Waking Night

by CrowMagnon

Part 12 - Next Stop, Ponyville

Some ponies love to say that they want to live their lives with no regrets. I wanted to be a pirate. Sometimes you just have to leave foalish fantasies behind.
-- From the memoirs of Tesla "Bolt" Lulamoon

Rarity let out a sigh as the mountain and city of Canterlot gradually shrank behind them. Her magic held several bottles above her head as she made her way to the two mares who had made it aboard as they were leaving. The purple unicorn, despite being the more physically fit of the two, seemed to be in particularly bad shape while the bubbly, vampony-diguised pegasus had only complained of some wing strain once the adrenaline of their escape had worn off.

Now, both were resting among the other passengers. Rarity walked up to them and popped open two of the bottles with her magic. "I found some juice in the dining car. I hope you don't mind tomato," she said, offering them to the weary ponies.

"Mmmm, my favorite vegetable-that's-actually-a-fruit," Fluttershy replied, taking one of the open bottles between her hooves so she could tip it up and take a swallow.

At the same time, despite her anemic grogginess making it difficult to get a solid grip on the other bottle, Twilight managed to wrap her aura around it and tip its contents into her mouth. The first few sips were small, and even that almost made her choke. After she got a few swallows down, though, it was like a switch was flipped inside her and her body remembered just how badly it needed fluids and nutrients to replenish what was lost. She started to gulp it down as quickly as she could, and when the bottle was empty, she reached out for another.

"She needs it," Fluttershy said with a giggle, reaching out to wipe some errant juice from the guardsmare's face with her wing. "She almost got eaten by evil flowers!"

"Evil flowers?" Pinkamena asked, leaning up over the back of the seat to join in the conversation.

Twilight was already chugging down her third bottle when she momentarily paused to answer. "Blue Rose... vampony... grows homophla... hamapho... hemopha--" A sudden belch burbled up out of her throat, echoing throughout the train car. She blushed deeply and wiped her mouth. "Bloodsucking plants inside her own body... Sorry, I drank a little too fast."

"It's alright. You just take it easy," Rarity said, patting the other unicorn on the back.

Pinkamena asked, "Those were really vamponies that passed overhead? How do you know so much about them?"

Before Twilight could answer, Fluttershy exclaimed, "Because she's a lieutenant in the Royal Guard! You've got to know these things when you're an officer, right?"

"Well, actually--"

"A guardsmare?" Applejack asked as she returned to the others. "Forgive me for asking, darling, but why aren't you wearing the armor?"

"I... I..."

Again Fluttershy interrupted, "She doesn't need any! That nasty Blue Rose pony was chasing me and a couple of foals and she was all like 'Rawr, gimme the kids!' and I was like 'Save us! Save us!' and then Lt. Sparkle and my husband showed up and he was all 'You get away from her!' And Lt. Sparkle here was like..." She paused for a moment, forcing her expression to change into a stone-faced grimace while she brought her voice down into a low, gravelly growl. "'Vamponies... Good thing I was on a stakeout!' And then they all ran toward each other and it was 'Pow!' and 'Biff!' and 'Gyaaaaaah!' and..."

As the pegasus continued to narrate sound effects, everypony around her was simply poleaxed, staring at her dumbly until they started slowly turning toward a similarly stunned Twilight. Seeing them looking to her for confirmation, she gave them a bashful grin and shrugged. "Cl-close enough...?"

"She's also on an extra-super-important mission to save Equestria," Fluttershy cut in, interrupting her own onomatopoeia to lean in and whisper to the nearby ponies. It was close to the sort of 'whispering' one would hear in a stage play, though. "From Princess Celestia herself!"

In an instant, Lt. Sparkle went pale. "Fluttershy!"

"Ohhh, right, that's probably top-secret. Forget I said anything, please! I'm just a silly pony who doesn't know what she's talking about," Fluttershy asked, glancing shiftily from side to side as she slowly lowered herself out of sight.

Once she'd slipped out of view, the others turned to Twilight. Applejack was the first to speak, simply asking, "So...?"

Lt. Sparkle looked down at her hooves. "Y-yes, I'm with the Guard... Yes, we fought off a vampony... Her husband asked me to keep her safe, and... I just..." Her body shuddered as she buried her face in her hooves.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. You just focus on getting better, darling," Applejack said comfortingly. "We'll be getting to Ponyville soon, and we can either get you to a doctor or you can keep riding away from here. Honestly, I would not blame you either way."

"Ponyville?" Twilight's ears perked up ever so slightly at the name. "That's the little town by the...? Yeah, I-I should get off there," she said.

Applejack smiled reassuringly. "Alright. Until then, you just rest. I think I'm going to go check on the other cars to see how they're doing, but if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask. Whatever's happening, we are all in this together now."

With that, Applejack made to walk away to the other end of the car. After watching her go, Pinkamena looked to Rarity and asked, "Maybe we should help her. And then you could talk to her."

Rarity sucked in a breath between her teeth. "I'm... not sure that's a good idea, anymore. Besides, this mare here should have somepony nearby, right? Right?"

"Huh? What?" Lt. Sparkle asked distractedly. "Oh, uh... no, I'm... fine. I just... need some time by myself to rest," she said, turning to look out the window. Already, her home city was looking more and more distant in the dim light of the eclipse.

"Oh... okay," Rarity replied. She let out a deep sigh. "Alright, maybe I should."

Lt. Sparkle didn't watch them go, but she heard their hoofsteps gradually recede until they faded into the background noise of the train. Though still surrounded by ponies, she was effectively left alone. As the relative solitude sank in, she felt her eyes water up once more.

"Miss Applejack? Miss Applejack!" With Pinkamena silently urging her from behind, Rarity called out to the businessmare as they caught up enough to be heard.

Turning back to face them, Applejack quizzically cocked her head. "Yes? What is it?"

Rarity took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before explaining, "Well, I didn't have a chance to explain why while we were evacuating everypony, but you probably noticed I was... somewhat testy with you when I first approached you."

Applejack thought back. "Ah... yes, I suppose you were at the time, though it's certainly understandable. I was indulging in a rather flagrant breach of ethics," she admitted with a chagrined look.

Rarity shook her head with a chuckle under her breath. "Well, even if I thought you were just trying to save your own tail, the truth is, I'd been looking for a chance to yell at you all day. You see..." She looked Applejack in the eye. The businessmare looked back at her, blinking in surprise. Rarity could practically see Applejack sifting through her memory, trying to place her. Trying to figure out how she might have wronged Rarity.

"... My little sister is one of your sister's best friends," Rarity clarified. "When I heard that you were supposed to visit, and saw how sad Apple Bloom was when it seemed like you weren't going to..."

Applejack groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Ugh, curse it all, Check List! I am so sorry, my assistant had his heart in the right place when he sent that letter, but his head... But that's not important anymore. I'm sure that the princess will put an end to this soon enough. All I am concerned with right now is getting back to my family." She looked back up at Rarity and let herself smile as she asked, "So... if you are Sweetie Belle's sister, that would make you Rarity? McIntosh and dear Granny mention you both quite often in their letters."

Rarity was taken aback in surprise and started to reply, "Well, yes..." Before she could say anything else, Applejack suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Oh, it's so good to officially make your acquaintance! I've been wanting to meet her friends for so long," she said while squeezing Rarity tightly. "You have no idea how happy it's made me lately, reading about what good friends your sister and that little scamp Scootaloo are to her. And knowing that they have a reliable mare who cares so much about their well-being to look up to..."

Applejack smiled as she pulled back to hold Rarity at forelegs' length. "We are simply going to have to spend some time together so you can tell me all about what's been going on around Ponyville in my absence, darling. Preferably after all of this horror gets settled and the shock of tonight is allowed to pass. How about it?"

Rarity coughed softly into her hoof as she looked back into Applejack's expectant green eyes. "Ah... y-yeah! Sounds like a good idea," she replied with a shaky grin.

"Capital! I'm happy you agree. Why, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle being so close, we're practically sisters ourselves," Applejack replied happily before turning around. "Until then, I should get back to seeing if anypony else requires assistance. Ta, darling!"

Rarity waved as Applejack walked away, letting out a sigh when the businessmare was once more out of sight.

Between cars, Applejack took a moment to stop and lean on the railing as she looked out at the scenery passing them by. As far as she could see in all directions, the landscape was veiled in a perpetual twilight dim that possessed neither the bright security of the day, nor the mysterious beauty of the night.

Instead, the all-consuming shadow of the eclipse above cast a menacing pall upon everything. The instincts passed down to Applejack from her primitive equine ancestors told her to fear that shadow. That predators could be lurking in every dark corner, just out of sight.

Applejack chuckled to herself as she did her best to dismiss those fears. Even if the world was ending, surely nothing would attack them on a speeding train.

Just as she thought that, though, she heard a "Nom!" an instant before a fanged mouth started nibbling on her shoulder.

With a loud, startled whinny, Applejack reflexively twisted her body around and grabbed her assailant, throwing them to the floor. She was halfway into trapping her attacker in a leg lock when she recognized her. "Ms. Fluttershy?!"

The pegasus coughed and wheezed, yet still managed to smile even with her false fangs slipped out of alignment. "Wmm abbuz... fcoof me..." She pulled the fangs from her mouth with a free hoof. "I was saying that was cool! And painful... ow, I think I fell on my wing the wrong way."

"Well I'm terribly sorry, but what were you even thinking?" Applejack replied as she offered a hoof to help Fluttershy back up. "Honestly, attacking somepony out of the blue like that."

"It was for them," the pegasus replied, pointing toward the doorway. On the other side were several fillies and colts in various costumes. All were looking up at Applejack with starry-eyed admiration. To the children, she cheerfully exclaimed, "See? Bullies and monsters like to scare you so you won't fight back. But if you know how to deal with them, even vamponies can be scared!"

She leaned over and whispered into Applejack's ear, "They were afraid vamponies might attack again, so I wanted to show them not to be scared. I didn't think you'd jump straight to the 'You bite me, I fight you' lesson, though."

Applejack blinked a few times. "Oh, um... yes. That's... okay then?"

"Yep! It's all going to be okay," Fluttershy said chipperly, more toward the young ponies than to Applejack. "So let's all just settle in, and don't you worry about a thing!"

As the fillies and colts headed back, Fluttershy started to follow them. Applejack shook her head and mused, "You are a bewildering pony, Ms. Fluttershy."

Fluttershy stopped and smiled back over her shoulder. "How's that?"

"That you can stay so positive through all this. Didn't you say that your husband was still in Canterlot?" She turned to lean against the railing again and look off into the distance. "If my beloved wasn't in Prance, far away from all of this, I would be absolutely sick with worry..."

Fluttershy moved back toward Applejack and joined her in watching the scenery pass by. "Awww, that's sweet," she said sincerely. "I'm sure Will's worried about me. I said I'd be back to help him take care of everypony who couldn't make it out."

Applejack nodded. "At least Fleur is safe. It's my family that I'm worried about." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I spent so many years away... first it was studying, then it was developing connections and growing my business. Now that I'm finally ready to see them again after all this time, it might be the end of the world as we know it. I've deferred so many chances to reconnect, and now... what if something happens to them before we get back to Ponyville?"

Fluttershy nodded as she listened, then replied, "Well, I'm not worried. Will's probably just fine. In fact, he's helping the Royal Guard beat up those vamponies right now!"

Applejack looked over and asked, "You think so? What makes you think that?"

"Nothing!" Fluttershy admitted with an odd level of pride in her voice. She looked back at Applejack and smiled. "But I don't know that he isn't alright, either. As long as there's nothing I can do about it, all being scared will do is keep me from doing anything at all. Besides, you haven't seen how much he can lift!"

Applejack chuckled at that. "So, you're just going to assume the best, even with all of this?" She waved her hoof, gesturing toward the darkened landscape.

"Yep. Right up until the moment I can't," Fluttershy replied. "And you should, too. Maybe we'll be wrong, but at least you'll be able to do something about it when you see them."

Applejack let out a 'hmm' as she took that in. Slipping into silence, both mares resumed looking out as they felt something rise up from within them.

Meanwhile back in the previous car, Pinkamena said softly to Rarity, "I thought you were going to tell her about the loan."

"And how was I supposed to do that?" Rarity asked, throwing her hooves up in exasperation. "I came looking for her, hoping I'd find a cold, greedy money mare that I could get angry at, and instead she's done nothing but care about other ponies' welfare."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Yes! I mean no, it's... it's not bad of her." Rarity slumped down onto her haunches and rubbed her eyes. "But she thinks I came looking for her just for her sister's sake. Really, I was helpless and angry and looking for somepony to blame for it besides myself. Then we met Fancypants and he told us that she was a good mare who wanted to go home, so I thought... I thought, 'This is my chance. I can help her get to Ponyville and she'll be so grateful that she'll help me get my farm started.' I just... used Apple Bloom's pain as an excuse."

Rarity threw her hooves up in frustration with herself. "And then when we found her after all of that, I was only too happy to go straight back to being angry at the slightest provocation! I'm a horrible pony..."

As she felt Pinkamena place a comforting hoof on her shoulder, Rarity slowly lowered her hooves and raised her voice in song.

Pinkamena nodded sympathetically as she joined her voice with Rarity's. At the same time outside, Applejack felt the words flowing out of her.

Suddenly, Fluttershy took Applejack's hoof and pulled her back from the railing. Locking eyes with the businessmare, Fluttershy shut her eyes and sang,

Applejack tried to follow Fluttershy's advice and shut her own eyes. She did her best to picture her grandmother and siblings greeting her, but the knowledge of how upset her little sister had been still weighed heavily on her. In her mind's eye, she could only imagine the Apples turning their backs on her.

Meanwhile as she slowly recuperated, Lt. Sparkle sniffled. She did her best to simply curl up in her seat and rest, but every time she tried to close her eyes, she saw visions of things that make her want to vomit up the juice that she had been guzzling down. Fighting off the weakness that still promised to drag her down, she raised herself up to look back at Canterlot.

Twilight didn't even notice Rarity and Pinkamena returning to find a place to sit, but she certainly noticed when Fluttershy burst in after them, waltzing down the narrow aisle with a thoroughly befuddled Applejack.

The dancing ponies easily caught everypony's attention, but Fluttershy wasn't paying as much as she should have. The train's track began to curve toward Ponyville, and with her wings too tired and strained to help her balance, she ended up tripping. Both she and Applejack tumbled down the aisle as a result, catching Rarity and Pinkamena in their wake until they ended up rolling into a pile next to Lt. Sparkle.

While Fluttershy giggled to herself over the pratfall, the other four looked at each other while Twilight did what she could to help them up.

Above them, clinging to the roof of the car, the cloaked mare who had helped Fluttershy and Lt. Sparkle make their escape kept one hoof held under her cloak. She kept her head down as the wind rushing past her had long since blown her hood back, whipping the long, brightly prismatic locks of her mane around wildly.

At the same time, ponies throughout the train began to join in. They held each other close and shut their eyes as they tried to hold onto happier thoughts. Without looking outside, they couldn't see the shadows. Some of them even began to smile wistfully.

As the song faded, many ponies continued to sit and wait patiently. They could feel the train rolling along the track, but without looking outside, they had a temporary respite from the fear that had driven them out of Canterlot. Just for a little while, they could simply be on the train with the ponies around them until the blow of its whistle signaled that they were approaching a stop. The conductor came out to announce, "Next stop, Ponyville! Anypony who wants to get off can do so, but we'll leave immediately after they do!"

Atop the train, Rainbow Dash responded to the piercing whistle by carefully standing up. Still holding one hoof close to her chest, she muttered, "That's my cue..." With that, she hopped back and let the train continue on without her as she spread a single wing to help her glide the short distance to the ground.

When her hooves lightly touched down on the ground, she glared at the retreating train as it started to brake into the Ponyville station. "... But we're not through."

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

With Lady Moonshadow and Mesmer Eyes at its side, Eclipse looked out from the royal palace's balcony and took a moment to take in the view. The screams of panic had largely faded as ponies cowered in their homes, though the fighting continued between Moonshadow's thestrals and the Royal Guard.

As they waited for word of the capture of Celestia's would-be assassin, one batpony came flapping up to their level from below. "Lady Moonshadow! We found Blue Rose as you requested, but..."

Moonshadow frowned at her thrall's hesitation. "But what? Speak up, what happened to her?"

The thestral grimaced and gestured for some others to come up. "I'm... not sure." Up flapped two more thestrals, who together carried the corpse of Blue Rose. Eclipse raised an eyebrow when it heard Moonshadow gasp and saw her eyes go wide.

"Set her down! Right now," Moonshadow commanded, stepping back to give them a space to do so. They laid the lifeless body down on the balcony, and Moonshadow immediately began inspecting her. When she found the spot where the Fang had pierced her breast, she held it open to peer inside.

"What are you doing?" Eclipse asked, face twisting in disgust.

Instead of replying to the creature, Moonshadow opened her mouth wide and bit down hard on her own foreleg. As blood began to flow, she placed it against Blue Rose's mouth and began cradling the body. "Come on... come on, come back, Blue. I'm not letting you go just yet."

While she held the vampony's corpse, cooing to it in a manner that was almost motherly, Blue Rose's mouth began to move. Before everypony's eyes, skin and hair began to regenerate before filling out once again with fat and muscle. In minutes, Blue Rose had been restored to a healthy state, sobbing against Moonshadow while she suckled the blood flowing from the pegasus's foreleg.

"There there, Blue. Aren't you feeling better?" Moonshadow asked, running a hoof though the earth pony's mane before lowering it to her chest. The wound Fluttershy had left there was the only part of Blue Rose that refused to heal. Moonshadow then pulled her leg out of her underling's mouth and allowed the bite to seal itself up. "The one who attacked you, they had my knife, didn't they?"

Blue Rose wailed. She sobbed without tears. Her voice choked as she said, "P-pegasus... she... she...! She murdered them!" The vampony curled up and clutched her flat abdomen. "My babies! She murdered my babies! I felt them burn...! Nothing's left..."

Moonshadow comfortingly replied, "Oh, Blue. Did you realize that you very nearly got stabbed in the heart?" She leaned in close to softly whisper into Blue Rose's ear. "Your babies, they weren't just murdered. They moved your heart out of the way. Your babies loved you so much that they gave their lives to save you. And the pegasus who killed them? She robbed you of that love. They're gone forever because of her. All you can do is remember them and honor them, so... how would you like to do that?"

Blue Rose slowly raised her head, still sobbing. In the place of tears, blood began to dribble from your eyes as all-consuming grief was slowly replaced with something else. "I... I'm going to find her... and... and... and tear her apart!"

"That's my girl," Moonshadow replied with a fanged grin. She wiped the blood from Blue Rose's face and licked it off her hoof.

Meanwhile, Eclipse sneered. "We are wasting time, Moonshadow!" Darkness swirled around Celestia's horn as Moonshadow was yanked away. The possessed alicorn loomed over Blue Rose and pinned her down with a hoof, pressing down with a demonic strength that belied the frail appearance of its host. Eclipse leaned in close as it demanded, "Where is the pegasus? Where is the knife?! Wḩ͎̲̼̠è̳̻̺͖̺̘r͜e̼̲̘ͅ ̢̱ͅi̪͉s̶͎̩̯̞͍̳ ̭̩͖̣͢C̵͚̩̥̱e͘l̺͍͎͖̳̟̗͘e̤̜͙͇s̞t͈̮̤̗͉̦í̞a̦̬?̠!̘̱̘͡"

While Eclipse raged, another group of thestrals flew toward them. "Lady Moonshadow! We tracked the ones who were singing. A yellow pegasus with a pink mane, and a purple unicorn."

Everypony's ears pricked up at that, and Eclipse relaxed its hold on Blue Rose. This gave the vampony just enough leverage to summon up unholy strength, freeing herself and launching herself at the reporting thestral. Eyes burning with hatred, she bared her fangs as she snarled, "The murderer! Tell me she's still alive! Tell me!! I want to kill her myself!"

"She's alive! They're both alive," the vampony exclaimed. Blue Rose's mad fury struck fear into even his own shriveled, undead heart. Almost as much as what else he had to report. "They... made it onto a train before we could stop them."

"W͉͎̰̠̠̆̒̏̊̽̒Ḣ̯̂ͨͤ̊͂ͫ͠Ä̷̹͙̖́ͬ͂̂T̩̼̮͓̝̺ͬ̓ͅ?͉̙͉͇̹͍̅!̧͕̱͚ͪ̑ͥ̅ͪ "

Moonshadow grimaced and pointed toward the thestral. "Explain! How did they get away from you?"

"We had them! I swear to you, Lady Moonshadow! We had them completely surrounded, but then a third one showed up! A light blue mare in a cloak. She used... smoke bombs or a mist spell or something! Illusions! Distracted and confused us long enough to escape with the other two."

Upon hearing this, Eclipse froze in place. Princess Celestia's stolen body stiffened like a statue, not so much as blinking or breathing.

"My elder sister was a mare of incredible power and insight," she said to her apprentice as she poured them each a cup of tea. "To this day, Equestria owes its prosperity to her and those who have carried on her legacy. A legacy that you now know includes you."

Holding the cups in her aura, she levitated one out toward her student. Trixie still had a stunned look on her face that had yet to fade. She took the cup into her own aura, though her hold on it was shaking noticeably as she brought it to her lips.

Celestia took a moment to enjoy a sip of her own before she continued. "It was Sapphire who designed Luna's resting place and built it with her own magic centuries before Eclipse took her from us. For a long time, I believed it to be a sick joke. I cursed her for not telling me what would befall us, and then asking me to place Luna in that prison of all places, but now..."

Trixie swallowed her tea, momentarily forgetting decorum as her trembling grasp on the cup made some of it dribble down her muzzle. "N-now...?"

Celestia sighed softly. "I'm getting old, Trixie. I have been for so long now. Every year, my bones ache a little more. My magic grows that much weaker. I've been putting it off for as long as I can, but after all these centuries, I feel my time is short."

Trixie immediately said, "Princess, no! Don't talk like--"

Celestia held up a hoof, stopping her from interrupting. "I will not be able to serve Equestria much longer, but the nation will still need a ruler. Sapphire was rather married to her secrets, but I now believe that she would never have allowed what happened to our beloved sister to occur if it served no purpose. I think that she just wanted Luna to rest safely and securely in our childhood home until the time came for her to wake. That is why, if anything should happen to me before she returns, it will be up to you to go..."

"... Into the Everfree Forest!" Eclipse suddenly exclaimed, surprising the vamponies around it.

"What are you talking about?" Mesmer Eyes asked. To one of the thestrals next to him, he murmured, "Please tell me she hasn't caught Rose's insanity."

Celestia's nostrils flared as Eclipse glared at the unicorn, but swiftly turned its focus toward Moonshadow. "I now know where they are going. Where is the train station closest to the Everfree Forest?!"

Moonshadow cocked her head curiously as she replied, "Hmm, some farming town that sprung up while we were keeping a low profile. What did that hiker call it, again? Something horribly boring."

"Ponyville," Mesmer replied with a roll of his eyes. "As far as I could decipher through all the screaming."

Moonshadow sniffed. "Well excuse me for being excited over having a fresh meal for a change. Yes, Ponyville."

"I see... yes. Then prepare a sky chariot immediately," Eclipse ordered. "I will take Celestia back, so our first destination will be this Ponyville."

At the same time, Fluttershy was once again sitting next to Lt. Sparkle and leaned against the unicorn as the train slowed into the station. Slowly, Twilight turned her head and whispered quietly, "Fluttershy... now that we're safe... I need you to give me the knife back while everyone's distracted..."

Fluttershy blinked several times before she whispered back, "The... the knife...?"

"Moonshadow's Fang," Twilight replied with slight irritation. "I slipped it to you when I thought I was done for, remember?"

Fluttershy's eyes went as wide as dinner plates upon this reminder. "Right, um... well... when we were getting on the train, I had to... erm... flap my wings and... must have... dropped it...?"

She gulped and looked toward Twilight. She let out a squeak as she grinned, hoping the mare would forgive her. Instead, she found that Twilight's entire body was trembling with what she assumed was anger. But then, right in front of her, the unicorn's eyes rolled back in her head and her entire body drained of color into an ashen pallor before she collapsed again.

"Oh no! Lieutenant! Lieutenant! LIEUTENAAAAAAAAAANT!!!"

At the edge of the Everfree Forest, Rainbow Dash walked with a three-legged gait until she saw Angel waiting for her atop a fallen log. He hopped over to her and chittered at her, pantomiming flapping wings and a horn on his head.

Rainbow shook her head sadly. "No, Angel, the princess can't help us. The guys behind this--" She pointed up at the sky. "--showed up and got her first. We'll have to handle things ourselves, worst comes to worst."

Angel gasped at that, pointing at himself, then Rainbow, then throwing his front paws up with an expression that screamed, 'Seriously?!'

Rainbow nodded solemnly. "If we're gonna help Teach, we get no rest. We've got to do everything we can to defend the forest." She pulled her hidden hoof out from under her cloak to reveal Moonshadow's Fang. Looking at it glint, even in the dim light of the eclipsed sun, she recalled the moment she had seen it fall out from under Fluttershy's wing. She had been so stunned that even with her impressively quick reflexes, she'd almost failed to catch it.

She narrowed her eyes with determination as she looked to Angel. "There's an assassin in Ponyville who needs to get her just desserts. And I swear, when I get the chance, I'll make sure it hurts."