A week passed in a blur for Comet Strike. She spent much of her time with her friends, the pegasus Twirlwind seeming to have firmly cemented herself into the group, and trying desperately to avoid the Archmage. She wanted to scream about what a liar she was, how manipulative she had been, but Comet was stuck. No one could know about that, because to explain that would be to explain the secrets that Graham had told her.
She waited on news from Runestone, but none came. Though still not sleeping much, every night in bed, Comet hoped that he and Graham were okay out in the wilds. Her dreams were all the same: a vision of Celestia leading her through Nightspawn.
Pinklily was very attentive, trying to make sure the blue unicorn was getting enough to eat, at least; for her part, she wasn’t doing a bad job. However, she was spending a bit more time with Twirlwind. In fact, many of the unicorns were spending much more time with Sunwalkers. Comet couldn’t help but think that at least one good thing had come from the battles with the Nightspawn.
---
As the end of the week rolled up, Comet couldn’t run on empty any longer. 7 pm, the sun barely setting, and the blue unicorn decided that she absolutely must go to bed and sleep. Standing before her bunk, she used her magic to pull up her covers and sheets, flatten them, and spread them cleanly. She also grabbed her pillows and turned, holding them away from her bed as she fluffed them; she cringed a the little sprinkle of dust that fell from them. She wrinkled her nose as she felt a sneeze tickling her. She sniffed in deeply and then turned with her pillows back to her bed.
On the smooth covers, Comet noticed something that she hadn’t left there and leaned over it, eyes wide. It was a note, creased carefully in half and with her name scrawled across it. Her look of surprised dropped into a frown and she looked around the dormitory hesitantly. The only other ponies in there were some of the younger foals, but they were all asleep already. Cautiously, the unicorn reared up and checked the top bunk. Nopony was there either.
Comet sighed and put her pillows on the bed, and then picked up the note cautiously and opened it.
Dear Comet Strike, it read, I know about your quest for power. Meet me in the library after the moon rises tonight. Look for Equestrian History.
The note wasn’t signed, but it made Comet feel all kinds of chills nonetheless. It had to be a mistake. They had to be mistaking her for some other pony. Comet didn’t want more power, she wanted freedom. It didn’t make any sense. Though she did want to know who had left the note, and judging by the message, who had been guiding her around the library in the weeks prior, she couldn’t bring herself to go. She knew it would bother her, but whoever the pony was had her pegged wrong. Comet went to bed that night, crumpling the note and hiding it under her mattress before passing soundly into sleep.
---
Comet awoke to warm sun on the backs of her eyelids. Cringing and blinking against the light, Comet sat up, kneading her eyes with her hooves before groggily looking around her. She was startled to find that she lay among old, dusty books in the observatory in the tower. It was dawn. Comet rubbed her eyes again and shook her head at herself. She pushed herself to her hooves and stretched until her back gave a satisfying crack and, pleased, she began to head back for the dormitory.
The stairs going down to the ground were dark as ever, but they felt much longer. Comet trotted cautiously along the descending spiral, yawning to herself. She was starting to hear voices through the walls, whispering: Sunwalkers on patrol, probably. She had to stop herself from hurrying down the steps, but somehow, she felt like she wasn’t getting anywhere fast.
“Comet Strike.”
Comet was startled still at the sound of her name and she glanced around. It had been a female voice, and a familiar one at that, but she couldn’t see a single pony around. In fact, she couldn’t see much of anything.
“Keep going, Comet Strike,” the voice insisted gently.
Comet stared ahead, her throat going dry. Her heart began to thump noticeably in her ears, and though she didn’t want to continue, she felt pulled to do so. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been walking for far too long.
When she finally reached the doorway, Comet felt like she had been going down forever. Relieved, Comet pushed the door back, only to be stunned still in her tracks. She had expecting to see the familiar, empty hall that lead to the dormitories. Instead, before her was a spacious walkway of ivory and grey, with a fancy crimson and gold rug running down the center and up to a set of stairs and a door much like what had been below the library. The checker-tiled floors and columns were sparkling under the pastel light painted by the rising sun as it shone through stained glass scenes that nearly reached the ceiling. Cautiously, blinking quickly in the light, Comet edged out onto the tile. Her hooves against the floor shattered the silence; biting her lip, she skittered onto the rug.
“Hello again, Comet Strike.”
Comet whirled on her back legs, eyes wide and heart thumping. A white glow met her and she fell backwards onto the rug. Shrinking inwards and blooming with colour, the body of a tall pony formed swiftly. Wings spread and a horn sprouted, and as the gently billowing aurora of a mane drifted into reality as the body solidified, Comet knew exactly with whom she was speaking.
“Princess Celestia.” She awkwardly scrambled to her feet, her mind burning with questions, and she stared up at the alicorn with wide eyes. “How are you here? Where is here?”
“I am a magical imprint on your mind,” Celestia said gently. “It won’t last too long.”
“And this place,” Comet said, casting a tentative glance around. “It’s... it’s not real.”
“It is to me,” the alicorn said with a smile. “This is my home. Come, let me show you something.”
Celestia strode past her confidently; the young unicorn wasn’t sure what to think, but she followed behind quietly.
The Princess, glowing as she walked, seemed to have a set destination in mind; Comet looked at the images in the windows as they went. Old legends were depicted there, like the founding of Equestria, or the first defeat of a chaotic monster called Discord. Comet had read a little about it. More followed until Princess Celestia came to a halt in front of one scenes. The depiction was that of the defeat of Nightmare Moon. Comet was surprised, however, to see that there were six ponies surrounding her. She knew that Celestia’s protege, Twilight Sparkle, had been involved in the defeat, but who were these other ponies? Before she could even voice the question aloud, Celestia looked down at her fondly.
“Those are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” she said. “Twilight represented Magic. Her friend Applejack: Honesty.”
She pointed her gold-clad hoof at the orange earth pony in the image; Comet leaned in a little closer to look, and Celestia moved her hoof to a yellow pegasus.
“Fluttershy was Kindness. Pinkie Pie: Laughter.” She indicated the pink earth pony, then a white unicorn and a blue pegasus. “Rarity was Generosity, and Rainbow Dash represented Loyalty.”
Comet nodded, trying to process what she was hearing. Of course, it made sense that more than just Twilight Sparkle had wielded the Elements of Harmony. Six ponies for six Elements. She just couldn’t figure out why anyone had lied about it.
“You didn’t know any of that,” Celestia concluded, and looked to her a bit sadly. “I see...”
“Is that what you needed to tell me?” Comet asked. “I... I’m sorry, Princess, but I still don’t understand what you want with me.”
Princess Celestia seemed to consider it for a moment.
“Check the end of of your story, Comet Strike,” she said. “You may not understand, but you will find someone who will. I’m sure of it.”
“Okay,” Comet replied, her ears drooping.
It really wasn’t possible to get something straight-forward out of the Princess, was it? Comet sighed and sat down on the rug, her eyes roaming over the glass. She put her hooves against her eyes, rubbing them, exhausted.
“What the hay happened to Equestria?” she asked. “How did it get so messed up?”
She felt the brush of feathers around her shoulders and she sharply looked up to see that the Princess had taken a seat beside her. The young unicorn was surprised to find her quite warm.
“I can tell you only what I know.” She, too, seemed fixated on the window. “Before I was sent away, a small group of ponies were starting to rise up against an imagined tyranny.”
She looked quite hurt as she uttered the words; Comet’s ears drooped.
“I was perceived as a despot by this group, who identified very closely with Nightmare Moon.”
“They wanted eternal night?” the unicorn asked, and hit her forehead with her hoof. “How can anypony be that stupid? Don’t they realize we need the sun for basically everything?”
“I recall Rainbow Dash urging me to react harshly,” she said, smiling forlornly. “But I believe that is what they would have wanted. They would have become more than just a fringe group then. And, still, they were my subjects. I could never take such action against them. But... perhaps I should have done more. Judging by the fact that I am communicating with you, not Twilight Sparkle, means this has gone much farther than any of us anticipated.”
“That... really sucks,” Comet sighed sadly. “But... do you know about the Wardens?”
“I recognize the term from your mind, but I am unable to take in new information; only determine what information that I have that you do not,” the alicorn explained.
“Alright,” Comet said with a sigh. “They don’t know that they need six ponies to work the Elements. They think Twilight did it all on her own.”
“How curious,” Celestia replied.
“I should tell them,” Comet decided. “They need to know, or else they’ll never get rid of the Nightspawn. Right?”
Celestia merely smiled at her. She slowly got to her hooves and spread her shining, feathery wings.
“I need to leave, now,” she said.“The magic is about to fade. Good luck, Comet Strike.”
“Um... okay, bye,” the unicorn replied, a little confused.
The Princess was gone in a flash of golden light. Comet cringed and had to blink hurriedly, but she was blinded by sunspots. She raised a hoof to rub at her eyes, blinking hard.
When she could finally open her eyes to see, Comet was floored. She was lying on hard stone in a dilapidated hall, dark and grey, with broken columns. The only light pooled in, cool and white from the moon above, through a hole in the ceiling. Confused, she stood and looked around quickly. She noticed the windows, boarded from the outside, with broken images in stained glass standing tiredly in their frames. The sight of the one before her made her mouth run dry. It was the same depiction of the defeat of Nightmare Moon that she had seen with Celestia, but all the ponies save for Twilight were smashed from the image. Comet gulped and looked around, her eyes scanning desperately for a door. There was one across the hall and the unicorn was at it in an instant. Her heart sunk when she found that it wouldn’t open and magic simply fizzed out against it, just as it had on the bookshelf in the library. Comet tasted ash and she grimaced, her mind racing. She didn’t even know where she was until she stopped to wonder, and then panic set in. Celestia had said it was her home.
I must be in the palace ruins!
She bit her lip and skittered around, and then raced to each window. In every case, all ponies with the exception of Celestia and Twilight Sparkle were broken away, Even so, not a single one had gaps enough for a pony to fit through; Comet had no idea how she had gotten in.
Unless... I’m still dreaming?
Comet frowned and then, cringing in advance and squeezing her eyes shut tightly, smacked herself in the face. She whined out an, “ow!” and hesitantly opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. Comet sighed and decided she had to check the rest of the room. She must have gotten in somehow.
Comet circled the room again, wondering how in Equestria she was going to get out, when her train of thought was crashed by a terrible cracking and crumbling sound. In an instant, Comet felt her stomach drop and she found herself landing heavily on her chin. Groaning, she blinked around herself and set her horn alight. She had fallen through the floor, or, more accurately, a flattened door that she hadn’t seen. Cursing quietly, the unicorn heaved herself to her hooves and looked around through the drifting dust and rubble. To her relief, it seemed like there was a tunnel or path under the building. She wondered if the Sunwalkers knew about it. She cast her light down it; small patches of crystal glittered and Comet took a deep breath and began to walk.
---
The path beneath the ruins of the palace wasn’t in as much disrepair as the building above. Much of the tiles were still intact, and some of the magic gems in the walls still lit up as she passed. Comet wanted to just run through the tunnels; wanted to get out as soon as possible, but she knew it was probably a terrible idea.
Comet walked for what felt like hours. The place was so devastatingly silent that it was making her paranoid. Was she simply going deeper underground? Where was she?
How do I keep getting myself into junk like this?!
---
When Comet finally began to hear hoofbeats other than her own, for a moment, she thought she was hallucinating. She paused in her tracks, perked up, and swiveled her ears, trying to pinpoint the sounds. She was still too far off, but she could hear some strange, deep chatter. Her excitement and hope was dampened, but her curiosity was certainly not. She extinguished her light and hunkered down as she continued forward. She began to hear more hoofbeats, more low voices, and a sound like a steady stream of magic. The unicorn felt herself start to shake a little.
Rounding a corner, Comet was stunned still to see a wide tunnel cut through the pathway, illuminated by a strange glow of white and periodic blasts of red. She gulped and inched forward, only to have a dark shape with glowing white eyes pass in front of the hole. Comet covered her snout to stop herself from shrieking and pressed back against the wall tightly, hoping beyond hope that the Nightspawn before her hadn’t caught a glimpse of her. For the moment, it paid no attention, casting its glowing eyes back over its shoulder and barking out a loud, gruff sound before starting a march straight ahead. Comet didn’t even have a moment to relax when another passed by, and then another. The shapes began to blur together, the remnants of tile beneath starting to clink and tremble. Comet’s heart sunk and she couldn’t help her body from shaking as well.
The Nightspawn raced through the tunnels like a black torrent of water burst forth from a dam; rushing with only the rumbling of the ground to herald their approach. Comet squinted through the dark at them, their eyes like light off a river, all blurring together, especially as her eyes began to water. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out how they had gotten in, but she couldn’t budge, couldn’t even see what was happening behind the group.
Doesn’t the barrier go underground? she wondered.
She gulped and pressed closer to the wall.
After what felt like forever, the Nightspawn started to thin, and finally trickled down to just two. They were tall, fanged creatures, a little lankier than the others with spiraling ridges of scales across their bodies and long, jagged horns on their foreheads. They conversed in a guttural drawl that Comet couldn’t even begin to understand before continuing along with the swarm. The blue unicorn, her heart racing, finally peeled herself off the wall and, though her legs were shaking, peeked hesitantly into the tunnel. Her heart sunk and she felt like her mouth was filled with sand. The way the Nightspawn had come from was framed by a cracked, flickering shell of white magic that dripped with patches of red energy.
But that means... oh no...
She felt as if the ground was falling out from under her but she tried to keep herself steady. The only thing she could think to do was to follow.
---
It was all Comet could do to not break into a gallop. She couldn’t afford to run into the creatures ahead, and yet she wanted desperately to outrun them; to warn Canterlot of their imminent approach. She couldn’t even risk lighting her way in this deep tunnel. The rumbling of the charge made her nauseous and she had to stop and wipe her eyes frantically more than once. Her entire body felt frozen on the inside and her legs seemed heavy and sluggish, as if she were yanking them through mud.
A sudden crash overhead sent Comet’s head reeling and she yelped and jumped despite herself. With a desperate thought of what have I done?! she cast her gaze around, expecting the Nightspawn to descend on her at any moment, but instead, more noise exploded above her. Though muffled though the dirt, after Comet regained herself, should could hear screams and blasts of magic, and the roaring of monsters. The unicorn’s mind raced away as she did as well, racing up the tunnel the way the Nightspawn had gone.
Stumbling against rock and dirt walls, and over her own hooves, Comet galloped, her heart striking against her ribcage painfully. Without warning, Comet collided with something unmoving and hard and crumpled to the ground. She groaned and was forced to finally start breathing normally; she shook her head and struggled to get up, looking around to regain herself. She nearly dropped back down again, flabbergasted as stared up into a cloud-blanketed sky though a huge hole in the earth above her. For a moment, she was entranced. It seemed almost peaceful.
A dark shape cut across her view, snapping her back into reality, and then a bolt of lightning like magic sliced the air behind it. Comet gulped and looked around, noticing a steep, ramp carved from dirt up the side of the hole. She winced and then hurried to force herself upwards, trying to ignore the chaos above.
---
When Comet finally hauled herself out of the hole and looked around her, she felt like she was in a place completely foreign. The tunnel exit had cut up and through an old park, ravaging the ground, along with half a dozen other craggy holes running alongside it. The air stung with magical energy and the hisses and roars of the Nightspawn as they tore through the buildings nearby. More magic shot after them and Comet whirled to see that it was one of Pinklily’s totems, though it was surrounded and a few other beasts were trying to smash it.
Trying to contain her fear, Comet skittered away, getting her bearings and then heading as fast as she could back towards the tower. Her ears trained on distant screams, and though she was exhausted, she pushed herself faster. All of a sudden, she was bowled over and sent sprawling on the road. Immediately, she had magic shoot from her horn and she heard a bestial shriek. Dazed, she righted herself only to see three Nightspawn before her and a fourth reeling away and collapsing. Comet gritted her teeth and set her horn aglow, bracing her hooves. The largest creature’s eyes narrowed and it began to circle her. Comet drew back and lowered her horn, her breath ragged.
“Come on...” she snorted.
With a roar, the creature’s fangs flashed and Comet shot her spell into him immediately, flinging him back and through the roof of what was once a bakery. The two others charged her in an instant; Comet frantically dodged sideways, nearly slipped, and reared back to shoot a spike of ice at them before rushing away as fast as she could. She didn’t even know if it had hit; was far too scared to look back as well.
---
By the time the blue unicorn, exhausted, badly bruised, and breathing heavily, had gotten close to the tower, she could really see the extent of the damage. Buildings were in ruins and though Sunwalkers engaged in battle, they were tiring quickly against the dark hordes that smashed upon the makeshift barricade they had set up around the tower. Comet gulped and sucked her tongue, and then lowered her horn again. She closed her eyes, drawing up energy through her body until long, sharp tendrils of blue flared around her. She was only confident holding up two, but she called four nonetheless. Taking a deep breath, she began to run again towards the main horde.
The energy around her waved and struck like the tails of manticores: it struck through one Nightspawn, and then another, reducing them to temporary puddles of dark sludge. She felt a bit of a rush, a little relief that it was actually working, only to come upon the horde at the barricade. She took a deep breath again, spinning her magic around her, lowered her her head, and charged through. She cringed as the first Nightspawn was shredded by the magic, but she powered through despite the roars and the strikes she felt on her back and legs.
She was approaching the barricade fast, and all she knew was that she needed to get over it. Cringing, her mind raced to think, and before she knew it, she had to jump. Twisting a little, she shot a burst of blunt force energy at the ground. The impact made the few Nightspawn in the immediate area fall back, and as Comet squeezed her eyes shut, knocked her, spinning, up over the barricade.
She tumbled, rolled and collapsed in a heap on the ground. She heard hooves clinking around her and, when she hesitantly opened one eye to look at her surroundings, she saw three exhausted looking Sunwalkers hovering over her. One opened his mouth to speak, but was almost immediately shoved back, only to be replaced with Twirlwind. She grasped Comet in her hooves and heaved her up.
“Comet, what in Tartarus were you-?! How-?! Are you okay?!” she demanded.
“No, not really,” the unicorn croaked, dazed. “They... They came up through the ground, I couldn’t... I couldn’t-”
She was cut off as the pegasus shoved a flask of water into her mouth. Comet took it and drank deeply as Twirlwind assured her, “They took everypony by surprise.”
“What was that magic you used?” one of the other Sunwalkers asked quickly.
Comet passed the flask back to her friend and looked at the other pony nervously, only to have Twirlwind smack him upside the head.
“It was forbidden magic, obviously,” she snapped. “Who cares? We need that right now! Comet should just blow them up!”
“I-” Comet began. “I can try, but I-”
She was shut down as a strange, metallic cracking sound could be heard from above. She looked up, her ears pressing back, and many of the Sunwalkers followed her gaze.
In the sky, the barrier flickered and, to their horror, began to slowly collapse as if dissolving into sparkling glass and dust and Nightspawn with wings poured in. Twirlwind, eyes wide, swore loudly and the disembodied voice of Sun-General Storm Feathers called out for the pegasi to lift off to confront the diving menace. Comet readied her magic, her eyes struggling to focus on the Nightspawn against the clouded sky. Suddenly, she saw a burst of turquoise and, to her surprise, huge chunks of rock and pavement began shooting upwards, smashing into the Nightspawn. Comet looked up and couldn’t help a grin; She could see, up on the balcony, Glimmer Pearl and Pinklily. Glimmer’s magic was pulsing, exuding from her body in thick trails of light and sparks as she used her signature telekinesis to smash through the battle. A resounding cheer shook the Sunwalkers and the pegasi took off in a flurry of beating wings.
More magic began to pour out at the Nightspawn through the windows of the tower, and Comet felt a burst of confidence. She shot a few more puncturing spells into the mass outside the blockade, but she couldn’t help a wonder at how long they could hold out. Hopefully until sunrise, whenever that was, but then what? Perpetual battle every night?
Comet wasn’t sure what to do. She reared up to get a better image of their opponents. Sunwalkers crowding from the back were fighting usually two-on-one and seemed to be doing alright, but now the ones close to the barricade were taking turns ramming into it violently. Her attention was drawn by a red light to her right, but was terrified to see one of those two unicorn-like creatures charging and sending a huge ball of energy her way. Comet yelped and grabbed the nearest pony and dragged him down with her as she flattened herself to the ground. The magic slammed into the tower, caving in a section and sending debris everywhere with a deafening crash.
The unicorn hopped to her hooves and looked out in shock, only to see the creature about to do it again. She frowned deeply and tried to scrabble over the barrier to get to him, charging magic up into her horn once more. With a feeling of static passing through her, Comet saw only blue and she was behind the unicorn beast, stumbling in place and feeling rather sick. Instead of wondering what she had done, Comet took a deep breath and rammed herself against the Nightspawn, knocking it onto the ground. It rolled to its feet and confronted her with a shocked snarl, pulsing red magic from its horn. Comet felt panic take her but she rushed at the creature nonetheless, locking horns with it. It roared, spitting at her; pushed her back. Comet didn’t give, but after a moment she didn’t have a choice. The Nightspawn jerked its head back, causing her to stumble forward, and it struck her hard with its horn. She tumbled to the ground with a yelp and hurried to get up and she leapt at it, tackling it to the ground and hitting it hard in the head with her hoof. To her relief, it seemed to pass out. Exhausted, Comet drew back and coughed, tenderly touching her cheek with her hoof. It was really starting to hurt.
Screams from the tower drew her attention and she gasped to see the second unicorn-like creature blasting through the barricade. At almost the same moment, the sharp sound of glass shattered the air and she saw the observatory- her observatory- penetrated from the air as Nightspawn dove through the thick glass. Her eyes darted around frantically, and she tried to ignore the black goo that were Nightspawn beneath her hooves. She could see they were coming over the walls now, not just from the sky. There were so many; the air was rank with their stink, shrill with their screams; she couldn’t see anypony in the crowds anymore. Her mind racing, she reared onto her back legs and couldn’t come to any other conclusion: she had to do something, forbidden magic or not.
She fell forward and planted her hooves squarely on the ground, anticipating what was to come, or at least what she hoped would come. Comet let energy rush through her veins and concentrated as much as she could on the strongest spell she had ever learned. She had performed it once, but only once. There was a split second of doubt, but she forced it out of her mind. She couldn’t afford to screw this up.
Blue sparks began to ripple along her body and her fur bristled. She bared her teeth and closed her eyes tightly, and she could feel the energy beginning to build; could feel an electrical wind rushing through her mane and spinning around her body. The magic arced like lightning, crackling and buzzing, bright and glowing blue. To her sides, she heard the gathering Nightspawn rushing and wheezing, though they couldn’t get close to her. She heard one try; heard it sizzle and shriek at the touch of the energy circling her. She bit her lip and frowned in frustration. She was building energy much too slowly. She didn’t know what else to do, but she knew she had to help her friends. She pushed herself farther, more energy billowing from her, even as her limbs began to weaken.
Come on, Comet, you’ve done this before! Do it, do it, come on!
It was only an instant before she felt a deep and terrifying heat shoot through her body from tail to horn-tip. Her eyes shot open with pain, only to see nothing but absolute blue for just a second. Before she could even blink, her own energy had almost knocked her to the ground as it rocketed with a paralyzingly deep sound from the tip of her horn and straight into the sky. The sparks from her body jumped and leapt, and took off like a shockwave, billowing a deadly blue-and-purple razor of magic that shredded Nightspawn into mere puddles of dark tar as her eyes glazed over with glowing white. She stumbled and her body felt utterly cold as all around her went quiet. She felt dazed, sick, and weak, and her legs gave out on her before she could even try to will them not to. She was fairly certain she was on the ground now, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
“Did I make it?” she heard herself say; it didn’t even feel like she had moved her mouth.
Was she asleep? She couldn’t tell.
---
After what felt like no time at all, Comet opened her eyes a crack, her vision fuzzy and blotched with coloured sunlight. Her ears were echoing with yelling voices, though she couldn’t understand. She felt a body pressed close to her; saw an armoured hoof before her as if shielding her. It took her a moment before she realized that she was on the tiled floor near the entryway of the unicorn’s tower.
“Her magic is dangerous!” she heard.
The voice was loud and gruff; she knew it.
“I can’t believe you would be like that, after she just saved your city!”
The replying voice was incredulous, a bit sarcastic and loud; she knew it as well.
“How dare you talk to me like that?! I order you to-”
“I’m a Warden now, you have no authority over me anymore.”
Still dazed, Comet blinked quickly a few times and she turned her gaze upwards. The sight of Runestone’s face above her, his normally jovial visage twisted into a defiant frown, startled her several times over. Across, looking puffed up and furious, stood Peachbloom, her bright eyes shadowed in a dangerous frown. Stonehoof stood behind her, looking exhausted and a little sad. She stomped one iron-shod hoof to the floor and seemed almost to snarl.
“You impudent foal, I ought-to-”
“General, that’s enough,” Stonehoof sighed, giving her a frustrated glance.
“I would say so.”
Peachbloom whipped her head around furiously, and Comet and Runestone turned as well to see the small, robed form of Springbreeze approaching slowly, her eyes soft and concerned. Graham was also at her side, his brow furrowed, but seemed much calmer than the two ponies before them. Comet noticed, however, there was no grey nor brown on his body. His skin, and even his feathers and beak, all swam with the dark energy that must have come from the Nightspawn. As they arrived, Runestone hurriedly slid from his protective stance around Comet, whispering, “You okay?”
She nodded and replied with a quick, “thank you,”, to which he smiled slightly.
“I told you I’d come back for you,” he said matter-of-factly. “You did good.”
“So the spell worked?” she whispered.
“I’ll say,” Runestone replied.
She could have sworn he sounded a little proud.
“Springbreeze, this is outrageous,” the Sun-General said, seething, though her ears were drooped back a little. “That unicorn used forbidden magic; Celestia only knows where she learned it. We cannot let this be, it’s too dangerous.”
Comet felt her heart sink and her ears drooped back; she gritted her teeth, trying very hard not to yell back at the mare. I defeated the Nightspawn, and this is the thanks I get?! she wanted to scream, but she didn’t. Springbreeze seemed to be thinking and Stonehoof, to her surprise, looked at her sympathetically, and then turned to the Archmage and the griffon.
“I... I cannot make exceptions for her,” he said, and then sighed, but gave Graham a knowing look. “If she stays, action will have to be taken.”
Comet’s knees went weak and she flopped to the floor, devastated with just a sentence. Runestone barked, “No!” immediately, but Graham raised a talon and he quietened a little.
“Then, might I suggest I take her with me?” he asked, looking between the older ponies.
Peachbloom incredulously snapped, “What?!” while the Archmage also looked at the griffon with an expression utter shock that seemed very unlike her.
“But Graham, surely-” the old mare began, her voice only registering a little wobble of her surprise, but Graham cut her off.
“If I am honest,” he said, “that wound to Comet’s neck from the initial Nightspawn bite... it appears to be worse. I had expected it to heal, but it appears to me that it is on the verge of a contagious infection.”
Comet’s eyes went wide and her stomach dropped; Runestone’s expression mirrored hers.
“For her to survive, I will take her to become a Warden. We will make good use of that magic if she lives, and... even if she does not, it will eliminate the risk of the other students getting infected,” he explained cooly.
Comet couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but the words seemed to shut Peachbloom up, and the Archmage grimaced. She seemed to be thinking hard, closing her foggy eye and looking to the ground with her other.
“Sounds like a solution to me,” Stonehoof volunteered. “I grant my permission.”
The Archmage’s head snapped up and she scowled at him, but he seemed not to notice. Graham smiled and bent his head to the stallion and then smiled at Comet and Runestone.
“Comet Strike, best get your things together,” he said, approaching them and enfolding them in a wing. “We should be leaving immediately.”
“Im... what? Really?” Comet demanded. “Can...? Okay...”
She was shaking, but even so, she was comforted when Runestone pressed up against her warmly and told her, “I’ll go with you.”
---
In the dormitory, Comet had just barely finished packing her telescope into her saddlebag when it hit her that she was leaving. She was leaving for good, and probably never coming back. She put a hoof to her mouth as she felt tears prick in her eyes and she stared, dazed, at the wall ahead of her for a long while before she resumed packing. Runestone watched her sympathetically and joined her, patting her head gently.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Um... not really,” she said, and then laughed tiredly. “I’ll be okay... I hope.”
He nodded and sighed, his ears drooping on her behalf.
“I’m... I’m sure Graham can fix your neck thing,” he assured her.
She nodded and reached under her mattress for her books of forbidden spells, and put them in the other side of the bag before slinging it over her back.
“Comet?”
The unicorn jumped to hear her name and she looked to the sound of the voice to see, almost huddling together, Pinklily, Arrowburst, Glimmer Pearl, and Jinx looking at her with worry and apprehension.
“There you are,” Pinklily said, relieved; she trotted up and hugged her tightly. “I was so worried when you teleported out in the night.”
“I... I did what?” Comet asked blankly.
“Teleported. You were in bed and you just teleported,” Pinklily said. “I didn’t know you could actually do that.”
“I... didn’t either,” Comet replied, scratching her head. “Um... is everypony okay?”
“As far as we know,” Jinx said quietly.
The other ponies edged into the room and Glimmer hugged Comet and Runestone at once, as Arrowburst pressed up to her legs and Jinx gave her cheek a quick nuzzle.
“Are you okay?” Arrowburst asked cautiously.
“Fine,” Comet said, nodding. “Just a bit sore.”
Glimmer edged forward, her eyes bright, and she said, “That was amazing, what you did. I saw everything.”
“Thanks. You were pretty good yourself.”
Comet smiled, but Pinklily frowned at her and stepped forward.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she demanded.
Comet’s breath caught in her throat for an instant.
“Yeah, Graham... Graham’s taking me with him” she explained, and though her friends made expressions of varying levels of surprise, before Pinklily could ask more, she explained, “The Sunwalkers would cut my horn otherwise. Graham thinks my magic will help him.”
“Well, of course it will, you splattered a legion of Nightspawn with one spell,” Runestone said with a laugh.
“A spell that I can barely do and that knocks me out for a few hours afterwards, yeah, that’s real useful,” Comet joked.
Though Arrowburst let out a small, “Oh,” in surprise and admiration, Pinklily looked at the other unicorn with an almost unreadable expression of vague disapproval for just a moment before she sighed, her shoulders drooped and she quickly hugged Comet again.
“Be careful out there,” she said.
Comet felt tears in her eyes again, but she blinked quickly and patted her friend on the back.
“I will. I have the chance to make a real difference now. I won’t screw this up.”
“You better not,” Glimmer said jokingly, sticking her tongue out, though her eyes were a little sad.
Comet hugged both of the other ponies after breaking away from Pinklily.
“I’ll come back to visit,” Comet promised; she didn’t know if she’d be able to keep her word, but she hoped to Celestia should could.
Pinklily smiled sympathetically at her, but suddenly her ears perked.
“Wait just a second, I have something for you.”
She galloped from the room and the other ponies watched after her curiously. She returned almost immediately with, to their surprise, a cuff-like bracelet suspended in the yellow of her magic.
“This,” she said a bit proudly, winking and zapping it into place on Comet’s body, “is enchanted. I just made it recently. It was for your birthday, but I figure since you're leaving it's okay to give it a few weeks early. It'll protect you against a lot of negative spells. It should help just a little.”
Comet’s eyes were wide with surprise and she looked down at the light metal around her right forelimb. The bracelet was imbedded with an oval, blue stone that only showed telltale sparks of its enchanted nature. Comet could feel the energy radiating from it, and when she looked back up to Pinklily, the unicorn seemed to grow even prouder.
“Pinks, thank you!” she said quickly, and hugged her friend again.
“Yeah, yeah,” the other mare said jokingly, and then held her back by her shoulders. “Just stay safe, okay? Promise?”
“Absolutely!” Comet said, grinning. “And... thanks, again. Say goodbye to Twirlwind for me, okay?”
“Of course. Go on, get going,” Pinklily said, nudging her with her head, “or we’ll just stand here hugging for the rest of the day.”
“Would that be so bad?” Glimmer asked.
She smiled but her eyes were sad, and Jinx’s ears flopped down as he muttered, “We’re gonna miss you, Comet. And Runestone, it was good to have you around too. Maybe we can all get to know each other better when you guys come home.” Runestone looked surprised, but smiled and nodded, and then beckoned to the threshold.
“Graham is probably waiting,” he said a bit reluctantly.
They each had one more round of hugs, and Comet stood with her forehead against Pinklily’s for an extra moment, hoping desperately to see her friend again one day. Then, trying to seem confident, she puffed out her chest and trotted from the room, saying, “See you guys later!” as she left, Runestone at her side.
---
The sun was warm in the clear midmorning sky outside, with not a cloud in sight. It was almost surreal after what had happened in the darkness before. As the two ponies walked on towards the bridge with Graham, Comet couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “Do you think all the Nightspawn are gone here now?”
“Certainly,” Graham answered. “They threw all they had at Canterlot, and because of you, we were able to eliminate them all in one swoop.”
Comet’s ears drooped and she sighed, muttering, “Glad nopony got killed.” Runestone nodded and then, a little anxiously, poked Graham.
“Um... about Comet’s neck wound...” he asked.
“Oh, do not worry about that in the least,” he assured them with a smile.
Comet’s eyes went wide, but before she could ask, he said, “I may have told a little fib in the tower.”
“Well, thank Celestia for that!” Runestone said loudly, blowing out a sigh of relief.
Comet’s ears perked and a small smile spread across her face.
Suddenly with a little bounce in her step, Comet was able to keep pace with the other two despite the throbbing in her head and the exhaustion. Maybe she really would have a chance to come back and visit her friends someday.
Exiting Canterlot felt a bit foreign as they crossed the crumbling bridge from the city to the field. Runestone looked a little wary, but much more confident than last time despite there being no barrier to protect them. Comet felt her chest tighten and she took to the grass, staring ahead into the Everfree forest as Graham prowled ahead, Runestone trotting at his side. Comet bit her lip and turned back to look at the tower, to the cracked dome of her observatory. As she did, she was startled to see magic begin to sparkle forth in the form of small fireworks, pouring from the broken glass. The unicorn couldn’t help a smile despite getting a little misty-eyed.
Behind her, she heard hooves stop and Runestone called her name. She turned to see him gesture towards the woods, his ears perked.
“You coming or what?” he called.
“Yeah! Yeah, I’m coming!” she replied.
She glanced back at the observatory once more, just in time to see the sparkles starting to fade. She bit her lip and set her horn alight, shooting a ball of blue magic into the air. She hoped her friends would see it, and she turned and trotted back to catch up with Runestone and Graham as they passed through the tree line.