Bad dreams lingered. It had been a couple of weeks since Discipula Star’s last nightmare, but it seemed that her conversation with Princess Luna had caused them to return. She couldn’t remember specifics as she lay gasping between the sweat soaked sheets, but the feeling of terror lasted for a few agonizing seconds after she had awoken. As the frantic beating of her heart slowly returned to normal and her eyes adjusted to the low light of the room around her, she slowly crawled out of bed. Her hooves touched the thick rug below and she stood there for a moment, trying to push the disorientation that had lingered after she’d awoken out of her mind. The comforting repetitiveness of her daughter’s soft breathing patterns helped quite a bit and the unicorn was soon feeling much better, though still a bit sleepy.

Star yawned as she shuffled across the cold, tile floors and into the even colder bathroom, where she quickly began to run a bath. It had been awhile since the small mare had time to soak in the tub and relax, but since she had awoken so early it seemed as if there would be time to do so now. The water warmed up quickly and she stepped into the bath while it was still filling up, eager to make the most out of her early wake up. The heat nearly buckled her short legs as her tired muscles began to relax. A blissful sigh escaped Star’s delicate lips as she sank into the bath and closed her violet eyes. By the time that the tub was full, she was so relaxed that it took multiple tries for her to summon the magic to turn off the faucet.

“Oh yes… I’m never getting out of here,” Star moaned in pleasure as she slipped further into the hot liquid, stopping only when it had reached her neckline. Unfortunately for the unicorn, she could feel the enticing tug of sleep against her eyelids and it was beginning to pull her back into her dreams again. She slipped a litter further into the bath as her eyes drooped closed. The welcoming peace of sleep surrounded her as the steaming tub faded from view and soon after the darkness followed.

The world around her was inky black, without even the faintest trace of light to break its oppressive darkness, but Star could see something else as she peered around. Shadowy tendrils reached for her, even darker than the pitch black nothingness in which she was stuck. Somehow she could see them, despite the fact that she could see nothing in the darkness and she could feel them as well. The closer they slithered toward her from out of the nothingness, the colder the unicorn felt. Before long the shadows had surrounded her, threatening to consume every part of the mare’s body as the terrifying coldness gripped her heart and began to squeeze the life out of her.

“Mom, are you in there?” Splash! The sound of Inferno’s voice combined with the sudden feeling of water against her face caused Star to sit up suddenly, sending a good amount of the now less than room temperature bathwater splashing to the white tiles below. She had fallen asleep in the tub it seemed and it had been long enough that she could feel that her skin had begun to prune up. That could have been dangerous, she thought, as she carefully stood up and used her magic to wring most of the water from her mane and tail.

“Yes, I’ll be out in just a minute, honey,” Star called, just hoping that her daughter hadn’t heard the frightened wavering of her voice as she spoke. The reason that she hadn’t been able to recall the nightmares that had plagued her through the night was clear to her now, as she stood there with beads of cold water running down her fur and dripping into the slowly draining puddle at her hooves. Darkness and fear had been the only thing in her sleep and it had frightened her terribly. If Luna had spoken the truth and everypony else was having such dreams, then it shed new light on why the princess of the night had seemed so distraught during their last conversation.

“I’m going to go downstairs and grab some breakfast then,” Inferno called back, shaking the unicorn from her silent musings.

“Alright, Inferno,” Star replied as she stepped out of the tub and levitated a clean towel from the rack on the wall. “Could you bring me back some tea?” she asked a second later. Her stomach didn’t feel up to eating anything at the moment, but some relaxing tea sounded as if it would do wonders to calm her back down again.

“Yeah, I can do that,” her daughter called back, before the sound of claws tapping against the floor signified that she had left the room. The muffled sound of the bedroom door shutting confirmed as much and Star began vigorously drying her damp mane while she waited for the little dragon to return.

Once Star was satisfied with how dry she was and after combing out the tangles in her hair that had developed sometime during her restless slumber, she walked out of the bathroom and over to the window, where she could see the sun trying to force its life giving light through the haze of dark fog that drifted just above the castle spires. The weather was anything but pleasant, yet it was still far better than it would have been had the unusually heavy snowfall started again. At the very worst it would mean that the unicorn would be forced to wear her ratty cloak for another day, but that was a small price to pay in exchange for remaining warm and dry.

It took just a few seconds for Star to gather up her boots, which she had left lying on the floor in a sort of trail leading away from the entrance to her bedroom and just a minute longer to put them on. She donned her cloak soon after and then took a seat on the couch where she immediately sank down into the comfortable, red cushions. Her eyes stayed open this time though, because the memory of the encroaching darkness hadn’t faded after her last awakening. Sleeping and by extension dreaming, was not something that she cared to do for the rest of the day. Granted, when she went to bed that night, the unicorn would be forced to deal with her nightmares, but that was hours off and could be pushed out of mind, for awhile at least.

The sound of knocking on the painted, wooden door in front of her forced Star back onto her boot clad hooves, whereupon she made her way over to the sound, assuming that Inferno needed help because her hands were full. It wasn’t her daughter on the other side of the door as she pulled it open however; she was met with the milky brown eyed gaze of Nature Spark instead. The blind stallion’s metal covered horn began to glow with a faint green light as he tried to figure out who had opened the door. Star was stunned for a short time, but seeing the smile stretch across his face as he felt out who was standing there caused her to break from the trance.

“Spark!” she cried happily as she pulled the lanky stallion into an overexcited hug. “I didn’t expect you o get here so early,” she added as they broke apart again.

“Neither did I, but flying sure seems to make traveling much, much easier,” Spark laughed as he continued to grin back at her. “I wasn’t sure that you would be awake, but I saw Inferno downstairs and she assured me that you were already up and about, so I decided to come to your room instead of waiting around for you to go downstairs.”

“I’ve been up for awhile,” Star replied, while simultaneously grabbing her friend’s shoulder with her magic and pulling him into the dimly lit room a little more forcefully than she was aware of. “I couldn’t really sleep, but now I’m glad for that.”

“You too, huh?” Spark asked. “I was having some problems for a little while there,” he explained, much to the smaller pony’s surprise. She had wondered just how widespread the nightmare phenomenon was, but Spark had been dealing with a less severe problem. “It’s okay now though, because I harvested what plants I could from my house while I was in Dodge.” The herbalist’s gleeful smirk caused the mare to roll her eyes, though he was unaware of that fact.

“Of course you did,” Star said as she led him over to one of the chairs and then took a seat on the opposite side of the small table. “Why does that not surprise me?” she asked with a smile of her own. The brown stallion shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.

“So, what did I miss while I was gone?” he asked in a slightly more serious tone, though Star could tell that he was already a bit intoxicated from smoking. It was evident in his laidback demeanor, which she hadn’t gotten to see in weeks, since before he returned from the hippogriff settlement. “Did it take long for Downpour and Draft to bring back that traitor, uh, what was his name?”

“Rainbow Strike,” Star replied.

Spark smacked the table lightly and said, “The sergeant, that’s right! Did he put up much of a fight when they went into Cloudsdale to get him?”

“Apparently he did,” Star replied unhappily, “because they’re still outside of Cloudsdale.” Spark seemed to take the news in stride, but it was hard for her to be sure, because his eyes weren’t nearly as expressive as they once had been. The observant mare assumed that it was because he had gotten used to functioning without any help from his sight, but that was pure speculation on her part. “I was told that the former sergeant caught wind of the planned attack and sealed up the city with the majority of its innocent population trapped inside. With him having so many hostages it has made capturing Rainbow Strike difficult, to say the least.”

“I see,” Spark mumbled softly as he stood up from the fancy chair and began to pace casually while continuing their conversation. “That is a most unfortunate turn of events, but I suppose that we should have expected something like this, considering how much damage the sergeant wrought before he was exposed.” Star nodded her head and then suddenly remembered her mistake.

“Yes it is,” she replied. “I don’t believe anypony has heard from the brothers, Strata or the soldiers that they’re with since the city was sealed, but that most likely just means that the status quo has remained unchanged for the past few days.”

“You’re probably right,” Spark agreed as he continued to take measured steps around the room. “Either way, there isn’t much that we could possibly due to assist them from here, so I suppose that there’s no use fretting over it,” he added soon after. “What about your work with Axel?”

“Oh, well it has been proceeding very quickly,” Star replied. “In fact, yesterday was the first test flight and as far as I know the test was a complete success, which should mean that Axel will be ready to start having more of the sky chariots manufactured within a few days.”

“At least something seems to be going our way,” Spark sighed, “which reminds me, I should probably apologize to Princess Celestia for being so uncooperative with her during our last encounter.” Star was glad that she didn’t have to hold back the knowing smirk on her face, though she was forced to stifle a few giggles. “I know that she was only trying to do what was necessary to help Equestria, but being ordered around like a pawn seems to be one of my pet peeves and it didn’t help that I was so damned sober.”

“I’m sure that the princess would really appreciate an apology,” Star agreed, “but you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself either. Even Celestia has made a few mistakes of her own before.” I’m fairly certain that we all have, she thought afterword.

“We should probably all try to set up a meeting with the princesses,” Spark said as he sat back down on the chair, having apparently gotten rid of the excess energy he’d been retaining. Star noted how lively her friend seemed at such an early hour and wondered if he hadn’t taken some other drug to go along with his herbs, although it was just as likely that he had woken up much earlier because he couldn’t tell where the sun was and therefore, had no way of keeping to a natural sleeping cycle. The thought was intriguing, but Star was too busy listening to Spark to give it more consideration. “I know that Axel will be busy building chariots or at the very least, supervising their construction, so I can’t imagine that she will be changing plans anytime soon,” he continued, “but considering what you just told me about the situation in Cloudsdale and my current plans, Celestia and Luna may want to rethink their strategy.”

“What are your plans?” Star asked.

“They’re really more like poor ideas,” the stallion replied. “There will be plenty of time for that later though. I think Inferno is outside the door.” Sure enough, a knocking sounded out just a minute after he had spoken. Star got up from the couch and went to answer the door, wondering exactly how he had known that the dragon was even there in the first place. Something to do with his magic no doubt, the mare figured.

“I don’t have any free hands,” Inferno called from the hallway. “Hello, can somepony get the door, please?”

“I’m coming,” Star answered as she pulled the door open, much to her daughter’s relief. The unicorn assisted the over encumbered dragon by lifting the pot of tea from her small hands and floating it over to the table, where she heard Spark sniff the air a few times out of curiosity.

“Thanks,” Inferno said as she walked past her mother. “Why is it so dark in here? You can barely see a thing,” the serpentine girl commented before gasping as she glanced over at the blind stallion with a look of unease. “Sorry, I didn’t mea-”

“That’s okay, Inferno,” Spark interrupted with a chuckle. “I’m not going to take offense because you happened to mention something about not being able to see. That would be a little much, don’t you agree?”

“I guess,” Inferno replied as she hopped up onto the couch across from him. Her mother joined her after closing the bedroom door. “Sorry though.”

“It’s okay,” Spark said before sniffing the air once again. “Did you bring in some tea? I would love a hot drink right now.”

“Oh, yeah,” Star told him. “I had Inferno bring me some, but there’s plenty. Let me just pour you a cup.” The black mare quickly floated a cup over from the tray that her daughter had brought breakfast on, but it was the only one. She decided to let Spark have the cup, because she could always have some tea later.

“While you’re doing that,” Spark replied, “I guess I can take this opportunity to tell you how my trip was.”

Princess Celestia had readily agreed to another meeting between her and Star, along with the rest of the unicorn’s friends who were still in Canterlot, though Axel seemed to have already made her way down to the shop for the day. Whether or not Princess Luna would be joining them remained to be seen, but her student was fairly sure that the alicorn would make an appearance considering the importance of the occasion. On the way to the throne room, Star, Spark and Inferno stopped by Ursa’s bedroom to let the crystal pony know what they would be doing. He was already awake by the time that they arrived. Everypony had gotten an early start that day it seemed.

“Ursa, it looks like you didn’t get a wink of sleep last night,” Star commented as the emerald stallion stepped out into the hallway, still fumbling with his clothing as he walked. “Bad dreams?” she asked, already fairly certain of the answer.

“Mhmm,” he mumbled. The sour expression on his face quickly turned around when he saw Spark standing behind the smaller pony though. “Spark, when did you get back?” he asked with a smile.

“Just a little while ago,” the brown stallion replied. “I’ll catch you up later, but we have a meeting scheduled with the princesses first.”

Ursa yawned and then replied, “That’s a great way to start the day,” before finally getting his cloak adjusted just right. Spark just chuckled as he turned in the direction of the stairs. “How did you sleep?” the larger stallion asked Star as they all began to follow Spark down the hallway. The fact that he couldn’t see didn’t seem to be slowing the blind unicorn down as he utilized the extrasensory abilities of his magic to feel his way through the castle. It was a strange sight to behold.

“Not great,” Star admitted. “Nightmares seem to be going around.”

“That’s too bad,” Ursa replied, “because I was really hoping to catch up on the sleep I missed out on while helping Axel.”

“You and me both,” Star sighed.

“So what is this meeting about?” the crystal pony asked as they approached the spiraling staircase and began to descend into the main hall.

“We thought that it might be a good idea to reassess our options and figure out the new plan for each of us,” Star explained. “Spark thought that Celestia would want to change tactics, especially since things in Cloudsdale have been going so poorly.”

“Yeah, I still wish that I could have gone with Draft and helped out,” Ursa replied. “Although, I think I would have preferred that he leave it up to the soldiers, who are trained for that sort of thing,” he added right after.

“I’m sure that there will be another way for you to help out,” Star replied. “We still need to get in contact with the resistance movement in the Crystal Empire and you’re the only one who here who has seen them before.” Ursa’s stomach growled before he had the chance to reply, but the throne room doors already loomed before them, so he was forced to ignore his hunger for the moment as Star grabbed the door handles in a white glow and shoved them open.

Princess Celestia sat upon her golden seat of power and beside her sat Princess Luna in her own throne, each of them wearing flat expressions that contrasted with their mystical, flowing manes as they watched their subjects approach the dais. Star could tell that her mentor had tried to mask the fact that she had been so troubled lately, but her eyes still held the same look of weariness in their dark depths. Her smile seemed thin as well, but the unicorn was fairly certain she would be the only one of her friends to notice that something was amiss. Each of the alicorns nodded politely as the ponies and dragon all bowed before them before coming to a rest just a short distance away.

“Nature Spark, I am glad to see that you have returned to us without any troubles,” Celestia said, her face finally breaking into a smile as she spoke. “Discipula Star, Ursa, Inferno, it is good to see you three as well, but I see that Miss Sapphire has not accompanied you all here today.”

“No, princess,” Star replied. “She is already down at the warehouse, working on the chariot no doubt.” The princess of the sun nodded understandingly before continuing.

“Very well, that is where she is needed most anyway,” Celestia admitted. “I suppose the first order of business should be deciding on Spark’s course of action in these coming days. The situation in the Crystal Empire will not right itself, after all.”

“Of course, your highness, but first I would like to formally apologize for my uncouth behavior during our last conversation,” Spark replied. “I should have stopped to consider the situation that you were in more carefully before speaking to you in such a way. I will do my best to correct that mistake in the future.” The princess seemed genuinely surprised by the stallion’s apology, but he couldn’t have known.

“That is quite alright, Nature Spark,” Celestia assured him. “I understand that we are asking much of you and I shouldn’t have expected such an easy response to our requests. It will be your life that is put in danger, so the decision must yours alone to make,” she continued. Her sister nodded in silent agreement with the statement. “The same can be said of your companions.”

“I understand that very well, Princess Celestia,” Spark replied, “but I also understand that there will be many more lives jeopardized if we fail to act, including my own. It took me some time to accept the fact that either way I will be a part of this conflict, but now that I have, I decided that I would much rather die trying to bring back peace, rather than cowering away from Doré Langue’s tyranny.”

“You sound just like your father,” Celestia replied slightly wistfully. “He said something along those same lines at one time and I am eternally grateful that he did.”

“We all are,” Princess Luna agreed. It was the first words that the younger princess had uttered, but doing so seemed to breathe some life into her, Star noticed. “He was a great stallion and I have no doubt that he would be proud to see your resolve in the face of such adversity.” After Luna had spoken, her student took the opportunity to let her own decision be known.

“I would like to accompany Spark on his journey to the Crystal Empire,” the black mare stated. A glimmer of what Star could only assume was fear flickered across Luna’s face for a moment, but her student would not be swayed in her choice. If her friends were willing to take such risks then it was only right that she should be by their side when they faced the consequences.

“I see,” Celestia murmured. “Well, I must say that this doesn’t come as a surprise to me. The bonds you have developed with your friends are strong and it is apparent that you’re mind is already made up, but it is not my place to give you permission. You are Luna’s protégé, after all.” Luna nodded sagely. “It is up to her to decide,” Celestia continued as she looked to her sister for an answer. Star’s breath caught in her throat as she too waited for a response from her mentor, whose expression had grown unreadable.

“Star, I- I would do anything to avoid putting you in danger,” Luna finally replied in a soft voice, rife with sorrow. Star exhaled slowly as she prepared for what was to come. “You have grown into a mare that anypony would be glad to call their friend and it would pain me too much to lose you… but I understand why you want this and if it is truly what you wish, then you have my blessing,” she finished, blinking back the tears that had begun to form. To Tartarus with proper etiquette, Star thought, as she took a few steps forward onto the raised platform.

“Thank you, Princess Luna,” she replied as she reached her forelegs out and pulled her teacher into a tight embrace. “I will do my best to return to you unscathed.”

“I should hope so,” Luna replied with a strained laugh before the small unicorn released her and stepped back from the throne once again.

“I’m going with her!” Inferno suddenly added, much to her mother’s dismay. Star knew exactly how Luna felt at that moment, because she would do anything to keep the little dragon from harm, but she also knew how hard it would actually be to deter her daughter, especially after what Suture had said to them the day before. “I will go with them to face the duke.”

“No,” Star reluctantly replied. “I’m sorry, but I can’t put you in such danger, Inferno.” Her daughter’s yellow eyes filled with a panicked resistance as she stared over at her. “I won’t allow it.”

“But you already said-”

“No,” Star reiterated.

“You can’t- It’s- that’s not fair,” Inferno argued as anger began to replace her initial feelings of hurt. “It’s not your decision. If the princesses want me to go then-”

“I’m sorry, Inferno,” Luna interrupted, causing the red dragon to whip her spiked head back towards the thrones. “It is not our place to contradict Star’s wishes for you.”

“I agree with my sister,” Celestia added. “If Star has deemed it too risky for you to go along, then we must respect her decision.” Inferno stared up at the alicorns with a defeated expression which soon clouded with tears before she turned away.

“That’s not fair!” Inferno screamed as she took of down the carpeted aisle, running full speed towards the large double doors. Bang! The sound of them slamming closed behind the dragon echoed throughout the throne room as Star stared after her with tears running down her cheeks. It had hurt to watch her leave, but the unicorn would endure that pain ten times over if it meant that she would be safe.

“You should go to her,” Luna said after a few silent moments. “If you explain your reasoning then maybe she will begin to understand and possibly even accept your choice.” Star nodded as she wiped away the salty streaks from her black cheeks and took off after her daughter.

Inferno wasn’t waiting in the bedroom when Star arrived, nor was she any other place in the castle, as the unicorn soon found out. She had checked the dining hall, the athenaeum, her friends’ rooms and every other place she could think to look, but her daughter was nowhere to be found. After descending back down from the tallest spire of Canterlot Castle, Star decided that it was time to widen her search area. The warehouse was the next place she would look, followed by Gentle Gem’s shop and every other building in the city if that was what it took. Star needed to make Inferno understand why she needed to stay and what she needed to do before they returned from the Crystal Empire.

“You still haven’t found her?” Spark asked as she came trotting down the narrow staircase, leading to the third floor. She hadn’t even noticed his approach because of how frantically she had been running around.

“No, I haven’t,” Star replied as she continued past him on her way to the lower parts of the castle.

“Well, I’d help, but…” Spark shrugged his shoulders; because obviously he wouldn’t be able to see Inferno unless she was right somewhere close by.

“That’s alright, Spark. I have a couple of other places left to check,” Star told him as he followed her through the mostly empty corridors. “You stay here and get all of the finer details of our trip sorted out with Ursa and the princesses, if you happen to require their help. I’ll take care of the situation with my daughter.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me,” Spark replied as his long strides tapered off, allowing Star to continue her reckless gallop around the corner and to the next flight of stairs. A pony could stay in fairly decent shape running all around the castle, the short mare thought, as her hooves continued to beat a steady tempo over the gleaming tile floors.

It didn’t take long for Star to reach the front gate at the speed she was moving and soon after she was out in the crisp morning day, relishing in the fact that she had already gotten bundled up that morning, because it looked as if snow was soon to come. Her old cloak flapped behind her as she followed the path that lead through the front yard and out the wrought iron gates that marked the property. It was joined by her dark mane and tail which showed flashes of purple and blue as they whipped in the icy wind. A few guards noticed her passing and most likely called out greetings, but her mind was preoccupied and her momentum to great to bother stopping to be polite. Somewhere in the capitol her daughter was hiding and the unicorn couldn’t leave without comforting her.

Stone faced buildings and icy streets passed by in an indistinguishable parade of dull colors as Star raced towards the old warehouse, where Axel would be working on the sky chariot, hopefully with Inferno by her side. If she hadn’t taken such a long time searching in the castle then the unicorn knew she would have been able to catch up to her young daughter fairly quickly, but the little dragon had gotten a good head start and could have very easily made it to the shop already. It may not have seemed like a dire situation to ponies looking in from the outside, but Star hated it when Inferno was mad at her and the fact that she would be leaving soon only made matters that much worse, so she ran.

“Inferno!” Star shouted before one of her front boots hit a particularly slick puddle that had iced over, sending her foreleg sliding out from under her at blinding speed. The fall was completely unexpected, unavoidable and just plain painful as her chin hit the cobblestone street. Thwack! “Cockatrice swallowing, hoof sucking whore!” Star cursed as she came to a grinding halt on her newly bruised stomach. Normally she found swearing to be unbecoming of somepony who was so learned, but the fall had really hurt, so she forgave herself that minor slipup.

“Oh my, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Axel asked as she walked outside, most likely to investigate what had caused such a commotion.

“Not recently,” Star replied, completely missing the rhetorical nature of her friend’s question as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Have you seen Inferno today?” she asked as she gingerly touched her chin with the tip of her boot. A bit of blood stained it, she noticed.

“I can’t say that I have,” Axel replied as she offered a hoof out to help the unicorn up. “Why, is she not with you?”

“No,” Star sighed as she allowed her friend to hoist her back up to her hooves. “She got mad when I told her that I didn’t want her coming with us to the Crystal Empire.” The earth pony looked confused for a moment, but soon put the pieces together.

“Spark must have come back,” she said with a nod of her head, which caused a few stands of her blonde mane to fall loose from the ponytail she wore it in. “You’re going with him to face the duke then?”

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled as her horn began to glow. A quick healing spell sealed up the scrapes on her chin and stomach just a moment later.

“I’d offer to join you two, but I still have quite a bit of work left to do here,” Axel replied as they started walking back to the shop.

“We figured as much, but that’s okay, because this is where you’re needed,” Star commented. “Ursa is going with us too though.”

“Oh, well that’s good,” Axel replied. “Why don’t you want Inferno to go along though?” she asked as they entered the musty old warehouse.

“It’s much too dangerous and besides, Gentle Gem may need her assistance again, plus there’s something that I need her to do while we’re gone,” Star explained. The earth pony would probably benefit from the dragon’s help as well, but that was a given.

“I see,” Axel said as they walked over to a few rickety chairs sitting around one of the tables in the middle of the room. The chariot was just a short distance away and, as far as Star could tell, it looked to be finished. “It makes sense that she would be upset, but she didn’t come here. Have you checked around the castle?”

“Yes, that was the first place I looked,” Star replied, her tone slightly annoyed at the obvious nature of the question. “Maybe she went to Gentle Gem’s store though. That’s the only other place I can really think of.”

“It’s a good possibility,” Axel agreed as she took a seat. “I can help you search for her if you’d like.” The unicorn shook her head in reply. “Are you sure?” Axel asked.

“Mhmm,” Star replied quietly. “You should just worry about your work. I’ll go find my daughter. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Alright, well I’m here if you change your mind,” Axel told her as the smaller mare got up and turned back towards the entrance.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Star called back as she left the workshop behind.

Gentle Gem’s shop wasn’t far, but Star’s previous spill had left her a little more reluctant to gallop around so haphazardly and it took her a little while to traverse the distance at her new pace, but that did give her an opportunity to contemplate the best way to convince Inferno that it would be good if she stay behind. Nothing the unicorn could say would make her daughter enthusiastic about the decision, but the little dragon would come to accept her mother’s choice when she heard the full explanation or so her mother hoped. Realistically, the little dragon may not respond very well at all, but harboring such an expectation would do nothing to make the task any easier.

Eventually Star found herself staring through the windows at a seemingly empty shop, but the lamps were burning, so she knew somepony was inside. She pushed open the doors and entered, passing by display cases of jewels as she headed to the back of the building, which led to the storage area where her daughter had been sorting through gemstones only a couple days before. As she got closer, the sound of the shop owner’s voice became louder and soon enough another voice joined his. It seemed that Inferno had indeed come to the store to get away for awhile. Her mother was about to enter, but something caused her to pause and listen in on their conversation for a moment.

“…and I know that she’s only worried about my safety, but I don’t think that it’s right that I should have to stay behind,” Inferno said as Star pressed her short ear closer to the closed over door. “They’re my friends too and this is my home as well, so why shouldn’t I be allowed to help save them, save it?” There was silence for a few seconds and the sound of something being dropped on something wooden.

“Listen here, little dragon,” Gentle Gem sighed. “I know that you only want to help, but you have to understand that your mother only has your best interests at heart. What you must realize is that the thought of losing you must outweigh her desire to have you by her side and that’s only because she cares for you so much.” Star smiled a she continued to eavesdrop on them.

“I’m not a child anymore though,” Inferno argued. “I know that I can help them.”

“No, you aren’t a child,” the old stallion agreed, “but to her you are a daughter and no matter how big you get, she will always see you as her little girl.” It was very true, Star agreed silently. Inferno would grow to be a very large and intimidating serpent, but until the day she died, Star would always see the chubby little dragon that gave the warmest hugs and had a fear of heights. The unicorn shifted slightly as she tried to keep from leaning too far forward and her cloak brushed against the wooden door, causing an audible noise that alerted them to her presence.

“Hello, Miss Star,” Gentle Gem called out, much to the unicorn’s red faced embarrassment as she pushed her way into the back room.

“Hi,” Star replied with an awkward smile as she glanced at him and then to her daughter, whose expression was caught somewhere between surprise and indignation. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just looking for Inferno and this was the last place I checked,” the mare explained.

“I just needed some time to think,” Inferno replied softly.

“Do you think that we could go somewhere and talk about this?” Star asked hopefully. Her daughter sat quietly, refusing to respond.

“I think that it would be good for you two to talk, Inferno,” the aged unicorn urged. That seemed to work well enough, because the little dragon got to her feet and slowly walked past her mother and out into the main part of the small building. Star followed behind her, after casting an appreciative glance in the blue unicorn’s direction.

A cool breeze carried large flakes of snow in its wake, which peppered Star’s cloak as well as her daughter’s bare scales. The pair had decided to take a walk through the city as they spoke, without any specific destination in mind. It had taken awhile for Inferno to start talking and hot tears followed her first words, splashing to the frosty ground and sending up tiny plumes of steam in their wake. Star just listened intently and waited for the right opportunity to explain herself.

“I can’t believe that you would ask me to stay here,” Inferno said as they crossed one of the many streets on their walk. “You know that there’s a good chance that you might not come back, but you still want me to stay here… What if I never see you again?” The red dragon choked back her sobs and wiped her bloodshot eyes as she waited for her mother’s answer.

“That is exactly the reason why I’m asking you to stay,” Star replied. “I couldn’t live with myself if something were to happen to you, Inferno.”

“And you think I could?” the dragon responded, sounding very wounded by her mother’s reply.

“No, of course I don’t think that, but there’s more than just fear keeping me from allowing you to come with us, although I will admit that is the main reason for my decision.” The dragon’s large, yellow eyes looked up at hers questioningly. “There is something that I need you to do while we are away,” Star explained, “well, two things actually. One is very important and the other is also important, but not quite as intimidating, I’m sure.”

“Oh, and what would those two things be,” Inferno asked, sounding as if she thought the unicorn was trying to make something up to placate her ego.

“The less intimidating job will be looking after Axel and lending her whatever assistance she will require to continue her work,” Star replied. “I’m afraid that she would work herself to death without somepony keeping a close eye on her wellbeing. Not to mention that Gentle Gem may need you again.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Inferno admitted. “And the other thing?” Star stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, which only made her daughter wary of what was about to be asked of her.

“I need you to get the gems that Doctor Suture and I will need to fix Spark’s eyes… from Incendiaura,” she reluctantly replied.

“I see,” Inferno mumbled, her expression growing stoic in a matter of seconds.

“I understand if you don’t want to, bu-”

“No, I realize how important this is, to you even more than Spark,” Inferno interjected. “I’ll do it, but there’s no guarantee that she will give me the gems that we need.” Her mother nodded slowly.

“I realize this, but I’ve run out of other alternatives,” Star said as she began walking again. “I know that your mother-

“Please, just call her by her name.”

“Right. I know that Incendiaura may not be the most giving of dragons,” Star continued.

“If you’d like to put it so mildly,” her daughter stated sourly.

“But maybe if it’s you asking then she’ll help,” the unicorn finished.

“I guess it’s worth pursuing,” Inferno admitted as they crossed another street and found themselves just down the hill from the castle. Maybe it had been their destination all along, Star thought, as they started the slow trek up to the ice covered gates.

“Thank you. This means more to me than you can imagine,” Star said as she placed a booted hoof gently on the dragon’s winged back. “What I did to Spark, even though it was an accident, was terrible and I must find a way to make it up to him.”

“I know,” Inferno replied before nodding politely at the guards standing on either side of the snow covered walkway leading up to the castle doors. Spark was waiting for them just inside the main hall and his bright smile flashed across his face as he sensed that Star had brought Inferno back.

“Did you two come to an understanding?” he asked as he walked up to the pair of girls and gave them each comforting hugs. Star looked to her daughter for the appropriate response and the little dragon returned a gentle smile.

“Yes, I think we may have,” Inferno replied.

“Wonderful,” Spark stated with a chuckle. “Ursa and I have been going over the rough ideas of our plans,” the brown stallion continued as he led his friends to the dining hall, where the crystal pony was waiting for them. “There are still a few of the finer details to work out, but we both agreed that meeting up with the resistance on the other side of the Crystal Mountains would probably be the best course of action.”

“I am inclined to agree,” Star replied. “Have either of you thought of a way to get in contact with the resistance though? I would hate for us to be forced to wander around hostile territory just hoping to bump into allies instead of enemies.”

“You and me both,” Spark chuckled.

“All we need to do is make our way to The Full House up in Calvary,” Ursa explained as he walked over to join in on the discussion. The large stallion flashed a quick smile at Inferno before continuing. “There’s a stallion who goes by the name Spade and is a part of the resistance. He’s the one who owns that bar and if we can get a hold of him then we can get some help sneaking into the capitol city.” It sounded fairly risky to Star, but she knew that they didn’t have many other options. “I am afraid that the most difficult part of getting to the capitol will be crossing the Crystal Mountains however. Do you remember what happened to Downpour and Draft when they first tried to cross?”

“Of course,” Star replied.

“They said that they nearly froze to death because of Windigos, didn’t they?” Spark asked with a note of disbelief in his tone.

“I know how that sounds,” Ursa replied. “I had thought that they were nothing more than a myth, but something had frozen those two half to death and I know it would take more than a little inclement weather to do that to them.” Inferno nodded her head in agreement as they all sat down around one end of the long dinning table that stretched most of the way across the large hall. There were a few other ponies scattered about the room, but none of them seemed to be paying the four friends much interest, which was for the best.

“If Windigos are more than a myth then why did you three not run into them on the way back here?” Star asked. Even though she knew for a fact that myths were often rooted in some sort of truth, the studious unicorn had never actually heard of anypony dealing with the spirits of ice and wind before, aside from the tale of Hearth’s Warming Eve that is.

“We weren’t fighting,” Ursa explained.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Inferno scoffed.

“Windigos are said to feed on conflict or something like that,” Spark replied. It seemed as if he had at least paid some attention to that course of study while he was still in school, Star noted.

“Basically,” she agreed, “which means that we will be just fine. I don’t believe any of us are planning to fight amongst ourselves.” Her violet eyes flickered between the two stallions questioningly.

“No, of course we aren’t planning to fight with one another, but think for a moment,” Ursa urged the small mare. “There is already a terrible conflict growing between our countries and it gets worse with every day that passes. I believe that it is for just that reason that the Windigos have been drawn to the northern borders and I fear that they may have gained enough strength since my last crossing to warrant every possible precaution we can take.” Inferno’s yellow eyes grew wide with fear as one more worry was compounded with the rest of her concerns.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Star admitted.

“So what will you do?” Inferno asked quietly. “Is there some other way that you can get to Calvary?” Star had no answer to give her daughter, but it seemed that Ursa had given the subject some thought already.

“We should be safe if we can go over seas,” the crystal pony replied. “That would keep us from having to cross through the treacherous mountains, though it will delay our arrival by a few days or more.” It was a brilliant plan even so, Star thought.

“Assuming that there will be ample cloud cover to land the sky chariot on each time we need to rest,” Spark commented. “Can we be certain that will be the case?”

“No,” Ursa admitted, “but there are a few islands scattered off the western coast of both countries. With just a little forethought, I believe that we can island hop our way to the empire. What do you think?” Both Star and Spark grew quiet as they contemplated the viability of their friend’s plan, but neither could come up with a better course of action to pursue.

“I think that it would be worth the delay,” Inferno chimed in. “I believe that Ursa is correct in thinking that avoiding the Windigos should be your primary concern for the time being. You three have no way of knowing how strong they’ve grown. Downpour and Draft barely made it across the mountains before things had grown this bad.” The little dragon turned to her mother and added, “I can’t let you put yourself at even more risk than you already are going to, mom.” Star smiled down at her and held out a hoof which her daughter gently grasped.

“Of course, Inferno,” the young mare replied. “So we will go around the mountains and then fly in from the west coast, until we reach Calvary. There we will only have to hope that the resistance can indeed lend us the assistance that we will need.”

“Is there anything else that we will need to plan for?” Spark asked, his sightless eyes staring off into the distance as he rhythmically tapped a hoof against the tabletop. “What about Downpour and Draft? Should we stop by Cloudsdale on our journey out and see if there is something that we could do to help their cause?” Ursa’s deep blue eyes lit up at the thought of seeing the stallion he loved before setting out to risk his life.

“If you two wouldn’t mind another small delay, then I would love to see Draft once more before we depart,” the emerald stallion replied.

“It is quite alright with me,” Star said with a nod. “I would want the same were I placed in your situation.” Spark nodded in agreement.

“Thank you,” Ursa replied with a smile.

“Well, now that that’s taken care of, what say you three to getting something to eat?” Spark asked, “Because I am famished.” His three friends snickered as they got up from the table and followed him over to the far table, where a generous lunch was waiting for them.

Star wandered the halls of Canterlot Castle at a lazy pace, trying to waste away the rest of the evening while she waited for the next meeting with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, where she and her friends would relay their new plans. Before long she had made her way to the dusty room that they had used during the last night everypony had been together. The large painting of them all that the pegasus, Twinkey Doodle, had created was still sitting on its easel, waiting for the day that Star finally got around to finding a place to hang it. The unicorn had briefly considered putting it up in the room she stayed in while visiting Canterlot, but she had decided that it would find its home at her house in Dodge, if and when she ever returned.

Twinkey Doodle had captured the essence of that night perfectly in her painting; each of them looking rather drunk and cheery while gathered around one another. Star stood in the middle of the picture with Inferno and Spark standing to either side, the former with her hand placed lovingly upon her mother’s back, while the latter stared slightly off center with a crooked smile on his face. Downpour and Strata stood slightly behind the little dragon, limbs entangled in an unsteady embrace with faces full of laughter. Draft and Ursa were on the opposite end, hooves clasped together as they beamed sweetly for the picture. Suri was behind them, the taller mare’s captivating green eyes reproduced with amazing perfection that the black unicorn couldn’t help but to admire. It brought a wistful tear to her eye as she stared longingly at the portrait, wishing that they could all be together again. The sounds of somepony coughing drew her gaze away from the painting and over to the balcony, where she could hear somepony shifting from hoof to hoof a few seconds later.

“Hello,” she called out as she headed in the direction of the open doors. “Is somepony out there?”

“Star?” Spark called back. “It’s just me.”

“Oh, hey,” Star replied as she joined her friend, leaning against the stone railing in the cool, open air. “What are you doing out here?” she asked, though the pungent smell of burning herbs wafting about the stallion’s messy, brown mane answered the question for him.

“I’m just trying to unwind a bit before we go to see the princesses,” Spark replied before taking another drag off of the thin roll of paper being held aloft by the green glow of his magic. “What about you?”

“I was just admiring the painting of us that Twinkey Doodle did,” Star explained as she took up a position standing beside him. The slight breeze that caressed her face felt refreshing after the day she’d had and the small mare sighed contentedly as she stared out at the snow covered city far below.

“Oh… is it nice?” Spark asked, his calm tone giving no hint as to his feelings about not being able to see it himself, though Star was fairly certain of how she would be feeling in his place.

“Yes, I’m sure that you will approve when you get the opportunity to see it yourself,” she replied. The corner of her friend’s mouth turned up in a slight smirk as he let out a humorless laugh. “I will fix your vision when we return from the empire,” Star tried to reassure him.

“You mean if. If we return, then you will do what you can to repair my eyes, despite the fact that I’ve already told you that I won’t risk another attempt,” Spark sternly responded, but a moment later he laughed again; a more cheerful sound the second time. “That’s what makes you such a good friend though, I suppose,” he added. She watched him puff on his joint a few more times, allowing some of the smoke to waft up into his face before inhaling the trail into his nostrils and holding it in.

“Do you mind if I have some of that?” Star asked him, which caused the stoned stallion to cough and snort with surprise.

“Um, no,” he wheezed, “but I thought that you were done after the last time.” Star shrugged her narrow shoulders out of habit before taking hold of the remaining herbs with her own magic. Spark released his grip upon sensing that she was taking it from him. “What changed your mind?”

“Well, last time I ate so much that I got a terrible stomach ache, but we already had lunch earlier and I have awhile before dinner, so I should be fine,” Star explained. “Besides, I could use a little unwinding too,” she added as she pressed the end of the paper to her soft lips, the strong smell of slightly skunk-like burning tickling her nose. She took a small drag and quickly released it and then, having found her resolve again, she took a longer drag and held her breath while she passed the joint back to Spark.

“It’s a little cold out,” Spark commented, “but it feels nice.” Star watched him take another couple small puffs as she exhaled a cloud of smoke that was carried off by the breeze. “Can you see the stars yet?” he asked as he passed the burning herbs back to the mare by his side.

“There’s a few,” Star replied as she inhaled more of the mind numbing smoke. “Most of them are covered by the clouds though.”

“That’s a pity. I think that, aside from the faces of the ponies I care about, the stars are what I miss most.”

“The stars, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s funny though, because I never really gave to much thought to how beautiful they looked, twinkling up there, amidst the endless void of the nighttime sky,” Spark replied before feeling Star’s gentle tap against his shoulder as she tried to give him back the last of his joint. The blind stallion just shook his head slowly. “You can finish it. I think I’ve had enough for tonight.”

“If you insist,” Star replied with a smile. She took the last few drags and then dropped the remainder off of the edge of the balcony, watching the glowing tip as it spiraled down to the ground below, where the snow it landed in finally snuffed its ember.

“I accidentally let Inferno get high a few days after we left for Sahclawi,” Spark said, seemingly out of nowhere. “I had dropped some herbs on the floor of the chariot and thought I’d snuffed it out, but she picked the joint up and smoked it… and then ate her weight in food later that night.” Star could tell by his tone that he was trying to apologize, but the mystical properties of the herbs the mare had smoked were already beginning to work on her brain and she could only laugh at what her friend was telling her.

“You, haha, yo- you let my little girl get high?” Star giggled. “You are by far the worst dragon sitter I have ever met.” Spark just sighed as he turned his face back towards the serene cityscape in front of him

“That’s exactly what Strata said,” he replied before laughing at himself. Star’s giggling continued on along with his and soon the two were practically doubled over on the balcony, their cheerful sounds filling the evening air as they held each other for support. It felt really good to laugh, Star thought, as she tried to catch her breath again.

“I- I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that she, uh, that she… oh hay, I forgot what I was going to say,” she mumbled as she wiped tears of joy from her violet eyes.

“Haha, that’ll happen,” Spark replied with a grin as he stood back up, bracing himself against the cold railing for support. “I’m sorry that I let that occur though,” he added as his chuckling died down.

“Well, I suppose that I can’t be too mad,” Star replied with a sigh as she stood back up to her full height. “I did let her drink cider with us the night before everypony separated and I’m supposed to be her mother.” Star took a deep breath and regained her composure, although her mind still felt like it was shrouded in a cozy haze as she crossed her forelegs on the top of the stone banister and laid her chin upon them. “I’m still not sure that I’m suited to being a good role model though,” she admitted as her smile faded, leaving her cheeks aching as the strain upon them vanished.

“Is anypony?” Spark asked, much to her surprise. “I mean, think about what you’ve just said seriously for a moment. Everypony makes mistakes, hay, even the princesses have made their share of poor decisions and they’re supposed to be role models for all of Equestria.” It was a true enough statement, Star thought, as she listened to her friend. “I have a little brother that I practically raised for the first part of his life and look at me…” His hooves gestured animatedly as he spoke. “I am far from the most responsible pony in the world, but I like to think that I’ve done fairly well with being a good big brother to Sugar.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Star admitted. “I’m just worried that I’m going to mess her up somehow.” Spark laughed, though she couldn’t see anything humorous in her statement.

“Please. Inferno is a great girl and besides, aren’t we all a little messed up in our own ways?” Spark asked as he placed a hoof on the smaller unicorn’s shoulder. “My parents weren’t the best and I turned out alright.”

“That’s what you think,” Star joked, causing him to shove her playfully.

Spark just shook his head dismissively as he turned his face up to the cloudy skies and replied, “Don’t take life so seriously, Star. You’ll never make it out alive.” Star couldn’t suppress the laugh that escaped her lips at his comment. “Now come on, we should see if the princesses are ready to meet with us,” he added as he turned away from the city and headed back inside the drafty old castle.

“Maybe he’s right,” Star said aloud to herself before turning around and following her friend through the empty room, closing the doors to the balcony behind her with just a thought. Her parents had done a number of things wrong and yet she had moved on from it, so maybe Inferno could as well.

They arrived outside the throne room just a bit early for their scheduled meeting with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna after eating a quick meal, but so had Ursa and Inferno, so at least they had some company. Even Axel wound up making her way to them after a few minutes, looking positively exhausted after another day of pushing herself too hard down at the shop. Star and the rest of her friends took turns catching the tired earth pony up on what she had missed during the day and she updated them on the progress she had made with the new sky chariot. Apparently it was in the final phase of its design and would be ready to reproduce on a larger scale within a day or two at the most.

“I am sure that Celestia will be ecstatic when she hears that,” Star said as she continued to whittle away the minutes. “Plus it means that I won’t have any problems convincing her to allow Brass Heart and Dawn to escort us to the empire.”

“Why would we ne- oh, for the love of Luna! I completely spaced the fact that we need somepony to fly us there,” Spark gasped as he slapped a hoof in his own face. “I’m so used to having Downpour or Draft around that I didn’t think about who would pull the chariot and I didn’t really talk to the royal guard that Celestia had pulling my sister and I around, so I don’t think he would be up to the task.”

“Well that’s kind of rude,” Inferno commented. Spark looked as if he was about to reply, but that was when one of the princesses’ servant informed them that they were ready to begin the meeting and whatever argument the blind stallion had been about to make was lost in the shuffling off hooves as they made their way towards the ornate doors at the back wall of the main hall. Star shoved the doors open and she and her companions entered as a group. Celestia and Luna were waiting inside, the younger of the alicorns looking far better than she had earlier that day. They waited for their subjects to come inside and then finish bowing before either of them spoke.

“Hello everypony,” Celestia greeted them with a smile.

“We trust that you have all had a productive evening,” Luna added as she too smiled down at each of them. Star and her friends all nodded in unison.

“I suppose that we should get right to the heart of this conversation then,” Celestia continued. “What have you all decided as the best method for achieving our goals?” Star cleared her throat as she attempted to gather her thoughts, which took a moment due to the herbs affecting her mind. Thankfully, Spark seemed to notice her hesitation or had expected it and answered the question for her instead.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, after some thought and a bit of debating and planning, we have decided that Star, Ursa and I will take a sky chariot west, to the coast. From there we will head north, skirting the danger that the Crystal Mountains pose and entering the empire from that direction,” Spark explained.

“What danger would that be?” Luna asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“We believe that Windigos have been drawn to the northern border because of the conflict between our countries, your majesties” Ursa replied. “It would explain the trials that Downpour and Backdraft faced on their initial trip north.”

“I see,” Celestia replied approvingly. “Then you have thought this through far better than I could have hoped.”

“We have, princess,” Star replied, having finally gathered her wits enough to feel comfortable addressing her rulers. “We will then head northeast, into the capitol, where we will be able to confront Duke Doré Langue and hopefully end his tyranny once and for all,” she continued in a voice that became more assured of itself with each word that she uttered.

“You have all shown a good deal of wisdom in planning this mission,” Luna complimented. “What will Alexia and Inferno be doing during the time that you are gone?”

“I will continue working on the fleet of chariots you have requested to be built, of course, Princess Luna,” Axel replied. “Even if they are successful in halting the duke’s twisted plans, there is no telling how many ponies have been permanently affected by his magical deception. It would be best to plan for any actions that might still be taken against our country.”

“And I will assist her to the best of my abilities,” Inferno added. The second task that she was to complete had no bearing on the princesses goals and thus it remained unspoken, much to her mother’s approval.

“I would like to take this opportunity to make a request,” Star stated. “Since Downpour and Backdraft are off attending to the problem in Cloudsdale, we will need able bodied pegasus to escort us to the Crystal Empire.”

“Did you have somepony in mind, my faithful student?” Luna asked, though she most likely knew the answer already.

“Yes, princess,” Star replied with a nod. “We would prefer it if Corporal Heart and Private Glory were the ones to take us, as I have a well established… er, report with them already,” she continued. Both princesses nodded their heads in approval of her request.

“I see no reason why we cannot accommodate your request, so long as Axel is finished with their services, of course,” Celestia told them, casting a questioning glance in the blonde mare’s direction.

“I have no objections to that,” Axel replied. “The chariot is basically finished and I will only have to start teaching other ponies to help reproduce the vehicle.”

“Good… and are there any other matters of importance that need to be discussed at this time?” Princess Celestia questioned.

“Not that I am aware of, my princess,” Spark replied.

“Then I believe that we can call this meeting to an end,” Princess Luna stated. Each of the ponies bowed low to their diarchs and were met with respectable nods. With the meeting called to an end, everypony soon filed out of the throne room quietly, the large doors banging shut behind them. Star yawned from exhaustion as soon as she and her friends were out in the main hall once again. Though the days were getting shorter, the small mare felt as if time was creeping by slower and the herbs weren’t helping to keep her alert by any means.

“Well I’m beat,” Spark confessed as he stretched out each of his long legs one at a time. “I suppose that I’ll be heading off to bed now. I’ll see you ponies in the morning.”

“Good night, Spark,” Star replied as he began walking slowly towards the stairs.

“Night,” Inferno called after him, to which the blind stallion replied with a casual wave of his hoof before leaving.

“Yeah, I think he has the right idea,” Ursa agreed. “We have a long day ahead of us all tomorrow, so don’t stay up too late now,” he chuckled. The three girls bid him a good night as well before he left and then they were all alone in the large room.

“I’m not that tired, to be honest,” Axel said as she turned away from the stairs and back to her friends, “but I suppose that I should get some sleep, so that I can see you off in the morning.” As if she wouldn’t wake up early either way, Star thought, although she simply smiled.

“Me too,” Inferno replied with a yawn.

“Mhmm,” Star mumbled in agreement. “Let’s get to bed, Inferno.” The little dragon nodded her spiked head and then began to follow her mother over to and up the spiraling staircase, the claws on her small feet clacking in slow but perfect sync with Star’s hoofsteps as they walked. Axel followed close behind, her normally quick pace slowed somewhat due to the two girls ahead of her. As they approached the top of the stairs the sound of the throne room doors swinging shut echoed throughout the room and Star wondered whether or not it was her mentor, off to tend to the tortured dreams of her subjects for another night. Perhaps there would be no nightmares for her after all.

“Night, you two,” Axel said as she turned down the hall towards her own bedroom. “Sleep well and all that.”

“Night, Axel,” Star quietly replied as she stumbled along with Inferno to their waiting bed. She flung her bedroom door open with magic and stepped into the dark room, sloughing off her cloak and kicking away her boots with each measured step as a smile began to creep across her muzzle at the thought of getting underneath the snug blankets. She closed the door behind her, leaving only the glow of the moon and stars to guide her. Inferno didn’t have to worry about getting undressed though and quickly hopped up onto the mattress and squirmed her way between the silky sheets, sighing with contentment as she laid her head against the soft pillows.

“We have a long day tomorrow,” Star commented as she crawled in bed beside her daughter. “I’ll wake you up to go get some breakfast and then you can join me while I fetch Brass Heart and Dawn.”

“That sounds good to me,” Inferno replied as her eyelids drooped closed. “Goodnight, mom,” she added sleepily.

“Sweet dreams, honey” Star replied, hoping that her own were pleasant as well, despite knowing that most ponies weren’t getting so lucky lately. Even dreams were tainted by the encroaching darkness of Doré Langue’s touch. The small mare took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, attempting to push the thought out of mind as she closed her violet eyes, the dim light of the stars fading from view as sleep gradually overtook her.

Author's Notes:

Sorry about the lateness of this chapter, but at least things are beginning to progress a bit more quickly. I still feel that the emotional conflict between Star and Inferno could have been explored in more depth, but then the chapter may have been bogged down with too much angst, oh well... Everyone will be leaving the city in the next chapter though and starting their journey to the empire. Excitement is sure to follow.