//------------------------------// // Darkness Rising // Story: Into Darkness We Ride // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// The sarcophagus was dank and dark, and were it not for the breaths of passing guards, it likely could have been all the colder. Heavy hoofsteps echoed through the ornately-decorated crystalline hall. The immaculately-polished hallway gave the illusion of a faint glow as the guardpony's aurastone glimmered on his chest, casting a shimmering light across the empty tomb's walkways. Occasionally, two guards would pass by one another and nod in acknowledgment, before continuing on their separate patrols. None of them took note of dust being scattered about in unusual patterns across the smooth floor. None noticed the strange flutter of a foreign breeze when they stopped for a drink or to speak with one another. And none noticed the spare set of hooves echoing in the halls, or the humidity that gathered in the air as an unseen pony breathed and shuffled through the shadows. Chanter peeled back the hood of the invisibility cloak he had been granted and glanced frantically around the halls, before taking several steps towards the entrance to the next corridor. The bluish glow of a unicorn horn brought forth a panicked gasp, and he smothered himself in shadow once again. He froze in his tracks and bit hard on his lip, stifled his breathing and strangled his own urge to whimper when Princess Cadance herself rounded the corner, her eyes heavy and tired. She stepped directly past him so close that he could feel her breath. Chanter's face paled, and he winced, believing any moment that he would be caught. Prison flashed through his mind only after the thoughts of what Celestia would do to his family. He clenched his teeth and waited. Then she was gone. Her light dimmed down another hallway, and her hoofsteps faded into a distant echo. Chanter took a badly-needed breath and scrambled around the corner, moving as quickly as he dared. Every flap of the cloak, every gentle tap of his hooves against the ground was deafening to his ears. Any moment he expected to be heard, and for the alarm to be raised. The jig would be up, and his little foal would be doomed to hellish servitude – or worse. It didn't happen. Chanter found himself stumbling into a round room of a soft, bluish aura. Tiny motes of light danced on the breeze he generated entering the hallowed chambers, and he slid clumsily to a halt. Upon an elevated altar of sapphire, tucked into caskets of diamond, were two bodies – one orange, one blue. The Last Elements. A shudder ran through Chanter's body as he laid eyes on the two dead mares. Their forms were preserved splendidly, their manes combed immaculately straight, and their gravesites lined with innumerable bouquets of flowers, gems, notes of gratitude and grief, and treasures both sentimental as well as invaluable. They formed a veritable mountain of blossoms and trinkets, far larger than the caskets themselves, all settled at the foot of a portrait of both carved into the crystalline walls. Wreaths were mounted to both sides of the caskets surrounding a picture of both mares in question, and in the center between the two was a portrait of both of them together, a picture of all six Elements of Harmony – long before the war, it appeared – and a plaque. Rainbow Dash and Applejack Loyalty and Honesty - The Last Knights of Equestria True Friends to the very end - May Harmony keep you forever - Rest well Chanter peeled back the cloak. His eyes cared not for the display or outpouring of affections. He panted heavily and trotted forward, disregarding the rope line and scaling the steps. He chewed on his lip and peered through the clear casket lids. He couldn't help but admire the fine job the medical staff had done in disguising their wounds. Were his family not at stake, Chanter very likely would have wept for their loss. There was no denying the beauty of the two legendary mares. Rainbow Dash's mane still shimmered in their dazzling array of colors, and Applejack's fur still appeared as soft and as velvety as he'd imagined. It was truly a shame they had to perish in such a disgraceful manner. A pang of guilt worked itself through Chanter's heart. He couldn't help but feel at least marginally responsible for the two mares' deaths. They had so much life left to give – and it was at least in small part because of him that they wouldn't be able to give it. Then he pushed his grief aside in favor of his fatherly instinct. He shook his head and turned to leave, throwing only a sidelong glance at the two caskets. He froze. Moments passed. He wasn't sure what caused him to pause. Something simply seemed… off about the entire setup. Chanter had been to enough funerals in his life to know that such smiles that they held were reserved for the living. There was something odd about the relaxed nature of their corpses as well. The way their legs folded over one another across their chests was too peaceful, too unnaturally restful. It was too perfect. The entire setup almost appeared fake. Chanter bit his lip and looked towards the entrance of the cathedral entrance. No lights flickered in the corridors. He turned back to the caskets, and wedged a hoof into the handle. The crystalline top piece weighed far more than its thin and fragile appearance implied. Grunting, he turned and pressed his muzzle against the polished surface, shoving upward with all he was worth. He ground his teeth, scuffed his hooves, strained, shoved, and panted. At last the lid slid open. Chanter failed to compensate for its sliding motion, however, and the heavy lid slid off the casket, crashing loudly to the floor. Chanter winced. He waited with bated breath. Moments seemed to last minutes. His ears flicked, listening closely to the echoes that reached him from the way he had come. The halls, however, remained as silent as the tomb. At last, the stallion allowed himself to breathe again, and turned back to the body. He scrutinized her with a scrunching of his muzzle. His hoof swept up across her lifeless freckled cheek and swept back her pillowy golden mane. He paused, staring at her face head-on. Something about that smile… His hoof brushed by her ear. The merest touch produced a soft click, like hooves that met rock. He eyed it closely and blinked. He bit his lip and rapped against the appendage again to the same strange note. With a third touch, he tried to feel the texture of her ear. A portion of it fractured and fell away. His jaw clenched, and his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. Chanter stumbled back as the crystal's life-like illusion faded, replacing it with a thin, fragile shard of crystal that returned to its original shape. He had read enough on the Crystal Empire's history to be aware of the fabled crystal golems. Never would he have believed that they would have been so life-like. He pressed his hoof against the wounded stone figure, and the illusion that had been Applejack flickered beneath his very touch. Beneath was revealed the shimmering crystal statue where one of ponykind's legends should have rested. Chanter's jaw dropped. “In the tomb! I swear I heard a noise coming from here!” The stallion's head swung towards the entrance to the chamber, and he startled in-place. Quickly he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and retreated to a distant corner, just in time for a trio of armored guards to come rushing into the tomb. The three of them skidded to a halt and looked about the chamber, one's eyes glazing briefly over Chanter's position. Chanter bit his breath and lip, and froze again. “The casket lid,” the lead guard muttered, eyes growing wide and his coat pale. The other guard turned to the mare at the back of the line. “Go inform Her Highness immediately that we've had a breach.” With a nod, the mare charged back the way she had come. Chanter saw his chance, and broke for the tomb entrance. His hoofsteps echoed deafeningly off the walls, and he tripped over a suit of mithril armor. Every eye in the room sliced a path straight towards his location and the crystal dust that kicked up around his hooves. “INTRUDER!” the lead guard shouted. “Intruder in the Harmonic tomb!” Chanter dashed into the corridor with a pair of massive stallion guards hot on his fetlocks. “They're wearing a shadow cloak!” “BLOCK THE EXITS!” “SWAN SONG! BEHIND YOU! SWAN SONG!” Chanter came up swiftly on the tail of the startled mare guard. He quickly reached back to his saddlebags with his teeth and gripped the hilt of his dagger, before severing her jugular with a single swipe to her neck. The mare blinked, twitched, and fell to the ground in a spray of blood that stained the edge of his cloak. The younger of the stallion rushed to her side in a panic, cradling her twitching form in his hooves. The guard captain locked eyes on his bloodied form, and galloped after him, bearing down on him at a rapid pace. Adrenaline surged through him, and Chanter clutched at the clasp of his cloak, freeing it from himself and leaving it in a shadowy puddle behind him. It was enough to send the captain for a spill and buy him a few precious seconds. Chanter bounded around a corner and straight into another set of guards. Their surprise worked to his advantage as he vaulted over them and their outstretched javelins. “The south hall!” he heard behind him, but it was already too late. Chanter dodged down another hallway and swiftly bounded towards the exit. “C-commander...” he spoke to his neck. “COMMANDER!” he shouted, hoping to hear the aurastone resonate back to him with the familiar voice of Spitfire any moment. Silence answered him. It was only then he realized that his stone had been latched to the clasp of the cloak of invisibility he had worn for the mission. Blinded by panic, Chanter ran as fast as his hooves could carry him out of the exalted spire… ...and headlong into a group of guards. “HALT!” one commanded, his troop leveling their spears at him. Chanter skidded to a halt and looked frantically to his left and right, only to find himself surrounded on all sides. Guards poured out of the Harmonic Tomb and encircled him from every direction, weapons drawn threateningly. “Remove your saddlebags, and spread your hooves!” the large captain snarled, taking a menacing step forward. “I won't warn you twice!” Chanter quaked in-place and slowly lowered himself to the ground. The three largest guards advanced slowly towards him, their weapons trained directly on him. The heat of their breath steamed his hackles and caused him to shiver. The stallion clenched his tearful eyes shut. Thoughts of his wife and little filly flashed through his mind. Tears poured down his face with the thought of their brutal execution because of his failure. It would be slow… torturous… cruel… “Don't even think about moving,” the guard growled as his stomped forward. Suddenly, the air overhead whistled, and three black shadows meteored from out of the darkness. The three guard captains were crushed down to their stomachs in a wave of dust and bitter cold wind. Chanter dared to open his eyes, and the familiar forms of Air Commander Spitfire and her lieutenants Fleetfoot and Soarin' glistened in the light of the palace. The guard captain she towered over looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. “Y-you…” Spitfire grinned sinisterly, leaned forward, and vomited a tar-like black substance into his gaping mouth. The rest of the guards backpedaled in a combination of disgust and fear, leaving the captain to writhe on the ground in wailing agony. The air commander turned to smirk at Chanter's prone form. “Must it always be an ordeal with you?” she hissed sarcastically. “F-FREEZE!” a young crystal guard stepped forward, raising his javelin. “You four are under arrest for high treason against Equestria!” Spitfire turned and narrowed her ember-like eyes at him. “'Equestria?'” she scoffed. “There is no Equestria. There is only King Sombra…” “D-don't even think about it lady!” another young, bold stallion stammered to her side. “There's twenty of us and only three of you!” Chanter looked up and saw Spitfire grin. “You should recount. There are six of us and seventeen bodies.” “Wh—” The young guard never got to finish his question before the ichor-stained guard captain whirled around and impaled his junior's skull on his spear. A twist splattered his eyes and brain matter all over the cobblestone streets. Chaos took reign as the two other guard captains turned, their eyes pouring with black tears and snarling fangs. Half the junior guards’ ranks broke in a blind panic, while three more fell in a sudden bloodbath. Screams of panic filled Chanter's ears as Spitfire turned and smiled at his quivering form. “You're fortunate that I heard the screams over the stone. What use would your family be to us had you been captured or imprisoned?” She glanced at her two wingmates and nodded. “Take him.” The stallion felt himself hoisted up by his forelegs and winced painfully as the three tore to the sky unimpeded, leaving a gathering chorus of chaos and fearful shouts behind them. * * * Rainbow Dash awoke with a stir and moaned, feeling about to her side and patting the hard floor of the cavern with her hoof. For the second time that evening – what one would call that anyway – she found herself robbed of the source of warm and happy cuddliness. Something had robbed her of… !!! Her heart rate elevated to stratospheric levels, and Dash was awake and on her hooves in an instant. Her body burned with adrenaline, and her eyes frantically darted around in the dark. “Applejack?!” A warm hoof falling on her withers the next moment startled the pegasus, and she leapt ten feet into the air, wheeling about to fight whatever had touched her. A pair of wide, green eyes stared back up at her, and a musical chuckle filled the short space between the two of them. “Swear, I figure I seen ya in every color of the rainbow, but I ain't never seen white.” Deflating, Rainbow Dash heaved a sigh and fluttered back to the floor, never more grateful for her friend's touch as she crossed the short space between them and hugged her. “Bad dream?” Rainbow shook her head. “No… just cold all of a sudden,” she muttered. A canteen crested in apple-shaped gems was shoved into her hooves, and she looked up. “S'okay, sugarcube. That's the way I used to wake up all the time too.” She smirked. “I kinda regret tryin' to be all sneaky-like about gettin' a drink though. You sure were enjoyin' bein' all snuggled up with me,” she said with a wink. “D-did not,” the pegasus nervously stammered. She averted her eyes and sipped the canteen. “I just… liked having the warm again...” “Well, time enough for that later, darlin',” the cowgirl said, dropping a set of saddlebags at Rainbow's hooves. “We oughta get a move on. I reckon we slept in as it is.” “R-right.” Rainbow strapped herself into her saddlebags and devoured her breakfast in short order, and the pair were on the move again. The two took to charging the mountains with their newfound strength with all they were worth, stopping to snack along a shielded alcove, where their collective breath and close quarters allowed for some semblance of warmth to collect. They only allowed themselves a few precious minutes to gather their strength and catch their breaths before surging onward once again. The paths grew more jagged and narrow the higher up the mountainside they climbed. Solid pathways gave way to narrow, crumbling cliff faces, overlooking fatal falls and an endless plane of utter darkness. Steps that were taken in haste just hours prior were now subject to decision and testing by Rainbow Dash, simply to see that the path would hold up for her earthbound companion. Many terminal points disintegrated beneath the pegasus's touch, leaving the pair to backtrack multiple times. There were no shortages of scattered, bleached-white skeletal remains of fallen ponies. Many of them had likely been would-be escapees scrambling in attempt to escape Canterlot during Sombra's invasion, or those that had simply chosen death over servitude. Each was a sobering reminder of the fate that awaited the unwary. The already-thin air at ground level grew only thinner. Even Rainbow Dash had to be careful not to wear herself down too much, lest she be asphyxiated at altitude. Applejack, on the other hoof, struggled for breath, and the pair found themselves constantly stopping to give her a chance to rest. Then, at the level of sky where clouds once mingled, betwixt the numerous mountain peaks, natural rock bridges criss-crossed the chasms, giving the duo a welcome bit of relief from their persistent climb. Applejack in particular seemed grateful for the break. Even Dash grew dizzied by the sheer heights over the floors of the jagged, rocky valleys far below, and found herself constantly encouraging her wingless partner to keep her eyes on the straight ahead of her. Miles that were once nothing to the duo in the distant past were unbelievably taxing. A thousand meters felt like a marathon, and Rainbow Dash had to surrender hovering in favor of conserving her strength for the journey ahead. The pair entered a long narrow valley, their breaths echoing off the slanted canyon walls endlessly back and forth when the pair stopped for a drink and a rest. “You smell somethin', or is that just me?” Applejack panted tiredly. “Huh?” Rainbow turned back to her friend. “Smell something? Smell what?” she asked, inhaling the thin air. Applejack stopped nearly a dozen yards back, ears pricked, breathing in deeply. Her brow furrowed in worry. “That smell… like somethin's burnin'.” Rainbow blinked and looked up, but was blind to any shade in the sky that may have indicated smoke. She sniffed and sniffed, then finally shook her head. “Nah. Don't smell it. Let's keep moving.” Applejack hesitated to follow, but after a few more whiffs of air continued on after her friend. The pair walked up the seemingly endless canyon for several hundred more yards, before Rainbow came to a pause. “Wait,” she said, causing the earth pony to stop. She sniffed. “Okay… okay, I smell it too…” “Burnin'?” Dash nodded and looked around, smelling at the air every which direction. “I can't make anything out… do you see a fire somewhere?” “I smell it… but I sure as hay don't see it...” “Me neither…” “Then I ain't crazy.” “Not unless I am too...” Applejack pulled her ears back. “One thing's for sure – there ain't no cause of fire out this far in these parts that's a good one.” Rainbow crouched and flexed, producing a pair of talon-shaped blades out of her war gauntlets. She shrugged herself out of her saddlebags and kicked them behind a rock nearby. “AJ?” she whispered. Applejack sagged out of her own saddlebags and paused. “Yeah?” “Arm yourself… I don't think we're alone here…” “Ah, hayseed…” Rainbow was gone the next moment, crouching and launching herself up a cliffside and clambering to a higher shelf in the mountain face. “Rainbow!” Applejack hissed after her, withdrawing the blades in her own gauntlets. “Rainbow, you get back here! Don't go runnin' off on your own!” “Just checking it out,” the pegasus said with a soft wave. “Stay there, and yell if you see anything.” “Rainbow!” No answer. Only the skittering of pegasus hooves. “Rainbow!” Silence. Rainbow was a hundred feet up the slopes and disappeared into the dark over the bluffs, beyond Applejack's voice's reach. The farmgirl spat in annoyance and took a heaving gulp of the thin air before she launched herself at the rock face. The talons on her greaves allowed her to grip and scale the rocks far easier than she could with her large hooves alone, and she ascended to where she had seen Rainbow Dash vanish. She clutched to the edge, only to have a sky-blue hoof held out to her. She clutched it and felt herself hauled up by her old friend. “Rainbow Dash!” she whispered angrily. “How many times do I gotta tell you to not go—” “SHH!” The pegasus stifled her with a wing. Silence. The only noise was the duo's quiet breathing and the texture of the rocks beneath their hooves. Regardless the quiet did little, it seemed, to calm the excitable pegasus. “I heard a noise…” Rainbow whispered. Applejack blinked and stepped around her friend's wing. She took a thorough look around the sloped canyon. There was precious little to hide behind, save for a few vertically-standing stones. “You don't think we got followed all the way out here, ya suppose?” “Hard to say...” Dash's brow furrowed as she stared up and around at the nothingness. Somewhere a stone fell. “Hear that?” “Yeah...” “Stones don't just move themselves, right…?” “I don't reckon so.” Rainbow's tail and wings stood erect and alert, prepared for an ambush. “AJ,” she whispered. “You take the right flank around that rock formation – I'll take the left. Be ready for anything...” “Hay no, sugarcube,” Applejack protested. “What've I told you about bein' reckless? I'm stickin' to you like cotton on a rabbit's tail.” Rainbow chewed her lip and considered for a moment. She nodded and led the way slowly forward, ducking close to the ground in attempt to blend with the boulder-studded landscape. The two nervously eyed the darkness and hushed their lit gems hastily. Gradually, however, the pair relaxed when it became apparent that they were the only two ponies occupying the valley. Instead, their fascination became absorbed by a warm breeze that brushed through the two's manes. “Feel that?” the earth pony asked. “And-a-half.” Her ears sagged. “You don't think we're standing in a volcano, do you?” “I reckon it's always possible...” Applejack said hesitantly, kicking a warm stone with her hoof. “I didn't think these were volcanic rocks, though… always figured they were like glass or somethin'.” She sniffed. “Burnin' sure smells a lot stronger up here, though...” “There's so much heat building up here…” Rainbow huffed, wiping her leg across her face. “I could actually start sweating…” “Humid too…” Applejack panted, fanning herself. Rainbow kicked at another stone with her hoof and frowned, examining the terrain closer, ears pricked towards the faint noise of a number of rocks tumbling down the hill. “Does this rock feel like normal rock to you?” she asked with a furrowed brow. “I dunno, sugarcube… I got a bad feelin' about all this.” “Oh please, AJ, don't say that,” Rainbow said with a wince. “That's the line every stupid adventurer pony in all those lame books says right before the horseapples hit the fan.” “I ain't kiddin' darlin'.” Applejack turned to her with a concerned expression. “I think we need to book it on outta here.” Rainbow looked around. “Yeah… yeah, probably not a bad idea…” The two turned towards the narrow chasm they had emerged from. “Ouch!” Rainbow quickly whipped her head around. “What?! What's wrong?” “The ground here… it got real hot all of a—” The earth pony hissed and leapt several spaces as green sparks lit up around her fetlocks. “AJ!” Rainbow took a step and shrieked at the heat that touched the frog of her hoof. She instinctively leapt into the air with a mighty gust from her wings, and bolted over to Applejack who was hopping across the ground with green flames licking at her fur. She swept down the slope and scooped her up in her forehooves. After a short glide, the pair skidded to a halt on the nearest ground that wasn't steaming and glowing bright green with heat. The two turned breathlessly to the lit slopes around them. Within the green fires, rocks and stones began sweeping uphill and congregating in a center location. The mass of rocks and objects – not rocks and stones, but petrified bones and long-dead flesh – towered over the two of them, swirling in a mist of flame, steam, and magic. Both girls' eyes widened as the mammoth shape took form. An ethereal, burning green eye solidified and glared soullessly back at the pair of them. The makeshift beast turned to glare at them, snarling with an otherworldly growl. Applejack paled and her jaw dropped. “R-R-Rainbow?!” “DRAGOOOOOOON! And then all was panic, noise, and fire. * * * Elsewhere, far from any carnage… A comforting light glowed below. Down in the valley, nowhere near the outskirts of Canterlot, a pair of figures moved through the foreboding darkness, descending the sharp slopes with the grace of impalas. A light tan mare with a red mane carrying a brightly-glowing torch dipped behind another shelf into a sheltered, hidden path, and exited on the other side of a sheer cliff face. She came to rest on one last rock ledge before the basin of the vale, carrying in her teeth a woven, dusty sack. On the flat ground, where the light was a distant glimmer, the mare dropped the sack and turned. She smirked up the mountain path to a young stallion as he struggled to keep pace with her down the rough path. “Come on, Tanner! You'll never be a Gatherer with that kind of can't-do attitude!” she barked. “Pick up your hooves a little!” The colt slid to a clumsy stop next to her with a tight hold on his own sack. His bag was nowhere near the size of the older mare's, yet even so, he struggled to keep from losing it over the cliffside. She brought him to a halt with a firm hoof and held him up by the withers. She chuckled, bringing forth a pout from the budding stallion. “I was coming along just to try and make your life a little easier, y'know. You could stand to be nicer,” he snorted. “It's only my second time out, anyway,” he said. She trotted into town, past roughly-assembled cloth huts, and stopped at a bonfire near the center of the makeshift village. The mare smiled warmly and patted the young colt on his withers. “I'm your big sister, kid.” She ruffled his mane. “Ain't my job to be nice. It's to make you a strong, respectable stallion. You don't want Silver Leaf to hear you complaining, do you?” She stooped and picked up her bag of rocks, draping it over her back. She looked at the pout on his face and the slump in his withers, and reached out to him, bringing him in close for a hug. “Just the same… thanks for all the help today,” she said with a wink. “I'll make sure your little girlfriend hears how big 'n tough you are.” Tanner bit his lip and blushed, looking away from her as the duo made towards the inviting glow of town. “Sh-she's not my girlfriend!” he protested. He fidgeted. “J-just… I don't want her to think I'm a… wuss or anything.” “Alright, tell ya what – I won't tell her you whined half the day about all the hard, dirty work.” Her brother hesitated, glimpsing sidelong at her. “I-if?” She smirked. “If you go help irrigate the west fields.” He proceeded to whine further. “Awwww, sis! I hate farming duty!” he protested. “I'm never any good at it… and the other guys always make fun of me for it…” “Pretty sure I'd put Silver Leaf on those fields for that too...” Tanner threw a wide-eyed look at her. Trailblazer smirked. “She's all alone out there… I just figured you wouldn't mind being gentlecoltly about it and lend her a hoof… but if you're not interested, I could always just get—” “O-oh, alright! Fine!” He bit his lip. “I-I'm just doing it 'cause you asked, though – not 'cause I wanna be alone with her or anything...” “Naturally.” A pause. Trotting. “Is it… okay if I just… y'know, go straight there?” he asked, glimpsing at the heavy bag off stone on his back. Trailblazer snorted and single-hoofedly lifted his carry off his back and placed it on top of her own without a hint of effort. There was any number of bad things about being an earth pony with a unicorn sibling. She simply didn't appreciate being the pack mule for her weaker brother. “Th-thanks, sis!” he chirped, before galloping off at a brisk pace. The mare shook her head with a roll of her eyes and couldn't help the chuckle and smile that came to her face. Boys would be boys, after all… Trailblazer entered town, the makeshift stone gate opened for her by a brick-red pegasus stallion and brown unicorn mare acting as guards. She nodded at the two guards. “Stone Eye. Amber. All quiet?” “As a graveyard,” the mare replied with a smile. “Good to know you two are behaving yourselves today, then,” she said with a playful wink. The two young guards had a healthy spit-take. “Itoldyoushesawus. Itoldyoushesawus!” the timid pegasus stallion panicked under his breath, thinking she hadn't heard him. Trailblazer chuckled past them and marched towards the heart of the village. On either side of her, ponies huddled by small, thatch-woven huts in groups of seven or eight – exactly had she had left them twelve or so hours ago. Most clutched at blankets or warmed their hooves by small, burning black stones likely nicked from the bonfire that glowed in the center of the village. She gave the villagers each a smile or a nod in reply to their greetings and happy tidings of her return. Most of them, she knew by name. The village was simply that small – no more than a couple hundred ponies, and most never more than a stone's throw away. After stowing the two bags of ash rocks in the community tent, Trailblazer approached and hung her aurastone by the bonfire in the village center where it shimmered a soft crimson light. It began to flicker in the dark and gradually began to recapture the spark of the blaze. She smiled nodded and, after she threw her torch into the blaze, she turned toward the east side of the village. Not far past the last homes lay rows of various crops assembled as a small farmland of a number of acres – hay, corn, grasses. All were doused beneath a number of special glowing rocks – sunstone, if she remembered the enchanter correctly. In the glow of one of them, a diamond dog pawed at the dirt. He let a scoop of the earth fall through his paw as he sniffed at the contents. Trailblazer smiled and pushed through a row of corn. “Stonejaw?” The scarred diamond dog looked her way. “What do you think?” she asked. He looked at the ground and pawed at it. “The last season for this ground. We will have to cycle to another field while this ground rejuvenates.” She nodded. “How about the crops?” “We will live… barely.” She snorted with a grin. “So, same as every harvest?” she asked, whacking his shoulder playful. He nodded stoically. “I don't want to tempt the fates by saying it could be worse, but...” The thinnest semblance of a smile crossed the canine's jaws. “Well, I was going to go explore a bit into the northern mountain caves – see if I could scope out some everdark mushrooms for the stew this evening. Care to come with me?” Stonejaw shook his head softly. “You sure? Never know – there could be gems in them there hills,” she said with a waggle of her brow. The diamond dog simply stared at the ground. She pawed at the soft earth herself, and up and down the slowly-greening crops. “I didn't mean for you to wind up stuck out here all by yourself, you know. This wasn't what I had in mind. I just thought you might appreciate the solitude. I know the idle ponyfolk chatter doesn't exactly appeal to those sensitive ears of yours.” “My ears tolerate ponytalk just fine,” he said calmly behind her. “I know you can – and don't feel like I want to pressure you or anything. But I know not having anypo— or rather, anypuppy – to talk to has to eat at you, Stonejaw.” She turned. “I just don't want you to feel alone is all…” She paused and blinked at her long-time friend. Stonejaw stared skyward with his one unscarred eye. “Stonejaw? Buddy? You okay?” Stonejaw growled at the heavens in reply. Trailblazer's ears pulled back. “What is it, big guy? Bad news?” she asked, looking up into the darkness where his eye was glued. “Fire…” he snarled. She blinked. “You sure you're not just smelling the bonfire again?” she asked. “No.” He looked at her. “It's not the ash rock…” He looked to the east. “Magic… dark magic…” In Stonejaw's age, a bit of paranoia could be expected. It had served them well over the years, but the gray hairs in the top dog's coat made it obvious that he was no puppy. That left her to wonder if his nose had begun to play tricks on him in his old age. She had often wondered secretly if the endless pony diet didn't agree with the predatory dog's appetite – or mental state – particularly well. Though his senses had saved the village many a time from stray patrols of Sombra's forces, she didn't even consider him, her closest friend, above scrutiny. The village's safety was her responsibility, and she had to question everything. She opened her mouth to speak, only to have her thoughts interrupted by an ear-splitting roar that threatened to shatter the mountains they called home. Her jaw dropped in disbelief. Stonejaw had grabbed his pack sitting nearby and slung it over his shoulder, passing a rustic Royal Guard battle gauntlet to her. The mare spat a curse, turned and eyed the diamond dog grimly. “We'll need to grab Stone Eye and Amber – sounds like something was stupid enough to go and poke the dragon…” She pressed her hoof into the shield-like grieve and locked it on, and the two galloped towards the village. “Hopefully whoever it is is still alive by the time we get there…”