The Shaded Path

by Crensler

Chapter 10

Mystic Star could only watch in saddened silence as Seeker dug determinedly at the soil behind Gray Shroud's cottage, tirelessly carving out a rough grave for his great uncle, whose remains, wrapped in fresh bed linens, lay nearby. She shuddered as she remembered the brief glimpse of the bedroom she had gotten before she'd managed to drag Seeker away, his scream of horrified shock and pain still clear in her mind. Who could have done such a thing? The level of violence, the sheer malice it would take to perform such a heinous act, it was simply unheard of in modern day Equestria.

She couldn't even remember the last time somepony had been murdered, at least that had been reported anyway. The fact Seeker was functioning at all was impressive, his face a grim mask that failed the hide the pain and anger roiling within the depths of his eyes. It had taken a long time for him to come out of his initial shock, Mystic Star having held him as he bordered on becoming completely hysterical, then waited as he stared at his great uncle's home for even longer in silence.

Finally he had gotten up without a word and walked back inside, ignoring her protests, not emerging until some time later, his great uncle's body wrapped in a clean sheet, the right side of Seeker's face now marred by a streak of blood. From the looks of things he had broken down again, his face likely having laid against the bloodied bed sheets as he'd cried. She couldn't imagine what he was going through even now, but she could tell that he was struggling with it regardless. He climbed out of the grave once it was finished, Star moving to help him with Gray Shroud's body, only to freeze up as he rounded on her with an almost crazed look in his eye.

"NO!" He shouted, causing her to flinch back instinctively. "Don't touch him! Don't..." The earth pony faltered, his expression crumbling as he fought not to break down once more, Star wishing she could say something that would help comfort him. But what could she say that wouldn't sound like hollow platitudes to the grief stricken stallion?

"Seeker," she began gently, even taking a cautious few steps forward. "Please, you don't have to do this by yourself. Let me help you."

"No," he said again, more softly this time, shaking his head and sniffling, rubbing his nose and leaving a streak of moisture behind. "No, I have to...I just have to." He shook his head rapidly, backing away till he stood next to the remains, then turned and hefted the wrapped bundle onto his back. His movements were jerky as he carried it to the grave, almost dropping it twice, before depositing it as gently as he could within.

He then proceeded to push the dirt back over it, only to collapse with a choked sob, trembling as he lay against the disturbed earth. "Damn it," he whimpered, pounding one hoof weakly against the ground. "Damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" Each curse was punctuated with a strike, each stronger than the last, till the final one was felt as a faint tremble under Star's hooves. "Why would anypony do this?!?" Star slowly walked to stand next to him, gently laying a hoof against the back of his head and lightly stroking downwards, repeating the motion several times in an attempt to soothe and comfort.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, still having trouble wrapping her head around the brutality of the crime. "Please, Seeker, let me help you." She laid the hoof she'd used to rub his neck against the soil. "Please?" He gave a shaky nod, the two of them then pushing the dirt over the hole, eventually covering it and patting down the mound it left. "Seeker, we should head back to Vanhoover, contact the police."

"No," Seeker said in response, shaking his head to emphasize the word as he stared down at the unmarked grave. "No, this is clan business." His eyes turned back to the cottage, the stallion slowly making his way back around to the front.

"Seeker, please, we shouldn't be disturbing the scene," Star cautioned him, knowing they shouldn't have moved the body either but having been unable to voice a protest against Seeker's all too obvious pain. He ignored her words, stepping inside the ruined remains of what was once a home, eyes casting about seemingly at random. "What are you looking for?"

"Signs," he replied shortly, moving about the broken remnants of a living area, scanning over everything with his gaze. "That which doesn't want to be found." His words puzzled her, the mare watching as he pushed aside part of what had likely once been a desk before moving to a collapsed wreck that might have been a reading chair at one point.

"There's always something, no matter how careful a pony is." He sounded almost crazed, which was definitely not a good sign. "Door's not damaged, Uncle Shroud let them in." He glanced over the entrance briefly. "Knew them, trusted them." His words held the edge of a growl as he moved over to the right of the door, a hoof full of feathers scattered about. "Some sort of struggle or...no, no, furniture wasn't broken till after."

"Seeker, you're not making any sense." Star watched as he moved back to the desk, opening a drawer and peering within. "Stop this, you're scaring me here!"

"Quiet!" Seeker snapped, glaring her way for a second, giving her a glimpse of what he was feeling now. There was hatred brewing in his eyes, hatred stemming from his grief. "What did they want? Uncle Shroud was butchered, but he didn't die quickly." He stamped his hooves in a clear show of his growing agitation. "No sense, makes no bucking sense!"

"Please, stop it!" Star cried, hoping to snap him out of whatever in the name of the royal pony sisters this was. "Seeker we need to contact the-"

"I said no!" He snarled, Star trembling as she saw his pupils contract to draconic slits. "They bucking butchered him, Star! They violated him and I will find them! I will make them pay!" He snorted out a plume of smoke, Mystic Star able to see the silvery chains of her binding around the black, choked center of his aura, which pulsed and throbbed like some twisted, gnarled heart. His emotional instability was affecting her spell work, feeding the fragmented piece of the Nightmare inside him, which in turned stoked the proverbial fires of his rage. Star took immediate action, a mild telekinetic push that swept Seeker's legs out from under him, the earth pony letting out a surprised yelp as he fell, unprepared for her sudden attack. She then swiftly moved to stand over him, hooves pressing down firmly against his chest. "Get off me, you crazy-"

"Shut up!" She just about shouted right in his face, her frantic tone startling him, his eyes returning to normal as he stared up at her. "I won't lie and say I understand even a little of what you're going through right now, but you have to stop this!" He opened his mouth to surely protest, Star pressing her nose against his, her horn poking his forehead as she glared into his eyes. Not a sound passed his lips, his mouth working much like that of a fish out of water.

"What happened to Gray Shroud is beyond terrible and I imagine I'd be right where you are if anyone I cared about ended up being mutilated like that." She drew in a trembling breath, Seeker's eyes widening as tears formed in hers, only to fall on his face as she failed to hold them at bay. "But you can't let yourself give in to hatred, don't you understand that?" The unicorn sniffled softly, unable to help herself. "You'll end up ruining all my hard work, you stupid idiot." He said nothing for several long moments, his already likely reeling mind clearly having trouble processing what she just said. "Well? Say something, you moron!"

"You're kind of heavy," he muttered, his response coming from way out in left field, stupefying her. "Would you mind getting off me now?" She grit her teeth, lowering her head and thumping it against his chest, horn grinding against him in a likely painful manner, not that she really cared at the moment.

"You bucking idiot," she murmured against his coat, tears matting it slightly. "I give this impassioned plea and you just...sweet Celestia, you really are a moron!" Her words rang hollow due to the edge of watery laughter her tone held.

"Sorry," Seeker said simply, his own voice dull with evidence of emotional exhaustion. "Seriously, though, could you get off?"

"We're having a moment, stupid," Star grumbled, turning her face so her horn wasn't poking him anymore, able to hear the rhythm of his heartbeat as a result. "Don't ruin it by opening your mouth and stuffing your hoof in it again."

"No promises."

It was hours later, the two ponies now slowly sorting through the mess Gray Shroud's attacker had left behind, sorting through the debris for any clue as to who had done it and why. Seeker, while appearing outwardly calm, was an emotional wreck on the inside, a fact that was clearly reflected in his actions. He'd discovered an old photo a just a few moments ago, its frame missing, of himself and a unicorn filly, who he'd identified for Mystic Star as his cousin, Amber Dawn.

"This was a few months after I got my cutie mark," he said, his lower lip quivering a bit before he sucked it in between his teeth, clamping down on it firmly. As he stared at the photograph blood trickled from his mouth, his grip on his lip a bit too firm apparently. Star swiftly pointed this out, not that he seemed bothered by the self inflicted injury. She wasn't exactly surprised by his ambivalence regarding his own physical safety, given the circumstances. "I, uh, helped find another of my cousins, Quick Shot. He'd gotten lost while playing in the woods near where we'd made camp."

"So that's your special talent? Finding ponies?" Star asked, hoping to steer the conversation in a safer direction, one that would keep him from having another breakdown.

"Well, I can do that too, but that's not all there is to it," he told her, smiling ever so slightly, likely remembering happier times. "It took some time, but I figured out there are three facets." He turned his head to look at it. "That which is lost, that which has never been discovered and that which doesn't want to be found." Her grimaced as he gazed at the black paw print. "It's why I was...why I...anyway, you get the idea."

"How'd you figure out that last part?" Star asked, both as a means to distract him and because she was genuinely curious.

"Amber," he replied, holding up the photo for emphasis. "She kind of ran away from the caravan one night, didn't even so much as leave a note."

"Then how did you manage to track her down?" She prompted him, sweeping up some glass as she did so.

"Well, um, there are always signs," Seeker began to explain, waving a hoof about the room, causing the photo to flutter with the movement. "No matter how careful you are, there are things you leave behind. A strand of hair, a hoof print, broken or disturbed foliage, that sort of thing." He set the photo down, passing his hoof over the surface of the desk top, having used a pair of books to prop the piece of furniture up with, as it was the only thing in the room that had been left mostly intact.

"There are also eye witnesses to talk to, ponies who saw you despite your best efforts. I tracked her all the way to Manehatten, despite Uncle Shroud's...he didn't want me going with the full moon coming on so fast." He took a moment to compose himself. "She was in some back alley dive, which was kind of stupid really because those were the first places I checked." He chuckled faintly. "She was surprised to see me, of course, and immediately told me to get lost. I asked her why she ran away, tried to get her to open up to me, you know, poked my nose in where it wasn't wanted." He sighed.

"I'd been away getting some supplies when she'd run, so I didn't have any idea. Somepony hurt her, I think, but not like they hit her or anything like that." He frowned thoughtfully. "She wouldn't come back with me, no matter how much I pleaded, so I had to return empty hoofed. It took a few years but she showed up one Hearth's Warming right out of the blue, which started the tradition of us all meeting up at the old bird's place."

"Sounds like you were all pretty close," Star remarked, glad he'd had such family ties to support him if he'd needed it.

"All we had in the world was each other," he agreed, his smile slightly pained now. "Then I went off looking for a cure, because my talent was finding things. Obviously if I couldn't find it then no pony ever could." He removed his hoof from the desk, planting it back on the floor firmly, smile twisting into a grimace. "Five years of fruitless searching, one hope after another crushed by the starkness of reality." He snorted and pawed at the floor, tail flicking in a show of his agitation.

"Then I found Princess Luna and she led me to you." He smiled again, turning to regard her as he continued. "I had it, finally the means of curing us was at hoof and I would show that stuffy old bastard I was right all along." He ground his teeth, ears folding back as he looked away, hooves stamping as he shifted his weight. "I wanted to rub it in his smug old face and now he'll never know that there's hope for us again despite all his neighsaying." He squeezed his eyes shut, shoulders shaking as he fought so hard not to start crying again. "Damn it, he was the only one that knew where the Keeper lives and now he's gone!"

"Oh, Seeker," Star intoned helplessly, watching as he struggled with his emotions. It took several long, arduous minutes, but Seeker eventually seemed to regain control of himself. "There's got to be something here, something that can help us find Red Velvet."

"I pray to Luna that you're right," he said, eyes scanning about the room again, now free of much of the clutter thanks to their efforts. "There are ashes in the fireplace, torn papers everywhere. Whoever killed him didn't want something discovered, that much is obvious." He moved over to the previously mentioned fireplace, sifting through the ashes carefully. "Hello, what have we here?" He pulled something free, a heavily damaged book, though the spine had no title that she could see. "Tsk, there's almost nothing legible," he grumbled, flipping through what remained gingerly, not wanting it to fall apart. "A date here, a few words there...I think this was a journal."

"Anything of use?" Star asked, daring to hope, only to have them dashed when Seeker shook his head.

"No, it's too damaged," he said, sounding understandably frustrated. "Wait...the last page has something." He motioned her over, Star moving to join him in looking at it. Over half the page was either gone or blackened, but what remained was puzzling. It was a sketch, hurried, rough, but still fairly detailed. Something was emitting red light from the center of what appeared to be a room, thick, oily shadows depicted gathering at the fringes. Anything else, unfortunately, was lost due to the efforts of whoever had burned it. "Any idea what he drew here?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," Star replied, just as lost as he was. "I can tell you one thing though." She gripped the book in a telekinetic field, bringing it closer to her. "Whoever started the fire that burned this used magic to do it. I can detect a lingering trace of the spell's energy on it."

"So it was a unicorn," Seeker muttered, snorting softly. "Figures it'd take magic to bring Uncle Shroud down. He was always a tough one, I'll give him that."

"Unfortunately that's still a very large pool of suspects," Star pointed out, setting the heavily damaged journal on the desk, the battered piece of furniture creaking under even that minuscule amount of weight.

"No, it actually narrows it down a lot," Seeker countered, nodding to the door. "Shroud knew his attacker. No tampering on the lock, no damage beyond a crack on this side to the door itself." He gazed on it, having a feeling he knew what had caused it: somepony being violently thrown against the wood at high speed.

"Well anypony that could do this much damage could easily use their magic to pick the lock." Star looked at it more closely. "There's hardly any magical residue on the door itself, however, and it's spread out, not centered on the lock." She thought it over a bit. "Okay, so the door was either unlocked from the outset or you're right and he knew his killer."

"No way he left the door unlocked," Seeker scoffed, his great uncle not the careless sort as he recalled. "Of course I guess he could have answered the door, only for the killer to force their way in." He shook his head, growing frustrated again. "Ugh, we're getting nowhere with this!"

"Calm down, please," Star cautioned him, resting a hoof on his shoulder in a show of support. "Think it through. Is there anything, anything at all that you can remember that could help us?"

"No, Red Velvet was never around when I was growing up," Seeker reminded her. "And if they had any correspondence I'm sure it's ash, though why the killer would burn his mail, not to mention his journal, is beyond me." Suddenly the sound of the desk crashing to the floor startled them both, causing the pair to jump as it collapsed under the mere weight of a single ruined book. "Oh, great, now it's completely broken." Not that they could have salvaged the thing anyway, but it was just one more mess to clean up.

"Relax," Star said, horn glowing as she gathered up the chunks of wood with her magic. "I got this one." As she lifted the debris that was once a very battered old desk, something small and red fell from the remains of a drawer. "What's that and how didn't we see it before?" The drawers had all been empty when they'd checked.

"Maybe that one had a false bottom?" Seeker suggested, the idea not all that surprising to him as his great uncle had also been kind of paranoid on top of being the overly cautious sort. "Let's see what Uncle Shroud thought important enough to hide like this." He walked over and picked it up, the small, rectangular object in fact a tiny notebook. "Locations and dates, along with some letters." He flipped through the pages. "Ninth of September, Outpost Twenty, S. Twentieth of June, Griffinstone, QS. Fifteenth of May, Baltimare, AD." He blinked, having worked it out. "He was tracking us? How?"

"You said you sent letters sometimes, right?" He nodded, Star pointing to the Outpost Twenty entry. "Where's this? I'm assuming S is for Seeker."

"That was on the northern border of the Badlands, I think," he recalled slowly, trying to think back. "Yeah, yeah I sent him a letter about how I was going down into Zebrica, just in case." He hurriedly began sifting through the pages, scanning the tiny writing for any sign of something from Red Velvet. "Come on, there has to be something." He finally found a single entry, alighting on the Keeper's initials. "It's a post office box in Las Pegasus." Now that was puzzling. "Red Velvet the recluse living in one of the busiest cities in Equestria?"

"Given that it's a post office box she might very well live somewhere else," Star felt the need to point out, shrugging slightly. "It's our only lead now, though, so I suggest we follow it." She sighed softly. "It's not like we have a choice, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Seeker muttered, stuffing the small notebook into his saddlebags for safe keeping. "It just feels wrong to be doing this now. Uncle Shroud's killer is still out there, doing who knows what, and I'm about to run off to Las Pegasus instead of hunting them down!" He stamped his hooves, desperate to find an outlet for the mess of emotions raging inside of him.

"I have a feeling Gray Shroud would want you to help your family rather than focus on getting revenge," Star told him quietly, wishing she could do more to help him get through this. "They need us to find Red Velvet, to find out what she knows." She watched him struggle against his own feelings of powerlessness before finally sighing gustily and meeting her gaze.

"You're right," he relented, shoulders sagging in defeat. "As much as I hate to say it, we need to move on." He took one last look around the cottage, the place that used to be his great uncle's home, now only a reminder that the old stallion had been cruelly taken from their clan at the worst possible time. "Come on, let's get out of here." He strode out the door and didn't once look back.

"You're up rather early." Luna, her gaze having been focused to the northwest, turned from the edge of the balcony at the sound of her sister's voice. It was true, usually she wasn't awake till the early evening, but here she was, only two hours past noon no less. "Still worried about your protege and your new coltfriend?" The playful smirk on Celestia's face caused the younger alicorn to roll her eyes.

"Oh hush, Tia, you nag," she retorted with only a mild amount of irritation coloring her tone, ignoring the giggle that issued from her sister moments later. "Did you come only to jest or was there something else you wanted?"

"Does a sister need a reason to visit her favorite sibling?" Celestia asked, coming to stand next to Luna and gazing off into the distance.

"As I recall I am your only sibling." Luna couldn't help herself, smiling ever so slightly. "Unless you are saying that mother was prone to indiscretion? If so I would have to smite thee on principal alone for besmirching her good name." Celestia's head turned and their gazes met, the tense silence lasting only a moment before they both laughed.

"Oh, dear sister, I had so missed moments like these," Celestia remarked once their mirth had subsided. "I know that I don't say it as often as I should, but having you here with me, as it always should have been, brings me great joy."

"I know, sister, and I will be forever grateful to Twilight and her friends for redeeming me." Luna's smile wavered briefly, but the moment passed as swiftly as it had come. "The Princess of Friendship. Did you always know she would eventually join us or did it only become apparent later as you watched her progress as your student?"

"I have always had faith in her," Celestia replied, turning her gaze in the direction of Ponyville now. "I know most believe me to be able to predict the future, but did I know for certain?" She shook her head. "No, but my faith in her was rewarded the day she did what no pony before had managed to accomplish."

"I imagine you are quite proud of the mare she has become," Luna commented idly, following her sister's gaze. "She and her friends are surely destined to continue to accomplish great deeds and I look forward to each and every one to come in the future." Soon enough, however, her gaze returned to the northwest. "I still feel that I should have gone with them, Celestia. The Nightmare came into our world because of my actions, so should it not then fall to me to correct my own mistake?" Her attention was brought back to her sister when she felt the older alicorn drape a wing across her back.

"I asked myself a similar question when I first sent Twilight to Ponyville," Celestia admitted, a soft sigh following shortly after. "Should I be sending this young mare, who trusts me implicitly, into such danger without my guidance to aid her? But I knew that I could not do everything for her and, as she trusted me, that I must also trust her." She smiled once more, Luna soon doing the same. "So you, too, must now trust Mystic Star and Seeker. The former seems a bright, talented young mare and the latter, while decidedly sour of demeanor, seems more than capable of handling himself."

"I certainly hope that you are right." Luna shared an affectionate nuzzle with her sister before pulling away and turning to depart. "I shall be in the library should you have need of me." Once Luna was gone from her sight, Celestia's smile fell, an aura of weariness surrounding her.

"I'll always need you, Luna," she murmured, head turning so she could look to the northwest, as her sister had before her. "I just hope your faith will be rewarded, as mine was when you were redeemed."

Seeker stared out one of the windows of the train car at the passing scenery, not truly seeing it as he struggled with his own feelings. It still felt wrong to be leaving without even trying to find Gray Shroud's killer, and yet he knew, as previously stated, that he had little choice. There were no real clues at the scene, as if the culprit had somehow erased almost all signs of their presence. it didn't help that the crime had happened perhaps a day before their arrival, either, so the chances of finding the pony responsible were slim at best and nonexistent at worst.

He wouldn't even be able to return once this was over to investigate, as he would likely be arrested for tampering with the scene instead of reporting it, but the mere thought of leaving the hunt for the one responsible to strangers turned his stomach. This was clan business, meaning that it should be handled by the clan and no one else. He ground his teeth, impotent rage burning inside him, yet there was nothing he could do to even begin to rid himself of it.

"Seeker," Mystic Star whispered to him, the ear closest to her flicking as he was drawn from his brooding. "Please, try and calm down." He looked over to her, noticing the furtive glances she was casting about. "We're not alone here, remember? You're kind of making everypony nervous." The earth pony let his own gaze travel about the car, noticing how the other ponies swiftly set about trying to appear as if they hadn't been staring at him just now. He let out an irritated huff, not truly caring what they thought of him. "Seeker, please." Mystic Star, however?

"Fine," he replied tersely, forcing his formerly rigid posture to relax somewhat. "I'll try not to upset their delicate sensibilities if that's what you really want." She was going through a lot of trouble for him, so he at least owed her his best effort to remain civil, or at least the appearance of such.

"I won't try and tell you how to feel right now, but I need you to try and stay calm," Star urged him, laying a hoof on his gingerly. "I'd be angry too, believe me, but it's not something you can allow yourself to indulge in right now." He took a deep breath, knowing she was right, and let it out slowly. "That's it, just breathe. I won't lie and say it'll be okay, but it will get better eventually, I promise."

"I know," he said, at least sounding calmer now. "This isn't the first time I've had to deal with loss but..." He trailed off, shaking his head in an effort to banish the scene in the bedroom from his mind.

"This goes beyond that," Star finished for him, looking a little pale. "I'm not saying you should just forget about it, but don't let this consume you." She sighed when he nodded stiffly. "Alright, now, we should probably-"

"Hey mister?" Their attention was captured by the voice of a young earth filly who was standing next to their booth with a look on her face like she was caught between curiosity and concern. "Are you okay, mister? You look like you have a tummy ache." They exchanged looks, Seeker sighing and trying his best to smile. It didn't really work.

"It's a bit more than that, I'm afraid," he told her, able to see the filly's mother approaching cautiously in his peripheral vision. "Something bad happened and, um, well, I'm having some trouble dealing with it."

"So you're sad?" The filly moved into the space between the benches of their booth, reaching up to touch one of his hooves lightly. "Mommy always sings to me when I'm feeling sad, so maybe your marefriend could sing for you." Mystic Star blushed while Seeker couldn't help but to chuckle softly.

"Sweetie, don't bother the nice couple now," her mother said, looking understandably nervous. He'd probably been quite a sight if Star had to ask him to calm down, after all. "I-I'm sorry about her, she's just at that age you know?"

"It's fine," Seeker assured her, feeling a little guilty for his earlier behavior now. "Thanks for the advice, little filly, but you should go back to your seat with your mother now okay?"

"Okay," the filly said in that way that sounded terribly disappointed, a tone only foals seemed capable of pulling off, before her mother lead her away. Seeker watched them go, oddly feeling a little better for the experience.

"Can you believe that filly?" Star let out a nervous sounding laugh. "I mean the two of us, a couple?" She laughed again, not sounding quite so nervous this time. "Children these days, I swear."

"Like I'd give myself that sort of headache," Seeker remarked in a tone laden with snark while rolling his eyes. "You already drive me crazy, so having you around for the rest of my life? No thanks."

"Ouch," Star said with a chuckle. "I'm glad you find me so repulsive. Makes letting you down so much easier."

"Quiet, you crazy mare." Seeker took a page out of the younger unicorn's book and blew a raspberry at her. "Despite your tendency to act like a complete filly, your presence isn't entirely intolerable in small doses."

"And I suppose your sour attitude isn't completely annoying," Star conceded graciously. "I will get you to give me a genuine laugh, though, mark my words."

"Way to make it sound like a threat," he grumbled in a puerile fashion. "Just don't start acting like that pink lunatic back in Ponyville and I'll consider letting you make good on it."

Pinkamena Diane Pie found herself frowning as a rather peculiar feeling came to her, unable to explain what it was. It was almost like she was missing something, as if she should be doing something right now but wasn't. Instead she remained seated in the tiny shack she and her friends had been locked inside for "reconditioning" by the decidedly not at all nice Starlight Glimmer after the mare had stolen their cutie marks, frowning at nothing in particular and not sure why.

"Are you okay, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked, having noticed her vacant staring and apparently having been concerned by it. "I'm willing to listen, you know, if you want to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you." She flinched when Pinkie turned her attention to the buttery yellow pegasus, her words drawing the normally bouncy, cheerful mare from her trance-like state. "N-not that, um, you have to or anything."

"No, it's okay," Pinkie assured her, tone sounding dull, almost lifeless even. "I dunno what it is. I feel like I'm missing something and not just my cutie mark." She looked out one of the narrow slits that served as windows for their prison. "Something really important, or something that should be anyway." Instead she found herself feeling rather apathetic towards the strange, oddly familiar sensation. "It's like...what's that word that means something is outstanding and unique?"

"Um, I think you might mean doozy," Fluttershy suggested, shrugging helplessly. "But I don't know for sure. We've all been a little off since Starlight used her magic on us."

"Doozy?" Pinkie nodded listlessly, returning to her contemplation of the wall. "You might be right. Thanks, Fluttershy."

"Oh, no problem Pinkie Pie."

Luna strode through the library towards the restricted section, a set of keys in the grasp of her magic and a frown on her face. She'd been gone a thousand years, meaning she had missed a great deal in terms of history, philosophy, art and progress in terms of how Equestria had developed. Trains, steam powered boats and balloons that could carry somepony through the air without a pegasus to aid it? Such things hadn't even been considered possible before her banishment and that was just how technology had developed during her absence.

It had naturally been difficult for her to adapt, as evidenced by her near disastrous appearance before her subjects in Ponyville during Nightmare Night. She couldn't help smiling at the memories the thought of that night conjured, especially those of Pipsqueak, the little colt who had declared her his favorite princess. Which, oddly enough, had led her here, standing in front of the cordoned off section of the library, the metal of the wire mesh barrier enchanted against tampering, both mundane and magical, and with an alarm that would bring the guards running in a matter of minutes if somepony dared to test their luck.

The keys she now held would temporarily disarm these measures, a fact she demonstrated by using them to gain access, making sure the door shut and locked itself behind her. There was much here that her sister had filed away as potentially harmful or dangerous in the wrong hooves, but there was also knowledge here that, if used correctly, could be of great benefit. She found it very hard to believe that the ponies of Seeker's clan had gone without notice for a thousand years, especially with how some of them changed on nights of the full moon.

The princess of the night began scanning over the shelves of scrolls and books, pulling some from their places to join the ring of keys on a nearby table meant for study purposes. There had to be something within the various articles of restricted information, some clue she could use to aid the intrepid pair she had sent off without so much as a token effort to help on her part. She would trust them, as Celestia advised, but that didn't mean she couldn't help them, even in such a small way as this.

Books about legendary creatures, old journals, even a tome penned by Star Swirl the Bearded himself, all joined the pile for her to sift through in search of something even remotely useful. Once she felt satisfied she had found everything that would be worth perusing, Luna sat at the table and carefully rolled open the first scroll, the preservation spell making it appear as if it had been written only yesterday. When it proved of no use she moved on to the next, and the next, until one in particular caught her eye.

October thirtieth, fifth year of the Celestial Era. Herein follows the account of Sergeant Brushed Light, Ninth Company, First Battalion of Her Radiant Majesty's Royal Guard, after returning from duty on the western border of the White Tail province.

"We were on patrol one night during the last week of our deployment. My squad had been tasked with checking for any signs of suspicious activity following reports from local farmers of strange goings on occurring during the previous two nights. The lads and I of course thought little of their claims, for it sounded as if they had allowed superstition and lingering fear of the Night Mare go to their heads. Cloven hoof prints, trampled crops and strange sounds borne by the chill autumn winds? Surely a pack of wild goats could have accounted for such things, yet twas our duty to put their minds at ease. If only their fears had been unfounded, then I would be home on my scheduled leave instead of here, making this report.

We had been searching since sundown and had yet to find a trace of whatever had so frightened the local populace. Indeed, we were prepared to finish our rounds and report back to camp when we heard first heard it. We'd all heard tales of the Wendigo, those hateful spirits of cold and spite that once drove our ancestors to what we now call Equestria, whose whinny could chill a stallion to his very bones. This bellowing cry that we heard, so hateful and hungry it was, made those stories seem tame by comparison.

At first we told ourselves it was nothing but our own imaginations that made the wind sound so dreadful, the claims of the locals simply making us jump at shadows. Oh how I wish that it had been so simple. We heard it again, closer, the woods seeming confining and the air thin, and we saw a fiery orange glow weaving its way through the trees. Foolish were we to relax, thinking this light to be the torches borne by another squad. We swiftly learned the extent of our folly when we first caught site of the baleful creature that was stalking us.

"It shared traits with we ponies but was taller and more powerfully built by far, perhaps even more so than Her Radiant Majesty, blessed be Her name and long may She rule. This creature's coat, however, was blacker than the deepest pits of Tartarus, its eyes those of a wild drake, hooves cloven like a goat's and where there should have been a mane and tail there was instead only flame. It is to my shame that I must admit that my fear took hold of me, as it did my fellows, something about this monster instilling in us pure terror the likes of which we had not felt since we saw the Night Mare strike Her Radiant Majesty from the sky.

Unlike then, however, there was no hope to follow and, screaming like foals, we fled as it charged us. I heard its hooves pounding against the ground as it chased us and, Celestia help me, I did not stop, even when I heard it catch one of the stallions under my command. I do not deserve to serve Her Radiant Majesty, not when I have shamed myself so greatly."

Luna set the scroll aside, feeling there was nothing more to be gleaned from it. It did confirm her suspicions, however. Seeker's clan mates had not gone undocumented, at least when they were under the influence of their curse. She moved on to books detailing various monstrous and legendary creatures, scoffing at the entry regarding humans in one of the more fanciful ones. The one penned by Star Swirl, entitled Magical Creatures Both Fair and Foul, proved more useful than the rest. The entries were sorted alphabetically and the Nightmare was one such, an illustration of a beast similar to the form she had seen Seeker take depicted above the text discussing it.

The Nightmare, not to be confused with the long since banished Night Mare Moon, is a foul, loathsome beast that preys upon any living being it comes across. Despite its predatory, seemingly carnivorous, nature, it does not hunt solely for sustenance, instead killing as if simply to gain pleasure from the act itself. It plays with the prey it manages to catch, much as a cat would a mouse, and is crueler by far. Sightings of these monsters are few and far between, centered around the time of the full moon, yet its rarity does not diminish its threat to the ponies of our fair land of Equestria.

My observation of one creature nearly ended with it making me its next victim, yet, through quick thinking and no small amount of luck, I was able to elude its grasp. The Nightmare is to be avoided at all costs, for it is cruel, monstrous and hateful. There is no bargaining, no pleading that will stay its wrath and, as far as my studies have shown, it lacks even a shred of compassion despite the similarities it shares with us. Should you ever encounter the beast, if able, I suggest you employ stunning and blinding spells, then flee for your very life.

Luna closed the book, frowning as she stood and exited the restricted section, something compelling her to search the shelf dedicated to the very unicorn that had authored the bestiary she had just read. Scanning the various articles held there, she came across the very same tome and made a startling discovery. There was no entry pertaining to the Nightmares. Why? Why had Celestia censored this knowledge? She replaced the book, returning to the restricted section to investigate further.

She returned the other documents to their proper places, instead gathering texts on history, the ones not in common circulation. They were not impossible to find outside of these archives, of course, but she imagined it would be difficult to track other copies down in this day and age. Unvarnished, non-romanticized accounts of past events unfolded before Luna's eyes, which did not surprise her in the least. A good example of this would be her fall from grace, which had become little more than legend during her thousand year absence.

Celestia had circulated a different tale than what Luna remembered once she returned, a tale of how she was taken by the darkness, when in fact she had welcomed its embrace. What a fool she'd been. Even the modern depiction of Hearth's Warming was woefully inaccurate and, in her mind at least, it was better that way. Ponies didn't want to hear of the many who died of starvation, who fought over insignificant patches of dirt and suffered for it, so why burden them with such terrible knowledge? This thought made her pause. Could this also be so in the case of the Nightmares?

The princess continued her search, eventually coming across a single entry dating back to eight hundred years ago, little more than a hoofnote in the multitude of pages that made up the rest of the text she'd discovered it within. A report detailing a campaign in the Frozen North, led by a Colonel Strong Hoof, claiming to have discovered a coven of witches who trafficked with fire breathing, black coated monsters. Save that, from what she read, his soldiers did not remember the same events he had initially reported to his superiors.

There were no monsters when Strong Hoof lead them to the cave system he claimed he had tracked the beasts to, only a few dozen frightened, hungry ponies who the colonel accused of trafficking in dark magic and making pacts with demons they summoned from the very depths of Tartarus, dragging them back to the capital in chains. Celestia stripped him of his command and a tribunal was called for him to answer for his actions once this news came to light. No wonder she had them stricken from anything accessible by the public. So why did she not mention it? Simple. It was not relevant. Tragic, certainly, but it didn't help Seeker or his clan. So, with this in mind, Luna moved on with her investigation, hopeful she would discover something of use.

"We would have to go to Las Pegasus during the height of summer," Seeker grumbled, the sun glaring down on him and Mystic Star as they stepped out of the train car, leaving them both feeling dreadfully uncomfortable. No surprise that the earth pony's mood was only worsened as a result.

"Much as I don't want to sound like you," Star began, fanning herself with one hoof, "I have to agree that the timing sucks." Seeker didn't waste energy on engaging in verbal sparring with the mare, leading the way off the platform and into the station. It's air conditioned interior was a blessing, the pair only stopping to grab a quick bite before leaving to confront the heat once again. It took some time but they eventually found their way to the local post office, locating the PO box with little trouble.

"Now what?" Seeker asked, doubting they'd be so lucky as to have Red Velvet come in to pick up her mail while they were there. "Will the clerks be willing to tell us anything or will they wave confidentiality in our faces and tell us to go buck ourselves?"

"It can't hurt to ask," Star replied with a careless shrug. "But how about letting me do the talking? You wouldn't know charm if it walked up and bit you on the flank." The stallion rolled his eyes at her, but she did note that he didn't argue about it. Star took the lead this time, waiting in line with the other ponies while he stood off by himself. She couldn't help stealing worried glances at the troubled earth pony, not for the first time considering helping him find the one who killed Gray Shroud when everything was said and done. It was her turn soon enough, the unicorn offering the stallion manning the counter her best smile. "Hello, sir, I was hoping you could help me."

"Well I'll do my best," he replied, smiling back, having obviously practiced for when he dealt with customers. "How about you tell me the issue and we'll work from there?"

"Well, my friend and I are trying to track down a relative of his," Star told him, nodding to where Seeker stood by the door. "Her name's Red Velvet and she has a post office box here. Is there anything you can tell us?"

"Wow, you too?" The clerk's response surprised her. "There was another mare who stopped by earlier today asking after Ms. Velvet. I'll tell you what I told her: we can't disclose Ms. Velvet's address, but I can tell you that you need to live in the area in order to open up a box here." He shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry I can't be any more forthcoming, but we have our rules for a reason."

"That's alright, thank you for your time," Star said, moving over to join Seeker once she was finished. "Well, you were partly right. They can't give us the address but he did mention that you have to live in the area to open up a box."

"Well, that just narrows it down not at all," Seeker drawled, understandably frustrated. "Though we do know something. There's no way the Red Velvet I've heard about would be living here in the city."

"Are you sure?" His nod had her chewing her lower lip, thinking over their options. "We'll have to start asking around. She'd have to come into town for supplies, right?"

"It's worth a shot," Seeker said, though he wasn't looking forward to going back out into the heat. "Come on, let's just get to it."

"Wait," Star suddenly objected, causing him to pause. "There's something else the clerk mentioned. We're not the first ponies today to ask about Red Velvet."

"Well that doesn't sound ominous," Seeker muttered, not liking the sound of that at all. "It could be a coincidence, but I don't much believe in those." He shook his head. "Let's just hurry. There's nothing more we can do than that." Putting words into action he stepped outside, grimacing as the heat just about smacked him in the face. "Ugh, give me the jungle any day. There's shade there if nothing else."

"Well at least this is a dry heat," Star remarked, earning a dirty look from her companion for her trouble. "What?"

"A bonfire is a dry heat," Seeker pointed out grumpily. "You don't see me sticking my flanks in one of those do you?"

"Point taken."

Dozens of books floated through the air around Luna, moving from various shelves to the table where she was seated and back as she finished with them. So far her efforts had not borne fruit, the alicorn having been reading for hours now. At this rate she would need to take a break in order to raise the moon and take supper, lest her sister hound her for not eating properly, again. Just because she had a tendency to get caught up in her work didn't mean that it was therefor her fault that she ended up missing meals as a result. She loved Celestia, she really did, but ever since her return the older alicorn had been a touch too protective for her tastes.

"This is getting me nowhere," Luna grumbled, feeling a headache coming on as she slammed yet another useless book shut. "What am I missing?" She felt certain she was missing a vital clue, some detail she had overlooked, yet still her study of the restricted section proved, so far, to be pointless. She'd even begun searching through items not even remotely related to the topic of curses and transformations. Then, as she was just about to toss them all into the rubbish bin out of frustration, it clicked. The curse hadn't started as one, but as a binding that somehow tied Seeker's clan to her service. "Oh, for harmony's sake, I feel so foolish!"

"And why would that be?" Celestia's sudden question made Luna jump, the solar diarch giggling at the startled squeak that escaped her sister's lips. "I thought you might still be here," she said after a moment, moving around to the other side of the table and revealing that she was carrying a covered tray in the grip of her magic. "And the guards out in the hall confirmed that you haven't left since you first arrived, so I thought you could use this right about now." Her tone was disapproving, not at all surprising under the circumstances. "Star Swirl's Guide to Curses and How to Combat Them, A Treatise on Dark Magic and its Various Applications...Luna, I know you feel responsible but starving yourself in your search for answers isn't going to help anypony."

"Yes, mother," Luna grumbled, causing Celestia to roll her eyes. "In truth I was about to take a short rest when you decided it would be a fine idea to sneak up on me."

"Really?" At Luna's nod Celestia set the tray down on the table and lifted the cover, steam rising from the dish hidden underneath. A delectable aroma of a stir fried mix of vegetables wafted up to Luna's nose. "Then my timing couldn't be any more perfect. How about telling me what you've found so far while you eat?"

"Tis an agreeable notion," Luna conceded, having to resist the urge to make a show of herself by forgoing her utensils and just digging in, having not eaten since she'd first woken up. Much as she would care to argue otherwise, having several cups of coffee didn't count. "I was trying to find some way to help, as you guessed. I found little of use, but there were several discoveries that were interesting if nothing else." She explained what she found, Celestia listening with her usual serene expression. "Then, just before you decided to announce yourself, I realized I was looking in the wrong places."

"That would explain the self deprecation I heard," Celestia noted, shaking her head as she watched her sister eat for a few moments. "You're not infallible, Luna, neither of us are. If you like I can look for more information while you hold court tonight."

"Sister, I cannot ask that of you," Luna protested, her sister having been up managing affairs of state since before she'd been required to raise the sun. "Not only is this my responsibility, but you cannot lose sleep because you were busy assisting me."

"A few hours won't hurt," Celestia assured her, smiling kindly. "I promise not to stay up too late reading, if that helps."

"It will do," Luna said, taking a moment to enjoy her meal in silence, Celestia looking over the titles she had gathered curiously. "None of these will be any use. I forgot that Seeker mentioned the curse started as a binding, put in place through some sort of ritual." She frowned, puzzled. "Though I am unsure as to how they could have done it without my knowledge."

"He couldn't give you any more details?" Luna shook her head, Celestia finding herself frowning as well. "I assume that's why they left, then, to find out what they can?" Again, Luna nodded, not wanting to speak with her mouth full. "Without any of the details of how it works or what it was even supposed to do, I'm afraid we'll have a hard time finding anything that could help." She sighed softly. "We might have to wait and see what they discover."

"I intend to visit their dreams tonight and receive an update as to the status of their search," Luna informed her sister, looking down at her plate to find more than half her meal gone already. Apparently she'd been more hungry than she initially realized. "Speaking of which, Seeker did not have a Door until last night, when Mystic Star used her magic to bind the fragment he carries."

"That's unusual, isn't it?" Celestia asked, dream magic not exactly her area. "As far as I knew everyone has a Door."

"It must have something to do with how the fragments have warped the binding," Luna theorized, setting down her utensils and biting her lower lip. "Tis frustrating, simply waiting like this."

"I know exactly how you feel," Celestia said, thinking back to the many instances she'd been forced to rely on Twilight and the others instead of taking care of the many problems that had troubled Equestria herself. "But, sometimes, waiting is all you can do."

"What in Luna's name do you mean she lives in the desert?!?" Seeker's cry of disbelief, and the clop of his hooves against the surface of the counter, could be heard throughout the grocery store, Mystic Star looking around and smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way at the many ponies who looked over at the sudden outburst.

"Hey, pal, calm down," the store clerk said, sweating a bit as she started to feel nervous under the weight of Seeker's gaze. "All I know is what I've heard, and what I've heard is that ponies have seen Red Velvet pulling her cart out of town to the south." And the only thing to the south of Las Pegasus was the San Palomino Desert. "It's not my fault she's crazy, so please, leave before you scare away all the other customers." Seeker let out a disgruntled growl, pushing away from the counter and stomping his way back outside, Mystic Star pausing only long enough to apologize on his behalf before following him out.

"I knew that she likes her privacy but this is insane!" The heat, combined with this fresh bit of news and laid on top of everything else he was dealing with, was making the earth pony extremely irritable to say the least. "There's nothing out there but sand, rocks and more sand!"

"Stop it, you're making a scene," Star hissed, using her magic to tug him away as ponies stopped to stare. "Okay, so what if Red Velvet lives out in the desert? At least we know where to find her."

"Oh, sure," Seeker scoffed, stumbling a bit to catch up once she'd let him go. "Now all we need to do is comb the desert, which is HUGE, and somehow carry enough water with us so we don't just drop dead from dehydration. No problem at all."

"Your sarcasm isn't helping any," Star pointed out, shaking her head slightly. "Have you ever had to travel through the desert before?"

"No, but I did pass through the Badlands," Seeker replied, trying to calm down. "Less sand, more rocks, but just as dry." He grimaced at the memories of traversing the barren wasteland, not a single sign of life visible for miles. "She can't live too far from town, though. We'll need a way to protect ourselves from the sun, maybe a cart to carry water...damn, this isn't going to be easy."

"I know, but I'm sure we can manage," Star said, smiling and trying to raise his spirits a bit. "We shouldn't head out now, though. It's late and we're both tired, so let's find a hotel and stay the night." He nodded, liking the sound of air conditioning and a soft bed right about now. "Fortunately I have a small stipend from Princess Luna we can use. Hopefully it'll be enough."

"I have a few bits," Seeker offered, though there wasn't much left from the last odd job he had taken before coming to Ponyville several days ago. "Not much, but it's something."

"Every little bit helps, or so they say." Star paused, head turning to look around them, her smile swiftly replaced with a frown.

"What's the matter?" Seeker asked, looking around as well. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least not from what he could see.

"Nothing," Star said hesitantly, feeling puzzled. "I could have sworn...no, it's nothing. Let's just get out of this heat."

Later that evening Luna stopped at Seeker's Dream Door, hesitating as she considered seeing Mystic Star first. Something compelled her to stop here, however, some feeling that it was imperative she do so. So, since she would be speaking to him regardless, she opened the door and stepped inside. What greeted her once she materialized inside the dream, however, shocked the alicorn to her core. It was a bedroom, awash with red splattered over the walls, the floor, the ceiling, Luna taking a moment to realize exactly what she was looking at.

"Blood," she whispered, the word enough to make it more real to her, forcing the mare to cover her nose. "By the stars, what is this?" Her eyes flitted about, eventually settling on the bed, a very dead pegasus stallion laying at the center of the disturbing scene. The pegasus's vacant gaze was focused on Seeker, who sat huddled over at the foot of the bed, trembling and crying silently.

"Why?" A disembodied voice, pained and betrayed, echoed throughout the room. "Why couldn't you save me?"

"I'm sorry," Seeker sobbed, unable to look on the scene, eyes staying firmly shut. "Please, forgive me, I didn't know!"

"Why? Why?" The voice shifted, so there were two other voices layered over it, sounding angry now as the scene started to distort, the bedroom meshing oddly with a field of trampled, bloodied grass. "Why did you do it?"

"Enough!" Luna manifested herself fully and banished the imagery, not knowing what had caused it nor caring beyond how it tormented her subject. "Seeker, what has occurred to cause you to experience such horrid visions?"

"P-Princess Luna?" Seeker looked up, confusion and pain in his eyes, the two of them standing in a now pristine field with the moon and stars shining brightly overhead. "What's going on?" He looked around, rubbing his face to wipe away his tears. "Where are we?"

"Be at peace, my little pony," Luna said softly, concerned for his mental and physical well being, along with that of Mystic Star. "You were having a nightmare and a terrible one at that." She suppressed the urge to shudder. "Now, tell me, what has happened? Are the two of you in any danger?"

"A dream?" Seeker was understandably confused by this knowledge, prompting the princess to nod in response. "W-we're fine, there's no danger or anything." He struggled to speak, appearing to have difficulty forming his thoughts into anything coherent. She felt this was only natural given her sudden appearance and the nightmare she had just banished. "I'm...I don't even understand how you're here right now!"

"One of my duties as princess of the night is to safeguard the dreams of my subjects," Luna replied, speaking calmly and clearly as he was obviously very disturbed at the moment. "Something traumatic has clearly happened to you for your dream to be so disturbing. I know it may be difficult, but please, tell me what happened in Vanhoover." Seeker took some time to do so, having to stop several times in the telling, how his great uncle had been butchered and how they had arrived in Las Pegasus.

"By the moon and stars above, I did not expect this when I came to you tonight." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, righteous fury burning in her breast over the fact one of her ponies was so brutally slaughtered. "Rest assured, Seeker, that I will personally scour the dreamscape for whomever is responsible. Such crimes leave an imprint upon the mind, no matter how cruel its owner, so finding the one who would dare to slay one of our ponies shall not prove difficult."

"You will?" Seeker sounded surprised, which confused her. "Why?" The princess closed her eyes,

"Why would I not?" Luna replied, clouds beginning to form overhead, a manifestation of her anger within the dream. "Both you and Gray Shroud are citizens of Equestria and are therefor under the protection of the crown. To slay one of our subjects is a crime I cannot, and will not, forgive!" Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, causing Seeker to flinch. "This foul murderer shall not escape justice, no matter where the cur may seek to hide!" She had to force herself to calm down, able to see that she was frightening the earth pony with her passionate display.

"Forgive me, I simply cannot help but to feel furious that such a crime has been committed." Once upon a time she had been responsible for carrying out the crown's justice and now, since she had returned, she had taken up the duty once more. Until now, though, there had been little need of her services as they lived in a time of peace and plenty, which only seemed to make this heinous act feel all the worse in the alicorn's mind. "Once I have finished speaking to Mystic Star my search for the criminal shall commence."

"Thank you, princess," Seeker said, truly grateful to hear that she would be on the hunt for Gray Shroud's killer. "I just couldn't bear the thought of the pony responsible getting away with it."

"Let it trouble you no further, then, and do not be afraid to call on Mystic Star for support in your time of grief," Luna told him, her gaze kind and understanding, having experienced loss many times in the past. "I know she can be wearisome, but she is a good mare at heart and will surely do all she can to help you through this." She smiled when her words brought out a small chuckle from the stallion, a good sign if there ever was one. "Rest now, Seeker. Your sleep shall be peaceful for the remainder of the night."

Mystic Star, as it turned out, was having similar troubles, her dream not quite as graphic but still disturbing in its own way. The unicorn watched a silent Seeker sit before an unmarked grave, frozen and helpless to help him.

"Mystic Star." Her paralysis vanished with the sound of Luna's voice, the scene becoming that of a more comforting setting, namely her lab within the castle. "There is nothing more you could have done to help him."

"I could have done something, princess!" Star protested, quite upset about the ordeal Seeker was going through. "But I just stood there while I watched him dig a grave for Shroud like a useless lump!"

"I will not abide any more such talk from you, young lady," Luna chastised her, Star's ears folding down against her mane out of reflex. "There are some burdens that we cannot take upon ourselves, no matter how we might wish to." She offered her a smile, not wanting the mare to think she was angry with her. "We can only support those that have them in whatever way we can, as I am sure you have been doing all along." She hesitated, unsure if her next action would be welcome, but finally decided to try regardless. The princess moved to sit next to Mystic Star, draping a wing gently over the unicorn's back in an attempt to comfort her. Star stiffened for a moment but soon relaxed into her embrace, much to the alicorn's relief. "It will not be easy but I am certain you will be able to see him through this."

"Thanks, princess," Star murmured, feeling oddly at ease next to the larger pony like this. Kind of like having a wise old aunt, not that she'd ever give voice to such thoughts. "I promise to do my best."

"Then Seeker is in good hooves," Luna remarked, pulling away from the young mare reluctantly. She wondered if this was what Celestia's and Twilight's relationship had been like, though Mystic Star wasn't exactly her student, nor did she consider herself a very good teacher. She could, however, at least give ponies the chance to reach their full potentials, which was why she had sponsored the young mare, and many others, in the first place. "Good night, my little pony, and good luck."

Early afternoon of the following day...

Preparations were complete. They had enough water to last them several days in the desert, a cart to carry it and had on lightweight, white hooded cloaks to protect them from the sun. Mystic Star noted that Seeker seemed to be doing a little better today, wondering if he had been visited by Princess Luna as well. It was quite likely, given the alicorn's duty as the princess of the night, so she was glad to see it was having a positive effect on him.

"What?" Seeker asked, having noticed her lingering gaze. "Do I have something on my face?"

"O-oh, no, it's nothing," Star replied, swiftly averting her eyes. "Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover so we better get started." She lead the way, Seeker having "volunteered" to pull the cart. Unfortunately, other than a general direction, they had little to go on regarding where to find Red Velvet. They'd discussed their plans for where to search, deciding that the most likely areas where the recluse would set herself up would be ones with more rock than sand, as sand wasn't exactly great to build a home on in terms of stability. So, with this in mind, the search began.

Luna had awoken early again, though this time she remembered to eat something first, if only to keep her overly protective sister at bay. Despite all efforts her search for Gray Shroud's killer proved fruitless in the end, so she hoped that this would prove to be more productive. She picked up where Celestia had left off, the older princess having looked into various obscure texts on rituals of various types, yet everything she had read suggested a spell of such magnitude as to forever bind one's very bloodline to the service of another was simply impossible.

Not even dark magic was powerful enough to fuel such a vast undertaking, and it would have taken dozens of unicorns working in unison to even begin to attempt it, let alone pull it off. Try as she might, Luna could not find anything that would suggest otherwise, and yet it had somehow been accomplished regardless. What in the world could they be missing?

"This endeavor seems intent on driving me to insanity," the lunar princess grumbled, pausing in her reading of a very ancient text, dry of tone and overly fond of needless pontification. Celestia had made notes, one describing the text, which she had barely read even a quarter of the way through, as "a stuffy, long winded mess". Luna could not help but agree, promptly shutting the book and rubbing her temples in an effort to stave off a headache that had been growing worse for the past hour or so she had spent reading this load of pretentious drivel masquerading as useful information.

When it came right down to it, Equestria had never seen the likes of the magic that would make this alleged binding ritual possible. Of course there were other races on the planet, each gifted in different ways, yet she was fairly certain none of them were capable of such a thing either. She heard the gate to the restricted section open and shut, glancing up to see her sister, noting the concerned look in her eye with feelings of both sisterly affection and mild annoyance. They were both over a thousand years old and Luna felt she was well past the point that her sister had to worry about her as much as she seemed to.

"I see you're having about as much luck as I did," Celestia commented idly, to which Luna snorted in a decidedly unrefined fashion. "It would seem that we won't find anything of use at this rate, not here at least." She frowned thoughtfully. "We've even checked the books Twilight salvaged from our old castle, yet nothing seems capable of performing such a complex, and likely very difficult, ritual."

"I could think of one being that could manage it," Luna said, frowning herself now, though hers was one of distaste. "That knave Discord would be capable of such a feat, of that I am almost certain."

"While I imagine he has the power to perform such an act, it's not exactly his style," Celestia felt the need to point out. "Now if Seeker and his clan transformed into, I don't know, candy spitting bunnies that were all the colors of the rainbow, I'd be more than willing to believe it of him."

"Oh, come now, even I'm not that tacky," a disembodied voice said, startling them both. "Though it does my heart good to hear you defending my honor, Celestia." A flash and a popping noise later and the self proclaimed spirit of chaos was hovering over them, a big heart shaped pillow with the words "Tia is best princess" embroidered in gold thread on the front hugged tightly to his chest, or what passed for his chest given his serpentine, horribly mismatched body. "Makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over." Another flash and the pillow was gone, while Discord had somehow sprouted a layer of very fluffy looking pink fur. "What do you think? Personally I believe Fluffle pulls the look off better, but I don't think it looks too bad on me."

"Discord, how lovely to see you again," Celestia said in a way meant to charm the spirit, while Luna rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "To be honest, much as I do like the color pink, I don't really think it suits you."

"Yes, I'm sure you're right," Discord conceded, the fur disappearing as quickly as it had been manifested. "You know a little birdie told me I've missed out on some delightful mischief about the castle of late." Luna just about fell out of her chair when a flock of sparrows flew out of her right ear. "Honestly, Celestia, you wound me! How could you have a genuine shapeshifter as a guest and not tell your old pal Discord?" As ever he had no sense of personal space, pouting mere inches away from Celestia's face. The solar princess, for her part, seemed completely unflappable, while Luna was about ready to blast him to cinders. "To think that we're such good friends and yet you would fail to introduce me!"

"Well, as much as I'm sure Seeker would have been...delighted to meet you, I'm afraid he was in quite a hurry," Celestia told him, still smiling despite his proximity.

"Yes, yes, off to seek his fabled cure," Discord remarked dismissively, twisting around in the air to circle Luna next. "Honestly I think it's a terrible waste, what with the potential for spreading chaos his little affliction has, but I suppose not everyone can see the benefits of turning into a ferocious, fire breathing monster." Luna grimaced as he pinched her cheeks, the spirit of disharmony tugging on them playfully. "Of all the things our dear Lulu has done to contribute to Equestria as a whole, I think this makes my top five right after disrupting the harmony of day and night." The princess of the night was about ready to unleash her indignant fury upon the mischievous entity when her sister decided to intervene.

"Discord," Celestia began, her tone stern and smile slowly vanishing from her face. "What have I told you about about picking on my sister?"

"Not to," Discord grumbled, immediately letting go of Luna and slinking away, the younger alicorn sighing in relief. "You're still such a spoilsport, Tia." He twisted about in the air, sitting on nothing and resting his chin in his claws. "So, what's next? More boring old books? If so you can count me out." He suddenly sneezed, sending over half the books flying off the table before blowing his nose on a handkerchief he seemingly pulled from thin air. "Ugh, all this dust really upsets my allergies."

"Then why not go elsewhere?" Luna asked, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. "We have no need of your assistance, nor did we ask for you to join us."

"Oh, Lulu, you're always such a laugh," Discord said in a tone thick with sarcasm. "And to think that used to be one of your Elements."

"Discord, please, did you have something you wished to add to our efforts or not?" Celestia cut off any further quibbling between the two of them before it could get a full head of steam.

"Oh, I'm not sure I want to tell you now," Discord replied, turning his back on them and crossing his arms. "I'm clearly not wanted, after all, so why should I say anything at all?"

"Please," Luna said suddenly, shocking them with how earnest she sounded. "If you can aid us, please, tell us what you know." Discord's head turned completely around, though the rest of him remained facing the other way, the spirit of disharmony blinking down at Luna owlishly.

"Forgive me, I must have wax in my ears," Discord said, digging at one of them with a talon for emphasis. "I could have sworn you just used the word please, but that certainly can't have been the case." Luna closed her eyes, fighting down the urge to yell at him, instead swallowing her pride just this once.

"Please, Discord," Luna said again, though it clearly pained her to do so. "Tell us what you know."

"Well, alright then," Discord relented finally, his body spinning around so he could rest his elbows on the table, though the rest of him remained suspended in midair. "Tell me, what do the two of you know about blood magic?"

Hours had passed, the heat almost unbearable, the two ponies glad they had brought more water than they had expected they'd need as, despite the protection their cloaks afforded them, the intrepid pair were not accustomed to the conditions they were now forced to endure. The sun hung low on the horizon and they had yet to find even a single sign of where Red Velvet made her home amidst the dunes.

"We should try and find shelter for the night," Seeker advised, voice muffled by a scarf that covered his mouth, the pair having been forced to use them due to the fiercely blowing winds that had only just picked up. "Get out of this harmony forsaken wind."

"Sounds like a great idea to me," Mystic Star agreed, squinting against a fresh gust as they climbed to the top of the next dune. "There!" She'd spotted a ravine in the distance, like a wound in the rocks. "There might be a cave or an alcove down there."

"It's better than nothing," Seeker remarked, starting carefully down the other side of the dune. "If we're lucky we'll get there while there's still daylight." Unfortunately, however, life decided to kick him squarely in the face as the cart suddenly refused to move, the wheels having sunk into the sand almost completely. "Damn it, not now!" He tried to pull it free, but it stubbornly refused to budge.

"We don't have time for this!" Star shouted above the the beginnings of a proper sandstorm. "We'll dig it out later, now come on!" She unhitched him from the cart and gave him a shove before sliding down the rest of the way down the dune, breaking into a gallop once she hit the bottom. Seeker wasn't far behind, not wanting to lose sight of her as visibility became steadily worse. It got so bad they couldn't see more than half a pony length in front of their faces. They lost sight of the ravine, the cart and all sense of direction, eventually huddling together and trying to weather the torrent of wind and sand that threatened to bury them alive.

"Over here!" A mare's voice cut through the howling cacophony that surrounded them, a crimson light shining in the distance. "Quickly, before you end up buried out there!" They didn't hesitate, following the light, the silhouette of a pony soon materializing within the swirling mess of sand, an orb of crimson energy hovering above it. "Down here!" Before they could say a word the pony seemed to disappear, though the orb of light remained. Cautiously the pair moved closer, an open hatch soon revealed under the light. "Come on, get in here already!" Given their current options, Seeker and Mystic Star descended the ladder into the whatever awaited them inside.

"I don't know what you two thought you were doing out here, but I can say with absolute certainty that you're both completely bucking mental," the mare's voice quipped from the darkness once the hatch shut behind them.

"Who are you?" Seeker asked, though he had a pretty good idea who they were talking to already.

"The mare who's been watching you stumble around for the past few hours, that's who." The acoustics of wherever they'd ended up made her voice echo oddly. "What, did you think wandering around the desert during the height of summer was a great idea or something?"

"We wouldn't be out here if we had another option, trust me," Mystic Star replied, shaking herself in an effort to rid herself of some of the sand that had accumulated under her cloak before they'd gotten inside. "Unfortunately we had no idea exactly where you lived, Ms. Velvet." There was silence for several seconds before the mare spoke up again.

"Okay, that helps to explain why you're out here," Red Velvet said, showing herself by lighting her horn with a soft red glow, appearing to be around the same age as Gray Shroud. The light also revealed where they'd ended up, a roughly hewn stone tunnel of sorts. Velvet's eyes lingered on Mystic Star for a moment before turning to Seeker, causing them to widen considerably. "By the stars, you're Lily's boy! My goodness, how you've grown."

"Lily?" Star glanced from Red Velvet to Seeker, noticing how he'd stiffened up at the mention of the name. "Now that I think about it you've never even mentioned your parents before."

"Oh, that's no surprise really," Velvet said with a sigh, looking at the earth pony with a good deal of sympathy in her eyes. "Gilded Lily died years ago now and his father didn't stick around long enough after Seeker was born for me to even learn the useless bastard's name." She turned her attention back to Mystic Star. "Don't think I've ever seen you before, though. What's your name young lady?"

"Mystic Star, ma'am," the younger unicorn replied respectfully, causing Red Velvet to chuckle softly.

"Oh, save the ma'am talk," she told her, chuckling some more. "Well, I wasn't expecting visitors but I suppose I can put the kettle on for you." She turned and started walking down the tunnel, lighting the way for them. "Come along, now, no need to be shy." Mystic Star moved to follow, only to notice Seeker wasn't doing the same.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked him quietly so her words wouldn't echo like Velvet's had, causing him to flinch slightly. "Seeker?" The stallion shook himself, offering her a ghost of a smile once he'd seemingly recovered.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replied, starting down the tunnel after Red Velvet. "Come on, let's not keep her waiting." Mystic Star watched him go for a moment, unable to help feeling concerned, eventually following before they got too far ahead.

"I haven't had visitors in quite some time," Velvet informed them as she put a kettle on to boil, the three of them standing in a room that was also carved out of the rock, though this showed much more polish than the tunnel had. The wood stove sat again one wall, a pipe connected to the back disappearing into the wall behind it, while a reading chair sat nearby with several shelves of books lining the walls. Three more tunnels lead to parts unknown, the room lit by a gas lantern the old mare just lit so she could extinguish the light of her horn.

"Last time was, oh, just after I carved out the first few rooms as I recall." Velvet turned so they could see her cutie mark, a silver corkscrew of energy and what appeared to be bits of rock flying away from the tip. "I've always been good at working with stone, so making a home here wasn't all that different."

"It must have taken you years to carve out all this," Star commented, taking a seat on the decidedly soft rug, glancing to where Seeker lingered at the mouth of the tunnel they'd exited from. "Tunnels, rooms, not to mention the ventilation required for us to breathe down here. It's very impressive."

"Oh, stop, you'll make me blush," Velvet told her, smiling as she moved to take a seat herself. "Seeker, are you gonna stand there all night or are you going to join us?" The earth pony didn't reply, instead moving to sit near Mystic Star. "So, what brings you both out here? I'm surprised old Shroud didn't send a letter to let me know you were coming." The two younger ponies exchanged a long look, causing the old mare to frown. "What? Why did you look at each other like that?"

"Uncle Shroud is dead," Seeker spat out bluntly, Mystic Star sending him a reproving look. "Someone murdered him."

"By the moon and stars, that's..." Velvet trailed off, seemingly unable to say anything else at first. When she finally was able to do so her voice was choked with emotion. "How? When?"

"We're not sure when exactly, but it can't have been more than a few days ago," Star replied, Seeker seemingly intent on burning a hole in the carpet with his intense glaring. "We'd been going to see him so we could find you, actually. It...I've never seen something so horrible before in my entire life."

"Oh, Shroud," Velvet murmured, now holding her head in her hooves. "I can't imagine what it must have been like, finding him that way after so long." She was obviously talking to Seeker in this regard. "I know the two of you weren't getting along very well and now...I'm so sorry, Seeker."

"How do you even know that?" Seeker managed to ask. "I hadn't even met you before today, yet you recognized me and you know that Uncle Shroud and I," he swallowed thickly, "that we'd been distant."

"You must know he wrote to me all the time," Velvet pointed out, smiling wistfully. "He'd go on about you children like you were his own. You, Amber Dawn, Quick Shot, you were all so dear to the old bird." She shook her head slightly. "When you went off looking for a cure he was so frantic with worry until he received your first letter, even though I told him you were old enough to look after yourself."

"We'd gotten into a big fight," Seeker recalled, smiling himself now, though it was a small one. "He didn't want me wasting my time on some flight of fancy and I called him a stupid old stallion, too scared to even hope that we might have a future." The smile quickly disappeared. "I just wish he could have learned that we may actually have a chance."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Red Velvet leaned forward, her interest caught. "You're not suggesting that you actually found something are you?"

"That's actually why we're here," Star informed her, then proceeding to explain just what led them here in the first place. "So we were hoping, given that you keep the clan's lore, that you'd be able to shed some light on just how the binding was first created."

"And you think that will help you work out how to remove this...taint?" At Star's nod Red Velvet seemed to get lost in thought, not even reacting when the kettle started to whistle shrilly. Mystic Star took it upon herself to remove it from the heat, setting it on the tray the older unicorn had set aside for them. "Well, if I recall correctly the old priests had to go outside of Equestria for help."

"Why is that?" Star asked as she poured them each a cup. "I mean, surely there was more than enough magic here for them to utilize?"

"What they wanted to do was beyond the means of normal magic," Velvet replied, eyes distant as she recalled the various texts that had survived the last thousand years, old records of the time before the time of Luna's banishment. "Not even dark magic was strong enough, so they had to consult the shamans of the different peoples beyond Equestria's borders. The dragons and minotaurs had no real interest in magic. The griffons, at that time, had only just begun to experiment with methods for them to draw on it through the use of runes and other such devices." The old mare grimaced. "The zebras, meanwhile, had their own practices."

"The Zebrican Empire was a brutal place," Discord informed Celestia and Luna casually, as if he hadn't just been talking about the worst form of magic imaginable. "They worshiped petty spirits of nature, or the loa as they were called back in those days, who demanded regular sacrifices in order to grant the zebras their power." He conjured an image of a winged snake that hissed at the princesses before he dismissed it. "They developed blood magic as a means to better channel vast amounts of magic, using the life energy of those they sacrificed to fuel all sorts of twisted little rituals." He shivered, sending vibrations from the end of his nose to the tip of his tail. "They were no fun at all, not like you ponies turned out to be."

"How do you know this, exactly?" Celestia asked, though she had her suspicions.

"Why I'm sure you've already guessed, being the smart mare that you are," Discord said in a sickeningly sweet tone, a graduation cap appearing atop Celestia's head. "But, if I really must explain, it's because I stumbled across them in my search for a fun place to set up shop."

"So you truly are responsible for their downfall," Luna said, though she wasn't sure if she should feel happy about it or outraged, as the zebras still hadn't fully recovered from the collapse of their empire.

"Oh, please, Lulu, I merely handed them the means," Discord remarked dismissively, taking a moment to make the books dance for his amusement, though his expression stayed one of acute boredom. "It's not my fault they mistook me for one of their pathetic little 'gods'."

"And I'm sure the fact you saw an opportunity to spread chaos had nothing to do with it," Celestia said in a surprisingly dry tone, for her at least.

"It might have factored in at some point, I'll admit." The books were now putting on what appeared to be a rendition of the first Hearth's Warming. "Then they tried to use their disgusting magic to bind me like they had the loa and, well, it might have caused a tiny little dimensional shift that ended up turning most of their savanna into a steaming jungle." The books fell over, lifeless, as he sighed. "Honestly, I've never felt so insulted as I was then. To believe that they could contain chaos itself." The spirit of disharmony scoffed. "Well, if it hadn't been me I'm sure their little empire would have torn itself apart regardless. You can't regularly sacrifice your citizens and expect them not to have a problem with it after all."

"So then Seeker's ancestors approached them for the knowledge on how to use blood magic?" Celestia asked, surprised at how subdued Discord was acting at the moment. The events leading up to the fall of the Zebrican Empire must have affected him deeply.

"It'd be my first guess, though since I was encased in stone by then I can't exactly say for certain one way or the other." Discord draped himself over Celestia's shoulders, the white alicorn rolling her eyes but otherwise not moving to shake him off. "So, then, was that helpful?"

"Yes, it may help a great deal," Luna answered him, puzzled by this fact. "Why, though? Normally you're not nearly so forthcoming, always having to couch your answers in some silly riddle or forcing us to guess at your true intentions."

"Because, Luna," Discord was now in two places at once, still draped over Celestia's shoulders and chair while a tiny version of him was now hovering by Luna's left ear, "I've recently learned what it's like to want to make up for past mistakes." Both Discords vanished moments later, leaving Luna to stare at where he'd been in stunned silenced. "Ta ta~"

Mystic Star and Seeker stared at Red Velvet, their tea now cold and long forgotten, the older mare waiting for them to digest what she'd just finished telling them. Honestly they were taking it much better than she'd expected, given the nature of blood magic and all.

"You two are liable to catch flies with how your jaws are hanging open right now," Velvet joked, her words snapping them out of whatever daze her tale had put them in. "Our ancestors, the priests at least, weren't the nicest ponies around I'm afraid. Not only did they want to be closer to their goddess but they also hoped this zebra ritual would allow them to gain the power they so desperately craved." She stretched a bit, her joints cracking from how stiff sitting in the same position for so long had made her. "Oof, not used to spinning such a long yarn these days. Plays havoc on my back to sit still for so long." Her guests still had yet to say anything. "Well? Does that help any?"

"It might," Star replied, though she sounded uncertain. "At least we know how they did it, though it does beg the question as to how they managed it without Princess Luna knowing."

"Same way the zebras did to the loa, I imagine," Velvet pointed out with a shrug. "Though I think an alicorn that can shift the positions of the moon and stars is on a whole different level compared to a few nature spirits." She opened her mouth to say more when her horn pulsed with crimson energy, her jaw clicking shut.

"What the hay is that?" Seeker asked, a faint buzzing accompanying the flashes.

"That, my boy, is my perimeter alarm," Velvet replied, getting up from her chair and starting down the far right tunnel. "Some fool pony's gone and wondered out into the sandstorm, though I can't imagine how they managed to make it this far." Seeker and Mystic Star followed after her, curious to see who it could be. "I just hope they aren't buried up to their necks by now, whoever the hay they are." Several minutes of walking later brought them to another ladder, the old mare grunting as she had to use her magic to open the hatch, which had been buried under a foot of sand. "Now, let's see who-" She was suddenly sucked up and out of the opening, her startled cry suddenly cut short. Seeker didn't hesitate, clambering up after her, Mystic Star moments behind him.

Neither of them were prepared for the sight that awaited them. A tall unicorn, perhaps even taller than Princess Luna, stood some thirty feet from the hatch, Red Velvet in the silver aura of her magic. The most startling thing beyond her draconic, chartreuse eyes was the fact she seemed to be sucking some sort of black smoke out of the old mare's open mouth, the Lore Keeper twitching and gasping as if being strangled. After several moments of this the stream of black stuff trickled to a stop, the strange unicorn's mane and tail taking on an almost ethereal quality as she carelessly dropped a now very silent Red Velvet to the sands. Her eyes fixed on Seeker, her grin revealing a mouth full of predatory fangs.

"Hello, my dear cousin. Did you miss me~?"