//------------------------------// // Payback's A Twitch // Story: House Of The Crystal Sun // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// "What do you mean, they got away?!" Red Eclipse raged at his subordinates, having just been informed of Shine and Miracle's escape. "Apologies, master..." The lead shadow pony hissed. "We almost had them... but they slipped away..." "Useless shadows." Red growled. "We were able... to capture... a few of their companions, master..." The lead shadow pony motioned his fellows to bring in Sleight and Big Red, who were bound in dark magic strands. "Ooh." Red smirked. "Why didn't you say so?" He approached the two prisoners, with Sleight glaring at him. "Hello again, trickster. Thought you could get away, huh?" Red taunted. "Well, you were sorely mistaken." "Ah-ha, laugh it up, Red... or should I call you Black?" Sleight challenged. Red Eclipse frowned. "Who…" He was about to ask, when he noticed Big Red next to him, his condescending sneer fading as he turn to face him. "Big Red…" "Black…" Big Red muttered. "So... I see that you told our little magician here about me..." Red, or rather Black Knight, stated. "Not just him. Shine knows as well." Sleight sneered. "We know what you did... and as king of the Changelings... you sickens me more than ever." "Ah, so you heard about that little incident in Saddle Arabia?" Black gave a small chuckle. "I tell ya, things woulda gone without a hitch if they didn't try to fight back." "Why wouldn't they? You attacked and murdered innocent ponies, and for what? Actually treating Changelings with pony decency?! If I was Celestia back then, I would have had you hung!" Sleight snapped. "Easy, Sleight…" Big Red tried to calm him down. "Is that a fact?" Black Knight snickered. "Well, too bad you aren't Celestia... all you are is a washed-up magician married to a wretched bug and a father to her filthy maggots..." "You won't win, Knight." Sleight spat. "You will go down... just like last time." "Speaking of last time, I think a little payback is in order." Black sneered. "Let 'em go, boys." The shadow ponies let go of Sleight, much to his confusion. "What are you do-GAH!" Sleight gasped in pain, as he felt tremendous pain coursing through his body. "How does that feel, Sleight?" Black taunted, his horn glowing. "That's the pain of a thousand knives being inserted into your sorry little body. That's a beauty of dark magic: you learn how to inflict pain in so many ways." Sleight let out a howl as he fell to the floor, writhing. "Mah gawrsh..." Big Red gaped in horror. "You think that hurts, Sleight? How about being slammed into a wall?" Black laughed sadistically. Before Sleight could get a word in, his body was chucked into a wall, making a big indent. "I have so much in store for you, Sleight... you think that beating I gave you ten years ago was bad? For the rest of your life, you are going to wish that you were dead." Black growled softly, as he then pulled Sleight to the ground unceremoniously, the poor magician still twisting in pain from his dark magic. "Because I'll be teaching you the true meaning of pain..." "Stop it!" Big Red cried, unable to take anymore of it, "Please, Black, leave him alone!" Black glanced back at Big Red, before turning back to Sleight. His horn suddenly stopped glowing, and Sleight let out weak pants, hurting badly. "Okay, that'll do... for now." Black said. "Take him to the dungeons." The shadow ponies dragged the barely-conscious Sleight away. Black then turned to Big Red, his contempt fading away, replaced with... nothingness. "Red... it's been a while." Black admitted. "Black, why are ya doing this?" Big Red asked. "And more importantly, what's that thing on your head?" "This?" Black gestured to this horn. "This is the key to my destiny. Once I have all four shards of the Crystal Sun, I will have enough power to rival those of gods. I have plans... big plans... not only for Equestria... but the world." "Come on, Black... this ain't you." Big Red pleaded. "What happened to the Black Knight Ah grew up with? The one White called-" "Don't you dare speak his name!" Black snarled, causing Big Red to wince. "That brother of mine... he ruined my life... took everything I worked for away from me... but the joke's on him... with the Sun, I will finally have all I wanted these years…" "So... what? Is this yer way of gettin' back at him? By takin' over Equestria? By hurting innocent ponies?!" Big Red growled. "Ya know. they have therapy!" "This goes far beyond revenge, Big Red... very far." Black Knight explained, as he gave a sympathetic frown. "I'm sorry that you and Juby had to get dragged into this... but you did get in the way of my ponies getting Shine and his kid…" "Whaddaya want with them?" Big Red asked. "It's rather simple really. Shine has something I want... Miracle has something I need. Let's keep it at that." Black said ominously. "What about Cherry?" Big Red demanded. "What'd ya do ta my wife?" "Wife?" Black repeated. "Oh, so you and her finally got together. How long did it take? Five, ten years?" "Answer the question!" Big Red snarled. "Would you relax?" Black chuckled. "She hasn't been harmed... but I can't guarantee her safety... the shadow ponies are rather... unpredictable." "Why donchya just stop all this?!" Big Red questioned. "It ain't too late, ya know..." "Typical ol' Red... naïve to the end." Black snorted. "It's been too late for quite a while now. There's no turning back... for me or for anypony else." "Please…" Big Red whispered. "Think about yer brother... what would he think if he saw ya this way?" "Pfft, you think I give a crud about what White would think?" Black sneered. "White was weak... he could not comprehend what I was doing, and when push came to shove, he chose 'her' over me... some brother he turned out to be…" "Don't you talk about White like that!" Big Red growled. "He loved you!" "Loved me?! He threw me to the timberwolves!" Black roared. "All just so he could clear his conscience!" He gave a scoff. "But what do I care?! I don't need him! He was nothing but a pitiful excuse for a pony!" "No... no... yer wrong…" Big Red scowled deeply. "Am I?" Black sneered. "White may have survived a war, but he couldn't save himself or that wife of his in that flash flood... good riddance is all I say. It's a shame that I couldn't be the one to kill him myself." "That's enough!" Big Red roared. His rage pushed to the limit, Big Red managed to tear through his bonds, and charged at Black Knight. The horned Earth Pony didn't have time to react as Big Red slammed his right hoof into his face, knocking back a few inches. "Gah…" Black growled, as he rubbed his bruised cheek, glaring at the now peeved Big Red. "Don't you ever talk about White that way!"Big Red snarled, tipping his hat. "Ah'm sorry Black. Truly, Ah am... But Ah'm stoppin' ya right here, right now!" "Well then…" Black cricked his neck, as he gave an evil smile. "Bring it…" A vicious brawl between the two ensued. Big Red struck Black with his powerful hooves again and again. Unfortunately, Black just shrugged off each blow, his body having been tempered by war. "That all you got?" Black taunted. "Ya'll see what Ah got..." Red snarled. Big Red aimed a punch, but Black caught it. "My turn." he smirked. Black threw some blows of his own, knocking Big Red back. "That's it." Black rubbed his bruises. "Time tah end this." Big Red wound up for a haymaker… "GIT 'ER DONE!" Big Red bellowed, as he swung his hoof forward. Unfortunately, at the last moment, Black ducked, and as Big Red's hoof flew over his body, Black quickly went under the farmer stallion, and with great strength, threw him overhead, sending him to the ground. Big Red let out a weak groan, as he tried to get up... but Black stomped down on him, pinning him tightly. "Hehe, you seem to forget who taught you and White how to fight." Black taunted, as he rubbed his bruised cheek. "But you got one hay of a hook, I'll give you that." "Black…" Big Red groaned. "I think we're done here." Black scoffed, as he called more shadow ponies. "Throw him in with the others." The shadow ponies dragged the beaten stallion away. Meanwhile, Sleight was thrown in with the weakened Alicorns. "They got you too?" Luna gasped. "'Fraid so." Sleight groaned. "Sleight...?" Chrysalis whispered, barely able to stand. "Chrys..." Sleight rushed over to her. "Oh Faust… what have they done to you?" "Red Eclipse stole my magic." Chrysalis revealed, whimpering. "Without it, I'm just a shriveled shell." Sleight embraced Chrysalis, comforting her. "Oh, Chrysalis... if only I'd've been there…" Sleight whispered, rubbing her now dull blue mane. "I could have protected you... somehow..." "Sleight, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean for any of this to happen…" Celestia declared. Sleight turned to Celestia with a vicious glare. "You're sorry?" Sleight growled. "For what?! For letting that monster drain my wife dry?! Or entrusting your Alicorn magic to that idiot Caboose?!" "What?" Celestia gasped. "No, I was aiming for Shine..." "But Caboose got it instead." Sleight glared. "Good going. It was because of him that not only I got caught, but Big Red and Cherry as well!" "No... not them too." Celestia whispered. "Surely, that was just an accident." Twilight declared. "Faust knows that I had trouble when I was infused with the others' alicorn magic." "Not just that." Sleight snarled, glaring at Celestia. "This is all your fault! This whole incident" "What do you mean it's her fault?" Cadance challenged. "I know who Red Eclipse really is." Sleight declared. "He's doing all this because of what she did to him, years ago." You can't blame my sister for what that madpony is doing!" Luna yelled. "Can't I?" Sleight snorted. "It seems like every decision she's made has backfired in someway..... And this time, we're all paying the price! Soon, not only will he rule all of Equestria, but every Changeling, griffon, buffalo... anything without a buckin' cutie mark is going to die! All because you ticked off the war criminal with the genocidal tendencies!" "Now that's going too far!" Twilight interjected. "Celestia has always put the good of Equestria first." "Just what I'd expect teacher's pet to say." Sleight glared. "Good job with destroying Sombra by the way. Too bad you didn't think to make sure none of the pieces of him could attach to ponies and give them powers!" "Now you can't expect anypony to think something like that would happen." Cadance declared. "And you! What the buck were the guards when everything went to Tartarus?!" Sleight snarled. "Having their coats polished?!" "That's enough!" Luna yelled. "Petty thoughts won't help us here!" "Like you can talk, ms. Nightmare Moon." Sleight snorted. "Sleight, please stop this." Chrysalis weakly begged. "This isn't anypony's fault. We need to stick together." Sleight glanced at his wife... and let out a sigh. "You're right." Sleight muttered. "Sorry, everypony. I wasn't thinking straight." "It's alright." Celestia declared. "And Chrysalis is right. We need to stick together. All we have now is each other. And hope..." "Yeah, hope." Sleight frowned. "Runnin' a little low, though... what of everypony else? Where's your husbands and kids?" "We don't know." Twilight sighed. "They were taken... elsewhere." "Who can help us now?" Celestia sighed. Meanwhile, heading towards Ponyville… After nearly escaping death at the hooves of Twitch back in the Crystal Empire, the Napoleon Brothers were able to catch a train to Ponyville, though, with all their bits and what-nots in their suits and being dressed in nothing but hospital gowns, the brothers had to hop onto a freight cart. "So what do we do when we get?" Murray asked. "Does anypony have a plan?" "First we see how bad it is, then we make a plan." Grimoire declared. "You never know, we might actually beat those slimeballs there." "Let's hope so." Salt declared. Vinny looked out the side of the cart. "Say, Lars?" "Yes, Vinny?" "Are dust clouds usually black?" Vinny questioned. "No... why do you ask?" Lars replied. A swarm of shadow ponies suddenly surged past the train. "Oh no..." Murray gaped. "They're heading towards Ponyville!" "Aw crud!" Slot cursed. "Can't this train go any faster?!" "If it could, I doubt the driver would want to." Sonny noted. "Look at those things..." Soon the train stopped at the station, but by the time it did, the shadow ponies had already arrived at Ponyville. "Oh, this can't be good..." Salt frowned. "We've got to move." Grimoire declared. The Napoleons raced into town. The shadow ponies were laying siege to Ponyville, attacking any pony on the streets, and any structure they felt was weak. Up ahead, the shadow ponies were laying siege to Twilight's castle. Twilight's friends were trying their best to defend it, but were making very little leeway. Only Rarity's magic and (curiously) Spike's flames were able to hurt their opponents. Before long, the doors were forced open, and Twitch entered. "So, you're princess Twilight's little helpers." He stared disdainfully at them. "We're her friends." Rainbow corrected him. "And just who're you, anyhow?" Applejack demanded. "You the varmint in charge?" "'Varmint' is too nice a word." Pinkie growled. "He's a... meanie!" "Ouch." Twitch deadpanned. "No, I'm just the middle management type. I've come for the shard of the Crystal Sun princess Twilight has hidden here. The 'varmint in charge' wants it." "That piece of glass in the vault?" Rainbow Dash frowned. "Whattaya want with that?" "Beats me." Twitch shrugged. "Like I said, I'm the middle management type. I don't do the big stuff." "Whatever it is you want the shard for, you won't be getting it!" Spike declared. "Izzat so?" Twitch sneered. "You really think the six of you can handle an army of shadow ponies?" "Try it, an' we'll see!" Rainbow boasted. "What about this little town of yours?" Twitch threatened. "You think they can handle an army of shadow ponies?" "You wouldn't..." Rarity gasped. "I would..." Twitch smirked. "One word from me, and this town will be torn apart. And trust me, it ain't gonna be pretty." "We can't let all those innocent ponies get hurt." Fluttershy spoke up. "We have to give him the shard." "But-!" Rainbow spluttered. "She's right." Applejack agreed. "Grab the shard, Rainbow." "...Fine." Rainbow grumbled. Rainbow flew down to the basement, dug up the shard then returned, grudgingly handing it to Twitch. "Thanks." Twitch smiled. "Now, all that's left is to... capture the entire town!" "What?!" Rarity gasped. "You lying-" Spike snarled. "Mega-meanie!" Pinkie growled. "Take them first!" Twitch ordered the shadow ponies. "We can't have any surprises!" The shadows swarmed over the six, capturing them. While the shadows went about their business, Twitch walked over to where his hired thugs were waiting. "Whatcha need us for, boss?" One of the thugs asked. "Yeah, looks like those freaks are takin' all the fun." Another muttered. "Oh, I have a special job for you guys..." He smirked. As the shadow ponies rampaged across Ponyville, Bon-Bon and Lyra hid in Lyra's home. "This is terrible." Bon-Bon gasped. "Those... things everywhere!" "What's worse is that we haven't heard anything from the guys." Lyra frowned. "You don't think they were caught by those things, do you?" "I hope not." Bon-Bon sighed. Suddenly, the door was broken down. Bon-Bon and Lyra turned to see, not shadow ponies, but a group of regular pony thugs. "You gals have an appointment to get to." The lead thug grinned. "And we're your escorts." The Napoleons snuck into town, sticking to back ways and alleys in order to evade the shadow ponies. At one point, they spotted one of Twitch's thugs carrying off Vinyl. "Lemme go!" Vinyl struggled. "Vi!" Slot gasped. "Let her g-!" Grimoire covered his mouth. "Shh." He whispered. "We'll follow him. He may just lead us to all our mares." "Fine!" Slot growled, pushing Grimm's hoof from his mouth. "But this better work." The brothers carefully and stealthily followed the thug that took Vinyl… A short time later, the doors to Mayor Mare's office was kicked open as Twitch, flipping a butterfly knife around, waltzed in, catching the poor mayor off guard. "Ah, May R. Mare, I presume?" Twitch asked pleasantly. "Mayor of Ponyville?" "Um, that's me..." May trembled. "I'm so sorry to drop in unexpectedly, but taking over a town came up out of the blue, and I hadn't the time to make an appointment." Twitch smirked. "Look, I don't know what you want... if you want money, I can easily give you access to the town's-" May started. "Oh, May, you are mistaken, I'm not here for money, in fact, I already got what we came for..." Twitch sniggered. "Then why are you-" May asked. "I'm afraid my business with you girls is something of a more personal matter..." Twitch declared. "'You girls'?" May repeated. Suddenly, a group of thugs comes in, with Lyra, Bon-Bon, Vinyl, Berry, Redheart, and Zecora. "Let us go!" Berry struggled. "You thugs!" Redheart growled. "Where you want them, boss?" Asked one of the thugs. "Just set them down here and tie them up." Twitch ordered. "We're going to be here a while..." Outside, the brothers were hiding in the bushes across from the town hall, having followed the thug with Vinyl there. "Okay, there's town hall." Vinny whispered. "What's our plan of attack?" "Simple. We march right in there, and kick Twitch's flank!" Salt roared. "No can do, Salt." Lars shook his head. "In case you've forgotten, we are in hospital clothes! All we have is my handy-dandy crop!" He pulled out his crop. "Good thing I had a place for this beaut." "Funny that's all you could save..." Vinny frowned. "This crop was given to me by my teacher before he retired!" Lars protested. "It's very important to me!" "Well, a crop isn't going to be enough to take on crossbow-lugging thugs and shadow ponies!" Slot declared. "Any idea, Murray?" Grimoire asked. "Only one." Murray pointed to the second level rooftop. "Under some shingles, I took the liberty of stashing some crossbows and knives, just in case..." "In case of what?" Vinny asked. "You got me." Murray shrugged. "I just wanted to be prepared. Unfortunately, if memory serves me, there were only four crossbows. "Okay, we can manage with that... we climb up to the rooftop, get the weapon stash." Grimoire recanted. "Me, Murray, Sonny, and Vinny will take the bows, Slot can use the knives... Salt and Lars are good with their fists and crop, right?" "Right." Salt smashed his hooves together. "They'll pay for taking my heavily-pregnant wife!" "Nopony messes with my gal!" Sonny added. "Let's kick some flank!" Vinny cheered. "We gonna raise some Tartarus!" Slot added. "That's good and all... but we have to keep a level head." Grimoire instructed. "We are still at a major disadvantage. All we've got for now is the element of surprise, let's not waste it!" The other brothers nodded half-heartedly in acknowledgement, as they put their plan into action. The group quickly snuck over to the building, and after checking for enemies, they got up onto the rooftop. Salt smashed through the shingles to uncover the crossbows & knives, and they grabbed them and sidled over to where the office was. "There they are..." Sonny whispered. "Let's get 'em!" Salt made to smash through the windows, but Grimoire and Murray stopped him. "What did I just say?" Grimoire said testily. "We must wait for the right moment. Let's just bide our time..." Salt growled as he just stood there. Back in the office, the mares were bound and sat in front of Twitch. "Okay... are we comfortable?" Twitch asked. The mares glared at him. "Good. You all are probably wondering why I gathered you all here today..." "I'm wondering what kind of weirdo you are, to be honest." Vinyl sneered. "Shut up, you f-filthy b-b-b-b-b-b-" Twitch took a deep breath, calming down. "Be quiet." "What do you want with us?!" Bon-Bon asked. "Yeah, I was in the middle of enjoying a margarita!" Berry declared. "I guess a bit of clarification is in order." Twitch admitted. "Allow me to introduce myself... I am Twitch Cardinal..." "Twitch? What parents would name their kid Twitch?!" Vinyl snorted. "Oh, buck you, at least I'm not some wubs-loving bimbo." Twitch shot back. "Why you-" Vinyl's horn sparked, and a marble bust was thrown at Twitch, who ducked. Slot, who was lookin' in, smirked. "That's my girl." He chuckled. Twitch glanced at where the bust shattered, before glancing back at the seething mare. "Such hostility... you must be Slot's mare." Twitch noted. The mares stiffened. "Whoa, how you know Slot?!" Vinyl asked. "Oh, not just him, honey... I happen to be good friends with the Napoleons..." Twitch smiled. "Friend, my flank." Sonny hissed. "You know the Napoleons?" May asked. "Yup. Imagine my surprise when I read that all but two of them were now married... question is... who goes with who?" Twitch turned to Vinyl. "Vinyl is with Slot, obviously." He turned to Berry. "And you said something about margaritas, Berry? Then you must be Vinny's sweetsheart..." He frowned. "Come on, love, you could do so much better." "Why that little-" Vinny growled. "Shh!" Grimoire shushed him. "Hey, I love him, you little culo-brain!" Berry snarled. "Yup, definitely Vinny." Twitch nodded. He then glanced at Bon-Bon. "Hmm, the thugs claimed to have pulled you from a candy shop... and since candy is a food... I assume Sonny is your hubbie?" Bon-Bon snarled. Taking that as a "yes", Twitch then turned to Lyra. "And just looking at how you and Bon were together when you were snatched, I can only assume that since you two are good friends, and since Sonny is very close with Lars, Lyra must be with Lars... am I wrong?" He smirked. "...Well, I guess that's true." Lyra admitted. Twitch then turned to Redheart, and chuckled as he took note of her distended belly. "Whoa, hello, nurse... I already know who you're with, preggo... Salt always had the biggest 'oomf' of the lot." He sniggered. "Too much if you ask me..." He poked Redheart's belly, much to her displeasure. Salt made to step forward, but was held back again. "Control your anger, Salt..." Grimoire urged. "I swear, if that sick monster touches my unborn foal again, don't try to stop me..." Salt seethed. Twitch then went to May. "And you... you must be Murray's squeeze... he always like to date classy mares..." He recalled. Murray held his breath. "That's none of your business, you little toad!" May yelled. "Hmph, that's where I beg to differ." Twitch walked over to Zecora. "That leaves only you... so, Grim ended up remarrying, did he?" "Indeed, he did." Zecora nodded. "I do not kid." "Huh, why am I not surprised?" Twitch snorted. "Grimmy always had a thing for zebras. You wouldn't believe all the dirty novels he had that involved female zebra." "Seriously?" Vinny turned to Grimoire. "Yes... I'm not proud of it, but zebras kinda hit a weak spot for me..." Grimoire blushed. "Just who the hay are you?!" Mayor demanded, "And what's your deal with the Napoleons?!" "Heh, if I told you the whole story, we'd be here for a long time." Twitch scoffed. "So I'll give you the summary: I killed somepony close to the brothers. They overreacted. Had me hidin' for over fifty years. Now I'm fighting back." "You aren't going to get away with this!" Vinyl growled. "My coltfriend and the others are going to come for us, and when they do, they're going to buck your crud up!" "Hoho, that's what I'm counting on." Twitch snickered, much to the mares' confusion. "Rather than waste my time trying to find the brothers and eradicate them… I'll just have them come to me… and what better bait than their little pretty mares…" "That cheeky little…" Vinny growled. "What makes you think they're going to come?" Redheart asked. "We don't even know where they are!" "Don't you worry about that…" Twitch chuckled darkly, as he held up his butterfly knife. "It will probably be a while before they get here…but I'm sure if I were to…I dunno, waste one of their mares…" Both the mares and stallions gasped. "They'll hurry up." He then began pacing, flipping his knife around. "The only question is…which one do I kill first?" He stopped in front of Vinyl, pointing his knife at her, causing her to cringe. "Hmm, killing you would certainly get a rise out of Slot…" Twitch chuckled, before frowning, as he pulled his knife away. "Then again, practically anything can get a rise out of him." "I'll show him a 'rise'!" Slot barked as he tries to charge in, only to be stopped by Murray. "He's taunting us! We can't let our emotions get the best of us!" Grimm whispered. "Which one, which one?" Twitch pointed his knife to each in turn. "Too old, too hefty, too sossed, too plain, too green, too ugly..." He said of May, Redheart, Berry, Bon-Bon, Lyra and Vinyl. "Aah!" Zecora suddenly doubled over, clutching her stomach. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's with you?" Twitch frowned. "Nopony feels pain here unless I inflict it!" "Zecora?!" Grimm gasped. "Zecora? What's wrong?!" Mayor asked. "I am fine." Zecora groaned. "Pay no attention to my whine." "You!" Twitch gestured to one of his thugs. "Check her!" The thug, a former doctor who had been struck off for malpractice, looked Zecora over. "Well?" Twitch asked. "Um, I don't know how to put it, but she... she's pregnant." The thug revealed. Nopony, inside or out, was as shocked as Grimoire. "W-what?" Grimiore gaped. "Dude..." Vinny glanced at Grimm and held up his hoof. "Props." "Pregnant?!" The other mares gasped. "With Grimm's foal?! How is that… I don't even…" Lyra stammered. "I didn't think he still had it in him." Vinyl declared, impressed. "With foal, huh?" Twitch grinned diabolically. "That settles it, then. I'll take you out. A two-for-one deal, even." "Whoa, you'd kill a pregnant mare?" One of thugs gasped. "Yeah, I didn't sign up for killing babies!" Another thug barked. Twitch glanced at that thug… before stabbing him in the neck, instantly killing him, much to everypony's horror. "D-does anypony else have a problem with me killing babies?!" Twitch snarled. No thugs dared object. "Good! Because I'd kill anypony I'd feel like killing. That includes mouthy wusses like him!" Twitch approached Zecora, knife raised. "No!" May yelped. "Don't do it!" Redheart cried. "Don't you touch her!" Berry yelled. "Stop!" Bon-Bon gasped. "You monster!" Lyra snarled. ""Why, you..." Vinyl struggled to break free. "Nice stripes." Twitch smirked. "Think I'll cut 'em off one at a time..." "NO!" Grimoire roared. "Grim, wait!" The other brothers called after him. A loud neigh surprised everypony, as Grimoire suddenly burst through the window. "Lauren Faust, what the f-" Twitch gasped, before he was blindsided by a furious Grimm. The don, overcome by fury, threw Twitch to the ground, knocking the knife away before he react. The brothers followed Grimoire in. "So much for waiting..." Murray shrugged. "Hey, when your pregnant wife's in danger, there will be blood!" Salt declared. While most of the brothers took on Twitch and his thugs, Sonny and Lars made to free the mares. "I knew you guys would come..." Bon-Bon sighed lovingly. "Not really the time, pudding cup." Sonny blushed. Murray and Vinny used their crossbows to shoot the thugs down, while Slot simply sliced through them, and Salt viciously wailed on a bunch of them. Grimoire seemed to have Twitch on the ropes, hammering him with blow after blow. "You threaten my wife?" Grimoire snarled. "My foal?!" He put his hooves around Twitch's neck. "You don't deserve to live!" "Gah! Ack!" Twitch gasped, his face being turning blue, "H-help-ah! S-sold-GAH!" Suddenly, a horde of shadow ponies burst into the room, and before the Napoleons could react, they blasted each and one of them back, throwing Grimm off of Twitch. The brothers groaned as their crossbows and knives were taken from them via magic and disintegrated, while Twitch himself slowly rose to his feet, wincing in pain. "Heh, heh, you idiots... you t-think I would do a takeover with only an f-few stallions?" Twitch sneered, spitting out some blood. "Well, stallions don't usually follow a coward." Salt grunted. "Hmph. Good thing that my top stallions aren't really ponies..." Twitch smirked, as the shadow ponies growled in agreement. "I am very disappointed in you, Grim... if you were going to exact your vengeance, you should had at least come a bit more prepared. On the other hoof, your need for vengeance is rather... lackluster." "How so?" Grimoire asked. "You killed our brother!" "Brother? What is he talking about?" Bon-Bon asked Sonny. "…Long story." Sonny said briefly. "Well, you stole my birthright!" Twitch roared. "What?!" Grimm growled. "You heard me! A long time ago, far before the Napoleons, there was one true family of Bitaly... the Cardinals! The smartest, toughest family around! I was the son of the family patriarch, Tweak Cardinal! We were kings and queens of the Bitalian Pennisula! Everypony bowed before us! And all of it was meant to be mine!" Twitch snarled. "What crud are you spouting out?!" Vinyl asked. "You see, I was meant to take control of Bitaly when my father died, and become the most powerful pony in all of Eurodeo! But that never happened… no... you, and the Faust-wretched Napoleons stormed Bitaly. One by one, you picked off the Cardinals, weakening the family to a point where we had to scatter for our lives! By the time my father died, we were all rottin' in the buckin' streets! So, yes, I killed your brother... but I didn't fire the first shot!" "What we did to your family was for the betterment of Bitaly." Grimoire countered. "Your family was nothing more than parasites that infected Bitaly to it's core! Trafficking, murder, torture, a buckin' death camp for crying out loud... we took no joy in ruining your life, but it was-" "Let me guess, the needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few?" Twitch sneered. "Oh my gosh, I just can't stand you and your hypocrisy! You say that you kill and steal for the 'betterment of the ponies'... but on the inside, you're monsters... just like me..." "We are not monsters!" Murray yelled. "Unlike the Cardinals, we don't rule Bitaly by subjugation and fear. We rule it by keeping the peace and letting them know that there are ponies up high that gives a crud about them!" "We aren't saints, we know that!" Lars added. "But we do what we do to uphold what is right and good!" "That was Anarchy's belief... and you tried to snuff it all out by killing him... but instead, you only sealed your fate..." Grimoire declared. "My fate?" Twitch growled. "Oh no... you sealed your fate.. .instead of getting over it, or better yet, killing yourselves, you made me waste fifty buckin' years hidin'... and now I'm going to get my revenge for my family and fifty years spent livin' like a rat! Soldiers!" The shadow ponies' horns glowed… Meanwhile, above Ponyville… A curious-looking card was fluttering through the skies… when it suddenly began to twitch and glow brightly. "Lemee owwt!" A voice issued from within. In a burst of light, Caboose was freed from his prison. "YAY! I'm free!" Caboose cheered... before looking down and realizing he was fifty foot from the ground. "…Aw BUCK!" Caboose screamed as he fell towards the earth. Back down in Ponyville… "So this is how it ends..." Murray sighed. "Sorry for dragging you into this, May." "Don't be." May smiled. "Knowing you was the high point of my life." "If I have to go, at least it'll be with the mare I love by my side." Salt declared. "Thanks, Salt." Redheart nuzzled him. "You're the best, Bonnie." Sonny declared. "You too, Ly." Lars smiled. "Aww..." Bon-Bon and Lyra cooed. "I'll treasure every drink we shared, Berry." Vinny whispered. "Me too." Berry beamed. "See ya on the other side, babe." Slot told Vinyl. "You know it." Vinyl smiled. "I'm sorry, Zecor." Grimoire sighed. "For you... and for the foal." "Do not blame yourself." Zecora declared. "It is not you who threatens our health." "Fare thee well, Grimiore Napoleon... say hello to your big brother for me." Twitch raised his hoof. "And UP YO-" A scream interrupted him, as it grew louder. "Okay, who's yelling?!" Twitch demanded. "I'm trying to make an awesome send-off here!" "YA-HA-HA-HA-HOOEY!" The ceiling caved in, much to everypony's shock. "What the buck?!" Twitch gasped. The dust was settling, as a figure began to get up slowly, groaning... Twitch gaped in shock. "No... NO!" He yelled. "Anarchy? It can't be! You're dead!" The figure coughed as the dust finally settled, and Caboose came out, rubbing his back. "Ugh... stupid unpredictable Alicorn magic... stupid trapping card magic... stupid Celestia and her bad aim..." He muttered. "Caboose?!" Grimoire gasped. "Caboose?!" The other brothers gaped. "Caboose?!" The mares yelped. "Caboose?" Twitch groaned. "Who the heck is Caboose?!" "Caboose James Napoleon, at your service." Caboose bowed, before grimacing at the damage, "Sorry for dropping in like this. I just like to make an entrance." "Another Napoleon?" Twitch gaped, "Good Faust, you guys are everywhere!" "Yep." Caboose nodded. "And who might you be?" Twitch stifled a growl. "I'm Twitch Cardinal." Twitch declared. "The last surviving member of the Cardinal family." "Really?" Caboose looked at him in shock. "…Wow, you're even more weaselly-looking then I thought." He turned to his brothers, who were still shocked to see him. "Doesn't he look weaselly, guys? And scrawny. Definitely scrawny. No wonder he had to stab Anarchy in the back. He'd've been no match for him face-to-face..." "Hello?" Twitch growled. "Right here!" "Of course you are." Caboose nodded. "Otherwise, who'd I be talking to?" "I've only know you for a minute, and I already hate." Twitch snarled. "Welcome to the club." Slot snarked. "Enough of this bantering!" Twitch yelled. "N-now... where were we?" "You were about to have your men kill us and say 'up yours'." Vinny declared. "Ah, thank you, Vin." Twitch cleared his throat. "Farewell, Napoleons... looks like I will have the last laugh!" The shadow ponies pointed her horns once again. "Glad you could make it, Caboose." Murray sighed. "At least now, we can all die as a family." Caboose looked at his horn and got an idea. "Hold it!" Caboose smiled. "Oh, what now?!" Twitch groaned. "You better let us go right now!" Caboose demanded. "Caboose, what are you doing?" Grimoire asked. "Saving our flanks." Caboose whispered. "Why should I?!" Twitch smirked. "Because I am packin' Alicorn magic, baby, and I'm not afraid to use it! If you don't let us go, I will unleash a powerful explosion that will most likely kill all of us!" Caboose revealed. "What?!" The brothers and mares chorused. "What?!" Twitch laughed. "You gotta be kiddin' me! You expect me to believe that you have Alicorn magic? My Faust, you are an idiot." "Hey, only we get to call him an idiot!" Slot declared. "And lots of other things, most of which would probably wind up censored..." "I'm not foolin'!" Caboose insisted. "If you don't leave us alone, I will blow all of this up and take you with me!" "Y-you're bluffing!" Twitch barked, though his eyes seem to say he believed him. "Oh yeah? Try me!" Caboose charged up his horn, which glowed incredibly brightly. "If this is a bluff, it's a very good one." May declared. "Caboose?" Grimoire gasped. "Can't talk now!" Caboose blew him off. The horn glowed brighter and brighter. "Holy c-crud, he's gonna blow!" Twitch yelped. "R-retreat, retreat!" Twitch and his minions fled the room. "You did it, Caboose!" Murray smiled. Caboose's horn continued to charge with energy. "Caboose, you can stop now." Lars declared, as the glow grew ever brighter. "Wish I could..." Caboose groaned. "Here it comes!" "Caboose?!" Slot gasped. "Oh, not again…" Salt groaned. The entire room was enveloped in a flash of light. Twitch came back in to survey the damage, only to find the entire room gone. "Red Eclipse is not gonna be happy..." he groaned. Meanwhile, somewhere up north… Once the light faded, everypony in the room slowly open their eyes to find themselves still in the mayor office, all in one piece. "Holy crud…" Slot gasped. "Whoa..." Salt gaped. "Guess Caboose really does have Alicorn powers..." "When did that happen?" Vinny glanced at Caboose. "Long story." Caboose shrugged. "Well, the good news is, we are all safe and sound." Grimm gave a small smile. "Indeed we are." Zecora nodded. "As long as Twitch is far." The brothers freed their mares, and engaged in relieved hugs and kisses. Mayor Mare shivered a bit. "Is it just me, or did it get cold in here?" Suddenly, the room tilted downwards. "Whoa, what's going on here?!" Murray gasped. The tilting got worse, as all manner of objects that wasn't pinned down began to slide towards the lower end. The mayor's desk notably went flying, smashing through the door frame, revealing the side of a very steep cliff. "Holy crud!" Sonny cried. "We're on the edge!" Lars yelped. "We could go over any second!" Lyra stated. The Napoleons and their mares struggled to keep their balance. "I've heard of cliffhangers... but THIS IS BUCKING RIDICULOUS!" Vinny yelped.