The night was pleasantly cool as Sleipnir followed the path through the forest to the camp site. He felt exhausted after the days event and simply wished to rest. The path soon opened and he found himself in a large clearing filled with tents. He looked around to see soldiers asleep or gathered around fires talking to one another, not a single worker or archeologist in sight. This did not surprise him as the archeologists and workers had moved their belongings into the ruins.

He continued to walk past the tents and out of the clearing. He wandered a small bit further into the forest until he saw the faint glow of light through the trees, the smell of something sweet filled the air. Taking a few more steps he found himself in a much smaller clearing. Three tents were placed in a semi-circle around a small fire, a pie in a stone dish sat suspended by two metal stands over the glowing flames.

Sleipnir paused as he sensed the heavy yet familiar atmosphere. Nor, Crescent and Melody were all present and deep in thought.

Melody was dancing gracefully, her eyes closed. Her long silver mane and tail flailed and rippled behind her as she listened to the music of the night. The gently breeze carried the sounds of rustling leaves and singing insects which blended into a slow symphony.

Her movements flowed into one another softly, hoof after hoof, wing after wing. Her feathers added to the music as they seemed to quietly sing with the passing breeze.

Every few steps of the dance her movements would suddenly became fast and hard bearing much weight before gently it fell back into harmony with the night.

Her thoughts were elsewhere though. The conversation between Nor and Crescent had caused her to think of her past and the decisions that changed her life.

Sleipnir looked from Melody's dancing to see Crescent standing on the opposite side of the campsite. He smiled as he watched the youth. To most it would look as if he was day dreaming but he knew better.

Crescent stood perfectly still. He was practicing a spell Sleipnir created and taught to him. The spell allowed a pony to manipulate and intensify the users muscles through mana stimulation, in short, a muscle enhancement spell.

His body tensed and began to bulk before relaxing again. He repeated the spell in short intervals to help develop his body and increase his ability to perform the complicated flow of mana.

For a moment Crescent pondered the dangers of the spell.

'Over indulgence can give better results though it could lead to severe internal injuries as the muscles and tendons can tear.'

Crescent nodded in satisfaction to his short answer for a self asked question.

He grimaced as the thoughts he tried to suppress floated back to the surface and pressed against his mind. With a sigh he began to question himself again to try and take his mind off the unwanted memories.

Sleipnir looked back to the fire. Nor lay on the ground unmoving as she watched the flames. He walked to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up at him with teary eyes. He didn't have to ask what happened, he knew what everyone was thinking, he also knew that this only happens when she talks to Crescent about his family.

He smiled at her as he lay down beside her. Pressing herself into his side she sighed. They lay for awhile before Crescent lay next to Nor with a light thump. At first they remained still but soon Nor shifted herself towards Crescent. She pressed her head against his, he returned the gesture. Slowly the two ponies drifted to sleep.

Sleipnir smiled as he watched the two. Lifting his head slightly he saw Melody lay next to Crescent, she extended her wing and covered the two children in a warm feathery embrace.

Opening an eye she looked at Sleipnir and whispered, "Good night."

"Night." he replied lightly.

He looked up to see the moon smiling down to them.

'This is my family' he thought, 'I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.'

...

Sleipnir woke to the sound of voices. He opened his eyes and flinched at the sun. Lifting himself with his forelegs he sat up. Blinking his eyes as they adjusted to the light he heard a clatter. He looked down to see a slice of pie in a metal dish at his hooves.

"Morning." he groaned.

"Morning." replied a soft voice.

Turning his head he saw Melody was sitting beside him, a metal dish with a half eating slice of pie on the ground in front of her.

"It was nice of you to come down and rest with us." said Sleipnir.

"I was asked to come, I was also promised apple crumble." replied Melody.

"I see," he chuckled, "we do have a tent set up for you, it would be nice if you spent more nights with us again."

"I would, but this job has me nervous."

Sleipnir nodded. He didn't like the looks from most of the guards, especially the ones aimed at Melody and Crescent. The strange creature sitting in the cave didn't help either.

He looked ahead of him to see Crescent and Nor facing each other talking intensively. Books and pages scattered around them. He smiled.

"At least they're keeping up their study's

"Of course. Crescent loves history and Nor seems to just absorb knowledge."

For a few moments they watched the two children as they talked and questioned one another.

"Do you think they'll ever fall in love?"

The sudden question confused Sleipnir.

"What?"

"With our lives as they are, do you think they'll ever be happy, safe?"

He pondered the question for a moment before he said;

"I don't know. But I intend for them to live long enough to find out."

Melody remained silent.

"When they are able to stand for themselves I will leave them to live their own lives."

"But would it not make sense to stay by their sides and protect them?"

"Everypony is after me. If I leave them then they will have a chance to live free lives without fear of being killed every night."

"They are also after the children."

"Only because they're after me."

A moment of silence passed before she asked;

"And if they try and use them against you?"

"They won't." his voice was confident. "By then Crescent will be a more capable warrior then I."

Melody reluctantly agreed. Crescent had learned and mastered the muscle enhancement spell and had a well developed body with plenty of combat skill behind him. He just lacked the size to put it to good use.

"Fine." she sighed.

"And what about you?" he asked.

"Sorry?"

"When the time comes to part ways, what will you do?"

A moment passed before she answered. "I'll return home."

"Back to your village?"

"Yes, I'll speak to my family, I will ask for their forgiveness and their names."

"Still can't remember?"

"No, for three years I've struggled but I do not remember."

Another moment of silence passed before Sleipnir asked;

"Will you tell me their names when you do?"

"Would you prefer to come with me?"

"I would, but the villagers wouldn't be happy to see me."

"Maybe, but you will be with me and a long time has passed since then."

Sleipnir closed his eyes, 'It's about time I faced my mistakes.'

He looked towards Melody, "OK."

She locked eyes with him, for a moment he saw joy well up in her expression. With a sigh he felt the tension he hadn't noticed build disappear. Finally he said;

"How can you forgive me so easily?"

She knew what he meant. Closing her eyes she said, "It doesn't matter what you did then, your a different pony now."

"Even so."

"Even so you took me in after I tried to kill you, you thought me how to improve my fighting style, you even looked after me when I fell sick. You've been like a father too me and I love you as though you were." she said fondly.

Sleipnir didn't know how to reply. He knew she forgave him, but he never even thought she could look to him so highly. He turned to watch the two young ponies who were now packing away their books and notes.

"Crescent, Nor."

They turned their heads to him.

"Come here, I'm going to quiz you on last weeks studies."

The two quickly moved quickly to sit only a foot away from him. Melody left out a small giggle.

"OK. First. What is the history taught to us about Equestria and the true history hidden in order to keep rule?"

Nor was quick to speak up, "We are taught to believe that the Windigo's that nearly destroyed the kingdoms had moved to Equestria and destroyed the land."

Crescent continued, "The truth is that after the three kingdoms destroyed the Windigo's they formed a united kingdom. But many ponies didn't agree and wished for the three kingdoms to remain untouched, so they returned to the original lands and remade the treaty but only after thirty five years of war."

Sleipnir felt proud of how much they learned. "And why is it that after almost two thousand years the only ponies who knows this are the royal family's and the high ranked members of the ancient Mercenary Order that marshals the lands?"

Crescent answered, "The reason is that if the civilians found out they may try to leave, this will cut into the food production and military personnel, ultimately tipping the balance of the three kingdoms. The reason why no pony try to see if there is anything left is due to the fact that you will have to travel through miles of badlands followed by the dangerous Everfree Forest."

Sleipnir smiled. They had learned a lot but he had to be certain the knowledge was fresh, in case something happened.

"The names of the three kingdoms and the areas they rule?"

"They renamed the lands after they returned," replied Nor, "Unicorns took control of the mountains and dub the land Unicornia. The Pegasi took to the sky and named their land Pegasopolis and finally, the Earth ponies took the open lands and named it Earth."

He nodded at the reply, it was important that they knew where they were and what to prepare for.

"You did good, very good." he beamed.

The two ponies pushed their chests out and held their heads high at the compliment, this caused Melody to giggle again.

"Your free for the day."

Nor leaped with excitement.

"Crescent, there is something I need to speak to you about before you go."

Sleipnir walked back to his tent and began to rummage through his saddle bags. The colt walked to the tent, he held an even expression.

Melody turned to Nor. "Shall we go for a fly?"

"A what?" squeaked the filly.

With a light giggle she charged the filly. Nor turned and ran as fast as she could. Melody laughed lightly as she chased the filly knowing full well that she was afraid of heights.

Crescent watched as Melody caught Nor. She picked the filly up between her forehooves and with a single beat of her wings she shot into the air as Nor screamed all the way.

He hid a smile as he turned to look at the three tents. Sleipnir was searching his belongings in the left tent mumbling something under his breath. Turning to the right tent he saw Melody's saddlebags. He found it curious that she would spend her nights sleeping on a cloud above the small campsite instead. He wasn't ignorant though, he knew very well that most of the guards on the excavation site hated Taints and she was cautious in case someone decided to take matters into their own hands.

Shacking his head he pushed the rising thoughts away. 'Not everypony is evil, these ponies are just misguided. That's all.'

Turning back to the center tent he saw his and Nor's saddle bags. For four years he had traveled with the two ponies, one year longer then Melody. He was forever grateful to Nor, in his darkest moments she comforted him throughout the night and every night after.

He jump as something struck the ground next to him with a loud thump. He looked down to see two books piled beside him.

"I trust you know what books these are?" asked Sleipnir.

Crescent recognized the top book. It was an ancient text that held the true history of the three kingdoms. Pushing it aside he looked at the book under it. His eyes widened as he saw the cover. It was Sleipnir's personal book. None of the three ponies knew what was in it as he refused to speak of it, they respected his privacy and never brought it up.

"Crescent, I want you to listen carefully."

The colt leaned forward, his full attention on his mentor.

"Things may be more dangerous then we originally though. We would leave now except I have a personal mission to perform before things get out of hand."

The colt silently nodded.

"You remember the plan in case we have to fight for our lives?" asked the stallion.

"Yes, I'm to go with Nor to the nearest town east from here." he said evenly, "There we wait for three days, if neither you or Melody arrive we must continue east and attempt to cross the Badlands into Equestria."

"You understand the dangers?"

"The Badlands bare almost no life. For most it is suicidal even with the proper gear but Melody's survival training will give us a small boost in our chances of success."

Sleipnir agreed with the comment about Melody's training. If he had known what she knew maybe he would have avoided the four days of sickness that followed after he reached the Everfree forest when he tried to cross to Equestria over a decade back.

"Good." muttered Sleipnir.

"Sir?"

"Yes?" asked the stallion.

"What of the books?"

Sleipnir locked eyes with the colt.

"If things go bad and you have to make your way east, I want you to take these books with you." he said, a level of demand in his voice, "If I don't arrive at the village then consider the books yours."

Crescent remained silent. His mentor had put a great deal of trust into him when he devised the plan so just him and Nor were to escape together. Now his mentor was entrusting him with the secret history of the three kingdoms and the unknown book he kept secret even from Nor, Melody and himself.

"So be it." replied the colt with an even voice.

For a moment Sleipnir continued to lock eyes with him. After a short while he finally said;

"Good. Now run along, I think Nor may need some comforting."

He chuckled as Crescent bolted up and ran from the campsite towards the mountain. A worried expression planted across his face.

"He's too easy to crack."

.....

Melody was very worried. She had landed just outside the excavation site about five minutes earlier and left Nor down. Since then Nor had curled into a ball and would not moved from her spot. What more is the filly refuse to respond to the her.

"Please answer." she asked, her voice full of worry.

She nuzzled the filly and whined. Nor still didn't respond. Melody heard the sound of galloping in the distance. A devious thought entered her mind as she whispered into the filly's ear;

"Your shining knight is coming to save you."

She smiled as Nor's ears slowly started to burn. Suddenly Crescent came into view, he ran straight to them. Skidding to a halt he looked from Melody to Nor who was now curled even tighter. He walked to her and gently nuzzled her ear before whispering;

"It's alright now."

Nor's ear twitched as he spoke, something Melody didn't miss. Slowly the filly unwrapped herself. She suddenly threw her hooves around his neck. Startled at first he quickly relaxed and gently returned the embrace. For a long while the two remained silent and still. Nor bore such an immense fear of height that only Crescent was able to break her from her traumatized state afterwards, at one point Sleipnir could too but her dependency for him had gradually dissipated as she became more attached to the colt. Another small smile crossed Melody's face.

"Aww, such a cute scene." cooed the mare, "But it must be embarrassing with so many ponies watching."

Both children looked around them to see a number of ponies smile and whisper to one another as they passed. The two sat up in a flash, their faces were more crimson then Melody thought possible. Suppressing a fit of giggles she waved a hoof before shooting into the air and vanishing from sight, leaving two traumatized little ponies behind.

"I'm convinced under her kindness is an unspeakable evil." muttered the filly.

The colt could only nod in agreement. Eventually the two rose from where they sat and began to wander into the excavation site. Keeping their heads low, neither looked at the other.

Melody was giggling fits from the clouds high above the two young ponies.

"There so cute!" she squealed to no one.

Eventually she calmed down. After regaining her breath her mood shifted.

"Right." she said flatly, "It's time I found out what is going on."

She Lifted herself up and walked to the edge of the cloud. Her once shy, smiling expression was replaced with one of loathing and distrust as she stared down upon the ponies who worked the site.

'I will see that anypony who so much as consider harming those I love, will suffer greatly before I kill them.'

She scanned the area with her highly trained eyesight. For the rest of the day she watched and took in all she could.

.......

With a slam Sleipnir closed the ancient text that he kept secret even from his makeshift family. A sense of fear crept through him. He knew what the creature in the cave was and wished he didn't.

'I need more information.' he thought.

If what he thought was true, then he had to do everything in his power to destroy the creature before it was too late. The only problem was there is no normal means to destroy the thing, which meant he had to move it.

"Why is it never easy?" he muttered to himself.

Suddenly he snapped to attention, sweat quickly formed on his brow.

"If that thing is here, then they won't be far behind."