The Crystal War Book I: A Spark to Light the Dark

by NatureSpark

Ch.5 Split Paths

~Chapter 5: Split Paths~

Spark could smell breakfast sizzling over an open flame. That thought alone woke the unicorn stallion out of a dead sleep. Opening his tired, brown eyes, he was greeted to the sight of radishes being roasted over the small fire, his stomach growled savagely in response. He sat up from the damp ground, spine popping loudly as he stretched his aching limbs. Sleeping on dirt wasn’t exactly the best method of staying limber, not that he had much choice.

“It sounds like Spark is awake,” Draft commented as he walked over and set a warm plate of food down beside his friend’s head. Spark’s mouth watered in anticipation of the delicious meal. He could smell the plump radish and his stomach rumbled more loudly in response.

“I feel like I could eat a house and still have room for dessert,” Spark said. He sat up and felt a dull pain in his side, which reminded him that they still needed to find Chestnut. Somehow his life had managed to complicate itself. He figured it just came with trying to play the hero role. “What time is it and why didn’t anypony wake me up?” He grabbed a radish with his magic and floated it into his mouth as he waited for one of his friends to say something.

“We’ve been up for a little over an hour,” Star explained. She was in the process of getting their gear packed up and cooking food, her magical prowess putting his to shame.

“Besides, you looked so cute sleeping there we didn’t have the heart to wake you,” Downpour winked at him and then resumed eating his breakfast. Spark finished his meal off in a few bites and got to his hooves so that he could stretch his legs more. The pain in his side had faded to a barely noticeable ache and he didn’t think he’d have any problem keeping up with the rest of the group. Draft walked over to him and handed him the map that they had planned their route out on.

“You know that we could save about a day, maybe more, if we just cut through the ridge right?” Draft asked as he pointed a hoof at the spot on the map, but Spark had a good reason for avoiding that path.

“That area is home to diamond dogs and as stupid as I can be sometimes, even I’m not stupid enough to go galloping around in their territory,” Spark told him. Unless you had a good amount of gems to trade, diamond dogs were not to be trifled with. They had sharp claws that could dig through bedrock and he could only imagine what they would do to pony flesh. “I’d rather walk an extra day and a half then put you all in danger.”

“I’m on Spark’s side,” Star chimed in. “It won’t do us any good to save a day of walking if we just have to waste it mending injuries.” She looked to Inferno who nodded her head in agreement. Spark put the map away and packed up his saddle bags, adjusting them slightly so that they wouldn’t rub against his bruised ribs as he walked. Then everypony worked to pack up the camp and started down the road once more. They headed northeast toward the Haysead River, which they planned to follow north until it got dark and they were forced to make camp again.

They walked for hours and spent the time talking and laughing with one another. The group had long conversations with each other about anything and everything that they could think of to pass the time. The stallions got to know Star and Inferno better and she learned quite a bit about them as well. They told her about their different adventures, most of which consisted of Spark making a new concoction and then bribing his friends with big bags of herbs to try them. She listened contentedly as the sun slowly climbed the cloudy sky.

“There I was. I had just sniffed this weird magical powder that Spark mixed up on his dining table,” Downpour chuckled. “I look around and realize that I’m seeing everything about five seconds in the future.” Everypony was tearing up from laughter at Downpour’s story, except for Star, who wore a simply stunned expression.

“You’re joking right?” she asked in awe.

“I swear to Luna,” Downpour continued. “Spark is sitting there, trying to ask me questions so that he can record the effects…” The pegasus couldn’t finish his story he was chuckling so hard so Spark stepped in and finished it for him.

“And he’s answering the questions before I can even finish asking them. It was starting to piss me off, so I go to smack him upside the head and he dodges it. I ended up knocking a bottle of cider all over the rest of the powder. I had to start my work over from scratch,” the unicorn huffed. Spark stopped walking for a moment to catch his breath and his friends did the same. After they had calmed down, Draft offered to fly up ahead and see how far away the river was.

“It looks like we only have another half a day of walking at this pace,” the younger pegasus called back a few minutes later. From the look of the sun, it appeared to be about eleven o’ clock or so. Spark called for everypony to take a lunch break and rest their legs and wings for a bit.

“Thank Celestia, it’s hard to keep up with ponies all day,” Inferno complained. She was downing a flask full of water and rubbing her sore feet as she rested on the ground. Spark hadn’t considered the fact that her legs were shorter than the ponies, meaning she had to work twice as hard just to keep up.

“I can always give you a ride,” Downpour offered politely, to everypony else’s surprise. "It would beat the hay out of walking and I wouldn’t really mind. The dragon stared at him with disgust.

“There is no way I’m riding a pony like you,” Inferno retorted. She turned her nose up to the pegasus and resumed her foot massage. Downpour looked irritated at her comment as he took a seat beside her.

“Look here, missy, you’re stuck with me for the next few days, so I suggest you get over whatever problem you seem to have with me and accept my help, otherwise it’s going to be a long trip. You hear me? A long trip!” Downpour barked back. The young dragon looked stunned by his brash behavior, but he just smiled and waited for her answer.

“Okay,” Inferno mumbled in reply. She looked around at everypony with a slightly wounded expression. “I’m sorry, it’s just that you are very abrasive and the other stallions that I’ve met don’t have a stellar track record. I hope you understand that it isn’t you as much as it is me and my issues.” She looked to the ground with a small sigh.

“Don’t worry about it, Inferno, everypony has their problems and if you ever want to talk…” Downpour told her. He was being sincere for once and Spark couldn’t believe his eyes. “Then Draft is always there for you.” Celestia damn that stallion, Spark thought as Downpour began to laugh. The bluish pegasus chuckled as he lay down to rest his legs for a bit.

“Let’s grab some food before I faint from hunger,” Draft said as he began pulling out food and before long everypony was happily munching down carrots and celery. They decided to each take turns making meals, except for Downpour who couldn’t make a good sandwich to save his life. The few times he had ever offered to make a meal, Spark had gone without eating.

“What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we get to Canterlot?” Star asked her new friends. “Are you planning on searching out Silver Blood right away?”

“Well, if you could get us an audience with Luna that would be amazing. I would love to hear her side of the story directly, but if not then talking to Silver Blood is the most important task we need to accomplish right now. Then we can try to figure out exactly where Chestnut disappeared to,” Spark replied. He wouldn’t feel right if he just left Canterlot without finding some sort of information on the mule’s whereabouts, but there was a good chance that Silver Blood would know something.

“I’m fairly sure that the princess will not mind speaking with you. I’ll put in a good word; being her favorite student comes with its perks after all,” Star beamed back.

“We’re going to need to buy some more supplies before we leave too,” Downpour said. He was looking through their bags and saw that they had just a little more then they would need to feed the five of them all the way to Canterlot.

“I was hoping to get a look at some weapons and armor before we left. Canterlot has some of the best blacksmiths in the world, aside from Cloudsdale, but they strictly manufacture armor for the Equestrian Military,” Draft added. He wanted himself a nice set of wing blades, so that they wouldn’t be completely defenseless in case of an attack.

“I have something that I’m going to need to do as well. I guess it will go the quickest if we all split up once we arrive,” Inferno said. She figured that they could each handle their own task and be done with everything in a day at most.

“What is it that you need to do?” Spark asked, wondering what the young dragon could possibly have to accomplish, by herself, in Canterlot.

“There’s just someone that lives near there that I haven’t seen in a while,” Inferno replied flatly. That was all she planned on saying about the subject and Spark respected her privacy. Everypony finished their lunches and took a few minutes to let the food settle before they packed up and set off once again. It was just past midday, but the autumn breeze kept them from getting too warm while they walked. Spark decided now was a good time to smoke a little bit more of his favorite plant and the other two stallions agreed whole heartedly. He quickly rolled up some of it and the three were happily puffing it down as they walked along the dirt road towards their destination.

Spark could see the river coming up in the distance and they still had a good four hours of daylight left. He asked Downpour and Draft to take the supplies from him and Star and find a spot to make camp. They loaded up the bags and were on their way in a storm of beating wings. It was certainly nice having them to carry everything through the air, Spark thought as he stepped over a large rock in the path.

“At this rate, I’m pretty sure that we can make it to Canterlot in four or five days,” Spark said aloud. “I’ll finally get somewhere in this Celestia damned quest of mine. I’m starting to second guess the success I’ll have. I wonder what caused me to get so invested in this whole thing in the first place.” He sighed and lowered his eyes to the ground.

“I think it is because you are a good natured pony and you hate to see the country you love in conflict. I don’t blame you, I feel the same way,” Star told him with a smile. “For what it is worth, I think the world would be a much better place if everypony was more like you.” Star’s words helped to cheer him up quite a bit.

“I think that Draft is coming back,” Inferno said as she pointed up at the sky, where somepony was flying towards them quickly.

“Well that was fast, I wonder how far away they set up-” Star was cut off when Spark shoved her back with his magic.

“Grab Inferno and stay behind me!” Spark shouted at her. That wasn’t Draft headed for them. It looked more like a griffon to Spark. That earth pony that had broken into Chestnut’s house had said that a griffon hired him to rob the old mule and Spark wasn’t about to take any unnecessary chances.

“What was that for?” Star asked. She looked up in realization of what Spark was thinking. “Do you think that’s the griffon that wanted the letter from Chestnut?”

“I don’t know, but I really wish we had some back up,” Spark replied quickly. “Get ready to hit him with your magic if he comes for you, but don’t attack first.” He levitated his horn dagger out and twisted it on. This time he wasn’t going to get taken by surprise. The frantic stallion glanced back and saw that Star had brought the Wyrm Stone with her, she fastened it on and her eyes seemed to burn with an inner fire. It was magical and terrifying all at once and Spark was immediately relieved that her skill was on his side as he turned back to face their visitor.

The griffon dropped out of the sky like a stone, dipping towards them with a speed that would rival most of the pegasus Spark had seen. He lowered his horn and prepared a spell that would help launch him forward for his first attack. It was a simple adaptation of a spell that he often used to pick fruit from the tall trees in the Hayseed Forest. The griffon however, landed out of his range and called out to them from a good distance away.

“Are you Nature Spark, the unicorn from Dodge?” the stranger asked. The voice was higher pitched than a pony’s and very birdlike, similar to what the stallion had imagined a griffon would sound like. He looked at the griffon warily, happy not to be fighting, but still not trusting the newcomer.

“That depends on who’s asking,” Spark answered. He started to walk forward, still ready with his magic and the griffon followed suit.

“My name is Strata Slipstream of the Cloud Runners, and I am a friend of Chestnut. He sent me here to find Nature Spark and take the unicorn to where he is staying. I ask again, are you Nature Spark?” the stranger asked again. The griffon was close enough for Spark to see all of him... no wait, her, more clearly.

Spark was about to answer her, but was stunned when he noticed she wasn’t like other griffons that he had heard described to him. The newcomer’s front half appeared more like a falcon than an eagle, but it was her back half that left Spark speechless. Where he expected to see a lion’s body was that of a light grey pony, she even had a sort of cutie mark. It appeared to be a black cloud with a red falcon claw over it. He locked his eyes on the strange mare’s, or griffon’s, fiercer brown ones and tried again to speak. “I’m Spark, what word do you have from Chestnut? Is he alright?” the stallion asked the griffon.

“He’s fine, but he has something that he wants to give you. He asked me to lead you to his location in the White Tail Woods,” she replied. The griffon turned as if to leave, but Spark stopped her before she could fly away.

“Wait, two of our companions are setting up our camp not far from here, we’ll need to talk to them first,” Spark explained as he took off his dagger and placed it back in its sheath. “Follow me and we’ll go talk to them.”

“Let’s make haste, the longer we take the more danger your friend is in,” Strata responded. She turned her head and eyed Star and Inferno suspiciously. Spark noticed her look and introduced them both.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Miss Strata Slipstream,” Star said with a polite bow. Leave it to Star to be so formal in a situation like this.

“Please, call me Strata,” the griffon replied as she started to follow Spark, who led them towards the pegasus. At this rate I’m never going to make it to Canterlot, he thought before lifting Inferno onto his back.

“We need to run, so I’m going to carry you for now,” Spark hurriedly explained to the small serpentine girl. He didn’t have time to argue with her about the ride.

“Its fine, we are in a hurry after all,” Inferno replied. She grabbed on to his short mane and he took off at a gallop along with Star. The griffon took to the air, apparently much quicker in the sky, as most pegasus were.

In a short time, they arrived at the place where Downpour and Draft had set up the camp. Spark and Star were winded, but Inferno was still full of energy. She hopped off of the unicorn and began to relay what had happened to the pegasus and then started a fire for them, while everypony sat down around it. Introductions were made and soon Strata was in the midst of telling her story to the group.

“Early yesterday your friend, Chestnut, received a letter from Silver Blood in Canterlot. It detailed a plot by the griffons to kidnap the Crystal Empress and frame Princess Luna for the crime. Why they are doing this is still unknown, but fearing spies in Equestria’s government, Silver Blood could only trust his closest friend with the information,” Strata explained. “During his travels, Chestnut made many friends all over the world and Silver Blood decided that the safest place for the information to go to, besides the princesses themselves, was to him.” She paused as they passed around a flask of cider, everypony drinking their fill of the sweet brew before she continued.

“What does this have to do with me?” Spark asked. Though he wanted to see Chestnut, Spark was still unsure how he was supposed to help.

“Yeah and why are you helping us? You look kind of like a griffon to me,” Downpour added. The pegasus was very blunt, but he had a valid point. She was a griffon, albeit a strange one.

“Technically I’m what you would call a hippogriff. As for where you fit in to this, Spark, allow me to finish my story and you will see,” Strata replied.

“Sorry, please continue,” Spark interjected.

“Somehow, the griffons that were involved in the plot discovered what Silver Blood was up to, but fearing having the truth exposed, they hired an earth pony to retrieve the letter so that they could destroy it.”

“We had the fortune of meeting him ourselves,” Spark told her. He could still feel a dull pain in his side as he spoke, but motioned for the hippogriff to continue.

“Chestnut is very well connected in nearly every nation and when he heard that they would be coming for him, he departed for the White Tail Woods. He’s using a safe house provided by one of his acquaintances for now, but eventually the griffons behind all of this will find him,” Strata elaborated. “He got a hold of me and requested that I bring you to him. Because of whom your father was, the General of the Cloud Runners will at least hear what you have to say.” She stared at Spark, her eyes urging him to hurry so that they could leave. Spark wasn’t sure what his father had to do with anything that had happened, however.

“I know that my father was a part of Celestia’s personal guard, but I don’t see why that would mean that my opinion has any merit,” Spark replied.

“You father, and the rest of Celestia’s personal guard, saved the Cloud Runners from being completely wiped out by the other two griffon factions. Because of what we are, they see us as an inferior race and hunt us down mercilessly,” Strata informed him. “Without your father’s protection, we would have been eradicated. He laid down his life for us fourteen years ago, and by the hippogriff code we owe his blood a debt.”

“That’s what my father died for…” Spark mumbled aloud. He was taken aback. Spark had known that his father was very respected, but had never truly known why until that moment. The truth was a bit overwhelming.

“I’m only helping now, because Chestnut has been a friend to my family for many years and I trust his judgment, but with you on our side we would be able to rally our entire clan to his cause,” Strata added. She paused to gauge Spark’s reaction, but he was still unsure about how to proceed in this situation.

“What exactly is Chestnut’s cause, if I may ask?” Star questioned. The small mare was curious about all of the moves in this complicated game that ponies were playing with other’s lives.

“He wants to convince the Cloud Runners to team up with Celestia’s personal guard and end the threat of these griffon disgraces once and for all,” Strata explained flatly.

“That’s barbaric. No race deserves to have their entire population wiped out,” Star argued. She seemed angry about how calm the hippogriff was while talking about the genocide of the other races that she shared her skies with. Regardless of how they had acted in the past, violence only begot more violence.

“Do not presume to know anything of our situation mare!” Strata spat back at her. “If it was your family that was constantly in danger, would you not respond in kind?” The hippogriff was furious, her dark eyes filling with a rage which only years of living as prey could forge.

“I could never wish that upon anypony.,” Star replied quietly. “There must be a peaceful way to resolve this.” As much as Spark wanted to believe what Star was saying, it just didn’t seem like there was going to be another way.

“Do you share this naïve little mare’s opinion Spark, or do you see the truth of the matter, as Chestnut thought you would?” Strata asked as she turned away from Star. She stared hard at him while he mulled over their options. They didn’t really have much of a choice at the moment though.

“I trust Chestnut and Strata would know better than any of us how to deal with these griffons,” Spark admitted. The hippogriff smirked in satisfaction, but it was short lived. “I cannot leave with you right now though, s much as I would like to see Chestnut again. I have already given my word to lead Star and Inferno to Canterlot and from there to Manehatten. I hope that you can understand.” The hippogriff had a look of anger that quickly settled into one of acceptance.

“You are a stallion of your word and I can respect that. Chestnut may not be as forgiving of course, but if you two are good friends I’m sure he will be in time,” Strata replied calmly. She bowed her head slightly and Spark assumed correctly that it was a hippogriff’s method of showing mutual respect, so he did the same. Strata was getting ready to take off when Downpour spoke up from behind her.

“I’ll go with her,” the older pegasus said. Spark whipped his head back and gave him a puzzled expression, as did almost everypony else.

“How is that supposed to help anything?” his brother asked him with a condescending tone. “It’s not like the hippogriffs give a buck who you are.”

“It’s simple moron. I go with Strata to meet with Chestnut and tell him our plan. It will go much faster since we both can fly there. It should take four days tops,” Downpour replied cockily, because he actually had a good idea for once.

“We can make it in three, if we fly straight through tonight. It won’t be fun, but time is of the essence. Is this acceptable to your companions?” Strata asked him.

“It sounds like the best plan we’ve got, which is frightening because it’s Downpour’s plan,” Spark muttered as he bumped hooves in approval with his closest friend. It was infinitely better than having no plan at all.

“It’s fine with the both of us, but I think Draft is the one you need to ask,” Star explained with a gesture at the dark grey pegasus.

“It’s fine with me. Just take care, brother,” Draft replied. He gave Downpour a hug and helped him pack supplies in his saddle bags.

“With any luck we should see you at Canterlot in just over a week. Try not to get into too much trouble while I’m gone,” Downpour called out as he lifted off the ground and into the cloud strewn sky, followed closely by Strata. “Oh and Spark, take good care of my little brother… or else.” With those final words the two took off due west, headed for White Tail Woods and Chestnut’s safe house.

The remaining three of Spark’s companions walked alongside him for the rest of the afternoon, with little to show for their efforts besides a few gained miles and sore hooves. The sun dipped behind the tree lined hills behind them before they decided to stop for the night. Inferno lit a fire at the bottom of a small clearing in the valley and Spark helped Draft make something to eat, while Star tended to the usual perimeter check until dinner was ready.

“What did you think about Strata?” Draft asked. He was just finishing his turn at making some dinner, since they had decided to eat a little bit earlier than usual. The two stallions wanted to have time for Star to teach them more history and still get to bed early. If they in the early morning, it would get them to Canterlot even sooner. The information that they had learned would most likely already have been brought to the princesses’ attention, but just in case it hadn’t, Spark thought it would be a good idea to make it to the castle immediately.

“She was a bit to intense for my taste,” Inferno commented. She was helping herself to a big jade stone that Star had pulled out of her bag. Spark had no idea how she could eat them, but then again, he didn’t know a whole lot about dragons at all. “I can only imagine the friction between those two hot heads.”

“Sweet Celestia, I hadn’t even thought of that,” Star replied with a smile. “They’re going to tear each other apart.” She began to laugh at the thought of Downpour and Strata together, alone, for an extended period of time. Her giggles were infectious and soon the other three were joining in as well.

“Luna help whatever poor bastards try to mess with them,” Draft laughed. At his comment, everypony burst into another round of laughter. When they were finally calmed down a bit, Draft passed around some alfalfa bread and a flask of cider. Everypony ate and drank by the fire, each one taking turns telling their version of what Downpour’s trip was going to be like while they relaxed near the flames.

Eventually, all four of them had finished eating and Spark started to clean up. When he had gotten everything put away and the others had set up their sleeping arrangements, he sat down and let out a contented groan.

“I really hope that we get to Canterlot without too much more trouble,” Spark sighed. “The way things had been escalating though, tomorrow will probably bring a manticore attack.”

“What should I teach you two about tonight?” Star was sitting in front of the fire, her violet eyes dancing with light.

“I was thinking that you should tell us what you know about the griffins. If they’re really the ones behind this, then I want to know as much as possible,” Spark told her. “Maybe it will help me think of a way to end all of this without bloodshed.” The brown stallion watched, in amazement as Star’s horn began to glow and she started to weave her magic.

“I’m no expert, mostly because griffins are not too keen on teaching ponies their ways, but I’ll tell you what I know of the history of the separate factions,” Star said as the white light took shape before her. “A long time ago, they all answered to one general.” Her magic formed into the familiar white figures and told the story with her. “The Griffin General saw over each of the four factions. Draft interrupted her story to show his confusion.

“I thought that there were only three factions,” he interjected. The look she gave him shut the pegasus up for the remainder of her tale. Spark was again mesmerized by Star’s magical story telling as she began again.

The four griffin factions were ruled over by one general in the beginning. There were the Razor Talons, with their larger stature and green or yellow eyes, the Blood Eyes, who have a larger wingspan and red eyes, the Cloud Runners, who all resemble Strata and the last were the Sky Stags, who had an elk like front half and the back half of a rooster. They lived all over the world, above the clouds at one time. Each group was full of great hunters and would often compete with each other to see who the best was.

Eventually though, the Blood Eyes decided that they were superior to the Cloud Runners and Sky Stags, so they began to hunt them down mercilessly. Entire families died at the claws of the Blood Eyes. The general heard of this and grew furious with their actions. He banished them to the farthest reaches of the sky, where they were to remain on pain of death for the rest of time.

When Discord first arose to power however, they saw their chance to strike. In a brutal attack, the Red Eyes wiped out the entire Peryton race. The Sky Stags were no more. Then they turned their attention on the Cloud Runners, but by that time Discord had become a deadly threat to every nation. The griffons were forced to abandon their plans and worry about staying alive. They never forgot what they planned to do to the hippogriffs though and now it appears as if they have come back, with a vengeance.

Near the end of Discord’s reign, they broke their treaty with Equestria and aided him in his fight. They even found a way to kill the general, so that they could rule over themselves. When Discord was finally defeated, they fled their homes and waited for their revenge. A war would decimate both of our countries and leave them free to take this land and then destroy the Cloud Runners, so it makes sense that they would choose now to strike. My guess is that they would also slay all of the Razor Talons after that, or perhaps enslave them.

Star finished her story and the white light of her magic faded with her voice. While he had learned many things, Spark hadn’t gleaned any wisdom that would help him end this struggle peacefully. In fact, he was now surer than ever that a war was inevitable and it looked as if it would be a large one at that. The gears of destruction were turning, unstoppably in the direction of bloodshed.

“Why all of this Celestia damned violence? It just seems so pointless to me for these Red Eyes to be killing their brethren like that,” Spark huffed. He just couldn’t understand it. Spark wanted to believe that every living thing had the potential to be good, but if that were true then the world wouldn’t have been on the verge of war.

“I really wish I could tell you, but that’s something that even I don’t have the answer to,” Star replied softly. The young mare had a tear in her eye and wiped it away with her hoof as she spoke. “Still, there must be a way to stop the Red Eyes without becoming the monsters that they are. Even if I have to travel all over the world to find it, I swear I will do my best to end all of this without violence.”

“It’s a nice thought, Star, but you have to be realistic with yourself. If it’s a war that they really want, then it’s a war that they’re going to get,” Draft explained. “Have you even thought about what Celestia and Luna are going to do when they find out?” He was more solemn than usual as he spoke, possibly because his brother was out there, somewhere, with a hippogriff that was probably being hunted as they spoke.

“I don’t see why all of these other nations can’t just follow the example of us dragons. You don’t see us causing a whole bunch of unnecessary suffering to everything around us. We just mind our own business for the most part,” Inferno commented. “Same with the zebras and Saddle Arabians, although for them it’s probably because they’re preoccupied dealing with the many savage creatures that live on their continents.” Inferno had just said more in that little bit of time then Spark could remember her saying in all of the rest of the time he’d known her. Granted, it was just to brag about how much better dragons were than ponies, but maybe she had a point. Ponies seemed to have an unusual craving for destruction.

“We can’t all be as perfect as you Inferno,” Draft chuckled at her as he stuck out his tongue. The grey pegasus seemed to be putting on a cheerful front for now. Hopefully it would hold, Spark thought.

“Your maturity is impressive,” Inferno replied dryly. “Now, I’m going to bed. Don’t wake me until we’re about to leave, because I’m beat.” Then she laid on the ground and closed her yellow eyes. Just a few seconds later the red dragon was snoring peacefully, small wisps of smoke trailing out of her nose as she did.

“I think she has the right idea,” Star agreed. “I’m going to try to get some shut eye too. I’ll see you two stallions bright and early.” She grabbed a blanket from her white bag and closed her eyes, yawning once before she too fell asleep.

“Do you think that Downpour is going to make it to Chestnut in one piece?” Draft asked. He was really worried about his brother. Sometime you couldn’t tell by the way they acted, but those two pegasus really looked out for one another.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Draft. I’ve seen how your brother fights plenty of times, sadly, and if there’s anypony to feel sorry for, it’s whoever is stupid enough to pick fight with him,” Spark replied. He smiled at his friend reassuringly and then got an idea. “I’ll bet we can get high as the sky, now that there are only two of us to smoke.” Having been the one to suggest it, Spark pulled out his pouch of herbs and set about rolling up a big joint, the green glow of his magic shining out in the black night.

“That sounds delicious, Spark,” Draft smiled back. He took the lit joint when it was offered and inhaled a long drag, trying to clear his mind of worries. If there was one thing that Spark’s herb was good for, it was pushing your worries out of mind for a while. The two friends talked about whatever came to their mind, enjoying the peace of the night as they smoked. Their troubles forgotten for a while, they killed the joint and then went to bed. Spark fell asleep first, dropping off into a deep stoned rest, leaving Draft alone with his thoughts for a while.

Author's Note:

In this chapter we get to learn a little more about the history of the world as well as this being the introduction for Strata, who sticks around for later parts of the book. I think it flows much better now that I went back and cleaned it up a bit.