Where Loyalties Lie: Ghosts of the Past

by LoyalLiar

III - Murder on the East Wind Express

III

Murder on the East Wind Express

- - -

Reckoning shuddered before the door. The Canterlot Palace Throne Room was not home to many happy memories for the stallion. His last visit had ended beneath a bladed shoe, with a broken shoulder and a very-nearly broken neck. But, of course, that was what had marked it as the Commander's work. Not just the brutal, unbreakable strength of his skill at battle, but the rigid steel of control that lay behind it.

He'd been back down to his tiny office, if only to dig out the black jacket he had donned. The room hadn't been touched despite the reports of his death. Inside, his things were exactly as he had left them years earlier when he had last reported in formally. Faded sepia pictures from his youth showed a happy stallion standing amongst his squad in full armor, just after being accepted into the Royal Guard. He had no worries about life and death, nor politics or fell magic. He only cared for his companions. How things had changed. Every single pony in the picture had since died. Reckoning looked away, returning his attention to his mission.

It wouldn't do to see the Princess in a destroyed shirt, but he needed something to cover the spider-web scar Luna had left across his chest. At the same time, he'd trimmed back the stray fur on his jaw. It was the first time he'd shaved with a razor, rather than the jagged blade of his machete, in nine years. A mane and tail cut had also been in order, and as usual, he did them himself. Two quick slashes were enough to trim the hair down to size, and then few casual flicks of his hooves put them in place. Last of all was to put his broken wing into a sling. Once everything was done, he'd moved directly to the Throne Room doors.

His stomach was tight within his chest, both with hesitation and from the appetite that had been stolen away from him within the Roost. He struggled to put the image out of his mind, but the silently screaming face would not leave his thoughts. It shook him, appearing in the corners of his vision where empty shadows ought to have been seen. He wanted to get away from it, and he knew that no shadows could exist in the presence of the sun.

Two knocks sounded, and then the doors opened before him. His stride was unsure, his head low, but he had to move forward nevertheless. It took four dozen steps to reach Celestia's vision, and only then did he look up.

Her face was steeled, and he could not read it. He'd never truly spent enough time in her company to learn to see what lay beneath the mask of calm. He had to wait though ten agonizing seconds of silence before her tongue finally began to move, handing him her thoughts.

"Hello, Dead Reckoning." She nodded slightly.

"Princess Celestia." He lowered himself, bowing fully on the scarlet carpet before her throne. The water in her fountains trickled as they held their poses in silence.

"How?" It wasn't an involved question, but it came from an unexpected source. Dead Reckoning lifted his head to the mare who had spoken, and nodded.

"That's a long story, Flag. Are you the new captain?"

White Flag shook her head, but it was Celestia who spoke next. "No, Dead Reckoning, she is here because the Honor Guard's new captain is away." As she continued to speak, her brow lowered, until her gaze was not so much an analysis as a conviction. "I know how you are here, but I would like to know why. Why go through this ordeal? Why come back?"

"The Commander isn't dead," Reckoning answered.

For just a moment, a flash of pain flew across Celestia's face. It looked as though Reckoning had once more struck her, as his uncontrolled mind had years ago. She recovered quickly, however, with a short shake of her head. "Lieutenant Flag, leave us."

"Princess, with respect–"

"If you respect me, you will leave." Her order was terse, firm, and unyielding. The unicorn mare nodded, and then wandered away. Celestia waited until the doors were shut before turning her attention again toward Reckoning.

The scout nodded. "He wasn't there. I found my parents, and my old squad, but not him."

"And then you decided he still had to be alive?"

"No. But I needed answers, so I took a nap, and called out."

Celestia's mouth opened so slightly that even Reckoning's focused eye nearly missed it. "Luna?"

"I had nopony else I could ask, or I would have gone to them first. When I told her what I wanted, I didn't have to ask twice. She said she owed him a debt of her own." At those words, Celestia glanced aside, as if ashamed. Reckoning made no comment on the motion, continuing as though nothing had changed. "She checked for me. Tartarus. The Summer Lands. But when she couldn't find the Commander there, she asked Masquerade."

Celestia's reaction to the last statement was devoid of subtlety. She rose fully to her hooves. "Luna asked Masquerade?" The solar princess strode down from her dais, before taking a seat in front of Dead Reckoning. "What did she say?"

"She'd taken him to Suida. The boars have him. I'd like to take the Honor Guard, to go and free him."

Celestia took a deep breath, and then looked Reckoning straight in the eyes with pity. Her wing wrapped around him as a mother might a crying foal. "Dead Reckoning, my poor little pony, I'm sorry for what I have to tell you. The Commander is dead."

"Then where is his soul?"

Celestia struggled for a moment to answer. "It's… gone." Her voice returned more resolutely when she continued. "He gave it up for me. But his death was his end. I'm sorry for your effort, but I admire it. Your loyalty to his memory–"

"Princess, stop." Reckoning's wing pushed the larger, white limb away as he looked her eye-to-eyes. "I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but I'm far too old for fairy tales. If you're going to deny me, at least tell me the truth. Why not? Even if there's just a chance, why leave him alone?"

Celestia forced herself to meet his gaze, though it wanted nothing more than to dart away. Her words were slow to come, but they arrived in the focused control of a diplomat and a ruler. "Like you, Dead Reckoning, I want nothing more than to embrace the spark of hope in my heart and believe he is alive. But to go after a mere hope is a risk I cannot afford. Khagan and I have never been on the best of terms, and he would not hesitate to invade if but a single guardspony stumbled onto his lands with hostile intentions. I cannot risk war, and the deaths of thousands, just for the chance that a single stallion might be alive. Even the Commander. I hope you can understand."

"I do understand, Princess." Reckoning watched as Celestia walked slowly away, prepared to leave the throne room herself. With her back turned and her mind on other things, she did not hear his final, plainly stated words. "Consider this my resignation from the Honor Guard."

- - -

Rainbow Dash had long since settled down in a rather comfortable seat on the small train that ran bi-hourly up the Mountain of Dawn. She was sure it had some stupid name, but learning it had never been worth her time. After all, she only rode it with her friends in the first place. Alone, Canterlot was much closer by her own wings.

Canterlot was only a few minutes away now. The shrill voiced old mare working as the conductor had made her announcement that they'd be arriving soon a minute earlier. All that was left was to endure the rest of the painfully slow journey.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" a perky voice greeted the mare from the formerly empty seat beside her.

"Hey, squirt." The pegasus’ eyes were lazily staring out the window, and she had to shake herself free of fatigue when she realized who had spoke. "Scootaloo? What are you doing here?"

"Oh!" Scootaloo began, as if suddenly noticing her own presence. "Well, my uncle-twice-removed on my mom's side, Grizzaloo, lives in Canterlot, and–"

"Grizzaloo?" Rainbow burst into laughter. "Okay, squirt, I can tell you're lying to me, but that's just too good to pass up. Where'd you come up with a name like that?"

"Uh, there is actually a pony named Grizzaloo, Rainbow. And he does live in Canterlot. Or, at least, he used to. Every once in a while, he'd come by the orph–" Scootaloo's word ended in a squeak as she clamped her hooves over her mouth and shook her head. "Er, uh, what I mean is…"

Trying her best to set a good example for the orange filly, Rainbow changed the subject. "Scoots, right now I just want to know why you're actually on this train. Did you follow me?"

Embarrassment was obvious on her face as Scootaloo nodded. "I heard you and Twilight talking to somepony this morning, but I didn't think it was a big deal. But then I heard when everypony was downstairs, you said it was Mr. Reckoning. And I remembered that was the name that Sweetie Belle had said, when she asked her sister why she was off spending so much time with you. He sounded cool, and I wanted to meet him. Maybe I could finally get my cutie mark being an adventurer!"

Rainbow shook her head sadly as the train came to a stop. The shrill voice of the conductor screamed at them aloud. "Canterlot Station, end of the line!"

The two pegasi rose, and Rainbow guided her young admirer off the train. "Now, listen to me, Scootaloo. I'm all for coolness–"

"–and awesomeness, and radicalness!" Scootaloo chimed in.

"Yeah," Rainbow nodded. "All three. But sometimes you have to remember what really matters, like friends and loyalty. Going on an adventure is fun, and a little bit of danger is fine, but not like what I did." Amidst the snowy winter streets of Canterlot, the pair made their way toward the palace and its ivory towers. "Do you remember when I went away for a week last summer? My friends all thought I was dead."

"Everypony did," Scootaloo answered, looking down as she remembered her sorrow.

"Well, yeah. And it made them feel awful. Nopony wants to think their friends are hurt, or dead, or be stuck not knowing if they're okay. That's why we don’t do that sort of thing, kid."

"Okay," Scootaloo answered, surprised by the depth of Rainbow's words. "But what if your friend is the one out somewhere in danger?"

"Well, then you go help them! You swoop down, and save the day, and be totally radical doing it." Rainbow smiled, as her mind drifted to the Best Young Flier Competition. "That's loyalty. You don't leave your friends hanging, even if it means getting your hooves dirty. And Scoots?"

"Yeah, Rainbow Dash?"

"I'm letting you stick with me because it'd be a pain in the flank to take the train back now, but tagging along without telling me isn't okay. Next time, just tell me if you wanna come."

"Really?"

"Really." Rainbow reached over to ruffle the filly's already unruly mane before continuing on her path. "Now, we've gotta go try and find Deadeye. Come on."

Their path was short and direct, though it ended bluntly in the face of a surprisingly large cluster of guards standing in front of the palace gates. The stallion standing in the center of the formation, whose colored armor bands clearly marked him as the leader, spoke up when they approached. "Palace is off limits, kids."

Another of the stallions bearing spears saw this as an appropriate time to speak up. "Hey, you're Rainbow Dash!"

"That's me," Rainbow answered with a smile.

"I figure we're probably fine letting them in," the stallion muttered to his leader. "She's one of the Elements of Harmony, and she's the one who saved Princess Luna."

The leader was briefly confused. His head twisted to the opposite side of the formation, where he nodded to a unicorn mare. "Do they check out?"

"Yeah, they're clean," the mage answered as the glow of her horn faded. "No illusions, no enchantments."

The leader turned again to the civilians standing before him. "So… what do you actually want?"

Scootaloo chose this opportunity to jump into the conversation. "We’re looking for a guardspony named Dead Reckoning."

There was a sudden wave of recognition across the faces of not only the leader, but his subordinates as well. The central stallion stepped aside, permitting access to the palace. "Last I saw, he was in there somewhere. Help yourselves."

The paired ponies walked in through the castle gates without further pause, at which point Rainbow realized very bluntly that she had no idea where she was going. Her thoughts flickered toward Scootaloo. Hoping not to look dumb in front of her fan, the mare picked a hall at random and started walking down it.

As they moved amidst the windows and the statues, Rainbow reflected on the stained glass. There were a surprising number of images she would never have recognized before her journey. One huge stained glass image depicted Celestia and Luna, alongside Magnus, an elk, a strangely familiar purple dragon, and a boar fighting together against Discord. Another portrayed the Commander–or at least, somepony wearing his black and gold armor–in battle against an enormous black wyrm. The hallway turned, and there both pegasi stopped cold.

"Rainbow Dash… it's you!"

Scootaloo's simple observation was true, but the enormity of the image didn't do her justice. The rest of the short hallway ended in a 'T'-shaped intersection. The smooth wall had been carved back into a rather large alcove, and sitting plainly in that space was a marble statue bedecked with gemstones of all colors. Rubies and Topazes hung down in loose locks to form her mane, while glittering emeralds and sapphires marked the ends of her tail. Her forelegs, twice life-size and then some at least, were placed firmly on the ground. Her hind legs, though, were high in the air. From between her hooves, a bolt of solid gold lightning stretched toward the ceiling. Scootaloo charged up to it before Rainbow could react, hoping to catch a closer look at the 'totally awesome' work of art.

"Uh, kid…"

Scootaloo couldn't hear the words. Her hooves scrambled over to the base of the pillar, where she abruptly sat down with a smile on her face. "This is so cool, Rainbow!"

"Yeah…" Rainbow's answer wasn't particularly comfortable as she approached.

"Can you really buck lightning?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." She felt no need to describe the strife that had surrounded her past use of such a skill, let alone her curiosity at what sculptor might have known to create such a portrayal of her. "Look, I…" Her words drained away with much of the rest of the sound in the room. The brilliant walls and the glittering gems faded, leaving the space strangely dark and haunting. Scootaloo turned, but she wasn't the one speaking the words the young mare heard.

"Rainbow Dash?"

The voice was hauntingly familiar, even if it was buried deep within old memories. She turned slowly. "Mom?"

Down the hallway behind her, Easy Breeze approached. Her brilliant cyan coat and unblemished white mane flowed in a wind that had no business lingering in the hallway.

"I've missed you so much, Rainbow. Why did you leave? Where did you go?"

"I… I had to come back…"

"Rainbow, are you alright?"

"I'm fine now, I swear, mom."

"Mom?" Easy Breeze's response came as a question, unbidden and unexpected. Then the world swam and color and sound returned. The motion in Rainbow's eyes was so wild, so violent, that even with the training of loops and dives from countless hours in the sky, vertigo overtook her and she fell to the floor.

It wasn't so much darkness that claimed her as a confusion from the amount of light. Everything was moving in blotches of paint and bursts of unintelligible sound. At times gravity pulled up and aside, sending her tilting as she struggled to lay still. The first sensation that truly made sense was a soft warmth across her back, pressing gently against her and yet holding her still. From there, a sense of the world rejoined the sound and the color.

Then came a comprehensible, reasonable noise, piercing through the veil of chaos. Despite its effect, it began with a calm and soothing tone. "Are you well, my little pony?"

Another mare spoke then, more sternly. "I can find a doctor, Princess."

"No, Lieutenant. Wait."

"Is she okay, Princess?"

"She will be, at least for now, little one, though I make no promises for the future. Rainbow Dash, can you hear us?"

Rainbow nodded, watching as the splotches of color began to gather together into more recognizable shapes. "Yeah… I'm okay. Wait… Princess?"

The largest mass of colors had gathered together into a white cluster with a soft, sorrowful smile and a pair of sympathetic violet eyes. Princess Celestia nodded. "You spoke of your mother, Rainbow?"

Almost immediately, the mare slapped away Celestia's wing and rose to her hooves. The pain on the princess' face was obvious, though Rainbow seemed not to care. "I'm fine, Princess."

"What happened, Rainbow?" Scootaloo's voice asked. Dash glanced around the palace hall, eventually locating an orange and purple mass that was gaining definition with every passing moment.

"Just… thought I saw something."

Celestia interrupted. "Rainbow, this is far more serious than–"

"It was just a mistake." Dash's tone left no room for argument. "Where's Deadeye?"

Celestia's face flashed again with concern. "He came to you?"

"Before he came here," Rainbow answered, keeping her answers terse.

"He should not have done that."

The royal blue unicorn mare standing beside Celestia stepped forward, bearing a serious expression. "Princess, we should hurry. These two can wait."

Indignant at being ignored, Scootaloo jumped in the air amidst the conversation, calling out. "Hey, I don't know who you think you are, but you aren't just going to ignore Rainbow Dash! We need to find Mr. Reckoning! What's more important than that?"

The royal blue mare directed her horn at Scootaloo, and the little filly's lips disappeared completely. It took a moment of muffled words for the tiny pony to realize this fact, but when she did, her reaction was to freak out, slamming her hooves against her aggressor. "We are in the middle of a crisis, filly, and we don't have time to endure your distractions. Show respect to the Princess, and–"

"Lieutenant Flag, stop." Celestia's horn ignited, and with an audible pop, Scootaloo's mouth reappeared. The little filly gasped, rubbing her hooves over her muzzle as Celestia leaned down to address her. "You are Scootaloo, correct? I apologize for my guard's behavior, but in this case she is right. We are facing an urgent issue, and do not have the time to spare for talking. When we are done, I may be able to help you find the Corporal. I'm sorry."

Rainbow watched as the princess and her defender left. Soon, the two pegasi were alone in the hallway with Dash's statue. She shook her head at it derisively. "Come on, squirt. We can find Deadeye faster without her help anyway."

The silence that followed settled in Rainbow's stomach painfully as she realized that three ponies had left the short hall, and not merely the two she had noticed.

- - -

The earth shook and drifts of snow tumbled from the rooftops when the dragons landed. Even Foresight's spell could not shield him from the bitter wind and the sudden flurry of white powder sent flying his direction by their wings. When the sudden storm was done, he spared himself a moment to brush off his expensive Canterlot clothing, and spared a glance to his father doing the same. Only when they were both presentable did the ruler and his heir return their focus to their titanic guests.

One dragon was red, not the color of blood, but of fire. His head was topped with a series of viciously narrow, dagger-like spikes, connected to one another by a sort of webbing similar to that on his wings. Though neither pony really knew how to read such a dragon's expression, the way that his lips were curled back from his cruelly barbed teeth suggested that he was unhappy to be amongst the company of ponies.

His companion was a pale blue, almost white scaled female, with a pair of seemingly demonic horns jutting out of her brow. Her wings were scaled, rather than webbed, and her teeth were curiously flat, rather than the usual spikes one might see on a dragon's teeth. She was the larger of the two, though not by a vast margin.

Watchful Eye gave his son a quick glance for confirmation, and Foresight nodded. Together, the two ponies bowed in the direction of the red male. "Kренен," Watchful Eye greeted Lord Krenn, sparing the ruler the title he held only in the Equiish tongue.

In response, the huge dragon laughed, and lowered his left wing to the snow. There followed an enormous crack, as something rather small fell from the creature's back. This something rose with another audible cracking and the shifting of bones and scales into a someone.

Lord Krenn was surprisingly small. In fact, he could not have stood more than six feet even while fully aloft. However, despite his apparent youth, the master of the dragon race did not stand to his full height. His left leg stood tall and slender, but his right hung twisted from his side, held up more by the solid steel staff in his left hand than by its own strength. A single black wing stood from his back on the right, though its paired limb was missing completely.

These facts and more became obvious as the clearly young dragon limped his way forward, a scowl decorating his face. When he spoke, it was with surprisingly fluent Equiish, as his forked tongue danced over the serrated edges of his teeth. "Twenty years and still Frostbite thinks he can send me petty servants as a greeting. You two–where is the Baron?"

Knowing his father's attitude toward the mention of their former ruler, Foresight stretched out a hoof across Watchful Eye's chest. Though angered, the Tsar held his tongue, allowing his son to respond.

"Baron Frostbite has been dead for nearly seven years, Kренен."

There was more to the story, but Krenn's quick tongue cut the pony off. "Your rounded tongue does me an injustice–or did you think I used yours out of preference? 'Krenn' will be fine. I am more concerned that you have lied to me; Frostbite was barely into his middle years when last we spoke, and my nap was very short. He is not the kind to have given in to age so easily."

Watchful Eye snorted, sending a white cloud of his own breath into the snowy air. "He did not 'give in to age', Krenn. We overthrew him. My son killed him."

Krenn laughed, and the world seemed to shake. It wasn't a particularly loud noise on its own, but both ponies could feel the vibrations of his throat within the depths of their bones. When the sound and the fury had both ended, Krenn shook his head, as his claw indicated Foresight's direction. "This one killed Frostbite? Your tale grows more ridiculous by the minute."

"I am a skilled mage," Foresight countered, defending his own honor.

"By the standards of your kind perhaps. But a dragon is only a mage when they have spent two of your pathetically short lifetimes studying and practicing. Perhaps your father can do our magic, but you have no wings." Krenn tapped his steel staff on the ground twice. "Now, if Frostbite is truly dead, then I thank you for the first proper greeting that the race of ponies has given me in a century." He tapped the tip of his staff against the pale green scales of his chest, just below where they met the inky black sheen of his shoulders. "Now, I know that without fire in your bellies, the cold can be discomforting. If you still live within the castle walls, let us go there. I am anxious to see Luna again."

"Of course," Watchful Eye answered, before glancing up to Krenn's escort. "But I'm afraid the structure is sized for ponies. They may not fit inside the whole structure, let alone through the door."

Krenn laughed, before the talons of his right hand were wreathed in black flame. Slowly, a pair of scrolls and a pair of quills burnt their way into being. When the objects were complete, he gestured toward his companions. They nodded silently, grabbing the documents and the quills with entirely too-large claws and signing gently on tiny papers.

Foresight winced at the sound of bones snapping and scales realigning as the two dragons began to shrink down. Without paying the painful process any attention, Krenn claimed both scrolls and burnt them away with another burst of the black flames from his hands.

"How did you…?" Foresight began, struggling to find words through his amazement.

Krenn smiled. "I do not permit grown wyrms to guard me, for they often cannot fit where I travel. Those parchments were contracts, transferring their hoards into my possession. Without hoards, they have no untenable size, and so, they can continue to stand as my company." He gestured with his clawed hand toward the suddenly empty space where two enormous dragons had once stood. A pair of bipedal, scaled youths rose at his beckoning, and moved quickly to join their ruler. "These are Огонь," he gestured to the red male, "and Лёд." The pale blue female nodded. "My left and right hands. You may call them 'Ogon'' and 'Lyod' if you wish to play with the sophistication of the draconic tongue, though I am fond of 'Fire' and 'Ice'. They are young, but their willpower is great enough not to be so consumed by greed when they bear the size of their elders."

The three dragons and two ponies began to walk. With Watchful Eye leading the way toward their rather obvious and fairly close destination, Foresight found himself immediately beside Lord Krenn. Though he wanted to hold his tongue, the scholar's mind could not resist the temptation of curiosity. "I am Predvidenie–Foresight, in Equiish. It is my pleasure to stand in your presence, but I hope you will forgive my curiosity. Krenn, if those contracts gave you ownership of their hoards, why didn't you grow in size? And for that matter, why aren't you a fully sized wyrm already?"

"Excellent questions for a mind so young," Krenn answered, leaning heavily on his staff as he paced through the snow. "I think I will answer the latter first. Tell me, if you were to guess, how old is Luna?"

Foresight closed his eyes, thinking back to the ancient manuscripts he preferred to spend his free time poring over. "I would hazard a guess at… sixty thousand years?"

Krenn laughed again, this time without the seismic shuddering that had pervaded the air. "A bit older if my recollection serves, but not much. You are well educated. However, that isn't quite what I meant. If you were to guess, how old is Luna's body?"

At that, Foresight nodded in comprehension. "I see. Um… perhaps thirty, at most? Twenty five? About my age, I suppose."

Krenn nodded, and then with the claw that was not tightly gripping his staff, he gestured to himself. "And what does a dragon of about your age look like?"

"So your immortality doesn't actually vary your age based on the lifespan of your species?" Foresight's eyes widened. "Curious, though I suppose there hasn't been much research on you or any of the other five gods."

"Gods?" Krenn shook his head. "Magnus was an idiot to spread that term for us. We aren't gods. We aren't infallible, or omnipotent. We aren't even really immortal. It might take a much sharper knife to pierce Celestia's flesh, for example, but such a thing will still kill her." His staff lifted and fell in the snow as he paced, giving their conversation a certain curious, almost musical rhythm. "Regardless, while your rulers enjoy an eternity in their prime, my body is that of a child amongst my kind unless I maintain a potent hoard. And that, pony, brings us to your next question."

Rather than continue to speak, Krenn's hands shifted along his staff. There was a pain in his face as his stunted leg shifted under the weight of his body. The walking stick was a weapon as it was heaved above his head. His claws slid down the shaft like it was the haft of an axe, coming together at the very base just as the head of the weapon struck through the snow and against the ground. From where it had struck, a fissure three feet wide, and one thick, opened in the earth. Molten gold poured forth swirling up into the air at the bidding of Krenn's unseen magic. When the motion stopped, a perfect replica of Foresight had been formed. Steam gushed into the sky as the molten metal froze in the face of frigid winds. When the gold finally cooled to a stop in the icy air, the statue was found staring down at the flesh-and-blood pony of whom it was a replica.

"That's… amazing," Foresight observed.

"Consider it my payment, for questions well asked. A dragon's hoard is not based on some arbitrary value of currency or purpose. What is value? To one of my kind, the answer comes from within. When a dragon's hoard is gold, he shows that in his heart, he longs for the cold metal. It makes a comfortable bed, and can be used to barter with other species, but in itself, it is little more than glorified dirt. Its only real value is how much effort it takes to drag it forth to the surface. For me, that effort is no more than it will take your horn to lift a glass as a toast in my honor over dinner." The smug dragon pulled back his staff, leaned heavily upon it, and continued walking as though nothing had happened. "Wise dragons, however, do not place their hoards in gold or gems. One of my best advisors is a wyrm named 'Zagatka'–Enigma in your tongue, I believe. A skilled mage."

Foresight spared himself an awkward gulp, instantly recognizing the name. "He valued knowledge above all else, and so before he had grown, his hoard was a great library of spells and incantations."

Desperate to change the subject, the unicorn took only the few seconds necessary to regain control of his tone before speaking up. "What about you? With power like yours, it must be easy to acquire whatever it is you value. Why not maintain a great hoard, at least to travel here on your own wings?"

Krenn's smile turned into a brutal scowl so quickly, Foresight missed the transition in the process of a single blink. "There is only one thing I value in this world, and it can neither be so easily made, nor so casually replaced. Even for me, it is finite. Perhaps you should ask your 'Princess Celestia', if you wish to know more."

With the conversation well and truly dead, Foresight walked alongside the limping dragon in silence. It took only a few moments for the strange party to reach the Stalliongradi palace, and from there to enter through the main doors. Inside, the unicorn observed the frightened looks and stolen glances of the palace servants glancing at the trio of dragons from behind closed doors and around corners. Many of them were old enough to remember the last time the reptilian creatures had freely roamed through Stalliongrad, on much more cruel terms.

Their path stopped after a number of turns in a small lounge, where a number of seats had been spread out for the guests. Foresight and Watchful Eye claimed their own places, while Krenn limped over to a towering armchair flanked by a pair of small stools. Continuing their practice of near-total silence, Fire and Ice sat on either side of him, judging the ponies with their eyes.

Watchful Eye gestured to a small table of drinks and exquisite snacks. "Feel free to help yourselves to anything you wish. We have at least until tomorrow morning before Princess Luna arrives."

"That is good," Krenn answered, with the expression of a shark who had just scented blood in the water. "You and I have things to discuss, if Frostbite is truly dead."

Watchful Eye's intrigue belied the tightening of his stomach. Foresight had no such facial control, allowing his lips to tighten in concern. He had only been eleven at the time, but he remembered seeing the dragons soaring over Stalliongrad, burning away homes with impunity.

The Tsar levitated a white carafe of fine Prench coffee and poured it into a pair of slender white mugs. One was offered to Krenn, who took it graciously and then proceeded to ignore it completely. Watchful Eye took the other steaming drink himself, and gulped it down in a single motion that would have made his younger and more violent son proud. With a bit of fire in his belly to match that of the draconic ruler, he finally asked the obvious question. "What do you want, Krenn?"

"Two things. One will be easy. The other, I suspect, more concerning for you. Firstly, beneath this castle there is a vault. Frostbite kept something there. Something of mine, which was taken from me many years ago." The dragon sipped his coffee, shook his head in disgust, and offered it to Ice. When she grasped it in her talons, he turned back to the Tsar and continued his demand. "I offer you my sincere word that it is not dangerous, and I welcome you to accompany me in finding it, but I would not have you handle it. Too many times have I seen it in the hooves of ponies."

Watchful Eye's brow rose. "What is it?"

"A black satchel of stiff cloth, or perhaps soft leather. I can't recall exactly. It is a bit larger than your hoof; it fits perfectly within my claw. It has a long drawstring, too long to hang well around your neck, though it would fit well on a boar or a dragon of my size."

The tsar glanced to his son. Foresight shrugged. "It seems rather mundane for the most of the vaults. Does it have any magical enchantments?"

"It is larger on the inside," Krenn answered. "It was once known for a throbbing, beating noise that grew louder as it grew closer to living beings. I doubt that magic persists upon it anymore."

Watchful Eye nodded. "I can agree to that. Foresight will accompany you within the vault; he will be more useful than I at finding what you seek. What is your second request?"

"Land," Krenn answered, tapping his staff on the ground. "Specifically, the coast near that town you ponies call Trotsylvania. No more than one hundred acres, counting the islands, and none of it inhabited by your kind save perhaps lumberjacks and sailors."

Watchful Eye frowned. "We are not in the habit of giving up our land, Krenn."

The dragon nodded. "I am more than willing to provide you with compensation in gold, jewels, or whatever else you might possibly require. However, do note that twenty years ago, the Baron Frostbite was also unwilling to negotiate on this matter."

Without a word, Watchful Eye gestured to his son toward the door, and the two ponies walked away from the discussion.

- - -

Scootaloo was certain she would soon have the coolest cutie mark in the entire world. She would follow Celestia unnoticed, find Mr. Reckoning, and come back to Rainbow, all before her 'sister' even realized she was gone. Rainbow Dash would teach her how to fly for real, and she'd get a spying cutie mark, or a finding lost ponies cutie mark, or maybe even a being awesome cutie mark.

In the depths of her daydream, she only narrowly avoided walking headfirst into a suit of armor displayed in the hallway. Princess Celestia and her mean guard, 'Flag' were up ahead. Scootaloo was struggling to keep up with their urgent pace as she ducked from cover to cover. Twice, the unicorn had glanced back at a noise, but both times the little pegasus had been fast enough to hide from her inquisitive gaze.

Glancing out from behind the armor, Scootaloo heard the unicorn mare speak. "You have a tail, Princess." Scootaloo thought the statement was dumb; of course Princess Celestia had a tail. It was right there. You'd have to be blind to miss it.

"She's doing no harm," Celestia answered after a moment's consideration. "And we don't have time to care about it either way." The response confused Scootaloo, but the promise of a cutie mark caused the youth to simply forget the issue altogether. She followed eagerly from a distance as the two ponies came to a spiral staircase, and began to descend.

"I hope she's smart enough not to follow you; she might get hurt if she fell off the stairs," the guardspony noted with a curiously clear tone. Scootaloo was only more confused by the comment; was Celestia's tail a separate creature? That might explain why it was billowy and magical, she supposed. Was her mane the same way? And was the Princess bald? The questions were entertaining, but not likely to earn answers.

Scootaloo followed as quietly as possible, setting her hooves gently on the stone steps. The sounds of the Princess and her protector continued down the stairs, setting a pace that was hard for the filly to follow. She passed a pair of hallways, and then a big barred door that looked like it belonged in a jail cell. Still, the hooves continued downward, and she followed them. It wasn't long before she passed through an enormous, Princess Celestia-sized opening and into a massive cavern filled with sparkling gems and crystals.

She very nearly forgot the presence of both the guardspony and the immortal, and she completely forgot her objective. Her hooves carried her in silent, slack-jawed awe down the winding, open-sided staircase anchored on one side against what seemed to be either a pillar, or an enormous stalactite.

Scootaloo was so engrossed in the sights that the sensation of her hoof shifting from the cold, smooth stone of the stairs to the rough natural dirt of the cavern floor caused her to jump. It didn't take long from that unexpected start for the filly to realize that neither Celestia, nor her bodyguard were anywhere to be seen. All she could find were an array of five large but clearly pony-sized archways carved out of the rock wall. There were no markings or clear signs to distinguish the four 'wrong' paths from whichever direction Celestia and Flag had chosen. Seeing no better choice, the filly wandered down the middle path,

Another of the huge doors, like the one which had guarded the entrance to the cavern, sat wide open in front of the orange pegasus. She took a moment to admire the array of gemstones (or crystals?) set into the stone face. They didn't make any particular image, instead existing as a slanted grid along lines of silver filigree.

The door quickly lost interest when compared to the room within. The space was a library like chamber, but instead of bookshelves, the solid stone cabinets were riddled with small recesses that each held a single crystal. Green, purple, red, yellow, fat, slender, large, and small; all could be found with a mere glance. The stones offered their own glows to the otherwise dark space, painting the pale wall in a wild and spirited array of colors.

The shelves were arranged in a loose circle around a central plinth, where a spire of gaseous golden magic seemed to beckon for an offering from a well of what Scootaloo could only imagine as molten gold. The filly wandered around, staring at the crystals, but it didn't take long for her curiosity and courage to take hold of her apprehension. She wandered to the far side of the room from the entrance, claimed a tall and narrow green crystal, and brought it back to the altar in the center of the space. It vibrated in her mouth as she approached, tugging toward the magical glow. She held it tight, fearful that it might shatter if she dropped it. With each step closer, however, the tug grew tighter, until the filly could no longer restrain the stone. Rather than falling, it flew into the center of the golden pool, and the world exploded in a burst of green.

Scootaloo's sight returned quickly, but accompanied by a curious lack of control. Her gaze looked down on a muzzle of pale white, and a mane of gentle pink swept within her vision. The world around her was a beautiful grassy valley, whose floral scents and warm winds tickled her coat and her wings. She felt tall, standing higher over the ground than her usual, youthful form. And, perhaps most notably, she was not alone.

The mare before her had a gorgeous warm pink coat and a soft yellow mane. She was an alicorn, tall and graceful, with a slender horn and wide wings. Yet, for all her beauty, her appearance was tainted by a sorrow and an anger that masked her face.

"Celestia, how can you do this to me?" she shouted, looking Scootaloo straight in the eyes.

'I'm not Celestia!’ Scootaloo tried to answer; her mouth ignored her demands, offering a very different and far colder response in place of the words. "It has to be this way, Chrysanthemum. I'm sorry. We'll never forget you."

"Forget me?" The mare called Chrysanthemum turned away, letting her luxuriously long mane sweep across her face and horn. "How can you say that? I'm not even dead yet and you're already talking like I'm not even here. Luna, I can understand, but you too?"

"Chrysa, I didn't want this to happen–" Scootaloo's hoof extended toward the mare to offer comfort, only to be slapped away as the mare interrupted.

"Of course you didn't, Tia." The spite in her words was thick enough to stop Scootaloo's unbending body. "We were like sisters, weren't we? But I guess it's easier for you two to just abandon me." Her wings spread suddenly, and she darted into the sky. "Well, I think I'll do my best to forget you. I'll find my own power, and then we'll see if that freak's gift was worthwhile."

"Wait, Chrysa–" Scootaloo's body rose suddenly, flying without her consent. The motion didn't last long, as a flash of green lightning flew from the other alicorn's body to engulf her. The pain was enormous, stealing away the entire world. Scootaloo screamed in agony.

- - -

Luna awoke to the lurching of the train, jolting her not only upright, but fully out of bed. "What manner of disturbance was that?" She glanced out the window on the frozen plains where the sun was rapidly setting, noting that it would soon be time for her to raise the moon. "The locomotive has ceased its passage. Are we to be expecting danger?"

Marathon groaned from her own cot, rolling back over and struggling in vain to put a pillow between her sensitive ears and Luna's potent voice. "Mirror, go check. I'm going back to sleep."

"Truly, thou art an Honor Guard, art thou not?"

"I don't fight," Marathon answered. "I have rank as an excuse to let me carry important documents as a messenger. I spend more time as an ambassador anyway. Now, please, just let me sleep. I'm sure it was nothing."

"I'll investigate, if it helps to calm your nerves," Mirror Image offered. The unicorn stallion was already fully awake. He'd spent the afternoon of the long train ride silently guarding the door. "But Princess…Modern Equiish, please?"

Luna groaned. "You agreed we would not have to concern ourselves–"

"If it was a minor issue. But honestly,” the stallion glanced around as if making sure nopony were listening in, before dropping his voice to a faux whisper. "That was terrible. Now, should I be going?"

"Neigh, bodyguard. We require you here, especially if our other escort has no skill in battle. Although I can if necessary defend myself, I would rather not draw down the chaos of my own magic in battle."

Image groaned and shook his head. "I didn't say I was leaving, Princess. Just don't expect me to be much good for meaningful conversation. Marathon, I'm going to send Left out. Try and make sure I don't embarrass myself while I'm gone."

"Fine," the diplomat groaned in answer, not even looking up from her pillow. "Don't hurt yourself."

Luna was puzzled at the conversation. Mirror Image seemed to have broken the concept of the 'Royal Plural' completely, referring to one, or perhaps two other ponies as himself. It was a confusing matter, to be sure. Before the princess could inquire further, however, the unicorn stallion's horn began to glow with a pale blue aura. She heard the sharp intake of his breath reacting to pain as jolts of mana bounced from one side of his fractured horn to the other. What followed, however, stole Luna's breath.

One half of Mirror Image's horn shifted forward independently, as a full stallion's body stepped out of the pony to stop directly in front of the guardspony. As soon as the magic was done, its glow stopped. Before her, on the floor of their train cabin, stood two nearly identical ponies. Each one had half a horn, as well as half a cutie mark. Though they both had Mirror Image's namesake mirror, only the reflection on the left persisted for one of the stallions, whilst the other half of the image remained for his counterpart.

The stallion with the left side of the image and the half horn nearest his left eye nodded in Luna's direction. "I will either return within the limit of thirty-seven minutes, or not at all." With no more to say, he opened the cabin door with a hoof and walked out, leaving his counterpart behind.

The other stallion shut the door, and then sat against it while looking up at Luna with a smile. "Glorious defender; sentinel. This soldier shall serve, protect you in absence of himself."

Luna was left flabbergasted. "W-wha…?"

"It's his special talent," Marathon groaned, behaving as if the magical impossibility was not only mundane, but also boring. "Now, with my utmost respect, Princess, can you please let me get back to sleep? I'm probably going to have to be up all night in Stalliongrad when we finally get there."

"O-of course…" Luna managed after a moment of silence. Her mind could gather nothing more to say. Her bodyguard had, at least to her observation, shattered one of the fundamental laws of magic, as casually as if he were simply taking a drink. "How did thou perform such a feat, Officer Image?"

"In this form, title of this work is 'Right', Lady of the Moon," Image–or rather, Right–answered. "Learn the title, learn the work."

"Right? Very well. Explain to us how you ignore entropy, and the conservation of mana."

"Ignorance holds minds of fools," Right responded, with no more focus than if he were commenting on the weather. "And passion the hearts of lovers."

Luna cocked her head, before slowly coming to the realization that what she had interpreted as a cunning riddle or piece of poetry was in honest fact an utterance of nonsense. "What are you trying to say?"

Marathon rolled over in her bunk, and narrowly missed impaling herself on Luna's horn as she fell with a dull thud to the floor of the cabin. A loud ripping marked the end of the room's provided sheets as they were torn in half by the sharp point of the same horn. Marathon didn't seem to mind as she stood up with a groan and brushed herself off. "Sorry, Princess."

"Tis' no concern," Luna answered, finally managing to pull the fabric off of her face. "Do you have an answer to this ridiculous speech of our bodyguard?"

"Huh? Oh, Mirror's trick? He just splits himself in half along his horn."

"But we clearly observe that he has taken not the form of half a stallion, but two full bodies instead. From whence does his spare magic come?"

"Uh, spare magic?" Marathon pulled herself upright. "I'm not a unicorn, Princess, but I'm pretty sure there's no 'spare magic'. It's just something he can do because his horn is split in half."

"Yea, verily, but such action would still require him to forge not only a new body, but a new soul as well. Perhaps that explains his curious manner of speech."

"Oh, that? No, that's just the way his right brain talks when there isn't a whole lot of left brain to go along with it." Marathon shrugged. "I don't know that much about Arcana, but if you want to know more, you could just ask Mirror when he puts himself back together."

"That shall be too long… I intend to go out myself and have a look. Besides, it shall soon be time to call forth the night."

"Princess, Mirror just got done saying he'd be back in thirty minutes. I doubt it’s even been two. It might not be safe."

"There is the chance," Luna agreed with a little smile. "But consider this, Marathon. I am not as I was in Canterlot, helpless as I focused on the night sky and not my surroundings. Do you wonder sometimes why my sister keeps the Honor Guard's captain for herself, rather than having him serve as my bodyguard? It is because of the two of us, I am by far the more skilled warrior. If something threatens the train, I may even show you. Now, come with me. We shall investigate."

"But Princess–"

"You protest too much," Luna muttered, as her horn glowed with a starry veil of mana. The wall of the train peeled open like a tin can, permitting a frigid, snowy wind to pervade the cabin.

Marathon shuddered, until Luna wrapped a wing over her back. "Forgive me. I did not think to bring forth warmth before I opened the wall." She flapped her wings twice, and the chill suddenly left the air.

"What kind of spell was that?"

"Not the sort you are asking of. It is Empatha. I demanded that the ice and the chilled air stay away from us, and they obeyed. Now, follow closely. It is easy to get lost in the storm of hatred. Right, stay close as well."

"Though hearts grow less fond for such company," he answered, his head cocked to the side.

Marathon flapped her wings to keep the stumps of her hind legs out of the snow. Outside the car, snow-covered plains stretched in all directions. Luna sighed aloud as she examined their surroundings. "We remember when this land was beautiful and lush. Such were better days." Her head twisted about, and then her eyes narrowed in the direction of the front car. "Stay close, Marathon." Before offering any further explanation, the alicorn began to sprint across the snowy ground

Marathon followed as swiftly as she could, struggling to keep up with the larger, stronger wings of the larger and stronger mare. It did not take long, however, for Luna to stop beside the train's engine. Marathon swept up beside her, and finally got a glimpse of the scene that had earned Luna's attention.

Two stallions, an enormous male elk, and a full grown tiger stood ahead of the train, where a log had fallen on the tracks. A fifth creature, which seemed to be another elk, lay dead in the snow. The blood of his neck painted the snowy tracks red.

One of the ponies carried an axe in his mouth, though its jagged blade looked hungrier for flesh than wood. He and his companions were angry, and ready to kill. They had encircled the other half of Mirror Image, who could only be called 'Left'. His gaze danced between them, and Marathon could see tears frozen to his coat as he struggled to maintain the magic on his horn. The violence intended by their stances stopped when they saw Luna.

"Принцесса наконец явилась?" the tiger muttered.

Возможно она не понимает, во что нам выльются её действия, the living elk answered into the minds of all present. Альянс Повстанцев, объясни ей из-за чего мы делаем это.

"Разумеется. Принцесса Луна, нам известно, что вы собираетесь встретиться с Королем Драконов и 'Узурпатором'. Мы не можем допустить ваш разговор с ними. Разворачивайтесь и возвращайтесь назад в свой нагорный дом."

Luna's brow rose. "Marathon, what did they say?"

"You don't speak Stalliongradi?" Marathon recoiled at Luna's glare. "Sorry; just an assumption." She gestured to the pegasus stallion whose mouth was not filled with a weapon. "That one seems to be the leader. His name is Povstantsev… It means Revolutionary, I think. He wants you to turn back, and not meet with Lord Krenn and Tsar Eye."

Luna nodded. "And I take it they threaten violence if we do not comply?"

Marathon answered with a nod of her own. "That seems to be the case."

Luna shook her head. "Tell them that I am giving them one chance to leave, or I will solve this issue myself."

"Princess, this is dangerous–"

"Not for me. Say it."

Marathon coughed, feeling the burn of ice in her lungs, before speaking up. "Принцесса Луна даёт вам единственный шанс сдаться. Если вы им не воспользуетесь, она... разберется с вами."

The assembled creatures laughed, and then tensed. That, for Luna, was enough. Her horn flared suddenly in a blindingly black light that burned the eyes into the darkness of its own color. It reflected off the snow both falling from the sky and lying on the ground. Without fair warning, Marathon could only hear the noises of the conflict.

First, there was a terrible sparking, like electricity if one were to listen to it from underwater. It was shortly followed by an incredibly curt scream of agony, and then the curious thump of a body falling into a snow drift.

Next, a metallic clang marked the meeting of a blade and a steel-shod hoof. Wood shattered, and a heavy steel object fell against the ground. A dull crunch, like the breaking of ribs, accompanied the rush of air leaving lungs in a single solid strike. Another body joined the snow.

Не думай, что твой жалкий трюк лишил меня зрения. called the elk's ethereal voice, directly into the minds of his listeners. Despite his unnerving means of communication, there was obvious terror in his voice. Luna played to it directly.

Save your thoughts, Luna answered in kind. Marathon had never thought to hear an elk screaming in pain, and found herself thankful that his agony was short. Then, not one but two bodies fell into the snow, and the battle was done.

The sound of magic filled the air, and Marathon's eyes opened. Mirror Image was standing at Luna's side, once more himself as the princess hoisted the log away from the train's rails.

"Thanks, Princess," Mirror Image muttered, scratching behind his own ear with a hoof out of shame.

"Art thou not going to suggest that we should have stayed where we were safe, as Marathon so often does?"

"Not really," Mirror replied. "You saved… well, at least half my life, I suppose, Princess. If I had both halves of me, I could have probably dealt with that. I was expecting some loosely organized ponies, or maybe a yeti. Not a team of five. They had military training, too."

"Clearly not enough," Luna observed, lifting five bodies out of the snow with her magic, and exerting no more stress for the action than it might take to elevate a teacup. "Perhaps Tsar Eye will have dungeons to hold them. Until then, I shall simply force them to remain asleep. I can do nothing for the one you killed, however." She glanced at the bloody elk, and unceremoniously dropped him from her telekinetic grip. "His soul is Valdria's now. Marathon, inform the conductor that we can continue. Officer Image and I shall return to the cabin and secure our prisoners."

The Honor Guard nodded and went about their business, though Marathon could not shake the feeling in her chilled wings that somehow, the conflict was a portent of something worse yet to come.

- - -

"Scootaloo! Scootaloo, you are safe! Stop screaming!"

The filly felt powerful hooves on her shoulders as the pain ended, and the glow of the grassy world was stolen away. Her vision of reality returned suddenly, ushering her into sight of a slightly familiar and frighteningly close face.

"Mr. Ink?"

The stallion took a deep breath, and then proceeded to release the filly. Not standing up on her own, she fell to the stone floor with a dull thud and a slight pain. Red Ink rolled his neck, revealing a rather painful burn and a pair of small scabs on his shoulder. Most concerning was the absence of his signature black jacket. "What are you doing here, Scootaloo?"

"Uh… well… see, that's a funny story, but…"

The Captain of the Honor Guard groaned. "This is not a time for beating around the bush, Scootaloo. I am not your schoolteacher anymore." Ink looked up from the orange filly, to where Celestia's magic was calmly removing the green crystal from its place hovering a few scant inches above the golden pool. "Your majesty, can I be of assistance with that?"

It took Scootaloo a moment to see the tears flowing down Celestia's cheeks as she pulled the crystal away. When it was free of the strange altar and cleanly within her grip, she spared herself a gasping breath, as if surfacing from the ocean after a long dive. "No, Captain, I can handle this. Get the information you need, and then depart. We don't have much time."

Ink nodded, before turning back to Scootaloo. "Now, why are you here? Don't you have class today?"

"Uh, it's Saturday," Scootaloo answered.

Ink snorted. "In my youth, I did not take weekends from studying. But that is not what I mean. Why are you in this room?"

"Well, I wanted to find Mr. Reckoning for Rainbow Dash, but–"

"Mr. Reckoning, as in Corporal Dead Reckoning? The stallion that Rainbow Dash reported dead following her return from Grivridge?"

"Yeah, well, it turns out–"

Celestia cut in as she returned the crystal to its place on the wall. "This is not the issue, Captain. Scootaloo, you followed Lieutenant Flag and me down here. I assume you didn't see us enter the archways outside, and chose a path at random. I would like to know how you managed to get through that door and into this chamber."

Scootaloo huffed a bit, tired of being interrupted, though her gratitude at not 'really' being in trouble yet was more than enough to keep her comments to herself. She glanced back to the bejeweled doors that Celestia had indicated. "They were already open, Princess."

Celestia's response was to turn her head suddenly to the various shelves of the room and begin searching them. As she moved she spoke aloud. "Captain, Lieutenant, help me search these. Look for anything out of the ordinary."

Red Ink and Lieutenant Flag, whom Scootaloo had not noticed standing on the opposite side of the room, went about scanning the room. The filly looked from cabinet to cabinet, and then started walking around herself. In her first glance, she hadn't realized the full size of the room, but the walls stretched back for some distance. There were hundreds of shelves of the gemstones, and if all were filled, ten thousand such objects would be a small supply.

As Scootaloo wandered along the almost library-like shelves, she listened to the guardsponies and the princess talking. They seemed too occupied to notice the little pegasus.

Red Ink spoke first. "What are these gems? Torture devices? Is that why Scootaloo was screaming?"

"No, Captain. These are Memory Stones."

Lieutenant Flag's harsh voice rose next. "I've never heard of such an item. What do they do?"

Celestia's voice traveled along the shelves as she searched. "Living a life as long as mine or my sister’s can make it hard to relate to those without our lifespan. We saw that Valdria and Magnus were growing distant from their subjects, and Luna devised a solution. We store within these stones our memories, and our emotions. They allow us a release in hard times, and keep us from losing our respect for other ponies."

Ink had taken to flying as he breezed past the shelves. "Isn't that dangerous? Forgetting the past?"

"We don't forget totally," Celestia answered. "We merely give up our emotional attachments and our connections. We remember the facts, but it is as though we had learned them from a book. Our minds don't have the images anymore. It was a very elegant solution that Luna created." Celestia paused in her pacing, affording herself a deep breath. "We store our memories once in a century, but most of the stones within this chamber are shorter and more potent recollections. Sorrow. Anger. Regrets. We rid ourselves of them when they would affect our ability to rule, though at times we choose to hold on to such emotions…" The princess' voice fell away into a new and painful recollection.

Scootaloo stopped suddenly. "Uh, Princess, Mr. Ink… one of the crystals is missing."

The guardsponies and their ruler returned quickly, taking no more than a dozen seconds to find the filly. She stood before an empty cabinet, which sat at ground level amongst the shelves.

"Princess, do you think Masquerade took it?"

Celestia nodded. "I am growing to hate that mare with every passing minute. She escapes an impregnable cell and traps you inside it," she gestured to Captain Ink. "Then she comes here, opens a door that only an alicorn can unlock, and requiring a password only Luna and I know…" Celestia glared down at the empty cubby. "And now she takes a Memory Stone, even though the only font that can unlock a memory is in this chamber."

"Is the crystal important?" Ink asked. "What does it say?"

"I don't know," Celestia answered. "It isn't mine."

Flag and Ink shared a concerned glance, before the former spoke up. "With respect, does it contain memories of Nightmare Moon?"

"It isn't Luna's either," Celestia noted. "This set of stones contain the memories of Commander Hurricane." The princess glanced around the room for a moment, before turning to White Flag. "Take Scootaloo here and bring her back to Rainbow Dash. Help them find Dead Reckoning. Scootaloo, I'm going to forgive what you've done because I believe you were just curious, but this is trespassing. If you are found doing something like this again, there will be consequences." Celestia's face was strict enough to leave Scootaloo quaking. "Do you understand?"

Scootaloo nodded, and allowed herself to be led away by the angry-looking unicorn mare. Celestia waited until she was alone with Red Ink before turning her attention to him. "Are you well enough for battle, Red Ink?"

He nodded. "Her spell wore off at least an hour before you found me. My neck hurts, but not enough to really lessen my effectiveness. You said I didn't have any lingering magical effects…"

"Given that Masquerade's magic fooled my own spells, I'm not sure I trust that assessment, but there is little we can do about it for now."

"Right. Honestly, Princess, the only thing I'm feeling is furious. I'd like to kill her." Ink's eye twitched slightly. "I'd like that a lot."

Celestia nodded grimly. "Your orders are these, Captain. Fly following the train tracks toward Stalliongrad." She ignored his pained wince at the Equiish name for his home. "If you find Shining Armor, you will likely find Masquerade posing as you. Do not reveal yourself unless you can kill her. If you cannot find Shining Armor, assume she killed him. Regardless of his status, assume Masquerade's target is Princess Luna. Go to her, and protect her. You have my permission to kill the assassin if the opportunity arises. Do not let her escape."

Red Ink wasted no time. A single nod was all that precluded the spreading of his wings, as he soared down the hall and out into the large crystal cavern.

- - -

The door to the East Wind Express' small, two-pony cabin was slammed open to reveal a panting red pegasus. "Shining, wake up!"

In response to being startled from his nap, the unicorn rolled over, only to collide heavily with the floor. "What?" he asked from the height of Red Ink's hooves.

"I think I found her! I was getting dinner when the chef told me that a cake had gone missing. I found a smear of frosting on the door to the caboose. You know how to protect against illusions, or I would have gone in myself."

` The guardspony was awake instantly, as adrenaline surged into his still-groggy brain. In an instant, he was on his hooves, and after another, his armor was latching itself across his body. "Let's go!"

Red Ink led the way, doing an excellent job of channeling his potent physique into a threatening charging mass. "All of you, out of the way now! Guardsponies coming through!" When a civilian was too slow, Ink spared no force in slamming them out of the way before continuing his outright gallop. His passage overturned tables in the dining car, and earned the offended glares of the other passengers, but the Captain of the Honor Guard neither noticed, nor cared. His long black coat trailed behind him as he moved, galloping through the remaining two sleeping cars in mere seconds, before finally coming to a stop beside a single rectangular red door.

Shining steeled himself, and then stepped toward the door, only to find Red Ink's hoof stopping him. "What?" he hissed.

"Wait," Ink answered, glancing out one of the train's windows. "I don't want her to have the chance of jumping off the back. We're almost to the Dragon-Fire Bridge." His hoof indicated the snow falling outside the windows, and the huge canyon ahead. "Thousand foot drop onto a sheet of ice in the wastes, with cliffs on both sides. That way, jumping won't save her, and if she survives the fall, she won't be able to get away."

Though Shining's first reaction was to be shaken at Ink's obvious intention to kill, the pegasus' reasoning was sound. "When?"

"Thirty seconds. You go first; keep a shield up, draw her out. I'll come in behind when she shows herself and take off her horn." To accentuate the point, the stallion produced a pair of bladed steel shoes from his jacket, and slipped them onto his hooves. "Twenty seconds." Ink pressed himself tightly against the side of the door frame, concealing himself from view. "Fifteen."

Shining nodded as the count dropped off, and together they silently mouthed the rest of the numbers. When they reached three, he charged his horn and placed his hoof on the door handle. At zero, he threw it open and charged in, covering himself with a shield.

The caboose was filled with a thick black haze, which dusted the cargo and restrained view. Shining ducked when a bolt of magic flew from his right, but when his horn illuminated the area, nopony was to be seen.

"Shining Armor?" The voice came from everywhere, echoing despite the small space. "You're brave coming back here. I brought a bigger knife this time."

"Give up, Masquerade!" the guardspony shouted back.

"I suppose you have to say that, Paladin of Canterlot. You're wasting your time." After the words were said, Masquerade herself stepped forth from behind a pile of luggage. A quick ping of his horn told him it was merely an illusion. The guardspony maintained his guard as he watched the figment. "You can't catch me."

"And why is–" Shining paused to clear his nostrils of the strange cloud in the air. "Why's that?"

"Because you haven't asked any questions. Take this, for example," Masquerade noted the cloud in the air. "Not normal air quality for a train, right?"

"I recognize a smoke bomb when I see one."

"And where in Tartarus would I have found a smoke bomb between escaping the palace and getting on the train?" Shining ducked when another bolt flew past his head. He could feel the heat, and wondered whether or not Platinum's Ward could even absorb such an attack. "Let's try a slightly different question. What can you make thick black–" She paused for a cough of her own. A single, decidedly non-echoing cough, from the corner of the room "–powder out of on a train?"

"I don't care, Masquerade. It's just to hide behind." He leapt over a stack of suitcases and steamer trunks to find a distinct lack of the assassin.

From the door of the room, Shining heard Red Ink speak up. "This is coal dust, Armor. It's explosive."

"What?" Shining pulled himself out of the pile of luggage and ran toward the door. "Get out!"

Nearly to the door of the caboose, and safety, Shining was struck across the face by an impossibly powerful blow from Red Ink's right hoof. It shouldn't have come from the pegasus; if anything, it reminded the Royal Guard Captain of Soldier On's titanic Endura. He landed on his back at the far side of the half-sized train car on his back, where he could see Red Ink's vicious smile.

The voice that came from his lips was distinctly not his own. It belonged to the vile mare. "I have to say, Shining Armor, being a Captain of the Guard is magnificent. Maybe I'll use your face when I kill Luna."

Masquerade stuck out Red Ink's right wing. There came a single emerald spark, and then a cloud of green flame consumed the Captain's entire world. He hadn't even had the time for a shield. Between the plates of Platinum's Ward, his coat was scorched. The armor struggled to protect him from the world-rending explosion. The flames lasted for a full five seconds, and in that time, his only sensation was the sudden lurch of gravity as the floorboards of the train car were burnt away beneath his hooves.

He fell through the cloud of smoke, until it finally relinquished his eyes. He was falling through the sky, alongside the broken smoldering boards which were all that remained of the luggage. Overhead, he could see the rest of the train shakily pulling away from the crumbling center of the bridge. A huge, hundred-foot wide hole had been blown out of it, leaving only green embers and debris.

As the thick sheet of ice grew closer below, his horn prepared a levitation spell. It fizzled uselessly when he struggled to cast it. The snow raced past him, looking as though it was falling up into the sky. He panted for breath desperately. Only seconds remained when his teleportation did the same. The white sheet below was too close now. It filled his vision, promising a swift death.

He never felt the ice.

- - -

I'd like to give a thank you to my editors/pre-readers: SatoshiKyu, Roflknief, DarkPhoenix. An extra special thanks goes to Keyesty, whose immense knowledge of not only the Russian language, but also Russian culture made huge parts of this chapter possible.

Comments

[Luna Plays Minecraft]

Yay, update! Will read later, because I just read over 100,000 words.

[SatoshiKyu]

To everyone who made it this far--congratulations, you've reached the comments! While you're here, why don't you take a moment to tell us your thoughts on the chapter and any questions you might have? Nothing sets an author to writing quite like feedback (Loyal is no exception), and you just might get some hints for a few of those questions burning a hole in your gut! No promises, but you never know...

Also, please do remember to give us an upvote if you've enjoyed our tale up to this point. By now you've read some 250 thousand words, so it would be pretty damn weird if you didn't like it!

[temerarii pulsat]

always got time for this story i hate dashie will die in the end but she deserves the peace.

[Sound Wave]

Omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg ong O.O

[AnonymousBrony]

This story always puts me in a bad mood. And that's not a compliment.

[Willsons]

Yes update now to find some music and to sit back and read some amazing stuff (I hope)

[Jirodyne]

Oh Twilight is going to first kill you, and then Masquerade.

[DesertRose]

Just finished reading the second chapter before I was going to bed.
Then BAM! Update ... No sleep was to be had that night.

[Willsons]

Noooo Shining Armor don't die
other wise you won't find any complaints from me this story is still amazing.

[LoyalLiar]

1878717

That is a hard question to answer. In terms of what I hesitate to call 'shock value' (i.e., the Commander's current situation), you've pretty much seen the worst that I'm about to do. Mostly because if I went any further, I feel like I'd be erring away from genuine gut-wrenching evil, and toward the sort of meta-humor that is Cupcakes, for example.

However, if you're asking me how hard I can make the lives of your favorite technicolor equines, the best (or worst, I suppose) is yet to come.

This is a very hard question to answer without spoilers. I hope I was somewhat helpful.

1878606

There used to be people who sympathized with Masquerade. What happened to them? I guess its probably because of the fact that most of her involvement in Act I up until the end was being semi-kind to the Commander...

Let me know if anyone has a comment on this thought, to satisfy my curiosity.

1878350

I never said Dash would die at the end. It seems to me that such a plot would be somewhat backwards, since she died in the very beginning...

Don't quote me on this. I make absolutely no promises.

[Jirodyne]

1878754 What is there to sympathize with? From what I understand, Masquerade is a cold-hearted assassin for hire that will kill anyone for the right price. Someone just coughed up enough money for her to take on a bigger target. Not like she was born and bred that way and then betray by her government for some reason or another. *cough*Hitman*cough*.

[Miki]

She did not kill Shiny...

OH HELLZ TO THE NO SHE DID NOT JUST KILL SHINY!!!!

[Literature]

Is it odd that I find it fascinating when important characters are killed off in stories?
Because I really think when done well, it creates amazing suspense and thrill.
This was done well.
Can't wait for pissed Twilight.
She's going to be pissed.
Super unicorn fry beam of power.

[BronyPonyMan]

NO! not shiny

[soabtanmnl]

"And why is–" Shining paused to clear his nostrils of the strange cloud in the air. "Why's that?"

"Because you haven't asked any questions. Take this, for example," Marathon noted the cloud in the air. "Not normal air quality for a train, right?"

Did you mean to say Masquerade here?

On another note, Thinking about what could be finite and valuable to Krenn. Exactly how and when I wonder, did Celestia come by the dragon egg that became spike? More and more it seems to me that the kingdom of Equestria maintains its footing in the world not through military might, but through more diabolical means and espionage. Just how dirty are the princess's hooves in all of this?

So far I have to say That I love your story so far. Looking forward to more.

[zaponator]

That was a great chapter!
Also, he never felt the ice because he never hit it... right?

[Raven Flight]

Sorry, done with this...

[LoyalLiar]

1879861

Might I trouble you for why?

[DualThrone]

I must say, this is a nicely long and well-written story... but it's pretty damn annoying to have tons and tons of filler where we're not actually getting anywhere. In the first act of this story, There were a few important plot pieces but those generally consistent of a 200-word paragraph in the middle of a 40,000 word chapter and then three chapters later, we got another short paragraph that was important and then it was off to the races again. I have a suspicion that it'll be much the same here: we'll get an immense amount of characters doing lots of things, none of which advance the story at all, and at the end, we'll get a short one-paragraph answer to the important question that was laid down in the first chapter which required 250,000 words to get to.

So, out of curiosity... what IS the point of this act? I mean, besides catch the assassin.

[LoyalLiar]

1880209

Firstly, let me say 'Thank You for the Critique'. Taking the time to respond means a lot to me.

While I do disagree with your position, I do my best to see where you're coming from on a statement like this. A major part of Where Loyalties Lie is in the 'mystery' aspect. Especially in Act 1, Rainbow didn't have a very clear goal beyond 'find out what is poisoning Luna'; she had to fight her way through that issue and figure it out. Obviously, in the end, the only events which directly attributed to that point were the introduction of the Phage Seeds, and her meeting with Emperor Magnus prior to leaving Grivridge.

However, to borrow a potentially trite idiom, it isn't just about the destination; it's about the journey. I take the 'Adventure' tag you see up top very seriously in that regard. The entire point of the story is that Rainbow has to fight through a series of increasingly challenging conflicts in her quest, and grow as a character before she can ultimately realize the answer. When I wrote the 'Zebra arc', for example, I didn't do that to pad out the story for the sake of length. I wanted to develop her character. The same is true of meeting with Fallaner, and subsequently reuniting her with Gilda. If you just want the plot as strictly as possible, moving from point A to point Z without the character development or the emotion that I'm striving for, that's fine, but I will encourage you to look elsewhere.

It occurs to me that might sound very cynical, and possibly even insulting, but I'm having no luck coming up with a better way to phrase that thought. I don't mean to scold your taste in literature, or put words into your mouth. I'm simply trying to make a statement here.

I can make the same statements about Shining Armor's part in Act 1, but I don't see much point. There were certainly segments of his arc that were primarily meant to shed light on Rainbow (his meeting with Silver Lining comes to mind). A few (although they are very few) segments are foreshadowing for events that I still haven't written, but as I mentioned, they are few enough that I struggle to imagine them impacting your view of such a large tract of the text as 'filler', to use your own word.

To summarize, there are certainly sections that I write for purposes other than solely advancing the plot, and I fully admit that the plot is not as directly linear as it potentially could be. Both of those things are intentional. I do not write anything solely for the purpose of padding out the chapter length or the word count. Both you (as in 'collective readers') and I have better things to do with our time.

To tell you as much as I possibly can without spoiling things for you and anyone else reading the comments, this Act will be split into 3-ish major plotlines, much as the last Act was split into 2. Firstly, Reckoning knows that the Commander is still alive, and intends to rescue him. Secondly, Masquerade needs to be stopped. The third plotline hasn't yet been properly revealed completely, but I'll simply observe that I didn't introduce 'Lord Krenn' simply for the sake of having a dragon OC. In keeping with the themes of political intrigue, mystery, and adventure, I promise you that none of these plots is as straightforward as simply "Go to X location, Rescue/Kill Y character, and escape." I'm perfectly capable of writing such a direct plot, and indeed such a story can be quite fun, but it isn't my intention here.

I hope that satisfies, and answers your question. If not, you clearly know how to reach me. Whether or not you decide to continue investing your time in this story, I appreciate your criticism and the time you've given so far.

Sincerely,
-Loyal Liar

(It occurs to me that using 'sincerely' in front of my screen name has some peculiar implications...)

[Everdusk]

Welp, after some time gone I've caught up with the story. Read the end of Honor Guard and here I am.

I very much liked the ending you wove for the first part of your overarching story. The epilogues as a whole were very touching and provided a poignant conclusion to Rainbow's stint in the Honor Guard.

The end battle with Masquerade was masterfully handled and I wish (perhaps belatedly) to applaud you for not spontaneously turning Dash into a Mary Sue who swooped in, stopped the villain and saved the day. She had her moment in the sun in that fight (she'd already saved the day with Luna as far as I'm concerned) but merit there goes to Shining Armor on the whole, as I feel it should have.

What I didn't quite get then and still don't understand coming into this story is why exactly was Masquerade spared, petrification nonwithstanding. The pertinent information about the Commander (pretty much the only thing anyone wanted from her by the end of the story) could have been obtained at anytime before the start of this second part, followed by swift execution.

I'm very much looking forward to the explanation of just how she managed to escape AND replace Red Ink, because she must have had some time to take into account his recent changes in personality well enough to fool Shining Armor.

I hope the poor guy isn't dead because he really needs a win. Badly... preferable one that does not include Red Ink saving his life somewhere in the next chapter because the bastard pegasus would never let him live it down :P On the other hand, Armor dying would certainly set Twilight on the warpath and that would be a very entertaining read for sure.

I think it's gross negligence to leave someone with Masquerade's known abilities and resume (plus any number of unknowns, suspicions and assumptions that are each more dangerous than the previous one) imprisioned without any sort of guard besides a cage -however strong- and a secret cave -however well hidden-. The palace has a long standing history of not keeping its most valued treasures safe; I figure at least Luna would have put her hoof down when it came to getting rid of the assassin, given Celestia's usual proclivities.

The Commander's fate was very, very grim and I tip my proverbial hat to you for managing to make me wince. I thought I'd seen pretty much anything, but the bit about the bugs? Golden. And the picture it paints about Khagan for the arc we can see coming in this chapter like a runaway train (no pun intended)? Great villian there, if he even fits the bill. He seems to have an axe to grind with the Commander and I reserve the right of rooting for the boar when everything comes out.

Speaking of the Commander, that bit of his being Dash's father for real left me feeling very sheepish. I think I'm in the minority that didn't buy the idea of his fathering a child. So much emphasis was put on his being a workaholic ascetic that I ended up thinking that if he had a functional penis, it was merely an accident of biology best ignored. I admit it threw me for a loop but I totally agree with Dash's position on him. The guy is a bastard and deserves to be forgotten beyond his mantle -it's what he tried to do to himself, to boot-.

Pity that it feels like she'll end up drafted (or dragged) along to rescue him. If she does, I'd love her to take a page from Tyrion's book from Game of Thrones and just shoves a lightning bolt up his ass. What can I say, I understand duty but I feel real strongly about family loyalty. I wonder what her grandfather's take on all this is going to be, though.

Did Reckoning take that offer of Luna's that Dash was warned against? It'll be interesting to see the conversation where that finally comes out... come to think of it, why hide the fact from her? Dash told him she was basically undead herself, I'd have thought that both of them could benefit from knowing there was someone else in pretty much the same boat.

It could even be called a ship, even! Now that he's young and virile and most certainly not looking like her grandfather (and that he's not family or dead) they can get together! YAY! I shouldn't fantasize, it's unseemly, but I just can't help myself :P I loved the guy and I'm real happy he's not dead, although from the looks of Rainbow's episode with her mom, I get the feeling I shouldn't be thanking you just yet. It'll be interesting to see where you go with that setup, because the potential for trouble there is huge.

This all has the feeling of set up thus far, because things are heating up qute thoroughly so I can't really speculate on what will happen beyond what I already mentioned, but I do have to wonder about Celestia's position. Someone comissioned the murder of her sister and it doesn't feel like she's doing terribly much when it comes to finding out the one behind the actual order. An assassin like Masquerade doesn't just choose to take that big a risk on a whim and at least I can't recall anyone ever pursuing that line of inquiry.

All in all, a great job as usual. This is definitively the one story I most look forward to see updated.

Happy new year and a belated merry christmas!

[derpyhooves15]

I fought that Red Inks character was suspicious in the last chapter. Luna better get those night guard rolling , because masquerade is about to introduce Mr shit to Mrs fan

[SatoshiKyu]

1880325

What I didn't quite get then and still don't understand coming into this story is why exactly was Masquerade spared, petrification nonwithstanding. The pertinent information about the Commander (pretty much the only thing anyone wanted from her by the end of the story) could have been obtained at anytime before the start of this second part, followed by swift execution.

Nowhere near the only thing they wanted to know from her. Masqerade was hired to kill Luna. This implies that there be someone out there who wants her dead badly enough to pay an assassin a small fortune to put her down. As long as that someone remains at liberty, they could try again. At this point of the story, Masqerade herself is the only lead they have, which is why they didn't have her executed immediately.

1879861
If you don't even have the common decency to say why you don't like it, I'm glad you're gone. Were I an author, you're not the kind of person I'd want reading my story, to be completely honest.

As far as I'm concerned (my feelings on this do not reflect what Loyal thinks, mind you), right now you are exactly like one of those people who unfavorite a story after it updates and don't bother leaving a comment. Those people are trash.

[temerarii pulsat]

1878754 how would dash not die she is still dead. and you said in earlier chapters she will eventually haft to go back to the summerlands. ugh my head, wright faster i hate headaches lol

[djthomp]

a strangely familiar purple dragon

Oooo, Spike's related to to the dragon god dude? Or something like that, I bet. Or non-god, since he seems to not like the term.

Mildly wild ass guess, the thing this Lord Krenn values most is Spike's egg, which is supposedly in Celestia's possession. If true, I wonder if he knows that it was hatched, and by a pony at that.

Interesting idea with the memory crystals.

Hmn, I think I'm not going to believe that Shining is dead unless I see a body. I wouldn't be surprised if he will be out of the story for a while, however. Then again, we kinda did that already in Act I with the rest of the mane 6 thinking Dash was dead, so maybe not. Also having flashbacks to the beginning of Skyfall, which brings to mind the amusing image of Shining as James Bond.

[SatoshiKyu]

1881178
Well for starters she's not dead. She was dead, yes. She is now alive. Being alive after dieing has some nasty repercussions, though.

Dash is basically a zombie at the moment. A zombie whose spirit longs for the afterlife, and who is completely aware and in control of herself. And forgoes the devouring of brains, because surely eating brains would make her an Egghead. She's not exactly cool with being a zombie, but at least she's not an egghead zombie.

[temerarii pulsat]

1881641 ok cool one last thing, if dash does get to live her full life in the end can she start a family or would she haft to adopt?

[Alondro]

>>> Celestia nodded. "I am growing to hate that mare with every passing minute. She escapes an impregnable cell and traps you inside it," she gestured to Captain Ink. "Then she comes here, opens a door that only an alicorn can unlock, and requiring a password only Luna and I know…" Celestia glared down at the empty cubby. "And now she takes a Memory Stone, even though the only font that can unlock a memory is in this chamber.">>>

Which of course Masquerade or her boss will also have. Seriously, she's reminding me of the worst of the Bond villains with how things always miraculously work for her, right up into 007 drops them into a lava pit.

It's also akin to Palpatine in "Revenge of the Sith" in that so matter how self-contradictory and coincidence-dependent the plan is, it always works, and no one anywhere has the brains to figure anything out.

I'm sorry, but I'm getting very close to dropping this story. The sheer magnitude of contrivance is driving me nuts.

[Utruiwe]

Since I have no real complaints about this story, I go for wild speculation instead of criticism.

First Masquerade: She has shown a lot of strange and unexplained abilities by now, like adapting abilities from the characters she embodies (guard fighting skills as the commander, implied eathpony magic in in this chapter, or at least physical strength that should bebbeneath her... (that can't be all illusions) Also she opens that Alicorn door...) if there hadn't been stated she used her real form during the final showdown in act 1, I would suspect her to be more than an a mere unicorn. Perhaps the Alicorn shown in Scootaloos vision? She has to play a role sooner or later.
From my understanding the Alicorn-artifacts shouldn't be able to explain this, since they only enhance magic that is already there. Maybe there is more than one Masquerade.

Second: The age-shift of Deadeye looks quite convenient for shippinghim with Dash... He was a skilled warrior as old stallion, he wasn't boyfriend material... Also Rainbows mother.
Although Celestia seems to have a thing for Commander Hurricane and his entire bloodline ^^

One last thing regarding grammar: since I am no native speaker I'm not sure here,
but from what I have researched on the Internet, 'she followed you and I' should in fact say 'she followed you and me' (compare to 'she followed I', when the second object is left out)
Something like that appears in this chapter and several times in act one.
Should I be wrong here, I apologize.

[Raven Flight]

Sure, I'm not a fan of grimdark, and this is too close for my taste. Excellent writing, great paccing and imagery, but the images kinda turn my stomach. Just me, not your ability at all, hope this answers for you.

[LoyalLiar]

1882392

Perfectly. I appreciate your taking the time to pop back and fill things in for me.

[Nopony in Particular]

1882193I'm guessing that Chrysanthemum became Chrysalis eventually based upon the similar names and the fact that both have green magic.
As for mulitple Masquerades? That is an interesting theory, although I doubt its validity.If there were multiple Masquerades, we probably would have been given hints towards that throughout the story. And Dead-Eye? Well, the story is labeled romance.....

As for your question about the grammar of 'You and I' v.s.'You and me', You and me is correct.

[Nopony in Particular]

This Chrysanthemum alicorn seems to not like Celly any more. If that memory is recent enough, I'd say that she became a changeling, more specifically, the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. They have similar names, they both have green magic, and they both fire a green blast of energy at Celestia. The connection is shaky at best, but that is what Wild Mass Guessing is for.

Shiny better not be dead. I've got too hope that his honorably naive(compared to the Honor Guard, Red Ink, Krenn, Khagan, and nearly everyone with some sort of role in this story that isn't Equestrian) way of doing will prevail and that the Personification of the Equestrian Way survives this story.

Scootaloo, you aren't a stalker(I think), so please stop tailing the Princess before you get-*cue the memory orb* hurt.... Welp, at least she is physically fine.

[LoyalLiar]

1882193

Fixed the plurality thing in Ch. 3. The other place I found it was in Luna's dialogue with Celestia, but I chose to leave it there, since the entire point of the passage containing that statement is Luna's misuse of modern Equiish. (She uses the plural, Celestia corrects her, and she clarifies that she meant both Celestia and herself, rather than just herself in the Royal Plural).

Thanks for the correction, though.

[DualThrone]

1880309

You know, the long involved response sort of makes me feel guilty for being grouchy...

However, to borrow a potentially trite idiom, it isn't just about the destination; it's about the journey.

Fair enough, but I wasn't referring to the Rainbow arc since it sort of kind of related to the main point of the work. It's very filler-ish but her arc is related to the story of "save Luna from dying" which is the main point of Act 1. But Shining Armor is both an intriguing person and has nothing to do with the story of 'save Luna from dying'. I see him having a family dinner, having conflicts with Red Ink, having conflicts with Soldier On (who is never really explained; I suspect that happens in this act or another one), and stumbling home only to get rushed off to Ponyville where he distracts Masquerade by virtue of getting himself stabbed by a butter knife (!) only to get saved first by Rainbow and next by Celestia Ex Machina (Celestia, God... same difference). But how does any of what he does relate to what Rainbow does? It largely does not, or at least seems not to... which is why I regard it as nothing more than padding the story length.

To tell you as much as I possibly can without spoiling things for you and anyone else reading the comments, this Act will be split into 3-ish major plotlines, much as the last Act was split into 2. Firstly, Reckoning knows that the Commander is still alive, and intends to rescue him. Secondly, Masquerade needs to be stopped. The third plotline hasn't yet been properly revealed completely, but I'll simply observe that I didn't introduce 'Lord Krenn' simply for the sake of having a dragon OC.

Ah. Well, what I read from that is that the story will consist of three unrelated plots meandering across one another without being more than loosely related. That seems... unfortunate.

I hope that satisfies, and answers your question. If not, you clearly know how to reach me. Whether or not you decide to continue investing your time in this story, I appreciate your criticism and the time you've given so far.

It doesn't, but you're welcome. I don't see any purpose to PM'ing you and bothering you further, however. Even if I wanted you to (I don't, BTW), you wouldn't be giving me a complete summary of the beginning, middle, and end of your stories in PM; that would simply be absurd, not to mention totally unfair.

However, I am sticking with this until the unrelated background plot of "Rainbow is undead" is resolved. I adore Rainbow as a pony (she's a close runner-up to Twilight and Luna in terms of my favorite characters) so I'm crossing everything on me that can be crossed in hopes of a conclusion to that plotline that's satisfying. I really, really, desperately, really, badly hope not to read another "Rainbow kills a dragon who means her no harm and drags a young mare kicking and screaming back to a life she doesn't want" tidbit.

In ultimate summary... sorry for the tiny wall o' text, I'm sticking with it, I hope that my initial impressions are wildly wrong, I heart Rainbow Dash.

[LoyalLiar]

1884866

Don't feel guilty; you're giving incredibly valuable feedback. It's one thing to say "You misspelled 'Kamchatka' in Chapter N" (which, for anyone else reading this comment is still very valuable). It takes quite another to provide a valuable and valid critique on the overall plot. The former instructs me to to pay more attention to spelling the next time I happen to be sitting down and writing (or in the case of my example above, playing Risk), while the latter challenges me to examine my writing style on a fundamental level and improve overall.

Fair enough, but I wasn't referring to the Rainbow arc since it sort of kind of related to the main point of the work. It's very filler-ish but her arc is related to the story of "save Luna from dying" which is the main point of Act 1. But Shining Armor is both an intriguing person and has nothing to do with the story of 'save Luna from dying'. I see him having a family dinner, having conflicts with Red Ink, having conflicts with Soldier On (who is never really explained; I suspect that happens in this act or another one), and stumbling home only to get rushed off to Ponyville where he distracts Masquerade by virtue of getting himself stabbed by a butter knife (!) only to get saved first by Rainbow and next by Celestia Ex Machina (Celestia, God... same difference). But how does any of what he does relate to what Rainbow does? It largely does not, or at least seems not to... which is why I regard it as nothing more than padding the story length.

This is a totally valid point which reflects a curious drawback of splitting the Acts into separate stories. I had originally intended to have everything be a single story, but when an alternative was proposed, I called for a vote, and... well you can clearly see who won.

Anyway, the point of that observation is: you're right. Shining Armor accomplished very-nearly nothing over the course of the first Act, when all was said and done. His sole major accomplishment was recognizing that Masquerade was in Ponyville, only to utterly fail at the task of apprehending her himself. You're right in your assumption that his involvement with Soldier On is an issue that exists solely for the 2nd Act. So is his involvement with Red Ink, and... well, pretty-nearly everything he did throughout the course of Act 1. I know that's a LONG time to put a payoff for actions on hold, and I do feel guilty for the request I'm about to make, but bear with me. I didn't write half the story just for the sake of seeing my words on the page.

Ah. Well, what I read from that is that the story will consist of three unrelated plots meandering across one another without being more than loosely related. That seems... unfortunate.

What to tell you without giving too much away? How about this: First off, as both of them are primarily occuring in and around Stalliongrad, the Masquerade plot and the Krenn-related plot should stick together semi-closely. However, more to the point, if you are able to bear with me for a while, you'll be able to see all three come together for what is likely to be viewed as a much tighter (and longer lasting) union than was found at the end of Act 1. If you or anyone else really wants proof that I'm not just saying this in the interest of keeping readers, you can head back to Act 1's comments, and look at the scenes I described in the interest of getting cover art made for Act 2. Be warned, however, that much like my total-inability to pay attention to my own writing at 2 AM, such investigations will result in potential spoilers, especially with information that has been revealed since Act 2 started.

The actual cover art is at least partially literal.

I really, really, desperately, really, badly hope not to read another "Rainbow kills a dragon who means her no harm and drags a young mare kicking and screaming back to a life she doesn't want" tidbit.

Yeah, that was... not my proudest moment as an author. If I were to rewrite Act 1, that would be the scene to change, by far. I'll stand by it as a character development exercise, but it didn't come out with really the same feeling I had been hoping. I'll stop before I start retreading the Act 1 comments.

However, I am sticking with this until the unrelated background plot of "Rainbow is undead" is resolved.

In ultimate summary... sorry for the tiny wall o' text, I'm sticking with it, I hope that my initial impressions are wildly wrong, I heart Rainbow Dash.

Glad to hear it! What I really meant by 'you know how to reach me' is 'you've already demonstrated that you can use the comments'; people are welcome to PM me, but I certainly didn't intend it that way. No need to apologize for a 'tiny wall o' text'; I'd love to see more of them in the future from other readers. I really do appreciate the time it takes to put down so many thoughts. Anyway, you're a *fantastic* commenter, and I hope to hear more of your thoughts in the future.

Oh, and Happy New Year

-Loyal Liar

[DualThrone]

I know that's a LONG time to put a payoff for actions on hold, and I do feel guilty for the request I'm about to make, but bear with me.

In my scale, that's actually not a long time for the payoff. I'm currently writing something where an offhand comment made at the beginning of the story is a critical story point 15 or more chapters later. I'll freely admit that I take full advantage of the fact that the typical reader has a poor memory for incidental details that aren't actually incidental.

And yes, I'm bearing with you.

I didn't write half the story just for the sake of seeing my words on the page.

I didn't think you did. I just think that the Shining Armor part of the story are your version of the magician's sleight of hand: you're keeping us distracted with all this stuff over there that looks important but isn't, while the important part happens over here. I hope that it pays off in the way you imply.

If you or anyone else really wants proof that I'm not just saying this in the interest of keeping readers, you can head back to Act 1's comments, and look at the scenes I described in the interest of getting cover art made for Act 2.

Can you be more specific? Your story is monstrously large and as such, has a monstrously large amount of comments. I'm not sure where to even BEGIN looking for a specific comment from you describing scenes for the purposes of soliciting cover art.

I feel like that's fair game as a non-spoiler, since it's already in the picture.

I disagree. There's no indication at all, at this point, that Rainbow Dash is involved in Dead Reckoning's rescue effort or the plot with Lord Kreen so you've essentially just told us what Rainbow will be doing, where, and what plotline isn't related to her. None of which we could have gotten from a picture or what's been written of the story. Moreover, you've just revealed that the pic on the front cover isn't symbolism, it's literal and can be observed for clues about what happens. Quite a lot of information that will take much of the impact out of the story when we would have found these things out by reading them.

Sorry.

I'll stand by it as a character development exercise, but it didn't come out with really the same feeling I had been hoping.

Yeah, in spades. What it seemed to be telling us about the character is that one of the pieces of what makes Rainbow such a great pony just got chopped off and stomped on in the interest of hardening her. I know that this isn't what was intended, but it fits well into the "What the Hell, Hero?" trope from TvTropes.com.

I really do appreciate the time it takes to put down so many thoughts.

All part of my personal obsessive-compulsive disorder. :)

Anyway, you're a *fantastic* commenter...

Thanks.

...and I hope to hear more of your thoughts in the future.

No, you really really don't.

Oh, and Happy New Year.

Danke san, Herr Loyal. :)

[Zennyth]

INCOMING INCOMING…WALL OF TEXT APPROACHING!
(Hey, I seem to recall the author giving the green light for these )

Figured I’d wade in with my two cents worth. I don’t think story padding is really an issue overall. All aspects and plot threads are still holding my attention so far; granted I feel it might almost be necessary to set up one of those string theory, room full of crazy centers that conspiracy nuts are so fond of just to keep track of all that’s been set in motion. The scope of this story is getting ginormous, but I say bring it on! A little rereading never killed anyone and I’ve been hooked so far back that it would take a lot to throw me off.

I do kind of see why it was brought up this time around though after this chapter. A lot of time was spent on Scootaloo and her little adventure that may not end up having a significant impact on the plot as a whole…but maybe it will. Dammit, it’s been proven before that the little details end up being game changers later on. Makes speculation so darn tough IMO.

But getting back on track, this chapter did sort of feel like a rice krispie square; enjoyable, but not very filling. You can’t help but want more! I don’t mean it as a complaint; as long as the story continues and we get to find out in due time what happens.

If I'd be nitpicky, one section that felt a little boggy at the time was Rainbow's Rite of Passenge mission with the Zebras.Shouldn't be an issue though, if her dragon-slaying comes back to bite her, or if Mzungu factors in somewhere down the line...

From the sounds of things, I might be in the minority with this, but I really enjoyed Act 1’s plot line involving Shining Armor, especially with Going Solo. Sure he didn’t end up accomplishing a lot then, but I like seeing Shining and these other characters get established and grow. Rainbow’s cool and all but she’s not the only pony worth getting emotionally invested in.

Haha and on that note…WTH you doing to Shining? Why do insist on putting all my favorite characters in mortal peril all the time? Buuut I suppose that’s to be expected with a dark-tagged story and part of the fun.

Red Ink’s new persona and moderately-improved social tact seems a little jarring at this point. I don’t think that will be an issue though once his side story is complete and we can see how his Ponyville escapades have traumatized him. For the time being, it’s a little weird but no worries!

I am really starting to like Foresight (and this is a perfect example of why nothing feels like filler in this story, even when the plot isn’t moving fast. What happened in this chapter has helped shape my opinion of him.) Usually it is the brash action-y types, like Rainbow Dash, that get all the attention in an adventure story. Foresight doesn’t fit that bill, but you got to respect the guy for getting business done…albeit in a methodical, efficient, and determined sort of fashion. That has got to be a daunting task, modernizing your homeland essentially on your own. Maybe I like him because I can personally relate to him the best. And knowing my luck, now that he’s in my good books, he’ll be the next to go down

As for Masquerade…I’m not in the hate her camp yet. She’s doing some despicable things, but like it’s been said in the comments a while ago (I think by SatoshiKyu)…characters are shaped by circumstances. I don’t like it when the bad guys are inherently bad for the sake of the evulz…There have got to be reasons for why she is the way she is and why she’s doing what she’s doing (and how everything is going so smoothly for her ) I reserve judgement until I find out more. Have to give her props right now though for her competence. Even though she did kill/nearly kill Shining.

Once again LoyalLiar, thank you for writing this wonderful story! It truly is a bright spot to my week when I see that update notification flash on my phone for another new chapter of Where Loyalies Lie.

[The 24th Pegasus]

Shining isn't dead. Not yet at least. Calling it right here.

Really enjoying the story so far. Great pacing, good bit of intrigue and mystery, and we're seeing more recurring events being strung together. Multiple and detailed plot lines are really nice when they diverge and converge nicely, something that I think you did real well in Act I. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the well thought-out details in this Act as well. Granted the massive chapters can be a turn-off from reading the new updates immediately, but I always do read it in the end. It's always worth the twenty to thirty minutes.

A memory crystal from Commander Hurricane? I'm always interested in hearing more about my favorite tribal leader.

Actually, I wrote a story centered around Commander Hurricane that I just finished a little while ago. If you've been on Equestria Daily, you might have seen a story titled "Of Skies Long Forgotten" get updated every once in a while. It seems like Hurricane plays an important historical role in your stories, so I would encourage you to take a look at what I've put together. To be honest, I did pull a few names for some of my OCs from Act I of your story, and some of the details of the richly-created world you've built I'm incorporating into the sequel. Empatha, Arcana, and Endura, for example. I figured you'd like to know as much, Where Loyalties Lie was one of the major influences that inspired me to start writing in the first place. And hey, if you do like some of the stuff I've put together about Hurricane and would like to use it in your works, I'd be more than happy to let you.

Advertising is an evil in today's world, and for that I apologize

Can't wait for the next chapter to come out though. Things should be getting more complicated from here on out!

[Keyesty]

1898899
Oh, so we have WLL-verse now. That is just wonderful.
However, Commander from WLL (aka RD's father) is not Commander Hurricane, but his descendant. There wasn't much information about Hurricane in the story so far.

[The 24th Pegasus]

1902523
I do know that, as I have been keeping up with the story. However, LoyalLiar has mentioned Commander Hurricane's name now several times in the two Acts so far

[Keyesty]

1902842
Hm... I wander, if your story can be used as reference to events long past. I'll return after reading it.
And then my head-canon for WLL-verse will explode.

[The 24th Pegasus]

1902883
Right now there is no real WLL-verse, as I haven't written any things that directly correlate with what LoyalLiar has written so far, I'm just referencing a few ideas. Although in the sequel to my story that I am already writing, I am planning on referencing some of the events he described Commander Hurricane having taken part in -- such as the defense of the Unicorn kingdom in which Star Swirl the Bearded granted him his armor, and possibly a few other items such as Platinum's Ward. Such an establishment of an WLL-verse would require a more collaborative effort between the two of us.

[Shire Folk]

I'm not going to leave a wall of text, because if I do then that'll take too much time writing when I could also be spending my time writing my own chapters that I have neglected recently getting caught up reading this great story that's been sitting in my 'Read Later' list for far too long.

So now for the bullet points of what I would otherwise say in full sentences and paragraphs.

Shining Armor sure as hell ain't dead.
Addendum: If he is dead, Twilight Sparkle has evolved into Rapidash
I love Scootaloo being in this.
Calling for a RDxDR ship.
Wondering if Going Solo is going to appear in Act II as well. She's really grown on me.
Masquerade is appearing to be far too *good* a villain to simply love or hate. Everything goes her way like she has a god helping her...
Addendum: However, you're also too good of a writer for me to call "VILLAIN-SUE" and abandon. Discord did it.
Best Pony () is also included in the main characters list. Waiting excitedly to see more of her.
Luna and Night Guard are boss.
Even after all she's done, Celestia is still Best Princess in my books and still awesome.

May the Grace of the Valar Protect You

Shire Folk

[LoyalLiar]

1923023

After attempting to type this response 5 times, I have realized that there is no way to express this thought without sounding like a creeper, so I'm just going to say it. Apologies.

Much like the debate over whether sex with one's own clone is masturbation, is the creepiness/pedophilic nature of a relationship determined by physical age, or actual chronological age? Perhaps this is a philosophical debate for the ages... but I'm not sure I want to get into it.

I'm also not sure whether or not I'm going to be able to avoid it.

-Loyal Liar

[Keyesty]

1923023>>1923915 Honestly, as long as people read TwiLuna and Twilestia fics without finding it creepy, RDxDR shouldn't even rise such alarm. Besides, since both are undead, question of age is irrelevant.
Oh, and by the law, it is only pedo-ish, if one of involved isn't adult. As long as both are, age differences only there to feed gossip of old mares.

But again, I find it fun that after LL clearly stated months ago WhoxRD this ship will be, people still speculate, must be in human nature.
If I am going to speculate, it is if Going Solo (my favourite) will finally get Shining or if there will be another stallion for her. And if there will be RariInk or InkyShy.

[LoyalLiar]

1931139

Sato really wants me to write OnCrack (Soldier On x Thunder Crack), just because it has the single best shipping tag of all time.

[arancaytar]

uncle-twice-removed on my mom's side, Grizzaloo

1931956

That'd certainly be a...
...
Crack Ship

One of my best advisors is a wyrm named 'Zagatka'

Krenn, you might want to sit down for this next part.

Image groaned and shook his head. "I didn't say I was leaving, Princess. Just don't expect me to be much good for meaningful conversation. Marathon, I'm going to send Left out. Try and make sure I don't embarrass myself while I'm gone."

Ooooh! That's a really cool trick. Guess his name is significant after all.

[DyedFox]

A year has passed, so my comment will be fashionably late but I don't care.

I have read Act I and I ejoyed it. There were a few moments I didn't but overall the story was good. Until now...
After reading this chapter I just couldn't bear it any longer and created an account to comment on what I personally disliked about it.

1. Scootaloo is following Celestia and Flag. The Princess ignores the fact that an underage filly is running loosely - alone! - in the normally restricted to ponies palace. She ignores that the filly is walking into an enormous, secret cave that only few know about including the Princesses and most trusted Guards. Tha cave that serves as a storage for very important magical gems, and as a prison for an extremely dangerous assassin. She doesn't care that she might fall a thousand feet from the stairs "without railing or guard". She doesn't care she might get lost in there. And after Scootalooo fiddles with the gems, Celestia just tells her "Don't do it again." What a brutal punishment...

2.How does Ink know Scootaloo? I didn't read FSWL (I can only guess me met her there). And why is Ink so... kind? I would imagine him at least shouting at her for all the ruckus she's made. I understand you tried to make him a more likeable character but the change he's undergone is too drastic. He used to be brutal, aggressive and that made him an interesting character. Now that you've deprived him of those traits he's little more than some background pony.

3. How the heck did Masquerade escape? She was beaten to a pulp and couldn't even move! Why Celestia was so careless? If she is so dangerous why haven't they cut off her horn or killed her right after they interrogated her? What have Armor and Ink found out? Why didn't she at least turn her back to stone when they finished? Why did Celestia risked keeping her in the cave where she stored very important memory gems?

4. Luna resorted to violence rather quickly. We haven't found anything about their motives or goals. They didn't threat her as Marathon said, thay just told her to turn back. To me the whole situation seemed as an excuse to show Luna's battle prowess. I expected her to at least try to solve the problem in a peaceful way. We got a bloodshed instead.

5. And one more thing about Scootaloo. I'm really not a big fan of how she is pictured here and in hundreds of other fics. I mean the "Hey, we've never seen her relatives in the show! She must definitely be an orphan and live in CMC clubhouse!" . I don't know what is she doing in this story anyway. You mentioned in one of the comments that more chapters will be from her POV. That worries me.

Notwithstanding, I will continue reading this story even if just to see how it ends

[SolidFire]

Dang, so that's what it's like when Rainbow's soul kinda... wants to go back to the Summer Lands? That was weird and kinda nerve wracking. It's like it gives her a brief glimpse and contact with the afterlife. Now that was cool. Memory crystals. Kinda like the memory orbs from FoE, and I find that neat. Sorry, just had to make that connection. And it was a memory of Chrysalis before she was a changeling no less. Reminds me of this picture (in a way):

fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/189/d/d/the_cursed_queen_by_inuhoshi_to_darkpen-d6ciact.png

I. Called. It! Seriously, dang. Masquerade deserves to die in the most brutal way imaginable! Oh, and for some odd reason, I've been getting the nagging fear that you're going to go and kill Marathon. She's right there with Luna and Mirror Image, in the thick of all the shit. This is only the third chapter of a 230+k unfinished story and I'm already about to go insane. This one was awesome! So much deception, but now that cat is out of the bag. Hopefully Shining's okay, but he obviously is. You didn't give some heart breaking description, so he's definitely alive. Can't wait to start reading the next one!

~SolidFire