//------------------------------// // S3 CH 18. Shadow Weavers // Story: The Story of Twilight Glow // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Twilight took a slow, deep breath, trying to keep her nerves from getting too out of control while she watched the mountains fly by through the train’s window. She hoped Moondancer would be okay. She hoped Rainbow would be okay. She hoped they’d all be okay. Buck, she hoped SHE would be okay. It really did feel that there was never enough ‘okay’ to go around anymore. She even hoped Nightmare Moon was okay. Whatever she was doing was probably incredibly important to draw her off like this, but she really hoped she finished before it was too late. A loud crunch brought her back to the present and she glanced over at Spike, who was munching on a handful of gems. She cocked an eye. “What?” Spike asked. “I don’t know how you can eat at a time like this,” Twilight said with a small smile. “I wouldn’t want these snacks to go to waste,” Spike said before motioning towards her own lunch, the tray of roasted vegetables beginning to cool. “You should eat too. It’s not going to look great if the ‘diplomat’ from ponies passes out from hunger in the middle of the discussions.” Twilight gave another sigh, but she couldn’t deny he was right. Bundle of nerves or not, sustenance was important. Halfheartedly she pulled her tray over and tossed a few pieces of roasted broccoli into her mouth. It was so quiet, she half expected something to have gone wrong by now. But there was no sign of trouble, no alarms. She and Spike had the entire train car to themselves and every so often a guard would come in to check on her and see if she needed anything, but she never did. They still had yet to receive any news on the crystal ponies. Twilight turned back to look out the window and almost screamed when a dark, gray face stared back at her. Eyes white and hollow, watching her. She jumped to her hooves so quickly she sent her tray flying, making it crash to the ground with a loud clatter. “Whad? Whad id id?” Spike asked, jumping up and looking around, brandishing his own tray like a weapon, his mouth filled with gems. “I thought I saw a shade,” Twilight said, her heart pounding. Even staring out the window, though, there was nothing there. “My imagination,” she said. It had to be, why would a shade be outside the train? Besides, the shades were missing. There was no reason for one to be here. Spike swallowed with a bit of difficulty before sighing. “Shades? Really? You got spooked by one of--” The words died in his throat when the lights in the car flickered a few times, revealing half a dozen shades in the car, staring at them. When the lights came back on, the shades were gone. Or at least, they seemed to be. But Twilight found that to be unlikely. “Didn’t you say the shades had disappeared?” “According to the reports, yes,” Twilight said. “Even if they hadn’t, I don’t know why they’d be here. Come on, let’s go find out what’s going on. This might mean that Nightmare Moon is back.” She started walking towards the front of the train, trying to get her heart to stop pounding. Something didn’t feel right. The shades were supposed to be on their side, right? They were just normal, everyday shades. So why was it she felt so scared when they looked at her? Why was it that she felt that chill going down her spine telling her that something was wrong? Why was it that when her tray clattered to the ground, nopony had come to check and ensure everything was okay? ------ Smooth paced back and forth, occasionally glancing out over the badlands. She couldn’t believe the captain had done this to her. If anypony was supposed to be doing reckless, borderline suicidal acts that were poorly thought out it was HER. It wasn’t fair for the captain to step on her hooves like that. Not that she was worried about them or anything. She just didn’t like being left out of the action. All of their best fighters being dragged off to fight a dragon, it just sounded like a terrible idea. She couldn’t believe they still hadn’t gotten any messages about reinforcements by now. There had to be SOMETHING she could do. As if to answer her thoughts, Glimmer came galloping up the steps of the wall, a panicked look on his face. Smooth let out a light snicker and shook her head. “Wow, Glimmer. You look like you just got invited to be the princess’ newest consort. Wanna tell me what’s wrong?” “Thorax,” Glimmer said once he caught his breath and stood at attention. Smooth rolled her eyes. “At ease. Also, stop doing that. Okay, so what’d Thorax do now? Someone let him find the cinnamon roll locker? I did tell the captain we needed to hide them better.” “He flew off after the others,” Glimmer said. Smooth had to give him credit, as panicked as he was he almost managed to raise his voice to a yell, there. Almost. Of course, once those words locked in, any good humor left the pegasus. Smooth stared for a long, long moment, struggling to process that. Finally, she spoke up. “Flew off after the others. And by others you mean…?” “The captain and corporal,” Glimmer said. Smooth nodded. “I see. And you tried to stop him?” “Yes ma’am,” Glimmer said. “But failed?” Smooth asked. “Err…” “I’m kidding, Glimmer,” Smooth said with a small chuckle. “You couldn’t stop a foal chasing butterflies, let alone Thorax. It’s fine.” “Are you sure?” Glimmer asked. “What about when help arrives? There’s--” “When help arrives there’s going to be a lot of chaos,” Smooth said with a shrug. “Thorax isn’t dumb, he’ll get out of the way and let the professionals deal with it. I think we’ve got bigger things to worry about.” “Like?” Glimmer asked. “What we’re going to do when the captain gets back. Once reinforcements arrive we’re gonna have dozens of officers looking in our barracks. If we give the captain a bad reputation, she’ll have our hides.” “Is that why you haven’t cleaned your tent in the last two weeks?” Glimmer asked. Smooth opened her mouth to object, before freezing. Her eyes narrowed moments before a wicked grin formed on her lips. “Not at all, Glimmer. Because now, soldier, I AM the highest ranking member of the mooners. As such, I’ve got a job for-- hey! Get back here!” she yelled after the retreating pegasus, but didn’t make a move to follow. She then turned her gaze back towards the badlands. Whatever Thorax had planned, she hoped it wouldn’t bite them all in the flank. The captain was going to be furious when she found out he ran off on his own. Probably even madder at her for ‘letting’ it happen. Oh well. If she didn’t annoy her superior officers, she wouldn’t be here. Seriously, where were their reinforcements? She swore if she found out they decided to take their sweet time getting here, picking flowers off of mountains, she might have to do something rash. Like tell the captain on them. ------ “Gather to me!” Moondancer yelled as loud as she could, her throat now sore from how often she’d yelled it. Still, in the chaos she couldn’t risk some of them being unable to find her. Her horn glowed brilliantly, an orb of dazzling light shining overhead and causing any shades that came nearby to disappear. Unfortunately, the sky was filled with clouds, with ever more seeming to come from everywhere. She suspected the shades were responsible, but she couldn’t imagine why. They shouldn’t be attacking them, but they were. She wondered if Nightmare Moon was behind this for a moment, but quickly shoved that thought aside. For all the tyrants cruelty, if she truly wanted to remove Moondancer there would have been far more effective methods to go about it. Methods that wouldn’t make it look like she had lost control of her shades. Besides, these shades were acting strange. If only she could clear the skies. The pegasus and bat pony guards who were within the light were desperately flapping their wings, trying to keep the clouds at bay while other unicorns joined their magic with hers. But the thick clouds kept washing over them despite their efforts, occasionally swallowing up a member of their defensive forces and, while sometimes they managed to escape, others disappeared into the darkness or were sent falling from the sky, only to force other ponies to break off to try and rescue their fallen brethren before they could dash across the ground below. Worse, she couldn’t even tell if the others had managed to rescue their brethren as thick clouds had been gathered beneath them, forcing any who tried to rescue the others to disappear into them. “Everypony, to me!” Moondancer yelled again, ignoring the burning in her throat. This was a losing battle, though. They weren’t weather ponies, they were warriors. You couldn’t cut or buck clouds and there were too many of them to drive off. This was all her fault, if she had just considered that the night looked oddly extra cloudy this evening maybe she would have been prepared. She knew the weather forecasts, she should have known this wasn’t normal. But she’d ignored it. How could she be so foalish? “There’s more of them coming from the north!” a voice rang out. Moondancer cursed and turned to face the new threat. She couldn’t make them out well, but almost a whole platoon of shadowy ponies dashing through the sky were heading right towards them, parting the clouds in their wake. She wondered what new torment awaited them now. Were these new shades, ones that could go through the light? Or were the shades just a delaying tactic for whatever else was coming? Why hadn’t she-- Wait. Her eyes narrowed for a moment. Those ‘shadowy ponies’ weren’t quite as shadowy as she initially thought. In fact, she wasn’t certain, but she was pretty sure she recognized at least one of them. Her heart jumped when she realized they weren’t shades. They were shadowbolts. “Everypony, gather towards the north! Gather towards the parting clouds!” Moondancer yelled. “Gather to the shadowbolts!” One of the shadowbolts broke off from the rest of their unit, flying up and out of sight. For a few moments she wondered why. Then a few moments later the world exploded in a tidal wave of winds, rainbows and light, the clouds being torn to pieces and scattering in all directions, the shades disappearing now that their cover was quickly being torn apart. The rest of the shadowbolts dispersed, tearing through the remaining clouds and diving to catch the ponies recently freed from the shade’s grips. A moment later one of the shadowbolts, leaving a rainbow trail behind herself, came streaking by her. “Hey Moondancer sorry can’t talk being AWESOME!” Moondancer blinked a few times. Wait, Rainbow Dash? As grateful as she was for the rescue from the shadowbolts, weren’t they supposed to be gone already? Also, was that a SONIC RAINBOOM? Wait, no, be impressed later. Deal with disaster now. ------ Gilda felt so tired even her feathers wanted to take a nap. As useful as Ash’s potions were turning out to be, the after effects were rough. She was going to sleep for a month once this was all over. Well, assuming they survived this. Lavender was behind them, the once massive scorpion of shadows she had controlled now only the size of a small wagon and trying, desperately, to hold back one of the shadowy dragons. The other was ahead of them and proving to be a nasty opponent. Down on the ground Legendary was slashing wildly at one of the dragon’s legs with his axe, but it didn’t seem to be doing much. Or rather what it was doing didn’t seem to be sticking. The axe cut through the leg, only for the leg to reform a moment later and the monster seeming to not even notice. Coldstone continued to send shards of ice at the dragon, but each flurry of shards he sent was smaller than the last. Ash occasionally tossed small vials their way, small pick-me-ups, but even Gilda knew that was just a short term solution. They didn’t last long enough and even if they were powerful, they couldn’t get any damage they did to stick. As far as she could tell from her vantage point, the only one who had managed to do any actual damage to the monsters was the captain and even she looked so tired that she could barely stand, her cloak soaked through with so much sweat it was sticking to her form. The shade dragons were closing them in and every second things were looking more bleak. A sudden shriek brought Gilda’s attention back towards the last member of their resistance force. Bouncing. The pegasus was on top of the dragon’s head, her polearm lodged deep into its skull. No, not lodged. Sinking into it. Darkness was snaking up the polearm, sucking it into the darkness of the dragon itself, much like it had the other dragon. For a moment she wondered why Bouncing didn’t just abandon her glaive and get out of there. Then she felt a moment of dread when she realized the pegasus couldn’t. Her back hoof was grabbed by that darkness and she was desperately trying to use her glaive to get herself free. Gilda pulled in her wings and dove at her. She swore by the time this fight was over, Bouncing was going to owe her her life a dozen times over. Silly reckless ponies. One of the dragon’s claws suddenly reached out, nearly snatching her from the air and she had to turn, hard, to avoid it. She flapped wildly, getting back into the air and trying to reposition for another attempt. But the shadows were climbing up Bouncing’s leg like a growing fungus, inch by inch, drawing her in. Try as she might, Gilda realized the dragon’s focus was on her now. There wasn’t any way for her to get in grab the pegasus and get out, it was impossible. Gilda couldn’t believe it. She felt helpless. She couldn’t do anything. There wasn’t some fancy move or quick movement she could make to get in and out. All she could do was watch as the darkness started to absorb Bouncing. “Gah!” Legendary yelled. “Unhand me, vile tainted being!” Gilda turned to look towards the ground and saw Legendary’s axe undergoing a similar treatment. The warrior’s hoof trapped as well. However, a moment later ice formed between him and the shadows before expanding, tossing Legendary free of the shadows before he could be absorbed into them. His axe, on the other hand, was quickly being absorbed. “Gilda!” Ash’s voice rang out, making her turn towards the earth pony. She held a golden vial in her hoof before tossing it into the air and then turning to give it a mighty buck, sending the vial sending up towards her. “Dragon’s breath!” she yelled. Gilda snagged the vial out of the air and couldn’t help grinning. Right. Best thing about ponies. Even if it was impossible they always bucking found a way. She dove straight at the pegasus, the hand reaching up to grab her. She popped off the cork in the vile and downed the golden liquid in a single gulp. A moment later her feathers erupted into bright, white light. While it did burn and kind of hurt, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as she thought it would. She dove through the claw, the shadows fading from the light, and straight at Bouncing. She was covered almost to the cutie mark in the darkness, her glaive almost entirely gone. When Gilda came closer, the shadows retracted from the light and her arm lashed out, wrapping around the pegasus’ chest and pulling her free before diving out and away. A moment later the bright light from her feathers disappeared, leaving her slightly singed and tingling all over. “You okay?” Gilda asked. “By Celestia’s mane,” Bouncing said before breaking into coughs, her hooves covering her face. “What’s wrong?” Gilda asked. “Your breath. I’ve smelled landfills that smelled better,” Bouncing said. “But I’m fine. You?” The griffon snickered and rolled her eyes. “It’s called dragon’s breath. I-- hold on!” She pulled in her wings and narrowly missed a swipe of the dragon’s claw. However, while she avoided the darkness of the assault, she was far too close to the ground and the movement caused the pair of them to crash into the sand, skidding and separating them before they rolled to a stop. “Bouncing!” Coldstone yelled, the unicorn galloping over to check on them, ignoring the downed griffon. “Oh my precious little frosty boo,” Bouncing said, smiling up at him. “I lost my stick.” “Oh my little bouncing butterfly, I’ll get you a new one, no, a dozen new ones,” he said, gently rubbing his nose against hers. “Are you hurt?” “Only everywhere, but seeing your breathtaking face makes me forget about all that,” Bouncing said with a happy, content sigh. “I’m fine, by the way,” Gilda said before, with more difficulty than she cared to admit, she got back to a standing position. Despite the duo’s flirting, she suspected they weren’t doing much better. Especially considering Bouncing hadn’t gotten to her hooves yet and Coldstone, despite his adoring words, hadn’t picked her up. Legendary and Ash weren’t looking much better, the former collapsed on the sand a few feet away and the latter desperately rummaging through her saddle as if she hoped she’d magically find something that would get them out of this predicament. Then, just to make matters worse, Lavender came backing up to them, the tip of her horn lightly sputtering before the shadowy scorpion flickered out of existence. The captain collapsed to her knees, panting with exertion, as the second shadowy dragon began to advance on them. Gilda stretched out her wings and let out a light hiss of pain. “Any more bright ideas?” she asked. “Ash?” “I’ve only got one of these potions left,” Ash said before pulling out a small, red vial. “Other than that, unless you all have been poisoned or need to change colors, I’ve got nothing.” “If… we die on this day…” Legendary said before slowly climbing to his hooves, only to collapse a moment later. “I am glad… I died amidst… fellow noble warriors like yourselves…” “What?” Gilda asked. “Die? You’re--” “Nopony dies,” Lavender said through gritted teeth. “Ash, is that what I think it is? Give me it.” Ash shook her head rapidly. “Captain, that’s not advised. You’ve already had two, a third could kill you.” Gilda looked between the pair, cocking her head to the side. “Isn’t that the stuff you gave us?” Ash nodded, but before she could object, the vial was lifted up in an aura of telekinetic magic and flew to Coldstone. “With all due respect, captain, if anypony is going to be doing a last hurrah, it should be me. My magic isn’t being affected by--” “Private Coldstone,” Lavender said before getting to her hooves. “Give me that potion, that is an order.” “Ma’am, I can’t--” Coldstone started, only to be cut off by the captain. “Can’t teleport ponies? No, you can’t. But I can,” Lavender said. “Don’t make my final order be court marshaling you for disobeying a superior officer’s orders.” Everypony went silent then, every eye on the captain. Finally, Bouncing slowly climbed to her hooves. “Captain, you can’t mean to--” “One of us or all of us, private,” Lavender said. “Coldstone, we don’t have time.” “But what if--” Coldstone tried to speak up, but was cut off again. “The world is filled with what if’s. Focus on what is. And this is our only option now,” Lavender said. “Tell Smooth to get everypony out of here and keep retreating until reinforcements arrive. Don’t engage. Whatever these are, we need more than us to face them. Those are my final orders. They--” “GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!” an all too familiar voice screamed out before rings of bright, purple light washed over them and the approaching dragons. ------ Thorax flapped his wings as quickly as he could, struggling desperately to find them. But he couldn’t. The last thing he had felt was that strange, draconic fear. But now it was gone and he could just catch little tastes of them. He knew they had to be this way, but he didn’t know how far he was. If only he had been a better flier. A better tracker. If only he had gone himself to help. Why hadn’t he at least offered to go with them? Why was it so hard to find two dragons in this sand covered wasteland? He paused for a moment when he caught a taste of something else that was far, far stronger. Just for a moment. Love. He quickly took off towards it. Thank you emergency ipecac. They weren’t that far off, either. He wondered why he couldn’t hear them. He’d always known dragons to be pretty loud, but now it was so quiet. He almost stopped when he caught a taste of something else now. Fear. Despair. Determination. Sadness. Exhaustion. And then something else, something he couldn’t place. As if there were two other things there, except they were devoid of emotion. Or just echoing them, rather than having any themselves. Just strange echoes of feelings, fears, pain, sadness. Echoes of the dragon’s own fear. The others were in trouble. Even if he couldn’t see it, he could taste it. They needed him, they-- What? Thorax began to slow down, staring off ahead. They needed help, certainly. They were doomed. But what could he possibly do? He was just one changeling. Alone, no hive, nothing. Why had he even run off to begin with? They were just food. They gave him care, he did favors for them. They were a transaction at best, a packaged meal to go. He shouldn’t be here, he should be back with the others. Waiting to retreat if need be. He started to turn, except he couldn’t. Try as he might, he couldn’t bring himself to turn around. He couldn’t help them, there was nothing he could to to make things better. If they were going to meet their end, what did he care? He still had the others, he could feed off them. He didn’t need Gilda. He didn’t need any of them. They certainly didn’t need him, he couldn’t face a dragon or whatever it was that had defeated a dragon. So why even try? Why rush headfirst into an impossible situation, knowing he’d die for it? Thorax tried to turn away again but he couldn’t. He had to keep going. They weren’t part of the hive, they weren’t important to his survival, they weren’t needed. He was fine. He couldn’t help them. So why go to his death? Why try? He loved them. Stupid as it was, insane as it was, Thorax couldn’t deny it. He loved them. They were his friends. Like brothers or sisters. Like members of the hive. No, better than members of the hive. They chose to be his friends and, in many cases, he chose to be theirs. They were a family. Together. He was a changeling, he couldn’t love someone. He could only manipulate them into loving him. Yet he loved them. The idea of never seeing them again made him hurt in a way that the gnawing pain of starvation couldn’t even come close to. They weren’t just food, they were his friends. They were his family. And they needed him. He needed them. Not for their food. Not for their love. Not for their protection. But for them. Flapping his wings as quickly as he could, Thorax felt something inside himself begin to warm. Overheating, maybe? Was he going too fast? Pushing himself too hard? He didn’t care. They needed him. What if the two dragons were still there? No changeling could fight a dragon. They needed him. What if all he did was buy them a few seconds, could it be worth it? They needed him. Finally he saw them. Little bits of color amidst the dark sands. Two massive, dark creatures penning them in. Ponies and griffon standing together against the encroaching darkness, a fruitless effort. Even from here he could see that they were hurt, exhausted. He couldn’t help. But they needed him and he would NOT let them down. Thorax put one last burst of speed on, dashing forward as quickly as he could. “GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!” he yelled before gathering his magic into his horn. Except, rather than coming out in a beam of green magic, instead his horn erupted in a strange wave of purple. A cocoon of his magic enveloped him suddenly before waves of purple magic erupted out. What in the world was happening to him? What was going on? That warmth in his chest was only getting stronger, burning him out from the inside. It didn’t hurt, though. It was nice. The cocoon around him exploded out and he felt stronger, faster, more powerful than he’d ever felt in his life. Powerful enough to make a difference. Powerful enough to help. Powerful enough to save his friends. Also he was bright green, he had two extra horns on his head, he was definitely taller and his wings were just absolutely fabulous. He didn’t know what any of it meant or why it happened, but he couldn’t give up this chance. He gathered his power in between his new horns and unleashed it on the shadow dragons. Purple light washed over them and, to his amazement, it worked. The creatures seemed to melt away from it, fading and pulling back from his friends. Giving them space. But he could still taste them and, unfortunately, he didn’t feel pain. He felt a little fear, but only a hint. While he had bought them time, his new powers didn’t seem to be enough to defeat these monsters on their own. Still, he could help. He dove down towards the others, his heart pounding be he skidded to a stop in front of Captain Lavender, quickly giving her a salute. “Private Thorax reporting for duty, sir! I mean, ma’am!” Lavender stared at him for a few moments before sighing. “First of all, you’re not a private. Second of all, you’re not even recruited, there’s no need to salute. Third, what, no, who are you even supposed to be right now?” “I was drafted, ma’am!” Thorax said, not lowering the salute. “And I’m not sure, it just kind of happened!” Lavender cocked an eye. “Drafted? Oh? Who by?” “Myself,” Thorax said firmly. “Heh,” Lavender said, a smile forming on her lips. “At ease then, soldier.” “Oh dear, Smooth is going to be furious,” Bouncing said softly. “What? Why?” Thorax asked before lowering his leg. “You got a laugh out of the captain,” Bouncing said. “We weren’t sure that shadow weavers even could laugh. I just made twenty bits.” “We can laugh at things that are amusing,” Lavender said. “Smooth has been trying for ages,” Bouncing said with a light giggle. “I said things that are amusing,” Lavender said before turning back towards the shifting masses of shadows. “A drafted changeling that doesn’t even know the ranks, what is Equestria coming to?” she asked before shaking her head. “Thorax, is that your doing?” “My doing? What?” Thorax asked. “I feel… well, a bit better. Can stand now,” Gilda said before stretching out her wings. “Don’t get me wrong, every part of me hurts, but I can at least walk now. Good job, Thorax.” The changeling’s cheeks went red. They did look better, at least. Hurt, tired, beaten. But they were rising up. “I don’t know, maybe? I just… I ummm… well, I guess what they said before was…” “They?” Lavender asked. “Uhhh, the visitors from the capital. Errr… the pale, yellow one,” Thorax said. “Moondancer,” Lavender said. The smile vanished from her lips and she turned towards the dragons. Her horn glimmered a moment later and the vial held by Coldstone was yanked from his grip and brought to her. “Ma’am!” Coldstone said, taking a step back but stopped when she raised her hoof. “Very well, Thorax,” Lavender said. “You want to fight for Equestria? Become one of our soldiers? Are you willing to risk life and limb? Face even the most dangerous of creatures, be they hydra, dragon or even the spirit of chaos himself?” “Yes,” Thorax said before turning towards the dragons. He wondered how long they had until they next assault happened. Could he drive them off again? Maybe. “Are you willing to face even her royal highness, the ruler of the night herself?” Lavender asked. “Ma’am?” Thorax asked. “Are you?” Lavender asked. “If I have to,” Thorax said. “I’d rather not, though.” “There’s a lot of things we do that we’d rather not, Thorax,” Lavender said before glancing to the vial and sighing. “My orders stand. Everypony else, except Thorax, retreat.” She popped the cork off the vial. “You can’t be serious,” Gilda said. “You can’t just teleport us--” “I’m not going to,” Lavender said before lifting the hood over her head once more. “Focus on what is, not what if, Private Gilda. And what is, now, an opportunity. A chance. Thorax, as one of our newest recruits, this new ability of yours allows an opportunity I, frankly, didn’t think we’d have.” “Ma’am?” Thorax asked. “It’s not a good chance, a high chance or even a smart chance. But it is our only chance,” Lavender said. “I won’t order you, because I don’t know if this will work. You have every right to go running with everypony else and I won’t think less of you for it. As for you, the rest of you? Get going.” Gilda stared at the unicorn before speaking up. “We should all get going. When those things get coming they--” “Are fast,” Lavender said. “We’re exhausted. But I think we can get reinforcements. But Thorax, I’ll need your help to do it. It’s your choice, I won’t make you.” She then downed the vial before letting out a harsh, pained sound. Even though her face couldn’t be seen under the hood, Thorax could taste the pain radiating off her now. As well as the desperation. But he could also taste the hope. “I’ll do it,” Thorax said. “No you won’t!” Gilda said, her feathers bristling. “Thorax, you’re not putting your life on the line for some stupid plan you don’t even know!” “You have your orders,” Lavender said through gritted teeth. “All of you. Go. Thorax, with me.” With struggling steps, the unicorn began to walk towards the dragons. “I’ll be fine,” Thorax said with a smile he hoped was believable. “You gotta follow orders, right? I’ll see you back at the base. Besides, once I officially start someone will have to do the whole like… teasing thing you all do with the rookies, right?” “Initiation?” Gilda asked, staring at him. “Yeah! You can put cinnamon rolls in my socks or something,” Thorax said. “It’s itching powder in your socks,” Bouncing said with a snicker. “Toothpaste on the cinnamon rolls,” Coldstone added, giving a small smile of his own. “Can you do the cinnamon rolls in my socks, please? Those sound nicer,” Thorax said. “THORAX! MOVE YOUR FLANK!” Lavender’s voice boomed. “Right, coming! I’ll be back soon, Gilda! I promise!” Thorax said before he turned and ran off, happy to have an excuse to not look at his friend anymore. He could taste it, though. She didn’t believe him. Not that he blamed her. He didn’t believe himself, either. But he had to try. He galloped after Lavender, the unicorn picking up speed as he ran besides him. “So, what’s the plan?” he asked. “We’re going to go say hi to the umbrum,” Lavender said. “Wait, what?” “I did say it wasn’t a good plan,” Lavender said. “But I felt it before, there’s somepony we could really, really use right about now with them.” “Who?” Thorax asked. “Nightmare Moon,” Lavender said before her horn lit up with dark magic. A dark, swirling vortex appeared on the front of the nearer dragon and the two leaped into them, disappearing into the shadows. Thorax really, really, really, really didn’t like this plan. ------ Twilight was feeling more and more nervous with every car she walked through. Every so often the lights would flicker out and there would be shades there, watching her. As if they were waiting for her. None of them tried to approach her, though. “Do you think it means Nightmare Moon is back?” Spike asked softly. “Maybe,” Twilight said. “I don’t know why she’d send them to watch me like this, though.” “Yeah, can’t imagine why she’d send a borderline army to watch over her precious little bard,” Spike said in a teasing tone. “There are royal guards here as well,” Twilight said. “At least, there should be. Spike, why don’t you ride on my back for a little bit? It’s pretty late and you seem tired.” Spike, surprisingly, didn’t object in the slightest. When she knelt down he quickly climbed on and held on. She couldn’t help feeling grateful to the small dragon, he was likely as nervous as she was. If she had to start running then the last thing she wanted to have happen was him struggle to keep up with her or, worse, them getting caught because she had to pause to grab him. She pushed open the door to the next train car and walked through. The dining car. If ever there was a place that should have at least one pony working, it was here. For a moment she didn’t see anypony and her fears were only amplified. However, after a moment she caught a glimpse of a pony sitting with their back to her across the cart, their black mane waving behind them. They weren’t in uniform, but frankly at this point she didn’t care. She was just so thankful to see somepony. The lights flickered and, to her surprise, no shades appeared. She let out another sigh of relief and started to trot towards the pony. “Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.” The pony seemed to pause and she heard a light clatter as they put down whatever it was they were working on. “Err, do you know where all the other guards are? It’s very quiet now. Is there an issue?” Twilight asked. “Do you know how long until we’ll be arriving at the sparkly ponies?” There was a low, cold laugh now from the pony, making her freeze in place. “Uhhhhh…” Spike said softly. “That’s… creepy. He’s kind of creepy, you know that?” The laughter only got louder and the pony’s head rose. He then lifted a hoof into the air, a hoof wearing a layer of dark, metal armor. She heard it thump down on the table before dragging along it, the sound of metal biting into wood filling the car. Moments before the things that were on the table were sent to the ground and she now knew, to her horror, what he was working on. Bits and pieces of damaged armor from the royal guard. The pony then stood up and she could make him out entirely. A dark, black mane. A violently red and gray horn. A spiked crown. Glowing green and red eyes. A red cape with white hem. But, most frighteningly of all were the fangs in his mouth. Wait, fangs in his mouth? “Err, a vampire pony?” Twilight asked before she started to step backwards and away. “You’re not one of Nightmare Moon’s soldiers, are you?” The pony started to walk towards her, a wicked grin on his lips. “Err, no, I didn’t think so. You know, I think I’ll just go and check the other cars, okay? I think that would be BEST!” Twilight yelled before she turned and ran. However, she only made it a few feet before in a burst of dark green magic, the rather massive and brooding pony was standing in front of her, blocking her way and readying to lunge. Fortunately for her, she had a dragon on her back. Before he could make a move a salt shaker was thrown in his face from her passenger, the lid popping off and dousing him in salt. The dragon then grabbed onto his mane as tightly as he could. “Twilight, RUN!” he yelled. The massive pony coughed and sputtered, shaking desperately to try and get the salt off his face. Twilight quickly turned and fled from him, heading towards the front of the train. There had to be somepony, anypony, still here who could help them. She’d get the conductor themselves if she had to. Unfortunately, the next cart was entirely empty, until the lights went out. Revealing a dozen shades staring at her, their white, blank eyes unmoving. Blocking her way. ------ Thorax was right. He REALLY didn’t like this plan. The darkness was strange and tasted weird. Everything here tasted weird, the only thing that didn’t was Lavender, who was clutching on his side and trying, desperately, to stop the darkness around them from crushing them. Unfortunately, what he could taste from Lavender was the pain and exhaustion she felt while she struggled to move them through the darkness. Whatever the potion was that she had downed, the negative effects seemed to quickly be outpacing the positives. The only light in this place was coming from her horn as well, though now the tip of it had taken a gray, ashy appearance. Worst, or possibly best, of all was that Lavender was right. Nightmare Moon did seem to be here. Of all the things he had ever felt, that was something he never thought he’d be able to forget. The most terrifying creature to ever exist. Why she was here, he didn’t know. But he could taste her. There wasn’t pain or fear from her, though. There was delight. There was revelry. There was giddy glee. Most terrifying of all was the sadistic, cruel happiness in making something else suffer. A part of him wondered if this was some response to the threat this darkness posed her ponies, but he didn’t taste any concern or worry. Just the delight. Yet, still, Lavender pushed on towards her. Thorax couldn’t begin to understand it. Despite the monster that they were heading towards, Lavender seemed relieved. As if she was going towards something safe and secure, not some horrific monster. Couldn’t the unicorn see what they were going to would only destroy them? “Help… her feel,” Lavender said softly, struggling to get the words out. Her horn flickered for a moment, almost going out, before she managed to get the barrier up again. “What?” Thorax asked. “You… made us feel…” Lavender said, her voice rasping now, each word a struggle. “What you… felt… make… her feel… what I… feel…” Thorax stared at the unicorn for a moment. That was what her plan was? The desperate gamble? Did she really believe that anything he could make the alicorn feel would help? Buck, did she really believe he even could do that? How did a changeling MAKE a pony feel anything? He didn’t even know if he could. But Captain Lavender Petal was his commanding officer and, more importantly, one of his friends. He didn’t know if he could do it. But he knew he couldn’t not at least try. ------ Nightmare Moon tore at the umbrum, gleefully tearing apart her once ‘feared’ foe. She wondered if, perhaps, it couldn’t flee at all. Even she would have hidden after such an abuse, before such a mighty foe as her. So why had it not? Perhaps, finally, it would understand it couldn’t stand against her. At the very least it was an enjoyable affair. Tearing apart another annoying headache that dared to challenge her. She could even pretend it was Discord, that obnoxious spirit of being a pain in her flank. Or Moondancer’s mother, oh, that was quite the pleasant thought. Maybe even-- She stopped when she felt something strange. Something odd. Pain? Was that the umbrum crying out in pain? Was it finally begging for mercy? Ha! As if she had any for it! It should have thought of mercy before it dared to challenge her, the great Nightmare Moon. The alicorn sent another torrent of her power into the darkness, through it, obliterating all in her path. None would stand agai-- There it was again. Something odd. Pain? Not cries of mercy. Calls for aid? Protection? What WAS this? Why was the umbrum using such a thing against her? Another attempt at opposing her? She tore into it once more, this time wary and preparing herself for whatever assault may come. It didn’t take long before she felt it once more. This time, however, she was ready. It took her but a moment to find the source and what she felt infuriated her beyond measure. Of all the things the umbrum could do, to attempt to use her own power against her was beyond forgiveness. She turned all of her focus on this imitation, her magic reaching out to envelop it. Her magic enveloped the imitation and, for a moment, she felt relief from it. Before she tore into it like the pathetic fake it was. To dare to imitate her own power, her majesty. The umbrum may be the ruler of the shadows, but she ruled the night. The darkness. She felt it once more, the shock, the alarm. The fear. The confusion. Hmph, how dare it-- So clear it was as if Nightmare Moon herself was feeling it, she felt the betrayal. She felt the confusion as to why she was attacking. She felt the pleas for mercy. But, beyond all that, she felt the trust. Not for the sun, oh, that she was familiar with. She felt the faith in the moon. The faith in the night. The trust that it would keep them safe. The confusion at why that faith was being trampled on. Safety. Security. Protection. Things that the night offered to those who couldn’t go out into the light. Things offered to those who were afraid. For so many in her home often felt the night was something to be feared, ignored. As it was where the unknown resided. Where monsters snatched up little ponies. But for some? Those who lived with secrets? Those who had to hide away, due to shame? Mockery? Because of those who would hurt them? The darkness offered safety and security. When the world closed in on a pony on all side, when it told a pony they no longer had a place to reside, when a pony felt that they had nothing else. For the vampire ponies, the wereponies, the shades. Those who the light had abandoned. The wings of the moon would take them. Comfort them. Keep them safe, even if the rest of the world refused to acknowledge them. For those who were weak, who were frightened, who didn’t yet have the strength to oppose those who would hurt them, the night could protect them. As much as it could be a weapon of the wicked, it could be a sanctuary for those who needed it most. Those feelings were what led to her shadow weavers, what allowed them to harness the magic of the night in a way most ponies couldn’t begin to imagine. Despite all the rumors of dark deals, violent ends, tragic lives of wicked deeds, the truth was? Her shadow weavers were hers because they, in more cases than not, needed protection. They had little strength themselves and understood the importance of obfuscation. Of hiding their weaknesses. Of feigning power. They needed somepony to watch over them and tell them that it was okay. To keep them safe until the day came where they could step out from hiding. On a grander scale, like her wereponies and vampires. On a smaller scale, ponies who had been hurt by family, by friends, by things beyond their control. The umbrum couldn’t feel this, couldn’t understand this. How could it? Even she, often, didn’t fully understand it. But being the ruler of the night did not always mean understanding every problem and struggle, big or small, a pony went through. It often just meant being there for them and telling them it would be okay when they needed it most. Telling them it was okay to be afraid. It was okay to be hurt. It was okay to hide. It was okay to need help. By her stars, what had she done? How could she turn her own power on one of her own in such a manner? How could she hurt them? The umbrum began to shift, began to close in on her ponies. Nightmare Moon let out a low, angry growl. The umbrum had met Nightmare Moon as an annoyed foe, the ruler of the darkness, the tyrant of the darkness. Now it would meet Nightmare Moon, protector of her ponies.