//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: A Guardian's Hope 
// by Last Satisfaction 
//------------------------------//

The sun was about to be risen. North of Ponyville, Sunset Shimmer closed her eyes, focused on the training she had long neglected. The travel teapot already on the campfire, the unicorn stood motionless on the plain, visualising in her mind imaginary opponents. Her telekinesis having a firm grip on the katana, which was still inside the sheath she was holding against her left flank, waiting for the moment to unleash the perfect strike. With the fluidity of water, she took a placement step to her right to improve the striking angle. She anchored her hooves in the ground, drawing energy from the plain. The fire of her heart, reborn from the embers of the consumed mourning, tried to ignore all thoughts. Suddenly, a wind blew from the south, carrying some yellowed oak leaves and playing with the mare's hair. She focused her attention on the sound, visualising in her mind the flight of leaves that were carried by the strong breeze. Sunset waited for the perfect moment, unloading the saya blade and striking a single blow. When she opened her eyes again, she realised that of the five leaves, one was still intact. At the time of the strike, her mind did not visualise the leaves, but Pepper's throat. Sunset lowered her head while putting the katana in its sheath in three movements. She had no excuse for such a result, trained to cut much smaller cherry leaves.

With Luna’s help, the moon shifted with the sun, the burning star now high in the sky.

Sunset walked towards the campfire,  poured the tea into the tea cups, as usual after greeting the sun with a bow. She wasn't smiling, but pondering, trying to put her ideas in order. She sighed, before taking a sip of tea, not daring to look towards the sun. "Hello, Princess Celestia..." She sighed, raised a brief shy look at the sun. “... I thought I was far away from you. In the end I was just in denial, and our conversation, or should I say my last lesson, was the push I needed," she said with a brief embarrassed smile before getting serious again. "I promised to take care of Twilight, and I won't back down from my vow." She sighed again, looking down at her tea cup. "But to be a sun for Equestria? I can't do that. Not right away at least." She drank another sip of tea. "I'm just a ronin. If I had had the courage to return earlier, you could have been my daimyo, and I would have served you as the most loyal of your samurai. But here and now, I serve no pony, and as long as your death is not avenged, my heart will cry out for injustice, I would never cease, from now on, to hunt down your murderer until her death is proven. I may have to disappoint you once again, but I was never the kind of mare to be reasonable."

"Sunset! Hello," Pinkie shouted from afar as she pranced joyfully towards her, carrying a saddle with delivery bags from the Sugar Cube Corner.

The unicorn turned around on herself, leaning on her right front hoof, to look behind it. Seeing the earth pony coming in her direction, Sunset returned to her tea cup to practise an ersatz of the purification ritual. She concentrated on the steps she had to go through, soaking her mouth for a moment with the rest of the tea while driving away from her mind the current mood. Once this was done, she threw the contents of the cup onto the dying embers of the campfire and then turned back to the earth pony. "Hello Pinkie, what are you doing up so early in the morning?"

"Oh, just the daily delivery of pastries for customers who have ordered from the Sugar Cube Corner. Seeing you here makes me think that you're feeling better. Is it the same for Twilight?"

"Twilight was much more affected than I was, but in recent days I've noticed signs that she is about to fully recover from her apathy."

"That's good to hear!" admitted Pinkie Pie before a smell tickled her nostrils. But, being the Element of Laughter that she was, couldn't take it any other way than with a smile. "Oh, I'm willing to bet a breakfast that Fluttershy would love to take care of you right now."

A statement that left Sunset perplexed. "And why is that?"

"Because you smell like a manticore!" She said before laughing at her teasing.

The unicorn tried to smell her own coat of her forelegs. "In my defence, there's no room to wash anywhere at Twilight’s."

"She usually uses the Cake's bathroom. Come on, I don't think it's a problem if you do the same."  

The idea of taking a bath did not leave Sunset indifferent. "I'm not going to refuse such an offer twice. Just wait until I get my stuff tidied up and I'll follow you, Pinkie." Without delay, using her telekinesis, the unicorn poured the rest of the teapot to put out the fire before putting the tea service in her bag. With the saddle on her back, the harness holding the katana against her right flank, she finally turned towards the earth pony. "Ready."

Pinkie observed Sunset, uncertain. "No need to take all this with you to wash, you know, the Sugar Cube Corner is at the end of the street."

Sunset was cut off in her momentum, she bit her lower lip for a moment. "As unicorns say in Japony, old customs never disappear." she says with a smile.

"You say that, but you left it to chase after Twilight when you got here," Pinkie said.

"Only because, back then, I didn't know how far our conversation would get me close to Canterlot, and I couldn't get too close to the castle, armed to the teeth," Sunset explained as she headed towards the Sugar Cube Corner.

"Ooooooooh.~" said Pinkie as she followed.

"What happened while I was away, has Rainbow Dash finished her training?"

Pinkie had a second stop, she lost her smile when the pegasus was mentioned. "Yes, she's a Wonderbolt now."

"Is something wrong, Pinkie?"

"Since she became a Wonderbolt, I've only seen her from afar, during her patrols. If I dare to call her, she looks at me two seconds before bolting in a sonic rainboom. Applejack doesn't see her anymore either. It's as if her friends no longer exist now that she's a Wonderbolt."

Sunset frowned. "She just has to devote herself entirely for her dream to come true, that's all." she thought aloud. "How are Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy?"

"Applejack is training for the Running of the Leaves, she hopes the competition will attract Rainbow. Fluttershy helps animals prepare for hibernation. Rarity lacks inspiration for the kimono designs, she would probably be happy to have your <expertise>" she says, imitating Rarity with a hoof gesture. "...to fix it."

"It's good to hear they're fine, but about Rarity... She'll have to wait until I have higher priorities."

"Like taking a bath?"

Sunset smiled. "Yes, it will be a good start."

A bath later, following Pinkie’s directives, Sunset presses on the pink candy of the ice cream cone which acts as a decoration at the bottom of the staircase, opening a hatch under her hooves, and making her fall on a slide that leads her into a room filled with a few monobloc files, holiday decorations and sweets.

"What is this place?" she asked, noticing her travel saddle next to the slide.

"The place where I organise all the parties for all the ponies in Ponyville."

"it must be a long-term task."

"Oh! You have no idea!"

Approaching the earth pony, Sunset noticed her standing in front of a door at the back of the room. "What are you doing?"

"I was hoping my friend would be here today, but he seems busy."

Sunset raises an eyebrow. "A friend? Behind that door at the end of the cellar? Does he have a name?"

"The time I asked him, he replied that I could call him Lazy Bones, but I think it's just a nickname. He's pretty nice, he always has a joke in reserve. We do competitions for the worst joke sometimes."

"Why don't you open the door and go see him?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Daaah~" She opened the door for a few seconds to show that it was not leading anywhere.

Sunset raised the hoof to the temple to contain a blooming headache. "It's really hard to keep a logical reasoning with you." She took a look at the pink-haired mare with a smile. "How do the others do?"

Pinkie laughs. "They never ask questions. And talking about questions, what are you going to do? You said you had priorities earlier."

"I'm going to hunt down this Pepper and avenge Princess Celestia."

"How do you plan to find her?"

"I brought back from Japony a device that I was using at the time to track down criminals, it captures the subject's magicprint and then indicates the direction in which it is located, no matter how far away."

"Try it on me! Try it on me!" said a Pinkie leaping on the spot.

"All right, all right!" Sunset capitulated smiling. "Give me a minute to get it out of the bag." With these words she went to look for a purple metal compass the size of the hoof. It wasn't marked like a normal compass, on the border of this device, there were twenty-four notches on each side, which was attached to a string. She returned to Pinkie Pie, then activating the magic print capture while aiming at the earth pony, the compass opened in two on the edge, sucking a cloud as pink as the mare's mane into her breast before closing suddenly. But the instrument overheated. Sunset barely had time to throw it away and set up a shield with its magic to protect them before it exploded. "Are you alright, Pinkie?"

Pinkie pouted, puzzled. "It exploded because my magic is beyond eight thousand?"

Sunset didn't understand what Pinkie was getting at, she was going to say no, but remembered that it was better to go her way without questioning it. "Yes, Pinkie, your magic print is off the charts, clearly beyond eight thousands."

The earth pony had a brief laugh that tore a contagious smile from the unicorn. Once the laughter subsided, she looked at what was left of the compass "Are you going to be able to fix it?"

Sunset picked up the biggest debris, thoughtful. "I don't think that's a good idea. You said Pepper was interested in your storage pockets, is she capable of the same kind of magic?"

"Yes. You can find her magic print near Fluttershy’s cottage, that's her nearest waypoint."

"What do you mean?"

"Rainbow Dash once told me that for Pepper the teleportation is more complex, while Twilight just needs to visualise the destination place in her head, Pepper has to take into account additional details, otherwise she would find herself on another planet in another dimension. As a result, she has waypoints, a kind of signal that makes her teleports easier but at the same time more limited. One close to Fluttershy's house, one next to the ruins of the two sisters' castle, and one in the armoury of Canterlot Castle."

"This information will make it easier for me to track her. Based on the ornament at home, I can eliminate her ghost prints from the tracker, I just need to make the device with a stronger material, so that it will support a magic print of your calibre. And I know which door I'm going to knock on. I will also take the opportunity to check in with Spitfire about Rainbow Dash," Sunset said, putting her travel saddle on her back.

"That would be great." Pinkie said.

Faint footsteps were heard from the back of the room, Pinkie smiled with a huge smile, ran towards the door, followed by a Sunset walking with a quick step.

"Lazy Bones! What took you so long? Bone tired as always?" Pinkie said cheerfully.

He  answered only by slipping a sheet of paper under the door before the footsteps moved away, which amazed Sunset and left Pinkie perplexed.

The latter picked up the leaf and began to read it.

Sunset, with her curiosity aroused, could not help but take a look over the shoulder of the earth pony, but she could not read a word of what was written. "What language is that? Pinkie?" When she took a look at the earth pony, she was shocked to see her for the second time so deprived of joy.

With her mane turned  smooth, her hoof on her mouth while crying in silence, Pinkie finished rereading. "It's Common, the writing used by humans. Lazy advises me to destroy the recipe of his decoction, as it has permanent harmful side effects beyond fifteen minutes. He knows it because, a human child has arrived in their world." She sniffed. "Killing everycreature. Unless he can change their mind, he says he's not going to make... old bones." She smiled hollowly as she said these last words.

"Can't we do anything?"

"This magic that allows me to talk to someone from another world is called <breaking the fourth wall> but ironically, I can't go there."

Sunset could not find the words to ease Pinkie's pain, she lured her into her hooves, to comfort her. This event only reinforced her aversion to humans.

Two hours later, Spitfire was behind her desk in her office at the Wonderbolt Academy, signing papers when Sunset entered the room, having left the travel saddle at Twilight's library, but keeping the harness that held the katana in place against her right flank in its sheath and the purse that contained the few coins she had left.

Spitfire took a brief look at the unicorn, at the sight of the serious look Sunset had on her face, she knew she wasn't coming for a courtesy call. "Hello Sunset, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

"I need a favour."

The eyes of the pegasus widened, realising how important it must have been for Sunset to ask for help, she took off her sunglasses and stared straight into her eyes. "I'm listening."

"I'm trying to track down Pepper, but the device..."

"Sunset." Spitfire cut her off. "Get to the point. What do you need?"

"Cloudichalcum, one can be two ingots. And a place where I can make the tracker with it, piece by piece, without Princess Luna catching wind of it."

"Why the secrecy?"

"If she finds out I'm making a device that can track anypony with the accuracy of a metre, she'll ask for it and that would put Princess Twilight in an awkward position."

"Great, I give up, it only raises more questions, and I have the feeling that the less I know, the better. It's not like anypony could deny you anything given your credentials. You want access to the forge? You have them, you'll have them at your disposal. Two bars of Cloudichalcum is still something I can't just make disappear like that in the administrative paperwork. You'll have to forge a blade, you'll use the anti-magic metal for its core, but officially it will be made purely of Cloudichalcum."

"Why would you need such a blade?"

"It's not for me, it's for Dash. You'll never guess who was introduced to me by Princess Luna lately."

Sunset had an idea, but in order not to make a mistake, she replied in half words. "This pony seems terrible. Did you have bad dreams about it?" she asked with a mocking smile.

Spitfire understood the allusion without difficulty. "How long have you known?"

"The night I returned, she approached Princess Twilight in her dreams to ask her a favour."

"No wonder, given her return, that the Sandmare project was dug up by Princess Celestia. But Dash is going to need a blade and you're going to forge it for me, in return for the favour, Sunset."

"Relax Spitfire, I know and understand your eagerness to prepare for the worst, but from what I know, Nightmare Moon wants to be an ally of Princess Twilight, she asked for her help, and even revealed information hidden by Princess Luna."

"She plays her cards, nothing more."

"Fine, you want a sword, sure, I'll forge it for you. And since she’s been mentioned, how's Rainbow? Pinkie says she's changed since she became a Wonderbolt."

"Yes, I noticed a change in her attitude. I tried to talk to her, but I always hit a wall. I'm her superior, not her mother, I can't force her to tell me what's wrong or send her to a psych just because she's giving her all."

Sunset was torn. She wanted to build the tracker as quickly as possible, but Princess Celestia's last words during the time travel pushed her to intervene. "I'm going to have to get involved in this case, Equestria won't be able to endure two Spitfires. Where can I find her?"

"Catch her, you mean. The best solution would be to wait for her at home tonight."

Sunset reviewed everything she knew about the situation thanks to Pinkie. "Well, I have the afternoon to prepare my ambush."

"Anything you need for the ambush?”

"No, Mom." Sunset said impertinently. "I will come and start working at the forge as soon as possible." she continued more seriously. "I'm going back to Ponyville, see you later, Spitfire."

The day went by without incident. Sunset went to see Rarity, and gave her an impromptu lesson on kimonos. In the second half of the afternoon, she went to see Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres.

It was almost time for the sun to give way to the moon in the sky. To the east of Ponyville was a glade surrounded by cherry trees, their petals shaded from bright white to the brightest pink. Sunset was sitting there against a barrel of cider lying in the grass, a mug half full between the hooves, another on the barrel. With the harness detached, the katana rested against the barrel to the right of Sunset. She was facing the sun, her eyes closed, she was enjoying the moment, a peaceful smile on her lips.

The unicorn didn't have to wait long, Rainbow Dash was returning at full speed from the Wonderbolt Academy after her daily debriefing. She stopped abruptly a few flaps of wings from the cloud on which her house was standing when she realised that Sunset was in the clearing. She hesitated for a moment, before giving in to curiosity, landing on the dry land beside her. "Hey Sunset, what are you doing here?"

With calculated nonchalance, Sunset opened one eye. "Oh, Rainbow, hello. As you can see, I’m appreciating a keg of Applejack's special cider cuvée. What are you doing here?"

When the special vintage was mentioned, the pegasus drooled a bit, but the question did not please her. "What am I doing here? That cloud above us is my home! There's my mailbox right there behind you," she said, pointing at it with her hoof.
 
Sunset took a look that was meant to be lazy over the barrel at the blue steel mailbox with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark on the side. She turned back to the mare. "You're the fastest pegasus, I bet you could place that mailbox and cloud anywhere in Ponyville in less than ten seconds."

"Of course I could! Wait..." She realised afterwards that this was not in her favour. "Nevermind, I don’t care, do whatever you want," she said frustrated, before taking off, flying toward her home.

"Do you want to help me finish the barrel?" Sunset calmly proposed.

Rainbow came back in a blink by her side. "Okay," she replied without hesitation. Nothing could have stood in her way of drinking a barrel of Applejack's special vintage. She grabbed the second pint, drunk the first fill bottom up, then refilled it before sitting next to Sunset.

Sunset remained deliberately silent, so that the growing silence between them would cause Rainbow Dash to feel uncomfortable, forcing her to speak.

And the expected effect did not take too long to come. "How are the others?" she asked.

"What others?" Sunset said, pretending not to understand.

"Well, the group! Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity."

"How should I know? They're your friends, not mine. You should know that. How are your friends doing, Rainbow?"

"Oh come on, you have just seen them!" accused the pegasus.

Sunset was only half surprised by this statement. She looked up and smiled. "How do you know?" she asked before taking a sip of her pint without taking her eyes off it.

Rainbow looked away, embarrassed. "Forget it."

Sunset tried to bounce off these words, looking at the bottom of her mug. "Life would be so simple, if we could just forget the unpleasant things on command, don't you think? There was a time when I wish I had forgotten my past. But in Japony, a master blacksmith helped me to accept it.”

"What did he do?"

"I'll tell you the long version. This is the day after my request to forge my katana was accepted, but before that, I had to go through a conversation with the master blacksmith, so that he would know who was making the request. I thought it would have taken five, ten minutes. It took all day. He made me say every thought I had from as far back as I can remember until the very day before. At the end, he told me: <Sunset-san, if you forge your blade with such a state of mind, never before has a blade had as many shadows as yours...> At the time I thought he would refuse me his sup-"

"Wait a minute, <-san>? <shadows>?"

"Ah. Yes. Do you remember the banner, Sunset-senpai the day I arrived? The suffix -san is used in the case of addressing a pony of equal or lower rank than our own, -sama for someone of higher rank, and, especially to address a princess, there is the suffix -hime. You following so far?"

"So... Twilight-hime to say Princess Twilight?"

"That's right. Can you fill up the pint for me, please?" she said, handing her the pint. "Regarding shadows, it's about the forging process. Five elements are determining factors in the quality result of a blade." She took back her full pint. "Thank you. The metal used represents the earth, the fire of the forge and the wind that keeps it burning, the water in which the metal is cooled and finally the blacksmith's ki. According to him, in view of my past, my ki, which is, to explain it simple to you, an internal energy unique to each one of us, was not the best there is insofar as I dragged my regrets and fears like a ball and chain attached to my hind legs, and no meditation could have helped me to drive them out of my mind." She looked at Rainbow from the corner of her eye." Meditation is a spiritual warm-up to empty your mind. Still, according to him, my ki would have impregnated my soul states in the blade."

"And so it was?"

"When the head of the family, who spent his youth learning from his father, who himself learned it from his father, and who will spend the rest of his life forging blades that are still praised today by all the clans of Japony, tells you that the blade will have shadows, you take his word for it, Rainbow."

"All right, all right, all right. Well, then, what did he say?"

"He told me: <No blacksmith worthy of the name would dare to present such a blade in return for an order, he would shame himself. But in your case, Sunset-san, you may be tormented by your past, but you seem to have a healthy personality. Similar blades have been created by master blacksmiths recognised by all, and have been the reward during tournaments... > what you need to know is that the katana has in some way, a spirit of its own, in the image of the one who forged it.”

"So your sword is like what, alive?"

"Yes and no. It is not alive in the same way as you and I are alive, but more in the sense that when we sing a song, we put our heart into it. A katana is a bit like the same idea. This weapon is imbued with my being, the one I was back then when I created it. Kind of like a copy of me. Do you understand me, or did I lose you there?"

"It reminds of an old book about your adventures in Japony, and also of my Element of Harmony that recognised my Loyalty to the group, am I right?"

Sunset needed to think, based on what Twilight had told her during their period of common depression. "It's kind of like that for the element except you didn't create it. But you understood a little bit the idea I'm trying to explain, very badly, I admit it."

"And so with the master blacksmith, what happened next?"

Sunset tried to find back the thread of the conversation. "He then said: <Whatever you have done, whatever you have said, the past cannot be changed. And if you flee from it, as far as your steps lead, it will always be there by your side when it is time to go to bed until the day of your last breath. So maybe it's time to turn the page for good, and for that, you'll have to accept it with serenity. I will help you to make your past a basis for resuming the path to your destiny, Sunset-san, a weapon that will allow you to face the future, no matter what form it takes to challenge you. But before I start, I'm going to ask you to take stock of your life, to reflect on everything that has been said today. Take the night, the day of tomorrow, the rest of the week, whatever it will take. You are my honoured guest. When you have accepted the idea of moving on, come back to me, with a definitive name for the blade.”

"Wait a second. Your katana has a name?"

"It is a bad omen for the newly forged blade of a katana to be immersed in water before naming it. In Japony, such a blade would be considered as soulless ... as a dead tree with only the bark left, the inside totally gnawed away by termites."

That image gave Rainbow goosebumps.

Sunset followed. "And so today, I have Spitfire ordering me to forge a blade especially for you."

"Shouldn't it be me doing it, you know, so the spirit of the sword can be a copy of me?"

Sunset smiles inwardly. "No, I'm not going to forge you a Rainbow katana, just a regular sword of the Equestrian army."

"Oh come on, you can't tell me all this about how swords are forged in Japony and then tell me you're going to forge a common sword for me."

Sunset's inner smile overflowed on her lips into a corner smile. "I guess you could probably convince Spitfire that as a special unit, you could have an unconventional weapon. But do you understand what this means?"

"Am I going to have to find a name for it?"

"No, before that."

"Uh, I'm going to have to learn how to forge?"

"No, before that."

Rainbow tried to remember. "No, I don't see it."

"We need to talk, Rainbow. The conversation that took me a day. But I'm only interested in one thing. I need to know what's wrong with you so you avoid your friends like you've been doing since you became a Wonderbolt."

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that. I talked to Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie today, and they can't explain it. So, please, help us understand what's wrong."

"Spitfire said it, Princess Celestia wanted me to be a special unit within the Wonderbolts. I'm a Wonderbolt because somepony I thought was my friend … did something that I can't even say. And I can't disappoint Princess Celestia, I have to dedicate myself, making sure everything is fine everywhere."

Sunset blinked several times, she couldn't believe her ears. She tried not to laugh, but could not hold back for long. "All of this for that?" Her laughter became louder. And Rainbow's offended face didn't help. "If I had known." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"How can you laugh?!"

"Rainbow, you've got yourself all riled up so much, it's so absurd that it's better to laugh about it than to cry about it."

"What do you mean?!"

"I was there, Rainbow. Princess Celestia didn't choose you. Princess Celestia asked Spitfire to make a Wonderbolt into this special unit. Spitfire chose you."

The pegasus was troubled by this statement. "No. I'm sure of it. Spitfire said it was the princess' orders."

"Rainbow, don't make me drag you to the academy by the skin of your neck to ask Spitfire to repeat what she said. Please."

Rainbow's certainty ended up melting in front of Sunset's confidence. "So it's just because of Spitfire that I'm a Wonderbolt?"

"Did you really not listen to anything the other day? It's only for your achievements and talent. If your appointment to the active team had not arrived this month, it would only have been a matter of time. Fire Streak is about to leave the active team to become a teacher in the academy. You were at the top of the list to replace him."

Rainbow was lost, staring at the bottom of her pint. Not knowing how to react, she turned to Sunset, her eyes begging for guidance. "What do I do now?"

"Nopony forces you to be the guardian of harmony all the time, not even Spitfire, even if it makes her very happy that you give your all. Your friends miss you, three of them told me so. You're going to join the Running of the Leaves, because Applejack hopes to see you there, she told me it won't be the same without you." Her thoughts made her realise there was only one course of action. "Regarding the sword, I doubt a katana is what you need. Spitfire knows about Nightmare Moon, that's why she's asking me to forge a blade for you. But you are a guardian, Rainbow. When my katana was finished, the blacksmith's first words were: <You gave birth to a beautiful slayer.> So tell me, in the event that Nightmare Moon possesses Princess Luna, would you be ready to kill her?"

The question shocked Rainbow Dash. "W-what?!! No!"

"In that case, explain to me in detail, why do you want a katana?"

"Because it seemed cool, considering the history of yours, the shadows and putting a bit of yourself in the blade and everything."

Rainbow's innocence made Sunset smile and start thinking. "Something cool that can fight somepony like Nightmare Moon." She thought about the conversations with Twilight. "If I could channel the energy of your Elements of Harmony into a blade. A magic sword of Harmony, how cool would that be?"

"Cool? Are you kidding me? That would be awesome," said the pegasus, waving her forelegs in a sudden upright position with her wings spread. "Do you think you can do that?" she asked after sitting down.

"I'll try. The idea is simple, but the execution isn't. I'll think about the concept, but I make absolutely no promises. In the worst case scenario, you'll have a Cloudichalcum sword."

“By the way, what’s its name?” asked Rainbow.

“My Sword? Danzan-maru. Maru is also a suffix, literally, it does mean <circle>, but it is often applied to swords and ships, with the implication that the item is something beloved. Danzan means <separator>.”

As Sunset cleared up the misunderstanding, they kept talking, and even  after they had finished up their barrel of apple cider, Sunset continued regaling tales of her adventures in this far away country.

The next morning, Sunset set out to get Twilight out of her torpor, with the help of the group. A party was organised by them during the afternoon, while Sunset made the plans for the various parts of the tracker to be made, and all celebrated at nightfall the appointment of Rainbow Dash as a Wonderbolt.

When the components were ready, Sunset made the soldering of the printed circuit board itself before assembling the whole thing. Once this was done, she tried the device on Pinkie and this time it held on. Confident, she used the device and collected Pepper's magic print from the hair strand. However, given the time that had elapsed since Twilight received it, it was no longer possible to collect the magic print of the clotted blood. Sunset had to fall back on the three drop points Pinkie had mentioned to get a print. When she arrived in front of Fluttershy's cottage, she realised thanks to the leaves falling from the trees, that they delineated an area large enough to contain Princess Celestia herself no less, the waypoints forming a bubble that prevented organic elements from entering. Sunset then understood that these drop points had some protection, assured that one of them would prevent any creature from being inside if Pepper were to open the passage. At the same time, she set the tracker so that it would ignore them from now on. She realised that the Regicide had a sharp mind if she took these kinds of precautions, and this encouraged her to be more cautious. Moments later, she discovered the ruins of the two sisters' castle and after much investigation, the Tree of Harmony.

With the sword project still in mind, and seeing the symbols on the tree that seemed identical to the cutie mark of Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia, she was convinced that this tree had a connection with the Elements of Harmony. With great respect, she took one of the round, translucent gems hanging from the branches of the tree.

Back in Ponyville, Sunset spoke to Twilight about the sword project before asking for permission to manipulate the Elements of Harmony, and her help. After a few tests, the two students of Princess Celestia managed to find a reliable concept. Spitfire later approved this concept.

The day of the Running of the Leaves arrived very soon. Out Of the seven mares, Rainbow, Applejack, Twilight and Sunset were the only ones to participate: Pinkie and Spike were the commentators in duet from a hot air balloon that flew over the race, Fluttershy and Rarity, with their own reasons, did not participate. The idea behind the race was simple, the gallop of the participants would help the leaves of the trees to fall.

The next day, Sunset went to Fluttershy's cottage. She spent the day there, but towards the end of the day she went to get Twilight to show her the discoveries she made; that she could use magic to open Pepper's waypoints. She had to be aware of the specific place the waypoint was to use them. However, this only worked with the waypoints previously created by Pepper, the waypoints Sunset had recently visited. From the two sisters' castle, Twilight managed to open the gate leading to Fluttershy's cottage.

One night, in the northern district of Canterlot behind the castle where the noblest families lived, whose roots went back to the very foundations of the Kingdom of Equestria, three ponies gathered around a round table made of ebony wood.

"Lady Storm, Lady Shawarma, how are you?"

"As good as you are, Sir Adamantium, as good as you are."

Thing is, they were tired of the constant attempts to approach the pony who was sitting next to the throne.

"If only Princess Lu-"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." said the earth pony.

A servant came in,  seemingly very embarrassed. "A unicorn at the door wants to talk to you."

"Who is this?"

"He didn't introduce himself, he just sputtered something." Just thinking about it increased her embarrassment, making her blush even more.

"I'm waiting."

She mustered all the courage she could under the stress of what she was ordered. "He said that you would know who he is if I stated: <If only Princess Luna was as malleable as Princess Celestia was.> " She wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

Sir Adamantium closed his eyes in a long, exasperated sigh. "Send him in."

The maid disappeared without further delay.

Bitter Truth stayed at the door frame. "May I join this exciting beginning of conversation you have here?"

"What do you want? When we last spoke, you didn't want to have anything to do with us anymore, as I recall."

"I had no reason at the time to work with puppeteers. But, to the extent that my vision of the future proves to me that it is time to change direction, and to work with the camp that will soon be at the head of the kingdom."

Like three sharks sniffing the drop of blood that had just mingled with the ocean, the pupils of the three nobles shrank so much that all their attention was focused on the stallion that remained at the door of the room.

With a predatory smile, Sir Adamatium spoke again. "By all means come in, my dear friend, come in. And be kind enough to let us see this future you just talked about."

Bitter Truth entered and telekinetically closed the door behind him, with a fine smile on his face. He slipped to the table, facing the three ponies that had stood side by side to face him. "It may be that in the very near future, Princess Luna may have an accident that will make her unable to rule Equestria. And then somepony will have to take over the regency. But I'm sure you, the descendants of the founders of this kingdom, have some idea of who the ideal candidates would be."

Like hyenas, the three nobles began to plan for their future at the head of the kingdom, under the satisfied gaze of the oracle.

And so days passed.

Since Bitter Truth's visit, Nightmare Moon came every night with her claymore carried by Major Antares, and a new way to tease Chrysalis, which forced Aglowing Shell to defend her mother with her sword. This was a pretext for their training session, the time varied according to the child's only desire, who later discovered a passion for Equestrian Astronomy.

One morning, in the badlands, a silhouette entered Chrysalis' private apartments. Without especially trying to be discreet, using his magic to light his way to the hanging, the pony slipped into the alcove.

The queen, who was lying on her stomach and bent over herself, was woken from her dreamless sleep by the presence that crept into her alcove, her mind still disturbed by the sudden awakening, convinced that it was Aglowing Shell that woke her up. She smiled a little. "How many times-" She was cut off by a kiss on the lips, and the sensation of fizz that invaded her mind made her have a gesture of retreat. "What-" She was not allowed to speak, the kiss took hold of her, the fizziness overcame her spirit, she sighed as she succumbed, the kiss lasted for a while, giving power to the queen, until Bitter Truth slipped a slice of the fruit of love between her lips eagerly looking for another kiss.

"Your loyal subordinate arrives, may you have the kindness to reassure her, we have to discuss a matter of life and death concerning your daughter."

It didn't take long, Chitin arrived in a hurry, opening the door with a crash. "My queen! Are you all right?!” They were cut off in the momentum by a snap. An order from Chrysalis to not make another step.

Chrysalis was gathering her thoughts. "Yes, Chitin. He came to bring me breakfast in bed, that's all. Go with my daughter, and make sure she doesn't come to disturb us."

Chrysalis' low tone said nothing worthwhile to the warrior, so they followed her instructions without blinking, closing the door behind them.

The queen looked at the unicorn and glared at him, "Funny are those obsessions you have, pony."

Bitter Truth, who illuminated the alcove with his magic, gave her a softer look. "Isn't that the duty of a jester to entertain the Queen? If you don't mind, I'd dare ask to offer you a hug while I explain to you how to save your daughter once again. Your power will be a necessary asset, believe me."

"It's not like you've been wrong so far." She sighed exasperated. "All right, go ahead. But about your explanations, don't beat about the bush this time. I'm not in the mood," she said as she went back to bed.

The oracle clung to her side, and placed his head on her back, at the height of the heart of the changeling. "Your daughter next year will have the opportunity to meet her father, who will try to kill her. If you want her to be saved, the only way is to dig Pepper Chilly up, during the night between Sunday and Monday next week. She's the only one who can save her. I didn't see a plausible future where anypony else could."

"The parasprite is dead, I don't see her saving anypony once she's dug up," Chrysalis mocked. But the silence that followed left her with a headache as she savoured the love she was receiving, a very surprising sweet and salty mixture. "I reduced her heart to jam, and you want me to believe that she survived that?"

"It was only one step towards her complete destruction. You have seen her true appearance. What she did to Celestia transfigured her. She has not only consumed the power, but Celestia’s very essence. And even though the Princess was as old as her kingdom, she wouldn't have died so easily."

"Let's pretend I believe you." she sighed, focusing on what mattered most, her daughter's well-being. “Then what, I pull her out of her hole? I apologise for killing her, and beg her to save Aglowing next year?"

"That would be the worst thing to do. Pepper doesn't know yet she's immortal, and she can't know that, not right now. Imagine, if you were her. You wake up one day, and let’s say her Highness Nightmare Moon greets you, tells you that she personally destroyed your heart and yet you are still alive, how would you react?"

She thought about her reaction. She would have found a way to get revenge while conquering Equestria. "Very badly," she summarised. "So I have to lie to her?"

"Tell her a beautiful story, how her magic saved your race from hunger, that you were forced to syphon her magic without stealing her power. This will explain that her magic that hid her true form has dissipated. She won't be able to blame you. Not after your confession. And when the question of her needs comes up, explain to her the virtues of your cocoons, moreover I advise you to produce some of them, you will need them."

"The cocoons? It's not something I can produce in abundance, do you know how much love it takes to produce one? What a question, how could you, you visited my hive in the past to steal a few."

"I had to study the virtues of the fluid you fill these cocoons with. Equestria could make use of such a gift you know. You could save lives with this."

"Too expensive in love to produce, and for what result? A few bits? We are not cows."

"Why do you think I'm here for your breakfast?"

"How generous. Is there anything else you should know about Pepper?"

"Have her thrown into the underground lake as soon as your daughter is asleep, the human will wake up at dawn, not before. Make sure in person to tune her violins to the little story you told your daughter. Don't do the half measure, as long as you don't say that you killed her, everything will be fine."

That story of bad blood in her head had slipped her mind. "Is that all?"

"Hide your daughter's sword in the farthest part of the hive, where she wouldn't go for it immediately. Pepper must not see it when she wakes up." Bitter Truth lied. He could not say that in the very same day she would release Pepper, Chrysalis' life would be in danger of death.