Six and a half miles into the sky always had the best view. At such a height the clouds were well below the peak of the mountain. Perhaps if there had been clouds they would have inhibited the sparkling vista that spanned all the tundra between the Crystal Mountains and Mount Strygon. The jutting and snowless peak was an oddity this far north on the planet. The mass of rock had once been an active volcano, now lying dormant for over two millennia. No lava flows, no eruptions, just centuries of snow boiled off into steam by the still hot magma deep below. It made the great grey fire peak a boring place, as far as volcanology was concerned.

But its ridged top provided the best place to survey the quiet, desolate landscape.

Snap!

Guardian Angel lowered the camera he had brought from his face. There were few beings in the world that could appreciate the beauty of the empty expanse of icy ground, but he was one of them. The empty sky allowed the peaks of the Middle Crystal Range to be seen flawlessly from his vantage point, even though they were several hundred miles away. At such a distance they were only mere bumps of shimmering ice and snow. Of the lumpy stacks out there largest one was Mount Everhoof, dwarfing it sisters. The tallest and largest rock in the whole world, the immense mountain was his next destination.

The stallion drew in a deep breath of cold alpine air. It almost managed to burn his lungs. Although it tried quite valiantly, his body was designed for this height, the thin, ice-filled air could do little to hamper his breathing or flight. Many millennia of genetic preening by his ancestors had gifted him a most durable and infallible flesh. He mused that it was fate that he was born out of the era his forefathers had ruled. Who else was fit to deal with the recent strange happenings across the world?

Stashing the camera into the flight pack on his back, Guardian Angel looked over the vacant tundra with his eyes alone. He scanned the distant horizon to his left, east. Dark malignant clouds were building there, slowly pushing west across the emptiness of the sky he had just taken a picture of.

The clouds were the shroud of the Windegoes he had been stalking for the last day. The frosty creatures could fly just faster than he could and cutting them off had proven a difficult task. He did not mind, he rather enjoyed a challenge when it came to chasing prey. Like most dark creatures that he feasted upon, Windegoes posed a negligible threat to his health. In general, even things like Nyx had become mere trifles to him. That was simply what happened when you were pretty strong before you were forced to consume the dark mistress of agony or die in her clutches. He paused and wondered how it had come to this: times and situations notwithstanding. He marveled at how he had reached this point, realistically he should not have been alive.

Recent events had proven it abundantly clear that the luck that had granted him salvation in the Cave had a purpose. Although a demon he had been born events had pushed him into becoming something much different than he had ever intended, or even imagined. Strangely, he felt at peace with that turn of events. His assumption of Nyx’s power had put him in the position to change the world for the better, and to do it without becoming a full-blown tyrannt. It had come with drawbacks, however, such as an even more voracious desire to consume other demons. And, of course, increased difficulty hiding the fact that he was decidedly not a pony.

Thankfully, out this far from civilization there was nothing to restrict him from using all of his “gifts.” His fangs hung pleasantly unrestricted and unhidden from his lips. While he could not see his reflection but he knew for certain his pupils were slits. He looked down at his hooves. His regular flesh gave way in several cracks up each hoof and leg. Orange, raw magic energy boiled about in the fissures contained by his will and body. His wings still had all their feathers but around them danced flames, the fire ethereal but as much of his body as his chest.

Putting aside the the self-examination, Guardian Angel looked back to his quarries. The Windegos had made a little progress, but seemingly had adjusted course slightly more to the south. The snow-spirit-horses were smart, and did not particularly like getting eaten, but he doubted they were reacting to him. He had already been led on quite the chase. However, after some careful planning he was ahead of them and above them; there was no escape this time. While the beasts could hold speeds longer than he could, in a close encounter he had more “sprint” speed and could overtake them for short interceptions while in the air.

Grughhwaahhlll! His stomach audibly complained with a deep gurgle at his hesitation to take to the air. The noise echoed in the otherwise silent environment. He rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I hear ya, I hear ya.” he softly grumbled to himself.

As he stood idly, a frozen breeze wafted up the familiar scent of Luna, making him smile with vacant relief and nostalgia. The scarf she had insisted he take had managed to retain every bit of the mare’s sultry smell, even after this sordid affair with the Frozen North. Besides his pack and the its contents, the scarf was the only thing he had with him. He longed to see her again. Of late her presence had been required for him to relax. The last month of dangerous research and archeology would have been much more tolerable with Luna at his side. Instead, putrid was the best way to describe his experience. The excursion had included several encounters with strange and malevolent snow-beasts, near starvation, a recent, particularly carnal visit from his long-dead forefathers. Included had been just the smallest amounts of success to keep him going until he had found the key to all the mysteries surrounding Gusty Twilight’s past.

Now, that was a mare who was dangerous.

Beautiful, skilled, persuasive, powerful, and crazy all wrapped into a slim angry teal package.

Given the original readings his Thaumatic Magic Level Detector had produced, he remained surprised that Gusty had not managed to inadvertently cause the end of times. But with the new information he possessed Guardian Angel was certain he and Luna would be able to find a solution to Gusty’s troubled and broken mind. Most interestingly, during his little family reunion it seemed that the force that ailled the mare possessed some form of sentience. The realization had confirmed the validity of the material he had found. The entity, Gusty, the Shades of his ancestors, and himself had momentarily crashed together in an event that he only narrowly retained control over, before stopping. What Gusty had tried back in Canterlot continued to have adverse effects on her mind, but that would have to be addressed when he saw her next.

His thoughts ceased pacing. There was no use contemplating the situation without the mare in question nearby nor while he still had work to do today. He was already quite late returning home as it stood.

I need to kill the Windegoes.

I need to get to the top of Mount Everhoof before sunset.

I need to arrive at Canterlot before midnight.

Guardian Angel extended his wings to their full length. The half-flesh, half-magic appendages beat down on the paper-thin density of the air. He pumped hard to gain lift and quickly felt his hooves leave the rock of the mountain.

Within in seconds he was flying on a perfect interception course with the west moving Windegoes. He was traveling a true southwest while his quarries flew a lazy west-southwest. He started to focus on speed just as soon as his bearing was set. He half-pumped his wings in perfect rhythm, conserving energy and motion. Guardian Angel subconsciously tucked his front legs up against his chest to lower his drag, he also leaned his head and neck in line with his spine, furthering the effect. His already fast pace quickened, every ten seconds a mile buzzed away.

Guardian Angel pushed his body harder. It was a mile every five seconds now and he was not even near his limit . Yet, the best approach to slaying demons or other devils that he had been fatefully tasked with destroying by the Universe at large required employing the most powerful and surgical strikes possible, first. If he was to have the appropriate strength to render the Windegoes immediately defunct it was better to cruise at speeds that were only slightly uncomfortable, instead of his absolute fastest speeds.

About thirty minutes passed and he was much closer to the great billowing stormclouds that the Windegoes pulled with them wherever they went. He could easily make out their outlines, even their white glowing eyes in the bright midday sun. He was about to start heaping on all of his speed in the skies when the creatures suddenly turned true south. At the distance he knew they could not see him, especially with the sun at his back. He could only imagine that something else had drawn their attention, but such an explanation begged its own answer. What had pulled them south?

Windegoes fed on the negative emotions of ponies and other sentient creatures of the world. Otherwise they simply flew about like lost pets looking for hosts foolish enough to wander past the Crystal Mountains. Guardian Angel knew their ability to “feel” life-forms had a much shorter range than his, and he remained well outside of their detection. He had picked them up on his “life-sense” long ago, before reaching the halfway point between Mount Strygon and their current position next to the mountains.

However, if they had found somepony, or something, he would need to find out who it was that was crazy enough to venture out here. He kept his heading in order to get around the Windegoes’ cloud trail. He wanted to look at where they were going and he lacked the x-ray vision needed to see through the thick vapors they left. However, he quickly got around the annoying clouds. Looking down at the lines of the enormous conifer trees that inhabited the mountains, Guardian Angel surveyed the land. The trees were hundreds of feet tall and sometimes that big in width. They utterly dwarfed everything except the enormous mountains and valleys they grew in. Motion caught his hyper-sensitive eyes.

He squinted to activate his eagle sight. Few ponies still possessed the ability to literally zoom in like birds of prey could. But it was a mechanism of survival that had existed in the blood of pegasi since the dawn of time. His enhanced vision better made out the shape of a pony. A pegasus by the look of it. The pony was trying desperately to fly but seemed either too tired or too cold to manage it. Guardian Angel focused in harder applying all of the magic stored in his body to extend his life-sense to try and find out if he could save the pony before they froze to death.

The instant he attempted to reach out to the mind of the pony he recognized it. Shocked, he cursed with his own first name, but not surprised at how he had missed her presence. When someone else’s mind suddenly becomes the completely same as your own for a few seconds you tend to restrict your higher level psychic functions for a few days.

Not that it mattered now, what mattered was how she had got here but the answer was beyond him. Why she was here was even more of a mystery, but now as he focused on teal speck-pony turned her head immediately in his direction. She recognized him too. Distance clearly no longer a factor, Guardian Angel could feel emotions rolling off the mare: there was confusion, anger, and...relief? It poorly covered up the anxiety and fear that she had, making a gentle smile spread across his lips. Even if she could not see it, he knew she could feel him trying to comfort her.

Clouds suddenly obscured his vision of the prodigal Gusty Twilight. The Windegoes were going to feast upon her as she froze there alone and scared deep in their blizzard…

The Windegoes are going to kill Gusty!

Of all the things in the world that were allowed to happen, Gusty’s death was not one of them. Not so long as he had life in his body, nothing would harm that mare, regardless of how she felt about him.

Guardian Angel instantly pushed his body to make up for the Windegoes’ proximity to Gusty. He forwent all restraint and could actually feel the air being ripped apart has he entered a sharp dive and completely shattered the sound barrier. He could not hear over the sound of the air rushing past him, he could not even see. But it did not matter, his sense of smell and his life-sense were more than enough to guide him. With his current speed he quickly crossed the distance. The scent of the Windegoes’ plasma made his blood boil into a frenzy. They were now only a about thirty seconds away from him and already circling Gusty, who’s fading life-presence stood defiantly amongst them.

Even with his natural protection from cold he could feel the temperature in their evil-snow-tempest drop significantly as he entered its outer perimeter. He began adjusting his flight angle as much as he could at his speed to intercept one of the Windegoes. Ten seconds out, he felt his mouth drooling in anticipation. Now in the very center of the blizzard, the air felt completely frozen, even to him, he had nary a notion of how Gusty was still standing, But he could feel her, her pulse racing as he approached. Five seconds out. He opened his razor maw.

Four. He concentrated on the motions of the blissfully ignorant Windegoes.

Three. Target chosen, he made last moment flight changes.

Two. He slammed his front legs forward, to increase is drag.

One. Guardian Angel felt pleasure rise and heat his body as his jaws connected with the exterior plasma of the ice-ghost.

Zero. The Windego’s heart and icy blood exploded into his mouth with delicious flavor and ecstasy.

The small amount of flesh that the spectral beings carried was quickly chewed and swallowed as he made a full supersonic loop. The motion naturally slowed him down; allowing him to re-aim his body at a new target. Guardian Angel repeated the motion for the next Windego. Neither the first nor the second had even gotten a chance to make noise. It was the third and most unlucky of the ghastly trio to notice his presence.

Trying to contain his malevolence was a task that was much like trying to save a sinking ship. The compounding stress of his recent expedition and Gusty’s life on the line, proved capable of overwhelming his sense of restraint. Channeling his hatred and disgust for all creatures that bathed in the darkness, Guardian Angel pushed his very consciousness into the Windego. It was the quickest way to eliminate the creature, only by virtue of his mercy and shame had he not used his full strength upon entering this fight. The viscera and sensation of eating other demons’ souls made him let go of a more holy approach and side for the use of his dark power. For his body was no longer his most powerful weapon. Ever since the fateful night in the cave, his most powerful weapon was now his mind, his very will.

There had been only one time before he had let loose his full capabilities. This was the second. The first, in Canterlot, over two years ago, to show the very same mare he was trying to save what he truly was, so she could understand what she had unwittingly created. He had wanted her to understand, to realize how wonderfully stubborn she was for standing up to him. He pushed the thought away and internally remarked that Gusty was again present for his display. He wondered vaguely if she could feel what he was about to do, who was he kidding? She definitely could. However, she had no one to blame but herself for that problem.

Kneel.

The Windego bent to his will instantly. The lesser creature floated down to the ground and awaited his arrival. He graced it promptly, slowing down and landing so quickly it actually strained his wings.

Suffer.

The Windego bleated as its mind entered the pain of being torn apart. He did not give it much chance to continue. Guardian Angel plunged his mouth deep into its chest, piercing the plasma of its body. He could feel its hyper-reacting heart shivering, instead of beating. Carefully, he slid his fangs over the heart and cut the cords to the rest of the Windego. He clamped his mouth shut, and pulled his snout from the beast’s chest.

The blue, ice-blood of the creature sprayed up onto his face. The heart in his jaws still beating as he began to devour it. The Windego dissolved into mist its face perpetually twisted in horrendous torment as it passed. The deed complete and his stomach filled, Guardian Angel forcibly beat the frenzy of his anger into submission. He pushed all his power back down into his body. Deeply inhaling and exhaling the iced-air as he did. Behind him, he could feel Gusty approaching through the grey and white blizzard-scape. He had not finished calming himself but it would have to do.

Guardian Angel hastily attempted to wipe the Windego blood from his face. He was only partially successful and instead pulled up his Luna-scented scarf to his face. The endeavor was actually quite comforting, the familiarity of the smell helped him relax. Thanks to that he actually would appear much more pony-like than just a few moments before.The wind howled as he finally was ready to face her. Well, he thought it was the wind. It turned out to be Gusty yelling.

She had run her voice completely horse. He could hardly understand the poor mare.

“Stormwalker!” Her voice howling harshly over the wind. “Stormwalker! I know it’s you!”

Of course she did. There was no way Gusty Twilight would ever mistake him for anything or anyone besides himself. The mare was too steeped in her superstition and hatred to ever let go of her beliefs. In all honesty she was the culprit behind her own continued paranoia, and unfortunately, explaining that to her was going to have to wait. Although Gusty held the sole responsibility for linking their minds, his first priority was to keep her from killing herself. That task had always been made more difficult by the mare herself as she refused to accept that their fates were now intertwined. There was a reason things had happened the way they did, and Guardian Angel chose to believe it was so he could help Gusty. It was a conceited thought that repeatedly had bit him in the ass, as he kept trying to make it truth. He tutted at himself before looking towards where he heard her voice shrieking.

Pushing through the wind and snow, Guardian Angel was amazed Gusty was still even standing up. The incredibly cold air inside the snow tempest actually forced him to focus on keeping his exterior warm with his natural fire. When he finally could see Gusty with his eyes instead of his life-sense Guardian Angel realized how she was surviving.

Around her body the golden glow of her magic deflected or absorbed the snow and wind. She actually looked fairly warm and unhindered by the weather. Her armor looked to be in good condition, even the cobalt skirt she liked so much was present too. However, as he approached her, she started to look more and more disheveled. It was as if Gusty had been in several fights over the last day and had not bathed or bothered to do any form of personal hygiene in over a week. Her mane and tail were matted and covered in pine needles and dirt. Her face was gaunt, her eyes sunken and crazed looking. Her normally glossy coat, drab, absorbed what little light was around it, devoid of it's healthy sheen. Gusty’s wings too were ruffled and messed, it was no wonder she had been unable to fly.

She saw him as he got within a few feet of her, his grey coat having blended into an unwitting camouflage. Gusty rushed against the wind to meet him. That seemed out of place. From what he could sense she was happy to see him. That certainly was out of character. Up close he was finally able to catch her scent on his nose, Guardian Angel was even certain she smelled wrong too. He had little time to think about the implications.

“What are you doing out here!?” She proclaimed, stretching up to meet his eyes. “Oh! What is this nice scarf?” Gusty looped a hoof through its loose knot and pulled it off of his neck and face.

“What are you doi-” He went to protest but Gusty interrupted him.

“I knew it! You were trying to hide your fangs! Gusty grabbed his face with both hooves as she tied the scarf around her neck with her magic.

He immediately slapped her hooves away from his face. “Stop that, I don’t want you touching the-mm-mm-m mmm!”

Gusty slapped her hooves back on his face, this time covering his mouth, making his speech unintelligible.

“You don’t have to hide them from me, Stormy. I think they look cute on you!” She gushed.

Guardian Angel lost any ability to respond. Is she flirting with me?? He double-checked via their connections. She was serious, somehow this was not a ploy. Rendered still, he simply could not believe it. He could only stand there and look back into her deep blue eyes. As he did, he noticed that her left eyelid was twitching on its own. Further evidence that she was not herself. How much time do we have left? He thought absently to himself, still unable to get a grip on Gusty’s behavior

“Oh wow, they are really shiny!- wait is that blood? It is! Oh, just let me clean you up. Can’t have you looking like you have had your face buried in some creature, even if you have!” she cooed.

Vigorously, Gusty began rubbing the sides of his snout and face, even up underneath his eyes. He must have actually gotten more Windego blood on himself than he realized. He was appreciative of her actions, loving the feeling of another pony being in his presence again, especially one he had such a vested interest in. Vacantly, he let her continue her work as her golden shield flickered and then completely disappeared. It was then that the more sensible part of his brain managed to come back online. She was touching Windego blood with her bare flesh! He had to stop her before...

Guardian Angel moved to knock Gusty’s hooves down again. “Ow!” She cried. “That’s really really cold!” She withdrew her hooves from his face. She instantly began shivering. “I-I-I’m real-l-l-ly c-c-cold too!”

Great.

“Damnit, Gusty! This was why I had that on my face. That is Windego blood!” he yelled at her over the wind. Gusty simply continued to shiver in place, snow now unabated by her magic piling on her face and haunches.

“S-s-so. C-cold. Wh-why am I so cold?” Gusty had already lost much of her teal color. Guardian Angel looked her over, painfully aware that he did not have much time to help her.

Perched on her back she had something that might work. A extremely large sleeping bag. It would have to do.

Without ceremony he pulled Gusty against his chest with his left hoof so he could grip her armor fasteners with his mouth. She protested.

“Hey! Wh-what are you d-d-d-d-doing!?”

“Trying to save your life, you idiot!” He found enough buckles to rip the mail off of Gusty. He clenched his mouth down and pulled as hard as he could. The restraints that held the armor on Gusty gave way, immediately pulling away from the mare with ease. Guardian Angel deposited the the armor to the side. Let it be lost in the snow, it was a small price to pay.

“Like I said, you just rubbed your hooves in Windego blood,” he said his mouth no longer full of armor, “It will give any pony foolish enough to touch it instant hypothermia!” Even pressed against him, Gusty felt cold to his touch, her body not returning warmth in the slightest. He extended his neck over her back and began pulling on the straps holding her equipment to her. Though he was only after the sleeping bag he unwittingly pulled the whole pack off of her haunches. Gusty started pitifully struggling.

“Let me g-g-go!” she complained. He was much stronger than her, but not this much stronger. It was clear that her body was starting to freeze from her exposure. “Why are you s-s-striping m-me down!?”

“Because.” he started, whilst harshly pushing the sleeping bag to unroll with his right hoof and wing. “We are going to have to use body heat to keep you from dying. Now open the bag!”

“Oh-ok. A nap would be nice.” she murmured her voice faint. Her golden magic opened the bag, just as soon as it was open Guardian Angel knocked her from hooves into the sleeper. “Hey! What was that for!? I’m t-tired, ok?”

He slapped her across the face with one of his hooves. She did not yell or complain but instead somehow looked both more awake and stunned at the same time. He took the opportunity to slip his wings under her skirt’s waistband and pulled it off her flanks. “Hey! Don’t do- stop!” She complained snapping fully aware at his touch.

He pressed a hoof on her side as she tried to get up, using both his weight and strength to hold her in place.

“No! No! I don’t want this!” She helplessly flailed under his hoof. “I’d rather die, than snuggle with you, demon!” She had reacquired her bad attitude towards him, Guardian Angel sighed with relief. His chances of keeping her alive were better so long as she had a mind left to save.

He kept his weight on her body as he lowered himself down into the sleeping bag. The wind and snow had not abated in the least, and some of the ice was now accumulating in the rather enormous bag. Why she had a sleeping bag this big was beyond Guardian Angel, fate or dumb luck he did not care.

“Get off of me! Just tell Celestia I was d-d-dead when you found me!” Gusty screamed, as he pulled her close to his body and grappled her down with both of his forehooves.

He growled in actual anger, startling Gusty, righteous frustration bursting forth:

“Oh yes, because she’ll believe me” he glowered, his voice harsh. “Do you really think that, you moron?” he mocked, “Oh no! Princess, Princess! I found Gusty dead in the cold!” He pitched his voice up high to further emphasize his exasperation.

He had believed Gusty would at least like to live, even if it meant him saving her. Unfortunately, It seemed he was wrong. Very, very wrong.

“This is as much about saving you as it is about saving myself. I will never live down letting you freeze to death, especially when I can easily prevent it!” He lied on his motivation. He needed her to think it did not matter beyond his life. Anything to keep her in the bag and where he could keep her warm. Besides she was already prone to believe that was how he thought.

“Shut up!” Gusty retorted, slapping back up towards his face with a hoof, but unable to reach him. Guardian Angel unfastened his packs from his sides with the wing he was not laying on and tossed them out of the proximity of the bag. “Close the bag, Gusty.”

“Fuck off.”

Guardian Angel squeezed her against himself harder, and used the leverage to lift her and slide his groundside hoof under her neck. He then pushed her face towards him angrily, not caring if his hoof cut her skin. Once she was forced to look into his eyes; he repeated his demand. “Close. The. Bag. Gusty.”

Her face twisted into an angry look of defeat. She complied. Fastening the sleeping bag fully, she completely cut out the wind and snow, and leaving them only the dying light of her horn that she had used to seal them together in the sack.

Gusty yawned. “Look. If we are gonna do this, I’m n-not g-g-going to be awake for it. It's the only way I’ll put up with being sh-shoved into this spooning session with y-y-you!” Guardian Angel ignored her incredulous attitude, and her statement. She was safe to sleep now that he could feel her body returning warmth to his. She really had almost frozen right then and there. Worse, even if she was alive and her chest was returning heat did not mean the rest of her body was not severely frostbitten. It would take some time before she was able to really move again.

The entire time he had been fighting her into the sleeping bag, Guardian Angel had been trying to use his fiery characteristics to warm up the immediate area around himself so Gusty would have more time before the full onset of the hypothermia. The flames he possessed only burned things when he wanted them to. His regimented control of the ability would allow nothing less. This made him a reliable heat source and would allow this whole spur-of -the-moment plan to work.

Gusty yawned again. “You know. I still rather you h-ahhh!” She gasped and shivered in his grip, but not from the cold. He had unfolded his free wing and slid it over her side, he managed to cover her whole body below her chest, all except the hard portion of her hooves. He kept the pulsing warmth of his abilities working as Gusty fidgeted beneath the appendage.

“I forgot how soft your wings were. And how-” she yawned, “-warm.” He rolled his eyes.

“For somepony so unappreciative of being saved, you should cherish their touch. Now sleep you ingrate.” he snarked back. Guardian Angel swore Gusty started a cute, soft snore the instant he finished his sentence.

Finally able to relax Guardian Angel loosened his grip on Gusty’s torso and placed the frog of his hoof against her ribs. Her heartbeat was steady and calm, it was certainly a good start, compared to how she had been acting. Against his wing he could also feel heat slowly returning to her legs and flanks, another step towards a positive recovery. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brow trying to overcome the sense of foreboding he had been accumulating during the events of today.

What would have happened had I not been here? Why is Gusty out this far from civilization? Why can’t she focus on her well-being? What strange fate that I would find her, could it be that she was searching for me? And if not for me, then who, or what, or where? There has to be something else at work here, why can’t I think of anything? Am I going to be able to save Gusty from herself? Is this just some test? Why is it that everytime I find a new piece to this puzzle three more go missing? How much time do I have left?

Guardian Angel took a deep breath in, trying to ignore his worries. He caught the sudden smell of Luna. He leaned back away from Gusty and looked down at her neck from his position behind her. He had forgotten to remove the scarf she had taken, there it sat in the dark of the sleeping bag, his eyes glowing enough to show the two different shades of blue that striped the cloth.

Reflexively, he nuzzled the cloth to get as much of that soothing scent as he could. Gusty hummed in her sleep and pushed herself closer to him in response to his touch. He quickly pulled his face away feeling the heat of a blush crawl up his back and settle on his cheeks.

He had always found Gusty exceedingly attractive. But the time for such thoughts had long past, he had a job to do, and that was keeping her alive long enough to help her. With all of the research and work he had done Guardian Angel wanted the next few steps in helping Gusty to go as smoothly as possible. Although, given their track record, every time he and Gusty were in the same vicinity as each other, she was only ever trying one of two things. The first was kill him; the other was to seduce him. The latter was merely a means to accomplish the former. Such meant that actually finishing the research into Gusty’s bleak past was difficult. Hopefully, his most recent breakthrough would finally help.

Idly as Gusty snored Guardian Angel shifted his body so he was not directly pressing his stomach to her back. He was feeling especially tired, having not slept in a week’s time. Luna’s scarf was making him relax further and he did not want Gusty to fall prey to his rather active dreaming. Since he usually slept at least once or twice a week this was all the more important, because once he fell asleep he had a terrible time waking up. The world of his dreams and the physical plane would blend together, smells and touch would enter the dream and enhance it. Needless to say he did not want that to happen.

He felt himself yawn as his mind settled. Luna’s scent and Gusty’s soft snoring pulling him down into blissful unconsciousness. There he was free from the worries of the waking world. He gratefully let sleep wash over him, satisfied that he had managed to protect the mare who hated him so, just like he always did.

Next Chapter: Act 3: Chapter 4 - Too Close for Comfort Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 19 Minutes