Prologue - Renascentia

'I wonder if Dad would like the new look…'

Corona sighed as she appraised her reflection in the mirror. The first thing that caught her eye was her mane; it was still blonde and wavy, but instead of flowing well past her shoulders, now it barely covered the off-white fur on the back of her neck. She still missed it at times, but fashion and style were the least of her concerns now. 'Not after what happened…' Her hazel eyes drifted towards a small picture depicting her and her family in the midst of a snow-covered market, and as she closed her eyes, the memories came rushing back to her mind.

It had been the beginning of Winter. Corona was in her second year of studies at the Equestrian Academy of Magic and like always, she spent her semester breaks at her family’s home in Trottingham. On the final day of the break, her parents surprised her with a trip to the city’s famous Hearth’s Warming Market. Full of vendors, food, music, and dancing, it was a local tradition nearly as old as the city itself. Together they spent nearly the entire day exploring every inch of the market while they sipped from bottomless mugs of hot cider, grazed on plates of caramel apples, and sang their voices dry with each round of caroling.

They were near the central square when her father had stopped a random pony and asked them to take their picture with his prized camera. Unlike so many family photos, that one had turned out nearly perfect, capturing all of them with bright eyes and wide smiles.

It was the last time she would ever see them.

Two months later - in the dead of winter - the attack came. They came at daybreak, concealed in dark armor and shielded by the dim light offered by another misty, grey dawn. The guards were still changing shifts and exchanging reports when the first screams rang out from the central square.

Before anypony could react, five guards had been struck down. Arrows and swords cut effortlessly through unarmored flesh, while the few that made it to their weapons were torn asunder by talons and beaks as if they were rag dolls. By the time the alarm was triggered to signal an attack, the sky above the fortress-city was blotted out by thousands of griffons.

Some swooped down to the streets to kill anything that was moving while others began dropping magical orbs that burst into flames upon contact. The fires raced through the mostly wooden structures that made up the interior of the city, sending hundreds of ponies scrambling outside to escape the flames - only to die at the end of a griffon’s sword.

They showed no mercy, not even to the young and innocent among them. Fathers died protecting their families. Young colts and fillies were cut down in the streets like dogs while their parents were forced to watch. Mothers died clutching their foals in their hooves, or watched helplessly as they were torn from their grasp, never to be seen again.

Word of the attack reached the Academy a day later, and the Princess’ had wept openly as they delivered the grim news to the students; Trottingham was a burned and shattered wreck, its citizens either killed or taken prisoner by the griffons.

Tensions with the warrior-like griffons had been high since their first contact with ponykind, but blatant acts of violence had so far been avoided, albeit barely. Now though, a line had been crossed and there was no going back. The next day, the Royal Sisters made it official.

Equestria was at war with the Griffon Empire.

Within days, ponies from every corner of Equestria flooded recruitment offices, city halls, and town squares, ready to join in the defense of their lands. The ranks of the Equestrian armed forces grew ten-fold in a matter of weeks, and within months the Royal Guard had shaped them into a combat-ready force.

But if Equestria was to survive the biggest conflict she had ever faced, more would be needed than extra sets of hooves. The griffons had already displayed a penchant for magic in their attack on Trottingham, and the early battles of the war only confirmed the ferocity of the dark, arcane power that their mages were able to wield.

Such destructive magic required more than regular spells to fight, and very few unicorns outside of the Royal Sisters could command such powers on their own. So, a different call went out to the students of the Academy. Those willing to endure a brutal training regimen - and devote their entire lives to the study of magic - would become an elite force, trained to face the absolute worst that the griffons could throw at Equestria.

Corona was the first in line to volunteer.

Dozens of unicorns had joined her in the first recruiting class. Some, like Corona, chose to study solar magic, while others chose to devote themselves to the study of the night and its mysterious ways. Both her body and her mind were tested in ways she had never imagined possible, and there were many points that she questioned whether she should join the scores of others who had fallen short and returned to their regular studies. Yet each time she was on the cusp of quitting, she’d remember.

She’d remember walking through the burnt remains of her family’s cozy home, unable to find even a small fragment of the life she used to have. The raw smell of ash would choke her airways as she recalled the dozens of funeral pyres offering some measure of respect to the piles of bodies left by the griffons’ mindless slaughter. She’d remember all of it, and she’d press on despite the odds.

Now over a year later, she had made it through the trials, passed all of the tests, and mastered the necessary spells. She who was once a studious but unassuming unicorn was about to become an instrument of incredible magic. An instrument of the sun itself.

'An instrument of justice…'

The thought sent a shiver down her back, tugging Corona’s mind back to the present. She rose from her chair and stepped back to regard her mirror image once more. Other than the shorter mane and the admittedly tauter figure, she looked much the same as she always did. Yet as she stared at the mirror, Corona wasn’t sure what - or who - she was looking at.

'After today, will I be the same pony anymore?'

Images of a burning Trottingham, of piles of dead, mutilated bodies, flashed in her mind once more.

'Can I even be that pony anymore?'

A light knock on her door broke her train of thought. “It’s open.”

The door opened slowly behind her, and as Corona looked into her mirror, she couldn’t help but smile a bit as her visitor came into view.

“Are you ready?” asked the tall mare that stood in the doorway.

Corona looked again at the last picture of her family - 'the last time I was happy'... But this time, no tears came. She had run out of those long ago. All that was left for her now were memories of happier times-

-and a burning desire for revenge.

Corona’s horn came to life and a moment later, a long, tan cloak hovered into her view behind her. Nearly thoughtless twists of her light-green aura brought the cloak smoothly over her form, covering her from nearly head to hoof. As she closed the small clasp on the front, the cloak’s only embellishment, a depiction of the sun, came together. It was similar to the mark that adorned the Solar Princess herself, with one exception.

This sun was blood-red.

Corona raised the cloak’s hood over her head and turned from the mirror.

“Yes, Radiance. I’m ready.”

Corona and Radiance shared a comfortable silence as they made the short walk from their dormitory building to the grand assembly hall. Few expenses had been spared when it was constructed to the specific designs and wishes of the Royal Sisters, and it showed.

Gleaming white stone covered its every surface, giving the entire building an almost ethereal glow in the midday sun. Twin spires rose from near the center of the building; one adorned in gold and dozens of stained-glass windows, and the other accented in silver filigrees and dark blue marble buttresses. Their designs were a study in visual contrast, but like the Princess’ they represented, they looked perfectly at home next to each other.

Corona breathed deeply as she followed Radiance into the intricate gardens that snaked through the central courtyard. Along with the assembly hall, the gardens were considered one of the crown jewels of the Academy. Flora and trees from every corner of Equestria found a home in the expertly maintained maze of hedges, gardens, and pebble-lined paths.

The path widened out as they came to the first of the gardens’ many circular intersections. Corona trotted ahead for a second before stopping underneath the shade of a towering, centuries-old tree that marked the center of the circle. “You know, I think I lost count of the hours I spent in these gardens.”

Radiance chuckled a bit as she joined Corona beneath the tree. The expansive shade offered by its massive branches turned the exposed parts of her light-grey coat to a dark charcoal. Only her powder-blue eyes and a shock of her red forelock were visible under the hood of her cloak. “Oh, I know. For a while there, we were beginning to wonder if you’d dropped your classes and joined the grounds staff.”

Corona shot her a teasing glare. “Good thing that I didn’t, or there wouldn’t be any gardens left here at all.”

“Oh, please, you solve four-level spell matrices before most of us have had breakfast.” Radiance glanced at a nearby bed of petunias. “Surely, you can conquer some small pink flowers.”

“I killed an aloe plant in two weeks.” Corona deadpanned.

“Wait, you what-” Radiance tried to stifle a laugh, but only broke down into giggles for her efforts. “O-okay, even I could do better than that.”

Corona stuck her tongue out in feigned outrage. “Well then, miss greenhoof, feel free to join the Botany Club anytime.” The shared moment of laughter stretched on for a moment before Corona turned to a more serious subject.

“Do you think we’ll still be working together after today?”

Radiance grew quiet for a moment before answering. “I don’t see why not. We’ve all trained together since day one, and the two of us have been paired up the entire time.” She took a half-step forward to bump Corona’s flank. “Besides, why break up such a great team?” she added with a wink.

Corona sighed a bit as she collected her thoughts. “You’re probably right. It’s just that… I don’t know… I guess I’m just used to having you and some of the others around me, you know? Going out there alone… It’s just different I guess.”

Radiance furrowed her brow at that. “I get it, believe me, but remember that we’ve all done solo training missions and really lopsided duels. If anypony can handle themselves alone, it’s you. After all, nopony else was able to deduce the missing components of the fifth level flare spell while simultaneously holding off two squads of griffon sentries.”

“That was just a simulation, and those griffons weren’t really out to skewer my flank.” Corona huffed a bit before sitting on a nearby bench. “I’m not doubting my technical abilities, Radiance, but you did just as well in those exercises as I did, remember?” Radiance opened her mouth to respond, but Corona kept going. “The point is, we’ve been together since nearly our first weeks as regular students, and even more so after we enlisted. I may have been first in line to signup, but you know who was right behind me?” Corona pointed a hoof at her friend and comrade. “You were.”

“Which was quite alright, if you ask me!” Corona and Radiance jumped a bit as a voice rang in their ears. They looked about for a moment to find the source of the voice, but saw nopony near them.

“I hate waiting in lines, but having that grey flank in front of me for a few minutes made things much easier to take.” Corona rolled her eyes a bit as she continued to locate the voice around her. A wisp of what looked like a light smoke wafted past her muzzle, and a she fought back a small grin. 'Found you…' She tapped Radiance on the shoulder and gestured to another wisp of cloudy air that was passing behind them.

Radiance gave a smile and wink, but said nothing. From beneath the hood of her cloak, a cherry-red glow began emanating from her horn. She looked around for a moment before a tendril of red reached out and wrapped around the wispy air like a vine.

“Ow! H-hey! What’s the big idea, Rad?” The voice called out from nowhere in particular.

“You know how much I hate that nickname…” Radiance grunted in mild annoyance as her magic wrapped tighter around the smoke.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry, okay? Don’t get your tail in a twist!”

Radiance glared at the could-like patch of air a moment more before finally releasing her magic. “You’d probably like that too much. Now get out here, Cobalt.”

“Alright, since you asked so nicely…” Wisps of smoke came together from around the two mares, coalescing into a small sphere. Corona eyed the floating ball with a bit of bemusement, while Radiance continued to look mildly annoyed. The ball of smoky air glowed blue for a second before dissolving in front of them, the remnants all swirling towards a point on the ground like water in a funnel. Bright blue magic coursed through the trails of air as they dove towards the ground, and in a matter of seconds, a dark-colored stallion took shape before them.

“Would you two lovely mares like an escort to the assembly hall?”

“I think we can defend ourselves from the evil monsters that are surely lurking in the Royal Gardens,” Radiance deadpanned before folding back the hood of her cloak. “But I’m sure you’ll insist anyway.”

“A gentlestallion is always to escort the mares when possible, if not for their protection, than as a show of proper decorum.” Cobalt swept into his best version of a formal court bow, sweeping his hoof out in front of him for added effect.

Corona lowered her cloak’s hood as well as she chuckled. “You know, for nearly being a member of the Shadows, you’re being pretty obvious there, Cobalt.” Cobalt feigned indignation for a moment before breaking out into a sly grin. “Geez, some ponies just don’t appreciate the subtlety of things.”

Corona shifted her gaze between the other two ponies. If Radiance was an example of poise and control, Cobalt was her exact opposite. From the gleam in his bright-blue eyes to his barely-tamed mane and tail, Cobalt played everything fast and loose. Even before the war, he was known around the Academy as a bit of a loose cannon, willing to bend the rules - and sometimes the laws of magic - to get the results he thought were needed.

It was little surprise then that he was a bit of a mares’ stallion too. He had calmed down a bit under the strict discipline demanded of him and the other ponies that had joined the Shadows, the sister group the Solar Rays. Still, Cobalt was known to have an eye for the mares, and it was no secret that more than a few of them had their eyes on him too.

'I can’t say I’d blame them either.' Corona thought as her eyes glanced over his dark, almost midnight blue coat. His mane and tail, unkempt as usual, were a dark grey, save for a shock of bright blue that split them both down the middle. In another, more peaceful time, she might have entertained thoughts of getting to know him better. But she had little time to devote to anything other than her studies, and her heart was still clamped shut with repressed grief over the loss of her family and her home. 'Then again, who would want to try and tame him?'

The sound of several bells boomed through the campus, breaking the shared moment of silence. Radiance moved first from the shade of the tree and looked at the tall clock tower that stood on the Eastern edge of the main square, which showed the time to be eleven o’clock in the morning.

“The ceremony begins in less than an hour. We should get going, Corona.” Radiance raised the hood of her cloak and began to trot away.

Cobalt sighed a bit before giving Corona a bemused look. “What’s got her so moody?”

Corona could only offer a shrug of her shoulders in return. “Don’t know, to be honest.” She glanced sideways at Cobalt. “Final trials took a toll on everypony, so maybe she just needs some rest.”

Cobalt blew some air from his lower lip, lightly ruffling his messy forelock. “Somehow, I doubt any of us will be getting rest before this war ends.”

“If it ever does end, that is.”

“Looks like this is where I get off,” Cobalt said as the trio came to a stop. They had just entered the assembly hall through one of the many entrances that had been reserved for students. The warmly-lit entryway branched off into three hallways, each of them marked with a simple but beautifully carved stone archway.

The path directly in front of them led to the main welcoming area at the front of the hall by way of a sunny atrium and one of Princess Celestia’s many art collections. The path to their right led to a winding staircase that rose to the ground level before terminating at the entrance to the assembly hall itself. To their left, the third and final path led deeper into the bowels of the grand building, where many of the more mundane activities and services that kept the Academy running smoothly were housed.

Corona eyes drifted over Radiance’s shoulder to the left-most hallway. “I’m sure they’re waiting for the two of us in the preparatory rooms.” Radiance nodded in agreement, but a tan hoof stopped her when she began to turn in that direction.

“Before we go,” Corona’s glanced at both of them as she spoke, “I just want to thank both of you. I know we all have our reasons for being here, and there’s been nothing easy about any of this.” A warm smile crossed her lips. “But I know I couldn’t have made it on my own; not without two good friends by my side.”

Cobalt lunged forward and wrapped the two mares into a nearly crushing hug. “Aww, now that calls for a group hug! Come here you two!” Even Radiance had to crack a smile as she allowed herself to be drawn into the mess of fur and hair.

After a few seconds, Cobalt stepped back from the embrace and let his hooves fall to the polished floor. “You two better get going. I’ll see you at the ceremony!” Cobalt waved before trotting down the righthoof path toward the assembly hall.

They waved after him for a moment before turning toward the left most archway. Corona smirked playfully at Radiance.

“Shall we get our hair done then?”

Barely thirty minutes later, they emerged from the preparatory rooms and into a long hallway. “Yeah, my Mom would pass out if she saw my hair now.” Corona joked as she exited the preparatory room behind Radiance.

“Well, at least you can tell her that you only did it because everypony else was doing it too,” Radiance whispered over her shoulder. Corona snorted as she tried to stifle a laugh, and quickly muttered an apology to the stallion behind her in line who had just very conspicuously cleared his throat.

She gently ran a hoof over her forehead for what felt like the hundredth time already. Her wavy blonde forelock was gone, a victim of the barber’s shears. Corona frowned slightly as she gingerly rubbed the exposed fur around her horn. 'Are they sure that its only our manes that can be singed?'

Her hoof stopped for a moment as it brushed across the splash of body paint on her lower forehead. Painstakingly applied by hoof, the red sun matched the symbol on her well-worn cloak, but on her fur, it felt less a symbol and more like a mark.

'A mark of purpose.'

Movement in the front of the line snapped her attention from her departed mane, and she moved quickly to follow Radiance and ten other ponies through the warmly-lit hallways. The line twisted and turned through multiple corridors before stopping at the base of a small staircase marked ‘To Antechamber’.

They waited for a few moments before an older unicorn mare appeared at the top of the stairs. Bearing the royal crest and trimmed in blazing gold, her gleaming white cloak marked her as a member of Princess Celestia’s senior staff. In this mare’s light brown eyes, Corona could see wisdom and stress in nearly equal amounts. 'The things she must have seen…'

“Good morning. My name is Silent Note, and I am here to escort you into the assembly hall.” Her voice was warm, but authoritative. “Please follow me.” The line promptly followed in Silent Note’s wake, keeping a respectful distance behind her as they ascended the short staircase.

Corona peered around the room as the line came to a stop inside the antechamber. The space was quite a bit larger than its name would suggest, and could easily fit another dozen or more ponies in it with room to spare. It was a fairly simple room in comparison to much of the rest of the building; tables and some couches were clustered about the room and around the quaint stone fireplace on the far wall, while pale yellow wainscotting broke up the otherwise off-white walls. Plush rugs carpeted many areas of the room, offering their hooves a soft reprieve from the gleaming wood floors.

“You’ll be moving into the grand hall in just a few moments,” Silent Note announced as the dozen unicorns began to loosely mill about the room. “Please reform a line in front of the door over there when you are ready,” she added, gesturing to the door to the right side of the room.

About a minute passed before a single bell chimed from outside the room, and the door to the grand hall opened before them.

“Well, here we go,” Radiance whispered as she stepped up beside Corona. “You know I’m not one for eloquence, but-” she laid a hoof on Corona’s withers, “thank you for being there for me as well. Without you - and perhaps Cobalt - I wouldn't be here right now either. S-so, thanks.”

Corona leaned to her left, gently bumping her friend’s side. “You too, Radiance… You too.”

Everypony was fidgeting in place as they rejoined the tail end of the line, with Corona now bringing up the rear. Hooves lightly tapped on the floor and bodies swayed like grass in a gentle breeze as they tried to keep their energy - and their nerves - in check. Silent Note stepped to the front of the line and twelve heads turned as one to face her.

“The procession will now begin. When your name is announced, remove your cloak and enter the hall. A guard will step forward and escort you from there. The ceremony will begin when all of you have taken your places.”

Silent Note’s eyes gazed over all of them as she continued. “You are all exceptional ponies, and I know you will make all of us proud. On behalf of the Academy and its staff, I thank you all for your service in the defense of Equestria. I wish you all good luck and a safe return from wherever you may go.”

Silent Note turned and stepped to the side just as another bell rang out from the main hall, followed immediately by a booming voice.

“Mares and gentlestallions, please rise as we announce each pony’s name. Again, we ask for complete silence during this time.”

Corona peered around the rest of the line and could just catch a glimpse of the dozen guards outside of the door, six to a side.

“Emerald Gleam!” The unseen voice called out the first name, and the light-green mare at the head of the line doffed her cloak and stepped through the door.

The line shuffled forward a few steps before stopping again.

"Mirabelle Blossom!"

Corona’s pulse spiked with each small step.

"Emberglow!"

A few more steps; Corona swallowed a growing lump in her throat.

"Flare Star!"

The line grew shorter with each name that was announced, and Corona could almost feel the butterflies bouncing around her stomach like playground balls.

"Radiance Belle!"

Corona's stomach twisted into knots as she watched her friend walk through the door and into the chamber. She shuffled forward to the threshold while her magic quickly unwrapped the cloak from around her, and as she looked out to the chamber beyond, Corona couldn't stop her mouth from hanging open just a bit.

The hall was filled to capacity, with dignitaries, families, and guests filling every available space alongside the entire student body of the Academy. Silken banners hung from every column and overhang, while lush flower arrangements dotted every table and railing. The bright midday sun poured in through dozens of expansive windows, bathing the entire chamber in a soft white glow.

'I wish Mom and Dad could see this...'

She closed her eyes, and for a split-second, an image of her parents came vividly to her mind. They stood together in an endless field of green, their hooves entwined and adoring smiles on their faces. She felt a knowing warmth fill her heart... A warmth that only her parents could bring to her.

"Corona Haze!"

'Perhaps they will after all.'

Corona stifled a small gasp as she took in her surroundings from her spot at what would be the six o’clock position in the circle. 'This doesn’t look nearly as big from the cheap seats…' The short procession had come to a stop near the tile mosaic embedded in center of the floor, its thousands of hoof laid tiles depicting Celestia’s and Luna’s marks in exquisite detail. The twelve ponies stood equal length apart around the mosaic, as if they were the hands on a clock.

The hall seemed to spread out forever in all directions. Rows of seats - all filled to capacity - stretched out on nearly all sides. Her eyes followed the huge marble columns up from the floor to the ornate balconies that jutted out over the chamber; these too were full to capacity with onlookers. An expansive dome covered in more mosaics and carvings soared hundreds of feet above her, the huge window at its peak casting a natural spotlight onto the polished floor below.

A bit of movement caught the corner of her eye, and when she looked up, Corona saw a tall, burly stallion standing at a dais that had been built into one of the nearby columns. “Mares and gentlestallions, it is my honor to present her Royal Highnesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and the Archmage of Equestria, Sunspot!”

Every pony in the chamber bowed as one as the three most powerful beings in Equestria emerged onto the balcony at the front of the chamber. The Royal Sisters strode forward to opposite ends of the balcony, each of them clothed in some of the most resplendent fabrics that Corona, or anypony in the room, had ever seen.

An iridescent white gown flowed around Celestia’s hooves, the shimmering fabric reflecting the myriad of pastel colors and shades that coursed through her mane and tail. Corona ignored the nearly blinding glow from Celestia’s regalia as she stared in awe at the pony who had become a distant but ever-present mother in hers and her classmates lives since the war began.

On the other side of the balcony stood Princess Luna. Where her elder sister’s gown was flowy and bright like a summer day, Luna’s gown reflected equal measures of foggy mystery and shadowed beauty. Entire constellations of stars seemed woven directly into the sheer midnight fabric; innumerable shades of blue, purple, and black twisted around and through each other so perfectly, it was hard for Corona to tell where Luna’s mane ended and the gown began.

Finally, Corona’s eyes stopped on the tall stallion that stood between the two sisters. As Equestria’s first Archmage and second-in-command to the Royal sisters, Sunspot was literally and figuratively a synthesis of the night and the day.

A flowing mane of alternating black and white waves swept well past his shoulders, nearly touching the middle of his chest when he moved. Streaks of glistening light and inky, star-crossed night shone through the mane as well as his tail, casting his murky grey coat in a miasma of color. Even his eyes reflected the duality of the powers at his command; his left eye shone a bright, piercing yellow, while his right was a deep mixture of blue and purple. A long, heavy cloak covered most of Sunspot’s body, designs of sun, moon, and stars cascading down the deep blue and grey fabric until stopping at his white fetlocks. The sigil of magic - a six-pointed star - sat proudly on his broad chest at the end of a gleaming silver chain.

“My ponies, we bid thee rise.” Luna’s voice echoed through the chamber as Corona and her classmates rose along with the crowds. “On behalf of my sister and the esteemed Archmage, we offer a warm and sincere welcome to all who are gathered here today.”

Celestia then stepped to the railing, pausing to regard her sister and the crowd in turn. “War with the Griffon Empire is something that neither I nor my sister wanted. Yet, despite our best efforts, war has come to Equestria’s borders, and we were left with no choice but to stand and fight.” Her voice grew somber as she continued.

“This war enters its second year now and with each new battle our enemy’s bloodlust grows stronger, their methods more brutal. Far too much carnage has been wrought upon our fair kingdom, and let it be known to all here that the sacrifices made - and the lives lost - to defend this nation will not be forgotten.”

Celestia looked over the crowd once more, raising a hoof towards them. “It is in their memories that we continue to fight, and I will not rest…” Her bright magenta eyes hardened like cold steel as she raised her voice. “We will not rest until peace returns to our lands, and justice is wrought upon those who stole so much from us.”

The crowd burst into an enthusiastic round of applause at Celestia’s last words; even the normally stoic Archmage joined the crowd in showing his approval of the Princess’ words. After a few more moments, Princess Celestia raised a hoof and the crowd grew silent once again.

“Thank you all. I now give the floor to our esteemed Archmage.” Celestia nodded briefly to Sunspot before stepping back from the railing. Sunspot waited a moment before stepping forward to speak, his voice soft but brimming with authority. “One year ago, our Princesses issued a call for ponies willing to make an even deeper commitment to the art and science of magic, and a brave few responded.” Sunspot glanced down to the twelve.

“Some chose to study the power of the Day, while your brothers and sisters devoted themselves to the Night,” he continued, nodding towards the group of unicorns on the right side of the chamber. “I congratulate Princess Luna’s apprentices as well, and look forward to their ascension to The Shadows in the coming days.” Corona peered in the same direction and for a split-second, she found Cobalt’s eyes among the rows of dark cloaks. Corona returned his small ‘good luck’ smile with one of her own.

Sunspot’s gaze turned up to the crowds once more. “Today, these twelve will become more than just well-trained mages. They will form a special, other-worldly bond to each other, to the essence of magic…” he glanced towards Celestia, “...to the very sun itself.”

Corona felt a warmth and a shiver at once as Sunspot’s eyes fell across her and the others in the circle. “Now, to the elect, I ask you a final time. Are you ready and willing to take on this duty?”

The twelve responded in unison. “We are.”

"In doing so, you understand that after today, your magic - your very life essence - will be irrevocably bonded to the Day itself. Put simply, in many respects, you will never be the same ponies again for as long as you live."

"We do," they chanted as one, with Corona adding just a bit more volume to her voice than was required.

"Very well then," Sunspot replied solemnly. His dark robes flowed around his legs as he turned and bowed before Celestia.

"Your Highness, I present to you these twelve unicorns - these elect - to your judgement. They have committed every fiber of their strength to the study of your celestial namesake, and before me and these gathered witnesses, they have stated their unwavering desire to take up your banner. Therefore, I beseech you, the ruler of the Day and commander of the light, to grant their request and let these twelve souls become one with your essence."

Celestia looked out to the circle of unicorns below, then turned her eyes back to the still-prostrate Archmage. “Archmage, please rise.” Sunspot rose to his hooves, though his head remained bowed out of respect. “We thank you for your wise counsel and for presenting these skilled unicorns to us. We have also observed them and their performance, and have judged them more than worthy of the power and authority that they seek.”

The distant sound of the clock tower’s bells rang, announcing the time as high Noon. Without another word, Celestia unfurled her wings and leapt over the railing, gliding smoothly down to the floor below. Corona and the other unicorns bowed as low as they could put their muzzles the moment her golden shoes touched down in their midst.

"Please rise, my little ponies."

Corona stood along with the others, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when she lifted her eyes. Princess Celestia stood at her full height in the center of the circle, her mane and tail billowing around her outstretched wings. The ray of light coming through the top of the dome shone directly onto the Princess, turning her snow-white coat into a miniature sun.

“Just as my Sister’s Moon has a light and a dark side, so too does my Sun. A seed grows into a strong blade of grass under the same light that eventually starves it into scorched, dry straw. Through the power of the Day, the sun’s light gives and takes in equal measure.”

A golden glow burst forth from Celestia’s horn as her magic came to life. Under the light beaming down onto her, Celestia’s entire body seemed wrapped in an aura of pure golden light. “In this way, the name ‘Solar Ray’ is a reflection of the dual power that will now be yours to wield.”

Corona was so enraptured by the sight that she didn’t notice Celestia’s magic branch off towards each unicorn in the circle. 'Oh, my-'

The moment the beam of magic touched the tip of her horn, Corona felt a kind of warmth that she had never experienced before; even the loving embrace of her parents could not compare to the sense of peace and harmony that she felt now. A bright, pure magic flooded through the leylines in her body, and her mind was awash with senses and perceptions that she had never imagined.

The hum of magic in the air morphed into an ear-splitting roar as Celestia’s eyes turned to blinding white orbs as the glow around her began to grow exponentially. “From this moment on, you are no longer unicorns, but Solar Rays. The power of the Day will embrace you, and the purity of its light will flow through you. In your hooves will be the authority to bring light to a nation darkened by war, the ability to renew what has been lost…”

Celestia spread her wings back, reared up to her hind legs, and thrust her horn skyward. A ball of white-hot magic gathered at its tip, as if the Sun itself had been recreated in their midst.

“...and the power to burn those who would do us harm.”

The whole chamber turned white as Celestia released her magic, and the full force of the Sun hit Corona like a bolt of lightning.

Her every nerve was on fire as a tidal wave of magic raced through her. Raw power unlike she had ever felt before flooded into her magical reserves as the very essence of the Sun touched Corona for the first time. New leylines began to emerge into her vision; not just of the other ponies in the room, but of every single thing around her - the tiles in the floor, the marble columns beneath the balconies, even the plants on the railings. She could see the glowing white lines of magic flowing through them all like blood in a vein. 'It’s so beautiful…'

Corona’s body took on a white-hot glow as she freely gave herself - body, mind, and soul - to the Day, and as its power claimed her as its own, a sense of unbridled joy and righteous fury rose up within her. In the Day’s embrace she felt alive...

Powerful…

Purified...

Reborn.

(1) - A Light in the Dark

View Online

Celestia's sun rose over the top of the Everfree Forest, bathing the massive spires and grand balconies of the Royal Castle in a warm amber glow. The new light of dawn quickly embraced the castle, shooting past it to cast its welcoming rays upon the nearby Equestrian Academy of Magic.

The expansive grounds stirred to life as the sun continued its upward march across the horizon, and for Corona Haze and her fellow Solar Rays, the new day brought with it a new beginning. True to their namesake, the elite corps of unicorns rose with their sun, and as the first streams of light trickled through her window, they found Corona sitting on the edge of her bed, stretching groggily.

'Does being one with the sun mean rising with it too? My head is killing me...' She grimaced as the echoes of last night’s study session unleashed a vicious headache in her temples. Her horn leapt to life with a brilliant glow, much more pronounced and audible than her magic had been just yesterday. She was mildly surprised to find that even her regular aura of magic had changed color; from a lime-green to a healthy, warm golden glow. 'Fitting, I suppose; though I will miss the green...' Corona smiled as she pulled the sheets and covers taut over her bed, taking great care to control the amount of magic that she put into the otherwise mundane task. ’Incinerating one set of sheets was bad enough.’ she added as an afterthought. After a warm bath and spending a bit of time in front of the mirror, Corona donned her cloak and slipped into the hall.

"Good morning, Corona!" Radiance's gentle voice greeted her. Her fellow Solar Ray was already dressed and ready, brimming with energy as she and Corona made their way down the hall.

"Okay, that's way too much energy for this early in the morning..." Corona quipped, casting a sidelong glance at Radiance.

"You know what they say, 'early to bed and early to rise makes a mare healthy, wealthy, and wise.' Really though, why so tired? You went to your room soon after the- Wait a sec, you didn't-”

"I only meant to read one book on advanced thermodynamics, I swear!" Corona grimaced as another wave of pain flashed through her head. "Yeah, yeah, I know..."

"The one chance you had to really take a night off..." Radiance mirrored the look on Corona's face. "At least I was up late for a fun reason."

"Yeah, how did the visit from your family go?" Corona perked up a little. Following the ceremony just yesterday, they had all been given the evening to socialize and mingle with any visitors who may or may not have come. Radiance had dashed off as soon as the ceremony was complete to spend time with her family, who had made it a point to attend despite their somewhat far-flung locations.

"It was good! The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was open for the evening, so I walked over with them and showed them around a bit. You know father, always interested in architecture..."

"Didn't he help build that castle?" Corona asked.

"He was mainly involved with laying the foundations for the castle, but he had a million stories about clearing away the vegetation from the Everfree, and how troublesome the creatures had been." Radiance rolled her eyes. "Nevermind that his oldest daughter had just been given the power of the sun by Celestia herself, no, he's got to go on about how limestone deposits are a pain in the flank to clear for the marble base they used..." She snorted derisively before taking a short breath. "But Mother... Well..." Radiance blushed a little, closing her eyes with a soft sigh. "It's always nice when your mother tells you she's more proud of you than she's ever been..."

"Yeah..." Corona's reply came as a slap to Radiance. Her friend flinched, sparing a brief moment to lay her hoof across Corona's withers.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me..."

"It's alright, Radiance, really." Corona offered a brave smile, turning the corner from the dormitories into the academy’s Common Hall. "I buried them a long time ago. Just because my family wasn't there to see everything doesn't give me an excuse to be bitter about your time with your family."

"Still," Radiance simpered. "I'm sorry they couldn't be there for you..."

'Not physically, anyway...' Corona recalled the vision she had received the moment before stepping into the central chamber - a vision of her parents standing on an endless field of green, beaming with pride at their only child. That picture was still there whenever she closed her eyes. 'In a way, they had the best seats in the house.'

"Corona?"

"Hmm?" She came back from her reverie with a few blinks, the happy memory fading away and leaving an odd sort of warmth behind. 'It feels like the sun on my coat...'

"We, uh... Have an audience."

Corona and Radiance came to a stop in the middle of the room. Normally, the Common Hall was the main congregation point for students and sometimes even staff, and as such it was always alive with ponies coming and going to classes, meetings, or elsewhere. The hall was a gathering place, but also a space for quiet study, and that dual purpose was well-reflected in its decor.

Lush carpets lined nearly the entire floor, plush chairs and couches were arranged in sets or around one of the five fireplaces that dotted the mahogany-paneled walls at various locations. The fires were enchanted to never go out, and would burn throughout the night to facilitate both the daytime and nighttime classes the academy students attended.

Now though, the only sounds in the entire hall were the swish of Corona's cloak as it came to a rest against her legs, the wayward popping of the fireplaces, and the muted whispers of the dozens of ponies that were staring with wide eyes at them both.

"Don't you all have somewhere to be right now?" She gruffly clipped. Like blowing out a candle, everypony suddenly jumped and began moving again, many of them muttering 'Yes, ma'am,' or 'Sorry, ma'am.' Corona glowered at their choice of words. 'Ma'am? Since when did we become ma'ams? Just yesterday we were students like the rest of them... And now-'

"Come on." Radiance chuckled, bumping Corona with her flank. "Silent Note wants to see all of us this morning."

"Right." Corona replied as she followed Radiance out of the Common Hall and into the largest of the academic wings that were attached to it. While the Common Hall was warm, inviting, and quiet, the brightly tiled hallways they now entered were bright, grandiose, and very noisy. Everything from the tap of their hooves to the shouts of hurried students echoed off the marbled floor, making the sounds all the louder in Corona's ears.

Leaving the Common Hall at their tails, Corona and Radiance walked in silence as they made their way down the well-appointed corridor. Marble columns soared dozens of feet upwards into a vaulted ceiling interspersed with wondrous mosaics and the occasional painting from Celestia or Luna's private collection. Doors lined the hall on either side, leading into classrooms, service rooms, or the occasional restroom. With the current term coming to a close in a few days, the hall was remarkable quiet on this morning - making the contrast with the ever-present calm of the Common Hall all the more striking. The strange sense of duality between the two wings of the building brought thoughts of the Shadows, and their upcoming ascension, to her mind. 'I wonder what they're up to...'

As if on queue, Cobalt fell into step beside the two, his hooffalls as silent as a feather floating on a breeze. If not for the presence of his magical signature, Corona wouldn't have noticed him at all. "Good morning, ladies." He tittered. "Quite the entrance you made back there."

"Save it, Cobalt." Radiance's warm mood turned cold almost instantly, as it nearly always did in the dusky stallion's presence. "Aren't you supposed to be preparing for your own ceremony? When is it, anyway?"

"It's a secret." Cobalt winked at them.

"Everything's a secret with you, isn't it." Corona deadpanned as she shook a kink out of her shortened mane. His continued vagueness frustrated her - to say nothing of whatever it is about him that rubbed Radiance the wrong way. Still, Corona couldn't help but give him a welcoming smile as they rounded another corner.

The Shadows were the lunar equivalents of the Solar Rays, but they so far had acted and operated like two entirely different entities. Where the Solar Rays were communal and friendly, Cobalt seemed to be the only member of the Shadows-to-be that wasn't cold, secretive, and aloof. 'Now that I think about it, I've only met two others besides Cobalt. Surely there's more of them than that?' she thought. After a group of almost annoyingly curious students passed them by, Corona spoke up.

"Hey, Cobalt, how many of you are th-"

Cobalt had vanished. Corona blinked at the empty area to her right that just moments ago had been occupied by the eccentric stallion.

"I hate it when he does that... And he's only gotten better at it over the years."

"Tell me about it." Corona whickered, snorting a little out of annoyance. "I miss the days when he would just conjure up some smoke and then go hide behind a pillar, thinking we couldn't see him."

"Come on," Radiance nudged her again. "We're going to be late."

They quickened their pace down the corridor, and as they crossed through another intersection, two of their fellow Solar Rays fell into step beside them; Mirabelle, a friendly and rather comely mare, and Flare Star, wearing her usual mask of determination across her hawk-like eyes.

The four mares exchanged nods and brief smiles, but said nothing otherwise. After so much time together - in labs, classrooms, and training fields - they were all but blood relatives anyway. Corona knew them nearly as well as family, and she knew without a doubt that any one of them would give their lives for the others without a second thought.

A few minutes later, the quartet of ponies arrived outside of Silent Note's temporary office, where the rest of the Rays were already gathered.

"Good morning girls." Ivory Shores greeted each of them in turn with a wide smile. Tall and with a svelte figure, she could turn heads wherever she went, but with her turquoise curls cut short and the vivid red mark of the sun on her forehead, she looked even more striking. Corona slowed, allowing the other three to step forward for a hug first.

"Good morning, Ivory." Radiance greeted the mare with a hearty embrace. "I hope we didn't keep you all waiting."

"Hardly! Silent Note isn't even in right now." Ivory replied, gesturing back to the office door they stood outside of. "I think Emberglow was the first to arrive, and she's only been here about ten minutes or so."

"No more than fifteen minutes." The ash-colored mare confirmed. "You're not late at all."

"See?" Ivory winked. "No trouble at all." Corona gnawed her lip as the other two mares greeted Ivory. Before the gorgeous mare could wrap her hooves around her, though, Corona held her own hoof up.

"Hang on a tick... What time is it?"

"Half past seven," Ember answered immediately, her horn projecting the image of a miniature clock into the air before her.

"Mon cheri, how did you do that?" Ivory asked in surprise.

"Oh, you mean the clock?" Ember replied as her now-golden aura nudged the clock closer to Ivory. "I discovered it by accident last night, while walking through the gardens. I couldn't see the clock tower through the darkness, and the moment I thought about it, a clock appeared in the air in front of me."

"Wow, now that is seriously cool!" Flare said as she waved a hoof through the projected time piece.

"Yes, it is indeed cool, but," Corona stepped around Ivory as the furrow in her brow deepened, "she said she'd be here at a quarter-past seven..." Her horn sparked to life as she grasped the brass knocker on the white office door.

"Corona, we already kno-"

*Wap wap wap!*

The sound echoed through the hallway, silencing the other Rays in an instant. Just as Ivory went to open her mouth to call her out, the door swung inwards.

"Come in, please." Silent Note's quiet voice wafted past their ears, ushering them inside. Corona couldn't help but grumble a bit as she led the others into the moderately-sized office before they all fanned out across the room. Silent Note sat behind a wide desk of what appeared to be birch, sipping from a steaming mug as her magic shuffled papers into loose stacks on her desk. The tell-tale scent of coffee hit her, and Corona tried to cover her scrunched up nose with a hoof. 'Ugh, I can't stand that stuff.’

"Good morning, everypony." Silent Note smiled over the rim of her cup, setting it aside gracefully. "I'm glad you could make it. Sorry for the delay, I was out handling some business."

"I didn't even see or feel her slip past us..." Ember muttered under her breath. Idly, Corona noted a nearby window open, the curtains fluttering calmly in a soft breeze.

"I trust that you all had a pleasant evening?"

"Yes, Ma'am." The twelve answered as one, their voices quiet but strong.

"Good. Well, forgive me my brashness, but..." Her horn leapt to life as she pulled open a drawer and withdrew a stack of folders. "I'm afraid it's straight to business." She distributed all the folders evenly, and Corona accepted her own with a mildly shocked blink. "Normally, the Crown would give you ample time to adjust to your newfound abilities, but unfortunately, the war waits for nopony. Our lines are holding, but our borders are being pressed from nearly all sides. These folders contain your first assignments as Solar Rays; they should contain all the information you need at the moment, so please act with haste." She tented her hooves on the desk, appraising each of them with her brown eyes. "A quick note, however... When you volunteered to become Solar Rays, you’ll recall that you also signed enlistment papers." 'Oh yeah...' Corona thought. She recalled signing the enlistment papers, but they were merely a tiny piece of the process she went through to become even a candidate for the Solar Rays.

"In addition to your title of Solar Ray, you are also assigned to the Unicorn Corps with the rank of Lieutenant. Along with your assignments is the name of a commanding officer you are to report to. Don't worry, we know you're still new to the whole military procedure, so once you arrive at your destination, just check in with your respective officers. They will assist you in acclimating to life in the military, and can direct you in your duties to the Princesses. Any questions?"

"Um," Ivory's soft voice interjected, her eyes on her folder. "We're not going to be staying here?"

"Of course not." Silent Note blinked in shock. "Your duty is to Equestria, and right now, Equestria is at war. You're required out there, supporting the front lines, helping the wounded, raising morale, or whatever else is required of you." Silent Note gestured to the map on the wall behind her. "What good would twelve of our best mages do if they spent the war here in the middle of the Everfree Forest? As I said, we regret not giving you time to better acclimate yourselves, but the situation grows more critical by the day. I urge you, those of you who can, leave as soon as possible. Some of you," Silent Note's eyes flickered to Corona for a second. "May have a day or two to prepare yourselves. Unless I'm mistaken, Ivory..." Silent Note's lips spread in a smile. "the next transport to Vanhoover leaves in two hours."

"I..." Ivory shuffled her folder open, her eyes blinking in disbelief. "I suppose I do..."

"All of you have your assignments. I'll be here to answer questions, but I suggest you get going." She stood from her chair, smiling across the desk at them. "Remember that wherever you go, the light of the sun goes with you. Go and shine that light to every corner of Equestria and beyond."

"Psst! Hey, Corona!" Radiance pulled her aside as the twelve ponies shuffled out of Silent Note's office. "C'mere."

"What's up?" Corona closed her own folder and stepped over to her friend.

"Check your orders, I think we may have the same ones..."

"Huh?" Corona gave her a confused look before opening her own folder, and she too was shocked to find a single sheet of paper with two lines printed on it.

'Corona Haze -

Report immediately to Archmage Sunspot.'

"I... What?"

"See?" Radiance showed off her own folder, frowning slightly. She had the same two lines of text. "What's this all about?"

"I don't know... Hey, Mirabelle, got a second?" Corona managed to catch the mare before her with a hushed word. Mirabelle arched her eyebrow as she turned back to them. "Any idea what this is about?" She asked as she passed her own folder over to her.

"That's odd, I'm off to Baltimare." She said, opening her folder to show a much longer set of instructions printed across multiple pages. "Here, take my address." She floated a quill from her saddlebags and copied the address on her orders onto both Corona and Radiance's folders. "Let me know what they've got you two doing. Gotta dash, but take care!" She tucked the quill and her folder back in her bags before trotting away. ’This is strange indeed...’ Corona chewed her lips as she wondered what was going on.

"Come on." Radiance drew her out of her thoughts. "The note said immediately..."

"Yeah, but, right now right now?" Corona blinked.

"Do you really want to keep the Archmage waiting?"

"A wise mare wouldn't."

"GAH!" They nearly jumped out of their skin at the new voice before tripping over themselves in an effort to turn around. They finally turned around and were cowed into silence immediately. Sunspot towered over them, standing in the exact spot that Ember had occupied mere seconds before. 'H-how did he?'

"A-Archmage..." Corona swallowed past her apprehension before sweeping into a low bow.

"Oh for pony's sake..." Sunspot snorted as he snatched Corona's chin with a hoof and forced her gaze up from the floor. "You can dispense with the formalities, both of you. Now come on, I have something for the two of you."

"Y-yes, sir..."

"What did I just say about formality?" Sunspot had just turned to leave, but he swept back around to loom over her. "Call me Sunspot, for star's sake. I may be your Archmage, but I am not your commander, nor am I your foalsitter. Now come, this is important."

"O-okay." Radiance nudged Corona forward as Sunspot spun on his heel, his cloak billowing in an arc behind him before sweeping away. Corona followed quickly, Radiance falling into step at her left. Sunspot set a very quick pace, yet his hooves made no sound as he breezed down the corridor. Corona and Radiance had to nearly gallop at times to keep up with him, and their hooves were not nearly as silent against the hard floor.

"Sunspot, where are you taking us?" Radiance asked after a short while.

"You'll see, don’t worry. You two are lucky, I might add; some of your fellow Solar Rays got boring deployments. Honestly..." He snorted. "Sending Mirabelle to 'bolster morale and assist with recruiting.' That mare could de-feather a griffon in half a second."

"You mean we're lucky because we're... Not getting a boring assignment?" Radiance asked.

"On the contrary," He chuckled. "You're both lucky and unfortunate. Patience, ladies. After tonight, all will be explained."

"After tonight?" Radiance had barely closed her mouth when Sunspot swept out of the hallway and through a door that had escaped both hers and Corona's notice before. A long, curved stairway arched down into the darkness before them, and Sunspot flew down it without a sound, his hooves a blur as he descended at mind-boggling speed. Corona and Radiance shared a quick look before galloping after the Archmage, their cloaks billowing behind them.

After almost a half an hour of the frenzied flight through the academy, Sunspot had led them up a staircase and into a dimly-lit room, the light of a single fireplace sending dancing light all over the interior room. There were no windows, and Corona couldn't help but feel as if she had just been taken underground for the duration of the day, but it couldn't have been later than a quarter past eight in the morning.

Along the way, Corona and Radiance had gotten an extremely rushed tour of the labyrinthine underground of the academy. They passed by underground laboratories and classrooms, storage rooms, and one room that looked like an additional kitchen. 'At least I hope that was a kitchen.' Corona mused as she had ran past that particular room. Past that, however, the rooms they passed were unlabeled, and of suspect usage. Corona and Radiance shared more than one dreadful glance as they failed to make any sense of the darkened rooms they passed near the end of their seemingly marathon run through the bowels of the complex.

Sunspot turned to them, his tall frame silhouetted against a door at the far side of the room. "Wait here. We have fourteen hours until nightfall. I suggest you get some rest if you can, ladies. It's going to be a long night."

At that, he left, the door slamming shut in his absence. Corona rushed to the door after him and poked her head out into the hallway with a question already on the tip of her tongue. Sunspot was gone though, and Corona stared out into a completely empty cobblestone hallway.

"Ponyfeathers." She grumbled, closing the door once more. "I hope he isn't like that all the time."

"Emerald says he is." Radiance sighed, unclipping her cloak and draping it over a nearby chair. Corona took her first good look at the room as she retreated from the door. Despite it being in the interior and only lit by the fireplace, it seemed inviting. The lack of natural light lent it a slightly suspended quality, as if it were separate from the time of the world around it. The wall opposite the fireplace was lined with bookshelves, each of them filled with dusty, well-worn tomes. A quick browse of the titles revealed a varied collection of reference material, spell manuals, star charts, history books, research scrolls, and even a small collection of fantasy novels.

Aside from the shelves, there were three low-slung couches, two recliners and a large table with four regular chairs. Her eyes itched, and the smell of the fireplace made her head a little fuzzy.

"How late were you up last night?" Radiance asked, glancing over her withers as she went to warm her hooves at the fire.

"Well into the night... Almost three in the morning." Corona groaned. She was glad the sun had woken her, else she easily could have missed their appointment with Silent Note that morning. Now, though, the lack of sleep and the frenetic run through half the castle complex were catching up quickly, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open.

"Sheesh. Take a nap, Corona. I'll wake you up before nightfall... That's when he's going to need us again, I think."

"Yeah... That sounds like a good idea..." Corona yawned and crawled up onto one of the low couches, taking a moment to unclip her cloak and drape it over herself. Between it and the comforting warmth of the fire, sleep overtook her quickly.

"-rona... Hey, Corona, wake up..."

"Hmm?" Corona muttered, her eyes opening to reveal a thin sliver of the fire-lit room. "Wha? What's up?"

"It's almost nightfall." Radiance smiled and pulled her hoof away. Corona hadn't even noticed that she had been shaken awake. "Here, I got you some food."

"Hmm? Oh, thanks." Corona stretched and lifted her cloak off, draping it over the back of the couch with a soft groan and a rather loud pop from her neck. The scent of hayfries and fresh-cut lettuce wafted past her nose, further rousing her senses.

"Sorry, I couldn't get any breakfast food..."

“Oh, that’s more than alright. This looks great.” Corona said as she moved to the nearby table and dug into the delicious looking food. "Where are we, anyways?"

"I managed to look outside when I went up, and you’re not going to believe this, but we're in the castle." Radiance sat opposite Corona, nursing what looked to be a glass of orange juice.

"The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters?" Corona looked up with wide eyes. "I didn't even know the sub-levels came all the way over here... It's almost two miles away on ground level."

"I know, didn't seem that long, did it? All of those twists and turns..." Radiance chuckled. "But yeah, I'd recognize that fountain anywhere. Father took a whole hour to look at it last night."

"Sheesh..." Corona rubbed her head. "I was out a long time..."

"You needed it. I took a good, long nap too. Almost six hours."

"Any word from Sunspot, then?"

"Nothing yet." Radiance grimaced. "Makes you wonder why he's called us over here..."

"Indeed." Corona finished her pseudo-breakfast and washed it down with cool water from a nearby pitcher. Radiance fetched a book from the shelf, opening it halfway and reading intently. Corona mirrored her, but kept the book levitated in front of her while she stretched.

An hour later, right when they'd thought he would, Sunspot opened the door.

"Sleep well, ladies?" He asked, a faint smile on his lips.

"Yeah," Corona muttered. "But why did you-"

"You're about to find out." Sunspot cut her off, sweeping a hoof into the hallway behind him. "Come with me."

Corona and Radiance gave each other another bemused look before donning their cloaks and following Sunspot out into the dimly-lit hallway. He made quick time through the halls, though this journey consisted mainly of stairwells than anything else. For being the Princess' palace, Corona half-expected the stairs to be made of diamond and alabaster, but she found their hooves crossed nothing but cobblestone and the occasional wooden hallway. They were cramped as well, to the point that the Princesses would probably have to duck to fit. She guessed these were the service halls, and if anypony would be familiar with them, it'd be the Archmage.

Sure enough, when Sunspot led them through a short, stout door, it was into one of the most extravagant hallways she had ever seen. Even better than the ceremony chamber she had been in last night, this hallway seemed to be a general thoroughfare, and she could see why it was so resplendent.

It led directly to the throne room. 'A hallway fit only for a Princess.'

"Come now." Sunspot grumbled as he marched swiftly down the hall towards the massive double doors that led to the throne room. "We haven't got all night."

"R-right..." The two of them picked up to a trot to catch up to Sunspot as he opened the doors with his magic. Corona looked through the opening and pulled up short at the threshold. 'What the hay?'

It was totally dark in the throne room. Not just dark, but an all-encompassing dark, one that seemed to swallow every ray of light that came through the open door.

"Don't tell me you two are afraid of the dark." Sunspot chuckled, ushering the two Solar Rays inside. "You'll be fine. Uncomfortable, but fine..."

Corona couldn't see an inch past her muzzle, and as she stepped through the door, she felt as uncoordinated as a foal taking its first steps. She shuffled and tripped, catching herself only to stumble again two steps later. Radiance was no better, the two of them pressing together almost out of habit to stay oriented. 'And of course,Sunspot's nowhere to be found.' Corona thought with no small amount of annoyance.

"Alright, that's enough of this," Corona grimaced, her horn glimmering faintly. "Can't see a thing..."

"Woah!"

"Hey, put out the light!"

"Sheesh!"

The brief glimpse that had been afforded her was all but lost in an instant. Corona saw a ring of ponies, maybe as many as ten or so, gathered in the middle of the throne room. But even the brief illumination had highlighted only a portion of the area around her. In their midst was another figure, and even the ray of light she had conjured hadn't revealed it. Now, shrouded in darkness once more, she felt even more lost and scared than she had upon seeing the unnatural blackness.

"My apologies." Sunspot's voice came from her side, making her jump again. "I must have forgotten your nightlight."

"Well can you blame me?" Corona hissed through gritted teeth. "I can't see a damned thing in this darkness!"

"Well, I suppose you don't see as well in the dark as I do... Look, just follow me, and be quiet." Sunspot laid a hoof on her withers, guiding her through the darkness off to her left. She couldn't see anything still, but following Sunspot's gentle touch, they soon arrived at what she would guess was the wall to the left of the doors they had come through. The inky blackness disappeared for half a moment, throwing a small cone of her world into relief. Sunspot stood before her, his horn glowing faintly. In a small sphere around them, the marble finish of the throne room was thrown into stark relief. But it wasn't just the three of them inside that sphere. Corona's eyes went wide.

"Pr-rincess Celestia!"

"Shh." Corona could still barely make out the elder Princess's form; her radiant glow was all but muffled by the surrounding darkness, casting her magenta eyes in a stark, almost brilliant relief. She sat on her haunches against the wall, a faint smile on her lips. "They're starting soon. Watch..." Stunned into silence, Corona could only turn her head to follow the Princess' gaze out into the darkness. The sphere closed around them, sealing the four intruders in pure blackness yet again. But this time, they were definitely not alone...

Corona stared wide-eyed as a faint glimmer of light pierced the darkness. Wisps of a dark silver magic wafted through the air like water in a stream, and as the silvery glow expanded, Corona could finally see the silhouette of another pony, this one in the middle of the circle in the room's center.

She barely held back a gasp as her mind translated what she saw.

'Princess Luna.'

"Welcome, my friends... My brothers and sisters in the night..." Luna's voice was nothing like Corona had ever heard before. The formality, the sheer volume, both were gone, and in their place, Luna's voice was low as a whisper, as heavy as an anvil. Yet Corona had no trouble hearing the Princess' every word, as if the words were carried on the darkness itself right to her ears. "Thank you for being here on this night, to bear silent witness for these few, these brave ones who have taken up my mantle and embraced my sacred Night." The Princess continued to speak, the light intensifying only moderately. Corona could see the other ponies in the ring now, their features clothed in shadow, but the lines of the muzzles and forelegs made out in faint lines of silver-grey on black.

"My apprentices… When Equestria called out in her time of need, you answered her call, but in a way, you did so much more besides. You not only answered your nation's plea, you forsook the world of light you all know and love, instead opening your minds to the Night. You took the shadow into your heart, bore the weight of its eternal burden on your backs without complaint, and without hesitation." Luna seemed to not move even an inch as she spoke. "We have watched your progress from the start, and know that we are most pleased with your efforts. Tonight, my apprentices, you will join your solar counterparts to become more than just unicorns or mages...

In the faint aura of light, Corona saw two blazing cyan orbs come to life. 'Her eyes...'

"Tonight, you will become Shadows." Luna emerged fully now, yet every feature that her glimmering horn revealed, it concealed just as much. 'The moon walks among us...' Corona thought as she looked on in amazement.

Luna's ethereal mane wafted about her head mysteriously, an inky void of blackness that blended in with the darkness around her. Yet her body was illuminated with a soft, almost tender white glow, from her slender, young face to her flowing gown. Stars glimmered in the fabric as she moved, entire galaxies and constellations slowly shifting in a slow, intricate dance across the dress. Beneath it all, her dark navy coat looked as near to black as it could be in the light, but stood out from the shadow.

"We are at war," Luna continued, her voice growing minutely. "The griffons have shed Equestria’s blood on her own soil. They have leveled our oldest city, killed thousands of innocents, rent families and friends asunder..."

Corona suddenly felt a chill up her spine, as if somepony was looking right at her just then. 'Am I imagining things, or did Luna just look at me...?'

"They kill without mercy, torture without fear of retaliation, and fight with a fervor born of magic darker and more sinister than my own." The light around her continued to grow along with her voice. "They're butchers, and killers, and warmongers." The light grew brighter still. "Thieves and vagabonds!" She reached a fever pitch, the light shining bright enough to illuminate the entire throne room now. Corona sat, stunned, as Luna's head lifted high, tears streaming down her beautiful, regal face.

Her wings flared at her sides as Luna stomped a hoof on the floor, the cracking of the tile beneath her echoing throughout the throne room.

"Truly, they know not the hell that they have condemned themselves to."

Then the blackness returned, leaving only the faintest, glimmering pinprick of light at the tip of Luna’s horn.

"But we are not like them." Her voice returned, a gentle murmur; a whisper after a great act. "We are smarter, and more compassionate. We have the capacity to forgive and move on from our wounds, having learned and grown stronger for them..."

The light returned until the circle of twelve ponies stood out clearly, each of them wearing a dark hood that covered their eyes. Luna stood in their midst, a sad smile on her lips and tear stains on her muzzle.

"To each of you, I preach compassion and empathy. To be strict, but not unforgiving. To be hard, but not merciless." As she spoke, a fog began to emanate from Luna's hooves; the blue-grey mist flowed out from her like water, drifting around the legs of each of the twelve unicorns in turn. Luna's horn glowed more intensely, a twelve-sided ray of light reaching out to each pony in the ring. As if on a silent breeze, their hoods blew off of their heads, revealing the twelve faces. Corona saw Cobalt, his eyes closed solemnly as the Princess' magic touched him, filling him with its power and energy. "The night is nurturing and calm," She spoke evenly so all could hear. "It is a cruel mistress, but it also accepts anypony seeking its embrace, and will gladly give them light and shadow in equal measure.

"These are dark times." Luna said quietly. "Now, my Shadows, my Children of the Moon, I send you forth with the blessing and the power of the Night. Use it wisely, use it justly, but above all..."

Luna raised her head as fresh tears fell down her muzzle and pattered against the floor. Her eyes opened as more of her magic poured from her towards the twelve, and in them, Corona could almost feel the blackness of space shoot right through her.

"Use it to show the world that there is always a light in the dark."

"Remain here." Sunspot's voice came to Corona as a whisper. The light from Luna's horn had passed away, but the sphere from earlier returned, revealing the tile they sat upon in a soft, muted light. Sunspot and Princess Celestia stood before them, faint smiles on their faces. "We will return in a moment." At that, they melted into the blackness, gone from their view.

Radiance pressed to her side, but Corona almost didn't feel her. Luna's words floated back to her. 'There's always a light in the dark...'

She found a scowl on her lips, unsure of how it got there.

Only a few minutes had gone by before the inky darkness faded away completely, throwing the throne room into a soft, muted light. A full moon hung in the sky outside, coming in through a series of stained-glass windows at the opposite end of the throne room. A small entourage of ponies stood in the middle, where the ring of twelve had been just a few minutes ago. The ring was gone, replaced instead by both Princesses, Sunspot, and...

"Cobalt?" Corona mused, cautiously stepping forward. "Hey... How are you feeling?"

"Humbled..." Cobalt's face radiated calm thoughtfulness, but he still managed a faint smile for her. "But happy. That was… That was intense."

"Wasn't it?" Radiance joined Corona in the small group of six, the three unicorns standing opposite the Archmage and both Princesses. "Congratulations."

"Thank you both." Cobalt wrapped the two mares in a hug, the three of them smiling faintly.

"I do hate to interrupt such a happy moment, Cobalt," Sunspot interjected. "But I'm afraid you won't be able to join your fellow Shadows at the pub tonight." The three broke their embrace to turn towards the three most powerful ponies in Equestria, their expressions much more sober now. "There's a reason we've asked the three of you to remain behind for a while... Princess?"

Celestia stood and stepped towards them, a sad, knowing smile on her lips. "It's my understanding that the three of you were among the top of your respective classes." 'We were?' Corona asked in her mind. 'I mean, Cobalt I can see; he was always finding ways to outdo the rest of us, but me? Radiance? I know Ember was at least as strong as Radiance, if not more so...’ She spared a quick glance at her friend before Celestia continued. "As such, we've seen fit to send you on a... special assignment."

"I wasn't joking when I said you were both more lucky and less fortunate than your counterparts." Sunspot stepped forwards. "What do you three know about the magic the griffons used to attack Trottingham?"

Silence reigned for a moment, but Corona could have sworn she heard the gears whirring in her friend's brains. She racked her brain for a moment, searching for some morsel of knowledge relating to the mysterious green orbs that had been reported by the few survivors two years ago, but she quickly realized that she had nothing to go on.

"I’m sorry, but I don't know anything." Corona admitted, and Cobalt and Radiance nodded their agreement.

"Then you're in the same position we are." Luna spoke calmly. "We know nothing of the magic used against Trottingham. Typically, any spells would leave a telluric resonance, as you all know. But the few investigations teams we've sent to Trottingham either came back empty-hoofed, or not at all."

"Thus," Sunspot raised his head high, looking down on them. In his eyes, Corona saw a mixture of emotions. Pride. Sympathy. Compassion. "We're going to send our best and brightest - the three ponies who've excelled more than their classmates, who have shown more devotion to their studies than any other Solar Ray or Shadow we've had volunteer to date."

"Prepare whatever supplies you need." Celestia said, her tone much more sober and quiet. "You leave for the ruins of Trottingham immediately."

(2) - Grim Calling

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First Contact War - Chapter 2

Grim Calling

"There is no time to waste, so come with me." Sunspot turned on his hooves and trotted away.

'Trottingham, of all places.' Corona was lost in thought over the Princess' orders. She registered a slight breeze hit her as Sunspot left, followed closely by Cobalt and Radiance. She glanced over her shoulder, only to see Celestia and Luna quietly watching the group's exit, their expressions torn between pride and worry.

"Unless you're preparing to teleport us all there at once, I suggest you join us." Sunspot's voice registered in her ears, and Corona jerked into action at once, doing her best to hide her embarrassment at the moment of inattention. She trotted to catch up with the long-legged stallion, grimacing as the luxurious throne room melted away behind her.

'Talk about going back to where it all began...'

Corona had barely caught up to the others when Sunspot darted through the first available side door, leading the group back into the much smaller service halls. The four of them fell into a comfortable silence, though only the sound of hers and Radiance's hooves greeted their ears. 'Both as silent as the shadows they embody.' she mused as she watched Sunspot and Cobalt traverse the floor without making a sound between them.

She hadn't been able to put a hoof on it, but there was something about Sunspot; something she felt every time she was near him. When he would step by her, it felt like that single moment of tension before a static discharge, only immensely more powerful.

"Quiet as a lightning bolt."

"What's that?" Sunspot barked, his voice booming through the narrow passageway. He spared Corona a look over his withers, though the quick glimpse she got of his duo-chromatic eyes was lost in a swish of his fabric as he rounded a corner.

"You. You're quiet as a lightning bolt."

"Now that's a strange analogy, young one." Sunspot replied as he continued on. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, if I may be brutally honest, it's just in the way you do... well, everything. Look, I know Radiance and I can never master the art of silence as well as Cobalt." As if on cue, Radiance tripped over an uneven cobblestone, uttering a very un-marelike curse that even Cobalt raised an eyebrow at. "But you, you're different." Corona kept talking as she did her best to keep pace. "You walk silently, yet I sense an air of raw power followed you everywhere you go. Like a lightning bolt."

"But lightning bolts are very loud, are they not?" Sunspot countered.

Corona chuckled at that. "That is a question for the pony that survived a lightning strike."

She only got a smile in return.

Corona was just about to ask if Sunspot used the service corridors out of a desire to save time or a love of tight spaces when his horn sparked to life and threw open a nearly invisible door mere seconds before they would have walked right into it. They emerged into another wide, opulent hallway.

Sunspot wasted no time moving down the short hallway to a large set of double doors, each one bearing an image of his cutie mark - a partially darkened sun - gilded in silver and gold. The heavy doors swung open as he swept into the room, and for the first time, Corona and her friends glimpsed into the personal office of Equestria's most powerful mage.

What they saw would have been described by any mother as a total disaster area.

Laboratory equipment, dozens of magical test apparatus, and even a small cauldron spread out across the room, filling the air with a cacophony of hisses, whirs, dings, chimes, and pops. Beakers of brightly-colored liquids bubbled and steamed atop blue flames, while in a far corner, the cauldron simmered away as if it were making potato and vegetable stew instead of unknown magical concoctions. Sunspot was nowhere to be seen, though his mutterings and occasional curses emanated from somewhere between two tables and three storage cabinets.

Corona and her friends scanned the room in silence as they slowly entered, their eyes wide as they took it all in. What space the equipment and chemical tests left free was covered instead with towering stacks of books and scrolls. Parchments and scrolls sat side-by-side mysterious tomes of knowledge in long-dead languages that Corona could only begin to guess at. Corona paused at a particularly large book that was left open on a table next to her. 'Is- is that the lost Draconic tongue?' She stared in wonder at the script-like shapes that filled the thick pages, each one glowing as if it had been written in molten lava.

She turned from the book and for the first time noticed that she was standing on a rather expansive - and plush - rug. Aside from the endless clutter, Sunspot's office turned laboratory was nearly as well-appointed as the throne room itself. Lush carpets and rugs covered much of the floor, complementing the dark woods and subdued paint tones on the walls. Three floor-to-ceiling windows were spaced around the room, each positioned to perfectly catch both the sun and the moon as they rose, peaked, and receded from the sky. If not for the semi-organized chaos around her, Corona would have called this one of the best panoramic views in the entire castle complex.

"Aha! Found them!" Sunspot finally emerged from behind the tables and threw three sets of saddlebags across the room with his magic. Corona winced as she watched one of the packs pass through a rather large gout of green flame on its way towards her. She caught the pack with her own magical grip, and she couldn't suppress a grimace as her nose picked up a very odd mixture of turnips, cinnamon, and blood. She quickly passed that pack to Cobalt, who gave her a judgmental glare before slipping the packs across his back.

"Supplies for your journey. If you are to succeed and return with your flanks intact, you'll need more than your cloaks and some spells.”

"Um, Sunspot?"

"Yes, Ms. Belle?"

"Do you really think we're going to need these on our journey to Trottingham?" Radiance hoisted three paperback novels from her pack, fanning them out for all to see. Corona raised an eyebrow at Sunspot's apparent choice of literature as well. 'Seriously? Cheesy adventure novels?'

"Of course you do!" Sunspot harrumphed. "You need an occasional distraction to keep you sharp. Trust me on this. Now move, Radiance, you're standing on your blanket."

"My wha—" Radiance jumped back as he shooed her away and lifted the article from the floor. What Corona had originally thought to be a luxurious rug instead turned out to be a large, soft blanket - with what looked to be a very old coffee stain near the bottom hem. Sunspot gave a sheepish grin as he buffed the stain out with a quick spell. She hadn't realized how cluttered the floor was previously, and as Corona examined the space around her hooves, she was dismayed to find a half-used sketchbook and what looked like a mostly-empty mug of coffee.

"Egh." She kicked the mug away, scrunching her nose at the acrid scent that assaulted her nose. She turned her face away from the smell, only to be hit in the muzzle by another puff of steam coming from a nearby test device. Instead of coffee, she now smelled burnt sugar and... "Aloe?"

"My hooves get dried easily, alright?” Sunspot answered a bit hurriedly. “Now, are you three going to dawdle all night, or will you help me pack your gear?" They glanced at the floor around them, where Sunspot had somehow accumulated a small mountain of gear and other supplies, including the aforementioned blanket and books, along with other hiking and outdoor gear. Next to this was an equally impressive array of potions, chemicals, orbs, and vials, many of which looked completely foreign to even Corona's well-read mind.

A well-timed - and obvious - grunt from Sunspot spurred the three unicorns into action. Corona quickly moved to corral and organize the stack of books that the Archmage had gathered, leaving Radiance and Cobalt to sort out the rest of the supplies. Nearly a dozen tomes and reference guides floated around Corona's head as she sorted them by topic before slotting them into her saddlebags. She paused mid-sort as her mind caught the title of one of the reference books. 'Layered Spellcasting Theory?' Corona stared at it for a second. 'How did he get this? The librarians never even let this one leave the desk it sits on.' Filing the question away for later, she cast a quick protection spell on the book before adding it to her pack.

She looked up as she tied the straps on her now full saddlebags to see Cobalt and Radiance finishing their up as well. Radiance's unreal packing skills had managed to cram all of the assorted equipment and supplies into her pack, while Cobalt had gingerly arranged the vials and potions in his own pack.

"Alright, that should do it." Sunspot muttered as he nosed through their bags one at a time. "You've been at the academy the past two years, so I'll tell you now, Trottingham might not be what it was last you visited..."

"None of us have- oh." Radiance began to speak, but a quick look from Corona silenced her.

"What's changed?" Corona continued, trying to ignore Sunspot nosing around her saddlebags with a very curious lack of respect for personal space.

"Well, for one, Trottingham isn't within our borders anymore." He sighed as he stepped over to Cobalt and checked his pack, being much more cautious with their specific contents. "The frontlines of the war have pushed back and forth constantly, never staying put for more than a few days at a time. Yet they have slowly receded as time has wore on. Trottingham used to sit on our North-Eastern border, and now it's almost fifty miles inside theirs."

"Wait, then wouldn't that mean-"

"Yes. Horseshoe Bay has been under attack for almost two months now. I'd suggest you go there first, though you may need to swing further South along the way in order to avoid the frontline along the way... And while we're on the subject, you need to leave immediately. Tonight. Do not take the main road out of the Everfree; the guards will ask you your business and that's something I'd just as soon not have any common soldier knowing." Sunspot swept around Cobalt to stand before the three of them, his head held high. The tone in the room shifted immediately.

"Yesterday you were students. Today, you are soldiers. And tonight, you depart on a mission that is undoubtedly fraught with peril." A melancholy look passed his face as he met each of their gazes in turn. His lips softened, and Corona could just see a faint glimmer take hold of his mysterious duo-chromatic eyes.

"You are not defenseless citizens anymore, nor are you mere unicorns. You are mages of the highest order. We would not be sending two Solar Rays and a Shadow fifty miles into enemy territory if you weren't every bit as powerful and capable as we believe you to be." His expression darkened as he turned towards the nearby window and gazed out to the night sky.

"It goes without saying that the griffons are as skilled as they are brutal. They would see you gutted in front of their king before they take you prisoner, and that goes double for we unicorns. I, as well as the Royal Sisters, have faith that you will succeed. But if you do not..." He turned back to them, the glimmer gone from his eyes and replaced instead with an iron, hawk-like glare.

"Take as many of the feathered bastards with you as you can."

The grass sifted beneath Corona's hooves, whispering quietly to their ears as the trio made their way across the palace grounds. Each of them had the hood of their cloaks drawn up, the long fabric draped over heavy saddlebags. None of the few ponies they came upon dared to question two Solar Rays and a Shadow moving with purpose, but what struck Corona was the silence that had settled over the three of them. 'When even Cobalt is quiet, we must really be on edge...'

"Do we really have to leave tonight?" Radiance groaned as they stopped just outside the edge of the Everfree Forest that butted up against the castle grounds.

"I have to agree." Cobalt's sober tone was slightly uncharacteristic, but understandable, given the task before them.. "Even I don't like going in there..."

"Come on, what could be so bad about the Everfree?" Corona tried to bolster their confidence with bravery. "Two Solar Rays and a Shadow? To be honest, it ought to be the Everfree that fears us."

"Yeah, well," Cobalt pushed ahead, his horn glowing densely already. "You can say that to the first Ursa Major or dragon we run across."

Corona felt a tingle around her hooves, and she looked down to see a dark aura similar to the one around Cobalt's horn surrounding them.

"A muffling spell. The academy prohibits students from travelling outside of the grounds for a reason, Corona." Cobalt whispered over his withers before disappearing in the shadows. Radiance and Corona shared a pensive look before following him.

Cobalt was but a grey streak among the shadows in front of them, but unlike her experience in the throne room, this darkness was bearable for Corona. There was just enough moonlight piercing the forest's canopy to cast their surroundings in a low - if slightly eerie - glow. Cobalt's muffling spell only added to the eerie feeling too; Corona could feel twigs and leaves crunching under her hooves, yet neither she nor Radiance made a sound as they followed in Cobalt's steps.

So they spent the night, traversing the trees in stark quiet. Cobalt paused twice to renew the spell on their hooves, and once more to direct them around what looked to be a wide, bubbling pool of very foul-smelling liquid. But as the moon sank towards the horizon and the first light of the day crept over the eastern horizon, they finally emerged from the forest.

"Well, that was an ordeal." Cobalt sighed, his horn glowing once more as he dispelled the sound on their hooves. "You two make more noise than a team of lumberponies. Not that any of them could hear it, but it makes my job more difficult."

"We do not." Radiance grumbled tiredly. Indeed, the all-night hike through the forest had taxed Corona as well; the streak of light on the horizon promised daytime and energy, but she felt exhausted.

"You do, but that's not a bad thing." Cobalt chuckled a bit. "Then again, you can split entire trees in half with a glance, so I suppose a bit of noise is to be expected." He curled up on the grass of what looked to be an open, unclaimed field.

"Are we... Resting?"

"Well, I would imagine so." Cobalt groaned a bit as he tucked his muzzle under a foreleg. "I did just lead us past three Ursa Minors, a Chimera den, and a boiling pit of ooze, all while maintaining three aura hiding enchantments..." Corona grimaced as he spoke. 'Wow, I did not realize he was doing all that at once...' Corona gave Cobalt a sympathetic look, but that turned into a grimace when another thought hit her. 'He had me under multiple spells at once, and I never felt a thing.'

"We should get some sleep while we can." Radiance sighed, curling up opposite Cobalt. "I'm exhausted, and I know Cobalt won't have as easy a time as we will moving through the day."

"I suppose." Corona mirrored her partners and stamped down a patch of long grass into a passable bed. "Six hours."

"Five." Cobalt grunted.

"Alright, five it is." Corona tucked her head down and closed her tired, dry eyes. Sleep enveloped her easily, and not even the brightening sky could keep her awake.

What the sun could not wake, however, a tapping hoof and a soft whisper could. Corona's eyes fluttered open after a moment, only to see Radiance standing over her with a gentle smile on her face.

"Let me guess - I drooled on myself or something?" Corona yawned, smacking her lips dryly.

"No, though I will keep that in mind,” Radiance answered with a smirk. “You just look peaceful when you're asleep… Like that cloud that follows you all day goes away for a while." Radiance only got an equally cloudy glare in response. Chuckling, she turned to Cobalt, who was fishing around in his pack for something. A few moments later, he emerged with a small, wrapped package of something delicious-smelling. "What’s that?" Corona groaned, getting to her hooves. She looked up in the sky and saw that the sun was at its zenith. The direct sunlight warmed her coat and chased away the last of her grogginess.

"Manna bread." Cobalt said simply. "Courtesy of Sunspot, apparently."

"That much?" Corona blinked as Cobalt unwrapped the package and held what looked like a full loaf of the bread in his hooves. Baked in an extremely specific manner using many rare and exotic ingredients, Manna bread was a valuable commodity among unicorns. Packed with nutrients both practical and magical in nature, it could replenish a unicorn’s magical reserves in a matter of minutes instead of days. Supplies of this bread were hard to come by, and a loaf the size of the one Cobalt was holding would take nearly six months to fully create. ’Likely because we can run for six months on this stuff...’ Corona added as an afterthought. Cobalt carefully broke off three small chunks, keeping one for himself but giving the other two to Radiance and Corona.

Corona had tasted Manna bread twice before - once after her first full exam as a Solar Ray candidate, and again during a laboratory exercise to study its composition. Now though, as she bit into the fluffy bread, she really began to appreciate it on another level; not only was it a good balance of crunchy and sweet, but now she could feel the full effects of its magical properties. Raw, fresh magic flooded through her veins, replenishing her strength and then some. 'I could smite a hundred griffons, wrestle an Ursa Major, then go run ten laps around the castle at the rate this bread is going.'

"We'll have to write a letter of thanks back to Sunspot for this," Cobalt muttered, tucking the magical bread back into his saddlebags with care. Corona and Radiance nodded their heads in agreement, feeling much more prepared for this day than they had last night at the outset.

"So... Trottingham." Radiance led them away from the Everfree, turning their path towards the ever-distant mountains of Corona's home. "How long will it take us to get there?"

"Accounting for potential skirmishes, avoiding patrol routes, and possible changes in the battle lines around Horseshoe Bay, I'd estimate about ten days," Corona replied as she continued to calculate possible outcomes in her head. "I think we can stick to major roads and cities for the most of it, but we'll need to gather information about the conflict on the way. The way Sunspot made it sound, the entire Eastern border is touch-and-go, so I suggest we swing South through Baltimare and meet up with Mirabelle. We can get some intel and reports from her before we press East through the Talon Passes and into Griffon Territory."

"Hmm..." Radiance mulled it over, but Cobalt simply stood there and smiled at Corona.

"Let me get this straight - Your first recommendation is to march straight through the frontlines and into enemy territory without a second thought?"

"Well, you tell me if you feel like sailing North around Wingpoint in September." Corona huffed, recalling the tales she had heard of the treacherous North Sea. While they fared better than their Earth pony cousins, unicorns had never taken to the sea as well as their pegasi friends. 'I'm not sure if I'd be more worried about being eaten by a Leviathan, or keeping my lunch down' Corona grimaced at the thought of hanging over a railing for hours as her face turned green.

"True..." Cobalt muttered. "Well, I'll have to start thinking of ways to conceal the two of you from prying eyes. I think I can synthesize a long-term disguise spell between then and now."

"And if that fails, we can just break the lines and force our way in." Radiance groused.

"And just like that," Corona chuckled. "You get the difference between a Solar Ray and a Shadow."

The trio broke into uproarious laughter as they set off to the East, towards Baltimare - and their first glimpse of war.

The journey went smoothly after that. Heeding Sunspot's advice, they avoided regular roads and larger settlements on their way East, favoring small towns and rural barns where two gold bits were enough to allow three weary unicorns to sleep in the hay without being questioned about their journey. As they neared the Eastern front of the war, however, the Equestrian forces began to grow more and more dense. Guards were more frequent and, much to their chagrin, more inquisitive too.

The first time they had been stopped and asked their agenda, it had taken a good amount of talking and a healthy sum of bits to send the guard on his way. The second time, Radiance had batted an eyelash. The third, she batted her hooves against the overly touchy guard's cheek. But as they neared Baltimare, the guards hardly stopped them at all anymore. The clasps on their cloaks, to say nothing of the red mark on their heads, deterred all but the most stubborn and unsocial guardsponies.

The guards had stopped bothering them for the moment, but the same could not be said for the citizens of Baltimare, who gave the trio an exceptionally wide berth as they made their way into the city center. Even from a distance, Corona could see the whispers as they passed between rows of ponies that lined the sidewalks ahead of them.

"A-are those Solar Rays?"

"The new unicorn troops? The ones blessed by Celestia herself?!"

"Has to be! Just look at the mark on their foreheads, and their manes."

"Why are they cut like that?"

"So their magic doesn't set their mane on fire when they use it. They command the same magic Celestia herself does, I heard."

"Who is that, then? The darker one?"

"Don't look at him! He’s a Shadow! He'll give you nightmares if you look at him."

The whispers - and the absurdity of the claims they contained - grew thicker by the moment; Corona was about to stop and shoot down a particularly crazy rumor she heard when she saw a unit of uniformed guards turn onto the street ahead of them.

"Aah, the welcoming party. About time." Cobalt muttered under his breath. "Corona, I suggest you handle this one.” He glanced to his right. “I don't want to have to conjure another ice pack in the middle of the summer again."

"Hey!” Radiance knocked him in the shoulder. “That guard deserved it! He touched my-"

"Quiet. Both of you." Corona growled as the soldiers grew closer. The commoners had made a passage of sorts between the two parties, their eyes going back-and-forth as if watching some grand tennis match. Corona lifted her head high as the unit came to a halt before them, their armor gleaming in the early sunlight. A barrel-chested stallion, who Corona recognized as a Captain from the insignia on his helmet, strode forward from the line.

"I am Captain Steelhooves. While it is a pleasure to see you here, I must ask what brings two Solar Rays and a Shadow to Baltimare."

"We're passing through on our way to the frontlines." Corona answered immediately. "I'll not say why, but we need information on the current status of the conflict before we continue to the East. Can you direct us to your commanding officer?"

There was a silence as the captain scrutinized the three of them. Corona's patience was beginning to wear before he nodded slightly.

"We'll escort you. Commander Mirabelle will be glad to see you."

Corona's eyes went wide at that. 'Commander?'

"Corona! Radiance! So good to see you!" Mirabelle beamed at them as the guards ushered the trio inside the Baltimare town hall, though from the looks of it, it had not seen anything civil or peaceful in a long time. Maps, charts, and gear littered most of the space, many of the windows had been boarded up for safety, and guards patrolled the adjacent hallways.

She was so lost in thought, she never saw Mirabelle lunge forward for a warm hug. "What brings you to Baltimare?"

"Business, I'm afraid." Corona sighed, still reeling a little as Mirabelle went to embrace Radiance warmly, though she settled for a gentle hoofshake from Cobalt. "Can we speak privately?"

"Of course. Follow me." She said with a bubbly tone before turning to the pair of pegasi guards that stood beside her. "You two are relieved for the moment. This is Solar Rays business."

"Yes, ma'am." The pegasi both hoisted their spears and exited the same doors Corona and her friends had entered through. Corona watched them go with interest before following Mirabelle into a nearby doorway. Up a flight of stairs and halfway down the hallway, she led them into a warmly-lit office sporting a wide but cluttered desk, a well-worn chair, and two large windows looking out over the Southern edge of the sprawling city.

"So, what's going on?" Mirabelle's bubbly demeanor turned stoic and professional as she sat behind her desk.

"You recall that all of us received assignments shortly after our respective ascension ceremonies." Cobalt spoke first as he shrugged out of his saddlebags and cloak. "As you can tell, the three of us received the same assignment."

"Hopefully you weren't surprised." Mirabelle rolled a hoof as she spoke. "You three have been close since the day we all took the pledge, so I can see why the Princess kept you together for this one. Speaking of which, what is your assignment, anyway?"

"We need to get to Trottingham." Corona's words seemed to take the air out of the room, and the color from Mirabelle's cheeks.

"That's suicide."

"Well, in that case, I'm glad we came here then," Cobalt replied in a sarcastic tone, "at least we can say we saw a friend before we meet our demise."

"You know what I mean." Mirabelle sat in the chair behind the cluttered desk, rubbing her eyes with both hooves. "Trottingham is buried, you guys... It's fifty miles behind the front lines, and the storms are rolling in as we speak. I'm not in charge of Horseshoe Bay, but I get reports from them almost weekly.” Mirabelle’s face darkened more than Corona had ever seen it. “It's hard out there; harder than we ever anticipated."

"How bad is it, Mirabelle?"

"Here." Her horn glowed as she turned towards the wall behind her, where a map of Equestria was pinned up. Her magic began tracing lines along the map, leaving glowing imprints behind that pulsed faintly. "This is our frontline right now, where we're fighting regularly." She drew a line that hugged the North-Eastern edge of a small dot labeled 'Horsehoe Bay' at the top of the map, and began tracing it almost straight down. It swept left and right at key points, defining which of the Eastern Mountains Equestria forces controlled, and which of the peaks the griffons had captured from them. As Mirabelle had warned, the line was well within established Equestrian borders.

"Baltimare is a good bit removed from the conflict, so we've been offering support and training for new soldiers." Mirabelle finished the line with a right-hoofed hook to the border of Equestrian territory, near the edge of the Appaloosian desert. “Griffons can’t fly well in the dry air, so the campaign there has ground to a halt for the most part. The war has mostly been fought in the East, with the hardest battle lines dipping into and out of these mountains. I needn’t remind you what lies on the other side of those mountains.”

“The Everfree Forest and the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters,” Radiance answered.

"The main fight is for the peaks. Our Pegasi Calvary can assault a peak about once every three days if conditions are good.” Mirabelle pointed to two spots on the map as she continued. “If we take a peak, we can usually hold it against most attacks, unless they bomb us with Emeraldfire."

"Emeraldfire?" Corona perked up. "Is that the-"

"Yes, those are the green orbs they dropped on Trottingham long ago." Corona nodded. "We don't know what it is or how to stop it, but they must not have much of it, as they rarely use it. They prefer open-air conflicts, where they can needle the pegasi flights from a distance, or pester the Unicorn Corps from above. These three peaks here," Mirabelle's horn shimmered as three mountains glimmered on the map. "Change sides almost weekly. I'm surprised they're still standing after all this time, to be honest..." She cleared her throat and continued on. "Still, the Emeraldfire - an unofficial designation, mind you - stays on the ground for almost four days before dissipating. As soon as that happens, a skirmish breaks out. Either the pegasi overpower their forward scouts and we can make a post there, or we get pushed back and lose the mountain. This back-and-forth has gone on since day one, with neither side making any lasting gains.

"The more mountains a side controls, the more flexibility they have in pushing the attack, and let me tell you right now," Mirabelle cast them a pointed look. "It is not easy to win those mountains, much less hold them." She turned back to the map and highlighted Trottingham, its spot on the map placing it a good fifty miles inside of the enemy’s lines. "Trottingham is a ruin, so it doesn't really have any use for either side right now. We don't have the resources to push our lines back that far, and they have no need for a burned city. So it sits there, abandoned until we can reclaim our borders."

"I see." Corona frowned at the map as she turned options over in her head. 'We could move North into Horseshoe Bay and go East from there to Trottingham... That could work. Or, sail North around the conflict, try to land behind their lines entirely and sneak in the back way, but ugh, that means endless days of puking my guts up.' She shuddered a bit at the thought.

Radiance broke the shared moment of silent contemplation. "What do you two think?"

Cobalt answered first. "Well, stealth isn't exactly our collective forte, and the Archmage did instruct us to get there as quickly as possible, so I say we take the most direct route available."

"Through the Talon Passes?" Mirabelle asked in surprise. "That's right between the three peaks; you'd be in the center of the hot zone."

Cobalt pointed to the same trio of mountains on the map. "We can assist with the fight along the way, or at least blitz our way through the middle as quickly as possible. I can conceal us once we're on the far side. From the sound of it, Trottingham is more-or-less abandoned, so we should be relatively safe once we arrive there."

'Hmm... I kind of like it.' Corona thought. 'Never would have expected him to pick the highest-risk option though.' She turned to her right. "Radiance?"

"I..." Her friend stared at the map some more before sighing. "I don't like it. Going straight through the middle will likely bog us down, and take longer than if we skirt the fighting. But those peaks are one of the only things standing between the griffons and the heart of Equestrian territory. If we help take them on our way through, we can deal a blow to the enemy and help cement our hoof-hold in one fell swoop.” She glanced at the map again before turning to the others. “As much as I think it detracts from our mission, I have to agree with Cobalt. We should go straight through."

"It's settled, then." Corona nodded to Mirabelle, who was looking at the three of them with more than a bit of worry on her face. "We'll leave tonight at midnight."

Being a friend of the local commanding officer did have one perk though - it afforded the three of them rooms for the night in the small inn next to the command post. Most of the quaint-looking inn had been converted into officer's quarters and a mess hall, but a few rooms had been left untouched in case guests visited the command post. Cobalt asked for a room to himself, but Mirabelle insisted that Corona and Radiance share her personal quarters.

"It'll be a little tight, but I figure I can stay up late to afford you two the chance to rest." Mirabelle bubbled, letting them into what had once been a small suite. The past two years had been relatively kind to the room, and Corona could still see the mild luxury the warmly decorated room once offered. The available desks and tables had been cluttered with battle reports, maps, ledgers, and official letters, but underneath it all was a sense of quiet comfort that she found relaxing. 'If the bath is as comforting as this room, I might not leave.'

"You didn't have to do this," Radiance said as she took in the room around her. "We would have been fine finding a place of our own tonight."

"Nonsense! Like I'd put my fellow Solar Rays out on the streets." Mirabelle ruffled Radiance's mane playfully. "It'll be good to have you two here. I do have to get back to work soon, though, so we might as well catch up while we have a chance." She leapt up onto a couch near the small fireplace, leaving enough space for the other two to curl up on either side of her. "What happened after I left? I mean, the way it sounded, you two were the only Solar Rays not put on the first train out of the Academy. I heard about the Shadows and their induction as well. Looks like Cobalt made the cut after all."

"Yep, that crazy pony made it, somehow..." Radiance smirked a bit at her own words. "But we weren't left behind for long. We got our assignments the next day and were told to leave that same night." She sighed as she rested her muzzle on her hooves. "Still, things are just so different out here."

"Oh are they ever." Mirabelle grinned. "You wouldn't believe the hassle I had to go through when I got into town."

"Speaking of different," Radiance perked up a bit. "Weren't we all commissioned as Lieutenants? How did you get to Commander in less than a month?"

"Oh, yeah… that" Mirabelle’s tone drew the others’ attention immediately. "After receiving my assignment, I booked the next carriage I could get that was headed this way. I was able to get here in three days, and Celestia as my witness, this place was a mess. The commander - Bright Eyes - had let things devolve into utter chaos in the eight months he had been assigned here. Our supplies were going to the frontlines in disjointed, mis-labeled messes, training had fallen behind almost an entire month, new recruits weren't getting their armor fitted properly, ugh." She threw her hooves up dramatically. "It was a disaster. Needless to say, I began digging around for answers, and well, I quickly found out why he'd allowed things to get so out-of-hoof."

"Why's that?" Radiance asked, and judging by her voice, she seemed to fear the answer.

"Turns out," Mirabelle lowered her voice. "Bright Eyes was working for the griffons the whole time. Apparently, his younger sister was captured during an assault on Eggshell Peak, and the griffons were using her as leverage to squeeze him for information. He was even getting coded messages from the frontlines, threatening to kill his sister if he didn't do all he could to bog down training and distribution of supplies."

"That's terrible!" Corona's jaw dropped in shock. "How could anypony help those feathered bastards?!"

"What would you do if they had your sister captive?" Mirabelle offered sympathetically. "Still, it seemed almost too simple, so I dug deeper..." She leaned in again. "I sent a request for information to the Captain in charge of the Talon Pass front, and got a report back the next day. Bright Eyes' sister died six months ago. A cavalry unit found her body while securing the site of an abandoned griffon camp. The report indicated that she had likely been tortured and dehorned before they killed her."

"My stars..." Radiance paled. "But if his sister was dead, why was Bright Eyes still sabotaging for them?"

"Because he never knew she was dead." Corona and Radiance both choked on their breath for a moment, their eyes wide with shock.

"They fed him misinformation the whole time, assuring him that they'd release her if he let things fall apart just a little bit more." Mirabelle's horn glowed to life and she retrieved a glass bottle from one of the nearby cabinets. "They even had the gall to reward him for his sabotage."

"Bootleg vodka?" Corona asked.

"Not bootleg, the good stuff." She pointed to the seal on the bottle's neck. "This is the mark of the Griffon King. Only bottles from his private reserve get this seal."

Corona felt the anger boiling in her veins already. "I know they had his sister, but to sit here and sabotage his own soldiers while trusting the griffons' word - and their booze - is disgusting."

"I agree," Mirabelle answered as she put the bottle down on a nearby table. "When I had my information set, I confronted Bright Eyes immediately. He was in his office, crying like a foal and drunk out of his mind. The griffons must have known the game was up, because they dropped the news of his sister's death on him right after he intentionally botched yet another supply run for them. He confessed everything to me without hesitation... He was broken in every way possible."

"What did you say to him then?" Radiance asked quietly.

"Me? I said nothing to him." Mirabelle's gaze turned cold as ice. "That gallows had the last word."

Corona's mind nearly froze. "Mirabelle, did you-"

"Without hesitation." her usually-warm eyes seemed distant, as if they were looking past them to another place entirely.

"He's still hanging in the Town Square... A reminder to any who would sabotage Equestria for their own means.

Mirabelle had excused herself after that, leaving her quarters to her friends. The weight of her story - and the fate of Bright Eyes - weighed the room down like an anvil, and Corona and Radiance could find nothing to say to each other, save for coordinating food and bathing. The luxurious oil that Mirabelle kept in her bath did little to calm Corona’s nerves, and the water seemed cold no matter how much she heated the water. She plodded through the necessary tasks instead, scrubbing her mane and coat in utter silence.

Radiance helped her re-apply the red mark to her forehead with a small tin of red paste they had brought from the academy before taking her turn in the bath. Corona returned the favor, and the two of them settled down for the night. Sleep eluded Corona though, and what little she did get was plagued by dreams of Bright Eyes hanging limp in his noose, of his sister's tortured body, and a haunting nightmare that had Corona fleeing down Baltimare's streets as a tidal wave of black mud chased her.

She awoke half an hour before midnight, though Radiance slumbered easily on Mirabelle's bed in the other room. 'So much for a restful night.' Corona thought as she quietly packed their gear. After double-checking everything, she moved to wake Radiance.

"Time to go?" Her friend asked groggily.

"Yeah. Come on. Here's your cloak and bags." Corona ushered Radiance out of bed, moving in the candle-lit darkness of the former hotel suite. A few minutes later, the two of them emerged into the hallway, cloaked and ready to travel. Wordlessly, Cobalt emerged from his own room just one door down. The three of them shared a nod before silently leaving.

"So, straight North-East, then?" Cobalt asked quietly.

"Yeah, but we need to make a stop first." Corona muttered. She glanced to Radiance, and she saw all the support she would need in her friend’s blue eyes. Without another word, she turned to her left and led them towards the Town Square.

"By the stars, what is this?" Cobalt bristled at the sight. The gallows had an eerie glow about them in the moonlight, looking just as grim as Corona had ever imagined they would.

"Read for yourself." Corona gestured to a sign that had been nailed to the front of the gallows, next to the steps that led up to that grim platform where Bright Eyes had last stood before he met his end. Cobalt read the sentence chiseled onto the wood grimly, and turned to them with a sober expression.

"So that's why Mirabelle was named commander... Remind me why you brought us here, Corona?"

"You remember the words Celestia spoke before she shared her magic with us, right?" Corona's horn glowed to life, casting a warm yellow glow over her face.

"Of course," Cobalt answered. "She said to bring light to the nation and to renew what was lost. Why? What are you doing?" He gave Radiance a quizzical look, but the other unicorn kept her eyes locked on Corona.

Corona dug past her own magic, tapping into the new power at her disposal. The yellow glow around her turned nearly pure white as the Day's power channeled into her horn. She looked to Cobalt as she stepped over to Bright Eyes' limp body. "Close, but you forgot the most important one."

Cobalt's mouth hung open as he watched Corona's hazel eyes turn a blinding yellow as the spell form took shape around her, and a second later, she touched her horn to the dead pony's hooves, instantly engulfing his body in flames.

"’And burn those who would do us harm.’"