A Link to Equestria

by Wandering Quill

King of the Hill

"Why did you do it, Rainbow Dash? Who made you kill Spitfire?"

Rainbow couldn't catch enough breath to answer. A sharp blade, aimed at her throat, was slicing through the air, skillfully maneuvered by one of the Wonderbolts. Dodging it wasn't a problem for the weathermare. The problem was that she couldn't tell which one of the Wonderbolts was attacking her anymore, nor could she afford spending time to figure it out. Their speed, coordination and fighting skills constituted no surprise for Rainbow; these were the Wonderbolts, after all.

They acted as if they were a single pegasus, combining their moves as they drew closer for the hit, then going separate ways whenever Rainbow managed to evade the attack. The weathermare already had quite the number of cuts and bruises of which to speak of, and only the suit she wore had prevented many, many more.

She had tried reasoning, but the other pegasi had always found a way to misinterpret her words as lies. She was running out of options and of breath to word them. She couldn't escape them forever. Rainbow was proud of her stamina, but she knew that by the time she was too tired to fly, they wouldn't have broken a sweat.

I don't want to hurt anypony, but... you're not making this any easier for me, she thought with every strike she received. It was becoming dreadfully clear that there would be no way out of the situation through words alone.

"She seems tired, Rapid," Fleetfoot scorned from across the room. Rapidfire joined her chortle. As if to startle his enemy, he jerked the thin blade of his sword at Rainbow. She gasped and jerked back accordingly, drawing another guffaw from the other pegasi.

"Yeah, maybe we should just finish her up." A devious smile broke across Rapidfire's face. "I'm getting tired of playing games!"

"Hear that, Rainbow? We're gonna make sure it's nice and painless!"

"Unlike some ponies, we still have morals, ya know?"

Any chance of replying was taken from Rainbow when the Wonderbolts let out a thunderous cry. Swords pointed forward, they took off at blinding speeds in opposite directions, circling Rainbow. The confused weathermare, armed crossbow in hooves, watched as they gained speed with every circle they described. She didn't want to shoot. Not yet.

Their intentions suddenly became clear when they became but a blur to her eyes. The wind had died, and with it, every other sound. Such was their speed that even some of the storm clouds from the shaft below were being sucked into the room, creating a twirling barrier of clouds around her.

They're trying to create a tornado! she realized with a startle. She couldn't see them anymore. Against her better judgment, she attempted to cross the tornado. The winds proved to be unrelenting, however, leaving Rainbow to almost be sucked into the vortex. At the expense of a lot of energy, she managed to pull out just before she could be dominated.

The walls were closing in. She had to act before they could reach her, lest her body be twisted like a rag-doll. Her mane whipped wildly against her neck, as if to warn her of the impending danger. The suit was the only thing between her and the bolts of lightning that shot out of the whirlwind's walls. She had to be grateful that Spitfire--

The suit!

The arrow barely got through Spitfire's suit back there... Her hoof twitched towards the trigger. As much as she didn't want to hurt them, she couldn't let them hurt her. Her pride wouldn't allow it either.

She looked up from the crossbow, eyes scanning the insides of the windstorm in a desperate search for the pegasi. If she could strike one, as she knew from experience, the whole thing would collapse on itself.

It was without a moment of hesitation that she fired upon sighting one of the Wonderbolts. The arrow flew quick and true, and surely enough, a piercing scream of pain was heard. The wind died down at once, shrouding the shaft in the darkness of the storm clouds.

Darkness was not all they brought. From the depths of the shaft below came a flock of winged monsters. Rainbow cursed her lack of foresight. She should have exterminated them when she had the chance.

"Ah! The Shadowbolt reveals her strategy!" Fleetfoot's distinctively female voice barked from within the veil of clouds. "Coward! You need these petty creatures to protect you from us?"

"They're not on my side!"

Fleetfoot ignored her completely. "Rapid, get the Equimos! I've got these guys!"

The Equimos...

'You need to get to Soarin' and the others and tell them to shut the Equimos down before it's too late.'

Rainbow's eyes went wide. There was a flash that was uncanny for a thunderbolt, and just seconds later, a beam of energy scraped the tip of her right wing, leaving a scorched mark in the place of a feather. She had to take it down. Now.

She didn't have to search for the machines. Their glittering crystal eyes guided her to them, as well as her arrows. She had to remember to thank Derpy for collecting the bunch.

With her signature speed by her side, she made quick work of most of the Equimos. Her only concern rested on the ones that Rapidfire was commanding. Sat atop their heads, one by one, he controlled the mechanical unicorns with a deadly precision. Rainbow was somewhat relieved to know that they hadn't been corrupted.

She was quickly proven wrong. The first clue was Rapidfire's increasingly bad shots, and the other clues were the demands he mouthed at the machines so they could work properly.

"Fleetfoot! These damn things aren't doing what I tell them to!"

"This has something to do with you, doesn't it, Rainbow?"

"I told you already! I have nothing to do with--"

"F-Fleetfoot!"

"Then how do you explain all of this?!"

"I'm just trying to tell you to stop the Equimos! Spitfire tried to stop them and couldn't!"

"Fleetfoot!"

The cry this time was so desperate that even Rainbow felt compelled to shout, "Fleetfoot, get outta the way!"

"Wha--" the mare gasped, turning around just before being blasted in the chest by a beam. Rapidfire looked on, speechless, as Rainbow, led by the sound of Fleetfoot's pained cries, set to rescuing the mare. She heeded no attention to the shrill noises of the bat-like monsters that stood in her way, swatting them aside as though they were flies on her goggles.

She finally spotted the pony she had been looking for - and saw, to her dread, that she hadn't been the only one. Flying and climbing the walls under the cover of the thunderclouds, a horde of Stalgriffin had made its way to the shaft. They eyed Fleetfoot like a hungry manticore watches a tasty meal, and crawled towards her with just as much ferocity. The wounded mare was writhing in pain, unaware of the danger that lurked nearby.

The shaft felt impossibly deep as Rainbow sped towards the bottom. She had to get there on time, just like she had when she saved her friend - and the Wonderbolts. She just had to repeat that endeavor.

When Fleetfoot was finally able to focus, she screamed. Rainbow felt her eyes well up in tears as the realization that she wouldn't get there on time sunk in. Still she kept going. She did it even as Fleetfoot saw her and tried to cry for help, as though it would bring Rainbow closer.

Rainbow only stopped at the very end, where she could no longer get through the horde of enemies in her way. Rapidfire's wails resonated throughout the tower. Although it broke Rainbow's heart to hear it, she had to be happy that he was still there.

Rapidfire knew just how to ruin her happiness. He didn't stand still. He dove right after his wingmate, lost in cries and tears. Rainbow dashed after him, managing to save at least one of the pair of Wonderbolt ponies by steadily biting down on his tail.

"Hold on!" Rainbow called out to him. He wasn't as strong as she had expected, but keeping him in place proved difficult for her. "They're gonna kill you if you--"

"Let me go, you damned Shadowbolt!"

She didn't. Rainbow's grip strengthened. "You want to die? Is that what you want?" If Rapidfire replied, Rainbow didn't hear it. From the shadows of the shaft below came the gaping skeleton of a griffon, and Rainbow wasted no time in assuring her - and Rapidfire's - safety  by driving a bolt through the monster's skull. The skeleton fell apart, and its bones returned to the darkness it had come from.

"Now do you believe me?" Rainbow practically shouted in Rapidfire's face. "I'm not trying to get you guys killed! If you don't let me through, then the real bad guys are gonna show up!

"Do you want that, Rapidfire?"

The stallion was not yet convinced. For a moment, Rainbow actually thought he would take the chance of catching her off-guard and finish her there and then.

He didn't. He just shook his head sadly. The unavoidable truth was that she was right; he wanted no such thing to happen. If suspension of disbelief was what he needed to make sure it didn't... then he would give it a try. She had saved his life after all.

Rainbow almost sighed, holding it in at the last possible moment. She couldn't show hesitation. "Where's the switch?"

"Hurricane's quarters," Rapidfire answered half-heartedly. Rainbow was headed up when the sound of his voice held her back. "But you'll need both of our swords!"

Brain on autopilot, she quickly processed that information. No further instructions were needed: she would have to fly down and get the sword herself.

"Damn it!"

That was all she was allowed to say before the darkness enveloped her and the roars of the wind drowned her voice. The lower shaft was much darker than she remembered; the absence of storm clouds to light the way was definitely throwing her off, as was the inexistence of monsters to hinder her progress. Not like I can complain, though… The longer they’re off me, the better.

The most disturbing part about this pitch-blackness, however, was the absence of a cry of any sort. Rainbow gulped, praying to the gods that the worst hadn't come to pass. She held the crossbow as steadily as her shaky hooves allowed.

"Fleetfoot!” she tried to call. There was no answer. “Fleetfoot, please… are you there?”

The feeling of setting foot on the bottom of the shaft sent shivers through the pegasus’s body. The first thing she stepped on was a bone, which broke in half with the lightest of pressures. Around her was a whole collection of those, with the skulls trespassed by an arrow or just too mangled to be identifiable. Rainbow treaded cautiously here, as though any false step would awaken the skeletons again.

The darkness only allowed her to see so much of the shaft. She was almost blind, relying on the sound of her steps to guide herself. Her blood ran cold when her hooves touched something that was far softer than a bone, sending her mind in a race for all possibilities. Another step told her she was stepping on a puddle. She had to summon all of her strength to keep herself from throwing up. Unless the monsters had captured some other pony, then she had found what she had been looking for.

"Fleetfoot?" she quietly called, giving the object a light shake. She sought for the chest in hopes of finding a heartbeat. Nothing.

I’m too late, she thought, incapable of articulating the words to say it out loud. I couldn’t save her. She’s… she’s gone.

Her only wish now was that the mare was still whole. The thought of the skeletal monsters performing such cannibalistic deeds was indescribably scary.

“I’m sorry…” Rainbow spoke, her voice small. The condition of Fleetfoot’s remains suddenly became unimportant to her. She just wrapped her forehooves around the lifeless body, because she owed the former Wonderbolt that much. It still felt warm. Against the bitter cold wind, the body of the former Wonderbolt somehow retained its warmth.

"Rest in peace..." she whispered to the corpse as she lowered it to the ground.

Peace was not something Rainbow was about to have. Her name reverberated across the shaft despite the wind's power, and the way it had been uttered left no space for doubt: Rapidfire was in trouble.

She found Fleetfoot's sword relatively close to the corpse, fortunately. After one last apology to the mare, Rainbow took off at lightning speed.

The perpetual darkness of the shaft gave way to the intermittent light of the thunderstorm above. Even though her ears were being blasted by the crack of thunder, the shaft felt disturbingly silent. The Equimos were not attacking, and the Stalgriffin were nowhere to be seen.

"Rapidfire?"

Rainbow's mind began to piece everything together. She had been called, and the Equimos weren't attacking. They had likely gotten what they had wanted.

"Rapidfire!" she tried to call louder. "Come on, man! Can you hear me?"

Something answered, and that something made Rainbow shudder. It was no living being's voice. A succession of flashes from within the clouds prevented her from seeing anything, but one thing was for certain: as soon as the first flash was gone, another one, purple in color, came to take its place. She assumed that the sharp pain in her side had been caused by the beam of an Equimos.

When she hit the floor and something fell on top of her like deadweight, she realized that she was far from the truth. Sword and crossbow alike flew off to parts unknown, leaving her to deal with this creature with her own hooves. She quickly tossed it aside, ready to pull out an arrow bolt from her quiver and impale the monster.

"Alright ya big lug, time to get ya--" Her best line to finish this enemy off was ready, but was never delivered. She was about to attack a pony, and stopped just in time to injure it even further. "Rapidfire?"

She swung her head up. "You buckin' machi--!" The Equimos promptly interrupted her with an energy beam. That was the last drop for Rainbow.

No words were exchanged in her rendezvous with the machine. Not that there had been time either, as Rainbow, true to her skills, was up and in front of her assailant before even she could bat an eyelid.

"This one's for Fleetfoot!" she yelled at the unicorn head as though it could hear her. She stabbed the first bolt into the crystal eye, then raised another hoof holding another bolt. "And this one's for Rapidfire!"

She had no fear for her life, not even when the Equimos's horn lit up to charge another shot. Rainbow's hoof was faster in delivering the finishing blow. It was blind rage, the one that burned behind her eyes, and the Equimos had just been the receiver of her revenge. Deprived of its power source, the machine billowed a puff of smoke, then slowly descended to inactivity.

With the last of her foes down, she made haste in returning to Rapidfire's side. He was breathing irregular, and she didn't dare looking over his wing to check the wound; the smell of charred fur told her everything she needed to know. If it had knocked Fleetfoot out of the air, it should have incapacitated her wingmate completely.

Yet he lived. Within an inch of his life, but he lived.

"R-Rainbow..." he coughed out, tugging lightly at her hoof. "Where's... did you get..."

"I-I did. I-It's somewhere over there, but I did."

No crying, Rainbow. No. Crying.

She held his hoof up. "Why? Why didn't you just let me--"

"Because... W-Wonderbolts gotta look out f-for each other, right?"

Rainbow spaced out. Did he just...?

"You were right. We... should have trusted you. When you destroyed the Equimos, stopped me from going down there... you were right. Spitfire is okay too... isn't she?" Rainbow nodded meekly. "Then keep her safe... please."

"I-I'll..." Her tongue ran faster than her mind. The answer just rolled off before she even fully understood the question. "I-I'll do it! I won't let you down!"

"Heh heh..." he laughed knowingly before bursting into a fit of coughs. The pegasus took a deep, ragged inhale. Raising a trembling hoof to caress Rainbow's cheek, he smiled and whispered through wheezes, "Take my goggles. Should help you out with the Equimos... but Rainbow?

"G-Go easy on... on Soarin'."

The petrified Rainbow only touched the hoof with one of her own. Considering his last task successfully accomplished, Rapidfire closed his eyes. He would join his wing-mate soon, he thought, and despite the implications, that brought a smile to his lips. His heritage - the Wonderbolts' heritage - was in good hooves.

The last of his breath left his lungs, and the hoof fell limply against Rainbow's. Another pony of the Wonderbolts lay lifeless in her arms. As gently as she could, Rainbow unstrapped the goggles from the pegasus's head and put them on. They looked no different, but just knowing who their original owner had been sent chills down her spine.

Who the original owner had been. Who it wasn't anymore.

Rainbow sat just as motionless for a moment. She needed to gather her thoughts. She wouldn't cry. With all the care in the world, she rested the deceased Wonderbolt's body on the ground. She heaved, but she didn't break a tear.

She could have said so many things, apologized so many times and hoped for forgiveness. It should have been her, she kept screaming inwardly. Even as she stood and prepared to fly up to Commander Hurricane's quarters, the feeling of failure lingered. She landed on the balcony with a soft thud, then made her way into the chamber.

A blood-red crystal ball, sat upon a pale plumitite pedestal, occupied the center of the room. The way its core grew and contracted the way a heart would felt like it called for her.

Fleetfoot's sword was the first to pierce the object. Rapidfire's followed, and the ball grew brighter. The weathermare briefly expected it to explode, even going as far as inching away very slightly, but the orb did no such thing.

Instead, a voice was heard.

"Rapidfire, Fleetfoot, come in."

Soarin'.

"The Equimos in the main storm shaft just went down. What is going on in there? I repeat, what in Tartarus is going on down there?"

"Soarin'! Listen to me! Spitfire's down there and--"

"Rainbow Dash." Somehow, Rainbow didn't like the way her name had been pronounced. She sensed such a mixture of shock and fright. The brief silence on the other end was punctuated with a defeated sigh. "Of course. How could I have been so blind?"

Rainbow gulped. "W-What do you mean?"

"I never thought that you were the traitor. The one who would ultimately corrupt and destroy the Wonderbolts, just like the Shadowbolts of legend." "Spitfire was right about keeping you away from us. I see it now. You would have brought upon our ruin."

"What?" Rainbow gasped, incredulous. She was supposed to be kept... out?

But Spitfire never said... I... The weathermare shook her head vigorously. Focus! There won't be any Wonderbolts if you don't do this!

"No! Soarin'! You don't understand! Spitfire's--"

"DON'T. SAY. HER NAME! Curse you! C-Curse you to Tartarus!" From the crystal ball came a choked hiccup, something Rainbow could barely believe. He was crying. Soarin' had actually been reduced to tears. "If it wasn't for you, Spitfire would still be here! Fleetfoot and Rapidfire would still be alive!"

"N-No... No!" Rainbow pounded the pedestal with a hoof repeatedly, causing the ball to waver. "That's not true! You have to listen!"

"Stop telling lies, Rainbow Dash, and face yourself! Admit what you really are, you accursed Sheikah! If you are even HALF the pegasus you claim to be, then you'll allow me to redeem your punishment for your deeds!

"I await at the top of the tower. May the gods have the mercy I will not have."

"No! Soarin'! Wait! Don't--" She attempted to reach for the ball, but in her haste, tackled the pedestal to the ground. The fragile sphere shattered irreparably once it crashed, scattering millions of fragments all around. Rainbow, fallen to the ground in just as messy a way, gazed upon the thin veil of smoke that billowed from the broken remains. Her mind had just caught up to reality.

She had been challenged by one of her greatest idols. Soarin', Spitfire's wingpony, had just dared her to face him. Rainbow Dash, never one to turn down a challenge, found herself at a crossroads. She was well aware of what reaching the top of the tower meant. No matter what, only one pegasus would come out of there alive.

"I have to reason with him... I... I can't--" A shiver shook her being. To kill her idol would mean to kill her dream - forever. Spitfire would never forgive her. If news got out that she'd murdered the Wonderbolts - which she hadn't - then her life as she knew it would be over. She would never be able to show her face anywhere again.

These were desperate times, however. She had more than just Spitfire's trust on the line; Dinky herself could be in danger. Nothing was there to assure her that Soarin' hadn't succumbed to the corruptive power of that shady mist.

Spitfire asked that I met him. Derpy is counting on me to get her filly back.

The weathermare shakily rose to her hooves again. The ball's remains had been exhausted of their contents, much like her time for waiting had ended. She had been tasked with an important mission, and she would fulfill it, no matter the cost.

She lowered the flight goggles to her face with a single, confident gesture. Who knew? Maybe Soarin' could still be saved. She'd do anything in her power to achieve that goal.

The entrance to the Commander's quarters was her next destination. She completely ignored the shards on the ground, allowing them to be shattered further under hoof with several loud cracks. She had other concerns now. Crossbow in hoof, she took off skyward, straight into the thundercloud.

If her sense of direction was to be trusted, then there was nary a stop on the way to the top. There were plenty of beasts to keep her entertained on the way, though. She made quick work of them. After fighting the Wonderbolt siblings, anything short of a Wonderbolt leader would not present a challenge.

Some of the words she had heard were still bothering her. Even as she zoomed past bolts of lightning and hordes of electrified bats, being called a Shadowbolt had her undivided attention.

More than that, she had been called a Sheikah twice. The name was not even remotely familiar to her, much unlike the fiendish Shadowbolts. Even if she knew them, how could the color of her eyes be an indication of her heritage?

"That's stupid," she commented to herself. Her words were swallowed whole by the booming of the storm around. "I'm gonna find Soarin' and clear this up once and for all!"

The top of the tower was already in her sights, a little trapdoor on the ceiling, just like before. Rainbow struggled to create stronger beats of her wings, shooting her upwards like an arrow. She held on tighter to the crossbow in her forelegs, bracing for impact.

The wooden cover didn't stand a chance. Her body had been made too resilient by the weathermare's stunts and crashes to even leave a bruise. Her arrival and descent was welcomed with a shower of wooden splinters and dust.

She had planned to catch Soarin' by surprise, maybe even threaten to shoot so as to avoid further scuffle and deaths. It was with relative relief that she realized that there was no pegasus in sight.

There were also Equimos. Those lay in a pile across the room, knocked over with their crystal eyes missing. The ground was uneven and tarnished with big, deep hoofprints. Soarin' had definitely fought them.

That was one less concern for her. Provided they didn't suddenly rise from the dead - if that was even possible for a machine - then she was actually glad.

The ceiling of this last chamber of the tower was much lower than others, and just like before, riddled with cages that hung loosely from a chain. From the missing patch of roof she deduced that something had crashed into the room. There was no furniture here. Only more cages, more bones, and more abandoned weapons.

"Soarin'!" she called. The echo of her voice answered her. She insisted; the Wonderbolt had to be in there somewhere. "Show yourself! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Hush, kid!"

An infant's voice had called her name while an older, male voice had silenced it, bringing forth the realization that she had forgotten an important task in favor of finding Soarin'. She had yet to find Dinky.

Rainbow whipped her head left and right in search of the filly. Amidst the cages, the pile of derelict robots, in the shadows... but she found nothing.

They were outside. They had to. She shot like an arrow through the hole in the ceiling. The gales of the skies where no pegasus dared go were there to greet her. Rainbow just shrugged the wind off as a minor inconvenience, as she had found what she had been searching for.

And there was Dinky, trapped inside a cage - asleep. Soarin' was just a few steps ahead, glaring daggers at her. A sword rested in the sheathe that dangled by his side.

"Dinky!" The filly didn't as much as twitch. Rainbow faced the stallion and flared her nostrils like an enraged bull. Surprisingly, Soarin' hesitated. "What have you done to her?!"

"She's just asleep! Keeping herself from falling into the Shadowbolts' hooves was too tiring for her."

Rainbow wasn't convinced, and flared her wings to prove it. "If you did anything to her--"

"Tsc! Like you're actually concerned!" He left the ground, hoping to appear more intimidating. "But enough of that! I was starting to think you'd never come. At least you still have some honor, Shadowbolt."

"I am NOT a Shadowbolt, Soarin'."

"Keep your lies to yourself. You killed ponies, and on top of that, you betrayed us. That's something a Shadowbolt like yourself would do. Do you remember your dream, Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow's expression went black for a moment. Just the reaction Soarin' had expected. "Yes, Rainbow. We all knew. We spent days and nights debating on what good you would do for the Wonderbolts.

"You had talent. You were the best flyer I - any of us - had ever seen. What became of that dream, Rainbow Dash?" Because he was not facing her, Rainbow wasn't sure if the tinge of sadness that had slipped into his words had been genuine or not. He was fixated on the turbulent storms that surrounded the top of the tower. "Was it because you couldn't join? Were you greedy to the point where if you couldn't have it, nopony else could?"

Rainbow offered silence in return, facing the floor. Slowly but surely, the real pony under that uniform unveiled itself to the weathermare. Was she seen as that shallow a pony by the Wonderbolts?

"Answer me, Rainbow Dash!"

No. He's just saying that. He doesn't mean it like that.

"That's a load of horse-apples and you know it."

"Of course you deny it. You don't want to face the facts even though they're right in front of you." Her idol drew his sword. "I'm gonna make sure you see them."

Rainbow had no chance to object this time. Soarin' flew straight at her, aptly swinging the blade just inches from touching her. As she ducked to avoid losing her head, she could feel his accelerated breath on her mane. He had been waiting for this. It was his chance to just let loose all of his rage.

She had been outnumbered when fighting Fleetfoot and Rapidfire, but Soarin' had far greater dexterity with the weapon. Each swing was fast and potentially deadly. Rainbow still had speed: Soarin' was bulkier than her.

She took as much advantage of that as she could. She took a shot at head-butting him in the chest, a plan that would have worked had Soarin' not seen it coming. Rainbow's vision blurred with tears as she jumped right past him and was punished with a slash on the back. Her landing was awkward, what with her chin absorbing most of the impact with the ground. She didn't remember clouds being this rough.

"Really? This is all Nightmare Moon taught you?" he snickered. "How to flail yourselves and faceplant."

The mare, lost in her own world of pain, didn't register his words. Every time she tried to rise to her hooves, her progress was hindered by an acute sting in her back. In her own, blurry way of seeing the world, she saw the crossbow just steps away from her.

"Remember that time when we shared a dance?" She heard him this time. Her eyes went gone wide. She was no surprised at what he had said - she was scared to death because he was right behind her. "It was at the wedding of the captain of the guard and the Princess's niece. Aah... if only I had known what a lie you were."

Her makeshift quiver was still in place, and she still felt her wings and hooves. Soarin's aim was not as good as she thought it was.

"Unthinkable, really. The Element of Loyalty is the backstabber." The thin steel of the blade touching her back acted like an incentive for her to act. "Have a taste of your own medicine."

The screams of the two pegasi merged with the wind. The small time that Soarin' took to gain momentum before attempting to drive the sword into her back allowed Rainbow to roll out of harm's way and retrieve a weapon of her own from the quiver. She swung the hoof holding it at the stallion, hoping to strike a hoof or a wing.

She got neither. She let Soarin' stumble away with an arrow bolt stuck in his left leg before attempting to get up herself. The crossbow was in her sights, and Soarin' couldn't stop her.

"You damn Shadowbolt," he cursed as he tried to remove the bolt. "You're gonna pay."

"We don't have to do this!"

Soarin's response was a prolonged snarl. He bit down on the visible end of the bolt and pulled it out without a second thought. Rainbow winced; he really was out to get her.

"I'm starting to get tired of you."

The opportunity to talk was once again removed with Soarin's attempt at charging at her. Rainbow was prepared this time, taking off into the air as soon as he was close at the cost of suffering from the wound on her back. She had the crossbow, but did she want to use it?

She let Soarin' answer that question. The second effort he made to get her was enough proof that she had no choice - it was her, or him.

Her first shot may as well have been blind for the result would have been the same. Soarin' flew out of the way long before the arrow was even close to him, and almost managed to land a hit on the mare. Rainbow tried to convince herself that the bolt stuck in his leg had saved her.

She had to take proper aim. She didn't want to kill anypony - just disable him for enough time to make a point. There were no Stalgriffin or Equimos to harm them this time.

That's when she thought of baiting him. Dragging him to a sufficiently high altitude and surprise him. There were many things that could go wrong with her plan; Rainbow ignored all of them.

The stronger winds were the first thing that went wrong. Just entering such great heights caused her to lose her balance for a moment. Soarin' had likely assumed she was escaping.

That was the second thing she oversaw. Up there, where his bulk was an advantage, Soarin' was headed straight at her.

Ever the improviser, however, Rainbow quickly took advantage of the situation. He was coming in at great speeds. Hitting him was unlikely. She would count herself lucky for years to come if that one shot was successful.

She dodged him by allowing the wind to carry her, then turned quickly in the air and took aim with the crossbow.

"Oh no."

Jackpot.

The shot was as precise as Rainbow had hoped. Soarin' unleashed a piercing scream. Heart aching with sorrow, Rainbow watched the Wonderbolt attempt to clutch at his wing as he spiraled downwards. She had done it.

The landing was rough on him. Unable to get up or use his wings, Soarin' still tried to crawl towards the sword, but Rainbow got to it first. The stallion, finding himself defenseless, pounded the cloud with a hoof and buried his face in the floor.

As Rainbow walked closer, she contemplated all of the possible outcomes. A single strike to the heart and it would all be over. That was all it would take to finish the pegasus. It would release Dinky and end the Wonderbolts, her idol, her dream.

Her dream.

Taking care not to injure the stallion any further, Rainbow rolled Soarin' until he was lying on his back. She needed to see his face for this. Despite lacking a weapon, Soarin' still struggled against her grip.

"Go on, Rainbow. Do it! Kill me like you killed everypony else! Stain that uniform with t-the blood of its rightful owner's l-lover...!"

Lover? Rainbow suddenly regretted her lack of tact. She should have started with that: assuring Soarin' about Spitfire's safety.

"Would you just listen to me?! Spitfire's not dead! She's hurt, but she's safe and waiting for us downstairs!"

"Lies! All of them! You killed Fleetfloot! Rapidfire!"

Or perhaps not.

"They died to save me!!" Rainbow couldn't help the cracks in her voice as she thumped the stallion's tearstained chest. "Don't you get it?! I didn't kill anypony!"

"SOARIN'!"

"...Spitfire?" Soarin' echoed, glancing past Rainbow. A yellow blur was rocketing down towards him. He pushed Rainbow aside and took to the air as fast as he could muster, catching up with Spitfire long before she could hit the cloud. His injured wing did him no favors, though, and soon after they were plummeting back to the clouds.

Soarin' ignored it with an almost tearful laugh. "You're... you're alive! You're alive! I-I--"

A yellow-furred hoof sealed his mouth shut. It kept his words inside, but couldn't keep a bright smile away from his face. Spitfire returned the gesture and pushed him closer and closer, until the tip of their muzzles met. "It'll take a better war to kill a mare like me."

"Guess I should've trusted you, then."

Spitfire giggled softly, her hoof tracing a small cut on her fellow Wonderbolt's suit. "Yes. Yes, you should have."

Despite herself, Rainbow smiled at the scene. The two Wonderbolts, injured, roughed up and oblivious to the cold and to everyone else, threw caution to the wind and locked lips with each other. Derpy and Dinky, both of whom had arrived shortly after Spitfire, observed them with a certain glint in their eyes, with the pegasus's hooves laced around the filly so that she could be close to her chest. She was sure that the only reason for the young unicorn to be squirming slightly was the way Derpy's grip tightened.

Unlike all of them, Rainbow had nopony to share some warmth with. The realization weighed especially heavy on her mind with the passage of a bone-chilling breeze that shook her being. Detaining a frown had never felt so complicated for the weathermare. Not even the suit she wore could protect her from emotional gales.

Yet the actual wind carried more than just cold air with it. It carried cheers, laughter and the sound of clapping. For a brief moment, Rainbow thought that the rest of the Wonderbolts had miraculously returned to help their leader. Her concerns waned enough to replace her frown with a curt smile. There was hope.

But fate had never been generous to her. When she turned around, ready to greet a flock of uniformed pegasi, only the threatening visage of a storm cloud was there for her to see. Rainbow had seen plenty of clouds in her life, vaporous masses of all shapes, sizes and tones of whiteness. None of them could compare itself to the gargantuan draconequus head that was etched upon the cloud with the precision of a professional craftspony.

"Bravo! Bravo, I say!" it finally spoke. Its jaws didn't move, but its eyes traced every flap of her wings. There was no need for introductions, not even for the mailmare. This was Discord they were seeing and hearing, through and through. "Just as I was about to give up making my way up that temple, Rainbow Dash, of all ponies, lures them out! I owe you an apology, Rainbow. I clearly never understood how awesome you really are!"

Rainbow didn't waste time arguing. The wide-eyed ponies behind her tore their attention away from the sculpture when the weathermare turned around, wings flared by her sides. "Soarin', get Spitfire and Derpy out of here!"

"We're not leaving you here alone, Rainbow!" Spitfire's words were punctuated by an almost otherworldly neigh. Everyone was staring at her, but saw her mouth closed.

The Discord cloud cackled curtly, then became frighteningly serious. "No, you're not."

Although Rainbow knew such a thing wasn't possible, she felt the cloud's eyes target her. She didn't stop. She couldn't; the powers of the Windigos were legendary, and she didn't want to find to what extent legends could become true. "She is."

"I ain't going anywhere, Discord!"

"Trust me, Rainbow Dash. I know what I'm saying. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe you have something to give me that is long overdue. Oh, that's right, you can't move. I'll just collect it myself."

A snap of his fingers - no matter if such was even possible with a cloud - and the young unicorn vanished from Derpy's embrace, leaving behind a cloud statuette with the exact same shape. The mailmare, mouth agape, squeezed the statue, hoping to find her child inside. Her world crumbled with the statue. "M-Muffin?"

"What did you do to her, Discord?!"

"Now now, let's not get hasty. She is in a much better place than this, you see."

Oh, if only she could punch clouds, Rainbow thought. "Give her back! She's just a filly!"

"Oh, stop being a worrywart. I'll take good care of the precious little child."

Rainbow's voice grew louder with every word. "I told you to give. Her. Back!!"

"Ah-ah-ah. I wouldn't do that if I was you." Discord gave a twirl with his eagle finger and pointed at what was behind Rainbow's back. "I wonder if frozen pegasi can still stand on clouds."

"What--" N-No! It can't be! "Spitfire! Soarin'! Derpy!!"

She cursed herself for forgetting about them. It was too late now. The Windigos already circled them like a pack of hungry wolves. She could feel the chilling effect of their spell bite at her bones, even though she was so far away from the monsters. She could only imagine what the three pegasi in the middle of them were going through.

"Get away from here, Dash!" she heard Spitfire shout. "We'll keep him busy!"

"Hm, no, you won't," Discord spoke nonchalantly. "But yes, please be on your way, Rainbow Dash. Just remember to look back."

"Don't listen to him! Just get outta here!" Spitfire insisted, desperately waving her hoof every time a Windigo dared approach.

Rainbow was not convinced yet. The play back in Canterlot had taught her that a mystical fire could repel these creatures. Was the Wonderbolts' love not enough to generate that flame?

"But--"

"GO!"

In the end, it was the Windigos that made the decision for her. As she turned away and the legendary beasts performed their duties, even the tears that leaked from her eyes became solid globes of ice. A race had started between her and the wave of cold that the Windigos had created.

She knew she could turn up as the winner, for nothing could ever out-speed her signature skill. Only this time, there was no prize for winning. Any prizes she could collect had already been collected. Of the Wonderbolts she would only keep a sword, a suit and a pair of goggles. Her hooves cradled the last belongings of the legendary pegasi.

She'd been told to go away, to fly off. The winter spell was catching up to her, and for the first time, she considered the benefits of letting herself get caught by it. Her dreams had been destroyed by her own hooves. There was nowhere else to go, nothing else to aim for. She got what she dreamed of... and now she had no use for it. No beacon to guide her way through life.

Or at least not a figurative one, for upon looking ahead, she could see a shining column of light shooting from the ground. It was a pure shade of white, a color that did wonders in soothing the pegasus's wounded mind. It was a beacon not unlike the one that had brought all of her friends, the Elements of Harmony, together.

It was a sign, and it told her that it wasn't the end. All of a sudden, she was reminded of what she had left in Ponyville: her friends, her family, they were all waiting for her help. There was much to do, and little time to do it. In her hooves she held not the remains but the strengths of the Wonderbolts. The endurance of Spitfire, the raw power of Soarin', and the dexterity of Fleetfoot and Rapidfire. She was the Wonderbolts.

And she had her orders. She had her orders to fly. To fly in search of those who needed her help, just like a Wonderbolt would.

And she flew.

Celestia be damned, she flew.

A light sleeper by nature, Fluttershy awoke to the first sign of movement. It was underneath one of her wings, which surprised her somewhat. She had preened recently, and no animal had followed her to...

Wait. She wasn't in Ponyville. The memories of the recent past washed upon her with the devastation of a tidal wave. Living in a tree didn't make her any more familiar with the scent of wood, and especially not with the particularly intense one she felt in the comfort of the captain's room. It felt almost primeval.

So if she wasn't in Ponyville, and no animals had followed her, then who - or what - was under her wing?

The discovery drew a gasp from the mare - and the tiniest of blushes as well. She didn't remember falling asleep, let alone draping her wing over the Hylian-turned-pony that slept soundly by her side.

He was in a much better condition, she noted as she folded her wing back. There were no scratches or bruises of any sort. Maybe Nurse Redheart had come in without her realizing it to tend to his wounds.

She had only done so much for his physical injuries, though. Fluttershy watched his brow furrow in his sleep with a frown of her own. The Poison Joke's curse was still taking its toll on him. If her experience with animals had taught her anything, it was that they always slept better in the company of someone. The same was probably true for little ponies. With that in mind, she drew her head closer and gently nudged his cheek with her snout.

When Link's eyes snapped open at the gesture, Fluttershy practically jumped away like a frightened cat, chugging out apologies. He just watched, confused and still half-asleep, as the pegasus tried to catch her breath again.

"Huh... hey," he spoke in hopes of striking a conversation. "Oh... right. You don't understand me."

The mare suddenly stopped hyperventilating to behold him with a shocked expression. It only took Link a moment to understand why. "Y-You understood me?"

"I did! I-I heard you!"

"But... how? Is Olivia here? Is she..." In his excitement, he rose to his feet. At first, he disregarded the fact that he was no longer able to look her in the eye. Stranger even was the fact that he heard more than a pair of steps as he walked, and even so, he heard clops. A certain feeling of lightheadedness attacked his senses as he began to realize the reason for this. In a land of mystical ponies where magic ran wild and the world always seemed to conspire against him, imagining what had happened was simple.

He'd been reduced to a pony, and all he could say about it was gibberish.

Fluttershy was there to offer her shoulder more than just metaphorically, as the colt's dizziness had become so unbearable that he could no longer stand.

"It's okay... it's okay..."

The pegasus wasn't sure if he was about to cry or simply faint. He was completely immobile there, underneath her wing. She had thought of him as threatening before. Now he seemed as defenseless as many of the critters she took care of.

"T-There's a cure..." she whispered. "This pon-zebra, Zecora, in Ponyville, can help you."

"If she's alive..."

Fluttershy's brow furrowed in contemplation.

"I'm sure she is. She knows her way around the forest."

"You don't know those things..." he readily replied. "The ReDeads... the Stalf-ponies... they don't care who you are or what you know. You're just food."

"That sounds a lot like the Everfree Forest."

Link looked out her strangely. The reply was almost too relaxed to have been uttered by this pony.

"Fluttershy?" he asked after a short silence.

"Hm?"

"What's a zebra?"

They say that Loyalty will not be corrupted.

They say that concern always gets the best of anyone, regardless of their species. It is such a powerful feeling that it becomes a force to reckoned, be it in the short or in the long run. The weary Ponyvillians that arrived at Fort Vanhoover had already witnessed just how strongly one could be affected by worry over a loved one's welfare. No matter how strong their spirit, they crumbled beneath its overwhelming power. No matter how many barriers she put up or how many masks she wore to hide her true feelings, the patience of a certain unicorn mare had already begun to grow thin.

The musty scent of the fort's cabins assaulted Rarity's nostrils with a feeling that was just as unpleasant. The air was heavy with moist wood and sweat, as was to be expected from a room as confined as this. Just being there was repulsive for the otherwise picky mare. Not that she had the right to complain, as she very well knew. A look back revealed that she was just as bad for the wear as any of the ponies that lay on the dirty sheets of the beds of the medical ward. She had to be glad that the fort even owned an infirmary. Regardless of their conditions, Redheart had, no doubt, been a welcome addition to the medical staff.

Out of all those ponies, only one mattered to her at that moment. The object of her interest was lying on one of the few beds that the nurses had had to spare following their sudden arrival. Lyra.

The fashionista had never been more satisfied with enrolling Sweetie Belle in her lessons. It meant that the mint-green unicorn would likely know of her sister's whereabouts. Because unlike certain ponies, she thought with a frown, Rarity was confident about her sister's welfare.

A little leather bag dangled over Rarity's chest as she took careful steps around the beds. Pinkie had given it to her shortly after arriving. She could feel the Gossip Stone within rocking with her every step.

The things it said were still an utter mystery to the mare. They were detached words with no sense to them, loose phrases with no particular thematic to bind them together. Their lack of sense was not an issue for Rarity. She remembered each and every one of them so well that she could recite them if she was asked to do so. She was also aware that claiming that a stone was imbuing thoughts into her mind would grant her a prolonged stay at Ponyville's psychiatry, had it survived the attack of the Stalponies.

Attempting to shun the stone's presence away from her mind caused her to become suddenly aware of her surroundings again. She hastened her pace to reach Lyra's bedside. Redheart met her halfway, carrying a little notepad in her mouth. A visual once-over of the visitor later, the nurse from Ponyville set the papers down and nudged the fashionista's shoulder.

"You don't seem to be hurt. Why are you here?" she chided in a whisper. Rarity cringed momentarily at the lack of subtlety, which she deemed as unnecessary until the piercing cry of a patient tore her gaze away from Redheart's muzzle. The nurse wasn't having any of it though, and pivoted the other mare's face with a hoof. Her tone was not as harsh when she spoke this time, "Please, Rarity, if there is nothing I can do for you, then I must ask you to leave."

"I am simply here to see Lyra Heartstrings," the fashionista answered as brusquely as she'd been welcomed, jerking a hoof towards the sleeping unicorn. Redheart didn't argue. A gesture of the head later, the two mares were walking again, side by side. "How is she?"

"She sleeps still."

"Would it be possible to wake her?" Rarity quickly asked. Redheart wrinkled her nose.

"Possible, but not advisable."

"Then do it, please. There is a matter of extreme importance that I must discuss with her."

"I can't do that. She needs to rest."

"You can, and you will do it."

"I think I wasn't clear enough." Redheart's tone grew stricter. "I will not wake a patient up. Especially not when they are in dire need of proper rest."

"I'm sure Miss Heartstrings would much rather have a simple nausea than allow a filly to roam the Everfree Forest on her own account." She was raising her voice, but the discussion at hoof kept her from realizing it. How dare this simple nurse? Lives were at stake. "Do you accept the responsibility should a disaster come to pass?"

They say that one of the Founding Mares of Equestria spoke the language of the stones.

"I’m very sure that whatever Miss Heartstrings may have to tell you will do nothing but give you peace of mind.” Rarity was almost grinding her teeth. As if the nurse’s gibberish wasn’t enough, the Gossip Stone had decided to speak up again. “Unfortunately, I would rather have you be troubled for a little longer than to have Miss Heartstring’s condition worsen. So, if you would please leave--”

“I will not leave this spot until I get what I came here for.”

“Then I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

“Why, I should—”

"Rarity!" Both mares turned at the call of the name. A pale green fairy was headed their way at a fast pace. Saved by the bell, the fashionista thought. "Twilight wants to have a word with you."

Seeing her chance to escape, Redheart lightly pushed Rarity out of the way. "Ah, Olivia, excellent timing. If you find Twilight, tell her to meet me here at once. I don't like the way her coat is looking."

"I'll, uh, deliver the message. Rarity, come on."

The unicorn started walking, and for a moment, Olivia thought she wouldn't have to deal with any more troubles. The fairy chose not to intervene when Rarity suddenly turned to Redheart and hissed, "We are not done yet."

They crossed the fort in relative silence. The recent drizzle had called a layer of haze to befall upon the grounds, further drowning the sounds from the battlements. It was far from the type of quietness either one would have preferred.

Rarity was still fuming from her encounter with the nurse, leaving Olivia in a situation where she couldn't fly too close to or too far from the unicorn. The captain's quarters had never seemed so far away, and when the fairy's wing beat acquired a certain nervous twitch, she decided to break the ice.

"Any luck with your, uh, sister?"

"I'm afraid not," Rarity harrumphed. Her voice carried such finality that Olivia didn't even touch the subject again.

She was in luck, though. They were presented with the door, which Rarity kicked open with her magic. The way she sped up her pace was enough of a hint for Olivia to give her some space. So while the unicorn trotted over to Twilight and her brother in one corner of the quarters, Olivia beelined towards a half-open door across them.

"You called, Twilight?" Rarity spoke as soon as she was near them. Twilight gaped for a second, taken aback by the rather violent greeting.

"I did, Rarity," Shining answered instead, offering an apologetic smile. Rarity raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. The captain treated himself to a mental pat on the back. "I've just received word from the sentries. Sounds like you really stirred up the hive, back in VanHoover."

"Yeah, I suppose we did..."

Shining gave a soft chuckle. "I'm just glad you made it here okay. All of you."

"Are we done, then?" Rarity suddenly piped up. "There are matters of greater importance that require my attention."

They say that once she enters, she will never leave the Temple of Time.

"No, there's more. Your arrival got the Stalponies riled up. They chased you all the way up to Fort VanHoover - that's where they'll look for you next."

"So bottom-line is...?"

"Um, excuse me..."

"We're trapped, Twily," Shining sighed. "There's only one way for us to get out of this mess. We'll need to hold the fort."

"Y-You mean... we have to fight?"

"We won't fight. That's why I need you and Rarity. We're going to set up a force field. It'll be our first line of defense. If that fails, well, we charge."

"MEEEEEDIIIII-hic!"

"Oh for Celestia's sake, Degroot, when will you be quiet?"

Shining offered a defeated sigh. Twilight could tell in his eyes that the option pleased him just as much as it pleased her. He employed his older sibling skills and comforted with a hoof on the shoulder. "I'm afraid it's the only way."

"Um, Twilight..."

Memories of the recent past were resurfacing in Twilight's mind. She'd witnessed the Stalponies's resilience firsthand. They had been like snakes: they only died when they lost their heads. A force field could only keep them back for so long. The fact that they would have to fight the skeletal fiends again wasn't pleasing in the least. "But... but we barely held up against them in Ponyville! We were lucky that the trains were still working!"

"Twilight?"

This time, her brother smiled. It was small, but it was there. "Well, if what you told me is true, then you brought somepony along who can deal very well with these 'Stalponies'."

"Hum, yeah, about that..."

"TWILIGHT!" Both Sparkle siblings' head shot to the left in surprise. Fluttershy stood at the entrance to the captain's quarters, wings flared to match her uncharacteristically serious glare. She quickly reversed back to her typical persona when she realized just how loud she had yelled. "I'm, um, sorry for shouting. But he's, um, awake."

"'He'? You mean..." Twilight had subconsciously stepped toward her friend. When the pegasus folded her wings, she noticed that there was another pony behind her. It was a colt, whose chestnut-colored coat was mussed up by what she imagined had been a restless sleep. He was calm, she noted with some surprise. She tried her best not to sound patronizing, but she couldn't help it. "Hey... how are you feeling?"

"He had a rough night, Twilight," Fluttershy piped in as though the unicorn had accused him of something. "Maybe the Poison Joke did it for him, but, hum, he just... knew how to walk like a pony. Hum... he also hasn't said much."

"Pony of few words, eh?" Shining Armor spoke. Link's eyes lit up at the sight of the bulky unicorn, something that didn't go unnoticed. "Do you know who I am?"

Link nodded then croaked, "Her brother, a captain..."

"Link was the one who warned us of the danger in VanHoover," Rarity spoke, siding with the colt. "How he knew about it is beyond me."

Olivia fluttered her wings gently. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"I--" Link stilled his tongue. To tell them that a ghost had revealed this information sounded about as sane as anything else he'd done while under the effects of cider. Even more so when he didn't know its name.

That was when he realized something. The more he thought back to it, the more familiar that voice had sounded. The ghost had claimed to have unfinished business, and had, in life, served the Equestrian Royal Guard. Above all, the ghost had met him.

He would have slapped a hand across his face if he still had a hand to do so. All the pieces fit together, and nothing could have portrayed his surprise better than the disbelieving tone of his voice.

"Shiro told me."

"Shiro?" both Sparkle siblings gasped.

Twilight was the first to continue. "A ghost told you?"

"Ghost?" Shining Armor repeated, this time directing himself at his sister. The librarian's expression wilted drastically. The captain braced for the news. No matter to whom or how often it happened, the loss a fellow guard was never to be dealt with lightly.

"I'm - we're - only alive because of him," Twilight muttered, lowering her head. "We were almost out of the castle, but the Stalponies got us."

"He stayed behind, didn't he?" Shining's expression remained firm, even after Twilight - and even Link - answered with tiny nods. The colt could feel Olivia's wings resting limply against the top of his head. "Damn it, Shiro..."

"You saved his life once, didn't you?" The confidence that Link's words carried took everyone by surprise. Twilight was about say something - most likely chide at him - but Shining took the cue by nodding.

"He paid his debts, then..." Olivia spoke. "Lost his life fighting. More importantly, to save your sister."

"An end worthy of a warrior," Link added.

Worthy of a warrior. Ganondorf's invasion of Hyrule Castle suddenly flashed before Link's eyes. Nobody had expected his attack. Not Zelda, not Impa, not the king, not the guards. As he ran to Hyrule Market as fast as his little legs could carry him, he was confronted with Zelda and Impa, and just instants later, with Ganondorf himself.

In the alleys on the way to the Temple of Time, where he would meet his fate, he met a gravely wounded soldier. His dying words were never forgotten by the boy.

And now, Shiro was burned into his mind like words on a gravestone.

The amused grunt that escaped Shining's throat directed Link's attention back to the stallion, sparing the colt of his thoughts. Despite his grin, there was a tinge of sadness in the captain's voice as he spoke, "He was a good stallion. Had a kid, you know? A lil' pinto colt about your age..." Rarity's eyes went wide, and she muffled as gasp with a hoof.

"A... pinto colt, you say?" she repeated. Once Shining offered a firmer nod, Rarity felt her eyes water. "F-From Trottingham, p-perhaps?"

"Well, huh, yeah. Shiro used to say his kid wanted to be a swordspony someday t--" Shining stilled his tongue when a quiet sob reached his ears.

"Oh, the poor pony..."

"I-I..." Shining coughed in an attempt to regain his composure. "Do you know him?"

He was left with an unintelligible answer, as Rarity was already running to the back of the quarters. Shining and Twilight exchanged glances, confused and worried. “W-Was it something I said?”

Twilight shook her head sadly. “She’s shaken up pretty bad. Don’t take it personally.”

Shining was about to offer his apologies when repeated knocks at the door caught everyone's attention. The stallion shouted the permission to enter, and the door flew ajar. A breathless stallion practically rolled into the room, his dark blue coat dripping wet from the drizzle.

"Captain Armor!" he spoke between long wheezes. He was barely capable of standing. "The Stalponies are... on the move, sir. Something... something coaxed them out of the city! Hundreds of them, on their way!"

The captain's expression changed completely. Twilight had only seen him assume such a stern look a couple of times in her life. She'd been on the receiving end once, and didn't want to imagine what would happen if she was now. "Get Degroot and prepare to engage the enemy!" he hollered, donning his helmet with magic. "Twilight, follow me. We need to set the shield up."

“And Rarity?”

“If she’s not well, it’s for the best that she doesn’t come too. You know these spells, and we can’t afford mistakes.” Twilight’s nod was far from convinced, but she prepared to follow him out the door regardless.

Just as they stepped out the door, the call of a young voice stopped them in their tracks. "Wait! What can I do to help?"

Shining blinked a few times to make sure he'd heard right. He stared Link down for a while, but the colt didn't even move. "Look, I'm sure you were a great fighter when you were, well, whatever you were before, but--"

"Shining."

Rarity had called him this time. She stood at the entrance to the room, muzzle fur matted by a stream of tears. A bow was floating beside her, enveloped by a soft blue aura, as she walked up to Link’s side again. "He was carrying this when we found him." She flashed the colt a smug grin. "I am certain he is a fast learner."

"Captain Armor!" the guard insisted, to Shining's distaste.

The dilemma in his mind was evident to everyone. He trusted his sister's judgement, and all of her friends' for that matter, but to take a young colt to the front-lines had an obvious problem attached. There were other colts and fillies in the fort, hidden in the basements until trouble cleared; why couldn't this one be like them? Because he's not a pony, I suppose...

"Fine," he sighed at last. "Private, accompany Link to the top of the palisades and get Black Arrow to teach him how to hold a bow properly." As he finished the command, he faced the colt. His eyes told the stallion that he wouldn't disappoint anyone. He smiled. "Link can figure the rest out. Now, we need to go!"

"Yes, sir!" the mares and stallion both answered.

"Wait!" Olivia rang in Fluttershy's ears. The pegasus cringed momentarily in surprise. "How do you do that?"

Her eyes shifted nervously. "Hum? W-What do you mean? A-Am I doing something wrong?"

"Fluttershy, you pretty much nursed Link back to health on your own! He was really roughed up, and now he doesn't have a scratch on him! Not even fairies can do that unless they're, well, really powerful!"

Like a turtle confirming the safety of its surroundings, Fluttershy slowly poked her head from behind the mane. "Oh, huh, that. It's just something I learned, hum..." The pegasus mare's brow wrinkled as she thought about it. The ability to heal another's wounds instantly was not unheard of, but very rare indeed. Maybe her family had had a unicorn at some point? Or even a phoenix-- no, that was impossible.

"That's not the kind of thing you 'learn', Fluttershy!" Olivia quickly chided, causing the pony to retreat to the safety of her mane again.

"Maybe I, um, had it, then? Like the, um, the sea ponies of Baltimare?"

"The sea ponies of Baltimare? You mean that little backwater port in the east with the-- oh," Olivia detained herself. "Ooooh. I see."

The sentinels hadn't lied.

Link wasn't big on mathematics, but he knew how to count. The monsters that stormed up the hill, throwing dust and mud everywhere, easily clocked in at a thousand in units. They were all as disfigured as a ruined painting, shadows of their aspect when they still lived.

Because no light penetrated the clouds in the sky, the field of battle would be nearly pitch black. Only Shining Armor and Degroot's combined wisdom had allowed them to remember the use of arrows with flaming heads, which dotted the fields in front of the fort. They didn't provide a lot of light, but any help in detecting the monsters was good.

Thanks to the torches at the top of the palisades, Link could see the lines of archers that would be his mates for the upcoming battle. All of them were lying on a slanted board. Their forehooves rested beside them, close to small levers, while their hindhooves pushed the bow away. Degroot approached him, with Shiro's bow - and, as always, a big bottle of cider - floating along.

"Black Arrow's too busy preppin' for the battle. Yer with me, lad," the unicorn said.

The lesson was short, to both ponies's relief. He instructed Link to lie on his back as well, at which point Link requested that he could find the rest out on his own. Olivia gave a contented flap of her wings when the colt discovered how to maneuver the small platform with his forelegs.

"Good thing those bows o'the Night Guard're smaller," Degroot noted, giving the bow a tap. "Should pack th'same punch of a regular one, tho! Them Night Guard ponies always did have the darnedest aim."

Pleased with the results of his lessons, the unicorn turned to face the black fields in front of the fort. Shadows already moved amidst the beacon fires. A regular commander would have frowned in concern. Their chances of victory were slim, given their primordial equipment and the fort's lackluster condition. Any direct strike to the palisades that composed most of the facade would bring it down.

But Degroot wasn't just any soldier. He smirked mischievously. He would win, or die trying.

With that in mind, he spun around and yelled down at the courtyard, "They're comin', Shinin'! Ya ready back there'r what?!"

"We're ready, captain!"

"At'a boy, Shinin'! Ah'm gonna make sure ya get a raise fer this, lad!" Shining just rubbed the back of his neck. Degroot was almost bursting with excitement.

He went on to the next line of defense: the catapults. Aged and long since out of commission, they had dug these out of the fort's storage and tweaked them however they could. Though the way Pinkie was bouncing around one of them was grinding at the captain's nerves, he surprisingly managed to keep his cool.

"Ah hope ya Earth Ponies know how ta work with that thing! Ah dun' want duds down there!"

"Ye stick to yer bomb thingamajig!" Applejack shouted back from a catapult's side. "If Applebloom... if Applebloom and'er friends can fire one'a these things, then buck me if Ah can't!"

Degroot took a celebratory swig of his bottle. "Haha! Tha's what Ah like to hear! Now there be a pony Ah'll have ta meet sometime!"

He scanned the rows of archers quickly. Finding none out of place, he smirked and took another, much longer gulp from the bottle. After releasing an extravagant burp, he looked down at the colt to his left. "'Bout you, lad? Ready ta crack some skull?"

Link just gave a short nod. He wasn't afraid of being more expressive, but the handling required by the bow only allowed him so much space to maneuver his mouth and head. Olivia, on the other hand, didn't hold any emotions in.

"Aye, captain!"

"Hoho, we've got an excited parasprite here! Gobble'em bastards up, will ya?"

All at once, any enthusiasm the fairy might have had crumbled like a house of cards in the wind. She flew back to the top of Link's head, not even bothering to reply. 

"Hope to the goddess he loses the other eye," she muttered. Despite himself, Link giggled quietly.

"Aight, lads! Ya'll ready?!" Degroot screamed at the courtyard. The ponies there all responded with a unison 'Yes, sir!', which seemed to please the unicorn extremely. "Ah've served this kingdom fer five years now, 'n Ah ain't tasted defeat even once out there! Ah don't care if yer from Manehatten or from Ponyville, Ah'm expectin' some proper fightin' out there!

"Ya hear me lads?! Ya got ponies t'protect and families t'go back to! Either ye come back alive or Ah'll throw meself into the pits o'Tartarus and get ya outta there meself!"

The deafening hurrah that followed his words allowed him to chug down the contents of the bottle. Once it was empty, he sighed contentedly and suddenly smashed the bottom of the bottle against the walls. With the broken half of the bottle hoisted like a flag, he declared, "We're killin' us some skeletons, lads!!

"T'night, we fight FER EQUESTRIA!!"

"AIM!!" The voice of the leading archer nabbed the spotlight from the unicorn. It had come so suddenly and violently that it startled the ponies in the courtyard into readying themselves; the inspirational speech was over. Even Degroot had turned away and taken his weapon in his magic's grasp. His only visible eye shone with an almost devilish determination.

For the eyes of those who did not face the dangers of Equestria on an almost daily basis, the fields between the fort and VanHoover were a truly frightening sight. Under the cover of the night, the Stalponies moved like shadows amidst the fiery wards that dotted the landscape, their glowing red eyes creating a mass that moved towards the ponies. Absolute silence reigned in the fort.

The ponies' blood boiled with excitement the moment a Stalpony drew close enough and the leading archer gave the order to fire. The very fort exploded with life just as the first wave of arrows rained down upon the monsters, drowning their horrified moans in outcries of celebration. The catapults complained about their fragility and age as they were loaded with boulders. The ponies all but attended to those complaints, as more and more boulders were loaded before they flew across the night skies.

Ponies ran in frenzy all around Twilight. Shining had chosen the exact center of the fort as his, Twilight, Cadence and Rarity's post. The few minutes prior to the surge of action had been spent teaching Rarity about how to cast a spell. Shining had walked away at that time to supervise the battle, and his return filled Twilight and Rarity's stomach with butterflies.

"Are you ready, Twily?" he readily asked, horn alight.

"Even in the thick of battle, eh, Shining?"

The stallion's smirk proved sufficient an answer for the mare. Once their horns were fully lit up, the four unicorns lowered their heads, to the point where their horns would cross.

“Back in there,” Twilight whispered to Rarity. “You changed your mind so quickly. What happened?”

“Well,” the unicorn answered, clearing her throat. The lump in her throat that she felt when Shining spoke to her was still there. “I just discovered that some things are still worth fighting for.”

“Get ready.”

After a very brief mental countdown, they cast the spell.

For the Stalponies that rushed up the hill, the world seemed to have burst with light when the power of the four ponies united. The result was a lavender orb, akin to a bubble, that expanded from the center of the fort until it encompassed all of it. Even the warriors within it cringed when the shield touched them. A fleeting tingling in their skin was all they felt, as if something had brushed their coat very lightly.

The skeletal fiends, however, were not as lucky. They had only been visible when their stampede's course met the flames of the burning arrowheads, and any Stalponies that hadn't been pushed back by the force field were now exposed by its light. The fort had become a beacon, its glow reaching as far as the city of VanHoover, and the monsters were ready to respond. The aura around Degroot's bottle wavered for just a moment when he saw just how many of these beasts had been hiding in the ruins.

Once the shield was at its full length, they began to tackle and toss anything they could find - including parts of themselves. Although Degroot's voice grew raspier with every command to fire that he gave, the archers didn't need any verbal command to know when the enemy was too close. The creaking of the boards they lay on filled their ears, drowning even the whistling of the arrows as they rained down on the Stalponies.

On the other end of the palisades was Link. Olivia proved to be an able guide for the Hylian boy-turned-colt. He had grown used to allowing Navi to provide guidance to his aim, to the point where his most accurate shots were the ones aimed at her. His initial plans of murdering the Changeling fairy suddenly crawled out of the depths of his mind. A slightly misplaced arrow would be enough to end her life.

The cry of a Stalpony shocked him back to reality. Such a misplaced arrow did happen, just not because he wanted. He ushered those thoughts away immediately. Olivia was already complaining; their connection allowed him to know that. He drew another arrow from the quiver with his mouth while his eyes sought for the fairy again. The shot was precise and deadly - another Stalpony had been downed.

It seemed like they could actually win this battle. The Stalponies kept arriving, one after the other, but they fell just as quickly. The expertise of the bowponies around him was sure to grant them a victory, as long as the barrier stayed strong. After all, how many more Stalponies could one hide in a city?

"Set!" someone cried from the battlements. "Aim!"

The command to fire was completely muffled by the creaking of a catapult. Another flaming boulder arched over the palisades and towards the enemy. The blast that ensued upon landing guaranteed that not even the skeletons would survive.

"Hooowee! Nice one, Pinkie!" The characteristically southern accent in that celebratory cry could never be mistaken. "Hit'em square in the face! Bet'cha got some target practice in thanks t'that party cannon a'yers, eh?"

Pinkie giggled. By now, Link had realized that that was her most common voice: cheerful and happy, without a trace of malice. The Hylian, who seldom found himself smiling, couldn't help but to crack a grin. "Of course not, you silly filly! I learned from the best!"

"Whatever ya say, Pinks! Load another boulder!"

"Set!"

"Aim!" Another boulder flew before the command was even heard. An excited chortle had echoed instead.

At the origin of the barrier, not all was well. After outputting so much of her magic into a spell she seldom used, Rarity heeded her body's warnings and ceased casting it. Just as she did, she realized just how much the spell had tired her. She fell to the mud in a loud splash.

The other three unicorns suffered with it as well. Without the unicorn, the burden of casting the spell was redistributed. All three grunted as the spell suddenly demanded more of their power.

"Rarity!" Twilight gasped. "W-We need a medic here! Fast!"

The infirmary sprung to life upon being summoned. There was a moment of fuss inside the tent, after which a pair of ponies in heavy trench coats ran outside, stretcher on their backs. To Twilight's relief, they were swift about the procedure.

"I-I cannot carry on any longer..." Rarity still gasped for air as she was lowered onto the device. "I'm sorry... so, so very sorry..."

"You did your best. Don't worry." Her voice low, Twilight added to the rescuers, "Take good care of her."

The disappearance of the barrier did not go unnoticed. The most dramatic reaction belonged, again, to Degroot, who somehow managed to jump all the way from the top of the palisades to the ground without even cringing. It was time to take matters into his own hooves.

"Y'want somethin' done," he grumbled angrily as he slipped into the armor. "Y'do it yerself! Oy! Gimme yer dagger!"

"It's a sw--"

"It's a bloody blade fer Faust's sake!" The dark brown aura that surrounded Degroot's horn ripped the sword right out of the soldier's mouth. "Shinin', git that bloody shield up already!"

Shining just grunted under the pressure of the spell. Spewing words caused the light of his horn to waver. "We're trying... captain!"

"Well tryin' ain't good 'nough! We lose even a wee bit more territory, 'n we're all as good as DEAD!"

"We can do this, brother!" Twilight chirped, exuding confidence. He truly wanted to share her enthusiasm, but he couldn't. A quick look at Cadence told a story of exhaustion and pain, and even the Element of Magic had seen better days.

"I know," he answered regardless. He feigned a confident look. The worst thing he could do was show weakness. "Hang in there, Twily, Cadence. We're almost done."

While Cadence's nod did not convey certainty, Twilight's clearly contained the faint glimmer of hope. Using her last ace was risky, but in light of their current situation, it was also their last possibility should they hope to win. Against her better judgment, with no plan to back her up, she did exactly what she had done in Ponyville.

She tapped into the Light Force's power reserves.

The barrier shot forth from the ground, returning the advantage of defense to the ponies. For a moment, she thought she was safe. No delusions of power, no voices attempting to control her.

Their return brought a chill to her body.

Celestia could not handle the power of the Light Force... but you can.

"I won't give in..."

Of course you will. Luna did it. Celestia was about to.

"No... that's not... not true!"

You saw it. When she attacked Ganondorf, you saw her rage.

"She was just protecting me!"

"Are you alright, Twilight?"

"I-I'm fine, but..."

The power is at your disposal... Every single one of these ponies will obey you!

"I-I won't do it!"

"Do... what? Twilight, you don't look so good..."

The power of the Light Force is not for the weak of mind, foal! Do its bidding, or live long enough to be destroyed by it!

"No... no!! Get out of my head!"

"T-Twilight?" Shining asked this time. His sister's body rocked like a house of cards with his every touch. His own legs were beginning to buckle with worry. "Twilight, what's going on?"

But that didn't spook the voice out of her head. It was still there. It demanded that she obeyed. She knew she could and would never do such treacherous acts, and yet she felt the control of her body slowly slip out of her grasp.

You are the chosen to control the Light Force! Bend ALL BEINGS to YOUR WILL!!

"NOOOO!!"

It was with that powerful, almost intolerably loud howl that she was forced to relinquish any and all control. The strength of the entity in her head had succeeded in overpowering her. Already her magical abilities were lifting her in the air, her eyes like beacons of a lighthouse in the cold, dark night. Everyone she knew was being pushed away by whatever spell another was casting with her body, and even the Stalponies had ceased their rebellion to watch the mare ascend. No more arrows whistled through the air, no catapults creaked as they were loaded.

"Twilight!" Shining still called, aware as he was of the uselessness of such act.

"Shining! Her coat!" Cadence gasped, only then realizing that she had been stepping away from her sister-in-law. Shining did a double-take on his sister. The whiteness that rapidly washed over her lavender coat confirmed his wife's words - and worsened his concern.

"Twilight!" Shining stumbled forward, hoping to reach his sister. The sheer power of the spell that surrounded her kept him away. He tried to fight it. He employed any and all spells he could think of, hoping they would grant him passage. When they didn't and he slumped resignedly to the floor, his only choice was to call her. "Twilight! Please, stop that! You're hurting yourself!"

"I-I can't... h-help... me..."

While almost all eyes in the fort were set on the unicorn, a pair in particular was entirely focused on something else. From atop the palisades, Link watched as the Stalponies resumed their march. Olivia desperately flew from one guardspony to the other, yelling out warnings of the Stalponies's approach. Caught off-guard, the soldiers rushed back to their posts and tried to make up for the distraction.

But it was much too late. Without a shield to protect the fort, the monsters would easily take down the wooden walls and both overpower and outnumber the ponies.

He wasn't having any of that.

"Link? Link, where are you going?" Olivia quickly inquired when the boy hopped off of the turntable and dashed for the courtyard.

He had a plan. It wasn't the most thought out one he had ever concocted, but without Twilight or Shining Armor, it was the fort's only shot at offering some resistance.

He hopped down the wall and ran for the drawbridge, stopping only to nab a sword from a soldier's scabbard. The ropes keeping the bridge in place were luckily old and fragile, giving away without the smallest from the colt. The fort awoke from its trance just as the bridge banged against across the moat. When the ponies turned, Link was long gone in the dark.

The Stalponies had no such problem with seeing him. Believing he was just some pathetic pony offspring who had wandered too far away from the protection of his parents, the Stalponies is rushed to meet him. In less than nothing, he was surrounded by the monsters.

The remembrance of how to summon the spell was quickly returning to his mind. He couldn't perform the same movements he could as a human, but he could try and mimic them. The power was within him; he just had to use it.

With a mighty swing of his head, the sword was stuck into the ground.

He reared back. The war cry he unleashed was just as intense as the fire burning in his eyes. By mere coincidence or not, Twilight chose that moment to create her own explosion of light.

The very earth beneath his forehooves was carbonized as he stomped the ground. A ring of fire erupted from the grass and enveloped him, then spread out to engulf his enemies in flames. The burning Stalponies let out unnatural hisses, their behavior frenetic as they tried to put out the flames. They could not, for the wrath of Din's Fire spared no-one.

By the time the flames around him were out, the skeletal fiends had been reduced to piles of ash. A tiny ember, a remnant of the spell, still burned bright underneath his left hoof. Satisfied, he blew it out.

The Stalponies clearly hadn't expected the sudden display of magic. The boldest of the few monsters that were left still tried to close in for the hit, and Link readied himself for the fight. The sword slid out of the ground, its blade stained by dirt.

Even those monsters realized that their ends were nigh when they saw what was happening past the young pony. Degroot was running across the drawbridge with sword in mouth and pike mounted on his side, and behind were even more of the ponies of the fort.

"GET'AAAM!!" Degroot roared from the front of the herd.

As the entire platoon rushed across the drawbridge, weapons held aloft, the soldiers roared in their thirst for victory. The Stalponies met them headfirst, but found themselves powerless before the might of the ponies. Steel finally met bone in the field of battle, with the latter inevitably conceding defeat to the former. The ponies were plowing through the monsters as though they were farmers in a wheat field.

Link had merged with the battalion sometime when it rushed past him. What he lacked in bulk, he had in agility. With the sword in his mouth and an aptitude he never thought he had for holding it as a pony, he hopped straight onto the backs of his fellow combatants and practically skid through the battle unseen. Whenever a Stalpony crossed his way, he would drive the blade into their necks and in a swift motion, decapitating the skeleton.

He felt strangely at home there, in the middle of the action, with a weapon and people to fight by his side. His had always been a lonely path, and Navi's departure had only made it even lonelier. When he had someone by his side, he felt stronger. The second battalion’s arrival, led by Shining Armor himself, strengthened his resolve even further.

A Stalpony somehow crept up to him, but was felled by the colt’s blade. He instantly spun around when he caught the glimpse of a shadow of another one right behind him. His sword met not bone, but steel. Just the intense scent of alcohol that followed their encounter was enough for Link to identify the other sword’s owner as Degroot.

They didn’t get to meet each other in the eye, as the Stalponies demanded their undivided attention. Fighting back-to-back, they made sure the skeletal foes got their just-deserts. Both were pleasantly surprised about their partner’s skills, and at one point decided to try their luck with synchronizing their movements. The attempt was executed flawlessly, with Link sliding right beneath the larger stallion, effectively allowing them to switch places and surprise their enemy.

Being the box full of surprises he was, Link wasn’t finished. Just as Degroot gripped the sword’s handle to swing at an approaching Stalpony, Link hopped onto his back, then his head, until he was finally airborne. With a quick spin in the air to gain momentum, he delivered a fatal blow on the enemy by plunging the weapon into the top of its head, trapping the foe against the ground until it no longer moved. Degroot just looked on with an amused smile.

"That was one hell of a trick ya pulled off there, lad!" he complimented, giving the colt a strong push on the side with a hoof. "Ah can see why that Fluttershy lass has her eyes on ya! Haha! Should'a seen'er, almost bawlin' her eyes out when ya just ran out front!"

“I-I—"

“Degroot!” Shining Armor called from among the soldiers, just in time to divert attention away from the little blush that had sneaked up to Link’s face. “We’re pulling back. We’ve exhausted their immediate number. I sent some ponies to scout the city, but I doubt we’ll find anything there.”

“Well whadda’ya know, eh? The dead fear the livin’ after all! Drove’em right back to Tartarus, we did!” He kicked the broken skull of a Stalpony to prove his point. He suddenly turned and laced a leg around Link, startling both of the stallions. “Shinin’, lad, lemme tell ya, ya found yerself one fine stallion right’ere. Ye’re gonna go places, lad!”

Shining winced at the power Degroot was unknowingly putting in the embrace. With a pat on the other stallion’s back, he spared Link from the choking grip.  “We should head back. Twilight will want to know what happened."

"Ah'll be right with ya, lad! Ah'm gonna help the boys downtown look for more'a these devils!"

Shining nodded, then left with Link by his side. The colt was still gasping, his neck sore from the bear-hug he'd been subjected to. "How is she?" he asked once he found enough air to speak.

"Tired," the stallion sighed. "It's a good thing we had you around. Saved us a headache."

And got one myself... Link added in his thoughts. It had been worth it, though. He had distracted them long enough for Degroot to rush to the field, and even cleared a few of them on his own. The ponies of VanHoover just needed motivation, because none of them was really a soldier. They were just citizens who, by a twist of fate, had been plunged into a war.

They were welcomed back to the fort by a crowd of enthusiastic ponies. While some would just salute at Shining Armor's passage, other more excited ponies disregarded any such formalities and promptly elbowed him. Link, too, took part of the celebrations, receiving his fair share of compliments and hoorays. Most of them expressed great surprise at his abilities. He'd grown used to receiving these in Hyrule, but smiled regardless.

By Shining's command, the festive air sagged a little. They had reached the center, where Cadence cradled her sister-in-law between her forelegs. Link barely recognized her: the unicorn's purple coat had turned completely white, and her mane had grown ashen. Twilight had taken the brunt of battle.

Despite that, she still tried to get up on her own to meet her brother. Cadence was about to object, but thought better of it. The way Shining received his sister with a tired smile warmed her heart.

"Is it... is it really over?"

"Sir," a soldier called before Shining could begin to nod. "The haze won't let us see, sir. We have magically scanned the area and found no signals, vital or otherwise."

"Then we... we did it..." Twilight wheezed, shuffling tiredly on her hooves. "We... we won..."

"Whoa there!" Shining exclaimed as he placed himself by Twilight's side once she lost her balance. Just as she touched his coat, she slumped to the ground, splashing mud around.

Her brother scanned the fort's population for a doctor. Finding none, he ushered the closest soldier to do it for him. The pony gave a very quick salutation and ran off, crying for help.

"She is just tired," Cadence cooed into the captain's ear. One of her wings was draped over her husband's back; the other shielded the pony she'd been a nanny to once. "A good night rest and she will be as good as new."

"I know," Shining replied. Taking notice of the almost imperceptible smile on the stallion's face was enough for the alicorn to believe his words. "You did well, Twily. You did really, really well."

To his relief, Twilight did react to the warm touch of his hoof on her white coat. She struggled to look up at his face, a battle like no other she had ever fought. She raised a hoof and caressed her brother’s cheek. "I wouldn't have done it without you."

"Stand back!" Redheart's voice bellowed from within the crowd. The Ponyvillian nurse had to push her way through, subjecting herself to the elements. A steady trek through the mud later, she was by their side, first aid kit already half open in her mouth.

Her jaw nearly hit the ground when she saw the pure white color that had taken over Twilight's coat. She did her best to not say 'I told you so', and opted to quickly analyze her patient as a distraction.

"She seems alright. Just tired... very tired." She emphasized her report with a heavy frown directed at Twilight. "You've had enough excitement for one day, young mare. I want you inside right now, where it's warm and safe."

"That... that actually sounds like a good idea," she wheezed, smiling a little. Redheart did the same. They could rest easy now; the threat to VanHoover was no more than a pile of shattered bones. The nurse offered her back, and Shining helped his sister up.

He squeezed his sister's hoof one last time, allowing the nurse to be on her way to the medical quarters. Then, looking back, he called out to a guard, "Get Captain Degroot and organize a sweep of VanHoover. We can't take chances. And get me a report on casualties, stat."

A nearby soldier confirmed his orders and fled to perform his duties. Degroot would be relatively easy to find. It was the metropolitan region of VanHoover that concerned the white unicorn. For all they knew, these Stalponies were just watching from inside the buildings, patiently awaiting the moment to attack.

He was proven completely wrong when the same soldier he'd just dispatched came running back to him. His ragged breaths were barely audible over the racket that had begun to take over the battlements.

"S-Sir, something... something is happening outside!"

This day just keeps getting better and better... Shining thought. "Be clearer, private! What is happening?"

"Y-You should see for yourself, sir!" The pony appeared genuinely frightened. Shining's frown grew deeper. Already he was following his underling towards the walls.

What he saw when he reached the watchtower was an event unlike any he had ever seen.

The broken bones of the Stalponies were literally disintegrating into smaller clouds of charcoal dust. In a matter of minutes, there was not a single bone left on the field. Instead, dark clouds populated the otherwise verdant territory.

"What are they doing...?” Shining muttered. As a unicorn, he could sense what other races couldn't. As a royal captain, those senses had been thoroughly heightened. He wished he could see this as a good omen. He wished he could think that the creatures were just returning to where they had come from.

Unfortunately, he knew this was just the beginning of the real battle. Already beads of sweat rolled down the side of his head.

"They appear to be gathering, sir!"

"What the--A-Archers, fire at will!!" he roared. "Fire! Fire! Take those things down!!"

All of the available archers answered the call to duty at once. The hail of arrows had switched direction like the winds of a fierce storm. Try though they might, their arrows harmlessly flew through the cloud. It crossed the skies above the fort without a care in the world, completely indifferent to the projectiles that assailed it. When it finally reached the darkness of the ocean, it simply plummeted towards the waters. By the time the ponies got to there, there was no cloud to be seen. They were met with the raging seas at the bottom of a ragged cliff.

Only those with the sharpest sight could detect the difference between the ocean and… this. The ocean did not spout foam the way this did, or at least not so far away from the shore. The ocean did not have the massive shadow of something that lurked beneath the water, nor did it house creatures at least twice the size of the fort.

Shining Armor was one such pony with great eyesight. Not a second too soon, he screamed the order to move away from the edge. The urgency of his tone startled even the bravest of the soldiers, but nothing struck as much fear in their hearts as the beast that broke the waters and stretched its long necks to observe the fort with its slit eyes. There wasn’t a single pony in that fort that didn’t find themselves at a loss for words when they looked back and saw, when the crack of a lightning bolt allowed, a three headed monster. Fort VanHoover was being targeted by no less than a hydra.

Despite their shock, the archers quickly attempted to remedy the situation. Their target was clear and solid, but that didn’t make the arrows any more effective. The hydra’s hide was too resilient to be affected by such small weapons, and any arrows that made it through had little impact. The catapults too joined the attack, and while the giant boulders provided results, they also angered the monster.

The guttural roar that all of the heads unleashed was the only warning that the ponies had to move. The hydra’s leftmost head leaned back and then fell chin-first upon the fort and its occupants, crushing everything underneath it. Shining’s heart almost stopped; the head had just narrowly missed the infirmary.

The hydra was ready to correct that mistake. Its middle, much larger head shivered this time, then leisurely leaned back, like its ‘sibling’. As the captain of the guard took off towards the medical quarters against his colleagues’ cries, penetrating the steady line of ponies that ran out of it, he pondered what exactly he would do now. The hydra itself loomed above him like a tower that prepared to crumble on him. He wanted to save everypony, but in truth, only his sister mattered. Maybe, by some artifact of luck, they would survive the megaton head’s attack.

He closed his eyes. For a very short moment, he thought his death had been painless. He heard a crash, a deafening explosion, but felt no pain. Everything was so bright, so… colorful. He was still running, but nopony ran past him. Like every single pony had realized it was hopeless and had stopped. He heard ponies mumbling around him, gasps, not of fear, but of awe.

“Is that--?”

“…a rainboom!”

That word echoed in his mind like a record on repeat. He turned, and his eyes were blasted with color like never before.

Even the storm clouds had parted, as if their gloomy appearance had been spooked by the bright rings that painted the night-sky with all the colors of a rainbow. A polychromatic trail shot out of their center, and at its tip was undoubtedly a pony.

It flew over the fort at almost breakneck speed. If any of the ponies on the ground had blinked, they would have missed it. The target of that pony was clear, the strike, clean. Just as the hydra's head plummeted towards the ground, the pony flew straight against the monster. Every single creature on that hill felt the tremor of the impact, and again when the hydra, pushed by a force comparable only to that of a speeding cannonball, fell on its back in the ocean.

The distant echo of the sonic rainboom was all that was heard for a few moments. The pony, a pegasus with a unique rainbow mane and azure suit crisscrossed by yellow thunderbolts, descended once it made sure the hydra was down for good.

“Daaaaaaashieeeeeee!!” was the cry that welcomed her to VanHoover, and a pink blur was the first thing she saw as soon as her hooves touched the ground.  She had missed Pinkie's receptions more than she would ever admit. "Oh we were so worried about you! You just disappeared and then the skeletons came and everypony was just pushed into a train and Ponyville..."

"Well Ah'll be. Back to grace us with yer presence, Rainbow Dash?"

"Missed ya too, AJ." Rainbow stuck her tongue out at the other mare. "Looks like I get here in the nick of time, eh?"

"Can't argue 'bout that one."

Rainbow looked around quickly. A lot of ponies had already made it out of the infirmary. She smirked smugly. She deserved some credit, this time. A lot of it.

"By Celestia... Rainbow Dash!"

The pegasus barely had time to turn around before she found herself in the middle of another bear-hug, this time by a white pony with a distinctive fragrance to her. Rainbow wasn't usually one for this sort of display of affection. Given the situation, she would let it slide. For once.

"Hey Rares."

"Oh, we were so worried... where have you been?! A-And this suit..."

"Yeah, where'd ya get the uniform, Rainbow?" Whatever curiosity both ponies had died right there, with Rainbow's suddenly downcast gaze. Applejack, being the first to understand the implications behind owning the suit, was the first to gasp. "No... ya don't mean..."

"They did it for me." She took the sword in her mouth and stuck it to the ground. Rarity backed away from it in surprise. "I'm gonna do them justice."

The ground shook, and what started as a low grumble in the distance quickly became a thunderous roar. The ponies knew what to expect this time: the hydra had recovered.

"Looks like ya got yer chance to prove it right'ere," Applejack noted with a frown. "Ya still got any more'a those rainbooms in yer pocket?"

"Fresh out." She took the sword's handle in her mouth and grinned mischievously. "But I've got plenty of these to share."

"Evacuate the fort!" Shining Armor was heard shouting to his underlings. "I don't want any pony that can't operate a bow standing on this ground!"

"Hey, Shining!" Rainbow called. The absence of a certain egghead left her puzzled. "Where's Twilight?"

The stallion finished hollering his orders before galloping over to the mares' side. "With Fluttershy and Link. They're out for this one."

Rainbow frowned slightly at the mention of the boy's name. "Hm. Alright. Looks like we're alone against this thing."

As if aware that it was being mentioned, the hydra's massive figure rose in the darkness. Its three heads appeared far less threatening now that it had been knocked away once; it wasn't invincible, and the ponies relished in the knowledge that they still had a chance.

"Applejack, Pinkie, I want both of you back to the catapults." To Shining's relief, the mares obeyed immediately. "Rarity... can you cast any spells that might help?"

The fashionista nodded. "I am aware of a few. I will try."

"Good enough. Rainbow--"

"Yeah yeah, quit bossing us around and get to it." With that, she took off to the sky. Shining Armor wasn't exactly pleased with this, but he had little choice. She was the only hope of a direct hit.

"Archers!" he hollered, hopefully loud enough for the cowering stallions in the back of the fort to hear. Most of his best troops were with Degroot, and Celestia knew they would take too long to reach the fort. "FIR--"

"Hey Shining!" Rainbow called from above. His reply was once again cut short by the pegasus. She was pointing in the city's direction with a grin that was too smug to suggest anything good. "You've got a visitor."

He was intrigued, nonetheless. Curiosity quickly became horror as he saw Twilight, accompanied by Link and a rather reluctant Fluttershy, galloping up the hill to meet him.

Damn these nurses!

"Twilight! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm staying."

"U-um, we can still go back if--"

"Twilight, you're still weak from--"

"No... I can do this..." She walked past him to meet Rarity. Fluttershy and Rainbow followed suit, and even Pinkie and Applejack had left their posts just to greet the unicorn again. "As long as we stick together... we'll always figure something out."

The gathering had Olivia leaving her perch on the top of Link's mane. She flew down to his side, and the colt could feel her bubbling with life and excitement.

"And we're all together again." As if to prove her point, her horn flared to life. The hydra’s three heads snorted in return, releasing a jet of smoke from its nostrils. "We won't fail."

Equestria. That was the name of the land that stretched to the horizon. All of it at the feet of the Gerudo man. Ganondorf grunted in annoyance. He unwrapped his cape from around his arms, where the wind had trapped it. There were particularly strong gusts here, at the top of 'Canterlot Mountain'. Ever since Nightmare Moon first called it by name that Ganondorf winced merely thinking about the name.

The walking board he stood on appeared to be a takeoff platform. He could only imagine that the strong winds at such great heights were useful for the winged unicorns to fly straight for the southern region of their kingdom. He wouldn't know. He didn't care, either. His mouth curled into a mischievous smile as he imagined the moonlit grasslands in front of him bursting into flames.

He owed nothing to Nightmare Moon, nor did he owe anything to the ponies that lived here. His interest rested in the power that the Hero of Time possessed, and nothing else. The 'Elements of Harmony' and all of the other ancient relics Nightmare Moon had mentioned were bonuses he didn't want. She sought for them through him, and it displeased him. He was the puppeteer. Not the puppet.

Once they were through, he would be sure to remind her of that. He'd remind every single being on this land that he could not be controlled by anyone.

Right on cue, the balloon of his fantasies was rudely popped by the call of someone behind him. The violence with which his hand curled into a fist would have shattered even diamonds in the rough. "My liege!"

Ganondorf emitted a deep, prolonged snarl. He did indeed hate being interrupted, especially by people - or rather, ponies - of the likes of Nightmare Moon's underlings. He looked down at the diminutive horse and frowned. The black suit it wore was beyond unacceptable as a war uniform, as was the frilly cravat around its neck. Ganondorf admonished such triviality. The petty servant was so frail he struggled against the winds.

"I sincerely hope you are worth my time," he spat with clear distaste. They could be working together, but these... slaves... would get no more sympathy from him than any of his other servants.

"I have received news from Discord, sire," the pony spoke, bowing at his feet. "He claims to have captured the Bearer of Wisdom, and wishes to know how your endeavors in regards to the Crystal Princess fare."

"I see. Tell him it is not of his concern; her capture is well in hand." The Gerudo didn't even try to appear interested in the tidbit of information. There was another matter that needed to be attended. "And Nightmare Moon?"

"She has yet to report back, sire."

"Then leave my presence. Be gone."

"But there is more, sire. You will be pleased to know this." This he had to hear. The pony knew of something that would please him? Perhaps these equines were not as stupid as he took them to be.

Or perhaps they were. The servant just stood there, looking expectantly at him. He was trying too hard to grin.

"Out with it!"

"The Stalponies have located the Light Force!"

Ganondorf's lips parted for the briefest moment. Those were good news, indeed. Very, very good news. The pony had indeed succeeded in appealing to Ganondorf’s interest. "Where is it, then? Speak, Equestrian!"

"It is in the Temple of Time, sire."