Author's Notes:

This is the first chapter back in a long, long while. I apologize if it seems rushed or incomplete; I know that I have some trepidation in publishing it.

To new readers: This chapter was published shortly after I had cancelled the story, and a long, if much-needed hiatus from writing. I hope to the heavens above I can see this through to its completion, and I apologize for the break of pace.

To old readers: As you know, this is the first chapter this story has seen in many long months. It's an exercise for me; one meant to reiterate some long-lost points and (hopefully) set me back on the path I need to be on for this story to be what it needs to be.

For more information regarding the break of pace and my decision to get back to writing this story, please Check this blog post.

Without further adieu,
-Loyal

Archmage: Square One

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Chapter 14: Boundaries

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As it turned out, Goldy had an insatiable hunger for anything in socks. I could identify, as plenty of tasteful cutouts in my magazines back home featured mares wearing the clingy things, but I had never been reduced to a snorting, crazy monster upon seeing somepony in them. Goldy, it seemed, could hardly control herself around ponies wearing socks. When we made our way back to the northern wall and our quarters, Goldy insisted I try on the package I had retrieved from my bedroom straightaway. The moment I slid into the over-the-knee-high socks, she jumped on me and we...

Well, I'm sure even Cobalt could hear us from his quarters. And consequently, Basil. That last bit of information found its way to the back of my head in favor of Goldy's insistent tongue, for which I was both thankful and slightly scared. She could be awfully insistent when she wanted to be; and I was beginning to fear for my physical integrity.

At least she knew when to slow down and stop. I'm sure it was somewhere between orgasm seven and twelve, but definitely after my fifth. Things tended to get hazy when we moved from bed to shower to kitchen and back to the bed again.

Laying in the aftermath of one of the most incredible nights of sex I'd ever had the pleasure of experiencing, with Goldy laying half on top of me, half off, I came to a realization. The past few months of learning and crazily busy work I'd found myself wrapped up in, I hadn't really taken the time to let my relationship with Goldy develop. Truth be told, we were thrust into things rather quickly. She and I had only known eachother for under two weeks before she decided to follow me to Trottingham. Where I had been alone in my home three weeks ago, I was now in the company of five other ponies, each of them as wildly different and wonderfully diverse as the next.

Basil, for all his gruff attitude concerning things he disliked, was actually a very funny and competent spellcaster. He was strangely knowledgeable about obscure branches of magic, and always ready with a pun or seventeen. Fair Breeze, lieutenant of the Canterlot Weather Team, second only to the Captain, and above him the national director of weather. I hadn't taken any time to realize it, but Lotus' wife was actually only three spots removed from the top spot in the entirety of Equestria. Knowing that, why did she decide to switch out here at the last minute? Was it just for Lotus?

And Lotus... Spa ponies (as far as I could understand) were incredibly particular about their schedules. Even more so in Canterlot, the city of appointments and rendezvous that had to be planned weeks or even months in advance. For her to leave the spa in two week's notice was nothing short of baffling. Baffling like Cobalt, that mysterious colt who somehow had ties to Twilight. At least, I had to think he had ties to the Archmage, considering the correspondence she sent him. Typically, those sorts of things would go through an office or a secretary of sorts. Basil may have been the one handling it, now that I thought hard enough about it.

But none of them could compare to this wonderful little filly laying in my hooves. Golden Nugget had already drifted off to sleep in my embrace, one socked hoof stroking her brilliant mane tenderly. She was an important pony in her own right. Certainly nowhere as important of Lieutenant of the Canterlot Weather Team or even the personal student of Archmage Twilight, but the Apple Family had many holdings and a lot of money across the whole of Equestria. If she boasted the title of 'Head Geologist,' I had to believe she'd earned it. Which wouldn't exactly explain how or why she had been able to outright leave a post in Canterlot in favor of chasing her new marefriend to Trottingham. I had difficulty believing a simple letter could explain everything.

Whatever the cause, I now had five friends with me in Trottingham. Together with me, that made six ponies. Six of us against the world.

Six Elements of Harmony.

Somehow, I began to think that the 'cause' for these ponies' journey to Trottingham wasn't as coincidental as I had imagined. In fact, I began to see how they were all connected. The day I had visited Twilight, she said she already had Breeze's transfer papers on her desk. To top it off, she seemed to be grasping for a reason to get Goldy out of Canterlot, and the recent debacle with the Canterlot Preservation Society seemed only all too convenient an excuse. I couldn't see any reason behind Lotus' leaving the spa, but Basil was another matter altogether.

Being a student of Twilight, I could identify with Basil on a different level than most others. Twilight was a forgiving and understanding teacher. It might have been different with him, but she almost never pressured me to learn or do anything I wasn't inherently comfortable with or ready for. How could she ask Basil, who had just come home from a year-long journey to the Gryphons, to turn around and head right back out? He had been in Canterlot for less than a week before he was right back on the train headed out to Trottingham.

As my eyes closed, the post-coital warmth did little to allay my fears or quiet my thoughts. I drifted off to sleep with many concerns on my mind.

My dreams that night were troubled.

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"Rough night?" Basil found me in the northern library's reference section, my nose in a book. I blinked at the text before looking up at him, a curious frown on my lips.

"Yeah, how could you tell?"

"Well first off," He smiled warmly as his horn leapt to life, grasping my mane. "You didn't braid your hair." Truthfully enough, my hair was hanging haphazardly about my head. The braid I'd worn yesterday had come undone during our shenanigans, and I hadn't taken the time to redo it following the brief shower Goldy had indulged me in before jetting off to go handle some business. What that business was had me mystified, but I wasn't about to pry. Instead, I glowered at Basil as he began sorting the long, black strands into three separate sections and winding them together. When he finished, I tied it off with a band from my saddlebags, and went right back to reading intently. My cold demeanor did little to put Basil off. He peered over my shoulder at the text, and I could have heard his frown.

"Why are you looking up weather position appointments?"

"Just curiosity," I lied, and Basil could tell it. He harrumphed, nudging my shoulder with a soft touch.

"You're a curious pony, Star, but you're not that curious. Spill, girlie. What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing." I grunted, trying hard to focus on the boring text before me. "Just wanted to see something."

"Ah huh. And it doesn't have anything to do with Miss Fair Breeze's recent transfer to the weather team here?"

"Not even a little." Another lie. I was beginning to make a habit out of doing that... Basil was undeterred by my attitude. He sat opposite me, whickering loud enough to break the solemn silence often attributed to libraries. I looked at him over the rim of my glasses with a frown.

"Talk to me, Star. I'm not going to pry if you don't want me to, but I'm your friend. At least, I'd like to think so. Tell me what's on your mind." There was a look of genuine concern on his face, but in his eyes, I saw something else. There was a twinkle, a devious mixture of knowing something I didn't and fearing I'd figure out what it was he knew that I didn't. Slowly, I closed the book and leaned back.

"How is it the Archmage's student, the Apple Family's head geologist, Lieutenant for the Canterlot Weather Team and a busy spa pony suddenly find time out of their busy lives to follow a young filly out to Trottingham?"

It's a shame my calling wasn't in carpentry, because I had just hit the nail on the head. Basil's expression turned from hopeful to fearful in half a second before shifting back into a complacent, flat look. He glanced away before meeting my gaze once more, a sigh building just behind his chest. When he released it, I could hear the defeat. He gave a sad smile and shook his head.

"Nothing gets by you, does it, Star?"

"I'm sure plenty gets by me. But come on, now, Basil. Three weeks ago I was alone against the world with nopony but a busy Archmage by my side. Now I've got five ponies here just for me." I lifted a hoof to cut him off as he opened his mouth. "Whatever hollow platitudes they've made about taking a break or a vacation aside, I know they came here for my benefit." He grimaced and fell silent.

"Basil, what's going on out here? I didn't call much attention to it on the way out here because, admittedly, I was a little lovestruck with Goldy at my side. But now that we're here, I can't help but feel a little... Well, a little smothered." I heaved a soft sigh before continuing, leaning in to emphasize my point. "How is it five ponies come together over the course of three weeks to suddenly be there for this mousy, pathetic little mare?"

"You're hardly 'pathetic-'"

"You get my meaning."

"Well..." Basil harrumphed again, searching for the right words. When he finally spoke, it was with no small amount of reluctance. Like a little colt caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. "Twilight's spoken to each of your friends. Even Goldy." He answered my unasked question, making the words die before they passed my teeth. "The way I understand it, she's trying to do everything she can to foster a healthy environment for the Elements of Harmony to resurface."

"I knew it!" It was my turn to break the silence, slamming a hoof onto the table. The books shuddered, and I drew a harsh 'SHH!' from a few aisles over, but that didn't diminish my victory. More quietly, I leaned in. "I knew there was something to do with the Elements of Harmony!"

"Sheesh, you really don't miss a beat." Basil sighed, hanging his head as he spoke. "I'm just hypothesizing here, since the heavens know I couldn't ever deign to understand Twilight's reasoning, but the way she made it sound when she spoke to me, the six of us are ideal candidates to fulfill the positions she and her friends did over three thousand years ago."

"What do you know about them?" I asked intently. "The Elements of Harmony?"

"Me? Not much. I mean, sure, I've studied them a little more in-depth than your average unicorn student, but I assure you I haven't discovered anything major." He sighed again, as if collecting his thoughts. I waited by with a giddy fidget. When he spoke again, it was in a much more slow and measured tone.

"We all know the stories about the Elements of Harmony and everything Twilight and her friends accomplished long, long ago. The return of Nightmare Moon and reforming her into the old Luna, fighting Discord and the powers of chaos incarnate, yadda yadda yadda..." He rolled a hoof. "But nopony knows what happened to the Elements after Twilight became the Archmage. Well, I shouldn't say nopony. Twilight knows, and she told me once, when I first became her student. She said: 'I honestly don't remember. The last I recall, the necklaces and the crown were stored in Canterlot somewhere. But when my friends began passing away, as they inevitably would, we lost track of them all. It was a busy time for us, and before I'd become Archmage, there were seven whole years where the Elements sat idle. I recently went to go look for them, but any trace of them was gone.'" Basil's voice was intense and low, making me lean in as he quoted our mutual teacher. He leaned back a little, gesturing vaguely to the side.

"That's what she told me. Out of curiosity, I spent a few weeks tracking them. Sure enough, there was the ledger from their storage, but where they were last documented was empty. I did a little more digging, and it seems Celestia had some input on the creation of the Elements of Harmony. She told me that they were transient things, especially as they grew older. When they were first made, they were hard stones imbued with great magical energy. She and her sister were able to use them to turn Discord to stone for over a thousand years. Celestia alone could use them to banish a pony to the moon for the same thousand years. But the next time they were used? A thousand years after that?" He whispered intently.

"Six ponies could hardly muster enough strength to banish a part of Luna. It's by luck alone Twilight and her friends didn't send all of Luna back to her prison. The time after that? All six of them could barely muster enough strength to hold Discord for a short while. Celestia says it might have lasted a little longer, but they had to unfreeze him for something or other long ago. Look, my point is this:" He leaned across the table, his eyes meeting mine intently.

"The Elements of Harmony lost their power over just one thousand years. It's been over three thousand since they were last seen. Who's to say they haven't completely faded away? Furthermore, their manifestation had changed in that initial thousand years. They went from dense, heavy stones to necklaces; regalia. It stands to reason in another thousand years after that, they changed to, I don't know, a ring or something smaller; a brooch or pendant, maybe. Another thousand years, a single gemstone. After that? They could have been swept up by the cleaning crew for all we know."

"Wow." Basil's line of reasoning made perfect sense to me. It might have been a little out there, but the line of reasoning wasn't entirely unsound. He made a good point. But he hadn't come back to the reason why the six of us were in Trottingham together. "And about us...?"

"Right." Basil shook himself. "Twilight confided in me that she needed the six of us together out of the hope that our friendship would re-manifest the Elements of Harmony." I grimaced at that, but let him continue. "You see, Celestia's original creation of the Elements was based on six pillars of her relationship with her sister. Laughter, Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Magic. Twilight and her friends were the same embodiments of these principles. Now, for whatever reason, Twilight sees the same six principles in us."

I frowned at him.

"Us? A filly who only just two months ago learned how to not blow up everything around her when she casts a spell, a smart-aleck, a spa pony, a weather team official, a geologist and a hulk?"

"Talk about a long shot, eh?" Basil seemed to share my skepticism. His deadpan smile matched my glower, to say nothing of our joined grumble.

"I'm guessing you're not terribly pleased with her line of reasoning either?" I decided to take a leap, and pray I landed on solid ground. Basil's look confirmed my suspicions.

"I can't say I am. It's nothing against you or Lotus or... Well, even Golden Nugget, I suppose. I hardly got home from a year-long trip to the Gryphons, and here she is asking me to follow you to what's arguably the hottest conflict Equestria's seen in two millennia." He rubbed the back of his neck with a groan. "I'm not terribly happy at having to leave hearth and home, no. Nor can I really see the logic behind her choice in friends. Again, nothing against Breeze or the others, but I don't see the six of us saving Equestria from anything, chiefly because there really isn't much of anything to save it from. Yeah, the timberwolf attack is worrying. But we've lost more ponies to household accidents and domestic violence in the past month than we did to this attack. Granted, it's worrying, but not to this extent.

"I'm not saying the six of us are over-qualified to be here, but we'd be just as well-served on the council for the next peace talks with the Gryphons. Twilight herself came out here to insure everything is going okay. She erected the barrier. How can six ponies who hardly know each other accomplish what the Archmage could not?" Basil hung his head with another sigh, and I mirrored him. What he said was one hundred percent true. I could hardly see how any of us related to any of the Elements of Harmony, let alone be the end-all embodiment of any one of them. I could sit there for hours coming up with inconsistencies where any one of us related to the six elements. To think any one of us could embody those pillars of friendship when there were two of us who would just as soon rip the other's throat out was beyond asinine. It was blasphemous.

"So why in the blue blazes would she send us out here with that in mind?" I finally asked after a full minute's silence. My question seemed to catch Basil off-guard, but not by much. He looked at me seriously for a few moments before lifting a shoulder indifferently.

"Who knows? It stands to reason that we're not the only ponies Twilight has tried to get together like this. The way I understand it, Twilight's been fostering friendships between groups of six ponies quite a bit over the last two thousand years or so. Hell, one of the councils in Canterlot used to be made up of a group of six friends, each of them as close to one another and the Elements as could be. To no avail." He tapped his lower lip with another soft sigh.

"It stands to reason she's just reaching for the stars here. If we get together and somehow, miraculously, it works out, all for the better. At the very least, sending the six of us out here helps to flesh out our lives more. Before yesterday, I'd never been to Trottingham. I don't think Lotus or Fair Breeze have been here either. The three of us know Twilight by either by extension or directly. It could be that she's just looking to help us broaden our horizons, and if we miraculously reforge the Elements of Harmony, all the better."

"Okay, but why task us with getting through the shield and researching the Timberwolves?" I gestured empathetically towards the North-East. "She can't expect us to succeed where she herself failed, can she?"

"Au contraire'!" Basil exclaimed, getting another 'Shh!' from a few aisles over. He lowered his voice with a self-conscious blush and leaned in. "Twilight was speaking the truth when she said sending somepony who's not already knowledgeable into the fray. You stand as good a chance at understanding a new branch of magic than either Twilight or I. She wouldn't have sent you if she didn't believe in you. If nothing else, Star, you'll be able to lend an outside perspective to this whole situation. I'd think that as long as we go back to Canterlot with any new information, that'd be a success in Twilight's book."

There was a certain hopefulness in Basil's voice that spoke to me. I found myself feeling excited. Eager. Just like I had felt when first learning magic under Twilight's tutelage. Grinning giddily, I nodded to Basil.

"Alright, then. What are we waiting for? Let's get cracking."

----------

We took to the new study with gusto. Well, when I say 'we' I mean 'I,' since Basil was the one teaching me. We began spending our time studying Twilight's tunneling spell, and if I ever hit a dead end on that, we'd go spar for a few hours before hitting the books anew. Between cozy library sessions and intense conversations in Basil's quarters (interrupted only sporadically by an eager Basil,) and long, panting fights on the fields outside of Trottingham's walls, I began learning more and more. A thought struck me as we were two weeks into the new study schedule. By then, I almost had a grip on the new tunneling spell, but Basil was still drilling me on it.

"Why don't you just cast the tunneling spell?"

"A good question. Heads up!"

"Gah!" A snare erupted into the air right where I had been standing half a second before, the shadowy tendrils snaking over my side, but not gripping me as they had been so close to doing. 'I really need to stop having serious discussions during our sparring matches.'

"You see, Star, if we cast the tunneling spell, who's to say one of the timberwolves won't accidentally discover it? For all we know, there's a full contingent of those things on the inside of the shield, passing over it, searching for a way to get out. If we go through and they discover our tunnel, even if it's concealed with a transparency arc, that's it. The whole pack will be through and we wouldn't be able to stop them. Woah!" My counter-attack cut him off at the end, impacting the snow at his hooves and throwing up a blinding cloud of crystallized ice. He dodged around the edge of the jagged cloud, his horn still glowing.

"Woooaaahh-SHIT!" I gasped as Basil tore up and entire section of the ground beneath my hooves, throwing me into the air expertly. The biting wind buffeted me, but I maintained my cool (at least, as cool as I could be flying through the air in below-freezing weather and snow.) My own horn lit with a blinding light, casting a spell at Basil even as I landed on the snow, skidding a good four feet with my momentum.

"Shit!" Basil dodged aside, supplementing the evasive maneuver with a shield to deflect the glancing blow. He skidded backwards as well, the two of us over fifty feet apart, our chests heaving and sweat pouring down our brows as we squared off. "Thus," He panted, talking just loud enough to be heard over the echoing blasts coming back to us from Trottingham's walls. "We're both going to cast our own tunneling spells, and key them to our own magic with an Essence Chain."

"An Essence Chain?" I quirked an eyebrow, even as I surreptitiously dispelled the next snare trap moving its way through the ground beneath my hooves. "Never heard of that before."

"It's a complex bit of magic, I'm afraid." Basil's frown reflected his failure at catching me with another snare. "But it allows a spell, such as Twilight's tunneling spell or even an offensive one to be keyed to a specific pony."

"Kind of like Threading?"

"Similar, yes." Basil faked right and dashed left, causing me to lead him the wrong way with my next bolt. Cursing, I re-adjusted, too late, as he threw blinding, glowing chains my way. "Hah! Gotchya!"

"SSSSSSSHIT." Growling, my horn blasted to life, ripping through my skull with the intense magic I was trying to control. My own light dwarfed his own, drowning out the chains hurtling my way until they dissipated.

"... Not good. Woah!" Basil gasped as the wave of light continued onwards, cascading over him and throwing him to the ground, where it proceeded to push him through the snow and dirt like a plow. When my wave of light dissipated, it was right on top of a snare that I had been placing, the tendrils of shadowy energy wrapping around him, and solidifying into hard, earthen bindings. He squirmed in the grasp, but I was already over him, my horn pressed against his neck.

"I yield." He croaked, shivering and soaked from the ordeal. I laughed playfully and instead dispelled the snare, letting him stand up. "Good duel."

"That's my fifth win in Trottingham!"

"... To my seventeen." Basil chuckled.

"Oh shush and let me have this moment." I helped brush him off, even as a smattering of applause reached our ears. I lifted my eyes back to Trottingham, and the small contingent of guards that had gathered to watch our duels. We tended to draw a crowd (and even a few bets, if I heard correctly) whenever we dueled. Warming Basil with a quick fire spell, we made our way back to the wall, back on the subject of Essence Chains.

"So it's similar to Threading. See, the difference between the two is this: Threading can be undone. It's hinges on a pony's specific energy, but only loosely, and can easily be sniffed out. Twilight told me of a story long ago where she had been fighting three ponies at once using Threads to track her with their spells. She threw the Threads off and turned the offensive in the confused aftermath. An Essence Chain is like Threading, but solidified. An Essence Chain is more-or-less permanent, and certainly wouldn't be able to be undone in the middle of combat. At least, not by you or I.

"Essence Chains are highly risky, at least when used against somepony. Equestrian law forbids the use of Essence Chains without the owner's outright and written consent, and filing with Twilight's office themselves. Ponies can use their own magic to make Essence Chains keyed to themselves without having to do so, but they tend to draw eyebrows from the guard. To avoid the paperwork, we'll both be casting our own tunneling spells, each with their own transparency arcs, and their own Essence Chains. Thus, we'll be the only two ponies who can go through our own tunnels, and only our own. I can't go through yours, you can't go through mine."

"I see. So we're still a few weeks away from being able to cast these tunnels, huh?"

"I had plans on teaching you about Essence Chains just tomorrow, as it were." Basil chuckled. "You beat me to the punch." We were approaching the monolithic wall of Trottingham, and the guarded tunnel on the South edge of the city. The guards that had been watching our duel had already dissipated, though one or two could be seen between the crenellations, keeping a vigilant watch on the train traffic and any other ponies out and about on the fields. Basil and I were alone in that regard today, but far to our left, a train wound out of the mountain pass, chugging its way up to the city. We would arrive at about the same time, it would seem.

"So we're going to cast this tunnel on Twilight's barrier, disguise it with a transparency arc, and key it to ourselves with this Essence Chain?" I surmised.

"Eeyup. With any luck, that'll leave the tunnel invisible, and even if they did happen to stumble across it, they won't be able to move through it."

"Okay, but..." I frowned. "What if their magic is just incompatible with ours?"

"Meaning?"

"Meaning what if the Essence Chain doesn't work on them? If they're as diligent at sweeping the inside of the shield as you claim they might be, then it stands to reason that they're going to discover at least one of our tunnels. Since this is a completely new and unexplored branch of magic, as Twilight claims it is, then they might be able to use our tunnels anyways?"

"Alas, that is also a possiblity." Basil sighed. "But we're taking every step we can to prevent that from happening. Either we conceal and key these tunnels, or we'd have been able to punch through with an undisguised tunneling spell a week ago. That'd have meant every Timberwolf on the other side could have rushed through, but we'd have been able to do it anyways." Basil shrugged. "It's the important things like safety we have to take into consideration. We need to safely cross the barrier to study this magic."

"... And if our plans fail?"

"Then the guard is prepared." Basil pointed up to the top of the wall, where the one guard from earlier leaned over to watch us disappear into the tunnel, even while the two guards posted outside saluted us with their spears. "If the timberwolves find the tunnels, and if their magic lets them pass the Essence Chain, the guard will defend Canterlot to the last."

"Well, here's hoping that doesn't happen. Say, do you mind if we swing by your parents' place? I could use some cocoa."

"Aww, nursing your injuries." I blew a playful raspberry at him, even as I shivered as a gust followed the two of us into the tunnel burrowing its way into Trottingham proper. "We can stop by. I just want to get back to the library as soon as we can. I had plans tonight."

"Oh yeah, it's Thursday... Date Night." Basil blanched, but I just gave him a playful nudge. Thankfully enough, his vehemence towards Goldy had somewhat abated over the past two weeks of our continued deployment. I had seen the two pass each other in the halls with little more than a passing grimace; which was leaps and bounds compared to the death threats. Basil still remained tight-lipped on his hatred, but I couldn't exactly blame him. There was a reason I wouldn't eat bean sprouts, and Goldy herself knew better than to pry on that matter. It wasn't an entirely different situation with Basil and his aversion to the Apple Family.

"Where are you two headed?"

"We're not sure yet." I shrugged, thinking about the limited selection in restaurants in Northern Trottingham. We usually frequented the small cafe halfway between my old school and the North wall, but every now and then we found ourselves wanting a little more extravagant dining situation. "Maybe that Neightalian place off of Mortar Road..."

"Neightalian? In Trottingham? Come on, you might as well go to Stalliongrad to get tropical food."

"Well I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not the one taking Miss Nugget on a date tonight." He came right back, sticking his tongue out at me. "If I were you two, just cook something nice at home. And soundproof the damn room before you start, you threw off Cobalt's rhythm last time."

We both shared a laugh as we emerged from the gusty tunnel and into Trottingham proper. The hoof-path through the wall was on the other side of the city from where the train entered, with my parent's house between the two. We took the first available left, and ahead of us about a mile and a half, I could see the short house at the far end of the gently-curved road. Just a few minutes later, we were ushered inside by my father, all smiles and sunshine despite our dirty, wet coats.

"Sparring again today, eh?" He quipped, taking our scarves and hanging them near the door. "Who won?"

"I did." I puffed up with pride, throwing my mane back with a slight whicker. Basil just laughed and shook his head.

"Oh good! Your mother owes me two bits, then."

"So you have been betting on me!" I tried to sound hurt, but just succeeded in making both stallions laugh. "Where is mommy, by the way?"

"She ought to be back from work late tonight, she said she had to haul three whole loads to the guard station at the East gate. Cocoa?"

"The only reason we come here." Basil quipped, happily prancing his way towards the kitchen.

"Don't lie to me, Basil, you come here to check out my flank as well."

That froze my friend. He looked back at Audit with wide eyes, as my dad gave him a teasing little wiggle. I burst out laughing as Basil's mouth dropped open and his cheeks heated enough to warm the water for our drinks.

"I swear, you two are going to be the death of me." Basil groaned, trying hard to not look at my father as he squeezed past. He failed, of course, which only made me laugh harder.

----------

"So you still have a few weeks until you're going through the barrier, then?" Audit surmised. We had shared our advances in my studies since the last time we had visited, just three short days ago. I had introduced Basil to my parents two days after Goldy, and they were estatic to speak with another of the Archmage's students. At least Basil didn't want to see my room (or molest me on my own bed, as it were.)

"We've still got two components of our magic to factor into the spell." Basil nodded. "We need to disguise it with what's called a 'Transparency Arc,' and then key each of our spells to our own magic using an 'Essence Chain.' That way, the tunnels through the shield will be invisible, and only Star Caster and I will be able to go through them."

"That's a very smart contingency. Even if the timberwolves discover your tunnels, I'm guessing they won't be able to come through?"

"Precisely." Basil nodded at my father, who had demonstrated a shocking understand of magic.

"Well good. That's another few weeks I won't have to worry about my daughter. Say, how are you and Goldy getting along? Worn out those socks yet?"

"Da~ad!" I groaned, flushing as Basil shot me a smoldering look.

"Socks, eh?" He teased, waggling his eyebrows at me comically. "You and Cobalt are alike in that regard."

"OH SHUT THE F-"

"AUDIT!" The front door slammed open, my mother and - much to my surprise - Goldy were standing in the blustery street. The three of us at the table stared at them in shock as Olive Breeze swept inside. "Oh thank the heavens, Star, you're here! Goldy, she's here!" Only then did I realize that, behind my mother, a contingent of guards dashed past, their armor and weapons clattering loud enough to break the sound of rushing wind.

"What's going on?" Basil asked cautiously, rising from his seat. My mom just brushed past him, laying her hooves on my shoulders.

"The barrier. It's under attack!"

"... WHAT?!" I blinked in shock at her. "What do you mean, 'under attack'?!"

"I mean there's something on the other side trying to get through!" She whirled around towards the door, pulling me along. "Come on!"

"Wh-woah, hey!" I stumbled after her, even as Goldy began fidgeting at the door, her wings ruffling restlessly. "What's going on?"

"Basil, come on!" Olive Breeze growled at him. Basil abandoned his cocoa, leaving Audit at the table with a shocked look on his face. We left my childhood home, entering the blustery streets with guards rushing past us, moving North and East. "Goldy, you take her. I'll carry Basil. Can you two lighten yourselves?"

"I got it." Basil grunted, turning to me with his horn ablaze. I could feel his magic take hold of me, casting a modified cloud-walking spell that would lighten my weight, enough for Goldy to carry me more easily. He did the same for himself before nodding at Olive, who unceremoniously wrapped all four of her hooves around his barrel, flapping hard to pick them up off of the ground. Goldy did the same, and the four of us were airborne. I had never flown like this, but seeing the panic in my mother's eyes and the reaction from the guards, I swallowed my fear as the tall roofs of Trottingham shrunk to miniature size beneath my hooves.

"What did you mean 'under attack?'" I heard Basil's voice carry to use over the cutting wind.

"I meant what I said!" Olive Breeze roared loud enough to be heard. "There's something on the other side of the barrier, and it's trying to break through!"

"That's impossible!" I called out. "That barrier was cast by Twilight herself! Nothing could break it!"

"Well, whatever it is, it's certainly trying!" Olive's response came back, even as she and Goldy doubled their efforts to carry us North. We stayed beneath the level of the wall, steadily gaining height on our trek across the city. About halfway there, around the central district, I heard the first one.

*thoom*

It was a low impact, like somepony dropped something heavy elsewhere in the house. I almost didn't think anything of it at first.

*THOOM*

The second one was certainly audible, and unless I was mistaken, there was a distinct crackling sound that came after it.

*KRA-THOOM!*

The third one rippled over our coats, louder than before. It came maybe a minute after the first two, but was twice as loud, making me cover my ears out of fear. Goldy and Olive Breeze faltered in their flapping, but struggled ever-harder to carry us up over the threshold of the wall. Thankfully, we breached the top before the next one came. We had just laid our hooves on the cobblestones, adjusting our vision to peer through the snow towards the massive, purple barrier just a short two miles outside of the city walls.

"I don't see-"

*KRAKK-BOOOOM!*

The largest impact yet rocked the shield. I watched as the world before me distorted, a shockwave of kinetic energy rocketing outwards from the base of the barrier, lifting snow and dirt from the ground. The few homes outside of the city that sat closest to the barrier were rent asunder, turned to naught but kindling in the aftermath of whatever that blow had been. Our hooves skidded across the cobblestones, our eyes gone wide with fear.

*krak*

I watched in horror as a single hairline fracture emerged at the top of the shield, close to where it disappeared into the clouds. That crack widened, falling further and further down the barrier, sounding not unlike the ice cover on a lake breaking underneath our hooves, the last defense keeping us from plunging into certain doom.

The barrier fell, and from behind the shattered magic, a nightmare arose.