful place on the throne of Equestria!" She finished her last sentence with a flourish of the sword as the lowered it into Dale's hands.   
He grabbed the hilt thankfully and held it before him. "Go ahead, see how it feels in your hands." He grasped it with both hands ans swung a wicked arc through the air. He slashed to the side, and then spun around and slashed again, finishing by holding it above his head in a defensive stance. "Wonderful my general! You will make a fine warrior indeed."   
Dale grinned like an idiot as he admired the sword in his hands. He suddenly remembered why he had agreed to do this in the first place. "Wait, where is my mother? I want to see her. I want her to see me whole again!"     
The dark princess sighed as she looked to the ground. "I am sorry Dale, but to bring back your mother takes a spell of considerable energy to complete. I must wait until my power is full once again to fulfill your ultimate reward."  
Dale looked down, momentarily saddened. "Oh, okay. Take as long as you need I guess."         
The princess looked back to him with a faint smile. "However, there is one thing that you may do in the meantime..."  
"What is it my princess? Name it and It'll be done!"   
The dark princess smirked for a moment and then looked serious as she held Dale's gaze. "I need you to find the Elements."     
Dale faltered in his gaze, looking confused. "What are the Elements?"     
"You will know them when you find them. Once you have them, return to me with them, and I shall return your mother to you. How happy she will be to see her son as the general of the mightiest army of Equestria!"               
Dale bowed to one knee and placed his sword point-down in front of him. "Your wish is my command, my Princess."  
The dark princess showed a row of perfect white teeth as she smiled. "Excellent... go forth my knight! I send you with my servants of the knight to aid you in this quest!" As she spoke, ten or so dark figures appeared from the black haze that floated above the ground, garbed in armor similar to Dale's. The all simultaneously drew their swords and placed them before Dale as he had done earlier. Dale smiled with a wicked glee that he had felt for the first time. He had no idea what this feeling was, but it had freed him from his inescapable melancholy, which was all that mattered.   
Dale looked back at the princess, who had turned away and summoned a scroll that she laid on the pedestal she had once stood on. "Wait, my princess, what is your name?"       
The smirk on the dark princess' face was palpable in the air as she slowly turned her head to look at him.      
"You may call me Nightmare Moon."      


* * *

> Dash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Let me ask you one last question." General Hollding paced back and forth across the space in front of the desk in his personal tent. He abruptly slammed the palms of his hands down on the desk and looked straight into Dash's eyes with a blazing fury that he had only seen one other time. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!?"             
Dash winced as the general screamed his curse in an intimidating baritone. "You almost caused the deaths of three young flyers, and very nearly got killed yourself! Such negligence and recklessness would not only get you deported from the Color Guard, but put you in prison for FIVE YEARS!" The muscled general rubbed his temples as the cords of his neck muscles stood taught against his skin. Dash stared at the desk in sullen silence.       
The general slapped his hands on the desk once more to get his attention. "Have you nothing to say?"        
Dash looked up angrily at the general. "You put me up in that stupid observatory every other week, and nothing ever happens! It's so boring I want to claw my eyes out! I just wanted to relax a little!"                 
General Hollding gave Dash a dangerous look. "Well, it just so happens that Grand Seer Descartes decided to take a little visit to the observatory with a group of visiting dignitaries from Zanibra today. And just try to imagine the look on his face when he arrived at the observatory and there was NO ONE THERE TO GREET HIM."      
Dash made an impatient sound and leaned back in his chair. "Psh, so?"    
THAT was a mistake. If Dash thought that he had seen the general's full fury, he was sorely mistaken. But instead of shouting his lungs out, the general gave an exasperated groan and sat down in the chair opposite the desk. He shook his head back in forth in his hands, making pained noises. He made a deep sigh and looked back at Dash, who was now thoroughly surprised at his reaction. "When they sent you to me on your first day, I saw promise in you. When you ran faster than any other recruit, your age AND older, I saw great potential in you. When you defeated every man and boy in the sparring ring twice, and still begged for more, I won't lie... I felt proud. Proud that I had the privilege of teaching the finest soldier I had ever seen. When you were accepted to the Color Guard, I was the proudest I've ever felt in years. A student of MY battle school was going to join the Color Guard? I wouldn't have believed whoever told me that two years ago." He looked back down at his hands and shook his head. "I tried to be reasonable. I asked you to take it easy on the new recruits. You were already the best, why did you have to constantly remind everyone? I put you up at the Observatory, not because I hate you, but because you GAVE ME NO CHOICE!" The general accented his last word with a fist the slammed once again into the table. He got up from his seat and turned his back on Dash. "When you hurt that new recruit, I should have taken it as a sign, but I believed too much in you. I thought that if I gave you another chance, you wouldn't let me down, but I was wrong. You have disappointed me for the last time."         
As the general turned to face him, a messenger burst through the tent flap and bowed hastily. "Geveral Hollding, there are some men here to see you. They have asked that you come quickly."     
The general looked very annoyed, having been interrupted from his serious discussion. "Who, in Celestia's name, could possibly want to talk to me?"   
The messenger looked uneasy as he replied. "Well, that's just it sir..."           


* * *
         

"Ah, yes, 'In Celestia's name,' I see." Dash had approached the door of the tent to see who wanted to speak to the general. The wizard named Thomas stood before him, along with that apple farmer of his, and a whole bunch of other weirdos he had never seen before. Thomas held the very same scroll with the Princess' seal on it. Dash's eyes widened with realization. He really was the real deal! Dash's original thought was that this guy was a scam artist, and had taken off, expecting never to see him again. But standing right there in front of him was the same guy, holding a REAL scroll from the princess. He knew it had to be real, since they didn't let anyone up the box-lift unless they had legitimate credentials.      
"Well, it's an honor to have the Princess' very own student with us on our humble mountain top. You're enjoying your stay here, I hope?" No way! The Princess' student! This guy is a huge freaking deal!             
"Yes, the Cloud Vale has been one of my long time favorite topics to study. But anyways, I'm here to retrieve Mr. Dionysius. He has been asked to accompany our group on a special quest given by the Princess, and We'd like to be on our way, if you don't mind."   
The general looked back at the tent and made a surprised face at Dash, who tried to duck out of his sight. "I have to say, this is a great honor indeed, that one of my students should perform such a task. Lt me go retrieve him, and you can be on your way."   
The general was all smiles and courtesies until he entered the tent, out of sight from the others, where he promptly grabbed Dash by his custom made rainbow striped tunic. "You listen here, boy. You are going to go on this mission, and you are going to do whatever that man says, because if you don't you'll be ruining my reputation, along with all of the Vale's!" He set Dash back on the ground and dusted off his shoulders, grinning now. "And more importantly, you will do this, and do it well, or else I will see to it that you will NEVER join the Color Guard, or any other squad so long as you live." The general turned to walk out of the tent and straightened his helmet while Dash stood stock-still in a cold sweat. "Let that be your final warning."          


* * *
        

Dash leaned restlessly against the wall of the Vale's welcome center as Thomas tried to coax a message out of the little purple dragon he had brought along with him. After his 'little talk' with the general, he went back to his home and grabbed his gear pack, his specially carved bow that his Grandad had carved for his twelfth birthday, and a pair of long, curved twin knives that hung at both hips, along with his glider-staff.               
Thomas paced back and forth, waiting for a reply to the message he had sent the Princess earlier. He went back to Spike, who was sitting on a stone bench with his neck stretched out, and his mouth half-opened. "Anything yet, Spike?"    
The purple dragon arched his neck and made a low hiss, but then relaxed and shook his head. Thomas then resumed his worried pacing.      
Dash groaned as he passed a hand over his face in a tired gesture. "Where are we going, again?"             
When Thomas didn't answer, Jack leaned over and spoke after stifling a yawn. "The scroll said to go somwhere's North of here to a little town called 'Manesburrow.'"           
"Well, what are we doing here? Let's go to Manesburrow already!"      
Jack sighed and pulled his old hat down in front of his eyes. "Welp, the Princess gave orders to wait for further instructions, so we're waitin'."                
Dash moaned and began pacing as well. It was not yet morning, but he could still see the lay of the land, and hear the call of the blue, reaching for him, waiting for him to embrace flight in the clouds, where he belonged. The thoughts of flying steadied him, and he saw the most beautiful thing he had ever seen as he stared at the horizon. The sun, in all of it's majesty, rose through the mountains in the North, shining it's majestic yellow sunbeams into the valley below. The sunbeams caught on every drop of dew that covered the ground and reflected it like millions of tiny rainbows that danced and moved with the sun on it's path towards the sky above. The entire band of adventurers stopped and gazed at this magnificent wonder, mesmerized by it's excellence. Jack looked as dazed and in awe as he usually was whenever he looked at that same sunset when he spoke. "Hey, Thomas, does Princess Celestia really raise up the sun like that every morning?"                
Thomas shook himself as if from a dream and answered him. "She sure does. I even watched her raise it one morning a few years ago."     
Jack gave a low whistle as he pushed back his hat to take in the view. "What I'd give to see that..."       
As they stared peacefully into the distance, a low grumble came from behind them and a sudden heat pushed against Thomas' back. He turned and looked down to see a wisp of green flame close in on itself and solidify with a *POP* like a firecracker. On the ground in front of them him was a scroll with a red seal, some faint smoke drifting from it's parchment. 
Thomas gasped with joy as he snatched the scroll from the ground and rubbed Spike behind the green crest of scales on his head. He opened it, and read the scroll intently.                               
The others gathered around him to look at the scroll, which was covered in the Princess' flowing script.        


My faithful student Thomas,    
It seems you have gathered all of the men I requested for your party. Well done! I had the utmost faith that 	you would complete this task. However the true test of your abilities has come at last. You are to proceed with the instructions I gave you when we last met, and travel to Manesburrow beyond the Smoky Mountains. To reiterate, speak to Thane Edwin about the reports that were filed regarding strange happenings. I will warn you, that while his jurisdiction rests only within his city and it's borders, he is still a ruler in his own right, even if he is below me in power. Remember this when you speak to him, and give him your due respect. I would ask you to relay this message especially to Dionysius, but he is probably reading this message anyways. Stay close to the roads by day, and off of them by night. Things in Equestria are not as they have been in the past. This is the last message you will receive before you gather intelligence in the North. I am counting on you to lead your brothers-in-arms faithfully. Don't be afraid to use your own judgment. Remember, that true courage is not knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one. I have utmost faith in you Thomas, always remember that. 
Your Teacher~                
Princess Celestia 

                           

Dash fell back from the group, abashed that his name should be mentioned by the Princess. "Alright! What's say we get a move-on? We're wasting daylight out here!"             
Thomas rolled up the scroll and stashed it inside of his coat pocket. He willed a bit of magic into his hand and called forth his staff which was propped by the doorway to the welcome center. He brandished the staff with a twirl and stood tall. "Okay men, let's move out!"         
The group let out cheers of determination as they filed out of the welcome center's doors, drawing attention from a few bystanders that stood talking by the road.             
Pippin swaggered along with a spring in his step, his curly brown hair bouncing along with him. "WOO! Let's go, lads! Best adventure ever!!!"                                                                    


* * *
                                         

"Woo, worst adventure ever." Pippin kicked the broken box-lift that hung lopsided from it's massive towing chains that dangled from two impressively large wenches.           
The guard that kept the box-lift running stalked out of the mechanism housing that turned both wenches, a dark smudge on his agitated face. "I'm a might sorry, m'boys. The box-lift 'as gone an' picked a grand time fer' breakin' down."   
Thomas fairly simmered with anxiety. "Can you fix it? I can't afford to lose any more time!"                
"Ease up there, lad. I'm afraid a new cog is in order fer' fixin' this ol' girl. And the waitin' time fer one o' those is just about a week."      
Pippin poked his head up between Thomas and Jacks' heads, his hands resting on their shoulders. "A week? Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!"            
Thomas pushed Pippin away from him and mumbled a formality to the engineer. He looked around, searching for an idea, when an idea occurred to him. "Roald, come quickly, I have an idea!"     
Roald sauntered over to Thomas, a hand on the slender wand that hung from a thong at his side, and his other hand throwing the end of his scarf around his neck against the mountain winds. "And what might that be, Thomas?"   
Thomas ran his fingers through the air manically, tracing figures as if on a chalk board. "Do you have any experience wit teleportation spells?"        
"Well, nothing larger than an orange, but yes. Thomas, you're not thinking of teleporting us all down this mountain are you? That would take at least 1500 thaums*! I don't know about you, but I can only manage about 250 on a good day!"  
Thomas took his staff and drew a large circle in the tiles that covered the ground, adding a few other shapes to the center as well. "No, you're right, teleportation would take far too much energy, but what I have in mind is a bit more complicated.                                           
*note: thaums refers to magical energies. Each spell costs a certain amount of thaums, and a wizard can channel these energies from the thaumic fabric of the world around him. A wizard can only perform spells that are within his thaum-resistance level, which for a common wizard is around 250, though with increased studies, a wizard can raise this to around 400 if he is fairly gifted. For reference, levitating an object takes an amount of thaums equal to that of it's mass in kg, using that object as a projectile requires it's mass times 1.5 Th(thaums) and teleporting it requires it's mass times 3 Th plus .05 Th for each meter traveled. Each spell cast after the initial spell will cost 33% more thaums to cast, increasing exponentially, as shown by the equation: P*principal # of thaums*(1+.33)^t*# of times cast*. When a wizard casts an amount of spells that requires his full thaum-resistance level, he will then start to decay if his Th(rs)(thaum resistance) level reaches lower than zero. Thaums regenerate at a rate of .2 Th per second. Ex: to replenish 250 thaums takes around 20 minutes.           


* * * 
             

Thomas and his group stood in a circle around the circle he drew in the ground. "Alright men, the lift is broken, but I have a solution to get us down the mountainside." He motioned to the circle he drew on the tiles. "This circle will channel the energy I put into it, and lift us up on a whirlwind, which we can ride safely down the mountain. Any questions?"          
The rest of the group all looked from the circle to Thomas and back, confused looks on their faces. Shane cleared his throat and spoke up. "Um, is it safe?"    
"Yes, of course! All we need to do is join hands, and I'll channel all of our collective energy to Roald, who will channel the energy into the circle, and back into me to complete the circuit!"        
Roald shifted his feet nervously. "Yes, about that. Has this actually been done before? I mean, it sounds reasonable and all, but you have done this before... right?"         
Thomas put his hands on his hips and smiled resolutely. "Nope!"     
The collective group let out a nervous moan and Shane began to shake uncontrollably. "Guys, calm down! I've studied this magical theory a hundred times! It's perfectly safe, trust me!"          
"Yeah, it's not that we don't trust ya', but don'tcha think this is a little risky, Tom? I'm sure there's another way down, right?"         
Dash kicked at a stone by his feet. "Nope, the stair lift is the only way down, unless we can get each of you guys a glider and about four years of experience." He thought a moment, and then looked back up. "Hey, why don't I just glide down, and you guys can do the wind-thing? Less weight to carry, right?"   
"What are ya', scared?"          
Dash bared his chest at the farmer. "NO! I just thought you guys could lose a few pounds and get down a lot easier!" he relaxed and brushed an errant strand of rainbow-colored hair from his face. "I wouldn't expect a farmer like you to know anything about the complex dynamics of flight."          
"Now hold up, bro, I was just funnin'! You don't have to get personal!"          
Thomas raised his hands as the two started to argue. "Men! Come on, we're all adults here, right? Let's start acting like it then! Now everyone join hands!"         
The group joined hands, Thomas to Pippin to Shane, who was being reassured by Roald, who was joined to Dash to Jack, who was pretending not to notice him as he grabbed Thomas' hand.          
Thomas breathed in and out slowly as his eyes lit up with a faint purple spark. The circle underneath their feet began to glow a bright purple as well, as the symbols that Thomas etched into it began t glow. A line of crackling lightning crept along Pippin's arm, which added a pink glow to the circle. The line crept along Shane's arm, adding a yellow hue to the mix. The line crept along to Roald's arm, adding a pure white glow. The line crept along to Dash, adding a cyan light to the circle, and finally crept to Jack, who added a rich orange hue to the circle. The wind around them started to pick up, deafeningly loud in their ears.       
The wind formed into a cyclone that lifted the group off of their feet and set them spinning slowly. Thomas cried out with joy as they approached the edge of the cliff. "Woo! It's working! Just a little more!" The circle of men dangled over the edge, now spinning faster as the wind carried them. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and the began to plummet to the earth.    
They all screamed simultaneously as the ground reached up to meet them. They clutched each others hands like a life-line as Thomas strained to be heard over the din of the air rushing past them. "Stay calm everyone! Roald, form the circuit again!" Roald obliged by muttering a few hurried words as his hands began to glow. Thomas did the same as his hands glowed and met Roald's glow in the two sides of the circle. Slowly, they began to spin again, feeling their quickening fall lessen a bit. They spun faster and faster as they angled their fall to one side and headed to the north-west, circumventing the mountainside.     
The group spun and plummeted at an angle, gliding on the pocket of air that kept them from free-falling. The trees of White Tail Woods rushed up to meet them as they banked hard upwards at the last second, negating their descent and blowing the leaves off of the nearby trees.      
Thomas cut the power and yelled out. "BREAK!"         
The team broke their grasp, which sent them flying in all directions, causing them to land in the soft underbrush of the forest floor, or in the branches of a tree. Thomas got up and brushed himself off, looking around for everyone else.  
Jack and Dash hung from branches on either side of the road they had landed on, and Roald lay in the brush, fussing over the dirt on his now stained white clothing. Shane clambered out of the brush, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. He looked like he was about to say something, when he leaned over and retched all over the ground.    
Pippin dislodged himself from the leaves on the ground next to Thomas's feet, and sat upright with his hands in the air. "Woo! Let's go again!" He then stood up, put a hand on Thomas' shoulder, and retched as well.           
"Oh, gross!" Thomas shoved Pippin away and took out a map of Equestria, looking around in a circle. "Well, there's the Vale over there, so that means we're in White Tail Woods to the west." He stared for a minute until his face lit up. "We're only two miles from Manesburrow! We can get there by noon if we start now!"  
Jack dropped from the branch he landed on and straightened his hat. "I think I'll need a breather before we go anywheres, Thomas."      
Thomas too a step forward as his head began to swim uncontrollably. "Okay, yeah. Let's take a break everyone." He sat down heavily with his back to a thick tree, his hand covering his face. "Let's never do that again."    


* * *
     


  
> Spike
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike walked down the steep mountain road, stepping over fallen branches and hopping on top of boulders that had fallen in the way. Right beside him, as always, was his brother, caretaker, and  friend, Thomas. Spike couldn't remember a time when Thomas wasn't there. Probably due to the fact that Thomas claimed he had hatched Spike from an egg. He didn't have any conflicting evidence, so he guessed that was that. But then he would start to think that since Thomas hatched him, he was kind of like his dad, which made him feel kinda weird, since he considered Thomas  to be just a very close friend.       

The group of men that Thomas had recruited on behalf of Princess Celestia walked just behind them as Thomas read the map of the land. Spike winced as he landed the wrong way on his clawed foot, which he bruised on that awful tornado ride. Seriously, what was Tom thinking?. He had jumped into Thomas' backpack when he started the tornado that that got them down the mountain. He had to admit, it was a pretty fast way to travel, but Spike had never been so sick in his life, and Thomas said that he was DEFINITELY never doing it again.                

Everyone was quiet for the most part, still recovering from the tornado ride, as they trekked through the mountain trail. Spike had tried to get a look at the map so as to get a better feel for where they were headed, but every time he had tried to look at it, someone nearby jerked it away, afraid he might burn it with his "terrible dragon fire." Spike had never met another dragon, which is what Thomas had called him, but from the descriptions that others had given, he was pretty discouraged about finding out. It was like every time someone saw him, they would get really excited and curious, until Thomas told them he was a dragon, which made most people get really anxious. He almost wished that Thomas would call him something else besides a dragon, just so people wouldn't look at him that way. But it's like the Princess said; you can't run from what you are, so you might as well make the best of your situation. Plus, I might even make people look at dragons a whole new way! I'll show them that dragons aren't so bad! Plus, Spike couldn't actually speak, except to Thomas and the Princess, and it was by what Thomas had called "telepathic reception," whatever that means. The only thing that Spike knew was that Thomas was the only one who could hear him, besides the Princess, which meant that he was often alone with his thoughts. That is, until he met Shane.           

Spike was thinking to himself as he often did, and had drifted a bit behind Thomas when The shy one in the plain yellow doublet crept up to his side as silent as a wildcat. Spike looked up at him expectantly, and he said nothing for a while, which unsettled Spike just a tad. After a minute or so of silent observation, the shy one spoke up. "It must be so fascinating to be a dragon. I wish you could tell me all about it!"        

How about some paper for starters? Spike thought to himself. He often thought of snappy remarks, free from the repercussions of having them heard aloud.      

"Wow, you can talk! Please, you have to tell me all about yourself! What's your favorite food?" That was new. In all of Spike's life, only two people had ever held intelligent conversation with him, and now this guy over here with the swooshy hair was preparing his biography!                                      

No way! You are actually hearing what I'm thinking right now?!           

"Yes, of course! Thomas mentioned speaking to you, but I thought he meant it like the way that I talk to animals. I kind of feel what they feel, but never like this! You're actually intelligent! This is so exciting!"                

Spike puffed up with a smidgen of pride, and looked around for someone else in the group. He spotted the big pink one and directed his thoughts towards him. HEY, can you hear what I'm saying?! The pink one stopped dead in his tracks and looked around, as if he had heard a faint buzzing noise from nowhere, dug a finger into his ear, and moved on down the road. Oh well, worth a try.                               

Spike hurried over to Thomas while the shy one followed behind him. Thomas, the shy guy in the yellow can hear me! I thought only you and the Princess could hear me!             

Thomas looked away from his map to face Spike. "Really?" He looked at Shane. "You can hear Spike?"      

"Um, yes. I mean, I heard his thoughts, but um, I thought only you could talk to him?" Spike noted how awkward the shy one was with other humans, which was much different from how he talked Spike.      

Thomas rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "Well, it looks like my theory was correct! Spike is slowly learning to project his thoughts to people other than me and the Princess, who are key figures in his life!" He stooped and scratched Spike behind his head crest like he always did. "Looks like you're growing up, Spike!"     

Spike practically bristled with pride as he walked alongside his best bro. The shy one barraged him with questions the entire way, but Spike didn't mind. He was kind of liking the attention for a change.        


* * *
             

After another hour of uneventful travel and about a hundred more questions from The shy one, Spike's enthusiasm for this trip was wearing paper-thin. It was getting close to noon, and the group had not even stopped for lunch yet. Spike addressed this matter to Thomas, who happily obliged.        

The group gathered up and moved off to the side of the road to eat. Thomas and the others took off their packs and started digging through them for food, while Spike hopped up onto a nearby stump and waited eagerly for Thomas to find his lunch. Thomas reached into his bag, rummaged around and then produced two bright purple crystals of pure amethyst. Spike eyed the crystals hungrily as Thomas approached him on his stump.     

But just as Thomas was half-way to the stump, he stopped, face and body tensing like a bow string. A rustle from the surrounding forest drew his attention tot he side as he reached for the sword at his hip. He whistled a low and lilting tune to the crystal in his hand, which started to glow and spin like a compass needle. The crystal lifted itself on it's point and spun around to Thomas' ten 'o clock position. He turned as the crystal glowed brighter this time, and pointed to another direction to his right. The rest of the group had drawn their weapons and tensed like Thomas had as the crystal spun around, pointing in almost every direction around them. Thomas gasped and drew his sword, it's lavender gem gleaming brightly in the hilt as he let out a harsh whisper. "Everyone, form up! We're being ambushed!"        

The group formed up in a circle, drawing their respective weapons. Pippin spun his flail defiantly, as Thomas called forth his staff in his left hand, his sword in his right. Jack pulled out his giant broad sword as Dash pulled out his bow, nocking an arrow as he crouched to the ground. Roald retrieved his slender staff from the holster at his side, and tried his best to reassure Shane, who was shaking violently with fear.      

The group stood at attention for a moment, waiting for the attack. Out of the bushes sprang a torrent of steel and fur as a group of men-shaped beasts attacked the group from all sides. The first of them instantly fell to the ground, a blue-fletched arrow sprouting from it's throat. Thomas spun his staff and created a ring of fire, which spun towards the beasts like a plate thrown through the air, taking out four of the beasts at once and setting a few more on fire. Jack buried his broad sword deep into the skull of one beast, quickly pulling it out and opening the belly of another.       

The beasts broke up and circled the group, calculating their next moves. They snarled like wolves, yet stood upright and even wore a few odd pieces of armor that looked much too small for them. Pippin broke the tension and swung his flail overhead, whooping as he charged a knot of beasts. He brought the flail down hard on one's head,  and then spun it in the opposite direction to catch another in the arm, knocking away the crooked knife it held. With a seemingly directionless flow, he crushed one beast's skull with a powerful swing, then spun around and knocked a second off of it's feet, slamming it against a tree trunk and shattering it's spine, then brought the flail back up in a vicious crushing uppercut that knocked a third beast's head clean off.      

The rest of the group, the beasts included, stood gaping at him as he stood with spatters of blood staining his face, panting in the heat of battle with a pile of foes about his feet. He lifted his flail again and shouted out. "BRING IT ON!"      

The beasts re-doubled their charge and the group readied their weapons again. Roald sent a spike of bluish energy from his wand that stunned a nearby assailant, allowing Jack to lop it's head off with ease. Thomas pushed a nearby beast with a blast of compressed air and then swung his sword backwards to catch another in the throat.             

While the fighting continued, Shane stood back, watching the procession and all together staying out of the way. He sucked in a breath as he saw a lone beast creeping towards Spike, who was still perched on his stump. The beast stepped on a twig, which alerted Spike's attention. He reared back and blew a tiny spout of green fire, which buffeted harmlessly against the beast's face. The beast reached out, attempting to grab Spike, who was now frozen to the stump with fear. The beast clutched Spike's tail in one hand and lifted him off of the stump. Shane let loose an ear-shattering war cry and hefted his borrowed ax. He jumped on the beast and brought his ax's blade down through the beast's spine, knocking Spike out of it's grasp. He screamed as he brought the ax down on the beast over and over again, mangling it to an unrecognizable pulp. He stood, breathing heavily over the beast's corpse as Thomas starred at him in a horrified stupor. He failed to notice the beast creeping up behind him and Shane charged at him, blood speckling his face. Thomas stood stock-still, not knowing what to do as Shane rocketed towards him, side-stepping him at the last second and bringing his ax down into the beast's skull.                  

Thomas snapped to attention, and gathered his focus as he charged a spell. He lifted his staff into the air as it started to glow a bright orange. He shouted out, "DUCK!" as he brought down the staff onto the ground. An explosion of energy escaped from the staff and blew through the surrounding brush. Only Jack and Pippin had heard his warning, and the rest of the team was blown away along with the remaining beasts. Roald and Dash both grabbed a tree branch as they flew through the air, and Shane held onto Spike and crouched on the ground next to Thomas.          

After the explosion ended, the air was tinted with a bright orange glow, and Spike could see that the few remaining beasts had ran off back into the woods where they came from. Thomas approached one that lay dead on the ground and kicked it. He could see that it was wearing a steel breastplate that had split at the sides, like it had tried to force it on. He looked closer, and could see that on the corpse was a crescent moon, about as big as his palm. He reached down to touch it, when the beast suddenly started to vibrate and hiss, while smoke poured from it's orifices. The beast that lay before them shrunk into a dirty and very hairy man with thick tanned skin. The other beasts that had fallen did the same, littering the forest with hairy man corpses. Thomas gasped with recognition and muttered under his breath. "Wargs."     

Jack recovered himself from his prone position and gaped at one of the creatures that was changing. "Thomas, are these werewolves?"            

"That's what I thought at first, but look at the sky, the moon isn't out and it's high noon. These have to be wargs."   

Roald lost a handhold on the tree he had grabbed and dropped rather ungracefully to the ground. "Wargs? Like, skin-changers?" Thomas nodded in confirmation. "But that means that someone is controlling them, right?"  

Jack pushed back his hat with his thumb. "Yeah, legend says that evil witches trap men an' turn 'em into skin-changers that do her bidding. Is that what we're dealing with?"         

Thomas looked around, thoughtful. "If there's some witch or necromancer around, then that would explain the reports of an evil presence around this area..." Thomas stopped thinking and grabbed his pack from the ground, slinging it onto his shoulder. "Let's get going to Manesburrow, men. It looks like we're getting closer to the answers we're looking for. Come on, we can eat on the way."        

The group shouldered their respective burdens and hit the road, looking out more warily than they had before. Thomas hung back until he was walking with Shane and Spike. "Hey Shane, that was really well done back there. You really impressed me."        

Shane looked away, a furious blush creeping along his face. "Well, I just saw Spike getting grabbed by that, beast, and, um, I I just didn't want to loose him."       

"Well, I want to personally thank you for taking care of Spike for me. If those things got him, I don't know what I'd do."  

"Oh, well, your welcome I guess." Shane looked down at his feet as he walked, not looking into Thomas' eyes. Thomas sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out the crystal he was going to give Spike earlier. He tossed it to the baby dragon, who happily obliged by catching it in mid-air with his teeth. He hopped up onto Thomas' back, crunching the crystal as they walked and positively beaming with happiness.             

After a few minutes, the tree line began to thin, and then stopped all together. All around the group was a landscape full of tree stumps and cleared brush. At the very center of it was a city surrounded by thousands of sharpened wooden stakes as big around as a person. Trails of smoke floated lazily from several chimneys, and the group saw a massive wooden hall atop the hill which the city rested upon. TO those who had only seen towns as big as Mannsville, it was a sight to be seen, but even Thomas was awed at the sheer amount of wood that the people of the city had cleared. Thomas re-adjusted his pack and strode forward resolutely, the scene of the surrounding area filling his blood with a lust for adventure. 


* * *


     
	                                       

	 

	
> General Nightshade 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Yes, General Nightshade. That's a name fit for the General of Equestria's mightiest army. Dale sat, or rather floated in a sitting position, watching his minions of the night march forward on silent feet. It had unnerved him that they could walk this quietly at first, but he had gotten used to the lack of noise, and the benefits of not being heard. He also thoroughly enjoyed being able to float inches off of the ground instead of having to walk.         

The dawn had broken several hours ago, and he set his troops to walking under the shade of the trees that were gathered around the path. He had been extremely lucky to get this far north without being spotted, especially when they had to skirt along the edge of Mannsville in the dead of night. But them again, his twelve night soldiers were completely silent in their movement, and garbed in black and dark blue, which made them quite difficult to spot or hear. The only downside was that the night soldiers were slightly weaker in the sunlight, which made tactics for attack strictly night time only. But that was no matter, since they were still able to hold their own against any petty thief or bandit, even in the daytime, and he had recently come across other means of attack...     

A rustling in the bushes caused the night soldiers to stop and draw their weapons in a single uniform motion. Out of the bushes stepped a grimy, hairy man dressed in dented and unpolished steel plate, with only a knife at his side. Ah, speak of the devil. This ragged bandit was none other than Orrid, captain of the moon-brothers, a roving band of thieves that had sold their souls to the dark queen while she was imprisoned in order to become skin changing Wargs. With a wave of his hand, Dale signaled an at-ease and the troops lowered their weapons and mechanically stepped aside to allow the hairy man forward. He knelt and placed a fist over the ivory crescent moon on his left breast. "My lord of the night. My moon-brothers have agreed to aid you in our dark and beautiful queen's master plan."      

Dale, arms folded, dropped gracefully to the ground and eyed the hairy man with satisfaction. "Excellent, moon-brother Orrid! Our queen is most pleased that she has gathered a following while she has been away."       

The man stood and bowed to Dale, standing still before him. He stood a little taller than Dale, which was understandable, since he was only just shy of fourteen. But he had grown extensively since his meeting with the dark queen. The strangest thing had happened after he had been knighted. He had started to grow taller every day, reaching the height of a man three or four years older than he was in a span of about twenty four hours. His voice had deepened as well, and his muscles had hardened and swelled, much to his satisfaction. And the most interesting part was that his armor had not shrunk or grown uncomfortable, even as he grew. The armor was already light and comfortable, but it seemed that it also stretched to fit him as he grew.  

He snapped back to reality and motioned for his troops to forward march. The addition to his army walked beside him at the rear of the company, making a considerable steel-clad racket compared to his silent troops. He tried to ignore the clanking and go over his plans for the future. Somehow, his mind had begun to fill with numerous battle strategies and military techniques that he had not known before. It was as if his dark queen was filling his mind with knowledge that could help him in his quest. She proved to be immeasurably helpful. This was reinforced as he felt the hand of his new arm clench in and out of a fist, feeling the smooth yet solid skin that covered his new arm. The other night, he had tested it's strength by grabbing a log of split oak wood, and had split it in half just by chopping downwards on it like an ax!      

His head was filled with visions of himself rising atop a hill strewn with the corpses of his enemies. A giant castle of beautiful dark stone that gleamed in the moonlight, rising high above the clouds and piercing the night sky with gleaming ebony spires. He imagined sitting at the right hand of his beautiful queen of the night, watching over her kingdom, ready to strike at any opponent with a powerful death blow. He imagined a safe and beautiful place for his mother to rest...     

Mother...           

He imagined meeting his mother once more, her arms wide open to embrace her beloved son. He imagined the pride she would feel as she gazed upon her son, general of the greatest army in Equestria. He imagined her living peacefully forever under the merciful shelter of the dark queen, her every want and desire filled to the fullest. His spirits sank as his mind was weighed down with painful memories. He remembered once more that he was still a child, and for a moment, felt helpless and afraid.       

Suddenly, a breeze brushed across his face and he shook away his feelings of sorrow. He had only hoped this new recruit didn't see him like that. He turned his gaze skyward and saw what looked like a swirling vortex heading fast for the ground at an angle. He squinted in puzzlement at the shape, straining to see what it was. He could see a few shapes in the center, but could not make out what they were. Then, he saw a spark of purple energy that stopped his heart beat momentarily and set him unexpectedly rigid. A mysterious surge of emotion swept swiftly through him, ranging from wonder, to hatred, to glee. He knew somehow that this was what his queen had been talking about when she said he would "know when he saw them." He didn't know how he knew, but he just KNEW those were the elements he was searching for.   

Apparently, moon-brother Orrid had noticed it as well. "What, by gods, is that?"       
Dale clenched his fist and felt the power of his new arm rush through him. "It's what we're looking for." He stared the moon-brother in the eyes, summoning as much authority as he could muster. "Gather your men and follow that cyclone. Whatever is inside of it is very valuable to our queen. When you have recovered it, bring it back to me as soon as possible."     

"Aye, my lord of the night." The hairy man turned about-face and started to vibrate violently. In a flash, his hair exploded from his skin into a thick coat of fur, and his features warped into an unholy mixture of man and wolf. The Warg half ran, half loped into the bushes, bringing up faintly audible growls and howls from the surrounding area.     

Dale smiled with confidence and resumed marching his silent troops. His smile faded as he thought for a moment. Wait, the queen said 'elements', so there must be more than one. If that's true, then the others are still about somewhere. Oh well, better not put all my eggs in one basket. "Alright troops, proceed as planned and be ready to receive the moon-brothers when they return." The night soldiers let out an ethereal and unison "aye" and resumed marching. Dale added under his breath, "Next stop, Manesburrow."        


* * *
   

	
> Roald 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Roald walked alongside his rag-tag group of warriors, wrinkling his nose at a pile of fresh droppings left by a green-maned horse. He had never seen a horse personally, but he had heard in stories that they were beautiful majestic creatures clothed in each color of the rainbow. And while this was true, stories had failed to describe the smell. He could stare at the majestic creatures all day, running through the fields and frolicking with each other, but as long as they were a respectable distance away.     

The city-state of Manesburrow was positively full of horses. Everywhere you went, there were people riding horses, horses in stables, horses on signs above shops, horses painted on shields. It seemed these northerners had quite an obsession with the creatures.       

Roald was impressed by the sizable long hall at the crown of the hill, it's monotone majesty accented with streaks of gold worked into intricate knots, and the pleasing textures of wood that dominated the structure. But the city at the bottom of the hill was quite a different story. He saw all manners of decrepit old men, dirty young children and the likes, going about their daily business. At first, a sense of derision welled up inside him, wanting to walk away as quickly as he could from the ghastly spectacle. But then, he looked at the poor people lining the streets, a new emotion breaking through the cracks of his haughtiness. He felt the utmost pity for them. Men who were missing legs, and children with distended bellies, weak with hunger. He could feel himself being torn apart inside, fighting back tears in his eyes.     

The party passed through a particularly narrow alleyway that led to the next ring of the city higher on the hill. Roald fought to cover the stench of refuse from assaulting his nose by covering his face with the white woolen cloak he had made himself, his monogram stitched into the breast and sleeves.    

As they proceeded down the alleyway, Roald saw the most heart-wrenching thing he could imagine. A little girl, no more than seven years at the least, sat with her back against a wall of a run-down shack. The poor thing was shivering as the first winds of autumn blew through the alleyway, biting mercilessly at her dirty bare skin. Roald felt the chill biting through him to his bones, feeling as though HE was the one sitting half-naked on the ground. He felt his heart start to crack into infinitesimal pieces. He stopped, dropping the woolen coat, and stared pitifully at the young girl. She let out a whooping cough and chattered her teeth as a new wind blew by.   

This time, Roald could not hold it back. A stream of tears escaped from his eyes, blurring his vision. With every cough that escaped the young girl, a stab of pain went through his heart. Not being able to take another second of this torture, he took the coat from his shoulders and approached the girl. He placed the coat gingerly around her slender shoulders, as she jumped, startled at his presence. She grabbed the ends of the coat and pulled them tight around herself, looking up at Roald with the most innocent and thankful eyes that he had ever seen. Any pieces of his heart left had now broken into even tinier pieces.        

Tears flowing freely now, Roald laid a gentle hand on the little girl, already feeling the warmth of her gratitude despite the chilling winds that were exacerbated by his lack of a coat. At the end of the alleyway, Pippin cried out to him. "HEY, Roald! You coming or what?" Roald looked back at the end of the alleyway, and then back at the girl.    

He walked away, drying the tears from his eyes, as the little girl spoke up in a weak and wavering little voice. "Thank you!" He looked away before more tears could come, wiping them away with his scarf, which he wrapped more tightly around his neck.    

He caught up with Pippin who had waited up for him. "There you are, lets go!" Roald walked apace with Pippin, as Pippin took a double take at him. "Wait, are you crying?"    

Roald cleared his throat and wiped away the last of his tears. "What? No! Preposterous! It's just... the wind! It irritates my eyes!"       

Pippin scoffed, but laid the matter to rest. "Psh, if you say so."      


* * *
           

The upper level of Manesburrow was much cleaner and well-kept than the lower level. Merchants toted carts into one of the three market squares situated around the crown of the hill, shouting out prices and haggling with customers. The smell of horse droppings was substantially repressed by the savory smells of cooking meat and sizzling vegetables. Still higher above this level was an even more restricted level full of richer and more decadent houses. Though, by what Roald had experienced, only a few of them would even pass for summer homes compared to the mansions he had seen in Camelot. And at the very crest of the hill sat the long hall, in all it's gilded glory.   

The group slowed to a halt and rested for a while on the side of the road. Just feet away was the awning that hung over the door to a pleasant-looking pub. Swinging over the awning was a carved wooden sign covered in old paint. It depicted a black bird with its head tucked under its wing, and was framed by painted gold words that said "The Craven Raven."  

Thomas re-shouldered his pack and grabbed up his staff after a short rest. "Alright men, I need you to scout for some information while I speak with the Thane. You should probably start here at this pub."   

Pippin sauntered up the steps toward the door. "Hey, don't mind if I do!"      

Thomas put a hand on his shoulder, locking him in place. "Make sure you don't draw any unwanted attention to yourselves. This is still sort of a secret mission if you forgot."  

Pippin brushed off Thomas's hand, theatrically offended. "Moi? I'm the master of subtlety!" Pippin then turned about-face and caught his foot on the bottom of the top step, causing him to hit the wooden front door with a loud clunk.    

Thomas sucked in a sharp breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Jack leaned over and picked the half-unconscious Pippin up by his shoulders. "Don' worry Tom, I'll keep an eye on him."         

With that, Thomas set off for the top of the hill. Roald watched him go, and then looked warily at the pub. It didn't look to dirty, but there was no accounting for the unruly savages that were most definitely occupying it at this very moment. When Jack opened the door, subduing Pippin as much as he could, Roald, to his utter chagrin, found that he was absolutely correct.   

Honestly, it was only an hour past noon, who visits a pub at this hour? The answer, of course, was this group of lovely and outstanding gentlemen. Men as large as Jack stood alongside weaselly little men smaller than Shane, all of them with hair colors ranging from the lightest northern blonde to dark coal black. Beards long and beards scraggly and unkempt hung from every face in the room. Roald felt extremely uncomfortable as a couple of unkempt ruffians eyed him with predatory eyes at a table nearest the wall.       

Pippin, on the other hand, seemed right at home as he walked up to the bar and slapped a few coins down on the counter. Loud enough for everyone to look up simultaneously, he called out to the bartender. "Oi, let's see somma that wicked northern brew!" A group of especially violent looking ruffians eyed him with contempt.   

One of their number, a hard looking bald man with a thick red beard and a row of uneven teeth, spoke up. "Looky here, lads! This'n reckons himself a Nordfolk!" His group of ne'erdowells chuckled like a group of dirty sheep. Pippin had donned an unbreakable poker-face as he grabbed the mug of ale the bartender had set down and brought it in front of himself without taking his eyes off of the group. The bald man spoke to him in mock baby-speak. "Aw, is the wee one thirsty?" He turned and spoke to the bartender. "Oi, Dunnel! Ye' can't go around givin' ale to wee babies! Get this wee pink baby some milk!" The dirty flock of sheep bawled a raucous laughter at their shepherd's command. Donnald the bartender shook his head and mumbled to himself as he wiped a glass clean.   

Roald watched as a very unsettling gleam swept over Pippin's eyes. Pippin turned up the mug of ale and emptied the entire pint in one gulp, and then smashed the glass mug against his head. He had not even drawn blood.   

The entire group of ruffians had gone completely silent. A few of them looked as if they were about to need new pairs of pants. The leader gulped and drew up his resolve. "A tough one eh? Dunnel! Give us a round, on me! And keep 'em commin'!"    

Donnald gave the group a half-smile as he started filling up mugs by the twos. He set four of them down and began filling up others. Both Pippin and the dirty bald man grabbed their respective glasses and stared each other down. "Last one standin' wins!" Roald looked away, appalled and less than willing to watch how this would play out.   

He looked around for something else to look at, the sounds of the crowd of ruffians cheering on the drinking contest at the bar overwhelming. He saw Jack talking with a squat bearded man with one eye. Looking further, he saw Shane and Dash talking together at a table near a corner of the room. He was at least glad to see Shane warming up to other people for once.     

He picked up on their conversation as he walked over to them. "Well, I lived in the Vale for a while, but um, I just never got the hang of being a seer. And I didn't want to join the army, so I moved to Mannsville and started taking care of animals."    

"No way! You're from the Vale? What's your house sigil?"  

Shane looked down and uncovered the doublet he was wearing under his yellow coat. The sigil on his breast showed a group of three pink butterflies. "I was part of Meadow House before I moved out. They weren't too happy about it, since everyone in Meadow House is a seer, but I still visit from time to time."     

Dash kicked his feet up onto the table. "I know what you mean. My Grandma wasn't too happy about my choice to join the Guard, but I have about as much foresight as a rock. Still, you could have joined the peace corps. You know, medical team, or something like that."  

"Well, I tried, but I get kinda sick at the sight of blood, so doctor was out of the question."     

"Are you kidding me? I saw you back there in the woods! You were awesome! You could totally handle an axe on the battlefield!"    

Shane let out a nervous laugh. "Heh, yeah. I um, really don't know what came over me back there." He swallowed a lump in his throat and clutched his arm to keep from shaking visibly."     

Roald had a feeling that this conversation was about to get really uncomfortable, so he went to see what Jack was talking about. On his way over, he couldn't help but notice that Pippin and that rather rude gentleman had already downed five pints of ale apiece. Ugh, the savages.               

The squat fellow Jack was talking to had gotten up and was about to leave, giving Jack a brotherly embrace and patting him on the back. Jack followed him out the door and shouted his farewells to the man. Roald walked up behind him as he shut the door. "So, who was that?"    

Jack looked back, surprised. "Hm? Oh, that was my cousin Craig from the Highland Apple clan. He was just tellin' me 'bout how he's doin' and all that. I ain't"    

"Did you ask him about what's going on with all of these disturbances?"    

"Oh yeah! He said there's been a rumor that a gang of wargs has been gatherin' at Shivering Creek just north of here. But no one's paid much attention to them, on account of they don't amount to more than a glorified cult. Until now, that is! Craig said that his wagon got ambushed last night by somthin' big and hairy that was wearing armor! And several other townsfolk from around here say that someone's carvin' sickle moons into the trees and on people's doors!" Jack held out what appeared to be a dented piece of iron shaped like a crescent. "Sound familiar?" 

Roald thought hard about what he had just heard. Something was definitely wrong here. "If the legends are true, then there has to be a sorcerer that allowed these men to become wargs. If we can find out who it was, then the case is solved!"  

Jack pushed back his hat and sat down at a table. "Easier said than done, I reckon."   

Roald wiped the grime off of the chair next to him and sat down. "I hope that Thomas comes back soon." He glanced down at his gilded pocket watch and gasped. "It's almost five after-noon! We've been here for three hours! Where has Thomas gotten off to?!"   

"Calm down, man. He's seekin' audience with the Thane, that's bound to take a while."  

Roald danced his fingers on the table anxiously. He then realized that the sound of the ruffians had stopped all together. He looked back to the bar and saw the sheepish group gathered around their red-bearded leader, who was sprawled across the floor. Pippin drained his glass and set it down next to eight empty ones. "Oh my lord!"   

Jack looked up and around. "What? What is it?" He spotted the glasses on the counter by Pippin. "Sweet Celestia of Equestria! He drank NINE pints?!"       

"How disgusting! Where does he put it all?!"   

Jack got up from the table and headed for the door. "Okay, it IS gettin' pretty late. I'll go see what Thomas is up to. Mind this one doesn't do anything stupid."  

Roald called back under his breath. "It's a little too late for that."     

Jack opened the door and squinted at the sunset. It was just a hands-breadth away from nighttime, ad they needed to get a move on. Just as he was about to step down into the street, Thomas came walking through, his pace fast as Spike struggled to keep up. "Jack! Gather up the team! We have some serious business going on here!"  

"Woah, slow down, what's goin' on?"  Thomas shouldered past him and opened the door to the pub.   

"I'll explain on the way! We need to go, NOW!" He stopped dead in his tracks as he stared through the open door. Pippin was standing on top of a nearby table stomping out the beat being played by a lively fiddle. He stuttered in disbelief. "Wha..."   

Jack came in after him and saw the display. Others around the bar were cheering him along and singing a rough bar tune along with the fiddle. "Aw, Pip! What are ya' doin' up there?!"    

Pippin laughed and danced, clearly inebriated. Thomas looked anxiously at his watch and then growled at Pippin. He took his staff and brought it down hard on the floor. The table Pippin was dancing on started to shake and then threw him off. Thomas caught him in a cloud of magic and brought him forth until he was clutching the collar of his shirt in his hand. "Enough fooling around, let's go!" The bartender glared at them from behind the counter and was about to say something, when Roald took a hefty pouch of coins and tossed them to him as he exited, leaving him more than appeased.  

The rest of the team got up and followed Thomas out the door, Pippin still in his grasp. They were all walking briskly down the road that lead out of the city as Pippin wriggled free of Thomas' grasp. "Alright, I'm fine! You could have just said 'let's go!'"          

Jack and Roald quickened their pace to walk by Thomas' side. Jack was the first to speak up. "Thomas, what the hell are we doin' here? Would you at least like to fill us all in before ya' drag us to who-knows-where?"   

Thomas stopped and steadied his breathing. "You're right, I'm sorry." He pulled out a map from his pack and opened it up, showing the rest of the team. "Those wargs that attacked us this morning are part of a gang called the 'Moon Brothers.' They have been allegedly causing disturbances all around this area for the past couple of weeks. Before then, they were just a mock gang that met up in the woods, but recently all of their gang has been turned into wargs by some unseen force. The Thane suggested it was a powerful necromancer, but we can't be sure. All that we DO know is that they are having a huge gathering tonight just north of the town. There's supposed to be an initiation for some new recruits, and the Thane fears that they plan to attack the city at moon-rise. We HAVE to get there and investigate before that happens, so time is of the essence."         

With that, there were no questions and they moved forward. They began to run until they could see the edge of the forest. Deep within the bracken and branches was a huge burning fire and a group of shifting black shadows. Thomas' heart sank like a rock. There had to be at least a hundred of them there, and all of them wargs!          

The group stopped for a breather on the outskirts of the forest line. Roald was breathing heavily with his hands on his knees. "Couldn't we have gotten some horses? I am NOT running halfway around Equestria like this!"  

Thomas got up from his squatting position and stretched his back. "Tell you what. If we make it out of this alive, I'm buying you all your own horses. My treat."    


* * *


             

	 

	      

  

	     


> Brother NightClaw 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Brother Nightclaw stood concealed in shadow atop the crude stone dais where the Moon Brothers' meetings were held. He looked down proudly at his now formidable pack of wargs in their human form. He had trained them well in the ways of the warg. Many of them came to him no more than boys and low-life thugs, but he had made them into hardened soldiers and ferocious warriors of the night. But more than that, he had given them a new and glorious purpose.   

He could remember the days when he would sit in his filthy rags in that retched town of Manesburrow, wasting away miserably. How he HATED that city. Always pushed around by those bigger than him, and treated worse than an animal. He was so very happy that he had left it, once and for all, to take residence in the thick mountain woods where prey roamed free and easy for the hunt. But none of it could have been possible if it weren't for his dark and powerful Queen of the Night!  

She had found him, a dirty and thin little wisp of retched misery, and spoke sweet promises into his ears. She promised power beyond the reach of any mortal man, and an army of brothers in his cause. And he had happily agreed.  

He remembered the thrill of adventure as she led him into deep and unknown caverns to find a treasure beyond value. A beautiful crescent moon that shone like milky glass that had given him the power of the wolf was now his greatest treasure. All she had asked in return for this valuable prize was his everlasting loyalty. And what a price!   

He had known this Queen must be extremely powerful to know of such treasures, but he had seen first-hand tonight that he truly was part of the greatest army in Equestria! Almost one hundred even wargs, each with the strength of two men and equipped with razor sharp claws and teeth, with the added bonus of the Queen's own personal Night Guards, and lead by her newest and most capable General? Who would stand a chance against such a force?     

Sure, it might be true that eleven of his new recruits had perished at the hands of some strange passersby, but General Nightshade had assured him that they would not have the pleasure again anytime soon. If those same passersby decided to arrive tonight, they were in for one hell of a party.     

A rustle of the bushes alerted him to the General's arrival. He took his place at the head of the dais and raised out his arms, his black wolf's pelt draping over his shoulders. The gathering of wargs fell silent at his presence. He waited a moment for dramatic pause. "The Moon Brothers have gathered in their strongest numbers tonight! The night is dark and perilous!" 

The group of wargs responded in unison to his incantation. *The moon will guide us in her strength!*      

"My brothers of the night, we have with us a very special guest tonight!" He turned aside and welcomed the figure standing in the shadows. "Our dark Queen has graced us with the presence of her most trusted high general, who shall lead us to our victory! Welcome our guest, the great General Nightshade!"    

The general stepped out onto the dais, his black as ebony arm outstretched before him. The crowd of wargs cried out in a clamorous whooping, a din that was not unlike the howl of many wolves. He spoke with a powerful voice that was amplified by the power of the night. "The Moon Brothers are a welcomed addition to the Queen's army! Together, we shall become the greatest and most feared army that the land of Equestria has ever seen!" THe crowd once again erupted into throes of jubilant whooping. The general quieted them with his own voice. "The infidels who worship the murderous sun and it's usurper Princess shall feel our cold steel relieve them of their servitude!" The wargs were now uncontrollably loud in their celebration. General Nightshade fought to be heard over the din. "Tonight, we win back our dark Queen's kingdom, starting with the sun-worshiping city of Manesburrow!"          

The whoops and celebrations were instantly quelled as a loud thud erupted from the general's chestplate. An arrow rebounded feebly off of the fearsome armor, not even scratching it's surface. The general looked angrily from the arrow into the woods surrounding the encampment. He hissed under his breath as a look of anger and surprise erupted from him under his breath. "They're here!" The wargs had spotted whoever had shot the arrow and were gathering their weapons while the general called out over his warg troops. "KILL THEM! Every last one of them!"      

He extended his arm, stopping Brother Nightclaw, and pulled him close. "Do NOT loot the bodies. Bring me whatever they carry." 


* * *
            


"Aw, dammit!" Dash's arrow had failed to take out the knight on the dais. In fact, it had failed to even penetrate his armor, much to Thomas' chagrin. He had given Dash the signal once "General Nightshade" had made the wargs' intentions clear. Thomas had thought there might be maybe a hundred or so wargs here. His bowels almost opened when he saw there were over one thousand of them, and each one of them able to take at least three soldiers by themselves!     

He wasted no time in reacting to the general's command. He intended to take out as many of the wargs before they had the opportunity to change. But in these numbers? It was going to be a long night, and that was IF they somehow survived, which was a big if.   

Thomas had been preparing a big spell while he waited, drawing circles in the air with his staff and murmuring a complex spell-chant under his breath. With a shout he pushed his magic forward and the tip of his staff exploded into thousands of tiny motes of glowing orange. They shot forward into the encampment, some striking the ground, and a fair amount of them meeting their marks. Hundreds of wargs fell before they could change their skins, while the energy beams hit the thick hides of a few of the wargs who had changed quickly, wounding them but not stopping them.      

The bulk of the surviving wargs had now changed and bounded over their dead brothers. Thomas drew his sword and led his own forces into the fray.     

He threw up a rough shield around his party, blocking most of the blows they would not normally have blocked. Jack swung his longsword, decapitating wargs left and right with surprising speed. Dash had climbed into a tall tree and was now picking off offending wargs with his bow, a good chunk of the monsters around his tree becoming bits and pieces at the hand of one of his enchanted arrows.              

Surprisingly, Shane had even managed to take down a few foes who got too close to his hiding spot. Pippin landed hundreds of quick blows on the wargs surrounding him, his flail a blur of iron. Roald had managed to create several decoys of himself, each of them distracting a group of wargs while he shot bolts of blue energy through the backs of their skulls.  

Thomas had marveled at how efficient these men were at fighting. They were holding their own against a normally daunting force compared to their numbers. His shields were helping, of course, but even without them they would have cut down a generous amount of foes.        

Thomas downed the wargs who were not occupied with the others, thanks in part to Roald's decoys, and approached the dark general. Their eyes met and Thomas' skin began to crawl. He had felt the presence of the Princess many times before. Warm, inviting, and kind, like a warm and sunny day. When he looked at her, he felt safe and reassured, like she was his ever present protector.  

When he looked into the General's eyes, he felt just the opposite.  

Thomas had been preparing another spell while he walked towards the dais. If he was lucky, it would scare off the rest of the wargs, leaving much less of a battle to fight. He seriously doubted the General would be deterred by such a tactic, but he set the spell loose anyways. 

His staff slammed heavily against the ground as a ball of energy as bright as the sun appeared over him. With a flick of his wrist, it dispersed into thousands of smaller flaming orbs that were targeted against the wargs. Each one of them ran from the clearing with their tails tucked under their legs as the fireballs chased closely behind them, a good twenty being set aflame.           

The ball that had been targeted towards the General was promptly swept to the side like a fly. Faster than Thomas could imagine, the General closed the distance between them and closed his oddly black fist over his throat. 

Thomas fought to throw him off as his neck was slowly being crushed. The General brought him in close and spat out angry words into his face. "Where are they?" Thomas could not answer, because he was presently being strangled to death. "Don't try to lie to me either! I can feel their presence! Give them to me now and maybe I won't kill you!"   

The air was filled with red light as one of Dash's arrows soared through the air. The General impossibly snatched it with his free hand, laughing triumphantly. His laughter was short lived as the arrow began to flash rapidly. The arrow exploded in a cloud of red flames that blew Thomas away from the General's now relaxed grip. Thankfully his shield was still active, or he would have been torn to shreds.  

Thomas lay on the ground, nursing his sore throat as his party surrounded him. They stood in a circle around him, hefting their respective weapons in a gesture of protection. Thomas could have sworn he felt a radiating warmth escape from his friends surrounding them.  

What little time he had spent with these men, he had already considered them friends. A feeling which was amplified as they stood in a protective circle around him. He felt strength enter his limbs, filling him with determination and faith in his newfound friends.       

The General had now recovered, the smooth, pale flesh of his face blistered by Dash's enchanted arrow, but frustratingly no worse for wear. He raised his hand and casually flicked it forward as the shadows surrounding him came alive.  

They formed into knights who seemed to wear the very night sky as armor. Creatures formed from darkness itself. He thought of a book he had read on magical conjuring and it's weaknesses. Thomas lifted his staff and shouted an unintelligible cry into the air. The dark knights rushed the circle of men  in a silent flood of gleaming blades. A pulse of light burst from the end of Thomas' staff and bathed the encroaching knights in golden light. Just as expected, they shriveled and dissipated before him without a sound.     

The General screamed in fury and drew his sword. It gleamed like silver in the moonlight as he stalked towards the circle of friends. He suddenly sped up and knocked Jack aside with a swipe of his hand. He caught Pippin's flail with his sword and sent it flying with a flick of his sword hand. He then brought the sword down in a wicked arc towards Thomas, who sent a quick shield up to block the blade, his staff right behind it. The sword slowed as it shattered the shield and stopped on Thomas' staff.   

The General pushed him to his knees with his inhuman strength. His face contorted with pain as Jack's sword collided with his back, allowing Thomas to fire a bright bolt of fire directly at his face while he was distracted. Shane rushed him and jarred his neck with a blow from his battleaxe, while Pippin sent a gut-shot flying out of nowhere with his recovered flail. Roald sent out a spell that flash froze the General's face and arm in place while Dash simultaneously embedded another enchanted arrow into the ice.         

The group ducked as the arrow discharged, sending shards of ice flying through the air. Thomas got up and moved towards the General's forlorn frame lying in the grass, planting a foot on his neck and pointing his staff towards his face. "You asked me where 'they' were. What were you looking for? And who is this Queen you follow?"     

The General seemed not to breath, but then with a rush of breath, he snapped to attention and threw Thomas off of him with his hand. He got slowly to his feet, clutching his stomach where Pippin had hit him. He glared daggers at Thomas and lifted something in his other hand. "This is far from over! You will soon feel the wrath of Nightmare Moon!" He threw whatever he was clutching down at the ground as it exploded into a cloud of smoke.  

Thomas could only stand in sheer dumbfoundedness     

The legends of Nightmare Moon were TRUE after all!  

Which meant that the Princess had a lot of explaining to do...       



* * *


	

	

	
> Thomas 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Thomas shuffled his feet as he stood at the door to the Princess' study, feeling a powerful sense of deja vu. And like every other time he had entered through those carved mahogany doors, he felt incredibly nervous. But unlike all the other times he had stood before this door, he felt not a sense of hope, but a sense of doubt.   

A sense of doubt towards the Princess that he would have never thought possible. He had always had suspicions about the legend of Nightmare Moon, but whenever he brought the subject to light, the Princess would become very quiet, or change the subject completely. He had thought this strange at first, but he had rid himself of those worries as soon as they had come. But now, Thomas was left standing at that familiar door, wondering if the Princess was as righteous as he had always thought. 

If the legends were true, Princess Celestia had once been part of a pair of sisters that guided the sun and moon through the sky. And if those legends were true, she had banished her only sister to exile on the very moon she had once guided through the sky. And if those legends held even a smidgen of truth, the Princess had replaced the facts they contained with superstitions and old mare's tales that held no meaning whatsoever.   

But this was not some childish Nightmare Night dribble about offering your candy to an old statue. There was an actual demon-possessed sibling of the princess looking to take over the entire known world, and for all intents and purposes, the Princess had kept it a secret and had done nothing about it!  

Thomas steeled himself and pushed open the two wooden doors as forcefully as he could, ready for some answers. He stormed into the study as the Princess was pouring over a map, her hands clasped behind her back. Apparently, she had not heard him enter. "Princess Celestia! Something terrible is happening!"     

The Princess turned around to face him, her face contorting into a very practiced shape of worry and concern. "Thomas! Thank goodness you're back!" She approached him, her hands wringing themselves nervously. Thomas had never seen the Princess like this, and it didn't help to quail his growing sense of worry. "There is a very dark presence I am feeling tonight." She turned her head and whispered under her breath, "One that I have not felt in many years..."  

Thomas spoke again, but softer this time. "Princess... what is this dark force?"       

She turned away, bearing a look that was the closest thing to shame that Thomas had ever seen on her face. "It... It seems you already know." She turned back around, clutching her wrist in one hand, her voice uneven. "Thomas, you must trust that I had no idea what this disturbance was the days before I sent you out, our else I would not have pitted you against this threat."  

Thomas stared at the floor with his head turned downward. "So you knew. All this time, you knew it was a real and true threat, and you lied to me! Why?"   

The Princess covered her face as she turned around. Was she actually crying? Thomas had never even seen a hint of a tear appear on her face. "Please, Thomas. Please respect my decision. I never lied to you, but I did withhold the truth, which is just as terrible." She turned around, her regal features made more human by her tumultuous emotions. "I've known you for so many years Thomas. Please understand that I knew just what you would do, were I to tell you about Nightmare Moon." She seemed to cringe at the name as she spoke it. "Would you not have charged against this force alone, even without my consent?"   

It was now Thomas' turn to look away in shame. It was true, the Princess knew him much too well. And while he now understood it was for his own good that she withheld the information, he could not help but feel somewhat betrayed. He knew, it was a childish emotion to feel, and that he should be grateful for her thoughtfulness, but the feeling just wouldn't go away.      

He stepped up as close to the Princess as he was willing, and hid his growing emotions under a tone of determination. "Princess Celestia. I need to face this threat. This, Nightmare Moon... if she's as powerful as the legends imply, she could over-through you, given enough time. Already, she's gathering an army of literal darkness. If I don't stop her now, then there won't even be a chance!" He stepped up the stairs to the raised half of the study, taking one of the Princess' hands in his. "I've seen the power that she wields. She's already given some of it to a man calling himself General  Nightshade. The group of us that you chose, we defeated him and about twenty of his foot soldiers just hours ago. If we can find her, we have a chance of destroying the Nightmare Moon once and for all! So please, give me your blessing to lead my men to destroy this thing. I would at least feel better if you supported my plans."   

All traces of worry suddenly disappeared from the Princess' face. She grasped Thomas' hand tighter and tighter. "You said that you all defeated her general and a full squadron? Almost too easily?" Thomas shook his head in affirmative, causing the Princess to encircle him in a full embrace. "Thomas, you did it! Well done, Thomas, well done indeed!"  

Thomas stared at her questioningly. "What did I do?"     

She broke the embrace and held him by the forearms as excitement filled her features. "It seems I was correct in my choices after all!" She tightened her grip on his arms as she spoke. "Why do you think I assigned you these five men? DO you feel a sense of connection towards them?" Thomas once again nodded his affirmation. "Then, Thomas my boy, you've experienced the magic of friendship!"   

Thomas let his arms go limp, dropping them from the Princess' grasp. His mouth hung open in disbelief. He mouthed out soundless words as the gears in his head failed to move. "You sent me on a dangerous and possibly fatal mission... just so you could make me get some FRIENDS?!?!?"    

The Princess chuckled at Thomas, who was still locked in disbelief. "Thomas, this is no small matter. Remember, when you fought that General. The feeling of strength, indomitable strength, coursed through you, did it not? You experienced just what the power of friendship can accomplish! If I ever had any doubts before... Oh, this changes everything Thomas! If there is anyone that can bring the Nightmare to justice, it is the six of you, I'm sure of it!"      

The Princess ascended to the top of the stairs, looking down at Thomas. "Thomas, you have my blessing. Go and bring the lands of Equestria to their rightful balance once more!"    

Thomas nodded enthusiastically and tensed his body. "Thank you, Princess! I won't let you down!" He turned to go before rebuking himself and striking his face with an outstretched palm. "Um, you wouldn't happen to know where the Nightmare is hiding, would you Princess?"   

Princess Celestia chuckled lightly and then darkened a shade, loosing herself in deep thought that visibly darkened the room. She snapped back to awareness, turning to Thomas. "The old castle... yes, she always loved it their. Deep in the Everfree forest, there are certain old ruins. You will most likely find her there. Be safe Thomas, the Everfree is extremely dangerous."   

Thomas sighed and turned to leave. "I know, Princess. I promise, we will be careful. He stopped half way between the door and the raised dais and turned around. "Oh, wait! The General said something about 'The Elements.' Are they of any concern at all?"     

The Princess masked her excitement as she turned back to face Thomas. "You could say that, yes. But don't worry. He won't get his hands on them any time soon. And neither will the Nightmare. As long as the six of you stay together, The Elements will always be safe."  

Thomas looked puzzled for a moment, but turned to leave anyways. "Alright, Princess. I trust you." He pulled the large wooden doors inward and headed down the hallway at a brisk pace as they closed back in place. His steps rang through the alabaster castle walls with purpose and precision. Adrenaline coursed through his veins like holy fire. He emerged into the chambers where his men, his allies, no... his friends awaited him. They stood at attention as he reached them, his eyes glowing with equal parts determination and pure magic. "Alright guys, enough waiting around. It's time for one final mission!" 


* * *
         


Dale- er, General Nightshade lost his breath as his body slid through the endless void. With the scene of his shameful defeat still embossed into his memory, he felt the powerful tug of reality compressing him into tangible space with a puff of thick black smoke. He fell to the ground, choking and gripping his torso where he had received numerous blows. He coughed up a little blood that looked a shade darker than it probably should have and pushed himself off of his knees.   

He had thought himself just short of invincible ever since his glorious transformation, and yet those six common fools had given him the beating of a lifetime. He had tested his armor and had witnessed it's strength. He had even thrown himself against a rock from ten feet in the air, and he walked away without a scratch! The material was flexible yet stronger than any steel he had seen, and had even deflected that first arrow like it was an acorn thrown by a child. How then could those simpletons beat him so thoroughly that he felt it's toll through, what was in his mind, the strongest material in the known world? He limped through the growth of forest around the ruins of the castle, still clutching his midsection as he stumbled through the tunnel that led to his dark Queen's chambers.       

He recalled the image of his untimely demise, focusing on that one purple wizard. That despicable imbecile had destroyed his entire group of shadow knights with only one spell! And then proceeded to beat the living tar out of him like a cheap horse! His image began to burn into his eyelids. He couldn't even blink without seeing that disgusting, impudent, inbred excuse for a wizard pointing his little magic stick right in his face. Dale (General Nightshade, dammit!) had had his share of sorrow and unjust circumstances, which ingrained him with quite a hefty contempt for most of the outside world, but as he remembered that purple idiot, the only person standing between him and invincibility, he began to feel a powerful emotion well up inside of him. More powerful than petty contempt, more powerful than a child's sullen alienation from the world. He felt the most powerful and destructive emotion known to man...     

...Hatred.    


* * *
    

He approached the newly erected cave door with a crushing anxiety. He knew that it was incredibly embarrassing to show up so empty-handed, but he just didn't know what to do next. But he had faith that his lovely dark Queen would understand his situation and forgive her most prized General.  

He spotted her as the doors slid soundlessly open, her sleek form bent over a large map on a low stone table. He approached a few steps forward and then dropped to his knee. She had not yet acknowledged his presence, so he cleared his voice and addressed her with a strained voice. "My Queen, I have returned!"        

It was then that she acknowledged him, turning around and facing him with her most lovely smile, showing her beautiful straight teeth in contrast to her sumptuous midnight lips. "Why, General Nightshade! How quickly you return to me! I am most pleased-" She stopped midway between him and the table, tensing up and dropping the smile as quickly as she had produced it. "Where are the Elements? I trust you have them, or else you would not bother me at this moment." After a few seconds of awkward gaze-dodging from Dale, the dark Queen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with two slender black-tipped fingers. She alleviated her rage and forced a sigh. "Oh well! I suppose you will just have to go fetch them once more!" She sighed once more and massaged her temples. "I am assuming that you have gained the trust of the Night Brothers, yes?" She added with a dry and mirthless chuckle. "I know that old fool Nightclaw would follow me into a shallow grave, had I asked him."    

Dale cringed and looked away before answering. "M-my Queen... The Moon Brothers accepted our invitation into our forces without argument, but..."   

The Queen's breathing began to quicken in intensity. She spoke through clenched teeth. "But what? My. Dear. General?"  She spat out her words one by one, like poisonous arrows.   

"Well... It was all that purple wizard's fault! He set them all to running with their tails between their legs, and then he finished off all of the shadow knights!"  

The once beautiful fave of the dark Queen contorted into a mask of pure rage, not unlike that of a snarling wolf with pointed fangs. She sent forth a tangible shadow that snaked out through the air and caught him by the throat, lifting him slightly into the air until he was in an uncomfortable position between a crouch and standing. "And I suppose this 'purple wizard' gave you these unsightly bruises? Are you telling me that a measly wizard defeated you, a league of shadow knights, and an entire warg army by himself?!" She shook him back and forth through the air like a dog with its prey. "Answer me you pathetic fool!"   

Dale choked as he was thrown around by the neck, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. He spat out a few choked-out syllables as answers. "No! *hack* five others! Nothing *cough* like I've ever seen! *wheeze* So powerful!"   

Her eyes were pried off of him as the stone entrance to the cave slid open and several burdened shadow knights entered at a brisk but deliberate pace. "State your business now or leave at once!" The foremost knight dropped to his knees and produced a large smooth sphere of stone from under a bolt of cloth.       

The Princess gasped in delight and absently swatted Dale into the stone wall of the cave, knocking out what little breath he had retained and jarring his bruised ribs. The dark Queen approached the stone, hesitant at first, and placed a slender white hand onto it's smooth surface. Her lips curled into a predatory smile as she ran a finger over the smooth sphere. "The others, where are they?"    

The group of knights produced four other stones, equally as smooth, causing the dark Queen to produce a low and sinister chuckle. She shot a glance over to where Dale lay, broken and coughing up a trickle of blood. "Well, at least someone around here serves their purpose." She approached him, sending out a lighter midnight blue cloud that forced itself into his nose and mouth. He felt the haze creeping through his body with a sickening slither, pooling around his internal injuries. He gasped as a sensation like ice cold water splashed over him. The haze began to mend him internally, producing smaller after-shocks of cold energy. The Queen observed him with contempt as he steadied himself on his feet. "Perhaps you will serve more use as a sentry. Seeing as how these mindless sendings have already done your job for you, it seems only fair that you should replace them as guards in the castle Ruins."    

Dale stood to his full height, struggling to contain his quickly rising emotions. He stared sullenly at the ground before looking back at the Queen. "I want to see my mother. You said you could bring her back, well where is she? I want to see her!" He punctuated the end of his statement by raising his voice, and cringing at the reverberated sound thrown back at him by the circular cave, not realizing he had started to scream.  

The dark Queen gave him a fittingly dark look that bore holes through his very being. Quick as lightning, she drew back her hand and sent a solid cloud of black smoke, comically shaped like a hand, shooting across the distance between them to strike him firmly across the face.  He covered the bright red whelp that it left protectively, shrinking against the wall as the Queen approached him. She regarded him with contempt, folding her arms before her. "If you will remember, I offered to return you your precious mother as a reward for completing the task I set before you. I do not give out rewards for unfinished jobs! Now go and stand guard outside, and I will consider bringing her back to you at a later date of my choosing!"  

He straightened his back and bowed deeply, quickly wiping away the tear that began to roll down his cheek. He stalked briskly out of the cave past the Queen and the silent shadow knights, still holding a hand to the whelp on his cheek. He kept his brisk pace down the subterranean tunnel, breathing hard. He finally stopped about a hundred feet from the door, positively fuming. He took a long look at his new right hand, watching the smooth black surface ripple with unseen tendons. He then reared back and plunged it half a foot into the stone walls of the tunnel, shouting in pure fury as chunks of rock were sent in every direction. He pried out his hand and sunk down to the floor, his back against the wall of the tunnel. 

Tortuous cries of pain and sorrow drifted eerily through the tunnel as he pounded the ground with his fists, making a sizable indention in the tunnel floor with each blow. Once again, just like every event in his life, he had failed. A failure that had cost him the trust and admiration of his beloved Queen. At first, he had looked upon her and saw nothing but dark and powerful beauty and a kind face that had made him strong in his time of weakness. Now, she was one of the only three people who had ever loved him, two of which were dead, and she was ashamed of him.     

As he lay crying and clawing at the ground, the image of that insipid wizard burned bright and painful through his closed eyes. He and those five lackeys of his, all standing over him, mocking him, wrenching away the only good feelings he had ever had about himself and turning them against him. If it was not for that wizard, he would have found the Elements, and he  would get the Queen's praise, and HE would lead the armies of darkness into the heart of the sun-loving world!            

The hatred for that wizard ingrained deep into his vision burned bright and hot within him, blurring his vision as he stalked murderously down the tunnel towards the surface, muttering to himself. "I'll kill him... I'll kill him... I'll kill him... I'll KILL him..."             


* * *