It wasn't too far to return home, since we lived closer to the forest than not, and I managed to silently reenter the house before the sun had peeked over the horizon. I snuck my way back upstairs, returning myself ultimately to the bed in a sleeping position. I remained there until Storm awoke. As I had oriented myself to be facing him, my eyes closed, he greeted me with a kiss on the forehead, just below the stump of my broken horn. "Good morning, sunshine."

I smiled, or at least the best I could, in return. I then stirred, getting up and acting like I was just waking up. After a stretch I spoke. "Today I take the two refugees to the Sanctuary. We should make necessary preparations."

He nodded in agreement. Following this, we got out of bed and went downstairs. Breakfast was prepared and the four of us happily partook therein. Once finished I transformed back into my draconic form and equipped my armour. We then loaded my saddlebags with supplies to make the trek up to the Order. "Well, Storm, I'm going to be at the Sanctuary for a while."

"I know. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"I plan on it." He then turned to the others.

"Cam, Lance?"

They responded in chorus. "Yes?"

"Take care of Aqua for me. I don't want to keep losing her anymore."

Cam took charge. "I will personally make sure of it."

"Good. Have fun at the Order."

"I'm sure we will." I spoke before turning and opening the door.

"Aqua?" It was Storm. I turned once more.

"Yes?"

"Come back alive, please." I nodded. With this we departed. The journey through the wooded trails was around a half day's trek. Thankfully enough, nothing much happened on our trip, not even any encounters with wildlife.

When we broke out of the secluded woods we found the Sanctuary not too far in front of us. We approached the gates of the Order, which were again guarded by three bowponies. "State your business!"

"Do you really want to go through this again? I believe you shot me in the leg last time, did you not?" Their bows lowered. Within a few moments the massive and ornate iron gates opened and we trotted inside. The Main Hall stood directly before us in all of its royal majesty and grandeur. To the onlooker, the large structure appeared almost out of place; the castle-like building certainly was big enough to be an individual fortress. Indeed it was, having proved to be a refuge in times past. To the left were many buildings which served as classrooms and duelling rings. On the right were the barracks. Never taller than three floors, these edifices held nearly all of those Protectorates which resided under my care with room still to spare. Directly behind the classrooms was the armoury. The vast structure contained weapons of all kinds, enough to arm all within the walls and more. Armour, as well, was stashed therein. Behind the barracks was the mess hall, the purpose of which being self-evident. Directly inside of the gates was the Main Square, with the Main Hall, and the associated grand stairs, directly after it.

When we were within the Main Square, in front of the Main Hall’s grand stairs, I folded my helmet back and spoke to them. "Now, Cam, you will be under my personal care, watch and instruction."

"Not without me." I turned and looked at Lance. The determination that showed on his face was something I had not seen in a while.

"Alright, fair enough. Follow me." After having motioned to them, we made our way around the outside of the Main Hall to the left. The armoury was our destination. We trotted inside and took in the view that was within. Many large racks were filled with a near uncountable number of weapons. The various types were organised and separated. Among such items lining the wall were dirks, broadswords, war hammers, halberds and staves, to name a small portion. "Go ahead and look. Find which weapon you think you'll enjoy the most."

Just like that they were off like fillies in a candy store, gawking over the various displays. I noted that Lance stuck more to the blunts and polearms. He seemed especially interested in the spears and morningstars. Cam, on the other hoof, was more directed towards blades. She looked mostly at glaives and longswords. I waited patiently until they returned. Once they were standing before me I addressed them again. "Did you two find anything you like?"

They both nodded enthusiastically. "Excellent. Now, put it on hold."

Lance seemed more crestfallen than Cam did. "What? Why? Why did you have us look in the first place if we were just going to wait?"

"My specialisation is in the sword. It is my weapon and it is what I am proficient with. Does that mean I am not capable of using others? No. It does mean, however, that I am more apt with the sword and will more capably teach the two of you regarding its use than any other weapon. I will train you both in basic combat, advanced combat and mastery of the sword. That is, however, unless you wish to seek training from another instructor?"

Cam resolutely voiced her opinion. "No. You will be my mentor."

With her tone it sounded like more of a command than a statement. Lance was momentarily thrown off by her personality but he, too, accepted to place his desired combat school on hold. "If she is doing it then I will too."

"Well enough. I will give you both your iron training swords. I am going to test a few things to see where training must begin." I went over near the swords, entering in a side forge; it was the blacksmith's shop I was standing in. The pony within, defined well by the work he was doing, was at the current moment touching up a few of the sets of armour. "Smithy."

He paused from his work and looked up. "Ah, to what do I owe the honour of being visited by the Guild Master herself?"

"I have two new recruits under my wing, metaphorically speaking of course." I roused a chuckled out of the stallion before me as I outstretched the one joint of a wing that I had left. "I need iron training swords."

"Lucky enough I think I have a few. Just need to find the little buggers." He trotted off into various parts of the shop, including the back, before eventually emerging with the two unsharpened blades. "Here you are. The only thing left to be done to them is sharpening."

"I think we'll wait a bit for that." Another laugh from him.

"Fair enough. Enjoy your time with them, Guild Master." I took the two swords in my tail, nodding my acknowledgement and thanks to the smith before leaving. Lance and Cam were waiting still. When I drew near I placed the swords before them.

"Watch the way I grasp a sword; learn and study it." With their attention fixated upon me I went over and grasped the hilt of one of the sharpened swords that rested on display with my teeth. I straightened and held the sword level in my jaws, extending out to the side, in the view of my two new trainees. After several moments, and a swing or two, I put it back accordingly on the rack and headed back over. "That is how we, as ponies, hold swords."

"What about you? Why do you carry them on your legs?" Lance asked this out of curiosity. I'm sure anypony would have.

"I'm a bit of an exception. You don't see very many ponies like me trotting around, do you?"

"Not really."

"Have you seen any other ponies with a tail like mine?"

"No."

"That is the reason why. My tail allows me to balance, especially in a fight. I can fight on only my hind legs because of this. Basically, that is the only reason I have leg mounted blades. Now, changing the topic, go ahead and take a sword. Careful, they're heavy. No need for a lot of caution, since they cut just as well as any other hammer." Lance trotted up and took the first. I could see some minor strain as he held the blade. Overall he seemed capable of holding the sword, but swinging it is a whole different world of effort. Cam appeared to be excited with even just the concept of holding a sword, and because of such trotted up eagerly. After she had grasped the hilt in the manner she wanted, she attempted to lift the blade. The tip remained rooted to the ground as her head tilted from the weight. It was clear that she couldn't quite bear the mass of a sword yet. I chuckled a little. "You two can keep these and use them to work up strength in your neck so you can wield them. Here, I'll carry them so I can show you two to your quarters."

They both put their blades down, allowing me to grasp them with my tail. I beckoned for these two new recruits to follow me as I headed for the entrance. It didn't take more than a few minutes before we were within the barracks. After we arrived it didn't take them terribly long to select the room that would become their accommodations. After that, they simply needed to get settled down. Surprisingly enough, it was apparent now that even Lance was excited for the road that lay before them. I drew their attention once more. "Be not mislead by false feelings of security. This training, under the direction of my own hoof, might be the hardest thing you both do. We will start tomorrow with physical exercises to prepare and condition your bodies. This will be bi-hourly, trading off with skill refinement. We will not move on to the next skill until the one we are working on is satisfactorily perfect. If the two of you put your whole mind behind this, I believe that you will need a few months to a half a year's time."

I put the swords within the chamber and was about to leave when I was interrupted by Cam. "So what do we do for now?"

I turned back around. Both of them were still looking at me intently. "Explore the Sanctuary, or even just rest up for tomorrow. You'll need it."

On that note I left their quarters. I set my course for my chambers, satisfied with the current conditions they were now in. These two, especially Cam, had potential. I was going to tap into that potential and drag out two very strong and capable Protectorates. The only thing that could hold them back, that could impede their progress, was themselves.

Once outside the barracks, more specifically once I was inside my own chambers. I lost myself to thought. It wasn’t much of anything, but it occupied my time.

When I was inside of my room I decided to try and rest. The next half a year's time was going to be exhaustingly challenging. For them it would be because of the gruelling training I was about to subject them to. For me it was going to be because I needed to hide the borderline crippling insomnia I now seemed to so readily suffer from. The string of recent events was probably what was hitting me the hardest. The things I had seen and the things I had done to others had frequently snared my mind and caused agonising distress; the acts fervently kept up with me in my mental landscape so that each time I closed my I was violently bombarded by the memories of the atrocities I had committed over the years. Each moment that my eyes remained closed the images would become fiercely clearer until the shrieks of horror and the screams of undeniable agony rang in my ears. The cries then would echo through my mind for hours after I had been yanked so violently from the thought of sleep. My condition was detestable, but there was nothing I could do about it. My deeds tore at the very fabric of my sanity. I was becoming unsure about how much longer I could keep this charade going.

With a bit of a sharp breath I tore myself from the agonising plains of my mind to find I hadn't even ended up in my chambers at all by the end. Instead of remaining in my chambers I suppose I had wandered about. It was far into the night now, which I assume meant that I either had rested for a moment or carelessly wandered in thought for all those many hours, or both. I took a moment to reorient myself; I now recognised where I was: inside the Main Hall, not terribly far from my chambers held several floors above. I was unsure of why I was here, or even how I got here in the first place, but considered it best not to question. Considering the fact that sleep fled from me and rest left my very soul shaken and battered, I thought it best to wander rather than subject myself to misery. As it was rather late I figured nopony else was awake, except the night watch. After several moments of pointless trotting, about half the perimeter of the Hall to be precise, I heard the movement of cloth beside me. My current scaled form considered, I figured myself in no situation of serious harm. As such I only offered a haphazard glance to the source. I found Ajiin beside me and, in his usual playful manner and joyous tone, he broke the mountain of silence. "What are you up to?"

"Trotting." My answers were dull, reflecting my depraved and sleepless condition, as well as my battered soul.

"Trotting, hm?"

"Indeed."

"Can I ask why?"

"I suppose you can."

"What is causing you to trot the halls at this time? You're normally never awake this late into the night. Is something the matter?"

"I can't sleep."

"How come?"

I stopped and looked around. This place was far too open, too resonant to tell him. Even though nopony else was awake I wanted to make absolutely certain that the reason for my restless state remained as secret as possible. "If you want to know the answer to that one we will need to go to my quarters to discuss it. I can't have anypony else know."

"Lead on, then. I've got all night."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Of course!"

"Positive?"

"You've got my curiosity up now."

"If this is merely to sate curiosity I will not tell it."

"As your second in command and as a close friend since you were first accepted into this organisation I want to do what I can to help you through whatever is bothering you to this degree."

"Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you. Follow me."

It didn't take long for us to arrive, thankfully enough, for the duration of the trot was in complete silence. Once we were both inside I closed and locked the door. I sat down therein, far from the door. Having just now realised I had left my armour on I arose once more, removed it and shifted forms before seating myself again. Ajiin sat very closely beside me. It certainly didn't take him long at all before he asked again. "Why can't you sleep?"

"Just have a lot of stuff on my mind."

"What kind of stuff?"

"What I've done."

"Recently?"

"Throughout my life."

"Like what?"

"My whole life thus far has been learning how to help, uplift and defend others and then following what I had learned. I've done it a lot. Some ponies might even call me a professional or an expert. I suppose it's true, I mean it is my profession. I've saved a lot of lives in the course of my own. Yet there has always been something brewing deep inside of me, breeding in the unknown parts of my soul. It's been coming to bear recently and it's, quite frankly, frightening. As I look back to see when I have rescued others, when I try to focus on the good things I have done, there's something else, something I refused to notice back then."

"What is it?"

"Some form of a growing bloodlust, a never ending, unquenchable drive to fight and to kill. It only grew the more it happened, but it was always dormant, always there like some kind of primal instinct. It could never have surfaced because of all of my good intentions and the hopes for a brighter future were drowning it out."

"So something happened that caused all of it to start? What do you think it was? Some event or something?"

"I don't know, and that's part of what's been racking my soul thus far. If I know what it is I won't do it; if I knew what it was I wouldn't have participated."

"Have you ever sat down and thought on it?"

"No." I let out one chuckle. "My lifestyle hardly ever leaves time for me or my family. When it finally does, the only time I have is to sleep."

"Try thinking on it now, I mean you can't get to sleep anyways. Look at all the times you said that there were good things you did, but the evil intent was lurking behind each one. Try to figure out what caused it."

"Are you willing to stay beside me as I do? I think it will help me keep my head level and my soul stable."

"I am willing to do so." I nodded before turning my gaze away from him. I sat and thought about the things I had done in the past, at least all the things I could remember. At first, tracing backwards, I could see absolutely no pattern, only barbarism. After a while I reached events that were of equal proportions but there was something different. Many times in the past I had used that spell that could twist my shadows into physical entities. Yes, I had realised that the spell made me want to fight more but I had never noticed the dark connection of its permanence. It was very clear to me now what that spell had been doing to me. It now seemed to me, thinking on it, that each time I used the spell in the past I had used it in a more grisly and barbaric manner than the last time it was used. What I could not put my hoof on, yet, was how or when I had picked up the accursed spell in the first place.

"I think I might know what caused all of this."

"You do?"

"Yes, but I don't know when it all started."

"Then think more. If you actually want to stop this you need to be putting in more than your all right now." His sudden tone change from jesting to serious and solemn both startled and frightened me. Once I had settled down once more I began thinking again, perhaps in a hope of finding when this all started to begin with. As I sat, almost lost in thought, the memories were coming to me freely. This being said it is also worthy to note that they were not the most pleasant memories. As horrid scenes from my past played before my mind's eye I was filled with deep regret and sorrow. These memories harrowed my soul deeply. Before too long it became overwhelming and I had to simply shake my head in an effort to shake myself free from the thought of exploring that dark past.

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"It's just...I...the thought..." Words could not describe what I was feeling, nor would my feeling let me use words to begin with.

"Come on, Aqua, you have to. There's no other way."

"I can't. I just can't." I simply shook my head from side to side. Ajiin looked at me a moment longer before sighing.

"I thought you wanted to change this."

"I do, but with everything that's sitting on my mind right now I just can't subject myself to that."

"Then perhaps you should keep it simple."

"What do you mean?"

"Take care of the weight you have gained recently. Let your mind rest, unload. It will help you."

"And how do I do that?"

"Tell me what's on your mind. Tell me what is bothering you."

"We see how far that got."

"Start with the recent stuff. Don't go so far back." I looked at him for a moment before spending a short time trying to think of how to best approach this. I could tell he wasn't going to leave until he had heard something. With a sigh I began.

"Well, I suppose what's stuck on my mind is what had happened in the last eleven years."

"Like what?"

"My imprisonment and torture in the land of the gryphons, my journey back to Equestria and the subsequent event of being sold into slavery."

"All that happened to you?"

"Yeah."

"Is that all that's on your mind?"

"No, unfortunately. If it was just that I'd be fine. You should know something like that by now."

"Alright, then, what else is on your mind?"

"It's something I would prefer to not relive."

"If you don't confide in some manner your burdens they will eventually destroy you." I looked at him momentarily.

"Fine."

"I'm all ears."

"What followed was, is, hard to explain. One can never know just how thoroughly it eats at your soul until they experience it firsthoof. Perhaps it was the sadistic and barbaric punishment I suffered at the claws of the gryphons. Perhaps it was the self-defending nature I had to adopt while I was enslaved. Maybe it was the pessimistic surrender I was willing to consign to in order to finally release my soul to death's grasp. Then again it could have just been sheer spite and ill will. Whatever it was I know not. All I know is that something had reawakened that dark magic's influence. It was reawakened as or before I went for retribution with Duke and the slavers. I merely threatened Duke's life in order to get him to submit to the needed conditions, but what I did to those slavers..." I hung my head in some vain hope that Ajiin couldn't see me fight back the anguished tears that so forcefully threatened to escape from my eyes. As I sat attempting to quiet my emotions Ajiin sat beside me, waiting for me to finish. The room was deathly silent for what seemed like an eternity because of it. Once my emotions were finally under control again I lifted my head once more to finish explaining. "What I did to those slavers is unforgivable. I don't blame Lance and Cam for their apprehension. My ignominious actions caused even myself to quake in sickened abhorrence."

"Why? What happened?"

Again the thought of sharing such information almost overwhelmed me. "No...I can't say it. It's just..."

"Tell me, Aqua." I thought his tone had been serious before, but it was nothing compared to that sentence. I finally managed to breathe and began my best effort in explaining it.

"There were recently four that I had ruthlessly murdered, but it's simply unforgivable what I did."

"Tell me. It will make you feel better." I looked at him for a moment before I began explaining the event that had transpired in the black market. I had left out many of the grisly details, dodging around the worst parts of the whole thing. Most of it was simple until I got to the fourth creature I had slaughtered. This one tore me to the core. It was absolutely and unnecessarily barbaric. As hard as I tried to block them out, his anguished screams and helpless pleas for mercy rang on through my head. In that moment I thought it better that I die than suffer through the ensuing psychological torture. As I got the best control of myself as any pony could have in a situation like that I swallowed hard and finished my explanation. Once I got done painting the picture in the simplest and least detailed way possible I sat for a moment.

"I didn't want to do it, Ajiin. I didn't want to but I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I can throw all the justification I want to try and hide it but there's nothing that can possibly make it right." Ajiin sat in utter silence as I hung my head low. I don't think even he was prepared to hear what I had just explained to him. I don't think anypony could ever be prepared to hear what I had just told him. After the silence permeated for a while I raised my head again. "No other pony must or should hear or know of the things I have told you. If they did, this Order would crumble and evil would finally take root in the world."

"It seems it already has, starting with the one who vowed to stop it, no matter the price. This tale dies with us, but more than the tale has died. You have lost my trust and my assistance. I ask you to seek the aid of another for further counsel. I knew that first forbidden magic spell was a mistake to give you and Tigerfire. I should have known better than to trust you with it, than to trust you, in the first place. What a disappointment this has been. You should consider retiring and allowing somepony to take your place, somepony who’s actually trying to protect others." With that he left me. The task ahead was already utterly daunting to begin with. Ajiin was one of the last few that I could turn to, and his response was certainly not what I was expecting. Now, without the aid of others, I had to go it alone. The weight of my future, paired with the utter rejection of one of my closest friends, came crashing down upon me. My entire being groaned under the crushing burden. With a devastated sigh I decided to retire to rest, if I could even manage such.

I awoke early the next morning, surprised by the general lack of nightmares this previous night. Shaking the thought I readied myself for the exercises ahead. It had been the first real rest I had obtained recently, albeit rather light and short. Still, it was better than the sleep I was getting before: fleeting at best, absent frequently. This general lack of sleep had left me exhausted and fatigued at the very least. Any hope for improvement on my current state of being was very rapidly fading. Perhaps training these two ponies, hopefully placing them in my stead in the future, would allow me to isolate my degenerate self and resign my soul to the only fate I saw possible. Swallowing my anguish, and deciding it best to not dwell on such type of thoughts, I left my chambers and headed towards the hall where Lance and Cam were currently residing.

I arrived on time to find Cam waiting for me already. If nothing else she was eager. Lance came out shortly after I got there, looking fairly tired himself. "Are you two ready?"

"Yes!" Cam's enthusiasm bled readily from her. Lance simply nodded.

"Excellent. Let's go." We began the exercise with a brisk gallop within the walls of the Sanctuary. It wasn't long into the course that Cam began asking her questions. She always had some.

"What is your name?"

"I will point out the condition you agreed to before starting this. The only reason I'm not going to respond with Guildmaster is because, solely because, we are within the walls of the Sanctuary, where everypony already knows me by my real name. I will tell you the name, but only upon your reaffirming the promise you had made: do not speak my name outside these walls."

"I promise."

"My name is Aqua. That much is all that is needed."

"I like that name."

"Having told you mine answer me this:"

"What?"

"What is your second name?"

"My what?"

"Cam, Cam-what?"

"Oh, like my last name?"

"Yeah."

"Lot."

"An interesting name. His is the same?"

"Yup."

"Very well."

"How did you meet Storm?" Her breath was short, as was her brother's. Mine was still full and unhindered.

"A good question. It wasn't long after my heart had been shattered by the rejection of another that I met him. The first time I'm not entirely sure. Can't think of it off the top of my head, as I was too concerned about perfecting my combat expertise. All I know is he began picking up some of the pieces of my shattered life."

"Oh."

"Why did you want to know?"

"I always love hearing stories like that. Something happy in our sad world." I don't know why but those last few words stuck especially in my mind. Was there really enough happiness available for access to dull and, ultimately, disregard or discard the pain? I was snapped from that train of thought by her next question. "When did you learn to fight like you do?"

"As a filly. I had to learn from necessity. I mean, it's not like I had a family to keep me safe." It got quiet for a moment. "I had wandered the wilderness for a while and found a little school for fillies that taught the basics of using weapons."

"You know, you're not too bad."

All I did was cock an eyebrow. "You're telling whom?"

"You."

"Then I suggest you redirect your comment. It is given to the wrong individual."

"I don't think so."

"Then you have not yet studied who I am or what I've done."

"You weren't always like that, were you?"

"Anymore I don't even know." It was silent again. Memories began racing through my mind. There was a reason all of this was happening, I just hadn't figured it out yet. I would have to sit down and forge my way through the depths of anguish and back just to find the cause. What is was, or what it was doing to me, I could not tell. All I knew was that I was snapped back to reality by Lance's voice.

"Hey! Where are you going? This sign says this is the armoury. Weren't we going there?" I had been so lost in thought that I had missed our destination.

"You are correct. That is where we were heading." I returned to them again. "I was just a little distracted was all."

"Well, we're here." The three of us entered. When Lance spoke it was clear that he was out of breath. It seemed like he had neither worked nor been worked in at least a little while. "Now what?"

"Now I train the two of you in the use of the sword. There are wooden swords on the first rack. Go ahead and take one each, then follow me into the training room." We all trotted over. They grabbed their respective weapons and I, in turn, grabbed two for myself before we entered the side room. It was a very large structure, although few ponies used it at this hour of the day. I took us to a part where nopony was near in order to train them. "Alright, which of you two is the better fighter?"

Lance shot his hoof up. "As I thought. You will fight me in the front. Cam will fight me from behind. Are we ready?"

They both nodded in accord, Lance finally showing approving enthusiasm. I took one of the swords held in my tail and placed it in my mouth. I left the other in my tail. I was now wielding two and, after a slight movement, was in my battle stance, ready to fight. This was to be a test to see how well they actually knew combat skills. I nodded to indicate that I was ready for them.

The two began charging directly at me, in a manner that only an untalented, and entirely untrained and unpracticed, combatant could. I jumped back a little, giving me more room between Lance and myself and shortening the gap to Cam. I swept my tail in a low arc horizontally behind me, catching Cam's legs on the go around. I heard her hit the ground with a thud and a slight groan. As Lance drew within range I deflected his attempted swing and parried with a disarmingly hard strike. When the wooden sword had pegged him strongly in the side of the face the sword shot from his mouth. Lance hit the ground roughly as well, only shortly after his sister had done so. His sword was several metres away as he lay on the ground groaning and grasping his face. I sat and looked at them for a moment before taking my two weapons back to their respective weapon rack in the adjoining room. I put them in their place before returning to where the two lay in pain. I stood over them for a moment longer. It took no more than a few mere seconds to drop these two in an outnumbered fight. Training them was going to take longer than I had expected originally. After that thought passed through my mind I addressed the two of them once more. "With that little test over I know how best to train you. The two of your will spar against each other for the time being. I will stand to the side and give advice when needed and occasionally come in to correct things physically when necessary. The training has just begun for the day, so I will give you a few minutes to recover from what just happened. I'll know you two are ready when you both are standing before me with swords grasped."

Once that was said it took nearly no time at all for Cam to be standing again. Lance, on the other hoof, took a bit more time to rise. That was entirely understandable, though, because I had walloped him, while I had simply tripped her to knock her down. Still, and regardless of this, he got up and came over. "Excellent. Now, because you two are going to be sparring partners you must disregard your relation. Just because you are siblings does not mean you can take it easy on the other. If you want to get anywhere in this training you must consider the pony in front of you to be your enemy. For Lance I'm sure that's fairly simple. You probably need only imagine me to be standing across from you."

I saw Cam's face change to protest. Lance tried his best to hide his reaction. Try as he might, just the faintest of grins broke across his face. "Both of you take positions across from one another and get into the best stance for battle you know. This will be the subject today."

They did as instructed almost to the dot. I looked at the poses they had taken and could only shake my head a little with the faintest trace of a chuckle. I trotted over Cam first to begin repairs. "Now, I'm going to poke you a lot with my tail in order to correct your stance. When you feel a poke I want you to move that part of your body just slightly in the direction opposite of my touch. Keep adjusting until the poking stops. Is that clear?"

She nodded, the determined look still on her face. I then began poking her in various places to adjust her stance. As it had been, it was very narrow and easily toppled. I needed to get her to stand wider in order to give her a firmer stance and a more intimidating demeanour. The poking was mostly on the inside of her legs, followed by her back. I kept poking until she finally lowered herself a little. I then did the same to lower her head, to bring it closer to the ground. When I thought I had finished I took a step back and looked at her new pose. After a short while of examination I nodded in satisfaction. Compared to the topple-prone stance she had struck before, she now looked intimidating in a way, at least more formidable than before. Ready now, I turned and looked at Lance. His pose seemed relaxed, non-threatening, and highly inefficient. Whatever it was it needed work. I turned back to Cam to give her an order. "Hold that pose."

I then headed over to Lance and relayed the same instructions as I had previously given to Cam. I then took several moments to fix his pose. His was too wide, too forced; he was trying too hard to copy Cam's stance and thought he could do better. The majority of the pokes were along the outside of his legs in an attempt to get him to narrow his stance so he would be able to react in battle without extra effort just to break out of the pose. Once the legs were better I began poking his underbelly so that he would rise up a little further so his stance would hold more power. After I had finished poking him I stood off to the side. I was satisfied with the work I had just wrought. Nevertheless, and despite this, I knew still that if I didn't work this point relentlessly, if I left the foundation as cobblestone instead of flawless concrete, any future work carried the possibility of crumbling and falling, tragically going awry. "Alright, relax your poses."

They returned to their regular stances, comfortable and weak. I made sure it didn’t last long. "Assume your poses."

They both tried their best to return to what they believed were their other stances. It came out flawed, predictably mirroring their first attempt with improvements towards what I had given them. Because of this I went to each one in turn, fixed their posture and gave them advice on how to more quickly and more effectively get into that stance. Afterwards I stood off to the side again and repeated the process, ordering them to relax their poses before assuming them once more. I continued doing such for the entire duration of our time in the training hall. We then headed out for another hour of physical training and conditioning. Afterwards we returned to the training hall and continued working on their posture. Such was the repetition of the day, pausing only for lunch. By the end of the sixth hour long training session, the final one of the day, Lance was a bit more than fed up with the monotony of our activity. "Why are we still working on this? It's about time we move on."

"Have you forgotten what happened last time you tried to rush headlong into something without thought or work? I'll just let you carefully examine the more-than-apparent mark on the side of your face to answer that. Regardless, we will be working on how to properly carry and use the sword tomorrow. Get a little to eat and head off to your quarters. You both need rest after today's work." Lance was more than a little deflated. Humbly he nodded and took Cam, heading for the mess hall. I returned their weapons to the racks before heading out myself. Instead of heading for food, however, I went straight for my chambers. I had recently developed a frightening disinterest in food.

I sat awake, lost in thought within the confines of my chambers, for a few hours more. My mind simply wandered down the alleyways of memory lane, trying to pinpoint exactly what set me on this path of bloodshed and nightmares. I knew what had started it all, or at least what had caused it all to develop. That accursed spell that I had used so frequently in the past to get what I wanted stood behind everything I could think of. Perhaps the advice of Ajiin would help. Perhaps I simply needed to plow my way through the darkest and most painful memories I had in order to find where it had all began.

Memory after memory racked my soul with torment as I forced myself through the depths of my mind. Each act of brutality on the path of bloodshed filled me with regret and shame, but continue I did anyways. I had discovered the pattern of my violence previously, of when I would spill blood in the past, with exceptions existing for the most recent events that had occurred. It was that one spell, Weaponised Shadow, that stained my soul time and time again. I tried to find when it had started, when I had begun using it in the first place. Along the way there were times when it seemed like I had reached the first memory concerning the spell only to find another instance several more back. Finally the time arrived, after tearing my soul to shred with the search, that I found the one instance where, had I had the chance, I would have used the spell but didn't for one reason or another. I then searched my mind for anything that happened between those two points.

Now, before any mistake themselves and believe that my memories are easily accessible like a vault of records, I must say this: the memories were blurred at best and sometimes didn't happen in chronological order as I recall. Regardless I did find the trigger event, or what I believed to be the trigger; before my mind played the fragmented memory of when we fought the last necromantic sphinx. Suddenly to my mind came the reassuring feeling and a thought that this was indeed when I received that malignant spell. Thinking on the recent events I could only come to one conclusion, which was, that the shadow that the sphinx had planted, whatever it actually was, had matured because of the fuel I had provided through its bloody usage. This shadow must have festered in the corner of my soul, feeding on the anguish of those I used it on in order to afflict them with pain or death. It must have reached some point along the way that it now was strong enough so as to directly evoke my actions and not simply my emotion. A new fear welled up inside of me as soon as that thought crossed through my mind. It was a fear that the now ever present, ever creeping, malignant darkness that had brooded within my soul might possibly take over and cause irreparable damage, leaving my hopelessly tattered character to deal with it. I needed to purge this evil from my soul, but this already challenging task was only made that much more difficult by the absolute and crushing solitude that had been forced upon me. After this thought, my mind wandered through many possible outcomes, each one seemingly nigh impossible, for how to fix me.

It was only when the rays of the rising sun crept into my room that I realised the time. I left my chambers, once I was ready, and found not only Cam but Lance as well awaiting my arrival. Either they wanted to participate more eagerly in training or I was late. Both were possible. They didn't ask about it either; perhaps last night's ordeal had left such an impact upon me that they could see the condition I was in but didn't want to say anything about it. Regardless, I approached them before taking off for the first running session. Once we finished and were within the training hall, I gave them a rundown of today's subject of training: swinging the sword properly. The rest of the day proceeded uneventfully, as highly repetitious practice usually does. I was barely able to continue the training throughout the course of the day from the crushing mental exhaustion I was suffering from. As the two continued training and improving one could see a building excitement and enthusiasm in both of their faces as they progressed and grasped the concepts. When the day ended we split up and each returned to their own quarters.

Many months, if not a whole year, passed by in their training. Their physicality had quickly improved as they now kept up with my pace better, although considering my slight physical deterioration due to lack of both food and sleep it's not quite as far for them to reach as one would think. They had become proficient in the use of the blade. Wielding the heavy iron swords was now possible for them, and was no longer extensively tiring. Among the skills they had developed were strikes, slashes, parries and dodging, to simply list a few. As I had been observing those around us, as well as Lance and Cam, it became clear to see that these two had catapulted past some of the better recruits that had been here for years. It was actually on or near the anniversary of their rescue that I approached them with a special assignment. It was just before we split for the night, after teaching combat rolls, that I spoke to them. "Lance, Cam, I have something I need to ask you two. It's something very important."

Cam's face lit up in sheer excitement. "A special assignment?"

"Exactly. I feel as if you two and several others of the upcoming Protectorates are the only ones I can count on for something like this."

"What is the assignment?" She was basically jumping up and down.

"I have received the location of two collections of slavers and their respective slaves. We are to go and free the slaves from their owners." I almost didn't even finish my last sentence before Lance spoke.

"We're in. Whomever we can get freedom to we will."

"Excellent. After I have trained you two in the use of armour the three of us and a group of other qualified recruits will embark on the journey to deliver the captives in these two places." They nodded before we parted ways for the night. Once alone in my chambers I was left to my thoughts again. I had to be careful on this next task. I wasn't heading out solo as I had always done. The lives of this small band that I would be assembling were my responsibility. Not only this, but should I lose myself and become the wild and bloodthirsty abomination I feared I might become it would more than thoroughly destroy the moral of these fighters, not to mention the possibility of the Order collapsing when news returned to the Sanctuary. Above this, if I turned bloodthirsty in their midst, there was a high likelihood that I would be the only one returning from this journey. The thought scared me spitless, but it was my duty as Guildmaster to prove the recruits and ensure that we were allowing those who were actually ready, not simply those who were willing. This mission certainly was risky, and all of it on the fault of myself. I needed to watch myself once I was out there, taking as much of this task as possible to reduce the danger to those around me. I needed to curb my emotions. I took a deep breath, feeling the burden of the next step pressing upon me heavily.

I returned to my quarters, having slowly made my way through the Main Hall. Due to the size of the structure, and how I organised the Order to begin with, there were very few ponies inside of the building. Those of note would be the ponies who stood guard at the doors and in the hall itself, which was a tradition that I kept from the last Guildmaster. Ajiin was usually to be found somewhere within the building, albeit it in rather unconventional locations; high arches, windowsills, and dark corners were his usual perches. Even then, and much as I predicted, he remained hidden from me for the time being. Granted, admitting that you tore a pony limb from limb would be enough to cause anypony to have an aversion to you. Regardless, my trip through the empty hallways of the upper floors was uneventful and entirely quiet.

It was in this stark silence that I trotted until I reached my room. The opening door broke the monotony of my hoofsteps, though it was a fleeting break. Once the door was closed and locked, a force of habit more than anything. I sat down and sighed. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep up this charade, nor did I care what the implications were for falling short. I dropped my head and gently shook it from side to side before pulling it back up again. I took a moment to push aside the lingering thoughts of future failures using current objectives. After all, I couldn’t mess up the training of Lance and Cam simply because I was afraid of what might happen to them, or rather what I might do to them, in the future. I had to prepare them in case anything happened, and I intended to put myself behind that. Accordingly, I arose and trotted over towards the bed. I climbed in, getting as comfortable as I could, and closed my eyes. All there was now was waiting for sleep.

The light of morning pulled me from my bed, forcing me to get up. I rubbed my eyes, thankful for the full night of sleep I had gotten. It felt like the first one I had obtained in months, and my body rejoiced in it. The bed bid me return, the inviting comfort of the linens almost making me succumb. I, rather, went about my day, starting with preparing breakfast.

Once breakfast was had, and my gear prepared, I set out of my house. I thought it strange that I couldn’t remember how I had ended up in my own bed, but it wasn’t the first time I had been moved while asleep or unconscious, or dead, so it wasn’t out of the question. I looked around for Storm but couldn’t find him. I shrugged it off, figuring his own organisation needed him, and set out from the house.

The first place I went to was the Order. I found the walls along that usual trail that I took and approached. The gates opened without a hitch, letting me in. The Main Square was bustling, bursting with activity. When they saw me, however, it was as if the activity halted. Suddenly, they erupted into cheers, stamping their hooves and welcoming me back in a celebratory way. I thought it rather odd, as I didn’t figure I had accomplished anything recently other than training Lance and Cam. Even then, they hadn’t even finished yet. There were many recruits I didn’t recognise, either. Perhaps they had been picked up in my absence. I couldn’t get many glimpses, as I was being shuttled off rather quickly in the crowd. Three ponies caught my eye as we passed, mostly due to their abnormal colouration. One was monochrome, but his eyes were a contrasting vivid colour, light blue if I recall correctly. The other, a mare, had a dark purple hide with blazing orange eyes. The third had yellow hide and a kind of dark orange-red hair. I gazed over at each with concern riding my brow; something seemed wrong, like they weren’t supposed to be there. I couldn’t find any explanation, as they could very well have just been new recruits. Something was strangely familiar, though, and it made me a bit uneasy. I was, practically, deposited at the top of the stairs leading to the Main Hall. Once the ponies around me cleared, leaving me as the only pony at the top of the stairs, Ajiin stepped up. He came about halfway up the stairs before turning around and speaking. “Today, we celebrate the return of our Guildmaster, Aqua! After suffering severe injuries while freeing many of us here, she has returned!”

There was cheering, and each moment of it made me even more confused. Cam was in the crowd, near the front. She nudged a pony with grey hide and turquoise hair forwards. The stallion spoke. “Um…on behalf of those of us that you saved, we pledge full service to this Order. Perhaps one day we can save ponies like Aqua saved us.”

I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but he disappeared into the crowd after I nodded out of habit. I tried to pick him out in the crowd again but was unable to. A gryphon stepped up next, which in and of itself was quite the shock; there had never been any gryphons in the Order before, but now there was suddenly a large number of them. This gryphon, with her frame adorned by white feathers tipped in red, spoke. “We came from the land of gryphons to swear our allegiance to you, Guildmaster. Perhaps when we have trained hard enough and earned your favour we may be able to establish a branch of this Order in our homelands and retake the Wastes.”

I nodded again before I could even stop myself and the gryphon disappeared into the crowd as the stallion had. Once again, Ajiin stepped up and spoke. “Let’s give it up for our Guildmaster, Aqua WindStorm, protector of the innocent!”

There was another round of cheers before the group began to disband. The normal hustle and bustle started up again, leaving me alone on the steps. I sat for another moment before deciding to make my way out of the walls of Sanctuary. The guards were a little puzzled as to why I was leaving so soon, especially so soon after the celebrations, but I told them I had personal matters to tend to. They nodded and opened the gates, letting me out.

I made my way back home, lost wholly in thought. Something seemed a bit off. Between those three ponies, along with the seeming gap in my memory, something wasn’t quite adding up. Had I missed something? Did I finally suffer that moment where I lost myself? What had I done in that time? The questions continued to flood, confusing me further.

I finally arrived home, opening the door to find both Storm and Lazuli there. They turned their attention from lunch to see who it was at the door. Storm was the first to speak. “Oh, there you are, dear. I had just finished setting down a plate of food for us all. Why don’t you come inside and rest those weary bones of yours? You’ve worked hard enough recently; it’s time you had a short break. Spend some time with us!”

His inviting smile and warm tone made it impossible to refuse. I closed the door behind me and sat down to eat. As we continued the meal, Lazuli spoke. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, mom. After the injuries you had when you came home from that mission, I wondered how long it would take to get you back. Thankfully, it was just a month or so.”

Well, that would explain the reaction of the Order, not to mention the large number of faces I didn’t recognise. Storm spoke next. “Cularix filled me in on some of the details, but I wanted to hear from you; what exactly happened out there? You were pretty beat up when they carted you back in.”

I sat for a moment, trying to remember. Absolutely nothing came to mind. It was an entirely blank draw. “I have absolutely no idea. I was hoping one of you could explain what in Equestria happened over the last month or so.”

“Well, you were unconscious, so that’s why you don’t remember that.”

“Before I fell unconscious.”

“Didn’t you go off to the Order for a special mission?”

“What was it about?” At this point, Storm and Lazuli looked at each other before turning back to me. Lazuli answered.

“It was your mission. Don’t you remember?”

“No.” Again they looked at each other.

“Should we call Galaxia and Bane to check her head again?”

“It might not be too bad of an idea. I’ll do that. Keep talking with your mom.” Storm got up and trotted upstairs, leaving Lazuli and I alone on the first floor.

“It’s ok, mom, we’ll get you better.”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“Then why don’t you remember your mission?”

“I don’t have anything wrong with my head; my memory is just fine. I remembered you and Storm, along with where this house was and where the Order was. We shouldn’t waste Bane and Galaxia’s time with something like this.”

“But we have to get your memory back.”

“I never lost it.”

“Then what happened on the mission?” It was getting frustrating. I hadn’t gone on a mission. I didn’t even feel that feeling I felt when I was in the land of the gryphons and trying to remember my name. There had been no mission, and there certainly hadn’t been a month-long period that I was unconscious for; I wouldn’t have felt so refreshed when I awoke. Every other time I had recovered consciousness from some extraneous circumstance I would feel groggy and weak. I felt rested and ready to take on the world at this point. Just as I went to assert my point again, Storm came down the stairs.

“Ok. Bane and Galaxia should be here at any moment now. They should be able to set things straight. They might have messed up while fixing you, but I’m not sure.”

Before I even had a chance to respond the door swung open. In the doorway were the two familiar frames of Bane and Galaxia, who trotted inside and closed the door behind them. Bane was the first to speak, even before me. “So I hear you’re having some slight memory issues, correct?”

“N-“

“Yes, she has.” Lazuli butted in over top of me.

“No I-“

“Well then, Galaxia and I can fix that for you. Shouldn’t be more than about a week of keeping you under and exploring every part of your brain to make sure that we didn’t mess something up while we were getting you put back together.”

“Look, I-“

“It is not a difficult procedure, Protectorate. As you should know, my magic is more than capable of keeping you sedated and asleep.”

“That’s not-“

“This is probably what’s best for you, Aqua.” Storm spoke over me, something that seemed to be happening a lot more.

“Storm, I-“

“Are we ready to begin?” Bane’s voice cut me short again.

“No, there’s-“

“If you wouldn’t mind taking her to the couch. It will be easier there.” Galaxia didn’t give me time to interject.

“Will you-?”

“Sure thing, Galaxia.” Now Lazuli was interrupting me too. I could feel my frustration building. As she went to help me up and over to the couch I pushed her hoof away and shouted out.

“Will you all just shut up and listen to me?!” It grew silent for a moment. “There is nothing wrong with me! My memory is fine! I know who I am, I know who all of you are: Bane, Galaxia, Storm, Lazuli.”

I pointed to each in order. “I know your relations to me. I know where the Order is. I know what rank I am. I know where this house is, what town this is. My memory is not messed up! Now if you will just-“

Storm grabbed me, trying to pick me up and move me towards the couch. Having reached my limit, I kicked him off of me, sending him across the room. All of us sat with open mouths, staring blankly at his shifting form. Lazuli’s voice was the first one to be heard. “Mom?”

It was enough to break me from the trance. As such, I bolted for the door before the others could properly react. Bane was the closest to me, but even he was several body lengths behind and only getting further. He stopped after a short while and cried out. “Running from your problems will only make them worse!”

I didn’t break pace until well into the Everfree Forest. Once I was sufficiently inside the twisted landscape I slowed to a canter. I then made my way to where my small shack was. I arrived at the place, the surrounding landscape being familiar, but there was no shack to be found. The pool of water was still nearby, but the shack was gone. Before I could even catch myself, I spoke. “What in Equestria is going on?”

I trotted over to the pond, looking into the water. The sight was strange indeed. It was as if I was a hybrid between my orange form with scales and the orange form without scales. The scales weren’t consistent, didn’t cover my whole body, and the scars were plain underneath. I pulled a hoof up to my face to feel it. When the hoof began rubbing against the scales they began to fall off like paper, floating carefree down until they gently touched onto the ground. Had I been shedding scales for the whole flight? My eyes widened as I looked towards where I had entered the clearing, finding a sparse trail of scales. Suddenly my heart began racing as I began frantically running my hooves over the length of my body, or at least what I could reach. For the scales I couldn’t get I flopped onto the ground, rubbing about and tearing them off of me.

After a while of this frantic action I examined myself in the pond’s surface. Once I knew that I was clear of any scales I bolted from the area again, breaking into a full gallop towards the other side of the forest. I had to distance myself from the others so I could think.

I only broke pace when I stumbled upon the ruins of the old royal castle. I entered for shelter, at least for the time being. I found the most enclosed chamber, or at least the one that looked the least like it was going to fall apart, and sat down to catch my breath. Once I was rested enough to be breathing normally, I set myself to pacing and brainstorming.

Something wasn’t right. In fact, hardly anything was. The Order had never accepted gryphons, mostly because it was in Equestria rather than in their domain. Yet suddenly there were dozens, if not hundreds, of gryphons in the Order. As well, the way that Bane, Galaxia, Storm, and Lazuli were acting I could tell that something was off. Very few times have I ever felt that I needed to flee someplace with my life, and that was one of them. The last time was when I was in Duke’s manor, assigned to a fourth floor position, and he continued to make advances. To be specific, though, the most offsetting thing about the exchange with the four of them was how they wouldn’t let me finish a sentence, as if they were determine to give me some kind of treatment. The fact that it was a treatment regarding my memories frightened me, as something could have happened. I can’t explain it; it just felt off, too far off to be exact. The other point of concern that still struck me were those three ponies. Granted, the pony that came forth to thank me for rescuing them looked almost exactly like Storm, which was also very strange. The more I think about it, however, the more I feel like those three ponies, the yellow one, the purple one, and the monochrome one, didn’t belong there, like there was something wrong with them being at that place. I couldn’t shake the feeling, and it was driving me insane; I needed to know why they were so out of place in my mind.

After a while longer debating the issue, I decided my best course of action was to return to Sanctuary and find those three ponies; I needed to discover their identities. As such, I set out from the ruined castle I had been hiding in. It was time that I got to the bottom of this.

The sun still shone fully as I approached the walls of Sanctuary. I was beginning to think it was a little odd just how much time was passing, yet not at the same time. I shook the thought from my head and focused on the issue at hoof. I was particularly brought back to the task when the clanking of the gates signalled their opening. I trotted within the entrance, finding the hustle and bustle that was there last time. I made my way through the crowd, climbing the stairs in front of the Main Hall, before stopping and turning about. I sat at the top of the steps, gazing down at the crowd beneath me. I needed to find even just one of the three ponies in the crowd, one of those that I was curious about.

I was standing at the top of the stairs for a considerable amount of time before Lance stopped beside me. He was the first to speak. “Why are you just standing here?”

“I’m looking for somepony.”

“We can have them summoned to the hall. What was their name?”

“I’m not sure. They’re newer, I think. I mean, I was gone for a while, wasn’t I?” While I don’t believe that, I figured I could play it.

“True. Do you know what they looked like?”

“There were a few, but I’ll be able to find them just fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. Well, let me know if you need anything, Guildmaster.”

“How’s your sister doing?”

“Cam?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s adapted well, filled the role like the rest of us, and seems to be enjoying herself while doing it.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad you two have adjusted well.”

“Any chance I get to save ponies from what I went through is welcome and I think she feels the same.”

“Alright. Thank you for your report, Lance. You may leave now.”

“Yes, Guildmaster.” His humble responses to my authority were strange at best, but if I had been gone for a month it was possible that something had happened in that time to change his mind. Regardless, I had ponies to find, so I returned to my watch.

After a frame of time that I can’t quite recall, I spotted dark orange-red hair in a style I recognised. I quickly, but calmly, made my way down towards the pony, eventually managing to break through the crowd. As I recall, it almost seemed like the crowd was being particularly difficult to breach, and that it required significant force to push past a few of those present. Whether or not this was the case doesn’t matter. I eventually arrived, stepping in front of the stallion. He stopped and looked up at me. “Hello Guildmaster.”

“I would like to speak with you for a moment.”

“I would love to speak with you, Guildmaster, but I have some duties to tend to before I can.”

“You don’t have about a minute?”

“Not really.”

“Then let me accompany you to the task. Surely my strength cannot be a burden in such a matter.”

“Well, the thing is…” I cocked an eyebrow. “…it’s, uh, kind of a solo project thing. Something I have to do by myself.”

“Well, you’re not working on it while we’re trotting there, and I’m sure the company wouldn’t hurt.”

“Well, that’s awful gracious of you, Guildmaster, but I have to refuse the offer.” Something was strange.

“How come?”

“I, uh…I…I need to…uh…I need to…use…the bathroom! Yeah, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Protectorate, you’re trying to avoid me.”

“Wh-what? No, never! I’m honoured by your presence!”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“I didn’t say you were!”

“Identify yourself, Protectorate.”

“You know who I am, though!”

“I was gone for a month and there are a lot of ponies I don’t recognise; you happen to be one of them. What is your name?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I like to know all of my Protectorates by name.”

“You’re really desperate to know, aren’t you?”

“I’m not desperate; I’m expectant.” Just as I was finishing this sentence, another pony bolted into my peripherals, launching themselves between the two of us. The tan-coloured mare spoke loudly just as the familiar stallion behind her spoke his name.

“Guildmaster!”

“What is it?” I made sure to keep a sideways eye on the stallion.

“There’s something that needs your attention!”

“How urgently?”

“Very, like right now!” I hesitated for a moment before nodding. I knew I’d lose the chance to figure out the stallion’s name, but if there was something this urgent it meant that I was needed immediately.

“Alright, lead the way.” I followed behind the frantic mare as she led me across the square and into the barracks. Up the stairs we went to the second floor. Before I had even made it up the stairwell I could hear some kind of shuffling in one of the nearby rooms. When we got closer I could hear grunts. The mare led me to the chamber, opening the door. Inside were two creatures fighting, one gryphon and the other pony. Both were male, and both were viciously going at each other. I burst into the room, using my larger mass to clearly announce my presence. When that wasn’t enough, I spoke.

“Enough!” The two kept at it, claws and hooves flying in combat. I burst between the two, practically trampling them as I broke up the fight. “I said enough!”

They finally separated once they were standing again. “This is not how Protectorates behave! You should both be ashamed of yourselves!”

I saw the gryphon’s visage drop, the guilt cutting in. The stallion, on the other hand, got defensive. “He was the one that started it!”

“I don’t care who started it! The fact that you were both at each other’s throats tells me that you’re both guilty of inappropriate conduct. When I was in your position, such behaviour would have you beheaded, so I suggest you shape up.” The stallion lashed out in a display of fury, launching a kick into the side of my face. The impact hardly moved my muzzle, despite the tremendous force behind the strike. It fell deathly silent in the room before I spoke in a very hushed tone. “Young Protectorate, I would suggest that you never repeat what you just did to me a moment ago.”

I stood over him in a very intimidating fashion, hoping to cause him to rethink his course of action. “And what are you going to do about it, huh?”

He took a low stance, ready for a fight. I simply looked down at him for a moment. “Tell me you’re joking.”

He dashed in, attempting to knock me down. Instead of the intended effect, he bounced off of my scaled legs. “This is your final warning; back down or suffer the consequences.”

I saw the stallion’s eyes dart around the room for a moment before he darted over to grab a sword. I immediately dropped into a lower stance, waiting for his next move. He charged over, sword in a firm grip in his jaws. I whipped around, pegging him with my tail. He was launched across the room, breaking through several layers of the thin walls between rooms. He ultimately stopped, slumping against one of the walls. The mare and the gryphon both looked at me for a moment, a horrified look resting equally on their faces. They quickly went over to the stallion through the gaps in the walls, stopping when they arrived. I moved to look at them through the tunnel, finding them checking their friend. After a short moment or two, the mare turned back around, her voice quaking. “H-he…he’s dead! You killed him!”

“A blow like that hasn’t managed to kill so much as a squirrel.”

“He’s not breathing!” I began moving towards the stallion. It was as I was entering the next room when the mare and the gryphon drew their blades. The mare spoke again through clenched teeth. “Stay back! We won’t let you go through with this; you’re not going to eliminate evidence of your heinous crimes!”

“I was approaching to check his vitals and use healing magic.”

“Stay back!” The gryphon was now adamant. After a moment or two of our little stare-down, I backed down. It wasn’t worth endangering the rest of us to see if I could fix the stallion. “That’s right, just leave.”

“Then you had best hope that the medical crew is competent enough in magic to revive him.” I turned and trotted out, hearing them mutter something about ‘off to kill somepony else’. I shook my head to clear the anger building up. Their accusations were infuriating, and I was barely managing to keep it together. Perhaps I just needed time alone. As such, I turned my course to the Main Hall.

I was undisturbed for a while, sitting in the room I had vented in a few times. I began trotting back down the many stairwells, which seemed longer and more twisted than I remember. I’m pretty sure there was a set that was sideways, but I might be remembering things incorrectly. Regardless, I eventually made my way through the strangely dark corridors of the upper floors of the Main Hall. Even the main part of the Main Hall was different; the throne was shattered, the room ruined, and the general look of chaos prevalent. I was cautious as I trotted over the rubble, ensuring there wasn’t a threat in the room. I eventually made my way to the massive doors of the structure. They were slightly ajar, so I peeked through the small gap created by the opening. I couldn’t see much of anything, but I could hear a bit of a ruckus. As I didn’t have my armour, and as I was trying to be cautious, I quietly swung the door open far enough to allow my exit. I poked my head through the gap first, looking out to see what was happening. What met my eye was not quite what I was expecting. The members of the Order were assembled, seemingly locked in a heated debate; this included every single last pony and gryphon arguing fiercely. The deep orange hue of sunset discoloured and altered their appearance, but I could still make out some of the faces. I recognised Cam and Lance in the crowd initially. Also among the bodies were a few that seemed so far out of place that I couldn’t help but notice. After a short analysis, they appeared roughly as the three that I had recognised previously, those that seemed out of place. This time, however, they were grotesquely different. I barely recognised the yellow hide and rich auburn hair; he was immensely pale and impossibly thin and deathly looking, almost as if he had no blood pumping through his body. His visage was that of death, his body wickedly contorted and shriveled. The next one, the monochromatic stallion, was standing there, in broad sunset, with his skull cleaved in half, the cut stretching down his neck until the beginning of his torso. Despite this, and the fact that they were very visibly separated, he continued talking and functioning. Even the floating chunks of his neck and jaw weren’t stopping him. There was also the third impossibility, a mare. Her dark purple hide was interrupted by three bloody, charred slits; she had two stabs in her chest and one directly between her eyes. Despite her injuries, she, too, continued debating.

The situation was shocking enough to me, as all three should have been dead and it seemed like that was how it was supposed to be, that I actually caught myself trotting out into the Square. There was a momentary pause, the debate suddenly hushing when I came into view. Suddenly, a few voices started up in angry protest. “There she is!”

“The murderer has finally shown her face!”

“You should die for what you did!”

“How many more are you going to kill?!”

“You’re a monster!”

“Execute her!”

“Turn her over to the princesses!”

“Make her suffer like that gryphon!”

“Yeah! Tear her legs off!”

“Jab her eyes out!”

“Chain her up forever! Starve her!” The accusations, insults, and threats continued pouring in at an ever accelerating rate, too fast for me to catch what they were saying. Eventually, the whole crowd was in on it, the railing remarks now an indistinguishable echo of ideas that weren’t coherent enough to be understood. Eventually, however, Ajiin had calmed the crowd enough to quiet them. He spoke shortly thereafter.

“Alright, alright, we understand that you are feeling angry about everything.”

A mare from the audience shouted out. “Just kill her already!”

“I don’t quite think that such would be an appropriate action. I have another proposition for you, though, that the Council and I have agreed upon.”

“Then spit it out already!” A stallion was the one that interrupted him this time around. Ajiin cleared his throat and began speaking again.

“In the time she brooded in her locked room in the Main Hall, the Council created this device.” Ajiin lifted a small, metallic, circular object in one of his hooves. “This is the answer we made.”

“What’s it do?” A male gryphon spoke up.

“You see, Aqua is not to be trusted anymore; she has killed far too many ponies and overstepped her authority. Since we have decided upon exile as her fate, we created this device that I have in my hoof.”

“Just tell us what it does!” A female gryphon was the one to speak.

“Aqua will be under constant supervision, ensuring she doesn’t harm another pony or gryphon through the course of her life. This device will broadcast to us her location, allowing a unicorn, or myself, to track her wherever she goes. Should she threaten to kill, or attempt to kill, another pony or gryphon, the simple press of a button will end her life. We will surgically implant this device around her windpipe. Once activated, the device will begin expanding. It will crush her windpipe, sealing it and suffocating her, before ultimately decapitating her.” I did not like the sound of this at all. I needed to get out of here and I needed to do it very quickly. The problem was: the entirety of the Order was sitting between me and the exit, and I had neither the strength nor the weaponry to fight them all for freedom. As Ajiin turned and began speaking again, a plan was beginning to hatch. “Now, apprehend the drake so we can implant the device. We can all rest easier once you’re contained.”

He took a step towards me, which caused me to wheel around and bolt. I heard the commotion behind me as they reacted to my attempted escape. I knew leading them around the Main Hall wasn’t an option; there were far too many to evade with simple tactics. No, what I had planned instead was to use the back gate, the one that led to the training school I had attended as a filly. The gate was still open, as the guards weren’t attentive to the issue in the Main Square. I was galloping as fiercely as I could, Ajiin and the entirety of the Order behind me. I could hear Ajiin shout as I approached the gate. “Close the gate!”

The confused guards turned about, finding the entire population of Sanctuary chasing me down. Ajiin was still shouting at them to close the gate, which they eventually snapped to. My window of escape was slipping away as the portcullis was closing down. I slid under the iron bars, narrowly making my escape. Ajiin made the slide, too, along with a silver gryphon with purple accents. As they were recovering, I was bolting along the forested path. In all honesty, it seemed almost too wooded to be the right trail, but it worked either way. I simply needed to lose them, and try not to run into Bane and Galaxia.

The chase was hard, but quick. There was a sharp turn in the trail, a kind of switchback if you will. As there were woods all around, and as the two of them couldn’t see me because of the last corner, I chose to catapult myself off of the corner rather than follow it through. I barely managed to keep myself upright as I scrambled to a halt. I was careful not to disturb too much of the surrounding foliage, leaving as small of a trace as possible. I quickly, but quietly, made my way behind a large tree, hiding and listening to hear them pass by. Sure enough, not a moment after I tucked behind the trunk, the sound of two pursuers skidding around the sharp corner tore through the surrounding woods. As the commotion died down, the echoing chase fading in the distance, I began making my way among the trees. I had a general idea of where I was, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find where I needed to go.

I eventually made my way into town, the sun barely tucked behind the surrounding hills. I wasn’t taking any main routes in, all things considered, but rather the alleyways from the backs of houses. I was about to peek my head out from the shadows when I heard a pony coming towards the alley. I ducked behind some trash, waiting to hear what happened. There was some kind of wet slap noise, followed by what sounded like paper. After a short while, the sounds stopped and the hoofsteps began again. There was another wet slap, followed by paper, and the hoofsteps started once more. I carefully made my way towards the mouth of the alley, as the noise was quieting, to investigate. I quickly checked both sides, finding nopony but the pony trotting away from the alley on my left. The pony had a bag with papers on one side, a bucket with some white liquid on the other side, and a rolling sponge on a rod in his mouth. The pony smothered the wall of a nearby house in the white liquid, explaining the wet slap. He then slapped a piece of paper to it with a hoof, making sure it was attached all the way, before trotting off. As he continued away from me, I decided to brave a peek and see what the paper was all about.

I rounded the corner of the house, exposing myself entirely, and gazed at the poster attached to the wall. The two most prominent features were the pictures of me with their caption, “Wanted!”, written in red above the portrait paintings of me. I decided to read further, figure out what they were framing me for.

WANTED!
Name: Aqua WindStorm.
Species: Half-dragon
Age: Unknown
Sex: Female
Height: Princess
Weight: Heavy
Crime: Murder, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, abuse of power, damage to property, terrorism, reckless endangerment of life, treason, violent rebellion, inciting rebellion, fraud, deceit, criminal misrepresentation, criminal negligence, collusion with the enemy, tampering with black magic, theft, trespassing, violent intimidation, threatening violence, manipulation, cruel and unusual punishment, obstruction of justice, refusal to obey travel laws, threatening royalty, harassment, domestic violence, use of forbidden magical items.
Reward: 1,000 bits for information regarding the subject. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONFRONT. CRIMINAL IS ARMED AND HIGHLY DANGEROUS. REPORT SIGHTINGS TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES. They will relay the information to the Royal Guard, the Equestrian Army, the Association of Alicorns, and the Order of Protectorates.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. All of these crimes were either wholly untrue or blown so far out of context that this poster was the only thing presenting criminally misrepresenting anything. I shook my head, resisting a snort of frustration. I made my way back into the alley, hiding behind the trash. I was fuming, but there was nothing I could do. Confronting anypony about this injustice would just compound my problems. Thankfully enough, though, the picture that was on the poster was the one where I had scales and dragon horns. I had neither currently, and appeared as a pony, so it would be harder for strangers to report me. Those that knew me, though, were going to be the problem.

I decided that there was nothing for me in town and set my course towards the forest I grew up in. I made my familiar way to the site that had my shack on it, only to realise upon arrival that it was still missing. I had to find a new place to stay, it seemed, especially when I noticed the number of tracks in the area. They were fresh, and from several ponies. Apparently, they had already tried to find me here. This location was now compromised, rendering it no longer viable for a refuge. I had one other idea for what I could do, however, so I set my sights there.

Night had just about fallen by the time I had carefully trotted my way over to the abandoned castle in the forest. I crossed the rickety rope bridge to the exposed ridge it was connected to, eventually making my way into the destroyed building. As I was trotting inside I felt a drop of rain. I looked up to the darkened sky, feeling a drop or two more fall upon my face in the time I was gazing. I decided to see if I could find any kind of shelter in this place, so I began quickly making my way around. Sure enough, there was a smaller side room with the ceiling still intact. I made my way within, closely examining the area. Everything seemed to be structurally sound, and what little furniture was left could be shifted to provide shelter and cover from any passerby who wandered in here.

It didn’t take long for me to tip over the nearby tables and rearrange them. I tried to make it look as haphazard as I could manage while still providing me enough cover to sleep behind. It would have to work either way. I settled down, curling up behind the table wall I had created. I sat until the sound of rain lulled me to sleep.

When next I awoke I was in a bed. Without knowing where I was, or how I got there, I snapped awake, catapulting out of the bed to analyse the room. Looking around revealed my chambers back in Sanctuary’s Main Hall. Confusion and fear worked in equal parts to terrify me. I managed to get myself under control enough to sneak over to my door. I quietly unlocked the door, creeping my way out and down the hallway. I made my way down to the large, open portion of the Main Hall, eventually reaching the massive doors. I opened the wooden edifices and crept out, looking around. Everything seemed familiar, and the dead of night gave me the perfect cover to ensure that I was safe. Before I left through the open doors I turned about. I looked through the darkness at the floor of the open chamber. There was no debris like there had been the last time I was here. I thought it rather strange, and didn’t figure the Order could clean it up in the course of an hour or two, massive stone chunks in mind. I needed space, especially if they were still chasing me down. As such, I quietly made my way to the gates, finding them closed. I quietly cursed my luck before hatching the idea of leaping from the wall. I carefully made my way up the stairs leading to the gatehouse, peeping my head over the lip to make sure there were no guards on the wall. The coast was clear to the right, but there were a couple of guards keeping vigilant watch from the gatehouse to my left. I quietly mounted the wall and went right, trotting to a darker patch of the wall. It was there that I jumped down, rolling with the impact and bolting into the forest about a hundred yards off. I could hear the inquiries of the guards over the noise, but by the time they had illuminated the area I was already behind the trees. I continued my flight for a while longer, ensuring that nopony was following me.

I eventually made my way to where I had thought my shack to be, although where it wasn’t the night before. I knew it was risky to head there, as the area had been compromised, but it was a point of reference for most of my navigation in the nearby area.

When I arrived at the familiar pool I looked around. The thick darkness of the forest didn’t permit a large sight range, so it was the first thing I found. I trotted past the water to where I swore my shack was. As I approached I found the tiny structure. Of course, I was more than confused at this point; one day it’s there, the next it’s gone, but now it’s back again? Something wasn’t adding up. I trotted back to the water and gazed into the still surface. Although it was nearly pitch-black, silhouettes could still be determined in some degree. At least, with as radically different as my forms were it wouldn’t be hard. It was then that it struck me, as I was gazing fruitlessly into the water; I had used a light spell before the fight with Shade. Perhaps I could use one now?

With that in mind I focused. Using all of my magical might I did what I could to cast the spell. It eventually fired off, granting just the dimmest of light, but it was enough. I could see in the pond the reflection of my scales, even the reflection of the pearl on my scales. But it begged the question: if I had scales now, what had happened to them yesterday? There was only one thing left I could do in the silence of night, entirely alone, that would bring an answer to my questions.

I eventually made my way to town, sneaking my way through the alley as I had done yesterday. I crept around the corner of the house, into the street and into the sightline of anypony who was out at this ungodly hour of the night, and looked over at the wall. It was dark, yes, but the moon lit the wall up enough for me to see what was on it. As much as I looked, there was nothing. I searched the nearby houses as well, finding no posters calling for my arrest. It was as if yesterday had never happened. Could it have been some kind of elaborate dream? It was just so detailed, so realistic, and so believable. Yes, there seemed to be continuity hitches, but everything else was recreated so perfectly that it was hard to believe it to be a mere construct of my dreamscape. I continued these thoughts as I made my way back to the Order.

As I arrived at the gates, there was one last check I needed to do. The gates were closed, and I needed in. There was no way in but the gates, either set, so I called out to the gate guards. “Hey!”

“Who goes there?” Their light turned on me, nearly blinding me after I had adjusted so well to the dim night air.

“Aqua WindStorm, the Guildmaster.”

“Ah, welcome back, Guildmaster.” I heard the gates opening. It was either a trap or yesterday hadn’t happened at all. I was about to find out. I trotted inside, being greeted by yet another guard.

“Where did you go? Nopony usually uses the gates at this time of night, save for Ajiin every now and then.”

“Just needed some fresh air. Had a lot on my mind.”

“Pacing in here didn’t work?”

“No. I needed more space, more roaming, something different from the usual. I felt kind of boxed in.”

“Fair enough. What are the plans now, Guildmaster?”

“Sleep, hopefully.”

“Alright. I’ll let you get to it then. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

“Thank you. Don’t work too hard.” We both chuckled, knowing that night watch had almost nothing to do. I then set my course towards my chambers again, making my way through the main part of the Main Hall and up the several flights of stairs. I entered my chambers, closing and locking the doors again before settling down in my bed once more. I closed my eyes and hoped that sleep would come.

Next Chapter: 5. Shadowed Acts Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 41 Minutes