"War? Ares, there hasn't been a war in Equestria in thousands of years!"
Ares paused to weigh his words as his eyes gazed at the smoke rising from Canterlot. The acrid grey haze rose over the capitol like a new set of battlements, grim and terrible they heralded the coming of a new kingdom of death, chaos, and despair.
"We do not get to choose the times in which we reside, Twilight Sparkle, but we do get to choose whether we rise to meet them."
Twilight stared at the charcoal grey stallion, her eyes pleading with him to say something more comforting. After a moment, she nodded. Turning back to the false dawn of Canterlot's destruction Twilight's mind began to race.
"Ares look!" Twilight exclaimed. "The castle still stands! Maybe Princess Celestia is still okay..."
The purple mare bit her bottom lip in worry. Or was it desperate hope? Maybe both? Stamping her hoof in fierce determination Twilight's voice took up a timbre she didn't think was possible on a night like this.
"We have to get in there."
Ares was surprised to see the fire in the young alicorn's eyes. In that moment, it rivaled the blaze consuming so many pony's homes.
Ares said nothing.
"Ares... I know you barely know me, but I need your help. Our lives, my friend's lives, the fate of ALL of Equestria hangs in the balance! Ares, please, I need you."
Ares lips turned up into a tight smile as he nodded his assent.
"I will do all that I can to see you there."
"Alright then, we need a plan," Twilight's eyes swept over the hellish landscape as her mind raced faster and faster. "I can't risk flying, there's too many griffins in the air and I can barely fly carrying Spike let alone the both of you, but I can teleport. I just have to get close enough and I can teleport us into the castle."
"How close is close enough?"
Twilight looked away and muttered under her breath, "Really close."
Ares chuckled darkly.
"Well that should be easy enough."
****
With Spike on her back and Ares leading the way Twilight Sparkle descended into hell. Or at least that was what she felt was going on. The outermost buildings of Canterlot village had been burned down to rubble and scorched frames. Like the skeletons of forgotten leviathans these broken homes stood silent sentinel to the devastation of Equestria's finest city. Through these ruins slipped the three silent refugees. Twilight's nose was assaulted by the scent of the acrid smoke of burned homes and the even more unsettling smell of charred meat. She did her best not to dwell on what might cause the latter. With nothing remaining to loot, the outskirts of the village were mostly deserted save for a few hollow eyed ponies who wandered through the wreckage of their homes like shades.
However, the infiltration became far more perilous with every step towards the castle. Though there were more buildings and alleyways in which to hide there were also roving patrols of griffins looting shops and terrifying whatever unfortunate ponies they found in hiding. Cries of distress and hoots of cruel laughter filled the air next to the crackle of still burning buildings. Creeping through an alleyway, Ares cautioned Twilight to hang back as he took a quick peek down the street. When he returned his face was grim.
"There are five griffins at a checkpoint up the street. We must get past them."
"How do we do that?" Came Twilight's harsh whisper.
"Well I--"
Before Ares could reply three griffins dropped onto the cobblestone street near their alleyway. Time stood still for a moment as Ares, Twilight, and Spike held their collective breaths . Twilight felt her heart stop as one of the griffin's sharp eyes met her own. For the briefest moment both parties gazed at each other in one part incomprehension and the other part fear. Ares broke the spell first.
"RUN!"
And Twilight did. The strike of her hooves caused sparks to fly from the cobblestones as she tore through the alleys, a half step behind Ares. Behind them, cries of outrage raised the alarm as the griffins leapt into pursuit. Alerted to the chase, ominous shadows arose all around the fleeing ponies. Skidding to a halt, Ares kicked in the back door to an Inn.
"Through here!"
Ducking inside, Twilight painfully bowled over tables and chairs before her eyes had a chance to acclimate to the darkness. Ares barely had time to kick a chair in front of the door before the hefty weight of griffin bodies slammed into it, forcing it open.
"Upstairs!"
Twilight's heart was thundering so loudly in her ears she barely registered the panic in Ares' voice as she fled up the Inn's rickety stairs. The purple mare dashed into the last room at the end of the upstairs hall and used her magic to slam and lock the door as soon as Ares was inside. The door had barely closed before a meaty 'thunk' rattled its hinges; followed closely by the distinctive sound of claws scratching at the wood. Twilight's eyes frantically swept the room, seeking a way out. The only other portal in the room was a large window that overlooked the griffin checkpoint.
"Ares what do we do now!?"
Before the stallion could reply, a particularly hefty blow rocked the room's door making the air resound with the loud crack of splintering wood. Wide-eyed, Ares threw himself against the sagging door in a final effort to brace it.
"Twilight," he cried frantically, "you have to teleport us!"
"I-I can't!" Twilight's eyes filled with tears of desperation. "I can't concentrate!"
"You have to!"
"I'm too scared!"
Another crack rocked the door and Ares sagged beneath the increased pressure. Claws appeared through the fractures in the door's frame.
"Twilight do something!"
"I CAN"T!"
With a final crash the door came off its hinges. In desperation Ares pushed off the failing door with his hind legs and charged across the room. Tackling Twilight's paralyzed form, Ares wrapped himself protectively around Princess and dragon as his momentum carried them through the window. For a moment, they hung in the air surrounded by glittering shards of broken glass, then gravity reasserted itself and the hard ground rushed up to meet them.
"TWILIGHT!"
Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes tightly and the world disappeared.
*****
In a loud pop and a bright purple flash the world reasserted itself and the three figures tumbled over the end of a feather mattress and onto a hard wooden floor. Shaking his scaly head Spike spoke up first.
"Twilight you did it!"
Picking herself up off the floor, Twilight Sparkle shook off the remnants of glass from the Inn's window. Trotting quickly to the window she realized she had teleported them into the upper room of a home across the street.
"We're not out of the woods yet, Spike."
Even as she spoke griffins spilled out of the Inn in pursuit, alerted by the bright flash of light from across the street. Ares' voice pulled her away from the window.
"Well done, Twilight. Perhaps you could do it again?"
The mare nodded grimly and closed her eyes, teleporting her friends from the room. Bright flashes and loud pops marked their progress as Twilight teleported them across the city. Half a dozen times the trio fled from room to room with Twilight's magic and half a dozen times the griffins barely missed their prey. At last, there were no more buildings to teleport into and the three fugitives found themselves staring at the distant gatehouse of Canterlot castle's outer wall, still some 200 meters distant.
Charging out of the building that was their final hide they galloped towards the gate at break-neck speed. Spike wrapped his claws so tightly into Twilight's mane that tears stung her eyes, but she dared not slow down. All around the sound of beating wings and predator cries filled the air. They had fled as fast as they could, but the griffins were closing the distance. Ares was almost positive he could feel their hot breath on his flanks.
"Open the gates!" cried Twilight at the top of her lungs. Over and over again she cried out as the dark gatehouse rushed closer and closer. Despite her pleas the gate remained closed as they skidded to a halt in front of it. Beating her hooves against the immovable gate Twilight's cries fell on deaf ears.
"OPEN THE GATES! PLEASE!"
Whipping around, Ares planted himself protectively between the Princess and her companion. The pursuing griffins pulled up short as the stallion reared and roared his defiance. Nearly twenty feathered predators grinned wickedly at the trapped companions.
"Give us the Princess and we might let you live" barked one of the griffins.
The other griffins laughed cruelly and took another menacing step forward, their beaks and claws glinting fiercely in the moon light. Ares' snorted and pawed the cobblestones, kicking up sparks that reflected in his fiercely glittering eyes.
"Buck you!"
The griffin who had spoken stepped to the fore, mere paces away from Ares. His eyes dripped with malice as he licked his beak.
"Mmm I like it when they have a little fight in them. Make them all the more... delicious."
Ares blinked and straightened for a moment, a smile playing at his lips.
"I have a proposal, featherhead. If you surrender now I will conduct you safely to Princess Celestia. You have my word."
The griffin stopped in his tracks and stared at the insolent stallion then, with a roar, he pounced.
Ares and the griffin tumbled, claws and hooves flailing in a tangle of fur and feathers. With a snarl of triumph the griffin pinned Ares beneath him and plunged his talons into the pony's chest all the way to the bone. Ares cried out in pain and terror as the griffin raised his other claw for the killing blow.
A purple bolt of magic blew the griffin off of the charcoal colored stallion. Now it was Twilight's turn to stand defiantly between her friend and the wall of death before them. Bleeding and helpless Ares swam in and out of consciousness. He could see Twilight standing over him with Spike a few steps behind her. As the light of his consciousness began to fade Ares was witness to an amazing sight. A bright white light opened out of nowhere between himself and the griffins. From the light slowly stepped a midnight blue alicorn with a flowing mane that seemed to be made of the immaterial sky itself. She smiled gently down at him and he was barely aware of a flurry of dark shadows falling on the looming griffins behind her. The sounds of a struggle reached his ears but they sounded as if they were taking place deep under water. Comfortingly the alicorn spread her wings to shield him from the distant sights and sounds.
"Rest brave warrior," she said behind eyes that blazed with balefire. "Rest and all will be well."
"Rest..." he thought, "Yes, just a little rest then I'll rise... need to rest."
Ares closed his eyes and the darkness took him.