Dreams to Dream Pt. IV


                                            Nothing will make sense unless you've read the previous three installments, I'm not lying, dead serious, go read'em right now.

                                            Part I: https://ponepaste.org/590

                                            Part II: https://ponepaste.org/4197

                                            Part III: https://ponepaste.org/5562


                                            >The stink of equine magic led him straight to them.

                                            >Though the darkness, clouds, and howling gales of snow and wind would have prevented most from navigating in such conditions, his superior senses showed him the way, and in what felt like seconds Vetr-Elder could smell the faintest trace of wood-smoke.

                                            >His vengeance was finally at claw.

                                            >Then, as his massive form flew downwards through a large bank of clouds, he could see it.

                                            >A small, simple dwelling of rocks and logs, half-covered in snow, with the faintest wisp of smoke rising from its sole chimney.

                                            >His heart began to race, and his rage felt like fire in his veins.

                                            >But as much as he wanted to reduce the entire mountainside where the lonely house sat to a smoldering ruin, he didn’t.

                                            >He wanted them to know who had come to destroy them.  He wanted to tower over them and watch the life leave their wide, terrified eyes as they perished beneath him..

                                            >Just thinking about it made him shiver in glee.

                                            >As he descended closer, his massive wings sent snow billowing in massive clouds that filled the otherwise clear sky, and the ground shook as his massive body came to rest on the mountainside.

                                            >Focusing in on his own magic, he closed his eyes and pictured himself as he had once looked, when he had been young and eager, yet too small to fight.

                                            >His size did not matter now, though.

                                            >Waves of heat rolled off of his massive body, the snow surrounding him melting into slush as his body shrunk down to a size where he could enjoy watching the Drasill’s suffering as it died beneath his claws and teeth.

                                            >Standing on his rear legs and balancing himself with his tail he studied his immensely smaller body for a moment, a toothy grin spreading his jaws apart as he approached the wood and stone house.

                                            >His claws were virtually silent on the soggy ground, which was quickly refreezing into ice and snow with every clawed step, and the empty silence that filled the air and the rage boiling in his mind roared in his ears.

                                            >His heart pounded in his chest and smoke escaped from his nostrils, but he slowed, and forced himself to calm down, his wild, insane grin replaced with carefully constructed neutrality.

                                            >He wanted to tell them who he was, and what they would soon be dying for.  Then he would kill them.

                                            >Reaching one clenched claw outwards, he closed his razor sharp digits and knocked on the door.

                                            <>

                                            >The sound of those three knocks scared Anon shitless.

                                            >Nobody knew they were out here, and if it had been Celestia, Luna, or anypony else that they knew they would have messaged ahead of time in the journal that was currently sitting on the mantle above their fireplace.

                                            >Nýrmáni seemed as frightened as he was, her muzzle was a shade of white that would have impressed Rarity, and he could tell from the erratic twitching of her mane and tail that she was frightened.

                                            >Or terrified, he wasn’t sure.

                                            >”Anonymous?”  Her voice was hushed, quick, and her eyes never left the door.

                                            “Yeah?”  His own fear was evident in his tone despite his attempts to hide it.

                                            >”Stay behind me, I do not care what happens.”  Slowly, as if walking on eggshells, Nýrmáni approached the door.

                                            >Her horn burst into cyan light, and her massive sheathed sword, which also sat above the mantle, sailed through the air and to her side as it strapped itself to her body.

                                            >The sword itself left its sheath and landed point-first next to the door, out of sight of who or whatever was outside.

                                            >For a moment Anon wasn’t sure if Nýrmáni would open the door, but the alicorn took a deep breath, gripped the door handle with a section of trembling mane, and pulled it inwards.

                                            >It was a dragon.

                                            >He hadn’t seen one other than Spike since he had come to Equestria, but there was no mistaking it, though most of his view of it was blocked by Nýrmáni, who stood directly in the doorway.

                                            >Though when he thought of ‘dragons’, he imagined something a little bit bigger, if his frightened yet curious mind was honest.

                                            >Standing on its hind legs, it was taller than him by at least a foot or two, scales the color of weather-worn slate covered its body, and he could see a pair of large wings folded loosely against its back.

                                            >A sea of small horns adorned its head, curving outwards away from its neck and face.

                                            >They were covered with ice which shone in the light from their fire.

                                            >Its slitted eyes were a shade of orange that he had not ever imagined existing; deep yet bright, they almost seemed to shine with their own light in the darkness that crept up to the open door.

                                            >The expression on its face seemed flat, and the way its arms were folded behind its back presented an image of stoic detachment, but there was something false about it that made the air on his arms stand up, a hastily assembled mask that might crumble at the slightest touch.

                                            >It did not look inside to examine the house, the fire, or anything, its attention was completely focused on Nýrmáni, as if nothing else in the world existed except for her.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s nightmare, and the apparent warning from the ghosts of that haunted mountain flashed back into his mind, and chills that had nothing to do with the sudden burst of cold from the open door air ran down his spine.

                                            >Silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity before Nýrmáni apparently gathered the courage to speak.

                                            >”Hello?  Can I help you with something?”

                                            >The dragon did not respond, other than a very slight tilting of the head.

                                            >”Do you… understand me?”  Nýrmáni’s twinkling mane flicked nervously, anywhere except towards their unannounced visitor.

                                            >Slowly, a smile spread across its face.

                                            >A very toothy smile, one that held no genuine happiness within it.

                                            >[“Your fear betrays you.”]

                                            >Anon’s blood turned to ice as the strange words of Nýrmáni’s ancient language came from the dragon’s mouth; low, slow, and deep, they seemed to vibrate the air around the dragons body, as if it was speaking through a stadium sized bank of subwoofers instead of its physical mouth.

                                            >He had not understood what it said, other than the word ‘fear’, but he knew that something was horribly, terribly wrong.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s mane and tail froze instantly, and she took a half-trot backwards in apparent shock.

                                            >The temperature within their cabin dropped even further.

                                            >”E-excuse me?”

                                            >[“Your fear.  It runs off of you like a river overflowing.  Do you know what I am?”]

                                            >Despite the abject fear pulsing through his own body Anon saw Nýrmáni straighten a bit, her posture going from timid and cautious to authoritative as she raised her head high and looked the dragon in the eyes despite her own apparent panic.

                                            >[“No, I do not.  But they told me you were coming.”]

                                            >Anon could only piece together a few words of what Nýrmáni said, but whatever her reply was it only made the dragon’s disingenuous smile grow.

                                            >[“Did they?  Then you understand why I have come, to claim…”]

                                            >The dragon’s unintelligible words trailed off, and Anonymous suddenly realized that it was no longer looking at Nýrmáni, but directly at him, its orange eyes boring into his with an intensity he had never seen in another living being.

                                            >For the briefest instant the wide, toothy smile vanished, replaced by a look so full of insane fury that it made him stumble back a step as if he had been physically struck.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s head snapped towards him, following the dragon's unwavering gaze, before spinning around to again face their unwelcome and terrifying guest with a snarl of her own, her fangs visible as her lips pulled upwards in violence.

                                            >[“You will not touch my Beloved.  Whatever problem you have, it is only wi-”].

                                            >[“It is not.”]  The dragon withdrew a claw from behind its back for the first time, pointing a trembling limb at Anon, who took another frightened step back as the dragon’s orange eyes began to glow like the coals of the fire Anon had just rekindled.

                                            >The fake smile was gone, and the sudden chill that had invaded the small cabin seemingly vanished in an instant as the air around the dragon instantly heated up, the snow that it stood on and the snow landing on its back instantly turning to slush and steam.

                                            >[“His kind helped destroy mine.  I am Vetr-Elder, and I have come to claim my vengeance.  This one’s corpse will join yours in the Drasill’s tomb.”]

                                            >A light began to glow from within its chest, the gray scales turning red and blurry from the trapped heat as yellow light and sparks began to escape from its opening jaws.

                                            >Nýrmáni moved so fast that Anon didn’t even perceive her movement.  One moment she was taking a cautious step backwards from the aggressive display, the next she had leapt forwards, punching the dragon directly in the face with her right forehoof.

                                            >There was a tremendous clap of sound, the ground beneath his feet shook as her hoof connected with those gray scales, and the dragon disappeared into the night, a glowing ember rapidly fading from view in the wind-blown snow.

                                            >Her head whipped around towards him, her glowing eyes were wide with fear and terror.

                                            >”Anonymous! You must warn Celestia and Luna!  I do not know if I can fight him alone!”

                                            “But, what were you two talking about? What did-”

                                            >”There is no time!” She leapt at him, encircling Anon in a quick hug and kissing his forehead. “I can feel it, he is so very powerful, I will distract him for as long as I possibly can.”

                                            >It took him a moment to realize that he was shaking almost uncontrollably in terror, and he’d never been more frightened in his life, even in the dream where he had been injured and Nýrmáni nearly assassinated, which felt like it had happened so long ago.

                                            >A sound unlike anything Anon had ever heard in his life came from the darkness and wind outside. The roar sounded almost like an old fashioned steam locomotive’s whistle, but magnified a thousand times and lowered to an earthquake's rumble as their small home once again shook around them.

                                            >”Take the journal and write! I will lead him as far as I can away from here.  I love you.”

                                            >Nýrmáni released her tight hold on him and stepped back, and Anon could see tears beginning to form in her glowing, slitted eyes.

                                            >Before he could even respond the alicorn’s horn erupted in cyan light, and with a snap of displaced air Nýrmáni and her sword vanished, leaving him alone.

                                            >For a brief moment Anon stood there, frozen by what had just occurred, and the snow that had begun to drift inside through the open door.

                                            >Then he lunged for the mantle, and the journal that sat on it.

                                            <>

                                            >The snow was blasted away from her as she materialized from her teleport as she dropped into the deep snow.

                                            >Her fur and feathers fluffed and waved in the wind and snow that blew around her, and her mane and tail sparkled in the light that shone from her horn.

                                            >”Face me!” She screamed into the darkness, her voice disappearing into the wind as she stood at the ready, her sword hovering in her magic, the swirls and designs engraved in its surface glowing along with her magic.

                                            >A small flash of motion amongst the snow appeared in the corner of her vision, and with practiced grace Nýrmáni leapt to the side, just as a clawed fist impacted the ground where she had been standing.

                                            >Shockwaves spread from the impact, snow flew upward to be carried away in the wind, and cracks formed in the frozen ground from the force of the blow, but Nýrmáni paid all of it no attention.

                                            >This dragon, this ‘Vetr-Elder’ had threatened Anonymous.

                                            >While she had always felt anger towards those who had threatened him in any way, this dragon's words had evoked a reaction that she herself had not expected.

                                            >Her blood pounded in her ears, she could feel her lips pulling back into a snarl, steam escaping her jaws as she looked at the unassuming dragon, who was slowly standing on his hind legs, looking at her in curiosity.

                                            >Despite having taken a punch to the face that would have shattered granite and would have virtually vaporized any other dragon of his size, he didn’t seem fazed by the blow at all..

                                            >He wasn’t even bleeding.  In fact, she could see by the light that shone from her horn that he was smiling, his dragonfire glowing from within his mouth as smoke leaked from his jaws and nostrils.

                                            >It was the same, enraged yet thrilled smile he had given when he had first seen her.

                                            >[“You are strong. Stronger than the others. I have dreamt of this moment for an eternity, Drasill filth.”]

                                            >Another blur of motion, and Nýrmáni had to dance back and forth as the dragon repeatedly lunged at her, swinging his claws openly in an attempt to eviscerate her.

                                            >Nýrmáni swung her sword, the movement faster than any mortal eyes could have followed, yet somehow the dragon dodged the blow, bending down to avoid the arc of deadly, glowing metal.

                                            >But his eyes never left hers, his fanged smile grew ever wide, a laugh escaping his jaws as she swung again, and again he dodged her swing, but this time a raised claw battered her sword away with a sound like a bell ringing.

                                            >[“At first I wished to destroy you in an instant, but now I am glad that you are strong.  Your death will be earned, not given.”]

                                            >Leaping backwards with the aid of her wings, Nýrmáni separated herself from the terrifying being, landing in the snow far away from him, her forehooves holding her sword.

                                            >[“I did not destroy your home!”] Nýrmáni roared, slowly circling the dragon while slowly treading on her hind legs, her front hooves holding her sword outwards, the tip pointing directly at the dragon’s chest . [“I wish no harm to you!  Leave!”]

                                            >He circled her in turn, his orange eyes glowing like bonfires in the snow and darkness, his claws clenching and flexing, as if imagining digging them into her body and ripping her apart.

                                            >[“I do not care, and I will not leave until I am satisfied.  You will pay for the sins of your ancestors.”]

                                            >Spreading his own wings, and with another roar that made her ears ring he threw himself at her.

                                            >She barely had time to raise her sword before he was upon her, and for several seconds the two of them were a gray and black blur in the snow, striking and dodging, twisting and turning with speed that would have shocked any onlookers.

                                            >The ground beneath them shook and cracked with each impact of hoof and claw, and the wildly blowing snow shook from each blocked blow and swing.

                                            >Suddenly a tail swept against her hind legs, and before she could use her wings to stabilize herself one clawed limb grabbed her around the neck and forced her downwards.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s eyes went wide as he began to squeeze, his other claw also grabbing her around the neck, and as she swung her sword upwards to cut them off, his tail swatted the blade so hard that it left her grasp, the glowing blade flying off into the darkness.

                                            >[“YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!”]  The dragon screamed into her face as he loomed over her, brimstone and steaming spit flying out of his jaws as he lowered it closer to her own muzzle. [“You are strong, but I am stronger!”]

                                            >His wings spread and flapped downward, and before she could react with any sort of magic he had lifted both of them high into the air, let go of her neck, and slammed both of his claws into her chest.

                                            >Terrible pain blossomed through Nýrmáni’s ribs and chest as she flew backwards, then with a thunderous crash she impacted the closest mountainside.

                                            >She must have blacked out for a moment from the impact, because when she could finally shake some sight into her eyes, all she could see was collapsing rock and snow through her hazy eyes.

                                            >And a streak or red fire heading directly towards her.

                                            >It hurt to move, but she did it anyway, her wings sending her clear of the arc of fire that impacted the crater where she had been laying moments later.

                                            >Gulping down a hesitant breath and gritting her teeth as her organs and bones mended themselves, the dragon, Vetr-Elder, landed gently amongst the steaming slag that covered, his fangs a mask of mad fury and excitement.

                                            >She extended one hoof outwards, and with a burst of magic her sword appeared in it, reflecting and shining with the light from her horn.

                                            >Feeling something warm and wet dripping from her chin, a wisp of her mane ran across it and lifted it up to her now clear eyes to inspect.

                                            >Nýrmáni normally would have been surprised to see her own blood, but her emotions and thoughts were solely focused on the dragon standing before her, who had thrown his arms wide, exposing himself to her as his laughter rang across the frozen world around them.

                                            >[“All of the others were not this strong.  No matter, I have strength to spare.’]  His eyes shone like lighthouses in the darkness as smoke and flames left his nostrils.

                                            >[“Once I have destroyed you, I will kill your ’Beloved’, you called that worm?  And to think that the Drasill could sink no lower, mating with such an inferior species…”]

                                            >Something inside Nýrmáni snapped at those words.

                                            >The scream that came from her was not that of a pony, but something else, something older, wholly primal,, as if drawn from the depth of her instincts and a forgotten time.

                                            >The sword in her hoof fell to the snow, forgotten, as she snorted, her own slitted eyes beginning to glow even brighter as rational thought left her mind.

                                            >Her mane and tail began to shine brighter as well, the stars within them turning to supernovas as glowing locks of both writhed forwards and towards her face.

                                            >Through eyes that could see almost nothing but the red heat of her fury Nýrmáni could see Vetr-Elder still standing, unmoving, smiling as if pleased at her rage and curious to see what she would do.

                                            >A memory that was not hers flashed through her mind, one she had never seen before.

                                            >One of a battle eons ago, a Luna so young that her mane and tail were still as blue as a summer morning sky, and a ritual, a practice done by her older sister that foretold violence, death, and savagery beyond comprehension.

                                            >The wisps of mane and tail began wiping the blood from her chin and face and, following instructions she had never learned but somehow knew they began to mark her face, neck, and chest with ancient swirls and designs, her own steaming blood the paint as it quickly froze against her fur.

                                            >The dragon gave another mad laugh, seemingly pleased at this development as he clapped his claws together like an excited foal.

                                            >Nýrmáni snarled like a wild animal, her fangs completely exposed as her sword flew from the snow and back into her magical grasp.

                                            >[“YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HIM! WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT!”] Her scream echoed through the snow and mountains.

                                            >[“Really? Then stop me.”]

                                            >The last syllable had not left the dragon’s jaws before Nýrmáni was upon him, her sword cleaving downwards towards the forest of horns on his skull.

                                            >In a blur he dodged the shining blade, but Nýrmáni’s jaws closed on his left arm and claw, biting down with enough force to reduce steel and rock to dust.

                                            >For the first time, Vetr-Elder roared in actual pain as his scales cracked and split, boiling red blood leaving his body as Nýrmáni jerked her head back and forth as she tried to tear the limb from his body.

                                            >A closed fist impacted the side of her head, then again, but the alicorn ignored the blows and the shocks of pain.

                                            >This dragon had threatened Anonymous.

                                            >Her mate, her everything.

                                            >His fist impacted her skull again, but this time her mane caught the limb as it tried to retract, quickly flowing up the dragon’s arm and keeping it locked against her, useless.

                                            >Nýrmáni could feel him attempting to pull his arm away, but her mane refused, tugging back with all of her might against the dragon’s strength as her teeth dug deeper, tearing into muscle and scraping against bone.

                                            >The dragon blood flowing between her teeth, down her chin, and swirling over her tongue was the most delicious thing her bloodthirsty mind had ever tasted.

                                            >Her sword, held in her magic, swung against the dragon’s unprotected back, slicing into one half-spread wing in a spray of blood.

                                            >[“ENOUGH!”]

                                            >A searing heat hit Nýrmáni directly on the back, and with a furious snarl she released her mane and jer jaws, launching herself backwards and out of the cone of fire and plasma erupting from the dragon’s jaws.

                                            >The snow around her body vaporized into steam, then slush, then refroze as the heat around Nýrmáni died, and with a wince of pain she could feel and smell the crinkle of charred fur and feathers.

                                            >A fist hit her in the face, and suddenly Vetr-Elder was in front of her, his fanged jaws the definition of madness.

                                            >[“You think you are a monster?”]  Another blow hit her in the side, too fast for even her to register.

                                            >[“You know NOTHING!”]

                                            >An open claw raked across the left side of her face, the talons slicing through her cheek and face as Nýrmáni flew backwards from the blow with a scream of pain.

                                            >Rising slowly from the snow that was now stained red with her blood, Nýrmáni shakily stood, the deep lacerations on her face burning in agony as her body attempted to heal the damage.

                                            >Her eyes focused on Vetr-Elder just in time to see the dragon reach behind his back to grab her sword, which was still lodged in one damaged wing.

                                            >As soon as his claw grabbed the hilt firmly, the glowing cyan runes that covered the sword changed to a deep, dark red.

                                            >There was a flash of light as bright as the sun that lit up the entire mountainside, and Vetr-Elder screamed in agony as Nýrmáni raised a hoof and wing in a futile attempt to block the piercing flash of light.

                                            >The bright spots in Nýrmáni’s eyes cleared just in time to see her own sword hurtling towards her, and she instinctively dodged it, the sword flying over her shoulder to disappear into the snow and darkness.

                                            >Through the pain of her body rapidly healing her satisfaction soared when her eyes focused back on Vetr-Elder, who was standing in the middle of a circle of ice.

                                            >The dragon’s un-injured arm and the shoulder connected to it, the one he had removed the sword with, was stripped of its scales, the muscles that had been hidden were charred black and weeping blood, which fell hissing into the snow.

                                            >Panting in pain, his eyes bored into hers as he extended both arms towards her, one burned, one torn to pieces by her own teeth.

                                            >[You wish to see a real monster?”]

                                            >The air around them both began to heat up, the snow blowing in the wind turning to freezing rain, which quickly soaked Nýrmáni’s fur, washing the dragon blood from her muzzle and neck.

                                            >Watching with growing surprise and fear, she watched as scales regrew, tendons tightened, and muscles sewed themselves together, and with seconds both of the damaged limbs were unmarked, as if her attacks had never even occurred.

                                            >[“I will SHOW YOU!”]

                                            >A wave of heat hit her, as if she had looked into the depths of a volcano, and a fist that was suddenly as large as she was hit her in the face.

                                            >She did not know how far this blow sent her, but when she had finally stopped skipping and bouncing along the cold, hard ground, Nýrmáni knew that she was in serious trouble.

                                            >Attempting to look up while spitting out a broken fang, she could feel her spine refusing, her shoulders grating against each other as her eyes swam and darkness began to encroach on her vision.

                                            >The pain was unbelievable, but thankfully, she had plenty of experience in dealing with pain.

                                            >Her eyes went up, up, then further up to gaze in horror at the dark shadow of the dragon, seemingly as large as the mountains that surrounded them both.

                                            >The ground beneath her shook as Vetr-Elder took a single step and reared backwards, spreading wings that seemed to fill the entire sky above her.

                                            >”[BEHOLD, THE MONSTER YOUR ANCESTORS CREATED!.”]

                                            >The words hit her ears like sledgehammer blows, and Nýrmáni sobbed in pain as the words enveloped her body and mind,

                                            >Everything hurt. Her body was healing quickly but the pain remained, always growing.

                                            >The pain gave her clarity, and with clarity came reason.

                                            >Her thoughts began to change, from violence and wishes of death and destruction, to Anonymous, his smile, and his touch….

                                            >As her rational mind slowly resurfaced, she hoped that he had gotten word to the princesses.

                                            >They may be able to stop Vetr-Elder before too much of Equestria was destroyed.

                                            >A massive limb darker than the night sky behind it arced downward towards her, and she was barely able to throw herself out of the way.

                                            >The massive, clawed fist hit the ground, and the resulting tremor physically lifted Nýrmáni into the air as the ground and snow spiderwebbed beneath her hooves from the impact.

                                            >Though, she did not know if Anonymous’s words would reach the Princesses in time to help her.

                                            >[“STAND STILL!”].

                                            >With her body mostly working the way it should, dodging the massive limbs and claws on the dragon was easier, and this time she leapt skyward, her repaired wings propelling her through the wind and snow to hover at the height of the dragon’s eyes, which shone like miniature suns in the dark.

                                            >Suddenly an absolutely crazy idea popped into her head.

                                            >Though herself and Anonymous had almost lost track of time and when day and night were occurring, they had tried to keep roughly the same schedule.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s mind began to race.  It should be early or late morning.  The time when Luna, so far away in Equestria proper, was preparing to sleep herself, or already be asleep…

                                            >Part of her thought the plan was crazy, that she would never be able to avoid the dragon’s attacks while attempting to communicate at such a range at the same time.

                                            >But she had no other choice.  She could not defeat Vetr-Elder as he was now by herself, and she did not know if the enchanted diary Anonymous was writing in would get word to them as quickly as her idea might.

                                            >Ignoring the last bits of pain as her body finally finished repairing itself, Nýrmáni reached out with her magic and closed her glowing eyes.

                                            >She just hoped that Luna would be asleep to answer.

                                            <>

                                            >”And a good day to you two, little sis.”

                                            >Luna shuffled to her bed, turning her head just enough to stick her tongue out at Celestia, who giggled as she closed the door and left to begin, well, whatever Celestia did at such times.

                                            >Luna did not know what was on Celestia’s docket today, it could have been cutting the opening ribbon at a new shop in Canterlot or meeting with buisnessponies in the Economics Hall of the castle.

                                            >Nor did she really care at the moment.  She was so tired she could barely walk, her hooves dragging on the perfectly polished marble floor as she made her way to her ultimate salvation.

                                            >Collapsing onto her bed, Luna dug into the sheets and pillows, humming contentedly as she burrowed herself into them as if to try to hide herself from those damnable snowballs.

                                            >While she’d had no idea why Scootaloo had dreamt of Ponyville embroiled in a massive, last-pony-standing snowball brawl, Luna was lucky that she could not be physically hurt in the dreams of her sleeping subjects.

                                            >Her pride, on the other hoof, had been severely tarnished when Macintosh Apple had unexpectedly buried her in a snowball the size of a small cart.

                                            >Sighing, Luna closed her curtains and shades while throwing a blanket over her head.

                                            >At least the waffles her sister had made were resting in her stomach nicely, and already she could feel them lulling her into sleep,

                                            >She needed a peaceful sleep for once. There had been too many snow-related nightmares as of late, and that was without Celestia’s nightmare of approaching darkness worrying her.

                                            >Thus far though, there had been no reports from any of Equestria’s cities or military outposts of any sort of threats that had been suggested by Celestia’s premonition.

                                            >Not even the Crystal Empire had reported anything out of the ordinary, nor had any word from other neighboring city-states or countries spoken of any such apocalyptic events that Celestia’s dream had hinted at.

                                            >Hopefully she had been wrong, and nothing bad was happening.

                                            >Luna could hope, but she needed sleep for that.

                                            >Opening her eyes, Luna found herself floating in the Dreamscape surrounded once again by the countless bubbles of ponies dreams.

                                            >Though there were not as many as there had been, the day was starting after all, there were still plenty of ponies dreaming at this hour.

                                            >Luna paid them no need, instead she lit her horn, her dark blue magic forming a dream sphere of her own, and without a second's hesitation she dropped into it and straight into an identical bed just like the one her physical body was resting in.

                                            >Except softer, more warm, more comforting than any real bed could possibly be, even with magic.

                                            >Luna closed her eyes, sighing peacefully as true, total sleep began to overtake her.

                                            >Within her own dream, time was meaningless, hours were minutes, and seconds were years. Either way, it always allowed Luna to wake up refreshed and ready.

                                            >The only way for her to be woken up was for her physical body to be woken up, which nopony ever did as her guards did not allow it unless the circumstance was of the utmost importance.

                                            >She didn’t know how long it had been, but Luna’s eyes flew open as something impacted the walls of her dream like a battering ram, sending both her and her bed flying.

                                            >Landing in a heap on the floor, Luna shook her head as her horn began to glow, her magic trying to identify who could possibly be intrud-

                                            >It was Nýrmáni, she could feel the magical signature as soon as her magic touched the foreign presence, but she could tell immediately that something was wrong.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s ability to use dream magic was not quite as advanced as hers, but even then it was almost like art, graceful yet powerful when need be.

                                            >This felt like a foal being handed a crayon for the first time, instead of smooth, gentle magical waves, Nýrmáni’s magic was the equivalent of pounding furiously on Luna’s proverbial door.

                                            >Ears perking up in curiosity and caution, Luna allowed her in, and with a flash of snow Nýrmáni appeared then slammed into the far wall, as if thrown by an invisible hand.

                                            >Luna gasped and managed to contain a scream of shock and horror as Nýrmáni quickly stood, revealing the battered remains of the intruding alicorn.

                                            >She was bleeding from dozens of cuts and gashes that covered her from nose to tail, and one wing was bent awkwardly, certainly broken.

                                            >Her fur was matted and filthy, smeared with blood, and patches of her fur appeared to be completely burned away, showing the skin and hints of the flesh below.

                                            >Her muzzle, neck, and chest were also marked with designs that Luna had not thought of since before her banishment to the moon, and made her heart grow cold with fear.

                                            >”Nýrmáni?  What as happe-”

                                            >[”Help Us! We cannot hold him off for much longer!”] The darker clone of herself cried out, eyes wide in desperation as she crouched slightly while looking upwards at something only she apparently could see.

                                            >Luna stepped backward, surprised, her brain attempting to switch languages as she watched Nýrmáni dodge nothing, her body impacting the closest bedroom wall, cracking it and letting the ambient light of the Dreamscape into Luna’s dream.

                                            >Shaking her head again as if to clear her senses, Nýrmáni looked Luna in the eyes, desperation written across her every feature.

                                            >”He came to Us! He is too strong! Please, Hel-” Nýrmáni’s pleading stopped as the alicorn froze, then the alicorn screamed, her expression one of horror as her ebony body rippled like grass in a tornado.

                                            >Then her body simply shattered, the pieces falling to the ground and breaking like blown glass, and with seconds the only thing remaining of Nýrmáni was her echoing scream

                                            >Luna was frozen in shock at what had just happened before her, but before she could move, the broken pieces of Nýrmáni writhed on the ground, changing into blobs of black liquid like ink, then formed a picture that must have been taken from Nýrmáni’s point of view.

                                            >But it was more than just a simple picture, this mental image conveyed everything that the alicorn had felt at the time she had captured it; every feeling, every magical sensation, every external force, all of these hit Luna like a freight train.

                                            >Pain, rage, an insane lust for vengeance, and a small, defiant alicorn standing before a dragon the size of a mountain.

                                            >Luna’s heart stopped, and in an instant she magically threw herself out of her dream and into the waking world so hard that her physical body was lifted from her bed and onto the floor, where she immediately leapt to her hooves, her horn already summoning her armor and her axe.

                                            >That one mental image Nýrmáni had sent was enough for Luna to know where the threat that Celestia had dreamt of was, and she knew that this dragon must not be allowed anywhere near civilization or countless creatures would die before it could be killed..

                                            >For a moment she considered trying to find her sister, but she could be in any number of places at this time of the morning, and every second spent searching for her was one that could be used getting to Nýrmáni’s aid.

                                            >”SISTER, FOLLOW MY TRAIL!” Luna roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, shaking the stone walls around her and rattling the windows so hard they almost fell from their frames.

                                            >With a humming and a flash of blue light Luna’s armor appeared around her body, and her axe burst into being, laying flat on her back between her wings.

                                            >Luna stood tall, tossing her crown to her bed with a flick of her head, and in the same moment charged a teleportation spell to Tea Leaf’s small apartment outside the castle.

                                            >She needed the teleport charm, the one thing that would get her to Nýrmáni the fastest.

                                            >Luna just hoped she wouldn’t be too late.

                                            <>

                                            >Nýrmáni struggled to rise from the crater her body had made, but the blow from the dragon’s tail that had finally knocked her from the sky had nearly decapitated her, and her eyes were still repairing themselves  so everything was blurry and out of focus.

                                            >A dark, blurry shape appeared above her, and claws wrapped themselves around her muzzle, tight enough that she could feel several of her teeth break.

                                            >[“You are clever, but it will not save you from me.”]

                                            >Vetr-Elder was small again, appearing as he first had, his glowing eyes filled with amusement at the alicorn’s distress as he glared down at her.

                                            >[“You fought hard, much harder than I thought a Drasill could.  Anything to say?”]  He released her jaws and grabbed her by the neck and horn, forcing her head down against the cold ground of the impact crater she had made when she hit the ground at twice the speed of sound.

                                            >[“Fu… Fuck you”] Nýrmáni choked, spitting blood into the snow with her words.  Everything hurt, her body was still trying to repair everything, and she did not know where her sword was.

                                            >But her regeneration was slowing down and was less effective with every passing second.  Even alicorns had their limits, and Nýrmáni had a sad feeling she was reaching hers.

                                            >Above her, the dragon stomped on one of her hind legs with his rear claws, and with a horrendous snap it broke in two.

                                            >Nýrmáni screamed weakly as even more pain flooded her mind, and with the one eye she could see through she witnessed Vetr-Elder’s smile grow.

                                            >He inhaled deeply though his nose, smoke leaving his jaws as he exhaled. [“Defiant to the end, how…”]  He sniffed deeply again, his smile fading slightly.

                                            >[“What is that smell?  It is almost as if… No, Impossible.”]

                                            >Nýrmáni tried to recoil as Vetr-Elder tightened his grip on her horn and neck as he leaned down even closer to her, his scaled nose touching the fur of her cheek as he inhaled again, the heat and stench of his breath almost making her vomit from the unwanted contact.

                                            >He went down her neck, sniffing as he went despite Nýrmáni’s twitching and weak snarls of anger, and then with a flame-filled snarl of surprise and anger he pulled away, his slitted eyes narrowed in consternation as her stared at her silently, apparently in thought.

                                            >Then he laughed, grinning the most insane grin she had ever seen on a living creature as he held down her helpless body.

                                            >[“You are with foal, and yet you still fought me?  You should have run when your cursed, entombed ancestors warned you.  So much arrogance...”]

                                            >His jaws continued to move as he spoke again, but Nýrmáni’s world had gone quiet at the dragon’s words, and her heart felt as if it had been stabbed with a sword of ice.

                                            >She really was pregnant.

                                            >With Anonymous's child.

                                            >And now she was going to die here.

                                            >She could not hold back the tears as they began to flow, and with a strangled sob she desperately thrashed at Vetr-Elder with her three good legs and one wing, batting and kicking at any part of him they could reach.

                                            >Her horn glowed cyan for a moment, but the claw holding her head raised her skull off the ground then smashed back into the bedrock, her magic vanishing as pain exploded behind her eyes.

                                            >[“I am going to make you suffer.  I will tear your womb from your body and consume it while you watch.  Then I will kill you, then I will kill your ‘Beloved’.  Do you like this idea?”]  He taunted, smoke leaking from his grinning jaws.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s rage flared at his words, but the dragon’s strength was greater than hers, she could not rise, and he seemed to care not for the blows of her hooves and wing.

                                            >He opened his jaws again, the orange flames building within matching the insane glow of madness in his eyes, but then from the darkness and blowing snow a shaft of blue light the size of a small building appeared, and with a roar like a tornado Vetr-Elder was gone.

                                            >For a moment Nýrmáni lay there, stunned, then another shape appeared from the snow, racing towards her through the air on armored wings and with a horn glowing with angry blue magic.

                                            >”By the stars above, Nýrmáni! What has happened to you?”

                                            >”Luna?” Nýrmáni gasped as her lighter colored, slightly smaller twin landed next to her, armored from hoof to horn in silvery armor, an expression of rage and horror on the alicorn’s face as she looked down at Nýrmáni.

                                            >”Do not move, I will speed up your healing.  This will hurt…”  Luna’s magic changed from an angry blue to a gentle, calm green as magical tendrils wrapped around Nýrmáni’s body.

                                            >Nýrmáni could not hide the scream of pain as Luna magic went into her body, repairing muscle and correcting the placement of bones, but when Luna’s magic left her, Nýrmáni could move again.

                                            >Standing slowly and shaking her head, Nýrmáni looked at the armored alicorn while trying to ignore the pain still coursing through her body, then at the trench lined with glowing slag where Luna’s magic had impacted Vetr-Elder.

                                            >“Where is Celestia?  We need her, I do not think we can defeat him alone.”  She coughed as lingering pain shot through her, but one of Luna’s wings caught her shoulder, keeping her stable.

                                            >”She will catch up, I have no doubt of it.”  Luna almost looked excited, her helmet not quite hiding her forming grin as a massive double-bladed axe levitated from her back, its dark gray head and wooden shaft glowing with runes similar to that of Nýrmáni’s sword. “Now, the energy I lent you won’t last long, let’s go fini-”

                                            >A scream interrupted Luna, one that shook the ground beneath their hooves, and through the snow and wind a wave of fire and plasma lit the sky, the air heating up as the wall of flames sped towards them.

                                            >Together, almost acting as one, Nýrmáni and Luna’s magic formed a dome, a mixture of blue and cyan magic, and the flames harmlessly splashed against it, arcing to the sides to eat through the snow and rock with sizzling pops.

                                            >[“I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY VENGANCE!”]

                                            >He appeared on the other side of their magical shield, wings spread as his claws sunk into the rock that was melting beneath the heat of his fury, his eyes now focused solely on Luna with renewed madness.

                                            >[“Another lives as well?  I will kill HER TOO!”]  A fist impacted their shield with a sound like the world's biggest gong, and both alicorns stepped backwards as cracks formed in the duel-colored magical wall.

                                            >Luna took a step backwards in shock at the display. ”Impossible, no dragon his size shou-”

                                            >”He is old, Luna, and powerful, more so than me…”

                                            >Nýrmáni turned to Luna, her throat dry and her limbs shaking slightly as the dragon continued to rage and swear unintelligible as he continued to pound on their shield.

                                            >”Luna, listen, I do not know if I can fight, I-”

                                            >”Am unarmed?”  With a flourish of Luna’s wing Nýrmáni’s sword appeared, held to Luna’s side with cords of blue magic.  “I do not think so.”

                                            >Nýrmáni’s eyes went wide. “How can you touch it?”

                                            >Luna truly did grin at her this time. “Because I built it.”  Another flick of her horn, and the sword sank point-first into the ground before Nýrmáni. “It did hurt, but my intentions are pure of heart, so it took that into account.”

                                            >Nýrmáni wrapped a hoof around the hilt, and the sword flashed to life once again, the runes and swirls decorating it glowing once again at her touch.

                                            >With her weapon came renewed spirit, and Nýrmáni could feel her look of worry falling away, replaced with conviction.

                                            >She would fight for the safety of her family.

                                            >Family

                                            >Just thinking of the concept made her heart pound in her chest and her blood heated.

                                            >Nýrmáni would make this dragon pay for threatening her family.

                                            >Another roar of anger and gout of flames, and bits of superheated plasma broke through the shield, splattering as they burned through the snow in front of them.

                                            >Luna looked at her, her eyes alight with something that looked like excitement as she held a hoof out.  “Let’s do it together… Sister.”

                                            >Nýrmáni’s eyes went wide, then she smiled, tapping Luna’s hoof with her own.  “I’ll take the front.”

                                            >”Then I shall take the rear.” Luna replied with a nod, just as the dragon raised both claws into the air, intending to strike a final blow to their glowing, transparent dome.

                                            >Before his fists could connect, the two alicorns dropped their combined shield, spread their wings, and flew, Nýrmáni to the left, and Luna to the right.

                                            >Luna went in first, roaring a challenge as she charged the dragon, axe raised over her head, the weapon and her horn streaming blue magic as she flew through the air.

                                            >Vetr-Elder blasted her with a gust of hurricane-force wind from his wings, and Luna tumbled into the snow and rock, the blade of her axe digging into the ground to slow her down.

                                            >But she had done what she wanted, and Nýrmáni’s sword impacted the distracted dragon’s side, splitting scales and the flesh beneath in a splash of steaming blood.

                                            >Screaming in rage the dragon smashed a fist into Nýrmáni’s head, sending her and her sword flying.

                                            >[“I can feel it! Your connection to this land!  You were here before!”]  Vetr-Elder roared at Luna, drool flying from his mouth as his eyes glowed even brighter, his wound already closing.

                                            >Luna stood, holding her glowing weapons before her [“And you were?”]  She yelled over the wind, still ready to attack at any moment.

                                            >[“I was!  I am the last because of the transgressions of your kind!  But now I am not weak as I was then!”]

                                            >Vetr-Elder’s gray scales flared red hot as his body began to grow, the heat generated by his change instantly melting the snow around them all and turning the blowing snow to sleet and freezing rain.

                                            >Luna charged the growing monstrosity, blue orbs and lances of magic arcing from her horn, and Nýrmáni propelled herself at the increasingly large dragon as well, slashing at his legs while Luna cleaved directly at his chest.

                                            >A tail the size of a tree hit her in the side, and Nýrmáni flew back, yelping in pain as Luna was also thrown aside, smacked away by a claw that was almost as big as she was.

                                            >[“Your magic means nothing to me!”]

                                            >Nýrmáni looked up, and could see that Vetr-Elder wasn’t lying.  The scorch marks from Luna’s magical attacks were already fading from his scales, and if anything the still-growing dragon looked even more angry.

                                            >Crouching downward, Nýrmáni made ready to leap into the fray again, but a sudden lance of pain from her chest drew her eyes downward.

                                            >Her ribs were healing quickly from the strike of the dragon’s tail, but it had almost hit her lower body.

                                            >Where her foal resided.

                                            >Her body went cold, and in an instant Nýrmáni’s priorities changed; she could not afford to get close to Vetr-Elder and risk the safety of her unborn foal.

                                            >Charging up her own magic, Nýrmáni shot a beam of cyan lightening at the dragon’s face, even as her magic recalled her sword, which she hurled like a spear at the dragon’s massive chest.

                                            >It was impossible to miss both attacks, and Vetr-Elder roared as Nýrmáni’s lightning arced over his face, his teeth, his eyes, even as her sword sank up to the hilt just under his massive left wing.

                                            >Roaring in rage, his massive jaws opened and unleashed a plume of blue flames at her, forcing Nýrmáni to take to the snow-filled sky.

                                            >Below her, the snow instantly turned to steam, and the rock beneath began to glow and melt from the intense heat.

                                            >Her horn glowing again, Nýrmáni began to fire every offensive spell she could think of at Vetr-Elder, and explosions of cyan light and red fire decorated every part of the dragon she could see.

                                            >A warcry broke through the myriad of sounds, and a streak of blue light hit the dragon in the face, nearly knocking the dragon onto his back from the impact, and Nýrmáni realized that Luna had just punched the dragon directly between the eyes.

                                            >But that was apparently the final straw for the dragon. The massive dragon glowed again with power, and instantly shrank to the form he had first appeared in, the heat generated from his sudden change splashing over them both like a bonfire and vaporizing the snow in the air.

                                            >Luna did not have time to shout as Vetr-Elder, his form a blur from his speed, grabbed Luna’s throat with one claw, and one outspread wing with the other.

                                            >Nýrmáni watched in horror Vetr-Elder roared in triumph and pulled, tearing Luna’s wing from her body with a sickening snap.

                                            >Luna’s scream of pain nearly blew Nýrmáni’s eardrums out. Nýrmáni remained frozen as shock as the dragon dropped the dismembered wing, then slugged Luna in the head so hard that her helmet flew off, where it vanished in the darkness and re-freezing snow.

                                            >Like a blue comet Luna hit the ground and disappeared in a shower of rock and ice, but Nýrmáni stopped watching, and without a conscious thought she was directly in front of Vetr-Elder, who was licking Luna’s blood off of his claws, his fanged face a mask of glee and insanity.

                                            >Shrieking in anger she struck him with one hoof, then the other, each impact sending shockwaves into the sky and shattering scales, but Nýrmáni was past caring about the pain that her own blows inflicted on herself.

                                            >Luna was hurt and it was her fault.

                                            >Nýrmáni continued to rain down blows on the dragon until a gout of flame hit her in the chest, and with a pump of her wings was barely able to dodge a swipe of claws that parted the fur on her belly and nicked the skin below.

                                            >Trailing smoke and flames Nýrmáni vanished in a cloud of cyan sparks, appearing next to where Luna had crash landed.

                                            >”Luna!”  She screamed, trying to find a way to help her fellow alicorn while also glancing at the dragon that still hung in the sky and attempting to extinguish the flames dancing across her fur.

                                            >Glancing down again, she could see a blood-soaked Luna grimacing in pain, her horn still alight with magic as she rose to a crouch, and a moment later her wing appeared in a pop of teleportation magic.

                                            >Her stomach turning at the display, Nýrmáni watched as Luna grabbed her dismembered wing in her hooves and shoved it back into its bleeding socket, the grating of bones and pops of muscle almost making her puke.

                                            >Luna howled in pain as her wing began to reattach itself, looking up to Nýrmáni with eyes that were a solid, glowing blue.

                                            >For a moment Luna’s body seemed to flicker, like tall grass in wind, but before Nýrmáni could even begin to think if what she had seen was real or not Luna’s re-attached wing flapped once, then twice, Luna shouting in pain at the sky.

                                            >”He will pay for that.”  Her voice was a guttural snarl, blood dripping from her lips as she looked up to the dragon, who had landed on the ground not far from them.

                                            >[“It had been so long since I had tasted Drasill, I had forgotten the taste.”]  Vetr-Elder was watching them, smiling, the frozen remnants of Luna’s blood staining his muzzle.

                                            >[“I will feast on the flesh of you both.  I have not eaten in an eternity.”]

                                            >The dragon took one step forward, flexing his claws and wings, then for some reason stopped, looking upwards and behind them both.

                                            >Nýrmáni could see every detail of the dragon’s face, every little nick and scratch in his scales, every snowflake in the air, and suddenly she realized she could do this because of the light that now filled the sky like a summer morning.

                                            >Turning her head despite the unbeatable terror in front of her, Nýrmáni could see a ball of yellow and gold light streaking towards them, faster than she’d ever thought it possible for anything to move.

                                            >Apparently, Celestia did not care about what should or should not be possible.

                                            >With a thunderous crash the glowing golden ball smashed into the ground between them and Vetr-Elder, blinding them all with the resulting flash and heatwave and shaking the ground beneath their hooves.

                                            >Blinking her eyes, Nýrmáni could finally get a picture of the alicorn, taller than herself, that now stood between them and Vetr-Elder.

                                            >She could hear Luna chuckling through her pain. “It is about time, Sister.” Luna called out, her axe appearing next to her with a pop of magic.

                                            >But all of Nýrmáni’s attention was focused on Celestia.

                                            >The white alicorn stood there, resplendent in armor similar in color and arrangement to Luna’s, and a massive halberd rose into the sky, held in one armed forehoof.

                                            >But it was Celestia herself that made Nýrmáni take an unconscious step backwards.

                                            >Red flames danced through the tightly woven ponytail of her mane and across her flowing, multi-hued tail; the ground around her hooves had turned red hot at her impact, and the bedrock beneath her hooves had begun to liquify.

                                            >The dragon’s eyes shifted between the three of them, his excited smile turning to anger.. [“Another?  Where have you come from?…”]

                                            >Nýrmáni’s throat was suddenly dry. ”Celestia, we have to sto-”

                                            >[“What is your name?”]  Celestia interrupted her, her voice was soft and kind, yet somehow carried over the wind and lashing snow as she addressed Vetr-Elder, who was now glaring with unfiltered fury at the three alicorns.

                                            >[“My name?  MY NAME?”]  The dragon suddenly screamed, pointing to himself with one shaking talon. “I am Vetr-Elder, the last of the Ormslíki.  I am the first-hatched of Fafnir, Lord of the North.  For an eternity I have slept, dreaming of the day when I could avenge the death of my kin.  That time has come, and your lives are forfeit for what your kind took from me!”]

                                            >Nýrmáni stood there, watching in shock as tears formed in Vetr-Elder’s eyes, only for them to instantly vaporize to steam as they contacted the scales of his cheeks.

                                            >[“I am sorry”]

                                            >Nýrmáni stumbled backwards in shock at Celestia’s three simple words.

                                            >Luna seemed to be as shocked as she was. “Sister, he is beyond reason.”  She stammered, her eyes wide as the blood finally stopped dripping from her mouth, her body finally healed.

                                            >Celestia once again ignored them both. [“I am sorry for what my kind did to yours, and for the suffering all of us have undergone because of their actions and foolishness.”]

                                            >Sighing, Celestia embedded her halberd into the ground and took a hoofstep forwards, towards the seemingly shocked dragon.

                                            <>

                                            >Her magic-enhanced flight across such a vast distance had almost drained her, but the pain of the massive magic withdrawal was fading and her magic was quickly returning to normal.  She had not flown that fast in almost two thousand years.

                                            >Celestia studied the dragon that stood before her.  It radiated power,  vast power she had never felt in any dragon before.  He was not lying about his age, she could feel the sincerity in his words.

                                            >[“My sister and I have suffered as much as you have because of the Drasill’s mistakes. I do not expect your forgiveness for their transgressions.”]  She looked at the dragon, sadness filling Celestia’s voice as memories streamed through her mind.

                                            >Her and her sister’s initial escape from this doomed land.

                                            >The ensuing starvation and thirst, the months and years of lost wanderings in the endless, misty mountains.

                                            >The first sentient beings to find them, the deer, years after their flight, driving them away with spears and rocks because of their alien appearance.

                                            >The years and decades spent wandering, creating their own spellcraft, slowly finding more welcoming species.

                                            >[“But more suffering and death will not change the past, nor will it give you the satisfaction you seek.  I know this all too well…  I do not wish to fight you, so please, leave this place, return to your home, and you will never be disturbed again.”]

                                            >All of them were silent, only the howling wind and whistling snow graced Celestia’s ears.

                                            >Then Vetr-Elder laughed.

                                            >This laugh was low, filled with so much regret and rage that she could feel sympathetic tears of her own forming and freezing on her cheeks.

                                            >He shook his head slowly, his burning orange eyes fixed on Celestia, his voice low and strangely emotionless. [“My home is as much a tomb as yours is.  It is too late for me, little Drasill, far too late… Before I skin you and your kin alive and feast on your bones I will return the one kindness you showed me; by what name shall I call you?”]

                                            >This time Celestia’s sigh was not one of sadness, but of resignation, and a burst of heat emanated from her as she once again wrapped an armored hoof around the shaft of her halberd, which now glowed with warm, yellow light.

                                            >Her voice rang through the air like a tuning fork, filled with both sadness and strength. [“My name is Sólrísa, firstborn of Nýrævi, healer and lifegiver of the tribe of Drasill. To my little ponies I am Celestia, infallible Princess of Equestria. To those who fought me in eons past I was The Daybreaker, The Demon of the Sun, who rained fire and terror and death on all who threatened me.”]

                                            >She heard Nýrmáni take another step backwards as the heat around her continued to climb, the granite beneath her armor-encased hooves popping as it began to melt.

                                            >Her anger finally broke through the layers of calm that she always wore like an invisible mask. [“You hurt my sister. I could feel her pain, and you have hurt Nýrmáni as well. That cannot, and will not stand. If you wish to end this here through bloodshed, then I shall do so.”]

                                            >She pulled her halberd out of the ground and reared up on her hind legs, gripping it’s shaft with both hooves as she leveled the impossibly sharp blade at the dragon she now knew as Vetr-Elder, who was shaking like a leaf in a autumn wind from rage.

                                            >For the first time in what felt like an eternity Celestia could feel the thrill of battle, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she felt herself grinning despite herself. [“I will end this, and when I am finished, I will hang your skull above my throne.”]

                                            >With a feral scream the dragon leapt at her, impossibly quick, but her halberd met his swinging claws, catching them just above her head.

                                            >Roaring again he pushed downward  but Celestia stood firm, even as the melting stone beneath her hooves splintered and cracked, compressing under the forces of the two ancient beings.

                                            >Instantly lighting her horn with ancient, crackling magic she hit the dragon in the face just as Luna darted in, her axe biting deep into the dragon’s waist.

                                            >Roaring with pain Vetr-Elder spat flames in her face, but fire and heat were her ally as much as it was his, and the flames washed over her harmlessly.

                                            >Letting go of her weapon he launched himself backwards, Luna leaping away just in time to avoid an deadly arc of talons, only for a web of Nýrmáni’s cyan magic to trap his tail against the now-bare ground, the magic that didn’t wrap around his tail anchoring itself deep into the ground.

                                            >Roaring in rage as he attempted to free his tail, the dragon opened his jaws and unleashed a wave of blue fire directly at the ground beneath his claws, the fire splashing away in all directions, melting and flattening anything in its path.

                                            >Luna’s magical shield blocked the flames, the force of the fire’s impact sliding her across the slick stone beneath her hooves, while Celestia leapt through the flames, her wings propelling her and her halberd like an arrow.

                                            >She followed her blade, watching as it sank directly into the dragon’s chest, and Vetr-Elder howled in agony as Celestia pressed her advantage, shoving the weapon further into the dragon’s body even as he continued to spray fire directly at her.

                                            >Let him waste his breath.  She’d taken worse.

                                            >Luna’s axe bit into the dragon’s back, directly between his wings, followed instantly by Nýrmáni’s sword, which stuck just below her halberd.

                                            >Glowing light came from the dragon’s eyes, his open, screaming mouth, and before Celestia could comprehend what had happened a fist the size of her entire bedroom was hurtling down towards her.

                                            >Teleporting backwards and out of danger, her eyes widened as she looked up at Vetr-Elder, who had instantly grown to a size that would have made Twilight Sparkle’s castle in Ponyville a mere foal's toy, his body a moving mountain against the black night sky.

                                            >[“YOU ARE ALL DEAD!”] His words shook the world and rattled the air around her.

                                            >Despite his massive size, his speed had not decreased, and Celestia once again had to teleport as talons the size of railway cars obliterated the ground where she had crouched just moments before.

                                            >[“I WILL NOT BE DENIED!”] His missive glowing eyes looked away from her, and towards the streak of blue light that was Luna, who was shooting beams and orbs of blue magic towards the dragon even as she herself flew directly at him.

                                            >Ignoring the explosions of violent magic against his scales, Celestia’s blood felt like veins of flame within her as she watched Vetr-Elder swat her younger sister away as one would an annoying bug, the alicorn flying into the closest mountain in a cloud of rock and snow.

                                            >Snarling, Celestia teleported directly in front of the dragon’s chest, high in the air and snow and thrust her halberd forwards, her movements faster than lightning.

                                            >Somehow, impossibly, he saw her coming, and her halberd impacted nothing but thin air as he shrank again, his size once again comparable to hers.

                                            >Almost casually, he slammed a fist downward into her cheek, a blow so hard that she felt her lower jaw dislocate beneath her helmet and sent her eyes spinning.

                                            >A moment later her back hit the ground, followed by a pillar of fire that incarcerated the crater she had made, then by the dragon himself, who smashed her further into the ground with his own velocity and mass.

                                            >[“You are the eldest!  You will die first!’]  His jaws opened, rows of razor sharp fangs descending as he leaned down to bite her neck.

                                            >A pair of hooves impacted his side just as the tips of his teeth were grazing her neck, and Vetr-Elder was sent skipping across the icy ground and into the snow and dark.

                                            >”Luna, we must keep him small, it is the only way we will be able to do enough damage to kill him!” Celestia slurred as she popped her lower jaw back into place.

                                            >”I am not Luna.”

                                            >Celestia did a double take.  Nýrmáni stood above her, worn, exhausted, her massive, glowing sword in one hoof.

                                            >The other was extended towards her, shaking slightly.

                                            >”Ironic, isn’t it?  Me helping you up?”

                                            >Failing to hide her smile Celestia accepted the offered hoof, and with a heave Nýrmáni pulled her upright.

                                            >Almost falling over herself, Nýrmáni leaned on her sword, which was stuck point first into the ground. ”I do not know… How much longer I can fight…”  Nýrmáni was gasping just from the effort of helping her up, and as Celestia looked her over with rays of warm yellow magic she could understand why.

                                            >Luna must have done an emergency mana transfer to Nýrmáni. The only reason the poor mare was even conscious was because of it and she didn’t even realize it.

                                            >Its effects were almost gone though, and as soon as they were Nýrmáni would no longer be a factor in this fight.

                                            >But there was something else her magical scan detected, something centered around the alicorn’s belly…

                                            >A roar interrupted her musings and a gray blur shot through the falling snow, hitting her in the barrel with enough force for her body to carve a deep furrow into the stone and snow as she flew backwards, pain exploding from her chest from the dragon’s impact.

                                            >[“I can taste your weakness, Young Drasill… But how is your flesh?”]

                                            >Leaping to her hooves despite the agony of her shattered ribs repairing themselves Celestia surged from trench her body had dug, just in time to watch a trembling Nýrmáni swing her sword at Vetr-Elder, who smacked it with the backside of one claw hard enough that it flew from Nýrmáni’s grasp, the glowing blade sticking point-first in the snow far into the darkness.

                                            >Glowing with power he surged forwards, jaws wide, and before Nýrmáni could even move or shout he had grown again, and the alicorn disappeared into his suddenly massive mouth with a snap of teeth.

                                            >An un-equine shriek came from behind her, and as Celestia stood frozen in shock, Luna shot over her shoulder, ramming herself into the dragon’s exposed shoulder like a ballista bolt.

                                            >The blow sent the dragon rolling and scales and blood flying, but the deed was already done.

                                            >”NO, NO NO NO NO!” Luna’s enraged screams echoed through the darkness as Celestia took a step forwards, her lips pulling up in a snarl that shook the ground beneath her hooves.

                                            >Vetr-Elder stood on all fours, looking down at the two alicorns, both enraged, one crying from fury, his own orange eyes shining with malicious glee as his damaged scales began to shift, covering the bloody hole Luna had just put in his body.

                                            >He swallowed, then laughed, licking his massive lips as he glanced between the two of them.

                                            >[“I will add this one’s power to my own, the-”]  He coughed, his orange, slitted eyes going wide.

                                            >In the darkness, out of the corner of her eye, Celestia saw Nýrmáni’s still-glowing sword vanish in a cloud of cyan sparks, just as the massive dragon coughed again and stumbled backwards, one claw going to his throat.

                                            >Again he coughed, but this time steaming, hissing blood poured from between his pony-sized fangs, along with cyan light, which shone like Celestia’s own sun from within his mouth.

                                            >Vetr-Elder roared, flames shooting intermittently from between his jaws and nostrils, but echoing his deep roar of panic was a scream that was visceral, frenzied, and female.

                                            >Clawing at his throat, his glowing eyes grew wide, his roar increased in volume, as did the light shining from within him.

                                            >Then Vetr-Elder’s throat bulged out, and with a sickening, ripping sound the glowing blade of Nýrmáni’s sword appeared from within the dragon’s neck and cleaved through the entirety of it in one, circular motion.

                                            >His eyes still wide in surprise, Vetr-Elder’s head and most of his neck separated from his body in a shower of blood and an explosion of fiery slag that rained down on the snow as his body fell to the ground with a crash that shook the ground beneath Celestia’s hooves.

                                            >Finally breaking from her shock, Celestia and Luna galloped towards the steaming, smoldering remains.

                                            >”Nýrmáni!”  Luna yelled, frozen tears covering her cheeks as she leapt into the air, the light glowing from her horn covering the whole area with warm blue light, even as Celestia desperately searched in the thinning darkness.

                                            >Suddenly, Luna darted downwards, and moments later Celestia heard her horrified scream.

                                            >Her horn ablaze with golden light, Celestia teleported to her sister’s side, and uttered a gasp of shock at what lay before her.

                                            >Nýrmáni lay in the snow curled up into a ball, her wings crumbled, broken, and charred, her ethereal mane and tail were gone, the alicorn soaked in blood that was both hers and Vetr-Elder’s.

                                            >Her fur was burned, large patches of it were gone completely, exposing the skin and muscle beneath, and her hooves and the obliterated remains of her wings were tightly holding her midsection.

                                            >Trembling like a newborn and breathing rapidly, her eyes were closed, Celestia could hear her mumbling incoherently under her breath.

                                            >Luna leaned down, her eyes wide with horror and desperation. “Nýrmáni, Nýrmáni can you hear me?” Luna reached out a hoof to shake the other alicorn, then decided against it.  There was no place to shake her that wasn’t cut, burned, or bleeding.

                                            >Celestia sat next to Nýrmáni, discarding her halberd like trash as she gently touched the alicorn’s muzzle with her magic, all while looking Luna in the eye.

                                            >”You took the teleport charm here, that is the fastest way.  Go get Ms. Tea Leaf and a full complement of your Advanced Medical Corps and return at once, I will do what I can to stabilize her while you are gone.”

                                            >Nýrmáni moaned pitifully as the magic began to surround her body, and curled up further, her head almost touching her belly, exposing more of her burned, bleeding neck and shoulders.

                                            >Eyes still wide, Luna nodded, pulling the small disk of metal from beneath her breastplate. Instantly it began to glow, and in a cyclone of blue magic Luna vanished.

                                            >Celestia looked down at Nýrmáni, the golden light from her horn replacing that of her vanished sister, the reflected light sparkling off of the blood-splattered snow.

                                            >First erecting a shield to block the wind and snow, which still raged around them, Celestia then upped the temperature inside to help warm the alicorn below her, who still had not uncurled herself.

                                            >”Must… Protect… Must…” Nýrmáni’s whispers continued like a mantra even as Celestia removed her helmet and gauntlets, her hoof hovering over Nýrmáni’s one visible cheek, which was burned so badly that she could see some of the alicorn’s teeth through it.

                                            >One spell carefully removed the sheath for Nýrmáni’s sword from her battered body.  It was so frayed and charred that the once deeply enchanted item crumbled to ash as soon as her careful magic touched it.

                                            >Multicasting frantically, diagnostic spells flashed from Celestia’s horn, scanning Nýrmáni’s body for what needed healing the most, what was bleeding and broken.

                                            >The pain that Nýrmáni was under must be excruciating and it was clear that her conscious mind was not at the forefront, so mixed into Celestia’s healing spells was a simple sleeping aid spell.  Hopefully she could rest easier in dreamless sleep.

                                            >Very carefully, Celestia began to transfer healing magic into the poor alicorn, careful not to overdue her already magically over-taxed body.  Too much foreign magic and her body would enter mana-shock, at which point her organs would begin failing and all further magic cast on her would cascade the negative effects.

                                            >Too little, and Nýrmáni would not survive the hour.

                                            >But in the end she needed actual medicine, actual bandages, actual help.  Magic never fixed everything.

                                            >As soon as the healing spells hit her, Nýrmáni seemed to relax somewhat. Her breathing slowed and her mumbled ramblings ceased as she finally slipped into unconsciousness.

                                            >Her diagnostic spells finally came back to her, and Celestia’s eyes widened.  The only part of Nýrmáni that had been spared suffered horrific damage was her belly, and as the spells continued to feed her information she knew why.

                                            >Nýrmáni was pregnant. She was still very, very early in her term, but Celestia’s spells did not lie.

                                            >She had to have known as well, since the mare had obviously redirected all of her magical defenses, her limbs, and her body to protect her unborn foal.

                                            >Sitting back, the enormity of what she had just learned hit Celestia, and tears began to form in her eyes.

                                            >”We are not the last ones…”  She sniffed, smiling despite the storm of emotions ragging through her mind.

                                            >Her race would not die with herself and Luna.

                                            >Celestia had tended to many wounded ponies over her countless years, some had survived, some had not, but she always talked to them.  It helped her focus, and to those ponies who were conscious it gave them something to focus on other than their pain or their inevitable end.

                                            >”Does young Anonymous know?  From what words we shared and from his attitude I believe that being a father would bring him immense joy.”

                                            >Looking upwards and through the transparent golden dome, Celestia watched the blowing snow for a moment, before refocusing on Nýrmáni.

                                            >”You will have all the help you will ever need, I swear it on my life and my magic.  Just hold on, please…”

                                            >Celestia did not know how long she lay there, continuously feeding Nýrmáni magic to stop her bleeding and heal her most broken bones, but she stayed with her until a massive flash of blue light occurred outside of her shield, revealing Luna along with over a dozen ponies of her Night Guard Medical corps, all outfitted in cold weather gear and saddlebags full of medical equipment.

                                            >Expanding her shield with Luna’s assistance, the medical ponies swarmed Nýrmáni, most of them shocked or horrified at her battered visage as they began to bandage her most obvious injuries and stabilize what else they could.

                                            >Celestia exited the shield and faced her sister, who looked as though she were about to burst into tears.

                                            >“I will find the home that Nýrmáni and Anonymous have built here and prepare it for her arrival.  We will have to teleport her, moving her physically is out of the question for her now, and we cannot sit out in these conditions and wait.”

                                            >Luna nodded, a single tear freezing against her cheek as it fell.  “Nýrmáni was worried, I do not know what about but she was scar-”

                                            >”She is pregnant, Luna.”

                                            >Luna froze, as solid as the ice and snow that surrounded them.

                                            >”She… She is?”  Luna whispered in disbelief, her eyes begging for any sort of answer.

                                            >”Yes, she is,” Celestia said, spreading her wings as she looked back at Nýrmáni who was now covered in bandages and light blankets, and had several IV bags hooked up to her body.

                                            >Tea Leaf stood, her hooves speckled red with Nýrmáni’s blood as she finished applying more bandages.  She looked at Celestia, nodded, then resumed her work.

                                            >”The reason she is so terribly hurt is because she redirected all of her magic to protect the area around her womb.  Now, I must go.” Celestia quickly hugged her stunned sister, then rose into the air, her wings  buffeting the snow that filtered through her feathers.

                                            >”I will prepare Anonymous for our arrival.”  With that she took off, a golden blur as she sped through the snowy sky.

                                            >Her horn lit again, this time her magic-tracking spell showed her the trail of devastation the fight had made in the landscape below.

                                            >Nýrmáni must have been leading Vetr-Elder as far from Anonymous as she could.  The thought made Celestia’s heart ache like it hadn’t in years

                                            >All she had to do now was follow it back to where it had all started.

                                            >The whistling of the wind in her ears was nothing compared to the hurricane of emotions and thoughts going through her mind as she flew, eyes searching the ground for any signs of habitation.

                                            >Though the trail of magic was clear to her magical senses, It took some time before she could see the half-buried cabin, the yellow light coming from the small windows barely visible through the falling snow.

                                            >As she descended towards it, Celestia’s heart began to hurt more.

                                            >What was she going to tell him?  How would he react?  Who would he blame?

                                            >Would it be her, the one who had sent them here in the first place?

                                            >Her hooves impacted the snow a short distance from the front door.  She saw a shadow darting across one of the brightly-lit windows

                                            >The door opened, and Celestia approached.

                                            <>

                                            >Everything was wrong.  That was her first thought.

                                            >Her mind was lost, her slowly growing awareness was trapped, wandering in the darkness behind her closed eyes.

                                            >Slowly, her thoughts came together.  The time it took seemed to be an eternity.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s eyes slowly opened, and as they did, disjointed images flashed through her mind.

                                            >Her nightmare, and the warning within it.

                                            >The knocks on the door of her home, and the dragon that was there.

                                            >Her Eyes grew wide as the memories returned, and Nýrmáni stumbled to her hooves, the coldness of the stone beneath them making her trot backwards for a moment.

                                            >She could see nothing.  Even her eyes could not penetrate the blackness that surrounded her.

                                            >She remembered the last time this had happened to her, and she lit her horn, expecting snow and terror.

                                            >Like a bonfire the light from her horn spilled forth, revealing absolutely nothing but an endless, flat expanse of gray stone.

                                            >”H-hello?”  Her whisper echoed around her, as if she were in a grand auditorium or music hall.

                                            >”Am I dreaming?  Luna?”  There was no response.

                                            >Concentrating, Nýrmáni focused her magic on herself and her mind in an attempt to force herself awake.

                                            >Nothing happened.

                                            >For a moment she did not move, then, swallowing down the smallest amount of panic, Nýrmáni again focused on her mind, trying to find the threads of the dream that she knew she had to be in.

                                            >Again, there was nothing, only blackness and silence.

                                            >It was then that Nýrmáni realized that she could hear her heartbeat thudding in her ears, and the rapid breaths that she was now gulping.

                                            >”What… What is this?”

                                            >A soft, sad sigh came from behind her, and Nýrmáni whirled around, cyan magic and wide eyes looking for the source.

                                            >An Earth Pony stallion sat behind her, one who had not been there just moments before.

                                            >Under the light from her horn, she could see that if he was to stand, he would be almost as tall as she was, the white stallion’s coat and his black mane and tail sparkled strangely under the light of her cyan magic.  He possessed no cutie mark that she could see.

                                            >His eyes were the brightest, lightest blue she had ever seen, so much so that they almost disappeared into the whites of his eyes.

                                            >He sat there, observing her with something that almost resembled pity.

                                            >”Who are you?  Where am I?” Nýrmáni snorted, eyes narrowing dangerously at this unknown stallion.

                                            >He tilted his head slightly and flicked one ear, but his eyes never left hers.

                                            >”Is this a dream?” Nýrmáni yelled, her heart beating faster as she took a step closer towards him.

                                            >This time, the stallion slowly shook his head.

                                            >”Then what is this?”  Her scream echoed through the blackness with the force of a thousand voices, but the stallion was completely indifferent to the thunderous sound.

                                            >Slowly, he lifted one hoof from the ground and held it out to her, as if he were offering her something.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s eyes went wide as a picture began to form above it, and her heart lurched when she realized what it was.

                                            >It was herself, laying in bloodstained snow, beaten, torn, burned, surrounded by the remains of the dragon Vetr-Elder.

                                            >Just as quickly as it had formed, it changed, this time it was her cabin, and Nýrmáni could see her battered visage laying down on their bed, the one that she and Anonymous had built together.

                                            >Covered in bloody bandages and with numerous tubes running from several places on her body to bags of liquid, the bed was surrounded by ponies, including Luna, Celestia, and even the pegasus Tea Leaf.

                                            >And Anonymous.

                                            >The young human was on his knees next to the bed, his hands gently holding one exposed hoof.  His blue eyes were bloodshot, and she could see the lines where tears had run down his cheeks.

                                            >Celestia and Luna did not look much better, but the sorrow written across their faces was almost palpable

                                            >Then, the image vanished, and she was once again looking at the white stallion.

                                            >”I… What is this lie you are showing me?”  Again she took a step towards the stallion, who still had not moved.

                                            >”Speak to me, what is this place?”  She was now so close that her nose was just a hooves length away from his.

                                            >Still, the stallion did nothing, he didn't even blink.

                                            >”Why cannot Luna help me?  Talk to me?”  Nýrmáni’s vision began to blur as tears began to form in her eyes.

                                            >She heard the stallion sigh quietly, and as she wiped her tears away with one hoof, he was suddenly beside her.  She had not seen him move.

                                            >The stallion touched her, his hoof gently resting on her shoulder, in a sad, comforting way.

                                            >The pieces began to fall into place for Nýrmáni, and she shook her head rapidly as if denying her growing fear would make it vanish.

                                            >”I cannot be… No, I am not… I cannot leave him…”  Nýrmáni quietly sobbed. “M-my foal, my Beloved…”

                                            >Her breath hitched as her tears hit the ground in front of her hooves, and she could feel herself shivering uncontrollably.

                                            >The hoof on her shoulder fell away, and a soft glow of light appeared before her.

                                            >Raising her head and attempting to look through tear-blurred eyes, she could see two white, shimmering ovals hovering before her.

                                            >Once again wiping her tears away, she studied them closely.

                                            >The oval on the left led to what looked like paradise, rolling green hills, gentle gray mountains, and the gentle whispering of wind emanated through the opening to grace her senses.

                                            >The moment her brain could comprehend these things, her body felt lighter, her strength returned, and she could feel her sorrow slowly begin to fade.

                                            >The oval on the right led to the cabin, and the bed with her comatose double on it.

                                            >She could smell the iron scent of dried blood, and hear gentle sniffles and quiet, somber murmurs coming from within.

                                            > Nýrmáni groaned as agony suddenly filled almost every part of her body, and her tears once again began to flow.

                                            >She did not remember falling, but when her eyes focused again, she was laying on her side, the sudden pain and sorrow that had filled her gone just as swiftly as it had come.

                                            >Leaping to her hooves once again, she turned to face the stallion, who was now sitting directly between the two shimmering ovals, his eyes still locked on hers.

                                            >”Is this some kind of choice?”  Nýrmáni whispered.

                                            >The stallion nodded slowly.

                                            >”Are… you toying with me?”

                                            >A somber shake of the head was his only reply.

                                            >She advanced on him, her anger building as she felt her lips pulling upwards in a snarl, her nose hovering just in front of his.

                                            >He did not move away, and his expression remained the same.

                                            >”Who do you think yo-”  Her nose contacted his, and in that instant her vision went completely white as she could feel the magic of the stallion meeting hers.

                                            >Or what she had thought was a stallion.

                                            >It was a presence so different, so vast, so completely alien that even Nýrmáni’s mind could not comprehend its magnitude.  Her magic was nothing, a drop in the sea compared to the power this thing wielded.

                                            >When her vision cleared, she found herself curled up on the ground, shivering like a foal while the strange, terrifying stallion stood above her.

                                            >His expression had not changed, and the expression of pity had not left his gaze.

                                            >”You, y-you are…”  Her words failed her as she continued to shake in terror.

                                            >The stallion nodded.

                                            >”I.. I am to choose?”  She whispered once her shaking had subsided.

                                            >He nodded again.

                                            >Slowly, Nýrmáni stood once again, and this time she did not look at the stallion, but at the two ovals that still hovered before her.

                                            >One led to paradise and happiness.  The other held pain and suffering.

                                            >But only one had Anonymous.  Her choice was clear.

                                            >Slowly, she walked towards the oval that contained herself, but just before she crossed the threshold, she stooped, turning her head.

                                            >The white stallion stood there, observing her.  The pity had left his eyes, and the barest hint of a smile graced his muzzle.

                                            >”Thank you…”  She whispered.

                                            >The smallest nod was his reply, and with that he turned and trotted away, and within seconds he had vanished into the blackness.

                                            >Standing this close, she could already feel her body weakening as pain began to flare through her body, but she didn’t care.

                                            >As long as she was with the one she loved, she would take any burden, any pain.

                                            >Nýrmáni stepped through the gate, and white light consumed her.

                                            <>

                                            >To say Tea Leaf was exhausted was a severe understatement.

                                            >She had gotten maybe an hour's worth of sleep since this whole thing had started for her.

                                            >One moment, she and Thunder were sitting in her small apartment, sharing breakfast together on a beautiful winter morning before his guard rotation started, then the next Luna had popped into existence in her living room.

                                            >Quickly demanding the teleport charm that would take her to the far away Anonymous and Nýrmáni, she had taken it and immediately vanished.

                                            >Tea Leaf could tell by the armor that covered her head to hoof and the expression she wore that this was serious.

                                            >Unsure of what to do and still nearly overcome with shock, barely a minute had gone by when the bright morning sunlight suddenly grew even brighter, as if being focused under a magnifying glass.

                                            >Tea Leaf ran to her balcony just in time to see a second sun rising besides the first.

                                            >The ball of swirling red and yellow light, which could only have been Celestia, rose straight upward from Canterlot Castle, then with a massive concussion of sound shot north, faster than anything she had ever seen move in her life, leaving her eyes seeing white and her ears ringing violently.

                                            >From her balcony she could see the ponies of Canterlot begin to flock outside from their homes and stores, some chatting, some yelling in surprise and confusion at being suddenly awoken.

                                            >Tea Leaf had learned to trust her instincts, and right now her gut was screaming at her to be ready for anything, so less than two minutes later her medical bag and a thick winter jacket were sitting on top of her small table, and her knife was strapped under her wing.

                                            >That was good, because with a blue flash and a burst of cold air and snow Luna reappeared in her apartment, scaring her half to death both in surprise and horror.

                                            >Luna, one of the most graceful, beautiful ponies she had ever seen, was covered in filth, blood, and ice.

                                            >Without speaking she had grabbed both Tea Leaf and the similarly shocked Thunder and teleported them away, this time to a place she had been to only once before, the Night Guard Headquarters.

                                            >Luna must have teleported back here first, because there were over a dozen Night Guards waiting for them, almost all of them medics and carrying the most advanced field equipment they could carry.

                                            >Less than a second later, all of them had appeared in a dark, wintery wasteland.

                                            >That was four days ago.

                                            >Now she was sitting on the floor of Anonymous’s cabin, her back leaning against the wall next to the head of Nýrmáni’s bed, forcing her eyes to stay open to watch the comatose alicorn, who’s bandaged body was under a thin blanket.

                                            >Anonymous himself was sitting down next to her, but his torso and chest were resting on the bed, as close as she had allowed him to get to the gravely injured Nýrmáni.

                                            >He was asleep himself, but one of his hands was still resting on one of Nýrmáni’s hooves.

                                            >Both of the Princesses were a polite distance away, watching, as they had been doing for the last couple days.  Nýrmáni could no longer absorb a drop of magic without the backlash killing her, so there was nothing that the two alicorns could do but let her and the Night Guard medics work, and wait for Nýrmáni’s natural regeneration to kick in.

                                            >Neither had slept from what she had observed; while Celestia seemed to be sending and receiving letters almost constantly, Luna had been conversing on and off with her Night Guard on what might help Nýrmáni, and often lent a hoof herself if needed.

                                            >The armor the two of them had been wearing was sitting in a corner, forgotten along Celestia’s halberd and Luna’s axe.

                                            >But right now most of the medics were sleeping from hammocks strung from the exposed rafters, while three others were constantly monitoring the portable equipment that Nýrmáni was currently hooked up to.

                                            >The quiet beeping of the heart monitor was going to drive her crazy.

                                            >”Get some sleep, Sargent.  You look like you need it.”

                                            >The quiet voice shook Tea Leaf from her exhausted memories, and she shifted her gaze from Nýrmáni to the batpony stallion who had suddenly appeared in front of her.

                                            >”Don’t need to call me that, Sir, I’m not in the Legion or the Guard anymore.”  Tea Leaf yawned quietly, then glanced back to Anon to see if their words had disturbed him.

                                            >He hadn’t twitched.

                                            >’Anyways, I’m not going to sleep until she wakes up.” Tea Leaf nodded in the direction of the nearly mummified alicorn on the bed.

                                            >The batpony sighed. “She’s in a coma, there’s no telling when she’ll wake up.”

                                            >”Don’t you say that.” Tea Leaf didn’t mean for it to come out so aggressive, but judging by the half-step backward from the batpony, it certainly had.

                                            >”Sorry…  I’m just…”  Tea Leaf sighed again, shaking her head.  “I do need sleep.  I can’t help her anymore like this.”

                                            >Sparing a glance at Nýrmáni, she felt only cold.  It was hard seeing her like this, in worse condition than she had been all those months ago when she’d first emerged from the Everfree Forest, still Nightmare Moon and still evil.

                                            >Leaning away from the wall Tea Leaf stood, her head hanging low as she yawned again.

                                            >Thunder was curled up by the fireplace under a blanket, sleeping.  Tea Leaf decided that one spot under his wing and against his chest would fit her nicely, as it had repeatedly over the last few months.

                                            >They were engaged now, after all.  The small gold necklace she wore was proof of it.

                                            >She had barely taken a couple steps towards her fiancé when the beeping of the heart monitor attached to Nýrmáni began to speed up and the sudden crackling of magic filled the cabin.

                                            >Whipping her head back toward the comatose alicorn, she could see Nýrmáni trembling under her thin blanket, sparks of cyan magic flashing from her horn flew in every direction.

                                            >Instantly she was at the bedside, eyes wide as new strength seemed to fill her body, along with all the other batpony medics who instantly began to check the instruments that Nýrmáni was connected to.

                                            “W-what’s happening?”

                                            >Tea Leaf’s gaze shot towards Anonymous, who had sat up the moment Nýrmáni had begun to move and was now holding her hoof as carefully as he possibly could, his exhausted eyes filled with new hope.

                                            “Sweetie, can you hear me? I’m here…”  His voice was soft, gentle, and lost amongst the frantic orders and information being called out by the medics that had instantly surrounded Nýrmáni’s bed.

                                            >Then, Nýrmáni stopped moving and simply lay there, wheezing and moaning quietly as she breathed.

                                            >”Ano… Anonymous?”  Tea Leaf could barely understand Nýrmáni’s muted whisper.  Most of her muzzle and neck were wrapped in gauze and bandages.

                                            “I’m here.”  The human’s voice choked, tears forming in his eyes as Tea Leaf saw Nýrmáni’s hoof move slightly against Anonymous’s hand.

                                            >”I… I do not feel good.”

                                            >Anon choked out a laugh, shaking his head as tears began to run down his cheeks.

                                            “Don’t joke about this, please…”

                                            >Out of the corner of her eye Tea Leaf saw the two Princesses approach, then stop as Anonymous’s head spun around at the sound of their hoofsteps.

                                            >She didn’t see his viscous glare as much as she felt it, her own wings twitched nervously at the angry aura the young man exuded.

                                            >An involuntary shiver went through her as she recalled the first few minutes after she, Princess Luna, and the rest of the medics had arrived with Nýrmáni.

                                            >They had appeared in the center of Anonymous’s new home to be greeted by a barrage of enraged words from the young human.

                                            >He was so angry that for several moments he didn’t even notice their arrival, but those few moments were all Tea Leaf needed to read the situation.

                                            >An armored and terrifying Celestia was sitting on the floor, head hanging, her usually sparkling mane limp and dull as she took the full brunt of Anonymous’s anger.

                                            >The human was standing in front of her, one finger pointed at the alicorn as he shouted at her.

                                            >Shocked at seeing the normally composed and in-control Princess so defeated, so contrite, Tea Leaf had barely registered half of his words, but she heard enough.

                                            >He blamed Celestia for what had happened since she had sent them here.

                                            >Nýrmáni might die because of it.

                                            >He would be alone because of Celestia’s choice.

                                            >Anonymous’s disposition completely deteriorated when he finally turned and saw his broken and bloodstained lover on the covered floor, surrounded by Luna, herself, and the other medics, who were still frantically trying to stabilize the alicorn.

                                            >Princess Luna had been forced to physically restrain the human from leaping to Nýrmáni’s side, even when the human lashed out, hitting her everywhere his fists could as she held him against her chest.

                                            >Her batpony medics would have certainly come to her defense if not for the firm head shake she gave their commanding officer over Anonymous’s continued swearing and rage.

                                            >In the end he had simply gone limp, sobbing against the Princesses' now un-armored chest as she whispered apologies and reassurance to him, even as tears of her own fell from her cheeks as she watched her medics work.

                                            >Celestia had remained silent, but between glances at Nýrmáni, she could see the guilt and sadness in the tears she was shedding.

                                            >Tea Leaf’s heart had gone out to them all, considering she counted all of them as her friends, but Nýrmáni came first.

                                            >Anonymous had not talked to Princess Celestia since then, and had only exchanged short, terse words with Princess Luna over the last few days.

                                            >”Is she stable?”  Princess Luna asked the lead medic, voice quiet and subdued.

                                            >A moment passed, then the batpony stallion raised his head and nodded.

                                            >”For now, Princess, but we’ll need to watch her for at least another couple of weeks.  According to you her regeneration should have recovered enough by then to begin healing the damage on its own, but it will take time.”

                                            >”So you need somepony to stay here while she recovers?”  Tea Leaf asked, even as her eyes tried to shut as the adrenaline from Nýrmáni’s awakening started to wear off.

                                            >The two Princesses and Anonymous looked at her in surprise.  “I’ll do it.  I’ve got the most experience with her…” Her sentence ended in a yawn.  “It just makes sense…”

                                            >She couldn’t hold in her next yawn, then to her surprise a pair of hands wrapped themselves around her shoulders.

                                            “You’ve done enough, go get some sleep before you hurt yourself.”

                                            >Anonymous’s voice cut through her exhausted brain, and all she could muster in response was a mumbled apology as she made her way to Thunder, who had also awoken and was looking intensely at her.

                                            >He smiled as she approached and extended one wing in a clear invitation.

                                            >After nuzzling him, she collapsed to the ground and curled up against his barrel as his wing came down over her like a warm, fluffy blanket.

                                            >She was asleep in seconds.

                                            <>

                                            >Celestia watched as Tea Leaf lay down next to her betrothed, and instantly fell asleep in his gentle embrace.

                                            >Shifting her gaze back to Nýrmáni and Anonymous, she could see that the young human had once again returned to the alicorn’s bedside, and was gently stroking the hoof he had been for the past two days.

                                            >”Sargent, is there anything else that me and my sister can do for her?”  She asked the medic currently looking over the medical equipment Nýrmáni was hooked up too.

                                            >The batpony looked up at her and gave a short bow.  “Like I said a moment ago, Princess, there is nothing any of us can do now but wait and watch, but if she gets through the next few nights she’ll pull through just fine.”

                                            >Nýrmáni coughed quietly twice, and Celestia could almost feel Anonymous’s heart shake with every sound.

                                            “Go back to sleep, Máni, I’m not going anywhere.”

                                            >He did not need to tell her that.  His gentle ministrations and the medication currently in her IV was already lulling her into a deep, hopefully healing sleep.

                                            >Anonymous did not seem far behind, so Celestia decided that this would be as good an opportunity as any.

                                            >She took a light, deep breath and squared her shoulders.

                                            >”Anonymous, I never meant for any of this to happen.  To both of you.”

                                            >It was true, and nothing she hadn’t told him over the last four days.  Every attempt at conversation with him had led to angry glares, muted swears, and a turned back.

                                            >She didn’t blame him at all for his anger.  She had been the one that had decided to send them here, he wasn’t wrong.

                                            >This time, however, Anon did not yell or shout, he simply sighed, then turned to look at her.

                                            >His expression was still hard, but the fire that had filled his eyes ever since she arrived and told him what had transpired was gone.

                                            >He looked tired, done.

                                            “I want to be mad at you, at you both.  But that won’t help her.”  He murmured, looking back at his now softly sleeping lover.

                                            >Celestia could see the one hand that wasn’t holding Nýrmáni’s hoof clenching and opening repeatedly.

                                            “But, You have to be more open with stuff, especially with what’s around here.”

                                            >Speaking of her past…

                                            >”On that note, Anonymous, I agree with you.  In fact, there is something my sister and I must do.  Something we should have done a long, long time ago.”

                                            >Turning to look at her sister, she saw Luna already looking at her, eyes full of sad acceptance and the slightest bit of apprehension.

                                            >They did not need to speak to each other to know what Celestia was thinking.  Luna nodded, then turned to look at Anonymous.

                                            >”My sister and I will take our momentary leave.  I wish you two the best till our return.”

                                            >The human nodded, then turned his attention back to Nýrmáni.

                                            >Without another word, the two of them teleported outside, high into the clear night sky.

                                            >The stars above her seemed endless, beautiful.

                                            >The harsh, freezing air surrounded her but she paid it no heed.

                                            >”Sister, I… I do not know the way.”  Luna’s tone was quiet, timid.

                                            >”I believe I do, Luna.”

                                            >Spreading her wings Celestia flew into the night, the bright moon shining above her compass, her sharp eyes scanning the landscape below her as the two alicorns flew.

                                            >There were no words between them as they flew, there didn’t need to be.  Celestia could feel the nervousness and apprehension that radiated off of her little sister.

                                            >Celestia felt the same, even as memories from a time gone and forgotten began to resurface with every beat of her wings as time became meaningless.

                                            >The first time she had flown, held gently in her mother’s hooves.

                                            >The laughs and cheers that had filled the grand hall.

                                            >Their small hovel, and the bed she shared with her sister.

                                            >She didn’t even notice as tears began to streak from her eyes to fall to the snow, thousands of feet below.

                                            >Celestia was so absorbed in her thoughts and memories she almost missed it, but blinking away the remains of her tears she finally saw it, lit by the moon and the snow that covered its surface.

                                            >The mountain was taller than the others around it.  She recognized it, even after thousands of years, erosion and time had not changed it much.

                                            >She could feel the magic that had seeped into this place.  It resonated with her unlike any magic she had ever felt., even when she and Luna had first found the Tree of Harmony in Equestria.

                                            >As Celestia looked closer, she could see a disturbed area below them; trees had been thrown and smashed into kindling, and the snow was disturbed and partially blown away unlike the rest of this desolate mountain range.

                                            >That was it.  The dragon Vetr-Elder must have come here first, following the trail of magic from here to Nýrmáni.  The thought of it made Celestia’s heart hurt even more than it already did.

                                            >Slowly, she began to descend, every passing second made her emotions rise higher, and by the time her hooves had touched down in the snow, she had given up on hiding, the mask she wore so often falling away completely as tears fell freely from her white cheeks.

                                            >Luna appeared to be in the same state she was, and was wiping away her tears with one hoof; her whole body was trembling.

                                            >The silver light of the moon showed them what they had come to see.

                                            >Here and there, hidden beneath trees and large drifts of snow were small mounds of rock, the remains of huts and dwellings long since collapsed and forgotten.

                                            >Haltingly, as if afraid the ground would crack under her hooves, Celestia made her way forward, the past flashing before her eyes, almost double layering her vision.

                                            >”I… I know this place.  It is hard to remember….”  Luna’s sad whisper cut through the silence Celestia did not even know surrounded them.

                                            >Lit only by the light of Luna’s moon, the two of them trotted through the snow until they reached the foot of the mountain.

                                            >The ruins of the Hall of Feasts lay crumpled, buried, in stark contrast to the mountain that rose over them, eternal and unyielding.

                                            >Suddenly, like a gentle nudge against her magic and her soul, she felt them.

                                            >They knew they were here.

                                            >”I will not hide behind masks here, Luna…”

                                            >The magic from her mane and tail faded and vanished, the multicolored, waving borealis fading to her natural pink as they dropped, motionless.

                                            >Reaching deep inside herself she focused, her magic unweaving the illusion of Princess Celestia, perfect and unblemished in every way.

                                            >For the first time in what was most certainly centuries, a golden glow surrounded her, fading a moment later to reveal a very different alicorn than there had been a moment before.

                                            >No living pony other than her sister had ever seen her this way.

                                            >A blue glow beside her told her Luna had done the same as her.  She did not need to look to know that the truth was laid bare.

                                            >”I once told Nýrmáni that it is hard to scar an alicorn.”  Luna’s voice was low, and Celestia could hear her trying not to cry.  “But it is not impossible…”

                                            >Standing tall, her dull, magicless pink mane cascading down her neck, Celestia looked down at herself.

                                            >Her once pristine coat, the epitome of beauty and perfection, was revealed for what it truly was.

                                            >Scars covered her sides, her wings, her legs.  From claws, teeth, arrows, swords, spears, and everything else between.  Growing up alone in those ancient, wild ages had been brutal and violent, and the battlefields of their young adulthood had been no place for two young, orphaned mares.

                                            >They had survived those thousands and thousands of years, but at a cost.

                                            >Celestia could feel the magic building in the air around them, rising through the ancient stone beneath her hooves and chambers she knew were cut deep into the mountain to form in the air around them.

                                            >A sideways glance at Luna showed her the same.  A scarred, torn visage of the Luna that Equestria and the rest of the world knew.

                                            >One ear half-gone, with cuts crisscrossing across her muzzle, Luna’s light blue mane covered the slave brand on her neck she had received from the first non-alicorn ponies they had ever met.

                                            >Celestia had her own, directly on her right cheek.

                                            >”Sister, there…”

                                            >Following Luna’s trembling, pointing hoof, Celestia saw them.

                                            >Illuminated by the moon’s light, the crowd of hollow, alicorn-shaped shadows stood before them, their outlines wavering as they stood there, as if observing the two of them.

                                            >Whispers appeared in the air around her and inside her head.  Alien thoughts and memories went through her mind as she pulled her little sister even closer, as if shielding her from the increasing barrage of cries and whispers of anguish.

                                            >She understood them.  They were stuck here, tethered to this place by their own grief and loss.  They believed they were the last of the Drasill, and their curiosity and aggression at her sister and herself finally made sense.

                                            >Tears fell unhindered from her eyes as Celestia began to cry, her gaze falling to the ground as her vision blurred.

                                            >[”Y-you are n-not forgotten  You are not a-alone...”]  She choked out, her words reverting to the Old Tongue as she sobbed, her whole body heaving with her cries.

                                            >She felt Luna lean against her, and the wetness of tears against her shoulder as the two of them cried.

                                            >These ghosts, the wandering souls were not the last. Celestia opened her heart and soul to them and showed them everything, her whole life in an instant.

                                            >The noise filling her head and ears tapered away and vanished, leaving the two of them in a sudden, complete silence.

                                            >Looking down, Celestia saw something she had not seen since Luna had been returned to her and Nightmare Moon destroyed.

                                            >Luna was looking up at her, tears falling from her scarred cheeks as she looked up to her older sister.

                                            >[“I am scared, sister.”]

                                            >Pulling Luna to herself, Celestia covered Luna’s head with her own, closing her eyes in an attempt to stem the flow of tears.

                                            >[“Do not be afraid.  I am here.”]

                                            >A gentle, pale glow slowly appeared before her, shining through her closed eyes.

                                            >Afraid herself, Celestia’s magenta eyes went wide as she opened her eyes and beheld what stood before her.   Luna gasped in surprise.

                                            >One shadow had come closer than the rest.  It was taller than most of the others, but still much shorter than the two of them, closer to Twilight Sparkle in height.

                                            >It was glowing brighter than the others, attempting to pull ambient magic out of the air in an attempt to manifest completely itself into the physical world, but it could not.  It was not strong enough.

                                            >Celestia felt a pull on her magic and a thrumming in her soul as this shadow looked at her, its featureless face scanning hers as well as her sisters.

                                            >Heart lurching and with renewed tears, Celestia’s horn shone bright gold as she lent her power to the shadow, and she felt her magic being taken, used, channeled.

                                            >Slowly, features and colors manifested on the shadow.  A mane and tail the color of healthy, grown wheat, a pale, silvery coat.

                                            >And orange eyes, which held the warmth and cheer of a campfire after a long day's travel.

                                            >Luna’s jaw moved up and down, but no sound emerged from it as the two of them studied the gently glowing, semi-transparent alicorn.

                                            >Slowly, she separated herself from Celestia, and cautiously took the two hoofsteps it took to reach the now completely formed alicorn, which was looking at her with a small, sad smile.

                                            >Celestia could barely see it, her eyes were so full of tears and her body was shaking like a tree in a hurricane.

                                            >Luna reached a trembling hoof up to the alicorn’s cheek, even as tears continued to flow down her own.

                                            >[“Mama?”]  Her voice was scarcely a whisper.

                                            >Slowly, the alicorn Celestia knew as her mother raised a hoof, gently taking hold of Luna’s and pressing it into her glowing cheek, still giving that same, sad smile.

                                            >Her chest hitched several times, then Luna collapsed onto the snow covered stone, sobbing uncontrollably as the apparition of her mother sat, gently running a hoof across her scarred, naked back.

                                            >[“My little Nóttglóa, you have grown so much…”

                                            >The voice of her mother was soft and barely audible even to Celestia’s own enhanced hearing, but it still cut through her heart like the sharpest knife, and before she knew it she too had collapsed next to her sister, her crying and tears unceasing.

                                            >[“I-I am sorry Mother, I could not p-protect her, I failed you…”]

                                            >A hoof touched the bottom of her chin, impossibly warm and soft, raising it up so Celestia could see her mother Nýrævi  looking down at her with the same smile she had given Luna.

                                            >[“Sólrísa, my eldest daughter, you have not failed.”]

                                            >Eyes clouded with tears, Celestia continued to cry, confusion rising through her sorrow.

                                            >[“I saw everything when you opened your mind and soul up to us all.  I will never be able to tell you how proud I am of what you have become.  A symbol of hope, harmony, peace…”]

                                            >There was a tingling in Celestia’s horn and magic, and Nýrævi’s form wavered for a moment, like a flag hit by a sudden breeze.

                                            >The remains of the ancient magic that had latched onto the land began to weaken and dissipate, forming in the air and rising into the night sky like glowing, white fireflies.

                                            >Looking upwards into the impossibly clear, star-filled sky, Nýrævi sighed.

                                            >[“It is over, we can finally rest…”]

                                            >Luna finally looked up at those words, desperation shining through her tears. [“Mama, please, no, don’t leave me again…”]

                                            >Slowly, Nýrævi extended her wings and hooves, wrapping both of the larger alicorns in a gentle hug they happily yet sorrowfully returned.

                                            >Celestia could smell her mothers coat and feel the warmth of her heartbeat.  It was like dew on a cool, summer morning, and suddenly she felt impossibly safe, safer than she had ever felt in her whole life.

                                            >[“I will never leave you, I will always be in your hearts.  I always have been, and I always will be.”]

                                            >Letting go of the two of them Nýrævi stepped backwards, her form shimmering, the white glow surrounding her pulsing.

                                            >Around them, the whispers, murmured words, and alien thoughts had returned, but they were no longer aggressive and sad.

                                            >Happily, gratefully, the shadows sighed and faded into streaks of white light that rose to disappear amongst the stars.

                                            >[“I love you both, with all my heart., never forget that…”]

                                            >Still smiling at them both, Nýrævi closed her eyes as her ghostly form faded and rose to join the stars.

                                            >The bit of borrowed magic returned to her with a snap and a yellow spark, and a moment later the two of them were alone on a desolate, snowy mountainside.

                                            >Through her tears and as she once again embraced her sister Celestia felt the world around them with her magical senses.

                                            >The shadows, and all of the powerful magic that the land had soaked up were gone.

                                            >Celestia did not know how long the two of them sat there, hugging and crying themselves out, but when she raised her head, the tears had finally stopped flowing.

                                            >She was so, incredibly tired.

                                            >”Luna.”

                                            >Luna raised her head, her eyes were red and her cheeks were soaked with frozen tears.

                                            >”Let’s go home, sister.”

                                            >For a moment Luna did not respond, then she sniffled, wiped her eyes with a hoof, then smiled softly up at Celestia.

                                            >”Yes, let’s go home...”

                                            <>

                                            >Anon slowly opened his eyes, the bed sheet that covered him falling to his waist as he sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

                                            >Right away, as he gazed around he instantly knew something was amiss.

                                            >Their small home, which for the last couple of days or so had been fit near to bursting with ponies, was now completely empty.

                                            >Blinking in confusion, he suddenly realized that the medical equipment the Night Guard medics had set up was also gone, as was any sign of their presence.

                                            >Other than the fire that crackled cheerfully from the hearth and spread warm, soft light, he was alone.

                                            >He moved to get out of his warm, soft bed, but suddenly realized his legs were stuck.

                                            >Or not stuck, as so much intertwined with Nýrmáni’s, who’s magic and writhing, twinkling mane suddenly latched onto him and pulled his back against her soft, warm chest.

                                            >His heart beating with joy he turned to face the alicorn, who was muttering nonsense in her sleep as she hugged him tighter with her forehooves.

                                            >She was whole and unbroken, as if her apparently horrifying fight had never occurred.

                                            “Is this a dream?”  He muttered into her chest floof as he placed a hand onto one of the hooves that was wrapped around his chest.

                                            >”Mmmm… whaaat?”

                                            >He winced as Nýrmáni’s sleepy mumble rumbled through her chest and against his head.  He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

                                            >Yawning cutely,  Nýrmáni shook her head, then froze.

                                            >”Wait, I am not hurt?  This…”

                                            >Anon looked up in time to see her horn glowing with magic, her eyes focused somewhere above them both.

                                            >After a moment she nodded, sighed, and dispelled her magic.

                                            >”If I heard you correctly, you were wondering if this was a dream?”

                                            “Yup.”

                                            >”You would be correct, my Beloved.”  She stretched out her neck and flexed her legs. “It is nice not to feel broken, here at least...”

                                            >He didn’t respond, other than to hug Nýrmáni tighter, something she was apparently eager to do as well as her limbs tightened around him as well.

                                            “I… I thought you we-”

                                            >”Shhh…”  Nýrmáni gently nuzzled the top of his head with her muzzle, peppering his head and neck with tender kisses. “It will take more than a dragon to separate us.”

                                            >He did not reply, and even though there was no way that she didn’t feel his tears on her fur, she said nothing.

                                            >For a while they simply lay there, embracing each other in the soothing firelight, enjoying the quiet solace of their mutual company.

                                            >He didn’t speak, but Anon’s mind was racing, going back over what the ponies had told him and what he had been too shocked and angry at the time to fully accept and understand.

                                            >But the one pony who could fully explain the answers he wanted was currently acting as his safety blanket.

                                            >Slowly, he sighed against Nýrmáni’s soft chest.  It was better to talk about this now.

                                            “It didn’t really hit me when they first told me, but it’s starting to sink in now, though.”

                                            >”What is starting to ‘sink in’, Anonymous?”

                                            >He gently shuffled away from her chest enough for him to meet her curious gaze.

                                            “They told me that you’re pregnant.”

                                            >The inquisitiveness instantly left her eyes, which rapidly grew in surprise and something that looked like fear as she half shuffled, half fell away from him to the other side of the bed, the blankets that had been covering them both discarded to the side.

                                            >”H-how? W-what…”  Her whole muzzle had turned a shade of red that put Big Mac to shame, her ears were pinned against the back of her head, and her mane was writhing erratically, as if sharing her panic.

                                            “I’m guessing you knew?”  Celestia had told him as much, but Anon wanted to hear what Nýrmáni had to say for herself.

                                            >The alicorn in question stared at him for a moment, frozen, before pulling the previously discarded sheets over her head with a squeak of terror and curling into a blanket-covered ball.

                                            ”Sweetie, I’m not mad…” Anon sighed, fighting back a smile. The only thing he could see of her was the tip of her horn and a small section of her glittering tail.

                                            >Nýrmáni’s reply was another whimper and even more twitching as the alicorn curled up on herself even tighter.

                                            >He sighed again, peeled back the blanket, and inched himself under them as well.

                                            >When his eyes adjusted to the darkness under the covers, he was greeted by a shaking Nýrmáni, who was furiously trying to blink the tears out of her eyes.

                                            >”Y-you must hate me…”  Nýrmáni blubbered, her eyes meeting his then darting away in an instant.

                                            “Why in the world would I hate you or even be mad at you?”  His gentle question got a raised ear, but Nýrmáni stubbornly would not meet his gaze, her glowing eyes focused on anything that wasn’t him.

                                            “How long did you know you were pregnant before… Well, ‘it’ happened?”

                                            >Sniffling a few times, she finally looked up at him, apprehension, and to Anon’s sadness, shame creeping through her gaze.

                                            >”A hoof full of days.  The last dream we shared together, when I left so suddenly-”

                                            “You were throwing up, weren’t you?  Morning sickness or the like?”

                                            >Nýrmáni tilted her head slightly at his words, then looked down again, nodding.

                                            >”I had felt… off, before then, but that was the final straw.  I knew then.  I was going to tell you, but then he came…”

                                            >Nýrmáni shivered for a moment, and Anon pulled her closer to him, one hand gently resting on her neck.

                                            >”I am terrified of what will come.  I do not know if I will be a good mo-”

                                            “You’ll be a great mom.”  Anon cut her off, the hand on her neck gently moving up and rubbing an ear, earning a gentle, pleased hum from the alicorn.  “I believe it, even if you don’t yet.”

                                            >”Anonymous?”  Her apprehensive tone and the sheer desperation that suddenly filled her voice made Anon burst into goosebumps. “Our foal, is it alright?”

                                            >This time, he pulled her close and kissed her, softly and slowly, a sensual kiss that Nýrmáni eagerly returned.

                                            “It’s alright, both Princesses checked before they left.  Thanks to you redirecting your remaining magic to your womb, you saved it.”

                                            >The tension in Nýrmáni disappeared, and her glowing eyes went wide as she squealed softly, peppering his head with kisses.

                                            “Your body, on the other hand, well, eh…”

                                            >”I know vaguely what my appearance is, I saw it.”

                                            “How?”

                                            >Nýrmáni blushed, looking away slightly. ”Well, that is a strange story indeed.”

                                            “I’m all ears, sweetie.”

                                            <>

                                            >It was cathartic, in a way, for Nýrmáni to tell her Beloved of her fight with the dragon, the strange vision she had found herself in, and the even stranger stallion that had been present within it.

                                            >He had not said a word the entire time, even as she paused several times to wipe an errant tear or two from the corners of her eyes.

                                            >His hands had continued to gently stroke her coat, and even within her dreaming mind Nýrmáni could feel herself drifting off to sleep.

                                            >”And then I woke up here, resting in your embrace, a very welcome sight and feeling I will say.

                                            “I’m glad I’m not the only one, it has been two days since the Princesses and the other medics left.”

                                            >Sighing, she rested her head above his, her chin burrowing into his hair as she inhaled his scent.

                                            >”Do you know how long it will take for me to… recover?”

                                            >Anonymous scratched under her exposed wing, making Nýrmáni coo in pleasure.

                                            “Tea Leaf and the other medics said it could be anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months.  It depends on how long it takes for your super alicorn regeneration or whatever to kick back in.”

                                            >”So, I am bedridden until then?”

                                            “Until Tea Leaf says you can walk without rebreaking most of the bones in your body and tearing the stitches currently holding you together, you’re staying put.”

                                            >”So, will she be staying in Canterlot and visiting regularly?”

                                            >Anon actually chuckled at her question.

                                            “Actually, she and Thunder are staying here to monitor your condition till she says that you’re good enough to handle yourself, just like the first time. Oh," he grinned at her. “They’re engaged, in case you are curious.”

                                            >Nýrmáni’s eyes grew wide and her muzzle broke into a massive smile as she giggled in an extremely un-alicorn-like way, finally throwing off the blankets she had hidden herself under in order to hug Anonymous with her whole body.

                                            >”Oh what wondrous news!  Tea Leaf deserves a wonderful stallion in her life, though this cabin will be considerably more cramped with the two of them staying here.”  Her eyes danced across the fire-lit space, eventually coming back to her Beloved.

                                            >She could get lost in his eyes forever.

                                            “Actually, we’ll have to expand it soon anyway.”  Anon said as he began to grin at her.

                                            >”Oh? And why is that, Anonymous?”  Her ears flicked back and forth as she began to grin herself, her heart beating slightly faster as her cheeks began to turn red once again.

                                            “Because we’re having kids, and you don’t do things half-way.  This one-room cabin is going to fill up fast.”

                                            >A feeling began to spread through Nýrmáni, from her rapidly heart all the way to the tips of her hooves and feathers.  It was a warm, excited feeling, and the words of her beloved human made her spirit soar higher than she had ever thought possible.

                                            >”I am so lucky to have you, Beloved.”  She leaned down and kissed him, quickly but with hunger, and before he could even respond she had pulled back, licking her lips.

                                            >”Do you think Princess Cadence will wed us?  Once I am healed I wish to find out.”

                                            >She kissed her now furiously blushing human again, then pulled back, till only her nose was touching his, her slitted, glowing eyes boring into his.

                                            “Considering who she is and how eager she has been to help, I bet she has the whole wedding planned already.”

                                            >His reply made her already pounding heart beat faster as her cheeks grew even pinker.”

                                            >”I love you so much…”  She kissed him again, and this time a hand cupped her cheek, holding her still as she pressed herself against him even more, shifting her body till her chest and forehooves rested on top of Anonymous.

                                            >With a contented sigh she separated her lips from his, another carefree giggle escaping her even as tears of joy began to form in her eyes.

                                            >”I will slay one hundred dragons if I have too; nothing will separate you from me. You are mine.”

                                            >Anonymous laughed below her, then hugged her tightly, inhaling her scent, Nýrmáni’s primitive, instinctual side relishing in the acceptance of her mate and lover as she hummed in joy, gently nuzzling the top of his head.

                                            “It won’t be easy.”  He said after a minute or two of comfortable silence.

                                            >”I know.”  She replied, laying down once again and wrapping her human in her hooves and holding him close. “Good things rarely are.  But with you here at my side, nothing will daunt me, no obstacle will be too large for us to handle, together.”

                                            >”My future husband.”  Even hearing herself say the words made her heart lurch in her chest and her cheeks burn.

                                            “Husband…”  Nýrmáni felt him nuzzle in closer to her chest, burying himself in her soft, warm fur.  “I like the sound of that.”

                                            <>

                                            >The early afternoon sun shined down on Anon as he stopped walking and placed the basket he held in one hand on the warm, green grass as his feet.

                                            >Sighing, he took the blanket he had under his arm and spread it out on the ground, nodding happily at the large, red and white quilt.

                                            >No picnic was complete without a quilt and a basket full of food after all.

                                            >Looking up, Anon surveyed the view from where he stood..

                                            >The land all throughout the fjord was in full bloom, and with the only remaining snow still stubbornly clinging to the highest mountain peaks the rest of the world had turned green with the life of summer.

                                            >Turning around, he could see the log house he had left just minutes before, as well as a large, dark pony just exiting the front door to their house.

                                            >It was no longer a cabin; they’d expanded it years ago and it was now almost five times its original size with a whole second floor.

                                            >A lot had changed in the six years the two of them had come to this lonely, empty place.

                                            >In the grove of evergreens surrounding his house several, smaller homes now stood as well, having been built several years ago by the Equestrian government to house the researchers who were studying the land and environment, as well as the guards assigned to protect them on their excursions.

                                            >Not that they needed them with an alicorn like Nýrmáni just a half-minute walk away, but Celestia had not wanted to impose more responsibility on her.

                                            >She had enough to take care of right now as it was.

                                            >Smiling at the thought of Nýrmáni, Anon adjusted the wide brimmed Stetson hat that was perched on his head and was currently preventing the bright sunshine from blinding him.

                                            >It had been a wedding gift from Applejack, as had the sapling apple tree that was now heavy with ripe apples just outside of their small potato patch.

                                            >Farming, while hard, was much easier with an alicorn who could tap into her Earth Pony magic to make crops grow twenty times faster than normal and shield their apple tree during the winters.

                                            >With an exaggerated groan he sat down on an exposed rock, one of several which rose from the surrounding, gentle downwards slope.

                                            >Through the slight wind rustling the grass he heard a quiet giggle coming from behind him, but chose to ignore it with another smile as he continued to enjoy the view.

                                            >The wheat field to his left was almost ready to harvest, the golden yellow stalks rolling like ocean waves as the wind ran over them, and the vegetables by the house had been gathered, cleaned, and canned.

                                            >The amount of stored food in his very extensive panty would have made any prepper back on Earth foam at the mouth with jealousy.

                                            >As he went to stretch his arms out to relieve the tingling pain earned from picking lettuce and tomatoes all morning, the calm was shattered by a high pitched squeal of excitement as something large impacted him in the back.

                                            >Two small pairs of hooves wrapped themselves as far as they could around his waist and back and squeezed as another excited laugh came from just behind his head.

                                            >Quicker than thought he reached backwards, twisting his back and grabbing the squirming and suddenly surprised culprit and pulling her into his embrace.

                                            >”No Dada, I got you first!”

                                            >Laughing, Anon looked down at the alicorn filly currently trying to squirm her way out of his grip.

                                            >Her coat and wings were the yellow/gold of a winter sunrise, and her white mane and tail were intertwined with the pinks of that same sunrise.

                                            >Her impossibly bright, icy blue eyes shone with happiness despite her current attempts to break free of his embrace.

                                            >Looking down at his daughter made Anon so happy he felt like his heart would burst.

                                            “You almost got me there, but what are you going to do now?”  He chuckled, smirking down at her.

                                            >The filly's eyes widened as she realized what was coming, then shut as he launched into a barrage of tickles that went from behind her ears to her tummy, the filly squealing and writhing with laughter as tears leaked from the corners of her closed eyes.

                                            >”N-no Daddy, s-stop!”

                                            >”Sis!”

                                            >Another weight hit him this time from the side, hard enough for him to lose his grip on his daughter and to knock the hat off his head as he fell flat on his back.

                                            >Faint bands of yellow magic surrounded his hands and legs, pinning them weakly to the ground as his daughter finally stopped crying of laughter and jumped onto his chest with another laugh.

                                            >With a half-hearted cry another young alicorn leapt onto his chest, driving the breath from Anon's lungs as he attempted to laugh as well.

                                            >”We got him Mama!” the alicorn colt shouted as he continued to squish the filly beneath him, his sky blue coat and chestnut brown mane and tail a stark contrast to his twin sisters.

                                            >His slitted, campfire orange eyes looked over Anon’s head and back towards their house, from where he could now hear the hoofsteps of his wife Nýrmáni.

                                            >And her gentle, cheerful laughter.

                                            >Sighing, Anon laid his head back onto the grass and accepted defeat to the cheers of the foals currently laying on top of his chest as he gazed at the wispy clouds drifting above.

                                            >”Oh beloved husband, what am I to do with you?”

                                            >Nýrmáni’s smiling face appeared in his vision looking down at him with no small amount of smugness, all of which was complemented by the white sun hat perched on her head.

                                            >Her normally billowing, writhing mane had decided to form itself into a woven ponytail, which lay against her neck like a sparkling sapphire waterfall.

                                            >”Beaten by two foals, your own children no less?”

                                            “They only won because I let them.  Swear.”

                                            >These words were not received well by the two young alicorns perched on his chest, who immediately began to sprout their own praises.

                                            >Nuh-uh, we beat him Mama!”  His daughter squeaked, her wings flapping helplessly as she attempted to crawl out from underneath her brother.

                                            >”Yeah, we pinned him and everythin’, see?”  His son said, raising a hoof towards his mother as if to show his honesty, even as the orange light surrounding his horn sparkled and went out.

                                            >Nýrmáni laughed again, looking down at the two young alicorns with a single raised eyebrow.  ”Are you so sure, my children?  Perhaps he was simply the bait, and you two simply fell into the trap, hmmm?”

                                            >Too late to escape, her ponytail unwound and expanded outwards, and the two foals suddenly found themselves wrapped up in sections of Nýrmáni’s twinkling mane and lifted off of Anon’s chest with cries of surprise and laughter.

                                            >Sitting up, Anon patted down his shirt and looked over to Nýrmáni, who was sitting on her haunches and had hugged both of her children to her chest.

                                            “You would have gotten me, Skýrrnátt, but Anna couldn’t stop giggling as she was sneaking up on me.”

                                            >His son let out a moan of distress at this news, which was quickly smothered as his mother planted a kiss first on his head, then his sisters.

                                            “Anastasia Sunrise, Skýrrnátt, you will be victorious over your father one day, I know it.”

                                            >With this Nýrmáni finally released them, and the two foals ran back to their father, this time for hugs, which he happily gave them.

                                            >Looking at his wife, Anon’s smile grew as he admired her body and her smile as she looked right back at him.

                                            >Her smile grew as her horn burst into life, her cyan magic removed a foal, smaller than the two currently held to his chest, from between her wings onto the quilt beside her, the small alicorn filly gazing at the closed picnic basket with joyful curiosity.

                                            >Nýrmáni remained the same tall, lanky alicorn he had first met and had grown to love all those years ago, but the years since had been very kind to her.

                                            >Her body had filled out slightly since the foals had come, and her legs and flanks had grown in size in all the best ways.

                                            >Looks weren’t everything though, under that new layer of post-baby fat there was still enough muscle to absolutely demolish anything that threatened her or her family.

                                            >Though she had been taking it easy on her daily exercises and her farm work these last few months, mainly because of the slight bulge protruding from her midsection.

                                            >Nýrmáni was only four months along according to Tea Leaf, but she carried herself with the same grace and strength she always had.

                                            >Her eyes sparkled underneath the brim of her sun hat, and around her there was an aura of maternity and health.

                                            >Despite the multitude of new scars scattered across her fur.

                                            >She had recovered from her fight with the dragon Vetr-Elder, but her almost pristine, nearly black fur was now crisscrossed with lines of white.

                                            >”Are you okay, Beloved?  You are staring.”

                                            >Nýrmáni’s words shook Anon from his memories and thoughts, and he smiled at her again.

                                            “I can’t help but stare when I look at you, Sweetie.”

                                            >Nýrmáni laughed, but her cheeks turned a bright pink as her wings fluttered bashfully.

                                            >”Daddy, what are we eating?”

                                            >Looking down at the sound of his daughter’s voice, Anon met two pairs of wide, excited eyes looking up at him, the two foals' tails wagging with anticipation.

                                            >Releasing them from his hug, he leaned over to the picnic basket and opened it, feigning surprise at its contents.

                                            “Well, we’ve got a couple of daisy sandwiches for you two, some cheese and crackers here and-oh, what’s this?”

                                            >With care, Anon pulled out a thin paper box, pink except for the clear plastic on top of it.

                                            >At the sight of the box, both of his children leapt to their hooves and began reaching for it wildly, their wings flapping in unrestrained joy as Anon lifted the box out of reach.

                                            >”Gimmi gimmi! I want it!”

                                            >”I want some too!”

                                            >Nýrmáni could not contain herself and began laughing at the sight, and their two year old filly began giggling happily as well.

                                            “Now, listen up, same rules as before:  Miss Pinkie Pie only gets to send these every three months since that’s the delivery airship’s schedule, so what are you going to do to repay her kindness?”

                                            >His children sat firmly down on the quilt, but their tails continued to wag.

                                            >”We’ll write her a ‘thank you’ card!” they said in unison, their attention and eyes solely focused on the box of Sugar Cube Corner cupcakes held in his upraised hand.

                                            “Good.  Now, you’ll know which are yours, but you have to eat your sandwiches first before you can get these.”

                                            >There were groans of dismay from the two foals but they accepted their sandwiches as Anon pulled them out of the basket, and soon enough they were smiling and laughing as usual as they ate.

                                            >”Dada, help?”

                                            >Looking away from his older children, the tear-filled eyes of his youngest daughter met his.

                                            >Looking further down he could see why she was about to cry; the sandwich that had just been in her hooves had fallen apart and now lay on the quilt in front of her tiny hooves in several piles of bread, flower, and dressing.

                                            “Oh, don’t worry Sweetie, of course I’ll help.”

                                            >Carefully, Anon helped his youngest daughter reassemble her own super flower and cheese sandwich.

                                            “There you go honey, is that good?”  He asked as the little filly took a massive bite.

                                            >She chewed for a moment, then swallowed.  Her already large eyes grew larger.

                                            >”More, Dada, more!”

                                            “Well, eat that one then we’ll see about getting you a second one.”  He laughed, ruffling his daughter’s mane as she rapidly began consuming her sandwich.

                                            >If anything, his kids had inherited his appetite.

                                            “I think a picnic was a good idea, Máni.”  He said as he finally opened the box of Sugar Cube Corner sweets, to the excited cries of his children.

                                            >All of the cupcakes inside were rapidly devoured, and, fueled by sugar, his two foals began running through the green, waving grass, laughing and sending sparks of magic off with their horns, the orange from Skýrrnátt’s dancing through the air with the cherry red of Anastasia’s.

                                            >He’d chosen her name, and Nýrmáni her son’s.  They’d played chess to decide who named which foal, and they’d both won.

                                            >Shifting slightly, Anon moved next to Nýrmáni, who lay down with a contented sigh as she observed her children.

                                            “Doing okay, Máni?”  He asked quietly.

                                            >”My hooves and ankles hurt, and your spawn is using my stomach for hoof-to-hoof combat practice, you wicked creature.”  She chuckled, then nuzzled her husband’s cheek gently.

                                            “I recall,”  He whispered into her ear as he gently rubbed her swollen belly, “that you asked for another foal.  Or two.”

                                            >”Silence.”  Nýrmáni snorted, but she turned his head with a tip of her mane and pressed her lips against his softly.

                                            >A chorus of disgusted sounds came from his children but he paid them no heed as he separated his lips from his wife’s

                                            >”I see you are wearing your ring.  I did not see it on you earlier.” Nýrmáni nuzzled the hand currently holding her cheek, where a ring of silvery metal sat on one finger.

                                            “I didn’t want to get it dirty while I was in the garden.”  He retorted, his thumb grazing the matching silvery ring encircling the base of Nýrmáni’s horn, their eyes still locked together.

                                            >Made from the same material that her sword was composed of, the rings would never tarnish or dull, made by Celestia herself and presented by Luna at their wedding, they were precious to the couple.

                                            >But these priceless rings were nothing when compared to his family.

                                            >Anon kissed her one more time, then lay back in the sunshine, placing his hat back onto his head.

                                            >His choice to leave his original home, his original universe had been sad, but with what he had now, he had no regrets.

                                            >He was happy. He was in love.  He had a family.

                                            >And he loved a pony who needed love more than he ever had.

                                            >Nýrmáni everything to him.  She always would be.

                                            <>

                                            >Nýrmáni looked away from her husband and towards her two eldest children, who were now running in circles in the grass, laughing and flapping their wings as they lifted themselves several feet into the air before landing back onto their hooves.

                                            >They would be graceful flyers soon, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had already promised to come out and help teach them specific flight patterns soon.

                                            >Her heart swelled in her chest as her three year old daughter Elska looked up at her, her slate gray coat and black mane and tail contrasting heavily with her pink eyes.

                                            >They were so much like Celestia’s it was uncanny.

                                            >”Mama, play?”  She asked, rearing up and putting her forehooves on her mother’s neck.

                                            >”You do not need to ask me, little one.” Nýrmáni nodded towards Elska’s two older siblings in consent.

                                            >With a squeal of joy her little bundle of joy galloped off as fast as her little hooves could carry her, her wings fluttering in an attempt to speed up her progress and her little horn shooting out bright green sparks of magic.

                                            >Her happy musings were interrupted by the little one inside of her, her unborn foal wiggling slightly inside her womb before going still.

                                            >Nýrmáni was so thankful that Tea Leaf and her husband Thunder had decided to stay up here permanently, it had been much easier for Tea Leaf to be able to monitor her pregnancies that way.

                                            >And Nýrmáni’s first born twins could play with Tea Leaf’s own little pegasus colt.  The three of them were already best friends and had already caused an untold amount of foalish trouble for the small group of ponies who now called this once lifeless fjord home.

                                            >Thankfully, Cadence had lent her a number of spells that she and her husband Shining Armor had used to temporarily suppress Flurry Heart’s wild foal magic, otherwise Anonymous would have had to have rebuilt their home at least once a week from her three foals sudden outbursts of powerful alicorn magic.

                                            >Twilight Sparkle had been so entranced with the two fillies when she had first met them that she had volunteered herself and had promised, that once the two of them were of age, to tutor them personally on all manners of magic.

                                            >Nýrmáni had been pleased by this very generous offer.  She herself was very knowledgeable of spells and magic, but not so much on modern spells, nor did she possess the massive library of magical tomes that Twilight Sparkle did.

                                            >She had agreed to the purple alicorn's idea, but only if the two of them would only stay in Ponyville for three months out of the year.

                                            >But that time was still years away.  She wanted her foals to experience the life that she never had, to be innocent and carefree, to laugh and play without fear.

                                            “Are you alright?  You’re crying.”

                                            >Looking down, she saw that Anonymous had sat up once again, and had somehow wrapped an arm around her neck and shoulders without noticing.

                                            >”I am just… thinking.”

                                            “You’re too pretty to be crying.”

                                            >She felt a hand gently brush the tears from her cheeks, and she sighed blissfully as another hand gently scratched her behind the ears, her mane and tail writhing happily in the air and over the ground.

                                            >”I am just… happy.  That my children will not feel the misery I have, that their aunts Celestia and Luna suffered for so many years.”

                                            >She felt her Beloved’s hum of agreement against her neck.

                                            “I bet Luna gets them all telescopes for Hearths Warming this year.”

                                            >Nýrmáni could not help but snort in laughter.  “I would not doubt that my sister would do such a thing.  Celestia will no doubt have to rise to such a challenge.”

                                            >Anon grinned at her and smirked suddenly.  She knew that look.

                                            >”What secret are you hiding from me?”

                                            >He laughed, the hand behind her head living and reaching into the basket for something to eat.

                                            “It’s not really a secret, but I thought it would be a funny surprise for this evening, but it seems I’ve been called out on it.”

                                            >Nýrmáni raised a single eyebrow, and Anonymous returned the hand to her head to continue scratching.

                                            “When the supply airship came yesterday there was an official correspondence from the Equestrian Congress; you’ve been officially pardoned for your ‘crimes’,” The human made quotation marks in the air with his fingers, “and are welcome to come back to live in Equestria.  Congratulations.”

                                            >Nýrmáni’s smile turned smug. “It is about time.  Where did you put this letter, Beloved?”

                                            “It’s in the kitchen drawer with the bread knives.

                                            >”Good. I shall use it as fire-starter tonight.  I am perfectly content to live here.”

                                            >Anonymous laughed, and Nýrmáni’s smile grew.

                                            >He would never know how much his laugh brightened her life, how happy he had made her since the strange creature had blundered into her catatonic, hate-filled mind all those years ago.

                                            >The family they had made together, all the memories, they were more valuable to her than any title, any kingdom, any treasure in any ponies wildest dreams.

                                            “I know I’ve said this hundreds of times over the years, but sometimes I wonder if this is all some kind of dream, and I’ll wake up… Alone.”

                                            >His sudden statement earned him a sigh, and a soft knock on the head from one hoof.

                                            >”I know you’ve mentioned that horrid thought hundreds of times.  Well, I shall tell you what I’ve told you every time you have mentioned it…”

                                            >One of Nýrmáni’s wings surrounded him and pulled him against her side, and he happily lay down next to her, her furry chest his pillow as she looked down at him with complete adoration.

                                            >”If this is all a dream,”  She whispered as she nuzzled him softly, before looking up to watch her three foals, who were now playing tag in the bright green grass, “This is the most wonderful dream to have been dreamt, and I would not wish to wake at all.”