The small group continued their journey to cross the sea, but as they neared the Anok's coast, a feeling that something was wrong had wedged it's self in Lightdrop's gut. He tried to ignore it, thinking that it had something to do with Luckywish's request and his failure to fulfill it, but the yearling noticed that the others must be feeling something similar, by the fact the that they seemed to be slowing their speed. And this bit of knowledge made him feel all the more unsettled.

Suddenly, Cliffstone -who was in the lead position - sharply banked towards the ground. Alarmed, the others started to protest, but Cliffstone signaled them to be quiet and land. Fast. The small group descended at a rapid rate, and touched down in a small clearing. Once everyone was on the ground, all eyes turned to Cliffstone.

"What was that?" demanded Orchidfeather, stamping her hoof down in irritation. "I swear you are all in trying to do every you can make us stay in this blasted place!" she let her gaze rake across Cliffstone, Twilightdawn, and Lightdrop.

The brown stallion snorted, his ears pinned, "I'm doing no such thing." he snapped, "The reason I got us out of the sky, is because I saw your big black friend headed this way."

"What?" exclaimed Bluestone, the roan stallion look alarmed, "How far away was he?"

"He was a ways off." reported Cliffstone, "And I don't think he saw us, but he looked like he was headed this direction, and appeared to be coming pretty fast."

Orchidfeather let out a snort that sounded like laughter, "And you expect us to believe you just happened to be the only one who saw him?”

“Actually,” said Copperstorm, “I saw him to.”

“Then why didn't you say anything?” Spat back Orchidfeather.

“Okay, you know what?” Said Bluestone finally, grabbing everyone’s attention “It won't matter who spotted him if we don't stop bickering. We need to come up with a plan.”

“He's right.” Agreed Twilightdawn, clearly eager to end this latest bout of Orchidfeather's accusations. “We need a plan.”

All eyes turned to Bluestone, and there was a heavy silence for a moment while they waited for him to speak. The roan looked like he was thinking of different courses to take, and then carefully weighing all the options before he spoke. “Okay.” Said Bluestone, “We need to get hidden. I don't think we have a lot of time, so move quickly.”

With that, the group broke, each heading in a different direction. Twilightdawn caught Lightdrop's eye, and flicked her ears at him, “You can hide with me.” She said.

Lightdrop followed the chestnut mare to a dense growth of foliage, and then wriggled in after her, hoping that his bright yellow feathers weren't visible. There the pair waited breathlessly for sign that it was safe.

After a moment or two, Lightdrop glanced at Twilightdawn, “I'm sorry I broke my promise of not telling the others about my dreams.” He wispered.

“I don't care about that.” Hissed Twilightdawn, her expression unreadable, “Now shush.”

Lightdrop shut his mouth, and waited for what seemed like forever. His body was starting to cramp from holding himself in an unnatural position, and the yearling was at the point of giving up, when a shadow danced across the ground. And it was a shadow that could belong to only one thing… a pegasus.

Fear started to well up in Lightdrop as he watched the cole black stallion descend from the sky. Cliffstone must have been wrong, Ravenstrike had spotted them, and was now here to inflict upon them the same cruel punishment he had delivered to the rest of Stone Herd. The buckskin colt closed his eyes, to terrified to watch. But he opened them again only a moment later when he heard Twilightdawn let out a muffled gasp.

Ravenstrike was now standing only a feather length away from the place where she and Lightdrop were hiding. His head was coiled back, and silver starfire was spewing from his mouth. Lightdrop froze, complete forgetting about his cramping body as he braced himself for the inevitable.

Suddenly, there was a flash of blue and gray, and Ravenstrike stumbled backwards. Surprised, Lightdrop looked up and saw Bluestone standing protectively in front of his hiding spot, lashing his black tail defiantly. Ravenstrike was standing a wing length away now looking very disoriented, but was all gone in a moment and the black stallion straightened himself.

"I thought I saw something this way." Ravenstrike, with a sneer, taking a step towards roan.

Bluestone held his ground, "What do you want?"

"Nothing much," replied the other stallion, taking another step forward, "I just want to take back what's mine."

"And what would that be?"

"You know what it is."

Lightdrop watched Bluestone flinch, "You gave up your right to happiness a long time ago."

Ravenstrike snorted, "That's what all you Stone Herd steeds say, but none of you have the right to deicide that. I wish you would all just stop."

"Is that why you did what ever it is you did to Stone Herd?"

The stallion spat, "Maplestar had it coming."

"You're just proving my point!" argued Bluestone.

"I've had enough of this." growled Ravenstrike. He sprung the rest of the way to the roan stallion, and knocked him to the ground. "Are you alone?"

"Y-yes." replied Bluestone, who was now pinned to the ground .

"Good." snapped Ravenstrike. He coiled back his head, silver sparks spewing from is opened mouth, and in seconds Bluestone was now enveloped in a silvery haze. But something was off, it didn't look like the same stuff that had been directed at Oakblaze, no this was different. All to late, Lightdrop realized what had happened. Ravenstrike not been trying to capture Bluestone, the black stallion had been trying to kill him.

Lightdrop looked on with horror as the silver starfire burned through the dark roan coat, and in a moment it was all over. No more Bluestone. All that was left was a pile of silver ashes, and a singular gray feather drifting in the breeze.

Lightdrop- buckskin yearling colt, black mane and tail, white stripe, bright yellow wings

Luckywish- white mare, white mane and tail, pale pink wings

Cliffstone- brown stallion, brown mane and tail, gray wings

Orchidfeather- light palomino mare, white mane and tail large star, bright purple wings

Twilightdawn- chestnut mare, chestnut mane and tail, one hind white sock, thin blaze, pink wings streaked with brown

Ravenstrike- black stallion, black mane and tail, one hind white sock, star and snip, blue eyes, black wings

Bluestone- blue roan stallion, black mane and tail, small circular star, gray and black wings

Copperstorm- chestnut stallion, chestnut mane and tail, three white socks, navy wings

Oakblaze- light bay stallion, black mane and tail, two hind white pasterns, blaze, bright green wings