//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12 
// Story: Last of the Dragonlords: A Good Mare Goes To War Part 1: The Passing of Harmony 
// by Fluttershy20 
//------------------------------//

The Vale of the Lost was not a flat place, Fluttershy realised as she gazed out from behind the cover of a rock at the top of a hill. The hills spread themselves out from the mountain that sat in the centre, creating lumps of varying size and shape that covered and dominated the Vale. It gave Fluttershy reason to remember an old willow she used to sit under when she was upset and wanted to be alone; its roots tended to dig upwards, created lumps and bumps in the ground like hills. ‘The mountain is the tree, and the hills are its roots,’ she mused.

A shriek echoing across the Vale forced Fluttershy to lower her head behind the rock once more, and another shriek, longer than the last, caught the pegasus’s attention. ‘That was close. Very close.’ She peeped over the rock and looked below to see a few dozen more of the creatures, led by a shepherd – as she now called the larger ones – with a round-headed mace in one hand, racing down the path with their weapons raised and ready to sink into pony flesh. 

Their flesh.

The shepherd stopped for a moment, sniffed loudly, and abruptly looked up, forcing Fluttershy to duck, press herself against the rock and listen to her heartbeat pound itself to destruction. For a moment there was nothing but silence, prompting the Dragonlord to fear the worst. ‘He saw me! He saw me, I just know it! Oh, he is going to find us and he is going to kill us!’ she thought frantically, too scared to move. ‘I am sorry, Cadence. I failed you. I failed all of you.’ She drew a deep breath in and kept it between her lips, too scared to let it go.

Eventually, she heard a faint snort, followed closely by a bark of command, before the sound of heavy paws scratching into the dirt path reached her ears. Fluttershy quickly craned her neck up to watch as the creatures followed their shepherd down the path, behind the cover of the trees and out of sight.

‘If I am right, they’re heading northeast,’ she thought. She smiled thinly to herself. ‘Maybe Cadence’s fake trail worked, after all.’ She turned away from the rocky formation, and cantered down the slope, through the woods and back to where she had left Cadence to hide. 

It had been nearly two hours since Cadence had found Fluttershy fighting for her life against a large creature she – and Cadence for that matter – had never seen before, and with her help had defeated the beast. Once the pair had cleaned up and recovered from their fight, they set off blindly through the Vale once more, intending to find their friends alive and well. 

It hadn’t been long since the pair had started moving again from the pond, did the sound of the creatures’ screeches pick up from behind them, and they were gradually getting closer. 

Without even saying a thing to one another, Cadence and Fluttershy broke into a speedy gallop down the path and through the woods, intent on losing their pursuers. As the minutes dragged on, however, and the trees gave way to large, open meadows, the screeches only seemed to be getting louder and louder. 

Desperate, Cadence used her magic to create an imitation of their scents and sent it into the wind, which was heading northeast. The spell would not last long, so she knew the pair of them would have to be quick and get it right, or else those creatures would once again be on their tails.  

As soon as Cadence had discharged her magic and sent it drifting into the wind, the pair jumped out of the meadow and galloped into the woods towards a group of hills clustered together to the north of them. Once they were there, Cadence crept into the bushes to lay low, while Fluttershy made sure the spell worked and they were free. 

Sure enough, much to Fluttershy’s relief, Cadence’s magic had worked and they were finally rid of the monsters. However, the Dragonlord knew that it would only be a short reprieve. ‘They will soon realise that the scent was fake, and when they do they will be on the real one again. Our one.’

She blinked as her face came into contact with a large bush, throwing her out of her thoughts. Once she broke through, shaking her head to lose the twigs and leaves that had attached themselves to her mane, she found herself entering the small clearing with a small pond to the side hemmed in by rocks and gifted with water via a small waterfall flowing down the sides of a wall of rock. 

She looked around for a bit, her ears twitching for any sign of the creatures relentlessly hunting them, and then called out in a whisper, “Cadence?”

As if she had been waiting for her cue, the alicorn emerged from a group of bushes. Her sword was gripped fiercely in her magic, and her one good eye was wide and searching for any threats; her other eye was half closed and surrounded by purple bruising. ‘I will never forgive myself for that,’ Fluttershy thought, staring ashamedly at the bruises staining one side of Cadence’s face. ‘I could have done something to stop that, but I was too cowardly to get up.’

“Did you see that pack?” Cadence asked, relaxing just a little but her shoulders looked as hard as stone. Fluttershy briskly nodded in answer. “How many were there, and how close are they?”

Fluttershy’s forehead scrunched up as she did a quick mental count. “There were about thirty, I think, including a shepherd,” she replied, nodding to herself. “And they weren’t too far behind, just beyond this hill.” She pointed to the hill next to them. “But I believe they picked up your fake trail and are going after it. I think you gave them the slip.”

For all the joy in her eyes, Cadence’s lips still stayed in the same sombre frown. “Only for a while,” she said grimly, looking into the direction the creatures had run in. “They will be back on our scents soon enough.”

Fluttershy nodded, and turned to move away. “All the more reason to take this chance and make as much distance between us as we can,” she said. She broke into a trot, lowering her head to move past a low branch. “We need to get to the northwest of here by nightfall, and find all of our friends before then.”

Cadence quickly caught up with her. “Why the northwest exactly?” she asked, her brow furrowed in puzzlement.

“Trixie said that the exit out of the Vale is in the northwest,” Fluttershy answered. “If there is any place in the Vale where we can find our friends again, it’s there.”

“But how can we be sure that Trixie can be trusted?” Cadence enquired, raising an eyebrow. “She said nothing vile lived in the Unicorn Range, and yet an evil sea creature tried to crush us, and now those horrible rat-faced creatures are trying to kill us. How can we be sure that they are not working for Trixie?”

Fluttershy stopped and glared at Cadence. “I don’t think Trixie could be capable of such a thing,” she said sternly.

“And how can you be sure she isn’t?” Cadence enquired persistently, lifting an eyebrow. “I have always believed ponies are capable of anything, Fluttershy. When we are desperate for whatever reason, or forced into a situation that we have only dreamed of, we can push ourselves to do things we would not normally do, because we felt that we had to. Maybe that’s what Trixie was thinking. Maybe she thought she could get her old life back if she brought us here to die.”

Fluttershy gritted her teeth together and flattened her ears. Yet, as much as she wanted some, no words flew from her tongue in retort. She didn’t want to believe that Trixie was behind the attempts on their life, that she was just a target as everypony else was. Yet, there was still a hint of doubt that was beginning to fester in her mind. ‘She did say there was some amazing wildlife that lived here, and she said I would have to wait to find out. What if she was hinting that these things and the kraken were here, and as a pact with them, lured ponies into the Range to be devoured by these creatures?’

She rapidly shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts. Trixie was, though slightly arrogant, a kind pony that would not fall to such depths to survive. She was a good pony, right? Right? Fluttershy mentally sighed. ‘I just don’t know her well enough to trust her properly. I know I should, but it is harder to trust anypony now. Even my closest friends.’

Without a word spoken, she looked away from Cadence and continued to trot through the forest once more. Cadence followed close behind, searching the forests and trees for any sign of the creatures waiting to ambush them. 

They soon made it out of the forest and beside a long stretch of narrow track that gently veered away into half a circle and disappeared around corners at each end. “Do you see any trace of those things coming along here?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes scanning the turns and aligning woodlands for signs of movement.

“I don’t see anything suspicious,” Cadence answered after a little while, her good eye squinting. She looked down at the path for paw prints. “And there are no prints on the ground to suggest that they were here. They either haven’t come through here yet, or…”

“They’re avoiding it,” Fluttershy finished. A small smile crawled across her face. ‘We’re in luck,’ she thought. She looked left, and after a moment to inspect the road, turned her head to look right. “Which way do we go?”

Cadence quickly broke into a trot, swerving right. “We should go this way. At least we might find ourselves meeting up with our friends and my auntie again,” she answered.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “Keep your senses alert, though. Those things could be anywhere.” With that, they began walking along the path, looking at the woods and the hills around them suspiciously for any sign of sudden movement.

Yet, as the minutes slowly passed by, nothing jumped out of the forest to scare the coat off her, nor did the sound of savage screeches fill the air with terror and force the two ponies to run once again. It was a silent day, with no animals to break that silence with their continuous chatter, and little wind to cool their sweating bodies. 

There were days that Fluttershy enjoyed the silence, and even found it calming and assuring. Today, however, it scared her more than ever. “Talk to me, Cadence,” she said shakily, her eyes flicking across the land around them. 

Cadence stared at her oddly. “Talk to you about what?” she asked. 

“I don’t know. Something. Anything. Anything to keep the silence away,” Fluttershy responded frighteningly. 

Cadence nodded understandably. “Okay, then. Well, uh…?” She bit her bottom lip as she pondered. “Oh, I know what to ask. Something I’ve been meaning to ask since we met up. What happened yesterday, if you don’t mind telling me? What took you so long to get into the Vale? And what the heck was that creature that tried to turn us into paste?”

Fluttershy’s ears flattened in remembrance to what had happened the previous day, and what she had been forced to do to end the battle. “It was a poseidon eel kraken that tried to kill us yesterday, Cadence,” she said.

Cadence looked at her as if Fluttershy was pulling her leg. “A poseidon eel kraken?” she whispered incredulously. “A big, tentacle covered, horse-faced, breath-killing, poseidon eel kraken!” Fluttershy nodded. “How the hay did a deep sea creature find its way into a lake?” She quickly added, “Assuming it was fully-grown, of course.”

“Oh, it was fully-grown; I’ve seen enough pictures of dead krakens that have washed up onto the shore to know an adult one from a baby.” Fluttershy’s head bowed a little. “As to how it got there, I imagine it was pushed into a river by a storm as a child. In the hope it would join up with its mother again, and not thinking any better, it followed the river up to here and settled down, passing through underwater caves to get around,” she theorised. 

Cadence chewed on her bottom lip in thought. “That sounds credible enough,” she said, nodding thoughtfully. “But I still want to know what happened after the cave-in.”

Fluttershy’s head lowered even further, and told Cadence in brief of how she fought the great kraken, how she was nearly crushed by its tentacles, and how she ripped out one of its eyes with Drage Bane, forcing it back into the deep water. 

Once she had finished, Cadence stared at her in shock. “Whoa…” she whispered.

Fluttershy winced at her tone. “You must think I am a monster now,” she said. 

Cadence quickly slung a leg over her shoulders. “No, no, not at all,” she said, nuzzling the Dragonlord’s face in comfort. “You did the only thing you could to stop that kraken from killing you. You forced it to retreat, and that is what matters in the end.”

Fluttershy’s nose twitched. “So you don’t think I… killed it?”

Cadence chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh, no, I don’t think losing an eye would be enough to kill such a creature. Just don’t come this far into the Unicorn Range again, though, cause I don’t think it would end well for you if you ever decide to come back and face him again.”

Fluttershy brought herself to chuckle, though to her it sounded like she was coughing. “Oh, trust me, I don’t think I will ever set a hoof into the Unicorn Range again after this,” she said, bringing Cadence to laugh as well. The pair paused for a moment as they saw the path split into two, with one veering left, and the other heading straight on. 

Silently, the two agreed to head left. A bit further down the path, the forests gradually disappeared to be replaced by an open plain, with few trees dotted here and there, and a few rocks set up for ponies to sit on and have a picnic. It was beside a set of rocks, that Fluttershy had enough of the silence once more and spoke up. “Um, Cadence, mind if I ask you something?”

Cadence looked at her quickly, and smiled. “Of course you can. What did you want to ask?”

“I was wondering if you would tell me what happened yesterday. What drove you all to split off like that?” Fluttershy asked worriedly, not because she dreaded the answer, but because she didn’t want Cadence to feel uncomfortable.

Cadence’s smile fractured little by little until it formed into a frown. She sighed heavily and looked away. Fluttershy stopped, prompting Cadence to do the same, and raised a hoof in the hope to calm her. “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to say anything if it makes you un–”

“No, Fluttershy, it’s fine,” Cadence said quietly, waving her hoof assuredly. “I want to tell you how we split off like that. It’s just the events leading before our separation leave me ashamed of myself.”

Ashamed? Fluttershy tilted her head as she stared at Cadence oddly. “What happened?”

Cadence’s eyes drifted upwards and towards the pegasus, revealing sorrow and shame to the Dragonlord. “We had an argument, Fluttershy. One that nearly divided us for good…”





Cadence felt the sweat pour down her face and body as she ran, knowing that the excessive amount of sweat was from a mix of exhaustion and terror. She could hear the monster’s roars following her like a fierce gale threatening to throw her off her hooves, but she ignored it to the best of her ability. ‘Keep running, Cadence. Don’t stop, and you will make it,’ she thought as she raced down the tunnel and leaving that beast behind. 

She just hoped everypony else would make it as well.

She looked over her shoulder quickly to be sure everypony – and dragon – was accounted for. Spike was on her back still and gripped in her magic, screaming and demanding that she would release him. Trixie was just behind, followed closely by Luna, her sword Nightbringer gripped in her magic and glancing over her shoulder. 

That were nearly all of them. All of them except for Fluttershy. 

Cadence sighed sullenly as she looked ahead once more. Between Luna and herself, the pair had tried to remove as much rubble as they could with their magic, as well as using blasts of magic to destroy the pieces of rock, but it was still taking too long. And like Fluttershy had said, the creature was coming back up, ready for the next round. If they had stayed close to the rubble blocking the entrance, that creature could have caused more cave-ins and crushed them all faster than they could retreat. 

It was a terrible choice to leave Fluttershy behind to face that monster alone, Cadence knew. However, and as much as she hated to admit it, the decision was the right one to make. 

Cadence squinted her eyes as they came into direct contact with the sun, and slowed down as she found herself staring at the Vale of the Lost from a long ledge sticking out of the mountainside. She found her breath taken away from her as she stared at the vast number of woodlands, hills, roadways and meadows filling the Vale. “What an incredible place,” she whispered. 

Trixie didn’t stop to enjoy the scenery, but kept on galloping. “Why are you stopping?” she demanded. “Come on, keep running!” Before she could give Cadence a time to reply, she leapt off the side of the ledge and galloped ever faster down the hillside.

Cadence gawped hesitantly as she watched Trixie make it to the flats below and disappear under the trees. “But, what about Flutter–?”

“We’ll think about her when we get to wherever Trixie’s going!” Luna explained as she raced past Cadence. When she made it to the edge, she spread her wings and glided down the hill. “Come on!”

After a moment of hesitance, Cadence nodded and spread her wings as well. She briefly looked back at her passenger, who stayed silent and stared at the tunnel behind them. “Hold on tight,” she said, before leaping off the ledge and gliding down after her auntie. Spike didn’t move an inch, but simply stared at the tunnel with unblinking eyes. 

When she made it to the flats just below, she tucked her wings to her sides and broke into a gallop once more, intending to catch up to her aunt. ‘But what about your friend Fluttershy?’ her mind asked her. ‘Are you just going to abandon her?’

Cadence flicked her head in disagreement to her troublesome and ever doubting mind. ‘Fluttershy is a strong pony. She is capable of looking after herself. She will come back to us, you’ll see, Cadence,’ she retorted. She just hoped Fluttershy would not be too long; she wasn’t sure Luna and Trixie would want to wait ages for her.

She slowed down to a walk as she saw her auntie and Trixie resting on opposite sides of a large dirt patch with four different paths heading north, south, east and west. Around the roads were a heavy array of trees and bushes. ‘A crossroads of sorts,’ Cadence considered, inspecting the large area. ‘A good place as any to rest, I suppose.’ She looked back at where they had come from, only to see that the trees blocked the tunnel from where they had entered. ‘Probably for the best. Otherwise I’ll keep watching that spot for her to appear and kill myself with worry every passing minute when she doesn’t.’

She set herself down on her stomach, and shut off her magic, letting go of Spike. As soon as he was free, however, he jumped off Cadence’s back and attempted to run back the way they came. “Spike, no!” Cadence cried as she channelled her magic once more and caught Spike in her grip.

“Let me go, Cadence, LET ME GO!” Spike yelled, his arms and legs flailing as he tried to free himself, but to no avail. “I have to go back, I need to help her!”

“Look, Spike!” Cadence shouted, spinning him around to face her and glaring the little dragon into silence. “I’m not happy about leaving Fluttershy behind, either. Far from it, in fact. But I know that the only good we can be to her right now is to get in her way and become live bait! So sit down and wait!” 

She hated giving such commands to children, but sometimes it was necessary; she might adore children, but right now, she wasn’t in the mood to put up with Spike’s stubbornness. She looked at the ground and sighed. “Look, if it’s any consolation, I strongly believe Fluttershy will join us pretty soon, looking as if nothing had ever come out of that lake and tried to turn us all into filler for a sea sandwich. In a few minutes, she will be back here smiling, and after a brief chat and hug we can all be on our merry way again.”

Seeing that he had calmed a lot, Cadence gently set Spike down onto his backside, and smiled at him caringly. A smile that, she hoped, would make Spike consider and approve of her words. “You really think Fluttershy will be all right?” he asked.

Cadence nodded, her smile staying the same. “I don’t think so, brave Spike. I know so,” she replied. She looked in the direction that they had came, and discreetly nodded to herself. ‘Yes, she will be fine.’

She looked around when she heard heavy hoofsteps pacing around, and saw Luna sheathing her sword back to her side and looking at the surrounding area. “Is everypony okay?” she asked, looking to each member of their group.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Trixie replied, her tone indicating that she was still with them. 

Cadence lifted herself onto her hooves, smiling assuredly. “I’m okay, thank you, aunt,” she answered.

Luna looked sceptical. “Are you sure? You took a nasty punch to the side,” she reminded her. 

Cadence looked at her side where she had been hit. Luckily, her wing hadn’t been damaged, but a faint purple colour began to sprout around the wing and her lower stomach. “I’ll live,” she declared confidently. She looked back at her aunt. “What about you?”

Luna shrugged. “A few scrapes here and there, but nothing too serious,” she answered. She leaned on the right side of her body, the look of concern on her face changing to a frown as she was about to change the subject. “Now, we must take a moment to consider what our options are from here.”

“Well, isn’t that obvious? We wait here and let Fluttershy catch us up,” Spike said, getting up and dusting himself off.

“That may be a good idea, but what if–” Before she could finish her emotionless statement, Cadence sent a hoof straight through her open mouth. 

“Don’t. You even. Dare,” she growled quietly, glaring at her aunt. She spoke louder so that Trixie and Spike could hear her. “I for one agree with Spike. We should wait here until Fluttershy rejoins us and then find a place to shelter for the night. She would do the same for any of us, so why shouldn’t we?”

Luna pushed Cadence’s hoof out of her mouth, then gestured for Cadence to follow her for a bit. The younger alicorn complied and followed Luna to the edge of the crossroads. Once they were out of earshot, Luna leaned her head forward and said quietly, “I know she would, Cadence. She has a good heart, and is loyal to her friends no matter what. But you cannot deny the fact that there is a large chance she may never return to us. Whatever that beast is, it was big, and I fear Fluttershy is too little to take it on alone. We could be stuck here for an awfully long time waiting for her, and I don’t think we could afford to stay in one place for so long.”

Spike huffed loudly, his face revealing how much he had heard – all of it. “Well I’m going to wait here for her!” he declared, falling onto his rump and crossing his arms. Luna and Cadence looked back at him in shock. “You can all go on without me,” he continued, waving his claws at them. “I don’t mind. I won’t miss ya.”

Luna looked perplexed at the situation, while Cadence gently smiled at the baby dragon. ‘Such loyalty, young Spike,’ she thought. ‘Such bravery.’

Trixie silently approached, stopping to stand between the two alicorns and the baby dragon. “Either way, I think we should find a more suitable place to rest–”

Spike spun around so fast that Cadence jumped back in shock. “Don’t you even think about telling anypony what to do, you dumb witch!” he yelled, glaring at the unicorn with a raging fire in his eyes. “You have no right to tell anypony what to do after what you’ve brought us into, least of all me!”

Trixie took a step back in shock, her eyes bulging and her mouth hanging open. “Why are you taking this turn of events out on me?” she asked.

Spike pointed an accusing finger at her. “You said that the Unicorn Range was safe! You said that we could pass through here without getting into trouble! An- and that we will be out of the Range by this evening!” He thrust his finger at her. “You lied to us, Trixie! Just like you have always done and always will! You lied so you could… you could…”

“So I could, what?” Trixie demanded, her look of shock giving way to anger. “Have you all killed and take whatever values you all have on you?” She paused to chuckle. “Trixie may be many things, baby dragon, but she isn’t a murderer and a thief!” She paused to stare at the little dragon bemusedly. “Anyway, why are you blaming me for this attack?” She raised a hoof and pointed it towards Spike. “The blame lies more on you than it does on me!”

Spike got up and pressed his face against Trixie’s, gritting his teeth in anger. “And what is that supposed to mean?” he asked angrily; Cadence backed away, seeing where this was going easily, and wished to be no part of it.

“You were the one that was throwing those blasted pebbles into the lake!” Trixie recalled, throwing a foreleg into the general direction they had came from. “If you had not been that stupid, then maybe Fluttershy would still be here and we could be out of the Range before nightfall!”

“How was I supposed to know that a giant monster with wiggly tentacles was in there, huh?” Spike demanded. “The only pony that should have known such things were around here was you, the expert of the Range, as you had called yourself. Some expert you are. It would have been better for us if Fluttershy had left you to rot in that castle!”

Trixie’s eyes burned. “Well, it might have been better if you had been left behind in Canterlot!” she roared.

Cadence turned away as the shouting between the two escalated into insults and such. It was no secret that Spike harboured a strong hatred for Trixie, but Cadence didn’t realise it was that strong. ‘I should have helped Fluttershy in getting these two to work better together.’ Her ears twitched when she heard Luna’s voice suddenly thrown into the mix, either attempting to calm the pair down or she suddenly became part of the argument, she did not really know. 

Not that it mattered, anyway. ‘What has happened to us?’ Cadence thought, sighing solemnly. She, along with Fluttershy, considered that they were all starting to get along and become the team they needed to be. Now, things were coming down faster than a falling tree, and Cadence could not think of any way to stop it. 

She looked up at the place where the tunnel was, and pleaded in thought, ‘Fluttershy, come back soon and help us. Save us.’

Suddenly, the bushes beside her rustled loudly, drawing Cadence’s attention. Cadence turned her head around upon hearing the noise, then took a step closer and brought her head forward. The rustling was too quick to be made by the wind. ‘Could it be?’ she hoped. She stepped forward once more; her wings opened up as a welcoming smile spread across her face. “Fluttershy?”

A creature, too fast for Cadence to see what it actually was, leapt out of the bushes and fell upon her with a ravenous howl. Cadence didn’t have time to react and cry for help as the creature pushed her to the ground and bit tightly into her outstretched wing.

Cadence screamed in agony as she felt the creature’s teeth sink into her wing and her bone, shaking its head as if it was trying to rip her wing apart. She could feel her head spinning in shock from the massive amount of pain circling her body, and felt its claws digging into her side, pinning her down as it subjected her to agonies she thought were not possible. “Aunt!” she cried out, her legs kicking sporadically in an attempt to push the beast off her. 

She heard a shrilling scream – obviously from Luna – and then the rush of galloping hooves as her aunt came to her aid. She heard a sword swing through the air; followed swiftly by the unnatural screech of a creature she had never heard before. 

She felt herself passing to and from the world, the shock of the pain nearly overwhelming her. ‘Deep breaths, Cadence, deep breaths!’ her mind yelled. She did as she was told, and eventually felt her mind clear and keep her conscious. The agony she had felt before was gone, but only to be replaced by a throbbing pain that slowly started to recede.

She opened her eyes to find Luna standing above her, a look of worry for her niece across her face and her sword Nightbringer covered in ash. Yet there was something else in Luna’s eyes as well. Something Cadence had thought was impossible to see in the Nightly Princess’s eyes.

Terror.

“Come on, get up, Cadence!” she cried mortifyingly, looking around as the sounds of rustling bushes graced Cadence’s ears. “We’re under attack!”

‘Attack?’ her pained mind thought as she struggled to her hooves; she heard Trixie and Spike scream chillingly, whether in pain or in horror, she did not know. ‘Attacked by what?’ She shook her head to clear her senses, and when she felt conscious enough, looked around. What Cadence saw made her eyes go wide with horror and her mouth hang open. 

The hundreds of creatures appearing from the woodlands around them resembled a multitude of animals. They had the head of a rat, the body of a pegasus pony with scythes instead of wings, the paws of a cat, and the tail of a lion. Yet their eyes were plain white, tatty manes of various dark colours ran down the side of their long necks, and fangs glistened with hunger from their mouths.

“What the heck are those things?” Spike yelled as he backed away from a few of them. One lunged forward and tried to rip open Spike’s chest, but the little dragon jumped back, bumping into Trixie, who was facing down her own monster.

Luna looked back, swinging Nightbringer in front of her. “It doesn’t matter, Spike! Fight them, all of you! Fight for your lives! Fight!” she bellowed, before charging into the many ranks of the beasts and swinging her sword left, right, up and down. The creatures that were hit by her blade dissipated into dust, while those around them surged forward, intending to kill the ponies and dragon.

Cadence looked around her and saw Trixie drawing her sword and swinging it madly at some of their new foes, while Spike began picking up any rocks he could find and hurling them at the monsters as they charged; one was hit square in the head and tumbled over, throwing a few more behind onto their backs.

Cadence looked ahead, and saw to her horror that more creatures were appearing from the bushes, the trees, everywhere they could possibly appear, and a few of them were charging towards her with hisses and screams leaving their lips. ‘Get it together, Cadence!’ her mind yelled. ‘Now get up, draw your sword and fight them!’ 

Once more, Cadence did as she was asked by her mind, and quickly sent a blast of magic at one of the creatures. In an instant, the beast exploded into dust. Before she had the chance to fire another beam of magic, the first of the beasts lunged forward and brought its scythes back, ready to strike. She stepped back from the first beast’s lung of its scythe-like weapons, drew her sword out, and swung it in a wide angle, slicing through the head of the beast as though it were made of butter. 

She stepped forward, swung her sword around, and slammed the hilt of the sword into the head of another. She pulled it out, stepped to the side, and swung her blade into a beast coming at her from the side, ripping through its shoulder and chest and out the other side. Another tried to jump onto her back, but she saw it and ducked, swinging low to kill a few more charging her from the front, sending the creature rolling onto the ground. Before it could get up, Cadence leapt to its side and hacked off its raised scythe. The creature opened its mouth to scream, but was silenced by Cadence’s sword as it ran through its open maw. 

She pulled it out, spun and slashed at another creature as it charged her. She slashed out at another as it came towards her, scythes drawn back and ready to strike. The blade tore through the creature’s chest, but it wasn’t enough to stop the creature’s forward momentum as the scythes came down towards her chest. She pulled her left shoulder back from the first, but was too slow to react to the second, which threw itself into her chest and right shoulder. 

Cadence gritted her teeth together and buckled under the pain coming from her chest. She looked down and watched as the scythe that had lightly pierced her wither away into dust, allowing blood to flow freely out of the wound, along with the rest of the creature. She looked up when she heard the screech of another of the little creatures, and saw the beast charge her with its fangs bare. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind, and thrust her sword forward, spearing the beast between its jaws. She pulled the sword out and swung away.

The rest of the battle became a blur of flying dust, screeches and cries to her. She swung her sword left, right, down and up, felling one creature after the other as they tried to surround and kill her. She could hear from time to time Spike, Trixie and Luna’s cries of help or alarm as they tried to group together and fight as one, but the many creatures now swarming around them were too many for them to unite. 

Cadence pulled her blade out of another creature, and looked around. The creatures were no longer attacking her, but merely circling her like wolves waiting for her to fall. Trixie and Spike were nowhere to be seen – and neither were the creatures that had been attacking them – but Luna was still swinging Nightbringer around her and killing more of the mysterious creatures, even as they progressively forced her further away from her niece. 

“Luna, help!” Cadence called, throwing another away from her with a heavy swing of her blade. 

Luna looked to her and, seeing the terror in her niece’s eyes, nodded. She tried to spread her wings and fly to Cadence’s side, but one of the creatures snapped at her wing, forcing her to tuck them back to side. She tried again, but another raised a scythe to try to cut it off. Quickly, Luna pulled it back and swung Nightbringer, cutting the scythe off. She finished off the howling creature by plunging the blade down its back.

She looked despairingly at her niece, which impaled Cadence’s heart. “I can’t! I’m sorry, but I can’t get to you!” she called, not stopping the swinging of her sword. She hastily looked around, seeing that the creatures had stopped their attacks and were now circling her, waiting for her to make a move. “There’s nothing more we can do for one another! You have to get out of here, Cadence! You have to save yourself!”

“No!” Cadence yelled, stepping back a bit more as the monsters formed a line that pushed her away from Luna. She tried to charge through, but, between the numbers forming up against her, and the rows of bared teeth ready to strike at her, she quickly changed her mind and shied back. “I don’t want to leave you!”

The Nightly Princess swung Nightbringer again, throwing another of the creatures into the air. “You’ll have to, my dear, but our separation will only be for a little while!” Luna promised, staggering a little as fatigue was obviously starting to show. “Run, Cadence! I promise, we will find each other again. RUN!”

Cadence felt her face contort into anguish. ‘I can’t leave her,’ she thought. ‘She’s my aunt! She’s my family! You don’t just abandon family!’ Then she looked again and saw more and more of the monsters, even bigger ones the size of horses with arms attached to their shoulders, appear from the forests and march menacingly towards the two remaining ponies with various weapons in their hands. ‘I’m sorry, Luna. I really am.’

With a cry of pain leaving her lips, she spun around and galloped for her life, throwing a few of the creatures off their feet and ignoring any that tried to snap at her. Before she broke through the bushes, she looked back to see the creatures starting to pursue her, and Luna nod at her with a hint of regret, before galloping out of sight. ‘Now I am all on my own.’

She looked ahead again and put all her strength, and her mind, into galloping to survive.





Cadence sniffed quietly as tears of shame rolled down her cheeks. “I am such a coward,” she whispered, bowing her head. 

Fluttershy stopped once more – she had forgotten she had begun moving in the first place, or even the pair moving onto a road once more – and jumped up and hugged the poor alicorn. “Don’t you ever call yourself a coward,” she said gently, and yet sternly at the same time. “You are undoubtedly one of the bravest ponies I know. Even when you were in such agony, you stood and fought when anypony else would have given up and fallen. That took some bravery.”

“But what about my aunt?” Cadence pointed out, gripping onto Fluttershy as if she was a comforting teddy bear. “I could have pushed my way through and reached her side. I could have tried harder.” She stomped a hoof into the ground, throwing up dust into their faces. “I should have tried harder!”

Fluttershy winced at the pained tone in Cadence’s voice, and thought deeply of what she should say to comfort her. “To be honest, I don’t think anypony could have done any better. To try such a thing would have probably got you killed.”

“But wouldn’t you have tried to get to her?” Cadence enquired. When Fluttershy didn’t answer, she tilted her head. “Wouldn’t you have tried to get to Spike?” 

“Of course I would. He’s the only friend from Ponyville that I have, and it’s up to me to look after him,” Fluttershy replied nodding. “But, as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think I could have reached him either, no matter how hard I tried. These creatures are relentless, Cadence, and strong when working together. We should not underestimate them.”

Cadence nodded understandably, and backed away from Fluttershy. “Do you think Luna might be upset with me? About leaving her, I mean?”

Fluttershy shook her head, smiling beneficially. “Of course not, sweetie. I don’t think she would care about what happened when we find her. She’ll just be over the moon to see you again. You’ll see.” With that, and a wink to finish her sentence, she turned away and continued to follow the path. 

The pegasus’s ears twitched when she heard Cadence catch up to her, and when the alicorn was beside her again, looked up to see a brave smile across her face. “I hope you are right, Fluttershy. I really do.” Fluttershy smiled, but said nothing in response. “That was a terrible joke, by the way,” Cadence said a minute later.

“What joke?” Fluttershy asked, not bothering to look at her.

“The one about Luna being over the moon to see me. She is the Princess of the Night and the Bringer of the Moon after all,” Cadence replied.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she finally got it. “Oh,” she oozed. A light giggle escaped her lips. “Th-that wasn’t me being funny, Cadence. If you want to see me being funny, then I’ll show you at a more appropriate time.”

Cadence chuckled. “I look forward to it,” she said. The two kept silent as they walked through the woods once more, keeping their ears pinned up for any sounds that were not from their heavy hooves or their steady breathing.

After a while, the path gradually turned into grassland, which opened out into a large meadow that sloped upwards and was filled with tall grass and colourful plants of varying colours. Fluttershy’s eyes searched the meadow for traces of flattened grass – be it by hoof, claw or by paw. She thought her heart would sink when she saw no traces of prints, but it didn’t. She quickly knew why. ‘Our friends may not have come through here, but neither have those monsters,’ she thought in relief.

Abruptly, a gust of wind hit the meadow, forcing the taller blades of grass to sway at its touch. Fluttershy shivered at the touch, her tail swishing in shock. “Oh, it’s cold,” she remarked.

Cadence lifted an eyebrow. “I thought you were resistant to temperatures,” she pointed out. 

“Just the hot temperatures I am resistant to, Cadence. Not the cold,” the Dragonlord replied. She looked at the ground, and briskly picked up and swallowed a tasty looking daisy. “Come to think of it, I did feel the icy chill of winter last year to be worse than the one before I was a Dragonlord; I had to wear a thick jacket while everypony else walked about like it was summer.”

“But you were sweating like we all were when we had to walk through the desert.”

“I think that’s because I am a baby Dragonlord still; I only became one two years ago, after all,” Fluttershy replied, though her tone revealed how unsure she was of her own answer. “Strange, really. Two years ago, I burnt my tongue on a bowl of soup when I first visited Horsca, and now I can eat it as soon as I take it out of the pan. I guess it develops through time like babies develop resistances to diseases and such.”

Cadence tilted her head a little, rubbing her lips together. “Hmm. I guess that makes sense.”

The two fell into silence for a little bit. It wasn’t until they left the meadow, and back onto another path veering left, surrounded by trees, that Fluttershy spoke up once more. “I-if this doesn’t make you more uncomfortable, Cadence, could you tell me what happened after you all separated?” she asked quietly.  

Cadence closed her eyes and sighed, as though she was searching in herself for the right memories. “To be honest, the rest of the day became nothing more than a blur, with trees and other landmarks rushing past me. The only thing I distinctively remember is those creatures bellowing behind me, and hearing you call out to us.”

“But if you heard me, then why didn’t you respond back?” Fluttershy demanded. “I searched for hours for all of you. I called, cried, even yelled as loud as I could, and I didn’t even get a whisper in reply.”

Cadence closed her eyes and looked away. “I’m so sorry, Fluttershy, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t yell out to tell you where I was, nor could I race over to meet you. I tried calling out when I was running, but I was so out of breath that I had no voice loud enough for you to hear. I can imagine it was the same with the others.

“And every time I tried to turn back, or stop to call out, those beasts blocked my path and veered me away from you. They kept forcing me to run, sending me further and further away from anypony. I had no choice but to be chased through the Vale with those things constantly on my tail. I felt tired, miserable, exhausted, but most of all humiliated; I was being herded around here as if I was a sheep.

“It eventually ended, though. Night had begun to fall, and the first stars were starting to show when I saw the entrance of a cave at the base of a mountain to the east of here. I rushed inside and kept on galloping until I couldn’t see the entrance of the cave, and waited. I heard the screeches and harsh words of those things outside, but after a while, they eventually faded into the growing night. I realised that by a miracle I’d escaped, and I soon collapsed and fell asleep from exhaustion.”

Fluttershy looked at her friend in great sympathy, and her heart went out to her. ‘I wish I had been there to help her. I wish I could have helped them all,’ she thought. She veered closer to the alicorn and nuzzled Cadence’s shoulder. “I am sorry, Cadence. That must have been horrible for you.”

Cadence nodded, smiling softly at the pegasus. “Don’t be sorry, Fluttershy. It wasn’t your fault. And yes, it was hard, but I felt proud of myself to learn that I had the endurance to keep it up until then. Anyway, when I woke up and made my way back to the cave entrance, the moon was starting to set, and the sun was about to rise. 

“I realised then that I had to find all of you before those creatures returned, so I cantered westward, hoping to make my way back to the crossroads. When I made it, I caught the scent of you and your tracks, and was simple ecstatic to know that you were all right. I followed your tracks, and that was when I heard your screams for the first time. The rest I’m sure you know.”

Fluttershy nodded thoughtfully, though she was unsure of what to say next. Therefore, she looked around her once more, hoping she wouldn’t see or feel those creatures’ presence. Thankfully, she could see and feel nothing, and relaxed a little, but she could feel a twitch in her legs, begging her to rear up and draw her swords. She ignored them to the best of her ability, but the more time that passed without seeing them, as well as every other sound like a branch breaking or the sound of her or Cadence’s hooves against the ground, that twitch began to turn into an irritable itch.

A few minutes later, the path went through a large meadow with a single oak tree sitting to one side, its branches creaking against the light breeze that had appeared and its leaves whistling like birds singing.

Fluttershy squinted her eyes to take a better look at the bark of the tree, and saw to her horror various scratch marks right across, along with tiny splotches of red dotted across it. ‘Those things must have killed and eaten whatever was living in there, and scratched at the tree just to get them down,’ she thought, imagining the scenario that took place there. 

She shivered violently at the thought of those… things, and what they could do with everything they had. They were literally weapons of war, and if trained and organised properly they could be a terrible threat for all of Equestria – maybe even the whole of Terra. 

But what in the name of the stars were they? 

“What do you think those things were, Fluttershy?” Cadence asked, looking down at Fluttershy expectantly and patiently for an answer. 

‘She must be reading my thoughts,’ the Dragonlord thought. Fluttershy regrettably shrugged in response. “I have no idea, I’m afraid. I tried remembering all those books I had read about the different animals that I knew I would have to treat and look after if I become an animal caretaker, but so far nothing that fits their description has come to mind.” She groaned as a light headache started coming on. “It’s getting so frustrating just thinking about it, that I feel like my head is about to explode.”

Cadence smiled comfortingly. “Oh, we don’t want to make a mess now, do we?” she joked, bringing a giggle out of Fluttershy. Once the two had stopped laughing, Cadence smiled warmly at her. “It’s okay, Fluttershy, don’t feel like you have to find out what those things are and where they come from.”

“But how else are we going to know what these creatures are and how to fight them?”

Cadence looked at the sky with a contemplating gaze. “I can think of one pony who might know what they are.”

Fluttershy’s head shot up, her eyes sparkling with interest. “Who?”

Cadence looked back at her, smirking. “Auntie Luna,” she replied. Fluttershy tilted her head, prompting Cadence to explain. “Yesterday, when those things emerged, Luna looked terrified of them, and I mean really terrified of them. Aunt Celestia told me of how Luna had stood up to gigantic monsters, bigger and more terrifying than those things, and had a confident grin across her face the entire time. I cannot begin to imagine what Luna must have been thinking when she saw them again, but it was obvious to me that she has seen and faced them before.”

At that moment, a chilling thought crept into Fluttershy’s mind, one that brought her to a stop. “Those creatures… they must have been the ones that attacked that hamlet two days ago,” she said. Cadence’s eyes widened in shock, yet she did not voice her disagreement of the claim. “Luna said she had an idea of whatever caused the attack, but she dearly hoped she was wrong and that it was something else.” The thought of a creature existing that genuinely terrified the two thousand year old Princess of the Night sent a wave of painful knots through her stomach. “Oh, now I hope she was wrong.”

“As do I,” Cadence grimly agreed. “But the only way we’re going to find out is to find her, Spike and Trixie before those things do.” With that, the alicorn broke into a brisk trot. Fluttershy nodded, and trotted after her. 

An hour later, the pair came across a T-junction with a path heading right, and another heading straight on and disappeared behind a group of trees. Fluttershy moved to follow the straight path, but stopped when she realised Cadence wasn’t beside her. 

She turned around to address her, and felt her face frown in confusion when she saw the befuddled look on Cadence’s face; the alicorn was slowly looking around her, like a deer searching for predators. “Cadence?” she called concernedly. “Are you all right?”

Cadence shot her head around to look at the pegasus, and after a moment smiled assuredly. “I’m fine, thanks. I just, uh… have a feeling.”

Fluttershy cocked her head. “What kind of feeling?”

“It’s a weird one, really, but um… okay, it’s like this. Do you ever get that feeling that you’ve seen something or somepony before?”

Fluttershy turned around and walked up to her. “You mean déjà vu?”

“Yeah, that,” Cadence replied, pointing at her with a hoof. “I don’t know why I feel it, but for some reason I just think we’ve been this way before.”

Fluttershy stared wide-eyed at Cadence for a moment, blinked, then slowly allowed her eyes wander around the area. The junction was a neat little set-up. A couple of rocks sat in a circle on a patch of grass, shaped like a triangle, which she imagined where placed so ponies could rest their hooves and have a picnic. A small stream trickled alongside the road, heading south, while on the other side sat a wall of trees of varying heights and number of branches. Between the roads and the rocks were the forests, which rested around two hills: one was short and lumpy, while the other was tall and thin.

Fluttershy licked her dry lips, and turned to look at Cadence with a warm smile. “I don’t think we’ve been walking in circles, Cadence,” she said assuredly. “I certainly don’t recognise this place, and we’ve been following the path west so we can’t have gone back.”

Cadence chuckled half-heartedly. “You’re right. Of course we’re not going around in circles. How silly of me.” Chuckling to herself, she continued trotting along the path. Fluttershy chuckled as well, and then cantered after her. 

A moment later, after passing through another set of woods, Fluttershy realised with horror that they had been going in circles after all. 

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Cadence exclaimed as they emerged from the woods to find themselves gazing at the pond where they had started. 

“How is this possible?” Fluttershy asked incredulously, her eyes wide as they wandered across the clearing and the pond, making sure it was the same one the two had started from. Her heart sunk when she saw the lily pad she had thrown aside when she had emerged, as well as the one she had used to clean up Cadence’s wound, confirming her fears that this was the same one. “We were going in a straight line, weren’t we?” She looked to Cadence for answers. “We were following the path west, right?”

“We must have accidentally turned a corner while we were talking,” Cadence replied, her eyes wide and making her look as though she was on the verge of panicking. The alicorn collapsed onto her haunches, and groaned sombrely. “Oh, how are we going to find our friends if we can’t walk in one straight line?” She slammed a hoof to the ground in frustration. “Darn it!”

Fluttershy sat down, and rubbed her temples gently to calm her nerves, even though she felt like freaking out as much as Cadence seemed to be. ‘Okay, Fluttershy, stay calm, and for goodness sake think!’ she yelled at herself in thought. Yet she knew she couldn’t think for long. Every moment stopping to think was another wasted on finding their friends alive and in one piece.

“Oh, what are we going to do?” Cadence moaned, shaking her head in despair. “What can we do? Let’s face it, Fluttershy, we’re lost. We’ve failed. If we can’t stay in one straight line, how are we expected to find out friends?”

Fluttershy grumbled lowly as she pushed her mane behind her left ear. “Cadence, right now I’m trying to think, and hearing you whinge is not helping in the slightest,” she said agitatedly. “So could you please turn it down… a bit?” Her voiced faded away as she realised what Cadence just said, and her eyes widened in realisation. She whisked her head around to face Cadence, pointing a hoof at her. “Hold on. What did you just say again?” 

Cadence looked at Fluttershy oddly. “The part where I said we’re total failures and that we will never find our friends again?”

“No, not that bit, the other bit.”

“The bit where I said we are lost?”

“Yes, that part,” Fluttershy replied, nodding. She tapped her chin in thought, and after a bit, felt a gasp leave her mouth and a bright grin grow across her face. “Cadence, you’re a genius!”

Cadence cocked her head. “Um… I’m not sure how I can be a genius if I’m whinging?”

“Do you remember what Luna said when we encountered those wisps back at the Dotted Wall?”

Cadence’s brow creased in thought. After a moment to think about it, she replied with a nod, “Yeah, I remember that… I think.”

“Luna said that whenever we are lost, alone or looking for help, the wisps will come to our aid,” Fluttershy recalled. She turned around, and gestured to the woodland beyond the pond. “Let’s head back to the path we started from.” Cadence nodded in agreement, and together they set off around the pond and back through the trees.

When they arrived at the path, they quickly looked both ways and in front of them to make sure none of those things were waiting for them. “I think it’s clear,” Cadence said, looking around.

“Yes, it’s clear,” Fluttershy confirmed, her ears flicking for any sound other than them. She sighed in relief, and then looked up at the Princess. “Do you know how to summon wisps?”

Cadence shook her head morosely. “I’m not sure if I can, to be honest.” She took a deep breath, and puffed out her chest a bit. “But for our friends and my aunt, I will do my best and try to summon them.”

Fluttershy smiled encouragingly, and put a comforting hoof on Cadence’s shoulder. “It doesn’t matter if you fail, Cadence. You will do your best, and that’s what matters.” Fluttershy took a step back from the mare, giving her some space. “Good luck.”

Cadence nodded gratefully for her support, then presented her back to Fluttershy, lowered her head, and closed her eyes in concentration. Fluttershy walked around until she stood to Cadence’s side, just so that she could see better. While she knew it wouldn’t be the alicorn’s fault if the plan failed, she also knew she would still be upset; without the aid of the wisps, it will be harder to find and rescue their friends. ‘All our hopes are with you, Cadence,’ Fluttershy thought. 

Her heart leapt out of its place when she saw Cadence’s horn light up, and the summoning spell began to be cast. She didn’t notice she began nipping at the edge of her hooves in nervousness. She wanted to look away, in case her stare alone would break the spell and end any hope of finding their friends, yet couldn’t bring herself to do that. She needed to see.

Then suddenly, making Fluttershy jump a foot into the air, a wisp shot out of the ground, humming faintly and pulsing with a faint, blue glow. Fluttershy gasped ecstatically. “You did it, Cadence, you did it!” she cheered, jogging on the spot in joy.

Cadence opened her eyes, and grinned in delight as a line of wisps began to form along the path. “Well let’s not waste anymore time here. Let’s go find our friends!” With that, Cadence began to chase after the wisps as they appeared along the path. 

Fluttershy stopped grinning and her eyes opened in shock when she heard Cadence’s hooves, and watched as she became a pink dot in the distance. “Oh my,” she said, before taking off after her with her wings flapping to gain speed. ‘She can run when she wants to,’ she remarked, as the wisps behind her returned to the ground whence they came.

She soon made it back to Cadence’s side, just as the wisps took a path heading left and around a hill. Cadence smiled at her, which Fluttershy returned. “Do you think they’ll lead us to our friends, or to the exit?” she asked concernedly, watching briefly as trees and pathways leading to fields and meadows fly past.

Cadence shrugged. “Possibly… to the exit, since they’re supposed to tell us which way to go,” she replied, sounding out of breath.

Fluttershy nodded, reprimanding herself for thinking it would locate their friends first and the way out second. The wisps were creatures merely meant to guide, not to be a tracking device for everything. “I hope then… that we run into our friends first,” she said, beginning to show the fatigue in her own voice.

“I hope so… too,” Cadence responded, before turning her eyes to the path ahead. Fluttershy followed her lead, though she kept her eyes open for any movement in the trees, pony, dragon, or otherwise.

The wisps suddenly veered off from the path and disappeared into the trees. Fluttershy and Cadence looked at each other in surprise before galloping after them, disappearing like ghosts into the forest. They swerved around the trees as quick as they could before they could collide with them, both of them knowing that slowing down was not an option. The spell, while having a long duration period, would eventually end and they would be stuck in the middle of nowhere once more. 

They emerged from the forest to find themselves racing through a meadow dotted with large bushes covered in large white flowers, and surrounded by towering pine trees. Fluttershy slowed down to catch her breath, and looked ahead to see the wisps disappear into the wall of trees at the far end of the field. She picked up her hooves again and galloped hard, feeling her mane and tail trying to break away from her head and rump and fly with the wind. She heard Cadence’s ragged breath behind her, and she smiled, pleased Cadence was able to keep up and persist after a hectic two days. ‘The poor mare must be tired,’ she thought.

Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of screaming.

Fluttershy screeched to a halt, the wisps almost completely forgotten at the new sound. She looked back to be sure it wasn’t Cadence, and was slightly relieved that she looked almost as confused as she was. 

“Where did that come from?” Cadence called, swinging her head back and forth. Fluttershy merely shook her head in response and, silencing out Cadence’s breathing, she pricked her ears up and listened. 

That was when she heard the familiar cry of, “Help!”

“SPIKE!” Fluttershy screamed, half in delight and half in terror. She closed her eyes and concentrated. “Come on, darn it, where did he shout from?” she asked herself.

“Fluttershy, this way!” Cadence cried. Fluttershy looked up and watched as Cadence galloped into the trees to their left. “Come on, hurry!” she added a second later. 

Fluttershy leapt up and galloped after her, throwing her legs forward and back to the point she felt as though she were leaping off the ground trying to fly for the first time. She quickly caught up with Cadence and fell in beside her, hoping that the alicorn was right and Spike really was in this direction. 

Sure enough, they made it to the edge of the trees, and what they saw on the other side brought them to a stop in horror. 

Spike and Trixie were far on the other side, standing against a wall of rock forming the edge of a hill, while seven of the small creatures penned them against it, their mouths watering and hissing in hunger and their scythes poised to strike.

Trixie fell onto her stomach and buried her head in her hooves, whimpering and crying for them to have mercy. One of the creatures – a tall, dark orange beast with a black mane formed into a ponytail – leapt forward and tried to impale her with its scythes. Spike suddenly leapt forward and, with a large stick in his claws held at one end like a sword, deflected the two weapons before they could sink into her flesh. 

The creature reared back in surprise, while the others stood dazed by the attack. “Leave her alone!” Spike yelled, swinging his ‘weapon’ wildly and dangerously. “I’m warning you, you don’t want to mess with me when I am angry! Now back off!”

The creature started creating with its mouth something akin to a cat beginning to throw up a hairball, which Fluttershy perceived that it was chuckling. Then, without warning it leapt forward and grabbed Spike’s arm with its teeth, throwing the other arm off the stick. Spike tried to pull his arm out of the creature’s hold, but the creature wouldn’t let go; it tugged at his arm like a dog would play tug of war with its owner.

Fluttershy could not bear to watch any longer, and charged out of the forest at a full gallop, her wings spread wide, revealing her shimmering wing blades, and her face formed into a mask of rage. “HEY! Leave! Him! Alone!” she yelled.

The other creatures turned their heads to stare at her in shock. Taking this chance, Spike huffed a spout of green flame at the creature, making the beast’s leg come alight with green fire. The creature screamed in agony as it let go of Spike’s arm, which pushed him back against the rock alongside Trixie, and began running wild among its kin as the fire started to fester around its body like a pox, until the whole of the creature’s body was alight with green dragon flame.

The other creatures danced away from the blazing beast as it wheeled about like a bucking pony and screamed as it tried to douse the flames, but they only grew fiercer, as if the beast was flammable. With a final wheeze of breath, the beast keeled over and lay motionless on the ground.

The six remaining beasts turned to the little dragon with looks of rage, and began to advance on him. They seemed so set on ripping Spike apart, that they failed and forgot to remember Fluttershy charging into them.

Fluttershy raised her right leg, drawing Drage Bane, to strike at the closest one, but an arrow whisked rapidly past her head and into the back of the creature’s head. The beast jarred suddenly, howling in pain, before exploding into a cloud of dust. She looked back to see Cadence walking forward whilst prepping her bow for another shot, and nodded gratefully her. 

She looked ahead when she galloped between two more of the creatures, ripping their sides and necks apart with her wing blades. The remaining three looked behind upon hearing their friends’ demise, and immediately, one charged her while the other two charged towards Cadence. 

Fluttershy rolled out of the way as the beast swung its scythes down on her, the strikes creating two holes in the ground. She got up and reared onto her hind legs, drawing Firewing and Drage Bane with their songs of death. The creature pulled out one scythe and swung it towards her at a wide arc, aiming for her neck. Fluttershy ducked, missing the blow, and stepped forward and thrust her blade towards the creature’s flank.

The beast swung its body away from the attack, then reared up and swung a paw at her face. Fluttershy reared her head back, watching in surprise as it flew over her face, then straightened and launched a feint attack to its right with Firewing while readying the real attack with Drage Bane against the creature’s neck. 

The creature pushed Firewing away from it, and launched a sudden attack with its open mouth, its teeth flashing in the sunlight. Fluttershy quickly spun her head away from the blinding light and thrust Drage Bane  into the side of the creature’s head. 

She rapidly shook her head to clear her vision, blinking as she could see a spectrum of colours in the corners of her eyes. She ignored them as best as she could, and looked down to see the remains of the creature she had taken out disintegrate into dust.

“Fluttershy, look out!” Spike cried, pointing behind her. Fluttershy’s ears twitched as she heard one of the creatures charge at her, thinking she couldn’t hear its approach. 

It was dead wrong. 

Once it was close enough, she reared up and spun, slashing the creature across the face and chest with one set of wing blades, then Drage Bane, then Firewing, and finally her second set. She was back facing Spike before the creature had fallen to its side, melting into dust like the others.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Cadence finish off the last one by impaling it through its belly with her sword and raising it high into the air. Fluttershy set herself back onto all fours as the last of the beasts was dropped to the ground by Cadence like a rag doll, and looked up to stare at Spike, who stared back at her in shock.

For a moment, none of them moved, or so much as said as a word. The only sounds between them were their gradually calming breathing. Finally, Fluttershy felt a large grin tug at the smile of her face, and tears of joy sprang across her eyes. “Oh, thank the stars that you’re safe!” she cried joyously as she ran up to him.

Spike seemed to break out of the shock of seeing her again, for a large grin formed across his face and tears formed in his eyes. Before Fluttershy was close enough to reach him, he leapt forward and wrapped his arms around her, sending her into a spin of joy. “For now I am, at least,” he said. He pulled his head back to look at her, as if he needed to be sure he was holding her, then buried his head in Fluttershy’s mane and shoulder, sniffing back tears of relief. “I thought I would never see you again.”

“Trust me, Spike, it would take a lot more than a few of these beasts to keep me from reaching you,” she replied, grinning ecstatically. She pulled back to look him in the eye and make sure he really was okay. 

Spike looked as though he was at the point of exhaustion: his eyes looked heavy, his back was slouched forward, and he could barely keep his head upright. The arm that had been in the beast’s hold wasn’t bleeding, but Fluttershy could make out the bite marks left behind. 

Without a word, Fluttershy flung him onto her back. “But, Fluttershy, I–” Spike protested, but the Dragonlord cut him off quickly with a raised hoof.

“No buts from you, mister,” she said adamantly, smiling all the while. “You’re tired, and we may have to run again soon. And there is no way on this earth I am leaving you behind – not again.” 

Spike stayed silent and just curled up across her back, resting and hugging her around the neck as if he was scared of her disappearing again. ‘Even though he sometimes talks with the wisdom of an older pony, his age sometimes shows through,’ she thought, smiling softly. With Spike taken care of, she turned to look where Trixie was. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the unicorn wasn’t there.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Cadence cried from behind her. Fluttershy spun around to see Cadence holding Trixie in her magic, who was flailing about and whimpering in fear. “Spike was right about you. You set us up!” Fluttershy took a step closer, and could make out through Cadence’s mane the mare’s snarling teeth gritted together. “You brought us here to be a feast!”

“NO!” Trixie screamed, cringing and crying at the harshness in Cadence’s tone. “I… please, I didn’t know these things were even here, honestly. I… I’m so sorry!” She began sobbing loudly.

“Then why did you start running to get away from us, if only to escape the consequences of your guilt?” Cadence demanded angrily.

“Because I was so scared that you would blame me for this happening!” Trixie yelled. “I was terrified of what you would do to me if I stayed.” She seemed to cringe further on herself. “Please don’t hurt me.”

Fluttershy walked up to Cadence and threw her a harsh glare. “Put her down, Cadence,” she said softly, yet the demand was still evident in her voice.

“But what if she tries to run again?” Cadence whispered. 

Fluttershy stared at her for a moment, then looked at the terrified unicorn. “She won’t. I know she won’t. So please, put her down.”

Cadence regretfully nodded, and in an instant, the aura of her magic faded away. At once, Trixie screamed and fell onto her rump, wincing in pain. Fluttershy nodded to Cadence in thanks, and slowly walked up to Trixie, trying to keep her anger from boiling over. 

Trixie saw her coming, then fell onto her side and crawled away from her, shaking with fright. “Please… Fluttershy, I beg you, please don’t hurt me. I had nothing to do with any of this, I swear.”

“And I believe you,” Fluttershy replied, smiling assuredly at her. Trixie stopped, and her eyes widened as a look of relief washed across her face. Just as she was about to get up, Fluttershy’s smile disappeared into a frown. “But I want to know why you abandoned Spike yesterday.” Trixie’s look turned to greater horror. “I saw your tracks and Spike’s follow each other, and noticed that they separated from Spike. I’m not mad, Trixie, just curious.”

Trixie’s eyes clenched themselves shut in a bid to hold back tears. “I’m so sorry,” she cried hastily, cringing at Fluttershy’s blank expression. “I was going to protect Spike, I really was, but when one of those things tried to pounce him and push him to the ground, I pushed it away from him. 

“Once I did that, though, another leapt in and forced me away from Spike. I tried to get back to him, but there were too many of those things. I had no choice but to run. I was only lucky that I found him again this morning, and we headed off towards the exit in the hope we would meet you all there.”

Fluttershy stared at Trixie in sympathy, before turning her head to look at Spike for his side of the story. “She’s telling the truth, Fluttershy,” he confirmed, nodding. “Those things forced us away from each other, and once they had pushed me as far away as they could without me finding my way back to you all, they stopped chasing me and headed back. I tried to follow them, but I lost them after a while, so I was forced to walk around the Vale until I was too tired to walk on anymore. When I woke up, I had to run again when those things started chasing me once more. After an hour or so, I bumped into Trixie.”

Fluttershy nodded, feeling relieved that Trixie had not actually betrayed them, and then looked back at the cowering unicorn with a warm smile. “It’s okay, Trixie. I don’t hate you, but I don’t forgive you, for there is nothing to forgive.” She leaned forward and nuzzled Trixie’s face. “I imagine you did all you could to stay with Spike, and more.” She pulled back and helped Trixie up onto her hooves. “Thank you, for at least trying to protect him.”

Trixie smiled through her tears, even though Fluttershy could see it strained. “You’re welcome… I guess.”

Fluttershy smiled and patted her on the shoulder, then turned around to stare at a Cadence, who stared warily at Trixie. “What do you have to say to her, Cadence?” she asked, raising an eyebrow bemusedly at the alicorn.

Cadence gave her a look that asked if she had to do this. Fluttershy gave a simple nod in response, and then sharply flicked her head towards Trixie in gesture. Cadence simply sighed, and walked up to the unicorn, her head bowed and her ears flat. “I’m… I’m sorry I accused you of setting us up,” she said, genuinely sounding like she was sorry, much to Fluttershy’s delight. “I should have known better than to jump to conclusions like that, especially to you after everything we have been through together. Could you ever forgive me?”

Trixie looked to Fluttershy, like a young child would do with their mother when unsure of something. The Dragonlord smiled at her and nodded. Trixie looked back at Cadence and smiled. “It’s all right, Cadence,” the unicorn said, waving her apology away with a hoof. “I imagine I would have said the same things to anypony if they had tried to run instead of me.” 

Cadence looked up and smiled gratefully. “Thank you.” She lifted her head once more, looking around. “So tell me, how did you two meet up again?”

Fluttershy looked back at Trixie, her face expressing her interest on the subject. “I was making my way west to the exit, when I saw a load of those creatures marching up the road towards me; hundreds of them, led by those bigger brutes with weapons,” Trixie explained. “I fled from them and headed south, hoping that they would be around the northern area of the Vale and not around the southern. I heard screeches of those creatures behind me, so I kept on going, swerving this way and that. An hour or so later, I bumped into Spike.”

“I was making my way back and forth across the Vale in the hope that I would eventually run into any of you,” Spike continued. “Although, after an hour or so, I started to give up; this place is so huge and I am so little that I thought I would never find any of you, that I would have to become a hermit living in a cave somewhere. At that point, when I was sitting by a rock and staring into a pond, thinking about my new life, Trixie showed up with a horde of those beasts running after her.”

Trixie looked away, her eyes revealing her shame. “I’m sorry about that, too, Spike,” she said sullenly. “I should have been more careful about where I went. But instead, I let you down – I let you all down.” With a heavy sigh, Trixie fell onto her stomach, looking morbid.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, to say that it wasn’t her fault, but the faint cries of more of the beasts echoed across the Vale, paralysing them all in place. Just as the first series of shrieks faded away, another series echoed, followed swiftly by another. “Oh, gosh, no,” Trixie whispered, shaking her head in disbelief as her entire coat went pale.

It didn’t take the Dragonlord long to realise with horror that they were not too far behind, and were getting closer. “Run!” she yelled. With that, she broke into a heavy gallop towards the road, with Spike clinging around her neck for dear life. 

“No, Fluttershy, they’ll catch you if you go that way!” Trixie cried. 

The pegasus stopped instantly and turned to face her. “Then which way do we go?” she asked hastily.

Trixie pointed to the cluster of trees closest to them. “That way! All of you, start running!” The unicorn jumped up as if she had a new purpose in life, and broke into a sprint towards the woods. 

Cadence looked unsure of following her. ‘Probably fears it could be a trap,’ Fluttershy thought. The former Princess looked to her for guidance, which Fluttershy responded with a flick of her head into the direction Trixie went. Cadence nodded, and galloped towards the forest, just as Trixie disappeared into the trees.

Fluttershy watched as Cadence disappeared behind the trees, then looked behind her and saw the first of the smaller monsters emerge at a charge from the woods. The Dragonlord squeaked in horror and galloped after her friends, glancing over her shoulder to watch as dozens more of the beasts – followed by at least two shepherds – appear from the forest as well, sprinting after them.

‘Concentrate, Dragonlord!’ she yelled at herself. ‘Look ahead and pay no attention to them!’ She broke her gaze away from the monsters and looked ahead, just as she rushed past the first trees of the woodland. She swerved past one tree, then another, and another, until she was swerving about the many trees as if she was drunk, concentrating on her hoof work.

She briefly glimpsed back to see if she was being followed. She couldn’t see them, but she knew that they were back there somewhere. “Fluttershy, look out!” Spike exclaimed. She looked ahead to see a large oak tree in the way, and quickly screeched to a halt, nearly throwing Spike off her back as she did so. 

Fluttershy blushed and grinned sheepishly in embarrassment. “Sorry,” she whispered before breaking into trot around the tree and back into a gallop once more.

She looked ahead and briefly grinned in delight when she saw the silver tail of Trixie ahead of her, and willed herself into galloping faster. “Trixie!” she called, prompting the unicorn to look over her shoulder. “Why through the forest?”

“They seem to run faster when out on the open plain,” Trixie explained, sounding out of breath. “If we go through the forests, it might slow them down and give us more time to escape.”

“I don’t think that will do much good for us now, Trixie,” Cadence objected. Fluttershy looked to her to see she was staring ahead. “Look.”

Fluttershy followed her gaze, only to gasp in horror. Beyond the trees was a wide clearing, easily the size of Ponyville’s park, with a cluster of rocks in the middle, and trees scattered widely around the edges, leaving no hiding place for them to cower in and pray that the beasts would pass them by.

Fluttershy felt her heart sink slowly into despair. She abruptly felt Spike’s arms around her neck tighten like the coils of a snake, reminding her why she shouldn’t just give up. ‘I need to be strong. For Spike. For my friends,’ she reminded herself, her eyes narrowing in determination. “Come on, everypony, keep running!” she yelled encouragingly.

Trixie and Cadence responded by lowering their heads and putting their all into running for the clearing in the hope they could get through it before the monsters could even pass the forest. Fluttershy smiled at their determination, and then narrowed her eyes further as the group flew out of the woods and into the bright sunlight beaming across the clearing. 

Once her eyes recovered from the sunlight, she looked around for anything that could hide them and give them a chance to escape from the monsters running after them. The Dragonlord figured despairingly that the trees to the east and west were too far away for them to get to before the monsters appeared from behind to chase them down. ‘I guess we have to keep on running.’

She heard a gasp of horror from Spike, and looked over her shoulder to see three of the smaller creatures leap out of the trees and race after them. Just as Trixie had said, their strides were like watching a cheetah run after its prey with the relentlessness of a wolf added for good measure. 

Fluttershy heard a squeak of fright from Trixie to the side of her. “They’re gaining!” she wailed in horror. The unicorn looked ahead again and galloped for her life, her legs moving faster than the rods on a steam locomotive going at full speed. Fluttershy followed suit and put her all into running.

Her ears managed to pick up the lack of four hooves running, and looked back to see where Cadence was. She stopped and gasped in horror as she watched Cadence face the monsters charging towards her. “CADENCE, NO!”

The alicorn ignored her pleas, and with narrow eyes pulled out an arrow from her quiver, spun it around and notched it to her string. The nearest creature was almost forty feet away and rapidly gaining. In one fluid motion, Cadence lifted her bow, drew the arrow back until the end was past her ear, and loosed.

The first one went down with an arrow embedded through its head. Before it had stopped rolling, Cadence loosed another shot, this one hitting the neck of the second beast. The final beast leapt the last few feet at the alicorn, its mouth wide open and ready to gorge its teeth into her. Cadence spun away from the attack, letting the creature roll to the ground. The beast immediately recovered and spun to leap at her. Cadence set an arrow to her bow, drew back her third shot, loosed, and hit the final beast through its open mouth. It went down and disintegrated into dust without a sound.

Cadence breathed deeply and lowered her bow, watching as the final pieces of dust left from the creatures fell to the ground like snow. The Princess secured her bow to her back, and spun around and back towards the waiting Dragonlord.

Fluttershy watched the whole spectacle with admiration, and a small amount of fear. “Have I ever asked you on how you became the Princess of Love?” she asked as Cadence made it to her side. “Because, um, I swear from that, being a Princess of Love is just a hobby.”

Cadence turned around and grinned as she made sure her bow was secure. “You’re right. Being the Princess of Love is more of a hobby. I prefer archery. More exciting.” Both ponies cringed at the sounds of screeches, and looked back to see more of the beasts leaping out of the forest and bearing down on them. “Enough chit-chat! Run!” Cadence yelled, pivoting on the spot and galloping for her life. Fluttershy watched the alicorn charge with fear, before spinning around and galloping after Cadence.

Trixie was waiting for them at the far end, fidgeting on the spot in nervousness. “Come on, follow me!” she yelled, beckoning them to follow her. With that, she took off into the forest without looking behind.

Cadence threw a nervous look towards Fluttershy, showing some measure of distrust towards the showmare. Fluttershy noticed from the corner of her eye, and turned her head to give Cadence a brave nod. The Princess swallowed, and looked ahead again as the pair disappeared from the clearing and into the woods once more, the screeches of the monsters louder than ever and making Fluttershy feel like they were just behind them.

Suddenly, she emerged from the forest to find herself standing on a small dirt path that ran around the forest boundaries, and ahead of her was a wide river with a small island in the centre and surrounded by small rocks that broke up the water and turned into white foam. 

“Come on, Fluttershy! Cadence!” Trixie yelled, waving a hoof from the top of the island. 

Fluttershy nodded, and took a step forward to get across, when she felt something heavy push into her backside and force her to the ground. She looked over her shoulder to see a creature rear up with its scythes poised to pierce her hide. Fluttershy jumped up and kicked out with her hind legs, throwing the creature across the air and into a tree, then turned to Cadence, who stared at the monster in horror. “Let’s go!” she yelled.

Cadence briefly shook her head to bring herself out of her shock, and leapt onto one large rock, then another, and so on until she reached the other side in one mighty leap Fluttershy only thought was possible from a deer. ‘Maybe Cadence is half deer,’ she wondered, smiling wryly at the idea.

She was thrown out of her thought when she heard a faint hissing from behind her. Fluttershy turned around, and gasped in horror when she saw the creature she had kicked earlier was slowly getting up, snarling at her with glistening fangs wet with hunger and blood. Behind it, other creatures were slowly emerging from the darkness of the woods, their white eyes staring at her intensely and filling the pegasus with terror.

‘Time to move,’ she thought, feeling her knees shake with terror. “Spike, get off and jump to the rock, now!” Fluttershy ordered. Spike nodded without saying a word, and leapt from Fluttershy’s back, ran a few feet, then jumped onto the first rock, then made it to the other, then another until he jumped onto the other side, where Cadence was waiting to catch him. 

With Spike safe, Fluttershy bent her legs and prepared to jump. A screech similar to an eagle’s cry before taking its prey forced her to turn her head around. She gasped in shock when she saw the beast charge at her, scythes poised high and mouth wide open. Fluttershy looked back towards the river, then closed her eyes, and jumped.

She felt her hooves land on something solid, and opened her eyes to see she had landed on the rock as she had hoped. She jumped again, eager to get to the other side. Halfway through the air she felt herself stop and was pushed back, as if she had charged into a shield she could not pass through, and landed on her stomach with an “Oomph!” leaving her lips. She looked back, and her eyes widened in terror to see the creature had the end of her tail between its lips, and was using it to drag her back over the river. 

“Let go!” Fluttershy screamed. She stretched out her forelegs and attempted to grab hold of something to keep her safe, but every time she thought she had a hold of something, her hoof slipped, and she was dragged an inch further backwards by the monster. “Help! Somepony!”

Cadence’s head appeared from the other side of the bump, her eyes wide with horror as she saw Fluttershy being slowly dragged from the rock to the monster’s teeth. “Hold on!” Cadence yelled, prepping her bow to shoot. 

Spike emerged from behind with a rock in his claws. “Let her go!” he yelled, before throwing it at the creature. The rock sailed through the air as if it was flung by a trebuchet, and slammed into the head of the beast holding Fluttershy’s tail, tearing the tip of her tail off as the creature was thrown back by the shot.

At once, Fluttershy spread her wings and glided to the island. Once she had landed, she put a hoof to her heart and began rubbing the area in circles. ‘I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay,’ she repeated to herself, feeling her heart beat frantically. She took another deep breath to calm her nerves, and then looked up at Spike with a grateful smile. “Thank you, Spike.”

“That was some pretty good aiming,” Cadence remarked, her eyebrows raised and her eyes expressing her amazement. 

Spike blushed. “Uh, thanks, I guess. I just had a lot of practice when I was with Twilight in Canterlot,” he said. “A pile of books always makes good target practice.”

Screeches of rage from the creature Spike had hit drew Fluttershy’s attention back to the danger they were in. She spun around and backed away to see the creature, bleeding dust from the wound on its head, and staring at the baby dragon with a look of wanton murder.

Such a look was a bad move to make in Fluttershy’s eyes, especially if it was towards her best friend. “Hey!” she yelled, rearing up and showing the beast Drage Bane, which sang its approval of being drawn. “If you want Spike, then you will have to go through me first!”

“Now that’s cheesy,” Spike muttered, quiet enough for nopony else yet loud enough for Fluttershy to hear. 

It had the right effect, however, as the creature’s gaze turned towards Fluttershy, and its eyes narrowed venomously. At once, it leapt towards the rock, but as soon as it landed, it slipped and tumbled off the rock.

As soon as its body made contact with the river, it screamed and writhed in agony. Fluttershy looked away and jumped up to the top of the small hill, joining her friends’ sides, even as they watched the creature writhe about as though it were being tortured. The beast began to sink into the water, its flesh disintegrating into nothingness. First its scythes, then its legs, then its body began to wither away till only the neck and head remained. By then, any movements had stopped and any sounds it had made faded into echoes, with its white eyes staring at the group of travellers.

“What’s happening to it?” Cadence asked, her tone not bothering to hide her horror.

“The water,” Trixie explained, her head bowed and breathing hard. “It kills them like that. I saw one or two fall in this morning when I crossed. I’m not sure why, though.”

Fluttershy shook her head “It doesn’t matter now.” Her eyes widened in horror as the creatures hiding within the forest emerged in an orderly battle line, with a shepherd armed with a long two-headed battle axe and dressed in a long cloak of various animal skins stitched together walking in front of them. ‘Well at least it shows they are intelligent of sorts,’ she thought, despite the bile of disgust she could feel crawl up from her stomach at the sight of so many animal skins. 

The shepherd looked down at the smaller beast’s head, just as it disappeared into nothingness. The beast snorted with anger, a faint trail of smoke bellowing from its nostrils, before turning its hate-filled gaze towards Fluttershy and her friends. Despite being a short yet safe distance from it, Fluttershy felt herself take a step back in fright. 

“Enjoy your reprieve for now, Equestrian scum,” the shepherd growled in a rough version of the Terran language, bearing its teeth. “It will not last long. The kakos always take their prize, no matter how slippery the prey is.”

With that, the shepherd turned around and walked back into the forest, forcing itself through its minions as it did so. Once it was through the woods, the other creatures followed their shepherd and retreated from sight.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, come over here and say that to our faces!” Spike yelled as the last of the creatures – or kakos, as the shepherd had called them – had disappeared from view. Once they had gone, Spike began to laugh. “Big, fast, scary monsters, defeated by a bit of water. Not even a Power Ponies’ villain could be defeated by that!” he laughed, falling onto his rump and clutching his sides as he struggled to regain his breath. 

Fluttershy tilted her head and raised a bemused eyebrow at him, shutting him up. “It is strange, though, that a living creature is killed by water like that,” Cadence pointed out. “That would mean that these things could live and even thrive in places without water.” Cadence paused to shiver. “By Orion’s belt, what are they?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “They called themselves the kakos, but I don’t recall ever seeing that name pop up in one of my animal books.” She turned to look at Cadence, Trixie and Spike. “Have any of you heard of that name from anything?”

The three companions shook their heads and shrugged. “Sorry, Fluttershy,” Spike said, looking ashamed of himself for some reason.

Fluttershy walked up to him and nuzzled the side of his face. “Don’t be, silly.” She pulled away, and turned to Trixie. “How far is the nearest crossing from here?”

“About a mile east of here,” Trixie replied, pointing behind her. A shiver crawled up the unicorn’s back. “Do you think those things know about it?”

Fluttershy nodded sharply. “They’ve been here long enough to know the whole Vale by now, Trixie,” she answered. She turned around to see a small path running alongside a long stretch of grassland. “Come on,” she ordered, allowing Spike to jump onto her back, “let’s take this path and keep heading west. Hopefully we will run into Luna before we run into more of those things.”

The others nodded in agreement, and together they jumped off the top of the island, waded through the shallow river, and began to follow the path westward, with Fluttershy in the lead. The Dragonlord looked back at her friends, and though she felt joy in her heart at the sight of Trixie, Spike and Cadence once more, she knew it needed one more before she could feel really elated.

‘I hope you’re okay, Luna,’ she prayed. ‘Please be okay, for your niece. For us.’