The Inn of the Midnight Pony

by Emerald Harp

They Chose Wrong

Felix sat up gasping. The last thing he remembered was being stabbed in the back by the manticore’s tail. He looked down to discover he had no injuries from the battle. He stood and gazed about.

It seemed he was in Princess Luna’s dreamscape once more. But instead of lush green trees and grass surrounding him, he was standing on cold, smooth ice. It was dark in this place. There was no multitude of beautiful stars in the sky this time. The only light shone from an impossibly huge moon that seemed to loom over him. He shuddered. It felt so cold in the dream that he almost expected snow to begin falling.

He turned, and there was Gotrek staring up at the moon. “It would appear the horse is angry with us, manling.”

“Angry does not even begin to describe the emotion, dwarf,” Luna’s voice rang out.

The equine princess stepped out from the shadows. Her eyes were arctic, and her starlit mane seemed more shadowy than usual.

“You are lucky Twilight and her friends were able to use the Elements of Harmony to undo the damage you caused. I have never seen such uncontrolled violence,” she spat.

“Uncontrolled?” Gotrek asked, gripping the butt of his axe. “You’re the one who chained us with spells!”

“And I can see now that the magic wasn’t enough,” she snapped. “You were harming my own subjects, causing them a great deal of pain and suffering. Animals and ponies that knew not what they were doing! If I hadn’t enchanted your weapons, you would’ve slaughtered them all!” she stamped her hoof at the last sentence, and cracks spider-webbed across the surface of the ice.

Felix took a step forward. “My lady, please. We attacked to defend Ponyville. We only did what was necessary.”

“Those warped creatures certainly weren’t holding back for us,” Gotrek said, pointing a beefy finger at the princess. “What did you expect us to do? Hit the buggars that were trying to kill us as gently as possible? You can’t afford to do that in a fight.” He spread his arms wide. “You wanted warriors, my lady, and warriors you got.”

Luna bared her teeth. “You would do well to hold your tongue, dwarf.” Luna looked away, disgusted with her new subjects. “Thankfully the Elements’ magic undid the spread of evil in Ponyville. Those six ponies were able to heal the brutally injured as well.”

Gotrek scowled but said nothing.

“Then. . .that is good news,” Felix said.

“If only,” Luna turned sharply to face him. “They aren’t strong enough to heal all of Equestria at once. Warpstone fell in other regions. While it was wiped out in Ponyville, it is spreading like wildfire everywhere else. Worse, it’s difficult for us to pinpoint exactly where the stone has fallen. This. . . new dark magic is strange to us. We do not yet have spells developed to trace it.”

Luna gazed up at the moon. Felix and Gotrek could not hope to look skyward, for its brilliance was harsh and glaring. The Princess did not seem at all bothered by the light. She appeared to revel in it.

“There is one pony my sister and I believe that can find a cure for the warpstone. Her name is Zecora. Twilight and her friends will know of whom I speak. Find her and see what she has in mind for a cure. You will also help prepare Ponyville’s defenses. Refugees are already pouring into Canterlot,” she bowed her head. “If the plague finds us there, it may be better for the Ponyville citizens to stay where they are. These are your orders.”

The human and dwarf knelt on the ground. “As you wish, m’lady,” Felix said.

Luna flapped her wings and rose into the sky. “Awaken.”

At once the dreamscape Luna created began to melt away leaving only blackness. Felix could feel himself being pulled back into the waking world. He grunted; he was having trouble breathing. Slowly, Felix opened his eyes and nearly screamed in terror. Inches away from his face was a beaming pink pony sitting on his chest.

“Oh goodie, goodie, goodie, I’m so glad you’re awake. I was starting to get bored. I mean really bored. The kind of bored you get watching paint dry except worse than that. I can’t begin to describe to you how bored I was.” Pinkie Pie began to bounce off the walls like a ricocheting arrow.

Felix sighed in relief and looked over at the neighboring bed. Gotrek, axe in hand, was already upright. He was inspecting the scar where Shining Armor had gored his stomach. “How am I well?” He asked angrily. “I felt that unicorn pierce my bowels. I should be dying.”

Pinkie stopped her bouncing and grinned at the dwarf. “We used the Elements of Harmony to fix you. A good thing, too. If we hadn’t, you two would have been goners for sure. At least that’s what the docs said. No need to thank me; I was just doing my part.”

Gotrek glared at Pinkie Pie. “You’ve robbed me of a glorious death.”

Pinkie nodded happily. “Yep, we sure did.” She tossed a pastry to the Slayer and another one to Felix who had just gotten on his feet. “Let’s have a toast to celebrate us being alive.”

The hyper pony raised her cupcake to the heavens and said, “Here’s to another day above ground. ” And with that, Pinkie tossed her pastry in the air and swallowed it in one gulp.

Felix looked at the cupcake and his mouth instantly watered. He devoured his pastry with ravenous hunger. The last time he had eaten, he had been in Sonny’s inn. It felt like a very long time ago. Gotrek eyed his own treat with contempt. He tossed his cake to Felix who wolfed it down gratefully.

“What? Aren’t you hungry?” asked Pinkie Pie. “You can eat the hospital food if you want, but it’s pretty bad. Think of it as eating your veggies, but cold and without love. Cold veggies are the worst. I should know, I . . .”

“I can’t eat your disgusting cake,” Gotrek replied angrily. “After a thousand battles, I don’t have many teeth left.”

Pinkie grinned at the dwarf. “Are you sure about that?” She held up a mirror and said, “Smile, Gotty.”

Gotrek stared at his reflection and sneered, his lips parted to show beautiful white teeth. The dwarf’s irritation turned to rage. “What did you flea-bitten horses do to me?!”

At this Felix became acutely aware that his sword was at the other end of the room.

“They look good, Gotrek. You look like, like Olger Olgersson,” Felix said placing himself between Pinkie and the smoldering dwarf. The poet cringed knowing how that sounded.

The dwarf turned his blood-shot eye on Felix. “If it weren’t for this enchantment, manling, I’d kill you where you stand for comparing me to that, that . . .” The dwarf was so mad that words failed him. In a blur Gotrek took his fury out on a nearby operating table. With one swipe, the Slayer sliced off all four of the thick, metal legs. Pinkie scurried out of the dwarf’s way as he hacked his way through the door to the hallway.

When the irate Slayer was gone, Pinkie looked up at Felix. “I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Wordlessly, Felix buckled his crimson sword to his hip and ran after the dwarf. Gotrek w seemed calmer, but when he spoke, his gravelly voice was as cold as ice. “The next time you think we should go to another world, manling, I’ll rip your tongue out of your pretty head.”

Felix nodded, “Fair enough.”

“Is it not enough that we fight for them? They have to fiddle with our minds, and now they must tinker with our bodies, too?” Gotrek growled. “If I hadn’t sworn that thrice-damned oath, I’d be going back through that bloody mirror and breaking it on the other side.”

The dwarf made no attempt to lower his voice as Pinkie Pie plopped herself down by Felix. Her mane had lost its buoyancy, and she had a sad look about her. “Gotty, you can’t leave now. We need you. Because of you two, Ponyville is the only safe place around for miles. Princess Celestia says that this warpstone problem is spreading like wildfire, and more and more ponies are changing. They’re becoming like Zecora used to be and . . .”

“What do you mean, used to be?” asked Felix.

Pinkie’s mood became happier, “We used the Elements of Harmony to fix every pony and critter with those freaky eyes. We even got rid of that warpstone thingy in the forest.”

Gotrek scoffed, “Impossible. The only way to cure chaos is to kill it.”

Pinkie frowned, “But you cured Apple Jack with your icicle amulet necklace thingy.”

The dwarf chewed on this fact for a moment before saying, “Yes, but I did not believe that would work for a moment.”

“Nor I,” Felix admitted. The poet’s eyes got wide with excitement. “Do you know what this means, Gotrek? We can fight our world’s chaos magic with Equestrian magic. We can turn the tide in Sigmar’s realm if we can defeat warpstone here.” The Lunar Knight’s words tumbled out of his mouth nearly as fast as Pinkie Pie’s speech.

The Slayer held up his hand. “Slow down, manling, before you hurt yourself.” Gotrek sucked on his new teeth for a moment before saying, “Take us to that horse who wears the crown. We’ve work to do.”

Pinkie’s hair became bouncy and vibrant again. “Yes sirree. Just follow me.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Twilight took a long sip of the drink Zecora had brewed for her. It helped keep her awake and focused on the daunting tasks ahead. She looked down at the messages in front of her. The news was grim, to put it mildly. Wherever those green meteors had fallen, anarchy and madness reigned. Ponyville was the only place that had successfully resisted out of the six places where warp stone had landed. Ever since the battle in front of the hospital, Twilight had been in constant contact with Canterlot. Despite Zecora’s potent drink, the unicorn could feel herself dozing off.

“Twilight, Twilight.” The Element of Magic felt herself being shaken. She opened her eyes to see Spike looking at her worriedly.

With a stab of panic the pony asked, “Oh my gosh, Spike, how long have I’ve been asleep? Have there been any more messages from Princess Celestia?”

“No. The last one I received was about the east side of Manehatten being quarantined.”

Twilight nodded sadly. The thought of all those poor ponies trapped in their own homes was heart-breaking.

“You’ve only been asleep for few minutes.”

“That’s too long, Spike. I need to keep going. My meeting with Mayor Mare is in ten minutes.”

“Yeah, about that,” Spike said slowly. “You might want to reschedule.”

“Why? Is Rainbow Dash back?”

Spike shook his head. “The dwarf and human are downstairs. Pinkie Pie brought them here as soon as they woke up. She couldn’t stay, though. She had to go help Fluttershy with the critters.”

Twilight brushed past the dragon and trotted down the stairs.

“Oi, purple horse, do you have any beer? I’m thirsty. And the manling is still hungry. I’ve killed full-grown bears with quieter stomachs.”

The swordsman blushed a little at that.

The unicorn blinked but recovered quickly. “Spike, could you check the basement? I think we still got some sarsaparilla. Also, see what you can find for Felix to eat.”

Spike looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue as he went off to perform his duty.

The haggard pony went to greet her guests. “I’m glad that you two are on your feet. How are you feeling?”

Before Gotrek could spout off a snide comment, Felix answered, “We’re fine. You and your friend’s magic saved our lives. We are in your debt.”

The dwarf growled at that but didn’t say anything.

Twlight shook her head. “No, without you two, Applejack would still be changed, Ponyville would have been destroyed, and . . .” the unicorn’s voice trailed off. She did not wish to think about what could have happened.

“Those other crowned horses don’t see us that way. To them we’re little better then sadists,” the Slayer said angrily.

Twilight hesitated before replying. She wanted to disagree with him, but couldn’t. Fluttershy crying miserably over the scores of suffering woodland friends left a bitter taste in her mouth. She changed the subject. “Did Princess Luna come to you in a dream last night?”

Felix nodded. “She did. The capital is already being overrun with refugees. Her Majesty has tasked us with assisting in fortifying this town and finding someone named Zecora. The Princess believes she may know of a cure for warpstone.”

“Princess Celestia told me the same thing, and I think I’ve got a plan.” She picked up a nearby scroll with her magic and gave it to Felix. “This is a map of Ponyville’s completed and incomplete sewer systems. We don’t have time to build walls or anything formidable, so I think this is our best bet for now. What do you think?”

The poet could not tell which way was up on the map. After turning the parchment sideways and then upside down, Gotrek growled, “Just give me the damn thing, manling.”

Felix admitted defeat and gave his companion the paper. Gotrek studied it for several moments. Eventually he went to a table. After shoving several books out of the way, he grabbed a nearby quill and started modifying the map. Twilight could not help but cringe as the dwarf wrote. That scroll had been in her library long before she ever had.

“Come here, both of you,” the dwarf commanded.

Twilight and Felix approached him.

“If I were you, and thank Grungi I’m not, I’d seal off these entrances here and here for starters.” As the dwarf spoke, he crossed out the manhole entrances on the map. “Those are your most obvious ways into this maze. We don’t want too many ways in and out. Also, I’d level the majority of the buildings on the surface.”

“Why?” asked Twilight.

“So the infected will think that this town has either been abandoned or wiped out,” answered Felix.

The Slayer nodded as he chewed on the quill in thought. “We can break down that wall there to link the tunnels together below the City Hall. And then . . .”

Twilight rubbed her eyes as the planning continued. She hadn’t slept since yesterday, and it didn’t look like she would anytime soon. Despite her weariness, Twilight was impressed by the dwarf’s suggestions. His knowledge of engineering and demolition was well-concealed beneath his fearsome warrior features.

Just as Gotrek was putting down his chewed quill, the door to Golden Oaks Library banged open. Felix turned to see the baby dragon and a blonde-maned pony. Both were laden down with delicious food.

The unicorn asked sleepily, “Spike? I thought you were still in the basement.”

“I snuck out half an hour ago to get some more food. By the way, we are out of root beer.”

The slayer looked up from his work at the mention of beer. “Well, did you find any?”

“Shoot, yeah.” The earth pony said. “My family makes the best sarsaparilla this side of Ponyville.”

“And which family might that be, miss?” Felix asked.

The earth pony smiled proudly. “Why the Apple family, of course.” After setting the root beer down, the mare walked up to the poet and declared, “The name’s Applejack. You must be Gotrek.”

Felix and Twilight winced at the same moment.

“What?” And then it dawned on the pony. “I guessed wrong, didn’t I? Sorry about that.”

The dwarf waved off the apology. “I can forgive nearly anything with the right amount of beer.”

Applejack smiled and tossed the dwarf a bottle. Gotrek caught the drink, uncorked it, and drank down the entire contents in one pull.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s terrible. I’ll have another three.”

“Uh, okay. I’ll tell Granny Smith you said it was delicious. Anyway I just wanted to thank both of you all for using that amulet thing on me. You saved me.”

“Miss Applejack, it was you who helped save us. Consider us even.” Felix said.

Gotrek sneered, still angry that he was robbed of his death.

“Out of curiosity, do you remember anything of the experience?” Felix asked.

The earth pony shot him a hard look and Twilight stiffened. Spike edged away.

“Not a thing,” she said coldly.

Gotrek and Felix exchanged quick glances. It was clear the farm pony was lying but they sensed that pressing her was treading on dangerous ground. Felix turned his attention to Twilight instead.

“Ms. Twlight, you should get some sleep, if you can.”

The unicorn shook her head. “I can’t. I need to present this to Mayor Mare, and see if she approves of this plan. I’m already late for the meeting.”

“You won’t be of any use to anyone if you can’t keep your eyes open,” Gotrek grumbled.

Twilight nodded reluctantly. “Alright fine. Just stay out of trouble. Most ponies in town aren’t happy with the way you two handled yourselves last night. They think you both were far too violent in fending off the warped animals.”

Felix’s jaw clenched. “Princess Luna said as much in our dream. But we had no alternative, and we are not ashamed of what we did. But you have my word; we will try to keep our noses clean.” When he was done speaking, he rested his hand on the hilt of his crimson sword. A small magical shock caused him to hastily remove his hand from the blade.

The pony was so exhausted she didn’t notice this odd behavior. Twilight yawned, “We’ll talk about it later.”

Turning to Spike, Twilight asked, “Spike, can you please wake me up in an hour? I’m going upstairs to take a nap.”

“Sure, Twilight.”

Unbeknownst to Spike, Felix was struggling very hard not to strangle the baby dragon. Every instinct in the human screamed at him to slaughter the beast. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he fought to keep his hands away from the blade. The poet turned so that the dragon could not see his hate-filled face.

“Uh, are you okay?” the tiny reptile asked.

Felix didn’t answer right away. He looked down at his sheathed blade, and sure enough, he could see the fiery light from the ancient runes. “I don’t feel well. I, I need to use your latrine.”

“Oh, sure. Just take that door to your right.”

The poet nearly ran to the room and locked the door behind him. Gotrek pulled at his beard in thought as his remembrancer made his hasty retreat.

“That’s what happens when you eat your food too fast, poor fella,” Applejack commented.

The slayer snorted. “Humans are a frail race to begin with, but at least they know how to fight. Unlike you horses.”

The pony faced the knight. “We can defend ourselves just fine, thank you very much.”

Gotrek chuckled before downing the rest of his root beer. “Like hell, you can. You have no army, you don’t have the stomach to kill, the only horse that knows how to use magic around here is exhausted, and the only artifacts that can fight chaos are controlled by six morons.
Not to mention one got herself infected.”

Applejack glared at the dwarf. “We’ve gotten along just fine for years without the two of you. We ponies have beaten everything that’s been thrown our way, and we’ll beat this too. And if you ask me, I have no clue why Princess Luna ever considered bringing two killers to Equestria. You’re just as bad as what we fought yesterday.”

The dwarf shook his head in bewilderment. “Why the gods decided to give you idiots . . .”

“If you say one more word, I’m going to buck you into the next county,” Applejack said menacingly. “My friends may put up with your insults, but I won’t.”

Spike winced, “Guys, you two need to calm down. Twilight is trying to rest.”

Gotrek, never taking his eye off the pony, nodded. “Aye, let’s take this outside.”

“Let’s,” Applejack agreed.

Spike shook his head frantically. “No, please don’t do this.”

“Don’t worry, dragon,” the dwarf declared as he hefted his axe. “This will be over quickly.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Felix, Felix, I need you out here,” Spike said urgently, banging on the bathroom door.

The poet swore under his breath and balled his fists. The magic blade knew the dragon was close. Felix took deep breaths as he struggled to regain his bearings. It was getting worse. The sword demanded the dragon’s blood and would not be satisfied with less. The poet wiped the sweat from his brow and cursed himself for touching the weapon while there was a dragon nearby. He knew he could not afford to do that again. Next time there may be no stopping it. In a strained voice Felix asked, “What is it?”

“Gotrek is picking a fight with Applejack. I, I think one of them is going to get hurt.”

This time Felix did swear, louder than he intended. Luna was going to kill them for sure if the slayer hurt one of the ponies, especially an Element wielder.

Felix sent a quick prayer to Sigmar for strength, opened the door, and made for the library exit. He didn’t look at Spike as he passed. Instead, he called over his shoulder, “Stay here. Make sure Twilight is still sleeping.”

The poet opened the door to the outside and blinked his watery eyes. The sun glared down on him. The sudden light caused his stomach to turn end over end. Despite his nausea, the swordsman felt better, now that he was away from Spike.

“Excellent timing, manling. I want you to witness this so you can record it for my epic.”

Felix found Gotrek and Applejack seated at a small table.

“What in Sigmar’s holy name are you doing?” Felix asked

“I’ve been challenged by this horse to an arm wrestling duel,” the dwarf replied.

The pony’s nostrils flared. “Partner, you’re going down harder than a broken elevator.”

Gotrek smiled at the challenge. “Hold this.”

Felix struggled to find the right phrase to stop this madness, but the words would not come. It took all of Felix’s strength to hold Gotrek’s heavy axe.

“We don’t have time for this.” Felix said through gritted teeth.

The slayer cracked his neck and flexed his arms. “There is always time for a fight.”

Applejack sneered, “Are you gonna talk all day, or are we gonna do this?”

Gotrek put his arm on the table. As the pair wrapped their hand/hoof around the other, the workhorse asked, “On the count of three?”

“Three it is,” agreed the slayer. The dwarf glanced at his remembrancer. “Manling, count to three.”

“This is ridiculous,” Felix said stubbornly.

From above, the poet heard a raspy voice yell, “One, two, three, Go!”

At once the two arm-wrestlers began their competition. Felix looked skyward to see the rainbow-maned pony. The pegasus looked like she had paid a visit to the butcher’s shop, and it wasn’t by choice. Rainbow Dash sported several fresh cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over her body. But in spite of this, she was grinning from ear to ear as she watched the contest.

“Are you okay?” Felix asked.

The pegasus scoffed as she carefully landed next to the human. “Of course, I, ow, am. How did this get started?” The pony motioned towards the two combatants.

Felix rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. If I had to guess, Gotrek got mad at something petty and insignificant.”

The dwarf turned his head towards his fellow knight. “If I were you, I’d keep that pretty mouth shut.”

Taking advantage of the Slayer’s lack of concentration, Applejack nearly forced the dwarf’s hand to the table. Gotrek’s eyebrows rose in surprise; he had not been expecting that at all. He was only using a fraction of his strength, but that should have been enough to beat this weakling. What was even more surprising was the fact that she was also holding back. Clearly there was more to this pony then met the eye.

“Kick his butt, A.J.!” Rainbow Dash hollered.

“Keep it down; Ms. Twilight is trying to sleep,” Felix said quietly. “And for that matter, we should get you inside. You look pretty rough.”

“No way. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Kick his butt, A.J.” the Pegasus whispered.

The poet smirked at that.

As the arm-wrestling continued, Gotrek committed more and more of his seemingly inexhaustible strength. Applejack ,however, was matching him, though it was costing her greatly. Sweat was rolling off her body as she continued to fight on.

Felix rolled his eyes as he leaned the axe against the library. This folly did not look like it was going to be over soon. “How is the rest of Equestria?” he asked the Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash’s face darkened. “Not good. Twilight wanted me to check down south and see how bad things are. She didn’t want me to go far, but I thought what the hay, might as well check out Appaloosa.” She shook her head as she continued, “That was a big mistake. The town has been completely taken over. One of the warpstones fell almost in the middle of the town. Every single pony there has changed. I barely got out with my wings still attached.”

Felix bit back a scathing reply. How could this pony take such a risk? Going so far out on her own was the stupidest thing she could have done. However, judging by the crestfallen look the pegasus was giving the ground, it looked like she had learned her lesson. “Don’t ever do that again. If we lose you, Equestria falls.” Felix thought for a moment before asking, “That trinket around your neck doesn’t work for just anyone, does it?”

The cyan pony shook her head. “No.”

Before Felix could ask the pegasus anything else, a deafening crack filled the air. The human gazed at the table. His eyes clearly saw what was before him, but his mind couldn’t believe it. Gotrek Gurnisson, slayer of trolls, skaven, mutants, and daemons just lost a test of might to a pony.

The slayer released the ponies hoof and stood up from the table. He nodded at Applejack. “Well fought, pony.”

“You, you let me win,” the workhorse said quietly as she cradled her throbbing foreleg.

“Do I look like the sort that would let you win? Don’t be ridiculous. Revel in your victory and see to your friend. It looks like she found a nest of wolverines.”

Applejack wanted to argue some more, but seeing the state Rainbow Dash was in, she didn’t.

As the two ponies went inside the library, Gotrek hefted his axe, “Well, aren’t you going to ask me?”

“Did you really let her win?”

The dwarf sucked on his new teeth a moment before answering. “That stubborn pony was going to keep fighting even as the bones in her hoof began to crack and buckle. I was not using the power I could have used, but if we would have continued any longer, I would have hurt her. As I recall I swore an oath to protect her and all these other ponies. I would rather have this defeat live forever in my death epic then break my oath.”

Felix combed his hair with his fingers. “I could leave that part out if you want.”

The slayer shook his head. “No, I long for an honorable defeat and death, manling. This may be the closest I come to it for some time.”

Felix asked, “You want to take a walk? Get some fresh air?”

Before the dwarf could answer, a pained cry pierced the air. “That hurts, A.J.!”

“Great, that’s how we know it’s workin’. Now try to keep your mouth shut. This is gonna hurt worse.”

The dwarf shook his head. “No, it’s best we stay here. I doubt the pony witch is going to be able to rest anymore. Not with that racket.”

Felix winced as Rainbow Dash yelled a second time.

“I think you’re right.”

Sure enough Twilight Sparkle had awakened and was soon briefed by Rainbow Dash. And then Twilight checked the time. Without warning, she began to run all over the library, gathering quills, parchment, various letters from Princess Celestia, and the old sewer map Gotrek had drawn on.

Overcome with curiosity, Felix asked what the hurry was. The unicorn replied that there was going to be a town-hall meeting to vote on Ponyville’s best course of action. Since she missed her private meeting with the mayor, she would have to present the sewer plan publicly in less than an hour.

One hour later, Felix found himself on a raised stage, staring into a sea of pony faces. Being a poet, the human was used to public speaking, but he and Gotrek were only there for support. After all both of them (Gotrek more so) had contributed to this sewer plot. Twilight had just begun to speak, and most of the ponies were listening intently to what she had to say. Some of the ponies were looking right back at the pair of knights while muttering to their neighbors and pointing. But one pegaus in the front row was glaring at Felix with undisguised hatred. The pony, who was also an Element wielder judging from her necklace, had a butter-yellow coat with a pink mane and tail. Now being the slayer’s companion had privileged the human to witness and battle many terrors of the Old World, but this pony's stare froze his blood like nothing he had ever felt. However, the white unicorn with a purple mane seated next to the hateful pony was the complete opposite. The pony smiled at Felix whenever their eyes met. The poet wondered about this; she did look familiar.

A chorus of boos, hisses, and angry heckles yanked the poet out of his musings. He looked at the now irate crowd and back at Twilight. The pony was holding up her ancient map with her magic and was drawing on a chalk board at the same time.

“Please, everypony, hear me out. I believe this is our best option. We won’t be living in the sewers permanently. Just until we can get rid of this warpstone problem.”

“And how long will that take?” asked a pony from the seething crowd.

Twilight hesitated before saying, “I don’t know. Soon, I hope.” Before the unicorn could continue, another concern was voiced.

“You’re asking us to tear down our homes, the places we’ve lived and raised our children just so we can live with the rats?” This question came from a heavy-set pony with a pink apron.

Twilight cringed. “Yes, but we won’t be tearing down all the buildings.”

“Really? And who will decide which homes will be gutted? You?” This question came from a donkey with a wig.

Again, Twilight hesitated. Felix felt sorry for her. In the Old World, this scene had been acted out countless times. When Choas gets too close to a town, the town must decide what to do. The usual choices were to fight, flee, or fortify. This town could barely fight; therefore, that left just two options. However, these ponies had yet to see that the choice had already been made for them.

Coming to her friend’s aid, Rainbow Dash slowly flew up near the ceiling and yelled down to the crowd. “Has she ever steered you wrong before? If she says we need to live in the sewers for a while, then that’s what we’ll do.”

“We should go to Canterlot,” another pony said.

“Yeah, we’ll be safe at the capitol; Princess Celestia will protect us.”

“Y’all can’t go to Canterlot. That’s what everypony else is doing. We’d be making a bad situation worse over-there,” Applejack hollered.

And so argument was meant by counter-argument on what was to be done. Twilight, for her part, just looked on in hopeless silence as the citizens of Ponyville bickered amongst themselves. Eventually a grey-maned pony made her way up the small staircase to stand next to Twilight. Knowing that she would never get to present the rest of her plan now, the lavender unicorn yielded the speaker’s podium.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” the mayor said.

After several seconds the arguing and yelling died down.

“I say we put our future actions on how to deal with warpstone to the vote.”

On this there was great support.

With a disgusted look on her face, the politician asked, “All those in favor of Twilight Sparkle’s sewer plan?”

Felix added his voice to the few ponies who voted yes. This caused the Mayor to turn and give the human a stern look, but she held her tongue.

“And all those in favor of evacuating the town to seek refuge in Canterlot?”

“Aye!”

At least a third of those attending voiced their support to flee to Canterlot.

“And all those in favor of using the Elements of Harmony to defend Ponyville against the temporarily changed until Princess Celestia can find a cure?”

“Aye! Aye! Aye!” The air filled with Equestrians yelling their support for this course of action.

“It sounds like the Ayes have it,” the Mayor said smugly.

“No!” bellowed the dwarf in his booming voice.

All eyes turned to the axeman.

The Mayor smiled at Gotrek. “I’m sorry, sir, but the ponies have chosen.”

“Then they chose wrong.” The Slayer turned his one eye towards the multitude of Equestrians. “No one is leaving. You weaklings wouldn’t even make it out of sight. This world is now full of your own kin that want to turn you into emerald-eyed monsters, monsters that will not think twice about killing your own friends or family. That is the fate that awaits you outside Horseville. I will not let any of you jeopardize the future safety of this place. You may think you would never betray this town, but chaos always finds a way to make the strongest a slave.”

“But, but we voted to have the Elements . . .” the Mayor started to say.

“The Elements of Harmony do not belong to Ponyville alone,” Felix said, interrupting the grey-maned pony. “This power must be used to fight chaos wherever it rears its green eyes. The Elements must venture into the world and save it. For if they stay here, they will eventually be discovered and snuffed out of existence.”

“Who in Celestia’s name put the two of you in charge?” asked the cantankerous donkey.

“Princess Luna.”

The reply came from above.

Felix’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he recognized the two pegasi that had been Lieutenants in Shining Armor’s fallen army.

The Lunar Knights eyed the ponies that bore the heraldry of a crystal heart very closely as they landed on the stage.

The pegasus that bore a morning star as a cutie mark spoke as he pointed at the dwarf. “These two bear the tabards of the moon princess. Whatever these creatures say, they say with Princess Luna’s voice. To question them is to question the princess herself. Is that what you are doing, sir?”

The donkey glared back for a moment before lowering his eyes. “No.”

Nodding his head, the warrior pony with a bright shield cutie mark said to the crowd, “Then it is settled. Luna has spoken.”