Seven. Lightning Bug reached out with her hoof and counted. Seven Spirit Stars. Sometimes there were only six, but for the last few nights, there were seven. The seventh star disappeared sometimes, it didn’t always join the others. What use was a seventh spirit star when there were only six alicorn rulers? As much as she hated to admit it, maybe Polaris had a point. When Echo Shade told her story she didn’t seem to be lying though, not in the slightest. Her master Tall Tail believed every word of it, and so did every other harmonite she talked to.
Maybe we don’t get to choose what does or doesn’t make sense in the world, she thought to herself.
The bonfire site was mostly empty now. While other ponies and their little ones went home to sleep, the remaining working ponies were content to lie down on picnic blankets and comforters and whatever else had been left out. They’d wake up early to get the festival ready in time for morning.
Lightning yawned for the umpteenth time. She was sore and tired, and all things considered it wasn’t nearly as bad as a day at bootcamp. Still sleep evaded her. Again.
She tossed and turned once more. Not far she could see Echo curled up in a ball, breathing softly as she slept. Her two siblings were clustered around her. Polaris had removed himself to the fringe of the gathering, and he too slept soundly, with his saddlebag as a pillow. Lightning covered her eyes with her wings and curled up.
Hoofsteps roused her. It wasn’t a single set of hooves, there had to be at least four or five ponies carefully stepping around the bonfire. Lightning peaked from behind her wing. It was the town guard and their dingy shields and spears.
“Slash?” Echo’s voice. “Slash, where are you going?” Echo’s head bobbed sleepily. Slashbuckler had just passed by her.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Me and the guys are just gonna check the perimeter outside the valley.”
“I thought the council said to wait till morning.”
“It is morning,” Slash shrugged and kept walking. “I’ll be back before the festival starts.”
Echo watched him and the other guards slip away. She squinted her eyes and put her head back down to rest. Lightning briefly sat up and watched them go. What if the dragon found them? Should she help?
Probably not. If earlier today was anything to go by, she’d just make things worse. She carefully sat back down and rolled over onto her back, and she tried to fall asleep, and not to worry, and not to think about the burning red eyes of the behemoth dragon.

“Alright, nap time’s over!” the voice of an elder roused Lightning Bug.
The morning was chilly and cool, and the ground was covered in dew. The embers from the bonfire provided some warmth. Lightning Bug spied one elder, Timewinder, moving about the campsite. “Come on, you all,” she gently nudged a sleeping pony. “We’ve got to start bright and early! It’s going to be a busy, exciting day.”
Echo Shade walked by to wake Lightning up, but she was pleased to see she was already up. Polaris joined them. His mane was a mess, and he worked at it with a tiny comb.
“Morning sleepyhead!” Echo said. “You ready for the fun to begin?”
“Where is the blue pegasus?” he asked. Echo pursed her lips. “He left already, didn’t he?”
Echo nodded.
“Figures.”
“Did you want to go with them?”
“Not necessarily.”
“You lot head back into town and make sure the stage is ready for the Lorekeeper’s performance,” Timewinder sent a small group of workers away. “You over there! Tall Tail’s apprentice? Bring your new friends with me, I’m going to need your help going over a few little things back in Town Square.”
“Oh, um, of course!” Echo hopped to her hooves and walked over. “But wouldn’t another elder be better suited for the job?”
“Indeed, I normally do this with Paper Pusher, but she is nowhere to be seen,” Timewinder said. “She’s probably nursing a wounded ego.”
“Oh.”
“To be as non-confrontive as possible, I’d like you to take her place, seeing as you had a fair hoof in driving her off in the first place.”
“No, no, that makes sense,” Echo looked over her shoulder.
“You coming, Lightning?”
“Sure, I guess.” Lightning looked around. “It’s so dismal. And quiet…”
“It’s only like that to start. Once the town wakes up a little and we get some music going it will start to feel like a real festival,” Echo said.

A small band was getting ready to perform on the stage when the group made their way back. There was a set of drums, a trumpet, and a keyboard of all things. Lightning thought she might have found Meadow Skip nearby, but no such luck.
“There’s not much to check with the banners and decorations,” Timewinder said. “But we do need to make sure every shop is open early. You just wait outside, I’ll gently check on the owners.” The first store they checked was the loom where Satin Splash worked. Apparently most of the ponies in Harmony lived in the same building they worked in.
Lightning, Polaris, and Echo sat outside. There wasn’t much to say.
“The sound’s died down,” Echo whispered. “Maybe the dragon really did leave.”
“Mn,” Lightning studied her hooves. Honestly she was doing her best not to think about anything dragon-related.
The band had started rehearsing some number when Timewinder finally stepped back outside. “Onto the next one,” she said. “I’ll have you three split up and knock on each door in this district,” and they agreed.
Lightning was nearby when Polaris rapped on the door of the general store. “Timewinder, is that you?” a voice from inside called.
“On her behalf,” Polaris said.
“Oh, one of the visitors!” And the two ponies stepped outside. “We’ll be ready in just a minute, thank you so much.”
Polaris nodded and moved on to another store, and Lightning did the same.
She rapped on a door, and she heard the hurried answer from a pony inside, so she moved on to the next door. She heard the disjointed music from the band. It sounded like an oldie her mom would listen to on the radio.
The music came to an abrupt halt.
“I thought you said we were supposed to freestyle!” she heard a musician say.
“Freestyle in the style of the festival!” their composer called up to the stage. “None of that, new-age pop music crock! Try something else.”
The musicians shrugged at each other. Once the keyboard-player got going on a melody, the others followed. What followed was somewhere between a Meteoran march and a dirge. “What on Cabalos?! Do none of you understand the power of music? You want the townsfolk to feel like they’re in danger or something?!”
Lightning froze in her tracks when a sound reached her ears. Claws scratching stone.
The dragon was still out there.
“Lightning?” Echo asked. “What’s wrong?”
A howl pierced the air once more, and the townsquare was silent. Before Lightning could open her mouth, the valley was blasted by the dragon’s roar, once more from the west.
Her hooves carried her away before she had time to think. Lightning found herself racing out of town and back over the bridge and down the trail she first rode in the back of a wagon. She was past the pink streamers of the Pillar of Mercy when she heard Polaris and Echo shouting behind her.
The ground was shaking when she finally reached the edge of the valley. She screeched to a stop and looked up the hill that led back into the caverns she and Polaris first entered the valley from.
“Private, what do you think you’re doing?” Polaris asked once he finally came up to her. She barely heard him. The ground shook once more. What was going on outside?
It felt like seconds, but minutes must have passed. A small crowd gathered behind her. She heard a few elders trying to calm everyone down.
“Gain way!!” a new voice cried. Lightning heard thundering footsteps. One by one, the town guard leapt from the shadows of the cave and tumbled down the hill. Ponies ran to catch them and slow them down. Their coats were singed, and they were missing their weapons.
Everyone was blasted by a gust of hot wind, straight from the cave’s entrance. Another pony fled the cave.
“Everyone down!” Slashbuckler’s voice. “Hot stuff, coming through!” The pegasus leapt from the cave, dove for the pony in front of him and pushed him away from the cave.
A blast of fire shot through the cave. Everyone screamed. The stream of fire leapt from the mouth of the cave for several yards. Ponies dove for the ground and covered their heads. It felt like an eternity. Lightning peaked up and watched as the last of the stream of fire dissipated.
And then a howl that shook the entire valley. The dragon’s angry roar shot from the cave and reverberated through everything. Birds cried out and flew away.
Silence again.
“Slash! What the dickens!!” Echo raced up the hill. “Slashbuckler, what happened?”
“We, uh…” Slash helped his fellow guard to his feet. “We found the dragon. It’s definitely out there. Heh…” He seethed and stumbled as he led the guard down the hill. “Couldn’t get a good look at it. We weren’t gonna engage or anything, but it smelled us and got mad, I guess.”
“Are you hurt?”
“Nah, I’m fine. Nothing I can’t fly off.”
The ground shook once more and every pony went quiet. Somebody cleared their throat, and Oaksaw and two other elders approached the crowd of ponies from behind.
“If you all would listen carefully,” they said. “Please, in the name of the Wanderer…” one of them pointed to the northern falls. “Proceed in an orderly fashion to the northern grotto by the falls. Tell any pony you find the same, spread the word. Take any food you can carry, bring only what you need. Thank you.”
The ponies hurried down the hill. The guards were helped up and some had to be carried away. Some of them even went calmly.

The next hour was compounded by ponies hammering wooden planks over the windows and doors of their houses and shops in Townsquare. Parents lead their foals down the dirt road to the falls, each with huge bundles saddled on their backs.
“Any planks or beams leftover should make their way to the grotto!” Oaksaw called above the clamor. “Any able hooves should join in the building effort! We need a tall and sturdy barricade to guard the entrance!”
Presently Lightning Bug and Polaris stuck with Tall Tail, who made a brief return to his house to gather his foals. Lightning made sure to retrieve her radio. She flipped it on once, listened to the distorted stations coming through, and pressed the receiver. “Anyone?” she whispered. Nothing. She knit her brow.
“Come on, Snowy. This way,” Tall Tail eased his daughter out the door.
“Where’s Echo Shade?” Snowy slung a sack over her shoulder with her teeth.
“Echo is with Slash, they’re helping with the building,” Tall Tail said. Lightning stashed her radio away and went to join them. Tall Tail locked the door behind them and they set off for the grotto.
Snowy tottered back and forth with her bag. “Buh wuh ig I orgot somin?”
“You’ve already brought too much!” Smokey said. “This is an emergency, we’re only supposed to take the essentials! Do you really need a whole piece of oat-bread, paper, pens, and a book?”
“Aybe.”
“I have the distinct feeling that you’re not taking this seriously,” Smokey said.
Tall Tail frowned. “Son, unless you’d like to turn around and put that dictionary back on the bookshelf, you leave your sister alone.”
“But learning is essential!”

Lightning watched the ponies work. They moved slowly, deliberately, but there was also a briskness in their steps. If they weren’t hammering away or closing their stores, they hurried along. Gone was the steady, easygoing rhythm from the previous two days. Not a word was spoken, unless it was to their foals or friends, and then it was just quick advice or directions.
There was no laughter, that was for sure.
“Sir Tall Tail?”
“Yes, Lightning?”
She lowered her voice so the two foals wouldn’t hear. “Boarding everything up isn’t going to keep the dragon out is it?”
“No, Miss Lightning, it won’t,” and Tall Tail looked ahead to the north of the valley, where hundreds of ponies were already gathered. “And I doubt that wall of wood would do much either.”
“Then what’s even the point?”
“I think a soldier of all people would understand how important it is to make people feel safe,” Tall Tail said.
“So your solution is to put a big, wooden bandage on the valley,” Polaris said. “And to do absolutely nothing?”
Tall Tail scoffed. “We do only what we can, Lustrian.”

The barricade was only about as high as a pony’s shoulder once Tall Tail got to the grotto. Ponies were walking back and forth with their hammers and nails and boards. It was a lot like the afternoon when Lightning and Polaris walked into town, but now the ponies hurried and shouted orders at each other. “Mares and foals first,” Paper Pusher called. “Would any able-bodied ponies old enough to work please pick up a hammer?” As Tall Tail and his companions passed, Paper Pusher cast a chilling glare in their direction. “I knew something like this would happen!” she hissed.
Tall Tail didn’t give her the satisfaction of a response.
Some ponies ran to and from the lake with buckets of water. Most of them were unicorns using their magic to heft the heavy vessels quickly. Echo Shade was amongst them. She smiled briefly at Lightning and Polaris as they passed, but she was quick to return to work. Pegasi lifted up poles and boards to be nailed into place. Everyone was working together, but…
It was all so sad.
“We have to do something about this!” Slashbuckler stamped his hoof. “We’re sitting ducks! We barely got anything done while we were out! We gotta scramble one more squad.”
“By all means!” Timewinder turned to a group of workers. “Would any other pony willing to join Slashbuckler on another trounce with the dragon please step forward?” And every worker promptly took two steps back. “Does that answer your question, Slashbuckler?”
“There’s gotta be somebody!” Slash searched the group of ponies. “Cedar Seed? You’re good with a pointy stick, why don’t you come and help?”
Cedar was carrying a bucket of nails. “You’re good with a hammer. Why don’t you come help with the barricade?”
“Oh, come on! I’m not saying we go to war or anything, I just wanna scare it off!” Still no pony responded. “Nobody?!”
“Son, think about it,” Tall Tail said. “Where would you scare it off to? The Kingsveil traps everything in the badlands. Even if you scared the dragon off for a time, it would just find its way back to us. Then what would we do?”
“I mean…”
“Slash, I won’t have you standing around at this time,” Timewinder said. “If you can’t find somebody for your cause, you will help with the construction, and we will drag you along if we have to!”
Slash briefly searched the crowd for support, but still found none.
“Alas,” Tall Tail said. “Not every pony is as… brave as Slashbuckler.”
“Then I’ll help!” Echo Shade dashed over to Slash’s side.
“You on the other hoof…” Tall Tail whirled and faced her. “Absolutely not!!”
“But Master, this is my expertise! I’m the perfect pony to lure it away.” Echo lit up her horn and drew a small shape in the air. “Distracting, remember? What you always tell me?”
“That’s besides the point! What experience have you in the badlands? Slash already has himself to worry about, does he need another?”
“I’ve been through the badlands before, one more trip can’t hurt.”
“Maybe once was more than enough!”
“Master---”
“No, Echo Shade!” Lightning had never seen Tall Tail’s horn light up in anger before. “So long as I’m the Lorekeeper and you’re the apprentice I completely forbid you from leaving this valley!”
“Yeah, but… but…” Echo lowered her head, and her eyes were wide and sullen when she whined. “But Papa…!”
“Oh no!” Tall Tail’s shout drove her back. “Don’t you ‘papa’ me, Echo Shade! You’re a grown mare, act like one!” He harrumphed and walked away with Timewinder.
Lightning opened her mouth but no words would come. She just had to awkwardly wait as Echo stood there and frowned. “I tried to be nice,” she grumbled. And she walked back to help with the water.
Cedar Seed put a hoof on Slash’s shoulder. “Slash, sometimes the hardest thing to do is just wait. You’ll feel a lot better when you put your hooves to work.”
“I’ll feel better when that dragon’s gone!” Slash said. He stormed off.
“Private,” Polaris leaned over and whispered to Lightning. “I don’t suppose you’d know about dragonfire?”
“What about it?”
“Does a dragon need to rest between bursts of flame?”
“Well, yeah of course. Some dragons need to wait an entire day before breathing again. No telling with a dragon that big though…”
“Hm…” Polaris scratched his chin. “I will go and find Slash.”

The Northern Grotto was embedded into the very mountain that the waterfall poured from. It was very deep and wide, and was much more spacious than the tunnels Lightning Bug and Polaris first traversed to enter the valley. If you went deep enough, Lightning was told, you could hear the waterfall drone softly through the walls. Go deeper still, and you’d leave the valley and enter a region of the badlands that Lightning never reached before.

Lightning Bug heard stories of soldiers hiding in caves during really awful battles, but the grotto was cozy looking. There were lots of pillows and blankets, and lanterns were in abundance so it was well-lit. The ponies were finding spots for themselves and their families, and even thought they were anxious, they were calm. They passed by Echo, who was still taking buckets of water inside. She did not look happy.
The guards that faced the dragon were taken to the far back, where they lay in stretchers. They weren’t seriously hurt, but nobody was making them do anything they didn’t have to.
That was where Lightning and Polaris found Slashbuckler.
The guards looked really anxious as Slash paced around the room. They all sat up and put their hooves together, and they never took their eyes off him.
“Where is it?” he asked.
“Where’s what?”
“I know it’s in here! I haven’t seen it since we came inside.”
The guards subtly inched closer together.
Slash jumped into the group and bowled them over. They scuffled, and Lightning had to wince. She heard a mare behind her sigh and shake her head. Finally Slash unearthed his rusty, bronze shield from the pile of horses and strapped it back to his foreleg.
“Dude, this is stupid even for you!” one of them said.
“What if you rile it up even more?”
“You really wanna be the pony to drive us out of the valley?”
“None of that’s going to happen!” Slash said. “Relax. Nobody’s coming with me.” They relaxed a little. “But if somebody did, you’d be the first to hear about it.”
“We won’t be singing your praises, you know that right?” One of them asked. Slash didn’t answer. He finally turned around and saw Polaris and Lightning.
“What, didja need something?”
“I… have some information to share,” Polaris glanced at Lightning. “And I have a corroborator in the Scout here. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have an offer to make.”
Slash arched an eyebrow.
“What offer?” Lightning asked. Polaris took Slash by the shoulder and led him to the corner of the room. She had to creep closer to listen.

“If anyone asks, it’s an escort,” Polaris said. “You are simply taking me away from the valley.”
“But nobody would be stupid enough to fall for that,” Slashbuckler said. “The Kingsveil, remember? You have no escape..”
“Yes, but neither does the dragon,” Polaris said. His brow darkened. “Luring it or chasing it away is pointless, as the dragon will simply return as it has nowhere else to go. But the way I see it is this, we're not trapped with it, it's trapped with us. All the more reason to take it down once and for all.”
Slash flicked his ear. “I’m listening…”
“Polaris?” Lightning whispered. She wasn’t answered.
“I may not know much about dragons, but I do know about the laws of energy. After speaking with the Scout, I have concluded that the dragon has mostly exhausted itself. This means there now exists a window of time where it is extremely weakened. We must use this to our advantage. I may just be a mapmaker, but I am a skilled tactician, and you are by no means a rookie fighter. Between your brawns and my brains I’m confident we can drive the dragon away while its defenses are down, if not snuff it out completely.”
Somehow, Polaris was speaking Slash’s language. He smiled and nodded the entire time. “Alright! Now we’re getting somewhere!”
“Wait,” Lightning said. “What about…”
“But we’ll need a distraction,” Slash said. “I’m not very good at those.”
Polaris wrinkled his nose. “Neither am I.”
“Heavens above, it must be a sign!” Echo Shade’s voice nearly startled them all. She hung at the entrance of the room, having just delivered some water to the guards. “I just so happened to walk in and you all happened to be having some sort of combat meeting and I couldn’t help but hear the word distraction!” Her horn lit up. “I happen to know a thing or two about that!”
“Perfect!” Polaris said. “...But what about what your master said?”
Echo frowned. “He said I’m a grown mare, didn’t he? Grown mares make their own decisions.”
Slash swallowed. “Fair enough.” The three chatted briefly, and then they made their way out of the room and back into the tunnels.
Lightning blinked. This was a very familiar feeling. “No!” She ran in front of the group. “I can’t let you do this! I’ve already watched ponies fall to this thing, I can’t let it happen again!”
“We don’t have much of a choice, Private,” Polaris said. “The way I see it, the valley is as good as gone if the dragon remains. The least we can do is put up a real fight.”
“No, you don’t understand!” Lightning ran in front of them. “You can’t win a fight with this thing!”
“Not with that attitude,” Slash said.
“Listen, please! If my whole squad couldn’t handle it, how can you three? None of you should have to go and do this.”
“Then what are you proposing?” Polaris asked.
“Let me go instead. I’m the one the dragon wants. I’ll lead it away from the valley.”
“Private, we’ve been over this.”
“But there’s no other way!”
“Hon, that’s crazy!” Echo said. “Do you know what could happen if you go through with this?”
“Does it matter?”
“Lightning Bug, my word!” Echo held her forehead. “You’re talking like you want that dragon to eat you.”
“I don’t want it to eat anyone,” Lightning said. “But it shouldn’t have to happen to any of you! The dragon chased me over the border. I was the one who got it trapped out here. It recognizes me, it hates me! That’s why my Stormtouch drew it to the valley. This is the only guarantee we have that it’ll leave the valley.”
“Or you’ll just rile it up and make things worse,” Slash said.
“I have to do this!” Lightning said. “If I can’t go on my own, at least let me go with you!” None of them shared her enthusiasm. Slash kept looking away and rubbing his neck. He wouldn’t make eye-contact with her. “Anybody?”
“No pony here can condone this in good conscience,” Polaris said.
“Then how come you’re all allowed to go?”
“Yes, but they’re, um…”
“Less emotionally compromised,” Slash coughed into his hoof, somehow. “Besides, if the dragon really does hate you… maybe that’s a good thing. The dragon didn’t want us dead, it just wanted us gone. I have a good feeling that thing could have crushed us the moment we stepped out of the valley, but it didn’t. If it really only wants you, maybe we shouldn’t give it what it wants.”
Lightning shook her head. “I don’t believe this!”
“Hon,” Echo held her shoulder. “I think what everyone’s trying to say is they’re worried about you. The way you are now, they’re afraid you’ll do something reckless. We all want the dragon gone, but not if it means losing you.”
“You won’t lose me!” Lightning said. “I’ve fought dragons before, have any of you? I know what I’m doing. Come on, Polaris. You’ve seen me fight, tell them why I have to come along.”
Polaris did not give an answer. His head was lowered, and his eyes were shut. He inhaled and exhaled several times.
“Polaris?”
He opened his eyes. “Private,” he said. “I think it’s best if you stay here.” Lightning took a step back. “It will be much safer for you here. We will draw the dragon’s attention. If we fell it, so be it. Once that is finished, you should take the time to escape. Maybe you’ll find a signal in the meantime, and you can finally return home. But first, you must remain until the dragon leaves.”
“Not you too.”
“Private, listen. It is not a good idea,” Polaris said.
“Says who, you?” Lightning said with a frown. “We’ve been through how much together and you’re just going to leave me behind? What, so you can be a hero with Slash? So you can get back at it for destroying your map?”
Polaris closed his eyes and looked away.
“We all wanna give that dragon a piece of our mind,” Lightning said. “Why are your reasons better than mine? You think I can’t take care of myself? You think I’ll just screw everything up, don’t you? You think my Stormtouch will just get in the way? Just say it! Polaris!!”
“Fine!” Polaris’ horn flashed and his eyes almost glowed. His voice echoed through the cave. “You’re a liability! You can’t control your powers, you can barely control your emotions! You were never a good soldier and you’re a poor fit for the job! Is that what you wanted to hear? Does it make you feel better? Has catharsis finally found you?!”
“I don’t CARE about feeling better!”
“Don’t you though?! Hasn’t this always been about your wounded Meteoran pride?”
“Polaris, listen…”
“No, you listen! You followed me up the mountain, you pelted me with incessant questions and relentless badgering. I’ve put up with you for almost forty-eight hours. Now you will stand still and you will listen to what I have to say!” Polaris stepped forward until their brows almost touched. “You’ve gone on and on about how awful everyone is to you, but consider this! Why should anyone move on and grow when they can just sit there and wallow in their own misery, content with mediocrity, wondering again and again why they never improve and why nobody likes them? Well here is why! You are a self-centered, self-absorbed filly who hides her vice behind a mask of humility and self-pity.”
“Polaris!”
“You’re tired of being belittled, yet you do nothing to change yourself, and still you try to satisfy this itch the Meteorans have infected you with to no avail! You don’t care about being dependable, you don’t really care about the dragon, you don’t even care what happens to this valley! You are only afraid of feeling useless. Well here’s a newsflash, Pegasus, that’s not something we get to choose! Sometimes your moment never comes, sometimes your potential is never realized, and sometimes the only thing you can do is step aside and let someone else solve the problem.”
You’re such a jerk, Lightning thought. She thought he was her friend, but he really was just like everyone else. He pretended to be nice, he pretended to care, but the moment she crossed a line, he dropped the act and yelled. She should cry, she should sob, her heart should absolutely break in half, she wanted to show him how horrible he was being.
But no tears came, in fact she felt nothing at all, because deep down Lightning Bug believed every word coming out of Polaris’ mouth.
“Stand down, Private. That’s an order.”
“You’re not my captain.”
“Stand down. Now.” He glared at her. That same glare from when they first met. That same glare everyone always gave her.
Lightning locked eyes with Polaris. She remained still. It might have been a whole minute, it might have been thirty seconds. It probably was much shorter than that. She stared until she felt her will to fight whittle away.
And then Polaris’ expression softened. Slightly. “Please, Private,” he whispered. She finally bowed her head and looked away. “Thank you.” A small group of ponies had formed at either end of the tunnels, wide-eyed, silently watching the performance unfold. They awkwardly shuffled away. Polaris looked back at Slashbuckler. “You should grab everything you’ll need. We’re likely not coming back.”
“Same to you, meet me at Rat Tail’s Watch.” And he left the grotto.
Lightning wasn’t sure what Polaris did after that because she didn’t look at him, or Echo, or anybody. Her eyes were trained on the ground as she slowly made her way outside. She walked past the barricade, past the elders, past every pony she saw. She found a spot on the sand where she could watch the waterfall, and she settled her hooves beneath her as she lay down. She watched the small waves lap at the sand. Sometimes she heard ponies come by with buckets of water, but she didn’t see who it was. They didn’t say anything to her, and she didn’t say anything to them.
It was happening again. People were going to get hurt because of her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Slowly, Lightning nodded off and drifted away.

At first Lightning Bug thought she was still having a nightmare. She jerked and had a start. Instead of the warm sheets of her cot back in the academy, she was met with wet, grimy rocks beneath her hooves and rushing wind that pierced her coat and chilled her bones. She felt like she was on the verge of teetering over the edge of the cliff, and beneath her the rushing waters and pointed rocks of the bay lay ready to dash her to pieces should she fall. But she was not dreaming, and when the pegasus soldier prodded her once more, she was finally completely awake, and she remembered where she was and how she got here.
Cozy Glow Gulf, not far from the disputed lands on the eastern fringes of Clan Sirocco, one of the most dismal, dangerous places in Meteoras.
And the months of disappointment and harsh words and shouting washed over her like the black, cold waters below. The sun was almost ready to set, and it would be even more cold and dismal soon.
“Hey, city girl,” the soldier said. He nudged her again. “The whole point of taking watch is that you don’t fall asleep on your hooves.”
“I’m sorry,” it was like a reflex to her at this point. She reached for the necklace that was buried under her breastplate and pulled at thin air.
“If you can’t stay awake, do you know whose fault it will be if a dragon or a sea serpent climbs up the cliff and eats all of us?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I heard the last cadet who fell asleep got tossed into the sea by the captain himself,” another soldier said. “And the one before that was even worse. He just put her on recon duty in the border sands. Word has it the cadet’s still watching the sand-grass grow over there. I bet she wishes she was tossed into the sea.”
“Kinda like this one! The world was almost short one more scout to worry over.”
And every soldier in earshot laughed.
Lightning’s ears drooped. She smiled and tried to laugh along, like she’d been taught at this point.
“Eh-hem.”
And the laughter stopped. The pegasus soldier turned around and who did he see but Captain Maelstrom himself. They yelped and stood at attention, wings saluting as beads of sweat formed on their brows “I want you two on perimeter,” he said.
“Sir! We just finished, sir!”
“Then do it again! Double-time, princesses!”
“Sir, yes sir!” and they fled like they were running from a sea serpent.
The captain pointed to another soldier. “You there! If you can stand and laugh, you can stand and keep watch.”
“Sir, yes sir.”
What was the captain doing? Lightning Bug thought to herself. At least let her finish her shift, don’t let her get off easy! If he gave her any more special treatment, then the other soldiers will just hate her more. If the stink eye the pegasus who came to relieve her post was anything to go by, that was already true.
Lightning sighed and walked away. Maybe she should find a place to nap, after all.
“Scout?” the captain called over before she could leave.
“Yes sir?”
“On me, if you’d please.”
“Yes, captain.”

Maelstrom might have been the bravest, strongest pony Lightning had ever met. He was only a little older than her own father. He wore special armor that fit over his wings, a privilege reserved for captains, but he lacked his helmet today. She followed him as they walked the perimeter of the awful rocky bay they had been assigned.
She still didn’t know why he bothered with somebody like her.
“I know they can be harsh, but you really shouldn’t fall asleep like that,” he said.
“Sorry, sir.” Lightning studied the ground as she walked. There was very little grass. The rocks were colored by moss and algae from the sea. Clan Sirocco was very hot and humid even by Meteoran standards, but being so close to the dragonlands this particular gulf was little more than a wet, slimy rock dropped in the middle of a warm sea.
“Captain?”
“Lightning, we’re on call, it’s not the same as being on duty. Please speak plainly.”
“Captain Maelstrom… they’re right about me.”
“Oh?”
“You should just demote me to recon. Send me far away. At least then I’d be out of everybody’s way.”
“And why would I do that?” the captain asked.
“I keep messing up.”
“Such as?”
“I can’t keep formation, my landing and takeoff is no good, I can barely fight, and then there’s my ‘gift’…” Lightning stopped walking and slumped down on the warm rock. “I’m a detriment to the team.”
“That’s it?” The captain tilted his head.
“Huh?”
“I should get rid of you just because of that? What makes you so special? You think you’re the only cadet to come along and make mistakes?”
“I mean..”
“Look,” and the captain pointed at the pegasus who took her place. “Fly Winder over there is responsible for losing a whole squad’s worth of camping equipment back when he was a cadet. Yet here he is, several years later, several ranks later. He’s no Imperium Honour Guard, but he’s one of the bravest, most resourceful soldiers I know.”
The captain pointed to another soldier. “He’s one of our best pilots, but he nearly sank both a boat and a skyship during his first year of service. Now when he’s not surveying the border he flies helibirds into battle.” The captain smiled at her. “And I can’t find him at the moment, but I used to be very familiar with a colt who nearly got his commanding officer drowned when he accidentally bucked him over the edge of a carrier during a combat exercise. He’s a captain now, if you can believe it.”
Lightning was in awe and didn’t say anything.
“Everyone makes mistakes Lightning, but we all get better eventually.” He stepped away, and Lightning had to follow after.
“But what if I keep messing up?” she asked. “You really think I can be anything better than a scout at the rate I’m going?”
The captain stopped to think for a moment. He shrugged. “I can’t say,” he said. “I don’t know. If I’m being honest, I don’t really want you to stay here in the border patrol.”
Finally. A candid, honest answer. It stung a little, but it was relieving in a way. “You don’t think I’m cut out for this, do you?”
“I didn’t say that,” and he kept walking. “I just don’t think it suits you. It’s holding you back.”
“Holding me back?”
“I forgot to mention all the cadets I did end up dismissing, let me tell you about them,” Maelstrom said. “This one colt, he kept making mistakes, he was worse than you. Couldn’t follow hardly a single order I gave him, so I had to send him back to Central. Now guess where he’s at?”
"Customer Service at a cloudcraft factory?”
“No. He kept with his training, and now he’s a captain of his own squad, still serving the Imperium to this day.” Maelstrom kept walking. “About five years ago I dismissed a different cadet. Guess where she’s at.”
“Northern border patrol?”
That actually got the captain to laugh, but he shook his head. “No, not quite. She actually left the army. But now she’s in charge of one of the largest food plants back in Clan Ponente.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely, Morning Breeze was her name, you can look her up yourself if you don’t believe me.” The captain came to a cliff. He motioned Lightning to his side and sat down. They both sat there for a bit, watching the sea, spying the shores of Meteoras far to the south as the breeze and the waves sang around them.
“Some captains give their ponies the boot because they don’t suit their own purposes,” the captain said. “I try to look at the bigger picture, and I’m no genius, understand. I just don’t want a pony like you cooped up here with muscleheads like me for the rest of your life. You seem like the filly who can do much better. I want you to take your experiences here and use them as a launching pad, so you can find someplace where you can spread your wings and finally soar. Maybe that’s here with the border patrol, and I’m completely wrong, or maybe the Alicorns have an even greater purpose for you somewhere out there, and this is just downtime until you find what that is. I don’t want to get rid of you, but I do want you to keep your chin up. I want you to work with me so we can make the best you there is together. Understand?”
Lightning wanted to say she understood, but she just couldn’t. “But what if you really were better off getting rid of me? What if everyone gets hurt because of me?”
And the captain did have pause, and he stopped to think. “I don’t know.”
“I thought so.”
“But! If you really don’t want that to happen, the first order of business is getting that Stormtouch of your’s under control. Follow me,” and he went to find his helmet. She followed him back to camp and waited outside his tent. He exited with the shining silver helmet under his wing. He slid it on and got ready for takeoff. “I don’t know much about Stormtouch or any magic really, but it can’t be much different from any other skill you train for. We just gotta find some ways to help you focus. That way if something does go wrong, nobody can say we didn’t try, right?”
“I guess…” She didn’t say anything else until they were both airborne and out of earshot. “Captain?” She asked. “Are you sure you’re not doing this just because I’m from Clan Mistral?”
“Lightning, I don’t care if you’re the Imperium’s daughter or the ward of the Brothers themselves. Any cadet under my wing is going to get my help whether they like it or not. You’re the only cadet on hoof, so you’re getting all the help, at least for now.” They flew higher and higher until they almost reached the clouds. “People don’t just stop making mistakes one day, Lightning. They grow. It’ll hurt sometimes, both you and others, but if you just focus on your mistakes instead of learning from them, then you really are wasting everyone’s time. The key to being a dependable pony is to learn to depend on others first. I want you to depend on me for a little bit, think you can do that for me?”
“…Yes captain. I’ll try.”

That was the night before the thunderstorm. It was the last time she was able to talk to her captain.

Maybe she really didn’t make it out of that thunderstorm. Maybe she finally found paradise, and the Badlands was just a mirage of the journey her soul made. Now she was surrounded by good food, friendly people, green grass and clear water…
But that couldn’t be true. The Valley of Life was a real place filled with real ponies, and the dragon outside was a very real threat to their way of life.
A threat that was mostly, if not completely, her fault.
Lightning Bug thought about her Brand. A Brand represents everything about a pony, their personality, their talents, their destiny, all in one symbol. Her symbol was a ricocheting lightning bolt; harmless enough, if you weren’t Meteoran. Then you’d recognize the symbol from all of the yellow signs on railroads, construction sites and power plants.
Danger.
Stay away.
Everywhere she went her Stormtouch would make everything go wrong. Maybe Polaris was right, and she really was to blame. She really only did care about herself. She liked being treated well, having friends, being safe, and she could give nothing in return. She was all take and no give. She never mastered her powers when she was younger, and now time and time again it came back to bite her, right as she got comfortable.
But she didn’t want it to stay this way! She wanted to be better, she just never knew how. She didn’t want to lose her captain, she didn’t want to lure the dragon to Harmony, so why did bad things keep happening to the people around her?
What did she have to do to make things right?
“Lightning Bug?” a voice startled her. It was Smokey. His sister clung to his side as he stepped closer. “They set out to Rat Tail's Watch.”
“Oh.” Lightning squinted to the west. She could just barely make out a few shapes working their way across the plains and up the hill, near the Star Pillar of Mercy.
“I flew back to tell you,” Snowy said. “I thought you’d want to say goodbye.”
Lightning didn’t really feel like talking to Polaris again, but she definitely knew she’d regret it if she didn’t at least see them off. She got to her hooves and slowly walked along.
“Lightning Bug?” Smokey asked.
“Yes?”
“Whatever happens, please don’t leave the valley,” he said. “At least wait for the festival to end. Please?” Lightning didn’t answer. She smiled and walked on. The foals did not follow. They went back to the grotto. At first Lightning walked, and then she ran, and then she flew.

She came upon them in mere minutes. Polaris and Slash had just started the ascent up the hill to the cave entrance. The trees and bushes where she first met Cedar Seed. Echo Shade waved to Lightning before she touched down.
“Lightning Bug!” She said. “Have you come to see us off?”
Lightning looked up at Slash and Polaris, further up the hill. Polaris had his saddlebag, and Slash had his shield. Slash smiled, but Polaris didn’t say or do anything.
“You can tag along for a little bit if you’d like!” Echo said.
“I don’t know, Echo,” Lightning said.
Echo leaned in closer. “Hon, listen. Polaris isn’t right about everything you know. Maybe you should come anyway and see what happens.”
Pause.
“That’s fine, I just came to say goodbye,” Lightning said. “I wanted to say… you’re like the big sister I never had. I’ll miss you back in Meteoras. I’m glad I met you and your family.”
“Aw, hon.” Echo hugged her. “It was a pleasure! I hope the Wanderer guides you back to the valley someday.”
“Goodbye Echo Shade.”
“Goodbye Lightning Bug.”
Slash nodded and saluted to Lightning Bug. He headed up the cliff. Polaris stood there and did nothing. Echo went up to join them. Lightning wanted to smile and wave, in spite of herself, but she just couldn’t bring herself to. She turned around and began the journey back to the grotto.
“Private, wait!” Polaris bounded down the hill, his saddlebag rocking the whole way. “There’s something I need to say.”
“You want me to come after all?”
“Well, no…”
And Lightning kept walking.
“Wait! It’s important!”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Lightning said. “You were just telling the truth.”
“But I must! Private, if we never see each other again, what I said to you back in the grotto… it simply won’t do! I refuse to let us part on such awful terms.”
Lightning kept walking.
“Quit it.”
“Quit what?”
“Acting nice. Pretending. I’m tired of it. You think I’m useless. You thought the same exact thing when we first met, and you thought it the whole trip up the mountain. I’m not mad you think so, I’m mad you didn’t just tell me.”
“Private… I’m sorry, alright?”
Lightning stopped under the shade of the Pillar of Mercy. Polaris stopped beside her.
“I won’t follow you,” Lightning said. “So don’t worry about that.”
“You might not believe me, but I am just worried about you.”
She didn’t answer.
The two stood there for a while.
“Polaris!” Slash’s voice boomed down the hill. “We’re burning daylight!”
Lightning looked back at the empty town, the lake, and the grotto. She could see the barricade from here.
“Private?” Polaris asked. “May I… confide in you about something?”
Lightning flicked her ears. She looked at him. “About what?”
“This is… it’s kind of personal. I don’t know how obvious this is, it may come as a surprise but…” Polaris screwed his eyes shut. It looked like he was about to pull a tooth. He groaned and shook his head. “I’m… I’m… I’m a very critical pony!”
Lightning blinked. “Really.”
“I am! It’s… I don’t know! I’ve always had an eye for details, and I just expect other people to see things the way I do, and when they don’t I just… I lose it! I’m impatient, I’m rude, sarcastic, the whole nine yards. It’s not the pony I want to be, but every time I talk to someone, it’s who I become and I hate it!”
He lowered his head. Lightning wanted to reach out touch his shoulder, but then she remembered her Stormtouch. Polaris cleared his throat and looked at her.
“You don’t have that problem, Private,” he said.
“I have plenty of problems.”
“But this isn’t one of them! You talk to people, you listen to them, and you… you see them for who they are! You don’t expect anything of them, you just… are, and they listen to you! You’re not just some self centered pony. You have a good heart for others is what I’m trying to say. And that’s important! I don’t think Cabalos today realizes how important it is to just… be friendly to one another, like you were to me. The unicorns certainly don’t care for it, I’ll tell you that! Imagine how greater Lustre would be if we did!
“What I mean by all this, even if you’re not cut out for being a soldier -- hay, even if you never ever learn to use your Stormtouch… you have such an incredible talent for people! And I know somewhere out there, there’s a place that you’ll fit right in, and you’ll finally be able to be the pony you want to be.”
“But it’s not out there, with you guys, facing the dragon, is it?”
“...No.”
“That’s okay. My captain told me something similar… right before the thunderstorm.”
They were quiet for a moment. Lightning realized something. Everyone who ever yelled at her never talked to her again, but Polaris came back to apologize. The captain came back to talk to her, too.
It was nice, in a way.
Polaris stood up. “I have to go,” he said. “I’ll think about your safe descent down the mountain.” He bowed lightly. “Sun and moon watch over you, Pegasus.”
Lightning paused. She smiled and saluted with her wing. “Fire and thunder at your back, Unicorn.”
It wasn’t a perfect goodbye, but it was good enough. Polaris tarried for only a moment longer before going back up the hill. He didn’t look back once. Echo waved to Lightning one last time before the three of them disappeared into the cave.

“Let’s move people, that dragon won’t wait for you all to finish!” the horse with the hoarse voice called over the crowd. He was a dirty-colored galloway with a gaunt physique and a pair of goggles. “Hurry it up! You there -- The east side needs some nails! Hey -- spare a hammer, you can’t use two at once! We need lumber on the north and west sides! And could somebody get me a glass of water?! I feel like I’m shouting over a throatful of fyreants!”
Lightning Bug could see why the foals didn’t want her to meet Spindle Sprocket. He reminded her of every rude drill sergeant and store manager she ever talked to, but worse somehow. He stood around and gave all the orders, but he hardly did anything. He wasn’t even an elder if she understood properly.
For what it was worth, work was coming along nicely. The barricade was nearly two stories tall now, completely reinforced with planks and poles of wood. All that remained was some final touches to cover the cracks.
Presently Lightning was stationed near a naked section of the wall where she had to nail all of the planks into place. She had a small bucket of nails, a few planks, and another pony to help.
The pony she was helping was odd.
She looked like a galloway. She had a light blue coat, and big blue eyes, but she was very skinny and nondescript. Her tail was kind of thin, her mane was simple and plain, and she didn’t seem to have any fetlocks.
Her Brand was a series of colored… balls? Bubbles? She couldn’t make it out.
And she talked kind of funny.
“This is my favorite way of doing it,” she told Lightning.
“Okay.” Lightning checked around. “Where’s the hammer?”
“Watch,” the pony took a board and perfectly lined it up with one of the empty spots in the wall. She carefully picked up two nails with her mouth, and she gingerly set them on the corners of the wood. She lightly tapped them with her hooves to settle them. She did the same for the bottom. She set up four planks the exact same way, and she never finished nailing any of them into place.
“Uh…”
“Watch!” The pony said after she finished with the last plank. “This is my favorite way of doing it.”
“Okay, I’m watching.”
The pony got closer to the first plank. She set her hooves, shook out her legs, took a deep breath… and bashed the board with her skull. The wall shook. The top nails went in slightly. She bashed it again, and now the nails were completely hammered into place. One board was knocked loose and clattered to the ground.
The pony did this for every. Single. Board. After she picked up the ones that fell down, lined them with nails, and proceeded to bash them the same way.
She didn’t seem any worse for wear when she finished.
“Now you try!”
“Um… I’m going to go find some more planks.”
“Okay then! I’ll just stay and do this. This is my favorite way of doing it.”
Lightning didn’t mean to peal out of there, but she did. It just occurred to her that the pony’s Brand was a series of marbles. Scattered, lost marbles.
Polaris was right, the ponies of Harmony could get pretty odd.
She hoped he was okay.

“Oh, that’s okay, we can take it from here,” the stallion said.
“Are you sure?” Lightning Bug asked.
“Absolutely, just head inside and rest,” a mare chimed in. Lightning smiled and walked away, but the truth was she didn’t feel like smiling. She didn’t feel terrible just… she wanted to keep busy, but nobody had any work to spare for her.
Except for the marble pony from earlier, but…
“Was Bright Eyes a bit much to handle?” a voice asked. Tall Tail walked up to her as he carried a box with his magic.
“She was fine, just, uh…”
“Yes, Bright Eyes is a tad strange even by Harmony standards, but she’s really clever once she finds her focus. How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Lightning hung her head. “Everyone’s too busy to let me help.”
“Hm.” Tall Tail looked back at the pillar of hope behind them. “I was on my way to finish decorating the pillar. You’re welcome to come along and help if you’d like. Maybe a walk and a short chore will take your mind off things.” Tall Tail trotted off. Lightning hesitated, but she found herself trailing after. “In all the excitement the candles never made it on the pillar,” Tall Tail said. “I figured even if the festival gets delayed or put off, we can at least light one of our pillars at night.”
Lightning nodded as she followed him. It was hard to remember the terrain from when she flew over to the pillar yesterday. The path to the pillar was a long, winding road up the hill, dotted with trees and bushes that swayed in the breeze. The elevation was high at this point. It was hard to tell from a distance, but the Pillar of Hope really did tower above the others, if only because it was perched so high. It’s back was nearly covered by trees and cliffs. She craned her neck to see the top of the pillar. She could see the bright yellow ribbons, but she couldn’t quite make out the crest from where she stood.
Tall Tail wasn’t a senior, but he was getting on in years. It was a slow climb.
“I suppose it’s just as well that we took shelter here,” Tall Tail said. “With Hope watching over us. We could use some of that right now.”
“You mean the pillar?”
“I mean the virtues these pillars represent! The first settlers marked these with the six virtues of harmony. They’re the foundation of our society. Didn’t Echo or the foals say anything as you worked yesterday?”
Did he know about Echo Shade? “Not really,” Lightning said. She swallowed.
“She was so on top of it when she was telling it to the foals… I figured she’d bring it up at least once,” Tall Tail snorted to himself. “Well… I am a Lorekeeper you know. If you’d like, I can tell you all about them. We’ve got time.”
They did have time. The hill was steep and Tall Tail moved slowly to concentrate on his box of candles.
“Sure, I’d like that.”
Tall Tail peaked over his shoulder and looked in the direction of Rat Tail's Watch, by the Pillar of Mercy. Lightning’s heart froze. Echo was long gone, he couldn’t tell from here, could he?
“I suppose I ought to start with the first Pillar you likely saw. Over there is the Pillar of Mercy. We like to think it looks like a flower. Mercy represents… hm.”
“Forgiveness?”
“Yes and no… it’s more like acceptance. Mercy is about grace and humility towards others. Don’t take more than what you need, accept beliefs that you don’t share, that sort of thing.”
“That’s kind of complicated for something called Mercy.”
“It is, but it’s important. They all are.” Tall Tail worked himself up a ledge. “I assume you’re familiar with the dark forest?”
Lightning shuddered. “Why would anyone put a Star Pillar in that place?”
“We don’t know. What we do know is the importance of Prudence. Do you remember the crest?”
“The creepy eye?”
“...It is a little creepy, but I like to think of it as unwavering, and vigilant. Prudence means patience. It means waiting and listening to those around you.” Tall Tail raised his hoof and pointed to the craggy cliffs. “The Fortress represents Conviction. See how it’s an arrow always pointing up? It means never giving up. It means fighting the good fight, it means keeping your promises.
“And over by the town we have the Anchor, the one Echo showed you. The Anchor represents Faith.”
“Faith in what?”
“Friends, family, the ones you love. Faith is about trust, and when you trust somebody, you believe them, and the things they say, even when you can’t see them.”
They finally came up to level footing, and the star pillar was right ahead. Tall Tail handed Lightning the small wooden shelves for the candles, and she went to work clipping them unto the pillar. When she was done, Tall Tail began carefully placing each candle on to a shelf and melting them into place.
“On the far, far side of the valley near the springs,” he said. “The Star represents Dignity. Unlike Mercy, which is about deferring to others, Dignity is about staying steadfast, and refusing to compromise.”
“Compromise what?”
“Your values, your conscience, what you believe to be right and true.”
“Aren’t Dignity and Conviction the same?”
“Oh, they’re very similar, but they’re distinct! Conviction is about how you see yourself, Dignity is about how you appear to others. Conviction is about promises, Dignity is about honor. You wouldn’t steal from somebody or destroy something in the name of good, would you? Dignity recognizes that there’s always a choice, and we should choose to remain blameless and accountable. And then, finally, there’s Hope, the most important.”
Lightning took a step back and looked up at the final pillar. “What is Hope?”
“Hm?”
“What does Hope represent?”
Tall Tail laughed. “Why, Hope is hope! Believe in good, worry not about tomorrow, hope for a better future. See the six wings? Hope is the most important virtue, because every virtue needs a little hope in order to work. It’s not dissimilar to Faith, but it’s so much wider and fuller.” Tall Tail pressed the last candle into place. He stepped back and shook his head. “If every pony committed at least one of these to heart, the world would be a much better place, that’s what Sir Rat Tail believed.” Tall Tail sighed. “That’s why I want to keep the Lorekeeper tradition alive, to make sure every foal understands how important these are. But Echo Shade… she’s been surrounded by this her entire life. Maybe she’s too used to them, and doesn’t understand anymore. Or maybe I worry too much about her…” Tall Tail’s gaze went back to Rat Tail’s Watch. “She went with the others, didn’t she?”
Lightning bowed her head. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
The old stallion sighed and shook his head. “Slash won’t let anything happen to her. She’ll be fine. They always have each others’ back. It’s been that way since they were foals.”
“I should’ve gone with them,” Lightning said. “But I… I’m just so scared of ruining everything. Everytime I think my life is turning around, things just get worse.”
Tall Tail set a hoof on her shoulder. Her coat did not surge with energy. “It’s okay to be scared. Fearing your own mistakes is normal. I’m the same way.”
“You? No. You have to be some kind of paragon!”
“But I’m not. I know these virtues by heart, but I act against them all the time. I fear my training won’t be enough to make Echo a wise Lorekeeper, I fear the council won’t listen to me… and I fear many of these problems are my own fault. But that’s why Hope is so important. There is good in the world, and there are better things to come, and sometimes they’ll come no matter how badly we do. If we let one little mistake drag us down, then we’re betraying the virtue of Hope, that things can get better, if not in our own time, then eventually. All we have to do is believe and do better.”
“Then I’ve betrayed Hope since the day I got my Brand,” Lightning said. “I hope things get better before the valley gets wiped out by the dragon I led here.”
Tall Tail was silent.
Lightning waited a moment before flapping her wings and gliding down the hill. She didn’t know where she was going. She thought about her parents again. Were they still waiting for her? Have they heard what happened? Was there anything she could have done differently? She stopped for a drink from the river. She found a level spot where she could kneel down and drink. She studied the familiar face in the water’s reflection.
The face of a pony who kept trying and trying and trying, no matter how badly she screwed things up.
She tried singing.

Who are we? Who are we if we can't laugh the rain away?
Who am I? Who am I if I can't wait another day?
I'll grab the packing tape… I'll send my fears away
I’ll mail them to a friend called hope...

She sighed and lowered her head to drink again.
Lightning Bug heard music. She perked her ears. She heard hoofsteps. That song was the same song she heard outside with Polaris. That figure by the rocks…
But when she looked up and over her shoulder, nobody was there. She sighed. When Lightning looked back into the river, she was met with two reflections. One was a tired, yellow pegasus, the other was a red-maned pony with deep green eyes.
She yelped and stood up. This galloway filly had snuck up on her and just stood there. Her coat was almost like her own, but a bit darker. She had a brown bag slung over her shoulder, and she had a flower stuck in her ear.
“Um… Hi! I didn’t see you there.”
The filly blinked slowly at her, one eye at a time, like a frog.
“Wait a second… I recognize you! You’re the tea pony! You gave me some iced tea back in town square.”
The filly just blinked at her again.
“Are you heading for the grotto?”
The filly shook her head.
“Oh. What are you doing then?”
For a second she wasn’t sure the filly heard her. The filly slowly undid the latch on her bag. It was full of flowers, bright plants, and herbs.
“Medicine,” her voice was soft and sharp.
“Oh, I see! That’ll be important if… uh…” The filly regarded her for a moment. She walked away. “Wait! Do you need any help?”
“No,” the filly said.
“Oh. …Do you mind if I follow you for a bit?”
“...No.”
“Yay! I’ll just watch you work. I won’t get in the way, I promise.”
“Whatever.”
“Everyone I know just calls me Lightning Bug. What’s your name?” Lightning held out her hoof. The filly looked at the hoof. She reached out, shook it once, and kept walking.
“Apple Bloom.”
“Oh. My. Gosh. That’s such a pretty name! Pleased to meet you!”
“...Yeah.”

Lightning Bug followed Apple Bloom over a bridge, past the Town Square, and up to the lake, on the side opposite of the grotto and star pillar. It was a rather long walk, all things considered, but she figured she could fly back to the grotto in no time at all. The entire time, Apple Bloom would abruptly stop and paw at the grass and flowers. As far as Lightning could tell, it all looked the same, but Apple Bloom always found some special plant or flower and stashed it into her bag.
“Are you a herbalist?”
“...Yeah.”
“Neat!”
And they walked for another ten minutes without talking. Apple Bloom was quiet, very quiet. Polaris didn’t talk much, but when he did, he had a lot to say. Apple Bloom didn’t have anything to say at all, it seemed.
“I’m not really supposed to be here,” Lightning said. “I came in here with Polaris, and then we were going to stay for the festival, but then the dragon started yelling outside, and everyone else ran off and I had to stay behind and… I’m rambling. Sorry.”
Apple Bloom didn’t say anything.
“I wanted to go with Polaris and Slash, but… Polaris told me no. He said I was a liability, that I would just get myself hurt. I know he’s right, in a way, but still…”
Apple Bloom was still quiet.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, where are you from?”
Apple Bloom didn’t answer. Maybe she didn’t hear her.
“Sorry if I’m talking too much.”
They came up to a steep cliff covered in vines.
“You’re not,” Apple Bloom said.
“Oh, okay. Good. Polaris said I talked too much. And maybe I am! So if you want me to stop talking, just say so.”
Apple Bloom didn’t say so. She just pawed at the vines. She must have been searching for something. “Can I help?” Lightning asked.
Apple Bloom looked up and frowned. Lightning followed her gaze. A small bundle of flowers had sprung about fifteen feet above them. The cliff was basically ninety degrees up. If Apple Bloom could climb that, it’d be long and difficult. “Actually… you can.” Apple Bloom pointed.
“You want me to get those flowers? How many?”
“All of them.”
“Oh, okay.”
Lightning flew up to the spot. She was about to bite the clump of flowers free, but she decided she’d have to remove them carefully, so she maneuvered her hooves to try and wrestle them free from the vines. It only took her a few seconds. “I got them!” she called down. “I got--”
Zap.
No thunderclouds, no lightning from above, just a surge of Stormtouch from her coat.
A smell tickled her nose. It smelled like the kitchen of a ma and pa restaurant back in Mistral. Her Stormtouch had fried the flowers. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” Lightning fluttered down and cradled the crunchy flowers in her hooves. “I didn’t mean to! My Stormtouch, I shoulda told you about my Stormtouch! I… I’m sorry, Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom just blinked at her, slowly. She peaked at the burnt flowers. She sniffed them a few times, and then gingerly lifted them from Lightning’s grip with her teeth. She stashed them in her bag.
“It’s fine,” she said.
“Really?” Lightning had to wipe a tear from her eye.
“I was going to burn them anyway.”
“...Wait, really?”
“You ever cook with garlic?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Uh…”
“If you add it to the soup too early, you’ll diffuse its flavor. You have to fry them first to trap the aroma before you add it to a batch. Same with these flowers. I’d have to hurry back and burn them before they spoiled. This saves me a step. Don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, okay.” She felt a lot better. Apple Bloom didn’t say anything more. She just walked back to the grotto, so Lightning followed her. People are only nice to me after I get hurt or do something stupid, she thought. But she actually did help Apple Bloom, by accident but still. Maybe she really could help after all. But…
“Apple Bloom? If you’re really bad at something, but you want to try and be better, what do you do if somebody tells you not to bother? Is it your fault for being bad, or is it their fault for not trusting you?”
She wasn’t sure Apple Bloom heard any of that. It was maybe a whole minute of walking before she said anything. “It depends, I guess,” she said. “How bad are you?”
“I’m… not very good.”
“At what?”
“Anything really. My Stormtouch, soldiering, flying, anything.”
“Then why’d you want to go with Polaris if you’re bad at everything?”
“Because…. Isn’t it my responsibility? The ponies of Harmony have been so nice to me, and that dragon’s only here because it followed me from the border in the first place. If the dragon does come into the valley and burns everything, wouldn’t that be my fault?”
Apple Bloom was quiet for a bit. They passed by some ponies who were gathering wood for the barricade. “I wouldn’t think so.”
“Really?”
“Bad stuff happens all the time. Sometimes people start things they can’t finish, and that’s fine. Nobody should hold it against you.”
“But Polaris said...”
“That you’re useless? A liability? Too self-centered? Personally I wouldn’t believe anything a guy like that says.”
“Wait… you heard all that earlier?”
“...Yeah.” Apple Bloom stopped. “Actually, I already knew about your Stormtouch. And I knew you’re an Outsider. I was here for the lightning strike, and I was here when Slash and the other soldiers were brought over. I was the one treating them.”
“...Oh. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Apple Bloom was quiet for a moment. “People think just because I don’t say anything it means I don’t listen. But I listen to everything. I just… don’t like drawing attention to myself.”
“Why not?”
Apple Bloom didn’t answer that one. They were nearly up to the barricade when a voice greeted them.
“Oh, Miss Apple Bloom!” Apple Bloom froze in her tracks. Her eyes went wide. She looked this way and that, trying to find the source of the voice. A mare ran up to them. It was Felucia, the mare from the bog. She looked at Lightning and smiled before turning back to Apple Bloom. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”
Apple Bloom took a step back. “What do you want.”
“I want to thank you for the little treat you gave my son! He loves it, he’s sharing it with his friends, its doing wonders for his mood.”
“What are you talking about.”
“The candied nuts you slipped into our bag when we weren’t looking yesterday! I bet you’d have a lot more business if everyone knew what a sweetheart you were.”
“Oh, that.” Apple Bloom studied the ground. “I was overstocked. I was just getting rid of it. Nothing sweet about it.”
Felucia reached out and hugged her, and she visibly flinched. “Well, whatever the reason, I appreciate it, and I appreciate you! Stay safe out there, when this all blows over I’ll find some way to make it up to you.”
“Don’t hurt yourself.”
“I just might! More business for your shop!” and she snickered. “Just a joke, of course. I’ll catch you later. Bye Bloom, bye Miss Lightning!” and she cantered off.
Lightning peaked over at Apple Bloom’s face. Surely, slowly, a smile tugged at her lips. She noticed Lightning staring at her, and her expression disappeared. “That is why I don’t like drawing attention to myself. …What are you looking at.”
“Nothing! Sorry, heh.”
“Mn,” and Apple Bloom kept walking to the grotto, Lightning followed still.
She finally noticed Apple Bloom’s brand. A hard glass jar, with a beautiful flower growing inside.

Apple Bloom shouldered her way through the crowded grotto until she found a corner covered in tarps and bags. She opened a bundle and produced a mortar and pestle. She took some of the flowers Lightning picked for her, a dash of something from her bag, and she opened a jar of paste and dropped them all into the mortar and started grinding away. In only a few minutes, she had produced a thin solution that she poured into a small container. She did the same thing two more times.
“You’re really good at this.”
She made one more concoction, this time she poured it into a much larger jar. Every finished solution went into her bag, and she emptied the herbs and flowers she didn’t use into their own little paper bags that she stashed away.
Apple Bloom looked at Lightning Bug. “Time to go.” And she stepped out of the grotto.
“Go? Go where?”
Apple Bloom frowned. “That moron Slashbuckler flew off before I could get the medicine for his wing ready. Now I gotta go and find him before he gets himself hurt.”
“You don’t mean… you’re leaving the valley?”
“Yeah.”
“But it’s dangerous out there! What about the dragon?”
“What about it? I have a job to do.” Apple Bloom’s expression didn’t soften, but the frown left her face. “…You can come with if it makes you feel any better.”
“Oh… that’s not a good idea,” Lightning said. “I’ll probably--”
“Just screw everything up? I don’t think we can get much more screwed up than a snooty unicorn, a bratty showgirl, and a pegasus who can barely fly waltzing along on their way to get smoked by a dragon.”
Still Lightning didn’t move. Apple Bloom didn’t wait. She just shrugged and kept walking. Lightning caught up to her just as she passed the barricade. “Do you need help?” she asked.
“Eh…”
“I can help! I’m a soldier! I can escort you to the dragon, make sure no monsters or beasts get in your way. You’ll deliver the medicine to Slash, and then… then we’ll just see what happens.”
“Your call.”
Lightning took one last look over the barricade. The ponies were scared, they were anxious… but they stuck together. They worked together. They were patient with each other, and they were patient with her.
She would not let anything happen to them. Lightning Bug took out her radio. She was still met with static noise, but nonetheless, she opened the line and spoke. "Captain? If anyone can hear me, I just wanted to say it's been an honor flying with you. Brothers protect you all."
She spied Tall Tail speaking with Smokey and Snowy. The foals didn’t seem to notice, but Tall Tail caught one last glimpse of her before she and Apple Bloom disappeared over the bend.

The caves were just as dim and clammy as Polaris remembered them. He hung in the back with Slashbuckler as Echo Shade led the way with her horn lit up. “It took me and the Private nearly an hour to navigate these.”
“Just stick with us, we know these things like the back of our hooves,” Slash said.
Echo said nothing. She was pretty grim the entire way over, and she only lightened up to talk to Lightning Bug. Now she hardly said a word.
Polaris fought to keep his breathing even. His heart pounded in his chest. He could hear something moving about outside. It could be the dragon, or something else. He cleared his throat. Maybe some small-talk would put his nerves at ease.
“So, er. Miss Echo Shade?”
“Yes?” she didn’t turn to face him.
“I knew you and your papa -- Master! Um, I knew you two were close but it never occurred to me that you two were related.”
Echo cast a look over her shoulder. She looked back and shrugged. “We’re not. I’m adopted.”
“You are?”
“We all are. Me, Smokey, and Snowy. If another foal wanders into the valley in the next five years or so, he’ll likely adopt them too.”
“Oh, I see. Color me fooled, I mistook you for relatives. Not that it makes that much of a difference! Or not that two unrelated ponies can’t be relatives, or… um…”
She didn’t look back at him, but something about Echo’s presence as she walked ahead reminded Polaris of when she threatened to smack him back in Northtown. In the end, Echo just shrugged and kept walking.
Slash nudged Polaris’ shoulder, which he ignored. He nearly tripped over a rock. Slash nudged him again. “What is it…?” he whispered.
“You really shouldn’t bother her like that,” Slash said.
“I wasn’t trying to bother her! I was just…”
“It’s not something she likes talking about, so if I were you I’d just drop it.”
“Alright, alright! Sorry, I didn’t mean to make your special friend upset.”
That got Slash confused. “Special friend?” He looked down at the shield strapped to his leg. “I was talking about Echo.” Polaris must have been giving him a look. “What?”
“Nothing. Forget I said anything.”

Soon it became light enough that Echo didn’t need to use her horn. The three ponies stepped out into open daylight, and for the first time in a day and a half, Polaris stepped into the dry, dusty ground of the badlands. He did not recognize the area they were in, he couldn’t spy the canyon he and Lightning had been chased into before. He peeked back at the entrance of the cave.
“That was hardly fifteen minutes!”
“You and Lightning must have found another entrance and taken the long way around. Most entrances to the valley are pretty short,” Echo said.
“It helps if you’ve used them before,” Slash said. “Now then, where’s the--”
And then they finally heard the scratching, raking noises from the previous day. It was much clearer, and louder. The dragon couldn’t be far from here.
“It’s certainly making no attempt to hide itself this time,” Polaris said.
“Alright!” And Slash slammed his hooves together. “Let’s go slay a dragon!”
“You’re going to rush in there without a plan?”
“Wait a second,” Echo shook her head. “You told Lightning off and you didn’t even have a plan ready?”
Polaris gulped. “Er…”
“I got a plan for you right here,” Slash said. “You unicorns distract it with your magic-stuff, and then I’ll shove it down the mountain. Easy peasy.”
Polaris raised his hoof, and then put it down. “Actually that’s more thought than I was expecting out of you. But what makes you think you can handle a dragon this size?”
“Please, I’ve dealt with monsters before,” Slash swept back his mane and bashed his shield with his hoof.
“But not a dragon.”
“No, but I have faced a Manticore!”
“I feel like that doesn’t size up.”
“Like you would know, you’re a mapmaker! Have you even faced a Manticore?”
“Ah… no,” Polaris shook his head. “But I have defeated a pack of Direwolves.”
Slash shrugged and spat into the dirt. “Easy.”
“I’ve fought a torus!”
Slash’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Well… actually the Scout did most of the work there.”
“You mean she took out a Torus on her own?”
“...Yes?”
Echo and Slash looked at each other. “So… why did we have to leave her behind again?”
“Because!” Polaris stamped the earth. “The poor girl was emotionally compromised, basically out of her mind! She was in no state to assist us, and even if she was, am I to rely on her every single time there’s trouble? If the dragon recognized her, surely she would have flared its anger as you’ve said, and then she and us all would be in danger, and that would not do! This is something we must do without her. Besides…” And Polaris began the walk down the rocky trail. “What kind of unicorn would I be if I let my first real friend get eaten by a dragon?”
“What was that?” Echo asked. She and Slash followed after.
“Nothing. …I’ve been meaning to ask, Miss Echo, why did you choose to come along? If the dragon sees you, will you even be able to defend yourself?”
“Oh, probably not,” Echo said. “But somebody’s gotta look after Slash.”
The pegasus flapped his wings and overtook them.
“Verily.”
They began their climb up the steep ledges and dry bushes.

There was no more canyon once Polaris and the others finished their climb. The small entrance to the cave, the steep cliffs on either side, it was all almost completely leveled. All that remained was an entire quarry carved from the stone, filled with shattered rocks and stone. And at the edge, shuffling through the rubble with its claws, was the behemoth dragon. It’s tiny wings hung uselessly off its back, and its tail lashed about as it scratched at the cavern. The entrance was now big enough to fit its head inside.
“By the Alicorns…!” Polaris cried.
“It was nowhere near this bad when me and the guys were out here,” Slash said. “It must be working overtime. We hardly got a day left at this rate!”
“It’s uh…” Echo giggled nervously. “Bigger than I expected. And angrier.”
The dragon’s glowing red eyes shifted through the haze of dust and dirt as it dug through the rubble. Polaris’ eyes darted about the rubble. “Interesting… it may have leveled the playing field to our advantage!” Polaris made his way to a large rock and hid behind it. The others followed. “Here’s the plan…”

The ponies crept carefully about the quarry. They all found their positions, Polaris at the back, Echo furthest in, and Slash right beside her. The dragon ignored them for the most part, likely it didn’t hear them at all.
Strangely enough, Polaris was unafraid. Only excited.
Echo gave a confident smile and lit up her horn.
“On my mark!” Polaris called softly. “Three… two… one… Now!”
The plan was simple. Echo would cast some light shows to distract the dragon. Ideally, the dragon would become disorientated and be driven back from its project, and then a combination of Polaris’ and her own magic would drive it back to the badlands until they could finally find a way to take care of it. Slash had several ideas, but he agreed to wait until it was safely away from the valley.
Echo wasn’t very specific about her spell, and in hindsight Polaris wish he’d asked sooner. It would have made him more prepared.
First a light show, like a series of firecrackers. They made just about the same amount of noise too. That got the dragon’s attention. It’s red eyes flashed about the quarry, and its silver fangs glistened in the sun.
Echo hid behind a rock, Slash by her side, and then she cast another spell.
A big, pink blob of magic, like a balloon. It grew in size until it dwarved its caster. Polaris expected it to stop, but it just kept growing, until it was nearly the size of the dragon itself. The dragon dropped to its claws and studied the strange phenomena.
The blog gained shape. Legs, eyes, a tail.
Echo had constructed a spectral bunny-rabbit, just like she did the night of the bonfire, only much much larger. With slow, colossal movements, it twitched about, cleaned it’s ears, and wiggled its nose.
The dragon was absolutely flabbergasted. It backpedaled further into the quarry, its eyes contemplative and anxious.
The bunny took a step forward, and the dragon took a step back. Another step forward. The dragon roared and swiped with its claws. The bunny leapt back. The dragon cautiously drew nearer, it’s giant claws tapping the stony earth with each step.
Echo and Slash crept about the rock to stay out of sight as the projection led the dragon away. Polaris had to peal to one side of the quarry and discreetly made his way to the others.
“How. Are. You. Doing that??” he whispered.
“Please! I’m trying to focus.” Echo had her tongue out as she concentrated.
“Not one unicorn has ever accomplished an illusion spell of that size, but you’re doing it like it’s nothing! How did you manage?”
She glanced at him and shrugged. “It’s the same spell as before. I just used more magic.”
“You did not!”
“Isn’t that what every unicorn does?”
Polaris felt fear in that moment.

The dragon alternated between backing away, and viciously lashing out at its spectral tormentor, but Echo skillfully kept it just out of reach. The dragon was too disturbed to lunge at it with its full force, but it grew impatient of swiping empty air every time it had a clean shot. Its swipes became more frequent, and Echo had to move the projection faster, which only agitated it more.
“We should run for it,” she said. “Get the decoy far away as possible. I think it’ll chase it. We can figure out what to do from there.”
“How will you manage to stay out of sight?”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but that dragon’s not being very perceptive right now.”
A howl from the dragon caught them off guard. It finally stood upright in its full height, and it lunged at the decoy with both claws. Echo drew the decoy back, and its claws missed and struck the earth. It snarled and tried again.
“No more time to wait!” Echo said. She took off, and Slash followed her. True enough, the decoy took all of the dragon’s attention. It made no notice of Echo’s glowing horn as she and Slash ran through the trees and bushes beside the mountain path the decoy led it down. It kept swiping and biting at the decoy.
Polaris hung back and never took his eyes off the other two ponies. This just might work, he thought. And then he noticed the beads of sweat dripping off Echo’s chin, and the dark wet splotches in her white scarf. She was getting exhausted. She and Slash had to stop and hide behind a rock so she could catch her breath.
The decoy stood in place, and the dragon prowled towards it, tail swishing as it licked its silver teeth. Its tail came dangerously close to brushing the rock Slash and Echo hid behind. It reached up one clawed hand and drove it into the ground beside the decoy. The tremor made Echo lose her balance and yelp.
The dragon whipped its head at the noise. It started sniffing.
Polaris made eye contact with Slash. They nodded at each other. Polaris dove for some cover and used his magic to send some rocks rolling down the cliff. The dragon turned its head again.
“Slash, now!”
Slash dove into the decoy, like one might dive behind the curtain. He flew up and readied his shield, and the decoy lifted its little paw and raised it at the dragon. Slash dove with his shield, and the spectral bunny swung its fist.
Slash’s shield made contact behind the dragon’s ear. It cried out in pain. Slash flew past the dragon and landed by Polaris.
The dragon shook its head and howled.
The decoy opened its mouth. Burning lights and sounds like firecrackers spewed from its maw, and the dragon squeezed its eyes shut and clambered backwards. Polaris found a sizeable chunk of rock, and with all his might he lifted it into the air, and held it behind the distracted dragon.
The dragon gasped and spat, and it cracked one eye open. The decoy blinded it again, and it raised its head and howled. Slash flew up and slammed it one more time with his shield. He flew away. Echo’s decoy dissipated.
Polaris brought the rock down and smashed it behind the head. The rock broke and sent trails of dust and pebbles falling to the ground. The dragon crumpled. Its head slammed into the ground, and its body rolled down the hill. Trees were uprooted and rocks were sent tumbling to the wastes below. It sounded like a thunderstorm. Echo, Slash, and Polaris ran together and held on to each other until the rumbling and noise ceased.
“Wait a second… was that it?” Slash whispered. They peaked over the hill. The dragon’s orange body lay there in a heap. Its tail didn’t move. They couldn’t even hear it breath.
“Only one way to know for sure…” And Polaris carefully crept down the hill. It must have taken five whole minutes. The three drew as close as they dared.
Still. The dragon was absolutely still.
“Is it over?” Echo asked. “Did we do it?”
Slash eyed the dragon’s still body. No sign of movement, no breath from its nostrils.
“I think we did it…” Slash smiled and laughed. “We did it! We beat a dragon!” He ran over to Polaris and punched him in the shoulder, which nearly toppled him. Polaris adjusted his glasses, but he smiled. “Hey, great suggestion on bashing its left ear. Where’d you get that from?”
“I read about it an old adventure novel when I was a colt. Imagine it coming in handy now!”
The sun was blotted out by a shadow. The dragon’s tail rose into the air, right above Echo. Her eyes went wide and she froze. The tail cracked down like a whip. Slash’s shield deflected it, but he and Echo were sent flying. Slash hit the ground and rolled into a tree. He shouted and held his wing.
“I knew it, you did hurt your wing!” Echo cried.
“It’s hurt now, anyway!”
A foot shot forward, and the dragon slowly rose up. Echo conjured her decoy again. Polaris’ horn lit up as he ran to the other two. The dragon sluggishly focused on the decoy. It snorted. It dug its claws into the ground and swished its tail.
It took a deep breath.
The dragon bellowed a burst of fire larger than its own body. Polaris put down a magical barrier, and Slash held out his shield as waves of hot air blew over them. The fire blasted the decoy and it wisped away like a cloud. The fire raged long after the magic puppet dispersed. The dragon pulled its head back and blasted fire into the air. Dust and smoke billowed about it as the pillar of fire shot into the sky.
The dragon howled until the fire came no more. It lowered its head and gasped for air, over and over, its shoulders heaving. Polaris and the others carefully drew back.
The dragon sniffed.
And then its red eyes lit up the smoke. Their red glow settled on the three ponies. The ponies drew back, slowly, carefully. The dragon turned around and raked the ground with its claws. The dragon’s mouth lit up with heat once more.
“Run, run!!” Polaris cried.
And fire blasted the ground and the trees, and everything burned.

“I didn’t know this led out of the valley,” Lightning Bug said. Apple Bloom and her climbed the hills beside the Pillar of Hope until they came across another cave entrance. Lanterns and small jugs of oil sat beside the entrance on little hooks in the wall. Apple Bloom took one lantern free and got to work lighting it.
“There’s four,” she said. “Or three, I lose track. Rat Tail’s Watch is just one of them.”
“I see…”
Apple Bloom took the lit lantern and strapped it to her bag. She stepped into the caves, and Lightning followed. The cave walls were stacked by crates of supplies. It was dark and musty, just like she remembered, but Bloom’s lantern was strong enough to light their entire vicinity. Their hoofsteps echoed as they stepped along the stone floor. “Why exactly do you need to go so bad?” she asked.
“Hm?”
“I thought the plan was for you to leave once the dragon was taken care of. Why not just wait it out? I really doubt Polaris cares either way.”
Lightning stopped and thought about it for a moment. “Maybe he doesn’t,” she said. “But I want to go and help. He’s my friend.”
Apple Bloom scoffed. “I thought we just established that he was a jerk.”
“Well, he was. But if he can be patient with me for being an emotional klutz, I can forgive him for being a jerk.” Apple Bloom regarded her carefully. “What?”
“I’m just hoping you don’t got friendship mistaken for something else. …Like stockholm.”
“Greetings, ladies!” Somebody had come up behind them. “I’m not intruding, am I?”
For the first time Lightning heard Apple Bloom scream. She reared back and bucked behind her, and some hapless galloway stallion was sent flying into a crate. He sat there, groaning and holding his head.
“Who the heck’re you??” Apple Bloom cried.
The stallion groaned and tried to sit up. “I’m… meeedo… medo…”
“Meadow Skip?” Lightning walked over the stallion. Green mane, white coat, golden eyes, yep that was him. She helped him unto his feet.
“That’s right!” he shook his mane out and bowed. “I’m Meadow Skip! Pleased to… ah… make your acquaintance. Don’t mind me, I’ve been here the whole time.”
“You’ve followed us all the way from the grotto?” that didn’t make Apple Bloom very happy.
“What are you doing here?” Lightning asked.
“What am I? What about you?” Meadow smiled and stepped closer. Apple Bloom frowned and stepped back. “You two lovely fillies were off to brave the unknown and you weren’t even going to say goodbye?”
“It’s none of your business, Outsider!” Apple Bloom said.
“You’ve heard of him?” Lightning asked.
“The philandering flirt with a mouth bigger than Serene Dippity’s Lake? Yeah, the Outsider from Sylvain. Probably the most typical Sylvanian I’ve ever heard of. Disgusting.”
“Oh, you’ve discussed me?” Meadow arched an eyebrow and smirked.
Apple Bloom groaned and walked further into the cave. Meadow smiled and slid his mane back. “Oh, I love it when they play hard to get, don’t you?”
Lightning blinked. “Uh…”
“Don’t go, at least tell me your name!” Meadow Skip ran ahead, and Lightning had to go in behind him.
“No.”
“Aw come on! I told you mine!”
She groaned. “Apple Bloom.”
“Beautiful! Simply beautiful! A name more Sylvanian than my own! Perfect for a pretty young filly!”
“Is that what you tell all the girls?”
“And discerning too! Nothing gets by you, does it? I have a lot to offer the discerning mare. What would you do without a master of song and tale, and worldly lore at your side?”
“Forget it.” Apple Bloom stopped, and Meadow nearly walked right into her. “I’m going home.” She slid past Meadow and started back for the entrance.
Lightning got in front of her. “But what about Polaris and Echo? And Slash’s wing! The whole point is to make sure Slash gets his medicine.”
Apple Bloom lowered her head and groaned. “This is why I don’t think out loud. People hold me to my word.” She turned around, and Meadow smiled at her. She glared at him. “You. Up front. I don’t want you anywhere near Lightning or me.”
“By all means!” And Meadow confidently took point. “Just tell me where to go, and I’ll go! Whatever the lovely fillies need. I’ll go to the ends of the earth, if you so demand! Whatever the dangers, whatever the challenges, Meadow Skip will meet them all and come back with a wonderful song of our exploits!”
Apple Bloom groaned.
“He’s not that bad,” Lightning whispered to her. “He’s just… kinda ditzy. And shallow.”
“And he’ll be the first to leave the cave,” Apple Bloom said. “If a beast just happens to be waiting outside to nab the first pony they see… that’ll be fine by me.”
Lightning tilted her head and smiled. “You know what? You’re a lot like Polaris, Apple Bloom.”
She screeched to a halt. Apple Bloom looked Lightning dead in the eye. Her green eye seemed to glow. “No. I’m. Not.”
Lightning laughed nervously. “O-Of course not! My bad…”
Apple Bloom frowned and kept walking. She didn’t say another word for the entire trek through the tunnels.
“All that being said…” Meadow turned around. “Where we going exactly?”
“We’re off to find the dragon,” Lightning said.
Meadow blinked and smiled. “The… what now? On purpose?”

Lightning Bug always told herself if she were to brave the Badlands again, it would be too soon. Instantly the dry air washed over her like a wave of hot sand. She squinted in the gray sunlight. They weren’t in the rocks and canyons where she and Polaris found the entrance to the caves, rather a dense and fairly green forest.
The stormwall still billowed in the distance. The horizon was obscured, and the sky was colored an ugly shade of gray. Still the sun beat down on them.
“Wait a second, I don’t know this place,” Lightning looked around.
“Sorry,” Apple Bloom said. “I don’t usually use the main tunnel. I’m more used to this one.”
“Not one to conform, but also a trailblazer!” Meadow said. “How interesting!”
“Here,” Apple Bloom held something out to Meadow.
“Oho?” What’s this?” He took the small bottle from Apple Bloom.
“It’s a potion for aches and pains,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s for bucking you into that box earlier.”
“How thoughtful of you! Truth be told I do have the slightest headache on the onset. I’m sure a potion couldn’t… hurt…” he had almost uncorked the bottle when a thought crossed his mind. “Say… what else does this potion do?”
“...Not sure,” Apple Bloom said.
“You’re not sure? Are there any side effects?”
“It depends on the pony. Wouldn’t hurt any worse than you already do.”
“You know what!” Meadow stashed the potion away. “I’ll just hang on to this for later. In the meantime, it shouldn’t be too hard for you too to find your scaled quarry--” Far off in the distance, they heard rumbling and rocks breaking. “Speak of the figurative devil,” Meadow said. “Best of luck to you both! It’s been a pleasure! Now if you’ll excuse me…”
Apple Bloom grabbed the strap of his lute with her teeth. It caught him by the throat and dropped him to the ground. “Not a chance. You said you’d do anything.”
“That was before…” Meadow nervously chuckled. “Before I knew you were on a date with destiny with the doggone dragon! You… you must understand that even that’s a little out of my league…”
“Nuh-uh. If you talk the talk with me, you gotta walk the walk.”
Meadow reluctantly got to his feet.
“I thought you didn’t like him,” Lightning whispered.
“I don’t. Maybe if he comes face to face with a dragon, he’ll think twice before running his mouth in front of the first filly he sees,” Apple Bloom said.

They heard the rumbling and scraping rocks the entire way. Apple Bloom lead them through the dry forest. “It sounds busy…” Meadow said. “What is it doing again?”
“It’s trying to claw its way into the valley,” Lightning said. “It wants to find me and eat me.”
“What did you do to make it want that?”
“I shot it out of the sky with a lightning bolt.”
“Oh… of course. Because that’s a thing pegasi fillies do… really?” Meadow held his head as he walked.
“You’re from the outside and you’ve never heard of Stormtouch?” Apple Bloom asked.
“When did you first hear of it?” Meadow asked back.
Apple Bloom shrugged. “Yesterday. But I’ve been living in a secret community in the middle of nowhere. What’s your excuse, oh master of lore?”
Something rustled in the bushes. The three ponies bunched together and carefully watched. A padded, clawed foot crept from the shrubbery, followed by glowing eyes and the pointed snout of a direwolf.
“Oh no…!” Lightning whispered.
“Oh great,” Apple Bloom said.
The wolf circled them as its fangs dripped with drool. “Everyone get behind me!” Lightning said. “I-I think I can take it!” Her coat surged. The direwolf flexed its claws. It padded closer and closer. Apple Bloom winced and stepped back. Lightning grit her teeth and tried to look the direwolf in the eyes, but she couldn’t. She looked away as she saw its silver teeth and red tongue draw closer. Its breath wafted over her.
“Lightning Bug!” Apple Bloom whispered.
“I’m not good with big animals…!” Lightning whimpered.
The direwolf growled softly.
And then there was music. Meadow strummed on his lute, and the direwolf closed its snout. Meadow played a gentle cheery tune and stepped away from the two fillies. The direwolf tilted its head and followed him.
“There there,” Meadow said. “You’re no villain! Just hurt and confused. A proud power of the land, driven away and deposed by a chaotic foreign power…”
The wolf growled. Meadow stopped strumming and reached out with his hoof. Gently, he petted the giant dog between the ears. It lowered its head and whined.
“We don’t like that draconic demon any more than you do,” he said. “Where might we find it, friend?”
The direwolf snorted. It peaked its head about. It dashed away. Meadow put his lute away and ran after it. “C’mon, let’s follow it!”

Lightning Bug and Apple Bloom dashed after Meadow Skip and his new friend. It lead them through trees, between rocks and over cliffs. Apple Bloom was breathing pretty hard.
“How… much… longer?” she cried.
“Just a little further!” Meadow said. “That mean ol' dragon can’t be too far now!”
A blast of heat. The three screeched to a halt as a wave of hot air swept over them. A blast of fire in the trees and rocks below. A pillar of fire rose into the sky. A howl and a roar. And amongst it all, they heard the shouting of three other ponies.
“Is that…” Meadow whispered.
“That’s the one,” Lightning said. “That’s the dragon. You can always smell one before you see it.” She scanned the terrain below. She saw three shapes struggling against the flames and running away. “Oh no, Polaris!”
Meadow held out his hoof to the Direwolf. “Many thanks, friend!” he said. The wolf opened its mouth and growled something before dashing away.
“What was that?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh… he just said if the dark unicorn below survives, he wants us to bash his nose with a rock. Payback, you know.”
“...You understood it?”
“Animal affinity! For us galloway, plants and animals speak to us, but it tends to be either or.“
“I knew that! But I didn’t think you could actually understand a beast!”
“Especially a beast! Direwolves are just overgrown nightwolves from back home after all.”
“Wait, what?”
“What?”
“What?”
“...”
“Guys!” Lightning cried. The dragon was clearly visible now, amongst the smoke and dust. They could see the three ponies running away. “We gotta go down and help them!”
She ran ahead. The others followed. “It can’t keep breathing fire forever!” Lightning said. “I think.”
“All the more reason to get them away as quickly as possible!” Meadow said.
Apple Bloom didn’t say anything. She watched she sky as she ran. Apparently, amidst the sounds of dragons and rocks breaking, nobody had spied the storm clouds brewing above them.

The dragon brought its claw down. Polaris and the others swerved to the right. The dragon brought down its other claw and they swerved to the left. They thundered down the cliffs and hills as the dragon chased after them.
“You know… gah!” Slashbuckler deftly dodged a falling rock. He held his throbbing wing as he ran. “I think I forgot the rest of the plan!”
“The plan‘s outdated!” Echo Shade screamed “We’re all out of plan!”
The dragon’s tail lashed at them. Echo screamed. Polaris and Slash stopped running. The dragon had caught Echo in the coils of it’s tail.
“What’s it want with her?” Slash cried.
“It must recognize her magic from the puppet!” Polaris said.
“Hang tight, Echo! We’ll get you down!” Slash jumped at the dragon with his shield, but it knocked him away with a flick of its claw. Polaris ran for the dragon’s leg and hit it again and again with his horn. He tried pulling its leg with his magic.
Echo found herself face-to-face with the dragon it snarled and smiled with its glistening teeth. Echo looked away and screamed, and instantly a barrage of blinding booming light sprung from her horn. The dragon gasped and squeezed its eyes shut. The tail lost its grip, and Echo fell to the ground. She lifted herself with her own magic and neatly landed on all fours.
She looked over at Polaris, who was still fruitlessly tugging at the dragon’s leg. Slash had just picked himself up. They both gawked at her once they saw she was okay.
“Quit fooling around!” Echo said. She grabbed both of them with her magic and pulled them along. It howled and resumed the chase. It chased them into a burnt forest, long destroyed before any dragon came to the mountains.
Echo set them both down and they hit the ground running. The dragon plowed through the dry trees. Rocks and pieces of bark pelted their legs as they ran.
“I think it’s time for a new plan!” Polaris shouted as he cleared a fallen log.
“Cool! We’re all ears!” Echo said.
“You two run on ahead. I’ll serve as a decoy so you can escape.”
“That’s a horrible plan!”
“Your magic stamina must be nearly depleted, and Slash is nursing a sore wing. I’ll stay behind and finish the mission!”
They had no time to protest. Polaris lit up his horn and pulled at a passing tree. It snapped forward and slammed into the dragon. It howled in anger and slashed at Polaris. He jumped and nearly tumbled over to escape. Polaris turned his head and brought down another dry tree. It smacked the dragon in the head. It didn’t even snarl this time, but its eyes glowed.
Polaris tripped over a log. He screamed and met the dusty ground face-first.
“Polaris!” Echo and Slash stopped running and turned around. Polaris slowly got to his feet. The dragon stopped running. It dug its claws into the ground and inhaled. Its mouth glowed with warmth as its head hovered above him.
Polaris swallowed. He held a hoof to his heart. “If this breath be final by the Queen’s decree… may the Magus guide me to restful sleep.” Polaris closed his eyes as the warm air wafted around him.
And then he heard a sound like a thunderclap. A streak of yellow and green, and Polaris found himself flying.
“I got you!” Lightning Bug. A voice Polaris was never more happy to hear.
“Private you maniac are you crazy?! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Saving your life?”
Apple Bloom and Meadow Skip dashed from the trees and skid to a stop before the dragon could see them. The other two ponies gawked.
“Outsider Galloway?” Slash asked in surprise.
“Apple Bloom, is that you?” Echo called. "Hurry, Slash hurt his wing!”
“I’m on it, I’m on it!”
Apple Bloom made her way through the smoke and found Echo and Slash hiding behind a fallen tree. She and Echo used their shoulders to heft Slash to his feet, and they carefully walked him away. “Don’t hurt yourself,” she said.
The dragon ceased its breath. It sniffed the air, and it spied Lightning Bug flying away. It snarled and got ready to leap into the air. And then it heard the soothing sound of Meadow Skip’s lute-playing. It craned its head and watched as Meadow crept from the burnt trees, strumming with one hoof as he stepped forward.

Woah, Nelly! Let’s go down, let’s go down…
Woah, Nelly! Let’s go down
Down to the Valley to play…

The dragon, oddly, seemed pleased by the display. It drew back its claws and lowered its head to listen as closely as possible.

Woah, Nelly! Let’s go down
Down to the Valley to play…

Meadow side-eyed Apple Bloom. She had just turned the corner behind a large rock with Slash and Echo. Lightning deposited Polaris nearby and they both went to join him.
Mission accomplished.
Meadow smacked the dragon with his lute. The sound was was musical and tragic the way only understood by those who owned and cared for instruments.
Meadow beat his hooves and ran after the others, screaming. The dragon squinted and snarled after him.
Just before Meadow could reach the others, the dragon’s tail came crashing down on him. The impact sent a cloud of dust and ash, and out tumbling from the force came Meadow’s broken lute, musically bouncing along until it slid to a stop.
The others solemnly looked back into the cloud of dust.
Apple Bloom bowed her head. “Rest in pieces.”
“I’m okay!” Meadow’s voice called back.
“Dagnabbit.”
Meadow came running out of the cloud of smoke. He grabbed the lute as he ran. “Move move MOVE before it catches wind of us again!”
“On it.” Apple Bloom grabbed another potion from her bag. She chucked it at the dragon. It hit the dragon’s nose and shattered into a million pieces. Dense smoke spewed from the broken vessel, and the dragon was disorientated. “That'll cover our scent, but we should hurry. That smokescreen won’t last much longer.”

The six kept running. Slash and Apple Bloom were in the back. Lightning flew ahead and led the way shoulder-to-shoulder with Polaris. He was losing his strength fast, and quickly lagged behind her. Lightning flew over and picked him up again.
“Private? About earlier, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t mention it,” she said with a smile.
“I really am! It was my own pride that got us in danger, not yours. I’m glad to see you again.”
They came across a trench and leapt down inside. They hid themselves beneath a fallen tree. They heard the shaking footsteps of the dragon all around them as it searched for its prey.
“Maybe we should head back after all,” Echo Shade said.
“We can’t!” Lightning said. “It might just turn back to the valley and we’ll be back where we started! We’ve got to do something while we still can.”
Polaris was busy catching his breath. Apple Bloom passed him a small jar, filled with a red liquid. “Medicinal pick-me-up,” she said. Polaris chugged it down without even asking what it was. The other two were handed one vial each, which they drank. Afterwards Apple Bloom took out the medicine she had made from the flowers and got to work on Slash’s wing. He winced as she rubbed the healing ointment into his feathers.
Polaris finished his drink and let out a gasp of red-colored vapor. “Well! For a moment there I thought our success-rate had plummeted to one-percent! But with you three here I’m sure our chances have doubled at least!”
“That’s optimistic of you,” Meadow said.
“If there’s one chance out of a hundred we can take that dragon down,” Polaris said. “I say we go for it!”
“Hoo-rah!” Slash pumped his hoof and cheered, and instantly winced at his throbbing wing.
“We must consider our strengths and weaknesses,” Polaris opened his saddlebag. “Half of us are almost spent, but the other half is fresh! I know if we put our heads together, the six of us can put that dragon down.”
“Jovan favors the wise,” Lightning said. “That’s what the captain used to say.”
Polaris set down several small objects. Amongst them were an ink quill, a folding knife, a compass, an empty cordial bottle, a small medal, a package of cards, and a spool of thread. Polaris drew a circle in the sand with his hoof and placed the empty bottle in the center. “This is our battlescape. Here’s the dragon.”
“Oh, are we picking pieces for ourselves?” Meadow asked. “I want the cards!” He reached his hoof over and Polaris instantly smacked him away.
“Pick something else.”
Lightning took the quill, and Slash took the knife. Meadow reached for the spool of thread, but Echo pulled it away with her magic without even noticing him. He sighed and reached for the small medal. “This curio will do,” he said.
“That’s a charm that serves as insect-repellant.”
“It suits me, okay!”
Apple Bloom was remiss to do anything. She poked around the trench with her hoof. Polaris tapped his hoof impatiently. “Miss Apple Gloom, we need something to represent you on the field! Please pick something or…” And Apple Bloom plucked a small mushroom from the ground and rolled it over next to the other pieces. “...That will do.”
“What exactly were you all doing before we got here?” Lightning asked.
“We were doing alright!” Slash said.
“We lasted ten minutes before the dragon started pelting us with fire,” Polaris said. “It took it a long time to notice us, Alicorns willing it stays that way. It seems too angry and desperate to focus for very long…”
“And now it’s even angrier that it’s seen me,” Lightning said. “That means we need to fall back on my original plan.”
“You are not leading that thing to the Stormwall by yourself, Private!” Polaris said. “We’ve been through this!”
“I won’t! Look,” Lightning took her quill and drew a line in the dirt. “I saw something while I was carrying you. We actually skirted these woods after we met Meadow at the fruit trees.”
“You all ate from the sacred grove?” Echo cried.
“Is that a bad thing?” Meadow asked.
If anything, Echo’s eyes were shining. “No, of course not,” she said with a giggle. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.
“If that’s so,” Polaris said. “Then we shouldn’t be too far from…” They stopped to listen, and amidst the dragon’s rumbling, they heard the wind howling. “The chasm!” he and Lightning said at the same time.
“The great trenches?!” Slash cried. “Those things are practically bottomless. If you fall in one of those, you’re never coming back out!”
“Which makes it a perfect destination for our dragon friend,” Polaris said. “All we need to do is lure it nearby and shove it over the edge! Really I’m mortified we hadn’t thought of it before… If you knew of the trenches, pegasus, why didn’t you suggest them earlier?”
Slash raised his hoof and opened his mouth, but no words came.
“So what,” Apple Bloom said. “We use Lightning as bait and hope this thing stumbles down a hole?”
“Hope is good,” Echo said. “But we got more than that. We got five other ponies to make sure the dragon goes down.”
“The rest of us should run ahead,” Polaris said. He moved the pieces about the makeshift map. “We’ll find distinct vantage points to take the dragon by surprise. Once its near the chasm, we trip it. First the unicorns with our magic, and then the Galloway with their strength. Something that big will have a hard time keeping its balance if we keep the pressure on long enough.”
“But what about Slash?” Lightning asked. “If he can’t fly as fast, what’s he going to do?”
“I think I’ll lay low until the time to strike arrives,” Slash said. “I’ll make sure nobody gets hurt,” he tapped his shield. “But when it’s time to send the dragon over the edge, just say the word and I’ll whack him upside the head.”
“Sans a few specifics to iron out, I think we’re in agreement,” Polaris said. “Any other questions or comments before we begin?”
Meadow raised his hoof. “Is this a bad time to say I actually consider myself a pacifist?”
“None? Good. Good luck everybody, Alicorns watch over us all.”

Lightning Bug hid in the trees as the other ponies found their positions. She recognized the mountain path ahead. It was the exact same road of rocks and dirt that the dragon tried chasing her and Polaris down. Today things would be different. With her new friends, the dragon would be banished from the badlands, and she’d finally won one for her teammates.
A glint from Slashbuckler’s shield told her it was time to fly.
“Yoo-hoo!” She flew up and shouted at the lumbering dragon. It’s head perked up and it snorted in surprise. “Remember me?!” It snarled and snapped its teeth. It leapt for her, and she took off. “Atta boy!” It followed her. It ran on all fours as she zipped down the mountain trail. One side of the trail finally gave away to the steep, endless chasm. She spied her friends below in the rocks. It was time.
“Now!”
Echo Shade leapt from behind a rock and flashed her horn. A magical ribbon trailed from her horn. She twirled it like a lasso and flung it for the dragon’s legs. The dragon’s red eyes went wide with surprise as it ankles stuck together. It groaned and struggled.
“I got it, guys! I got it!” Echo called. It tried to inhale, but just as Lightning expected, it’s reserves were burnt out. It couldn’t fling fire at her. She flew in place just a few lengths away and smiled at it.
The dragon stubbornly inched forward. Apple Bloom and Meadow Skip sprung from their hiding places and ran for its legs. They both turned and bucked. There were few forces in ponykind stronger than a back-kick from a Galloway.
The dragon tripped and stumbled. Echo set her hooves and pulled back. The dragon lurched backward and screamed. Slash flew up and slammed its head with his shield.
For one wonderful moment, it seemed like the dragon would fall like a toppled tree and fall into the chasm.
It did not.
The dragon dug its claws into the ground. It flicked Slash away with its tail. It flexed its legs. The ribbon loosened. Echo found herself pulled along by her own magical lasso.
“Guys, I don’t got it!!”
The galloway ran up to buck it again. The dragon’s tail met them. Apple Bloom found herself in the dragon’s coils and lifted up off the ground. She didn’t scream, she just looked annoyed.
“Apple Bloom!” Meadow called up after her. “Somebody, it’s got Apple Bloom!”
“Meadow Skip!” she called down to him. “The potion! Throw it to me!”
“Which potion?” And then Meadow realized. The one she gave to him. “Oh. Right.” He produced the small bottle, took a step back, and then flung it into the air. The bottle glinted in the sun as it spun up to Apple Bloom. She took the bottle, uncorked it… and promptly smashed it over the dragon’s head.
Most ponies don’t even know what a flashbang is, but whatever happened when the potion’s container broke came awful close. A blinding wave of heat spread like a little sun.
Meadow’s eyes went wide as he dug his hooves down for dear life.
“HOLY ---” the sound of the blast drowned him out. He was flung back into a rock. The dragon held its head and Apple Bloom was released. She met with the cliffside, and daintily made her way to the bottom, right next to Meadow, now upside down with his back resting against a rock.
“You were going to make me drink that?!” he asked.
“Hm? Oh yeah, I guess I was.”
“You guess??”
The dragon stumbled around. It shook its head. It seemed to still be stunned. Polaris came out from behind with another big rock to break over the dragon’s head. The dragon stopped in its tracks. Then Lightning saw the dragon’s eyes glance about.
“Polaris wait!”
He brought the rock down. The dragon instantly turned around and smashed the rock with its claws. Rocky bits rained down on them. Slashbuckler flew by with his shield and kept the buffet off Echo. Polaris conjured a shield while Apple Bloom and Meadow had to flee the falling rocks.
The dragon lifted its tail and brought it down. The shockwave sent Echo toppling over, and her lasso dissipated. It raised its foot and prepared to crush her.
“Oh no you don’t! Hey, focus on me!” Lightning dashed for the dragon.
The dragon lunged forward and caught her out of the air with its claws. Lightning struggled and screamed, and her coat surged with energy. The dragon winced as electrical power ran up its arm. It’s eyes twitched.
And then Lightning saw something.
The growths on its head. They lit up. Large crystals wedged between the dragon’s scales, forcing its natural armor apart, reacting with her own lightning.
Fulgurites! Gems formed by magical lightning reacting with stone, or dragon scales in this case. This behemoth dragon must have acquired these after the thunderstorm.
But how could she use this to her advantage?
A magical lasso latched the dragon’s mouth shut. It growled and shook its head about. Slash flew for its head with his shield. It merely titled its head and Slash swung at thin air. Echo pulled and pulled down below. The dragon knelt down, and then snapped its head forward. Echo was sent flying into the air. Slash flew back for another attempt, and he smacked right into his friend. They both went flailing to the ground, dangerously close to the chasm.
“No!” Lightning struggled in the dragon’s grip.
Apple Bloom and Meadow caught the two falling ponies and galloped them away to safety, only to meet the dragon’s tail as it swept the ground. It knocked all four of them into the cliffside.
Polaris screamed and ran at it with a series of rocks. He pelted the dragon’s face with stones. It shrugged these off and lifted its massive foot. Polaris let fly a few more stones before screeching to a halt and conjuring a barrier. The stones struck its hand and Lightning wiggled free. The dragon’s foot met his magic shield, and it drove both the shield and its user three inches into the ground.
“Polaris!” She flew down to the unicorn. He lay in a perfectly circular crater, horn barely staying alight, glasses broken. “Get up, come on!”
Polaris groaned and shook his head. “Run for it, Private,” he said. “We’ll do our best. Run, before it sees you again.”
Lightning set her brow. She picked Polaris up. She did not zap him once. She carried him to some cover behind some rocks and set him down.
The dragon stupidly searched its feet for any sign of the unicorn. It spied the empty crater and frowned.
“Hey, you!” Lightning stood before the chasm and shouted up at it. The dragon turned around and snarled. “One way or another, this ends today!”
Her coat surged. Her eyes lit up. She pawed the ground and flapped her wings. “This one’s for the captain!” Lightning took off at incredible speeds. She went for the dragon’s head, for the crack in its armor.
The dragon flicked her away like a fly. Lightning rolled on the dusty ground, pulled herself up, and took off again. “This one’s for my friends!”
She was beaten down again. And again. And again. And again.
“Private!” Polaris struggled from behind the rocks. “What are you doing! Stop trying to be a hero!”
“I’m not a hero,” Lightning shakily stood up. “I’m just a scout. But I’m tired of waiting for something to happen! I’m tired of settling for less! It ain’t over till my wings can’t fly no more. So I’ll keep trying and trying until something or somebody better comes along.”
The dragon howled at her.
“Yeah, you’re big and scary. But you know what?!” Lightning shouted up at it. “I don’t care anymore! I’m not afraid of you anymore! I am tired of letting you bully my friends!”
The dragon opened its maw and inhaled. Its mouth glowed.
The ponies clenched their teeth and backed away.
And then the sound of music pierced the air. It was like a flute, or a harp. It was sad, it was mellow, it was hopeful, it was triumphant. It gave the ponies the strength to stand up on last time.
The dragon screeched and held its head in pain. Its tail swung wildly. It crept closer and closer to the edge in its daze. It squinted through the pain and glared at Lightning.
It lunged for her.
“No!”
Apple Bloom and Meadow ran for the dragon. They bashed their foreheads into its shins and struggled as it pushed them back. “Meadow Skip!” Apple Bloom cried. “Plant your hooves!”
“Plant my… like this?” Meadow wasn’t sure what he or Apple Bloom did, but the ground cracked and fissured around their hooves until they were so deep into the earth that they would not budge. The dragon struggled and toppled over. “I forgot I could do that!”
“Slash! On me!” Lightning shot straight up into the sky. Slash followed her as quickly as he could.
“Why are we bailing??”
“We’re not! We’re gaining air! Let me show you how we soldiers do a Pegasus-dive-bomb!”

The dragon sat upright. A rock the size of its head knocked it in the stomach. It spat and choked. Polaris readied another stone, and Echo flung it from her ribbon like a sling. The dragon held out its claws to deflect the buffet.
And then a sound like a catapult ripped through the air. Two pegasus in complete free-fall shot for the ground before the dragon.
“Pull up, Slash!” Lightning said. “Pull up!”
They held their wings out and flew for the dragon, and their front hooves met the dragon’s face like bullets. It was knocked back towards the chasm. It nearly lost its balance. Its claws dug into the rock. It used its tail to balance itself. It spied Apple Bloom and Meadow running for it. It lunged for them.
“Oh no you don’t!” Echo shot a blinding blast of magic into its eyes. It cried out and blindly slammed its fist. The force sent Echo tumbling back, and Polaris ran to her side.
Slash came by for another dive-bomb, but the dragon risked its own balance to fling its tail at him. Again. He was hit and knocked to the ground. It heard Lightning screaming. It looked up just in time to see Lightning rushing for it, eyes glowing, energy crackling from her coat. It raised its claws and batted her away like a fly.
The world spun around her. She couldn’t tell what was up or down. Lightning heard a voice.
“Lightning Bug!” a voice was getting closer. Polaris’s voice. “Lightning Bug, I got you!”
“Polaris!” She turned her wings and tried to steer herself closer.
Polaris caught her with his magic. He swung her around. She spun like a wind turbine. A purple wheel of energy appeared around him as she spun like a stone in a sling.
Polaris flung her for the dragon. A shockwave rippled the ground and the air as Lightning shot for the dragon like an actual bolt of lightning towards the dragon’s head.
Tears streamed from her eyes as she screamed, tucked her hooves in, and lowered her head.
Impact. A wave of electrical energy swept the area. It shot skywards as the fulgurite reacted with her Stormtouch. The wave sent rocks flying. The other ponies dug their hooves in lest they be blown away. And then Lightning Bug hit the hard ground. The dragon tilted forwards, and backwards, and then it fell.
Down, down, down, into the chasm.
It was ten whole seconds before anyone heard it reach its destination. The chasm howled as a wave of wind blasted from the bottomless crevice. And then silence. Lightning did not move.
“You did it!” Polaris and the others ran up to her. “You did it, it’s gone! …Lightning?” Polaris prodded her with his horn. “Lightning Bug?”
“Oh no…” Echo held her mouth with her hoof.
Apple Bloom hurriedly searched through her bag.
The little yellow filly flinched. She curled into a ball. “Ow…. my head…”
And everyone let out a sigh of relief. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and closed her bag. Slash laughed and nudged her shoulder. “Us pegasi have pretty thick skulls, huh?!”
“I don’t care what anyone ever told you,” Echo lifted Lightning up and hugged her. “You are the luckiest filly I know.”
“I feel kinda sorry for the dragon, though,” Meadow said. “Do you think it survived that? What if it finds a way out?”
“Well,” Slash said. “It’s wings are useless and it’s a pretty long climb. I reckon it’ll be a while.”
Lightning smiled. She thought she saw something from the corner of her eye. Or somebody, in a dark cloak. Watching from afar. She looked up at Meadow, who had turned quiet and serious. He was looking somewhere far away.
“Um, guys?” Apple Bloom pointed up. The clouds were already brewing, but now they swirled into a vortex. Cyan lightning darted between the clouds. It seemed to be hovering right above where Lightning had struck the dragon. “Not to alarm anybody… but we probably don’t wanna be here when that breaks.”
The first boom of thunder blew their manes back. The wind picked up, and a tiny whirlwind appeared on the ground. It gained speed. Lightning struck the rocks and the earth. The ponies screamed and leapt back. They ran to put as much distance between them and the oncoming storm. When they didn’t move fast enough, they consolidated.
Polaris hefted Lightning up with his magic and set her on his back. Apple Bloom and Echo ran ahead, and Slash picked up Meadow and carried him the rest of the way. They all dove behind a rock just as a massive javelin of light struck the ground where Lightning once stood. The shockwave nearly toppled them, even from behind cover. The ground was cleaned as rocks and dirt were flung far away. And then silence. >
Lightning’s eyes were squeezed shut. She tried not to think about dragons or storms or pegasus soldiers getting struck and dropping like flies. Instead she saw a shining white horse with a flowing blue mane, resting upon the rocks above, smiling down at her.
When she opened her eyes she saw nothing, and yet somehow she knew everything was going to be okay.
“Look…” Meadow nudged her. “Lightning look, the stormwall!”
Lightning peaked from behind the rock.
Blue sky. A yellow sun. White fluffy clouds. A hole had been blasted in the stormwall, and everything above them was clear and beautiful, as if they were in the valley of life again.
“It’s down!” Polaris said. “We might actually be able to escape!”
The ponies left their shelter and stared at the blue sky.
And then they heard a noise.
It wasn’t music. It was a chirping, buzzing noise. And then a voice.
“Lightning Dust!” the voice said. The ponies looked at each other.
“Lightning-who?” Meadow asked.
“Lightning Dust! This is Maelstrom, respond!”
Lightning reached for her radio. A voice. A signal. Somebody was trying to talk to her!
“That thing still works after all that?” Slash asked.
“Oh… come on, don’t do this to me! Lightning Dust, say something!!”
Lightning swallowed. Her lip quivered. “C-Captain?”
First a pause. And then the radio exploded with laughter. “She’s alive! I told you I’d find her!” Lightning smiled as a tear rolled down her face. “Girl, we thought you were a goner! Everyone was worried about you! Just wait till they hear about this.”
“The others?” Lightning asked. “They’re okay? They were thinking of me?”
“We’re all were! We’re back in Clan Ponente getting debriefed. We’ve sent search parties to the border and back. They were starting to think you were monster food, and then I got your message. How did you last so long? What happened to you?”
“I… you wouldn’t believe it if I told you…” Lightning looked back at the others. Echo smiled at her and nodded. “There are ponies out here! They took me in and took care of me. I don’t think I’d be here today if it weren’t for them.”
“You’re serious? …By the brothers there really are ponies out there. Imagine that. I doubt the Minister of Defense would’ve liked to hear that. Probably a good thing we never linked up with her in the first place. But enough about all that, you just sit tight, Lightning Dust. We’ll get a lock on your location and we’ll get you home.”
Home? Lightning almost forgot about it. Clan Mistral, the beaches, the trees, her mom and dad. That was where she came from, that was where her family was, but when she thought of home…
“Captain! Sir! That… that won’t be necessary, sir!”
Silence.
“Are you kidding me?! Girl, what’s come over you!”
“Sir, I’m not sure what to say, but… but…” she shook her head. “I want you to demote me! Put me on recon duty! I want you to post me here in the badlands.”
“After all this, you don’t want to come back? Your parents are waiting for you, they’re worried sick!”
“I know they are, but… I can’t explain it. There are all kinds of ponies here, captain! Pegasi, Galloway, and Unicorns. They all live together here! It’s… it’s harmony, I don’t know what else to call it! I want to learn more about them. They have something we don’t and I need to know what it is, I can’t go home until I find out for myself. ” The captain was quiet. “I think this is where I can finally spread my wings, sir.”
“I… I… That can be valid ground for a mission…” they heard the captain mutter to himself. “But you have to understand I can’t give the okay so long as you’re in neutral territory! Do you know what the bigwigs in Lustre will say if they know we have a soldier posted over the border?”
“That won’t be an issue, sir,” Polaris stepped in.
“What? …Who is this?”
“Polaris of Cynosura, sir.”
“That’s a Lustrian name! What’s the meaning of this?”
“I represent the College of Asterim Professorate,” Polaris said. “I can attest in good faith that Lightning Dust has done nothing to defy the spirit of the ancient treaties. She has performed admirably, and gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect her fellow ponies, pegasus or not. I have my own mission out here, but so long as she keeps an eye on me, and I on her, I guarantee you the treaties will be upheld, and the Minister of Defense will have no problem with our being here.”
“...That’s a lot to take in,” the captain said. “Most of this will have to be kept under wraps… What am I supposed to tell the Lustrians?”
“Give them a message from me, Polaris of Cynosura. Telegram, Telegraph, Magigraph, however you prefer. Send them these six words. Mission impeded, coming along, promising results. That will be all they need to hear.”
“I see… you have my thanks Lustrian, seeing as you’ve helped my Scout out there. Not something I thought I’d ever say…” The captain was quiet for a moment. “You’re asking a lot of me, girl,” he said.
“I know,” Lightning said.
“I’ll have to be the one to tell your parents.”
“I know.”
The captain laughed. “Your dad said he’d hang me over the fireplace like a mountchaser if I let anything happen to you.” Lightning covered her mouth and giggled.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Just tell them that I’m on a secret mission, but I’ve found friends, and I’m doing alright, and I love them very much.”
The clouds began closing over the window to the outside.
“You’re absolutely sure?” the captain asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Alright then. Take care, kiddo. Brothers protect you.”
Lightning saluted, even though he couldn’t see her. “Brothers protect you, sir.”
“Maelstrom out.”
The clouds closed, and the signal died. Lightning studied her radio. Her last link to her old home. Echo put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled at her. Echo, Slash, and Meadow reached down and hugged her. Polaris and Apple Bloom had to get pulled over by Echo’s magic. They stood their together for a moment.
“We almost got killed by a dragon,” Apple Bloom said.
And then they all got zapped.

The trek back to the quarry didn’t feel so bad. After facing a raging, draconic behemoth, everything’s easy. None of the pegasi flew, and the pace was pretty slow, but they moved along.
“Can’t fight a dragon? Can’t hold her own?” Echo asked. “Well there’s a dragon lying at the bottom of the chasm who’d like to dispute your claim, so there! Ha!”
“What is she on about,” Apple Bloom muttered.
“She kinda snuck out without telling Tall Tail,” Lightning Bug said.
“Oh, really? Here I was thinking he was just irresponsible.”
Echo Shade hummed along, she practically skipped as they followed the trail up the mountain. “And when they come; heroes afar, strangeness for some, fate from the stars! Forged from fire, unite in song, new life restored! Voice of choir, turn right from wrong, true peace like never before…”
“That’s pretty,” Lightning Bug said. “What’s it about?”
“Rat Tail wrote the song for the Alicorns coming to Cabalos and saving us from the dragons,” Echo said. She got a glint in her eyes, and Apple Bloom groaned.
“What?” Lightning asked.
“Or…” Apple Bloom muttered.
“Or! Rat Tail wrote it for the day outsiders would come to the valley! He’s had all kinds of sayings for such an occasion. We stopped a dragon, restored peace, came together, I’d say the glove fits!”
“It’s just a coincidence, Echo,” Apple Bloom said.
“Um, hey, speaking of coincidences,” Slash said. “What was with that music from earlier?”
“Thank you!” Lightning said. “I thought I was the only one who heard that!”
“Surely a strange phenomena,” Polaris said. “Not the first I’ve heard if I’m being honest. It drove a pack of direwolves from me before I scaled the mountain. What makes the badlands conjure such sounds and why do the beasts and monsters hate it so much?”
Meadow Skip was walking ahead, not saying anything. “What does Meadow Skip think?” Echo called over.
Meadow looked over his shoulder and smiled. “I think it was Caduceus.”
Polaris blinked. “Who?”
Echo tapped her hooves and screamed. She ran up to Meadow Skip. “Caduceus the Wanderer! You’ve heard of her!”
“Again with that?” Polaris cried. “How many ponies actually believe in this seventh Alicorn hooey?” Slash and Echo gave him a look. “...What?”
“It’s not hooey,” Meadow said. “It’s lost history! In every nation you’ll find the same stories! The Alicorn who abstained from leadership, who searched the hills and trees and sea for the song! It was she who sang to the foals as her brethren built the great nations. It was she who wrote the lullaby that persists to this day! And it’s she who the ponies of Harmony accept as their guardian.”
“Even if she did exist at some point…” Polaris said. “Why would one just appear now of all times?”
“Who knows? Some say she was the first to disappear, but now she’s the first to return! Fate may be afoot, as they say,” Meadow walked along, and he and Echo chatted about myths and legends the entire walk back.
“She could have at least shown herself,” Polaris muttered. “If it really was her.”
Lightning thought back to the figure in the cloak, but she chose not to say anything.

None of them were expecting an audience when they left the tunnels. Once they passed Rat Tail’s Watch, they were met with a small crowd of ponies, gathered about the foot of the hill. Lightning spied a few of the elders. They shuffled backwards as they descended, eyes wide and ears flat.
“Um…” Lightning Bug smiled and waved. “Hi?”
“You’re not dead,” one of them said. “The dragon didn’t eat you.”
“It tried, I’ll tell you that,” Polaris said.
“So where is it now?” a pony asked. “What happened to it?”
The six looked at each other and nodded. “Taking a nap in the endless trenches!” Slashbuckler said. “It won’t be bothering anyone anymore.”
First a pause. And then applause. The ponies screamed and hugged each other. They crowded around the six and led them back to the grotto. Apple Bloom shrank back as much as she could and clung to Echo as they were shepherded away.
“They love me, they really love me!” Slash said.
“They always loved us Slash,” Echo said.
“They just have more reason to like us more,” Apple Bloom grumbled. “I need to break the sign in front of my shop again.”

Town Square as completely abandoned, and the completed barricade sat against the cliffside, barred shut. The sounds of celebrations bid the ponies inside crack the door.
“They’re alive! They made it!” someone shouted. As the six heroes and their entourage drew near, the doors flung open, and the ponies inside ran out to meet them. Apple Bloom scampered away, but the crowd swallowed her up. Cedar Seed was there, and so was every pony Lightning Bug had met during her stay, and there was Tall Tail and his two foals. Smokey was holding Snowy, her eyes were red from bawling. They lunged at Echo Shade and wrapped their arms around her and laughed and sobbed. Tall Tail took her into a warm embrace and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry for running off, master,” Echo said.
“I begged the Wanderer to protect you. My faith was not displaced. I’m proud of you all.” And she happily tucked her head beneath his chin. “You are so grounded by the way. Once the festival is over, of course.”
“Er, of course!”
“And what of the dragon?” Tall Tail asked.
“The dragon is as good as gone,” Polaris said. “It won’t threaten the valley again anytime soon.” He set his hoof on Lightning’s shoulder. “And it’s all thanks to her.”
And the valley erupted in even more cheers. Lightning shyly ducked away, but Polaris and Meadow Skip propped her up for all to see.
It didn’t feel real. They were happy to see her, she had done something right, finally! And her Stormtouch didn’t act up once.
But then something caught Lightning’s eye. She gently wiggled free and dashed up to the hill beside the grotto. She jerked to a stop and looked up at the Star Pillar.
“What happened here?” she whispered.
Tall Tail ran to meet her. Yellow ribbons, yellow candles, and now glowing yellow markings. The crest glowed brilliantly, gently, like some kind of daytime moon.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Tall Tail said. “It must have been an hour or so ago. We had barricaded ourselves inside when we saw that blast of fire in the sky, and those awful sounds from outside nearly deafened us. But then there was a flash, and when I ran to check, the Pillar of Hope was alight! No Star Pillar has done such a thing for nearly a thousand years!”
Lightning couldn’t believe it. When she closed her eyes, and canceled out the happy cheering, she could almost hear singing. She realized it then. Whatever she heard from the Star Pillar was the same song as from outside. A song shared by the six pillars, and the magical stranger who had come to their aid.
And when Lightning opened her eyes, the sky was dim enough that all Seven Spirit Stars finally lit up the sky again.

MLP ~ The Song of Seven

by ScarletSet

Harmonize - IV