“So, all in all, that’s everything we found,” Twilight finished. “I’ve made a detailed list of all our findings in case you can make more sense of something we may have missed. It’s all compiled in that folder in front of you.”

Luna poked the extremely thick folder Twilight left on her bed. “...I can see that.”

“I had some time so I arranged it in alphabetical order,” Twilight said.

“Not a bad haul, huh?” Rainbow asked, proudly.

Twilight was also smiling along, feeling pretty good about how well they did. It had been an exhausting day, she had been feeling kinda bad for what they dragged ponies through at times, but in the end it had been worth it. At least, that’s what she thought until she saw the serious look that Luna and Raegdan exchanged.

“Don’t get us wrong Twilight Sparkle, you have performed admirably. Indeed, I doubt we could have done any better in twice the given time. But we still have too much work ahead of us to celebrate already.”

Raegdan was sitting next to Luna, holding parts of his armor and going over them with an oiled cloth. He continued Luna’s sentence. “We don’t really have anything solid in the end. You’ve done great, really, but don’t get excited too much.”

“Wait, what?” Leaf Stream asked, thunderstruck. “You kidding me? That guy was clearly pocketing money! Loads of it!”

“Tax evasion or embezzlement. That doesn’t really have anything to do with our situation, does it?”

“That other pony knew Honest Serenade! They even had a portrait of her.”

“So does all of Canterlot. She’s one of the most well connected ponies in Equestria. That’s not really strange. I bet through looking this bric- folder we will find that almost all of them know her or have connections to her in some form.”

“We found a book on how to make poisons!” Leaf Stream yelled.

“I think we know which one you are referring to,” Luna said. “We found a copy of it at the castle’s library. It has been quite helpful. Perhaps there’s a copy even in Ponyville’s library.”

“There is actually,” Twilight admitted. “But it’s not readily available to anypony who asks.”

“Well, we found a pervert!” Leaf Stream screamed, finally at the end of her rope.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash agreed, fervently. “I have it all right here!”

“Ok, correction,” Leaf Stream said, glowering at Rainbow. “We found two.”

Solid Charge took a step forward, silencing the bickering that was about to start. “Be that as it may, you don’t seem too upset over this.”

“We are not,” Luna assured him. “These are still levers that we can use, and the main purpose was to upset them, hoping to push the ponies that are really behind the assassination attempts into moving more openly.”

Solid Charge grunted. “Which is useless because we’re not in Canterlot. I really don’t see the point of this. This is starting to feel like when my old sergeant had us carry rocks from one quarry to another.”

“We have a plan,” Luna said. “We prefer to keep it close to chest in case it doesn’t work out. Do not worry Solid Charge, we will let you all in the loop in due time, I promise, but some secrets are not readily shareable. We may see fruits come from your labors yet.”

“I imagine that your search was not successful either,” Solid Charge said to Raegdan.

“No,” Raegdan said, quickly turning sour. “We must have been to every magical artificer in Baltimare and then some. Nothing. Not even a hint. I saw some of the work the supposed best could do, and I really doubt any of them could whip this up in such a short notice. I think our guy skipped town or wasn’t a local to begin with. Maybe this had been planned long before and they just took the opportunity while we were here. More victims, but easier to get such a magic heavy object through a security based on thestrals.”

Any further discussion was interrupted by the knock on the door. Velvet stepped inside the crowded room, beaming.

“Hello darlings. It’s time for dinner. Are you all done with your secret meeting? At least take a break if not. You don’t want to let your meal get cold.”

“We’re done Velvet, thank you,” Luna said.

“You’re welcome princess. Come on colts and fillies, I’ve made dinner for everypony. I’ll bring yours up in a minute princess. I suppose Raegdan will be eating with you again?”

“Yes. In fact,” Luna said, stopping Velvet from turning around to leave, “could you please ask my sister if she’s available to dine with us?”

Twilight Velvet smiled happily. “Of course dear. This will make her so happy. I’ll be right back.”

“Actually,” Twilight said, stopping Velvet in her tracks once more, “do you mind if I stay and eat with you tonight please?”

Raegdan shrugged, looking at Luna for any objections. “Not a problem Twilight. We can have Spike come along too.”

“In that case, I’ll accompany you too. We can make this a family dinner,” Velvet said, winking at Luna to her great confusion.

It didn’t take long for Velvet to do as she said. She had thestrals move a small table into the room, close to Luna’s bed, setting chairs and sets of plates. She wheeled in a cart, laden with steaming plates, bringing Spike along who happily started to set the dinner plates and utensils for everypony. Velvet had to make him take them off again so they could lay the tablecloth first, and they repeated the process, this time together.

Princess Celestia arrived soon after, smiling widely, not the small, constant smile she often had. She took off her regalia and nuzzled her sister before taking a seat next to her bed. The small bags of exhaustion under her eyes seemed to vanish as they watched. The Princess of the Day looked at the company around her, beaming happily at each and every one of them. Her joy was almost palpable enough to touch.

“Luna,” she said after a while as they all ate peacefully. “I heard you have chosen some thestrals for your Guard.”

“Indeed. It is a shame, but training will have to delay for a few weeks. Truth be told, I’ve started to get bored lying on bed.”

Princess Celestia laughed, a happy, crystal like sound. “I would happily trade places with you. A couple of weeks, resting? I cannot remember ever enjoying such an occasion myself.”

“It is truly not as enjoyable as you believe. You would get bored too.”

“Probably,” Princess Celestia admitted. “Unfortunately, I wouldn’t get that much rest either. The paperwork alone would be enough to fill most of my day.”

“I would do even that if it meant alleviating my boredom even a little,” Luna said. She worked her jaw sideways, thinking, and, almost unnoticed by Twilight, glanced at Raegdan for the shortest of moments. “Hmm… I have a request now that I think about it.”

“Oh? I’ll be happy to help in any way I can Luna.”

“Would it be possible that you allow me to review the reports and papers that are delivered to you daily? I have not the faintest clue as to how a proper one should be composed, nor what should be contained in them, much less how to process them. It is time I tried my hoof at this.”

“Of course,” Princess Celestia said immediately. “I tend to go through them at noon, so I’ll have my guards deliver them to you each morning first. That way I’ll have an excuse to see you when I come over to pick them up.”

“That is acceptable sister, though you know there doesn’t have to be a reason to come see me.”

Velvet leaned towards Twilight. “Honey? Is there something wrong with your food? You’re not eating.”

“N-no mom,” Twilight said. She watched Luna smile at her sister as she told her stories she had missed while being banished, and Raegdan focusing on Spike as the little dragon told him about his day. “Just… getting kinda full already, that’s it.”

“I would prefer not to bring this up, but I fear I must ask nevertheless,” Princess Celestia said after a few minutes of small talk. “Any progress on the investigation of the recent attack?”

“Nothing yet,” Raegdan said, ripping apart a hunk of bread with his hands. “We’ve been trying to find who could have made the bomb. I personally visited every blacksmith or runecrafter, even jewelers, who could make something like this.”

“I see. Luna, are you sure you don’t want me to task the Royal Guard with this? They could at least double check your findings.”

Luna shook her unharmed hoof. “Go ahead. I am sure there’s no harm at this point.”

Twilight addressed Raegdan. “Are you sure you didn’t miss anything?”

“Pretty sure. They needed a metal sphere to act as a vessel so they could make the repeating pattern work. I searched the blacksmiths and forges. Nothing. They needed someone to carve the runes. Nothing again. No mage here did this.”

“How do runes work exactly?” Velvet asked. “I’ve never looked into them. They’re pretty obscure.”

Twilight took the lead in answering her mother’s question. “In their most simple execution, runes are simply instructions. Each of them performs a particular function and only that one. For instance, the Men’a rune is capable of storing a large amount of magic. It can only store magic however. It has no way of actually pulling magic into it to store at the first place. For that you would something like the Siph rune which can pull ambient magic but not store it.”

“Oh. I see. It sounds easy, but I guess it must be more difficult than that.”

“Quite,” Luna said. “You have to contend with the “proper grammar” so to speak, as well as positional and space constraints. These are not the most limiting factor of runes however.”

Princess Celestia lowered her glass. “There are two great difficulties that entail runes. One is the fact that there can be no magic involved in their creation. They must be carved by non-magical ways. Even holding the tools with magic can ruin them. The second one is that each and every rune must be perfect. A single rune carved even slightly wrong destroys the whole matrix. It’s the reason why they are not widely known. Enchantments are much simpler though not as potentially powerful.”

Velvet hummed, impressed. “It sounds like somepony who could actually make your bomb would be well known then. That metal sphere had dozens of little designs on it. It must have been tremendously hard to make.”

Princess Celestia thought deeply. “I cannot think of anything Raegdan might have missed. These were the obvious suspects. Who else could have forged a metal sphere and carved such delicate runes beyond a knowledgeable mage or a skilled magical blacksmith?”

“A sculptor?” Spike suggested. “If you don’t need magic to make them, they’d do fine. Earth ponies and Pegasi don’t use magic anyway.”

The tablecloth died a sad death as five forks fell as one, staining it forever or at least until its next wash.

“A… sculptor?” Raegdan asked, boggled from the simple answer to a simple question.

“Yeah. Twilight took me to a crafting workshop once. There was this mare there who made a small clay hollow and poured copper into it to make a small figure. They could make the sphere this way and carve it with their tools afterwards. You don’t even have to know runes to do them, right? From the sound of it you could just copy them and they still work. Right?”

“You know…” Twilight said, feeling dazed all the while, “Sharp Chisel wasn’t answering his door today.”

“The famed sculptor? Why were you visiting him?” Princess Celestia asked.

Luna answered before Twilight could. “We were exploring more than one avenue. I did not expect however… Twilight Sparkle, was he missing or was he not answering?”

“I don’t know. Nopony was answering the front door, but the main gate was open.”

“Raegdan-”

“I’m on it,” Raegdan said. He quickly got up, shoving a last bite of bread in his mouth. “I’m getting my gear and then getting Solid Charge and the rest.”

“I’m coming too,” Twilight said. “You have nopony that can cast spells with you.”

Raegdan paused. “Fine, but you’re staying in the back behind everyone, you hear me? You don’t try to play hero if something happens.”

“Can I come too?” Spike asked.

Raegdan knelt next to the dragon. “No. You little flame need to stay here and guard Luna while I’m gone. Anyone comes in here to mess with you, you scare them away with your fire.” Spike puffed his chest hearing his important post. Raegdan threw a covert glance full of meaning at Princess Celestia.

“I will stay here for a little while longer,” she said, casually. “Spike, do you think you mind taking over as my own guard as well?”

“No problem mom! Don’t worry dad, I’ll keep everypony safe.”

Raegdan patted Spike’s cheek. “I know you will little flame. Ok Twilight, let’s go.”

The sun had set some time ago. The Lunar Guard had now assembled, thematically enough, under the stars. It was a hodge podge of a guard, including an alien, minotaurs, thestrals, a pegasus with no wings, and with special guest stars, a timid animal carer, a weather pony, an apple farmer, a fashionista, a baker, and a librarian, explorer of the arcane mysteries, that was determined to talk off the alien’s ears for his poor choices.

“What I am saying is that you need to tell her!” Twilight said as strictly as she could. “Does this really seem right to you? Lying to her? She’d agree to help you anyway.”

“Twilight, I hear you, but this might not be the best time to have this discussion,” Raegdan said, nodding to the gate in front of them.

Solid Charge took the large padlock in his hand, the chains around the large iron gate clanking. “It wasn’t locked like this a couple of hours ago.”

“For some reason, I don’t think they locked it because they left,” Leaf Stream suggested.

Rainbow, staying in the back along with the rest of her friends and the four new thestrals, called out. “We can fly over it, no problem. We can try carrying the rest of you too.”

Raegdan checked the padlock and chain himself. He rattled the gates once. “No need. Cast Iron, you told me today you worked as a blacksmith. Can you break this chain?”

“With a proper tool, yes.”

Raegdan offered his hammer. “Will this work?”

“Easily.” Cast Iron gave a cursory examination to the chain links, chose one, and struck confidently with the blunt edge of the hammer. The chain broke soundlessly, the only noise coming from the rest of the chain and lock falling down.

The gate opened before them. The large manor stood in the middle of respectably maintained grounds. Raegdan’s dark helmet moved slowly from the left to the right as he took in the view, examining it with care.

“Alright Solid Charge. You’re the commander. What do you do?” Raegdan asked, serious.

“Is this really the time for a lesson?” the minotaur asked.

“Maybe not, but why waste the chance? What do you do? The clock is ticking, and we might have been seen already.”

Solid Charge turned backwards to look at the forces under his command. “The greatest worry is he might escape. We are not enough to cover every window and entrance, but we have six flyers. They can fly above and keep an eye out.”

“Good call, but one detail you might want to keep in mind. The thestrals can’t be spotted easily in the night, but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are too bright colored. They’ll be the most obvious targets this way. We don’t risk them.”

Solid Charge thought quickly. “They stay out of sight then. If the thestrals spot someone fleeing they can try to capture them while miss Rainbow Dash warns us in the meantime. Miss Fluttershy can stay behind as a lookout in case we have a second runner or another emergency.”

Rainbow Dash, uncharacteristically enough did not protest at staying back or simply being a messenger, though considering what happened yesterday Twilight didn’t blame her that she preferred to distance herself from the action.

Raegdan’s helmet nodded. “Good. Who goes inside?”

“The rest of us. Normally I’d rather not take miss Rarity and her friends with us, but we’re going after a sculptor, and I think they’d follow us anyway.” Twilight and her friends smiled mischievously as one. “We might need to separate into teams inside to search if there’s no one there. Until we know that for sure however I’d prefer to have you on point.”

“Agreed.” Raegdan removed the shield from his back and strapped it on his arm. “Give the orders and let’s go.”

Twilight trotted next to him. “If you don’t tell Princess Celestia, I will,” she warned him.

“Are you kidding me? Get to the back Twilight.”

“But I-”

“Back. Now!” he ordered, sounding angry.

“Fine! But this isn’t over. What you did was awful, and not just because you lied. You took advantage of her.”

“Get to the back! Now!”

They reached the front door. Raegdan gave a small, up and down, examination at the manticore statue. In Twilight’s opinion it looked extremely vicious in the dark of the night. The fur effect and the small wings conspired to dress it in patterns of shadows, transforming it to a far more sinister version of what they saw under the daylight.

Shame about the pink moustache. It really spoiled the result.

“Are the thestrals in position?”

Solid Charge looked up. “I think I can see Cradle Song almost right above us. We’re good. How do we sneak in?”

“We don’t. Too many of us, none of you know how. Let’s try to flush whoever is here out instead. Stay back until I tell you to come in.”

Raegdan pulled his leg up close to his torso and kicked forward in that impressive way that only he was able to do. He struck the door right next to the lock, breaking it. Instead of opening the door normally, he kicked again almost instantly and slammed it open all the way. He quickly stepped inside, seemingly unafraid of anypony waiting for him in there, his shield held before his torso.

His loud voice echoed inside and outside the house. “Lunar Guard! By order of Princess Luna you are all under arrest.”

After a few seconds Raegdan told them to come in. Twilight and her friends, minus Rainbow and Fluttershy, followed behind the minotaurs and Leaf Stream. The house was richly decorated as expected, using different types of wood to play with the coloring and texture, creating a complicated, luxurious, and homely effect. Sculptures of different sizes and detail were spread around.

It was also completely dark.

Raegdan was standing in the middle of the room, his head tilted as if listening carefully.

“Something wrong?” Leaf Stream asked.

The armored giant changed the angle of his tilt twice more, like a bird of prey. He didn’t seem to be looking for anything in particular. The slits of his helmet stayed mostly on the furniture and the shadows.

“Someone is or was here. This place doesn’t feel empty. Cast Iron, you and Rarity stay here. If someone does show up, shout out a warning and then retreat outside so the others can help you. Eyes open. The rest of you, follow behind me.” Raegdan headed for a door. He opened it slightly, looking beyond it. He hesitated. His helmet turned towards a corridor at the east side that ran parallel to the outside, with windows viewing the grounds. He marched towards it instead.

“Why didn’t we go the other way?” Twilight asked.

“I prefer to have a way out until we know for sure what we’re dealing with. Worse comes to worst, there are the windows,” he said, pointing with a thumb.

Leaf Stream glanced at the exits of last resort. “Anypony ever told you what going through a glass window can do to somepony not wearing any kind of protection?”

“Is it worse than getting outright killed if something goes wrong?” Raegdan hooked the hammer back on his belt in the tight confines of the corridor and unsheathed a long dagger instead.

“Point.”

They followed behind Raegdan, down the corridor lined with sculptures on pedestals and paintings on the wall. Raegdan kept a few steps ahead of them, pausing before every door they met to their left, carefully listening before moving on ahead. Twilight couldn't help but compare how she and her friends would act instead if they were on their own, probably walking all together without even half the attention they currently paid to their surroundings.

Perhaps Rainbow Dash's idea to include herself in their training was far better than she first thought.

Raegdan stood still and Pinkie Pie shot forward. “Look! There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” She pointed a little further ahead where they could see a small patch of warmer, yellow light shining on the floor, coming from an intersection of the corridor to the left, towards the center of the manor.

“This here’s a corridor sugarcube,” Applejack said. “But yer right. That ain’t moonlight there.”

Raegdan started creeping forward, signalling them to stay still. “Stay here, and stay on guard. Watch your behind.”

Leaf Stream gave a quick slap at the back of Pinkie Pie’s head who tried to take his instruction too literally.

Raegdan reached the intersection where the light was coming from. He stayed in the corner, almost hugging the wall. He lifted his shield up, positioning the edge of it at the end of his neck, ready to protect his head as he slowly leaned to see where the light was coming from.

He barely leaned over when he raised his shield. A metal clanging sound echoed in the corridor immediately. Raegdan pulled back.

“Raegdan,” Twilight yelled in concern, “are you alright? What happened?”

Something long was impaled on the shield. Raegdan pulled it out and examined it.

“A fucking chisel,” he growled. “At least we’re on the right track.” He edged his shield outwards. Another metal impact followed almost instantaneously. He ripped another chisel off his shield. “Great. He’s got a lot of these and he’s got a good aim. How the hell does he throw them anyway? I thought he was an earth pony.”

An old stallion’s voice, strong and steady, called out from the direction of the hurled tools. “Stand back spawn of her darkness. You won’t take me so easily.”

“Oh, now he wants to make this a challenge,” Raegdan mumbled.

Solid Charge stood next to Raegdan. “Can’t you rush him? You’re wearing armor.”

Raegdan silently exhibited the two very unsettling schisms the thrown chisels had left behind, one almost on top of the other adding new craters to the shield’s design.

Solid Charge huffed. “Great. Don’t risk it then.”

“What do we do?” Twilight asked.

“There’s no need to rush. None of us is going anywhere.” Raegdan looked around. He pointed towards a large mirror. “Get me that, will you?”

Twilight used her magic to lower the large mirror from the wall and bring it towards them. Raegdan pulled it in front of him. Carefully, he leaned it sideways, trying to see beyond the corner with it. Another chisel was thrown, hitting the edge of the mirror and cracking the glass, but Raegdan ignored it entirely, watching the mirror.

“It’s a large circular room. He’s alone. He’s standing in front of some pony’s statue, and I think there’s another similar corridor behind him.”

“I could circle around, make sure he doesn’t try to escape that way at least,” Solid Charge suggested.

“Do that. Take Applejack and little pink with you. Don’t try anything. He’s got excellent aim. He’ll drop you dead. Leave him to me.”

Solid Charge nodded and went back the way they came. Applejack stalled a little before leaving. “Don’t do anything rash Twilight. Let Raegdan handle this, ya’ hear?” Twilight assured her friends she would be alright, and watched them go until they vanished in the darkness.

“No worries sweetie. You lovebirds will see each other again. She’s only going a few meters away,” Leaf Stream said with an infuriating smirk.

“Jerk,” Twilight mumbled under her breath.

Raegdan was still watching the pony they speculated to be Sharp Chisel through the mirror. “He’s getting agitated,” he observed after a few minutes.

“What’s the plan then?” Leaf Stream asked.

You could almost hear the sadistic grin in his voice. “Agitate him some more.” He called out to the sculptor. “Sharp Chisel?”

“I will not listen to the rancid lies of your kind!” the pony shouted back.

Raegdan laughed, mocking him. “I understand that you are a sculptor. Got a thing for carving, huh?”

“You- You insolent, uneducated monstrosity!” Sharp Chisel shouted back, terribly offended. “My art brings forth the true, solid nature of reality. I use hammer and chisel to force the bones of the earth into revealing what is hidden inside everypony! Yes, I have a “thing” for carving!”

Raegdan nodded, though the sculptor could not see him. “Nice. We have that in common at least.” He leaned to the side, only enough for the edges of the horns on his helmet to appear in the pony’s view. “I like carving too. It does bring up the truth hidden inside, as well as other things.” Raegdan shouted, suddenly angry. “How long do you think you can stay there before I carve you open in turn you little worm? Surrender now, and you might live long enough to die of old age in a cell instead.”

“You don’t scare me! I know you, I know her! My art has shown me her face. My art has shown me how to kill you all!”

A metal rattling sound, mixed with the groaning of wood, approached them from the corridor, fast. Raegdan tilted his head, his stance suddenly worried. He sheathed the knife he was holding and hastily took his hammer back in his hand.

A metal sphere, covered in runes and crackling with barely contained magic, rolled into view.

“Twilight teleport away now-”

“The hay was that?” Applejack asked, her throat dry. She didn’t really need to ask. She had heard her share of explosions lately. She heard Raegdan’s shout. She knew they were looking for the pony who had made the bomb. It didn’t take much to connect the dots.

She didn’t want to believe there had been a second bomb nonetheless.

“Our chance,” Solid Charge said. He turned towards Applejack. “Miss Applejack, I’m going to try and rush him. I want you to follow along but stay behind me. Miss Pie, stay back. We need to stop him now. He may have more of them. If we wait we only give him time to use them.”

“What if he throws another chisel at us?”

“That’s why I said stay behind me. I’ll make sure you reach him- miss Pinkie Pie, wait, don’t!”

“Oh my goodness, Rainbow, what happened?” Fluttershy trembled in place as she saw a section of the house explode and rows of windows shatter, the glass fragments glinting in the moonlight as they showered across the open yard.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure, but finding out wasn’t that important to her as making sure her friends were safe. Her eyes scouted everything in view, until she spotted a welcome sight. She spread her wings open.

“I don’t know, but I see Twilight out there. Wait here Fluttershy. I’m going to check on her.”

Twilight was far, too far from the explosion. Almost at the fence surrounding the property. Rainbow guessed she must have used her fancy magic teleport thingy to get there. As she approached the ground she saw Twilight rise up from where she lied on top of Leaf Stream.

“Twilight, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash landed right next to her friend. “Are you ok? Should I get Fluttershy? A doctor? Do you need me to take you back to the hospital.”

“I’m ok. Rainbow did you see Raegdan? Did he make it out? He… he said he’d jump out the window if something happened, right?” Twilight’s voice was frantic, full of worry and panic.

“Twilight, calm down. I don’t see him. What happened?”

Twilight’s eyes filled with tears. She started crying. “I- I left him in there. I can’t teleport him, I got- I got Leaf Stream and got her out, I meant to go right back and- and- and do something, but it went off so fast, and- Rainbow, can you find him? You’ve got to find him, please!”

Leaf Stream’s legs trembled as she stood up weakly. One of the stumps on her side was quivering and she was gritting her teeth. “He was too close to the bomb. He dived for it to shield us from the blast. I’m sorry Twilight. I’m really sorry.”

Rainbow Dash caught Twilight as she collapsed in sobs. A few seconds later they heard a second explosion.

“Twitchy tail, jump to the left, itchy cheeky, lean to the right, numm liss, duck low.” Pinkie Pie sang out her body’s cues as she hopped her way to the mean pony up ahead.

She liked statues. They always made a great place to hide secret things or climb on. Her sister Maud never did. She believed sculptors ruined perfectly good rocks. She did keep chisels of her own around though. Some rocks were too big to take to her room so she only took pieces sometimes. This one certainly looked like one of the mean sculptors her sister warned her about though.

A sharp, perfectly even gray chisel flew a few centimeters in front of Pinkie Pie’s eyes. She gasped as she saw it almost scratch her muzzle. It was Maud’s favorite color! “Hey Mr. Chisel, can I keep that one for my sister? You have a lot of them after all.”

She obeyed the prompt she was given and hopped up. A hammer crossed where her head was just a second ago. Pinkie waited for another one, but nothing itched, twitched, numbed, felt cold or hot. Disappointing. As far as dodgeball games went this was pretty short.

“Mr. Chisel, are we done already?”

“I won’t allow her terror to reign again. Do you hear me? I won’t!”

“Solid Charge,” Pinkie Pie called out. “I’m done. It’s your turn to play with-” Pinkie Pie stopped, her eyes wide. She didn’t need to see the sphere start rolling towards her. She was already running for her friends as fast as she could, shouting out the terrible warning her body gave her.

“Super spicy burn, super spicy burn! Run, duck, and cover, run, duck, and cover!”

Twilight flicked her head sideways, shaking away the tears when she heard the deafening explosion. That pony in there tried to kill her. He was trying to kill her friends. He killed-

The bitter voice in her head had changed its tune, and for once she was in total agreement with it. You don’t mess with Twilight Sparkle’s friends or family. You don’t- You don’t- you don’t hurt-

An image flashed in her head. She was cold and scared in a dark basement where moments before she was surrounded by ponies that wanted to kill her or deliver her to a fate even worse. An alien, half dead and in agony, every breath sounding as it could be his last, had sat next to her and comforted her in the dark with his presence and soothing words she couldn’t understand.

She believed she had known anger before. Rage. No, these were mere annoyances, a child’s tantrums. What she felt now, that was rage, that was fury. Her blood ran cold in her veins, and her mind was as still as a frozen pond. She had a clarity of thought unlike anything she felt before, she saw everything through a crystal lens full of angles and sharpened edges. She had a purpose in mind, and a drive as solid as the coldest ice.

She was going to kill Sharp Chisel.

She teleported.

Everything was broken. Wood had splintered, stone had shattered, glass littered the cratered floor. It was a small miracle she hadn’t accidentally teleported into something else, ending her quest for revenge before it even began. The corridor was filled with rubble, mounds of walls that had fallen or sections of the ceiling that had collapsed. The sculptures had cracked and fractured, only pieces of them remaining in some cases.

She didn’t see Raegdan’s body anywhere. She felt a crack in her heart, and her resolve hardened even more. Hate festered and grew. Her dad was gone. Her dad was gone, and somepony was going to pay!

She was in her room in the castle. She had a nightmare and woke up screaming. Raegdan rushed into her room almost as soon as she had inarticulately called out for help. He was next to her in a second, holding her close, keeping her safe between his long arms and his wide, warm chest, the safest place she had ever known. He was running in the corridors, yet she barely felt any movement with the care he held her, bringing her to Princess Celestia and ease of mind.

Twilight heard hoofsteps coming her way from where the bomb had rolled from. A pony came into view. The sculptor. The one who had killed her dad.

The murdering earth pony was wearing saddlebags and holding a chisel in his mouth. The tool immediately turned into a thrown weapon. He threw the chisel up with a whipping motion of his head and swiftly turned around and kicked it with his hind leg. His speed was astounding and his aim almost impeccable.

Twilight’s magic caught the projectile with ease, despite its speed. She had never felt such focus in her life. It was unnerving in a way. The world had melted away, and all she could see was the pony that still dared to breathe in front of her. She could almost see the muscles under his coat move, and his eyes were a clear pathway to his thoughts. It was as if she gave the effort of an eyeblink she would peer straight into the pony’s soul, gaining perfect understanding of everything her opponent was, in and out.

She didn’t bother. She didn’t care to know anything about him. Her magic turned the chisel around. It now aimed for his right eye. She saw him squirm, and she smirked as a sudden sweat overtook him. It almost scratched his eyeball as she slowly pushed it forward. She saw the eye bulge and tremble. She visualized how she would use the chisel to rip the tiny muscles that held his eye aloft. She heard his screams in her mind, and she trembled with anticipation. She wanted him to scream. She wanted him to feel the pain she was going to be feeling for the rest of her life.

“You killed my dad.” She expected herself to sound angry. She really did, but there was no anger, no emotion in her voice. She felt a rage akin to that of an ice storm inside her, but none of it bubbled outside. She would rip him apart, limb from limb, and watch him bleed with nothing but a content smile on her face.

They were in a clearing in a forest. Twilight, Spike, Shining Armor and Cadance. They were playing with a ball, running up and down while Princess Celestia was dozing off a small distance away in a rare moment of relaxation and rest. Raegdan was there, keeping an eye on them, guarding them. Every time she managed a good block or kick she would turn to call out to Raegdan, to ask if he had seen what she did. She never had to do so. Every time she turned around she saw him watching already, with a proud smile beaming at her. She didn’t have Cadance’s talent, but she could almost physically feel the love radiating out of him.

“I rid the world of her spawn.”

“You. Killed. My dad.” The eye first. Then she would cut off his tendons. She would mock him as he squirmed on the ground like a worm. He would never be able to sculpt anything ever again after that, and she would make sure he understood that. Then, she would demonstrate her knowledge of pony anatomy. She would name every bone in his body as she broke them. She would-

Applejack appeared behind the pony that hadn’t realized he was already dead, covered with dust and looking worried. “Twilight? Is everypony ok-”

The sculptor’s countenance twisted with hate. “I will rid the world of her spawn. Of all of them!” He jerked slightly, and another metal sphere fell from the saddlebag on his right, glowing with magic. “My life is a small price to pay for the safety of us all.”

The sphere crackled. The runes glowed white, almost blinding her senses, exactly like they did before. Time slowed briefly for Twilight as she considered the options she had available. She could stay here and die. She could try to teleport to Applejack and get her out before the sphere exploded, something she didn’t have time for. She didn’t have enough time to save her friend.

She could teleport out instantly and save herself.

She gathered her magic and chose a spot right between the sculptor and Applejack, ready to grab them both and teleport them all out. She wasn’t letting more ponies she loved die without a fight, she wouldn’t lose another one tonight, and she wouldn’t let this murderer escape justice so easily. She didn’t have the time, but she would try anyway. She would do no less.

A hand with only four digits, the glove scorched and torn, covered with its own blood, shot out of the rubble and weakly caught the metal sphere. The magic on the runes started fading, the white glow briefly turning red by the blood covering the runes.

“No! No, the Nightmare must not w-” A thick piece of wood broke apart on Sharp Chisel’s head, silencing him.

“Oh shut yer yap already,” Applejack said, fed up with the whole thing.

Twilight didn’t care what happened to him. With an anguished cry she started digging through the rubble, lifting what she could. Her magic had difficulty working so close to Raegdan, and she didn’t want to risk losing her hold and dropping the load she carried on him again.

“Applejack, get the others, quickly, he’s-”

Solid Charge and Pinkie Pie were by her side before she could finish her sentence. Pinkie Pie was limping, one of her hind legs wrapped with the black cloth that was on Solid Charge’s arm before, and covered in scratches and small cuts. Applejack tied down their prisoner and joined them, moving bricks and stone. Raegdan was covered with various rubble, heavy pieces of lumber, stone and plaster. The four of them together were able to clear it all away soon enough.

“Dad? Dad, can you hear me? Are you hurt?” Twilight shouted, full of panic and eyes tearing anew. She had thought- she had really thought-

“Little one?” Raegdan said, weakly.

“Y-yes?” The fear returned. What if he was really hurt, what if she found him again only to lose him? What if, what if...

“Don’t shout, please. You’re making my ears ring.”

Twilight laughed, a short giggle, feeling amazingly relieved. He was ok. He was fine, just like always. Raegdan couldn’t die, he wouldn’t, her mother had been wrong. It was just a lie he had said to her. Raegdan was never going to die. He was going to live forever.

“Are ya ok big fella? Do we need to call for help?” Applejack asked.

“Just- leave me like this for a few seconds... That was- I haven’t been this close to an... explosion like that for a long time. I almost broke my skull... A metal helmet is... not so good against impacts. I’m lucky my spine didn’t snap in half- Oh heavens, it feels like it did anyway. Help me up.”

Rainbow Dash and Leaf Stream climbed through the large hole in the wall. Cast Iron, Rarity, and Fluttershy joined them from the entrance’s direction. Outside, the thestrals landed and watched through the broken windows.

Solid Charge helped Raegdan to his feet. He stumbled once, but quickly regained his balance with the minotaur’s aid. Twilight was amazed at how little hurt he looked. All he had was dents on his armor, and his left glove was torn, the skin on his hands split in a few places.

“How- I thought you- I thought you were dead!” Twilight said, still examining him up and down, making sure he wasn’t hurt, that he was still alive. She drank in the sight of him standing up and moving.

“Thought so too,” Raegdan admitted, sounding sick. “I’m not that sure what happened. There was a bomb I think, and I tried to reach it… I’m not sure if I did or not. I think I remember being thrown like a ragdoll. Did you catch the guy?”

Twilight couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it. “We did. The bomb collects pure magic, duh. I can’t believe- It shouldn’t even hurt you! But you-”

“That explains it,” Raegdan said. “There’s quite a large blast of explosive force it seems. I think it threw me away, I smashed my head, and then had a wall fall on me. I’m mostly a giant bruise under the armor, and I’m a little dizzy to be honest.” Despite his claims and attempt to sound healthy it was obvious he was in a far worse condition than only being a little disoriented. “Did you catch him?”

“Yep. He’s all trussed up. What do we do with him?” Applejack asked.

Raegdan looked around him. “Where are we?” he asked Applejack.

“Same corridor we were before. You ok big fella?”

“I’m- yeah. I’m fine. Just fine. What did you ask?”

“What do we do with Sharp Chisel?”

“Who?”

“The sculptor guy. Did ya forget his name?”

“Oh, right. Right. Yeah. Hospital. We want him close by so we can question him. Have the- the new guys keep watch over him, until we can interrogate him.”

“Raegdan-”

“Later Twilight.” Raegdan looked in Sharp Chisel’s saddlebags and then moved toward where Sharp Chisel had holed in before. “If there was one bomb there may be more. The rest of you stay here and keep an eye on him. Everyone behind me, and be ready to teleport again Twilight.” He almost tripped as he headed down the corridor, but Solid Charge caught him before he fell.

“You don’t seem that well,” Solid Charge said, the heavy features of his face frowning in concern. “You shouldn’t be going in front again.”

“You got anyone else who can stop the bombs or who could survive another blast? It’s only a small concussion at worst. It’s not that bad,” Raegdan assured them. Solid Charge kept a heavy hand on Raegdan’s armored shoulder, keeping him going straight, while Raegdan leaned towards the wall, keeping one arm on it. “Feeling like I’m going to throw up though.”

“You might want to take the helmet off then,” Rainbow Dash advised.

“I’m fine, I just need a little… rest. Oh. Fuck me.”

They had reached the spot where Sharp Chisel had taken cover, throwing his chisels and bombs from. An unfinished statue rose over them. The earth pony sculptor was nowhere near to finishing it. Most of it was just a rough approximate of an Alicorn’s body. She stood on her hind legs, wings spread wide, head held high and proud.

The head and some of the chest was the only part that had truly been worked on. The moon insignia had been deeply carved into the chestpiece. The mane had started taking form, rough hewn stone slowly coming down to fine hairs as they approached the Alicorn’s head. The statue’s face was an outstanding replica of Luna’s own, but... The smile on her face became a sneer the more you got near, and the half-lidded eyes full of contentment transformed into a look of utter hate. From afar, Luna’s face had an expression of contained joy and playfulness. Up close, you almost drowned into the loathing and hate she directed around her.

“Wow. That’s… that’s really…” Rainbow Dash said, lost for words.

“It certainly is his style, but this-”

Raegdan’s hammer swung in a large arc, the handle held in both of his hands. The hammer’s head met the statue. It didn’t chip it, or simply broke a piece apart. The stone almost exploded by the force of the blow. Raegdan swung the opposite way again, the weight of his body following the hammer’s orbit. What was left of the statue’s head became unidentifiable rubble, and Raegdan’s last swing threw him on the floor, his legs practically flying out under him.

“A little too much there fella?” Applejack asked.

The alien was breathing heavily in the confines of his armor as Solid Charge lifted him up. His arms shaked. His right hand was holding the hammer’s handle in an iron grip while the left one changed from a fist to a claw, opening and closing, longing to grasp something to hurt. He slouched aggressively, like one of the large jungle apes Twilight had read about. There was no sign of his previous loss of balance or of any pain.

“The fucker,” Raegdan growled, “believed his own hogwash. No one put him to it, they didn’t pay him, they didn’t try to convince him, he did the whole fucking work himself. He made up a lie, and believed it! He’s dead. He’s fucking dead. I’m killing him right here and now!”

Solid Charge immediately got in his way. “Hey, hey, you can’t do that.”

“Trust me, I can. He would have killed Twilight for his fucking delusions. He’s going to die screaming. I will skin him alive and rip out his muscles. I’ll make him eat his own eyes and then I’m gonna get fucking imaginative! He’ll spend the next few days screaming nonstop. I’ll fucking take him all the way to Mordor!”

Solid Charge pushed Raegdan against the wall. “You don’t know for sure if he worked alone or not. Don’t go overboard now. We’ve got to think long term. Even if he did all this alone, he might know other ponies who held similar views. This could be our break! Don’t screw this up.”

Raegdan pushed the minotaur off him. “Forgot the bomb at the hospital already you hairy bastard? Forgot that your friend and Rarity were at the entrance, right on this fucker’s path?”

“No, I didn’t forget all that, and I’d love to take a swing at him too,” Solid Charge admitted. “But my job as Commander of the Lunar Guard is to protect Princess Luna and her interests, not fulfill my own base desires and screw her in the process. Princess Luna put me in charge, and as the commander I am ordering you to stand the fuck down! Do you understand? Back down and stay away from him or this will get ugly.”

Raegdan lowered his hammer. “I could kill you, you know,” he said, almost friendly like.

“He said while putting all his effort on standing. Come on, try it. Screw it up entirely. Start killing Princess Luna’s guards for doing their job and let’s see who she will be left with. So go ahead. Try and kill me if killing that pony means so much to you.”

Twilight and the rest waited for Raegdan's reaction with baited breath. Finally, Raegdan sidestepped around Solid Charge and stumbled away. He stopped after two steps to hold the wall and stop himself from falling again. “You’re the commander for a reason. I’m standing down. He’s yours,” he grumbled.

Solid Charge caught Raegdan’s armored shoulder. “You are not killing him, you are not torturing him. Understand?”

“Understand. Let me go… sir.”

“Alright.” Solid Charge let him go. Raegdan headed back the way they came, walking slowly, step by step. The commander of the Lunar Guard sighed with relief when he vanished at the corner. He turned to the others who had followed, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack.

Solid Charge held his hand against his chest, looking grimly relieved. “We should search the place. We might find something. If one of you can go and bring the Royal Guard to help we could finish faster. The place is pretty big, and I want to make sure there are no nasty surprises left-”

They heard Sharp Chisel shout in pain. Solid Charge turned around and was about to run back to their prisoner before they heard Raegdan shout.

“I just kicked him. Nothing else!”

Twilight and Raegdan sat together on the grass at the edge of the grounds. Raegdan had decided not to risk the walk back until he felt more confident about staying upright. The girls had gone with Solid Cast and the thestrals, back to the hospital, escorting their prisoner with the aid of some Royal guards. Pinkie Pie was probably ok, but there was no reason not to get her looked at by a doctor. More Royal guards were in the manor, searching through everything under the direction of Solid Charge and Leaf Stream.

“Are you feeling better now?” Twilight asked, eyeing the small pool of puke that was cooling off in the cold night air next to Raegdan. He had taken off his helmet and rested it at his side.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand “A little. I’m having some trouble with my eyes and I keep forgetting where we are for some stupid reason. Not why, just where. It’s infuriating. I’ll be fine after a full night’s sleep. Heavens, I can’t wait to lie down on a bed.” He paused and let out a single bark of laughter. “Bed. I’ve started to take them for granted. This isn’t good.” Raegdan kept himself busy rebandaging his hands. He kept doing them wrong as he stopped paying attention to them after a few seconds and hard to start over. The gloves he wore before were completely ruined and thrown aside. Twilight pointed at them.

“You will have to make new ones.”

Raegdan nodded. The bandages on the left side of his head were stained red with blood. “I’ve got another pair I can use, but yeah. It will have to wait until we get back to Canterlot though.”

“What are they made of? They’re made of- of skin, right?”

“Leather,” Raegdan specified. “Wyvern leather specifically. Skinned, tanned, and sewed myself. It’s pretty difficult actually. It took me forever to learn to do gloves.”

“You killed a wyvern?” Twilight asked, surprised that he considered the sewing more noteworthy than the material’s origin.

“More than one. Luna’s been coming along to my hunts. We’ve gotten quite a few beasts down together.” He stopped, trying to remember while looking up at the stars. “Was I using a bow or a spear? Damnit, I can’t remember. Stupid bombs.”

“I’ve read wyvern venom is extremely lethal.”

“That’s what Luna said too. I wouldn’t know. They haven’t scratched us yet. We’re careful, I promise. Too bad their venom dries out almost instantly. It could have been useful.” He mumbled under his breath. “Bow, I remember pulling a string, it had to be with a bow…”

Twilight nodded. “Are you hunting together a lot?”

“When we can. Haven’t been able to for some time now. It’s fun.”

“You never took me or anypony else with you before.”

“It wouldn’t be fun for you. It’s dangerous and scary. We don’t go hunting in quiet places. Mostly the Everfree during the night.”

“I didn’t know there were wyverns in the Everfree forest.”

“There were a couple of nests. They’re gone now. You don’t have to worry about them.”

“Oh. That’s good. Are you… angry with Solid Charge?”

“Yes, but there’s more than one reason we decided he should be the Commander. He puts his hoof down, as you people say, and he was right. I shouldn’t be this angry. Why am I this angry? Anyway, I find him strange actually.”

“How so?”

“He’s scared of me, but he still…” Raegdan gazed towards the manor before shaking his head slowly. “I don’t get it. I really don’t. I don’t want to talk about him. How’s little pink?”

“She was the last one behind them when the second bomb went off. Solid Charge managed to pull her into cover but she got hit by a few splinters. She’s got a big gash on her leg. Apart from that she’s probably fine.”

“Hmm. Leaf Stream?”

“Fine too. She was very surprised by what you did.”

“A mess of things?”

“I don’t mean that and neither do you.”

“I do. I screw up way too much. I need to regain my focus. I wouldn’t survive a week out there with this kind of sloppiness. I’m seeing a chance to go off and I’m letting my vices control me. It’s why I’m waiting for your friends to lock… what’s-his-name up before I head back. I’m going to tell Luna that we should let Solid Charge handle everything.”

“Everything?”

“The questioning, finding out if there are more, arresting them, the whole deal. I’m done here. If he asks for my help, wants me to do anything at all I’ll do it, but… yeah, gonna stay as far away as possible. Neither of us is in the right frame of mind to get involved personally. Not Luna, not me.” He lifted his head and looked around him questioningly.

“We’re at Sharp Chisel’s home,” Twilight reminded him.

Raegdan relaxed immediately. “Shouldn’t you head back, see to your friends?”

“I thought we could go together,” Twilight said, quietly. She also wanted to make sure a doctor could see him, even though there was nothing they could probably do.

“We can. I’m sorry for disappointing you.”

“You didn’t-”

“Solid Charge shouldn’t need to do that. I’m sorry Twilight. I really let you all down.”

“It’s ok. It’s Solid Charge you should apologize to. You know, mom told me about an ice cream place she found. She wants to take Spike there.”

“She should. Little flame would like that. A dragon that loves ice cream. I still find that funny.”

“Do you want the two of us to go with them? Spike would love it if you came along.”

“...Alright. We’ll arrange it. Do you want to get your friends too?”

“I think I would prefer it if it was just us this time. A bowl of ice cream sounds really good right now, doesn’t it?”

“Tomorrow. We’re going tomorrow. Promise.”

“Thank you. ...Can I talk to you about something?”

“Of course. Anything you want Twilight.”

Twilight hesitated. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. She didn’t have time to understand, to think about what she had felt. It was something new, enthralling, liberating and addicting, and it horrified her that this was how she had felt.

“When- I thought you had died,” she confessed. “I thought you had died in the explosion, and I had left you behind, and then I heard the second one go off, and I knew Applejack and Pinkie Pie were there, and- and-” Raegdan’s arm went around her and he pulled her close to his body, not saying anything.

“I got angry,” Twilight almost whispered. “I- I wanted to kill him. I thought he had killed you, I feared he had killed my friends, and I could think of nothing else but killing him. I wanted to- I didn’t want to simply kill him though. I wanted to make him scared, I wanted to hurt him, as much as I was hurting, and- and I almost did, I almost used that chisel to rip out his eye-”

“There’s a vast difference between wanting and doing Twilight. You didn’t do any of that.”

“But I could have!” Twilight said. She took a trembling breath. She shivered without feeling cold. “I am certain I would have if- I wanted so much and the mere thought felt… Is that how you feel? Is that what’s it like? Wanting to hurt somepony so much that- that you stop caring about right and wrong and-”

“I think that’s quite enough Twilight,” Raegdan said, quietly. “You were angry and scared. No one would have blamed you if you had done anything, and I’m one hundred percent certain you wouldn’t have hurt him in the end. You’d probably scare the life out of him and then throw him unconscious. You wouldn’t have gone through with it. Trust me.”

“You don’t know that!” Twilight shouted. “You don’t know how close I was, how I almost- Is it that easy? A simple yes in your mind and... That’s all it takes to throw it all away and kill? Not just kill but- I wanted to make him scream. I’m… I didn’t even know for sure if anypony was actually hurt. I only thought so. You lost so much more, and I kept thinking about-”

“You’re nothing like me,” Raegdan said with utmost conviction. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“That’s not what I-”

“Yes it is,” Raegdan interrupted her. “You’re afraid you would have killed him. That it’s so easy once you decide to do it, and you would go ahead and kill. Wake up Twilight. It wasn’t easy at all. He had to make you believe he had killed people you loved to push you as much as he did, and look at you. Tearing over the thought of what you didn’t do in the end.”

“I was going to do it. I really was.”

He shook his head in refusal. “Do you still want to kill him? Even though in the end nobody got hurt?”

“...No. No, I don’t. I’m… I’m not feeling like that now. It’s gone.”

He hugged her closer, bringing her over his legs, cradling her like when she was a filly. “Then you are fine. You didn’t do anything. You wouldn’t have. You were angry, that’s all, and the anger is gone now. You’re still Twilight Sparkle. You’re ok Twilight. You’re ok.”

Twilight rested her head against his dusty breastplate, letting him calm her down. She would have to think; both about her own reaction and what it meant, but also the newfound perspective. Perhaps she had underestimated how hard it was to stop yourself when this kind of frigid emotion overtook you. She’d need to talk more about this, perhaps with both Princess Celestia and her mother, but she felt a little better already. Speaking of which…

She pulled her head back and looked Raegdan in the eyes. “We still need to talk about Princess Celestia. If she finds out what you and Luna did she’ll think you only invited her to dinner so you could get access to her reports. You need to tell her the truth and ask permission,” Twilight softly said.

“Oh for heaven’s sake… Fine! I’ll talk to Luna. But you’re coming with me and sitting in front of me when I tell Celestia. I’d like to go a day this month without getting mangled.” He sighed and blinked while looking around, lost once more.