They walked in silence. The trail up the mountain was littered with ruble and trash. Splotches of dried blood littered the ground as the two ponies walked on. In the distance Canterlot, once a beautiful city full of prosperity, laid now in ruins. Kim stared up at the city in quiet empathy. I couldn’t do anything she thought to herself for the hundredth time. Kim gave a sidelong glance at the Princess next to her. Celestia looked at the ground as she walked.Kim gave a small frown. I can’t even imagine how the Princess is feeling...

After a few minutes of walking the two ponies entered through what used to be the entrance of Canterlot. Now the entrance was destroyed and all that was left of it was a crumbled gate that was broken into many pieces. Past the broken gate, the houses and stores emulated the same thing. Building were broken beyond repair. Fires were still present on some of the ruble. Corpses littered the streets like confetti. The light from the rising sun made sure that none of these details were missed. Kim stepped over the rubble and took a look around. She glanced back to see Celestia frozen in place.

“There’s so much...” She whispered as she quietly stepped over the rubble guarding the entrance. “So much death.” She shook her head. Kim lowered her head in embarrassment.

Maybe if I was stronger? Kim looked down the main street that eventually lead to where the Canterlot Castle once stood proud. The gardens in front of the castle were nothing but blackened ash. The castle itself had fallen in to itself. Fires were still present in some of the spots of the broken castle.

“This is horrible.” Celestia whimpered to herself as she took a look around. Kim started to walk down the main street with unease. She found herself having to step over limbs from dead ponies.

Where do I even go? Kim thought to herself as she kept walking. Celestia followed the unicorn with slow steps. Attempting to take in everything, she would cast glances at every visible part of the ruble.

After a few moments of silent walking, Kim found herself in front of the castle gates, however, to call them gates would be heresy. The gates were ripped off their hinges, fire had browned most of the gates, and the gates were now twisted at odd angles which rendered them unusable.

Kim took a step on the gates and felt the metal warm the bottom of her hooves. She almost cringed when she saw the gardens at this point. Blood had run rampant here. White pegasus guards sat at awkward angles, and dried blood surrounded these figures. Kim scowled as she ventured further into gardens.

The garden must have been where the battle mainly took place. Kim thought to herself as she saw more and more guards placed in strange positions. Ponies by the entrance of the castle were a completely different matter. Many were charred beyond recognition. No blood, no bones sticking out, no faces writhing in agony, just blacked bodies with no distinguishable features about them. One couldn't even determine what their coat color used to be.

Kim heaved a sigh. Did I think that seeing this would help me at all? she thought to herself as she turned around. She stopped herself mid turn. She looked down one of the many stone encrusted trails of the gardens to see a sole pony laying there. Kim’s eyes widened as she sprinted toward the fallen pony. The mare’s eyes were open and wide. In her chest there was a hole that looked to have come from a spear. Tears fell from Kim as she stared at the pony.

“Captain!” she yelled out. She hammered her hooves on to the corpse, and after a moment, she started hammering her hooves on the pony’s body. “Why? Why?!” Kim shouted at the corpse. “Why did they kill everypony!?” Kim buried her tears in to an untainted part of the corpses coat. Kim sobbed softly for a few moments as Celestia walked up behind her.

Celestia sat down behind Kim’s sobbing figure and closed her eyes. “Take your time.” Celestia said softly to the unicorn. And she did. Kim sat there sobbing for around twenty minutes; the whole situation finally dawning on her.

After some time, Kim finally picked herself up. Her eyes were read and puffy, but Celestia smiled at her all the same. “W-what do we do now?” Kim asked the alicorn.

“I suppose it’d be best to see if they’re survivors somewhere... My ponies are resilient, many would have lived.” Celestia said as she extended a hoof out to Kim. Kim grabbed the hoof, and Celestia pulled the mare on to her legs.

They went back to the streets of Canterlot. Kim scanned each and every corpse on the street. Each new corpse brought a feeling of disgust with it. “How can we find any survivors? Wouldn’t they be in hiding?” Kim asked as their search had entered ten minutes.

Celestia stopped short. She turned her head skyward, and a golden aura surrounded her horn.

“Citizens of Canterlot! It is I, Princess Celestia! The threat has left Canterlot at the moment. Present yourself to me!” Celestia’s voice resounded through the city like a canon. For a brief moment nothing happened. The air stood still with not even a single breathe making a sound. A frown started to scratch on to Kim’s face as she began to suspect the worse. Her fears were dashed only a moment later.

“Princess?” A small voice asked. The two mares turned to see a stallion lifting himself up out of a sink hole. He had a red coat, and a black mane. His eyes were baggy and a smile had appeared on his face. “It is you!” he cried out as he ran toward the alicorn. His cry of joy opened the flood gates. Ponies started appearing from other sink holes, from under rubble, and from back alleys hidden away from sight. By the end there was around forty ponies surrounding the two mares.

Celestia gave a bright smile to each and every pony. Almost everypony around her looked ragged and exhausted, yet each and every one of them had a smile fill their face. As if a tiny bit of hope was given to each pony.

“Celestia, what do we do now?” One of the ponies asked. Celestia stuck out her lip and started to think.

“We should look for any remaining survivors first. Saving as many ponies as possible should be our number one priority.” Celestia told the small group. A mumble of agreement surged through the ponies.

Even after all this, Celestia is still able to think rationally. Kim couldn’t help being in awe of the alicorn. But what am I supposed to do? Kim thought to herself as she saw Celestia issue orders to each individual. By the look of how some dressed, Kim could guess that there was maybe four or five guards. Captain...

“Celestia?” Kim asked.

Celestia turned her gaze off in the distance where a large forest stood. “East of here is a small clearing, It was filled with small buildings and houses and was one of the most peaceful towns you would have ever seen. It went by the name Ponyville at the time, but since then it’s became the haven for the revolution. Why?”

Kim turned westward, and saw many different edifices in the distance. All of them were tents besides an oval shape in the middle of the tents. “Is that an arena?” Kim asked.

Celestia looked to where Kim was pointing and smiled. “It wasn’t originally. The arena was originally built as a stage. I wanted to bring commerce to such a small town, so I built a stage for plays and shows, to be played there.” Celestia explained. Kim nodded and with a smile turned toward Celestia. “I don’t want you to do it.” Celestia said before Kim could speak.

“You want to go to that camp don’t you?” Celestia said as she greeted another pony.

How-?

Celestia turned to Kim and gave her a sad smile. “Kim, you have no reason to feel guilt, none of this was your fault.” Celestia told the unicorn.

Celestia shook her head like a caring mother. “Kim, I don’t want you to go because things could go wrong if you were to go, and you could serve a better purpose here anyway.” Celestia explained.

“You have at the very least forty ponies here that would risk their lives for you. I should be down there.” Kim gestured toward the camp. “No! I should have been in that castle when it burned rather than run away! I should have died along with that assassin!” Kim yelled her eyes beginning to water.

“Kim, just listen to me. I know it’s tough. Do you think I’m just happy because of all of this? I feel like I'm dying inside! This was me! My kingdom, my power, my ponies, almost all of it is completely gone, but we have another chance! And you’re telling me that you’d rather go on a kamikaze mission than live?!” Celestia barked.

The day proceeded without delay. Ten survivors were found throughout the day, and tents were built in order to provide shelter for the ponies. As darkness descended on the ponies, a steady set of hoof steps resounded through the camp site. With a broad smile painted on to her face, she rushed out of the camp site and then out of Canterlot.

Time for some payback. Kim thought to herself as she ran down the side of the mountain. The trip down the mountain didn’t last as long as climbing it originally did. Within moments of starting her sprint, Kim found herself grasping on to green grass. She put her face to the patch of grass and inhaled a large whiff of the green grass. She exhaled a sigh of relief. Maybe someday everywhere can be green like this. She thought to herself with a smile. But before that can happened. I have somepony I need to take care of.

She rushed through a sea of trees. Some trees were broken in half, and others were simply bent at angles at odd angles. Kim paid them no mind as she entered a small clearing. The clearing surprised her. It’s so normal. She thought to herself. The camp site was lit by only by the orange flame of a fire. The fire illuminated many ponies going along with their jobs. Each and every pony looked like they were starving. However, most of the ponies had broad smiles on their face. Kim frowned as she walked in to the clearing.

Time to start the plan. She swung her head down, and a fire started a few feet away from her. Some ponies gasped as they saw her and the fire.

“We have an intruder!” One pony screamed. A small tremor of hoof steps resounded in response. Kim smiled. The aura around her horn started to glow, and the fire began to move. The fire spread out like spider web. Many of the ponies jumped back away from the fire. Guards then showed up and rushed toward Kim.

Have to make it look convincing. Kim thought to herself as she pulled her head up and the fire charged at the guards. Three of the four oncoming guards dodged the flames, and the other three continued their charge. The one that was hit was immediately engulfed in flames. Kim swung her horn to the side sending a wall of force in to one of the other oncoming guards sending him into a nearby tree. The other two ponies raised their spears and stabbed at Kim. Kim dodged out of the way, and planted a hoof in to one of their faces which knocked the guard backwards. Kim then swung around, and with glee on her face, she engulfed the last guard in fire.

“That’s quite enough dear.” Eous said as he walked out of his tent. Kim boasted a smile at the alicorn.

“Can you guess why I’m here?” Kim asked as she stepped toward the stallion.

Eous smiled. “That is a very good reason, but it would fit more as a reason for you to not come here.”

“Saru was even stronger than you and she couldn’t even last thirty seconds against me.”

Was that her name? Kim thought to herself as she stomped her hoof in to the ground.

“How about we stop this pointless chit-chat and just settle this minor conflict?” His black mane flowed behind him like a small wave.

Not bothering to respond, Kim charged forward, a trail of fire following her. She jumped into the air and swung her head down. The fire charged at Eous who simply side stepped the attack. He swung his head down in response and brought Kim to the ground.

“Did you honestly think that you would be powerful enough to even stand up to me?” He asked as he lifted his head and pulled Kim off of the ground. Kim then hung limp in the air. Her horn began to glow, and the fire below her expanded until it engulfed her. “What are you doing?!” Eous shouted at the mare. The only thing one could see where Kim once hung was a ball of fire. A branch of fire shot from the mare and targeted Eous. Eous dodged out of the way of the fire.

“Don’t think I’m done.” Kim whispered as three more branches of fire shot from her. Eous dodged to the side and then rolled out of the way of another. However, the last branch hit him flat in the chest, engulfing him fully in fire.

“You brat!” He yelled as he raised his head high in the air. His dark aura then engulfed him replacing the fire. He inhaled a deep breath and faced Kim. Kim fell to to her knees, and her aura started to diminish. He gave a small smile at the fallen mare. “I suppose somepony has become tired from all the fireworks she’s caused. Kim panted as she looked around. Everypony in the village was watching the fight with beady eyes. Fear was shown on their faces as they stared at her. She continued to pant as she felt a wall of force hit her into the ground. Her vision blackened immediately.

“We have faith in you!” Kim had heard the words many times during that mission. Hearing the words had always made her uneasy. What if I fail? She would always think to herself. What if I mess up? Kim picked herself up from where she was sitting and looked out the window. The hardwood floor below her was polished to the point where it could show you your reflection. Kim looked down at her reflection and gave a sad smile at the reflection. The window showed a large garden below, but out further was a bustling city not unlike Canterlot.The night breeze brought in a small chill into the house. The window sat on the third floor of a rather large house.

“Enjoying the view?” A voice said from behind her. Kim turned to see a beige pony who was wearing a small hat at the time.

“No need for the formalities miss, I’ve never sacred for them.” His navy blue mane was cut short with his tail long and straight. His cutie mark was a quill.

“It’s no problem.” He said with a smile. “Call me Fides by the way.” the pony told her as he sat next to her.

“A few death threats were sent via mail a few days ago. Most are just hate mail, but these felt different. It’s hard to explain, but they felt real I suppose.” Fides explained.

“I’m expecting something, whether it be ponies just to shout at my door, or ponies who break down my door is something I'm unsure of though.” He gave a small smile and walked down the stairs. “Why don’t you come down for dinner. I always make sure that those who protect me are as comfortable as can be.” His eyes closed as he made a broad grin. The smile was infectious, and Kim found herself smiling as she walked down the stairs to follow him.

The first floor was taken up largely by a long table that held a buffet of food. Five other ponies were waiting when Fides and Kim walked down in to the first floor. So much. Kim thought to herself as she plopped down on a chair in front of what she considered the ‘apple’ section of the table. This portion of the table had apple cobbler, apple pie, apple cider, and a variety of other apple related treats. Kim looked at everypony’s face. Everypony was smiling and laughing. Fides sat at the head of that table with a broad smile on his face. Kim put a smile on her face. Everything changed int he next second. A large crash echoed through the home. Four ponies appeared in the settling dust. Each pony had a mask on their head. In shocked stupor, none of the agents acted, and none of them acted until one of the agents was stabbed with a stake. That pony fell to the ground writhing in pain.

“Hand over the ambassador, or you will all end up like him.” One of the ones in the middle yelled out. Each of the ponies wore a black cloak which covered them fully, only their white masks contrasted against the black.

“Everypony, protect the ambassador.” One of the ponies shouted. Fides looked at the ponies with terror. The pony then turned to Kim. “Take him out of here now!” Kim nodded, and grabbed Fides hoof and beckoned him to follow. He took a look at her and got from his chair and quickly followed the mare.

“Go through the back.” Kim whispered to Fides as they ran through the house. Behind them, they could hear crashes as the ponies fought. The two ponies rushed out of a back door. The door led outside to a small garden. A full moon shone high in the sky.

“You didn’t think you could escape... did you?” A voice said. Kim and Fides turned to see a fifth pony standing expectantly on the roof of the three story house.

“Fides, run!” I’ll take care of her.” Kim shouted behind her. Fides merely stood still as he looked at the pony standing on the roof.

“Sorry, but I can’t let it go that way.” The pony said as she swung her head. Kim was thrown to the side like a rag doll. The pony then jumped down from the three floors and started walking toward Fides.

“Get away from him!” Kim shouted as she sent a psychic wave at the pony. The masked pony easily dodged out of the way and charged at Kim. With a quick nod, Kim fell to the ground once again.

“This isn’t a game. I will kill you.” Her voice sent a shiver down Kim’s back.

“Let me go!” Kim growled as she tried to push against the force. The masked pony simply shook her head before returning to a fearful Fides.

“How cute though. An ambassador who becomes scared so easily.” The pony mocked as she started to circle the ambassador. “I suppose it’s only fitting. For graft and bribery doesn’t make a strong pony... just gives him a stronger appearance... isn’t that right... Mr. ambassador?” Her voice was dark acidic and create a tense aura around her.

Kim’s eyes focused in on the two ponies. An aura appeared around her horn and then spread through her body. Within a second the aura became engulfed in fire. “Leave him alone!” She shouted as she stood up. Fire surrounded her like a cloak. Kim inhaled a deep breath and blew out a large ball of flame. The masked pony jumped out of the way, and Kim gave chase, each hoof step created a small ember behind her. She swung her head in the masked pony’s direction and a branch of fire shot from her aura. The fire crashed on to her like a wave of water. The masked pony rolled to snuff whatever small flames was on before staring at Kim once again.

Kim frowned. “Shortsighted?” Her aura ignited to a larger flame and started to engulf the area around her. The masked pony gave a small snicker staring at her.

“Destroy it. Destroy everything, and then maybe you’ll see.” She called out.

What is she talking about!? Kim thought to herself as she started to send fireball after fireball after the masked pony. The masked pony dodged each strike, and each fireball started to create a small patch of fire in the once beautiful garden.

Kim’s horn started to glow as three branches of fire shot toward the masked pony. Unable to run, the masked pony was engulfed by all three branches of flame. Kim blinked as she saw the mare writhing in pain from her fire. Kim ran to where the burning pony now laid. “Got you.” Kim panted.

For a moment the pony didn’t make a sound. “You’re a blood thirsty one aren’t you? You hide behind ideals about being unsure of your own capabilities, but when it comes to it in the end, you just want the destruction.” The pony lifted her face and looked at Kim through her burning mask. “Isn’t that right?”

“You can’t hear it, can you? You can’t hear the screaming.” The pony’s head then fell limp, and as soon as her head hit the ground it’s like someone turned off the mute button. Screams echoed through Kim’s ears. She turned around to see that a garden that used to be filled with flowers and beautiful grass was now engulfed in orange flames. However, what stood out from everything was a pony screaming as he was engulfed completely in fire.

She stared. Her mind blanked. Her limbs died. She couldn’t comprehend the situation as Fides fell to the ground, his charred remains still on fire. No. No! No!! Kim yelled in her mind. This can’t be happening! Kim roared as she rushed through the fire, and took a look at Fides. His smile was gone, and was replaced with a mouth writhing in pain. His once beige coat was blackened with ash. His once full eyes were now devoid of any life.

It was damp where Kim woke up. The damp air mixed with a fire burning in the room was already making Kim sweat. She pushed herself up and placed her hoof on her face. “Just a dream... Just a memory.” she whispered to herself. She heaved a sigh and chanced a look around. The area was dark and crowded. A fire in a corner proved to be the only source of light in the entire room. The fire lit up part of the room showing a variety of broken tables and chairs.

Where am I? Kim thought to herself as she pushed herself up. Kim placed her hooves on the wall. The stone wall was cold to the touch. How do I even get out of here? As if on cue, a door in the corner of the room creaked as it opened. It opened letting in daylight into the dark room.

Daylight? Have I been here all night? Kim took small steps toward the door. Outside the door, there was a small staircase that led up to a serene blue sky. Kim climbed up the stairs until she reached the top stair case. She was surrounded by a large wall that was oval in shape. Benches were on top of the walls, and hundreds of ponies stared expectantly at Kim. Kim stared back with a nervous fear. Directly in front of Kim stood a larger wall witha higher seat. In the seat sat Eous. He looked down at Kim with a grin on his face.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” He asked, his smile never leaving his face.

Eous smiled as he stood up. “This is an arena and it deserves the shows that its size warrants. Wouldn’t you agree?” He stomped his hoof to the ground and a large grinding sound filled the arena. Kim looked to the other side, where another staircase was, to see a griffin walk up the stairs. Her talons were sharp. Her wings were a creamy white with her head matching it. Her body looked to be made of a golden caramel, and while her steps moved with grace, her eyes darted back and forth like a predator preying on a small animal.

“Entertainment.” Eous called back. Without indication the griffin shot forward at lightning speeds. Kim dodged out of the way of the charge, and brought her head down in an attempt to flatten the creature. The griffin rolled out of the way of the attack and dashed forward once again. This time her talon struck home. Kim let out a breath of pain as she was thrown to the ground.

She placed her hoof on her stomach. Her face placed slightly when she felt something sticky. Blood already?! She shook the thoughts away and focused her magic. Looks like I’ll have to use it. Her aura immediately engulfed in flames and enveloped her. She looked to see that the griffin smiled. Kim frowned as she prepared for a dash. The griffin beat her to it. The creature rushed at Kim. It swung it’s claws at Kim in a series of barrages. Kim rolled out of the way of one strike and swung her head down. The motion brought the griffin to its knees.

Kim then stared at the griffin as her fire branched out and shot at the griffin. The hybrid rolled out of the way of the attack and charged forward. Kim side stepped a talon strike and gave a swift punch to the creature’s stomach. The griffin reeled back. Kim then inhaled a deep breath and blew out a large fireball. The fire engulfed the griffin immediately. The griffin screeched as it started to writhe on the ground. Kim panted as the fire engulfing her snuffed out.

Kim looked up at Eous who was watching with a sardonic smile on his face. “Is that enough for you?” Eous shook his head with the crowd emulating his same motion. Kim stared at each of the ponies with wide eyes. “What are you talking about? She’s already defeated!”

“My dear... this fight is to the death.” Eous stated simply. “She’s close to it, but she’s not dead.”

Kim turned to see the slightly shaking figure of what used to be a beautiful griffin. “I can’t do that...” Kim whispered.

Kim turned to the crowd. “Buck you all if you think I’ll kill somepony that’s already struggling for life!”

The crowd sat in silence for a moment. Each and every pair of eyes was on the grey mare at that moment, and then like a steady tremor it started. “Boo!” It began with one pony, and then two ponies. By the end of twenty seconds the whole crowd was booing. Kim ignored their boos and started to walk toward where Eous sat.

He smiled at her. “It doesn’t work that way my dear. You’re a prisoner of war. You now solely act as a form of entertainment. However, you’re not proving to be as much fun as I originally intended.” His horn started to glow, and Kim was thrown back. She shot about thirty meters from the middle of the arena down in the small room she had woke up in less than ten minutes earlier.

Kim rolled backwards until her head hit the back wall. She got up and prepared to run back up the stairs, however, the door shut as soon as she stood up. The fire that was there earlier was now snuffed out, and the door shutting took away all light in the room. Kim stared at where the door was in complete darkness. The dampness of the room without the heat of the fire started produce a small chill.

What do I do now? I wasn’t told about this. Kim thought bitterly as she sat down. After an hour of waiting, Kim started yelling. “Let me out!” She yelled as she pounded on the door. I’ll just blow out the door with my fire then. She thought to herself as her aura enveloped her, but when she tried to summon any kind of fire, the fire would snuff out before being usable.

Why wont the fire work? Kim thought to herself as she continually tried to call out her fire. Is it because of the dampness of the room? Kim thought as she shivered as the room’s temperature continued to plummet. After another hour of waiting, the door finally opened. Kim stared at the door for a few moments. They’re letting me out of here? She thought to herself as she climbed up the stairs. The blue sky was now a mixture between orange and red. I must have been in there longer than I thought. As soon as she reached the arena floor she was slammed to the ground by a force of magic. What’s going on?

Kim opened her eyes to see the griffin staring at her limp figure. The arena was bustling with even more ponies than before. A large wooden pole was now present in the middle of the arena. Kim was dragged telekinetically toward the wooden pole. Her body was slammed against the pole and a rope appeared and fasted her to the pole. Kim opened her eyes to see a smiling alicorn.

“The ponies here dislike it when a P.O.W wins a match and then doesnt listen to them. I have no idea why.” Eous smiled at the struggling unicorn. “But now they requested a show, and that’s what I intend to give them.” Eous smiled as he walked away from the mare. “Beat her to an inch of her life.” Eous commanded to the griffin. The griffin nodded as it stepped closer toward the mare. It first gave a quick strike at Kim’s face, leaving a bloody scrape. Encouraged by the cheers from the crowd, the griffin started punching Kim’s stomach. Kim gave a small “oof” after each punch. Kim struggled against the ropes, but would be stopped short by another strike. The griffin slashed at Kim’s face again. Kim’s gaze fell to the ground.

The griffin reached out its golden talon and lifted Kim’s head until they were eye to eye. “Do you wish you killed me?” The griffin asked as she swung another punch at the mare’s face. Kim coughed and a spurt of blood shot out from her mouth. The droplets of blood sprayed across the griffin’s face. “Answer me!” it roared as it swung another punch across Kim’s face. Kim smiled at the pony.

The griffin stared at Kim’s limp figure. She stepped away from the mare and stared at her. “Why?”

Kim didn’t answer the griffin and only looked skyward. As she did a small tremor enveloped the arena. Some of the ponies looked at each other with confused expression. Others looked toward Eous for an explanation. Eous looked toward Kim with a deep frown on his face.

“Eous. How do you get a whole population of ponies in one place? You give them a show right?” Kim smiled at the alicorn. The alicorn scrunched his face in anger.

“Something like that.” The tremors continued until only the sound of stampeding hooves was the only thing you could hear.

“Everypony, get to you positions! We’re under attack!” Eous yelled. Ponies everywhere started to charge toward the exits.

They wont get far. Kim thought to herself as she looked upward with a smile on her face.

“What gave you this stupid idea?” Kim grinned, but didn’t look down at the pony.

“I was wondering if you were alive.” Kim said aloud. She imagined that the pony was smiling at her.

“I don’t die that easy, and besides we had a fight that we needed to complete.” Kim felt her ropes loosen, and she fell to the ground. In front of her was a pony only cloaked in a black silk. Only her blue eyes and her smile was uncovered. A few meters away from her was a grey cloak she must have been wearing earlier. Saru stood in front of her with a broad smile.

“To answer your question.” Kim looked to the fleeting figures of the ponies who were just applauding for her pain. “We found a pony that was once a prisoner of war here. She managed to escape, and told us what happens to prisoners of war.”

“Well yes, but more importantly the fact that the whole town crowds in the arena to watch said fight. Then I volunteered to be a distraction while Celestia recruited an army to take the revolt by surprise.” Kim explained as she rubbed where she was punched and scratched. She looked around and found that the griffin had fled with the rest of the ponies.

“What about you? How did you survive?” Kim asked as she braced her shaking legs.

The two ponies ran out of the arena and in to the disheveled streets. Ponies were fending off against the army of Canterlot, and they were failing to put up any real fight. Despite the numbers against them, most of the ponies in the town had no weapons because of the surprise attack. Kim stared at the falling figures of the ponies and felt a pang of sadness. Did they really know what they were fighting for in the end? Kim shook the thoughts away as she saw Saru head toward the biggest tent in the town. Kim anxiously followed. With in half a minute they stood in front of the tent. The tent was large and extravagant. It was a regal looking tent with the outside being red in color with black trimming.

The two ponies took a sidelong glance at each other and stepped through. The tent was largely spacious, for the most part being an open floor. At the back sat a throne made up of cement ruble presumably that from broken buildings. On the throne sat Eous. He stared at the two ponies and gave a smile. Beside him sat Temere also smiling and holding his spear outstretched toward the two.

“Funny. Saru, you were in here just a week ago. I wonder if at the time you thought you’d be coming in here in a stupid attempt to kill me.”

Saru stared at the stallion through squinted eyes. She took out her katana and readied herself for a rush.

“And you Kim. Devising such a clever plan to just have it fail in the end.” He shook his head as he stood up.

“Even without the ponies out there, I could still slaughter your army. You are no match for me.” Eous boasted as a black aura surrounded him. “Temere, kill them.” Eous commanded.

“Of course my master.” Temere responded as he dashed forward. “Come on Firecracker, lets dance!” He stabbed at Kim with the spear. Kim rolled out of the way and brought her head down like a hammer in an attempt to flatten the earthpony. He jumped out of the attack and then aimed his stab at Saru. The pegasus jumped out of the stab and brought her sword down on Temere. Temere bocked the attack with the wooden part of his spear and he started to move backwards.

“That’s not all you guys have is it?” He chided as he spun his staff. The Earth pony then disappeared from where he was. Both of the mare’s eyes widened as they searched for the colt. He appeared behind Kim and swung the staff at her in an arch. The hit knocked Kim to the ground. Temere then spun the spear and prepared to stab the spear through Kim’s head. “You’ll be the second pony I do this too.” He said with a smile. Kim stared at him with wide eyes.

An image of Kim’s captain’s corpse entered her mind. Kim rolled out of the way of the downward thrust and jumped to her feet. “You killed the captain?!” Kim roared at Temere.

Temere smiled at the mare as he disappeared once again. Saru looked around furiously for the tan pony. Finally the earth pony appeared before her, and charged at her. Saru jumped over the pony and gave the pony a swift punch. The tan pony fell on his back and stared at the two ponies. With a smile, he disappeared once again.

Kim looked around hurriedly. Her aura ignited in flame and she stared at the tan pony. The tan pony smiled in response. Kim dropped her head like a hammer and tan pony ignited in flame. He rolled away trying to snuff out the fire. He stood up with part of his body charred by the fire.

“It’ll take more than--” he started before a sword appeared through his neck. He stood silent for a moment before falling on to the ground.

“You were saying?” Saru panted as she slid out her sword. Kim stared at the limp corpse and turned her attention toward the alicorn in the back of the tent.

Eous smiled as he stared at the two ponies. “You two cannot defeat me no matter how strong you believe yourselves to be.” Eous chided as he stood from his throne.

Saru attacked first. Saru charged in with her sword at the ready. She slashed down on the alicorn. Eous dodged out of the way and pushed Saru to the ground with his magic. Kim then charged in with fire leaving in her wake. Fire started to branch off and shot off toward Eous. The black alicorn merely smiled as the fire failed to even graze him. He stepped toward Kim and prepared to attack the mare.

“You’re not forgetting about me are you?” Saru asked as she charged forward with her sword already outstretched. Eous flew in to the air escaping the strike. Kim inhaled a deep breath and blew out a breath of fire at the alicorn. The alicorn smiled as the fire enveloped him. The two mares stared deeply into the inferno for only a few moments.

“Is that it?” Kim asked as she stared at the alicorn. She felt a warm breath on her neck before she heard the response.

“Of course not dear.” As soon as he uttered the words Kim was thrown toward one of the walls of the tent. Saru turned in an attempt to fight the alicorn but was also thrown away by the alicorn. The alicorn turned toward Kim who was picking herself up. “Such an interesting one you were.” He whispered as he got closer. “A strong magic user, yet you have no real faith in yourself.” He chided in as his magic picked her up. “Why is that?” He called out as he looked at the mare.

“Let me go!” Kim shouted as her horn began to glow. The alicorn then burst into flames a second later. The fires snuffed out almost immediately afterward though.

“I said you were strong, but you’re not as strong as I.” Eous confirmed as he threw Kim to the ground. Kim yelped in pain as she hit the ground. Eous then walked up to the fallen mare and put his hoof on top of her head.

“Don’t touch her!” Saru yelled as she proceeded to throw shurikan at the alicorn. Eous’ horn began to glow, and the shurikan fell to the ground immediately.

“Wait your turn Saru.” Eous called out as he pushed pressure on his hoof. Kim closed her eyes as she waited.

Sorry.

Before Eous could finish his stomp, he was hit in the side by a small ball of energy. Kim’s eyes widened as she saw at the front of the tent was a white alicorn with her mane still flowing behind her and an angered look appearing on her face.

“Funny how you think I’ll allow you to continue.” Celestia called out as another ball of energy appeared and was shot at the black alicorn. Eous flinched back at the attack. “You think you can make a mockery of my kingdom!” She yelled at the alicorn as electricity charged from her horn and was shot at Eous. Eous yelped in pain as the lightning surged through him. Saru gave a smile as she rushed toward the alicorn with her sword out stretched. With her wings arched she dashed forward at lighting speeds. Before the alicorn could recover from Celestia’s attack, Saru stabbed the sword through the chest.

“That’s for lying to me!” Saru yelled at the stallion. Saru pushed the sword handle until the blade was completely within the alicorn. The alicorn gasped.

“You can’t kill me like this!” Eous yelled as he threw Saru away, and charged at Celestia. His horn electrified and he shot the spell at Celestia. The attack knocked her off of her feet,and she fell to the ground. “I’m a god among ponies!” You think you can kill me!?” He roared at the three mares.

“Well I guess we can find out.” Kim said from behind Eous. Eous turned around to see the mare staring at him with a forced grin on her face.

“What do you think you can do?” He mirrored her smile, and beared his teeth while he gasped in pain.

Her aura instantly ignited in flames and she rushed at the alicorn. Before he could respond. Branches of fire appeared from Kim’s aura and flew around the tent creating a web of fire. The tent wall immediately caught aflame.

“Is the firecracker going to kill everypony along with me? A fitting end I suppose. Kamikaze is a little too cliche for my taste though.” Eous panted as the heat in the tent grew.

Kim stared at the pony as the fire spread through the tent. “Kim, do you know what you’re doing?” Saru shouted as she limped away from some of the spreading flames. Kim’s eyes became slightly glazed as she stared at the black alicorn. Celestia frowned as she saw Kim’s expression.

“Do you believe killing me will end your problems? Your lack of control? Your uselessness?” Eous chided in as he started to pull the sword out of his chest. “You’re simply a pony with a large bark but no real bite.”

Kim stepped toward the black alicorn and stared at his eyes. The two ponies stared in a deadlock only inches apart from each other.

“Can you kill me Kim?” Eous whispered. Kim stared at Eous only a moment longer before the fire that was spreading throughout the tent swam toward Eous as if a vacuum simply sucked in the fire. Eous gasped as the fire swept over him. His legs fell from under him and he fell to his knees. After a moment of only the sound of cackling fire filling the room, Eous laughed. He let out a hearty laugh as he looked up to face Saru. He spit at her feet as the fire ate at his skin. “The pony who failed at the most basic of missions. To kill.” He beamed a smile at her as the smell of burning flesh filled the room. He turned toward Celestia and beamed a smile at her. “The princess that will ultimately fail. How fitting it is to see that she’ll fail in leading rather than at war.” He then turned to Kim and stared at her with intent. “The mare who came to this camp with the full intention of dying. Admit it. You never planned to be here. You planned on being six feet under by this point, did you not? But I digress, you band of misfits managed to bring a god down. I don’t know whether to congratulate you or condemn you. I suppose time will tell.”

The three pony stared silently as the alicorn slowly fell on his side. Kim heaved a sigh as she walked up to the limp corpse. “Why would he do it?”

Saru shrugged her shoulders as she stared at the corpse. “Some people are just insane.”

“How big is the gap between insanity and sanity then?” Celestia asked as she walked up to the the charred corpse.

Kim avoided eye contact with the charred corpse and started to head for the entrance. “I suppose that’s it?”

“Well, we need to make sure we won first.” Saru said with a somber smile. Everypony there knew that, that meant seeing more dead ponies. Nopony there was eager for that. Kim heaved a sigh and gave Saru and Celestia a small smile.

“Let’s meet up after this is all over.” She said as she walked out. Walking out was now simply a formality. The fire had spread throughout the tent completely decimating whatever roof the tent had before. Saru followed Kim outside of the ten where sounds of small bouts of fighting were still erupting. Celestia looked up into the sky where the sun shone brightly in to the tent. The orange sky portrayed a state of melancholy over the field. Celestia took small steps toward the charred remains of Eous.

“Oh how the mighty have fallen. I suppose the charge of my brigade was to much for you. That’s fine though... It wasn’t your fault after all. When they have something to fight for, ponies are strangely resilient... even willing to go through the valley of death for their cause. I suppose you wouldn’t know about that though. You never did care about your subjects.”

The steps echoed through the halls. The ponies in charge of rebuilding the castle had left for the day to try and help rebuild some of the other buildings in Canterlot. Beside Kim floated three glasses of water. At the top of the red regal staircase sat a white alicorn staring up at the orange sky. A pony garbed only in black sat next to her laying back. It was always a hassle trying to figure out whether Saru was a sleep or not. Kim had usually thought over the past month.

A month has already gone by. Kim thought with somber undertones as she climbed up the stairs. Celestia greeted her with a smile and graciously took one of the three glasses of water.

“Thank you Kim.” Celestia said as she eagerly took a sip. Saru started waving her hoof around as if trying to grab on to something that wasn’t there. Kim rolled her eyes with a slight smile and floated the other glass over to her friend.

“When you have eager ponies, things get accomplished.” Celestia noted as she took another swig of her drink. Kim frowned slightly as she sat on the top most stair.

“I don’t think we can ever tell if what we did was the right thing.” Celestia responded.

“Would you have done it the same way provided you had another chance?” Kim asked.

Celestia shook her head slightly. “Given another chance I wouldn’t have even let that colt in to my kingdom, but there is no use in thinking about what could have been. Everything is changing now. I’m hoping for the better. The arena is destroyed. Ponyville and Canterlot will rise from the ashes to become a civilization stronger than ever before.” Celestia closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath as if the though sent a surge of euphoria inside of her.

Kim stayed silent for a moment before turning to the alicorn. “Princess. I have a request I would like to make to you.”

Celestia opened her eyes from her small piece of rapture and tilted her head at Kim. “What is it?”

“Could you make me your apprentice?” Kim asked as she stood up. “I want to make sure I can protect the ponies close to me... I don’t want to be stuck in the same situation once again.” Kim said with new resolve becoming apparent in her eyes.

A smile lit up Saru’s face. Celestia gave a small smile to the unicorn. “Of course, with your kind of talent, you would make for an easy student, however, forgive me for I have never taught magic before.”

Kim grinned at the white alicorn. Kim heaved a sigh as if a small weight was taken off of her. She raised her head skyward and saw the moon begin to show in the night sky.

The Sword and The Shield

by Doctor Umbrae

Part Two