//------------------------------//
// The Morning Star Falling 
// Story: The Breaking of the Storm 
// by moguera 
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Chapter 19: The Morning Star Falling

Twilight Sparkle covered her mouth with her hooves as she stared in horror at Celestia.  She'd never thought her teacher was capable of executing such a brutal move as deliberately breaking an opponent's horn.  She fought down the desire to reach up to her own horn, as though she wanted to confirm that it was still there.
"That's terrible!" gasped Rarity.
For any unicorn, the possibility of having their horn broken was a terrifying prospect.  It was unbelievably painful, even worse than having the horn struck mid-cast.  To make matters worse, it rendered a unicorn's magic unusable.  The vast majority of a unicorn's outlets were located in their horn.  It was, more or less, their only means of projecting their innate magical energy out into the world around them.  Without it, they were incapable of magic...helpless...handicapped.
"I am not proud of what I did," said Celestia, "Given the nature of his crime, I had planned to remove his horn anyway, but not so violently.  However, it was the best recourse I could think of.  His Dark Matter was too dangerous and I couldn't give him the chance to recreate it, lest he tip the balance in his favor."
"He was pressing you that hard?" asked Soarin' nervously.
"He was," said Celestia, "In retrospect, I believe he may have programmed his creations, somehow, to react automatically to incoming attacks without his input, which would explain why they protected him from all of my strikes, regardless of how aware he was of them.  However, because he relied on that to fight, he had no experience in actually reading the course of the battle himself, so he was completely helpless during that interval when his Dark Matter actually failed him.  Given the opening he presented, I opted to finish the fight before he had a chance to recover."
"What happened next?" asked Pinkie in an unusually somber tone.
"After that...I took Morning Star into custody and passed judgment on him," said Celestia, her eyes glazing over as she remembered the scene once more.



Celestia looked down from her throne at Morning Star, her gaze stern and unyielding.  The unicorn, her ex-student, stood before her, not merely shackled, but bound and muzzled so that his every movement was restricted.  It was the garb reserved for the most dangerous and unruly inmates in mental institutions throughout Equestria.  The ensemble certainly gave him the appearance of a madpony.  It was not the first time she'd forced a pony into such bindings and it probably wouldn't be the last.  Celestia was used to their glaring and growling as they looked up at her while she pronounced their sentences.  Others had retreated from reality, their eyes glazed over and their gazes vacant as they lost themselves completely to the horror of their situation.
Except...there was none of that in Morning Star's gaze as he stared up at her.  Rather, his eyes were calm and placid, as though he didn't even realize he'd been bound or that an uneven stump rested where his horn had once been.  It was as though nothing about this situation mattered to him in the slightest.  There was no anger in his gaze as he looked up at his former teacher, no sadness, no regret, no remorse.  Nor was there any sign that he'd sought refuge by retreating from reality.  His eyes remained as clear and lucid as Celestia had ever recalled them being.
"You are guilty of attempting to plunge Equestria, and the world with it, into untold devastation by attempting to breach the borders of reality," declared Celestia, "You have shown neither remorse nor restraint in your actions, despite fully knowing the implications of what you were attempting to do.  Because of that, I have no other choice but to pronounce you Excommunicare-Equestris.  All records of your existence shall be erased, along without all records of your accomplishments and everything that you have left behind.  When I am finished, you will be an unpony, completely unrecognized by your fellow ponies.  To them, you may as well not exist."
Once again, Celestia braced herself against a storm of anger and bile.  Though the imprisoned could not speak through the muzzle, they were more than capable of inarticulate snarls and shouts of rage, trying their hardest to curse her through the restraints placed over their mouths.  However, the storm she'd readied herself for did not come.  Instead, Morning continued to stare impassively at her, as though he didn't care at all.
Seeing that he was seemingly unfazed by her announcement, Celestia decided to continue with the procedure.  "It's over," she said, "Get him out of my sight."
At her command, the two Guards standing at the door pulled on the leashes they held, which were tied to Morning's back.  They guided him out of the throne room.  Before the day was out, their memories would be erased and they would have no idea what they had done nor the prisoner they had tended to.  Such was the nature of this punishment.  By the time it was carried out, no trace of the condemned would remain.



"After that, Morning Star was escorted to the outermost boundaries of Equestria and turned loose," said Celestia, "I haven't heard anything about him since...save for now."
"Do ya think he's comin' back fer revenge or some-such?" asked Applejack.
"I cannot say," said Celestia, "Morning was never really one with much of a pokerface.  Anger, sadness, any emotion at all, he was never very good at hiding it.  Rather, what made him difficult to read was that he would not react emotionally to a given situation in the same way other ponies would.  Things that would make other ponies rage wouldn't bother him in the slightest.
"In retrospect, the Excommunicare-Equestris might not have been the ideal punishment to use against him.  As he was, Morning Star cared nothing for what other ponies thought of him, nor did he care if they remembered or forgot him.  He was not interested in his posterity or what he might leave behind, for good or for ill.  Instead...if he truly is plotting something, I may have done him a favor instead."
"Instead of punishing him by stripping him of everything other ponies would remember him by," whispered Twilight, "you gave him complete anonymity.  No pony would know he was a criminal or that they needed to watch out for him.  He could go anywhere and do anything and nopony would be any the wiser."
"Yes..." agreed Celestia, "Normally, when they learn their fate, the condemned are broken then and there.  By the time they are left to their own devices, their minds have been completely shattered by the implications of their sentence and they are unable to conceive of doing anything.  But...as he has always been, Morning Star was different."
"Well, it's not like he can do any crazy stuff anymore," said Pinkie Pie, giving the Princess a halfhearted grin, "I mean...you took his horn away, so it's not like he can ever use his magic again or create any of that nasty Dark Mattery stuff anymore."
"Except that he clearly can," countered Soarin', "Otherwise, Flash Spark wouldn't be such a problem."
"Either that or Morning Star has taught the means of creating Dark Matter to another pony," said Celestia, "I had hoped that, bereft of his research materials and all the accumulated records of the materials he developed, he wouldn't have anything to teach with and be forced to give up.  Many scientists give up when they are force all the way back to square one, especially when they had come as far as Morning Star did."
"But what does he want?" asked Twilight, "What's the point of picking up a washed-up stallion with a grudge, outfitting him with some kind of supernatural augmentation, and turning him loose?  Even if he's planning on carrying out his experiment in some shape or form, Flash Spark wouldn't have any role to play in it...I think."
"That's what I don't understand," said Celestia, "Morning was the sort of pony to often play with his Dark Matter in different ways to simply see what happened.  It is possible he is simply doing that with Flash Spark.  However, I couldn't see him being willing to risk the fact that he's still active coming to my notice without reason.  He must know that such a thing would force me into action."
"So maybe it is somepony else who's learned his particular brand of magic," suggested Soarin' calmly, "After all, it's not as though somepony else would have the same thoughts for or against using the Dark Matter that Morning Star did, especially if she thought that doing so openly would send us off in the wrong direction."
"Perhaps," agreed Celestia.
"So what do we do?" asked Twilight.
"It is little different from what we have been doing since the moment Flash Spark made his reappearance," said Celestia, "The Guard will search thoroughly for any sign of Flash Spark and the one who sent him.  However, in the meantime, I want you to use this..."  She gestured to the archive around them.  "...to gain a thorough understanding of Morning Star's Dark Matter and its different forms.  If possible, I would like you to come up with a means of detecting it so that we can then home in on the offenders' location."
"Do you want me to stay in Canterlot then?" asked Twilight.
Celestia shook her head.  "No.  Rather, I will arrange to have the contents of this archive to be sent to you in Ponyville so that you may peruse them at your leisure and in familiar and comfortable surroundings.  The fact of the matter is, it is still potentially dangerous for you to remain in Canterlot for longer than necessary."
Twilight nodded in agreement.  "I'll get started right away," she promised.
"Take whatever scrolls you would like to start with," said Celestia, "I will send the rest."
"I guess we're done here then," said Soarin'.
Celestia nodded and made her way to the door.
"Princess!"
At the sound of Pinkie's voice, Celestia paused and looked over her shoulder at the party pony.
"Um...If you really wanted to make Morning Star disappear," said Pinkie, "why did you just hide all of this..."  She waved at the assembled mass around them.  "...here?  Weren't you supposed to get rid of this stuff too?"
For a moment, Celestia was silent as all eyes turned to her.  "I had feared that Morning might someday teach his magic to others and that they might turn it against Equestria.  He did have...students of his own during his later years under my tutelage, though he had never gotten around to teaching them how to create or harness Dark Matter.  However, I worried that that might not be the case or that I might have missed some of them when I purged all evidence of Morning Star's existence.  If that was so, then I wanted this knowledge to be available in the event that I or somepony else was forced to oppose them."  She sighed.  "I say that.  But the truth is that I simply could not bring myself to destroy Morning's work.  So much of what he had done was truly marvelous beyond description.  I hope that, someday, what he did leave behind may be of some benefit to the world, even if his memory is gone, I want ponies to be able to get something out of all that he created."
Apparently unwilling to continue the conversation any longer, Celestia took her leave.  With nothing more to discuss, Twilight took charge and began to select the scrolls she would bring back with her to Ponyville.



"Is something wrong?"
"Huh?"  Twilight blinked and she wrenched her eyes away from the scroll, the same lines that she'd been staring at for the past half hour in fact.  She'd wanted to get a head start on her studies during the right back, but her mind had wandered and she'd found herself unable to concentrate on her work.  Evidently, Arkenstone had noticed.
"You were miles away," said Arkenstone, gently nuzzling Twilight's cheek, "Do you need to talk about it?"
"No..." said Twilight quickly, before freezing and reconsidering, "Yes...Maybe...I need to think about this first."
"I'm here whenever you're ready," said Arkenstone softly, letting Twilight rest her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you," whispered Twilight.  Behind them, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity were wrapped up in a conversation of their own.  Soarin' had already parted from the group, heading directly back to Cloudsdale, rather than returning to Ponyville.
Taking solace in her coltfriend's presence, Twilight sank back into the uncomfortable mire of her own thoughts.  She was deeply conflicted about what she had learned on this trip, both about Morning Star and about what Celestia had done to him.  While she didn't doubt that Morning Star had almost done was heinous, the fact of the matter was that Celestia had passed judgment on him and then erased every trace of his existence.  She had obliterated a pony, not from life or from the world itself, but from history.  Not only that, but this was a punishment that she had used multiple times.  Celestia claimed that she'd used it less than ten times over the course of her entire rule...but there was no proof of that.  After all, if all evidence of those ponies' existence had been wiped away, then there was nothing that would suggest that Celestia hadn't used that punishment more than ten times...or a hundred...or a thousand...
The other thing about it that truly troubled Twilight was the absoluteness of it all.  By erasing all records and memory of a pony, Celestia took absolute control of issuing their punishment, took everything into her own hooves.  It was an act that veered perilously close to the boundaries of the godlike behavior, the kind of behavior ponies like the members of the Cult Solar expected from her in fact, that Celestia so deplored, even possibly crossing those boundaries outright.  Perhaps that was why Celestia had used it as rarely as she did, assuming she'd actually only used it as many times as she'd said she had...
A strangled groan forced its way out of Twilight's mouth.  Thinking in circles like that made her head hurt.  It was similar to how she'd felt when she'd been unable to refute Elderflower's reasoning regarding the destinies of herself and her friends.  Quietly, she confided her uncertainties in her coltfriend.
Arkenstone listened silently to Twilight's thoughts.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"I think...a certain degree of trust is needed," said Arkenstone, "Celestia did wield the Elements of Harmony...meaning that honesty is one of them."
"But..." said Twilight, "How can that possibly work?  What she's doing is deceiving ponies on a massive scale, lying to change history to suit her goals?  That's a fundamentally dishonest act."
"One of the most difficult aspects about honesty," said Arkenstone, "is understanding there are times when it should not be used.  All of the Elements are like that, in my opinion.  They are powerful, but they are not absolutes in and of themselves.  There are times when those virtues can become vices if they are applied inappropriately.  Sometimes...the truth is something that should be left buried...and forgotten."
A shiver traveled down Twilight's spine at the weary, depressed tone in Arkenstone's voice.  She'd nearly forgotten, in her own personal confusion, that Arkenstone himself had a depressing truth buried in the past, a truth that only she was privy to.  If that was the case, just what hideous facts was Celestia keeping her little ponies from being exposed to?
"More importantly, I believe we both have more faith in the Princess than that," said Arkenstone, the corners of his mouth turning upwards, "Celestia has always detested the idea of exercising absolute power over her ponies.  She would not have an authority so completely open to the possibility of abuse without something to check it."
Twilight nodded.  She remembered that, amongst other things, Arkenstone and the other Knights of the Celestial Order were a check to Celestia's power in and of themselves, that she'd founded their Order as a means of fostering ponies powerful enough to do battle with her, should she lose herself the way Luna had.  Did Celestia have another such check in place against her "ultimate punishment?"
"Above all else," said Arkenstone, "Princess Celestia is our friend.  Have faith in her."
Twilight nodded against Arkenstone's shoulder.  Her mind, weary from swimming through her own confusion for so long, was beginning to get hazy.  She let go of her worries for the time being and forgot the scroll that was still laying open in front of her and gently let herself drift off, leaning against Arkenstone's side.



The days passed quietly.  There were no further signs of activity from Flash Spark, who had, once again, seemingly dropped off the map.  Nor were there any signs of the pony behind Flash Spark.  The quiet was unsettling for some, but welcome for others.  Likewise, there had been little sign of activity from the Cult Solar, with no further indication that any of their members were coming to harass Dawn or those close to him.
Instead of foreboding, the air was beginning to fill with excitement as the date approached for the selection of the recipients of the Royal Warrant.  Rarity and Coco Pommel were working themselves to the bone in the Carousel Boutique, moving quickly to finish the pieces Rarity intended to enter into the competition.  Out on Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was likewise working hard as she went through all the apple recipes she knew, working on the best ways to promote her products.
A week after the wedding and the carefully concealed battle that had taken place during the wedding, Big Macintosh and Ditzy returned from their honeymoon, flush with the giddy happiness that two ponies could only have after successfully consummating their union.  Only two days later, as Macintosh began work on an extension to the Apple Family homestead, Applejack and Rarity were at the train station, waiting for the ride that would take them to Canterlot.



"Ya got enough luggage there?" asked Applejack, raising a wary eyebrow at the stack of suitcases that loomed behind Rarity, the small mountain of baggage seemingly on the verge of toppling over.
"Just barely," said Rarity with a complete sincerity that drew a deadpan reaction from her friend, "I have to showcase an entire line at the competition.  I have to make sure that everything is ready and that I have materials on hoof in case I need to make any alterations or additions.  I'm a little worried that I might have forgotten anything."
"Everything is accounted for," said Coco, coming up to stand next to Rarity, "Flaxseed and I went over the list with a fine-tooth comb."
That seemed to ease the alabaster mare's tension somewhat.  "I'm glad for that," said Rarity with a warm smile, "Both you and Flaxseed have been too good at putting up with me for the past few weeks.  I was a right terror."
"It's fine," said Coco.  A second later, a faint blush colored her cheeks.  "By the way, thank you for bringing me along.  I never thought I would get the chance to attend a prestigious event like this while I'm still an apprentice."
With a demure giggle, Rarity gently rubbed Coco's back.  "It's perfectly fine dear.  This will be a good experience for you."  Rarity's smile took on a slightly sly quality.  "Yes...a very good experience for you indeed."
Turning back to Applejack, Rarity gave her friend a victorious smirk.  "Besides, I wouldn't be commenting on another pony's luggage if I were you," she said, taking a long look at the stack of crates and barrels behind Applejack, which she and Red River had hauled into town by wagon.
"Ah've got to have ingredients," said Applejack, "Part 'o the competition is showin' that ya know what to do with the fruit ya farm.  We've all got to bring our own, 'cause that shows how resourceful-like we are when it comes to gettin' the things we can't grow ourselves.  Not to mention there's a full display 'o the range of our products here."
Rarity nodded, conceding the point, even though she still thought Applejack's earlier comment was rather hypocritical.  After all, with all that she'd needed to bring in order to make sure she was ready to compete, Rarity had opted to forgo many of her personal supplies for the trip, resigning herself to make do with what was on hoof at the hotel when she arrived.
"Good morning."
Rarity, Applejack, and Coco turned to regard the new arrivals as Arkenstone and Twilight joined them on the platform.  The two were accompanying them to the competition.  Arkenstone and Twillight would be providing security of a sort, trying to ensure that nopony tried any underhoofed tactics to interfere with Rarity and Applejack's chances of securing their respective Royal Warrants.
"Good morning to you as well," said Rarity as she regarded Twilight.  The librarian's normally lavender coat was looking a bit darker underneath her eyes.  Rarity suspected that Twilight had been indulging in a few too many late-night reading sessions ever since the bulk of the materials from Morning Star's secret archive had come down from Canterlot.  She quietly hoped that Twilight hadn't brought too many scrolls with her and that she might get some sleep on the ride up.
On that note, Twilight was looking rather surly at the moment, grumbling faintly under her breath and throwing sidelong glares at her coltfriend, who was affecting an expression as innocent as a newborn foal's.
"Okay, Ah'll bite," said Applejack after a moment, "Who put the bee up yer bonnet, Twilight?"
Snorting irritably, Twilight averted her gaze from Applejack, glaring off to the side.  "Arky's making me leave all the scrolls behind."
"Think of it as something of an enforced break from your studies," said Arkenstone, "You've been pushing yourself much too hard lately with researching the Dark Matter.  I think it's best if you took some time off from that.  Besides, the situation we're going into will require that we keep our wits about us.  I don't think having Morning Star's scrolls along would help with that."
Though she clearly didn't like it, Twilight obviously couldn't think of an effective argument to make and instead settled for glowering sourly at the boards beneath her hooves.
"Do you really think it's going to be all that bad?" asked Rarity, unaware that Coco had quietly tensed up next to her.
"It's hard to say," said Arkenstone, "Both Fancy Pants and Blueblood are doing their best to ensure that outside interference is kept to a minimum.  However, they have their limits.  There's no way to account for absolutely everything.  That's why Twilight and I are coming along."
Applejack's ears perked up as she heard a faint whistle in the distance.  "Sounds like the train's almost here," she said.
As she, Rarity, Coco, and Twilight all turned to look for the approaching train, Red River quietly pulled Arkenstone off to the side.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Red, his tone more nervous than usual.
"More or less," said Arkenstone, "Twilight was insistent that we do everything that we can.  If she goes to Canterlot, then I go with her.  My responsibility is to her, technically.  That means leaving Ponyville to you and Storm."
Red didn't look reassured by the Knight's words.  "It's just...if what we gleaned from Shining Armor's investigation in Appleloosa was true then...it's almost time."
"Perhaps," said Arkenstone, "We don't have an exact date.  However, the selection process should not take all that long.  I am sure that we can make it back by mid-season."  He frowned darkly.  "If all else fails, make sure that somepony is able to get to the library.  Spitfire gave Twilight a small number of Ouranos' feathers.  If what we fear comes to pass while I'm still away, have somepony send word to her immediately."
"I'll set things up with Spike," said Red, still sounding slightly nervous.  However, he quickly schooled himself back to calm as Applejack came trotting back over.  "Okay, it's time," said Applejack, smiling at her coltfriend, clearly unaware of Red's nervous train of thought, "Let's get get loaded up.  Ah don't want to hold up the train."
"Of course," said Red.
It was a lot of work getting the crates and barrels loaded onto the train, even as the staff worked to help Rarity and Coco load their own luggage.  Twilight and Arkenstone lent a horn and hoof respectively, helping the process along a bit more quickly.  As soon as everything was stowed away, it was time for everypony to say their goodbyes.
"Ya gonna take care 'o things fer me, Sugarcube?" asked Applejack as she gently nuzzled Red.
"I'll do my best," said the mercenary stallion, leaning forward to rest his neck up against Applejack's, "Be careful up there.  I don't really mind if you get the Royal Warrant or not, but I do want you to come back safely."
"'Course Ah will," said Applejack in full confidence.  Her expression sobered and she gave Red a grave look.  "Ya make sure to look after yerself while Ah'm gone.  Ah know yer gettin' mighty tense that somethin's gonna happen."
Red snorted and laughed softly to himself.  "I should have known better than to try and hide something from you," he admitted quietly, "I'll do the best I can.  However, it very well might be time for me to do the job I truly came here to do."
"Be safe hun," said Applejack, "Ah'm gonna do mah level best to make it back to ya.  Ah want ya to do yer best to make sure that Ah have somepony special to come back to."
"I will," said Red.
Applejack leaned forward and gently pecked the azure stallion on the lips.  "That's a promise then," she said, "Don't ya go breakin' it.  Tell Storm to take care too.  Flitter won't be none too happy if he gets himself busted up either."
"I'll tell him," Red promised.
The final boarding call echoed throughout the station, forcing the two of them to pull back.  Applejack followed Rarity and Coco as she climbed onto the train.  She smiled fondly at Red as the train pulled out of the station, waving as the cars were pulled out of sight with slowly gathering speed.
When the train was gone, he took a deep breath.  "I sincerely hope I can keep that promise," he whispered to himself.



Step by step, the miles continued to vanish beneath Terra Heart's hooves.  Distances that would have taken ponies weeks to cover took him days.  The lack of a need to stop for rest or food meant that he could keep going when others could not.  That simple fact allowed him to eat up distance at a prodigious rate, even if he never moved faster than a brisk walking pace.
The only reason Terra could maintain this state so long was that he had truly immersed himself in the earth's power.  It flowed through him, sustaining him, empowering him.  With each breath, he drew in still more.  Most other ponies, even amongst the other practitioners of the Mountain Root, had not Cultivated their power to this extent.  It was power born from boundless determination and unwavering discipline, born of years spent practicing but a single thing.  And yet, that one thing made all the difference.  It had transformed Terra Heart into a practically indestructible juggernaut.
While the power of the earth was nothing to be scoffed at, the earth could hardly be considered truly indestructible.  After all, rocks would erode from the wind and water and even diamonds might shatter if they were hit at the proper point.  However, an earth pony could refine that power to produce something stronger, harder, more enduring than what the earth could produce on its own.  Such was the nature of ponies.  Such was the extent of their true ability.
The sun set, the sky grew dark, the stars came out, and the cursed moon began to rise.  It mattered not.  Terra Heart would not be stopped not be swayed.  The sun would rise again, it would set again, rise again, and set again, all the way up until the appointed day...the day of the equinox...the day of the end.
Prepare yourself, Dawn Lightwing.  I come.  Your end comes.



Dawn felt a faint shiver run down his spine.  It was tiny, barely noticeable, but it set his hair to standing on end as he tensed unconsciously.
"Is everything alright?" asked Fluttershy, looking up from the books she'd been quietly reading so that she could regard the ebony colt, tucked securely under her wing.
Dawn had been working on his homework when the feeling had struck.  It had been something of a relief to fall back into the easy pattern of going to school, spending the afternoons with his friends, and working his way through the assignments.  For him and Scootaloo, there was morning and afternoon training, along with shifts at the teahouse.  Dawn and Scootaloo still went, but the others could only help out sporadically as they all found different claims to their time.  Right now though, the teahouse was going to be closed while Arkenstone was away in Canterlot with Twilight and the others.
"I'm not sure," Dawn said in answer to his mother's query, "Something felt wrong for a moment.  But it doesn't seem to be something immediate."
"Could it be somepony hiding?" asked Fluttershy, "Something like what Shade Steel did?"
Dawn thought it over.  "No...it feels different," he said, "Distant...almost as though somepony far away was wishing me ill."
Fluttershy felt a shiver of her own and tightened the hold of her wing around Dawn.  Given his circumstances, it was, unfortunately, all too easy for her to accept that there were plenty of ponies across Equestria who had reason to think dark thoughts about her son.  Ever since he had first crossed the path of the Cult Solar, he had been on the receiving end of more than his fair share of ill intent.  It both frightened and angered her that, even when he was safe at home, Dawn might still be troubled by the feelings of superstitious fools.
In the meantime, Dawn had grown more pensive.  He'd felt such intent before, but never so briefly or distantly.  Just what kind of grudge would a pony have to bear in order to project his intent on someone who is leagues away? he wondered.  A pony capable of something like that would not be an opponent to be trifled with.  His mind turned to the conversation he'd had with Princess Luna on Nightmare Night.  By the Supreme Pontiff of the Cult Solar's order, somepony named Terra Heart, a master of the Mountain Root, the ultimate earth pony martial art, was coming for him.  Arkenstone, Red River, and Storm Front had discerned that Terra would arrive sometime during the spring season, possibly during the middle of the season.  That knowledge had come from Shining Armor's investigation of the Cult temple in Appleloosa.  However, the timetable was largely based on conjecture.  There was no guarantee that Terra would show up when they said he would, if the rumors they'd heard from the captured cultists were actually true.
At this point, there isn't much I can do but wait, thought Dawn glumly.  He doubted he had the strength to face a true master of one of the Three Pillars, least of all the Pillar that was described as being the most brutally powerful and destructive of the three.  But he'd promised his mother and Scootaloo that he wouldn't think about trying to run away again.  According to Princess Celestia, the Guard was on the lookout for both Terra Heart and the pony who commanded him.  However, in recent days, they'd been forced to redirect their search for signs of the more immediate threat that Flash Spark had presented.
If...or rather, when...Terra came, Dawn knew that he would have to do everything in his power to lead the fight away from Ponyville.  He didn't consider himself a full master of the Gale King yet.  However, he knew full well that, if he tried to fight with his full strength, the battle could easily destroy anything nearby.  If he clashed with a pony that was even stronger than him, then all of Ponyville might end up as collateral damage.
Taking a deep breath, Dawn centered himself and allowed his fears and worries to slowly bleed away.  They were still there, just barely swimming beneath the surface of his skin, but he wasn't about to let them take control of him.  Instead, he acknowledged their presence and drew them into himself.  When the time came, they could guide his actions and help him stay safe.  That was what such emotions were there for.
If you're coming, then come, Dawn thought resolutely, thinking of his anonymous opponent, I'm waiting right here.  I'm not going anywhere.  I won't run away.
Giving his mother a reassuring nuzzle, Dawn returned to his homework, feeling a bit more at ease now.



Morning Star stared.  For the past few hours, he could barely take his eyes off of the device.  It hung like a grotesque stalactite from the ceiling of the temple.  The giant mechanism was composed of materials that shined with various shades of white, most of which glared harshly under the light issuing in from above, appearing unearthly and unnatural, even to his eyes, though he was the pony who had created them.  Its structure was no less bizarre and unsettling.  It was blocks and levers, rods and gears of strange shapes that didn't conform to the regular rules of geometry, meeting at angles that didn't look right to pony eyes.  Ordinary ponies who looked at the mechanism for too long often complained that doing so gave them headaches and made their eyes hurt.
Right now, it was incomplete.  Ladders and scaffolding ran up and down its sides.  Ponies swarmed across its surface like ants.  Earth ponies hauled in the material components, the pegasi lifted them to their destinations, and unicorns set them into place.  They had been working on this project for years, carefully fitting each piece, which had been painstakingly designed by Morning himself, into place.  The same project was being executed at five different locations across Equestria, forming the foundation of an array that would enclose the nation in its entirety.  It was the pinnacle of Morning Star's work.
It was nearly complete.
If he gauged it correctly, they were mere hours away from fitting the final piece.  Through his connection to the material of the other arrays, Morning knew that they were nearing completion as well.  In fact, by his reckoning, the component right in front of him would be the last one finished.  Once that was done...well...there would still be some more work to do, but the greatest hurdle would be overcome and he wouldn't have to worry about much anymore.
"You're looking mighty tense for somepony who's so close to finishing his pet project," observed Swift Stride as he came up behind Morning.
"Perhaps it has something to do with Equestria's greatest meddler being so close to it that has me drawn so tautly," mused Morning.
"Oh come on!" protested Swift, "What could I possibly do?  If I try to break those things, I might end up setting off something worse than what they were meant to do in the first place.  I don't even remotely get the principles they work under and you aren't going to tell me."
Morning didn't even need to work to see through the transparent lie.  The truth was that he'd already discovered numerous small explosives that had been secreted throughout the structure.  Given that his created materials were as much a part of him as his own body at this point, he'd been able to feel the presence of the foreign materials easily and removed them discreetly.  Granted, he'd never confronted Swift directly about it, nor had he tried to have the Celestial Knight removed from the temple.  Either one would disrupt the work of Morning's subordinates and delay the project further, which might have been what Swift had been hoping for.
There had been other ways that Swift could have conceivably disrupted or even destroyed Morning's work, but the Supreme Pontiff had blocked them off, one by one.  Out here, well away from any civilized areas, Swift would have no way of getting word to Princess Celestia that wouldn't take days or even weeks, assuming that he was able to send word at all.  After all, the Order had plenty of agents in the closest town to ensure that any letter of Swift's to be sent by courier never made it to Canterlot.
Morning had seen through the Knight's deception when Swift had first arrived.  Morning had made it a point to uncover the identities of all the Celestial Knights, in case he ever had to deal with or, more likely, run away from them.  While Morning could have had Swift driven from the temple, he had instead welcomed Swift Stride as the initiate the Knight was pretending to be and had quickly taken measures to ensure that Swift was unable to do anything to damage the project...not for a lack of trying on Swift's part.
There had been a suspicious number of accidents in recent months.  Carts were damaged, stacks of materials suddenly toppled over, a section of scaffolding unexpectedly gave way.  Fortunately, none of the workers had been seriously hurt...yet.  They were minor setbacks, all told.  Morning considered them to be a surprisingly pointless effort on Swift's part.
The sound of something cracking drew Morning's attention to the floor.  Two carts had come out of the storeroom at the same time, which was suspicious in and of itself.  Morning had drawn up the schedule to specifically to avoid just such an incident.  At this instant, the wheel on one of the carts gave way, causing it to topple against its neighbor.  The contents of the damaged cart, a pile of broad cylinders, spilled over into the second cart, which was filled objects that resembled indented tiles, said indentation matching the circumference of the cylinders currently spilling over into them.  Morning's eyes had just barely enough time to widen before they were nearly blinded as the colliding components exploded spectacularly.
The pullers were launched away from the cart and sent skidding across the ground.  The fragments of Dark Matter scattered across the room, peppering the other workers.  One of the scaffolds snapped a support and began to teeter dangerously, barely giving the unicorn atop it enough time to scramble to an adjoining platform before it gave way.
"Geez!" exclaimed Swift, "What was that?"
Morning pursed his lips, frowning.  The reaction itself was not unexpected.  Within the confines of the mechanism, those two pieces of Dark Matter were brought together, producing a burst of energy that would help power the device.  However, that energy was contained by the apparatus itself.  Out here on the floor, the unrestrained reaction between the two had been nothing short of explosive.
But it was wrong.  Morning had been meticulous in scheduling what components were on the floor at what times, specifically setting it up so that materials that were meant to react to one another in such a volatile manner were never out at the same time.  Somepony had altered the schedules for at least some of his workers to bring about this accident.  Morning glanced at Swift, who was still gaping at the chaos down below.  The Knight was incredibly cunning, perhaps one of the most dangerous minds in Equestria.  He might have noticed that the schedule had been written to keep certain materials apart during the construction process.  A little tampering would then allow him to arrange for just such an accident.
But even he couldn't have predicted this exact reaction, mused Morning, Was he just fishing for possible responses?  Is he looking for something specific?
"Well now what?" asked Swift, finally looking back up at Morning.
Morning let out a sigh.  "I'll need to get that cleaned up.  I can replace those components easily enough.  It's hardly a major setback."
"Huh," said Swift, "Too bad about the broken ones."
"They are of no concern," said Morning dismissively as he began to make his way down, "I don't have the time to worry about wasted materials."
"If you say so," said Swift, once again turning to survey the scene.  Though he hid it well, Morning could still see the hint of frustration that swept across Swift's face.
As he made his way down, Morning couldn't help but smirk.  It was a nice effort.  But you'll have to do better than that.



"Amazing!" gasped Coco as she stepped onto the platform in Canterlot, "Are all of these ponies here to compete?"
"Probably not all of them," said Rarity, "There are only a few dozen competitors at most.  As far as I know, most of them have arrived already.  However, I'm willing to bet that more than a few of these ponies are movers and shakers in the various industries being represented in Canterlot right now."
Confirming her suspicions, she spotted none other than Hoity Toity and his entourage making their way to one of the station exits, pulling a train of luggage even larger than Rarity's own.
"Ah'll say," said Applejack, staring excitedly from place to place, "That there's Chef Ram Say!"  She pointed excitedly towards a the wooly form of a bighorn sheep hefting a satchel of his own as he stepped off a train that had pulled in from Manehattan.
"Ooh!" squealed Rarity, "Didn't he used to be one of the chefs in the Royal Palace's kitchen."
"He still is," said Twilight, "part time at least; but he spends a lot of time now splitting his efforts between a few restaurants and a couple of culinary schools.  Some of his best students end up in the Palace kitchens though."
"Ah wonder what competitions he'll be judgin'," mused Applejack.
"He might judge yours," Twilight pointed out, "After all, ingredient selection is very important to chefs.  So identifying the best purveyors of particular foodstuffs is probably something he'd want to have a hoof in."
"Not all of them will be judging, of course," said Rarity as she spied another familiar face.  Sapphire Shores was giving her a friendly wave from halfway across the station.  Rarity returned the gesture politely.  "Quite a few of these ponies are simply interested in finding out who the winners will be.  They want to know who the best ponies to do business with in the coming year will be."  Amongst the fashion community, many of those ponies would probably be Rarity's customers...she hoped...as long as everything went well.
"The luggage is unloaded," said Arkenstone as he approached the group.  He was harnessed to a wagon that contained the sum total of both Rarity and Applejack's possessions.  Despite the impressive weight he was hauling, the beige stallion showed no sign of strain as he came to a halt by the group.
"Let's be off to the hotel then," said Rarity, "I made certain to secure an appropriate venue for our lodgings."
"Ya didn't put us up somewhere too fancy, now did ya?" asked Applejack skeptically, "Ah didn't bring enough money to stay in some five-star hoosegow."
"Don't trouble yourself, darling," said Rarity as she began to lead the group out of the station, "Affordability was my foremost concern.  After all, with my expenditures in recent months, I am not exactly swimming in disposable income at the moment.  The appropriate application of thrift can be an excellent indicator of class as well."
Looking at her apprentice, Rarity noted that Coco was looking a bit crestfallen.  "Now now dear," she said, gently bumping her shoulder against Coco's, "You aren't an expenditure.  You're an investment, one that I expect an excellent return on."  Smiling to herself, she thought, If things go according to plan, it will be an excellent return indeed.
Twilight had volunteered her parents' home as a place to stay, for politeness' sake.  Rarity had turned that down quickly.  Twilight's parents were certainly well-off, but they didn't have enough room for everypony and all the luggage they'd brought.  Similarly, the thought of staying in the Palace had also been turned down as it wouldn't do for Celestia and Luna to be seen showing favoritism to any of the competitors.  Because of that, Rarity had turned her efforts to finding the most affordable and functional hotels she could.
In a way, she experienced an ironic stroke of fortune.  Many of the competitors were much more financially liquid than she or Applejack were at the moment and had immediately gravitated towards the more high-class venues, along with many of the meaningful spectators and judges.  As a consequence, Rarity, with some help from Flaxseed, had been able to get a very good deal on a smaller hotel close to the venue where her competition would be held.  it was also close to the space where Applejack would be showcasing her wares.  There was storage space in both of the venues.  In Rarity's case, she would be keeping her work in the room with her and Coco so that they could continue to make final adjustments.  Applejack's own supplies would have to be hauled directly to the warehouse though.
"I hope everything goes alright," said Twilight in a quiet aside to Arkenstone.
"So do I," said Arkenstone, already sensing eyes following their movements.  They had only just arrived and things were already beginning to move.