• Published 6th Jun 2015
  • 459 Views, 2 Comments

The Moon and Stars: Shades of the Nightmare - D4ftP0ny



A dedicated team of ponies works tirelessly to rid Equestria of a threat that few ponies know about and even fewer acknowledge: the ever-present shadows of the evil force known as the Nightmare.

  • ...
 2
 459

Chapter 2

“The first thing I noticed was the sadness – the ineffable, unfathomable sadness that engulfed me as I merged with the foreign entity inside of me. The crushing weight of it pressed in on me from all sides until I sobbed from within its cocoon, the despair of a thousand lifetimes filling my heart, mind, and body. Despite my resolve, I felt my conviction waver in the face of such torturous sorrow.

It did not last long; soon the deep blue sea of misery sparked alive with red, yellow, bright blue and purple, lances of color in the dark underworld I found myself in. They closed in on me and consumed me, and soon I was one with fear, anger, fury and hatred, all coursing into me and filling me until I felt as though I would burst. I screamed and raged and lashed out with my magic, and as I did so the cocoon around me exploded into bright white light, revealing my new form: coat black as coal, mane shining like a dying star – the epitome of power and rage with the unbridled forces of the universe at my command.

I had done it. I had successfully merged myself with the Nightmare... and as I marveled at my newfound power I found it easy to ignore the cost. For it was not until a thousand and more years later that I realized what it had stolen from me that day.”

~entry from Princess Luna’s personal diary, on her union with the Nightmare

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The eastern sky was just beginning to lighten towards dawn as Knight Vision finally arrived at the ancient temple that was the home of his order, and despite the long and eventful night Vision still found it in him to smile warmly at the cool tan stones that had given him so much. He and Sweet Dreams tipped their wings gently to the right, sending both ponies into broad, sweeping spirals that would take them down towards the huge mountaintop structure.

In ancient days the Aerie had been a Temple of the Moon, a place where ponies could go to worship and pay respects to Luna, who they worshipped as a goddess alongside Celestia. According to the information they had received from Princess Luna, there had been more than a dozen of these huge stone structures dotting Equestria and the lands beyond, each with a corresponding Temple of the Sun; after the Nightmare Moon incident, however, ponies had done what they could to erase Luna’s mark on their land. All of the Moon temples had been destroyed by ponies eager to put the darkness of the Nightmare behind them – all of them but one. Vision’s eyes swept the beautifully preserved building below him, his smile broadening as his vision followed the temple’s perfectly straight angles and undamaged façades that stood out starkly from the rough mountain stone beneath it. It was truly a marvel to behold, and whether it had been forgetfulness or the machinations of ponies unknown that had spared it from destruction, he was grateful to have it.

Movement out of the corner of his left eye drew Vision’s eyes from the temple below to the sky above him, and against the slowly brightening sky he saw the silhouette of another Pegasus fall into formation with Dreams and himself. It was a Pegasus mare, her brilliant blue feathers catching what little light there was in the sky and shimmering like an aurora as she tossed him a salute with her right hoof. Vision offered her a nod of thanks and turned his head to glance at Dreams, who gave him a smile as the trio descended towards the Aerie below.

The morning air was cool and dry around the mountaintop and offered little resistance to the pegasus’ wings as he swooped in low to the enormous balcony that protruded from the southern face of the square-edged pyramid. According to the Princess, each temple had a balcony on whichever side received the most light from moon and sun to allow the ponies who worshipped there an unobstructed view of the objects of their worship no matter the time of day, but what really mattered to Vision was that it made the perfect landing area. His broad wings flared and flapped firmly as the dark stallion brought himself in for a landing, the bright white markings on the interior of his pinion feathers all but glowing in the waxing dawn as he hovered for the barest of moments then settled his hooves to the cool stone beneath him.

Vision let out a sigh of relief and shook his long mane out as he folded his wings against his body, hoping against hope that he could shake the long flight out of his hair before having to present his report to the Grandmaster. Never let it be said that I’m not a little vain, he thought with a quirk of his lips, and with an expert shake of his head and brush of his wingtips he ensured that his mane was untangled before turning towards Sweet Dreams and the other mare, who had landed along with the duo.

“Good morning to you, Artemis,” Vision greeted with a respectful nod. “Good to see that you were guarding the skies tonight.”

Artemis Rose gave her wings a single sharp flick before retracting them and offering Knight Vision a charming smile. “And a good morning to you, Vision,” she said, returning the nod. Her voice was light but sharp, like the refined edge of an elegant rapier, and Vision knew that despite her ladylike appearance Artemis could and would knock just about anypony out of the sky if she had to. “I’ve heard that your mission was a success. Congratulations to the both of you.”

“I think we earned those congratulations last night,” Dreams said, rolling her shoulder with a furrowed brow before turning to face Vision, her hooves scraping across the stone. “There were a lot more guards there than usual, weren’t there?”

The stallion nodded. “There certainly were.” His red eyes shifted back to Artemis, whose shimmering aqua feathers rippled like sunlight on water as she turned to face him more squarely. “And I assume that the news of our success means Grandmaster Feywind has returned as well?”

“It does,” Artemis said with a nod, her dusty rose mane bobbing around her ears. “I’m certain she’ll want to speak with you as soon as she can.” She pointed a hoof towards one of the half dozen large doors that connected the balcony with the inside of the Temple. “She should be in the Heart with Valkyrie.”

Vision nodded and offered the mare a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Thanks a lot, Artemis,” Dreams said as she turned towards the door with Vision. “I hope the rest of your patrol goes well!” Artemis gave the pair a brief wave with her hoof before turning back to the edge of the balcony; her wings flashed open, and in a heartbeat she was gone.

The dark stallion gave his long mane a toss as he and his partner walked through one of the two middle doors to the Aerie, the portal wide enough that six ponies could have walked abreast through it and tall enough that even a minotaur wouldn’t have had to duck to enter. The blazing morning sunlight outside faded away as the pair entered the ancient building, and as their eyes re-adjusted to the dark Vision couldn’t help but smile.

With the exceptions of the living quarters and outermost hallways the Aerie was devoid of any natural lighting, relying instead on glowing crystals that decorated the hallways and rooms. Each crystal gave off as much light as the full moon, their silvery-white illumination filling the otherwise pitch black interior of the pyramid. As Vision passed the first crystal of the hallway, its round, faceted form tucked tightly into a corner next to the door, he felt a sense of peace return to him – a peace that he never felt anywhere but here. His shoulders relaxed, and in spite of the fact that he hadn’t officially finished his mission yet, he couldn’t keep himself from decompressing just a little bit.

The two pegasi moved down the long hallway, passing two smaller halls and six doorways as well as a few other ponies on their journey towards the Heart. The few ponies they met were all pegasi, as well, and for good reason: it would be nearly impossible for any other kind of pony to reach this place, and even if they were brought here the altitude would have made them sick. The Aerie was one of the highest points in Equestria, and certainly the highest land-bound community to be inhabited, yet despite not being a cloud city like Cloudsdale or Windsoar it was one of the few places that earth ponies and unicorns couldn’t comfortably make their homes. Pegasi were the only ponies naturally suited to living at all altitudes in the world, and Vision believed that was what had spared this structure from the purge a thousand years ago. It would have taken an army of ponies much stronger and more magical than one made of pegasi alone to destroy a building like this, he thought as he and Dreams moved towards the Heart. I suppose that puts into perspective how badly they wanted the others destroyed…

Their hoofsteps echoed softly off of the stone walls as they passed the last pair of doors in the hall and approached the room known as the Heart, but even before they had officially entered it Vision’s ears twitched violently as a pair of angry voices bounced discordantly off the walls, slowly rising in volume as they walked.

“…fall into line with the others right this instant! You will NOT receive another warning!”

Vision’s eyes narrowed, but his pace remained unchanged. “That sounded like Valkyrie,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, just loud enough for Dreams to hear him.

“Yeah, it was definitely her,” the mare responded, and Vision didn’t have to look at her to know that her normally smooth brow was now crinkled with a frown. “And that means…”

“And why should I?!” a deep, loud voice responded to the first, its bass tones booming and filling the hallway as Vision and Dreams came to the exit. “I’m twice the fighter they are – ten TIMES the fighter they are! I shouldn’t be in the same league as them!”

Vision’s lips quirked into a wry, knowing smile, and he glanced at Dreams just long enough to share a shrewd look with the mare. “And that means Ronin,” Vision finished for her as the pair stepped from the passageway into the huge chamber know to everyone at the Aerie as the Heart.

The Heart was the enormous inner chamber of the pyramid, and despite being inside a grand structure the Heart somehow managed to be considerably more formidable and awe-inspiring than the pyramid itself. It stretched the entire height of the Aerie in one perfectly formed column, its square sides rising through each of the levels of the great pyramid until it broke free into the sky beyond. The sides of the square were broad enough that the pegasi of the Aerie could perform most of their aerial training in its cavernous maw, and an open hallway around the edges of all three levels of the pyramid ensured that anypony who wanted to watch could do so. Vision had wondered about the usefulness of viewing areas when he had first joined the Coursairs and had voiced his curiosity to one of the veterans at the time, and the older pony had told him that, when the Aerie was still a Temple of the Moon, pony priests and priestesses would hold grand ceremonies in the Heart that many ponies would want to see and be involved with. The addition of viewing areas allowed a great many more mares and stallions to join in the ceremonies, so they made sure to have them on each level to ensure that everypony had an unobstructed view of the Temple’s greatest treasure: the Eye of the Moon, a suspended diamond the size of a pony that was said to have been formed from moonlight itself. The brilliant white faceted form of the Eye floated magically halfway between the opening to the sky and the floor below, and was truly a wonder of Equestria… but today, Vision’s gaze did not immediately dart to the enormous diamond that hovered above the second floor where he stood; instead, his eyes shot down as he reached the edge of the balcony to a pair of figures on the Aerie’s floor below him, and as his hooves came to a stop the smaller of the two figures spoke again.

“You will not disrespect them like that, Ronin, if for no other reason than you are disrespecting ME when you do so!” The smaller figure was a mare, her snow-white coat shining in the bright full-moon glow from the Eye. She shook her head slowly and the light danced across the golden braid of her mane, her wings flaring in agitation at the figure before her. “Stormberry and Cardinal are exemplary students, and if you were even half the warrior they are then-,”

“Half? HALF the warrior they are?!” The other figure, a sizeable griffon with red-gold feathers on his upper half and tan fur on his lower, opened his hooked yellow beak and gave a laugh so full of disdain that Vision felt his own feathers bristle at the younger creature’s tone. The griffon, Ronin, raised a claw and pointed to a spot behind the white mare that Vision could not see. “If you put those two together, they STILL wouldn’t be half the warrior that I am!” He placed his claw back to the floor and gave the mare a disgustingly superior smile. “Griffons are more skilled in combat than you ponies are – even a pony with a warrior pedigree as strong as yours, Valkyrie.”

The white mare’s wings rose even further from her body, the light catching her pale blue pinion feathers and dancing across the bright blue filigree tattoos that she had across her neck, shoulders and front legs. “You know nothing of my birthright, griffon,” she snapped, “and my pedigree has nothing to do with your rank in this Aerie. Now get back in line!” The authority in her voice as she gave the command was heavy enough that a few of the ponies who shared the balcony with him took that as their cue to leave quickly, and Vision nodded to himself. Valkyrie has always had such a tender way with the new recruits, he thought with a smirk. That tone of hers had snapped even the most stalwart of troublemakers out of their self-destructive ways and turned them into top-notch fighters.

To his disappointment, however, Ronin the griffon did not move. Instead, his wings bristled in much the same way that Valkyrie’s had, his golden eyes glinting in the light. “Make me, old maid. MAKE ME get in line, if you can!”

The dozen or so ponies gathered on the two tiers above the ground level did not gasp audibly, but Vision knew that they had: no pony, griffon or other creature known to Equestria had ever challenged Valkyrie’s authority in such a manner, and everypony present knew that the Archangel of St. Petershoof would NOT let such an affront go unpunished. Ronin took a step towards the much smaller mare, but instead of backing down Valkyrie stood up taller than ever, her blue eyes flashing like lightning in the low light of the Heart.

“Oh I’ll make you get in line,” she declared loudly enough for every pony present to hear, “and what’s more, I’ll make an example out of you so that nopony ever questions my orders again!” Ronin’s predatory smile grew broader, and Vision could see the muscles of both parties tense in preparation for the fight to come. His eyes widened, and the thought that he should probably do something flitted across his mind, but before that thought made it to his hooves a third voice filled the large hall, its tone more commanding even than Valkyrie’s.

“That is ENOUGH, both of you.”

Vision’s ears flicked back towards his mane, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Dreamy’s posture slouch as a single figure strode out from the shadows of the first level, silence following her like a pitch-black bridal veil. The newcomer was a bat pony, and even if Vision hadn’t known who she was it was painfully obvious that she was a born fighter; she moved confidently across the ancient stones, her hoofsteps neither hurried nor hesitant as she made her way towards where Valkyrie and Ronin stood, her leathery wings tucked in tight against her slate gray body. Vision was just close enough to see the royal purple highlights in her dark blue mane, and the proud set of her shoulders and neck allowed everypony on Vision’s side of the room to see her single brilliant teal eye, its normally cool depths simmering as she stopped in the middle of the room.

Silence held sway for several long moments after the mare’s appearance, and it was Valkyrie who broke it first, the white mare turning away from the griffon before her in favor of the bat pony.

“This is my fight, Feywind,” Valkyrie declared, and while her tone was carefully devoid of the anger that had tainted it earlier Vision noted that her ears remained pinned to her mane. “Ronin has pushed me too far, and now he is going to pay the price for his disrespect!”

“He has pushed too far,” agreed Feywind, her tufted ears still fully erect as she stared at the pair across from her, “but you’re not going to fight a trainee, not the way you are right now.”

Valkyrie’s eyes widened and Vision felt his own eyes do the same. “But Grandmaster,” Valkyrie began, her tone indicating that she would not be brushed aside so easily, but before she could get any further in her argument Ronin’s brash laughter filled the hall.

“Hah! See?! Even the Grandmaster knows better than to let you fight a griffon!” His chest feathers puffed up and he swept his golden eyes across the second story balconies. “There isn’t one of you who could stand up to me,” he boasted, the corners of his beak curving into a disgusting smile. “And that brings me back to the topic we were… discussing earlier, Valkyrie.” His gaze slowly came to rest on Vision, and the griffon’s smile grew slightly. “I’m above doing all of this training. It’s time for me to take on missions with the masters.”

A wave of murmurs tickled the edges of Vision’s ears, but a murmur was as far as it got before Feywind gave her head a slight shake.

“You’re not ready for missions alongside the masters of this Aerie, Ronin,” she said simply, her voice firm. “The ponies who carry the title of master are disciplined and capable of-,”

“I am disciplined!” the griffon interrupted, his head jerking back towards the bat pony as his eyes flashed. “I am a student of the Star of Asgard, the griffon art that no pony can master or defeat! I am stronger, faster and more capable than even the masters here, and as such I have a right to be fighting alongside them!” His wings flashed open, their impressive wingspan filling the space around him with golden feathers that shimmered in the magical light. “I demand to be counted among the masters!”

Feywind’s eye narrowed. “You demand to be counted among them?” she muttered.

“I do,” Ronin answered, his eyes burning. “I have the right!”

Silence fell among the assembled ponies as Feywind stared hard at the upstart griffon, her expression as unreadable as stone for several heartbeats. Vision felt his anger rising at Ronin’s absolute gall, and in spite of himself he felt his jaw tighten. I swear that if Feywind thinks he is going to get away without a firm beating, I am going to do it myself, he thought, his heart pounding in his ears. He shot another glance at Sweet Dreams and found her face wearing a similar mask to his own – a carefully neutral façade that he knew hid roiling anger beneath. I’m certain Dreamy will join me in teaching our young outlander a thing or two about how this Aerie is run.

“Very well, Ronin,” Feywind said into the silence. “If you wish to be counted among the masters, then you will have to earn it.” A smile slowly spread across her face, baring the elongated fangs that all of her kin were born with. “Fight us, young griffon, and if you win I will bestow upon you the title of Master and all the responsibility that comes with it.”

Now an entirely different sound rose from the gallery: the soft yet unmistakable sound of quiet, confident chuckles, and Vision added his own to them. He heard Dreams actually giggle aloud, a sound that filtered through the rest of the voices and tweaked the ears of the griffon, who puffed up indignantly.

“I accept!” he declared, his voice rising in anger. “And once I win you’ll all see how superior the Star of Asgard is to any of your pony styles!”

Valkyrie cast an angry glance at Ronin and Feywind alike, but after a heartbeat’s hesitation she spread her wings low and bowed her head towards the bat pony before backing out of sight. As soon as the white mare was gone, Feywind turned to her right and began to walk slowly, her hooves clopping solemnly on the stone beneath her.

“Any of our styles?” asked Feywind, her voice disconcertingly casual. “That’s a bold claim, especially when you consider that, as a trainee, you probably haven’t seen all of our fighting styles just yet.” Across from her Ronin turned and began to pace as well, his talons scraping as he stalked along, his eyes burning with anger.

“I’ve seen enough,” he spat. “I’ve seen Knight Vision’s Eagle style, Valkyrie and Sweet Dreams’ Kestrel style, Artemis Rose’s Swallow style – all weak compared to the Star of Asgard!” Even from his second story vantage point, Vision could see the griffon’s muscles bunching along his shoulders as Ronin prepared for his attack. “They’re too specialized and not versatile enough! The Star of Asgard was designed to be able to fight any opponent, anytime, anywhere.”

Feywind’s laughter echoed in the silent room. “The Star is certainly a well-rounded style, I’ll grant you that. What it lacks is focus.” The bat pony’s muzzle split into a smile once more. “Just like a certain griffon I know.”

Vision smirked at Feywind’s comment and turned towards Dreams to whisper his agreement, but as his eyes fell upon the pink form of his partner he caught sight of movement beyond her – a black shadow that oozed through the dark corners of the room, slowly and precisely as if it were a mountain lion stalking its prey. The stallion’s eyes widened in surprise, and without speaking he turned back to the main hall. His trained gaze darted around the rest of the room and in a matter of moments he had located two other shadows slithering towards the first floor of the Heart.

“The Star does not lack focus, nor do I!” Ronin spat, his wings flaring broadly. “I am a warrior who can fight on any battlefield with incredible success – does that sound like a creature who lacks focus?!”

Vision reached out with his hoof and tapped Sweet Dreams on the leg and, when she glanced at him, he gave an infinitesimal nod towards the nearest creeping shadow. Dreams’ gaze shifted from him to the shadow for the briefest of moments before darting back to him, and without hesitation she offered him a nod and a grin that Vision returned. It would seem that my desire for Ronin to have his tail kicked is going to be fulfilled in the most spectacular way possible.

On the floor below Vision, Feywind stopped in her tracks and offered the griffon a soft smile that was full of pity. “You lack what you lack, young griffon, and no amount of anger or posturing can get it for you. But perhaps you’re just confused about your shortcomings.” Her leathery bat wings flashed open as she slid her hooves into a fighting stance, her brow knitting as her eye narrowed. “Allow me to point them out.”

The griffon let out a screech and gave his wings a mighty flap that propelled him forward at a frightening pace, his rear paws barely touching the ground as he brought his vicious talons to bear at the bat pony before him. Feywind’s wings gave a flap of their own, but instead of sending her flying towards the griffon she skittered sideways, her hooves floating above the stone for the briefest of moments as she darted nimbly out of the griffon’s way. Ronin’s talons slashed into thin air and drove down into the bare stone where Feywind had been, and as his wings flared to stop his forward momentum the bat pony lashed out, spinning in mid-air to deliver a sharp backhand blow to the side of Ronin’s face. The griffon shrieked aloud and grated his talons against the stone as he spun around to face Feywind, his eyes blazing with anger. For her part, Feywind’s face betrayed no emotion as all four of her hooves touched the floor a few feet away from the griffon; her legs bunched, her wings rose, and like a gust of wind she shot herself back towards the larger creature before he had time to gather himself for another attack.

Feywind’s front hooves smacked against the griffon’s face and neck twice before Ronin could gather his defenses, and even as he brought his front legs and wings in to protect him Feywind still scored an extra strike through a gap left between Ronin’s left leg and wing… and Vision found himself smiling as the sound of strikes hitting flesh and feathers filled the room.

“He’s done,” he muttered to Dreams, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the mare nod her agreement.

The Grandmaster’s front hooves became almost a blur as she struck time and time again, her back hooves counterbalancing her body weight as her wings held her aloft. As Vision watched, Feywind’s wings twitched laterally every so often, moving her to a slightly different position as she probed the griffon’s defenses with blow after blow of her hooves. To his credit, he’s skilled defensively, the stallion thought grudgingly. Not many ponies here could hold off the Grandmaster, even in the early stages of a fight.

“Your defense is quite good, Ronin.” Feywind’s voice carried over the rhythmic sound of her blows, her tone sounding almost relaxed despite her physical exertion. “But are you going to try hiding in there forever?”

“Hah! What’s the matter, Grandmaster?!” the griffon’s voice called out from behind his wings, his voice much less relaxed despite the bravado in his words. “Can’t get through the Shield of the King? It’s no surprise – many foes have broken against the might of the-!”

Ronin’s words turned into a sharp grunt and a loud gasp as Feywind shifted abruptly to her left and delivered a hoof straight through the pinion feathers on Ronin’s right wing, striking him square in the chest with enough force that it echoed in the Heart. The griffon staggered backwards, his wings retracting as he clutched his chest with his right talon. Feywind dropped back to all four hooves, her face still impassive as she turned and immediately began to pace once more, presenting her right side to the clearly stunned griffon.

“Defense alone will not win this fight, Ronin. You can’t simply hide and hope that I will tire – I assure you that I will not.” Her hooves clopped softly against the stone, the rhythm of her steps filling the hall like the ticking of a clock. “Do you yield?”

Vision could see the seething anger filling the young griffon even before he heard it in his voice. “You Crows and your dirty tricks!” he hissed, his beak clacking sharply as his tail lashed back and forth, the tip whipping his flanks. “I will never yield, least of all to a weakling like YOU! This is a battle of strength – use your strength to fight me and not your silly techniques!”

“Those so-called silly techniques allowed me to land a hit on you despite your ‘impenetrable’ Shield of the King.” Feywind continued to circle Ronin, her posture loose. “And more to the point, that ridiculous philosophy of yours is exactly why you’re not fit to be a master yet.”

“Wh-what?” Ronin’s eyes narrowed and he took a step away from the Grandmaster, though his posture remained aggressive and defiant. “What are you talking about?”

“The idea that strength is what makes a master.” Feywind’s ears twitched atop her head and her one-eyed gaze rose to the second floor as she continued to pace. “The notion that physical prowess and power in combat are what you must seek to join their ranks...”

Ronin let out a shriek and lunged forward at Feywind while her eye was elsewhere, and for a heartbeat Vision’s stomach clenched as the much larger griffon’s talons grasped greedily for the Grandmaster’s exposed neck; before he even got close to her, however, one of the shadows that he had seen lurking around the dark corners of the grand chamber flashed out into the center of the room and intercepted Ronin with a strike that Vision felt even from his place on the balcony. The impact sent the griffon flying, his wings flailing as he struggled to stay upright, and to Vision’s surprise he managed to get all four of his feet onto the ground, a move that turned his flight into a skid that sent him almost to the edge of the huge room.

In spite of the very real nature of the fight happening below them, Vision could feel every pony in the room smile as one of the ‘shadows’ he had seen earlier spread her webbed wings and landed gracefully next to Feywind, the leathery skin of her wings a shining silver instead of the typical dark blue-gray of normal bat ponies. The new mare gave her pitch-black mane a toss as she turned to Feywind and the light from the Eye glinted across the silver streaks in both her mane and tail.

“…or that you must fight alone to be a master,” Feywind finished before nodding to the newcomer. “Excellent timing as usual, Eclipse.”

“An honor, Grandmaster,” the darker mare said, her voice deep and melodious. She bowed respectfully to Feywind before turning to face Ronin, who stood with his wings extended and his eyes narrow.

“You said that I had to fight you, Grandmaster!” he hissed, but Vision could hear that a good deal of the wind had quite literally been knocked out of his sails by Eclipse’s strike. He stood where he had stopped, his left front leg raised in a posture that clearly denoted injury as he glared daggers at the second bat pony. “You never said anything about fighting Eclipse, too!”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Feywind with a smirk. “I said that you would have to fight us. What did you think – that I decided to use the royal ‘we’ for a moment?”

From opposite sides of the room two more shadows rose and darted out into the brilliant light of the Eye, both forming into two more bat ponies who flitted down to land around Feywind. Vision’s smile grew broader as Solstice, a mare with short red mane and bright golden eyes, and Moon Veil, a light gray mare with a pale blue mane that was much longer than any of her companions, both settled lightly between the Grandmaster and the griffon, their gazes sharing the determination of trained fighters despite their many physical differences. Ronin’s eyes widened slightly, and Vision could practically taste the second thoughts that the griffon was having.

Feywind’s teal eye met the gold of Solstice, the silver of Eclipse and the purple of Moon Veil, and without a word the three newcomers leaped back into the air, the flapping of their leathery wings filling the space as Feywind took a casual step towards Ronin, her tufted ears twitching occasionally as she walked.

“The first thing you lack is a cool, clear head,” she said, her voice as calm as if she were giving a lecture in a classroom. “If you’d started this fight with that, you would have heard me slip in that ‘us’ and could have restructured your attacks… or given up entirely.”

The three mares darted through the air to hover over Ronin, their eyes intent on him as they slowly rotated around him in broad, sweeping arcs that brought them close to him but never within his strike range. Ronin’s eyes darted to and fro, this way and that as he tried to simultaneously keep his eyes on all four mares around him; however, that slowly became more difficult as Eclipse, Solstice and Moon Veil increased their speed, swirling around the griffon in a steadily increasing vortex of gray, red, silver and blue.

Feywind took another step towards Ronin. “The second thing you lack is insight – the ability to see past what is happening right now and into what is going to happen. This is the key to anticipating your opponent’s moves and ensuring that you stay one step ahead of them.”

The griffon’s wings flashed open once more, clearly intent on darting out from beneath the circling menace of the three bat ponies, but as he threw himself towards Feywind one of the mares darted out from their whirling dance and planted her hoof into his chest so fast that even Vision couldn’t see who had done it. Ronin’s eyes bulged above his beak as his momentum faltered, leaving the griffon to stagger a few steps to his right before throwing his wings and legs back up into his defensive Shield.

“This isn’t fair!” he gasped amid the flurry of wings. “This is not how this was supposed to go!”

“Of course it’s not,” said Feywind lightly, “real combat rarely goes how it is ‘supposed’ to.”

As Vision watched, the whirling vortex of bat ponies shifted until they were encircling Ronin again, and in a matter of moments he could hear the blows landing – solid, forceful blows that staggered the griffon every time they landed, hitting him from all sides at random moments. The proud griffon shrieked and whirled in place, trying to get his wings and legs between himself and the ever-present hooves of his attackers, but his Shield was seemingly always where the bat ponies weren’t. The sound of wings and strikes grew louder and louder as the whirlwind around Ronin turned faster and faster, and Vision saw Ronin’s resolve waver then shatter as Solstice, Eclipse and Moon Veil’s hooves found their mark time after time after time. Finally, Feywind let out a single sharp squeak that pierced through every noise in the room, a strange sound that seemed to tickle the inside of Vision’s sinuses and made him wrinkle his nose.

As one the three mares ceased their attack on Ronin, their whirlwind of death immediately fading into long, gentle arcs that took them into a holding pattern over the griffon; Ronin, for his part, flopped onto his right side as his legs gave out. His right eye was swollen mostly shut, and Vision could even see a small trickle of blood staining the yellow of his beak. His breathing was heavy and ragged, and as Feywind approached him it was clear that none of his previous fire was left in him at all.

Silence filled the room as Feywind looked down on the defeated griffon, her expression carefully neutral as she stood over her defeated student; then, after a very long moment of quiet, she raised her head and stood proudly, and when she spoke again her voice was as firm as her gaze. “Do you know why you lost today, Ronin son of Gyrron?”

“B-because…” he wheezed, but Feywind cut him off with a sharp wave of her hoof.

“You lost today because you allowed first anger and then fear to rule your mind and spirit. You grew angry at your fellow trainees, and that turned into anger at Valkyrie, and that anger transferred to me when I appeared. That anger became fear as you lost the upper hoof, and both smothered your spirit into an inability to fight.” The bat pony placed her hoof back to the ground with a loud, authoritative clop. “The opponents we fight are merely pawns, Ronin. The ponies we do combat with are puppets to a greater evil: the Nightmare. You know this, correct?”

Ronin raised his head a little higher off the stone. “Y-yes, Grandmaster.”

“Then know this, as well: if you ever go on a mission for our Princess and succumb to the same emotions that you did today, you risk allowing yourself to fall prey to the very enemy we fight. The Nightmare thrives on hate, anger, fear, jealousy and hopelessness, and if you allow your spirit to be tainted by these things you open the doors of your heart to its wheedling tendrils.” The other three bat ponies swirled down out of the air and landed next to the Grandmaster, the room falling totally silent as their wings stilled. “We train our bodies to temper our minds, Ronin son of Gyrron,” Feywind said finally, her words echoing to every ear. “We train our minds to protect our spirits, and we train our spirits to support one another, for it is only through strong minds and stronger spirits that we will emerge victorious in the end.”

Another heavy silence fell as Ronin gazed up at the four mares before him, and as Vision watched the griffon shifted his legs beneath him and forced himself up off the floor. Feywind made no move to help the injured Ronin as he struggled to his feet, and after almost a minute of struggle the griffon finally stood straight and tall once more. Although he’s definitely a little worse for wear than he was before… Vision thought with a smirk.

“Grandmaster… I…” Ronin swallowed audibly, and after a tense moment he bowed his head so deeply that his beak almost touched the floor. “…forgive my insolence, Grandmaster. I… I did not realize-,”

“I know you didn’t,” Feywind said abruptly, a wry smile touching her lips, “and that was why this was necessary. You’re not the first student to question our methods, nor will you be the last…” Her smile vanished. “Ronin, you are confined to your quarters until you apologize not only to your classmates but to Valkyrie as well. And while we’re on that subject you should probably add thanking me to that list.”

Feywind gestured behind her, and two ponies hurried out from beneath one of the other balconies; they rushed to Ronin’s sides and each took one of his wings across their shoulders, supporting the large griffon between them. They started to turn away, but Ronin shook his head and managed to keep them facing Feywind for a moment longer.

“Grandmaster… why should I thank you?” he asked, a wafer-thin thread of his previous defiance sneaking into his voice. “You… you had me beaten to teach me a lesson… why should I thank you?”

The Grandmaster’s smile grew broad. “You should thank me for not letting you fight Valkyrie. She’d have REALLY hurt you.”

The griffon’s eyes widened, and the ponies supporting him turned gently before helping him from the room. The collective breath that the ponies around them had been holding was released, and Vision felt as though time had suddenly returned to everypony. He gave his head a shake before turning to Dreams, who offered him a broad, satisfied smile.

“Well, that was totally worth watching,” she said quietly, and Vision nodded with a small smile.

“I agree.” His gaze shifted back to the floor below them, where Feywind stood speaking quietly to Valkyrie as Solstice, Eclipse and Moon Veil stood a respectful distance away. “But now we need to get down there and make our report to the Grandmaster.” He stepped to the edge of the stone balcony, spread his wings, and leaped off into the air.

It was an amusing distraction, he thought as he glanced in the direction that the injured Ronin had gone, but a distraction was all that it was. We have to tell Feywind about last night’s mission, and hopefully answer some of the questions that it raised.