//------------------------------//
// Harmony Rising 
// Story: Discord's Tales of Equestria 
// by The Patriotic Pony 
//------------------------------//

"YES!" howled Discord as he leapt into the air with glee.  "There’s the reaction I was looking for!  You should see your face!  Celestia help me, I love it!" he cackled hysterically as he rolled about in the air above them.

Spike stood in paralyzed horror at the spectacle before them.  He stuttered incoherently as he tried to find his voice.  "That's a... it can't be!"

Spike’s stammered whimper was drowned by the thunderous bellowing of Lightning Strike as he rallied the pegasi to his call.  "White and Blue Team, with me! We're gonna lead it outta here!  The rest of you get the others to the forest, NOW!"  Cold Front started after him, but was stopped short by his father’s hoof against his chest.  "Get to the forest, son!"

"But I'm part of White Team!"

"Not yet, you aren't.  This is too dangerous for young colts, especially you."

"But I-"

"Listen to me, son," he said, placing a hoof on his son’s shoulder.  "They need me in the sky, but I need you on the ground."  He held up his son's chin, and gave him a stare that could pierce ice.  "I’m not about to risk losing you too, and that’s final!"  With a sigh, the colt nodded in defeat, and slowly backed away.  Lightning watched him for but a moment before looking back over his shoulder.  "Everypony with me!  Stay close and we’ll get through this!" He shot into the sky, and the pegasi followed suit as they approached the distant dragon in a massive cluster of cyan, navy, white, and grey.  Left alone as the last of the herd disappeared into the wilderness, Cold Front started back.

"Helmff!  Sompfony!"  A familiar cry came from of collapsed brown tent.  He hurried over and lifted the fabric off her.

"Just can't stay out of trouble, can you, Fire Flame?" he chuckled as ruffled her mane.

"What's going on?  Where is everyone?!"  She was swivelling around so quickly, he had to catch her head between his hooves.

"I’ll explain later, this way!"  The duo joined their herd, leaving the ruined village deserted.

"Back to the forest?" asked Twilight, as she and Spike braced for another teleportation.

"As a matter of fact, no.”  Discord paused until they had relaxed.  “This time, we’re going up!”  Caught off guard, the two collapsed onto a small formation of white clouds, miles high.  The freezing air sent shivers down Twilight’s spine, but she still chanced to glance over the edge out of curiosity.  She was able to make out the forest and small beige specks that could have been the makeshift village, before she began to feel nauseous as world started spinning around her.  Her vision blurred and her legs buckled, and Spike just managed to catch her before she plunged over.  She couldn't imagine how Rainbow Dash managed to sleep on these things.

In the distance, they could make out the pegasi as they ascended to face their foe.  Though they were clearly out of earshot, Twilight could hear their voices as clear as if they were right beside her.

“Split formation!"  Following orders, the pegasi immediately split into two groups and sprinted past on either side of the dragon.   At this, it turned its attention away from the village and gave chase.  "Form up, full speed ahead!"

The sound of Spike biting his claws caught Twilight's attention.  "Spike?  What's wrong?"

"They're not gonna make it... they're not gonna make it..." he muttered, more to himself than to her.

"Spike, what are you talking about?  Just because this could be the first time anything like this has happened-"

Spike desperately shook his head as he turned to her.  "That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! It's not just a dragon, it's the first recorded dragon to breathe fire!  They don't know that’s even possible!"

"What?!"  Twilight's wings stood up.  "Where did you hear that?"

"It was in an old record of dragons Rarity and I found in the Canterlot archives during the summit.  I thought it was all just a bunch of stories and legends!"

"Don't you just love plot twists?" said Discord, not taking his attention off of the pursuit.

The herd was gaining speed with every passing second, but there was something wrong.  Several pegasi were starting to falter under the strain, while others started to break formation.  The dragon showed no signs of weakening, and the distance between it and the herd was growing smaller.  "We're getting a little too close for comfort!"

Lightning Strike glanced back.  The dragon would be at their heels soon.  "Everypony, pick up the pace!  We've gotta lose him!"

"We can't take much more of this; we’re already losing distance!"

Lightning gritted his teeth.  "Dang!  Alright Stuka, take charge of the lower group and order a circle formation."

“With all due respect, Sir, as your second-in-command I don’t think-”

“As your commander, I think you need to shut up and follow orders!  If we surround him, we’ll have a better chance of finding a weakness if he has one.  He’s going to catch us sooner or later, so why run?  The only difference is that if we stand and fight, we won’t be worn out.  Stuka, if you have anything better, I’m all ears!”

Stuka swallowed his shock and nodded.  “Yes Sir.  Sorry, Sir.”  He dove to the lower ranks and shouted his orders, while making a sort of spinning motion with his hoof, and Lightning did the same.

The herd broke apart into two mixed groups of white and blue, themselves forming into squads of four.  Lightning’s pegasi followed him over the dragon, giving it less than a split second to react, and formed a crescent of three rows of ponies behind it.  Stuka’s group mirrored them, leaving the beast encircled.

“HOLD!” thundered Lightning.  The dragon, seeing that its meal had not only stopped moving but been so kind as to present itself so neatly, lunged in Stuka’s direction with its jaws open enough to swallow three fully-grown stallions.  “CHARGE!”

Before it could look for the source of the noise, the behemoth found itself being pelted in the back of the head by dozens of hooves, knocking its head forward and momentarily dazing it.  As it struggled to recover, Stuka’s force charged from every remaining direction, striking wherever they could before breaking off.  When they had arrived at the opposite end of the circle, they would repeat the tactic elsewhere, trying to find a soft spot on its diamond-strong hide.

"Keep hitting him, we're bound to find something!"  Lightning Strike's own squad attempted to keep the head busy, while Stuka’s approached its underbelly.  The dragon saw them coming though, and they narrowly managed to disperse before it slashed at them with its jagged black claws.  Several others dodged left and right around its tail, trying to distract it.

"Go for the eyes, boys!" shouted the commander as his squad began to dive bomb  from above.  But it knew they were coming, and lunged as they drew near, knocking most of them several miles away and forcing the rest to disperse.  Lightning himself had been launched well above the battle before he managed to recover.  Only then did he feel the full weight of their situation.

Left and right his family was being swatted down like mosquitoes, and despite nearly being crippled or even eaten countless times, they struggled on.  They would never quit, not as long as he told them to keep fighting.  Even if they couldn’t see the truth, he could: there was no way that anything short of a miracle, which were few and far between, that could save them if they kept this up.  He swallowed his hidden fear, took one last breath, and dropped.

Although it wasn’t the headshot he was aiming for, the blow to the back of its neck dazed the beast long enough for him to give find Stuka and shout his final order.  "Stuka, take the herd and fall back to that cloud layer!"  He pointed straight at Twilight.

"What are your orders for when I do?"

"I've got a plan, just go!"  Without another word, Stuka ordered them to regroup, and bolted towards the trio.  Lightning held on to the neck, just below the mouth and out of sight, until he was certain that they were all away.  When his opponent finally recovered, it took a few moments to realize it was alone just where dinner was going.  As it began the pursuit, Lightning released his grip and tore through the sky, striking the lower jaw with all his might and sending it reeling in shock.  Up, up he climbed, until frost began to form on the tips of his wings.  Then he turned over, pointing himself towards the head once again, determined to make this one count.

Crystal beads of frozen sweat had formed on his brow, and the thinner air wasn’t treating his overworked, unprepared lungs nicely.  He struggled to stay conscious as he lined himself up and tried to prepare for the final descent.  “Generations of hiding from the sky had rendered pegasus lungs almost incapable of functioning at that altitude,” added Discord impressively.  “It’s a miracle he’s still awake.”

Whether from exhaustion, asphyxiation, or actually being prepared, Lightning tucked his wings to his sides and dove.  As the dragon searched frantically for the pest, he realigned with the top of its head, just above the eyes.  It was a narrow shot; too far ahead and he’d strike the jaw and risk being eaten, too far to the side and he’d miss, too far behind and he’d be ripped to shreds by its razor-sharp scales.  The air screeched around him as he closed in on the beast, tearing through the air like a bullet through the length of a sheet as he reached speeds nopony had ever thought possible.

Discord leaned down and held Twilight's head against his as he pointed at the pegasus.  "Look closely.  See the electricity coming off of him?"

Twilight leaned forward and squinted.  Sure enough, there were small strands of it, running from his front hooves to his tail.  "What's going on?  I've never heard of anything like that before."

"Nopony did until the first flashbacks.  You're the first princess to witness what could have been a Sonic Lightning Bolt."  He let go of her, not taking his eyes off of the spectacle before them.  "Instead, we'll have to settle for this!"

With only a few seconds before impact, the commander stretched his hooves forward and braced his entire body.  At the last moment, the dragon turned its entire body around, leaving no time to react.  Lightning struck the dragon on the back, right where its right wing met the rest of its body.  For a few seconds, everything went white, and there was silence.  Then the impact created an electric shockwave that blasted the smallest clouds over the horizon, while puffs from their cloud flew around them.  Bolts of lightning shot out in every direction, snapping, branching out, and zigzagging as they took over the skies and engulfed the dragon.  The sound of thunder rumbled throughout the world below, shaking the ground and scaring various birds from their homes.  When her ears stopped ringing, Twilight was snapped back by the sound of of Discord, who had donned a pair of shades before the spectacle, shouting utter nonsense.  Something told her that he had enjoyed it a little too much.

The beast let out an agonizing roar that echoed through the sky, and it flailed its limbs about violently and began to tumble down through the sky.  It desperately flapped its one good wing, but just barely managed to stabilize itself and hover halfway down from where it had started.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" laughed its opponent, as he started down towards his crippled foe to finish the job.  "Not such a big bad beast without your wings, are ya?  Not so easy to eat us when you can't- WHOA!"  Without warning, the dragon let out what started as a roar but was soon muffled by a bright inferno from within, coming straight at him.

"NO!" cried Spike as he thrust out his claw in vain, his eyes wide open.  Twilight caught him before he lost his balance, and held him tight.

Though Lightning Strike managed to roll out of its path, he hadn’t reacted fast enough.  The blaze caught the longest of the pinions on his right, and quickly spread to consume his entire wing.  His shrieks of agony caught the herd’s attention as he tried in vain to extinguish it, began to lose altitude.  This time, the dragon was waiting for him with unhinged jaws.  Hot steam rose from within its depths, and its mouth was watering fit to drown fifteen equines.  Through frantic flapping of his remaining wing, Lightning managed to evade its bite but was caught across his stomach by the dragon's bladed tail as he passed its claws.  Reeling in pain he could no longer ignore, he plummeted towards the plains below as the fire caught his other wing.  The agonized screams faded with him as he grew fainter and fainter, until the only sign of him was a dense plume of black smoke across the sky.

Spike buried his face in Twilight's shoulder as she bit her lip, held her breath, and shut her eyes, trying to maintain her composure.  Even her wings trembled as they drooped to her sides.

"That didn’t happen." declared a stallion.  “That did NOT just happen!”

"Spirits help us..." whispered a mare.

"Knock that off, darn it!"  Even at a whisper, Stuka managed to draw all eyes to himself.  "We need to lay low and hide, or it'll find us.  Lightning is…” he closed his eyes and swallowed “...he’s gone, and there's nothing we can do about that.  But he did it to keep us safe.  If we start pouting now, it’ll have been for absolutely nothing!  Now shut up, straighten up, and start digging, just like he showed us!"

The white pegasi dug several trenches around the three, ducked down side by side, and covered their bodies with their wings as best they could.  The others did the same, but also attempted to cover themselves with clouds or friendly white wings.  As far as strategies and disguises went, it had to have been a last resort; pony eyes might have missed it if the pony in question was in a hurry, but there was no telling how sharp a dragon’s eyes or mind were.

Twilight and Spike jumped at Discord's sudden theatrical voice.  "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..."  They were pulled away just as the dragon approached them.

The air smelled of mud and burning wood.  Cold Front stood amongst the fallen tents and strewn branches, staring towards the dragon with his wings hanging low and his eyes wide.  Before him in the distance, a plume of smoke sped towards the ground.  He blinked, looked to the forest, then back to his elder.  After holding a hoof to his mouth for a moment to think, he slammed it down with a soft thud, which probably sounded more impressive to him than it actually did.  With a huff, his stubby wings began to flitter at his sides.  "Don't fail me now!" he snarled.

"Kid, what the hay are you doing?!" came a cry from behind.  "He said in here!"

"I will, I will!  Right after I get back!"  With that and a sheepish nod, he lunged forward, hovering above the ground long enough to take one of the burning branches in his mouth.  Ignoring the growing shouts, he propelled himself towards the smoke as fast as his wings would carry him.

“Going up,” Discord sang, as he grabbed Twilight and Spike under his arms and gave chase in an arc pattern though the air.  The rushing of the wind around them forced him to shout in order to be heard.  "Apologies, but I couldn't take any risks; you two don’t seem too skilled in flight yet."

"Hold it!"

"Now?" he whined as the world froze around them, a faux forlorn frown forming on his face.  "But Your Highness, we're just about to get to the good part!"

"We have seen enough!  I've watched enough ponies burn and freeze in one day to fill three lifetimes!  Did it even once occur to you that there’s a child present?!"

"Burn?  Freeze?  When did you ever see that?  I always made sure you never saw what actually happened to them, didn't I?  For all you know, they could have been just fine!"

"Implications don’t mean anything!  The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence!"

"Ugh, spare me one your lectures," he groaned, rolling his eyes.  When they returned, they were met with a glare that momentarily took him aback.
He turned to see Spike had joined her in attempting to pierce his soul with his eyes.  "Us.  Home.  Now," he growled.

"Oh, alright, fine.  Be that way!"  He scowled as he dropped them onto nearby cloud with a muffled thud, his asymmetrical wings flapping behind his arms on his hips.  "If you're not strong enough to find out the truth about your precious Star Swirl, then I guess you can’t handle the truth.  You can go your whole life not knowing what amazing secrets the past has.  Don't worry about where the sisters came from, or how I came to be, or how Sombra took over the Crystal Empire, or where the Changelings came from..."  He raised an eyebrow and stared out of the corner of his eye as he turned away.  "...or why Little Lulu was crying, or why Cadance lied to you, or even why Tia didn't see you off."  Struggling to suppress a smile, he crossed his arms and stuck his chin in the air.  "I suppose none of that's really important to you.  Why should that come as a surprise?  You're clearly not-"

"Wait, how do you know about that?  You said you were here the whole time!"

"Oh, I won’t bother you with that.  It’s clearly not important to you, and besides," -he gave a little shrug- “you can’t even handle something as harmless as this.”

"How is this harmless?  You're not making any sense!"

His arms and tail dropped to his sides.  The left one even popped off before reappearing attached moments later.  Though he didn't speak, his face made the message loud and clear.  "Seriously?"

"Right, right...  But what do you mean Cadance lied?  She said she had forgotten something important, that's all."

The mischievous smile returned, creeping along the sides of his face until it could freeze a cocatrice.  Discord held up his arms in front of it, and drummed his fingers triumphantly against each other.  "Oh yes, she forgot one of the most important things in her life..." -he leaned forward- "...her past."

Twilight bit her lip and nervously searched the ground as she pondered her situation.  She glanced to Spike on her right, looking up at her hopefully with wide, worried eyes.  Then she looked to the colt with the burning branch, charging towards certain doom at the claws of the very same beast that had slain his father.  Even though Discord had proven several times before that he was becoming more trustworthy, she still had her doubts.

"Alright," she sighed, "you have until this is over.  After that, we're leaving."

Spike sighed with relief.  It wasn't what he had hoped for, but it was close enough.
Discord immediately regained his energetic demeanor.  "Well alright then, let's go!"  Once more he snatched them up, snapped time back into motion, and continued to pursue the colt as if the previous conversation had never happened.

By the time Cold Front had reached the black plume, the poor pegasus had fallen out of sight.  "You'll pay for that," he muttered grimly.  The dragon didn't seem to notice him, being too busy trying to find the rest of the herd.  "Perfect for a sneak attack.  But where to hit?"  As he hovered about and tried to come up with a plan, the tip of the branch brushed up against a nearby cloud, snuffing out the flames with a soft hiss.  He stared at the branch in despair before silently letting it drop.  The only chance of surviving was gone, and it couldn't have come at a worse time; the dragon had turned around in its hunt, and their eyes met.  Cold Front screamed as the dragon let loose a tremendous rasping roar that crackled as the flames erupted from within  The blaze was upon him in a matter of seconds, and colt and cloud vanished into the inferno.

When the dragon finally ceased its assault, content that its snack was roasted, Cold Front and the cloud were nowhere to be seen.

“Not... very bright... is it?” panted a voice from behind them.  The herd risked a glance behind the trio, who turned their heads in unison.  “If it just... looked around a little bit... it probably... would have seen me.  Then what?”

"Cold Front!”  Stuka pulled him down out of sight.  “Thank the sun!  I thought we'd lost you both!"

"Wait, ‘both’?"

The stallion barely managed to catch himself as his face flinched.  "Never mind that.  How the haaya-how... did you get here?"  He quickly looked him over.  "And in one piece?  There’s not a scratch on you!"

"Not really sure... might’ve… m-might’ve..." he panted, keeping his head down as he struggled to catch his breath.  After several failed attempts to speak, he gave it up and plopped down beside Stuka until he had recovered.  Then much to their surprise, he bit off a mouthful of the soft platform beneath him, chewed it for a few seconds, and swallowed.

"Yep, probably the cloud.”  He met their stupefied gaze.  “When I got here, I had some of the fire with me for defense.  But when it touched a cloud, it went out."  He reached over and took some fluff, holding it up in one hoof.  "Fire Flame said that water made it go away.  Maybe-" he tapped the top of the puff with his other hoof, causing a tiny sprinkle to fall out "-there's water in the clouds!"

“Kid, that’s real interesting and all, but I don’t see how this is going to help us right now.  Unless you can somehow shove it down his-”

Just as the colt jerked his head around and started to whisper something, their voices became less and less audible, and the world was soon silent.  "What's going on?  What are they talking about?"

"Ah ah ah, Princess!  We want to see if you can figure this one out, right Spike?"  Spike glanced up at him, completely lost.  "Don't you remember what happened in the book?  I could've sworn this was in there somewhere, maybe I’m confusing it for an older record?  They must have tasted about the same, then..."  He scratched his chin thoughtfully as the scene continued before them.

The two disappeared into the cloud, remaining undetected by the dragon.  Twilight and Spike held their breath as minutes passed, feeling like hours.  When it appeared certain that its prey had been incinerated beyond the possibility of conceivable consumption, the dragon lost interest and instead turned its attention back to the forest.  But as it started on its way, a small voice caught its attention.  "Hey, fatso!  Did you forget about me?"  One look at Cold Front taunting it was more than it could bear.  The dragon roared with a fury strong enough to rival three mid-scale earthquakes. Steam that could shatter glass shot from its nostrils, and with one great heave of its mighty wings it bolted forward in a blind rage.

"This is probably the first instance of a pony exploiting a dragon's pride," Discord murmured out of the side of his mouth.

The colt stood his ground, staring into its eyes unblinking as it tore through the air.  Just as it drew near enough to render escape impossible, rearing back its head to let loose the inferno within, a massive figure almost twice its size rose from within the cloud.  As more and more of it was slowly revealed, its form became clear to Twilight and Spike: it was a blue-eyed white dragon, with blue spikes running from its head down its neck.  No other parts were visible, but it was clear enough for anyone to see that the fire-breathing menace was horrifically outmatched.

"It can't be," whispered Twilight.  "An ice dragon of legend... it exists?!"

"But it's the wrong season," interjected Spike, "not to mention the wrong region entirely."  Twilight stared at him, flabbergasted.  "What?  It was in the book."

"Maybe I should have her read to him more often," she muttered.

Cold Front sank into the layer beneath him, vanishing just as his opponent turned its attack towards the newcomer, straightening its neck forward as the flames erupted from its mouth.  Its foe seemed to have anticipated this move, quickly retaliating with a frigid spew of ice and snow that collided with against the inferno with a near-blinding flash.  Twilight and Spike reeled back as their eyes recovered as Discord stood watching casually behind his sunglasses, his arms crossed.  The reptiles attacked relentlessly, exerting every ounce of their power into a single breath.

"By now, one of them could have wiped out five cities with that sort of exertion,” Discord pointed out to no one in particular.

Their streams remained steady for a time, keeping the growing collision more or less centered, but snow melts faster than water evaporates.  The resulting mixture extinguished the flames faster, and the distance between the collision and the fire dragon was steadily lost until it reached its maw.  The full blast exploded within its gullet, icing it over from the neck outwards until its head was completely frozen.  It thrashed, hovered for a minute, and dropped, striking the ground with such tremendous force that it was obscured by the dirt and dust for several minutes.

"They did it!" cheered Spike, jumping up and down with his fists in the air.  "They stopped the fire dragon!"

"Yes," said Twilight, "but now there's a giant ice dragon threatening the village."

"But it's not a fire dragon," he added, as if it made any difference.

"Actually, it's not a dragon at all." said Discord.

They turned to stare up at him.  "What?!"

Pieces of white floated off and dispersed, revealing blue and white shapes that looked like…

"Ponies?" growled Twilight.  "Ponies?!  You're telling me that the whole time, the dragon was ponies?!  How the hay does that even work?"

With a snap, time froze once more as Discord donned a lab coat, black pants, and goggles while clutching a wooden pointer in his hand.  Twilight and Spike were teleported into two generic school desks facing a blackboard, which was covered with indescribably incoherent nonsense that may very well have been a visual representation of Discord's mind.  He flipped it over to reveal crude drawings of a pegasus, a dragon, and a cloud, before dragging the pegasus over the cloud with the pointer.  "Pegasi have the ability to use move and walk on clouds.  This allows them to create and control weather, use them for construction, and many other things.  The dragon was formed by using this ability to wear them around their hooves and wings.  By only showing the head and neck and hardly moving, they formed the so-called ice dragon.  The white pegasi were the main body, and the blue were the eyes and spikes."

"So the breath must have been from the cloud itself, right?" asked Twilight, after they were snapped back to their previous places.  Discord said nothing, but his satisfied smile and crossed arms were confirmation enough as he nodded towards the herd, now swarming the colt.  Those that could reach him exchanged hoof-bumps and high-wings, while others actually hugged him.  Several of the stallions noogied him until his mane was a tangled mess, making it almost impossible for him to look up for more than a second.

"You’re a genius, runt!"

"Didn't think you had it in you!"

"You did it, kid!  You actually did it!"

But in his moment of glory, Cold Front remained silent, looking around hopefully whenever possible and growing more concerned with each passing moment.  Concern gave way to horror as a terrible thought entered his mind.  He waited until they had calmed down enough for him to be heard, then he looked up.  "Where's my dad?"

The skies were struck with an unnatural silence; the wind itself seemed to have stopped dead from shock.  Panicked glances were exchanged as an audible murmur dissipated throughout the herd; this was answer enough for the colt.  The crowd parted as he turned in silence and walked out into the open air, never even making eye contact.  After a few moments’ pause, his hind legs gave out and he slumped down, staring endlessly to the skies that had taken his parents.

Stuka slowly made his way towards him.  "Kid… look… we don't know where he is, but that doesn’t mean…”  After struggling to find the right words, he finally abandoned his effort.  “If he was strong enough to knock a dragon out of flight, I’m willing to bet he could take a fall like that.  If that’s the case, he could be anywhere between here and the village.  We’ll send out a search party before the rest of us head home; as long as there’s daylight, I’m sure we’ll find him!”  If the colt had heard him, he wasn’t showing it.

Stuka motioned towards a greyish-white mare and a light blue stallion.  “You three go with Twister and search the woodlands!  Aviator, you take these three and search the river!  Both of you report back to the village at dusk.  If anything happens, it’s the same as what Lightning taught us.  Any questions?”  They shook their heads.  “Off you go!  Everypony else with me.  Stay close, and keep your eyes open; the only things flying the same day as a dragon have nothing to fear.”  Then, after scooping Cold Front onto his back with his wing, Stuka led the herd as they dove off the edge and began the journey home.

Discord snapped the trio back to the ruined village when the herd returned, just as dusk was falling.  Torn cloth and splintered poles were everywhere, most of them covered in hoofprints from when the herd trampled them in their escape.  Several branches from the pyre had been strewn across the ground by the gusts; a few must have fallen onto the tents and ignited them, because many were little more than tattered strands of ash.  Small, steady streams of smoke rose from the charred fabric and into the orange sky, their piercing, lingering odor filling the air.  Nopony was anywhere to be seen as Stuka lowered the colt from his back.  Cold Front, looking a little better from the long flight, walked slowly with him through the ruined village as they scanned the treeline.

"Hello?" Stuka whispered towards the forest.  “Anypony there?"  No response.  Even the wind had ceased, and Stuka placed a hoof over his mouth to muffle his breathing as they cautiously inched forward.

He paused at the forest's edge, hesitant and afraid to face what lay before him, but he had to know the truth.  Cold Front decided to take his chances and sallied forth.  "Dad?" he called.  "Fire Flame?"  Still no response.  He hardly slipped through a few trees before he heard rustling in the underbrush nearby.  "Who's there?" he called, his voice quaking. The rustling grew louder and quicker, definitely making its way towards him.  He flattened out, ready to charge at a moment’s notice, and Stuka followed suit.  "Don't come any closer, I'm warning you!  Not another step!"  Almost as if in compliance, the rustling stopped a few feet away.

He nervously glanced around in case it tried to sneak up on him, holding his breath as his heart pounded like a drum of war.  "Hello-OOMPH!"  In the blink of an eye, he had been launched face-first into the open.  When he had recovered, he was flat on his stomach with something lying on his back.

"Cold Front, you're back!" squealed Fire Flame as she hugged him.  "I was so worried!  Are you okay?!"

"I... can't... breathe..."

"Oh, sorry!"  She hopped off long enough for him to stand up and take a deep breath, which she immediately squeezed back out of him.  "I can't believe you made it!  Did you guys beat the dragon?"

He loosened her grip enough to speak.  "Yeah, he won't be bothering us anytime soon.  Is my dad here?"

She shook her head, and quickly caught his chin with her hoof before he could look too disappointed.  "Aw, cheer up!  I'm sure he's on his way!"  She tackled him again.  "Hey!  You've got a-" she was cut short when Cold Front flipped them over, and they rolled around as they tried to pin each other down.

Rue and Citrus burst from the forest, the rest of the herd close behind.  "Cold Front!" Rue called as she rushed to embrace him.  "Thank the Sun, you're okay!"  The colt, caught up in an unexpected group hug, looked to Fire Flame in silent confusion.

"Stuka, right?” Citrus inquired to the stallion, who nodded.  “I’m sorry, we couldn't stop Cold Front from running off.  We saw one of them go down, and feared the worst."

"As fate would have it, that was for the best; this young colt saved our plots back there!"

Citrus stared in frozen disbelief.  Then he looked down at the two foals, wrestling beside them without a care in the world.  "Well how do you like that," he chuckled, "Two in the first two days!  Lightning must be so proud!"  He glanced about the area as several more pegasi arrived.  "Speaking of which, where is Bird Brain?  I need a word with him, and I just know he’s got an earful or two or ten for me; might as well get it over with.”

Stuka turned hopefully towards the new arrivals, but his hope was dashed as quick as it came; Aviator shook her head sadly before receiving a dismissing nod.  "I... I don't exactly know.  We’re searching for him now."

"Wait-" he motioned for Stuka to follow as he walked away from the crowd, trying not to raise suspicion "-what do you mean, ‘you don't know?’  Wasn't he with you?"  His eyes widened as the realization dawned.  "No... don't tell me that..."  Stuka nodded forlornly.  "No… oh, Moon help me."  He rested his forehead on one hoof as he let out an exasperated sigh.  "Did you see where he landed?"

The pegasus motioned towards the river in the distance.  "Somewhere over there, down a ways, but there’s no sign of him.  I sent out another party, but..."  His voice trailed off as they looked back at Cold Front, who had finally managed to break free from Rue, but was once again at Fire Flame’s mercy.

“Does he know yet?”

Stuka nodded.  “He didn’t exactly take it well.  The kid’s strong like his father, but I think he’s running on borrowed time as it is.”  Citrus raised an inquisitive eyebrow.  “Back there, when we told him that Lightning… the kid almost broke.  The only time that actually happened was-” he glanced around them as he gave a deep sigh “-it was when he lost his mom in a lightning storm.”

Citrus gritted his teeth anxiously.  “So that means he’s-”

“An orphan now, yes.  He went into denial at first, but he realized pretty quickly that she wasn’t coming back.  His dad was there to help him get through it then, but…”  They solemnly exchanged understanding looks, before taking one last glance at the colt on what could well be the last day of his foalhood.

“It always seemed so safe, you know?”  Citrus gazed wistfully up at the sky now sharing his hues.  “Fire always wanted to fly, from the moment she saw her first eagle; landed right in the middle of camp when she was three.  Ever since then, wings were freedom to her.  Just go wherever you want, leave the world behind…” -he closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth- “…and never have to deal with this again.”

They sat together in silence as they watched the herd attempting to restore the village as best they could.  Most gathered up the upset produce or attempted to pitch the tattered tents with what little they could salvage, while a few others kept the other foals in their sights; they weren’t about to have any more incidents.  Occasionally, Rue would glance over from the young duo towards her husband and they would exchange knowing looks before returning to their tasks.

Twister’s team finally returned just as dusk fell over the plains.  No words passed between the pegasi, but the message was clear.  Stuka covered his face as he sat upon the grass, trying to figure out what to do.  “Please tell me she just told you a really bad joke.”  Rue had rushed over to join them, as Fire Flame and Cold Front sat unnaturally still together.  “They wore each other down, and there’s nothing distracting him now.”

Biting her lip, Twister held out her hoof.  “This was all we could find,” she whispered.  The trio leaned in for a closer look, before jumping back at the sight of singed blue feathers.

“We have to tell him, Citrus.” said Rue at last.  “He needs to know.”

Her husband shook his head.  “I was hoping we’d never have to do this again…”

“I’m not so sure I can…” Stuka caught himself as he scratched the back of his head.  “I mean, I don’t know if there’s anything I can do, but if you guys need 
me…”

“It’s alright… Stuka, right?  We can handle this one.  Go, see to our people; a lot of them are probably going to look up to you after today.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Stuka straightened up and saluted them.  “Thank you, both of you, and good luck.”  He nodded to Twister, and they made their way back towards the salvaged village.

“His mother’s gone,” the mare whispered as they began the long walk to the foals, huddled around a recently kindled fire.  “He told us just before Twister arrived.”

“What are we going to do, Rue?  Stuka said he barely made it because Lightning was there, and now…”  Citrus nearly choked on his words.  “Now he’s gone, and I’d spent the entire day shouting and threatening to tear his head off.”

“None of that, dear.  You were both scared for your foals, it couldn’t be helped.”  She stopped to rest a hoof on her husband’s shoulder.  “But let me be the one to tell him, alright?  I’ve had more time to get to know him, and he doesn’t have as much against me.”  She brought his head up, and their eyes met.  “Even if none of it was real, let me tell him.”  Citrus nodded solemnly.

“...no, I’m sure it’ll be okay!  He could be, uh… or maybe we could, um…”  Fire Flame desperately fumbled for a way to reach her catatonic friend.  A small fire burned in front of them, probably of her kindling to keep him warm.  Even she had her limits, though, and she quietly resigned as her parents approached.

“Hey, kiddo.”  Rue sidled over and took a seat beside the colt.  When he refused to take his eyes off of the fire, she swallowed her nerves and continued.  “So, there really isn’t a way I can put this that will make it any better.  Twister’s group just made it back and-”

“I know.”  The emotionless interjection took them by surprise.  “I’m not an idiot; I know what happened.  I figured it out the moment I set hoof on that cloud and didn’t see him.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry-” Rue reached out to him, but quickly retracted her hoof when he shot her a stare that could pierce bone.

“What good is there in being sorry?”  His voice shuddered with tranquil fury.  “He’s gone, and there’s nothing that’s going to change that.  You trying to coddle me, tell me everything’s gonna be okay?  Well, save it because it’s not.  An entire herd of sorry pegasi couldn’t bring back my mom, and they’re not going to bring my dad back now.”  He took a nearby stick and prodded at the embers weakly, rolling the logs and releasing clouds of sparks and crisp smoke. His eyes glowed as he stared blankly at the dying fire.

“He used to tell me to ‘remember the sky.’  That no matter what happens, it’ll always be there.  Burn the land and boil the sea, you can’t take the sky from me!”  His voice trembled as he stabbed at the flames, his eyes undeterred by the choking haze wisping in the chilly breeze.  “Well you know what?  Screw the sky!  Nothing can take it from me, but it’s taken everything I ever had!  What am I supposed to do when everyone’s left me, and the one thing they left me turns out to be a freaking-”  His voice cracked as he fiercely hurled the branch into the embers, snapping it in a shower of red sparks.

For a moment, he stood in trembling silence as they looked on in shock.  Then he turned and bolted for the woods without looking back.  His breaths grew heavy and erratic as he disappeared into the trees.

The clearing was illuminated by the the full moon directly above, with the old tree casting an ominous shadow over Cold Front as he emerged, breaking into a stumble as he gasped for air.  Taking one last desperate look around to make sure he was alone, he finally fell to the ground and let himself go.  “Why…” he sobbed.  “W-why…”  If he was even trying to speak, nopony could have known; his voice came in small whimpers between sobs as tears rolled down his face.

With time, his sobbing turned to coughing, and he slowly got to his hooves and dragged himself to the decrepit tree.  His breathing became heavy as he leaned against its cold, grey bark, desperately trying to recover himself.  Helpless to stop the sick feeling in his stomach, he dropped his head, arched his back, and vomited.  Blinded by tears, the despairing colt struggled to stay on his hooves as he gasped for air through his runny nose and burning throat.

When it was finally over, he walked to the other side of the tree and settled in its shadow.  He tried to steady his breathing as the breeze chilled his drying sweat and tears.  “Why did you have to leave me alone?”

He didn’t even look up when Fire Flame slowly emerged from the clearing, or when she stood in front of him with worried eyes.  Only when she sat quietly beside him did he allow a heavy sigh to betray his thoughts.  Still, no words passed between them.

In time, she looked up at the stars above them, dazzling specks of white light flickering around the great moon.  Without looking down, she nudged her friend in the side to get his attention, and then pointed to the great beyond that spread endlessly above them.  Cold Front gave a grunting sigh.

“What?  Yeah, I know.  I’ve seen plenty of sta-” he was cut off when Fire Flame gently pressed a hoof to his mouth.

“Sometimes, the Elders will tell us stories about the stars.  About how even they don’t know what they are, and how they’ll be the last great mystery we figure out.”  She paused to look at him, and he returned her stare before they both resumed their skyward gaze.  “Some ponies say that there are two parts to the sky, one for the day and one for the night.  They say the stars are just holes in the night, and that their light comes from the other side.  Maybe we’ll fly high enough to find out what’s out there, eventually.

“Others think that they’re the suns and moons of other worlds, far, far away.  They say that there may be other ponies there, looking right back at us.  And that someday, we’ll go and greet them, and our worlds will meet.

“But my favorite is that they’re the spirits of ponies who aren’t with us anymore.  Everypony becomes a star eventually, spending forever surrounded by their friends and family, having adventures in the sky.  There’s plenty of space, plenty of things to do, and they’re all there, so they’re never lonely…”  The filly began to smile as she took a deep breath.

“Grandma and Grandpa Rice, Aunt and Uncle Berry… my Cousin Peanut…”  Still smiling, she wiped away a single tear.  “...they’re all there together.  And from the sky, they can watch over us, keep us safe, guide us.

“So I guess,” she said at last, looking over to an entranced Cold Front, “they’re never really gone.  They just watch us from the sky…”  She raised her hooves outwards towards the stars.

“...and you can’t take the sky from me,” whispered Cold Front at last.

Without looking down, they reached over and took each other’s hoof, and slowly leaned together for warmth.  No words passed as they sat together beneath the old grey tree.  Time seemed to stand still as they gazed endlessly at the broad expanse of stars in every direction, seeming to completely fill the blackness in some places.  The air was filled with the crickets’ serenade, and somewhere in the distance, a chorus of toads could be heard.

At first, they didn’t seem aware of their company.  But with an aside nod from their daughter, letting them know that he was alright, Rue and Citrus sidled into the clearing.  They paused to consider one last time, but quickly agreed in silence that it was best.

“Hey kiddo…” said Rue in her motherly voice.  “How are you feeling?”

“A little better, thanks.”  The adults sighed with relief at the sound of his voice.

“We don’t blame you for what happened earlier,” she soothed as they made their way around and sat beside him.

“I know.”

“It’s a lot to go through in one day, even for a grown stallion.  But for somepony your age…” Rue shook her head sadly “...I can’t even pretend to imagine what it must feel like.  No one should ever have to go through this, especially not at your age.”

“It’d be a nicer world if they didn’t,” Cold Front sighed, looking down from the stars for the first time.  Fire Flame hurriedly wrapped her hoof around his shoulders, and held him like he would disappear if she let go.

“Yes, it would…” Rue’s voice trailed off, as if she was trying to imagine if such a world could even be possible.  “Either way, we’ve been doing some thinking.  You’re a strong little colt, Cold Front.  Stronger than many of the grown folks we’ve known, but this isn’t something you should have to go through on your own.”

For the first time in what seemed like years, Cold Front smiled.  “But I’m not alone,” he said as he looked up at her.  “They’re watching over me, every day and night.  And I have you guys down here with me, too.”

“Now you get it!”  Fire Flame squeezed him gently.  “We came all the way back here, just to make sure you were okay.  There’s no way I… we’re… letting you be alone!”

“Heh, I guess I’m stuck with you,” Cold Front chuckled, and squeezed her back.

“Actually,” Rue began, scratching her disheveled mane, “Citrus and I have been doing some thinking, and-”

“-we want to adopt you,” Citrus finished.  “If you’d like, you can live with us.  We’ll raise you as our own, keep you fed, keep you safe.  The choice is yours, of course.”

It took the colt a moment to realize just what had been said.  “You… want to adopt me?”

“Why not?  After all you and your father have done for us, it’s the least we can do.  Besides, the herd’s got to stick together.”  Citrus crouched down until he was level with the colt, and gave a reassuring smile.  “What do you say, kid?

Cold Front took a deep breath, and stared down towards his hooves.  With tears streaming down his face, he whispered something to Fire Flame before resting his head on her shoulder.  She gently nuzzled his mane, then looked up at her parents and gave a little nod.  “He says he would love that.”

“I-I don’t know what to say,” he stuttered hoarsely.  “It’s all so-”

“Shhhh…” soothed Rue, pulling her family in for a group hug.  “You’ve said enough already.”

The tranquility of the moment was short-lived, thanks to the sudden interruption of: “What, I don’t get a say in this?”

“Sir!” panted another voice.  “Sir, your condition is quite serious!  I really must insist you-”

“The Void with that, I want to see my son!”

At these words, there was no doubt as to whom the stern voice belonged.  All heads turned towards the source, to the right of the group.  Sure enough, standing there in the light of the full moon, was Commander Lightning Strike.  Several ponies of both races were in pursuit, gasping for breath.

Rue, Citrus, and Fire Flame all released their holds on Cold Front, who was in a state of mild shock.  As soon as he realized he was free, however, he bolted across the grass and embraced his resurrected father.  A mare opened her mouth to speak, but Lightning waved her away; whatever it was, it could wait.

“It’s you… you’re really here…” Cold Front whispered.

“And I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.  Everything’s alright now,” Lightning replied, nuzzling his son.

“It won’t be if you don’t get back to the village, you blasted fool!” snapped the mare, having steadied her breathing.  “If you want to see your son grow up, you need to do as I say!  Rue, Citrus, help me out here!”

Rue scratched her tattered mane.  “As much as I hate to admit it, Poultice is probably right.  She’s kept a lot of ponies with us over the years, even when it didn’t look like they had a chance.  If she says something, it’s best that you listen to her.”

“You just came back,” added Citrus, “Don’t let him lose you again.”

Lightning sighed.  “Alright, let’s go then.”  He and Cold Front began to walk towards Poultice and her group at the edge of the clearing, when one of his front legs suddenly gave out.  Citrus was at his side in an instant, holding him steady and giving him support.  “Thanks,” he grunted, more from pain than displeasure.

It was only now that they realized just how bad a shape he was in.  His wings, once proud displays of his vast and mighty plumage, were little more than singed red appendages, devoid of the slightest trace of having ever been flightworthy.  Patches of his fur were black from where he had desperately tried to smother the flames during his fall.  Most of his mane and tail were gone, and what remained was scorched at the tips.  Lightning was battered and weary, but far from beaten.

Poultice hurried over to support his other side.  With her crew leading the way and Rue watching over the children, the cavalcade started off for home.  Guided by the moon and stars, they walked in silence, save for the snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves in the underbrush and the occasional grunt of pain from the battered warrior.  Citrus could stand it no longer.

“Is it alright if we have a moment alone?  There’s something Lightning and I need to discuss.”

“It’s alright,” said Lightning to the indignant Poultice, “I can support myself for long enough.  I don’t have much left to break if I fall, anyway.”  Rolling her eyes, the mare stepped back to join Rue and the foals.  The stallions paused for a moment to get their bearings, and resumed at a slowed pace.

“You’re a bucking fool, you know that?”

“I missed you too, dear.”

“You had a son, a son who needed you, and yet you still put yourself in harm’s way, with no chance of escape.  What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking it wouldn’t do my son or the herd much good if they got eaten.”

“You didn’t have to take such a huge risk, you know.”

“Of course I didn’t,” Lightning growled.  “I could have easily taken a squad with me to give myself a better chance.  But if something had happened to any of them while I still survived, I wouldn’t forgive myself.  The way things were, the only thing standing between the herd and the dragon was my group, and the only thing standing between my group and its belly was a distraction.  I figured one of us may have to make the ultimate sacrifice, so it might as well be me.”

It took Citrus a moment to find his voice again.  “But you’re all the kid has.  He snapped when we all thought you didn’t make it.”

“And yet, you three coaxed him out of it, just like I knew you could.”  He grinned at Citrus’ dumbfounded glare.  “You said I’m all Cold Front has, but I felt otherwise before I left, and I was proven right tonight; that if anything should happen to me, he’s in good hooves with you and Rue.”

Citrus looked away, slightly stunned and trying to make sure he had really heard him right.  “Last I checked, you didn’t exactly approve of my parenting skills.”

“Last you checked, I wasn’t exactly calm.  Sure, that little filly of yours seems to sneak away a lot, but you notice pretty quickly when she’s gone, and stop at almost nothing until you know she’s safe.”  Lightning let out a long, exasperated sigh as he lowered his head.  “I haven’t forgotten what not paying attention cost me last time; it’s a mistake I’ve gone out of my way to avoid making again.”

“Your wife?” Citrus whispered.

Lightning nodded mournfully.  “I try not to let him out of my sight, or the sight of somepony smart.”  He quickly glanced back towards his son, walking next to his friend and looking like exhaustion was finally catching up with him.  “Just to be safe, you know?”

“The more you watch them, the more they want to escape,” Citrus said, shifting his stance to better support the pegasus.  “You’re right to worry; he’s your son, after all.  But you have to have some faith in him, and let him roam a little.  How else will he learn what to do when you’re not here?  You must have heard what happened before you came back?”

Lightning sighed again, but a small smile formed on his battered muzzle.  “You see?  Good hooves!”  He started to laugh, but it quickly turned to a heavy cough.  They came to a stop for a moment as he hacked and choked in the fresh night air, but he still waved Poultice away.  “Besides,” he wheezed, “ponies will say and do things they normally wouldn’t, when they’re mad or scared.  Even I’m not immune to doing that, as much as I hate to admit it.”

“You mean like insulting the hooves that are going to feed and heal you?” inquired Citrus, turning towards him and raising his brow.

“Nah,” Lightning grunted back, waving his front hoof dismissively.  “I was thinking more like challenging somepony obviously stronger than you when he has at least two more behind him.”  He turned to meet Citrus’ scowl with his own.

The stallions froze in place, eyes locked and squinting as they held their breaths.  The others stopped and looked on in nervous silence, save for Poultice.  “For the Moon’s sake, can’t you go two seconds without-”

Without warning, the two burst into laughter as they looked away from each other in defeat, trying to regain their composure.  Rue brought a hoof to her face as she tried to suppress a giggle, and was quickly joined by the foals beside her as they fell to the ground.  Soon the whole group was a hollering and snickering mess as the two argued over who had cracked first.

The merriment was short-lived, however, when Lightning’s laughter turned to hacking as several droplets of blood fell from his mouth.  “Alright everyone, let’s hustle!  He needs treatment, NOW!” Poultice hollered, rushing to his side and almost carrying him forward herself.  They had just broken into a gallop when Discord snapped the onlookers forward.

The Sun was coming up over the forest, and the trees cast their long shadows over the village beneath a warm, orange sky.  While Rue and Citrus organized the morning tasks amid the fluttering sea of beige and white cloth, Fire Flame and Cold Front slept soundly outside of a somewhat elaborate tent shaped like a T, with a covered doorway at the foremost end.  The foals were huddled against a corner out of the nipping morning wind, snuggling beneath a makeshift blanket of faded yellow fabric recycled from the day before.

Poultice stepped out, mopping her face with an overused rag.  Pockets were beginning to appear beneath her eyes, and her hooves were coated in a thin layer of seamless light brown mud.  She paused to scope out her surroundings, looking concerned until her eyes fell upon the sleeping foals beside the doorway.  After rubbing her hooves as clear as she could manage, she stepped over and nudged Cold Front lightly on the side of his head.  “Hey kiddo, rise and shine.”

The colt yawned and rubbed his eyes with the hoof that wasn’t pinned beneath his bedmate.  “What’s up?” he muttered.

“It took me the whole night, and there were a few tense moments,” she let out a relieved sigh, “but it looks like your father’s going to be alright.  With plenty of time and rest, he should be back up and walking before you know it.  Of course despite my orders, he’d like to see you first if you don’t mind.”

“Oh yes, of course!  Thank you for everything, Ms. Poultice,” sighed Cold Front happily.  He sat up and gently shook his friend, who tried to ignore whoever had interrupted her slumber.

When he didn’t stop, the filly finally sat up.  “Mmph, hey.  Did I fall asleep?”

“Last night, yes,” chuckled Cold Front as he stood to stretch.

“Oh, sorry about that,” she yawned, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth.  “How’s your dad doing?”

“He’ll be grounded for a while, but other than that he’ll be fine.  He wants to see me before he rests; wanna come with?”

She sprung out from under the blankets and nodded, and together they ducked into the tent.  Poultice sighed and scratched the back of her head.  “Where do these kids find that kind of energy?”

The medical tent was a far cry from the hospitals Twilight was familiar with: it was unbelievably cramped and musty, and it seemed like more light came in through tears in the fabric than the doorway.  Four small piles of what looked like dried grass and dirty old hay made up the beds in each corner, only slightly better than the dirt beneath them.  Each was accompanied by a crude bowl of red or brown clay, all showing traces of thankfully unidentifiable contents from their years of use.  Twilight hoped that it was only for the winters; accommodations like these must have been unbearable in the summers.

Lightning Strike was on his stomach on the “bed” to the back-left.  His wings and part of his torso were coated in the same light brown mud that Poultice had on her hooves, hiding much of the damage that had been done.  The back of his mane was tied away from his back, keeping it away from his injuries.  He was still awake after a long night, even though the pockets under his closed eyes showed he was ready to pass out.  “That you, Cold Front?” he murmured in a dry, raspy voice.

“Father…” Cold Front raised a hoof to rest it on his father’s shoulder, but thought better and brought it down again.  “Father, I’m here.”

The stallion reached over and blindly searched the dark, until his son took his hoof and sat down beside him.  Then he turned to the colt and slowly opened his tired eyes.  “You know, I always thought heroes would be about three times my size, at least.”  He smiled out of the corner of his mouth.  “And yet, here you two are.”

“It was your guts that gave us all a fighting chance, dad; you’re at least as much a hero as I am.”

“But it was your brains that won the day.  After all, you figured out its weakness and how to use that to your advantage with only a few moments to think about it.  Don’t you even think of trying to downplay what you did yesterday, because I won’t have it!”  He was silent for a minute.  “Look, what I’m trying to say is…”  He over and pulled his son into a hug.  “I love you, son, and I’m proud of you.  I always have been.”

Cold Front smiled and hugged his father back.  “How are you feeling?”

“Better than I was last night, that’s for sure.”  He looked back at his tucked away wings and sighed.  “I’m… not really sure if my wings will ever really recover, though.  Poultice said that there’s a good chance that I’ll never fly again.”

“Dad…”

“Oh, don’t you start.  Just between the three of us,” he lowered his voice into a whisper, “I was never really big on flying, anyways.  If anything, it gives me a good excuse to keep my hooves on the ground.”

“Yeah…”  The colt looked at the dirt, unconvinced.

“Besides,” he reached over and ruffled his son’s mane, “it was a small sacrifice, when you think about it.  Anything, never being able to walk again, would have been worth keeping you and the herd safe.”  Cold Front looked up, and his familiar little smile returned.

“But mostly you!” Fire Flame remarked, giving him a gentle nudge.  Cold Front chuckled and nudged her back.

“Alright, Commander Thickhead, I’m back with the water.”  Poultice entered the tent, carrying a large makeshift bowl of clean river water.  “It’s time for you to get some rest, unless there’s some other wonderful world-changing event that you’d like to see first?”

“No, you haven’t suddenly expired and stopped getting on me about everything.”  He laughed through his coughs, and the foals had to look down to hide their giggling.  “Alright kids, looks like our time is up for now.  Run along, and for pony’s sake, don’t do anything exciting until I’m better; I doubt she’ll leave me alone long enough to see it.”

“Hey kid,” called Poultice as she came to the bedside.  “Remember how I said he’s gonna be alright?  Well, I think I’ve changed my mind: I may have to put this idiot in the ground by the end of the day.”

Cold Front sighed and rolled his eyes as Fire Flame’s laughter finally escaped her.  With a final departing hug from Lightning, they turned to leave.  Before they had even reached the door, he called to them, “Wait, does he have a mark too?”

“THAT’S IT!  Get out before he makes me bury him alive!”  Before anyone knew what had happened, Poultice had rushed the foals through the door and into the morning air.

Cold Front stood up and looked at his flank.  “By the Sun, how long has that been there?!”  Sure enough, a large dark blue snowflake with two smaller, light blue flakes had appeared.  They formed a sort of crescent, with the smaller flakes at the back.

"You had it when you got back yesterday," said Fire Flame.  "I tried to tell you!"

"You mean when you were squeezing the life out of me after tackling me from the shadows?"  They both laughed, and he beamed with pride as they studied his new mark.  “I guess this means my destiny is to make it snow or something?”

Fire Flame’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.  “What do you mean, ‘make it snow?’”

Sensing that she was about to have another one of her freakouts, he slowly took a few steps back.  “N-nothing… how about we discuss this some other time?”

“Nooo…” she whispered, moving in like a cat preparing to pounce.

“O-okay then,” he muttered, picking up speed.  “Just let me go get a piece of cloud by the river, and I’ll show you how-”

“YOU CAN GRAB CLOUDS?!” she shrieked, finally leaping at him.  He rolled out of the way and galloped through the village, Fire Flame in hot pursuit.

“No!  Yes!  Just give me a chance to explain!  Help!  HELP!”

Between the tents, around the gatherers, over the fruit baskets and past a smiling Rue and Citrus, they gallopped off towards the river in the distance.  The village was full of the sounds of a growing community; the gatherers counting the produce, the scouts discussing maps in the dirt, friends talking about how to spend the day, children playing, and Rue and Citrus calling out to be careful despite knowing there was no need, all filled the once quiet air.  But the loudest of all was the laughter of Fire Flame and Cold Front, a pair of heroes hard at work on a brand new day.

“The defeat of the alphawolf sent the timberwolves running from the plain, and dragons would not threaten Everfree for centuries to come.”  Discord had donned a crisp grey suit and adorned his head with a maroon fez, returning once more to his role as a melodramatic narrator.  “The handsome Professor Discord proved to be an abomination of alchemy of his word, as everypony in the story lived.  Yes, just this once, everypony lived!”

“YeahgreathoorayIloveahappyendingpancakesforbreakfastthanksgoodnight!” Spike babbled as he finally draped himself over Twilight’s back, fast asleep.

“Oh, everyone’s a critic, I suppose,” sighed Discord, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.  “I thought it was pretty good; did you see that dragon?  The effects on that one...”

Twilight shook her head and looked back at Spike.  “I think all the excitement was just too much for him.  He is just a baby, after all.”

“Yes yes, we all have our excuses.  There’s plenty more to come, though!  The Seers of the East, the Bandit Wars, the Blackhorn Conspiracy… so many dangers, and the biggest threat of all came from within.  All this and more in ‘Discord’s Tales: The Great Journey North!’”  Wearing a black shirt, beret, and shades, Discord shouted into a hollow cone like an Applewood director.  “Playing soon at a flashback near you!  There are stories to be told, secrets to unfold, promises to make, and chances to take.  And the biggest question of all, is Twilight Sparkle ready?”  He put away the cone and lowered his shades.  “Is the eager young princess ready to continue her journey?

Twilight hesitated for just a moment, to look back at the happily sleeping dragon and tired owl perched on her back.  "In just a minute,” she said with a confident smile.  "I have a baby dragon and a wise owl who are up past their bedtimes!"