Paper Cut and Bastion sat patiently in their chairs as they waited for the briefing to begin. Bastion was currently going through an information packet about their next assignment, an expedition straight into the dead sectors of Manehattan, a practically ancient city lost to the elements long ago. Beyond a location, the packet didn't tell him much more. Next to him, Paper leaned back in his chair, half asleep.

At the far end of the room, an older stallion shuffled some papers at his podium and sipped a cup of coffee as he too waited for the last ponies to take their seats so that they could begin. Beside him, a large white screen hung on the wall, just across from a projector at the back of the room.

Thirty or so ponies had already amassed in the room, a collection of different patches from across several ranger companies within the Initiative adorning each of their jackets. The wide range of rangers present was strikingly odd to Bastion, who was more used to working with ponies within his own company. Even in joint operations, there was some sense of order that was severely lacking here.

A last few ponies filed into the room, the door being shut behind them as they all made their way to their seats.

"I don't believe it," Bastion said to no one in particular.

Paper, who was already half asleep in his chair, was suddenly jolted awake as Bastion delivered a push against his shoulder. "Gah! I'm awake! I'm awake," the unicorn said in surprise. After Bastion didn't say anything, he followed the earth pony's gaze downwards towards the base of the stadium style seating.

Bastion stood up and waved down to the thestral who had caught both of them a little off guard. Nightfall waved back before making his way up the steps and taking a vacant spot next to his friends. He did not say anything initially.

"Uh, Nightfall?" Paper said, trying to wrap his brain around why in Equestria he was here. "What are you doing here?"

Nightfall sighed, but answered without looking at them. "I'll tell you later," he said, sounding somewhat unhappy.

As the last of the ponies took their seats, the older stallion at the podium took one last sip of his coffee and called the meeting to order. "Good morning, everyone," he began. "Before we begin, I'd like you each to look around you. You may notice that our group here today is not comprised of a single company, but several. This will not be a joint operation though. Each of you was picked by hoof for this mission, because you are our most reliable and quite frankly, our best. This mission is heavily classified and you are all expected to perform it while maintaining full confidentiality during and after. Should you wish not to accept it, you may leave now without penalty." He stopped and looked around the room, a satisfied smile forming as everyone remained seated.

Nightfall just rolled his eyes. He was the only one here who didn't have a choice. He always had been and it seemed he always would be. The smile on the pony's face only served to annoy him even more.

"Very good then," the stallion continued. "Now, as many of you may have noticed, the information packets provided are very light on details. Joining us here today is Senior Mage Etcher of the TRST Magics and Special Artifacts Division. He'll be breaking down this assignment."

As the older stallion stepped down, Nightfall narrowed his gaze at the mage from behind his shades. He was a mage alright, sporting the signature robes that everyone in the MSAD wore. Other than the robes, Etcher seemed a lot less fish-out-of-water-ish than other mages who found themselves amongst rangers. He took his place at the podium confidently, looking out to the crowd with a satisfied smile.

"Hello, everyone. It's good to see you all and I look forward to working with you," Etcher began. He suddenly took on a very serious look. "Now, down to business." He pressed a button on the podium, triggering a projector to display images on the wall behind him. He flipped through slides as he spoke. "Two weeks ago, a team of our rangers discovered an artifact of great historical and magical importance in western Equestria."

Nightfall received a few looks from Bastion and Paper, but he simply motioned for them to continue listening to the briefing. Yes, Etcher was only speaking in partial truths, but given what he knew, Nightfall really wasn't surprised.

When Etcher finished making things up about this so called "artifact," he continued. "After extensive field studies, several crystalline fragments were also found near the initial site of discovery. It is our belief that hundreds of years ago a powerful spell caused this artifact to be randomly teleported to its resting place after a focusing crystal in use during said spell overloaded and discharged unexpectedly. Upon attempting to reconstruct this crystal, it was found to be incomplete, leading us to further discover that the aforementioned spell had in fact scattered several artifacts across Equestria. We believe that a small cluster is currently located in the north eastern dead sectors, specifically the old city of Manehattan."

"Now," Etcher continued, a new slide on the projector taking the place of the previous one. "Our ultimate goal in this operation is to locate the exact location of this artifact. This presents a unique challenge, as locating it will be like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. Fortunately, the crystal fragments have an identical signature which can be used to narrow down the search area."

Etcher then went on to explain the scientific process of how they had narrowed the location of one of the other "artifacts" and its corresponding cluster down to Manehattan, along with how finding the crystals would help. This involved many large words that nopony really understood. At this point, nearly everyone in the room seemed bored out of their minds, except Paper who looked more confused as he tried to wrap his head around what he was hearing, scribbling a few things down as the went along.

Despite his limited knowledge on such advanced magics and Etcher's own inability to water down the topic so that the common pony could understand, Paper was able to cobble together a basic idea of what was going on. Essentially, the crystal fragments would be scattered in a circular like pattern with the "artifact" being roughly in the center of this pattern. Finding multiple crystals would give them some idea of where that center area was. The more crystals they found, the better the estimate.

"Be warned," Etcher began, his demeanor growing even more serious than it already had. "These crystals are volatile and are not to be tampered with. If you find a crystal, do not attempt to move it. Physical contact alone is enough to destabilize them and magic manipulation is not advised. The MSAD has already lost one pony to vaporization. We do not wish to see this tragedy repeated."

Everyone sighed a bit in relief when Etcher finally stepped down.

"Thank you, Senior Mage," the older stallion said, trying his best to hold his forced smile as he took back the podium. "Now, if you look in your packets you'll find a roster along with a map of Manehattan. Our friends with the local restorative project, Project Reclamation, have been gracious enough to allow us to use their base of operations as a staging area for our own. This operation will consist of six teams of five. Each team has been assigned to search several sectors within the city. Study this map. Commit your sectors and the ones surrounding them to memory. Furthermore, each team will be provided with a device capable of detecting the unique magical signature of these crystal fragments. Once you receive a reading, you are to mark your location and attempt to confirm the presence a crystal. The mages will take over from there. Any questions?"

Everyone just sat in silence, either reading over the rosters or studying the maps they had been given.

"Good. Get your gear packed and assemble with your assigned teams at the train platform. We move out in an hour. You are dismissed."

"So, I guess they're not going to tell everyone what these artifacts are then?" Bastion said as everypony began to get up and leave.

"I can understand why'd they want to keep it a secret," Paper said. "What I don't get, is why you're here, Nightfall. Aren't you supposed to be retired now? What happened to settling down?"

Nightfall sighed in annoyance. "For now, let's just say Initiative command screwed me over and get on with this."

"You got," Paper assured. "We can just focus on the mission for now."

"Yeah, looks like we all got matched up together in team one, along with Foxtrot and someone named Star Mist," Bastion said as he looked over the roster.

"Who's Star Mist?" Paper asked.

"Beats me," Bastion answered with a shrug. They both looked to Nightfall who simply returned the gesture.

"I'm sure we'll meet them at the platform," Nightfall said. "Let's get our gear together."

Before the three could make their way to the door, they were suddenly confronted by Senior Mage Etcher himself, who was now staring at the group in a cold analytical way that put Nightfall on edge. "Team One, correct?" Etcher began, without even so much as a hello. "You're the ones who found our original *ahem* "artifact" if I'm not mistaken."

"That's us," Paper declared proudly. "It is a real honor to be working with you, sir. I've admired the work that the MSAD has done ever since I was a little colt."

"You must be Paper Cut," Etcher replied. "I'm glad to see that some rangers have taken a proactive interest in magic. Your file made it very clear that your magical ability has contributed greatly to your team's continued success in the field. The Archmage will be happy to know you're on board with this mission."

Paper beamed with delight at hearing the mage's words.

"You read our files," Nightfall stated.

"I did, indeed," Etcher answered. "I must say, I'm glad to have such a diverse set of ponies on this mission. It will be interesting to see how certain..." He looked to Nightfall, "skillsets contribute to this operation as a whole. I'll be sure to keep an eye on you, especially. I'm not exactly fond of the idea of letting criminals in on such delicate matters. I'm trusting that none of our instruments will end up on the black market."

At this point in his life, Nightfall was more than used to these types of jokes. Though it was not appreciated, he would not have been bothered by it had something not clearly been off about the exchange. Etcher's lips did not curl, any trace of a smile being painfully vacant from the unicorn's expression. He was serious. "Well screw you too," Nightfall thought to himself. His own gaze narrowed at the mage. "I'm sure."

Suddenly it seemed as if there was a great tension in the air between the two and for a moment one could have cut it with a knife, but before anything else could be said, Etcher simply smiled. "Well, this has been a pleasure, but I shouldn't keep you any longer. There is work to be done after all." And with that, he took his leave.

Nightfall huffed, before turning and beginning to make his way to the door.

"Something tells me you don't like him," Bastion said to Nightfall, as he began to follow the thestral.

"Yeah, well something tells me that he doesn't like me," Nightfall answered.

"You guys just need to get to know each other," Paper said. "I'm sure once you guys have worked together a little, all those bumps will be smoothed out."

"Pfft," Nightfall replied, blowing hot air. "I know his type. Everything he wanted to know about us was in our files. I hope you like the photo in that yellow folder, because that's what he'll be basing all his judgments off of."

"Oh come one, man..."

"No, Paper," Nightfall harshly refused. "I'm not just going to just "come on." Let's get to the platform and get this over with."

Paper and Bastion both looked to each other as Nightfall took off towards the door. It was clear to them that frustration had already set in and that he needed some space to cool off. Once they got the show on the road, he'd settle into his role and things would be fine. Hesitating only for a second, they each followed their thestral brother out the door to get their equipment.

The group was now on the train platform amongst a few other teams who were preparing to head out as they waited for their train to arrive. Every so often, a train would come and go, dumping off teams fresh back from a completed mission and gathering a new one to take their place. The track that the current group waited at had been kept clear of any traffic so that the train could arrive to pick them up.

All their gear had been gathered in large duffle bags. Guns, ammo, blades, special equipment. It was all there. As they waited, they did some last minute checks.

Bastion habitually and repetitively opened and closed a lighter with an audible click each time. He finally got bored and laid back on his own bag, which made a lousy cushion, but worked fine as a back support. Paper read a copy of the day's newspaper, a small frown forming on his face as he found that there was nothing interesting going on other than the same boring junk that got written when he was away from the office.

"Are you guys team one?" a mare suddenly asked the group, catching each of their attention.

"That's us," Paper greeted happily with a hoof shake. "You must be Star Mist."

"That's me," her happily toned voice came from beneath the hard-case helmet she already wore. It was worn and full a scratches, a testament to the number of assignments she had clearly been on. Her snow suit was equally as worn, but seemed to be well maintained. This was a good sign in each of the team member's books, being a clear indication of experience and discipline.

Other than that, her suit configuration was remarkably standard. Basic utility pouches on her right side, a small med-kit on her lower back with a holster for a standard issue flare carbine, a relatively simple flare based weapon, just above that, and the Initiative patches on her shoulders. She appeared to have seven ammo canisters along her left side. She rounded out her kit with a sidearm and extra magazines. The rest of her molle was left mostly open on the chest and abdomen. All in all, her loadout was a well rounded one, if not a bit lack luster, and despite the fact that she seemed to have no clear specialization in mind.

Nightfall himself tended to focus on versatility in a more close to medium range engagement. Four incendiary grenades, at least twenty something throwing knives, and a few other surprises in his bag of tricks, along with a more personalized version of the flare carbine. Bastion was a completely different story. He was the big man with the big gun and enough ammo to unthaw a city block. The MK-V Flare Rifle was a bit larger and heavier than the MK-IV and most definitely less versatile than the MK-VI or MKVII, but the earth pony insisted that it hit harder and truer than any other version in the armory. Paper preferred to rely on magic, something he had excelled in ever since joining up with the Initiative and getting into offensive spells, though he did carry an arming sword as well. He also carried all the extra medical supplies. Lastly was Foxtrot. As an accomplished marksman, he tended to go relatively light on gear, usually carrying just ammo and a precision rifle. It was very specialized role, but invaluable when needed.

On top of their own personalized gear, each member of the team carried their own med-kit, a comfortable sidearm with extra magazines, and a few other tools. Any and all blades, with the exception their utility knives, bore fire enchantments that burned through windigos like hot knives through butter.

"Welcome to the family," Bastion greeted the new mare. "I'm Bastion. That's Paper Cut, Foxtrot, and Nightfall," he continued, pointing to each respective pony. "Nightfall's team leader, so he'll be calling the shots."

"It's good to meet all of you," Star Mist said.

Suddenly, one of the gates at the far end of the platform opened, allowing flurries of snow to blow in along with a chilling breeze as the train rolled into the station. It was specially marked with long blue stripes, designating it as one of the MSAD's.

"That's our ride," Nightfall began, as he gathered up his bags along with the rest of his team.

"It's about time," Foxtrot complained.

As the doors opened, everypony filed into the train cars, noticing that the inside was nicer than the usual transports. They were much nicer actually. There were actual chairs instead of benches, with enough room for one to stretch out if they wanted to. Of course, this resulted in the train being longer, but it was a welcome change.

Paper smiled. "Now this is what I'm talking about," he said as he flopped down into one of the padded chairs. They were soft too. Working with the MSAD certainly had it's perks. Once everyone was situated and the door finally closed, a few ponies entered from the rear and began handing out fruit and refreshments. "Oh, yeah. I could get used to this."

Not even an hour later, the train was moving at a quick pace, already beyond the outer walls of the capital and out into the frozen unknown.

Before the train had even passed through the first checkpoint, Paper had fallen asleep in his chair. It reclined. The thing actually reclined. They had been doing trains wrong for the entire time they were in the Initiative. This was how you were supposed to travel. As for Bastion, the earth pony was just looking out the window, watching snow as they passed.

There were a few other teams in the same car as them. The others were packed full of the other teams along with the mages and what seemed like an exuberant amount of support personnel. What they were for, Nightfall didnt know, but what he did know was that there were a few too many ears around for what he needed to say.

He looked over to his right where Star Mist was sitting in the seat next to him. From under her helmet, he couldn't tell if she had fallen asleep or not, so decided to give her a pat on the shoulder to get her attention. She hadn't been, and responded accordingly.

"Yes?"

"We need to step outside for a moment," Nightfall said as he stood and grabbed his helmet.

Star Mist suddenly grew tense at the implications at was going on. She did her best to hide her nervousness, but the fact that Nightfall did not notice it did little to put her at ease.

As the two headed to the front of the train car, Nightfall signaled for Foxtrot to follow. He too grabbed his helmet and put it on before stepping outside with the others.

As Star Mist noticed her temperature gage drop from a comfortable 70 degrees down to a frigid -2, she couldn't help but think to herself how grateful she was that she wasnt the one who had to maintain the rails beneath them. The combination of the cold and stress made basic enchantments a must, but recharging those enchantments, or even replacing the rails when needed, was no doubt a tedious job. And that was on top of the dangers that they already faced with being out in the tundra.

The three of them stood there a moment, each fully covered in their snow suits, as the door closed behind them. Nightfall checked the door to the next car to make sure no one would interrupt them. Once he was certain they were alone, he began.

"So what's up?" Foxtrot asked after they had all plugged in their radios so that they could hear each other over the constant 'click-clack' of the wheels against the track.

"Do either of you know anything about this mission beyond the briefing?" Nightfall asked casually.

Both Foxtrot and Star Mist just shook their heads no.

Nightfall swore inwardly, not entirely sure if he should be doing this or not. "You can probably tell by the fact I'm asking that they didnt exactly tell you everything. Hell, I dont even know if I'm supposed to tell you any of this so this stays between us."

"So what is it then?" Foxtrot asked. "This whole operation is some kind of front for something else? I'm guessing we're actually all lab rats and the mages are here to study how well we play scavenger hunt in a dead sector."

Nightfall couldn't help but smile, but shook his head regardless. "No. It's the artifacts. They didnt say what they were during the briefing."

"I noticed."

"Now that you mention it, it would be nice to know exactly what we're looking for," Star Mist added. "Or why they're important."

"That's above our pay-grade," Foxtrot reminded with some annoyance at the secrecy.

"We found the first one," Nightfall began. "Paper, Bastion, and I. It wasn't an artifact. 'It' was a 'she'." He sighed. There was no real easy way to drop this kind of bombshell announcement on someone, so he was just going to say it. "What I'm about to say is going to sound ridiculous, but that spell they mentioned? It didn't just scatter pieces of the focusing crystal, it scattered the casters as well."

"You're saying that this spell shot a bunch wizards forward in time." Foxtrot concluded.

Nightfall shrugged. "She was a statue when we found her, but turned back to normal upon physical contact. So forward in time or stuck in a stone shell for the last thousand years. I don't know which one."

"So this is a rescue op then," Star Mist said. "We're trying to find the other casters."

"Yes."

"I dont see how this changes things," Foxtrot pointed out. "If they're trapped in stone, then finding the crystals is still our best bet."

"Unless they're not trapped in stone anymore," Star Mist thought out loud.

"This whole damn thing better not be a wild goose chase," Foxtrot said somewhat angrily. "How are we supposed narrow down they're location if they're moving!?"

"We dont know that she's been thawed out yet, Foxtrot," Nightfall said. "We're just thinking out loud here."

Foxtrot hmphed, clearly not happy with the current situation.

"She?" Star Mist questioned.

Nightfall nodded. "There were four of them, is what I've been told. They each controlled a different aspect of the spell, but they weren't just normal mages. They were alicorns. The alicorns. Apparently, they were trying to repair some magical cosmic force or something. It didnt work and they ended up here. That's what Celestia told us at least."

He went on to describe the events that had transpired before stumbling upon her in the mine. Both Star Mist and Foxtrot had gone quiet upon hearing this revelation and bounced back and forth between trying to listen and keeping track of the questions that were stacking up in their heads.

"Hold on," Star Mist interrupted. "An alicorn princess? Weren't they gods or something?"

"Yeah," Nightfall confirmed. He swore that in that instant, he could see Star Mist's eyes light up from under her tinted visor. "But with like a lowercase 'g'. Beyond that, I know about as much you guys."

"What was she like?" Star Mist asked suddenly, all too entranced by the story.

"She was generous. Soft-spoken, but she had this authority about her that made just about everypony around her melt like chocolate in her hooves. It was actually kind of unnerving. She was also really tall."

"Are the legends true? Can she can control the sun?"

"She claimed to able to," Nightfall answered, "but her magic was burnt out when we found her. It will probably take a while for her to recover."

"Sounds a little too convenient if you ask me," Foxtrot said suspiciously. "Anyways, I'm freezing my ass off out here." And without so much as a farewell, he turned around marched right back into the warmth of the train car.

"Well, he sure is blunt... and kind of rude," Star Mist said, only to tense up when she realized that he had probably heard her through his headset. Foxtrot made no indication that he had, much to Star's relief. He more than likely had already turned off his radio.

"That's just his way," Nightfall began, "I wouldn't worry too much. He's good at his job and he'll watch your back."

"Yeah..." Star Mist hesitated, but went back to the conversation only moments later. "So, about these alicorns..."

The conversation ended up not being too long of one, seeing as Nightfall himself had little information on what was actually going on. Naturally, the subject matter shifted from being about the job to more personal matters. The two had not yet met properly and now was as good a time as any for them to get acquainted. Nightfall actually found a great deal of enjoyment in this. Star Mist was certainly excited about this assignment, but in a much more calm way than others. She had a relaxing way of speaking and seemed more than comfortable being casual around him. This was good.

They had only stayed outside for a few moments, being able to go back in when the conversation had switched to much lighter and far less secretive topics. Bastion inevitably joined in along with Paper when he finally woke up. In a way, it was strange. Nightfall had actually missed this to some degree. The comradery was only strengthened by the dangers that they all faced together. For now, it was enough of a distraction from the fact that he was here involuntarily.

Manehattan. The lost gem of the east. The city was practically ancient at this point, but many of it's structures still stood tall and true despite the harsh elements. It was clear that the ponies who built this place, built things to last. Though many of the towers were weathered down, their windows having been shattered long ago and their insides gutted by the chilling wind, they still portrayed an image of power. It was haunting though. Like the skeleton of a god still looking down at the world and judging from above.

According to many history books, the city had been in the middle of a technological revolution before its decline and inevitable downfall. Most of this had been destroyed by the weather over the course of hundreds of years. But down, in the depths of the deepest vaults, below the snow, below the ice, it was rumored that treasures and technologies beyond ones wildest dreams lay waiting, beckoning anyone brave enough to claim them.

"Oh, bullshit," Foxtrot claimed. "There's no way any of that stuff could be considered treasure. Outdated junk, maybe. But I don't believe for one moment that some machine that can cure cancer or a bionic microwave oven is hidden away in some vault."

"What makes you so sure, Foxtrot?" Paper asked. "Some of those corporation put a lot of money into research and development and just as much keeping their inventions safe. There could be all kinds of things hidden below those buildings that we dont know about."

"Fifty bits says we dont find anything worth while."

"You're on."

The two shook on it, before going back to simply watching the city grow closer and closer as they approached. A long time ago, the train would have gone over the bridge and straight into the city itself, where the largest of any station in Equestria waited. Now, no sane pony would set a hoof on that rickety old bridge, no less send any kind of locomotive over it. To do so would have been suicide.

The bridge was large and ominous, it's horseshoe shaped supports being a sign of a better time when engineers had the time and resources to pull off such feats. The marvel now barely stood, crumbling and wasting away, letting out terrible wails of rusted iron on rusted iron as loose pieces rubbed against each other under the influence of the wind and hundreds of years of stress. The structure was on its last legs and soon it would collapse entirely, meeting its watery grave in the frozen river below.

Fortunately, the train had been divorced from this suicidal route long ago and the rails guided it away. About half an hour after the city had initially come into view, the train pulled into a station that was disproportionately smaller than the outpost that surrounded it. Most outposts in the tundra were small compounds. The standard setup usually included a TRST station, utilities, greenhouse, and some form of lodging. This outpost was much more like a small town of its own.

From the window, Star Mist could see dozens of ponies going about their business, most being agents for the local restorative project, though there were a few civilians in the mix. If she had to take a guess, she'd say there were about 400 ponies living here, mostly project staff and their families.

When the train finally came to a stop, everypony filed out onto the platform, each of them being more than ready to get out of the train cars they had been cooped up in for nearly two days of travel. From the platform, the ranger teams were directed to an area on the edge of the residential district where a series of cabins stood, seemingly for the purpose of accommodating guests. There was just enough for each team to have their own.

"Tops! Called it!" Paper declared, throwing his bags on the upper bunk of one of the four bunk beds in the cabin.

"No one cares," Foxtrot groaned in annoyance.

Everyone was jet lagged from the trip and consequently they had all been given the rest of the day to rest before their real mission began in the morning. They had an hour to get settled and familiarize themselves with where they would be staying. Then they would assemble to go over the equipment that would help them locate the crystal fragments. It had all been shipped over, along with a few MSAD mages, a few days in advance. After that, the few remaining hours of daylight would be theirs for whatever they wanted to do. Not that there was much to do. The town was severely lacking in recreational activities.

"We could stop by the labs," Paper Cut suggested, "maybe see what kinds of things the researchers are working on."

"I wouldn't mind going," Star Mist replied as she deposited her own bags on the bottom bunk below Nightfall.

The thestral jumped down from his perch. "Oh why the hell not? Not like there's anything better to do."

Nightfall looked over the large scanner that he now held in his hooves. It was similar to the small one that he usually had with him, with the exception that this one had about a hundred more buttons and switches, none of which he knew the function of. "Where's the power button on this damn thing?" he asked, turning it over in his hooves.

"Please, be careful!" the MSAD assistant warned. "This is very sensitive equipment."

"If it wont survive me turning it over, it isnt going to survive out in the city." Nightfall passed the piece of tech off to Paper, who had always had much better luck with these sorts of things.

The teams had all gathered together in the outpost's assembly hall. From there, they were instructed to gear up and head outside where they were each assigned an assistant from the MSAD to teach them how to use the equipment required to locate the crystal shards.

Paper looked over the scanner closely, taking note of each button's position and label. Following the assistant's instructions, he found the power button on the back and proceeded to boot up the piece of tech. It proceeded to make a series of hums and buzzes as the screen came to life, displaying a list of incomprehensible codes that scrolled up across the screen before there was even a chance to read them. Then the screen fell dark for a few seconds before loading up what appeared to be a start menu.

"Very good," the assistant began. "Now, this system is very sensitive, but also very simple." He pointed to an area on the side where several scroll wheels and switches were highlighted in yellow. "Go ahead and flip the first two switches."

Paper did as he was instructed. A series of lines, each with a corresponding number and a unit of measure that he did not recognize, appeared on the screen. The MSAD assistant pointed to another button, which Paper hit.

The screen now displayed several squiggly line that ran horizontally, each vibrating at different frequencies. "This scanner will pick up both active and leftover energies from spells and magical phenomenon." He pulled out a tennis ball and proceeded to levitate it up and down slowly. Each of the lines consequently jumped to different values. When the assistant cut off his magic, the lines all dropped back to zero.

"When your search begins tomorrow, these machines will be calibrated to pick up the unique signature of the crystals, but for now they'll pick up any kind of magic so that we can practice. When you get a reading in the field, you will need to mark your location and write down all numbers on the screen exactly as they appear."

From there, the scanner was passed around the group so that each pony was able to get a feel for it, the last of which was Nightfall. The MSAD assistant seemed to watch him much more closely than the others, which only annoyed him when the unicorn started literally watching from right over his shoulder.

The next few hours after that were spent with each of the ranger team wandering aimlessly around an open area where a few "magic hot spots," as the MSAD mages referred to them, had been created for the rangers to find. Sure enough, from time to time, the lines on the screen would jump around sporadically and the numbers would be marked down before moving on. This was repeated several times by each member of the team until they had all completed the training in a way that the MSAD found acceptable.

It was unanimously decided though that Paper should be the one to take care of the scanning duties once they were in the fields, seeing as he seemed to have the greatest understanding of how all this worked, along with the most interest in getting to hold a machine that he described as "a wonderful little invention."

And so, with some daylight still left to spare, training was completed and all ranger teams were dismissed for the day. That is, all but Nightfall, Paper, Bastion, Foxtrot, and Star were dismissed. Given what they knew, this came as no surprise to most of them.

The MSAD mages waited for a moment for the rest of the teams to get out of range of earshot before continuing. "First off, we are happy to have you with us, Team One."

Nightfall rolled his eyes. Foxtrot didnt care much for the formalities either.

"There are some details regarding this mission that you are not yet aware of. Foxtrot. Star Mist. Have you two been filled in on what it is that we are doing here beyond what you were told in briefing?"

"Yes, sir," Star answered somewhat nervously as Foxtrot merely responded with a nod.

If the mages were displeased with this, they didn't show it. Instead, they simply continued. "Then we are sure there are no end to your questions. Once all is said and done, we will be happy to answer those, but for the time being this following information is all that can be disclosed. You will all want to hear it."

They had all known that something was being hidden from them and they were sure that the other teams were probably picking up on it as well, but now was not the time to complicate things by getting involved in whatever motivations the MSAD had for being so hush hush about it all. They simply listened.

"We know which of the alicorns we are looking for here," the mage began. "Her is name is Princess Luna and we know that she is here in this city because she made contact with Princess Celestia through her dreams."

Dreams? Certainly, no one in the group had expected this and it showed.

"We know it sounds strange," the mage explained, "but in her own time, Princess Luna was a very gifted dream walker. We believe that she used the last of her magic to contact Princess Celestia in her dreams. Knowing this, we can reasonably say two things. One, when you awakened Princess Celestia, Princess Luna was also awoken. And two, finding the crystal shard will not lead us directly to Princess Luna."

"So why use them as reference points?" Paper asked after allowing this information to sink in.

"There is no other option. These crystal shards will lead us to the site where Princess Luna was sent, but there is a chance that she will no longer be there. In her message, the princess made reference to an individual that she believed to be a potential threat, someone she referred to as The Warden. We have done a search and found no information on this name. Whoever this Warden is, he or she is not to be trusted. The princess made this clear."

"You think this guy has Luna?" Nightfall asked.

"There is a possibility. When the princess's original location is found, a team of mages will be tasked in tracking her down. You will provide support during this phase of the operation. Paper Cut," the mage suddenly said, catching the young unicorn's attention. "Given your... personal experiences with Princess Celestia, we would request that you lead this particular phase and act as the greeter for our official introduction."

Paper's ears shot up and his eyes went wide. Sure, he had had several long interview sessions with Celestia, but never imagined that that meant he would be the one addressing Princess Luna on behalf of all of Equestria. "I-I... I'd be honored," he stammered. "But, Nightfall. He's usually squad lea-"

"We'll make sure everything goes smoothly," Nightfall interrupted. "Is there anything else?"

"Only one thing," the mage said. "All this information is to remain a secret. You will carry out the mission as previously instructed and be briefed when the time for the final phase has come. If there are no questions, you are dismissed."

There were no questions and the team left in silence.

"We are putting a lot of trust in that thestral," Etcher suddenly spoke up along side his peers once Team One was out of sight. "I do not feel that this is wise."

"There is little reward without risk," the highest ranking among them answered. "Besides. That one will not betray us. Of this I am certain."

"Yes, of course, Archmage," Etcher replied. "My apologies. I just hope for Equestria's sake that this all goes according to plan."

Author's Notes:

I've probably written, rewritten, edited, and re-edited this chapter five or six times now trying to get it just right. Chapter 7 will be out before Christmas. I'm hoping to have Chapter 8 out before February.