Masks' of the Hunters

by Kamer

First published 2nd of June, 2018

After an anomaly, all is not well with Equestria. Many do not see it, but a rare few see the true horrors of the invader.

A plagued stallion, A worried Princess, A team with to many questions, A dark force.

After an anomaly, all is not well with Equestria. Many do not see it, but a rare few see the true horrors of the invader. Time may be short, and those that can act, act quickly.

In a new land, a hunter comes, and those who are hunted have a choice, to stand firm, or to flee!

If you want a brief bit of exposition, then read this: https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/page/good-death
I will not be including any other character from the League universe in this story, only Kindred.

Cover art from https://jinx-the-psycho.deviantart.com/art/Kindred-Masks-Colored-567144911

Prologue

Prologue

The Eternal Hunters

The world was barren. Lifeless. Dirt and dust stretched as far as eyes could see, and some leagues farther. The landscape consisted of only mounds and molehills, the mountains had been wiped away through time. The landscape was only broken by the occasional structure of old. Some ancient monument the creator doubtless claimed would last for eternity, now was entirely unrecognizable, lying in a broken spattering of rocks and metal shards across the dusty ground. the oceans, parched and dry, wheeze with the winds attempts to stir the once mighty waves it once had, now not even ghosts of what they once were.

The wars of the races had finally caught up to the living and none had survived. Ever pushing higher and higher, stronger and stronger, till not even the creators of the vile contraptions, weapons and monstrosities could hope to stop the destruction that would come. Not even the strongest of beings could stop the disaster, the unstoppable onslaught of rage and greed.

The End War started small, with a simple death of a commoner from another land. Accusations flew and blame was tossed like chaff to the wind. Long standing hatred was given reason to burn just strong enough to fire the first shot. The others returned the fire, but bolstered in might by tenfold. Back and forth they went, till there was nothing left...

Save you and me...

"Where was the chasing, Lamb? You said there would be chasing!", Wolf growled, annoyed at the lack of his favorite pastime.

"During the war, Wolf.", Lamb responded, as calmly as ever, unfazed by her companions harsh tones.

Lamb and Wolf walked across the desert that once held a great nation. Ever continuing their hunt. Lamb was small, sleek and slender in build. She sported a coat of white-gray fur, messy, but not matted or unkempt. her hands, calves and feet were not covered by fur, but instead left bare to the dust and wind of the barren world. This showed Lamb's black skin, though not rough, her skin would not be considered soft or smooth. Her fur was broken by blue lines, glowing with spiritual energy and power, betraying her true nature. The lines looked drawn, as if by an artist amusing themselves with sketches and half-drawings.

In her hand, she held a black wooden bow, the tree from which was cursed by some eldritch abomination long forgotten by even the ageless Lamb. The bow was wide, traced with the same blue energies as Lamb, glowing just as brightly. from the ends of the bow, energy fell away, like blue mist off of cold, wet ground. It was there, but almost unnoticed through the other facets of the bow. The string was a ghostly twine, doubtless spiritual in nature, was untouchable by any other than Lamb, giving off ghostly wisps of energy, far lighter than those of the bow.

The most striking feature of Lamb was her face, or rather what was on it. Ever perched on her head, through shyness or from creation, a black wooden masks sits. It is a mask depicting a wolf, with pointed ears sticking up, angular features, its length and thin build mimicking a snout, this fact was unmistakable. It's edges were smooth and well kept, as if it was carved yesterday. On the forehead of the mask was a crooked white outline of half of a heart, seemingly made from a different piece of wood, and placed in the mask with the best craftsmanship. The holes for the eyes did not show through to Lamb's eyes, but instead showed a blue fire tipped with purple. the fire was calm and inviting, and would have been perfect to come home to on a cold winter's night.

The eyes of Wolf were starkly different. The same fire could be seen in his eyes, but this fire sought only too consume and destroy any that was unfortunate to be near it. The mask wolf wore was wooden and white, depicting depicting the form of his companion, a lamb. The edges where rough and chips were missing, as if clawed out by something that wolf was attacking in a futile attempt to ward him off. The ears faced downward, giving a slight curl upward near the bottom of the mask. On its forehead was a dark outline of a half a heart, this one also crooked, but also upside down, as if in a trivial attempt to differentiate from Lamb. Wolf's head was mostly covered by the mask, leaving only his long, pointy black ears and wide, long snout sticking out, with his black nose ever wet for his eternal hunt.

These are the only features of Wolf that can be considered wolf-like. His maw contains no tongue, but only swirling energy and fire. His teeth appeared to be jagged rocks jutting out from a horrible cave. His mouth opens well past his ears, giving him the ability to eat anything Lamb-sized, whole. From his mouth drips black saliva, always falling from his unending hunger. His body is black smoke, appearing as fur at a glance. It is long and snake like, always following his head.

"Tell me more about the war then!", Wolf says, impatiently moving around Lamb.

"What is there to tell, my dear friend? You were there for it all...", she says calmly without breaking her quick and agile stride.

"But I want to hear it, Lamb!", Wolf howls despondently, giving Lamb a gently shove with the top of his head, sending her off balance for a fleeting moment.

"But Wolf, I've told you so many stories today! I will tell you more tomorrow, my friend.", Lamb replied, stopping to give Wolf a quick scratch behind the ear, eliciting a few light growls of pleasure from her companion.

"Fine... But just one more Lamb, please?"

"...

There was once a pale man with dark hair, who was very lonely..."

"Why was it lonely?"

"All things must meet this man, so the shunned him."

"Did he chase them all?"

"He took an axe, and split himself in two..."

"So he would always have a friend...?"

"... So he would always have a friend."

These two wondered through the husk of a land they once played in, enjoyed and frolicked in, performing their duties to the inhabitants, giving them a choice. They would either accept death, letting Lamb pierce their heart with a soft and painless arrow, or flee from death, only to be chased and torn asunder by Wolf and his painful, mighty jaws.

But now, in their lifeless world, they have no job, no duties to perform. They have no other companion or friend.

They are the only living things that exist in this world.

But they are not alone, they have each other. Together, these two are as one. Together, they are death, together, they are death incarnate, together, they are,

Kindred

Author's Notes:

Welp, this is my first venture into the world of writing for the public, with a little more freedom than college or the like.

This is an idea that I have had for a while, and while I am not crazy enthralled with League of Legends anymore, some of the characters and lore from the world have sufficiently intrigued and stuck with me.

I am putting this out here to test the waters and see if people are interested in a story like this. Feed back (Constructive!) is more than appreciated.

-Kamer

P.S. The cover art is currently being used without permission, so if any would like to create a similar one, I would be grateful!

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Room to Worry

Today began as any other day for Celestia, that is to say, at night. As the sole controller of the sun, Luna says it doesn't like her and will actively refuse to be moved by her, Celestia needs to raise the sun every day. Meaning that she needs to wake up at night to make the transition to day.

For Celestia, the morning routine was one of the more pleasurable parts of her day. It would consist of sliding out of bed onto the soft and simple a grey rug below. Smelling the mix of night air and hot, fresh tea, doubtless brought to her by the sneaky maid Quiet Feather, who had the incredible ability to move within the princesses rooms without notice. Something Celestia was equally impressed with and frightened by. She would often wake up early and try to catch the stealthy maid in action, but without the aid of magic, this task proved to be too difficult for her.

She did not drink the tea immediately, but instead goes her royal bath chambers to prepare for the upcoming day. Aided by magic, her morning method for assembling the ensemble that was the image of Princess Celestia was swift and effortless.

Shower, to feel fresh,
Put up her mane to dry in her signature, perfect wave,
Brush her teeth to a sheen, and to get the royal physician to stop nagging,
Comb her fur to perfect straightness,
Apply the perfect amount of makeup,
Releasing her mane from the towel,
and finally don her royal regalia, shoes and all.

She used to use many different maids and stylists for her morning routine. Over time, however, she found that her employed did not seem to care as much as she did for the morning ceremony, often giving varying results on the state of her appearance. That and the quickness of her performance meant that the tea left out in the bedroom would be at the perfect temperature for consumption.

Lifting the cup and saucer from the table, she strode out onto the balcony, taking a sip in preparation for dawn. Setting the tea on the edge of the balcony, her eyes moved to her sister's tower, and, with a look, began the practiced art of painting the dawn. Ever since the return of her sister, Celestia has regretted making two separate towers for each of them, it put so much distance between them she felt, though she knew that was not the case.

'Maybe I could have made them a little closer together, at the very least,' she thought.

Moving back inside, with tea in magic, of course, Celestia rested herself on a cushion just inside the balcony doors. She was nearly finished with her morning routine, and, as usual, was sad to watch it go. Aside from dinning with her beloved sister, it was something she looked forward to. It was a welcome start to dealing with nobles, taxes and laws that took up much of her day, and gave her the motivation to get out of bed.

With a sigh, she returned to reality. She set her now finished tea down in favor of her daily itinerary, making sure to commit it to memory before leaving the sanctity of her room. This was the final step in her morning routine, and prepared her mentally to prepare for the coming tasks. After only a few readings through the list, she set it back on the table, ready to face the day.

Celestia was almost done with the Day Court, the last petitioner was making their plea for additional resources to be allocated to the agricultural research funds, a reasonable request, as far as Celestia's experience was concerned. The stallion was light grey in coloration, with hair that was streaked either darker or lighter colors than his coat, giving the appearance of marble. His eyes were blue and full of youthful energy, and he was brimming with confidence about his great and grand new plan for agricultural development. Which made it quite difficult for Celestia to break the news that Equestiria was in a place of great satisfaction in terms of agriculture, with both growth and supply exceeding expectations nearly every year. Celestia hated this aspect of her job the most. The stallion, Marble Grain, had obviously put a considerable amount of effort into this plan and accompanying presentation, and it pained Celestia to dash his plans so.

"And now, Court is adjourned! ", Celestia called to the guards, who promptly shut the doors when Marble passed through.

"What would you like to do now, Princess?", Raven asked, knowing that Celestia would follow the schedule, but asking anyway out of courtesy.

"I think now is a fine time for lunch," Celestia responded, giving her most trusted aid a warm smile.

"I shall have it prepared. What would the Princess like?"

"Tell the chefs to make whatever they please, I do not feel cravings for anything specific."

"Very well, Princess," Raven responded as she sent out one of her own many aids to relay the Princess' message to the chefs.

"Raven"

"Yes Princess," Raven spoke, preparing a quill and notepad in her magic.

"Take a note, I would like that last petitioner, the stallion by the name of Marble Grain, to be considered for the Council of Agriculture, he made such a wonderful argument, I almost agreed to his proposal."

"Of course, Princess, it will be done," Raven responded, already stashing the notepad with the written note back in her saddlebags.

The pair continued onward down the hallway, walking in tandem. They were a regular sight around the castle. During the day, it was normal to see Raven never leave Celestia's side. To any newcomer though, the pair would look rather irregular. Raven was in stark contrast to Celestia, and not just in height. She was shorter than most unicorns, making her almost a third of Celestia's height, but the the major differences came in coloration. Raven had deep purple coat, almost appearing black in anything except direct light. Her mane was a shiny jet black, tied back into a bun. She wore cream, oval reading glasses, which were set a little down in front of her crimson red eyes. On her back, was a set of saddle bags, plain in decoration and cream in color, like her glasses. Her cutie mark depicts a single red ravens wing, almost the same color as her eyes. They walked the rest of the way to the dinning hall in silence, both contemplating various aspects of the day to come.

Upon approaching the doors to the hall, just before Celestia could open the doors, a wave of magic, strong enough to sway her balance, struck her. Stumbling for a moment before regaining balance, she looked around. Raven had completely lost her balance, laying sprawled out on the stone floor, trying to recover quickly. The guards had fared only slightly better than poor Raven. Many of them were still on at least two of their four hooves, and where standing back up quickly.

"Guard!" Celestia called to one of the few guards who, like her, were able to keep their balance, "Fetch my sister! Tell her to meet me below Canterlot."

"Yes your majesty!", the guard called, already galloping to Luna's tower.

"Raven, gather the rest of the Guard and search for any hurt"

"Yes your majesty!" Raven nodded, back to her hooves.

Celestia charged up a teleportation spell, and, releasing with a pop and flash, disappeared.

Luna, being fast asleep, thought she was rather rudely awakened. A guard was pounding on her door, calling to her. A bit groggy from being awoken before time, she slid out of bed, using magic to quickly don her regalia, though not worrying about the appearance of her coat or main.

"Why disturb us?" Luna spoke with a bit of venom as she quickly pulled open the doors, glaring at the offending guard.

The guard in question, gulping, said, "There was a magical disturbance, a wave. it knocked everyone, save your sister and a few guards flat on their bellies."

Luna stood their for a moment, continuing to stare at the guard, though in a slightly more forgiving way. The guard continued to look, wide eyed in fear and awe, at Luna.

"And did my sister ask anything of us, or did you decide to disturb your princess' slumber all by yourself?"

"Oh!" finally shocking out of his stupor, "She wanted you to meet her below Canterlot." Luna now stared quizzically at the guard.

After a few seconds of slight confusion from Luna and mounting dread from the guard, she turned and closed the door to her chambers. Lighting the torches in her room, Luna still preferred the look and sound of fire over the magic light that the rest of the world uses, she made her way to her desk.

Piled high with books, parchments, letters, scrolls and various other types of reading materials, she started rummaging through the drawers looking for her map of Canterlot. Princess Celestia had thought to give her a map of their new home a few days after her arrival, though Luna was a quick study, and had already memorized the important aspects of the castle even before receiving the map, she still needed it to find the more obscure locations that Celestia had built into the castle.

"Below the castle..." Luna muttered to herself.

Glancing over the few top level maps of the castle in favor of the lower sections, she found a single line of text about what she thought her sister meant. Written in Celestia's own cursive, just above a oval arch, was the words 'Crystal Caverns'. Celestia only ever wrote things onto these maps if they were only for the Princesses eyes only. After a few moments of thought, she charged her own teleportation spell, targeting the location her sister had written in on the map.

After a pop and flash that Luna was familiar with, she found herself at the entrance to what looked like a mine shaft, one that was abandoned ages ago. The tracks and wheels of the minecarts seemed well enough, but where still rusty in places. The wood was a different story, as it was rotted and broken, seemingly from many years of neglect. The walls started out as merely rock and dirt, but quickly transitioned into crystals, almost as if you were looking into a giant geode.

Luna walked forward past the precipice of crystals, lighting a magical light while doing so. The light it cast seemed to reflect off of the walls and various stalactite and stalagmite structures in staggered and odd ways, something other than just simple refraction. Luna noticed this and immediately cast a different light spell. This one, while not as potent, did not rely on magical light itself, rather, it only created a source of light. This new light quelled the odd retractions and confirmed Luna's suspicions about the magic-absorbing properties of the crystals. Walking further still, Luna felt the air grow arid and hot, the opposite type of air this cave should contain.

"This is... odd", Luna said aloud.

"Sister? Luna, come over here!", Luna heard her sister's voice call from somewhere deeper within the caves.

Looking briefly around and immediately giving up, Luna called back, "Thou shalt need a little more specificity, dear sister," a tinge of annoyance being summoned, and quickly dispelled.

"...Sorry. I forgot how tricky these caves can be. I have walked them many times." Celestia called back, "Give me a moment."

Luna stood, still observing the crystalline structures that towered over her. 'The caverns where akin to a mirror maze', she thought, 'annoying and difficult to navigate without magic.

But because of the properties of these caves, magic is rendered mute,' her train of thought continued.

Laughter.

Luna's ears perked up. Did she hear that? or was it just another trick from the cavern's

moments later, a thin trail of golden magic lit up, just below eye level for Luna. Surmising that this was her sister's doing, she followed without hesitation, almost forgetting the light tittering laugh she heard. The path that she walked was sometimes winding, sometimes straight, and seemed to go on for fair longer than she thought it would. Her confusion and wonder of this strange cavern grew the farther she walked. Her sister's voice carried for far longer than it should have, potentially aided by the flat sides and unique acoustic properties of crystal.

'Or perhaps,' Luna thought, 'there was a magical reason behind this. I shall need to ask Celestia what her research about this place uncovered.'

Luna could tell she was getting closer, the dryness and arid feeling were getting stronger with every step. Rounding the final corner, Luna finally laid eyes on her sister, and the thing that caused the magical disturbance.

Before her was something spectacular, something that was almost impossible to explain, even with magic. Inside of a crack in a crystal, a crack that ran sixty feet up to the ceiling and was ten feet at its widest point, tapering towards each end, was a gateway to another world. around the edges, where the portal bordered with the crystal, there was a melding of world and crystal, seemingly swimming together in a space about an inch wide, making it impossible to tell exactly where the alien world ended and the crystal started. The world itself was, in Luna's opinion, unappealing, being almost purely desert, broken up with very bland rock formations. But, aside from her personal thoughts, this was simply the single most astounding thing she had ever seen, a gateway to another world. An honest to goodness portal between dimensions. She was awestruck with sheer excitement, it had to be studied, it had to be researched and tested! Her giddiness was quickly dashed when she saw her sister haphazardly flinging rocks and sand back into it.

"Sister, woulds't thou call this a regular occurrence?" Luna asked solemnly, with no attempt to hide disappointment.

"I wouldn't call it regular," her sister responded, still flinging debris. "Its more of a 'once a century' occurrence."

"And why, prey tell, are we not studying it?"

"I already have, Luna", Celestia responded without pausing, "About two-hundred years after you went away, the first portal occurred. I believe they are caused by a highly magically charged crystal spontaneously discharging at the right frequency. I have not found a good way to stop them from happening."

"Should we be worried?"

"No, not at all! As far as I can tell, only inanimate objects and magic can come through, and throwing everything back and sealing up the crack seems to prevent cross-world contamination"

"And how stable woulds't thou call this gate?"

"Very stable! I let one go for about a month under strict quarantine."

"Oh, so nothing to worry about then?"

"No, sister. One portal let in a toxic cloud, but this one seems to be devoid of danger and life. I couldn't detect anything for hundreds of miles. Now, will you help me throw back these rocks? I think I got most of the sand."

Luna was not entirely convinced of her sisters explanation and lack of concern. To her, it was very worrying. To have a random gateway to another dimension randomly opening in the caves beneath the most populated and important city in Equestria, with potentially hazardous consequences was more than a reason to be concerned. But Luna did trust her sister, and started moving items back into the portal.

After everything was sent through, the gate was surprisingly simple to close, as it only required a brief disruption of the event horizon, in the form of a basic level magical blast, to cause a chain reaction completely closed the gate. Luna was still disappointed that she could not study the phenomenon, but Celestia assured her that she had written a couple books of notes on various experiments she had tried. She also promised that Luna could run some of her own experiments on the next gate. This sated Luna's curiosity for the time, but did nothing to bandage the small bit of worry that nested in the pit of her stomach.

"Sister, art thou sure everything is alright?" Luna asked her sister as they walked out of the caverns.

"Of course." she paused, "I didn't detect anything living or magical in those caves, nor any foreign life or magic in Canterlot." Celestia said, attempting to reassure her sister's concerns, "There is nothing to worry about. Now, since your already up, would you care to join me for lunch before retiring back to bed?"

Luna sighed, smiling, "Of course sister, we would be happy to dine with thee."

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

New Hunting Ground

This world was different.

Gone was the dark and dreary streets littered with trash and excrement, the killers in the alleyway waiting for a poor soul to wander by, the homeless in streets begging for food and money. Here, everything was bright, all of the souls were happy, mostly. The streets were clean, free of garbage and riffraff, the vendors were happily selling their wares free from thieves, the storefronts where clean and friendly and the souls were all kind to one another.

"What are they?" Wolf asks.

"I believe they call themselves 'ponies', Wolf," Lamb replied.

"Tiny horses... I hope they run fast!" Wolf growled gleefully.

"I hope they don't all run..." Lamb added.

Perched atop the spire of a guard tower, not far from the entrance of the cavern it emerged from, Kindred watched the ponies below meander about their day, unawares to the fact that the manifestation of death was watching. One of Kindred's favorite abilities, was to make their presence unnoticeable. It could become completely ignored by the populace, almost like invisibility. Kindred found this power had limitations, however. Beings of great power could see Kindred just fine, and beings that where marked for death could see Kindred as well. The final weakness to its power was its fragility. When Kindred is on a hunt, then anyone can see them. Usually though, this is not a problem for Kindred, it knows its power well.

Lamb jumped off the tower, wanting to get a more personal look at their new quarry. They were interesting, much like the ancient city of Piltover from their home world, these ponies all continued on in their lives happily skipping about in merriment and joy. But unlike the citizens of Piltover, they seemed genuine in their exuberance. This puzzled Lamb, as she did not think any being could be this constant with happiness in their lives. But she is now only seeing one of the many faucets of their existence, maybe she will find what she is looking for in the private aspects of their days.

Wolf followed leisurely, gathering the scent of any passers by, collecting information for future hunts. These scents told Wolf everything about their future quarry, where they were, who they were with, what they thought and what they felt. Wolf's nose is far better than any others. He can now the all of the particulars of anyone's life with just a little whiff of your scent. The more he smelled, the more he knew.

Kindred remembered all information it gathered. To Kindred, the information gave power to them. Power they needed to use for the hunt, to better slay their pray. With this information Kindred builds a web of people, all interconnected. It plays and pull at the strings, using them to gain yet even more information and power. Eventually, when Kindred reaches the height of its power, the web will begin to construct itself, filling in and spreading out, covering all of the vast world with they now inhabit.

Kindred traversed the streets of the most populated portion of the city, observing and gathering information to build its web of information. It saw many unique trends. Every one of these lives where interconnected and interwoven with many others. It saw many bonds of friendship and companionship, though none as strong as its own. They were all very open to others, telling truths and deeper aspects of their lives at the drop of a hat. But this interconnection and openness only helped Kindred. It easily gathered information on it's future quarry in only about half a day, and Kindred, being a keen, diligent and focused worker, had learned almost everything they needed to know about the creatures that inhabited this city of Canterlot

It still needed to visit the castle up above, but that could wait. Now, Kindred needed to learn the layout of their new hunting ground. Staying above the street, It bounded and leaped from roof to tree and back to roof again, maintaining momentum, never stopping. it was quick to map out the city, learning all of the paths most traveled and, most importantly, the places least visited.

There were trees and parks occasionally, which Wolf welcomed, more room to chase, he said, but the landscape was dominated by the twisting and turning back alleyways of Canterlot's living districts. Rarely a straight road in the poorer neighborhoods, Lamb enjoyed the high vantage points and clear views for her arrows. many in the poorer areas were more likely to accept their offer, unlike the richer upper class, whom Wolf enjoyed chasing through their vast mansions.

There was also the shopping areas, more large, wide open areas. many ponies where here, walking around, and it made it very easy for Kindred to collect knowledge of what it needed. But these spaces where not good for the eternal hunt. too wide open, too many factors, too many witnesses.

Kindred saw many things, restaurants, parks, hotels, houses, but the thing that interested it most was the theaters. Kindred had a history with theater, often using its influence to spread the fear of itself, granting Kindred more power. Kindred hoped that this world would be similar in nature, allowing these plays to spread the word, the fear of Kindred to many in this land.

Kindred usually chose someone that was afraid of It, but also would stand firm in spite of it. These strong willed people where just the right combination of respectful and strong willed, ones that respect enough to know to do Kindred's bidding, and still strong willed enough to not get cold feet. Or hooves, in the case of It's new quarry. Kindred still remembered one of its favorite information spreader. A young girl by the name of Magga. She was such a fine actress, and portrayed Kindred's duality perfectly, pleasing it greatly. After an hour of traversing high above the hunted and reminiscing on times long gone, Kindred settled on the initial perch where its learning first started.

"Well Wolf," Lamb spoke, "I see many to hunt, would you like to pick first?"

"They will all accept us..." Wolf sighed rather bitterly, "I want a hunt! I want a chase!"

"Dear Wolf, surely some will change when faced with us."

"I smelled a few... but none are close enough."

"Shall I pick one of my quarry then?"

"Fine, little Lamb. I will follow."

"You always do."

Lamb leaped from her perch, with wolf chasing her heels. As Kindred soared from rooftop to rooftop, closing in on it's first victim, a little bit of excitement grew. After so long, it was happy to be back on the hunt.

Marble Grain had a terrible day. A terrible day that started with high hopes. In other words, this was one of the worst days in Marble Grain's life. He had spent a full year on his agricultural proposal to the Princess, researching, rereading, rewriting and rereading again until it was perfect.

'It was going so well...' he thought, 'then she just said no!'

Marble walked solemnly down the sidewalk that lead to his apartment, walking past his usual post-research hangout spot, Doughnut Joe's. He didn't even make eye contact with the concerned owner as he walked by, head hanging down.

'Maybe I should give up the ghost,' he pondered as he walked, 'I think my uncle still works the rock farm, maybe I can...'

"Hey, sourpuss!" somepony behind him called.

Turning he saw his old friend Joe waving him over.

"Hey, Joe," Marble said, "I'm really not in the mood for a chat right now."

Joe stared at him with a look of concern, "C'mon Marble, This is the time ya' need a chat the most."

Marble sighed, hanging his head even lower. His mane was covering his eye's slightly, so Joe didn't see him get a little misty eyed.

"You're right Joe..." he said after a second or two, "I do need to talk right now."

If there was one thing that he was grateful for when he moved to Canterlot, it was the vast amount of different ponies that lived here. Not everypony was like Joe, and ponies like him where rare anywhere you go, but in the city, it felt like they were easier to find. He was thankful for Joe's ability to cheer him up, his ability to turn a situation on a bit, just to see you smile while the two of you talked.

'Maybe that's the way that he keeps his customers coming back,' Marble chuckled to himself.

Gathering himself, he trotted up to Joe, attempting to keep even a wisp of a grin on his face. "Thanks Joe."

"C'mon in, whatever ya' need, on the house."

"You're too kind Joe, you'll go outta business if you keep giving me freebies," Marble joked. In reality, this was only the second time Joe offered an on the house drink.

"I can tell ya' need it," Joe said, already behind the counter, making Marble his regular drink. "So whats eat'n ya'?"

"The proposal that I talked to you about, the one that I spent so long on, she just denied it..." Marble said disappointingly, resting his cheek on the table.

"ohff, sorry fella'," Joe responded, placing a mug almost in front of Marble's snout.

"Thanks Joe," Marble said, not yet making a move for the steaming drink.

"That bad huh?" Joe asked after a moment.

"I'm sorry Joe, I just feel like I wasted a year of my life."

"I can understand that," Joe nodded, "Ya' know it took me three tries ta' get this place open?"

"Three?" Marble asked, lifting his head up a little.

"Yep, three. The second time, I almost gave up an' went back to Las Pegasus ta' work in my families print shop."

"A print shop?" Marble asked, "Never pegged you for a bookmaker."

"Newspaper, actually." Joe responded, "But that's not the point"

"And what is, Joe?"

"That ya' can't give up that easily. If ya' fail, ya' try again, simple as that."

"I don't think its that easy Joe, at least not for me," Marble said as he took a sip from the mug. A Caribbo'ean blend, light on cream and sugar. Marble sighed with contentedness, Joe knew him well.

"This is ya' life, ya' said it yourself. Ya' just gunna give up because the first test didn't go well?"

"Well... I..."

"No. Ya' not just giving up." Joe said firmly. Marble stared at him quizzically. "Ya' gunna take a break, maybe a week. Then ya gunna pull out, cart blazing! I know ya' can do this." Joe looked at Marble with a sense of strength and determination. Marble could only stare. He honestly didn't think ponies could care so much about somepony else's work with such ferocity.

"I read ya' proposal, remember? I thought it was great. The Princess probably didn't understand. Ya' need to try again."

Marble was happy to have friends like this. He felt such a warm feeling in his chest.

And a burp.

Joe and Marble laughed at the timing. They talked for a while longer, mostly little things, telling jokes and stories about various adventures. They laughed for a good long time at Joe's story about a work day he spent covered in sprinkles from a torn bag that he lifted. He said he had some foals try to lick him, which caused Marble to laugh even harder. After a bit of time, Marble got out of his chair only for Joe stop him and offer to swing by Marble's place after work so they could get a drink. Marble agreed, wholeheartedly, and headed for the door.

'It's already dark outside,' Marble thought, 'guess I was in Joe's for longer than I thought.'

It was still a little ways from his house when it started to drizzle. quickly moving underneath an awning and pulling a trench coat from his right saddlebag, he covered himself and his work before setting of into the rain. Silence was the only think he heard walking down the street, there wasn't any other pony on either side. Only the pattering of the rain on various surfaces around him broke the quietness.

"It covers the scent!"

Marble stopped dead. That was not the voice of a pony, he was sure of that. It sounded like a diamond dog, but larger, and nastier.

"It is alright Wolf, the rain can't delay us, we are already here."

The second voice was light, sweet and calm, the polar opposite of the first voice. Marble calmed down a bit after hearing it. He was certain it was female, and the first was male. Gathering his senses a bit, it was easy for him to find the alleyway that they came out of. Against his better judgement, especially looking for somepony called 'Wolf', he followed them.

"Is that him, Little Lamb?"

"Yes Wolf, it is."

"He is to thin to run, and won't make a good chase... He will accept us." Marble swore he felt disappointment in the voice of this 'Wolf'.

'They were looking for somepony?' he thought, suddenly gaining some common sense and feeling a little more fear. But what if they were bad? Marble had to do something. He walked forward toward the corner of the next alleyway, making sure he was a silent as possible.

"We shall give him that choice though, dear Wolf." The voice sounded like it was behind him!

He whipped around, looking down an empty alley. He stared, wide eyed for a bit before turning around, and ran straight into a giant black mass.

"AHHHH!" Marble screamed, backpedaling and falling onto his hindquarters. The thing was a large black smoke monster, with a wooden face, a large wolf-like nose and and a giant maw, one that looked large enough to eat a pony's head whole. But the most terrifying thing to Marble was the eyes. Like a terrible fire, they burned bright with a harsh light, demanding all attention from whoever looked at this monster. Marble felt he was going to burn alive him just by locking gazes.

"Another!" the Black mass said gleefully. "Maybe this one will play a game with us!"

Marble could only stare, terrified of whatever was before him. A white form on two legs stepped out from behind the monster. With a female, sleek and slender build, almost three ponies high, it looked like a small minotaur. It also had a wooden face.

"No Wolf, this one is not close to us yet." the white mini-minotaur said.

'Not close enough!?' Marble thought, 'I'm right on top of them! And that thing is not a wolf!'

Marble's mouth could only hang wide in terror, something his eyes mimicked as well. He could only make little terrified squeaks.

"But he would surely give a good chase Lamb!" the monster, 'Wolf' growled with joy and excitement.

"Not now, dear Wolf," 'Lamb' said before turning her head to terrified pony before her, "Hello, Marble." she spoke coolly. Lamb's eyes held fire, like Wolf's, but hers was more subdued, comforting in a way. Marble felt a little more relaxed just by looking into them. A little, but not much.

"H-how d-d-do you know my name?" Marble asked shocked.

"We know much, Marble-thing!" Wolf said.

"We know you, and many others, " Lamb added.

"Let's play chase and rip-to-shreds, Marble-thing" Marble tensed, too terrified to move.

"It is not yet time for games, Wolf." Lamb chastised "Marble still has much time before he needs to choose."

"Choose what?" Marble squeaked, looking back and forth between the two.

"My bow," Lamb said, holding aloft a large piece of curved wood.

"Or my teeth!" Wolf snapped his jaw a couple times for emphasis.

"Neither!" Marble said quickly.

Lamb sighed and Wolf laughed joyously, "That means my teeth!" Wolf said.

"Wait!" Marble shouted, terrified, "Then I pick the bow!"

"It will be quick and painless when you meet us again, then" Lamb said, with Wolf seeming to pout behind her. Lamb made a quick, silent and powerful jump to the rooftop four stories above, with Wolf quickly following. It was only now that Marble noticed that the black monster seemed to float, followed by a long trail of thick black smoke. They were gone as quickly as they appeared. Marble could only stare in shock and terror.

After what felt like hours, Marble finally gained his composure. Blinking slightly, and exhaling a long held breath, he shakily got to his hooves.

'What were they?' he thought, 'They are not from Equestria, at least not apart that I know.'

Marble stood in place for a few more minutes, collecting his thoughts, and the strength to move. When he finally did, he remembered something that the one called 'Wolf' said, that he was another pony. With the realization, he ran around the corner.

Lying near a dumpster was a sleeping homeless pony. They were rare in Canterlot and Equestria in general, but still existed. Cautiously, Marble approached the sleeping form as quietly as possible.

"H-hello?" he asked, "Are you awake?"

No response, Marble quickened his pace.

"Hello? Are you alright?" he said louder.

Nothing. Marble broke into a gallop, closing the distance quickly

Marble stood over the pony now, and it was clear why he did not respond.

He was dead.

And Marble's world went black.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Nightwatch

Luna was bathed in the firelight from the lit scones on the wall. They shined on the dark blues of the room with a red tinge, making them appear a dark purple. With a book floating in her magic, Luna read about the research Celestia had performed on the gates. It was very thorough research, as she suspected, but it did lack some tests that she herself would have run.

Scattered around on her desk lay various notebooks and papers on the crystal cavers beneath Canterlot. Luna stayed up all night trying to make sense of her sister’s lack of worry. The properties of the crystals as derived from experiments, the quality of magic flowing through the crystals, their aptitude and rate for absorbing different kinds of magic. From what she read, she couldn’t reason why her sister was so sure that nothing came out of the portal. The crystals covering every surface in that cave could absorb magic, meaning detection spells of any type were useless. There was no telling how large that cave was. Not even Celestia had mapped out the entire thing. Luna couldn’t even tell whether or not there was another exit to the system.

A bird’s cry, shrill and piercing, came from the side of Luna’s bed. On a dark wood table sat her alarm clock, a bust of Celestia’s phoenix, Philomina. It was screeching loudly with no signs of stopping. Luna was quick to silence its cry. Getting up from her desk, Luna sighed. She did not get any more sleep that day due to her studying, and it was already time for her night shift. She moved to her bathchambers to prepare for the day.

Luna was distracted during her morning preparation. She did not think that Celestia lied to her in the caverns. She knew Celestia wouldn’t do that to her, she was certain. But that did not mean that she could not have made a mistake in judgement, even Celestia was not above that. Luna knew this fact well, from many, many years, and many mistakes that they had both had their fair share of. While it was true that some were greater than others, Luna still had a sore spot, she knew that one of her big sister’s larger flaws was arrogance. She would never call it that, it was more akin to an abnormally large sense of pride, but Luna thought that that term was apropos.

‘I cannot let these thought linger in my mind for any longer,’ Luna thought, giving a few tugs at knots in her mane.

Giving a sigh, she pulled the brush through her mane one last time, taking with it the last, lone knot. Setting the emerald colored brush on the pedestal beside the sink, she looked in her mirror, giving her visage a once-over to check for places where makeup was necessary. Luna, like her sister, did not enjoy having handmaidens performing every task needed for her to be presentable. But unlike her sister, Luna preferred to prepare herself slowly, cherishing the time spent. In many ways, this was her way to get ready for the night. Finishing up her routine, she stepped out of the bath, donning her regalia.

Out on the balcony, she looked toward the sun. Her sister was waiting for her, though hopefully not for long. Raising her horn, Luna began to raise the moon, and Celestia doing likewise, began to lower the sun. Crossing in the sky, they darkened and dimmed the day, turning from sundown, to twilight, to dusk, and finally giving way to the night. Luna gave a moment to look at the stars and moon, making sure they were all in their proper place, and shining pleasingly for those below.

Finding them all satisfactory, she looked toward her sister. Celestia always waited for Luna to give her the OK to sleep, to make sure that everything would transfer over smoothly into the night court. It was her sister’s way of taking care of her younger sister. And Luna, who would never say this out loud, enjoyed the comfort it gave. Tonight however, no such signal of readiness was given. Instead, Luna gave her sister the ‘We need to talk’ look. Celestia looked up with interest, then nodded in agreement. Luna nodded back before turning back to her chambers and heading for the door to the tower proper.

Their usual meeting place was the near the dinning hall. To be more specific, a small private dinning hall where the princess could prepare their own meals and eat them without the prying eyes of the castle’s many servants, as Luna said. It was a not a long walk from the top of her tower, but it was a fair distance, long enough for Luna to think about what she wanted to say, and how to say it. Approaching the door to the small dinning hall, Luna paused momentarily before opening the doors. Celestia was already there, with a pot of tea being prepared in the back kitchen area.

“Sister,” Luna spoke with a bit of authority, “we need to talk about the crystal caverns.”

Celestia looked at her with a moments confusion, but relaxed, “What troubles you?” she asked, the motherlike quality still in her voice.

“We cannot be certain that nothing was able to come out of the portal.”

“Luna, I have had this situation happen before. I know what to look for when something comes through.”

“But thou hast not covered all of thy bases, as thee say,” Luna spoke shortly, slightly annoyed at the quality of her sister’s voice.

“The gates that thou did’st described were different than the one we saw today. This one was less defined and did not give a clear indication of where the portal stopped and crystal began.”

Celestia gave a moment to ponder what Luna said, “Sister, you are true, but the magical makeup of the portal was the same, it would have been different if something did come through.”

“That magical rule only holds for those with physical bodies.” Luna said back.

“I had a spell to detect life active the moment I entered the caverns. And another at the entrance. Nothing could have gotten past without triggering either of those spells.”

A pause was shared between the sisters.

“Luna,” Celestia said after worried gazes, " I understand your concern, but I had everything covered. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you”

“We understand sister. But what about other exits in the cave? Thou did’st not map the entire system.”

“Do you remember that toxic cloud I mentioned?”

“Verily...”

“In order to stop it, I placed a sealing spell on the entrance to the cave, I was trapped their for almost a day before I pulled it all back in the portal. During that time, none of the toxic fume or hazardous warning spells in the city triggered. Being smoke, it could have left through even the smallest crack.”

Luna stared at her sister, before sighing, “True sister. But We still have qualms. We feel that thou defenses are still inadequate.”

“Alright Luna, I agree with you. I see some errors in my defense,” She chuckled, “You always had a more detailed picture in your mind’s eye than I did.”

Luna snorted at that, “True sister, thou has missed much in hindsight.”

Both laughing, Celestia got up to grab the kettle. “Would you like tea, Luna?”

“Nay, sister, We must get to Night Court. Our petitioners are waiting for us.” Luna turned to leave.

“I trust you sister.” Celestia spoke, turning back to Luna, “I want you to do whatever you feel necessary with that cave system.”

“Thank thee sister,” Luna replied with a smile, “I shall see you on the morrow.” and continued to Night Court.

The Night Court was over, and Luna let out a sigh. She always forgot how trying these sessions were, with the bickering nobles and the laughable requests they had. ‘Make the moon dimmer’, ‘Let me open my Night Club’, ‘Come to my party’. Admittedly, Luna had considered that last one, but it was none the less running her patience thin. But she welcomed, problems and all. She felt like she was connecting with her little ponies again. And after so long, it felt good to talk. Now she just needed to work on the archaic speech here sister teases her about.

It was time for her ‘lunch’ as it were, and she moved swiftly to the private dinning hall. She did not much care to wake the chefs for a single meal, so she preferred to make it herself. And unlike Celestia’s attempts at cooking, Luna was more than adequate. She was still thinking about what to do about the cave system, running possible ideas through in her head. Ideas ranging from simple and easy, to complex and difficult. She needed to find a good mix of both.

‘I could fill the guard barracks with mayonnaise’ Luna thought.

She stopped, looking a bit perplexed at the thought she had, then started looking a bit annoyed.

“Discord!” she called, “Come before us with thy miss-matched self!”

A hearty laugh came from Luna’s shoes. She kicked one of them off and sent it flying to the back wall of the dinning hall.

“Ow!,” Discord said, “That hurt you know!” The shoe transformed into Discord’s lower half. Luna promptly kicked off the other three shoes, scoring two direct hits on Discords posterior.

“Yeaoch!” Discord cried, two arms and a torso and head popping into existence.”That really hurt!” One of his disconnected arms was rubbing his behind.

“What do you want, Discord?” Luna said, only slightly amused.

“What?” he said sadly, doing a poor job at masking his amusement , “I only wanted to visit a friend! And you are the only one in the whole castle that likes my mischief!”

It was true, Luna was the only one that even showed a hint of joy at Discord’s pranks. The castle staff ranged from too terrified to laugh to to apathetic to care. Even Celestia hardly cracked a smile. Which unfortunately meant that Discord was around Luna often, when he was not with the bearers in Ponyville.

“Please Luna, just for a bit? I’m so bored and your my only friend here!” Discord said assembling himself while looking pitiful.

Luna sighed, ‘Of course he played the friendship card...’

“Alright Discord, thou may’st join us for lunch, but no funny business.” Luna said as she walked into the kitchen. “And We shant be cooking anything for thee!” she shouted back through the door.

“Right’O!” Discord said in mock salute. His harm was still on the ground, saluting his kneecap.

After a bit of time, Luna emerged from the kitchen with a salad in magic. Discord was already busy munching on what looked like a miniature tree. She swore she even saw a squirrel. The rest of his plate was piled high with paper, which he was eating like the griffons ate stake. He even was seasoning with their steak sauce. He also had a glass of what looked like salt, which he slurped loudly. He appeared almost done.

Luna, deciding not to comment, or think about it any longer, set down her food and began eating.

“Ya know,” Discord said after a minutes silence, “I was thinking of naming this meal Noctch”

Luna stared.

“It doesn’t make sense to call it lunch, its not noon! Its midnight!”

Luna continued to stare, unblinking.

“You know, lunch at night! Night ‘noct’, lunch ‘ch’. Noctch!”

Luna’s gaze had transcended a mere stare, it was judgement.

“Oh come on! It makes sense!” Discord said incredulously.

“That is precisely it, Discord. It made sense. From thee nonethyless!”

Discord and Luna both laughed. “Of course! I have to do somethings that make sense. Then the chaos is more fun! I probably earned a couple of hours for that one.” Discord said taking out a pencil and notepad, “Fluttershy has me on a worm system.” Discord wrote some things on the pencil.

Luna chuckled. “Thou surely has’t earned some, Discord.”

Luna finished her meal, glancing at discord. His plate was piled high with tiny trees, paper and steak sauce. He apparently did the opposite of eating his food.

Shuddering, Luna walked into the kitchen to put away her plate. She came out to a clean table and Discord curled up like a cat on top.

“Luna,” He said, “If a tell you something, will you laugh?”

“Discord, that sentence already makes Us want to laugh.”

Discord chuckled, “Yea... Ponies always say that,”

There was a pause.

“I feel something that I haven’t felt for a while.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “And what feeling would’st that be?”

“I think its uncertainty. I’m not entirely sure, but I think that’s it.” Discord said.

Luna was unsure of her friends sudden outpouring of his feelings. He only has done this once before, when he accidentally got sick and needed to rely on the help from both princesses Twilight and Cadence. This occurred right after he pretended to be sick to play a prank. Other’s do not know this, but Discord felt quite terrible about the whole incident. Bad enough that he felt the need to talk to Luna about it. This time, Luna felt far worse about his feelings. Something else had happened, and the spirit of chaos was not so easily dismayed. This, Luna knew, was a problem.

Lifting up to his full height, Discord laughed. “I don’t even know what I’m uncertain about.”

“If thee feel anything else, do not wait to tell Us.”

“Sure. Thanks, Moonbutt,” Discord said with a grin.

“Then get thee hence! Thy feet are ruining the finish on this table!” Luna said with a hint of sarcasm.

Discord laugh was boisterous and genuine. “Tata then!” He said with a large grin, snapping his paw.

He was gone in a flash. And a rain of paper shreddings. Luna noted she had her shoes back. She turned, smiling, towards the door to go back to work.

Luna’s duties, outside of night court and the occasional bill signing, was dream patrol. She would wander through the dream realm and police the dreams of her subjects. Luna enjoyed this task of her’s the most. To her, it was freeing. Freeing from court, freeing from politics, freeing from nobles and most importantly, freeing from her own problems. When Luna is patrolling the dreams of ponies, it feels like she is doing something meaningful, something worthwhile for her little ponies. This was her way of connecting with the population on a personal level, not just a wave or a smile to them. There, in the dream world, she could talk to them, with no pretense, no facades, no strained smiles, just her and the ponies she protects.

As Luna entered her room, she started the preparations to enter the dream world. Many thought that it was only mental, that she simply went into a trance whenever she wanted. While that was partially true, the actuality of the matter was far different. In order for Luna to properly enter the dream world, she needed total darkness, total silence and absolutely no movement. When she entered the dream world, the sights sounds and feelings where not imagined, they overpowered her physical senses. Any outside influence contaminated that experience and almost always meant that she was ejected from the dream world. And with preparations complete, the room in total darkness, the requisite silencing spells making a bubble around in the vicinity and finally, an anti-gravity sphere floating in the center, Luna was ready to enter.

She stepped up to the sphere, letting the lack of forces guider her in. Once she found a good position, she channeled her spell, and entered the dream world. It is far different than most ponies think. Some imagine a hall filled with endless doors, some bubbles with easy viewing ports, some even come up with outlandish descriptions trying to quantify space and time into a single point.

In reality, it was a copy of the real world, one in which Luna was a specter, able to travel anywhere in the kingdom at a blink of an eye. It was a world populated and created by everypony, by their dreams. All dreams took place in this realm, occupying different locations in the same space, Luna just needed to travel to them. The best way Luna could describe it was an Equestria that ponies were in the location they where dreaming about. If it was a dream in the Everfree, they where in the Everfree dream world, if in Canterlot, in the Canterlot dream world.

Traversing this world was difficult though. Because many ponies could dream about the same location, that location in the dream world was distorted to contain however many dreamers it needed. For example, the castle ball room had no less than 50 ponies dreaming there. And was four square miles. This sort of spacial property also lent to an ease of observation. Luna could fly over many dreams at once, hundreds in fact, and get a feel all for them at a glance. By looking, she could guess if the dream was pleasant, awkward, feel-good, bad, nightmare-ish or just flat out explicit.

Luna looked out over Canterlot, gazing over all the dreams she could see. None were particularly bad, some worse, but nothing that was an outright nightmare. Except for one. It was alone, in an area of the dream world that was rarely populated. In a dark alleyway near an apartment complex, an earth pony stallion with a grey coat was moving cautiously down, towards the other intersecting alley. Luna flew over to the dream and entered it’s space. The rest of the dreams faded away and Luna was immersed in the sensations of the dreamer.

The first thing that Luna noticed, is that it was not a normal dream, it was far to sharp, far too crisp to be thought up and imagined. The details of everything were perfect, and presented none of the usual signs that the dreamer was replacing portions with thought. No, this was a memory, crisp and fresh in the mind of the dreamer.

‘This is unfortunate, whatever they experienced was terrible.’ Luna thought.

The memory continued, the stallion moving closer and closer to the corner. Suddenly, he jumped and looked straight at Luna with eyes wide with terror. Moments passed, and the still terrified pony was looking up and down the alleyway, right past Luna.

When the stallion turned around, a massive smokey black mass appeared in front of him. Luna only caught a glimpse of the Wolf like head and wooden mask before she noticed the eyes. Like a terrible fire they burned bright, expanding, growing and eventually encompassing the whole dream. Luna could only watch in a mixture of horror and awe. Awe because of the power of the memory, and horror because it was exactly that, a memory.

”Let’s play chase and rip-to-shreds, Marble-thing!” a cruel and harsh voice said.

Then the dream shattered.

Author's Notes:

Hoped you liked the chapter!

I will try for a release every Sunday night around this time, I will tell you otherwise if there will be a problem.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Stories from the Dark

"Let's play chase and rip-to-shreds, Marble-thing!"

Marble shot awake, jumping to his hooves, terror in his eyes. He stood stock still for a couple moments, trying in vain to quell his rapid heart. He was confused, and couldn't think straight. He did not know where he was or what he was doing. Was he asleep? Did he faint? But what caused that? And why was he shaking so badly? He wasn't cold really, just terrified of something. He shook his head, wanting to gain back some of its lost function. He has so many questions, and non of them would be answered if he couldn't think clearly.

Marble finally looked around him, rain still pattering on the stones around him. He passed out in an alleyway. But why? Looking around farther, he remembered. Seeing the form of the dead pony brought back all of those terrible memories. Memories of the voices, the monsters, Lamb and Wolf. But worst was the memories of those eyes, the terrible burning eyes. Marble swore he could still feel them burning in his soul. he was stock still again, muscles tense, ready to run at a moments notice.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Marble steeled himself. He needed to stop thinking about them, those burning orbs. He came to help, but he was too late, somepony was dead. He shuddered, thinking again of the monsters. Taking a few more moments to calm down, he began to breath easily. His mind cleared from thoughts of the monsters and death. Specifically his.

'No!' he shouted mentaly, 'Happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!'

Happy memories, any memories! Marble was thinking of anything else to help himself calm down. When he got his cutie mark, multi colored wheat crops swaying in a non existent breeze. Happy. Moving to Canterlot. Bittersweet. Playing with his friends near the farm. Joyous. The death of his mother. Sad beyond belief. The rapid onslaught of emotions began to throw back the strong feelings of terror and dread, letting him calm down as best he could.

'I need to do something,' He thought, 'I have to do something.'

Marble didn't want to abandon the poor stallion, dead or not, to the poring rain, or whatever else was in this alley. He felt partly responsible for his death, though not sure what could have been done to prevent it. But he needed to get help, and that meant leaving the alley. Marble looked around desperately for something, somepony, to help, but came up empty. They alley way was empty, but Marble prayed to Celestia that it wasn't.

Then he had an idea, one that was a little illegal. He remembered his readings from school basics about some guard communication techniques. They would shoot up flairs of differing colors to signify problems. These allowed the guards to communicate from any point in the city with ease, but they where only for the guard to use. In his year in Canterlot, Marble could not remember ever seeing one of these signal flairs, so he didn't even know if they where still in use. He wasn't sure what sort of punishment was in store for him, but he knew that was his only option.

Marble wasn't the best spell caster due to his earth pony heritage, but he was thankful that he remembered the fireworks spells that he used as a kid for his siblings amusement. But what color? Marble could remember some of them, green was an all clear call, so that was out of the question, nothing was clear here. Red was really bad, like 'we are at war' bad, so that was a no go too. Deciding, he charged his horn and shot a white ball into the air. It traveled straight up, and exploded with a bright purple flash that dissipated as quickly as it appeared.

'Ponyfeathers!' he thought, 'They spell does not linger long enough. They won't find me!'

He sighed, and readied another firework. He would likely be at this for quite some time, depending if the guard knew what he was trying to doing.

A mare guardspony was resting her head in her hooves on the railing of the guard's watchtower, watching the night sky, wishing the rain clouds would go away. She loved looking at the stars. She loved the twinkling, the brightness, the shear number of them. She loved just looking up in awe of beauty that was above her, and would spend as much time of her guard shift doing just that.

Night Gale, or simply Gale as her friends would call her, was a grassy green pegasus sporting a dark brown mane. Her eyes were a deep golden hue, which often would twinkle like the stars she loved so much. Her cutie mark was a purple gust of wind blowing over some stars in the background. Not that anypony could see that right now.

Gale was, of course, a member of the guard, the Lunar Guard to be specific, and, as such, wore the enchanted set of armor that gave her the appearance of a thestrial, complete with a dark purple coat like the night sky, ash grey eyes, leathery wings and, one of Gale's favorite, fangs. She loved to give innocent ponies a smile, flashing the imaginary white fangs just to see the reactions.

Gale joined the guard as early as she could. It was a couple years after she got her cutie mark that she could finally join the guard. It was what she wanted almost her whole life before then, and it was still what she wanted now. This guard driven mentality likely came from her family. They where the most unorganized bunch of ponies Equestria had ever seen, and it drove Gale up a wall regularly.

Ever since she was a filly she wanted order, organization and structure in her life, qualities that her family seemed allergic too. It's not that Gale's parents were bad, they were very supportive, nice ponies. They just weren't the most 'there' bunch of ponies. For Gale, the guard represented everything that she wanted, and she was enthusiastic from the day she heard about them, to the day she joined and beyond. Sure, there where some ponies in the guard that were as unorganized as her family, but they didn't interfere with Gale's side of the guard.

Night Gale was not just an ordinary guard though. through her aptitude in armed flight combat, her natural leadership and organization skills as well as her extreme desire for self-betterment, she rose quickly through the guards. Right out of basic training, she was able to join the officer's school, a fast track to becoming a leader in the guard. After two years, she was given the rank of lieutenant, gaining a small section of guard to command, no more than five ponies. A year into that, and she was given the rank of major, and now a platoon of guards that she commanded. And for her most recent position almost a year and a half after her last promotion, she earned the rank of colonel, commanding an entire division of the Lunar Guard. To say that Gale was happy with her current position would be an astounding understatement. This was her third week as an active colonel of the 3rd Lunar Guard division. a command of over one-hundred ponies. And Gale was loving every second of it.

The higher one rose in the guard, the less you had to hear from officers that outranked you. For Gale, the only two officers that outranked her were four generals of the guard, of both the Lunar guard and Solar guard, the Grand Marshall of each, and of course, the Captain of the guard, who oversaw both. She was happy that she got less direct orders from above. That way, she could focus on what she could do for the guard, not just follow orders. Now she could give orders, and ponies would listen. Gale thought that it was one of the better parts of the job. That, and being able to pick her own schedule, like taking the city watch shift for the entirety of the week.

Gale loved the city watch shift, it allowed her to indulge her habit of staring at the night sky. The excuse she gave was that it allowed her to plan the next couple guard shifts in her head, which wasn't entirely false. She could think up a lot of the guard schedules up here on the tower. It was also an easy way for the guardsponies to find her, as she would always be here on top of this tower, which also was a deterrent to come up and get her. It was seven flights of stairs, one-hundred and three steps of stupid question deterrent. At least for the non pegasi in the guard. It was situated just at the edge of the wall to the castle, a little to the left of the front gate.

Another benefit of the city watch shift was the lack of activity. Nothing happened up here, literally nothing. It was one of the more peaceful shifts that exist in the guard. Which is one of the reasons it is highly sought after by the guardsponies. Tonight was another usual night on the city watch shift, which comprised of nothing.

Night Gale sighed, she enjoyed this time to herself, away from her family and the rest of the guard. Not that she has anything against either of them, she loved both dearly. But alone time is where she felt the most peaceful. Three hours into her shift, and Gale was still at peace.

'Nothing still...' Gale thought while looking out over the city.

She turned her eyes back up to the sky, 'Still cloudy up there, I see.'

She let her eyes wonder the sky for a little while longer, looking for an opening, before a purple sheen caught her attention.

"Hmm?" She looked down, scanning the city. was it imagination? Waiting with her breath held, she looked for another sheen.

"There," she saw it, in the middle class apartment district, somepony was shooting up purple firework spells.

"Hooligans..." she said as she dived down the tower's side.

She headed for the guard barracks, looking for the on-call guards. They could usually be found playing hoofball or someother games in the yard. but on a rainy night like this, they where likely playing cards inside. Gale landed with a soft tapping on the stone floor just outside the door, pausing before deciding who to take. Making her choice, she opened the door.

"Fleet! Rock, with me!" she said with the authority of a colonel.

'Still love how that sounds!' She thought.

"Sir!" the two guards said in unison, one pegesus and one unicorn quickly abandoned their game and trotted to the door with Gale

"Whats the problem, colonel?" Fleet, the unicorn, asks.

"Some hooligans are shooting off fireworks in Canterlot," she replied.

Both guards stare at her, "They why are you coming?" Rock, the pegasus, asks.

"Eh, I need to stretch my wings."

"Ah..." Fleet says.

"That and getting talked to by a colonel should put the fear of Celestia in them!"

Both the guards laugh. It is no secret in the guard that Gale is proud of her position, and does whatever she can to make people know where she is.

They trot quickly out of the gate from the guard complex and move to a direct line to the offending party. They move in silence, only the sound of hoofsteps and the rain on their armor making any noise.

As they move, Gale begins to worry, but she can't put a hoof on it.

'This is just a routine grab and scold,' she thought, 'then why did I take two guards with me?'

The more she moved, the more she was worried. she wasn't sure why

More silence. She moved a little faster.\

Snap! purple firework.

'1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9...' she thought.

Snap!, another.

'1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9...'

Snap, a realization.

"Gallop!" she cried, catching her companions by surprise.

"What is it, Gale?" Rock asked?

"Colonel!" she corrected, before adding, "The fireworks are too regular, its not hooligans!"

Catching on, Fleet and Rock put their heads down in concentration.

"Fleet, send up a red firework!"

"Sir!" Fleet said, readying the spell.

It a white ball shot upward into the rainy sky, and terminated with an explosion of red light. Gale waited, still galloping to the source of the fireworks. She counted to twenty.

Snap!, a red ball lit up in the sky.

Gale took to the skies, Rock followed, Fleet galloped faster.

'A minute away,' thought gale, 'I hope we're not too late.'

Gale spent that minute in intense concentration, focused on finding out what was wrong. She was the first to arrive in they alleyway, followed closely by Rock. They saw a tired unicorn, grey coat, speckled grey-dark grey mane, wearing a trench coat and saddlebags. He was leaning up against a wall, panting heavily.

"Colonel Night Gale, Lunar guard!" she said, "What's wrong?"

The stallion was still panting, trying to catch his breath. Seconds passed, he still did not speak.

Fleet ran into the alleyway.

"What's the problem?" he asks, breathing a little heavier than normal.

"We'er waiting for him to say," Gale replied.

"Th-haa.... haa... there's been-haa..." the stallion was trying to say.

"A what?" Gale asked, a little of her worry turning into annoyance.

"M-Murder!" the stallion said, pointing to a pile of trash.

The Fleet galloped over, producing a light from his horn.

'That's definitely a body,' Gale thought slightly disgusted.

"What can you see, Fleet?" Gale asked.

"No obvious wounds, no magical signature," Fleet said, "Looks like a normal death from cold, or heart failure. Poor soul."

Gale looked at the stallion, "Look I know it's scary to find a body, but don't go around shouting murder."

"But it was!" the stallion shot back, "There were these two things, monsters here. And they killed him!"

Gale raised an eyebrow, "Monsters? Fleet, sobriety check here."

"I'm not drunk!" He shouted, "There was something here!"

Fleet lit up his spell.

Both Gale and the stallion looked at him, waiting for the results, one pensive, the other relaxed.

"Nothing, Colonel," Fleet finally said, "High levels of adrenaline and low magic reserves though."

"See!" the stallion cried, "I'm not drunk! And something killed him!"

"Calm down, calm down," Gale said, "What did you see?"

"He saw a visage of a wolf, with eyes of terrible fire." A voice from above called.

Getting forced out of the dream world was an unpleasant experience for sure, but being in a dream that shattered and getting shoved out of the dream world, that was extremely unpleasant. Luna opened her eyes to the sight of the room upside down, with the feeling of a crick in her neck.

It felt like she had just gone through the Wonderbolt initiation with the machine turned up to twenty. Still dizzy and confused, it took her a moment to get to her feet, and even longer to realize that she had been thrown out of her bubble.

She dispelled the anti-gravity zone and brought back the lights when there was a light wrapping on her door.

"Princess?" A guard called, "Is everything alright?"

"Verily," She called back, "Merely an nightmare gone awry."

"So...." the guard questioned.

"Everything is fine, return to your post."

"Your majesty!" the guard said.

Luna sighed, she would need to change her speech patterns soon. The guards still were not use to it after all these years.

She looked to her balcony, "What was that dream?" she said as she moved to the doors, "T'was far to real to be merely imagination."

Looking out over the city for the location of the dreamer, a flash caught her eye. In the sky a red flash means something of dire consequence, she remembered.

'At least, it once did...' she thought.

she opened the doors to the balcony, reading her wings to fly.

Another red flash.

Luna paused, tracing where it came from.

'The dreamer!' she shot skyward, rocketing to the location of the firework. She was fast, it almost would have made Rainbow jealous.

Calm down..., a voice said. Luna remembered it to be a recently promoted guard, by the name of Night Gale.

What did you see?, Gale said.

"He saw a visage of a wolf, with eyes of terrible fire." Said Luna, now directly over the alley.

"Princess Luna!" the three guards said, saluting.

"P-princess!" Marble stammered, "What are... How did you know what happened?"

"I saw it, in your dream." She responded.

"He says there was a murder." Gale said, "Fleet says heart attack."

"Where is the body?" Luna asked.

Fleet pointed to the body.

Luna froze.

Everypony was looking at her, wondering what happened.

Luna was not looking at the body, but what was in it.

"What in Equestria...?" Luna asked to nopony.

There, sticking out of the pony's chest, right where his heart was...

was an arrow.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Knowledge, Gained

Luna had made a scene, something absolutely detested doing as it attracted too much attention to her. With being a princess and all, it would stand to reason that Luna would be used many prying eyes. But these scenes that she sometimes caused garnered eyes that were not of admiration or trust, but of worry and fear, two looks she still had trouble standing. In those eyes, she saw her past rearing its ugly head, and it often became too much to bare. Though she would not go running away, she was too proud for that. No, when something became to much to bare for Luna, she go angrier.

It seemed that the worse the scene was, the sourer Luna’s mood became. And in turn, the sourer Luna’s mood was, the worse the situation became. Thus was the endless vicious cycle of Luna’s problems. Luna was aware of this issue of hers and did well to hide it. She was often in total control her temper and demeaner during such situations, not letting them escalate any higher than she could manage. It was rare that her sister needed to step in and fix a situation.

‘I think even Celestia will have issues fixing this,’ Luna thought as she walked out of the city morgue with the body of the homeless stallion held in her magic.

She was ready to leave, especially after shouting at her guard for not seeing the arrow, and the poor stallion for the same thing, and the other guard.

And the paramedics.

And the doctor.

And the morgue attendant.

He got shouted at twice.

Out on the street, which thankfully held no other ponies despite being almost dawn, Luna gathered herself before a teleportation spell brought her to her quarters. There, she cast spells in preparation for her own autopsy of the body, including every magical detection spell that was available to her. And maybe some that were available to her sister. She had many trips to the library, many books, and many pots of coffee ahead of her. It was going to be a long night, or day, in Luna’s case.

The arrow itself was undetectable to basic detections spells of all kinds, physical, magical, energy, nothing could find it. Even more alarming to Luna, it hardly reacted to most schools of magic, only magical light seemed affect it, as normal light would do to any other object. Whatever this was, Luna was not prepared enough to deal with it with the knowledge of the top of her head.

Luna stared glumly at the body, she was going to have to ask for help on this one, something she hated almost as much as making a scene. It made her seem weak, helpless. A feeling that also reminded her of past sins. But she was going to do more than just let others solve her problems. She would first attempt research by herself, then ask.

Luna cast an invisibility spell on the body and the arrow to hide them from prying eyes while she ventured to the library. Or rather tried to cast it on the arrow. With it being as averse to magic as it was, refused to turn transparent, leaving a ghostly arrow floating over a table. This had the fortunate affect of giving Luna a much better view of the offending protrusion on the corpse.

It was long, Luna knew that, but she did not realize just how long. It reached almost all the way through the stallion, going straight through his heart. The shaft of the arrow, if it could even be called that, seemed to be made of strands of smoke, forever smashed into the shape of a pole. The portion of it that was buried in the body seemed much more solid than the part that was not. The fletching and the head where both the same wispy tendrils as the shaft, though anypony looking at it would be hard pressed to find them. They seemed to blend into the shaft, making them almost invisible.

Luna sighed, and moved toward the doors. She needed more research materials to study this. Most likely those books were in the restricted section of the library, one of three limited availability sections that the royal archives housed. The restricted section dealt with concepts and some spells that were deemed sensitive for the average reader. The forbidden section barred any but high-level mages and scholars from accessing, these were dangerous spells and research notes not for the faint of heart. The last section was only for the Princesses and those whom they selected. Full of dark magic tomes and some horrendous researches conducted by terrible ponies, only a hoofful of ponies could be trusted around them.

Luna thought about what references she would need, and where to get them. Many of her thoughts on the arrow, and its owner, fell within reasonable realms of thought, meaning the restricted section was going to be the most helpful. Only a couple of her ideas could be considered dark enough to be considered for the forbidden section, requiring a more direct and thorough search. A couple of aids could be sent to the restricted section to gather correct tomes, but she herself would visit the forbidden section.

No, if there is a murderer on the loose, one as strong as Luna would think, then it would be prudent not to arouse suspicion. She would need to put as much work on the aids as possible. She would also need to keep the work in a tight circle as well. No use in spreading information around too much.

It was quiet in the archives when Luna and her posse of ponies walked in. everything was a little more quiet than usual, which was just how Luna wanted it.

“Is there anypony else here?” Luna asked the attendant.

“No your majesty,” she replied, “Nopony here, just like you asked. We shut down the archives temporarily for you and your research team.”

Luna smiled “Thank thee. Now, please take the rest of thy day off, we dost want no disturbances.”

“Yes your majesty!” she called happily, “Would you like the guards to stand watch?”

“That wouldst be preferred.”

“Yes your majesty,” she said as she left, shutting the doors behind her.

When the doors were shut, Luna turned back to her gathering of research assistants, looking over all of them. In total, there were five ponies that she trusted to help her.

The first was the unicorn Moondancer, one of Twilights friends, she was smart, good at research, and loved to read. She also knew the archives like the back of her hoof, so she would act as the team lead in Luna’s absence, telling ponies what books to get, sections to read, and anything else that came into mind.

Next was Bright Rune, a unicorn stallion from Celestia’s School. He specialized in strange and unknown ways of casting magics. Contrary to popular belief, there was more than one way to channel magic into spells. Many of them were far more difficult than just casting magic through one’s horn, but they had their uses, and Bright Rune knew almost all of them.

Next was Still Wind, a pegasus mare who specialized in fast, near silent flight. In truth, she wasn’t much of a researcher, but she was good at finding the books that where needed. With her quick and silent, almost windless flying, she could fetch the needed books as quickly as Rainbow Dash, without the mess.

Ivory Puzzle, a earth pony mare, was one of the best statisticians, strategists and computer that Luna had ever seen. She had scored perfect marks on every test administered on the subjects, even tests that Luna herself had rigged to be as difficult as possible. She would coordinate information, look for connections, and point ponies in the direction that would be the most helpful.

The last member of the research team was a unicorn mare named Radiant, another member of the school. She was quite gifted in almost all forms of multi target spells, including ones for searching nearby shelves for books with keywords, allowing easy finding of needed passages. She also was quite gifted at light based spells, which might come in handy for study of that object.

Luna looked over her silent team preparing what to say.

“Thou must be wondering why we, ahem, I gathered everypony here,” Luna started, “There has recently been a disturbing occurrence in Canterlot.”

Even though none of the ponies were talking, the room seemed to grow even quieter.

“More specifically, a magical murder,” Luna said, looking at various reactions.

Moondancer and Radiant gasped, Ivory showed no emotion, Rune seemed intrigued, and Wind’s face hardened.

“But if you called a research team together, then there must be more to it than that princess,” Bright Rune said.

“Astute,” replied Luna, “The nature of the magic is entirely unknown to me, is immune to almost all forms of magic and apparently can only be seen by me.”

“Pardon, princess,” Moondancer said, ”but if it’s not affected by magic, and we can’t see it, how do we study it?”

“I believe the visual aspect of this magic will be solved with short notice, and the rest will be up to you,” Luna said, “I will remain till sight is solved, then I must retire.”

Luna sighed inwardly. She had not wanted to change her plans, but in order to solve this as discretely as possible, she must still perform her duties as princess, meaning a good days sleep. She has the coffee for this moment of clarity.

“Moondancer will be in charge when I leave, but until then, the item is hidden on this table over here,” Luna said, moving toward a table.

“I must admit something though,” Luna said a bit nervously, “The item itself, an arrow, is unable to make physical or magical contact with anything, save the pony that it killed.”

Moondancer and Bright Rune tensed.

“So it remains in the cadaver,” Luna said.

She dropped her invisibility spell on the stallion, to audible gasps from everypony.

“The body will not decay, I have made sure of that.”

“P-Princess, is this alright?” Bright Rune said, “I mean, I’m not sure that this is appropriate.”

“Tis an ongoing investigation, and this is evidence.” Luna spoke with a bit of an edge to her voice, “We are allowed to have the body here.”

Luna was silent for a moment, still seeing worry and concern on their faces, “We know tis difficult,” Luna said, “But We know. I know, that you can do this task. I have the utmost faith.”

Everypony seemed a little more calm with this assertion of the princesses confidence.

“Now, let us begin research.”

Luna sighed. Even with all of the intelligent ponies in that room, it had taken till almost noon until progress in detecting the arrow was made. They had finally been able to see the arrow with a combination of detection, true sight and light-based spells, even if it was for the briefest of moments.

She had given them access to the forbidden section of the archives in her absence, as well as set up a private chamber within the archives so they could be reopened. It was hidden and locked, it was doubtful even some of the more powerful unicorns could gain entrance even if they could find it. It was large enough to work very comfortably in, it even had beds if the need arouses. It was also there to hide the body of the victim, finding a random dead pony in the archives would rise questions that were not needed.

She was heading to her chambers from the kitchen after getting a snack. She found it easier to sleep on a full stomach. Luna had a lot to think about, who the murderer was, what the motive for the murder was, how the murder performed such magic, and how they disguised themselves as a lamb and a wolf, as the witness said. Luna knew this was a going to be a long bunch of days ahead of her.

“Luna.”

Luna started. It was Celestia.

“Yes sister, tis a problem?”

“If you would call a dead body in the royal archives a problem, then yes.”

“Sister, We would hope that thee trust us enough to perform this investigation on our own.”

“Lulu, I do trust you,” Celestia said sincerely” I just wish you would tell me you wanted to personally investigate this. I know it’s the first murder Equestria has seen since you’ve been back, and I know how much you’ve…”

“Have you seen him?” Luna interrupted.

“W-what? Seen who?”

“The victim. You will know why I want to investigate this when you do.“

“Luna are you alright? I know you have been cooped up in the castle for a while now but if this is your way of getting out, I must insist that you find another avenue to pursue.”

“Celestia,” Luna said the authority in her voice surprising her, “The body is in the hidden room of the archives, by the farming section. Go now and view it, I know you will understand.”

Celestia stood there, looking for a moment.

“Tis too late in the day for me, I may need to rest for a little longer for tonight.” Luna said as she turned around to continue to her chambers.

Celestia had court in an hour, but hopefully that was enough time too see what Luna was worried about.

Daybreak. Lamb loved to watch the sun rise in the mornings, Wolf was indifferent.

Kindred sat on a hill West of Canterlot, contemplating past and future events. It rested in silence, waiting for the sun to poke over the horizon. Many thoughts traveled through Kindred's heads, from hunting and running, to waiting and aiming, to planning and scheming. Kindred thinks about all the things that need to be done and how to do them. It continues to muse in silence, with an air of solemn contentedness around them.

Its thoughts are broken by the creeping movement of the sun, just beginning to edge on the cusp of the horizon, sending golden red rays of light across the sky. Streaking across the sky, the beams brush the white clouds red, leaving the sky dark. minutes pass as the sun continues its morning exercise, slowly turning the sky from black, to navy, a gradual, almost imperceptible slide to brightening the sky.

"Is it blood, Lamb?"

"No Wolf, It is a new day."

”I wanted blood…”;dlk

”I know Wolf, you’ll get more soon enough.”

”Gahh… Not fast enough…”

The sky was its normal blue now, with the clouds their usual pristine white. The sun's rays now warmed the ground, telling all of the living things it was time to awaken from their nightly slumber.The flowers began to bloom, the birds began to tweet their songs. a soft wind began to blow, rustling leaves left in its wake. The grass glistened with morning dew and the air damp with morning mist. It was only now that Kindred began to stir. Today was a good day, though some were not able to see the dawn.

Kindred had been busy last night, scouring the city for those to be hunted. It had searched the entire city three times over that night, quickly leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Souring over alleyways and streets, past those who could not see them. It found those who were close, those who could feel death. Some were ready, some were not. But it made no difference to Kindred, it took them anyways. Six in total met kindred that night, and only one of them could utter their names afterward.

”We must move on, dear Wolf.” Lamb spoke, ”We have learned enough from the ponies here.”

”But I want to chase!”

”There were some to chase for you last night, do you want more?”

”They were all old! And ready for us.”, Wolf whined.

”Not all choose my arrow, dear Wolf.”, Lamb replied.

”They did not run!”, Wolf lamented, ”They crawled…”

Wolf huffed, ”None here flee!”

Lamb giggled, ”Then we will go where they flee.”

”Yes! Yes! Where they run!”

”But you must find it first, a place where we are feared.”

”I know it! This way!” Wolf says as he darts off to the near side of the city, with Lamb following quickly, both getting what they want.

Kindred knew that it was going the right way, whatever way it went was the right way. There were always those it could hunt, no matter wherever it went. But there were places that held more of a thrill for Kindred, places that were akin to a shooting range where everything was a target. If it could claim it did one thing better than its job, it was finding those whom are ready for the hunt. No matter where prey was, how far away, how inhospitable the journey, Kindred would be there, ready for the hunt ahead, whether or not the hunted were.

Wolf shot through the countryside, flying past trees, rivers and streams, ignoring those that he passed. Lamb was in close pursuit, moving just as fast, but taking in a little more than her friend. The moved quickly, faster than any train or pegasus. Kindred could be wherever it was needed in a moment’s notice, making sightseeing almost trivial. It, in fact, did not see where they were traveling until their destination was already upon them, a magnificent crystalline structure dominating the landscape.

They had arrived.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Wounds and Scars

“Marble, ya there? It’s Joe, kinda getting worried ‘ere.”

Doughnut Joe was standing outside of an apartment knocking on the door. Three days ago, he invited his friend Marble Grain out for drinks. And when Joe showed up to his friend’s apartment, he wouldn’t answer. He knows Marble is there, people have told him, but he hasn’t seen him for three days. He visited Marble everyday since, and not once has he answered the door.

“Marble, please,” Joe pleaded, “Please open up, I’m worried ‘bout ya.”

Silence still reigned in the hallway, Joe couldn’t hear anything inside the door. It was the same as the last three times, nothing.

‘Maybe the rejected proposal meant more to him than I thought,’ He sighed and turned from the door. He didn’t know why marble was being like this, but he hoped his friend would come around soon.

“Joe?” a voice said softly behind him.

“Marble!” Joe shouted, “There ya are! I was worried ‘bout…”

He stopped.

Marble’s eyes looked red and small. There were dark circles around them, making them look sunken and even smaller. They stared without seeing what was in front of them, blank and empty. His coat had lost its shine, now appearing as if dust on a rock. His mane was in a similar state, unkempt and frazzled. It looked more like long grass from the Everfree than his usual straight and well-kept mane.

“Marble?” Joe said worryingly, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s… it’s nothing,” Marble said quietly, “Please, come in. I haven’t talked to you in a while.” He said with a somewhat forced smile on his face.

Joe walked into Marble’s home cautiously, but still determined. He knew something was wrong, that was obvious. He felt like running, fleeing from whatever was happening to his friend. But this was his friend, he was going to help them, no matter he felt like doing.

Marble’s apartment was messy, but not dirty. It looked like an average single stallion’s apartment. A few plates of food here and there, a book left open on the night stand, a saddlebag on the floor by the chair. The only thing different about Marble’s apartment and Joe’s was the, frankly absurd number of lit candles and floating light spells around. But aside from the candles, it was an average, messy, single stallion’s apartment. This made Joe worry even more. Marble was not a messy pony like his family heritage would imply, quite the opposite in fact. He was tidy to a fault, to the point of learning some of the best cleaning spells he could get his hooves on. The fact that his apartment looked even a little unkempt made the concern grow even greater in Joe

“Marble, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing…”

“No, Marble,” Joe said sternly, “It’s somthin’. Ya look terrible, yor apartment’s a mess, more than ya’d ever let it, ya look like ya haven’t got any sleep in days, and ya look like ya can fall over any second.”

“Y-yea, sleep has been,” Marble paused, ”h-hard to come by for me.”

“Why?” Joe asked hurriedly, ”Marble please tell me.”

“It’s noth-”

“Marble, it’s not nothin’, somethin’ is up with ya. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s… I don’t…” Marble paused for a second, “You won’t believe me.”

“Why wouldn’t I believe you?”

“Because the princess didn’t believe me…”

Joe stared at Marble, a bit taken aback.

“Marble, I’ll listen, and all believe ya.”

“But you won’t!” Marble said, half shouting, “The guards didn’t believe me, the princess barley gave me a second look, and now even I’m doubting myself!”

“The princess isn’t ya friend, Marble. I am.” Joe said, “I’ll believe ya, no matter what dribble comes out of ya mouth.”

Marble looked at Joe with a face of surprise.

“I promise Marble.”

“Oh-ok, I’ll tell you,” Marble said, “Can we sit down?”

“Yea, ‘course.” Joe said, moving toward the couch.

Marble moved only after Joe began to sit down. He moved quietly, almost like he was trying not to wake a filly sleeping in the same room. He was silent all the way to the couch, looking at each door in the room, then the lights, then the couch, then finally on Joe, his sockets still looked sunken, but his eyes held a little more hope. It took only a moment for Marble to get to the couch and sit down, but to Joe, it was a tense eternity.

Marble sat on the couch for a little, looking down. He sat there, like that, for just around a minute’s time. But Joe had no problem waiting. It looked like he was trying to find words, or maybe courage. Joe could wait though, he had already pressured him to open up, he won’t pressure him to find words.

“It happened when I left your place three days ago.” Marble began.

“I was almost home, about two blocks away. When I heard voices. They were coming from an alleyway, they were talking about, well, I don’t know what. All I really remember is one was a sweet feminine voice, but the other sounded like the biggest, meanest diamond dog you can imagine, but somehow worse.

“I don’t know why I went into the alley, I just felt like I needed to. I needed to see who made them.”

Marble shifted uncomfortably on the couch, his breath was a bit shorter than earlier.

“It sounded like they wanted to… to hunt somepony…”

“To hunt somepony? Like to kill em?” Joe asked, a little fearfully.

“Y-yea…” Marble almost whispered.

Joe sat in silence for a moment, taking in what he just heard.

“Ponies hunting other ponies, why wouldn’t the princess believe that.”

Now it was Marble’s turn to sit in silence, only his even shorter breaths breaking the stillness.

“They weren’t ponies….” He said, a shaking in his voice, mirrored by his body.

“What were they then, griffons, diamond dogs?”

“They were monsters Joe! Monsters!” Marble shouted. His voice was now strained, his eyes were wild and with tears on the corners.

”With fiery eyes full of hate! They were terrifying, and scary I couldn’t move they were just talking they said they were going to kill me they just looked at me with those eyes I couldn’t”

“Marble! Marble! Calm down! Calm down!” Joe said reaching out to his friend.

Marble was shaking, his eyes were darting around the room, doubtless looking for those that terrified him so. He was crying profusely now, his face and neck quickly becoming matted.

“It’s ok! It’s fine! They’re not ‘ere! Your safe!”

Joe was now holding a shaking, crying Marble. He admittedly was on the fence about believing whatever Marble was going to say. He was going to tell Marble that he believed him anyways, to help him. But now, there was nothing else for Joe to do but believe Marble. Something terrible had happened to him, something had hurt his friend dearly. And even if Marble was lying about exactly what had happened, Joe was certain that he would have never wanted to experience it for himself.

Joe sat there for quite some time, comforting Marble. It was a while before Marble calmed down enough to separate himself from Joe, sitting only a little way apart. And only a little longer before he stopped crying. Joe and Marble sat on the couch together, listening to each other breath, one for comfort, the other to comfort.

“Joe, I’m sorry.”

“C’mon, This isn’t your fault Marble,” Joe said, “None of this is.”

“I’m sorry I’m dumping my problems on you, I didn’t mean to.”

“Really Marble? Ya needed this, and I’m glad I could help.” Joe said with a smile, “And I’m happy I could help.”

“Thanks”

They sat in relative silence for a while, thinking about what happened. Neither really knew what to say next, for fear of the other. It was Joe that broke the silence.

“Why didn’t ya come for help? I woulda’ been there.”

“It honestly wasn’t this bad,” Marble replied, “The first night I was a little scared, but it didn’t really affect me.

“But when I woke up, it was… it was like…”

Marble sighed.

“It felt like they were here watching me…” he said finally, “But that’s not quite right. I thought I could see them, in every dark corner, in every dark hall. I could see those eyes, those horrible eyes.”

Marble started shaking again, and Joe was quick to move to his side. It wasn’t as bad as before, but Joe wasn’t going to take any chances.

“Its fine, I’m still here. I’m still here.”

Marble was quick to recover this time, stopping his shaking in exchange for longer breaths. Gradually, they evened out, shallowing out until he achieved a natural tempo. Marble and Joe sat on the couch for a little while longer. Marble, as far as Joe could tell, seemed far calmer than before.

‘I hope this helps,’ Joe thought, ‘I don’t want something bad to happen to him if I can help it.’

A light growl came from Marble. He winced and looked down.

“Haven’t had dinner yet, eh?”

“I guess no-” more growling.

“Not” Marble finished.

Joe laughed, with Marble quickly joining in. Joe’s laugh was big and boisterous, a little like him. Marbles was similar, but lacked the depth and breadth that Joe’s did. But it was genuine, and that mattered most to Joe. They laughed for a solid minute, before beginning to calm down

Another growl from Marble’s stomach timed with almost perfect accuracy in between chuckles and wheezing set in motion more laughing. When one would begin to calm down, the other would grow louder, causing the other to laugh right along with him. This vicious circle almost bringing a tear to Joe’s eye. Marble was able to gain control first, with Joe following after.

“Thanks, Joe,” Marble said, “This help more than you know.”

“it’s what friends are for Marble,” Joe responded, “Any time.”

“I’m gunna make something to eat,” Marble said, getting off the couch, “want anything?”

“Na, I’m good, ate before I got here.”

“Alright, anything to drink?” he asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Hmmm… Water if ya have it.”

“Water it is!”

Joe hopped of the couch and followed Marble into the kitchen, partly to get the water himself as he didn’t want to burden him too much, and partly to see his magic in action. Marble couldn’t sustain a powerful spell to save his life, but he was exceedingly good at levitation spells. So much so that he even impressed some high-level unicorns. This time was no different, in the center of the kitchen stood Marble, levitating all thirteen ingredients for what looked like a simple casserole. He was chopping two different vegetables, crunching chips, mixing the filling, and preparing the oven all at once. If Joe didn’t know that Marble would be drained after this spectacle, he would be jealous.

“I know you said you didn’t want anything,” Marble said, “But I wanted to make you some anyways. You can always take it home.”

“Ha!” Joe said, “Yer making me rethink this, Marble. I may just join you.”

“Sounds good.”

Joe used magic to get a couple glasses out of the cabinet, and fill them with ice and water, carrying the to the table. Just before he set them down, he heard a clattering and a short cry behind him. Turning, he saw Marble in the corner breathing a bit heavily and a wooden spoon on the floor.

“Marble?” Joe asked, “Ya ok?”

“Y-yea,” Marble replied unevenly, “Just missed the counter is all.”

Joe looked at Marble for a couple moments while he regained his composer.

“Are ya really ok?” Joe asked.

“I’m… better,” Marble said.

“I’m not sure that’s good enough for me,” Joe stated.

“W-what?”

“Why haven’t ya talked to the princess?”

“She… I don’t think she would listen.”

“Why not?”

“Cause she didn’t the first time,” Marble sighed, “She just left…”

Joe was silent, pondering what the princess did that night.

‘It not like a princess to just leave, right?’ Joe thought, ‘She had to have a reason of doing so.’

“I don’t think she would help.” Marble said.

“Course she will! It’s not like ya did anything wrong.”

“But what if she doesn’t…”

“I’m still here,” Joe said, “and ya got the rest of your friends.”

Marble sighed. He was shifting around on his hooves, avoiding eye contact with Joe.

“C’mon Marble, I’ll go with you.”

Marble sighed and stopped fidgeting, “Alright, I’ll go…”

“Ha!” Joe laughed, “Good.”

“But not tonight,” Joe added.

“Why not?” Marble asked quizzically, a bit relieved.

“She’s not at the palace,” Joe said, “Heard something about her heading up to the Crystal Empire.”

“Oh,” Marble said, “for how long?”

“I think I heard a week, minimum.”

“Ok,” Marble said, a small smile on his face, “I think I can wait. I have you around, right?”

“Only for a day,” Joe said, looking a bit sheepish, “I have a family reunion in Ponyville day after tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

“You can come with me if ya want to. My family would love to have ya.”

“No, I couldn’t.” Marble said, looking shy again, ”I don’t want to be a burden.”

“It’s no problem for me,” Joe said honestly.

“it’s fine,” Marble said, “I’m fine on my own.”

“Your sure?”

“Absolutely.” Marble said, confident smile on his face, “You helped me out a lot already, I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Alright Marble, I trust ya.”

“Good,” Marble said, still smiling, “Now let’s eat!”

Marble took the casserole from the oven. It was perfectly cooked, of course, and looked delicious. Grabbing someplates and silverware from the cabinets, Joe set the table, and the two of them began to eat. Marble ate in relative silence, while Joe quickly ate his portion, all the while praising Marble’s culinary expertise. Marble was only half-way through when Joe finished, giving time for Joe to notice somethings about how Marble was acting. He seemed happy enough, but would still glance at the doors and windows, and sometimes give a little jump at some noise outside.

“Marble, I’m gunna be honest with ya,” Joe started.

“W-what?” Marble said, a little worry in his face.

“I think I want someone to stay with ya for the week,” Joe said, “At least till ya get on yer feet.”

Marble opened his mouth to reply, but quickly looked down.

“I know ya don’t want it, but…”

“No.” Marble said.

“No, you’re right. At least until I’m on my feet again.”

“Yea,” Joe said, “I’m just worried for ya.”

“Heh, yes, I know,” Marble replied, “And thank you for that.”

“I can’t stay with ya past tonight,” Joe said, “Do ya have anyone in mind?”

“Umm… All my family is far away,” Marble replied, “I don’t think I have any relatives nearby.”

“Any friends in Canterlot?” Joe asked.

“You’re the only one that I would trust honestly.”

“Hmm…” Joe sat, pondering his friends dilemma.

“Wait!” Marble suddenly shouted, “I have a relative near here!”

“Really?” Joe said, somewhat startled, “Who?”

“I can’t believe I forgot about her.”

“Marble, who is it?”

“She’s famous now too!” Marble said, getting a little more anxious, “I wonder if she’ll even respond to a letter.”

“Marble, hello? Who is it?”

“Oh, It’s Pinkie Pie!”

“The Element of Harmony.”

“Yep!”

“The one that is super energetic.”

“Yep!”

“The one that pops out of nowhere on a regular basis.”

“Yep.”

“The one that caused me trouble on a train to a competition.”

“Yep…”

“That Pinkie Pie.”

“Yes…” Marble said, “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

“Haha!” Joe laughed his honest, hearty laugh, “No, she’s perfect! If anyone can get you out of this funk, its her!”

“Really?”

“Yep!” Joe said, smiling, “And I can get her a letter, by tonight even!”

“What?” Marble said, a hint of surprise in his voice, “How?”

“I know princess Twilight. There friends.”

Marble could only hang his mouth in shock. It was a few moments before he could talk again.

“How do you know the princess?”

“She used to be a regular at my café,” Joe said, pride swelling, “I got a charm from her to send her items that she left behind. Still should work though.”

“Wow, that’s an impressive amount of trust.”

“She gave it to me before she was a princess, so it’s not really weird.” Joe said.

“Still though…”

Joe just let out another hearty laugh.

“Now, go write that letter,” Joe said, “I’ll be right back with that charm.”

“Right!” Marble said, moving to his bedroom.

“I’ll be back soon!” Joe spoke loudly as he was leaving Marble’s apartment, “Don’t go falling asleep now!”

“I won’t Joe!” Marble shouted back, “That you don’t have to worry about!”

“Ha!” Joe said as he shut the door.

Marble walked over to his desk, pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill.

He sat for a moment, thinking about what he would write. He was never really any good at writing to people, being open about his feelings. But he needed help. Tonight was good, but he knew it was still going to be a bad couple days.

He thought for a moment about not writing, not asking her to come all the way out to Canterlot just to take care of him. The fire he saw out of the corner of his eye changed his mind.

‘Dear Pinkie Pie,

It’s Marble Grain, your cousin. I don’t know if you remember when we meet, but I do! I’m sorry to write only after so long, and only to ask a favor, but I really need your help right now…’

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Greater Knowledge, Greater Unknown

The librarian, Rose Page, sat in the silence of the Archives, the sound of her light scratching quill failing to fill the quietness of the large, cavernous room. Occasionally, she would see an off yellow pegasus flying past. Normally, no pegasi are allowed in the archives, as the wind force they generate is too much for the books to handle. She has had too many incidents that caused the books be damaged, so pegasi are normally banned from flying in the archives. But this one, this off yellow pegasus was given permission by princess Luna herself to fly here. That didn’t make her less nervous whenever she flew by though.

This group was abnormally active today, grabbing books from left and right. History books, magic books, alchemy books, they didn’t discriminate when it came to collecting. Rose was glad that they were reading so much, but she also dreaded when the time came for re-shelving. What was even more curious was what they needed the books for, she couldn’t find any rhyme or reason.

It wasn’t just books and scrolls though. Rose saw the pegasus bring in a potted plant, a bucket of water, cooking equipment. She was even sure she saw a blood bag from the medical wing. One thing Rose was sure of, if it wasn’t for the princesses blessings, they would have been out of the archives long ago. She knew that there were three magic users present in that special room of theirs. Rose could not even fathom what they where doing, maybe practicing magic?

But where does the earth pony fit in to that? The pegasus is if for fetching items, obviously, but why she stayed in the room with them was beyond whatever reasons Rose could think of. Maybe they were all scholars. Maybe they just needed five ponies in the same room to research whatever the princess wanted. But what was so important that it needed five ponies, three clans and unrestricted access to the entire archives? Rose loved mysteries, and this was one of the juiciest she had ever heard of. Not only that, but it was real and right sin her backyard.

‘Oh well,’ Rose thought, ‘I’ll just figure it out later.’

Rose looked down at her stack of paper work. ‘I have too much to do right now.’

Moondancer and Bright Rune where at a stand-still, in terms of magical means. There was simply no way they could find to detect the arrow, let alone affect it. They had gone through every school of magic, and that was no exaggeration. Moondancer, Bright Rune and Radiant had put their heads together and learned the basics of all ninety-three or so schools of magic in an attempt to find something that would remotely affect the arrow, something other than just a slight shimmering from magical light spells.

For the past three days, all they have done is discover that the schools of magic all contain a spell that produces magical light, something that is both an oddity and a triviality in this case. Odd because producing magical light seemed affinity less, not unique to any single school of magic. But here it was, different in every single school. It was also trivial because the information was useless to them.

Moondancer sighed, shutting the book on metalicogy after the few basic spells failed to affect the arrow. It had already been a long three days, but now, with absolutely none of the schools of magic, even the obscure ones, affecting the arrow, they were stumped.

Moondancer let down her bun to re adjust it. Always in its signature style, her red and purple striped mane was always in a bun atop her head when reading. Her mane wasn’t too long, but she liked to pull it all the way back to give her full vision of what she was reading. Her black, thick framed glasses, were perched on her mussel, still taped at the bridge from some event from long ago. She was sentimental of the break at this point and did not bother to fix or replace them.

Sitting next to Moondancer was Radiant, she was reading a book on magical theory, and looked just as worn out as Moondancer. Radiant was a unicorn mare with a very vivid purple, one that seemed to shine with the slightest of light. Her mane was a bright red, brighter than Moondancer’s, streaked with blue. Her eyes were a bright and vibrant blue, matching the streaks in her hair. Her cutie mark depicted a single point of white, with straight lines of various, vibrant, colors coming off of it.

Across the table sat the earth pony mare, Ivory Puzzle. She had a light grey coat with a straight black mane. Normally, if left unattended, her mane would drape down over her eyes, but Ivory always wore two identical white elephant-head shaped pins on either side of her hair. They were nestled just behind her ears, uncovering most of her face. The pins were about half the size of the average hoof. Ivory was pouring over notes that Moondancer, Radiant and Bright Rune took in order to find a pattern that the others have missed.

Bright Rune, who was currently napping on a large, princess sized chair, had gone over other books on magical theory the previous night. He had pulled an all-nighter and needed the rest. He had a stark white coat, which was more often than not covered in various chalks, paints and dust from experiments. Currently, it is a pristine white, likely because he has been reading books for the past 3 days. His mane is also white, blending seamlessly with his coat, only breaking color with a deep green streak running down the back of his head. His eyes are green, a little brighter than the stripe. His cutie mark depicts a blue seven-pointed star encircled by a green ring with blue marks on the outside.

The final member of their little five sum was out gathering dinner for the group. Everypony wanted to try the new Neighponies restaurant that opened up in Canterlot, so she had a lot of flying to do. Still wind had a dark yellow pegasus, not unlike spitfire, with a dark grey mane. Her eyes were a bright vibrant green, and she had a thin scar extending back from halfway up her mussel to just under her eye. Her wings were a bit larger than most pegasi, but also paradoxically lighter. Her cutie mark depicted large, brown and white owl’s wing. The fade to white pattern matched her wings.

“Hey, Rune,” Ivory called, “You should wake up if you want to sleep tonight.”

Ivory was not a mute, like many ponies thought, she just had very little to say. She would always talk in a flat, but not monotone voice, no matter what she had to say, or what was happening when she said it. She would rarely raise her voice or drastically change in pitch. Her voice was a bit hoarse at times, but was hardly noticeable otherwise.

“Mphhgg,” replied Bright Rune.

Ivory Puzzle looked on in a passive manner, as she is with any other situation. It was clear to her that Rune would need a more forceful wakeup call, and Radiant was right with her. Charging up a spell, she unleashed an ultra-bright, focused light directly at Bright Rune’s head. Rune responded with grunts and flailing limbs, a vain attempt to grab sheets that were not there.

“Put that out!” Bright Rune cried, “I’m up! I’m up!”

“Not until you get out of bed,” Radiant responded in her usual Canterlot aristocratic voice, “I need at least a good few steps out of you first.

Radiant was a confident mare, say what she wanted in the ways she wanted. She had a sense of timing with what she said and a certain way of speaking that was not off-putting. Socially, she was everywhere she wanted to go, parties, gatherings, openings, anything that she wanted to go to, she seemed to know the right ponies and say the right things. She spoke with a light Canterlot accent, with a confident voice, but not loud.

“Mphh, fine…” Rune said, shifting off the absurdly large and comfortable couch.

Bright Rune stood for a few seconds in the light of Radiant’s spell, looking down, squinting, blinking, doing everything that he could to relieve himself of that harsh light. Radiant just kept grinning.

“Turn that off!”

“I said that I wanted three steps.”

Bright let out another grunt and turned his back to Radiant, using his body as a shield from the harsh light. Radiant’s smile seemed to grow wider. Swiftly, with an air of superiority, she cast a refraction spell. Normally a refraction spell would only increase the reflectivity or reactivity to light a solid object would regularly have. But in Radiant’s case, with her mastery of all things light, was able to increase the refractivity of almost anything, including air, to the point where it would reflect as much light as was hitting it.

Bright Rune did not know this.

“Gahh!” He screamed, now with a perpetual spotlight shining directly in his eyes. He back pedaled until he hit a chair and stumbled over.

“And that’s three steps!” Radiant said exuberantly, “Wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“She Devil!” Rune said in response, still shielding his eyes from the spots within.

“C’mon Ray,” Moondancer said, “did you need to be that harsh?”

Moondancer was always a little shy, more comforted by her books than ponies. She would prefer to read than talk. As a result of this she was reclusive, and never really got to go out with others much. She would talk with a soft voice, never raising it above what ponies consider an inside voice. She mostly kept thoughts to herself, only putting out when necessary.

“Yes,” Radiant said, looking at Moondancer with a look of satisfaction.

“It was a bit much,” Ivory said, “But it did work.”

“Celestia! Could you have made that any brighter?” Bright Rune asked indignantly, recovering from the light.

“Of course,” Radiant replies, charging up a spell.

Moondancer and Ivory realized what was happening before it was too late. They were able to shield their eyes before the light bathed the room. Bright Rune, to his credit, did close his eyes, but it did nothing to stop the impossibly bright spell from radiant. The spell lasted for a couple seconds, covering the room in an impenetrable white light.

When the blanket of white light ended, Moondancer and Ivory were left blinking with spots in their eyes. In the end, hooves were not enough for the volume of light headed toward them. They still fared far better than Bright Rune though, who was left in a ball in the corner of the room, covering his eyes with what was pretty much his entire body.

“Why…” Bright Rune asked in a quiet, shaky voice.

“You asked if I could,” Radiant said, “Now hold on, I promise this will help.”

A short wave of semi-transparent magic emitted from Radiant’s horn, making contact with everyone in the room. Immediately afterward, all of the effects from her spell, eye spots, blindness and whatever else was happening to Bright Rune, disappeared, leaving no trace of Radiant’s spell.

“That is impressive,” Ivory said.

“Thank you,” Radiant replies, “I spent a couple years and more than a few test subjects perfecting that spell.”

“Impressive is an understatement,” Bright Rune said, still looking around the room to find the spots in his eyes. “I didn’t know that was even possible with light magic.”

Bright Rune was always fascinated with magic, and would always doggedly pursue whatever caught his interest. Normally, his low voice was steady and moderately slow, but when he is exited, it becomes higher in pitch and faster. He was ok with friends, he had a few close friends, and most people liked him, but he had few intermediate friends.

“It is quite useful,” Radiant said, “And there is a semi-permanent version.” Radian smiled, “You can even look directly at Celestia’s sun if you use it.”

“You might have to teach me that,” Bright Rune said, “If we could enchant something like glasses to use that spell, the uses would be incredible!”

“That would be a rather miraculous pair of spectacles,” Ivory agreed.

“Hmm…” Radiant pondered, “The spell is a little difficult to learn, it might be impossible to put on as a enchantment.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Bright Rune said, “Any spell I learn I can enchant! No sweat!” Bright Rune said, beaming with accomplishment.

“I’ve never had a problem with enchanting, its come natural to me!”

“But it’s the learning part that trips you up, isn’t it?” Ivory said in a flatter than usual voice.

This comment caused Radiant to burst out laughing, and Bright Rune to scowl and pout.

“If this research thing doesn’t work out,” Radiant said, “You’ve got yourself a business partner!”

“Though do try not to sleep so much, Rune,” Radiant added.

This got a laugh out of both Radiant and Bright Rune, and a smile out of Ivory. A small one.

“What do you think Moony?” Radiant asked, “Is this a good business proposition?”

Moondancer stared ahead blankly, ignoring the question.

“Moony?” Bright Rune asked.

Moondancer was staring at the arrow, rather where it was. She was unresponsive to the others.

“Moondancer?” Ivory asked, “What’s wrong?”

Radiant waved a hoof in front of her face, eliciting no reaction from the stricken unicorn.

“I’ll get the princess,” Ivory said, turning out of the room.

“Hold on,” Radiant said, walking to Moondancer.

Lighting up her horn, she charged a small lightning spell. Moondancer knew this spell, but was still unfazed by Radiant’s charging. After a couple more seconds, Radiant pointed her horn at Moondancer’s flank, and let the spell go.

Moondancer shot forwards, startled by the sudden shock to her posterior, and let out a small eep.

“What was that?” Moondancer asked, turning to look at her flank.

“You were just standing there.” Bright Rune said.

“Not responding to anything.” Ivory added.

“I was thinking!” Moondancer said rather incredulously.
“Well, maybe you should think louder then,” Radiant said, “Save others the worry.”

Moondancer pouted, turning a little red around the cheeks. “It’s not my fault I get lost in thought easily.”

“That is your fault, actually” Ivory said.

Moondancer pouted even more and became almost completely red in the cheeks.

“C’mon guys,” Bright Rune commented, “We’ve probably all done something similar.”

“While I’m alone? Yes,” Radiant replied, “In a room full of people, no.”

“Well I have…” Bright Rune offered.

“Well you’re weird,” Radiant said, “Both of you.”

“I’ve seen all of you stare into space,” Moondancer said.

“Not while staring at a potentially deadly object that we know nothing about,” Ivory said.

“That was a bit worrying…” Bright Rune added.

“Well, I’m fine,” Moondancer said quietly, “really, I am.”

Everypony stood around for a moment, looking around at each other. Nopony moved or spoke for what felt like a couple minutes, but in reality was only seconds. Moondancer was still red in the face and pouting at the floor, occasionally looking back to her flank. Ivory was looking between everypony, likely looking for somepony to say something. Radiant was looking at Bright Rune with a quizzical expression on her face. Bright Rune had a look of worry on his face, while staring at Moondancer.

“I think we’ve been here too long,” Ivory finally said.

“Agreed.” Radiant spoke while moving to the door.

“If we move quickly we might be able to catch Still at the restaurant.”

“Right, sounds good.” Bright rune said.

“OK…” Moondancer agreed.

They all moved to the door. With some stomachs growling in anticipation of food. Radiant was already outside, waiting for the rest of the group with a flat look on her face that was matched only by Ivory’s. Bright Rune got to the door just after Ivory went through and waited for Moondancer to join him. Moondancer was moving slowly, and was still a little red, but was essentially over the shocking experience.

“Wait!” Moondancer said, “I remembered what I was thinking about!”

“Care to enlighten us?” Radiant asked.

“Ha, enlighten,” Bright Run cut in, earning a dirty look from Radiant.

“That’s it!” Moondancer said happily. “Enlighten!”

It was now Moondancer’s turn for the dirty look.

“Radiant!” Moondancer moved out the door. “I need you to go back in and cast that spell you did alone.”

She started to push Radiant into the room.

“And a cast it as powerfully as you can!”

Radiant stood perfectly still, almost not phased by Moondancer’s attempt to push her.

“OK,” Radiant said with a slight huff. “You don’t have to push.”

Radiant trotted into the room and closed the door behind her. The spell could be heard casting, a light twinkling sound emanated from behind the door with a small, lady-like grunt from Radiant. The spell lasted for a few seconds, and the ponies gathered outside couldn’t look at the door, the light that seeped out of the cracks was far too bright. The light stopped, and Moondancer started to open the door with her magic.

Radiant was still standing just inside the door, unmoving.

“Why didn’t you mention that my spell did this?!” She shouted in a very unlady-like fashion.

“I said I was thinking!”

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Nightfall in the Snowy City

When Celestia arrived at the Crystal Empire, the streets where filled with joyous celebration. The buildings were shining with a strong glassy luster, sparkling in the sunlight. The streets were adorned with similarly crystalline structures, from trees to lampposts, sidewalks and cobblestones. The entire city was gleaming with a sparkling shine that dwarfed Celestia’s own shine. It was even more of a magnificent sight than the crystal caves below Canterlot. Everywhere anypony looked, they would find these crystalline structures. It was hard to avoid the crystals of the Crystal Empire, as almost everything was made from them!

The city was decorated with banners, streamers, lights, flowers, almost everything that could be considered decorative was in place here. Signs advertising attractions for the citizens, a hay ride, carnival games, a kissing booth, the variety was almost too much. There were just as many, if not more food stands around, selling all different kinds of food in the streets. Every fair of Equestrian food was here, and then some. Celestia swore she even saw some Yakistani foods in a few different stands.

The crystal ponies were celebrating the annual celebration, they Crystal Farie, with seemingly no care in the world. They were going around from stall to stall, buying food, souvenirs and trinkets. They were chatting, talking about their lives and personal experiences. Some foals were playing games in the streets, throwing balls, spinning hoops, playing tag, rolling dice, any game you could think of, these ponies would be playing them. The city was buzzing with positive, happy energy.

It was a completely different matter in the castle. A somber tone fell as heavy curtain immediately past the threshold of the door. It was as if the celebration outside was not enough to penetrate the walls of the castle, making it devoid of the joy that was outside. Here there were no citizens, only guards, and even if there were citizens, the seemingly joyless mood of the guards would surely douse any fires of happiness that were offered.

Celestia was greeted by Cadences handmaid, a crystal pony by the name of Emerald. It was a name that Celestia liked. Simple, but not plain, immediately recognizable, but not odd. Emerald herself was pleasant, not very intimidated by Celestia’s stature or power, a quality that she found refreshing. The handmaid lead Celestia to the chambers of Cadence and Shining Armor, through all of the halls and stairs. It was a long way there, and Celestia used the opportunity to enjoy the castle.

It had its similarities to Twilight’s new crystalline tree, but it was far more spacious. The hallways were larger, allowing for more breathing space, but they were also all very similar. There was white everywhere, accented with purple and blue, everything seemed to sparkle more and more as she walked down the hallways. After what was only a few seconds, Celestia was already getting tired of the walk. All the halls looked the same, some were larger than others, but the all held the same style and design. She enjoyed this castle’s architecture, but she preferred the organic look to Twilight’s more.

The design of the doors to Cadence’s chambers were expectedly pink, but also unexpectedly smaller than Celestia thought. They were ornate, having sprawling, intricate purple vine patter inlayed into the metal. There was a boarder of the same purple metal in a thin line around the entire door, but no other designs or patterns showed. The handles non-existent, allowing the door to be only operated by whomever Cadence allows.

Emerald bowed, then left Celestia at the doors to the chambers. Moving towards them, Celestia paused before knocking. She had received a letter from Cadence about a day ago, one of their normal correspondences. They talked about what was going on in their lives, the ups and downs, good and bad. They would also talk about any particularly difficult or noteworthy noble or petitioner. Cadence recently had to deal with an attack on her way of life, the noble calling Cadence just as bad as Sombra. Needless to say, she was a bit shaken up.

This alone would have been a reason to visit the Crystal Empire for Celestia. To go out and comfort a friend in need was the only motivation needed. It was the only reason that Celestia wanted to visit. But as she always finds, there is always an ulterior motive to even the simplest of actions.

Celestia sighed remembering the second reason that she came out to the crystal empire. In her letter, she mentions that ponies coming in on a train coming into the city saw a trail of smoke in the wooded area near the outskirts of the city. When investigated for fires in the forest, and anypony that might think that it is funny to light a fire in a protected forest, no trace of fire, magical or otherwise, was found. Nor was any trace of smoke or magical illusions found.

On any other day, Celestia would dismiss this as merely an elaborate prank by some foals, an oversite by the search team, or just an illusion cast by one of the train goers. But Celestia was worried, about something her sister discovered, and the mistakes that she had made. Mistakes that had cost the life of at least one pony, and who knows how many else.

First, she failed to check more thoroughly the cave that the dimensional anomaly occurred. She had assumed that no creature could escape the spells enchanted in the cave. She had overestimated her own strength or underestimated the creatures that the anomaly would bring.

Second, she did not trust her sister. This mistake was one that she never did wish to make again. She had disregarded her sister’s thoughts and concerns in favor of her own, misinformed thoughts. While the situation was nowhere near as drastic as another incident where she did not trust or believe her sister, it still cut deep.

Celestia sighed a second time while in front of Cadence’s door.

‘Maybe a third reason I’m here is to make myself feel better,’ Celestia thought, a little glumly.

Celestia rapped on the metal doors, which seemed to glow briefly before opening, allowing Celestia to enter.

The room was simple and elegant, but large. The walls were the same as the rest of the castle, but because of the warm orange lights in the room, created a pink light that gave the room character and warmth.

There was a large four-poster bed on the far side of the room, large enough for Celestia and Luna to both sleep comfortably on it. The wood was a deep red and filled out the frame and posters of the bed. Small gold trim was inlayed on the surface, lending a sophisticated, but not gaudy look to the bed. The curtains were a dark purple accented by the pink light of the room well. The sheets and pillows were a similar purple.

A light blue carpet covered most of the room. The design was in darker blues and purple, with red accents. It was circular, giving good contrast to the square room. It depicted the crystal empire in a faux map, with the exaggerated palace in the center, with Cadence, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart. Spreading out was the rest of the city, with various buildings accented to give it more life.

Around the room was an array of miss-matched furniture. A pair of deep blue wardrobes, a gift from Luna. Two desks one large and a standard brown wood with very little on it, Shining’s, and a smaller desk, pink wood with red accents, Cadence’s. A couple tables and chairs were on each side, with a small kitchen area in the corner. All in all, a fairly standard room for a couple.

‘A little lacking for a Princess and Prince though,’ Celestia thought.

Celestia made a B-line for the only piece of furniture in the room that mattered to Celestia. The crib that held precious little Flurry.

“She’s not there,” a voice called from the bed.

Celestia frowned, She came for Cadence, true, but she did hope to see the baby.

“Out with Shinning?”

“Yea…” Cadence said, “I really didn’t want them seeing me like this.”

“I understand,” Celestia said, “It was one of the reasons I fled to the mountain top, to get away from the ponies I thought I disappointed.”

“I don’t think anyone is building an entire city in by bedroom though.”

“But you already have one in shag here,” Celestia pointed down.

Cadence looked puzzled, then followed Celestia’s motion, seeing the carpet.

“I guess your right,” chuckled Cadence.

“How are you feeling?”

Cadence laid on her bed in silence for a moment, contemplating how to respond.

“Hurt,” she finally said, “I feel like a failed. I feel like I’m hated.”

Cadence paused to think for a moment, and, sighing, continues.

“I know I’ve done everything I can to change this empire for the better. I know many ponies love me…”

“But the one still hurts.” Celestia responded.

“Yes.”

“I know it will be hard,” Celestia began, “But make sure you remember the most important thing about this situation.”

“And that is?”

“That he does not see you as a tyrant.”

“And how do you know that?”

“That you, my wonderful Cadence made the Empire confident and independent enough that that pony felt he could say those things.”

Cadence smiled, a genuine smile.

“I guess your right.”

“I do have some years of experience on the matter.”

Cadence laughed, followed shortly by Celestia.

“Now,” Celestia said, “I do believe that I have missed some foal pictures.”

“There right over here,” Cadence replied, floating over a picture album.

The two ponies sat there for some time, looking at pictures and talking. They both felt the weight of their respective burdens loosen a little while.

As the hours ticked away. The conversation changed from the kingdoms to battles, from friends to loves, from ideas to games. The two talked until Luna’s moon was high in the sky.

“I expected Shining and Flurry to be back by now…” Celestia pouted.

“And the true motive for your visit comes out.”

“hmmph. Your fun Cadence but a foal is a foal.”

Both laughed some more.

“My husband and foal will not be back until tomorrow.”

“Why would you deprive me of my desires for so long?”

“It’s the only hold I have on you, I can’t just give that away.”

“I suppose your right,” Celestia sarcastically sighed.

“I do have court in the morning, so I think bed is in order,” Cadence said.

“Then I will retire to my chambers,” replied Celestia, who got up to walk to the door.

Before she could get there, a small cough came from behind. Cadence always did this when she had something to ask.

“You could stay here for tonight.” Cadence offered.

Celestia pondered for a moment, for no real reason. She had already made up her mind, but it was a habit that she had always fallen into.

“Of course!” Celestia said, “I would love to.”

Celestia walked back over to the bed with a tiny skip in her step.

‘This is going to be a good night,’ she thought.

”Who do you smell today, Wolf?”

”I smell fear!”

Lamb Chuckles, ”Fear yes, but who do you smell to hunt?”

Wolf, sniffs the air, ”Here!”

Wolf rushes of the rooftop that they were perched on, with Lamb quick to follow.

The city was nearing nightfall, much sooner than it had in Canterlot, Lamb thought. The light was glinting off the rooftops of this crystalline city. Making the entire top seem to reflect the brilliance of the sun. it was a magnificent sight, something that Lamb appreciated. It was so rare for her to see such sights. The old world was destroyed and barren. When it wasn’t though, it was a harsh scape of metal and stone. This was a welcome change of pace as far as Lamb was concerned.

Wolf did not like openness of the city.

While she did like the looks, this city was an oddity in Lamb’s mind. It was a contradiction to what cities she has seen. It has all the modern amenities that the other large city had. Large meeting places, well furnished housing and different districts for commerce, manufacturing and living. But it seemed stuck in the past. The architecture and layout was sporadic there was no planning, as if the ponies just built housing wherever they seemed to stop. There was also no specific architecture, everything was built differently. Lamb was also not a fan of the shiny material the entire city seemed to be made of, it made it difficult to see where one was going and where to land.

Wolf thought the city smelled a bit funny.

”Close!”, Wolf said, ”It is close!”

Lamb focused in on who they were hunting, a shimmering female, walking on the sidewalk.

”She looks interesting”

Kindred lighted on a nearby rooftop, waiting for the female to move somewhere more secluded. It followed her on the rooftops, skillfully jumping from one to another, never loosing sight of their quarry. It was only a short time before they were able to get into position, as she turned down an alleyway.

Between the two buildings, a unicorn stallion hid in silence, waiting for somepony to move through they alleyway. The mare was the unfortunate pony to do so.

Kindred watched silently from the rooftop, they know what will happen, they have seen it many times before. Now, it only has to wait, wait for the inevitable, wait to introduce themselves.

Then energy seemed to flow from her limbs, she felt like lead in water.

The pain in her chest was sharp a moment ago, but has faded to a dull throb. The rest of the world was fading with it. It was getting darker, more and more difficult to see the sides of the buildings, the sky.

She heard screaming. Was that her?

Darker still, the rest of the world seemed so far away, like a memory from childhood.

Was this what dying felt like? She didn’t want to go. Not yet. She wanted to do more…

The world snapped back into focus, but lacking much of the color and vibrancy as it did before. The world now seemed strange and foreign.

”Hello Star Gleam.”

The voice was light, feminine. It reminded her of an old friend from long ago, one that was welcome whenever. One that would always be a friend. But it also held misgivings, as if the friend remembered the wrongs from long ago. It sounded forced, like putting on an act.

”HA! Star-thing! Let’s play chase and bite!”

The second voice was terrifying. It was something straight out of a nightmare, something that she never wanted to hear again. And it sounded so close.

She turned her head, still on her side, to look at the source of the two voices. A white, tall, slender being, and a large, black, smoking mass of teeth and fire. They both wore wooden masks of the other.

“W-who are you?” Star asked.

”We are called many things...” Lamb spoke, ” some call us the inevitable, some the end. To all we are Kindred, we are death.”

Star Gleam looked on with horror at the face of her demise, a fate worse than what she thought would happen. The fear that took root deep in her heart drove her to her weak legs, forcing them to move, to run from this abomination. She took off, down the alleyway faster than she thought she could run. And she kept running for as long as she was able.

”Yes!”, Wolf cried giving chase ”Run! Flee! This is a fun game!”

Kindred looked on at the body and the pony who killed her.

”That was a fun game!” Wolf said gleefully.

”I’m glad you enjoyed it, dear Wolf.”

”We must find another!”

”In time Wolf,” Lamb responded, ”In time, all will come to us.”

”We will chase more!”

”And we shall hunt.”

”And bite and tear!”

”And all shall know Kindred…”

‘Yes,’ Celestia thought, curled up next to Cadence on the bed, ‘This will definitely be a good night.’

Celestia drifted off to sleep, warm and comfortable.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A Window to the Mind

Marble Grain sat on his couch in his living room bathed in the light from Celestia’s Sun. he was staring at his breakfast, a doughnut, apple and coffee, the doughnut and coffee complements of Joe. He had just dropped it off before work, so the coffee, a special in-house blend, was still quite hot. The doughnut was a plain but coated heavily in Joe’s “not very sweet” glaze, perfect for dipping in the coffee. Marble stared at his meal for a little while before eating it. He could have done something to pass the time while it cooled, but he had done everything he needed to.

His apartment was spotless, not a speck of dust was to be found on any surface, no matter how high or how small the space. The candles and extra lights were gone, stored back from wherever they came from. The bathrooms were clean to the point were Marble felt comfortable drinking the toilet water. The guest room was prepared, clean sheets, linens and a fresh scented candle to make sure it was presentable

This was a normal ritual for Marble when guests come over to stay at his apartment. A clean apartment really made ponies feel welcome, he thought. It was probably the only reason he actually cleaned anything, so there was that benefit too. It normally is spread over a couple days, but Marble finished it all last night.

Marble was able to get a good three hours of sleep last night, before the nightmares began. The time that Joe spent with him the night before was so helpful. He was able to put aside his fear for a brief time and enjoy his friend’s company. He thought that he could push past the fear and terror of last night and finally get rid of the two monsters that claimed hold on his mind.

But the nightmare was the worst he had yet.

Marble walking down the street on his way to work, the sunlit street glistening with morning dew. Other ponies were walking to their own destinations, creating the usual hustle and bustle of Canterlot. There were birds chirping from the park nearby, ponies talking about whatever suited their fancy. The vendors were shouting their wares, from foods and drink to trinkets and knickknacks, tourist stuff.

Marble made his way to work, a law firm that specialized in agriculture. It was not his first choice, or his second, but it was a job he could at least feel some form of enjoyment. When he first came to Canterlot, he was looking for any job that involved agriculture really, but it was difficult to find one that suited his needs.

That was until Marble found Stem and Grain and was hired on as a consultant and an expert in the field of agriculture. He would look over cases filed against farms and decide weather or not the case was fightable, or should a deal be made instead. It was mostly paperwork, reading and meetings, with the occasional visit to a farm. Not the ideal job that he had in mind, but it was something relatable at least.

Marble was lost in thought on his way to work, there was a lot going on in his life, and he was finding it difficult to juggle it all. His thoughts would occasionally be interrupted by a vendor shouting their wares or another pony bumping into him. The interruptions were short lived though, as he always got right back into his train within seconds of the interaction. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t shake off the thoughts of the recent events, the terrible events.

Marble glanced upward when he noticed the world around him getting darker. They sky was clouding over, and they looked like rain clouds. He couldn’t remember there being any rain in the forecast for the next few days, so this was a surprise for him. Making sure his documents were shut tightly in his saddle bags, as well as the water proofing charm on the bags themselves.

Satisfied, Marble continued on to his work, but just as quickly stopped again. He looked around for a moment at the now deserted street. Not a single pony could be seen. The vendors; booths were just as empty, not even having any of the merchandise that Marble thought he saw just moments before. The shops were closed, windows were dark, the only light now coming from behind the darkening clouds and the street lights above.

Marble continued moving to work at a much faster pace, nervously glancing around. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but everything seemed off. Why was the sky this dark in the morning, where was everypony, why did they all leave? These questions were bouncing around in Marbles head as he moved down the street.

Marble jerked his head to the right at a sudden commotion. The door across the street, one to a perfume shop, started shaking in its frame. It’s violent motions started to crack and splinter the wooden frame, but the door stayed firmly within its grasp. Marble moved to from a trot to a light gallop, putting as much distance between the door and himself as he could

The rain started then. Coming down almost instantly in a blanket of water.

More of the doors along his path started the same pattern. Violent shaking, getting worse and worse the more time they went on. Soon half of the doors on the street were rattling, the noise almost drowned out Marble’s own hoofbeats. He broke into a full gallop, moving as fast as his legs would take him. Now all of the doors were shaking, and the noise threatened to deafen Marble.

Marble galloped down an alleyway in a desperate attempt to get away from the street. He ran down the almost pitch black darkness until he reached a dead end. He hunkered in a corner, trying to block out all of the other sounds by covering his ears. And for the briefest of moments, the world was quiet. Marble was able to sit in silence in the darkness and try to calm his mind.

Right next to him, a white door slammed in its frame, the sound of splintering wood echoed throughout the alleyway. Then, all went quiet. Marble sat, transfixed by the door, illuminated by a single light. He could not take his eyes off of it. Something was different about this one.

Another bang echoed through the alleyway and Marble jumped to his hooves, shaking just as much as the door. And again, he stood staring, unable to look at anything other than the door, still vibrating slightly from whatever impacted its surface.

Another hit, more violent than the last. The door now was visibly cracked in its frame. But this time, Marble did not flinch, he did not even blink at the impact.

Another.

Marble took a step forward.

Another.

One more step.

Another. Two more steps.

Another. Now an unbreaking walk.

Another. Marble was at the door. Another. Marble reached for the handle.

Another.

Another.

Another. Marble swung the door wide.

“Marble!” Pinkie shouted as she swept up Marble in a hug

“P-Pinkie!” Marble stuttered, “I-I wasn’t expecting you for a bit.”

“I know!” She said with a big smile on her face, “It’s way more surprising when it’s spontaneous!”

Marble stared at her for a second. “But I knew you were coming…”

“But I still surprised you, right?”

“Well, yea…”

“Then that was the point!” she said, taking Marble in another big hug, deftly shutting the door with her back hoof.

It was a couple seconds before Marble returned the hug, out of shock he would guess. Pinkie was warm, and a really good hugger. He could have stayed here for quite some time, but Pinkie had other plans.

“I’m so happy to see you again!” Pinkie said, backing out of the hug to look at Marble directly. “It seems like it has been forever since the reunion!”

“You remember me?” Marble said, a little taken aback. “There were at least two hundred other ponies there.”

Pinkie giggled. “Of course I remember you silly! I remember all my family! I remember you, Grey Granite, Granite Stone, Red Granite, Granny Granite, Blue Rock, Rock soup, Grampa Rock, Big Boulder, Little Boulder who funnily enough is the older of the two, Green Jade, Purple Jade, Sandy, the Mineral twins, the Moss brothers, the Lime Sisters, Granny Stone, Great Granny Stone, Great Great Granny Stone”

“I had no idea we had so much family…” Marble said, unable to even recall a single name other than close family.

“I know!” Pinkie said, “it took me like, a whole hour to get all of their names!”

“Only an hour?” Marble said, in complete disbelief.

“I know I could have done better, but I needed to plan the entire party and like, five birthdays!”

If Marble could only display more shock and awe in his expression, it may have been enough to convince Pinkie that she was not normal. Unfortunately, his facial muscles were stretched as far as they could go.

“But enough about me,” Pinkie said, throwing her bags near the couch, then flopping down on said piece of furniture, “What’s up cous?”

Marble did not know what to say immediately.

“I… uhh…. I…” Marble sighed, “I really haven’t been feeling well lately.”

Another giggle from Pinkie, “I know that, silly! I wouldn’t be here otherwise!”

“Right…” Marble said, “Well, other than that, not much. Just been hanging around the house.”

“Oh come on!” Pinkie whined playfully, “You have to have done something more interesting than that!”

“I, uhh,” Marble stroked the back of his neck, “I did try to put together a new economic plan…”

“WHAT!” Pinkie shouted, “That’s so cool!”

She leapt off the couch, “I could never do that! I mean, I do some money work at the Cakes’ place, but nothing that big!”

“It’s nothing really…” Marble said shyly, “The Princess didn’t even like it…”

“You go to see the Princess!” Pinkie said, somehow happier than before, “That’s amazing! She’s so nice, isn’t she?”

“Y-yea, she is…”

“This is a really cool place, Marble!” Pinkie said, jumping around Marble’s apartment, “It’s so spacious!”

“I got a good deal on it,” Marble replied, “It’s a business residence, near where I work.”

Pinkie gasped, turning to Marble, “I have one of those too!” she said, “But mine is just a room above the bakery, yours is so much bigger!”

“Thanks,” Marble said, hint of a smile running away as a realization hit him, “I haven’t been a very good host! I know I cleaned up and everything, but I forgot something else.”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie said, looking worried.

“I haven’t shown you to your room yet, of course.” Marble said, grinning a bit.

Pinkie gasped for the second time, “I get my own room?! I thought I would sleep on the couch!” And for the third time, Pinkie was giving Marble a hug.

“Really Pinkie?” Marble asked, “It’s no big deal.”

“It is though!” Pinkie smiled back, “It’s so awesome that you’re so successful!”

“It’s nothing…”

“Where is it?” Pinkie asked, hopping around the room again.

‘I hope the downstairs neighbors are ok with this,’ Marble thought, ‘I’m not sure I can explain it that well.’

“It’s that room on the side there,” Marble replied, “We share a bathroom though, so we need to make sure to knock first.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie said hopping to the door and swinging it open.

Marble had apparently forgotten to open the curtains in the room, as it was pitch black. But that didn’t stop Pinkie from jovially hopping her way into the room.

Looking into the door, past the splintered and cracked frame, Marble couldn’t see anything inside, the light from the alleyway did not penetrate the inky darkness that seemed to emanate from deep within the building.

Gulping, Marble took a couple steps forward. The empty darkness seemed to engulf him, completely blocking off his exit, he could no longer see the door or they faintest trace of light from behind him. He took a moment to let his eyes adjust. His ears started to ring, not from any noise, but from the silence. It seemed more oppressive than the darkness, having Marble almost wish for the slamming doors back.

Marble stood for what felt like five or six minutes, but his eyes barely adjusted to the darkness. He could barely see the walls beside him, covered in a simple striped wall paper, but he couldn’t make out the color. He could only see a black void in front and behind him. Though he felt that either way would lead to the same destination.

Shaking, Marble tentatively begins walking forward, only to be stopped by a gust of wind blowing from in front and the sound of rushing beside him. As if a pegasus flew at full speed past him. For the briefest of moments, he swore he saw an object made of dark wood, and a white shape attached to it.

Marble continued forward, only to be stopped again with a rushing from behind. This thing was larger and almost entirely black. For a moment, it cut off all of the light that Marble saw, and only a thick, black shroud covered his vision. As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished, leaving no trace in either direction. Marble continued walking forward, a little quicker than usual.

More rushing sounds, almost like water. This time though, they were far away, like a waterfall that can’t be seen yet. The more Marble moved forward, the closer he got to the falls. Yet he still kept walking, and he did not know why. Each step took him closer to this terrifying sound, each step seemed to weigh more and more. His body getting heavier and heavier until it was all he could do to stand up straight.

But the rushing did not stay far away. It was moving closer and closer now. It intensified every second, louder and closer. Marble started to shake, tremble in his hooves. He shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see what was coming. The rushing sound was now at a fever pitch, and Marble could almost make out the pattering of animal feet somewhere buried deep within the sound of the roaring wind.

Silence.

Marble dared to peek from his safety, cracking an eyelid open a fraction of an inch.

”Marble-thing!”

Marble’s eyes shot open. That monster was in front of him. Those horrible, piercing, fiery eyes staring into him, burning into him.

”Hello Marble.”

The other creature was beside the monster.

“W-who a-are you?” Marble asked, shaking almost uncontrollably now. The tremors from his body evident in his voice.

More silence, the creatures, no, monsters stared silently back at Marble.

“What do you want?!” Marble cried, fear and adrenaline taking over.

”You, Marble.”

”Marble-thing!”

”Marble.”

”Marble!”

“Thank you, Marble!” Pinkie said, “This room looks so good!”

Marble stood in his guest room, and smiled at Pinkie, “I’m glad you like it.” He said, “I haven’t had anypony here yet and I was curious if guest would like it.”

“Well I love it!” Pinkie said, hopping off the bed to take her luggage off of Marble.

“Those really do weigh a lot,” Marble commented, “What on Equis did you pack?”

“Marble, Marble, Marble,” Pinkie scolded, “You should never ask what a lady packs.”

Marble stared quizzically at Pinkie.

“At least that’s what Rarity says,” Pinkie finished, “I pretty much tell everypony what I have.”

“And that is?”

“Baking supplies!”

Marble stood still for a moment, eyes not wavering from Pinkie.

“Are you planning on putting Doughnut Joe’s out of business?”

Pinkie giggled again. Marble was getting to enjoy her laugh.

“No silly!” Pinkie said, “I’m gunna make all your food while I’m here!”

“I can’t ask you to do that!” Marble responded, “You’re my guest.”

“Mister!” Pinkie said, suddenly getting a stern look in her eyes, “You said you needed a pick me up, kinda sorta, in your letter. And what better pick me up is there than not cooking!”

Marble failed to find a flaw in her logic.

“Alright, but I am cooking some.”

Pinkie’s face returned to its carefree smile, “If ya want to!”

“Great.” Marble began to move toward his room, “I’m a little tired right now. I think I’m going to lie down for a little bit.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said.

“There is plenty of food in the fridge, and ingredients if you want.” Marble said.

“Right-O!”

“And Pinkie?” Marble said, gaining more than the party mare’s full attention, “Thank you for coming.”

“Anytime!” Pinkie said immediately, “I’m always here to help family!”

When Marble left the room, Pinkie instantly dropped in mood. It was worse than she though. A few days ago she got a pinkie-sense vibe that a someone close to her was in trouble, and it was a doozy. She had spent the better part of two days turning over every rock in Ponyville to find who needed her.

The third day, she started sending out mass letters to every family member she knew the address of. Twilight was getting super worried for her, but helped her find anypony that she could. On the fourth day, before sending about two-hundred letters through the Ponyville postal service, an amount that would surely have given poor Derpy a heart attack, Spike found a letter addressed to Pinkie in one of Twilights old saddle bags.

The letter was from Marble grain, and it was asking for help. From his letter, it would seem that he was going through a rough time, and needed some emotional support. But that wasn’t what lead Pinkie to use Twilight’s personal chariot and guards to rush to Canterlot. That was what Joe’s letter, written hastily on a scrap piece of paper tucked inside the envelope did. It simply stated, “Please hurry.”

Pinkie could see why too. Marble’s apartment was messy. Not trashed, but not from somepony that cleaned for a guest. But the most worrying thing was the walls.

Every three or four feet, carved into the wood, was a face. A face of either a lamb, or a wolf.

Author's Notes:

This is a bit of a longer chapter (and a bit late, Sorry!) but I just couldn't get the ending right.

This is a bit of an experiment for Marble, there might be a rewrite of this chapter if I can't continue it, but I wanna see where Marble's story goes with him at the focal center, and not being observed by others.

I hope you enjoy!
~Kamer

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Bright Lights, Long Dilemmas

Still Wind was having a day.

She wasn’t sure what kind of day it was, good or bad, just that it was determined . And it will probably be determined by how soon she was able to get home and drink.

Still was on the fence about this job since the beginning. On one side it was essentially a glorified gopher job. A gopher job for non-military personnel. A gopher job that kept her cooped up in the archives non the less.

On the other side, it was a personal request from Princess Luna herself. A request that was brought to her specifically, in private, with a large pay raise. It would have been foalish to turn it down.

But she was a gopher for Celestia’s sake! Her, an up and coming lieutenant for the Royal Guard, degraded to doing fetch requests for a bunch of civilians. It was beyond humiliating. The only benefit from this, and she had a long time to think about the benefits, was the circuit training.

The library was essentially a giant track that was tailored to her. She specialized in silent, no air force flying. If she wasn’t careful, and flew too fast or too hard, she would generate a normal pegasi’s wind force and sound. Using the library, she could train quick thinking and harder flying through picking the fastest route and flying as hard as the library would allow.

The past couple days, she did not necessarily get better in a muscle sense. More so, she was able hone technique, perfecting turns, straights and stops to be as fast and tight as possible, all while retaining the silence she was well known for. She didn’t want to brag, but Wind is confident enough to sneak up on the princesses in an open field.

It was a rare occurrence for Wind to dislike a job this much. In fact, the only job she hated more than this one was latrine duty, and that was no exaggeration. There was a lot to dislike. The work was tedious, repetitive and boring despite the training she was getting. The environment was dull and far too quiet for a soldier like herself. The ponies, the ponies were the worst.

They were temperamental, full of themselves, and bossy. They seemed to be under the impression that Still Wind was a dull and stupid guard. She was far from as intelligent as the rest of them in the room, but it was just plain humiliating to be ignored most of the time. They also had a tendency to go far off topic. Wind had caught them once talking about what type of pillow was the best pillow.

‘Cloud obviously,’ Still Wind thought, but she knew she would only be ignored if she said it aloud.

Despite their short comings though, they were nice and accommodating to Wind’s needs, giving her plenty of time to tend to her own needs. They were very nice to her outside of the research room, often inviting her out to eat and the like. They were also never intentionally mean to Wind, they were just so engrossed in working and talking amongst themselves to really see her as an individual, not just another guard.

Which is why it came as a total surprise that that Still Wind found them all working diligently, snouts in books and quills flying about the room, writing Celestia knows what on parchment.

Then it was even more surprising when a book was thrown at her. It wasn’t a hard throw, just easy enough to catch. And recalling the librarian’s slightly terrifying one-on-one with the pegasus about damaging books, Wind caught it automatically.

“Start reading chapters eleven through 24,” Moondancer said without looking up from her own book, “Write down anything that you think involves magical wave theory.“

“Uhhh…” was Still Wind’s reply.

“You don’t need to understand it, just write down anything that sounds important.”

Still Wind stared down at the impenetrable cover of the book. It was titled “Spell Modulation Theory: A Brief Summary of the Study and Practice of Amplification Through Spell Wave Theory”. Wind could feel the eye strain already.

‘Brief?’ Wind thought staring at the spine, ‘This book is half as thick as my hoof!’

Flipping the book open to a random page, Wind found even more bad news. The text was small, dense and tightly packed. She began having flashbacks from Upper division training on Tribal History through the Discordian era, which was just as boring as it sounded.

Wind sighed, glancing at her saddlebags which were filled with the Neighponese food.

“So does anypony want-”

“SHHHH!” the chorus responded.

Wind stared at the room, a little flustered at this point. What had happened to get them this focused in their work? The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to know.

Letting out another sigh, she grabbed some udon noodles from her bags, and sat in an unoccupied chair at the far end of the room. Opening the book to the chapters that the book was, in fact, as bad as her first glance. Wind caught herself, if she kept sighing like this, she though, she would be worse than her mother.

Resigned to her fate, Wind pressed on, getting through the first two pages with surprising ease. She remembered more terminology than she thought from some of her upper ed classes. The problem came when she turned the page. It was like somepony decided that the dictionary was overrated and started making up new words. The entire rest of the chapter was nonsensical gibberish to her.

‘This is what my parents must feel like,’ Wind thought back to her one sided conversations about the physics of flying silently, and the vacant, smiling and nodding faces of her parents.

Wind had decided that it was time for a break and grabbed the noodles that she had brought over. Passing over the chopsticks, a method of eating that Wind thought was only for unicorns and the daft, she grabbed a fork full of noodles. She could smell the flavor almost immediately, this place was definitely as good as the rumors. Her joy was cut short when both the noodles and the box were pulled from her grasp by a magical aura.

“Hey!”

“No eating near the books!” Moondancer replied.

Bad day.

It was definitely a bad day, Still Wind had decided. It was currently around three in the morning with Wind still being confined to the dreaded textbook of too many words. To be fair to the book, it was readable, only in the fact that half of the words could be removed, and it would still make enough perfect sense.

Wind had been looking through the book like a puzzle, finding terms that she knew and using them to figure out the more complex phrases that she found in earlier sections, thereby gaining an understanding of the passage without actually knowing what anything meant. Using this technique, she was able to get through the rest of the book with only a moderate amount of confusion. In the end, she came out with around three pages of notes regarding Magical Wave Theory, a topic which, in this book, held no less than five different names and abbreviations. Some of which did not even match up with the words that they were abbreviating.

Shutting the book with a satisfying ‘thock’, Wind finally looked around. Another sigh escaped her mouth. Bright Rune and Radiant were sleeping Ivory was looking over notes, and Moondancer was staring at the arrow resting suspended in mid-air, detached from the stallion, perfectly visible for her to see. It was still, the wisps were no longer moving. It was as if someone drew with smoke in thin-air.

“Wait,” Wind said, “When did that happen?”

“Hmmm?” Moondancer turned her head, “Oh good! Your done!”

Moondancer quickly magiced over the pages that Wind had written. She began mumbling to herself while reading them. Wind at this point was convinced that she was speaking a different language, as she heard what she was saying, but did not understand a single word of it.

“This is good!” Moondancer said after reading through, “It tells me that each spell matrix can corelate to any sub or super wave given enough magnitude.”

“What?” Wind was giving Moondancer a very blank stare.

“It means that with the right amplitude through a given modification Matrix, the caster can superimpose a new wave frequency to their spell”

“What?,” Wind repeated,her face made no attempt at changing.

“Ummm…” Moondancer said, “I’m not sure how else to phrase it.”

“It means that we can modify any spell to affect this arrow, given the time.” Radiant said, apparently waking up from her nap.

“That makes sense,” Wind said “But why the waves?”

“Oh that’s easy!” Moondancer replied, “Every spell can be attributed to a specific frequency, thereby increasing the amplitude of the spell against a physical object that reacts adversely to said frequency.”

Wind looked at Moondancer for a few seconds, before she gave up on trying to understand the sentence, and turned to Radiant.

“You know how a singer can shatter glass by changing the pitch of her voice?”

“Yea.”

“A spell can do the same thing, just replace glass with this arrow.”

“Gotcha.”

“But that’s what I said!” Moondancer pouted.

“In a far less understandable manner,” replied Radiant.

Moondancer began pouting even more, moving off to the side of the room do so in a chair.

“So now we can use spells on whatever shot this arrow?” Wind asked.

“Yes and no,” Radiant said.

“What’s the ‘yes’ and what’s the ‘No’?” Wind asked.

It was Bright Rune that answered this time. “Yes that we can adapt any spell to affect it. But no that it takes time to adapt spells, the more complex the spell, the more time.”

“Got it,” Wind said.

“The gist if nothing else,” Radiant added.

“Hey, I’m sorry if I didn’t go through years of school in magic like some other ponies did,” Wind replied, a little peeved at Radiant’s comment.

“Yes, well, not everypony can be as bright as me,” Radiant said a little smugly.

“Was that a pun?” Ivory poked in.

“What?” Radiant said.

“Was that a pun?” Ivory asked again.

“Was what a pun, honey?”

“You said ‘Bright as you’, your name is Radiant, and you specialize in light spells. Was that a pun?” Ivory explained.

“It was not a pun,” Radiant said, “I hate puns.”

“You don’t?” Wind said getting a devilish idea.

“No,” Radiant said, “I do not.”

“Really I thought you were a punny pony?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“What’s the matter?” Wind asked, smile spreading over her face, “Does Radiant not take a shine to humor?”

“Stop.”

“They don’t lighten your mood?”

“Stop it.”

“What’s going on?” Ivory asked, finally looking up from her notes.

“I have no idea.” Moondancer replied.

“If she doesn’t like puns,” Bright said, also grinning, “Maybe we should humor her.”

“Both of you stop it!” Radiant said indignantly, and slightly red in the face

“But they brighten the mood, right Radiant?” Wind replied, now grinning ear to ear.

“Bahhh!” Radiant cried, slamming a couple of plush pillows from the couch over each ear.

“She must think the jokes are all fluff.” Bright said, barely containing his laughter.

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!” Radiant shouted, now very red in the face.

“Maybe she doesn’t like all the pun we’re having!” Wind added not containing her laughter.

Two pillows were launched directly at their heads, but it did little to dissuade the torrents of laughs coming from the pair.

“You two are insufferable!” Radiant shouted at the two.

“Are we done antagonizing Radiant?” Ivory said, her monotone voice showing only the barest hint of amusement.

“Quite!” Radiant agreed in a huff.

Wind and Bright were laughing in a pair on the couch, lending no hints they were close to done.

“Well,” Radiant continued, still a little red in the face, “What have we learned about the spells?”

“It is difficult to say.” Ivory said, “It’s akin to looking at the world through a pin in a piece of paper.”

“Like only being able to illuminate one part of the problem.” Moondancer added.

Radiant immediately glared at the poor unicorn, and the pair in the back started another round of laughter.

“W-what?” Moondancer said, suddenly becoming very timid.

“Nothing.” Radiant said a little hotly, turning back to Ivory with a flip of her hair.

“So what’s the paper?” Radiant asked.

“I can’t solve the equations for any of the spells at the same time.” Ivory replied. “All the information is there, but the parts lineup differently for each spell.”

“So we modify the spells one at a time right?”

“No, hehe, that won’t work.” Bright said, finally coming out of his laughing spell.

“Why not?” Moondancer asked.

“Ha!… It won’t work because, he-he…, because we need to prepare each spell modification before we can cast an individual spell.” He finally finished. “Each spell would take five or six times longer and exponentially more complicated to cast…”

“Making them essentially useless, yes.” Ivory finished.

“What’s the problem with that?” Wind asked, also recovering from her spell and pointing to the arrow. “We just needed to figure out a way to affect this thing right?”

Bright Rune looked at Ivory for a brief moment, a look not lost on Wind.

“Wait,” She said, “What’s up?”

“Umm…” Moondancer whispered.

“Is it ok to tell her?” Ivory said.

“Tell me what?” Wind said, getting a little angry.

“It’s not you per say,” Radiant said, “It’s because you’re a guard.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Wind said, anger slowly building.

“We didn’t want you to react poorly and do something stupid.” Radiant spoke.

“React poorly to what?” Wind said between clenched teeth.

“Princess Luna is preparing for a battle.” Ivory said, “She needs to be able to use these spells on the fly.”

“What?” Wind said, taken aback almost immediately, “What in Equestria makes you think that?”

“Patterns.” Ivory said, “There were some books about how Luna used to prepare for a battle with a strong foe. She is performing those patterns now.”

“Are you sure?” Wind asked.

“Positive.”

“How long have you thought this?”

“Ivory brought it up two days ago.” Moondancer said.

“We didn’t tell you because we didn’t know how you’d react.” Bright spoke up, “We needed some time to talk about it.”

“I get that...” Wind said, suddenly recalling all the times she was sent out of the room for a petty task.

“We’re sorry,” Moondancer said, “We should have told you.”

The room was silent for almost a minute. A time that Wind took advantage of to collect her thoughts.

“What are we getting ourselves into?” Wind asked nopony.

“See!” Radiant cut in, “This is what we wanted to avoid.”

“Radiant,” Ivory said, “Let her finish.”

Wind sighed, “Whatever did this is really dangerous, not just to the princess, but to us.”

“What do you mean?” Moondancer asked.

“If whatever shot this arrow finds out that we’ve been trying to fight it,” Wind said, “What do you’d think it do?”

“It killed a stallion in a single shot, with a weapon that we can’t defend against.” Wind finished.

The room fell even more silent than before.

“What are you suggesting?” Bright asked, “That we stop working on this?”

“I don’t know” Wind admitted.

“I say we give Luna the best chance we can.” Radiant said.

“Yea, I’m all for that idea,” Bright agreed.

“It might get really dangerous though…” Moondancer said.

“It would be more intelligent to turn in the towel, so to speak.” Ivory said.

The room was silent again. Everypony was thinking of what to do, and the consequences therein. Some thought of family and friends, some thought of power and strength.

Silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity.

“We vote then.” Wind said, “We keep working, or tell the princess and quit.”

“Right.” Almost everypony said.

“All in favor of continuing?”

Two ayes, Bright Rune and Radiant.

“All opposed?”

Two ayes again, Moondancer and Ivory.

“What about you?” Moondancer asked.

“I was going to go with the popular vote.” Wind replied.

“What about a compromise then?” Radiant said, “We tell the princess and keep working.”

The ponies were quick to mull this over, almost all of them agreeing to the proposition.

“Then that’s settled,” Wind said, “Were off to see the princess, then back to work.”

“Yea, but,” Bright said, yawning a bit, “Tomorrow?”

A quick chuckle from all, and an agreement. They would talk to Luna tomorrow.

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The Long Road

Pinkie hopped off the bed almost immediately after opening her eyes. It was her way of not falling asleep again. She would never tell her friends this, but she’s the type of pony that will lie in bed for another couple of hours if need be. Being Pinkie was hard! Even she deserved a long rest once in a while. But today was not a day for one of those rests. A friend was in trouble, and she needed to be in top form.

And this of course meant coffee, but that was for later.

Pinkie hopped toward the door to her bathroom, and being ever as jovial as she was, started humming a tune that she couldn’t place the name of. Washing her face and brushing her teeth was the only routine that she needed for the day. When she finished, she hopped out of the bathroom and toward the door to her room. Reaching for the knob, she paused, thinking for a moment, frowned, then giggled to herself.

‘Silly Pinkie,’ she thought, ‘Marble is still asleep! I can’t wake him up yet.’

Quietly, she opened the door, and trotted out, making bearly a sound on the hard wood floor. For Pinkie, surprise parties were some of her favorite parties to plan and execute. It was a party and a prank all rolled up into one. So in order for the surprise to go off without a hitch, it was an essential for her to learn the skill of sneaking around. Moving to to the kitchen, she searched the cupboards for any sign of coffee.

Pinkie searched for a couple of minutes, Looking in all of the drawers and cupboards, even the tall, hard to reach ones, but to no avail. The glorious morning drink was nowhere to be found. Frowning, she thought of what to do. She didn’t really know the area, only coming to Canterlot a couple of times in her life, but there had to be a coffee shop somewhere near.

She turned to leave the apartment, before doubling back and making a bee line for Marble’s door. Being as silent as possible, she places an ear against the door. Its a little difficult to hear, but the faint rise and fall of breathing tells Pinkie that Marble is sleeping soundly. Turning back toward the door, she hops out, grabbing the keys that were on the hook next to the knob, hoping they were to the apartment.

Pinkie woke early that morning, even before Celestia rose the sun in the sky. As such the streets were mostly empty, save for the few that woke as early as Pinkie, and those that never went to sleep. Looking around, Pinkie decided that left was the best direction to go. No particular reason, just a good feeling, and Pinkie always trusted her feelings.

It was only a couple minutes into her walk when she perked up. Her nose caught a scent that was very familiar to her. Muffins, doughnuts, bread, bagels and coffee. Somewhere nearby, there was a bakery, and Pinkie would find it.

Pinkie got back to Marble’s apartment just after Celestia’s sun rose, hoping that she was able to get everything she needed for the coming days. She would do her best to get Marble back to being himself, anyway she could. She slowly opened the door, making sure that Marble wasn’t awake yet. The apartment was still as quiet as ever. Smiling to herself, she hopped into the kitchen, setting her early morning plan into motion.

Opening the apartment’s only window, she set out to get rid of all of the creepy carvings on the wall. Upon inspection, they were just chipped paint, meaning they were easy to paint over. Pulling out the small can of paint that she bought, miraculously finding a bunch of stores open during her time out. She chalked it up to Canterlot’s never sleeping tendancies.

After the images were successfully painted over to Pinkie’s satisfaction, she began phase two of her plan. Pulling out all of the ingredients, she began to bake her signature morning muffins, a special blend of cinnamon, butter and fluffiness, they were the best muffins that anypony could ask for in the morning.

Sliding them in the oven, she pulled out a black and white lace costume from her mane. She Rarity had a lot of these in a closet in her house for some reason. When Pinkie found them, totally by accident its not like she was snooping, Rarity started acting weird, saying they weren’t hers. Which was silly, cause Pinkie could tell she made them. When Pinkie asked for one, Rarity got acted even more weird, telling her not to show it to anypony.

Pinkie started cleaning here and there, making sure everything was in its right place, or at least where she thought the right place was. The apartment was tidy, but still held a few characteristics of a bachelor pad. Plates and cups here and there, dust on almost every surface, and a slight smell of, something. Pinkie couldn’t quite place the smell.

She moved past Marble’s desk. Messy, much like Twilight’s, with papers and large books strewn about. She dared not clean this though, she remembers the time that she helped clean Twilight’s house and her desk in the process. She could tell Twilight was really really angry, but keeping it all inside. She swore she would never clean a desk again. EVER.

She was in the middle of cleaning under the couch when a thud and groan came from Marble’s room. Almost jumping to the door, Pinkie was quick to knock.

“Ugg...” a voice came from inside.

“Everything okie-dokie in there?” Pinkie asked.

“Yea...” came a faint reply, “s’all good.”

Pinkie could hear some shuffling from inside, more groaning, some yawning, and finally hoofsteps approaching the door.

“It’s ok,” Marble said popping his head out of the door, “I just fell out of...”

He fell silent, giving Pinkie a wide eyed stare. Pinkie stared back, a smile on her face.

“Fell out of what?” She asked, “The ceiling? The sky? The world?”

Pinkie gasped.

“Did you fall out of another World?!”

“N-no,” Marble said, cheeks turning pink, “Bed, I fell out of bed.”

“Oh! Psssshh!” Pinkie replied, “I do that all the time.”

“Pinkie?”

“Yeppers?”

“What are you wearing?” He asked, finally averting his eyes.

“Oh, this?” Pinkie said, “Rarity calls it a Prench Maid outfit. Is something wrong? Your acting just like Mr. Cake did when he first saw it. Mrs. Cake said I shouldn’t wear it anymore. But I still use it when I clean my room. I mean, whats the point of having a maid outfit if you don’t use it for cleaning, right? Anyway, don’t tell Rarity I told you about it. OH! Forget I said Rarity, OH, that too!”

“I’ll be right out,” Marble said, still looking away, “I’m going to take a cold shower first.”

Pinkie giggled, “That’s what Mr. Cake said too! Then Mrs. Cake slapped him. It was funny, cause after he went up, she asked where I had gotten it from, I told her I got it from Rarity and, OH! Forget I said that too! Again!”

Marble gulped, face now turning red.

“I-I’ll be out soon,” he shut the door rather quickly.

“Okie-Dokie-Lokie!”

When Marble finally wondered out of the bathroom, Pinkie had already made the rest of breakfast, including some extra coffee, hash browns, some chopped fruit, all laid out on the coffee table in the living room. He also noticed something was different, something was a little off. He looked around, trying to place this odd feeling, Pinkie was nowhere to be found.

‘That must be it,’ he thought.

Marble walked over to the table, finding everything laid out, still hot, and smelling really good. Pinkie had made it before he woke up.

‘Dang,’ he thought ,’I wanted to make something for her. There is always tomorrow.’

Marble’s stomach started to growl, and he let a small grin on his muzzle. He didn’t really have much dinner last night, so of course he was hungry in the morning. He sat down on the couch and grabbed the silverware. He decided to start with the hash, as that smelled the best, but paused before actually eating.

‘I should really wait until Pinkie gets here.’

He set down his utensils and moved toward his guestroom door.

“Pinkie?” he called, “Are you there?

Silence.

“Pinkie?” he called once more.

Still silence. Somehow more deafening than before.

Marble moved toward Pinkie’s door and reached for the knob.

“Marble?”

“Gahhhh!”

Marble whirled around to face Pinkie, who was looking at him quizzically, and had thankfully taken of her ‘cleaning’ outfit.

“I was just in the kitchen,” Pinkie said, smiling, “You must not have seen me!”

“Y-yea! Yea,” Marble replied, “I guess I didn’t.”

“That’s OK!” Pinkie said, smiling even wider than before and begins moving toward the table, “Lets eat before any of this gets cold!”

Marble starts after Pinkie to the coffee table to eat their breakfasts. Pinkie opts for downing almost her entire cup of coffee before digging into one of her muffins. Marble once again went for the hash, tasting as good as he thought it would. After a couple of bites, he took a few out of the muffin, then a sip of coffee.

“Any good?” Pinkie asked, “I’ve been working on breakfast food for a while now. Well besides muffins. Muffins are like cupcakes, just less sweet, so those are really easy to make. Derby says that I make them wrong, and her muffins are super tasty! I’m gunna have to ask her how she makes them. Oh! I also need to ask Applejack how Granny Smith makes her fritters. There not really breakfasty enough, but some ponies will eat them early anyways, so its good to make them too!”

“It’s good,” Marble said, “I’m not sure these muffins could get tastier.”

“Then you need to try Derpy’s!” Pinkie replied, ‘”They’re loads better than mine!”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true! I lost a baking competition to them!”

“Wow,” Marble said, a little taken aback, “they must be great then.”

“They are!”

The two go back to eating for a brief few seconds, before Pinkie cries, “Hey!'

Marble started a bit.

“You should come back to Ponyville with me! You can meet all my friends! There’s Twilight and Applejack and Rarity and Rainbow and Fluttershy and Lyra and Bon-Bon and Time Turner and the Cakes and the rest of the apples and Derpy- OH! And you can try her muffins too!”

Marble hums, thinking on the idea a little longer.

“Y-yea,” he says finally “I think I would like that.”

A few more seconds of silence.

“What have you been doing in Canterlot?”

“Hmm.” Marble said, swallowing his bite, “Nothing much, I’ve been working for a small group that helps farmers. The non-industrial kind.”

“Oh! Like the Apples?”

“Not really. The Apple Acres is a little to big for our company. We help with families who grow to feed themselves and a few others.”

“Those must be super small then!”

“Yea, they are.”

More silence. This time, lasting for a couple of minutes. Marble was able to finish all of his breakfast, while Pinkie watched, she had finished well before him. It wasn’t terribly unnerving, she was looking around at the apartment, but always seemed to find her gaze was back on him.

“How was it?” Pinkie asked with a smile.

“Really good,” Marble answered, “You’re an amazing chef.”

Pinkie giggled, “Thanks! I wanna cook more for the Cakes, but they won’t let me. They say I do enough already!”

“I can imagine you do. What did they think of you dropping everything to come help me?”

“Oh this?” Pinkie said, still smiling, “I have a LOT of unused vacation days.'

“Your using vacation time to help me?”

“Yeppers! Why wouldn’t I? I mean, I haven’t seen you since the family reunion a couple of years ago! It’s great to see you again!” She finished giving Marble a hug.

“Thank you...” Marble said, returning it.

They held there for a couple of seconds, before Pinkie pulled away.

“I need to go unpack.” she said, “I’ll be back soon!”

“OK Pinkie,” Marble said, a small smile on his face.

He is glad that Pinkie is here. It may not seem like much, but somepony just being there for you helps in so many ways. Somepony there to take away the feeling of loneliness, they really don’t need to do anything. All that needed to happen to take the edge off loneliness was to have someone to share it with.

The door shutting to the guest room shook Marble out of his thoughts. He grabbed the breakfast plates and took them to the sink for cleaning. With a guest in the house, he should actually clean these, he thought, and made his way over to the sink.

Pinkie walked over to her bag in the corner and pulled out a small book. Twilight, being the friend and pony that she was, made sure that Pinkie would be OK on her trip. The letter was quite distressing one from Marble himself, which sounded like a fairly normal request for help. Twilight said the script was written by a unicorn in distress as she recognized the jitters and shakes in the strokes from when she was stressing in Celestia’s school. The note from Joe was just “the proverbial icing on the cake” as Twilight would, though Pinkie thought that was a terrible analogy. Cake should be good, Not something to dread!

The book was from Twilight, and whatever Pinkie wrote in it, Twilight would see. She told Pinkie to write in it any chance she got and update them on the situation. Twilight seemed a little spooked after Pinkie said the name “Marble Grain”, and immediately gave her the book after that. She said something about Luna and a lamb, said she couldn’t tell her more than that.

Setting the book on the bed Pinkie went back to her bag to pull out one of Twilight’s never ending quills. She found it in the bottom of one of the inside pockets, underneath some of her other items. With quill in mouth, she hopped onto the bed to begin writing.

There was a crashing in the main part of the apartment. Pinkie perked her ears up at it.

“Marble?” she asked, a little worried.

When he didn’t reply, Pinkie jumped of the bed and to the door.

“Marble, is everything alright?” she said as she opened the door and peered out.

“Marble!” she shouted.

Marble was just in the kitchen area of his apartment shattered dishes lying around him. He was cowering from something and sobbing to himself.

Pinkie rushed over, careful not to step on the shards or to startle Marble.

“Marble?” she asked in a Fluttershy like voice.

He jolted upright, a small amount of recognition in his eyes.

“P-Pinkie?” he wispered, “W-what just...”

Pinkie moved closer to Marble, careful not to scare him.

“It’s me Marble,” she said, “I’m right here.”

Marble just stared at her still crying a little and shaking like a leaf.

“What happened?'

“I-I...” he faltered, “I thought I...”

Pinkie put a hoof on Marble’s shoulder. When he didn’t flinch, she pulled him into a hug, holding him close.

“It’s OK now,” she said quietly, “I’m here.”

“I thought I s-saw...” Marble said, burying his head in Pinkies mane.

“Shhh,” she said, “Just relax, your safe.”

“I saw them again...” Marble said.

“It’s alright, I’m here.”

“I saw them...”

“Shh...”

Marble and Pinkie stayed like that for quite some time. Pinkie didn’t check, but it could have easily been a couple of hours, and she wouldn’t have thought any different. All the while, she only thought of two things. Keeping Marble safe was on the forefront of her mind. But in the back, she new that Twilight needed to hear this, and possibly get more help than just her.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A Story in the Dark

”Shall we depart, dear Wolf?” Lamb asked.

”But there are many left to chase!” Wolf snarled.

”But there are others elsewhere.”

”Others to chase? That flee?”

”Yes, Wolf.” Lamb giggled.

Kindred enjoyed seeing sights, these cities, forests, rivers, oceans. Sights that had long been forgotten by them in the deserted wastelands of their old world. Comparison between the two was impossible. They had let slip the memories of grass and trees, of the harsh wind and calming breeze. And in this world, they were able to experience life again.

Kindred did want to fulfill its duty, but those souls could wait a little longer. It wanted to explore this new world it was in, to learn all it can about the land and its inhabitants. It wanted to see all that this world had to offer. Kindred also wanted to spread its influence, Making sure everything and everyone knew its name. And this day was exactly for that.

The sun had just risen over the mountain tops when Lamb and Wolf finally set off. Their stay in the Crystal Empire was short for normal standards, but to Kindred, it was long. It was a free spirit, and would never normally stay in one place for so long as it did in Canterlot or here. It would bound around the world, going to where it was needed, where its duty needed fulfilling.

For today, Kindred planned on going back to its roots. With the couple of days spent in a single place, It felt that it had adapted to this world and the creatures in it sufficiently and was ready to take a more active role in its job. Today It would see the rest of the world, the cities of dragons, minotaurs, griffons, sea-ponies, zebra and many others.

Kindred quickly made its way to the first stop on it’s list, the griffon city. Perched atop a mountain, the city was mostly comparable to a slum, full of tattered worn houses, solemn faces and dull routines. The inhabitants seemed in a chipper mood though. Happy, in spite of their existence. A rather unimaginative sight if Lamb would say so.

”What is this place, Lamb? They all smell like they are close!”

”A slum it looks like, but none that I have seen before.”

”What do they call it?”

”I believe their name for it is ‘Griffonstone’.”

”Mahaha! Sounds tasty!”

”Wolf, friends, always thinking with his tounge.” she said to nothing.

”You always think with your head!”, Wolf replied.

”Your wit is not as sharp as your teeth.”

”My teeth are sharp!”

Lamb just giggled.

”There are some that know us in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.”

Wolf looked at Lamb expectantly.

”I think it is time that some know us here.”

Wolf laughed his cruel laughter and howled into the early morning sky.

Luna walked in from her balcony after lowering the moon.

Last night was a harrowing journey. There were more nightmares like the ones that Marble Grain has been having. Three more in Canterlot and four in the Crystal Empire. Seven total ponies have has some interaction with these monsters, conclusively called Lamb and Wolf.

‘And if patterns are to be believed,’ the Princess thought ‘Then there are seven dead ponies as well.’

Luna stood in silence for a moment, before shaking her head. This was no time for idle thoughts, other lives are at stake. She would have time to morn those that have passed when the killers were still out and about. Today would be another all-dayer, she thought glumly.

“Penchant!” Luna called out.

The door to her chambers opened. And in poked the head of a tall and spindly unicorn stallion. His fur was a strong red with a splotch of gray here and there. His mane was a solid deeper red. His eyes were blue in color, matching his cutie mark of a blue feather resting on a stack of papers. Penchant was Luna’s new aid, her last one had difficulty keeping in schedule with the night princess and she had ordered a new one be found.

Penchant was a unique find, he was kicked out of Celestia’s school not for poor grades, but for his habit of sleeping through the day and self-studying at night. He was getting perfect homework and test grades, but his attendance was abysmal, with him only attending about a third of his classes. This, in Luna’s eyes made him perfect for a job as her aid. He was already accustom to the night, had he was, as far as Luna was concerned, a good student.

“What is on my schedule this day?” she asked.

Penchant stared at Luna for a moment, before the sound of a slap could be heard in the hallway. He jumped as began spluttering.

“U-u-u-uhhh, I-I wasn’t told to make a s-schedule for the days..” he said quietly.

‘Still need to get over the shock of working for a princess, I see’ Luna thought.

“That only means there is nothing on it, Penchant.” she said, “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“T-thank y-you...” he said even more quietly, before turning and shutting her door.

Luna turned to her bathroom. She was going to stay up all day, but she would be walking around the castle grounds as well. She wanted to at least look presentable.

There was a lot that Luna needed to ask, on top of the request that she made of Celestia. She was unlikely to know of the presence of the monsters in the Crystal Empire. Luna wanted her to look around the hospitals in the Empire for any recent injuries and odd deaths last night. Luna also wanted Celestia and Cadence to erect protection in the Crystal Empire, something that would be more than a little tricky to do.

Because this was not a widespread as a disaster like, say Tirek, alerting the public to this and causing a mass panic was a terrible idea. It was one of the reasons that Luna did informed Celestia immediately when she knew of the monster’s presence though her dream magic. Due to her sister’s location, it would have been impossible for the news to leak to the public about this if she told her through any other means.

Exiting her room, she was greeted with the sight of Penchant standing just outside.

“Y-your majesty,” Penchant started, “Your presence as been requested by a ‘Bright Rune’. He said you would know where to look.”

“Tell them we will meet after We have had a meal.” Luna said.

“Y-yes Princess...”

Penchant and the guards watched Luna walk down the stairs to the kitchen in the main section of the castle. After Luna was well out of view and more importantly out of ear shot, Penchant released the breath that he had been holding in and began looking around nervously.

“You have no idea where Bright is, do you?” the guard on the left asked.

“N-no,” Penchant replied, “He left after giving me that message.”

“Too afraid to ask where then?” The other guard asked.

“Yes...”

“Try the library,” the first guard said, “I hear there is one of ours that is grumbling about a task that the Princess asked her to do there.”

“O-Oh! Thank you!” Penchant said as he trotted off.

“Other way.”

“Right. T-thanks...”

The guards stood stoically until they were sure Penchant was far away.

“Ten bits says he’s out by the month.”

“20 says the week.”

“Deal.”

”Yes! Flee!” Wolf shouted as he chased the minotaur through the trees.

These people were afraid of him. He liked that, that means they run.

Lamb was somewhere behind him, though he did not care. He was doing what he loved most. Chasing! He loved following prey, terrifying them, scaring them stiff. He had a couple of methods that he employed for chasing, some for quick chases, some for long. This chase, Wolf wanted a long one. He savored every moment, every hurried glance the hunted made, the panting, the heartbeat, the smell of fear.

Wolf would lazily follow behind the minotaur at times, occasionally rushing up to nip at its legs to make it run faster. He would growl and laugh throughout the whole chase, shouting words of encouragement for it to run faster. Wolf’s favorite thing to do was to dash out in front of it while it was looking back. The screams that it made were music to him! He loved chasing almost as much as he loved Lamb.

Wolf’s counterpart was indeed lagging a bit behind, taking another, but still important job instead. Lamb made sure that the minotaur’s path was always winding back on itself, endlessly looping and twisting into a never ending road. This made Wolf’s chase last as long as he wanted, and this time, Lamb thought, that would be a while.

Lamb took care in performing this task as it made Wolf look so happy. Lamb was content when Wolf was happy, and less so when he is not. She was a little like a mother to Wolf, the slightly spoiled child. But that was neither here nor there. Lamb stopped, looking at Wolf who appeared finished with his game.

”Are you satisfied, dear Wolf?”

”Broad-thing was fun! Is there more?”

”Elsewhere, I think.”

”Where? Tell me Lamb.”

”Many places have what you seek.”

”Then can we go there?” Wolf looked east, back toward Equestria.

”Of course, Wolf. But there is someone we must see first”

Kindred moved to the edge of the forest, now untwisted from Lambs interference. They moved quickly, silently, under the canopy of the trees. The sun was low in the sky, and the trees’ shadows stretched long away from it. This was the only time the Dark Forest, as the minotaurs called it, got any light. The leaves way above created an oppressive blanket of shadow, leaving the ground bare and lifeless.

Sitting at the edge of the forest was a smaller, female, minotaur, about half the size of the one that Wolf chased. Along side her were her traveling companions, a tall unicorn stallion, a pegasus female, two male griffons, a female zebra and another, older minotaur bull. The minotaur was looking worriedly into the depths of the forest, shielding her eyes against the sun.

This small, rag-tag group was a traveling thearter. Putting on plays and gatherings for towns that would hear them. They weren’t the best around, but they brought traditions from around the world to their performances. This made them unique in every part of the world, giving them just enough interest to live off of.

“I’m going in to look for him,” the smaller minotaur said.

“He’s only been gone for what, a day?” said one of the two griffons.

“He said that this would take a while,” said griffon number two.

“She is right, something is wrong,” the old minotaur said, “This ritual of ours should only take a few hours.”

“If something has gone wrong,” said the pegasus, “then you would be the last we would send in. I’ll go.”

“No!” the smaller minotaur snapped. “It is sacred ground! Only our kind may enter.”

The group looked at the small calf, a little shocked by the sudden out burst from the normally quiet minotaur.

“Be careful child,” the old minotaur finally breathed, giving his permission.

The calf nodded, and started off in a light trot into the forest.

It seemed like she was walking for an hour through the underbrush of the outer forest until she reached the middle circle, here mushrooms and small plants that could live on little light lived, where the light could barely shine. The sun had dipped below the horizon, and if the young calf neglected to bring her torch, she would have been in total darkness. Yet she marched onward determined in her mission

“Brother!” she called, her voice echoing around the trees.

“Brother! Where are you?” Her cries went unanswered.

She looked behind her, still able to see the beacon of light that was her camp far in the distance. It looked so small now, a dot of light among the darkness, a star with no friends. The young minotaur felt the same, hoping with all her heart that she was not as alone as that star, that she would find her brother soon.

She stopped, stopped moving and breathing. Tapping, she heard tapping! She looked around wildly for the source. The torch she brought only cast light twenty steps around her. She started running towards where she thought it was, stopping every now and then to make sure it was getting louder.

“Brother! Where are you?” She shouted into the darkness.

The tapping stopped, leaving the calf lost again.

“Brother! Keep tapping!” she cried again, I’ll find you!

”That was not your brother, little one.”

She turned to face Lamb, perched on a branch that was three times her height.

“Who are you?” she asked, shaking a little. The chill running down her spine felt like icy tendrils had ensnared it.

”that is a difficult question, little one, we are many things.”

“W-we?”

”She means me!”

The young calf dropped her torch and wheeled around on her hooves, drawing the dagger at her waist. She came face to face with the wooden snarling face of Wolf.

”She smells fun! Can we chase her?”

Wolf circled back around to the tree that Lamb was under, who silently jumped to the ground when he was close.

“I’m not afraid of you!” she said, eyeing the bow that Lamb held.

”All fear us in time.”

”And flee from us!” Wolf continued to circle around the calf.

The calf backed away, trying to keep both of these beings in her sight.

”Don’t leave yet!”

Wolf had appeared behind her. So close that she could feel the hot breath of his maw.

“Who are you?”

”We were called many names.” Wolf said in her ear.

” But now, there are only then names that we call each other.”

”I am always Lamb to Wolf, and he is always Wolf to Lamb.”

“What do you want with me?”

”We have seen you. And we like what we saw.”

“W-what?”

”We want to tell you a story, little one. A story for you to tell others.”

”Our story!”

”The story of Kindred.”

Chapter 13

Author's Notes:

Hello Everyone!

Sorry about this uber lateness. This time though, it is entirely my fault. This is the third rewrite of this chapter, and I'm still not crazy satisfied with it. But hey, I don't want to get too much later than I already am.

Part of why this is so late, is that I realized that one, I did something out of order and I needed to change a few things so that it will work. second, I am doing the thing that I hate most about fanfictions, and that is rushing the story. I hate doing it myself a lot more, as it turns out. So I needed to do a bit of rethinking on the structure of this project, and I think I have arrived at what I want to do. This is going to be closer to 60+ chapters now I think.

Also, if you haven't noticed, I'm terrible at dialogue. So I have been doing some research to figure out what I need to change. And by research I mean reading my favorite books again. :)

Thanks to all of my few fans for being patient,

~Kamer

Chapter 13

Little Talks

Bright Rune entered the door to the hidden room in the Archives. Radiant lying on the couch, looking over some of his and Mondancer’s notes, Ivory and Still were sitting at the table, their conversation interrupted by the incoming stallion, and Moondancer was recovering from her nap on one of the larger chairs. All of them looked expectantly at Bright Rune waiting for his response.

“Princess Luna will be here after lunch today,” Bright Rune said.

“Not sooner?” Radiant asked, “I thought I told you to tell her it’s important.”

“I did,” Bright responded, “But I could only relay the message to her new aide. The guards wouldn’t let me tell her directly.”

“Humph...” was all Radiant responded with.

“Well,” Moondancer said, “We just have that much more time to think about what we want to ask.”

“Right...” Bright sighed.

It was silent for a moment before Radiant spoke up, “I’ve converted a fair number of spells, but they all still have the quick casting problem.”

“Yes,” Moondancer agreed, “Without that, there aren’t many spells that would be terribly useful, assuming this is something for combat.”

“Considering the arrow,” Ivory commented, “I think that is a fair assumption.”

“I, might be able to solve that.” Bright looked at the arrow. “I think that a sufficient enchantment, or series of enchantments might make the spells quick enough to cast.”

“A fully self-modifying spell matrix enchantment?” Moondancer glanced over, “That’s never been done before, even by the princesses.”

“It wouldn’t have to be totally self-modifying,” Radiant perked her ears up, “Just enough to handle a couple spells at once.”

“What about one per spell?” Ivory said, moving over to the chest of enchanting stones “It would be far easier.”

“I don’t think that will work,” Bright said, shaking his head, “unless we want to go around looking like Sapphire Shores.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Radiant stood up and strutted around the room like a showmare, “I’ve always wanted one of Rarity’s dresses.”

“I’m sure half of us here want one of those.” Still said from her chair, “Those things are gorgeous.”

“I really don’t care about clothes.” Moondancer was snuggling her trademark sweater while also wearing a smile.

“Obviously,” Radiant sarcastically grinned an Moondancer, who dropped the smile and shot back a glare.

“My choice of wardrobe is no concern of yours,” Moondancer made no attempt to hide the bit of annoyance in her voice.

“Only if we are never seen in public together.”

“Can we stay on topic please,” Still chimed in, glancing at both Moondancer and Radiant with her trademark guard ‘Stop Talking’ look. Both mares looked away from each other.

“I think that I have an idea for that too...” Bright said, “But it would take a lot of work and testing from all of us.”

“How much work are you thinking?” Ivory asked.

“I’ve been working on something in my spare time, a way for non unicorns to cast some basic spells.

“I’ve gotten it so I can channel magic into an enchanted item to cast a spell embedded in the gem, but I can’t get any other race to be able to use it.” Bright continued, “They are full spells though, not the stripped down enchantments that are normally on gems.”

“A full spell enchantment?” Moonshine was a little taken aback, “Those are exceptionally rare, both to exist and to make!”

Moondancer continued staring at Bright Rune.

“How repeatable is the process?” Still and Radiant gave a small chuckle.

“About ninety percent for a handful of spells. Simple ones though, like levitation and light. There are some that are just to complex for me to piece out myself. The matrices are just too entangled to unfold into its components and reassemble into the auto casting matrix that can be enchanted. But with your help, I should be able to make these modified spells into enchantments, which are quicker to cast. Assuming I can work around that little glitch.”

“Right, that sounds cool and all,” Still commented, “But it still leaves us with a wardrobe that will make a dragon jealous.”

“Well, maybe some of us would like that.” Radiant flipped her hair, “I think that I would look fabulous in armor made out of gems.”

“If you could walk in it...” Still said quietly.

“I am much stronger than I look, thank you.” Radiant retorted with another flip of her hair. This time towards Still.

Moondancer yawned, “That’s not really feasible though, I doubt that Ivory could wear armor covered head to toe in gems. It may only be viable for the princesses.”

“Do we need that many spells though?” Ivory asked everypony, “In a fight, don’t unicorns only use a handful? If we just enchant, say, ten or so, would that be enough for a fight?”

“I’ve only seen guards use three or four during training.” Still added.

“I guess that would work,” Bright admitted, though reluctantly, “But I just want to be prepared.”

“You say this like we are going to fight whatever this thing might be.” Still said inquisitively.

“I’m just worried about whatever this... thing, is.” Bright said, “If this thing is dangerous enough that the princesses want to keep this from the public, then I think it’s worth being prepared for. And I would rather not be responsible for hurting one of the princesses, indirectly or not.”

“I concur” Ivory nodded toward Bright, “We should prepare as if we will be fighting, we will think of more options and problems that way.”

“That’s... fair” Still said, “and I can already feel that this will be more exciting, if we’re actually talking about fighting something rather than reading books.”

“I’m in the other boat,” Moondancer was busy trying to be as small as possible, and, failing that, hiding behind a book, “I don’t like fighting.”

“Don’t worry, I’m right in that ship with you.” Bright was quick to add.

“Hardly anypony does,” Still said, “its mainly a guard thing. And that’s only because we have trained for fighting and never really had the opportunity to.”

“I could hold my own in a fight.” Ivory said stoically, “I used to wrestle with my siblings. And fend of bog bears.”

“Bog bears?”

“Hairy, ugly, angry and, Uhhh... Big...gy”

“Those beasts sound horrid.”

“They are.” Moondancer went back to hiding behind her book, trying not to be noticed.

“It was difficult the first couple times I helped, but it got easier with more experience.”

“I’ve wondered how I would actually do in a fight,” Radiant said, “I’ve studied combat spells, and I’ve used them in practice, but never practically.”

“I could probably teach you in skirmishes,” Still looked around the room, “I’ve had them against unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. I don’t think it would be too dangerous to do a few lessons here and there.”

“That sounds good. I’ve got some time this week if your up for it.”

“Sure, I’ll need to get my times right, but I’m good for it.”

With Still and Radiant having made plans, the others simply waited for the conversation to continue. But nopony really had anything else to say on this subject, and silence reigned while they waited for the princess to arrive.

Luna walked briskly into the library. Lunch was shorter than she wanted, but nobles needed to be met with. Even if they didn’t schedule anything, they still wanted to talk, eating up her precious free time.

Dumb, idiotic, self-centered brats of nobles, but nobles non-the-less.

“How my sister hath prevented Daybreaker from control is beyond us.”

“Princess?” Penchant asked.

“Nothing, aide.” She continued without a glance, “Thy need not concern thyself of what we spoke.”

They walked down the corridor keeping their thoughts to themselves for a couple moments longer until reaching the splitting end.

“Ohfff!” Penchant collided with Luna. Or more precisely, collided with her legs, sending him back a ways.

“We’re sorry,” Luna said with a small glare, “Was their somewhere thou needed to be?”

“S-sorry, princess. There was a meeting in the a-archives with Bright Rune...”

“Ahh...” Luna softened. “Right.”

Luna turned and started to walk down the hallway towards the archives with a stumbling Penchant close behind.

“We think now is a good time to bring up the more fine aspects of thy position.”

“Yes...?”

“Firstly, We are not perfect, We can, at times, be forgetful. As thou hast just seen.” Luna kept her eyes forward, “Thou needs’t to remind Us of everything. Every meeting, every talk, every signing, every change. Even every court. This is why We have thou, our lives are complex enough to need somepony to keep track of everything. This is your job.”

“Yes, princess.”

“Secondly. Thou will’t see a different side of Us. Angrier, less personable, more irritable. Thou must not let this affect thee, as this job is very difficult and stressful, even for us alicorns.”

“Yes, princess.”

“Thirdly. Thou need’st to-”

“Remind my sister that her dialect is archaic, any chance you get.” Celestia’s voice sounded from their left. Luna stopped and gave her sister an annoyed glance. Penchant flinched.

“Sister, it is good to see thee.”

“’You’.” Celestia said, grinning, “And it is as well.”

Luna scoffed, a small grin playing at her lips.

“How is our niece? Doing well I hope.”

“She is fine, if only a little less in high spirits.”

“We- I’m sure the foal does not help much either.”

“No,” Celestia shook her head, grinning, “No I’m sure it doesn’t.”

“And how was the trip? Uneventful W-I hope.”

“The trip went well, the train is running smoothly. Though there is some disturbing news from the Crystal Empire.”

“Ah?” Luna was intrigued.

“Yes. It appears that our friend visited there.”

“Oh...” Luna was now not so intrigued, “Any casualties?”

“None, all natural causes. Save for one murder, but the offender has been captured.”

“Murder? Sister, I thought that thou said that was a thing of my time.”

“’You’, and I did. But remember, the Empire is a thing of your time. They are not as up to date as I would want them to be. But they are trying their best.”

“That still makes only one death caused by them...” Luna was deep in thought. “I do wonder what they are up to.”

Penchant was now staring intently at the ground, ears flat against his head and eyes wide. Celestia took notice, and motioned to Luna, who was amused.

“Penchant, the third thing-”

“Fourth.”

“Third, There are things that we, you and I sister, NOT the royal ‘We’, need to be kept secret. You, by proximity, will overhear many things said by us. Again you and I. You must not repeat anything you hear, though you must remember it, and take it into account.”

“That last part is very important, for both of us.” Celestia cut in, “We often do not keep track of our own well being as much as we should, and it is up to you to try and keep our sanity in check.”

“Umm... I’m n-not sure I’ll be a good fit for this position...”

“HA! Nonsense,” Luna said, “You’ve lasted longer than the last canidate.” Luna started moving towards the archives again.

“Fair thee well, sister. I need to go talk to Moondancer and her team.”

“Are you still available for dinner?”

“Ask Penchant.” Luna was around the corner.

Penchant stood beside Celestia staring after Luna.

“Well, is she?”

“I-I don’t think so, your majesty,” Penchant responded, “Though I wasn’t given a schedule for today.”

“That means there is nothing on it.” Celestia said.

“Also, I was serious about number three.”

“No talking?”

“That’s number four,” Celestia chuckled, “Please remind my sister to update her language. It is very archaic. Just gentle reminders here and there, and not in public. Only in private.”

“Yes princess.”

“Now, hurry along. You need to stay by Luna.”

“Yes princess!” Penchant said, galloping down the hall after Luna.

Celestia sighed when he was out of earshot.

“I hope you aren’t biting off more than you can chew, Luna... Please ask for help if you need it.”

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Talks and Thoughts

Celestia walked back through the halls of the castle, while Luna headed off to the research group. There was something that held in the back of her mind, something that bothered her about this monster loose from another world. Something seemed off about the way it was acting the way it was behaving.

The monster, or whatever it was, was behaving oddly. First odd thing, it has in its possession a type of magic that has never been seen before. It is untraceable, undetectable, unblockable, and, from what Luna and her team has been researching, almost improbably difficult to match. With these qualities, why hasn’t this creature tried something more drastic, more inline with the villainy that she was accustomed to?

Had this been any villain that was from her world, it would have taunted the sisters endlessly about being able to kill their subjects right under their muzzles. Instead, it continues to hide, only letting some see them. Celestia wondered the streets of the Crystal Empire, in disguise, casting an emotion detection spell, specifically looking for fear and terror. She was only able to find two ponies that were able to describe the pair, called ‘Lamb’ and ‘Wolf’ by the first victim, as her sister had shown her from the stallion’s dream.

Why are they not being grand with their murders, letting many ponies see them in the act? Why do they seem like they are being recluse, only performing a relatively small number of killings? Why are they so skilled at killing, and yet only killing so few? They seem like random murders of different ponies in different cities. Celestia wasn’t able to see an obvious connection between any of them, so targeted murders were out of the question.

From what she could see in the hospital of the Crystal Empire, those recently deceased with either ethereal arrows or ethereal bite marks that only the princesses could see, there were about twenty or so killings that she could find no witnesses to. No bystanders, no glimpses of a black shadow or flashes of a white coat. Not even sounds that one would consider suspicious. Killings that went right under the perception of everypony, except the princesses.

One of the most perplexing aspects of this creature was its motives. To say, Celestia could find none. Because of the general lack of public knowledge, many reasons are ruled out off the bat. Ransom and attention seeking both relied on large public awareness, so those were off the table. Thrill seeking and compulsive killing were gone too. Many of the killings showed incredible skill and forethought, they weren’t dangerous or spur of the moment in the slightest.

Cult killings were in the ballpark, but it matched no prior case of one that Celestia had seen. Either cults lay shrouded in shadows until it was time to execute their master plan, or they were as public as possible to maximize recruitment. Neither of these matched with the act of these killings, their half public, half hidden killing style.

Whatever the reason or twisted motive behind these killings, Celestia was sure that the creature or creatures that were doing this enjoyed their work to a great degree.

Celestia stopped at the doors to her chambers. Something was in the back of her mind, she knew this pattern. Killing in silence, only letting a few be aware, staying just out of hoofs reach. Something seemed familiar. Something she could almost put her tongue on but was gone the moment she tasted it.

She shook her head and walked through her doors. She needed more information. Eyewitness accounts, personality traits, anything that might help unravel this puzzle. There were a couple witnesses that she knew were close enough to talk to. It was going to be a long day.

“Raven?” Celestia called.

“Here, your Highness.”

“Did you get that list of ponies from Luna?”

“Yes ma'am”

“How many?”

“twenty-three, your Highness.”

‘Only twenty-three?’ Celestia pondered. ‘That is so few! But, Luna said that these were the only ones she could find throughout Equestria and the Crystal Empire, so I trust her knowledge.’

“How many of them reside in Canterlot?”

“Princess Luna says that two are in Canterlot, one in Ponyville, one in Appaloosa, six in Manehattan, three in Las Pegusus, four in Cloudsdale and two in the Crystal Empire. four she could not ascertain the location of.”

“Right in line with what I observed from the Crystal Empire.” Celestia muttered to herself, “Very few actual sightings.”

“Can you retrieve a list of addresses for those that are in Canterlot?”

“Of course ma’am. Anything else?”

“Some tea, I think.” Celestia sighed, “This is going to be a long day.”

Luna walked into the hidden room in the archives.

Moondancer and Bright Rune were reading, Ivory was looking over a map and both Radiant and Still Wind were taking what Luna could assume as a small cat nap.

“Good ‘morn to thee.” Luna said. Earning a couple starts from the sleepers and a bow from everypony else.

”Afternoon...”

Penchant was a only a little behind Luna, but was looking straight down at the floor, so his voice even harder to hear.

“How go’th the investigation?”

”goes”

“Well.” Moondancer replied, “We have figured out the procedure for adapting most spells to affect whatever this thing is.”

“Procedure?”

“Right,” Bright cut in, “The spells need a very specific waveform translation in order to affect the arrow,”

“And hopefully whoever shot it...” Still added quietly.

“What is the nature of the transformation? Tis’ linear or otherwise?”

“No,” Moondancer chuckled, “Not even remotely.”

“Oh?” Luna’s curiosity was piqued.

“There are a number of calculations to even figure out the transformation, which is not linear in any sense of the word. Then we need a set of pre-checking modification matrices, which we can’t fold into the existing spell because they are far to complicated and come from different schools of magic.”

“And how many different matrices dos’t each spell need?”

”Does.”

Luna shifted her gaze to make a brief glance at Penchant.

“Anywhere from four to ten,” Bright added.

“Oh.”

“It won’t be the most useful technique in battle if we don’t get the casting quicker.” Still said.

“Battle?” Luna said, “Why woulds’t you think this leads to battle?”

”Would.”

Luna’s glance was longer this time, and more of a glare.

“We I heard thee would’st would like to speak to Us me on a specific matter. I guess this woulds’t would, would, be the subject?”

Most eyes were on the princess, with Moondancer casting a curious glance at Penchant.

“Y-yes Princess Luna...” Bright said, “We just wanted to talk about why we weren’t told that this would be for use in battle?”

“There is no reason to think that-” Luna started, but was quickly cut off by Still.

“So the dead stallion we’ve been around for almost two weeks just kinda woke up with an arrow in his chest and died of an entirely unrelated incident?” the sarcasm was very present in her voice.

“Still Wind,” Luna said, a little harsher than intended, “We-I am a princess, and you will not address me with such a tone again.” Luna made a small glance back at Penchant, who had somehow made himself smaller and even more over-lookable.

“S-sorry princess...” Still said, looking down a bit.

Luna sighed, she had pulled these ponies into this mess and had known that at some point this would come up. They were doubtless some of the brightest ponies in Canterlot. Even Still Wind had a well above average head on her shoulders.

“It’s alright,” Luna said slowly. “I didn’t mean for you to get this far this quickly.

“I can tell you everything now, but please refrain from speaking about this matter to anypony, no matter how close or how much you trust them.”

Everyone in the room was waiting for Luna to finish, while Penchant was trying his best to leave through the crack in the door.

“Yes, these spells will be for battle. No, I do not know of the enemy’s other abilities, or if they have them. I do know what they look like, and what they call themselves.”

Luna ignited her horn, creating a swirling, colorful smoke that gradually took shape. After a few seconds, the forms of the two so-called monsters became clear for everypony to see.

“The thin, white creature with the bow and black mask calls herself Lamb,” Luna began, “As far as I can tell, she is the one who killed our poor homeless stallion here. Her bow is unlike any material I have seen and is likely from somewhere we cannot even fathom.”

“A-and the-the black one, on the r-right?” Moondancer asked, hiding behind her sweater collar, a book and Still Wind.

“That creature is called Wolf. Together, they call themselves Kindred.”

Shudders flowed around the room. Even thinking of being attacked by the one called Wolf was terrifying. All present dreaded thinking what it would be like to actually be attacked.

“Are they dangerous?”

Luna sighed, “Yes, unfortunately. They have killed at least forty between the Crystal Empire and Equestria. Though admittedly the number is probably a little low.”

More shudders followed.

“What are they?” Ivory asked.

“As far as we I, -that is not the royal ‘We’ Penchant. I was talking about my sister and I.”

”Sorry...”

Luna shook her head, a small grin on her muzzle, “We do not know what they are. Mayhaps some form of deamon. A creature from a long forgotten past.

“One thing we do know is they are not from Equestria, nor from even this world.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Still said in disbelief.

“A number of times during Our, my, absence, a massive magical surge ‘neath crystal caves of Canterlot have created a gateway to another world.”

“Wait, is this related to the magical surge that happened a little over two weeks ago?” Moondancer asked.

“Yes, it is.” Luna paused.

“Mine sister has already done exhaustive research pertaining to the gate, and came to the conclusion that nothing organic could have possibly come through, so we both thought it was a non issue.

The room was mostly silent, some shuffling here, mumbling there. Bust still giving Luna their full attention.

“Does this answer all of your questions?”

“Most of them, your Highness.” Ivory said.

“And what, mayhaps, be some others?”

“Well...” Bright started, “Just how far do you plan on going with this?”

“I’m not sure what thee mean. Thou hast-have, already completed what I asked. You are all free to do what thee please.”

”You for those...”

“Thank thee Penchant.” Luna was only slightly less annoyed at Penchant than her sister, but still irked non the less. “You,” she added as an after thought.

“So we are all free to do whatever we want?”

“Yes. Make sure all of, your work is documented before you leave.”

Luna waited for more questions, but the ponies remained silent.

“If that is all, then I shall take my leave.”

Luna turned to the door, which was already being opened by Penchant.

“Thank you Penchant.”

“And if we want to continue?” Radiant asked.

Luna stopped, though did not look back.

“That decision is also up to you. I cannot guarantee the safety of this job, nor can a guarantee that this will bare any fruit, either private or public. I can say that until I say so, you are not allowed to talk about what is happening here.”

Luna then turned back to face the group.

“But it is still your decision to make, and I will respect it either way.”

Luna nodded her head while the rest bowed. Then she turned and left.

Everypony in the room looked around at each other, before Ivory finally spoke.

“Well, we have something to talk about.”

Celestia had finished the first of two meetings in Canterlot, and was now moving to the second.

The first meeting had not really helped her much, as the mare in question had just seen the one called Wolf growl at her, laugh, then leave. She was not able to give the fine details on personality that Celestia had wanted.

It was not all for loss though. Celestia was able to help the mare with her nightmares and get her to see one of the castles in-house psychiatrists. They are very under worked and bored, so they will enjoy the company. It will also serve to keep the problem contained as best as she can. She would never ask Dr. Mindful to talk about her patients, but it would be nice to have some idea of what is going on.

“Raven,” Celestia asked, “Where is our next meeting?”

“The address is an apartment building called Green Pastures on 1592 West Crystal Lane. The apartment number is 316 on the fourth floor.”

“And the name?”

“Marble Grain, your Highness.”

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A Visit From Royalty

Princess Celestia was back in Canterlot.

Marble knew this for a fact.

Why?

Because, Princess Celestia herself, in all her glory, was sitting on the couch in his messy living room.

Marble did not like this situation.

The day had started fairly normal. He woke up. He showered. He made breakfast for Pinkie and himself. They went to a park. They had lunch at Doughnut Joe’s. Then they returned home. Pinkie wrote a letter to her friends and went to the post office to send it.

Normal.

Minutes after Pinkie left to send a letter, the doorbell rang. Marble was expecting it to be Joe bringing back whatever he forgot at the diner this time. But no such luck. When he opened the door and saw the princess standing there, he just couldn’t find anything to say. So he stepped back to let her in. He went to the kitchen and grabbed the pot of tea he was brewing, the only thing that Marble thought went well about the predicament he was in.

Marble motioned for the princess to sit down on his couch, and she did, with a rather amused grin on her face. He set the tea down on the coffee table, along with two of the nicest cups he had for tea. When he turned back to the kitchen to get an extra chair for himself, the princess picked him up, and set him on the couch next to her.

This was the current place that Marble was now. Sitting next to the princess, drinking tea. Sitting next to the princess on a small love-seat couch. Sitting uncomfortably close to the princess on the small love-seat couch. It was at this point that Marble made a discovery. That Princess Celestia was radiating heat. In other words, she was very warm.

And the only thing Marble could think to say in this situation was,

“Your very warm.”

The princess laughed.

Marble’s face reddened, he sipped from his cup again.

This was the situation that Marble was in now, and he did not like it.

“How was your day, Marble?”

“Good.”

“And what constitutes ‘good’ in the world of Marble?”

“Trip to the park.”

“It was a good day for that today. Very sunny.”

“It was.”

“Was it warm enough at the park today? Too breezy? Too still?”

“It was good.”

“Good, hmm...”

The princess sipped her tea again, still looking forward. In truth, she did take a bit of fun playing with subjects. Though playing in reality was just trying to make small talk. And the enjoyment came from watching them become a nervous wreck. It was fun to be able to see an unguarded side of people. Luna said that she liked it because she herself wanted her own walls taken down. Celestia responded that it was a challenge that she set for all of her subjects.

“Um...”

“Why am I here?”

“Y-yea.”

Celestia paused.

“I wanted to check on you. Make sure you were doing well.”

“I am.”

“Doing well?”

“Y-yea...”

“That’s not what Luna is telling me.”

Marble didn’t respond. His face grew more contorted as he looked down.

“No, I guess I’m not...”

“Is Luna’s intervention helping at all?”

“Her intervention?”

“Yes, she said she had stopped multiple times in your dreams, you would always thank her and continue to dream pleasantly afterward.”

“I don’t remember that...”

Celestia looked surprised, but only for a very brief moment, “You don’t remember anything from your dreams?”

“No...”

Celestia was worried, she thought she knew what is happening to this poor pony, but she needed to make sure before she pushed any farther. If he had a case of PTSD, any pursuit of the topic could be disastrous but if it was UERS, a rarer, unicorn only form of PTSD, then she could safely push the boundaries a little.

“You remember nothing from your dreams?”

Celestia started up a lie detecting spell. While in truth not very good at detecting lies, it was a good, and subtle way of getting a more accurate read on how a pony felt about a question or answer they give. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t the emotions that Celestia was looking for. The spell worked by feeling the movement of magic in the target. She was looking for a specific pattern, one that she hoped would confirm her suspicions.

“I do remember some things.”

No spike in anxiety. Heart rate and muscle relaxation are normal.

“Can you tell me some of them? Or does that make you feel worried.”

“N-no,” Marble stuttered, “I just... You don’t need to worry about me.”

No changes in the spell yet.

“I’m always worried about my little ponies, But sometimes I feel like I cannot help them. I want to help you Marble. I see a lot of great things in your future. I want you to be there for what I see.”

“You think highly of me?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have recommended you to the Agriculture Board if I wasn’t.”

“You recommended me for the Ag Board? I-I thought you didn’t like my proposal.”

Excitement, Celestia didn’t need the spell to see that easily.

“While I thought that your presentation was spectacular, and you were right in everything you said, it is not what Equestria needs right now. You, however, have an amazing insight into the world of agriculture. I would be a poor ruler not to recognize that.”

“And you want me for the job?”

“Of course, I always keep my eye out for promising young ponies. Ponies whom I think will be major players in the future of Equestira.”

Marble’s face seemed to light up for a brief moment, something that Celestia was overjoyed to see. Her moment of joy faded when the smile fell from Marble’s face.

“I’m not sure I would be a good fit for a position like that though.”

Disappointment.

“A bright, energetic pony with a passion and drive that rivals many of the ponies already on the board. What you lack in experience is easily outshined by your intellect and breadth of knowledge.”

Marble smiled for a fraction of a second, “You think I could do it? You really think I would be able to help?”

Hope.

“Yes, of course Marble.”

Happiness.

“I think it would be in poor judgment of mine to let you go back to the law firm. It would be such a waste of your potential.”

“I have potential?”

“Much. If you would be willing to come to the castle tonight or tomorrow night, I would be happy to help you make a decision.”

“I would love to!” Marble was much more energetic than before smiling gleefully, “Any time tonight?”

“Of course, I can tell the guards you will be arriving after dark if you wish.”

A small shift in Marble’s magic.

“What exactly does the job entail?”

“Mostly talking about legislation, coming up with new legislation, and arguing with other committees about yearly budgets.”

“I know I’m not selling this much, but your experience and knowledge in both agriculture and law will be exceptionally helpful to all those on the committee.”

Spike in magical energy. This is what Celestia was waiting for. It was both good and bad news for Marble. UERS, or Unicorn Event Recollection Syndrome, occurred when a unicorn went through a traumatic event. The syndrome would force the affected to relive moments of the event through forced magical recollection. It had far more intense effects than PTSD, did not have any know triggers and was much rarer as a condition. The only upside of it, is UERS is curable, unlike its counterpart. It was lucky that Celestia was here for one, this might be the first case in a few decades.

“I don’t know what to say, Princess” Marble said, “Thank you for starters!”

Celestia smiled for a moment before it dropped, “Marble?”

“Yes?” Marble replied, suddenly hesitant.

“I need you to listen to me right now.”

“O-OK...”

“You are about to have another attack. Your going to see them again soon.”

“W-what?”

“I know your condition, and I know what it looks like.”

“I don’t understand. Princess, what are you talking about?”

“Your condition forces you to recall a traumatic event through magical means. It is very a intense experience, but is curable.”

Marble just looked at the princess, unsure of what to say or do.

“Is that whats been happening?”

Celestia sighed and frowned, “I believe so... I am sorry that you have to go through this, Marble.”

“Will it be like what happened before?”

“They will grow in intensity, up to a point.”

“S-so this one will be worse?”

“In all likelihood. But there is one major difference this time.”

“Y-yes?”

Celestia opened her wings and pulled Marble into a tight hug.

“I will be with you the entire way, my little Marble.”

As Celestia made her way back to the castle she thought of what to do next.

As terrible as it was, Marble’s condition shed a lot of light on the behavior and probable actions of Lamb and Wolf. Celestia didn’t think they weren’t as careful and well-planned as she once thought. Drawing from reports of sightings and from her sister’s dream ventures, Lamb and Wolf weren’t going after specific ponies. Instead, Celestia thought, these are just random ponies caught in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

This disturbed Celestia in different ways. Had these been well planned murders, Celestia would have been disturbed by the accuracy, cunning and shear speed of these murders. Instead, she is disturbed by the skill employed by these two monsters, the ability to not only kill but be perfectly selective about who sees it is a skill that she has never seen, nor wished to comprehend.

Celestia shared Marble’s vision and experience with Lamb and Wolf. she was hoping, no matter how terrible it was to do so, that someone had this condition. Despite all of the negative drawbacks that it caused those that suffer from it, it is the best memory recollection technique, if it could be called that. The events that it recalled were more vivid that any unicorn, or even the princesses, could conjure up.

She was able to see that night through Marble’s eyes. They were just as terrifying as Luna and the other victims described, perhaps even more so than that. Those two creatures did not seem like normal living things, not from this world at least.

Celestia sighed, ‘I think I owe Luna another apology.’

She still needed a plan to follow. And, while violence was not usually what she preferred, it was wise to make the plans. For now, she would help Luna and her research group as much as she could. It would have to be subtle to the rest of the castle as a single princess going to the archives was normal behavior, even expected. But both princesses frequenting the archives on a daily basis along with a group of other civilian ponies? That was news worthy, and would doubtless be reported on. Then it would become a real problem.

This brought up another oddity in the mind of Celestia was the spread of information from the duo. It was a slow spread, but consistent. The recollections were all different, different times, places, ponies. There was no real consistency with the murders either. Some were quick by either Lamb or Wolf, a single arrow or single bite, others were long or drawn out, like they were savoring it.

This pattern was what intrigued Celestia. It seemed so familiar to her. The stories. The creatures. The Stakes. Something was picking at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t quite get a hold on it.

Another sigh from Celestia.

Maybe it was time to take a break. It was almost dinner, it had taken a little more time than Celestia had thought to calm down Marble, but with the physician and Pinkie Pie now helping him, there was little for her to worry about.

Yes, Celestia decided, it was time for a little dinner, hopefully with her sister.

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Creeping Stories

After finishing a talk with her sister, Luna was in a similar mind. She agreed with Celestia’s diagnosis of a deeper issue. Luna would like to go over this development in a deeper sense, both with her sister and with the archive team. But at hoof, she had more pressing matters do deal with.

Namely, Luna had been working for almost twelve hours, had been awake for almost 20 hours and she needed sleep. Nothing would stop her from this endeavor, nothing would stop her from making it to her bed, in her sheets and on her pillow. Nothing would stop her from reaching the sweet blissful release from duty that is sleep. Nothing at a-

“P-princess?”

‘Except for Penchant, evidently.’ Luna thought.

“Yes, Penchant what doth thou need?” Luna asked.

“do you... Prince Blueblood requests a meeting, he says immediately.”

Luna stared flatly at Penchant. Then turned her head to the corridor to her room, then back to Penchant. With A final sigh she stormed off back toward the throne room.

“I’m going to throw him out a window.”

“Princess…?”

“This request is on purpose.” Luna muttered to herself, “He doth know full well We are tired, that We require rest and he requests a meeting at this hour.”

Luna rounded the corner, while Penchant began trotting after her.

“Princess the meeting is in your quarters.” Penchant squeaked out.

Luna once more stopped and looked at Penchant, before letting out a huff and turning around.

“So he wishes to taunt Us, does he?” Luna continued to mutter, “In Our own room, so close to Our nice, large, ever so comfortable bed.”

Penchant thought the Princesses mood to sour to comment on speech, so he held his tongue.

Luna and Penchant made their way to the Princess’ chambers, turning the heads of many guards on their way. Luna’s mood was ever slowly getting worse, to the point where Penchant could swear the air around her was getting colder and darker.

Penchant accepted this job rather hastily in his mind. In the interview, Celestia said that she would forgive all of his school debt if he was able to go two weeks into this position, and a stipend for life if he managed a year. All he had to do in return was make sure Princess Luna attended meetings, signed papers, made appearances and didn’t lose her temper.

He was starting to think that he wouldn’t last a week, let alone two years. The nerves were already starting to feel like too much already.

“Princess?” Penchant asked quietly.

“Yes?” Luna’s tone was cold, but Penchant could tell it was not directed at him.

‘I really hope that does not change…’ he thought.

“I think…” he gulped, “that it would be wise for you to…” another gulp of air, “to relax a little before meeting Prince Blueblood…”

When Luna stopped and cast a sidelong glance at Penchant, for a moment, he felt all of the annoyance in her eyes turn into anger, then leave just as quickly.

She sighed, “I do suppose your right,” Luna said, her posture visibly calmer, “It does both parties no good if even one is unwilling to listen to the other.”

Luna fluttered her wings and moved in place for a moment, before regaining her regal posture and continuing on the journey.

“But if his request is idiotic,” Luna continued, “I will throw him out of the tower.”

Penchant was standing stock still and shaking. He could tell that the look that Luna gave him was nowhere near how angry she could actually become. It was, however, the single most terrifying look he had ever received. He could not think of which scared him more.

“Hey” a guard came up to Penchant.

“Y-yea?”

“There is a bathroom over here, if ya want to calm down a bit.”

Penchant looked to where the guard was pointing, and quickly scurried over.

“Thank you!” he said as he entered.

The guard chuckled as he went back to his post next to another guard.

“I’m pretty sure he was moving backward he was shaking so much.” The other guard said.

“Sounded like one of our morning runs.”

Blueblood sat in the chambers of Princess Luna, waiting for the inevitable storm that was the lunar alicorn.

Blueblood was not an idiot, like some thought, though he was also not a mastermind of social grace as others thought he did. What he was, however, master of presenting himself exactly as he wants to be. He called them his ‘masks’. And he had a few.

At heart, Blueblood was a diplomat, traveling to different countries and making himself a friend to all. In pursuing that task, he found that acting the part that people want you to is pivotal to making the perfect first impression. As well as a lasting feeling of trust. Blueblood would use his trust and influence to make as many deals as possible in favor of Equestria. But he needed to be careful about how far he took his little masks. Blueblood’s main rule about them is he would never lie to a foreign country about anything, he would never step to far outside of his own personality.

There at least.

Back in Equestria, he was able to try anything that he wanted to, under the protection of his ‘aunts’. Sometimes things would backfire, like an unfortunate situation that will not be mentioned. Sometimes they would work out swimmingly, like many other very fortunate situations that will also not be mentioned.

Because of how manipulative he could become, Blueblood would often use his talent to play pranks on the sisters. He once convinced the chefs at the castle that Celestia was on an all blueberry diet, and they needed to go on everything she ate from now on. It took a little while for Celestia to realize what was going on, and she quickly deduced that he was responsible.

His prank on Luna though might have earned him quite a bit of her ire. She had convinced her then aide to schedule a meeting every half hour in a different room of the castle, on different sides of the castle. He had gotten some of them to be actual meetings, but many of them were just empty rooms. He had her running around all night in quite the mood. When she found out, she was of course blindingly angry.

He was still finding bits of evergreen needles in his room.

It was for this reason that Blueblood was reluctant to scheduling a meeting with Luna. But the information he had was too important not to tell her, considering what was going on. He was sure that she would see reason when he told her.

But if she wasn’t, that’s what the tea and cookies were for.

Blueblood took one final look over his notes, making sure he was getting everything right. He didn’t want to slip up while he was talking to her, and he definitely didn’t want to say something wrong that Luna took as fact.

“Three Griffons, two zebra, four, potentially five minotaur...” Blueblood muttered to himself.

The door to Luna’s chambers opened, allowing the lunar alicorn to enter. Blueblood was quite relieved to note the lack of annoyance on her face. For a moment, his apprehension faded.

“Before we begin,” Luna started, “Note that We will be looking for a reason to throw you out of our window, so be quick, or don’t say anything at all.”

Blueblood’s apprehension came back in full force, though he did not dare let Luna know this. He knew enough about acting to disguise what he was actually feeling, and he knew enough about luna to know that she would take full advantage if she knew.

Luna sat across from Blueblood, snatching up a cup of tea and a cookie almost immediately. Blueblood was happy that he kept the tea warm for as long as he did.

“Well?” Luna asked.

“Oh, sorry princess.” Blueblood said, “I’ve gotten multiple reports across various countries, including Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, Abyssinia and the Minotaur Lands with sightings of a pair of creatures. One was described as tall and white, the other was black and seemed to be made of smoke.”

Luna went visibly pale at this statement, eyes wide with shock and fear. Blueblood was too focused on his wording and delivery to notice the change.

“As an aside, I know I can trust all of my corespondents. I hoof picked them for their loyalty and ability to tell me exactly whats going on. The kicker to this story is they all told me on the same day, within an hour of each other.”

As Blueblood finished up, Luna was regaining her composure, thankful that he did not see her extreme change in mood. This was not something that was good for the general public to know about, but it seemed to be out of their control now. There would need to be an announcement, discussions and decisions on this matter.

“The different countries are still looking into the matters, but a cursory investigation says that there is no correlation. The deaths were all of natural causes.”

Blueblood set down his papers to looked up at Luna, who had just set her tea cup down.

“I see.” Luna said, “Is there anything else on the two creatures?”

“No...” Blueblood replied, “Just that.”

“An interesting group of sightings. This has given me something to think about.”

Luna stood, giving Blueblood a nod. “Please inform my sister at her earliest convenience. This is something that needs to be discussed with the leaders.”

“Yes, your Highness.” Blueblood stood to leave.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

“Anything, your highness.”

Blueblood left with a small chunk of the doors closing, leaving Luna up to her own thoughts.

‘This is most troubling,’ she thought, ‘I did not think they could travel so quickly.’

Luna had begun to have doubts of the creatures true intents almost a week after the first incident with the homeless stallion and the unicorn. There was so many things that did not add up. Many variables unaccounted for.

Why were they not claiming the cause of the deaths to be themselves? What purpose would holding out give them? Perhaps they were not aware the alicorns could see their work. Perhaps they are still hoping that the secrecy of their actions were not yet discovered.

But why then did they allow themselves to be seen, and even converse with some on occasion?

‘Their actions are paradoxical and illogical’ Luna thought.

They seem to want to say just out of sight, but still in the corner of the eye. There, but always fleetingly so. Something to be chased, but never caught.

Luna stood rigid, then relaxed. She knew what they were, what they wanted to do. She took another cup of tea out to the balcony.

‘Sleep would need to wait tonight,’ she thought, ‘There were things needed to be discussed.’

They were not doing these things at random, nor were they following a carefully laid plan. Celestia had said their world had died, that there was no signs of life in range of her spells. That would mean their job their was done, or rather, there was nothing more to do. This was something that they had always done. Something that they had done on their previous would and what they wanted to continue doing here.

Luna recalled old stories, legends. Stories of ponies meeting the pale horse, the reaper. Come to take their souls to the next world. This pair of creatures was no different. They were not killers. They were not the cause of these deaths, not directly at least.

She walked slowly, but with purpose, toward the edge of the balcony, casting an augmented locator spell as she went.

Lamb and Wolf were a legend from another world, and they wanted to be a legend in this one as well.

Luna spread her wings and took off. She needed to have a talk with Death.