Due to the sleep spell’s power, Heavenly Quill did not awaken until the next morning. Sadly, the spell did nothing to help his dreams, though. All through the night, the same scene played over and over again in the young boy’s mind; causing him to toss and turn with every dark image. Every time Quill watched his parents die, his heart beat faster, either from fear, anguish, or a mixture of both... and each time he saw the blood run from his parent’s bodies, he would feel the same amount of sorrow that he felt the first time, when it really happened.

After hearing his mother’s last words again, he was freed from his nightmares as the spell finally wore off.

When Quill opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed; drenched in sweat from his night terrors in what looked to be completely white room. He looked around the unknown room until his eyes focused on a large glass window that was blacked out. Slowly, he walked over and knocked on it.

“H...hello? W-where am I? Where's Mama? Where's Papa?” Quill asked; his young mind not yet rendering what had happened as true.

In reality, when the mare put Quill under the spell she had taken him back to the nearest guard outpost. She, and a few other guards, dragged a bed in from one of the prison cells to give the poor child a place to sleep. While the rest of the guards had left him, the mare that had carried him there and stayed by the room in case Quill had woken up.

She, herself, had nodded off by the time Quill did wake up. She was woken from her sleep by the knocking on the glass. She turned and looked through the one way glass and sighed when she saw Quill awake. She was not looking forward to telling the boy what had happened, but she knew she had to be the one to do it. The other guards wouldn’t be able to talk to the child the way she, a mother herself, could. She opened the door to the room and walked in.

Quill looked to her and he blinked a little when he recognized her. “Y...you're the lady from before! The one who took me away from Mama and Papa!” Quill shouted at the woman. “They were just sleeping! Take me back to Mama!” The mare sighed slightly as he shouted at her.

She took a deep breath before speaking slowly with a soft tone to her voice, “I’m... sorry, but your mom and dad are gone. They were….taken away by that horrid Minotaur.” She said. The mere thought of the murderer made her furious, but she set her anger aside as she noticed Quill had began to cry.

"M...mam and Papa... are gone?!” He shook his head and he shouted. “ No, you're lying! Take me back to my parents! Please! I just wanna go home now!” he screamed at her. The mare looked at him for another moment, until she slowly knelt down and then pulled him into a warm embrace Quill tried to pull away from... but then he felt something...familiar.

The mare hugged him like his mother had done before. His mother… memories of the events of the dream and reality... were all crashing down on him at once, and his mind accepted the truth. He held onto the mare and he sobbed into her shoulder. The mare held him tightly and she patted his back. "We’re going to find the one who did this... and he will be brought to justice! I promise...” she said, but truthfully it was as if Black Thorn had disappeared. The guards couldn’t find any traces of him, so she felt awful promising something she didn’t know she could fulfil.

Quill looked at the unicorn mare with watery eyes. He may have been young, but he knew what she meant. Slowly, he stuttered out, “Y… you’ll… punish him? P...pinky promise?” Quill held up his little finger.The mare couldn’t help but smile at something so… innocent. She crossed her little finger with his. "Yes, I promise you. Now I know it’s alot to ask, but I need you to tell me what you can remember about the minotaur... ok? It’ll help us find him... but if you need more time to recover, then I understand.” she said, before patting his head. "You've been through more than anyone should have to go through at your age.” Quill looked at her and he nodded a little. He tried to hold back his sadness because his father had always taught him to be strong, no matter what.

"I’ll... I'll tell you, but... but first, what's your name? M... mama told me never to talk to stranger, so... please tell me your name so you're not a stranger." Quill said through successfully held sniffles.

The mare was actually speechless. How could such a young child be taking this so well? She knew he must be trying to keep his sadness hidden. Even so, she would help him through this later... for now, she needed the information. Again, she smiled softly at him and told him, "My name is Lila Shadow. Lila was my mom’s first name, and my coat is dark like a shadow. Now...what's your name, little one?” she asked kindly.

Quill looked to her and took deep breaths to steady his voice. "My name is heavenly Quill, because my mane is white like the clouds in the heavens, and… well, Mama never told me why my last name is Quill.” This thought had brought forth a whole new torrent of tears.

The unicorn mare, now known as Lila Shadow, hugged him and sighed. "Heavenly Quill, you need to let it all out... trust me, little one. I know what holding back your emotions does. Don't try to fight it."

Quill couldn’t help it. The sadness he tried to hold back broke through the barriers of his eyes... and for another minute, he screamed and sobbed into Lila’s shoulder until his voice was hoarse, and until his eyes finally stopped making tears. He had used up his energy crying, and had fallen back into a slumber.

As Lila looked at the sleeping Quill, she sighed and put him back in his makeshift bed. She knew Quill had to keep from holding his feelings in, and she also knew that watching what he did would completely change the poor boy’s world. With that in mind, she left Quill to sleep the rest of the night, and left the room; silently closing the door as she stepped out.

A tall stallion with a scar over his right eye, and a coat as red as blood, looked into the room. He shook his head as he looked towards her. “Did you get the kid to talk?” the stallion asked in a cold tone. Lila shook her head, causing him to sigh.

“He's still in shock sir... he needs time before he can talk to us. I know he’ll help us when he finally calms down, though.” The stallion nodded slightly and looked at her.

"You do know that, when we’re done getting the information from him, he gets shipped off to the orphanage.” he said; his voice never losing its cold edge.

Lila’s eyes widened with shock as she faced her superior. "B-but Commander Crimson! He just lost his parents! We can't just toss him aside to an orphanage after this! He's not just some tool we can use for info, just to throw away when we're done! He's a child!"

Crimson looked towards her; his eyes taking a dark look. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was in front of her; towering over her by a couple feet. "You will not speak like that to me again... do I make myself clear, Cadet Shadow?” He venomously asked.

Lila looked down; too afraid to look into his eyes. "Y...yes sir. Loud and clear... but I still will not let you send this poor boy away like that." she said in a cooled tone.

Lila was a very loving mare, especially towards children. She forced her eyes to meet those of her commander’s. "I’ll take him into my home. I will take care of him... and I know my son would love to have another child in the house... a brother. I’ll give him his new home!”

Crimson looked into her eyes and smirked. "That simple little heart of yours will get you killed one day, Shadow... mark my words." Then he left the mare there and, walked off to his office. When there, he shut the door and locked it tightly before turning to face the only other person in his office; a rather short diamond dog.

The diamond dog smirked as he looked to him. "Did the kid talk, Crimson? Do we have to take care of him as well?" he asked.

Crimson shook his head and smiled menacingly. "Even if he does talk, I can easily remove any evidence they find. Soon, Sandstone City will be another haven for the Black Wings to call home." Then he turned towards the window, and folded his arms. "Tell Black Thorn that he's in the clear... but make sure the moron lays low for a while. Got it, Hound?” The diamond dog, now known as Hound, smirked before he nodded.

"I’m glad you were smart enough to take over as guard commander... makes our job all the more easy!" Crimson nodded and walked back to his desk, as Hound snuck his way out the window. He used his claws to climb down the guard tower.

Crimson looked to his left shoulder where his cutie mark would be. Instead, a pair of black eagle-like wings were burned into his skin. "Soon... this entire city will be ours for the taking." Crimson smirked, as he looked down at the map of sandstone city on his desk. Then he stood up, and lifted a dagger from the far-left of the desk. "And after our forces are built up..." he then turned around and threw the dagger at another map that hung on the wall. When it landed, it pierced into the map; through the area that marked Equestria. "... Equestria will be next."