Stories in Stone, Luna's Royal Guard.

by TDR

Twelve Hundred Degrees Celsius

Stories in Stone
Luna's Royal Guard
By TDR

Twelve Hundred Degrees Celsius

Spike was in a bad mood, though in all honesty, Twilight could not really blame him. While she had been studying with Rainbow Dash, Spike had been left swinging by his tail from a tree.

The crusaders had gone about trying to get a trapper cutie mark; granted, as usual, they got bored halfway through watching the one trap they set up and wandered off. Spike had gone looking for them to try and keep them out of trouble and had stumbled into the trap. He had been yanked into the air and left there for most of the day and far into the evening before she had noticed.

Suffice to say, when Twilight and Owlowiscious finally found him, he was cold, tired, starving, and royally pissed off. It had been a week now and he was still fuming. He was spending a great deal more time in the library as well, not wanting to have anything to do with the crusaders after that incident.

He had agreed to keep an eye on Twilight as she went about her studies, though that had taken a little more effort to convince him than usual. He had even been rather cold to Rarity lately. Twilight was not entirely certain what was wrong with him, it had to be more than the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ trap.

Twilight paused setting up for her study of the past, looking back at Spike as he plopped down on the sofa with a stack of comic books. Quite a few of them had come from the CMC as a way of apologizing to him for the trap. She was not sure if he had forgiven them or not at this point. His attitude, however, was finally starting to wear on her.

“Alright, that's it, Spike. What is eating you?”

“What do you mean what’s eating me?”

“You have had a rather crappy attitude for the past few months or so, and its only gotten worse after you got caught in that trap.”

“I dunno what you are talking about.”

“Spike...”

“Alright fine... you want to know what’s been bugging me? It’s everything. You, this stupid task, how its affecting every other pony, everything.”

“What?”

Spike growled lightly.

“You don't see any of it, do you? Hanging in that tree for six hours brought quite a few things into clarity. Sure, there have been times where you helped me out of a situation, but at the same time I've done the same for you. After all that we have been through, it seems at times you still see me as an inconvenience, or at worst a slave or a problem. You tend to have outbursts of panic and frustration that make me wanna get a suit of armor to avoid getting killed by something you do without thinking.”

He took a breath as Twilight twitched a little.

“You conveniently seem to forget to invite me to anything important. Like your birthday party for starters. You had me set up the decorations here, order a cake and everything, then you went to Canterlot with the others without even telling me. You all go to watch Rainbow Dash compete in the Best Young Fliers competition and you leave me behind. Let’s not even forget how all of you practically fled from me at the Gala. You knew I wanted to go see the Cake twins when they were born and yet once again I get left at home, you wouldn't take me to see Dash when she got hurt either. I tried to go myself, but they wouldn't let me in ‘cause I’m a dragon. You even went to the great Equestrian baking contest and left me behind AGAIN. So yeah, all that and you wonder why I am mad?”

“Spike, we talked about most of that and I apologized for nearly all of it, too.”

“Yet you still do it. I get that you want to hang out with the others, but so do I. Stuff like that little picnic I didn't mind, but the other stuff was big once-in-a-lifetime or at least a year events. And I get blown off like I am nothing.”

“Its not like that... wait, what do you mean ‘this task and how its affecting every pony’? What’s wrong with the assignment for Luna?”

Spike slapped his forehead with a claw.

“You haven't seen that, either?”

“Clearly not.”

“Look at every pony who's read this thing. Pinkie Pie is having conniption fits expecting something horrid to happen. AJ and Rainbow Dash are getting more sullen and reclusive, Rarity is becoming a full-on gossip mare about everything, Fluttershy is becoming even more jumpy, if that was possible, and you are obsessed.”

Twilight turned to look at the little dragon, wondering if he was joking. His glare said he was not. His attitude had gone from annoyance with her to downright making her mad. Especially as he got quite a bit of it wrong.

“Alright, hold it there, Spike. One, this is an assignment not just from Princess Celestia, but Princess Luna as well; BOTH princesses are counting on me, US, to come to a decision about the lives of five individuals. We can't do that without knowing everything. TWO, Pinkie Pie is not freaking out over the book, she’s got something else going on that I made a Pinkie Pie Promise not to talk about. THREE, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are probably so reclusive so they can spend more time together. FOUR, I have not seen any real change in Rarity at all; she did the same thing with the Gabby Gums incident. She does this every time there’s something interesting to bring up. FIVE, Fluttershy has go to be jumpy from everyone asking about her and Big Mac. The only one who seems to have a problem with any of this is you. All it seems to me is that you are making excuses for why you have been in such a bad mood by trying to force it off on the others. Don't even give me some nonsense about the girls stressing you out or you not being appreciated for doing it. Maybe that was true at first , but since you have been watching those three, most every pony has been treating you like a Celestia-sent angel. And as for the work you have been doing for me? It has drastically lightened u,p since I am only studying one thing now and not a few hundred for you to keep track of, so you are not overworked. Now then, what is the real problem?”

“ Its just like I said: even if it’s not extra work, you lose it when I make even a few grammatical mistakes in this book. There’s a lot of writing that’s gonna happen. The sword is still here after all this time and that thing still bugs me. You have already been hurt and had some weird stuff happen because of this study, you ignored my requests for you to stop it already, and I bet you still have not given the slightest bit of thought about what’s going to happen with you and the Princess.”

“Errr...”

“I thought not.”

The little dragon exhaled deeply as he leaned back and dipped his head a bit.

“Sorry, Twilight... It’s been a rather annoying few days. All this is not helping matters.”

“Quit a rant you had there.”

“Yeah, yeah. I feel a little better for letting it out, but I don't really know what’s wrong; everything’s just making me angry lately, even stuff that shouldn't, and the only thing that’s been different than normal has been the book and this study of yours.”

“Well, that, at least, is almost done, so a few more sessions and you won't have to worry about something else happening to me.”

Spike sighed and shook his head.

“I suppose not. Well, go ahead and get started. It’s not gonna finish itself.”

“You sure? You don't want to talk about this any more?”

“I do, but I would rather you be done with this so you are not distracted. Who knows? Everything might go back to normal anyway once you're done.”

“Well, if you are sure… This is a little unlike you, though. Well, except for that time you thought I was gonna replace you with Owlowiscious”

“Yeah, yeah...”

Twilight started casting the spell, more than a little worried about her assistant. He had a few valid points, but it was odd he was bringing them all up all at once like this, and so angrily.

She dove head first into the void, opening her eyes to regard the place and the stars twinkling. She blinked, looking back and seeing a small purple star that was not there before. It was tiny, but she knew who it was.

“Spike?”

This place was becoming even more maddeningly frustrating every time she came in here. Dragons had no stars, and Spike did not before, but now he did. Celestia had said this place sometimes showed the souls of those who had a greater destiny than they knew or a bigger part to play. Did this mean that, before this talk, Spike did not have a part to play?

She threw up her hooves in disgust and looked over the windows before her, selecting one to dive into and trusting the spell to show her what she needed.

------------------------------------------------------

“Four major cities wiped out, leagues of farmland drown, thousands of ponies killed and it is entirely your fault, Luna! At least attempt to express some sort of remorse!”

Princess Luna looked back at her sister as she stood on the large dais that was built to overlook the garden in Canterlot. From this vantage point, she could see the six newest additions to the prison, as well as the hulking stone form of Forgescale, the twisted body of Discord, the killer of her first love, and a multitude of others.

She had been doing her best to focus on them instead of listing to Tia's ranting. In all honesty, she did not care. She was thinking that she needed to destroy all of these statues when the opportunity came.

“This is nothing to concern yourself with, Celestia. This display of power hurt a great many of our enemies as well, and has put the fear of what we can do into every race. A few cities and some farm land are nothing compared to the fear that has been put into every creature. None would dare try to attack us after this. I have proven that a pony can change the very world they live in with one act. They would not risk seeing another.”

“You have the wrong idea on how the races of the world will act. The Lunar Republic is responsible for the near-eradication of two races and the genocide of another.”

“None of them cared for any of those now gone before they were destroyed, why should they care now unless they fear they are next?”

“No one will stand for this, sister. They will all seek to destroy you now, lest they suffer the fate of the others.”

“Such an act will see them doomed. They are little more than rats before the Republic, ripe for the slaughter the moment they show their teeth.”

“A cornered rat may still kill a cat, sister. You would do well to remember that.”

Luna turned to glare at the Princess of the sun. She wore a thick necklace now to hide her scar as if she was self-conscious about it; at least her necklace matched the crown. Her sister should be showing the wound, however, proving that even star metal was not enough to kill them.

“I care not of what the insects do; most of them will fall soon enough anyway for defying us in the past. What I wish to know, and the whole reason I have come here tonight, was to find out what your position is on all this.”

Celestia turned her head, looking out across the garden with a sigh.

“I cannot support the path you have chosen. You must give it up before it is too late. Things can still be fixed and returned to the way they were.”

Luna snorted, her ears flattening.

“Yes, let us go back to the way things were, where ponies flinched at every shadow, feared all the other races, and cowered from the night. Back to the time when you were loved and worshiped and I was barely tolerated by those I fought to protect. Such a great thing to return to.”

The Princess of the Night stalked away from her sister.

“Luna...”

“If you are not with me, Celestia, then you are against me, and thus my enemy. If you dare address me in the future, you will call me Nightmare Moon.”

The dark alicorn took off into the night sky, leaving her sister to stare after her with a look of sadness etched on her features.

=================================================

After the events of what was being called Nightmare Night, several things happened that changed Equestria's views on the Lunar Republic. Princess Luna shocked every pony by openly admitting fault for the disaster. She claimed that the one who started the events that lead to the disaster, Princess Aqua, had already started the spell that created the event before Luna was able to get there and stop her. The Night Princess claimed to feel sorrow for failing to stop Aqua in time to save the coastlines, but there was evidence that it could have been much worse, as the true plan was discovered to destroy all land dwellers, an effort that the Lunar Republic was able to prevent, if barely.

The Goddess of War swore that she would not allow anyone else to perform anything like this again, and her Lunar Republic would be stepping up their actions against threats to the peace of Equestria.

This was a wildly-disputed claim that caused many issues of its own. However, it did cause the lines between the Lunar Republic and everyone else to be clearly drawn.

The Griffons and the Diamond Dogs both swore to destroy the Republic. Both sides had lost a potent ally with the destruction of the dragon nation and the Griffons’ collective beak had been bloodied yet again with the destruction of their aeries and the death of one of their gods. The few dragon forces that remained and were still willing to fight joined this collective. The vast majority of the remaining dragon race were unwilling to fight. Those able fled to the lands across the sea and simply kept going. And yet, there was still no sign of the last dragon god.

The zebras wanted nothing to do with the Lunar Republic at all, wishing to pretend that the Untouchable queen did not exist. However, this caused strife in their own land with those who still chose to follow the Queen, feeling her actions were solely for the betterment of the land and should not be grounds for punishment

This erupted into a civil war in the zebra lands, with the nobles and most of the military on one side and a larger portion of the population, as well as all of those marked as Untouchables, on the other. The opening battle over this wound up being a bloodier conflict than anything previously seen in the zebra lands since the God Kings were overthrown. That zebras were going to war in her name caused Velkorn no end of grief, but she was not allowed back into the zebra lands to try and stop it.

The Harpies were still furious with the Republic over the loss of most of their army and the promised aeries, but considering the number of their warriors that had been lost, they could put forth no great attack force. The Griffons considered them to be allies of the Lunar Republic for their part in the attack as well. The few remaining soldiers of the Harpy military were kept close in case the Griffons came after them.

The Minotaurs, having been a coastal race as well as a sea faring one knew firsthand what sort of monster Aqua had been and believed every word of Luna's story. Every able-bodied individual from their race joined the republic and the leaders themselves pledged their support.

Canterlot remained silent about whose side they were on, but they officially announced that they would offer aid to any refugees to the war that was to come. They also accepted back any pony who left the Lunar Republic without any reservation.

The Queen’s Cross was renamed the King’s Cross in honor of Baelit's ascension to full royalty, despite his claims to the contrary. He was the only one who continued to refer to his group as the Queen’s Cross, as well.

Equestria itself was divided on what had happened and who was to blame. Ponyville did its best to remain neutral, although Maw Pelt was taking a great deal of flak from the towns folk in regards to her stance. Many who had before sided with Canterlot switched to support the Republic. Unfortunately, there were some who left the Republic to rejoin Canterlot. That, coupled with the farmland and the lost cities, kept the balance of supplies rather even. One group that had joined the
Republic was a selection of thirty-nine ponies from Hollow Shades. While they were little more than an even number of all three races of ponies, they all seemed to have rather extensive military training. They also all belonged to a cult dedicated to the worship of Princess Luna and her aspect of war, Nightmare Moon.

Luna was oddly amused by them. Rhede was disgusted by the idea of the religious fervor towards the princess the lot of them showed. Velkorn and Starfall were a tad wary of them, but held no real reservations about their existence or beliefs. Bleu's only comment about the cult was to inform all of them not to drink any offered grape flavored drinks from them.

Jer'rahd was curious as to the extent of their skills and decided to have a few matches with the new recruits. He did not seem to care about the religious natures of the group, only the martial ones.

While testing them, he found that all of them had been trained by three ponies that had been acting as the cult’s leaders. The main leader, Oroboros, was a black unicorn stallion with a green mane and short cropped tail. His cutie mark was of a snake eating its own tail. He wielded a blade much like the Waning Moon, though it was a straight bar with both sides of the weapon bladed: a double-edged sword.

The pegasus that seemed to be his second was a white stallion with a shock of bright pink coloring his mane and tail. He went by the name Jester and wielded a pair of wing blades. His cutie mark was a harlequin mask.

The earth pony was the only female member of the group’s main three. Her coat, mane, and tail were all the same dried-blood red. She carried a spiked mace almost as big as she was and went by the name of Oak Leaf. Her cutie mark was an acorn with a small crack in it.

The three had claimed to have joined the Guard just after the Second Dragon War and had finished their training just in time for the Lunar Republic to split off from Canterlot. Serving at a Guard outpost in Hollow Shades, they found others of their mindset and formed the Church of the Moon. When this was brought to the attention of their superiors, they had been discharged and had since come to offer their services to Princess Luna directly.

Jer'rahd had drilled the lot of them and found them at least adequate enough to avoid any further basic training, but all of them were rather lax in some areas. When the time came to test the leaders, the three of them requested to face Jer'rahd together.

“That would not exactly be a fair spar,”

“As the grand General of the Republic's forces and Princess Luna's second in command, should you not be able to handle at least as much as three?”

“No, you misunderstand. It would not be a fair fight for you. I would need to get a bit more serious with that many of you.”

“Perhaps just to first contact, then, instead of a usual spar? I am quite sure it would be interesting to the Goddess to see what we might be fully capable of.”

Jer'rahd glanced back at Luna, who simply nodded. He shrugged, shifted a hoof in the sand, and picking up his training sword with his magic.

“Alright then, ready yourselves.”

Oak Leaf was on top of him before the order to begin had left Starfall's lips fully. His eyes widened at the speed the mare had displayed as he threw up his shield and bounding back. Her wooden mace shattered against his shield, sending a myriad of spider webs through the green panel of energy.

He threw himself to the side as the ground under his hooves erupted in explosions of sand and dirt as Oroboros ripped the ground apart with spells. The pegasus had already vanished somewhere though the spell barrage kept him from looking for the pony directly.

The earth pony caught another wooden mace dropped from above and the General managed to look up in time to dodge the attack from the pegasus. They were not bad, but this was a standard tactic that he could easily turn around. He blinked as a hard thunk against his side made him pause. It was definitely a weapon connecting with his side, but the nearest attacker was the Pegasus, and he had landed a good two pony lengths away. He glanced down, seeing the shifting sand and a group of hoof prints in the sand near him.

Luna smirked slightly.

“Impressive use of that spell, Oroboros.”

“Thank you, Princess; your praise is music to my ears.”

Jer'rahd shook off the blow and looked curiously at the pegasus, wondering briefly what sort of spell was used.

“Mind filling me in on that trick?”

“It is a simple illusion spell with my own flair to it, sir. Many creatures use more than one sense to pinpoint attackers, but primary sight. Jester was there as the image showed, thus fooling smell and hearing, but he was a few apples to one side so that any attack or dodge would be misjudged.”

“Interesting.”

“I can teach you if you like, sir.”

“That will be fine. I do not need any more spells.”

“Variety can be useful sir.”

“It can, but so can knowing a set number like the back of your hoof.” Jer'rahd grumbled lightly as the unicorn simply nodded as if agreeing.

“General.”

“Yes, Princess?”

“If you do not mind, I believe I have a place for this lot. They clearly do not require much training, and their skills will prove valuable to some missions I have in mind.”

Rhede glanced up.

“What sort of missions could they be put on that one of us would not be better suited to?”

“It is not that one of you would not be better suited, General, it is that you have a host of other duties to deal with first, and I cannot always rely simply on you five to do everything. Besides, Jer'rahd and Starfall have rookies to train.”

“This is true Princess.”

“Then it is settled; this group shall answer directly to me and you five as need be.”

“As you wish Princess.”

Jer'rahd glared at the group, sighing softly. “Despite what new status you think you have, your job is the same as anyone else here. You are to protect the Princess and the Lunar Republic against any threats. And you are to deal with those threats without any hesitation or remorse. The well-being of the Lunar Republic and its Princess are your top priority.”

A chorus of 'yes sir' greeted him from the group, though Jer'rahd felt oddly ill at ease with this. He shrugged it off as annoyance at being bested by a simple spell.

========================================================

Six months passed filled with training, negotiations, and threats, but no real action from any side. It was as close to peace as any of them had seen in years, but there was still an edge, an undercurrent that everything was little more than a eye blink from erupting into conflict again.

Peace never lasted.

Starfall was in a panic, nearly hyperventilating as she paced around the base camp she shared with Rhede and Bleu.

Jer'rahd and Velkorn had remained at Winnysor Castle to assist Princess Luna. At least eighty percent of the Lunar

Republic forces had ventured to the Diamond Dog lands again in a mad charge that turned a three week trip into one that took only eight days. The pegasus general had rushed the entire force out there, barely restraining herself from going alone, and that was only due to Rhede and Bleu making sure she didn't.

“Damn it, Starfall calm down already.”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?! MY DAUGHTER IS MISSING AND YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?!”

“Yes, because having you freak out is not going to help any pony here. You already ran the entire force ragged just getting here; we are giving them a rest before we assault the city, so sit down, shut up, and find your calm, or I will have Bleu sit on you. Again.”

“Trust me, Starfall, you don't want that, I put on a few pound lately, rich gem diet and all that.”

Despite the seemingly calm nature the pair displayed, both of them were about ready to rip apart the Diamond Dog Capital of Crystal Tooth. Less than a month ago, close to a hundred foals went missing from Ponyville. Most of them were orphans from the dragon war, but a few were children of locals. Rhede's brothers Wolf and Fox were among the ones missing, as was Starfall's daughter Cloud Dancer.

The Lunar Republic and the Royal Guard had somewhat set their differences aside for a time to find the cause of their absence, though heated words and the occasional fight still broke out in the neutral territory of Ponyville.

Starfall had joined the search in a blind panic, though it was one of the Royal Guards that found the first tunnel. Further investigation revealed a long series of tunnels under the city seemingly dug by Diamond Dogs.

Proof was found in the form of six bodies: two Diamond Dogs and four foals. The ones found were some of the older ones; two had already gained their cutie marks. Evidently, this group had fought back and managed to take out two of their foalnappers before they were killed. Small hoofprints from the foals’ attack as well as deep burns and spell damage from unicorn spells seemed to have been what finished the two. The foals were partially ripped apart by thick claws.

Maw Pelt did her best to give all the groups all the aid she could, but she did not have time to talk to anyone at length. One of the Republic officers that had first responded to the situation was the one who told Starfall about the disappearance of her daughter, though he could not explain more than that, aside from adding that Rhede's brothers had gone missing, too.
The Diamond Dog nation, of course, swore up and down that they had no idea what was going on. They suggested perhaps it was a splinter group like the bone hounds had been.

Investigation of the dogs’ bodies that where found showed they both had nearly new armor on under their rags. Armor that was issued to the Diamond Dog Imperial Army.

Princess Luna brought to the world’s attention that a splinter group is what thy said about the Bone Hounds and that had been directly funded and supplied by the nation. While Celestia kept her Royal Guard in Equestria to hunt for the splinter group, Princess Luna took a different approach. She sent Rhede and Bleu along with the majority of their forces to the Diamond Dog nation by way of Camp Geode. Starfall went along as well, whether any one liked it or not.

Less than a month later, they were staring at the capital of the Diamond Dogs’ empire, Crystal Tooth. Rhede was amused that the layout had not changed at all since he and Bleu were imprisoned here.

Rhede looked over to Starfall, who was still pacing, and sighed again before looking over to the others who were present in this little meeting.

“You all know the plan. Bleu, are you ready to go?”

“You sure I shouldn't stay here with Starfall and make sure she doesn't skip ahead a little?”

“She won't; it may be her daughter’s life at stake here. If she orders the attack before we come back, there's a good chance she will just bury her daughter alive along with us.”

“You are not helping me calm down, Rhede.”

“You were not calming down anyway. I just want you to be clear-headed so as not to do anything rash.”

Starfall snorted as Rhede looked over the other four officers that would be in on this plan. Rhede was still a little leery of the
sudden promotions of the ponies from Hollow Shades, but he could not doubt their effectiveness.

Dutch was with them on this as well and was leading his own unit. Lion Heart had also been given command of the pegasi and Half-Dragons that were not in the Shadowbolts. Starfall had been impressed enough with him to make him her second-in-command. Oak Leaf and Jester had also come with them. Jester was in command of a unit of mage cannoners and Oak Leaf was leading a charge of some rather bloodthirsty ponies who would be racing to be the first inside the city when the order came.

“Stick to the plan and everything will be all right. Bleu and I have been here before, and we can find out where the foals are being held, and perhaps why.”

“Sir, we do not even know if they are being held here.”

“It's the only lead we have, Dutch. Unless you have a better place to start, I suggest you stick to the plan. Lets go, Bleu.”

Rhede pulled a cloak over his head and vanisheds from sight as Bleu shrank down and slipped under his vanishing cloak, groping as she went.

“GAH! WATCH THE CLAWS, BLEU!”

“Oops, I just couldn't help myself.”

===========================================================

“Are you sure this information is correct, Oroboros?”

“I am, indeed, General. There was talk of it before my group left, but now they have begun to make their move. I do not wish ill on my home town, but I will not stand by and see them betray the Princess they are beholden too.”

Jer'rahd glanced back at Luna as the half-dragon-drawn chariot pulled them across the night sky towards Hollow Shades.

The green-maned unicorn was adamant that the city council be confronted by Luna herself to show them that this sort of thing would not be tolerated. While Hollow Shades was not a primary supporter of the Lunar Republic, the loss of any supplies could be problematic at this point.

He sighed, looking down at the new range of mountains that had been thrust up from the ground in the events of Nightmare Night. It was not the only change to the land that had happened, but it was the closest to Canterlot and the furthest inland.

“Oroboros, has this range been given a name yet?”

“Given the newness of it, nothing official yet. The locals have, however, taken to calling them the Foal Mountains.”

“Fitting.”

“I hope you have not made too many plans for the next few days, General. We have another stop to make before we return.”

“Pity; I was looking forward to showing a few more recruits they are not as skilled as they think.”

“Much the same way we showed you, General?”

Jer'rahd glared at the unicorn, who simply smirked lightly.

“It would have been a much different story if it had been a real fight.”

“Yes, you would be dead now and not worrying about being beaten, General.”

“I've killed gods, colt. You three are nothing I cannot deal with.”

“From my understanding, you have always had help in that regard, primarily from the Princess.”

“Why you...”

“Silence! I do not wish to hear you two bicker the entire trip.”

“Yes, Princess”

“As you wish, Princess.”

========================================================

Velkorn was a little perplexed as she sat in her personal library. While she had agreed that Luna should have access to the recipes she had written down in her books, she had not expected Luna to take them all.

Of course, that was not exactly what worried her. There was a certain book that Rhede had found and given to her that would be very bad if it got out. She knew Princess Luna was aware of the situation and had possibly simply taken it along with the others. She would feel better, though, if she could get that one back at least. It was not a secret Luna was unaware of, anyway.

She was sure the half-dragons would prefer that news of their creation be under wraps as well.

=====================================================

Three hours after the infiltration, Rhede and Bleu met up in a small storage room they had found to see if there had been any luck in the search.

“Have you found anything?”

“ Not yet, sexy hooves; just a bunch of near-panicked Diamond Dogs jumping at shadows. That makes getting around a bit difficult.”

“Stop calling me stuff. The cells are all empty as well. It doesn't look like there ever was any one down there. I caught one of the guards and questioned him as well. He still maintains the innocence of the dogs. Something is not adding up here.”

“It fits the reports of Camp Geode not hearing anything either. To move that many foals, even sedated, would take a great many dogs. Maybe they are still in Equestria somewhere.”

“So what’s the plan, oh fluffy flanked one?”

“We head up to where the leader is and have a word with him.”

“That might be a little more risk than I am comfortable with.”

“He ain't nothing but a hound dog, an old one at that. Besides, it would not be the first god we have dealt with.”

“It would be the first one with out Jer'rahd. We need to head back and let Starfall know what’s going on anyway. Its almost been three hours; we need to check in so they don't start blasting the place.”

“We still have an hour before we are supposed to check in.”

An explosion rocked the ground they stood on, sending a cascade of rock dust down on their heads.

“What the buck?”

Another explosion shook free more rocks and dust, followed by a series of other explosions in a rapid fire rhythm.

“They started shelling already; we have to get out of here!”

“We had another hour, damnit, Starfall!”

======================================================

“WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?!”

“Returning fire, General; we were attacked!”

Jester pointed a wing to the smoking crater not far from one of the mage cannons in his grouping. The troops under his command continued to fire at the city, great gouts of stone and smoke were thrown into the air with every impact of the spell cannons charges against the city of Crystal Tooth.

“WELL STOP IT, CEASE FIRE CEASE BUCK IT!”

Even as the cannons stopped in Jester’s unit, several others started firing on the city from other vantage points. The heightened tension of the siege had caused the other groups to start firing as soon as the first started. Star fall turned, racing away to tell the others to stop. As she flew off, she did not notice the cannons behind her being reloaded to commence firing again on Jesters order.

================================================

Rhede and Bleu darted though the collapsing structure, ignoring the Diamond Dogs running around most of whom were also ignoring the pair as they fled for their own lives towards the tunnels under the city. The earth pony and dragonling, however, were looking to go up and out.

It was as Rhede had predicted when they were here last. The city was barely defensible; the dogs had hollowed out so many of the thick walls and rock in Crystal Tooth to house their population that the entire city was like a house of cards ready to come down at the slightest shove.

The place was like a maze as well; in the rush for an exit, the pair had taken a wrong turn into the warrens and were lost in the overabundance of apartments and small shops carved in the rock.

Rounding a corner, Bleu suddenly grabbed Rhede by the tail, yanking him backwards as a ton of rubble crashed down to where he had been. The earth pony winced at the yank and glared briefly back at the dragon, but still muttered a thanks in response.

Rhede growled lightly at the collapse that blocked the stairwell leading up, trapping them in the collapsing city. “Shit, we need to go back down, quick.”

“ I can always send you to Luna. You'd get out of here.”

“Buck that, I'm not leaving you to get squished. Besides, I heard that method of travel is immensely painful.”

Bleu chuckled as Rhede galloped back down the stairs, skidding to a halt at a landing and looking at one of the walls. Bleu stopped as well, looking at him and the wall he was staring at.

“What’s the deal, Rhede?”

“You don't feel that? There’s a really strong breeze right here.”

“Nah, I got nothing, thick scales and all.”

Rhede moved to the wall and pushed on it with a hoof, but got no response from it. A low rumble was heard deeper in the city as something massive collapsed; the vibration knocked something loose on the other side of the wall, blowing wind harder through the cracks, along with a cloud of dust.

“Bleu, do you think you can break through this wall? I think it may lead to outside.”

“What, am I on the brute squad now?”

“You are the brute squad, unless you want to be squished when this place comes down.”

“It may do that anyway if I break the wall. Ah well, nothing ventured and all that. BLEU SMASH!”

Rhede dove aside as the dragonling grews to her full size, nearly filling the hallway. She threw herself bodily against the wall, sending a cascade of rock and dust from above as well as knocking loose a few bricks. She paused, looking through the hole with a smirk before clawing at it, ripping more bricks away before grabbing Rhede and tossing him through.

“Bleu, what? GAAAAH!”

Rhede flinched, expecting to smack into stone, though he was pleasantly surprised to bounce off a bed and crash onto a carpeted floor. Looking around as he got to his hooves, he found he was in some diamond dog's bedroom. The previous owner lay splattered across the floor and the far wall had a large jagged hole in it where a spell cannon shot had hit. A strong wind blew though the hole.

The earth pony glanced back as a shrunken dragonling popped though the hole, bouncing on the bed before landing perfectly on the floor after a double somersault in the air.

“TAH DAH!”

“I call foul; you used your wings to stay in the air a bit longer.”

“ Everyone's a critic. Lets go while the getting's good.”

“Agreed. Dibs on the one who fired first.”

“BUCK IT! I was gonna say that.”

Bleu moved to the hole, ducking back as more of the structure collapsed and fell past the hole. She resumed her large form, allowing the earth pony to hop onto her back and secure himself before she launched out into the air. Rhede glanced back, waiting for the room to collapse in a dramatic 'just escaped' effect, but the room remained stubbornly intact until the pair had flown out of sight of it.

“Well, that was anticlimactic.”

==================================================

Hollow Shades lived up to its name. The entire town was in perpetual shadow from the great trees that had been hollowed out as home for the majority of the ponies living there. Bleu would have had quite a bit of fun with that joke on its name, hollowed out trees in the shade. Luna's arrival was not unnoticed and quite the panic was going on bellow as ponies scramble to get away from the landing chariot.

The panic turned to absolute terror when they saw that it was the Princess and her General stepping off the chariot. At least, that was what Jer'rahd assumed at first. It did not take him long to notice more of the gathered and nervous ponies were looking at Oroboros than him.

Luna regards the gathered ponies without expression. There were frantic signs of movement at the back of the crowd before several of the ponies pushed an older unicorn to the front of the group. His black coat and green mane and tail had all grayed with age. His eyes widened at the sight of Oroboros, ears flattening to his head.

Jer'rahd ignored them as his gaze traveled over the town. Most of these villagers seemed like farmers with a few shop keepers; no real threat to the princess. His eyes fell on a few ponies with rather grievous, if old, wounds standing or sitting back apart from the rest of the gathered masses, simply watching. A pair of pegasi, three earth ponies, and a unicorn. Both the pegasi were missing wings, two of the earth ponies were missing a leg, and one of them was rather badly burned and blind it seemed. The unicorn also had some burns, and his horn was little more than a shattered chunk of bone jutting from his skull.

One of the earth ponies noticed his gaze in their direction and gave a sharp salute with his remaining foreleg. The others seemed to notice, including the blind one, and snapped to attention with a salute as best they were able.

Jer'rahd swallowed returning the salute with a quick snap. He turned back to the Princess quickly, realizing Luna and the elder unicorn had been talking while he was looking around.

“I am sorry, Princess, but with the new demands you have made in our tithing, and the disaster, we cannot afford to give you all you have asked. Our town cannot subsist on so little through the winter.”

“That does not explain why you have instead chosen to side with Canterlot, mayor.”

“…Again, I am sorry, but your sister is willing to forgo our tithe until we recover from the disaster. The new mountain range destroyed more than half of our fields. With as late in the season as it is, we may not even have enough to make it through the winter without aid, something Princess Celestia has promised us.”

The Goddess of Night’s eyes narrowed. “So rather than bring this to my attention, you simply decided to leave the Republic and go crawling back to Canterlot, thus leaving us not even so much as a warning that we will not be getting a needed tithe from you.”

“It is not like that Princess...”

“SILENCE! WE HAVE HEARD ENOUGH FROM YOU. YOU OPENLY ADMIT YOU WILL BETRAY US FOR OUR SISTER AND THEN EXPECT US TO LISTEN TO MORE OF YOUR SNIVELING?!”

Luna's horn glowed brightly, sending a bolt of darkness lancing out at the elder pony. The old unicorn cried out in horror as the bolt slammed into a green glowing shield before connecting to him.

The moon goddess whirled and glared at Jer'rahd, who dropped his shield, not liking the grin Oroboros had on his face until he had saved the old pony.

“General, what...!?”

“They are no good to anyone dead, Princess. They have a new mountain range to explore and plenty of timber and other goods besides food that we can use. Unless you just start blasting them. Corpses might make good fertilizer, but not if there’s no one to tend the fields.”

“They have sinned against the goddess and need to be...”

“Shut your bucking mouth, colt, before I shut it for you, and make no mistake I will highly enjoy doing just that. I don't know what your issue is with this place, but I suggest you stop trying to convince the Princess to do things she would regret later. There does not need to be any sort of example here. The mayor’s already soiled himself in terror.” He looked back up at Princess Luna, noting her glare had barely softened. “It is better you give them some sort of an ultimatum and make them prove their loyalty is really with you instead of simply destroying them.”

Luna regarded Jer'rahd curiously for a moment. The entire town seemed to collectively breathe in sharply, adding to the oppressive silence. Oroboros opened his mouth as if to break the quiet or argue with the General, but the loud snap of a catch being released on the Waning Moon's scabbard kept him silent until the princess was done pondering the situation.

“You are correct, General; that would have been a pointless waste. Though I have a interesting idea for what to do with this lot now.”

“So long as it is not a waste of resources we need, Princess.”

Luna snorted, then leaped into the air with a sudden down stroke of her wings. Jer'rahds's ears flattened as he noted the inhalation she usually did before starting in on the Royal Voice.

“HEAR US, OH TRAITOROUS PONIES! YOUR PLANS HAVE BEEN FOUND OUT AND SHALL NOT GO UNPUNISHED. FROM THIS POINT ON, YOUR TITHE SHALL BE DOUBLED AND DUE ON THIS DAY. WHAT EVER YOU OWN AND WHAT YOU GAIN OVER THE COURSE OF YOUR LABORS SHALL HAVE A PERCENTAGE OF IT GRANTED ONTO US AND THE LUNAR REPUBLIC.”

Jer'rahd shook his head, looking around again at the ponies, all of whom were staring with terror at the angry alicorn before them. All of them save Oroboros, who only seemed to focus on Jer'rahd. The gray unicorn ignored the pouty black-coated colt, looking up as Luna continued her order.

“BECAUSE OF YOUR TRAITOROUS WAYS, WHEN THIS TITHE IS DUE IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR, WE DEMAND THAT YOU ALL HIDE YOUR FACES AND THE VERY FACT THAT YOU CLAIM TO EVEN BE PONIES. PONIES DO NOT TRY AND SNEAK THEIR WAY OUT OF THEIR AGREEMENTS, AND THEY DO NOT BETRAY THEIR GODDESS. YOU LOT ARE NO BETTER THAN DRAGONS AND ORCS IN THAT REGARD.”

Jer'rahd frowned, wondering where she was going with this. Oroboros had ceased his glaring, clearly curious as well.

“THAT STATED, ON THE NIGHT OF YOUR TITHE, IF I SEE ANY CREATURE NOT HIDING WHAT THEY ARE, TO BRAZENLY THINK THEMSELVES A PONY AFTER THIS BETRAYAL, WE WILL SEE THEM CONSUMED BY MY WRATH AND THEIR SOULS DEVOURED!! NOW BEGONE FROM OUR SIGHT!”

A bolt of lightning arced across the sky behind her, the sudden peal of thunder adding a bit of oomph to her words and sending the entire town running away screaming. The mayor also soiled himself a second time as he took off. The only ones who had not run off were the group of injured Guards. They slowly made their way back towards their homes, ignoring the panic of the other ponies.

Jer'rahd was certain they were retired members of the 42nd. He felt rather ill at ease having had this happen before them.
They deserved not to be treated like criminals because of what their towns leaders did.

The Princess landed, glaring at her General.

“Is that more to your liking, Kaisur?”

“We did not lose something we needed and yet the entire town is now highly motivated to produce what we require of them, if at an altered time than normal. I would say that is quite to my liking Princess. It benefits the Lunar Republic far more that the first action you considered.”

“They were given another year. That is the only mercy they shall get from me.”

“They should be lucky to have that, Princess.”

“Hmmph. Oroboros, you have business to finish here. Make your way back to Winnysor when you are done. The General and I have another stop to make.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“And leave your father alone ‘til he gets a bath.”

The unicorn turned to stare at Jer'rahd with such venom that he fully expected to be turned to stone for a moment. The

General smirked as he climbed onto the chariot after the princess. It was nice to see that he still had a way of aggravating his opponents. Of course, recognizing the two similar-colored unicorns were related did not take any small leap of logic, though seeing as how happy Oroboros had been that his father was almost killed made him feel rather ill.

================================================

“RHEDE!”

“Oh Shii....”

Bleu banked hard, nearly knocked out of the sky by a blur of a gray and purple. The pegasus impacted the earth pony on her back, sending them both sailing through the air. The dragon expected the pair to crash into the ground below, though evidently Starfall still had enough sense to brake the decent so that the impact, while still jarring, was not harmful. Bleu sighed, flying down to help Rhede.

“Did you find her? Was she there? What happened? Argh, your not talking! IS SHE DEAD? GAH DON'T TELL ME IF SHE IS ! IS SHE?”

Rhede for the most part was trying to make sure his head was not shaken off as the pegasus nearly throttled him. She probably would have continued to panic and shake the crap out of him, but Bleu arrived to pull the flailing pegasus off of

Rhede by her sword belt, holding her in the air as she squirmed
.
“You okay, squishy fur?”

“Stop calling me... what the heck does that even mean, Bleu? Never mind. Starfall, we did not find any trace of any foals there at all, nor any sign that any had been there or still to arrive. None of the dogs I questioned knew anything about it, either.”

His ears perked up at the sound of shouting. Standing up and dusting off, he climbed up on top of a pile of rocks and looked back towards the city of Crystal Tooth and the army charging the gates.

“Starfall, what happened out here? We were supposed to have another hour easy.”

“One of the cannon crews was attacked and they started firing, a fair-sized blast was not far from their position. Once one started firing, they all did, it took me some time to get them all to stop. Once that happened, I ordered the ground attack just in case you two had been trapped or something.”

“I think the dogs, well, these dogs, anyway, are innocent in this one, Starfall. And like everything else we have been doing lately, we are simply destroying something for our own reasons.”

“They took my daughter, Rhede. I would wipe the entire race of them off the planet for so much as hurting a tail hair, and they took her. They also took your brothers. Are you not concerned about them?”

Rhede sighed. He was about to comment, but Bleu cut him off.

“No offense to your judgment, Starfall, but something doesn't add up. Follow me in this if you see where I am going, silky mane.”

“Stop... never mind, what is it?”

“It's been bugging me for a while. Every foal they took had yet to get their cutie mark or had just gotten them except those three. Why did they grab a couple of ponies that are maybe a year from being adults along with the foals? It just doesn't make much sense, and if they did, knowing those three, it should have been them we found dead in the tunnels after fighting back, not a couple of blank flanks.”

“What are you saying, Bleu? You don't think my daughter was taken? Then were is she?”

“I didn't say it answers everything. Its just something that's been bugging me from the information we have. We were kinda rushed into this attack, don't you think? Who actually told you that Cloud Dancer, Fox and Wolf were taken?”

“One of the Lieutenants in the investigation, Maw and the other Pelts were running too ragged with everything to talk to me.”

Rhede climbed down off the rock, leaving the battle to go on with out them.

“She brings up a interesting point. Fox and Wolf would have fought tooth and hoof against any one trying to take them, and with as big as Wolf has gotten he would have taken down more than just one or two Diamond dogs.”

Starfall looked between the two, confused, yet still on edge.

“So what does this mean then? You don't think they were foalnapped?”

“Much as you want to believe it, Starfall, Cloud Dancer is not a foal anymore. I have a feeling Maw knows something, and that lieutenant might have embellished something.”

Starfall bit her lip, ignoring the sounds of battle in the distance.

“So what now?”

“Now we have a talk with that idiot who fired while we were still in the city. Then, when this is all wrapped up, we go talk to Maw. After that, we start looking into this on our own. Luna was far too quick to send everyone out here.”

Starfall and Bleu glance to each other, then to the earth pony.

“You don't think she had something to do with this do, you?”

“I don't trust that she's been using the books. I have been watching her since I found out. She's gotten a bit more bloodthirsty as of late. I hope I am mistaken in this, because if she is behind the missing foals, I have no idea what we would
do about it.”

“Boss is not going to like it either way, particularly with how close the two of them have become. I spent a good while trying to get those two together and now that it happened, I am not sure I should have done so.”

===============================================

Velkorn looked out the window of the castle's library across the training field to the new recruits going though drills. It was a mixed lot of ponies, a scattering of zebras, and Minotaurs. The primary race that had been recruited, however, seemed to be half-dragons; a rather sizable force of them had recently joined.

After the number that were lost when the tidal wave washed over Gallopagos Island, she was unsure where this group had been before the wave hit. The pegasus Jester claimed they had turned up not far from Hollow Shades, evidently having lost the island they had been living on.

While it made sense, the majority of the half-dragons had been Black with the occasional Blue. None of the other dragons wanted anything to do with the crossbreeds, let alone add their own genetics to the batch, particularly reds.

But this lot was different. There were all colors here, predominately reds, but there were a greater number of all the others, including some of the mixes as well. The differences would likely be unnoticed to anyone who wasn’t familiar with half-dragons or a trained medic who would notice physical oddities.

Lion Heart was a perfect example of how a half-dragon normally was: tall and imposing, with bat-like wings and scales around their hooves, muzzle and shoulders. Most of the time, they also tended not to have a cutie mark, either, with their flank covered in scales and extending into a thick lizard-like tail.

This group, however, was more pony-like. Their ears were longer than a normal pony’s and they still had scales around their hooves and the bat-like wings, but their tails were pony-like and quite a number of them had cutie marks, though most of them seemed to be hourglasses, oddly enough. The few she had talked to had no idea how they gained the cutie mark, claiming to have had it for as long as they remembered.

The other major oddity was that there were not just pegasi half-breeds. There were unicorn versions that had gnarled or curved horns and the earth pony ones that were massive beasts of ponies, towering over everyone else in the field.

That was the part that did not make sense. At least ninety percent of the half-dragons from Gallopagos were crossed with pegasi. This group, which had supposedly come from an island somewhere, had only thirty percent of their number crossed with pegasi.

The book stated that dragons did not care for any of the other types of pony, favoring ones who could fly and the occasional caster. Lion Heart had only been able to save a few of the other types, as the unicorns had a greatly shortened life spans compared to the others. How could this group have survived since the dragon empire was defeated?

Something was very wrong here.

=============================================================

“So you say the shot fell here?”

“Yes, sir; you can see the crater it caused. That spooked everypony and we just started firing. I apologize, sir. At the time, we did not think to consider you and General Scale were in the city before shelling it.”

“That's fine, Jester; we got out alright. Go back to your team and get them moving, the Dogs are already trying to surrender and I need everypony to guard the prisoners and search the city.”

“Yes, sir.”

The pegasus took to the air, flying back to the other side of the small rise to where the other cannoneers were preparing to move. Bleu and Starfall watch him fly off as Rhede looked down at the blast area.

“I don't like him. I don't like any of the ones from that cult.”

“The Princess thinks they are useful, Bleu; that's really all that matters at this point.”

“None of them have done anything that we know of, yet they always scurry around like rats under claw. Plus, if there’s a issue or a problem somewhere, these guys are always there. It's only been two months since they joined and I already want to deep fry them.”

“Calm down, Bleu; you are only mad because they almost killed you.”

“Actually, Starfall, I think Bleu is onto something. This blast is from a magic cannon shot. There's still crystal shards in the ground from the explosion.”

“I could tell that, Rhede. I am not ignorant on the weapons of war.”

“Only two races developed these, Starfall: us, and then the dragons mimicked our design. Diamond Dogs don't have spell cannons, they have ballista and catapults.”

“Maybe they got some from the dragons. They were allies, after all.”

“So the dogs got one cannon and aimed it at one group that was the furthest from them even though if they could see this group, they could likely see the leader flying around and only fired one shot before they gave up? You would be easily recognized by any Dog attackers. They are the ones who gave you your name , 'Light of death'.”

“Well, when you put it that way...”

Bleu growled a bit. “So he set off one of our own shells to make it seem he was under attack then could start blasting the city early while we were still in it?”

“Looks that way, Bleu, but why? You have any ideas, Rhede?”

Rhede sighed as he trotted away from the crater. “Pretty simple, and annoying as well. These ponies are from a cult that worships Luna as a Goddess of Night and War. If any of her Generals fall, it is likely that one of them, being the Princess’s current favorite ponies, gets our position and they get closer to their goddess.”

“Bucking lovely. So I have to watch my flank from my own soldiers now.”

“No, Starfall, I think you are safe. No other pony can perform the Sonic Rainboom. Even these idiots wouldn't try to remove you before they found a way to mimic what you do. Velkorn is also relatively safe as she has more medical knowledge in one strand of her mane than the best unicorn medic has in their entire body.”

“So the only ones at risk are me, fabulous mane here, and Boss.”

“Looks that way. My guess its was a way to get rid of us and possibly cover something up.”

“Oh yes, this was a great day to get out of bed.”

====================================================

The chariot arced across the sky, crossing over the Everfree and the new settlement of Dodge City. Jer'rahd knew where they were going, but was not liking the idea. While it would be nice to see those who had helped him before, he was not looking forward to the ultimatum that Luna would likely give.

The night had barely begun when they landed outside of the Buffalo encampment. Thankfully, the camp was at its closest point to the Everfree this time of year. There were a few tense moments when the braves refused to let them near the camp, not recognizing Luna at all. The ones who recognized him, however, went to find the Chief.

After a time, a large, older Buffalo trotted out from the ring of braves, dismissing them with a wave of his hoof before approaching the two. It took Jer'rahd a moment to recognize the elder as Chief Three Bear.

The buffalo had wasted away considerably, maintaining very little of his former mass. The expression on Jer'rahd's face must have been easy to read as the buffalo chuckled.

“We all grow old and fade, General Kaisur. My time is closing before long. The loss of Hastiin has caused me great anguish; Makawee and Nituna will no longer speak with me. The last few winters have not been kind since that battle.”

“You should not have aged this much in such a short time, Three Bear.”

“I made a pact with creatures of magic and the stars. That contract has kept me alive far longer than many expected. With that contract over, my age has simply caught up with me. I expect I know why you two are here, but I will let you speak your piece before I respond to it.”

Luna nodded, not seeming to be surprised that Three Bear had all but wasted away. She evidently knew about the contract, or had simply been keeping up with him.

“There is another great conflict coming, General. I would ask that you and your tribe not chose a side and stay out of everyone's way. This is not something you need be involved with.”

Jer'rahd and Three Bear both seemed surprised at this, though the buffalo chief smiles.

“I see, you are finally granting me the peace I had desired for so long.”

“Your lands will not see war from the Lunar Republic... unless you side with Canterlot or any of the other races. So long as you remain free and independent, I will ensure you stay that way.”

“Are you that worried that my small tribe will be able to sway the balance of power in the world that much?”

“You alone were enough to sway the very tide of the last wars that have been fought in Equestria. I would prefer not to see what your whole tribe could accomplish if so pressed.”

Three Bear laughed and Luna smiled a little.

“I can agree to that, Princess. We have not wanted to be part of a conflict since the first we were dragged into by the Thunder Lizards. We will remain out of this one as a tribe. If you do not mind, however, Princess, I would like to speak to my successor as General for a moment.”

“If you wish, though we do not have much time with all that has been going on.”

“It should not take long, Princess. Please stop by again when you have the chance.”

“I shall do what I can, Chief Three Bear, but I can make no promise in that regard.”

The princess of the night trotted back to the chariot. A sigh of relief escaped the buffalo.

“Something wrong?”

“Several things, Kaisur. Something has changed inside of Princess Luna. She is not the same... the same can be said of you to a lesser degree.”

“Quite a great deal has happened since Canterlot was attacked.”

“There has always been a darkness about her, Kaisur. She suffered much in her time as the goddess of war and night.

Those are two things no pony is comfortable with even in the best of times. What affects her now is a deeper trouble than anything I have felt from her before.”

“I thought Buffalo did not cast spells.”

“We have some ties to nature and the spirits of the world, but I do not even training in them to sense something very wrong with her. Be on your guard, Kaisur. I do not wish to see you dragged down with her if she continues her path as she has.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The winds carry ill omens in regards to her Lunar Republic. I gather you have not noticed any changes with her, I suppose you would not notice anything gradual if you are with her all the time. I have not seen the Princess in over a season’s time and she has greatly altered herself from when I last saw her.”

“She had some physical changes yes...”

“That is not what I speak of. Her mannerisms, the way she carries herself, and tone has changed. Her spirit is very different as well. I am reminded of a a conqueror instead of a protector seeing her now. As I said, she is much darker and the shadow within her is growing even as I watch.”

“Cryptic.”

“I suppose so. But I have done all I can to warn you in this regard. There is another thing I would like to address, however.”

“What’s that?”

The buffalo chief seemed to age even faster before Jer'rahd’s eyes as he glanced back at the camp behind him.

“Several braves have already left the tribe to join the Equestrian Guard. One of them is my son, Proud Tail. The Republic is not viewed well out here.”

Jer'rahd sighed, nodding.

“If he has joined the Royal Guard, I may have to face him. I cannot promise you I will not fight him, I can only promise I will not seek him out.”

“I suppose I cannot ask for more than that.”

“Sorry I could not offer more, Chief.”

“It is quite alright; that is enough for me. This will likely be our last meeting, General Kaisur. I wish you well. Please consider my words. I would meet you and the Princess again in the afterlife if I could, but if your souls are doomed to Tartarus, such will not be the case.”

Jer'rahd glanced at the Buffalo as he slowly rose and moved away back towards the collection of his tribe’s tents. This was not something he had wanted to see. He knew Three Bear was over a hundred, but to see him this far gone in such a short time was disheartening.

“Three Bear!”

“Yes General?”

“When we meet again, we shall not be using these ranks. You had best call me by my first name.”

The buffalo stopped and turned back to look at the unicorn, a slow smile crossing his muzzle as he chuckled.

“I shall, indeed, Kaisur. But not until then.”

==========================================================

[ One month later.]

The trip back to Winnysor Castle had been a rather tedious one, particularly with the lack of information about the foals that had gone missing. The generals considered the trip a bust, though the Church of the Moon members had considered it a great success as the Diamond Dog nation was scattered with the destruction of their main city and several outlying towns that had been found on or near the surface.

The attack had gone off surprisingly well, with very few Republic Guards being killed or injured. The Diamond Dogs had offered a stiff resistance at first, but once Starfall and her team joined the fight with repeated sonic rainbooms, that resistance fell apart and most of the dog soldiers ran off screaming and clutching their ears.

At least two Diamond Dog gods were conformed to be killed, still leaving the known total at five. The Republic wiped out any dogs in the cities, but no pony was stupid enough to follow the dogs that ran into the ground.

Crystal Tooth was no more; once again, the Lunar Republic had flexed its power and brought another race to its knees. Unlike other attacks, however, the Republic forces were ordered to capture as many of the Diamond Dogs as possible to bring back with them.

Starfall had been greatly annoyed by Jester. Her Shadowbolts had cornered one of the gods, but before she could question it, the creature was killed by a star metal crossbow bolt shot by Jester.

The pegasus explained the god looked ready to attack and he was only protecting his General, but it still pissed her off at how smug the little shit was about it. Jester had killed one god and it was later found that it had been Oak Leaf who killed the other. The large earth pony did not gloat about it as Jester did; she simply sought something else to fight and kill.
Once they were back, however, there were more pressing issues. The three delegated the tasks of getting the troops situated to other officers as they planned their next move.

Bleu would report to the princess, while Rhede and Starfall would gather Velkorn and travel to Ponyville to start their own personal investigation into it. Rhede stopped just out side the castle’s main gate, looking at the other two.

“Alright, so we know that it was one of Jester's subordinates who told you Cloud Dancer and my brothers were missing; you didn't actually talk to Maw.”

“No, and I was a little too panicked at the time to think of doing so.”

“Alright, the plan’s still the same, then. Bleu, I need you to keep an eye on Jer'rahd as well. He has been rather odd as of late.”

“That's ‘cause he and Luna finally hooked up. That pony was all smiles for a week after that. The fact he has not been to his own bed since we got back means they are still doing pretty well. I am just glad the walls are thick.”

“Too much information, Bleu.”

“I know, but I also know that something has changed since we got back from Neighlantis. Before, he would simply defend the Princess when something came up or fire some comments right back if some one insulted Luna. Now he’s ready to kill any pony who even looks at her in what he thinks is the wrong way. It's almost like those cult Zealots. I don't care how good her plot is, that's not like him.”

“I had not noticed any of that.”

“You have been worried about Cloud Dancer; its understandable if you miss some things.”

“If you say so, Bleu.”

Rhede stared skyward, shaking his mane out of his face. He turned his gaze to the line of captured Diamond Dogs being led to what he had learned were special holding cells in the dungeon that would not allow them to dig out. He was rather curious as to what Luna wanted them for. With how things were looking, he did not like the idea of the dogs being here or what might happen to them.

“We cannot do anything unl we have proof something is really wrong. We could just be stressed with the way things have gone in the last year or so. We'll stick to the plan and see what we can find out in Ponyville. Lets go find Velkorn, Starfall.

Maybe she noticed something while we were gone.”

================================================

Jer'rahd lay back in bed, the slumbering form of the Goddess of Night pressed against his side. For all purposes, he should likely be the giddiest pony in Equestria right now. That was not far from the truth, but several things were nagging at him, Three Bear's words chief among them.

He had been dwelling on the warning the whole trip back. Now, in the middle of when he should be sleeping, he was lying awake stressing over what had been said. He could not help but see it now that it had been pointed out to him. Luna had grown… colder, he supposed was the term. He was not surprised how she treated the other races, as she had fought nearly all of them at some point or another. How she viewed them and spoke of them, however, was different now. It was less on how they were a threat to Equestria and more on how they should all be destroyed or brought under the rule of ponies; even the ones that had not caused Equestria any harm were being viewed as such.

The minotaurs had joined the Republic on their own, but most of the time, she refused to deal with them at all.

Then there were the bounties. Jer'rahd was not even sure when these were put up, let along scattered across Equestria.
The Lunar Republic was offering rewards to the capture or confirmed kill of any Diamond Dog, Griffon, Dragon, or Sea Pony. Granted, the sea pony bounty had been with drawn when he reminded her that half of the crew on the Princess Bride were Sea Ponies. Even that she did with some reluctance. It was odd; when they first met, she was the one who sought to calm him down in situations, but now it was the other way around. The only time he felt like she was her old self was when they were alone and she did not bother to hide any strain she felt.

He was not sure about the prisoners, either, though she seemed to want quite a few of them. When he asked about it, Luna simply commented that she was giving them a chance to side with the Lunar Republic. The way she spoke of it made it seem that she was sure that the prisoners would join, as if their loyalty would not ever be in question. While that was a rather optimistic view to think a former enemy could become an ally, it also contrasted sharply to how she seemed to regard those
who were not ponies.

=================================================

(One week later)

Bleu was not a happy dragon. Normally, this wouldn't mean much to any one, as she rarely let anger show through the goofy nature she usually displayed. Currently, however, as she loomed over a pair of guards in her largest form, she didn't bother with goofy. Both of the guards looked on the verge of full-blown panic at the fact that one of their generals was looming over them with the look of ripping them both a new asshole each. Only their combat training from the second dragon war likely kept them from soiling themselves. Both were aware, however, that this was not a normal dragon; this was General Scale, and one did not get to be a General of Princess Luna by asking politely.

“Tell. Me. That. Again.”

“We are sorry, General, but our orders are clear and directly from Princess Luna. We are not to allow anyone in the lower chambers. The prisoners are all being sequestered there, sir.”

“As are the dragon eggs I am supposed to be tending.”

“ I understand, sir, but the guards posted here were given a list of names allowed in and your name was not on it, sir.”

“It was on the other list...”

“SHHH!”

Bleu looked at the first earth pony guard, then to the unicorn that had been speaking with her.

“What other list?”

“We are not supposed to reveal our orders...”

“Allow me to make a point to you, solider, before you go on. Right now, you two are alone, in a big hallway, with a couple of swords and with a very large, very angry dragon who is not only your superior officer, but also the bearer of the Element of Laughter. And just in case you two have not noticed, I am NOT laughing.” Bleu slapped a clawed hand on the stone between the two. She clenched her claw into a fist, digging furrows in the stone. “While I will accept that there is a order from Luna barring my path right now, you already let slip this list. What is it and who is on it?”

The guards looked to one another, then looked around as if hoping someone else would come along to help them. Not seeing anyone, the earth pony spoke up.

“We, the dungeon guards, I mean, sir. We were given a list of those not allowed down here at all... its... it is quite long list but... your name, General Velkorn, General Pelt and General Silvertail are all on the top of that list.”

“ Who is allowed in?”

“The dungeon Guards of course sir... Well, at least into some areas. The prisoners of course... Princess Luna.....”

Bleu growled, her bared fangs inching closer to the guard.

“I am sorry, sir; the only other ones allowed in are the colonels that were just appointed.”

“What colonels? The highest rank we have aside from the generals is Major.”

“Princess Luna and General Kaisur sent word a few days ago of the Promotion to Colonel of six individuals, SIR. “

“Which six?”

The unicorn spoke up, saying the names as if he was spitting,

“The Cult of the Moon Leaders, of course: Oroboros, Jester, and Oak Leaf. I spend six years of my life in the Guard and the best I can get is Sergeant and these idiots show up and in not even six months are a higher rank than nearly every pony? I call bullshit... sir.”

Bleu blinked at the sudden revealing nature of the unicorn. The stallion shrugged.

“Any reason you are suddenly so informative?”

“First sir, tubbo over there...”

“HEY! I HAVE LARGE BONES!”

“Whatever, he was gonna tell you everything anyway. The longer you stand out here, the more likely that someone else would come along and get us in the shit. Better if you get what we can tell you and leave. I admit you are intimidating, but I do not see you killing ponies just for doing our job, sir.”

Bleu's eyes narrowed.

“Don't bet to heavily on that. I am General Kaisur's partner, after all.”

“True, but you also don't like that Hollow Shade bunch sir. Same as most of the rest of us.”

“So what are they doing in there?”

“I don't know, sir; the prison guards are not privy to what goes on further in.”

Bleu blinked

“That is not very informative.”

“Its the best I can offer, sir, though in all honesty, I was hoping you were going to fire us.”

“What? Why?”

“I signed up to fight the enemies of Equestria, not other ponies like we are preparing for.”

“With luck, it will not come to that.”

=========================================================

“So nothing?”

“No, nothing. There's the obvious worry about town, but no one is willing to talk to us because of who we are. We aren’t well-liked for some reason, Starfall. Velkorn has gone off to talk to Maw; with luck she might find something out.”

“What about those two guards over there?”

Rhede looked up at the two Royal Guards sitting on a bench staring at them. It took him a moment to place them, as their helmets hid their faces, but he recognized the pair that had just recently married into the Pelts.

“Biggs, Wedge! How nice to see your smiling faces... Well, your grinning armor-plated face coverings any way.”

The pair of them fidgeted at being recognized, even more so by the sudden attention the red earth pony had suddenly brought upon the two from every other pony in ear shot. And the way Rhede was yelling, that was nearly the whole town.

“Geez, quiet down, Rhede. I don't want to get mobbed along with the pair of you.”

Rhede raised an eyebrow as he and Starfall trotted over to the pair who both looked as if they would like to be anywhere else.

“Still posted in Ponyville. My sister’s not driven you away yet, I see.”

“It's not likely Faux could ever drive me away. Wedge and Fisher are expecting their second foal soon.”

“How’s your colt doing, Biggs? I heard you've been spoiling him rotten already.”

“Can we talk about something else, Rhede? This familiarity with me and my family by you is making me uneasy.”

“We are practically related, so I should hope to know something, but yes, yes we can. We can start with why we are making you, Wedge, and every other pony in this town uneasy. We are trying to find the missing foals and all we are getting is polite, but firm refusals to help us out with anything.”

“No one here wants another war, Rhede.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Think about it. The Princess had an army ready to go in under a week’s time to march to the Diamond Dog capital to destroy it. The foals going missing was just an excuse so she could get away with it. Most ponies believe Luna is the one responsible for the missing ponies and you all as well.”

“I have heard that. The thing is, Luna does not need an excuse to attack anyone; she had already planned to deal with the dogs. Her taking the foals doesn't make any sense in that regard.”

“Unless she had another reason to take them, Rhede.”

“That's a great deal of speculation.”

“There's a great deal of talk, and a lot of it makes sense. She was always feared as being too bloodthirsty. This just proves what happens when Princess Celestia is not able to keep her in check.”

Starfall had remained silent for this long, though Rhede was not surprised when she finally burst out what she was thinking.

“Alright, I get you are not trusting of us, but keep in mind, my daughter is one of the ones missing, as well as two of your brothers-in-law. I don't give a shit if it was the dogs or Luna or even fucking Celestia; we need to find them and deal with whoever did it!”

The pair of guard ponies looked at each other, confused for a moment, before looking back at Starfall.

“She doesn't know, Wedge.”

“Yeah, he doesn't either. Why didn't Maw tell them?”

“I guess she had her reasons.”

Starfall blinked and even Rhede looked a little confused. “What are you two talking about?”

“Fox, Cloud Dancer, and Wolf were not foalnapped with the others. They ran away months ago, well before any of the foals went missing, not long after the events of Nightmare Night.”

“WHAT?!”
“WHAT?!”

“Oh bugger, I shouldn't have said anything.”

============================================

Bleu wiggled her way down an air chute, doing her best not to curse. Even in her smallest form, this was a rather tight fit. These vents were designed to let air into the lower levels of the castle, not anything living. Well, okay, sure, a rat could get in here, but those little things could get anywhere.

The smell was what she was looking for as she caught hints of it at the door she was not allowed into. The scent lead her to a grate along the base of the castle. She knew these things existed from looking over the map with Boss as the place was being built, but she never considered needing to use one. The scent was strong here: blood, bile, and something very acidic-smelling.

The grate was cemented into the stone wall, though that was not much of an issue for a full-grown dragon. Being quiet was a little harder to do, but she had been picking up pointers from Rhede on sneaking for a few years now. With luck, no one would notice the grate was gone or that it was at the bottom of a pond on the other side of the courtyard. She squirmed down the stone chute, pausing when she heard voices. Unable to make them out, she moved further along, popping out in a larger area with six iron covered vents leading into differing rooms. The voices seemed to be coming from the first vent to her right and she slipped over to take a peek.

The large room on the other side of the grate opened to what looked to be the barracks of the prison guards. She spotted a few ponies sleeping on cots and another couple playing cards. She could not see very much of the room otherwise, though she could make out the edge of a large iron door on the far wall and the door that she had been not allowed in earlier. This did not tell her anything aside from the pegasus at the table was cheating.

She moved back, crawling over to the next vent opening. The blood was very strong from this vent. She bit her lip. Looking at the bodies hanging from hooks in the room, her claws dug into the rock as she had flashbacks to the Seapony kitchen, before she noticed something. The bodies were of pigs and cows. Still distasteful, but it was clear what they were here for now. She paused and sighed, thinking she might be the only dragon left in the world that found meat distasteful.
This was a kitchen of some kind. Griffons, Diamond Dogs, and Dragons where carnivores; it made a little sense that the idiot cousins of the orcs and minotaurs would be used as food for them. The fact that this slaughterhouse was even here meant the prisoners were at least being fed. What worried her was that this was where the dragon eggs had been kept before. She recognized the room’s large stove as the former nest for the lot of them.

As she pulled back, crawling over to the next vent in the half circle alcove, she started to worry a bit. The oven was built to keep the eggs warm so they would not die. Had Luna given up on them with out telling her, or was something else going on?
The next vent opened to the largest room yet; the next two vents went to it as well, and that allowed her to see more of this room than the others. The room stretched out into darkness and was filled with cells that stretched out farther than she could see, but it was easily beyond what should be under the castle.

Most of the cells were little more than iron boxes and bars for the diamond dogs, though a good three dozen griffons were also sequestered here, and Bleu smelled a dragon or two in the mix as well. Most of them seemed alert and awake, though there were a few who she thought were dead until a wing or claw twitched. The silence was what got to her; with that many dogs and griffons, there should be some talking or at least shuffling, but they all sat or stood where they were, calmly, without even a guard in sight to watch over them. Perhaps they were already convinced to join the Republic and had simply not been moved elsewhere yet.

Bleu pulled back, looking to the last two vents. So far, there was nothing clearly wrong here. Moving to the next vent, Bleu frowned. The first was pitch black and the other had something like a bookshelf in front of it. She was a little annoyed that she was stuck looking at the backs of the books, though she didn't do anything, as she could hear movement on the other side of them, as well as muttering of some kind. Pulling one thin book from the shelf, she peered in through the small gap. A black unicorn sat across from the bookshelf, writing something in a large tome. He kept glancing to something at his left and muttering to himself.

He eventually rose, closing the tome and floating the book over to the shelf, slipping it back into a spot below Bleu's peephole with out so much as a glance at the shelf. “You had so much potential in you, and yet you were a failure as well... What am I missing? Why are dragons the only ones compatible in this regard?” He sighed, shook his head, and trotted back across Bleu's field of vision, his horn glowing as he trotted past. Floating along behind him was something Bleu recognized immediately: a dragon egg.

The door opened and he stepped into the next room, Bleu quickly moveed over to the other room, shielding her eyes as the wall scones flared to life. The unicorn trotted on, unconcerned with the light change as his magic lit more of the torches.
Bleu's eyes narrowed. Oroboros was rather skilled; that was at least two spells going at once with no sign of even concentrating on what he was doing. While they were not potent, she remembered how hard it had been for Platinum to even keep a body alteration spell going along with her normal unicorn manipulation magic. This stallion barely seemed to notice he was doing something most unicorns considered hard, if not impossible.

Bleu bit her tongue, her eyes widening as she looked over the contents of the room. The room was rather small, though slightly larger than the cells in the next room. Across from the vent, there was another opening that led away from the vent with a downward slant hinting at another level of the under castle that was not in the plans she had looked over with the Boss and Luna. The large door across from the one he entered lead back out to the prison, though none of that held Bleu's gaze as much as the shards of shell scattered about the floor in this room. The ground was littered with broken egg shells with only a small path big enough for a pony between them.

Oroboros ignored the room of waste, trotting down the new hall to where ever it lead. Bleu cursed lightly to herself as she looked over the room, taking it all in. The fate of the eggs angered her; certainly, there were far more than just what lay here, but who knew what had been done with the others? She had worked too hard to get them to let the next generation of dragons be used for prisoner omelets. There was no room in here to get any bigger in the vent, and she couldn't move the bars at her current size. She gave the room another glance over, expecting she would need Rhede's help for this one.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she moved over to the study area. She pulled a few books through the vent slats and read the spines, or at least the ones she could read. Most of them seemed to be medical books, save the first blue tome she pulled through, which had no markings on the outer cover and was written in a language that seemed to change with every word. Sighing at the uselessness of the find, she started putting the books back into the spots on the shelf.
It was unlikely she was going to be able to convince anyone that this was bad aside from Velkorn. None of them had liked the idea of bringing the dragon eggs back and hearing of their destruction was not likely going to cause any strife. To Bleu, however, it meant that Luna could no longer be trusted, and if Boss had a hoof in this, he probably could not, either. Those thoughts upset her far more than the loss of the eggs.

The only reason she bothered to bring the eggs back was the hope that some pony might be able to have one as a partner, much like Celestia's school. With the eggs destroyed, that was not going to happen.

Though why had all the shells been empty? What had they done with the bodies?

She was putting the last book into place when a pile of dust fell from the top of the blue book right onto her nose, forcing a sneeze. She managed to turn her head enough to not fry the books with lightning, but the sudden jerk of her arm knocked down the entire row sending them thudding to the floor on the other side of the shelf. Bleu cursed, glaring at the blue book in her claw before she looked back in the room to see if she might be able to reach any of the books.

She froze, her eyes locked on a table that had been hidden from view by the rest of the shelf. Oroboros had not been talking to the egg he carried. He was talking to something else, or what was left of it.

At first glance, the creature seemed to be a young griffon, but rather than claws, it had twisted hooves. The tawny fur covering it was patchworked with a bright blue coloration of what seemed a different kind of fur mixed in with the normal griffon colors. Feathers jutted out from various parts of its body as if they did not know the proper way to grow. She couldn't see its eyes, but a malformed beak hung open, showing a series of flat teeth that seemed more fitting for a herbivore. The tail was an odd mix of a bright pink pony tail and a long feline tail that most griffons had. A short wing more reminiscent of a pegasus lay draped over its side with the other out of sight.

Bleu covered her mouth, feeling nauseous. There had not been any griffon chicks captured, but several adult griffons had been brought in, and a host of small ponies had gone missing. Bleu turned, scrambling back up the incline to the outside of the castle, the blue book still clutched in her claw all but forgotten.

======================================================

Velkorn calmly sipped her tea, offering the occasional glance to Maw Pelt as she sat across the table staring into her own drink. The conversation had been all but nonexistent for a time now, as all the polite topics had been discussed. It was time to utilize the Bleu method of conversation again.

[ “So why is the Republic hated here so suddenly, Mrs. Pelt?” ]

Maw blinked, looking away from Velkorn as if she didn't want to really answer, and the zebra did not bother to press. She would talk when she was ready.

[“You know you lot are being called the five Beasts of the Moon now?”]

[“I was aware of many of our nicknames, but being called such as a group is new.”]

[“Been under a lot of pressure from the towns folk about severing ties to the Lunar Republic. Been getting a lot of suggestions for family name changes too.”]

[“Name changes?”]

[“The Pelts are primary a trading family, and a trading family is only as good as their name. So if one family member screws up bad enough to make the name known with those screw ups, the only way to ensure business is not ruined because of it is to change the name. Far as I know, it only happened once in the family history, before my time, so I don't know the details, but it’s always been a warning to the foals.”]

[“I see. I take it that means most believe Rhede has shamed the name, as it were?”]

[“He already has with some of the things that have been done, same with all of yah. I know there's likely more to it than what
the rumors say, but there’s far too many rumors flying around and quite a few have been proven fact.”]

[“There is indeed always more going on that it seems, but all of us have our own beliefs and goals we follow. It is why I was banished from the zebra lands.”]

[“Heard about that. Not sure what to think about it, but it’s rumors like that that make ponies scared of zebras: dark magics and a murderous queen who kills gods.”]

[“They do not know my land’s history of suffering at the hooves of those gods.”]

Maw took a sip from her tea, glancing over at her youngest daughter playing on the floor.

[“ I was all for the dragons being taken out, but then y’all went after the griffons and seaponies and the Diamond Dogs. Much as they annoy me, they have been fairly decent trading partners in the past. Now this.”]

[“The foal napping? I will admit you seem fairly relaxed for that to have happened.”]

[“It's been a few months. The panicked rush has worn off and there’s nothing we found out or ken do. Dun mean ah'm not worried; the foal napping is just part of the issue, though. A'hm not sure what they hoped to accomplish. Ah do know that
destroying their city was useless as nothing was found. That's a might worrying.”]

[“Starfall agrees with you on that. She is nearly pulling her mane out worrying over Cloud Dancer.”]

Maw dipped her head a little.

[“Mare’s gonna do something stupid over nothing.”]

[“She already has. But why is finding her daughter nothing?”]

[“Cloud Dancer didn't get foalnapped, she just made everyone promise not to tell Starfall that she was leaving. The colts went with her, so I know she’s safe, but not where they went. She's heard all the things being said about her mother and she’s seen some of the results first hoof. She thinks her mother is tarnishing her father’s name by staying with the Republic. Same as most of the Pelts think Rhede is doing. Might have been their talk that got her thinking about it, but in Rhede's case, the rumors are right. The few Pelts still running the routes are being treated like crap because of the name. Quite a few have been openly vandalized or been turned away from trading points. That's ponies’ livelihoods getting ruined because they are distant relatives of Rhede.”]

[“That is troublesome.”]

[“It is, and if it continues, I won't have much choice but to change the name. I would like you to try and convince him to leave the Lunar Republic before it comes to that. All it would take is one more act by him to sway me over fully. I know he’s not evil like is being said; he’s just… I don't know anymore.”]

[“ He does not listen to anything else I say. Why would he listen to this?”]

“APPAL APAAA APPAAA APPA!!”

Both mares blinked, looking over to the foal who was trying to climb onto the kitchen counter to get to a apple sitting on the counter.

[“Her first words?”]

[“ She's been saying them for a week or so now. Quiet as a mouse most times ‘til she sees an apple; then she just starts screaming out for it. Yah got more sway with him than yah seem tah think, Velkorn.”]

[“I might, but I also know he will not leave his friends. The others may be willing to listen, but no one will leave. Luna is a friend of ours. I will not abandon Rhede, and none of us will abandon Jer'rahd. I can assure you now that he will not leave Princess Luna.”]

Maw looked back to her daughter, then to the zebra with a sigh. [“Was afraid of that, but ah ken tell you this. That mare you serve is not Princess Luna. Whatever happened to change how she looks changed her inside, too. Ya'll might not be able tah see it as often as yer around her, but from those of us who only occasionally see her, she's like a whole different pony.”]

[“I have noticed some change as well. Not for the better, but she is not in a easy position fighting all the wars for Equestria.”]

[“If she keeps attacking others, soon, the only thing left for her to fight will be Equestria.”]

=============================

Rhede, Starfall, and Velkorn trotted back to Winnysor Castle in a rather depressed state. Velkorn had shared what she found out and the news had hit both of them much harder than the zebra had expected. The entire trip back had been nothing but sullen silence. Velkorn wished there was something she could do for the pair, but there were no words of comfort that she could offer that might mean anything. They all agreed that they needed to confront Jer'rahd and Luna about this, perhaps get the Princess to tone back her actions a little. They should not be hated or feared by the very ones they were trying to protect.

The depressing silence was interrupted by a blue blur that crashed into Rhede and sent him tumbling back down the path, swearing and yelling. Starfall and Velkorn rushed to his aid, only to find a panicked Bleu shaking the crud out of him in her pony-sized form. Velkorn flattened her ears, not even sure what the dragonling was on about as she was talking so fast and incomplete words between gasps for air. She did note the book clutched in a death grip in one claw. It looked as if it had been used as a shoe and run through all manner of things.

“BLEU, SHUT UP A MOMENT!”

Starfall was doing her best to peel the panicked dragonling off the flailing earth pony with some limited results. Getting her off Rhede, the pegasus promptly sat on the dragon and was rapidly joined by Velkorn to try and keep her down long enough to catch her breath to speak calmly. Rhede was quite relieved to no longer be throttled as well.

“Honestly, what is it with you two and choking the life out of me? That's twice in as many months.”

“Git offa mai head!!”

“You going to be calm enough to tell us what’s got you in a panic?”

“Was trying to anyway, Rhede.”

“Alright, let her up. If she’s not using stupid pet names for me, something is wrong.”

“Buck right, something is wrong! I found the missing foals... Well, one of them anyway, it has to be!”

“What? Where?!?”

Bleu rattled off what she had seen, getting stopped occasionally to slow down or repeat something. Starfall and Velkorn were ready to tear off and do some damage, but Rhede managed to get them to stop.

“What the buck, Rhede?! We need to go save them if we can.”

“I am aware of that, but we can't just go rushing in. If Bleu is right and whatever that thing was used to be was a foal, it is also likely that Oroboros would destroy them to remove any evidence of wrongdoing. Not to mention if we bust open the dungeon around all these other guards and show that the foals were kidnapped by us, the Lunar Republic is finished. Nothing any of us say or do past that point is going to mean anything and we will be hunted just like the others, and by our own ponies at that.”

“Sadly, I agree with you. What is it you suggest we do?”

“If Bleu is correct in that Oroboros is that skilled in magic, we will need something to deal with him.”

“I know what I saw, Rhede, and both our casters might be in on this.”

“That's a problem as well, though I doubt Jer would allow this if he knew. Starfall, you and Bleu go try and get him down there. Velkorn and I are going to do a bit of a stealth mission.”

“ I can get the Shadowbolts to aid me if need be as well. While they are loyal to the Princess, they follow my orders over hers.”

“Good, ‘cause if Luna did give Oroboros permission, we are going to need all the help we can get.”

Rhede nodded to Bleu, glancing over to Velkorn as she taps him on the shoulder and points to the book Bleu is still clutching. His ears fall back to his head as he recognized it.

“Bleu... where did you get that book?”

“Down in the dungeons out of the room with the body. This damn thing is what made me sneeze and knock everything over.”

“Let me see that.”

Bleu handed over the book and Rhede set it on a rock, flipping through the pages with a hoof and biting his lip lightly at the strange print. He closed it, tucking the tome into his saddlebag.

“We need to hurry. This may be worse than we thought.”

=================================================

Things were going along quite well for once.

“Indeed they are, Princess.”
“Not violent enough for my tastes.”

The violence would come; there were still plenty of gods left to destroy. Oroboros's experiments had limited success as well, but there were still too many failures.

“Still, he has managed to do some rather impressive work with the diamond dogs that were captured.”
“I like the term he came up for with the cross as well. Lupus Draconus just sounds vicious and fancy.”

The information from the books was still proving useful to her. More importantly, it was proving useful to her subjects that did not have the moral complications her Generals did. Oroboros and his ilk from Hollow Shade had proven themselves invaluable assets, if a bit too into the whole worship of her new form. For the life of her, though, she could not recall why she had once thought it a bad thing to have churches in her honor and the zealous followers that came with them.

“Likely something instilled into you by your sister.”
“She ain't shit. Pushing you down to make herself seem more important. You've done more on yer own in a year’s time towards bringing peace to Equestria than she has in thousands of years.”

Celestia would be dealt with in time. For now, her primary concern was her Generals. Starfall was too concerned with her daughter going missing to be a problem, even though she had not been foalnapped like the others. Rhede was always a thorn; far too inquisitive to questioning. Even when he did what he was supposed to, he somehow managed to do it in a way that made her question whether it was sarcastically or not.

“That colt ain't right.”

Velkorn would not be an easy issue, either. It would be too easy for the zebra to side with Rhede if he became difficult, or simply be an issue on her own if she did not like how things were going. So long as she was in the dark, everything was fine.

“With her race banishing her, no one would miss her passing in the middle of the war that started. She might even be made a martyr and prolong the conflict.”

Bleu was the most troublesome. Oroboros had found one of her scales in a vent that led into his lab. She had seen the eggs shells and the failure. It was only a matter of time before the others knew. She had been hoping to keep the whole thing under wraps until she was the sole god left in the world, but the unexpected always happened with this group. She briefly wondered why she thought it was a sound plan to make them all generals. It would have saved a great deal of trouble if she had not brought them with her or only brought Starfall and Jer'rahd.

Luna's head dipped as she sat in her chambers, looking down at the armor crossing her chest and the silver cord connected to a metal shard from an old sword.

“Useless trinket; it does not become a ruler of all to have such sentimental things.”
“Its a bit of metal on a string. An adornment fit more for a common foal than a future goddess of everything.”

She ignored the books, looking at her dresser and the crown that was the Element of Magic. She could not hear their voices when she wore it and their wisdom was needed in times such as this, particularly in regards to Jer'rahd.

“Quite strong that one.”
“Dangerous, too, if he turns against you. You should kill him.”

She shook that thought from her head. Out of all of them, Jer'rahd was the one she could live without the least. She had not felt this way about any pony since Hooper, but at the same time, she could not let him get in her way. It was the main reason she had not made a move against her sister. While he would do almost anything she asked of him, going to war with Canterlot itself and all the other ponies might be something he would not tolerate. He had shown he was willing to stop her when she made what he considered a bad decision.

“Why should you care what he can stand? You are his Princess; he should be swayed by your choices and opinions, not the other way around.”
“You already have done some questionable things in his mind. Why stop with minor stuff? Besides, it is better to forward the plan now that the lizard knows. The Demon will find out sooner or later what’s been going on anyway. Better he does not have a chance to stop you.”

That was sound; strike first and worry about the repercussions later. It was easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

“Oroboros.”

The unicorn had been kneeling before her this entire time and had not moved during her inner dialogue. “Yes, my Goddess?”

“Begin phase one. Bring the new batch along for live testing.”

“At once, Princess.”

The unicorn rose and scurried out, starting to shout orders to the guards on either side of the door to ready the troops and the rest of the Cult.

“You know, that one reminds us of how the Demon used to be: eager to please and ready to ask how high when you say ‘jump’.”
“Quite a bit of power in him as well. He might make a better mate than that half horn of yours...”

“ENOUGH. BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP.”

Luna whirled, destroying the book shelf the Red Tome and Gray Grimiore rested on with a blast of raw magic. Scrolls and other books disintegrated at the flare of power, but the two books simply floated there a moment before slowly sinking down to an end table.

“There will come a point when he betrays you. We all know this.”
“We have seen him at his lowest. He fears the vision he was given at the test for loyalty more than anything else.”

Luna narrowed her eyes, not believing it. Jer'rahd had told no one what he saw, only that he would die before he let it come true.

“And he might just.”
“After all, it would kill him to murder the one he loves, wouldn't it?”

=========================================================

Getting in was far easier than it should have been. The prison guards were little more than the soldiers who had some disciplinary issues, or managed to tick off one of the officers enough to get the posting here. Their whole reason down here was a formality; such a small force would not even be able to handle a prison break if one happened. They probably could have gotten past the lot even without The Order's invisibility cloaks. The guards outside were a mess; one was asleep and the other was so wrapped up in writing a letter that he did not even notice the door open. The ones inside were absorbed in a game of cards or doing their own thing to notice the outer chamber door or the inner chamber door open.

The kitchen was disgusting, but it was exactly as Bleu said. The only ponies that this room would piss off were the activists for pig and cow rights.

Rhede paused, closing the door lightly behind him, and looked over the rows and rows of empty cages. Bleu had said most of them were filled, yet they all stood open and empty. Velkorn sniffs the air lightly moving to look over one of the cages curiously.

[“There were prisoners here. I do not know where they went, however, but they were likely moved within the last five hours or so since Bleu was down here.”]

[“Come on; I want to see these other rooms. We will worry about the prisoners later.”]

Moving through the cell area, they came to the next door. They slowly pushed it open and slipped inside. The light crunch under their hooves was proof enough that something else Bleu had said was accurate.

Velkorn produced a small vial from her pouch and tossed her head with it clenched in her mouth. A bright glow started as the chemicals inside mixed, casting a greenish light over the contents of the room.

Egg shells littered the floor, the size easily marking them as dragon eggs. Most of them looked like they had been crushed to fine dust, however, from the passage of hooves, and only the piles in the rooms corners remained. The pair nod lightly to each other. Velkorn watched the open passage leading down as Rhede fiddled with the locked door on the far side of the room. A light click was the only sound of his lockpicking success before they both slipped inside.

The room was exactly how the Bearer of Laughter described it. There were books on the floor pushed from a vent behind the book case, and a bloodied table that was covered with arcane sigils. There was no body, however. A few griffon feathers lay on the floor and a tuft of bright blue fur clung to a jagged corner on the table.

[“These are my books.”]

[“All of them?”]

[“The ones that were missing, anyway. What worries me is I also had the book on the creation of the half-dragons and that one is still missing. The book that Bleu had, however is not one of mine. I label mine if they do not have markings.”]

[“I know what the book she had is, that's why I took it from her. I am more worried about it being here than any others.”]

[“Why? What is it? I saw it was odd, but you have yet to say why.”]

Rhede glances over the shelf, looking for the other two, though he doubted they would be here. [“It is Discord's book. The Book of the Blue. I only got a glimpse of it to help Luna translate some once before, but it is definitely the same book. For now, we need to check that sub basement for the foals.”]

==============================================

“Generals, do you have a moment?”

Starfall paused, glancing back at Lion Heart as Bleu darted ahead, though the dragonling stopped and rushed back to her.

“We need to go talk to Boss. Can this wait, lizard head?”

Lion Heart bristled a moment at the insult, but then got a confused look on his face considering who had said it. Starfall sighed, ignoring Bleu for a moment.

“Can it wait? There is a pressing matter to attend to.”

“I am aware, General. You have told us of the situation already. I wished to speak with you then, but you rushed off too quickly. This matter may pertain to the Hollow Shades group.”

“Alright, what is it, Lion Heart?”

“The other half-dragons and I have been told by the Colonels that the new half-dragon troops are from other groups that broke away from the dragons at the end of the war and were stirred from their home by the events of Nightmare Night.”

“Yes, that is the same as we were told. Why, do you think something is wrong with that?”

“I do; several things, actually. There is a mixture of all the dragon races in the batch of half-dragons that have shown themselves. That cannot be; Blacks, Blues, and a few of the cross breeds of dragons were all that was used to make us. The Reds and Greens would have nothing to do with those races they considered inferior. There were no Red or Green half dragons... until this lot showed up.”

“There may have been other groups you did not know of.”

“I had considered that, but this group has something that I find vastly worrying and hopeful at the same time. They do not suffer from our sickness. They know boredom and idleness and it does not work to kill them.”

“Really? That should be great news, then.”

“It would be, though the oldest of them is only about two months old.”

“What? You can tell that?”

“We are a created race, General Scale. We have a strange aging process as it is, but yes, we can tell.”

Blue’s eyes widened and Starfall growled.

“You know what this means if you are right, Lion Heart?”

“Yes, General, I do. It means we have found Ponyville's missing foals.”

“No way. There are too many of them for that to have happened. We have nearly four hundred new half-dragons. There was barely a hundred foals missing.”

“Consider this, General Scale: we were made from dragon males and pony females. Ponies generally only have one foal at a time. During the war, that process was magically altered to create anything from twins to quintuplets, often at the expense of the mother. Dragon eggs could be changed similarly, perhaps, and easily four to six newborn foals could fit in a normal dragon’s egg. I do not know of magic that could do so, but it is a sound theory.”

“Take all of them off of combat duty immediately. I want Velkorn looking them over before they do anything else.”

“Yes, General.”

“We need to find Boss now, Starfall.”

“No shit.”

====================================================

Rhede and Velkorn stuck to the shadows. Not as if they needed to; the Order's cloaks hid both of them nearly perfectly with a potent invisibility spell, but there was no need to take the chance of stumbling into someone. The winding path led far deeper underground than Rhede had anticipated. They likely had traveled down further than Winnysor was tall at its highest spire by the time they reached the massive cavern at the bottom.

The room seemed carved out of the very earth; it was far too smooth and clean to be a natural formation. The amount of work and time that was put into this must have been massive, particularly right under the castle. The place was easily twice the size of the grand ballroom in Canterlot. Half the room was filled with giant cages and the other half was clear, save for some strange glyphs and runes covering spots on the floor. There were more dragon egg shells and a great deal of blood scattered around the circles. All of the cages were empty, save one on the end with a, earth pony sitting before it. Rhede could not remember the mare’s name, though the white pony was one of the ones from Hollow Shades, a member of the Church of the Moon.

The creature in the cage growls and the mare clicked at it with her tongue, chuckling softly. She turned, looking towards the entrance, he, hair slicked back over her head and a light green blanket draped across her back. Her bright red hair seemed almost to glow as she looked over the room, her red eyes wild. “You may as well come out now. Wilber knows you are here already. He can smell you, you know.”

Rhede scratches his hoof in the sandy floor, leaving a note for Velkorn for a second before he whisked it away with his tail. He was unsure if she got the message, but he would know in a moment. “I take you can understand the noises it makes, then?”

“He never speaks unless he has something to say. All you need to do is listen.”

“Interesting.”

The mare’s ears perked and a grin that almost seemed too wide and by far too joyous crossed her face. “General Pelt, I presume, by the sound of your voice. I have heard quite a bit about you. Quite the dangerous one at that. Might I inquire what brings you down here?”

Rhede flips back the hood of his cloak, stepping away from where he left the note and smirking slightly at the mare. She might have been rather attractive if not for that grin. “Quite a few nasty rumors have come up regarding you Moon Cult lot. None of them good. From what I have seen down here, I am inclined to agree.”

“Please spare me the attempt to get me to talk, General. I know you have found nothing aside from some shattered shells and empty cells. You have nothing that you can show anyone to prove your case. You and the dragon are alone in this.”

“Perhaps, but it should not take much to convince Princess Luna to look into what you have been doing down here. She will decidedly put a stop to it.”

The mare laughs again, moving to the cell and looking up at the shadowy form within. Rhede shuddered at the mirth the pony seemed to have. The last mare to send a shudder up his spine like that had been Scarlet. This one was bad news.

“Do you honestly believe that? That we could create all this under her very castle without her knowing about it? Please, she was the one who suggested all this, though since you seem intent on putting a stop to this, and a stop to something the Goddess ordered to be done, I can follow the orders of General Kaisur and declare you a threat to the well-being of the Lunar Republic. Oh, it will be fun killing you, particularly since it means I will be able to take your place at the side of the goddess. HEHEHHEHE.”

“You're nuts.”

“Perhaps, but I am not about to be dead like you are.”

She slams her hoof against a latch, releasing the lock on the cage door and letting the massive work of iron swing open. The creature inside wasted no time getting free of the cage, nearly bowling over the earth pony who continued to laugh at him.

“Meet Wilber, one of the greatest war machines ever created.”

Rhede winces, looking up at the creature as it slowly stepped out of the shadows. The creature was a mass of feathers with a giant red comb draped over his head. Its sickly-looking flesh ended in a beak and soulless black eyes.
Rhede stared a moment more, then blinked and tilted his head slightly to one side to see around the two story beast.

“Your greatest war machine ever... is a giant chicken?”

“YES! BWHAHAHAHAHA! KILL HIM, WILBER!”

Rhede watched as the creature turned and scratched the dirt with a claw, kicking up massive amounts of rock as it jerkily turned its head, looking for something to eat in its scratchings. Rhede would rather hate to see the bug something that big would eat.

“Seriously, a giant chicken?”

“Oh shut up. I am dead serious here.”

“You're a loony.”

“Silence! Wilber, kill!”

The chicken ignored her again, scratching at the ground. She screamed out in annoyance, then ran up to it, reared on her hind legs, and smacked the crap out of the creature’s beak as it pecked the ground. The chicken yanked its head back, roaring again... or maybe it was just a prolonged squawk to pine for the fjords; in either case, it made Rhede's ears hurt.

The mare laughed again as she pointed at Rhede, the stupid grin still on her face as the chicken glared at her A bright red flash from the chicken’s eyes beam over the mare along with a faint sizzling sound. Rhede instinctively turned his head, feeling the energy pouring out of the creature. He looked, back his eyes widening as the earth pony mare stood as she was, laughing and pointing at him, frozen in stone.

“Oh buck me… It’s not a giant chicken; its a giant cockatrice!”

The statement seemed to alert the giant white bird that there was something else here. It focused its attention on Rhede, crying out and charging towards him.

“Oh buck.”

Rhede turned and ran away, dodging between the cages as a very large angry bird slammed its beak into the ground where he had been, snipping off several of his tail hairs in the process.

“Velkorn! A little help... you better not be laughing at me because of this!”

A whistle sounded from behind one of the large cages. Rhede tore past it, spotting a small door on the other side of the cavern. He made a beeline for it, the door opening as he approached. He charged in, hearing it slam shut behind him along with the sizzling of the bird’s eye beams as the door and most of the wall behind them turned to the same stone the mare was now.

“Oh you are kidding me.”

[“Quite the interesting thing, is it not? I have never seen one of that size before, nor with an ability to turn anything to stone. Dangerous, for sure, but watching you run from an oversized chicken shall amuse me for years.”]

Rhede snorted.

[“Yes, thank you for that. We need to find a way out of here; I don't think that thing can get out the tunnel we came down, and some of those other cages were rather large, too. There's got to be another way to get out of here.”]

Velkorn pulls back the hood and stepps out of the darkness, shaking open another light to look around the room they were in. Clearly an armory, if a mostly empty one; spears, giant axes, swords and a multitude of other weapons, both personal and siege, covered the walls and sat around on the floor. There were quite a number of empty racks, however, and most of the weapons that were left seemed in need of repairs.

[“Hmm… Well, we could always kill it with that ballista there.”]

[“It is a wild animal. A dangerous one, yes, but just a wild animal. I would prefer not killing it if we are able. Come; there is a door against this wall. Let us see if we have any answers to find yet.”]

[“Fine, but if that thing turns you to stone, I have no idea how I am gonna fix it.”]

[“I am sure you will find a way.”]

The pair trot to the door, pushing it open slowly before slipping past it. Another large chamber just like the first opened up before them. There were no cages here, and next to the small door they left, further down the wal,l was a massive, and thankfully closed, door that lead back to where the cockatrice was.

[“Huh. How did I miss that?”]

[“The giant chicken probably distracted you.”]

Tracks covered the floor of the room: quite a few pony, some that appeared to be Diamond Dog, and some that were Griffon. The vast majority, however, Rhede did not recognize. Following the tracks lead them to the other side of the cavern, and another massive door that remained slightly ajar. A few smaller doors were along the same wall as the large one and the pair moved to investigate them first.

Rhede started checking at one end, finding little more than barren supply rooms and private quarters. Velkorn gallopped to the other side, working back towards him, checking the rooms and looking for anything incriminating or even useful.

[“RHEDE!”]

The earth pony darted out of the room, dashing to where Velkorn was backpedaling out of a room. He gazed into the dark room, seeing the dim glow of the zebra medic's light showing a few piles of debris and a large opening in the floor. He was about to ask what happened when the smell of a charnel house hit his nose, making him gag and nearly vomit. Velkorn was already revisiting her lunch at this point and had moved away from the room.

He pulls his cloak over his muzzle, stepping slowly forward on three hooves to peer into the hole. Velkorn's light was on the floor next to a fairly large waste pit. Random garbage and papers lay around the edge of the hole. The smell was strongest from the pit and the red glow of burning embers aided in the light at the bottom of the hole. A glance up showed a rather large tunnel leading straight up with a small patch of light at the top that had to be the surface.

He glances back down into the hole, hearing Velkorn once again empty the contents of her stomach on the floor outside. For something to have shaken the zebra medic this badly, he was not sure he wanted to know what she had seen. He trotted over to the light, looking down at the glowing embers and trying to breathe though his mouth as he picked up the light, holding it over the pit.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to see past the glow just under his chin, but when he did, he regretted it.
Bleu was right again. She had found the foals, or at least what they had become.

Blackened corpses with little flesh remaining lay at the bottom of the wide pit. In spots, the fire had burned all the way down to the bottom of the stone pit, likely a magical flame meant to burn away everything, but in their rush to hide what they had done, the spell was cast improperly and bodies still remained. Small mangled bodies that did not seem to even be fully ponies any more lay among the bodies of what seemed to have once been Diamond Dogs and Griffons.

Rhede closed his eyes, his teeth clenching on the jar’s lid before he spit it out onto the floor and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him, breathing deeply of the cleaner air. Velkorn was pressed against the wall, a puddle of mess at her front hooves.

He glanced her way and growled lightly.

[“Come on; I have seen more than enough. Let’s open that big door and find out where they went. Someone is going to pay for this, be it Oroboros or Luna.”]

Velkorn nodded and the pair gallopped over and out of the slightly ajar great door, following the tracks.

======================================

“I find that a little hard to believe, Bleu. That you would believe rumors and gossip over your friend is rather disheartening.”

“BOSS, would you bucking listen!? I know what the difference between what was said and what I saw. I don't even know if
Luna has anything to do with it, but something like this she must have known about. Those Hollow Shade ponies are her current favorite pets, after all.”

“I do not like them, either, but what you suggest goes from treasonous into the profane. And you bring the Princess's name into it as if you are accusing her directly.”

The little dragon swore up a storm, glaring at the unicorn as her tail whipped angrily. He could tell she was pissed off, but he was a little mad as well to have her blaming the Princess for anything. If it was anyone else, he likely would have decked them by now. Perhaps it was just jealousy or a way of getting attention. He had been spending a great deal of time with the Princess as of late. Still, to come up with something like this was a little over the top. He sighed, looking to the pegasus that came along with her.

“And what do you think about all this, Starfall?”

“Honestly, a great deal points to the Hollow Shade group being bad news. I am also sure something is going on. I will hold my final judgment until Rhede and Velkorn return from checking it out, however...”

“See, that is a bit easier to deal with. Just calm down. Luna allowed them to set up shop down there in order to try and convince and placate the prisoners and coerce them to fight for Equestria. Perhaps what you saw was little more than a excessive example of that. A prisoner put to too much torture perhaps. I will believe that before I would believe Luna allowed this sort of thing to go on under her nose.”

“I SAID, HOWEVER, GENERAL, AS IF I HAVE MORE TO SAY, NOT ‘FEEL FREE TO INTERRUPT ME LIKE A BUCKING LOVESTRUCK FOAL‘!”

Jer'rahd blinked, glaring at Starfall, who returned the look without so much as a flinch. “Fine then, continue.”

“All I have left to say is that someone is making new half-dragons, and the book Bleu retrieved is quite damning evidence for Oroboros anyway.”

“What book?”

“Rhede called it the Book of the Blue, Discord’s book. If I am not mistaken, that was the one we went into the Darklands for, the book of a mad beast.”

Jer'rahd turned his head, looking at the fiercely-nodding Bleu.

“Where is this book?”

Starfall sighs.

“Rhede has it as well.”

“So as you said then: we wait for Rhede. I am curious what he has to say, though I am sure it will be little more than
confirming what you have said is misinformation.”

Starfall was about to comment, as was the annoyed Bleu, when the door to the study burst open and Lion Heart rushed into the room, panting hard as he galloped towards the small group.

“Have you not heard of knocking, Captain?”

“My apologizes, sir, but this is an emergency! Ponyville is under attack!”

Jer'rahd's blood ran cold at the thought, his armor instinctively covering his form as the others stared at the half-dragon, mouths agape.

“I want every available solider on their way to Ponyville now! Starfall, take your pegasi and get there fast. Hold off who ever is attacking as best you can till the rest of us get there. Captain, who is attacking? The Dogs? Griffons?”

Lion Heart swallowed hard as they all looked at him. The group seemed to be getting more and more pissed the more he delayed.

“Well, Captain?”

“We are, sir. The Lunar Republic is attacking Ponyville.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight gasped, pulling back into the real world and coughing. The smell of the pit still felt like it lingered in her nose. She panted, trying hard to hold back the contents of her stomach.

“Twilight! Are you okay!?”

Spike rushed over to her, clearly worried, though he still offered a glare of menace at the blade.

“I'm fine, Spike. It’s just… Sometimes, what I see in the spell is a little too much for my senses.”

“From what you've written so far, there's a lot of stuff that went on back then that shouldn't be brought up nowadays.”

“It’s a far cry from torture and bloody combat to what I just saw.”

“Why? What did you see?”

Twilight closed her eyes and sat back onto her rump. When she opened them again, there was a steely look of anger in her gaze.

“If all the signs I am seeing are correct, Spike, what I see is that Luna should be sealed in stone along with the others.”

Comments

[CDR]

Stories in Stone updated. DROP EVERYTHING!!!

[Terra Tithorea]

O.o
o.O
Feature box. Was this up there before? I've always thought it should be.

[nallokthecat]

oh my god..... listen your doing a good job but just.... jeez.....

[Obsidian]

Indeed...
Corruption be damned. Luna committed heinous crimes. The previous ones I can almost justify, but no longer. Not sure how much influence those books had at this point though.

Edit: Man... I need this series to end! I NEED RESOLUTION! I can already see the 5 going to Celestia to stop Luna and her crazy cultists.

I wonder if Twilight will attempt to take matters into her own hand and 'stone' Luna. Lord knows she probably deserves it. Other than that, what would this book and the revelations do to Luna and Celestia, their relationship? How could anyone possibly forgive Luna for some of these actions, let alone entrust her with power again? I imagine straight out, any sort of friendship between Twilight and Luna is gone... probably forever.

I still think Twilight's going to end up taking on one of the mantels of godhood. Whose? No clue, but I just have this feeling... which of course TDR won't acknowledge in any way.

[treos]

22k words? longest chapter yet :) now to read

[Psycho Kid]

0_0 ..................Holy shit........ and so the reasons that the five betrayed her have come into light. I have to admit, I was expecting something along the lines of slaughtering civilians.......... but this? Dear god......

[Obsidian]

1658502 - to be fair... the 5 don't have the greatest of foundations to claim any sort of moral imperative, but still...

[treos]

...DANG luna, now thatis beyond messed up thats just wrong in general

hope spike doesn't find out what happened or his anger now will be non-existent compared to when they finally confront luna for what she did (nightmare moon was nothing to this)

and 1658185 that raises a question, do those books still exist? and if so then for crying out loud, WHY?

[blahx3]

Even though I'm disgusted with these actions, I can't blame Luna for most of this. Sure she made the original large mistake in using the books, thinking she can handle it. The main reason why is because from what I can see and know, it looks like the books slowly created an alter ego while at the same time they slowly locked up the original Luna in her own mind.

As for the 5 Beasts of the Moon, even though they don't have much of a moral foundation to base things off of. They still have a sense of morals, they still have lines that they will not cross. They are only mortal, and like all of us, they fall for the same dark emotions we do. The only difference is that they had the power to what they wanted.

[TDR]

1657848 unless you are holding a baby or food......

1658042 SiS popped up on it once or twice before but it never stayed long.

1658185 How much influence was clearly shown in her ... conversations.

1658330 Yeah and this close to the end too. two chapters an a epiloge

1658502 Theres still chapters left.

1658641 Which is the whole gray area. Out of all of them Bleu is probably the least evil with Velkorn only doing dark things due to culture and upbringing.

1658915 ::grins::

1659106 :: Again grins::

1659599 sorry it's not something I have fully been able to control yet. From my understanding I have gotten better though.

[DEL]

Damn... Epic... Twisted... Grim dark as fuck... I love this chapter...It brought a tear to my eye...It's kind of sad to see it will end soon... I hope you make a sequel series of the generals adjusting to modern times, but still... I've been following this story since chapter 5 I believe and It is the longest story as well as the one I've followed the longest time. I love this story and everything in it... You are really building up the suspense and the climax will happen soon... I can't wait for the next chapter...

here is some epic music that I listened to while reading it...

and

[TDR]

1660900 I need to go back and fix some of the old chapters

[Balancer]

After reading this I have to agree with Twilight, what Luna condoned is unforgivable, in fact I think that the Beasts of the Moons are more the victims of bad publicity more than anything else, yes the did take quite a few things to far but at the core of everything they are only doing what they're doing to protect everyone

[WarMagus1983]

Alright, Luna has offically gone off the deep end. She broke several rules I follow when dealing with dark artifacts. One: If it talks to you and it doesn't have a place where a brain would be kept visable.....don't trust it. Two: If a guy's got an Oroboros for a cutie mark, Don't trust him. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about Google Full Metal Alchemist and you'll find out.)

[Jphyper]

That one took a while. I'm glad you ended this chapter when you did; I don't think I could have handled any more darkeness and suspense in one sitting. I do hope Twilight gets past that anger she now has for Luna, though, at least enough to be able to stand being in her presence. This is obviously going to result in some very painful words being said. I can picture Luna saying something to her sister along the lines of "I told you this was a bad idea."

I know post-second-season stuff isn't taken into account in this fic, but I have to wonder how much darker this would get if NMM found out about the Mirror Pool from "Too Many Pinkie Pies".

[Zanmatsuken]

...And the shit hole Luna is getting herself into is just getting deeper and deeper. TDR this chapter was kinda spooky how dark the Lunar Republic and NMM are wiling to go. When the final climax comes into fruition, shit will be everywhere and tears by both us and Luna will be created.

[BarrenBaron]

1662757 This lesson in dark artifacts brought to you by Arnold Weasley!

And I'm thinking Luna became more or less a vessel to some sort of ultimate evil, you know who I guessed already TDR, you're just giving me things to jigsaw together here...regardless of if my mental image is what the end result shall be!

Also while predicting things, nice foreshadowing with the whole, Luna is only sane when wearing element thing.

And I expect Pinkie's prediction about death will have a regicidal flare the way reactions are going here

[Terra Tithorea]

1659685
It deserves more feature time. This is one of my favorite stories on here.

[Darkswirl]

tl;dr

Kidding. I know you sent me a message telling me it updated, and I appreciate that, but I've just been so busy.

It's 1:24 AM here, so I'll read it when I wake up again.

Good night, The Dark Rabbit :D

[TDR]

1673645 to be honest i have never read eragon. I have heard it is good though.

[Balancer]

1662019would you object if I one day printed this out as a book?

[TDR]

1679852 not at all. Wait till I edit the frak out of it first though

[TDR]

1681541 Intresting deduction. Let us see what unfolds with is shall we?

[Tigro Spottystripes]

1798552 What would make a double-bladed double-edged sword unusable? Dangerous for the wielder, sure, but considering the amazing feats we've seen ponies achieve, it wouldn't be surprising if there was some pony with Darth Maul level swordsmanship...

[Tigro Spottystripes]

I'm starting to get a bit of PTSD flashbacks of watching FMA...

[mustangdrew4]

I'm curious now. Was Wilbur the giant chicken a reference to runescape by chance?