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Prologue- Blood and Snow2,633 words
Chapter 15,543 words
Chapter 25,553 words
Interlude 1- First Contact1,428 words
Chapter 33,644 words
Chapter 43,134 words
Interlude 2- Final Trial2,543 words
Chapter 53,742 words
Chapter 65,374 words
Interlude 3- Last Look Back1,842 words
Chapter 75,594 words
Chapter 85,812 words
Chapter 94,947 words

Chapter 5

It took a little while, but Sunset Shimmer finally managed to calm down enough to try and explain more fully what had happened in Ponyville. While she did so, Applejack had been sent to deliver a message to Rarity that everything was okay and also to ask that Apple Bloom be given safe berth in the manor for the time being.

Sunset began her tale by telling her former apprentice how the Lawmares had arrived in Ponyville well ahead of schedule, entering the town proper at high noon. They'd hoped that such a display of courage might send a message to those in the town whose sympathies lay with the Good Mare; the Lawmares had come, and their time was up.

Instead, it had been exactly what the villagers had been planning on.

"I knew something was wrong the instant we got there." Sunset had rolled onto her side while Twilight carefully weaved several healing charms along her barrel, trying to alleviate any internal injuries. She stared at the wall with her unseeing eye as she talked. "The whole place was empty, completely quiet. I swear I saw a sagebrush blow down their main street. If the place didn't look so well maintained, I'd have sworn it had been abandoned. That they’d turned tail and run once they’d gotten wind we were on our way." She grimaced as Twilight's magic fixed another bruised rib. "But they were there, alright. Hiding. And watching."

"I just don't understand how they did so much damage." Twilight spoke at last. "The last census listed less than a quarter of the population of Ponyville as unicorns. Did the Good Mare station more loyal spellslingers there? As part of the trap?"

Sunset shook her head. "Unicorns we could have handled. But the magic that killed us didn't come from around us, Twilight. It came from below us."

"Below?" Twilight thought back to her final trial against Sunset. "They were under you?"

"Not them. The weapons. Must have been the same kind they used to blow up the fountain." Sunset bit her cheek to keep from crying out when Twilight's magic found something sore. "Careful, for your mother's sake!"

"Say sorry. That one's definitely broken." Twilight concentrated and began to knit a more powerful healing charm. "How did they get them under you?"

"They must have buried them before we even got there. All I know is that Starlight started to say something, and the next thing I knew I was airborne."

"They're crystals." The Lawmares turned to see Applejack step back into the room. "Your lady friend sends her regards, Miss Twilight. She’s really somethin,’ if you don’t mind me sayin’ so."

"Just Twilight's fine. And I don’t mind. I say thank ya." Twilight cocked her head. "You said they're crystals?"

"Some kinda crystals, yeah. Never seen anythin’ like them ‘til they started showin’ up in town. Ain't entirely sure how they work, but I reckon they get overloaded with magic and blow up somehow. It's why they moved so many of 'em to a majority earth pony village. Less chance of an accidental discharge. Least that's what the hooded mare said at the last town meetin.'"

Twilight perked up. "Hooded mare?" A pair of intelligent eyes staring at her from under a hood flashed in her memory. "Was her name Trixie, by any chance?"

"Nope." Applejack settled onto an old cushion and doffed her hat. "The Good Mare's liaison in Ponyville is an earth pony. Name’a Octavia. Reckon she was sent there to appeal to the more xenophobic of us." She snorted as she tossed her hat onto a nearby peg. "That's how they converted most of the town, y'know? Convinced 'em that earth ponies had less rights than the other tribes under Celestia, and that they'd do better under the Good Mare."

"And you don't think that?"

Applejack chuckled and shook her head. "Twilight, the way us Apples see it is this; we've done just fine under the Princess, and we don't see any reason for a change in management."

Twilight smiled. There was something about the way the mare put things that put her at ease. "So they let you attend these town meetings even though you haven't sworn loyalty to the Good Mare?"

"Of course they do. How else are they gonna convince us hold outs that theirs is the right way of things? But, as I said before, it was really only a matter of time before they came to the farm with the old swear or die routine. I was just finishin' goin' over plans to leave with Mac when we heard the explosion come from the center of town."

"Mac?"

"My big brother. Hopefully he's made his way to Appleoosa by now. It was his idea to split up." A distant, worried look crossed the farmer's face. "Gosh, I sure hope he's okay."

As much as she was loathe to do it, Twilight gently guided Applejack back to the topic at hand. "So you heard the explosion. What happened next?"

Applejack shook off her growing melancholy and continued her recollection. "Well, I went to check it out." She shivered. "It was awful; a big crater in the middle of Main Street with bodies and limbs all over the place. I saw ponies movin' about the bodies and I ran to help, but when I got closer..." She gulped. "When I got closer I could see that they weren't helpin.'"

Twilight felt a new surge of horrified anger as realization struck. "They were finishing them off."

"Eeyup." Applejack nodded slowly. "It was plum lucky that I got to Sunset when I did. I could see she was still breathin,' but I lied to Octavia and said she was dead."

"How did you get her out of there?"

"I saw they were startin' to bury the remains in the crater. I happened to have a big canvas sack on me. Pure luck I guess."

"Ka." Sunset whispered. Twilight nodded thoughtfully.

"I got her bundled up when nopony was lookin' and hustled back to the farm quick as I could. I patched up what I knew how to while Apple Bloom got the last of the stuff packed up. Mac and Granny headed west, and we headed back towards Canterlot." She cast a pitying look at Sunset. "It was slow goin.' Had to move at night, mostly. Almost got caught once or twice. We just kept movin.'"

"How did you get in the city? Did you have to use the tunnels?" Twilight let her magic fade and gave Sunset one last once over. "That should do it."

"Say thank ya." Sunset sat up on her haunches, breathing much more easily now. "Aye, we used the tunnels. I figured it would be the easiest way of getting into the city undetected." Only the Lawmares were supposed to know of the labyrinthine tunnels that went all the way through Canterlot Mountain. They were meant to be a last resort in case the city were ever breached.

"But why did you want to be undetected?" Twilight shook her head. "Why didn't you come straight to the palace? Our sisters are lying in a mass grave, Sunset. This is war now. We should do what Minuette said from the start and go on the offensive."

"Twilight." Sunset's tone was even and cool. She'd regained her emotional control with her repaired insides, it seemed. "From a mare in pieces to one still whole, hear this very well; I didn't come back to the palace because I didn't want to risk the traitor discovering her plan to kill all of us had failed."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Wait... You aren't saying..."

"Twilight, I trust you. With my life, I trust you." The golden mare turned her milky eye to her friend, her gaze filled with pity. "But I can no longer trust your tet."

Twilight reeled at the implication. "No... Sunset... You can't be serious."

"I am. I don't know which of them it is, but it has to be one of them." Sunset reached out with her remaining front hoof and touched it to Twilight's gently. "It's either Lyra or Moon Dancer. One of them is the traitor."

Twilight shook her head and pulled away. "No. No, I can't believe that."

"It's the only thing that makes sense, ain't it?" Applejack chimed in. "I mean, the traitor would hardly send herself to get butchered along with the rest of you."

"Then… then there must never have been a traitor at all." Twilight reasoned. "The princess was ill-informed or was fed false information."

Sunset frowned. "C'mon, Twilight; what's the one constant of this world? Celestia knows. If she said there was a traitor, then there was one."

"The elite protectors of this world are lying in a shallow grave in pieces, Sunset!" Twilight snapped. "There are no constants in this world. Not anymore." She began to pace the room as she always seemed to do when agitated. "It doesn't make sense, anyway. Let’s say for a moment it’s just as you say. One of my tet is a traitor. If that’s so, then how would either one of them know that they wouldn't be sent to be massacred with the rest?"

"Because they knew that Celestia wouldn't send every Lawmare away. That one tet would be left behind."

"But how could they know it would be my tet?!" Twilight argued. "There's too many variables. A conspiracy this deep would be..." She paused. A sinister new thought had popped into her mind. An impossible idea, too terrible to be true. But in this new world that had turned upside down, who was to say what was impossible and what wasn't anymore. "The Guard..." She whispered.

"What about them?" Sunset asked. Twilight told her of the robe they'd found, the secret meeting chamber, and the scrap of uniform. Sunset's eye widened at each new revelation. "So it wasn't just us." She slumped at the idea. "The Guard are part of it as well."

Twilight grunted in anger and rounded on her. "I still refuse to believe either Lyra or Moon Dancer have anything to do with this. Either the traitor was killed in Ponyville, or she never existed in the first place."

"There's a third option." Applejack offered. When both Lawmares turned to her, she smiled without humor. "Could be that one of you is the traitor."

Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, student and teacher, looked at each other carefully. As one, they shook their heads. "Impossible." They said at the same time.

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Whatever ya'll say."

Sunset reached for Twilight blindly. "I love Lyra and Moon Dancer as much as you do, Twilight. But you have to at least consider the possibility that..."

"No. I don't." Twilight stepped away from Sunset. "The night before you all left, we became more than just a tet." She put a hoof to her heart. "We are ka-tet, and I am their dinh."

Sunset narrowed her eye. "Then as their dinh, it's your responsibility to..."

In a move that shocked even herself, Twilight turned away from her mentor to face Applejack. "Sai Applejack, I say thank ya for bringing Sunset here safely. I beg that you continue to watch over her for just a while longer until she's able to leave on her own strength."

"Twilight!" Sunset barked, reaching in the direction of her friend's voice.

"I'll keep her safe.” Applejack nodded. “Where are you goin'?"

"To the palace. I need to speak to the Princess about this at once." She cast her eyes back at the crippled mare who had been like the big sister she'd never had. "I'll send for you both once it's safe."

"Twilight!" Sunset tried to stand and almost fell. Only Applejack's speedy response kept her from hitting the floor. "Twilight, please..."

"I shouldn't be long." Twilight turned and started for the exit.

"Twilight!" Sunset cried out, reaching into the empty air. "I know it hurts, but you can't let your feelings blind you! Twilight!"

But the Lawmare just kept walking away. She knew that if she stopped, she would not be able to start again.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The mare in black found him right where she was expecting to. The stallion always tended to work late. Trixie wondered if it was because he was trying to keep his mind off of his traitorous actions. Or maybe he had just always been this way? She really didn't care enough to ask. "Do you have a moment?" She relished the little jump he gave at the sound of her voice. "Don't tell me that little old me was able to sneak up on you so easily? That's the problem with everypony in this stinking city; you've all become too damned complacent."

He stood and stared at her. "You?! How did you get past..."

"Oh, please. One of them has less brains than Blueblood, and the other..." She smirked. "Well, the other is with us."

The stallion's eyes widened. “But… Why are you…?"

"The very fact that I'm telling you the identity of another of our number should be answer enough as to why I'm here."

His mouth snapped shut. "Now? But... No, the timing's all wrong. The Lawmares..."

"The Lawmares are dealt with, with the exception of a few. The pieces are moving, sai. I'll be sending the last one along shortly. Nothing can stop what's coming. Not even her."

The stallion's head dipped. "I just... If I had more time, maybe I could convince her to join us."

"You of all ponies should know that her convictions are too strong for that. Those same convictions will be her downfall." She saw the stallion slumping and felt the slightest twinge of pity. She crossed the room and lifted his chin with her hoof. "She has called for you, sai. The Good Mare. She needs you, more than any other. She wants you safe, by her side, before the fighting begins in earnest."

At the mention of the Good Mare, the stallion seemed to find new strength, new resolve. He sat up straight. "When?"

"Tonight. Once night falls, follow the runes I've left to mark the trail. They will guide you to a tunnel out of the city. Then head North."

"North?" The stallion blinked. "But I thought she was coming to Ponyville."

Trixie shook her head. "Ponyville has served its purpose; a grave for the Lawmares, and everything they once stood for. The Good Mare waits for you in the North, sai. The journey will be cold and hard, but her bed at the end will be warm and soft."

The stallion nodded. "Is there anything else I need to do before I leave?"

The mare in black smiled. "No. Just make haste. And ensure nopony sees your face until you're beyond the walls." She leaned in and gently kissed his cheek. "Safe travels, sai. Your part in this is done." Without another word, she turned and left.

The stallion waited until she was gone... and then he started to pack.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Something wrong with your food, dear?"

Lyra looked up from her plate and at her wife. "Uh... no. No. The food's great. Why do you ask?"

"Because you've barely touched it." Bon Bon took another bite of her own salad and laughed around her fork.

Lyra chuckled good-naturedly, but her focus was still elsewhere. The recent confrontation in Shining Armor's office had left her feeling uneasy, and the feeling had not dissipated when she'd returned home to find her wife gone again. Bon Bon had returned not long after with a basket of groceries for their dinner, but the incident had made her think back on a number of similar ones in the last few days. "Bonnie?"

"Hmm?"

"When I got home the other morning, you weren't in bed."

"I wasn't?" Bon Bon's fork paused halfway to her mouth. She shrugged. "I must've gone to the bathroom."

"Yeah." Lyra smiled, tried to take a bite of the meal her beautiful wife had made for them, but couldn't bring herself to. Not yet. "It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Well, you've been out and about quite a bit these last few days."

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "Do you expect me to just lounge around the house all day? Because I can. And then you can do the shopping, the laundry, the cooking..."

Lyra waved her off. "No, it's not like that. It's just..." The Lawmare sighed. "Well, it's been a few times that I've come home from patrol and you're not there."

"I like to get an early start."

A perfectly reasonable answer. So why couldn't Lyra just accept it? Just leave well enough alone. "Bonnie… I love you."

"I love you, too." Bon Bon reached out and touched her hoof to her wife's. "What's wrong? You can talk to me."

"You... you would tell me if there was anything going on, right? You know you can tell me anything."

"I know." Bon Bon lowered her fork and smiled at her wife. "Everything's fine. I promise. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

Before Lyra could muster the courage to do just that, a knock at the door caught their attention. The mint green unicorn watched as her wife wiped her mouth and hurried over to answer it. She mentally kicked herself for having the thoughts she was having, for jumping at shadows.

But that was the thing about shadows; something had to cast them, right?

Bon Bon opened the door wide and gasped when she saw the pony on the other side. "Moon Dancer?"

"Hi, Bon Bon. I’m sorry to just show up like this, but may I please come inside?"

Something about the Lawmare's voice made Lyra jump up and run into the foyer. She saw her bondsmare standing in the door's arch, a look of profound sadness and misery etched on her face. A saddle bag that looked hastily packed was strung around her barrel. "Moon Dancer? What's wrong?"

The unicorn locked eyes with her sister Lawmare, and suddenly those eyes were flooded with tears. "My... my mother..." She let out a choked sob and ran past Bon Bon and into Lyra's waiting embrace. "She... she wouldn't wake up..."

Lyra shared a look with her wife. Without a word, Bon Bon closed the door and made to get the guest bedroom ready. Lyra watched her go while stroking her dearest friend's mane. "When did it happen?"

"I-it must h-have been this m-morning." Moon Dancer sobbed. "I knew i-it was c-coming, b-but... b-but..." She collapsed entirely, her whole body shaking with her cries.

Lyra let her cry for a few moments before gently leading her towards the master bedroom. "You can freshen up in here while Bon Bon gets your room ready. When you're ready, we have some dinner for you."

"S-say thank y-ya." Moon Dancer sniffled. "I'm sorry. I-I just couldn't be there tonight. I had to get away."

"Hey, it's okay." Lyra hugged her bondsmare tight and kissed the top of her head. "It's all gonna be okay." She looked back and saw her wife carrying a load of linens. Her earlier concerns again made themselves known, but she did her best to seal them away. At least… for the time being. "I promise; it's all gonna be okay."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Twilight's mind raced along with her hooves as they carried her towards the palace. It was just past sunset, and the last of Canterlot's populous was making their way inside to retire for the evening. The desperate, scared part of the Lawmare pleaded with her to follow their example. To change course and head to Rarity's manor instead. But duty wouldn't let her. She was a Lawmare, and that still meant something, damn it. Even if there were only four of them left.

Especially if there were only four of them left.

Sunset's words echoed in her mind as she grew closer to the palace gates. She couldn't believe it. Refused to believe it. Moon Dancer or Lyra a traitor? Impossible. Inconceivable. They were ka-tet. They were one from many. How could one of them take such a vow knowing it meant nothing? It simply couldn't be.

It had to be a ruse of the Good Mare. There never had been a traitor in the Lawmares. Princess Celestia had been fed false information...

(Celestia knows... Celestia always knows...)

...But from whom? Who could Celestia have trusted so implicitly that she would just take their word that one of her hoof-chosen had changed sides? It had to be some high ranking member of the court. Or perhaps some spy had given her a bad tip. Or...

Her eagle eyes caught a flash of movement ducking around one of the palace walls, and on instinct she pursued. She rounded the corner just in time to see her prey take another turn. She couldn't make out much about them...

...because they were wearing a hooded black robe!

Twilight's magic flared and she winked ahead, halving the distance between she and her quarry without missing a single hoof-step. She poured on the speed, panting with exertion. The pony she pursued seemed to be heading straight for one of the sheer stone walls. Her eyes widened when she realized where they were. This particular wall was special. This wall had a false door built into it that led down into the tunnels.

Whoever this pony was, they knew something only a Lawmare was meant to know.

Quick as a shot, she loosed a bolt of magic that singed the air as it passed the face of the pony. He gasped as he skidded to a halt mere feet away from the false door. Twilight stopped on a dime and angled her horn right at the robed stallion. "The next one won't miss, so give me a reason, I beg."

The two ponies stood there for a moment, catching their breath. It was the hooded stallion who finally broke the silence with a chuckle.

It wasn't the chuckle itself that chilled Twilight to her core, but the familiar ring to it. "No..."

"Part of me was hoping that I'd actually manage to get out of the city without anypony seeing my face." The stallion turned to her and pulled back his hood, confirming her worst fears. "The other part of me was terrified that I wouldn't get to say good-bye to you... Twily."

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