> The Burden of Hope
>  by Mykola
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Rise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

His eyes opened.

It was only then when he recognised the cold which permeated through the gambeson and armour that he wore, even through his grey fur. The snow settled on his prone and weak body, and with incredible effort he attempted to lift his head from out of the thick mantle of snow that covered him almost like a full-body cast. His eyes seemed odd to him?

One saw only white. The second only black.

He blinked a few times in desperation. But it didn’t change a thing, and within a while half of his head throbbed with intense pain. The stallion closed his eyes and attempted to wrestle himself from out of the snow and realised that when he closed his eyes, the pain subsided almost immediately… something he didn’t quite understand, was it because he had not seen the light for what possibly could have been days?

He didn’t know.

Opening both of his eyes, pain immediately set within his head once more. The pony thought for only a moment, before he tried opening one eye at once. His right eye surged with pain as the stallion stifled a sharp breath and slowly opened his left.

No pain.

He didn’t understand.

The stallion kept his left eye open and his right eye shut as he drew in slow, paced breaths. He then quickly focused his attention to the snow mound that trapped him, and tried to move his legs. The stallion quickly determined that they could not move, which he figured was because of the snow. He frantically attempted to break free at this point, each movement and attempt yielding no result. The stallion pulled whatever strength he could as he continued to struggle, knowing very well that if he remained trapped, he would die there. Suddenly a creeping and cold sensation ran up his legs and through his body, and crawled up through his chest as the stallion gasped in fear.

There was a bright flash of a colour that the stallion could not yet describe, all the snow that had trapped him disappeared. He was standing, though his legs trembled with fright. The stallion pulled in desperate breaths and breathed out fear, as he glanced around the scene. The stallion looked down at his body before his eye made out that he had been wearing a heavy and warm coat: battered and rusted from what looked to be years of weathering and abuse.

Years? If he had been there for years, he would have been dead.

The stallion corrected his thoughts: he needed to focus on his injured eye. Then he needed to figure out where he was and find somewhere better to be.

Reaching with his mouth, the stallion tore off a line from off the coat before he used his hooves to tie the makeshift eye patch over his right eye. When his hooves approached his head, the temperature around his head seemed to drop drastically before he had to drop them back to the snow, and he stared down… and noticed a ‘vapour’ rising from the bottom of his hoof that was purplish in colour. It immediately startled him, the stallion believing that it was something he was standing on and jumped back. The vapour followed him as it swirled and tightened around his legs, the stallion calling out in shock and tried to shake off the strange thing to no avail. Eventually, the shaking and startled pony looked at his legs and hooves before he gathered enough courage to lift them off the ground to look at the bottoms.

He saw the stars and the infinite. The stallion didn’t understand, this made no sense. Why would the stars be painted on the bottom of his hooves? 

The stallion stared at the strange energy that gathered and swirled around his hooves. Had he walked upon the night sky?

The stallion shook his head, he couldn’t be thinking about that now. He turned his head, and saw a magnificent spire of light that dominated the northern sky. The stallion felt an urge to immediately step toward the light: the stars that danced in the sky above the spire that appeared to him to be some cosmic tree. 

Stay…

The stallion jumped in fright from the rasp though commanding voice that echoed through his ears, it’s dangerous allure drawing his attention to the southern skies. What he saw was nothing more than the black depths: lacking the light. It seemed like the bottoms of the deepest ocean: unknown.

There is nothing for you there…

The stallion shook his head, before he swung his head back to the north and made his first steps in the way of the light. He wouldn’t listen to the voice that was demanding he turn and fall into the black. He needed to know what this cosmic tree was, he needed to find freedom from a prison he felt but did not understand.
> Chapter 1: Contact
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stallion had been walking for what perhaps could have been hours or even days, he couldn’t tell as the sky had remained a stark black night that was sprinkled with few stars. The tiredness that crept along his very being had at several points lead him to believe that he must stop and rest, but the stallion couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed and that if he did stop: he would be attacked.

The snow beat upon his body in torrential gusts from time to time. Sometimes there wasn’t a whisper in the air, but in random and violent bursts he would be covered and caused to break into a violent shiver.

The stallion started to wonder whether or not he was in some afterlife. After all, there was no living thing for as far as the eye could see other than himself… but why then would he feel as if he was being followed?

The stallion shook his head as he continued to press on through the wasteland, his hoofprints leaving a long trail from where he started to where he was walking now. Restless and constant questions bounced around his head as these whispers occupied every space in his mind. He shook his head again, he couldn’t focus on those. The stallions eyes traced up the spire that branched out and reached into the sky: his sole beacon of hope. 

He continued his trek across the landscape. The stallion suddenly stopped, as something tugged at his senses and led his fur to stand upright. His ears fanned around as he quickly glanced around, using his sole eye to try to spot out something he couldn’t confirm existed. He couldn’t bring his legs to move, as instead it seemed as if he should take the defensive position.

Defensive position? How did he know what that was?

Suddenly there was a low growl, as the stallion’s head immediately spun around. His eye scanned quickly over the ‘animal,’ before a silent terror tore around his now vacant mind. The beast stood upon stalky-wood legs with a body that appeared to have been made of several shards of petrified wood as green eyes burned inside of a head that looked too eerily similar to a wolf’s. Within seconds, this beast was flanked by three other animals before the creatures reared up their heads and howling a blood-curdling screech.

The creatures began to charge the lone pony, as he lowered into a lunging position. His eye danced around between the shapes that were charging him, before his legs were released and he could find movement once more. The stallion immediately started charging toward these ‘wolves,’ his mind tuning itself like a fine instrument before he launched himself into the air.

The heads of the ‘wolves’ traced him, as the purplish energy surrounded him once more as the stallion watched the light intensify and swirl at the bottoms of his hooves. Suddenly, the strange cold energy burst from his hooves as the purple consumed and exploded the wooden frame of one of the beasts before the stallion landed and rolled across the snow. The three other creatures turned and faced him with eyes that burned for a lack of empathy for what befell their comrade. 

The creatures roared again as the stallion’s legs locked in place, restricting his movements arbitrarily again. The cold of the energy he utilised bit at his being as he panted out exhausted breaths. His once empowered and fearless mind was overtaken by the concerns and terror that occupied his head not even but few seconds before.

Why would this strange power abandon him right after it proved itself?

One of the creatures lunged at him, as the purplish energy danced around his being once again as if it were a barrier and shield this time. The stallion flinched as he turned his head away, not willing to stare death in the eyes again before he heard a second and unexpected sound… or rather, a voice.

“Get on the ground!”

The stallion’s legs complied as he fell to a prone position on the floor, as suddenly a blurred shape slammed into the wooden body of the ‘wolf.’ It shattered immediately, as the green lights that once burned intensely in it’s head faded and died. The stallion whipped his head to the strange thing that saved him, noticing that it was a pony much like himself: but she had wings. 

The mare stood immediately upright, as she looked defiantly into the eyes of the remaining ‘wolves’ that stood against her. Suddenly three other winged ponies slammed into the snowy ground in front of the prone stallion, as they fanned their wings and exaggerated each feather that lined their impressive shapes. The two other ‘wolves’ stared, but they did not stare at the ones that came to stand against them… but the stallion knew and felt that their cruel and oppressive gaze focused on him and him alone.

The ‘wolves’ backed away, before they turned and scattered away from the place they sought to make a killing.

A perfect silence settled on the place where there was once roaring and yelling, and remained there for a few moments before the slow and quiet whisper of the wind brushed against the ears of the five ponies that remained at the scene.

The first pegasus offered a brief though welcomed chuckle, before she turned around to look at those who followed her. They all looked to her as one wrapped his wing around his torso and bowed, before he offered a quick quip: “Our foes have been vanquished as commanded, your majesty!”

“Keep talking like that and I’ll be expecting a crown!” The lead pegasus responded as there was a sudden chorus of laughter among the ranks. She then turned her attention to the stallion who still lay prone on the ground, as she turned and made a slow and friendly approach to the one she came to defend. When the stallion looked at her, he quickly saw the white armour that she wore atop her well-kept purple mane and her brilliant blue eyes.

She lowered her head to be level with his, as her smile soon stiffened into a concerned look: “Are you alright, guardsman?”

The stallion stayed silent, before he looked away from her.

“Where is your team?” She said, only being greeted by silence. She waited for a moment as she continued to look at the stallion, before she sighed: “Can you hear me? Can you talk?”

“I can.”

His voice surprised the mare as much as it surprised the stallion. The stallion didn’t know why he just said that, it seemed to him that he couldn’t or at least didn’t know--didn’t remember--how to. The mare smiled, before she offered her hoof to the stallion. He could feel a sudden strength return to him, as he took her hoof as she helped lift him up to his hooves. He stared at her with some surprise, something that obviously she caught on to.

“What?” She asked, “You thought you were the only pony around here?”

“I…” The stallion offered, before he sputtered out.

“You don’t remember…”

The stallion was surprised by what she said, as she continued: “None of us remembered who we are… I’m sorry, I just thought you were a part of some squad that got torn up by timberwolves. Have you thought of a name for yourself?”

“Thought of a name?” The stallion asked. It seemed odd to him for whatever reason that he was the one who chose his name, but he pushed that thought aside as he continued: “N-no. I haven’t.”

“You better think of one before the Lord General finds out,” the pegasus chuckled, “he’ll never let you live that down! I’m Skyrunner, and this is: Fixed Wing, Spinner and our beloved cheerleader: First Flight… y’know, ‘the reason we encourage everyone to select their name before Proud Defender finds them.”

“I’m proud of it!” First Flight cried, “Selected by the Lord General himself!”

“Don’t lie,” Skyrunner laughed, “it only makes us all the more suspicious!”

“Why don’t you remember your names?” The stallion asked.

A sudden silence fell upon the pegasi who rescued him. They stood there in some solemn and awful sorrow, as immediately the smiles and the laughs they shared froze and faded away. The stallion felt as if he had just tore joy away from ponies that needed to relish it. Needed. He lowered his head as a guilty and repentant foal would, as he closed his eye in regret for what he had said.

“Don’t feel bad…” Skyrunner sighed, “we need to return to Grad: the only place we can find refuge nowadays.”

“Grad, is that--”

“Where the giant Christmas tree is?” Skyrunner completed loosely, “Yeah. That is where it is. It’s a short fly, but a bit further a walk. We’ll accompany you! Y’know, to keep you safe from anymore timberwolves?”

“That would be appreciated.”

Skyrunner smiled once again when the stallion said this, before she gestured to the three other pegasi as she pointed a hoof in the direction of ‘Grad,’ the ‘giant Christmas tree.’ The pegasi immediately bowed, as they replaced their wings to their sides as the armour they wore clinked and the coats they wore fluttered. She then turned back to the stallion before she responded with a positive and trusting smile.

“Then we ride!” Skyrunner exclaimed.
> Chapter 2: Grad
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“As easy as that?”

“As easy as that!” Skyrunner laughed, “We then ran with it! Oh, they were so furious!”

“I’d imagine.” The stallion replied as he walked along with the rest of the ponies as they made their way to Grad. The wall of black that seemed once to be nothing more than a line, once grew to encompass half of the horizon. Now that the group approached, the light that emanated from the spire consumed the northern sphere. It seemed to be as bright as the midday sun: a beacon and obvious symbol for hope and comfort.

And he understood why: he was drawn to it himself.

“So,” the stallion thought aloud, “this is Grad?”

“It sure is!” First Flight responded, “The Star of the Unknown!”

“The Unknown?” The stallion asked, before he shook his head: “... nevermind. Who built the wall?”

“With any luck,” Skyrunner responded with a tilted head, “we’ll be meeting him sometime soon.”

The stallion only nodded his head in acknowledgement, not certain specifically how to respond. He quietly marvelled over the size of the structure which only grew with each step, as a question echoed over his already question-filled mind. If these ponies were only dealing with creatures like timberwolves, then why would such a massive structure be necessary? It had to be that there were much more dangerous animals that needed to be kept at bay. 

But it seemed odd to him that there was a wall there, it seemed as if it shouldn’t be there. In fact, he remembered…

Remembered? The stallion had never been there before. How could he have known?

Soon enough, the ponies stopped in front of the direct coast that lay between them and the massive wall. It was only then that the stallion could make out the impressive details and imprints that lined the wall, almost as if they were badges of prior victories. He awed over the scale of the structure which seemed to reach high into the sky. The wall donned several holes in the wall, which seemed to be lined with cannons or spotlights which gave the appearance that this was more than some simple wall: it was a fortress.

The stallion could feel his jaw drop, but the stallion maintained his pride and instead exhaled agast: “This place is massive!”

“Why is that the first thing everypony says?” Skyrunner chuckled before she lifted her hoof and nudged the stallion with it. “Look! There is the First Line!”

Glancing around, the stallion made out the faint shapes of several creatures that approached. He could easily make out the shapes of a few ponies: those of earth, a pegasus and a unicorn. But then there were shapes he slightly recognised: a griffon? A yak? Something reminded him of those peoples, but he did not specifically understand why. Should he ask about it? He shook away that thought.

“First Line?” The stallion asked, “Another strange name?”

“They’re the ‘First Line of defence.’ Protectors of the Wall, the ones that helped the Lord General build this beauty. They are some of the best of the best.” Skyrunner responded.

“Some of the best of the best?” The stallion asked.

“Well…” the mare paused, “nothing beats the Knights! The greatest fliers and strike teams of all of Grad! We were the ones who assisted the Lord General in his crusades against the Storms!”

“Seems as if the Lord General is involved in everything great…” The stallion thought out loud.

“You’ll see! I understand how weird it seems, but he isn’t the only one whose name is proclaimed throughout these lands… but he is the first one to help to establish our defence and cement Grad as a beacon of hope. And he is the first one you’ll be meeting.”

“Ho! Who goes there!” A sudden booming voice announced from about half-way up the wall. Two bright lights immediately flashed on, nearly blinding the group of ponies that were approaching the walls as the stallion looked up to the figures that were now even more blurred from behind the lights. He threw up his hoof in the way of the light to rest his eye, as he glanced around to the pegasi who accompanied him.

“It’s Skyrunner, of the First Banner Patrol!” Skyrunner announced.

“Thought you had wings, Knight Skyrunner!” The voice jeered from behind the light, “Whose with you?”

“Somepony who just woke up!”

“Just woke up?” The voice questioned, before being followed by a long and unsettling pause. After a few seconds of awful silence, the voice returned with: “It’s been two years since the last!” 
 
The stallion’s blood immediately went cold: it was something he was worried about. Years. It meant to him that there was only one possibility: he had been dead. Nopony and nothing would have survived being trapped in the snow that long, and even if he had been hanging on to life by just a thread he wouldn’t have been able to spring back to activity as he did. The stallion stared up at the light now as he wondered how it was possible.

“It was a long nap?” First Flight offered.

“Yeah, sure it was…” the voice responded cooly, “we’ll open the gate! As soon as it is open, enter through and wait! I’m certain the Lord General will want to see this one personally!”

The stallion swallowed when this was said, as he glanced nervously toward Skyrunner. The mare looked back and offered a comforting smile, before she started to walk forward to where the gate presumably was. The other pegasi followed her, as the stallion eventually was forced to take hesitant steps toward the wall. He didn’t know what would happen when he entered the wall and sure he trusted these ‘Knights,’ but what were the others like?

Soon there were flashing yellow lights before a small segment of the wall started to pull apart as another group of armoured creatures stepped out from out of the gate. The individual that appeared to lead this group was a griffin who wore heavy armour that bore intricate details, as she came to a pause just outside the gate. 

Skyrunner stopped just in front of the griffin as she lifted a hoof to offer what appeared to be her comrade. The griffin seized it before the two pulled together in some sort of ‘hug,’ as the griffin smiled and spoke: “Wasn’t expecting you to approach on the ground! Finally got tired of flying?”

“Our new friend can’t fly,” Skyrunner responded, “figured we would be nice for a change.”

“That is one way to put it…” the griffin responded, before she bowed respectfully in the direction of the stallion: “Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Snowstorm, an Arbitress of the Iron Order… I’m on gate-duty today, but generally I’m in the clouds with Skyrunner and the others here. Have you decided on your name, yet?”

Taken aback by the naming convention and the introduction of new titles, the stallion stayed quiet for a moment before he responded to Snowstorm: “Thank you, and… no. I haven’t.”

“Better decide on one, before the Lord General gets to you!”

“It isn’t that bad!” First Flight exclaimed, before there was a laugh within the rest of the group that only confused the stallion. He understood it was all a joke, but within the context that the Lord General was a hero? It seemed all so odd to him.

And arbitress? The Iron Order?

Questions only led to more questions the stallion found, and so he figured he could ask any of the peoples he met so far. The stallion walked forward with the others inside the facility as the gate behind the group sealed, and within a few moments the area lit up with an intense light that nearly blinded the stallion again… but as the stallion’s eye adjusted to the level of the light, as his jaw dropped again.

The marvelous scale of the interior of the Wall was a complicated web of walkways and barracks, banners and flags. There easily within view a few hundred ponies, griffons and other peoples within view. The stallion wondered whether what he was seeing was a fair sample of the extent of the forces of Grad, as he walked with the rest of the group. The stallion caught on that Snowstom was watching him very carefully, as she asked: “Impressive, eh?”

“How long did it take you all to build this place?” The stallion asked.

“Just two years.” Snowstorm responded, “When the Lord General took charge of the defence of Grad, this was his vision for the defence: an installation that could defend all of Grad from our mutual enemy.”

“The timberwolves?”

Snowstorm simply laughed which surprised the stallion, “Oh, you poor innocent colt if you think that timberwolves are our only problem!”

“Snowstorm!” Skyrunner called out, “You forgetting what was the first thing you ran tail-between-legs from?”

Snowstorm’s ears instantly flattened as she responded: “We don’t talk about that!”

Within a minute, the group was stopped by yet another gate complex as guards wearing red greatcoats scanned over them. The head of this group was a unicorn, as he held his head high as his eyes glanced down at the stallion below. He blinked once before he gestured toward two other guards that appeared to control the mechanisms of the gates as they immediately stood attentive to what he had to say.

“Attention!” The unicorn cried out, as the group that attended to the stallion immediately snapped to attention: “The Lord General has been notified about our newcomer and should be here shortly! Arbitress Snowstorm, Knight Skyrunner! You will attend our guest until further notice; the rest will head for unit debrief! Am I understood?”

“Loud and clear, staff!” The group responded unanimously.

“That’ll not be necessary, staff!” A sudden and commanding voice boomed from behind the unicorn in the greatcoat. The stallion looked around as Skyrunner and Snowstorm immediately stood upright and offered quick and stiff salutes. They were followed by the rest, as an imposing shape walked past the guards above. The stallion felt as if his heart skipped a beat as he finally saw who he only assumed was the notorious: ‘Lord General.’ 

He was an earth pony who stood at an impressive size. It seemed to the stallion that the earth pony stood two heads taller than the unicorn he stood right beside. His legs seemed to be as thick as tree trunks, as he wore a large and impressive armour that looked as if it belonged on a tank. Set between within his helmet were two bright blue eyes and a short though well-groomed black beard that seemed to fade into the fur collar that looked more like a lion’s mane. This pony was an army in and of himself.

“Lord General--” The staff sputtered, before the Lord General hushed him as he would a foal.

“Tsk, tsk! Staff I’d thought better of you!” The Lord General chuckled, “You’re scaring the newbie, aren’t ya?”

The unicorn remained silent as the Lord General turned his head and attention to the group below him. He offered a smile, before he spoke: “Looking like boards, you all are! So, I heard there was some lad that just barely woke up?”

“That’d be me, sir--” The stallion started.

“Not sir, here!” The Lord General interrupted: “Please be polite and call me Proud Defender, will you?”

The stallion blinked a few times in surprise. Why did everypony else refer to Proud Defender as the Lord General if he didn’t like to be called that? It simply didn’t make sense to the stallion. But before he could ‘be polite,’ Proud Defender spoke again: “I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions, young blood… I was like that when I first came to. How ‘bout you take a walk with me?”

“Why, I wouldn’t…” the stallion paused before he felt Skyrunner’s hoof nudge into him again: “... say no?”

“Question or statement, new blood?” Proud Defender laughed as there was a roll of laughter throughout what seemed to be the entire inner-Wall, “Aw, I know what you mean! Hop to it!”

“Sure thing.” The stallion responded.

“Just one thing before we start, it isn’t proper to just be calling you new blood! Come on, I’m sure the others nudged you to pick a name the way here! So, what’ll it be?”

The stallion stood in silence, as he struggled to speak. He wasn’t expecting this to happen so soon, but he hadn’t given the idea of a new name any thought. The stallion cleared his throat before he responded: “I-I haven’t made myself a name.”

The air seemed to chill as he said this, as the Lord General tapped his chin with the tip of his hoof before he offered a smile and announced outloud: “Well, you’ve been warned the punishment for failure to select a name yourself! But before that, we’ll need to talk.”
> Chapter 3: Name
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stallion could only marvel at the scale as he started to ascend into the higher accessways within the wall of Grad, as he swore he had been walking upwards for nearly an hour. The stallion could tell that Proud Defender had been watching him for quite some time now, and he was convinced that this Lord General had been watching him even before they met back down at the gate. The stallion wasn’t sure how to feel about that as he walked along, before the boisterous and loud voice erupted from behind him: “Quite a beauty, ain’t she?”

“She?” The stallion asked by reflex, before connecting that Proud Defender was speaking about the wall.

“The wall, of course…” Proud Defender confirmed as he chuckled lightly, “you should’ve seen this place before I landed my hooves on these shores! Shabby defense and plenty of exposed flanks! Grad was nothing more than ruins and tents by the time I got here… decided I oughta build skyscrapers.”

“You helped build Grad?”

“Before my second life? Aha, no clue mate…” Proud Defender chuckled as his mind seemed to be swept away in reminiscence.

“Second life?” The stallion questioned, “Does everyone here live a second life?”

“That’s a negative, new blood. Y’see: there is a clear cut line between those whose minds have just been purged from their memories and those who had lived, died and now live again. I’m one of the latter: one who affirmatively died and now lives… and I’m wagering you’re one of ‘em too.”

The stallion was immediately caught off-guard when Proud Defender said this, as he turned his curious eye to stare at the solid and sure stature that held the Lord General up. And Proud Defender knew he roused the stallion’s interest as he chuckled lightly, “Now I’ve got your attention… let’s talk.

“I figure at this point I’m much like you: I woke up out in the middle of nowhere but I found a strange attraction to the stars over Grad. I made my way here, and again found this place in shambles… I tell you, my mind was immediately put to action: and I found myself in possession of strange and unnatural powers. Things seemed to click where I could’ve sworn I didn’t ever experience anything.”

The Lord General eventually reached a set of heavy doors that were patrolled by two elaborately armoured guards: one unicorn and a pegasus. Proud Defender pressed open the doors as he allowed the stallion to walk through first. It was a dome with several banners dangling from twelve pillars as several displays of armour and countless shelves of curious items ranging from books to bucklers mounted them. There was a giant map that seemed to adjust with every angle that the stallion viewed it from in the centre of the room, which appeared to be an accurate scale model of Grad. Massive windows on opposing sides of the wall showed the outside world: an endless expanse of white snow… but on the other side was a marvelous city that seemed to span as far as the wastelands on the other side did. The stallion stared in awe to the city he had yet to experience.

“Sound familiar?” The Lord General finally asked, as the stallion returned to the situation.

“Y-yes…” the stallion responded, “it does.”

“Let’s see what is behind that eyepatch, and I want you to explain to me what you’ve done so far.” 

The stallion reached up with his hooves to reach for his eyepatch, as he managed to get a secure hold on it as he tore it off and flashing pain seemed to burn into his injured eye. He reflexively closed it as he used his other eye to look back up to the Lord General, and where he thought he would have seen Proud Defender’s omnipresent smile: there was now a frown. The stallion felt his heart skip a beat once more as the Lord General slowly approached him, as he laid another demand: “Raise your hoof.”

The stallion immediately obliged as Proud Defender glanced between the bottom of his hoof and his injured eye.

“I don’t know what’s stranger, mate…” Proud Defender mused, “that you have the stars on your hooves and on half your face, or that you aren’t bothering to use your horn to untie your eyepatch.”

The stallion immediately reached upward as he felt his hoof touch the iconic unicorn’s horn he could have sworn wasn’t there before. His expression immediately turned to dread as he sat down on the floor and trembled, he tried to think how to use his horn. He thought and thought, trying to verify it’s existence… but to no avail. The stallion sat there in utter horror as Proud Defender blinked a few times but ultimately remained utterly silent. A few moments went by before the Lord General approached the stallion ever so slowly and carefully, as the stallion sat petrified in utter confusion and terror.

That was until Proud Defender rested a comforting though heavy hoof on the stallion’s shaking shoulder. The stallion still couldn’t bring himself to look up to the Lord General as few more silent moments passed.

“Don’t be scared…” Proud Defender whispered, “believe it or not, I know what you’re feeling… there is no shame in not knowing or not understanding something, but never--never--let that make you scared. We’re going to need you to do what I’m certain are going to be legendary feats that’ll never be forgotten... 

“You’re going to be a hero, I can see it now… you’re going to be a legend! So chin up, Void…”

Void?

The stallion understood, as he looked back up to the Lord General who offered a hearty smile as he iconically chuckled once more: “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re Void… Void Walker! Fits the stars and space you’ve got going for you, don’t it? You’re going to be walking and outlining the places from where we are, to where we need to go!”

It made sense to Void Walker.

“Come now, Void…” the Lord General said, “you’ll need to be meeting a few of our friends if you’ll be walking between stars anytime soon, and I’ve got just the pony in mind who’ll be able to help you!”
> Chapter 4: Capitol
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The towering structures of Grad reached upwards and in few instances, branched out much like concrete and metal trees lined with glass leaves. Some of them reached out into the skies like sharpened blades, dotted with several beaming lights. The walkways both beneath and below were detailed with intricate tiling or old though stubborn paths. Different looking carts and carriages that appeared to be automated moved through the streets to predetermined paths, as banners lined every single building that the group wandered between. 

Several uniformed guards walked in organised patrols through the snowy streets, as several individuals were distinguished clearly as civilians. It seemed to Void Walker to be a very well oiled machine: a unique though delicate thing that operated on precise perimetres. The unicorn looked in awe as he walked through the streets for what to him perhaps was the first time ever, as Proud Defender and Snowstorm accompanied him through the streets.

They seemed to attract the attention of everypony that wandered by them. Void couldn’t tell if it was because he was new, or that he was being accompanied by the Lord General and an Arbitress, or both. Regardless, he walked on with his two new acquaintances as they made their way to what appeared to be a massive domed structure. This building was surrounded by seven unique spires that circled around it, almost as if those structures were paying homage to the importance of the dome. 

At the pinnacle of the dome there originated the bright spire of light that reached into the heavens and attracted the very stars around it. The intensity of the light seemed to dispel even the more cleverly hidden shadows. It was a symbol of the hope that sought to conquer it’s invincible enemy: despair.

“Marvelous, ain’t she?” Proud Defender asked, “They call her ‘Capitol,’ and according to our friend it was constructed to replace a fortress of tyranny long ago… to be a place of truth and sacrifice: our fortress of hope!”

“What are the seven towers for?” Void responded, puzzled by what Proud Defender said.

“Those are ‘the Nameless Vigils.” Snowstorm answered as she looked back to the two stallions, “They were built by yours truly to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. In the walls of the very structures, are the names of all those who made that sacrifice. They are also the last line of defence, if there should ever be a threat that the guard cannot repel.”

“It’s never come to that point,” Defender huffed, “and it never will…”

Void nodded his head, “This place is just incredible, it’s hard to believe that this was all constructed within the last few years!”

“Word of advice,” Snowstorm laughed, “never underestimate the determination of Grad! We’ll push the mountains off their very foundation if we need to!”

“Noted.”

Eventually the group reached a tall and impressive gate that seemed to grant access to the inner sanctuary where the Capitol lay. A series of guardians wearing beautiful cloaks or greatcoats lined with golden armour plates immediately snapped to attention like automatons from rest, as they saluted the small party that took head at the gates. One of these guardians stepped forward from her post, a leader by the looks, who wore a fur ushanka atop her head as she splayed her wings and offered a quick bow for the Lord General.

“Proud Defender!” She announced, “Pleased to see you again! I assume you wish to enter to the Capitol?”

“That’s an affirmative, Cloud Shock!” Defender responded with a low chuckle, “Forge is in his office, I assume?”

“The General Prosecutor is preparing for another sojourn to that mountain of his,” Cloud Shock responded with a sigh, “but I’d reckon he’d be more than happy to speak with you three! Lieutenant! Open the gates!”

The gates immediately sprung open in a fluid movement that Void was unaccustomed to. The doors certainly must have weighed a considerable amount, but how was it possible that they could move that fast? It was another feat of engineering genius! Proud Defender nor Snowstorm flinched, as they simply walked through the gate as the Lord General beckoned for the unicorn to follow.

He obliged.

Void’s eye traced the walls as he found what appeared to be memorials and memories laid at the foot of the wall: helmets, banners and armbands. Candles circled each offering and offered a humbling light, that Void simply couldn’t ignore. It was walking through this wall that he realised the existence of tragedy. Each one of these items definitely belonged to warriors that had sacrificed absolutely everything to defend against what Void only knew to be ‘Storms.’ 

The unicorn could tell that Proud Defender was watching him carefully, as the Lord General offered his consideration: “I know every single guard under my command, new blood… I’ve seen the bravest of the brave, the strongest of the strong and the wisest of the wise. I’ve seen triumphs and failures… and every single story inspires me. Every. Single. One… to me? Everyone has already made their sacrifice… it’s only waiting to claim them. And I can tell you the day that I’m consumed in one of those bloody storms, I’ll happily give my life… because enough life has already been taken for my sake.”

“The old sentinel has his sentiments.” Snowstorm sighed, “I’d rather not see any more casualties. Not even you, Defender.”

“We don’t have a choice, do we?” Defender snorted, “We’ve been called to this holy task… and I’m not going to dishonour it!”

“Just saying, ‘mate…”

“If I’m needed to be the one to end another’s suffering… you bet your rump I’ll be the one to make it.”

Void simply watched the two before they stepped through to the other side of the wall. The group was now faced with the incredible domed megastructure, as the unicorn could feel his jaw drop. Countless pillars supported several stories, as windows that stretched as far as his eye could see reflected brilliant sparks of light that burned in the night’s permanent sky. Across the pure white structure, there were black wounds that appeared to have been inflicted many years back. 

“Void?” Defender asked, “You joining us?”

“Yeah…” Void said, just realising that perhaps he had been standing in place for many seconds now. A painful claw dragged at the back of his mind: it was as if something was telling him he had been here before, but it simply didn’t seem possible… if he had died, how was it that he could remember?

“You sure like lingering.” Snowstorm responded.

“This place is incredible!”

“Now it’s all yours…” Defender mused, “all yours to defend.”

The group started to make their way up incredible steps that seemed to stretch on for kilometres as several guards were standing in place: as stiff as statues. Void looked up to an armoured earth pony that appeared to be making his way down the steps to where the group was, as Defender and Snowstorm immediately stood still. The unicorn looked up this peculiar figure who donned brilliant golden and silver armour that held intricate designs that seemed to resemble trees.

Upon this stallion’s back was a rucksack, which appeared to be moderately filled with a variety of items. The earth pony’s eyes shone a peculiar gold as he scanned over the details of Void with unmatched speed. The golden armoured stallion sighed as he turned his head to Proud Defender, but the Lord General was the first to speak: “Forge! Heard that you’ll be heading beyond the walls, thought you could leave without saying goodbye?”

“Of course not, Lord General.” Forge responded with a voice that was marked with considerable dignity and respect, “But those ‘goodbyes’ are always at the wall. What brings you to the Capitol?”

“We need your opinion,” Defender spoke stiffly, “and you’re the most experienced out of everypony throughout all of Grad… there is another.”

“Another?” Forge asked as he turned his attention back to Void Walker, “I see… what is your name, new light?”

“I’m Void Walker.” The unicorn responded.

“Void Walker?” Forge responded as he cautiously scanned the side of Void Walker’s face that Proud Defender had mentioned was covered ‘in the stars.’ The stallion nodded his head after a few quiet moments, “Interesting. I am assuming you remember do not remember anything from before you woke.”

“No,” Void paused before he lowered his head shamefully, “I don’t.”

“I understand. Remembering the past is unexpectedly rare.”

“The only exception is the General Prosecutor himself!” Snowstorm added.

Void immediately looked back to Forge with unwavering awe, as Forge looked back at the unicorn with a single raised eyebrow. The General Prosecutor bowed his head humbly as he offered a hoof to the newly risen unicorn. Void didn’t hesitate to shake hooves with Forge as the golden armoured pony spoke for himself. Something seemed all to familiar about Forge by the way he spoke and the way he held himself… as if they spoke before. But if Void Walker and Forge had met beforehand, and Forge remembered where nopony else did: why wasn’t he saying anything?
Perhaps it was wishful thinking.

“Pleasures to make your acquaintance, new light.” Forge responded, “I understand that you’ll have many questions. Some may have already been answered by our mutual friends, but those lingering questions? I can answer.”

Void felt his mind rush with questions that had been lingering ever since he first awoke as one pestered and eventually rolled from off his tongue: “What happened, why can’t we remember anything?” 

An eerily silence crept through the air, as Forge’s smile hardened into a frown as his eyes drifted into the distance. Proud Defender and Snowstorm seemed to stoop their heads down to the floor… evidently, it was a story that they were all too familiar with. The golden armoured stallion took a few cautious away from the group as he sighed, “Those are the hardest questions to answer, new light… I am certain you were told about the destruction of this once great place, how it was rebuilt… how it is currently under siege by an enemy we don’t understand…

“It wasn’t this way… long ago, Grad was a city established by a group of exiles from a land now forgotten by time. When I was young, we overthrew a tyranny that threatened to bring the very Dark to our shores to control us. What followed was a definite time of peace and prosperity, we built a land and country that stood unchallenged in its quest to secure its destiny… that was until the Dark returned, and sought to bring its vicious reign back against our people. It tore our land to pieces, turned our very people against one another.

“It was a time of chaos… those who were in the Iron Order fought to the best of our ability. We did everything in our power to drive our sworn enemy back from the gate… but it learned that its strength did not lie just in brute power, but in confusion and disorder. The Dark selected a new champion, and spawned a new army to challenge us. It tore us to pieces, and shattered the memories that connected us… it left us in ruins. It stole our pride and honour from us. It slaughtered our very brothers and sisters.

“I witnessed the fall of Grad, and I did what I could to hold our people together… but soon enough, there was infighting and factionalism. I did what I could to mediate that violence… to mediate the end of our people. Eventually, others like you joined us and submitted themselves as servants to order. You stand among them this day…” Forge gestured to both Proud Defender and Snowstorm, “and with their help and the talents of countless others, we rebuilt our fallen society. Proud Defender constructed the walls that held our enemy at bay, and organised a defence that would keep us safe against the Eternal Night.”

Void stood in utter silence as Forge answered his question, as he slowly started to piece the events of the narrative together. It seemed to fit together well, but why did it seem to him that there was much more? Wasn’t there a place where they could learn more about their past… but if there was, it could have been destroyed in the original siege against Grad. Eventually the ‘new light’ nodded his head, as he accepted the answer that he had received from the old stallion.

“Perhaps you should join me on my sojourn, Void Walker.” Forge finally said, “It could perhaps help you understand the world we so desperately need to defend.”

“Perhaps you oughta’ stay in Grad, Forge…” Proud Defender warned, “we’re talking about somepony who was pulled back from the dead! We’ll need to gather the rest of the Iron Order, and warn the Administrator!”

The Administrator? Void quietly sighed inside himself… perhaps he had more questions after all.

“You understand the importance of taking the Burden, Lord General.” Forge responded quickly, “But if you so request, then I shall put off my meditations… shall we speak with our other arbitresses?”

“Gather ‘em.” Defender nodded, “We’ll go in to see Hush while you make the call.”

“Understood, Lord General.”

Void stood in a deep state of confusion as Snowstorm and Proud Defender pressed on toward the giant doors that granted access into the sanctum of the Capitol. Forge continued walking down the stairs, as the unicorn felt oddly divided between the two regardless of the fact that they would join together later. He could sense (how could he sense?) the eyes of the earth pony and griffon that expected him to join them. Void turned his head and quietly walked up the stretching pavilion toward the Captiol.

He needed to meet Hush now.
> Chapter 5: Pledge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a slow silent whisper.

She had been listening to the whispers for days now, as the pegasus rested her head against the stone wall of the cave. Long ago had she cast off her winter coat, and hours ago she had cast away her rebreather… how could she let it be shattered? It had been drilled that the rebreather was… it was what? Important? Why was a piece of plastic and metal so important? She could see the Lord General comforting her, but now it felt as if he was yelling at her.

Who was the Lord General?

He is the enemy.

The pegasus’s eyes widened at the revelation as she took another pained and choking breath, as she attempted to stand once more. Her legs refused to obey her as instead they held still, the trembling things leaving nothing but the impression that things were far beyond her control. She almost wanted to weep but a burning pride that now manifested itself within her refused to let her. She just wanted to return to… where? Family and friends? Did she even have brothers and sisters?

You are drifting.

The pegasus’s heart felt weaker as her eyes slowly started to close, as if she was a prance away from death’s door. She could feel another presence, almost as if it were standing right next to her. The pegasus couldn’t turn her head to see if there was something else standing with her in the cave… but she could feel that there was something.

“My poor little pony…” The being spoke, “what happened to you? How have you reached this far from the safety of your home?”

“What home?” The pegasus asked sincerely.

“The place you come from. It was the place you pledged to protect from the ‘Darkness.’ Where are your friends?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about… I have no home, no friends.”

“You crashed here.” The being felt obliged to say, as if answering a question she might have had: “You had a search party that came to look for you. Unfortunately, in the crash you had damaged this.”

The pegasus felt as if strength was slowly returning to her, as she felt her head impulsively turn to look at the object that the other presented. It was her… what was it? It looked like a rebreather… rebreather? Why would she use one? And who was she speaking to? He seemed to speak honestly, this being wasn’t holding back the truth. It was obvious to the unicorn: he had the answers that she needed to answer her questions.

“They told themselves that they could not risk to ‘save you.” The being continued once he captured the attention of the pegasus, “They held a remembrance service, and then left. I simply do not understand why. When they left I brought you into the safety of the cave, away from the storm. It is dreadful out there.”

“They…” The pegasus felt strained as she spoke, “they aren’t my friends if they leave me… why would they leave me?”

“Because they are afraid.”

The pegasus whipped her head to stare directly into the white and glowing eyes that stared back at her. A sudden and uncomfortable influence seemed to take over as soon as they made eye contact, as the pegasus felt an odd an unexplainable connection to the creature that stood before her. He offered her his ‘hoof,’ as strength seemed to return to her trembling legs. Did she dare? It all felt wrong… so, so wrong.

“That is the world that they live in, I have learned to unfortunately accept. They live in an irreversible state of fear, that anywhere outside of their walls is a place of suffering. They have you wear those facemasks to ‘protect’ you from the ‘evil influences…’ yet they risk the precious lives of countless selfless souls, much like yourself I would imagine.” The being sighed, “It is a blissful ignorance where they live. It is an illusion… nothing more than a sorrowful state where they believe everything they are surrounded by terror and destruction.”

“W-why?” The pegasus asked, “I… I don’t want to live in a lie…”

“Nor do I.”

“W-who are you?” The pegasus asked with a sudden vigor. It felt as if she shouldn’t be speaking with this… what was he? He wasn’t a pony, nor was he a griffon. He wasn’t anything: he was a shapeless shadow. Yet, was he the only one she could trust?

“I am an exile that has found purpose.” The being vaguely responded, “I am the Purpose of Equitius, and I seek nothing more than to enlighten.”





Void was awestricken.

The long walk that the group made through the magnificent and beautiful walls of the Capitol had captured every facet of his attention. His eyes darted between the delicately preserved sculptures and gold-leafed paintings, as his ears shifted to find even the quietest whisper. It seemed as if this place echoed and reviberated with knowledge and power: it was the epicentre of what Void knew was a golden age. He put aside the fact that he might appear to be as a lost child wandering between the pillars of the most beautiful places he had ever been, and simply basked in the light this holy place offered.

Eventually the group made their way up several winding, white-marble staircases as the white purity seemed to melt into a homely redwood. Several guards lined the way to where there was an impressive though observably heavy set of doors. The carpet under their hooves seemed to be cold when it should have been warm, signalling to Void that perhaps this path wasn’t ever particularly taken… at least not very often.

When they came within range, the guards standing closest to the doors immediately opened them and granted the ponies and griffon access into the room that they definitely were seeking. It wasn’t a particularly large place as the Lord General’s office had been, but it was taller. Much taller. Empty bookshelves seemed to reach up into some second heaven, only occasionally dotted with manuscripts and other bound histories. It was odd to him that there wasn’t anything more there.

A library without books?

The homely place had but three armchairs in it, as a large gothic-styled window stood opposite of where the doors were. A fireplace was to the left of the circular room, and in front of the warming heat was a heavy but intricately designed wooden office desk that was organised with several piles of paper. Somepony sat behind it, writing away as if she didn’t notice the group walking in.

She had a white coat of fur with a red scarf wrapped around her… it was so much different from the coats or the armour that the others had been wearing. The pony sitting behind the desk shot up a glance to the Lord General as she continued writing, completely unphased by the fact that the standing General of the Armies of Grad had just walked into her office. It was apparent that this was an occurrence of little to no concern to the mare… at least, until she spoke: “I would have put tea on the kettle if I knew you were coming, Lord General… but then again, you usually never tell me.”

“Hush,” Proud Defender cleared his throat, “if you’ve got the time to put up the quill, it’d be nice to chit chat for a little while.”

“The Ministers are demanding to know where you are putting those factory resources to, Lord General.” Hush said, redirecting the conversation entirely, “We don’t have as much as we used to, and acquiring new resources has proven to be near impossible now… what are you building?”

“Of course they’re in arms about that!” Defender sighed, “But that is besides the point! We found another…”

“Another what?”

“Another risen.”

That immediately caught the attention of Hush, as she stopped writing and slowly set the quill she held in her mouth back down onto the desk. She sat in an awful silence for quite some time, before she looked up and stared directly at Void Walker. The Administrator pushed up from her desk as she slowly walked around it and stopped directly in front of the newly risen unicorn. She looked him up and down, from right to left before she paused. 

“I wouldn’t have thought there would be another one.” Hush whispered, “We… we haven’t seen ‘another’ in years. Not since… nevermind. What is your name, friend?”

“Void Walker.” The unicorn responded, as he curiously stared at the mare, “And you are the Administrator?”

“I am, yes. The Administrator of Grad, but everypony here calls me Hush. I’m sorry, but you must be awfully confused…”

“As far as I am aware: I’ve been dead. That is what is confusing right now… how can I be alive again?”

“That’s the question that bothers everypony like you… Proud Defender, Snowstorm, Burning Skyline nor Light Bearer have learned what power brought them back, all they understand is that they were imbued with marvelous talents and powers. Proud Defender, Snowstorm, Burning Skyline and Light Bearer.”

“Snowstorm?” Void asked as he turned back to the griffon.

“Don’t really like to talk about it, all it does it remind me of the grave...” Snowstom replied, “Heck, Proud Defender refuses to even use his talents and power.”

Void quizzically glanced at the Lord General as the earth pony shrugged in response, “Feel as if I shouldn’t need to raise myself above anypony else. If others are required to go it without some fancy powers, then so can I.”

“The point is,” Hush redirected the conversation, “some sparks of magic, some sparks of power imbued themselves in the chosen lifeless. From what we understand, the individuals chosen by this power were those that would guide Grad out of this age of darkness, and restore our great nation and peoples to a world of peace. We have gained ground through the efforts and sacrifices made, but it will take the devotion of more than just a handful of dedicated souls… if what the others are saying is true, than you will need to stand with the others. You will need to defend our home against the very threat that seeks to exterminate us. Void Walker, this has been our sacred charge for years… I hope that we can come to depend on you, too.”

“We are looking at a war that’ll carry on for years. We’re on the cusp of overcoming our enemy and turning the tide of this conflict… but we’re going to need every hoof possible to raise a brave shout: a challenging roar. We’ve seen plenty of tragedy… and we’ve all felt the loss of this conflict, how it has stolen plenty of our brothers’ and sisters’ final breaths. So, you willing to stand with us...” Proud Defender asked.

Void stood in definite silence, as he considered what he had been told. Was this the reason why he had been chosen? The reason he walked when he should’ve been dead? If so, then he would need to stand with the likes of Proud Defender and Snowstorm. It made the most sense to dedicate himself to his righteous cause, to be one of its bastions and advocates. 

The unicorn nodded his head, as he offered a simple affirmation: “I will.”
> Chapter 6: Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pegasus looked over the spire of light that was visible from the cave that she took refuge in, as she tried desperately to count the stars that lay like leaves on the ‘tree.’ Looking at the light burned her eyes, it seemed to her to be at the same time a glorious and an offensive sight… she didn’t understand how that was possible, when it seemed to her to have once been her home. How could she forget her home?

“You have been staring at Grad for quite some time.” The Purpose spoke, “It is where your people live.”

“The ones who abandoned me?” The pegasus asked.

“Indeed… there was a time, I remember where none feared to do the right thing. There were plenty of noble ones, heroes and stalwarts. In those times all rendered unto each other equally, they offered what they possessed to those who had nothing… but then it became their priority to focus on their own achievements, and their desires. It led them down a path of hurt and pain, and this once great city tore itself to pieces… and now? The survivors cobble themselves together in hope that they will be able to survive the coming storms that they brewed against themselves.” 

The pegasus sat in silence as she considered what the Purpose had said. She remembered so little about a place where she felt the embrace of… of whom? No, she was ABANDONED--abandoned? Where did that come from? That thought wasn’t hers, it belonged to somepony else, something else. She tilted her head towards the Purpose as it seemingly stared back at her.

“I understand your confusion, lost light…” The Purpose sighed, “I wonder myself as I watch it endure every passing storm, what fate will finally claim it. Their suffering, though self-inflicted, is very regrettable.”

“If they did it to themselves, what do we do?” The pegasus asked liked a little foal.

“We?” The Purpose hummed, “We do what we can to remove them from their sorrowful state… we must see them tried and broken, then we shall raise them from the ashes of their corruption. Shall there be any other way, lost light?”

An uneasy feeling turned in the pegasus’ stomach, before her mind compelled her to speak a word that did not feel to be hers: 

“NO.”





Void stared over the cityscape of Grad, as his breath was caught with every glimpse. The new light looked as a curious foal would over all he could see from where he was standing. Buildings that reached up into the sky, to monoliths that took up entire blocks. There were wonderfully painted domes and fluttering banners tied to raised roads. He looked at one of the seven ‘Nameless Vigils’ in awe of the detailed carving that lined every edge and face, as he could’ve sworn that it radiated with some mystical force.

“You keep looking.”

Void swung around as he returned to his senses with an appeased grin, as he immediately recognised it was Hush. The Administrator smiled as she walked up to join Void, “I understand… when work gets too frustrating, I walk over here to take a breath and relax. It really helps to put everything in perspective.” 

“So, you govern all of Grad?”

“It’s… complicated.” Hush sighed, “Functionally we are a democracy, but given our circumstance: yes… I govern all of Grad. The emergency status of our situation has moved me to be the first and final say with all decisions. Plenty of decisions need to be made on the fly, even if they are hard ones.”

“I’m surprised the weight of that all hasn’t broken you, yet.” Void absentmindedly said.

“Like I said: a lot of visits to this little corner and plenty of ‘breathers.” Hush responded, “We are dealing with a lot, all of us… it’s one of the reasons why the General Prosecutor goes on his ‘Burdens,’ he believes it helps clear his focus and temper him for future conflicts.”

“Burdens’ help somepony to calm themselves?”

“It’s not quite like that, the Iron Order has a long and ancient tradition where they meditate for days. They take the time to appreciate what they have, rededicate themselves to the cause of righteousness and strengthen themselves to the challenges that lie ahead. It’s all incredibly symbolic of offering their weaknesses in hopes to temper those into strengths.”

“So, the Iron Order is that old?” Void asked.

“Well, yes… we just really don’t know how old it is. Forge can be unfortunately vague about plenty of things and so we are left to what remains of our libraries. What we know at least about the origins of our nation is that the Iron Order played a central role in its founding, they are what helped establish the values that our nation would cling to.”

Void quietly contemplated what Hush said as the Administrator stepped back from the window as she turned her heel and headed back for her desk. The new light glanced back momentarily to Hush as he rubbed the back of his head, sudden thoughts and questions swirling through his already concern infested mind. Void felt as if he should ask the Administrator, before a certain thought supplanted everything else: that she was busy and he ought not to bother her.

“How could we have lost everything?” Void impulsively asked as he quietly chastised himself.

There was a long silence before a sharp sigh dispelled the quiet. Void turned his attention squarely on the Administrator, as she seemed to contemplate what specifically she should say. The new light knew that it was likely a difficult subject… especially for the one whose vested interest is the preservation of Grad’s society. The Administrator nonetheless seemed to manage a smile as she faced Void once more: “Well, that isn’t a specifically easy thing to explain… but fortunately, it is one of the few areas where we have managed to succeed. Certain archives have been recovered and investigated, mostly in connection with somepony known as: Atheov.”

Atheov? Why does that seem so familiar?

“Mostly it is engineering and architectural manuscripts… we are guessing that this Atheov was one of the few geniuses of a time past, the one who helped construct our golden era. With the knowledge we have discovered, we have been able to reconstruct the old city and establish such defenses as the wall. Our self-driving carriages even to automated city monitor systems, all that knowledge stems from the research that we tirelessly do. 

“Small fragments of our history have been recovered as well, but unfortunately those are the parts that remain the most vague… we only have a few events that we can tell have actually happened, and even fewer names associated with our nation. We’ve done what we could in that department, though certain areas such as defence and architecture have been prioritised. But that doesn’t mean we’ll stop our efforts.”

“It’s remarkable, really!” Void paused, as he considered whether or not he should ask more about Atheov: “When I woke, and I was warned as to the state of Grad… I was thinking I was going to be seeing ruins, but seeing this?”

“It always takes the breath away,” Hush chuckled, “we truly are fortunate for the hooves that have been afforded us in her reconstruction. It is our duty to keep her in one piece, Void, and to contribute to her growth.”

“I feel as if I know something about Atheov…” Void finally said, as the warmth seemed to evaporate from the room immediately, “I’m sorry… it just feels as if I know who Atheov is.”

“In time you’ll understand, new light.” Hush simply responded, “It is common for those who have been pulled from the dead to feel a connection to something, but unfortunately we do not have answers for that… I’m guessing you felt a connection to Forge?”

Void felt his heart skip a beat as Hush mentioned that, as he nodded his head.

“Peculiar,” Hush smiled, “everyone who has been resurrected as felt a connection to Forge. Perhaps we’ll be able to figure out that mystery with you. But for now, I need to focus on my work… I’m certain the Iron Order has been gathered now and that they’re looking for you to join them.”

“Hush,” Void swallowed as he focused his attention, “I just wanted to thank you for taking the time you have. I promise, I’ll--”

“Please, Void… don’t promise me, promise this place. This people.”

Void stared into Hush’s eyes for quite some time as he contemplated what was said. He had already pledged himself to the duty of Grad’s defence, but it occurred to him then the seriousness of the duty that was assigned. It wasn’t to a singular pony or cause, rather the welfare of all those who should seek the refuge that Grad provided. It went beyond just agreeing to stand beside Proud Defender or Snowstorm, it meant standing in the front lines before all those who dared to dream.

It was then that Void rendered his response: “To Grad.”





The dark crawled through the abandoned village as the snow swirled innocently around the dark, as if the white attempted to convince the black to stop its path. The dark nonetheless pressed on, as if it was ignoring the very thing that was pleading that it stop. It was as if the dark laughed and pressed the knife into the exposed side of the snow as it eventually came to a halt in the heart of the village. The dark figure looked around as it lifted its hoof over its head to draw back the hood that covered its head.

“Been some time,” the dark spoke to the nothingness, “sorry that I’ve not been true to my promises… that I wasn’t here when I promised to be.”

Silence answered.

“Plenty of places have been hit by some fellow that’s calling himself the Purpose: Steadhoof, Southward… even Grad.” The dark paused, “Nothin’s been stirring in the Known, but they’ve always been oblivious to the games we’ve been playing here.”

Silence.

“I’m thinking, though… no, I’m certain that there is some new factor in play. I’ve felt the radiation spikes, and I know that ain’t some coincidence. Here I was thinking it was gonna be a two sided war, but now we’ve got some perfect mysterious third vector… and you gotta know what that means.”

Silence.

“I’ve gotta investigate this… I just need to know that I’m not alone; I’m gonna figure this out, why in this battle between the light and the dark that there is just a… why there is another.”

The low wind howled briefly as the snow was upset for just a moment. The dark stared at the white crystals as they nestled gently on its greatcoat, as it looked down longingly at the unique patterns that now adorned its clothes. The dark sighed as it turned its head to a specific home that was reduced to rubble, its roof collapsed and the shattered windows jutting out like knives. 

“And, I figure I’ve not said it enough…” the dark said as it lowered its head, “but I’m sorry I couldn’t stop this, that I didn’t… I should’ve… but I remember my promise. Our promise, really.”

The dark stood still for a few extra moments, before it turned around and stepped out of the village and made its clumsy path back into the dark and twisted woods. It adjusted its path as it made out the spire of light and the stars that danced above it, as the dark huffed out some empty threat. It had been through Grad through its different phases, it even remembered the times that the miserable plot of land was known by a different name. It had witnessed an evolution of a place that thought it could inspire greatness, but the dark knew better… it was a place where cowards hide.

But it was the place where that ‘other’ had run to. 

And the dark needed to know what this ‘other’ was, because as far as it was aware this third was the end of this petty conflict.
> Chapter 7: Order
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lost light.

Was that her name?

Those two words have bounced in pegasus’s head unceasingly since the Purpose spoke them, as if they were now a piece of her. She couldn’t remember anything else, and much like a small creature that imprints on what it determines is its parent, she was stuck believing and trusting in a force that had done nothing more than speak to her. It told her of a doomed society that festered with greed and self-interest and how it abandoned her. 

But… how did that make sense? They came to search for her and if they were going to determine that she was dead, then why go through the effort?

BRAVERY FLEES WHEN FACED WITH REALITY.

The pegasus cried in sharp pain, as her legs failed her as she collapsed helplessly to the snow. She couldn’t control herself anymore, she didn’t have control. Whenever she dared to question the dark, that is when it seemed to enforce pain--PAIN IS LIBERATION.

The pegasus felt as if she was changing, but she didn’t know how. It was like she was shedding her skin, leaving a life past into a new reality and circumstance. She didn’t remember her coat and mane being dull in colour, but now it seemed as if every feature that distinguished her as somepony was fading… was she ever truly unique? NO… she was always a pawn in some king’s game. Her life and her choice were never her own.

Now? Lost Light was claimed by another force.

“It troubles me when I witness some poor child in pain.” The Purpose spoke as Lost Light turned her attention immediately to the shadow, “It has always troubled me… but unfortunately with the way our world is, it is unavoidable.”

“Pain is liberation.” Lost Light echoed.

“It is. But that does not make it any less troubling, dear child. We must enforce pain as the unimpeachable instructor that it is, only then can we allow all else to inherit their place in eternity.”

“Why are you letting me suffer?” Lost Light choked, “I-I… I AM FREE.”

“That is why, lost light.” The Purpose mused, “It is only a moment, I promise… is a short stay of pain worth the eternity of peace that follows it? It is ultimately the most forgiving path, wherewith the contemptible force of this ‘light’ would advocate for gluttony and selfishness. Those who follow the light believe in vain hierarchies and order, and ultimately in the end only a few secure the joy that should be the right of all who live.” 

“Why would the light be so cruel?”

The Purpose stood in silence as it seemingly stared at the spire of light far in the distance, as if it were contemplating a true response. The shadow eventually rested its ‘hoof’ on Lost Light’s shoulder. This comforting touch instead sent shivers and terror rummaging throughout Lost Light’s body, as if death itself had placed its hoof on her. She couldn’t cry out or protest in any way, it was almost as if she had become chained to the will of this shadow.

It was far too late to escape.

“I cannot tell, dear child.” The Purpose responded, “I cannot tell.”





The hallway faded from the homely wood into a white and cold marble as Void walked along it, as each step he took was an echoing thunderstorm along with high ceilings and long walls. The new light looked at the pillars that dotted equally on either side of him, as for the first time he noticed how several different coloured ribbons that wrapped loosely around the tall marble structures. As Void approached one he slowly made out the golden strands that seemed to make out a series of names.

Void connected immediately that these names were the names of the deceased.

Void was left to stand in silent awe as his ears flattened as he felt a sudden ping of sorrow within his bosom. He stood absolutely still as he stared at the collection of names as eventually the new light eventually made out the sound of somepony approaching from behind him. Void turned his head as his eye made out the shape of a unicorn of a white colour who adorned an intricate gold armour much like Forge’s or Snowstorm’s; obviously she was a member of the Iron Order.

“I’m guessing that you are Void Walker?” The unicorn asked.

“I am, yeah…” Void responded, “are you a member of the Iron Order?”

“You are quite observant, new light. I am Prosecutor Light Bearer, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Void offered a smile to match Light’s as he approached the Prosecutor who then offered her hoof to shake, as Void obliged. Raising her other hoof, Light Bearer gestured in a direction that Void assumed was the way that they were meant to go. The two unicorns made their way down the long hall as Void continued to glance between the intricately and beautifully designed hallways. 

“I’ve been told you have an appreciation for architecture and the cityscape of Grad.” Light said to spark a conversation.

“It is just incredible.” Void simply responded, “I’m honestly speechless every time I look over her.”

“It has come a far way, but I reckon you’ve already heard plenty about that.”

“Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to learn more,” Void responded as he quietly backtracked and asked, “what are the ribbons on the pillars for?”

“You’ve seen the names written on them?” Light Bearer sighed, “They are those innocents who were claimed in our conflict. Not our guardians, not those who carried the standard of Grad into battle… just those who we couldn’t save. They are meant to be immortalised within the walls of the capitol, so that all who walk these halls can mourn and remember our purpose here.”

Void walked quietly alongside Light before he noticed that she was looking back at him. His silver eye turned to meet her pink coloured eyes, as Light quickly changed the topic of their conversation: “Curious, you do have the night sky painted on one side of your face. I was thinking the Lord General was exaggerating, but you really do.”

“I wasn’t aware until he pointed it out.”

“You have any idea what it could be?”

“I figured I received my namesake because of it…”

“You believe it is the void?” Light asked as she quietly pondered this herself, “That makes it especially curious, Void Walker. The void is considered a great nothingness, a barrier between the fabric of reality and existence… generally, our names reflect that which we harness, Proud Defender being the only exception.”

Void walked quietly beside Light Bearer as she explained this, taking mental note of what the unicorn was relating. If it were true that he carried the void, was it a useless and dead thing? Yet he witnessed its power, as if it could tear the fabric of reality itself. Was that power? Or was that something else?

Fear?

“It’s all still new to me…” Void responded to no point in particular, “all I know is that I was brought back with these marks and with some power. But I know at the very least the same is true for you, so… why ‘Light Bearer?”

“Fair point. I was brought back around the same time that Proud Defender was, but I had no bearing as to my potential… but when I saw him repel the dark and head on his crusades to reclaim and rescue those lost souls beyond the border of Grad, I was inspired. It was then that my spark connected and during a particularly brutal storm which would have engulfed us in shadow completely, I created the spire of light that has long become associated with our home. It repelled the dark, and guaranteed us a source of power and inspiration.”

“Wait, you created the spire?” Void asked in surprise.

“I did.” Light lightly laughed, “It was then that I took upon myself the name of ‘Light Bearer,’ a token of appreciation for the souls that inspired me. Ever since then the Lord General and I have been hard at work to repel the shadows from off our shores and secure a brighter future. We found and established connections with three others who bore strange power.”
“Three others?” Void asked, “Who’s the third?”

“That is a story for another time,” Light replied, “but for now the Iron Order has gathered. As I think you would understand, it is not a common occurrence for there to be ‘another.’ It is a serious business, after all.”

The unicorns stepped before an impressive set of heavy doors that bore intricate carvings and details. It seemed as if an entire history were crossed upon these wooden doors, as countless figures that were either pony, griffon, zebra or deer which appeared to be adorned in several different garbs. A single star was set in the centre of each door which was wonderful in its display, a symbol that Void had come to understand was the seal of Grad. 

The doors opened to reveal the cone-shaped room, where several bleachers lead down to a central floor. There was a hundred seats in the chamber, but they were only occupied by only thirty individuals who wore armour that Void had come to associate with the Iron Order. On the main floor of the chamber stood the General Prosecutor Forge, as the experienced earth pony looked up at the two unicorns that had just entered the chamber.

Void quickly glanced around the chamber quickly as he spotted Snowstorm in one of the bleachers among with a few zebras and deer. The new light noticed that each armour appeared to be individualised, as if it belonged to the ones who wore it instead of the serialised pieces that the others wore. Void followed right behind Light Bearer as she headed down to where the thirty gathered, as he was directed to the centre where Forge stood. 

“Prosecutor Light Bearer,” the General Prosecutor said, “we thank you for guiding the new light. Please, take a seat.”

Void looked back as he watched Light Bearer oblige without question, before he turned his attention back to Forge. The General Prosecutor stood up on his hind hooves as he reached up with his forelegs, before he lifted his golden helmet from off the top of his head and set it on a wooden block beside him. The bronze coated earth pony drew in a deep breath as the chamber fell completely silent.

“New light, it is an honour to have you join us this day.” Forge spoke, “Look around where we gather this day, Void Walker. Far before these times, this is where our parliament would gather to reckon for the favour of Grad. For the first time of Known history, this was where it was decided that we were to not be governed by a monarchy, rather by the will of a people. The Iron Order was there on that fateful day, acting as the judges over those who would seek to abuse.

“In commemoration of our victory and triumph, we established and built this place as the foundation of our new nation. In time our home was threatened for the first time, and then the second and then the third… but we pushed onwards, ever onwards. Should our home be crippled, we vowed to nurse it back to strength. Should our people ever be in distress, we vowed to lead them to safety… and so was the Iron Order immortalised in our society. It has always been the responsibility of those willing to set aside their own pursuits and their own glory, those few who recognised their limitations and yet submitted before a greater whole.

“And now here we stand: most of us without memory of who we were before some cruel thing stripped us of memory of even our names. Few of us were claimed by the violence, only to be brought back again by some strange power beyond all comprehension. Fewer still are those who should set aside those selfish pursuits, and joined themselves to this ancient pact.

“I was summoned but a few years ago by the remnants of our poor and broken society, under the heading of a once ‘new light’ much like yourself, Void Walker… one who sought these very values, these principles. He wished to rebuild the Star which would come to symbolise our nation, to ensure that its inhabitants could sleep peacefully under the Eternal Night.”

Forge paused as he slowly approached Void as he circled around the new light, and in an unrivaled calm and collected fashion seemed to approve of the unicorn. As Forge spoke, Void did what he could to track the earth pony, but he felt his eye tracing up the impressive room as every detail seemed to pop out to him. 

“I see much of this in you, and indeed in our council we have been assured that you treasure this very thing.” Forge continued, “But understand, new light, you still require a tempering. For our metal to be effective, it must be burnt and cleansed repeatedly. We understand that trees must be beat upon by the winds if they are to strengthen and bear fruit. You are but a small and simple seed, Void Walker, but if you are to stand with legend you must become an apple tree.”

“What do I need to do?” Void impulsively asked, as internally he chastised himself for the outburst.

“That, you shall learn for yourself.” Forge replied sharply, but forgivingly: “The eager learn, while the unsteady remain in their confusion. Learn quickly, new light, and then you shall approach. We shall always stand here, new light, and I invite you to look around to those you can confidently call brothers and sisters. We shall be your guides, your friends and your mentors.”

Void stood in silence.

“New light, as odd as it may be, that silence proves you have already learned. Temper your impulse and allow yourself to be observant, and within time you shall see what you at this time cannot see.” Forge explained, “It will on your part require concentration and mastery of what you have been given. You will need to be as a dragon, new light… learn what you need to do to light that spark.”

“If I may speak, General Prosecutor?” Light Bearer asked with grace, “I request that I may act as vigil for the new light.”

Void looked at Light in shock, as he stifled his outer expression and tried to swallow with a dry throat. Forge stood still as if he didn’t hear what Light had said, before he slowly turned his attention to the Prosecutor. He simply nodded his head, before he returned his attention to Void. It seemed to the new light that permission had been granted, as he glanced back quickly to Light Bearer with slight confusion. Void appreciated what Light was willing to do, but it was unexpected.

“I invite you at this time to learn, and to learn well. If you truly seek to join within our order, you will learn to submit to that duty and to truly humble yourself, as you already have. Now, Void Walker, I shall return you to the Lord General with the Prosecutor… now, the question I have is whether our Arbitress will assist?”

All eyes seemed to fall on Snowstorm, as the griffon offered a simple phrase: “Of course, General Prosecutor.”

“Very well,” Forge said with a light in his eyes, “then we shall adjourn the new light and his vigils. Until judgement passes, my sisters.”

“Until judgement passes, our brother!” Light Bearer and Snowstorm responded in unison, as the doors to the chamber seemed to swing open. The unicorn and griffon lifted themselves from their seats as they walked to accompany Void Walker, as the new light’s heart raced and a light seemed to burn in his bosom. He glanced between the two ‘vigils’ that agreed to assist him in this strange journey, as he smiled gratefully.
> Chapter 8: Warning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dim lights of the shanty pub flickered with a sudden and unexpected fashion, so much so that the loud chattering between the patrons of the establishment temporarily ceased before the candles returned to their normal intensity. There was a shrill laughter and borderline yelling between the mares and stallions that occupied the booths where they consumed whatever ration of cider they could get their hooves on. The rough establishment had an eerily home-like vibe that creeped through its aged wooden boards, offering some odd comfort that many would reckon would have not been found there.

The door of the establishment cried as it was opened by an intruder with a breath of cold air that filled the pub for but a moment, before the intruder closed it and stepped down to the main lounge. Eyes immediately darted to scrutinise the being who dared enter a place where it wasn’t welcome, the intruding pony merely offered a wide though challenging smile. The dark pushed its way to where the bar was as it nudged its way between a zebra and a deer.

The dark stared into the eyes of the pegasus bartender that was staring directly at him.

“Say bartender,” the dark replied with a smile, “I’ll take a pint.”

“Never seen you before!” The pegasus responded chippily, “Sweet or bitter?”

“Which one gives you an edge?”

“S’cuse me?” The pegasus asked with a raised eyebrow, the zebra and deer on either side of the dark gruffly looked at the intruder.

“Which do you prefer?” The dark scoffed, “I tend to trust the judgement of the fella handling the drinks.”

“I like bitter!” The bartender replied simply, pushing over a wooden mug with a foamy substance that swirled within.

The dark took it by the handle as it swirled the drink around before taking a quick gulp of the substance. The cider hit the dark’s stomach immediately, and it coughed in surprise… the dark didn’t realise how long it had gone without a drink, before it turned its cough into a laugh that seemed to chill the warm interior of the pub.

“Yeah, I see why…” The dark laughed between coughs, “how long you’ve been working here, kid?”

“Kid?” The zebra asked, turning angry eyes at the dark, “Tell me, who are you exactly?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know. Listen here, sister… best you don’t be wagging hooves here, ‘specially not at me.”

“Sister? What kind of stranger says that?”

“I’m guessing this one here.” The dark said with a placed hoof on the bar, staring intently into the pegasus’s eyes. The bartender flinched, quickly looking away from the strange intruder as the dark chuckled, “Tell me, bartender… you keen on the rumours of the going ons here?”

“I-I hear a few things,” the bartender said, “but rumours are rumours… can’t be any telling if they’re real or not.”

“That’s why it’s important to trust, kid…” The dark replied, “Word is that there is some special pony walking the scene now, some ‘second life’ sort of deal, any idea who that might be?”

“Why do you care?” The zebra butted into the conversation, “If you’re thinking it’s real, why waste time?”

“That comin’ from some regular at a shanty establishment like this oughta’ be comedy gold…” The dark warned, “so piece of advice, sister? Learn to keep your mouth shut.”

“That a threat?” The deer asked, “You must think you’re some kind of superpony with that attitude, bud.”

“Ditto to you too,” The dark growled, “but tell me, bartender… true or not?”

“You’re not from here, are ya?” Some griffon asked behind the dark, “Or did you take a lungful of that dark mist? ‘Cause your brain seems pretty scrambled.”

“Just experienced, kid.”

“Experienced?!”

“Y’heard me, I don’t need to explain that.” The dark responded, “I just need this question answered, and I promise afterwards you’ll not need to be worrying about me. So, bartender… is there another ‘new light?”

“You’ve been in here for two minutes and you’ve managed to upset everyone here!” The griffon yelled.

“Listen ‘re, beakface,” the dark said, “I’m not gonna deal with this--”

The griffon lunged with a furious flurry of strokes at the dark, a killing spirit burning in her eyes as she came a fraction of a hair within the dark. Suddenly the griffon shot up and hit the ceiling, the audience within the pub immediately cried in shock and horror watching her limbs set in a cross. The deer and the zebra on either side of the dark jumped back in horror, and the bartender fell onto his back.

“Oof! Now you’ve crossed the line!” The dark chuckled, glancing briefly at the griffon suspended on the ceiling: “Ain’t anyone teach y’all manners? Tartarus, wasn’t expecting a bunch of ruffians in a pub, but I got what I deserved! Now, bartender…”

Anxious chatter and cries muffled and silenced the hearty laughter that once graced the pub, many of the pub’s patrons kneeled and quivered in fear. The dark knew that they’ve seen plenty of pain in their time, and that this place was a refuge from the horrors that lurked at the shores of their home. Unfortunately if they gave up this easy in the face of something like it, they wouldn’t survive ‘the Dark.’

It didn’t like doing this, it hated seeing fear. But what better strategy than to make others afraid?

“Just spit it out, and this nightmare is over…” The dark directed at the bartender, “yes or no: there is another?”

“I-I don’t know! H-honest to the Light, I don’t know!” The pegasus cried as a pain pinged in the dark’s heart, “P-please don’t hurt me!”

“Just the rumours then, kid!”

“R-rumours say so, y-yes!”

“Good.” The dark said as it pushed itself up from the bar and turned around to see the mass of trembling bystanders. 

It blinked and immediately the trembling stopped, and everypony in the establishment fell under a deep sleep. A white mist drained from the eyes of everypony in the establishment that travelled slowly to the dark, who breathed in the energy. Dozens of memories not its own flashed into the dark’s mind, and he experienced flashes of joy and sorrow, bliss and pain, love and hate... 

It saw a gathering of three friends around the table they always sat at, enjoying the cider they could only get once a week. They had been busy rebuilding a lost district, hard work that ultimately benefited the lives of hundreds of ponies within the walls of Grad. It could feel the exhaustion they felt, and how their only peaceful refuge was here… until it came.

It experienced the blossoming development between stallion and mare, two lovely couple: one pony, one deer, who worked diligently to tend the few fields that they could under such harsh conditions. This pub was the place they could warm up together… to be together. Now? They’ll forget everything they tediously learned about each other.

An old veteran who was wounded in one of the conflicts, honoured by the Lord General. She did everything to protect the lives that she treasured much more than her own, something that even then she wanted to do, but with a crippled leg: couldn’t. The final moments of her second memory were scattered, and for what?

The dark didn’t like doing this, it hated this. But what better way to understand why it was doing this?

All of their names registered, what they did and who they knew. The dark knew they would forget their names again, and everything that they did in their last attempt at life. At least they had the opportunity to do it all again, to perhaps improve and be better.

The dark didn’t.

The dark reached behind and pulled free a light pouch that contained an assortment of gold and silver coins, it gently placed a single silver coin on the bar where it left an absolute state of confusion. At least its suspicions had been confirmed by the local chatter--whether they realised it or not--there was something ‘other’ about a life who had just wandered into a world that it wouldn’t understand. This other would be poisoned by an extreme to be biased against another if the dark stood by and didn’t do a thing… and that radicalisation would prove to be problematic, if it were to consume the other.

“You promised us peace!” A shrill voice screamed in the head of the dark.

“Don’t leave! Please, never leave!” Another cried.

“You were a friend,” a distinct third rose that immediately boiled the dark’s blood, “we placed our trust in you, and yet you betray that?”

“Yeah, I certainly do.” The dark muttered under its breath, walking carefully over the prone shapes of the ponies toward the door that would let it leave, “I’m not doing what that trust requires no more…”





Lost Light was trembling while standing completely still.

She felt exposed and alone, but at the same time she felt protected and surrounded by something. Her coat was covered in some blackness that she didn’t understand… it felt weightless, as if it were her skin. What was her coat’s colour? She couldn’t remember anymore. All she understands is how natural this darkness felt, how inviting and tempting it was. All doubts seemed to… did she ever doubt anything?

NO.

That was Lost Light’s answer, that was always her answer. This was her now, a part of LIBERATION.

“I am quite pleased you have accepted your fate,” the Purpose spoke, “my poor child… how I understand pain. How I seek to purge it through ‘liberation.’ But unfortunately, there is something that should oppose equality.”

“The Light?” Lost Light found herself asking, though she didn’t remember wanting to speak.

“Something else.” The Purpose responded, “The power between this ‘Dark’ and ‘Light,’ the grey that consumes whatever it touches. The balance between our creation and our foes destruction. It seeks both.”

“It couldn’t help us in overthrowing the Light?”

“The enemy of our enemy is still a threat. This one perhaps poses a greater one than our original foe, if left unchecked. It shall seek to reap in the fields where it has not sown, and it shall leave everything desolate. It shall not just oppress, it shall destroy. It must be stopped, no matter the cost.”

“What am I required to do?” Lost Light struggled to say… why would she struggle to speak? It was as if they were daggers in her throat.

“We must correct it, lost light.” The Purpose sighed, “Ensure that it does not endanger everything that surrounds it.”





The Lord General paced back and forth within his War Chamber as he quietly deliberated, his heavy boots clanking against the shiny floor underhoof. With every turn he either faced Grad and her cityscape, or the vast and inhospitable wilderness that clawed at the walls that they built. It was a look either to progression and hope, or the consequence of failure and the desperation they would be in should they fail. Some considered Proud Defender an uncultured brute, and that was absolutely fine… but at least he could see the contrast and appreciate what each meant.

Defender remembered the day he woke. He remembered how he dragged himself across the inhospitable shores. He remembered he nearly died from starvation, and he remembered his first thoughts when he reached Grad: if he died again, it was fine… as long as they didn’t. Proud Defender wasn’t the one to take up that name, it was given to him by some foal and her family that he rescued from some abomination of the Dark. 

Ponies flocked to him, and with every exploit they praised him. Defender redirected that and ensured that those he protected could see the potential that they had for good. He knew everypony by their name, and he spent what time he could afford to get to know them. The Lord General understood that they ultimately are what gave him strength, they were what empowered him to be great… and so they were above him. He was their servant, their friend.

They were stronger together. Nopony was strongest alone.

The doors to the War Chamber swung open as the Lord General kept his pacing for but a small moment while he waited for his guests to come closer. Eventually he determined it alright to turn his head and look at those who joined him, making out the shapes of Light Bearer, Snowstorm and Void Walker. 

He smiled.

“Ay, what’s the news, Void?” Proud Defender asked heartily, “I’m wagering this lot are your vigils?”

“I think everything went alright?” Void Walker responded with a clear uncertainty.

“Yeah, new light,” Snowstorm replied with a smirk, “everything’s fine. Just need to remember that it’s on your part to learn what it means to be in the Iron Order.”

“I’m a bit confused,” Void replied, looking up to Defender, “are you an Arbiter? A Prosecutor?”

The Lord General laughed something he clearly knew that Void wasn’t expecting. Defender turned on a heel and approached the massive map that marked the centre of the War Chamber, he calmed himself and responded: “Nah, mate… I’m nothing of the sort! As much as I appreciate the efforts of my fellow brothers and sisters, my sole responsibility rests here as the head of Grad’s armies. The Iron Order cannot answer to anything other than righteousness, but I’ve got a head over me.”

“The Administrator?”

“Bingo!” Defender smiled, “But that’s good news that you’re going to be uplifted by vigils, that is very good news… it’s a difficult place to be, to be one of the lot. But you’ll do fine just as long as you keep your head straight. But for now, that means that you’re a free pony… unless, you’d like to do your part and work in the defence.”

Void blinked in response to Defender’s suggestion and replied simply: “That’s what I thought I’d be doing anyways.”

“Excellent, we’ll put you through the enlistment and training… but as for your rags, those probably should change.”

Void looked up at him again as Snowstorm laughed a bit, glancing him up and down before she offered unhelpfully: “I don’t know, Defender… I think the rust really fits him.”

“Yes,” Defender rolled his eyes, “yeah, I forgot that looks come before sturdy equipment! Anyways, Void, it’d be best if you get yourself to an outfitter. We’ll get you something a bit more respectable than a rusted greatcoat, and supplies. Afterwards, report back to me and we’ll get you locked for training.”

“Training?” Void asked like a child.

“You heard me, new blood. Training. You’ll go with your brother and sisters, and once we figure out specifically what you can do, we’ll shake it up… who knows? Perhaps by then, your vigils here will decide that you are ready to take on the Burden.” The Lord General responded as he gestured toward the door, “Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got a meeting with the Commanders in a few. If there are anymore questions, I’ll have to answer them later… show them what you’re made of, Void.”

“Actually, Lord General--” it was Light Bearer who started to speak, as Defender turned his attention immediately to the Prosecutor: “if you have a moment I would like to speak.”

“Well, you’re standing here. Speak.”

“In private.”

Light Bearer usually never wanted to speak in private, and generally she wasn’t as quiet as she had been. The Lord General lifted an eyebrow as he nodded his head toward a confused looking Void Walker and Snowstorm. The griffon and the other unicorn immediately caught on that they should leave as they spun around and walked through the doors which were afterwards closed. 

Defender watched as Light approached him slowly, stopping just a few metres before him. Light spoke in a hushed tone: “I wish not to take too much of your time, but Lord General, I wish to underline a concern I have.”

“Yeah?” The Lord General responded, “What is it?”

“Void Walker.” Light responded simply, “I believe you understand the specific danger that is associated with that word.”

“Void?”

“Yes, ‘void.”

The Lord General sighed as he turned away from the Prosecutor and looked longingly at the map he had drawn out. He tapped his forehoof on the war table, as he considered what he should say.

“It’s precisely what we need.” Defender vaguely responded, “Yeah, I understand that’s not very helpful, but listen here: if we are going to be able to fight the Dark to any considerable degree, then we’re going to need somepony that’ll be able to understand it just as well as he’d understand the Light. He’s already sympathetic to our cause, and for that we’ll need to guide him.”

“If he is going to have to learn about the Dark, then did you consider that he will fall to it?”

“You know as well as I do, I’m not going to let that happen!” Defender said sternly, “But we’ll need to be honest with him. There’s not going to be a secret disagreement among us, that’s what causes trouble.”

“Lord General,” Light paused momentarily, “Proud Defender, I do not disagree with your judgement. I would never suggest that we abandon our trust, but if he truly has the power we suppose him to have--”

“If he falls, then we’ll be there to catch him. But I’ll never allow for anypony to be pushed away!”

“That was not what I was suggesting, Defender…”

“I know…” Defender sighed, “alright, you’ve got a point. We’ll watch him together, and we’ll do everything we can… but if he’s called to learn about the Dark, we’ll need to accept that’s an impulse he can’t control. But you will tell him yourself what your concerns are, and you’ll do it today.”

“Defender, if he does not understand what--”

“Today.” Defender enforced as Light simply blinked, “No secrets among us, not among the new lights.”

The doors to the War Chamber swung open and a pegasus walked casually into the place, Defender glanced toward her with interest as Light followed to see the approaching pony. She wore a red detailed armour with a white camouflage pattern on her bodyglove, her wings decorated silver and red. Her burning orange eyes locked on the Lord General as she approached carelessly.

“Hey,” the pegasus simply said, “you two just chatting?”

“Discussing.” Light seemingly corrected, “Have you heard the news, Commander?”

“I’ve seen it myself, so if you’d like to cancel the gathering Defender, the Commanders are ready to investigate.”

Proud Defender blinked and tilted his head to one side, he glanced between a similarly confused Light Bearer and the pegasus. The Commander waited impatiently for a few seconds, before she prodded the conversation: “You haven’t heard?”

“What is it?” Defender asked.

“So, you didn’t hear? A pub in the southern district… well, everypony their lost their memories. Names and everything, they have no clue what’s going on. It’s like it’s starting all again, the ‘forgetting?” 

“You’re telling me--”

“Precisely what I’m telling you…” The Commander replied, “I know how much you’d like to talk about the Project, but this is a bit more pressing, don’t you think?”

“Lock down the district, and quarantine the area.” The Lord General said in a rough voice, “Skyline: get the Commanders to their station, anything that tries to leave they suspend immediately for questioning. Light: gather Snowstorm.”

“On it, Defender.” Burning Skyline responded as she turned and immediately darted out of the War Chamber.

“Lord General--” Light attempted to say.

“This is priority, Light.” Defender interrupted, “We’re not wasting a moment. Void’ll be fine.”

And with that, the Lord General set off to leave the chamber as the Prosecutor stood silently by for a moment. Defender could tell that she was looking out of one of the windows, but whether she was looking out to the city or to the wilds he couldn’t tell. He only prayed that if she was looking out to the wilds, she was looking at them with the same reverence and respect he had.
> Chapter 9: Calm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Void glanced down at the different formations at the walkways below, noticing that instead of callous military shouting he would have imagined to hear, there was laughter and jesting. The new light stopped, looking down at the officers and the troops that assembled themselves in unique ways. There wasn’t one formation that was the same, and each unit appeared to be comprised of different species: ponies, zebras, deer, yaks, griffons…

“How much do you know your history?” Void found himself asking impulsively, his sight lingering on the formations down the way.

“You know we don’t really know anything, Void.” Snowstorm responded, “Why do you ask?”

“How were we brought together?”

“What, the different species? Well… we don’t know. Forge keeps saying it’s the ‘exile,’ but that is all we can get out of him about that.” Snowstorm stopped, “I don’t really bother myself with it, because it’s just… beautiful.”

“Beautiful?”

“A lot could be said about Grad. She ain’t the easiest place, but I’ve learned to never underestimate her people. They focus their efforts to ensure that everypony has a safer place to live, they don’t divide themselves into different species and keep to themselves… they recognise that Grad is their home before anything else.” 

“But… it was mentioned that there were factions that broke Grad apart?”

“There were…” Snowstorm sighed, “what I know about that time is that it wasn’t about the species, though. Griffons weren’t contending with the zebras, nor were the deer warring with the ponies. They set themselves in ways that they believed that Grad should be run, and that caused problems. Either they wanted a King or Queen, or the Lord General to lead them. Then there was the management of resources, there was the fear of the plague that is the Dark.

“Forge did what he could, but even the old vigil realised that he couldn’t do it alone. He separated himself from our society and waited for the humble to approach, for those that were willing to listen. That’s when Defender humbled himself and sought out Forge, who came back. It was at that point in the terror that was ravaging our lands that Grad’s people listened, and they recognised that they couldn’t divide themselves over issues when they knew what the real problem was.

“They reinstitutionalised the Parliamentary system that had been created before, and set it to an emergency state until we can push the Dark way from our shores. After that, we’ll be able to hold what would be our first election in who knows how long… and life can move on from this ugly moment.”

“So all power is vested in the Administrator?” Void asked. It confused him a bit that if they were to reestablish the society that they once had, that they would have put it in as tight of a grasp as a King or General.

“Well, yes.” Snowstorm said, “But no. There are twelve ministers which have the power to eject Hush from power, but as soon as they do so then they are removed from power and Forge must select thirteen new individuals to lead Grad. Hush intentionally selected from her critics though, so maybe that might happen before this is all over.”

Just as soon as Snowstorm finished, the two were met by an impressively decorated bunker which displayed a series of flags that bore distinct symbols. One was of a torch, another of a shield crossed with two swords. There was one of a stylised star, a fourth which had seven pillars. Above the gated door, there was a solitary sign that simply read: ‘armoury.’ Snowstorm nodded her head toward the door, as if inviting the new light to enter the armoury first. Void hesitantly approached the door that he pressed in on it with his hoof, the heavy metal door slowly pushing into a tightly arranged room as two heads immediately turned to meet Void. 

Void stepped through the portal as he was quickly followed by Snowstorm, who gently closed the door as the two attendants of the armoury quickly stood at attention. It was a zebra and an earth pony decorated in grey camouflage uniforms, both wearing white bands on their forelegs. The zebra quickly looked over the poor state of Void’s armour, cringing every time she spotted patches of rust that riddled his greatcoat or armour.

“I see why you’ve come,” the zebra sighed, “the state of that kit is unacceptable!”

“I’ve never seen a series like that!” The earth pony cried, “It must be centuries old!”

“I hope that it isn’t centuries old.” Void sighed, “That would complicate matters a lot more than I’d like them to be.”

“Isn’t that true for all of us?” Snowstorm chuckled, “The Lord General would like to see to it that this one has something a little more appropriate. I figured I could trust my favourite tailors for the job!”

“This kit is hopeless.” The zebra flatly stated, “Historic though it may be, nothing is going to adequately patch it. This one will need a new uniform.”

“This one?” The earth pony laughed, “What are we, royalty? What’s your name, guardsman?”

“Void Walker.” The new light responded.

“Somepony has a terrible taste in names, I’m wagering that was the Lord General’s doing?”

“I think it’s nice.” Void sighed, “You have any other recommendations?”

“Don’t mind Silver, she’s just jesting!” The zebra responded, “As for your kit, young Walker, I reckon we’ll be able to retain a greatcoat in the design.”

“For the record: I am fully serious about that. Anyways, the greatcoat a favourite among the patrol. Not too heavy, not too light and adequately warm. It isn’t as compatible with much of the armour choices, but it’ll still hold itself well…” Silver stopped, staring at Void’s eyepatch, “And that really oughta go. Ever considered a helmet?”

“Wasn’t my first concern when I woke up. I just realised that my eye really hurt and that keeping it covered was the only thing that alleviated the pain.” Void replied, “But you think you’ll be able to fashion another one?”

“You want to keep an eyepatch?” Silver laughed, “We’ve got you covered, now… best you take off those rags, ‘young Walker.”

Void looked around as eventually he uncomfortably went to remove his armour and greatcoat, as the damaged metal plates clattered on the concrete floor. The unicorn pulled off his greatcoat and let the tattered clothes fall down to the floor, and for the first time looked at his exposed body. His grey coat was crossed with a black and white patterning, which all seemed to be connected to the mark that he bore on his flank. 

All attention in the bunker immediately honed in on the symbol that flickered with the ‘stars’ that marked the side of his face and hooves: it was of a double-headed eagle with sharp wings and tail feathers which clenched a star and a black sphere in either claw.

Some emptiness pinged in Void’s mind, before dozens of worried cries echoed in his ears.

“Well,” the zebra dryly said, “that’s unique.”

“That’s quite the mark...” Snowstorm said, looking up at Void, “any idea what it means?”

“No.” Void responded without any real thought, “I don’t.”

“Anyways…” Silver said after a prolonged silence, “we’ll get you fitted with a better coat and I’ll start going over the armour with you, and once we’ve done that you should be clear. That sound good?”

“Yes.” Void again responded flatly as he slowly tore his gaze away from the strange mark, “That’ll be appreciated, thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” Silver winked, “just doing my job!”





Void adjusted the straps on his steel-hoofed boots as the ties came equally around and comfortably set on the sore hooves. Reaching up to test how far he could stretch out, the new light found an unpredicted range of motion that was impossible in the greatcoat that he previously wore. The grey and white patterned fabric felt secure and provided an easy warmth, as Void finished by straightening out the coat a bit more. He looked up at the griffon, pony and zebra that were watching him as he offered a quick grin to show his attitude.

“Easier on the joints?” Silver asked.

“It’s missing a bit of rust,” Void replied sarcastically as he glanced at Snowstorm, “but it’s definitely a lot more comfortable.”

“You’ll have to give it a few hundred years before it wears to that point,” Snowstorm rolled her eyes, “so do you agree to stay with us until that point?”

“Sure, you have a few years to spare?”

“We get it!” Silver cried, “Don’t forget to keep that coat well maintained, Void! It won’t need elbow grease, but it’ll need basic care. If you need any help with that, Nyaruguru and I should always be here.”

“If you need a better fit, we’ll fix it in just a bit.” Nyaruguru scoffed, “Glad to be of service, guardsman! Just promise you’ll put it to good use.”

“I’d have no other intention!” Void smiled.

The door pushed open gently as all the heads turned to meet the new figure as Void immediately recognised Light Bearer. He offered a quick greeting before he noticed that the usually calm features of the unicorn were twisted into a look of concern. He wasn’t the only one as Snowstorm stepped forward, as the griffon glanced quickly between the other three. The warm interior seemed to cool and it was all too noticeable.

“What’s happened?” Snowstorm asked, foregoing any greeting.

“We are being summoned to the southern district.” Light Bearer replied quickly, “There is a… situation which we have reason to believe if not corrected, then we will be facing a second ‘Forgetting.”

“H-how?” Snowstorm stuttered, “Have they found a source?”

“I do not know, Arbitress. The Lord General has summoned us to investigate the issue, but if we are able to find this ‘source,’ perhaps there will be a method of discovering what happened to lead our nation to forget what it was.”

“When did this happen?” Void asked.

“An hour ago.” Light responded quickly, “Arbitress Snowstorm and I will head to the quarantine zone to investigate. Void Walker, I will have to ask that you find a unit to fall under. When our investigation is concluded, then we will reunite.”

“What?” Snowstorm asked, “We’ve agreed to act as his vigil, we can’t just leave him!”

“I am certain that Void Walker will be perfectly fine.”

The griffon and the unicorn turned at the same time to look at the new light, as Void shifted uncomfortably. He eyed Light Bearer with concern as he attempted to make out specifically why she suggested he stay behind, when Snowstorm advocated for the idea that he joined them. It seemed odd to him, but Void couldn’t argue with Light. He stood still as the griffon eventually sighed with resignation and turned toward the door that led outside.

“It’s fine.” Void replied simply as the griffon turned back and offered a quick smile.

“Of course it will be,” Snowstorm responded as her eyes seemed to drift toward Light, “why wouldn’t it be? We’ll see you soon, Void!”

And with that the griffon exited the armoury, as Light stood perfectly still momentarily. The unicorn eventually moved to depart, before she turned back and bowed her head humbly to the remaining three: “Thank you for your understanding, and please excuse my interruption.”

“Nothing to be worried about…” Silver awkwardly responded as she and Nyaruguru exchanged puzzled glances.

Light quickly departed from the armoury following that. Void looked toward Silver and Nyaruguru, as he perhaps expected the pony and zebra to have insight as to what just happened before he quickly determined that neither of them had a clue about what that encounter meant. The zebra quietly walked back around to the table that he had sat at before Snowstorm and Void entered into the armoury as Silver seemed to just stand petrified.

“Well,” Void started, “I guess that means they want me to wait with a unit. Have any idea where I’m supposed to go?”

“You haven’t been given an assignment?” Silver asked, “The Lord General is always certain to organise the newbies into a detachment.”

“I was meant to be with those two, I guess things changed?”

“Aye, things are odd. I haven’t seen them act like that before, it seems to me as if Light is really concerned about something…”

“Concerned?” Nyaruguru asked, “That is putting it lightly… I’ve never seen her that stiff. Never.”

“Well then, what could it mean?”

“What could it be?” Nyaruguru blinked, “Well, she’s afraid of something.”

 “Afraid?” Silver chuckled, “She’d be offended if you suggested that! With every right too! She’s stood with the Lord General against the Dark more times than we can count! Certainly she isn’t afraid of another ‘forgetting!”

Void sat there quietly as Silver and Nyaruguru debated the issue, as he tried to piece together what was going on. Clearly he had no idea about the complexities of anypony’s personality here, but to him Void leaned more toward what Silver was suggesting… but even then that didn’t entirely add up when considering that they both agreed that she had never been so rigid when it came to addressing these issues.

No, there was something more to this.

Void turned his head towards the door as he slowly started to head outside.

“What? You’re going to leave without a thank you?” Silver asked.

“No,” Void said as he spun around immediately, “of course not! Really, I appreciate this! It is far better than what I had been wearing.”

“No need to thank us,” Silver ironically said, “just doing our little part! Get out there and show them what Grad is made of!”

“And please, before there is any rust,” Nyaruguru winked, “come see us!”

“I promise.”

“Oh, how can I forget!” Silver cried out as Void tilted his head curiously in the direction of the earth pony as she disappeared behind a few crates. Eventually she emerged with a strange looking mask dangling from her mouth as she approached Void and placed it in his hoof. Void looked down at the strange mask, as he looked back up for an explanation.

“It’s a scrubber.” Silver responded, “Ever since the forgetting there has been a dark mist that surrounds Grad. If you breathe that corrupted air, it has a tendency to… well, corrupt you. Brainwash you and turn you insane. So just a fair warning, if you ever see a heavy dark mist: pull this over and attach a filter… at least then, you won’t fall to the Dark.”

“It… corrupts you?” Void asked puzzled.

“We don’t understand how it works. All we know is that it… yeah, corrupts. It twists whoever breaths it, and then they just disappear. Patrols head out hourly to see whether or not it is encroaching any further.” Nyaruguru explained, “So just keep this mask handy, and if you ever see a dark mist… you know what to do.”

Void nodded his head grimly as he pulled the mask over his head and rested it gently on the grey scarf he wore as Silver handed him two extra filters, which Void clipped to his satchel. The stallion turned his head back to the door that he dared exist only seconds before, as his gaze lingered for a moment. No, he needed to do what was expected of him as he took brisk steps toward the exit.

“Thanks again,” Void said, “take care, Silver, Nyaruguru.”

He didn’t hear a response as he stepped out, as the new light glanced down the spiraling walkways that led to the main gathering floor where several units were stationed. Void drew in a deep breath as he made his way down.





There was an uproar of laughter as Void walked by one of the units as he suspiciously glanced over to the group, before satisfying himself that they were not laughing at him but at one of their clownish members. As he walked by, the new light quietly considered which he should dare to approach. There was at least a few distinctions between the teams that Void saw, and that was whether or not they generally were stuck to the ground or if they could take to the air. There were a few groups that comprised both, but not many.

“Ay, you lost new blood?” A voice called out. Void stopped as he turned to meet its speaker as he saw that it was a yak.

“Not lost, but I was just told to join myself to some group.” Void responded.

“Just anywhere?” The yak chuckled, “That’s not how I remember Defender running things!”

“Well, I’m supposed to be with Snowstorm and Light--” 

“Oh! You’re that one!” The yak interrupted, “One of the new lights! What was your name?”

“Void.”

“A lot better than mine,” the yak frowned, “I’m Linebreaker, one of Defender’s lucky few! Aside from the point, brother, if you need a place to reckon yourself, feel free to join with us!”

Void looked behind the massive and impressive size of Linebreaker to the team that accompanied him. Two ponies, a zebra and a griffon. The four others waited casually as either they were toying with something or sitting down within the barracks that they were provided. Void looked back to Linebreaker who offered a smile that was missing a few teeth, as the new light bowed his head politely.

“That would be appreciated,” Void responded, “thanks.”

Linebreaker motioned to Void to follow him in as he stepped inside the moderately comfortable barracks, which was strewn with a series of personal items. There were pictures, notes and a solitary banner of what appeared to be a fortress’s wall that lined the grey interior of the barracks. Void looked over these items carefully before he cocked his head to one side, as if puzzled by the arrangement of the room.

“What’s your name, new blood?” One of the ponies asked.

“Void Walker.” The stallion responded.

“Void Walker?” The griffon asked, “Your decision or Defenders?”

“It’d be Defenders.”

“You’re one of the lucky few, then…”

“He’s also one of the new lights!” Linebreaker exclaimed as he nudged Void in his side, “Would you believe that?”

“Not hard to see,” the pony yawned, “side of his face is the night sky.”

“Don’t act as if you’re not the slightest bit curious!”

“Oh, I’m interested. Just tired.”

Void glanced around the room once more before he found that the pony was staring intently at him. It was only when they looked each other in the eye that the pony smiled, as something seemed to flash in the eyes of the pony.

“I wouldn’t have believed there’d be another.” The pony said with some odd power, “But here is another! What’d you say your name was, kid?”

“Void?” He offered with more of a question than a statement. Something seemed the slightest bit off about the pony that he was speaking with as the air seemed to cool, and whispers seemed to echo. Void didn’t understand what the whispers were saying, but it seemed they only occurred when this pony spoke. 

“Void?” The pony assessed quietly to himself, “Yeah… far better than what plenty got stuck with. So, Linebreaker here mentioned you’re one of ‘em… those who’re brought back from the jaws of ‘the dark.”

“Yeah, I did!” Linebreaker re-enforced, “With any luck, he’ll be the one to break the storms!”

“High hopes…” The pony chuckled, “don’t mind me saying, Void… I have no reason to doubt whatever tricks you’re hiding up those sleeves, but do you know what you’re able to do?”

“I-I’m not sure.” Void said, trying to shake the incessant whispers from his attention, “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Time’s key.” The zebra offered.

“We all know that there is plenty of that!” The strange pony responded, ”Well, ‘course not for everypony. Abouts how long have you been breathing, kid? I’d reckon no more than a day.”

“You mind not being a downer?” Linebreaker sneered, “You’ll scare the little lad!”

“I just fancy to tell everypony what they oughta know…” The strange pony smiled, “ain’t that what guardsmen are for?”

Void eyed the strange pony that only offered that confident smile, seemingly irreplaceable by any other expression… something seemed too strange with the way that this pony was holding himself. Linebreaker and the others didn’t seem to mind the way that he was acting, and so Void reluctantly chalked it up to it was just the way he was. If this pony was a threat, then why would they allow him into the defence force? Why would Defender trust him to defend Grad?

“Don’t mind what the guardsman is saying, Void.” Linebreaker responded, “He’s just seen a lot... So! Clearly you’ve met with Defender! He ever mention me?”

“No,” Void responded, “at least not by name?”

“Ah, he’s too kind!” Linebreaker laughed, “I’ve been around for a long time. He was there to stop the Warlords when they started popping up to challenge his authority. Defender figured he’d prove himself lord over the lords, and so he challenged this fellow: Lord Ablui, a yak like myself to this headbutting challenge. Everyyak thought that’d be suicide! But Defender reared back his head and with the strength of a thousand yaks, knocked the horns off of Ablui! It was enough to convince ‘em to support the Administrator!”

“He… just battered in the head of a yak?” Void asked.

“I’m sure there is a tiny bit of exaggeration in the story,” the griffon shook her head, “but yaks respect strength. We needed to show that Grad was strong.”

“I saw it happen with my own two eyes!” Linebreaker growled, “It oughta have happened!”

“You’ve seen a lot with those two eyes.” The griffon sighed, “Remember when you said that you saw the sun?”

“I thought I did!”

“... but you didn’t.” The zebra finished with a chuckle.

“That’s different from seeing something that actually happened!” Linebreaker responded.

“Precisely, but sometimes looks can be deceiving! Sometimes we exaggerate what we see, because it makes it sound better that way!”

“You calling me a liar?”

“Not lying if it's an exaggeration, I’d just say it’s ‘storytelling.” The tired pony responded as she stretched out.

“And we all know I’m the best storyteller!” Linebreaker followed up, as a chorus of laughter broke out.

Void turned his head to try to see what the strange pony was doing, before he realised that the pony had disappeared. He blinked and rubbed his eye, but as certainly as the pony had been there: he was gone. Void didn’t understand how the pony could just vanish but before he tried to ask, a sudden red flashing light and siren blared. Immediately, everyone in the barracks jumped to attention and started to attach their equipment. It was all one fluid movement before the pony, griffon and zebra charged past Void and left him and Linebreaker.

“Well, what are you waiting for!” Linebreaker roared, “We’re moving!”
> Chapter 10: Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Proud Defender pressed the snow underhoof, as if to test its durability. He watched carefully the several guardsmen worked around the scene, administering to the affected and lost with consideration and how several ponies that would’ve walked down the street were redirected. He stood still, considering what the long standing effects of three dozen individuals having forgotten their lives again would be… but Defender’s thoughts always returned to that all-consuming fear: that these--who he was meant to protect--could’ve been wronged like this.

They lived lives, they sought after their dreams for a brighter future. They had given their time and energy to build that dream and to sustain it no matter the cost. Many of them had been soldiers under his command who helped fight against the Dark, who made what sacrifices they could to protect their brothers and sisters… and were now left with irreversible injuries. It robbed them of their pride.

But this? It robbed them of their dignity.

And Proud Defender wasn’t going to let that go unpunished.

He stared at the griffon. She was a close friend, one who threw herself between some ravenous beasts to defend her team, her family. They tore through her leg, but her sacrifice gave them time to evacuate a breached region. She held her head high in the day that he presented her with the highest honour, and she told him she’d do it all again.

But now she stared at him blankly, as if she didn’t know who he was.

Anger boiled, but Defender stoked it's flames and focused his attention to the steps that were approaching from behind. He didn’t turn to greet them as he usually would’ve, and instead stared at the prone and defenseless civilians. Defender stood still as he sensed Light and Snowstorm approach him on either side.

“Have they found anything out?” Light Bearer asked sympathetically.

“Nothing.” Defender responded, “We’ve not faced anything before that’s been able to… force somepony to forget something.”

“So, you think it’s still loose?” Snowstorm inquired.

“It’s not an animal. Otherwise it’d be tearing through the streets and causing similar problems… so either it’s the Dark or it’s somepony.”

“But who would do this?”

“No idea.” Defender responded honestly, “But whatever or whoever it is, it’s still roaming… prowling. It targeted this establishment intentionally, this wasn’t random, so it was searching for something.”

“Searching?” Light Bearer said.

“Pubs are the only place that our peoples gather from all sorts of walks of life. It’s where the most information is exchanged, aside from the barracks… meaning only one thing.”

“It knows about how the culture here works.” Light Bearer concluded, “But even if it is a who, who would have the nerve to attack civilians?”

“Especially under our beaks…” Snowstorm added.

“Whatever this plague is,” Defender growled, “we’re going to find it and root it out. This? This isn’t just some attack on our sovereignty, this is a direct attack on our right to exist… and I’m not going to stand idly by, while I guess at where the next attack will be. We’re going to start a regional lock, filter through everything--”

Defender stopped his rant while he turned his head up to the sky, making out the patterns in the sky. They weren’t natural… but that was impossible. The clouds above head were materialising overhead, they weren’t drifting overhead as they normally did. They were black and seemed to form like a blossoming flower whose petals were blades. The Lord General immediately saw the cackle of energy that emanated in the heart of the deathly flower, and threw his head back down to the ground and roared: “Get to cover!”

There was a blast of a bluish energy that singed the scene and sent screaming civilians and troops slamming into the concrete walls and streets. Proud Defender struck the wall though regained his hooving, throwing up a challenging glance to the storm that brewed overhead before he scanned the scene: Light Bearer and Snowstorm were getting to their hooves, while Burning Skyline was searching to help get whoever she could to behind cover.

There were several limp shapes in the bubbling snow. Defender counted the casualties quickly: seven at a glance… eventually he spotted his griffon friend dragging herself through the snow that seemed to only be getting colder. Defender didn’t hesitate. He immediately charged to recover his friend and swung her into the supporting grasp of Snowstorm, turning with orange glowing eyes shouted: “Get to the pub! There’ll be shelter in the cellar!”

Those who could move did, and those who couldn’t were lifted up by those who could. They immediately headed to the ruins of the pub that moments ago they wanted to evacuate, Defender stood still as he kept a challenging stare locked with the storm. He clenched his teeth and ensured that the others would have ample time to get to safety before he did.

“That can’t be all you’ve got! You bloody disgrace!”

“Defender!” Skyline called out, “Get to the cellar, you oaf!”

Defender blinked before he started his retreat into the ruins of the pub. Vaulting over the remains of several tables and other debris the Lord General slid into the security of the cramped cellar, knocking down the heavy metal trapdoor that swung neatly into place. His mind started to count, hearing the sirens beginning to blare through the heavy gate. Defender tempered himself, looking down and started to count the number of those who were in safety.





Ten minutes later...

Void followed behind Linebreaker and the others of the team followed through with several other deployments into the winter streets. Pegasi and griffons flew overhead in several different formations with those left on the ground fanned out with their teams. There was a panicked scream that erupted with a sudden desperation, several innocent civilians ran against the guardsmen pouring into the scene.

Spotlights shot into the sky like knives, cutting through the clouds overhead as many of them focused on what appeared to be a flower that was comprised of blades. It was a curious thing, but immediately something seemed to plant itself into Void’s mind. His mere glance at it seemed to attract attention from this thing.

You do not belong here.

There was a shouting that seemed to be muffling at an increasing rate, Void stared at the object. He kept running alongside his newly made allies, as soon he noticed a blue light intensify in the centre of the flower. Something--some base instinct--warned Void that something was horribly wrong.

“Find cover!” Void impulsively shouted as suddenly--

…

…

…

It smelled of smoke.

The fire roared in his ears, the sirens desperately echoed after each violent crackle. 

Everything felt numb.

He tasted blood.

Slowly Void managed to open his eye, pressing his hooves against the rubble covered floor and weakly. His legs trembled from a wicked combination of fear and pain. He quickly glanced over his now damaged armour and his torn, ash covered greatcoat as the blue embers faded on the heavy fabric he wore. The stallion spit out a mouth full of blood as his hearing cleared ever so slowly... his mind felt drugged by a combination of toxic fumes and trauma.

Void turned his head, making out a definite series of shapes either struggling to hold on to conscious or those who already slipped out of life's delicate grace. His head reared upwards as his slow mind immediately sparked and caught on hastily and speedily to the situation, recognising the dark clouds that... that had just levelled an entire district.

Void stumbled over to the one of the shapes that had been twitching before he fell on his knees beside his barely made comrade. Resting the awkwardly laid head of the zebra that had accompanied him and Linebreaker under his hoof, Void watched as the guardsman offered a weak smile before relaxing all movement. Void counted the seconds before he slowly came to the realisation that the zebra had passed on.

The stallion sat still, quietly honouring the memory of his ‘brother’ before he gently set the zebra’s head back down and stood upright. He scanned the scene, and spotted Linebreaker who laid motionless. He quietly walked over to the leader of the now defunct team as he looked over the burnt armour of the once mighty yak. Void prayed for some movement, no matter how slight…

But nothing.





“What have I done?”

Lost Light stood like a spider in the centre of a complex web that spanned out like blades, standing paralysed like one of its victims. Her wings trembled as she noticed that the feathers within seemed to be an extension of the pain of this web. Lost Light stared down into the area that she carved out below, as if it was a tree that required pruning… but the pain that it caused? It was a city.

It was a home.

I-it needed CORRECTION.

Lost Light watched as the flames she caused slowly crept over the landscape, she twitched. Her mind focused in a direction that she didn’t understand: she required to seek that thing that tempted and threatened LIBERATION. The pegasus flexed her wings as she suddenly felt if she were commanding not two, but a thousand.

Opening her eyes, Lost Light saw the world from a thousand different angles she heard the roar of hundreds of nightmares. She was required to find that to which threatened the path that fate required, the thing which sought to be a balance that it was not… but how could she--NO, SHE WAS THAT ALL COULD BE.

EXISTENCE REQUIRED CORRECTION.

WOUNDS COULD NOT BE MENDED ON THEIR OWN.

THEY REQUIRED STERILISATION.
> Chapter 11: Battle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The metal cellar door clanged, and a hoof-sized dent bulged from the ground. A second passed, before the cellar door was knocked off of its hinges and was sent flying several metres before it struck the burnt wooden floor, leaving a large bruise in. After a moment a figure rose from the depths of the cellar that pushed through the smoke and smothered the flames with his step, pulling up his utilitarian rebreather up over his muzzle.as he took in a deep breath.

Soon enough three other figures emerged from the cellar, the pegasus fanned her wings over the blue flames and extinguished flames from the scene immediately and the smoke vacates. Skyline approached Defender’s side and pulled on her own rebreather as she looked up to the bladed flower. 

“Thanks for clearing the smoke,” Defender huffed, “helped me to focus my anger to a more appropriate source.”

“Whatever this is,” Skyline added, “it’s making the skies a bit of a challenge.”

“It dares challenge us in our own domain? It dares to set our nation afright, and to slaughter those that seek a dream?!” Defender roared, “No longer! The Ministers want their answer? How ‘bout we give them a show and pull out that weed!”

“You mean--”

“Yeah, I do!” Defender responded, “Skyline, Snowstorm: get to Project Valkyrie! Time to prove that Grad will not budge a micrometre!”

The pegasus and the griffon immediately spread their wings and took off from the scene as they shot off together through the night’s sky. Defender stood still and Light walked beside him, she looked up into the dark sky and stared at the bladed flower in the sky. The unicorn pulled on her own rebreather and her eyes lightened with a brilliant white light, offering nearly as bright as the spire was.

The two stood proud while they watched a blue light spark within the storm once more, expecting it to strike toward them… but instead the Dark struck a target elsewhere. Defender’s wondered why it would do this, but he was reminded to his task at the moment: protect the civilians who hid in the cellar below.

Defender was expecting the hordes. And he knew they would come.

“Starting to feel like old times.” Light sighed.

“Taking a walk down memory lane, are we?” Defender responded, “Best not to forget those times, because that’s what makes us vulnerable.”

“I was just hoping that we would be able to get a bit of a breather.”

“We will… only after we beat it out of the hollow-headed freaks that forgot how we’ve pressed them like grapes in the winery of our victory.”

“You really do have the oddest ways of putting things.”

“I’m just too clever for my own good…” Defender responded, “we’re holding the line here until we can ensure that those below will be safe. Not. One. Step. Back.”

“Aye, Lord General.”





The streets seemed to be fogging up the closer that Void got to the centre of this… what could he call it? Invasion. His hooves wrestled anxiously as he pulled up the rebreather over his muzzle and tightened the filter that was already attached. He couldn’t take any chances because if this fog was the ‘dark mist’ that Silver and Nyaruguru had mentioned, then it was certain that his mind would start to degrade.

Void had been continuing through the streets with the hope that if he could make it through, he would be able to reunite with other guardsmen. But the further and further he got toward some hastily placed objective, the more lost and confused he got. Ever since he pressed on from where the ‘lightning’ had claimed the team he assigned himself to, he hasn’t seen a single body. The shouting had muffled and left him with an eerie quiet that he couldn’t quite place, but it felt all too familiar to the moments before he was attacked by the timberwolves beyond the Wall.

Too familiar.

Void immediately stopped, and threw his head in whatever direction he possibly could. He couldn’t see a thing while he walked backwards. Ten sets of eyes appeared through the dark fog, piercing the black veil that seemed to be consuming Void at an alarming rate. His heart raced as his throat dried from the tension, these offending gazes nearly set the new light into a panic. Void nonetheless held his ground and challenged the creatures he couldn’t make out, knowing it would only take a moment before they pounced.

The creatures flashed their wings and within a second four of the creatures lunged at the exposed pony. Void fell to the ground in a desperate attempt to avoid the claws that were certainly swiping at him… but no luck. Some daggers struck into his side and the stallion roared in pain. He was immediately sent airborn--hitting a brick wall--Void felt something move out of place in his chest and the air was knocked out of him as he rolled to the floor with a thud. Weakly, the unicorn attempted to make a stand with a pain surged through his chest.

“Y-yeah…” Void whispered to himself, “that hurt!”

Claws wrapped around his throat and he was slammed into the wall again. The eyes of the creature stared past him it seemed, tightening its grasp. Void’s hooves battered uselessly against the scaley armour the beast boasted, as the eyes drew closer and closer to him and the sharp eagle’s beak exposed itself.

A plan for escaping this predicament immediately formulated in Void’s frenzied mind. It wasn’t savoury by any means, but it would at least grant him another few precious seconds of this life he had been given. Summoning what strength he could, Void reared his head back before he thrust it toward the dark eagle’s head. Impact was positive as eventually his head came to a stop, but it didn’t make a grisly crushing sound… rather, it sounded like a knife cutting through ripe fruit.

The eyes of his captor darkened as the grasp around his throat loosened, and the two slid down to the snowy ground. Void’s head sunk down with the eagles, before he realised what had happened. Pulling back with what strength he could muster, he pulled his horn free from the head of the shadow that now appeared to disintegrate in front of him. Void looked up challengingly to the nine eyes that remained as he recognised that their hatred seemed to intensify.

Void stumbled.

As he stood in defiance against the dark eagles that had swooped upon him, he realised that they were pausing for far too long. Had he really intimidated them with that display, when they outnumbered him nine to one? No… there was definitely something more to this than just intimidation. They wanted him, dead? Pacified? Whatever it was, they were waiting intentionally for something. 

He couldn’t stand still, he needed to act.

Void Walker drew in a deep breath as he tried to relax himself and ignore his pain, with no result. He blinked with the one eye he could, before he made his own all but certain suicide charge. The creatures didn’t react when Void roared, mustering the strength that a yak could respect… that he hoped one could respect. He leapt up with his weak legs, he felt a punctuating energy surround him as it did before, and the dark and light seemed to blend and falter.

Striking one of the creatures with his own body, Void stretched out his legs and the field of energy that surrounded him seemed to expand and collapse on itself. It fanned out like a detonation as greyish-purple power lashed out with the sound of a thousand cracking whips. The dark eagles who could escape did, but those that were too close seemed to evaporate with the energy that broke them to pieces. The brick walls that caged the stallion in were torn apart, bricks seemed to float aimlessly and effortlessly through the air. 

How…? A hunger gnawed within Void’s bosom following this display of power, as if it demanded more. The whispers filled his hearing and the stallion tried to shake them loose, soon enough he recognised the remaining four shapes circle above him like vultures to a dying horse. Void watched them far out of his reach, his panting and shortness of breath transformed into a choking.

Falling to his knees, Void shook as he attempted to muster the strength that he could stand.

A shouting… not unlike the first time soon replaced that fear. Several winged shapes flew overhead, they seemed to battle with the dark eagles above. One shape slipped below the conflict and attempted to help Void to his hooves.

“You’re going to need to stop getting yourself into trouble,” the familiar voice chuckled, “we can’t keep meeting up like this!”

“S-Skyrunner?” Void choked, grabbing his side with definitive pain. The pegasus immediately responded and helped him to a wall to support himself on. Soon enough, the three others joined her.

“Shh!” Skyrunner hushed, “You look no better than when we first sent you off!”

“Is that…” First Flight asked as he started to draw his own conclusions, before erupting in laughter: “Did you shove your horn into the head of one of these monsters?”

“T-thought it’d be a good idea…” Void quivered with a smile, “seemed to work for some other ponies…”

“We can laugh later!” Skyrunner interrupted as she looked at Void’s side, “No… this is no good at all. We need to get you to a medic ASAP!”

“N-no…” Void responded, staring into Skyrunner’s panicked eyes.

“You’re in a delirium! You are in no condition to continue this battle… ‘specially against whatever the Darkness this thing is.” Skyrunner responded, “Look, I know you want to help, but this is far too out of your league at the moment!”

“It’s here for me!”

There was a deafening silence.

“If that’s true…” Skyrunner responded, “then there is all the more reason to send you away! Defender wouldn’t handle losing another life--”

“With all due respect, your ‘majesty…” First Flight interrupted, “if he’d be willing to continue this fight, you can bet your rations that I’ll carry him.”

“First--”

“You remember my story as well as I do…” First Flight looked down to Void with an encouraging smile, “there was this foolishly brave pegasus who charged into a battle he wasn’t prepared for. It shattered his wing in several spots, but he figured that he had come so far, why not finish the fight? So with a beyond injured wing he continued the flight, only holding on enough to glide back to safety… when Defender saw him, he asked a question this pegasus would never forget: ‘What was that? Your first flight?”

Void listened intently to the pegasus.

He was willing to do what was necessary.

“If anypony is willing to chase after the future, they’ll be beat in at some point… but it’s that willingness to continue that fight that determines whether their worth their metal, ma’am.” First Flight concluded.

Skyrunner stood for a moment of consideration, but only for a moment.

“Fine,” she sighed, “you’ve got me there. But we’re going to need a plan, and if we’re going to account for a wounded groundwalker… that’s going to complicate matters.”

“That storm…” Void offered, “it’s like an eye… we need to blind it.”

“Blind it? We can certainly do that…” Skyrunner wondered aloud, “alright! First Flight: you carry our friend here. New light: do whatever you did to those eagles, and hopefully that’s enough to wound that abomination enough to give us room to chase it out!”





Bursts of light flashed through the clouding darkness.

Hundreds of eagles swarmed around Defender and Light, attempting to viciously rip the two ponies to pieces. But the resistance the Lord General and Prosecutor offered were legendary. They had seen several fronts against the Dark together: whether it was decimating armies of timberwolves on the plains, or challenging the bears of the north to close quarters combat, the symbols of might and light had always persevered.

As Light blinded the creatures with the rapid flashes of the light she manipulated, Defender always followed up by breaking the grounded beasts into pieces. They had only been fighting for all but five minutes, but their seamless cooperation had already claimed over four dozen of the dark eagles that attempted to swarm them, so much so that the eagle’s natural self-preserving fear had replaced the instinct to murder that they had been instilled with by the force they swore alligence to.

Defender knew all too well how dangerous these creatures were, but they were also the easiest to frighten.

“Seems just like old times!” Defender roared over slamming one of the blinded eagles to the ground, he felt it shatter like precious glass.

“You miss those times?” Light called out, having successfully managed to blind another eagle.

“The fear of it all? Nah!” Defender responded as he took the now-blinded eagle and threw it into one of the concrete walls, “The pleasure of setting them to scatter? Absolutely!”

“I think you are getting slower, Lord General!” Light responded, rolling out of the way of a diving hawk. It crashed to the floor before she offered a deft kick to the side of the exposed creature.

“Slower?!” Defender roared, stomping on the head of the dark eagle, “Why, I’d never!”

“Just an observation!”

“And a mighty bad one at that!”

Defender stopped and looked up into the night sky toward the bladed flower that still lingered over the district. He had prayed that Project Valkyrie would have been ready at that moment, something that he was all but certain would’ve set the scales of this battle proper… and within that moment he got his answer. Several whale-like shapes seemed to materialise on the horizon, followed by dozens of v-shaped things that set upon the bladed flower. 

The Lord General smiled, the swirling storm of eagles seemed to be caught in a panic relenting on their attack on both Defender and Light and tore off to the shapes that now intruded the space they hoped to dominate.

Project Valkyrie.

Bright beams of lights suddenly flashed from the bases of these aircraft: blimps and fixed-winged planes cutting through the dark fog that leaked from the heart of the bladed flower, suddenly the dark night’s sky was sent in a flurry. The armoured blimps vibrated and soon enough, the sound of war trumpets ringed across what was the entire cityscape of Grad. Eagles caught in the blasts of light and sound were sent in an immediate craze, either losing all sense of navigation or throwing themselves at their targets. 

The blimps started a formation around the storm, the lights that they bore concentrated on the centre of the intrusion. Hundreds of more shapes broke free from the flower, swirling like angered bats whose cave had been attacked. Defender smiled underneath his rebreather with the same satisfaction a hunter would have.

“Wasn’t fighting slower…” Defender continued, “I was just stalling for this!”
> Chapter 12: End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Void felt the wind beat against his face as First Flight raced through the skies, right behind the rest of the Knights. His side screamed in agony, demanding that he should ground himself and rest… but there was no rest. As the blimps and the gliders set themselves in formation against the bladed flower, the number of eagles that had circled around the sky had more than doubled in strength and fury. Now they were not as calculated as they were, they simply were ravenous. Void kept these thoughts to himself as he tried to seal away that fear, and take on the bravery he required for the moment.

“Don’t know why we didn’t just fly you back when we rescued you originally!” First Flight grunted, “That’d have been adequate training for this!”

The Knights closed in on the centre of the conflict. Suddenly the formation they took broke to pieces, the Knights throwing themselves in every which way. Void was originally confused as to why first, before he realised the murders of eagles that tore off after all of them. First Flight rocked off to the side to avoid an eagle who swiped at him with its claws, threatening to kill both the pegasus and the unicorn. 

Regaining his stability almost as quickly as he lost it, First Flight continued his trajectory toward the ever growing storm. It was only then that Void appreciated the true size of the bladed flower, as if it was an amalgamation of all evil. The hordes of dark creatures thickened like smoke when they approached, and the booming sounds of war trumpets and flashing lights from the sudden arrival of the air force was doing nothing more than add to the tenseness and turbulence of the situation.

“We’re getting close!” First Flight called, “But the storm’s thickening up quick! You think you’re ready to do whatever you did down there?”

“I-I hope!” Void responded.

“Don’t sweat it!” Flight responded, “You’ll do fine! I just know it! And when it’s over, I’ll even get you a--”

They were struck by something but not by an eagle. Void nearly yelled in fury before he felt his weight stop from plummeting, as from the corner of his eye he watched First Flight plummet toward the ground. He cried out, but his voice escaped him as he turned his attention to the thing--no… the pony that held him up. A pegasus that wore shadows as her coat, appearing as dark as the storm was.

Her eyes weren’t normal… they were something else. Something much worse.

“You have proven yourself troublesome.” This shadow said with a hollow voice, “But EXISTENCE demands CORRECTION.”

“W-who are you?” Void demanded.

“I? I-I… I am a lost light that has found Purpose.” Lost Light responded, “But you are a shape that requires CORRECTION. You threaten the balance.”

Void looked at Lost Light in horror, as the pegasus twitched violently. Her voice broke through, as if panicked and dissuaded: “W-what have I done…?”

The twitching stopped as the pegasus returned a condemning glare, swinging Void downwards and swept her wings in a diving manner. The two immediately shot downwards toward the ground that was several hundred metres below. Void tried to break free of the grip that Lost Light held him in, but she seemed to dedicate herself like a weight to sink him. The unicorn wrestled more and more, desperately seeking a way to at least get pegasus off course and the two tumbled wildly down toward the ground. 

Thrusting his hoof into the head of Lost Light, Void received no response more than the pegasus driving her hoof into the wounded side of the unicorn which caused him to shout in pain. Reality seemed to blur as Void slipped into the balance between consciousness and unconsciousness, violently wrestled to break free from the vice that was throwing him down to his demise. Suddenly a power seemed to surge within the unicorn as his eye watered with pain and anger. Void yelled and blinked.

Bliss. Momentary bliss.

The velocity seemed to break for all but a moment as Void forced Lost Light to be underneath him as the two sailed into a window. Lost Light broke the velocity of the impact as she cried in a sharp and definite pain and let her grasp of the unicorn loose as he tumbled into a wooden support beam that held the wooden and concrete roof overhead up as dust was unsettled from its resting place and scoured the scene. Pain screamed over Void’s entire body as it ached incredibly.

Void shot a nervous glance to where he thought Lost Light was, as he saw the pegasus already on her feet as she approached Void slowly and sinisterly. The air seemed to taste tainted as Void drew in a deep breath. 

“RESISTANCE proves impurity…” Lost Light muttered, “b-but it isn’t… REALITY REQUIRES CLEANSING.”

“L-Lost light?” Void coughed… the air seemed to grow thicker and harder to breathe, “I-I don’t think you--”

Void was slammed onto the floor by the pegasus whose eyes burned with a contradicting look of terror and hatred, and she intentionally slammed her hoof on his injury. Void cried sharply in pain. She stared at him, and for a moment she took off her hoof from his injury and looked at him with an expression that pleaded for forgiveness. Void shook his head, pleading for Lost Light’s second side to take control as she twitched violently.

“I-it hurts!” The pegasus cried, “It hurts! Make it stop! Ma-- PAIN IS LIBERATION… pain is-- LIBERATION.”

“P-pain?” Void quiveringly asked.

“It is required.” Lost Light responded with a newfound confidence that seemed to escape her with every breath.

“But for hundreds of innocent souls?”

“T-they--”

A third shape slammed into Lost Light. It wrestled with her, the two winged ponies tossing and turning as their wings lashed at each other and eventually shot them out of the building. Void painfully rolled onto his uninjured side, as he tried but failed to stand upright. Drawing in a deep breath, he thrust his foreleg forward and used every part of strength he still maintained to drag himself across the floor that was littered with glass and splinters and the sharp shapes poked through his greatcoat.

You are drifting…

Void ignored the thought as it tried to wrestle for his attention, he continued to drag himself toward the window he and Lost Light crashed through. Reaching the border of the window, wheezing, Void cranked his neck upward toward the bladed flower that lay still. It offered no resistance to the bombardment that the air force was putting up against it, when before it was burning Grad indiscriminately.

Why stop now?

The spider had left her web. 





Lost Light cried out in pain as she was slammed into the ground by the pegasus that intervened and spared what needed CORRECTION. The pegasus that had carried her enemy, the pegasus that… how? No… her legs for the first time felt as if they were being controlled by her, she met the eyes of this pegasus that seemed to have a strange connection with her. Friend. Family… brother. Lost Light’s mind rushed with what she swore was a reunion, she commanded herself to stay pinned to the floor by the uniformed pegasus who wore a rebreather. How did she know who this was?

Why was he her-- FOE.

“F-First Flight?” Lost Light asked as tears of pain and joy brimmed, but she ignored what was being asked of her from FREEDOM.

“Why are you trying to kill us?” First Flight demanded, seemingly unphased by the fact that she knew his name. Lost Light choked as the accusation was laid before her… was she killing them? She thought…

No.

“H-help me…” Lost Light asked, “I-I can’t--”

“What do you mean?” First Flight demanded before his expression shifted into horror, and he looked at Lost Light and looked at her wings. He shook his head as he worriedly fidgeted, “N-no… you can’t... you’re alive?”

“Why did you leave me?”

First Flight sat silently, guilt beset his mind once again. Eventually First Flight stepped off from Lost Light, he pressed one of his hooves against his chest as he sighed: “We didn’t want to… but your rebreather, it was damaged. We tried to raise your attention, tried to get you up... but you didn’t respond. We tried…”

That is the world that they live in, YOU have learned to unfortunately accept. They live in an irreversible state of fear, that anywhere outside of their walls is a place of suffering. They have YOU wear those facemasks to ‘protect’ YOU from the ‘evil influences…’ yet they risk the precious lives of countless selfless souls, much like YOU UNDERSTAND. It is a blissful ignorance where they live. It is an illusion… nothing more than a sorrowful state where they believe everything they are surrounded by terror and destruction.

Lost Light shook her head as she tried to wrestle with-- LIBERATION. Her legs moved and pain surged through her body like a current, but she didn’t respond to LIBERATION. Her mournful eyes stared at First Flight who had let his guard down… he had tried to justify abandoning her to IT. No… no, he didn’t want to leave her behind-- CORRECT IT.

“Symphony--” First Flight said before he came to a sudden halt, dropping to the floor. His eyes showed nothing more than surprise before he keeled over, Symphony tried to rush forward to catch her friend, but found that Lost Light held her back and kept her hooves cemented to the floor. She tried to move, but everything CORRECTED her not to.





Void struggled to rise to his hooves, as he managed to lift himself up on his trembling legs that ached. He took a few uncertain steps before he fell onto the wall, using it to support him and drew in several deep breaths in a vain attempt to feed his weak limbs enough to walk. After finding a way to control his breath, the stallion took few precious moments to strengthen his resolve to walk without the assistance of the wall, stumbling over weakly toward the other window that Lost Light and the other pegasus crashed through.

Every aspect of Void’s body screamed for him to stop, but that... 

That willingness. It inspired him.

Reaching the second broken window, Void stared down into the hole that would have been where the two ponies would have fallen. It was quite some way down, but if that was where they went, it was where he needed to follow… even if it meant a broken leg, or two. Void calmed his nerves as he took his first tentative step toward the abyss, he allowed gravity to do the rest. Slowly his body teetered forward as eventually gravity’s pull was strong enough, and he plummeted down the hole.

Void’s mind raced--his memory corrected his fall--he tilted his body to land hind legs first and he pressed out one in particular. Positioning his hoof to land first, Void watched through a tightly clenched eye as his leg impacted with the concrete. There was a second where the pain dominated his senses, crying out in pain following a sickening crack. Landing on his injured side didn’t help with the pain, resting motionless on the floor before his senses got the better of him.

He needed to move. 

Using his three other legs, Void rolled onto his stomach before he weakly pressed up. His fourth leg lamely kicked but it seared in pain with even the slightest flinch as the stallion bit his tongue. Void struggled forward, he entered into a much more spacious room as he soon spotted his friend who lay prone on the ground and a lost light that lingered over the pegasus’s motionless body.

Anger surged momentarily, before he noticed that Lost Light trembled…

“What have you done?” Void asked after waiting moments for the pegasus to do something, anything.

“I-I… have betrayed my friend.” Lost Light responded after what could’ve been a minute, “I am not my own…”

Void stood in silence.

“I-I have caused pain… no, I have lived in-- PAIN… pain isn’t LIBERATION…! I need help, I want help! The pain!” Somepony else cried.

Void completely expected Lost Light to turn and strike him, to try to kill him again. But yet in that moment he couldn’t help but stand with his guard down. She wasn’t an agent of her own will, and it was evident that what she was doing was conflicting with what she truly was. The lives she ended and the peace she distrubed was not her will, it was something else… something that had seized control over her. 

He in some ways was a victim of that, too.

“You have…” Void affirmed, “but what you choose to do now, will at least ease the burden of that pain.”

“I-I need escape!” The pony cried.

“There won’t be. There will never be. But just as long as you are willing to do better…” Void said as the pony seemed to stop trembling.

There was a deafening silence as Void Walker stood trembling from pain and Lost Light stood completely still. He felt a tiny spark of power rush through him when he stared at the pegasus, convincing himself that if it escalated he would offer one final, good fight… not even a day back into a new life, and he was already considering its end. One moment which seemed to stretch on for an hour left the trembling and still figures in place.

“Strike me…” The pony said cooly, “it is the only way.”

“You--”

“P-please… break this thing from my mind! I-I can’t… I can’t stand it anymore!”

Void stood in silence for a moment, before he lifted up on of his forelegs and directed his hoof at the pegasus that stood still. A ping of sorrow tore through him, considering what he was about to do to a victim of some plague. He wobbled like a sickly tree as he tried to maintain his balance and his concentration. The greyish energy started to swirl around his hoof, and he looked at the pegasus that refused to look at him.

And he hesitated.

He tried to follow through with the pony’s request, but as soon as he concentrated on it the greyish energy faded. Void watched the pegasus eventually turned toward him. He couldn’t tell what she was feeling, but he waited for the moment that she would do anything. 

It was her turn to strike him down.

The weak stallion stood by as he waited for fate to claim him, to do to him what he couldn’t bring himself to do to another. The two stared at each other for a long time, whether in contempt or in sympathy, Void couldn’t tell. With the passing time, Void watched the pegasus grow more and more unnerved, her calmness seemed to slowly melt into uneasiness and then into anger. His trembling became more apparent as this happened, he did what he could to swallow his fear.

He shut his eye as she lunged toward him in fury.

The room seemed to break away immediately as he felt himself lift up through some vacuum, before he opened his eye in confusion. The entire landscape seemed to change as he now faced Lost Light with her body twisted into a corner of the room, both of her wings seemed to be bent in such a way that they could never be guaranteed flight again. She stared up at him no longer with hatred, but rather with fear.

Fear. And that was the last thing he saw before she closed her eyes.

Void immediately turned his attention to the limp body of First Flight as he set off, his trembling legs collapsing underneath him as he brought himself to crawl once more to where his ally rested. His hind leg screamed in pain as he did, as each pull sent the incredibly wounded stallion into a cry of pain. Everything in his body demanded he stopped as soon as he reached the limp body of First Flight, Void’s anxious eye scanned over his friend.

He was breathing.

Resting one of his forehooves under First Flight’s head, he cradled his friend as First Flight went into a coughing spasm. It was evident that life was closing for his friend as Void sat there trembling. The pegasus managed to laugh between each cough, “I-I never… I never finished what I wanted to tell you…”

“You have time.” Void offered.

“Heh… n-not much.” First Flight coughed, “I-I’m sorry… I thought I could--”

“You did do it. We stopped the storm, First Flight.”

“N-not what I was… going to say.”

Void turned his head toward the unconscious figure in the corner as it dawned on him what First Flight meant.

“I’m going to get you both out of here…” Void responded, “I’m not going to leave you.”

“You might not… I can’t promise…” First Flight responded.

Void lowered his head in sorrow.

“I-I… never got your name…”

“Void Walker.”

“Yours? Or--”

“The Lord General.”

“S-see?” First Flight laughed through sickly coughs as his breathing soon became erratic, “I told you… it wasn’t so bad.”

“First Flight--” Void attempted to say.

“T-there’s a flare on my utility… you’re going to need to fire it, Void… get Symphony out of here, and you… you get out of here, too.”

“You’re--”

“N-no… I think--I know--this is the last one, Void. Last flight…”

Void sat in silence.

“T-tell Proud Defender,” the pegasus said between laboured breaths, “tell Skyrunner, a-all of Grad… that it’s been an honour, and you, Void? Y-you’ll do fine.”

First Flight stopped moving when he said this, and Void was left to hold the retired body of a lost friend. Sorrow choked the stallion as his hooves reached around anxiously to find that flare that the pegasus had mentioned. Perhaps if he worked quickly enough, they could get a medic that would be able to help, perhaps if he lit it he could save his friend. Finding the blue tube, Void yanked it off with what little strength he had in his reserves before he aimed the tube toward an exposed hole in the wall as he fired the blue tube through.

Void watched the bright blue smoke stream through the air as it whistled a call for help, dropping the now useless container for the flare to the floor. The stallion gently rested the pegasus back onto the floor and pulled himself onto the wall to rest, and wait for help to come… wait for someone to rescue the three lost souls.
> Epilogue I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Void opened his eye when he felt his blood cool, his face contorting in an expression he himself couldn’t describe, staring directly at the toothy grin of the strange pony who he had seen in Linebreaker’s barracks. The stranger stared back at him, seemingly bearing no ill-will, yet holding an air that definitely told Void that this pony wasn’t looking to help either. The intrigue mixed with anger and fear, Void demanded: “Who are you?”

“Name’s never mattered, so the fact is I don’t carry one…” The strange pony chuckled, hovering over First Flight’s resting place, “it just seems to cause problems.”

“Cause problems?” Void coughed.

“Look, ‘new light…’ I’d recommend you ought not to be questioning some fella’ you’ve just barely met. Unless ‘course, you’d like to see where those problems lead.”

Void stared defiantly at the stranger who only laughed in response. The pony walked aimlessly around the room as he seemed to pretend to be an investigator at a crime scene: scouring every detail and adding it to a list of scrutiny. But for what purpose? What did it accomplish? 

“I’d reckon that’s a threat.” Void replied with a furrowed brow.

“Doesn’t need to be if you don’t make it one, kid… anyways, I’d just like to have a chit chat.”

“Why?”

“Because you aren’t the others, you are just ‘other.’ This conflict you tie yourself in? This ain’t your problem…”

Void paused, trying to interpret what the stranger had said. Here he was: finding shelter under the people who had saved him from an untimely demise by something that was definitely looking to kill him. What the stranger suggested was preposterous, it ultimately implied that he should leave what were thousands of lives to battle and die on their own.

“It is my problem, I can’t just let this place fall into the dark.”

“Cute… you’ve adopted their vocabulary too.” The stranger laughed, “Problem is kid, that it’s never all that simple. Y’see, you aren’t this place… but nor are you a pawn for ‘the Dark.’ Yet you so readily toss yourself in with lot that’d willingly let you die.”

“If I die, I die bringing peace.”

As Void said that, the stranger paused and looked down at the dead body of First Flight before insultingly looking toward him. 

“That a fact? Heh, you’ve got guts… I can appreciate that, kid. Takes a true character to shoulder burdens that aren’t their own.” The stranger sarcastically replied, “Now, I won’t stand between you and your zealotry, but I’d like to propose a question: what if you aren’t supposed to take a side here? What if, you’re meant to be the middle in the blend of two contrasting colours?”

“Who are you?”

“Thought I made that clear, kid--”

“You’re spouting nonsense!”

“Ha! I guess I’ve come just in time, before you carried yourself to some fantasy where you could play hero and dance with death!”

“What are you talking about?” Void growled.

“I’ll give you the easy answer, kid: no one’s gonna know what I’m talking about!” The stranger growled back, “What I’m talking about goes far above everyponies collective thick heads! They’d just call it blatant heresy against some falsehood they live by! Lemme guess: they’ve convinced you that they serve the light and that everything that stands against them serves the dark?”

“Sounds like you’ve got complacency with the dark…”

The stranger looked at unconscious shape of Lost Light before he laughed sinisterly, causing Void to look down in shame.

“Far from it, kid… the Dark destroyed everything I’ve known, I’m just an unfortunate sucker that’s lived through it all. But as soon as I start saying that to anypony less open than you, I’m instantly branded like some heretic and driven out for the same cause you’ve laid at my hooves. Just because I’m not blind enough to need the light, don’t mean I automatically sympathise with the dark… I figure that somepony whose been touched by the void don’t need to be told what to do either.”

“How do you know about--” Void snapped.

“I’ve lived long enough to see it before, kid!” The stranger barked back, “All I’m wanting to say is that the void is nothing more than some bad juju, it don’t interfere ever unless things get bad enough! And you existing, is evidence that it’s gotten bad enough!”

“So, I’m a harbinger for fate?”

“A harbinger? No, you’ve got it all wrong… you’re the decider: judge, jury and executioner! Whatever you’ve been speaking with so far hasn’t gotten to telling you that, so you’ll not be worried about it until it does! It’s going to whisper you sweet nothings until you’re prime in place to be making those choices! You think you’re ready to do that?”

“What do you want me to do about it if that happens to be true?” 

“Kid, that ain’t my call…” The stranger shrugged, “you’re going to have to figure out on your own that there is a fine line that you’re allowed to walk before you break a precious balance! But if you listen to me, I guarantee that you’ll know how to play the fields even!”

“Why should I trust somepony without a name? Especially one that is tempting me to use my power for its cause?” Void asked.

“Heh, I’m not telling you to do squat for my favour, boy… if I were, I’d reckon you’d already be head over hooves for me. I’m just willing to show you one simple trick: hoofing the line between right and wrong! Show you what you’re truly made of!”

“So you’re only interested in keeping this conflict going? Why should I be the power between two contradictions?”

“Because kid, everypony will be much safer if you stop your fantasies of playing the hero and curb the idea of you being the villain…” The stranger sighed, as if it were something he believed to be obvious: “the forgiving path is the one where you don’t pick a side, it’s the one where you do what you oughta do to keep everything else in order… trust me kid, I’ve seen it played too far either way and all that ever does is cause suffering. It’s taken good folks from me, and by Celestia, it’s what took you from yourself!”

“What do you mean?”

“Every opposite has its villain, kid. What's it worth if we always condemn ourselves to be heroes to one, just to be villains to another?”

“That’s assuming that everything is governed by morals--”

“That’s exactly what it is, kid! So why play by that doomed game? Why not make your own? Strip yourself from the restrictions that seek to bind you like a slave to some cause that only antagonises another! The only way to be a hero is by refusing to be one!”

“So let thousands of innocent lives die?”

“I’ve been in your horseshoes before, kid… I learned that those lives die anyways: they’ll always be casualties and victims as soon as we pretend we’re their shields. The only way to protect them is to inspire them to protect themselves, because as soon as they become too reliant on you, that’s when you have Grad destroyed. That’s when you have my home destroyed. That’s when you allow all of Equestria to be destroyed!”

“So I step away and this instantly all becomes better?” Void questioned, “What sense does that make?”

“No…” The stranger chuckled, “y’see, I’d hate to see Grad destroyed. I’ve seen that enough times, kid. And Celestia knows that I’ve lost more than enough… all because I’ve decided to play what you are tempting now. It’s not heroism to allow everypony else to be your possessions, that’s villainy! So I say to Tartarus with that! Let them become their own heroes, their own defenders! Let them be more than toys! Let them prove to themselves that they’re the miracleworkers! That is far more liberating than locking them in some shelter, while you play their protector!”

“You’re a coward who stands on the sidelines, and protects your own position through some convoluted idea that society will protect itself from the stones that are constantly cast at it. You’d rather see Grad destroyed a hundred times if that means you don’t need to raise a hoof, than stand among it’s defenders.”

“Kid, that ain’t what I’m saying. But I get the gist, you’d like to see me leave… and I respect that. Just a piece of advice before I go: ain’t nothing wrong with questioning your place in the midst of a storm, but don’t forget that it takes two currents to make a tornado. If you’d ever like to reconsider--Tartarus: if you’d ever like to chat--I’m always lingering. Fate has a funny way to make sure I cross the paths of those ponies who really need some fresh perspective.”

“Perhaps you can start by explaining what Tartarus and Celestia are.” Void responded, as he continued to eye the stranger with suspicion.

“Heh, those are things you’ll have to figure out on your own.” The stranger laughed as he approached the doorway he likely entered through, “Pretty sure she wouldn’t particularly like me speaking her name, but hey… respect is given and I just happen to be a very respectful pony. Best of luck, Void…”

With this said, Void felt a sudden grogginess wash over him. His attention started to fade, trying everything he could think of to stay conscious... but every time he closed his eye, it grew longer and longer before he could open them again. He turned his eye toward Lost Light who remained unconscious, hoping that the pegasus wouldn’t spring up to take advantage of the situation.

Void tried to…

He tried to…

Tried…

…

…

…





Void opened his eye in a panic, as he struggled to pull in a breath of fresh air. Eventually the stallion managed to stabilise his panicked condition as he levelled his breath, as he looked around his surroundings. It was a white room, with several partitions, as he soon noticed that one of his legs was raised above the rest by some sort of sling. Void felt his side as he soon noticed there was some sort of bandaging that tightly bound his wounded body, as rested his head back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

It hadn’t been a nightmare.

A sudden burst of coughing overtook him. Each cough sent pain surging down his body, before eventually he could bring himself to breathe normally once again. His ears flicked in the direction of the distinct sound of hoofsteps entered the hospital hall as they stopped right before Void’s partition, before the sheet was pulled aside and the all too familiar shape of Snowstorm lingered over him.

“Thought I heard something…” The griffon smiled, “It’s been a while since you’ve asked questions, I reckon that there are plenty more?”

“N-no…” Void chuckled painfully, “not now, at least.”

“Good, I was worried I’d have to stand here for a few hours.”

“But, it is sort of hard to have a conversation without questions.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true…” Snowstorm laughed, “how’s the leg?”

“Better, I hope…” Void responded as he adjusted in his cot, “doesn’t hurt as much. I got hit pretty hard.”

“More than hit, Void… you got beat.”

“I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“Barely. You’ve been out for a few days now, by the time we got to you, you were wheezing what we feared were going to be your last few breaths. Fortunately, we were able to get medics on the scene with the help of Defender’s valkyries.” Snowstorm answered, “Quite the first day back, wasn’t it?”

“How many days have I been out?” Void asked.

“Five. You had far too many bones out of place for the doctor’s liking, but she was able to get them all set… with the exception of your leg.”

Void looked to his leg that was lifted up in the sling, realising that it was encased by some sort of device underneath its wrappings. The stallion tried to move his leg before it immediately responded with pain. Snowstorm stood by as she lowered her head solemnly, pondering about the circumstance that he was in. Void sighed before he relaxed his leg, letting it dangle uselessly in the sling.

“Yeah, that was my bad…” Void muttered, “I sort of plummeted to follow First Flight and Symphony, figured breaking my one leg was better than breaking all my legs.”

“Made a good decision, then…” Snowstorm replied, “you know, I’ve been skulking around the community in search for an answer for what happened… because we weren’t quite expecting to find you, First Flight and our most wanted in the same room. Turns out, there was more to that story than just three randoms ending up in the same place.”

“A lot was going on… but the Knights and I figured that we needed to take out the storm from its source, that is when Symphony attacked.”

“I know…” Snowstorm sighed, “Skyrunner told us, and well… it’s pretty easy to put the rest together after that. It’s impressive really, in fact Defender has been giving it a lot of consideration and--actually--I shouldn’t say that… but what I can say is that the Iron Order has been more than impressed that some new light in their first day helped to repel a storm on the scale of this.”

“Hopefully that means I won’t need any more broken bones…” Void responded.

“You’ll understand in time, Void. It isn’t easy to find your way, but those that do must be depended upon to help others navigate through the dark… it isn’t the easy way, but it is the most forgiving way. So, after a few more broken bones and a lot more pain, maybe you’ll be ready to come within reach of my greatness, but for now you need to rest.”

“It’s not like I have been dead for who knows how long.”

“Is that a place you’d like to return?”

“Perhaps a few more hours of sleep wouldn’t hurt.” Void swallowed.

Snowstorm chuckled before she headed back through the partition, turning her head back momentarily before she responded with a smile: “I’ll see you in a bit, Void.”

And again the griffon disappeared as Void stared blankly at the white curtains that surrounded him, he sunk his head back into the pillow underneath. The stallion drew in a deep but shaky breath as he exhaled slowly, he felt his nerves cool and tame themselves. He quietly contemplated what had happened but a few days ago, he reflected on what he simply needed to focus on: Grad had been saved, or at the very least given a week to recover from its siege.

Several had perished. Linebreaker and his team, First Flight and undoubtedly dozens of other souls prepared to make that final sacrifice. Many more had been injured, including himself.

But thousands had been spared that pain.

Wasn’t that the point?

Void closed his eye and calmed himself and purged his mind of the rapid thoughts that he knew in the end were pointless. He focused now on the one thing he needed to focus on: rest. Preparation for what came next, to be ready at a moment’s notice. To defend those who dared to dream.

That was his hope.
> Epilogue II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Proud Defender looked out over the reconstruction of the district that had been extensively damaged by the attack. It had been a week since the sudden and unpredictable strike on their home, since the flames scorched their refuge and sent hundreds to scatter. After several hours of repelling the beasts that swarmed the ground below, the Lord General alongside several fireteams and the valkyries weeded the bladed flower and tore it asunder. They scattered the pedals of the abomination over the wilds beyond the wall: a simple yet effective warning to the beasts that dared claw at the walls of Grad that it wouldn’t surrender even a micrometre.

That day they proved Grad’s strength… but Defender knew all too well that it would be tested again, and again until the day they faltered. The Dark would seek to bleed Grad until it had nothing left to lose, until it was all to certain to fall. 

Hundreds died.

But Defender would never allow for them to be forgotten. He wouldn’t allow them to be forsaken. Because to him? They were the bastions of his hope, and because he relied on their examples and called upon their memories: they were immortal.

Plenty had been recovered, but it would still take months until the southern district could be considered suitable for occupation. Until then, the residents of Grad would unite hooves to ensure that what they lost would be rebuilt. The north would sacrifice their quilts, the east their firewood and the west their concrete until the scars of the south healed. It was times like these that the peoples of Grad learned to rely on each other, and every time it moved Proud Defender.

He could hear the light footsteps that approached from behind, as Defender tilted his head slightly to make out the approaching Burning Skyline.

“Don’t you have patrols?” Defender asked.

“Seems you forget, I clear them faster than any other team…” Skyline responded as she briefly stuck her tongue out at Defender, “y’know I am your fastest flyer.”

“Sometimes things don’t require speed,” Defender replied, “ever hear the story of the hare and the tortoise?”

“It’s called a story for a reason!”

“Ha…” Defender sarcastically replied, “say, Skyline, what do you know about construction?”

“Not a thing.”

“Some things you can still learn, my young student. There are several components to building a skyscraper… first there must be a foundation laid and that requires a very, very big hole. It can take months of hours spent with the spade. Once that hole is dug, then they place in the footings that allows something to be built atop. Then the frame is set up, followed by the innards of the place, down to the finest detail.” Defender explained, “Now, why’d you reckon I bring that up?”

“I’m guessing it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re watching something be built?”

“Nah, you’ve lost my respect…” Defender chuckled, “point is, when we’re focusing on making something impressive, sometimes we forget the small details that truly make this effort worthwhile. Too many fuss over the details that are obvious: lay the foundation, put up the foundation, but how inconsequential is that small tile that we always walk on?”

“For a stallion focusing on the big picture…” Skyline mused, “what causes you to consider the small thing?”

“We’ve been struck before, with a wall or without a wall… but no matter what we do, to some degree we manage to lose something. Sometimes, it takes that tile to be kicked loose until we realised how much we appreciated it… how much it contributed.”

“Ah, I see what you’re on about…”

“It pains me, Skyline…” Defender replied, “as much as it honours the memory, it’s knowing that the new blood have been throwing themselves without a chance.”

“How many?” Skyline asked as her warm demeanour seemed to fade away.

“Twenty-seven, who haven’t even served a week. Several more who’ll be immobilised for the rest of their lives. This keeps going, we’re going to be spread thin, and for as good as we are… we can always be better. Each improvement… every step we take, we can build something better. We can ensure that our brothers and sisters have a fighting chance, that we can raise a generation that’ll be better than us.”

“Sounds like you’ve got schemes…”

“I’d prefer ‘plans,’ Skyline…” Defender responded, “but it’ll require all of us. Veterans need to pave the way, for untold legends.”

“He’s awake.” A third voice announced behind the two ponies, “Still in rough shape, but at least he’s kicking.”

“Speaking of untold legends…” Skyline nudged Defender as the Lord General smirked, and turned around to face his griffon friend. 

“So the new blood is still with us…” Defender smiled. To him, it was another victory. Another soul that had braved the field of combat and despite all the odds, made it out alive. He paused for a moment before he continued: “Can we raise the fellow to his feet?”

“Leg is still in a bad condition, but if we get it in a brace, then we can probably get him out of the wing for a while.” Snowstorm responded.

“Wonderful news… get the lad ready.”





Void tried his leg brace, as he weak leg turning back to its natural position. The ache burned with every step he took but at the very least he was able to walk, no matter how painful each step was. Void pulled a coat that was provided over his bandage-ridden body as his muscles burned, as he gently rested them as much as he possibly could afterwards. The stallion looked toward the doorway with an evident limp, as he stepped out of the hall that he had been kept in for the past five days. 

Void was met by Snowstorm and a pegasus who he didn’t recognise. He bowed his head politely to the griffon and the pegasus, as he turned to face the camouflaged pony in particular.

“Void Walker, this is Burning Skyline.” The griffon introduced, “Burning Skyline, Void Walker.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, new blood.” Skyline responded with a smile, “I’m quite impressed, but the next time something requires flying, how ‘bout you leave it to us?”

“That’s a suggestion I’ll take into consideration.” Void replied as the three wandered through the hallways and out onto the street where a silver self-driven cart waited. As Void looked around, he noticed that the citizens of Grad turned to look at the three as if in awe, taking precious moments of their lives to honour their guardians.

To thank them for everything they've done.

Snowstorm and Burning Skyline lept effortlessly into the cart, as Void lifted himself up with difficulty. Sitting opposite of the griffon and pegasus, Void stretched out his injured leg as he drew in a deep breath and exhaled sharply.

“Nice being outside?” Snowstorm asked with folded claws.

“One could say that, yeah…” Void replied, “hard to believe that I’ve been out of it for five days.”

“If it makes you feel any better, the doctor was reckoning you’d have been in coma for a time far longer than that. But hey, you’re ‘walking.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Void huffed, before he turned and looked directly at Skyline: “what about you?”

“I’m thinking it’d be safer for me now to not say anything…” Skyline joked, “small steps, Void. Small steps.” 

Void rolled his eye as he leaned back in the cart, as he looked out one of the windows provided. He watched quietly as several uniformed guardsmen wandered the street, smiling and laughing among themselves as they interacted with one of the street vendors. He watched the younglings run joyfully through the snowy streets, as they bounced a ball between each other, as a dog leapt around between them.

Void couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s nice.” Void simply said, “This place…”

“‘Tis.” Skyline sighed, “It can get too cooped up in the Wall or at any of the other installations… even when I was just a guardsman, the thing I liked doing the most was walking these very streets. It helped give perspective, to see how simple life was… how good it is.”

“It’s our duty.”

“Ah, you  share sentiments with the old vigil…” Skyline chuckled, “Defender would say the same thing. He’s too afraid to see any life beyond him holding the line, even if it’s just a night out in Grad.”

“He’s busy… all the time.” Snowstorm scoffed, “Probably doesn’t help that he has to account for your wiles, Skyline.”

“I am a perfectly reliable pegasus.” Skyline sarcastically said, mimicking a robot, “Tasks one through a hundred are completed as is required by the Lord General.”

“So you are just a part of the defence force?” Void interrupted.

“Just a part?” Snowstorm chuckled in response for Skyline, “She’d claim to be the Lady General if Defender wasn’t up there.”

“I’m the most reliable flyer he has, so I figured that came with a few more liberties…” Skyline winked.

Void chuckled as the three approached an area that was all too familiar to the new light, as he quickly made out the seven nameless vigils that circled the capitol. He turned to look at Snowstorm, whose expression had faded to something more akin of respect while Skyline still boasted a confident expression. Void felt his own face droop as he started to remember that night…

No wonder Proud Defender was ‘too afraid.’

The cart came to a stop as the door swung open, as the three filed out nearly in the same order the same order they filed in. As Void stepped out he recognised that there were a series of torches that were lit around the entire installation, with several coloured candles that burned. Pictures of the fallen were meticulously placed, and the banners of each branch decorated the scene. 

Dozens of guardsman lined the walls as the protectors of the fallen as hundreds of mournful souls gathered. Walking through a narrow passage toward the sanctuary of the seven spires, Void looked around him to those who gathered to remember someone--if not everyone--that Grad had lost. As he followed Snowstorm and Burning Skyline, Void realised he was being raised into one of the spires in particular.

As he turned his head to look at one of the walls, he saw carved in them a series of names…

Void remembered that those were the fallen.

Eventually the group came to a halt, as Void looked at the chamber in which they gathered. Candles burned brightly underneath, as Skyrunner placed a portrait of their fallen comrade underneath a list that had chipped in the name in bold detail: FIRST FLIGHT. The stallion lowered his head sorrowfully, as he stood quietly along with the remaining team of Knights that had lost two of their own.

The Lord General stood by with his helmet removed as he looked up to Void Walker in particular. The smile that Defender bore wasn’t there… as he slowly approached and stood beside the three other new lights. The Knights didn’t shift their attention to their small little monument, as the four others stood by in silent sympathy. Eventually Fixed Wing reached into a pouch on her uniform as she pulled loose a battered fabric armband that held a picture of a sword with wings and laid it before the picture placed by Skyrunner.

Moments of silence passed on as the teary-eyed Knights eventually turned to leave, before Skyrunner stopped beside Void. He looked up to her as she offered a quivering smile of appreciation, before she patted the unicorn on his injured shoulder and pressed on without speaking a word.

Void watched as the Knights left, before he looked back up to the monument. He approached the wall as he kept his attention focused on the bold lettering of his friend and ally. He could feel the pain from that night, as he looked down to the portrait and the armband of First Flight.

“I remember this one…” Defender sighed, “he was always eager. Serious at first… but as he got going he loosened up. Made mistakes, but he learned. That is what defined him, is that he learned to be willing… willing to change. It was remarkable… it was inspiring. First Flight charged headfirst into situations even if it meant that certain end--no hesitation--time and time again.”

The Lord General looked down at Void, as if he was considering how to proceed. 

“Point is, there are no safety in what we do… you’ve had to learn that at a confusing time, new blood. It pains me every time was are reminded that what we do--that everything we sacrifice--eventually will run its course and lay its end for all of us… it isn’t the easiest way, but it’s the most forgiving. To dedicate one’s life to something greater than itself, it’ll need to learn that through the pain and the sorrow of our way, we learn what we need to be if we are going to reach down to lift others up.

“First Flight knew that. He knew that even if it meant a broken wing, shattered spirits of his loss… he suffered those tragedies doing what he needed to do: to be a guardian and a beacon to those who surrounded him. It forged him into an unbreakable soul. It made him what we all needed him to be. He. Honours. Us.”

“He took to action without question.” Void added, “That is what he did… to the end.”

“You didn’t know the colt to well, Void…” Defender sighed, “just two odd run-ins and a uniting cause. Yet, you see the power behind a solitary piece. You’ve seen what First Flight flew for, and you’ve submitted yourself like him to whatever injury or fate lies to claim you. That’s something called foolishness, Void. But I call it bravery… it is exactly what it is: heroism.

“We’ll remember First Flight here, along with the rest that were claimed this past week… but their memory rests not on walls, but in our spirit. Let them be a beacon for all of us, until we shall meet again.”

Void stood still as Defender said this, glancing over toward Snowstorm and Burning Skyline as the griffon and pegasus stood still with lowered heads. The unicorn looked up to Defender who offered a brief smile, as the giant of an earth pony secured his helmet back atop his head and started to walk out of the chamber. Void turned his attention back to the monument, as he heard Skyline and eventually Snowstorm withdraw as he stood alone.

It was then he remembered what Defender had said but five days ago.

“I know every single guard under my command, new blood… I’ve seen the bravest of the brave, the strongest of the strong and the wisest of the wise. I’ve seen triumphs and failures… and every single story inspires me. Every. Single. One… to me? Everyone has already made their sacrifice… it’s only waiting to claim them. And I can tell you the day that I’m consumed in one of those bloody storms, I’ll happily give my life… because enough life has already been taken for my sake.”

“And I can tell you the day that I’m consumed in one of these storms,” Void whispered to himself as he looked down to the portrait of First Flight, “that I’ll happily give my life… because one has already been taken for my sake.”

And with that, Void turned and withdrew from the place as he walked through the candle-lit halls that were riddled with the names of those he had lost… that Grad had lost. He understood the depth and the direness of his journey and obligation now.

Void could never forsake it.
> Epilogue III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Forge sat in his office as he stared up at a series of carvings that lined the circular column of the domed roof, he focused on one of the frames in particular. There were the two major celestial objects: the sun and the moon with two alicorns that supported the two objects, separated by a map of the Known and the Unknown. 

Forge remembered… oh, how he remembered.

He remembered the pain of that journey. He remembered how those that rose to power pledged to save themselves from their own demise, and how the tired and oppressed refugees of a conflict not of their own making built Grad from nothing. He remembered how in those days, the cruel leaders of Grad sought to steal away the dignity and respect of a people and a nation… there was a rebellion, one which cost Grad dearly.

Bridges were burnt and rebuilt. Wounds were mended. Peace was found.

Now that was gone, it had been gone for a millenia. Centuries passed with turmoil in Grad, up until the Dark seized Grad’s shores and drove away the most essential thing, the one thing that was the most cruel to steal: memory. 

The sun and the moon disappeared, and have been gone ever since. Though Forge remembered their appearance, he understood that many others didn’t. To the people of Grad, they have become nothing more than a superstition: a myth.

And so were the symbols that carried them. Even to the one that had witnessed them, who had spoken with them and who had trusted them… the Sun and the Moon became nothing more than a fantasy from a long ago time, when things were simpler, when the path was easy and forgiving.

But that was long ago. Long gone.

He locked his sight on this carving, ignoring the doors that were directly underneath as they opened and a figure stepped through into the simple wooden and marble room. Eventually the General Prosecutor lowered his head down to the one who entered into his office: Hush. Forge reached across and set out two glasses beside the metal water pitcher he had on his desk, as the Administrator smiled for but a moment.

“I hope not to take much of your time, General Prosecutor,” Hush spoke quietly, “I know that you already have plenty on your mind.”

“Some things never change.” Forge sighed.

“Perhaps some, but not all…”

Forge stared at Hush with a raised eyebrow and waited for her to continue. He knew Hush all too well, he knew when something troubled her.

“Well, with the sudden return of Symphony, we are faced with a dilemma… what of all the others who were lost in the dark mists? Hush continued, “When we’ve been asking Symphony more about what she experienced… I-I…”

“You are worried.” Forge finished before pressing himself up from his desk to wander around the library. Stopping before one of seven trees that were tended to within the circular chamber, Forge looked down at the symbol that was printed into the tile that the tree sprouted out of. It was the symbol of hope, something that was universal.

It was created by a friendship, a family long ago.

But that was long ago. Long gone.

“That is putting it lightly, General Prosecutor.” Hush sighed, “I’m terrified… because if the Dark is producing an army of those who we lose from the shores…”

“I understand what you are saying.” Forge replied, “If the Dark is forced to evolve its tactics to reign terror on our nation, then we will need to evolve our own.”

“We can’t afford any more loss, we’re already running through the reserves… Forge, if there’s anything that you do know, then this is the best time for you to tell me. Grad can only take so much.”

Forge stood silently as he glanced momentarily up to the portrait of the sun and the moon, he quietly debated what he must do. He recalled everything that happened, he remembered… oh, how he remembered. Forge turned around and returned to his desk, sitting down behind it as he looked Hush squarely in the eyes. The moments grew from seconds into minutes as the two stared at each other, one terrified and the other concerned.

“I will consult with one who I know I can trust.” Forge finally said, “But I assure you, Administrator, we will do what we can. I will look personally into the situation with Symphony, and if we are able to glean anything more, then I am certain that we will find our much needed breakthrough.”

“Thanks, General Prosecutor.” Hush responded as she stood up from the desk and slowly made her way out of Forge’s office, she looked up to the portrait that Forge had been staring at. Forge sat by quietly as the two doors closed. The General Prosecutor sighed, returning his attention to the portrait momentarily.

He sat there for a while, remembering the past.

But that was long ago. 

Long gone.