//------------------------------// // Night of the Hound // Story: The Hour of Demise // by Tioko //------------------------------// The Hour of Demise Chapter 1 Night of the Hound “Pain…Agony…Too long has it been since they became a part of me, too long has it been since they first began to sear my flesh…Consuming us, devouring the body the infidels left for madness to claim…The accursed living, tainting the very world that now holds me captive within its deepest reaches!” “My hatred burns through these cavernous deeps…My anger pounds against my mind. How the urge to unleash my wrath tortures me! If only the seal had been weakened more…Then the tiny vermin that infests the land would quake as I make the world heave with my torment! The pathetic fools actually believed they could have their way?!” “Oh how I condemn this wretched seal…How I curse the mortals. My power was not theirs to wield, nor was I theirs to command. The greatness of my being belongs to me and me alone! The insult of their abuse and overconfidence can only be washed away with blood!” “The seal… the seal…Weakened? Ah…So it was you, Discord, was it not? Maddened fool, why could you not withstand harmony longer and feed us more chaos?!” “My roars make the earth quake as my body heaves…At last the machinery brims to life once more. The gears grind, the plungers live and the conduits surge with power. Yes, the seal has weakened. The hour of my release has appeared within my view. The seal shall feast upon chaos…The key to my freedom shall be made!” “And the seal… The wretched, thrice accursed seal…Shall. Be. Broken!” --- “The tea has been served.” Princess Celestia interrupted the conversation she was having to nod at the lackey, who bowed respectfully to the deity. “Thank you, Silver Cup.” The white alicorn said gently. “Dismissed.” She then turned back to the ponies she was having the conversation with. “Now then, my dear sister and my faithful student... Shall we have some tea before the sunset?” It was the evening of Summer Sun Celebration, a national holiday celebrated all over Equestria. Nopony was allowed to work that day, not even the government. As of such, it was one of the very rare occasions when, after the festivities and ceremonies were over, Princess Celestia could get a little time free of governmental duties. And this year she simply couldn’t miss the chance to invite her favorite pupil to spend some simple and wonderful time together, as well as remember the many occasions in the past that brought them closer together as mentor and student. “I would love to, Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle answered, bowing her head gratefully for a brief minute. The purple unicorn then turned to the Princess of the Moon and smiled. “It is very kind of you to allow me to observe as you raise the moon, Princess Luna.” “Thou shall call us… me… Luna.” The dark-blue alicorn answered. “I… appreciate thine interest.” The youngest princess glanced uncertainly at her two companions. A thousand years meant a shift in the language, not to mention social customs, that she had to get accustomed to. She felt she was making progress, and hoped her sister and her pupil thought the same. Celestia smiled at her sister and counterpart. “No need to be so modest, Lulu.” She said kindly, making the younger alicorn frown a little at the use of that nickname. “Oh, yes!” Twilight nodded eagerly. “Your night is magnificent, Luna, and I’m sure I can learn a lot about magic if I see how you do it.” She said and then sighed dreamily. “All those stars… the constellations… I can’t possibly imagine how much time it took you to think them up! Was it difficult to do?” The purple unicorn asked, her eyes with sparkling with interest. “Ah, I should better get somepony to bring the tea here rather than to the dining room.” Celestia said, rising up to her hooves. “If you excuse me, sister?” Luna quietly threw a glare at her elder sibling, knowing all too well that the white alicorn had just left her to her own devices with a knowledge-hungry unicorn. And had done so on purpose. “Of… course…” Luna nodded slowly, knowing she had no real reason to refuse. She looked uncertainly at Twilight. “Thou… wish to hear about our… my… stars?” “Yes! Tell me everything about them, Princess, I mean, Luna!” Twilight said, practically glowing with enthusiasm. “I… have studied them quite a lot, Astronomy is one of my favorite subjects, but those are merely observations made by common ponies, who couldn’t even dream of knowing the stars, their functions and patterns as well as you do. So please tell me everything!” Luna seemed taken aback by the flood of words that had burst forth from the young unicorn’s mouth, and for a moment the Moon Princess thought Twilight Sparkle had been replaced by the wielder of the Element of Laughter. What was her name again? She searched her memory and quickly found the answer. Pinkie Pie, yes, that was it. She gave her sister’s faithful student an uncertain smile. “I… oh… well… Of course!” Luna said, a bit louder than necessary. “Where… shall we… begin? Twilight Sparkle?” “Oh... from the very beginning! How do the stars work? How do you arrange them every night and keep in mind all the rotation cycles? How did you think up those beautiful constellations?” Twilight rambled out the questions. Luna quickly held up her hoof and had to stifle a chuckle. “One question at a time, please.” Twilight nodded quickly and held her tongue immediately. The Princess thanked her with a nod of her horned head. “Thank thee. Now, as for the workings of our… my… beloved stars…” She then began her explanation, and soon found herself just as lost in the tale as her companion. Never before had anypony shown such interest in her prized creation, and after millennia of yearning for recognition, the attention was both new and welcoming. It helped that Twilight Sparkle was an attentive listener, only interrupting her to ask intelligent questions that showed how closely she followed and how quickly she understood the quite complicated matter the Moon Princess was explaining to her. Soon it would be time to bring those stars forth, and then they would observe and marvel at their beauty together. Little did the young alicorn know that the night would not be as peaceful as she thought... --- Somewhere very near Canterlot, hidden in the shadows of some trees, a lonely figure watched the setting of the sun with a cruel grin on his face. His white, sharp teeth were clearly visible even in the dying sunlight. Though the sunset looked as it always did, he could now, for the first time ever, sense it was different. He could feel the magic that drove the lowering of the great star, and how. Magic came from the sun in such great quantities he could almost taste it, and he wondered how he could have been such an unbelievable fool for having never noticed it before, even though he had seen the sun rise and set for countless times. There was no mistaking it, this was without any doubt the place he had been looking for. He could feel the excitement creeping under his skin, the restlessness tugging at his mind. “Finally,” he thought, his grin widening. “At last it has been found, the land where Sun and Moon rest in forms of flesh.” His cold, yellow eyes stared at the royal castle in the distance, so great and majestic, but elegant and inviting all the same. “One would expect more from the place deities rest. Almost as if they made it easy for me on purpose. How very kind of them, I must reward them justly.” A dark, clawed hand emerged from the shadowy cloak that was wrapped around him, and concealed his entire body aside from his face. Shadows formed around his hand, looking almost like wisps of black smoke. In the blink of an eye, a cruel but elegant blade had appeared, held firmly in the being’s hand. “Yes, a proper reward indeed,” the figure thought. “I shall paint the city in a new, lively colour, free of charge. Sadly I have no paint, but blood makes a good substitute.” --- Humming a quiet tune, Celestia came back to the room where she left her dear student and her sister, and peeked inside. From what she could see, Lulu and Twi were sitting at the balcony now, with the younger alicorn pointing out certain stars in the sky to the unicorn. Celestia let out a chuckle. Yes, they would become wonderful friends. It was a right choice after all to send Luna to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, despite the apparent difficulties and flaws in her plan. Not that the Sun Princess would admit there were any, of course. She just wanted the best for her little sister. With that in mind, Celestia decided to not go in the room just yet, and instead check out some of the guard posts, to wish them all a happy Summer Sun Celebration, of course, and in no way to make those who fell asleep at their job shake in their horseshoes with nervousness and fear of being fired. Nope, not at all. As she walked towards her new destination, the Princess of the Sun glanced through a window to look at Canterlot. The streets were lit with streetlamps, and most of the ponies were asleep, and yet some windows still had a light in them. Celestia smiled. It wouldn’t have been possible without the clock she had introduced shortly after Luna’s banishment. Nopony would’ve even thought of staying up after sunset before. But now ponies lived by the clock, and as summer passed and the days grew shorter, more and more ponies could appreciate her dear sister’s creation. If only she had thought of it sooner... Celestia shook her head. No, she would not think of it now. Luna was here, Luna was recovering, and Luna was now happily spending time with her dear friend, Twilight Sparkle. Yes, everything was alright. “Now, where were those guard posts...” Celestia muttered. Her question would remain forever unanswered, for it was then that the peace of the night was interrupted by a deafening explosion. By instinct Celestia turned her head in the direction of the sound, just in time to see a massive column of flame rise up from the city. Celestia gasped and rushed to the window. This was some powerful magic! It took her quite some time before realisation finally dawned on her that there had been an explosion in her beloved city. Not thinking any further, Celestia galloped to the nearest balcony and took flight. Whoever threatened Canterlot this late at night would pay for it in all severity. Before she had flown very far, however, Luna appeared at her side, worry etched on her dark face. “Sister, what, pray tell, is going on?!” “I have no idea, Lulu.” Celestia admitted. “But I am going to find out!” She looked at her sister. “You stay in the castle where it’s safe!” “But… It is our… my… city too, sister…” Luna tried to protest. She knew her sister always looked out for her, but sometimes, the Moon Princess thought Celestia was used to being the big sister a tad too much. It wasn’t as if she was a weak filly that had to be sheltered. She had recovered most, if not all of her strength that had waned during her thousand year exile, and her control over magic was nothing short of perfect. “I wish to help our subjects as well.” “Luna, do realize it is too dangerous for you to go.” Celestia said sternly. “And even if it wasn’t... I... I need you to protect Twilight...” She finished quietly, her voice shaking a little. “You know this magic is extremely powerful. I don’t want her to do anything rash...” “We are thine equal in strength,” the younger sister replied, rather annoyed. She understood her sister’s worry, but she was her equal, and a princess of Equestria as well. She wanted to ensure that her subjects were safe just as much as her sister did, could Celestia not see that? “But... Twilight...” Celestia tried to protest, but then shook her head. Her student would be sensible enough not to rush into action, and they would make sure that the castle is safe. “Alright. Let us get this over with.” Luna smiled gratefully at her sister, glad for this opportunity to show her genuine care for her subjects. Her eyes narrowed as she focussed on the city again. Even from this distance, it looked dreadful, the fire caused by the explosion having spread rapidly throughout the capital. “You take care of the fire, I shall try to find the culprits.” Celestia ordered and sped down towards the ground before Luna could protest. Not that Luna minded. As she had demonstrated in Ponyville during Nightmare Night, she was quite adept at weather manipulation. Her face grim with determination, Luna set to work, raising her horn high as magic flew forth from it. Celestia, meanwhile, swooped down to the ground and landed in the middle of a square. Ponies were panicking, desperately trying to get away from the fire, and a few Royal Guards and Canterlot Police Officers were struggling to keep order. “Captain, report the situation.” Celestia commanded, approaching one of the officers. All around her, the air was thick and heavy with magic, betraying the source of this fire. “Princess!” The captain seemed to be quite relieved by her presence, but he knew better than to dwell on it. “We do not know what caused the explosion, but the unicorns of Canterlot Police force suggest it was work of a very powerful magician, and the epicentre of it is located two blocks away from here.” The officer pointed in the direction. “The evacuation is going steadily, and so far, nopony was injured.” Celestia nodded, relieved. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a clap of thunder, heralding the arrival of the rainstorm her sister had summoned to douse the flames. That caused a smile to form on her features, which was quickly replaced by a frown of determination. “Thank you. Return to your duties, captain. I shall investigate the epicentre.” Celestia nodded at the captain and galloped away into the burning streets. Around her, the magic of her sister was already doing a fine job in combating the flames that threatened to devour the beautiful city. The alicorn of the sun wrinkled her nose. How unfortunate dousing such fires always gave the most unpleasant smoke. She paid it no heed, however, determined to find the source of this flame. Her search was interrupted by a second explosion nearby, its force so great the Princess, caught off guard, was knocked off her feet into the nearest wall, which cracked under the force of the impact. She barely had the time to register a second column of fire bursting into the sky, before walls and roofs of houses were rendered apart by the force of the spell, some of the burning debris heading straight for her. She quickly formed a protective barrier around herself with her magic, dissolving whatever touched it into particles, and then teleported straight to the source of the flames, the location of which she could now clearly feel. As she arrived on the scene, a wave of scorching heat washed over her and threatened to take her breath away. The alicorn shielded her face with her wing, but soon grew accustomed to the environment. After all, she controlled the Sun, and no heat on this planet could compare to its never-ceasing fire. Celestia looked around, trying to find clues to the explosion’s origins. There was nopony around, and only a terrifyingly large patch of scorched stone in the middle of the scene betrayed the epicentre of the explosion. But of who or whatever had set it off, there was no sign. There wasn’t much time to dwell on it, however. The flames were gaining ground once more, almost as if they were combating the water Luna called forth from the skies. It became clear then to both alicorns that the fire was not normal. Celestia decided to help her sister fight them, and used her magic to summon powerful torrents of water out of nowhere, directed straight at the flames. Steam sizzled up into the sky where the two elements met each other, but neither seemed to overpower the other. Luna narrowed her eyes and tried a different approach. Her horn glowed with a new spell, and she abruptly lowered the temperature in the city to a winter’s chill to combat the heat of the flames. Celestia felt her cast that spell, and added an equally powered spell of her own, inwardly smiling a bit. Luna indeed was as adept at magic again as she had always been, and her older sister was glad for her help. She had solved disasters that required grand magic on her own for so long that she had forgotten how it felt to receive the help of one equal in power. Especially since the spell seemed to work. That was when, as the two royal alicorns neared victory over the magical flames, Celestia was overcome with a feeling that something was wrong. Horribly so. Her magical senses reached out, and she felt… something’s presence in the direction of the castle. Where her staff was, her loyal guards, the many servant ponies. Where her most prized and beloved student was. Alone. And in the sky above her, Luna felt the same. Celestia tried to teleport there right away, but it was as if that presence blocked her attempts. Having no other choice, she galloped as fast as she could before reaching a square and taking flight, speeding to the castle as fast as her wings could carry her, hoping it was not too late. “Sister!” Luna called, partly in shock partly in anger. “The fire!” But Celestia seemed to no longer hear her or pretended not to. Fuming, the Princess of the Moon threw of all restraints and channelled her divine might, readying it for a final spell that would put an end to this once and for all. Only then could she go after her sister and find out whatever was going on at the castle of Canterlot. The situation was undoubtedly dire, and not since Discord had the Moon Princess felt a similar presence to the one now radiating from the castle, but that was no excuse to let the city burn. --- “Alright, Twilight, don’t panic!” Twilight said to herself. “Sure, a big explosion of humongous magical power, sure, Canterlot is on fire, sure, I’m all alone in this castle room and the guards are outside, but it’s alright. The Princesses will deal with it, right? Right?” If the pony had any nails to bite, she would be chewing them off at that moment. She briefly glanced in the mirror at the corner of the room, and saw that her stress was quite visible by how unruly her mane had become. “Oooh...” She whined. “But what if the fire proves too much for them to handle? Now, now, don’t be ridiculous, Twi, there’s no way some fire could be too much for the Princesses.” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. “In fact, it should be all over now. Yes, perfectly... perfectly alright.” She assured herself. “They’ll come back any moment now... I can already feel their presence.” Her eyes narrowed then. The presence seemed… off. Before she could give it further thought or investigation, there was a commotion just outside her door, followed by one of the guards barrelling straight through said door. He landed unceremoniously on the floor, his eyes lifeless, with a large gash on his chest. Red coloured his otherwise grey fur. “They always do make it difficult when it doesn’t have to be,” somebody chuckled, and the next moment a dark figure stepped through the hole in the door the dead guard had just made, entering the room. “It makes things so… predictable. And that is, in it’s own way, easy. Oh the sweet irony. By making things difficult, they make it easy for me. Such a fine cosmic joke.” He let out a cruel, cold laugh. Twilight shrieked and backed away from the demon. It was not even the appearance of the stranger that made her quiver, or the fact that he radiated immense magical power, but that he had just killed a pony. Not even Discord did that! And why would he want to do that, anyway? He wasn’t a mindless beast that preyed on ponies, was he? Then why? The demonic figure that stood before her now was utterly terrifying. It stood on its long hind legs, making him as tall as Princess Celestia, with a wolfish tail trailing behind it. It had doglike, padded feet, each having four toes ending in a sharp, black claw. His legs were hidden by a set of black trousers lined with golden armour. He had a golden belt around his waist, the buckle shaped like a demonic head. His upper body was lean but muscular, with chiselled abs, and was uncovered by any clothes. His back was covered in pitch black, wild and long fur, his chest and stomach with scales that looked as if they were made of ash. His forelegs were smaller and shorter than his hind legs, and ended in hands, which made Twilight immediately think of Spike. But this being’s hands held four fingers, one thumb and three normal ones, each ending in a claw. Black fur covered his arms and the upper side of his hand, while the underside shared the ashen scales from his chest. His shoulders and throat area also had fur, but it was hard to see, for the shoulders were covered by golden armour that had the shape of hellhounds’ heads, their eyes inlaid with rubies. A black cloak trailed behind him, attached to the armour. But the most frightening was his head. It was unmistakably the head of a hound, but compared to this creature the diamond dogs looked like beauty queens. Its jaws were lined with shimmering, sharp teeth, and his eyes glowed yellow and had no pupils. His ears were longer than average and pointed, more like the ears of a jackal than of a dog. The black fur covering his head was shorter than on his back, but he had a long, ragged black mane, starting from between his ears and running down his neck till it ended between his shoulders. In his right hand he held a blade stained with blood, completing the image that screamed ‘hellish’ and ‘demonic’. “W... what is this creature? Why is it here? What does it want? Could it have caused the fire? Should I call for help? Oh, if only the Princesses were here!” Twilight thought desperately. The hellish hound looked around the room, and the expression of glee on his face was quickly replaced by one of sheer annoyance. “Oh for the hate of…” he cursed. The being closed his golden eyes for a second, then reopened them, looking even more annoyed. “Seems my firework distraction worked too well. I hadn’t expected the Sun to be awake at night.” A low growl escaped his throat. “A tiny oversight at my part… but even so…” He let out a deep sigh, calm and collected, one hand clasped before his eyes. Twilight, meanwhile, tried to quietly creep out of the room in order to make it outside and get some help. She had to warn the Princesses! A tremor of magic that even a foal could pick up halted her in her tracks. She glanced fearfully at the creature, just in time to see it explode with rage. “I HATE IT WHEN THINGS GO AGAINST MY PLANS!” His hands were held high, as if clawing at the sky, his body shaking with anger. Uncontrolled magic sparked of his being, lashing out and destroying whatever it hit, which resulted in most of the room being levelled. The sight of chaos seemed to calm him somewhat, as he lowered his hands again, took a deep breath and combed his mane back in proper shape with his fingers. “I probably should not have done that.” As much as Twilight wanted to stay hidden, the explosion made that nigh impossible. It knocked her into a wall, and she let out a yelp of pain as she fell to the floor. Which of course couldn’t go unnoticed. “I do apologise, my little pony,” she heard his dark chuckle. Shaking her head to clear her spinning eyes, she saw that he still hadn’t turned to her. “I suppose you think me rude, ignoring you as I have. Be at peace, I knew you were there. And your presence is most fortunate. You see, I tend to get annoyed when things do not go like I want them to go. And at such times…” The hellish dog slowly turned to face her, and there was madness in his eyes. “I am in dire need of a bit of bloodshed. To calm my nerves, you understand?” Twilight shrieked and tried to get away from the bloodthirsty murderer, but it was useless. He was staring right at her, there was no place to run or hide. The monster grinned a hellish grin and began to approach her. However, he was interrupted by a loud voice from the balcony. “Now that is enough!” The demonic dog whirled around in the blink of the eye, turning towards the speaker. It was her. The Sun. The divinely beautiful winged unicorn stood there on the balcony, glaring furiously at him, her wings spread and her horn lowered threateningly. The sight of Celestia in a state of fury was enough to make all but the foolish or the powerful quake in fear, but the strange creature showed no signs of any doubt. In fact, he looked positively happy. “Ah, the Sun, the flesh of the Sun! Yes, yes, at last you stand before me, I am pleased,” the bipedal dog said, smirking. “Who are you and what do you want?” The Sun Goddess demanded, seemingly unfazed by his glee. “Speak!” “You may call us… ‘the Hound’,” the dark canine introduced himself with a mockingly graceful bow. “I do not expect you to recognise it, after all, the fear my name alone spreads has yet to reach this… remote corner of the world. An unforgivable oversight on my part, for which I do apologise, and I shall rectify it soon.” His smirk widened as his eyes locked themselves with Celestia’s. “As for what I desire… Nothing much, truly. Only a little… chaos, on world scale.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “I will not tolerate another Discord in my kingdom. Return to your master, Hound, and do not show your foul face here again!” Celestia cried, charging her horn with magic. The Hound raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, looking very much offended. “Discord? Please, my dear Sun, do not drag one such as I down to a level of such a buffoon. His chaos is of the petty, harmless type. Tricks of a maddened jester, which I do not at all require. You see, I was thinking more along the lines of the harmful kind, you understand? A few slices of death, sandwiched between the delightful bread of destruction, overflowing with the rich sauce of mass chaos that has that unsurpassable hint of panic in it.” “Thank you, but that is not my cup of tea.” The Princess said coldly. “And I will not allow you to have your way!” “On the contrary, your highness,” the Hound replied, chuckling madly. “You are the reason I will have my way!” Celestia was getting tired of this banter. This Hound was so full of himself... “You have quite the nerve, Hound... To taunt a Goddess!” Through her horn, she unleashed her magic in the form of a powerful beam of light, prepared to incinerate the intruder. “It’s what I do, Princess,” the Hound answered calmly. He wrapped his cloaked around himself and vanished into thin air, the beam missing its target completely. The Princess quickly scanned the area, both with her eyes and magic to find out where he has gone to. She didn’t need to go to such great lengths, however, as the sound of clapping could be heard from behind her. She whirled around to find the Hound floating above the balcony, clapping his hands in mock applause. “An impressive light show, your highness,” he smiled. “Truly, your special effects are unsurpassed.” “You’re no simpleton as well, I give you that.” Celestia said quietly before unleashing another spell, which was a tornado or energy forming all around the Hound. Inside the maelstrom, the uninvited guest didn’t panic. He merely clenched his fists, charged himself and let out a roar. The sound was infused with so much power that it cancelled out the spell of the princess. The Hound made use of the short moment of hesitation from his opponent to throw himself at the Princess of the Sun like a wolf attacking its prey. The alicorn parried his attack by forming a long, solid beam of energy that elongated her horn, impaling the beast, and then throwing him into a nearby wall. There was a moment of silence, and Celestia thought it might be over, but her hopes were crushed as the Hound growled and climbed to his feet once more. “Now, that was uncalled for,” he chided, as if he was talking to a small filly instead of a deity. The wound inflicted upon him started to burn itself shut, and soon there was nothing left but a scorch mark on his grey chest. “I would love to continue this highly entertaining farce, oh flesh of the Sun, but I’m running on a tight schedule, so please do be so kind as to surrender now before I have to get nasty. Thank you.” “I would like to kindly remind you that I am indeed flesh of the Sun, thank you very much, and it is you who does not want me to get... nasty...” She hissed at him, her anger beginning to peak. “I know perfectly who and what I am dealing with, your highness,” the Hound whispered coldly, as he slowly dropped himself on all fours. His eyes narrowed as wisps of shadow that looked like black smoke began to rise off his body. “Can you say the same?” Celestia didn’t answer and simply flooded him with an overwhelmingly powerful fire spell, seeing as just light wasn’t really effective against this beast. It didn’t work against the Hound, his body seemed to simply devour the flames before they could do any damage. But instead of counterattacking, the intruder climbed back to his feet, the shadows dissipating. His face bore an expression of extreme displeasure. “Most aggravating, but it seems your sister is about to join us. And for a direct confrontation with Sun and Moon combined, even I am not ready,” he muttered, anger lurking under the surface of his words, ready to erupt at any second now. “I must take my leave, I fear.” “Leave, and never come again!” Celestia thundered before sending him off with another beam of light. The Hound shrugged, wrapped his cloak around himself and vanished. The Princess thought the intruder was gone, but was proven wrong when she heard a very familiar voice scream. In all the excitement of the confrontation, she had forgotten totally about her faithful student! “I shall leave, but this was quite a trip for me. I would like to take a little souvenir to remember the jolly good time I had here, your highness,” the Hound smiled cruelly from where he was, floating above the table under which Twilight Sparkle had been hiding previously. The purple unicorn was now tugged firmly under the villain’s arm, all her struggles for freedom in vain. “TWILIGHT!” Celestia cried out and charged at the enemy, prepared to fight and take her precious student back, even at the cost of her own life. “I bid you adieu, your highness.” And after those words, the Hound wrapped his black cloak around himself and his prisoner, hiding his entire figure from view. The black shape changed from solid mass into a cloud of black smoke, which took on the form of a bat, and left the room via the balcony at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud. The white alicorn rushed to the balcony, ready to take flight, but had to skid to a stop as she nearly crashed into her little sister who had just landed there. Frantically, Celestia looked past her beloved sibling, just in time to see the shadowy form of the Hound and his captive vanish into the night sky. To be continued.