> Shadow Seeds
>  by Orsuros
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna looked over the throne room from her seat. She tried to look as regal as she could as she stifled a yawn. She turned and lifted her wing so nopony present would see. The normal proceedings of the royal court were as dull as ever, and she was only here because Celestia insisted that she join her during the afternoon from time to time before Celestia finished her duties for the day. There had been a few humble ponies that truly needed their help, but most of the afternoon had been taken up by the stuck-up ponies of Canterlot complaining about petty things.

The current case was between two different unicorns disputing over where the property line was between their homes. After staring up at the stained glass windows for long enough, Luna cut them off.

“Go find the surveyors in the royal archives. They will handle this.” Luna motioned them to leave with a brief wave of her hoof.

Celestia smiled in approval. “It’s wise to recognize when others can help them faster than we can. I think you’re finally getting the hang of this.”

“Even if I am doing better,” Luna said, “I still do not enjoy this as much as my other duties.”

“When it gets boring, I like to think of some way to better teach them to take care of themselves. But not everypony is very good at learning lessons.”

Luna looked down at the floor. “I would try that, but I still think many of them do not trust me.”

Celestia stood up. A moment later, she gave Luna a tight hug.

“Many can see the good in you like I do. But you are still working against centuries of stories about Nightmare Moon. You’ll need to keep trying, and I’m here if you need anything.”

Luna sighed and looked out at the setting sun.

“At least the younger ponies are giving me a chance. But I think it’s about time to wrap up things for today.”

Celestia stepped back and rubbed her eyes.

“Yes, it’s been a long day for me. Ready to raise the moon?”

“Only if you’re ready to lower the sun.”

Luna gave Celestia a playful bump and jumped off the platform with the thrones. Celestia glided down next to her and gave her the same sort of bump as they walked out of the throne room together.

The two sisters went through their daily routine of switching the sky from night to day before retiring for a nice dinner together. Celestia went off to get ready for bed, and Luna was left alone with her thoughts on her balcony as she looked over Canterlot and Equestria.

Luna trotted off to begin the preparations for her nightly duties. Even if she was doing better at making a few friends, she could still feel that somewhere deep inside her was the desire and potential to be Nightmare Moon again. It was a part of her she liked to keep locked away.

Luna busied herself with dinner and other little chores. About an hour later, Luna stood at her post on the tallest balcony of Canterlot’s castle. The moon was already rising in the sky, but she enjoyed taking a few moments to savor the beauty of each evening before attending to her other duties. A few thin clouds were in the sky tonight, catching the silvery beams of moonlight. Luna turned and took one step toward the door when a sudden flash lit up the night sky.

Luna should have felt anything in the night sky, but this had come out of nowhere. Luna jumped over the railing of the balcony and spread her wings, racing to follow it as it streaked toward Ponyville in the distance. It was going far too slowly to be anything like a meteor, and she was slowly gaining on whatever it was. Just as it crossed over a set of hills, it broke in two. One piece fell to the side, quickly losing the light that surrounded it. A chill ran down her spine as it crashed into the ground below, carving an ugly a black streak into the grass. Something about it reminded her of how her magic had felt back when she had been Nightmare Moon. It wasn’t quite the same, but it felt wrong. 

The other piece of the object continued straight for the outskirts of Ponyville. It didn’t have the same unsettling aura around it, so Luna decided it could wait.

Luna thought she saw something large and dark down below. She blinked and it was gone. Luna flapped her wings and hovered in place above the blackened crater. A set of footprints led from the crater toward the nearby farmhouse. Luna landed to take a closer look. The prints came in two sets. Luna guessed that the creature’s front feet had five toes and claws, and the back feet had four toes and larger claws. She followed the trail of footprints until it disappeared in the long grass at the edge of the crater. She reached out with her magic to try to sense any spells that might be hiding something.

Screams broke her concentration. They were coming from the farmhouse. 

The door was wide open, but Luna hadn’t heard anything force it. She charged inside, horn glowing with magic. The light from her horn lit the small home, but the shadows remained around a dark figure. It looked like a dragon, but its wings and skin seemed to be more like smoke. Only its glowing yellow eyes were completely solid, and they were fixed on an earth pony blocking the doorway that led to the other part of the house. 

Before Luna could react, the creature slammed a foot on the stallion. The pony yelled out in pain then collapsed as the creature pressed him against the ground. The screams of a mare and some younger ponies came from the back room as the dragon stepped past the fallen pony.

Luna was sure the beast was focused on the other ponies and hadn’t noticed her yet. She started to gather magic, but she had to be sure she wouldn’t injure any ponies. Luna stepped to the side and got a glance of the room behind the stallion.

A mare held a broom in her mouth but was stepping backward as the creature bore down on her. two little foals cowered and whimpered behind a bed. 

Luna focused her magic. She would have to use precise spells to avoid hitting the ponies. She shot a ray of magic at the shadowy thing. The spell threw it into the air. It smashed against the table and slammed into the wall. 

It twisted back onto its feet in a moment. It stood tall and scraped its chest. A ball of shadow clung to its claws then dropped to the floor. The ball of shadow grew in size and shaped itself into something vaguely like a pony. The dragon pointed at the other room, and the smaller shadow stepped toward the mare while the dragon stepped between Luna and the doorway.

Luna couldn’t see what was going on behind the beast, but the mare’s scream made Luna’s blood run cold. It a scream of desperation and pain far worse than even the screams Luna had heard of soldiers dying in battle. Luna flattened her ears until the scream cut off. The loud thud afterward had to be the mare falling to the floor. Luna snorted in rage. She wasn’t going to let anything do this to her ponies, and especially not to the innocent foals that the mare and stallion had fallen protecting.

The light from her horn flared. Luna threw all her magic into one massive ray of magic. It hit the dragon, and the explosion shook the house. Dust from the ceiling was the only warning Luna got before the roof collapsed. She jumped toward the bedroom and tried to aim a protection spell at the foals and their fallen parents before everything went dark.

Luna kicked the piece of roof that had fallen on her. The dust settled, and the moonlight shone down. There wasn’t much left of the house, but the ponies were all in her little bubble of magic. They were safe. Luna coughed and shook her wings.

The clatter of shifting rubble drew Luna’s attention. The dragon growled and burst out from under the wall that had fallen on it. It dove straight at Luna.

She threw up a barrier, but the creature shattered it without slowing down. Luna tried to dodge but felt an icy chill as the creature raked its claws across her flank.

Luna nearly collapsed. It felt like the claws had ripped a piece of her away. The physical pain was nothing compared to the deeper pain that Luna felt in the deepest part of her being. She could feel some part of her bleeding from her to the creature through its touch.

Her magic felt suddenly weaker, but she desperately threw what she could into a spell to get it off her. The magic blasted it away. It rolled a few times in the grass before skidding to a stop in the field next to house.

She turned and looked where the creature had touched her. Blood dripped down from where it had clawed her, but what else had it done to her? The injury looked like any other, but she could feel deep down that something else had happened. The creature moved again, and Luna’s mind snapped back to the battle.

The creature was a bit slower to get to its feet this time. It panted and growled and cautiously stepped toward Luna. To her side, the children screamed again. Luna glanced over. The smaller creature had risen from the rubble and was kicking at Luna’s barrier spell. It snarled and kicked her barrier again. Small cracks began to form in the protective sphere. The thing kicked at the barrier over and over. 

Luna tried to call up her magic, but it came slowly. She blasted the little creature just before it broke the barrier between it and the two foals. The creature burst into ribbons of darkness. The shadowy dragon roared out in pain, but as it did, the remaining pieces of the shadow she had destroyed flew across the field and rejoined with the shadowy dragon. Luna was breathing hard from the effort. She hadn’t had this much trouble with magic since she was a filly.

The larger beast circled around her. It narrowed its eyes in anger and charged at her. 

Luna put all her remaining power into one spell and fired it just as the thing jumped at her. Luna could feel the shockwave from her spell as it hit the creature right before it got her. The force of her magic threw it into the sky. 

A moment later, the creature crashed onto the split-rail fence, splintering it with its back. The blackness that made up the creature thinned and fragmented. The creature was fading from view. Luna breathed a sigh of relief, but then its eyes snapped open again. The creature stood up as it solidified. It let out a pained growl.

Luna was past her limit, but she pulled together enough energy for one more spell to stop whatever the thing was. It vanished just before her magic hit it. Luna’s knees buckled and she  slumped down in the grass. The massive headache from using too much magic hit her a moment later. Her vision blurred, and she fell on her side in a daze.








A hoof shook Luna gently. A stallion’s voice snapped Luna out of her stupor.

“Princess Luna! Are you okay?” 

Luna felt a wet cloth brush against the scrapes on her flank. A hoof poked at the injury before she felt the burn of medicine as somepony smeared something on her side before bandaging her up. 

Luna opened her eyes. The stallion from the farm, the one that had been attacked, was speaking. In the moonlight, his coat was a flat gray. Luna blinked as she looked over his blank flank. She wondered if her vision was still blurry, but she looked again and saw that it was true. His cutie mark was gone. The mare from the farm stood over by the foals and seemed to be missing hers as well. 

Luna coughed before speaking. “I’ll be okay, but thank you for your concern.” 

Luna tried to stand, but her knees almost gave out again. She carefully used all four legs and managed to stand up slowly without falling over. Her usual strength and grace were gone in her exhaustion, and she should have been recovering much faster. 

She looked at the bandages on her side. They were tight. The stallion had done a good job. She flapped her wings a few times, and they were fine. Something still felt wrong. She looked over her at her other side and nearly fell over. 

Her cutie mark was gone!

She brushed her flank with her wing just to be sure it wasn’t covered in dirt, but she felt her smooth coat. She brushed it a few more times, but nothing changed. If she hadn’t been in front of her subjects, she would have rolled on her side and poked herself with a hoof, but that she had to maintain some composure in front of the ponies around her.

She’d have her best ponies figure this out when she got home. She’d send her best guards to track down that creature. Only the darkest of magic could steal cutie marks, and she now knew why the creature’s touch had felt so wrong. Anything with magic like that was a danger to Equestria, and Luna was going to make sure it was hunted down and stopped.

Luna took a deep breath to clear away her angry thoughts. The earth pony family was staring at her with that look ponies had when they wanted a princess to tell them what to do. The two little foals were still shaking under their parents. Luna tried her best to look strong and reassuring even though she still felt barely strong enough to stand.

“I’m sorry about your home,” Luna said. “But I’ll have a safe place for you in Canterlot until you can rebuild.”

The mother of the family wiped some tears from her eyes. “You saved us. Thank you, princess.”

Luna wanted to fly straight back to the castle, but she had a duty to make sure these ponies were looked after.

“Let me take you somewhere safe. Come with me to the guard outpost.”

Celestia would need to know of this new threat, but Luna was sure her sister would say that helping these ponies was the right thing. They followed behind her as she walked toward the little village nearby. The few lights of Ponyville on the horizon brought Luna’s thoughts back to what had started this night.

There was still the other piece of whatever had fallen from the sky. It had fallen by Ponyville, so Twilight would be their best hope in finding it quickly. Luna would need to send a message right away.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orsuros woke up with a splitting headache, but it quickly cleared as he stretched and shook himself. He dusted off his wings and scales. A nice breeze blew through the apples trees that covered the hills that surrounded him as the morning sun began to light up the sky. His impact must have been hard because a large gouge in the dirt marked where he had landed. His back and shoulder hurt sharply. He stared where he had landed and tried to remember what he had been doing.

He had been doing a magical experiment of sorts. In coming to this place, he was supposed to be better, somehow. Or maybe he was supposed to find something that would make him better. The magic or the crash must have taken a heavy toll on his mind. His memories all seemed a mess, and some of them seemed to be missing. His instincts told him that his mind would sort itself out in time. There were some important things he was supposed to remember about this world.

He looked around. A few birds quietly watched him before flying away. That reminded him of something important. He might scare the creatures of this world if he appeared as himself. Most creatures besides the griffons and beastfolk were afraid of dragons. He could remember that much, and he could also remember that this world had other creatures who would be worth talking to that were unlike the creatures in his own world. He’d just have to look around a bit and see if something could help him remember more, but first he’d have to find a way to not scare anyone he ran into.

Some faint voices in the distance caught his attention. He’d need to hide quickly, but he didn’t know a good form to use for a disguise yet. Something simple would have to do. He could trying shrouding, but if they had anything to sense magic, he doubted that would work well. It wasn’t a type of magic he was very good at. A disguise might work, but he’d need to see what sort of creatures lived here first. He spotted some bushes to hide in for now.

When the voices got closer, he could see a group of colorful ponies trotting along. These were some of the creatures he had hoped to meet, but the reason behind it still wasn’t coming to him. 

The leader of the group seemed to be both a unicorn and pegasus somehow. She was purple and had a horn and wings. Her horn seemed to be glowing faintly. It stopped once she got to the place where Orsuros had crashed. The other ponies in the group paused behind the purple one. These ponies seemed to come in all sorts of colors and types. The group included a white unicorn, an orange pony with a hat, a pink pony, a blue pegasus with rainbow hair, and in the back, a yellow pegasus. 

The purple one spoke up. “Okay, girls, it seems to have crashed here. Let’s spread out and look for any clues. Be very careful. Luna said that whatever it is might be very dangerous.”

At least he could understand them. Or maybe that had been part of the spell that brought him here.

If they looked the right way, it wouldn’t take them long to find him. He’d need to come up with something before they noticed him. And it would be best to do it soon. They might notice his tracks in the soil. The purple pony’s ears seemed to prick up as Orsuros began to sense their magic. All these ponies seemed surrounded by several sorts of magic. The yellow pegasus in the back was the closest to him, so he studied her more carefully. 

These ponies had such interesting souls. Once he was sure he had a good feel for what to copy, he began see what changing himself to one of them might cost him. They had magic and power, but he could feel that his potential wouldn’t be changing greatly. That would make the magic easier. It was impossible to change into something with more potential without sacrificing something. He cast the spell.

In a few moments, his body shifted. He didn’t want to make the greater sacrifices to make this permanent, but his spell crafted his appearance and form into what he would look like if he had been a pegasus. He would revert to his normal form when unconscious or when he used up all his magic, but it would do for now. He had kept his colors, so he was green with a beige belly with red and blue in his mane and tail. He stepped out from behind a tree before the ponies could look too carefully around where he had crashed. He tried to walk away quietly.

“Hey! You!” The blue pegasus with rainbow hair flew up to him. “What are you doing here?”

He hadn’t really thought of what to say, so he just said what came to mind. “Something crashed, so I thought I’d come check it out.”

The other ponies caught up. Several of them seemed to be staring at his flank. He wondered why for a moment, but a glance at the ponies showed him why. They all had marks. He backed up a little, making a little adjustment with his magic. The only symbol that came to mind quickly was some cloud-covered mountains. With that in place, he stepped closer to the group.

The pink one stepped right up next to him, staring at him closely. “How come I haven’t seen you around here? Are you new? I know everypony in Ponyville, but you… are you in disguise? Is that why I don’t recognize you?”

Orsuros almost froze but then laughed nervously. “I’m new. I was just… traveling nearby and noticed something fall down last night. It must have been a pretty big thing that crashed.” He watched the ponies carefully, but they didn’t seem to give any hint at taking the suggestion of the pink pony seriously.

“I’m just glad it didn’t mess up any of my apple trees,” the orange pony said.

“Did you see what it was?” The purple one asked.

Orsuros shook his head. “I haven’t found anything.”

“Oh, if you’re passing through, you should go visit Ponyville!” The pink one said. “We can have a party or at the very least, a cake. Come see me at Sugarcube Corner. The first cupcake is free!”

“Cupcake? Those little dessert things?” He tried to remember what type of dessert that would be. It wasn’t the sort dragons usually had, but it sounded like something he had heard of people baking. 

The pink pony seemed confused and stared at him. He shuffled his legs and flicked his tail as he tried to look her in the eyes. He eventually gave up and turned to go.

“Thank you. I’ll see you in town.” 

Orsuros flapped his wings a few times. It always took a little bit of practice to get used to a temporary form like this, but it seemed easy enough. He took off into the air, leaving the group of ponies behind. He looked back and kept an ear pointed behind him to listen in while he could. The rolling hills covered in apple trees slowly passed below him, and he could see a town in the distance.

“Something is a little strange about that pegasus,” the purple one said.

“I don’t think he’s from Cloudsdale. Just look at how he’s flying. Who flies like that?” The blue one laughed a bit.

“He barely seemed to know what a cupcake is!”

He’d have to observe more to see how the pegasi really flew. For now, he just tried to fly like he normally would. The feathery wings weren’t quite like his normal ones but seemed to be working alright. He passed over the apple orchards and made his way to the town. He circled above it to get an idea of the streets and what might be important. There were a lot of surprisingly typical houses and small shops. It reminded him of the beastfolk towns, but there was one place that immediately caught his attention. He remembered that he had come here to learn about these ponies and their magic, and the most obviously magical place was the crystal castle. It didn’t seem to have any guards on the walls when he flew closer, so he landed on a balcony and pushed at the door. It wasn’t even locked. But he suspected that there was some sort of magic or traps he couldn’t see. He decided to return later once he had figured out more about this castle and town.

He flew back down to the street and started walking around. The adult ponies seemed to either be working or going about on errands. The younger ones seemed to playing in little groups outside a schoolhouse. At the shops, the customers paid in little gold coins, which he soon learned were called bits. After wandering the town for a while, he was feeling rather hungry, so maybe he’d have to figure out how to earn a few to buy himself some food. Still, that pink pony had told him he could at least have a cupcake for free. As he walked around, he found the store called Sugarcube Corner that she had mentioned. He stepped inside but tripped as someone shouted at him.

“There you are! Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you fall. Here’s your free cupcake to make it better.” The pink pony hopped over to him and helped him up before handing him the treat.  “I’m Pinkie Pie. Nice to meet you!”

He poked at the paper around the cupcake, trying to peel it. Eventually he got it. “I’m Orsuros.”

“Ors Cirrus.” She repeated what almost sounded like his name. “That’s a funny name. Are you from somewhere foreign? I guess I did know some ponies with the name Cirrus before. We love getting visitors here in Ponyville. What brings you here?”

Pinkie Pie was definitely energetic, but her questions felt more curious and friendly than suspicious. He took a bite of his cupcake. It was much sweeter than anything he had eaten recently.

“Just Cirrus is fine. I’m from far away, but I’m traveling around to see new places and learn some new things. I hope to use what I learn to help the people back home.”

“People? Oh, you mean ponies, right?”

“Uh, yeah, of course.” He took another bite of the cupcake. “Thanks for for the treat. I know this is a lot to ask, but do you know any place I could earn a little bit of money? I could use more, especially if I’m going to be staying very long.”

“You’ll be staying here in Ponyville?” Pinkie Pie’s eyes went wide.

Orsuros nodded. Pinkie Pie gasped and disappeared for a few moments before appearing again.

“Once you find somewhere to stay, let me know. And if you need anything to help make your stay in Ponyville more fun, I’d love to help.”

The concept of needing to find somewhere to stay was rather strange to Orsuros. He usually just found a nice clearing or cave and stayed there. Maybe he’d look for something like that later. For now, there was the more important matter of getting money for food. 

“But what about some work? I do need a job to stay here.”

“Oh yeah! Uh, I don’t really keep track of who has jobs. The weather crew or post office often have some jobs. Are you good at anything in particular? Maybe Applejack might have some extra jobs on the farm, or Fluttershy might need some help with the animals, but you’d have to go ask them. And if you don’t mind traveling, Rarity might need some things delivered to and from Canterlot.”

“What does the weather crew do?” Orsuros had never heard of such a thing.

“Oh, they do some basic things like move the clouds around or put some rain storms together when it’s time for one of those. Don’t they do the same things where you’re from?”

“We don’t have a weather crew.”

“We didn’t have one out on the rock farm, either. Some of the storms would get pretty bad, or it would be cloudy and dreary for days without someone to kick some holes in the clouds to let the sun shine through. If the weather crew sounds fun, you should totally go do it. Even if you don’t quite know what you’re doing, I’m sure they’ll take you. Rainbow Dash is usually the one in charge. She’s up there right now. Just tell her I sent you.” Pinkie Pie pointed out the window to where a cloud was moving unusually fast.

“Um, thank you, Pinkie Pie. And thank you for the cupcake, too. It’s the first thing I’ve had to eat since getting here.”

“What? Really? You must be starving. I’m sure I could give you some more samples. Take this, and this, and this!” Pinkie Pie started piling up slices of cake, pie, and cookies. “There. That should give you plenty of energy. You’ll need it if you’re going to work with Rainbow Dash.” She stuffed one last piece of cake into his mouth that had gaped open in surprise.

“Mmmthankou,” He muttered around the piece of cake and carefully balanced the stack of food as Pinkie Pie gently pushed him out the door.

He sat down on a bench and started to slowly eat the pile of sweets. While it wasn’t the best food, it would have to do for now. There was so much sugar, but the fruit in the pies was nice and filling. After eating it all, he felt a little sick from the sweetness. He waited until his stomach settled before he stretched his wings out and headed up toward the clouds.

As he got closer, he could sometimes see something blue and rainbow-colored zipping between the clouds and moving them around. He glided toward it and could finally see that it was one of the ponies he met in the orchard earlier.

“Hey!” He yelled out.

The pegasus stopped and looked at him. “What do you need? I’m a little busy here! Gotta keep these clouds from bunching up too much.”

“Pinkie Pie said you might have some work for me in the weather crew. I’ve never really done this sort of thing before, though. You’re Rainbow Dash, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me. And usually I’m so awesome that I just do all the main weather work on my own unless there’s something special going on. But tell you what. We could always use some more pegasi to push a few clouds around on the edges of town. I’ll let you try out for the job. Let’s see if you can keep these clouds from bunching up. Show me what you got. Go!”

Orsuros blinked. “Wait! How do I move the clouds? Won’t I just go through them?”

“Ugh. I’m not quite sure how to explain it. I’m sure Twilight would have some book on it. Just push them around but not too hard. Like this.” Rainbow Dash kicked a cloud and sent it flying off another direction. Orsuros almost forgot to flap his wings after she landed and stood on another cloud. “Now get on with it. They’re bunching up already.”

Orsuros flew over to the clouds. He tried to kick one like Rainbow Dash but his foot just went through it. He tried again and got the same result. He dove at the clouds as they started grouping up even more. He flapped until his wings were burning to keep them apart.

Rainbow Dash dove in and kicked the clouds aparts, sending the groups of clouds in different directions. “You’re doing it the hard way! Or maybe the wrong way. Wait a sec! You’re that strange pegasus we met out at the farm earlier, right? I know you’re not from Cloudsdale, or you’d know all this stuff. Where you from?”

“The mountains near Wolf’s Bay, but I’ve been traveling a lot.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Haven’t heard of it. It’s strange that you keep going through the clouds. Are you pushing too hard?”

Orsuros gently placed a hoof into a cloud and kept pushing until it went through. “No. I’m trying to be very gentle. The clouds just aren’t solid. How are you even standing on them?”

“They’re sturdy clouds today. Very solid.” Rainbow Dash hopped a few times on the cloud. It sunk a little lower. “Come land on this cloud and let me see up close.”

Orsuros thought it over. Perhaps there was something he had missed in his spell. He tried to land on the cloud, but just went through it again. Rainbow Dash grabbed him before he fell down.

“It’s going to be hard to be a weather pegasus if you can’t work with the clouds. This isn’t just some sort of bad joke, is it?”

“No, but let me try one more thing. Just don’t drop me.” He closed his eyes and focused on what magic he could sense. Rainbow Dash had quite a bit of latent magic. He searched through it and found what he thought was making it possible for her to work with the clouds. His earlier transformation spell seemed incomplete now that he was fully sensing just what made a pegasus special. It was draining, but he added the missing pieces to the transformation spell.

“Did you just glow?” Rainbow Dash asked.

The cloud beneath Orsuros slowly became more solid. Soon he was able to pull his bottom half out of it and stay on top. “There. I think I fixed the problem. Sorry about that. I’ll give it one more go.”

“Not that I’m getting tired, but you’re not exactly light.”

Rainbow Dash let him go. He stood up on the cloud and tested it a little before he jumped out into the sky again. He kicked one cloud. It felt like kicking a soft bush. It floated away. He dove at another cloud and pushed it with his front feet. It slid along until he let it go and it came to a slow stop.

“That’s better, but you’ll need to go faster! Keep those two groups apart.” Rainbow Dash pointed above them where the fluffy clouds were already colliding and combining.

Orsuros flew up at them, weaving between them to kick and push them. After a few moments, the two groups of clouds were separating and he landed next to Rainbow Dash to catch his breath. “How was that?”

“Not bad for a rookie. I guess you passed the first test. For your next job, you’ll need to round up those clouds near those mountains over there and keep them moving along. They tend to get stuck there and build up. I’ll be watching you from over here, uh, what was your name?”

“Cirrus.” He repeated the name Pinkie had mentioned. It was probably closer to an actual pony name than his real name.

“You haven’t earned a break yet, so you better get over there. Now hustle!”

“Sure thing.” Orsuros zipped off toward the mountains near Ponyville. After Rainbow Dash’s first test, he was starting to get a little more used to flying with his current wings. The basics were the same as his dragon wings, but these wings seemed more about agility than endurance. He tested them out as he did a few spins and loops in the air for fun. His wings didn’t have quite as much power, but he could turn or stop a lot faster.

Finally, he reached the mountains. A steady stream of clouds was blowing by them, but many of them seemed to be snagging or getting stuck on the peaks. There were a lot of them, but he slowly started to push them off and send them on their way. Sometimes he’d kick a lower one and send a whole group of clouds free. It was rather fun. He’d have to ask Rainbow Dash more about weather pegasi later. It seemed strange that the ponies should do so much work to control something like the weather, but maybe it made their lands nicer to live in.

As the afternoon passed, Orsuros admired the scenery around the town. The apple orchards covered the hills in one direction. A distant group of mountains had what looked to be a large city perched on the slopes. Even at this distance, it looked very regal and elegant. Some forests and other plains led in some other directions from Ponyville, and there were even some metal tracks of some sort. A whistle in the distance caught his attention and he looked down to see some mechanical cart traveling along the tracks. It shot a column of steam from the front, but Orsuros couldn’t quite tell what was powering it. These ponies seemed to have types of magic and technology he didn’t quite understand, and he was excited to explore all of it.

The stream of clouds slowly came to a halt as the winds shifted in the late afternoon. A sudden blue and rainbow blur almost hit Orsuros. He growled and and glanced down to see what might be attacking. He heard laughter from below and saw Rainbow Dash flapping back up toward him. 

“Oh man, your face was priceless! I haven’t seen anyone look that fierce when surprised. That was quite the growl. You sounded like a bear or something.”

Orsuros relaxed. “Ah, sorry. Where I come from, most surprises are bad.”

“You did some good work today. I don’t see any clouds left on those mountains. But how about a little wager? If you can beat me in a race back to my house over there, I’ll pay you double.”

“And if I lose?”

“I doubt you’ll beat me, so I didn’t want to be mean, especially since you’re still a rookie.” Rainbow Dash flipped onto her back and flew upside down for a few wing beats.

“How about I get you dinner if I lose?”

“Deal. We start on the count of three. One, two, three!”

Orsuros started climbing. He’d dive later and get some more speed. Rainbow Dash had the same idea and slowly pushed herself a little ahead. He beat his wings hard to catch up. He finally evened out with her as they reached the thin, cold air of the upper sky. Rainbow Dash dove downward in a flash. Orsuros followed, but Rainbow Dash was quickly getting ahead now. The air seemed to stream off her then glowed with colors. She banked back up as she neared the ground and a shockwave of colors spread from her with a loud boom.

Orsuros hesitated and slowed. The rainbow shockwave had powerful magic, but he soon learned it was harmless to him. He tried to regain his speed, but he had already lost too much of it. Rainbow Dash was so far ahead of him that she was already celebrating her victory by the time he landed at the edge of her cloud home.

“You almost kept up at the start. But it looks like my awesome sonic rainboom slowed you down. I guess you’ve never seen anything like that before. Isn’t it the coolest?”

“I wasn’t even sure what it was at first. But yes, it was very, uh, cool.” Some of the words these ponies used were rather strange, even if he could guess at what they meant.

“Ok, well, let me go get your bits for helping today.” Rainbow Dash went inside and returned with a small bag of coins. “Here you go. Now let’s go eat! All that flying always makes me hungry.”

Orsuros took the bag of money as his stomach growled loudly. “It was tougher work than I thought it would be. Where’s a good place to get lots of food?”

“The cafe by the city hall usually tries to sell off what’s left around this time. Let’s go see what they have.”

Orsuros followed Rainbow Dash and landed on the street. At the cafe, the white unicorn that Orsuros had seen at the orchard was sitting at a table and waved Rainbow Dash over. She had a salad and some sort of soup. She set her notepad down as they got near.

“Hey, Rarity. What’s up?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m just taking a dinner break before finishing up the last orders for today. Come have a seat.” Rarity scooted a chair away from the table with her magic. She noticed Orsuros and pulled out a second one. “Oh my, it seems you have some company this evening. I hope I’m not interrupting anything special.”

“What? No! This is Cirrus. He’s new in town and wanted to try out for a weather job. And he said he’d get me dinner if he lost to me in a race.”

“Well, it’s nice to formally meet you this time, Cirrus. It takes a real gentlecolt to accept defeat so humbly. I haven’t met a pony who could outspeed Rainbow Dash. How was working with her?”

“My wings are quite tired, but once I figured out how to move the clouds around, it was pretty fun.”

“She does push herself quite hard. I imagine she’d do the same with anyone working for her. Oh, I better let you order something before it gets too late.”

Orsuros looked over the menu. He felt exhausted from using so much of his magic and from the hard work. In his normal form, he would have enjoyed a nice pile of meat about now, but he supposed he’d have to eat whatever the ponies ate. The menu had mostly sandwiches made with vegetables and grains. The soups were similar. There were also plenty of foods with fruits. Rainbow Dash had paid him five bits for the work so far. A soup, sandwich, and dessert cost one bit, so he’d have three left after paying for his and Rainbow Dash’s dinner. He ordered the butternut squash soup, a garden sandwich, and some apple pie for himself and let Rainbow Dash order what she wanted.

As they waited for food, they sat down next to Rarity. She smiled and took a few dainty bites of her sandwich. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, you were smart to take off early. We didn’t find anything strange in the orchard besides a few footprints. Twilight thinks it is a dragon of some kind that is different from any seen in Equestria. I bet she’ll still be out there looking for clues until it gets dark, even though I told her it was hopeless. I had to get back to my shop, but Twilight was still out there when I left.”

“I was actually hoping to find something exciting,” Rainbow dash replied. “I mean, it’s not everyday we get to fight some new monster that crashes in Ponyville.”

“It certainly feels like we do.”

“Are there many dangerous monsters around here?” Orsuros asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

Rarity glared at her. “There is. Especially for travelers like yourself. Most of them come from the Everfree Forest on the other edge of town. We always end up helping Twilight drive them off.”

“And you also said there are dragons?” Orsuros asked.

Rarity nodded. “There are, but they mostly live far away. The only dragon around here is Spike, and he wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s just a little dragon, but he is very helpful.”

“So are ponies afraid of dragons?”

“Most are. After dealing with a few myself, I mostly think they’re a nuisance. With a firm hoof, we can usually straighten them out and send them on their way if they’re causing trouble.”

“That’s a very diplomatic way of dealing with them.”

“Sometimes it takes a few kicks to get them going, though.” Rainbow Dash pounded the table and almost spilled a glass of water.

“But you say a dragon lives here in Ponyville?” Orsuros asked. “I’d like to meet him.”

“Maybe you can a bit later,” Rarity said. “I bet Twilight will have him busy with helping with research after what she found out at the orchard. Anyway, is there anything else about Ponyville we can help you with? Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?”

“Not yet. But I was mostly curious about that big crystal castle over there.”

The setting sun glinted off the large crystal building that stood much taller than the smaller houses and other buildings around town. Orsuros finished off his soup as he waited for a reply.

Rarity looked over at the castle. “Yeah, I can see why you would be. That’s Twilight’s Castle. There’s quite a story behind it. But it’s getting a bit late to tell the whole thing. We should make sure you have time to find a place to sleep tonight. I know a good stallion who runs a place over by town hall.”

Orsuros looked at his few remaining coins. He’d need some money for food, so it would be better to save what he had. “Thank you, but I think I can find somewhere myself.”

“Ok, suit yourself, but I don’t want to see you sleeping in some alleyway. Your mane is too nice to sleep in the dust and dirt.”

“Is it?” Orsuros really hadn’t thought much of his appearance.

Rainbow Dash had already finished most her food and was halfway done with her slice of apple pie. “Maybe I should leave him with you. You two have hardly stopped talking. He’s not my date, but maybe he could be yours.”

Rarity blushed and huffed. “Rainbow Dash! You know a proper mare needs time to prepare for such things. You can’t just spring that on me. I mean, not that you don’t look handsome, Orsuros. You have quite the lovely shade of red and blue in your mane and tail.”

“Well, if you want to talk mane and coat colors, I’m out of here. Thanks for dinner!” Rainbow Dash sped off toward her house.

Orsuros watched Rainbow Dash go before answering. “It’s just how my mane is.” He finished off the last of his dessert in the moments of silence that followed.

“You seem like an interesting fellow. I wouldn’t mind joining you for another lunch or dinner, but really I must go finish those orders before I can relax for this evening. Good luck in finding a place. Don’t forget the one I told you about.” Rarity waved goodbye and cantered off until going into some sort of clothing store.

Orsuros got up and walked over by it. Why did ponies need clothes? They didn’t seem to wear them all the time like the beastfolk, but some of them seemed to wear at least a few items. Rarity’s shop had full outfits that looked like they’d be tough to get into. Perhaps they were for some special occasion. As a dragon that liked to keep things simple, Orsuros didn’t really have anything that he wore besides when he needed to carry something in a bag. He hadn’t even brought anything with him.

He had more important things to do than look at clothes, like finding a place to rest. He was very tired. His magic had already been very drained by the spell that brought him here and keeping up his transformation spell all day. His mind and body were both worn out. He wandered about town for a brief time. The ponies all seemed to stick in little groups of friends or families but also had an openness and friendliness. He was stopped a few times and welcomed to the town by several ponies. That was getting a little tiresome, so he took to the evening skies to look around for a better place to sleep. 

He’d need to find somewhere soon before his magic ran out completely. The apple orchards would be safe, but if they found him there, they might be suspicious. He spotted some promising rocky hills out by the woods, so he went toward them to see if he could find a cave of some sort. The trees made it hard to see anything from above, so he landed at the base of some cliffs. An animal trail clued him in to where to go next and soon he found a large den of some sort. With a sigh of relief, he released the magic he had been using all day. 

He was back in his dragon form. It was a few heads taller than his pony one. He sniffed around. He could tell this place often housed a bear. At the moment, he was too tired to care, though. If it bothered him, he’d just scare it off.

He stepped inside and laid down on a smooth patch of sand inside. It felt oddly comforting to be in a cave again. While he had often slept in forests, he never really felt quite at ease in them. But a cave felt nice and solid and secure. He smiled and rolled around until his wings were comfortable and he was asleep the next moment.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna felt sore and stiff as she stretched out in her bed. A doctor had cleaned and bandaged her wounds when she had returned early in the morning. She had collapsed into bed before he had finished. Celestia must have let her sleep more than usual this afternoon. The sun was already setting. Luna lifted her head and looked around. Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer were both sitting in chairs by her bed and reading through books.

“What are you doing here?” Luna asked.

Twilight set the book she was holding down. “Celestia was very worried about you. She told us about the attack and your cutie mark. She asked for our help. She knew we could handle this without starting any rumors.”

Luna looked down at her unbandaged flank. It was still empty.

“Twilight brought me along.” Starlight trailed off as she frowned. “I do know a few things about magic that has to do with cutie marks. While you were asleep, we did a few tests.”

“How are you feeling?” Twilight asked. “Can you still do your magic? Do you feel strange in any other ways?”

Luna stood up and went over to the door. 

“I appreciate your help in figuring this out, but I first must attend to some of my duties. There will be time for questions later. Excuse me for a moment.” Luna walked out of the room and up some stairs. 

Celestia was already waiting out on the balcony as she gently lowered the sun. When she finished, she gave Luna a quick hug. 

“How are you feeling? You don’t look as energetic as you usually do this time of day.”

“No. The fight must have taken more out of me than I realized, but I can still attend to my duties.”

Luna stepped away from her sister even though Celestia looked like she wanted to keep holding her. Luna stepped to the edge of the balcony. She grunted and tried to summon her magic to lift up the moon. It felt unusually difficult today, but she hadn’t quite felt fully like herself since she woke up. Without her cutie mark, perhaps her powers weren’t quite as strong, and it felt difficult to care quite as much about her duties. Or maybe she just had to do a better job at clearing her mind. She imagined the moon and let all other thoughts drop away. She opened her eyes as she lifted it above the horizon. She grit her teeth as the effort began to make her tremble. The moon inched upward and then took its proper place. Luna stepped back and caught her breath. She was sweating from the strain but finally succeeded. 

She smiled at Celestia. Her sister looked worried. She put a wing over Luna as the two of them walked back inside.

“If you need help, don’t be ashamed to ask me for it,” Celestia whispered. “It’s not good to hide your struggles from those who only want to help. You’ve already proven you’re good enough.”

Luna slipped out from under her sister’s wing and walked ahead.

“I’m fine. I just need to rest a bit more before I get to my other duties.”

Celestia looked a little hurt. Maybe she had been expecting some heartfelt conversation about Luna’s problems, but Luna wasn’t even sure what to say. Celestia folded her wing back in and sighed.

“I think it’s time for me to finally be done for today. I have our best scouts looking for the things that attacked you, but it would be foolish to go after them until we know more. Promise me you’ll stay here with Twilight and Starlight tonight.”

“I promise.”

“Good. We’ll solve this. But I think I’ll be more help when I’m not so tired. I think I need a good book and maybe a nice bubble bath.”

Luna stifled a laugh. Celestia might be very old in years, but she was still young at heart. Sometimes Luna felt as if the years had affected her more than her sister. They reached the royal bedrooms and Celestia stopped at the door.

“Goodnight, Luna. If you need anything, you can come talk to me at any time.”

Luna said nothing as Celestia went inside. She left the door open for a few moments, but the guards shut it when they saw that Luna wasn’t following her sister. Luna went across the hall to her own room. Twilight and Starlight were both waiting inside.

Twilight approached her slowly. “Luna, can we have a closer look? We know it wasn’t Tirek. It must be something new.”

Luna stood tall. “Very well. Look carefully. I hope you can find answers. I trust Celestia filled you in on everything that happened?”

“She did.” Twilight’s horn glowed and she poked at Luna’s side with it. “But it’s still hard to tell how it happened. I’m not even sensing any magic I know of.”

“There aren’t many spells that could this,” Starlight said. “There’s the one I can use. There’s the one by Starswirl that Twilight used. There’s the dark magic Tirek used. But I think we’ll have to get answers from something other than books or history here.”

“At the very least, Celestia asked us to do one thing.” Twilight used a spell and it made a copy of Luna’s mark appear. “It’s not the real thing, but she’d rather not have ponies panic when they see you with a blank flank.”

Luna poked at the fake mark with a hoof. It was a strong illusion spell. “I would feel rather undignified without my mark. Luckily, I have to make very few public appearances. This should work fine for me. Did you have any other questions for me before I begin my other duties? Ponies are still dreaming. They need me.”

“It would be great if we could capture one of those creatures,” Starlight said. “We did talk to the other ponies who were attacked. The mare you saved got her cutie mark back after you destroyed the creature that stole her mark.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “That’s the best news I’ve heard! Maybe if we defeated the main source, I could get my own mark back!” Luna startled the two with her sudden stomp. “But Celestia made me promise to stay here with you until the scouts can track down the creatures. And it would be foolish to risk either of you before we know more. We need to gather our strength and strike once we understand what we’re facing. You may stay or go retire for the night. I don’t think there will be anything more we can do from here.”

Twilight grabbed the stacks of books with her magic. “I think I want to go check a few more things at the library.”

“One of us should stay here,” Starlight said. “I’ll do that.”

Luna nodded in approval and stepped back out onto her balcony. Hopefully using her magic over dreams wouldn’t be as hard as raising the moon. She opened her mind and let the dream magic start to weave itself around her. The dream world was cloudier than normal. She had to focus more than normal to send her spirit out into it. Once the hard part of getting into dreams was done, Luna settled into watching over the dreams across the land.

This really was her favorite part of her duties. Through dreams, she felt as if she knew many ponies in ways they usually didn’t reveal on the outside. She could forget about her own problems here. She browsed through the dreams, looking for where she might best be of service tonight. A very unusual dream stopped her. She could feel it was a nightmare of some kind, but it felt very unfamiliar to her.

She stepped inside it. On the edges of the dream, shadowy beasts like the ones she had fought were closing in, but these ones seemed more like wolves than ponies. At the center, a dragon growled and lashed out with his claws and tail. The creatures attacked it all at once. It fought them off for a time, and even seemed to use magic to help itself. The beasts finally got through its defenses. They tore something away from the dragon, but it wasn’t his scales. The dragon slowly lost his form.

The world around Luna faded. The dragon remained as a helpless spirit in a black void. The crushing weight of time passing began to weigh on Luna from the dream around her, and she could sense feelings of the dragon. He felt the burden of his failure and the hopelessness of being in this void, unable to do anything.

Luna felt as if this dream could hold some important clue, but she’d have to be careful to keep this dragon asleep when she acted. Luna approached him and spoke. 

“What happened to you? Who are you?”

The spirit’s eyes focused on hers. “I’m Orsuros, but what are you doing in my mind?”

Luna froze as she stared into the golden eyes. They looked the same as the shadowy dragon’s eyes! Luna could feel the dream weakening. 

“Wait, don’t go! I don’t mean you harm.” 

The dragon was wary, but her words seemed to calm him enough to keep him asleep. He watched her and growled.

“I did not expect to need to protect my dreams in this world. I’ll only answer your questions if you answer mine. What is your purpose here? I don’t take others messing with my head lightly.”

“I did not mean to intrude. Usually I watch over all of the dreams in Equestria and ensure they are helpful to the ponies having them. My name is Princess Luna.” She spread her wings, hoping to look a little more impressive. “Please, tell me more about those shadow creatures. I need to know about them.”

“A princess? Well, you should go. Some things are more dangerous the more you know about them. The dream you saw is a reminder of the things I have faced.” Orsuros shivered. “And what I’ve been through while fighting them. But I don’t like or trust anyone being in my head. It’s time for you to go.”

Luna was pushed out of the dream. She tried to get back in, but her way was blocked. It would take a lot of magic to force her way in, and even if she did, she’d be very vulnerable if she got trapped in that dream. And the dragon could probably just wake himself if she got through. 

She thought it over as she went back to the normal dreams of ponies. That dragon had some connection to the shadow creatures, and his dreams had been of somewhere very different from Equestria. He must have also been arrived last night. She wanted answers, but she’d need to find a way to get him to open up to her. For now, she only had his name.

He certainly was very similar to the dragon that attacked her, but he didn’t seem as hostile as the shadowy dragon had been. The eyes had been the same, but Orsuros had eyes that merely looked wary. The other dragon’s eyes had only held contempt and malice. But there had to be some connection. Luna found it hard to focus on the dreams of ponies with such worrying things to think about, but she still tried to keep herself busy with helping where she should.

The night faded and Luna withdrew as the dreams started to fade. Starlight had dozed off while reading some books. Luna felt a bit shaky, as if she had used up more magic than normal while dreamwalking. She walked over to Starlight and poked her with a hoof.

“Huh? Oh, Luna! Sorry!” 

Starlight shook herself awake and tidied up her mane.

“It’s fine. I didn’t expect you to stay awake all night for me.”

“But I was supposed to watch for…” Starlight’s tired words trailed off.

“Don’t worry. You look like you could use more rest, but Celestia probably has breakfast ready.”

Starlight followed Luna. The two walked very slowly. Luna just wanted to go rest, but she tried to think of what to say to Celestia. She took her place at the large table. Twilight was already there and waiting, and Starlight took a seat near the middle.

Celestia came out with a large kitchen cart. She smiled at everypony as she handed them stacks of pancakes. They quietly ate a few bites of breakfast, but Luna’s tail swished back and forth. It was an old nervous habit of hers.

Celestia noticed and gave her a questioning look. “Sister, has something happened?”

“Yes, there was a strange dragon with a strange dream. We need to find this dragon. Let me tell you what I saw.”

Luna recounted her brief encounter to everyone at the table. She told the story quickly and looked around as she finished telling it. The room was silent.

A knock on the door interrupted the silence. The guards opened the door and let a tired pegasus scout through. “Princesses! It’s terrible. Two more farms were attacked. At first, we didn’t see or hear anything, but when it got light enough to see, the doors and windows were broken. We didn’t find anypony left at either farm.”

Celestia’s horn glowed as she stood up. The guards took a step back as Celestia’s protective side began to show.

“We need to find them as soon as possible. Send more scouts out immediately.” 

Luna looked up at her sister. The guards scrambled to meet her orders. Once they were gone, Celestia took her seat again. Luna could barely lift the fork to finish her pancakes, but she was trying to put on a strong face in front of everyone. She finished the last of her food and stood up.

“Thank you, Tia. Let me know if you hear anything.” 

She left Twilight and Starlight with her sister. She was too tired for any further questions, and it took all her effort just to walk without shaking. Luna needed to rest because it felt like something big was about to happen soon.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orsuros couldn’t tell what woke him up at first. He was trying hard to hold onto the important memories from the dream, but those were slipping away. There had been a princess invading his dream until he had protected himself. And after that, the dreams had faded into things he couldn’t remember. One of the first rules of surviving was to never trust something that could get into your dreams or mind. She had wanted to talk to him about the shadow beasts in his dream. But such monsters should only stay in dreams.

The soft sound of hooves on dirt drew his attention to the entrance. The yellow pegasus with pink hair from yesterday peeked into the cave then stepped inside.

“Umm, excuse me?” A soft voice caught his attention. “Oh good, you’re awake. Sorry, sir, but Mr. Bear wants his cave back. He found you in it when he came back after his nightly foraging.”

A large bear walked into sight and growled softly in agreement to the pony’s words. The bear waited calmly by her side unlike any other bear Orsuros had ever seen.

Orsuros stood up and stretched a little as he looked them over more carefully. The bear seemed to be very normal, or perhaps somewhat intelligent. The pegasus might be more trouble. She might tell her friends about him. 

She stood in the bright light streaming through the cave’s entrance. She didn’t seem scared of him, and the bear didn’t seem afraid either.

Orsuros took a step toward the entrance. “Very well, he can have the cave back, but who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Fluttershy. Maybe I could help you find a cave of your own somewhere? I’d hate for you to be homeless, but Mr. Bear needs his cave.” The pegasus gave the bear a friendly pat then followed Orsuros as the two of them stepped outside.

It was still very early. The sun was barely rising and the dews and chill of morning were heavy in the forest. There was a trail back toward the town, but Orsuros began to walk off into the trees.

“I don’t have a cave of my own around here yet. Sorry to cause you some trouble.”

“Oh no. It wasn’t a bother at all. As long as everyone gets along, it’s okay. But really, if you need somewhere to stay, you could have just asked somepony. Some of them might be scared of you, but we like to do what we can for guests in Ponyville, even unusual ones like you. Twilight could let you stay at her castle.”

“I can find my own place to sleep.”

“Oh… if that’s what you want, um, well, you are new around here, aren’t you?” Fluttershy stared at him a moment. “I haven’t seen any dragons quite like you before. What’s your name?”

“Orsuros. And I don’t think there would be any others like me around here. I’m surprised you didn’t run away.”

“Dragons are kind of scary, but you’re not too big yet. If you’re visiting, you should go see Spike. He’s a dragon, too. He lives in the castle in town. He might know of some places that would be good for a dragon to stay, but he’s probably still asleep right now.” Fluttershy started to walk down the path back to town then stopped and looked at him closely. “Oh, are you that dragon Twilight was looking for? A dragon crashed out in Applejack’s orchard. I just hope it isn’t hurt.”

He was bad at lying, so he decided to ask a question instead.

“Who is Twilight?”

“She’s my friend and the princess that lives in the castle. You should see her if you’re visiting Ponyville. Sorry, I need to go. The animals still need their breakfast.”

Orsuros watched her until she was gone. Hopefully she wouldn’t talk about meeting him with too many ponies. It was a little unsettling that she thought of him as a small dragon. Perhaps the dragons of this world were much larger. Once he was sure she was gone, he quickly pieced together his spell from the previous day. He stepped out of the woods as a pegasus, ready for another day in this strange world.

He decided it would be easiest to find somewhere to stay before going back to work with Rainbow Dash. He passed by a cottage where Fluttershy was busy feeding some animals. He continued down the dirt road until he reached the main part of town. 

It was busy this morning. Many ponies were trotting down the streets or beginning work. He followed Rarity’s directions and found a long white building. It looked much like the homes around it but larger. Inside the building, a thin brown and white unicorn stallion greeted him. This unicorn was a little older, so his mane had a few streaks of gray mixed in with the white. He bowed a little as Orsuros walked up to the counter. “Good morning. I haven’t seen you around. Are you visiting and need a place to stay? I have rooms I rent by the day, week, or month. It’s two bits a day, nine bits a week, or thirty-five bits a month.”

“Can I pay for a day and switch to a week or month later? I don’t have much right now.” Orsuros had always traveled too much to hoard gold or other things, but it still felt wrong to spend more than he had to.

“Of course. And once you try our rooms, I’m sure you’ll want to stay a while. They’re simple but comfortable. Let me show you one. By the way, the name’s Turn Key.”

Orsuros gave the pony his fake pony name and followed him out to a door on the outside of the building. Turn Key levitated a key off of his keyring and opened the door. Inside was a small set of rooms. There was a bedroom, a tiny kitchen, and a small bathroom. It was simple, but he wouldn’t need more than the basics. He handed the unicorn the bits for the day. 

“I think it looks good. I have enough for today, and I’ll bring you more tonight. I’m not really sure how long I’ll be here.”

“Stay as long or as short as you want. But if you’ll be here more than a few weeks, let me know. A lot of rooms get booked in advance when we have something big going on in town. Here’s your key. Don’t lose it, or I’ll have to charge you extra.” 

Turn Key left the key on the counter.

Orsuros flopped down on the bed. It felt almost too soft compared to the dirt, sand, or grass he was used to. Still, staying here would probably be safer than sleeping in caves where ponies might come poking around. He’d just have to make sure the curtains were closed when he shifted back to being a dragon.

He rolled off the bed when he decided it would be a good time to go to work. As he flew up toward Rainbow Dash’s cloud home, he circled around the crystal castle. If there was another dragon, he’d like to meet him. He landed by the front door and knocked. He could easily sense a lot of magic inside.

“Who’s visiting so early?” A tired voice muttered behind the door as a little viewing slot opened. “Oh, good morning. Just a minute.” 

After a loud yawn, a small purple and green dragon came out. The dragon still looked very sleepy. He looked at Orsuros. “Sorry, but Twilight isn’t here today. If you need something, I’ll write your request and get it to her when she’s back.”

“Actually, I’m not here to see her. It’s just… there’s a dragon visiting the area who wanted to see Spike. That’s you, right?”

“The one and only! Which dragon is it? Is it Ember?” Spike looked suddenly awake and excited.

“His name is Orsuros. He doesn’t want to scare any ponies, so he said he’ll meet you out by Fluttershy’s cottage a few hours before sunset.”

“I never get any visitors! Everypony is always here for Twilight. Thanks for letting me know!”

“He’s trying to learn about ponies. I thought you could help him. Anyway, I need to get to work. See you later!”

Spike thanked him one more time before Orsuros took to the air. Orsuros landed softly on the edge of the cloud. Rainbow Dash was already outside and seemed to be practicing some aerial acrobatics. She pulled off some stunning twists, loops, and turns. When she finally stopped for a rest, she noticed him.

“There’s my rookie weather assistant. You came at the perfect time. I’m all warmed up and ready to go after flying practice. Normally I help Twilight practice in the mornings, but she’s off on some important royal duties or something.”

“Was that the purple pegasus unicorn? I saw her the other day.”

“Yeah, that’s her. If you want to be fancy, she’s called an alicorn. But usually I just call her my friend, even if she’s a bit of an egghead.”

“So what’s my job for today?”

“Today’s special. We have an afternoon storm to build up over Sweet Apple Acres. It’s a lot to handle with the rain and thunder. It should keep both of us pretty busy.”

Rainbow Dash spent the morning demonstrating how to bunch up the clouds and bounce on them to get the rain and thunder going. Too much bouncing would make the storm more violent, but too little would make it too weak for the rain to fall. He spent the morning herding the clouds together. He went back down to town for a quick lunch and then joined Rainbow Dash again for an entire afternoon of priming the clouds. Once they had enough clouds ready, the storm began.

Rainbow Dash looked it over with a grin.

“Awesome! But we better get out of here before any lightning builds up. Go fast or you might get zapped!” Rainbow Dash zipped ahead. “I’ll race you back to my place again.”

Orsuros followed closely. This time Rainbow Dash didn’t do her sonic rainboom, but she was still far ahead of him even though his wings were burning by the end.

“That was a little faster than yesterday. You could do a lot better, though. Maybe you should come to flying lessons in the morning. I could teach you a few tricks. That’s right at eight if you want to come.” 

“You’re quite an amazing flier. I’d love to join you for practice sometime. You’d probably still be faster than me even if I…”

“Wait, you’re not holding back, are you? I like racing other pegasi at their best.”

“No, it’s nothing. I have been trying my best.”

“Good. I’d hate to know you were letting me win. Now, you better get inside soon. That storm we made is growing fast, and it’s coming this way. Here’s your pay for today.” She handed him eight bits. “I have a few things to go do in town, so I’ll see you later!” Rainbow Dash rushed down to the ground.

Orsuros looked at the storm that was quickly filling the sky. He hoped it wouldn’t mess up his meeting with Spike. He flew low over town and spotted the dragon walking along with an umbrella. There was just enough time to land behind some trees and change back into his normal form. As soon as Spike neared his hiding place, he stepped out.

“Over here!” He called out before slipping under some trees to get a little bit of cover from the downpour.

Spike jumped back in surprise and stared for a moment before rushing over. “Hey there, I’m Spike! Your friend said you wanted to see me.”

“Yes, I’m new around here. I wasn’t quite sure how to approach these ponies or if they’d want me in town. But you seem to live with them, so maybe I could, too.”

Spike scratched his head. “So you want to live in Ponyville? Did I hear that right?”

“Yes, I would like to stay here for a while. Do the ponies treat you well?”

Spike nodded. “I’ve always lived with them. Twilight is my… well, she’s taken care of me ever since I hatched. I have lots of pony friends. Dragons like you might think that’s a little strange, but it’s who I am.”

Orsuros shifted his wing over his head to stop the rain from dripping on him. He placed another wing over Spike. “Perhaps I am like you. I have many friends who aren’t dragons.”

“As long as you don’t cause problems, you should be able to make lots of friends in Ponyville. I’ll let everypony know you’re friendly, but you should probably go visit the mayor, too.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“If you don’t have anything else to do, you could come stay in the castle with me. This rain would make it hard to find somewhere to stay.”

“I have somewhere already, but I wouldn’t mind visiting your castle later.”

“Oh, tonight might not be the best, though. I think Pinkie Pie wanted my help with something. I better get back soon to see what she needed, but feel free to stop by tomorrow.”

Orsuros waved goodbye as Spike scampered off. The little dragon splashed through some puddles in the road. The dragon seemed carefree and happy here with the ponies, so maybe he’d been worried about something that wasn’t important. In his own world, the dragons weren’t exactly loved by the different species. Here in Ponyville, he’d just need to find the right time to reveal himself.

He focused and gathered his magic to transform again. As a pegasus, he headed back to town and stopped by the cafe again. He ordered some food and took it to the place he had rented. The streets already seemed empty of almost any ponies. He took out his key, but to his surprise, the door was already unlocked. He pushed it open.

“Surprise!” Several voices shouted as a blast of confetti shot out the door.

He fell back and almost dropped his dinner. Rainbow Dash raced out to keep him from falling. Once he was back on all his hooves, he stepped inside. His small room was decorated with a large banner and packed with so many balloons that several started to float out the door. Spike, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and an orange earth pony were all waiting.

“Turn Key told me you were staying here, so now I can officially hold your Welcome to Ponyville Party!” Pinkie shouted. “Rainbow Dash said you’ve been working hard, so now you can party hard, too!”

All kinds of treats, desserts, and even a large cake were on the counter. The sweet smell of all the freshly baked food made his mouth water. He put down the food he had bought on the table and grabbed his sandwich.

“So how are you liking Ponyville?” Pinkie asked.

His stomach was empty and rumbling. He took a bite of his sandwich before answering. “Everyone, er, everypony is very nice. You’re almost too nice. I’ve never really had a party just for me before, but I’ve been to plenty of feasts, celebrations, and festivals.”

“What? You’ve never had a party specially for you ever?” Pinkie gasped. “But what about your birthday?”

“Birthday?” he asked.

He had to think a moment. He remembered some of the villagers using that word back home. It was like a hatch day, but for things that didn’t lay eggs.

“Oh yeah,” he continued. “Birthdays weren’t very important where I come from.”

“What? Well, let’s make this super special and awesome, then!” Pinkie Pie pulled him up as she hopped around, leaving him a little shaken. “Maybe I should have invited more ponies! Oh, but you do seem the type to like a smaller party. I can always tell that about a pony just by looking at them.”

Orsuros focused mostly on the food. Eating felt a little awkward now that he was the center of attention, but he was hungry enough to not really care. After he finished off the food he had bought along with a few extra desserts, he went back into the main room. Pinkie Pie immediately started some music playing on some strange device. He stared at it. It had a spinning disk and a sort of metal horn. Some strange mechanism rotated the disk.

The orange earth pony held out a hoof. “You look as if you’ve never seen a music player before. I’m Applejack. Nice to meet ya.” Orsuros did the same, and she shook his hoof very firmly. “Rarity and Rainbow Dash kept going on about you today when Pinkie Pie told us about the party.”

“I hope they had good things to say about me.”

“They did. Said you was a quiet, hard-working pegasus that was new in town. You seemed kind of shifty when I met you out on my farm that first time. But if they trust you, then I do, too.”

“Did you ever find the thing that crashed out on your farm?”

“Not yet. Twilight wanted me to keep looking, but I have more important things to do than go on some wild dragon chase. She’s still been obsessed with whatever it is. Hey Pinkie, is she even coming tonight?”

Orsuros glanced over at Spike nervously, but the little dragon gave a thumbs up sign and motioned like he was zipping his mouth. This party wouldn’t be the best place to start up rumors about a new dragon in the area.

Pinkie held up her hooves. “I hope so. I invited Twilight and Starlight, but they might still be off in Canterlot. Even if it’s a small party, I didn’t want it to be too small. That’s still not even 10 guests.”

“I think it would be hard to fit more in here,” Orsuros said.

Outside the rain started coming down hard. Even with the music going, the sound of it pounding against the window was hard to drown out. Pinkie Pie and Applejack leaned the bed against the wall, which left the main room more open.

Pinkie Pie started bouncing around to the beat of the song. “We have plenty of room for a bit of dancing. Just follow my lead.” She demonstrated a few motions and steps.

After a few tries, Orsuros was able to follow the pattern. Everyone else joined in, and the small room suddenly felt rather crowded. He seemed to be understanding the dances as they went through several easy ones. After everyone was warmed up, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash started doing some much more complicated motions. When Orsuros tried a more complicated move, he slipped and backed up into someone. With his legs tangled, he fell backwards and ended up on his side with Rainbow Dash on top of him.

“Pony pile!” Pinkie shouted as she hopped on the two of them. She laughed then helped both of them up.

Rainbow Dash seemed to be a little red in the face and looked away.

“Sorry, that was my fault,” Orsuros said.

“It's fine. Just be less clumsy the next time, okay?” Rainbow Dash shook out her wings. She slipped away to the kitchen.

“I still think she likes you,” Rarity whispered to Orsuros. “But good luck getting her to admit to it.” She walked over to the music player and switched it to a more relaxed song. “I think that's enough dancing for now. Really, it's getting a bit late, isn't it?”

“I do need to work in the morning,” Orsuros said.

Rarity levitated a broom over to Spike. “As do I. Let's get this cleaned up and put back to normal.” 

Rarity began to take down the decorations with her magic. Orsuros went over to help Applejack move the bed back into place.

Applejack pushed the bed against the wall. “I should have brought my brother along so you wouldn't be the only stallion at the party. He doesn't get out enough as it is. But we had Spike here, too.”

Orsuros finished straightening out the bed. “It was a fun party. Thank you for coming, Applejack.”

“I’m always willing to help Pinkie, even if it means I get behind on a few chores. It was nice to end the party early. I'm sure we'll be teasing Rainbow Dash about this for months. She was so red.” Applejack laughed again.

After a few more moments of cleaning up, everything was back to normal. Pinkie Pie was boxing up the treats for Orsuros to eat later, and he thanked her for the party. Applejack and Rarity were getting ready to go. Orsuros nibbled on one last cupcake as Spike finished up the sweeping.

Spike swept some crumbs into a dustpan. “I’m surprised Twilight didn’t make it. Pinkie made me send a message to her in Canterlot. She was supposed to be back tonight or at least send a message.”

Orsuros helped Spike empty the dustpan into the trash can before stepping closer to the dragon to speak quietly.

“I would like to talk to her sometime. How did your meeting with my friend go?”

Spike smiled. “He seems much nicer than most the dragons that I’ve met. I think everypony wouldn’t mind him staying here in Ponyville. He doesn’t seem like a normal dragon, though. Did he ever tell you where he’s form? He looks so different from all the dragons I’ve met.”

“He’s from somewhere far away. I don’t think he’s the same type of dragon as you.”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somepony shouting at her door woke Luna up. It was a little earlier than the time she usually got up in the late afternoon, so she rolled lazily out of bed and fixed her mane with a bit of magic.

“I’m here. You may enter.” 

She opened the door with a wave of her hoof and went over to the mirror on the side of her room. She watched in the mirror as Twilight approached. Luna rubbed her eyes and turned to speak with her.

Twilight unrolled a letter. “Luna! Look what Spike sent!”

The first part explained that Pinkie Pie was doing a party for a pegasus that was new to town by the name of Cirrus. That didn’t seem important to Luna, but her eyes widened as she read the lower part. A dragon by the name of Orsuros had arranged a meeting with Spike and was hoping to find a place to stay in Ponyville.

“We need to meet this dragon immediately. Thank you, Twilight.”

Twilight seemed a little embarrassed by Luna’s thanks. Luna took the letter and looked it over again as she made her way to the main throne room. Celestia was there finishing up the business for the day and excused everyone as soon as Luna arrived.

“Sister, I’m going to need to go to Ponyville tonight.”

Celestia nodded. “I knew from the moment I got that letter that you’d want to look into that.”

“I can take care of my normal duties there in Ponyville. With Twilight and Starlight helping, I should be able to see who this dragon really is and find out his part in the recent attacks.”

“Good. I’ll leave that in your hooves. I’ve also prepared a better squad of scouts and guards to try to find those beasts again. I do hope we can prevent any further disappearances.”

“Tell them to be very careful. We don’t really know what we’re dealing with. I barely escaped.”

“But that was just you alone. The guards know how to look out for each other. I wish I could have done the same for you.” Celestia reached out and put a hoof on Luna’s shoulder.

“It’s fine. I refuse to be pampered and coddled. As a princess, I want to show everyone I can handle things on my own!”

“Luna.” Celestia’s eyes only held love and concern as she fixed them on Luna.

“Sorry, Celestia. My frustration got the better of me.”

“It’s okay. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Celestia pulled Luna close for a hug. “We really need a nice relaxing vacation together or something, but I suppose that will have to wait for when there isn’t a crisis.”

Luna laughed. “As if there ever isn’t one.”

“If only I could schedule them like these meetings, we’d be fine. But at least we can have dinner together before you go.”

Celestia called the attendants to prepare a quick dinner. After eating, Celestia went to oversee the final preparations of the guards while Luna began to prepare for her trip. There wasn’t much to pack because Luna didn’t expect to spend long in Ponyville, but it never hurt to have what she’d need to stay a little longer. Celestia brought the sun gently down, and Luna gritted her teeth and put the moon up in its place. Her heart was beating fast, but she controlled her breathing. Celestia was already overly concerned about her, so Luna didn’t want her to see how difficult it was becoming to do her most important chores.

Celestia stood watching at the door of the balcony. “Try not to work too hard in Ponyville. Let Twilight and her friends help you. And if you need anything, have Spike send a message. The chariot is waiting in the courtyard.”

With one final hug, the sisters parted. Luna flew down to the courtyard. Twilight and Starlight were packed and ready to go. The pegasi guards lifted them into the night sky. It was a cloudy night and a distant storm seemed to be hovering over Ponyville. The clouds below hid the farms from sight, but Luna tried to glance through gaps in them to see if she could spot the farm where she had been attacked. The clouds were too thick for her to see anything below. The winds got worse as they approached Ponyville. Twilight put up a little barrier to keep the rain off them. The pegasi circled around and dove below the storm. They made a quick, rough landing to avoid any lightning and skidded to a halt in front of Twilight’s Castle.

Twilight took the lead. “Follow me. I know the place. I just hope the party isn’t over yet.” 

Luna ordered the guards to take the chariot back home then followed Twilight.

Twilight trotted through town and stopped at a door with the letter B above it. The laughter and conversation inside could be heard faintly. “Should we knock? What do you want to do?”

Luna looked in the front window. “Your friends are here. That’s good. If anything happens, we’ll have some of the best ponies to help.”

Starlight rolled her eyes and knocked loudly on the door. 

“Let’s just go in and get out of the rain and mud.”

A green pegasus opened the door.

“Hello?” he asked.

Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped out the door. “Twilight, Starlight! You made it! And you even brought Princess Luna! Luna, I must say I’m very surprised you came with them all the way from Canterlot. You haven’t really been the party type in the past. We were just cleaning up, but there are still a few desserts left. Come on in.”

The green pegasus looked like he wanted to object, but he said nothing as Pinkie Pie pulled Starlight in out of the rain. Luna walked in slowly behind Twilight. The small room was a little crowded with so many ponies.

Finally, the green pegasus spoke. “It’s an honor to meet two princesses. I’m glad you came to this little party for me.” 

The pegasus started to bow a little but Twilight stopped him. “Oh please. You can just call me Twilight.”

Luna smiled a little. She didn’t mind ponies using her proper title more often. She looked around. There really was next to nothing in this apartment besides the leftover treats and a few scraps of things from the party. The pegasus sat on his bed and looked them over.

Twilight stomped a hoof to get everypony’s attention. “As the princess of friendship, I’d like to officially welcome you to Ponyville myself. It looks like you already have a job and a place to stay, so you’re doing great. If you need anything more, just ask me. I'll see what I can do. But there’s also some important business. You and Spike know something important.”

Luna stood tall and assumed her commanding posture. “You both know a dragon named Orsuros. We must find him. There are some unusual events happening near Canterlot, and I think he knows more about them. Tell me where I can find him.” 

Luna watched the pegasus carefully. She hadn’t noticed before, but he also had the same sort of eyes as the dragon from the dream. Behind his friendly front, she could sense he was being very cautious.

The pegasus sighed. “I’ll get him, even if this wasn’t really where he was planning to reveal himself. But you must promise that he can stay here in Ponyville.”

“I don’t care if he wants to stay here or the royal palace in Canterlot. Just get him!” Luna stamped her hoof.

“Stand back then. He’s already been here this entire time.” 

In a flash of light, the pegasus vanished. A dragon stood in his place. He was a bit taller and larger than Luna, but not by much. His scales were green except for his cream-colored belly. Blue lines started at his eyes and ran down his sides. They glowed faintly but dimmed as whatever magic the dragon used started to fade. He shook his red crest and looked around. Everypony stared at him.

“You were a dragon this entire time?” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“But that magic… what was it?” Starlight asked.

“Soul magic,” the dragon explained. “It’s the magic from my world.”

Luna stomped the floor again. “Quiet. We have more important questions to ask. We already know you are a visitor from some other world. What matters now is what you have done since coming to Equestria or what you brought here.”

Orsuros seemed mostly curious now. “Well, if you’ve gone to so much trouble to find me, it must be important. What do you need to know?”

Luna tried to look a little less threatening as she stepped up closer to the dragon. “Please. Just hear me out. I need your help. Equestria needs your help. Those creatures I saw in your dream have come to Equestria. We are trying to stop them but can’t even find them most the time.”

“That should be impossible. My spell to come to this world would have prevented anything like that from coming with me. The spell was made to bring only me to this world.”

“Your spell must have failed somehow. I was the first to see you in the skies of our world, but another thing broke off. I followed it and saw those creatures for the first time. Another dragon like you leads them, but it was also made out of shadow and disappeared when I fought it.”

Orsuros growled. “Another dragon couldn’t have come either, but that… it does match exactly with the shadow beasts and the things that lead them. If they are here, we have very little time to waste. We must fight them as soon as possible.”

“But how? Anypony who is touched by them has their cutie mark taken. We need a way to stop that and get the stolen pieces of ourselves back.” Luna glanced back at the fake mark on her own flank.

“You ponies would be especially vulnerable to these creatures. You saw what they can do when you watched my dream. They tear away pieces of the soul from the victims. There’s some core part of each soul they can’t take, but they strip a soul down until it’s only that disembodied fragment. They steal aspects of the soul, like talents, potential, memories, and identity. They use these pieces to grow stronger and grow in number, but if you defeat them, the stolen pieces that created them will return back to the soul they belong to.”

Luna frowned. “That still tells us little about how to fight them.”

“I’ve fought them many times with my little group of friends. The dragons also take care of infestations, but they use more extreme methods. We’ll need magic that can add to, change, or protect a soul to have some defense against them. I have some small amounts of such magic, but I couldn’t protect more than one or two of you.”

“So magic that changes souls?” Starlight asked. “I might have something like that.”

“That does also sound a lot like changeling magic,” Twilight added. “There just might be some ways that we can fight against this. We’d need to go see Thorax as soon as possible.”

Luna stood and listened to the ideas. She could feel the dragon’s deep hatred for the shadow creatures. It felt good to have him offer to help, but she’d keep an eye on him to be sure he was sincere. She looked into the dragon’s golden eyes.

“So you’ll help us hunt these new enemies down? Are you willing to give me your word?”

“I promised myself that I’d stop them from doing what they did to me to anyone else. You have my promise that I’ll do all I can to fight them.”

The dragon pressed on of his front paws to his chest and bowed to Luna as he made the promise. She stretched her wing and pushed his chin up with her wingtip.

“Very well. I accept your service. How should we prepare to fight them?”

Twilight teleported in a stack of papers to take notes as Luna turned the party into a strategy and planning session.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two princess left Orsuros, Rainbow Dash, and Spike with a mission to visit the changelings while they went back to Canterlot to research about types of magic that might help in the coming battle. They had agreed to meet at the castle in evening, and that left only a single day to get help from the changelings. Orsuros looked forward to seeing the changelings. What the others said about their magic sounded fascinating.

The journey to the hive had been long. Orsuros looked over the twisting passages and spires as they circled to land at the top. As soon as they reached the ground, Orsuros could smell the strange scent of the changelings all over this place. He could sense powerful transformation magic all around him.

Spike hopped off Orsuros’s back and stood in front. “Okay. I think I can handle most the talking. Thorax is a good friend of mine. I might need your help to explain just what it is we’re fighting.”

“It shouldn’t be hard to convince them if they are your allies. I think their magic sounds very promising.”

“They aren’t as good at fighting as they used to be,” Rainbow Dash said.

A crowd of changelings emerged from the tunnels nearby. Leading them was one that was taller and had a larger set of horns. His carapace glistened like colored jewels. He quickly smiled and ran up to give Spike a hug.

“Spike! I wasn’t expecting a visit from you and Rainbow Dash. And who is this other dragon you brought with you?”

Spike did a quick little bow and gestured grandly with his hand. “Allow me to present Orsuros. We’re on a special mission for Equestria and need your help.” Spike looked pleased with himself as he began to explain why they had come to seek the changelings aid.

Thorax listened carefully to the entire story. He frowned as he thought it over.

“Those shadow beasts sound pretty scary. We don’t really have cutie marks for them to steal, but it sounds awful that they’re stealing them from ponies. And you said that it might be safer for us to fight against them?”

“I’ll have to see about that,” Orsuros said. “Show me this changeling magic everyone has been talking about. I need to see it up close.”

“Oh, of course.” Thorax’s horns glowed. An instant later, he looked like a normal pony.

“This will be easiest if I can touch you. Is that okay?” 

Orsuros stepped up and put his front paw on Thorax. He could sense the magic. It was strong enough to have built an entirely new layer over the changeling’s soul. He smiled and took his paw off.

“So, will this work?” Thorax asked.

Orsuros nodded. “I think it definitely will. Your transformations won’t last forever, but they’ll protect you from at least a few attacks.” 

Orsuros was unsure what might happen after the shadow beasts stole enough of the transformation to break it, but having a small army that wouldn’t go down easily would be necessary to fight the shadow beasts. He wasn’t even sure how many shadow beasts there were yet. Luna’s report had made it sound like there was only a small group, but they could multiply quickly.

“It’s the least we could do,” Thorax said. “The ponies of Equestria have already sent us so much to help us rebuild. We’ll meet you at Canterlot as soon as we get all the changelings who can come. But while we prepare, do you want to stay for lunch?”

“That’d be awesome!” Spike said.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I’d like that, but we can’t stay. We’ll be eating while flying today. Twilight said to take Orsuros straight to where the attacks have been happening.”

Orsuros nodded. “Yes, I can try to sense how many of them we’re dealing with from there.”

Thorax looked a little disappointed. “Another time then. I kept meaning to invite you to come visit. But maybe you can do that once we’re done rebuilding.”

“Really, you should come with us if you can have anyone else gather up your army. If you’re to lead them in battle, you should see what you’ll be facing.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll have my brother gather up everyone who is willing to fight. Go on ahead. I’ll catch up.” Thorax trotted away.

Orsuros bent low so that Spike could climb up on his back. Rainbow Dash jumped up into the sky to lead the way, and they followed after her. Once they were circling to gain some more height, Rainbow Dash pulled out some sandwiches and handed them to everyone.

“Gotta eat if we want to keep flying all day,” she said between bites. “And we better not go too fast so that Thorax can catch up. You did well there. I guess it’s easy to command respect now that you’re a dragon.”

Orsuros chuckled and quickly gulped down the sandwich. “I would hope to be respected more for what I’m trying to do than because of what I am. Back in my world, I could barely get any dragons to listen to me. I like to equally help anyone, regardless of what species they might be.”

“Ponies tend to stick together, but I also like to be a bit more open-minded. For example, I know a few griffons.”

“This world has griffons?” Orsuros thought of his good friends he had left back in his world. “Had I known that, I would have brought along Obby, Juniper, and Cedar. They’re all griffons and friends of mine. But they do all have a habit of getting into trouble, so maybe it’s better that I didn’t bring them along.”

“Yeah, griffons can be difficult sometimes. Oh, there’s Thorax!”

The changeling leader flitted up to meet them. With his unusual wings, his style of flying was a bit different than a pegasus or dragon, but he didn’t seem to have trouble keeping up. 

“My brother is organizing the changelings for battle. I haven’t seen him this excited in a while.”

“As leader, shouldn’t you already have guards or military ready?” Orsuros asked.

“I have my brother for that. I’m still new to leading everyone. I’m trying my best, but it feels like I have a lot to learn before I’ll be a good leader like any of the princesses.”

“You seem nice enough to be a good leader. I’m sure the rest will come with experience. I see a lot of potential in your soul.”

Thorax stammered. “Thank you. I’m just trying my best. We had the same leader for so long that everyone is having a little difficulty adjusting.”

“What happened to the previous leader?”

“She… wasn’t very nice and tried to take over Equestria. But I stopped her with some help from my friends.”

“I’d like to hear that story when there’s more time. For now, we all face a common enemy.”

Orsuros flew faster to catch up to Rainbow Dash.

“How much further until we get there?”

Rainbow Dash looked back at him. “It’s just over that next set of mountains. I know Twilight said to take you there, but what’s the plan once we get there?”

Orsuros flexed his muscles and grinned. “I’ll show you how to tear those things apart. I know some magic that can draw them out during the day.”

“Awesome! I look forward to kicking some butt!”

“Wait, we’re going to be fighting?” Spike asked.

“Of course. If we find any, we should pick them off and weaken our enemy. You and Thorax look so nervous.”

Thorax rubbed a hoof against the side of his neck. “Uh, I guess I can fight. I don’t like to.”

“You’ll need to be ready. In a real battle, there won’t be time for hesitation against the shadow beasts.”

Rainbow Dash began a slow dive and everyone followed. They came in low over the mountains and glided over what looked to be a string of abandoned farms. On the mountainside in the distance, Canterlot loomed over the valley. Rainbow Dash bent her wings and came down softly in the fields outside of a destroyed farmhouse. They each looked around a bit. Some little tents had been set up over something. Rainbow Dash walked over to them and held up the flap. 

“This is where the thing Luna followed crashed. And those are the only footprints near it that Twilight found.”

Rainbow Dash pointed out a small impact crater and a print in the dirt. Orsuros sniffed them both. He held out his front foot. It seemed like an exact match to his own foot. Somehow a dragon very similar in size to him had been here. The scent and magic had faded too much for it to be of much use. He’d need something more fresh to track anything.

Orsuros looked at the others. “It’s definitely something like me, like Princess Luna said. Last time I fought these things, they were also led by a mysterious and shadowy dragon. It tried to avoid being seen, so we only saw it a few times. The magic is so faint, but I sense a few traces of the spell that brought me here along with traces of the shadow beast’s magic. I’ll need something fresher to really say where they’ve gone, though.”

“I guess your world has good and bad dragons, too,” Spike said.

Rainbow Dash was getting impatient and started toward the farm. They all followed while Orsuros thought over his response.

“I’d like to think the dragons there are mostly good. They’ve worked harder than anyone to stop the twisted creatures and spread of corruption, but even they succumb to it with time. Part of why I came here was a hope to be able to return and fix some of that with what I learn in other worlds. Dragons can be prideful and narrow-minded, but I’m sure everyone can be that way at times.”

“Yeah, most dragons here aren’t very friendly to… anyone really. There’s a few very nice ones, though. Like Ember.” The little dragon seemed to almost blush as he remembered something.

Orsuros let him be and followed Rainbow Dash toward the ruined building.

He could sense the faint traces of some powerful magic. It explained why the house was little more than rubble. He sniffed around and couldn’t help but growl as he smelled the familiar scent of the shadow beasts. But this scent was stronger. This must be the dragon leading the shadow beasts. The scent led outside the house then vanished near a broken fence.

“Find anything?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“This was definitely the shadow beasts or whatever is leading them. There must be more places they attacked. Take me somewhere more recent.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit! Let’s take this fight to them!”

Rainbow Dash seemed energized by his resolve. Spike let out a surprised exclamation as Rainbow Dash tossed him onto Orsuros’s back before grabbing Thorax. They raced off toward a small collection of farms in the distance. They landed and looked around. A few of the windows or doors were broken, but these houses seemed mostly untouched.

Orsuros sniffed around and tried to sense what magic he could. This time the scent of the shadow beasts was fresher and stronger. There had definitely been a lot of them here in the recent past. Orsuros stepped into the first house and immediately froze. A group of souls floated here, unseeable with normal eyes.

“They took everything from these ponies,” Orsuros muttered.

“Really? All the normal stuff is still here.” Thorax pointed around.

“No. That’s not what I meant. None of you can sense or see it?”

The other three all looked at Orsuros with confused expressions.

“I’ll just have to show you. I can only do this sort of magic a short time, though.” Orsuros gathered his power. His blue lines glowed as he did. He reached out to one of the souls that was stuck in the room and willed his magic to replace the missing pieces of the soul.

An middle-aged stallion appeared. He was blue with lots of white speckles. He gasped and looked around. “Where was I? Oh Celestia! My family… they’re…”

“They’re still here, unseen.” Orsuros interrupted the stallion’s rambling.

The stallion jumped back. “A dragon! What’re you doing here? I won’t let you steal food from my farm! Or any of my gems!”

Rainbow Dash walked out. “Let me handle him.” She stepped up to the stallion. “This dragon’s on our side. He brought you back from… wherever you were.”

“He did? Then my family… Can he bring them back, too?”

Orsuros’s blue lines were still glowing bright. He wasn’t using enough magic to quite wear himself out, but he wouldn’t be saving up much magic at this rate, either. “I wish I could, but it would just be a waste of magic right now. Once my spell ends, you’ll fade back to nothing more than a lost soul once again.”

“No! Please! Don’t let me go back to that shadowy place. It’s…”

“Unsettling? Terrifying? I know. I was stuck there for a long time once. But you’ll need to return there. The only way we can really bring you back with what we have here is by defeating the shadow beasts made from the parts of your soul that they took away. Can you tell us what happened?”

The earth pony was silent for a moment after hearing his current situation, but finally he looked up. “That’s the best way to get what they took back, right? Well, there’s not a ton to tell. It was night and we had finished dinner. A bunch of shadows that looked like ponies suddenly burst in through the door and windows. They grabbed me and my family and that’s the last I remember.”

“That is what I expected.” Orsuros released his magic and stopped glowing. “I wish I had the power to keep you like this, but I’ll need my magic to fight those things. Be strong. We’ll save you and your family.”

The stallion faded away. The other three all seemed rather unsettled. Orsuros poked around the house quietly for a few moments, but there weren’t any other clues that would tell him any more than he already knew. They stepped back outside into the sunlight.

Thorax cleared his throat with a quiet cough. “I… that pony reminds me of the time I saw Chrysalis drain all the love from a pony. That pony… wasn’t ever the same after and just wandered off without any happiness or hope. That was terrible. I wasn’t sure if we should fight, but now, I’m certain. These things have to be stopped.”

Orsuros placed his front paw on Thorax’s shoulder. “That’s exactly how I felt the first time I saw what they could do. I still feel the same. With a little luck, I’ll show you how I hunted them. We’re close to where some of them are hiding.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Spike clung to Orsuros.

“I have some magic that can reveal them during the day. As long as we don’t reveal more than a few at once, we can take them down easily. Unfortunately, it’s also too slow of a method to deal with large groups of them. Once I cast the spell, be ready to fight. Thorax can use his magic. I have my claws. Rainbow Dash can give them a strong kick.”

“But what about me?” Spike asked.

“For now, you can watch. I may have a way for you to fight them, but I’m still working it out.”

“I hope it’s good. Just imagine if Rarity could see me saving everypony.”

Orsuros sniffed around, trying to sense where the shadow beasts had been most recently. He followed the trail through the farmhouses to the farm that was on the other edge of the small village. Once the trail was strong enough he signaled for everyone to stop.

“Now it’s time to see what we’re up against. My magic should be able to draw out one of these things. Unfortunately, this is the most tiring way to hunt them. It takes a lot of magic. Be ready to fight. They won’t go down easily. There could be more than one if they’re grouped up. Spike, Rainbow Dash, let me give you all a little protection.”

Orsuros glowed again as he called forth his magic. He touched Spike and Rainbow Dash on their heads and added just enough to their aspects to shield them from a simple attack. He did the same for himself. Thorax transformed into a pony but still looked nervous. With everything in place, Orsuros began the more complex spell. He etched the symbols into the ground with his claws then places his front foot in the center of them. A wave of magic shot out around them and created a zone where the sunlight was dimmer.

“Under those trees!” Rainbow Dash whispered.

Orsuros looked to where she had pointed. Three of the shadow beasts were there. Three dark figures, like shadows made solid, stood under the tree. They glanced around. They or whoever was controlling them could sense the magic. Orsuros expected them to attack, but they ran the other direction.

“Stop them from escaping the spell or they’ll disappear!” Orsuros shouted.

Spike was left on the ground as the three of them took to the sky. Rainbow Dash was going full speed and tripped the one in front with a swift kick. The other two shadow beasts had to slow to not run into it. Thorax joined a moment later, cutting them off from fleeing. 

Orsuros dove onto the fallen one, smashing it beneath his claws. At first there was a slight resistance then nothing as the shadow beast burst into the energy it was made from. A little flicker of light zipped away, hopefully returning something to whichever pony it had been taken from. Some shouts and the thuds of kicks brought Orsuros back to the present.

Rainbow Dash was standing over the shadow beast she had knocked over. 

“The other one is getting away!” She shouted.

Thorax was by her side and helping to keep their enemy from rising with well-timed hits. That meant the other one was up to Orsuros to catch. It had already reached the trees again and was headed directly for Spike.

The shadow beast hunched down and dove at Spike. The little dragon cried out as he was tackled. The shadow beast tried to hold him down with a hoof. Orsuros could feel his protective spell break. The beast was now draining Spike. Orsuros flapped his wings harder to help the little dragon.

Spike growled and bit the shadowy leg holding down. He took a deep breath and a gout of flame burst from his mouth. He scorched the shadow beast and vanished. 

Orsuros breathed a sigh of relief and looked behind him. Rainbow Dash finished off the other with a hard stomp.

All four of them were breathing hard as they gathered under the trees. Orsuros dismissed the spell. Shadow beasts weren’t smart, but they weren’t dumb enough to wander into traps like his spell unless they got caught in it when it was cast. It was a little worrying the beasts had tried to run rather than fight. It meant whoever was controlling them was trying hard to lose as few of them as possible.

“Oh man! It’s good I’ve been practicing with my flame,” Spike said. “That felt… odd. Like I was suddenly forgetting important things about myself.”

Orsuros smiled. “You all did well. When they drain you, it’s hard to remember much about what they take. It seemed like Rainbow Dash and Thorax were holding back a little. In a tougher battle, that could mean disaster.”

Thorax kicked at a pebble on the ground. “Ah… it’s just that I… haven’t fought like that much.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t my best,” Rainbow Dash said. “I was just a little surprised. I’ll go all-out next time!”

Some faint yells from the nearby houses caught their attention.

Orsuros led the group toward the farms. “Well, it looks like we have a few confused ponies to help. After that, we need to warn ponies away from this area and go back to help the changelings prepare.”

“Should I make a list?” Spike asked.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “He’s not Twilight. We won’t need a list. Let’s get to work.”
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna awoke in the late afternoon. Twilight looked a bit worn from the late night but was still hard at work on her notes. Starlight was slumped over on the couch and scribbling magic diagrams. Luna had kept Twilight and Starlight up late as they researched and practiced magic that might work against the shadow beasts, but without a way to actually test the spells, they could only guess at how effective each spell might be.

Luna opened her door, and the guard outside saluted. “Princess Luna! Celestia ordered me to tell you that she wants to see you in the throne room as soon as possible.”

“At ease. Thank you for passing the message along.” Luna smiled at the guard and cantered down the hallway.

The usual dignitaries and other ponies were gathered in and near the throne room, trying to gain Celestia’s favor or ask her advice on their problems. Once Luna entered the room, the servants quickly ushered the other ponies out. Celestia stepped off her throne and stretched.

“Luna, the problem is getting bigger. The shadow beasts attacked the scouts I sent to try and track them last night. The disappearances are spreading, but the larger pattern of them is headed straight for Canterlot. We’ll need to be ready to defend our subjects.”

“That is grave news. Where’s that dragon? He said he’d help us.”

“He’s off gathering the changelings. Spike sent me some updates on that situation. After Orsuros showed what the shadow beasts are and what they can do, Thorax agreed that we would have the full support of the changelings. His full account was rather unnerving. You may read it if you wish. I’ll call Twilight and Starlight. We need to move quickly.”

Celestia motioned to the servants to fetch their friends while sliding a letter to Luna. Luna levitated it with her magic and read carefully.

“So, Spike wrote this account? This is all true? These things are far worse than we thought. But it sounds like they can be defeated.”

“They seem more dangerous in large groups. I’m sure we could defeat many with magic or hooves, but it will be hard to face them when a single touch could make their number grow. We’ll need to be careful.”

Luna read over the last few lines. “It worries me that Orsuros sounds unsure about them. He says they seem to be acting smarter than usual. How did they get the scouts?”

“Shadow pegasi. They seem to be somehow adapting to what they’ve taken from ponies. If they also have unicorn magic, we could be in serious trouble. I have my guard captains readying the city and our forces, but without something extra to protect them, I’m not sure how we’ll do. We don’t even know how many there are. The scouts that escaped said there are at least a hundred.”

Luna frowned. “And what about the shadow dragon that leads them?”

“No sign of him yet.” Celestia looked up as Twilight and Starlight entered the room. “Ah, there you are. Did you find anything to help us?”

They nervously dug through the books and notes they had brought until Twilight found what she was looking for.

Twilight held up the page of notes with her magic. “I think I’ve got something. We’ve been working on a cutie mark protection spell. So far, it can stop Starlight’s magic from taking a cutie mark, but, uh, the guards you had help us might need some therapy. There were a lot of failed experiments.”

Starlight laughed nervously “Their marks will go back to normal before long. We fixed the ones that we could.”

“I think my spell will protect anypony I cast it on for at least a little while,” Twilight said.

Starlight gave her a playful glare. “You mean our spell?”

“Yes, our spell. You did plenty of work on it, too.”

“I’m sure the guards will have bigger things to worry about,” Celestia said.

“So what is that you want me to do, sister?” Luna asked.

“I think we need to stop the enemy from spreading and figure out how to begin fighting back. You’ll take some of our best guards with Twilight and Starlight and do your best to stop the attacks from happening tonight. I wish I could help, but I still need to stay here and keep everything running. We don’t want a panic. If everypony suddenly tried to run, they’d all be easy targets on the roads.”

“That is a wise choice. I shall do my best.”

“Be careful. You already lost an important part of yourself. I couldn’t bear to lose all of you.” Celestia pulled Luna in for a sudden hug and whispered. “I haven’t been this scared since Tirek attacked. This enemy is much like him but spread out among many.”

“I’ve been scared ever since that first attack. And confused and upset. But I won’t let that cloud my judgment tonight. I promise I’ll be back with the morning.”

Celestia let go of Luna and looked at her before saying farewell. Celestia already looked exhausted by the long day. Luna wished she felt fresh, but it was harder to feel anything with her cutie mark gone. But here was her chance to lead and prove she could handle things. Twilight and Starlight followed her without any orders as she walked to the barracks. The guard captains and their finest subordinates were ready and waiting on the cobblestone road outside.

Luna stood tall and addressed the waiting soldiers.

“Our plan is simple. We’re going to stop the enemy tonight. You have all been briefed on what the enemy looks like and what they can do. I commend you all for your bravery for stepping up for this assignment. Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer have worked out a spell that should protect you from a few hits by the enemy. We expect outside reinforcements to arrive soon, but until they do, it will just be us standing between these shadow beasts and the noble ponies of Equestria. Don’t hesitate to strike the enemy down. We fight for harmony and peace for all ponykind!”

The troops shouted in agreement. Luna smiled and looked them over again. They were mainly the more mobile pegasi guards. A single platoon of unicorn and earth pony guards would be supporting them on the ground.

Luna turned to her friends. 

“Twilight, you’ll help guide the troops from the air with me. Focus on casting and maintaining your protection spells. Starlight, you’ll be with the support division and doing the same thing. Now, let’s go find the enemy.”

“We actually have some magic for that, too,” Starlight explained. “It’s a tough spell, but Orsuros explained some ways to track them.”

“That’s great. Let’s begin with where they were last seen.” Luna took the lead and took off into the night sky. Twilight followed right behind her. The guards rose up and followed while the ponies without wings followed below at a quick canter.

The glow of the sunset was fading from the horizon as they flew onward. They didn’t have far to travel. The packed streets of Canterlot gave way to the sparser manors and houses that made up the suburbs of the capital city as the mountainside sloped down to the valley. Soon, there were only scattered villages and farms below. The previous night one of the largest of these villages near Canterlot had been attacked. The small army spread out to better scout out the land below.

A few ponies were still out relaxing before bed. The village that Luna flew over seemed a very normal place. Some of the ponies below pointed up at her and the guards. She was surprised these ponies hadn’t left yet. Maybe living so close to Canterlot made them feel they could flee to the protection in the city walls at a moment’s notice.

A sudden scream filled the night. Luna looked over to where she had heard it come from. Several ponies were running and right behind them were the shadow beasts in the form of the different types of ponies. One in the shape of a unicorn created a barrier, trapping the fleeing ponies. The screams cut off as a swarm of shadow beasts tackled their prey. The ponies faded to nothing in a few seconds.

Luna had been stunned into staring silently. It had to have only taken a moment. She turned to everypony around her.

“Relay the message that the enemy has flight and magic. This fight just got a lot more dangerous.”

A pegasi captain saluted and flew off to relay the message to the support troops that were reaching the other end of town.

Twilight flew up next to Luna. “Orsuros never said they could use magic.”

“These things seem to take a lot of their power from whatever they steal it from. Perhaps they can do more with what they take from ponies.”

Twilight pointed to the other edges of town. “They’re using a pincer formation. The only way to get out of here will be the road to Canterlot, and I expect they’ll have an ambush planned for that route, too, with the tactics they’re using. At least, that’s the sort of tactics I’d use.”

“Very well. We shall just have to crush them here and mop up the ambush on the way home.”

“Wait, Luna! Can we win here?”

“Twilight, you know more of friendship than battle. We have the protective spells and our magic. They shouldn’t stand a chance against two princesses and one of the most magical unicorns in Equestria. Guards! We’re going in. Harass the enemy from above and take the town square as our fortified position!”

Several wings of pegasi guards broke off and pulled out their spears as they dove at another group of shadow beasts that were advancing on the terrified citizens below. Luna headed straight for the center of the town. She landed on top of a statue of Celestia and cleared her throat.

“Citizens! Fear not! We have come to aid you. Gather to me. My magic and soldiers will protect you.”

Twilight must have broken off to help with something else, but Luna’s personal bodyguards spread out in formation around her. Luna created a few simple barriers but left gaps for the ponies to pass through. In a few moments, the citizens began running in.

“Princess Luna! You’re here!” A young earth pony mare addressed Luna. “I was so worried when I saw Nightmare Moon. I must have just been seeing things.”

“Yes, Nightmare Moon is long gone. Calm yourself. We shall protect you.”

Luna glanced out at her soldiers. They were fighting bravely, but they were forced to pull back as more of the enemy attacked. The shadow pegasi and unicorns seemed to be going directly after her flying guard. One of the guards was hit by a spell and dropped to the ground. The shadow beasts pounced on him. The protective spell from Twilight flashed. The guard slashed with his spear a few times before the spell shattered. The guard vanished a moment later as the creatures rushed him.

Twilight was off doing her best to keep the magic protecting the guards from running out, but wherever the enemy attacked in large numbers, they could break the spell and take down the guards.

“Troops, gather to me!” Luna commanded. The signal went out and Twilight and the guards started to pull back to the central square. They strengthened the barriers and shot at the shadow beasts from a distance to hold them off while the frightened ponies from the village poured in. 

“There’s so many of them,” Twilight said. “I must have counted at least a few hundred.”

Luna nodded. “There are far more than expected, and they seem to be using abilities taken from the ponies. We can hold them off from here, but that won’t get us or any of these ponies out safely.”

“Do we know if they get tired?” Starlight asked. “I mean, we could try holding off until dawn, but we’d have to last the entire night without them breaking through.”

Luna felt a sudden pull, as if something nearby was demanding her attention through some magical connection. A powerful blast of magic shattered one of the barriers and knocked out the guard behind it. Luna stepped forward to see and gasped.

A tall alicorn, dark and shadowy, was now at the front of the shadow beasts. Luna blinked and hoped it was just a trick of the light. Nightmare Moon stepped slowly forward as her horn began to glow.

“Princess Luna,” Nightmare Moon said, “I was hoping you’d come. You still have some of my power, so I’ll have to take it back.”

Luna growled. “But how are you here? You’re a part of me. A part that should be long gone.”

“A certain dragon set me free from you. You were strong to keep me locked up all these years, but now that I’m free, I shall get a chance to show you and Celestia how strong I truly am.”

Luna looked over Nightmare Moon. She seemed almost solid, but when Luna looked closely, she did seem to be made of the same shadowy material as the other creatures. But unlike them, her colors, eyes, and even her cutie mark seemed very solid.

“I guess you would have nothing to say to that,” Nightmare Moon said after Luna had been silent for a few moments. “But don’t worry. When you lose to me, you can be a part of me, just how it should have been all along.”

“That’s not true, Luna!” Twilight yelled. “You’re better than her. And together we’ll defeat her.”

Nightmare Moon motioned to her other troops to go to the side. Luna’s shield almost broke under the first blast of dark magic that Nightmare Moon threw at them until Twilight used her own magic to help. Starlight sent a bolt of lightning over at the enemy. Nightmare Moon had to jump out of the way.

Starlight stepped forward. “This is three on one. Let’s end this before the soldiers get in over their heads.”

To the sides, the soldiers were holding their own against the rush of the enemy, but more and more of the shadow ponies kept appearing. Nightmare Moon shot a few blasts at them to test their defenses, but with the three of them, they held strong. A sudden darkness covered the moon for a moment and the pegasi guards all started shouting in both alarm and pain. 

Luna got distracted from the battle as she stared at what was circling above them. It swept past the guards, battering them with wings, claws, and tail. Several started to fall from the sky before shadow pegasi intercepted them. In moments, those guards had disappeared and new shadow pegasi flickered into existence around the shadowy dragon. The dragon seemed more solid and menacing than when Luna had seen it last. Luna could feel a strange magical energy radiating from it. It landed easily next to Nightmare Moon and stared.

The dragon spoke. It almost sounded like Orsuros, but the voice was somehow deeper and fiercer. “Nightmare Moon, harvest these ponies. I am especially interested in those ones. They have great power. I will take care of Luna. You take on the other two.”

Nightmare Moon did a little bow and grinned. “With pleasure, my lord.”

Luna looked into the fierce golden eyes of the dragon. Suddenly the world seemed to close in on her. She tried to turn away and couldn’t. She tried to call upon her magic, but nothing came. She could hear the blasts of magic around her as Twilight and Starlight began to fight again, but without her help, Nightmare Moon began to quickly overwhelm her friends. She wanted to help them, but the dragon somehow had her trapped. All she could do was stare into his eyes.

The dragon laughed. “Luna, I already have a piece of your soul. Do you know what power that gives me over you?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Luna watched Twilight take a powerful hit. Starlight fought back with a flurry of spells while Twlight got back on her hooves, but the two were looking very worn out. Luna couldn’t look away to see how the rest of the battle was going, but her commanders were shouting to form up and regroup as the numbers of her little army dwindled.

Luna could only glare at the dragon, but it didn’t seem to be able to do anything besides keep her captive. Maybe her friends could find a way to use that, but she couldn’t help them. She could only focus on this single enemy. “So, dragon, why are you doing all this?”

“Well, I have good reasons. Your world has great power. I could use that to fix my own world. But first, I will have to gather it from the creatures of this world. As you can see, much of the unused power of these little ponies is already being used by me.”

“Who are you? Did you come with Orsuros?”

“Orsuros… you could say I came with him. He would never be willing to do what I’m doing, even to save his own world. But my way is the best and fastest way. With the power of all your souls, I should easily be able to save the world we came from.” 

Luna felt someone prodding her side. 

Twilight spoke a moment later. “Luna, are you alright? We need your help!”

“I can’t move or use magic. The dragon is doing something to me. Try to hit him with something.”

“We’re barely holding off Nightmare Moon. Guards! Protect Luna!” Twilight flew off as blasts of magic nearly hit her.

Luna caught glimpses of the battle from the corners of her eyes. While Nightmare Moon had Twilight and Starlight distracted, the rest of the enemy forces had pushed in past the outer barriers that her and her guards had set up.

The dragon started to glow with his own magic. “I’ve said what I have to say to you. Enough of this.” The dragon waved a claw in the air and a wave of pain and darkness engulfed Luna.

The last thing she glimpsed was her guards forming a protective circle around her before all went black.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Returning with the changelings had taken far longer than Orsuros planned, but they filled the evening sky behind him as he led the way. Already the last of the sunlight was slipping away. Once the night fell, the shadow beasts would be free to attack and multiply. Orsuros cursed himself for not noticing their presence sooner. If he had been able to sense them earlier, he could have ended the infestation quickly by himself. 

He had an army led by his new friend, Thorax. Spike rode on top of his back. With the right magical enhancements, even the little dragon could be useful in the coming fight, but Orsuros wanted to save his best plans for when the situation grew dire. Revealing too much before he knew who was controlling the shadow beasts could easily play into the enemy’s hands. Rainbow Dash flew ahead of the group, eager to help her friends and Equestria with some fighting.

With so much help, Orsuros knew he should feel confident, but an unknown enemy was always more dangerous than a known one. The shadow beasts here were behaving strangely as well. Those created from the cutie marks of ponies seemed to show some intelligence and a lot more power than the ones he had run into in his own world.

The group flew onward. At least the wind wasn’t bad for flying, but this was a long flight, and they’d need to arrive ready to go. They flew at a quick pace over the wilderness and scattered villages of the countryside. On the far horizon, the lights of Ponyville began to glow in the dimming light. Even further away, the lights of Canterlot lit up the mountainside. They were getting closer, but it still felt so far away.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash, don’t get too far ahead,” Orsuros shouted. “It could be dangerous.”

Rainbow Dash slowed and flew next to Orsuros. “As if any of those shadow jerks could beat me. I’ll give them a good kicking when I see them.”

“I know you’re eager, but I’ll need you to lead the changelings. Luckily, they actually do have a little bit of battle training. We’ll go in carefully unless some ponies are already in trouble. Every pony we save means one less enemy to fight. If the shadow beasts are already attacking, hit them with all you’ve got, but don’t let them stop or surround you.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “We’ll hit them so fast, they won’t see us coming.”

Orsuros looked over at the lead changeling. “And how about you, Thorax? Are you ready for this?”

“I guess, but I never was one of the fighters or guards. My brother and plenty of former guards volunteered to come. They’re good at fighting.”

“Hmm, former guards? Do you not have guards anymore, then?”

“We keep a few around, but not nearly as many as before. Everyone has mostly been busy rebuilding.”

“Just keep them from getting separated and you should be able to protect each other.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll let my squad captains know.”

“Go ahead, but I bet that’s what they already had planned. You sound so scared. If you’re a leader, you need to be confident, especially in battle.”

Thorax blushed a little. “It’s hard to be confident when I haven’t done something before.”

Orsuros thought over what to say to encourage the bug pony. “As leader, you have a role to play. Even if you feel less confident in yourself, you can feel confident at least one of your subjects will be able to help.”

“That’s a great way of looking at it.” Thorax smiled and flew off to speak with the leader of the changeling troops.

The first stars began to twinkle in the sky as the last of the colors of sunset vanished. Ponyville soon passed below them and they flew onward toward Canterlot.

Spike coughed then spat out a burst of flame. The little dragon caught the scroll before it could fly away on the wind. He breathed a little gout of flame to read by.

Spike’s eyes went wide. “Oh, this is bad! Twilight’s in trouble!”

Orsuros turned his head to speak with Spike. “What happened?”

“A messenger was sent by Twilight. They found the enemy at a large town near Canterlot and are fighting them now. When the messenger left, Luna was down, and what’s that?” Spike spat out more flame to read by. “I thought I read that wrong, but it says Nightmare Moon is helping the enemy!”

“Who is that?” Orsuros asked.

“Well, that’s what doesn’t make sense. Luna turned into Nightmare Moon and attacked Celestia over 1,000 years ago. She was banished to the moon but returned a little while ago. Twilight and her friends turned Nightmare Moon back into Luna with the elements of harmony, so she shouldn’t be able to come back. Oh, this is bad!”

“We’re almost there. Let’s hope they can hold on. And remember your job. Keep any shadow beasts off my back.”

Orsuros motioned for silence. He shut his eyes and used his magic. He could sense a massive amount of shadow beasts ahead. He motioned for everyone to follow and dove toward the town below. As they got closer, a few flashes of magic lit up the otherwise dark city. A small circle of lights remained in the center of town, but it was otherwise dark. Soon, they were close enough to make out a few figures fighting in the sky and on the ground. Orsuros felt his gaze drawn to a particular shadow that was different than the others. A dragon like him was in the streets below.

Rainbow Dash motioned the advance troops to go in for a dive bomb attack. They smashed a squadron of shadow pegasi out of the sky before continuing on to break the enemy line on one side of the surrounded town square.

Orsuros watched the enemy. These shadow beasts seemed somehow more self-aware than previous ones, and he had noticed a few using magic somehow. He waited a few moments longer then swooped down once the enemy dragon seemed distracted. He aimed straight for its neck.

It jumped to the side the moment before Orsuros hit it. His claws managed to only scratch its wing, yet a moment later, Orsuros felt a searing pain in his own wing. He skidded to a rough landing and spun around. His golden eyes met a pair of eyes that looked just like them. The pain in his wing faded as the shadow dragon reformed its torn wing.

“I didn’t expect you to side with these creatures,” the dragon said. “I had hoped you’d realize just how much power you could get from them, as I did. But now, here you are, attacking me. Can you feel what I am? Do you know why the pain of every wound I take is felt by you?”

Orsuros roared. “It doesn’t matter who you are. I’ll defend my friends and the ponies of this world. No world should have to face the terror of these shadow beasts, yet you’ve brought them here.”

The shadow dragon laughed. “It was you who brought them here. And you brought me with you as well. You cast the spell that brought you here with the intention of leaving behind the things from home that could hurt other worlds, but what do you think the spell did when it found those things within you?”

“So, is that why you have my eyes? You’re some corrupted copy of me?” Orsuros and the other dragon began circling each other.

“Orsuros, you’re not thinking nearly big enough. I was part of you. We’re still very connected. That’s why we feel the same pains. I suppose I need a new name, though. For now, you may call me Siega. It’s a fitting name. It means harvest in one of the old tongues. And that is what I’m here to do. You came to gain power from this world. It's all around you, but you are unwilling to take it. I shall harvest the power in this world and use it to free our own world.”

Siega’s magic flashed suddenly, and Orsuros staggered. The dragon pounced, but Spike took a deep breath and shot a burst of flames. The dragon stumbled enough that Orsuros was able to duck under the attack.

Spike took a deep breath and poked Orsuros. “Are you okay? I’ve seen villains like this before. Don’t listen to him.”

Orsuros shook off the magic that had tried to overwhelm him. Siega was using powerful soul magic and attacking directly through the bond the two had. It was going to take most his energy just to defend against another attack.

“I’m alright. He just caught me off guard. But you’re right.” Orsuros turned to the other dragon. “Siega! I can see what your plans are now. There are many reasons why I could never go along with them. The first and best reason is that we’ll never free the world by using the powers that our enemy has used to corrupt it. We must be stronger than that and find a new way to free our home.”

“Still blinded by your ideals.” Siega growled and flung another burst of soul magic at Orsuros.

He used his own magic to soften the blow, but the attack still made him feel dizzy. He tried the same tactic, and it seemed to have an equal effect on Siega. Soon both he and the other dragon could barely stand and started to back away from each other.

Spike tapped on Orsuros’s neck to get his attention. “This is bad! Nightmare Moon just took out Twilight and Rainbow Dash!”

Orsuros spun around to see. Rainbow Dash was unconscious on the ground. It looked like she had crashed rather hard. Twilight seemed to have been blasted backwards into a building. Starlight was still trying to hold off Nightmare Moon. She was quickly losing ground. Thorax and the changelings had pushed the enemy lines back a little but seem to be at a stalemate. Without Siega and Nightmare Moon, the changelings might have been able to win this, but their enemies had too much power right now. If the shadow beasts broke through or overwhelmed the changelings, there wouldn’t be much of a force left to fight the shadow beasts.

“Spike, go tell Thorax to create an escape route. Our only hope is to get out of here and regroup.”

“Will you be okay alone?”

“I’ll watch my own back for now. Now hurry!”

Spike slid down Orsuros’s tail and sprinted away. Orsuros looked at his shadowy copy.

“At the very least, I can do this to buy my friends some time to get us out of here.”

Siega growled and lashed out with soul magic as Orsuros used his own. He stared into the other dragon’s eyes that were so much like his own. Neither of them was holding back, and the magic battered their minds, souls, and bodies. The pain and effort was making the edges of Orsuros’s vision flicker. He pushed harder and harder until finally Siega let out an alarmed cry. Both dragons collapsed at the same time.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna rubbed at her forehead. She had a huge headache. She snapped her eyes open to look around. Her pounding heart slowly calmed as she saw the familiar walls of the castle around her. She was picked up in a firm yet soft hug.

“Luna, you’re awake!” Celestia said as she hugged Luna even tighter.

“It’s good to see you, too, Tia.” Luna held her sister until Celestia let her sink back into the bed.

Some guards were watching from over by the door. Several other beds were against the wall. Orsuros was unconscious in one. The dragon didn’t have any obvious injuries. Twilight was in another. A large bandage covered what looked to be a burned patch of hair on her chest. Rainbow Dash was in the bed next to Twilight. The pegasus was on her back and her legs, chin, and belly were covered in bandages. Spike sat quietly on the edge of Twilight’s bed with his head resting on his fists. Further away, many other unconscious ponies were in the other beds, including many changelings. Thorax was laying on the examination table on the other side of the room while the doctor fixed some tears in the changeling leader’s wings. Starlight stood next to Celestia. She also had a few bandages covering burnt patches of hair.

“What happened at the battle? How did we get here?” Luna asked.

Starlight stepped forward. “The enemy dragon did something to make you fall unconscious. After that, things looked pretty hopeless until Orsuros, Rainbow Dash, and Thorax appeared. Oh, and Spike, too. They brought the changelings with them. I was too busy fighting, but Spike says that Orsuros fought the other dragon, which is calling himself Siega now. They both collapsed. We managed to save you and Orsuros and retreat once the changelings opened up an escape route back to Canterlot. We managed to drive off Nightmare Moon, but Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Thorax were all hurt while fighting her.”

“At least we were able to save many ponies,” Luna said.

Celestia nodded. “You saved many of our citizens, but I’m afraid the enemy is now on our doorstep. Just before the enemy vanished with the dawn, the guards on the walls saw many of the shadow ponies approaching. I feel that they plan to attack us tonight before we can ready too many defenses.”

Luna pushed off the blanket and tried to jump out of bed but had to hold on to the side to keep from losing her balance. “We need to get ready right away. Is there any sign that Orsuros will be awake soon? Did you learn his protective spells well enough to teach our troops?”

Celestia put a wing around Luna to steady her. “We’re taking care of all that we can, but I do hope the dragon wakes up soon. He seems to know their powers and strategy the best. The doctors did what healing magic they could, so now we must be patient. How are you feeling?”

Luna stood in place until her legs felt sturdy. “I’ll be alright. We should worry more about the others.”

“Until they’re up, we have a few other urgent things to take care of.” Celestia stepped toward the door. “I was hoping you could join me in addressing the city. I’ll send word for everypony to gather. We must present a strong and united face so that the citizens of Canterlot don’t panic. We’ve been sending the young and old off by train already, but soon it will be too late for anyone to leave by the roads.”

Luna followed Celestia out the door as the guard held it open. “Anypony leaving too late would just become another pawn for our enemy.”

“Precisely. Now I’ll give you a few moments to get ready. I’ll go take of some other smaller things. Meet me at the courtyard balcony in fifteen minutes.”

Luna trotted to her chambers and summoned the attendants. She normally liked doing more herself, but today she needed the extra time to focus on a few things. As they combed her mane, she went over the protective spells again. During the fight, the guards had been protected by her magic, but she was going to need more against the dragon. She didn’t want to end up being useless again. She’d need better magic.

The attendant tapped her on the shoulder. “Princess Luna, we’re out of time. Do you like how you look?”

Luna looked in the mirror. She looked very tired, but the attendants had done their job and made her look regal. She held up her hooves and the attendants slipped on her decorative horseshoes. Celestia was pacing when she arrived but stopped and smiled once Luna came in.

“You ready? Look hopeful but strong. I don’t think today will be a day for smiles.” Celestia motioned toward the balcony and led the way.

Celestia stood tall at the edge of the balcony. Luna took her place next to her sister and looked out over the crowd. Everypony looked afraid. It was rare to know an enemy was coming yet have the power to do so little. Little fillies and colts clung close to their parents. The guards all looked grim. Celestia stretched out her wings and lifted a hoof as a gesture for the crowd to quiet.

“Noble ponies of Canterlot,” Celestia began, “today an enemy sits at our doorstep. We will need everypony working together in this crisis. Even if you can’t fight, you can help prepare the defenses or bring aid to our brave soldiers. Equestria is united against this threat. With your help, we will win the battle tonight. My captains will provide further instruction. Listen to them well and use this day to prepare yourselves for tonight.”

The crowd cheered, but the cheer seemed flat.

Luna nodded in agreement and tried to project calmness, even if she felt the opposite inside. She felt a twinge of fear as Celestia turned to her, but it was only to motion her to go back inside. Celestia had spoken well. Luna would have been too direct. Their enemy was one to be feared, but they somehow had to get everypony to feel brave.

“I think that helped. I must go meet with certain community leaders now. Luna, get what you can from Orsuros. We’re running out of time. Use your magic to get some answers from him if you have to, but be nice about it.”

Celestia left, and Luna was alone. She peeked back out over the dispersing crowd. They truly would have to stand together. Every pony that fell would add to the enemy’s number. And if Canterlot fell, the rest of Equestria would easily fall with it. Running would not be an option tonight. Luna walked slowly down the halls and returned to the room where everyone was recovering.

Twilight was awake now and talking with Rainbow Dash. She looked up at Luna. “Princess, I’m sorry we…”

“No. You did your best. None of us were fully prepared for that. We need a better plan before they attack tonight. Has Orsuros shown any signs of waking up?”

“I poked him, but he’s still sleeping like a log,” Rainbow Dash said.

Luna gathered her magic in her horn. “I have ways of reaching those who are asleep.” She touched her horn to the dragon’s face and used her dream magic.

Orsuros was having a very unusual dream. A dimly lit cave surrounded them. Luna could feel the dragon was in great pain as he limped around the cave and seemed to be gathering pieces of something and putting them into himself.

Luna called out. “Orsuros, it’s me. Don’t be alarmed.”

Orsuros glanced at her for a second before resuming whatever it was he was doing. “Luna? Maybe you could help. That fight with Siega very nearly broke my soul. I’m gathering the pieces of it back together. Will you help?”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Just gather the pieces and bring them to me.”

“Very well.”

Orsuros nodded and grabbed another thing. Now that Luna could get a closer look, they looked like pieces of the dragon’s skin. Orsuros sighed with relief each time he picked one up.

Luna poked around and found a few. She used her magic to bring them over, but the moment her magic touched them, strange memories and feelings filled her head. She had to focus to not be overwhelmed. The memories and feelings were all from Orsuros. She slowly gathered the pieces and got glimpses into the dragon’s past. He had a good soul. Unlike the other dragons, he had set out to explore the world and understand the other races and had ended up helping them against the shadow beasts. She could feel his frustration at being unable to truly fix his broken world and his guilt at bringing the same problems to Equestria accidentally. While certain memories were rather personal or embarrassing, many more of them were noble. Luna couldn’t help but feel closer to the dragon with each piece she touched.

With Luna’s help, Orsuros gathered up the many pieces. When Luna could find no more, the dragon sniffed around one last time before sitting down. “There. That should be all the important pieces. You may go. With those things restored, I will wake up soon. Thank you for the help.”

Luna ended her dream magic and opened her eyes in the real world. Orsuros rolled to the side and groaned.

“How are you feeling?” Luna asked. “Time is precious. If you can focus at all, we need your advice and help to fight off this enemy.”

Orsuros blinked and rubbed at his eyes. He slowly stretched out. “I’m could use more rest after all that, but we need to do what we can right now.” He sat up and got off the bed. He looked around at everyone else in the room. “It looks like everyone made it through the fight with only small injuries. That’s good. I think I have a plan for what to do, but I’ll need all of you.”

Luna looked over their little group. “I think everyone but Celestia is here. I can tell her what she needs to know later. She’s off keeping Canterlot from falling apart. I’ll also be able to tell the guards anything you need them to know.”

“Twilight, can I borrow some paper and a pen?”

Twilight pulled both out of her saddlebag and Orsuros sat down and wrote down a list of things on the paper. He made little noises as he thought through things and would sometimes cross out things or write more.

“Ah, there. I think that’s a good start to a plan. Last night we did pretty well considering we hardly knew what to expect. The shadow beasts in my world didn’t seem as smart or powerful as the ones here. Somehow Siega seems to have figured out how to harness the powers he’s stolen from any ponies, including Luna’s. But even with that, our basics will be the same. We’ll need strong defenses to keep them from overrunning us and to keep them away from any defenseless citizens. We have plenty of magic, but we’ll need to use what we have to protect those who are fighting.”

Luna looked over the list. It listed what they had and what the enemy might have and ways to best use things. Orsuros had written a big question mark by the line connecting his name with Siega’s. “Hmm, looks like you’re unsure about something with that other dragon.”

“Well, it’s not something I’m happy to admit, but after talking to him, I did learn that he… grew from part of my soul. It was the part corrupted by the shadow beasts long ago. My spell that brought me here was supposed to protect you all, but instead… I brought what I was trying to escape from. I’m sorry.”

Rainbow Dash gave him a rough pat on the back. “Don’t worry. Everyone makes mistakes. And you’re here with us, trying to fix yours. We’ll stand with you. That’s what friends do.”

Luna thought over the memories she had seen in the pieces of the dragon’s soul. “And after seeing so much about who you are and why you do what you do, I can’t help but agree. You’ve done nothing but help after we asked for your help. But I can’t help but feel you’re still hiding something.”

Orsuros frowned. “It’s just that… the connection between me and Siega might cause a few complications. We tried our best to kill each other at the battle last night and almost succeeded. He feels any pain I feel, and I feel any pain he feels. Destroying him… might also destroy me.”

“It’s very rare for ponies to kill even their worst enemies,” Luna said. “I was banished to the moon when I tried to take control as Nightmare Moon. Even grave threats like Tirek and Discord are merely locked away for a long time. I’m sure we could do the same with Siega.”

Twilight tapped her hoof on the paper. “But we no longer have the elements. Without them, it’s not as easy to lock a powerful creature away.”

Luna brought a hoof up to her chin. “Hmm, that is true, but we have you and your friends. You all still have some of the powers of the elements, even if it isn’t as flashy. I think you and Rainbow Dash should go gather your other friends from Ponyville. I hate to put them in danger, but we may need you all.”

Rainbow Dash saluted. “We’ll be back before you know it, Princess Luna.” She flung open the window and dragged Twilight along with her as she raced off into the sky.

Orsuros watched until they vanished from view. “We could use any power that we have. Starlight, I trust you still have plenty of magical power for both fighting and protecting the guards?”

Starlight’s horn glowed a little. “Yes. Last night took a lot out of me, but I’m ready to give my best again for Equestria.”

Orsuros tapped a name on the paper. “Hmm, we also have Celestia. How powerful is she?”

“She defeated Nightmare Moon,” Luna said. “But that was with the elements. Still, she’s stronger than I am. Even without the elements, she’s probably evenly matched with Nightmare Moon, especially the one we met last night.”

“That’s good to know.” Orsuros drew a line between Celestia and Nightmare Moon. “I also have a few surprises that even Siega may not expect. Since I’ve gotten to know you all as friends, I could use my own magic to enhance some of your powers. For example, I could unlock some of Spike’s potential and turn him into a larger, stronger dragon. I’ll just need to manipulate his greed in the right ways.”

“Is that possible?” Starlight’s eyes went wide.

“My specialty has always been enhancing souls to bring out potential. It won’t work as well on some of you, though. I can’t really make Rainbow Dash much faster or Twilight or you much more magical since you’ve already all developed your potential so much. But I could use some magic to restore some of your lost power, Luna.”

“That would be… appreciated.” Luna smiled. The burden she had been carrying for weeks suddenly felt as if it had been lifted. Tears started to well up in her eyes. “It’s been hard ever since Siega took my cutie mark. I’ve had to keep going and be strong. I didn’t want to put any extra burdens on Celestia when there was already so much to worry about.”

She was surprised by a sudden strong hug. Orsuros was holding her against his chest. “I know what it feels like when they steal part of you. Most would just give up, but you are stronger than that. And we’re here for you.”

Luna wiped the tears away and reluctantly let go of the dragon. “Thank you. Anything else we should know? I need to go tell Celestia all this, and you both probably need to go teach the unicorn guards the protective spells.”

Orsuros looked across the room to the resting leader of the changelings. His wings were still being healed by magic, so he had to remain in his bed. “There isn’t much more. Thorax, are you feeling up to leading the changelings in battle again? You did well last night.”

“I’ll be ready once this healing spell is done. Last night was scary, but you can count on me, too!” Thorax smiled. “And I think I have some new formations and tactics to try out.”

Luna looked at all her friends. With them, she was beginning to feel confident she could face Nightmare Moon and the shadow beasts again. “I suppose we better not waste any more time. Thorax, I’ll send someone to coordinate the pegasus squadrons with your army. Now let’s get to work.”

Luna went off to explain the situation to Celestia and the guards. Starlight accompanied her. Orsuros began to practice the magic he would be using on Spike. 

The preparations and various meetings quickly took up the rest of the afternoon. Luna was left wishing she could just tell Celestia to make it remain day to give them more time, but she knew all too well that messing up the natural cycles of day and night had many consequences that might be far worse than what the shadow beasts might do.

There was just enough time to get a little more rest before joining everyone for dinner. Everypony seemed very quiet. Celestia had invited many of the leaders of Equestria’s forces as well as other ponies that would play an important role in the city’s defenses. Luna’s friends were there as well. When she walked in, a scarred pegasi general seemed to be almost arguing with Celestia and pointing at Orsuros, who was eating next to Celestia.

“Now, I’ve made my points a few times, but I ask again. Can we really trust a dragon?”

Celestia held up a hoof. “He has shown loyalty in battle and outside of it. I’d trust him as much as any of my generals. Now I think Luna would like you to move out the way so she can be seated.”

The old general snorted angrily and slipped off to go chat with some of the other generals and captains.

Luna took her place and picked at her plate of food. It had been finely prepared, but most of it was the simpler oats and hay that would be good for energy in a long fight. Luna quietly munched on her food. The guards and their leaders were unusually tense. Orsuros seemed to be quietly focusing, almost as if meditating.

The dragon bent low and whispered quietly to Luna and Celestia. “I thought up some plans in case things don’t go well. Maybe if I went back… to my own world, it would cause Siega to lose some power. Without the connection to me, he might not be as strong, and you wouldn’t have to worry about hurting me. I’m not sure when I’d be able to come back, though.”

Celestia put a hoof down on the table, shaking it a little. “I forbid this plan. Sending you away would be foolish. We shall do what we must to defeat Siega without hurting you too much. If you went away, we’d lose a valuable friend and ally.”

Luna nodded. “Sending me away didn’t fix my problems, either. It only delayed them. We need you here.”

“I thought you’d both say that. Very well. My other plan might be a little more dangerous. I’d only use it if we have no other choices. I think with Luna’s magic and my connection to Siega, we could enter his mind. We’d need a lot of magic to defend ourselves there. I’m not sure we’d have enough, but if we could somehow find a way to defeat him there, there might be a way to reclaim the parts of my soul he’s made from. He’d cease to exist as a separate being. But I must admit… it’s been nice to live without the darker parts of myself that he’s attached to.”

“I’ve felt the same about Nightmare Moon.” Luna sighed and took a sip of the cider in her cup. “I miss having all my power, but I don’t miss those old dark emotions.”

Celestia put her wings around both of them. “Mistakes and regrets are a big part of who we are, though. I know I have plenty of my own, even if few know them.”

Luna thought over her sister’s words as she cleared off her plate. She was feeling more nervous than hungry, so she didn’t grab any extra food. Orsuros ate fish after fish. He seemed to like those as much as Equestrian dragons like gems.

He noticed her watching him and finished off the fish he was currently chewing on. “I don’t know about you, but using my magic always makes me hungry.”

Luna felt a little less nervous and almost smiled. “We did have to specially order all this fish for you. It’s good to see you enjoy it. We keep some around for any extra picky griffons that visit. There was one griffon who claimed to be on a meat-only diet once.”

“Yes, I remember him.” Celestia said as she quietly slid a piece of cake onto her plate. “He was insufferable. Eat your fill, though. We all need to be at our best.”

The room grew quiet again and the tension seemed to grow as the sun continued to slip toward the horizon.

Celestia looked out the window and sighed. “I suppose it’s time to put the sun away. Luna, let’s go fulfill our duties before it gets too late.

“I don’t think there are any further preparations we have time to do.”

Luna quietly followed her sister out to the balcony. Celestia stood and unfolded her wings as her horn glowed. She always looked so regal while doing this. The sun slipped out of view in a moment. Luna stepped forward. It strained her magic, but she lifted the moon a moment after the sun set.

She looked over at her sister. “I never thought I’d fear nightfall, but tonight I do.”

Celestia hugged Luna with a wing. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be facing them together with all our friends.”
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orsuros watched the two sisters complete the magical ritual that changed day into night. He could sense the shadow beasts nearby as soon as the moon jumped into the sky. There were so many of them that he could feel their presence surrounding the city. He stepped onto the balcony with the two princesses while the ponies all ran off to their stations.

A magically amplified voice sounded over the city. “Ponies of Canterlot! Cease this foolish fight and come join us.” The voice sounded like Nightmare Moon. “Save yourselves from the pain of fighting a hopeless fight. Just look at our numbers and what Siega can do for those who join him.”

Orsuros growled as he noticed a swarm in the sky. The shadowy forms of ponies filled the sky, the glow of their horns lit their wings dimly.

“Wait? Are they all alicorns?” Luna asked as her eyes widened as she scanned over the mountainous landscape around the city.

Orsuros glanced around. He could still see plenty of normal shadow beasts in the form of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, but it seemed Siega had been busy with preparations of his own. In theory, with the materials taken from the souls of ponies, it wouldn’t be difficult to craft the shadow beasts into alicorns. It was just surprising that Siega had figured out how to do it so quickly. Orsuros looked over the group in the sky.

He counted a few and then guessed at the total. “There seems to be about 50 of them. He’d need to use things from each type of pony to make them, so he can’t have made too many. I better go put the final touches on my own surprise.”

Orsuros hopped off the balcony and glided down below. Out in a courtyard by the outer wall, Spike was waiting with Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and his other friends. Behind him, the changelings and pegasi guards filled the sky above Canterlot. Some unicorns hastily started to cast the protective spells over all the ponies.

Orsuros landed in front of Spike. 

The little dragon looked scared but determined. “I’m ready. I’ll finally get to protect everyone and help you and Twilight and Thorax.”

“You’re already showing great bravery in agreeing to this. It isn’t easy to become something you fear.” 

Orsuros began his spell. His blue lines glowed. He put his front paw on Spike’s forehead, and the glow transferred to the dragon. The magic changed the aspects of Spike’s soul. The greed that would cause Spike to grow was shifted to Spike’s desire to protect his friends and the ponies of Equestria.

Spike suddenly doubled in size. His stance and appearance shifted, too. The spell had taken hold. He kept changing. He growled out in pain as his body continued to grow. Soon, he was several times the size of Orsuros and towered over most the castle.

Orsuros had to look almost straight up. The spell was complete, but he had to be sure Spike still had some presence of mind at the end of it.

Spike looked down and roared a challenge at Orsuros.

He roared back and pointed to the swarm of shadow beasts outside the walls. “Spike, they are here to take away your precious friends and family. Now go fight for them!”

Spike roared in agreement and stretched his long neck out before breathing a burst of flame over a group of shadow pegasi. They vanished in the flames.

The shadow alicorns were all beginning to glow with powerful magic. Orsuros spotted Nightmare Moon approaching rapidly from above. He beat his wings and flew back to where the princesses and their friends were gathered. They stared at the incoming swarm of enemies.

Orsuros landed and startled them. “There’s no time for standing around. We’ll need to do our best to protect Spike.”

Spike was being pelted from afar by little magical blasts, but they mostly seemed to be distracting the dragon rather than harming him.

Celestia spread her wings and jumped over the railing. “There’s my opponent. And since she’s not the same as my sister, I won’t have to hold back.” Celestia’s horn gathered magic around it until it was glowing so bright that it was hard to look at it.

Luna and Twilight followed to the sides of Celestia and each prepared their own spells. Starlight remained back for a moment then teleported from rooftop to rooftop with her own spells.

As much as he wanted to help, Orsuros needed to find Siega. At the very least, he could prevent Siega from fully directing the battle if he got too close. Orsuros glided down to the outer wall. A handful of shadow pegasi charged him, but he lashed out with claw and tail. The three shadows smashed into the ground and vanished.

Orsuros had to crouch low as Spike breathed a plume of fire above him. He carefully got up and poked his head over the stones of the wall. There were hundreds or maybe even over a thousand shadow beasts all swarming the wall at places where it seemed easiest to attack. The guards were doing their best to hold them back, but some of the distant sections were struggling, especially down by the city.

Siega flew in the distance, circling high above Canterlot. Orsuros spotted him briefly but then was distracted by a shadow alicorn that charged in with a contingent of pegasi. A few loud smacks were all Orsuros heard before a rainbow blur came to a halt.

“I got your back,” Rainbow Dash said. “But the ponies at town gate are struggling. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy are all there, but we’re getting overwhelmed.”

“I think the princesses will do fine here,” Orsuros said. “As long as Siega doesn’t join the battle directly, I’ll be wherever you need me.”

“I’ll meet you there. I got some shadow butts to kick!” Rainbow Dash zipped off in a blur.

The princesses were fighting off the shadow alicorns and Nightmare Moon with some ground support from Starlight and the guards. The enemy was slowly getting smarter and putting more of their forces in the air away from the ground troops. Several groups of shadow unicorns and earth ponies were also pushing onto the outer walls of the castle and forcing the guards to engage.

If the enemy kept gathering here, they might be in trouble, but it would be even worse if the defenses of the town were breached. The shadow beasts would rampage among the citizens and multiply even faster as they captured more ponies. But as long as the spell on Spike held, the castle itself would have a very powerful guardian. 

Orsuros glided along the wall. A group of guards was getting pushed back while some shadow unicorns levitated a squadron of shadow earth ponies to the top of the wall. Orsuros didn’t have much time to help, but he swooped in and raked two of the unicorns. They burst into shadowy dust and vanished before he had even pulled back up from his dive.

So far, the battle seemed almost too easy. They had planned well, but it felt like Siega was definitely planning something. Orsuros tried to think through how he’d approach the battle himself, but he was distracted by the screams from some of the houses below. A squadron of shadow pegasi had landed and the guards were far away.

Orsuros swooped in and lashed out. He caught a few of the enemy off guard, but the rest spread their black wings and charged him. He tried to slash at them, but they jumped back. A few flew above him and kicked his wings and back. He growled and drew in his wings. Nothing was broken, but he’d definitely have some bruises.

He charged at the closest ones. He was able to catch one and slash it apart, but the rest pulled back or countered by kicking him. The enemy was definitely getting smarter. He saw the ponies that had been in the street running safely away, so he made one final charge. He slashed another shadow pegasi apart as he rose in the air. The royal guard pegasi were now closing in. They swooped down and took advantage of the distraction Orsuros had created to finish off most the enemies.

Orsuros saluted them briefly as he looked back. He flapped his wings hard enough to feel the muscles burn until he was high enough to see the city gate. Even from this distance, he didn’t like what he saw. Black figures were crawling onto the wall and swarming down onto any ponies below. Someone had kicked a few big carts in front of the gate, which was the only reason it was still closed.

Down in the crowd of ponies, he spotted a small group fighting bravely, or at least most of them. Rainbow Dash was already down with her friends, kicking shadow pony after shadow pony. A few burst into nothing with the harder kicks. Applejack’s bucking carried even more force. A single kick from her easily destroyed any enemy unfortunate enough to meet it. Pinkie Pie seemed to be distracting the enemy with thrown pies. Rarity was doing her best to deflect any incoming spells with a diamond-shaped shield while Fluttershy cowered in back. But animals seemed drawn from the city to protect her. Dogs, cats, and a few other rarer pets circled around her and drove back the enemy.

From this point, Orsuros could see a group of several shadow alicorns and a large squadron of shadow pegasi descending on the gate. The enemy charged their magic, hoping for a surprise attack from above. Orsuros dove at them before they could fire and ruined their aim. The magic blasted away part of the mountainside in the distance. Before Orsuros could turn to continue his attack, the shadow pegasi swarmed him and grabbed hold of his wings. He clawed and bit at them, destroying a few, but they continued to surround him and push him toward the ground.

With so many, he could feel them trying to drain his soul. He focused his magic and strengthened his defenses, but he could still feel the air rushing past him. He tried one last time to shake them off. From nearby, Orsuros heard a shout.

“Changelings! Protect the dragon!”

The swarm of shadow pegasi quickly diminished, but Orsuros was still being forced down toward the gate. He caught a glimpse of Thorax and the changelings trying to free him, but everyone around him let go a moment later. He flared out his wings, but there wasn’t enough time. He crashed right into the gate.

He couldn’t tell if the loud crack had been his bones or the gate. It had been dumb of him to rush in, but his friends would have been in trouble without his help. His vision was blurry and his head hurt. He felt several hooves on him as they pulled him forward onto a clear patch of the street.

Someone poked at him and saying something. He felt suddenly wet. His vision slowly cleared and his ears stopped ringing as badly in a few moments. Rainbow Dash was right in front of him and seemed to have emptied a bucket of water on his face.

“Rainbow Dash?” He asked, still feeling confused.

“Can you hear me now? How many wing feathers am I holding up?” Rainbow Dash held up three or four.

Orsuros blinked and she became clearer. “Uh… four?”

“Good. Now get up! There’s still a battle all over town.”

Rainbow Dash helped Orsuros stand before jumping back into the air to go attack some shadow unicorns on the wall nearby. Pinkie Pie was slathering something sticky on the cracked gate that looked suspiciously like bubble gum while Applejack guarded her flank.

An angry roar shook the entire city. Spike sounded both angry and in trouble. Orsuros glanced up to the sky. Siega was no longer circling above them.

“We’ll have to let the guard ponies defend the gate,” Orsuros shouted. “We need to go now! Spike and the princesses are in trouble.”

Rainbow Dash gestured at the gate. “If we leave, they’ll break right through this!” 

“Go. Tell the guards to have everyone retreat to the castle. If Siega gets the princesses, we’ll lose this battle if he can figure out how to use more of their powers.”

Thorax landed and looked around. “I’ll take care of things here and meet you there. You go save them.”

Orsuros thanked Thorax and spread his wings. They hurt in many places now, but nothing seemed broken. He could feel plenty of bruises all over his body from the crash, but he’d have to ignore them for now. He flapped and gained altitude. He could no longer see Spike in his larger form. Siega must have undone his spell.

Rainbow Dash flew ahead and Orsuros followed as they weaved through the towers of the castle. Siega and Celestia were facing each other. Celestia was protecting a fallen Luna. The shadow ponies were swarming through a large breach in the wall. Twilight and Starlight were protecting an unconscious Spike from getting overrun, but they were completely surrounded.

Celestia shot a beam of powerful magic at Siega. Orsuros roared out in pain as he could feel the searing heat through his connection with the other dragon. Siega swiped at Celestia, but she ducked and stepped away from the claws as she hit the dragon with another spell. Orsuros felt that one, too. She cast one more quick spell that created a barrier between the two.

Orsuros followed Rainbow Dash as they landed next to Celestia.

Celestia looked over at them. “Take Luna to the castle and wait for me there. Siega did something to Luna, but I was able to defeat Nightmare Moon after she threw all her power at Spike. If I didn’t have to worry about hurting Orsuros, it wouldn’t be hard to defeat Siega with all my power, but we’re going to need to find another way.”

“Do what you have to,” Orsuros said. “I was the cause of this. I’ll accept any pain I have to in order to fix it.”

“I’d rather have a friend than a martyr. But go. Get the citizens to the caves under the castle and organize the defenses inside.” Celestia waved them off with her wing.

Rainbow Dash grunted as she pulled Luna onto Orsuros’s back. “We got her. You go and I’ll help out Twilight and Starlight.”

Orsuros was forced to run carefully back toward the castle to keep Luna from slipping off of him. Rainbow Dash dove straight into the crowd of shadow ponies. She bowled through them before skidding to a stop. Orsuros reached the door but paused to watch her scoop up Spike and motion to her friends to get to the castle.

As soon as everyone was inside, they barred the door. The guards focused on creating a barrier around the castle to buy them a moment of rest. Orsuros was in rough shape, and most of his friends and the other ponies who had made it inside didn’t look much better. They left the guards at the door and made their way to the main throne room.

Celestia cast a few spells on Luna and brushed a hoof through her sister’s mane. Luna took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Celestia helped her sister up. “You’re safe for now. The battle isn’t going too well, though. They’re slowly pushing into Canterlot. We’ve lost a lot of good ponies already.”

Orsuros sighed. “If we had fought them sooner, we could have easily stopped them. Your castle, you homes, all destroyed because of what I brought here.”

Luna sat down next to Orsuros and looked him in the eyes. “Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t mean to cause any of this. We need to find a way to win, somehow.”

“We could try my other plan, but it might be very dangerous. If we find a way to defeat Siege with that, the shadow ponies would lose much of their power and focus. But my powers alone aren’t enough to use this connection at this distance. I’ll need your powers as well, Luna.”

Luna looked down at her flank and her eyes widened as she noticed her cutie mark had been restored. “You defeated Nightmare Moon?”

Celestia nodded.

Luna thought for a moment before speaking. “I do seem to have my full powers back. But even with that, I could only take a few minds to such a fight.”

“Do you have enough power to bring Spike and Thorax? They both have unique abilities that could prove useful.”

“What about me?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I don’t want to miss a good fight.”

Luna looked at each of them. "That’s about as many as I can bring. Tia, Twilight, and Starlight can stay here to help with the spell.”

“The longer we take, the more time we’ll give the enemy to grow stronger.”

"Then let’s get started.” 

Luna gathered them all around her as her horn began to glow.
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna finished her spell. She floated in a little bubble in the darkness. Orsuros, Spike, Thorax, and Rainbow Dash floated in their own little bubbles around her. She concentrated on Orsuros and the connection that led from his soul to the distant soul of Siega. She poured her magic into that connection. She felt a resistance but she broke through it.

The bubbles surrounding her and her friends vanished as they came to rest in the middle of a black space. Luna’s hooves landed on stone. She lit her horn and could see a large cavern around them. Her horn only lit the room dimly. Even if this was just something in Siega’s mind, it had the smell of dragon that made Luna feel nervous.

“I remember this place,” Orsuros said. “Back when I was a hatchling, the older dragonlings took me here and left me in the dark. It was the first time I felt helpless and afraid. I remember being so mad at them. I attacked them when I got back, but they were too big for me to hurt them.”

“Well, Siega is made up of parts of yourself that you don’t like.” Luna brightened her horn. “We’ll have to figure out how to get to the right parts of his mind before he figures out how to fight against us here.”

Rainbow Dash flapped around the cavern and found a few tunnels that led to other parts of the cave. Spike was staying close to Orsuros as he glanced around the cavern.

Orsuros glanced into one of the tunnels. Instead of leading to more cave, it opened up into a small village surrounded by a forest. He stepped through, and Spike ran after him. The tunnel collapsed behind them.

“Orsuros! Spike! Are you okay?” Luna yelled at the pile of rocks.

Faintly, Orsuros’s voice could be heard. “I’m okay, but you’ll have to find another way to me. Be careful. Siega might already know-” Luna heard a faint growl then silence from the other side of the rocks.

“Rainbow Dash! Stay close!”

As soon as Luna shouted, rocks began to fall. Rainbow Dash twisted out of the way of getting crushed as she dove down and crashed into Luna. 

Luna hit her back on the hard rocks. She untangled herself from Rainbow Dash and got to her feet.

“Looks like we’ll have to find them. I think Siega knows we’re here. Those collapses wouldn’t normally happen.”

“Point me at him and I’ll give him a good kicking!” Rainbow Dash dusted her wings off and jumped back up into the air.

“Just kicking things won’t work here. This is more a place of the mind and of dreams. It’s your feelings and thoughts that matter here.”

“If I knew that, I would have had Twilight come. She’s better with that stuff.”

Luna looked at the other tunnels before picking one to go through. "This way. Stay next to me. And I think because of your friendship with Orsuros, you’ll be far more valuable with us here.”

Luna stepped carefully. Her entire body felt tense. It felt like something could jump out at any moment, and the twisting cave tunnel didn’t help her feel any more secure. But she knew she had to feel confident and strong. That was the best way to deal with dreams. She lit her horn more brightly as she heard a rustle of wings. Nightmare Moon landed at the other end of the tunnel.

Nightmare Moon laughed. “Luna, you really should just give up. If you join Siega instead of fighting him, he’ll give you and all of Equestria what you need. Think about it. Equestria has always been full of soft ponies who couldn’t fight against any invaders. They’ve needed ponies like you to protect them, but Siega has made them into something far stronger. Now they can face any army. But maybe you’re just afraid that if they don’t need you, they won’t like you.”

“Quiet, you!” Rainbow Dash dive bombed Nightmare Moon, but the dark pony just vanished into the shadows before Rainbow Dash could hit her.

“Thanks, Rainbow Dash.” Luna forced a smile, but the words had cut deep. Celestia and she always tried to cultivate peace, talent, and strength, but there were few ponies who had all three. Twilight and her friends did, and she had one of the best ponies in Equestria here with her. She just needed to press on and not get distracted.

They walked ahead and looked around. This cave looked much like the caves on the moon where Luna had spent so many lonely centuries. Out of the corner of her eyes, she seemed to see shadows of things she had seen there, but she was sure that was this place playing tricks on her. If Siega was determined to keep her here, perhaps there was only one thing to do.

“I’m going to need you to go ahead without me. You can help Orsuros the most. Siega knows a lot of my dark past and will use that to confuse or trap me. But he knows nothing about you and your friendship with Orsuros. Push on and find our friend. I’ll give you what light I can.” 

Luna kicked at the wall until she found a good crystal. She touched it with her horn and it began to glow.

Rainbow Dash took it and seemed to not know what to say. She shook her wings and looked up at Luna. “I guess this is all up to him, then?”

“And you.” Luna smiled and placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s back. “Be a light for him now.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and started to fly away. She went slowly at first but soon was charging ahead. Luna hoped she had guessed right. The light from the crystal faded. Luna tried to follow it, but soon found the tunnels led her back in circles to the same room. Nightmare Moon taunted her again. Siega was determined to keep her in a version of her personal hell, but she knew that any energy spent trapping her here was energy that Siega couldn’t use to stop her friends. She ignored the taunts and kept walking gracefully. If this was the game the shadow dragon was going to play, she wasn’t going to let him win.
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orsuros looked around. They were no longer in a cave. They were somewhere far worse. It was a small village. The village. The one where the shadow beasts had defeated him completely about a year ago. It looked the same as he remembered it. The first stars were coming out. The villagers were gone. That was how he remembered it. He had stayed to distract the shadow beasts while the villagers ran. That also meant the first shadow beast would appear in just a second. Orsuros snorted in derision as he slashed it the moment it appeared.

“Uh, what is this place?” Spike said. He sounded a little scared.

“An old and painful memory. Perhaps Siega meant to trap me here or distract me. But that won’t work. I thought over why I lost that night so many times. My stubborn desire to win kept me fighting long after I should have started a tactical retreat.”

“Hey, watch out!” Spike blasted a shadow beast with flame that had appeared behind Orsuros.

Orsuros nodded in thanks and whirled around, smacking the creatures away before he tore several apart. At the very least, these shadow beasts were the ones from his memories and his world. They were mindless and without any special powers.

The battle went much as he remembered it. It began easily enough. With Spike helping, it was even simpler, but the numbers of the enemy were quickly growing. Maybe there had been a bit of intelligence to their tactics, even in the original battle. They seemed to test him with larger and larger groups until they overwhelmed him once he felt overconfident. A few flames flickered as Spike burned through the latest shadow beast to appear.

“Let’s pull back. This was when too many of them appeared.”

“I think we have a bigger problem.” Spike looked one direction then another. Instead of the night sky and forest that surrounded the village, huge black walls had taken their place. They seemed trapped as dozens of the shadow beasts materialized.

“Darn. You keep them at bay. I’ll slash any that get to close.”

A larger shape materialized in the darkness. His golden eyes seemed to glow even in the darkness. Siega locked eyes with Orsuros.

“It was cute to think you could beat me in my own mind. Now I’ll use your little tactic against you. We both know how things will go when the two of us fight. And my little shadow beasts here will take bits of your soul and give them to me. You were right to think this was the way to unite the two of us, but it shall be me who returns to our world with the power to free it once I’ve gathered all I can from Equestria.”

Orsuros called up his soul magic just in time to protect himself. Siega hit him with his full power and Orsuros countered with his own. The two dragons stared at each other. Duels of soul magic weren't flashy. Facing a part of himself was far different than a normal duel though. Siega already knew all his weak points just as he knew Siega’s.

“Spike. Don’t let the shadow beasts get close. Even if Siega and me collapse, promise me that you’ll keep fighting.”

“I won’t let you down. Now who’s ready for some flames?” Spike set the grass and a house on fire while trying to torch some of the creatures.

Orsuros focused. He tried to attack Siega. The shadow dragon flinched but remained sturdy and called up his own magic again. Orsuros was hit hard and staggered back as he almost blacked out. Siega’s magic seemed somehow stronger here, but they were in the dragon’s mind. That would give him many advantages against any intruders. Orsuros fired blast after blast of soul magic. If he kept the other dragon defending, Siega wouldn’t be able to concentrate and use anything else. He fired off another blast but suddenly felt himself slipping toward the flames Spike had made. The ground seemed to have become a muddy hill.

“If you’re in my mind, you’ll have to deal with my tricks.” Siega laughed.

Orsuros kicked off the burning house and jumped above the shadow beasts that tried to leap up and reach him. A sudden downpour had doused Spike’s flame barrier and the little dragon’s fire wasn’t doing much as more and more water rained down. The creatures circled around Spike then leaped.

“Spike, no!”

Orsuros was hit hard by Siega’s magic. His vision blurred and Spike disappeared under a pile of shadow beasts. He shook his head, but he still couldn’t see the little purple dragon. He growled and lashed out. He felt several shadow beasts fade as his claws raked them. He had to stop and defend his soul from another of Siega’s attacks. The shadow beasts circled around him. He locked eyes with Siega as the two struggled with their magic again.

A blur of motion came from nowhere. Siega was knocked over. Orsuros lashed out with his magic and jumped up before the shadow beasts could pounce on him. In the dark light, a faint blur of color caught his eye. Siega was trying to snap or slash at it, but it kept moving.

“Rainbow Dash? Is that you?”

Orsuros dove at Siega, preparing all his magic for a final hit. Siega noticed the attack and seemed ready for it, but one of the shadow beasts turned and swiped at Siega.

The distraction let Orsuros hit Siega with the full power of his magic, but it didn’t seem enough. The shadow beast that had attacked transformed into Thorax, who fired his own magic at Siega.

Siega roared in pain and then shattered into dark pieces. The shadow beasts surrounding them disappeared. The ground around them vanished, leaving them fluttering in the blackness.

“Hey, there’s Spike!” Thorax pointed out the dragon that was trying to cling to the vanishing ground. He flew over and caught him just as it faded away.

In the distance, a bright light shone from a dark horn. Luna flew in slowly and looked them all over.

“I think we’re almost done. Well done, everypony. We’ll just need to bind Siega back into Orsuros’s mind and soul. Are you ready for that?”

“Yes, Princess Luna. It was a mistake that separated him from me. Let’s correct that now.”

“Very well. This may hurt, though. There’s a lot of darkness in him, but I guess it was once in you. Prepare yourself.”

Luna’s horn glowed brighter and brighter. Magical bubbles surrounded Spike, Thorax, and Rainbow Dash and they all vanished. The brilliant white filled Orsuros’s vision as Luna cast her spell. Orsuros used his own magic to bind the pieces of Siega’s soul and mind back to his own.

The spells combined. Orsuros felt like he was on fire. His entire body burned yet felt like ice at the same time. Luna placed a hoof on his forehead.

“It is done. You may rest.”

The pain overcame him and all went black.
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orsuros awoke the next morning to a soft weight on his chest. He rubbed his eyes. The blue feathers and rainbow mane meant it was only one very special pony.

“Rainbow Dash?” He yawned and reflexively gave her a soft hug.

“Oof… and Luna said you might be weak after all that. That’s quite a hug.” She blushed a little and looked away.

Rainbow Dash hopped off him and pulled open the curtains. 

“There’s going to be a ceremony tomorrow to celebrate our victory. Celestia wanted to give you enough time to rest a little. How are you feeling?”

“I guess I feel pretty normal.”

Orsuros rolled over and slipped off the bed to go look out the window. The warm sunlight felt great, but the damage from the battle was everywhere outside. Ponies were already hard at work fixing things up, though. They worked surprisingly fast. He turned to face Rainbow Dash.

“Maybe we should go for a little walk or find some food.”

“The last thing Canterlot needs is a hungry dragon terrorizing ponies. Come on! I’ll race you down to the kitchens!”

She zipped out the door. Orsuros tried to follow, but she was already way ahead. Orsuros couldn’t even run fast without slipping on the tiles or snagging his claws on the carpets. Rainbow Dash already had the cooks working on something and had a tray of snacks for the two of them by the time he caught up. 

While they enjoyed the food, Orsuros thought things over. “What happened during the rest of the battle while we kept Siega busy?”

Rainbow Dash mumbled then swallowed so that she could actually speak. “It was close. The shadow ponies had begun to push into the castle. After Siega was defeated, they were no longer coordinated. The guards had to just be careful and round them up. Twilight made sure we got them all. We’re lucky Siega had them all gathered in one place. Everypony should be back to normal.”

“Thank goodness. Even leaving one of them could cause similar problems later.”

“Yeah, but it was exciting to fight them. I hardly ever get to go all-out.” Rainbow Dash made a few acrobatic kicks in the air.

The cooks gave her nervous looks and went back to their work. Orsuros quietly ate some sort of breakfast sandwich. He felt good sitting here with Rainbow Dash, yet now that all the parts of him were back, he couldn’t help but see how Siega’s plan had been a genius one for gathering the power from this world even if it was evil. 

His own plan was to do it the hard way. He’d have to study this world and travel in it. One thing Siega had forgotten is that they needed more than mere power to save their world. Some of the strongest and best had tried and failed to remove the darkness from his homeland, but he felt there was something here with the goodness and friendship of these ponies that might be able to do more than mere strength and power.

Rainbow Dash poked his nose with her hoof. He scrunched his face up and looked at her to figure out what was going on.

“Hey, I was saying that Luna and Celestia want to see you right away. But you seemed busy thinking.”

“Well, I was just thinking about how you and the others helped against Siega. My world could use that sort of unity and friendship.”

Rainbow Dash dumped their plates in a sink and led the way up to the main throne room. A few of the ponies still seemed afraid to see Orsuros, but more of them looked at him with something more like acceptance. Ahead, the princesses were wrapping up their current business.

“I get bored at these government things,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’ll catch you later. I’m sure somepony could use my help here.”

“Don’t overdo it.”

Rainbow Dash snorted as if his suggestion had been an insult and flew out the main doors. He knew she was just acting, though. The guards ushered him into the throne room until he was sitting before Celestia, Luna, and Twilight.

“There you are!” Twilight nervously stamped her hooves on the carpet. “I have so many tests ready to make sure you’re okay.”

“There will be plenty of time for that later today,” Celestia said. “I just wanted to personally thank you for your help with this.”

Orsuros wanted to smile but felt like it something was still weighing him down. “I just did what I should. It was my fault it happened in the first place.”

Luna yawned. “I think it’s about time I turn in, but I stayed up to be here to tell you a few things. I’ve seen your dreams and most or all of your soul. Don’t discount your sense of honor or your goodness. A lesser pony, or dragon, would have given into selfishness or fear and retreated to safety. You stood with all of Equestria. You chose to help strangers and the new friends you met in this world. That is a great thing.”

“I… I… you’re welcome.” Orsuros felt a bit hot now. He wasn’t used to praise.

“I think that’s all I have for now, but do come visit me this evening. I have much I’d like to talk to you about.”

Luna stood up and left. Twilight seemed to be taking some sort of notes at the moment. Celestia continued to smile at him.

“My sister is correct. I feel much the same. I’m glad you’ve learned of friendship from your time in our world. Twilight tells me you plan to stay until you find something that can help you fix your own world. You have my permission to travel freely about Equestria. While a few ponies have great knowledge of magic, flying, or strength, you will find many more who have simpler but more powerful lessons to teach you. Learn them well.”

“Of course, Princess Celestia.” Orsuros gave a bow. “I can’t help but notice a few other friends are missing. Where are Spike and Thorax?”

“Spike is recovering,” Twilight said. “Much like the many ponies that were taken by the shadow beasts, he found that final fight unsettling.”

“To lose all but the core of your soul is something that can never be forgotten. It takes time to feel like yourself again. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to visit Spike.”

“I’m sure Spike would like that,” Twilight said. “Thorax is busy helping with the cleanup and reconstruction. The changelings really are working hard to help. It seems they want to repay us for when we helped them. Now if you have a little time, I really do want to try those tests.”

Celestia held up a hoof. “That will wait until after lunch. Give the tired dragon a little time to relax with his friends. No tests yet, but you can take him to see Spike.”

“Fine. Tests will come later. Hmm… I guess I have some other things I could do for now. There’s a lot to do.” Twilight began to talk to herself and started walking slowly toward the door.

Celestia laughed softly. “She never outgrew her habit of muttering like that. Just follow her.”

Orsuros nodded and followed Twilight. She had a few scrolls floating around and was marking off or rearranging some lists. Eventually they got to a room up near the top of the castle. Twilight opened the door and then hurried off to do something from her many lists.

In the room, the bright sunlight shone through the stained glass and the windows. A huge depiction of Twilight and her friends in stained glass dominated the far wall. Spike sat in the middle of a smaller bed next to the much larger bed that was obviously Twilight’s.

Spike had an unreadable expression, but Orsuros could guess at what the little dragon might be feeling. He had felt the same range of emotions when the same thing had happened to him. Spike’s time in such a state had been mercifully short, but even a short time cut off from everything usually felt like an eternity.

Orsuros approached slowly and put his front paw around Spike. “The feelings will fade. Just focus on being you.”

Spike smiled weakly. “Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself, too. I should feel great. I held them off until the end, and you and Rainbow Dash managed to win.”

“It might be hard to feel anything for a bit. I remember how numb I felt when the same thing happened to me. But don’t let that stop you from trying to be yourself and enjoy life again. I wish I could have stopped Siega before that had to happen to you.”

“That’s true. I guess I should get back to helping Twilight.”

“She did seem busy. Maybe I can come with you. I don’t have much else to do until Twilight needs me later.”

Orsuros gave Spike a little nudge, pushing the little dragon out of his bed and onto his feet. Twilight had left a little list for Spike. She hadn’t expected much of him today, so they easily got through what was on the list. After that, Orsuros bid Spike farewell and went for a brief flight to clear his head.

Now that all the parts of him were here, he could feel more of the darkness or selfishness beneath the surface. He had never been one to give into such feelings except during his worst moments. It felt different from the optimism he had felt since coming to Equestria, but it felt more real, too. His wings caught the updrafts and he climbed the wind up to a sunny ledge on the mountainside above Canterlot. He spread his wings and began to sun himself.

It was nice to enjoy the little pleasures like this again now that there was peace. Down below, the ponies were no more than little dots in the streets and courtyards of Canterlot. The worst of the damage to the city was already being repaired. With the magic of unicorns and the strength of earth ponies, it was easy to fix the broken walls. Some of the more colorful dots were the changelings. They helped eagerly. Orsuros felt the strongest magic of Equestria was this common bond of friendship and positivity. It was wonderful to watch it unfold down below him.

Orsuros must have dozed off at some point in his musings. The sun was almost straight overhead. Twilight would be annoyed if he messed up her schedule a second time, so he descended to the castle for lunch. Twilight found him before he had finished his meal, so he followed her to some magical laboratory.

“There aren’t any good spells for checking someone’s soul, but Luna explained what happened and me and Starlight came up with some. I can’t wait to try it.”

“I feel fine,” Orsuros said.

“It’s best to be sure, though. Now hold still while I cast this.”

Twilight’s horn glowed and her magic surrounded Orsuros. It almost felt like it tickled as it whirled around him. The colors of the magic shifted to a green before the spell faded away.

“Yep, you were right. You are as normal as a dragon from another world can be. I'm ahead of schedule, so maybe I could learn more about your magic.”

Orsuros agreed, but he didn’t anticipate that Twilight would have such a long list of questions. There were many he couldn’t even answer, since he had learned his magic more naturally rather than through theories or books. Twilight seemed happy with the answers he gave. He was getting a little tired when Rainbow Dash came to save him from answering any more questions.

“Sorry Twilight, but Rarity said she needs to see him at her shop,” Rainbow Dash explained as she held the door open for him.

“I guess that’s okay. I really left off doing other things because this was so fascinating. Now I’ll need some time to finish up all my notes.” Twilight began to furiously write on her different papers.

“Pff, still an egghead. Come on.” Rainbow Dash motioned for him to follow.

They left the castle and flew down to one of the city’s shopping districts. 

They landed in front of a building full of rather complicated looking dresses and other clothes. Rainbow Dash went in first and he followed. He looked at all the clothing, but there was nothing here that seemed like it would be good for him. He usually didn’t wear more than he had to, which was usually nothing. Rarity came out after a brief conversation with Rainbow Dash and looked him over.

“This would be so much easier if you were still a pegasus. I’ve done plenty for ponies, but the only dragon I’ve ever done anything for is Spike. But Celestia did say to make sure you look good. Maybe… we should start with the basics? I hope you don’t mind. Let me get a closer look at you.”

Orsuros crouched down and watched Rarity as she poked at his scales with her hooves. She levitated a tape measure and took some measurements. She looked carefully at his crest, wings, and tail before stepping away with a disapproving sound.

“I finally convinced Spike to take care of his scales. Looks like I’ll have to do the same with you. We’ll figure out clothes later. What you need is a trip to the spa.”

“Rarity, that’s not the answer to everything,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, in this case it is. He’ll look twice as good once they remove his dead scales and shine up the healthy ones. Tell them I sent you, and ask for the special dragon treatment. I finally got them to come up with one for Spike. It should work for him.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll take him.”

“And you better tell them you’ll need it in a larger size. Now I’ll just need to plan what he can wear. A hat? No. Maybe a scarf? Or a sash?”

Rarity trotted off to her design pad at the desk in the back.

“You heard her. I guess we’re off to the spa. It’s a nice place to relax, which is really what I feel like doing after all that fighting. I could use a good massage.”

They walked outside and went down the crowded street. Many of the ponies still gave Orsuros plenty of room, so it was easy to walk down it at the pace he chose. They approached a larger building that smelled of scented oils, fresh linen, and a few other pleasant scents Orsuros couldn’t quite place. As they entered, Rainbow Dash approached the desk. The ponies behind it stared at Orsuros until Rainbow Dash got their attention.

“Rarity sent us,” Rainbow Dash said. “He’ll need the special dragon treatment but bigger. I’ll take the deep massage with some extra wing care.”

The ponies behind the counter led them both to a large hot tub and they both got in. Orsuros soaked up the pleasant heat of the water and purred.

Rainbow Dash chuckled and looked at him. “I’ve never heard you sound so happy. You sounded almost cute.”

“Cute? That’s not really a bad thing to be. It’s just not what I think most see in me. Anyway, it seems like everyone is nervous about tomorrow, but it’s just a ceremony and a party, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s with all the most important ponies and the princesses. But I guess you or me don’t need to sweat it. We talk to them all the time. But Rarity or Twilight might flip out if we don’t look our best, so we’ll have to put up with a little bit of the fuss.”

“Hmm… sounds alright.” Orsuros had sunk deeper into the water so just his face was sticking out on the side of the hot tub. He rolled over and stretched out. He pulled his foot back suddenly when he accidentally bumped Rainbow Dash with it.

She said nothing but just gave him a friendly smile.

They relaxed quietly until the spa ponies came back. Rainbow Dash went off for her massage while the ponies led Orsuros to a separate room. They had him stretch out. One started plucking dead scales off of him. He usually did that himself, but there were always a few that were hard to reach. The other pony had a bucket of some sort of mud, although it seemed to sparkle a bit.

“Mister dragon, we’ll start your mud and gem scrub. After that, we have the perfect oil for your scales. Don’t worry about the bill. Princess Celestia said it was covered.”

“Very well. Go ahead.”

They had him lay down in a large tub and filled it with the mud. When he looked carefully, he could see bits of ground up gemstones in it. Perhaps for a dragon like Spike, the gems would have been special. Personally, he rather would have just saved the gems and used regular sand. The mud was warm, so it was easy to close his eyes and relax except when they scrubbed any sensitive parts unexpectedly. It took a while, but he just let his thoughts drift slowly.

He didn’t want to admit it, but Siega had proved that the shadow beasts could be controlled by something. There had been rumors of a shadowy dragon controlling them back home, too, but when he asked the other dragons, they all denied that rumor. There seemed to be some things the dragon empire either didn’t know or didn’t want to admit, and that made him uneasy. It might mean more danger when he returned home.

The sudden change from scrubbing to being bathed in hot water shook him out of his thoughts. The ponies hesitated until he nodded and told them to continue. They washed the mud off quickly and brought in a stack of towels to dry him off. After that, the ponies got to work on massaging the oil into his scales. His contented purrs surprised them at first, but they grew used to them. He was surprised at how expertly their hooves could reach into even the more difficult places. The oil smelled faintly of mint, lavender, and some other herbs. After they got his wings and back, they had him roll over and worked on his belly.

Before long, he was feeling refreshed. The spa ponies completed their work and had him look at himself in a mirror. His scales were looking especially shiny now. He wasn’t sure he liked smelling like flowers, but it wasn’t a bad scent. Out in the lobby, Rainbow Dash was looking through a sports magazine about running and flying but put it down when he came out.

“You look great! Now you’ll really shine on the stage. I guess we better go see if Rarity finished whatever she wants you to wear.”

“I hope it’s nothing too strange or complicated.”

“I told her you don’t like to wear much, so she’ll keep it simple.”

They returned to Rarity’s shop. She had a simple vest made for him. She fussed about showing him how to wear it.

“I hope this fits right. With your wings, it’s a lot like making clothes for a pegasus. I made it a nice white and gold to match your eyes. And that should go along with the guards armor and Celestia’s coat. I think it’ll look great. I’m sure you can get the buttons with those claws of yours.”

He finally got it on and turned to Rainbow Dash.

“How does it look? I hope I don’t look silly.”

“You look ready for something fancy,” Rainbow Dash replied.

Rarity waved a hoof in the air. “Come now. There are far better ways to describe it. He looks regal, stately, maybe even handsome.” She gave Rainbow Dash a teasing poke when the pegasus started blushing.

Orsuros looked it over. It didn’t feel too loose or too tight. He especially liked the gold buttons and how they shone in the light. After he had carefully took it off and put it on one more time for Rarity and walked around with it on, she had him take it off and boxed it up carefully.

“I’ve never had a vest before,” he said. “Thank you, Rarity.”

“It’s nothing. Besides, what other designer can claim they’ve made a dragon look so good? I’m glad the spa made you look so much better, too. Now I have some other orders to work on for tomorrow. Celestia didn’t say to wear anything special, but some ponies still want to look their best.”

The rest of the day went by quickly. They returned to the castle for dinner. Luna had her own questions for Orsuros. They chatted quietly until she had to deal with her normal nightly duties. He stepped out onto his balcony to watch her weaving her dream magic for all the ponies. One of the things he admired most about Equestria was just how much its princesses cared for and were connected to the normal citizens. They were such different rulers than the dragon emperor back home.

When he curled up in his bed, he dreamed very happy dreams. He could feel Luna influencing his dreams and shaping them to prepare him for the next day. In his dreams, he got a medal for helping Equestria, and all the ponies celebrated with him.

The blaring of trumpets in the distance sounded and Orsuros stirred. He heard some distant noise that sounded like a lot of voices.

Rainbow Dash burst into the room. “Hey, sleepyhead! Get up or you’ll miss the celebration. Everyone’s waiting.”

He blinked. “Oh, the celebration! Did I sleep too long?”

“Almost. Now get that vest on and let’s get out there.”

She just kept hurrying him until he was dressed and they arrived at the waiting room before the throne room.

Luna approached. Her shoes had been polished to a shine, and her mane also seemed recently brushed. “So there’s our final hero. Let’s not delay this any longer. Celestia and the others are waiting.” She opened the door slowly that led out to the throne room. A few cheers erupted followed by a tense silence.

Rainbow Dash gave him a push as he hesitated at the door. “Go on!”

He stepped out. The bright light shone through the stained glass windows. The guards looked exhausted but still stood in their polished armor. The entire room was full of all sorts of ponies. Celestia and Luna sat at their thrones while Twilight and her friends stood to the side.

Spike ran up. “Stand over here by me and Thorax. Celestia has a speech to give.”

Orsuros stepped carefully over to where Spike indicated. He was right by Luna’s side. She glanced over and smiled, but she looked as nervous as he felt. He looked back over at Thorax and Spike, who both looked rather tired, despite trying to look their best. Thorax smiled even though his side was bandaged up.

Celestia stood and the room quieted. “Citizens of Canterlot and Equestria, I thank you all for your endurance and bravery during the recent attack on our homes. The monsters that attacked are now gone forever, thanks to the brave actions of many. We have many great soldiers and ponies who all did their parts, but a few brave souls played an especially important part in bringing us peace again.”

An armored unicorn guard stepped out. He brought out a long box and opened it up to reveal a set of medals.

Celestia continued her speech. “For braving unfamiliar magic to become a key part of our defense, I award Spike a special medal. Spike, come forth.”

Spike ran over and knelt in front of Celestia. She placed one of the medals around his neck and motioned for him to stand to the side.

“As a representative of all the changelings that helped us in this fight, I award Thorax and his people with this medal.”

Thorax stepped forward. Luna stifled a laugh as Celestia struggled to get the medal around the changeling’s horns. When it was finally in place, Celestia motioned for him to step to the side.

“For valuable services and research into this threat, I also award Luna, Twilight, and Starlight with medals.”

Luna stepped off her throne and knelt as her sister placed the medal over her neck. Celestia gave her a big hug before turning to slip medals around the necks of Twilight and Starlight. The three of them stepped to the side.

“And many of you know her as a wonderbolt, but Rainbow Dash fought hard and helped us strike at the heart of the enemy.”

Rainbow Dash trotted quickly up to Celestia and accepted the medal. She posed a little by spreading her wings before settling down.

“There are many others who helped, but our last medal goes to Orsuros, the dragon.”

Orsuros stepped forward. He bent down  in front of Celestia until he felt the medal slip down onto his neck.

Celestia stood in the center of the stage and looked at the ponies, dragons, and changelings to her sides. “Each of these heroes showed exceptional bravery in the face of a threat. Many of them would have been justified in remaining outside of the fight, but they rose up and faced their fears and overcame their darker sides to help keep Canterlot and ponies everywhere safe. Equestria is in their debt.”

The room erupted into applause. Hundreds of ponies stomped, cheered, and clapped. 

Pinkie Pie jumped up on top of her party cannon at the front of the crowd. “Now let’s party!” She fired off her cannon and streamers and confetti shot out. The castle servants wheeled out food and drinks for the celebration.

Twilight’s friends surrounded her and Starlight. Spike went over to join them. Luna and Celestia sat on their thrones. 

Orsuros approached them. “Thank you. I really don’t deserve this.”

Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder. “But you do. Even if you caused this, you didn’t abandon us to face it alone. And you helped Luna face some difficult things, too. Really, we’d like you to spend some time here in Canterlot with us when you can. I feel there’s a lot we could learn together. And it seems Luna has taken a liking to you as well.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia. Thank you, too, Luna. Without you, I could never have reclaimed that part of myself. I apologize for putting you through so much in trying to reach me. I think I can trust you with my dreams from now on.”

Luna smiled. “Seeing dreams is a good way to get to know somepony. I’m glad you trust me so much now. It was difficult to face Nightmare Moon, but you gave me the strength I needed for that. Even though it’s only been a short time, I feel like we will be good friends very soon.”

“If there’s anything I’ve seen more of here than anywhere else, it’s friendship.”