//------------------------------// // Nocturne // Story: My Little Skyrim // by Pippington Britishhooves //------------------------------// Dawnfire opened his eyes groggily and groaned. He felt like he’d just slept for centuries, if such a thing was possible, and tried to stretch his legs out. For some reason, they ached slightly. He grimaced, thinking how hard he must have worked to get them into such a state. In fact, he must have worked hard, because he couldn’t remember anything except being exhausted and being rocked to sleep by the gentle motions of a carriage or something. Wait, a carriage? Why would they have a carriage in Hopesmeade? Hopesmeade......... The orange stallion sat up very quickly, the memories of the night before coming back to him like a torrent; the attack, his trek to Canterlot, the meeting with the Princess, the fire. He rolled out of the bed (barely acknowledging that it wasn’t his own) and scrambled to his hooves. Looking around desperately, he took in his surroundings. He was in a tall, narrow room supported by flagstone pillars, with beds lining the walls. Beyond the window, Dawnfire could see it was still night, with a full moon clearly visible. Hoofsteps approached from his right, causing him to spin round on the stone floor. A pale yellow mare rounded one of the pillars, a concerned look on her face. When she saw Dawnfire, her expression changed to one of relief, and she slowed her pace. “You’re finally awake then,” she observed, looking him up and down. “By the looks of it, you’ve also recovered from the sprains, bruising and concussion. That was quite a battering you took.” Dawnfire held his gaze cautiously, sizing her up. She frowned at his silence. “Are you feeling okay? Can you talk? I wasn’t able to test for mutism when you arrived, but I suppose now is as good a time as any.” These words prompted Dawnfire to speech. “W-where is my family?” The mare blinked. “Well, you’re not mute at least. As for your question, I have no idea. I’m afraid you’ll have to ask somepony else, but for now, could you please return to your bed. I need to run some more tests on you.” She raised her hoof to usher him back to the bed he came from, but he stepped back. “No,” he replied firmly. “I need to know where my family is. Where are they?” The mare gave him a look of disapproval. “I really have no idea. I understand that you feel concerned, given the circumstances under which you came here, but the best way to proceed is to co-operate.” Dawnfire didn’t move, instead staring at her with suspicious eyes. “No, you don’t understand. I don’t know you, I don’t know where I am, and I don’t know why I’m here, so I won’t do what you ask of me, and you will answer my question!” His voice rose with each word, the sudden shout at the end causing the mare to jump slightly. She looked slightly shaken by his change in demeanour and opened her mouth to reply when the sound of a door opening caught both of their attentions. Dawnfire looked left and saw the same tall white mare pacing through the doors that he had spoken to before. “I’m glad to see you awake and well after your ordeal, Dawnfire.” The Princess smiled as she spotted the orange stallion. “You arrived here in quite a bad way, and I instructed that you be put in the infirmary until you recovered. How are you feeling now?” Dawnfire considered the question for a second and struggled to formulate an answer. Finally, he managed to put his two responses into a coherent order. “I’m fine, no problems,” he answered hurriedly. “How are my family? Are they safe? Have you caught whoever is responsible for this? What-” The white mare raised a hoof gently to cut off his rapidly accelerating stream of questions. “Your family is safe and is currently being cared for. Rest assured, they are in no danger.” A stern look overcame her features. “I’m afraid, however, that we haven’t yet caught the perpetrators of this crime, but we are diverting all available resources towards that task.” She nodded towards the yellow mare, a warm smile returning to her face. “Thank you for your patience and work, nurse. You may leave and return to whatever duties you may have previously had.” The mare bowed and trotted steadily out of the room, pausing slightly to turn her head in Dawnfire’s general direction. The duo continued to watch the doorway until the sound of hoofsteps faded away, leaving them briefly in silence. Dawnfire shuffled slightly. “How long have I been unconscious, your majesty?” he asked anxiously. Celestia tilted her head to look out the window, the darkness beyond offering no orientation. “You were brought in here at least six hours ago, but when you arrived in Canterlot you were already unconscious. Assuming that you fell asleep at the start of your journey here, that would have been around six and a half hours, at least.” She looked at him with genuine concern. “You are okay, aren't you? Your ordeal was very severe, and I’d gladly offer you any aid required.” The orange stallion shook his head slightly. “I’m completely fine, your highness. If I could ask, though, would it be possible to see my family?” “Of course, I understand your anxiety regarding your family,” the white mare replied, trotting to the door. “I’ll take you to see them right away.” Dawnfire almost galloped after her, instead forcing himself into a canter as he followed her out of the door and into a hallway not dissimilar from the one he’d seen when he first came to Canterlot. He followed Celestia closely as she turned left and headed towards a door at the far end of the hallway. “I’m due to raise the sun any moment,” Celestia informed the orange stallion beside her. “I should take care of that before we set out to find your family.” The earth pony blinked. “You do what?” he asked. “As in, you physically raise the sun? Every morning?” Dawnfire blinked again at this prospect. He knew the Princess was powerful, but this was almost divine. The Princess smiled at him. “Yes, and set it every night. I feel as though it would be better if you get to meet your family in the light of day.” She reached the door and pushed it open with her magic before stepping through the doorway and out into the cool night air. Dawnfire followed swiftly behind her. The moon sat comfortably high in the sky, bestowing its pale light to the world below, illuminating the stonework of the vast city and giving the area an almost ghostly glow. The paved streets were still devoid of life, with many of the citizens still in bed, those that were active being only the servants readying their master’s shops and businesses. No pony paid any attention to the alicorn and earth pony trotting side by side away from the castle and towards the main city. The Princess stopped as they crossed a bridge, turning to look at the stream flowing peacefully beneath them. The moonlight sparkled in the water, shifting and dancing gracefully. Looking up thoughtfully at the white orb above, she addressed Dawnfire. “Normally Luna would have started to lower the moon by now, but she’s started running late recently.” She looked down again, offering a playful smirk. “Siblings can be difficult, even in matters such as sustaining the cycle of day and night.” With that, she closed her eyes, a bright yellow glow encompassing her horn. Dawnfire was busy processing what she’d just said to him. Luna, that name. It was so familiar, but why? Sure, it was Princess Celestia’s younger sister, but why did that make any difference? It sounded more much more relevant than that. He cast his mind back to hours before, where he’d stood in the kitchen of his now demolished home. He remembered the words exchanged between the mayor and an armoured figure; So this isn’t a message from Princess Celestia? It’s a.....declaration from the other Princess. Her name is Luna, and she is the true Princess. The one, the only. I bring joyous news of the Princess Luna’s ascension and the rise of the night....New Lunar Republic.....There will be no tomorrow. From now on, it will be nighttime eternal...... The realisation hit Dawnfire suddenly, and his eyes widened. This was bad. It couldn’t just be coincidence, not after what the Princess had told him. It explained so much, but after the revelation, Dawnfire didn’t know if he wanted to know. This. Was. Bad. The eastern horizon started to glow faintly as a faint tinge of orange spread through the sky. The stars began to grow dim, the blackness above slowly fading into a pale, then red, then orange, hue. The bright flawless sphere of the moon became dulled around the edges as the first rays of sun peeked around the corner of the world, casting majestic pools of celestial light on the towers of the castle and the buildings of the surrounding city. The sun climbed its way steadily higher, rising to crest the roofs of the shops, illuminating the golden armour of the guards standing atop the walls not far from the bridge that the Princess stood on. Celestia gasped as the aura surrounding her horn brightened and suddenly vanished with a stuttered poof. The darkness rushed back in, the stars returning in full gleam and the moon regaining its powerful bright glow, forcing the light of the sun back down past the horizon. The city was once again blanketed in the dark of night. Dawnfire blinked, hardly believing what had happened. One moment there was dawn, and the next it was dark again. He looked around, his eyes finding it hard to adjust to the sudden return of the black that had just started to take its leave. The guards on the walls were exchanging murmurs of concern and surprise, uncertain as to whether or not they should take action. Dawnfire looked to the Princess and saw her surprised look even in the murkiness of the dark. “Are you okay, your majesty?” he asked. She glanced over at him and offered a small smile. “Yes, I am fine, Dawnfire.” Her smile slipped into a mild look of unease. “I am not sure what happened there, though.” Shifting herself into a more balanced stance, she lowered her head once more and focused. Her horn began to glow again. Dawnfire waited to see what would happen, looking expectantly up to see if the same would happen again. As his eyes adjusted to the coarse black around him, he could see the silhouettes of the guards glancing back at the Princess every so often, only letting their gazes linger momentarily before shifting back hurriedly to observe the void beyond the city walls. Turning his gaze back to Celestia, Dawnfire breathed in sharply at the look of effort etched into her face. She was struggling to raise the sun, almost as if she were trying to lift a large lump of rock manually. A very slight tinge began to materialise over the horizon, and the strain on Celestia’s face increased. She began to shake, the effort of bringing the sun up apparently too much all of a sudden. The small band of orange dissipated, and with a small cry Celestia collapsed to her knees, her magic fading from her horn. “Your highness!” Dawnfire rushed forward, his concern overriding his caution about interacting with royalty. “Are you okay? What happened?” The Princess looked across to him from her position, a shocked look on her face. “I....don’t know. Once again, I am perfectly fine, but I truly have no idea what happened. It was almost as if...” She trailed off, deep concern setting into her features and stretching her mouth into a grimace. “It was as if something were.....fighting against me.” Rising to her hooves again, she continued to address Dawnfire, her eyes drawn to the sky above. “But if something was resisting my attempts to raise the sun, then it must have a vast amount of power. Only Luna and myself have control over day and night. This bodes badly for Equestria. I don’t wish for another Discord incident, especially not after our recent tragedy in the north.” Celestia fell silent, her gaze held to the stars. Dawnfire cleared his throat slightly, both to steel himself for what he was going to say and out of awkwardness of the situation. As benevolent as she may be, this was not going to be easy. “Your majesty, if I may?” The white mare broke her stare from the world above and paid her full attention to the stallion beside her. Her face still carried signs of unease. “You are more than welcome to speak your mind Dawnfire. You have no need to ask.” “Well, I....I think I may have....an answer to your.....your....problem.” “Oh?” The Princess raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Then please do share your thoughts.” Dawnfire remained silent for a few seconds, fighting back a grimace. He only partially succeeded. “I think that the culprit may be....uh, well.....the culprit may be....Luna.” The last word took great effort, and Dawnfire looked down immediately after saying it. In the silence that followed, he could feel chills running down his back. This was undoubtedly the most awkward moment of his life. “Luna? My...sister?” Celestia’s voice was filled with disbelief, each word uttered in a soft but disconnected way. Dawnfire thought he should fill in the gap, if only to try and make the moment less awkward. “Well, you said that only the two of you control night and day, and you struggled with raising the moon just now. You also said that she’d been running late recently, and during the attack on Hopesmeade, the attackers mentioned her name, and something about the rise of the night. It seems that Luna-” he caught himself, wincing as he realised that he’d just addressed royalty in such an informal manner. “-Princess Luna,” he corrected, “was, uh, has been, involved, somehow, or......something.....” His voice trailed off. That didn’t make the situation any less awkward at all. In fact, his face was now burning a bright red, and he couldn’t bring himself to raise his head. He’d glanced up once or twice during his explanation, but could only manage fleeting glimpses of the Princess’ face before shoving his head back down. “There is merit in what you say, Dawnfire.” Celestia’s voice was not scornful as Dawnfire had expected, but anxious and concerned. “However, I would need proof of this before I make any accusations.” She sighed and started to walk into the city. “I am afraid that your meeting with your parents won’t take place in the light of the day.” The statement caused Dawnfire to look up. For a couple of seconds, his mental gears whirred softly before clicking into place. Finding his motivation returning to him, he trotted after the Princess with a spring in his step. She looked to him as the orange stallion caught up with her. “Would it be possible for you to recount your experience in Hopesmeade, if you did indeed hear my sister’s name mentioned?” Celestia posed the question as Dawnfire sprang up beside her, causing the stallion to slow down briefly to ponder how this would help. Catching on to her meaning, he resumed his pace. “Oh, of course, your highness. Uh, how much do you want me to tell you?” Celestia’s face became a mask of determination. “Everything. Anything that you can remember and feel comfortable sharing. The more you can tell me, the better suited we are to deal with this situation.” Dawnfire sighed. “Well, this could take a while then.” ******************************************************* The two of them walked through the city of Canterlot, the Princess listening as the earth pony described the details of the night to her. He told her about the interruption in the middle of the night, the conversation he overheard between the mayor and one of the guards, his eavesdropping on the three guards (and their subsequent fate) in Mira’s house, his escape and eventually his trek across the plains to reach Canterlot. The alicorn listened silently throughout the entirety of his monologue, offering only an almost imperceptible grimace at the description of the violence visited upon the ponies of Hopesmeade. When Dawnfire had finished, she finally spoke, her voice inquisitive but gentle. “Thank you, Dawnfire. Your input has been most helpful, and very much appreciated. Is there anything else you wish to share? Perhaps something relating to your return to Hopesmeade, or something that you felt wasn’t important before?” The earth pony shook his head. “I’ve told you everything I know, your majesty. After that you agreed to meet with me.” The Princess nodded in understanding. “With this information, I can question Luna about her role in this hideous crime. Hopefully, this is all a misunderstanding.” A sad look briefly crept onto her features, before a sincerity swiftly replaced it. “But whatever happens, I shall ensure that justice is administered, rest assured.” Their pace had slowed as they neared their destination; the edge of a park on the outskirts of the city, currently bustling with townsponies. Dawnfire realised with a start that these were the refugees of Hopesmeade, a category that he now fit into himself. He swirled this thought around his mind. He was now a refugee. An outcast. A wanderer with no home. What was he now that he didn’t belong anywhere? What would he do with his life, now that he had no direction to follow and no role? He groaned in his mind, realising that he had relied so much on others telling him what to do, and with an even bigger internal groan that this was exactly what Mira meant; If you can’t plan things within your own life, how could you plan an expedition, or a team? You need to grow up, Dawn. She had been right, yet again, and he realised with a twinge of guilt that he actually missed the simplicity of his life that he had so often ached to get away from. A tender voice slid through his reverie and roused him from his thoughts, the white face of the Princess looking at him curiously. He took a deep breath in, then exhaled slowly. “Sorry your majesty, I was just thinking about my situation. Being a refugee now. It seems too weird to be true,” he explained. The mare nodded sympathetically. “It must be difficult for you, and I offer my deepest condolences to you and your town. If there is anything I can do to ease your suffering and help you reformulate your lives, then you need only ask.” She brought her head around to face the small community taking up the grassy section of the outer city. “If you feel able, I’m sure your family would be more than pleased to see you.” Dawnfire trotted forward eagerly. “Thank you once again your highness.” The mare smiled behind him. “Not at all. If you feel comfortable to find your way to your family, then I should leave you to your reunion. I need to speak to my sister.” Dawnfire looked over his shoulder and gave a grateful smile to her, watching momentarily as she turned and walked back through the city and towards the castle. The stallion navigated his way through the throng, observing the state of the ponies around him. Some seemed relieved, chatting quite merrily with their companions about their gratitude and the generosity of Canterlot, while others still seemed to be in shock, staring blankly ahead. Some were too tired to do either, laying on the ground in an attempt to sleep off the exhaustion and horror that had been so suddenly inflicted upon them. None of them took notice of the orange pony slipping through the midst of them, his eager eyes darting about for any sign of red or green. Whilst glancing to the left, he bumped in somepony, the two of them offering a simultaneous apology. “Sorry.” “My fault.” Both ponies stopped, recognising the voice of the other. His heart pounding, Dawnfire turned his head, scarcely believing that it could be the very pony he was searching for. The other pony had spun round, looking Dawnfire up and down. They stared at each other for a few seconds, as if trying to determine whether or not they were real, their gazes flicking across the other’s mane, body and eyes. The two slowly broke out into genuine, heartfelt smiles, trotting forward and embracing each other. “Welcome back son.” The red stallion spoke softly, as if this encounter were fragile and that speaking over a certain volume would shatter it. Dawnfire didn’t reply, instead holding his father closer to him and enjoying the knowledge that this time he wouldn’t be dragged away, that this time he would choose when he left the embrace. Minutes passed in silence, the contact conveying all that needed to be said between the two. Well, most things that needed to be said. “Where’s mum?” Dawnfire asked, raising his head enough to look into his dad’s eyes. The red stallion ruffled his son’s mane with his forehoof and beamed. “She’s just over there,” he answered, pointing to the green mare in question. She was laying down not ten metres away from where they were standing. Dawnfire cantered over to her, the mare drowsily raising her head as she heard the approach of hoofsteps. Spotting the orange stallion approaching her, she scrambled to her hooves and threw herself forward, grasping hold of him and hugging him tightly to her. Dawnfire brought his forelegs up, reciprocating the gesture. “Are you okay?” she asked immediately, instinctively taking on her motherly role. “Oh, you poor thing. It’s okay, I’m here for you now, nopony’s going to hurt you.” Dawnfire chuckled heartily at his mother’s antics. She’d been trapped in a blazing building and she still found more time to worry about him than herself. “I’m fine mum,” he responded with a cheerful smile. “I’m just glad that you’re okay.” They remained like this for a while, ignoring the bustle of the ponies around them. In contrast to the gentle and delicate hug between the two stallions, this was much more desperate. Dawnfire grinned as he came to appreciate just how strong his mother could be. And he’d thought himself to be strong. “Uh, mum? You can let go now.” Wiggling slightly to try and move out of the embrace, Dawnfire winced as the mare merely hugged him tighter, looking behind him to search for his father. “Dad, help.” The red stallion shook his head, snickering silently, and made his way over, rubbing a hoof gently down the green mare’s back. “Let him go, he needs some space,” he uttered softly. She continued to cling to her son for a moment before the gentle caressing of her husband’s hoof on her back gave her the motivation she needed to let go. Slowly, she released her vice-like grip, sliding her forehooves down to the ground, though she made sure to keep physical contact, savouring the moments when she knew he was still there. Dawnfire subtly massaged his ribs. “I’m glad you’re both fine,” Dawnfire sighed, allowing a smile onto his face again before shifting his gaze up. “You are both fine aren’t you?” The other two beamed. “We’ve never been better,” his father replied, beaming. “Thanks to you, we’ve got our lives and each other.” He rested a hoof on Dawnfire’s shoulder. “You’ve really made us proud, your mother and I both.” Dawnfire frowned a bit. “But what about our house?” he asked. “We haven’t got work or anything now.” The red stallion smiled and shook his head. “We can rebuild, but the important thing is that we’re alive.” He reached forward and brought Dawnfire in for a hug once more, repeating the action for the green mare to his right. “Even more importantly,” he continued, “we have each other, and you to thank for it.” The family sank into the embrace. For Dawnfire, this was the first time he could actually relax and let go of all the stress of the night. Being here with his family, regardless of the circumstances, knowing that they were safe, was probably the most comforting setting he could want. Being forced to wait on a rocky road outside of Canterlot wasn’t respite because he still had the pressure of responsibility. Being unconscious due to the strain of his efforts was not rest, not when he didn’t know whether he’d helped anypony. Being with his family, surrounded by his neighbours and friends, was essentially the first chance he had to genuinely relax, free of his responsibilities. He loved it. A jostle from his father shook him back to reality. He looked up to see his father grinning down at him. “As much as I’m sure you’d be happy to stay here, I think I’ve found somepony else who’d love to welcome you back.” The red stallion looked just behind Dawnfire, who turned to look, his heart skipping a beat when he saw what his father was looking at. Dawnfire felt his mouth stretch into a wide smile. Mira was standing patiently waiting for him, a warm smile plastered on her face. Dawnfire looked back to his father, who nodded in affirmation. Twisting away from the hug, the orange earth pony walked towards the mare waiting several metres back. “Hi,” he said when he got close, grinning uncontrollably. Mira chuckled. “That’s the only thing you can think to say in these circumstances?” She mock pouted, but the effect was ruined by the unmistakable signs of a grin breaking her otherwise convincing charade. “I should be offended.” “Well, I hope that I can make it up to you, my fair lady,” Dawnfire replied, slipping into his own charade. He lifted a foreleg invitingly. She accepted, leaning into him and wrapping her own forelegs around him. “Seeing as everypony else wants a hug, I thought I wouldn’t exclude you.” Mira laughed. A moment passed in silence. “I’m glad you’re here, Dawn,” she admitted. “I missed you whilst you were gone.” “I missed you too, Mira,” Dawnfire replied, smiling into her shoulder. “And I’m glad to be here as well. But I’m even more happy about the fact that you’re fine.” He had lost count of how many comfortable silences he had lapsed into in the last ten minutes, but figured that the warm softness of physical contact made the number irrelevant anyway. He broke the silence with a chuckle. “Well, I did promise to take you to Canterlot.” “Well, you did, yes, and I’m impressed that you booked a chariot to take me.” Dawnfire felt her grin widen. “But the scenery is a bit bland, so I’m knocking some points off for that.” “Do I gain some points for bringing everypony with us, or is that a negative too?” Dawnfire chuckled, expecting a similar reaction from Mira. When she didn’t, his smile slipped from his face. “Mira? What’s wrong?” Dropping back from the embrace, Mira looked him in the eye, holding her gaze for a moment before shutting her eyes and sighing. Dawnfire frowned, now seriously worried. “Mira,” he repeated in a slightly sterner tone. “What’s wrong? Tell me, please.” She didn’t look at him, instead delivering her answer to the floor. “Not everypony made it here.” Dawnfire’s eyes widened and his heart slowed sickeningly. “Are they..” His breath caught, preventing him from asking any more. Mira shook her head. “They aren’t dead, or at least not from what we know,” she replied. Dawnfire breathed out in relief, the concrete lump of dread in his stomach dissipating gradually. They weren’t dead. The ponies he had come to know and live with were not dead, despite the circumstances. Now that was something he never thought he’d need to be glad for. “Do you know where they are?” “We don’t know exactly, but the local guards are going to search in the morning.” She looked east as though her expectancy alone could summon forth the light. “Whatever happened earlier confused the guards. It confused everypony I think.” The gnawing, churning feeling returned to the orange stallion’s gut. If the guards would only start their search when the sun rose, then it could take...well, ‘days’ was hardly an appropriate measurement of time any more. The search would have to wait for as long as it took the Princess to figure out the issue of the sun’s strange behaviour and fix it, and nopony could begin to guess how long that could take. Dawnfire wasn’t educated in Equestrian history, but he was fairly certain that there hadn’t been an incident like this before. “How many ponies are missing?” he asked, straining to keep the stress and concern out of his voice. Mira steadily turned her head to face Dawnfire, her face making her thought process evident. “I think ten,” she answered after a while. Dawnfire’s heart dropped. “Ten?” he repeated, hoping he’d misheard, but Mira nodded. Heaving a massive sigh, he tentatively asked “Who’s missing?” “The mayor. My father.” The answer hit Dawnfire as solidly as a punch, stunning him momentarily. He stood with his mouth agape before blinking several times and struggling to form a sentence. “Wh-who-wh-wha-what?” he stuttered. “Your father? They have...your father?” Mira nodded, and Dawnfire lapsed into shocked silence, the twisting in his gut resettling into a concrete lump once more. “The mayor too? How did they capture them?” Mira sighed and shook her head. “They were some of the stallions in the fields that didn’t come back. The attackers scattered when the Canterlot guards showed up and most of the townsponies escaped, but the mayor didn’t, and neither did my father or some of the others.” She gave sniff and looked away, contemplating something or other. Dawnfire clenched his eyes shut to try and dispel some of the rage that was building up inside him. How dare they take ponies prisoner? How dare they take his friends and peers? They were not property! “Dawn?” Mira’s soft voice cut through the red mist and eased Dawnfire’s mind. He opened his eyes to see the mare looking at him with concern etched into her face. “You looked....” She paused, searching for the right words. “Just then, you looked incredibly....angry.” Realising that his face was still twisted in rage, Dawnfire quickly allowed his muscles in his face to relax back into a more natural shape. “I’m fine, just...thinking,” he sighed, looking down. Mira’s look of concern didn’t fade. “It’s tragic, I know, but the guards say that they know-” “Is there a way out of the city?” The question from Dawnfire came suddenly, surprising Mira, and for a moment she couldn’t think of anything to say. “What?” “Is there another way out of the city other than the gate? I need to get out without alerting the guards.” Dawnfire’s response was brief and precise, lacking hesitancy or concern. “No, of course not! Don’t be so stupid!” “I’m not. The stupid thing would be to wait for day to come before searching for them.” “You have no idea where they are, and no plan! You can’t just run out after them!” “What’s your suggestion then? Leave them?” “Leave them to the guards, who actually know what they’re doing!” “Mira,” Dawnfire growled. His voice had a slightly sharper edge to it now, she acknowledged. “I don’t think that the Princess is in control, and I’m not sure that she can even raise the sun.” Mira’s eyes enlarged minutely and her mouth opened in surprise. Dawnfire’s voice became agitated. “Something is horribly wrong, something that Princess Celestia herself has no experience with. The attack on Hopesmeade wasn’t a one-off thing; it was a part of whatever’s going on with the sun. You saw for yourself what happened when she tried to raise the sun.” He paused and allowed his body to dissipate some of its tension, his muscles relaxing. In a more urgent but softer tone, he continued. “I need to do something, because this won’t get better if nopony does anything, and I’m not even sure that they're separate incidents.” “You’re saying that you need to do this because the situation with the sun and the attack on Hopesmeade are mutual?” Mira’s voice was laced with anxiety. The stallion kicked his hoof. “I think so. It just seems too coincidental to be anything else.” The mare swayed in place and her eyes glazed over. She looked at Dawnfire, but he could tell that she couldn’t really see him. “Mira?” He prodded her gently and received no response. She continued to stare ahead with her vacant, worried expression, ignoring- or not feeling- his touch. With a grimace, Dawnfire shuffled his on his hooves. The silence that followed wasn’t comfortable but instead troubled. The two ponies stood together, neither saying anything to the other. With a sigh, Dawnfire took a step forward. “Look, you should get some rest,” he advised, draping a hoof over her shoulders. “This is stressful for all of us, and-” “The walls.” Mira kept staring ahead, muttering the two words with as little motion as she could muster as he leaned in. Dawnfire blinked repeatedly. “What?” “The walls. You can try and climb the walls. Other than that I can’t think of a way out of the city.” The two ponies stood still again, the stallion processing the information and the mare lapsing back into her detached stature. Of the several disjointed thoughts running through his head, Dawnfire noted the one persistently pushing forward to the front. “You’re letting me go?” he queried. “You’re actually helping me to do this?” Mira looked round, her movements lethargic but her eyes now focused, albeit barely. “It makes sense to,” she replied in a muted tone. “Or, it at least makes more sense than whatever’s going on now.” Her eyes began to close as she sighed. Dawnfire nodded and gently lead her towards his parents. They looked up as he approached, smiles on their faces. Allowing Mira to slip tenderly onto the ground, he looked up and stepped back. “She’s fine, just make sure to look after her, please,” he responded to his father’s unanswered question. The red stallion nodded in confirmation and lowered his raised eyebrow. “Where are you going then?” his mother asked, her suspicion hidden behind the intrigue in her voice. The orange pony, however, knew it was there, and made sure look her in the eye and give a smile when he answered. “Just going to get some food. Also, the Princess wants me to come and see her now that I know you’ve settled in.” Lying made him cringe inside, but it was for everypony’s good, right? If nopony got hurt, then it was fine. Seeing the gasps taking hold of the green mare’s face, he turned to leave, hoping to trot away before she questioned him further. “Dawn,” a soft voice called from where he’d just turned. Looking back he saw Mira getting onto her hooves and trotting towards him, pulling him into a hug. She pushed her head close to his as he pulled his forelegs around her form. “Be careful,” she whispered in a low voice. “I will,” he replied just as quietly. “Take care of my family whilst I’m gone. I’m sure my mum will keep you busy anyway.” He smiled as she gave a tiny laugh, releasing her and giving one last comforting nuzzle before trotting towards the buildings of the city. He covered the ground quickly, making his way down the first alleyway he saw and following it until he emerged in a desolate square. The buildings around him appeared to be shops, with one sporting a hanging sign painted with a loaf of bread, and another displaying an anvil. In the centre of the square stood a stone statue of an alicorn pony, rearing as the moonlight cast down and illuminated it in its brilliant white glow. For some reason the statue drew more attention to itself than the massive wooden buildings surrounding it, despite their size. Noticing the stone bench not far from the statue glowing in the same way, Dawnfire understood why; the statue was different and special, and the stone gave it a regal glow that the wooden walls of the shops could never achieve. An alicorn statue, the symbol of the united power held by the three pony races, beautifully carved from unblemished stone that stood apart from the hulking forms of the wooden structures around it. Massively fitting, and undoubtedly beautiful, but at the moment, Dawnfire shivered. The little square, for all its beauty, was deserted. One steet lead away from the square, through an archway and towards the castle. Knowing that the gate would be more than a little heavily guarded, he opted to walk straight across the square and exited the other side from which he’d entered, leading (he hoped) towards the side of the city. His route started to take him uphill, twisting past more wooden homes and shops before levelling out not long after. The buildings stopped abruptly, leaving a street-length gap between them and the wall. Glancing around quickly to check for guards, he dashed for the wall, hoping that nopony would see him in the several metres he would be exposed for. Reaching the city wall, he pressed himself as tightly as he could against it. Nopony was awake at this time apart from the guards, so it was highly unlikely that he’d be seen, but his heart still pulsed faster than it should have. Creeping along as slowly as he could, he came across a bulky section of the wall. Looking up, he saw it was a tower, which hopefully meant a way up. Moving round the circular structure, he came across a wooden door. Glancing around nervously, he raised a tentative hoof and pushed at the door. It moved slightly, but not much. Putting a little more weight behind his push, the door creaked moderately as it opened. Dawnfire held his breath, waiting to see if anypony came to investigate. Several seconds passed with no sudden approaching hoofsteps. Letting out a sigh of relief, he took a deep breath back in and carefully entered the tower, closing the door slowly behind him. The interior was dark and closing the door cut off the limited amount of light that he did have. The stallion shuffled forwards slowly, attempting to find the start of the stairs upwards, until one of his hooves knocked against something. Lifting it up, he moved it forwards and down, the hoof coming to rest in a slightly higher position. Repeating the motion with his other hooves, he found himself gradually climbing the stairs upwards. The going was slow, hindered by his inability to see and his frequent stops to listen for approaching guards, although his pounding heart made hearing difficult anyway. He continued the climb upwards, attempting to follow the winding steps, a process made easier as the first glints of moonlight began to creep their way into the tower. Emboldened, he turned once more and found the door leading out onto the wall, stepping out gingerly. The roar of the waterfall outside the city intensified as he exited the confines of the tower and approached the battlements. The moon shone down on the water, making it sparkle as it flowed past the city and out of sight. It was the dominant noise in the calm of the night, the cascading water blocking out other sound, even if there had been any to block out. The wall was high, but Dawnfire was confident that he could jump far enough to land in the water. Well, actually, he wasn’t. The river was pretty far away from the city walls, separated by a wide stretch of land. There was no way he could leap that distance. Maybe if he climbed down gently? He looked over the edge, finding the long drop and no holds. No, he couldn’t climb down. So what was he meant to do exactly? How could he- “Hey!” came a sudden shout to his right, making the earth pony jump. Snapping his head towards the direction of the voice, he spotted the guard who’d just exited from the other tower joining the wall. He cursed himself for not being observant and, yet again, for being orange. “What do you think you’re doing up here?” Dawnfire could make out the scowl on the guard’s face as he paced towards the orange stallion, and hear it in his voice. His heart pounding, Dawnfire yanked his gaze away from the approaching guard and clambered onto the parapet. “Wait, wait!” the guard commanded, his voice urgent and stern. The clip-clop of running hooves increased as the orange stallion turned and slipped off the wall, grabbing hold of the edge of the parapet with his hooves. A couple of seconds later, the guard peeked his head over the wall, glaring down at the earth pony. “What are you doing, trying to get yourself killed or something?” he demanded. Dawnfire shuddered. “I’m just trying to rescue my friends!” he whimpered back in reply. “They’ve been captured and nopony else knows where they are!” The helmeted face slackened its stern facade slightly at hearing this. “Hopesmeade refugee?” he asked bluntly. Dawnfire rigorously nodded, trying to retain his grip on the stonework. “Well, this isn’t the answer. Running out into the wild and getting yourself killed won’t solve anything, and it especially won’t help your friends.” He held out a hoof. “Just come back up here and we can get something sorted, okay?” Dawnfire’s muscles were screaming at him to accept the hoof, as was his brain. He knew that he couldn’t hold on much longer, and the drop from the wall to the ground was very uninviting. He’d already fallen once tonight, and he didn’t like the prospect of repeating it. Begrudgingly, he reached up for the hoof offered to him. He slipped. Moving his hoof had caused him to lose grip on the wall, and he felt a gut-wrenching drop as he skidded further down the wall, grabbing desperately at the battlements as he did. Hanging by one hoof, he chanced a look down, gulping at distance to the ground; it was at least several ponies worth. Looking back up, he found the guard had disappeared, leaving him hanging there. “Hello?” Dawnfire called out. “Where are you? Help!” The stallion looked around him, desperately looking for a way out of the situation while his hind legs kicked kicked beneath him uselessly. There was a tree slightly further along, if he could just get to it, then he could climb down. It was a few metres away and slightly lower than he was, but it was better than nothing. “Hold on!” The voice came from above, and Dawnfire looked up to see the guard poking his head over the parapet once more, his scabbard clenched firmly in his teeth. He lowered it down the wall towards Dawnfire, trying to reach the orange pony. Dawnfire stretched upwards, biting down on the black sheath and trying to pull himself up. Both ponies grunted as they hauled, and slowly Dawnfire managed to heave himself up onto the parapet. The guard roughly pulled him up. Gasping for breath, Dawnfire felt the guard let go of his grip on the scabbard and looked up to see him trotting towards an object on the ground. Picking it up with his mouth, he returned to Dawnfire, motioning towards the scabbard. The orange stallion positioned the scabbard towards the guard and allowed him to slip the object- his sword- into it. The guard looked up. “Good, we’ve got you back up here,” he commented. His voice took on a severe tone as he ordered “Give me my sword back. Now.” Dawnfire flicked his eyes from the sword to the guard, and back again. He had a sword. He actually had a sword. The guard glowered. “Have you got a hearing problem? Give me my sword.” Dawnfire gave an apologetic look at the guard before he turned and jumped back onto the wall, then leapt with as much force as he could muster, still gripping the sword and scabbard tightly in his jaw. His path carried him towards the tree he’d noticed earlier, and he extended his hooves as he crashed roughly into the branches, the impact whipping him back and forth. He grabbed hold of the nearest branches with a grunt, the sudden stop straining his limbs. Breathing deeply through his nose, he became aware of the guard atop the wall shouting and hollering at him, and quickly slipped down the tree and onto the grass surrounding Canterlot. Looking around, he found the waterfall careening down the mountainside and headed towards it, knowing the guards would be searching for him by now, or at least investigating the disturbance. The run took him a few seconds, and when he reached the water’s edge, he dove straight in. The river was cold, but strangely refreshing. It soothed his battered body and calmed him. It also tried to carry him down to the edge of the cliff, but he could deal with that. His years of farming had left him with plenty of strength, his legs kicking against the tug of the water and towards the bank opposite him. He couldn’t tell what was going on in the city or just outside of it with the water muffling sound from the surface. When he reached the edge, he rose back to the surface, gulping down air and looking around. Sound had returned when he broke the surface, and it sounded like the guards in front of Canterlot had gone to investigate his escape. Hauling himself out onto the bank, he gave himself a quick shake and set off running, staying on the grass. He’d join the path later, but for now, he wanted to stay out of sight until he was sure nopony could see him. ******************************************************* The orange pony found himself trudging once again across the plains, the darkness welcoming him back readily. Luckily, his eyes had adjusted slightly to the low light as a result of the lack of sunlight, allowing him to see by the dim light that the moon provided. The mountains around him were still dark masses, but at least now he could see the rises and dips of the ground, which gave him the ability to stop himself from tripping every couple of steps. The other advantage of the night was the silence; out here, sound could- and did- travel miles with little effort. Although he couldn’t really gauge time in a perpetually dark grassland, Dawnfire guessed that he’d been walking for a couple of hours. He’d stopped not long after his brief bout of sprinting away from Canterlot to listen for pursuers, taking the opportunity to tie the scabbard around his body, leaving it resting comfortably on his back with the handle of the sword within easy reach of his mouth. The journey down the mountain had taken a surprisingly short time, and after trudging through the grass for a long while he’d heard angry voices several miles ahead of him. It was these that he’d been following for the last half an hour or so, and he could tell he was getting close. The voices gradually grew louder, and soon enough he began to make out the shapes of ponies milling about in a group. Three of them were standing together and chatting amongst themselves, gesticulating at each other and the other ponies a few metres behind them. Dawnfire was getting close enough to hear what they were saying clearly. “Well what do you think we should do then?” one demanded from the other. “We’ve got perfectly good slaves here, and you want to just let them go?” “That’s exactly the point!” came the reply. “They’re slaves! We’ve just bought ponies to be used as a personal work force! When we left, it was to make a life for ourselves, not to take the lives of those less fortunate than us!” The first pony snorted derisively. “You’re getting soft, you know that? This is a harsh world, and I don’t care what it takes, I will survive, with or without you. You choose!” The two glared at each other for a while, and Dawnfire took the opportunity to slink closer. He was now about twenty metres from the group, but they were so engaged in their argument that they didn’t notice him approaching. That was good; he didn’t want them to see him until he was ready for them to. “What about you?” the first pony asked the third with a glare. “Are you a traitor too, or have you got enough sense to accept what we need to do?” The second glanced at him too, watching for his reaction. The third pony shifted uncomfortably. “Well, we have paid I guess,” he responded uncertainly. “It’s not like we’ve gone and enslaved them ourselves.” The first pony gave a barking laugh. “See? He agrees that it’s necessary!” “But it’s not necessary,” the second growled angrily. “Necessary is defending yourself when attacked, even if that means killing in self defence. Buying slaves is not necessary! What can’t we do on our own that these slaves can? Besides, he didn’t say it was necessary at all!” “I didn’t really say it was necessary,” the third confirmed. He looked to his right at a small cough from one of the ponies from the other group. As he started to speak, Dawnfire gasped in recognition. “Could we have some food please? Some of us are starting to get hungry.” The stallion spoke confidently despite the position he was in and the types of ponies he was talking to. The stallion he addressed looked to the other two for consultation, unsure of how to react. The first pony spun around. “No,” he responded haughtily. “What we’ve got is for us. Learn your place.” “My place is to serve and protect my peers, and that’s what I’m doing. That is what a mayor does, and these ponies here are still my townsponies, whether or not we are in our town.” The first pony advanced on the mayor. “You can be whatever you want to be amongst your little group, I don’t really care,” he spat. “But I’m your owner, and you will show me the respect I deserve.” The mayor steadily held the other pony’s eye. “I believe I am showing you the respect you deserve,” he commented neutrally. “Now could you please provide us with some food, because we haven’t eaten in many hours.” A hoof lashed out and struck the mayor across the face, sending him sprawling onto the ground. As he blinked and coughed, he caught sight of Dawnfire standing nearby and gasped. “Dawnfire?” The attacker looked up and jumped back, drawing his sword (which Dawnfire only noticed once it had been drawn) as he spotted who the mayor was referring to. The other two stallions looked shocked, unsure as to who the new arrival was and how they should react. Dawnfire stepped back a little. “Wait, I’m here to talk!” he shouted, hoping to calm the angry stallion. It apparently worked, as the stallion lowered his sword slightly. Dawnfire trotted forward carefully, watching the sword with a careful eye. The other two stallions glanced at each other before the second speaker stepped forwards. “What is it you want?” he asked. Dawnfire glanced at the mayor, who was now raising to his hooves, and the group behind him, who were looking at him in awe. He swallowed and gave a slight nod to them. Noticing where he was looking, the second pony frowned. “The slaves?” he asked. Dawnfire thought he noted some disgust in his voice as he said this. “Yes,” he replied. “Where did you get them from?” The first pony, having seen where the discussion was going, sheathed his sword and wandered over to Dawnfire. “We’ve just got ahold of these lot not four hours ago I’d say. A group of guards came by and offered us some labour force, which is something that benefits us very well.” He laughed in way that made Dawnfire’s blood boil. “Why did they want to get rid of them?” Dawnfire asked, struggling to keep his voice inquisitive. The other pony shrugged. “They didn’t really say. All I know is that they seemed keen to get rid of them, and that they happily accepted spare bits of metal and things like that. I think they wanted to make some more weaponry or armour or something. That was the story they gave us, anyway. And speaking of armour, we could do with some. You don’t happen to have any leather or anything like that on you do you?” He gave a smile that made Dawnfire’s stomach churn. “Uhh, no I don’t,” the orange stallion said simply. “Why do you want leather?” The other stallion tutted impatiently. “To make some basic armour. We’ve got some hefty competition in the mountains and forests, and if we want to succeed, we’re going to need to kit up for the job.” “What job exactly?” “You’re not very bright are you kid? Mercenary work, banditry, all that good stuff. But if you’ve got no leather, then bits will suffice. I’d say 200 bits per slave.” He looked expectantly for bags on Dawnfire’s back. Finding none, he raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “You have got bits haven’t you?” Dawnfire ignored the question. “The guards from earlier, were they wearing dark blue and purple metal armour?” “Yes, as a matter of fact, they were. I've seen nothing like it before, perhaps except on the Canterlot city guards. Maybe it was their night guard or something?” He shrugged, and then as if realising something, tilted his head suspiciously. “Why? You haven’t been sent to recollect have you? If you have, we’ve bought them, and you can buy them back if you want them.” “I haven’t been sent by anypony, I’m here of my own free will,” Dawnfire stated resentfully. “And speaking of free will, why are they here?” He pointed at the stallions grouped together. “They’re ponies, not property. And if you’d like to learn the difference, maybe I could tell you a little story about a town called Hopesmeade, which is where these ponies came from, just like me.” His speech finished with an angry growl. The pony in front of him changed his expression from shock to irritation. “Fine,” he replied grumpily. “I’ll knock down the price to 100 bits per slave, and if you don’t have the bits, that’s tough luck.” “They’re not slaves, they’re ponies!” Dawnfire seethed. “And I’m not asking you if I can buy them, I’m telling you to let them go!” He paused, his heavy breathing filling the silence that followed. The two ponies in the background shuffled nervously. Finally, the other pony’s face twisted into an angry sneer. “How dare you speak to me like that? I’ll do what I want to who I want, and you won’t tell me otherwise!” He reached behind his head and unsheathed his sword once more, but this time, Dawnfire reciprocated the action, stretching his head to the right and clamping his mouth around the handle to drag it out of it scabbard. The two ponies stood apart, glaring at each other with their swords gripped firmly in their mouths. The orange stallion wondered what he was going to do; he’d used plenty of farm tools before, and many of them had involved dexterous use of both the mouth and hooves. He’d also fought with sticks and other thin objects during his childhood with some of his friends, but swords in themselves? Just a few hours ago he’d never even held a sword, and now here he was preparing to enter combat with somepony who probably had a lot more experience than him. Any experience at all would trump his. He just hoped that his reaction time was up to the task. With a growl and a leap, his opponent twisted his head, swinging his sword at the orange stallion. Dawnfire ducked and twisted his head the same way, feeling the jar as the sword impacted upon his own and the clang of metal hitting metal. He stepped back, trying to stay away from the pony who was advancing on him. The two circled around, the orange stallion sweating slightly and his heart pounding, and the other breathing heavily in short angry snorts. The stallion charged again and Dawnfire leapt to the side, leaving the stallion to swipe at empty air. Dawnfire stepped back again and the other stallion stomped at the ground in frustration. Uttering a muffled warning, he approached Dawnfire once again, making a quick dash forward and swiping at head height. Dawnfire dropped quickly into a crouch and the blade passed harmlessly overhead, leaving the orange stallion with an unblocked view of the other’s legs. Taking the opportunity, Dawnfire turned his head left and brought his blade across his opponent’s left foreleg. His opponent howled and tried to bring his own sword down, but Dawnfire had already scurried to the left, taking long steps back as his opponent rushed him again. The other stallion leapt and drove his sword point at Dawnfire. Ducking to the right, Dawnfire turned to face the stallion as he landed, realising too late that his maneuver had left him vulnerable. The stallion slashed, with Dawnfire only just able to block, the blow sending a resounding jolt through his head. His opponent followed with another rapid attack, the strike putting Dawnfire off balance. Seeing this, the other stallion rushed in and shouldered him, sending Dawnfire sprawling to the ground. The orange stallion blinked to clear his blurry vision and saw his attacker jumping up to finish Dawnfire, a cruel sneer twisting around the edges of his sword. The sneer made the anger resurface in Dawnfire, and he pulled all of his legs to his chest. When his attacker was directly above him, about to bring his sword down, Dawnfire kicked out, striking the stallion in his torso and shoving him over Dawnfire’s head. The stallion’s momentum carried him a few metres before he impacted heavily on the ground. Dawnfire rose to his hooves, his sword still clutched tightly in his mouth. He made his way over to his opponent, cantering past his head and turning to see him sprawled out. The stallion was shaking his head, evidently trying to clear it of the buzzing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dawnfire standing over him, glaring menacingly. The stallion’s eyes widened in shock momentarily before changing back to angry defiance. Before Dawnfire could tell him to put down his weapon, the stallion swung his sword, forcing him to parry. The other stallion tried to kick out with his legs, but the orange stallion blocked them with his own, pinning them down with his own limbs. Now straddling the other stallion, Dawnfire glared down at him. There was no more room to swing. The two of them were just pushing against each other, metal pushing against metal. The other stallion wouldn't give up. His eyes flared with hatred, clearly showing his contempt for his orange foe. He struggled to spit insults, his degradations marred by the handle in his mouth. Dawnfire knew that this couldn't continue for much longer. He also knew that the other stallion wouldn't just give up. That left one other option for the orange stallion, but it was one that sickened him to even think about. He remembered the conversation he heard between the three stallions before he made his presence aware to the group; Necessary is defending yourself when attacked, even if that means killing in self defence. It wouldn't make him feel better, but he knew that the stallion was right. He was being attacked. This was the only way. Looking down at the stallion though, he didn't feel that he could do it. His eyes flicked up, seeing the other two stallions staring in awe at the fight. He looked across to the ponies kept as slaves, his eyes seeking out the mayor. Finally, he caught sight of Mira’s father, staring at him along with the rest of the Hopesmeade residents. He sighed deeply, giving a strong shove on his sword to force his opponents sword down, raised his head and turned it left so his sword’s point was facing down. He closed his eyes, images of Mira and her father reunited flashing through his mind, the Hopesmeade residents strolling about and laughing jovially, the farming season when he and his family would bring in the produce they worked so hard to grow. He thrust the sword down. There was a juddering halt and an almost simultaneous grunt from below. He yanked the sword back up with his jaw, a sickening sucking sound reaching his ears, and then he plunged down again. There was a groan and a thud, and Dawnfire fought the urge to vomit. This was just turning the soil, he told himself. He had the pitchfork in his mouth and he was turning the soil. That’s all it was, nothing else. Except soil didn't make guttering, gargling, gurgling sounds when it was jabbed and didn't struggle. Just die! Dawnfire screamed in his head. Please just die! Die die die die die! He repeated the motion with the sword, the vocal reaction from below growing less and less with each plunge. Eventually, all sound and movement stopped, and Dawnfire dragged the sword back one last time. He stayed there for a while, revelling in the silence around him. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath. That was good. No sound might mean no reality, and no reality might mean... Dawnfire opened his eyes. The stallion was laying on his back, his head lolled to one side and his eyes staring blankly ahead. His sword had dropped from his mouth and was now resting on the grass beside him. His chest was peppered with wounds, the coat matted with warm, wet blood. Dawnfire swallowed and got up as quickly as he could, stepping away from the body and hurrying back towards the group. He looked at the other two, trying to give an intimidating glare with his sword raised. They gulped and backed away. The orange stallion’s breathing was heavy, his heart pounded in his chest, and it took all of his effort not to collapse onto his knees. One of the two ponies cleared his throat. “We’re going to release your friends,” he stated nervously. It was the one who had been adamant on not needing slaves Dawnfire realised. The other one nodded vigorously. “Y-y-yeah,” he agreed. Dawnfire nodded lethargically, motioning to where the others were with his hoof. Understanding his meaning, they rushed forward to help, taking care to stay away from the orange stallion. Dawnfire went to sheath the sword and noticed the thick layering of blood on the end, coating at least a quarter of the blade. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and put the sword away out of sight. He turned and trotted over to the others, seeing the two stallions working on undoing the shackles restraining the townsponies. Seeing the orange stallion approaching, one of the former slave owners turned to him. “Are you okay?” he asked. Dawnfire didn’t reply, instead staring at the floor. The other sighed. “Don’t worry about him. He needed to be stopped. You did the right thing, and nopony here blames you.” Again, Dawnfire didn’t reply. The other stallion shifted uncomfortably and went to turn back to the others. “How did I win?” “Huh?” The slave owner turned back to face Dawnfire. “How did I win?” Dawnfire’s question came out as a whisper. “I had no experience with a sword before, and yet I’m alive.” The other stallion thought about it for a moment. “Well, neither did he,” came the eventual reply. “And besides, you said that you came from Hopesmeade? If I’m not mistaken, that was a farming town? I guess you’re just strong.” “Yeah, strong.” Dawnfire repeated the phrase as though it were alien to him. “Whatever the case, I’m done with this life. I want to find a place to settle down. Do you mind if we come along with you?” “Sure, come along,” Dawnfire muttered. “You’re free to do what you want.” The stallion shifted uncomfortably at the word ‘free’. He offered a quick thanks and wandered away. The townsponies were talking among themselves, stretching their legs after their long imprisonment. The remaining slave owner offered out food for them, which they all gratefully accepted, if somewhat wearily. The mayor gave Dawnfire a feeble smile, and was returned one. The stallion that wandered off returned with something in his mouth. “Uh, what’s that?” his friend asked. “The sword,” he mumbled. “Somepony here might want or need it, and he sure doesn’t need it does he?” He gestured in the direction of the corpse. Dawnfire closed his eyes and tried not to vomit. The stallion opted to carry the sword himself. The shackles were collected and carried between the two slave owners, and the group looked to Dawnfire. “Where are we going?” asked the mayor. Dawnfire looked wearily over his shoulder. “Canterlot. Let’s go.” ******************************************************* The journey back was undertaken mostly in silence, with the occasional whisper between some of the freed townsponies. Dawnfire payed no attention to them and focused on putting one hoof ahead of the other and repeating that motion for as long as it took. They found the Canterlot mountain with relative ease thanks to Dawnfire’s guidance. Walking up was strenuous on some of the party, but with some support, they soon found themselves trotting along the road that lead to the massive city. For Dawnfire, it was a certain sense of deja vu. At least he knew where he was this time. The guards were back at their posts, and flagged the party to stop. Dawnfire gave a rushed explanation, emphasizing ‘Hopesmeade’, ‘refugees’, and ‘Princess Celestia’ in the hope that this visit to Canterlot would see a quicker admission than last time. The guards sent somepony in to check, saw that everything matched up and waved them through. The two ex-bandits gave their thanks to Dawnfire and mingled in with the other refugees, while the other Hopesmeade residents were welcomed back with great gusto. Dawnfire stood on the edge of the camp, watching everypony gather around the new arrivals, and felt a ghost of a smile creep onto his face. Something had gone right, at least. “Stop right there criminal scum!” an angry voice called from behind him. “You’re the pony that stole my sword!” Dawnfire turned to see a guard approaching rapidly, an angry scowl on his face. Understanding what it was that he’d said, Dawnfire undid the weapon from around his body and placed it on the floor in front of him. The guard looked down at it and then up at him. “Do you think that makes it better?” he asked with a growl. “It doesn't, and you've got a lot to learn about-” “Is there a problem here?” The voice was inquisitive and polite, yet firm. Dawnfire looked over his shoulder to see the mayor standing there, a curious look on his face. The guard growled at him. “Yes, actually. This pony here is nothing more than a common thief. He stole military property and-” “This ‘common thief’,” the mayor interrupted, “rescued us from a lifetime of slavery. He has so far outperformed all of the Canterlot guard in both their duties and abilities, so I would say that that ‘military property’ is more rightfully his than it is yours.” The guard looked ready to argue, but the crowd behind the mayor had grown during the brief conversation, all of them supporting firm looks. The guard huffed and picked up his sword, tying it to his armoured body. “I am sorry about the theft,” Dawnfire whispered to the guard. “And also sorry about the mess.” “Well, don’t let it happen again,” the guard grunted, pulling on the strap with his teeth. With a final glare at Dawnfire, the guard turned and walked away. Dawnfire turned to the mayor. “Thanks, you didn’t have to do that.” “Dear boy, you saved my life,” the mayor commented with a warm smile. “It’s the least I could do.” “Three cheers for Dawnfire!” a voice shouted from the crowd. “The saviour, spirit and shepherd of Hopesmeade!” The crowd erupted into their celebratory cheers, leaving Dawnfire to blush slightly. The mayor leaned forwards so Dawnfire could hear. “They’re right about the spirit part; as long as you live, this town will never truly be gone.” His smile turned into an expression of awe, and then he collapsed to his knees. Dawnfire’s confusion quadrupled when the rest of the crowd followed suit. Was he a divine being to them now or something? That was a bit too far, surely. “I was shocked to hear that you’d left, but glad you returned safely,” came a silken voice from behind. Dawnfire spun round to see the Princess standing imposingly in the street. “If you don’t mind, would it be possible to have a private talk?” She turned and walked down the street, leaving a gulping Dawnfire to follow nervously behind.