//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Lost Reflections // by Purple Patch //------------------------------// “Ugh! Blast it” Twilight fiddled one last time with the communicator clip. It wouldn’t respond no matter what she did. The colour was entirely faded. She cursed herself. She should have kept a better eye on things. The lavender unicorn felt guilt well up inside her chest. She’d hoped to have Spike here and give him a chance to help out. Times were Spike had been involved in their adventures less and less and she’d been meaning to make it up to him. ‘Oh well. I’ll know to bring him with me next time’ she thought, though she didn’t want to think how many times she’d said that over the months. Steeling herself, she made her way into the near-ruined Crossfort. The door was half askew and burnt black from the ferocious artillery bombardments the mercenaries took part in. Twilight had ordered the Royal Guard to pull back half a mile outside the Crossfort. If anything took off, she wanted as few ponies in the vicinity as possible. She hoped her own magical capabilities and experience would suffice if the worst were to happen. The ponies of Equestria and Boulette were her responsibility at this time. She couldn’t let them down. Opening the already ruined door, she made her way through the near-demolished government building. The building’s interior structure was hardened metal underneath the brickwork and mortar. It wouldn’t cave in. According to the reports, everything that could come down had done so already. Even so, nopony had chanced to look in yet. And unfortunately for Twilight, being the first one inside involved passing by every corpse the mercenaries had left scattered and sprawled through the buildings. Nopony had been left alive. All personnel and residents at the Crossfort on the day of the attack had either been captured or killed. Twilight found herself having to step over or duck under fallen beams and pillars frequently as she tried hard not to look into the faces of the countless dead as well as hold her breath. The smell was appalling and flies and worms were already gathering. It wasn’t just security that had been massacred. There were technicians, secretaries, cleaners. Innocent ponies so gruesomely murdered for no better reason than being in the building at the time. If this was what befell those the mercenaries didn’t take alive, she was dreading what was happening to those they’d captured. At last she found it. The communications room. Heading to the desk, she paused, paled and tried hard to stop herself vomiting as she chanced upon the grisly remains of a yellow unicorn cut lengthwise in half, one side of him still slumped in his chair, the other lolling over the side, nearly touching the floor. Clutching her stomach, Twilight looked up and came across an even worse sight. An open elevator caked with dried red-brown blood, piled high with bits and pieces of pony, SWAT team equipment intermixed among the mess. The room more resembled the larder of a very untidy timber-wolf than anything else. Unable to control herself, Twilight grabbed the nearest trash-can and vomited three times in succession. She hadn’t been investigating for more than a day and already she was already regretting it. Steadying herself she turned the revolving chair away so the sight of the halved stallion would no longer trouble her. Even so, she felt sorry for the poor sap he’d once been. The wound was not clean. The process of cutting him in half, she hesitated to even contemplate, could have taken several straight minutes. She checked the computer screen, using a small spell to clean the screen and keyboard. The computer had been shot multiple times through the monitor. Twilight grimaced. It seems they gave an electrical appliance a more merciful death than some of the ponies in the room. Regardless, they’d left nowhere untouched and nopony alive. Everything that could have been linked to them was taken or destroyed. They had missed nothing. Yet there hadn’t been any sign whatsoever of the mercenaries getting inside help. They would’ve had to have come here before. If not them then perhaps Cascadius himself if he was as good as disguise as they said. She gazed around, trying to clear her head. Difficult in the area she currently stood. She noticed something. Something in the one place she really didn’t want to look. On the wall of the blood-soaked elevator, facing the door, there was something had clearly been put up after the attack as it was completely clean. She steadily paced over until the sight and smell was simply too much for her. Fighting nausea, she took the object in her magical grasp, off the wall and gazed at it. Her eyes bulged. It was a picture of her parents, Shining, Cadence and herself. Taken when her big brother had become an officer of the Royal Guard, a corporal in the Royal Palace Grounds Platoon. She recognised Flash Sentry, Moondancer, Blizzard Wind, Lyra and several others in the background. But what most grabbed her attention was the small knife that had been used to pin the photo. It was placed right on Shining’s neck. With hooves shaking on the ground, barely able to keep enough focus to maintain her magical hold, she turned the photo around. There was writing at the back. Two words. You Interfered Stepping backwards, her heart slamming against the inside of her ribcage, Twilight Sparkle dropped the photo and stepped back. They knew. They knew she was involved. And now everypony she loved was at risk. In that moment, she fully understood the Doctor’s words. This was different to any threat she’d ever faced, any foe she’d ever known. This was...monstrous. Her hooves were shaking. She was finding standing upon them growing all the more difficult. Stumbling backwards, she pressed her side against a wall and caught her breath, closing her eyes and praying to Celestia she hadn’t seen that photo. Her eyes then opened wide as something smashed through the wall she rested against and seized her by the throat. It slammed her into the wall twice, the first time bruising her face and bloodying her nose and the second time smashing a pony-sized hole through the wall and out the other end as the Bearer of Magic found herself face to face with a vicious-looking creature. It grinned and spoke, its’ voice gravelly and growling. “Ello, missy! You know what we do to nosy nags like yerself? Well, you’s about to find out!” The next instant, Twilight was thrown across the dark expanse of a wide corridor. Picking herself up and spitting out a mouthful of blood, she took in the sight of her foe. It was an absolutely humongous pony, one that could rival Bulk Biceps for size and shape. Unlike the massive pegasus, however, this pony didn’t seem naturally muscular. His eyes glowed purple and veins around his bulging muscles flushed the same colour in and out of sync, contrasting with his bright green coat. As her sided around her, Twilight saw sharp chunks of bright purple crystal embedded in his shoulders and spine. His face was tiny, as if wedged between his jutting jawbones and low forehead but his mouth was huge and crammed with a pair of long, pointed teeth on either side of his lower jaw that had been jammed there in place of two removed molars, setting his face in a permanent snarl. “Who...Who are you?” Twilight spluttered, gathering her senses. The pony was armoured in rusty-iron plates and was cradling an axe as menacing as he was. “Who am I? Tha’s a good question, that is! An’ I got a good answer! I’s Hed’Kika! Guess how I got that name!” Twilight managed to stand steadily on her hooves and dodge a ferocious kick from her opponent. Rearing up, gaining a little lift with her wings, she fired a beam of magic at the stallion’s face. He staggered backwards, slammed against the wall not too far from him and growled. “Oh you shouldn’t a’ done that, prissy!” Lurching to his hooves and adopting an aggressive stance that completely blocked Twilight from the opposite end of the corridor, Hed’Kika readied to charge. Twilight’s legs threatened to buckle with fear. She glanced around. The corridor wasn’t wide enough to effectively dodge the charge or high enough to give her wings the advantage. All she could do was run. But what happened when she reached the end of the corridor? Bracing herself, she galloped as fast as her hooves could carry as Hed’Kika roared and stampeded after her. Trying to keep her energy sufficiently shared between her running legs and the magical power, Twilight Sparkle’s horn began to glow brighter and brighter. A blinding, faintly lilac explosion blew open the wall of the Crossfort as the Bearer of Friendship blasted herself an exit, spreading her wings, looping through the air and unleashing a salvo of magic bolts at the raging Hed’Kika, sending him stumbling. Breathing heavily, Twilight shot him an aggressive glare while hovering above him. “I don’t know what your mission was...” she bellowed “But you just failed it!” Hed’Kika got to his hooves and snarled, his misshapen mouth twisting into a sadistic grin as one eyebrow rose over his glowing purple eye. “Wrong again, prissy!” he snarled. Standing to his full height, he drew an axe from off his back, raised it high in the air with one hoof and roared. “WAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!” It was if he’s set off a powder-keg. His roar was joined by several others near and far over the city as several contingents of the mercenaries leapt from their hiding spots and made themselves seen in the only way they knew how. Wanton death and destruction. ‘Oh Celestia...’ Twilight thought, face paling as she heard screams and explosions echo faintly around her ‘I have to warn the others. I have to get everypony safe!’ As she took off, a mercenary atop the cityscape, yelled into a transceiver. “Here she comes, boys! Rack 'em up!” As Twilight flew through the streets, hoping to find the guards she’d had pulled back, armed ponies on the rooftops drew log-shaped firearms and hoisted them over their shoulders, firing great cables across the street. As the cables crossed over one another, they sparked with electricity, creating a field of lightning right before the speeding alicorn who spread out her wings and desperately flapped backwards, too late to slow her flight. Hitting the field, she writhed in the agonising grip of the electric current, screaming in pain, before falling to the ground with a thump, her wings twitching, her entire body crackling with sparks. Mercenaries surrounded her like a wolf pack. As Twilight struggled to open her eyes, she felt something a thin rod of cold iron slam against her face, throwing her to the ground. ‘Damn it!’ She choked ‘I have to...warn them...Can’t let them...’ Her horn lit up with her remaining energy, blasting forth the sound of a horn, the instrument that is, across the city. * The fortress of Quartzwald served as the bastion of the Crystal Empire’s reach into the northern Blinding Forest, the shadow of Sombra’s old kingdom serving as a grim memory in the form of a forest of towering, colourless crystal towers as far as the eye could see. Quartzwald had been renovated to serve as a better means of civilian living rather than a military outpost as the need for army-building lessened in recent centuries. But the area still possessed a sizable fort were the Imperial Legions trained and carried out their duties. Those on duty saluted their Captain-General and Emperor, Shining Armour, as he made his way through the base. He was greeted to a familiar voice and couldn’t help but smile as an orange-coated, blue-maned captain flew down to greet him. “Yo, Shiney!” Flash Sentry cried merrily “Good to see ya! We heading out yet? I joined up to see the world and I spend two years getting blinded by these freaking crystals!” “Alright, Commander, calm down” he patted him on the shoulder “I’ve got our orders. We’re to head out by the end of the week. Everything needs to be ready by then. How’s Lemon doing?” “She’s made progress. At least she says she’s found something” Flash winked “But Alma walked in so she might be a bit...preoccupied if you know what I’m saying...” Shining rolled his eyes. “Flash, I’m a husband and father. I’m not skittish. But I need to know quickly, our mission could depend on it” He walked on, his long-serving subordinate following up behind with a cocksure smile. “Me and Sunset are great, thanks for asking” he said off-hoofedly. “Yeah, no offence, but after hearing how ‘great’ you two are from Comet Tail, I didn’t want to give you the satisfaction” “That two-timing bastard! He swore not to tell!” Flash exclaimed before catching Shining’s unimpressed glance “I mean...Look, I’m telling ya, he wasn’t there. You can’t trust anything he says” “So it isn’t true then? About the Dazzlings?” “Oh yeah, that bit’s true” the pegasus gave a grin. “Really...” Shining did not sound convinced “Sunset...and the Dazzlings...and you...” “All four of ‘em, dude, all at once, all for the Flash! Mares can’t get enough!” The white unicorn chuckled sardonically. “What?” Flash asked defensively “You don’t believe me?” “Flash...I’m willing to believe all four of them took part. But I find it hard to picture them being ‘all for you’, as you put it. Knowing them, I reckon it was more a case of you being ‘all for them’...Am I right?” There was a pause as Flash Sentry looked distinctly uncomfortable. “They jumped me, okay?” he muttered. Shining Armour burst out laughing, patting the young pegasus on the back. “What am I going to do with you, Flash Sentry?” They found the door to the scrying chamber where magical practitioners designed spells and weaponry, deciphered enemy codes and strategies and sometimes simply convened around the great glass scrying circle. Two such ponies were ‘convening’ in a rather intimate way. Lemon Hearts, an old school friend of Twilight Sparkle, was set in a passionate embrace with Alma Rose, a pale lilac-coated, magenta-maned pegasus mare who Shining and Cadence had known well in their own academy years. Lemon was half-sitting, half-leaning over a bench while Alma came close to straddling her, both pairs of hooves very busily working over one another as they moaned and giggled through interlocked lips. They didn’t seem perturbed by the Captain-General’s entrance or even very aware. Shining stared, deadpan, at the couple, glanced at Flash Sentry, unsurprised to see the young stallion wearing the largest grin he’d ever seen, and cleared his throat. “Killjoy” Flash muttered as Lemon and Alma pulled free of their kiss. “Hi, Shiney!” Alma hopped down, smiling brightly “Me and my folks just got back from Saddle Arabia. So happy to see you all, I can’t wait to catch up with Cadey and Flurry again! But I knew I had to start by showing sweet-cheeks how much I missed her!” Shining couldn’t help but smile at the bubbly mare. “It’s great to see you again, Alma. How’s your parents work gone?” “Oh yeah, it went very well. The Shajarat Civil War has been declared at an end. My parents got them to organise a ceasefire and the local government agreed to let Equestrians help out provided they’re commanded by one of their own” “We can arrange that. Thanks Alma. Lord Razzmatazz and Ambassador Amaranth have performed splendidly, Equestria and Saddle Arabia are very grateful” “I’m just glad it’s over. Seven years of fighting, Shining, can you imagine?!” she sighed “Well, looks like you and Lemon need to discuss magic and politics and stuff so if anypony needs me, I’ll be taking a quick flight round the place. I’ll pick you guys up something in the square, okay? Laters!” “Wait” Lemon waltzed over coyly, patted her marefriend on the wing, kissed her once more and slapped her playfully on the flanks, causing her to hop around, giggling. “You know what you like, Alma!” Lemon gave her a wink “Off you trot” As Alma left the scrying chamber, both unicorns gave an unimpressed look at Flash Sentry, his blank expression suggesting his mind was very busy. “What are you gawking at?” Lemon snapped, causing the orange stallion to jolt to his senses. “Nothin’!” he exclaimed. “That’s enough, Lemon. What have you found out?” Shining said bluntly. “Okay...” Lemon Hearts lit up her horn with a field of purple and let it fall from it in drops as if it were liquid. The scrying circle ebbed and vibrated as if it were a pool, its image warping to a map of the Known World. “We started looking for any activities committed by this organisation who attacked the Crossfort. We started by tracing those responsible, then tracing those they’ve been seen working with. A fair few ponies, all of them wanted criminals. We then searched for incidents with similar patterns. Ended up with several few and far between, thankfully, but prominent in their location. Then, using our international contacts, we searched for any similar organisations of PMCs and if their most recent moving patterns pointed anywhere” “Anything useful?” Shining asked, growing impatient and more than a bit concerned if this organisation they’d found themselves antagonising warranted such measures simply to detect. Lemon Hearts tilted her head. “Well, to the first we found too many leads and to the second, too few. But the third...was where it got...strange” He lit up her horn again as the map showed various arrows starting at nearly every continent and slowly heading toward Equestria. Then, suddenly increasingly greatly in speed, they all veered off in different directions. “Whoa...” Flash Sentry piped up “Something bucked up” “Yeah, that’s not genuine” Lemon summarised “Nothing moves that fast, not on the map. Something was interfering with the magical field. Something that knew we were getting close” “Anything that powerful would rival an alicorn” Shining Armour said. “Well you’d better hope that’s an exaggeration because I was able to trace a vague estimate to where this interference was...” The scrying pool focussed on Equestria. “Eep...” Flash said flatly. “Yeah. Most likely location is somewhere on the outskirts or just outside of it but this organisation has something big and nasty on its side and I’m afraid this could be the least its capable of” Shining Armour blinked. When he’d heard a gang of mercenaries had committed an act of war against Equestria, he’d thought they were insane. Now it seemed, they may not have been so out of their league as he’d first thought. “We shouldn’t go in without knowing exactly what they’re up to and how to stop it” he said firmly “There’s no telling what could happen. From the looks of things, that’s exactly what they want. What we need to do is find out how they’re getting information. They must have spies or contacts somewhere. Find them and we’ll have something to go on. It needs to be done fast” “We’ll work as fast as we can” “We very much appreciate the help the School For Gifted Unicorn’s graduates are giving us in these times” “Don’t sweat it. Anything to catch these guys. I don’t fancy getting what Boulette got anytime soon” “Indeed. Flash, we’ll need to see the airships are supplied. Who’s handling that?” As the officers convened and the scholars returned to their investigations, Alma Rose flew from the fortress’s battlements and round its walls, marvelling at the sight of the great expanse of glimmering crystals that gave the empire its name. Flying over the forests, she let the gentle breeze carry her, so glad to be back among friends and family. Now of all times. Beneath her, staring with a hunter’s eye, an unseen figure stood, hidden in the forest of crystal spires. A cloven hoof curled around a heavy bow carved out of bone. Notching an arrow, the hunter’s eye fixed itself upon the pegasus. “First...Blood...” * Loli Beats’ study was littered with posters, plushies and the like, most if not all of them a reddish hue. Her technician’s orb was large and took up the centre of her desk, right next to a heart-framed photo of her and a smiling purple-coated, blonde-maned mare. She opened her door to Blizzard and a bouncing Pinkie Pie before sitting down and showing the Bearer of Laughter what they’d been investigating. “Okay” she began “It’s no secret that various hate groups in Boulette supported the Senator openly. And the same Senator saw fit to reward them, funding their campaigns and actually promising some of their members positions in government” Pinkie gave a dumbfounded look while Blizzard shook his head. “Hate...group?” Pinkie said slowly as if trying to understand how those two words could go together “Why...Why would ponies be in a group to...hate things? You shouldn’t...You shouldn’t hate things together. Hate's something you try to get rid of in groups! It’s...” “Try not to think about it too much” Blizzard muttered sullenly “There’s never a good enough reason to hate things that are different” “Yeah, I know that better than most...But here’s the big problem” Loli Beats continued, bringing up profiles of the hate group leaders and reports of their activities “What happened to the Senator they were all too quick to blame Celestia for, seeing it as some kind of conspiracy” Blizzard scoffed at the notion. “So we got permission to look into the group’s funding and we found some...interesting things” “Flush couldn’t have funded all these groups at the time of his election without bankrupting his own campaign” Blizzard continued “Somepony else was sending him money but we’ve found no such payments from any of his legitimate donors” Both lieutenants paused as Pinkie gave them a blank look, tilting her head slightly. “He was being paid by somepony secretly. Meaning it’s likely they were getting that money illegally” Pinkie giggled. “I know, silly. I was just messing with ya!” Blizzard gave Loli a suspicious glance. The thestral shrugged in reply. One could never tell with Pinkie Pie. Budging over, Loli gave Pinkie control over the orb. “All the computers in the Crossfort were fried. But we found out an attendant of the Senator’s, a communications officer named Banana Republic, was acting as a go-between for the Senator and his contacts on several occasions. We recovered some evidence from his personal effects. It wasn’t much but it’s a start” “Can we ask this pony ourselves? I’m an expert interrogator!” Pinkie bounced, the seat bouncing with her “Nopony expects the Pinquistion!” The two lieutenants glanced at each other. “Yeah, she’s always like that” Loli answered Blizzard’s unspoken question. The pegasus rolled his eyes and answered. “Banana Republic, unfortunately, is dead. One of the Crossfort attack’s many casualties” “Ooh, okay then...” Pinkie winced momentarily but brightened up "No worries, I'll do my best" She set about decrypting files, her fore-hooves turning into whizzing pink blurs. It took the better part of five minutes before she was uncovering numerous instances proving the Senator’s corrupt dealings with enemies of the state including PMC’s, crime families and cults...while emailing her parents, commenting on Equestria Daily’s newest trailer, watching funny kitten videos and playing three simultaneous games of League of Legends. “How...” Blizzard Wind muttered to which Loli had no reply but another shrug. “Woo-HOOOO!” Pinkie exclaimed at last “I did it!” “You found out who he’s working with?” Blizzard asked. “No, I beat wreckenbawl4 on One For All! I am the Champion!” She yelled, waving a bright pink ‘No #1’ glove in the air. Blizzard looked as if he were about to lose patience so Loli stepped in. “That’s great, Pinkie, but what about the mission?” “Oh yeah. It says the payments all came through different businesses, none of them I could actually find out about. But they all made their payments at the same time and in the same amount” “It’s quite likely all the fake businesses are a front for the organisation he’s in league with” Loli summarised “I’d be willing to bet it’s the mercenaries who captured him” “But there’s something else” Pinkie piped up “There was another payment made, bigger than all the others, that Royal Flush’s cabinet had sent directly to the fake businesses in equal shares” “Where did the payment come from?” Blizzard asked to which Pinkie pointed at the orb meaningfully. Loli and Blizzard peered closer and read... “Invitro Hall!” “It’s that mean old witch, Countess Glass! Dashie and Derpy told me all about her” Pinkie grinded her teeth, slamming a hoof into the other “Half of Ponyville’s looking to get even with her!” “This sure is something” Loli said, a grin playing on her face “We knew that the Countess and the Senator worked together but if she was sending payments to this organisation with the senator as the middlepony...that makes her an accomplice for their actions!” “So she’s gonna’ have one angry Princess on her flanks?!” the Bearer of Laughter asked hopefully. “Let’s just say she might want her house arrest to go on a little lo-” Blizzard’s answer was cut short as the sound of the horn swept across the city. “Magic alarm” he murmured, eyes wide with shock “But this amount of magic could only come from an alicorn!” “Twilight?!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, concern apparent on her features. “Gather the guard! We need to find her!” Loli ordered. “Right” Blizzard removed a chain weapon from his belt and clutched it in one hoof “I’ll get the fliers and find the princess” “Right. I’ll take charge of protecting this district and find the others” Loli said “C’mon Pinkie. It’s time to party-hard!” The two lieutenants and the nervous but determined-looking Bearer made their way down into the barracks to find the guards scrambling to their equipment. As the daunting figure of Peregrine made his entrance, bedecked in golden steel plate, they saluted. “Get up, you lazy breeders! And arm yourselves!” the Colonel bellowed, fire flickering in his eyes as he stretched his wings in preparation “There’s ponies out there that want to buck your corpses!” * Rainbow Dash and Gilda flew out the open window of the bar, staring out at the cityscape from above. Explosions dotted the place as the sounds of battle and terror echoed throughout. The city wasn’t burning around them but it was still hard to get one’s head round in any case. “Come on...” Rainbow Dash fiddled with the communicator clip impatiently “Damn it! This stupid thing’s useless!” “Leave it, Dash, we got bigger problems” Gilda said, hovering round so she and the pegasus were back to back as unsavoury-looking armed ponies surrounded them both in the air and from the rooftops. “Afternoon ladies” A muscular, red, scar-faced pegasus in a green beret grinned at them, drawing a machete “We were told to invite you over for a few drinks and a hefty dose of mutilation...Sadly, we’re all out of drinks” There was a pause. “Was that supposed to be witty?!” Gilda asked, raising an eyebrow. “Buck you, birdy!” the stallion growled “How’s this for wit then?! Back down or I’m gonna make dice out of your teeth!” “Griffins don’t have teeth” Rainbow Dash muttered aside, before tilting her head to the side, motioning the griffin to do the same. “Gilda. I think it’s gonna be like the Spring Break Incident at Flight Camp” “I don’t think this is quite that serious...at least I don’t see any lawnmowers” “Maybe, but we can’t go wrong here. I’ll head to the Crossfort, you head to the city gates. We find the girls and we bring help. Ready?” The cyan pegasus and the white-headed griffin held one forehoof and claw together and began spinning in mid-air. Bloodhound raised a hoof, motioning the mercenaries to brace as the two fliers spun faster and faster, trails of colour whirling like a Catherine Wheel. Slowly, unnoticed from their colossal velocity, they tilted slightly diagonally as the noise and sight of their speed grew mind-numbing, those around them momentarily stunned. Then the two gave a yell together, taking them back to their delinquent days at Flight Camp. “Whoo-Whoop-Wahoo!” Letting go of each other, the two rocketed forwards, shooting past their surrounding foes and speeding down into the city. Bloodhound jerked from his stupor with a snarl. “Bucking hay, get after them, you pillocks, and fast! The griffin’s mine!” “So long, squitstains!” the griffon screeched triumphantly as the mercenaries split up, trailing the two like a swarm of angry wasps as Gilda and Rainbow Dash set about demonstrated their skill in the air. ‘Okay motherbuckers’ Rainbow growled, keeping her wings close to her shoulders, letting her streamlined poise propel her through the air like a dart. ‘It’s on!” * Fluttershy had been nimbly trotting along a quiet street, having purchased suitable foodstuffs, when the alarm sounded. Jumping high in the air in surprise, she shivered on her hooves as guards ran to their positions and citizens fled the scene. She looked around fearfully. Screams and crashes sounded in the distance. This was it. She knew. They were under attack. Her mind took her back to a forest fire she was trapped in as a filly. If Rainbow Dash hadn’t been there, she and her animal friends would have surely burned alive. But Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found. And in every shadow, a threat could present itself. Shutting her eyes tight, she nagged herself, trying hard to sound like Rainbow Dash. ‘Keep it together, Shy! You can do this! You’re a Bearer of the Elements and the ponies of this city and the rest of Equestria are counting on you...Oh dear...that’s...that’s an awful lot of ponies...’ She felt her hooves shaking again. “Please, miss...” “Eep!” the little yellow pegasus squeaked momentarily as another pony approached. She was a portly-looking unicorn mare swathed in cloth that covered most of her body, only her eyes visible. From the look of and from her accent, Fluttershy supposed she was Saddle Arabian. “Please, miss...” she said again, her voice heavy with worry “My son...He ran off into the bombing site...I cannot be seen outside the Restricted Zones but please...help me find my foal...” “Oh my” Fluttershy raised a hoof to her mouth before placing it on the worried mother’s shoulder, a newfound sense of courage and responsibility spreading through her being “Don’t worry, madam. Of course I can help find your colt. Just stick by me and if anypony gives us any trouble, I’ll settle it. I promise” “Thank you. Thank you so much, good mare, bless you” The mare bowed her head “I will show you where I saw him run” They hurried down into the blasted site of the attacks, largely abandoned. Pegasi flew overhead. Fluttershy hoped Rainbow Dash was safely among them and that the others were safely away from any danger. “There, down into that alley” the mother pointed. Fluttershy was puzzled as to what a colt would find in a dark alley between abandoned warehouses. She supposed fear made ponies act irrationally, especially with foals. She could name a fair few occasions when she’d done the same. “Okay...” Steeling herself, she ventured down, the mother following behind her. The alleyway was fairly wide and led into a largely empty area that must have once housed some form of stall or perhaps just trash cans. Several were overturned, empty and rusting. Peering around, Fluttershy called out. “Hello?” she cooed “Little one? Your mummy’s here and she’s very worried. Are you okay?” Behind her, the mother’s eyes flickered with calculation as her horn shone bronze, drawing a pistol hidden behind her leg. ‘Right then. Step one-Incapacitate...’ As Fluttershy’s ears piqued at the motion behind her, she slightly turned her head. Then felt her legs buckle beneath her as the butt of the pistol slammed into the back of her head. Her mouth opened wide in a silent scream as her vision blurred. Staggering, she spread her wings, desperately trying to give herself some balance. She felt something cold and hard press its tip against one of them. ‘Step two-Disable flight...’ Bang! This time, Fluttershy screamed loudly, her shoulders gripped with pain as a bullet ripped through the feathers on her left wing, cutting into the flesh beneath and letting it fall limply over her back. Falling to her knees, she scrambled, frantically attempting to escape. “Please!” she shrieked as she was grabbed by the tail, hoisted onto two legs and turned round, staring at the mare in front of her and the cold steel in her once-compassionate eyes. ‘Step three’ The mare raised a hoof ‘Disable the stare’ The Bearer of Kindness fell backwards, wailing from a ferocious strike to the side of her face, leaving her with a black eye and a bleeding nose and mouth. “S-s-stop...Please! It h-hurts!” she sobbed, tears streaming down her eyes as the covered the blackened one “Please! Don’t hurt me! Whatever I did, I’m sorry! Please let me go!” A vicious hoof-grip tugged at her mane as her back was slammed against the wall, her gaze forcibly lifted upwards to find the mare’s horn glowing bronze, assembling bizarre bits and pieces together to form the longest and most threatening gun Fluttershy had ever seen and the first she’d seen in a very long time. The mare tilted her head as she rested the rifle on her shoulder, pointing it straight at the terrified little pegasus trembling before her. “Hello. Fluttershy, is it?” Her accent was very different. Where before she’d been possessed of a Saddle Arabian accent now she sounded closer to urban Trottingham “We need to talk” * “Yeah but what you’re forgetting is that, after sufficiently proving herself as Batmare’s first Jay, Grayla Gallop donned the mantle of Nightshade, a superhero in her own right, leaving Gothique City to safeguard over neighbouring Bridalore” Spike explained as he and Angel Bunny sat on Twilight and Fluttershy’s respective beds in the midst of a debate “Therefore the best choice for Batmare’s successor would be the second Jay, Volpa Vow” At this, Angel retorted with a series of gestures with his paws, declaring how, due to Volpa Vow’s brief stint as the psycho-vigilante, Red Rider, the Power Pony Society would be highly unlikely to ever trust her. “A valid point but, let’s face it, the Power Ponies don’t trust Batmare all that much either. I direct you to Issue #147: Worst Case Sceneighrio, where the titular villain, Dr. Noctule, captures and nearly succeeds in killing Batmare with a stolen plan created by the Power Pony Society in the case of Batmare going rogue” Angel reluctantly nodded and put forward another suggestion. “Yeah, I guess Batcolt could suffice. Same problems as Nightshade though, its unlikely Batmare’s shoes could be filled by anypony too versed in secondary roles” Angel tapped his back-paw and gestured again. “The film? Yeah, it was pretty good. I don’t think they used the Mane-iac to her full potential though. Throwing her into the second act really kills the pacing. She’s too prominent not to be the main antagonist throughout. Still, I liked Jestra. I’m glad they brought Taralicious back to voice her, she’s lovely. And I liked Mare-Bat’s development. I was afraid they were just gonna’ throw her out after the first...” Angel’s ear shot upwards as he held one paw in front of his mouth. “What?” Spike asked, puzzled as Angel scuttled underneath the bed and frantically gestured Spike to do the same. As the little dragon crawled down to meet him, raised voices became audible outside the room as the lock started clicking from the outside. Spike covered his mouth, he and Angel lying flat on the ground as two stallions entered. One was a stocky dark-red earth pony with prominent stubble, the other was a lean, light-green unicorn with a face too used to sneering. “So this is where they’ve been living, huh?” the red one growled “Some of us have to make do with a couch to sleep on” “Not that you ever sleep on it, heading to the brothels every night” the green one muttered. “Shut up and hoof me the blueprints, Etric” Spike and Angel watched as the two produced a toolbox filled with bizarre apparatus they set about covering the floor with, fitting together every piece. “Damn it, I’m done with this kind of curd. I was trained to beat ponies up not play a bucking piano!” “Angrius, we’ve done this dozens of times in the Restricted Zones. That fire in the Ghoran District lasted hours. You were laughing so hard you nearly pissed yourself” “I remember” A fond smile played on the red stallion’s face “But you know what I mean. I can barely see these pieces let alone fit them together in my hooves” “Just work fast. We need to set this up and hide it before those nags get back here” the green one sniggered “The so-called ‘invincible heroes of Equestria’ downed by a gas leak in their apartment. They’ll hang the headlines in the mess hall, you mark my words” “How long do you think Celestia will take to get over it?” Spike tensed himself. He saw now. He saw very clearly. They were making a bomb. A bomb they hoped would blow Princess Twilight Sparkle and her five best friends sky high. He couldn’t allow that. He glanced at a nervous-looking Angel. “You got a plan?” The white rabbit rose one eyebrow and shook his head. “Okay then. Improvisation. Hope you’ve still got a decent kick” Spike put one hoof on the underlying covers shielding them from view, bracing himself to leap into action. “Okay...three...two...one...” * Her magic depleted, Twilight felt a hoof collide with her shoulder. Hitting the ground, she found the strength to rise steadily leaving her body. A one-eyed zebra with in a red cloak and amber scale-mail armour walked forward, brandishing a halberd. “You think we were going into battle with the Elements without knowing how to handle an alicorn?” he sneered “Funny isn’t it. You can have an easy time killing anything...as long as you take it unaware” “Almogavar! Be careful” A bald, orange unicorn with a blue stripe over his eye commanded, waving an Antelopian blade in front of him cautiously “We don’t know what she’s capable of” “There were enough volts in that field to lay a yak low, Khopesh. This one’s not getting up so quickly” He raised the halberd above him as the Bearer of Magic struggled to collect her senses. They were interrupted by an unearthly groan from behind them. “Huuuuuuuuuuuur!” The zebra, Almogavar, drew back slightly as the horrific cult henchman reappeared, trailing his blade along the ground morbidly. He said nothing but his cold, empty eyes bore into Almogavar’s and a tilt of his head seemed to suggest he wanted to finish the alicorn himself. Almogavar stayed put, scowling. “Let him go, Almogavar. Don’t mess with that one!” Khopesh squawked. The zebra billowed vapour out his nostrils and stepped back. “Freak” he muttered. Threadbare stepped forward and eyed the downed mare hungrily. With blurring vision, Twilight looked up as the disfigured stallion did the closest thing he could to smiling and raised his sabre. ‘Sorry girls...I guess I wasn’t prepared’ Threadbare stopped, his head twitching upwards towards the sky, sniffing like some scavenger. There was a roar of movement overhead and a shadow passing over. “Damn it! Defensive positions!” Almogavar yelled “Now!” As the mercenaries rushed to a close-knit group, drawing weapons of all kinds, two great trails of fire streaked across the road, sending Threadbare and several others flying back swatting away the flames. A dark-grey pegasus in lieutenant’s armour spread out his wings and hovered over them with a crossbow in one hoof and a chain whip in the other, his white mane flickering with flames. Around him, the battalion’s top fliers drew arms of their own. “This is why they didn't want me in the Wonderbolts...” Blizzard Wind said casually “Stuff I fly over has a habit of catching fire. I hope that doesn't sound too scary...but it really is” The mercenaries stared at the foe that had presented themselves. Khopesh put out one forehoof. “...All yours, guys” And he ran back the way he'd come into the alleyways. “Thanks” Almogavar muttered, resolving to not have the cowardly ex-slaver as his colleague in future. Spinning his halberd in one hoof, he stared down the enemy as he landed and spoke. “I am Lieutenant Blizzard Wing of the Royal Guard” He spun his chain in his hoof “We protect the innocent from those like you. Three-thousand, four-hundred and seventy-two ponies are dead. You will pay dearly for your crimes” Righteous fury was prevalent in his voice “Society cannot continue to live in fear of those who prey upon the weak” Almogavar scoffed. “You’ve been reading too many comic books, hot-head!” And with a roar, he pointed his halberd forward as the mercenaries rushed their newfound foe. Between the two charging armies, Twilight Sparkle steadily got to her shaking hooves and lit up her horn, her eyes blazing with energy as she prepared for the first battle in the war she’d promised to finish. * The gentle flight around Quartzwald was forcibly interrupted by the great arrow piercing through her shoulder, locking one her wings stiff, as Alma Rose careened to earth, screaming. She’d flown too far out from the fortress. Landing in the spires, narrowly avoiding impalement on the beautiful towers, she was alone. Groaning, her hooves shaking with pain and shock, she reached behind her, frantically attempting to remove the projectile from herself, tears of anguish streaming down her face that had, mere moments ago, been full of joy. The spire forest was dark beneath the crystal peaks. The great towering masses of solid magic jewels worked to absorb sunlight, their field covering the entire valley and leaving the ground around them bare, hidden from view but for the most keen-eyed scout. She glanced back at Quartzwald. It seemed very far away and the walls seemed so high. “Help!” she screamed “Help me! Somepony!” Her screams were answered. And not in a friendly manner. From behind her, there came a growl. Slowly turning her head, feeling as if she would regret it, Alma Rose found herself face to face with a great grey warg, enormous wolves from the Frozen North with monstrous visages and never enough to eat. This particular warg had its face and coat painted with bizarre runes. The runes were red. She had a feeling it wasn’t paint. “No...no...” she edged back, her pace matching that of the slavering warg “Stay back...please stay back...” As the warg opened its mouth, bare inches from her chest, it yelped as a spiked metal collar, largely hidden by his fur, pulled harshly on its neck. The warg backed off and slunk around the pegasus’ impatiently. With equal confusion and fear, Alma looked up as a strange figure loomed into view. At the sight of its face, she gave a shriek and backed away but found a heavy cloven hoof stamping down on her tail, pinning her in place. “You are right to be afraid” the figure spoke, its voice female, sultry but low-pitched, possessed of a curious accent “Who commands here?” “P-p-please...” Alma gasped as another cloven hoof latched onto her throat, lifting her into the air as the figure scowled. “I do not know of any ‘Commander Please’...Answer my question...While I still possess patience” Alma felt the breath squeezed out of her in the beast’s grip. “Sh-Shining...Armour...” The grip subsided slightly as her captor’s eyes gleamed. “The Emperor...Yes...This is good news...His death and those of his servants will bring us mighty fame” Struggling and feeling rage take her body, Alma writhed forward like a fish on a hook, managing to kick the beast holding her in the face. The daunting female turned her head back with an unamused look as Alma suddenly felt very regretful. “That was...brave of you...” she said softly, drawing a wickedly-sharp axe from a belt across her shoulders “But not...very...smart” It had been as if she were brushing hair with it but as she lazily passed the axe over the back-leg that had kicked her, Alma gave a blood-curdling scream as it was separated from her body, leaving a stump pouring gore over the barren soil. On and on she screamed, paying little attention to the mass of other figures beginning to surround her, slowly walking in a morbid, half-dead fashion. Her screams were cut off finally as the tall matriarch slammed the axe into the ground, rested her foreleg on it and used her free hoof to cover the mare’s mouth, speaking softly and calmly to her wailing prisoner. “Do not despair...this pain shall not last long...You shall serve well...to send Shining Armour a message” The side of her lips twisted into a sneer. “The message that this shall be his first taste of battle with Jotnar Warhost...As well as his last” * The office of Doctor Bittersweet was made to appear smaller and darker by his guest’s entrance. Yet the Doctor rarely reacted to it beyond mild concern. “I would appreciate it in future if you knocked, Mr Cascadius” “I, in turn, would appreciate not being peddled around Equestria to and fro, now of all times” Cascadius said with clear amounts of annoyance “Most of my contacts have already taken up residence with me, I would have thought you’d do me the same convenience” “You know I cannot leave the asylum, Mr Cascadius” Doctor Bittersweet said calmly, rising to his hooves “Now, I assume you’re curious as to why I brought you here” “Not to attempt to be more mysterious than me, I very much hope” the paymaster said, scowling. “No, I simply wished to inform you that her ladyship, Countess Magnifying Glass wishes the asylum to take her niece for treatment...tomorrow” Cascadius’s eyebrows rose. “Tomorrow?” he repeated, inhaling through his nostrils “I do not believe the Countess has quite understood the situation. We cannot act until her house arrest is over. That is three days from now. Can’t she wait?” “She insists that everything is prepared for her arrival. What’s more is that she is very concerned by the recent activities of the Bearers of Harmony and Celestia’s troops. She is adamant that they seek to persecute her. She fears for her safety” “She rarely ever doesn’t” the paymaster muttered, massaging his temples with one hoof “We can act a day and a night from now but no earlier. And we shall need to exercise great precision. The Princess and the Bearers have been expecting this for some time. I assume you’re aware of how I go about this sort of thing” “Distractions, you call them” “Multiple distractions for this sort of operation” Cascadius thought a moment “You have guards, correct. Capable fliers?” “Many. Versed in warfare and weaponry. Not even the Wonderbolts are immune to our riot-control gas” “And here I thought the masks were just to make them look scary” the paymaster chuckled “I assume Lightning Dust will be leading the assault?” “Indeed, she has been looking for a chance to demonstrate the benefits of supporting our establishment” Bittersweet answered, smugness playing on his features “If you would do us the kindness of supplying a few of your own personnel?” “Yes, yes...” Cascadius waved a hoof disinterestedly. “One more thing” the asylum keeper added “I’d like no killing. Glanders Gate does not desire such a stain on its reputation” Cascadius eyed the stallion irritably and sighed. “Fine” He went back to his thoughts “One distraction won’t be enough, however. We already have the Bearers facing some of my best in Boulette and a new associate of mine intends an attack on Quartzwald. But, I think...just to be sure...” He pulled out a transceiver and dialled. “Do you know, it’s rather rude to make calls in another stallion’s study” Bittersweet said aside. Cascadius glanced at him. “I know” Ignoring the look the asylum keeper gave him, he smiled as he spoke into the transceiver. “Balisong? Hi, yeah, things are alright. How are you? Well, me and the good doctor were just talking and I just wondered...How do you fancy a trip to Ponyville?”