-The Calm Before the Storm-

Clean Cut’s office was dark, the walls hidden in the gloom. He huddled over his desk, his chair discarded and forgotten amongst the piles of notes, discarded books, and scratch paper. The stub of a candle still spread its tiny light, just enough for Clean Cut to read his own writing by. Merletta’s feathers gleamed in the dim light.

“So as long as Ponyville remain ignorant of Coalback’s beasthood, things will go smoothly?” Clean Cut asked as he made several marks on his paper.

“Yes, but not exactly. If I’m right, the most likely scenario is a confrontation with Dumbbell; two powerful individuals in one place like that often leads to some form of conflict. But so long as Coalback does not decide to kill Dumbbell or any of Dumbbell’s soldiers, then the entire town will be safe when this turning point occurs,” Merletta explained. Clean Cut scribbled some more.

“And the anomaly you keep seeing?” he asked.

“Well, things become less easy to read the more people that are involved in a major event. Ponyville currently has quite a few individuals whose decisions could drastically change how the future unfolds,” Merletta explained. “It is the epicenter of events which we hope to divine …”

“But it doesn’t add up,” Clean Cut finished for her.

“No, it doesn’t. It isn’t an exact science, as you well know, but there’s too much variation. It doesn’t seem to fit with those involved: Dumbbell is too fixed in his point of view to stray from his decisions much, Celestia has made sure of that; and Coalback … Coalback is cold and calculating when it comes to such situations, but also an opportunist by nature, if he sees a way to not kill Dumbbell I think he will take it; and the Elements remain their own myriad of influences, but each somewhat predictable. Things should be relatively linear, though branching. It’s like another player has entered the game, without motive or a decisive goal, and their existence seems just as fluid. It’s this strange fluctuation, I can’t place who it is,” she admitted.

“You’ve not seen anything like it before?” Clean Cut asked as he rolled up his scroll.

“Only once,” she said reluctantly, however at the expectant look that Clean Cut aimed at her she continued: “Before Discord killed Necessaria. Before Luna and Celestia became the last Alicorns,” she said. “This anomaly will intervene, but how and when will determine how everything from here unfolds.”

“Oh no, an ouroboros …” Clean Cut mumbled as he sank to the floor.

“Yes,” Merletta agreed. “A recurring event. A fixed point …”

“… And where there is death, there will always be death,” they finished together.

Dumbbell sat in his tent, one of the largest in the camp, and allowed his breathing to fill his hearing. He concentrated on the creak of his ribs and the hollow sound of his lungs as they emptied and filled. The bed at one side and his desk at the other, even the thick rug that he sat on, all slowly faded from his vision. The heavy silver plated armor that he wore became heavier and his breath became colder.

Around him, in the darkness that his senses had become, he heard the echoes of war. Ponies screamed and burning buildings roared, metal clashed against metal, something large bellowed in the distance. Armies roared their battle cries as they leapt, unseen, into battle. Smoke filled Dumbbell’s nostrils, the acrid stench of burning flesh and fur. The air was so permeated with blood that Dumbbell could taste the copper on the back of his tongue.

When sight returned to Dumbbell the battlefield came with it. Before him lay the most terrifying spectacle of the entire battle: a pile of the dead. Mutilated ponies lay piled in a mountain of gore, faces had been ripped off of skulls, and entire limbs had been liberated from torsos. An Alicorn topped the pile, her throat shredded with white spine revealed to the open air. However, as Dumbbell stared at the display, he was able to discover more desecrated bodies of old gods.

Thunderous growls rolled out from the darkness as a pack of horribly misshapen wolves crawled out from behind the pile of the dead. Each of them was larger than any true wolf, muscle rippled in waves beneath mangy black fur as if their bodies were filled with raging storm clouds. Drool, stained red with blood, dripped from their maws between more rows and rows of teeth. Huge sickle shaped claws clacked against the bloody cobblestones, gobbets of meat still clung to their misshaped paws as they prowled about.

Their beady black eyes stared up at the pile of pony meat and they closed in on the mound. One let out a snarl and pounced at the body of the dead god and its teeth sank into the flesh as if it were no different than any other meat. But unlike the rest of the meat before them, the beasts lusted only for the god-flesh. The rest of the pack pounced, yips and snarls filled the air as they filled their stomachs.

“They left nothing to bury,” Celestia’s voice echoed above it all. “Not even the bones,” she said, her voice wavering in a way that she would never have allowed the general public to hear from her. “We used to be many, and we would have saved the world. But they stopped us. These are dead things, made by a dead power, in the shape of the dead. All they will ever do is kill. They took my sisters from me, and now HE conspires to take my last sister from me, too.”

The vision before Dumbbell changed suddenly. Teeth snapped in front of his nose and Dumbbell could not suppress the shiver that shot up his spine. Coalback’s dark, green eyes flickered black as a deep growl shook the silver cage around him. Dumbbell watched in horror as Coalback’s fur shivered and he began to change. His shoulders writhed and a pair of his ribs ripped out from his chest and snapped into place on his back. Blood vessels grew like roots along the bone and tendons chased after them. Flesh crawled up the bones as the tendons grew into muscle and flexed, the ribs cracked, suddenly in the rough shape of a pair of wings. Feathers grew with the flesh, strings of congealed blood clung to the spines of each one.

Dumbbell shut his eyes, he’d yet to be able to force himself to watch the entire transformation. The hideous display was so abhorrently unnatural that he’d barely been able to watch the wings form on Coalback at first. But the legs and face, it was too terrifying a thing to see with his mind intact. He was afraid, and his fear filled him with anger. Fear was weakness, and in the face of evil he could show no fear. He hated himself, but most of all he hated the creature that conjured such feelings of weakness inside him.

"Sir?"

Dumbbell spun his head around and locked onto the silver clad soldier standing like a beacon in the darkness, the stripes of a captain glinted in an unseen light. He saw his eye reflected in the soldier’s silver armor, the gold flecks had dilated just the same as his pupils. Like an eclipse that stared out from his skull. He blinked, and the visions disappeared. Once more he sat in his tent.

“Yes, Captain?” Dumbbell said.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your prayer, Sir,” the Captain said with a respectful nod. “However, I thought it necessary that you knew; soldiers spotted Loyalty and Magic at the Beasts’ camp. It looked like they were training in some sort of Minotaur martial arts; on two legs. But the demon himself was dressed in black armor, hooves to withers in Lunar Steel. They were certain he was looking for a fight, so they didn’t intervene.”

“That was wise of them, he’s powerful enough to take on even a large group of highly trained soldiers if he has the desire to. I fear the only way we might destroy him is with a one on one challenge, at least then he might show some honor,” Dumbbell grumbled as he stood up and walked over to his desk. He pulled open a drawer and pulled out his writing supplies, he removed the golden seal with Celestia’s mark and set it down with a heavy finality. “Let’s see if a few choice words can’t get the good ponies of Ponyville on our side,” he muttered as he dipped the quill into the ink.

The town was quiet on a snowy day, especially with how much unexpected snow had come in the night. It seemed like most ponies would be spending the day indoors, with hot drinks and warm fires. All except the soldiers on patrol and the children at play it would seem. Marching boots and squeals of joy juxtaposed in the echoes of sound that leaked out from the little countryside town.

For the most part the clearing of the snow was done, and what melt there was stayed off the streets and flowed back toward the icy rivers and streams. The camp was dry as well, for the most part, as the snow had all been shoveled out and made into icy piles all around its border. Snowmares and forts littered the spaces where the snow had not been cleared, the sign of a herd of children on the move to play with as much of the snow as possible before it melted.

However, the camp outside of town, in reflection, seemed to have done little in response to the snow. Their fire burned warmly on a stack of ashen stones, but the ground around it had become muddy as they’d not bothered to clear the snow. The sparring circle had been hidden below the snow, but Coalback had put his squires into it anyway. As a result the circle had become an icy, muddy, slush with all the activity that had gone through it that morning. Rainbow had joined them and now her hooves were soaked in the freezing mud, it would seem frostbite would halt their training before exhaustion would.

Coalback was dressed in full armor, his scabbard tied around his sword so that he could swing it near his students without any accident. His helmet was tied off to his belt, which left him open to observe his students and quickly correct them. An unlit pipe hung from Coalback’s lips, one that the old blacksmith mare had given him and that he’d taken to use in the sunless mornings that he set aside for training. He’d dressed them all in armor, though in place Rainbow had simply worn as many running weights as she could get her hooves on. Thankfully she'd only needed a few to match the weight of armor, and that had been enough to satisfy Coalback before they started.

“But I thought you were here to protect us, why can’t you work with Celestia’s soldiers?” Twilight asked from beside the fire where she watched Coalback put Rainbow and his squires through different drills with dulled swords. Twilight had joined Rainbow this morning in an effort to reach some solution to the conflict between the Lunar and Solar soldiers. However, unlike Rainbow, she’d thought to bundle up and wear thick snow boots that kept her from the same torture Rainbow had subjected herself to.

Coalback paused momentarily to think, poised between stances, before he continued and spoke. “It is not that I do not wish it. Celestia and her soldiers see me like most ponies see this forest,” he mumbled around his pipe with a nod to the frozen trees behind him. “It’s full of monsters and beasts, and I imagine that some have attempted to burn it down in the past. It’s dangerous, ugly, and it presents a real threat to the safety of everyone near it.”

“Well, yes, but most ponies who have tried, failed. The forest returned within the next year, thicker and darker than before. No one has succeeded,” Twilight said. In fact, when she thought back to what she’d read and heard from the older residents, the forest had been almost peaceful before ponies had cut large portions of it down for building materials and fuel. The forest was more dangerous today than it had ever been in the history of Equestria.

“It is like trying to chase away the night with a candle,” Coalback said as he shifted into a defensive stance and his students followed. “That little flame defies and defines the darkness. After all, darkness cannot exist without light, and neither can light without darkness. They are the same,” he said as he demonstrated a parry and where his hooves were beneath him as he did it. “Celestia thinks me some darkness that can be cast out with a bright enough candle, but she forgets the shadow the light casts.”

“I didn’t think you were so … poetic, Coalback,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Sounded more like a riddle to me,” Rainbow said from the sparring circle as she finished one of her forms. “’What defines and defies the darkness?’” she said in her snootiest voice.

“Continue the drill,” Coalback said sternly, though his small smile betrayed his good mood.

“Careful, your humor is showing,” Rainbow said with a grin as she picked back up where she’d left off. Careful to keep her center of gravity over the space between her rear hooves, she dropped her stance and performed a quick upward sweep with her dulled sword. She’d been practicing simple strikes and sweeps all morning, and she would continue until Coalback was certain she was confident enough with a blade to do anything akin to how he used a sword.

“Are we playing a riddle game?” Pinkie bubbled as she appeared from within the log pile near the fire. “I love riddle games!” Pinkie greeted Twilight with her brightest smile as she bounced across the camp to an old stump near Coalback. Somehow her excited bouncing didn’t disturb the basket on her back nor did it fling her pink boots off her hooves. “I’ve got a riddle! What’s black and white, and blue all over?” she asked him with a large smile.

“Blue eyes?” Coalback asked in way of humoring her, his good mood apparently applicable outside the sparring ring.

“Nope!” Pinkie exclaimed with a snort and a giggle. “It’s you, silly! Here’s another one! Who’s brand new in town, and going to a super duper Welcome To Ponyville Party?!”

“Sir Dumbbell?” Coalback asked. He raised an eyebrow, now unsure of what her point was.

“Wrong, again!” Pinkie giggled. “You are really bad at this! It’s you, again!” She hopped past him and a pink, frilled invitation fell out of her basket and landed on Coalback’s nose. “You guys are invited, too!” she sing-songed as she hopped past Iron Bar and Filibuster, an invitation for either of them slipped into their coifs as she passed.

“This may be in poor taste,” Filibuster said reluctantly, as he inspected the swirling letters on the invitation.

“We have much work in the forest, and I am reluctant to test Sir Dumbbell’s patience any further than I already am,” Coalback grumbled as he squinted at the writing.

“Don’t even worry about it, he won’t mind! Besides, it’ll be at Applejack’s house, and she won’t let the soldiers anywhere near her fields,” she giggled. Applejack seemed to loath the soldier’s presence just as much as Coalback did, and had made it quite clear to anypony in earshot.

“We could show up without ever being seen by one of them, the soldiers would never know,” Iron Bar said as he thought about how the town was laid out. “A short walk through the boundary, and we’d be in one of the far fields. Then it’s just a matter of walking to the farm house,” he said.

Coalback hummed, considering the idea with more thought now.

“And it would only be a small party: just with Rarity and her sister; Applejack, her brother, her sister, and her granny; Twilight and Spike; Fluttershy; me; and Rainbow Dash! Course, I think Scootaloo’s gonna come too, she and her friends don’t go anywhere without each other,” Pinkie rambled off as she bounced back toward Coalback.

“Who is ‘Spike’?” Coalback asked.

“He’s my assistant. He’s been sick lately, which is why you two haven’t met yet,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile. “But he’s been feeling better, and he might be up to coming to the party tonight! You should come, Coalback, all of you should! We really want to be able to thank you for the work you’ve been doing, especially since Luna is requesting you stay for a whole year,” Twilight said sincerely.

"We will come,” Coalback said with a sigh.

"Yippee!” Pinkie exclaimed with an ecstatic hop. However, she paused with a confused look on her face, her gaze drifted into a thousand yard stare, and she was totally silent.

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked, which was also enough to draw Rainbow’s attention from the sparring circle. “Are you alright?” Twilight asked when Pinkie didn’t react. She stepped away from the fire and moved toward Pinkie, but the instant Twilight touched Pinkie, a shiver visibly ran up Pinkie’s spine.

“Whoo-oo-oo!” Pinkie shivered as she gave a shake. “That was a d-da-doozy!” she stuttered as she continued to shiver.

“Pinkie Sense?” Twilight asked, to which Pinkie shakily nodded. Twilight unwrapped her scarf and tied it around Pinkie’s neck, to which Pinkie nodded and grinned in thanks. “What’s going to happen?” Twilight asked, though with the same amount of apprehension she usually held when relying on the mysterious Pinkie Sense for predictions.

“I d-don’t know! That’s why it’s a d-da-doozy! It’s something ta-t-totally unexpected!” Pinkie said as her shivers began to subside. “Whatever it was it felt really, really, super, duper, cold! Like when somepony dumps snow down your parka, or when you forget to get out the winter comforter for your bed during the first big freeze of the season and you can’t stop shivering all night long!” she rambled.

“I do not understand. Are you cold, or are you having a seizure?” Coalback asked.

“Pinkie can see the future sometimes,” Rainbow said from the circle. “No one’s really sure how it works, but she’s never been wrong before,” she explained, though she didn’t interrupt her swordplay.

“Interesting,” Coalback muttered as he checked the angle of the sun. “That’s enough!” he yelled toward the circle, his signal for a break in the training. “Time to get something to eat, boys. Rainbow, you may retire for the day,” he said as his squires dropped their training gear and sprinted into the frozen forest.

“Why are they going that way?” Rainbow asked as she pulled her running weights off. Her arms burned pleasantly, and she could tell that she’d be sore by the end of the day.

“We moved all of our supplies further into the forest to prevent Dumbbell and his brood from destroying anything else. And even in winter, the forest provides,” Coalback explained with a shrug.

“Alright, I’ll see you later?” Rainbow asked as she gathered up her training weights. She needed a hot bath and a nap, she wasn’t used to working out so early or in such harsh conditions.

He nodded with a grunt but his gaze drifted back to the trees. Had that been his squires moving through the brush, or something else? His eyes raked the frozen twigs and branches, the ice looked disturbed but he couldn’t be sure. And that smell, it was strange and he was certain it hadn’t been there moments ago. He didn’t recognize it and he couldn’t place it.

“Coalback?” Twilight asked.

Coalback jerked back to attention. “Sorry, what?” he asked.

“I said: We’ll see you at the party,” Twilight said.

“Of course. I apologize, my thoughts escaped me,” he said as they waved their goodbyes and crested the hill. But, again, Coalback’s gaze drifted to the forest.

Applejack’s orchards were silent after sunset. There was little work to be done after dark, and with most of the critters in the area hibernating or migrating there were very few left to break the silence. All the same, the silence was broken as three stallions emerged from the forest and hopped the fence.

Their breath clouded the air in front of them, and their eyes cut through the darkness with the glow that betrayed their true nature. Their hooves crunched through the snow, but they did not seem to sink into it nearly as far as they should have. Their ears stood tall and twitched at every sound. The prospect of warm food and good company had put them in a good mood, but it had not dulled their guard. Their eyes glinted in the darkness, the thin light of the near full moon thrown back from their eyes.

Filibuster and Iron Bar wore no armor, however their rifles were slung over their shoulders. A horn of powder and a sack of iron hung from the rifles, ready to be loaded at the first sign of their need. Coalback had only worn his cuirass and damaged back plate, the blue sash around his flanks secured his sword at his side. He had also brought his own rifle, which was covered in thick cloth that hid its shape but could not hide that it was much more stout and heavy than the other two.

They found the path in the orchard that led straight to the farmhouse and began a fast march. They covered the distance far more quickly than a pony who would have had to slog through the snow could have. Their nature allowed them to practically dance on top of the snowy trail.

Coalback gave the signal to halt before they could leave the trees and make their way to the lit house. A simple huff of breath and a grumble of a growl was all it took. Filibuster and Iron Bar stopped instantly, they made a quick scan before they locked their eyes on him. Their ears remained vigilant.

“There’s something I want to tell you before we go in,” Coalback announced to them, his voice no louder than a whisper. “I want to send you home, tomorrow night at the earliest.”

Filibuster and Iron Bar jumped up, suddenly rigid and their attention fully trained on Coalback.

“Sir?” Filibuster asked, confused. He was even confused as to whether he should be disappointed or ecstatic. “Did we do something wrong, Sir?” he asked, just to be safe.

“No,” Coalback insisted without hesitation. “You’re training is not complete at all, but I think it would be good for everyone if you went home to your families.” He snorted with a nod, and blessed them with a rare smile when he read the surprise written so plainly on their faces. “You’ve done very well for a pair of Blaidd-Gwaed. You should go home, take your families and move them somewhere safe. Spend some time with them,” he said, his voice distant as he spoke.

“Do you think something is going to happen, Sir?” Filibuster asked, his joy morphed to concern.

“Should we really leave, Sir?” Iron Bar asked, having come to the same conclusion Filibuster had. Coalback had displayed a surprising amount of paternal concern for them even on hunts. Coalback would only have sent them away if he thought that they were in danger. “If you think that something is going to happen perhaps we should stay-“ He was silenced by a shake of the head from Coalback.

“It’s nothing. Just a smell I haven’t been able to place for the last few days. I’ll manage without you two for a few months, but I expect you back before the first thaw of the forest,” he rumbled.

“I can’t thank you enough, Sir!” Filibuster blurted out. He hopped forward despite himself and found himself with his hooves out in front of him and his tail whirling excitedly behind him. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed my herd these last few weeks,” he said. He could barely contain his happiness and was compelled to inch forward with some poor conceived intent of embracing the larger Pegasus. He managed to stop himself from touching his superior and settled instead to prostrate himself in thanks and subordination.

“I think I’d like to stay, Sir,” Iron Bar said. “I don’t have a herd to go home to and I haven’t been on good terms with my birth herd for a long time now. I like being here with you,” he said quickly.

“No,” Coalback insisted. “If you don’t have anywhere to go on your own you can go with Filibuster,” he said as he pulled Filibuster back onto his hooves. “You two are blood brothers now, you should treat each other like family. Protect each other, and enjoy the time off. I understand there’s a pony holiday coming soon, something to do with presents and the mint sticks,” he said as he brushed some snow off of Filibuster’s chest.

“To be home for Hearth’s Warming,” Filibuster said dreamily. “Sir, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. And Iron Bar you’re welcome at our table. We’ve got a lodge out in the mountains, it’ll be perfect. We’ll even be able to go hunt in the woods nearby, there’s bound to be plenty of mouse burrows and rabbit dens to dig up,” he said with a smile and a goodhearted punch to Iron Bar’s chest.

“Very well, Sir,” Iron Bar said without further argument. Though he did give a smile to Filibuster which was well returned.

“Good,” Coalback said. He started back down the path again and his two squires followed happily. “Now, I’ve had enough of this mushy, gushy, feel good. Let’s get inside,” he muttered.

They crunched through the packed snow to the front door, and lifted a hoof knock on the door. But before Coalback could touch the door it swung open and a pink hoof grabbed his cuirass. He was dragged across the floorboards, sped along by the refrozen slush that had gathered there, and into the darkened farmhouse.

The lights flicked on and illuminated an obnoxiously long banner that read: “Welcome to Ponyville / Thank You for Keeping Ponyville Safe / We Appreciate You!!!!” A pair of half full confetti cannons popped their payload out and Pinkie blew into her prismatic blowout right next to Coalback’s head. The ponies gathered in the room gave a gentle, welcoming cheer as Coalback blinked his eyes clear.

Pinkie pulled him the rest of the way into the room and proceeded to pull the other two in as well. Big Mac’ was next to greet Coalback with a small smile and a warm mug of apple cider. Big Mac didn’t say anything to the knight but nodded to him and then walked back to the kitchen he’d emerged from. Coalback sniffed at the warm mug in his hooves and was happy to sense the slight burn that meant it was spiked with something strong.

“There’s food in the kitchen, and games all over the place!” she beamed. She waved a hoof over the room as she swung an arm over Coalback’s shoulder. The entryway appeared to also serve as the home’s living room, a couch and coffee table took up its center both of which were now covered in confetti. A wooden bucket sat in one corner for apple bobbing, and a mat with crudely painted circles took up the other corner. A vertical piano sat against one wall, its stool tucked away beneath the keyboard. Several balloons floated happily next to the coat rack by the door, and streamers hung from the rafters above. The room had the distinct look of a rustic home that had been hastily redecorated with the hope of being festive, Coalback thought it was nice.

Pinkie released him from her embrace and hopped to the kitchen, mostly with the intent to taste test the apple fridders waiting there. Coalback leaned his wrapped rifle against the wall under the coat rack, it made a loud and heavy thunk against the floor and then the wall. Iron Bar and Filibuster did the same and Coalback dismissed them with a subtle flick of his ear. They followed Pinkie toward the kitchen and left Coalback at the door.

Coalback couldn’t think of a reason to wander around the room and simply watched from the doorway as he sipped at the warm cider. Twilight and Rarity stood near the worn in couch as they kept an eye on the ever present trio of fillies that had swarmed toward the Pin the Tail on the Pony game. A bundle of blankets was balanced on Twilight’s back, and she seemed to take great care to keep it undisturbed. Fluttershy sat nearby, neither excluded from the conversation nor feeling obligated to participate much. Applejack and Rainbow had decided to attempt to best each other at bobbing for apples, and Rainbow’s head was currently held under the water as she hunted for her fruit.

Coalback’s solitude was not unnoticed for long. Twilight broke away from her conversation and made her way toward Coalback. “Hello, Sir Coalback,” she said cheerily. “Why are you standing over here?” she asked.

“What else would I do?” Coalback asked.

Twilight chuckled but it quickly died in her throat when she realized Coalback was being serious. “Well, you could try mingling? Everyone is here to thank you for your services,” she said as she gestured at the room. “This is honestly the tamest party that Pinkie has ever thrown, we didn’t want to toss you into one of her palooza’s too soon,” she said, suddenly very aware of how quiet the room was. “Oh! I guess I should introduce you to Spike!” she said and turned so that Coalback could better see the lump of blankets piled on Twilight’s back.

Coalback raised his eyebrows as the pile of blankets jumped and shivered on Twilight’s back. “Spike?” Twilight said as she took notice of her assistant’s silence. “Say hello,” she encouraged as she lifted the blanket away from Spike’s face. Spike didn’t seem to register that the blanket had been removed, and instead stared wide-eyed up at Coalback.

Twilight prodded him with a hoof and he jumped. “H- Hi,” he muttered. He sniffed to clear his runny nose, but his eyes never left Coalback. “You smell funny,” he mumbled.

“Spike,” Twilight protested with a sigh. “I’m sorry, Coalback. He must still be suffering from some delirium.”

“I’m not delirious,” Spike protested as he snuggled back into his blankets. The cloth parted and a waft of magically heated air escaped, Spike shivered until the enchanted blanket had replaced the lost heat.

“And yet my crystal beakers taste just like rubies,” Twilight muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“Your assistant is a dragon of some kind?” Coalback asked. He leaned in to examine Spike’s face closer, and Spike’s eyes widened as his cold addled mind came to terms with how large Coalback’s head was.

“He’s a baby dragon, my magic hatched him and we’ve been inseparable ever since,” Twilight said with a smile. “Have you ever seen a dragon up close before, Coalback?” she asked.

“I became very familiar with one in Canterlot, it didn’t end well,” Coalback said with a deadpan expression. “Does that count?” he asked at the shocked looks Spike and Twilight had donned.

“Oh, of course- I forgot,” Twilight mumbled as Spike’s face managed to pale.

“That joke might have been in bad taste,” Coalback admitted as he hid his grin behind his mug of cider. He sipped loudly as Twilight let out a relieved sigh. Spike, however, didn’t feel very comforted. “Parties often have music, no? Is there any here?” he asked.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Pinkie piped in, suddenly standing beside Coalback. She slapped a blowout in his mouth, which inflated and played its trumpeting sound as Coalback twitched in surprise. “Vinyl’s shop has been boarded up ever since the Royal Guards showed up, and the Cakes don’t own their own portable record player since they’re pretty expensive. But we have blowouts and stuff! And Spike could play us something on Applejack’s piano!” she explained.

“Sorry, Pinkie, my claws are too shaky to play anything other than chopsticks,” Spike muttered from his blankets.

“I could play,” Coalback offered under his breath. More a statement to himself than an offer, but it was already too late.

Pinkie jumped to attention immediately, her mane fluffier and pinker than ever. “You can play?!” she asked, but she didn’t bother to wait for the answer. Instead she grabbed his hoof and dragged him as quickly as she could across the room and to the piano pressed up against the wall. She didn’t hesitate to flip the stool out and drag Coalback onto it.

She bounced impatiently beside the piano as Coalback took a long sip of his cider in a meager attempt to hide the reddening in his cheeks. He set the mug down on the worn top of the piano and rested a hoof on the keys. He swallowed nervously as he realized just how long it had been since he’d last touched a piano. He tapped a few keys experimentally with his hoof, still unsure as he tapped out an off tempo melody. He was so absorbed with this that he barely noticed when everypony in the room turned to watch him.

He hastily brought his hooves up and began to slowly play out an old melody, not even sure if he’d remembered it properly. But with slightly more confidence he used both hooves and slowly played the first verse of an old song he barely remembered. He hadn’t gotten very far before he noticed the eyes on him and slowed. But he quickly picked up the pace, the tune back to its fast paced and festive tempo.

“Woohoo!” Pinkie shouted. She grabbed Applebloom from beside the Pin the Tail game and swung her into a hectic dance. The other fillies giggled and tried to follow along, they all danced happily in the open floorspace behind Coalback’s seat at the piano. By the end of the first song he’d decided on another and started it immediately, and even genuinely enjoyed himself.

The moon was high in the sky now, nearly midnight, and the party had wound down. Applejack was busy pulling out extra pillows and blankets for everyone as the consensus had been to spend the night there rather than break the Solar Guards’ curfew.

Coalback had retreated outside with his squires for a smoke, and their pipes trailed purple clouds that hung around their heads with every breath. Their pipes were packed with wolfsbane, much in the same way they might have been if they’d had tobacco. However, they treated it more like cannabis, and happily drew the smoke into their lungs to feel the full force of the relaxants within the plant. They didn’t feel the need to worry about the toxins in the smoke, the plants were as harmless to them as daisies.

The party had put smiles on their faces, but had been equally stressful on their more attuned senses. They took the time to relax from the task of socializing, and to allow Coalback’s hooves a rest away from the piano. At some point in the night he’d removed what little armor he’d worn to the party, it had become obvious as the night went on that he would find no use for it. For now, he would go with only his sash to cover his blank flanks.

The air was chilled, but their fur was thick and warm and the walls of the house kept the porch from becoming too frigid. Coalback took a puff from the pipe and blew a smoke ring over his squires’ heads and they grinned, amused. The farm hound had wandered over at one point, curious of the strangest smelling ponies she’d ever smelled, and Coalback had quelled her curiosity with a gentle growl. Iron Bar and Filibuster considered it an interesting party trick.

Coalback took another puff from his pipe in an attempt to make a ring that would fly farther than the first, but stopped when Rainbow stepped onto the porch with them. Filibuster and iron Bar moved to quickly put out their own pipes, but Coalback simply blew his smoke and let the pipe go out as she approached.

“Good evening, Rainbow,” he greeted with a nod, which she returned with a smile. “Is there something you wanted?”

“Everyone else is getting ready to hit the hay. I’m not that tired so I thought I’d come check out what you guys were up to,” she said as she took a seat beside Coalback.

“Just a smoke before bed,” Filibuster said, a few errant clouds of the stuff puffed out of his nose as he spoke. Iron Bar chuckled at the sight, but let out his own smoky yawn.

“I could tell as much,” Rainbow said with a grin, she sniffed the air but didn’t seem to think the smell too offensive. If anything she enjoyed the smell of whatever they were smoking. She didn’t bother to ask for any, though. “Are you guys going to stay the night?” she asked.

“Filibuster and Iron Bar will sleep at the door, you needn’t worry over your safety so long as they are both with you,” Coalback said. He nodded to the two squires as they stood and made their way inside, both eager to sleep where it was warm.

“What about you?” Rainbow asked once they were inside. “Don’t tell me you plan on spending the night out here,” she said with a nod at the moonlit snow.

“I don’t sleep well, most nights. I wasn’t planning on it tonight,” he admitted.

“Then what were you going to do?” Rainbow asked. She scooted closer to him and laid a wing across his back. The smoky scent was stronger here and she took a grateful breath of it, it was a strangely relaxing smell. “Mope all night?” she offered sarcastically, which put a grin on Coalback’s face.

“No, I guess not,” Coalback admitted. He tapped his pipe against his hoof and took a moment to ensure all the ashes had been removed, but the expression on his face seemed to suggest that he was deep in thought. “Do you believe in life after death, Rainbow Dash?” he asked.

“What do you mean? Like, heaven?” she asked.

“Yes,” Coalback nodded. “My family and I believed in something similar. It was our belief that an honorable death was rewarded with a place at the table of the gods, in Valhalla, to feast and drink until the end of days. I like to think that that’s where my family is now,” he said. “All of them died fighting for what they believed in, even if it meant we were fighting each other.”

Rainbow leaned into Coalback further, and tightened her embrace. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked.

“Because I realize that I know much about you, but I have shared very little in return,” he said. “You’ve told me about your struggles, and I’ve seen your desire for greatness. You may not realize it but you compete for the same reason that I fight. You seek the immortality of Olympians,” he said with a smile.

“They’re the Wonder Bolts, actually,” Rainbow mumbled.

“Great athletes without equals,” Coalback corrected. “And I do believe you will one day be just that. You’ll be marked down in history, if not record books,” he noted. “Your name will echo through time, and so long as your name survives you will live on long past your life. And if I die protecting you, and your friends, then perhaps the gods would forget my sins and let me join them at their table.”

“Coalback,” Rainbow sighed in exasperation, though she couldn’t withhold a smile. It was nice to see determination in his eyes. “You shouldn’t talk like that,” she muttered and lifted a hoof to stroke the thick fur of Coalback’s chest. She could clearly feel the definition of his muscles, even down to the separate pectorals for his arms and his wings. “You’re not gonna die,” she stated.

“I think I’d like that,” Coalback muttered and his cheeks turned red, “not dying.” Rainbow felt him shift in her arms and looked up. He was looking down at her now, and her eyes met his. His nostrils flared and his head turned to the side slightly. “You’ve been drinking,” he noted.

“I didn’t have enough for you to smell it on me!” Rainbow protested, but she didn’t deny it. She’d actually been very controlled … for her. Only two mugs of Applejack’s best hard cider. She’d take whatever chance she could to get the stuff, even off season. “I’m not drunk, if that’s what you wanna know. Maybe a little buzzed,” she admitted. “Besides, you were drinking, too.”

“I can drink a lot,” Coalback said with a grin.

“So, good. Neither of us are drunk,” Rainbow said with a shrug and pressed her cheek into his shoulder. “So do you wanna come back to my place, or stay here?” she asked after a deep breath. She was starting to really like the smoky, sweet smell of his fur.

“What do you mean?” Coalback asked, but whether he was totally clueless or not Rainbow couldn’t tell.

“I know social anxiety when I see it, buddy. I grew up with Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. “I could tell you weren’t very comfortable at the party. But you are gonna sleep tonight,” she insisted. “So, here or my place?” she asked again.

Coalback stared at her for a long moment, and in the back of her head Rainbow realized that she might be pushing him a little hard. “I think I’d like to stay with you again,” Coalback said. And when he smiled at her, Rainbow felt a strange urge to kiss him. So she did.

Author's Notes:

Alright, I think I did it. I finished a chapter.

Quick update: I still am writing this, it is NOT dead. I just have a whole shitload of new stuff I gotta deal with. Like jobs, scholarships, University work, and a hundred other projects that have NOTHING to do with mlp. So, unfortunantly, don't expect the next chapter any time soon, a few months at the earliest. I basically stop to write when I have some free time and want to do some work on it, both of which are somewhat rare lately.

Anyway, please tell me your thoughts. I'm not wholly absent from the site, I do read your comments. I love to hear what you have to say and I always appreciate feedback.