The moonlight shone down upon the pale yellow extruding wings of a lone cloaked figure as they ran across the fields; stumbling now and then. The back of the cloak was emblazoned with a silvery NM and their pace was frantic; as though trying to escape something. Opening their mouth to scream their feminine voice barely caused a whimpering whisper.
“P-Please somepony! Save me!”
***
Twilight suddenly felt an unbearable cold as she ran; though she wasn’t sure why. The air around her was warm; a result of the humidity from the day’s rainstorm. Whereas the world felt warm; her blood ran cold. She could almost feel her veins turn to ice. Her hoofsteps slowed and then stopped as a fear like she had never known gripped her.
Alone, she frantically scanned the pathway to Ponyville in the moonlit night; and she had no idea why. The only thing she knew was that the feeling of impending doom hung over her; unshakable. She blinked frantically, shaking her head as though trying to clear it. Was she crazy, or was her vision going dark?
The world seemed to dim before going completely black, and in the darkness, an imposing figure appeared before her. A beam of moonlight seemed to shine down upon the creature; an Alicorn Twilight had never seen before.
“You can’t bring him back..”
The words carried the same chilling air that Twilight had felt a moment before. The Alicorn had dark violet-colored fur and wore a strangely crafted silver helmet. It covered most of the Alicorn’s face, exposing only the mouth, eyes, and horn. On it, Twilight could just make out the Royal Insignia.
The eyes were what Twilight noticed most; Snake-eyes with a jade-green iris. There was something familiar, yet dangerous about them. Twilight saw in them an agony worthy of Tartarus, itself. The Alicorn spoke once more; it’s voice flat, emotionless, and as cold as the northern winds.
“He’s gone. Your anger won’t bring him back.”
Twilight felt her heart pound as she shouted at the Alicorn before her.
“Who?”
The Alicorn looked at her with that cold glare; its head slightly cocked in a diagonal angle. Was it just her imagination or was that Alicorn pitying her? It opened its mouth and spoke just two words as it’s horn glowed brightly.
“Shining Armor.”
Twilight’s eyes went wide as a bright purple flash filled her vision. The Alicorn’s voice was heard as the light faded.
“Seek another way.”
Blinded by the flash Twilight called out in frustration.
“Who are you? How do you know my broth-”
***
*WHAM*
“Ungh!”
Twilight’s eyes flew open as something slammed into her. Her head was pounding; her ribs ached and the world was spinning. Dazedly, she looked wildly around in surprise; trying to make sense of what just occurred.Where’s the Alicorn? Wait, where am I? Where’s Spike?
The scenery was much different. When did she leave the road? She didn’t know. She had no idea where she was. She looked on in confusion at the hill that she had tumbled down. How did I get here? Slowly, she rose to her hooves and tried to get her bearings. At that moment a sharp, jolting pain rocketed up her leg. She grimaced. She knew that pain all too well; her foreleg was broken. Not again. Ugh. So annoying.
The pain was agonizing, but her tolerance for such things was as immense as Celestia’s knowledge of magic. For 8 years of countless errors, she had been beaten, broken, and burned relentlessly. Pain of this caliber was nothing in light of such things.
She could still feel it and though she didn’t enjoy it any; she was able to tolerate it with relative ease. She felt the familiar warmth of a viscous liquid dripping down her leg. Just great. It’s also bleeding. Not good. Angrily gritting her teeth, she ignored it to focus on something far more important to her.
“Spike! Spike, where are -?”
Her blood ran cold as she noticed the still form of a solitary cloaked figure laying nearby; the moonlight illuminating the NM on its back. Her pulse began to quicken. Twilight felt her rage beginning to rise. And then she noticed it.
The NM was peeling off, it hadn’t been woven into the cloak; as was typical of the cultists. Her heartbeat fell back to normal as confusion washed over her. This was no cultist, but if that was the case, who was this? Friend or foe? The figure croaked at her.
“P-please save me.”
Save you, from what exactly? Turning away from the unknown figure in disgust, Twilight shook her head in frustration. Ugh. Focus! I can deal with that detail later. I have to find Spike!
***
Spike was special to Twilight. There was nothing else in her life to bring her happiness; Celestia had seen to that. Twilight had a small 6’ x 6’ room with no windows or furniture. The room had absolutely nothing in it. Not even a light illuminated the darkness of the prison cell she called her room. But she still had Spike. And thanks to him, she still held the ability to hope and dream.
Spike. The baby dragon that 8 years ago Twilight created using all her magic, and all her prayers; as a final test to graduate from the nightmarish academy. A purple dragon with green spikes; Twilight had infused all her light into him during his creation; to create his personality.
He was a literal living part of her soul. Within Twilight remained her hatred, her pain; her darkness. Within Spike was her innocence, her love; her light. When she was ready to give up trying; he would comfort and encourage her. He gave her the strength to continue, to push forward. When the Princess flayed her to doll rags for her mistakes, he was there to dry her tears while her wounds healed.
Twilight hated that about him; his optimism, his naivety. She hated him so much for it, but she also begrudgingly had to admit he kept her head above water when she was drowning in despair. Likewise, with her critically pessimistic mindset, she kept his claws grounded on firm soil when he got delusions of grandeur. The two were eternally bound to walk side-by-side; opposite sides of the same coin.
To lose him was to lose an integral part of herself, and that was not an option.
***
Twilight was beginning to feel light-headed; the pain in her leg had begun to breach her levels of tolerance. She didn’t care. Finding Spike was her only thought; everything else was secondary. Frantically, she staggered about, searching the tall grass for her missing companion. And then she found him.
She felt nauseous at the sight. Spike lay on the ground; unmoving. His breathing was horribly labored, as he gasped for breath. She hated him, yet her blood ran cold as she stared at the sight. Spike? He was on my back! Spike was-
“Spike! Nononono...No!”
She despised him with all her being. To her, he was overly optimistic, simple, and childish. She hated everything he represented; her childhood. Yet as she stood there staring at his broken, bloody body, her blood froze. Something inside her snapped and her pain just faded away.
She no longer felt the agonizing pain in her leg, or the warmth of the blood dripping down her leg. She no longer felt anything. She blinked in disbelief as she stared at him, revealing her eyes had gone from amethyst to a sinister jade green; soulless and empty.
Her mane flowed and whipped around her within a freezing gale that had begun to swirl; emanating from within her. Her fur had shifted in hue, from light to a dark purple while her mane was no longer solid violet, but had become somewhat translucent; with star-like sparkles within.
“Please, by Celestia’s Daylight, s-somepony save me!”
The words were no more than a frightened squeak, but Twilight heard it. ‘Celestia’s Daylight’ was the blessing callout supporters of the tyrant would use when saying prayers.
Turning her head in the direction of the cry, Twilight saw a group of cloaked figures poised to attack a helpless figure on the hillside.
Twilight had no idea who they were; nor did she care. She was past the point of logic. Past the point of trying to understand. She was hurt, and because of that, they would hurt. The gale-force winds surrounding her had become a freezing blizzard exploding outward in all directions. And the winds now howled across the landscape; the bitter cold echoing her pain.
***
Upon the hill, the group of 6 would-be attackers shivered. The air of the warm summer night had become unbearably cold all of a sudden. Startled by the sudden shift in temperature, they shouted at each other over the biting winds that had surrounded them.
“Hey, where’d this storm come from?”
“I don’t know! There was nothing in the forecasts about th-Argh!”
“What th- Ugrhhh!”
As the winds howled with what sounded like a banshee’s wail, the group of 6 watched in horror as one by one, a shard of creeping purple ice erupted from within the chest of each one, slaying them mid-sentence. There they stood, a look of sheer terror frozen on their face forever, as the magical ice crept over and permanently encased each of the still-standing, slain attackers.
The would-be victim opened her eyes; that had been shut and covered with her hooves. She could feel the freezing winds circling her but she wasn’t cold. Strangely enough, she was warm almost as if receiving a comforting hug.
She was scared, but oddly emboldened by the warmth; she clambered to her hooves amidst the now-receding winds. She stared in disbelief at the imposing form of what she could have sworn was a Nightmare with glowing eyes; watching her from below. She couldn’t believe it. Had that creature deliberately spared her? She continued staring in disbelief at the figure, as the glow faded from its eyes and it collapsed. She watched as it crashed to the ground; the icy winds halting immediately.
Immediately without thought, she raced down the hill towards the creature, only to find moments later, there was no Nightmare. Instead of the creature, she was sure she had seen; the Pegasus mare found a light purple Unicorn laying there; unconscious from the blood loss in her leg. That wasn’t what startled her the most though. As the moonlight shone down upon the unicorn’s form, the Pegasus was mortified by the countless scars and burns that covered her body. Poor dear, what have you been through?
Just a hoof’s length away lay the unconscious form of a baby dragon; having succumbed to his injuries. The Pegasus ruffled her wings in thought as she gazed at the two; studying them. Was it to protect you? Ripping off her makeshift cloak, she covered the two before pulling out a device from a satchel on her side. She began to talk into it.
“F-Fluttershy to homes-stead, c-come in Homestead.”
Pausing she listened as another voice came through the device.
“Homestead here, read you loud and clear Flutters. What’s going on?”
“I n-need Rainbow and Rarity to my l-location pronto.”
“Why?”
“By Celestia’s Daylight, h-have I got a tale for you. Tell Applejack s-she’ll need to dress down two more cots. We are gonna have some company. Ple-please tell them to hur-ry t-time is of the e-essence.”
“Roger that, Rainbow and Rarity are en route. Stand firm and may Celestia’s light shine for you.”
“And may you bask in the sunshine.”
The yellow Pegasus by the name of Fluttershy glanced at the two unconscious creatures before her. Hang on, help is coming. Above the three, the moon pulsed with an abnormal glow; almost as though watching the scene below in earnest.