As Midnight began his work on tracking Watcher, Star had been restless as she continued to pace back and forth in the destroyed living room of Watcher’s apartment.

“Star!” Midnight snapped at her, causing her to flinch at him, before Midnight gave an apologetic look before saying, “I can’t concentrate with you pacing like that, this is delicate spellwork.”

“I’m sorry… but what else am I supposed to do? Watcher for all we know is being tortured right now and we can’t do anything right now!” Star argued, taking a seat on the sofa. “I just… I don’t know what to do?”

“We are not stuck! We have the golem remnants, from which I can magically glean information,” Midnight assured before stating with a tone that implied he was losing his patience, “but only… if I can have absolute QUIET!!”

Star flinched yet again, and Midnight said, “So either sit still or get out and help Mac and Thunder! Because the more time I’m wasting assuring you the less time I’m looking for Watcher!”

Midnight turned his back to Star and levitated the golem remnants in front of himself as he concentrated after doing Cadance’s calming technique. He hated losing his temper on Star, but he didn’t have time to coddle her. Watcher’s life was at stake, and he refused to lose another family member.

He used every relevant dowsing spell he could think of, giving him information on the golem, what it was capable of, how old it was, what kind of magic was used to create it, what its purpose was besides the obvious, and perhaps it would all give him insight into those behind this abduction and allow Midnight to conjecture what they were up to or had planned, whether for Watcher or whatever else.

Then he cast a spell of psychometry, giving him a vision regarding the subject’s history, and Midnight found himself transported through a dark tunnel, images flashing around him, some lingering like the fading knell of a bell, others only for a brief moment like the ding of a xylophone bar being struck.

He saw a large and bruiser-looking diamond dog looking directly at him, but Midnight knew this was sort of like from the subject’s “point of view”.

“...pay forrrr! This… won’t get away frrrrrom! You and your brothers, heheheh,” said the dog’s voice, sounding deviously excited, as though anticipating his goals with a vengeful glee.

Another image appeared and Midnight saw a zebra mare, who was of a fierce and hard beauty, almost like some kind of tribal warrior princess. She regarded the golem with skepticism, asking, “...sure these things will work? Watcher… not so easily…”

So these two sent the golems for Watcher, but we already know that… Midnight considered as he continued to watch.

The golem’s “memories” weren’t like that of a living being. Golems were figures given a semblance of living behavior that acted according to their creator’s desires, almost like a robot behaving in accordance to its programing, following directives inputted into them.

Midnight had studied the art of making golems and automatons, and he knew that while they were useful and could be dangerous, they still had their limits and weaknesses. One in particular was, if one tried to make a golem do too much the harder it was to make it work, and so many alchemists cited the rule that ‘the simpler the better’ when making such constructs.

Then another image appeared, and Midnight noticed another zebra, a stallion obviously, and he could see from the golem’s perspective that the mare and the diamond dog immediately seized up and gave him a nod of respect. “Narbus… Are they almost ready?”

“Yes… They’ll BRRRRING Black Death to us… This one in PaRRRticularrr is set to teleport him too us… Causing a magic explosion once he touches him. Coverrrring ourrr trrracks!” Narbus explained as the golem looked over to the tall gator that had attacked him in the beginning.

So the diamond dog’s name is Narbus, but who the heck is this guy?

Another image then flashed before him and he noticed that they were at some kind of dock with several large containing units and ships docked. It looked like there were five of them meeting up with a teal earth pony in a lab coat.

From what Midnight could tell there were four golems made in total by this Narbus character. “FFFFFFFFFIND Black Death! Brrrrring him to us! Mooooove silently! Stay out of sight”

From there Midnight saw the golems making a mad dash into the city.

Wait a minute…!!! Midnight broke his focus, his vision swimming as he returned to the waking world, finding himself exactly where he was prior to his psychometric reading.

He saw that he was alone, but he didn’t care. He conjured his favorite magic bag and from it he drew a mirror, levitating it in front of him as he tapped the looking glass with his horn. His image in the mirror rippled like a surface of water as Midnight’s reflection was soon replaced by that of a large and strong lunar pony, with a brown coat, rust-colored mane, and cobalt-colored wings, as well as golden brown eyes.

“Sir?” he inquired, seeing Midnight through the mirror.

“Sentinel, one of our own has been taken,” Midnight quickly explained how Watcher was abducted by magical golems that exploded when they caught him, teleporting him away, and how he then used one of their fragments to glean information.
“Put the word out to every Hood whose patrols include the shipyards, the docks, anywhere by or near the water! You’re looking for two zebras, a mare and a stallion, a diamond dog whose name is Narbus… and the disgraced doctor Atom Nucleus! I don’t know how but he’s involved in my cousin’s abduction.”

“I’ll see to it, immediately, sir,” Sentinel nodded with an assuring sense of duty.

“Waste no time, Sentinel,” Midnight warned, “and should you find them do not engage! These individuals, save for the doctor, are associated with an international group of assassins. Track them, locate any potential hiding places, but under no circumstances are you to engage them. They will kill you if you do!”

“Understood, my liege,” Sentinel said in emphasis, assuring Midnight that he got the picture, and his image in the glass rippled away, leaving Midnight staring at himself.

Mac and Thunder couldn’t help but feel for Star, seeing her mope so miserably by the window, glancing out every now and then as if she might see something to uplift her hopes. The two stallions shared a look, with Thunderlane gesturing for Mac to say something. Mac shook his head and pointed at Thunderlane, telling him to do it. This went on in a frustrated series of exchanges, each trying to get the other to reach out to Star, until finally, “I can hear you guys back there…”

Thunderlane and Macintosh grimace,d but finally the earth pony broke the ice, “So, uh… you care a mighty lot about Watcher, don’cha, Star?”

“Of course… I’m his handler, it… it’s part of the job,” she replied, though Thunderlane had noticed the hesitation in her words before she'd answered.

“Uh-uh, you wouldn’t be this worried over a guy if you were only interested in supervising him,” Thunderlane pointed out with an understanding smirk. “It’s okay, Star. Be real with us, but more so, be real with yourself.”

“Heh, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised… I didn’t exactly try to hide it. Watcher’s many things: arrogant, annoying, pigheaded, a pain in my flank, and yet he was the only one who didn’t treat me any differently because I’m a mare.

“Before I joined the Brotherhood, I was part of the royal guard and I pretty much had to prove myself time and time again all because I look delicate and should serve as a maid instead. Sexist assholes… but Watcher didn’t see that. In fact he pretty much saw me a challenge to overcome someday… when he said that… made my heart skip a beat,” Star explained, letting out a deep sigh as a smile curled up her face.

The two stallions shared a look and bobbed their brows, knowing they had arrived at the same conclusion: She’s got it bad.

Then Mac got up and went over to place a comforting hoof on Star’s withers. Looking up at the large red stallion, she felt her anxiety soften a little as Macintosh assured her, “Wer’ gonna get him back, `specially since we got Midnight on our side.”

“He’s not the Element of Faith for nothing,” Thunderlane added in agreement.

“Normally, I’d agree with you… but the House of Assassins… I don’t know why, I think Watcher did talk about somepony before… the way he described him to me. He seemed… scared by him. Like he was his own monster under the bed, but only real and worse,” Star explained as much as she could recall about what Watcher had told her. “He was a zebra that had helped train him, but from the sounds of it… it was almost like he was forced into that life.”

“Are ya serious? Wha’d he do to `im?” Big Mac asked.

“I honestly don’t know… Watcher wasn’t comfortable enough to tell me,” Star replied, sounding fretful, almost as though she were telling a ghost story. “ All I know is that I think that zebra and the House of Assassins are connected somehow.”

“Well, this zebra jerk and his House of Assholes are gonna have to deal with not only the Brotherhood, but the Knights of Harmony!” declared Thunderlane with bold determination.

“Attention!” The three ponies all flummoxed at Midnight’s sudden appearance and stiffened up as the alicorn gave each of them a look, before saying, “I’ve isolated the mana signature in the golem remains, and put the word out to every Hood in all of Manehatten, directing them where to concentrate their searches.

“Assuming all goes well, we should hear from one of them soon with a confirmed sighting of Watcher’s abductors. But we will not assume, because I have an assignment for you, Star, and you, Thunder.”

“And that is, Sir?” asked Star, her anxiety changing from nervous concern to the itching need to take action.

“I need each of you to take one of these crystals,” Midnight conjured said crystals, two of them, each resembling a miniature obelisk, and looking like clouded quartz yet having an opalescent shimmer, “and place them at the highest points you can on opposite sides of the city.”

“Uh, sure, Midnight,” Thunderlane accepted one crystal while Star took the other, “but… what are these things for?”

“As I mentioned earlier, my ability to dowse is powerful, but limited, even in the best conditions,” explained Midnight, “and I’ve already attempted to scry for Watcher, only for my vision to be clouded.

“This leads me to believe that the House of Assassins is somehow cloaking their present location,or at least Watcher’s. This means dowsing for Watcher’s energy, or the mana signature of the golems’ creator, is our next best solution. I need you to set up these crystals at the highest points you can find on the opposite sides of the city. In doing so, my range to dowse will be increased exponentially.”

“Whatever you need, sir!” Star saluted.
“We’re on it,” Thunderlane added with a wing-salute of his own.

“Very good. Get these crystals where I need them and meet back here within the hour,” Midnight pulled out a map of the city, and used a copy spell to make two of them. He then circled opposite ends of Manehatten, saying, “These general areas are the most ideal to position the crystals. But you will still need to find the highest points you can in order to maximize my dowsing range.

“Find the best places you can to place the crystals and don’t dally! Going anywhere alone is a risk at the moment, with the House of Assassins out there.”

“Understood, c’mon, Thunder!” Star urged as they grabbed their maps and she threw open the window, zooming out with Thunderlane following.

Mac looked over to his brother, asking, “So whaddo we do till they get back?”

“We prepare, we hope…” Midnight sighed with trepidation as he watched Thunderlane and Star n’ Stripe split off into opposite directions, “... and we wait.”

Atom Nucleus was ecstatic with how well his latest lab rat was molding with the black substance. Most of the live subjects he'd used all perished when they first came into contact with the tar and became mindless beasts.

“This is truly astounding! To think Watcher’s own DNA is compatible with the dark substance! All I need to do is find a way to replicate the same thing with other live subjects!”

“I believe you mean we, Doctor, or did you forget it was because of us that you even have your first successful live subject?” Malice spoke, causing the earth pony to jump in surprise at the zebra’s sudden appearance.

“Don’t sneak up on me! Don’t you know how dangerous it is to interrupt a scientist deep in his work? It could have led to a catastrophe!” Atom argued, glaring at the zebra as he merely rolled his eyes.

“You mentioned that my old apprentice was compatible with the substance… What did you mean by that?” Malice asked, his gaze focused on the glass prison containing his former protege.

Seeing that Malice was genuinely curious about this experiment, Atom couldn’t help but feel prideful about his latest work as he began to explain. “Remarkable, isn’t it? The substance here in this very prison is the same that haunted Trottingham for centuries. So far most of the subjects I have tested it on turned my lab rats into mindless abominations that always went on a rampage.

“It’s why we asked for your assistance in making these latest rune stones to control them. However, Watcher here has not only managed to remain stable, but it’s almost like the substance is merging with him creating a symbiosis of sorts,” Atom marveled at the horrific transformation taking place before their very eyes with the exhilarated thirst for knowledge that came from soulless curiosity.
“I believe that it may have something to do with his bloodline as it is different from many other ponies… it’s identical to Prince Midnight’s as well. Perhaps a similar ancestor? Anyways, the tar and Watcher are blending together into a new being… in twenty-four hours we’ll be looking at a new entity entirely! Oh how exciting all of this is! The perfect weapon for that bloated hairball, Winkle. But above all else… I’ll go down in history as the greatest scientist in the world!”

“Perhaps, but the one thing that bothers me is whether we can control him. Otherwise he’ll just turn out the same as the Entity that was mentioned in the reports,” he reminded the doctor, recalling the files he read and the horrors that occurred in the tower.

“That, my striped friend, won’t be an issue… the rune stones you brought will help us control it. I was worried that I’d have to use multiple on several individual ones at a time, but now… we only need one." Atom answered with a gleeful smirk as he turned his attention back to the prison.

Clad in their Harmonic Armor, Midnight and Macintosh made their way to the rooftop of Watcher’s apartment building, Midnight having cast a distracter spell to ensure nopony noticed or interfered with them.

Gazing out over the metropolitan mass of Manehatten, the sapphire stallion felt the enormous burden that he carried, as a prince, as a knight, as a leader. As a husband. The thought of his wife brought a melancholy state to his mind, and Midnight hoped to make amends with Twilight once this was over and done with.

“Sumpin’ on yer mind, haystack?” Midnight turned to see the caring look of Macintosh, his brother, not in blood but in all the ways that matter.

“...a lot’s on my mind, Mac,” Midnight sighed, looking back out to the skyscrapers. “What matters most to me at this moment is saving my cousin. I lost him once. I will not lose him again.”

“Funny, I actually thought the same thing…” Midnight and Macintosh suddenly stood back to back, uncertain of where that voice came from.

They saw only the building’s antennae, air conditioners, several solar panels, and a rooftop garden. There weren't many places up here to hide, so Midnight subtly cast a spell.

“...right after he betrayed me,” said that same voice, feminine, velvety, yet laced with bitterness.

It sounded like she was speaking from different directions, preventing them from figuring out where she might be hiding.

“Huh, I think Watcher might have mentioned you in passing,” Midnight responded in a cool manner, “never by name though. Perhaps he saw something in you that just wasn’t there…”

“Arrogant pony wretch!” the voice seethed with undisguised contempt. “Your kind thinks they own the world, that other creatures are beneath you! Up until you realize how little you compare to the strengths and determination of other creatures…”

Before Midnight could rebut that argument, he felt a sharp pain cut across his cheek. Acting immediately, Big Mac tackled Midnight, pushing him behind the emergency exit to the apartment as the panels, conditioners and garden were all penetrated by unknown projectiles that they couldn’t see. The antennae was hit the worst, as the whole thing broke under its own weight, and toppled over into a metallic heap of ruined metal.

It wasn’t long before the invisible projectiles began to unveil to reveal black arrows, one of them having two rune stones attached to it.

“Consider that a warning shot… despite my dislike of your kind, I have no quarrel with you. Take this opportunity to leave Manehatten, and live your life in ignorant bliss… I never miss my shot… you will be no different from the other nameless faces I’ve killed. The many nameless faces Black Death has claimed when he had a spine,” she offered, and from the sound of her voice she sounded genuine but bitter.

“Hahahahahahahaaa…!!” Midnight responded with a grim yet taunting laugh, the kind that would surely rub one the wrong way, as he stepped out into the open, his gaze downward, making no move to defend himself.
“What do you take me for…? A coward? Because that’s the impression I’m getting from you. See, you made two mistakes: The first… was abducting my cousin. I can be a forgiving stallion, but one thing I will not forgive is threatening the well-being of my loved ones.”

“Don’t say I didn’t give you the chance to walk away… Considering you are Black Death’s family and all,” the female voice answered, it wasn’t long before another arrow struck the ground near them, and they noticed a red glow coming from the arrow.

Midnight quickly lit up his horn as he chanted, “Shirudo Trinitas…!”

An explosion followed, unleashing such explosive intensity that the rooftop of the apartment building collapsed, as fire and debris flared out, pieces and fragments of concrete and plaster raining down to the streets below.

Letting out a cough, Big Mac emerged from the rubble mostly unharmed. Within the smoke, he noticed a silhouette within a spherical glow.

“Ya alright, haystack!?” Big Mac called out.

“Just dandy, Mac,” assured Midnight's voice as the dust settled, and Macintosh saw midnight had surrounded himself in a triple-layered spherical shield spell that gave off a turquoise glow from his mana.

He huffed and dispelled the shields, which broke apart into fragments of mana that twinkled out of existence, as Midnight ho-hum’d, “That explosion would have killed an ordinary unicorn, but I think I wasted the effort in casting a triple-layer shield spell when the basic version would have worked.

“So far I'm unimpressed, lady!” Midnight called out to the zebra mare, mocking, “If this is the best you and your mutt have got, I’d stand down and surrender right now. If you insist on prolonging this nonsense, the result is not gonna be pretty.”

“You want my best…?” responded the zebra’s voice in a tone that one would use to say ‘you asked for it’, and then there was a rumbling sound from heavy rubble being displaced before the debris was burst apart.

From it emerged another golem, which immediately lunged for Macintosh.

“MAC!!!” Midnight hadn't been expecting this, and flapped to reach his brother, only for the golem to bear-hug the red pony and there was a burst of power, throwing Midnight for a loop.

After shaking it off, Midnight looked around, and the golem and Macintosh were both gone. The only assurance he had was there was no sign of an explosion in the destructive sense, only the residual wisps and motes of magic that clung to the surroundings like dust and moisture. A quick dowsing spell confirmed it, and he growled, “Another teleportation… Divide and conquer, is it? You’re seriously underestimating me and my friends.”

Taking advantage of the confusion, three more arrows were suddenly flying towards the alicorn at an alarming speed, not giving him enough time to cast a spell to stop them. Swiftly, Midnight maneuvered to avoid them, but when the arrows struck the ground, lightning shot out from them and started to follow him.

Thinking quickly, he teleported to avoid the upcoming attack to a safe distance, but what he didn’t expect was for the lightning to suddenly start following him, even as he’d burst into a different position. He spread his wings and took flight, soaring around the ruined apartment rooftop with the lightning bolts hot on his tail.

“If you truly think we are underestimating you… then you truly have no idea who we are… We know how dangerous you are together, so it’s only right we take this job seriously. You’d want to do the same if our roles were reversed,” the zebra mare called out as she explained, watching from the distance in a new hiding spot as she watched the power of the rune stones at work.

That’s right, keep talking, bitch… Midnight thought as he continued to zoom above the rooftops, evading the lightning bolts as they pursued him relentlessly.
Everything you do, everything you say, it tells a story… and just when you think you’ll win, you’ll see how wrong you are…

Midnight was far from arrogant. To his shame, he’d let arrogance nearly get him killed more than once in his life, and each time he’d survived by the skin of his teeth he’d learned a sobering lesson. Thus, he’d also learned how to psych out his enemies, how to mislead them, lull them into a false sense of security. How to fool them into thinking they had some kind of upperhoof on him. And everything they did, he’d turned the tables and swept victory out from right under them.

And you will be no different… there! Midnight eyed the neighboring rooftop and zoomed towards it.

Once he was close enough, he’d teleported, causing the lightning bolts to strike the rooftop where the zebra had been hiding.

Several blocks away, the skeleton of a building in progress, surrounded by a construction lot, suddenly had two visitors that appeared in bursts of mana. Macintosh was startled to see the metal girders and various platforms forming the skyscraper that was still weeks away from being basically finished.

Before him, the diamond dog glared menacingly at the red pony, and Mac steadied himself as he gave a challenging stamp of his hoof and a bold snort.

The face-off went on for a few moments, when the diamond dog raised a runestone and smashed it under his paw. The act resulted in a thick and blinding mist that instantly surrounded them, and Macintosh was on the alert.

Not a good place t’ be… Macintosh thought as he tapped the platform he stood upon, bridging the spaces between the building’s framework.

He summoned his sword, and spoke, “Stand Tall, Stone Edge…”

The sword released a flashing glow of light that coalesced into pieces of armor that zoomed around Mac, as each piece secured onto his body, one after the other, until he was fully clad, and his sword now had a round shield, emblazoned with Mac’s cutie-mark.

Stone Edge was rather basic in its true form compared to the weapons of the other knights, but they afforded Macintosh the ability to wield them with his mind. As though he were a unicorn levitating them with telekinesis.

Maybe Ah oughta move this dance down t’ th’ ground, Mac thought when he felt something beneath his hooves.

A vibration?

Then he heard the sound of air being sliced at a fast pace, and he quickly spun `round, raising his shield, and the diamond dog collided with it and his knives, a spray of sparks splashing from the points of contact.

Mac grunted as he pushed the diamond dog off his shield and then willed his sword to swing out of nowhere. The dog yipped as he ducked and leapt away. He eyeballed Mac in confusion, puzzled by how an earth pony was moving a sword and shield with his mind, but he shook it off and started pacing towards his right.

Mac mirrored the move and did the same, the two foes circling each other, waiting for the other to make the next move.

Mac knew that while he was clad and armed, he was at a disadvantage, given the venue. He couldn’t fight all-out inside a construction site without causing major damage or endangering any potential bystanders. He’d trained with his fellow knights in mastering their weapons and powers, and what he’d learned of his own meant most of them wouldn’t work inside this building in progress.

That’s when Mac had an idea. He waited in their little circling game until the diamond dog stood directly between Mac and the edge… and charged!

Mac let out a fearsome roar as he raised his shield forward, his sword to the side, and went full-speed ahead with such intensity, the diamond dog yelped and died aside. Exactly what Mac had wanted him to do, as he smugly said, “Thank ya kindly.”

The diamond dog was confused and felt his heart jump into his throat when Mac leapt over the edge while giving the dog a ‘come and get me’ gesture before hurtling down to the ground.

He’s crrrrazy! the diamond dog thought as he rushed to the edge and watched the red pony fall. We over dozen stables up!

But then Macintosh held his shield close and called out “FORTRESS STANCE!!!”

Immediately, a barrier of green mana surrounded Mac, and upon touching down, there was a BOOM of earthy impact, dust and debris filling the air, and the diamond dog was utterly flummoxed.

For a long moment, he stood up there, unsure whether the red pony had just committed suicide or if he was still alive, until he got his answer.

“DIAMOND STORM!!!” Shards of metallic green flew out of the cloud of dust, and they zoomed towards the diamond dog, causing him to yelp as he comically dodged, ducked, and dove for cover.

Then, to his bewilderment, the shards, some of which had nailed themselves into the frame of girders, reversed their trajectory, and zoomed back into the dust, which had settled by then. A sword handle floated up, and the shards all converged upon it, reforming into a knightly blade, that Mac brandished with a twirl and then pointed up at the diamond dog as he said, “Had enough?”

“GRRRRR!!! No! I haven’t had enough!” The Diamond Dog snarled, threw his daggers into the ground, sticking where they penetrated, as he reached inside his cloak and pulled out three rune stones. Throwing two of them to the ground, two golems took shape, one resembling that of a large owl and the other a bear. Cracking the third one in his paw, his arms were suddenly encased in dark purple crystals with markings etched onto them. Immediately clapping them together, a mighty warhammer appeared suddenly in his paws. “Get Crrrrrushed by my might, pony fool! Slaughterrrr him!”

Immediately, the owl and bear golems charged at Big Mac as Narbus started to make his way around them to flank the earth pony. However, Big Mac could tell immediately that this assassin wasn’t like the one that attacked both him and Midnight before. He was strong, but not used to frontal attacks.

Ah’ll start by thinnin’ out th’ enemy ranks, Macintosh thought before he raised his sword, “Terra Spear!”

He stabbed the sword into the ground, and then large spikes of solid stone erupted, extending outwards… right into the path of the bear golem. The golem had run too fast and couldn’t stop itself from running headlong into the solid spikes, as one of them pierced right into the bear’s middle, a craggly crack splitting it in half, leaving both heaped onto the ground as lifeless rocks.

“Hm!” Mac gave the diamond dog a triumphant smirk, which had the intended effect of rubbing him the wrong way.

However, the Owl golem swiftly slashed its talons, knocking the stallion’s sword away right before Narbus brought his hammer down in an attempt to cave the pony’s skull in, but not fast enough as Big Mac raised up his shield and blocked the impact of the hammer.

“Damn you! You’ll dieeee tonight fooorrrr helping Black Death!” he snarled, pushing more of his weight into his hammer as he tried to pile his enemy into the ground.

“Ya say ‘Black Death’ like Ah know who yer talkin’ about,” Mac huffed as he pushed back, with both his muscles and his mind, shoving the diamond dog off and sending him hurtling into a pile of girders.

“Grrah!” Narbus groaned in pain before getting back up. “Black Death… is black unicorrrrn… my mentooorrr… old frrrriend. Trrrraitorrrr to us! He will pay prrrrice with his life! All who know truth of him will die. Malice word is law of our house!”

“Black uni- Ya mean Watcher?!” Macintosh mentally slapped himself in the head for not getting that sooner.

“That name is dead… he no deserrrrve real name. Betrrrrayed ourrrr family! Now he know pain like he gave us!” Narbus barked harshly, immediately charged the earth pony, bringing his hammer for an upward swing as Big Mac dodged to the side, before his shield was suddenly struck by his hammer and he felt a sudden stabbing pain in the back of his neck as the owl had plunged its talons into him.

“Rrrgh! No hitchhikers!” Mac reared up, and let himself fall over, straight onto his back.

Which also meant he fell directly onto the owl golem, which let out a shriek of alarm just before it was crushed under the weight of a fully-grown and hefty-muscled earth pony clad in armor.

Macintosh wasted no time and hurried back up onto his hooves, quickly leaping away from a swing of the diamond dog’s hammer, before throwing him a condemning look, “Y’all jus’ said Watcher meant somethin’ t’ you. Tha’ he was yer mentor, yer friend! An’ jus’ becuz he chose a diff’ernt path an’ wha’ this Malice guy says, yer ready an’ willin’ t’ let `im die?! Didja ever even care about why Watcher even left?”

“He told me! This is ourrrrrr life… We arrrreeee his real family! Me his frrrriend… he lied left us… left sisterrrr Nyrrrra alone brrrrroken. You speak like you know family! Trrrrue?!”

Macintosh gave the diamond dog a hard look. He hadn’t realized it at first, but despite the brute’s hulking stature and deep voice, he was young. Not a kid, no longer quite an adolescent. But while he might have reached adulthood, he was still young and had so much life left to live. And yet… Mac saw pain and hurt.

He’s been through th’ wringer… he thought to himself.

Mac took a deep breath, and answered, “Fam’ly means more t’ me than anythang. Ah have a beau’iful wife, two sweet n’ happy li’l foals, an’ so many fam’ly an’ friends, each an’ every single one of whom Ah’d risk muh life t’ protect.

“An’ now… that includes Watcher,” Macintosh declared. When the diamond dog looked irked, Mac continued, “Yer right, Ah don’ know him as well as Ah’d like. He’s got himself a stubborn streak that would rival any earth pony’s, but in him Ah see a good heart. A heart tha’s heavy with guilt an’ regret. Ah figured he had a past he wern’t proud of, but Ah was willin’ t’ wait fer him t’ share his burdens when he’s ready. Maybe he did wrong by you an’ this Nyra… but th’ stallion Ah’ve come t’ know? Ah think he’d do whatever he could t’ make it right.”

“He was… olderrrr brrrrotherrr to me… I was abandoned as pup! House took me in and Watcherrrr helped me learrrn… You don’t adapt… you no kill… you will be killed. I am now RRRRRune Masterrrrr of House of Assassins! It only life I know,” Narbus explained, lowering his hammer as he looked up somberly.

“But it don’t haff t’ be,” Mac replied, losing all challenge and harshness in his voice. He made no attempts to retrieve his weapons, and even removed his helmet so the diamond dog could see his face without obstruction.

Narbus was baffled. On the red pony’s face, he saw compassion, understanding, something he’d never seen from Malice or his other superiors. The only ones who’d ever looked at him even remotely like that were… Watcher and Nyra. Pointing to him, the dog asked, “W-Who is pony?”

“Macintosh Apple. Mah friends call me Mac or Big Mac,” Mac gave him a gentle and friendly smile. “An’ y’all are?”

“Me is Narrrrbus!” Narbus gestured to himself as the hammer reverted back into a rune stone. He almost gave him a smile, but his frown soon returned as his ears flopped back down. “Malice will kill all who betrrrray House… He not norrrrmal, he is demon in disguise. We all feeeeaaarrr him.

“Take friends and hide… Too late to save brrrrotherrr now… Pony in white jacket is using black ooze! No more Watcherrrrr… only Black Death forrrrreverrr!” Narbus explained with misery and woe.

Macintosh had listened carefully to Narbus’ words, and rattled them around in his head as he puzzled on what to say next.

Th’ way he talked about this Malice, sounds like a mighty bad hombre… If Malice is in charge o’ this chicken outfit, he’s prob’ly th’ one we gotta take down. Or out… but can Ah convince Narbus of helpin’ or at least gettin’ outta th’ way?

Taking a deep breath, Macintosh responded, “Narbus, Ah understand yer afraid o’ this guy. But being afraid is exactly wha’ he wants ya t’ be. Yer fear o’ him is his power over you, an’ as long as he has tha’ power y’all never be free o’ him.

“Watcher… Ah think he left becuz he couldn’t live tha’ way anymore, an’ t’ be fair, he shoulna left y’all behind. But sometimes we gotta make choices where there’s no good choice an’ bad choice. Sometimes there’s only bad choices.”

“...so, how choose if whatever chosen is bad?” asked Narbus with fearful skepticism.

“...If there’s only bad choices, then ya gotta choose th’ one tha’ y’all be able t’ live with, no matter how hard it might be,” Macintosh answered with emotional emphasis. “Sometimes, there’s no good and bad choices. There’s only bad an’ worse choices.

“No matter wha’ ya pick, ya gotta live with it, fer better or worse.”

“Me… believe you Big of Mac… But Watcherrrr say be carrrreful of Malice… Is no lie when say he not norrrrmal. Say he hiding something within… Me want to help though! Pony with horrrrn and wings not farrrr frrrrom herre. Follow, follow! Me explain Pony in jacket plan!” Narbus gestured for Big Mac to follow him.

“...and that should do it,” Thunderlane said once the crystal was in place.

Star had led them to the perfect spot for their task, and the high elevation had been exactly what they’d been told to look for. They’d installed the crystal onto the antennae of a radio tower above a media building. Thankfully, no one was around to raise a stink about their trespassing or fiddling with private property, but they knew this was only the next step of achieving their goal.

“Nice work, Thunderlane,” Star n’ Stripe said as they looked up at the crystal, giving off a prismatic shine on the antennae. “I really hope this is gonna work and help Midnight to find Watcher…”

“Don’t sweat it, Star,” Thunderlane assured with confidence, “Midnight’s our leader, and he’s never let us down. That’s why he embodies the Element of Faith, after all.”

“I guess you’re right,” Star sighed, “I just hope this really will help him dowse for Watcher, or at least for those responsible for taking him.”

“So that’s his game, is it…?” Both pegasi were alarmed and looked around for the source of that voice.

“Who’s there?!” Thunderlane called out while summoning his sword.
“Show yourself!” demanded Star, taking a defensive stance while flapping herself aloft.

“Why would we do that?” the voice of a female answered them, but not before Star was suddenly sent flying to the ground. “HAHAHA!”

“Nimbus, didn’t Malice say we shouldn’t be playing with our food?”

“Star!” Thunderlane zipped down to her, the mare having been knocked down onto the rooftop, near the antennae, before the dark gray pegasus looked up and saw two foes above them.

One of them was a pegasus while the other was a griffon. The pegasus was gray like Thunderlane. But while Thunder was gray like a coming storm, this guy was gray like ashes. His mane was cut short, colored dirty blonde with strange red stains in it, and part of his face was frighteningly scarred. As though his face had been wax and it’d been exposed to heat for too long.

The griffon was female, with white plumage, clad in black armor, and her face was painted red.

The two of them eyed Thunderlane and Star with disturbing looks… and then the pegasus licked his lips while a bead of drool dropped from the griffoness’s beak.

“Thunder…” Thunderlane didn’t look at Star, but her voice was clue enough that she was scared. “These guys… they make my skin crawl!”

“Yeah, no kidding…” Thunderlane replied, before he spoke aloud, “A couple goons from the House of Assassins, I presume?”

“My, my, dinner shouldn’t be asking questions, all you have to do is sit still and let me rip your intestines out!” The Griffoness roared, before flying straight towards Thunder at an alarming speed with what appear to be two sickle blades in her talons.

But Thunderlane was a full-fledged Silverbolt, trained by the legendary Silver Lining himself, and easily maneuvered not only himself but the griffoness around in such a way it seemed seamless, even as she was spent spiraling straight into the pegasus she’d arrived with, much to their mutual flabbergasted headaches.

“What the…?!” Thunderlane thought he’d misheard, but Star beat him to the punch.
“What did you guys just say?!” Star said in alarmed dread.

“You’re pretty fast… Charcoal, sweetie, would you be a dear and deal with him, I think I’d like some white meat for tonight instead?~” the Griffoness asked, licking her beak as she looked at Star.

“Nimbus, I thought you said I could have first picks? I let you have that stallion back in Fillydelphia while I got stuck with that thin mare. I want to have that hood for tonight.”

“Pllllease sweetie… I haven’t had any fun in a while… Besides, I’ll be sure to leave her alive to give you a fun show before we dig in.”

“Hmm… Alright… As long as you share, I won’t mind waiting, I suppose I can enjoy eating one of the famous Silverbolts. I do enjoy eating tough tendons from strong ponies…”

Thunderlane and Star felt a spike of chilling dread run through them as they understood what these fiends were saying. Dread mixed with disgust, as both arrived at the same conclusion: They’re cannibals!

Thunderlane raised his sword and ordered, “Star, stay back and protect the crystal. I’ll deal with these pieces of filth myself…”

“But Thunder!” Star started to protest.

“Relax,” Thunderlane assured as he raised his sword up with determined confidence, “I’m not just a Silverbolt… I'm a Knight of Harmony!

“Pierce the Heavens… Skystrike!”

A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking Thunderlane, leaving Star, Charcoal and Nimbus blinded from the incense light, static filling the air, crackles of energy dancing around them as the smell of ozone hit them like a gust of wind.

As it died down, their vision cleared, and the two cannibals were a little put off by how Thunderlane was now clad in knightly armor. His sword had changed into a bow without a thread. It was shiny black with a golden lightning bolt encircling its length, and from each end extended a blade curving inward, as he raised Skystrike, took aim, and pulled at nothing until a string of electricity crackled, connecting both ends as an arrow of energy was poised and ready to fire.

“Were you anyone else, I’d extend mercy…” Thunderlane spoke with the ominous forbearance of a coming storm, “...but monsters like you must be put down. In the words of my leader and friend, count up your sins!

“CRASHING THUNDER!!!”

Thunderlane angled Skystrike upwards and released his arrow, confusing the two bad guys. Until the arrow reached the apex of its arc and burst in a flash of energy from which rained a volley of lightning arrows, spreading out. Charcoal and Nimbus both cried out in alarm and scrambled to avoid the aerial attack.

“So much for having an easy meal! You just had to speak and let them know we were here!” The one named Charcoal argued with the griffoness.

“Dear, this isn’t the time or place to argue! This is just another hunt for us! He’ll die and we’ll cook him like everypony else we’ve killed!” Nimbus explained, immediately throwing her sickles at Thunderlane who dodged effortlessly but the smirk on her face stated she wasn’t aiming for him.

It was then he realized, she was aiming for the crystal they had set up.

However, Star immediately flew up and deflected both sickles at the same time with her spear. She then took a defensive position in front of it, nodding to Thunderlane that she’d do her job.

They aren’t just here to kill us… if that were the case they would have finished us off a long time ago when we weren’t aware of them. No, they were trying to lure us away from the crystal so they could take it out. They’re trying to stop us from finding Watcher! Star thought, glaring at the griffoness who only licked her beak as she gave a wink, sending a chill up her spine.

“Charcoal, now!” Nimbus shouted, immediately flew out of the way as the pegasus behind her pulled out a bunch of rune stones from the pockets of his cloak and threw them all into the air. Suddenly several golems resembling bats came out and immediately attacked both Thunderlane and Star.

Thunderlane immediately flew over to Star’s side and held Skystrike up, “Lightning Blade!”

Extending from the curved blades on each end of the bow were bolts of lightning made solid, crackling with energy as Thunderlane swung Skystrike around like a dervish.

Charcoal threw his foreleg forward, yelling, “ATTACK!!!”

The golem bats let out fearsome shrieks as they dove towards the two pegasus ponies that kept aloft in front of the crystal. Thunderlane acted as a first line of defense, striking the golem bats with uncanny skill and speed, but every once and a while one or two managed to zoom past him. That left Star to handle the ones that made it through Thunderlane’s defense and she handled herself well.

“Give me your flesh!” Nimbus shouted, appearing behind Thunderlane, about to bring down her sickle to slice off one of his wings with a gleeful grin while the pegasus was distracted.

However, Thunderlane’s training had enabled him to come a long way, not only in flying, but also in battle. He’d mastered the skill of sensing his surroundings and immediately felt when Nimbus appeared behind him.

He wasted no time in pulling his limbs in and focusing his power, before he released it: “TEMPEST AURA!!!!”

His power, combined with that of his pegasus magic and knightly magic, unleashing a burst of energy like a crack of thunder. Lightning and stormy winds blew out from Thunderlane in all directions, much of it striking Nimbus with the near-full brunt of it.

The vile griffoness couldn’t hear herself scream over the zap she got running through her, as well as the air surging in her ears, before she dropped her weapons and herself dropped out of the air.

“DARLING!!!” Charcoal screamed and immediately flew down to her.

Nimbus laid upon the rooftop, fidgeting and babbling, still feeling the after-effects of that supernatural shock, but while she certainly had been given a good fry she wasn’t seriously injured. Charcoal sighed in slight relief, but he threw a vengeful glare at Thunderlane, seething, “I will rip off your wings and serve them to my love, chickenfried!!”

Thunderlane prepared himself for more, as Charcoal readied himself and then lunged straight at Thunderlane! The knight focused his power into the ends of Skystrike, extending lightning blades from them, as he roasted himself around to wind up his next swing, and lashed out sideways towards Charcoal.

But the evil pegasus axle-span his whole body, causing Thunderlane to miss, his blade only inches from the underside of Charcoal’s barrel, and as Charcoal rose up, Thunder turned to face him… only for Charcoal to raise a heavy throwing knife (that had a rune engraved into the blade) and threw it with the skill of a master.

Thunderlane raised his bow to knock it away, but to his confusion, the throwing knife angled its trajectory, actively avoiding being struck by Skystrike… and slit through the air towards its true target: The crystal!

Thunderlane and Star both realized it too late, and the knife struck the crystal they’d set up, and a crackling flash and explosion followed, forcing Thunderlane Star back to avoid the shards blown out from the force of it.

“NO!!!” Star cried out in emotional alarm.

“You’ll pay for that!!” Thunderlane pulled back an invisible string on the bow, a bolt of lightning crackling into existence, poised and ready to fire.

“Nah! I don’t think we will!” Charcoal stated clearly with a smirk as he held his love in his hooves and pulled out another rune stone. “It’s too late anyways! He’s already where he belongs now!”

Throwing the rune stone to the ground, it immediately warped the two of them away.

Hiding in the shadows, trying to catch her breath as she avoided being seen, Nyra knew the risks when she agreed to take on the alicorn alone. Somehow he had managed to strike her despite being cloaked by the rune stone Narbus made for her to avoid detection.

But as the clouds above slowly drifted along, revealing the waxing moon, Nyra suddenly became alarmed by a strange chill.

“Having fun?” Nyra jolted in panic, leaping to her hooves, away from the shaded corner in which she’d hidden.

It’d been just large enough for her to conceal herself, and yet she’d heard a voice right next to her in spite of nopony being around. She got her answer, when the shaded corner darkened… and from it, rose Midnight, clad in his armor as well as garbed in his cloak, his claw-like weapons, Nightfall, poised and ready for more battle.

Although she couldn’t see his face, Nyra had no doubts her foe was smirking in the shadow of his hood.

“Arrogant… just like the others who chose to fight… All of them were sent home in a casket.” Nyra spoke, crushing two ruin stones in her hooves, teleporting far away from the alicorn while simultaneously releasing several large golems towards her foe.

Far enough away, she pulled her crossbow out and pulled out a red arrow with three rune stones attached to it. Taking aim, she pulled the trigger, releasing the arrow as it suddenly ignited in flames mid-flight and multiplied into a dozen arrows all heading directly towards the stallion, reducing the golems to rubble beneath his hoof.

Midnight had been in such situations before, and ordinarily he would have easily avoided such attacks by teleporting or turning to shadow. Only Midnight was standing on a rooftop, and couldn’t put any innocent bystanders at risk.

So he focused his magic, closed his eyes, and cast a spell, “ARRESTO TEMPORUM.”

A spark of light ignited from his horn, before a translucent bubble of mana expanded from that spark, enlarging in all directions, Midnight dead center of it, as it enveloped everything around him.

Nyra’s triumphant counter had just been thwarted, as she watched all her arrows that got caught in the strange bubble suddenly stop in mid-air, as though they’d been…

…frozen in time!!! Nyra realized in alarm. More so, when she saw the bubble was continuing to expand and coming her way.

Immediately, she pulled out another arrow and rune stone and was about to fire it when she heard a strange whoosh around her, and she turned just in time to see Midnight as shadows reached out from under his cloak, immediately engulfing and immobilizing her.

She struggled to escape, but it was no use, as her crossbow was taken, along with her bag of runestones, and she threw him a venomous glare.

Midnight returned it with a stony one, as he stated, “This is over. I’m taking you in, and you will lead me to Watcher.”

“You don’t have a right to speak that name, it’s a name that should have been forgotten when he joined our clan! He’ll come to his senses and he’ll deal with you personally!”

“If you actually think that, I wonder if you ever loved him at all,” Midnight retorted, “I’ll admit, he did you wrong in breaking your heart, but he did right by himself by having the courage to do what you clearly never could.”

“Courage!? Abandoning me, abandoning our clan, this family?! That’s courage!? Don’t make me laugh! It’s because of your family that he’d come to join us! He told me everything about what your family did… He took an oath when he joined our clan, and to break that oath is punishable by death… but Malice believes in him still, like I do… He’ll realize his mistakes.” Nyra explained, still glaring at the alicorn, her gaze was piercing and it sent a cold chill up Midnight’s spine. “I still love him… I’ve never stopped… Especially when his life before joining us has been voidless of that love.”

Wow, this girl’s had a real number done to her… Midnight thought before he considered his next words, and replied, “Family isn’t perfect, Nyra. Family is messy, chaotic, and sometimes family can be a real pain in the butt, and even they can let you down.

“But what you described just now? That’s not family. It’s abuse and cruelty, without compassion or sincere forgiveness. Watcher should not have left you as he did. But at least he had the courage to leave that kind of monstrous treatment behind him of his own will.”

“Really… Like how an older brother leaves the younger one to die?” Nyra asked, seeing the look in his eyes, he knew what she was talking about. “How a mother controls her children, taking away their right to choose for themselves? Or how a father abandons his sons, leaving them alone? You say my family… the one who saved us… gave us purpose… belonging… isn’t a family? What makes yours better? From what Watcher told me… yours is the furthest thing from being a family.”

“You may know the things that happened to my family… but that doesn’t mean you understand,” Midnight narrowed his eyes, but continued to speak emphatically, “My father put me through hell growing up, but it helped prepare me for my future.

“He regretted what happened to his brother, and being unable to make peace with his sister-in-law because she blamed him. And she was right to. My aunt didn’t handle her grief in a healthy way, and it drove her son away out of resentment. And my father did indeed leave me and my brother without him because he left to find the witch who’d robbed us of our mother. Families make mistakes and do wrong to each other, but that doesn’t mean it has to break them apart forever. My mother was returned to us. My aunt made peace with us, and even Watcher found the strength to forgive and move on. Why can’t you?”

“You really don’t understand… I don’t think you could ever understand… Watcher and I are bonded. Our souls are joined as one… we are a mated pair for life.”

Midnight focused his mana into his eyes to take a closer look… and saw Nyra’s own mana was entangled with someone else’s, like a knotted mess of thread ensnaring the core of her being. While her mana was colored white, this mana that tethered her to someone else was a very familiar purple.

“So that’s it… you cursed Watcher, and in doing so you cursed yourself,” Midnight understood, sighing in true empathy. “That’s why you resent him so. You couldn’t let him go, so now you really can’t. Unless…”

“He needs to do it… It hurts… every moment apart hurts… I feel his pain and loneliness. Just like I know he feels mine… The nightmares and ghosts that haunt him. He needs to break this curse in order for me to move on… Or he must die! I don’t want that… but Malice promised that he’ll come back to us… I believe in him just like the rest of us do.”

“Nyra…” Midnight slackened his shadows’ hold on the zebra mare, but he didn’t release her. He looked directly into her eyes, so that she would see the sincerity in his own, as he spoke, “I am not only the leader of the Brotherhood of the Evening Hoods, but its sole assassin.

“I choose to bear the burden and responsibility of deliberately ending a life, in the name of the greater good. So that none of my subordinates need ever take that burden upon themselves unless they were left with no choice. I personally recruit every single new member of the Brotherhood, and I would risk my life for each and every one of them, anytime, anywhere. Because they have chosen, of their own free will, to be a part of something bigger than themselves, including me! I ask for their loyalty and give it to them in return, I never demand it. If a Hood does wrong or betrays their vows, I give them a chance to atone for their misdeed. But I would never bring harm to them unless they forced my hoof.

“Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that Malice is the same? Would he put his own life on the line for any one of you? Would he understand if you had a sincere reason to go against his will? Would he even welcome your perspective on matters where you had doubts or were of a differing opinion.”

“No… None of us question his ways… The House of Assassins has been around for centuries and his family who founded it made it what it is today. No one knew it existed… You are one of the few to know of us now. Those who hire us are under oath to never question the rules and laws set forth. The same goes for us who were rescued and brought it… No one ever questions it… those who do are killed for betraying our clan.” Nyra explained, using her free hoof, she moved the back of her mane to reveal a mark on the back of her neck.

“This mark… proves that we belong to the House of Assassins… those who betray us… the mark will reveal him to us all… you can never escape… never hide… It’s kill or be killed.”

“That’s not loyalty, Nyra,” Midnight was aghast at the sight of that mark and what it meant, “That’s enslavement… Malice doesn’t want you to be loyal, he demands blind and unquestioning obedience.

“And whether any of you go against him or not, when he’s decided you’ve outlived your usefulness, he’ll cast you aside like a broken sword.”

“If that is true… why would he let my love live?”

“Because the likes of Malice…” Midnight responded, dark memories coming to mind, “they don’t let slights against them go unpunished. If he really wanted Watcher alive, it’s to use him, or else to make him suffer…

“Please, Nyra,” Midnight finally released the zebra fully from his shadowy grasp, surprising her, “Watcher hurt you, but whatever Malice intends to do with him, he doesn’t deserve it. If you ever truly loved him, you’ll tell me where to find him.”

“I do… I still do…” Nyra replied, still feeling the wet tear stains on her face. “I’ll… I’ll help you, but I can’t promise that I won’t hurt him the next time I see him… You can relate can’t you?”

“You can slap him silly later, just start talking!” Midnight urged.

“He’s- AHHHHH!” Nyra suddenly collapsed to the ground, gripping her head in her hooves as she was in intense pain. “H-He… Ah… Watcher… No…”

“Are you okay!? What happened!?”

“He’s… He’s…”

“Nyra answer me!?

“Gone… He’s gone…” Nyra collapsed, her eyes widened in quiet despair, “I-I can’t… I can’t… feel him anymore…!”

Midnight channeled his mana vision again, and saw the purple of Watcher’s mana no longer entangled with Nyra’s own. Instead, a flit of it was fading away, leaving the zebra with nothing but the pain of being alone.

No, nononono! He’s not gone… He’s not! It’s faint but there’s still a chance… Hang on, Watch, we’re coming for you…!