For over three-hundred years the barrier had stood around Canterlot.  A reassuring symbol of protection and the Princess's love of their citizens, but it wasn't all that stood between Canterlot and the world outside.

Even before the barrier brave ponies devoted themselves to the protection of Canterlot and the ponies within.  Three-hundred years locked inside a magical dome hadn't changed that, and the Royal Guard of Canterlot still stood proud.  Each year a handful of new recruits would rise from among the citizens.

Every year, on the day of the knighting ceremony, a huge festival would be held in the gardens of Canterlot.  A day for everypony to forget their troubles and celebrate the young ponies that would take on the responsibilities of defenders of peace in Canterlot.

"Moonbeam?" a voice interrupted the young pony's thoughts.

Moonbeam put her book away, smiling at the silvery-blue stallion standing on the other side of the counter.

"Still getting caught up in those old stories, huh?" he asked with a bemused smile.

"I can't help it, Talon's been reading these to me since I was a foal," Moonbeam said with a slight blush.

"Oh I'm not complaining, I just thought you'd be more interested in this." the stallion responded, levitating a gift-wrapped box from behind the counter.  "Made exactly to your orders of course."

Moonbeam scurried up to the counter, a huge grin on her face as she shoved her book into one of her saddlebags and pulled out a bag of coins.  With a bit of concentration she managed to pull the drawstring open with her mouth before a light blue aura sank into the bag.

"That should cover the final payment," the shop keep confirmed, floating a few bits from the bag.  "You say congratulations to that brother of yours for me."

"You've got it, and thanks Mr. Silversmith!" Moonbeam responded as she lowered the box and bit purse into her saddlebag.

In just a second she was out the door, Talon giving chase as she started toward the castle.  Barely noticing the dragon, she squinted up at the sky.  The sun wasn't too high yet, but the castle was still far off.

"Moonbeam, slow down!" Talon shouted from behind her, his wings pressed flat against his back.

The unicorn filly couldn't contain her excitement though, racing through the streets of Canterlot.  As the sun shone down on the marble buildings of the city the castle ahead seemed to shine like a jewel, just waiting for the ponies coming to join in the celebration.

Chapter 1

It Takes a Spark (Part 1)

The castle was just as beautiful inside as it appeared on the outside.  Of course it had been for well over a millennium.  The throne room was especially so, with its pristine white floors and expertly crafted stained glass windows.  The centerpiece of the whole room was, of course, the occupant of the golden throne.

The pure white equine was seated on the throne, her tri-colored mane and tail floating in an ethereal breeze.  Her wings were half-folded across her back and her horn shimmered pale-yellow as she levitated the last of a small pile of scrolls in front of her.  She nodded, smiling at the gray unicorn that had delivered them to her as she passed them back.

"Well Captain Rook, it seems you've trained quite a promising batch of recruits this year," Celestia said as the other pony caught the scrolls.

"Just doing my best for Canterlot, your majesty," Rook declared, swelling with pride in his ceremonial golden armor.  "And this has to be the most eager group I've seen in ages, especially Initiate Justice."

"Well then you'd best go finish preparations for the ceremony.  No point keeping them waiting," Celestia answered.  "I'll be looking forward to seeing them in person."

The guard captain bowed deeply before turning back toward the door.  As he left a musical tone sounded, something passing overhead through the gap.  A regal red and orange bird soared overhead, alighting upon the perch next to the throne.  Rook just smiled at the bird before continuing on his way.

"Ah, Philomena," Celestia said with a smile, gently stroking the bird's feathers with one hoof.  "You have a message I see?"

The phoenix chirped, dropping a scroll from its beak which the princess caught with her magic.  She let out a sigh as she found the scroll contained only two words: 'Any luck?'

"I'm afraid not, Luna," she dictated as she used her own magic to write out a return letter.  "But Canterlot is at least gaining several capable young ponies."

Celestia's gaze was drawn to another set of doors nearby, ones that led to a hallway she hadn't passed down in ages.  She cast her gaze down, levitating the scroll over to Philomena as she did.  The fire-bird chirruped and tilted her head curiously at the solar princess before taking the scroll.

"We'll find somepony eventually," Celestia said, as much for herself as the bird.  "I know it."

The barrier of Canterlot was actually quite beautiful up close.  Not just for the pattern of silver and gold magic that it was made from but also thanks to the city sealed within it.  Amongst the tangled greenery and jagged rocks of the mountains outside the great marble city was like a beacon of order and stability.

If it weren't for the noises of the savage beasts that hunted the chaotic woods more ponies in the city probably wouldn't mind getting closer to the barrier.  As it stood, there was only one pony there now and he was standing outside the shimmering force field.  He gently reached forward, prodding the shield and watching as it rippled under his touch.

"Almost there," he coached himself.

There was a growl behind him drawing a sigh of frustration from his muzzle.  Turning around the brown-cloaked barrier watcher was not surprised to find a monstrous lion behind him.  The creature was prowling closer, fangs bared as it spread a pair of leathery wings and brought up a barbed scorpion tail in preparation to strike.

"Oh please," the cloak-wearer sighed, sounding more amused than anything as he locked eyes with the creature.  "You don't know who you're dealing with, do you?"

The manticore stopped growling and lowered its tail as it began to back away with a whimper of fear.  The cloaked figure casually waved it off, sending the beast scurrying back into the forest in terror.

"Just how anyone is supposed to manage this with all these distractions..." he said with a sigh, turning back to the barrier.  "Ah-ha, what have we here?"

A moment's concentration and the cloaked figure pressed against the barrier again.  This time his limb slid through as though the defensive magic wasn't even there.  A smile crossed his muzzle as the rest of his body pushed through as well.

Smiling at his accomplishment he started toward the rest of the city.  Most of the area around him seemed to be abandoned streets and buildings.  Most likely a result of those that didn't want to put up with manticores and who-knows-what-else prowling just outside.  He stopped in his tracks though, wincing as something slithered along his back and pushed its way up to his ear

Inside

Find it

"I know, I know!" grumbled the cloak wearer as he passed down a narrow alley.  "This is a big  place, it's not going to happen - "

"Moonbeam, slow down!" a voice shouted.

The cloaked figure froze, watching as a navy-blue unicorn filly charged past followed closely behind by a frantic dragon.  He gasped as he felt the slimy thing suddenly tighten around his neck.

There!

Her!

Don't let her escape!

"I saw her too, you know!" he managed to admonish, the tentacle loosening its grip.  "The whole, 'cloaked stranger' look is going to draw some attention though.  I'm gonna need a loan if you want me getting close."

A myriad of confusing voices poured into his mind but the cloak wearer chuckled and waved them off.

"Oh you know I'm good for it.  Now do you want this done or what?" he challenged.

There was silence for a moment before a surge of energy poured through his body.

"Perfect," he said with a grin.

As guests were approaching the castle outside several ponies were lining up inside the white marble halls of the palace itself.  Almost two-dozen ponies, mares and stallions of all tribes and colors, were decked out in steel armor polished to a mirror-like shine.  There was nervous chatter filling the room, chatter that Solar Ray wasn't taking part in.

The yellow stallion was, at that moment, reminding himself to breathe as deeply as possible.  Even though he cut a dashing figure in his armor, built very much like one would expect from a fairytale knight, there was no hiding the slight tremble to his hooves.  A giggle from behind him caused his to turn around with a start only to find Justy standing there.

"What's wrong, partner?  Nervous?" she asked.

"Excited," Ray corrected, trying to look the part.  "How about you, Justy?"

"That's 'Knight Initiate Justice' soon," the mare corrected posturing a bit in her armor.  "And of course I'm excited!  I'm only living up to my life's dream here."

Ray wasn't about to say it out loud but Justice certainly looked more guard-like than he did.  Even with her slimmer build she still held herself with an air of authority in her armor.

"Top initiate at that," Ray pointed out, holding out a hoof.  "I don't think I remembered to congratulate you on that."

Justy pressed her own hoof against his, a smug grin on her face.

"Thanks.  It really helped having a good training partner," she commented.

Ray smiled back but before he could say anything the echo of armored hooves filled the hall.  The other recruits were all forming up into two lines, Justy and Ray catching on just in time to get to the front of them.

Soon only the sound of one armored pony could be heard, each of the new recruits bringing a front hoof up in a salute as Captain Rook made his way between the two lines.  He reached the front and nodded to Ray and Justice with a smile on his muzzle.

"At ease!" He called out, the young knights dropping their salutes.  "Well my little ponies you've come quite a long way in your training.  Soon you'll be making your official oath of service to Princess Celestia."

Somepony let out a whoop excitement causing all eyes to turn to him.  The earth stallion responsible blushed a bit and regained his composure, eliciting a chuckle from Rook.

"Before you go out there I just want you all to know how proud I am of each of you," the golden-armored unicorn stated.  "It wasn't easy, and it certainly wasn't fun, but you made it.  Now make sure you do Canterlot proud!"

"Sir, yes sir!" All the new initiates chorused.

Rook turned toward the doors before the group.  Thanks to the open windows the recruits could all hear the sound of the crowds gathering outside.  Justy somehow held herself taller, her face beaming like the sun.

The grounds outside Canterlot castle were always well-groomed and even in troubled times the gardens were a sight to behold.  It was no surprise that these gardens, more specifically the entrance to the hedge maze behind the castle, were the site of the ceremony.  Already there were colorful tents and stalls set up as ponies prepared to sell their wares to the celebrating guests.

Moonbeam was tearing her way past all of them, her violet eyes locked firmly on the path to the hedge maze.  Occasionally she glanced up to the sun again mentally gauging how close it was getting to its zenith.

"Moonbeam, watch out!" Talon's voice suddenly grabbed her attention.

Moonbeam's gaze snapped forward again and she gasped as she skidded to a halt right before crashing into another pony.  A veritable wall of ponies in fact, chattering excitedly and through which the filly could see glimpses of a regal stage set up in front of the hedge maze.

"Oh-no," Moonbeam moaned as Talon stumbled up next to her, trying to catch his breath.

"Alright...Maybe we did spend too much time preparing for Ray's party..." he admitted between gasps.

Moonbeam jumped as high as she could, craning her neck to see over the gathered ponies.  She let out a grunt of frustration as she failed to even glimpse anything more than the tips of the other ponies' manes.

"We're gonna miss the whole ceremony like this," Moonbeam muttered, her tail drooping.

Talon's wings slumped in response as trumpets began to play to indicate the beginning of the ceremony.  The crowd was cheering, hooves clopping against the ground as the dragon dropped down to all fours and jerked his head to Moonbeam.

"Hurry, climb on," he said.

Moonbeam gave her brother a confused look.  In this quadrupedal stance he was actually quite a bit shorter than most of the ponies around.

"But you won't be able to see," she realized, looking back at the crowd.

"No sense in both of us missing it, right?" Talon asked with a smile.  "Come on, up you get."

"Thanks, Talon!" Moonbeam cheered, hopping onto his scaly back and carefully positioning her hooves around the purple spines.  "You're the best!"

Talon chuckled in response, pushing himself up as tall as his arms and legs would allow.  Moonbeam shifted her weight excitedly as Talon spread out his wings to give her a little more space.  The few ponies near the duo moved away to give the dragon space, losing themselves in the crowd.

"I can see them!"  Moonbeam cheered over the other voices.

Talon winced a bit as Moonbeam pushed herself onto her hind legs, her front hooves waving over her head as she tried to get Ray's attention.  In spite of the discomfort the dragon's smile hurried back as his sister joined in the cheering.

Solar Ray found it a struggle not to laugh as he began his march toward the stage.  Standing on Talon's back and waving her hooves Moonbeam was impossible to miss even at the back of the crowd.  Ray heard a soft chuckle as Justice nudged him as they passed by.

Ray just smiled and nodded to Moonbeam as they walked past.  The excitable filly's face lit up as her brother reached the stage.  Captain Rook brought the procession to a halt, the sun just approaching the height of its climb overhead.  The trumpets and crowd fell silent as a pure, white light shone from above onto the stage.

Many ponies had to shield their eyes as the pure majesty of the sun covered the area, only to slowly begin fading.  As his vision cleared Ray felt his breath catch in his throat.  The glorious form of Princess Celestia stood on the stage now, dressed in her royal golden regalia.  A smile reflecting infinite kindness and wisdom of the ages graced her face as everypony present instinctively fell into a respectful bow.

"Princess Celestia," Rook declared, lifting his head.  "Today it's my honor to present these brave young souls that seek to join the ranks of the Day Guard."

The princess gazed over the young knights and Ray could hear Justy's armor rattling slightly as she trembled next to him.  Or maybe it was his own, it was a little hard to tell with the rush of his own heartbeat flooding his ears.

"My little ponies, are you certain that you are ready to take on the responsibilities of a soldier of Canterlot?" Celestia asked, her voice high and clear like a summer day.

"Yes, Princess Celestia!" Ray called out along with the other recruits.

There was a moment's silence as Celestia looked over the ponies before her.

"Then I would hear your oath of service," she requested.

Justy pulled herself to her full height, Ray quickly following suit.  The white mare's eyes were locked firmly on the princess as she took a deep breath, leading the rest of the recruits in the words that would bind them to their service.

"Come sun's next rising we'll stand for Canterlot and all its citizens.  From this day forward our every action will be to protect the ponies of Equestria.  Whatever may come, so long as the sun shines in the sky, we will never back down!"

Ray had his eyes on the Princess the whole time as they spoke the oath.  He was sure he saw the briefest look of sorrow in her eyes before a warm smile crossed her face.  The whole world suddenly seemed a little brighter with that smile.

"Welcome to the Day Guard, young knights," Celestia congratulated.  "I encourage you enjoy this day with your family and friends before your official duties begin with tomorrow's sunrise.  Starting then the defense of Canterlot will rely on you!"

The crowd burst into cheers again as did many of the other knights.  Even Justy seemed to be barely containing her joy as she let out a loud whoop of excitement.  Ray just turned back to smile at Moonbeam.

A look of worry crossed his face.  He couldn't see his sister over the heads of the crowd anymore.  The freshly knighted unicorn started toward the crowd, which was already beginning to break up as ponies either headed over to the stands or to congratulate the new graduates.

"Ray?" Justy's voice cut through the chatter of the other ponies around him as he moved.  "Hey, something wrong?"

Ray glanced back, seeing the white mare following right behind him with concern in her eyes.

"I'm just trying to find Moonbeam and Talon  They probably got lost in the crowd," he said, trying to smile past his nagging worry.

"Heh, you know you worry too much about that sister of yours?" Justy asked, continuing to tag along.  "I mean seriously, what sort of trouble could she get into here?"

Ray was about to answer when something tangled around his hoof.  He stumbled, his armor clanking as he managed to keep his balance.  Justy's horn flared white as she grabbed the object and lifted it up.

A well-worn pair of saddlebags with a tarnished clip shaped like a full moon hovered between the two.  Ray's eyes went wide, his worry expanding into cold dread as both the knights recognized the bags.

"Those are Moonbeam's..." Ray gasped out, looking around for any sign of the blue filly.

Moonbeam's chest was burning as she tried to catch her breath.  Tears were stinging her eyes, as was the fresh bruise on her side she'd been trying to ignore.  She bit down on her lower lip, her mind trying to process just what had happened.

Celestia had been speaking to the new recruits and Talon had been shifting slightly under her hooves trying to get more comfortable.  Suddenly there had been an impact sending the both of them tumbling to the ground and sending the contents of her saddlebag spilling across the ground.

Everypony else had been engrossed in Princess Celestia and the ceremony.  Nobody seemed to have noticed the strange beige unicorn with a tangled gray mane when he crashed into Talon.  Even as the dragon had helped her up he was glaring at the new pony.

"Maybe you should be more careful.  You could hurt somepony like that," Talon had scolded.

"Excuse me?  I'm not the one doing circus tricks in the middle of a crowd," the stranger had replied.

Talon growled in response but Moonbeam had tugged his arm with her front hooves.

"Talon it's okay.  I'm not hurt or anything," she insisted.  "Let's just get this all cleaned up."

Her book, a few (now bruised) apples, her bits pouch.  The two had gathered everything back into her saddlebags except for -

"My present!" Moonbeam gasped, seeing no sign of the box from Silversmith.

"Hang on, maybe it's still in here," Talon assured her, rummaging through the bags to no avail.

"Oh, you mean this?" the stranger had asked, a light violet glow drawing their attention.

Hovering next to the mushroom-colored pony, wrapped in his purple aura of magic, was indeed the box in question.  Moonbeam breathed a sigh of relief, reaching her front hooves to claim it only for the gift to be jerked out of reach.

The new knights were finishing their oath.  The ponies of the audience were beginning to cheer and stamp the ground in celebration.  All of them but Talon, Moonbeam and the stranger.  As the ponies around them roared the new unicorn took off toward the stalls on the other side of the garden, giving the bewildered Moonbeam only the briefest glimpse of the confusing spiral of colors on his flank.

The ponies back at the ceremony stage were starting to wander off in various directions, no doubt to enjoy the rest of the day.  Moonbeam seemed to be the only pony trying not to cry as she leaned against the side of one of the food stalls to catch her breath.  She sniffled, wiping at her eyes and feeling the sparking of her horn as the theft played again and again in her mind as she tried to understand how it could have happened so fast.

A pair of scaly arms pulled her close, causing Moonbeam to gasp in shock before she realized that Talon was still next to her.

"You alright, Moonbeam?" He asked, minding his claws so as not to scratch the filly.

"I - No, no I'm not," Moonbeam whimpered in response, trying and failing to hold her tears back.  "He took the present and I-I-"

The unicorn could feel sparks drifting from her horn only for Talon's wings to wrap around her also.  The dragon winced a bit as the motes of energy dissolved on his scales, Moonbeam crying against his shoulder as he just held her.

"Come on, it's just a gift right?" Talon tried to assure her.  "It stinks that he'd take it after you paid so much but - "

"It's not just that!" Moonbeam sobbed, a heavier pulse of magic causing Talon's wings to flutter.  "You and Ray and Justy are always watching out for me.  That present - It wasn't just for Ray.  I wanted to do something for you all for once and I couldn't even hang on to it long enough to give it to you guys!"

Moonbeam's crying continued, Talon bracing his wings as he managed to hold back another pulse of magic.

"Please Moonbeam, I promise it'll be alright," Talon whispered.  "Besides you know - "

"That - That I shouldn't get upset.  I know," Moonbeam grumbled, wiping at her eyes.

The magic seemed to take on a different feel, still apathetically splashing against Talon's scales as though it didn't care whether it held together but jabbing out more sharply as though annoyed.  Talon put one claw over his sister's lips and smiled as he shook his head.

"You know that we love you," the dragon whispered, finishing his earlier statement.  "You don't have to pay us back for that."

"Oh..." Moonbeam gasped, sniffling a bit more as she realized her mistake.  "Well...I mean it was more than just that and the ceremony."

The magic seemed to be fading, Talon lowering his aching wings as his sister calmed down.

"Really?" Talon asked, genuine confusion on his face.

"You really don't remember," Moonbeam realized with a frown.  "Today's - "

"Moonbeam!  There you are!" a voice interrupted.

Both siblings looked up to see Solar Ray breaking away from the rest of the crowd, Justy hot on his fetlocks.  Moonbeam quickly wiped away the last of her tears and got back to her hooves just as the duo reached them.

"Do you know how worried I was?!  I found your saddlebags in the crowd and had no idea where you'd gone too!" Ray scolded, lifting up the bags in question for emphasis.

"Yeah, did something happen?  After all the excitement you two are the last ones I'd expect to miss the ceremony," Justy spoke up.

"There was a little complication," Talon admitted, getting back to his feet.

Ray was about to open his mouth again when he noticed Moonbeam.  The filly's eyes were cast down and tearing up again.  The stallion took a deep breath, feeling his sense of dread and frustration fade.

"As long as no pony got hurt," Ray said, lifting Moonbeam's chin with one hoof.  "Now why don't you tell us what happened?"

The thief had his ears covered, not that it did much to block out the rush of voices in his head.  He choked as he felt the slimy tendril tighten around his neck, briefly wondering why he thought making it invisible had been a good idea.

"Alright - gack!" He coughed, rolling onto his back.  "Alright!  How was I supposed to realize she'd have such a hard time keeping up?  You saw her running all the way here!"

Failure.

Won't tolerate again.

Get her!

The living noose slackened and the mushroom-colored unicorn rolled back onto his hooves gasping for air.  He glared at the unseen tendril before sweeping up the gift box.

"I did want to do this with some finesse," he huffed, only to feel the uncomfortable tightening around his neck.  "Okay, okay!  She won't get away that easily, don't worry."

With a grumble the thief started back toward the rest of the gardens only to freeze in mid-step.  He smiled as he heard a pair of voices heading toward him.  One of the voices clearly belonged to a filly he was becoming increasingly familiar with.  The tendril slackened further obviously sensing the same approach as him.

"Well, she is coming...And bringing another friend," the thief muttered.  "That wasn't part of the plan.  I'll need something new."

His gaze wandered to the box still clutched in his magical aura and a smile came to his muzzle.

"Honestly, who steals from a filly?" Ray asked, his voice edged with anger.

The quartet had moved away from the rest of the crowd  and split into pairs in order to search for the thief. Ray and Moonbeam had followed a simple trail toward what seemed to be a private fruit orchard.  In spite of the variety of lovely fruit trees, most in early to mid-stages of growth, Moonbeam still had her head low.

"At least he didn't hurt you," Ray said, sky-colored eyes scanning back and forth for the thief.  "If he had..Well Talon would probably have got him first but I'd have - "

"I'm sorry.  I missed you guys taking your oath and lost the present for all of you." Moonbeam whimpered, cutting off her brother's rant.  "Then you got all worried about me again, Ray!"

Ray went silent for a moment as Moonbeam sniffled.  The stallion mentally kicked himself as he noticed a few tears fall to the ground.  He leaned over and gently nuzzled his sister, giving her a little smile as she looked up at him.

"You've got nothing to apologize for, Moonbeam."  The sunny-yellow stallion said.  "Now chin up, everything is going to be fine."

Moonbeam wiped at her eyes but nodded to Ray as her smile slowly returned.  Brother and sister picked up the pace, the trail through the gardens passing into a grove of apple trees.  The fruits of the tree were still in their ripening stag, but were already filling the little orchard with a sweet smell.

Sitting at the base of one of the trees was the gift box.  Moonbeam's eyes lit up the second she saw it.  Ray however looked around, his brow creasing.

"Well that seems a little too easy," he commented, his horn shimmering as he started to search behind the trees.  "What kind of thief just drops what he stole?"

"Maybe he heard us coming and tried to ditch it?" His sister guessed.

Ray turned to Moonbeam to respond but his breath caught in his throat before he could.  Moonbeam was standing near the box, reaching for it with one hoof.  Ray could feel something around the box though.  Some dark aura flashing about it for a moment.

"Moonbeam don't!"  Ray shouted.

Too late.  The filly had her hooves on the box just as Ray's warning reached her.  The top flipped open, bursting off in a colorful blast of confetti and firework-like blasts of color.  The younger unicorn howled in shock, falling backward covered in bits of paper and batting away at the magical explosions as they went off right in her face.

"Moonbeam!"  Ray shouted, his magic quickly slamming the lid of the gift box closed.

The filly rolled back into a sitting position as the fireworks stopped.  She took a deep breath, quickly squashing down the rising magic before her horn began to spark.  Ray breathed a sigh of relief but jumped in shock as mocking laughter began to echo around the grove.

"It might not have been easy hiding that spell around the box but it was totally worth it!" the laughter mocked.

"That voice!" Moonbeam gasped.  "That's the thief!"

"Strange though, I didn't think anypony would be able to pick up on the trigger spell around the present," the thief's voice chuckled, seeming to echo from everywhere.

Ray's horn continued to shine, his eyes scanning the grove as quickly as possible.  His gaze stopped turning as he locked onto something up in a tree branch behind Moonbeam.

"Looks like you deserve some congratulations for spotting it in the first place, even if it was too late." The voice continued, not noticing as the light around Ray's horn focused into a single point.  "Is that something they teach everypony these days?"

"Not really.  I'm just really good at sensing and controlling extra magic," Ray explained.  "Like what's coming off your echo spell every time you talk."

"Wait, what?!" The invisible unicorn gasped.

Ray's horn unleashed a piercing bolt of light, landing a direct hit on the thief.  In a flash of yellow the invisibility spell ended, revealing the stranger's surprised face to the world.  In another instant an orb of Ray's magic popped into existence around him and rolled from the branch onto the ground with him stuck inside.

"Huh, touché my little pony."  The stranger said flatly, glowering at Ray.

"You've got nothing to blame but your own big mouth," Ray pointed out, looking back to his sibling.  "This the guy?"

"Y-yeah...That's him," Moonbeam answered, getting unsteadily back to her hooves.

Ray moved toward his sister, worry etched across his face.

"Hey are you alright?  You weren't hurt by that spell, were you?" Ray asked, reaching a hoof to his sister.

"I think - I - " Moonbeam gasped in pain, one hoof pressing against her head in pain.

The filly collapsed to the ground, clutching at her head.  Energy began to spark from her horn, a purple aura surrounding her entire body.  Ray dove toward her, his horn already lighting up to try and stop whatever was happening only for a pulse of silver magic to fly from Moonbeam and knock him off his hooves.

Ray hit the ground, his own magic faltering.  The stranger chuckled as the bubble around him burst into saffron shards.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that spell.  It was just a little something to help this little sweetheart realize her full potential," he taunted.  "If you thought my fireworks were impressive just wait until you see what happens next."

Ray managed to get back up just as the beige unicorn collapsed, his body replaced by a ragged brown cloak.  Before he could move the fabric had flattened against the ground and slithered away like a snake.  Ray growled but pushed any thoughts of chasing out of his mind.

He instead turned back toward his sister, his magic already lighting up to try and help.  His eyes went wide at the sight that greeted him though.

A sphere of silver and amethyst magic was forming around filly, her eyes changing into blinding white orbs as the energy sealed around her.  In less than a second Moonbeam couldn't be seen for the mass of magic around her.

"RaaAYyy..."  Moonbeam's voice fluctuated from within the sphere.  "heLP Meeee!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

Next Chapter: It Takes a Spark (Part 2) Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 5 Minutes