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// Treason 
// Story: A Link to Equestria 
// by Wandering Quill 
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Claim the throne...

With your power and your intelligence, you will be unstoppable...

Let the power flow through you... Let it consume you...

Twilight could barely believe these thoughts existed in her mind. She tried to rid herself of them, reject them like a terrible idea.

Yet they returned. They always did.

Let the Light Force assume control...

The scream of a horn filled her head, dismissing all thoughts from her mind to leave behind a constant screech that drowned all other sounds.

When it faded, a rhythmical, metallic noise buzzed in Twilight's ears, mixed with the quiet crackling of the engine's flames. From the quiet taps of droplets on the locomotive's cover, she deduced that the rain had returned to moisten the land of Equestria. The rumble of the thunderstorm brewing outside the cart was deafened by the wheels.

Even though her eyes were already closed, she continued to force her eyelids together. She hadn't had even a moment of sleep since the train left Ponyville in a rush. Judging from the way Rarity fidgeted, Twilight guessed that the fashionista's slumber was not a very restful one either.

Frustrated with her lack of sleep, she opened her eyes, barely containing a groan. Redheart appeared to be the only one wide-awake in the wagon. She was diligently tending to Link, often whispering coos to the boy's ears.

"Is he any better?" the unicorn groggily asked.

The nurse's ears twitched, but her eyes didn't move away from her patient. The quietness of her voice just barely disguised her exhaustion. "He is suffering the last moments of the curse. Poison Joke operates in your sleep." The mare disposed herself of the wet tissue and sighed. "Your dreams become nightmares. You sleep, but you feel none the less tired than when you last closed your eyes."

Twilight only nodded. She clearly recalled how tough her night had been after stepping all over an entire field of those wretched flowers. The nightmares about Zecora, a wicked chanting and a twisted, otherworldly scenery serving as the background.

"Although," Redheart continued, snapping Twilight out of her thoughts. "His was perhaps too drastic a joke."

"What do you mean with-Oh, Celestia..."

As the nurse stepped aside, Twilight found any and all words escaping her grasp. There was no longer a young boy clad in green resting his head against the sleeping Applejack's side. In fact, those clothes now lay in a pile just next to Redheart.

All she could see now was a pony, bathed by the weak fire that burned in the train's furnace. She mentally commended herself for guessing his approximate age: he was, indeed, a school-age colt, perhaps just slightly older than any of her friends' sisters. There was no cutie mark adorning his chestnut coat, she also noticed with some disappointment. She had half-expected there to be a sword or shield of sorts.

“L-Link?” she stuttered, rising to her hooves. In spite of herself, Redheart smiled as she watched Twilight take shaky steps towards the colt. “The Poison Joke did this?”

The nurse hummed in agreement, moving away so that the librarian could get closer. The first thing she took notice of was the way in which Olivia was perched in his pale yellow mane, wings fluttering occasionally at the rhythm of Link’s irregular breaths. Her body’s color had faded significantly from its natural, olive green shade.

An earth pony, she thought, tentatively raising a hoof to softly stroke his mane. How fitting.

A thought crossed her mind. Their hero was now one of them, however temporarily. She evaluated the benefits and setbacks this would ultimately cause. The result led her soft smile to fade.

"Miss Redheart," she spoke. The other mare turned away from the new colt with a hum. "I'm... I'm scared."

There is no hope left...

"Scared?"

Twilight nodded sadly. "Princess Celestia's last words to me were a task, a mission. I tried to see to it, but... I ran out of leads, and then Princess Luna never showed up again...

"She trusted me to do something... and I couldn't." A droplet rolled down her cheek. "I must have disappointed her so badly..."

You are stronger than her...

"It's thanks to you that all these ponies were saved." Redheart readily cooed with a warm smile. "I don't know what the princess may have appointed you to do, but if you could save Ponyville, then surely you'll be able to do what you were told."

"But... what if it's too late?"

Yield to its call... it is too late...

"Twilight, y--" Redheart began. Her voice carried a certain worry that alarmed the unicorn. She turned once a hoof prodded her side, then her back, then her neck. The nurse did not look happy at all as she studied her body up close. "I don't like these white spots on your coat. Are you feeling alright?"

It was Twilight's turn to frown. Her heart began to race at the sight of a number of pure white patches staining the violet fur of her coat. She gingerly rubbed it with a hoof, hoping it was just some sort of remnant of flour that had somehow wound up on her. When it didn't go away, she began to rub it faster, and bit her lip in anxiety. A fur disease? Now of all times? No no no no no...

"Twilight!" Redheart's cry startled Rarity and Fluttershy awake. Twilight's hoof was whipped away, and the unicorn looked back at the nurse with a hurt expression. "Please, calm down. Do you feel dizzy or sick?"

"I-I feel fine, just... just a little tired."

Redheart frowned. "Even so, you might be coming down with something."

"Is something wrong, Miss Redheart?" Rarity asked, joining the nurse.

"I'm afraid Twilight might be ill."

"I feel fine!" the purple unicorn blurted out louder in perfect synch with a crack of thunder. The other ponies stepped away, as her horn had fizzled briefly. Embarrassed, Twilight turned away and resumed stroking Link's mane. "Just... I'm okay, really."

Rarity didn't seem convinced in the least. Her lips were pursed, and her brow formed a straight line. "Are you sure, dear?"

"Oh!" Fluttershy exclaimed, much to Twilight's relief. "Is-Is that Link?"

"Huh, yeah! That's--"

The usually meek pegasus nearly tackled Twilight aside to see the sleeping colt. "Aww! He's so adorable!"

"I must say, his mane certainly needs some fixing," Rarity quickly added, earning a few incredulous glances from the ponies. She entered self-defense mode almost immediately by appearing to be shocked. "What? It is important that he should know how to be a proper colt!"

"It's not his real body, and he's not trying to catch some filly's eye."

Like somepony doesn't seem to do with stallions, the knowing look Rarity threw at her fellow unicorn could be translated to.

Twilight looked away, hoping to ward off the message her friend was trying to send. Of all times to consider love and a relationship, this was definitely not one of them. And unless she was to suddenly develop a love interest for any of the present, there wasn't a stallion to be seen in a very wide radius.

Canterlot Mountain was looming closer. She didn't want to imagine how treacherous the path from there on out would be.

Alas, there was no other way to VanHoover. If crossing a cave brimming with Stalponies would get her to her brother, then Celestia be damned if she didn't cross it.

The chatter behind her died with the little light the sky had to offer once they entered the cavern. The rain had ceased. The locomotive's wheels produced the only sound that filled the hollow of stone. Not one of the ponies dared take a step, for fear it would trigger the ire of the Stalponies that hid under the cloak of darkness. The very air they breathed felt heavy, tinged by bloodshed and evil.

Fluttershy had inched towards the furnace like a bug seeks the light. Her wings snapped open when the train leaned slightly to take a turn, and then again to climb an elevated section of the route. Her face was hidden by her forehooves, and her whole body trembled violently.

All those who were awake could relate to this fear. It was as if the world ended beyond the small circle of light that the coal-powered engine provided. Rarity had stuck close to Link. She persistently scanned the area as though to protect the new colt.

Twilight considered summoning a very basic flashlight spell, but decided against it afterwards. The darkness spoke to her. It had the same voice as the one that had planted the wicked thoughts of betrayal in her subconscious.

Embrace its power... acknowledge your potential... they said. A vigorous shake of her head proved effective to keep them at bay.

As suddenly as it had disappeared, light assaulted their eyes again, this time with the intensity of a bright flame. Mist befell the carriage once they crossed the cave's mouth, signaling their arrival to the Unicorn Range.

Hills populated the landscape left and right for as far as the eye could see. The verdant mounds of earth would have seemed rather beautiful for the ponies aboard the train had it not been for how bleak the sky looked in comparison, contaminating the undulating expanse of scenery as though it was a disease. The very grass seemed grayer, and the journey more daunting.

Had Twilight not known any better, she would have attributed the messy state of the soil on either side of the tracks to the resulting of a herd of cattle gone wild. The real reason became more and more evident as the train pressed on through its rails. Rarity averted her eyes.

Abandoned carcasses of skeletal equines had begun to appear alongside the railroad. From the way they stuck out of the ground, buried in messy piles of dirt, they had evidently been trampled by their own kind as they rushed towards VanHoover.

Link was right all along, Twilight thought in face of the display of violence. They really were headed there.

"Is... is it safe now?" Fluttershy asked from the other end of the confined room, breaking the sepulchral silence that had settled upon the ponies.

"Quite alright, darling,” Rarity gently assured. “You can come out now."

“We might be too late.” Twilight’s words were uttered so firmly that Rarity frowned. VanHoover was closing in at a fast rate. The black clouds that filled the skies above the city meant nothing but trouble. “Wake Applejack and Pinkie up. Once we’re out there… there’s no stopping.”

Redheart frowned in concern. “What do you mean, Twilight?”

“I’ll cast a cloaking spell around me. They won’t even know we’re there unless we want them to.”

The shadows of VanHoover’s skyscrapers flashed over the train as it rode into the heart of the city, once more ceasing any and all conversation aboard the cart.

Once inside the underground station, the train’s wheels finally screeched to a halt. Not a soul to be seen. Silence reigned as they left the locomotive, one after the other. The scent of destruction, coupled with the occasional moan from the surface, was all they needed to know what to expect. Their legs felt unstable as they climbed up the stairs.

“Okay.” Twilight breathed in, then out. “Keep close to me. If you stray, they’ll find you.”

Twilight’s horn fizzled for a moment, summoning a bubble-like field to cover the group of ponies. With a protection in place, Twilight pushed the station doors open and took slow steps onto the pavement. Her friends stuck close to her, coats brushing with each other in an unspoken competition for safety.

“Are ya sure this’ll work, Twi?” Twilight signaled Applejack to be quiet with a hoof, but nodded afterwards. The swift answer would have to suffice.

Just like she had predicted, the city had not fared well against the destructive power of the Stalponies. Between the broken shop windows and the damaged doors that hung ajar, it was obvious that the enemies’ arrival had not been expected. The immense buildings of rustic architecture that had become synonymous with VanHoover stood abandoned, inflicting upon the travelers a sense of inferiority and hostility. The most livable city in Equestria had been reduced to less than a shadow of its glory.

Not just that, but they walked amidst the guilty party. Countless Stalponies roamed the streets at the building’s feet. One would think they were sentinels, patrolling the streets to keep the living away. Up close, Twilight could almost smell the likely repugnant odor their bare bones exuded. They reminded her that the foes were just husks, undead beings with no feelings, no rational thought.

“Just don’t look, darling," Rarity urged the canary pegasus by her side. The fashionista wasn't any keener on studying the beasts than her winged friend.

In looking for a place to hide, Twilight constantly studied the area. Any place that was high enough was good.

The elevators in the big buildings must be out of commission, she pondered, watching sparks fly off a loose wire that dangled from above. After what felt like an eternity of trudging through the hordes of skeletons, she found the ideal hideout in a generously sized building that harbored a shop.  Since most of its windows remained intact, the Stalponies mustn’t have considered it worthy of attention.

“In here,” she whispered, carefully pushing the store’s door open. A nearby Stalpony raised its head and searched for the sound. Twilight’s shoulders slumped down when it decided to return to its idling.

A moment of searching through the room filled with useless trinkets resulted in the discovery of a set of stairs, and at the top of those, a large, iron door that led to the shaft of emergency stairs. One by one, the ponies climbed up. There were several yawns and complaints when the shaft was once again sealed from the ceiling.

“So we really are too late, Ah reckon," Applejack commented, lying down. She had been carrying the heaviest load - an unconscious Lyra – while Rarity carried Link on her back. The hastiness with which she had been roused back in the train hadn’t allowed her to take a proper look at the boy turned colt. Now that she had, she couldn’t peel her eyes off of him.

“Maybe not,” Twilight answered rather nonchalantly, heading for the edge of the roof.

Rarity felt the need to intervene. "So then where is everypony? Surely you don't believe the Stalponies… well... do you?"

"There's an old Griffon fort on the edge of the city that was used during the Independence War between the griffin and the pegasi," Twilight stated matter-of-factly, leaning against the railings to observe the ruins of the metropolis. "If the city was already attacked, then Shining must have taken the survivors to Fort Hoover."

"You are suggesting we just knock on their door then?"

Twilight shook her head. "They won't even hear us. They might take us for an enemy if we even come close to the walls. We need a messenger."

"Perhaps Fluttershy could deliver the--"

The pegasus reacted right upon the mention of her name by cowering behind Redheart and Link. "N-N-N-No! Not me! Please not me!"

Rarity frowned. "--Or not."

"It would be too risky. We need somepony discrete, and we'll still have to run if we don't want... them... to get us. We need somepony small." Twilight scanned the available candidates. Without Spike, sending a message would be impossible. Neither Applejack nor Pinkie could do much against the defenses, and teleporting into the fortress all of the sudden would stir the guards up.

They needed someone the guards wouldn't notice.

"Rarity, do you still have that stem of Poison Joke?"

"Hum, I believe I do. What do you need it for?"

"Applejack's going in." The cowpony's hat almost jumped off her head with the way she was startled. The plan suddenly became obvious. Needless to say, she didn't like it.

Luckily, she found an alternative rather quickly. She rushed over to Rarity's side and pulled Link's hat off with her teeth, revealing the slumbering green fairy underneath. Surprised to be the center of the attention without warning, she stretched her wings and fluttered out of his mane.

"Is, hum, something up?" Olivia asked in her confusion.

Twilight smiled mischievously. "We have our messenger."


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"'It's gonna be easy!' they said! 'Just tell Shining Armor!' they said!"

Olivia barely twitched. There was a loud shout of acknowledgement and her hideout was torn to pieces by a massive brown hoof, forcing the fairy to seek shelter elsewhere.

Her hunter didn't give up, though! He took a crossbow - A CROSSBOW!, he fired at the fairy. The arrow whistled through the air and just barely missed the head of a pony that patrolled the top of the palisade.

"Degroot! Put that gun down!" the sentinel shouted down.

"NO! There's a bloody Parasprite in here! 'N Ah'm gonna get the wee bugger! Ack! There he is! PARASPRITE IN HEEEEERRRREE!"

He had a surprisingly good aim for a pony with such a wobble in his step and a patch in his eye, Olivia observed before being forced out of her position again.

"I just want to talk to Shining Armor!" she tried to say.

Degroot burped and loaded another arrow. "All ya wanna do is eat me food and drink me scrumpy! 'N ya ain't gettin' any'a those!"

"Degroot!" The powerful voice of a white, well-armored unicorn across the battlements was enough to call Degroot back to his good sense. Olivia could almost hear the cogs in his brain whirring as he processed the command.

Or so it seemed for a while. "Oy! Cap'n Shinin'! There's a bloody parasprite here!"

"Degroot, there are no parasprites near the sea!" Shining Armor groaned. He looked around, just in case the armed pony wasn't imagining things, and found the place to be devoid of the nasty parasites. "Now drop that crossbow!"

"Shining Armor!"

“Who--” He was cut short by an overgrown firefly that bumped against his nose.

“There’s no time to explain! Your sister’s on her way here!”

“T-Twilight?” The unicorn shooed the fairy away with a hoof. “What are you saying? Who are you?”

“It doesn’t matter! Just--” Olivia looked around, searching for a vantage point. She found one in the watchtower that composed one of the fort’s vertices. “Just go up there and see for yourself!”

Shining still raised an eyebrow, but headed towards the watchtower anyways while Olivia gave (ineffective) pushes from behind. He motioned the sentinel to stand aside and peered through the telescope.

There was movement in the distance. He held his breath. "You mean--"

Olivia groaned loudly. "Your sister! Twilight Sparkle! Out there!"

"Open the gates! H-Hurry!" The guards obeyed posthaste. Shining was galloping his way up the half-open drawbridge with a wooden bow in his teeth and a quiver dangling by his side. "Twily!" he cried out. The lavender blur kept getting closer, but so did the gray and black mass just behind them. "I need some backup down here! ASAP!"

The ponies that were closest yelled a hurried chorus of acknowledgement and headed out of the fortification walls with a weapon of their own.

Hoisting an armed bow in the air with his magic, Shining Armor moved up. He didn't care what arrows actually hit a target or not once the group of mares caught up to him. The arrows were simply dispatched from his quiver at an impossible rate.

He cursed under his breath as he found his stock of ammunitions empty and spun around to run away.

"Captain! Behind you!"

"What the--"

The unicorn didn't have to turn around to realize that there was a Stalpony behind him. In that fraction of a second in which he could have reacted, he cursed his lack of a proper weapon. He soon discovered that, in the end, the weapon he carried would not have made the difference.

A thump and a sound as delicate as thin glass followed the little capsule that bounced past him. The Stalpony was reduced to dust in a brilliant explosion. Shining fell to the ground on his back unharmed, never mind the slightly singed tips of the unicorn's muzzle mane.

"HAHAHA! SAY 'ELLO TO CERBERUS FER ME, LADDIES!!" Degroot laughed out hysterically from atop the walls before taking a swig of his bottle. The muzzle of a peculiarly-shaped cannon stuck out of the tops of the palisades, likely operated by the Trottish pony.

"Same old Degroot," Shining Armor laughed, picking the bow up. He had to strain himself to catch up, but the smile Twilight offered as soon as he did made up for any exhaustion.

"Shining!"

He smiled back at his sister. "Didn't expect to find you here, Twily!"

"I do hate to kill the moment here," Rarity piped in from behind them. "But I would much rather have it if the moment was all that died!" Despite the situation, brother and sister shared a little good natured laugh.

After the drawbridge was raised again, the tension that previously took the fort by surprise slowly faded away. The sound of blasts outside the walls, often followed by Degroot’s maniacal cackle, seemed oddly comforting.

It wasn’t instants after the captain of the guard finally stopped running that he found himself being tackled to the ground again. For this pony, though, he'd let it pass anytime.

“Big Brother!" Twilight cried out, snuggling against the fur on the larger unicorn's neck. The cold, steel armor only exposed so little of his body. She gave a light lick to his cheek and giggled. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"I'm glad to see you too, sis." As he leaned towards Twilight, her coat's unusually colored patches caught his eye. He frowned.  “What happened to your coat? Why is it all… white all over?”

"I... I don't know. But it's not important! What's important is that I found you." She rested her head against the underside of his chin. "And you're still alive."

If Shining wasn't satisfied with the answer, he didn't let it show. The least he could do now was allow his younger sister to enjoy their reunion in silence. One would think even Degroot had become self-conscious and stopped firing the cannon just for the two siblings.

Yet dark thoughts insisted on troubling the captain's mind. He slowly pulled away from his sister, pivoting her head with his hoof. "Twilight... What's going on out there?"

"Something evil," Twilight's voice was but a whisper. Her eyes sought for her brother's. "The Stalponies are everywhere. Canterlot's gone. Ponyville is gone."

"And mom? Dad?"

"I'm... I'm not sure." The corner of Shining's mouth twitched at the answer. His lips remained pursed, only softening when he felt the warmth of a tear on his coat. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm here. Don't worry." He rid his sister's eyes of their tears and smiled. However sadly, she smiled back.

"But whatever will we do about those dreadful Stalponies?" Rarity inquired with a hint over drama. "They are all over that city. Are we not in danger?"

“Between me, Twilight and Cadance, we should be able to keep the ‘Stalponies’ at bay.” Shining turned thoughtful for a moment. “If that doesn’t work, well, we still have another advantage over them. Captain Degroot is an expert in fabricating explosives.”

Twilight's ears perked up. “Who’s captain Degroot?”

"AH'm Cap'n Degroot!" the eye-patched pony blurted out with the thickest Trottish accent any of the present had ever heard, appearing as if out of nowhere. He proceeded to burp, toss the rather large bottle aside and approach them in a more or less steadily straight line. "Fifth commander o'the Royal Equestrian Guard and twice Captain o' the Royal Navy at yer service, lassie!"

"Is he... drunk?" Twilight hesitantly questioned. The smell of alcohol in his breath made her pull her head back in disgust.

"That's Captain Degroot for you, I guess. Oy, Captain," Shining called out with a very poor Trottish accent. Twilight shot her brother a sidelong glance, to which he responded with a sheepish smile. "The 'Stalponies'', as Twilight calls them, are almost here. We need to ready the troops."

"Bloody brilliant idea, lad!" Twilight let out a sigh as soon as Degroot was away from her. His overconfident smile remained glue to his face until it faded all of the sudden, as though realization had struck him. "Oy, Shinin', what are the troops?"

Twilight's right eye twitched. She leaned closer to her brother and whispered, "Are you sure he can fight?"

While Degroot burped loudly yet again, Shining just shrugged. "They used to call him the demopony for a reason."


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"Get away! Go!"

A pull of the trigger later, the arrow zoomed across the hall and pierced right through the living skeleton's skull. The swirling red clouds that were its eyes faded like a candle in the wind. Rainbow allowed herself a quick, relieved sigh and took off after the mailmare she'd just sent away.

The halls now spiraled upwards, she noticed, granting the ground a slanted aspect. While a storm brewed outside the countless windows to her right, arches flew by to her left, entrances to rooms where the darkness was riddled with tiny red dots. She didn't even stop to check if they really were there or if her sanity was waning.

"Derpy!" she called out of desperation, barely able to keep hold of the crossbow. Her cries were drowned by the roars of the skeletal griffons behind her. She had dubbed them as Stalgriffin, and described them as the single biggest annoyance in that tower.

To her great relief, she spotted the grey pegasus just ahead.

To her great annoyance, all she caught was a glimpse of her tail as she took an unexpectedly sharp turn left. With a tired groan, she flew closer to the wall and strained her wings. As soon as her hooves landed on the surface, she leaped in hopes of propelling herself through the entryway, not even noticing the wooden planks that barred the entrance. An arrow cut through the air and nestled itself in her tail as she flew in, momentarily disorienting Rainbow.

With her flight route thrown astray, she full-bodily slammed through the barriers and then against Derpy, who sat just steps away from the entrance with her (good?) eye directed up.

"Derpy! What the hay?!" the rainbow-maned pegasus immediately protested, standing from over the mailmare while dusting the splinters off. The weather pony could barely believe her ears when a different voice rang in her ears.

"Rainbow Dash! Up here!"

Rainbow's head shot up, eyes wide and mouth open in disbelief. Numerous iron cages dangled from the ceiling, overflowing with moss and rust. Careful observation revealed that trapped in one of them was none other than the captain of the Wonderbolts herself. She was clad in the daredevil team's iconic suit, and her goggles were pulled up to reveal the mare's anxious eyes.

"Spitfire?!" Rainbow gasped as she flew up, past some of the lower-hanging cages. There was an almost uncontrollable desire to shiver when she saw that most of them contained the skeletal remains of their former prisoners. The face of the other pegasus - her role-model, no less - was enough to wash all those concerns away. "W-What are you doing here?!"

"I got caught but that doesn't matter! Dash, you need to-"

"H-Hold on," she replied instead, studying the cage in circles. "There's gotta be a lock to this thing somewhere!"

"Dash!"

"Maybe if I kick it'll-"

"DASH!" When it needed to, Spitfire's voice was much more imposing than Rainbow had ever expected. She was back in front of the captain in the blink of an eye. "You can't break this, it's made of equestrian crystal!"

"Then how-"

"Dash! Focus!" The slightest blush colored Rainbow's cheeks as Spitfire haphazardly grabbed her head with her hooves. "You need to deactivate the crystal!"

"H-Huh... Rainbow Dash..." Derpy called, directing their attention to the events that transpired down below. The mailmare was cornered against a wall by the Stalgriffin, their talons raised and ready to grab at her. "HEEEEEEELP!"

Spitfire's tug was all that kept Rainbow from being struck by an arrow. Instead, it bounced harmlessly against the roof and made them aware of several other Stalgriffin that stood at the room's entrance with their crossbows locked and loaded.

"You bucking-"

"You can't beat them all, Dash!" The Wonderbolt forced Rainbow's head down with a hoof, and another projectile flew through the grating. Spitfire held her breath as it scratched the side of her suit. "See those statues down there? I almost got them up, but you need to get them running!"

Rainbow looked down at the ground, searching for the object of her goal. She found three of the statues, disposed in a triangular fashion amidst the bones that populated the floor. The fact that there was no switch to be seen set off the alarms in Rainbow's head.

"B-But how do I do that?!"

"There are three crystals, one on the ground, the wall and the ceiling! You need to hit them with an arrow!"

"Crystals..." There it was: in the middle of the bone yard, the unique, crimson shimmer of a crystal beacon. She could see another one of them was close by, hanging overhead, while the other was across the room. Her eyes shifted quickly between the crossbow in her hooves and the switches.

Any hesitation was dispelled by a pair of arrows that flew right past her, this time around dangerously close to her head. She hastily nodded to Spitfire and sped off, intent on activating the ceiling switch first.

What at first seemed like a simple, straightforward flight quickly turned out to be a true obstacles course for the pony, one not unlike the prowesses of her favorite fictional character. Whereas only one or two arrows made it through when she was next to Spitfire, they now rained down on her from below. While Rainbow was all for a good stunt, the whistling of the projectiles and the way they stuck to the ceiling upon impact were heavy reminders that her situation wasn't fiction.

If that wasn't enough of a challenge, the cages didn't allow her to just fly straight at the switch. Turn after dive, the cages seemed to create some sort of maze for the pegasus, never allowing her to take a direct path. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she took the wrong turn.

At the last possible second, she spun on her nose to avoid a rather accurate arrow that would have otherwise struck her wing. She mentally congratulated herself for the move, and half-hoped Spitfire had seen it too.

Now take a left here and yeah! Score for Rainbow Dash! she thought as the crystal came into sight just above her. Leaning backwards, she bit down on the arrow in her tail and pulled it out. The crossbow was armed and the arrow hissed through the air before piercing the dull red crystal's surface.

The object erupted with light, but the shower of arrows Rainbow was enduring reminded her like a bucket of cold water that there was one more left. She swiftly scanned the room. Derpy had fortunately taken off to escape the Stalgriffin, most of whom's wings were nearly useless for flight.

Clamping her wings to her sides, Rainbow nosedove towards her target. Her eyes frantically searched the floor for arrows she could use as ammunition, but all she was met with were broken remains.

By the time she reached the floor, she still had no arrows to use. She stretched her wings and flew close to the ground, skidding to a halt a small distance away from the already active crystal.

She groaned in frustration when she noticed that she was now the target of all the Stalgriffin in the room. "Well if I can't find arrows, I'm takin'em by force!"

One of the skeletal griffin let out a deafening shriek and charged at her with an arm pulled back, baring its jagged claws. Rainbow was about to do the same when an arrow swished through the air right in front of her nose, forcing the mare to an abrupt halt.

The inbound enemy was quick to seize this opportunity. The sheer strength of its hand sent the crossbow flying in one direction and Rainbow rolling over the bones in another. She winced when she finally managed to regain her footing. An acute pain made her notice that the claws had left three sidelong gashes on her body, just below the neck.

Now that she was free from the crossbow, she began to plot her revenge against the unarmed Stalgriffin. She could hear Spitfire's cries in the background, though she could not understand what they said. It didn't matter; without arrows, the crossbow was useless. As long as too many of these nuisances were around, she would never find arrows. Her wings flared open as if to intimidate the undead foe, and a low snarl came from the pegasus.

Just as she was about to pounce, however, the familiar cracking of a crystal switch reached her ears. Had she blinked, she would have missed the massive gray blur that crashed against the Stalgriffon, utterly destroying the enemy in the process, before making its way to the archers. There was more than one, she noticed; three, to be exact, and all of them at least twice as large as her.

It was not until there were no more Stalgriffin in the room that the giants’ traits became discernible. Rainbow remembered their aspect: they were large, stone equines with brilliant rubies for eyes, just like the ones she had seen in the Temple of Time. With their duties accomplished, they returned to their place in the walls. Their eyes soon lost their shimmer, and they were, once again, statues in the middle of a wrecked bone yard.

“Hey Dash! Nice going, there!” Spitfire’s voice called her attention to the Wonderbolt who slowly descended to her side. Rainbow had to fight urge of squealing like a little filly when the other mare’s hoof landed on her back. “You really came through for me!”

“But… I didn’t…”

“Rainbow Daaaash!” Rainbow couldn’t have been happier to hear that sluggish way of pronouncing her name. Looking up, everything clicked into place.

Derpy flew close to the crystal on the wall with the crossbow in hoof, a broad smile plastered on her face. An arrow had struck the switch square in the middle. Many more arrows were stuck to the ceiling just above her, revealing why the archers had lost their interest in the weather pony after the Stalgriffon got her. As the mailmare approached the ground, she began to collect the arrows that their enemies had dropped.

“Your friend was pretty useful, too. Didn’t expect her to have such a sharp aim with only one eye.”

“Heh, well, that’s Derpy for ya.” Rainbow giggled softly, and Spitfire accompanied her. She let the moment drag on for a bit. It was the least she could have after facing a horde of skeletal foes. “Spitfire, what were you doing here?”

The Wonderbolt’s expression withered rapidly. She distractedly looked up at the cages. “I was going to activate the Equimos when those griffons caught me. Jammed me in a cage and kept me there so they could do as they pleased.”

“Equimos?”

“Yup,” Spitfire answered with the shadow of a smug grin dancing on her lips. “These are pretty outdated models, but they were the latest when the tower was built. They’re powered by crystals from the Frozen North. See their eyes? That’s their power source.”

Rainbow hesitantly approached one of the statues, which actually caused Spitfire to laugh shortly. “It’s okay, they won’t hurt you. They’re enhanced with unicorn magic, so they’re like sentries; they attack when they see a hostile target. And boy, do they pack a buck.” The mare kicked the fragment of a bone to demonstrate her point.

I bet Twilight would be all over one of these, the weather mare thought.

“Hey, Dash? We need to get moving. Soarin’s probably worrying his head off with how I haven’t shown up yet. Bet he’ll be real happy to know you’re around!”

Rainbow instantly spun in place. “Soarin’s here too?!”

“Yeah, the whole team – well, the main squad – is in the tower. We’re keeping a special pony safe up there.”

Rainbow frowned slightly at that. “A… special pony?”

“Yup, a lil’ unicorn. Cute as a button, that one. Although I… am a bit sorry for her mother. We kinda snatched her right off before something bad came up.”

By now, Rainbow had already figured out what was happening. She cast a pitiful glance at Derpy, who continued to bundle up the arrows in her blissful ignorance. “What do you mean… something bad?”

“Look, Dash,” Spitfire sighed, walking closer. “I’m not going to lie to you. There’s some really messed up shit going on in Equestria right now. We got our orders to protect this filly at all costs. I have no idea what’s coming, but if the boss says it’s bad, then I won’t take second chances.” She set her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, and a weak smile blessed her face. “It’s great to know you’re on our side.”

“Huh, girls?” Both mares turned at Derpy’s call. The mailmare was watching one of the statues in a frightened manner. Rainbow was about to laugh it off when she noticed something was indeed happening at the statues’ hooves. Spitfire’s hoof trembled slightly.

What appeared to be a sort of deep purple, cloudy mass was crawling up the statues’ legs. The three ponies watched, helpless, as the mass approached the rubies that were their eyes and began to emit sparks. Within moments, the gems, too, grew violet in color, a much grimmer, threatening color than their previous one.

“Dark magic... Oh Celestia,” Spitfire gasped. “It’s trying to corrupt the Equimos.”

“C-Corrupt?”

All at once, the statues began to riot, tossing their hooves and heads around in a frantic manner. Their uprising only ended once the dark clouds were fully absorbed by the crystals. Spitfire knew something was up when their heads moved in the ponies’ direction. She quickly tapped Rainbow’s shoulder and gave a light shove towards the entryway, which the weather pony fortunately consented to do almost immediately.

“Derpy, toss me a crossbow!” The mailmare obliged to Spitfire’s command and quickly threw one of the looted weapons towards the Wonderbolt. The Equimos set into action just as fast, their first action being the regrettably wise one – for the mares – of blocking the exit.

Wielding the crossbow with unexpected aptitude, Spitfire took aim at the first Equimos she spotted and fired. The arrow perched itself in the mechanical monster's eye and the small crystal within exploded into pieces, throwing the Equimos into a fit of rage. It reared up and swung its forelegs wildly, searching for its attacker with its only good eye. Spitfire made good use of her renowned flight ability to nab another arrow from Derpy and arm it.

The shot was perfect enough to leave the remaining crystal completely destroyed. With its power supply cut off, the Equimos shuddered and crumbled under the weight of its body.

Spitifre raised a hoof to pump it, only to find that celebration cut short by a piercing scream from Dash. She barely had time to turn and see the towering figure of an Equimos, ready to crush her underhoof, before she was pushed out of the way in the nick of time. Both her and her savior went rolling into a pile of bones at an unadvisable speed, something that Spitfire came to regret as something sharp was jabbed into her hind leg upon landing. Her agonized whimper was muffled by a multicolored tail.

She made haste in removing Dash off of her to check the wound. The blood-stained bone shard that stuck out of the side of her leg only served to confirm her fears. Despite the long list of protective qualities of the Wonderbolt outfit, durability against this type of weapons was not one of them. After all, what was there in the air that could hit you without downing you?

“Oh my gosh, Spitfire! A-Are you-”

Spitfire raised a hoof to request silence. “It’s just a flesh wound, Dash.” She grabbed the bone with her teeth and pulled. The first sting had her arching her head back in pain. "Buck, it hurts like hell..."

The Equimos cried out in rage. Dash, having long since predicted their next move, dug her head under Spitfire in spite of all her complaints and took to the air. The machine rammed against the wall just like she had expected, rattling the tower's structure with its sheer might.

"Huh, wow," Spitfire muttered from her back. "Guess I owe you thrice now."

Dash was giggling like a filly inside. "Eh, it was nothing." Her expression turned somber as she caught a glimpse of the red stain on her blue uniform. Right in the cutie mark... "But we gotta do something about that leg."

"I'll live. Don't worry about me."

Two crystals snapped down below, and another machine fell to the ground. Rainbow and Spitfire exchanged surprised looks. “You think--”

“AND LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!” Although the mailmare’s threats fell on deaf ears, they still possessed the incredible intensity of a thunderclap. Wonderbolt and weather pony stared down to find the grey pegasus zigzagging around the room while the remaining Equimos waved its hooves in the air, desperate to catch its prey.

As soon as it stopped to take a better look around, Derpy beelined under its legs and appeared before its face. Right after shooting the first arrow, the mare dropped the crossbow and held an arrow between her fetlocks. A jerk of her leg was all it took for the hoofheld weapon to penetrate the last crystal, effectively shutting down the Equimos it powered.

Rainbow’s mouth only twitched as she searched for the right words to utter. Spitfire, on the other hoof, knew her priorities. She lightly tugged at Rainbow’s mane and pointed down.

Derpy joined them once they were close enough to the ground to help lower Spitfire’s frame to the floor. She winced when her (good?) eye caught sight of the bone fragment. “That doesn’t look so good.”

Spitfire swallowed back a snide response. She owed the mailmare that much. “And it isn’t.”

“Stop!” Derpy yelled before Spitfire could bite down on the bone again. “If you pull it out, you’ll start bleeding more.”

“And if I don’t, I can’t get the word to Soarin’,” the Wonderbolt replied, preparing to resume her treatment. Derpy’s hoof held her back. She tried to commence a staring contest with the wall-eyed mare. She soon discovered such a feat was nearly impossible with a pony like Derpy, be it for not locking eyes or for the pegasus’s stare being naturally intimidating.

Just like a mother’s, Spitfire mentally added.

“Fine,” she sighed. "If I can’t go, then you will, Dash. You need to get to Soarin' and the others and tell them to shut the Equimos down before it's too late."

She raised a leg to her chest and unzipped the uniform. Dash found herself blushing. "Spitfire, w-what are you doing?"

"I'm lending you my suit," the Wonderbolt deadpanned, slipping out with minimal effort. She winced when her injured leg slid out of its sleeve. Her voice was still coarse when she continued, "The tower defenses are most likely up now. There's no way you'll get through them without something on you."

"But--"

"Take it, Dash," Spitfire insisted, stretching the leg with the suit draped over it.

Rainbow eyed the uniform reluctantly. The irony of the moment struck her. She had been expecting for Spitfire to do for so long. It was perfect. The captain of the Wonderbolts was relinquishing her suit to a new captain.

Except those weren't the conditions. She wasn't about to commandeer a squad of daredevils, nor was she being given the suit for good. Right now, accepting the deal seemed to be the riskiest choice.

With a wavering hoof, she took the suit and unfolded it to take a good look. Just like she'd imagined… if she was to disregard the blood-stained hole where the Wonderbolt insignia should have been, that is.

She made haste in slipping into it. Under Spitfire’s watchful eye, Rainbow zipped the uniform to a close and stood, however uneasily, so that she could be admired in her fullest.

"It suits you," the yellow mare murmured, using a hoof to trace the lightning bolt pattern on Rainbow’s chest. "The filly you're looking for is with Soarin’. I'll catch up with you once the defenses are down."

“You can go, Rainbow Dash! I’ll take good care of her!”

“Heh, that’s what’s worrying me.” Rainbow smiled, and Derpy did too. “You can count on me, Spitfire.”

Spitfire’s smile brightened. “I know I can, Dash.”

Rainbow gave her idol one last nod before picking up the fallen crossbow and leaving. As she flew through the corridors, she could barely believe the suit on her body was real. Of course, she had only borrowed it; it would likely see its way back to its owner once that whole ordeal was done and through. That made wearing it all the more enjoyable.

But Spitfire hadn’t lent her the suit because Rainbow had longed for wearing it. She learned the real reason soon after leaving the prison. The trip had been a breeze up to that point.

Now, her path was obscured by dense, black thunderclouds, supplied by the immense barrier of clouds outside. The tower was breaching a cumulonimbus cloud, she realized, and from there on, it only got higher. She could feel the static in the air, straightening every single hair in her mane as it coursed through their fiber. Rainbow took a deep breath. The suit would protect her. She knew it. She had to trust Spitfire on that.

"Here goes nothing."

She flared her wings and set skyward with a powerful boost. The faster she got through that trap, the better.

The jolts of lightning felt like feathers tickling her body. She could no longer see the tower's walls. The world was but a swirling mass of black clouds. With no goggles of her own, seeing through the thunderstorm proved difficult. Sweet freedom was still within sight, however. She would never forget that pinprick of light at the end of the dark tunnel.

Something tapped her leg, then the drape of her neck, then her hoof. Before she knew it, a searing pain from her left foreleg nearly drove her out off course and against a wall.

An immense group of disfigured, long-fanged bats flocked around her. They appeared intermittently thanks to the flashes of light that the clouds produced, and Rainbow's heart was in her gut as she lost count of how many of these little critters there were.

One more daring bat dove towards her with its fangs bared, intent on biting down. The mare's hooves met its small body and sent it away, only to invoke two more to replace their lost one. Their number was so large it became impossible to keep track of them. Rainbow grunted with every blow their fangs delivered.

She was close, though. Extremely close. She could almost feel--

"A grate?!" she yelled as soon as she reached the top of the tunnel. A layer of crisscrossed bars blocked her path. She tried to think of a solution, something to open the obstacle with, but the bats weren't making that task any easier.

But she recognized this material. Equestrian Crystal.

You need to deactivate the crystal! Spitfire's words echoed in her mind.

She hastily scanned the area, searching for a crystal's telltale crimson glow. Though she could not find it, she found something else: a single window, through which the thunderclouds flowed.

It's risky, but...

Taking the time to whack another bat away, she shot through the window. The wind outside did to her what a foal would do to a rag-doll: bend her, squirm her, toss her back and forth. It exerted an immense pressure on her body. Each current was like a punch to her sides. A breeze that was set on throwing her flight path off entirely.

Her suspicions were confirmed: there was a crystal glowing faintly on the outer wall of the tower. After removing an arrow from the bundle and arming it, she took aim and fired. The wooden projectile followed its course for a while, but ultimately bounced against the wall, far away from the crystal.

A bat had taken the moment of distraction to jump in on her, which she promptly reacted to with a well placed buck. Another arrow, a more focused sight. She couldn't take much longer. The bats would be all over her if she lingered. Still she had to consider the influence of the wind, the arch...

It was with much satisfaction that she found her shot to be accurate. The crystal burst with light, just in time for the swarm of flying rodents to appear. With a new target to pursue, Rainbow successfully circumvented the swarm and shot upwards once again.

Just as she crossed the narrow entrance, the grating shut closed with the violence of a predator's jaw. Rainbow gently descended again, gasping for breath but grateful to be in one piece. So far, the tower had proven to be one big trial to her stamina and quickness of thought. She would rather not imagine what else the pegasi did to keep their loot safe.

The tingling of the thunderclouds was gone, as was the roar of the wind in her ears. She was fully surrounded by the tower’s walls again.

Where she was exactly, however, she could not ascertain. Just like the section she’d just been in, this room soared to an amazing height. The heads of unicorn Equimos decorated the walls from top to bottom. There was a single exception to this pattern: halfway through its height, three platforms branched out. She could barely see over them, but she was convinced that there was an entrance there.

Not willing to waste any more time marveling on the use of this chamber, she checked if she was fit to fly. Her wings didn’t complain (much), so Rainbow took off and landed on the middle section shortly after.

“Commander Hurricane…” she whispered, staring up at the arch that surrounded the entrance in the center. The ancient pegasus’s profile was etched upon the top, revealing the ever stern features of the leader. “His quarters must be beyond this door.”

“And they are strictly off-limits to one as vile as you!” a voice boomed across the chamber before her progress was once again hindered by the appearance of an iron grate. Rainbow hopped into the air, crossbow raised in a defensive position.

“Who’re you?!”

The Equimos whirred to life in response. Compelled to prevent any unneeded damage, Rainbow set out to put the machines to rest.

“A Shadowbolt. How predictable.” The sound of that voice was like a magnet that held Rainbow in place.

“Fleetfoot?” the weather pony spoke in disbelief. She turned quickly to find that two pegasus ponies stood on the previously vacant platforms, both garbed in the same outfit as her. A crossbow and a sheath dangled from their sides, connected by a belt. She felt like a bubble about to burst. “Oooh, boy! Am I glad to find you two!”

The silver-maned pegasus, Fleetfoot, frowned. "Rainbow Dash?"

"You know her?" the other pegasus asked.

"Yeah, from the Young Fliers Competition!"

“Hey, huh, Rapidfire, Fleetfoot? I really need help he--"

"But what is she--" Rapidfire began. He found his words escaping his grasp as he took his first good look at Rainbow. "Fleetfoot… She's wearing Spitfire's suit..."

"Guys, I need to get to Soarin'! Spitfire was injured--"

Rapidfire took a step forward. "Y-You hurt her?!"

"What?! No! An 'Equimos' or whatever you call it did it!"

"Lies!" Fleetfoot declared while stomping a hoof. "Equimos are programmed to identify hostile targets! They never would have injured Spitfire!"

"Fleetfoot, she has the eyes of a Sheikah..."

"And Spitfire's suit! And you know how the legend goes!" Fleetfoot readily shot back. "Seems to me like she betrayed Spitfire like that Shadowbolt did so many years ago!"

"Sheikah? What-- No! You've got it all wrong!"

"Yeah! And the Equimos don't lie! You destroyed them, and then you went for Spitfire!"

Fleetfoot stepped forward from her perch. "You were always so jealous, weren't you?! You wanted to be like her - to BE her so badly, that you couldn't resist the chance!"

"No! Guys! Wait!"

"We are going to make sure you never do that again, you filthy traitor!"

"You're gonna learn that you don't mess with the Wonderbolts!" The belts holding the crossbows were loosened, and the pegasi drew their swords. Rainbow could now hear the Equimos on the walls moving their heads about. "We will not allow you to get to the Bearer of Wisdom!"


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A twig lightly crunched under Applebloom's hoof. She cringed at the noise and looked around, hoping she hadn't called any unwanted attention. Her muzzle twitched towards the sword's pommel. There was a moment of stillness.

Steven had been nowhere to be seen when she woke up. She had woken up alone, lying on the lake's shore. She hadn't lingered, however. She knew her mission. The weight on her back was a constant reminder of it now.

There was a putrid scent in the air, and a somber cloud of smoke hung overhead. She followed it to where it was the most intense. It was her best lead to the pegasi. On occasion, she heard her name echo across the forest, as though it was calling for her.

When nothing jumped at her from the shadows of the forest, she breathed a sigh and moved on. Her mind was attempting to banish the fear that made her legs shake. So far, it was a battle it was barely winning.

It didn't help that the more she went, the more charred the landscape became. The verdant trees that composed the Everfree's core gradually darkened, exuding that same, nauseous smell. Not much farther ahead, the mush she stepped on burned under her hooves, disintegrating into ashes upon contact.

She would occasionally spot the scorched remains of a being that once lived, and quickly averted her eyes from the scene. Given her life at Sweet Apple Acres, she wasn't exactly revolted by the sight of flesh as much as she was by the thought of how much that being could have suffered before succumbing.

No time to think about that, Applebloom, she thought to herself with a gulp. You need to find Sweetie Belle and Scoots.

The stirring of the belt of bushes to her right caused her to hasten her pace. The prospect of being ambushed wasn't a pleasing one, even if she had a sword to fight with.

Her trot developed into a full-blown gallop. Whatever was in the bushes was following her. She closed her eyes and bit back the tears, unable to bring her mouth to the weapon's hilt. She knew she would run head-first into any obstacle that stood in her way, but if it drove the creature in the bushes away, it was worth it.

There was a low, guttural snarl, and the movement in the bushes stopped. Applebloom carried on for quite the distance, until exhaustion got the best of her and she slowed down. Once she stopped, she took a cautious look behind her back, scanning the forest for any sort of movement. The grumbling noise was heard again over her quickened breathing, and the sword left its scabbard. Its weight combined with her lack of strength nearly caused it to fall out of her mouth. Against her own condition, she held it firmly in her teeth.

The sudden appearance of a silhouette from within the shrubbery sent a surge of adrenaline coursing through her body. A whiff of the repugnant mush entered her nostrils as she rolled aside, leaving the foe to land on nothingness.

Her mind went into autopilot the moment she felt threatened. She dashed towards her target and slashed at it without a second thought. A pained grunt later, the enemy fell to the ground. Before Applebloom could take a good look at it, its remains burst into a cloud of darkness that was carried away by the wind.

The bushes chose that moment to shudder and prove she wasn't alone yet. Turning on her heels, Applebloom continued her run where she'd left off.

Her resolve strengthened at the sight of a flash of light amidst the woods. As though it fed her with energy, she ran towards it with renewed vigor. Any light in the Everfree Forest was welcome.

The path became narrower. The leaves of the bushes brushed against her sides. Before long, she was no longer stepping on any sort of road – she was journeying directly through the thicket, where the ground was uncertain and the darkness was greatest.

The snarls multiplied as soon as she abandoned the beaten earth, and the forest burst to life. Instead of the shriek she had been containing, a squeak was what escaped her throat when something sharp touched her leg. She swung the sword out of instinct, nearly losing her balance when it hit nothing. The growls continued to buzz in her head, as though they came from everywhere at the same time. A quick look around was all she needed to realize that such wasn't far from the truth.

Wherever she looked, a pair of devilish red eyes would meet hers. The increasingly perceptible sound of the monsters' steps made it clear they were approaching. She felt the world spin, and lowered her head believing it would help. She wanted to yell at them to stop.

Use your wits! her tutor's voice resonated in her mind.

What good are wits?! I'm surrounded and I can't take them all out and... and... wait. The spark of realization lit up Applebloom's eyes.

When they seemed to be just a step away from her, her determination peaked. She pulled her head back as much as she could before leaping into the air and swinging it towards the opposite side. The result was a twirling motion, effectively striking all of the foes that surrounded the young filly.

She ran off once the world was stable enough to move in a straight line. The effectiveness of her technique was the least of her interests. It had provided an escape route that led directly to the source of light.

In something of a childish joy, she jumped at the luminescent barrier, eager to take in the fresh air outside those woods. She had no such luck, however.

Here the air was filled with more pollution than ever. The origin of the light that had guided her became clear when she set her eyes on the burning remains of a town, situated at the bottom of the hill she stood upon. Everywhere she looked, she found destruction. The very ground she stepped on had been violently stirred by hoof steps.

A massive barrier of smoke dominated the landscape, fueled by the flames below. It granted the sky an even more ominous appearance, with shades of red intertwining with the natural blackness of the night.

Something moved among the wreckage in the dead of the night. From afar, she could only see the outlines of the creatures. They appeared to be ponies of brilliant blue coats who carried bright lanterns in their mouths. They wandered with no apparent aim, as though they were patrolling the area. It was yet another thought that didn't please the filly.

For a moment, Applebloom was certain that she'd taken a wrong turn somewhere, that this wrecked town was the Sunny Town that her grandmother consistently warned her of whenever the Everfree Forest was brought up.

But too many landmarks started appearing, spots that begged for her attention: the gingerbread house with a missing roof, the carousel-like building that was being consumed by a grandiose fire. There was no mistaking that this moonlit mess was once Ponyville. She felt her eyes tear up, her throat ready to openly cry to the seven winds.

She would have done so had she not noticed the imminent approach of one of those lantern-wielding ponies. All she needed to hear was a chime before diving into whatever shrubbery that was nearby. She recognized the sound. It was the same as the one that had haunted her mind in the forest.

Her breath almost stopped once the entity was passing right in front of the bush. Its look was unlike anything Applebloom had ever imagined.

What she thought was its shimmering azure fur turned out to be the natural glow of its ashen cloak. She could see very little of the pony itself; a large hood covered much of its head.

She traced the chime's origin to the lantern it carried. With every step it took, the metallic, very solid-looking apparatus creaked loudly, dragging along a flame that matched its color scheme.

Applebloom stared at its face from the safety of her hideout, doing her best not to shiver at its lack of any features. It reminded her all too well of some other tales that Scootaloo read and told them about regarding a tall, white stallion who chased foals.

There was a key difference between the two, however. Its skin was not solid. She nearly yelped when she noticed that its bones were very clear under the dark blue fur of its muzzle. Her eyes were locked on the being until it walked away, not seeming to have noticed her.





Now that the specter was past her, she poked her head out of the bush and double-checked. The ghost was far away. She allowed herself a sigh before fully exposing her body.

Looks like it's real dangerous out here... Her eyes wandered off to the blazing wasteland. Sis... Where are you? Where is everypony?

She found herself walking down the hill, each step tracing the marks on the beaten earth. The scent of burning wood was growing ever more intense. As she entered the town, she discovered that the cackling of the lanterns was like a guide to her, a forewarning that she should use all sorts of wreckage as a place to hide. She wasn't sure where she was going, or what her purpose in Ponyville was. All she knew was that there were two ponies she needed to find.

She turned at the sound of something crashing in the middle of the main plaza. As stealthily as she could, she approached the corner of the building and looked on.

A pegasus stallion, dressed just like the mares from the forest, was carrying a very heavy-looking box on his back towards what appeared to be a chariot. She could barely resist the urge to jump at him with her sword.

"How deep down is the temple?" The fur on Applebloom's coat stood on end, freezing the filly in place. It wasn't until she realized she wasn't being talked to that her heartbeat slowed down to regular rate. Looking on, she found that the stallion was no longer alone. Another outfitted mare had joined him.

"Not sure. It's probably way too deep for us to get to it in a day."

"I don't want chances, Valkyrie," the stallion groaned. The box on his back fell onto the chariot with a loud clatter. "I want concrete days."

"You talk like I can predict the future, Sleipnir. I dunno, a week, give or take. Maybe if somepony hadn't gone all out on the temple's entrance, we'd take less time. But noooo. Mister I-Can-Be-A-Giant had to destroy it. We still gotta get there anyway. Hope you like flying through the desert with a chariot on your back."

Sleipnir stuck his muzzle against hers and snorted through his nostrils. His voice was like a thousand drums beating at the same time. "You're lucky that Valhalla needs another pony back there with her."

Valkyrie smiled, completely unfazed. "Don't you have more mining equipment to load?"

"Hoo."

Applebloom instantly tuned out of the conversation, ears perked up in surprise. This sounded much closer. Too close to her ears to be comfortable.

"Hoo," it repeated. Very slowly, she craned her head towards the sound. 

She found no monster waiting to ensnare her though. No creepily huge, shadowy figure with its talons out to lash at her. Just a small, innocent bird. An owl, to be precise, was perched on the tip of a pile of rubble.

"Ye're... Ye're Twilight's owl, aren't ya? Hum… Owlowicious?"

"Hoo." The owl turned around with a hop and pointed forward with a wing. "Hoo hoo."

"Ya want me to follow ya?"

"Hoo."

Well, can’t hurt. Maybe he knows where Twilight is, she thought, giving the owl a nod.

As it turned out, Owlowicious did know his way around Ponyville – even if the town stood in ruins. Her mind felt lighter as she trotted through the wreckage. The fact that there were no corpses to be seen was a massive weight off her shoulders. If anything, it meant the villagers had escaped.

The owl waited patiently across the street when one of the lantern-wielding ponies crossed their path. Hidden in the shadow of a building, Applebloom held her breath and prayed to not get caught. She left her hideout as soon as the lantern’s ringing was far enough.

She had been guided into an alley. A cloud of smoke billowed from the houses around it, of which only part of their walls had remained. The rest had been turned to piles of stone and wood. Wooden beams stuck out of the debris with no proper order. Applebloom proceeded carefully, as though something was about to jump at her from within the rubble.

Ahead of her was a cage, which Owlowicious had chosen as the perfect roost. Thick iron bars kept their prisoner secured should the collection of locks and chains keeping it in place not be enough.

And lying there, inside the foul cage, was none other than the sobbing form of her friend.

"Sweetie Belle!"

"A-Applebloom?!" Sweetie Belle rose to her hooves and gasped, perhaps a bit louder than she would have liked. Then, in a lower voice, "What are you-"

"C'mon, help out here, Sweets! Ah can't break this open on mah own!"

"No!" Applebloom felt herself get shoved away from the locks. The unicorn's force was not enough to overcome the earth pony's resilience, though. "Applebloom, please, you need to get out of here before they return!"

"Ah ain't leavin' without ya, Sweets!"

"They took Scootaloo already! Please, go away!"

"T-They... they took Scoots already?" Applebloom stopped momentarily, but shook her head to focus herself. "I-It don't matter! As long as Ah can get ya outta here, we can get back a-and get Scoots too!"

The fillies’ ears twitched. A step. Another step. “Applebloom, y-you have to go!”

“No! Ah won’t leave ya behind!” The Apple filly took the sword’s hilt with her mouth. “Shtand back!”

Taking her time to gather momentum, Applebloom swung the blade at the lock. The sword bounced back as soon as it hit the rusty object. Metallic shards were all that was left of it. After sheathing the sword, she reached up to open the cage. The dreadful clang of another lock was the only result she got. Afraid though she was, she searched for its origin.

“Go,” the unicorn spoke with a raspy voice as soon as Applebloom found the lock. It wasn’t just one; there were at least five other ones there, coupled with a thick, heavy looking chain. Applebloom couldn’t even find the will in her to complain. She was defenseless before her friend’s pleading eyes. A tear made its way to the earth pony’s eye. “Please. I’ll be okay.”

Applebloom gave one last push, just to make sure the devices weren’t pulling her leg. Her hoof slowly slid down the bar as defeat sunk in. “Ah-Ah’ll be back to g-get ya,” she stuttered, taking her first step back.

“I know you will.”

Sweetie Belle turned away, not willing to see her friend leave. Swallowing once to avoid breaking down, she assumed her most confident look. Her body shook like leaves blown by the wind. But she didn't cry. For once, she wouldn't cry.

Three figures rounded the corner and entered the alley. Two mares garbed in a dark purple flight uniform that followed a cloaked pony, its face obscured by an oversized hood. The mares bore a scornful smirk upon their features while their supposed leader walked on in utter silence.

“The preparations are complete,” the cloaked mare spoke. “This is your last chance before we forcefully remove the Light Force from you, foal.”

Sweetie Belle answered by turning away. She couldn’t see it, but she heard the mare stomp a hoof under the cloak. Her breathing rate accelerated, causing the hood to flutter a little and reveal a bit of the mare’s orange muzzle. The two other pegasi frowned noticeably at this. One of them sighed very quietly, as though she didn’t want to be heard, when her leader regained her posture.

“Valhalla, Sleipnir is waiting on us.”

“I am aware of that, Hel,” the cloaked pony bitterly hissed through clenched teeth. One of the mares shrunk back. Valhalla moved towards Sweetie Belle again. "When Nightmare Moon instructed me to search for the Light Force again, I thought it would be yet another difficult campaign not unlike the San Palomino raid," the hooded pony spoke almost dramatically. "It seems this was much, much easier than I ever imagined. For your sake, I would try not to make my work any harder, lest you wish to end up like the ponies of that sand city."

"San Palomino... the Light Force..." Sweetie echoed with her mouth hung slightly open in thought. She narrowed her eyes and accusingly spoke, "You're the ones who attacked Natural Scale. You helped Nightmare Moon attack the city."

"Who we are is not of your concern, foal!" The pony stomped a hoof to emphasize her status. "Relinquish the Light Force!"

"No!"

"Do as you are told, foal, or-"

SCHWING!

The sharp sound of a blade leaving its sheath cut through the air like a sword. Valhalla turned to find Applebloom standing behind their back with her weapon in her mouth. "Or what?!"

"Applebloom! I told you to go away!"

"Hey Valhalla! That's the filly we told you about!" Applebloom recognized that voice. It was definitely Hel, the mare that had started calling her a blank flank in the forest.

"Oh?" Valhalla uttered, her pose relaxing visibly. "This is the foal that tried to stop you?"

"Aw, and she has a little knife this time!" Hel's other henchmare, 'Val', joined in.

"What'cha gonna do with that, blank flank?"

"Do you really think you can hurt us with a knife?"

"Silence, both of you," Valhalla suddenly cut in. Her voice was surprisingly calm, but still had the sharpness of a needle to the other pegasi. They recoiled in silence. Applebloom's mind told her to do the same, but she stood her position. The mare walked forward, staring down at the filly with her head held high. When she was too close, Applebloom hoisted the sword, causing Valhalla to flinch and stop mid-step. "So, you are the brave little filly that stood up to Valkyrie and Hel. I assume you are here for your friends, hm?" She motioned towards Sweetie Belle with a hoof.

“Y-Y’can bet yer flank, ma’am!”

“Such language. Such uncouth manners. Your despicable behavior will be your doom. Have you any idea of who you are in the presence of?”

“A-Ah heard enough to know that you ain’t a good pony!”

“FOAL!” Valhalla’s sudden holler irradiated a sense of authority not unlike that of the Royal Canterlot tone. The way she unfolded her wings almost caused the cape to fly off her back. “We are Her Majesty’s most privileged militia! The only force that has kept the Wonderbolts from intervening!”

Valhalla had completely ignored the sword and, before Applebloom could notice, marched until they were standing snout to snout. She flared her nostrils as she bore into the filly. “We are the Shadowbolts. I am their leader. And you would do well in remembering that.

“Now… you have your friends here! You have me! What will you do now?!” Valhalla jerked her hoof to smack Applebloom on the side of the face. The unexpected blow carried enough strength to throw the filly back, consequently knocking the sword out of her mouth. Her jaw hurt. She tried to reach for it, but her hooves wouldn’t obey. She could see Valhalla stepping forth, no doubt preparing to lash at her again. Sweetie’s pleas to stop filled her ears. Applebloom clenched her teeth, steeling herself for the blow that was about to come.

“You wanted to save your friends? You wanted to play hero?” The coolness in Valhalla’s voice had faded entirely. Her words carried a cruelly triumphant spirit. Applebloom averted her eyes from the pegasus. Valhalla wasn’t having any of it. She stood over the filly’s fallen body and forced her to face the shadow of the Shadowbolt’s hood. “Playtime is over, foal! You are much too late to save any of your friends!”

Valhalla reached for the top of the hood and pulled it back with a single, swift movement. The cerise mane that flowed down her neck upon the removal of the hood nearly cracked Applebloom’s heart into half.

“Sc… Scoots?” She couldn’t believe her own eyes. Even if Valhalla wasn’t this much larger than her, she would never find her friend in the malevolent gaze that those purple irises cast upon her. The young pegasus filly she knew would never sport such a devious smile, or say such hurtful words. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Sweetie Belle was just as incredulous.

Yet there she was. Valhalla’s smirk grew wider with Applebloom’s inability to understand the situation. “I had never thought that I would find the perfect candidate for my new body in a foal that was destined to be earthbound for life. In fact, I do believe I did her a favor.”

“W-What happened to’er?! Where’s Scootaloo?!”

“I am the ‘Scootaloo’ you speak of!” Valhalla shouted, raising her head proudly. “Because your unicorn friend possesses the same power that deprived me of my body, I could not take control of her. I condemn Celestia to the bowels of Tartarus for stripping me of a physical form!

“If I own a body, I owe it to Nightmare Moon! Her Majesty was ever so generous to lend me some of her power. With it, I was able to… mold… this foal’s body to that worthy of a mare of my caliber, to my former image. A true Shadowbolt!”

“N-No!” Applebloom cried, attempting to kick the mare’s chest but failing to even reach it. “No! No! Give’er back!”

Valhalla was lost in laughter. “This body belongs to me now, child! Valkyrie, Hel! Ready the unicorn! We leave this Tartarus-bound town at once!"

"No! Please, stop! Don't do-"

"And you," Valhalla quickly interrupted, sticking a hoof in Applebloom's mouth. The filly clung to the leg and tried to push it away, but Valhalla was stronger. "For your insolence, I will reap your very soul and carry it so that you may suffer the same imprisonment I did in Tartarus! You will be yet another soul that will strengthen me!"

Valhalla raised a hoof, and Applebloom braced for the blow. This was it. Her own friend’s hoof would dictate her death. No, it wasn’t her friend. It was a monster that pretended to be her. A monster worse than any Changeling could ever be.

There was a hoot. It was a cry so powerful, so piercing that it echoed across the town. She looked up to see that Valhalla herself had stopped her hoof in mid-air to check what was happening.

Something flew from the shadows and against Valhalla’s face, a blur of different shades of brown that kept flapping its wings against the orange pegasus. Applebloom’s eyes drifted to its talons: they held her sword.

It was not until Valhalla became tired of the onslaught and started swiping her legs at it that the bird dropped the weapon for the filly to catch before flying off. Valhalla considered chasing her attacker, but a matter of greater importance required her attention.

Applebloom was staring longingly into her eyes. She held the sword by its handle in her mouth. Valhalla could almost read the thoughts that clashed behind that sorrowful gaze. She was frightened. Valhalla was frightened too.

“Ah know ye’re scared, Scoots,” the earth pony whispered. Had she spoken any louder, her voice would have cracked like a dry twig. This didn’t leave Valhalla any less anxious. “But they’ll find us. Ah’ll find ya. Y’ll see.”

Valhalla shook her head almost imperceptibly in disbelief. “What are you…”

“Ah’m sorry, Scoots.”

A flick of her head was all Applebloom needed to swing the blade straight at the mare’s neck. Valhalla only snapped out of her trance in time to avoid losing her throat, opting for a much lesser cut on a forehoof. She remained airborne even when Applebloom got up, observing her carefully from her spot in the air, where she couldn’t be reached.

Those eyes. Those saffron pools, just barely visible in the moonlit, that bore into her very soul. They wanted their friend back. They tried to hide the betrayal that was that single swing of the blade. She felt sick.

“Your soul shall forever wander in Tartarus. That much I promise you. If not by my hoof, then by somepony else’s.” Valhalla would have preferred that to have her heart crossed with a sword than to have received the silence she did from the filly. She couldn’t bring herself to set down and outright murder her current opponent. After what felt like an eternity for the pegasus, Valhalla flew off, disappearing beyond the roofs shortly after. Applebloom could only watch her leave.

“Thanks, Scoots,” she muttered to herself. Owlowicious returned to remind her that there was still work to be done, prompting her to follow back to the plaza.

Every plea she heard from Sweetie Belle strengthened her resolve. It served to quicken her pace, to disregard the pain in her jaw and bite down on the handle even harder. Left and right, ghostly figures in snow-white cloaks appeared from the shadows of the alleys, as if to provide her guidance with their lanterns. She knew their true purpose, but ignored them altogether.

The airborne silhouette of Scootaloo -- no, Valhalla -- against a black background of swirling fiery clouds was the first thing she saw once she rounded the corner. The cage containing her friend had been loaded onto the chariot, and its harnesses had been placed around the necks of two pegasus ponies. As soon as Valhalla laid her eyes on Applebloom, she gasped out the command to take off. The other Shadowbolt in the carriage said something the filly couldn't quite understand, but Valhalla dismissed her with a louder hiss.

Hel and Sleipnir began to flap their wings in perfect synch, and the chariot soon took off. Applebloom didn’t hesitate in giving chase. The ruins of Ponyville were but a blur zooming past her as she ran with no regard to what was around. The chariot had her undivided attention, even as she ventured into the Everfree Forest again, where the monsters roamed free.

It wasn’t a monster that got her, though. It was the abrupt end of the world, a hill she hadn’t even seen. As soon as her footing escaped, she threw a leg up to try and ‘grab’ the edge.

Once more, it slipped her grasp. The air briefly roared in her ears before she hit the dirt on her side, eliciting a choked growl of pain from the filly. The tumble down the hill was not over yet. With the slow increase of the pain in her body came her sluggish plummet into a world of blackness.

Just before she slipped into unconsciousness, a whimper escaped her throat. It was a promise. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep it or not. But just in case she survived, Cross my heart, hope to fly.

“Ah’ll find ya.”


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“…rest so that she may recover best.”

Applebloom's mind stirred to the sound of a familiar voice. The air was hot and heavy with a disgusting scent, intertwined with the lighter aroma of the forest. She tried to open her eyes, her mouth, move her legs or her head, but found herself unable to do any of those.

“Her jaw looked really bad… are you sure it was fixed?”

Something was boiling. A wooden object hit a metallic one.

“Do you my skills disbelieve? It is because of them that you live.”

The heavy Zebrican drawl that oozed from those words was not strange to Applebloom's ears. She recognized the one who had vocalized them as Zecora.

A snort. “You don’t have to keep reminding me of that, you know. But her… she’s just a filly.”

“Though you are of a different kind, no older than a filly is your hide.” The sound of hoof steps drew closer. “This filly through a great ordeal has persevered. If what you claim is true, then never of her whereabouts did her family hear.”

“But the sword she had… it belonged to Link! She must know where he is!”

“Your claims are not unfounded, to be sure. But his connections to young Applebloom are unsure. Scoop the medicine from the cauldron and bring it to me. Another dose should suffice for her to be healthy.”

“Thish shmellsh like thoshe thingsh Link kept drinking. Shtill dishgushting.”

More hoof steps. The pop of a bottle cap. “Though their smell I do not commend, potions prevent your end.” Her mouth was gently pried opened, and a liquid streamed into her throat. She was right: it felt repulsive.

Surprisingly, she could cough just instants after the concoction reached her stomach. This seemed to prompt a gasp from the other individual. “She’s coming to!”

“Remember what you have been told. We do not know what story this filly’s wounds may hold.” Slowly but surely, Applebloom succeeded in opening her eyes. The light of a flame heating a caldron was the first thing she saw, and she closed her eyes in a reflex to avoid being blinded. She felt Zecora shift in place. A hoof began to caress the earth pony’s cheek. “I am here, young Applebloom. You are far away from your doom."

"Zecora?" she weakly muttered as she attempted to open her eyes again. The zebra had positioned herself in front of the light, and was presently facing her with a warm expression of a mother.

There was another pony in the room, she also noticed. It was a mare – or at least certainly the size of one – who was peering expectantly over Zecora’s shoulder, as if waiting for her turn to talk. Chestnut coat, pale yellow mane, a white patch of fur between the eyes, a well defined snout. The scent of the countryside, of farms and trees.

“H-how did Ah get here? Ah was runnin’ after Sweetie Belle and then… Ah think Ah fell…”

“Our friend found you badly hurt and asleep. It appears we were right to assume you had taken a tumble most deep.” Valhalla. Scootaloo. The two seemed to converge in her mind.  “You carried a sword on your back. What is it that you intended to hack?”

Her goal at the time rushed back to her head. She'd engaged in a blind chase for the pegasi, a race she knew she would never win. They had escaped, after all.

"Where did you get it?" the other pony piped in. Zecora shot her a reproving glare.

"Whatever her reason, I'm certain it was valid," the zebra spoke before facing Applebloom again. "Tell us, Applebloom. What left your skin so pallid?"

No pressure, right? the filly thought as she felt the expectant gaze of both equines fall upon her. Breathing in, then out, she detailed her trip. The face of a grown Scootaloo who grinned devilishly refused to leave her mind’s eye throughout her report. She still struggled to accept that her friend was gone. To be honest, she doubted it. Valhalla had chosen to spare the filly for a reason -- and it hadn’t been compassion of any sort. Scootaloo was the only explanation.

That made Applebloom smile a little, even if neither Zecora nor her friend understood why she seemed mildly happy while describing how she was almost caught by ghosts. There was still hope.

When her tale ended, Zecora’s features turned thoughtful. “You talk of the Light Force and those who for it to the world’s end go. Do you know what this power is to have a reputation so?”

“Ah… Ah dunno. But it ain’t important.” The filly hopped off her bed and searched for her weapon. “Ah need to find Sweetie Belle and bring’er back! The sooner Ah leave, the faster Ah’ll get to’er!”

“Yours is a dangerous endeavor. What makes your confidence in victory last forever?”

“T’ain’t ‘bout confidence!” Applebloom objected, turning so sharply that Zecora winced. “It’s ‘bout savin’ a friend! Ya get that, Zecora? Sweetie Belle is mah friend, and Ah won’t stop ‘till Ah get’er back! Her ‘n--”

There’s still hope, remember? Don’t give up! she scolded herself. Finding the sword provided an excellent distraction from those thoughts, and she trotted over to collect it.

“If you so insist, then--”

“Hold on a second!” the other pony shouted as soon as Applebloom placed a hoof on the sword. The bigger filly swatted the hoof away with her own before claiming the sword. “She still hasn’t explained why she has the sword! And if you ask me, I think she stole it from Link!”

“Now listen’re, ma’am! Ah’m right thankful ya saved me, but Ah didn’t steal nothing from nopony!”

“Then how come you have his sword?”

“Ah dunno! Ah found it by the river!”

“Epona! That is enough!” Zecora intervened to Applebloom’s relief. “Do not simply accuse young Applebloom of a crime so rough!”

“But… but the sword!”

“She acquired the sword through honest means,” the zebra spoke more softly. “Surely you believe she had need of it to face such fiends!”

Epona seemed to want to press the subject, but her resigned groan seemed to dismiss those plans. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry.”

To her surprise, Applebloom smiled in response. “It’s okay. But Ah really need to get tootin’.”

“If you so insist on leaving, then allow us to come along. After all, it is dangerous to go alone.” Zecora looked around as if searching for something. Her smile broadened when she found what she looking for. “And I believe I have just what you can take to have some protection of your own.” Before Applebloom could even argue the possibility of receiving help, Zecora walked away.

“Guess that means we’re gonna be tagging along,” Epona spoke, circling the filly to study her.

“Ya really don’t have to.”

“Eh, you’re right, I don’t.” The mocking tone in Epona’s voice almost made it seem like she’d regretted the decision. “But hey, maybe I’ll find Link. I don’t have much to lead myself on. So, Applebloom, right?”

She extended a hoof, to which Applebloom stared for a moment. Then, shaking it, she completed the thought. “Yeah! Applebloom Apple! Ah never met somepony like you!”

Her new friend giggled. “That’s ‘cause I’m not a pony. I’m Epona, Hyrule's top racehorse!”