High Moon Ch. 58:

Plans for the End pt. 1

The morning of Quill’s departure, Spike took it upon himself to follow through with his promise to Quill that he’d go see Twilight about the unicorns. He was able to do this thanks to the fact that the pack now had about a week or two of food in storage. Cyclone and Veil decided to tag along because they wanted to know a little more about the life Spike had before he’d came to High Moon. Wolf, seeing that over half of his pack was now involved in the matter, also decided to follow the drake to his old home. Spirit was forced to go along by Fang, while he was entrusted in keeping watch over Blaze and Isis.

Rydder followed too, most likely out of a command Quill had made before she left with Frost to deal with Chrysalis. Thankfully, Ponyville was fairly empty due to the cold weather forcing ponies to take shelter inside of their warm homes. During the walk there, Spike had quickly briefed Spirit and Wolf on what was going on with the unicorns. When Wolf heard that their the valley was close to the occultists’ base, he growled.

“Drake, you’d better know what you’re doing,” Wolf warned as they continued to make their way down the snow-covered streets. He didn’t like being this far from High Moon, or even out of the Everfree for that matter. This territory was unfamiliar. What the pack was getting into was dangerous. However, it would be more dangerous to turn a blind eye to it at this point.

“I do Wolf. We just got to talk with Twi about everything and we should be golden,” Spike answered back. He and Cyclone were both wrapped in their winter coats, the fur pelts of the many animals that had been killed during the year sewn into the collar and sides of the overcoat to keep in their body heat. The dogs didn’t have much use for the coats thanks to their thick winter fur protecting them. Amusingly to Spike, Cyclone had fitted Rydder with a cape at some point, giving him a more knightly appearance.

“And from the looks of things, we just got lucky,” Spike continued, looking down the road to see two armed Solar Guards standing at attention just outside of the tree home. From the type of armor that they were wearing, it was easy for Spike to tell that they were high ranking, meaning that whatever was going on inside of the library was of the utmost importance. There was also a small military air transport sitting just off to the side of Golden Oaks. That meant that Celestia wouldn’t be at the library.

Spike led the group towards the library, only to have the two guards block their path with their spears. Cyclone flinched back from the sudden movement while Veil let out a throaty growl. She quickly moved in front of Cyclone, baring her fangs.

“Easy Veil. We’re here to talk, not to cause trouble,” Spike said in a easy, yet stern voice, placing his hand on Veil’s shoulder to calm her down. After staring down at the two dark-gray guards once more, Veil relaxed herself with a sigh. Spike sighed, worried letting that Veil and Cyclone come had been a bad idea.

He shook his head before looking at the two guards. “We’re here to speak with Princess Sparkle. It’s important business.”

“Well you can’t enter just yet,” one of the guards answered in a gruff tone. It was now obvious that the two guards didn’t recognize Spike. “Princess Sparkle is in a meeting right now and can not be interrupted. I’m sorry, but I’m going have to ask that you and your party turn back.”

“Really? What if I show you this?” Spike reached into his back pocket, pulling out a piece of parchment wrapped in a dark indigo ribbon with Twilight’s purple starburst symbol. He smiled when the guards’ eyes widened slightly in surprise. “You can go check if you want, but you know.”

“Wait right here,” the guard on the left said, carefully taking the letter from Spike’s hand before he walked in the library. A few quiet moments passed, Spike just smugly staring at the second guard. When the first guard returned, he gestured his head back into the library. “Everything checks out. Apologizes... Spike? You grew up in a hurry.”

Spike smiled, saying, “Well, I had to. You should see my sister.” The guards chuckled as Spike walked past them, waving the others in behind him. As the group slowly filed into the tree home, the guards closed the door behind them. Once in the main area of the library, Spike’s group found itself caught by the collective stares of the Elements, Dusk, his mares, his sisters, and Obsidian. They had all been huddled around a large round table with several maps that been marked with circles and x's before the new group had come in.

Before anyone could say anything, a bright purple and silver flash appeared in front of Spike, giving way to a little filly dressed in a pink shirt and blue jeans. “Mr. Dragon! You’re here!” Amethyst cheered as she quickly hopped a little to give Spike a tight hug.

Both Veil and Cyclone raised an eyebrow at Spike while he chuckled, picking up Amethyst. “Heh, hey Amethyst. I see you’ve been doing a lot better since the last time I saw you,” Spike said. Squeezing Amethyst to him, he turned around to introduce her to his group. “Everyone, this little filly is the one that saved me, Amethyst.”

Spike smiled down at Amethyst, kissing the filly’s cheek while she looked shyly at the rest of his group. She blushed, looking at him. “Is that?...” The filly shyly broke off, glancing at Cyclone.

Spike chuckled before nodding, smiling at her.

With a happy squeal, the filly’s horn lit and she teleported in a bright flash, reappearing midair in front of Cyclone and latching her arms around the dragoness’ neck. Caught off guard, Cyclone was barely able to catch the filly as Amethyst squeezed herself against the pale dragoness.

Eyes somewhat wide as she held Amethyst, Cyclone looked at Spike, confused. The drake smiled encouragingly at her, prompting Cyclone to talk to Amethyst. “Well it’s… nice to meet you too, little Amethyst. And thank you so much for helping Spike. Veil and I owe you so much for that.”

Amethyst pulled back from Cyclone, a confused look on her face. “Veil? Who’s that?”

Veil stepped in closer to Cyclone, and Amethyst turned to look at her. “Goofy as he is, Spike’s kind of important to us. So thank you, Amethyst.” Veil had a smile on her face, chuckling as she saw the filly’s eyes widen.

Amethyst turned back to look at Spike, asking, “You have two girlfriends? I didn’t know you could do that!” The filly’s amazement Spike’s relationships caused the group to laugh.

“Yes, apparently there’s a lot for us all to catch up on,” a voice behind Spike said. He turned around, seeing that Twilight had walked over to greet the group. “And Amethyst, what have I told you about teleporting on top of people?” The admonishment, light-hearted as it was, caused the filly to blush and smile sheepishly at Twilight.

The purple alicorn smiled, before turning and crushing Spike in a hug. “And you, look at you. What happened?”

Spike chuckled as he hugged Twilight back. “I grew up. Apparently dragons get a growth-spurt at some point when they’re eighteen. Quill had one too. We slept for like a week.”

Twilight shook her head, still smiling. “Well, leave it to you and Quill to-”

Someone clearing their throat behind the two interrupted Twilight, and Spike turned to see that Veil had walked up to the two. One eyebrow raised, she looked at the alicorn that was hugging Spike. Placing a hand against Spike’s lower back, she addressed the two. “Sorry, I don’t think Spike’s introduced us. I’m Veilstone, and you are?”

Spike chuckled before he pulled back from the tight hug from Twilight. “This, Veil, everyone, is Princess Twilight Sparkle. She’s the pony that hatched Quill and me, and basically raised us.”

Eyes wide, Veil managed to stammer out a response after a few seconds. “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

Shaking her head, Twilight moved to interrupt Veil. “It’s no problem, Spike just thinks he’s funny throwing around my title so casually. I try to forget I have it, honestly.”

Veil grinned at her, looking slyly at Spike. “Yeah, he does think he’s funnier than he actually is.”

Cyclone and Amethyst both giggled at Veil’s joke as Spike rolled his eyes. Turning to face the princess, Spike said, “So I guess we should go meet everyone else, huh? Veil and Cyclone wanted to meet everyone, and Wolf and Spirit came along to stretch their legs.”

“Of course, come on in. If you’d told me you were coming, I could have made sure the guards knew to let you in. Sorry if they were a problem.” Twilight turned to lead the group into the library proper, over to the table everyone else was still around.

Dusk squinted his eyes as Spike came near, before widening as he recognized the drake. “Holy crap. Spike dude is that you?” Dusk asked, turning in his chair to get a better look at Spike. “What hit you with the badass stick?”

“My backwards ancestor, that’s who,” Spike answered back, moving to the front of his group as they neared the table. Spike watched Twilight move back to her seat near the other Elements, and nodded at them. “Hey Rainbow, heard you’re going to join the Aeroguard.”

“Yeah. Cloud duty was fun and all, but this is a bit more up my league, you know?” Rainbow joked, causing Verdite to snort out a laugh. “So anyway, who are the new faces?”

“Oh right, right.” Spike turned slightly to introduce each of the pack members that had come with him. “This is our pack leader Wolf.” A nod came from the pale-white dog as he made his way around the table, taking a seat next to Obsidian.

Much like the dogs of High Moon, Obsidian, Dusk, and his two sisters’ furs had all taken a paler color than before. The half-breeds’ furs looking to be thicker in comparison to the full-blooded diamond dogs. “Twilight and Rainbow already know Rydder. This is Spirit.”

Spirit raised his hand in a greeting as he moved to stand near Wolf, pressing his back against a bookshelf. Rydder moved to the right side of the room, taking a spot by a clear section of the wall. Spike noted the sentinel's unusually more free-willed attitude, but pushed that to the back of his head as he went to introduce his mates.

“And these two lovely ladies are my mates, Cyclone and Veil,” Spike said with a proud tone in his voice, wrapping an arm around the waist of each of his mates. Cyclone blushed brightly, but still meekly waved to the other group, skipping over Rarity. She had to shift Amethyst to one arm entirely, but managed it easily enough.

Veil simply remained stony-faced, seemingly uninterested as she looked over the group in front of her. She wasn’t entirely impressed by the stories of them that she’d heard from Spike and Quill, especially in regards to the pony Quill had called ‘Rarity’. Cyclone hadn’t said anything about the mare, though she had admitted to meeting her once.

Spike continued, “I’m not entirely sure how I tricked them into being with me, but they’ve definitely made my life a lot better.”

After having introduced his pack members, Spike turned to the the table and began introducing everyone sitting at it. He started with Dusk, then Jinx and Sketchy, followed by Verdite and Wave. Once they’d all exchanged greetings, Spike moved on to name the rest of the Elements. Cyclone already knew Rarity, and even as the dragoness regarded Rarity warily, the white pony gave her a weak smile. Cyclone’s expression didn’t change, though she did press her side against Spike more firmly.

Across the table, Rainbow leaned over to Rarity, speaking in soft whisper. “Damn, Rares, looks like you let Spike get away too early. He grew up good.”

Rarity turned to Rainbow, eyes wide. In an equally quiet yet scandalized tone, the fashionista replied, “Rainbow! That is our little Spikey-Wikey!”

Rainbow shrugged. “What? He’s not so little anymore. Besides, he’s pretty handsome now. A mare can look, can’t she?”

“Rainbow Dash, if you say anything else, I will turn all of your uniforms into frilly pink dresses,” Rarity hissed back.

Chuckling to herself, Rainbow sat back in her own seat. Then she noticed the dark glare that Veil was giving her, and that the hound had pressed herself closer to Spike. Rainbow mentally smacked herself. ‘Right, diamond dog hearing, which means…’ Looking over at Verdite, Wave, and Dusk, she saw they all shared shit-eating grins on their faces, watching Rainbow. She tried to hide her face in one hand, blushing hotly. ‘Oh Celestia, just kill me now.’

Entirely clueless to the exchange, and the change in attitude of the dogs, Spike had been addressing Twilight and Obsidian. “I’ll cut to the chase. Our pack wants to help with the unicorns, and you guys could use the help.”

Obsidian raised an eyebrow at Spike, curious as to why a pack from the Everfree would be interested in fighting against the unicorn threat. “Oh? We need your help? You realize we have the Elements of Harmony, a Knight of Defiance, and the entire Solar Guard at our disposal. And we need your help?”

“Nice sell pitch Spike,” Spirit joked, snorting a small laugh.

Spike opened his mouth in retort, “Yeah? How well would the second invasion have gone if Quill, Frost, and I hadn’t been there to help out? Seems to me we had plenty on our hands even with the Elements, one of them an alicorn, your Solar Guard, and your Knight.”

Obsidian chuckled at the drake, nodding his head slowly. “Just making sure you were serious. So, just what will your pack be bringing to the table? Outside of the obvious.”

“Well if it hadn’t been for Wolf here kicking our butts around all the time, we may not have been any use,” Spike laughed, thinking back to all the sparring matches he’d had with the alpha in the few months before winter. Most of the memories were of him getting either thrown into a tree or slammed into one of the betas dogs. “Most likely would’ve died if it wasn’t for all the training he gave us.”

Wolf shook his head, snorting. “I didn’t give any of you anything. You earned it like the warriors you were made to be,” he said with an air of pride, hiding it under a mask of authority. He turned to address Obsidian. “Mountain-Dog.”

“Hm?”

“Sem spust prvih otrok Cerberus’. (I am a descent of Cerberus' first children,)” Wolf said in his native diamond dog tongue. Obsidian's eyes widened for a moment, quickly looking over at Spirit and Veil for an answer, only getting shrugs from them in return. Even Dusk and his sisters had to share looks between each other for a moment. “Furthermore, I have a cub being born in the coming spring. I refuse to raise them with this kind of evil looming over these lands. That is my reason.”

Obsidian nodded his head and sighed, looking back at the alpha dog. His claim was… difficult to believe, however, somedog like Obsidian had little room to talk with the dragonic markings hidden underneath his gloves. “I see. Well, that is honorable enough. My own mare is due to give birth sometime late spring as well, so I know where you’re coming from, Forest-Dog. But what’s his story?” he asked, pointing towards Spirit.

“My friends and I made a promise a long time ago. I am not going to break that promise and neither will they,” Spirit answered, shifting where he stood by Wolf. “So I hope you don’t mind having a few Fallen Saints on your side.”

“Come again?”

“Did he just say what I think he did?”

“No, we don’t,” Obsidian cut in, stopping Applejack and Rainbow Dash from saying something they might regret. The two mares gave Spirit a strong glare, but the dog calmly returned their glares. “We can use all the help we can get. And when you think about it, both the Knights and Elements are considered to be Fallen Saints anyway.”

“Tha’s different,” Applejack argued in a stubborn tone, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff. Rainbow wanted to speak up again, wanting to call Spirit out for his claim. Yet she knew better than to speak against a higher ranking official. That didn’t stop her from glaring at the dog, however. “We risk our lives to save this kingdom because it’s our home. Ya’ll just do it for money!”

Spirit’s face went into a slight snarl as he barked, “Do you have corn stuck in your ears, mare? I said we’re doing this because we made a promise to someone important a long time ago. So stop being self righteous already and take the help.”

“Self righteous?!”

“Enough!” Wolf snarled, slamming his hands on to the table. Everyone except Obsidian and Verdite jumped from the enraged dog’s outburst. Amethyst tried to bury herself in Cyclone’s arms, the pale dragoness murmuring reassuring words to the filly. The alpha’s shout was even enough for Rydder to become alert, yet he remained still, as he hadn’t been given an order yet.

Wolf stared intensely into Applejack’s green eyes, growling. After a few moments of just him growling, she got the message and started to sit back in her seat. When Wolf whipped his head around to Spirit, the beta dog found himself unable to look away from the anger in Wolf’s eyes.

“Spirit,” Wolf nearly barked. He paused, taking in a slow breath while closing his eyes. After a few drawn out breaths, Wolf opened his eyes, the anger seemingly nonexistent in them. It was replaced with something else, disappointment. “Spirit, we are here to make allies, not enemies. Pick your battles, dog. Before I pick them for you myself.”

Spirit caught the look of slight disappointment in Wolf’s eyes, cringing slightly as he slowly nodded his head, muttering, “I understand, Alpha.”

Wolf then turned his head slowly back to the orange mare sitting across from his right side. “And you mare, I will not sit here and allow you to belittle my pack members. No matter what dreams they chose to chase, the likes of you have no right to mock them. Do I make myself clear?”

Applejack opened her mouth in retort, only to be stopped by Twilight placing a hand on her left shoulder. She looked over to Twilight, seeing the mare shake her head as if she already knew what Applejack was going to say. “Fine. I don’t like it, but fine,” Applejack snorted, closing her eyes to gather her composure.

“You don’t have to like it. Just work with it,” Wolf replied in a slight snarl, calming down himself. “Now, Mountain-Dog, I want to know what we’re up against before anything else is decided.”

Obsidian nodded his head slowly. He leaned back in his chair, right hand reaching down to a small white pouch on his side. In it was four red plastic rods that appeared to be indicators for the map.

“Before I start, I’d like to ask that anyone that will not be involved in the upcoming attacks go into the next room. This information will be considered confidential from here on out,” Obsidian began, setting the small rods in front of him as he looked around the table.

Jinx and Sketchy both got up from the table, the former squeezing Dusk’s shoulder as she moved off into the adjoining reading room. By Spike, Cyclone moved to join them, still carrying Amethyst. Veil made to follow her, but then she looked back at Spike. He returned the look, confused for a moment why she wasn’t following Cyclone, before it hit him. As strong a fighter as she was, she’d likely want to go with him.

As Spike made to move towards her, Veil stepped back and shook her head slightly, before following the others that had left for the next room. Spike wasn’t sure what that was about - he’d have to make a point to ask the hound later.

As the few that weren’t going to be involved directly in the fight left, Obsidian looked around before continuing. “I’ll start with the locations and times first.” He began placing the markers on the map. “As of eight o’clock in the morning, three days ago, we had two confirmed sightings of the enemy located in the city-states of Las Pegasus and Manehattan. Three hours after that, there was another sighting in the city-state of Fillydelphia. And lastly, just this morning at five, there was a sighting was in the port-state of Baltimare.”

Everyone at the table looked down at the markers and the distance between them. However, Rainbow’s eyes were trained solely on the marker for Baltimare. “That’s way too close of a time span to not be connected with each other,” Spike noted as he looked between the four different locations; if the information was truly correct, they would be their next battlefields. “Think they’re planning some last ditch effort? An attack on Equestria’s major cities outside of Canterlot?”

“That is a possibility, Spike,” Obsidian nodded. He placed his elbow on the table to rest his head against his loosely clenched hand, eyes trained on the four targets marked on the map. “They also might still be searching for Amethyst. The worst-case scenario I can think of is that they’re looking for a replacement unicorn to use as a catalyst.”

“A catalyst? For what?” Spike inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Obsidian opened his mouth to answer, but Twilight beat him to the punch. “Remember when I said that there was a possibility of them trying to make Dark Elements with the magic locked inside of Amethyst?” Spike nodded his head and waved his hand for her to continue. Though Twilight hadn’t specifically said in her letter that they would try to be using Amethyst to focus the power required, it wasn’t important enough to remark on. “Well, they needed something - or somepony - to constrain the raw energy in something Celestia calls the Star Fragment. Apparently, it was the source of our Elements and was created by Star Swirl the Bearded.”

Spike glanced over at Amethyst, who was playing a game with Cyclone and Jinx. The more he thought about it, the fact that the occultists used a filly for their plans brought up more questions. He could already tell that she was far more developed than most unicorn foals were at this point - given that Twilight hadn’t learned teleportation until after they had moved to Ponyville, and that using the spell itself usually drained her of all her energy back then. He then thought about what Isis had said about Amethyst’s future-sight. Even if it wasn’t always one-hundred percent accurate, just the fact that one day she’d be able to focus her magic to that level was jarring to him.

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why they used a filly instead of a unicorn like Jinx or even yourself, Twilight. And have any of you figured out how the occultists even got hold of her yet?” Both Twilight and Obsidian looked away from the drake, their faces enough for Spike to get the message. “Nothing?”

“Spike, it’s going to take a bit more time. We’ve tried looking through all the missing filly reports over the last eight years but we hadn’t found any matches for Amethyst,” Obsidian answered after Twilight remained silent. He tapped his fingers against the wooden table and stared up to a random corner of the room before he looked back at Spike. “It’s starting to look bad, but we are still searching for her parents. I’m hoping that there is no other missing pony report that links back to Amethyst - the last thing we need is to find out that her parents are missing as well.”

The room filled with silence and gloom, save for the occasional giggle from the filly in question until Twilight broke it with a sigh and continued. “Right, anyway, the only reason we could come up with why they used a foal is because during a unicorn foal’s adolescence, their horn absorbs magic at a much quicker rate and also burns it at an explosive rate.”

“That would explain a few things,” Spike laughed, thinking back to how unpredictable Twilight’s magic had been when she was still a foal.

“Anyway,” Twilight continued, blushing slightly. “Anyway, we can only surmise that they used their own magic to recreate the Star, then used Amethyst to build the raw energy before transferring it back into the Star, then themselves. However, it’s obvious that the latter didn’t happen, or at least not completely.”

“Which would mean they’re either still trying to look for her or find another foal to try this on,” Obsidian added, Twilight nodding her head. “But I’m more concerned about the one that hasn’t been spotted just yet.”

Wolf growled. “There’s another?”

“Yes. There were nine in total before the battle in Canterlot, the twins and Frost killed one, and three others were captured. So now there are five remaining,” Obsidian answered, still thinking about the enemy’s final moves. “Princess, you sure Angel or the other two didn’t say anything else about a backup plan?”

Twilight shook her head with a short snort of irritation. She, like few others from the research department of the Solar Guard, had the displeasure of having close contact with the rude and self-centered mare for the last few weeks. Her outright rudeness was almost enough to give Twilight a good reason to allow Angel’s mind to be cracked wide open with a mind-shifting spell. That mare was better left a vegetable anyways.

“No, unfortunately. She’s turning more stubborn by the day, but she knows her limits and that’s the only thing keeping her safe right now.” Twilight sighed as she placed her elbow on the table to rest her head in her palm, looking down at the map. Ever since the location of the sightings reached her, Twilight had been going through every possible tactic the enemy could be trying to pull off. “It’s still unclear whether or not they’re still united together or just acting out on their own. Either way, it’s starting to annoy the absolute fu-”

“Momma Twilight?” Twilight’s ears twitched at the sound of Amethyst’s voice calling from the other room. She looked over her shoulder to see that Amethyst was sitting in between Cyclone and Veil on the green reading couch, a closed book in her lap.

“Yes Amethyst? What is it sweetie?” Twilight asked, turning a bit more to study the quizzical look on Amethyst's face.

“Can I get the book you showed me yesterday? I want to show Mr. Dragon’s special somebodies all the cute and funny pictures!”

Twilight softly giggled at Amethyst before wordlessly nodding her head, a sly smile on her face. The filly let out a joyful squeal as she quickly hopped off the couch to hurry over to the stairs leading to Twilight’s bedroom. While everyone had a soft collective smile at the filly’s carefree joy, Spike suddenly knew which book Amethyst was talking about.

“Aw wait a minute, Twi. She’s not talking about that book, is she?” he asked, sitting up straighter in his chair. If it was the book he thought it was, Spike was ready to either bolt right after Amethyst and beg on his knees, or run straight out the door.

Twilight turned back around to face Spike, her sly smile telling him everything. “I dunno, you tell me.”

Spike’s eyes almost shot out of his head at what Twilight was implying. There was no doubt in his mind now which book Amethyst was now going to get. And with Cyclone and Veil there, he knew he’d never hear the end of it. ‘When did Twilight start acting like this?! Oh man, now I have a really bad feeling.’ “Aw c’mon Twilight, don’t-”

“Anyways,” Twilight said, pushing back from the table as if she was stretching, pretending not to have noticed that Spike was still speaking. She briefly giggled when Spike’s jaw slacked slightly in shock, continuing, “Angel Wing has been tight-lipped thus far, but she knows exactly how much to push until she gives. Luckily, if this plan is successful, we may not need her any longer.”

“And by ‘plan’ you do mean an actual plan, correct?” Spirit asked, paying little attention to Spike. It was curious to see his sudden change, but that wasn’t important at the moment. “Is there a means of engagement or plan to capture the enemy?”

“Yes there is a means of how we are going to confront them. Celestia has already issued a ‘Kill on Sight’ order on the remaining five occultists. The only damage any of us have to worry about is regarding the civilian population. Their safety come first and foremost. Other than that, you are authorized to do as you please to take down the enemy,” Obsidian answered.

Spirit nodded his head, taking the information into consideration. While Obsidian continued to further explain what everyone was and was not allowed to do, Amethyst began hopping down the stairs with a large, thick, brown hard-back book in her arms. Once she made it down the last step, she quickly took her spot in between Cyclone and Veil, opening the book the moment it was settled in her lap.

Inside were pictures and photographs of the twins as little hatchlings. Cyclone covered her mouth to muffle a gasp at a picture of Spike curled up next to Quill on a large bed, both sucking their tails at the same time. Veil bit down on her lips to stifle her laughter, only letting out choked snickering.

“Aw… Spikey, you two look so cute,” Cyclone interrupted Obsidian, gaining the attention of the room. She looked over towards Spike with a wide smile on her face, while Spike tried to hide as best as he could in his chair. “Look at you and Quill.”

“Cyclone…” Spike groaned while Dusk shoved him on the shoulder playfully.

Veil could no longer hold back as she burst into laughter. “Th-there’s just no way!” she sputtered, hysterically laughing like a hyena. “I-I’m gonna die… haha! What are you wearing? Is that a dress? Bwahaha!” Veil’s laughter was contagious as Cyclone and Amethyst started laughing themselves, though they were a bit more controlled. At the table, most of the Elements were giggling or openly laughing at Spike’s embarrassment, the blush on the drake’s face a solid red.

“Those moments where you want to disappear,” Dusk joked as he chuckled.

Spike pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long drawn out sigh. “Girls, I know you’re having fun and all, but we do still have some work to do,” he said, hoping to get the two to calm down. It failed miserably as Veil continued to laugh uncontrollably, eventually falling off the couch and onto the hardwood floor with a soft thud. “Why Twi? Just, just why?”

“It was too good a chance to pass up,” Twilight said in between her own bouts of laughter. She sparked her horn to place a soundproof wall between them and the giggling females behind them. Even with the sound removed, it was still grueling for Spike to see Veil and Cyclone laugh at old pictures of him and Quill, as happy as he was to see them smiling. “I may just make a copy for them to take back with you.”

“Please don’t.”

“That settles it, I am.”

Twilight giggled while Spike let out another groan. He was going to try and convince Twilight not to doom him to a couple days of mocking when Obsidian regained control with a throaty ‘Ahem.’ Slowly, everyone stopped their giggling and returned to a somewhat serious composure.

“Moving on, we still have to assign locations for everyone,” he said, laying his one of his arms over the other on the table. “This part is highly crucial to our victory so we need to divide up our forces in a balanced manner.”

“I’ll take Fillydelphia,” Dusk quickly spoke up, leaning on the table with a confident smirk on his face. “Heard that place has a lot of open space and tall buildings. So it would be perfect for me.”

“Oh? So you have a plan little brother?” Verdite asked, impressed that Dusk was thinking tactically.

That line of thought ended when Dusk shook his head, laughing. “Nah, just means I won’t break as much stuff is all. But you know me, I make it up as I go,” Dusk said, getting an eyeroll from Wave.

“Should’ve guessed,” Verdite shook her head at Dusk’s seemingly mindless approach towards fighting. Though, Dusk did seem to work better like that anyway, since that was how he’d got to this point in his life.

“I’m with Dusk,” Spike added in, trying to ignore the clear laughter of his mates on the other side of the clear light-purple wall. “The buildings will give Quill and Dusk a vantage point over the open areas. Rydder and I can cover the ground.”

“Then let’s do this Spike,” Dusk said as the two males bumped fist together, both with smirks on their face.

Twilight nodded her head, smiling at how much Spike had changed over the months away. “Guess Fillydelphia is covered then, with the four of you and the Solar Guard. Pinkie, Flutters, you girls go with Sergeant here to Baltimare.” The two mares nodded their heads at Twilight, trusting her decision. “Rarity, Applejack, you girls cover Manehattan, which leaves me and-”

“Sergeant, let me go with you,” Rainbow cut in. Being part of the Guard now, Rainbow had already been assigned a location to defend. However, she didn’t agree with it. “Come on, I don’t see why-”

“You have your orders, Private,” Obsidian firmly said, almost growling at Rainbow. “I know why you want to go to Baltimare, but these orders come from above me. You will hold down Las Pegasus. Do I make myself clear, Private Dash?”

Rainbow started to grumble under her breath, cursing the one she believed was responsible for placing her as far away from Baltimare as possible. “Crystal. I’ll accompany Twilight to Las Pegasus.”

“Now that that is settled, what about the rest of you?” Twilight asked, looking over towards Wolf. The dog didn’t respond to Twilight at first as he continued to look down the map, trying to get a feel for the terrain.

He’d been in small towns and villages, but city-states were a whole different beast. “Would be easier to decide if I knew the terrain of these cities,” Wolf mused for a moment, tapping a claw on the oak-wood table. “Hm… I’d prefer if Frost could go somewhere her ice-magic would be the most effective. And Spirit and the others will have to stay together to be of any use.”

“Then Las Pegasus is the best place to send her,” Twilight said, remembering the changeling-dragon hybrid from the second invasion. It was somewhat shocking to think that the dragoness she’d seen with Quill and Spike months ago was the same changeling mare. The idea was… hard for her to get used to, especially with what had happened during Cadance’s wedding. But if Quill and Spike trusted Frost, then Twilight was willing to give the mare a chance.

The others however, were a different story.

“Spike,” Applejack began in her drawl, “Some of the girls and I have been talking, and we want to know who that changeling mare that was with ya’ll during the invasion really is. Seemed awful convenient for another one to show up when Canterlot came under attack again.” The orange mare leaned forward, elbows on the table as she met Spike’s gaze.

Wolf raised an eyebrow at the mare, and was about to reply, when Spike cut him off. “AJ, please don’t tell me that you’re suspicious of her. The same mare that Quill’s absolutely smitten with. The same one that actually helped saved Canterlot.” He had an incredulous look on his face. He hadn’t thought that any of his old friends would be suspicious of the changeling hybrid.

Applejack leaned back slightly at Spike’s vehemence. “Well Spike, it’s just that -”

“No, Applejack, there’s no question about it. Frost is on our side. Quill would do anything for her - and more importantly, Frost would do anything for Quill. I don’t get why you can’t trust her just based on that. So she’s a changeling?” Spike shrugged, a confused look on his face. “Wait, this is all starting to sound like when Zecora first showed up to Ponyville, and everyone was afraid of her because of how she looked. Didn’t you girls move past that?”

“Well,” Applejack began, flushing. Spike noted that Rarity blushed a little as well, while Twilight silently closed her eyes and shook her head. Applejack hesitantly continued, “It’s just that, every changeling we’ve ever met was during the invasion - and they were all set on takin over.” Applejack’s voice picked up in confidence. “So you can understand why we’d think it’s a little suspicious of her to show up when Canterlot was attacked again.”

“Ok, you want the entire truth?” Spike began, frustrated. He’d thought his friends at least would have been able to look past Frost’s race. “Frost is an ex changeling princess, she had her own hive to look after. Her mother cast her down, because she’s apparently fairly power hungry and was afraid of Frost overthrowing her - a valid worry, since according to Frost, her mother is a tyrant. She’s also a half-breed, half changeling and half dragon. Am I missing anything?” Spike stopped for a moment as he tapped the table with one claw. “Oh right, and she’s Chrysalis’ sister. Whom Frost and Quill are meeting with either today or tomorrow.”

The table went quiet after Spike finished his frustrated rant. The Elements were all surprised at the informational onslaught that Spike had just vented. Twilight and Rainbow had known that Frost was a changeling half-breed, but they hadn’t known anything else about the mare. Still, just the fact that they had seen first-hand how much Quill cared for the mare, and how hard the mare had fought to save Canterlot had made them more than willing to trust the changeling. The other Elements hadn’t been there, so they were more reluctant. Only Applejack was willing to say anything, however.

“Spike, if she’s the sister of Chrysalis then you know we can’t trust her!” The farmpony eventually found her voice, still shocked at what Spike had revealed.

Wolf stayed silent as Spike went on to defend his fellow packmember. Spike’s new and deeper voice was still strange to his friends, and to them, it held a note of finality as he spoke. “Applejack. Everyone.” Spike paused as he looked around the table at the other Elements. “Quill trusts Frost with her life. I trust Frost with Quill’s life. If you don’t trust her, trust us. You only knew us for most of our lives. If you really can’t trust me, then I guess we shouldn’t be here.”

“Now hold on Spike -” Rainbow Dash tried to begin, but she was interrupted by Twilight.

“We do trust you, Spike. And we trust Frost. She’s more than proven herself.” Twilight took in a deep breath and looked at Applejack out of the corner of her eye. She’d have to talk with her friends later - she wasn’t sure why they wouldn’t believe her when she’d said that Frost was trustworthy.

“Very well then,” Wolf said with a nod to the princess. “If that is all settled -” Wolf raised an eyebrow at the alicorn, and she nodded in reply. Nodding back, Wolf continued, “The twins will go with half-blood.” Spike and Dusk again bumped fists together. Dusk was anxious to see how much the twins’ growth-spurts had helped them with their magic. “Frost and I will assist you in this ‘Las Pegasus,’” Wolf continued, getting a nod from Twilight while Rainbow huffed some of her mane out of her face. “And Spirit, Fang, and Night Blade will help those two,” he said, waving a hand over to Rarity and Applejack.

“You know, it would be polite for you to learn our names. If you could at least do us that bit of kindness,” Rarity huffed, turning her head away from Wolf.

Wolf growled back at the mare, opening his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Twilight stepping in. “Rarity, stop it. We have more important things to be worried about than knowing each others’ names,” she scolded Rarity before quickly turning back to Wolf. “I’m sorry, she hadn’t had the best experiences with diamond dogs. N-not that that is an issue here or anything.”

“As you say, princess,” Wolf said as he leaned back in his chair. Rarity’s attitude irked him a little, but he didn’t have the time or patience to be picking small fights with a grown mare acting like a filly. “Anyways, with that settled, when will all of this be put together?”

“Celestia wants us to have all forces moving as soon as they can,” Obsidian started, “With getting the Guard together, preparing spaces in the cities to station everyone, and notifying all city officials, I’d say two, five days at the most. Will that be plenty of time for the lot of you to get ready?”

Wolf took a moment to think about Obsidian’s question. “If you can provide suitable armor for us, then yes. From what Spike told me, he and the others already knew this would happen.”

“Oh?” Twilight quipped.

Spike chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he nodded. “Yeah. Quill made plans for this right after the second invasion in Canterlot. Especially when she learned that Spirit and the others were wanting to be Fallen Saints.”

“Kill two birds with one stone, huh?” Verdite mused, her interest piqued by how much the young Queen Dragoness had planned in advance.

“Well isn’t that convenient. Quite interested in seeing what she has planned.” Obsidian smiled, glad to see that the meeting was going better than he first thought it would. “We’ll have transports waiting for you and your pack members at the base of Canterlot mountain.”

Nodding his head in agreement, Wolf sat back in his seat with a sigh. Everything was now set in motion. His only worry now was that one of his pack members could be injured during the battles ahead. Wolf knew that he could trust them all to take this seriously and to be careful, though. At this point, that was all he could do; have faith in them. “We’d best be heading back then. Have to gather materials for the upcoming battle.”

“Mhmm, oh wait, I still want to make that copy,” Twilight said before she stood up from her seat, dropping the barrier as she did so.

“Please tell me you’re joking right now,” Spike groaned. Twilight didn’t answer him as she walked to the other side of room where Amethyst and the other females were still sitting at.

The group of females looked up from the scrapbook when they heard Twilight approaching. She came to a stop in front of Amethyst and held out a hand. “Let me see the book for a second Amethyst. I want to give Cyclone and Veil here a gift,” Twilight said with a soft smile, despite the much wider and more devious one inside her head.

“Oh, okay Mama.” Amethyst closed the scrapbook before handing it over to Twilight, curious what gift she was talking about.

Twilight sparked her horn the moment the book was in her hand, holding up her other one adjacent to the first. An aura of purple light encased the scrapbook. The purple lights swirled around the thick brown hard-cover for a moment before it floated over to Twilight’s empty palm. After a quick flash of light, an exact duplicate of the scrapbook manifested.

Sketchy blinked several times at the duplication spell Twilight had just performed while Jinx mouthed a ‘Wow’ under her breath. Both Veil and Cyclone were amazed by the sight, wondering if Blaze or even Isis could do the same spell. Amethyst, on the other hand, was simply excited.

“Oh wow Mama! You made a copy of Mr. Drake’s scrapbook! That’s so cool! Can you show me how to do that?” she beamed with an excited cheer as Twilight handed her back the original copy of the book while she gave the other to Cyclone.

“Maybe when you’re older, Amethyst. For now we still have to focus on getting your magic to become more stable,” Twilight said as she patted Amethyst on the head when she saw the filly starting to pout a bit. Twilight smiled down at Amethyst, thinking the little filly was a strong reminder of herself when she was her age.

“And you can bet we’ll be working on that while you’re away Twilight,” Jinx said, getting Amethyst to cheer up when she remembered that she’d be staying with Jinx and Sketchy while Twilight was off fighting the evil ponies that had hurt her.

“And I can’t thank you two enough for looking after Amethyst while the Elements and I are away. You two really are really life-savers.” Sketchy simply smiled as she nodded her head while Jinx reached over to give Amethyst a gentle scratch under her chin, causing her to giggle. Twilight giggled and nodded back at the mares before she walked back over to the table with the others.

Seeing that Spike was finished with his business, Veil got up from the couch, followed by Cyclone, who shared a quick hug with Amethyst and Jinx before they parted. As Wolf and the rest of the High Moon pack at the table began to leave, Spike stood up and gave his goodbyes to his old friends. As he started to leave, Cyclone went to his side and wrapped one arm around his waist, a broad grin on her face. However, as Spirit went to open the door for the others, Rarity stood up from the table, calling out to Spike. “Spike, darling wait.”

The drake stopped for a moment before visibly sighing, looking back over his shoulder at the porcelain white mare. “Yeah Rares? Something on your chest?”

Rarity took a moment to breathe in, closing her eyes as she slowly exhaled. She opened her eyes, focusing on both Spike and Cyclone, licking her dry lips. “I’m sorry for how I acted when first meeting you, Cyclone dear. I was out of line to say what I did, and I cannot apologize enough for how I behaved.”

Veil instinctively began to growl a little at the mare, having heard nothing good about her. And now with the mare admitting that she had been rude to Cyclone, Veil was ready to be done with her. “Excuse me, what’s this now?”

The protective beta hound was stopped by Spike taking hold of her shoulder, getting her attention. “Veil, no,” he said in a firm voice that managed to calm her down. In a softer voice, meant for just Veil, he whispered, “This is Cyclone’s.” Once Spike saw that Veil calmed down, Spike turned his head to Cyclone, smiling at the pale dragoness.

Encouraged by her drake’s smile, Cyclone turned towards Rarity and took in a slow breath. “Thank you for apologizing. But really, I should be the one apologizing. I let my anger get the better of me, and that’s not how I - nor every dragon - usually acts. We’re just... territorial, especially us dragonesses.” She laughed a bit while clutching the scrapbook underneath her arm. “I hope you can understand,” she added, wrapping her tail around Spike’s, blushing.

Rarity caught her meaning, nodding her head in understanding, glad to have that off her chest. “Yes, I can see what you mean. Thank you so much for accepting my apology, Cyclone.”

Cyclone nodded her head as Verdite stood up from the ground, cracking her knuckles and gaining the room’s attention. “Speaking of dragons, Drake, Dragoness, I would like to ask you two a question or two if you have the time.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at the pale forest-green half-breed, sparing a glance towards Dusk but only getting a shrug out of him. “Uh, Wolf?” he asked, turning back to the pack’s Alpha, who seemed to be ready to leave by this point.

“As long as it is something important.”

“Which it is,” Verdite quickly added.

“Then I see no reason why not. We can handle gathering everything we need. Just don’t stay out too long, Blaze will light my tail on fire if you get sick,” Wolf finished as though he hadn’t been interrupted. After getting a firm nod from Spike, Wolf turned to leave with Spirit and Rydder.

Spike turned back around to Verdite, who was walking towards him and Cyclone. “This’ll just be just be a short moment of your time. Know any place we can talk in peace?” she asked, staring straight into the drake’s eyes.

“Uh, hey Pinks,” Spike called out for Pinkie to answer back with an, ‘mhmm?’ “Is Sugarcube open right now?”

“Uh-huh. Mr and Mrs Cake gave me a break so I could come here, but they should be able to handle anypony coming in for an early morning treat,” Pinkie Pie answer with an excited nod. “You thinking about taking your special somebodies out for a date?”

Spike blushed for a moment, rubbing the back of his head. “Well… I did kinda want to do that, yeah,” he mumbled, getting Cyclone and Veil to blush as Cyclone’s tail squeezed Spike’s. “Figured it’d be cool to get a treat for us and the rest of the pack while we were at it. Blaze has been having cravings.”

“Well I promise not to take up too much of your time,” Verdite reassured him before she walked towards the door.

With a slight nod, Spike wave goodbye to everyone in the room. Amethyst quickly ran over towards him and jumped up to hug his leg tightly. Laughing, Spike knelt down, picking her up to give her a proper hug goodbye. “Please come back Mister Drake,” he heard Amethyst quietly whisper in his ear as she nuzzled her head against his.

Spike smiled as he kissed Amethyst on the cheek. He promised that he would come back, and that they’d have to play some games with each other.

Satisfied with the promise, Amethyst hugged his neck again before she ran off towards Jinx and Sketchy, who were already going over what was in store for the young filly while Twilight was away. Spike stared after Amethyst for a moment before a hand clasped his own, turning to see that it was Cyclone’s.

“Spike? Verdite is waiting for us.”

Wordlessly nodding, Spike turned to follow his two mates out the door while the rest of the room looked on. Dusk rested his chin on a clenched fist, looking at the leaving drake. As he mused about a few things, the chime and glow of a unicorn's magic caught his attention as an object filled the corner of his vision. He turned to find that it was a copy of Sweetie Belle’s CD, held up in Jinx’s blue magical grip. Looking over at the mare, Dusk knew what the gesturing motion she was giving him was for.

“Jinx, you’re stirring up trouble that Drake might not be able to handle.”

“But he’ll be grateful for it afterwards, and you know it.”

“Maybe.” Sighing, he took the CD out of Jinx’s magical grip and got up from his chair. Dusk cast one final glance towards Jinx and Sketchy, only getting nods and shooing motions out of them. Muttering a goodbye to everyone for now, Dusk walked out of the library, Wave following behind.

Once outside, Wave glanced over at her brother, eyeing the grimace on his muzzle. “I take it that whatever is on that CD isn’t good?”

Dusk shook his head, slipping the album into his jacket’s pocket. “The music is pretty alright, the problem is the content.” He sighed, looking up to the white blanket of clouds overhead. “Jinx is going to get Spike in so much trouble.”

“...so that’s your Alpha-Mother’s plan, huh? Mm, I suppose that'd be a better way of doing it,” Verdite mused, running a claw around the ring of her glass of rocky-road milkshake. The subject of her talk with the two dragons was regarding the inherent abilities each race of dragon received after going through their growth-spurt. For dragons like Spike and Cyclone - Salamanders - they both earned the ability to manipulate their dragon’s soul to create a reflective aura over their body, giving them the ability of camouflage.

Spike was intrigued about this. The idea of being able to go invisible sounded quite cool to him, as it would definitely be a useful thing to do. However, he was surprised to learn that Cyclone already knew about this, and that Blaze already had plans to help the two of them practice this trait. Blaze apparently planned on waiting until the spring to help the two dragons practice their ability. That made sense, since it was the dead of the winter, and she was still carrying her unborn child.

“Mhmm. Clan-Mother is waiting until the spring so she can give birth. But if you know about it, then do you have the innate ability, too?” Cyclone asked, remembering the explanation Blaze had given her of a dragon’s physical abilities - though mainly the ones for Salamanders.

Verdite nodded her head, taking a sip of her milkshake. “Yes, I do. Father thought it was important to teach us about our heritage. He’s a proud one, that old Salamander.” A smile faintly stretched across her muzzle, seemingly remembering fond memories from her past. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for either of my parents. Anyways, I won’t bore you for much longer.”

Spike quickly shook his head. “No it’s fine. Like I said, everything has already been planned in advance. But um, there something I wanted to ask about the Lunar Republics, if you don’t mind?” he asked politely, wanting to know about Equestria's sister country. “Dusk told me and Quill stories from ya’lls home, including some pretty funny ones.”

“Oh did he now? Did he ever tell you he became the town's jester for carnival?” Verdite asked, laughing to herself. When she got a shake of Spike’s head as her response, she laughed some more before taking another sip of her milkshake. “Well let’s see, it was when? Eight, ten years ago almost? Anyway, Sparky was showing off his flying ‘skills’ to me and Siege. But like the knucklehead he is, he didn’t pay attention to where he was going, so he clipped his foot against a building before he was sent careening straight into a carnival stand.”

“Owch, was he alright?” Spike asked, thinking back to times when Rainbow or Quill tried to show off some trick and got themselves hurt doing so.

However, Verdite waved a dismissive hand towards the drake. “Pff, yeah he was fine. But Mom was absolutely livid. Like I thought she was going to start breathing fire. But good ol’ Dad came to the rescue and made a deal with the mayor to have Dusk play as the island’s jester to pay back the damage.” She paused to laugh, laying her arm on the table as she shook her head. “I wish I had a picture with me. He was dressed up in the stupidest outfit you could imagine.”

“If it’s anything like what Spike was dressed as,” Veil choked out, snickering, “then I’m sure I can get a good picture.”

“Veil, please,” Spike groaned.

Veil laughed at Spike. She reached out to his shoulder, and pulled him closer as she leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek. The move caught both Spike and Cyclone by surprise, as the hound wasn’t one for physical affection in public. Veil laughed again at their expressions. “I’m sure the Alpha-Mothers will definitely love those pictures too.”

“Please… please don’t remind me,” Spike sighed, sulking as he drank from his own chocolate milkshake.

Verdite laughed along with the beta hound. She noted how Spike was acting a lot like how Dusk had after he’d met Jinx and Sketchy. “Yeah, the Nebula islands are a great place to live. Quiet, peaceful, and a good place to raise a family if you wanted to move there. But I get the feeling you didn’t just want to hear about our little islands?”

Spike slowly swallowed, nodding his head before he spoke. “Yeah. I really wanted to know if the changeling attack on Canterlot three years ago affected anything in the Republics. I know there’s a large equine population there as well.”

“Right, equine. And that’s what the changelings are as well,” Verdite answered, already knowing where Spike’s question was going. “We understand that it was a major deal to you Equestrians, and it was to a good number of those in the Republics as well. However, changelings have been living in the Republics since before it was united under Princess Nightmare, and then again by both of the Lunar Goddesses.” She held up her hands, tilting her head slightly. “Why would we fear our friends and neighbors over something a group of changelings did from a different country? Right?”

“Right, I guess,” Spike said, sighing.

He remained silent, letting Verdite continue. “And from the news reports, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor were able to defeat the changelings with help from the Elements, yeah?” A nod came as her answer, despite Spike knowing the truth of the matter. “Then I don’t see why this kingdom still has their frilly panties in a bunch. I just hope that when the time comes, Equestria knows how to adapt.”

“Same here,” Spike mumbled as Cyclone reached a hand out to his leg. He smiled, wrapping his tail around Cyclone’s.

After a few more minutes of idle chit-chat, most of which was about Verdite’s career as a Nightmare Guard, the door opened up with a ringing chime, causing Spike and the females to look towards it.

Verdite raised an eyebrow at her brother and younger sister walking inside the Sugar Cube Corner. Nevertheless, she waved them over, wanting to see what they needed. “You’re not starting miss your older sister already, are you Sparky?”

“Har, har, har. No, I’m completely ready to not see either of you for another three years,” Dusk quipped with a heavy roll of his eyes.

Verdite laughed and shook her head at Dusk. “Oh don’t be like that, ya whiny pup.” She elbowed him in the hip, still laughing. “Well if it’s not that, then what is it? Thought you had some shopping to do for your mares.”

“I do, but Jinx wanted me to go on an errand first.” Dusk waved his hand at Spike, shaking his head. “Jinx wanted me to give you a gift.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a CD.

Spike quickly recognized it the moment he saw the bleeding green letters. “Dusk, no. Please. I want to leave that behind me. What part of-”

“Whoa there Sui,” Dusk started, holding up his hands in a defensive manner. “You want to put an end to this? Then when we get to Fillydelphia, just follow my lead.” With that, he slid the CD towards Spike, who quickly placed his hand on on it. “No point in being bitter about this Spike. And for your own good, be honest with yourself.”

“...Fine. You win, Sparky,” Spike sighed with a sly smile on his face.

Dusk quickly cast his gaze down to Verdite. “You told them about the nickname, didn’t you?”

“Of course not. Even I’m not that mean,” Verdite joked, patting the back of her hand against Dusk’s stomach. “Now off with you. You have shopping to do, like a good leashed dog.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m going. See you on the battlefield Spike,” Dusk said as he turned and left, waving at them.

Wave and Verdite giggled at their brother as Wave sat down next to her sister. As they started sharing Verdite’s milkshake, Spike took his hand off of Sweetie Belle’s album and picked it up off the table to examine. ‘She’s performing in Fillydelphia all of next week. Fuck me, Dusk had that planned.’ Spike was drawn out of his thoughts as he felt both Cyclone and Veil pressing themselves closer against his arms, leaning in to see the CD.

Spike sighed. “I hope you girls like music.”