• Published 8th Aug 2012
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The Crystal War Book I: A Spark to Light the Dark - NatureSpark



A unicorn burnout, two pegasus brothers and Princess Luna's protégé, along with many other friends they meet along the way, embark on an epic journey to prevent war from consuming Equestria.

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Ch.43 Bonds of Friendship, Part 1

~Chapter 43: Bonds of Friendship, Part One~

“Princess Luna!” Star exclaimed as the shape of her alicorn mentor became clear through the shimmering haze of the dream world around her, “I wasn’t expecting you tonight.” Star walked over to the small table her mind had conjured as the usual image of Star’s home in Dodge formed around them in a swirling mist. Luna sat quietly staring up into the sky, which was turning into the starry night that she held so dear to her. Something was on the princess’s mind, Star could tell, but it took some time before Luna began to speak to her.

“How is Inferno?” the princess asked as she attempted to ease into the core reason for her visit. “I know that the trip must have been hard for her.” The princess had been the one to give Star Inferno’s egg to hatch and subsequently had brought the young dragon into the black unicorn’s life, for which Star would be eternally grateful. She had taken interest in their relationship ever since.

“She was very tired, so we haven’t gotten to do much talking since she returned, but I think she is doing just fine,” Star replied as she stared into the princess’s dark blue face and detected the unease inside her dark eyes. She wouldn’t press her mentor to open up however, only Luna could decide for herself if she wanted to confide in Star.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Luna continued, “I was wary of sending such a young dragon off to such a dangerous place, but I had faith that Nature Spark would protect her. He is a very upstanding unicorn, albeit a bit to serious for his own good.” The princess was right of course, Star too had noticed that Spark could be a bit reserved sometimes, but unlike Luna, she had also seen him in a more relaxed setting. Star wondered if he would still be the same now that he had returned.

“Yes, he’s seemed more distant since his trip, but I suppose we haven’t really had the opportunity to talk about everything yet,” Star said as she attempted to move the conversation along, though it carried little more substance than small talk. “Strata seemed to be acting in her usual manner though.” The hippogriff reminded Star of Brass Heart when he was on a mission, very headstrong and rigid to their codes.

“Yes, the hippogriffs can be quite blunt with their thoughts, but I must confess that it seems a much easier form of politics,” the alicorn responded, “without the song and dance of tradition and well mannered manipulation.” It seemed as if Luna’s thoughts were turning more serious, so Star took the opportunity to ask her teacher what was bothering her.

“Is there something on your mind, Princess Luna?” Star asked as she turned her face to the night sky, tracing the constellations in her mind as she waited for an answer. The princess quietly contemplated her response for a few, still moments; the dream was windless and silent until she found her voice.

“I- I am… afraid, my faithful student,” Luna told her hesitantly. Star found her gaze drawn back to the princess’s visage, which was lined with worry and sadness, but the deep, blue eyes staring at Star did indeed seem afraid to her. “War is coming upon us, there are no doubts in my mind of this fact, but what worries me the most is not this conflict.” The princess trailed off and didn’t say anything else for awhile.

“What is it, princess? What could have possibly frightened you?” Star asked. The thought of something terrible enough to worry her immortal ruler was not something that the small, black pony took lightly.

“That when I was accused of a crime, many Equestrians turned on me as if I were actually capable of doing something like this,” Luna replied softly and then took a long, deep breath before continuing. “Not only do they fear the dark of the night, but they distrust their princess as well. Not Celestia, of course, because they all love her and everything that she has done for them, but they are so quick to forget that I was by her side through every step, whether I agreed with her or not. I stood by her because that is what sisters are meant to do for one another, yet when I am in my time of need, she would choose to fuel the fire by enacting this ridiculous curfew, as if I am to blame!” Luna was practically screaming by the time she stopped to take a breath and Star nearly flinched as her mentor slammed a hoof down on the table when she spoke of her sister.

“My princess,” Star began, “I can assure you that you ponies have nothing but the utmost respect for you and if they are afraid of the night, it is only because it is in pony nature to fear the unknown. I am sure that once a face is put on our countries enemies, the citizen’s tensions about what really sparked this war will be put to rest.” Luna’s expression softened just a bit as she listened to her pupils words. “As for Princess Celestia, you should bring your concerns up with her if you feel this strongly about them. I know that she cares deeply for you and you for her, so I see no need to keep up this constant bickering. You both want only what is best for the country.” It felt strange to Star, that she was giving advice to the princess instead of the other way around, as it almost always had been.

“Perhaps you are right, my little pony, about the citizen’s at the very least. I can only hope that they will stand united against whatever threat we face in the coming months, for there will be bloodshed, make no mistake.” Luna’s face reverted to the cold, expressionless look it had been as she spoke. “As for Celestia, she will make her choices and I will make mine. Though we may both have the same goal, our methods of attaining it seem to be differing greatly.” The immortal seemed to have made up her mind already, but Star attempted to change her views, because it was what she would have expected Luna to do for her, were their places changed.

“I urge you to speak with your sister, princess,” Star replied. “If nothing else than it may at least change the way she looks at the decisions she has been making as of late.” The princess of the night appeared to give Star’s words long consideration before she tried to change the subject.

“Thank you for the advice, my faithful student,” Luna sighed, “I may heed your advice soon, but for now, please, tell me how you are holding up after your experience the other day.” Star caught the princess’s aversion for what it truly was, but decided it best to go along with the new line of conversation, even if it was something she had been pushing from her mind throughout the day.

“I’ve been keeping as busy as I can and that seems to help,” Star said as she traced a non existent pattern over the table at which she sat, just for something to do while she tried to connect the words that would properly describe her current state of mind to her teacher. “I didn’t sleep well, even after our talk, but that may have been because the memory was so fresh in my mind. I’m hoping that tonight will prove to be different.” Luna nodded slowly as she listened to her student confessing her true emotions. “I don’t know if you picked up on it, but I nearly had a panic attack during our meeting earlier. The griffon I killed, the war and everything that it means… It was as if the reality of everything hit me at once,” Star told the princess. “I thought I was going to faint for a moment in there, but I pulled myself together.”

“I hadn’t even realized anything was wrong,” Luna admitted. “I am very sorry, Star. I will try to keep my personal issues from interfering with my role as your princess and mentor from here on.”

“Just as long as you do it the proper way,” Star replied with a grin. “I do not want to see you ignoring your problems, because that only serves to make them worse.” Star was paraphrasing what Luna had told her just a couple weeks ago, but it was enough to make the immortal mare give a slight smile in return.

“Such deep words of wisdom from such a young pony,” Luna said as her smile grew even wider. “You must have one of the best mentors in all of Equestria.” The two mares locked eyes as their strained smiles cracked apart into full laughter. Though the joke wasn’t actually that humorous, it helped ease the tension of their conversation and soon they were both gasping for breath as the giggles died down. It had been awhile since Star had heard Luna genuinely laugh about anything. The sound of the alicorn’s cheer was a heartwarming one, in Star’s opinion.

Once both mentor and pupil felt more at ease, the conversation flowed naturally as it always had. They spent the better part of a night catching up on recent events and Star’s friends, as well as her studies, but eventually the princess’s duties called her away and Star was left to spend the last few hours of sleep actually resting. It was a welcome break from her recent sleeping schedule and unlike the night before, Star’s dreams were relatively peaceful. Morning came to soon however, and all of the troubles with it.

A frantic feeling overtook Star when she awoke to find that Inferno was no longer by her side in the large bed. The haze of sleep only left her confused for a few moments as she whipped her head back and forth, black mane swinging wildly, while she looked for her daughter. In the bathroom, water could be heard running and Star sighed as her hammering heart began to slow down again. After being apart for weeks, Star’s maternal instincts made her a bit overprotective it seemed. The small mare stretched her legs and let out a contented yawn as she crawled out of bed.

Through the two tall windows, Star could gaze out at the sunrise and saw the skies which were laced with clouds that looked as if they were trying to conglomerate over the city. She hoped that it wasn’t some sort of warning about the day ahead, but quickly pushed the foolish thought from her mind. There was a well defined difference between magic and superstition and Star liked to think that she knew which of them to put her trust in, but even some of her own archeological findings had blurred the line between the two. Still, it was useless to try and see signs of the future in the weather at the very least.

As Star walked over to the single couch and took a seat, she contemplated what she was more afraid of; explaining to Suri how she meant to fix Spark’s eyes or tell Inferno what she had done to the Red Eye mercenary that had attacked her. Suri had acted beyond mad when Star had spoken to her the night before and she had every reason to be, but Star would do everything in her power to receive her friend’s forgiveness. Telling Inferno about the murder she had committed was also a necessity in Star’s mind, although she had promised never to mention the Alicorn Amulet, so parts of her story would be glossed over.

“I wish that Princess Luna would have given me some good advice last night,” Star mumbled to herself as the bathroom door was finally opened. Inferno stepped out looking refreshed and wide awake, despite it still being early in the morning. The small dragon ambled slowly over to the couch, giving a long stretch of her tail and small wings before she sat down. As she saw her daughter’s leathery wings spread to their full size, Star could almost swear that they had grown during their time apart, though it may have just been her motherly emotions overreacting again.

“Good morning,” Inferno said as she looked over at Star.

“Good morning, Inferno,” Star replied with a soft smile as she made her way to the couch, “Did you sleep well last night?” The young dragon nodded her spiked head as Star took a seat next to her.

“Much better than I have the past few nights,” she laughed. “I’m pretty sure that I fell asleep as soon as my head touched that pillow.”

“Mhmm,” Star agreed, “you were already snoring by the time I was done using the bathroom. I can’t blame you though, after traveling such a long way.”

“The trip back wasn’t nearly as bad as the trip there, though,” Inferno told her as she stared at the golden light streaming through the bedroom windows and creeping ever so slowly up the far wall. “I didn’t think that Spark was going to survive the ride.” Star remembered Inferno’s letters, but she only had the vaguest idea of what had actually occurred during the dragon’s trip. If it was hard on her though, Inferno certainly didn’t show it when they had first gotten back, but now it sounded as if she wanted to get it off her mind by sharing the experience with her mother. Star was more than willing to lend an ear, of course.

“He seems to be doing fine now,” Star observed.

“Yes he is,” Inferno agreed. “We were pretty high above the clouds when those griffons attacked us and he fell a long way after leaping out of the chariot. By the time we managed to find him, there entire top of the cloud he’d landed on was stained red with blood.” Inferno stared off slightly, gaze fixed on something beyond the smooth bedroom walls as she told Star about her journey. “I did what I could to help him and Strata pushed her body to the brink of total exhaustion trying to get to her home as quickly as we could, but Spark was still on the threshold of death by the time we arrived. From there our only option was to let the hippogriff’s doctor patch him up, although doctor might be too forgiving of a word; he was really more akin to a zebra witchdoctor.” The little dragon gave a snorting laugh as she spoke about the doctor.

“You saved his life, Inferno,” Star told her with a compassionate smile.

“He saved mine first,” Inferno replied casually, like keeping a close friend from bleeding out was a mundane activity. “I only repaid the favor.” Inferno glanced over and caught Star wiping a tear from her cheek. “What? What’s wrong?” she asked, a bit confused by her mother’s response.

“I was just so worried about letting you go, because I might never have seen you again. Now, hearing everything that you’ve been through, I’m so proud of the dragon you’re growing up to be, but I’m also heartbroken that you’ll be forced to suffer through the horrors that this war will bring,” Star explained, tears held back by only the thinnest strands of resolve that she could muster. “You deserve better than this.” Star closed her eyes to try and hold the floodgates closed, until she felt a small, scaly hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, mom,” Inferno consoled her in a soft voice. “As long as I’m with you then I have everything that I need.” Star glanced down, violet eyes resting on her daughter’s yellow ones, and tried to reply, but she choked on her own words and settled for pulling Inferno into her waiting forelegs instead. The two sat like that for a few moments, until Star finally wiped the last of her tears away and regained her composure.

“I feel much better now,” Star laughed. “How about the two of us go downstairs, grab something to eat and continue this conversation over breakfast?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Inferno agreed with a smile. They hopped off the couch together and headed for the door. Star took a look back outside the window, where the sun had finally crested the horizon and was slowly beginning to cast its light upon Canterlot. The clouds were beginning to thicken overhead, a promise of the storm to come, but at that moment the world outside looked tranquil. It was the start of a new day and Star was resolved to make the best of the time she had with those close to her, because her heart warned her that the time could be over all too soon.

None of their friends appeared to be awake yet, or if they were then they’d made the decision not to hang around their bedrooms, so Star and Inferno walked down the hallway alone and rounded the corner to the spiraling staircase that led into the main hall. The usual servants passed by in the corner of the black mare’s sight, but she paid them no mind. Her attention was entirely focused on the scaly girl walking beside her. Inferno kept on hand resting on her mother’s back unconsciously, as though she were afraid they would be torn apart once again. Star noticed this, but chose not to mention it, for she too craved that comforting contact.

Without Suri influencing her behavior, Star had opted not to wear any clothes and hadn’t even taken a bath that morning, which was only considered odd because they were in Canterlot, where a lavish living style encouraged bathing every day. The feeling of the small skirt and stallion’s eyes constantly on her flank had bothered her enough to last at least a month, though she had to admit that the blouse had looked nice enough. Perhaps if she picked out something she liked then it would make her more likely to wear clothes, Star figured as she and Inferno walked up to the large Dining room doors.

The room wasn’t even close to being as full as it had been the night before, but there were still a few ponies milling about slowly as they walked off the last traces of sleep and readied themselves for whatever the day had in store. Star and Inferno made their way to the serving table and tossed a few items on their plates before hurrying back toward the door. It swung open a second before the dragon reached out to grasp the brass handle, as Princess Celestia strolled through. Star was beginning to notice a pattern developing; one in which she happened to see the princess every morning around breakfast time. Whether it really was just a coincidence or the princess keeping an eye on her, Star couldn’t be sure, but she did know that Celestia appeared to be in a good mood.

“Good morning, Star, Inferno,” Celestia smiled and nodded at each of them in turn. Both girls bowed back to their princess at the same time, though Inferno nearly tipped her plate too far as she did. “Are you two having a pleasant morning together?”

“Yes we are, Princess Celestia,” Star replied, “and a good morning to you as well.” Star stood up from her bow and darted out the dining room door, even though it looked as if Celestia had been about to say something else. Inferno ran after her, confused about the abrupt end to their conversation with the princess. The truth was that Star was worried that the royal sisters had been arguing again, considering her mentor’s state of mind during their dream rendezvous, and the last thing the small unicorn wanted was to get caught in the middle of family affairs, especially if they wanted her to choose sides later on. She respected both alicorns and served them faithfully, but there were errors made by them both that were plain to her.

“Why did you take off like that,” Inferno huffed as she finally managed to catch up with the longer legged pony. “Celestia was still speaking to us.”

“I know, but she and her sister have been arguing constantly since this whole mess began and I refuse to take sides. They’re both being absolutely stupid about everything. Equestria needs them to stand unwaveringly, side by side, as they have since the beginning of our country,” Star rambled on, refusing to slow down now that her thoughts had begun to spill forth. “The two of them are going to lead us down the path of destruction unless they can start working together, Inferno, because the only way we will be able to win this war is by the bond of friendship ponies share with one another. Without the strength of those bonds, well, then our government, nay, our entire country is going to be consumed by the flames of war that will soon cover the land.”

“I hadn’t realized that things were that bad between them,” Inferno replied with a stunned expression as the approached the winding stairs.

“I may have over exaggerated a bit,” Star sheepishly admitted, “but it is going to be a serious problem if they can’t resolve their petty differences, though with that damned curfew in effect, I don’t see it being a smooth process.”

“There’s a curfew now?” the young dragon asked as she took the steps one at a time, careful not to spill her plate of food. “When did that happen?”

“Yes, everypony is to remain within city limits after sunset and children are to be confined to their homes,” Star explained. “Princess Luna was dead set against it, for obvious reasons, but Celestia thought it was for the best, so they put it to a vote. You can imagine how Luna felt when the law was passed.” Inferno nodded her head slowly, understanding how hard it must have been for the younger alicorn to deal with her own subjects basically rejecting the nights that she brought them.

“It sounds like you’ve had nearly as much excitement as I’ve had since leaving,” Inferno laughed. Star sighed as she pushed open the door to her room. Inferno entered first and she followed after, placing her plate on the small table before walking around to sit at the comfortable red couch that she seemed to eat at more days than not lately.

“It has been quite hectic around here,” Star admitted, “but nothing as bad as the Ponyville fire.” Inferno shot her a look of disbelief and recognition at the mention of the arson which took out most of the rural town.

“Princess Celestia mentioned something like that in one of her letters,” Inferno replied, “but I had hoped that it was a mistake. The griffons actually set fire to the town then?” Star could see a small light of hope in the yellow eyes of her daughter and hated to be the one who extinguished it, but lies had never helped anypony in the past, so she decided to tell Inferno everything that had happened, however much it hurt. In turn she hoped that Inferno would regale her with the tale of her time after reaching the hippogriff settlements. She had already mentioned exchanging letters with Celestia and Star was curious to see what else she had been kept in the dark about.

“…so the day that we decided to leave Manehatten, Suri made up her mind to come back to Canterlot with us, of course I had no idea that she was even related to Nature Spark at that point, not that it would have affected my decision to let her come anyway. We stopped by Hallow Shades to see Cary on our way, but aside from that it was basically a flight straight back to here,” Star explained as she approached the end of her story. The only parts left to tell were the run in with griffon mercenaries and the problems between the royal sisters, both of which she would have preferred to avoid altogether. Star had made up her mind to tell Inferno the whole story though and that was just what she was going to do, if she could keep her composure anyway.

“Wow, what are the odds of that? I mean, out of all the ponies in Manehatten, you just happen to befriend Spark’s sister. Makes you wonder if it was fate or something, doesn’t it?” Inferno asked after Star paused in her story.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in agreement.

“Is something wrong?” the dragon asked. “I know that Spark mentioned that his sister could be a pain, but she must not be that bad if you managed to travel with her for so long in that cramped chariot.”

“No, it’s not that,” Star replied wistfully. She actually liked Suri quite a bit, though she hadn’t conveyed the truth about her confusing feelings towards the white mare to her daughter in depth, but that was only because she didn’t fully understand herself. “It’s what happened on our way back to Canterlot.”

“How bad was it?” Inferno asked, catching the mournful tone in her mother’s words. Star was quite for a few minutes as she tried to straighten the whirlwind of her mind into expressible thoughts. It had been a tragic experience for her, but it was something that Inferno deserved to know.

“We stumbled upon a group of mercenaries on the outskirts of Foal Mountain,” Star replied once she had found her words.

“Red Eyes,” Inferno knowingly stated.

“Yes,” the black mare told her daughter, “Brass Heart took us to ground before they spotted us and I hid in the forest with Axel and Suri for what seemed like hours, but eventually we decided to try and make a run for it.” Just telling Inferno the story was enough to bring back the memory of the bitter breeze against her hide and the crunch of snow beneath her hooves as they ran. Star could almost taste the icy air that burned her lungs with each ragged breath and it sent a small shiver down her spine. “That’s when we heard the sound of wings coming from the sky behind us.”

“One of the griffons saw you,” Inferno whispered, clearly enthralled by Star’s story. “What did you do?”

“Well, at first I tried to talk her down,” Star explained, “but that wasn’t as effective as I had hoped it would be.” Star took a slow breath as she got to the heart of her story, her mouth tasting of brimstone even as she swallowed dryly. “The griffon, she kept coming down on me and even managed to get a piece of my shoulder,” Star said as she turned to show Inferno the long, scabbed over gash above her foreleg.

“I was wondering how you got that,” Inferno admitted, “but I figured that you would tell me eventually.” The two plates of food sat on the small table, growing steadily cooler as the minutes ticked by. Occasionally either Star or Inferno would remember to take a small bite of something, but the food was forgotten again just as quickly.

“Even then I didn’t want to hurt her, but she tried to attack Axel and Suri after that. When I saw my friends in danger I realized th-that there was only one option. I had t-to,” Star paused as she tried to say the words that weighed so heavy on her heart, “I had to protect my friends, so I killed her. I used the Wyrm Stone and she burned alive because of it… I can’t believe I did something so horrible.” Even after her talk with the princess, Star still had a hard time dealing with the vivid memory of the fight. It seemed surreal to the small mare, that she was mentally capable of ending a life. She felt as if she should have been completely torn apart by the experience, but somehow she was getting through each day without completely hating herself. It was both terrifying and a welcome relief, but telling the story a second time had still been difficult.

“You did what you had to for yourself and the ponies that you care about,” Inferno consoled Star as she reached out a gentle claw and wiped away a single tear that the mare hadn’t even realized managed to escape. “You were faced with a tough choice, but I know you and you’re strong enough to live with it, plus you have me and all of our friends to lean on.” The dragon smiled up at her adoptive mother and Star was filled with pride over how caring and mature her daughter sounded at that moment.

“Thank you, Inferno,” Star said as she hugged her scaly body. “You can’t imagine how good it feels to hear you say that, especially after everything that has happened over the past month.” Star took a few slow breaths to calm down as Inferno prepared to finish her own story. After a few seconds, Star had collected herself and glanced over to see if Inferno was ready to continue from where she had left off. The young dragon was taking a bite off of a large green apple when Star cleared her throat politely.

“Ahem, where was I again?” Inferno asked after swallowing her food. “Oh, that’s right. When we first got to the Cloud Runner’s settlement I was terrified of falling through to my death because Spark wasn’t awake to cast his cloud walking spell anymore. Strata was nice enough to let me ride on her back most of the time, but that was belittling and just plain embarrassing.” The red dragon snorted a small cloud of smoke as she recalled the humiliation of having to rely on the brash hippogriff. “Thankfully the sky chariot can land on clouds.”

“Really?” Star asked in surprise. She hadn’t even considered trying to land on the clouds, but the fact that the chariot could was something Star intended to remember for her next excursion, just in case.

“Mhmm,” Inferno replied. “I have to thank Axel for her foresight with that little feature; otherwise I would have been in a pretty bad situation. There weren’t many places to land near the hippogriffs’ hidden home, just a few deserted islands scattered about the open ocean far below.”

“Oh, remind me to thank her for that when I see her today,” Star mumbled in reply. It was difficult hearing about how close Inferno had been to dying, but the black mare continued to remind herself that her daughter had gotten home safely, so there was no reason for her to worry at the moment.

“Sure… anyway,” Inferno continued, “Strata and I spoke with the general, who basically runs the clan, about the proposed alliance between them and Equestria, but they seemed less than convinced. I don’t think they give outsiders much respect, unless they’ve earned it, but Nature Spark happened to be an exception.” When Inferno paused to take a breath, Star used that time to actually eat a little food, although she didn’t have much of an appetite anymore and everything on the plate was room temperature, which was acceptable for the fruit, but unpleasant when it came to the pastries. “I’m still not completely sure of what his father did to earn the unwavering respect of the hippogriffs, aside from laying down his life to help protect them, but I believe Spark himself actually spoke with the general about his father’s past, though you would have to ask him for the full story. I’m not convinced that he’s ready to tell anypony though.”

“I’ll certainly let him know that I’m always willing to lend an ear if he wants to talk, but pressuring him for the story when he’s not ready to tell it would only make matters worse, I think,” Star replied as she wondered just what the brown stallion had learned about his family during the excursion overseas.

“You always were very tactful,” he red dragon admitted. “I was not that bright though and when I tried to ask him about his father, Spark snubbed me and wouldn’t talk for the rest of that day, but eventually, over the course of meeting with the hippogriffs and being forced into a close proximity for an extended period, he managed to calm down and everything returned to normal, for the most part. Eventually Spark even began to get through to the general, especially with the help of Strata, who’s father is close friends with him, not to mention the written correspondence we had with Princess Celestia.”

“Something that she saw fit to keep from me,” Star spat a little more vehemently than she intended. The thought of being kept in the dark about her own adoptive daughter, let alone her friends, was more than enough to piss the magical mare off.

“I had no idea that you weren’t aware of our letters,” Inferno said as her eyes widened in surprise. “I’m not sure why she would keep something like that from you, but the princess had her reasons, I’m sure.”

“Yes,” Star agreed, “and I intend on asking her what those reasons were at some point,” she added.

“Regardless, once Nature Spark had regained consciousness, there was a sort of party and the next day we began discussing the terms of our treaty, of which there were very few as you heard from Strata last night,” Inferno explained.

“Mhmm, the hippogriffs are our allies, but will fight with their own moral code,” Star replied, recalling Strata’s boldness when informing the princesses of the conditions.

“That’s right,” the young dragon said with a nod of her spiked head. “Once that was taken care of, there wasn’t much left for us to do except return to Canterlot. By that point Nature Spark had discovered his little magic trick for sensing the objects around him, most likely from practicing every night, although I didn’t witness it.”

“So that’s why his horn was glowing,” the mare commented, “I thought it might have been magic allowing him to, basically, feel out his environment. Remarkable.”

“Mhmm,” Inferno mumbled, clearly not as interested in unicorn magic as her mother. “So we flew back here, but we took a little more time coming home because we were trying to avoid any Red Eyes. They’ve been swarming on the outskirts of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, from what I’ve heard.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. Some of them even managed to get over our borders,” Star said as she glanced down at the mark in her shoulder.

Knock. Knock. Knock. The sound of somepony at the door interrupted their discussion, so Star got to her hooves and wandered over to see who it was. Nature Spark was waiting just outside her bedroom, with Strata walking away after having shown him the right room, Star guessed. The light brown stallion’s horn glowed faintly green as the magic slowly felt out the area around him. Star just stood and watched for the few seconds it happened, paying close attention to how well the spell worked for her friend.

“Good afternoon, Star,” Spark said with a smile.

“Is it afternoon already?” Star asked as she looked back to her bedroom windows and saw that the sun had indeed rose high in the sky over the course of her and Inferno’s discussion. “Huh, I guess I lost track of time. Anyway, please come in.”

“Thanks,” Spark said as he stepped into the room and slowly made his way to the couch. “Good afternoon to you as well, Inferno,” he replied before taking a seat beside the dragon. Star walked over and sat on the other side of the stallion and pushed the cold plates of food out of the way.

“What brings you by?” Star asked as Spark leaned back into a more comfortable position on the couch cushions. Spark turned to face her, the dagger on his horn glinting in the light as he started speaking. Star hadn’t even noticed it before that moment and wondered why the stallion was wearing it around the castle, but decided to save the inquiry for another time.

“I figured that it might be a good idea to tell you all about our journey to the hippogriffs, seeing as how you put me in charge of protecting Inferno and I failed miserably,” the light brown unicorn explained with a slightly pained expression.

“Inferno already told me about everything, Spark,” Star explained as she rested a hoof on his shoulder. “I know that you did everything you could, even risking your life, to protect her and she came back to me in good health, so don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“That may be true,” the stallion replied, his faded brown eyes staring just past Star’s face, though he couldn’t actually see anything, “but I still want to explain myself, not to mention fill in some holes that I know Inferno wasn’t able to.” Star assumed that he was speaking of what he had learned about his father, but couldn’t be certain. His words had peaked her curiosity none the less, so she nodded her head before remembering that she had to verbally answer him.

“Alright, I would be more than happy to listen,” Star told him.

“Thank you. Inferno, would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?” Spark asked the young dragon, who was already standing up, as if she had expected the question and knew her answer in advance.

“Yes, of course,” Inferno said as she headed for the door, “I’ll go see what Axel is up to and bother her for awhile… or the other way around.” Once the door closed behind her daughter, Star turned to face Spark, despite the fact that he probably wouldn’t have known the difference. It was simply well mannered to do so and Star was nothing if not polite when she had to be. For his part, Nature Spark closed his eyes as he began to speak, as if trying to visualize the experience in his mind, though he hadn’t seen any of it.

Star sat in rapt attention as Spark detailed the trip east from his own limited perspective, giving a more vivid definition of the sounds, scents and feeling that somepony with eyes would have been incapable of. His version of the trip there was short, as he had spent the entire ride wavering in and out of consciousness, but he did recall that every time he managed to move his hooves they made contact with Inferno, who didn’t leave his side once during the ride. It made Star swell with pride to hear somepony else speak so highly of the little dragon, who she felt so protective of.

“What happened after you woke up in the hippogriff settlement?” Star asked, hoping to help steer the conversation towards Spark’s father without being completely obvious about it. A little tact could go a long way into helping somepony open up, Star knew from experience. “Inferno told me that they treated the both of you very well.”

“Better than I had expected considering what Strata told me about hippogriff culture,” Spark admitted, “but it was only because of my father that they did.” Star waited quietly for her friend to continue, knowing that he was on the verge of telling her something that had obviously affected him emotionally. “My father, Oaken Field, was more than just a key member of Princess Celestia’s personal guard,” Spark told her in hushed tone. “He was her method for achieving harmony, by any means necessary.”

“What are you talking about?” Star asked, not fully understanding the implications that the stallion was making.

“The hippogriff general told me that my father was basically nothing more than Celestia’s weapon. If there was a problem with one of the other nations trying to overstep the boundaries that she had in mind for them, then Celestia would send my father, along with the other ponies in her personal guard, on missions inside the borders of other countries to force the order that she wanted them to live by,” Spark elaborated, much to the disbelief of the black mare.

“That’s not possible,” Star argued. “There is no way in the world that either of the princesses could do something so barbaric.”

“I can’t speak for Luna, but the general’s words about Celestia were both convincing and detailed, although he saw it as a reasonable course of action for her to have taken,” Spark replied calmly, “though I’m not sure that I agree with him on the subject,” he added a moment after.

“So, you’re telling me that your father worked as-,” Star began.

“Our princess’s assassin,” Spark finished in a cold voice. “Celestia asked him to use force, sometimes even kill when she deemed it necessary, and for some reason he followed her orders, up until the day it killed him.”

“I- I just can’t believe it,” Star stuttered in denial. “I can understand the need for harmony to prevail, but there is always a diplomatic approach to those kinds of situations. Princess Luna would have at least spoken up to her sister.”

“If she had known,” Spark replied, “then you are probably right in assuming that, but I’m not so sure that Celestia keeps her younger sister in the know for situations of that nature. You can ask her yourself if you’d like, because I’m certainly going to.” Even through the dull brown of her blind friend’s eyes, Star could see the anger and confusion he was holding in. The small mare knew that there was something more that he wasn’t telling her, but she wasn’t convinced that she even wanted to know, or that he would be able to keep his anger in check if he were to open up about everything, so she didn’t ask.

“And if Luna was in the dark about her older sister’s actions, what then?” Star questioned her friend. “Am I supposed to tell her that Celestia has been keeping secrets and making decisions behind her back? Their relationship is already strained as it is, between the accusations made against her by the crystal ponies and the new curfew, I just don’t know how the princess of the night would handle one more blow.” Spark was silent as he mulled over the mare’s words, but soon he had a sort of answer.

“I think that you know Princess Luna better than anypony in the world and certainly far better than me, so you’ll just have to make that decision on your own,” Spark told her. “I’m sure that isn’t what you wanted to hear, but it is the only answer I can give you.” An uncomfortable silence fell between the two ponies as they sat on the couch, but eventually Star spoke up again, filling the void with words.

“I suppose since you trusted me enough to tell me something like that, then it’s only fair that I tell you about my experience in return,” Star sighed as she quelled the many questions popping up in her mind. Only Princess Celestia could explain her actions, so worrying about them right then would do her no good, Star realized.

“Oh… and what kind of mischief did Miss Discipula Star get into while we were gone?” the stallion asked with one raised eyebrow. “Did you forget to practice your magic for a day?” He was joking, of course, but Star wasn’t in the mood to laugh anymore and Spark’s smile disappeared when he sensed her mood change.

“I killed a griffon, Spark,” Star told him in a flat voice that belayed the lump in her throat as she spoke. “On our way back from Manehatten, after Axel and I met your sister, we stumbled upon a group of Red Eyes that had managed to get into Equestria, most likely through whomever in the government is betraying the princesses to their enemies,” Star began, much like she had when telling Inferno.

Nature Spark sat still and quiet as he listened to her retell what had happened during her fight with the griffon that attacked her and her friends. She watched his face for any signs of what he was thinking, but he wore only a stoic mask as she spoke to him. By the time Star had reached the end of her tale, he still hadn’t said a word, but eventually he took a slow breath and softly cleared his throat.

“Just a month ago I probably would have scolded you or questioned your reasoning,” Spark replied in a quiet, but affirming voice, “but I would have made the same choice as you, obviously. I’m starting to learn that, even if I may detest the truth, sometimes in this world you are left with the choice except to fight for your life or bow down and die. I know that it may same easier to have laid down and died right now, instead of living with what you’ve done, but remember, by taking one life, you spared your own and two others. I don’t know if that helps, but it is the truth.”

“I’ve been hearing that quite often the past couple of days,” Star acknowledged. “It sounds like good advice every time I hear it, but I can still see the griffon’s face right before she went up in flames, every time I close my eyes.” Her eyes watered a little, but she was getting better at holding them back each time she told somepony else about what had happened. Star wondered if, by retelling over and again, the memory might fade more quickly or if that would only serve to etch it further into her mind. “I can never change what happened that day, even with all the magic of the world, but I can fix another mistake,” Star continued as she stared into Spark’s eyes. “I will do everything I can to help you see again.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, Star,” Spark mumbled, “but I’m getting used to being blind and with magic I will manage.” The light brown stallion sighed as he sank into the couch a bit further, clearly not as content with his current disability as he was acting, but resigned to suffer through with some dignity. “I don’t need your hopeful promises or pity and I especially don’t want you blaming yourself for what happened. It was my choice to go through with the test after all.”

“Doctor Suture knows how we can fix your eyes,” Star told him. “I just have to get two large, flawless gems that are the same cut and her spell should work just fine next time.” The small mare sat with a smile, waiting for her friend’s response, but his face didn’t hold the same hope that hers did.

“You’re saying it should work next time, but what makes you think I would risk attempting something like that again?” Spark asked her in a tone that almost sounded disgusted to Star. “I went blind last time, Star, and just because I don’t blame you or the good doctor, that doesn’t mean that I’ll risk losing more. What if it did even more damage to me? For all you know it could kill me.” Star was speechless for a few seconds and feared that Spark would storm off, but to her surprise he simply took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Star replied in a voice just above a whisper.

“You shouldn’t be,” he replied. “I know that you only want to do what you think is right, but I think we should both just live with this one.” Spark gave smiled after he had finished speaking, but it looked a little thin and even his dull eyes seemed to hold a bit of sadness as they gazed off into the walls of the castle.

“Perhaps you’re right, Spark,” Star answered, though she was still set on finding the gems she needed, convincing him to give her one more chance and correcting the mistake she had made. “Well, I’m glad we had that talk and all, but I didn’t eat much for breakfast as you ca-,” she stopped herself before finishing her sentence, aware that she almost misspoke. Star didn’t want to remind Spark of his sightlessness, but it was difficult to adjust her speech. “Anyway, I think I’ll grab a late lunch.”

“Late?” Spark asked as he sat up from the couch. “What time is it now?”

“Just after noon, I think,” Star replied as she turned to gaze out her window. “I’ve spent half the day in this room talking to you and Inferno.” Star’s eyes widened in surprise as she realized that they had asked the small dragon to leave a couple hours before and hadn’t seen her since. “She’s probably been waiting for me all morning!”

“Who?” Spark asked, confused about the black mare’s sudden outburst.

“Inferno,” Star replied. “You asked her to leave a couple hours ago and I hate to keep her waiting when I haven’t seen her in so long.” Star hopped to her hooves and Spark let out a small groan before following suit. The two ponies headed out the bedroom door and down the hall, in search of their scaled friend.

Nature Spark’s cutie mark was a peace sign, with a leaf behind it, but Star ignored that fact as she stared at the stallion’s flank, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to catch her doing so. It wasn’t as if she was checking him out or anything, the short mare was just trying to imagine how hard it must be for somepony whose special talent was helping other ponies achieve some sort of peace to accept the fact that their father was a killer. Star imagined that it must have turned her friend’s world upside-down when he first heard. Worst of all, the brown unicorn seemed afraid that he was destined to follow his father’s past and even though Star wanted to comfort him, she wasn’t convinced that he was wrong.

“Do you think that she’s already in the dining room?” Spark asked, snapping the black mare from her thoughts.

“Oh, umm, she might be,” Star replied, only a bit startled by the question. “Either way I’m going to need to eat something soon anyway.” Spark chuckled as his horn glowed faintly. The door opened a second later, once he could feel its form.

“Do you see her anywhere?” Spark asked, counting on Star to scan the room for any sign of Inferno. Star gave a quick peek around the room, which was fairly crowded at the moment, before concluding that her daughter was nowhere to be seen.

“No, I don’t think that she’s in here,” Star replied as she headed for the serving table, determined to get at least a few bites of food in her stomach before continuing the search. “Just a second,” she called back to Spark, who stood by the door, waiting for her.

Star snatched a few random pieces of fruit and quickly ate them one after another. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough to hold her over until she had a minute to actually finish a meal. She paused at the end of the table taking hold of a cream filled pasty before meeting Spark back at the doors. A bite of the warm pastry proved to be just what Star had been craving and she left with a smile on her face and Spark right behind her.

“Where else would she have gone if she was trying to kill some time?” Spark asked Star as he trotted up beside her. “Do you think that she would have gone to town?”

“It’s possible,” Star replied after swallowing a mouthful of delicious baked goods, “but I don’t think she would have wandered that far. Chances are she’s with Axel or Strata.” Star would have added Suri to the list, but the small dragon hadn’t seemed too fond of Spark’s sister for one reason or another.

“Okay, well where would they have gone then?” Spark asked, only slightly irritated by her lack of a real response.

“Uh, maybe we should ask one of the servants or something,” Star mumbled when she couldn’t come up with any ideas.

“Sure,” Spark said as they entered the main hall, “but you can do the honors,” he added with a slight trace of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

There was only one maid in the hall with them, so Star walked over and inquired about her friends. The earth pony directed Star to the yard, where they had apparently been headed just a few minutes before. The mare confirmed seeing a small dragon and a hippogriff, but had been too distracted by the sight to notice if an earth pony was with them. Star relayed this information to Spark and the two of them headed out the large front gates of Canterlot Castle and into the cool afternoon.

The sun was still shining, though it was partially obstructed by clouds, but the wind chill did its best to negate the warming rays. Star regretted not having put on her cloak before leaving, even if it was in less than desirable condition. The bite of the wind didn’t seem to have any discernable effect on Spark, who still wore a flat expression. Star realized that she hadn’t seen a genuine smile from the stallion since his return. The very thought made her a bit uneasy.

“Are you sure that you’re feeling fine, Spark?” Star asked with a twinge of concern. “You seem to be a bit more morose than I remember.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Spark replied. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m just feeling a little weary from everything that has been happening lately. I didn’t expect any of this when I set off to see if I could learn something in Canterlot. Chestnut had told me that my journey could be dangerous, but I don’t know if he even realized what he was saying.” Star stopped cold in her tracks. She hadn’t yet told Spark about what happened to his old friend, even though she had been planning to that morning. She didn’t know when she would get the chance again, so she tugged him off of the cobblestone path they had been walking along, much to his surprise, and forcibly sat him down on a small bench in the side yard of the castle grounds as she tried to gather her nerves.

“What in the hay do you think your doing?” Spark asked as he caught his balance after nearly stumbling straight over the wooden bench.

“Spark, there’s something I need to tell you,” Star explained. The stallion didn’t need to see her face to know something serious was on Star’s mind. “You heard about the fire in Ponyville, didn’t you?”

“Mhmm, a group of mercenaries set most of the town ablaze,” Spark replied, his previous stoic façade showing cracks of anger. “What is this about?”

“Spark, your friend Chestnut was hiding out in Ponyville, along with Duke Silver Blood,” the black mare replied. “I was there helping out after the flames were extinguished. Almost every building around had been reduced to nothing more than ashes and many of the citizens that weren’t injured died in the inferno.” Spark sat in silence, but Star could almost hear the questions churning in his head as he stared straight at her.

“What are you trying to tell me?” he asked, in a cold voice that made Star’s hooves shake a little as she pushed part of her forelock back from her eyes.

“They both died in the fire, Spark,” Star replied in a soothing voice as she tried to take his hoof in her own. Spark flinched back, pulling his hoof away from the contact as he waited for her to continue. “Somepony I met over there found their bodies and we buried them in the cemetery on the outskirts of the town.” The stallion was visibly crushed by the news, sinking into the bench as he tried to process what he had heard.

“I want to see his grave,” Spark finally said, in a soft voice.

“What?” Star asked, not because she hadn’t heard, but because she couldn’t fathom why he thought it would be a good idea to visit his friend’s grave considering everything that was going on.

“I want to see his grave!” the brown mane stallion shouted as tears began to run down his muzzle and he stood up from the bench. “I should have been here for him and the least I can do is to pay my respects now that I know.” Star had never heard him speak with so much frustration and anger before. Every time that Spark had fought an enemy he was angry, but this was different. He looked like he wanted to either lie down and cry or go on a violent rampage.

“I understand what you’re saying, but I think you should give this some time,” Star replied, hoping to talk him down from his emotional state. “The princess said not to leave the city anyway, so there isn’t much that you can do right now, without going against her wishes.” Spark took a deep breath, but his confusion and pain were still evident, now that his stone-faced expression had crumbled.

“Do you think that they burned down the entire town just to get to Chestnut?” Spark asked as he sat back down and took a few slow breaths.

“Silver Blood as well, but yes, I wouldn’t doubt that they were the intended targets,” Star answered in a soft voice, wary of reigniting the stallion’s misplaced aggression over what had happened. “I get the feeling that they had a hunch as to who was behind the crystal empress’s capture.”

The two ponies sat in silence for awhile as the sun began to dip just above the western horizon. Star placed a hoof on Spark’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him a little, but if he even noticed, the stallion certainly didn’t show any reaction. Star watched him as he stared off into the distance, not watching anything ahead of him him, but lost in thoughts of the past as he wiped away a stray tear from his cheek. Star knew he and Chestnut had been close and couldn’t imagine how hard it must be to come home, only to learn that somepony you cared about was gone forever. By the look on her friend’s face at that moment, Star judged that it was torture.

Eventually Spark stood up from the old bench and Star did the same before they both continued walking down the cobblestone path. They still hadn’t found Inferno and it was getting late. Star was fairly certain that if her daughter had been outside, she had most likely returned to the castle by then, but it never hurt to make sure. The cold wind picked up as the reached the spot where both sky chariots had been left, carrying plump flakes of snow with it. Nopony seemed to be around, but Star stopped long enough to look up into the sky, where more snow had begun to fall, before telling Spark as much.

“I guess we should go back inside and take another look,” Spark suggested, the last traces of pained emotion hidden away once again.

“You’re probably right,” Star agreed as they walked back up the path, side by side, but neither of them in the mood for conversation. Star looked back on everything that she had learned and heard about, wondering just how she was supposed to separate heresy from the truth, but having no answer. She intended to ask Princess Celestia about the whispers of controversy that seemed to pervade her past actions, but there was nothing to keep the alicorn from lying to her all over again. If she couldn’t trust her leader, then the small mare didn’t know who else she could trust.

The main hall was empty when Star and Spark pushed open the castle doors, everypony seeming to have vanished in their absence, so she led her friend straight to the hallway that would take them to the throne room. The only times Star had ever seen the castle as empty as it was right then, was when there was some sort of meeting taking place and even then, servants were usually still bustling about the halls. The sound of movement from behind the closed doors of the throne room confirmed the black mare’s suspicions that the princesses were holding council with somepony. Spark stood next to her, ear pressed to the door as he listened, until Star decided to shove open the door and see what was going on.

Inside the throne room were far fewer ponies than Star had been expecting to find. In fact, as she gazed around the large room, the short mare realized that she knew almost everypony in the room. Her friends each looked back at her and Spark with reactions ranging from startled confusion to mild irritation. Her eyes sprang open in amazement when she even caught site of Downpour and Backdraft, along with a large green earth pony standing near them. Spark walked in a second later and leaned in to whisper in Star’s ear.

“Who else is in here?” he asked her, trying to feel out the entire room with his magic, but failing miserably.

“Celestia, Luna and all of our friends,” Star replied, “and by that I mean even Downpour and Backdraft.”

“Really!?” Spark asked his voice echoing through the mostly empty room and causing Axel to clamp a hoof over her mouth to stifle her snickering.

“Yes, now everypony is staring at us, so hurry up,” Star said as she walked down the strip of carpet that led clear to the dais whereupon the two princess’s thrones sat. Star stopped and dipped into a low bow before finding a spot to stand in the midst of her friends and Spark did the same just a moment after, choosing to seek out the pegasus brothers and standing near them.

“Discipula Star,” Princess Celestia addressed her with a slight nod, “Nature Spark,” she added with another nod, “I was beginning to wonder where you both might have run off to. I’m very sorry that we started this meeting without you, but time is of the essence of course.” She fixed her eyes, so light that they sometimes appeared pink, on both of the late entrants into her throne room and gave them a stern gaze, as if to remind them both that nothing was more important than the war, so they had best shape up.

“Now, after you met up with Mister Verd Monts on the other side of the mountains, where did you go?” Princess Luna asked, bringing the focus of the room back to the two pegasus, who had apparently been in the midst of telling their story when Star saw fit to interrupt them. The princess’s mentee stared down at the ground as she listened to her friends’ words, too embarrassed to meet either of her matriarchs’ gazes. Of course her views of Princess Celestia hadn’t changed, Star still believed that the white alicorn had some questions that needed to be answered, but also knew that none of that would matter if Equestria lost the war.

Eventually she glanced up and peered side to side, taking in the sight of all her friend’s faces as they gazed either up at the princesses or towards Downpour and Backdraft. It had been weeks since everypony was together, but somehow, as Star gazed at them all one by one, it felt like they had only said goodbye a short time ago. Despite the hardships and confusion, the loneliness and anger, when the violet eyed mare looked around the throne room of Canterlot castle, she felt as if, with her friends by her side, she could accomplish any task that faced her.

“With Ursa’s help, we were able to make it to the city of Calvary in no time at all, and then from there it was a relatively easy trip into the heart of the Crystal Empire,” Draft continued as he told Celestia and Luna of their travels in the enemy nation. Star listened more intently, once she got out of her own thoughts.

“That was where our good fortune ended,” Downpour cut in. “Duke Doré Langue, the acting leader of the government while the Crystal Emperor is sick and his empress missing, is responsible for the attacks on Equestria.” If Downpour was speaking the truth, then the true face of Equestria’s enemy had been revealed, which Star knew would mean Princess Celestia and Princess Luna could wield the Elements of Harmony against him.

“Not only that, but he cast a spell on me that messed with my mind and made me attack my own brother,” Draft explained in a more quite voice, as if the memory still hurt him. “It was like he could force thoughts into my head when he was near me.”

“Yes, but once we got Draft out of the range of the duke’s magic, they spell faded fairly quickly,” Downpour added. “Fortunately we got out of the city and made it back to Calvary, where I met with somepony who is a part of the resistance movement that began when the emperor first started to grow ill. It seems that many of them had suspicions of foul play since the beginning, but with no way to prove it and with Doré Langue controlling the government and military, the ponies in the resistance have been forced to remain underground to avoid death… or worse.”

“Then this duke is an enemy that we cannot afford to take lightly,” Princess Luna commented as she met her sister’s gaze and exchanged silent words with her.

“I agree,” her elder sister added, “we will have to handle this situation delicately to avoid innocent casualties.”

Suddenly the large doors behind Star’s back were flung open with a loud bang! She whipped her head around to see two soldiers galloping down the carpet. When they made it to the dais and gave their bows, she could see that the stallions were in fact, Brass Heart and Dawn Glory, back from whatever mission they had been away on. Princess Celestia glanced down at the guards, who met her questioning eyes with cold, but respectful looks as they spoke.

“We have some very bad news, princesses,” Brass Heart told them as he stood rigid, with a stoic expression plastered across his face. “We’ve just learned that Sergeant Rainbow Strike has been selling weapons to the enemy and has taken the city of Cloudsdale hostage with the soldiers under his command.” A chorus of gasps accompanied his news, coming from everypony except the princesses, whose eyes lit up with fury when they heard.

“If this is true, then his punishment will be swift,” Luna stated in a commanding tone as her face darkened with anger.

“And severe,” Celestia added as she stood up from her throne, mystical mane billowing behind her in a magical breeze as her narrowed her eyes. Star glanced at her friends, each of them wearing the same mixed expressions as they saw the brief burst of rage from their matriarchs. The rumors of a traitor in their midst had proven to be true and neither alicorn looked as if they were willing to grant mercy for the sergeant’s crimes. “This meeting is adjourned,” Celestia said as she took her seat once again, reverting to her previous calm and collected demeanor and giving a dismissive wave of her gold clad hoof to the gathered ponies.

Author's Note:

Okay, so this is a two part chapter, as you can see. Everypony has made it back to Canterlot and another strike has been made against Equestria. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, because I know I had fun writing it.

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