Celestia stood, staring out the window, when the door opened behind her. She didn't look around to see who it was.
"Princess, it's time to lower the sun," Ventus' voice said.
"No," Celestia said, monotonically.
"I know you miss her," Ventus said, walking up beside her, "but you need to lower the sun."
"I can't," Celestia said, looking at him with red, puffy eyes. "I can't look at the sky without the moon there."
"I know," Ventus said, sympathetically. "But there isn't anything we can do. The last thing we need now is for the regular day/night cycle to cease. The country is distraught enough as it is."
Celestia looked at him, and sighed. She knew he was right. Looking back out of the window, her horn glowed with her usual yellow aura. The sun finally dipped beneath the horizon in the distance, and the sky began to slowly darken. Immediately, Celestia turned to leave, Ventus following.
"Any news?" Celestia asked. "How many cities fell today?"
"I'm not a huge fan of this new pessimistic outlook," Ventus said, bluntly. "It'll be bad on everypony's morale."
"How many?" Celestia asked again.
Ventus sighed. "None since Manehattan. We've transferred the Element of Kindness and her squad to Las Pegasus."
"Good idea," Celestia said, as they descended the spiral staircase from what had been Luna's tower. "That'll throw him off. If he's only working off of the old intel, then he should strike Fillydelphia next. If, as I suspect, we have a traitor in our midst, then he'll hit Las Pegasus."
"So you really think somepony's passing information to Sombra?" Ventus asked.
"Yes," Celestia sighed. "I don't want to believe it, but I seriously doubt that Sombra attacking the city with three Elements of Harmony as his first strike was a coincidence, especially after what Big Macintosh told me."
"What did he tell you?" Ventus asked, curious.
"Sombra's first strike, the very first spell he cast, directly hit the hotel room where Rarity was staying," Celestia said. "And I had that information stored in the database."
Ventus could think of nothing to say to that. They continued down the hallway in silence for a moment.
"How's Twilight?" Celestia asked.
"You're asking me?" Ventus said, surprised. "Wouldn't that be a better question for the doctors?"
"But you know," Celestia gave him a sideways look. "Don't you?"
Ventus sighed once again. "She's doing better. They've stabilized her, and she could actually wake any time now."
"I need to be there when she does," Celestia said immediately, before turning down a different route.
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Under the now darkening sky, a dark shape stood, seemingly waiting for something. Soon, a corridor of darkness appeared several yards away from the figure, and a pony wearing a black cloak and a hood stepped out of it. The corridor disappeared behind the newcomer.
"What kept you?" King Sombra asked, slightly annoyed.
"I was busy," the voice replied. "You like the intel I bring, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Sombra replied, indignant. "It's been very--"
"Well, if you want it to stay that way," the voice cut him off, "then I'll need to come slightly later than usual sometimes. It was slightly harder than usual to obtain today."
"We have a different problem," Sombra said. "The Element of Magic, whatever her name is..."
"Twilight Sparkle."
"Yes, her. She's going to be a problem."
"Oh?" The voice sounded unconcerned. "How so?"
"She doesn't have dark blood, but she can use dark magic."
"Really?" the voice asked, now showing genuine interest. "How strong was this dark magic?"
"Disintegration."
"That is a problem," the voice admitted. "That's almost on the advanced level of dark magic. If she receives dark blood, she will not be easy to kill."
"She's already hard to kill," Sombra said. "I barely managed to beat her. I electrocuted her, and she still survived."
"I wondered what had happened to her," the voice said. "I saw she was in intensive care. But we can worry about her later. I have your next target."
"Where?" Sombra asked, eagerly.
"The Element of Kindness is in Las Pegasus. She's a yellow pegasus, with pink hair and three pink butterflies as a cutie mark. She's in charge of a squadron in the southern side of the city."
"We'll leave immediately," Sombra said.
"Not quite immediately," the voice said, pulling something from beneath it's cloak. "I have something for you."
"What is it?" Sombra asked, puzzled.
"A way to cripple them," the voice said, throwing a book at Sombra. "Permaneantly. Read up, and be sure you've mastered it before you go."
The hooded figure then turned, and the dark corridor opened again. He stepped into it, and it vanished, as Sombra eagerly opened the spellbook.
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A confused jumble of voices.
A splitting pain in her head.
Darkness.
A white ceiling.
Twilight's eyes slowly fluttered open. As soon as she realized she was conscious and in an unknown place, she tried to sit up rapidly, only to be stopped by soul-crushing pain. She flopped back down onto her pillow, only then realizing that she wasn't alone. A pale white mare with flowing green and pink hair sat beside her bed.
"Glad to see you're finally awake," Princess Celestia said.
"Where am I?" Twilight asked. "What happened? Where's Sombra?"
"You're back in Canterlot, in intensive care. It seems King Sombra electrocuted you. We don't really know anything other than that."
"But how did I get here?"
Celestia's warm smile faded.
"My sister saved you. She sent you back here, unconscious."
"But wouldn't she know more about what happened?" Twilight asked, confused. "Did she beat Sombra?"
Celestia's eyes watered slightly.
"...No. Princess Luna, she... she's gone." She looked away.
Guilt shot through Twilight like fire. Princess Luna was dead, and she had been saved. It was entirely possible that Luna had died because she had saved her.
"Princess, I'm sorry," she said, fighting to not choke up. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you! I'm sorry I snuck off to Manehattan! I'm sorry she had to die to save me!"
Celestia smiled again, the tears gone from her eyes. "I don't blame you, Twilight. You arrived a while before the moon vanished from the sky. And given the circumstances, I think we'll forgo any consequences."
Her face grew serious again. "But I do want to ask one thing."
"Yes?" Twilight prompted.
"Your full cooperation from now on. I can't have you disobeying orders again."
Silence. Then,
"Of course, Princess. Thank you."
"Unfortunately, you're in no condition to leave intensive right now," Celestia said, "and we have important business to conduct. Would you mind us holding our meetings in here for the next little while?"
"Of course not, Princess!" Twilight said, excitedly.
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The holo-projector wasn't exactly easy to move, but Iron Hooves and Ventus managed to get the job done. They got everything set up at the foot of Twilight's hospital bed, and Twilight was immediately given the job of scribe. Celestia informed the doctors that they were not to be disturbed, and she locked the door behind her.
"All right, let's get started at last," Celestia said. "What you're about to hear is highly classified information, that could cause panic if spread to the general public. Twilight, you're to encrypt this information when we're finished."
"Yes, Princess," Twilight said immediately. "I'm ready."
Celestia continued. "After transporting the troops - plus Twilight - to Manehattan, Ventus did some investigations into the cause of the deaths of Forest Shade and Applejack. The information he discovered is of vital importance. Ventus, if you could tell us what you learned."
In her head, she added but leave off the fact that you're half demon.
"Of course, Princess," Ventus said, both in his head and aloud.
Ventus spent the next hour explaining the dark research team, and everything they had taught him about Dark Spirits, Daemons, and Demons, but didn't mention a thing about his journey to visit the Eye of Truth. When he was finished, both Iron Hooves and Twilight seemed appalled.
"So Applejack and Forest Shade were both killed by a demon?" Twilight asked.
"Definitely," Ventus said, face grim. "And one other pony that we know of."
"So does that mean there's a demon here?" Iron Hooves asked, looking nervous.
"There definitely was one here at that time, at least," Celestia said. "But it's certainly possible that it's still here."
"Wait a minute," Twilight said suddenly. "Is there any way to tell if someone's been possessed?"
"Unless you sense it or see it in their eyes, I don't think so," Ventus said. "Why?"
Twilight was thinking back. "Because I think I know how the demon got here. And it explains some things."
"Please, elaborate," Celestia said.
"Can somepony else be scribe for this part?" Twilight asked. Ventus nodded, and took control of the holo-projector from her.
"Remember how the Crystal Heart was moved, and I theorized that Spike had done it?"
Celestia nodded.
"Well, I think this demon had something to do with it. I think it possessed Spike, since Spike was the only one who could've removed the Crystal Heart, and did so. I did a mental examination, and got some odd readings in his cerebral cortex. I think that was the demon I was sensing. It rode home with us on the train, and possessed Forest Shade and Applejack in order to kill them."
"There's one problem with that theory," Celestia said. "If the demon did ride home in Spike, it definitely didn't leave him by the time he got to magical examination like you requested. And they said they didn't find anything wrong with him."
Twilight had thought of that, and was ready with her counter-argument. "Who's to say they didn't find something wrong? The demon could have possessed any one of them to file that report, and it could've easily modified the memories of the rest of them to think there had been nothing wrong."
"...You have a point," Celestia admitted. "All right. I think it's safe to say that theory is true. If it is, that should mean we can see if the demon is possessing somepony. It also means the demon is in league with King Sombra." She looked like she was contemplating something for a moment.
"I think we have a way to identify our traitor."
"Really?" Iron Hooves said. "How?"
"Perhaps the traitor isn't a traitor at all," Celestia suggested. "Perhaps the demon is possessing one of us at this very moment, and is passing information to King Sombra in that way."
The room was dead silent. The other three looked at each other nervously as they contemplated that.
"So, I'm going to scan all three of you right now."
None of them dared to object. Celestia scanned Iron Hooves, and found nothing. Twilight, nothing. Then she scanned Ventus, and found nothing in his cerebral cortex, but she could feel something else in his mind. She dug a little deeper, and immediately wished she hadn't.
She barely managed to keep a straight face, as the strongest wave of fear she had ever felt in her 6300 year lifespan washed over her. She could sense nothing but evil, the nastiest evil she had ever felt. Worse than any of the few serial killers she had convicted, worse than anything that had ever threatened her or Equestria.
Worse, even, than the residual aura around Forest Shade and Applejack. But if the demon was possessing Ventus, shouldn’t the aura be the same?
After some quick calculations, she realized that this must be the demonic half of Ventus. Inwardly shuddering, and sincerely hoping she never had to feel that again, she looked around.
"Well, either our theory is incorrect, which I seriously doubt, or there aren't any demons among us," she said.
No hostile ones, anyway, she thought at Ventus. He gave no sign that he had heard.
"So what now?" he asked.
"Well, that concludes the classified portion of our meeting," Celestia said. "Now, let's move to less secret information."
After spending the next half hour going over troop placements and war strategies, Celestia dismissed the meeting. Iron Hooves was the only one who left.
"We'll leave the holo-projector in here until such a time when Twilight is able to leave intensive," she said to one of the doctors. "How quickly should she fully recover?"
"If we keep her in here, she should be up and running again in a couple of days," the doctor said. "We've already repaired some of the damage, but there's a bit more work to be done."
"Excellent," Celestia said, before turning back to Twilight.
"I think there's somepony that wants to see you now," Celestia said. "I'll tell him to come down now." She stood up, and left the room, leaving Twilight alone with Ventus.
"Happy now?" Ventus asked. "You went to the front lines after all."
Twilight shook her head. "I didn't make a difference. Sombra still won, and now Princess Luna is dead."
"I think you sent Sombra a pretty strong message," Ventus said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if the demon passed information to Sombra, then he should know that you survived," Ventus said. "How many ponies, if Sombra decided he wanted them dead, have ever been survivors? Not a lot."
Twilight smiled. Then, she thought back to how she had treated him in the days before she snuck to Manehattan.
"Ventus, I'm sorry," she muttered, not looking at him. "I'm sorry I--"
"Don't worry about it," he interrupted. "It's fine, and you learned your lesson, right?"
"Do what Celestia says."
"Then I guess there's no harm done," Ventus said, before standing up. "I think I'll give you two some privacy."
"Who are you talking--"
But at that precise moment, the door to the room opened, and a purple dragon entered her room as Ventus left it.
"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed. She had forgotten to ask about him.
"Hey Twilight," Spike said. "Feeling better?"
"Not really," Twilight said. "Can't sit up yet." She looked suddenly concerned. “What happened? How did you get away?”
“Big Mac and I fought our way out,” Spike said. “I wrote a letter, and one of the trains picked us up.”
“No… No one else?” Twilight asked, hesitantly. Then she noticed just how red and puffy his eyes were.
“Oh, Spike…” she breathed, holding out her front-left leg. Spike walked into her one-armed embrace. “I’m so sorry…”
“I had to watch,” he said, voice quivering. “I had to watch her die in my arms! Why her?! Why couldn’t it have been me?!”
“Because I’ve already lost half of my family,” Twilight said, stroking Spike’s scales soothingly with her hoof. “I couldn’t bear losing you, too. But at least Rarity got to see you one last time.”
“I told her!” Spike choked, almost at the breaking point. “I told her how I feel!”
“What did she say?”
Spike couldn’t bear it any longer.
“She loves me back!” he wailed. “She loves me back, but now she’s gone!”
He began sobbing into her, as her eyes welled up with tears. So little Spikey-wikey worked his way into her heart after all. But now, they couldn’t act on that love. She continued holding him as he cried his heart out into her.
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Ventus could hear the sobs of the dragon all the way down the hallway, as he turned a corner and ascended a stone staircase. He wandered aimlessly, wondering where to go and what to do. He hadn’t expected to be almost trampled by a rushed Celestia, hurrying back down the stairs.
“Sorry, Ventus” she said quickly, as he stood up again.
“Princess?” Ventus looked into her eyes, seeing a mix of emotions. Panic, anger, and sorrow were all present. “What’s happened?”
“Our theory was correct,” she said. “Sombra is getting current information.”
“How do you know?” Ventus asked, already guessing what the reply would be.
“Las Pegasus has been invaded.”
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Fluttershy stood atop a large skyscraper in Equestria’s largest, though not most populated metropolitan city. A city that was now under siege.
I want to hear from each of you every five minutes, she commanded her squadron in her head. Silver Spire will remain with me to monitor your movements, but we can’t tell who’s wounded and who isn’t. Get to your battle positions.
She watched the holo over Silver Spire's shoulder, as the soldiers all moved to their positions. All but one of them. Feint Heart had paused about three-quarters of the way to his assigned position.
"What's he doing?" Silver Spire asked.
Feint Heart! Fluttershy called out to him in her mind. Why aren't you moving to your assigned position?
No reply. Fluttershy looked at her recently appointed second-in-command.
"He's not answering. I'm going to go find out for myself."
"All right," Silver Spire replied. "Be careful, commander."
She galloped for the edge of the building, spreading her wings. She jumped into the air and took off, soaring quickly for the position where Feint Heart's dot had been, flying low to be able to spot him in the darkness of the night. She spotted him quickly. He wasn't alone, but he wasn't fighting, either. She descended, heading right for them.
Oh, no, she thought to herself, as the other ponies around Feint Heart came into greater focus. They were civilians, regular, everyday civilians, about thirty in all. She landed lightly on the ground not far away.
"Commander, thank goodness," Feint Heart said in relief. "I was just about to call for you."
"Why aren't you inside?" Fluttershy asked the ponies around them. "I thought you were all ordered to apply defensive plan Gamma."
"The doors all locked before we could get inside," one nearby stallion said. "There wasn't anything we could do."
"And they won't let you back in?" Fluttershy asked. The stallion shook his head.
She stood for a few moments, torn within herself. Half of her, the military commander half, wanted to just give them weapons and let them fend for themselves. But she knew this was not an option. It wasn't their fault, and they needed protection now.
"Damn it," she cursed under her breath. Being the Element of Kindness could be hard sometimes. She looked at Feint Heart.
"Protect them," she commanded. "I will return shortly."
"Yes ma'am," Feint Heart said, saluting her as she took back off into the sky.
Change of plans, she called to all of her soldiers. Everypony gather at HQ as soon as possible. I will give you more information when you arrive.
"What's going on, commander?" Silver Spire asked as soon as Fluttershy descended onto the roof again.
"Are there any trains still in the station?" Fluttershy asked, ignoring his question.
"Two," Silver Spire said, taken aback. "Why--"
"Inform whichever train can move faster to prepare for departure," she said.
"Okay," Silver Spire said, still confused as he sent a message to one of the trains.
"Now, pack up the holo," Fluttershy commanded, as her squad began to gather at the bottom of the building, looking just as confused as Silver Spire. "Then meet me down there."
She jumped off of the building, landing directly in front of her soldiers.
"We've got a bit of a problem," she informed them. "Feint Heart found a group of civilians who were unable to make it inside before the doors closed."
Muttering broke out at that, but Fluttershy raised her hoof for silence. It fell immediately.
"We're escorting them out of the city. The other task forces will do just fine without us. No arguments. Pegasai, follow me in the air. Unicorns and Earth Ponies, try to keep up."
She took off, along with roughly a quarter of her squadron, as everypony else began galloping down the road to keep pace with them. She led them quickly to where Feint Heart and the civilians stood waiting.
"We're going to get you out of here," she reassured the civilians, who all looked a lot happier to suddenly be surrounded by a large military squad. Then, she continued to her soldiers, "Pegasai, remain in the air. You're going to guide us to the train station in the fastest way possible, and inform us of any of Sombra's forces who will be obstacles. Earth Ponies, stay by the civilians. You're to protect them at all costs. Unicorns, you'll fight off Sombra's forces in our path as the Pegasai point them out to you."
She turned back to the civilians again. "We'll have to run if we want any choice of escaping this alive. Just stay with the Earth Ponies, and you'll be safe, I promise."
They didn't look completely reassured, but some of them nodded.
"All right, everypony. Move!"
They took off, heading east down the road. Fluttershy ran on the ground, leading the pack. The Pegasai sent her directions, and she followed. After a few minutes, they finally approached a street with some enemies.
"Unicorns, we've got company around the corner," she called back to them. "Civilians, halt."
They stopped, as Fluttershy and the Unicorns flew around the corner. She led the charge once again, ready to fight. But as they approached Sombra's monsters, they turned to look at them.
"There she is!" a shadow pony cried out in a warped voice. Next, all of the monsters were hightailing it away from the incoming soldiers. Fluttershy's forces came to a halt.
"Well that was anti-climactic," one of the mares said. "Why'd they all run?"
"I don't know," Fluttershy frowned, "but I don't like it."
Slightly apprehensively, they continued moving forward. Some of the civilians seemed ready to pass out, and Fluttershy ordered a pair of the unicorns back to cast stamina spells on them all.
"We're almost there!" she called back. "Just a few more--"
"KING SOMBRA!" the lead pegasus' voice exploded, both in Fluttershy's head and aloud. "Heading straight for us!"
Those six words sent chills of horror down Fluttershy's spine, not for her sake, but for the civilians' sakes.
"EVERYPONY RUN!" she screamed. "RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!"
As the panic-stricken group picked up speed, Silver Spire appeared right beside her.
"He's coming for me!" she called to him. "He's been specifically targeting the Elements of Harmony, and I'm next! I'm leading him straight to these ponies!"
"No!" Silver Spire yelled, before she could even finish. "You're not leaving us!"
"Get these ponies out of here!" she ordered him. "Get them to safety!"
"That's your job, commander!" he cried back. "You can't abandon them!"
"I'm giving you a direct order! Lead these ponies to safety!"
"No." His face was set. He wouldn't obey.
Fluttershy was infuriated. "I'll have you--"
"Court-martials aren't that much of a threat right now," Silver Spire pointed out. His eyes were fixed with determination. "Equestria needs you! You're the most brilliant commander I've ever seen, and an Element of Harmony to boot! I won't let you sacrifice yourself for these ponies!"
He hesitated for a split second, but then finished. "I'll do it."
"WHAT?!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"I'll hold Sombra back, so everypony has the chance to escape!"
"No!" Fluttershy cried, as tears filled her eyes.
"Get them out!" Silver Spire cried. "I'm sorry, Commander! I'm sorry for everything I put you through in the beginning! Let me make it up to you now!"
Before Fluttershy could protest further, he disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing behind the galloping group as a massive dark cloud loomed over the road, barely visible in the dark sky. Silver Spire looked back, and gave Fluttershy a sad smile as he looked at her for what he knew would be the final time. Then he turned, never to look back, as he channeled an enormous amount of power in his horn, more than he had ever dared try before.
Well, he thought, at least I won't have the headache tomorrow.
He conjured an enormous magical shield, large enough to prevent Sombra from moving on, directly behind him, very effectively impeding Sombra's progress. Sombra roared in fury, looking around for the source of the magic shield. He saw the unicorn standing there, and lunged down at him. Silver Spire ran forward to meet him, offensive spells at the ready.
"Bring it on!" he cried, as he launched a spell at the black cloud.
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The group of ponies boarded the train station, moving straight for the VIP train docked there. As they moved in front of it, however, the door wouldn't open.
"Unicorns, can anyone get the door open?" Fluttershy asked, looking around.
Several of them tried, until finally, they managed to force them open.
In time to see the driver scream out in pain.
Fluttershy rushed across the threshold to the driver's side, but stopped. His eyes and mouth opened wide, and something began pouring out of them. It was black, and looked a lot like King Sombra did when he was flying around. The soldiers and civilians ducked as the cloud swept over them, and off into the city. The guard finally stopped screaming, and fell to the ground. His eyes were black, just as Applejack's had been.
He was dead.
"What... what the hell was that?" Fluttershy asked in shock, receiving no answer. After a few silent moments, she bent down next to the stallion's body.
"This was our driver," Fluttershy said, checking for a pulse that she knew wouldn't be there. "Can anypony drive trains?"
"I can drive steam trains," one of the civilians said. "Never tried electrical before."
"Anypony else know computers?" Fluttershy asked.
"I was a computer developer before joining the military," Feint Heart said.
"You two get in there and get us going," Fluttershy commanded. "I need a couple of unicorns to move the driver's body. Everypony else, sit down and buckle up."
Everypony followed her commands, with two of her soldiers moving the driver's body into the next cabin down. Soon, the train began to slide forward, gathering speed as the civilian steam driver became more accustomed to the controls. Feint Heart asked Fluttershy where they were going in his mind.
Back to Canterlot, Fluttershy told him. She stayed up long enough to ensure that they were well away from Las Pegasus before she curled up in her seat and fell asleep, exhausted.
But of course, it's impossible to stay asleep when you witnessed death five minutes earlier.
Her dreams were haunted by black eyes and clouds of smoke, as well as Silver Spire's face. She awoke a few hours later, mentally shaken, and was unable to fall back asleep.
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"I want every single building in this city searched!" Sombra roared at his forces. "Do not stop looking until--"
"You know, she's not here anymore," a voice said lazily, sounding about as interested in the news as last week's weather forecast. Sombra whipped around to see the familiar black cloak and hood of his informant.
"How do you know?" he snarled.
"Oh, I watched her leave ages ago," the voice said.
"And you didn't consider that as important information?!" Sombra yelled, angrily.
"Relax," the voice said, coldly. "She's returned to Canterlot. Now, cripple them, and you'll be able to take out the remaining three all at once."
The owner of the voice didn't even bother to walk anywhere this time. His dark corridor enveloped him where he stood, and he disappeared, leaving Sombra to angrily mutter curse words under his breath.
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"And it all came out of his eyes and mouth?"
"Yes, your majesty," Fluttershy said. She had bags under her eyes, as she had been unable to sleep since her nightmares. "Then it flew out of the train and away from us."
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Fluttershy," Princess Celestia said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a private word with Ventus."
She looked at Ventus, and he nodded, following her out of Twilight's hospital room. Iron Hooves got up and left too, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy in the room.
"So, it's just the three of us left, right?" Fluttershy asked, tears filling her eyes.
Twilight nodded. "I can't believe it, but yes. We're the only survivors."
"There were only fifty survivors from Las Pegasus," Fluttershy said, looking downcast. "I could only save fifty of them, and that includes my squad..."
"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Twilight said, firmly. "That's more than any other city so far. Did Sombra come after you?"
"...Yes," Fluttershy said, tears filling her eyes again. "Silver Spire, my second in command, stayed behind to hold him off while the rest of us escaped."
"Then I think you sent him a pretty strong message," Twilight said, thinking back to what Ventus had told her.
"What's that?"
"How many ponies have ever been survivors if Sombra wanted them dead? Not a lot. And you just added another fifty ponies to that list."
Fluttershy smiled gratefully, pushing her pain deep beneath the surface and wiping her eyes.
"Where's Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked, looking around. "I'd like to see her."
"Honestly, I haven't seen her since we got our assignments," Twilight said, frowning. "But I can't really go looking for her today, can I?"
"No," Fluttershy said, before yawning hugely. "Well, I need some sleep. I haven't slept properly since the siege on Las Pegasus began. I'll see you tomorrow." She stood, and left the room.
Twilight stared after her. If she hadn't known better, she would have said that wasn't Fluttershy at all. She was left to her dark thoughts, wondering how much more this war could take out of everypony.
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"So, there are either multiple demons in this mix, which is highly unlikely, or demons can move incredibly fast," Celestia said.
"Well, there's almost no limit to how much dark magic they can use," Ventus pointed out. "With a strong enough host, who knows how much they can really do? But why did you feel the need to tell me this away from Twilight and Iron Hooves?"
"Because you and I are probably the only two ponies who cannot be possessed," Celestia said, "and I want to throw Sombra off the trail. I'm sending Fluttershy and her squad to Ponyville tomorrow, and Twilight, as soon as she's recovered enough. All off the record. I don't think the demon will notice."
"Sounds good," Ventus said. "But why not--"
He didn't get the chance to finish. A horrible, metallic screeching noise shot through the air, causing both of them to cover their ears with their hooves.
What is that?! Ventus thought at Celestia.
I don't know, but not many things could make a sound like that, Celestia replied. A few moments later, it stopped.
"What in the hell--" Ventus began, but a frantic message reached him, sent by one of the members of his ex-security force.
General Ventus, sir, I think you need to look at this, he said. Ventus and Celestia both rushed outside to where the voice directed them.
The railroad tracks were rent and twain, completely and totally unusable. One of the VIP trains lay on it's side, debris scattered everywhere around it.
"What... what could have done this?" Ventus asked, bending down to look at the rails closer.
"I'll give you one guess," Celestia said. Ventus looked up at the other stallion.
"Did this happen all over?" he asked.
"I'm afraid so, sir," the stallion replied, heavily. "The steam lines, the electric lines, everything."
"Anyone using the trains when this happened... they're all probably gone," Ventus said, looking at the upturned VIP train and imagining that amount of destruction on a national level.
"Our source of transportation, and troop movement, has been destroyed," Celestia said, horror struck. Ventus looked up at her, more afraid than he had been in quite a long time.
"We don't stand a chance... do we?"
Current Equestria Population:
717,002