//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Age of the New Sun // by Foreshadow //------------------------------// Dawn was ebbing slowly over the walled city of Canterlot, the gold light splashing across the battered, ivory towers as if to draw attention to some of the disrepair. The streets were vacant, ghostly, and silent. Before what had once been the palace of Princess Celestia, Equestria’s solar ruler, stood three connected towers. The frontmost was a tower with the imposing forms of armored Equestrians carved into the front. Tall, stoic ponies garbed in heavy steel, bearing shields with the Mark of Celestia upon them, patrolled the entrance to both the towers and the remnants of the palace. Mostly, they were there to ensure nopony broke curfew. Of the three towers, two were almost completely locked down. The main tower itself was incredibly large and tall, with a decorative, peaked roof and observatory the crown at the top, and housed, for the most part, unicorns. Here was where, almost exclusively, magic was taught and learned within the kingdom. Most of the students were not entirely voluntary. Comet Strike was one of such students. High in the topmost observatory next to a homemade but pristine telescope slept the young, pale blue unicorn, her cheek to the book-lined table she sat at. She drummed her back leg against the floor awkwardly as she snoozed, huffing, blowing her tomboyish white-blue and mauve mane from her face. She scraped her white hoof across the table beneath her and pressed her cheek against its surface more closely as her ear twitched to the vague sound of a familiar voice in the backdrop of her mind. Her eyelids fluttered under the light, though she didn’t wake. “Comet Strike!” The unicorn snorted and her ears perked, twitching, and her large golden eyes opened and groggily blinked, but she slumped in her seat again, unsure if she had actually just heard something that was not in her mind. “Comet Strike!” she heard again. The unicorn’s eyes snapped open this time and she felt a jolt of panic, suddenly remembering what she had been doing. She sat up immediately, scrabbling on her front hooves, pulling the telescope before her closer with a bolt of blue magic and stuck her eye up close to the lens. “Did I miss it?” she demanded. Her eyes scanned the brightening sky, searching for the comet shower she had been watching for. She saw nothing, but before she could slow herself to take a better look, her telescope was pulled away from her by a cloud of yellow magic and she almost fell forward onto her face. “Comet Strike!” She turned quickly to see a pink, turquoise-eyed, freckle-faced unicorn looking back at her with a sympathetic smile. “The comet shower was over four hours ago, I was talking to you!” she said. “Pinklily, what...? Oh...” Comet Strike dipped her head and her ears drooped, but she grinned embarrassedly at her friend. “Sorry, I thought you were saying a comet had hit the ground.” The other unicorn laughed and shook her head, her pale pink and gold streaked mane, rife with bed-head, tossing from side to side until she made an “oh!” sound and leaned her head back to get it out of her face. Her pelt shone in the morning’s glow, giving her Soul Mark of three crystals in blue, pink and cream an almost unnatural sparkle. “You’re such a goof,” she said with a smile. Comet shrugged one shoulder and then turned to look at the sky, pouting a little. “I guess I fell asleep before I could take many notes...” she muttered. “Anyway, did you need something?” The other unicorn merely laughed at her and stuck her hoof to her friend’s head, ruffling her already tussled mane. “You just looked really uncomfortable. I would say go to bed, but the sun is rising.” “Whatever.” Comet laughed sleepily and slid onto the floor from her chair, yelping as she nearly stumbled over an old copy of All About Falling Stars. Pinklily’s magic held her steady and moved the book carefully from her way before letting Comet back down onto the floor. “Whew, thanks,” she said, her ears drooping. The mare shook her head and rolled her eyes, smiling a bit and turned to leave the cluttered observatory. Comet sighed and turned back to her telescope and the scattered notes she had taken. She stared for a while, groggily, at her equipment and then looked down at her notes. She pawed one of them closer to her and peered at it. She was disappointed to see that she had barely written anything, other than, “I wish I could fly.” She felt a hot sting of embarrassment and she crumpled it into a ball and tossed it across the room where it disappeared behind a tower of old books. She supposed, late into the night, watching the sparkling of the stars across the sky, she had been daydreaming a little. Quickly, she found her sky-coloured bag and undid the clasp: a sort of white fireball, mimicking a portion of the mark on her flank. She pushed her notes inside with a hoof as she grabbed two of her astronomy books, Black Holes are Magic, and Adventures with Telescopes, in the blue glow of her magic and slid them in as well. She didn’t know the time, but magic lessons and a presentation would most likely be starting within the hour. She didn’t want to be tardy; it wasn’t any sense of love towards classes, but being unaccounted for could be incredibly dangerous in this place. The Sunwalkers, the guards of the unicorns and their towers-- they were strict, and sometimes cruel. Comet Strike didn’t want to give them a reason to suspect her of mischief. She couldn’t afford to. As she tried to shake herself awake, Comet put her saddlebag on and, trotting carefully between the books, left the observatory the way Pinklily had. There was a narrow spiral staircase, often unused and quite dark that lead down to the regular levels of the tower. She headed there carefully, watching her hooves with a justified paranoia: she had fallen down these stairs on several occasions. At the bottom, she pushed open a large, heavy wooden door and stepped into a wide, checkerboard tiled hallway. She could see a groggy Sunwalker, a tall, narrow-faced tan stallion all in gold, sun-emblazoned armour, taking his place to stand on guard near another set of stairs to her right. That meant it must have been around 6am. The Sunwalkers were always like clockwork with their changing shifts. She didn’t make much of it and continued down the hallway. There was a huge communal sleeping hall nearby; undoubtedly, that’s where Pinklily would have gone back to. They shared a bunk-bed when Comet wasn’t passing out in the observatory. However, that wasn’t where Comet was headed for now. Instead, she continued around the floor and to another, unguarded and wide set of stairs that lead down to a more public level of the tower. Sun was streaming through the windows warmly, and though Comet thought it was much too early to be awake, she was happy to see the sun rise. It was beautiful; something about it calmed her but at the same time, it always struck her with a sense of melancholy. The sunrise felt empty and impersonal, something that somehow felt wrong. Now, Comet trotted to one of her most frequented haunts: the library. The huge, wooden doors, though locked at night, were already open wide. Inside, shelves of books about magic, cosmology, geography, history -- almost anything imaginable -- towered, reaching up to brush the ceilings. The magic books were mostly at the front, so that a pony wouldn’t have to search intensely for the basics of their studies. Most ponies didn’t delve much farther than that. It was a bit of a shame, but the blue unicorn liked having much of the library to herself. Comet smiled a little to herself and headed through the memorized labyrinth of knowledge. Her hooves echoed on the clean, tiled floors of the otherwise silent place until she arrived at the cosmology section, which was around the center of the library. Opening her bag, she eyed the ordering curiously and then returned Adventures with Telescopes to its vacant spot on the shelf. It didn’t look like any other pony had been taking books from this section at all. She paused and scanned her eyes across the titles on the spines of the books. She was a bit disappointed. She had read all of the books within immediate reach already. She stepped back and looked at the titles above, but frowned to herself as she realized she had read all of those as well. Deciding to head for a book of spells instead, Comet backed away from the shelf and began to return from where she had come from, but stalled suddenly, her ears swiveling as she heard a second set of hooves. Normally, she wouldn’t have thought much of it, except that the echo resounded from the back of the library. She felt a sting of nerves. Nopony was ever back there. Cautiously, Comet shuffled on her hooves, unsure of what to do. Pinklily would have told her to ignore it. It was probably the smart thing to do, but then again, studious as she was, Comet wasn’t exactly known for choosing the smart thing. Unable to quench her curiosity, she turned quickly towards the back of the library. Tiptoeing on her hooves, she tried to be as quiet as possible as she slunk through the twisting paths of bookshelves. The back of the library had almost a clearing: a parting of shelves where piles of unsorted books lay. It didn’t make sense for somepony to be back there. Comet was on edge and had to stop herself from jumping as she heard the hoofsteps over her own once more. The unicorn hurried her pace, following the path of the shelves closely. When Comet finally reached the final corner before the ‘clearing’, she hesitantly poked her head around to look. She was surprised to not see anything out of place at first. Frowning, Comet stood up straight and stepped into the opening, peering around curiously. Things were so quiet now. Her ears drooped back; she didn’t know what to make of it. A voice in the back of her mind that reminded her very much of Pinklily told her to get out of the library, that she had seen enough. As usual, Comet ignored it. She scoured the room, peeking between the piles of old, dusty books, and then inspected the ring of smaller shelves against the back wall. She still didn’t see any signs of anyone else, but she did find a strange, grimy scuff mark on the old tile. Peering down at it suspiciously, Comet poked it with her hoof, only to hear a a few sudden, loud thuds. Comet just about jumped out of her skin, skittering back and rearing onto her hind legs defensively, her eyes wide and darting around the room. A tower of books was wobbling, while another lay scattered on the ground, and around the corner she had come from, she could have sworn she saw a tail disappearing. “Hey!” she called out quickly, dropping back down to all fours. There was no response, not even hoofbeats. Comet was baffled, her heart beating a little more quickly than she would have liked. Hurriedly, Comet headed back to the front of the library. There still wasn’t a single sign of another pony. She pouted a bit, her ears drooping backwards as she thought about how strange it was. A bit unnerved, Comet forsook another magic book and left the library quickly and headed back upstairs. Trying to shake off her nerves, Comet Strike returned to the sleeping hall, hoping to meet back up with Pinklily. Amongst the bunk-beds and sleeping unicorns, Comet did her best to be quiet, though some were starting to stir on their own. After a quick glance around for Pinklily, she headed to the rear of the room and into the bathroom, where there were rows of sinks, mirrors, and a few tubs in the back to clean up in. Inside, as she suspected, Comet found Pinklily, her mane now combed, a little curly and pristine, spraying herself with a little bit of hairspray from an old glass bottle. Her tail, too, was combed long and straight, the pink and light gold stripes divided evenly down the side in a pattern of pink-gold-pink-gold from the top down. “Oh, hi!” the pink unicorn said, a little distracted as she watched herself in the mirror and sprayed her mane again. “Hey,” Comet said in reply. “What took you?” she asked. “Went to the library,” the blue mare replied simply. She glanced around and found a comb, and with her magic, ran it casually a few times through her mane. Comet had an almost perpetual bedhead, her mane white-blue with jagged mauve streaks through her forelock and down her neck. Her tail was a bit spiky as well and of moderate length, with mauve running in a thin line at the top, and then in a separate stripe down the center while framed by the white-blue. The combing did next to nothing and she shrugged to herself, splashed a bit of water on her face, and then turned to leave. “Wait up!” her friend called. Comet paused and Pinklily skipped up to join her. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose a little at the scent of the overkill of hairspray. The other unicorn snickered at her and nudged her laughingly with her head as they left the bathroom. “You should let me do your mane sometime-- clean you up a bit,” she said with a grin. Comet merely stuck her tongue out at her good-naturedly in response. --- Comet Strike and Pinklily, along with over one hundred other unicorns, resided in one of the few towers left in the walled city of Canterlot. It had been about 300 years since the solar ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia, had disappeared. A group of unicorns calling themselves the Cult of Nightmare Moon had claimed responsibility and a great war broke out as strange, twisted beings known as the Nightspawn appeared from what seemed to be the darkened sky itself. The sun and moon froze in the sky until a band of ponies lead by Celestia’s own protege forced the Everfree forest to spread across the land so that nature could rule itself. Now considered beyond dangerous, unicorns were herded to the remaining Canterlot towers, guarded diligently by the Order of the Sun and their Sunwalkers, ponies specially trained to deal with and neutralize unicorn magic. Comet Strike had lived in the gilded cage that was Canterlot for longer than she could remember; Pinklily had been there even longer than that. Growing up in such an environment was torturous for Comet Strike for the most part. Her curiosity was unyielding in a magic tower where asking questions could get a pony into a lot of trouble. As a young filly, one of the only things keeping her sane was a Sunwalker mentor, a Pegasus named Nimbus. He had found her when she was only a few days old; had even given her her name. As she grew, despite a justified paranoia about the other Sunwalkers, he was like her brother; he had given her her first magic books and watched over her. However, while she was still little, before she even had her Soul Mark, Nimbus was expelled from the Sunwalkers, and, broken-hearted, Comet never heard from him again. Comet resented the Sunwalkers deeply, but feared them as well. A unicorn breaking Canterlot rules or practicing any magic that was considered “forbidden” ran the very real risk of having their horn cut off and losing their magic forever. Comet was clever, but impetuous, and considered herself beyond lucky to have a friend like Pinklily who was levelheaded and steady. Comet loved learning spells; she was like a sponge, taking in even what she may not have been supposed to, her most dedicated passion being the practicing of offensive spells made of pure energy and ice. It was exhilarating, and along with being what could be considered Comet Strike’s special talent, it was also unconditionally forbidden. Pinklily was probably all that was keeping her out of trouble. Now, the young mares were expected at a lesson for some very young unicorns to perform some spells as an example. Comet knew there was going to be a celestial event the night before the demonstration; she hadn’t volunteered herself, but when Archmage Springbreeze asked a pony to do something, there wasn’t a way to say no without incurring a heavy dose of motherly guilt. She wished, however, that she hadn’t had to sacrifice a good night’s sleep. The magic class they were sitting in on was targeted for the very young. Comet liked playing with kids, and Pinklily had the patience of stone, so that wasn’t really the problem. It was too early for everyone. But then again, the Archmage had claimed she would be very busy for the rest of the week. Comet secretly suspected that she was only saying that as an excuse; she probably liked early classes because the young ponies were much quieter when groggy. --- They found the classroom on the ground level of the tower in a quiet study with cushions on the floor. Many of the younger ponies were there already, fidgeting on the floor or talking amongst themselves. None of them were old enough to have earned their Soul Mark yet; Comet found it quite fun how small they were. They barely reached her knees. She plopped down on her haunches behind the other ponies and Pinklily sat beside her, raising a hoof to hide a yawn. As more ponies trailed in, so too did another mare and a stallion that Pinklily and Comet had taken their classes with. Glimmer Pearl, a tall, ivory unicorn with a long mane of half-magnolia, half-cyan down the right side of her head, a long, luxurious tail, and the figure of a supermodel pranced on the tips of her hooves, looking as pretty and graceful as ever. Her silver eyes were bright and wide awake: she looked as if she never slept and yet never felt any ill effects. She was giggling and bumping her snout against the slightly shorter Jinx, a bright blue, purple-eyed unicorn with a short, spiky mane in two lighter shades of blue and a small tuft of a tail. “Comet, Pinksy! Good morning!” Glimmer exclaimed. She hugged both of them before either could even begin to greet her and then plopped down on a cushion beside the blue unicorn, stretching her forelimbs above her head contentedly. “Hey guys,” Comet said. Jinx nodded at her and a bit shyly took a seat near Glimmer as she patted the spot to her left with a hoof. “Comet, how was the meteor shower?” the ivory unicorn asked brightly. “Well, they... were actually comets,” she replied, cringing as she held in a yawn. “Whatever. How was it?” “Very pretty.” “She slept through most of it,” Pinklily said a bit slyly, cutting her eyes at Comet. The blue mare bumped Pinklily in annoyance, but Glimmer didn’t seem to mind either way. “It seems to be happening more recently, you can probably catch the next one in a few months,” Glimmer stated confidently. Comet smiled a bit and nodded. It was true: the next one she had charted would happen in approximately three months. It wasn’t urgent, anyway: more of a curiosity than anything. “Hey, Jinx,” she said, leaning her head back to look at him, “how was that spell going for you? The levitation one?” Jinx opened his mouth to answer, when abruptly Glimmer chirped, “He got a whole foot off the ground!” while patting him affectionately on the back. “Really?” Comet asked brightly. She knew Jinx had been having a great deal of trouble with his levitation spells. In fact, he often had trouble with most of the practical magic he tried. His specialty seemed to focus more around magic that was just for show, punctuated by the gold star rimmed with purple and blue fireworks on his flank. When Jinx nodded, she grinned at him and Pinklily abruptly put in, “Congrats!” “Aw, well... it could be better,” he admitted, “but thanks, guys.” His ears were perked and, though still shy, he smiled and Glimmer patted his back again. Comet was about to reassure him that he’d get better with practice, as was the case with most magic, but at that moment, the Archmage trotted into the room, calling out, “Hello, my little ponies!” in a sing-song voice. Comet rolled her eyes immediately as the lanky, elderly unicorn in a black robe trotted to the front of the room beside her paper-flooded desk. Archmage Springbreeze was a mint green unicorn with a long, turquoise and sky blue mane that she wore long and elegant in the back and left the forelock in the front spring forward with a flippant curl at the tip. Though her left eye was clouded and white, her right was still a bright, vibrant pink. She didn’t wear many signs of her age, save for a few wrinkles on her snout and under her eyes. She had the nickname “Soothsayer”, though nopony really knew why for sure. Some said she could see the future, but Comet wasn’t so sure: it was more likely that it was just rumours based on superstitions and Springbreeze’s foggy eye. As the younger ponies chorused a, “Good morning, Archmage,” Springbreeze smiled warmly. “Welcome to your next magic lesson! As you’ll probably have noticed, we have some of our graduating students at the back. They will be helping us with demonstrations today.” She gestured broadly to the older ponies at the back, and most of the little heads up ahead turned to look at them curiously. Springbreeze’s brow furrowed a little, however. “Where’s Warmspark?” she asked. Pinklily raised a brow questioningly and Comet merely shrugged as Glimmer looked around quickly. Warmspark was another unicorn from their year of studies, known for lighting things on fire. “Guess he couldn’t make it,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed. Springbreeze rolled her eyes and muttered, “Again? Honestly...” under her breath, but almost immediately put on a smile. “Well then, we’ll just have to start without him, won’t we?” she said. With a shock of silver magic, she pulled a chalkboard from against the wall and sent it to the front of the class. It was covered in basic notes about an equally basic spell. “So last week we did a light spell, who remembers?” she asked, and when every hoof went up, she said, brightly, “Good! Let’s do a refresher.” Comet drooped and sighed tiredly. She had to get up when the sun was barely in the sky for this? As the younger unicorns went up one at a time to demonstrate their magic, she frowned at the floor, trying to decide if she should tell Pinklily about what happened in the library or not. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal; maybe I just startled somepony and... She frowned a bit more deeply as she tried to figure out what had happened. She still didn’t know what to make of it. “Hey, what did the floor ever do to you?” Comet looked up quickly and Pinklily smiled at her jokingly. “Sorry, just... I was thinking,” Comet replied. The pink unicorn’s brow furrowed: the expression was out of character for Comet, but before she could ask, or make any assessment, there were exclamations from the front of the room, and almost immediately, Glimmer began to clap her hooves against the floor, cheering, “Way to go!” loudly. Comet and Pinklily looked to the front where many of the younger ponies were gathered, cooing over a pale red filly with a carrot coloured, bob-cut mane who was staring, her blue eyes bright and wide, at a newly appeared Soul Mark on her flank. It was a ten-pointed yellow star with a border of white. The filly recovered from shock rather quickly and began look incredibly proud. “Well, well, would you look at that!” Springbreeze said. “Congratulations, Brightspot!” She ruffled the unicorn’s mane; Comet and Pinklily quickly joined in clapping their front hooves against the floor. Brightspot, probably named for the white freckle spots on her snout, smiled broadly. “Brightspot, are you the first in your class?” Glimmer called, her eyes alight. The filly nodded proudly and returned to her seat as Springbreeze gently bade the young ponies to calm down. Pinklily looked at Comet and raised her eyebrows. “A bit more interesting than normal,” she commented. “I guess,” Comet said, and smiled a little. “She must be happy.” She nodded at the filly, who was grinning from ear to ear as a few of her friends hovered around her. “I remember getting mine,” Pinklily said. “Do you remember?” “Yeah, you just about scared yourself out of your fur. I’d never seen you jump that high before,” Comet replied with a grin. Pinklily smiled a bit wider and nudged her friend with her elbow. “What about yours? Yeesh! What a mess of a night that was!” Comet laughed despite herself and grinned embarrassedly, shifting a bit on her rump as she felt a tingling up her legs, only to have Glimmer lean over, fluttering her eyelashes. “Ooh, sounds like a story,” she said. “What happened?” Comet felt a twinge through her spine, and quickly lied, “Oh, didn’t sleep for about a week studying the meteor showers when I was little. No big deal.” Pinklily rolled her eyes though Glimmer didn’t see. Her ears perked and she brightly said, “Oh!” as she leaned back in her spot. Comet tried not to grimace, but she knew better than to tell Glimmer Pearl the truth. Comet’s Soul Mark had been a direct result of breaking Canterlot rules, and though she loved Glimmer, the mare couldn’t keep gossip to herself if her life depended on it. As the class finally began to settle, Springbreeze took the front again, smiling brightly. “A light spell Soul Mark, how lovely,” she said cheerfully. “Did I hear that you’re the first in your class, Brightspot?” “Yep!” the red filly said happily. “Do you all know about Soul Marks?” the Archmage asked. Though some of the younger ponies looked a little perplexed, most of them nodded. “They’ve been called many things over time. Cutie Marks, Emblems, Destiny Marks, etcetera,” Springbreeze explained, and was about to continue when a small green colt stuck his hoof in the air almost urgently. “Archmage, do we all get one?” he asked. “Of course,” she replied. “How? When?” Springbreeze smiled as more small voices echoed the questions in different words; young ponies wondered aloud what theirs might be. “You’ll get yours eventually,” Springbreeze assured them, and then beckoned to Comet Strike. Comet flinched, but got up and walked to her side near the desk and the blackboard; she nodded appreciatively. Figures Springbreeze would pick her, especially when her legs had fallen asleep. “Your mark always has to do with what you are truly best at,” the older unicorn explained. “Take Comet Strike’s, for example. She developed a keen interest in space and shooting stars at a young age, so, her mark reflects that.” The young ponies oohed and aahed at the sight of the white comet, a purple and blue flame trail streaming behind that was emblazoned on Comet’s flank. She blushed a little and Springbreeze began to speak again, elaborating further on Soul Marks. Comet wasn’t listening, however; her mind was elsewhere. More specifically, it was on Springbreeze’s desk. Amongst the piles of books and scraps of letters, a small piece of parchment was sticking halfway out of an envelope once sealed with Celestia’s crest. The red if the seal stood out amongst the paper clearly, like a beacon. It directed her eyes to a map, like blueprints: a portion of the library Comet had never seen before. Her curiosity was peaked immediately and her heart began to beat a little faster. The map showed the back section of the library, where somepony had been skulking around before she had startled them off. Comet gulped and tried to casually lean towards the desk, but before she could even attempt to sneak a closer look, Springbreeze nodded at her and said, “A stargazing Soul Mark is very interesting, thank you Comet. You may take your seat now.” Reluctantly, Comet returned to the back of the room. Pinklily gave her a knowing look as she plopped back down beside her. They both knew that Comet hadn’t gotten her Soul Mark through stargazing, not in the conventional sense, anyway. It had been much more dangerous than that. Almost immediately, Glimmer stuck her hoof in the air and waved it until the Archmage took notice and said, “Yes, Glimmer Pearl?” “Can I show mine as well?” she asked. “Of course you may.” Springbreeze smiled. Immediately, Glimmer was on her feet and she trotted up to the front of the room, proudly displaying the mark on her flank; a magic silver orb surrounded by a splash of turquoise magic. “Ah, yes, Glimmer’s represents her telekinesis-” Springbreeze began. Comet didn’t hear the rest of it. Her mind was a million miles away. Could it simply be coincidence? The lesson continued with each of the graduating students showing off a basic spell to the foals. Glimmer showed off basic levitation with much enthusiasm, and Jinx shyly demonstrated a spell to make objects glow. Comet’s display was basic and in her mind, rather lame, but was still a little too advanced for the foals: she froze the water in a small container. Pinklily fished up with a simplified explanation of enchanting gemstones with magical properties, her specialty. Comet was still distracted through the demonstrations of her friends; was even distracted through her own. Had the Archmage been the one in the back of the library? Did she know something about what was back there? Comet wanted to ask her, but she doubted she would get an answer: Springbreeze was usually frustratingly cryptic. It struck her with stomach-turning nerves to consider going back there, and asking about it didn’t seem like a good idea for several reasons. Lost in thought, the class seemed to speed by; Comet was only jostled out of her thoughts when Pinklily nudged her to get up. As they left together, the pink unicorn stared at her with a light frown on her brow. As they walked through the entrance hall, past the main doors, Pinklily beckoned Comet towards a bench underneath a row of stained-glass windows. A bit puzzled, Comet followed, and the other unicorn said, “So, what’s on your mind?” “What do you mean?” the blue unicorn replied. “Well, you were distracted all lesson,” Pinklily said with a shrug; she slid down onto the bench carefully. Comet plopped down beside her and looked at her a bit nervously. “Also, you’ve been staring into space, and you don’t usually have that look unless you’re planning something, so I just figured something was up,” Pinklily continued. She smiled slyly at her friend, and Comet’s ears drooped. She smiled a bit shyly. “I just... saw something, I dunno,” she said quietly. “What kind of something?” Pinklily pressed. “I’m not sure,” Comet admitted. “I guess... something spooked me in the library.” “Oh.” Pinklily’s eyes went wide and she inclined her head curiously, her expression asked Comet to elaborate. “It’s nothing, really, it’s just that I heard in the back of the library, but when I went to check, no one was there,” Comet said, trying to hide her reluctance. “And then I saw weird library blueprints on Springbreeze’s desk. It was just weird is all.” “Huh.” Pinklily drew back, frowning. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t come up with the words. Comet shrugged absently and got to her hooves. “I could really go for some food right about now,” she said. Pinklily seemed reluctant; her eyes probed Comet’s face, as if trying to read her more deeply. The blue unicorn’s ears drooped and she smiled awkwardly, knowing that her forcible changing the subject was anything but discreet, but after a moment, Pinklily’s expression softened and she got up with her. “Breakfast would be great,” she agreed. Under the dappled, coloured light, the two unicorns headed off, though just as they reached the entrance to the hallway that would take them to the dining hall, Comet couldn’t help but pause as she heard the massive front doors of the tower begin to creak ajar. Curiously, she turned to look, as did Pinklily, her ears twitching and her brow furrowed. One of the double doors was shoved open roughly, sunlight spilling through behind the silhouette of an armoured Sunwalker and the young colt he was pushing along in front of him. Comet cringed against the light and watched curiously. Almost as quickly as it had opened, the door slammed shut as the red stallion herded a young, cream coloured unicorn into the tower. The colt was about the same age as the ones Comet and Pinklily had been sitting with just a few minutes prior, though this one was a little taller: gangly and totally out of his element. He looked around cautiously, red eyes bright as he tossed his short, scruffy burgundy mane from his face until he became fixated on the almost mystical light pooling from the stained glass. Cautiously, Comet edged a bit closer, hoping to-- she wasn’t sure, perhaps introduce herself? It didn’t seem to be an easy thing, coming to the tower when one could still remember the outside. She envied, and pitied, him. She had never known the world outside Canterlot. Pinklily followed her, a bit more confident in her steps. That is, until the young colt was sent sprawling to the tile by a swift kick from the hoof of the Sunwalker. Comet felt herself gasp, a shock of terror striking her. While she froze, Pinklily did the exact opposite. She was across the room in an instant, her face set in a scowl. “Hey, what the hay do you think you’re doing?” Pinklily barked. She positioned herself, steadfast, between the small colt and the large Sunwalker. The stallion looked down at her with an ice-cold frown. “Get out of my way, filly, I need to take that foal to the Archmage.” Pinklily raised an eyebrow and stood a little taller, clearly unimpressed, but otherwise, her face was stone. “Why don’t you let me take it from here, seeing as you clearly aren’t fit to take care of a pet rock?” the unicorn said. Comet felt her heart sink and her ears went back with worry, especially when the large stallion bared his teeth and leaned forward, trying to seem larger and more intimidating with moderate success. Pinklily was unmoved and she lowered her head a little, more to aim her horn than anything. The stallion snorted angrily and tried to duck around Pinklily, but the pink unicorn sidestepped simply to block his path. Comet wasn’t sure what to do, but her heart was racing. “I order you to get out of here, you stupid unicorn,” he said. “Or should I tell the Sun-Commander about your bad attitude?” Comet felt a shock of panic, though Pinklily was still a rock. Usually, this worked. Usually, no reaction to threats was effective, but this stallion seemed to just be getting more upset. Pinklily must have been able to see this, but backing down wasn’t really an option, especially with the foal at the most risk. Comet wasn’t sure what to do, but with the stallion starting to try to circle again, she knew she had to try something. Quickly, she snuck closer and she jostled a book out of her saddlebag and, with much gusto, strode towards it at such a speed that she couldn’t prevent herself from tripping. She flew sidelong into the Sunwalker, sending both herself, her books, and him sprawling to the ground. Dazed and apologizing as if she meant it, she shook her head and tried to get a front hoof under herself and looked up to see Pinklily looking at her with a mixture of confusion and pride. “You stupid filly!” the stallion barked, scrambling to his feet with a look of rage on his face, but before he could say another word, his attention was caught by a deep voice. “You, colt, get over here at once.” All four ponies turned to look. Across the hallway, in the high-arched doorway, stood the Sun-Commander Stonehoof, a tall, barrel-chested grey stallion garbed in gold armor from head to hoof. He glared, cold-eyed at the Sunwalker, whose expression abruptly turned to one of alarm. “Yes, sir!” he said quickly. He straightened his posture and trotted with forced pride towards the Sun-Commander and ducked in the doorway and past him. Stonehoof remained to look at the unicorns before him tiredly, and then turned without a word and followed the Sunwalker, kicking the door closed behind him as he went. Comet felt breath leave her in relief almost immediately and she slowly got her legs under herself to stand. Before she knew it, however, her books were floating in her face and she could see Pinklily smiling at her. “Good thinking,” she said, and then laughed. “You did do that on purpose, right?” “Of course,” Comet replied, rolling her eyes. The young colt beside Pinklily couldn’t help a small grin and he trotted up to Comet as the other mare returned the books to her friend’s bag. “Thanks, miss,” he said brightly. “I was scared I wouldn’t meet anypony nice here after that guy.” “Not a problem,” Comet said with a smile. “Are you okay?” As the colt nodded, Pinklily gave her an unsure expression and Comet couldn’t help her ears folding back a little. Unaware of anything wrong, the young colt said, brightly, “I’m Arrowburst, the archer’s son! From Trottingham. It’s very nice to meet you both.” He stood tall on his small legs and the pink unicorn couldn’t help a smile. “I’m Pinklily, and this is Comet Strike,” she said, pointing her horn at her friend. Arrowburst seemed quite pleased, grinning at both of them. Comet was about to ask him how the trip there had been, but Pinklily spoke first. “So, you were headed up to the Archmage?” “I guess so,” the colt said, his ears drooping a little. “Is she scary...?” “Pfft, no,” Comet scoffed, laughing. “We can take you.” Arrowburst perked up immediately and Pinklily turned to Comet. “She’s probably still in the study,” she said. Comet agreed, so the three ponies doubled back to the room where the class had just been held. Springbreeze, however, was already gone, leaving the classroom much neater than it had been. Comet peered deeper into the classroom. She tried to conceal her disappointment: the desk had been partially tidied and the curious map was gone. “Huh,” Pinklily mused, snapping Comet back to reality. “Guess she went upstairs.” “To her office, I guess,” the blue unicorn agreed, backing out of the room. They went slowly through the tower, up the stairs and to Springbreeze’s guarded office, allowing plenty of time for Arrowburst to look around his new surroundings as they went. At the door to the office, Comet noticed Arrowburst hesitate a little at the sight of the Sunwalker guards, but she gently nudged him on as they went up to the closed, wooden door. Pinklily knocked, and when Springbreeze called, “Come in!”, the unicorn pushed the door open and stepped in, guiding Arrowburst. Comet trailed behind and closed the door after them. Springbreeze’s office looked much like the back area of the library: books were scattered everywhere and stood stacked high in teetering piles against shelves that were crammed to the brim with even more books. Despite the mess, the room was decorative and bright with gold lining, a border just below the ceiling depicting inlaid pictures of Celestia’s protege, Twilight Sparkle, leading a band of ponies and a dragon across the land to confront some vague, faded enemy. Springbreeze herself sat at a desk that was all but invisible behind books and under papers. She smiled at the ponies and got up to greet them. Arowburst recoiled a little, but Springbreeze cheerfully said, “Nice to see you all! I’ve never seen this little colt before. New, are you?” She smiled at him and the colt nodded, squeaking out, “Yes, ma’am.” “Interesting to see you two with him,” the Archmage said to the older unicorns. “Well, we--” Pinklily began. Comet cut in accidentally, unable to stop herself blurting, “The stupid Sunwalker with him kicked him over on the way in, so there was no way we...” She trailed off, noticing Pinklily’s stare and she shut her mouth tightly. Springbreeze, however, looked startled, and she turned her gaze on Arrowburst. “What an awful introduction to the tower!” she gasped. She bent and nuzzled the small colt’s head gently, and he finally seemed to relax. When she stood straight again, she frowned, locking eyes with Comet. “Who?” “I... I...” “We don’t know. Haven’t seen him around much; probably a patroller,” Pinklily interjected calmly. “Red. That’s about all I can say.” “I’ll talk to the Sun-Commander,” Springbreeze said quickly, her magic whisking a pen from the desk and marking a note on parchment behind her. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with this colt.” Pinklily nodded, and though Comet was still feeling the sting of shame, she smiled reassuringly at Arrowburst, who quickly said, “Thanks for the help,” before the two unicorns left the office. They were quiet as they walked away, back towards the dining hall. Comet’s ears were low and she kept her eyes to the ground, not wanting to see the look of disapproval she knew her friend was wearing. “Comet,” she said after a while. She sounded disapproving, too. Comet gulped and flinched, but said nothing. “Comet,” Pinklily repeated. She stepped in front of the blue unicorn quickly, forcing her to stop and look up. “I’m sorry,” Comet squeaked. “I know your heart was in the right place, but-” “I know, I know, I screwed up again.” “Comet Strike, you know those Sunwalkers outside the door almost definitely heard you, right?” Pinklily looked at her sternly and Comet felt her heart sink to her hooves. “I...” Fear struck her and she wanted to hit herself. Of course they heard her: she had practically been shouting. She drooped in place and before her, Pinklily sighed and patted her on the shoulder gently. Comet was worried now. She had been cited for “bad attitude” just two month ago: honestly, she just tried to keep her head down and go about her business, but she just couldn’t help herself sometimes. Being stuck in the tower did that to most ponies. Well, except for Pinklily. “Maybe they’ll understand,” Comet said, mostly trying to reassure herself as she straightened to look at her friend hopefully. “Maybe they won’t report me.” Pinklily didn’t look even a little convinced, but she smiled and nodded, half-heartedly agreeing, “Maybe,” before moving back to Comet’s side and nudging her forward with her snout. “Just be more careful,” she said. “Let’s go eat.” The dining hall, a simple array of wooden benches and tables in a cafeteria-like setting in what was obviously once a much more important room, was scattered with ponies. Some, a bit younger than Comet and Pinklily, studied notes from books whilst gulping down food in a hurry, while other, older ponies chatted amongst themselves without a care. The friends got some food and sat at a table on their own. Comet was quiet, munching on a dandelion and raspberry jam sandwich, hoping it would make her feel better. It didn’t, really; her stomach was still in knots. She tried to ignore Pinklily’s silence. After a little while, she heard Pinklily sigh, and say, “It’ll probably be fine. Don’t worry too much.” “Sure,” Comet agreed; though she nodded, she didn’t really believe it. The pink unicorn’s face said that she knew. She didn’t seem to believe it either. She picked through the salad in front of her delicately while Comet wolfed her sandwich absently. She noticed Pinklily shoot her an amused smile and some of her tension gave way, finally, and she allowed herself to slump a little. “Anyway,” Pinklily said, “how was last night, anyway?” Comet looked up at her friend, and though her ears drooped back, she smiled and couldn’t help a small laugh. “From what I remember, it was pretty,” she said, “and my calculation for the position was accurate. Good non-sequitur, by the way.” The other unicorn shrugged and smiled. “Maybe, you know, since classes are over for us, we could get a free Canterlot pass and do some actual outside stargazing in a few days,” she suggested. The notion perked Comet up immediately. She hadn’t had a free Canterlot pass in months; some free time to roam around the ruins of the city, if only for a few hours, would be more than welcome. She smiled at Pinklily, understanding her motives immediately, and said, “Thanks,” quite earnestly. Pinklily shrugged and went back to her salad. The two ponies chatted for a while, mostly trivialities; Comet enjoyed it, it made her mind feel less muddled. Their conversation was derailed, however, by the arrival of a Sunwalker in the dining hall. Pinklily noticed him first, quietening mid-sentence and forcing Comet to follow her distracted gaze over her shoulder. The light blue stallion approached them as the other chatter in the hall dimmed, and for a moment she was terrified, but only then did the blue unicorn notice Arrowburst trailing a bit shyly behind him. “Pinklily and, uh, Comet Strike, right?” the large pony asked. When Comet nodded and awkwardly replied, “Yeah?”, his ears perked and he gently nudged Arrowburst towards them. “The Archmage asked me to bring this colt to you; said you should show him around. That okay?” “Oh, um... sure,” Comet replied. She was surprised, and hoped she wasn’t shaking visibly. He smiled, seeming relieved, and again he nudged Arrowburst, gently saying, “Go on. You’ll fit in fine.” “Thanks,” the colt replied, and the stallion nodded and headed back from the hall as, a bit awkwardly, Arrowburst clambered onto the bench beside Comet. The tension dispersed almost immediately, and Comet felt herself blush at the amount of panic she had felt. She put a hoof to her brow as Pinklily smiled sympathetically and then she turned her gaze on Arrowburst curiously. “So the Archmage wasn’t as scary as you thought?” she asked, “Nah, she was nice,” he replied brightly, and then squeaked out a quick, “Thank you!” as Pinklily pushed what was left of her salad to him. He shoved his face into it hungrily and the two older unicorns shared looks of mutual amusement. “I’ll get you some more,” Comet volunteered. As the colt let out another exuberant “Thanks!”, Comet slid off the bench and trotted off to grab more food. Arrowburst was ravenous after his long trip; inhaled what Comet set on the table before him like a monster. He had been on the road for five days, he told them, and they had only stopped to rest three times. Despite that, his energy was still high; he asked for a tour, and Comet and Pinklily obliged. A quick run around the ground floor, excluding the Sunwalker’s temple, showed a few more studies; nothing particularly interesting. As they headed towards the stairs upwards, the young unicorn kept pace with Pinklily. Comet trailed behind a little, letting Pinklily take the lead. “There’s a basement, also,” Pinklily told Arrowburst, “but we’re not allowed to go down there.” “Why not?” the colt asked curiously. “It’s full of demons,” Comet joked, sticking her tongue out, and when Arrowburst cast a glance back at her with raised brows, she said, “They don’t tell us. You just get in a lot of trouble if you even try.” “But now I want to,” Arrowburst grumbled. “Don’t you dare,” Pinklily replied. Though she smiled at him and her tone was light, her eyes said she was utterly serious. On the second floor, Pinklily showed off some of the large classrooms, many of which were filling with students, and an equipment room where potion ingredients and spell reagents were kept. The colt was fascinated. Farther up the tower, past the library, Comet let Pinklily do much of the explanations of the classrooms, practice rooms, reading rooms, and rules of the tower, lest the new unicorn be coloured by Comet’s obvious disdain. She didn’t want him to be as frustrated as he was. Many of the young unicorns seemed happy, and she hoped that he could be too. Despite that, he gravitated to her more than to Pinklily, and she was certain he caught at least one of her involuntary eye-rolls at the mention of the strict curfew or some other such Sunwalker-imposed nonsense. Around midday, Arrowburst was hungry again and Pinklily suggested Comet take him back to the dining hall. She had to go, she explained, to work on an enchantment project; the blue unicorn was left with Arrowburst stuck to her like tree sap. Upon Pinklily’s departure and their renewed trek down the stairs, he looked up at Comet with a smile on his face despite her hurriedness to return to the dining hall. “So, what do you think?” he asked. “Um... Well, personally, I like the dandelion and jam sandwiches, but the carrot soup is also good,” she said with a shrug. “No, you dope, about the tower,” Arrowburst laughed. “It sounds okay, I guess. But what do you think?” “It’s not bad,” Comet said, shrugging again, and then straining for something nice to say, admitted, “The library is really good.” “Ah, I’m not really into books,” the colt admitted, trotting to keep pace beside her. “I’d love to learn more about magic. I’ve never really done any spell casting before.” “Well, it’s okay for that too,” Comet said. ‘Okay’ was overstating a little. Normal classes almost never taught anything useful, especially not for the foals. Nevertheless, Arrowburst seemed pleased and he skipped down the stairs in front of her. Back on the first floor, as the two ponies neared the dining hall, Comet couldn’t help the nerves suddenly pinging inside her: there were strange whispers about. The other students were oddly quiet and on edge. Arrowburst didn’t seem to notice as he trotted, head held high, into the dining hall and up to the counter where the food was kept. Cautiously, Comet followed him, turning to a nearby stallion and asking, “Hey, do you know what’s up?” a little nervously. She hadn’t seen the students like this since a rogue unicorn attacked the tower from the outside three years ago. The stallion shook his head, his ears drooping, and he replied, “No idea, but it’s freaking me out.” “Same,” Comet agreed. “Thanks.” She hurried up to the counter with Arrowburst, who now had two food trays with both dandelion sandwiches and carrot soup on them and was trying very, very hard to lift them with magic. Though a small spark trail of red trickled from his horn, nothing would come of it. Comet absently lifted them up and, with the trays hovering in midair, she trotted to an empty table and sat down tiredly. Arrowburst followed and sat across from her, rather oblivious as he dug into the sandwich eagerly. Comet’s ears were alert; rotating around the hall, trying to catch a fragment of conversation. Boring and controlling as it may, Comet usually felt at least a little safe in the tower. Not today, though. It was like there was a fog in the place, like there was something just beyond her that she couldn’t see. She heard a vague whispering about Sunwalkers, and almost immediately cast her eyes around the hall for them. Strangely, she saw none, not even the usual guard at the entrance. It made her uneasy; the Sunwalkers were nothing if not predictable. “Comet?” The blue unicorn’s gaze snapped to Arrowburst as he stared at her from across the table, looking moderately concerned. “Is something wrong?” “Huh? Oh, no, nothing,” Comet replied, forcing a smile. “So... Do ponies ever leave here? Or come in? Can my dad visit?” “I’ve seen families visit,” Comet assured him. “Yours?” he asked. Comet shook her head and immediately replied with a simple, “No.” “Why not?” Arrowburst asked curiously, inclining his head. “Well, I just don’t have a family, that’s all,” the mare replied with a shrug of her shoulders, but when she saw the colt’s face utterly fall and his ears flop downwards, she smiled and laughed a little, waving her hoof at him. “It’s no big deal. I have Pinklily. And some other friends. They’re my family, right here in the tower.” “Oh.” Arrowburst looked reassured and his ears were erect again. Once again unburdened, he began to eat. Comet pushed her tray towards him and stole a quick glance around the hall again. Still no Sunwalkers; still a hushed dread amongst the students. Comet didn’t touch her lunch at all, though Arrowburst ate it all readily. They headed back into the main hall, the noon sun painting dappled colours on the floor through stained glass. “So,” Comet said a bit awkwardly, “what would you like to do now?” “I’m not sure,” Arrowburst replied. “Can we go outside?” “We’d need to apply for a free Canterlot pass,” the blue unicorn sighed, shaking her head, “and those usually take a few days to go through.” “Aw.” The colt pouted, and then turned around quickly, looking around at all the hallways Pinklily had taken them through earlier. Comet was about to suggest taking him to the observatory, but she was distracted almost immediately by the sound of frantic hoofbeats clopping across the hard tile towards them. Comet turned in the direction quickly, eyes wide, unable to stop a feeling of panic in her gut. Arrowburst, too, turned to the sound, looking startled and worry. Within seconds, the tall, ivory unicorn, Glimmer Pearl, barreled through into the main hall. “Comet, Comet, Comet!!” Glimmer was utterly panicked, her silver eyes bright with tears as she rushed to the shorter, blue unicorn’s side and threw her hooves around her neck in a desperate embrace as Arrowburst watched on with wide, confused eyes. “Whoa, whoa, what’s wrong?” Comet asked hurriedly, trying to push away her surprise and patting Glimmer on the back gently. “I’ve never seen you like this before.” “It’s Warmspark, the Sunwalkers found out about his fire magic!” She whimpered and buried her face against Comet’s neck. The blue unicorn felt herself go cold. Fire magic itself was not forbidden, but Warmspark had taken to training it with offensive purposes, and was getting quite good at it, too. Comet gulped. She knew what was next, but she didn’t want to believe it. “They cut his horn off!” Glimmer wailed. Comet cringed and felt her heart begin to stutter. She didn’t know what to say or what to ask for a little while, her body frozen with fear and shock as the other unicorn wept into her fur. Finally, Comet Strike regained her voice, though her mouth felt very dry. “Was it close to the base, or-?” “No, no, thank Celestia,” Glimmer said. Comet felt part of her relax with relief, and the ivory unicorn pulled back, wiping her eyes on a hoof and taking a deep breath, finally getting a hold of herself a little. “No,” she repeated, “he’s still himself. They didn’t cut to the base.” Comet let out a sigh of relief and nodded, muttering, “Thank Celestia,” under her breath. “I don’t understand,” Arrowburst put in worriedly. “They cut his horn? I... what?” Comet winced. She didn’t want to have to explain this to somepony so young, especially on his first day in the tower. “Arrowburst, the Sunwalkers have a lot of control in here,” she said reluctantly, “and... when they think a unicorn is getting too strong or dangerous, especially using magic that could be used for attacks... they’ll sometimes cut off the horn.” “What?! They can do that?” The tiny colt’s eyes became huge and Glimmer put a hoof around him to try to reassure him as Comet continued. “If they cut off just most of your horn, your magic becomes very weak. But, if they go down to the base, a lot of times you-” “Comet, should you really be telling him this?” Glimmer cut in, her eyes wide and scared. Though Arrowburst looked frightened as well, he looked up at Glimmer Pearl. “I need to know, though.” Looking a little squeamish, he turned his gaze on Comet. “Right?” She nodded and sighed, her ears drooping. “If they cut to the base, you stop being you. Ponies go... braindead. They stop feeling things. It’s... I can’t imagine anything worse.” “No feelings?” Arrowburst squeaked. “And that happened to your friend?” “No, no, he lost just about... two-thirds?” Glimmer said quickly. “He’s going to be okay, sort of...” She looked overwhelmingly sad again and Comet patted her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled weakly and said, “Comet, you should go visit him.” Comet didn’t question; just nodded. She felt a bit dazed. She left Arrowburst in Glimmer Pearl’s care soon after, heading towards the infirmary. To get there, however, required a trip through the Temple of the Sun, where Sunwalkers congregated to worship Celestia. Though the rest of the tower was rustic in its architecture, the Temple was obviously a relatively recent addition. Down a narrow, but brightly lit hallway to the far right of the main entrance to the tower, it was more elaborate in design, with patterns of the sun all over its pillars, walls and the pulpit at the front. As she entered, Comet was relieved that were was nopony else there. Even passing through to the infirmary could elicit many a cold stare from Sunwalkers. She had even heard, once, a mention that unicorns disgraced the place. Despite Comet’s disdain the Temple, she couldn’t help but admire the designs on the walls as she passed. Strange that the symbol of her oppression could be so beautiful. She paused before a massive, stone carving of Celestia positioned to the right of the pulpit. She thought it, too, was beautiful, but other than that, she wasn’t sure how to feel. She had heard that Celestia loved all ponies, even the unicorns. She herself had the horn of a unicorn. Would she really have approved of them being holed up like they were? Somehow, Comet doubted it. Or, at least, that’s what she hoped. In the Temple, Comet noticed a distinct lack of Celestia’s protege in the art, most likely because she was a unicorn as well. Even so, most ponies she knew swore by Twilight Sparkle at some point or another. As two large, Sunwalker stallions trotted into the Temple the way she had, Comet hurried on her way and out the other side. There was a short hallway leading to the infirmary's closed door there, guarded by a third, stoic-faced Sunwalker. He made no protest nor motion to stop her as she approached, and she eyed him cautiously. “Is it okay if I go in?” she asked. He nodded and opened the door for her; she smiled her thanks and headed inside, nudging the door closed behind her. The infirmary was enclosed, quiet, and dark; almost cozy. At the front there was a desk where the medicine mare, MintTea, normally sat, though she was absent for now; the rest of the room was laid out in two rows of beds for the recuperating. Warmspark was the only one there. Comet spotted him immediately, in a bed near the back corner, his black mane spiked and pulled in such a way to cover his brow. He was lying on his back, his orange eyes fixed in a blank, frustrated frown on the ceiling. Cautiously, she crept in closer, but he didn’t seem to notice her until she was only a bed’s length away from him. “Comet?” he asked, and then sighed in annoyance, slumping. “Glimmer told you, huh? I told her not to make a big deal.” A bit hesitantly, Comet smiled and edged closer until she was at his bedside. “Well, you know Glimmer,” she said with a shrug. “How are you?” Warmspark opened his mouth to speak but paused and frowned deeply at the ceiling. “I’m angry,” he said finally. “At them. At myself.” He snorted, blowing some of his mane from his face. Comet could see the flat stub of his horn and an uncomfortable tremor shot through her body. She felt like she was going to be sick. She couldn’t even imagine what Warmspark must have been going through. He frowned pointedly up at the ceiling and pulled the blankets closer. “Warmspark, I’m sor-” “Nah, Comet Strike, don’t bother,” he grumbled, his ears flattening. The blue unicorn cringed and cast a glance behind her for the Sunwalker guard, just in case. He wasn’t there, and she felt a quick brush of relief. She scooted a bit closer to the stallion and, though she felt a twinge in her stomach at the sight of his stump of a horn, she leaned in closer, asking, “Your magic, is it... all gone, or...?” She was hesitant, but when Warmspark turned his gaze upon her, he grinned tiredly. Quickly, he scrunched his eyes shut and concentrated hard, and after a few seconds, a faint glow pulsed up the horn. “Dear Celestia,” Comet breathed. A small dribble of red sparks scattered around the stump, but stopped rather abruptly as his eyes shot open and he panted desperately. Despite that, he grinned, and choked out a triumphant, “Hah!”, before he paused and took in more air. “They should have done a better job,” he said as he composed himself, and then winked. “Don’t tell anyone.” “Of course not,” she responded quickly. Warmspark nodded and smiled a little. “You and I, we’re pretty similar,” he said, nodding at her Soul Mark, “except that once I build my power back up, I’m going to set the barracks on fire.” Comet felt her heart stall, and by the stallion’s face, she couldn’t tell if he was kidding, though she suspected he wasn’t. It made her nervous, but she nodded a little and gave him a tired smile. “Just be careful, okay?” He nodded and saluted her, and she held a hoof out to him. He readily clapped his own against it and she smiled a little wider. “Do you need anything?” “I’ll be fine. Thanks.” She nodded and said a quick goodbye before turning from the infirmary. As soon as she was beyond the door and the guard, though, her smile fell utterly and she had to stop herself from shaking. She didn’t know if a unicorn could build up their magic again once their horns were cut, but somehow, she doubted it. It was a terrifying prospect. Warmspark hadn’t been wrong about their similarities, but thanks to Pinklily, Comet was much more discreet. Warmspark had flaunted his power among the students, and it pained Comet to think some jealous pony might have turned him in. She surely hoped not. She couldn’t help admire the stallion a little: he was handling the situation very well. Comet couldn’t even fathom what she would do if she lost her magic. It was her life. It wasn’t long before Comet found herself mulling about in the observatory, still feeling sick; still feeling confused. She thought she heard someone call her name from below at some point, but she paid it no heed. She drooped herself across her observatory table tiredly. She closed her eyes, her ears folding back against her head. She felt like she had only been there for a few moments when she felt a hoof on her shoulder, shaking her. “Comet Strike?” Comet opened her eyes to be met with turquoise. “This is the second time I’ve found you here today,” Pinklily said, “How you doing?” Comet groggily sat up and blinked at her friend, who smiled at her sympathetically. “Fine. Just fine.” “Liar,” the pink unicorn said. “You saw Warmspark?” “Yeah. How long have I been here?” “I don’t know, when did you come here?” “Noon-ish?” “Way to go,” Pinklily laughed. “It’s night now.” “Oh! Sorry,” Comet said, startled. “I... left Arrowburst with Glimmer, is he okay?” “Just fine,” the other mare replied with a smile. “He’s okay. We set him up with the other foals in the dormitory.” “Good.” Comet nodded to herself, sighed, and then pushed herself off her seat and back to the floor. “Don’t feel too bad,” Pinklily assured her, patting her shoulder. “After Jinx talked to him... he threw up.” Comet let out a weak laugh, and Pinlily joined her. “That’s awful, I’m sorry,” Comet said quickly. “I just... can’t believe it.” It worried her deeply, though she didn’t have to tell her friend that. Usually, when she felt like this, Comet would go to a special place, hidden below Canterlot, to practice her magic, but after what happened, it felt far too risky. She didn’t know what else to do. “I know that look. Want to talk about it?” Pinklily asked. Comet edged back and forth on her hooves and her ears drooped back. “I don’t know,” she said. “I... I just... I guess I don’t feel safe.” “I understand,” Pinklily assured her. She stepped forward and nuzzled Comet’s mane gently. The blue unicorn sighed. “I’ve been off all day,” she admitted. “I heard something weird in the library.” “Like what?” Pinklily asked. She took a step back and looked at Comet with concern on her brow. “I went in there and I heard someone at the back, but then when I went to look, there wasn’t anypony back there,” she explained, “and then someone managed to get around me, even though there wasn’t anything there.” “Huh,” Pinklily said, her eyes wide. “Interesting. Could it have been magic?” “Maybe,” Comet admitted. “It’s just... I dunno, that freaked me out and now Warmspark... if he got caught-” “Hey, don’t worry, we just need to be careful,” the mare assured her, smiling. “No one knows but me, and if we keep it that way, it should be fine.” The blue unicorn nodded and took a deep breath, her eyes wandering out the window and over the darkening sky. She didn’t want to tell her that, somehow, Warmspark knew, and that worried her even more. “I’d like to go for a walk,” she said, and then hesitantly added, “Want to come with?” “No, that’s okay,” Pinklily said. “I still have some work to do.” Comet smiled gratefully and nodded. It was only a half-truth and she knew it. Comet Strike bid her friend a goodnight and left the observatory quietly. She slowly made her way down to the main floor. It was quiet, now, even more quiet than it had been at noon. Her eyes roamed the stained glass a bit absently, her mind wandering as she looked at the glass images of Celestia, her sun dark against the night sky. Comet sighed: despite the dark, she wanted to go out there. She wanted the air. There were still no Sunwalkers around, no one to really stop her. She was very tempted to just push the front doors open and go outside, but she couldn’t bring herself to even touch them. Comet was tired, still. Her head was starting to hurt. Just a little run on the grass would be great right about now. She knew it probably wouldn’t amount to much, but she wondered if the Archmage might be a bit lenient. It couldn’t hurt to ask for the free Canterlot pass early, could it? --- Upon arriving at Springbreeze’s office, Comet found the door to be slightly ajar. Hesitantly, she knocked, and upon hearing a, “Come in,” the unicorn slunk inside quietly. Inside, she saw Springbreeze at her desk writing what appeared to be letters. The old unicorn looked up at her and smiled gently, saying, “Comet Strike. Good evening, what can I do for you?” Comet felt her heart falter for a moment, suddenly felt herself shaking a little. She gulped. “Archmage, I was wondering if I could get a free Canterlot pass.” “For when?” “Um... tonight?” The Archmage looked at her curiously. “Do you have a Sunwalker escort?” Taken aback, Comet shook her head, and the Archmage smiled sympathetically. “Sorry, dear, no instant passes without an escort.” Reluctantly, Comet murmured out, “Okay,”, and though she had intended on leaving, she couldn’t help but ask one more question. “After graduation,” she began, “can I... I mean, is it possible to get a posting outside Canterlot?” “Outside the tower?” the Archmage replied, her eyes widening. “Comet Strike, why would you ever want to do that?” “It’s just...” Comet began, suddenly wishing she hadn’t said anything, “You know, Canterlot... it’s nice and all, but I really want to see the outside.” She looked at Springbreeze hopefully, but the Archmage grimaced a little. “Comet Strike...” She sighed and put down her pen, placing her hooves on the desk as if bracing herself. She looked sympathetically at the young unicorn. “You know how dangerous it is in the outside world, especially for a young unicorn,” she said gently. “So, I can’t-?” “Not any time soon, I’m afraid,” Springbreeze replied. She smiled kindly as Comet’s ears drooped and she reached out a hoof to gently pat her on the shoulder. “Is this about Warmspark? It really spooked you, didn’t it?” Comet bit her lip and nodded slightly, and the Archmage grimaced a little. “That was an unfortunate turn of events.” “Unfortunate?!” Comet all but barked, her eyes wide. “He had his horn cut! How could you let that happen?” Springbreeze looked suddenly stunned, and Comet drew back, mortified, and stammered out a quick, “I’m sorry. I... I know it wasn’t your fault, I-” “No, Comet Strike, it’s alright,” the Archmage said gently, quickly regaining her composure, “Perhaps I should have been more observant. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about a ‘should have’.” The blue unicorn nodded sadly and let out a deep sigh. Again, the Archmage leaned forward and placed a hoof on her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic and reassuring smile. “Comet, I believe that you’re destined for great things if you stay in Canterlot,” she said. “Just wait and see.” Comet nodded, overwhelmed, and quietly said, “I guess I better get to bed,” to which Springbreeze nodded understandingly. “Sleep well,” she said gently. Comet left the Archmage’s office with a heavy heart and muddled thoughts. Destiny? Comet didn’t know if she believed in destiny, but if even if she did, she refused to believe hers was to stay in Canterlot. It was unbearable. She walked, downtrodden, back to the dormitory. There were a few ponies reading or chatting quietly in the corners of the room, but aside from that, all was quiet. The warmth of the room did nothing for her. She headed straight to her bed and peeked over onto the top bunk. She looked for Pinklily, wanting to vent, but her friend was already sound asleep. She winced and recoiled, biting her lip as she contemplated waking her, but quickly decided it would be unfair and clambered into bed herself. Comet flailed her limbs in her blankets and pulled them over herself, trying to relax and get comfortable. It didn’t feel right, though; her mind was racing, she felt much too antsy. Her body was bordering twitchy, and no matter how she adjusted herself, she couldn’t get comfortable. She kicked her blankets off, clutched her pillow to her chest and stared up at the wooden bottom of the bunk above her. Graduating meant the end of formal studies, but it still didn’t mean she could leave. She sighed and cringed. It wasn’t like she would have anywhere to go, especially with Nimbus falling completely out of contact. Despite that, she wanted to leave. The tower was stifling, and now with what happened to Warmspark, terrifying. She heard there were unicorns out in the world; a local village healer here and there, and others deeper into the Everfree forest called ‘apostates’ by the Sunwalkers. Comet often thought she would be quite happy to be an apostate. She could practice any magic she wanted, away from the probing eyes in the tower. She sighed again; her heart felt heavy and she didn’t know what to do. After a little while, silently, Comet slipped out of bed, taking her blanket with her, and quietly left the dormitory. She paused to see a guard in the night, trotting down the hallway quietly, yawning. It was the same tan stallion from earlier in the day. Comet froze, but it was obvious he saw her, and projecting a whisper and thus defeating the point, he said, “Heading out?” He didn’t seem mad or suspicious, just curious, and his voice betrayed him as rather young. “Just to the observatory,” Comet replied. The stallion nodded and raised a hoof to her. “Okay, have a good evening,” he said. “You too,” the unicorn replied. She turned to head towards the narrow staircase, and then frowned to herself. She kept seeing that stallion. He must have been recently assigned to the dormitory area, she supposed. She brushed it off and headed upstairs. The tower was a bit more chilly than normal, and in the dark, Comet set the tip of her horn aglow to light her way. As she made her way up into the observatory, she was disappointed to see the night dark, with the moon only barely peeking through layers of slate grey clouds. Shadows cast from her magic light sent blackened pillars up the windows. Comet shivered and pulled her blanket in close around herself, and then headed for the table where her telescope still stood. She supposed that she wouldn’t see much tonight with the cloud cover, but she sat down at the table anyway. It didn’t really matter: anything was better than just lying around trying to sleep when her mind simply wouldn’t have it. Pulling the blanket up around her shoulders, Comet grabbed her telescope and adjusted it to eye level. Looking through, the sky was a blanket of dark grey, and so uniform that Comet drew back and checked the other end just to make sure it wasn’t covered with something. When she went back to looking, she turned her gaze to what little of the moon there was. The wind was picking up outside, howling a cold, low sound around the tower; rushing the clouds over the light of the moon until it looked like it was under water. Comet felt a chill run down her spine, a tingling in her body sending the fur on her neck bristling. Carefully, she began to move the telescope around, searching the sky for anything else; perhaps any remnants of the comet shower, but the clouds were spread out as far as the eye could see. Comet bit her lip as the wind mournfully howled around her. It was getting a little spooky up in the observatory, perhaps things would be a bit better if she went back to bed? At the very least, she wouldn’t be alone in the dormitory. As she contemplated her options, she shifted her focus back to the swimming moon tiredly. She was only focussed on it for a moment when a dark streak of a form shot across her view, startling her to the point where she cried out and jumped back from her telescope. Her eyes wide, her heartbeat suddenly thumping, Comet gulped deeply, her blood like ice in her veins. She took a few, quick and deep breath and tried to steady herself, trying to reassure herself that it must have just been an owl. And yet... she was still afraid to take another look. Again, a voice in Comet’s head told her to get out of the observatory, and fast. She didn’t need to take another look. Comet’s ears flattened, and, after a few seconds, she stuck her face next to the eyepiece again. Comet moved her telescope around in the direction the object had sped, at first seeing nothing until her gaze was pulled towards a small patch of land outside the walls of Canterlot where the ruins of train tracks fed into the darkened trees of the Everfree forest; past a clearing of grass that was normally bright green. However, most of the land now was pitch black, even darker than the sky. Comet felt her heart skip a beat and she adjusted the focus to look at the closer objects more clearly. As she did, however, her heart stalled in her chest. The dark spot wasn’t a shadow; wasn’t anything Comet could have possibly named. Instead, she saw a mass of creatures, packed in close, moving like a snake and swaying together, bright white eyes peering through the black and straight at Canterlot. Comet’s mouth dropped open and she felt herself say, “What?” several times, but couldn’t hear it over the sound of her heart and blood rushing in her ears. Her limbs felt numb, but she hurriedly propped herself up on the table, her blanket slipping from her back as she guided the telescope around the clearing. A sudden burst of blurry white jarred her, and she yelped again and adjusted the focus. She wished she hadn’t. One of the creatures had broken from the group and was hovering in the air. It looked almost like a pegasus, but it was black as coal, with a body warped and alien to Comet’s senses. It bared shining fangs and the eyes, glowing and white, stared back through the telescope and into the young unicorn. Comet froze, her eyes going wide and scared, and she couldn’t help but mutter, “What the hay are you?” aloud. To her shock, almost as if in response to her, the creature’s face split into a wide, toothy smile. “There’s no way,” Comet muttered to herself, only to see the creature’s mouth move. “You cannot stop us, little unicorn.” She didn’t hear it, but she felt it, deep in her bones. Terrified, Comet stumbled back and away from her telescope. She felt like she could just drop dead at any moment. “He can see me,” she breathed, “He can see me...” She dropped to the floor on her belly, hiding under her table, though the windows reached down to the floor. She didn’t feel much safer and pulled her blanket up around herself and over her head. She clamped her eyes shut, only to see a bright flash of light on the back of her eyelids. Hesitantly, Comet opened her eyes again, and snuck over against the glass. Another flash of light and she knew exactly what was happening. That flying creature had rammed itself against Canterlot’s barrier. Not just once or twice, though. As the barrier flashed again upon his third contact with it, Comet felt her heart sink. The barrier was shattering. Pockmarked with the fractures of a thousand impacts, it became visible each time one of the creatures below began striking it. It looked liked they had been at it for a while: weeks, maybe even months. Comet’s eyes were bright with the magical light, but wide and terrified. She backed away from the window quickly and scrambled to her feet. She stood in the bursts of light, watching in horror as these strange creatures that seemed to be of the night itself rammed themselves against the barrier. The flying one, the one with the smile, turned his head up to look at her and made eye-contact once more. She shuddered and turned on her hoof quickly, galloping from the observatory as fast as she could go as his message, again, rumbled deep inside her. You cannot stop us. You cannot stop us.