Path of the Unforgiven

by HeatseekerX51

CH 16: "...And Justice For All" finale part 1

“Momma, tell me the story again.”

In the dim room, a unicorn mare turned back towards the little voice that called to her. A white quilted shawl hung around her shoulders, cream-colored fur and a burnt-orange mane framed a soft smiling face. Her brown eyes gleaming to see her son tucked into his bed.
“Again?” She asked warmly. “I thought you’d be tired of that story by now.”

Her horn glowed with an amber hue, and a matching nimbus manipulated the blanket around her son to pull it up slightly. “I think I’ve told you that tale a hundred times.”

“I like it.” Was his only defense. His coat was a little darker a shade of the mother’s, but his mane a light blond. “It has a dragon.”

“Okay, but right after, you roll over.” She took a few moments to fuss about the room in the way mothers will do, putting things in their proper place and humming a tune. Then she settled down on his bedside.

“His name was Æclypse, and long ago he was a noble prince of the unicorns. He was fair in his dealings, just in his decisions, and above all faithful to the gods. But it was his faithfulness that was his undoing.

His first great test was the Agoge, where he and his cousin Parsifal acquitted themselves valiantly against the raging Yak berserkers. Though he was not successful in his mission, all knew that it was his insight in the heat of battle that stole a victory for his cousin. The young prince was a rising champion.

His fame rose even higher one year, when he was shepherding pilgrims upon the Road of Eden, the path our ancestors took when they left ancient Thule and settled in the fertile lands of Equestria. That year, a great beast had come down from the tundra of the far north to seek new prey. The Fyre Drake, a great monster, a relic of the primordial world whose veins burn and fume, who’s breath leaves nothing but ash and destruction.”

A this, the colt buried himself into his blankets a little deeper, eyes wide with wonder.

“It found the pilgrims.” The mother continued with devious tone. “But Prince Æclypse noticed the beast’s approach and devised a strategy to lure it away from the others. Bravely the Prince battled the dragon, through ice and fire, in the face of ageless might. So it was that he even rode aboard the creature’s back as it roared in the sky! Finally, Æclypse smote the drake. It died still clutching him in its claws, a dagger of stone driven through its infernal heart.

From that day on he was hailed as Prince Æclypse the Valiant, one of the greatest children of Thule since Thalamar the Great, Vortigern the Black, and Princess Platinum.

But the prince had one weakness, his younger brother Sombra. No pony quite understands why the son born in a thunderstorm was the way he was. Why this brother would turn out so dark in a house of light. But nonetheless, Æclypse loved and safeguarded his younger sibling, as all big brothers should.

Somehow, someway, an evil spirit got into Prince Sombra, and wormed its way into his soul over time, corrupting him, driving him mad. Perhaps he was already disposed towards the darkness, or perhaps it could have been anypony at all. In any case, there came a day when his ambition and obsession could no longer be suppressed and he turned the focus of his desire on the Crystal Empire.

“Join me!” He cajoled Æclypse, thinking to embark on his conquest with his brother by his side, his loyal, ever-sympathetic brother. “Join me and we shall rule as kings together!”

“But of course, Æclypse would not be party to such a thing, and counseled him against it; “Do not damn yourself with this folly!” He said. “If you go, you will go alone, and your name will be cursed for all history!”

Enraged, Sombra transformed into a storm of screaming shadow and left Thule forever to besiege the Crystal Empire. He broke their magical barrier, crushed their guard, and turned the queen into solid crystal, throwing her from the balcony of the palace to shatter on the ground for all to see!”

The colt gasped to image such a villain.

“Now, it is the ancient law of our tribe, that kin shall not do violence against kindred. For one brother to make war on another is an abomination, and that by word or deed knowingly cause destruction to them, is to bring the very wrath of the gods down upon thyself and others. That is why it is the most sacred and severe of our laws.

So it was that when the Solar Princess, the Dawnbringer, Celestia herself went to Thule to secure Æclypse’s aid in stopping his brother, there was only one terrible answer he could give.

“I cannot help you.” He said to her regretfully. “I can have no part in the destruction of my brother.”

“But you must!” Celestia pleaded to him. “For all that is just and good, you must help!” Try as she might, with kind words and with strong, she could not sway him to act in defense of the Crystal Empire. Whatever help Thule could offer the Crystal ponies afterwards was offered without hesitation but… putting a stop to Sombra’s madness would be the charge of the alicorns alone. Æclypse would not break the law of the gods, not even for so grave a cause.

Celestia was angered greatly and swore to bring her judgement to him once Sombra had been dealt with. Æclypse was resolute, but heartbroken over the matter, went out to the mountains, to the Altar of the Gods, to prostrate himself before them and pray that he had chosen the right path.

And as we know, Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna smote the self-proclaimed king, destroying his body and banishing the darkness of his shadow into a prison of ice. But Sombra’s malice was more cunning than any had anticipated, his scheme darker than any could foresee.

Knowing that his enemies would soon be upon him, Sombra laid a trap. If the Crystal Empire could not be his alone, then nopony would have it. When his body was shattered and his soul cast into the ice, the whole of the Empire suddenly disappeared! Poof!

Nopony knows how he did it, but from that day on, the Crystal Empire was wiped from the face of the world without a trace. It is said that if one travels to the north, where it once stood, you can hear the mad screaming laughter of King Sombra in the howling winds.

Of course, the loss of the Crystal Empire was beyond anypony’s fear of the worst. Celestia perhaps more than any was particularly wrothful and had only one figure upon which to focus her displeasure. She returned to Thule, her fury so intense it radiated from her body like the sun itself, ponies forced to avert their gaze as she went by. They say the tapestries and curtains burned like kindling and that even the very stones were scorched along her path.

In her full glory, her royal voice shook the stone halls of the castle for all to hear. She stripped Æclypse of his title, disowned him of his family name so as to refuse him the legacy and sever him from his birthright. Then she banished him from all lands under Equestrian rule, never to return to his beloved Thule for as long as he so shall live. The Prince was doomed as an outlaw. She then proclaimed that in place of his surname, he would thenceforth be known, as ‘Æclypse the Unforgiven’.

So, the Unforgiven gathered whatever possessions he could carry on his back, bid farewell to his loved ones, and left the Kingdom of Thule, never to be seen again.”

“And nopony knows what happened to him?” The child asked for the dozenth time, but still with the same wonder as always.

The mother hummed as she tilted her head. “Some say he journeyed into he east, across the saltwater. Others say he lost himself in the mountains of the far north to reside among the gods. Still others say he found his way westward, into lands unknown. There are the errant accounts here and there throughout history that a stallion matching his likeness did something notable, or was in the periphery of great events, but nothing that was ever said to be certain.”

The colt sniffled. “So… We’ll never find out?’

“I don’t know about that…” Mother smiled, using a hoof to smooth-out a wrinkle in the sheet. “Our tribe never lost hope that the lost son might return home one day, to rest among his kindred at last. It was the belief of our ancestors that he would return to us eventually, in the hour of our greatest need. Do you remember the rhyme, son?”

“All the…” He began to recite with uncertainty. “All the gold is not bitter?”

“All that is gold does not glitter.” She corrected gently. “Not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.”

Son then joined mother in the ode, a smile creeping over them both as they did.

“From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be the line that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.”

Contented as he was, the little colt could no longer suppress a yawn, and a heavy-lidded trio of blinks that proved victorious over his willpower.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” The mare cooed, kissing him on his forehead. He mumbled something that one could say resembled a goodnight, but it fell away into a soft breathing. A yawn escaped the mother as well, despite herself, and she rose from the bedside to extinguish the candle that sat on the small table across the room, snuffing it out with an orb of magic.

500 YEARS LATER

Morning in Equestria

“It’s been a long night.” The stark-white pegasus Canterlot guard said to the thestral, both adorned in their respective sets of armor. They were side-by-side on their patrol, flying in a circular route above Ponyville. The sun was newly risen in the sky, its face shining over the humble village as wisps of smoke continued to rise in a few places where embers still smoldered.

“A trifle sacrifice for the opportunity to hammer those Changeling vermin.” The thestral answered in a firm tone. “Hopefully we’ve put an end to those things for good now.”

The pegasus tilted his head. “I wonder what the Princess will do with them?” In the hours since the unconscious Chrysalis was brought back, the task of corralling the rest of her swarm had proceeded relatively easily. They became cooperative, if not downright docile once they knew that their queen-mother was in custody. Some even returned without being captured just so as to not be isolated from the rest. “Do you think she’ll send them all to Tartarus?”

“I doubt even the overseers of the pit would want the burden of keeping that horde in their domain.” Keen eyes with slit pupils scanned the trees as the Lunar guard spoke. “But I suppose there’s nothing else to be done with them. Far too dangerous to not imprison somewhere. Even if they did beg for mercy, it would only be a matter of time before their insatiable craving drove them to feed or go insane from hunger.”

“I pity them in a way. A life in total subjugation, a slave to your own unrelenting famishment, your only purpose to serve at the whim of that evil sorceress.”

“I don’t.” The thestral spat. “Toss them all in a cage and throw away the key, I say.”

The gold-enameled pegasus raised a curious eyebrow in his partner’s direction. “All the same, I suppose our ever-benevolent Princess will pass down some fitting punishment with a modicum of compassion.”

“Like turn them all into stone?”

“Or banish them to the moon.”

“Even better!”

The two guards shared a hearty chuckle.

Down below them, on the road that joined the village to the Everfree Forest, a collection of woodland critters assembled among the brush.

“Thank you all again for your help.” Fluttershy chirped softly, her animal friends gathered in a semicircle around her. “We couldn’t have beaten those nasty Changelings without you.”

Her thanks was returned with a chorus of grunts, yips, tweets, and growls, even the alpha of the Manticore pride roared, scattering a few of the smaller critters near him.

Her mane blown back from the force of the wind, Fluttershy bobbed her head to set it back in place. “Okay, so um, call if you need anything, or, you know, howl, or whatever you do.”

With that the animals began to dissolve back into the forest, the Everfree now purged of its parasite infestation. There was a sparrow however, that remained a few moments longer to pick at its plumage before setting off. Fluttershy drifted up to where it sat on the tree branch.

“Um, Ms. Sparrow? If you had a second, there was something I’d like to ask of you. Oh, if you don’t mind.”

The little brown and white bird chirped and cocked its head to listen.

“Well, um, I was wondering if you could do me just the smallest of favors, please? And deliver a teensy-little message to somepony.”

The sparrow leapt from its perch to find a new one on Fluttershy’s upturned hoof. “Oh-o, thank you.” The mare tutted. Leaning down, she began whispering beside the bird’s tiny head, who twitched and chittered as it listened. Finished, she gave her feathered friend a grateful smile and sent it on its way.

Elsewhere, the last of the Changelings were being secured into pegasai-drawn carriages, to be hauled back to Canterlot where they could be held until judgement. Flash Sentry himself overseeing the final dozen drones marched into the back of the vehicle, magic-dampening rings around the base of their horns.

“Alright ponies, let’s get these things secured and on the way.” One of the drones turned to give him a sneering gaze before stepping onto the ramp, a fang exposed momentarily. Unaware of the gesture, Flash dismounted his helmet and ran a hoof through his mane, his mouth opening in a silent yawn.

A burly white Earth Pony guard approach. “Sergeant, Captain Paladin said that we’ll be relieved once we enter Canterlot airspace.”

“Sounds great, L.T.” Sentry’s said through the yawn, using the shorthand for the lieutenant’s rank. “I just want to check on the Princess one last time before we head out. Make sure there’s nothing more she needs for us.”

“Uh-huh.” The lieutenant smirked as he walked away.

Re-donning the helm, Flash spared his superior a wry glance. “It’s mostly true.” He muttered.

Twilight’s Castle, contrasted from the night before when it had been the last redoubt of Ponyville, was now back to being its usual quiet self. The ponies all gone back to salvage what they could from what remained of their homes and businesses. Though it had seen perhaps the least of the damage done during the invasion, as Twilight Sparkle and Spike strolled down the main hall there was a certain sense of desecration that lingered in the air for them.

The whole of Chrysalis’ plan was bent around controlling the castle. From replacing Spike, to isolating her from all her friends, to posing as her mentor. The psychological manipulation a form of amusement for Chrysalis as much as it was methodical strategy. Twilight felt a chill go down her spine as she gazed up to the stain-glass windows to think that she had been so catastrophically outmaneuvered before she even realized there was a battle to be fought.

It was some small comfort to see the black queen bound in magically binding chains, several magic-sealing locks secured through the perforations. Brought back to Canterlot by Celestia and Luna personally, it seemed the centuries of Chrysalis’ menace was over at last. But the sinister genius of a villain like her was that the shadow of her evil was a creature all its own, continuing to do her work without Chrysalis having to lift a hoof.

Some ponies might give her a double-take if she ever admitted to respecting Chrysalis, but she did. There was no way around acknowledging the calculating mind and tenacious forethought the black queen has at her disposal. Twilight imagined that she would make for an incredible leader of Equestria if she weren’t so bent on sucking it dry.

There was also vexing matter of her connection to Wanderlust. This stranger strolls into Ponyville, cozying-up to the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony just in time to be here for a Changeling attack? Having some huge vendetta with Chrysalis herself, strong enough to pursue her, battle her alone, and try to obliterate her with a level of magic Twilight had never seen generated from a common unicorn. Unless of course, he was not some common unicorn. There was some piece of this puzzle that she was missing, and it chewed at her, a known unknown that she could feel dancing just outside her grasp.

Wanderlust had disappeared after Celestia arrived at the ruins of her old castle, and in the hustle and bustle of things afterwards, she lost track of even trying to find him. Her first priority had been making sure that her friends were all safe, and that they were all actually themselves. Then there had been the return of all the ponies held captive in the Thicket, Twilight using Mayor Mane’s last census listing to make sure everypony was accounted for.

This was all while the guard companies were securing the Changelings and sweeping the region for stragglers. Needless to say, there had been a lot of moving parts over the back-half of the night. It was easy to let one unassuming pony slip the forefront of her focus.

Entering the throne room, where the round table still hosted the several seats, they stopped at the threshold and stared. The chairs were as they had been left, four of them toppled by Chrysalis in her bi-polar outburst and lying on the floor.

“I guess we’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do huh?” Spike said aloud.

Twilight, having been lost in thought was startled to hear him speak, and sucked in a breath as she turned to him. Suddenly she was overcome with a sadness that caused her eyes to water and lip to tremble.

“Oh, Spike! I’m so sorry.” She scooped the little dragon up in her hooves and enveloped him with her wings, much to his surprise. “The Changelings took you and I didn’t even notice! How could I have not known it wasn’t you!”

With her face nestled into his shoulder, he could feel the moisture of her tears on his scales. He returned the embrace with a few gentle pats. “Twilight, they’re expert impersonators, and you weren’t the only ones they fooled, remember? They replaced like, a quarter of the town before Wanderlust picked one out.”

Twilight pulled away just enough to face him, wearing a reluctant smile. “I know, it’s just… I let Chrysalis get to me, she knew how to hurt me.”

“It’s kinda her M.O.” Spike let himself be set back down and put his hands on his hips. “Good thing she’s so unstable, or she might be even more dangerous.”

“Yeah.” Striding up to the table, Twilight set her hooves on the top and contemplated the past night’s events. It was then she realized just how tired she was, having been harried through the night, dueling with Magna, and being mind-controlled by Chrysalis. She yawned and rubbed her closed eyes.

“Spike, I’m exhausted.”

“Well, I’ve had a good long nap.” Scurrying over to where Rarity’s seat was knocked over, he began the effort of righting it. “You can go ahead and get some sleep. I’ve got plenty to do around here.”

“Thanks, Spike. But there’s a few things I need to see to before I can be out of action for several hours.” Begrudgingly, Twilight pushed away from the table and headed back out to the main hall. “Do whatever you can Spike, but there’s no rush.”

Upon reaching the grand double-doors, Twilight opened one side just in time to nearly bump nose-to-nose with Flash Sentry as he had a hoof raised to knock. They both let out a startled gasp before jumping back a pace.

“Sorry, Princess, I didn’t mean to-” Flash stuttered a bit, holding up an apologetic hoof. “I just wanted to uh-“

“No worries, Flash.” Twilight reassured him, taking his hoof in both of hers as a gesture to calm him down. “I was actually about to go looking for somepony with the guard to talk to.”

Sergeant Sentry’s vocabulary blanked for a few moments until something at last eeked out. “You were? I mean, SGT. Sentry, at your service, your grace.” He puffed his chest out to emphasize the last phrase, retracting his hoof so as to posture more soldierly. “Newly promoted and happy to help.”

Despite her tiredness, Twilight couldn’t help but smile and entertain his freshly acquired pride. “Well Sergeant, I just wanted to thank the Royal Guard for all it’s help, and I was wondering if on your flight back, you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye out for a grey unicorn with a blue mane.”

“Oh?” Flash asked with a bit of confusion.

“Consider him a pony of interest in an important matter, there are some questions I need to ask him.”

“I’ll put the word out to the other guard.” He nodded his head. “Anything we need to be worried about?”

“No, no, nothing like that, just tying up a few loose ends.” Twilight thought for a moment, she and he having an awkward few seconds of silence. “There is one more thing, sergeant, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Name it.” He stated almost immediately.

“If you could ask Celestia to hold off on Chrysalis’ sentencing until I have a chance to talk with her. By tomorrow evening at the latest. I have some question for her too.”

Twilight knew perfectly well that she could just send a letter through Spike that would get to Celestia almost immediately. But this was a more of a gesture for him. Let a stallion do something nice for you. Was Rarity’s advice on how to utilize feminine charm. She then demonstrated by cantering up to a trio of stallions and asking them for help pushing her cart of newly purchased mannequins. Twilight was surprised by how enthusiastic they had been to lend their muscle for nothing more than a pretty smile and honeyed words. A bit of contact will seal the deal, Twilight. Nothing more needed than a gentle hoof on his shoulder.

Twilight touched a hoof to Sentry’s left shoulder. “It’s very important to me.”

Whatever feminine magic Rarity taught, it seemed to have worked just fine for Twilight as well. Flash’s back stiffened reflexively making him stand a little taller. In his eyes was a sparkle of delight, like it would mean the world to him to carry out this humble task for her.

“Not a problem, Princess.” He smiled.

Twilight made a quick gesture of nodding her head in thanks. “Thank you Flash. Hopefully I’ll see you around.”

“That would be great.”

They both laughed awkwardly for a moment before he offered a crisp salute and flew away.

Closing the door behind her, Twilight squealed as she danced up and down on all four legs in rapid succession. Not even the drooping eyelids of her body demanding to sleep could defeat her happy mood.

“Okay… now bed.”

APPLE ACRES FARM

The sound of a slightly squeaky spring drew the attention of the Stetson-adorned mare from where she stood on the hill overlooking the Apple Family property. Pinkie Pie bounced along merrily as if the events of last night were already long past. But that was how she was, always the optimist, always the one to break a dour mood with a smile.

“Morning Applejack!” She said, coming to a skidding halt beside the cornsilk mare.

“Morning?” AJ asked with a bit of incredulity. “Pinkie, we been up all dang night, how can you be bouncin’ around like that? Ain’t you tired?”

“I’m totally beat!” Pinkie said with as much cheer as she would to wish a happy birthday. “But since Sugercube Corner wasn’t really damaged or anything, I figured I’d come and help out my favorite apple-buckin’-mare to rebuild her barn-house.”

Applejack mulled the term for a moment, unsure if she liked it. “Ah’ appreciate the thought, the more hooves the better. Word got ‘round to the family about what happened, so a bunch of ‘em showed up a little bit ago to start fixin’ up what those doggone Changelings did.” AJ extended a hoof down to where a dozen or more Earth Ponies were at work moving new lumber in and hauling damaged material away.

“Ah’d be down there myself helping them, but they kicked me out on account of ah’ fell asleep in a wheelbarrow. Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Applebloom are all in town trying ta’ buy some things ‘fer the house.”

“Like an impromptu Apple family reunion!” Pinkie knew it was the glass-half-full interpretation, but if she didn’t try to lighten the otherwise dour spirits that were so pervasive this morning, who would?

“Yup, got a whole mess ‘ah cousins crawling ‘round the farm. Cousin Tiffany, Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermott, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany, Wesley, Rumer, Scout, Cassidy, Zoe, Chloe, Max, Hunter, Kendall, Noah, Sascha, Morgan, Kyra, Ian, Lauren, Q-Bert, Phil.” Applejack took a breath, which became a yawn.

“Sounds like you’ve got enough cousins to build two new houses!”

“Ah’ reckon so.” Moseying over to the nearest tree with suitable shade and plopping her back against the trunk, Applejack tugged her hat down over her face and crossed her forelegs over her stomach. “But the sooner ah’ get some sleep, the sooner I can get my hooves back to work.”

Pinkie stood there for a few moments, then, using the tangle of hair that dangled out in front of her mane, she plucked a pink Stetson from somewhere in the depths of her locks. With a coiled leap she was in the air, aiming to come down right beside her friend. However, in mid-air, her body slowed to a near stop and proceeded to the ground more gently than a feather. Pinkie silently slid into position on Applejack’s right in much the same position.

“Nap-time.” She whispered. “Weeeeeee…”

FOREST KINGDOM OF THE THICKET

It was still early in the morning when the deer returned to the Thicket. Having stopped along the way to assist the ponies with unraveling the Changelings from their green imprisonment and securing them for transport, the Thicket Knights at last returned to the defiled arboreal realm.

At the head of the column, King Aspen took stock of what had become of his home. Celestia and her guard had done the work of liberating the rest of the captives, but that still left the rather mundane task of cleaning up the cocoons left behind. The sickly green-black pods lined the trees like fungus, an eye sore that hardened his face as he looked upon them.

Celestia had invited him to a special meeting of the Royal Equestrian Council, to be held in two days’ time to decide the fate of Chrysalis for her many crimes. In the interim there was much to be done. Not the least of which was accounting for his subjects, least any of them remain stashed away in some Changeling’s private cache. And there was of course his own wife and son. But the Kingdom must come first.

Awaiting the knights as they returned were those who had been left behind. Some were warriors who were sour at not being able to have taken part in the fight. Most however were does and fawns who ran to meet their brothers, husbands, and sons. There was a general cheer that arose among them as they reunited, happy to be free, happy to embrace each other once more, and to celebrate victory in battle. Aspen glanced around, his own emotions mixed at the homecoming.

“See to your loved ones.” He called out, mounting the stump of an ancient tree that was wide enough for a crowd of them to stand on. “Please report any who are missing. We will spare no effort to find any who are lost.” He took a moment to pause, scanning the crowd as they surrounded him for any sign of his family. “Know that we will recover from this violation, and that we will emerge from it stronger. Chrysalis and her spawn will finally meet the justice they deserve, I will be there to make sure of it myself. For now our task is to restore the Thicket to its natural glory, we have much work ahead of us.”

Aspen was stepping down from the stump when a murmur began to ripple from the outside of the formation.

“The queen!” Aspen thought he heard being said. The origin of the commotion was off to his left, and he quickly began weeding his way through the crowd faster than his subjects could clear a path for him. Being one of the tallest bucks in the kingdom, it was easy for him to pick out the red helm of Blackthorn marching towards the center.

As the crowd on either end broke aside, King Aspen saw at last his loyal knight, still wearing the testimony of last night’s battle on his armor and fur. Romping at his side was young Prince Bramble, who reflecting on it now, Aspen had thought proved himself remarkably cool under pressure. The little bundle of energy wore a triumphant smirk, evidently feeling proud of himself.

“Father! I have done as you asked!” Bounding forward, Bramble puffed his chest to present the small barrel affixed to the collar around his neck. From the seams of it beamed a bright green glow. “I went to the source and filled my barrel directly from its spring! It was amazing father!”

The source was indeed a wonder to behold. It was the lifeblood of the deer’s botanical solution and the Everfree Forest itself. It flowed in a trickle from the heart of an ancient creature called a Spriggan who had given up its own autonomy to become the seed from which the very forest blossomed. And it was the ancient Spriggan’s ichor that was kept in the King’s phial. Honoring the legacy of the Deers’ pledge to safeguard the Everfree.

Aspen smiled. He had intended to take the boy to commune with the Source eventually, when he had matured enough to go through the Cervidae Rites, the beginning of his steps to ascend the throne one day and become the Hart of the Forest. But, needs must in an extraordinary situation.

“You’ve done well, son.” Raising his eyes, he met Blackthorn as he approached and knelt.

“My King, the Queen and Prince are secured.”

The onlookers had not left but had rather become silent. There, standing just behind the prostrate knight was Queen Juniper wrapped about in a blanket, a set of tired eyes widening to see her husband once more.

Aspen dispensed with the formalities and rushed to her, throwing his neck around hers and holding her tight to him. The silence of the Thicket broke then into loud cheer, happy to see their beloved royal family united.

Breaking off, it was then that Aspen noticed the cloaked figure waiting a few paces behind, standing silently and patiently under a hood that cloaked their face.

Juniper glanced back to see where her husband’s attention had gone and smiled. “When Chrysalis took me, I was stored away in a cavern she evidently had thought was too secret to be found. She did not think that somepony else had already thought to use it as a hiding place.”

“Changes in the forest were in the air, a sense of danger did abound.” The figure said in an accented female voice. “Changelings ‘round my cottage hunted, so I took to hiding underground.”

Zecora tossed back the hood of her cloak, to reveal her dirtied mane and tired expression. “But they brought your queen to the same hole quite by stroke of fortune, I freed her when they had gone, and restored her with some ointment.”

“When it seemed like they way was clear, we made to escape.” Juniper extended a hoof to the zebra with a thankful nod. “Together we evaded the Changeling patrols until we were surprised to find they ceased to be spotted.”

“Chrysalis became desperate.” Aspen clarified. “Summoned her spawn to rally when she realized there was no hope of victory.”

Blackthorn used a hoof to point to the south. “I found them not far from the border of the Thicket. Her Majesty and our favored shaman seem to know their way in the forest well enough.”

Juniper chuckled. “It would simply not do for the Queen of the Thicket to get lost in our own forest!”

“Surely not, your grace.” A blushing Blackthorn agreed. That was until the king came ‘round to face him, then all hint of joviality sharpened into gravitas.

“Kneel.” Aspen told him in a commanding voice. At once Blackthorn put his left hoof forward while knuckling his right leg and lowering his antlers to the ground.

“Harken, all who bear witness. For his bravery in battle, for his fidelity to Kingdom and King, and for his unhesitating dedication to his folk, I do raise you, Blackthorn, knight of the realm, to Archkinght.”

There was a series of gasps that went up among the crowd. To be dubbed an Archknight was no small matter, only a select individual among distinguished knights could be raised. Although the status was more prestige than function, it did mean that the Archknight’s life belonged to the realm. Retirement from the knighthood no-longer an option. It was the greatest honor a king could bestow, though some had considered it merely the charade of a king indenturing a servant. Depending on the King of course.

“Now rise, Champion of the Realm, and may the life of the forest be forever in your heart.”

Blackthorn stoically rose to his full height, gazing forward, his chest flexed with pride. Aspen inspected his face and saw the tremble of emotion underneath the firm exterior. “You father would be proud. I know you will serve with honor.” He said to him in a quiet voice.

“I will, my Lord.” Blackthorn returned.

Turning his attention back to the crowd, the King cleared his throat and spoke. “We all have a long day and night ahead of us. Let’s all get to work.”

With that the deer began to disperse, many passing by Blackthorn with their own acknowledgements and approvals.

“An honor won, your name is exalted. For one that is humble, no boasting is prompted.” Zecora walked around him, giving him a curious but amused expression. “But will you carry this alone? Is your honor a burden? Or will you take up another, if your heart seeks to broaden?”

Blackthorn stared back, confused. “What do you mean? Is this another of your cryptic witticisms?”

The shaman smiled and rolled her eyes, putting her hood back over her head. “Just consider that fate is not always convenient. Consider the paths that wait before you, one of them quite recent.” Zecora spared him one last wry smirk before turned back to the forest, bidding him farewell with a wave of her hoof.

When she had gone, Blackthorn shook his head to clear the thoughts of her enigmatic riddles. “How in the world can a whole society get on speaking like that?” He wondered. That was when he felt a small weight plant itself on his antlers, and he heard the tell-tale chirping of a sparrow.

THE WEATHER FACTORY

While the Thestral guard had been successful in preventing the facility from crashing into the village, it took the pegasai to restore it to its proper place. Those who could spare the time and effort from their own homes had been working overtime to get the factory back in working order. The floating facility was abuzz like a beehive with winged equines moving clusters of cloud where they needed to be, uniformed weather technicians making sure each bit of Cirrus and Stratocumulus was in place and each piece of equipment was operational.

“Careful with those lightning samples!” Thunderlane hollered over to Open Skies, who was doing his best to juggle four jars of volatile sparks. “We’re lucky the whole cache didn’t go off! It would have sent the factory sky high!”

A few Pegasus paused to give Thunderlane a quizzical glance at hearing the expression before moving on.

“You know what I mean…” He grumbled before hearing a tittering of laughter from behind.

“I know what you meant.” Flitter chuckled, coasting up to him with a length of duct in her hooves intended for the cloud generator. “It was just kinda funny.”

Flying past them both in a streak of color, Rainbow Dash shot up to where she could take in the whole of the operation. With the full-time Wonderbolts doing patrols around Canterlot, the local reserves were tasked with keeping an eye on Cloudsdale and the factory while they underwent repairs. Since the Changeling pods couldn’t rest on cloud, there were none to be cleared, leaving the city’s mending a somewhat mundane process. “Guh…” She complained, pulling at her face in frustration. “I’m so tired…”

Rainbow looked about, and seeing that there didn’t seem to be any source of concern, she spied about for a little patch of cloud and found one. Making sure that nopony was paying too close attention to her she fluttered over and grasped it in her forehooves, absconding with it down towards the ground.

“Can’t be much of a lookout if I can’t keep my eyes open.” Herding the fluffy patch under the shade of an oak tree, she climbed into it, patted it down a few times in a circular motion, and curled herself into a comfortable niche.

“I’ll just take- yawn -a little powernap.” Not a minute passed before one could hear the soft steady exhalations of slumber.

In the late afternoon, Rainbow Dash did not awaken naturally. Instead her body reacted to the sensation of falling, and she came to consciousness quite suddenly to find that her cloud mattress had dissipated.

“WHEP!” Rainbow shouted, flapping her wings in a fluster just enough to avoid crashing to the ground with little more than a buckling of the knees. Taking a moment to steady her nerves from the startling spike in adrenaline, she blew the strands of mane out of her face. “I hate it when that happens.”

“I was wondering when you were gonna wake up.”

Spinning around, Dash turned to the familiar voice and saw the typically inconspicuous A.K. Yearling leaning beside the tree’s trunk chewing an apple in her purple cloak, grey hat, and large red glasses. “Heard there was some kind of commotion here last night.”

“Dar-! I mean… A.K.!” Rainbow corrected herself, glancing to the side as she trotted over to meet her idol. “You should have seen it! There was a huge battle with Changelings, and deer, and thestrals, and huge plant monsters!”

Yearling rubbed the uneaten side of her apple on her chin. “Sounds like it might make for a good book.”

Gasp! Clutching both forehooves to her chest, Dash tensed like she might get stunned if she moved. “You think so?”

“Maybe. But right now I’ve got a different story on my mind.” Yearling produced from under her cloak the gold coin Rainbow had given to her a few days ago and held it in front of her between feather-tips. “You’ve got some interesting friends. Took some hard digging to get a fix on this, and to be honest, the answers I got only led to bigger questions.”

Rainbow Dash inhaled through her nostrils, eyes flaring in an outward manifestation of her sense of awesomeness being stoked. “Are you saying… That we have a genuine mystery on our hooves?”

“Who knows…” Flicking the coin back where she stowed it, Yearling kept a reserved expression. “Could be he just got a hold of some rare bits.” She tilted her head to the other side. “Could be there’s more to the story. Fact of the matter, Rainbow, is that I had to delve into copies of copies of books from Somnambula and Anugypt to find anything close. Nopony’s seen coins like this in hundreds of years.”

“Whoa. What do you think it means?”

A.K. shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s not like there’s evidence of a crime or anything. But all the same I’d like to do some investigating on this guy before I go jumping to any conclusions.”

“A little secret sleuthing, I like it.” Rainbow said with conspiracy. “How can I help?”

“Actually, I’d like you to leave this one to me.” Yearling saw the sudden disappointment on her friend’s face and offered a calming hoof. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but let’s be real: you’re not the most subtle mare for this sort of thing.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Dash groaned, but her dejection morphed into something more upbeat. “Hey… if you do turn it into a book, can I get an advance copy?”

The undercover adventuress made play of being indecisive before giving her a wink. “First edition, autographed.”

Rainbow Dash exploded with excitement, literally setting off a shockwave of air that nearly knocked Yearling prone as the Pegasus rocketed upwards. An echoing “YA-HOO!” spreading out, A.K. readjusting the glasses on her nose as she trailed the blue streak with bemusement.

“You earned it, kid.” Using a wing to fix her cloak and hat just the way she liked them, A.K. Yearling, or Daring Doo, depending on the circumstance, shook her head in uncertainty as she walked away. “Oh boy, Wanderlust. What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

CANTERLOT

“I don’t know how safe I feel about this.”

Striding down the hall of the mountainside castle, the pair of Thestral guards in full armor saluted the gold-clad set of Royal guards as they passed, stalling their conversation for the few moments.

“I’m not crazy about it either, Nokaton, but there’s nowhere else to stow them.”

Commander of the Lunar Guard, Leo Nightus grimaced as he mulled the thought of the Changeling swarm being held in the cavers of Canterlot Mountain, even if it was probably the most suitable place.

The Captain beside him grumbled his begrudging agreement. “I suppose it would be trite to simply turn them to stone or toss them into the void.”

“Turn them to stone and do what with them? Sell them as garden fixtures?”

“Or an armor rack.”

Leo and Nokaton shared a brief glance before breaking out in chuckles.

Coming to the tall set of double doors adorned with the phases of the moon in stylized depiction, they both cleared their throats before Leo raised a hoof to knock.

“Enter.” A voice from the other side answered.

Inside the chamber, Princess Luna was still in the process of doffing her armor when her sidelong vision noted the faithful soldiers entering. A mannequin almost as ornate as the armor, receiving the plates piece by piece. Her helm already fitted over the head.

“Captain, Commander, a fine night’s work you’ve done. That wretched hag has finally been brought to justice. No longer shall her spawn threaten the good ponies of Equestria or anywhere else.”

“Another villain brought to heel.” Leo said, bowing his head and raising it again. “The Changeling scourge is ended at last.”

“And yet I sense some misgivings?” Luna still did not turn to them fully, but the undertone of her voice carried its own weight. “Is there some reservation that troubles you?”

“The manner of the swarm’s confinement, Your Grace.” Captain Nokaton piped. “Is it truly the wisest choice to cage them under our hooves?”

A secretive smile crept over the Alicorn’s face. “What better place to keep them under our lock and key? Or perhaps you think there would be better accommodations on the moon?”

The nervous gulp from Nokaton could be heard across the room, and it was all Luna could do not to break out into a wicked laugh. “The concern is appreciated my dear Captain, but fear not; Celestia and I have devised an appropriate sentence for them. They will not require such concerted custodianship for long.”

Leo Nightus cleared his throat. “In the interim, your highness, the guard rotation schedule has been established. They will be under our vigilant eye until such time as your judgement is made.”

“Very good, Commander.” Luna complimented. “Dependable as always.”

“If you have no further directives for the Guard, Your Grace, I’d like to start on and off duty cycling.”

“Do as you see fit, Nightus. When We are ready to pronounce our sentence, you will be notified.” With her raised hoof, they both understood that the conversation was at its end, Captain Nokaton and Leo Nightus turned to leave.

“Commander, you are not dismissed.” Luna said suddenly, stopping them both mid-way through the doorway. Leo nodded to his Captain and remained in place as the junior officer bid him a wary nod in return before leaving.

Nightus turned, and removing his hawkish helm, swallowed a lump of nerve. “Yes, Princess?”

https://www.deviantart.com/faith-wolff/art/MLP-Full-Body-Commission-RMC1618-763747525

Luna gestured with her left shoulder. “Help me with my armor, will you?”

“As you wish.”

Leo Nightus knew perfectly well that she could raise the dorsalplate without his assistance. However, it didn’t seem like refusing to aid his sovereign was much of an option. He placed his helm on a nearby table and approached, carefully laying his hooves on her. Luna raised her wings upright, allowing him to lift the heaviest piece of the armor straight up, its hinged sideplates dangling as he brought it over.

“Feels heavier than I recall.” She remarked with a hint of chagrin. “Or perhaps I am not as robust as I once was.”

“You seem fit as ever, princess.” Nightus said as he placed the armor on the dummy, not realizing the snare he had walked into. “Even a stout pony could not wear this armor without difficulty.”

“Interesting to know you keep such a keen eye on my figure.”

It would have been quite the sight for anypony else to have seen Leo Nightus’ face widen in shock. The admired commander was near to middle-age with all the accumulated poise, maturity, and physicality earned over the course of a life of martial service. That he could blush like a school-yard colt was probably an unthinkable concept to any of his subordinates.

Leo was almost apoplectic as he turned to face Luna. “Princess, I…”

His apology was interrupted by Luna’s giggling. She offered a warm smile to ease his tension. “You are much too easy to fluster, Nightus.” She found his eyes reluctantly meet hers. “I’ve known you since my return, and yet I’ve never seen that sober exterior crack so.”

“To speak frankly, Princess: Commander of the Lunar Guard has been somewhat ceremonial for quite some time. I’m the first to carry the title with you in place for over a thousand years. If I am to restore the prestige of the office, I must not only be an example for those under my command, but also set the standard for those who come after me.”

“There is much responsibility on your shoulders.” Luna lifted her gaze from his, finding another focus through the chamber’s window and striding over to it. “Do you find this burden unfair? It was thrust upon you rather swiftly.”

The question seemed to confuse him at first. He blinked a few times before he could articulate an answer that was as matter-of-fact to him as needing air to live. “The thought has not entered my mind, Princess. The Thestrals have long awaited your return, to once again take up the mantle of your champion is more than an honor, it’s sacred.”

Luna’s face grimaced to hear the answer, not quite what she was hoping for. “You make it sound so sacrosanct. One might think I was a relic for my guards to carry around on a pillow.”

“We all know you’re hardly fragile, Your Grace”. Leo stepped forward, the familiar steadfastness of his demeanor returning. “Precious, yes. A bit impetuous at times, but not helpless.”

The Princess turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, and this time, he did not falter. “I am many things, Commander, but precious… I had not thought to add that to the list.”

Leo Nightus said nothing in response, he opened his mouth but closed it again, only to lock on her cyan eyes for a few heartbeats. “Regardless of who and what you are, Princess, you are precious, at least, to me.”

Before Luna could offer a response, he retrieved his helm and fit it back over his face, giving him the raptorial façade once more. “If I may, Your Grace, I have duties to attend.”

Taken off-balance somewhat, Luna merely nodded her consent. Thereupon Leo Nightus left the chamber and closed the door gently behind him.

Luna stared after him, taking measure of her thoughts and using her wings to massage her sides.

Tiberius, the royal pet possum, was just getting himself comfortable as he hung from his little perch. He opened his eyes slightly just as Luna was coming to lay her forelegs over the windowsill. She glanced down at him with a gradually broadening grin.

“He thinks I’m precious.” Luna said, poking his little belly with a hoof to elicit a squeal.

PONYVILLE
Carousel Boutique

“Ugh, I’ll be picking bits of Twilight’s magic amber out of my mane for days…” Trotting out of the shower, Rarity was wrapped in her fluffy pink robe with a matching towel around her mane. “There’s nothing those Changelings won’t ruin.”

Stopping in the hall to chance a peek into Sweetie Belle’s room, she saw that the filly was fast asleep under her comforter, her barrel gently rising and falling with each breath. Rarity allowed herself a contented smile in the observation of her little sister safe and sound.

In the rampant pillaging of the previous night, the first floor of the boutique had suffered some damage. A model tossed through the window, the tapestries torn down and ripped, one dress seemingly stretched at the seams by a body too big for it.

“Hmm.” She hummed, lifting the dress up to examine it. “Well, at least one of them has some taste.”

Rarity had passed through her store-floor on the way in, carrying an already sleeping filly upstairs, exhausted after the strenuous night. She knew she couldn’t possibly clean everything up before her body surrendered to the Sandmane, but neither could she sleep peacefully enough knowing the catastrophic state the place was in. So she picked up a few things here, set things back there, used a very tasteful and attractive half of tapestry to block the broken window.

She was just about ready to be satisfied for the moment when she noticed a bit of paper stuck to her pincushion and left in the middle of the table that sat in the center of the dressing mirrors.

“What a lark it would be if one of them left an order form.” She mused, plucking it from where it was pinned.

“Rarity,” It began at the top in possibly the most refined penmanship she’d ever seen outside of Celestia’s own. “It seems trouble has followed me even here. I don’t know how to explain it to you, but I don’t think it was a coincidence that my arrival would reveal a plot by that… unpleasant creature. I’m sorry for what you and Sweetie Belle, and everypony else had to go through. I know it better than most. I’m just glad you all made it out better than the last group of ponies I knew to suffer them.

In any case, I just wanted to tell you that it meant the world for you to extend the generosity of your hearth and home to me. I’ll just say that it reminded me of a better time in my life. I do hope to see you again, but it may be a while. There are things in my mind and heart that I need to ruminate on that I’ve been putting off for… for too long.

In the meantime, I’ve left a small thank you on your bed. I know it may seem curious, and you may not grasp its meaning, but it is dear to me, and I hope you can find a small place for it.

-Wanderlust

P.S. I also left some bits to help with the wreckage of your shop. “

Rarity gasped when she finished the letter. She had of course gone into her bedroom to retrieve her robe, and she had seen nothing out of the ordinary. Did that mean Wanderlust had snuck in so quietly, that she hadn’t even heard him in the next room? “Oh dear…” She said, using her magic to tighten the front of her robe. A quick glance about did not reveal any sign that he was still around, either peeking though a window or skulking in the linen closet.

Stuffing the note into her bosom, she trotted back up the stairs and straight for her bedroom. Pushing past the door, she did indeed see something laying atop her sheets, something wrapped in paper. Cautiously walking over, she took the object in her magic and began to peel back the wrapping.

Flowers, she realized when it was unpacked, a variety of flowers in the shape of a diamond. Concentric rings of white roses and purple pansies, and in the center were blue morning glories. Her mouth hung open as she examined the gift, a palpitation in her chest that she had to put a hoof to make sure she wasn’t imagining. What’s more, curious even, was a small bunch of flowers that didn’t match the color scheme that were clearly inspired by her own palette.

Stuck in the very center, as if by late addition, was a bundle of goldenrod.

HONALEE

A long time ago

[some background music for the scene, enjoy if you like.]

Honalee, the shrouded isle, my goal at last lay but a few paces before me. In the rowboat beside me, Captain Skorn paddled with the other oar, like my own, his gaze fixed on the island shore. All about us was an impenetrable grey fog that protected anything beyond a leg’s length from clarity.

https://www.deviantart.com/faith-wolff/art/RMC1618-Commission-1-739254716

Having evaded the Pigmy islanders, we paddled softly trough the misty surf, leaving the rest of the crew behind to guard the ship. It would be just the two of us to make landfall and explore for the Crimson Treasure. The hoard was legendary, said to fill an entire cavern with gold bits, gems, works of art, and magical scrolls. All that was Skorn’s to have. My desire alone was for the Cup of Crimson Wonder, a chalice said to hold a miraculous drink that would grant whomever consumed it the blessing of the gods. Whatever that might be.

I searched the skies above us, as best I was able though the vapor for any indication of the thing that had scared off the Pigmies. Though I found nothing, there was the unshakable feeling of having a contemplative gaze set upon you from vantages unseen.

When I felt the bow slide into the sand and the boat grind to a halt, there was a nervousness in me I could not say I’d felt in years. Not since I'd faced down the Princess of the Dawn. Skorn and I nodded to one another, and stowing the oars in the boat, stepped out to drag it further onto land. Not wanting to make our presence known, I took the rope in my mouth and pulled as Skorn gripped with his talons.

Satisfied that our craft was safely nestled in nearby bushes, we entered the jungle. Fortunately, the fog cleared the farther we journey from the shore, I imagined it surrounding the island like a ring. But one obstruction was traded for another as the bush grew thick with green and the terrain increasingly rocky. We were forced to march single-file between outcroppings of porous rock, our surroundings feeling tighter with only the buzzing of insects and bird calls to remind us that we remained yet in the mortal world, and had not passed into the dreary grey Hel of the unworthy afterlife.

Skorn dare not take to the skies to scout ahead, the canopy of leaves would be too solid for him to see the ground, nor would his paranoia allow him to lose sight of me. Moreso, there remained the specter of the flying beast from before. His discomfort was evident in the subtle fidgeting of his wings and frustrated murmurs that found their way to me, muted as they were.

Most unpleasant was the humidity, weighing down on me like a soaked carpet, turning my own coat into a burden. In this way we traveled for some time, batting relentless insects and the ever-present tingle on the back of our necks. There did occur to me the fear that we might have come too late, and the treasure already in the possession of a new master. But that was the rational side of me, that protested more incessantly the longer we trudged. The other side of me, the side that kept faith in my goal, kept faith in the omens of the gods, it told me that I would not be here if the Crimson Cup was already taken. So, I grit my teeth and pushed on.

­­At last a shape began to rise from the trees ahead of us, a spiraling peak of the same volcanic rock that shaped the rest of the isle. Despite the barrier of fog, sunlight could be seen touching the upper portions of it, like a candle set in a dark window. Skorn and I traded glances as we broke through the bush at the base of the formation both of us staring up at it, a supernatural sense of warning causing Skorn to shudder. I nudged Skorn in the side and gestured towards where I could see an entrance off to our right. Nothing more presentable than a rough excavation that continued into a dark artery, there was neither sign nor marking of anything significant being stowed in the bowels of the rock.

We approached the stony maw cautiously, knowing that treasures often came with traps, and what trap might guard the Crimson Treasure, we could only guess.

“It is not often, I have guests…” A voice suddenly spoke from behind us.

We both turned, Skorn with a squawk, and saw laying in the tropical brush a massive form, a great green dragon. I was mystified as to how we could have failed to spot such a thing as we crept towards the cave, my only guess was that it had relied upon some mystic means to remain undetected. However, instead of posturing with threat like most of its kind, it merely gazed at us somewhat indifferently, laying on its belly with its head lifted in the manner of a dog. Its face was striking in its differing from the typical draconic visage, being more like unto a mammal in some respects, friendly even, with an absurd tuft of pink hair sprouting from the top of its head. But a dragon it was, unmistakably, the several tons of its mass not to be doubted.

“So…” It spoke once more in a baritone heavy with age. “I take it you are not here by chance?”

Captain Skorn recoiled, wide-eyed with fear, but still enough sense about him to not draw his saber. For my part I was speechless, past experiences with dragons having left me rather uneasy about dealing with them.

The beast took a grumbly breath, twin trails of smoke rising from its nostrils when it exhaled, golden irises inspecting us as we stood slack-jawed. “Unlikely, I think.”

Without warning, the dragon seemed to fade out of existence! Right where it lay, we watched as it became more and more translucent until it was gone entirely. We were shocked, and then felt a gust of wind come over us to the sound of a mighty flapping of wings. I followed as the beats moved overhead and marveled as the dragon reappeared, clutched to the side of the stone spire and gazing down at us from above the entrance.

“Kismet’s treasure lies within, the legacy of my old departed friend.” At the mention of the long-lost king, the dragon seemed to sadden. “But I caution, be careful in claiming it, for only the worthy may secure the gods favor. Should you be unworthy-” His attention narrowed. “-the blessing you have sought may be a curse that brings you a hundred lifetimes of sorrow.”

I glanced towards Skorn, and despite the fear I could still see the glint of determination in his eyes. Swigging down my own dread, I stepped forward under the sentinel’s inspection.

“Warden of the Crimson Treasure!” I called out as I offered a bow. “Blessing or curse, I would have the Cup’s boon.”

“For what purpose?” The dragon asked, still more steam coiling from his nose.

“For amends.” I rose and met its gaze. “To atone for the consequences of my decisions, and to avenge an evil done to innocents.”

“So you say…” He crawled with surprising grace away from us for a moment, going up the side of the rock. "Elegant words for a simple concept. I see vengeance in your heart, unicorn.” Indeed, the creature seemed to bore into me with its stare, I could not break away if I had wanted to.

“If I must prove to you the virtue of my intent, then I-“

The dragon turned back down to us suddenly, cutting me off. “However, it is not to me you must prove worthy, for I am merely a custodian, my task to caution seekers like you of the great price that will be paid for what comes.”

“Whatever cost there is to be paid to the gods, I pay it gladly.”

“Hmmm….” The dragon murmured contemplatively. “Time will tell.”

It was then that Skorn, evidently too impatient to continue the parlay, strode forward. “BRAK! Well if he ain’t here to stop us, then there’s no use in standing around squawking like hens!”

My captain entered the mouth of the cave, paying no more heed to the dragon’s presence than a quick glance. “See you on the way out.” To which the guardian merely raised an eyebrow.

After a moment I followed, my eyes and those of the treasure’s warden locked until I at last passed into the rock. “I wonder if it’s very far...” I asked aloud.

Once beyond the reach of the outside light, I took the lead with my horn as we descended, the tunnel going downwards in a long left-leaning spiral.

Skorn drew his saber. “I’d be more worried about some cave creature. Claws as big as your body, armor thick as stone and pale as the moon. Seen the like before, snap out from the darkness and catch ya before you can blink.”

The wall on either side of us were curiously smooth, in stark contrast to the porous and rough exterior. Judging by the repeating wave-like pattern, my guess was that it had been magically carved out of the solid rock. I had seen the technique done before, when my father ordered some of the storage tunnels under the castle expanded. The process however was quite tedious and methodical, taking weeks to complete.

“Whoever made this tunnel was at it a while.” I said to Skorn as the path only continued. “If King Kismet carved it himself, he must have a lot of time on his hooves.”

“Good thing he did all the hard work for us then.”

Finally the tunnel came to an end, in more than one respect.

“Well I don’t like the looks of this at all.” He said as we stood at the precipice of a chasm, the tunnel having concluded abruptly in a huge chamber, the floor a sheer drop into nothingness. I cast my light as a beam onwards and found the opposite end of a bridge some several paces across, likewise broken off.

Skorn ducked down and craned his neck around to gaze towards where the ceiling should be. “Can’t see the top, could be anything up there.”

“Or nothing…” I didn’t like to use my magic to float, too unsteady without a tether to the ground. But it could make me light enough for Skorn to ferry me to the other side without much strain. My magic spread over my body like a second skin, and I felt my hooves gently lose touch with the ground as I came to float a few inches off. An unease also came over me as my sense of balance was thrown off-kilter.

With a grumble he sheathed his blade and took to the air, gripping my shoulders with his fore-talons. “Just keep ‘yer eyes sharp!”.

Under his flight-power we made our way across the span, a palpable tension hanging in the air like an unspoken word from a lover or enemy. The both us of waiting for something to emerge with violent speed and predatory intent from above or below. But nothing came for us. No albino claws, no ear-splitting screeches, no gnashing maws. The only thing I could hear above the air current, was Skorn grinding his beak anxiously. Light from my radiance providing some measure of comfort.

We touched down on the other side quietly, and when Skorn let me go I nearly toppled when I recalled my magic aura and stood on my own legs again. We nodded to one another with tight but grateful expressions, a small congratulations for overcoming the first unforeseen obstacle.

As soon as I lit my horn once again to continue our journey, our attention was drawn upwards to where the pale crawling thing was waiting. In the split second we looked directly at it, I saw a long, segmented body that trailed off into the shadows above. But staring us in the face was a wide, tooth-filled mouth with ancillary pincers on either side, and eye stalks with black orbs that recoiled from the sudden light.

At once, the three of us let out a startled yelp, and in my alarm, stumbled backwards off the end of the bridge.

CANTERLOT

NEXT DAY

“I don’t care if I was an alicorn princess.” The Canterlot guard said, the pair of armored unicorns winding their way down the spiral stairs. “I still wouldn’t want to come down here and deal with Her.”

“Oh” His partner replied simply. “But I suppose you’d settle for the Princess part.”

The other guard hesitated for a moment, his brow pinching. “Hey!” He suddenly burst, lifting the nearer hoof to punch the other in the shoulder.

Behind them, a delighted laughter filled the stony space and echoed off the walls. The guards shot a look back at Twilight Sparkle, who after managing to stifle herself into a more restrained giggle, gave them an imploring expression. Saddle bags flopping at her sides.

“Come on Mantle.” She said to the unicorn that had been offended. “Being a Princess has it’s perks. I mean, you get to tell all your friends that you went to school with the Princess of Friendship.”

“Yeah, you always were an overachiever.”

“Hard work pays off.” Twilight lifted her chin proudly as they continued to descend. There were no windows along the way, only the light of their horns to keep the darkness at bay. Each hoofstep brought a plume of dust up from the stone, the path so rarely traveled. In fact, Twilight had never heard of anypony being held down here. In truth, nopony had ever committed so great a crime as to warrant confinement in the depths of the mountain.

“Pretty spooky in here.” She said aloud, more to herself than in conversation.

Mantle nodded. “The Guard do a patrol once a week to make sure nothing’s down here that isn’t supposed to be. Which is normally nothing. She’s the first prisoner we’ve had in… well… forever.”

“And won’t be for long from what I suspect.” The other guard snickered.

“And just what would you be suspecting, Aketon?” Mantle demanded.

Aketon shrugged. “Come on, old boy. When was the last time Celestia punished anypony with conscious imprisonment? She ain’t got the mettle for that type of thing. No, she’s got something else in store for the Black Queen.”

“Whatever Celestia might have planned, I’m sure it will be just.” Twilight reminded them. “Firm but fair.”

“And very long.” Aketon’s words hung in the air, neither of the other two able to think of a point of disagreement.

Eventually the helix of stairs came to an end, and they arrived at the long hall that extended out as a black vein into the heart of Canterlot Mountain. Empty cells lined either side as they advanced into the abyss, their bars spanned with ancient webs and dust. From what Twilight could see in the radius of their light, each cell was little more than a grotto carved into the stone, with nothing but the bare floor for any potential occupant to lay on.

The clack of their hooves on the stone was the only sound in the otherwise desolate atmosphere. Even an alicorn could not help but swallow a gulp of courage as she felt the utterly haunting presence of this place bear down on her so far from the fresh air and light of day. As she glanced around, it sent a chill down her spine.

“There, Princess.” Lifting his hoof, Mantle pointed forward where the very edge of their light revealed a single cell at the end of the hall. “As you asked, we’ll wait right here so you can talk to her alone.”

“Thank you. I won’t be long.” Twilight walked past her company and approached the cell. Stopping a few paces away she searched for a sign of where the occupant was, seeing nothing on the floor of the cell but marks in the sand where it had been disturbed.

“Hello?” She asked cautiously, ears swiveling to catch any response. “I have a few questions for you.”

What emerged from the other side of the bars was a low, guttural hum, closer to a cat’s warning growl. Twilight flinched, her instincts reacting to the sound of a predator.

“Hello, Twilight.” Another voice finally said, speaking in its eerie dual tone. “Miss me already?”

That voice. Twilight shuddered internally. Even if she loathed the sound of it before, there something new in it now, something left over from having her mind enthralled to it. “I think you know that’s not the case.”

“Too bad. I thought we’d make great friends, you and I.”

It was then that a pair of eyes opened in the darkness like two candles, but not from the back of the cell, from the ceiling. Twilight lifted her gaze to see the double-ringed irises staring down at her from the shadows above.

“We really had a connection.” Chrysalis descended from the roof of the cell in a twirling fashion, her head however fixed in place to remain locked on Twilight. The madness of the previous night was replaced by a new focus, a measured, almost mischievous gleam in her eyes. “I was going to have such fun with you.”

“You have a really twisted definition of fun.” Twilight said with a sneer, more the product of emotion in the moment than anything else.

“A matter of perspective I suppose.” Chrysalis’ face twitched, the reserved façade glitching for a heartbeat.

“This isn’t an act of sympathy, Chrysalis. I’m here because I have questions only you can answer.” The light from Sparkle’s horn increased slightly, and she now saw the ring around the base of the prisoner’s horn, literally locked in place by a lock that ran through one of the holes in her horn. “Your new crown suits you.”

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed with pure malice, the irises expanding and contracting tightly. But she had no poised retort.

“We don’t know much about the Changelings.” Producing a book and quill from her saddlebags, Twilight prepared to begin taking notes. “But I would like to learn.”

A ripple traveled from one side of the Queen’s mouth to the other. “Then I will make you a deal. You answer some questions for me, and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

When Twilight became visibly uncomfortable, Chrysalis’ lips cured back into a wicked smirk. “Alright.” The Princess consented. “Deal. But me first!”

“Fine.”

Sparkle cleared her throat, getting into an academic mindset. “Where are the changelings from?”

Chrysalis turned slightly away, thinking it over for several seconds. “I remember…” Her forked tongue slithered back and forth behind her bottom set of teeth as she tried to recall her first impression of emergence. “I remember there was a cave, and a rancid pond… a tree, an old tree. Where that place was, I don’t know anymore. Somewhere in the west, I think. Hmm.”

Twilight scrutinized her face for any hint of deceit or omission, but her gut instinct told her there was none. “So you don’t know how you came to-“

“Uh-uh-uh!” Chrysalis cut her off with a raised hoof. “My turn.”

Again, the alicorn shifted.

“After our last two encounters I’ve had to keep tabs on you, and I’ve made some interesting observations. Tell me, who do you love more: your mother, or Celestia?”

The question shocked Twilight, her face wide with stunned offense. “What?!” She balked furiously once the effect had subsided. “How dare you!”

“From what I’ve gathered, you correspond with that royal pain a few times a week. You own mother? Once in a blue moon, if that. Now, I answered your question…”

Twilight stared back at her, mouth agape. The fact that she could not immediately form an answer came as a surprise to her, and the hesitation did not go unnoticed.

“Emotions can be very complicated things.” Chrysalis said in a soothing mentorial voice. “You can feel something in your heart that your brain tells you should not be. That’s because your emotions have a will of their own, you might say. They want what they want, selfish little things, with no thought to consequence. And they want nothing more than for you to satisfy them.”

The anger was infringed by the Changeling’s insight, and Sparkle shook her head. “You can’t ask me to choose something like that.”

Chrysalis gave a tight smile. “I’m not asking you to choose which one of them you’d save from drowning, Celestia, your mother, or a perfect stranger. I’m asking how you feel, Twilight. You don’t get to choose how you feel. And remember, I’m very good at reading a pony, so whichever answer you give me, I’ll know the truth.”

The two went silent.

“My mother.” Twilight said at last, meeting the other’s gaze.

Chrysalis lifted her chin to examine Twilight with narrowed, inspectful eyes for several heartbeats. For some reason it made Twilight feel as if she’d given a wrong answer.

Finally, the ancient queen’s expression softened with a smirk. “Thank you.”

“Next question.” The princess began immediately. “Do you feed on anything besides love? Other emotions? Fruit? Insects?”

The question was met by a hearty laugh, genuine but with an unhidden malevolent delight. “We’re not bats, Twilight. But in any case, we do taste the other emotions: fear, anxiety, hate, compassion, guilt. But only love can actually sustain us. We sometimes eat food out of curiosity, Love however is what sates our cravings. I got curious once… wondering what would happen if a changeling was starved for too long…”

Chrysalis took another step closer, roving her gaze over from the side towards Twilight. “And I tell you, it wasn’t a pretty sight.”

Twilight Sparkle swallowed an uncomfortable lump, using her quill to record the testimony. When she looked up, Chrysalis was leaning forward staring at her.

“It takes an exceptional young filly to become the personal student of the Princess of all Equestria. I imagine you were quite a precocious girl growing up. Hard to make friends, spending most of your time alone, I know what that’s like. Maybe that’s why you’re so distant with your parents today.”

“What’s your question?” Twilight demanded.

“We both know I’m not going anywhere anytime soon, so rest assured anything you tell me will be kept in the strictest confidence. But I just want to know…”

Chrysalis bit her lip, edging her neck a bit closer to the bars as if in conspiracy. “This whole friendship thing is all an act, right? You can’t possibly believe that those mundane ponies you hang around with deserve to stand side by side with an ascended alicorn.”

This time Twilight’s reaction was not revulsion or shock, but confusion and disbelief. “You really don’t get it, do you?” She said, shaking her head. “No, Chrysalis, it’s not an act, and I would give my life for my friends.”

This seemed to cause genuine puzzlement in the changeling, who broke from eye contact, pupils searching the ground for an anchor.

“If you think being a gifted unicorn, or even an alicorn makes me any better a pony than my friends, then you don’t understand the first thing about friendship. And if you think the magic of friendship isn’t real, just ask Lord Tirek about it when you see him.”

Chrysalis’ gaze shot up to Twilight, the space around them somehow darkening despite the light.

“My last question.” Mulling her words, the junior alicorn took a breath before continuing. “Last time we talked like this, you told me about some of your historical conquests…”

The words caused Chrysalis’ ears to perk.

“-of the cities Trot and Timbucktu, which we know fell more than a thousand years ago. From Celestia’s description of the event, you don’t seem to have aged in all that time. Are you immortal?”

It took a second before Chrysalis shook away a captivating thought and began to answer. “I honestly don’t really know, I suppose it depends on how you define the term. Celestia reached a peak condition and ceased to age, I seem to have done much the same. So, as far as I know, I’m as immortal as she is.”

She paused. “Speaking of which, I wonder if that means you’ll be an immortal now. Wouldn’t that be interesting. MY last question: If you are now an immortal alicorn Princess, how do you plan to deal with watching all your loved ones grow old and die around you?”

Sparkle was not as offended this time, nor was it even an insulting proposition, only an upsetting one. “Well, I don’t feel like I’m immortal, if there is a feeling to it. And as it is, I have no plans to outlive all my friends. Even if I were immortal, or at least long-lived, I would take solace in the fact that they were in my life at all and treasure their memories.”

Twilight felt that she had taken the high-ground, confidant, she herself stepped closer to the cell bars. Behind, Mantle and Aketon traded suspicious glances, wary to let their charge endanger herself.

“As easy as it would be to hate you, Chrysalis, more than anything, I pity you.”

Chrysalis’ expression widened in incredulity, her jaw hanging wordlessly.

“Thank you for your time, I’ll be seeing you at the sentencing.” Twilight packed her quill and book back into her saddlebags. She turned and nodded to the guards letting them know that she was ready to depart.

“Before you go, Twilight…” The queen said from her cell, head bowed and face downwards. “Entertain just one more question.”

The Princess stopped and raised a hoof to Mantle and Aketon. “Just one more, no tricks.”

“No tricks.” Chrysalis raised her head and tilted it to the left. “What does the name ‘Aquileia’ mean to you?”

Struck by the randomness of the query, Twilight could not help but ponder it. Searching her memory, she was able to recall something vague.

“It was a city in Trottingham I think, a long time ago.”

“Correct.” Chrysalis stated flatly. “I should know, I sacked it almost a thousand years ago and left it in ruins.”

“Then why ask me about it?” Twilight growled, feeling tired of the mind-games.

“Because I heard it in the strangest of situations last night. When that new unicorn friend of yours was about to blast my head to smithereens before you saved me.”

Sparkle squinted, not understanding. That was when Chrysalis opened her mouth and spoke in a voice not her own.

“I’m doing this for them.” She heard the perfect mimic of Wanderlust say. “For my wife! For my son! For Aquileia!”

His wife and son… Twilight remembered; he had mentioned that he had lost his family to some tragedy. And there was no mistaking the deadly seriousness that possessed him when she teleported him out of the castle, going so far as to take a shot at her in his anger. “But… How could say he’s avenging a city that’s been gone for hundreds of years?”

“How indeed….” Chrysalis let the question linger with a grin, leaning so close to the bars she was almost touching. “What an interesting friend you have.”

Twilight’s curiosity resurged, and she moved close enough for the two of them to whisper. “You know something about him, don’t you?” She asked.

“Being smart spoils a lot of things doesn’t it?”

Glancing over her shoulder to the guards, Twilight leaned her head down to meet Chrysalis. “I knew there must be a reason he hates changelings so much, but how does that-“

Before Twilight could finish her sentence, a set of fangs lashed out from between the bars and latched onto her snout.

“GAHH!” She cried pulling away, the light of her horn going out from the break in concentration. In seconds the guards were beside her, their horns aglow, a matching hue enveloping the bars. Having yanked herself a few steps back, by the time the cell was once again illuminated, Chrysalis had retreated back into the shadows of the ceiling crevice. An evil cackle filling the dungeon.

“Are you alright Princess?!” Mantle yelped, putting his body between her and the cell. “Should I fetch a doctor?”

Twilight took her protective hoof away and saw the two lacerations across her nose. Got me again. She thought, recalling how she had been lured into a trap the last time. “I’ll be fine.”

“Something to remember me by, Princess!” The last word snarled with a savage hiss. “Hope you have a nice long life! HAHAHAHAHAH!”

“Why that evil-!” Aketon started to move forward, but Twilight put a hoof across his chest to stop him.

“Don’t bother.” She said, using a fetlock to wipe some of the blood away. “She’s going to get what’s coming to her.”

Turning away, the trio made for the stairs, leaving the mad laughter of the black queen behind.

“Run along, Twilight! Mwahaha!” They heard call after them as they ascended the stairwell. “Fly, fly, fly!”

Two eyes of green and blue irises opened in the darkness, watching after them. “Fly, fly, fly…”

HONALEE

I felt the ground beneath my hooves disappear, the chill of the chasm below me spiking my mind with fear.

But just when I thought the abyss would swallow me whole, a talon caught my outstretched foreleg. A grunt of pain escaped me as my body slammed into the side of the rock.

“Why do you have to be so bloody heavy!?” Skorn cursed, straining to use his strength and wing power to prevent the both of us from tumbling over the edge. I swung my other foreleg upwards and found purchase on the ledge, taking some of the burden off him. As I looked past however, I saw the insect-like creature still poised above the tunnel entrance, now creeping ever closer. In the same swift motion, Skorn and I powered the rest of me up and over the ledge, and I loosed a bolt of magical light at the monster. It exploded relatively harmlessly against its chitin, but the dazzling detonation served to drive it back into the shadows, screeching in wild fright.

“Thank you.” I huffed, taking a moment to sprawl on the ground and allow the jabbing pain in my ribs to subside.

“Don’t go thankin’ me yet.” Skorn warned, similarly using the moment to calm his nerves. “Not least ‘till we got our treasure.” He spat something aside. “Now come on, no telling what other kind’a things lurking down here.”

And so we did continue. The next portion of the tunnel went on for a few minutes before emptying into a large cavern, this one floored by a layer of hoof-deep water and stagnant smell. Otherwise, it was unoccupied.

“BRAK! Shoulda left these on the ship.” My captain complained, shaking his back paws to divorce himself from the water-logged boots.

Passing as I was on the left, the edge of my light caught glimpse of something on the wall that did not appear to be of natural design. Approaching, what was revealed before me was a processional mosaic of superb skill, faded but still discernable.

“Look at this…” Following the art back to where it started, I found a depiction of a beautiful city nestled among cloudy mountain peaks. Buildings of white and blue, with stone spires rising from a grand palace.

“Must be old Kismet’s realm.” Skorn observed beside me.

Continuing right, next was what I assumed to be the king himself, a unicorn with cream-colored coat and white beard curled in the fashion of the ancient Maresopotamians. His eyes were accented with black designs that trailed off to the sides and he wore a conical hat with a flat top bearing some obscure pattern that was too faded for me to make out. Down by his left side however, was a small dragon sitting in a similar fashion bearing a faint smile.

“There below.” Pointing under the mural was a few lines of script, possibly giving story to the art. I hadn’t the slightest hint of how to decipher the ancient text unfortunately.

The next picture excited us both, for it showed the same stallion amidst piles of gold bits and valuables, but his focus was on one item alone, a crystal chalice which he bore aloft on one hoof. The Cup of Crimson Wonder.

“Curious how he came to possess it in the first place.” I wondered aloud, shifting my gaze to the next scene. King Kismet standing in front of his palace entrance, a crowd of his subjects assembled before him with his hoof raised in a benevolent gesture. The image of a contented realm I supposed.

However what came next was not so pleasant. It was a near-copy of the first, with the city in the mountains. But now an icon hung over the snowy peaks, the skies turned forebodingly dark. Drawn in a dark blue paint was a symbol I understood instantly as that of an enemy. A diamond with an elongated bottom, joined on either side by thick curling horns like that of a ram.

Skorn and I traded curious glances, wondering what it could mean.

“Look familiar?” I asked. But he merely shook his head.

The wall came to an end at the border of the next tunnel entrance. We moved to the other side and found the continuance of Kismet’s story.

The streets of the city were on fire, ponies running from destruction as the glorious spires broke and tumbled to the ground. Standing where Kismet once did, was now a hulking dark figure outlined in silhouette, the familiar horns sprouting from his head with only a pair of glowing red eyes for features. Before this fiend were smaller, similar versions in pursuit of the denizens.

The next panel once more featured the Cup of Crimson Wonder. This time, Kismet and the dark figure were contending for its possession. Whoever this strange foe was, he was at least four to five times the size of the unicorn king.

“Big lad.” Skorn remarked. “Hate to run into him in a dark alley.”

Moving on, we now found Kismet and his little dragon companion in a boat at sea, the mountains in the distance behind him. But he was not alone. A ship bearing the symbol of the enemy on its sail was on his trail. Looking back at his hunter, Kismet held the crystal cup close, a treasure so precious he dare not let it fall into his enemy’s clutches.

A terrible storm in the next scene sundered the ships, those of the adversary embroiled in the maelstrom while Kismet’s escaped. By his depiction, it reminded me of the storm that had tossed me into the sea and put me on course to follow in his path.

The final panel was something we recognized: a group of islands obscured by mists, one of which stood out for possessing a conical rock. In the foreground was Kismet’s boat as it entered the shrouding.

Skorn guffawed. “Well, how very convenient. A little picture-tale.”

“Well I imagine he had to find something to pass the time.” I answered.

“Let’s get on with it! BRAK!”

Our journey did not last much longer. Through another length of tunnel and down a narrow set of stairs that must have been installed one stone at a time, we at last came to a stone door. It resembled any set of double-doors one might find in a castle; arched top with a carved relief. It was no surprise to us that upon the doors was the image of the Cup of Wonder. A tall stem supported a wide but shallow cup in a delicate flower-like design. The engraving was partitioned down the middle by the seam of the doors, and like the murals, its technique was the work of a dedicated artisan.

We paused before the threshold, readying our nerve for whatever might lay on the other side. With a joint nod of certitude, we each put our weight against a door and pushed. The panels gave way begrudgingly, likely the result of not being opened for hundreds of years but give way they did.

What met us in the chamber beyond was heralded by a constant howling sound of wind passing through unseen vents to the outside. But the space as not dark, instead ambient light radiated from several points that hung from stalactites on the ceiling. I recognized the artifacts, having read something of them during my studies in Thule. Inside of a glass container, a polished stone was infused with magical essence and installed permanently as a fixture.

The reason why such devices were not more widespread, was because magical essence was a finite source, and any unicorn who imbued an item with it lost that portion of power for good. There being multiple installations of these lamps, I could only image that Kismet must have spent nearly all of his magic to create them.

“There she is!” Skorn marveled, pointing forward to where a stone pedestal was perched on the very extremity of a cliff jutting outward over another chasm. Upon the pedestal, stood the Cup of Crimson Wonder.

“You get your precious goblet; I’ll go find the rest of the treasure.” To either side of us were walkways that curved along the wall and down to places below and out of sight. Skorn set off for the one to our right, simply the more immediate option.

My intent was fixed straight forward, on the artifact that I had come so far to collect. It was a bit large for a usable drinking vessel, but I was hardly about to complain about its practicality. The lights from the lamps reflected off its crystalline surface, making the whole object sparkle with hints of different colors. True to its depiction in the murals and the door, it resembled a flower of the most divine botany.

I approached cautiously, not knowing if some further protective measure would be tripped or watchful beast move to take advantage of my solitude. But nothing seemed to come.

I licked my lips, the sound of my own beating heart pounding in my ears. As I neared the chalice the memories of my life flashed with every throb; my brother, Luna, Celestia, Bjørg, Theodan, Squirk, the raven that seemed to shadow me at pivotal moments.

When I was close enough, I could see my own reflection in the crystal, my image refracted along its multifaceted structure. I could also now see the liquid gathered in its basin, a translucent pink nectar that pooled perfectly still. Sitting just before it, I ran a hoof over my jaw in anxious contemplation of whether I should grasp it to drink, or leave it standing and simply lap from it like a cat. I dare not take it up in my magic for fear of any backlash that might occur from contact with such powerful energies.

Deciding that a bit boldness was appropriate, I raised both forelegs in preparation to grasp the cup, reaching gently outward.

Just as my hooves were about to grip on either side of the stem, seeing my own face in the bowl, I saw the reflection of the saber rising behind me a split second before it swung down.

CONTINUED IN PART 2 OF “…AND JUSTICE FOR ALL”!

THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO 'PATH OF THE UNFORGIVEN'!

COMING NEXT WEEK!

Author's Note:

By the time you read this, I'll be reviewing the 2nd half already. Like I mentioned in the blog (You are reading my blog, right?) This chapter came out so big, I had to cut it in half for the sake of you, the readers...

Yes, much like the story title, "...And Justice For All" is another Metallica song. I thought it was fitting, had it picked out for quite some time.

Alright! Part 2 will be coming out really soon! This is really happening!

Comments

[fanreader999999]

Big chapters, bigger time gaps.

[HeatseekerX51]

9949428
Something like that. The 2nd part is written and will be under review for the next few days which helps give part 1 some time to breath.