LOVE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD ON ME

Chapter 24: My Sacrifice

It's far too pleasant a day to be finding things like this. Limnear sighed and shook her head in disgust. This makes the third fresh, unmarked grave, and there's no telling how many are here. What surprised her was the pegasus stallion she found with the three griffons in this particular plot.

The sound of a sword being drawn drew her attention away from the gruesome sight of the overstuffed grave, and towards the two ponies that faced her with bared weapons, one a unicorn dressed in the armor of a Frontier Guardspony, and the other a pegasus mare missing a wing. “State your name and business, griffon,” the unicorn said gruffly.

Moving slowly, and deliberately, Limnear pulled a badge of office from her wing and tossed it at their hooves. “The name's Limnear. I'm investigating the attack these griffons made on an important pony. I'm trying to find out who hired them. Seems I'm too late for that, as they've already been silenced.”

The stallion picked up the badge with his magic and examined it carefully. His eyes widened in surprise as he found it to be authentic. “You're in a dangerous position, working for a nation hostile to your homeland.”

Limnear shrugged her shoulders. “Meh. It makes it more interesting. And what brings you here, Your Lordships?”

Blueblood arched an eyebrow at her. “Since further introductions are obviously not in order, I suppose we can get on to the important bits. We're looking for a missing stallion and his daughter, both earth ponies,” Blueblood replied. He sheathed his sword as he walked over to her and returned her badge. “I hope you didn't find them in one of these, did you?”

Shaking her head, Limnear replied, “Actually, we rescued a pair of ponies matching that description. They're back on the Euryale right now, being tended to. Seems they were a little banged up, but should be fine. There is a pony here in this grave though. Do you recognize him?”

Blueblood peered over the edge of the hole. “No, can't say he looks familiar to me. “What about you, Rugged?”

Rugged Peak cautiously walked over, keeping her eye on the griffoness. She took a quick peek, then returned her gaze to Limnear. “Aye, I do. That there's Jackknife, a berk from Barnmouth 'oo always 'ad more brass than brains. 'Ow'd 'ee get 'ere?”

Limnear sat down near the edge o the hole, keeping her eyes on the one-winged pegasus before her. “Near as I can figure, he attacked the group that attacked the pony I'm protecting, and got killed.”

“Bandits robbing bandits?” Blueblood suggested.

“Doubtful,” replied Limnear. “Bandits wouldn't have left valuables behind, and some of these griffons still have small things of value like rings or piercings.”

“Then what do you think 'appened?” Rugged Peak asked, suspicion clear in her tone.

Smirking at the mare, Limnear cocked an eyebrow at her. “My working theory so far is that the assassins were assassinated.”

Blueblood looked around as if he was about to be attacked out of simple fear of the word. “Assassins?”

“It's fairly smart if you think about it. Hire some assassins to kill your target, then hire some goons to kill the assassins, leaving no trace to you,” Limnear replied with a nod.

“That's daft!” Rugged Peak interjected. “Don't that mean the goons are in danger of being offed, too when they least expect it?”

Limnear shrugged again. “Entirely possible. As we speak, all evidence leading us back to the one who hired these assassins could be in the process of being destroyed while we play in the dirt here.”

“Then why aren't we out tracking them down before that happens?” Blueblood shouted.

“Hey, if you got a lead, I'm more than willing to follow it, Captain,” Limnear calmly replied. “I'm not sitting on my duff because I want to, you know.”

“I have a lead,” Rugged Peak said. They looked to her and she continued, “This 'ere berk liked to 'ang out with 'is mates at a sugar beet farm just a couple of kilotrots outside o'Barnmouth. I've 'ad to go out there a few times to bust some 'eads when they got too rowdy.”

Limnear sat up and brushed off her rump with her tail. “Then by all means, let's go see this ranch. Maybe we can catch the employer red hoofed.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

In a place known to few, and tread by fewer still, six entities met and conversed. Though they did not use anything as crude as words, they understood each other perfectly, for here, there were no misunderstandings, especially among these six. By mutual consensus, they agreed that this would be the last time they would meet like this before parting ways for the final time.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“Twilight, please reconsider! You don't even know if this will work! Our tests were inconclusive at best!”

Princess Twilight turned to regard her lover and confidant. She smiled sadly and gently traced the sphinx's face with a hoof, though she had to reach up to do so. “Oh, Nyx. It will work. We have every confidence in our own calculations as well as those of our lab assistant. However, t'is just a precaution. We do not think it will come to such desperation.”

Nyx placed a paw over the hoof on her cheek and leaned into it. “But an immortal has never done anything like this before! We don't know if you will ever recover from it! There are only three immortals I know of with the powers of creation, and even they couldn't or wouldn't tell me if you would recover from this!”

The alicorn tilted her head and smiled. “What dost thy inner eye tell thee?”

Nyx looked away with a worried, but frustrated expression. “It... It can't see anything of your future, love. The path you walk is too uncertain.”

“But thou hast seen what will happen should We not take action? The death, the misery, the suffering? Should we let that all come to pass for want of assurances that we can never have?” Twilight had meant no malice in her words, but they struck hard all the same, causing Nyx to wince.

“I just... I just meant that we could continue working to find another way, one that doesn't include your inevitable death at the claws of a maniac!” Nyx's words started out uncertain, but grew in vehemence as she went on. “Please, Twilight! I don't want to lose you now; not when we finally...”

Twilight leaned forward and kissed Nyx, then pressed their foreheads together. “Dear Heart, We do not wish this any more than thou, but action must be taken a'fore the Nightmare consumes the land in shadow and madness. We would not have anyone We love be forced to live under the purview of that monster.”

Nyx let loose a sob and asked, “Why do you always have to be the hero?”

“If not us, then who? If not now, when?” Twilight asked simply.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Princess Twilight surmounted the ridge and looked out upon the land of Tartarus. What hast that fiend done? This land was once as lush as Equestria! Indeed, the last time she had visited, the sky was clear, the ground covered in greenery and blue water, but now...

The alicorn had to remember to flap to keep aloft, she was so shocked by the black, sooty skies, and the blasted, dry land below. Rivers of lava replaced the sparkling clear water, giving everything a bloody, reddish tint, even the scorched and blackened earth. Nude hills and craggy outgrowths emerged from the ground, pointing accusing fingers towards the heavens, which were blocked by a perpetual gray blanket of clouds that rained ash upon the ground like a nightmarish, choking, gray snow.

Carefully landing on the charred earth, Twilight coughed a little from the cloud of ash her flapping wings had kicked up. “Malsvirthurkear, what hast thou done?” With a determined glare, she lifted off again and made a beeline for the large volcano spewing a cloud of superheated ash into the air.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Pain.

All of existence was aflame. The universe was being torn asunder atom by atom, and it was uncertain if it would ever be put back together. All it could do now was to try to direct some of that pain towards the foe that had forced this to come to pass, and hope that it somehow destroyed them both.

It was a farfetched hope, but it was all that it could hope for now. With a grunt, what was left of Princess Twilight, second daughter of Time and Space, focused her considerable will and power into a lens to better channel her pain back into the self-styled tyrant.

(\ /)
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*(“)(“)

Twilight opened her eyes to find Celestia looming over her with a worried expression. “P- Princess?” A movement caught her eye, and she saw an alicorn-sized Nyx standing next to her, looking equally pensive. Seeing her face was all it took for her to call to mind everything she had just remembered. “I-” What she was about to say was interrupted by her Tiara slipping a little and blocking her vision. Without thinking, she adjusted it back, then it occurred to her that she was suddenly wearing her Element of Harmony. “Why am I wearing this?”

“It just appeared on you a moment ago while you were sleeping,” Celestia answered, unable to conceal the quaver of fear in her voice.

Removing the tiara, Twilight examined it a moment, noting for the first time that it had always felt like hers, ever since she had first laid eyes on it. “I... understand now.”

Celestia bit her lip and nervously asked, “You do?”

Twilight nodded and continued to examine the tiara in minute detail. “Why I have such a deep connection with the others, my connection with you all, why trouble always seems to follow me, it all makes sense now.” She looked up at Celestia and Nyx and with a calm, even tone, asked, “What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me. Why, 'Tia? Nyx? Why didn't you tell me that I'm just a small part of a much larger whole?” She looked Celestia in the eye and added, “That I'm a part of your sister?” Looking Nyx in the eye, she said, “Or part of your lover?”

Neither immortal was able to keep eye contact and looked away, but Celestia was the first to recover enough to answer the eerily calm unicorn. “We- I tried to... reawaken my sister once about twelve hundred years ago by forcing the Bearers to remember. To say it did not go well would be an understatement. I believe that doing so weakened the bindings on the Nightmare, allowing it to take possession of Luna.” Shame burned on her face and felt like a dagger in her heart.

“You had already found love by the time I found you,” Nyx blurted out. “I didn't want to impose that upon you. It's... my burden, not yours.” Her face took on a stony appearance, making her next words all the more heart-wrenching. “Besides, as much as you resemble her, you're not my Twilight; not entirely. Though you share many of her interests and personality quirks, you're different enough that I can't help but remember how things used to be and how different they are now. I'm waiting for my Twilight to come back. No other will do, no matter how close the resemblance. I'm... I'm sorry if this offends or hurts you.”

Twilight leaned forward so that she could rest a hoof on Nyx's paw. “I've seen how she felt about you, Nyx. There's no way I could blame you for holding out for that again. I think- no, I'm certain that you'll be reunited again someday.”

Nyx came forward and rubbed cheeks with her. “Thank you, Twilight. That means so much to me.”

Turning to her mentor, Twilight said, “I can't say whether your sister would forgive you or not for what you did to those particular Element Bearers, but I can forgive you for withholding this information from me, 'Tia. Is... is it alright if I call you that? It feels... right.”

Celestia smiled and nuzzled her. “I'd love for you to call me that, Twilight.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Twilight asked, “So, what happens now? I'm not absolutely certain, but I think the others must know what's going on now. I can... feel them right now. There's a palpable sense of... relief among us.” Despite this being Twilight, the most literate pony of her generation, the way she said “relief” almost sounded like she was asking for the right word.

Celestia was about to reply, when Nyx cut her off. “Now? You live your life, Twilight.” Celestia and Twilight looked at her in surprise. “You put this aside and let it take care of itself; whatever it takes for you to live your life as you wish.”

Twilight tried to protest. “But you all-”

“Don't have to live your life; and you should not be expected to live up to standards that aren't your own, however high those might be,” Celestia interrupted. She brushed a stray lock of mane out of the unicorn's eyes and said, “Though I would dearly love to see my sister once more, I would not take away what you have right this moment. You have as much right to live as any other pony, and I cannot fault you for it. Consider this matter closed, and I forbid you from allowing it to color any of your decisions.”

Nyx nodded in agreement. “You need to learn to not shoulder the weight of the world when it's not your responsibility or fault.” She nuzzled the hoof still resting on her paw with a sad smile. “Your consideration for others may be one of your most endearing points, but it can also be counted among your faults. We want you to have a long and happy life.”

“She's right, Twilight,” Celestia chimed in. “Being immortal gives us a very different perspective on time, and a lifetime, even a very long one can pass us by before we even realize it's happened. Besides,” she added, kissing Twilight on the forehead, “I know my sister will return someday, but until then, I have a unicorn that I love like a daughter right here.”

Twilight blushed a deep red and smiled sheepishly.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Shifting around to a more comfortable position, Plain Sight sighed and checked the position of the sun. While it was already well below the treeline, the dwindling light let her know that there was still about another half hour or so of day left. “She better hurry up if she doesn't want to walk home in the dark,” she grumbled to herself.

She was contemplating going in to see if she had went home by some other method, but was shocked to see Celestia walk out of the library's entrance, look around, then head directly for her. The spy rose to her hooves and bowed before her. “Your Highness! What brings you out here?”

Celestia smiled gently down at the mare. “I thought I might find you out here, Plain Sight. Your dedication is commendable. I've come out here to tell you that Twilight will be taking another route home. The library in Ponyville has been temporarily been connected to Miss Nyx's, so she has a direct route between them. If you'll come in to see Nyx, she'll give you the ability to use any doorway as a passage to her library so you can follow her there when necessary.”

“Wait, why the change in plans, Princess?” Plain Sight asked. “I thought you were going to surprise her with this when her estate is finished being built. What happened?”

A sad look overcame the alicorn's face momentarily before she dispelled it with a shake of her head. “It seems there was some sort of incident in the library that gave Twilight access to some knowledge that I had not intended for her to have just yet. This will necessitate the reevaluation of our priorities and plans.”

Plain Sight chewed thoughtfully on her lip for a moment. “Does this mean it's a bad time to tell her how I feel?” Her eyes widened, and she hastily added, “Not that I'm only thinking of myself, but I don't want to add to her burden if I can help it.”

“I'm afraid so, my Little Pony,” Celestia said, downcast. “That was not the only big event to happen recently. Spitfire was injured in some manner, so Twilight will be projecting all her worries towards these new developments. Adding another will only confuse her right now, and possibly send her over some metaphorical precipice.”

The earth pony chuckled and shook her head. “Ain't that just the way? Here I am, all psyched up to tell her so I can get it off my chest, and I have to hold it in for who knows how long.” She pawed at the ground, sending blades of grass flying into the wind. “It'd be funny if it weren't so frustrating.”

Celestia wrapped up the distraught mare in a wing and held her close. “Having one's heart so cruelly mistreated by fate is never funny. Perhaps this will hold you until the opportunity presents itself?” She used a hoof to guide Plain Sight's face until their gazes locked. She then bent down and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, her horn aglow with golden light.

Plain Sight blushed furiously, her surprise melting into contentment as she felt a soothing warmth seep into every fiber of her being. All the worry and anxiety that had built up in her chest came undone like a loosened knot, leaving her with a calmness she hadn't felt in years.

Ending the spell as she pulled back from the kiss, the Diarch said, “That charm should last you a while. I don't often do this because I'd rather a pony learn to achieve serenity with themselves on their own. It's longer lasting, and more gratifying; however, when one suffers as much as I've seen you do, and are unable to remedy the situation, I can't help but intervene. You understand, right?”

Plain Sight put a hoof to her lips in wonderment, then looked Celestia in the eye. “I do.” A chuckle- genuine this time- escaped her lips. “You know what the funny thing is? It had been so long since I felt this way, that I had forgotten what it was like.” She fully turned towards Celestia, and bowed low to the ground, her nose tickled by the grass. “Thank you, Your Highness. I'll treasure this moment and this feeling forever.”

Rather than saying anything, Celestia smiled and rubbed her cheek along the smaller mare's.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Farms by their very nature were not usually this quiet at this time of day. Granted, they weren't at their peak hubbub, but usually, there were ponies coming in from a hard day's work, ready to feast on the fruits their labors. This farm however...

“It's too quiet,” Limnear whispered to her companions.

“Indeed,” agreed Blueblood. “Much as I hate to say it, we're going to have to split up. Miss Limnear, you check out the house while Miss Peak and I take the barn. Give a shout if there's any trouble. No need to take on trouble alone if we don't have to.”

“Too right,” Rugged Peak said, nodding her assent. “Let's get these blighters.”

With that, they split into two teams and stealthily made their way to their respective destinations. Limnear cautiously approached the house, noting the deathly stillness of it. The small signs of life seemed artificial or hastily abandoned. The clothesline in back was full of freshly laundered sheets and clothes, and bone-dry. The screen door to the back of the house hung open and squeaked as the wind slammed it against the building almost rhythmically. The house itself was in poor repair, with flaking, peeling paint, some of the siding warped from the weathering.

The griffoness closed in on the farmhouse, quiet as a house cat. She pushed herself against the wall and peered into the window from the bottom corner. She saw a kitchen set for dinner, with enough spaces at the table for an army. Serving dishes were set out, still steaming, and looked weighty enough to bow even the thick oak table in the middle.

But no ponies.

An icicle of dread dripped down between Limnear's shoulder blades, making her shiver. Cautiously, she waited until the screen door was blown open again and dashed in, letting it slam behind her. A cursory scan showed her nothing really new or telling about what was going on here. Careful to keep her claws from clicking on the hard, wooden floor, she padded over to the living room, and found her first evidence of foul play. An earth pony mare, couldn't possibly be more than a few years out of her teenage years lay sprawled on the couch, tongue lolling out of her mouth alongside dried flecks of foam. She didn't even have to get close to catch a whiff of the almond-y smell she knew so well from her years of spying.

The clink of metal-on-metal surprised the griffoness, causing her to whirl around back towards the kitchen. She was just quick enough to spy one of the cabinet doors closing quietly. She stalked over to it and quickly slammed the door open, revealing a small filly hiding among the pots and pans. As soon as her hiding place was uncovered, she tried to escape, scrambling over the pots, sending them scattering into the kitchen and Limnear's face. Not about to be beaten by a frightened child, Limnear snaked a foreclaw in and snagged the filly. She dragged the squirming and screaming child into her embrace. “Hold on, little one! I'm not here to hurt you! I want to help!”

This predictably had no effect on her, and she continued to writhe in her grasp, screaming bloody murder. “Help! Help! Murder! Rape!”

A loud whistling like a rocket, followed by a BOOM from outside caused them both to pause, but Limnear was back in action in less than a heartbeat. Still holding onto the filly, she rushed outside and took to the wing in time to see Blueblood's flare spell still descending. She flew over towards the barn and her ad hoc companions at her greatest speed, the filly squealing a deafening scream in her ears the whole time.

She arrived at the front of the open barn to find Rugged Peak bleeding on the ground with a knife stuck in her flank, but still conscious. The pegasus pointed towards the forest. “'Ee went over there! 'Urry! Tha barmy unicorn went after 'em alone!”

Limnear thrust the filly at Rugged Peak and dashed off without a word. Finding their path wasn't hard to do, as they appeared to be more concerned with speed rather than concealment. There was an abrupt scream followed by the sound of several magical bolts fired, and finally, a longer, more drawn-out, yet fading scream. Limnear piled on the speed, using her size to burst through the dense underbrush, exploding out of the forest.

The trees suddenly stopped, giving way to a cliff. She spotted Blueblood and winged over to him. “What happened?” she asked as she landed.

Blueblood pointed to the cliff. She peeked over while he explained. “He suddenly ran out of forest quicker than expected and ran right off the cliff. I was too far behind him to stop his fall.”

Indeed, she could see the broken and obviously dead body at the bottom of the canyon. Looking down at the body, her rear paws scratched at the ground as if covering her droppings. “Scat!” She sighed and ran a forepaw through her head feathers. “Alright, head back to the barn. I left a filly that I found with Miss Peak back there. I'll fetch the body and we'll regroup at the house's front porch. Don't go in, and don't let her go in until I can check out the rest of the house for survivors or bodies.”

Limnear was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder as she turned to fly down. “There's something you should know.” the stallion said. “Back at the barn...”

“Poisoned ponies?” Limnear ventured.

Blueblood nodded sadly. “Well over a dozen, if not two. There was a colt, too. Couldn't have been more than fifteen or so.”

“I found a mare- most likely the filly's mother- in the house, stinking of almonds,” the griffoness replied.

The stallion stomped a hoof angrily. “Roadapples! What kind of monster are we dealing with?”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Cheerilee nudged Trixie beside her on the couch. The unicorn was startled from her book and looked over to her herd-wife in askance. “How long has she been like that?” the teacher asked, gesturing with her head towards the door, where Sunny Days sat quietly.

Looking over to the clock on the wall, Trixie replied softly, “About twenty minutes now.”

“Call me crazy, but didn't we already put her to bed?”

“A half hour ago, Crazy,” Trixie replied with a grin. “She's been sitting there quietly, and not making a mess, so I didn't see the need to press the matter.”

Cheerilee bit her lip and asked, “Don't you find it a little... you know... creepy?” Trixie fixed her with a glare that promised violence, and the earth pony tried to explain herself. “I mean, in all the years I've been teaching and just being around foals in general, I've never seen one do... that. At least, not one that wasn't... troubled.”

Trixie closed her book and gave the flustered mare a peck on the cheek. “You have to remember that Sunny is... special. In a way, she actually has three biological parents; and there's no telling just what the Princess put into the mix. She's bound to have little... idiosyncrasies.”

A grin overtook Cheerilee's face. “You mean like her-”

“Yes, just like that,” Trixie interrupted with a grin of her own.

Their attention was drawn to Sunny when she suddenly stood, followed an instant later by the door opening and Twilight walking in. Sunny leaped up at her, and a delighted Twilight obliged her by catching the filly in her forelegs. “Hello, my Sunshine!” she cooed to the bubbly filly.

“Well, you're home late,” Cheerilee said as she came forward and kissed her.

Trixie levitated the mare's saddlebags off of her and set them gently by the door. “Did it go well?”

“Better than I had hoped,” Twilight replied with only the barest trace of a smile.

Caressing her cheek with a hoof, Trixie asked, “What is it, Love?”

It took her a moment to find the words, but eventually, Twilight said, “Spitfire's been hurt. They're sending her home to recuperate for a while.” Before they could ask, she went on. “Physically, she's fine, but it's standard procedure for any seriously wounded soldier to be sent home to convalesce. She'll be arriving by train tomorrow afternoon.”

Unable to find any words, Trixie and Cheerilee just moved in and hugged Twilight, who began crying.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“So in all, We were able to rescue the filly as well as an infant we found upstairs in a crib. We weren't able to get much from her; apparently, the assassin was very circumspect. Minister Peak said that she would find them both a good home, so I left them in her care.” Limnear took another deep drink of her glass of water, smiling at Spitfire when she refilled it for her. Looking back at Admiral Herring-Bone, she finished by saying, “So, that's when I headed back. Captain Blueblood said that he'd contact my superior should anything turn up that we need to follow up on, but I don't mind telling you that it's not looking good. Our suspect's face was smashed to pieces by the fall, and his cutie mark was a fairly common one. The only distinguishing thing we found on him was a smashed communications crystal, and even if we repaired that, it wouldn't restore the magic, so it's as good as untraceable.”

Honor sighed and turned in her chair to face the large window in her ready room. “I suppose it was a fool's hope to think that we might be able to wrap this up in a neat bow.” She turned back to face Limnear and Spitfire with a wry smile. “At least something good came of this. Spitfire's being sent home to recuperate for four weeks.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes and tried not to stress the stitches holding her cheek together by opening her mouth too widely as she spoke. “Gee, thanks BuPers. I hope it didn't break you to give me that much.”

“You whine like an air raid siren. Be glad they gave you that much. When I lost my hoof, they threw a bandage over it, gave me a salt tablet, and told me to walk it off,” Honor replied with a smile. “I think it my neglecting to inform them that your bones somehow magically mended that it wasn't half that. In any case, you are still needed up here in the front. After this little stunt gets spread around, you just know that someone's going to use it as grist for their mills.”

Spitfire shrugged, then winced at the pain in her shoulder. “Ow! Well, at least I get to go home, even if it's only for a bit. It'll have to do, I suppose.”

“Speaking of which, we better get to the train station,” Limnear said, standing up. “It leaves in less than an hour, and I doubt it'll wait around for us.”

Honor rose to her hooves and returned the others' salutes. “Get well soon, Captain. I'll try to hold your team together while you're gone.”

Spitfire grinned at her. “Just don't let him take over my seat. He always puts my groove out of whack.”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Blueblood placed his helm on the table as he sat down across from Cherry Jubilee. “Well, we've pretty much exhausted this particular clue. Went through the entire farm and turned up not a blessed thing. It appears you came out here with me for nothing.”

Cherry Jubilee slid a small envelope over to him, along with a tall mug of cider. “This message came for you while you were out. You look positively exhausted, Dear,” she said as she came around to massage his broad shoulders.

The stallion moaned a little under her ministrations, then opened the letter with his magic. It was only a few lines,, but it was enough to send him bolt upright. “Dear Celestia!” he whispered.

“What is it?” Cherry asked.

Blueblood turned to her, looking visibly shaken. “Father's ill. I must go to Canterlot immediately!”

Author's Notes:

There. She knows now. May I please come out of hiding with the Writer's Relocation Program? I don't like washing my socks in the sink in the gas station's bathroom. Just as a side note, BuPers is the Bureau of Personnel, the logistical side of the military.

Pregnancy Counter:

Trixie: 9 months

Twilight: 5 months

Sunny Days: 1 1/2 months old

The usual disclaimers go here. I own the arrangement of the words, Limnear, Rugged Peak, Nyx, Plain Sight, and Sunny Days. I claim the ponification of Honor Herring-Bone, but her character belongs to David Weber. All else belongs to Hasbro and Lauren Faust.