After everything that had happened, it seemed like life was truly coming back to Nightingale with the arrival of the Enclave. Sure more than a few ponies were a bit uneasy around the black armor clad Pegasi still, but they hadn’t caused any problems around the town, so far at least.

Somehow, it felt like Nightingale was returning to how it had been before everything had happened. Me and Moonlight still got a few looks as we headed up to the town hall for the announcement, but most just ignored us.

“Never thought Ah’d see tha day,” Storm commented with a shake of her head as we went past some Enclave soldiers talking with a shop owner. “This whole thing feels, weird ta me still, but it ain’t mah choice.”

“How do you think the rest of the town will react?” I asked as I looked between my friends for a moment. “I mean, if any of the stories I’ve heard about the Enclave are true, then I’m sure there would be some that don’t agree with the council’s decision.”

“True or not, it’s something you can’t let flavor and taint everything.” Moonlight said with a shake of her head. “Frankly, I don’t see any reason to be afraid of them or dislike them, like I said, nothing they did in their past affected me, and they aren’t hurting me now, so why should I worry about a future with them? Isn’t that the same for most of you here?”

“Yeah, the Enclave barely had any presence here during Operation Cauterize and all previous interactions were fairly positive,” Neivi said with a sigh. “So, in truth there isn’t much risk of that. That doesn’t make it easier to accept sometimes, but it’s what is best for the town right now.”

“What if I blamed you for all the things the Zebra did?” Moonlight said, Looking to Neivi. “My being in that stable, is a direct consequence to your people’s actions, What if I let that flavor every interaction I have with you, how would that make you feel?”

Neivi paused a moment, the Zebra looked like she was thinking that over before she sighed and nodded. “You’re right of course, I’ve had that happen to me more than once. I’ll be more open minded about it for now, thank you.”

“If I really wanted to be cruel, I could point out and draw connections to things like, how me and Firelight ended up like this and how that can be drawn back to the Zebra during the war.” Moonlight said with a shrug and a chuckle. “But, stories are stories for a reason, to not be forgotten so they are never repeated, but not to create fear and anguish.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me,” Neivi said. “I’ll give the Enclave the benefit of a doubt. Thank you Moonlight, you’ve given me a lot to think about right now.”

We reached the top of the stairs where the town hall was. Winter was standing there along with the rest of the council and a few guards. Winter noticed us and gave us a nod as more ponies and Zebras arrived.

“Well, wish me luck, I need to be up there,” Neivi said as she trotted up to the area next to the rest of the council. She gave Winter a small smile and the light blue Pegasus nodded and gave a small smile back.

“Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “It’s easy to forget and get caught up in things.”

“She’ll be fine,” I said with a chuckle as I watched the Zebra and smiled softly. “She’s a good mare. She can get through this for the good of the town, I know it.”

“Now if she can just get up tha courage ta tell yah how she feels,” Storm Wrangler said with a chuckle and I just shook my head and ignored her comment.

“Come on, they’re about to start,” Lemon Lime said in her gruff voice. “You can tease Firelight about her love life later.”

Moonlight smiled and nudged Storm. “But teasing about love lifes is our favorite past time, isn’t it.”

“Oh yes definitely,” Storm said with a grin. “It’s tha most fun Ah’ve had in years. But, yah know there’s an easy way ta stop us right?”

“Right, because then you’ll bug us about other things,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

“Darn it, she’s onto us,” Storm said with a chuckle.

“Oh no, whatever shall we do!” Moonlight said “Guess we’ll have to figure out something else to heckle them over.”

I was about to say something else when Neivi stepped up to the podium and began to speak. “I know the last few days haven’t been easy for any of us. The Mayor did a lot of things that we’re going to have to try and rebuild from. We’re going to have to make some hard choices, but they are choices we’ve had to make.”

She pauses a little and looks out at us before locking eyes with me as I gave her a slight nod.

“But as friends told me recently, we have to look past the stories and what happened in the past,” she continued as she looked back at Winter. “We are in need of help and our friends at the Enclave and President Winter Breeze have offered their aid. This isn’t an easy decision to make, and I will understand if not all of you agree to the Council’s decision. After deliberation and a vote, we’ve decided to accept her offer of joining the Enclave.”

A murmur went up from the crowd of gathered ponies. There was a projection spell that was sending it out around town so anypony (or Zebra) that wasn’t there was able to hear it. I was a little worried for a moment, but things settled down after a moment.

“We believe that this is the right choice to make for the good of the town,” Neivi said and looked back at the rest of the council who nodded. “The council will remain the authority in Nightingale as long as you will have us. There will be very little changes from how things are currently run, but we will have more supplies and support from the Enclave. These are tough times and we need all the allies we can get. Now, President Breeze would like to say a few words.”

Winter nodded as Neivi moved back to her spot and took the podium. The neatly dressed Pegasus looked out at the gathered citizens before she began to speak. The Enclave President spoke in a calm, kind and almost motherly voice.

“I know this isn’t going to be easy for some of you,” Winter said. “There are many ponies out there that are faced with this same decision. We’re not monsters, we’re not the boogeymare, we’re here to help out as best we can in order to make Equestria a better place. For over 200 years we’ve done nothing but survive, the time has come to truly rebuild. The Lightbringer and ponies like her have shown us that, and it’s not enough to just build here and there. We are going to rebuild Equestria, together, with your help, and with ours. This world will thrive again, but we have to do it together, and stand united. Thank you, and I promise that I will do everything I can to make sure that you’re all well taken care of. This is your home, and we’re not going to take that away from you.”

She smiled a little before she returned to her spot. There was a moment of silence before there was a cheer and applause from the gathered crowd.

I looked over at Neivi and smiled as I gave her a nod. I got the feeling that everything was going to be okay.

As the crowd dispersed and Winter returned to the Paxis with her guards, Neivi walked back towards us and let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve never really been one for speaking, but that was nerve wracking.”

“You did fine,” I said with a smile as I noticed Storm and Moonlight talking off to the side. “I’m just glad that it went so well.”

“Yeah, me too,” Neivi said with a soft smile as she looked away from me for a moment. “Still, I’m kind of worried about what might happen next. This isn’t going to go unnoticed, and not everyone is going to be as understanding about it.”

I frowned a little, she was right of course. I had heard more than a few horror stories about the Enclave in the Society. While some of them were probably just lies, it was kind of hard to differentiate between the lies and the truth.

But then again, I had heard many stories about Zebras before I met Neivi. Maybe some interaction with the Enclave would do some good for Equestria, I just hoped that I was right.

“Neivi, you made the right decision, I know it,” I finally said as I gave the Zebra mare a smile. “You’re one of the smartest ponies… sorry, beings that I’ve ever met. You gave me a chance that most wouldn’t, I think it’s time we give the Enclave that same chance.”

“Agreed,” Neivi said with a sigh. “Firelight, I’m honestly a little bit afraid. When I was elected I promised to do everything I could to protect this town. I’m… afraid that I can’t do that anymore, that I’ve been compromised.”

“Neivi, you’re the kindest mare I’ve ever known,” I said as I placed a hoof on her shoulder gently. “You’ve done more for me and I’m sure for this town than anyone else, I’m glad I met you. I don’t know what I would be right now if I didn’t.”

Neivi paused a moment and smiled a little as she hugged me tight. I smiled a little and hugged her back as I gently wrapped my wings around the Zebra mare gently. She felt warm against my chest as she nuzzled me lightly.

“Firelight, I…” Neivi started to say and paused a moment as she looked up at me.

“What is it Neivi?” I asked with a slight tilt of my head.

“With everything that’s going on, I feel like I should say something…” she said softly as she looked down at her hooves. “Ever since you woke up and we started to talk and I got to know you, I’ve, started to have feelings for you. I, don’t even know if you’d feel the same way about me, but, I wanted to tell you.”

I blinked, I couldn’t believe she had actually said that. I just stared at her in the eyes for a moment as I tried to figure out what to say. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I panicked, I let her go and my horn glowed orange as I teleported away.

When the flash from the teleportation spell faded away I realized I was standing above the trees. I was on the same platform that me and Neivi had climbed up to the other day. I sighed and sat down to look over the town.

Neivi had feelings for me, I had never had a mare admit that about me, not a mare I cared about like that. What was I supposed to do? I had never actually felt like that about another pony, or Zebra I guess.

Goddess, what had I done? I had panicked and teleported away instead of trying to talk to her. What had I done? She was probably freaking out and crying over what had happened, I felt horrible, but what was I supposed to tell her?

“Firelight, what are you going to do with yourself…” I said softly as I looked down into the town. “Maybe I should just leave town, I just screwed up with one of the best friends I’ve ever had…”

“Or you could go back and apologize and admit your feelings.” Moonlight said as she landed in the platform next to me. “Neivi is a very understanding mare, she’ll understand that you panicked and over reacted.”

I sighed a little as I looked over at her. “But what am I supposed to actually do or say? She, I mean… she and I, we… I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

“I guess the Society never really prepared you for the eventuality of a partner, did it?” Moonlight said with a sigh. “Well, could always handle it like we did down in the stable, just do what comes natural, go with the flow, if you two are meant to be, it’ll just click and things will work without any effort.”

“I don’t even know if I can do that,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t even know how I feel about Neivi. I’m still trying to figure everything out about myself, and if I even would have feelings for her. What if I screw up somehow? What if I don’t feel that way?”

“I had the same questions when I got my first partner.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “It, sounds odd but it’s just, the way of life down there, anyway... “ She paused, taking a deep breath. “My mom told me, that love is kind and forgiving, so even if you mess up or don’t feel the same way, I think everything will work out in the end, right?”

“Maybe,” I said with a sigh. “But at the same time I don’t want to hurt Neivi, again. I know nothing about love beyond seeing what a couple of Alicorns in my Wing had, and, well I don’t even completely understand that. What should I do?”

“Well, how does Neivi make you feel?” Moonlight said with a smile. “Love is a pretty distinctive feeling, should be pretty easy to tell if you feel the same.”

“Well, she’s smart, kind, beautiful… I’ve only known her a few days but I’d trust her with my life,” I said with a sigh. “When I’m around her, I’m happy, moreso than with my other friends. I, guess sometimes I do feel an attraction to her, but, I thought it was more about all the confusing thoughts I’ve had since waking up.”

“Tell me.” Moonlight said, outstretching a wing to me. “Do you feel… complete, when you’re with her? At peace, like no matter what the world throws at you, you can take it and keep going?”

I thought about that for a long moment as I went over the feelings I had while I was around Neivi. It wasn’t easy to put it into words I had to admit, but I could feel that same thing she was saying.

“Yes,” I finally said. “That’s exactly how I feel, and when I’m not with her I feel, empty somehow.”

“Like you can’t live without her, like you feel so, deathly alone and you miss her when she is away?” Moonlight said, her smile growing a bit more.

“Yes, that’s exactly how I…” I said and facehooved. “I’ve got it bad don’t I? I’m in love with Neivi. What am I supposed to do, how do I tell her?”

“Follow your heart, something else that my mom told me, my other mom this time.” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “Love is wise.”

“Your mom sounds like a smart pony,” I said with a sigh. “Do you think Neivi will even hear me out? I mean, she poured her heart to me and I ran away… that would hurt any pony, or Zebra.”

“Well, I think she is a very understanding pony, or rather, Zebra - that, and I think that Storm is probably doing a good job at helping her understand that this is something new to you and that it came out of the blue and startled you.” Moonlight said with a chuckle and a shake of her head. “Either way, running away ain’t gunna fix anything.”

“You’re right, I’ll go talk to her,” I said as I got to my hooves and looked down towards the clinic. “Wish me luck.”

“Don’t need you wish you luck, I rather wish you confidence and security.” Moonlight said with a smile. “You’re already pretty lucky, though the lack of the other two tends to be your downfall.”

“Thanks,” I said as I looked at my wings for a moment before I shook my head and went over to the line that would take me down to the ground. My wings were almost healed, but I didn’t want to put it at faith that I’d be able to fly there. “And no spying on us, got it? This is a private moment.”

“I would never” Moonlight said with a smirk. “What kind of mare do you think I am?”

“You better not have your hooves crossed,” I said and narrowed my eyes a little as I secured the line.

“Oh come on, what do you think we are, school ponies?” Moonlight said, giving me a slight nudge.

“You teased me about having feelings for her, that proves you’re capable of that kind of thing,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll see you later Moonlight.”

I squeezed the attachment and slid down the rope away from Moonlight and the platform. I just hoped that she was right and this was going to work out.

Or I really would have to leave town.

I paused outside of the clinic as I prepared to knock on the door. I was still a bit nervous about this, especially now that I was about to come face-to-face with Neivi and try and tell her how I felt.

I sighed, there wasn’t any point in putting it off so I raised my hoof to knock on the door when it flew open revealing Storm Wrangler standing on the other side. She did not look happy to see me.

“Yah hear ta rub tha salt in her wound some more?” She asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “Yah nearly broke her heart back there Firelight, yah better be here ta make it right.”

“I am,” I said with a sigh as I looked at the purple pegasus. “I’m sorry really, I had a lot to think about but Moonlight helped me sort things out. I want to have a chance to make it right, if Neivi will talk to me.”

Storm paused a moment and sighed. “Ah’ll talk ta her, but if she ain’t ready yet yah should give her time, okay?”

“Okay,” I said and Storm closed the door as she headed back inside, leaving me standing there as I waited for her to come back.

While I waited I tried to think of what I was going to tell her. Moonlight was right, Neivi was an understanding mare and would probably at least want to talk to me. I stood back and waited, a million thoughts going through my brain as I did.

I was going to have to apologize to Neivi first, I couldn’t imagine what had been going through her mind after I teleported away. I sighed and shook my head, this was not going to be easy but I knew what I had to do.

Finally the door opened and Storm and Lemon were standing there. Lemon eyed me and frowned a little. “Are you sure you’re ready to talk to her?” She asked in her raspy voice.

“Very sure,” I said with confidence that I didn’t entirely feel. “I want to set things right.”

“Alright, you can come in,” Lemon said as they moved out of the way and gestured for me to enter the clinic. “But if you hurt her again, well, I don’t want to think about it.”

“I won’t, I hope,” I said, the second part was softer.

I walked inside the clinic as I adjusted my wings a little. Neivi was seated at her desk as she was reading a book, she looked like she had been crying but had calmed down.

“Neivi?” I asked softly as the Zebra mare looked up, her glasses were slightly askew but she adjusted them so they were on her muzzle.

“Oh hey Firelight,” she said with a weak smile. “Look, I’m sorry about earlier, I didn’t think about how you might react.”

“Neivi, its okay, I’m the one who should be apologizing,” I said with a sigh as I took a seat on the bed close to her. “I ran off instead of facing my feelings and trying to sort through everything. I panicked because I wasn’t sure how I felt about you, or of love in general, I’m still new to all of this you know.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Neivi said with a sigh. “I should have thought of that at the time, but I didn’t. If, you don’t feel the same way about me then I understand and I’ll drop the subject.”

“That’s not true,” I said softly and she looked up at me surprised. “I, wasn’t really sure how I felt about you but I talked with Moonlight before I came here. She helped me sort out my feelings, and probably stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life.”

“So, what did you figure out?” Neivi asked as she moved in closer.

“That I love you Neivi,” I said as I gently placed my hoof on the Zebra’s cheek and gave her a smile. “I love you and I want you to know that. I made a mistake by running away from you, but I’m going to do everything I can too make up for that.”

“You, really mean that?” Neivi asked with a smile. “You love me?”

“With all my heart,” I said softly as I pulled her in close. “I just wish that I had figured it out earlier.”

“Well, better late than never,” Neivi said with a chuckle and then leaned up and kissed me on the lips.

I smiled a little and kissed her back. It was my first real kiss, it felt wonderful as we shared our first kiss. I gently wrapped my wings around her as we fell back onto the bed together as the kiss was deepened, becoming more passionate.

I never felt happier than I did in that moment.

Neivi blushed a little as she broke the kiss and chuckled a little. “Well, we’re going to have to break the news to our friends so they can’t tease us anymore.”

“Or, we could leave it ambiguous to mess with them a bit longer,” I said with a chuckle as I nuzzled her gently. “Might be fun.”

“Hmm, good point,” Neivi said with a laugh as she snuggled with me. “I just want to stay here with you for a little while though. Let them stew over it before we tell them.”

“Yeah,” I said with a soft smile as I pulled the Zebra mare in closer. “Sounds perfect to me. Does, this mean you’re my… what do you call it when your special somepony is a Zebra?”

Neivi just chuckled and nuzzled me gently. “Just marefriend is fine, its less complicated that way.”

I nodded a little and we just laid together on the bed. I kept my wings and legs wrapped around the beautiful Zebra mare as we shared this moment together. I didn’t care about anything other than making her happy, and I was glad that we had done this finally.

Now it was just a matter of telling our friends.

Our moment was however interrupted by the sound of a loud sneeze. I facehooved as I looked up to see a familiar hat being pulled down as I facehooved a little.

“I told Moonlight not to spy on us,” I said with a groan.

“And you believed that she wouldn’t?” Neivi asked with a laugh. “Trust me, I know her type, she’s probably right outside.”

“Come on, let’s go talk to them,” I said as Neivi got off me and we headed to the door where I heard Storm and Lemon talking.

“Ah don’t think they heard me, they ain’t out here yet,” she said quietly.

“Storm, I think they heard you in Canterbury,” Lemon Lime whispered back with a groan. “If they didn’t hear it I’d be shocked.”

“Yeah, we heard it,” I said as we pushed the door open, which made the eavesdroppers jump. “You know it’s rude to eavesdrop on ponies, especially ones that are your friends and could be doing other things.”

“We weren’t eavesdroppin’, we were, uh…” Storm said. “Just checkin’ on tha sidin’ here, Ah was thinkin’ that it kinda needs some repairs or somethin’.”

“Riiight,” I said as I noticed Moonlight nearby. “And what were you doing, you said you wouldn’t spy on us.”

“Are you inspecting the railings or something maybe?” Neivi asked with a chuckle.

“I wasn’t spying on you like I promised, I am as good as my word.” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “I was watching them spy though, big difference between doing it and watching it be done.”

“Yeah, we’re not buying that,” I said with a shake of my head. “You’re trying to get info on us either way, shame on you.”

“Buy it or not, I know I’m good on my word.” Moonlight said, shrugging “So say your harsh words, but I know at the end of the day my conscience is clean.”

“You know we would’ve just told you, eventually,” Neivi said with a roll of her eyes as she leaned up and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh come on, Moonlight ain’t like that,” Storm said. “If she gave her word that she won’t spy on ya’ll, Ah know she wouldn’t do that.”

“To be honest, I would of rather been out getting something to eat like a certain somepony promised me, but she decided that eavesdropping on her friends was more important then keeping a lunch date.” Moonlight said, smirking at Storm.

Storm blushed a little. “Well… see, Ah was gonna… but Ah wanted ta… yah know… make sure Firelight didn’t run off again…”

“Or burst into a fit of jealous rage, either or.” Moonlight said, giggling to herself. “But if you don’t believe me, I’m sure you can ask any of the ponies that passed through here, they can tell you I’m not lying.”

I just laughed as Storm pulled her hat down to try and cover up her blush. That’s when I felt a tail brushing against my flank lightly and chuckled a little when I turned to see Neivi who gave me a wink.

“You know, lunch actually does sound kind of good,” the Zebra said with a chuckle. “What do you say Firelight, care to escort a lady to share a meal?”

“I would be delighted,” I said with a smile as I nuzzled her gently. “Besides, it gives these three time to think about what to tease us about next.”

“I would ask when we could expect kids, but Firelight already beat me to the punch on that.” Moonlight said with a giggle.

“We’re not even… never mind, lets just go,” Neivi said with a shake of her head as we headed off together.

“You seem happier than normal today Ms. Firelight,” Dawn Star commented as I tucked the fillies into bed that night. Blueberry and Wind Chime were already fast asleep, but the young Unicorn was trying hard to stay awake.

“Well, me and Neivi, well, we…” I said as I tried to put it into words.

“Oh, you’re dating now, is that it?” Dawn Star asked with a chuckle. “About time, I was just talking with Wind Chime earlier about how you two seemed interested in each other.”

“Did everypony notice it?” I asked with a groan. “I thought it wasn’t nearly that noticable.”

“No, I think there’s a guard on the night shift that missed it,” Dawn said with a chuckle as she yawned a little. “But I owe Blueberry 5 caps now, thank you very much.”

“What, you bet on whether or not we’d get together?” I asked.

“No, we bet on when you’d get together, I thought you’d wait at least another week or two,” Dawn said and yawned again as she laid back. “Do I have to go to sleep now?”

“Yes Dawn, you do,” I said with a chuckle. “I’ll see you tomorrow bright and early, you still have to go to school you know.”

“Darn it,” Dawn said as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I smiled a little and headed to the door to the bedroom and left as I gently shut it, looking back at the three fillies for a moment I smiled a little.

“Good night,” I said quietly as I shut the door and turned around to head to my own room as the sound of music was heard.

“Now we'll make it out

We'll stick together and get through this storm somehow

It's too late to back down and run

Hope is gone, but harmony's strong

We've had the power in us all along

To embrace the heroes that we've become.”

I was a bit surprised to see that Moonlight was wide awake despite the late hour. She was getting things ready around the house for the night while she hummed a tune to herself. I was tired but I was a bit curious.

“Getting ready for the night huh?”

“Yep, somepony’s gotta do it.” Moonlight said with a smile. “Lining the walkways with Lavender, humming lullabies and just, ushering in the night.”

“What’s that song you’re humming?” I asked curiously.

“I, Honestly don’t know.” Moonlight said, looking to me. “I wasn’t aware I was humming a song just now.”

“It sounded like a song to me, but I dunno,” I said as I tried to think about it. “It, almost sounded familiar actually.”

“Huh, well - I do have a lot of work to do, don’t let me keep you up.” Moonlight said with a smile before she went about her work, it wasn’t long till she started humming that familiar tune, every now and then she’d speak a word or two, but she still seemed entirely unaware that she had started to hum and sing.

The tune still bugged me a little, but I just shrugged it off as I headed to my bedroom. I heard her sing a full line.

“Come little children, I’ll take thee away into a land of enchantment

Come little children, the time come to play, here in my garden of shadows.”

I paused a moment, I knew that, it was from one of the hymns of the Nightmare Society, a song called Children of the Night. But why was Moonlight humming and singing it?

I sighed and shook my head, I wasn’t sure if I should tell her, it might just wind up worrying her more than anything else. I slid out of my black armored robes and collapsed onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long moment.

I was happy, happier than I had ever been in my life. I had good friends, an amazing marefriend, and a place to live in Nightingale. We had saved the town from a threat, but it felt like our work was far from done.

I didn’t want to think about that right now, right now I just wanted to relax and get a good night’s sleep. I levitated the blankets over me and closed my eyes as I drifted off to sleep.

I found myself in a pitch black room, I looked around panicked as if expecting something to jump out at me. Even with my enhanced night vision I couldn’t make anything out in the darkness that surrounded me.

“Firelight…” A familiar sounding mare’s voice echoed through the room.

“Who’s there?” I asked as I looked around, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest as I tried to find the source of the voice. “You don’t scare me… show yourself!”

“Oh, really? I don’t scare you?” The voice said as I tried not to shiver as every word seemed to send shivers down my spine. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt something brush against me. “You hide it well.”

“What do you want?” I demanded fearfully. “What do you want with me?”

“You have something I want,” the voice said again from beside me, I turned to try and see it but it wasn’t there. Then I heard the voice whispering in my ear. “I want it, and you will give it back to me.”

“Moonlight, where are you? Help me!” I cried out, trying to gather magic in my horn but it just fizzled out.

“You have no power here, Firebrand,” the voice said, I was trying to process what I was hearing before I realized who it was, it was the High Priestess. “You took something from us that we need, and I will not let you keep it. Just like you took things from them.”

“You pretend to be one of us, but I see the truth,” a familiar raspy voice said as Lemon seemed to appear out of nowhere. “I thought you would be better, but I’ve seen your true colors. You brought chaos to our town, you put foals in danger, you took away our chance at peace.”

“What? No, that’s not…” I started to say as Lemon vanished into the shadows around me. “Lemon, listen to me… I didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?” A familiar accented voice said as I turned to see Storm standing there. “Didn’t mean ta bring that, thing into tha town? Ah trusted yah, we all trusted yah and one of yah was bad enough. Now yah expect us ta all play nice while a shadow walks amongst us? Ah don’t think so, Ah’d rather trust tha Enclave, at least Ah know what ta expect from them.”

“Storm, wait!” I said and lunged at her but she vanished into the shadows before my hooves could make contact with her. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Hello Firelight,” a soft purr said from behind me and I flinched as I turned to see Neivi standing there as she sauntered up to me, running her hoof along my chest a little. “Such a shame isn’t it, only a few hours together, but I’ve already found love with another.”

“Wait, what?” I said as the Zebra circled around me for a moment.

“Yes, there’s another I’m afraid, but…” she said as she got up close to me and whispered in my ear. “If she was to say, vanish… then she wouldn’t be in the way of our love now would she? All you have to do is…”

“Okay, hold it right there,” I said, finally snapping out of my confusion. “I don’t know who you really are, but Neivi would NEVER act like that. She’s the nicest mare in town, she puts others ahead of herself and she loves me with all her heart. She would never cast me aside and tell me that I can have her back if I get rid of another pony. WHO ARE YOU?”

The figure that looked like Neivi frowned as she vanished into the shadow like all the others.

“You think you’re so clever don’t you?” The voice continued as the shadows gathered together and the towering figure of the High Priestess appeared before me. “For a murderer, you killed one of the Priestesses, a mare I have known for years and was loyal to the society. She was a good pony, a principled pony, and you cut her down. You know the punishment for murder, do you not Firebrand?”

“Death,” I said through gritted teeth as Alicorns dressed in the garb of the High Priestess’ high guards appeared before me and aimed their rifles at me.

“But, we are not without mercy,” the High Priestess said as she paced behind the firing squad as they aimed their rifles at me. “If you repent, and come back into the fold along with Moonlight, we will show compassion. You know what you have to do my child, come back and together we will bring peace and order to Equestria. If not, you will be shot where you stand.”

I paused a moment, to do that would be betraying my friends and everything I had worked towards. Most of all, it would be betraying Neivi, I couldn’t betray her, not now, not ever.

“Thank you, but I would rather die on my hooves than live on my knees,” I said and closed my eyes and waited for the feeling of the bullets piercing me.

But that feeling never came, instead the whole world around me seemed to go silent. When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to find myself lying in a field looking up at the night sky.

“What’s going on?” I asked as I looked around confused. “What happened?”

“I rescued you from the nightmare,” a soft mare’s voice said from behind me. “You have nothing to fear anymore.”

“Who…” I said and turned around to see who had spoken to me. Standing before me was a tall Alicorn, she was dark blue with a long flowing blue and purple mane and tail that had lights in it that sparkled like stars. She had black on her neck and flank that had a crescent moon on it. “You’re, Princess Luna?”

“Indeed, I still have some pieces of myself wandering this Dreamscape,” Luna said as she gave me a soft smile. “When I sensed your plight, I knew that I had to act.”

I bowed my head slightly, I had no idea what to do now, but I smiled a little. “Thank you Princess, it means a lot that you would help me.”

“Of course, you are very welcome,” Luna said with a smile before her face turned sad. “Firelight, I am truly sorry that this has happened to you and the others. There were whispers of these Nightmare worshippers during the war, but we did not take them seriously. If we had then there is a chance this may not have happened. And since I was once Nightmare Moon…”

“Princess Luna, I don’t blame you,” I said as my head snapped up to look at the Alicorn in front of me. “I don’t think you would condone what the Nightmare Society is doing to ponies, even if you were still Nightmare Moon. You have nothing to apologize for. The only pony who is to blame is the High Priestess.”

Luna paused a moment as if thinking over what I just said before she smiled a little. “Perhaps you are right, but you have nothing left to worry about tonight. The force that invaded your dreams has been weakened and will not bother you again for now. I only ask that you be careful out there.”

“Be careful?” I asked and looked at her curiously.

“The Nightmare Society will never stop unless they are defeated,” Luna said as she shook her head with a sigh. “You and your friends have a lot of trials ahead of you, but I am sure you can overcome them together. You are lucky to have such good friends.”

“Thank you, I… I know,” I said with a soft smile. “I’m just glad I found them.”

“Of course, I will see you again,” Luna said as she bowed her head slightly and vanished, and after a moment the world around me turned white.

I groaned as I rolled over in bed and looked at the light coming in through the window. I checked the time on my PipBuck, it was only 0830. I rubbed my head a little, last night had been a headache both figuratively and literally.

I got dressed and trudged out of the room, I made a mental note to talk to Moonlight about what had happened last night. She might have some idea what happened with Luna and…

When I entered the living room I realized something was wrong right away. While it had some things around there was something missing, Moonlight. I went to check on the fillies but they were already awake and getting ready to go.

“Hey, did any of you see Moonlight this morning?” I asked.

“Huh? Oh, no,” Blueberry said as she looked at her friends. “Did any of you see her?”

“No, can’t say that I did,” Dawn said and Wind Chime just shook her head. “Why do you ask?”

“She doesn’t seem to be here is all, I’m sure she’s okay,” I said with a sigh and gave them a nod before there was a knock at the door. “Thanks anyway.”

I headed to the front door and opened it to find Neivi standing there with a worried look on her face. “Hey Firelight, is everything okay here?”

“Uh, yeah, everything is fine,” I said and looked confused for a moment. “What’s wrong? Did something happen last night?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Neivi said with a sigh as she adjusted her glasses a little. “A guard came by the Clinic last night, with an unconscious Moonlight. As best we can tell sometime last night she left the house and passed out on the walkway near here.”

“What happened? Does she know anything? Is she awake?” I asked rapidly, I was more worried for Moonlight than anything else right now.

“Physically she’s fine,” Neivi said reassuringly. “The best we can tell is that she blacked out after you went to bed. Was she acting weird last night?”

“Well, no, she was pretty much acting normally,” I said as I thought back to last night. “Except she was humming and sang a bit of one of the Society’s Hymns, Children of the Night. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but that’s the only thing I can think of that would be considered weird.”

“Children of the Night, I see,” Neivi said with a pause as if she was thinking about something. “Okay, we need to get to the clinic, Storm will come by and get the fillies to the schoolhouse. If you can think of anything else that might help, now’s the time to tell me.”

I nodded as we headed out of the house together. I kept thinking about the nightmare I had last night, Moonlight had intervened before when I was having a nightmare, but something about this felt, off.

I had a bad feeling about all of this. It felt like the threat to Nightingale wasn’t quite over yet. If somepony had managed to infiltrate my dreams, that might mean any number of things. I just hoped that we were going to be able to figure this out.

“There is one thing,” I said softly as we walked towards the clinic, and I began telling Neivi about what I had experienced last night.

I just finished telling her what happened as we entered the clinic. Neivi looked worried as she opened the door and we walked in together.

“You’re absolutely certain?” She asked as she shut the door behind her and I nodded. “That does sound like it could be dream manipulation like Moonlight has shown. But, I thought Moonlight was the only one in town that could do that.”

“As far as I know she is,” I said with a sigh as I paused a moment. “It’s like we’re missing a piece of the puzzle, did we miss anything?”

“Well let’s see,” Neivi said as she thought about it for a moment. “We found out somepony was using mind control to get ponies out of the town. We exposed the Mayor and his co-conspirators as being connected to the Society and ousted him. But, what could we have missed…”

I thought about it for a long moment and then a chill ran up my spine as it clicked. The nightmare, Moonlight blacking out and finding herself outside, the one thing we hadn’t accounted for.

“Did we ever find out who was behind the mind control?” I asked as we looked at each other as that thought sank in.

“Filius canis,” Neivi said in a tone that heavily implied that she was cursing. “No, we didn’t, we were focused on the Mayor.”

“Come on, let’s go talk to Moonlight,” I said as we headed over to Moonlight’s bed. “Hey Moonlight, how are you feeling?”

“I feel like somepony tried to close my head in the stable door..” Moonlight said, rubbing at her head.

“I’ll brew a potion to help with that,” Neivi said with a sigh. “But we’re working on a theory, do you remember making contact with anypony strange yesterday or recently?”

“No, not that I can think of…” Moonlight said, giving a groan. “It hurts to think right now… the last thing I can remember is I was placing lavender around the house and walkways to help ponies sleep, and then nothing…”

“I see,” I said with a sigh as I brushed my mane back a little. “We think you may have fallen under the control of the same pony that took victims out of the town before. We were hoping that you might have some clue as to their identity.”

Neivi got up and went over to start working on a remedy for the headache while I sat down next to Moonlight’s bed.

“You said I was singing a song, did that have something to do with it?” Moonlight said, looking at me. “Maybe that’s how they reach out to you and get you...”

“Children of the Night,” I said softly as I remembered the song. “Supposedly it was a song the Goddess sung as she gathered the titular Children. Its, something of an old legend in Equestria and the Society has done what they can to search for them, if there are any left at this point. But, that makes a lot of sense to me, its the only thing we can think of at least.”

“The mind is vulnerable to songs, it’s something we learned down in the stable a long time ago.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “There was a song the overmare thought would cause everypony to be calm so she used the stables speakers to play it, but it just, riled everyone up, and fights were prominent all over the stable.”

“I see,” I said and sighed a little. “Yes, that does seem consistent with the way music was used in the Society. During services the hymns seemed to have an almost, hypnotic quality, and it was easy to get swept up in it and sing along even if you didn’t want to. Music is a powerful thing, and there can be magic in those notes.”

“Imagine the kinds of messages that could be encoded into the notes and melodies, snuck into your mind while it believes it’s just listening to a beautiful tune, and embedded, waiting to wake up.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “This is… all very disturbing.”

“I agree,” Neivi said with a shake of her head as she continued to work. “I’ve heard my fair share of stories about the power of music in Equestria going back to before the war. Ponies spontaneously breaking into song despite not knowing the tune, or any music that should be present for that matter. Its weird if you ask me.”

“So, then we’re dealing with somepony who can manipulate using music,” I said and sighed a little. “This is not good, that’s much harder to avoid than somepony who uses magic.”

“For all we know, they have used music to implant instructions in your mind long ago, and it’s just… waiting for a trigger, just the right cadence or melody.” Moonlight said, “The only time I remember being in contact with the Society, was when they were trying to take me.”

“Which means, anypony in town could be a sleeper agent,” Neivi said as we all let that sink in. “Not even foals would be safe from this style of attack. This is a bigger problem than we thought.”

“So, then what are we going to do about it?” I asked. “Make everypony tone deaf?”

“Radios need to be controlled or outlawed.” Moonlight said, getting to her hooves. “If it takes music to trigger, then music needs to be policed.”

“The only radio and music everypony listens to is…” Neivi said as her eyes went wide for a moment. “Vox Populi’s show out of Canterbury, you’re not suggesting…”

“They have mind control, this Vox Populi could be used as a puppet to trigger sleeper agents, and be none the wiser” Moonlight said with a groan. “That, or the Society listens too and picks songs that they play as triggers, but that lets go of control because who knows when that song may be played next.”

“So, what are we going to do?” I asked as I looked between the two of them and Neivi sighed a little.

“I’m supposed to go to Canterbury to improve relations with the settlement,” the Zebra said. “If we all go, then we can meet with Vox and see if there’s anything we can do about this. It’s a long shot, but right now it may be our only option.”

“May want to tell the Enclave first, it may look suspicious otherwise.” Moonlight said with a sigh and looked to me. “Did anything happen after I blacked out? I’m terrified that I may of hurt somepony.”

I paused a moment and sighed. “I had a nightmare last night, if you were under mind control it’s possible that they were using your dreamwalking to affect it.”

“But other than that, I don’t believe you hurt anypony,” Neivi said reassuringly.

“May want to ask around, ask if anypony else had nightmares… I was out for a while” Moonlight said, looking between myself and the Zebra. “To give one pony a nightmare, takes only a couple of minutes, I was out for hours.”

“I’ll ask around,” Neivi said as she dipped something into the potion she was brewing and trotted over to Firelight and gave it to her. “Here, this should help with your headache.”

“I think I’ll be fine.” Moonlight said, pushing it away. “I don’t like taking things that I don’t need, it hurts, doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Alright, well let me know if you change your mind,” Neivi said as she put it away. “I’ll inform Soia of the situation as well. And we’ll have to figure out what to do with the fillies while we’re gone, the jungle is no place for them.”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh as I shook my head a little. “We’ll have to find somepony we can trust and isn’t likely to have been affected by the music already.”

“Who’s to say they aren’t affected themselves? They’ve been placed under Mind control before, and have been exposed to the society several times, they could be sleeper agents too.” Moonlight said, taking a deep breath. “They aren’t scared of taking children, who’s to say they aren’t scared of using them to take or manipulate others?”

“She’s right,” Neivi said with a sigh. “But we don’t have a lot of options, unless you’re suggesting we take three fillies through the harshest jungle in Equestria. Teleportation isn’t an option because Firelight’s never even been there.”

“We, could fly there,” I suggested. “I mean, there’s a flying ship above us that probably has smaller craft, we could ask the Enclave.”

“They did promise aid,” Moonlight said with a nod.

“They did, this is going to take some getting used to,” Neivi said with a sigh. “Alright, I’ll talk with the President about getting us access to a Vertibuck when I explain the situation with the Society. Hopefully this will do the trick.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” I said with a sigh. “So, what are we supposed to actually do with this information? This is a threat to everypony here, we can’t just tell them to turn off their radios without giving an explanation. But at the same time, if they find out that any of them could be a sleeper agent…”

“Then it’ll make the situation worse,” Neivi finished. “Families will turn on each other, friends and neighbors will start pointing hooves at each other for the smallest things.”

“Indeed,” I said with a sigh. “So, what are we going to do?”

“Jam the radio?” Moonlight suggested. “The Enclave probably have a radio jammer on that ship, jam the frequency of the radio station, no pony needs to know it’s on purpose, they’ll just think the transmitter is out.”

“Something else to talk to her about I see,” Neivi said and nodded a little. “Alright, at least we have something of a plan. Hopefully the Society won’t get suspicious, we’ll manage somehow, I hope.”

“Alright,” I said with a nod. “Is there anything else?”

“What is the Society likely to do if they do get suspicious that their method of control and activating their agents has been compromised?” Moonlight asked. “I mean, they can’t attack Nightingale, it’s too hard a target, they can’t use sleeper agents, and infiltration takes time, this would only be for a few days”

“They’d…” I said and paused a moment. “They’d probably up the attacks on other settlements to get more recruits. Or they’ll be patient and attempt infiltration or even set up an alternative source of mind control.”

“All of which will buy us time,” Neivi added. “There are a lot of settlements around here that don’t have all the protection Nightingale does, but if we can help them out, we might be able to form a unified force against the Society’s incursions.”

“So, the plan is to, go to the other settlements and hope they listen to us?” I asked and looked at her for a moment. “You want to send, two Alicorns, one of which is dressed in Nightmare Society robes, to other settlements in hopes of convincing them to join a, what, coalition?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Neivi said. “Maybe it’s time we get you a new wardrobe.”

“I probably have a spare stable suit around here.” Moonlight said with a shrug. “It might fit, we’re not too different in size.”

“That works,” I said with a sigh. “Alright, well we better get started if we’re going to get everything done before we leave for Canterbury.”

“Right,” Neivi said. “Are you going to be okay Moonlight? Any more problems?”

“My head still hurts, but I’m fine.” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “I’ve had worse run ins, usually involving some sort of drink or narcotic”

“Alright then, I’ll go get a ride up to the Paxis,” Neivi said as she gave me a kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you soon Firelight.”

I smiled a little and nuzzled her gently. I smiled a little and watched her go, she smiled a little as she wiggled her flanks at me lightly before she headed out the front door to the clinic.

“Come on, we should go get the Stable suit and talk to the fillies,” I said as I got to my hooves.

“Right, come to think of it have we checked for another drop from Citrus?” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “She’s probably brought up multiple things for us”

“Good idea, let’s check on that,” I said with a nod. “Sounds like we won’t be in this area for awhile anyway so it would be a good idea.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea for the both of us to go, especially with my compromised state.” Moonlight said. “Perhaps I should stay here, I could look after the fillies and make sure everything stays the way you left it.”

“I don’t know,” I said with a shake of my head. “Remember, everypony here could potentially be compromised including the fillies. If you come with us then we can keep a closer eye on you at least. Besides, the one that compromised you is likely here in Nightingale, it’s more dangerous for you to be left here than it is for you to come with us.”

“But what if something happens while we’re away, no pony will be here to mediate.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “I think if we all left like this, it’d make Nightingale vulnerable to attack in similar ways to how I was.”

“What about the Enclave? They can keep the peace and deal with any problems that arise,” I pointed out and then shook my head. “Moonlight, it’s going to be okay, we’re all in this together and we’ll make sure that you are kept safe from the Society. I promise.”

“How can you be so sure.” Moonlight said as she turned away. “I thought I was safe and look what happened, They attacked me, got into my head and made me do things to you and who knows how many others. What if next time they do something worse, what if next time they make me actually hurt someone.”

“Then we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” I said and shook my head. “You have more of a risk of doing that if you stay here than if you go with us. Please Moonlight, come with us, it's a better option than you staying here and putting yourself at greater risk.”

“And what if I am right, and going to this Vox Populi is just going to make things worse, for all we know they are an Alicorn and working with the Society” Moonlight said, giving a sigh and a shake of her head. “Going to the source is all this feels like to me.”

“We have to take that risk,” I said with a shake of my head. “Yes, you have reason to be scared, things out there aren’t going to be easy. But we’re all taking a chance here, heck look at me, I spent six years in the Society, I’m afraid they did the same thing to me and could trigger it at any time. But I’m not letting that fear get in the way of what needs to be done. This is our best chance to stop the Society from doing this to anypony else, and if you’re a risk, we all are. Come on Moonlight, we need to do this, I promise you everything will be okay.”

“I’m starting to think, more and more, that this was a bad choice…” Moonlight said with a sigh. “If I never convinced them to take me, made myself a good target, I’d still be down in that stable safe and sound and none the wiser.”

“You don’t know that,” I pointed out. “The Society wants you for some reason, even if you hadn’t convinced them you may have been targeted eventually. And if you were targeted, you and I both know that they probably would’ve put Citrus and your unborn foal at risk. Yes, it was a hard choice but being out here at the very least kept them safe from the Society. You can’t let fear rule your life Moonlight.”

“How do you think I know what I do about you and your sister” Moonlight said, turning back to face me and glaring at me. “I visited her in her dream, I let her know about my dream walking ability, I knew the stories of how it was something Luna did, and that Luna is your goddess, and that if I could get them to look at me like they thought I was Luna or something, they’d take me.”

“Hey, Ah got tha…” Storm said as she opened the door and walked in and noticed what was going on. “What’s goin’ on here?”

“Nothing..” Moonlight said, turning to face Storm.

“It don’t look like nothin’ ta me,” Storm said as she looked between us. “Yah mind tellin’ me what’s got ya’ll so worked up?”

“We need to go to Canterbury, but Moonlight thinks that if she goes she’ll be a danger,” I said as I shot Moonlight a look. “I think that’s ridiculous given the, current situation and that it would be better if she came with us. But she won’t listen to reason.”

“I just, want to go home” Moonlight said, looking back at me then back to Storm. “Back to the stable, back to where things were safe and I didn’t need to worry about mind control or being attacked.”

“Moonlight, yah know that if yah go back now yer gonna put everypony in there at risk right?” Storm pointed out. “Look, Ah get where yer comin’ from, but as long as yer a target fer tha Society nowhere is gonna be safe, especially not tha Stable. Tha best thing yah can do fer them is stay out here and help take down tha Society.”

“Storm’s right,” I said. “You can’t turn back time and change what happened right now. What you can do is make sure that nopony else suffers the same fate, and the best way to do that is to go with us to Canterbury.”

“Besides, if yah were still in tha Stable, yah wouldn’t…” Storm said and blushed a little as she let that trail off.

“I wouldn’t of met you.” Moonlight said with a smile. “But what if they have some other programming in me, and that it’d make me hurt you if it got set off?”

“Okay, start from tha beginnin’, what’s this about programmin’?” Storm asked as we explained what we had figured out. “Okay, Ah see what yah mean, but if yer right about all of this, then doesn’t that same risk apply ta all of us? We ain’t gonna just hide away and never talk ta anypony again.”

“Difference here is, you’re talking in maybes and uncertainty.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “We know I am affected, we know that I’ve already been used once, you and the others, its a maybe, could be, possibly, for me, it is a reality.”

“Oh fer tha love of…” Storm said as she faehooved. “Moonlight, if yah come with us then yah will have less of a chance of somethin’ happenin’. And even if it does, we’ll be there ta help yah, Ah’ll be there ta help yah. Yah know Ah won’t let anythin’ happen ta yah, and Ah ain’t leavin’ yer side until Ah’m sure that there won’t be somethin’ threatenin’ yah.”

Moonlight stared at Storm, a look of shock and confusion for a few moments before her features softened and she smiled at that pegasus. “Thank you.” Moonlight whispered as she reached out and pulled storm into a hug.

Storm smiled as she hugged her back. “Moonlight, Ah care about yah… a lot…”

“I know.” Moonlight said softly and smiled up at her. “You’re everything I ever wanted, bundled into just one package.”

“Oh will you two just kiss already?” I said with a chuckle.

“Who’s ta say we haven’t?” Storm said with a chuckle. “Or, other things we could do together.”

“Okay, I’m going to go talk to the fillies before I get that image in my brain,” I said as I headed for the door. “Just don’t make too much of a mess here, I don’t think Neivi would like it very much.”

“Oh come on, it’s not like we’re all over each other… all the time.” Moonlight said and waved a hoof at me with a grin.

“Yep, just gonna go before I get that image in my head,” I said and quickly darted out the door before they could say anything else.

“Hey Firelight,” Neivi said as she came up to me. “Well I just finished talking with the President. She agreed to loan us a Vertibuck and is jamming any radio signals going into the town.”

“Okay good,” I said and let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll go to the schoolhouse to talk to the teacher and the fillies.”

“I’ll join you, just let me get some stuff from the clinic,” Neivi said as she started to walk towards the clinic door.

“Uh Neivi, you might not want to do that, we can get them later…” I said as I started to walk after her.

“Nonsense, there’s nothing in there that can be that bad,” Neivi said as she turned around and gave me a kiss on the lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll just be a minute.”

“But you really should…” I started to say but she just opened the door and went inside. “I tried to warn her.”

“BY THE SPIRITS! COULDN’T YOU HAVE AT LEAST USED ONE OF THE COTS?” Neivi shouted from inside.

LEVEL UP!

Perk Received: Heart and Soul.

Details: You’ve gained a better reputation among the local ponies, but your enemies may have a harder time accepting this. Your status in the town of Nightingale has gone up, and ponies will begin to trust you more, for good and for bad.