Prologue - The Nightmare

She was standing on the edge of a cliff.

She wasn’t exactly sure where the cliff was, which meant she didn’t know where she was either. Curious, she looked around her. Nothing.

She could feel something though, something that made her want to go over the cliff. She took the final step she safely could and peeked over. It took her a while to see anything, but at least there was something to see.

Sort of.

There was a black fog of some kind down there. She could tell that there was something in it, something that was moving. It was probably ponies, and ponies could tell her where she was and how to get home.

The problem was that it was a cliff, and she was an earth pony.

As if bidden by her thought, a glowing staircase appeared, leading down into the fog. Hesitantly, she reached out to step on –

“NO!!!”

Startled, she fell back on her haunches. She whipped her head around, looking for the source of the voice. When she couldn’t find anypony, she turned back to the staircase. This time though, there was a sense of uneasiness. Something made her take a second look at the stairs.

For the rest of her life, she would be grateful that she did.

The stairs weren’t made of light, as they at first seemed to be. The light was wrapped around wooden planks. Wooden planks that she could tell from where she stood had completely rotted away.

There was a hissing sound from below. She took a step back as the hissing turned into a voice. “Do not interfere.”

“You shall not have her.”

Her?

…Her! The voices, they were talking about her! She backpedaled as quickly as she could, stumbling and kicking her own knee at one point in her haste to get away. She might not have known much about these voices, but she knew enough to realize that the hissy one had tried to kill her with that staircase.

She also realized something else. She wasn’t getting very far.

She was backpedaling as fast as she could, but it was like the ground was slipping away under her hooves. At the same time, she could feel the desire to throw herself over the cliff growing stronger, and it scared her. She had to get away, she just had to.

She turned and started into a full gallop. Glancing over her shoulder she realized that she was a little further away, but the ground was acting like that treadmill thing her mother used. She was desperate to get away from that hissing voice, even as she felt the longing grow stronger.

Wait.

As she ran, she felt her mind clear slightly. She wanted to get away and she wanted to jump off that cliff? That didn’t make any sense. She didn’t want to…

She didn’t want to.

She didn’t want to go over that cliff, something else did.

The thought terrified her. Had she known the word, she could have identified that adrenaline was now shooting through her. She ran as if her life depended on it.

She was convinced it did.

She could feel it now, the hunger. Whatever this thing was, it wanted her, and if it got her, it would devour her.

She was a smart filly, and she knew something was completely wrong about all of this. She just couldn’t quite figure out what.

Another glance back to see if she had won even a few inches. She almost collapsed in fear.

There was… something. She didn’t know what it was. What she did know was that it was big, and dark, and it wanted to hurt her. It was some kind of giant, looming over the cliff. It was huge. She couldn’t see any wings, so it must have been standing on the ground at the bottom of the cliff, which meant this thing had to have been over a hundred hooves tall.

And to top it all off, it was reaching for her.

It wasn’t shaped like a pony. It wasn’t shaped like anything really. But she could still tell that that part trying to come closer to her was a claw of some kind.

She was getting tired, but that thing was getting closer. She felt the tears start falling, and she realized that she knew how this would end.

She was going to wear herself out, and then this thing was going to grab her, and then… and then…

Just as it got close enough that she could feel the claws touching her flanks, the first voice shouted again, “Enough!”

There was a flash of deep blue light before everything faded.

And then Diamond Tiara woke up in a cold sweat.

Luna’s head whipped around as she felt the ripple. Leaving the dream she was in, she took flight, racing through the dreamscape even as she felt it fade.

Just like the times she had felt it before, by the time she got there, the bubble was gone, the dreamscape returned to normal. And she could feel nopony’s energy.

The dreamer had either awoken or fallen, and she had no way of finding them.

Diamond sat there shivering as she huddled in her blanket. It was the same again. She had had the dream seven times now, and each time she remembered more. Each time it got more real.

Each time it got that much closer to catching her.

She took another sip of the cocoa she had snuck from the kitchen. She’d learned something this time though. This thing could be fought. When she had rolled to the side at the last minute, it had missed her.

The thought didn’t comfort her really. The nightmares were so scary that she hadn’t even talked to her friends about them, so something that small wouldn’t help much. But it did strengthen her. If she could dodge, then she could fight.

Celestia gazed out over Equestria in concern. Her sister had told her of the attacks in the dreamscape, and while she didn’t really understand everything about that place, she understood that her ponies were being threatened.

She found herself wishing more than ever that Midnight Star were here. She hated the idea of Luna having to face down some monster completely alone.

She drew in a sharp breath as she felt the pulse her sister had mentioned. Silently she began weeping bitterly.

Something had just threatened one of her ponies, and she had no way of helping them.

Diamond screamed as a new emotion entered the nightmare for the first time.

Pain.

She had waited too long on the second roll, and the monster’s claw had pierced her leg. She could hear it laughing, and she knew why. Soon its hunger would be fed.

It started picking her up by her hurt leg, and as the claw twisted in her, she let loose another screech of pain.

There was a blue flash, like the one that always woke her up. She didn’t see what happened, but she felt the twisting stop and the thing scream in rage and pain.

“Hold still.”

The voice. The good voice, not the scary hissy one. She heard it so rarely now that she was afraid the monster had managed to hurt it.

She felt the claw sliding out of her leg. There was a moment where it hurt really bad again, then it started to fade.

The blue light showed up again, this time covering everything slowly until blue was all she saw.

Then she woke up.

Cadence stood on her balcony, staring at the south horizon line.

She could sense something from there. Her aunts had told her about the attacks, that there was some nightmare creature loose in Equestria, but it didn’t feel quite like that to her. She sighed. She felt so useless at times like this, but that was just how it was. She couldn’t simply leave her empire to go haring of on some adventure. Besides, she doubted Love could do much of anything anyway.

She sighed again as she turned to go inside. Deep down, she wasn’t sure if she was grateful the nightmares hadn’t made their way into her domain yet.

At least if they did she might be able to help.

Diamond dove aside again. She had started figuring this thing out; it had rules that it had to follow. It could only track her in a straight line, so no matter how many times she dodged, dove, or rolled, it would never see it coming.

She made sure to keep her eyes on the claw that was reaching for her, and as it came down, she started running in a slightly different direction. She had figured that out a few nights back, if she changed directions suddenly, she could get a little further away from the cliff.

She had learned through repetition that there was nothing for her to run into or trip over, so she kept her gaze locked over her shoulder on the claw. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the edge of the cliff, getting just a little further away.

She let out a cry of surprise as she hit something, rolling more out of habit than anything as she bounced off of it. Looking up, she realized that she had bounced out of a second claw as it was trying to grab her.

It opened again, coming closer even as she scrambled to get away. She felt it again, the claw touching her. It was the first time in a week that it had gotten that close.

There was a flash of blue.

As the sun set, Twilight closed her eyes. She reached out with her magic, stretching herself as far as she could. She was watching, searching, waiting. She was trying to sense something – anything – that could tell them more about what was wrong with the dreamscape.

If the last several nights were anything to go by, she was in for a long, fruitless search.

Diamond groaned as she started running. She hoped that someday she would start remembering the previous dreams before the staircase showed up. Maybe it would buy her a little bit of a head start, maybe it would let her escape completely. Either way, it couldn’t be bad to skip that part, right?

She dodged, then almost hurt herself dodging again. That was the new thing last night, the second claw chasing her from the start instead of once she got far enough away.

Nyx reared back, placing a single hoof on the window pane in front of her.

Something was bothering her. She knew what it was too. It was her talent, and because she was an alicorn, her element. Protecting ponies. And somewhere out there right now, she could feel it. There was a pony that needed her, that needed protecting.

And Nyx Sparkle had absolutely no idea how to help them.

Diamond was at full gallop. In her mind she could still hear the voice’s words from the night before.

“Don’t throw your Light away!”

She had almost given up that night. She had been about to jump off the cliff and just get the nightmare over with.

She didn’t know why, but that had changed something. When the voice mentioned light, it was like he was reminding her how scary the Darkness behind her was. The monster had started fighting harder last night too.

Looking up, she could see it over her. She couldn’t see a face, but she assumed that was its head right there. It was leaning out over the edge of the cliff, trying to get more reach so that it could grab her.

Luckily it seemed like it had a hard time doing that and whatever was keeping her close to the edge at the same time. She didn’t have to change direction as much, or as far to either side.

So she ran. The same way she had been running every night for a month. Then she gasped as she saw something new. There was something in front of her, something there that she was running towards. Hope flared in her chest as she realized that it must be the end of the nightmare. She poured everything she had into her full tilt charge at her way out.

And then she reached it. And felt something inside her shatter.

It was a wall.

Nothing else, just a wall.

The monster started laughing. “Nowhere to run.” She had learned a while ago that it was the hissy voice she had heard on the first night.

She turned to one side as its claw crashed down a few yards away. Shrugging, she turned to run the other way, only for the crash to be repeated with the other claw. It was only then that she realized what was going on.

She was trapped in a giant triangle. The monster’s arms were two of the sides, and the wall was the third. She felt herself start crying as the fear came back, more intense than it had ever been.

The creature started dragging its arms in towards her, breaking the ground as it did. She didn’t even bother to run or fight, just collapsing as she gave up. Briefly as she felt her tears soaking her hooves, she wondered if it was possible to cry yourself awake.

Then she felt them. The claws were sharp, she knew from experience, but they didn’t cut her as they picked her up.

Weakly, she turned her eyes on the monster holding her. She finally knew why she couldn’t ever see its face, it didn’t have one. Probably because it didn’t need one, given that this was a dream.

It was funny, she knew that this was a dream, but she still felt like the fight was real. Like she had really been running for the past month. Like this thing had really caught her. Like what was about to happen would have an effect on the real world.

At this point she had so little energy left that wondering if she was really about to die was a mostly idle thought.

The monster opened its mouth – a jagged thing that she realized didn’t exist until it had opened – and raised her towards it. She sighed and tried to prepare herself to be eaten as well as she could.

And then there was a familiar flash of deep blue light.

It was the first time since the night she had hurt her leg that she had seen the light without waking up. Instead, she found herself floating in a ball of light as the claws holding her disappeared.

The monster reared back screaming in pain and rage.

“You shall not have her.” Diamond found herself amazed by the voice. It wasn’t screaming, it wasn’t defiant, it was calm. It was simply stating a fact. As the filly felt her energy returning, she realized that despite being in a never ending nightmare, she had never felt so safe in her life.

The light set her down gently, then rocketed forward, slamming into the monster. It lashed out in response, a dozen dark tentacles racing for her. A shield appeared in front of her, a blue six pointed star blocking three of them as the rest slammed into the ground and wall around and behind her.

“You cannot take her back! She belongs to the Darkness!”

“She hasn’t crossed the boundary yet, and I can sure as Tartarus keep you from dragging her over it!”

“You defy the rules Hope!”

“Actually? Not so much. You see, you screwed up, choosing to go after her. She’s been able to fight you on her own, so I’ve been able to sit back and let the imbalances build up. When you injured her, when you erased her memories of previous nights, when you touched ground forbidden to you, and now, to cap it all off, you just crossed the boundary of Day with that last little stunt. So now I’m allowed to do a lot of rule breaking before the balance will give you anything for it.”

“She belongs to the Darkness and the Darkness will have her.”

“She is claimed by the Night, and here she will stay!”

A blue wall of light rose from the edge of the cliff, forcing the monster back. As it did, Diamond saw a pony step out of the symbol in front of her. She realized that he was the voice when he slammed a hoof on the ground and roared, “You are banished from her dreams! Begone!”

The blue wall bent, forcing the monster down below the cliff. The light changed, growing thicker until she couldn’t see through it anymore. Then it shattered, revealing that the monster was gone.

The stallion snorted, then turned to her. There was a strange look in his eyes as she met them. He sighed, his hard expression softening as he did so. “I’m so very, very sorry Diamond Tiara. I’m so sorry.” He paused for a moment, and Diamond thought she might have seen a tear roll down his cheek. “We need to talk,” He finally said.

“My name is Midnight Star.”

Chapter 1 - Welcome to the Night

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“Who are you?”

“Something tells me you’re asking for more than my name… I am The Alicorn of Hope. I also have the distinction of being a Wishing Star. The things you’ll find relevant at present though… A thousand years ago, before my body was turned to stone and my mind and soul were sealed in the star I am bound to, I was Princess Luna’s general and military advisor. Do you remember the story of Nightmare Moon?”

“Yeah, Princess Luna got trapped in the moon for a thousand years after she attacked Princess Celestia.”

“A bit simplified, but good enough. At the same time Luna was sent to the moon, I was sent to my star. Because I surrendered willingly to my banishment, I retained certain… privileges. Tell me, do you know where we are?”

“My dream?”

“Close. Closer than many adults would have gotten on their own. We are in a place called the dreamscape. This is where ponies’ minds go when they sleep. Usually the dream provides surroundings, but in your case, you were pulled out of your dreams and into the dreamscape itself.”

“How?”

“Every pony has a small dreamscape in themselves, even when they are awake. When they dream, it interacts with the Dreamscape itself, creating a… bubble of sorts, where their dream is contained. Some ponies, called ‘dreamwalkers’ can travel between these bubbles, but doing so requires them to cross through the dreamscape as they do so. Princess Luna and I are both dreamwalkers, and in a way, you are now too.”

“I am?”

“I can only do so much, so yes. For the rest of your life your dreams will always have an exit, and you will always know where it is. Does this make sense so far?”

“Sort of…?”

Midnight laughed, “Fair enough. It took me years to figure this place out. The point is that we are in a very dangerous part of the dreamscape right now.”

“Dreams can be dangerous?”

“You already know the answer to that.”

“…Why does this feel so real?”

“Because it is real. You are not dreaming right now Diamond Tiara. And you were in very real danger just now.”

“What was that thing?”

“A Nightmare.”

“I thought I wasn’t dreaming?”

“Not that kind of nightmare. This was more akin to the creature your town faced a short time back, what was it called… The Tantabus. This was a creature of Darkness, intent on pulling you down and making you like it.”

“Why me?”

“Momentum.”

“What?”

The stallion sighed, “You were already moving in that direction. You were charging for the Darkness full tilt. You never even noticed when you left the Day and entered the Night. Honestly, I didn’t notice you going over the cliff either.”

“Cliff?”

He motioned at the wall behind her. “The boundary between Day and Night, like the boundary between Night and Darkness, is a cliff in the dreamscape.”

“Wait, what’s this whole thing with day, night, and darkness?”

“The dreamscape is comprised of two realms, Light and Darkness. A long time ago, the Light was split, to further protect ponies, into the Day and the Night.”

“Isn’t the night darkness though?”

He smiled at her. “Walk with me.” As she hurried to follow him, he continued to speak, “Tell me, if you were to choose a symbol to represent the night, what would you pick?”

After a moment of thought, the filly decided. “I would probably pick the moon, like Princess Luna did.”

“Exactly. A source of light. Do you understand where I’m going with this?”

“Yes.”

“The Night is a battleground. A defensive measure to protect ponies’ dreams. Unfortunately, without guardians, it becomes a trap for ponies like you.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed again, “You have left the Day. As long as you are in the Night, you are within the reach of Darkness. You can fight, run, or fall, but the Darkness will always be there. The rest of your life will involve it.”

“So how do I get back to the day?”

“You can’t.” He gave her a sad look. “Not as you are now. There is one possibility, but…” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t be able to, not as you are now. You’re already fragile, it would destroy you.”

“So I have to keep coming here night after night until I fall or die?”

“No. I refuse to allow that. That is why I’m bringing you here.” He pointed with a hoof.

Diamond realized she had been watching him instead of looking where she was going. Turning, she saw an old castle. Full of holes and falling apart, but still a castle. The drawbridge had a bare flagpole on either side. “What is this place?”

“Noctus Bastion. Luna and I built this place to protect ponies like you, and to protect the dreamscape. This is as far from the Darkness as you can get while still remaining in the Night.”

She started walking towards the castle. She noticed that it was built in a spot where the cliff pulled back, creating a horseshoe shaped space. “If this place is safe, then how’d it get so broken down?”

“Time. Nopony’s used this place in centuries. Also, I never said it was safe, it’s just safer than the rest of the Night.”

“Still looks like it needs repairs.”

“That is something I cannot do at present. If you wish, you may claim it as your responsibility for now, but I am only allowed to do so much.”

“Allowed?”

“There are rules that those with power must follow. Rules that cannot be broken without sever consequences.”

“So what are you allowed to do?”

“This.” Midnight fired a spell at the flagpole on the left. The tattered banner hanging from it began to repair itself.

Diamond recognized the style of banner from the class fieldtrip to Canterlot; it was the same kind of flag that the princesses had hanging around the castle. The blue six pointed star and the weird shape inside it were familiar too, they were the same as the shield that had protected her earlier. Suddenly she realized that it was the stallion’s cutie mark. “That’s it?”

He chuckled at her, “Don’t underestimate the power of a signal. That is not merely a decoration, it is a banner. Moreover, it is on a military fortress. That banner is about two steps short of a declaration of war. It is a reminder to our enemies that I am back and protecting this place, even when neither side can see me.”

“So I’ve got a flag to protect me from the nightmares?”

He sighed. It was starting to get annoying when he did that. “No. Follow me.” He walked slowly across the drawbridge as she moved to keep up. “I have something special for you. A gift of sorts. Unfortunately, while I can give it freely, the rules require that you cannot accept it without a price.”

Something sent a red flag up in her mind. “What price?”

“I cannot give you the ability to protect yourself. However, I can give you the ability to protect others. If being able to protect yourself is a byproduct of that, then it’s hardly my fault.”

“Loopholes, I get it. Daddy taught me all about those. He also taught me about contracts. What price?” As they crossed the threshold of the castle’s entrance hall, she stopped and sat down.

Midnight circled around and sat down facing her. There was that irritating sigh again. “If I’m going to do this, I have to do it right.

“Diamond Tiara, you need to understand that had I not intervened, the Darkness would have taken you. You also need to accept that this was caused by a path that you chose yourself. Your newfound friends tried desperately to save you, and to a degree, they succeeded. But you had already left the Day, and were very close to darkness.

“You had realized this to an extent, and were doing your best to turn yourself around. You were also too late. The darkness wasn’t about to let you go. And so it chased and hunted you for a month.

“There is a group, an order. Ponies who walked to the edge of darkness and didn’t like what they saw. Ponies who stand in the way of darkness when it tries to hurt others. Ponies who live in the shadows, using them to protect those who live in the day.

“These are the Shadow Rangers.

“When I walked Equestria, I led them. They had a Captain, like the other guard divisions, but that Captain reported directly to me. After Luna and I fell to our Nightmares and were banished, the various guard divisions changed slightly in nature.

“The Solar and Lunar guards, instead of following the princesses into battle, protected the princess by day and night respectively. Thus they were almost absorbed into the Royal Guard.

“The Freedom Guard was similarly absorbed by the Equestrian Guard, which is why they now watch the wild places as well as our borders.

“The Heart Guard and the Storm Guard were both annihilated when their leaders tried to break away from Celestia’s control.

“The Travelers survived mostly intact. They infiltrated the embassies before the other guards tracked down and destroyed their headquarters. They’re still there, though they’ve hidden behind another name now. Her Majesty’s Secret Service, a combination bodyguard and spy network.

“The Shadow Rangers vanished into the night when the guards came for them. They survived intact for centuries, hiding on the fringes and in plain sight. For hundreds of years, they protected ponies from the wrong side of the law, hunted by their own allies.

“About a hundred years ago, that started changing. It got harder and harder for them to find recruits in a land almost without nightmares. Ironically, this came at the very time they were trying to prepare for the return of Nightmare Moon.

“They dwindled as they were driven from place to place. As far as I know, the last Rangers died a decade ago. I had lost contact with them a good twenty five years before that though, so there’s a chance that some are still out there. If you can find any of them, you need to bring them in. There’s a storm coming and Equestria will need them.

“This is my gift.” A small box rose out of the ground between them where Midnight’s shadow was cast by the only lit torch in the room. “The Shadow Armor. If you accept it, you will be a Shadow Ranger.” He scooted it over to her. “There is a price.

“Shadow Rangers are sworn to protect ponies. All of them. Even ones you might not necessarily like. As long as they are not considered an enemy, you must do what you can to help them.

“You must understand. You will be standing between evil beings and their goals for the rest of your life. Many Rangers have died in the line of duty. Others have succumbed to the darkness we face and become nightmares.

“The armor will disguise you in order to protect those you care about. As part of this, you will not be allowed to tell anypony about your role as a Ranger.

“You will also be required to face threats in the waking world, just as you would here. The war against darkness is not confined to the dreamscape. You will be a soldier. The heaviest price is if you have to kill another. That is a very real possibility that you need to consider as well.

“You have the right to refuse. As long as you do not leave this fortress when you sleep, you will be able to stay away from the Darkness. I would suggest repairing it when you find yourself here, but that is up to you.”

Diamond looked between the box and the stallion. “I…”

“I do not want an answer for some time Ms. Tiara. Nor will I accept one here. The box will be there in the waking world, appearing when you need it. Just out of reach so that if you decide to take it, you need only walk to it.”

She slowly nodded. “How am I understanding all this?”

“Communication in the dreamscape involves all five senses, even if only words are transmitted.”

“Like talking to somepony to affect their dreams?”

“Exactly. Literally. There are two more gifts I have for you, but they must wait until your decision is made.” He looked up in resignation as she felt the warmth of the sun on her back. She watched as her shadow replaced his on the box. As the shadow armor sunk into her shadow the same way it had risen from his, he gave her a small smile. “Our interview has run long, and it is time for you to awaken.

“Good Luck Diamond Tiara.”

Some time after the filly faded from the castle in wakefulness, an alicorn mare walked in through the front door. “I haven’t been here in some time,” She chuckled. "You know we all felt it when you planted that banner again.”

Midnight looked over at her with a sad smile. “I know. I only hope that they felt it too.”

Luna sat down next to the stallion, leaning into him as she did so. “Were you able to save them?” She didn’t need to point out that she was talking about the attacks.

“Yes.”

“…How many fell?”

“None. That filly is strong.”

“That… You mean,” She straightened to get a better look at him, “One filly has been surviving full attacks by Nightmares for an entire month?”

He nodded. “I intervened as little as possible. It bought me enough leeway to actually help.”

“How?”

He sighed. She recognized that tired sigh; it was the one he gave when things were bad. “I gambled. Luna, this was only a small problem. Something’s coming. Something big.”

“What?”

“I can’t tell you. If I were to warn you, the price… the threat is already too great.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Gamble. I’m hoping to appoint an agent to act on my behalf in Equestria.”

“Who?” Silence. “No…”

“She was already too close to falling for me to keep her safe any other way. Let your sister know that the Shadow Rangers may be back soon.”

“Midnight… a filly? Are you sure?”

“Luna, believe me, I don’t like it either. I would love to keep her safe in this fortress until she grows up. Unfortunately, that’s not an option. She’s not the best shot, or even my best shot at saving Equestria. She’s the only shot. Everything is riding on those tiny shoulders now.”

“Does she know?”

“No. I told her about the Rangers, but not the threat. She needs to decide before she finds out about the enemy. That way… That way I have enough wiggle room to try and find a second chance.”

“So there’s a threat, but we don’t know who it is. There’s a hero, but she’s a filly, and we don’t know who she is either. What do we do while we’re waiting for either side to reveal themselves?”

“Hope. Any wishes help too.”

“I see… Does this mean…?”

“I’ll still come by, though it may be less often. If she accepts, I’m going to try to train her as much as I can. She’s definitely got what it takes to save Equestria; she’s proved that over the past month. I’m just not sure if she’s got what it takes to survive it.”

“…You always said you would let Equestria burn to save one filly.”

“And I meant it. I would also let anypony else make the same choice.”

“Are you talking about her or those who will find out about her?”

“…Yes.”

They shared a timeless moment, leaning into each other as they considered the end of the world. Then the mare shifted. “The moon needs to lower, and I need to go.”

“I’ll see you the next chance I get.”

“I know,” The mare tossed over her shoulder as she walked out. She paused as her eye caught something fluttering on the breeze. After a moment of consideration, she reared back and fired a spell at the banner that was still in disrepair. When the light faded, her cutie mark was hanging in its proper place across from his.

Chapter 2 - Fork in the Road

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Diamond Tiara snapped back into focus when she realized the teacher was calling her name. “Yes Miss Cheerilee?”

The mare looked worried. “Are you alright Diamond? You’ve been very distracted lately.”

The filly nodded rapidly. “I’m fine Miss Cheerilee, just lost in thought. I’ll try to keep it from happening again.”

Cheerilee looked at her for a little while longer. “Alright Diamond Tiara. You do know that you can come talk to me if something is wrong though, right?”

You mean like nightmare beasts and alicorn stallions in my dreams? Yeah… “Yes Miss Cheerilee.”

It had been a little over a week since Midnight Star had taken her to the castle. It was exactly like he had warned her; she always knew when she was dreaming. And she always knew how to leave the dream. One night it was a door, the next a tunnel, the next something else. It wasn’t always the same, but it was always there, even if she didn’t take it.

She had taken it a few times, when she got bored with her dreams. She would always walk out of her dream into the castle’s entrance hall. She had started fixing the place up, purely out of boredom. She had done some exploring, but hadn’t found much.

She snapped back out of another daze as she heard the school bell ringing. She was about to leave with the rest of the students when she heard Miss Cheerilee calling her name, “Diamond Tiara, can you please wait a moment? I’d like to speak with you.”

The filly sighed as she finished packing up her saddlebags. She then waited patiently as the fillies and colts she now called friends filed out. The fuchsia mare walked slowly over to her desk. “Diamond Tiara, you’ve been distracted in class for a while now… I understand that it may not be something you want to talk about, but… please tell me Diamond, is anything wrong? Even if I can’t help, you’d be surprised what somepony listening can do.”

Diamond shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong Miss Cheerilee. Thank you though.”

“For what?”

“For caring.”

The filly slipped her saddlebags on and turned to leave. She stopped as she felt a hoof on her shoulder. “I just want to say again, if something goes wrong, you can always come and talk to me.”

Diamond smiled at her. “Yes Miss Cheerilee.”

As Diamond was leaving the schoolyard, she noticed one filly who wasn’t leaving with the others. The black alicorn was trudging away with her head down. Diamond almost called out to her, but the words caught in her throat. Something was obviously wrong, and given their past…

They had been friendly with each other since the student pony president election, but Diamond was still probably one of the last ponies that Nyx wanted to help her. Still… She couldn’t just leave her sad, could she? Especially since she was the only pony who seemed to notice.

She followed the other filly at a distance. Nyx was taking the road that ran along the edge of town, obviously trying not to be noticed. Diamond hung back, not sure what she should do. If the trio’s example was anything to go by, then spying on her should solve at least a few of Nyx’s problems, right?

“Hey little filly.” Nyx froze and Diamond hid as a voice came from the side of the road. A stallion stepped out from where he was hiding under the bridge in front of them. His hooded cloak hid his features, but the slight glow from under the hood and around the ropes and hoofcuffs floating in front of him clearly marked him as a unicorn.

“It’s funny,” He chuckled, “That line is so overused that I don’t have to say anything else to let you know what’s going on. Come quietly filly.”

Nyx was backing slowly away from him. “No. I am not letting myself get foalnapped again.”

More dry laughter, “Since I’m using clichés, have it your way.”

“Step away from our princess.” The stallion looked up at Diamond as she stood in the middle of the path. Nyx used the opportunity to back away further.

He never stopped with that annoying laugh. “I was hoping you’d come to me. I couldn’t have you getting away and raising the alarm after all. Such a shame that you had to follow your friend home from school.”

“Nyx, run.”

“That won’t do you any good.”

Diamond smirked as she heard a rustle behind her. She had been right. “You’re a unicorn, so you can probably catch one of us, maybe both. But can you also catch the three fillies in those bushes who followed us because they were worried I was going back to my old bullying ways? And the one in those bushes who was following me because she was worried about me? And the one behind that rock who was following Nyx because she was worried about her being sad?

“And after all of that, what are you going to do about the colt that’s reached town by now and is already telling them what happened?”

Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, Silver Spoon, and Twist sheepishly stepped out of their hiding places.

The laughter stopped. “…Well played fillies. For now it’s more important that we stay hidden than get her, so congratulations. You win today.

“But remember that I’ve seen your faces and cutie marks, and I will be back for each of you.”

There was a flash of light as he teleported away. The tension in the air vanished as the seven fillies circled up. “That was ahmazin Diamond!” Applebloom cheered.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo commented, “How’d ya know it would work though?”

She smiled sadly at them. “My special talent is getting ponies to do what I want, remember? Besides, if there’s one thing I know a lot about, then it’s bullies.”

Silver Spoon spoke up, “Who was the colt though? I thought I was the last one to follow all of you.”

The smile turned into a smirk. “What colt?”

Her friends stared at her in shock. “You mean,” Sweetie squeaked out, “you-you were lying?”

“Daddy called it ‘bluffing’ when he was teaching me his card games.”

Nyx nodded. “Uncle Shiny calls it that too, when he’s teaching the new guards.”

“Tho… Doeth that mean it wath okay?” Twist seemed to be struggling with the concept. None of her friends had an answer for her.

“Sir… Sir, I am sorry to report that Subtlety has failed.”

There was an ancient sigh. “It is of no consequence. He has not damaged our plans I trust?”

“No Sir. As soon as Subtlety realized he could not escape cleanly, he retreated as ordered.”

“In that at least, he has never failed. Do not worry, we need not remove the filly yet. Who saw him?”

“More fillies. He mentions seeing six of them in his report. There was also a colt he never saw, but who was apparently there.”

“Can they identify him?”

“No. He was wearing a cloak with an obscuring enchantment.”

“Will nopony believe them?”

“A group of fillies on a lonely road are accosted by a faceless shadow pony who vanishes without harming them. You tell me.”

“…This is a very strange age indeed.”

“By the time anypony is willing to listen to them, we will have already silenced them and taken the Warrior of Night.”

“And the colt?”

“We will use them to find him.”

“Excellent work Cunning.”

“So what were y’all so down ahbout anyway Nyx?”

She sighed and looked down at her hooves. “I can’t tell you.”

Silence descended. “You remember the last time ya tried to keep something secret from us, right?” Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie nodded. “Good luck keeping us from finding out now.” She traded looks with Applebloom and Scootaloo. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SECRET FINDERS! YAY!!!”

Nyx groaned. “No, girls, I can’t tell you. It’s… princess stuff.”

Twist put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Even printhetheth need to talk thometimeth.”

“I know your mom talks to Rarity about a lot of stuff. Even when she was hiding you from everypony. Maybe it’s okay to tell us if you need our help?”

Nyx looked away. “That’s just it though; I don’t think you can help.”

“We can at least help you feel better, right? I mean, after all of the times Silver Spoon and I made you feel bad, we kind of owe it to you.”

The alicorn snorted and stamped her hoof. “…It’s my talent.” She finally whispered.

After a few moments of waiting for her to continue, Applebloom prompted her, “What ahbout it?”

“I’m… I’m not living it, and it sucks!”

“What do you mean?” Diamond asked.

Nyx looked at her. After a moment, she sighed again. “You aren’t going to leave this alone, are you? Fine, I’ll tell you.

“My special talent is protecting ponies. I’m the alicorn of protection! And now there’s some big scary threat out there that we don’t know about, and somepony else is the one who’s going out there and stopping it.”

There were a couple of shrugs. “So the grownups are handling things for now,” Scootaloo rasped, “So what?”

“Yeah Nyx, it’s the same thing on the farm. Sometimes Big Mac ahnd Applejack have to do things cause I’m too little. They’re just tryin to keep ya safe.”

“…I wish it was that. The adults aren’t doing anything though. Mom and the rest of the princesses are really worried, because apparently the only pony who knows what’s going on told them that only a filly can stop this. She’s our age, that’s what they told me.”

“So you’re… jealous?” Sweetie guessed.

“No! I’m… I’m not jealous, I just… I feel so useless!” She stomped again, “Somewhere, out there right now, there’s a filly just like us who’s risking her life doing my job. I wish I could stand in her place, but I’m not jealous, I’m… I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’m not good enough at my responsibilities, so she has to do it. I would if I could, but…

“Apparently she’s the better pony for the job.”

“MIDNIGHT STAR!!!”

The alicorn stepped out of a doorway behind her before his name had even finished echoing on the wind. “Diamond Tiara. Have you made a decision?”

She turned on him, fury in her eyes. “Did you know? About what almost happened to Nyx?”

“Oh. That.” He shook his head. “No, I did not. I am not omniscient Diamond Tiara, I merely have a unique perspective. I knew no more about that than you did. I would have warned somepony if I had.”

After a moment of glaring, the anger cooled and she nodded. “Alright. I’ll believe you.”

“Thank you. Are there any more questions I can answer?”

“Yes. Daddy always says that ‘good decisions require good information.’ I want you to tell me more about the Shadow Rangers. To help me decide.”

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. “I see.” His voice was even softer than usual. “I think I have a better idea, one that will not cost so much. Follow me.”

He led her through a door, then down a hallway. He stopped at one of the doors in the hallway. “This is probably the best place for you to find what you need.” The handle of the door glowed with his magic. “This door is unlocked now. Let me know when you’re ready for the next one.”

Almost hesitantly, she reached up and opened the door. The room on the other side had a lush purple carpet. In one corner was a small desk, with bookshelves along that wall. A portrait hung over a mantle where a magical fire suddenly burst to life. There were a pair of glowing crystal lanterns on either side of the painting, and by their light she could just make out the words Nyx tis nýchtas.

Curious, she looked up at the painting. It was weird, it didn’t look a thing like her friend. The mare’s coat was the same purple as the carpet, her mane dark blue with a few highlights. She turned to ask her guide about it, but found him gone, the doorway empty.

Looking around the room some more, she noticed the books again. With a groan, she realized that she could probably only solve this puzzle in Nyx’s way. She walked over to the desk, for the first time noticing a book already on it.

Captain’s Log
Nyx of the Night
Volume I

Seemingly having no other options, she opened the book and began to read.

Captain’s Log

Fiftieth Year of Celestial Reign

Seventh Month

Thirteenth Day

I have just become the third Captain of the Shadow Rangers. I write to an unknown audience, so I will explain them in brief.

Our task is to protect a nation known as Equestria. Our ruler is Princess Celestia, but while we support her, we do not answer to her. Not in the same way the other guards are starting to.

Perhaps this is because they lost their leaders earlier. I hope not, as this would mean that we too shall fade soon. This would be a disaster. Equestria needs us, it always will.

My name is Nyx. I am known among the masses as Nyx of the Night. This was not always my name, but it is the only name of mine that matters.

I am the last Ranger who knew Him personally. I will speak of Him later, so that future generations may know the general they serve under, even indirectly. But this is not the place for that.

I will mention him once more though, as I begin my story. The story of how I came to be Nyx of the Night. Because it does start with him.

Everyone who knew him will always remember what the first thing they said to him and he said to them was. I will always remember my first words to him.

“Never leave me alone with my uncle.”

…

Luna cast a glance over her shoulder as the stallion entered her dream. “So Midnight, how fares thy champion?”

“She’s still deciding.”

“You do not sound as… downhearted as I would expect from these tidings.”

“She’s trying to make the right decision. She officially has better judgement than a good third of heroes throughout history. She’s competent, resourceful, smarter than she’s given credit for… I can see why the Darkness wanted her so badly. At the moment she’s reading through the Shadow Ranger archives, trying to find out more about them.”

“Are you sure that is wise? Some of the things in those reports…”

“I can’t afford to sugarcoat things Luna. She needs to know that this isn’t a fairy tale and ‘happily ever after’ always comes at a price.”

“And so you take her innocence to save Equestria?”

“No. Never. I told you, she’s already capable of saving Equestria. This is about making sure she survives it.”

“I see…”

“I know. I don’t like it either. I’m sure Poppinjay will rip me a new one the next time we see each other. But it’s the only way I can save her. I’m not about to let a filly fall to…”

“And you cannot tell us anything?”

“I can tell you she’ll need help. So be ready to help her.”

“Why can I not visit her at Noctus Bastion?”

“The price. Right now I am keeping you separate, but if you were to meet her because she was in a place I put her in, it would be as if I introduced you. While she remains unknown to you, I can help her without aiding you. The price is small. If you knew who she was…”

“The price we paid would be steep. You are truly doing everything you can, aren’t you?”

“Always.”

She read for hours. It might have been a side effect of the dreamscape, but it was the first time she ever truly immersed herself in a book. She devoured page after hoofwritten page, working her way into the second volume she found after a determined search of the room’s shelves.

As the dawn rose on the dreamscape, she noticed for the first time the small window high over the door. She could not begin to guess what it was for, but she knew what the appearance of the sun meant.

The world faded out of focus, and then back in as Diamond Tiara blinked blearily. She crawled out of her bed and made her way to her bathroom. She started a shower – her butler had been told long ago not to wake her up if she didn’t respond to his first call, so she had no time for her usual bath.

She was probably going to be a little late for school, but she honestly didn’t mind. The book Nyx of the Night had written was so amazing, the way she had –

Diamond’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at herself in the mirror. She actually remembered! She never remembered the things she read, but she remembered everything she had read last night!

Including some interesting things she had noticed. Grudgingly, she admitted to herself that she was probably going to have to read some books while she was awake too. After all, she needed to find out about the stallion’s claims of working with the princesses.

Chapter 3 - Fringes of Truth

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It was a Saturday, so when Twilight answered the knocking on the castle door, she was expecting to find the Crusaders wanting to play with Nyx. When she realized that it was Diamond Tiara, she was instantly wary. Nyx had forgiven the filly wholeheartedly, but Twilight had some reservations. “Hello Miss Tiara, is there something I can help you with?”

“I… I was wondering if I could… if I could look at some books.” The panting and request were enough to throw Twilight off guard.

“Well, there is a library in here, so I would hope so.”

“Th-thanks.”

“No problem. Were there any books you specifically wanted?”

The filly had finally caught her breath and was following the mare through the castle towards the library. “Actually… I was wondering if you had any history books.”

Twilight found herself chuckling despite herself. “Actually, we’ve got hundreds of history books. Was there any time period you found particularly enticing?” The filly gave her a blank stare. “What part of history specifically?”

“Equestrian?”

“In general, or were you looking for a specific point in time?”

“Oh! Umm… Early? Like a little before Nightmare Moon… The first one! The first time Nightmare Moon happened, not –”

Twilight put a hoof over Diamond’s mouth. “I get it.” She turned to one side as they entered the library. “I think we have something… over this way.” The mare led her past several shelves. “Here we are! These should be just what you need. Why are you looking into this?”

Diamond found the only thing she could think of spilling out of her mouth, “School project!”

Twilight resisted the urge to narrow her eyes. Elevated volume, rushed voice, slightest bit of panic in the tone… Even if she didn’t know that Nyx hadn’t been given a project like that, she would have suspected that the filly was lying. “Oh! That’s important, why don’t I see if I can find you anything else that might help.”

“Thank you.” Diamond opened the cover of one heavy tome, grunting as she did so. Twilight was surprised to see that the she opened to the table of contents. After skimming down it, she started turning pages. Twilight read the name of the chapter she stopped on, then wandered off to see if she could find anything relevant elsewhere in her library.

Cheerilee was surprised to hear the knock at her door. She almost never got visitors.

She opened the door to find a very nervous Twist. “Why hello Twist, what brings you here today?”

“Mith Cheerilee, can we talk?”

“Of course!” She opened the door wider to let the filly in, then closed it after she entered. “What did you want to talk about Twist?”

“Well you thee Mith Cheerilee, I’m confuthed.”

Oh. School. Well, at the very least she had enough time in her schedule for an impromptu tutoring session, she’d just have to skip her Saturday afternoon workout for the first time in months. “What about?”

“Mith Cheerilee… Lying ith bad, right?”

Twilight was seriously impressed. Diamond Tiara was actually doing research.

Well, research from a school age filly’s perspective.

She had gone through almost fifty books, reading one or two chapters out of each. It had gotten late, and Celestia was in the process of setting the sun. She had been there for hours.

And in that time Twilight had managed to figure out what she was really up to. She was touched really, and a little guilty. To think, she had been suspicious of this filly when all along…

“Diamond? We need to close soon.”

The filly sighed, “Okay Miss Twilight. Thanks for all your help.”

“I was happy to do it dear. Did you find what you were looking for?”

“No, I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

“Well then in that case, let me help you one last time.” Twilight leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “You can tell the rest of the Crusaders that Nyx is doing fine.”

Diamond blinked at her. “What?”

“Oh, don’t worry Diamond, I’m not upset. If anything I’m impressed! Nyx mentioned that you and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were trying to help her feel better. I know that you came by to see how she’s doing since she’s been skipping crusades. It’s good to know that she has friends watching out for her.”

Diamond sat down with an audible thump. “Miss Twilight I…” She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I wish that were the case, I wish I would have thought of Nyx when I decided to come here, but… I didn’t. I just… didn’t.

“I’m sorry that I’m not caring enough to think of her when I’m visiting her home, even if it was for something that had nothing to do with her. I wish I was a better pony, maybe if I was, I would have. I really did come to try and learn something.

“And for the record, I’m not a Crusader either. After everything I put them through… I can’t ask them.”

Had she been willing to meet the alicorn’s gaze, she would have seen the shine of unshed tears in her eyes. “You remember what I said about being impressed? It’s still true. I’m proud of you Diamond Tiara.”

The filly rocked backwards in shock. After a moment, she looked up at the mare with a bright smile. “Thank you. That… means a lot.”

Twilight returned the smile, although hers was ever so slightly more watery. “You’re welcome. And please pass on the message anyway, I’m sure the rest of your friends would want to hear it.”

“I will. And you’re right, it will make them happy.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes, making their way towards the castle entrance. “So what were you looking for Diamond?”

“I… I was looking for stories about the princesses. Back when they first started ruling Equestria.”

“Do you mind me asking why?”

“I was just wondering about some of the ponies who helped them, but… from the way those books said it, it sounded like they didn’t have any help.”

Twilight froze mid step. After walking a few hooves, Diamond turned back to face her. “Miss Twilight?”

“D… Diamond Tiara, why did you want to know about that?”

The filly’s internal trouble radar went off. Long years of bullying meant it was well-honed, as were her abilities to escape said trouble. “Miss Cheerilee. School project, remember?”

She got a look. It was familiar, the I-know-you’re-lying-to-me look. “Diamond, my daughter is in your class. I know you don’t have a project for school related to this.”

The filly’s eyes widened. “You know what Nyx does at school?”

Of course I do, don’t your pa– Twilight felt a pang in her heart for the filly as she realized. Could her parents really be as uninvolved as she seemed to think? “Yes I do. So, why did you really want to know about this?”

Diamond knew what she had to say. When the first lie failed, it was time to shift the blame. “A friend asked me to find out. They didn’t want me to tell anypony who they were though.”

She waited for the interrogation to continue. She knew how this went, the adult would keep asking her questions until they either gave up, or were so confused by her stories that they couldn’t tell what the truth was.

She was again to be shocked. “Okay. That’s fair. But Diamond, I want you to promise me something. If your friend decides to do something dangerous, I want you to tell me, alright?”

Diamond nodded. “Yes Miss Twilight.”

“Good. Now then, most historians agree that Celestia and Luna imprisoned Discord and freed Equestria on their own.” She continued speaking over something the filly was trying to say, “But there are some books… a few… special books, that tell another story. I don’t have any here, they’re in Canterlot, but I can have them here by next week if you’re willing to spend another Saturday inside.”

The filly jumped up and hugged her. “Thank you Miss Twilight!”

“And for crying out loud, just call me Twilight! All of my daughter’s friends do. You’re going to make me feel old with this Miss Twilight thing.”

“Okay Twilight.”

Twilight watched the filly walk off. She now knew two things, whoever their mystery filly was, she was probably in Ponyville, and if she was, she apparently trusted Diamond Tiara a great deal. She wasn’t sure if she should have tried to find out or not, Luna insisted that Midnight was adamant about them not meeting her. On the other hoof, she was just a filly, and probably one of Nyx’s friends.

She needed to talk to the other princesses.

“Diamond Tiara, can you please wait after everypony else leaves? I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”

Diamond finished packing her saddlebag and waited at her desk again. It was the first day back at school since her failed attempt to learn about Midnight Star. She could only hope that things went better this Saturday. Maybe with Twilight’s help…

She didn’t know why she didn’t want to tell anypony about the stallion, but it just felt like something she needed to keep secret. Maybe it was that whole secret identity thing that the Shadow Rangers had.

She noticed the teacher coming towards her desk and tried to beat her to the punch. “Miss Cheerilee, I’m sorry, I’m trying really hard, and I only got distracted twice today, and they weren’t for that long and I’ll do better and –” A hoof on her mouth. A lot of adults were shushing her that way lately.

“That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about Diamond.”

“Oh. Then what is it?”

“One of you friends – I won’t say which and I don’t want you asking – came to me with an interesting question about lying. I won’t tell the full story Diamond, but the point is that she did. I know about what happened with Nyx and the stallion at the bridge.”

“Oh, that?”

“Yes ‘that’ Diamond. I want you to understand, what you did was extremely dangerous. You could have gotten your friends very hurt.”

“He was already going to hurt Nyx anyway. Honestly Miss Cheerilee, he was just an overgrown bully.”

“He was a dangerous pony. You should have gotten an adult for help.”

“Right, and while I’m trying to find somepony to listen, he makes off with Nyx.”

“Tone.” There was a brief pause in the conversation. “Fair enough, you saw that you needed to act quickly and you did. Why didn’t you tell anypony afterwards?”

Cheerilee received an unsettlingly level look. “Miss Cheerilee, if going to grownups ever solved anything, I never would have gotten away with bullying the Crusaders for all those years.”

The mare was shocked enough to choke on her words. “I… I don’t think… Diamond, I…” The mare was honestly quite hurt to find out that her student didn’t trust adults to be reliable. Even more so as she realized that it was probably true for her entire class.

“Can I go now Miss Cheerilee?”

The mare finally found her voice, “Yes… you can go join your friends.”

The filly nodded and scooped up her bags. As she reached the schoolhouse door however, she stopped and turned. “Actually Miss Cheerilee, can I ask you a question?”

Are you sure you want to? The knife in her heart was driven in even further as it occurred to her that her students might have good reason not to trust her with their problems. What had happened to her? She used to be the one that the foals could always count on. “Yes, of course Diamond.”

“What would you do if you had to make a choice, and you knew that if you made the wrong choice, ponies would get hurt, but you weren’t sure what the right choice was?”

Cheerilee underwent a form of mental climate shock. Diamond had just gone from not trusting her to something extremely heavy almost instantaneously. “I…” She had to stall for enough time to reorient herself. “I suppose that would depend on the choice.”

“…That… Doesn’t really help.”

“I’m sorry, maybe if you could tell me a little bit more about the choice you’re trying to make?”

“I… I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about it.”

Alarm bells about secrets conflicted with worries about trust issues in Cheerilee’s mind. “Well why don’t you tell me what you can? If ponies are going to get hurt, that’s something pretty serious.”

“I’m not sure what I can tell you.”

“Diamond, I can’t really help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

The filly shook her head. “I’m not really asking for help, just… advice?”

Ah. That’s what it was. She did trust Cheerilee. She trusted her to say the right thing and then not do it. The knife went out the back end of the teacher’s heart. The teacher broke right then, and fell back on the endless hours of training she had received. “How about this then. You just talk about it until it feels like you shouldn’t say any more, and I’ll do my best, alright?”

“Okay.”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“Okay… Where should I start?”

“Well, you could start at the beginning, or you could start with the main issues.”

“Main issues? Well, I suppose everything is about him…”

“Who is he?”

“…His name is Midnight Star, but I think that’s all I’m allowed to say.”

“I see.” Mystery stallion? At her age? “How did you meet him?”

“He saved me from a monster.”

“What kind of monster?”

“…It’s hard to describe.” Interesting. She knew for a fact that various members of her class had encountered just about every monster in Equestria at one point or another.

“Alright, we may need to come back to that, but we’ll move on for now. What happened next?”

“Well, he watched me for a while before he saved me.” He watched her? “And then after he saved me we talked. He took me to this big old castle and told me about some secret stuff.” He took her somewhere? Secrets? Several Klaxons were reverberating through Cheerilee’s skull.

“I see.” She couldn’t panic her. Once the foal was talking, you had to keep them talking. By the time they were ready to start talking again, it could be too late. “Did he have you do anything? Give you anything?”

“He did give me something. He said he has some more gifts too, but I need to decide first.”

“Decide?”

“The choice I’m trying to make.”

“…Diamond, can you tell me what the choice is?”

“…No, I don’t think I can.”

“Why not?”

“Ponies could get hurt.” More alarms.

“Which ponies?”

“I’m not sure, maybe even you?”

She was obviously getting confused. And stressed, Cheerilee needed to relax her. “Alright then, I won’t push you. Have you seen him since he rescued you?”

Diamond nodded. “He’s visited me a couple of times. He showed me some really interesting stuff too.”

“How were the visits?”

“…I was really mad at him one time, when I wanted to see him instead of him just visiting me. But he explained. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He showed me a new part of the castle that time. That was nice.”

“Any patterns to his visits?”

“No, he just shows up some nights.”

“He visits at night?”

“Uh-huh. He can only visit me at night because…”

“Because?”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to say that part.”

“Okay. I’d like to meet him; do you think you could arrange that?”

“…I don’t think so. It’s probably not a good idea anyway.”

“Why not?”

“I… I don’t want you to get hurt, and if you meet Midnight Star, you might.”

The mare worried the floor with her hooves. “You’d be surprised.” She growled.

“What? I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee, I didn’t hear that part.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it dear. I was just talking to myself. Noticing something. Anyway, your friend the stallion, can you describe him?”

“I don’t know…”

“It’s alright if you can’t, I’d just like to know who he is if I ever do meet him.” So I can relieve Equestria of the burden of his existence, but she doesn’t need to know that part.

“He’s… I dunno. I’m not sure if I should tell you or not.”

“How about your first impression of him? Would that be safe?”

“…For the first month, I just knew him as the voice in my dreams.” Dream-grooming. Definitely a unicorn. A powerful one too, to be able to use that spell. Or he was rich enough to pay somepony off. Still, short list of suspects. “Then, when I actually met him, before he told me his name, I guess I thought of him as my dream stallion.” Horseapples. Completely effective dream-grooming. That took rare kinds of power. Cheerilee was definitely out of her league.

They talked for another hour, Cheerilee growing more and more concerned the entire time. In the end, she wasn’t able to get much more out of the filly, although she did find out that the stallion was having her do things now. She managed to close it on a good note, leaving the filly comfortable with the way the conversation had gone. There was only one more important question to ask:

“Diamond, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you figure out what you need to do. Would it be alright with you if I asked for help from some other ponies?”

“…I don’t know… If they tried to find out more about Midnight than you have…”

“They could get hurt. Fair enough. Still though, we do need help, is there anypony in town you would trust?”

“…Twilight?”

At the sound of that name, Cheerilee could have kissed whichever deity had smiled on that moment. “Okay. I’ll talk to her and see what she says. And I’ll make sure she knows you don’t want to say too much.”

“Okay. Thank you Miss Cheerilee.” The filly turned to leave.

Her teacher called out as she reached the door, “Diamond! I… I just want you to know. If the time ever comes…” She locked eyes with the filly.

“I would be glad to get hurt for you.”

Chapter 4 - Point of Decision

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“Cheerilee? Wha–”

“Twilight! I’m sorry, I know it’s late, but this is important! Can I come in? I need your help.”

Something in the low and desperate tone struck a chord with the alicorn. “Of course, what’s the emergency?”

Cheerilee stepped into the castle and closed the door behind her. “I don’t know what to do; I feel so out of my depth with this.”

“Cheerilee, slow down. Keep calm and tell me what the problem is.”

The teacher took several deep breaths. “…Well, I guess I should tell it the same way I heard it… Twilight, have you ever heard of a stallion named Midnight Star?”

The princess’s eyes and nostrils flared as she choked in shock. She quickly shot glances back and forth down the hall to make sure nopony was around, then in a flash of light, both mares vanished.

They rematerialized in a room on the far side of the castle. “Cheerilee, do not talk to anypony about that stallion.” Twilight hissed. “I need to know, did Nyx or one of the trio tell you about him?”

“No, it was–”

“Don’t tell me! Cheerilee, I can’t know how you found out about him. None of the princesses can. Or the trio for that matter.”

The trio? Twilight had mentioned Nyx too… Exactly how many fillies had this bastard gone after? “Twilight, I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

“…I can’t tell you Cheerilee. I can’t tell you about him or about what’s happening. I can’t help you at all.” The alicorn let out a breath and broke eye contact. “But I can tell you that whichever filly told you that name needs your help.”

Cheerilee was feeling rattled as she left Twilight’s castle. Whoever this Midnight Star character was, he was even more dangerous than she realized. She still couldn’t believe he had managed to get to Nyx, Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo as well as Diamond Tiara. Although she supposed it was possible… if he was powerful enough to scare Princess Twilight Sparkle…

She needed help.

“Cunning…”

“I am here Sir.”

“I sense something…”

“Do you not always?”

“Yes… But this is new… There are whispers on the wind… Even here, they are beginning to feel it…”

“Surely it is no threat to us sir.”

“Do not overestimate yourselves. I fear that confounded foal is meddling again.”

“Who? We shall eliminate any threat Sir.”

Dark laughter. “Better than you have tried. You would not be able to stand against him. But there is no need for that, he is already imprisoned. He meddles from afar, likely acting through another.”

“Who is he?”

“The Black Alicorn, The Stallion of Night, The Wishing Star, The Last Light…”

“Sir?”

“It would appear that Midnight Star has discovered our plans. Move the schedule up, I must be released as quickly as possible.”

“And the Warrior of Night Sir?”

“Capture the filly. Our presence has already been detected, so you need not worry about witnesses, but you must not be found yet.”

“It shall be done. I will send Treason and Deception with Subtlety.”

“Send Devotion as well, lest she fly away.”

“As you command.”

Cheerilee hesitated with her hoof hanging over the door. She had known and been friends with the mare since she was in school. The mare had even helped Cheerilee when she was undergoing that special training to get foals to talk about things they didn’t want to. But still… she hadn’t visited her friend in years…

She knocked.

Immediately she realized that the mare she was looking for was probably in bed. Cheerilee had left school the day after her visit with Twilight and come straight here, but Luna’s moon was still high in the sky. Before she could decide to leave the house’s occupants to their sleep however, the door opened.

“Flowers?” The familiar pegasus mare looked Cheerilee over. “It must be bad to bring you here this late. What is it?”

“It’s… a filly.” Cheerilee didn’t want to say too much in the open.

“Really? When I had mine they couldn’t tell me until after I had started showing. The improvements they’ve made in those spells since my day…”

Cheerilee blushed noticeably, an impressive feat for a fuchsia mare on a dark night. “No, I’m not – I – What? No!”

The pegasus started cackling. “Come in Flowers, we can talk about your problem in private.”

The earth pony followed her into the house, closing the door behind her. “Feathers… Did you really just make a joke?”

“Feathers” rolled her eyes. “No Flowers, I actually think you’re pregnant.”

“Two jokes? That’s… unlike you.”

“What can I say Flowers, retirement does strange things to a mare.”

“You’re officially retired now then?”

“…Yes. Forced retirement. Bucking bureaucrats. I’d stayed in for the maximum allowed time.”

“I see… Why are you limping?”

“Twisted my ankle playing with my little sister’s foals the other day. At this rate, when my girls get to be parents I’ll be in a wheelchair.”

“They always told you your adventures would catch up to you.”

“They wouldn’t have if they’d’ve let me stay in. I didn’t have a single problem until they made me retire!”

Cheerilee chuckled softly. Same old Feathers.

“Anyway Flowers, enough about me, you came with a problem. You mentioned a filly?”

“Yes, one of my students. She came to me with some questions, and they… worried me.”

“And so, you being you, you asked her some questions of your own. Which I’m sure she thought were completely innocent, just like all the other foals you helped.”

“…Scarily so. Feathers, I don’t have any proof, but I’m fairly certain she’s being molested.”

“So why’d you come to me? Much as I’d love another adventure Flowers, I’m the wrong pony for the job. You’ve still got that old Foal Services license, your professional opinion counts as evidence in a court of law. Take it to the town guards.”

“I don’t think they can handle this one Feathers. She’s been dream-groomed.”

The pegasus snorted. “So some unicorn got his hooves on some spell that lets him talk to her in her sleep. Still a problem for the guards, just make sure they’re thorough and delicate.”

“Successfully dream-groomed, Feathers.”

The pegasus paused. “What?”

“Whoever this guy is, he’s powerful. And dangerous. I went to Twilight Sparkle, and as soon as I mentioned his name, she got scared. Told me she couldn’t say anything about him, but I needed to get involved because the filly was in danger.”

Feathers whistled. “He’s bad enough to scare an alicorn princess? Okay, you’ve got me hooked. Who is this guy?”

“That’s actually what I was hoping you could help me with. I couldn’t find any record of him, so I’m pretty sure the name’s an alias, but apparently she’s not his first filly, so he might have used it before.

“I need you to see if you can find out anything about a stallion going by the name of Midnight Star.”

We’re going to backtrack a little bit now. We’ll dial it back to early afternoon, just as Cheerilee’s train was leaving Ponyville station. The setting is the Everfree Forest. The cast, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and most of the Crusaders (The trio, Nyx, and Twist of course, as well as Pipsqueak and Button).

None of them were quite sure who it was, but somepony had had the brilliant idea to try and go out looking for poison joke. The idea was to get some, bring it back home, and then try and grow it in a window box at the clubhouse.

After an hour of searching, they had yet to find a single poison joke plant. They had however managed to find several timberwolves.

Which was why they were running.

Nyx fired another blast as she jumped over a fallen log, Applebloom and Pipsqueak sliding through a small gap beneath it. At the same time, Sweetie threw a rock telekinetically as she and Silver Spoon dodged behind a tree. Meanwhile, Scootaloo, Twist, and Button Mash dove into a small stream as the wolf chasing them flew by over their heads.

While the predators were recovering, the foals circled up in the clearing. “Anypony see where Diamond Tiara went?” Nyx asked.

“I found her tiara,” Sweetie held it up in her magic. “But I don’t know where she went.”

“Ah think she got away. Hope she ran for help.”

Scootaloo nodded at Applebloom. “Probably. I think she got in trouble with Miss Cheerilee for not getting a grownup last time. Hope she finds Rainbow Dash.”

Pipsqueak spoke, “Honestly, I think I’d settle for just about anypony right now.”

Button eyed the three wolves now circling them. “Okay, three of them, seven of us. We’re surrounded and lower levels… except maybe Nyx. They don’t want to talk, so the riddle game and portion tactic are out. Maybe–”

“This isn’t one of your games!” Silver shouted at him. “Welcome to the real world!”

“He’s right though,” Nyx pointed out. “We don’t have a lot of options. Anypony got an idea?”

“There’s a cave over there,” Sweetie offered. “At least we won’t be surrounded anymore.”

“Good idea. Everypony ready? GO!”

The sudden break caught the timberwolves by surprise. They weren’t used to prey that knew evasion tactics (Nor were they as good at wrangling escaping Crusaders as the Ponyville adults had gotten). It was a tangled mess of running, jumping, and dodging, with Nyx and Sweetie shooting the occasional spell, but eventually they made it to the cave.

As soon as they were inside, Nyx covered the entrance to the cave with the shield spell Uncle Shiny had taught her. As the timberwolves pounded on the shield, the foals prepared themselves.

Sweetie picked up some jagged rocks in her magic. Button and Pipsqueak found a pair of sticks somewhere that they were holding like swords. Scootaloo started the meditation thingy she had learned back when they were trying for their martial arts cutie marks. Applebloom started going through the stretches her sister used in applebucking season. Silver and Twist started piling stones behind a pair of boulders.

All eyes snapped to their enemies as a large crack ran down Nyx’s shield. “Okay Crusaders,” The alicorn said, “Just like when we had that water war.”

Diamond Tiara peeked over the boulders again. She wasn’t sure how she had gotten separated from the others, but she had. When they first scattered, she had taken off with Applebloom and Scootaloo. That hadn’t even lasted a full minute!

When she had asked the fillies whether or not to go left where the path split, they had corrected her, told her to go right. After that she hadn’t been able to find anypony until a few moments ago when she had heard the fight. Now that she had, she wasn’t so sure she was mad at them for ditching her anymore.

Her friends were trapped in a cave. From the color, she guessed that the shield covering it was Nyx’s. Luckily Nyx was an alicorn, so her magic could probably hold out for a long time.

A long time… long enough to run for help? Cheerilee had been upset with her the last time she tried to save her friends herself…

The filly was about to run for town when she heard it. A resounding CRACK that echoed around the clearing. She looked again, and felt her heart sink in fear.

A ginormous crack ran down Nyx’s shield. There wasn’t time to run for help. She couldn’t get an adult. There was nopony around.

She was the only one who could do anything.

She saw it, out of the corner of her eye. The box had just showed up, over under that tree.

She found herself asking all the same questions she had been for over a week. Can I really be a Ranger? Do I even want to? It’s safe for me to stay in the castle at night. What if there’s another way? I don’t want to make a mistake, and…

Unbidden, other recent memories rolled through her mind.

”Unfortunately, without guardians, it becomes a trap for ponies like you.”

“Luna and I built this place to protect ponies like you.”

“I wish I could stand in her place… Apparently she’s the better pony for the job.” With a gasp, Diamond realized that Nyx had been talking about her at that time.

”It’s good to know that she has friends watching out for her.”

“I wish I was a better pony.”

“I’m proud of you Diamond Tiara.”

“Diamond! I… I just want you to know. If the time ever comes… I would be glad to get hurt for you.”

She needed to do something. She had to do something, she knew it. But the shadows… Some of the things she had read at night scared her. Did she really need the armor?

”As long as you are in the Night, you are within the reach of Darkness.”

“I have something special for you.”

“I can give you the ability to protect others.”

“The armor will disguise you to protect those you care about.”

“But remember that I’ve seen your faces and cutie marks, and I will be back for each of you.”

Yes. She needed the armor. She walked over to the box and tried to open it. She turned it, lifted it, rolled it, but no matter what she did, it stayed closed.

“Open already!” She hissed. The box didn’t respond. After a few moments and another thunderous crack from the shield, something occurred to her. Wiping the tears of frustration out of her eyes, she remembered that Nyx of the Night had mentioned the shadow armor responded to willpower.

Gently, she set her hoof on the box. “I want to be a Shadow Ranger.”

The box rolled itself to one side, landing right side up. Silver writing had shown up on the top, a poem of some kind. She recognized it, it had been carved into a wooden bookmark she had found in Volume III and was using now. She recited it by heart,

“Fighting darkness, born of Night,
Live in shadows, protect the light.
Stand for right and never fall.
I now heed the Shadows’ Call.”

The box didn’t open like she was expecting. Instead it started floating, twisting in the air as it spun around her. After she had turned around a couple of times to follow it, it stopped. Slowly, it sank until it was touching her shadow, then it went into her shadow like it had when Midnight first gave it to her.

At first, she thought it hadn’t done anything. She snorted in frustration and turned to leave. “Fine then, see if I need the fancy magic armor. I’ll go save my friends myself.” And then everything went black.

She never saw that her shadow was rising up behind her.

Diamond shook herself as she came to. Remembering where she was and what she was doing, she jumped to her feet. She was relieved to see that the timberwolves hadn’t gotten her friends yet. She started running towards them, thinking she could draw the wolves away. She stopped short as she caught sight of her reflection hopping over the stream on the edge of the clearing.

She sat up and shook the water out of her mane and coat, looking down at herself where she had fallen into the water out of shock.

She… wasn’t her? She looked like somepony else. Her coat was as black as Nyx’s, while her mane and tail were a harsh blue that matched her eyes and made her think of ice. Her cutie mark had been changed too, her namesake tiara replaced by a simple cut diamond.

Diamond looked up at the sound of shattering. The timberwolves had finally broken through Nyx’s barrier. She needed to get over there.

While she was galloping, she realized she had no idea how to get past the wolves to her friends. She remembered the books talking about some kind of shadow travel thing, but it was confusing. She wasn’t really sure what it meant when it talked about “willing yourself into shadow…”

She had stopped moving. Looking down, she saw that her hooves were… melting? Shadows were pouring out of her legs, about six inches from where they should have ended. She watched as the shadows moved up to her knee, and noticed a funny feeling as they did.

Oh. That’s what it means.

She set her hoof back down and focused on the feeling. It was kind of like when she went swimming, the way the water held her up but could pull her down too. She sank.

The pool of shadow that was left raced across the clearing. The book was right, this was faster than running. She slid under the timberwolves and into the cave.

Button was nursing a nasty gash over one eye, and it looked like Silver Spoon was down completely. Sweetie Bell and Twist were throwing rocks, while Pipsqueak and Scootaloo were dancing around hitting the wolves with sticks. Nyx was obviously exhausted, but still firing spells at the wolves.

The book had mentioned that you could carry passengers when you shadow traveled, but Diamond could feel herself getting tired already.

She was given her opening when one of the wolves threw Pipsqueak into Scootaloo, sending both of them tumbling across the cave floor. The pegasus screamed in pain as she landed on her wing badly. Nyx fired off multiple spells, forcing some distance between the foals and the wolves, but she tired quickly. The wolves began stalking forward…

And then Diamond rose from the shadows.

The timberwolves paused in surprise, but then kept coming, growling as they did so. Diamond didn’t think she could fight them… Could she bluff timberwolves? “Do you know what I am?”

She wasn’t sure if it was the tone or the words, but something made the timberwolves stop and sniff the air. Years of bullying helped her notice as their tails moved down towards their legs. “These foals are under the protection of the Night. And of me. Get out of here.”

For the briefest moment, it looked like it was going to work. The wolves backed slowly out of the cave, Diamond walking calmly towards them. As she left the cave though, she saw a flash in the corner of her eye.

Instinctively, she jumped back as one of the timberwolves bit down on the place where she had been. Apparently they had decided that they couldn’t win in the cave, but could in the field. Which was bad, since they needed to leave the cave to get home.

Diamond was feeling pretty stupid. She had honestly thought that she could just pick up the magic armor and save the day. Now she and her friends were probably going to get eaten.

And then a purple flash blew apart one of the timberwolves.

Chapter 5 - Near Miss

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Diamond dove backwards as Nyx’s barrier rematerialized. She must have bought the other filly enough time to recover. The shield wouldn’t take much, but it would probably be enough with the timberwolves distracted.

Applebloom trotted up to her and held out her hoof. “Howdy! Ah’m Applebloom, what’s your name?”

It took Diamond a moment to realize that the filly didn’t recognize her through her disguise. Trying to think fast, she saw her new cutie mark out of the corner of her eye. It reminded her of a special box of jewels that her father had purchased a little over a year back. The name of the pretty stones fell from her lips almost unbidden, “Black Diamond.”

Sweetie Bell gave her a smile. “Nice to meet you, my name is–”

“Sweetie Bell, I know. And these are Scootaloo, Nyx, Twist, Silver Spoon, Pipsqueak, and Button Mash.”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know who we are?”

“Not important.” Nyx preempted Diamond’s response. “We can trust her.”

“Are you sure?” Silver asked.

The alicorn nodded. “We’ve met before.” To the now confused Diamond, she added, “You do a little time travelling in the future.”

The filly with the ice blue mane blinked at her. Finally, she shrugged. “Sure. Why not. Wouldn’t be any weirder than this last month.”

Nyx stared at her a moment longer. “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the filly who’s supposed to save us, aren’t you?”

“I guess so.”

“Thank you for helping us. They wouldn’t have been able to respond to our distress beacons in time if you hadn’t.” Nyx motioned to the glowing pendants somepony had pulled out of their saddlebags.

“I had to do something.”

“Do you know what we’re up against?”

“…No. Not yet.”

Another explosion rocked the cave. “Rainbow Dash and my mom could probably use your help out there.”

“I’m not sure I can help them. You saw me just now; I couldn’t even scare those wolves.”

“There’s always something you can do to help, even if nopony thinks it’s very much.”

“Maybe, but… I just started this, I have no idea what to do.”

“Can I tell you a secret about protecting ponies? You never really know what you’re doing, you just make half of it up as you go along.”

“…Why are you telling me all this?”

“Because I’m the alicorn of protection. Which means that when I can’t protect ponies myself, I need to try and help others to.”

The pair turned to the scene outside the cave, forgetting their friends momentarily. Four more timberwolves had been attracted to the sound of fighting; although one had joined the first one Twilight blew apart. “To be honest, that shadow trick is the only thing I know. And it took me over a week to even get this far.”

“Then use that however you can. And when you learn more, use that too.”

Diamond thought about this for a moment. She shot her friend a smirk, “Do you know any fire spells Nyx?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Keep them ready in case this doesn’t work.” Diamond sank back into her pool of shadow and raced into the clearing.

It wasn’t really that Twilight was in trouble. Had she wanted to, she probably could have just blasted the timberwolves into nonexistence. The problem was she didn’t want to.

She knew what they had started as, magical constructs with a simple animation spell, but still… There was no telling if they’d developed more than that in the past thousand years. What was proving difficult was driving them off without killing them.

Rainbow Dash was doing her best too, but no matter how hard she hit the wolves, they would just reassemble. It was a stalemate she was hesitant to break.

And then the black filly started flickering around the clearing. At first Twilight thought she was seeing things. Then she had a brief moment of terror where she thought it might be Nyx.

A quick glance to the cave confirmed that her daughter was safe behind the barrier. The next time she saw the filly, she realized that her mane was the wrong color entirely. What she couldn’t quite figure out was how the filly – who was obviously an earth pony, the way she wore her mane leaving her forehead completely exposed – was teleporting around the clearing.

The alicorn quickly realized the filly’s game. She was trying to be a distraction to the wolves, buy her and Rainbow a little breathing room. It was a nice attempt, unfortunately it wasn’t working. The mares had apparently made enough of a nuisance of themselves that the timberwolves were permanently focused on them.

Things got a little easier when Rarity and Applejack arrived. Twilight and Rainbow had left the pair at the entrance of the forest when they went airborne.

The filly materialized a short distance away, glaring at the wolves.

Diamond was annoyed.

She could handle being underestimated, insulted, or attacked, but these things weren’t doing any of those. They were ignoring her!

She stood there glaring at them. If they didn’t want live bait, then maybe they’d take an easy target.

…Diamond?

Her eyes widened. “Is that you Midnight?”

Yes. What are you doing?

“I’m trying to help.”

You’re not ready for this. Diamond, get out of there before you get yourself killed!

“I have to do something.”

…Alright. One condition, when I say leave, you leave. We can’t afford for Twilight and the others to figure out who you are.

“I understand.”

Do you know how to control your shadow yet?

“Not really. I kind of figured out how to shadow travel, but…”

Don’t worry. I never expected you to figure all of this out on your own. Just pay attention.

She stopped seeing. Had she had more technical knowledge, she would have realized that Midnight had temporarily overridden her optical nerves to show her something else.

It was a drawing of a pony. As she watched, the picture rotated. Shadows coalesced and rose up around the pony, calculations that she didn’t know why she understood writing themselves off to the side. As the pony did things with his shadow, she learned how to do them with hers.

The world faded back into her vision.

Alright Diamond. Good job… I need to rest now, that took a lot of energy…

“What was that?”

There is an old unicorn trick… where a spell is taught… by transferring it from one horn to another… this was a version of that… using the dreamscape.

“So you just… what’s that word Button uses… downloaded? You just downloaded that to my brain?”

Essentially. Will you be alright?

Diamond smirked. “Don’t worry Midnight, I’ll take it from here. Just let me know when I need to leave.”

There was no response. She wasn’t expecting one.

She stalked forward, reaching out to the shadows around her and feeling them rise to her call. She charged, galloping across the clearing instead of sinking into the shadows for fear of losing control of the shadows floating around her.

Her shadow struck one of the wolves, throwing it backwards into one of its friends. Telekinesis, that’s basically all it was.

She didn’t know it at the time, but she was actually quite lucky. For a first time using her powers, the timberwolves made good opponents. They were coordinated, but not sentient, and they weren’t used to their prey fighting back. It was a good chance for her to learn how to use her powers.

Had she not had this opportunity, things might have gone very differently later on.

The battle was short-lived after that. With the numbers on both sides even, the wolves seemed to decide that they couldn’t win. As soon as they were gone, Nyx dropped her shield and the foals ran out of the cave.

After a few minutes of everypony making sure everypony else was alright, Silver Spoon suddenly gasped. “Wait a minute! Where’s Diamond Tiara!?”

There was an awkward moment as the ponies looked around as if one of the others had an answer only to realize that all of them had forgotten the filly. Diamond found herself slightly hurt by this, but brushed it off with amusement. There had been a lot going on.

“She’s safe.”

The group turned to the earth pony, the adults’ eyes widening as they truly noticed her for the first time. “Black Diamond…” Twilight’s voice was almost a whisper.

“I guess that means I meet you too when I do my little time travel stunt, huh?”

“Yes… So it’s you then?”

“Apparently.”

The corner of Twilight’s mouth shifted up. “So I was right about Diamond then.” The filly felt her heart skip a beat before the mare continued, “She came to you didn’t she? She knows who you are, and she went to you for help, right?”

The filly relaxed. In the night sky above them, an astral stallion facehooved. He would later swear however, that he had never in his life been so grateful for a pony overthinking something.

“Yeah… Yeah, she knows who I am. She’s been helping me.”

Diamond, you need to be careful. If anypony figures out who you are before this is over, we lose everything.

“She’s a good filly.” Twilight’s gaze hardened. “I want you to make sure she stays out of trouble.”

We’re all in trouble Twilight.

“We’re all in trouble Twilight.” With a blush hidden by her coat color, the filly realized Midnight had been making an observation, not telling her what to say. “B-but I’ll do what I can. I’ll do my best to keep her from getting hurt.”

The mare sighed. “I suppose that’s all I can really ask for.”

“Twilight darling, if I may be so bold as to ask–”

“What the hay’s goin’ on here Twi?”

The alicorn looked at her friends, eyes widening. “Girls! That’s right, you’re… still… here… ehheh.”

Diamond, time to go.

Diamond smirked. “I need to go now. I’ll make sure Diamond Tiara gets home alright, don’t worry.” She sank into shadows as Twilight began explaining the situation to her friends.

It was the next night, and Diamond was waiting in the dreamscape castle. As Midnight came through the doors, she quietly asked him, “Where were you last night? I thought you’d be here.”

He sighed. “I would have, but… There was a high cost when I taught you telekinesis. I converted most of the cost to energy, but it took a lot out of me.”

Diamond nodded in acceptance. “We had a substitute teacher today… but Miss Cheerilee hadn’t told us about it beforehoof. Is she alright?”

“She’s fine, just… confused.”

“Is it because I tried to ask her about you?”

“…Yes and no. Don’t worry about it, there’s more going on than you realize. She’s just worried about you.”

“Worried about me?”

“Yes. She thinks you’re in danger. I’ll have to clear that up once all this is over.”

“She thinks it’s you, doesn’t she? She thinks you’re dangerous to me.”

“In a way.”

“Would it cost us if you told me what to do?”

“Yes. Or, we can use the bonus from letting the misunderstanding continue to help do something.”

“Alright then. What about me, would it cost us if I tried to clear things up?”

“No. That’s the main advantage of being a mortal: You don’t have to play by the rules.”

“Okay.” She paused for a moment to think. “You mentioned that you had some things for me once I decided.”

“I did. I do. The first is a puzzle of sorts:

“Names are identity, beyond merely power. Sun, Moon, Star, Shade, Blaze, Heart. Shade in stone, Blaze in fire, Heart in mirrors, and the first three in their own. Hope resides in stardust until the wishing star leaves the sky.”

“…That made absolutely no sense.”

“I know. That was intentional. You won’t understand until the time is right, it’s a precaution to lower the cost.”

“…I get the feeling you’re a very aggravating pony.”

“So I’ve been told. You’re other gift is a warning: He’s coming for the foals.”

“Who?” Silence responded. “Right, thanks for the help.”

“That’s the point Diamond, I can’t help you anymore. If I interfere in Equestria any further, he wins.”

“So what now?”

“Now? Now I have a young filly wearing the armor of my rangers who has no idea how to protect herself but has a large target on her flank.

“Now your training begins.”

Thursday morning saw Cheerilee back at her desk, waiting for her students to file in. Feathers hadn’t been able to find out anything about Midnight Star. It seemed like no guard or criminal in Equestria had ever heard the name.

So she was on her own again. Until she could find out a little bit more about who exactly he was, she couldn’t do anything.

The ringing bell started her out of her thoughts, almost making her drop the papers she had apparently been sorting through. Out of nothing more than reflex, she began calling roll. When she reached Diamond Tiara however, she felt her voice catch. The filly was wearing a long sleeved shirt that had a waistline partially covering her cuie mark.

It was a warm day, and anypony with eyes could tell that it wasn’t a fashion statement. Given what she already knew about the situation… This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

“Diamond Tiara? Can you please wait a little after everypony else leaves? Thank you.”

Diamond went through what was quickly becoming a routine, packing her saddlebags and then hanging them over the back of her chair while she waited for Miss Cheerilee to come talk to her.

Cheerilee sat on the floor in front of the filly’s desk for a while after the other students left, looking like she wasn’t sure what to say. Apparently she decided, because she abruptly broke the silence, “Diamond, roll up your sleeves.”

Diamond tried not to flinch or hesitate as she carefully flipped the cuffs up, revealing another two inches of fur on either hoof. “You know what I mean Diamond.”

“Miss Cheerilee? What is this about?”

“Diamond Tiara, either roll up your sleeves or take off that sweater!”

The filly froze. She wasn’t sure how, but apparently Miss Cheerilee knew. Slowly, gingerly, Diamond reached back and pulled her shirt up, and then over her head. She flinched as she heard the mare gasp, then again as she felt a hoof gently touch one of her bruises.

“Don’t worry Miss Cheerilee, it’s not as bad as it looks. He just couldn’t use a healing spell last night, he’ll be able to soon.”

“Diamond… Midnight did this to you?”

“Please don’t be angry, it’s not his fault. He doesn’t like it, but I have to learn somehow.”

Cheerilee choked. She was fighting hard not to cry at the state of the filly’s body. “Diamond… No. There’s no excuse for this. None whatsoever.”

“He didn’t have a choice Miss Cheerilee, I have to be ready and trained as soon as possible.”

“Diamond, no! You can’t let him keep doing this to you!”

“Yes I can! I have to!”

“Diamond, I don’t know what he’s told you, but–”

“No! Listen to me Miss Cheerilee! You’re one of the only ponies who actually cares, please don’t try and stop me!”

It was a metaphorical slap to the face. She had let herself get overly emotional. Cheerilee reminded herself of her training. “Stop you from what?”

“Making my choice.”

“The one you asked me about the other day?”

“Yes. I made it.”

“And what did you decide?”

The filly gave her a bright smile. “That I need to be strong like you. That I should be willing to get hurt for other ponies, if it meant they didn’t have to get hurt.” The knife in Cheerilee’s heart was back, joined by one in her gut.

“Diamond, that’s… That’s not something you should have to…”

“It’s okay Miss Cheerilee, really. I’m happy with my choice. Thank you by the way.”

Thank you? “For what?”

“Midnight told me you were trying to help me. He also said you were going about it the wrong way. You don’t need to worry Miss Cheerilee, Midnight would never hurt me.”

The knives in Cheerilee’s heart and gut turned to icicles. This was very bad. She did her best to smile, but she doubted at this point it was working. “That’s not what these say.” She pointed to the bruises.

Diamond shifted self-consciously. “I told you, he didn’t want to, but I needed to learn.”

“That’s not a very good way to teach you.”

“There aren’t really any others.”

Cheerilee’s response was cut off by a scream from the schoolyard. Both of them ran to the window and gazed in wide-eyed shock at the scene before them. Nyx, Dinky, Silver Spoon, and most of the crusaders were dancing around avoiding a cloaked pegasus.

“We’re too late.”

Cheerilee turned to her student, “What?”

“Cheerilee, we need to stop those ponies. I might disappear, so don’t worry if you can’t find me. I’m not sure how much time I’ve got left in Ponyville, so I need to pass on a warning, the same one he gave me. Please be careful Cheerilee, use it to help my friends, please?”

Her old training was still kicking in. Cheerilee’s response was automatic, “Of course Diamond, what’s the warning?”

“He’s coming after the foals.”

And then Diamond Tiara turned and galloped out the door.

Chapter 6 - Precipice of Disaster

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Scootaloo was finally starting to get worried. She was wishing she had headed into town to practice her scooter tricks instead of towards Ghastly Gorge. At least she was getting her practice in.

She jumped her scooter to one side and ran up the side of a tree vertically before flipping over the head of the mare trying to catch her. The earth pony clipped the tree and tumbled, and Scootaloo took advantage of her delay to gain some distance. She couldn’t see the mare’s cutie mark, but she was sure it had something to do with running.

The other thing she was regretting was their trip into the Everfree the other day. They had used all their distress beacons when the timberwolves attacked. Rainbow Dash and the others had made it in time, but that meant that Scootaloo’s pendant was currently sitting in the clubhouse recharging.

She swerved again, the mare shooting past her. Scootaloo smirked. She might not be able to fly, but she could still feel changes in the wind.

The filly’s eyes narrowed as she realized she had gotten where she was originally going. Ghastly Gorge. Maybe she could lose the mare in there?

Applebloom wasn’t too worried. Yes, she was galloping full tilt towards her home, but this wasn’t even half as scary as… the last time she’d been running from shadowy ponies. She came over a hill and suppressed a groan.

The market cart was gone. She remembered now, Applejack and Big Mac were both selling today. Well, she couldn’t turn around now, or the stallion chasing her would catch her. Luckily it sounded like he was getting tired, which surprised her, as she was just getting warmed up.

Maybe her crusades had something to do with it?

…Nah, this guy’s just old.

She kept running towards her house, maybe if she made it inside, she wouldn’t have to run all the way back to town.

Sweetie Bell was holding her breath. She didn’t know where Rarity was, but her hopes to get her sister’s help had been foiled by the mare’s absence. She knew who the stallion chasing her was, she recognized his voice.

And apparently he knew a lock picking spell, because the shadowy stallion from the bridge was slowly making his way through the downstairs of the Carousel Boutique. She was worried, but not panicking.

The crusade where she and her friends had tried this had been months ago, but the scars still felt fresh. The adults had banned medieval siege weaponry after that, but Sweetie figured that this was probably an exception. She heard hoofsteps starting up the stairs and slowed her breathing to steady herself.

Meanwhile Opal slept peacefully in her basket, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

The stallion hit the tetherball pole hard.

The trio had each had something they said they needed to take care of, so Nyx had been left in charge of the day’s crusade. Nopony had gotten a cutie mark in beating up foalnappers yet (Nyx’s cutie mark debatably covered that, but her role in the club now was to help other ponies find their marks, so she didn’t count), but that wasn’t for lack of trying.

The door to the schoolhouse opened and Diamond Tiara galloped out, Miss Cheerilee hot on her heels. Nyx saw something change in Miss Cheerilee’s eyes as the mare looked over the scene. “Children,” She was using that teacher tone that allowed no argument, “Run into town and get help. I’ll take care of our visitor until you get back with some other adults.”

Cheerilee kept the students in her peripheral vision until they rounded the bend. She knew she had to be careful, or things could wind up going very badly. She had worked so hard too…

Oh well, all things considered, it might be time for her past to come to light anyway. Maybe she could use it to scare off Midnight Star…

She closed in on the stallion as he stood up, shaking his head to clear it.

Applebloom was chuckling lightly as she made her way to the orchard’s fence. She had waited until the stallion came in the front door of the house and then snuck out the back. He had been easier to ditch than either of her siblings.

She was just opening the gate when she heard something that made her freeze. It was a familiar sound from her alchemy work, a small explosion, partially contained from the sounds of it. The shrill, high pitched scream that came with it though made her blood run cold.

Ah fergot about Granny!

Nyx and Dinky fired off a pair of blasts as the pegasus came in for another pass. The stallion was forced to pull up, but he had gotten closer than before. That wasn’t good, it meant he was learning.

Nyx made a decision. “Crusaders! Break into three groups; he can’t chase all of us!”

They hit the crossroads a few yards later and peeled away from each other. Nyx did a quick head count, Diamond, Pip, and Dinky had followed her. Well, at least most of her friends were out of the crossfire now.

The pegasus had paused for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out which group of foals to chase. Then he dove after Nyx’s group. She smiled, hers was the only group not headed towards town.

Now she just had to buy enough time for help to arrive.

There were some words that came to mind. Not words she’d heard from Sweetie Bell this time, but from her parents. She still didn’t know why her parents had told her to never use them, but she felt like saying them right now.

The earth pony mare who had been chasing her was battered and bruised, and had an obvious limp. Scootaloo had definitely done better running through the gorge. The problem was that the filly obviously couldn’t just swing around and do it again.

So she had tried to find a loop trail. Which was how she wound up with her back to a cliff and the mare blocking her only way out. As Scootaloo’s eyes flitted back and forth, she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye.

The daredevil filly smirked. “You know, I can do a lot of things on my scooter that other foals can’t.”

“I’m sure that’s very impressive,” The mare remarked dryly, “You’ve certainly shown me a lot of that. Now why don’t you be a good little filly and stop showing me. Come quietly and I won’t have to hurt you.”

“Not just yet. I’ve still got one trick I need to show you after all. There’s one thing left that not many ponies know I can do on this baby.”

“Is there a point to this?”

“Yes, aren’t you going to ask me?”

“Ask you what?”

“You’re not very good at this whole villain thing are you? Come on now, this is Ponyville. We literally get lessons on how to deal with bad guys every Thursday. You’re supposed to ask me what my last trick is, it’s part of the way this is supposed to work.”

“…Will it get you to shut up?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Fine then, what’s this trick you haven’t shown me yet?”

“Reverse.” Scootaloo loved seeing that look of dawning comprehension on adults’ faces. “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” The filly’s wings buzzed as she shot backwards over the cliff. As she left the edge, she pulled herself into a backflip and tumble, twisting her body and swinging her scooter like a scythe. She let go of the handles, her ride of choice flying forward to catch the mare across the face and knock her back.

Scootaloo closed her eyes as the wind whipped around her. She still couldn’t fly well enough to save herself from this. She was living her mother’s worst nightmare. Oh well, if this was her last stunt, at least she went out doing something totally epic.

She had braced herself for the impact, but not well enough. She felt the air leave her lungs as the world exploded into lights and colors.

Diamond and the others ignored the sounds of explosions in the distance. They had all been through enough emergency evacuations and drills to know that they needed to focus on the immediate threats first.

In this case, the pegasus dive-bombing them. Frankly, Diamond was getting sick of it. She couldn’t change into Black Diamond with her friends around, but she couldn’t leave them either. She had a little control over her shadow when she wasn’t wearing the armor, but not much. She probably couldn’t life much more than a feather…

The first lesson all Shadow Rangers receive ran through her head. Midnight hadn’t gone over it with her, she had read it in Nyx’s library.

Fastest ways to disable without doing permanent damage:

For unicorns, take off the horn. The bone will grow back in a few years, but they won’t be able to use magic until it does.

For pegasi, clip their wings. Feathers grow back, and faster than horns, but not fast enough to get them back during a fight.

For earth ponies, hope they’re stallions and exploit that weakness.

Clip their wings.

The pegasus came in for another pass, Dinky and Pipsqueak diving aside as he reached for them. He never saw Diamond coming.

To be fair, the last thing a would-be foalnapper expects is for their intended prey to come running to them.

Diamond jumped over his head, landing on his back and sliding. She bit down on one of his wings, trying to get her teeth to drag as much as possible.

The stallion flapped, trying to gain altitude and shake off the filly. Yes he wanted to catch her, but he couldn’t exactly fly like this. He would curse his distraction in that moment for a long time to come.

Twin bolts of energy lanced across his other wing, leaving two lines of scorched feathers. His balance was thrown off again as the filly slid off his wing, falling a yard to the ground. He righted himself only to take another pair of bolts. They weren’t doing much damage, but they definitely hurt.

He dove at the horned fillies, only to stop with a cry of pain as something hit his wing. He turned to see the colt, useless earth pony that he was, standing there with a stick. He held it out like a sword.

The stallion snarled. The colt wasn’t part of the mission, but he might as well teach him a lesson. He lunged forward, yanking the stick away from the colt. He brought it up to beat the wretch…

Diamond spat out the last of the greasy feathers, scraping her tongue with her hooves. Whoever this stallion was, he clearly needed to take a bath. She turned around to see him lifting a stick to hit Pipsqueak and reacted on instinct.

She had seen Applebloom and her siblings do it with varying degrees of effect. Her parents didn’t use it as much, but they had made sure she at least knew how to as soon as she started walking to school on her own. She wasn’t very strong, but she still knew the motions, all earth ponies did. It was the equivalent of levitation for unicorns or flight for pegasi. It was also the final move in most ponies’ arsenals.

Diamond got just over a body length away from the stallion as the stick came down towards Pipsqueak. She planted one forehoof and spun around it, the way Midnight had shown her to turn around quickly. She barely waited for her other forehoof to touch back down as she scrunched her body as tightly as it would go.

And then she bucked.

There was a squish. And a crack. And a scream.

And then the foals were running again. They didn’t really need to run anymore, it wasn’t like he could chase them right now. Maybe once he got back on his hooves, but…

The sight of that bone sticking out of the stallion’s wing like that would haunt them each for a while. They wouldn’t really get over it until they saw something that was even more shocking. That was what they were really running from: What they had just done.

Come on Diamond, she told herself, Focus. You’re a soldier now. A Shadow Ranger. Move past it.

The foals came around the last bend. The road they had chosen when they broke away from the others led to another crossroads. One of those branches looped back here to the school.

They stopped short at what they saw.

Cheerilee was unconscious, lying in a pool of blood. Although that second part wasn’t saying much, the entire playground was covered in blood. The earth pony from before had been joined by a unicorn, and the pair of them were standing over the teacher, panting.

They were never sure who it was that made the noise. They weren’t even sure what the noise was, a cry, a scream, a gasp… None of them were paying enough attention.

But the stallions were. The pair looked up at them, a glow coming from the unicorn’s horn. “Well, well, well. What have we here? Just the pony we’re looking for.”

They turned to run, only to have him appear in front of them in a flash of yellow light. “Now, now, none of that.” It was only when he started laughing that Diamond and Nyx realized it was the same stallion from the bridge. “Come along now Night Warrior, all we want is your life energy.”

“Go to Tartarus.”

More laughter. “That’s the idea!”

Diamond was aiming for his kneecaps as she spun again. Her buck actually hit his shins, but it was enough to stop his laughter. The quartet sprinted for the only safe haven around:

The schoolhouse.

Nyx slammed the door behind them with her magic, turning the lock as she did so. They all knew the drill for this situation; they had run it dozens of times. Somepony shouted out the command phrase, “Lockdown mode!” They crammed into the closet, slipping through the small panel in the back. There was a narrow passage that no adult would ever be able to get through leading down into a crawl space.

It was cave-like, with a dirt floor and walls they’d never tried finding. It was the last defense of Ponyville Elementary.

There was silence for a moment. The first sound that broke it was Nyx whispering, “I think the trio mentioned finding a tunnel that led out of here once. Dinky, Pipsqueak, why don’t you see if you can find it?”

“O-okay… but what about you and Diamond?” The filly’s voice came back through the darkness.

“We’ll just stay here to make sure they can’t get through. And to watch and see when they leave.”

“Got it Nyx. Consider it done Ma’am.”

“Pip, I know you’re planning on going as a guard for Nightmare Night this year, but for the moment, we could really use the pirate more.”

“Then Pipsqueak the Pirate is at your service.”

Diamond heard the pair shuffle away, searching for a wall. Nyx’s eyes were dimly glowing, the only source of light either of them had. After Pip and Dinky were far enough away that neither of the older fillies could hear them, Nyx turned to Diamond.

“Diamond, I need you to promise me you’ll take care of them if something happens.”

“What? Nyx, what are you–”

“We have no time for these games Black Diamond!” The volume was low, but the tone still conveyed power.

“I’m not–”

“Diamond, I can sense the night in you. It’s been there since the fight with the timberwolves.”

Diamond’s eyes widened. “What? But then–”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell anypony. You’re safe around my mom, but you need to avoid the other princesses. They’re all day or night, and they’ll know you’re of the night. Mom’s twilight. Not day, not night, somewhere in between. Almost both, but not really one or the other. She won’t be able to sense the night in you, but any other alicorn will.”

“Understood. I’m still not leaving you behind or anything stupid like that.”

“We might not have a choice. They’re after me specifically. I’ll be honest, it’ll be really bad if they get me, but it’ll be worse if they get Dinky.”

“What? But you’re–”

“An alicorn princess who keeps interrupting you, I know. But Dinky’s special too. These guys are grabbing us to harvest our life energy, and Dinky has more of that than I ever will.”

“Why? How?”

“This town is full of secrets Diamond. That one’s not mine to tell. And I wouldn’t recommend you ask about it either. You’ll find out if you need to know.”

Diamond’s next question would never be asked. They both went silent when they heard the school’s door open.

“Good work foals, I’m honestly impressed with how well you’ve run. But it’s over now. Your school might have kept out somepony else, but my special talent is getting past security systems. Plus, all of these spells are old anyway. Disabling them was easy, it just took a while.”

Throughout Ponyville, lights flashed and sirens blared as the fourteen silent alarms he had failed to disable tripped.

“I know you can hear me. You might even be thinking of fighting. Impressive as that is, I wouldn’t suggest it. You see, we still have your teacher. Surrender, and we’ll let her live.” He paused for a moment, that laughter echoing around the school. “Come on out foals, Night Warrior. Come out little Nyx.”

“I’m right here.”

Diamond spun to face her friend. Nyx had slipped away, for crying out loud, why did that filly have to be so stealthy?

“Where are your friends?”

“Gone. Secret passage out of the school. You have to close it from both sides though, so I had to stay behind. Told them I’d teleport in after it was shut.”

“And let me guess, you can’t teleport?”

“Not into there. Magic dampening field. Nopony can teleport into there.”

Diamond gritted her teeth. There was nothing she could do. She had to stay with Dinky and Pipsqueak. Plus, if she went out there, she’d prove Nyx a liar, and they’d get the younger pair.

“Why give yourself up?”

“You said it yourself, you’ve got Miss Cheerilee. Besides, once you’ve got me, my friends are safe. Coming back for them would be too dangerous to be worth it.”

“You foals are smart, you know that? Not many of you would know when to give up.”

“Oh make no mistake sir, I’m not giving up. I’m just making room.”

“Making room for what?”

“For the pony who’ll be the hero that stops you. That’s the way it works you know.”

The laughter increased. “Well then, let me tell you this, you’ve failed. You were the only pony who could have stopped us. The legendary Warrior of the Night. Big long prophecy and everything. You were the only hope. And now we’ve got you.”

Chapter 7 - End of Illusions

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What alerted them was Twilight’s scream of “Cheerilee!”

Pipsqueak and Dinky, failing to find the nonexistent tunnel, had rejoined Diamond at the entrance. Cautiously, the three made their way up to the closet. The older filly motioned the other two to wait while she made sure things were safe.

Diamond peeked out of a window, barely lifting her eyes over its edge. The purple alicorn was out there, fussing over the teacher. Diamond turned back to her friends. “It’s safe, Twilight’s here.”

The younger foals crept out of the closet, and the three of them made their way outside.

“Miss Twilight?” Dinky was the one who finally worked up the courage to ask, “Is… Is Miss Cheerilee gonna be okay?”

Twilight looked up, noticing the foals for the first time. “Wha… Yes, she’ll be fine. She just needs to wake up first.”

“But… the blood?” Pipsqueak this time.

“Not mine.” All eyes turned to the groaning mare as she regained consciousness. “The ba…d pony hit me with a stunner spell.”

Twilight relaxed at hearing this, then immediately tensed up again. She turned to the foals. “And you three? Are you hurt?” The foals mutely shook their heads. “Do you know where any of the others are?” The alicorn felt her heart freeze up at their expressions. “Children? Where are–”

“They got her.”

At Diamond’s words, Twilight felt the ice cube in her chest drop into her stomach. Already knowing the answer, she asked, “Who?”

“Nyx. They got Nyx. We were in the shelter under the school, she… she made me promise to take care of Pip and Dinks, and then… She surrendered so they’d go away.”

“AND YOU LET HER!?”

Diamond’s ears flattened. “I’m sorry, by the time I realized what she was doing, it was… I couldn’t risk them getting… I’m sorry Twilight, I…” The filly bolted.

The Princess of Friendship instantly realized her mistake. “No! Diamond, wait! I’m not angry with you, I just… Diamond, get back here!”

The filly just kept running, a trail of droplets flying behind her. Twilight started flying to catch up, but Diamond had already hit the forest. By the time the mare reached the clearing, the filly had vanished.

The shadow sped along the ground, fueled by grief and pain. She flitted back and forth, checking up on everypony that she could think of. Nyx was the only one who they knew had been taken.

She didn’t know whether to feel relieved that the rest of her friends were alright, or ashamed that she was the only pony who’d failed. The only ones she hadn’t found yet were the trio, but she wasn’t worried about them. Those three could take on anything.

She did find them though… well, one of them at least. She had gone to Twilight’s castle to try and apologize for not saving Nyx, but found Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash there, sitting on a couch talking to the alicorn. Apparently the pegasus had had her own run-in with these ponies.

Rainbow Dash was one of the first ponies that the others had run into coming into town. She had immediately found out where Scootaloo was and raced off to make sure she was okay.

“…And then Rainbow Dash caught me and did a totally awesome Sonic Rainboom, and then we came back to town.”

Twilight’s next question went forever unasked as the door opened and all four local Apples walked in. Of all the reactions, Applebloom’s was the loudest. “SCOOTALOO!” She tackled her friend out of her seat. “Ah was so worried after that pony tried ta get me! But you’re alright!”

“Yeah, course I’m alright. And guess what? Rainbow Dash and I pulled off a perfect ‘You’ll Never Take Me Alive!’ On our very first try too!”

“That’s great! Ah know ya’ve been wantin’ to try that out!”

“Applebloom, did you say you were attacked too?”

“That she did missy. On that note, can you do a Silver Trace Spell?”

“Well, yes, but I’ll need a part of the pony, some hair or something… Why?”

Granny Smith didn’t answer directly. “Big Mac, Applejack, go get that leg outa the cart.”

Rainbow’s eyes were pinpricks. “What happened?”

“…and when Ah ran in, Granny was standin’ there holding a shotgun like Grandpa’s old one over the fireplace, and the stallion was teleportin’ away!”

Rainbow Dash was still in shock. “Granny Smith… took a pony’s leg off… with a shotgun?”

“I were aimin’ fer ‘is head. My old eyes just ain’t what they used to be.”

Further comment was cut off as the door was flung open, slamming into the wall and almost snapping off its hinges. A white and purple… something, that bore a distant resemblance to a mare rushed in.

“Applebloom! Scootaloo! Thank goodness, that means she’s here too!”

Glances were exchanged. Most of them knew this hysteria well, and even those that didn’t knew to be delicate with it. “Who Rarity?” Twilight slowly asked.

“Sweetie Bell of course! She’s not at the Boutique, and not with our parents, but if the other two are here, so is she… where is she?”

“Sugarcube, slow down, back up, and tell us what happened normal-like, okay?”

“Well with all the commotion in town, I was running around trying to help, but I couldn’t find Sweetie, so I went home to see if she was there, and the Cutie Mark Crusader Ballista was set up at the top of the stairs, and between the condition of Opal’s bed and my walls, it was obviously fired, but she wasn’t there, and she wasn’t at our parents’, and she wasn’t anywhere else, so she has to be… with… the… Crusaders… right?” The expressions of everypony in the room had slowly gotten more and more grim. “R-right? She’s here, right?”

Rarity looked to Rainbow first. The racer simply averted her eyes. Applejack pulled her hat low so the unicorn wouldn’t see her face. Twilight slowly raised a hoof to her mouth. “No. Oh Celestia no… Not Sweetie Bell too.”

The fashionista’s rump hit the floor with an audible thud. For a moment, it seemed like she might collapse in on herself. She was broken out of her stupor though, by Scootaloo.

“Too? Not Sweetie Bell… too… Twilight… where’s Nyx?”

There was stillness for the briefest instant before the alicorn’s composure broke. That moment would remain burned into Diamond’s mind forever, the strong front that a desperate mother was trying to put up shattering.

The two mares wept into each other’s shoulders, a pair of fillies somehow a part of the teary embrace as well. The invisible shadow sped off to find an empty room where she could rematerialize and cry her eyes out.

She had failed. Completely, totally, utterly. She had failed.

And now her friends were paying the price.

Cheerilee opened her door. “Feathers.”

“Flowers. Heard about the attack.” The other mare entered and followed her into her living room.

“Obviously. You’re here after all.”

“And you’re upset.”

“Dead straight.”

“Was this Midnight Star?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. These ponies foalnapped two of my students. I’m bringing them down.”

“Do we know who ‘they’ are?”

A metal object landed on the coffee table. “Both of the ones I saw were wearing these. That’s probably our best lead.” It was a pendant, a platinum chain with a single, blood red eye that would dangle from it.

Feathers picked it up and slipped it into her saddlebag. “I’ll find out what this means. Anything else I can do for you?”

“Wait a while? The others’ll probably show up soon.”

“You kept in touch?”

“We retired together. They live in Ponyville too.”

“Family reunion time it is.”

“Diamond Tiara, there you are,” Filthy Rich commented as his daughter trudged through the door. “Hurry now and pack your things.”

Pack her things? “What? Why? Are we going somewhere?”

“Yes darling, we’re going to be leaving town for a little while. Not long, just until things are a little safer.”

“Just until…” Diamond’s eyes hardened. “So we’re running away. We’re just taking off and leaving the problem for somepony else to deal with.”

“Diamond Tiara, I don’t much care for your tone young filly!” Spoiled Rich came into the foyer from another room. “Your father and I know what’s best.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?”

All males have an exceptionally strong survival instinct geared towards one specific kind of self-preservation. This instinct is so strong that it can often cause certain involuntary reactions that, while unbecoming in most situations, are perfectly stallionly under the correct circumstances. Registering the impending catfight through this ancient sixth sense, Filthy Rich ran for the hills – in this case, the kitchen.

“I said, ‘no.’ Two of my friends already got foalnapped today, I’m not going to run away and let the rest of them get taken. Not. Happening.”

“Young mare, your father and I have discussed this already. We know what is best for you and–”

“Like you knew what friends were best for me?”

“Such insolence!” Spoiled gasped, “This is exactly what I was talking about! Palling around with those classless hooligans has robbed you of the good grace that I instilled in you.”

“Crusaders Mother. They are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and you will use their name, because they’ve got a whole lot more ‘class’ than you do.”

“It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore! This is most certainly not how I raised you.”

“Why whatever do you mean? I’m just jilting my family for my social life, isn’t that exactly what you do?”

Their voices had steadily been rising in both pitch and volume. When the slap came, there was an almost imperceptible flash of shadow on Diamond’s cheek, reflexively protecting her. It didn’t keep her head from hitting the wall though, and there was a terrible screech as one of the settings in her tiara twisted, one of the gemstones popping out of the mangled headpiece. “You are nothing like me.”

Diamond picked herself up, ice in her eyes. “I’m not leaving my friends. Run if you want, but I’m not coming with you. The cowardice ends here.”

“You brat!” Another slap, but this time Diamond was ready for it. The shadows coalesced exactly where she willed them too, and they were covered entirely by her mother’s hoof. The filly didn’t move, neither flinching nor recoiling from the blow.

“But Mother, you just said I wasn’t anything like you.”

And then the filly turned and strode out of her home, never even noticing the shadow that followed her. She made it all the way to the forest before she broke down into tears.

Midnight sighed, “Oh Diamond.” He lay down next to the sobbing filly and gently, almost hesitantly, draped a wing over her. “I’m sorry. I was trying to make sure you didn’t take this lightly, and it seems I did my job too well. Diamond, listen to me very carefully.

“None of what happened was your fault.

“You did your best, that’s all anypony can ask for. You’re an exceptionally strong filly, far stronger than you should have to be. You did save two of your friends. You will be able to get the others back.”

“B-but I failed. I let everypony down!”

“I doubt Pipsqueak and Dinky would agree with that. Putting aside the fact that you really haven’t failed, there’s nothing wrong with failure. Not as long as you can pick yourself up and keep working at it.”

“But the oath, I swore–”

“You swore to never fall, not to never fail. There is a great difference there. You swore to never cease fighting to stay in the light, that doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes, that doesn’t mean you have to win every time. I would never have put that kind of pressure on you.”

“Then how…” *hic* “How do we know it’ll work out?”

“Because we do our best. And others do their best. And at the end of the day, enough ponies will do their best that it’ll work out in the end.”

“Then why do I feel so bad!?”

“Because something bad happened. That’s not your fault; it’s the fault of the ponies who did it. We’ll keep fighting, but Diamond, it’s okay to feel bad.”

“But big fillies don’t cry.”

Midnight suppressed a snort. “Diamond, in my life, I have lost many friends, all of my siblings and my parents twice over, and watched someone I love dearly be imprisoned through plans I laid. I can tell you without shame that I wept on each of those occasions. Crying is okay.

“Never let your enemies see you cry, but still cry. When the time is right, when you’re with those you can trust, let it out. When you stop crying… trying to cut out something like that is as dangerous as letting it rule you. If you don’t care enough to cry…”

“…The Nightmares?”

“That was where you were heading. You’ll need to watch that for a long time.”

“…For tonight can I just cry?”

“Yes. Cry for tonight, and on the morrow rise and fight.”

The next day, Diamond didn’t do much. She had slept in the Crusaders’ Clubhouse instead of going home, and she spent the day there, thinking things over. School had been canceled, though she probably would have sat there anyway.

It was late afternoon when she heard the hoofsteps. They stopped just outside the door. “Diamond Tiara, we need to talk.”

“What would you want to talk to me about?”

“I’ve already lost family because of the Shadows, and I ain’t keen on losing any more.”

Diamond’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you… How’d you know?”

“I can sense it in you. Come with me, this place isn’t private enough.”

Diamond finally opened the door, nearly dropping in shock at the pony on the other side. Granny Smith was standing there, but she seemed… off. “Follow me child,” The old mare said without her usual accent, “We need to talk.”

On the other side of town, Cheerilee had another visitor. Or rather, the same visitor was back again.

Feathers was lying on her sofa, still panting from the flight to Ponyville. “…dropped that thing like it was hot. He knew what it was alright, all my contacts did. This cult, they’re called the Blood’s Eye. They’re secretive enough that nopony’s sure about much, but they apparently worship one of the denizens of Tartarus. His eventual release is a common theme in what little we’ve found about them.”

“Any connection to Midnight Star?”

“Not that I could find, although one of my cult specialist contacts thought she recognized the name. She said she needed to check her source to be sure though. She’ll get back to me on it.”

“So you flew straight here to tell me…”

“Oh, that’s right! I almost forgot! They’re old, real old, so they’ve had to move a few times over the years, quote, ‘when the guards or others get close.’”

“Others?”

“I don’t get it either. Hopefully it means you’ve got friends out there.”

“Alright… Do we know where they are now?”

“As of this moment, they’re operating out of Manehatten.”

Diamond followed Granny Smith into the old farmhouse. The elderly mare led her towards the back, and down into a root cellar. They switched directions, heading back towards the front now as they tiphoofed around jar of produce. About two-thirds of the way back to the front, they stopped.

A wooden retaining wall was blocking their way. Granny turned left, following the wall until they came to the end, where a large chest was sitting in the corner. The mare set a hoof to the lock, and Diamond heard things moving inside.

When the chest quieted down, Granny opened the chest, revealing a steep staircase. She continued to lead the way down, pausing only to make sure that the lid was securely shut and locked behind them.

The pair arrived in a large cement room. What little wasn’t lightly covered in dust had obviously been dusted recently. Granny noticed the filly looking around in curiosity. “Ain’t no air moving round down here, so this old place looks better than I expected. Even after all these years…

“I imagine you’ve got a lot of questions. I’ll try to answer them as best I can, but I should probably tell you a story before you start asking. It’ll save time.

“This town has a lot of secrets, and it looks like you’ve found one of the big ones. Before I get any further ahead of things though, I should introduce myself properly. You see, there’s another name you need to know me by, a name I’ve not heard in a long time… A long time…”

Granny shook her head to clear the memories, then returned her gaze to Diamond’s. Diamond gasped in shock as something familiar happened, something that she had felt several times, but never seen anypony do. Granny Smith’s shadow rose up around her, wrapping the mare tightly in itself. When she opened her eyes, she might as well have been a different pony.

Her eyes were the same green that her coat usually was, but that was the only real resemblance. Her coat was a slate gray, and her mane and tail a deep black. Her cutie mark had been replaced as well, a rainbow colored apple now adorning her flank. The mare smiled as she watched the gears click into place in the young filly’s mind and expression.

“You’re…”

“My name is Zap Apple.”

Twilight scowled at the report in front of her. They had found the stallion Granny Smith had shot up. He had been lying in a ditch outside Canterlot with his throat cut. The others that had been injured hadn’t left behind enough uncontaminated samples to track them effectively, although the blood on the playground was enough to find its source if they got within a mile or so.

That wasn't very comforting though. The mare had had her illusions shattered with the rest of the town. Things weren't going to resolve overnight this time. Things wouldn't be happy right off the bat. This time the danger was real, and worst of all, her little Nyx might not–

“Are you Princess Twilight Sparkle?”

The alicorn looked up to find another mare standing there. She was a soft blue, so pale it was almost an off-white. Her mane was a snowy white, with ice blue highlights. What struck Twilight though were her eyes, a vibrant blue that almost seemed to twinkle. The mare cocked her head and Twilight realized she was staring.

“Y-yes. Yes. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. How can I… Wait a second, how did you get in here?”

“The window.” The mare pointed at a small opening, barely six inches around.

“Rrrright. Uuuummm…”

The mare suddenly blinked. “Oh, I’m being terribly rude, I should introduce myself. I’m The Winter Star, one of the four wishing stars. My role is to signal winter, and to try to use by connection to it to grant wishes hung on me.”

Twilight blinked as she realized that the mare’s eyes didn’t look like they were twinkling, they actually were. It was vaguely reminiscent of… She gasped.

The astral mare smiled. “I’m here for a couple of reasons, but first and foremost to grant a wish. A few years back, you were desperately hanging wishes on every star you could see. You hung one on me too, and now I get to help grant it.

“We need to have a little chat though, because you need to understand how this works before I can help you get your daughter back.”

Chapter 8 - Edge of the Blade

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I don’t regret joining the Rangers… I would do it again in a heartbeat.

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t cost me. There was a steep price. I would give it everything, and usually it would give back, but sometimes it had to take everything.

The darkness found me the same night I found the zap apples. My name back then was Granola Apple, but everypony called me Grainy. I was a year or two older than you are now when the darkness decided to make its move. That’s when the Rangers came.

I joined, and apprenticed under a good mare. When I earned my armor, I took the name Zap Apple so I would always remember how I got where I was.

The darkness that followed me out of the Everfree Forest wouldn’t give in so easily though.

In hindsight, that probably saved my life. I went in with a team of six others to root out that particular evil. When we came out of the forest, we found devastation.

Our headquarters had been compromised. Almost all of the Rangers were dead, including my old master. We found a few survivors, but… all but two passed from their injuries within the week.

We had been betrayed by one of our own. Three of the others left to hunt him down. Two came back.

The eight of us slipped even further into the shadows than before so that we could rebuild. During that time, I met a stallion and fell in love. Silversmith and I were married two years later.

When Rangers marry, they can either bring their special somepony in, or keep things secret from them. My husband… he was always meant to be of the day. He passed that trait on to most of our children.

We had six of them, including one set of twins. Buried two more before they had a chance to live. Had our third pass all too early. Four of the other five are still around, scattered around Equestria, just like I told them to.

A few months after I had my youngest, the Rangers found another filly. I had just been promoted to lieutenant, so I took her on as an apprentice. There were a dozen of us now, and we were finally feeling like we were recovering.

Four years later I was still training her when things went wrong again. Somepony started hunting us, individually. We all had to revert to our civilian identities, hiding in plain sight.

It was a little over a year before my apprentice showed up on my doorstep. Her family had been slaughtered, and she had nowhere else to go. We gave my husband a slightly modified version of the story, just that her parents had died and she had nowhere to go. He was always such a good stallion. He didn’t even wait for me to ask before he offered her a place to stay.

Years went by. Every time one of my “pen pals” stopped writing, I knew what it meant. My younger children had grown. My oldest were the twins, and while my daughter had moved out to go to school, my son had found reason to stay.

Eventually the day came when we were the only two Shadow Rangers left. We were now completely isolated, having lost contact with Midnight Star when our base was destroyed. It was at around this time that my husband found out about my double life.

There was an incident with a manticore. We were used to the creatures of the Everfree causing us a little trouble, but this was an entirely new level of danger. I had to use my shadow to protect my children. Another thing I have no regrets about.

My husband… bless that stallion. He took it better than I would have imagined. He didn’t fully understand, but he understood well enough I suppose. He wouldn’t even accept my apologies for decades of deception, said there was nothing to forgive.

He was always too good for me… Too good for Equestria really.

It was a little over a year later when it happened. Our oldest son and our two youngest were the only ones still living with us. My now graduated apprentice had fallen in love, and I gave her and my son my blessing.

She chose to take the same road I had, keeping her secret. It’s not a path I would recommend.

I was in town, helping with the wedding preparations. My husband was with the children. They were attacked. The assassin that had been hunting us had finally found our home.

The only thing about me that our enemy knew was my name, Zap Apple. It wasn’t hard for my beloved to guess who that was. He took my place, pretending he was giving himself up to save the children.

I wept more bitterly on that day than all before or since combined. That was the only moment where I doubted, the only time I wished I had never taken the armor.

We postponed the wedding. Told everypony that it was so we could grieve. They were all so understanding, we had just lost the patriarch of the home in a terrible accident.

That night, our hunt began. Stiletto and I tracked down and eliminated everypony connected to this, staring with the assassin who had killed my husband. It was during this time that my son discovered our secret.

He took it as well as his father had. His only condition for forgiveness was that we let him help. I gave him the armor myself.

It took years. My son and his wife had already had their first foal, a colt. But eventually, we hunted our enemy out of existence.

Life was good after that. The Rangers weren’t needed except for the occasional monster incident. Another foal was born, a filly this time.

Years went by.

It honestly got to the point where we were considering making the Shadow Rangers a family trade. And then it happened.

It was a mission. Just like the ones we had used to run. A powerful mage was using the dreamscape for corrupt purposes. We stopped him, with some unintended help. A filly and colt, teenagers, strangers before all this started. In the old days, we would have picked them up, made them Rangers.

Instead we sent them on their way, unintentionally ensuring that the Shadow Rangers would die out.

One pony. That was all it took. One survivor from that evil unicorn’s group. He tracked us, found us. He was waiting for me when I came home, already heavily wounded, but apparently determined to finish things.

I killed him.

My son was at the top of the stairs. Or at least, he had been when the stairs collapsed. His wife was in the baby’s room. Only a few weeks ago we had welcomed this foal into the world, and now…

It took me a while to find her. Her mother had wrapped her in her own shadow to keep her safe. Which meant Stiletto didn’t have her armor during her fight.

I had no other options, so I raised three more foals. Big Mac, Applejack, and Applebloom know that their parents died in a burglary, same as the rest of the town.

That’s what the shadows cost me, having to bury my friends, my husband, my son and his wife. Having to watch my three grandfoals grow up without their parents, the youngest never even knowing them.

That’s why I have to tell you to be careful how you lead your life. And that’s why I have to ask you what your intentions are. In general and towards my family.

“…and then multiply that by pi to the power of y.” The astral pegasus waited for the alicorn to respond.

“Okay, got it. What do these formulas do?”

“They’re the ‘how’ behind astral manifestation in corporeal realms.”

“Oh. Why tell me this then?”

The Winter Star hid her grin. She didn’t need to know about that just yet. “So that when I say ‘ridiculously complicated’ you know what I mean.”

The visitor had just spent three hours rattling off a series of equations as fast as Twilight could process them. It was also quite clear that Twilight was the one slowing things down. “Understood.”

“Alright. The explanation as to why I can do this but Midnight can’t are ridiculously complicated. The exact processes by which this works are ridiculously complicated, but I can help you. This,” A sparkling snowflake floated over to Twilight, seeming to appear out of nothing, “is a wish. Use it very carefully, as they can be… mischievous. You need to tell it exactly what you want it to do, with as little room for misinterpretation as possible. It also must involve snow, ice, cold, wind, or another element of winter.

“The second thing I have for you is a message. Let the elder princesses know that when they hear the name of your enemies, the first connection they make is exactly correct.” At Twilight’s nod, the pegasus smiled. “I have to go now. Please tell Luna I said hello and that I’m doing well.”

And then she was gone, faded into starlight.

Diamond locked eyes with Zap Apple. “My intentions? My intentions are to protect, to save. My intentions are to be a Ranger, to help ponies. That includes keeping normal ponies like Applebloom out of it.”

Zap Apple slowly nodded. “I see… Tell me, how exactly did you get your armor? I know I didn’t give it to you, but I thought I was the only Shadow Ranger left.”

Diamond shifted from sitting to lying down. “Well, you see… it all started with these nightmares…”

Twilight looked up at the sound of knocking. Spike hadn’t left his room since he’d found out about Nyx, and it honestly didn’t sound like him anyway. Her friends had apparently stopped knocking, given their entrances yesterday. She doubted any of the Crusaders would come by this late in the evening. She honestly had no idea who it could be.

She opened the door to the room she was working in to find a familiar mare. “Cheerilee? What are… How can I help you?”

“Actually… I’m here to help you. I found some things out that you need to know.”

“Cheerilee, if this is about Midnight Star…”

The teacher shook her head. “This has nothing to do with him, I remember what you told me. This is about the ponies who attacked, the ones who took Nyx. I figured out who they are.”

“What!? Cheerilee, how?”

“…Twilight, how much do you know about my past?”

“…Not much, but I feel like I should now.”

“Well, I have one, let’s leave it at that for now. The point is, that I got this from one of the cultists while we were struggling.” Cheerilee pulled the pendant out of her saddlebags. “I had an old friend ID it. This cult, they’re called the Blood’s Eye.”

“The Blood’s Eye?”

“Yeah, I’ve never really understood how these groups get their names. Anyway, they’re operating out of–”

“We already know that part. Tracked a stallion Granny Smith shot. Now we just have to comb the city for this specific group.”

Briefly, a pair of astral ponies watching the proceedings wondered if Twilight had connections to some ancient power or other of assuming-what-you-already-had-was-right. On the flip side, when that alicorn finally stopped jumping to conclusions, their job would get significantly harder.

“Alright then. This is just a copy of the report I received, so I’ll leave it with you.” A packet of paper vanished into the abyss that was Twilight’s temporary desk, never to be seen until a painfully ironically appropriate moment. “Twilight… how are you handling things?”

“Like this.”

“Huh?”

“Charging out there trying to find her won’t help any of us. So I’m going to hunt. I’m going to chase every lead and paper trail, and I’m going to have every guard in Equestria hounding them. And then when I find out where they are, I’m going to fly out, save my daughter, and blast her captors off the map.” The simplicity of the statement was chilling. It sounded like she was commenting on the weather.

“Fair enough, anything I can do to help?”

“Keep her friends safe.”

“…and that’s how we got to today.” Diamond finished telling her brief story. She had debated mentioning her talks with Cheerilee and Twilight, but decided that since Zap was interested in how she’d become a Shadow Ranger, she’d better stick to relevant topics. She had decided to mention her argument with her parents though, so that the mare would know why she’d been hiding in the clubhouse.

Zap nodded. “I see. So you’ve met the General himself…” There was a faraway look in her eyes for a moment before she snapped back to reality. “There’s another reason I brought you down here.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“This.” Zap led the filly over to a large box set against the wall. It looked something like an oven made of stone, metal, and crystals. “This is the last Nightforge in existence.”

“Nightforge?”

“A special forge that exists in reality and dreams at the same time.”

“How is that possible?”

“Dunno. Takes smarter ponies than me to build them. I do know how to use it though, and more importantly, why.”

“Why?”

“Exactly. You see, a Nightforge is the only way to shape Nightsteel.”

“Nightsteel?”

Shadows grew around Zap’s hooves. They shifted to reveal a set of gauntlets, each hoof carrying a retractable blade. “All Shadow Rangers craft their weapons out of Nightsteel. It’s a special alloy with a unique property, namely, that it binds to your shadow the same way that your armor does. Each Ranger’s weapon is unique, as it is an extension of themselves.”

“Wow… Where’d you learn all that?”

“Shadow Ranger’s Apprentice Guide, Volume II, page 17.” Zap gave her a wink. “We used to make apprentices memorize those books… not much point in that now though.”

“Where does Nightsteel come from?”

“Not sure. One of the others must’ve taken that tome. However.” Granny opened a small wooden box at the side of the forge. There was a lump of silvery metal inside, slightly larger than a grapefruit. “We don’t need to worry about that yet. This’ll be enough to make you your weapons.”

“What do we do?”

“Well, first I open this oven door doohickey here, then I put the Nightsteel inside and close it. Now you see that big silver crystal in the center of the door? I want you to reach out to it, feel it with your shadow. You need to connect to it.”

“I… I can’t use my shadow much without putting the armor on.”

“Well that’s no problem filly, just put it on then. Apple Bloom mentioned you were using the name Black Diamond, so let’s see the newest Ranger.”

Diamond’s shadow lifted off the ground, wrapping around her. When she opened her eyes again, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. She blinked as she looked around, then started to reach for her shadow. Which was when she noticed something interesting.

“Zap Apple? Why don’t we have shadows?”

The mare smiled. “Of course we have shadows. We just ain’t casting them right now like most ponies. We’re wearing them instead. That’s what the armor is you know, your shadow, wrapped around you.”

“Oh.”

“Now reach out and connect yourself to the crystal.”

“Alright…” Diamond’s shadow pooled around her, the way it always did when she was controlling it. A thin tendril reached out and touched the crystal in the Nightforge.

Suddenly, she felt it, a grip on the other end. She smiled gently, it was different, but didn’t feel bad… Her smile fell. Something was wrong, she couldn’t disconnect! She opened her mouth to ask Zap Apple for help, but the mare was vanishing up the stairs.

Diamond struggled, fighting the force that was pulling her. Slowly, she sank. She slipped into her shadow as she lost the game of tug-o-war, and then as a shadow was pulled up and into the crystal.

A mangled tiara clattered on the cold cement floor of an empty room.

Diamond blinked. She wasn’t sure how she managed to do so, because she was pretty sure she didn’t have a body.

She thought it through though, tried to move and found she couldn’t. Unable to physically check, she began mentally checking each of her body parts. As she checked each one, she found it in place, but she had the weirdest feeling that they weren’t there until she checked.

She turned her head, looking around. She was floating. Like she was swimming, only there was no water… She wasn’t sure there was air either, but she was breathing, so… She gave up trying to figure that one out.

There was nothing around her. An endless ocean and sky of nothingness. As she twisted, trying to get her bearings, she noticed a something though. It was small, basically just a speck of light, but she wanted to get to it.

Remembering the way shadows were supposed to work, she willed herself over to it. It was bigger than she expected, almost the same size she was. “What are you?”

She hadn’t even meant to ask aloud, much less expected a response.

I do not know. Do you?

“No… I guess that means you can be anything, right?”

I suppose so… What should I be?

“What do you want to be? That’s what ponies tell me when I ask them that question.”

I… do not know. I do not want anything I suppose… I do not know. I know nothing beyond what you see here…

“Would you like to? I’m sure we can find a way out of here together if we try.”

Perhaps… What else is there?

“Oh, there’s lots! There’s–” Diamond had meant to use words, but what came out were pictures. Sometimes still images, sometimes movies. A few had words. They were memories.

Silver Spoon. Midnight Star. The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Miss Cheerilee.

They abruptly stopped as Diamond closed her mouth in shock.

I see… I would like to see this place you come from. These friends of yours. It seems like a good place to be.

Diamond felt a twinge of guilt. She couldn’t pretend Equestria was all sugar and rainbows, or her new friend wouldn’t know what they were getting into. “Well, those are some of the best parts. There’re other parts too, like–” Timberwolves, cultists, nightmares, the fight with her parents, bullying the crusaders, getting their help, good moments with her family, bad times too.

Diamond found herself showing her friend everything. She went until she had no memories left to show him.

How… How can so much goodness exist when there is evil?

“Because ponies stop the evil. Because there are ponies who are willing to protect the good.”

Diamond had the curious feeling that the ball of light had just cocked it’s head at her. Are you one of these ponies?

“I… I wasn’t always. You saw, I used to be bad. But I’m trying to be better. I’m doing my best to help, yes.”

I… I want to help too. Can I help?

“Of course you can, you just have to do your best.”

How?

Diamond thought about it for a moment. She had figured out that talking here was more than that – suddenly Midnight’s comment about communicating with all senses made sense – so she poured out raw emotion. As she did, she included memories, values and lessons. She added sounds, and then smells. Desire to protect her friends, memories of the times they’d helped her, lessons in humility and friendship.

The time she’d helped Silver Spoon win a ballroom dance contest. The smell of fear and feel of adrenalin. The picture on her father’s wall of his brother, a guard who’d fallen in the line of duty. The sound of maniacal laughter at a bridge just outside town.

She poured everything out. And when she had nothing left, she found another way to do it, another angle, another sense to add.

You have to fight, don’t you?

“Yes.” There was no point denying it.

I would like to help you fight. Can I?

“Yes, of course.”

How?

Diamond paused longer this time. Then she poured more of herself out. She felt her body gently moving as she did, a slow dance that matched what she was giving her friend. All of her lessons in formal dance. The little tricks her butler Randolph had shown her. The things she’d learned at the filly’s self-defense classes they had at the school every month. Her instincts.

As she moved, she felt her friend moving with her. A partner in this strange dance, flowing next to her, past her, around her. They danced for a while, until she had nothing left to show him.

I think I understand now… my purpose, how to help you… all of it.

The light flowed, shifting as it gave back to her. They shared all that she had given it, back and forth, the moments flowing. She felt it shift, melting and molding as it wrapped around her. The light condensed, and as she looked at herself, she realized what it was.

What is my name?

“What?”

All of your friends had names, but I don’t know mine. What is it?

Diamond smiled as she looked down at it. “Your name… is Blacklight.”

Everything faded away.

Chapter 9 - Parting Ways

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Black Diamond’s eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness. A wave of panic washed over her and she sat upright. She then promptly collapsed with a groan as a second wave (this one of nausea) washed over her.

“Easy there child, don’t hurt yourself.”

Diamond lifted her head to see Gra… No, Zap Apple standing there. “You’re back.” Not the most stunning observation, but she was still trying to restart her brain.

“I am.”

“You left me.”

“I did. You needed privacy for the Forging.”

“…Where was I?”

“My bet would be that you went into the Nightforge, but I can’t be sure. I do know you weren’t in your body for a while there.”

“You mean I was–”

“No. The dead don’t come back, not like this. You were alive, you just… left your body behind.”

“Oh.”

“It’s a lot to take in, I know. Priorities now, let’s get some of this down you.” The mare slid a tray off of her back and onto a small table.

Diamond slowly lifted herself to said table, continuing with her questions, “How long was I out?”

“Only overnight, now eat this.”

“What is it?” Diamond looked at the proffered spoon warily.

“Apple Soup,” Zap Apple sighed at the raised eyebrow, “Just try it.”

Diamond accepted. It was better than she was expecting, like a really thin applesauce. It was warm, and made her a bit tingly. “What’s in this?”

“Various apples, but what makes it special is the zap apple juice. Don’t finish that thought; I’ve heard that joke more times than you want to know.”

“Why not change your name then?”

Zap gave a weary smile. “Honestly not sure I would if I could. But I can’t anyway. The names are more than that. It’s not just something for other ponies to call you, it’s an identity.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You will someday.”

Diamond finished her meal in silence, emptying the soup bowl as well as draining all the apple juice from her cup and devouring the two slices of toast. She sat there for a moment, staring at the empty tray. “So what now?” She finally asked.

“Well, I think the next order of business is to open up that forge, don’t you?”

The filly let out an excited yelp, “I forgot!”

Zap winked at her. “Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a pony not forgetting for a few minutes after they wake up.”

The mare circled around the table to join Diamond at the box. “The forge won’t open for me, not until you take your weapon out. That way it’s a lot harder for somepony to take it away from you. You need to put your hoof on the crystal in the door to unlock it, then you can open it just like you saw me do to put the Nightsteel in.”

Diamond did as she was told, and felt something shift when her hoof touched the crystal.

“Wait. I almost forgot to warn you first. This weapon is… different. Special. It won’t be like the weapons you see others use. It’s not just unique, it’s intimately personal. When you forged it, you put a piece of your soul into it. I don’t know how literally you should take that. Be very careful with this weapon. It can do much good in your hooves, but if enemies got a hold of it… there’s a lot of damage that they could do with something bound to you on this level.

“So. This is your last chance. If you want to back out, just leave the weapon in the Nightforge and never look back.”

Diamond blinked. In response, she gave not a word, simply turning and opening the door. Inside were her blades. She felt a strange connection to them… recognizing them as familiar, despite having never… almost never seen them before.

“Why do I feel…”

“Connected? Because you are. You’re bound to those blades, there’s a part of you in them. It’s close to the feeling you’ll get when you have children.”

“Oh.” That didn’t really answer her question, but something told her that it was the best answer she was going to get. Gently, Diamond reached out and picked up the contraption of metal and… “Is that leather?”

She knew what leather was of course, most ponies did. It was always a part of something in campfire horror stories – the witch’s spellbook, the murderer’s mask, etc. – but she hadn’t personally encountered it before.

“Yes, sometimes that happens.”

“So you mean I have to wear somepony’s–”

“No. Everything in there except the metal itself came from you. Even part of the metal is from you, since you helped forge the alloy. Analyze the situation. Where did the leather come from?”

“…Me? But I don’t… oh.”

“Yeah, it’s yours. It grew like this, your body sacrificed a few cells so that it could contribute.”

“I thought I wasn’t in my body.”

“You weren’t. Not for the last little bit. Your body came out about an hour before you did.”

“Oh.”

“Now then, how do these go on?”

“I…” Diamond was about to say she didn’t know, but a memory floated to the surface. Right before she faded, when she figured out what the light was. “Like this. This goes here, and then that there, and…”

It took a good fifteen minutes, but they finally managed to get the blades strapped on. There were four of them, one on each leg. The front two were each mounted on a pair of rings, a thick one at her ankle and a thinner one at her knee. The rings were connected by a thin metal rod on the inside of her leg, and swiveled. When she was standing normally, the blades faced away from each other, out to either side. If she reared up though, they swiveled to parallel. She had to be careful of that and the release feature.

That was the other thing her forward blades could do. There was a hinge on the thick ring and a catch on the thin one, so both blades could swing out perpendicular to her hooves.

Her rear blades were a lot less fancy, but probably just as dangerous once she used them. They were on hinges too, but worked completely differently. The blades ran up the length of her legs, attaching to a harness that wove around her flanks in a way that left her cutie mark and tail free. The blades were hollow, a hole cutting almost all the way along them. There were metal rings hooked through these holes so that when she bent a leg, the blade attached to it would rise.

Diamond walked around the room a few laps. Her awkward gait soon shifted to something far more natural, and soon she was walking as if she was born wearing her blades.

“Alright then Ranger.” The mare’s voice broke Diamond out of her thought. “One last lesson from old Zap Apple before I go back into retirement. I need to teach you how to send your blades into your shadow.”

“Okay.”

“The first thing is that it needs a name. Until it’s got an identity of its own, you’ll have to store it using physical means. Once you do that though–”

“I already did.”

“No kid, I’m not asking you to just pick one. This takes a lot of thought and–”

“No, Zap Apple, I already know it. His name is Blacklight.”

“His?”

Diamond flushed. “That’s what it felt like, when I was in the forge.”

“When you were in the forge?!”

Diamond nodded, slowly tilting her gaze downward. “Uh-huh. He asked me if I knew what his name was, and when I thought about it… I did. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?!” Zap shook her head. “Diamond, what… No, don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong, I’m just surprised. I think you set a record. Most Rangers went months before figuring out their weapons’ names. And some went their entire lives before finding out what gender their weapon was.”

The mare shook her head gently as the filly’s mood lightened again. “Oh, okay. So what now?”

“Well, he has a name, but you still need to Name him. Say his name, but… say it to him, like you would if you were trying to get a friend’s attention.”

There was a pause, and then: “Blacklight.”

I am here.

“He’s answering.”

“Good. No you’re going to finish binding yourself to him, make the one-way connection that already exists into a two-way one. This is ritual magic, so it has to be done in a certain way. Don’t get weirded out it if two of us say the same thing at the same time.”

Diamond nodded.

“Let’s begin then. Talk to him, but repeat after me: I, insert your name, name you, insert weapon’s name, and call upon you.”

“I, Black Diamond, name you, Blacklight, and call upon you.”

I, Blacklight, name you, Black Diamond, and call upon you.

“Now answer the questions. Why is your name Black Diamond?”

“Because I am the diamond that almost fell to darkness. I am the one who now stands in the shadows unseen. I will be the strength that my friends can rely on, and I will never break when they need me.”

“Why is your weapon’s name Blacklight?”

Why is my name Blacklight?

“Because… He is a light of shadows. I am Black Diamond and he is my light. But more, he is a quiet light, one unseen in day. One that reveals hidden things. The edge of light that keeps the darkness back.”

“Cunning… How did we arrive at this point?”

“I… apologize sir. I don’t know. We sent four agents as planned… Devastation was nearby, so he even joined the group.”

“It is good that he did, or you might have failed completely. Deception was a useful servant, his loss… is inconvenient.”

“I am aware Lord. But you were right, he had to be disposed of. If they had tracked him…”

“You dealt with the remains appropriately.” It was not a question.

“Yes. We left him outside of Canterlot. Vengeance is confident that our enemies will be searching for us there now. We can operate freely.”

“Do not become overconfident. We may have the Warrior of Night, and the alicorns may be looking elsewhere, but be wary. Heroes have a way of… happening.”

“Yes M’Lord. Also, Technique has finished his work. Both fillies are already having their energy farmed.”

“Good. Stand ready to move the alicorn though, it may prove dangerous to keep her so close.”

“Shall we dispose of her?”

“…No. I am loathe to destroy a sister so readily. She has connection to the moon, have Technique attempt to imprison her within it.”

“And if he cannot?”

“Do as you must.”

Zap gave a final nod, Blacklight’s glow faded, and Diamond sank to her haunches. “That was exhausting.” It had been an hour since they started.

Zap chuckled. “Not surprised. Never heard of anypony doing both of those one after the other. Congratulation Black Diamond, you’re now a full-fledged Shadow Ranger.”

“Awesome. Can I go to sleep now?”

Zap nodded. “That ya can Diamond, that ya can. Also, you should probably know now, Blacklight won’t be talking in your head much more. On occasion, when you really need him to, he will, but… There’re only two more times where you can know he’ll speak up.”

“When are they?”

“When you decide to get married, and when you go through this again from the other end.”

It was just past sunset when Black Diamond snuck out of Sweet Apple Acres. Silent as the shadow she was, she flitted down the road, a bent pile of metal and gemstones in her magical grasp. Magic was weird, if somepony else had been wearing or carrying the tiara, it would have melted into shadow just fine, but if she tried to take it herself, that was something else entirely!

Diamond had never before realized that it was possible to roll your eyes without having eyes to roll.

Her first stop was her house. Her parents were gone, and she couldn’t honestly say she was surprised. Their fight had been two days ago, they would have had no reason to stay. She left her tiara in a bush and slipped into the house. Randolph was in the library, sitting in that big old armchair. The book on the floor in front of him said that he’d fallen asleep while reading, possibly watching for her.

She moved on quietly.

In her room, she found what she was looking for quickly. She hadn’t really expected her parents to take it, but there was that one niggling little fear… On her way out, she paused, then grabbed another item before closing her door.

Before she left the house, she stopped to drape the blanket that usually covered her bed over her faithful butler.

Since she was inside this time, she didn’t have to shadow her way under the door. Instead, she reached up, flicked the deadbolt open, and waltzed out.

Diamond’s next stop was almost as familiar. Barnyard Bargains, her father’s store. No magic needed this time, just her access code. Daddy had given her several codes, most of which she was about to use. He had told her that these were for emergencies…

To be blunt, if this didn’t qualify as an emergency, she didn’t know what did.

She went to his office and disabled the security systems. Then she went out on the floor and pulled a single box off the shelves.

She booted up the register, exactly like she had been shown. “Employee” code… Scan item barcode… ID Check override code… Security override code… The “Special” code for the “Special” customers… Write check…

BILL
Transaction XXXXXX3097
Total: 1520 Bits
Payment
3 Gold Bits … 300
14 Silver Bits … 700
1 Bronze Bit … 25
5 Iron Bits … 62.5
9 Brass Bits … 90
26 Nickel Bits … 130
53 Copper … 53
0 Wood … 0
1 IOU … 212.5

Diamond smirked to herself as she wrapped the package in plain brown paper. A few years back, Daddy had tried to teach her the value of money and the way interest worked. Every bit she still had from her allowance at the end of the month, he would double on top of her usual allowance. At the end of the year he had informed her that she had learned the lesson so well that she didn’t need it anymore.

He had still left her allowance pretty high though.

She used the codes to open up a tab in her name, completed the transaction, and left her piggy bank on the counter with the receipt/IOU and one of the diamonds from her tiara.

Her next stop was brief. She didn’t even go inside. She just left the paper wrapped box leaning up against the doorframe with a short note attached.

Silver Spoon,

I remember you winning that ribbon with one of these at Filly Scouts camp last summer. Take care of yourself.

–Diamond

Cheerilee’s annoyance at somepony knocking this late at night fled when she realized who was at the door. “Diamond?”

“Hi Miss Cheerilee, sorry it’s so late.”

“No, not at all. Please, come in.”

Diamond stepped over the threshold almost hesitantly. “I can’t stay very long Miss Cheerilee, I just wanted to say goodbye before I left. And thank you.”

“Oh don’t worry about it sweetheart, teaching all of you foals is my pleasure. I must say though that this is a bit of a surprise. I honestly thought your family left the day before yesterday.”

“My parents did.”

“What? But then who…” Cheerilee trailed off as she realized the most likely answer. A block of ice settled in her stomach as she realized that with everything going on with The Blood’s Eye, she had completely neglected her responsibilities to Diamond Tiara. “You’ve been staying with Midnight Star, haven’t you?”

Diamond thought about it. “Kinda, yeah. In a roundabout way. I can’t say too much about it, but… I know you’re mad at him Miss Cheerilee, and I wish I knew why, but please believe me, he’s a good pony.”

“A good pony? Diamond, the kinds of things he’s doing to you are wrong.”

The filly closed her eyes and shook her head. “Miss Cheerilee…” She sighed, “I know that you think you know what’s best, and I know I’m a bit young for all this, but… I don’t think there are any other options. This is something I have to do.”

Suddenly she felt metal rings wrap around her hooves for the second time that day. “I’m sorry Diamond,” Cheerilee whispered, “But you’re right about us being out of options.”

Diamond found herself staring at the hoofcuffs as her teacher continued, “Diamond Tiara, I hereby take you into protective custody. You will remain in my custody until a guard dispatch which I will signal for presently comes to collect you. At the earliest possible convenience, a hearing will be held before the appropriate court – in this case, one of the princesses – to determine further action.”

Diamond was numb for several minutes, thoughts flying across her mind. Was Cheerilee working with the cultists? Was it worse than she thought that her parents had left her? Did Cheerilee know what was going on and thought it was too dangerous?

In the aftermath of the entire debacle, several residents of Ponyville would find themselves sitting across the table from a dark alicorn having a frank discussion about communication.

Diamond barely noticed when Cheerilee picked her up and carried her into a spare bedroom. She did notice when the mare set her down however, coming out of her daze with a start. “Diamond…” Cheerilee paused. “Diamond, do you understand why I’m doing this?”

The filly mutely shook her head, not trusting her voice. Her teacher sighed again.

“Just… trust me, this is for the best.” The mare turned to close the door.

“Cheerilee?”

She stopped, looking over at her student. “Yes Diamond?”

“Will you promise me something please?”

“That depends on the promise.”

“Please, just… No matter what else happens, make sure the rest of the foals stay safe, please?”

“Of course Diamond. I’m not going to let some cult out of Manehatten hurt my students any more than I am Midnight Star.” The mare shut the door and locked the filly in the room.

When Cheerilee returned a half hour later, Diamond was long gone, leaving only three things in her place. The first was the hoofcuffs, still in the closed position Cheerilee had put them in. The second was a brief note: “Take care of my friends.” Something about that struck a familiar chord. It took Cheerilee a moment to realize that Twilight had said almost those exact words, meaning that exact thing.

It was while she was pondering this that Cheerilee found herself staring at the third item as it sparkled gently in a shat of moonlight. It took even longer to realize what exactly it was, and when she did, Cheerilee felt funny. Like she had discovered a secret, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

Realizing that the filly would never let her catch her again tonight, especially since an escape that easy meant she probably had help, the fuchsia mare walked over and picked up the mangled remains of the Tiara that Diamond had left behind.

Chapter 10 - Leaving Home

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The guards were the only ponies in the room who didn’t flinch at the sound of shattering ceramic. The conversations at the small luncheon died as all eyes turned to Princess Celestia. Whatever had made her drop her cup, it had their attention.

She was staring at a scroll that was levitating in front of her, eyes wide, ears laid back, nostrils flared. It wasn’t quite a look of fear, but it was close. When she finally spoke, the various nobles and officials found themselves hanging on every word.

“Clear the room.” Her voice was quiet, deliberately calm, “And fetch Princess Luna, no matter what you have to interrupt.”

Fifteen minutes later, in direct contrast to her sister’s silent reaction, the rooftops, trees, and airspace of Canterlot Castle shook with Princess Luna’s Full Royal Canterlot Voice:

“WHAT!?”

Ever Faithful Twilight,

I apologize that I could not convey this information in person, but the situation now necessitates that I, and my sister remain in Canterlot to aid in the hunt for the Blood’s Eye Cult.

There are things that you need to know about our history. When we met to first discuss Midnight Star, we were unable to inform you of everything that happened during the war with the Draconequi. Now, it seems that yet another of our old enemies from that time is staging their return.

His name is Demon Blood. Even in a letter as private as this, there are things I dare not write, so I must be brief. He is a Nightmare. The last time, it took all six of our alicorns and over a dozen other warriors to subdue him. The six Elements of Harmony now returned to the Tree were only a portion of the weapons we used.

You mentioned that Cheerilee was your informant. Again, I cannot go into detail, but know that if she is involved, your daughter could not be in safer hooves. Nor the filly Black Diamond that you mentioned. The entire world is a little safer if Nurtura Squad is coming out of retirement.

Returning briefly to the subject of Black Diamond, the sooner you can convey the information in this letter to her, the better. It is doubtful that she will remain in Ponyville much longer, now that we know that Blood’s Eye is operating out of Canterlot.

Stand aware though. Demon Blood has a nasty vengeful streak, and I doubt he will take the results of his previous attack on Ponyville lying down. It would be unsurprising if he tried again to capture the foals who escaped his forces, especially considering that he likely went after most of them out of vengeance the first time.

Be safe,

-Celestia

P.S. Luna wanted me to tell you thank you for the message from the Winter Star, and requests that if you see her again before one of us does, you pass on an invitation to visit Canterlot Castle. Luna’s chambers are currently being refitted to make Astral Manifestation easier.

Twilight awoke with a start. Somepony was in the makeshift office with her. She blinked repeatedly to clear her eyes and saw Diamond Tiara standing in her doorway. “Diamond? What are you doing here? I thought your family left town already.”

The filly nodded. “My parents left, yeah. I had to stay though. Black Diamond still needed me to be here. For that matter, so did Nyx and Sweetie.”

The mare stood up, stretching wings and legs to get the stiffness out. “I see. Do you need my help with something then?”

Diamond shook her head. “No, I came to say goodbye. I’m going to be leaving town tonight, but I wanted to thank you for all the help you gave me.”

“You’re welcome Diamond… Where are you going?”

She chewed her lip, then sighed. “Please don’t try and stop me, Miss Cheerilee already did.”

Twilight suddenly froze. “Why… You’re going after Blood’s Eye, aren’t you?”

“Is that the cult’s name?”

“Yes, didn’t Cheerilee tell you?”

“No, she didn’t really tell me much of anything, just tried to keep me from going.”

“I see… She might be right Diamond, these are very dangerous ponies. They killed one of their own ponies because we were going to be able to track him to them. Staying here isn’t a bad idea.”

Diamond shook her head. “I can’t sit safe at home while my friends are in danger. Not if I can help them.”

Twilight’s gaze became distant. “I didn’t say you’d be safe.”

“What?”

The mare shook herself. “Sorry… Look, I realize that I don’t really understand everything that’s going on here, so if you feel you have to go, I won’t stop you. But don’t go running off just to put yourself in danger. It’s stupid, pointless, and frankly you’d get enough of that around here.”

“What’s dangerous about Ponyville?”

“Aside from the usual?” Twilight floated over a scroll from her desk. “I sent a letter to Princess Celestia this morning, and got this in reply about an hour later. From what we can tell, this cult, Blood’s Eye, serves some being named Demon Blood. Celestia and Luna know of him, and apparently so does Black Diamond’s friend Midnight Star. Celestia only felt safe in describing him in a letter as a nightmare.” Diamond’s ear twitched at the word. “They’ll also probably be coming back for everypony who faced them when they were here.”

Diamond nodded slowly. “Then I really have to go. I can’t let them hurt my friends any more.”

Twilight gave her a small smile. “Just be careful, alright? I doubt your friends want to lose you any more than you want to lose them.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Never tell a parent not to worry, it makes them do it.” Twilight chuckled briefly, then sobered. “On the subject of parenthood, I need to check on Spike. He hasn’t come out of his room since I told him about Nyx.”

“Maybe I can talk to him?” Twilight turned to the filly in surprise. Diamond blushed, but continued. “I mean, I was there when she gave herself up, maybe it would help. Or maybe he just needs somepony to talk to who isn’t family.”

“…That’s not a bad idea.”

“Spike?”

“G’way Twilight.”

“I’m not Twilight.”

Spike poked his head out from under his blankets, wiping what little fitful sleep there was out of his eyes as he did so. “Oh. Who are you?”

“…Diamond.”

“Diamond Tiara? What are you doing here?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure.”

“Oh. You’re not here to cheer me up then?”

Diamond thought about it. “No, not really. Ponies trying to cheer me up didn’t help much after all.”

“Why would you need cheering up? Not like you were close to either of them.”

“…No… And I honestly regret that… But more than that, because I was there.”

“What?”

“I was there Spike, when Nyx surrendered herself. She was protecting me, Dinky, and Pipsqueak.”

“And you… you just let it…”

“There was nothing I could do. If it was just me, sure, but I had to protect Dinky and Pip too. I’m trying to make up for it now though.”

“How do you make up for something like that!?”

“I’m going after them. I’m going to bring them back.”

Spike paused for a moment, taking his time to register the words. Then he stood, throwing his blankets off as he walked over to a closet. “Give me five minutes to pack.”

He stopped at a hoof on his shoulder and turned to discover Diamond shaking her head. “No. You need to stay here. In fact, you should probably start attending school.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense! Why would I–”

“Because they’re going to come back.” Spike stopped cold. “And when they do, my friends… Nyx’s friends, are going to need your help.”

Spike snorted. “I think these last few days just proved I’m useless.” He never saw the slap coming. He looked up from where he landed on the floor, gaping at Diamond.

For her part, she was doing her best to channel Nyx, figuring that that was what the dragon seemed to need. “I’m not apologizing for that. I am sick of dealing with unhelpful ponies, and you’re taking the cake right now. You. Are. Being. Ridiculous. What would Nyx say if she could see you right now?

“You think you’re useless, but you’re ready to run off with me to save your sister at the drop of a hat? You’re being an idiot Spike. On top of, how could you think you’re useless? Do you know how many times I’ve had to listen to Nyx brag about her big brother the dragon? Fire breath, bites through rocks, insane strength, dangerously sharp claws, virtually impenetrable hide and scales, fireproof, are you getting the point!?”

Spike mutely nodded and she continued. “Good. Because right now, this town needs you. Everypony in town knows that you think of yourself as a pony, but Spike – ” There was nothing but ice and steel in Diamond’s eyes – “when those cultists come back, you’ll need to be a dragon.”

Black Diamond was on her way out of town. She had detoured briefly to Sweet Apple Acres to leave the Cutie Mark Crusaders a message at their clubhouse – she was confident they’d be going there to plan a rescue mission in the next day or two – but now she was done. She had nothing left to do but leave.

She was actually down the road a little ways. She was grateful that Cheerilee had mentioned Manehatten, it made her search that much easier. Now she only had to search one city. She was musing over the little things she’d picked up from everypony when she heard an unexpected noise.

A tall figure stepped out of the bushes, and she found herself calling Blacklight out of the shadows almost reflexively. “No need for those my little pony, I’m a friendly.”

“Ponies coming out of shadowy bushes on dark roads at night aren’t usually very friendly.”

“They are for you Shadow. Still, some light may help this discussion along.” There was a sharp sound as the shadowy figure made a gesture with one of its limbs, and suddenly they were surrounded by a thousand floating lights – lightbulbs, candles, jack-o-lanterns, fireflies, glow in the dark stickers, and even a string of Hearth’s Warming lights.

As the figure was illuminated, Diamond realized why she had found the voice both familiar and foreign. Everypony in town knew the speaker, but they were always laughing, chuckling, cackling, or something similar. The ashen expression and somber tone they were now taking were completely uncharacteristic.

“Discord?”

“Yes. And your name?”

“Black Diamond.”

“Well met. Where are you going?”

“To hunt down Blood’s Eye, the followers of Demon Blood. I intend to put a stop to their plans and rescue my friends as well.”

Discord went from “extremely pale” to “monochromatic.” “Demon Blood?” He almost whispered, “Be very careful around him.”

Diamond nodded sharply. “So I’ve been told. Celestia apparently called him a nightmare.”

“And she means that more literally than you’ve taken it.”

Diamond felt he blood run cold. “You mean… He’s a Nightmare?” The capital letter was audible.

“Yes. He’s more dangerous than most ponies are capable of realizing.”

Diamond thought through the various threats to Equestria she knew about. “Like, Tirek dangerous?”

“No. Worse. Think ‘Nightmare Moon’ but without the convenient Get-Luna-Out-of-Jail-Free-Card.”

“Oh.” Diamond was suddenly feeling out of her depth.

“Don’t worry too much, he’s not back yet, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I imagine that’s his plan actually, coming back.”

“Any idea how to keep that from happening?”

Discord was silent for a moment. “That depends. What are you willing to do?”

“Whatever it takes.”

He seemed to consider her a moment longer. “Most imprisoned immortals can only act on the world through mortal agents. Like Midnight Star is with you. If you bring down this cult, it should stop his plans. Given the Shadow Rangers I know of… you may be able to delay him for as long as a century.”

Diamond grinned. “I’ll do my best. What are you planning on doing?”

Discord shifted uncomfortably. “I… I don’t really have many friends… I’m honestly scared of what might happen to them with him involved…”

Diamond nodded again. “Then do me a favor? Protect all of Ponyville please?”

Discord shook his head. “One, never ask an immortal to ‘do you a favor.’ It invokes powerful ancient magic. Have Midnight tell you about it. Two… Chaos magic doesn’t really protect – ” Discord drew the word out. “ – very well.”

Diamond thought for a moment. “Okay then. In that case, when Blood’s Eye comes, could you please make life extremely difficult for them?”

Discord gave another grin, this one feline, predatory, and feral. “They seem to like Tartarus, so that’s exactly what I’ll give them.”

Luna’s dreamscape rippled as Midnight stepped into it. She blinked in surprise. “You’re not with your apprentice?”

Midnight shook his head. “She’s on her way Luna. She’s awake right now, on the road out of Ponyville. Snowy’s keeping an eye on her for me so I can visit you.”

Luna chuckled, “I still can’t believe she’s the Winter Star.”

The stallion returned the chuckle ruefully “I can’t believe we didn’t figure it out. After all, she was trying to make a wishing star when you met her.”

“Still, if that blasted town could know how far she went…”

“That’s sort of the story of all Nightborn.”

“True…” The pair remained in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other’s presence. The scarce time they managed to squeeze in hardly made up for the thousand year gap. Finally, Luna spoke with reluctance, “Midnight… We’ve heard that Demon Blood is behind this.” The stallion sighed and refused to meet her gaze. “I know you daren’t say anything,” The mare hastily continued, “But… I’m worried. It took so much last time, if he escapes now… We won’t be able to face him.”

“…No. You won’t. With only as few alicorns as you have, basically no real warriors or battle mages, Trust still lost in the human world, and a nation of ponies with the complacency of centuries leaving them unprepared to deal with anything like this… Equestria doesn’t stand a ghost of a chance if he escapes.”

“What do we do?” The voice was smaller than usual, and when Midnight turned, he saw Moonchaser in Luna’s place. Accordingly, he shifted to his Inkwell form and laid a leathery wing over her in comfort.

“We do what we always do. What you and I are apparently good enough at to represent. We hope, and we dream. Praying helps too, maybe you could ask your mother to have a word with her Boss. Beyond that… we watch for a moment to act. Everything is riding on Black Diamond now.”

Diamond stopped again as she came around another bend in the road. There was a mare standing in front of her, waiting expectantly.

Which was very confusing, because the filly was quite sure she’d never seen this mare before in her life.

Diamond’s vision at night had been getting better recently, and she was able to make out the mare’s features. She was a pegasus, light red coat, white mane and tail, and a black umbrella cutie mark. She had a large bag next to her, which Diamond knew was called a carpet bag. Her old nanny had used one.

“So,” The mare spoke, “Would you like me to call you Diamond Tiara or Black Diamond?”

Diamond sighed dramatically to cover her surprise, “I need to get used to strangers knowing who I am, don’t I?”

“Possibly dearie, I expect you’ll be dealing with a lot of immortals one day.”

Diamond cocked her head. “So are you saying you’re an immortal then?”

The mare thought about it for a moment, then gave a sigh of her own, “I suppose there’s no point denying it, considering who you work for. Yes, I’m an immortal – after a fashion. I’m also bound presently, though not as tightly as most. My name is Poppinjay, you can have Midnight tell you about me. My job is to take care of foals. So I’ll be accompanying you for a while, to make sure you reach Manehatten safely. Then I’m going to come back here to help your friends.”

Diamond dipped her head. “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome. Now then, you never answered my question.”

“Your question?”

“Black Diamond or Diamond Tiara?”

“…Black Diamond. At least until this is settled.”

Poppinjay gave a curt nod, and the pair went on their way.

Dawn broke over Ponyville. Throughout the day there would be several occurrences linked to Diamond’s departure.

Randolph the butler spent quite some time trying to figure out who had put the blanket on him.

Silver Spoon opened her package and wound up going to school with a new accessory slung across her back. This would prompt the other students to start bringing their own accessories, culminating in Button Mash handing Applebloom his replica keyblade and asking her to “make it work.” Cheerilee drew the line after that – they were allowed to bring them, but no working on them during class. Still, recesses were converted by most of the students into Fortification Period.

Spike wound up helping with that, his uncanny abilities being put to good use as they dug trenches, erected walls, and built several ballistae and catapults. Again, Cheerilee had to draw the line, preventing them from using dragonfire to permanently weld some of these onto the playground.

Discord wound up helping too, providing some raw chaos energy that Zecora helped Applebloom bottle. Something of an upgrade on the Greek Fire she had been planning on using, although she kept that and the Poison Joke essence – they had finally found a patch – in reserve just in case ammunition ran low.

Filthy and Spoiled Rich returned to town around lunchtime – turns out, they hadn’t abandoned their daughter, they were just trying to give her a little space. Cheerilee and Twilight kept their respective lectures on parental responsibility to an hour each.

The Crusaders war preparations seemed odd to most, although the more out of touch individuals simply assumed it was just a new game. Those who were close to them however knew that they were responding to a simple message that had been left on their clubhouse wall: “Prepare for War, They’ll Come Back.”

In the general havoc, communications between Twilight and Cheerilee continued to fail, resulting in the former neglecting to find out about the latter’s past as she had planned.

All of this was unknown however to a black filly with blades on her hooves. She walked alongside a light red mare with a carpet bag and, as the sun finally cleared the horizon line, Ponyville dropped below it behind them.

Chapter 11 - Twilight of Innocence

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Diamond blinked.

In a flash, before any visible reaction was given to the filly in front of her, the events of the past two weeks blurred through her mind.

She remembered a conversation with Poppinjay, where the mare had told her to be careful. Because Diamond’s “Patron” was Midnight, Poppinjay couldn’t protect her, but she had left her with a gift, a special magical medicine. One dose, hidden in Diamond’s magical field until she reached a point where she could use it. It would heal anything, bring any being back from the brink of death, as long as two conditions were met: They couldn’t have crossed over, and they had to be a foal or equivalent.

That was Poppinjay’s special domain after all. She had little power other than to help foals.

One of the few effects her magic actually had was that Diamond would never question how they had made the week long trip to Manehatten in two days. Or how the mare had arrived in Ponyville the next morning.

The funds Diamond had were gone, but she had a lead. She was supposed to meet a pony at a particular bar, and he would give her the information she needed to find Blood’s Eye.

Her contact was in the obituaries the next morning, and waiting at the bar were a pair of cultists. She was only saved because she recognized the earth pony who had fought Cheerilee in the schoolyard. His first attempt to grab her missed, and in the process he bumped into a pool table, upsetting an intensely wagered game between a pair of griffons.

She remembered most of the brawl that was at the end of the domino chain, but she had been knocked out before it was over.

She had woken up on a couch. The room was dark, she could tell, but that didn’t really bother her. She couldn’t see perfectly, but she could see well enough. She didn’t recognize the room.

She flinched at a movement, whipping around to face a colt, a few years older than her, sitting in a chair. He introduced himself as Keen Eye, although he requested that she call him Dodge Lighthoof depending on the circumstances. He was a thief by trade, but had taken her in because, “of the seven stallions in that bar that any of us remotely trusted not to take advantage of you, I was the only sober one.”

After spending the afternoon dodging each others’ questions, Diamond had decided she trusted him enough to tell him about her mission. He was hesitant, but agreed to help her… from a distance. He let her stay at his apartment, though she turned down his half-hearted offer to surrender the bed. The couch was comfortable enough.

It was his suggestion that started bringing money in for her investigation. Black Diamond gained a small reputation as a bounty hunter, though the criminals never told the authorities that she’d let them go if they told her what she wanted to know.

He had helped her break into the city guard stations too. They had been able to compare the various missing foal reports – foalnappings and runaways – and found one particular area where there were conspicuously few foals disappearing. Keen said these were basically the same methods he used to case a target before he broke in. Diamond was just impressed.

There had been another fight, this one with just cultists. Diamond and Keen had been winning, even with the three to two odds. And then it had happened.

Diamond had mistimed a swing, and instead of disarming her opponent like she had meant to, Blacklight had slid up the length of her knife, biting deep into the flesh of her shoulder. Blood sprayed out and the mare roared in pain. As she collapsed, Diamond heard another pony charging her from behind. She spun, reflexes still dulled by shock.

She would never be sure if Blacklight had acted to protect his mistress on his own, or if she had told him to. Ultimately, it didn’t really matter. Either way, she wound up with her forehooves crossed protectively in front of her and the pegasus stallion skewered. He had impaled himself with his charge, not seeing the dark blades in the shadows until it was too late.

And that was the point where Diamond broke. Keen had knocked out his opponent and dragged her away, although the bat pony couldn’t get far – he didn’t outweigh her by much. He recognized shock – he had seen it once or twice before. In the end he had had to resort to slapping her to snap her out of it. It didn’t make things better, but it got her functioning again.

None too soon either. Their cultist friends had reinforcements and were canvasing the neighborhood looking for them. It was a lucky break that they had been in the warehouse district, so there was nopony else around to get hurt.

It was a hard fight after that. Diamond, still in shock, found herself numb to causing pain. She didn’t know if she killed anypony else that night – the cult covered up all the deaths. Diamond’s bout of shock had cost them though. They were surrounded, outnumbered, and outmaneuvered.

In the end, they only escaped when Diamond reached the deepest point of her desperation. For the first time in her life, the filly shadow travelled with a passenger. The ER nurses never did figure out how she got in.

Diamond was essentially uninjured. Her shadow gave her both protection and a slight healing factor. She would be fine. Keen however had taken some severe injuries. He would never tell her, but he picked them up while carrying her away from the first fight.

Diamond had done the only thing she could think of to make sure Keen would be taken care of and guarded. She told the hospital that his name was Dodge Lighthoof. He was actually slightly famous in this city, and the guards would make sure he was never out of their sight. Hopefully that would be enough to keep Blood’s Eye away.

She had half expected to lose the apartment, but Keen had leased it under his real name, which he was refusing to give, so the guards never came calling.

She kept hunting. The city’s criminals were rather attached to her injured friend – most of them owed him at least one favor – and she found that informants started coming to her instead of the other way around.

She was vicious after that. Something had broken in her, and she wasn’t sure what. Two more cultist bodies were left in the street. Blood's Eye wasn't able to clean up all of the fights before daylight revealed the wreckage.

The guards, for their part, couldn’t figure out why their favorite new bounty hunter had turned first vigilante, and then assailant. Nopony who knew dared speak of the cult, so the pattern never surfaced.

For most.

There were a few ponies who knew what was going on though, which was how Black Diamond found herself in her present circumstances…

Diamond was sitting at her usual table. Just about every lowlife in the city knew that she would be here for one hour. She had made a few friends, so she was relatively safe from Blood’s Eye attacking her here. And if they tried…

She gave a cold smile so small that it was entirely hidden in the shadows that pooled around her. Rosy Days kept a shotgun full of bits under the bar for special occasions like that.

Her eyes snapped around as the door opened. She straightened in her seat, the pony was obviously here for her. They were wearing a cloak that completely hid them, so they were obviously new to this kind of thing. Keen would have been laughing at the idiot. They might as well have painted “SUSPICOUS PONY” across their side.

The visitor hesitated, swiveling their head to scan the room. Diamond realized that she was all but invisible in her shadowed corner, so used her shadow to push out the chair across the table. The movement drew the pony’s attention, and the invitation was clear.

Tentatively, the pony made their way across the bar floor. It was a mixture of nervous shuffling and trying/failing to look nonchalant that everypony in the room had the good grace to ignore.

Well, almost.

“Ain’t seen you ‘round here before,” Rosy Days’ voice made the pony jump, “I’m guessing this is your first time visiting one of these watering holes. What brings ya?”

The pony’s “masculine” voice was obviously fake, though it did effectively disguise her own. “I’m looking for somepony.”

The barkeep gave her a look. “Honey, gal like you ain’t got no business in a place like this. Don’t care how down on your luck you think you are, ya ain’t this desperate.”

The pony was shocked back into their natural voice. “Wh-what!? No! I-I-I–”

Rosy shook her head as she corked the pony’s mouth. “If you’re here for who I think you’re here for Doll, she’s in that corner. Be careful with the Shadow though. I like that filly, but she’s adjusted a little too well. Don’t get yourself killed.”

Something in the mare’s tone chilled the stranger to the bone. By the time she sat down at the table, her nerves and fears had surfaced completely, and she couldn’t even sit still. When she began talking, she was stuttering and restarting so much that she couldn’t get out three consecutive words.

Diamond rolled her eyes. This was going to be a massive waste of time, she could already tell. She shifted her weight, flicking Blacklight out under the table as she did so that the blade was gently pressing against the other pony’s skin. “First things first. The ponies I’m hunting aren’t exactly friendly types, so I like to know who I’m dealing with. Take off the hood.”

“What?” Female voice. Young. Mare, early twenties. “But what if somepony recognizes me?”

Diamond resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. “That would be why we’re in this corner. The shadows are thick enough to hide your face. Hood. Now.”

The mare made a sound, the trademark undefinable noise of somepony starting to speak and then halting before the first letter escaped. Shakily, she reached up with a hoof and pulled back her cowl.

Diamond analyzed the mare – filly, she corrected herself. She just sounded mature… probably rich. She looked about seventeen, which would make her four years older than Diamond. Unicorn. Baby blue coat. Black mane with a bright red streak. Amber eyes. “So. Why are you here?”

The filly took a breath and held it, apparently gaining a little confidence from the question. She let it out and said in a low tone, “I heard that you’re the pony to go to about… missing foals.”

Diamond facehooved. “One, ditch the cloak and dagger voice, it’s pointless.” She looked up at the filly to see her blushing, but nodding. “Two, I’m not a find-it service.” She paused to gaze critically at the gaping filly. “Still though, you do look like you need help… You should probably ask the father.”

The filly broke down into tears. It was several minutes before Diamond was able to piece “That’s not it at all” together from the unintelligible babbling.

Deciding the filly needed a break, Diamond put Blacklight away. “Okay, okay, my mistake. Yeesh. So do you mind telling me what is going on?”

It was another minute or two before the filly pulled herself together, but when she did, the only evidence of her breakdown was the wet spot on the table. “Okay. I’m okay. Look, I… I don’t know if you can help me, but you’re probably my only chance. My life is… complicated. I won’t talk about it, you don’t need to know. The point is, I only have one friend, and yesterday, he was foalnapped.

“I saw them take him. He lives next door, but I saw it out of my bedroom window on the fifth floor, so I couldn’t do anything. At first I thought it was… somepony else, but… The ponies who sent me to you told me that it sounds more like the cult you’re after.

“Please. I’m begging, help me get my friend back.”

Diamond blinked.

In a flash, before any visible reaction was given to the filly in front of her, the events of the past two weeks blurred through her mind.

She blinked again, and a scowl settled on her face. “You want me to take somepony like you into that warzone so you can get your playmate back? Are you kidding me!? No! I don’t need dead weight like you screwing things up, I’ve already got enough problems as it is. I don’t have time to foalsit you.”

“Foalsit me!?” The filly’s voice went up an octave, “You’re younger than I am! What makes it more dangerous for me than you?!”

“For one thing,” Diamond stood up and started making her way around the table. “I don’t start throwing tantrums when somepony says I’m too young for something.” She intended to walk away without a backwards glance, but a hoof on her flank stopped her.

“Wait.” With deliberate slowness, she turned back to the other filly. “I’m sorry. I’m… not used to this sort of thing.”

“Kinda figured. Your life’s probably a fairy tale, with you as the princess.”

The filly barked out a harsh laugh, “Damsel in distress more like. The point is, I’m not used to this, but I’m going to do it anyway. My friend’s in trouble. He needs me, and I’m going to go help him. With or without your help.”

Diamond groaned. “Fine. But if you die, it’s your own fault.”

“I thought you said they’d be here?”

“No, I said I was told they’d be here. And apparently I need to leave another pony on the guards’ doorstep.”

The pair were walking away from their ambush. Their prey was two hours late. It was a bust.

One of Diamond’s informants had told her that Blood’s Eye would be pulling a major operation at this address tonight. She was currently debating the best way to deliver said informant to the guards, and what part of his body to attach his wanted poster to.

Everything changed when a pony jumped on her.

They wrestled for a bit, rolling over each other and out into the street, but he was a fully grown earth pony stallion, and a rather large one at that. He was also wearing a blade, whereas she didn’t have Blacklight out.

She had seen this type of knife before, but had always laughed at it. It was tiny, and poorly placed. Utterly useless in a fight. It was worn high on a front leg, above the knee. The point was towards the other leg, and when the blade only had a single edge, it was worn up. She didn’t know it, but it was called a hostage knife.

When they stopped rolling, Diamond was standing under the stallion, her head pressed tightly to his collarbone by his blade leg. “Okay filly,” He told her companion, “Try going for help and your friend here gets it.”

The filly nodded, eyes wide as she stared. The knife had another name, one that fillies in this city were warned about. The stallion started into the standard “follow me quietly into that alley there” routine, but she interrupted him after a few seconds.

“W-Wait.” She licked her suddenly rather dry lips and swallowed. “Wait. She’s just a filly, y-you can't do this to her.”

“Oh? And how’re you planning on stopping me?”

She hesitated, then decided. “By making a better offer. Take me instead.”

The sound of a clearing throat drew the attention of both back to Diamond. She had finally realized what the older ponies were talking about when she had felt motion behind her at the other filly’s offer. She could have laughed at herself. She had spent so long waiting for assassins and cultists to jump out of dark corners that she had completely forgotten the other option. “Friend,” Her voice was scarily steady, “The offer is appreciated, but unnecessary. Stallion, I’ll give you a three second head start.”

He laughed, “I don’t think I’ll be needing that, I’m sti–”

“Have it your way then.” Nopony quite saw what happened, but suddenly both filly and stallion were rolling again, vanishing behind a parked cart. The filly went to take a step after them, hesitated, and then spun at a dark chuckle from behind her.

“I told them we should have hired a better quality hitpony, but apparently we’re on a budget now. Oh well, I haven’t been able to get my hooves dirty in a long while.” There was a unicorn stallion walking out of the alley the would-be rapist had come from, another pony on either side of him. All three of them wore hooded cloaks, although he had his hood down, revealing his face. “It would also seem that she’s picked up a new friend. So sorry you have to die too dear.”

“Not tonight.” It was Diamond’s voice, but… sinister. The stallion she had disappeared with came sliding across the pavement, barely conscious and bleeding heavily.

The cultists started looking around, searching for the source of the voice. Apparently, there was none. Nopony could think of which direction the stallion had been thrown from either. One of them took a step back, then jumped forward again at a shout from the one in the middle. He overshot though, leaving the safety of the formation by a mere six inches.

It was enough.

Black Diamond struck, diving out of the dark shadows behind the trio, Blacklight hissing through the air and trailing blood. He was dead before he hit the ground, although the blood would pour from the spot where his throat used to be for a while longer.

The other two cultists traded glances, and then tried to rush her. She seemed to flow between them, leaving a half dozen reminders of her passing as she did. The unicorn fired a blast at her, which she rolled under while his companion took flight.

Diamond dueled him for a brief bit, taking a chip out of his horn on one exchange. The pegasus came in from behind, trying to outflank her. The pegasus found out that Blacklight’s rear blades were as sharp as his front ones.

Diamond used the momentum to twist into the air, leaving a deep gash in the unicorn’s shoulder and throwing the pegasus bodily into him. The pegasus’ wing landed with a sickening thud three yards away.

The unicorn scowled. “Make no mistake, we will kill you eventually.”

“Not if I kill you first.”

Diamond’s charge met only empty air as the unicorn teleported himself and the pegasus away.

Diamond raged for a few minutes, even bucking a dent into a nearby light post that would have impressed Applejack. She stilled after a while, her furious energy spent.

She finally noticed the other filly, sitting in the street with tears streaming down her cheeks, forgotten in the fighting. “Stop crying.” Diamond’s voice was harsher than she intended, and she suppressed a wince. “They won’t be coming back tonight. Come on, we’d better get out of here before the guard shows up.”

Chapter 12 - Back to the Edge

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Diamond opened her eyes blearily. As she took in the scene, adrenaline flooded her veins.

She was hanging off the edge of a cliff, a vicious wind keeping her floating like a kite. There was a massive chain connected to some kind of harness she was wearing. Each link was as big as she was

She was gawking at the chain when she heard a voice.

“So, thou art finally with us.”

The dark alicorn standing on the cliff was not the one she knew. The biggest difference was probably that she was a mare. “Princess Luna?” Diamond hazarded a guess.

“Yes. We implore that thou forgive our formality, such emotional strain as tonight doth bring out old habits of speech.”

“O-of course. You’ll have to forgive my not bowing.”

Luna laughed lightly, “E’en if thou wert ours to have bow, such would be unnecessary from one of thine rank.” At Diamonds confused expression, her mood sobered. “We see. If he hast not told thee yet, then tis not our place.” She shook her mane, an interesting sight given it's ethereal nature. “Enough of this. We are here tonight with purpose.”

“Isn’t Midnight supposed to be the one who visits me? I thought we had to stay separate?”

“Verily. On other occasions, ‘twould be his duty. This night however falls to us. After we leave thee Ranger, we shall remove ourselves from Equestria for a span. We shall return briefly to the moon, and visit with old friends amongst the stars. Ere that however, thou and we must speak of hard things.”

“Like what?”

“Dost thou know where we are?”

Diamond was about to respond in the negative, when she realized that she did recognize this cliff. “We’re in the dreamscape, aren’t we?”

“Verily. And what part of said dreamscape praytell?”

Diamond looked around for a moment, then swallowed as the gears began turning in her mind. “The boundary between Night and Darkness.”

“Forsooth. Dost thou understand thine peril then?” Diamond mutely nodded and the mare continued, “Understand this then: The only reason thou hast not yet fallen into yonder darkness is the bindings of the very oath that thou art on the verge of betraying.

“It is for this reason that our Midnight remains absent. Were he here, the ancient laws that bind us all would require him to sever this chain and let you fall, lest thou drag him into darkness with thee.”

It suddenly occurred to Diamond what the harness was. Her shadow armor had taken a different form for a special occasion apparently. “But… how did I get here? I never left Noctus Bastion.”

“Didn’t you?”

“Of course not, I would remember–”

“And how wouldst thou know? Dost thou remember where thou hast dreamwalked these past nights?”

For the first time, Diamond realized that she hadn’t left her dreams since the night… the first night she killed. “But… Still, how did I get here?”

“An excellent query. Thou arrived in thy present situation by beginning the process of becoming a Nightmare.” Luna continued over Diamond’s objections, “Dost thou know the details of how a pony becomes a nightmare? No, we thought not.

“To phrase things simply, a pony wraps themselves in darkness, becoming a part of it. They steep themselves in it, and it grows into ever deeper Darkness. Eventually, the Darkness penetrates their heart and soul, turning them. And then a Nightmare is born.”

Luna gestured with that final sentence, and Diamond gasped to see a pale, transparent alicorn near her. She was flying, just below the lip of the cliff, pawing in Luna’s direction, but not quite able to reach her. Diamond had never seen the mare herself before, although she had heard her described. In truth, she probably would have recognized her anyway, considering that she looked like a cross between Princess Luna and Nyx.

This was Nightmare Moon.

“So then… you mean I’m turning into Nightmare Moon?”

Luna shook her head. “No. Nightmare Moon is ours. Thou wert transforming into a Nightmare of thine own. And thou yet shall if ye fail tonight.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Fulfill your oath. Dost thou still remember it?”

“Fighting darkness, born of Night, live in shadows, protect the light. Stand for right and never fall, I now heed the Shadows’ Call.”

“Perfect. Tonight thou shalt dreamwalk as never before. In each place, thou must face the nightmare thou art in danger of becoming. Only if thou art victorious against her shalt thou have the ability to return. Now, our time with thee is at an end. I pray we might meet again under more fortunate circumstances, but I must away, and thou must pull thyself back to the edge.”

There was a wind, and some fog, and Diamond had to blink tears out of her eyes. When her vision cleared, Luna was gone, as was the apparition of Nightmare Moon. With no other real options, she reached out and grabbed the first link of the chain, intent on pulling herself hoof over hoof.

The instant she touched it however, her world went white.

She was floating again. She recognized the place, and instinctively knew who she’d find there.

Diamond?

He was behind her. She willed herself not to turn, but couldn’t quite keep her ears up straight as she answered, “Hello Blacklight.”

Why are you here?

“Don’t you already know?”

Do you?

“I… I’m here because I made some mistakes.”

Yes, we did.

“We?”

Unlike other weapons Diamond, I have a soul. What I do is my fault to an extent. This burden is not wholly yours.

“You sound a lot… older.”

Experience. It does that to my kind.

“I see… Blacklight, what is your kind exactly?”

Nightsteel Construct would be the closest thing I have to a race I suppose.

“And,” It occurred to Diamond that she was hesitating a lot tonight, “Are you… the last one?”

There was a pause while Blacklight seemed to consider. Then, I suppose that depends on your answer to my question.

“What question?”

Why are you here?

Diamond sighed, it looked like she had to say it. That made sense she supposed, she had been told she’d have to face the Nightmare. “Because I’m supposed to hunt and fight nightmares, but I was becoming one. Because the Darkness has almost taken me, which means we’re this close to failing our mission.”

Another pause, as Blacklight seemed to be waiting for something. Is that all? All this is indeed true, but is it truly the answer?

“What do you mean?”

You’re here because you were becoming a nightmare and that is all? Does this truly sound right to you?

“…No.” Diamond wasn’t sure how much time went by as she tried several more answers that meet with essentially the same response. Eventually she found herself asking the question to herself in a different tone. Why was she wasting her time here, what could she hope to accomplish…

Wait.

“I know why I’m here.” She could feel Blacklight’s attention turn to her. “I know why I’m here. I’m here because I need your help. There are nightmares out there, including one that’s almost me. I need to stop them, to keep them from hurting other ponies. And if I’m going to do that, I need your help.”

And you have it.

Diamond blinked as she felt the metal her hoof seemed attached to. It was a well-known fact that all ponies had a small amount of magic in their hooves that let them hold things, and it seemed the dreamscape amplified this ability.

She took the moment to consider what her visit with Blacklight had accomplished. She honestly couldn’t think of a thing, besides perhaps healing some unseen damage to their connection. Yes, she decided, that must be it.

It didn’t occur to her as she reached for the next link, and it never would after, that she had solidified her intent with her first visit.

Which was good, because she was about to need Nightsteel resolve.

She was in a city somewhere. It looked vaguely like Manehatten, but it was severely twisted and warped.

It was also very bloody.

Just about everything was soaked in blood, far more than would have been possible elsewhere. It was almost comical, except for the completely irrational sense of fear it induced.

As Diamond galloped in a random direction, details began filling in. Soon bodies were littering the streets, some of them even whole. After a while, she heard the sounds of distant fighting and headed towards it. Several blocks later, she found her.

Them…

Both hers individually and collectively meaningful.

I give up.

The filly she had met in the bar, who in the real world was currently sleeping in Keen’s bed, was cowering in the middle of a square, about the only thing that wasn’t bloodstained at this point.

There was another filly too, a black one with a pale gray mane. Those colors were barely visible through the blood that streamed off her body. She was holding a chainsaw and saying something, although Diamond couldn’t hear the words. It was odd, she could hear everything but words.

The real filly said something, and again Diamond watched her lips move but heard no sound. A response was cut off as a pony came galloping around a corner in terror. He froze at the sight before him, scrabbling with his hooves to run the other way, but the nightmare was too fast. In less than a second, the chainsaw had passed through his body and he fell to the ground in seven pieces.

Diamond had had enough. She stepped between the terrified filly and the nightmare, and slammed her forehooves on the ground for attention. There was a ripple, not quite a shockwave, just a pause, like the dream was taking a breath.

Then both fillies seemed to see her at the same time. Diamond preempted both of their surprised outcries with a statement of her own, “Friend, relax a little, this is a dream. Nightmare, you’re mine.”

Blacklight swung out, readying for battle. Diamond paused mid-step though as she heard a small whimper behind her. She sighed. “No, that’s me doing it again, isn’t it?” Blacklight locked back into his defensive position, and she locked eyes with the nightmare. “You are mine though, and you don’t have any right to be here.”

“And how do you plan to eject me? Your weakness betrays you, you are not even worthy of me.”

Diamond’s eyes flashed. “Worthy? I’m not really worthy of anything. I’m not a hero, or a soldier, and the last week proves I don’t deserve to be a Shadow Ranger. But I’m here anyway, standing between you and this filly.”

“Why? You don’t even know her name.”

“I don’t need to. She’s scared, alone, hurting inside based on her dreamscape. That’s all I need to know, is that she needs help.”

“So then we fight.”

“No. So now you leave. You don’t belong here nightmare.”

“And where am I to go then? Tell me who I can plague.”

“Nopony. You’re not allowed to make anypony fear you.”

The nightmare laughed, “Aside from the fact that that is what nightmares do, I don’t have to make anypony afraid. After all, you do enough of that for the both of us.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Can’t you see it? I’m you! She’s afraid of you, that’s how I got into her nightmare!”

A cold chill ran down Diamond’s spine as she thought about that statement. It made entirely too much sense given what she’d seen of Luna and Nightmare Moon. “What makes you think she’s afraid of me?” It was the only thing she could bring herself to say.

“Because I can taste it! On her and on you!”

“How can you sense anything about me!?”

“I AM YOU!”

The statement hit Diamond, and she recoiled as if she’d actually been slapped. Then it occurred to her. “No.”

“What?”

“No. You’re not me, not yet.” She locked eyes with the other filly, and this time, there was a light in them that was absent before. “If you were, we wouldn’t be here. You’re trying to get stronger, so that you can be me. But you’re not ready yet. You haven’t been born yet.”

“This is ridiculous!”

“Ah-hah! That’s not anger anymore. I’ve got you reevaluating things now, which means I’m right, aren’t I?”

“You ignorant little foal–”

“Don’t you see though, that’s exactly it! I’m just a foal, once you strip away the shadows and night, I’m not you yet.”

“You will never be rid of me!”

“No, but the rest of Equestria will.”

“What?”

“I said it before, you’re mine. You. Are. Mine. You belong to me. You are my personal nightmare, and you have no right to be anypony else’s. So that’s where you go now, to me. My dreamscape, or wherever I have to put you, but you come back into me and you stay there until the day I die, because I am never letting you out again.”

A wind had slowly been picking up as the pair had argued, and by the time Diamond finished her monologue, it was whipping around both of them frantically. A small band of light began glowing around each of the nightmare’s hooves, growing thicker as she fought it.

Finally she looked at Diamond with desperation in her eyes. “I can give you power! Things you can’t imagine! Anything you could ever want!”

“I know, I’ll pass, and you’re wrong. I didn’t really like being lonely, and that’s all you’ll give me. The price is too high. Get out.”

A rip opened in the dream and the lights around the nightmare’s hooves solidified into manacles. Chains attached to them dragged the filly from the dream screaming. Her protests and oaths were abruptly cut off as the portal closed again, leaving Diamond and the other filly in an eerie silence.

The other filly broke it by bursting into tears. Diamond rushed over to her, Blacklight fading into shadow when he saw his services were not required.

“Hey,” Diamond grabbed the filly’s shoulders roughly, “None of that now, she’s gone. She can’t hurt you.”

The filly just wrapped Diamond in a hug. “I was so scared.”

“Easy,” Diamond began stroking the filly’s mane, the way her father had when she was younger. “Easy there. Remember, this is all a dream. She was just another nightmare to you.”

“B-but… She said she was…”

“Me. She was me. What I could become if I’m not careful. She wasn’t lying. But I promise you, that’s all she’ll ever be. A nameless nightmare, a could-have-been that never was.”

As the filly continued to sob, the scene around them shifted. Diamond wasn’t sure which of them was responsible, or if it was just that the nightmare had left, but the twisty bits straightened out a little. The blood was washed away by a gentle rain. The bodies and body parts faded from existence when your attention was diverted.

Eventually, the pair of them were sitting there in the middle of an only slightly cartoonish version of Manehatten. The moment was beautiful, in an only slightly depressing way, until it was shattered by a dark chuckle.

Diamond’s eyes snapped open as the filly she was holding stiffened. There was a stallion there, maybe ten paces away. She didn’t recognize him, and he didn’t feel out of place like the nightmare filly had. “Who is he?” She whispered in the filly’s ear.

She swallowed. “He’s… nopony. Nopony important. Don’t worry about him.”

Diamond ignored the filly however, gently extricating herself from the embrace. She walked carefully towards the stallion, keeping herself deliberately calm. She stopped about four hooves away from him and met his gaze steadily. “I don’t know who you are, but I know what you are. And I hunt nightmares. And if that doesn’t make things clear, well,” She shrugged, “You just saw what I can turn into when somepony hurts my friends.

“So run.”

The figure sank back into the darkness, and Diamond turned on her heel with a contemptuous flick of her mane. She quickly softened her demeanor though, and gently walked back over to her friend.

There was a moment before Diamond broke the silence, “We need to talk… But something tells me this isn’t the right time. We’ll talk when we wake up.”

“When we wake up?”

“Yes, this is all a dream.”

“So… nothing’s real?”

“I didn’t say that… Ugh, now I sound like Midnight. Look, it’s complicated. I’ll explain later.”

“How will I know any of this is real then?”

“Uuummmmm……. Oh! This works all the time in movies, tell me a secret.”

“What?”

“Tell me a secret, something that I couldn’t normally know.”

“Okay… Like what?”

Diamond resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “If I knew that, then it wouldn’t work.”

The filly in turn facehooved. “No, I get that, I mean… ask me a question.”

“Oh.” Diamond flushed, although she wasn’t sure if it showed through her black coat. She tried to think of any questions she’d had, but there really weren’t any. There was nothing to even prompt questions, she didn’t even know… That’d work.

“What’s your name?”

The filly blinked in surprise, then it seemed to occur to her that the question had never been asked before. “Featherdown.” She sighed as Diamond raised an eyebrow, “Yeah, I know. My mom… she never found out I wasn’t a pegasus.”

Diamond sank back on her haunches. “Oh. Well… um. Sorry to hear that. I’ve got a friend like that… I actually just found out recently she doesn’t even know how her parents died.”

“Yes, and I’m sure she’s as showered with sympathy as I was. Don’t pretend you know what it’s like.”

Diamond winced. “Actually, she’s been bullied most of her life. Usually by me.” It was apparently surprising enough to stop Featherdown’s anger cold. “Yeah, I’m not proud of that. I’ll tell you about it later though, remember to ask me about Diamond Tiara and Applebloom.”

“Okay… Where are you going now?”

“The next link in the chain I guess.” Diamond turned and started walking, a hole opening in the air before her. She smiled to herself; she was getting the hang of this place.

Diamond was panting heavily.

She had been through dozens of dreams, though it had been a long time after Featherdown before she’d recognized anypony. It did occur to her though that she was moving geographically, slowly getting further and further away from her body. That had happened around the time she’d visited Applebloom, the first pony she’d seen who’d been having a nightmare about Diamond Tiara instead of Black Diamond.

She had stayed out of sight there, keeping to the shadows. She decided it was better not to talk to anypony from Ponyville.

She was tiring though. There had been no rest since she’d started, and dragging herself hoof over hoof was exhausting. Gritting her teeth, she shoved that thought aside and reached for the next link.

“Miss Cheerilee?”

It was the first time Diamond had tried to interact with somepony she knew. She wouldn’t have, but… Cheerilee’s nightmare was strange, different from the others she’d seen.

Cheerilee turned to the filly, eyes hollow and vacant. “Do I know you?”

It dawned on Diamond that her teacher wouldn’t recognize her with the armor on. After a moment of thought, she decided to go for a half-truth. “Sort of… I’m with the guard Ma’am, I need you to tell me about what happened here.”

Cheerilee’s voice was as empty as her gaze. “They died.”

“Who?”

“All of them. All my foals, my students, they… they killed them.”

“Who killed them?”

“The cult mostly, the stallion got one though…”

“What happened?”

The mare let out a sob of anguish, “I had to choose and I couldn’t save them! I could either go after her or stay to protect them, but I couldn’t decide and… and they all died. They’re all dead because of me.”

Diamond had learned something about dreams by this point. Among her new skills was the ability to manipulate reality within the dreamscape. “Really? Because if I didn’t know better, I’d say that armored wagon coming up the road is flying the Crusader flag and packed full of your very alive students.”

Literally on cue a military wagon came barreling around a corner like a runaway train. Diamond recognized the foals inside, though she could sense that they were merely part of the dream.

Another sob was torn from Cheerilee’s throat, this time of joy. It was followed by an exclamation of terror as at least thirty shadowy figures faded into existence along the path, attempting to assault the vehicle.

Diamond saw where this was going and loudly observed, “And would you look at how well they fight back.”

Suddenly, her schoolmates were armed to the teeth. She assumed Cheerilee’s mind had provided the weapons, because she only recognized one. Although the one she recognized made her wonder if any of the others were real.

“They’ll never beat them alone.”

Cheerilee’s statement was somewhere between a groan and a whisper. Full of dread at observing the inevitable.

Time stopped.

Literally, everything except Diamond and Cheerilee froze in place. The filly even noticed spells and ammunition floating in the air as she turned to her teacher.

“No,” She admitted, “They won’t. But they don’t have to be alone, do they?”

Cheerilee stared at her, uncomprehending. “But… Diamond Tiara might need my help too.”

Diamond shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. But them? They definitely do.”

Cheerilee hesitated only a moment longer before charging into the battlefield. The combat instantly resumed, but the tide was quickly turned against the cultists, who were almost instantly defeated.

Diamond couldn’t help smiling at the scene that unfolded before her. She also couldn’t resist calling out as she turned to leave, “Hey! Isn’t that Diamond Tiara coming over that hill there!?”

Diamond was gasping for breath, tears streaming from her eyes. Every time she visited a dream, she forgot how hard it was to keep crawling along the chain. She couldn’t take it anymore, it just hurt too much… No, she had to keep going, she had to fight, she had to–

As she reached for the next link with one hoof, half blind with tears and fatigue, her other hoof slipped. She fell back, ready to finally give in and surrender to the wind trying to blow her into the darkness.

Then she felt somepony grab her hoof. “I’ve got you.”

She opened her eyes to see an alicorn stallion. His coat was a matte black that seemed to eat light, his mane and tail a deep, oily midnight blue, his eyes blue as well, but steely blue, and with draconic pupils, like a cat… like Nyx’s. What really stuck out though were his wings. They weren’t feathery like the other alicorns she’d seen, they were more like bat pony wings.

She tilted her head to look up at the alicorn holding her. Midnight smiled down at her. “Don’t worry, he can’t hurt anypony right now.” He hauled her backwards, taking slow but steady steps until they were a good few yards away from the lip of the cliff. He gave her another gentle smile. “Well Diamond, welcome back to the edge.”

Chapter 13 - At the Boundary

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It was the second time she had been emotionally charged enough to simply break down crying on his shoulder. When the fear, anger, pain, and stress had finally purged from her system, Diamond weakly whispered, “What happened?”

Midnight sighed, “A psychiatrist would tell you that you had a Post-Traumatic Stress induced Psychotic Break. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong, but there’s more to it than that. You already know parts of this, but I’ll go over everything anyway, so you know how it all fits together.

“The first time you killed… Diamond, you need to understand that you did nothing wrong. To be honest, you got it more right than I have any right to ask. It was after that that things started… changing.

“I told you that the Darkness would never let you just walk away. It was there, waiting, when the shock hit your system. That shock wasn’t really your fault either.”

“Then whose fault was it?”

“Celestia’s.” The filly’s eyes widened and her ears flattened against her skull. Midnight laughed, “Yes, shocking, I know, but she can in fact make mistakes. Although I never expected her of all ponies to make that one. If Sunbeam could have seen what she’s done…” The stallion shook himself. “That’s beside the point.

“The point is that for a thousand years, Equestria has had nonviolence steadily programmed into its culture. Taking a life, especially when it wasn’t wrong, broke something deep within you. You couldn’t process it right, you didn’t know how to handle it.

“It blew a hole in the wall that the Darkness used as a door. It waltzed into your home and started rearranging the furniture. Among other things a nightmare bound itself to you, which is another thing you’ll have for the rest of your life.”

“Princess Luna said that if you saw me you’d have to let me fall.”

“She was right. That’s why I stayed away until you got to where you did.”

“She mentioned some other stuff too… I didn’t really get a lot of it.”

“Let’s hold off on that until the next time we meet. I’ll try and be waiting tomorrow night, but… I’ve got some explaining to do. And I still have my other responsibilities.”

“Responsibilities?”

“As a wishing star.”

She leaned back. “You’re a wishing star?”

“Yes, one of four.” The sky above them shifted into what Diamond realized was an accurate depiction of the night sky. She wasn’t sure how she knew, she just… knew. “Take a guess, which star am I?”

The filly had learned by this point that objecting to the stallion’s little games always ended with her getting maneuvered into them anyway, so she simply stuck out a hoof. “That one.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “That would be the moon. Actually try.”

She sighed. He could be really irritating when he wanted. She waited for a moment, picked a random star that seemed as good as any other, and lifted her hoof to poi–

Wait.

She switched stars, not entirely sure why. The new star was low, fairly close to the horizon. She wasn’t sure what it was, she just felt like she needed to pick this particular star. She shrugged inwardly, it was as good as any other. “That one.”

Midnight smiled. “Yes. Do you know how you know?” she shook her head and he continued, “That star is bound to me, just like Celestia and the sun or Luna and the moon. You are bound to me as well, which means you are connected to my star. Shadow Rangers actually navigate using my star instead of Polaris, because you can always find it, from anywhere in the world. Even in the middle of the day, you can sense it if you try.”

“Do you really grant wishes?”

“Yes, but not for you. You serve a wishing star now, the magic won’t work.”

“There are other wishing stars then?”

“Yes, three others. There is Asteralda, the Star of Prophecy. Also there is the Winter Star.”

“Who’s the fourth?”

“The fourth does not yet have a name. It does not yet have a partner or purpose, so we split its load between us. And no more questions on this, don't think I can't recognize a diversion after a thousand years. I will answer all your questions when this is over, I promise. But for now, we need to deal with your problem.”

“I thought I was out of the darkness?”

“You are. And aside from your personal nightmare, it is out of you as well. But there’s still a rather large hole that it got in through.”

“Oh. So how do we fix it then?”

“We don’t. You’re about to wake up, which will place you beyond my aid. The other filly you met however plays a crucial role in this plan.”

“Okay. What do I do?”

“This plan hinges on the difference between what the doctors call PTS and PTSD. The first is easily curable, although like all medicine, the taste of the cure will not be pleasant at first. It also might not make sense until you’re done.

“You need to talk. Tell that new friend of yours everything. From the night you first saw these cliffs to the present, share it all with her.”

“Seriously? Talk about it and it magically goes away?”

“No. But it will start to heal. And it must begin before it can complete.”

Black Diamond and Featherdown were sitting at the small kitchen table. They had awakened over an hour ago, and Diamond had spent that time bringing the other filly up to speed. The month of nightmares, Midnight Star, the shadow armor, Nyx’s journals, Zap Apple, Demon Blood, the dreamwalking last night… everything came out in the open. Even the killing.

Diamond felt a little lighter. Not much, just enough to notice. She guessed that was what Midnight meant when he said it was a start.

For her part, Featherdown seemed to take it well. She wasn’t afraid of Diamond anymore, and she had remembered to ask about Applebloom and Diamond Tiara. She about fainted though when Diamond took off the shadow armor. Seeing your friend’s skin peel off to reveal another pony underneath can be quite traumatizing apparently.

There was a moment of silence after Diamond answered Featherdown’s final question before the younger filly spoke. “So how about you. You said your name was Featherdown, but what’s your story?”

The unicorn grunted. “I…”

Remembering something Cheerilee had once told her, Diamond inserted into the pause, “You only have to tell me what you’re comfortable with me knowing.”

Featherdown nodded. “Fair enough… My mother was a pegasus, from Cloudsdale. She was travelling, actually on her way home. She was in a hurry because I was supposed to come soon, so she took a risk, flying straight through this intense storm. She got sick after, really sick.

“Very pregnant, she was carted to a hospital after she crashed here in Manehatten. After I was born, she heard I was a filly and told them to name me Featherdown. She passed out before they could explain I was a unicorn… She never woke up, died a few hours later.

“Her husband was a pegasus too… which made things awkward. Between his life in Cloudsdale and his suspicions about my paternity… Point is, I grew up in an orphanage. Ten years later, the orphanage got a new patron, Duke Deed Holder. He took me in as his ward, and I’ve lived with him ever since.”

Diamond nodded slowly. “And the stallion in your dream last night?”

Featherdown shook her head. “Don’t worry about him. Let’s just focus on saving Page.”

“Page?”

“My friend. Page Turner. The one the cultists took.”

“Fine. Blood’s Eye first, then we take care of your nightmare stallion.” It occurred to Diamond that she was being told not to worry about nightmare stallions a lot recently. She shrugged the thought off. “Do you have anything belonging to Page? We might be able to use it to track him.”

The older filly shook her head again. “Sorry. I sort of… ran away. I didn’t have time to grab anything before I left.”

Diamond smirked. “Let me guess, Duke Holder wouldn’t exactly want you out here running around the city’s underbelly chasing cultists.”

Featherdown looked away. “No, he definitely wouldn’t want me out here.”

Something in her tone struck Diamond as off, but she couldn’t quite place it. She wanted to ask, but… something told her not to push it. She knew about buried pain, it would only come out in its own time. She’d let it go.

For now.

Black Diamond and Featherdown left the bar later than the former usually did that night. An informant had shown up to warn them about an attack and give them the contact information for a pony that might be able to help. Supposedly, Game Trail could find anything with a pulse.

He also apparently had a friend whose foal may have been taken by the cult.

The pair of fillies were walking through back alleys and side streets, avoiding the light and guards that major roads brought.

“So why are they after foals anyway?”

“Nyx said something about ‘life energy.’ I guess foals have more than adults?”

“Maybe, but still, wouldn’t you think that… what’s that light?”

There was a light in the distance, just a few blocks away. It had been growing steadily brighter the closer they got to their target address. As if on cue, sirens began wailing.

They exchanged the briefest of glances before racing off.

The building was engulfed in flames. Naturally, it was also the one they were heading towards. Featherdown gasped as she realized what the source of many of the screams was. “There are ponies trapped inside.” She turned to ask Diamond for advice, only to find the earth pony had vanished, the only trace of her a shadow flitting across the ground towards the burning tenement building.

As one scream after another went silent, Featherdown found herself verbally pleading that it was Diamond getting them and not the fire.

Her whispered begging was answered when the shadows vomited – almost violently – just over a dozen ponies. Diamond rematerialized next to her. “I… found him… he was… unconscious… barely alive… fire… meant for him… cult… got here… first.”

The shadow ranger was panting heavily, and would have tipped over if Featherdown hadn’t caught her. “Diamond! …Are you alright?”

The filly in question waved the question off. “Just… took a lot… out of me… is all.”

“Okay then… we’d better get out of here before the guard shows up.”

Diamond nodded and limped away from the building, Featherdown half carrying her. They almost got away clean, but just as they vanished into an alley, a young guardspony noticed movement in some distant shadows.

He slipped away quietly, not wanting to raise a false alarm, and caught up to them quickly. “Freeze!”

Diamond rolled her eyes. Her life was so cliché lately. “Frozen. Do you want my hooves in the air too, or should I just turn around slowly?”

The guard winced as the jab struck its point. He leveled his spear, just in case this went where the movies did from here. “Neither. I want you to walk out of this alley and into guard custody, you’re wanted as a suspect in at least three murders.”

“They weren’t murders.” For the first time, the guard registered the other filly as more than Diamond’s crutch.

“Most ponies don’t run from self-defense cases.”

“It wasn’t self-defense.”

“Ma’am, I should warn you that anything you say–”

Diamond slowly turned to face the guard. “My name is Black Diamond. I am a Shadow Ranger, answering to General Midnight Star of Equestria. I am in Manehatten on assignment. A combat authorized mission against the cult known as Blood’s Eye. These cultists are behind the recent foal disappearances, as well as the foalnapping of Princess Nyx Sparkle. Their ultimate goal is to release one of the denizens of Tartarus, and my job is to stop them.

“Keep taking that up your chain of command until you reach somepony who locks their office door at the second sentence.” The shadows rose up around the fillies, and before the guard could react, they were swallowed by them.

They only made it a few yards. Just barely around the corner really. Had the guard realized exactly how drained Diamond was, he could have brought them into custody.

As it was, Diamond’s bluff worked one last time, and the poor guard was left standing there gaping at an empty alley. After a while, he turned and stumbled back to the fire.

When they got back to the apartment that night, Diamond collapsed wordlessly onto the couch, sinking instantly into the oblivion of (for once) dreamless sleep. The strain she had put on herself over the past twenty four hours finally caught up with her, so Featherdown let her sleep through noon. Whether or not she had ulterior motives to avoid certain topics of conversation, we leave up to the reader to decide.

Ironically, had she not hypothetically have attempted her equally hypothetical subterfuge, it probably would have worked. As it stood, an accident preparing lunch left the unicorn coated with powdered sugar. The noise of the shower she then took covered the sounds of Diamond waking, and Diamond’s sleep induced grogginess prevented her from registering the sound of running water as she stumbled her way to the bathroom.

There was a brief awkward moment, but they were both fillies, and most ponies went around naked anyway, so there was no real embarrassment. There was however something that Diamond noted a few minutes later, and confronted Featherdown about when she came out with a towel wrapped tightly around her flanks.

“Featherdown, why do you hide your cutie mark?”

The unicorn stopped cold, the slight tilt of her ears the only other visible sign she felt uncomfortable. “I’m… trying to stay incognito… You know, like you with the whole shadow armor thing.”

“No. It’s more than that. You’re even hiding it from me. Tartarus, in your dream, you didn’t even have a cutie mark. Why are you keeping all these secrets?”

“Geeze Diamond, we haven’t even known each other for two full days.”

“You know what I mean. What are you so afraid of?”

“…Don’t worry about it. It’s not important, not compared to the cult.”

Somethingfelt off to Diamond, but again she decided to let it go until the immediate threat was dealt with.

Diamond and Featherdown were standing around the coffee table, a map of Manehatten spread across it. Hoofwritten notes covered it, tracking the cult’s movements. “Game Trail had one of these too, though I’m guessing he noticed different stuff. Most of his notes were gone, but I remember the sections of the city he thought they might be in.” She drew an outline on the map, enclosing over two dozen city blocks as she did.

Featherdown gasped, “They overlap.”

Diamond nodded with a smile. In two weeks, the search had been narrowed down from the entire city to six blocks.

“M’Lord, the tracker survived.”

“No matter, he can no longer hinder our progress anyway.”

“Yes. And the fillies?”

“Ignore them. They are obviously mercenaries, simply look at how they operate. None of Celestia’s agents would act this way. After my release, we will either gain their loyalty… or eliminate them. Until then, they are but a nuisance.”

“A nuisance that has killed six of our own sir.”

“A fair point. Elimination it is then. Still, I do not want this becoming a priority. If she delays my escape, then somepony who matters might take notice, and we cannot afford that at this delicate juncture.”

“I understand.”

“How close are we?”

“As it stands? The energy we are farming should be enough in less than a day.”

“That… is good to hear.”

“Yes… Sir, there is one more piece of news.”

“What is it Cunning?”

“Vengeance. We have lost contact with him… We fear he may have been discovered.”

“I see… Will he talk?”

“No. Never.”

“Then we have nothing to worry about. Also, Ponyville. Are we ready to strike?”

“The plan there is going perfectly.”

Twilight opened her front door to find both Celestia and Cadence standing there. “Twilight,” the solar diarch’s voice was deliberately level, “We are now down to three princesses. Also, it would seem that we have had several miscommunications, as well as certain… other issues.” She cast a glance at a chain wrapped stallion behind her.

“May we come in? We need to talk.”

Chapter 14 - Threshold

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Black Diamond and Featherdown stood on the roof of what would someday be a six story building. At the moment, only the skeleton had been erected. It wasn’t difficult for the fillies to track their targets with binoculars, even at this late hour. The propensity their opponents had for cloaks was a dead giveaway.

At this point, they only had one real problem left.

“Which one do we hit?”

Diamond sighed, “I don’t know. All four could be where they’re keeping them.”

Featherdown nodded. Both of them had read enough comic books to know where this conversation was going. “And as soon as we attack one, we risk warning the other three.”

Diamond closed her eyes and lowered her head in thought. After a moment, she straightened. “Alright. We’ll go after the construction site. That’ll be the easiest one for them to fortify.”

Featherdown nodded again. She had decided a while ago to trust her friend completely with this stuff.

Diamond reached out for her now familiar shadow, feeling it respond, but… something was different. Off. Instead of manifesting her shadow, she sensed with it, trying to figure out what the difference was. She could feel it, another familiar sensation, just beyond the reach of her shadow. It reminded her of…

Featherdancer shot her a look of concern as Diamond gasped. The younger filly shook her head, chewing her lip as she did. “We can’t travel by shadow. Not here. Not tonight.”

“What? Why?”

“Darkness. Something’s making it powerful here. Being in the Night is dangerous enough, going into shadows when it’s this strong… That’s too close. Both of us would fall.”

“So how do we get down?”

Diamond looked around for an answer, surprisingly finding it. “Featherdown, how good are you at gymnastics?”

The older filly followed her gaze to the tower crane on the far end of the half-constructed building. The work worn ladder was glinting in the moonlight.

Midnight Star and Princess Luna stood side by side, ghosts perched on solid air as they watched the two fillies. “Your apprentice has come far.” The mare broke their silence as the ponies they were observing began moving across the building.

“Yes she has,” The stallion whispered. “Though I doubt any of it is because of me. I told you, she was always going to save the day.”

“That may be, but would she have been able to save herself? Be honest with me Midnight, she was never going to die in this battle, was she?”

“…No, not this one. Another one, a few years from now. One of the trio probably would have had to do it. They probably would have felt that they owed it to what was left of their friend inside… her.”

“The Nightmare. We came close. Too close.”

“I know. The danger she was in…”

“No Midnight. Think about it. Killing a half-dozen ponies is a lot of weight, but still, she shouldn’t have gone over the edge that easily. Something else was involved. You mentioned that the Darkness has been luring her in for years now, but why does it want her so desperately?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Then that is something we should try to find out. Besides, there is no more we can do… unless… Midnight, there is no more we can do here, but might we do something in Ponyville?”

Midnight shook his head. “No. We’ve probably done too much already. I daren’t upset the balance any further. Besides, the Winter Star is in Ponyville, they’re in good hooves.”

“On that note, wherever did Poppinjay end up?”

“…She’s not hopeful about that. She tracked down Panpipe, called in a favor. She’s waiting in the wings in case things go wrong. If Ponyville falls, then she’ll evacuate the foals.”

“That doesn’t sound like her, usually she’s got plenty of hope to go around.”

“Yeah, well, she doesn’t particularly care for me at the moment, so…”

“Oh. Right. I forget that you still have to deal with all of them.”

“Not all of them, just most.”

“…Do we know where the other three are?”

“No. But knowing our friends, they likely aren’t too far.”

“Cunning, is it ready?”

“Almost M’Lord. A few more hours and we will have enough life energy to open the gate.”

“Ponyville?”

“Despair has done her work well, our enemies have been largely disarmed. And the foals have all been gathered in one place for our convenience. Once we have them as hostages, Ponyville is ours.”

“Thank you so much for organizing this Madame Boardmare.”

“It was no trouble Miss Rarity. I really didn’t do all that much, just suggested to the rest of the school board that we hold this little get together to show our support for your sister and the Princess Nyx. They took it from there, even organizing the foalsitting at the schoolhouse. Believe me, I’m getting far too much credit for my small part.”

“Well thank you nonetheless.”

“Really, it was my pleasure.” Rarity didn’t see the dark smile on the mare’s face.

Zecora awoke with a start. It wasn’t often she received this sort of visitor, but experience had taught her to be fully alert when dealing with them. “I demand to know who goes there that would disturb this lonely mare.”

She heard the laughter before she saw it. A mare manifested in front of her, unlike the other ghosts she had met, but still with an ethereal quality. “The Ghost Pony of the Northern Range.”

Tears formed in the corner of the zebra’s eyes. “Old friend it is good to see you, what kind of favor might I do?”

Scootaloo had fallen asleep watching the crackling flames in the hearth. Neither she nor Applebloom had had the heart to go to the school. The entire thing felt like they were throwing a party to celebrate Sweetie and Nyx getting foalnapped.

She knew she was asleep, because the fireplace was talking to her. No, wait, it’s not the fireplace talking, it’s the FIRE! She continued to watch in awe as the fire shifted into the shape of three ponies. She wasn’t quite sure how, but somehow she sensed that it was a mare, a stallion, and a colt not much older than her.

The stallion was talking, “…aloo, Scootaloo, can you hear me?” Mutely, the filly nodded. “Good. Alright, listen carefully, because the longer this takes, the more it will cost. There are two things you need to know, little known secrets about pegasus weather magic…”

“Mare of shadows, stand aside. Your granddaughter must turn this tide.”

“I’ve told more dangerous’n you that the shadows don’t get ter go near that filly.”

“I know not if you think this better or worse, but she already bears the shaman’s curse.”

“She already done told me ‘bout that there ghost town in the Everfree, what’s that got ter do with this.”

“She is special, this you know. But war is coming and she must go.”

“Just who do you think you are?!”

Zecora leaned forward and whispered in Granny Smith’s ear. The old farm mare dropped back on her haunches wide-eyed. “In this town a secret everypony holds, some that are new and some that are old.” The zebra walked into the house, but paused at the base of the stairs to turn to her host. “Do not fear for my little friend, I refuse to allow her bright life to end.”

Cheerilee looked around uneasily. She had volunteered to watch her students tonight as a matter of course, but… She was starting to feel something off about things. Retrospectively, she regretted not letting her students weld some of their artillery to the playground – it would have made it far more difficult for the school board to take the weapons away when they decided that they were “too dangerous” for a school.

Apparently, they had never seen some of the schools Cheerilee had visited in her last job. She rolled her eyes, despite living in this town her entire life, she could never figure out the odd mix of insane daredevil heroes and oddballs with utterly spineless herd mentality panderers.

Still, the few strong ponies there were had a responsibility… Even if the greatest threat to her students right now was that airhead Bon Bon and the bubble brained mailmare giving them too much candy. She swore, if a life-or-death disaster ever struck, those two would be the first to go.

“Wake up, wake up, dear Applebloom. Without you Ponyville is doomed.”

“…and that’s everything Shining and I managed to find out. He’s got forty Crystal Guards standing ready to deploy as soon as we know where to go. They’ve been rotating out every eight hours.”

Celestia nodded. “Excellent work Cadence. Luna and I have taken the same measures with the Solar, Lunar, Royal, and Canterlot Palace Guards. As soon as we find this cult, Nyx and Sweetie Bell will be safe… I suppose that I should begin relaying what I know now…”

Silently, Black Diamond and Featherdown slipped through the construction site. Whatever it was, it looked like it was mostly underground. With two tunnels to pick from, they arbitrarily chose the one on the north.

The tunnel led down at a steep angle, and when they reached the bottom, both fillies were glad they hadn’t wasted time deciding which tunnel to take. The other one let out a few yards in front of them.

They were in a cavern lit by torches. Nopony was around, but they stayed on the edges of the lights anyway. Even though only Diamond could sense the Darkness, both of them were feeling uneasy. Paranoia seemed like a good policy.

Three more tunnels branched out, but noise was only coming from one. They followed it until they arrived at an intersection. The tunnels ahead and to the left appeared to be the same as behind, but to their right, they could hear voices. The cultists weren’t bothering to be quiet, deep in their lair, but navigating the twisting maze was still no small feat.

The pair stopped just outside of another large chamber. They were close enough to hear what was being said without having to worry about getting caught.

“–ony’s here and the gates are primed, so why aren’t we moving already!?”

“Bravado, hold your tongue! We will move when Cunning relays the order and not before!”

“But why do we wait!? A pathetic town in the middle of nowhere, do we even need a plan to destroy it!?”

“Underestimate the ponies of that town, and I guarantee you it will be the last mistake you make.” A third voice cut through the argument. “Has it not occurred to you that everything that happens has some connection to that place? Do you learn nothing from this fact?”

A laugh that Diamond was entirely too familiar with rang out. “So, if Cunning’s here, I guess that means the wait’s over!”

“Astute as always Subtlety. Lead them into battle.”

The room lit up and the eavesdropping fillies scrambled further back into the tunnel. There was a sound, a combination of a hoofstep on a stone floor, a rock splashing into a pond, and a unicorn’s teleport spell. It repeated over a dozen times before anypony spoke.

“Ponyville will be ours.”

Diamond was gone before Featherdown turned to look.

Scootaloo was just pulling up when Applebloom came down the clubhouse ramp.

The pegasus was riding her scooter and towing the wagon, but unlike usual, she had a pair of saddle bags draped over her handlebars and several metal canisters where Sweetie Bell would usually sit. Applebloom smirked as she recognized the canisters from the time they’d tried to get their cutie marks as weather ponies.

It looked like she and her friend were on the same page.

Blacklight left a pair of indigo light trails in the air as Diamond cut through the teleport gate. With the energy from the cuts still powering her assault, she caught a stallion cleanly under the jaw with a forehoof before spinning to deliver a full buck to the forehead of the mare next to him. She joined her comrade in dreamland.

The nine remaining cultists finally reacted, only to turn around as they were attacked from behind. Three of them fell bound a Featherdown attacked with her magic, two of the three gagged as well.

Diamond didn’t waste her friend’s distraction and the pair of fillies were off like twin streaks of lightning. They heard the shouts from behind them:

“They’re getting away!”

“Stop them!”

“Where did they even come from?”

“Don’t let them go right, we have to keep them away from the prisoners!”

THUNK!“You IDIOT!”

Smirking, the two veered right and vanished into the dark tunnel.

Applebloom was climbing down the clubhouse ramp when Scootaloo pulled up.

The earth pony had a pair of guard courier saddlebags strapped tightly around her waist, as well as a pair of bandoliers making an X across her barrel. Scootaloo smirked as she recognized some of the potions in the flasks on the bandoliers from their war preparations and a few of their adventures.

It looked like she and her friend were on the same page.

Diamond and Featherdown galloped through the tunnels. The cultists chasing them were adults, but they were also trying to track the fillies, and were more easily winded to boot. The pair managed to build up a bit of a lead before bursting into another cavern. This one was smaller than the others, but still large enough to house a large machine of some kind. Dozens of foals were hooked up to it, including one that Diamond recognized.

“Sweetie Bell!”

The Ponyville filly rushed to her friend, slashing the wires and tubes attaching her to the machine with a single pass of her blade. She heard a similar cry from another part of the room, so once she had removed the unicorn’s breathing mask, she raced over.

Featherdown was using her magic to work on cutting free a pale brown colt with a forest green mane and tail. Diamond stepped in and helped her friend lower him to the floor before running back to Sweetie Bell.

Fortunately Sweetie Bell’s adventures with the other crusaders had left her rather used to regaining consciousness. She was quickly rousing. “Wha… wha’s go’ng on?”

“Sweetie Bell, please wake up. Do you remember getting foalnapped?”

After a moment, the white filly nodded. “I ‘member.” She yawned. “Where are we?”

“In the headquarters of the cult that foalnapped you and Nyx. Listen, we don’t have much time. They got a lot of other fillies and colts too. Can you help me save them?”

Another nod, this one firm. Sweetie shook her head as the last of a gas she didn’t know she’d been breathing cleared from her system. “Count on it. Where’s Nyx?”

“I don’t know. They must be keeping her somewhere else.”

“Indeed. After all, we could hardly risk keeping her with the others. Imagine if you had freed the alicorn instead of these useless foals.”

Diamond slowly turned to face a stallion… at least, what was left of one. He was missing both ears, his tail, an eye, one leg below the shoulder and another below the knee. He shifted his wings in the absentminded way winged ponies tend to do while talking, and Diamond saw that the webbing had been completely stripped away, leaving his bat-like wings skeletal.

“What… who are you?”

“I am Technique, lead scientist of Blood’s Eye. And I’m afraid your rescue attempt ends here little filly.”

Diamond smirked. She finally realized why Midnight had had her practice this expression, it helped her feel better about the situation. “Just one problem. I’m not a filly right now.” Blacklight swung out and locked into what she was starting to think of as ‘attack mode.’ “I’m a Shadow Ranger.”

The twenty-seventh cultist stepped through the portal, looked around to get his bearings, and then stepped aside to make room for the next one. There was a brief pause, the universe hesitating while they waited, and then a ripple moved across the face of the portal. Before any of them could react to that, the portal ruptured, energy exploding out across the clearing, throwing them bodily through the air.

In the distance, standing at the base of the clubhouse tree, Applebloom and Scootaloo saw and heard the explosion. They didn’t speak, didn’t signal, didn’t even need to look to know what the other one was doing.

Before the blast had finished echoing, they were racing towards it, Scootaloo’s wings buzzing as Applebloom readied some of their ammunition in the wagon.

Sweetie Bell, Featherdown, and the mostly recovered Page Turner were doing their best to free the other foals. Together, they were doing about as much as Black Diamond, who made sure to take time, while dancing around the room driving the half-blind-half-lame mad scientist back and forth, to slash through tubes, wires, and various other bits of machinery.

By the time the rest of the cultists showed up, the only pony being farmed was Technique.

Sweetie was the closest coherent foal to the tunnel they were trying to come through. It was obvious that they couldn’t take the rest of the foals with them in their semi-conscious state. Somepony had to buy time. “GO! Find Nyx! I can hold them off until these guys wake up and you get back.”

Diamond hesitated, but only slightly. Featherdown and Page Turner followed her into another tunnel. They couldn’t let Sweetie down now.

In a desolate place, a pair of rocks stood in a clearing. A mare sat on one, working calmly at her small hoof loom, humming as she did so. Her sister was across from her, chuckling to herself as she dealt and redealt a set of cards on the other rock.

Four alicorns approached, a pair from each of two different directions.

“Fate, Destiny,” Midnight acknowledged. “Any plans for tonight?”

“You tell us. What brings Hope, Dreams, Emotion, and Truth to our home?”

Shade snorted. “As if you didn’t know Destiny. Equestria’s at stake, are you planning on interfering?”

“Are you?”

Afterburner took a step forward. “Easy now everypony. I don’t think any of us are looking for a fight. Fate, please try to be less touchy.”

“Be less touchy! Do you know how many of my looms you’ve broken?!”

Midnight’s voice cut across the clearing. “Do you know how many of our friends you’ve taken?”

The awkward silence hung in the air for a long moment before Luna cleared her throat. “So… Glad I’m still young, yet again. Also, does anypony know where Lace is?”

Destiny laughed. “As usual for you lot, Lace Heart is right in the thick of things. Tell you what, let’s just sit back and watch, something tells me there’s not much my sister and I can do anyway.”

Fate muttered something about free will, but set down her loom as her sister’s cards rose into the air, spinning out into a pair of circles. One showed a pair of fillies racing down a road on the outskirts of Ponyville, the other a trio of foals running through tunnels.

A single card broke away from the second window, spinning out to make another, this one showing a unicorn filly standing stubbornly between a number of adults and four times as many unconscious foals.

Fate sighed. “Maybe you’re right sister, looks like I would have just broken my loom again anyway.”

Chapter 15 - Line in the Sand

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Black Diamond, Featherdown, and Page Turner dodged around a cultist as he jumped out at them at an intersection. As they continued their headlong charge, they heard his voice behind them, “You foals really think you can outfox us in our own tunnels?!”

Diamond grimaced. “He’s right, we’re too easy to outmaneuver as a group like this. Split up, they can’t catch all of us. They’ll probably even have to pull some ponies away from attacking Sweetie and the other foals.”

At the four way intersection immediately ahead, all three chose different paths.

It had taken them a few minutes, but the Blood’s Eye Assault Party had finally managed to pull themselves together. They had assembled in the crater that the blast left behind, using it as a makeshift staging point while they took stock of the situation and prepared for their assault.

“What happened?” Subtlety was demanding of a smaller unicorn stallion.

“I’m not sure sir, but… Something caused a catastrophic failure. Probably a collapse on the other end. The energy would have built up until it reached a critical level, and then… Well, you saw what happened. It was all forced out at once when the pathway collapsed.”

A third cultist approached the pair at the center of the gathering, limping slightly. “So,” she asked, “What now?”

Subtlety opened his mouth to respond, and everypony was shocked by the dark laughter that came out. It wasn’t the fact that the laughter seemed to be only just this side of sane – Subtlety’s laugh was legendary for being the only thing that outwardly showed just how unhinged he was – it was the fact that his laugh suddenly sounded like a pair of fillies.

Subtlety himself was surprised enough that his jaw hung open for a moment. Once he shut it, the laughter continued, slightly more terrifying now that its source was no longer known. Later, some of them would swear it came from everywhere, others nowhere, and yet more would claim that it was projected directly into their minds.

After the laughter subsided, voices came, their sources just as shrouded in mystery as the laughter. “Now?” Her voice was dry, raspy. Young, but with a dangerous edge to it that froze marrow and blood. “Now it’s story time for you little foals.”

“Ya see,” Another voice, another filly. Just as young, just as dangerous, just as chilling. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were these three fillies, close as any sisters.”

“They did a lot together, even binding their destinies. And they went on so many adventures you can’t count them all.”

“Barely survived most of them. Two reasons for the barely–”

To really understand, you need to know a little about these three fillies.”

“The first, she was a troublemaker. Raised on a farm, with that spot of earth in her bones. She was rooted and grounded, but still managed to get herself in trouble more often’n not.”

“The second, she was this daredevil pegasus. Half the town still thinks she has a death wish. She was constantly pushing the other two, trying the dangerous stuff. She was the brains behind half of their crashes.”

“Between those two, these fillies got into more trouble that two hundred ponies could in a hundred years of Apple Bucking Seasons. They usually made it out alright, though all three became quick healers.”

“But the third, she was the voice of reason, of caution. She was the sweetie of the group. She was the one who pointed out the bad ideas, she was the one who always cared about other ponies – even the bullies.”

“She was the one who believed that there’s good in everypony. If’n she ever saw her friends facing down an army o’ cultists, she’d be telling em ter go easy, to remember to show mercy ‘cause we gotta be the good ponies.”

“If it came right down to it, she’d probably plead for leniency for somepony who’d done something terrible to her in front of all the Princesses. She’d talk about how we need to forgive, how we can all be friends.”

“Now Ah’m hoping that this here story ain’t finished yet, but ya’ll’ve been good little foals, so I guess we can wrap up story time and get to what ya came here for. Now, like all foal story-time stories, this one’s got a moral to it.”

“A lesson that you need to learn. You see, somepony took that third filly away. Ripped her out of the lives of her friends and family. They hurt those ponies badly, and nothing hurt them more than the thought of how they might have hurt that filly.”

“Yah see, if Sweetie Bell was here, she’d be telling us to be nice, to try not to hurt you. But Sweetie Bell ain’t here.”

“Sweetie Bell can’t help you because she’s gone. Sweetie Bell is gone because you took her away from us!” The roar of the last words was accompanied by the roar of wingbeats as an orange filly came careening over a rise, catching air as she did.

The cultists reacted instinctively, lashing out with magic blasts and projectile weapons, but the filly simply twisted, swinging her scooter like a war scythe to deflect the attacks, several of her enemies having to dodge the returned fire. As she neared the ground on the other side of the crater, another filly appeared.

This one was a pale yellow, and her arrival was no less dramatic. She slipped two vials out of holsters on her bandoliers, zipping them out like kunai. One hit the ground in the middle of a cluster of cultists, erupting into green flame. The other shattered under a cultist’s hood, drenching his face with poison joke extract and splashing a small amount at his nearer friends.

The entirety of the assembled cult left standing took an involuntary step backwards.

Black Diamond skidded to a stop in another cavern. This was the largest one yet, although the space created by the massive hole in the floor helped that some. There was a large spire in the center of the hole, with a narrow arching stone ledge bridging the gap. There was also some kind of machine on the spire, but that wasn’t what had Diamond’s attention.

It was the pony standing on the ledge that held her gaze. He was a pegasus, and one that she would have recognized even without the oversized cast his wing was in. She had put him in that cast, back in Ponyville.

“I figured one of you lot would find your way here soon enough. You know, a filly like you is the reason I’m here tonight instead of attacking Ponyville with the others. I’ll have my revenge on her soon enough, but you’ll do for now.”

Diamond quietly shifted Blacklight into his offensive position as she stepped forward. “Who are you?”

“I am Devotion. I would ask for your name, but the dead have no need of names.”

Diamond’s next step had the barest of hitches in it as she lashed out with her shadow. Fortunately, she could still use it in this place, she just didn’t dare go into it.

Devotion jumped back, wide-eyed at the attack. It still clipped him, sending him tumbling even further backwards. As he regained his feet however, he began chuckling unexpectedly.

“I’m actually impressed that you would dare to use darkness here. But let me tell you something, this pit we’re standing over? It’s saturated in darkness. And a filly like you doesn’t stand a chance against my master.”

“Maybe not, but I’m pretty sure I can take one of his two-bit flunkies.” Diamond lunged with Blacklight, and the pair began dancing around the bridge. The stallion’s unarmed status and injured wing were keeping him on the defensive, at least until Diamond landed another hit with her shadow that threw him backwards a pace.

“Master,” He whispered, “Lend me your strength. Let me be a vessel for you.” An evil wind began to blow, and Diamond felt a sickening sensation in the pit of her stomach. Corruption was the only word that came to mind. An image formed around him, a pony not unlike the astral manifestations that the stars could sometimes use. But instead of light and stardust, this was made of darkness.

He was an alicorn, not unlike the one she had seen in the dreamscape when she was returning from the darkness. Like that one, he had bat wings and draconic eyes, but the colors were different, as were the finer points of his shape. His coat was blood red, with black patches that looked more like stains of some kind than coloration patterns. His mane and tail were a coal black, and his eyes were a dead grey.

When devotion next spoke, it was in stereo with another voice, one that Diamond knew instinctively to fear. “So, the Star has sent his Shadow. I wonder how I didn’t see that before… He must be desperate if you’rethe only thing he can throw at me. I respect your courage though. Surrender now and I will let you live. You cannot hope to defeat me; the prophesied Warrior of the Night is imprisoned. Nyx’s heir can stop me no longer.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to do until she’s ready.” The dance began anew.

The path was strewn with craters. From her position in the wagon, Applebloom would toss one of the compressed weather canisters into the air, then spin and deliver a buck to make her siblings proud, launching it out as an artillery shell. When it ruptured upon hitting the ground, lightning, gale force winds, hail storms, or whatever else had been packed into the canisters would explode out of it, leaving wreckage in the wake of the “battle.”

There had been several residents of Ponyville lying in wait to ambush the cultists at various points, but none of their plans had counted on the group fleeing for their lives instead of sneaking into town. The driven cultists and driving fillies blew right past them.

The cultists had tried to mount a counteroffensive in the center of town. They had managed to force the pair to abandon the scooter and wagon, so they were no longer being harried on all sides, but they had still been forced to flee the twin forces of nature.

When they finally arrived at Ponyville Elementary, they slid to a horrified stop. There was an entire army of the demons they were fleeing there; they could see them through the windows, making some kind of nefarious constructs.

Diamond dodged another blast of darkness, returning fire with her own shadow attack. Devotion/Demon Blood deflected it, but then stumbled. The filly took advantage of the momentary weakness to dart past the lowered guard and deliver a series of blows with Blacklight.

The stallion finally dove backwards to escape. He tumbled a little ways, and then stood, laughing as he did so. “This mortal’s frame is starting to give out. I am impressed filly, your Lord would be proud. I congratulate you on becoming the first mortal I have called a worthy opponent in over a century.”

Diamond smirked before rushing him again. They traded a rapid series of blows, before the stallion slumped. Before Diamond could recover from her surprise at the stallion’s sudden cessation of combat, Devotion started screaming, his voice once again normal.

He turned to Diamond, murder in his eyes as he clutched on heavily wounded foreleg to his chest. “You little bi–” A clean right hook finished both sentence and stallion.

Diamond took a moment to recover, spinning around when that moment was interrupted by a dark double laugh. Another stallion was standing there. He had somehow gotten past her and was next to the strange machine on the spire.

“Someday legends may be told of the filly who almost stopped me.” A blast of dark magic lanced out, too fast and too wide for Diamond to dodge. She, Devotion’s unconscious form, and a chunk of the bridge were thrown out, away from both spire and bridge.

A piece of the wreckage caught the back of her head, adding its effect to the exhaustion the filly was already facing. Black Diamond felt her consciousness slipping away as she fell into the dark pit.

Cheerilee looked up as she heard what sounded like several fillies screaming. After a brief glance out the window, she charged outside to see which of her students the cultists had managed to corner. She was preoccupied enough that she didn’t notice both of the other chaperones right behind her and half of the class abandoning their macaroni pictures to gallop out right behind them.

Something that did give her pause was the revelation of the shrill screaming’s source. The cultists started backpedaling in wide eyed terror, only to freeze with more screams as Applebloom and Scootaloo barreled around the corner trailing smoke and lightning respectively.

The entire tableau froze for a breath, before one of the cultists had an idea. “They can’t chase all of us! Scatter!”

And pandemonium ensued.

Afterburner Blaze blinked as the window showing Ponyville had several cards spin out of it to create more windows. “I knew that Applebloom and her friends were capable, but this…”

Shade Darkwing laughed, “After the things your some-odd great granddaughter and her friends have done and survived, I’m not entirely sure they’re even trying hard.”

Destiny meanwhile was shaking her head. “I know that Demon Blood told his followers he wanted Tartarus breaking loose…”

Midnight Star nodded with a smirk, “But you still have to doubt that this was what he had in mind.”

Fate turned to Luna, who was watching Ponyville with her head tilted slightly. “What are you thinking about?”

“If there’s a way I can get away with watching the nightmares of Blood’s followers without having to help them.”

“Ah. Now you begin to understand the eternal struggle I have between entertaining myself and delivering retribution on those who defy me. I will tell you that the first one ends in broken looms less often.”

Sweetie Bell covered her worry with a defiant smirk, just like she had seen Applebloom and Scootaloo do hundreds of times. She was lucky that she had managed to dodge and sting the cultists long enough for the rest of the foals to start waking up.

She stuck her head out to fire off another pair of blasts before ducking behind cover again. Her attacks didn’t do much more than sting a little, none of them did. But now that the rest of the foals were awake, they had the cultists outnumbered four to one, and pain was turning out to be an excellent motivator.

Two more of the cultists had been knocked out and hooked up to the machines that kept them unconscious somehow. The rest of them couldn’t get into the room much further than a step or two before being driven back by the onslaught. On the whole, Sweetie and the rest of the foals were doing just fine… But she was still worried about her friends.

Featherdown somersaulted between a mare’s legs, hitting her with the binding spell as she did. With the cultist falling bound, gagged, and very surprised behind her, the filly kept running.

She screeched to a halt as she rounded a corner to find a stallion holding Page Turner with a knife to his throat. “I thought that that would get you.” The stallion chuckled. “Surrender or he dies.”

Featherdown hung her head, the light around her horn dying out. She could only hope Black Diamond was doing better.

Cheerilee spun at a noise behind her. The stallion she had knocked out hadn’t even hit the ground yet, and she was already facing another opponent. The unicorn mare didn’t seem to be planning on a fair fight though.

Green magic surrounded Cheerilee as she was lifted bodily. It was the most intense around her throat, a fact Cheerilee only knew because she could feel the pressure there cutting off her breathing.

She forced herself to remain calm, remember your training, just wait for the ripple, and you can escape. That opportunity would never come.

Just as the edges of Cheerilee’s vision began to get fuzzy, the other mare screamed in agony. Cheerilee dropped to the ground with an audible WHUMP as the other mare clutched her shoulder. As her head cleared, the teacher could see a quarrel embedded in that shoulder.

A second bolt sped out of the night, striking home in the mare’s other shoulder. Cheerilee swiveled her head to see Silver Spoon walking forward, loading the newly invented bolt-action crossbow a third time.

When she fired this time though, the unicorn caught the projectile, turning it slowly in her magic until it was facing the filly who had released it. “Should’ve killed me when you had the chance. Shame your aim’s not better.”

“It was… good enough” Cheerilee said, forcing herself to stand and spin in a fluid motion that wrenched several of her muscles and elicited a chorus of protests from parts of her body that hadn’t done this in years. The double-hoofed buck caught the unicorn under the chin, more solid than any uppercut. The mare was lifted bodily by the force, flipping backwards a full rotation and a half before landing unconscious, sprawled on her back.

Her moment of relief was interrupted by a scraping sound, and she spun again, readying for a fight.

Fortunately it was only Muffins and Bon Bon, each dragging an unconscious cultist of their own. “How…”

Bon Bon shook her head slowly. “Apparently everypony in this town has secrets.” She motioned to the unconscious cultists and Cheerilee and Silver Spoon’s hooves. “Probably best to keep ‘em that way.”

Muffins was looking at the filly with concern. “Are you feeling alright? A pony’s first fight is never easy.”

Silver nodded. “I’m fine. That was for Diamond Tiara.”

Cheerilee turned to her, confused. “What do you mean?”

Silver’s eyes tabled. “These cultists foalnap Nyx and Sweetie Bell and a few days later Diamond Tiara vanishes too. I’m not stupid, I can put the pieces together. You adults don’t need to keep coddling us, we know they took her too.”

Realization dawned for Cheerilee. She had gotten so used to keeping her dealings with Diamond Tiara a secret that she had forgotten she was one of the only ones who knew where she’d gone. “Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara wasn’t foalnapped. She went to rescue Nyx and Sweetie Bell. I tried to stop her the night she left, but… I’m sorry.”

Silver was grinning from ear to ear. “Don’t be. If she’s with Black Diamond, then she’ll be fine.”

Cheerilee cocked her head in confusion. “Who’s Black Diamond?”

Unobserved by her or Silver, Ditzy Doo and Sweetie Drops exchanged a pair of wide-eyed looks.

Chapter 16 - Turning Point

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Featherdown finally gave in, slumping against the door in defeat. She had tried all six of the lock picking spells she knew on the door to the supply closet – she could only guess that that meant the rest of the foals were still holding the prison room – but none of them were working. If she had to bet, there was probably somepony outside actively holding the door closed.

At least she had managed to get out of the six 2-yard lengths of chain they had wrapped her in before tossing her in here. Still, she was worried about what they might be doing to Page Turner...

What was that?!

She spun at a noise behind her, eyes straining uselessly in the dark. She found herself wishing that she had some kind of light source, reaching out with her magic to see if there was a flashlight in here… and she facehooved.

Lighting up her horn, the filly looked around. The closet was a little larger than she would have expected, but not ridiculously so. It was maybe four hooves wide by seven or eight deep. For a larger pony it might have been a prison cell, but for her, it was just a room. Just another room that she was being held in yet again.

The urge to roll her eyes was interrupted by a repetition of the same sound she had heard before. This time her eyes narrowed. There was definitely something there.

Towards the back of the closet, leaned in a corner, was a large flattish object covered in a sheet. The whispering – that was what she had decided the noise was – was coming from under that sheet.

Gently, Featherdown tugged the sheet until one corner came loose. Then she had to jump backwards to avoid being buried as the rest of the sheet slid down under its own weight. The room seemed to brighten slightly, and she looked up to see that the light from her horn was being reflected around the area by the mirror.

And then she caught sight of what the mirror was reflecting and her hornlight went out as she yelped in surprise.

Discord cackled as he watched the cultists scurry about, trying to flee. But even as they did, walls moved, paths changed, physics bent, and reality warped. And as per the challenge he had set for himself tonight, not a single pony noticed.

Except Pinkie Pie.

She didn’t count.

The draconequus let loose another dark chuckle, allowing himself a few sentences of soliloquy, “There is an extremely short list of ponies who genuinely understand me. You have no idea how hard it is to make friends when that’s the case. Those three are the only hope I have that ponies might one day accept a little chaos in their lives. How dare you hurt my little friends?”

Featherdown took a calming breath, steadying herself as her heart slowed. She opened her eyes to darkness, hesitating before lighting her horn once more. The mirror hadn’t changed, her reflection was still an adult alicorn.

She went through several actions, just to make sure. The mirror waved when she did, made the same funny faces she did, ducked out of and into the picture at the same time she did. Eventually she sighed, deciding that this must be some kind of carnival mirror.

And then promptly jumped backwards again when her reflection broke down laughing of its own accord.

“I’m sorry,” The mare in the mirror finally gasped out after she caught her breath, “You’d think after a thousand years that would either get old or I’d be able to hold my composure, but noo~oo I still crack up every time.”

Featherdown pieced her mental state back together while the mare wiped a tear out of her eye. “Wh-who are you?”

The mare blinked in surprise, then shook her head. “Right, your friend still doesn’t know everything and didn’t even have time to tell you everything she knew. I am Lace Heart, Alicorn of Siblings. Do you remember Black Diamond telling you about Midnight Star?”

Featherdown nodded mutely and the mare continued, “Good, then that makes this simpler. I’m Midnight’s counterpart. The day to his night. He’s Luna’s general, I’m Celestia’s. I also have some debts I’m planning on repaying tonight, but… I need your help first.”

“What can I do?”

“Okay, crash course in alicorn lore. Most of the alicorns – at present ten exceptions exactly – are Elder Alicorns. You don’t need to worry about them right now. Then there’s Twilight Sparkle, Mi Amore Cadenza, and Nyx, the new generation of alicorns. You don’t really need to worry about them either.

“That leaves seven. The Younger Alicorns. Who in all honesty will probably be getting renamed soon. This group includes me, Midnight, Luna, Celestia, and a couple of others. We’re all about a thousand years old. We’re also the generation of alicorns that has to deal with the problem of Nightmares. For Luna, Nightmare Moon. For Midnight Star, Starless Night. For me…

“Tell me, have you ever heard the story of The Ivory Liar?”

Featherdown’s eyes widened in surprise, she had never believed in that particular story, and even if she had, the mare in front of her with the powder green eyes and mint mane bore little resemblance to the legendary Mare in the Mirror. “Ye-yeah, I mean, who hasn’t? But she’s just an old mare’s tale, right?”

“So are Nightmare Moon, Discord, Tirek, and The Pony Who Went to the Stars. A lot of ponies seem to find it easier to pretend away the fairy tales instead of realizing that they had to come from somewhere. My nightmare form is the Alicorn of Dark Reflections, the twisted kind you get out of trick mirrors, but for the soul instead of the body. While we’re trapped in this mirror world, I can keep her in check, bend her will to mine, but I need somepony else to summon her. You know the words?”

Featherdown nodded, licking her lips. “Just call her by name, right?”

“Yes.”

The filly took a deep breath. “Bloody Marely.”

The change began, not as dramatic as Featherdown had been expecting, but more… fluid. “Bloody Marely.”

It was like another mare was behind Lace Heart, and she was slowly turning invisible to reveal the pony behind her. “Bloody Marely.”

Featherdown blinked when the transformation finished. The mare’s soft white coat had turned a different shade of white. A dead one that made Featherdown think of bones and barren wastelands. Her mane had darkened, leaving it a shade of green so deep that it might as well have been black. If Bloody Marely’s coat came from the middle of a desert, then her mane and tail were from the bottom of a swamp. Her eyes and hooves were what held Featherdown’s attention though.

She had been expecting cat like eyes because of Diamond’s descriptions. But Bloody Marely’s eyes were just like anypony else’s, at least at first glance. There was something unnerving about them still, but… For the life of her, Featherdown couldn’t figure out what it was. Maybe it was just the color, that deep, rich red that could only be described as blood. The same red that was running in splotches up from her hooves and across her wings, even spiraling down the groove of her horn.

The mare seemed to be waiting for something, so Featherdown met her gaze, trying and failing to suppress a shudder. “Young filly, listen with care. Do not leave this room until you have heard the screaming move away. Do you understand?” Featherdown nodded weakly. “Good.” The nightmare vanished from the mirror, taking with her an oppressing feeling of darkness that Featherdown hadn’t even realized was there.

And then the screaming started.

“So let me tell you about this filly.” The mare said, twirling the severed horn of the unicorn in front of her as she did. His eyes were locked in horror on the floating piece of bone that used to belong to him. “You see, through a complicated set of circumstances, she was forced to take over Equestria. It was a rather hostile event, I’m sure you remember it. The point is, that her mother was able to save her, and help her save the rest of the country. And then – and this is the important part – she went back to her normal life.

“She opened the door for my kind. For those of us who walked dark paths but wanted to escape from their past sins. Discord, me, a few others, she’s the reason we had a chance, the reason that the ponies who stopped us were willing to believe we could change. I owe that filly everything I have now.” Starlight Glimmer smiled. “Besides, after two months of living with her, I kind of like Nyx.”

Featherdown was curled up on the ground, hugging her rear hooves to her chest. She flinched again as another scream came from the other side of the door. This time it sounded like the pony made it a few yards away. That was good, she wouldn’t have to hear this one die.

Another scream, this one making it even further. For some reason the cultists seemed to keep running towards the terror, probably thinking that their prisoner was escaping…

Oh. Right. She was supposed to be escaping. She stood up… She stood up… She glared at her hooves, telling them to stand up again. She didn’t move.

The filly finally broke, tears flowing freely under the weight of her fears. After a while – she had no idea how long – she remembered the last time she had been in this situation. She had been crying on Diamond’s shoulder that time… Diamond!

Black Diamond was out somewhere out there. Featherdown’s friend was facing down an entire cult on her own, and who knew what would happen if Bloody Marely found her. She had to reach her.

Shakily, Featherdown forced herself to her hooves. Picking the lock was easy as breathing now that there wasn’t somepony holding it shut. The benefits of long practice… she felt a chill go down her spine. Focus on the here and now.

She made her way out and almost lost the contents of her stomach. In a way it was worse than the nightmare she’d had about Diamond. There wasn’t as much blood, but it was real this time. Bloody Marely had torn the cultists apart. Featherdown took a shaky breath, levitating a length of chain out of the closet as she did.

She walked down the tunnel a little, giving the chain an experimental swish. She shifted her magical grip so that she was only holding the end, and then cracked it like a whip. The knowledge that she would be using the things he had taught her brought back the urge to be sick, but she suppressed it. She would do whatever she had to to help her friends.

She heard voices and turned just as a pair of cultists came around the corner. Both parties froze in temporary surprise, Featherdown’s brain turning back on first. Right now, "doing whatever you have to" includes not being here.

She took off running and the chase began anew.

The stallion slammed up against the wall, Button Mash’s Keyblade making an “X” with Pipsqueak’s cutlass across his throat. The bruises littered up and down the cultist’s body evidencing the fact that the weapons were no less formidable for being wooden.

“I am going to ask you exactly once,” Button spoke in the practiced hiss he had memorized from several video games. “Where. Is. Sweetie Bell?”

One of the older fillies was shaking her head. “Kid, it won’t work. Yeah we’ve got ‘em outnumbered four to one, but they’ve got us outgunned. They can just put us to siege here, wait us out. Eventually we’ll just starve.”

“Then we’ll have to take the fight to them.” Sweetie Bell said.

Another one of the older foals shook his head. “No use,” the colt said, “We don’t have any real fighters, it’s been all we could do to keep them out of this room. There’s no hope, we don’t stand a chance. We have to surrender.”

Sweetie’s eyes flashed momentarily, but softened instantly. “Fine. Give in. Give up. But don’t you dare tell me to. I still have something to fight for.”

Featherdown redoubled her speed as she saw the room ahead. Upon entering it however, she was disappointed. Instead of the prison room she had been hoping to stumble across, she found herself in a different one.

Still a prison, with the same machines as the other one, but this one contained only a single filly. The unicorn did a double-take, almost dropping the chain still clutched in her magic as she realized that this filly was an alicorn.

There was no time though. Featherdown hadn’t stopped moving, she couldn’t. The cultists were only a few paces behind her. Still, she had to do something… As she passed by, the filly lashed out with her chain, whipping it through the equipment holding the black filly.

As she vanished down another tunnel with her pursuers, she could only hope that it would be enough.

The stallion was wishing he could shake in terror. As it was, he wasn’t sure what the unicorn mare had paralyzed him with, but it was effective. He couldn’t so much as twitch anything below his neck.

Rarity smiled winningly at her new dressmaker’s doll, even as another long pin stabbed sharply into his side. “Oh, I’m so sorry dearie, but really, you must stop moving! Now then, one of the best parts of these dressmaking sessions is the idle gossip, so tell me; would you happen to possibly know where my dear sister Sweetie Bell is?”

Pin number sixty-three floated up in her magic and the stallion in the dress gave a small whimper.

Sweetie stood in the center of the room. Behind her, the other foals were lining the walls. In the end, they were all going to give up. She stood alone.

The cultists came in through all the entrances at once. It was an impressive display that Sweetie Bell was honestly happy to see. Every cultist here was one that wasn’t chasing Black Diamond.

“So you’re ready to surrender then.”

“Most of us.”

“I’m the exception.” Sweetie’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I’m the one who’s still ready to fight.”

The cultist’s lip twitched. “You realize that there’s no way you can win, right?”

“I know.” When the filly looked up and opened her eyes, there was a white fire in them. “But I have to try anyway.” And then her cutie mark lit up.

The cultist was jumping at the wall, scrambling for a hoofhold, a crack, anything to let him escape the doom coming up behind him. He heard the fillies’ voices approach and collapsed in a corner, sobbing in abject terror.

“We’ll ask once.”

“Where are ya’ll keeping Sweetie Bell?”

The dim alley was suddenly brightened as twin lights came from the fillies’ flanks. They looked first down at them in surprise, and then up at each other in recognition. And then the entire town heard the song echoing on the wind.

The fire in Sweetie’s eyes built until it was the only visible in them. And then she erupted, an ethereal wind blowing back her mane and carving twin ruts of white flame into the stone, a V with her standing at the tip as her usual green eyes returned.

Gasps could be heard all around, and she didn’t have to see them to know why. Sweetie Bell could feel the wings on her back, just like she could feel the new strength in her hooves. And she knew what color they were too. Her wings were orange, her hooves yellow.

And then she felt the song leaving her heart and pouring out.

“I was born three months too early, the doctor gave me thirty days.
But I musta had my sister’s will, and Faust’s amazing grace.
I guess I’ll keep on livin’
‘Cause I got nothin’ to die for,
So even if alone I’m fightin’
Bring on the thunder, hail, and lightnin’
It all comes down to who I’m s’posed to be:”

The filly took a step forward, and as she did, two more fillies sidestepped out of her, an orange pegasus on one side and a yellow earth pony on the other. The ghostly fillies joined in at this point, singing alongside the white unicorn, changing only the pronouns.

“The filly born without a chance,
A victim of the circumstance,
The one who oughta give up, but she’s just too hard headed.
A lesson learned from two best friends,
To risk it all until the end.
With gentle hooves and the heart of a fighter,
I’m a survivor.”

She took another step forward, the white flames still trailing in her wake. As she did, the change began to take root. A few of the cultists started to waver, one or two even took a step back. At the same time some of the foals, mostly the younger ones, stepped forward, taking positions in a V-formation with Sweetie and the spirits of her friends.

“I’m not too smart or strong or pretty, but you’ll never keep me down.
When it comes to disasters, well I wear a tripled crown.
When everything is over,
They’ll remember my name.
Hooves on the ground, head in the clouds,
I can hear them roaring now,
That’s why I will always choose to be:”

The tide of the Heartsong had swept up most everypony in the room. A more perfect ambush could not have been planned, with half of the cultists backing themselves into corners avoiding the advancing foals. A few tried to attack, but the white fire was now protecting all of the foals backing Sweetie Bell, and they were launching attacks of their own now that their confidence had returned.

The few cultists still standing were in full retreat. The older foals who had been pushing to surrender now took up positions at the tunnel entrances, ensuring there would be no surprises as the rest of them hooked their new prisoners up to the machines that would keep them out of their manes.

“A lesson learned from two best friends,
To risk it all until the end.
With gentle hooves and the heart of a fighter,
I’m a survivor.”

As the last of the flames died and her friend’s ghostly images faded, Sweetie Bell stood triumphant, the focal point of the room.

“Yeah I musta had my sister’s will
And Faust’s amazing grace.”

Featherdown slid to a stop, realizing that she was completely surrounded. A massive pit lay before her, a stallion on the only bridge across. Behind her, every tunnel had a cloaked pony in it.

“So,” The stallion on the bridge spoke, “Another one has made it this far. Tell me, are you ready to die?”

Chapter 17 - The Wall

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Diamond… Diamond… Dia–

“Blacklight? Is that you?”

Yes.

“Y’know, I seem to remember Zap Apple mentioning something to me about how you wouldn’t talk to me very often.”

To be fair, I don’t think your career as a Shadow Ranger could really be considered “usual.”

“In other words it’s not her fault I keep needing to hear you.”

Pretty much.

“Since when are you sarcastic?”

Well I had to learn personality traits from somepony, now didn’t I?

Black Diamond sat up with a groan. She looked around, blinked, took a second look, blinked again, and then looked down at her hooves to make sure she hadn’t gone blind. She hadn’t. “Don’t suppose you know what’s going on?”

The last thing I remember is us getting thrown off that arch.

“Same. Guess that means we’re in that pit somewhere… or dead.”

I doubt it. This place seems too unpleasant to be Elysium and too boring to be the underworld.

“Okay, so why are you and I the only things around?”

I imagine there’s at least a floor, we just can’t see it for some reason.

“What, I can see my hooves, but not the floor? That’s not exactly how light works.”

But maybe it’s how darkness does?

Diamond opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. After thinking it through for a moment, she reached out with her shadows and deliberately felt for the Darkness.

She would later describe it like swimming. When you’re underwater, you don’t feel wet. Until it occurs to you that you should, you don’t even notice the water really. Until that moment, Black Diamond had not realized exactly how much darkness was around her.

Instinct told her to flee the threat, but it was everywhere, all around her it was the same… no, not quite. In that direction, it felt just the tiniest bit weaker. She reached out with a hoof, taking one step, two… just as she was about to give it up as a trick of the darkness, she felt something solid.

She rushed to it, knowing the safety having her back to something could provide. Running her hooves along the surface, she decided that this must be the wall of the pit. She waited for a while – she would never be sure how long – watching for a light to break through the darkness. None came.

Eventually she decided that she had to at least try to get out of here on her own. It was a while before she could come up with any ideas though, and when she did…

“Blacklight, I’ve got a really terrible plan.”

I like it already.

A few minutes later, a blade stabbed into the packed earth wall. It was followed by its counterpart, before being removed and reinserted a little bit higher up. After a few minutes of climbing using her blades as pitons and pushing herself up with her back hooves, Diamond paused to catch her breath.

Blacklight took the opportunity to broach a delicate subject. This is damaging your body Diamond, not just the climbing, but… doing it in this Darkness is making it worse. What if we let… Her get you out of here?”

Diamond considered it. She really did. In another world, on where she didn’t have Blacklight, one where she never became a Shadow Ranger, she would have asked herself the same question. And in that other world, she would have given the only answer she thought she could, surrendering to the being she named Dark Demise so that she could save her friends.

Even in this world, it was tempting. She could just give up, give in, and her goal would be accomplished for her. It would be so easy, all she had to do was say–

“No.”

In a secluded corner of the ethereal plane, Midnight smiled. Atta girl.

“I appreciate the concern Blacklight, but I can’t let her out. Not ever. She is my nightmare, nopony else’s. And she doesn’t get to come out and play just so that I don’t have to push myself as hard. I will take her to my grave with me before I let her have even an instant of freedom.”

As Diamond continued her climb, her focus was such that she never noticed that there was just a little less darkness around her.

The stallion cowered against the wall as the dragon stalked forward, green eyes glowing with a flame rivaled only by the ones the stallion had seen him breathe out.

“A month ago some of your friends took two fillies from this town. The black one is my sister and the white one is the sister of a pony I care about a lot. Where are they?”

Both parties ignore the puddle forming under the stallion. “P-please! I-I don’t know anything!”

“LIAR!!!”

The cultist dropped to the ground, clasping his forehooves over his head. “Please! Please! I can’t tell you! If I say anything, they’ll kill me!”

Green flames licked the edges of the dragon’s mouth. “And just what do you think I’m going to do if you don’t?”

In a mostly empty cavern, a small black filly opened her eyes slowly. There were machines all around her, including one holding her. They were spitting sparks and magical energy where mechanisms and rune lines had been broken.

In short, somepony had done a number on this magitech, and she had finally woken up.

Gingerly, she stood, stretching out muscles that were rather stiff from her long imprisonment. After taking a moment to make sure all her parts were where they were supposed to be, Nyx picked a tunnel at random and trotted into it.

After a few moments of waiting for a response, Spike nudged the stallion’s head with his foot. When nothing happened, he threw his eyes skyward. “Why do they keep fainting at that part?”

Twist and Sparkler stepped out of the shadows. “Would you huth really killed him?” The former asked.

Spike turned to her. “Black Diamond told me that Nyx needed me to be a dragon, and I feel like most of the dragons I’ve met would, but… I don’t know?”

“That’s probably the most truthful answer you can give.” Sparkler pointed out.

Diamond was gasping for lack of breath and abundance of pain as she cleared the last few inches. Blacklight slipped quietly back into her shadow so as to not be in her way as she dragged herself over the cliff.

The filly rolled over after she arrived on horizontal ground, ending up on her back. She opened her eyes…

And found herself staring into the shocked face of the stallion who had thrown her into the pit she had just climbed out of.

“Heh,” The unicorn shook his head. “You have to be the single most impressive filly I have ever met.”

“Does… that mean… you’re ready… to give up?” Diamond panted out.

“No my dear, I am afraid that Cunning, Pupil of Blood’s Eye does not surrender. Not even to those who have his master’s rarely gifted respect.”

“Oh… is Ghosty… here too?”

“Unfortunately, no. Lord Demon Blood has had to pull all of his energies back to Tartarus for the ritual. Worry not though, he will greet you in the flesh soon enough.

“So that… is the plan…”

“Yes. And it will soon be accomplished… Even if our campaign in Ponyville has hit some snags that Vengeance failed to warn us about.”

“Is not my fault! I am only colonel! Only able to access colonel’s records! What we hear over communicator spells obviously work of Special Forces. Must be classified! I only able to access records made by those my rank and below, that way guard works!”

“I’ll stop you.” All eyes turned back to the black filly.

“I’m afraid not young one. The only pony with any chance of that is–”

“Sir! The alicorn filly is loose! The Warrior of Night has escaped!”

“Oh!” Featherdown smirked from where she and Page Turner were chained up. “Did I do that? Oopsie!”

Cunning shot her a glare before rounding on the cultist delivering the news. “Tell me, how is it that after months of preparations, after deceiving the guard, after modifying the memories of the workponies carving out our lair so that they actually believe they’re working on that ridiculous ‘subterranean railway’ we conned the city into letting us ‘build,’ after pulling off our entire operation under the nose of the princesses themselves, HOW is it that a pair of fillies manage to derail everything in a single night?”

Featherdown snorted. “That’s easy, adults are incompetent.”

“One finds it difficult to argue with the sentiment given the circumstances.” Cunning growled. His attention turned to the assembled cultists. “That filly is the only one who can stop us. Get those unicorns into the spell circles, and then get out there and find her!”

Featherdown and Page Turner were dumped unceremoniously into a pair of geometric designs on the ground. Diamond meanwhile, had a pair of manacles placed on her forehooves with the chains connecting to a large metal ball.

The cavern promptly proceeded to empty itself of cultists, leaving only Cunning with the three foals. He facehooved. “I am an overglorified foalsitter.”

“And you have to watch us too!”

“Again, I find it difficult to argue with you.”

Okay Diamond, think. Cult Rule #37: All Cultists are inherently supremacists. Supremacist Rule #19: All Supremacists are inherently egotists. Egotist Rule #46: The easiest way to gain an advantage over an egotistical villain is to get them talking, preferably monologuing. “Question.”

Cunning turned to the now-somewhat-less-winded Black Diamond. “Yes?”

“That’s the second time I’ve heard you ponies say that Nyx is the only one who can stop you. The last time a prophecy got mentioned. I was just wondering if you could tell it to us, since we haven’t had a chance to hear it yet.”

“Fair enough. You have at least earned that much. Besides, we have a while yet before the release spell is ready. This prophecy is over seven hundred years old. Listen with care, because there is true power in these words. Some say that Asteralda herself had a hoof in crafting this rhyme…”

Subtlety gave a single bark of laughter as he closed the doors behind him. Somehow, some impossible way, he had made it through that gauntlet of terror to the crystalline castle on the outskirts of town. He allowed a little more laughter to escape as the adrenaline died down, then turned to see what he could find here.

He froze at the very first thing. After a heartbeat, his mind caught up. He had always been prepared for this eventuality. He bowed, not able to keep a certain flair out of the gesture, but minimizing it enough that Princess Celestia couldn’t quite accuse him of mocking her.

“I throw myself on the mercy of the Crown.”

It was going perfectly, he felt. He heard a door open behind him, the sound of a fire crackling cheerily in a hearth telling him it must be a sitting room of sorts. This was the legendary kindness he was counting on being able to take advantage of. In “penitence,” he would turn Crown’s Evidence, betraying the entire cult if he had to. In mercy and gratitude, the Crown would grant him a royal pardon, and he could move on to his continued pleasurable existence.

And then his vision came screeching to a halt. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m not the princess who you would appeal to for that. Your crimes are unfortunately out of my jurisdiction.”

Subtlety was visibly confused, but decided to roll with it. “Oh. My apologies. Well then… Could you please escort me to the correct princess so that I can throw myself on the mercy of her crown?”

“And just WHAT,” came a voice from behind him, “makes you even think that you would ever get mercy from me after you took my daughter away!”

Subtlety turned slowly, horrified as he realized that “crackling cheerily” was the absolute wrong way to describe the fire that was behind him.

…But against the Darkness shall be placed a Light,
Standing strong, Warrior of Night.
The Demon must the black filly beware,
He can always be stopped by Nyx’s heir.

Luna turned to the stallion sitting between her and the recently arrived Lace Heart. “Midnight, how is it that the Star of Prophecy has crafted words of power to release Demon Blood?”

Destiny coughed. “Actually, that’s my fault. A few mortals got their hooves on some of my cards… Tried using this insane ritual to bend my domain to their wills. Asteralda had to save me and tack that last stanza onto the end… She actually did that a lot with the dark prophecies, waited until the last minute to stick something hopeful on the end before the sorcerer involved could craft a countermeasure.”

Fate laughed, “There was that one time she was a little too quick on the draw though. She and that stallion went back and forth for a week. Two thousand verses by the time they were done. She only beat him by making the whole thing self-fulfilling and then destroying the trigger.”

Midnight looked at her in surprise. “When was this?”

“Oh, that one was a few centuries before you lot were born.”

“As I recall Fate, you weren’t very old yourself. You were what, twenty?”

“...mrgmr…”

“So that last bit was talking about me, huh?” Featherdown, Page Turner, Black Diamond, and Cunning all looked to see a purple maned black alicorn filly trotting out of a tunnel.

“You know,” Cunning said to nopony in particular, “I’m honestly considering surrendering to you foals just so that I don’t have to be continually pained by the blatant ineptitude of my brethren.”

“Seriously?” Nyx chirped, “You’d do that?”

“Consider it, yes. Take that course… no.” There was a flash of crimson as a spell lanced towards Nyx. Her dodge was decent, but her atrophied muscles betrayed her. For once, Technique’s slow development process worked in the favor of those he served. Had Nyx been put under the same suspension spells as the others, she would have been in better conditioning.

As it stood, she fell prey to the second blast.

“NYX!!”

Diamond’s scream shook loose some of the dirt on the ceiling with its sheer volume. Cunning glanced upwards in surprise. “Huh. Didn’t think about that. Countermeasures for cave-ins are now on my to-do list.” He turned to the earth pony struggling to drag her ball and chains across the dirt floor toward her friend. “Oh, and don’t worry about her, she’s only sleeping. My master was rather explicit that none of his sisters be harmed.”

“Sisters?”

Cunning turned to Page. “He speaks! And yes, sisters. I’m sure brothers would have been included too, but they’re all imprisoned as well, so…” He shrugged. “The point is, the alicorn is disabled, but unharmed.”

“…Not the other one.”

Cunning turned to Featherdown. “The other one?”

“Bloody Marely. Or Lace Heart if she’s normal again. She’s loose in here with us.”

Lace looked at her friends. “It’s better to let them keep thinking that, right?”

Afterburner shrugged. “I guess you’re not technically the Element of Honesty anymore, so why not?”

Cunning paled only slightly. This explained a few things. “I see… Well, that might be… problematic, however, not enough so. You see, the prophecy was quite clear. The Mare in the Mirror is not capable of defeating us.”

Diamond’s ear twitched. There was something about that… “Mirror?... Heart…” Her gasp was audible enough to cause Cunning to turn just as he passed between Featherdown and Page Turner where they stood at the entrance to the bridge.

“Alicorns.” Was the response to his questioning gaze.

“…Sun, Moon, Star, Shade, Blaze, Heart. Shade in stone, Blaze in fire, Heart in mirrors, and the first three in their own…”

“The alicorns are all imprisoned except for Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Nyx, and Cadance. Including Demon Blood. He’s the Alicorn of Tartarus, isn’t he?”

Cunning smiled. Most of the members of Blood’s Eye didn’t know that. “Yes. Yes he is.”

“And that corrupted him.” Eyes turned again to Featherdown.

“…We’re also the generation of alicorns that has to deal with the problem of Nightmares…”

“He’s a Nightmare, isn’t he? An alicorn of Darkness, his only form is the Nightmare, that’s why they had to seal him away.”

If Cunning didn’t know better, he’d have thought he was getting choked up. “You fillies… you are the only worthy opponents we have faced in all Equestria. You came so close… I promise you, that when I am the Right Hoof of Demon Blood, you both shall have places of honor under your new liege.”

Because Diamond’s “Patron” was Midnight, Poppinjay couldn’t protect her…

…Diamond’s “Patron” was Midnight…

“I already have a liege.” Diamond again found herself the center of attention. Her mind was only halfway on the conversation though, the memory had triggered a similar one.

“E’en if thou wert ours to have bow…”

“Oh don’t worry, replacing Celestia won’t be that hard. It’s not like you know her personally.” Diamond was more focused on the flashback than her conversational partner.

“…such would be unnecessary from one of thine rank.”

“When did I say anything about Celestia?” The memories were flowing unbidden now, trying to fit themselves together like pieces of a puzzle.

“…I only able to access records made by those my rank and below, that way guard works!”

“Who then? Luna? The purple one? This filly?”

“…I am known among the masses as Nyx of the Night…”

“No. None of them. I am a servant of Midnight Star!” The name was shouted as a battlecry, as the filly dove forward into a hoofstand, her manacles bulging and then shattering as Blacklight took his place back from the interlopers. The hoofstand turned into a hoofspring, and the filly landed several yards closer to Cunning than she had started.

Cunning stared for a moment, then closed his eyes and shook his head gently. “It seems,” He opened his eyes to meet Diamond’s gaze, “That I have underestimated you yet again, although at last I understand why. We thought your kind extinct Shadow Ranger.”

“Reports of our demise were greatly premature.”

“Clearly. This also explains why my master was worried when he detected the meddling of yours.”

“Not as worried as he should have been.”

“The prophecy is still clear though, only Nyx’s heir can stop us.”

That made Diamond pause. She had forgotten, in a brief, adrenaline filled moment, all about Nyx being…

I have just become the third Captain of the Shadow Rangers.

As the final piece clicked into place, Diamond began to laugh. It was slow at first, and quiet. Little more than a chuckle. Cunning became worried when it became a manic giggle. That feeling solidified to terror when the full-bellied bellow of laughter was echoing around the cavern.

“And just what is so funny!?”

Diamond smiled, but it lacked the genuine humor of her laughter. This was as predatory as the tone of her words. “Us. The Universe has been playing a joke on all of us, and I just got the punchline. Would you like me to share?

“You see, it all starts with you. With just the tiniest error of calculations. The moment when you decided that Nyx’s namesake was her heir.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, it was an easy mistake to make, if you only looked at this Nyx’s end of it. But you forgot all about the old Nyx. Do you know who she was? What she was?

“She was Nyx tis nýchtas, third Captain of the Shadow Rangers. The last one to know Midnight Star personally.

“Now for the punchline, the part I only just figured out. Let me introduce myself:

“I am Black Diamond, Captain of the Shadow Rangers and the first one to be trained personally by Midnight Star in a millennium.”

Cunning’s eyes widened in realization as the filly continued with a dark chuckle. “You spent this entire time chasing the wrong filly. Nyx Sparkle isn’t the heir of Nyx of the Night, I am. I am the Night Warrior you’re so terrified of.”

Chapter 17 - Break of Dawn

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Diamond charged while Cunning froze in shock. She made it within a few hoofsteps, raising Blacklight to deal a savage blow… And was then blown backwards by an invisible force as Featherdown and Page Turner screamed in pain.

It was enough to bring Cunning out of his stupor. He smiled gently at the filly on the ground. “The Warrior of Night indeed. You truly were our greatest enemy, the only true threat to us. But you’re still too late, the device has almost finished charging the spell, and you can’t get to it now.”

“Really?” Diamond picked herself up. “How’re you going to stop me?”

“I’m not.” Cunning shook his head, gesturing to Page Turner and Featherdown as he did. “They are.”

Featherdown snorted. “Right, we’re gonna help you.”

“Yes, whether you want to or not. You see, the two of you are powering an advanced self-contained barrier spell. You can’t leave your circles, and your friend can’t cross the line you create.”

Page Turner chimed in. “Wait a second, that doesn’t work. Trying to make a spell unbeatable like that… It would turn the power brittle, weaken it. She could just shatter it if she applied a little pressure.” Three sets of surprised eyes turned to him. “What? My talent is magical theory.”

Cunning shook his head. “Regardless, the spell is such that only those with the mark of Demon Blood upon their souls may cross the barrier as long as you two remain alive. In order to get past you, she would have to strike one of you down.”

Diamond kept her expression deliberately neutral as she ran through her options, inventoried her resources, and tried desperately to come up with a solution. In the end, she could only think of one, and it was one she didn’t particularly care for.

As Cunning walked away from her and towards the machine on the spire, she trudged over to Page Turner. “I’m sorry. But you know what I have to do. I can’t hurt my friend.”

He nodded, smiling sadly. “I get it. Just promise me you’ll make it worth it. Stop these bastards and save Featherdown, alright?”

“I swear it.” Diamond ran him through.

“NO!!” The heart wrenching cry was enough to draw Cunning’s attention. He turned to see the point of Diamond’s blade sticking out of the colt’s back, the other end obviously in his chest.

“Huh.” He sat down rather sharply. “Did not see that coming.”

Featherdown continued screaming, pounding on the barrier hysterically. Page looked at her, then turned his head back to Diamond. “Take care of her.”

“Always.” Diamond let the colt slide off of Blacklight, slipping her weapon back into her shadow as she did. She looked down at him, hesitated for a moment, then drew a small black cube out of her shadow and leaned forward…

Just as the spell shattered. She bowed her head, then as Featherdown rushed over, she slipped a small black cube into Page Turner’s mouth. “Eat this, it’ll give you two time to say goodbye.”

Diamond left him as Featherdown charged forward, anguish transforming her face. “You can have your vengeance later, for now, don’t waste what little time he has left.”

“I hate you.”

“You knew the kind of nightmare I could become. I’m sorry that I had no choice.”

Diamond turned away from her friend and began stalking towards Cunning. “And as for you. Congratulations, you made me stab an innocent colt. Good job. Now the price for his blood is coming out of your flesh.”

Diamond charged the shocked stallion again, and this time it went slightly better. She managed to get several hits in, even chipping his horn. But in the end, she was thrown back by a spell she was too slow to dodge.

“You’ve fought well Captain,” Cunning’s voice was gentle as a light appeared around his horn, regenerating it. “But you’re not the only one with protective magic on them. And despite your sacrifices, you simply cannot go on. Admit it, even now you are fighting to simply stay conscious through the fatigue. You’ve been going too long; your body simply can’t keep up.”

“Then maybe I can help her out a little!” A blast of light slammed into Diamond, driving her to her knees. She looked back to see Featherdown standing over Page Turner’s body, smiling at her.

“Wha–”

“An energy boosting spell. You should be able to go one more round, but after that… it’ll all hit you at once.”

Cunning blinked, raising a hoof in confusion. “Excuse me, but didn’t she just stab your best friend? Since when are you two friendly again?”

Page Turner groaned as he rolled over onto his stomach, lifting himself slowly onto his hooves. “Since we figured out that that cube she fed me was doing more than leaving my mouth tasting like sugar.”

As the spell fell apart, Diamond ducked her head to hide her relieved smile. Her gamble had paid off. She looked down at the black cube she had been about to use, silently grateful that she wouldn’t be wasting it.

She couldn’t take any risks though, for all she knew she had to keep the spell fooled. Returning her expression to neutral, she looked up and put the cube in Page Turner’s mouth…

Fate sighed, pulling out a pair of shears. She paused as she sensed the tension in the air, looking around the group. She rolled her eyes. “Relax, I’m not gonna pull something like that with you all here. If you’ll excuse me though, I need to go make sure my father doesn’t do something stupid. Any help you can give would be appreciated Destiny.”

The older of the two sisters nodded, calling the Death card out of one of the windows and holding it down with her hoof. Fate smiled, sliding the two blades of her shears apart as she vanished.

In the cave, Fate appeared just in time to block the scythe with her knives. A kick was delivered, driving the old stallion back a pace. With some distance now gained from the foals, Fate began her duel with Death, unseen by those around them.

“What was that cube anyway?” Page asked.

“Some special medicine a friend named Poppinjay gave me.”

Cunning resisted the urge to facehoof. “Poppinjay? Really? The Alicorn of Foals? Just how many of those imprisoned meddlers helped you get here?”

Diamond shrugged. “No idea, there were probably a few who didn’t introduce themselves.” Fate shot the filly a smile while Death rolled his eyes, leaning on his scythe while he waited for somepony he could claim. As unseen as the other two, Destiny made a brief appearance to drag her family members back to her home. “But there were enough that I can’t let everypony’s hard work go to waste. I’m going to stop you.”

“I doubt that. Perhaps you had a chance once, but now? You’ve become corrupted. You’re no hero, my master and I have both seen the darkness in your heart.”

“Yeah, and you know what should terrify you about that? So have I.” In another version of this story, those last three sentences marked the point where Diamond Tiara was completely eclipsed by Dark Demise. As things now stood however…

Blacklight slid into attack position as Diamond continued. “And you know what? It’s staying there, where I can control it, bind it. And if I can keep my Nightmare locked away in my heart, then think about what I can do to yours.” As she stepped forward, she realized that something felt… off. She ignored it as a side-effect of the energy spell and willed her back legs to walk normally instead of the tight… something they were trying to do.

For a split second, Cunning was worried. For a brief instant, he wondered if this filly might not be able to bring about the end of his plans. Then he saw something in one of the tunnel entrances and shook the feeling away with a sinister smile. “Maybe you can. You’ve certainly proven you’re capable enough, perhaps you could defeat me and stop my plan. But can you stop all of them as well?”

Taking their cue, cultists poured into the cavern. There were roughly thirty of them, having called in every member of Blood’s Eye within ten miles of Manehatten to deal with the “little emergency.”

“So what are you going to do now Ranger? Surrender seems your only option.”

“Diamond!” Featherdown shot her friend a grin. “Don’t worry about these bozos, we’ll take care of them. Just end this!” Page Turner tried to add something, but stumbled as he tried to step forward. Gently helping her weakened friend to first his knees and then the ground, Featherdown amended her declaration, “Okay, I’ll handle these bozos.”

“Hah,” One of the cultists laughed, “The filly’s gonna try to ‘handle’ us? Her and what army?”

There was an audible ring of hoof striking skull. “You idiot! Why do you keep helping them like that? Are you even on our side?!”

His response was pre-empted by a loud “CHARGE!!!” as almost sixty foals poured into the room, a white unicorn filly leading the way.

Featherdown found herself gaping in shock. “How…”

Sweetie Bell and two of the older foals were on lookout at one of the entrances. They could hear bits and pieces of what the cultists were planning, but didn’t dare try getting closer for fear of being seen. Then they heard somepony gallop up and – fortunately neglecting to modify his volume – state, “Come on, we need to get everypony to the central cavern. Some of the foals have Cunning trapped and we can’t risk them interrupting the summoning.”

By the time the other two looked, Sweetie was already following the regrouping adults, and surprisingly quietly at that (She had actually done quite well when the Crusaders tried for their ninja cutie marks). The two older foals exchanged a nod, and the colt followed her while the filly went back to get the other foals.

Featherdown shook her head with a smile. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter. The point is…” She found a piece of chain lying on the ground and hefted it in her magic, silently hoping that this wasn’t going to become a thing. “…We’ve got this.” She charged into the fray.

Diamond turned to Cunning. “I guess this is it then. Let’s finish this.”

“Agreed.” Cunning drew a rapier from under his cloak.

Diamond took a deep breath, steadying herself. Around her, the world went silent, and then...

Diamond lunged, leaving a single poof of dust in the place she vacated and an ultraviolet trail in the wake of her blades. The battle was met and flowed. Right hook, spin and drop, left roundhouse guillotine kick, right yourself, cross block, straight kick, jump, double axel, leg sweep, dodge back, back hoofspring, brace and brake. Diamond slid to a stop an inch from the edge, immediately rushing forward again.

Cunning took a step back to absorb the impact as he caught the filly’s blades on his own, then began to press an attack of his own. Uppercut, slash from left, stab, parry, feint, block, whoops, duck her back hooves.

Diamond concluded a full rotation of spinning around the sword locked in her blades and dropped to the ground, pressing her advantage. Sweep with blades, step, uppercut, Yes! Caught him on the chin. Block with rear blades, drop, tight hoofspin, buck, tumble and pop.

Cunning took another step back as the filly’s rear hooves caught him in the face, further aided by the rapier that was caught in her blades until that moment. His own blade cut his cheek as the filly finished spinning on her hoof and rolled to one side, jumping up and dashing in again while his guard was weakened. He was obviously on the defensive now. Block, dodge, duck, stab, backstep, block, parry, riposte, sidestep, backstep, step, stab, backstep, block, block, back…

Cunning’s surprise at finding himself at the edge gave Diamond all the opening she needed. Her crosscut shattered his sword, and then her hoofsweep brought him down. The stallion looked up to find the tip of her blade between his eyes, pushing just hard enough to draw a single drop of blood.

“Yield.” The filly whispered.

Cunning smiled at her. “My dear, to make that demand you have to be in a position of power. Which you are not. You see, you can’t do anything. If you kill me, the enchantments on my cloak will take you with me. Cut my horn off and the enchantments will regrow it. Throw me over this edge and you can’t be sure I won’t be empowered further by the Darkness in this pit. Continue this stalemate long enough, and my master will arrive to end it. Leave me as I am and I will keep you from stopping us, defeating you the instant your back is turned.”

Diamond considered him for a moment. When the pressure of her blade eased, he smiled at her. A smile that was cut off as abruptly as his forehoof as she slashed through it. “Go ahead, focus enough to use magic through the pain.”

She turned away from the screaming stallion to face the device that they were now only a few yards away from. “How do I stop it?”

The stallion looked up at her, still clutching the bloody stump of his leg. “You… you can’t. I told you… you’re too late.”

Diamond changed her response when the crystals ringing the thing started lighting up. “What does that mean?”

“It’s starting,” Cunning sighed.

Diamond didn’t bother asking. There was only one “it” to start. “Fine then, I’ll just break this thing like I’ve broken all your other toys.”

Cunning laughed, his sanity slipping due to both the pain and the Darkness pulsing around them. “No you won’t… The energy backlash… would level Manehatten… Even you can’t… cause that much slaughter.”

Diamond frowned. “Why is it shaped like an ice cream cone?”

“WHAT!? The release cannon… looks nothing… like dessert!”

Diamond looked at him. “Cannon?” A smile crept onto her face. “It’s aimed isn’t it? That’s why you said that Demon Blood had to pull back to Tartarus, this thing is pointing at his prison. That means all I have to do is adjust the aim, make sure it misses.”

More laughter. Cunning no longer lived up to his name in any fashion. “It’ll never work! Without an alicorn to absorb the energy with their release, the cannon’s beam will annihilate everything in its path! From here to the end of existence!”

“Alicorn? You didn’t… you did, oh yes you did!”

“Stop smiling! You have no way to win! STOP SMILING!”

“Oh, but don’t you see, it’s funny! You keep making the exact same mistake, over and over and over. You keep putting me in no-win situations, you can’t win this duel, you can’t stop our plan, you can’t get past this barrier, yadda, yadda, yadda. Don’t you get it? I serve Hope you idiot! ‘Can’t’ is like catnip for us! No-win situations are what we live for! And you’ve gone and done it again, given me everything I need!”

“What are you talking about?! You are going to die here at the hooves of my master, and then Equestria will be bathed in blood!”

“No. Maybe I die, maybe I don’t, but I’m going to take one last chance.” Diamond walked up to the device and began pulling levers and spinning wheels, the cone suspended in the center moving as she did so. “I’m going to bet that you didn’t make this specific to Demon Blood. That it works on all Alicorns.”

“Even if that were true, you wouldn’t dare risk millions of lives on the off chance that you might be able to point it in the right direction!”

“Oh trust me, there’s no chance there. I can feel his light in the brightest of days, do you really think that a few yards worth of dirt and rock can keep me from knowing exactly where the Midnight Star is?”

Death, Fate, Destiny, Luna, Afterburner, Lace, and Shade all turned to stare at Midnight. “For the record,” his voice was quieted by shock, “I didn’t plan on that at all.”

Death shook his head at his oft-time opponent. “Just get going, you’re more fun when you’re corporeal anyway.”

Midnight nodded, still slightly numb, and then turned and walked through an enormous version of his cutie mark, blinking across the universe to pull himself back into his star.

Cunning stared at the filly in front of him as the device she was manipulating powered up fully. He saw her lips move, a single word that was stolen away by what happened next.

The cannon fired, a beam of light lancing up at an angle into the roof. A wave of energy washed out from it, sending everypony it contacted into dreamland. Unseen by those battling in the cave, a brilliant dawn broke over Equestria, made unique by a lightshow in the skies over Manehatten. What most of them did see was a brief glimpse of the raw dreamscape before they slipped into their own. For them, the world went white.

Black Diamond Tiara on the other hoof would forever say that as she lost consciousness at the epicenter of the blast, her world went blue.

Chapter 19 - Return to Day

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Diamond groaned as she opened her eyes. She could tell she was lying on her back, but couldn’t see anything through the fog that was… did the fog just shift when she blinked? She blinked again, and then several times more to clear her vision.

There was a pony standing over her… She recognized him… “Midnight?”

He had been talking to somepony she couldn’t see, but looked down at her when she spoke. “Hello Diamond.”

“Am I dead?”

He smiled. “No.”

“Dreaming then.”

“Not that either.”

“Wha? But you’re…” Everything came rushing back at once. The filly inhaled as sharply as she sat up. “What happened?”

“We won!” Diamond turned to see Sweetie Bell sitting with Featherdown, Page Turner, and Nyx on her other side.

Featherdown smiled and shook her head at the younger filly’s exuberance. “Everypony was knocked out when the device blew up. When we woke up, the cultists were all tied up and this guy was here.” She motioned to Midnight. “He hasn’t left you since. Friend of yours?”

Diamond nodded. “This is Midnight Star.”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide as she started bouncing up and down. “Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh…”

Page Turner cocked his head. “Midnight Star? Wasn’t that the name of…” He straightened as realization dawned. “…your liege?”

Diamond nodded. “My master. The Alicorn of Hope.” She glanced over her shoulder at the stallion in question. “And apparently the pony who finished beating the cult.”

Midnight snorted. “Yes, because tying up a bunch of unconscious ponies entailed so much work.”

Diamond shook her head. “Still, you…” She stopped, blinked, looked around, and blinked again. “What happened to the device?”

Midnight winced. “It was destroyed, torn apart by the energy of the spell. The spire was shattered too.”

Diamond looked at him. “How’d I get here then?”

“I levitated us.”

“No Midnight, how’d I survive? I was in the middle of that, I should have been blown apart too. What. Did. You. Do?”

He sighed, “I… may have protected you from the energy backlash.”

Diamond braced herself for it. “What was the price? What do we have to stop now?”

Midnight closed his eyes. “That’s not quite how that works. Most of the price was covered by the excess energy the spell gave me. The rest… memories.”

Both of the black fillies present went wide-eyed, but it was Nyx who spoke this time, “You’ve got amnesia?”

The stallion laughed. “No, it didn’t take all of my memories. Honestly, they’re still waiting for me back in my star. That’s really all I gave up, was the thousand years I was imprisoned. The past decade or so and my memories from before I went away are still intact.”

Nyx cocked her head. “So why don’t you talk like Luna does?”

Midnight coughed. “I… uh… don’t know what…” He met four leveled gazes. “Fine, I admit it. Being able to speak well is my one point of vanity.”

The conversation was interrupted at that point by Sweetie Bell rejoining it as she stopped bouncing. “You guys, do you realize what this means? Princess Luna gets her best friend back!”

Nyx leaned forward and whispered something in Sweetie’s ear. The unicorn’s responding shout was heard on the surface.

The pegasi guards galloped forward as they landed. “Princess! Are you alright?!”

The white alicorn looked over from where she was conversing with several of Ponyville’s occupants. “I am quite fine Lieutenants. Do you have anything to report?”

Both pegasi snapped to attention. “Ma’am.” The one on the left said, “There was a magical ripple last night that knocked out all magical communications in Equestria. Repairs to these spells are underway, but some of the older ones… the mages don’t know what to do.”

The Princess gave an enigmatic smile. “I doubt that will be a problem for much longer. Anything else?”

The guard on the right spoke this time, “Ma’am. In response to general inquiries from the guard, seventeen instances have been reported in Canterlot of artifact activation and magical fluctuation, including four instances of magic currently classified as myth being verifiably used.”

Celestia nodded. “To be expected given the circumstances. Do we know anything about the ripple itself?”

The first guard spoke up again. “Yes Ma’am. Strange lights were reported in the skies over Manehatten shortly before communications went down. The School for Gifted Unicorns charted the timing and pattern of lost contact. Manehatten is the center of it.”

Celestia nodded again. “Send messengers to Manehatten’s City Guard and political leaders. Let them know that a special guard task force likely just fought a rather dangerous cult in their city. They are to give this task force all possible aid in whatever they feel needs to be done now.”

“Look kid,” The station captain groaned, “I really don’t have time for this. We’ve got a city to keep from panicking, so thanks for finding Duke Holder’s ward, but we really need to get you to your parents.”

The Black Filly took a deep, steadying breath. “Alright, I’m going to try this one. Last. Time. And then I’m going to give up on the idea that you guards could ever be useful. My name is Black Diamond. I am a Captain of the Guard, answering directly to the alicorns. I just finished bringing down a cult and keeping them from summoning a denizen of Tartarus. They foalnapped roughly five dozen foals, who I need your help getting home. I also need you to hold about that many prisoners until we can arrange transport.” Diamond didn’t even notice Blacklight materializing. “Are. You. Going. To. Help. Me. Or. Not?”

The captain frowned. “I’m not sure I appreciate that tone young filly.”

“Really? Because I’m completely sure that I don’t appreciate you incompetence!” Shadows rose up and swallowed Diamond, then raced across the station and swallowed a smirking Featherdown as well.

The guards would spend the next several minutes staring at thin air. The fillies rematerialized in a nearby alley where Midnight, Sweetie Bell, Page Turner, and Nyx were waiting.

“Well, that went about like we expected,” Featherdown remarked.

Page Turner groaned. “So what now? We need to get everypony home, but the younger foals don’t know where ‘home’ is, and the older ones don’t want to leave until they do.”

Featherdown looked to Midnight. “You’re sure you can’t do something?”

Nyx snorted. “Right, because ponies took it so well the last time a night alicorn showed up.”

“I wish the other crusaders were here.” Sweetie Bell looked down at her hooves. “Applebloom and Scootaloo would know what to do.”

Page Turner raised an eyebrow. “Crusaders?”

“Yeah, the…” Sweetie’s eyes went wide.

Nyx and Black Diamond had the same thought an instant later, and the three promptly raced off with a cry of, “Other Crusaders!”

Babs Seed blinked. “Sweetie Bell?” She asked the filly at her front door, “What’re youse doing here?”

The unicorn gave a squeaky smile. “Actually Babs, I… need a favor.”

Babs rubbed the back of her neck. “Actually Sweetie Bell, my folks are out of town right now.”

Sweetie deflated slightly. “Oh. Do you know anypony who can help us then?”

Babs shook her head. “All tha adults I know are across the river, and the guard’ve been going around tellin’ us not ta use tha bridges.” Babs blew a stray lock of mane out of her face, watching her friend deflate further. “Wattabout yer sista? She’s here a lot, she know anypony?”

Sweetie shook her head. “No, the Manehatten boutique doesn’t even have a location yet, and… WAIT! Of course! Babs, you’re a genius!”

“Well–”

“Come on!” Sweetie grabbed the other filly by the hoof and galloped out of the apartment.

Sweetie drifted the last corner in the apartment complex hallway, aiming for the door with the number she had found in the phonebook and failing to stop in time. Diamond, Babs, Nyx, Page, Featherdown, and Midnight trotted up behind her in varying states of windedness.

“Do any of youse know what’s goin’ on here?”

Page shrugged. “You know as much as any of us. What–”

He was interrupted by the door opening and a pale tan blue maned mare looking out. “Hello?”

“Hi!” Sweetie Bell waved, “Are you Coco Pommel?”

The mare looked between the filly and the group behind her. “…Yes?”

“Awesome! I’m Sweetie Bell, Rarity’s sister!”

Coco dropped her front half to be bring herself to the filly’s eye level. “The foalnapped one?”

The unicorn nodded rapidly. “Uh-huh!” She glanced back over her shoulder at her friends. “And we uh… kinda need your help.”

We got the foals back home safe anyway.
Thanks for nothing, your utter uselessness continues to astound.
-BD

It would be several months before Diamond heard about the unintended consequences of writing the note she left pinned to the guard station’s doors on Babs’s Cutie Mark Crusader Stationery.

It was almost done. They had gotten almost everypony else home. Page Turner had insisted that he could wait for a bit.

Black Diamond and Featherdown were waiting in the room that the butler had left them in. Duke Holder “will see you shortly.”

Diamond had spent all of two minutes looking around the room. She found that the expensive chandelier, mantel décor, paintings, and furniture impressed her far less than they would have six months ago. What held her attention was her friend.

Featherdown was fidgeting nervously. Diamond found herself increasingly perplexed as her friend grew increasingly worried. This was nothing like the filly who had fought Blood’s Eye in the caverns…

Diamond’s reverie was halted as the door opened and a stallion walked in. Several things started to make sense as she realized where she had seen him before. His deep mauve coat and white mane could have been on a poster. His open scroll cutie mark and the sheer size of his mansion said that he was probably quite important in the government. But neither of those had anything to do with why Diamond knew him.

This was the stallion from Featherdown’s nightmare.

Diamond started when he spoke. “Oh, hello there. Who are you?”

She blinked, realizing after a brief pause that he was speaking to her. “Oh! Sorry… Black Diamond. You must be Deed Holder.”

It was the stallion’s turn to blink. “Oh. I’m sorry, but I’m slightly confused. I was told there was a guard here to see me about my ward?”

This was the point where Diamond realized that Featherdown was hiding behind a couch. She stepped forward, subtly placing herself between the stallion and her friend. “That would be me. I’m with the Shadow Rangers.”

He stared at her. “The Shadow Rangers?”

“Yes sir, we’re a special guard division.”

His lip twitched. “I see. And just what makes you special?”

Diamond recognized that tone. She was hearing it a lot lately. “We hunt creatures of Nightmare.”

Duke Holder wasn’t sure why he felt a slight draft at that. “I… see… and you are here because…”

Featherdown had been listening in, and chose this moment to reveal herself. Taking a brief steadying breath, she stepped out from behind the couch. “She’s bringing me home.”

The stallion’s face lit up. “Ah! Featherdown my dear! Welcome home sweetie! We’ve all been so worried about you! Are you alright?”

Diamond’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly as she noticed that he didn’t move. “Yes…” She widened her eyes and gently bopped herself on the forehead. “Ponyfeathers. I’m sorry sir, but I’m afraid I forgot something, thank you for reminding me. It’s a formality really, brief little thing, but it does have to be done, and in private. You understand, regulations and all that.”

He blinked, turning his attention away from his ward. “Oh, yes, of course! I understand completely. I’ll be waiting just outside.”

As soon as the door shut behind him, Diamond’s shadow flowed up it, covering the entire thing in inky blackness. She turned to Featherdown. “Don’t suppose you know a soundproofing spell?”

The unicorn nodded, charging up her horn. Diamond pulled her shadow back and the spell shot out, painting the door the same color as Featherdown’s magic before fading to invisibility.

Diamond nodded before locking her gaze on Featherdown. “What’s wrong?”

Featherdown shook her head. “I’m fine. It just took me a second is all.”

Diamond rolled her eyes. “Featherdown, I recognize him. He’s the stallion from your nightmare. And honestly, even if he wasn’t, you’re more terrified of him than you were of the bucking cult!”

The older filly flinched, dropping her head and refusing to meet Diamond’s eyes. “It’s fine. I told you, as long as Page Turner’s safe, I can bear it.”

Diamond slammed a hoof on the floor. “For crying out loud Featherdown, you just helped me save every last foal in those caves! Tell me how to save you!”

Featherdown shook her head. “You can’t Diamond! You. Can’t. Save. Me. Not from Duke Holder”

The Shadow Ranger just stared. “Did you miss that whole speech I gave Cunning about telling me I can’t do something?”

“This isn’t like that.” Tears were starting. “Diamond, you can’t stay here. You have a home to get back to, you have ponies to protect… You can’t stay here to keep me safe, and the only way to protect me is to never leave me alone with him.”

Diamond rocked back.

“‘Never leave me alone with my uncle.’

There are lots of reasons to say something like that, but there is only ever one reason for that particular sentence. Those exact words will always mean one thing. When a mare tells you, ‘Never leave me alone with him,’ it always means that…

Diamond stared, wide-eyed and with her lower lip quivering. “Featherdown, I…” She stopped, unsure of how to proceed. She closed her eyes, trying to think of something to say. Eventually, steel eyes snapped open as she decided on:

“Featherdown, I cannot give you the ability to protect yourself. However, I can give you the ability to protect others. If being able to protect yourself is a byproduct of that, then it’s hardly my fault.

“You see Featherdown, there is an order…”

Duke Holder smiled gently as the fillies came out. “That took a while, is everything alright?”

“Quite alright sir,” Diamond nodded, “We just need to stop by Featherdown’s bedroom briefly.”

Holder deliberately kept from reacting to that. “Oh? You haven’t finished your goodbyes yet?”

Diamond blinked. “Goodbyes?” She pretended to think for a moment. “O~oh… I’m sorry sir, apparently I wasn’t clear. Featherdown won’t be staying.”

“What?”

“I’m afraid so. You see, she was instrumental in the downfall of Blood’s Eye, so until we can be sure that all members of the cult have been brought in, she will be in protective custody. Additionally, we need to have a full debriefing to make sure we know everything that she did and saw. It will be at least a week before we’re done, so I brought her by to let you know she was safe and get a few of her things.”

“Young filly–”

“Captain.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You are forgiven, just be sure to use my rank in future.”

Deed Holder took a slow, deep breath. “This has gone quite far enough, don’t you think?”

Diamond tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“This entire façade about cults and shadows and–”

Shadows erupted around Diamond, Blacklight appearing instantly. “Sir.” Her voice was as icy as her eyes. “I can accept it when ponies dismiss me as an overimaginative filly. That’s been happening to me all day. What I will not stand for is ponies disrespecting the order.”

Holder took a step back. “Wha-what are you?”

Diamond’s smile was feral. “I’m the filly who lives in the shadows, hunting monsters and nightmares. I’m the one who dueled a nightmare alicorn and won. I’m the filly that had an entire cult terrified of her very existence. I. Am. A. Shadow Ranger.” The shadows faded away, although Blacklight stayed out. “And right now, I’m the pony who’s going to escort your ward to her room and then a debriefing.” She chirped brightly.

Most of the group was surprised when Featherdown came out with Diamond. Midnight took his young captain aside while the others talked. “I sensed that.” He whispered after a pause.

Diamond took a breath and met his eyes. “I did what I thought was right.”

“Because you didn’t want to leave your friend?”

“Because she told me never to leave her alone with him.”

Midnight closed his eyes. Taking a moment before he asked, “Is he still breathing?”

“I didn’t touch him. I will kill him before I let anypony send her back though.”

The stallion rubbed his temple. “Fair enough. Making her a Ranger though? She’ll be fighting Darkness for the rest of her life.”

“I’ve seen her dreamscape. The Darkness was already there. You can thank him for that.”

Midnight took a breath, opened his eyes, and smiled. “Good job.”

Diamond blinked. “What?”

“Good job. I’m glad to see that you can think for yourself and that you’re willing to defend your decisions. I’m proud of you Diamond.”

The filly didn’t even realize she was smiling as they rejoined the others.

Page Turner was shaking his head at Featherdown. “I’m glad you’re getting away, I know you weren’t happy here. But I can’t go with you. I need to stay here with my family.”

“But… you’re my only–” Page corked her mouth with his hoof.

“Not anymore.” He nodded towards the rest of the group. Meeting Diamond’s eyes, he smiled. “Take care of her.”

She nodded. “Always.”

Midnight was walking along at an easy pace, chatting idly with Black Diamond and Featherdown as he pulled a borrowed cart with Nyx and Sweetie napping in it.

As they rounded one of the last bends before they would reach Ponyville, they saw an earth pony mare sitting on the edge of the road, whittling. She looked up and after a moment of analysis, gave them a smile that almost reached her eyes. “Howdy strangers, what’re your names?”

Hard-won instincts told Midnight to stop walking. He gestured to the fillies as he spoke, silently signaling them to hold. “My name is Midnight Star, and these are Black Diamond and Featherdown.”

The mare nodded slowly. “Yeah, something told me that it might be you.”

Three more mares stepped out of the trees, including Cheerilee and another one that surprised Diamond. “After Silver Spoon told Cheerilee about Black Diamond things started coming together,” The second surprise mare said.

The stranger spoke next. “Then we found out that there was a massive magical event in Manehatten, and we knew which way you’d come from.”

“The point is,” Cheerilee said, “Midnight Star, step away from those fillies.”

The stallion scratched his head before unhitching the wagon. “Right. Forgot about this. Captain, Lieutenant, everything about this meeting is classified. You especially won’t tell your classmates, clear?” The pair nodded. “Alright then, fillies, let me introduce you to Nurtura Squad.”

The four mares exchanged glances. “You know who we are?” The second one asked.

Midnight smiled. “Yes Valkyrie, I know who you are. Diamond? If you would please take off your armor? That might make this a little easier.”

The filly hesitated, then nodded, willing her shadow to peel back and reveal Diamond Tiara. She made sure to keep Blacklight out though, she remembered that Cheerilee wasn’t really a fan of Midnight for some reason.

“Diamond?” The filly in question would forever giggle at the expression on Cheerilee’s face.

“Yeah. Guess my secret’s out.”

“Secret?”

Diamond Tiara nodded. “Black Diamond, Captain of the Shadow Rangers.”

Cheerilee lost all control of her facial expression. “WHAT?!?!?!” Diamond nodded. “Wha-bu… But the bruises?”

“Training. Turns out that injuries carry over when you dreamwalk.”

“Dreamwalk?”

“It’s why I had to train at night.”

“Wha… no… but…” Cheerilee groaned, resting her face in one hoof for a moment. She looked up after a while, inhaling as she did. “Okay. There’s no delicate way to do this. Diamond Tiara, has he been molesting you?”

“WHAT?!?!?!” Diamond shook her head, trying to rattle the thought into making sense. “NO! Miss Cheerilee, why would you even…”

“Because nights, and bruises, and getting hurt, and…” Cheerilee slumped her shoulders. “I don’t believe this.”

One of the mares stepped forward. “I think it might be a good idea to check anyway, keep any misunderstandings from happening.”

Midnight nodded. “Agreed. Diamond, Featherdown, go with her. She’s a doctor, so be open with her, alright?”

The doctor had led both fillies into the tree line to check them over. Diamond had already come out, putting her armor back on in case the other fillies woke up. The tense, slowly easing conversation was interrupted by, “You bastard!!”

Nopony saw Diamond move, but in the blink of an eye, she moved two yards and caught the punch the doctor had meant for Midnight on the flat of her extended blade.

Featherdown came galloping out of the trees. “I’m telling you, it wasn’t him!”

Diamond threw a glance over her shoulder as she pushed the mare away. “You’re sure this was a good idea?”

“She needed to be checked out, how do you think this would have gone if they’d found out later?”

“I’m not sure I can stop them without hurting them though.”

“Don’t worry.” Midnight shrugged off the saddle blanket that was hiding his wings, shaking out the stiffness of disuse from them. “Between all of us we can.”

The sight of an unknown alicorn was enough of a shock to pause the angry mares. An observer decided to take this moment to make her entrance. “You’re late.”

Midnight looked up as the mare descended from the sky. “Well not all of us got time-release prisons, not my fault.”

“I meant the week since you’ve been back.”

“Had to take care of a few things in Manehatten. You could always have come to me.”

“As I recall, the custom is clear. You have to visit me.”

Midnight groaned. “There are young fillies listening.”

“I know, but since we were already on the subject.” Princess Luna landed in the road. “Besides, our friend Lace Heart hath gone through great trouble to teach me those words.”

Epilogue - The Dream

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Nopony was quite sure how things had managed to escalate the way they did, but by the time Twilight had shown up to stop the fight, there were three mild concussions, two sprained hoofs, thirteen cuts, seventy-two bruises, four black eyes, and one lightly bleeding bite wound. Also, Sweetie Bell would be slightly lightheaded for a few days as a side-effect of the sleeping spell Featherdown had hit her with when she woke up during everything.

Then proceeded a lengthy conversation about who was doing what and why. An hour later, after the exact nature of Midnight’s relationship with Luna and the contracts involved were revealed, Cheerilee was finally convinced that he had not in fact violated her student. The fact that he hadn’t had a body until a week ago helped that case immensely.

Diamond Tiara braced herself as the door opened. After a moment of silence, she opened her eyes to see her father, gaping in shock. She found herself staring back in much the same manner. His mane was a mess, it looked like he hadn’t shaved in a week, and she could definitely smell alcohol on him.

“Honey?” A weak voice came from further in, “Who is i–” Spoiled Rich joined the ranks of the dumbfounded, while Diamond felt her sense of reality break at the sight of her mother without her makeup on!!!

There was a strangled cry – it might have been any or all of them – and suddenly they were in a teary hug. “Promise us,” Filthy’s voice was hoarse, “Don’t you ever do something like that again.”

“Daddy I…” In the back of her mind, something told Diamond that this teary, happy family feeling wouldn’t last. “I promise I won’t go out of my way to find trouble.” She decided to enjoy it while it did.

The alicorns – sans Cadance, who had gone back to the Crystal Empire so that she could bring her husband up to speed on things – were gathered with the most recent bearers of the Elements of Harmony in the throne room of Twilight’s castle.

“…because of this,” Celestia was saying, “I feel it might be best not to publicly announce Midnight’s return at this time. Before I made a move on this however, I felt I should get the input of all of you.”

Applejack broke the short silence with a sigh. “I guess I gotta be the first one to say somethin’. It don’t quite sit right with me lyin’ to everypony like that.”

“At the same time dear,” Rarity piped up, “We wouldn’t want to worry anypony, and the last time a ‘night alicorn’ returned…” She trailed off with a glance at the youngest pony present.

Nyx rolled her eyes. “You can go ahead and say it, I took over Equestria.”

There was an awkward pause after that. Midnight cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Also, we won’t really be lying to them. It’s not like I’ll be living as Inkwell like I was during the Draconequus War. It’ll be more of an… open secret. For instance, do you know the name of the Captain of the Lunar Guard? How about the pony who replaced Shining Armor as Captain of the Royal Guard? If anypony cares to look, then they can find out exactly who I am, but…” He shrugged. “…if they don’t care, why stir up the hornets’ nest?”

The conversation went on for a while, looping back on itself every now and again, and eventually even Applejack agreed to go with this plan – at least for now. It was shortly after this consensus was reached that somepony pointed out that it was getting late and they should all head home.

Pinkie Pie was halfway to the door when she paused mid-bounce, gasping deeply. She turned slowly, still standing in midair, to face the only stallion present. “I just realized!” She dropped back to earth. “Midnight! We still need to have your ‘Welcome Back to Equestria’ Party! And your Housewarming Party wherever you’re living!” Her head tilted. “Wait a second, where are you going to be living?”

Midnight exchanged smiles with Luna and Celestia. “Well we had discussed me living in Canterlot, but that’s a little bit high profile. Besides, an alicorn stallion living in the palace would lead to… rumors. Also, I have my responsibilities as well, which limits me a little geographically. Fortunately, there’s this town where people adjust to the crazy pretty easily that’s got perfect access to everywhere I need to be and that Luna visits often enough already that we won’t have to worry about keeping our cover.”

Pinkie drooped slightly. “Aaaaawww, I was hoping you’d stay in Ponyville.”

“What? But Pinkie, I–”

The baker bounced up. “Oh well! I guess just let us know when you finish deciding and I’ll throw you the most superfantabulous housewarming party you’ve seen in a thousand years there instead!” She sproinged away, leaving the group staring after her.

Twilight shook her head. “Don’t worry, she’ll catch on eventually. Where’re you planning on staying?”

Midnight shook his head and then pointed into the distance. “Well, there is this vacant fortress on the other side of town.” Nightstone Castle, silhouetted by the setting sun, was going to get a chance to be more than a reminder of darkness.

They could see Pinkie in the distance as well. She was halfway back to town when realization hit her like a crate load of bricks raining from the sky. Oddly enough, that was exactly how it sounded to anypony observing.

The shadow next to Midnight solidified. “So what now General?”

Midnight rolled his eyes, not moving his gaze from the sleepy town they sat on the outskirts of. “Diamond, you’ve never been formal with me, don’t start now. Besides, until the day you retire or die you’re going to be my closest advisor and confidant. If you can’t speak freely with me, then who can?”

Diamond smiled. “Princess Luna.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You know, I never did thank you for bringing me back.”

“I was just doing the job.”

“No, what you did was far more than that. Far more than I had any right to ask of you. All of Equestria owes you Diamond.”

“No they don’t. They owe the ponies who helped me. The ones who saved me. I could never have done this alone.”

“You could have… at a price…” Midnight whispered, more to himself than anything.

“What?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it for now. Just an old stallion rambling, I’ll tell you if it becomes important. But you asked me a question. What now? For now, you go back to your foalhood. Live. Be happy. Enjoy the Day that Diamond Tiara gets to be a part of.”

“And when Darkness comes?”

“We will train, but not as heavily as before. And when we need to use that training, you’ll come with me into the Night.”

Diamond stayed still a moment, then sidestepped and leaned up against Midnight. “I never thanked you for saving me either.”

He smiled and hugged her with a wing. “And you’ll never have to.”

On another hill, also just outside of town, but in a different direction, an elderly stallion was looking out at the moonlit town as well. He smiled, not bothering to turn. “You’re letting your training slip, I heard you coming when you were still at the bottom of the hill.”

“I was trying to be heard you old coot, do you really think I want to sneak up on you?”

The stallion’s grin widened. “I’m honestly surprised that you called me out here. I’m retired you know.”

The mare snorted as she came up alongside him. “Right, like anypony ever really retires from Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Or the Travelers. Especially you! I mean for crying out loud, when I heard that the legendary Agent 7 was going to help me blend in on assignment in Ponyville…”

The stallion frowned. “Exactly how am I a legend? I thought I was a better spy than that.”

“Good agent, yes. Good spy, not so much. Out of curiosity, did your cover ever survive a mission, or did they all end with fireworks and/or flashy reveals?”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Then let’s start with the airship over Canterlot and keep going through to the Zebra ambassador’s would-be assassin.”

“Ah. Yes. Well… I did leave all that behind. I’m just too old for it now. However I heard an interesting rumor about you a few months back. Monster hunter?"

The mare shrugged. "A couple ponies were starting to get suspicious, so we let the mayor 'overhear' some things. That mare wouldn't know what a secret was if it waltzed up and punched her in the nose. Problem solved with no risk to Lyra's cover. Which reminds me why I'm here. We owe you for helping us get established here. I’m returning that favor now by letting you know that this dossier won’t be missed.”

“What’s in it?”

“Some information on your youngest charge. Clearance level Red Sigma Seven.”

Shock registered on Randolph’s face for the first time in years as he turned to his companion. “How in the name of Celestia’s socks did Diamond Tiara get involved in something like that?”

Sweetie Drops let her smile fall. “Alright, as of right now, there are maybe thirty ponies in Equestria who know about this. Guard Command is in the dark. Tell me, do you remember, during the Traveler initiation, a group called the Shadow Rangers was mentioned?”

“…and so, since you’re the only other known alicorn whose talent before ascending was magic, Celestia thought I should talk to you about it.”

Midnight nodded. It had been a just over a month since he had started living in Ponyville, and he hadn’t spent much time around the younger alicorn. Celestia’s ploy was transparent, but not necessarily without merit. “Well the first question is easy. That ‘thrum’ you described is a vibration in your magic, almost at the level of your soul. We called it a Heart Strum. Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Nyx all felt the same thing when you ascended. That’s what it means, and why only alicorns can feel it, it’s only meant for them. To let them know that an alicorn has just either ascended or returned.

“Second question, no, we can’t use the spell to free the others. I felt reality healing during the spell and looked into it. They were actually using a small hole in reality as part of the ritual. It’s incredibly unstable, to the level of a misfire destroying the planet.”

Twilight nodded, marking off some items on her checklist. “Oh, and Featherdown. Mayor Mare asked me about her, apparently she’s registered as a ‘Ward of the Star.’ She thought that meant me at first.”

Midnight nodded. “Yes, Featherdown is now my ward.” Twilight didn’t know about the identity of his Rangers, so he went with a half-truth, “It was the only way to guarantee her safety from Duke Holder that didn’t involve Black Diamond killing him.”

Twilight’s question about whether or not he really thought a filly capable of killing was cut off by a ripple that made them both gasp. “Another Heart Strum?” Twilight asked, “Do you know who–”

Midnight shook his head. “Just like Celestia didn’t know if it was me or Blood. No idea who just got brought back… Hopefully not Lace though, she’s still having issues controlling Marely.”

After several minutes of excitement on one end of the conversation and comments like, “For as long as you have a young filly in your care, pray that Panpipes stays trapped on his island,” on the other, a young dragon came running into the room.

“Twilight! Twilight! A message just came, Cadance had the foal! It’s a filly!”

The alicorns froze. After a moment, Midnight advised, “If you don’t want to take any unwanted attention with you, pretend you don’t know until you meet her.”

In a shadowy clearing, deep in the Everfree Forest, an inky sphere had been slowly growing and pulsing. Another pulse contacted it, giving it the final bit of energy that it needed to speed the process along. What should have taken a few hours had been starved into weeks of slow growth. Starved no more, the black ball entered its final stages, rhythmically pulsing like a steady heartbeat.

Featherdown blinked, looking around her. “Wow, this place is… what is this place?”

“Noctus Bastion.” Diamond answered. “This is our other headquarters. We protect the dreamscape from here.”

The unicorn kept staring at the castle. “Wow… I know you said… And that one time you were… but still, I guess I just never thought I could, you know?”

“Yeah, it can be a little overwhelming if you get here peacefully instead of through nightmares.” Both fillies turned to see Midnight Star coming down a hallway. “You need to put that feeling aside for a bit though. A new horror movie just opened up in Cloudsdale, and Luna needs some help. So tonight we’re training against nightmares. Geography is kind of funny here, so…” He turned and fired a spell at an empty stone archway, a portal appearing in the gate to nowhere. “Alright then, let’s go.” He turned to Featherdown, “Oh, and you might want to put your armor on Lieutenant Vambrace.”

Shadows' Call

by NPP6

Prologue - The Nightmare

Chapter 1 - Welcome to the Night

Chapter 2 - Fork in the Road

Chapter 3 - Fringes of Truth

Chapter 4 - Point of Decision

Chapter 5 - Near Miss

Chapter 6 - Precipice of Disaster

Chapter 7 - End of Illusions

Chapter 8 - Edge of the Blade

Chapter 9 - Parting Ways

Chapter 10 - Leaving Home

Chapter 11 - Twilight of Innocence

Chapter 12 - Back to the Edge

Chapter 13 - At the Boundary

Chapter 14 - Threshold

Chapter 15 - Line in the Sand

Chapter 16 - Turning Point

Chapter 17 - The Wall

Chapter 17 - Break of Dawn

Chapter 19 - Return to Day

Epilogue - The Dream