The sun had finally set, and I almost wished it hadn’t. This unnaturally long, horrifying day of...

It was hard to even think. The events of the day were...

Swallowing, I clenched my eyes shut and fought the tears that threatened to spill. Today was... today was...

Oh, sweet Lady Grace, why? I... I didn’t even know what to think... My thoughts were scattered, broken, unclear. I was tired to the bone, every muscle in my body aching, every sense I had overwhelming, every emotion I felt just bringing more pain. I could barely string a sentence together, barely comprehend what I was seeing, what I was feeling... I wasn’t even sure what I was doing.

My lips trembled, and a loud sob escaped me before I could stop it. Dimly, I was aware of Chase’s hoof wrapping around my shoulder and being hugged to her chest. She didn’t say anything, but I could hear her shuddering breath as she struggled to comprehend what we were witnessing just as much as I did. Her hold became tighter, more desperate, her hoof trembling as she held me. Or was that me? Was I the one trembling?

Either way, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t... I just... I couldn’t comprehend what I was witnessing. It was illogical, impossible, it simply couldn’t be reality, but...

A sob escaped from me, just as one escaped from Chase.

The sun finally setting should have been a relief. That sickening omen of fire and death lowering beneath the horizon should have brought us comfort, it should have brought us calm, it shouldn’t have... It shouldn’t have... It...

We’d found Luna. The mystery of our goddess’s absence was solved. I should have taken comfort in the fact she hadn’t abandoned us, but somehow I couldn’t. All I knew was that she was there, and she wasn’t here.

The ache in my chest was so intense I would have sworn it was wounded.

The sun had set, the moon had risen, and we’d found Luna.

And now we cried for her. I wanted nothing more right then, than for her to hold me, to shelter me beneath her wings and to share her warmth and promise me that everything would be fine.

But that was impossible. Because we had found her. And we knew the truth now.

Not even our goddess could save us.

She hung there above us, watching us, seeing our pain and helpless to stop it. Her perfect black form as glorious and wonderful as ever, but now so far beyond our reach that seeing her just made my heart ache. I knew it was her and not some illusion. I knew that was her essence, and not just Celestia’s mockery. I knew that that was Lady Luna. Whether I knew thanks to her blood in my veins, or the power of my shadow magic, or some buried instinct didn’t matter.

Chase had known too, from the moment she saw her. We had stopped flying, and landed here on this rock to stare, disbelieving at... at... her...

The full moon rose above us. No longer pure silver, but now cursed to bear true beauty for all to see. Our goddess, her perfect divine form, her glory and grace, majesty and authority, all right there. Or maybe a mere shadow of it. It was perfect, one way or another. After all, it was her. But it was the barest sliver of perfection. The tiniest fraction of her Grace, but at the same time it was all of her .

The silhouette of her head, branded across the surface of the moon. But it wasn’t just her shadow, or her outline, it was her. I knew it was.

Luna was in the moon.

I tore my eyes away and clenched them shut. I buried my head into Chase’s shoulder and wailed. Her forelegs around me tightened, hugging me close, and she wailed too.

All we’d ever known was gone. Our home and our species, our friends and rivals, our life and meaning... all of it... gone. Uprooted and burned away in one horrifying day...

And we couldn’t even turn to our goddess anymore.

We were all that we had left.

We needed to move. The Celestians would be hunting us after they learned that Pyra was dead. If we stayed here, silhouetted against the moonlight, we would be spotted. They would find us, and destroy us, and there wouldn’t be anything left at all.

My throat refused to make the sounds though. All it could do was wail, and wail, and wail, my face buried in Chase’s fur, her tears dripping down the back of my neck.

We needed to leave or we would die, but we didn’t. All we could do was hold each other and cry.

We were all that we had left.

And so we held each other, doing our best to comfort the other, but failing utterly. Chase and I cried and cried until eventually our throats closed up, our tears dried out, and we were too exhausted to move.

We fell asleep there, atop a flat granite stone on a hill that overlooked the pine forests. We slept together, holding each other under the light of a moon blemished with perfection. Though it wasn’t safe, though we might die, though it was unforgiving stone, we finally, mercifully, found blessed rest.

Whatever horrors my own mind had for me were meager in the face of my exhaustion and the traumas I had already witnessed. Any nightmares I had during my sleep were barely remembered when I awoke.

The night sky greeted my open eyes, as did a painful cramp in my back and I made a tired groan as I sat up, rubbing my eyes and spine. Thanks to Astral’s view that comfort and luxury bred weakness, this wasn’t the first time I’d slept on hard stone, but that didn’t change the fact that it was uncomfortable.

Why didn’t we just sleep on some grass?

I heard a cracking noise, and glanced over to see Chase stretching out. “Come on, Slight, we need to get moving.”

I tried to stand up, but then caught sight of the Moon and Her Grace and fell back to my haunches.

“Slight?” Chase asked, straightening up and looking at me with concern. “We have to keep moving.”

Swallowing, I tore my eyes away from perfection and turned my gaze towards the earth. “Why?”

“Because if we stay here, the Celestians will kill us, just like all the others.”

I stared into her eyes, and she stared right back until she broke her gaze.

“Just get up, Song,” she muttered. “Put your helmet on.”

Rolling to my hooves, I jumped down from the rock, before turning around and pulling the helmet from my saddlebags. I felt a chill cross my body as Celestian magic took effect, and in a moment I was no longer Slight of the nightkin, but some faceless Royal Guard.

Chase put her helmet on, and I found myself hating this magic more and more by the second. “We’ll wear these until we get closer to Hoofens, then we’ll hide them somewhere close by where we can find them again.”

Some part of me questioned why we should do that, but the rest of me found it hard to care. In the end, I just shrugged and watched as she unrolled a map and laid it out on the stone.

“Alright, here’s the plan. We need to get to Hoofens-”

She said more, but her lecture lost all meaning as I turned my gaze back to the moon. I couldn’t help but stare. Luna, the goddess of us all, was right there, always in sight but forever out of reach. What cruel irony was this? I always knew that Celestia was something that needed to be fought, but to have changed the world so in one day, and then to mock us all with this... this... perverse joke, to take Luna’s perfect form, and use it to mar her already perfect moon, it was... evil. I don’t think there could be any other word for the pure, chilling cruelty displayed here.

Perfection marred with perfection? Who else would have thought of something so twisted.

And now we lived in her world. We were all her play toys, and there was nothing we could do to stop her. Without Luna to save us, there was nothing to keep Celestia’s greed from us.

“Slight!” Chase shouted, and my gaze snapped back to her. “Were you even listening to me?”

I nodded.

“Then what did I say?”

“...That we’re going to Hoofens.” My eyes turned back to my goddess.

“What else did I say?” she pressed.

“Why?” I asked after a moment.

“Because I want to know if you understand-”

“Why even keep going?” I cut across her and turned my gaze to the map. “This is all meaningless now. Luna’s gone... Celestia’s won... what point is there anymore?”

“Slight, now’s not the time to-’’

I turned my gaze back to Luna, uninterested in Chase’s lecture. She was wrong. Now was the perfect time to... actually, I didn’t know what she was going to say, but I assumed it was an instruction not to wallow in sadness or despair. Honestly though, I simply found it hard to muster the concern for-

The force of Chase’s punch left me in shock. My head rang as I clutched my jaw. I stared at her in disbelief, and I could scarcely believe that she was trembling.

“Slight,” she said through grit teeth, “just yesterday, almost everypony I’ve ever known died. Those were my friends and family, and they meant a whole lot more to me than they did to you. The time you’ve spent with Luna,” she pointed her hoof at the moon, “Is nothing compared to what I have.” She swallowed and stepped around the stone, advancing on me. “I have just as much reason, probably more, than you do to despair.” Her forehead pressed up against mine as she stared into my eyes. She punctuated each word by jabbing a hoof into my chest. “Get. Your. Shit. Together.”

I fell to my haunches as I stumbled back a step, swallowing and not breaking eye contact.

“We are nightkin, Slight. We are the regents of Luna’s throne until she returns, and I promise you, she will return. When she does, we will crucify every last fool that dared to trespass on Blackrock. But until then, our blood has been shared with us by the divine, and it is not ours to spill. Forget any selfish ideas of despair or death, because we are held to a higher standard than that. Get up and prove yourself worthy of the blessing bestowed upon you. I know you’re stronger than this.”

Slowly, I stood, swallowing and not breaking eye contact. “Luna will return?”

She frowned as she gazed up at the moon. “We’ll find a way to bring her back if she can’t return on her own.”

“How?” What could we do that one of the divine couldn’t?

“I’m not sure yet; I’ll have to ask her.” She turned around and went back to the map.

Blinking in surprise, I trotted after her. “What? How?”

“I know of a way to contact her,” Chase replied, rolling up the map. “I don’t know exactly how to do it, or the requirements, but I’m sure that it’s possible.”

A wave of relief rolled over me, and I walked towards Chase. “How? Please, tell me.”

“We’ll talk about it when we get to Hoofens. I still need to figure out a lot of the details, all I know for certain is that we need some of Luna’s essence. Her mane, her coat, a feather... maybe her bed sheets would work?” She frowned and stared at nothing. “I suppose if we could distill her blood from ours... ”

After a moment she shook her head and looked back towards me. “Anyway, we have business to attend to in Hoofens. There are twenty nightkin stationed at the Temple of the Tides , so we need to get there and tell them what’s happened to Blackrock. Then there’s the rest of the nightkin stationed throughout Equestria...” She pursed her lips. “We’ll need some way to contact them... Assuming that the council of Hoofens isn’t part of this plot to destroy us, I’ll need to talk to them about what their plan is to fight Celestia. Most importantly, we need to go to Luna’s personal chambers in her royal palace to get some feathers or hair, or maybe see if the priests at the Temple of the Tides have some they worship on an altar or something...”

Her eyes landed on me. “See? We’re not alone. Even if I wasn’t here you wouldn’t be alone. And even if you were alone, you have a responsibility to maintain Luna’s domain, and to Luna herself.”

Swallowing, I nodded, though I couldn’t stop my eyes turning back to the moon.

Chase followed my gaze, and her ears wilted at the sight. She swallowed, took a calming breath, and stood straighter, prouder. “I promise we’ll free you,” she swore. “And I know that when we do, there will be the wailing and gnashing of teeth from all those who harmed your beloved.”

Then we stood still, almost as if we were waiting for a sign from Luna that she had heard us. When all we saw or heard was the wind in the grass, Chase turned away and strapped her saddlebag back on.

“Come on.” She spread the lies that were pure white wings, the sickening illusions that hid both our blessed forms, and took to the air.

I paused, glanced at Luna, and couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment before flying after Chase, carrying my own lies with me.

The forests we flew over started as pine, tall trees of soft wood and shining green needles. A dense roof of branches cast a thick shadow along a floor coated in a mess of prickly brown and gold. Other than the prickly needles, the forests would have been the perfect place for us to have rested and grieved just the night previous. Truly, we were foolish to have slept on a rock on top of a bare hill when there were deeper shadows and softer beds in the more common forests anyway. It was a miracle some Celestian hadn’t found us.

As we neared the ocean, the forest cleared out, giving way to farmland and tilled fields. Small scattered dots of earth ponies worked the ground, growing... some food, I assumed. I did recognise a herd of cows grazing, so there was milk for the city, and I imagine some of the farms would keep chickens for eggs and feathers.

Honestly, my knowledge of working a field was limited to the appropriate way to burn and salt it. Something I had never practiced, but had an interest in trying. There was something to be said about the simple pleasure of stoking a camp fire, and I imagined burning a field of wheat would be a similar sensation at a larger scale.

After we started to pass over the lands that fed the city, it was not long at all until the city of Hoofens itself came into sight.

It had been a long time since I had seen Hoofens, so much so that I could scarcely remember it. As we flew through the night, the sun eventually rose, and soon the air became flavored with the scent of salt and ocean. It wasn’t a truly unpleasant aroma, just one that I was unused to.

The harbor city looked like it did in my vague, unclear memories. The richer, better parts of the capital were carved from white stone in grand columns. Peaked roofs, great statues of famous, long dead ponies, the streets paved with cobblestone and decorated with edifices of the moon and stars. Truly, it was a sight to behold.

However, I found my gaze drawn towards the harbor, and the peasants’ regions of the town. Wooden housing, not poorly crafted, but nowhere near as grand as the streets of the inner city, streets also paved with cobble stone, but not as well maintained or patrolled.

The details were too far for me to see closely, but it was visible inside my head both clearly and vaguely. I had strong images of some locations, like a blacksmith’s forge, and the road around it, but for the life of me I could not place the building in the city, or any of the homes or shops surrounding it.

I blinked as I noticed Chase banking downwards and followed after her, scolding myself for getting distracted by... nostalgia? Anything I felt when reminded of a home and family that wasn’t Luna and the nightkin was clearly frivolous anyway. I crushed the emotion, tossing it aside as I came in to land beside my true family.

A few of the ponies on the road leading to the city walls watched wearily and backed away nervously when they noticed us. I suppose if I was an unblessed, I would be unsure how to react to the sight of two pure-white, armored pegasi landing outside my home city.

Chase made no move to get close to the city. She just stood there, observing the ponies drifting into and out of it, her lips pursed in thought.

“Chase?” I glanced between her and the ponies on the road around us.

She didn’t respond to me, and it was a few moments before the ponies that had been watching started to move past us again. Those who saw us gave us a respectful distance, but didn’t seem particularly concerned by our presence. One young colt stopped to stare at us, before his mother pushed him along with a gentle nudge of her nose.

That was it? They were citizens of Luna’s capital city, and when they see white pegasi in the golden uniform of Celestia’s armies they don’t even think to get the town guard?

They walked around us, scowling and glaring, muttering curses and spitting, but doing nothing to stop us or stand against us.

Chase frowned at them, then at the walls of city before glancing at me. “Come on.”

Together, we trotted into the city just as the sun was coming up, tingeing the sky pink with Celestia’s blasphemy, but the blemished moon was being hidden, something I was grateful for. Silver linings apparently, but I still think that saying is for idiots.

As we passed through the gates, I noticed all the angry looks we were receiving from guards and citizens alike. I found myself tensing up, watching for any violent action, but none came. The city’s pleasing appearance did nothing to settle my nerves when faced with so many hate-filled faces.

Trotting faster, I cantered alongside Chase as we crossed through a crowded square. “Chase...”

“I know,” she said without looking back at me. “We’re wearing the armor of the Celestian Royal Guard in the capital of Luna’s empire.”

I frowned, glancing at a mare on a corner who had burst into tears at the sight of us. She gave us angry, despairing glares as we passed, and I felt a worried stirring in my gut.

“Why haven’t they attacked us?” I murmured.

“Because the city has fallen to the Celestians.”

I swallowed, looking around again. Blackrock only fell a day ago... surely they didn’t have time to conquer the entire city? And if they had, where were the fires, ruined buildings and defiled corpses?

“We need to get out of these uniforms,” Chase muttered, coming to a cross road and glancing up each street, chewing her lip. “We’ll have to find a blacksmith after we go to the Temple of the Tides.”

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure what use we would have for a blacksmith.

After a moment of indecision, Chase picked a street. “Come on.”

“Why don’t we just fly there?” I asked after a moment.

“Because I want to see the city.” She wasn’t truly paying attention to me, but to the city. Scrutinizing all the buildings, guards, and citizens we passed, Chase continuously chewed her bottom lip as she turned something over inside her head.

I just relegated myself to watching the angry, bleak faces of the citizens, in case any of them thought to try and attack us.

We travelled the rest of the way in silence, transitioning from the wooden buildings of the working class and the craftsmen, to the rich stone manors of the wealthy and connected. Rather than giving us hostile glares and spitting hatefully, the rich simply turned their noses up and tried to ignore us. Still there was no violence, but these disguises were starting to wear thin on my patience.

“Chase.”

“Not now,” she said without looking at me.

“But Chase-”

“Just stay quiet!” she hissed at me.

Gritting my jaw, I bit my tongue and tried to ignore the hairs rising on the back of my neck. Although they were doing their best to ignore us, I knew we were the center of their attention for as long as we were in their presence.

And still none of them were attacking us.

We were in the armor of Celestia’s Royal Guard, and not one of them made an effort to halt us, or even inconvenience us. We passed normal city guards in uniform and on patrol, and other than giving us a strong glare, they did their best to stay out of our way. By all rights, we should have been arrested and hanged the moment they laid eyes on us.

We moved at a brisk pace, but it still felt like a slow crawl through waves of passive aggression. Why weren’t we just flying there? What did Chase hope to accomplish by walking through the city like this?

The Temple of the Tides was a distinctive building. Even among the rich manors and general opulence of this part of Hoofens , it stood out as a place of incredible wealth and history. The stairs leading up to the temple seemed rough, and poorly cut from a distance, but as I came closer, I realised they were actually carved to look like waves spilling down from the building itself.

The temple proudly stood above street level, larger than any three of the manors in sight. The large square columns propped up a roof that looked like a pyramid with about half its height cut off. Unlike other buildings in the city, it was carved from solid black stone, smooth and polished so it glittered with flecks of silver. The moon and stars carved everywhere across its surface, as well as the dark winged form of our Lady of the Night.

A majestic building perhaps, built in worship of our goddess, but... I didn’t like it. It was like Blackrock in a way: solid, black, imposing... It just didn’t feel like it was built to reflect the beauty of Her Majesty. Luna was not a great imposing force of rock or iron, she was... supple and graceful, beautiful and terrifying, seductive and mystifying, but above all, perfect. I wasn’t even sure how the tides were relevant to the Lady of the Moon.

We climbed the needlessly decorated stairs, passed between the columns and into the hall of worship. Silken pillows rather than chairs, all in rows, and a few of them were occupied. At the end of the hall was a great statue of Luna, rearing up on marble legs, her stone wings thrown wide. I didn’t like it. With her gone, seeing it there was just a twist of the knife in my heart. To be fair though, the carver had done a good job capturing Luna’s grace and majesty, and her unpredictability.

The ponies in the hall turned to glare as we entered, and one stallion even looked ready to fight us, but a hoof on his shoulder from the mare next to him stopped that. Chase led me us through a door to the right, and through a series of paths and passages. The entire temple was disturbingly empty. We only saw a small hoofful of ponies, alone with tear-stained cheeks, and none of them were in the garb of a priest.

“Chase, what are we-”

“Patience, Slight, we can talk about everything in a minute.”

I grit my teeth, but held my tongue.

It was a few minutes of walking before the sound of a lone singer came down the hall, slurred as though there was something in the stallion’s mouth. After a few moments I recognised the song as one of Luna’s hymns, and I had to fight a growl of annoyance at it being butchered by such poorly-timed, off-key droning.

Chase led the way to its source, eventually revealing a faint blue unicorn in a dark blue robe, singing with his back turned to the door and staring out the window. The first thing I noted was that he was covered in dirt. From his mane to his coat, soil clung to him and he reeked of alcohol and sweat. My lip curled in disgust as I took him in.

Chase coughed to get his attention, and the stallion glanced over at his shoulder at us, before his own lips turned to a sneer. “And Celestia’s lapdogs come for me? Taking the city wasn’t enough, nor was stealing our goddess and her children, but now you need to kill a lonely priest too.” He chuckled, and took a long drink from his wine skin. “Does not one of you have any sense of honor?”

“Aren’t priests supposed to swear off alcohol?” Chase frowned.

He barked out a laugh. “Our city is taken, our goddess is dead, and I spent all of last night digging graves. So, you tell me, Celestian, what’s there left for a priest but to drink?”

Chase didn’t comment. After a moment she said, “I need to speak to Father Reach.”

The priest gave her a confused look, before a chuckle escaped his lips again. “Follow me then, oh, blasphemous heathens. Let’s see what the good Father has to say.”

He stood up, a slight drunkenness to his movements, but was still able to walk in a mostly straight line as he led us out into the corridor and down a flight of stairs. He hummed to himself as he walked, the wine skin still floating in his magical grasp. Eventually he walked out of the room and into a wide, open-roofed indoor garden.

A serene green garden greeted me, with the only noise in it coming from the fountain in its center. A wide, flat, polished black stone stood in the middle, with a steady stream of water coming from its center and dripping down into a small pool that surrounded it. The entire structure gleamed of dark stone inlaid with flecks of silver. The garden itself consisted mostly of small shrubs, as well as blue and purple flowers I didn’t recognise. What really caught my attention, once I noticed them, were the freshly turned patches of soil.

“Twenty seven graves, as shallow as your faith.” The priest chuckled and took another drink. “One of them’s Father Reach, but your guess about which is as good as mine.”

Chase’s lips twitched into a frown as she turned to face him. “Who’s in charge?”

“Well, on the grounds that everyone else has either fled or died...” He waved a hoof in the air as if about to present something, before finally point it at himself. “That would be me.”

Chase’s frown grew heavier before she sighed and said, “Very well then. We need to talk in private.”

The priest laughed and waved a hoof around the room. “Unless the dead have ears, I imagine we’re as alone as anywhere in this forsaken temple.”

Chase glanced around, before sighing. “Fine. We’re not actually Royal Guards.”

He just tilted his head at her.

“Take off your helmet,” she told me and we both did so at the same time.

A cool tingling flowed across my skin as the illusion faded, and my ears and wings flickered at the sensation.

The priest was stunned. His addled mind took a moment to understand what we truly were, and even once he did, all he could do was stand there staring at us. “Ch-children of the stars?”

“We had to disguise ourselves.” Chase shook out her mane. “We haven’t defected.”

The priest threw himself to ground, the wine skin dropping and leaking its poison to the grass. “I beg your forgiveness for my current state and the way I treated you. I did not know you were blessed.”

“Good. That’s the purpose of a disguise.” Chase smiled and pulled him to his hooves. “Get up. We require your help.”

“O-of course, noble spirit.” He nodded so quickly he winced and held his neck as a joint popped. “Whatever can I do for you?”

“This city has been taken by the enemy, yes? Under what circumstance?”

“The nightkin stationed into the city were all summoned to the palace on the supposed orders of Luna. None have heard from them since.” He swallowed and looked up, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. “A mere hour after the damned sun rose yesterday, a horde of heathen pegasi, thousands strong, descended on the city. Some traitor on the Council of Hoofens had to know they were coming, because all the city guard were ordered to not take up arms against them.

“Later that unnatural day, an announcement was made that Luna was gone, and all the Children of the Stars were dead,” his voiced turned scornful, “And that we were freed from the Tyranny of our Lady.”

“How did the populace respond?”

“Torn between despair and rage. Many are fleeing the city, others are staying behind. The only reason the pegasi aren’t trying to stop them leaving is they know it would start citywide rioting.”

“And the city guard? Did none try to fight?”

“Shamefully, no. The Council is being held hostage in the palace, and none of the guard are willing to attack if it means that they’re to be killed.”

Chase’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t comment. “We need a place to stay, somewhere we can rest until the sun sets again.”

“Of course, noble spirit,” he nodded. “The priests’ quarters are empty, so you can stay there for as long as you need.”

“We won’t be staying long,” Chase told him.

The priest froze. “Pardon, spirit, but aren’t you here to free the city and drive out the invaders?”

“I’m sorry, but my priorities lie elsewhere.”

He blinked in surprise. “But what could be more important than fighting the war?”

“Returning Lady Luna to us.” Chase gave him a pointed look. “And you would do well to remember your station.”

He nodded and lowered his gaze. “O-of course, my apologies.”

Chase tilted her head. “Your home has been invaded, and those who look to you are struggling. It’s only right that you would want to see them saved, but sadly, I cannot do that.”

His eyes looked to me. “But what of you, bloodied spirit? Could one of you stay here to fight for us?”

Bloodied spirit? I shook my head. “My place is by Luna’s side.”

He swallowed and nodded. “I... understand.”

Chase stared at him for a moment, before she sighed, “There is something else you could do to aid us though.”

“Anything.”

“We require maps and travelling supplies, also.” She held her helmet out to the priest. “We can’t go everywhere disguised as Royal Guard, but we still need disguises. If you could find a blacksmith who would separate the enchantment from the helmet in a way we could put on and off at ease, that would be ideal.”

Chase and I offered him our helmets. “I would be honored to.”

“And it goes without saying, but if you could avoid speaking to any of our presence, that would be best.”

He nodded.

“But our rooms and the baths, first.” Chase glanced at me. “My sister has heathen blood...” she waved a hoof over her face, “Everywhere.”

I couldn’t help but lick at the dried up blood gathered around my mouth. Tearing that stallion’s throat out had not been the cleanest way to kill him.

The priest flinched at that, and nodded rapidly, “Of course.” He trotted out the gardens westernmost exit. “This way, spirits.”

We followed him until he led us to an apparently empty section of the temple. Judging from the beds, this wing of the temple was where the priests usually slept.

The priest pointed a hoof around. “You can sleep anywhere you wish.” He indicated a door. “The baths are just through there.”

“Thank you. Can you tell me where Brother Dreaming’s former room is?”

He blinked. “Brother Dreaming?”

She nodded.

“It’s that one there,” he pointed it out. “The third from the end.”

“Go with the night’s blessings.” Chase told him with a nod.

He smiled gratefully, before walking away with our helmets.

“‘Bloodied spirit’?” I frowned at Chase when he was gone.

She shrugged. “We’re Luna’s children and part divine. That makes us spirits in the eyes of many, and Luna tells us to play to the role.”

We trotted through the door to the baths. “Why?”

“Because we’re an extension of her presence. Great and terrible, wonderful and terrifying.” She snorted. “I think you did pretty well for your first time meeting a pony outside Blackrock, but I suspect the blood everywhere helped.”

I nodded, and we entered the warm steamy bath house. Like the rest of the temple, it was carved from stone and ornamented to the point of insanity. I already missed the simple practicality of Blackrock.

An unnecessarily large pool of warm water sat in the center of the room, far larger than any in Blackrock. Still, at least it looked warm and smelled nice, which was welcome, and I didn’t have much choice one way or the other.

We stripped off our armor and entered the pool. The blood clinging to me slowly cleared away with some scrubbing, and it wasn’t long until I was feeling clean again. My mane needed a good brushing, but if worst came to worst I could just cut it short.

I stood up, ready to leave, but Chase held out a hoof to me. “Just... wait a minute, Slight.” Her mane covered her eyes, and she was leaning against the edge of the pool.

I frowned at her. “For what?”

“This might be the last chance you’ll get for a long time to relax...”

Hesitantly, I lowered myself back into the water and copied her pose, leaned against the edge and closing my eyes.

Relax? Okay. Relax. Enjoy the moment of peace while it lasts. A simple enough task..

“...Chase?”

“...Yeah?”

“I’m bored.”

Pulling the mane out of her eyes, she looked across at me, her gaze carrying amusement.

I couldn’t help but wonder what the joke was.

After a second she sighed, and stood up. “Very well. There’s a lot we need to go over anyway.”

We dried off, but didn’t put our armor back on and carried it up the stairs instead.

“Alright, so we know what happened to the nightkin stationed in the city, and there’s not a lot we can do for them. They’re either dead, or they’ve fled. One way or the other, it’s out of our hooves.”

I nodded, but she didn’t really see it.

“We still need to get some of Luna’s essence from her palace, then we need to get a message sent out to all the remaining nightkin, and lastly, we need to find a guide.”

“A guide?” Frowning, I asked, “To where?”

“The Temple of the Stars,” Chase answered as she stepped through the door, into the room of the Brother Dreaming she’d mentioned. “Well, actually we’ll need a guide to the gryphon-Equestrian border, but the Temple’s where we’re going.”

“Why?”

She pointed around the room. “Could you help me search? I’ll explain while we do.”

“For what?” I began pulling out drawers and going through them.

“Anything that might be important. Put everything else you find on the floor there.” She started throwing things into a pile in the middle of the room. “If we go through absolutely everything, we’ll find what I’m after if it’s in here.”

I shrugged and did as she instructed, carefully looking at each of the robes before moving it to the amassing pile of discard.

“Okay, I told you I thought I might know a way to contact Luna, didn’t I?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “Well, three months ago, a priest from this temple, Softly Dreaming, figured out a way to visit Luna’s dreams the same way she visits ours.”

Blinking in shock, I turned to look at Chase, but she wasn’t paying attention to me.

“Being a complete fool, he did it without asking for Luna’s permission or even explaining to her that he’d discovered how to. Luna was furious, and had the nightkin find him and bring him to her at Blackrock. For trespassing on the dreams of a goddess, what Luna did was... Well... let’s just say he regretted it.” She cringed at the memory. “Anyway, my hope is that Luna would be more forgiving if we used the ritual he devised to contact her the same way. Desperate times and desperate measures, after all. What we’re looking for in here are the notes he kept on the ritual, and to see if we can find a record of it here.”

That sounded like... something I didn’t want to happen to us. “Would Luna truly forgive us for doing this?”

Chase paused her searching. “Even if she doesn’t, we still have no choice but to do it. We have to do everything we can for our Lady, and if she doesn’t forgive us for, then we will face the punishments from her.”

Swallowing, I went back to searching through the drawers.

“He still thought he’d done something incredible while we were taking Dreaming to Luna. On our way there, he told me he hid notes somewhere in his room. I think he might still be alive in Blackrock, but... well... I’m not sure he’s really in a condition to speak anymore.” She frowned as she pulled the sheets from the bed. “Did you find anything?”

“No. What of the message to the other nightkin? How will we send that?”

“Easy. We use the ravens in the Council chambers, and get the word sent to every nightkin we can.”

I frowned. “But... wouldn’t the invaders have killed all the ravens?”

“Probably,” Chase muttered, as she turned around and started searching through the pile of things on the floor. “But if they haven’t we could save many. It’s a risk worth taking. Besides, we should visit the chambers anyway. When I told the priest I wasn’t planning on striking against the invaders, I wasn’t being entirely honest...”

There was nothing among Dreaming’s clothes, so I pushed his drawer over and checked behind it for information.

“The only thing stopping the city guard from pushing the pegasi out is the Council being held hostage. The Celestians are in a terrible position, tactically. Pegasi aren’t much use in defense, or holding a city, they’re cut off, far behind enemy lines, and most importantly, lacking the numbers to stage a true invasion.” She looked up at me, a smirk on her face. “So, how do we get rid of them?”

I blinked in confusion. Why was she asking me?

“Come on, Slight.” She rolled her eyes. “Think about it. What’s the one thing keeping them safe?”

“...The Council cooperating as their hostages?” I guessed.

“Right... so...” she waved her hoof in a circle. “What do we have to get rid of?”

“...The Council?”

She nodded and smiled. “Exactly. We kill the Council members, and the city guard will have no reason not to drive out the Celestians.”

“Aren’t the Council servants of Luna?” I frowned.

Chase shook her head. “If they were truly loyal, they wouldn’t have surrendered so easily. They’re traitors, and they’re better as martyrs than servants of the enemy.”

I nodded, unable to fault her logic.

“Plus, if the commander of the pegasi who attacked Blackrock is there, we might be able to exact some justice and send a message to the Celestians while we’re there.” She pointed at the drawers I’d flipped. “Check to see if that has a hidden compartment or something.”

I nodded and ignited my ghost blade. When I saw it was my red I briefly considered switching to the Green, but decided I didn’t want the first time I used that blade to be merely cutting wood. I carefully cut away the back of the drawer, slowly separating it into pieces and trying to find any sign of a hidden compartment.

“But, the one thing we absolutely need to do tomorrow, is get to Luna’s palace and find some of her essence. If we fail at everything else, we’ll make do, but we absolutely have to succeed at that.”

I nodded. “You never explained why we need a guide to the gryphon-Equestrian border.”

“To do the ritual, we’ll need to be at the Temple of the Stars. I’m not sure why, but Dreaming told me he managed to do it here, but now it’s impossible. For us to contact Luna, we’ll need to be at the Temple of the Stars on a night of the full moon closest to the winter solstice. That’s when the moon will be closest to us, and that will be our best chance for talking to her for the whole year.”

“That’s... only a month away.”

“Forty seven days,” Chase corrected. “And don’t worry about it. Flying, we’ll be able to get there well before- Found it!” She cheered and I looked across to see her holding a small diary in her hooves. Flipping through it, she muttered, “Research, method, the final product... yes, yes... it’s all here.” She grinned and closed it, before moving the diary to her saddlebags. “His horn writing looks like chicken scratch, but who cares?!”

I stood up and dusted the wood splinters from my coat. “What now?”

“Now we get some rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.” She led me out of the room and down the hall, peering into each room as she passed. Eventually, she came to a halt in front of one and turned to me. “We’ll sleep in here till the sun sets. It has two beds, and the door has a lock.”

Chase locked the door and propped a chair under the handle so it would be harder for someone to enter without us noticing. The saddlebags were left at the bottom of our bed, and, as I crawled under the sheets. I realised just how tired I was. The sun was already well over the horizon, and I’d spent most of last night and the day before awake and active. The most recent sleep that I’d had was short and unfulfilling, brought on by tears and necessity more than anything.

Just lying still, I found myself drifting to sleep.

“...Slight?”

I opened my eyes and turned my head towards Chase.

“...Actually, don’t worry about it.” She rolled over so she wasn’t looking at me. “Just get some sleep.”

Yawning, I closed my eyes and did as instructed.

A short time later, I awoke to the sound of heavy breathing and quiet sobbing. At first I wondered who was making the noise, and after a moment remembered there were only two ponies in this room, and I knew I wasn’t the one crying .

I sat up in my bed, staring across at Chase. Her back was turned, and she was hugging herself, trying her best to stay quiet but not succeeding. My mouth opened, but I hesitated to make a sound. Part of me wanted to say something, to speak up and tell her it was going to be okay, but the rest of me rebelled, demanding I roll over and pretend to sleep until she managed to compose herself. That was Chase crying... I wanted to help her, but... would it be right for me to? The idea of comforting her felt... wrong somehow, like a perversion of the natural order.

Yes, we had cried into each other’s arms last night, but that had been mutual. We had both been tired, shocked, sad and facing the horrific prospect of a world without Luna. This was different. She was the one showing weakness.

After a moment, I decided I couldn’t intrude on that.

Swallowing, I lay back down against the bed and quietly turned away. I would give Chase her privacy, and act as though I had never seen this. It was the kinder option, wasn’t it?

I clenched my eyes shut, but I couldn’t shut out the sound she was making. Even though she was as quiet as she could hope to be, every muffled sob was thundering, and I wanted nothing less than to be somewhere else at that moment.

I don’t how long I lay there, but after a while, I felt tears forming in my own eyes. A sickly weight formed in my stomach, and I started to question if ignoring her moment of weakness was the right thing to do. I know that she had cradled my sobbing head many times in the past, but that was when I was just a filly, a child. She was a grown mare, and she wasn’t supposed to be weak. Not that I blamed her for her tears. Chase was closer to Luna than I had ever been, and she knew most of the ponies in Blackrock by name.

What was I doing? Chase wasn’t just in a moment of weakness, she was in grief. A misery I had never known, and I was just lying here, quietly pretending it wasn’t happening.

With a snort, I rolled out of bed and walked towards Chase. She must have heard me, because she rolled over and watched me approach, her eyes puffy and her cheeks tear stained. Quickly, she swallowed and rubbed the tears from her eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you-”

She cut off in shock when I wrapped my hooves around her shoulders, and hugged her close.

“I’ve never thanked you. Not for mentoring me, not for loving me, not for being there for me long after you had to... and not for saving me.” I felt her trembling, and squeezed her tighter. “You’re my sister, Chase, and I owe you a great many things...” My throat caught as I swallowed. “Thank you.”

She didn’t respond at first, just slowly raised her hooves and hugged me back. Then a heavy sob racked her, and she drew in a long shuddering breath. There was something she wanted to say, a sequence of sounds formed from teeth and tongue to convey her feelings, but they were never spoken. Instead, she buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing loudly and clutching at me tightly.

Actions speak far louder than words .

Slowly, gently, I laid us down and stroked her mane, whispering what paltry comforts I could. I don’t know how long this lasted, only that it lasted for as long as it needed to. Our tears mixed together as they leaked down our faces. We hadn’t shared a bed since I was a filly, and I pondered our reversal of roles.

It wasn’t that I was stronger than her, not by any margin. No, it was that she cared. Chase’s heart was large, open, and she allowed many to lay stake to it. Perhaps my stake was one of the largest, but it was by no means the greater part of it. Only I remained, and thus only a mere fraction of Chase remained with her.

It would be my duty to keep my piece of her safe, to one day regrow her heart so she could share it once more and protect those pieces too. I would never allow her to suffer like this again. Never.

She had been my guardian and protector for the longest time, it was my turn to return the favor.

“I was planning on mentoring another,” Chase whispered into my fur. “I wanted another foal, someone I could care for the way I cared for you.” She looked up into my eyes. “And one day...” She swallowed. “One day I wanted to have foals of my own. My own flesh and blood, from my own womb and raised by my hoof. And I wanted you to be there. A family, all of us, together...”

“It can still happen,” I promised.

She nodded, burying her face in my shoulder again. “They were my friends...” she choked out. “They were my friends, and I couldn’t save any of them! I was going to abandon them, there to those... those... those filthy animals!” Her sobbing renewed, heavier than before, no longer just grief but guilt too.

“You saved me, Chase,” I whispered.

“Thank Luna.” She whimpered and her grip on me tightened. “I still think of you as Song from time to time. That cute little foal with the golden mane, and... and... I failed you, Slight.”

“No you didn’t, I-”

“Yes, I did,” she cut me off. “I thought I was teaching you to be tough, aggressive, independent... but I was blind... I didn’t see what I was doing to you because I loved you too much. I should have seen it, how lonely you were becoming, how closed hearted ... You were miserable for the longest time, and I failed to stop it.”

“I-”

“Thank you, Slight... For loving me despite what I did... ”

Words failed me, as they always did. All I could do was hold her closer.

Not a word was spoken after that. We held each other closely, closing our eyes, and together drifting off to sleep.

We might not have Luna to guard our dreams anymore, but I knew we would guard each other’s.