-The Line That Lacks a Barrier-

The herd of ponies drowned out all other sound as they crowded around Coalback. His return from the forest had not gone unnoticed, and it had only taken moments for the paparazzi to close in. However his fully armored visage appeared unfazed even in the unending barrage of flashing cameras and yelling ponies. They all made for quite the seen just outside the forest’s edge.

“What is your name?” they demanded, ignorant of the falling snow.

“What house do you hail from?"

"What does your position mean for the continued integration of the Lunar Guard?"

"Is it true that Princess Luna personally trained you?"

"What is your position on foreign relations with the Gryphon Oligarchy?”

"Is it true that you've sparred with the Princesses and won?"

The questions came so fast and loudly from the fifty-some mouths that it more resembled an interrogation than an interview. Camera flashes threw strange shadows across his armor, some revealed patterns normally hidden in the dark coloration of the metal.

“CEASE!” Coalback’s voice boomed, suddenly as loud as a clap of thunder. The shocked silence of the paparazzi left a deafening hollow in the air. When he spoke next the only sound that accompanied his voice was the hasty scribbling of chewed pencils on pads of paper. “No pictures. I want you to leave,” he stated simply, his accent clipped the words ever so slightly and made the vowels slip just enough to be noticeable. Snowflakes stirred in the air around his snarling helmet, the steam of his breath forceful enough to melt ice.

"But, Sir!" one brave pony shouted from the crowd. "Ponies all over Equestria want so desperately to know about you! You're the first Lunar Knight in over a thousand years!"

"I am not a knight," Coalback barked. "I do not hail to any royalty. I am not a part of Lunar Guard. Your politics bore me. Your questions bore me." Coalback's voice echoed and the trees behind him shivered in the cold.

"All we ask is that you take this seriously," another reporter shouted.

"The only thing I take seriously, pony," he spat, "is trespass into the forest. You are very close to stepping into danger, and this will be your only warning. Entering the forest is forbidden," he growled.

With his short speech completed, Coalback pushed through the crowd and made his way back toward the hospital to collect his charges.

The crowd slowly dispersed, the disgruntled reporters snuck their last few photos as they attempted to collect whatever shattered dignity they had left. Surely many would be skulking around the town for a few days to get a few more flashy photos or sneak a bit more information out of the town, but most would be leaving on the next train with frowns on their faces.

Coalback ushered the mares back out of the Hospital, his squires took up the Guard position as they began to escort them back into the town proper. However, Coalback pulled Rainbow to the side as they walked for what amounted to a private conversation. “Thank you,” he whispered to her. “For the talk and for bringing my armour back out for me so I could deal with those fools,” he nodded.

“No problem, dude,” Rainbow replied with a smile. It had taken a lot out of her to let the less cool side of her out for him, even if it was only for a bit. But as stressful as it had been, she hoped the effort would make things run smoother between them.

“Also, if you are still interested, I will be doing training before we make to track down that last creature. You are welcome to join us if you wish, I hope you have no issue with me treating you the same as the others?” Rainbow could not see his face, and his accent made it difficult to fully understand him, but she felt like there was some amount of concern -- or worse, sympathy -- in his voice.

“Hey,” she said with a friendly tap to his breastplate. “You’re talking to the greatest athlete in Equestria! If you weren’t tough on me it would be an insult!” she said with a smile. He nodded and she was almost certain she heard a chuckle.

“We’ll see.”

The town square was particularly busy today, especially with so many journalists looking to get lunch before they left on the trains. Ponies bustled to and fro, either on business or finishing up any morning shopping. The heavy cloud cover told anyone familiar with weather that even though the snow had started early it certainly wouldn't end any earlier than scheduled. The weather ponies had all voted against attempting to stop the snow now that it had started.

Still, a few ponies ate outside, snuggled in scarves and coats and nursing warm drinks. Winter would be in full swing any day now, and they wanted to enjoy the cool air before it became too chilly. They would enjoy the light dusting of snow before it became a thick downfall.

Twilight had insisted they move ahead with their lunch plans since it was already on her schedule. So all six of them had come together to eat at their favorite cafe, two of their stoic Guard standing just outside. The other Guard had gone to watch the farm where the fillies had gone for the day.

Thankfully this cafe did not seem to be fancy enough even for the Canterlot journalists, so it was mostly quiet inside. It could have also been the fully armored Knight and Guard standing by the door. But that was fine by the mares, it gave them plentiful opportunity to talk and forget about their troubles.

"So Braeburn just looks at me an' says; 'that ain't mud'." Applejack said with a mimic of her cousin's grim expression. She was rewarded with laughter from most of her friends and a hilarious green tinge to Rarity's expression of horror. "The look on mah sister's face when she realized!" Applejack said with a bark of a laugh.

"That's horrid, Applejack!" Rarity grimaced and shivered.

"But much funnier than your story about Opal," Rainbow teased.

"Oh, well then I haven't told you about what happened with the yogurt this morning, have I?" Rarity asked, she waited patiently until she had garnered the attention of the table. "It turns out that Sweetie had been planning on making breakfast for us. And with her magic just coming in, she wanted to try to do everything with it. It should have been easy; nothing to burn, nothing to cut or mix. But when I walked into the kitchen every wall had been covered in yogurt! Fruit squares and yogurt everywhere! It looked like I'd just walked into a murder scene," she explained to the rising giggles of her tablemates and a few sympathetic 'oh no's.

"At least she hasn't started spell casting," Twilight said sympathetically. "When I was her age I tried to clean the house for my parents with a 'come to life' spell and I nearly flooded the house. Now I've got the opposite problem; a baby dragon who likes to cook inside our very flammable library," she snickered.

"Tank just likes to punch holes in my house," Rainbow grinned. "I'm always patching up some new spot where he's been wandering around. Yesterday I found a tunnel in the clouds from my bathroom all the way to the kitchen." She shook her head as Pinkie managed to fall out of her seat.

She popped back up with a gasp. "Yesterday Gummi came home with a bushel of Poison Joke in his mouth!" Pinkie beamed as her audience gasped with grins of joy. "He grew a big tooth ... on his tail!" She grinned madly as she realized the Fluttershy was red with laughter behind her pink mane.

"When we came back to Ponyville," Fluttershy managed to stutter out between giggles, "Angel Bunny was tangled up in ribbons and caught in the ceiling fan! I don't know how he got up there," she said.

"That rabbit," Rainbow groaned in sympathy.

Slowly their mirth died back down and they concentrated more on their warm drinks. The snow would really be falling once the sun went down. So, until then, relishing the nearly private setting of their company was what they planned on.

"Hey," Pinkie piped up. "Where's Coalback going?" She pointed out the window and when the rest of the girls turned to look they were able to make out his armored form through the windows as he crossed the square.

"It looks like he's going to the post office," Twilight said. "Do you think he's expecting a letter?"

"Wait a second!" Pinkie exclaimed. Her hooves slammed down on the table and nearly toppled half the drinks as she stood up. "We still haven't thrown him a Thank You slash Welcome to Ponyville Party!" she all but screamed.

"Oh no, I can't imagine how he would act if his previous behavior is any indication," Rarity huffed. "For all we know his idea of Partying involves countless hours of booze and smashing everything in sight with a chair."

"Come off it, Rarity," Applejack scoffed. "I'm sure he's just stressed. I know you get a might hard to deal with when you ain't got any sleep in a while," she said.

"Yeah," Rainbow said. "I don't think he's slept at all since he got here, give him a break,” she insisted. She was starting to get tired of Rarity’s stubborn dislike of their new Guard. “He did keep those thugs off of us, and he’s been cleaning up that mess since he got here.”

“Oh,” Rarity said with a scowl, “I suppose you’re right. Even if he is brash, he does have our well-being in mind,” she admitted. She pursed her lips in thought for a moment before a revelation brightened her expression. “What if we all did something nice for him and his Guards? A thank you from each of us to show that we appreciate what they’ve been doing for us!” she suggested.

“That’s a great idea, Rarity!” Twilight beamed. “I’m sure they might appreciate some reading material, I could get them some books on the local area. They might find those useful,” she said.

“Well Granny Smith always did say that the best way to get on a stallion’s good side was through his stomach. I’d bet a whole day’s worth a’ buckin’ that they’d like some good home cookin’,” Applejack said with a thoughtful expression.

Rarity pouted in thought. “Now that I’ve said it I realize I have no idea what I could possibly do for the fellows,” Rarity admitted.

“You know,” Rainbow said, “Coalback’s actually really smart. I bet he actually grew up in a pretty high society sort of setting. And those other two guys are from Canterlot, so I know you could come up with something for them. ”

“Whatever do you mean, dear?” Rarity asked.

“Well Coalback did basically learn a new language in, like, three days or someth-“

“What?!” Twilight screeched. “How?!” she demanded.

"I feel like your plan may be backfiring. Your forced authority over him might be less of a controlling factor and more of a stressful one for Coalback, Your Majesty," Clean Cut said as his eyes scanned his notes. "He's had several outbursts since you sent him to Ponyville. The stress may cause what you had hoped to prevent."

"Zounds," Luna cursed. "But how else should We have accomplished anything? Thou hast already espoused that sympathy and kindness are only suspect in his eyes," she said as she paced about her study. A raven sat in the windowsill and stared at her as she walked. “We could not allow him to slip away, especially now that this barrel of cnidarians has been opened,” she said in frustration.

"’Can of worms,’ my Lady,” Clean Cut corrected quietly. “Perhaps if we had tried further with kindness, or simply showed some honesty?" Clean Cut offered. "It seems to be working well for Rainbow Dash."

"Elaborate on this claim," Luna asked more than ordered of him.

"It is often difficult to decipher things like this: especially with my own limitations in Astral projection and Merletta's small knowledge on modern pony body language," he said with a nod to the raven at the window. The bird seemed to scowl back at him for pointing out her shortcomings in the Princess’s presence. "But her loyalty in the friendship she forged with Coalback, as tentative as it still is, has led to both kindness and honesty. He seems more relaxed around her than any other pony," he explained.

"However, tis far too late to simply say 'sorry' and make amends for him," Luna said with regret. "We have made this worse, have we not?" she asked as she grasped at the bridge of her nose with a hoof.

"It's certainly no easier, My Lady," Clean Cut admitted with a low bow. "Perhaps, if you began by praising his actions the next time he contacts you? Or better yet treat him as if he were to stand on equal grounds to you. He may appreciate humility, or even an apology. We know too little of his personality to say," Clean Cut said with a shrug.

Luna took a deep sigh. "Concordia super omnia amatur. Libra est pax," she said with conviction. "The world has been out of balance too long. Do you know what truly makes that pony so significant? So powerful a weapon against our kind, the alicorns?" she asked Clean Cut.

"I know that somehow their claws could do what steel and fire could not: they can make you bleed," Clean Cut admitted.

Luna’s hoof reached up and tentatively touched the tiny pink scar on the underside of her chin. "Indeed," she admitted. "However it is the nature of their conceivement that truly grants them power over us. They were born from the womb of a goddess, one of my sisters'. As such they, as a people, became a force of change in that ancient world. They are gods of change in their own right; and change is far preferable to chaos, discord, and entropy."

"How do you mean, My Lady?"

"Change," Luna said, "brings with it progress, evolution, and drives a march forward of all life. Not always is it good, nor bad, nor more often is it able to be seen as either." She walked behind her desk and sat heavily on the large chair behind it. She slowly pulled put a chess board from one of the many drawers. "As such it allows either player in a game to challenge the other, succeed or fail, and for both to improve themselves," she explained as she pushed out a small white pawn.

"And chaos? Discord, and entropy?" Clean Cut asked as his magic pushed forward an unsuspecting black pawn into the playing field.

"No one wins," Luna said simply. She slid out her bishop, suddenly a dominating presence on the battle field. “Chaos and it’s like end only in one thing: Destruction. It is a carefully coordinated and balanced dance of, shall we say, give-and-take that allows existence to prosper.”

"And your hope is that by keeping Coalback on your beck and call that he will readily risk life and limb to prevent this chaos?" Clean Cut asked, some of his incredulity slipped out with a raise of the eyebrow and a lilt to his voice. One of his knights leapt over the line, challenging the authority of the bishop.

"If anyone can," Luna said as she considered the board, "it will not be creatures of Order such as my sisters and I," she admitted with another pawn on the field. "I have known so since I first saw him. Even if Discord has not returned, we need him desperately."

Rainbow arrived at the Guard camp to be met with the heavy sounds of bone against flesh. She crested the snowy hill, work out gear in hoof and work out sweats donned, to find the Coalback and his earth pony Guard locked in an intense grapple.

They had reared onto their back hooves inside a rough dirt circle and struggled to keep the other from gaining a perfect grasp around the other's neck. Even from the hill Rainbow could see the earth pony’s muscles quiver with exertion. All three of the Guards had removed their heavy armor, and even Coalback stood with little more than the Lunar banner wrapped around his flanks. Coalback’s wings had flared high above him, his shields glinting in the late afternoon sun. Coalback had yet to break a sweat as he slowly kept the pressure on to his subordinate. The Unicorn Guard sat closely nearby, his eyes trained squarely on the two grappling ponies. He was apparently already through with his own sparring match, evidenced by the bruises along his arms and the thick foam of sweat in his fur.

With a grunt Coalback shifted his weight. Before the earth pony could react one of Coalback's hooves shot out and knocked the earth pony’s legs out from under him. In less time than it took to blink Coalback took the large pony to ground and had him pinned helplessly with his face in the dirt.

Coalback released his hold on the other Guard and stood. "A baby keeps his footing better than you! What do you think that tail of yours is for? Use it!" Coalback said as his opponent picked himself up. Coalback's ear twisted around as Rainbow started toward them again, somehow able to hear her over the earth pony’s grunting as he shook feeling back into his hooves. "Iron Bar, take Lady Rainbow Dash to the side and see what she knows while I find out if Filibuster has figured out his mistake," he commanded.

The earth pony gave a loose salute before he exited the circle and the Unicorn entered. Rainbow made sure to note down their names somewhere in the back of her mind.

The sweaty stallion approached, his hurried breathing slowed as he walked off his session. "Good afternoon, Lady Dash," Iron Bar said, he smiled when she returned the sentiment. "Have you ever sparred before?" he asked.

"I got a black belt in the martial arts class I took when I was in school," she offered. "But that was a few years ago," she admitted. "Haven't done any since."

"Alright, show me your ready stance," Iron Bar said with a thoughtful nod.

Rainbow tossed her workout bag to the side and spread her hooves apart. She felt her center of gravity lower ever so slightly as she loosened up her knees. She remembered vaguely when instructors would have to remind her to keep her hooves just wider than her shoulders and hips.

"Good," Iron Bar said as he reached out and gave her chest an experimental shove. Rainbow’s stance stayed strong and she easily kept from swaying.

A loud thwack behind Iron Bar and an equally loud clang of metal against skull shook the air.

Iron Bar spun around as Filibuster dropped to the ground, his hooves clutched at the sides of his head. Coalback snorted loudly before he turned and left the sparring circle. He returned with a canteen of water that he took a loud swallow from before he offered it to Filibuster who simply held the relatively cool surface against one of his temples.

"What's going on?" Rainbow asked Iron Bar in a whisper.

"Coalback thinks our defenses are crap. He wants us to improve them," Iron Bar said with a shrug. "There's no denying it, he can take us both down instantly. But he says the best way to improve is to find out what we're doing wrong first," he explained.

"I'd think that getting beat up all the time wouldn't help anybody," Rainbow remarked with a frown.

"That's how he said he learned," Iron Bar said with a noncommittal shrug. "It's really the hardest he's been on us, I think he puts a lot more stock in that than anything else. Discipline, you know? Besides, ever since he drafted us for this we've been a lot tougher. The bruises never last for long." He smiled and turned back to her as Coalback helped Filibuster back onto his hooves. "Now, throw me your hardest punch. Right here," he told her as he presented his shoulder to her.

"You sure you don't want, like, a mat or something for me to hit?" Rainbow asked. She didn't really take to the idea of punching Iron Bar, especially if Coalback had just finished doing more of the same to him in the name of training.

Iron Bar shrugged again. "If you wanna learn to fight better you gotta get used to the idea of hitting ponies. It's part of the deal most of the time," he said with a grin as he spread his hooves into his own ready stance.

"Whatever you say, dude," Rainbow said. She didn't wait for him to ask again. Her strategy had always been to hit hard and fast when she sparred as a filly, and she saw no reason to change that now.

She jumped forward with a quick, one-two punch to his shoulder. Iron Bar's heavier, earth pony frame easily absorbed the impact with the same reaction a rock might have. She danced back out of his reach as soon as she'd finished.

"Ha!" Filibuster shouted in triumph. However the moment quickly ended and before Iron Bar or Rainbow could turn to see what had happened Filibuster was flat on his back.

Coalback stood over him, a streak of soil across his own back. "Just because the enemy is down does not mean you've won the fight!" he shouted as if he could barely believe such logic existed at all.

"But the Code says-" Filibuster started.

"Fuck pony Code!" Coalback bellowed. Rainbow jumped at his volume, and was surprised to realize that that had been the first time she’d heard Coalback curse at somepony. Coalback leaned down and dragged Filibuster back to his hooves forcefully. “From now on,” he snarled in Filibuster’s ear, “the enemy is more clever than you.” He didn’t bother to allow Filibuster to stay on his hooves, he simply pushed him out of their sparring circle. “From now on the enemy is stronger than you,” he said as he made a point of meeting Iron Bar’s eyes.

He let that sink in for the two Guards for a moment. “Armor back on, Iron Bar. Three fast-march patrols around town, I want you to check in on each of the mares. Filibuster, leg lifts. When Iron Bar come back, switch places,” he commanded. With a sigh both the stallions split away from their makeshift training yard, Iron Bar back toward the tents and Filibuster toward a large stack of logs. As Rainbow watched, Filibuster lifted a large, uncut log onto his back and began the assigned exercise.

“Come here, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow jumped as she realized that Coalback’s attention had apparently been redirected to her. She cautiously made her way to the torn earth of the sparring circle, but hesitated to enter. She stared down at the line in the frosty dirt as if it were a snake waiting to bite her.

"You can back out at any time," Coalback said, once again to pull her back to the task at hoof. "But you don't get to come back. I run a wolf pack, not a girl scout troop," he said with narrowed eyes. But Rainbow heard the unspoken challenge: Are you tough enough?

She set a determined frown on her face and stepped in. The tiniest tick of a smile on Coalback's sweaty face was her reward. "Prepare you're stance," he commanded.

Rainbow spread her hooves apart. But the moment she had them where she was sure they were supposed to be Coalback's leg shot out and pulled her front legs out from under her. She stumbled and attempted to use her wings to correct but Coalback's own wing swung out and smacked her to the ground.

"Not fast enough," he said simply. He turned his back to her and walked to the edge of the circle.

Rainbow felt her jaw tighten. "'Not fast enough'?" she hissed in disbelief even as she regained the wind that had been knocked out of her. "Do you know who you're talking to, buddy?" she snarled, her blood pumping in her ears.

"Apparently not the fastest pony in Equestria," Coalback said in a bored tone.

"I'll show you fast!" Rainbow barked.

In an instant she was back on her hooves. Wary of another attempt to break her stance she was able to see the kick before it came and jumped over it. With a grunt she rushed forward to meet his turn and pinned his wings down at the shoulder with one hoof. She hit him as hard as she could across the muzzle with the other. There was a loud crack and Coalback’s head whipped to the side, but in an instant Rainbow felt the dirt rush up to meet her again. Whatever slight of hoof had done it, it had certainly been martial.

Coalback snorted and turned around to face her. "Oh, shit!" Rainbow yelled instinctively as she saw the damage her hoof had done.

Coalback’s nose was turned the side, broken almost halfway up the bridge. Dark blood trickled out of his nostrils but he looked more surprised than in pain. "Very good!" he said as he used a hoof to cradle the broken nose. As she watched he used the hoof to twist his nose back into place with a sickening crunch. "You're stronger than you look, Lady Rainbow Dash," he praised through teary eyes. However the smile quickly left his face. "Now maybe if you could keep that up for more than half a second you might make a mediocre fighter."

"What? You're not even gonna say anything about your stupid nose!" Rainbow yelled as she climbed back to her hooves. She couldn't believe it, anypony else would have been bowled over in pain but Coalback seemed not to feel it. Or, if he did then it was little more than a nuisance, like a cramped muscle or a sprained ankle.

Coalback shrugged. "I've broken my arms seven or eight times each, and my legs a dozen times over. I've had to dig little balls of lead out of my thigh, and shrapnel out of my temple. This hurts, but do you really think a broken nose is going to stop me? Pain is relative," he said and started to grin. "Or someone who really wanted you dead for that matter?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow asked.

"You're clever," Coalback praised. It pleased him that she jumped right to the heart of the matter. "The Enemy. Does not matter who. All you know is they want you dead. As far as you're concerned, that is me while we are inside this circle," he rumbled.

"Right," Rainbow said. "So you're supposed to be stronger and more clever than me, right?" she asked.

"That's the idea."

"So, what? You're just gonna beat me up until I figure out how to do the same to you?" she asked incredulously.

"Learning is best through experience for most," Coalback said in a dry tone. "You have better active stance than Iron Bar."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Iron Bar thinks stance is like tree roots, he stays too still. You were ready to move when you had to, once you knew what would happen," he explained. "What is term? Fooled once, shame on you; fooled twice, shame on me? Is like this, no?" Coalback said as he wiped away the blood around his nose and lips with a hoof.

Rainbow understood his reasoning, and it certainly made sense. But something else was nagging at her mind. "And you got me angry," she said even as she realized it. Coalback had hit all her buttons right on the dot and she'd waltzed right into it. "You wanted me to hit you?"

"I wanted you to hit me hard," Coalback corrected. "Not that tap on the shoulder you gave Iron Bar. You need to be ready to hit hard enough to break bones, crack skulls, and snap necks if you have to." Coalback spun on a hoof and slowly began to pace around the circle.

"What if I don't want to hurt anypony?" Rainbow asked. She was suddenly very uncomfortable with the idea of learning how to hurt other ponies, and especially of killing them. But Coalback didn’t seem to have that problem. He shrugged.

"Do you think those fools who attacked the town cared what you wanted?" Coalback asked without hesitation. "Do you think they would have just dropped their weapons and gone ‘Sorry’ when you say ‘I do not like’? If it comes to you or them - whichever one will be face down in the dirt in a puddle of their own blood - then it should always be you who is priority. Do not think about them. Do not think at all. Act. Live. Then maybe later, while you're still alive, you can feel sorry for them," he preached as he circled her, his voice a dark rumble. "Only a fool learns to fight, and works to be as exceptional as ponies like you do, and then let that go to waste by dying. Look out for yourself first, never the Enemy.”

“Now,” he rumbled as he circled behind her. “Hit me again!" he commanded.

Rainbow spun around only just fast enough to see the splash of dirt and frost that hurtled toward her head. She was able to twist out the way and avoid any in her eyes, but it was only by luck that her rear hooves smacked Coalback's chest and turned his assault away. She scrambled back to her hooves and threw a blind punch.

She felt something smack her hoof away and in the same instant she felt the air pressure around her head rise suddenly. In less than a blink of an eye Coalback's wings buffeted against her head and she felt her eardrums pop. Pain exploded in her head despite the fact that Coalback had barely touched her ears with his wings.

Through her pain she was unable to dodge away from the hoof that knocked her back to the ground. Her breath left in a whoosh and she was left writhing and coughing in the dirt.

As the pain subsided and she caught her breath she was able to look back up. Her eyes met Coalback’s as he stepped forward to stand over her. He leaned down until his lips nearly brushed her ear and whispered: "From now on you are always about to lose."

He stood up and walked out of the circle. Rainbow pulled herself to her hooves just as Iron Bar returned from his first patrol. For a moment she realize that she hoped that meant Coalback was finished with her for the day.

Unfortunately when she looked back up Coalback had already returned, two sparring staves in hoof. He tossed one onto the ground in front of her and she realized that Coalback had barely started to beat her down. As far as he was concerned, when she asked to train with him she had simply become another soldier. An untrained, undisciplined, soft soldier. And so long as she stayed, that's how it would stay.

She set her expression and locked eyes with him, wary of the cold blue tone that had crept into his green eyes. She paid no mind to the harsh corners of his furrowed brow as she picked up the staff and readied her stance again.

This had better be one hell of a work out, she grumbled internally as she put a grimace back on her face.

Once again in the forest, once again in a shape he could call familiar. The night was freezing, snow fell in waves all around him and his hunting party. In the darkness and the snow a normal pony might have mistaken it for a pitch blackness. But to Coalback and the ponies he had granted the title of Blood-kin no less than a week ago, the light of the moon filtered down from the clouds and left everything in a silver shadow.

They trod through nearly a foot of snow that had fallen in the short time between sunset and the fall of night. The ponies followed the black shape of their wolf leader with little idea of what they were looking for besides a den.

Filibuster had noted the reptilian qualities of the creature that had attacked them in the town. Coalback had agreed at the time and said that their best bet was to smell out its den. However that plan had fallen apart with the snowfall, it covered whatever smells there were. And they all knew that if they could not come up with some new plan that they might simply have to return to their camp to ride out the snow’s rapid descent.

Coalback swept the snowy forest with sharply focused eyes. The green disks could cut straight through the snowfall, but it was far too late to find any trail in the forest. Every inhabitant of the strange wood had already taken to shelter, now ready for the final step into winter. But something encouraged the huge, black wolf to continue the search; at this point, though, he wasn’t sure what it was he searched for. Filibuster and Iron Bar followed his example. Their eyes, though less able to Pierce through the snow, scanned the pale gray trees around them carefully. They had both seen what those things had done; they had been on them in an instant. The surviving creature could come out of the snow at any moment, spouting that strange burble.

Coalback froze and the ponies beside him followed suit. He scanned the edge I'd the forest, ears rigid. A growl rose up in his throat and his head rose up. It was a subtle sign, but the parting of the snowfall was enough. An inkling told him to go alone.

"Take my sword, go back to the camp," he growled to the Guards. "We won't be finding anything tonight."

Filibuster took the sword without question, but when Coalback continued forward without them he spoke up: "Where are you going?" he asked, careful not to inflect a demand in his speech. He had already learned that he did not have the privilege to demand anything of Coalback -- especially not of the Wolf-Coalback.

"I have a ghost to chase," Coalback muttered back as he slipped into the trees. Coalback weaved through the wood as he pursued the spectre who parted the snow in front of him. He snorted as its scent wafted up to him. Even as a ghost Fenrir still had influence over the physical world: sometimes he could appear in reflections, or his scent would appear in the air, or he could become solid enough that rain or snow would part around him; little more than a glorified poltergeist, but one with enough knowledge to be of extreme use.

Fenrir led Coalback silently through the wood; over, under, and through obsticles. Flickering black eyes glanced back at him from the shadows as he followed the ever faster pace that Fenrir set. Coalback struggled to keep up as Fenrir began to simply pad through the trees is a straight line. His thunderous rumble of a laugh rolled out of the snow as he left Coalback behind.

He burst out from the trees and dug his claws in. He slid in the sleet and snow, his momentum spun him around. His rear legs dropped out from under him even as his claws caught on a buried root and Coalback found himself hanging from a cliff face. Far below he heard water raging in unseen rocks.

He grunted and with a few kicks dragged himself back over the edge. He shook the snow from his grey coat and looked back over the edge: the cliff opened into only blackness, even to his eyes. The wind howled in a sudden gust, and the snow payed like a curtain before him.

A huge ruin loomed over him from the other side of the casm: huge, and old, and strangely familiar. Its crumbling towers stood stoically in defiance of the forest and the winds. The archway of its gate howled as the wind danced around it, so loud it seemed to speak.

Coalback’s eyes locked on the shattered porticullis, and his breath froze in his throat. A phantom stood in the door; it glowed with an unnaturally rose red light that cut through the snow in rays of light. From here he could barely discern it's shape, but the rack atop its head was unmistakeable: it was a deer, but something told Coalback it was not a buck. A parting in the snowfall passed it through the porticullis and its head followed it. The apparition's gaze turned toward Coalback and he felt its beckoning eyes fall on him. It turned its head again, this time to draw Coalback's gaze to the rickety bridge that spanned the canyon's casm.

Coalback started to approach in a hypnotic gaze, unable to take his eyes off the apparition. As he grew closer its image turnedd and began to walk away from him, a slow retreat back into the castle. A sudden fear struck Coalback's heart, afraid to lose sight of the beautiful mirage. Something felt of about it, but he could not determine why, it was as if he recognised the spectre.

"Wait!" he barked. His legs jolted as he slammed into the log that part of the bridge had been secured to, it shook and wobbled in the ground as he pushed off it. He sprinted across the bridge, the ropes shook and creaked with strain. He burst through the wrecked porticullis and into the rubble filled courtyard.

A whisper snuck through the air and Coalback whipped his head around just in time to see the deer's white tail pass through a large door, shattered near its peak. "Wait!" he yelled again. He leapt onto a pile of rubble and vaulted into the shattered opening. His legs caught the rotten lip and he tumbled back to ground in a shower of splinters. "Wait! Who are you?" he demanded as the mirage disappeared into an alcove across the chamber.

He gave chase to the fleeting image of the strange deer through the ruined castle, always just a few steps ahead of him. He ran up crumbling stairwells, down long corridors, and scrambled down collapsed sections of wall. It led him past a throne room which, even in its old age, showed signs of a great struggle. He ran past statues, faded paintings, and torn tapestries. This place had been abandoned quickly, and never returned to -- there were even plates on what few tables remained.

Coalback rounded another corner and dug his claws into the stone as he once again was met with an abyss. He had travelled all the way through the castle and out to the castle and to the other side where an entire face of the stone monolith had plummeted to the bottom. The spirit was nowhere in sight, only the howling of the wind and the sting of the snow on his nose.

He peered over the edge, but no rosey light filtered up from the darkness. With a growl of frustration Coalback turned away from the edge. It had been a foolish whim to chase after the hallucination, it had led him nowhere. But when he back to the door, it was there.

It was a doe, not a buck, Coalback could clearly see that now. Her crown of bone was just that, a huge crown of tines that never touched her head yet moved as I'd it were a part of her. She stepped forward on silent, delicate hooves. And though her eyes were closed, he knew she watched him intently. Slowly, she walked towards him.

She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came Coalback could hear was the wind. Her mouth shaped words unfamiliar to him.

"Ég get ekki her í þér!" he tried to yell through the wind. It was the oldest language he knew, and this thing -- whatever she was -- was old. But it was to no avail, she continued to mouth indiscernable words as the wind howled louder and louder.

Finally she stood within reach of Coalback. She was taller than Coalback had expected, lean and elegantly proportioned much as he had seen in the Princesses in Canterlot. The tines twisted and entwined over her head, but never touched her body. Her crown floated above her head. She leaned down until her delicate nose was mere inches from his own and he was forced to stare at her face. The wind suddenly died and she spoke a single word:

"Breyta."

Her eyes snapped open, revealing the starry abyss behind them. The dark space went on forever within her eyes and Coalback was powerless before her sudden, almighty presence. A moment of brilliant understanding flowed through him as he looked into those eyes, and he felt he understood who he was looking at. His eyes dilated and his breathing slowed, and somehow he felt more rested than ever before. In that single instant he understood every pattern of the universe and saw every outcome to every divergence of time.

The moment ended and with it went all that knowledge. Her command overcame him and his body convulsed. He collapsed in pain as, involuntarily, he resisted the forced rearrangement of his bones. Somehow, she had commanded it, and his body had heard it. And now he could not halt his transformation.

Princess Luna stood suddenly from her throne, her assistants jumped in shock at the sudden movement. Papers fluttered off the steps and ponies looked to each other in confusion. The Princess looked about the room with ears forward and her wings slowly rose in an expression of surprise.

Later they would have sworn to have heard her mutter under her breath: "Mother?"

Author's Notes:

IT LIVES! Kill me
Anyhow, as usual let me know your opinions or if I screwed something up somewhere in the comments. I read all of them. All of them ... eventually. I ran into a few problems trying to write this one, especially where to go with it. I ended up rewriting a few sections over and over again. Also, it took me forever to decide whether or not to include Her:

Crappy pic I know, but that's basically what she looks like. Her rack is supposed to be representative of the interconnectedness of life, though I don't think I did a good job of describing it this chapter.