Spike's eyes grew wide. “You mean the evil king is here at the castle?”
“Yes,” said Twilight. She turned to her brother. “Hey, there's something you deserve to know.”
Shining wasn't listening. “Hold that thought, Twilight. I need to find Cadance. Celestia told me to come wait here right when I woke up, but I need to find Cadance. The baby is almost here-”
“Cadance is safe,” interjected Twilight.
Spike poked his head out from under his wooden fortress. “How do you know, Twilight?”
“Because I was with her. Briefly.”
“You mean she's not at the castle?” Shining asked in alarm, beginning to sweat. “She's not safe! Do you know where she is? Please tell me she's somewhere safe!”
Twilight motioned for him to calm down. “She is. She's taking refuge on the southern Canterlot border.”
Shining was beside himself with anger and confusion. “Why in Equestria would she leave the castle? That doesn't make sense! I need to find her right now! I'm going to get a squadron of guards and we're going to bring her back right now!”
“Shining Armor!” Twilight yelled. “You can't go out there! You'll be killed before you get halfway off the castle grounds!”
He narrowed his eyes. “Don't try and stop me, little sister! This isn't up to you! When that baby comes, I want to be there to welcome it!”
“You're too late!” she blurted.
Shining eyed her and stopped shouting. “What?”
Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. “Oops...” She regretted spoiling the surprise, but grinned nonetheless. “You're too late, brother. Cadance already had her baby. Yesterday! You're a father!”
The words rattled around his brain. “A father,” he parroted blankly. “I'm a father.” He sat down as the pieces fell into place.
“Yes!” said Twilight. “Cadance is safe with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. They're helping her look after the baby.”
Spike chuckled. “Congratulations, Shining! If I was older, we'd have a cigar.”
“So I missed it,” he said. “I missed the single greatest miracle of my life thus far. There was nothing I wanted more in Equestria than being there for the birth.” He spaced out for a few seconds but quickly perked back up. “I have a child now!” he shouted in realization. “Holy shit! I'm a father!” He rubbed his forehead. “Wow... My mind is racing a million miles a minute! You were there, right Twilight? Tell me, is it a boy or a girl?”
“It's a beautiful baby girl,” she gladly reported.
“So it's Skyla then,” Shining said dreamily. “Like Cadance and I agreed on.”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. She's gorgeous and pink. Spitting image of her mother.”
“Wow. I can't even describe this feeling...” He stood up. “I'm going to see Cadance and Skyla right this second. Nopony on earth can stop me. My daughter deserves to meet her father and I'm not letting some stupid war get in my way!”
Knowing full well she couldn't dissuade him, Twilight could only offer to reveal her other secret. “Wait.”
“What is it? Don't try and stop me, Twilight.”
“I'm not. There's one more thing you need to know. It's about your accident.”
Spike put his hand over his mouth and made a quiet ooooh!
“How would you know anything about my accident that I don't?” questioned Shining.
Twilight didn't respond at first.
“Twilight?”
“Because I was the one who burned your face,” she reluctantly admitted.
“You know that's not very funny,” he said, punching her shoulder.
“No, Shining Armor. I'm not joking...”
“H-how can that be?” he stuttered. “I was all the way up in the village of Neighpal! You're telling me that I was sent to spy on my own sister in an isolated village far from civilization? Why? In what possible scenario would that ever be plausible?”
“I know it's crazy!” she agreed. “I don't understand it myself. All I know is that I was attacked and I retaliated with magic. There's no doubt in my mind it must have been you. I -” The words caught in her throat.
“What?” Shining asked softly.
“I almost died up there. My back was broken and I was badly poisoned with black magic. You almost killed me...”
The stallion looked like he'd just been stabbed again. “Oh Twilight, no... No no no no... Never...” He embraced his sister. “I would never hurt you. You know that.”
“But you did,” she insisted. “You weren't yourself. You were using black magic and you didn't say anything. You must have been hexed or something.”
“Hexed? Are you sure?”
“I'm sure. You paralyzed me and struck me with a weapon that you conjured. A friend of mine saw us fighting and tried to help, and when he stabbed your arm, you didn't even flinch. You weren't yourself. I'm telling the truth. It's like you were being controlled.”
“I'm not a puppet!” he protested. “Celestia said I only lost my memory of being attacked. Are you saying that she's lying to me?”
Twilight rubbed her back. “In light of recent events, it's likely. When the chance arises, I'm going to have a serious talk with Celestia about some of the accusations against her.”
Shining couldn't believe his ears. “Accusations? You must be going crazy, Twilight. Are you feeling alright? Princess Celestia has been here the whole time preparing to fight off the invaders. What is she being accused of now besides brainwashing me?”
Twilight held her tongue. “It's best we leave that for later. Talking about it won't help anything right now. Just know that... everything has changed...”
“Are you alright?”
“No,” she spoke truthfully. She hugged her brother again. “Please let me come with you to see Cadance. It might soothe me a little bit.”
He frowned. “I'm not too keen on leading my baby sister through a battlefield. Besides, wouldn't Celestia want you to stay here where it's safe?”
“They're fighting right outside the castle. The only thing protecting us now is a couple of stone walls. Also-”
Shining cocked his eyebrow and waited for her to finish.
“I don't care what Celestia wants anymore. I'm tired of sitting on the sideline. She told me to come hide in here with you two and that she could handle dealing with Salvator herself. I felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders, that I was done. That's foolish. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I'm tangled up in this mess just as much as Celestia. I refuse to hide and hope it all goes away. That time has long gone.”
“Whoa. That's pretty serious,” voiced Spike.
Shining Armor slouched against a wall and sighed. “You've changed in the last week, sis. I can tell that you've seen things you wish you hadn't. Your fears have done things to you. That being said, I guess it's not up to me to tell you what you can and can't do. Are you absolutely sure you want to come with me? There's no telling what could happen out there.”
“I know that,” Twilight said matter-o-factly.
“What about Spike? Will he be safe by himself? He is just a baby, after all.”
“He'll be a lot safer than we will.”
The dragon thumped his fist on the floor. “Hey! I wanna come with you guys! You can't just leave me here!”
A glare from Twilight hushed him thoroughly.
Shining Armor continued his interrogation. “Isn't your back still messed up? What about the black magic poisoning?”
“Shining Armor,” said Twilight. “I'm coming with you. Once I know you're with Cadance and Skyla, I'm coming right back up here. Celestia owes me some explanations.”
Spike tugged at her wing. “Don't be gone long. Please. I don't want to wait another twelve days to see you again.”
Twilight nuzzled him once more. “You're the first one I'm coming back for. You first, then Celestia. I promise.”
With a pair of sad and unsure goodbyes, the brother and sister duo left toward their destiny.
---
The cacophony of explosions, screams, and yells hammered into Twilight's ears as she stepped onto the drawbridge. The fighting wasn't even close to the castle yet, but the noise was deafening. She clawed her way through the pain of summoning magic and put up a fragile magic bubble around her and her brother. Shining kept close and lead her down across the bridge onto the cold ground of Canterlot. He added his magic to hers, supercharging their barrier. The snow hadn't intensified, but it continued at a steady rate. The ponies reached the outer rim of the throng of warriors and stopped to construct a strategy. There was no rhyme or reason to the violence.
“I think we're just going to have to force our way through,” said Shining, scrutinizing the arena.
Twilight's breathing quickened. “Is our shield strong enough for that? My magic is still weak.”
“We'll be alright. Have faith in me.”
Inside the writhing maw of fighting, each clan expressed its style. The Halcyonites preferred their guns, systematically slaughtering all who dared to impede them. They had brought new weapons that Twilight hadn't seen before. A stallion next to her was operating a massive cannon-like aperture with six rotating barrels. He turned a heavy crank at the end and sent a solid stream of bullets tumbling toward his targets. Even the mighty dragons fell to the device.
Step after precarious step, the companions marched on. Twilight caught a glimpse of a Halcyonite taking something out of his satchel. The elliptical piece of metal didn't seem to do much at first. The soldier proceeded to tamper with a small mechanism and lob the thing into a triad of stampeding buffalo. It thumped onto the ground and sat for a few seconds. Not a moment after the last buffalo charged past, the metal ball ruptured in an astounding discharge of raging fire. Shock waves burst forth from the point of origin and sent the buffalo sprawling over onto their sides. The Equestrians were no match for such destructive power.
However, there was a new variable on the field. Woven into the pandemonium were things that moved but were not alive. Dozens of silver automatons with burning ruby eyes fired their guns into the masses. Steaming shell casings littered the ground. The pony doppelgangers moved with the dexterity of forest predators and struck with monumental force. Twilight watched one fell a Halcyonite with nothing more than a quick left-hook.
“What are those things?” Twilight screamed to her brother.
“I don't know! Never seen them! Looks like they're on our side though!” he explained.
The two navigated the dissonance. Twilight shut her eyes and grabbed her brother's hoof so as to blot out the horrors. Their shield wavered dangerously as bullets and spear tips alike ricocheted off in a torrential downpour of clashing steel.
“Just keep moving!” Shining Armor shouted. “Don't stop for anything!”
Dozens of bodies thumped against the safeguard. Ponies, buffalo, and dragons all ended up smashed against the magic at one point or another. The duo continued to creep along, narrowly dodging the hellish violence that enveloped them. Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and squeezed her brother's hoof. Shining stopped moving suddenly as if moved by will alone. Twilight staggered slightly and opened her eyes.
“Why did you stop?” she asked.
“The pegasi are here,” he said. “They've come in on their clouds, and there's something else.”
Twilight lifted an eye to the sky. There was no formation with the air force this time. They flew in a haphazard panic all around each other. Canterlot airspace quickly flooded with jumbled pegasi trying not to crash into one another.
“What are they running from?” asked Twilight, expecting her brother to know. “They should be forming up! Why are they all over the place?”
Behind the scrabble of airborne ponies, another compelling force spilled into the darkened sky. The beasts shrieked and extended their talons. A chorus of winds echoed with their thirsty cries for blood.
“I never thought I'd see the day!” Shining Armor yelled. “They've finally had enough! The gryphons are revolting!”
“Why? I thought they were on our side!” Twilight shouted.
“I did too! Come on, no time to stop and think about it!”
Shining grabbed her hoof and jerked her forward. She kept staring at the sky. The cloud riders unleashed terrible bolts of lightning as the first few gryphons caught up to them. The air became a reactive electrical storm as the pegasi desperately tried to shake off their pursuers. Unwilling to be outmaneuvered, the gryphons grabbed the unfortunate ponies and burrowed their talons through them. Feathers, blood, and snow simultaneously dropped from the clouds in a ghastly rain.
On the two trotted. Twilight's attention stayed ripped away from the ground. The atmosphere writhed with a hurricane of blood and feathers. Her heart skipped a beat as the first body fell. A frail red pegasus plummeted from her cloud, snuffed from behind.
“Shining Armor! She's dead!” Twilight bawled.
The stallion turned and grabbed his sister's shoulders. “That's what happens, Twilight! We can't solve any of this with friendship! I asked you if you were sure you wanted to come with me and you said yes! Now if we're going to stay alive, you've got to accept the fact that not everypony will make it out! Right now is action time. Save your heartache for later. I need you right now. Look at me. I need you. Don't shut down. Don't get lost in your emotions. I'm right here, and I'll lead us out of this, but I need you to focus. Can you do that?”
“I don't know...” she answered truthfully.
“Twilight!”
“I-I'll try. I'll try and be strong.”
“We'll make it. I promise. Just-”
Something distracted him. A small metal egg rolled up and stopped at the bottom of their shield.
“Twilight-”
The blast shredded though the shield, blowing the two in separate directions. Twilight's senses were eviscerated as she was pitched far to the side. She skidded on her side in the dirt and lay still. Her eyes were open, but she couldn't see. She couldn't hear anything except for a shrill whine. Each time she moved her head the vague images of the battle blurred like melting paints on a canvas. With a moan and a weak cry for her brother, she endeavored to recover. The grenade had singed her fur and charred her coat one shade darker.
“Shining Armor...” she croaked pitifully despite not being able to hear. Seconds slowly rolled over into minutes. Sound trickled back through her ears as dull muffled noise. There was a clamor from behind, and she felt a mighty force heft her up off her hooves. She dangled in the air before the face of her savior.
“Shining Armor?” she wondered aloud.
“Well I ain't no knight, but I'll take that as a compliment,” responded a deeply accented voice.
“King Salvator?”
He had a fire in his eyes she'd never seen. After a moment he set her down. “I'm surprised you're still alive, kid! Take this for the pain.” He produced a glinting needle from his tunic and jammed it into Twilight's arm. She winced and gritted her teeth as the cold steel slipped inside.
“Listen,” Salvator said. “I'll be right back. Stay here and don't move. Try not to fight. Ya ain't lookin' too hot. Your robots are kickin' our asses and I'm gonna try and take a few of 'em out. I'll take ya to a safe place as soon as I can. Okay?”
“No, I need to find Shining Armor...” she insisted.
“Who's that?”
“My brother. I came out here with him but we got separated.”
The King mentally assessed the situation. “Yeah, what's he look like? I'll keep an eye out for him.”
“He's blue and white. Unicorn.”
“Okay. I'll be right back.” Salvator sprinted off into the mass of warriors. He carried with him a miniature version of the rotating cannon-gun.
The serum surged through Twilight's veins like an army of revival. Whatever was in the syringe accomplished its task with gusto. She worked on summoning her magic before the short-term stamina ebbed away. She decided that an invisibility spell would function magnificently in diverting aggressive attention. As her horn pulsed with a dim glow, she heard a low mechanical whirring. It was methodical, in steps. She slowly turned around to see a critically damaged Helper bot limping toward her. Its gun was wrecked beyond repair and its joints smoked with each step. One of its eyes had been completely obliterated and the other flickered bright red under numerous spidery cracks.
Twilight retreated backward away from the malfunctioning automaton.
“Halt!” it said. It stalked her every move.
She tripped over a corpse and grunted. The bot continued to advance upon her.
“I'm not the enemy!” she shouted at it. “Why are you coming after me?”
The distance between them vanished inch by inch.
I'm no match for that thing...One stomp and I'm through...
She spied a bloody spear lying inert a couple feet away. With a clumsy roll, she snatched the weapon and held it up against the bot. The thing took no notice of the polearm. It stood at the edge of Twilight's shadow and reared up, ready to turn her bones to dust. The alicorn held her breath and gripped the spear tightly. The bot thrust itself downward straight onto the blade in effort to get at Twilight. Its own weight sent it straight through Twilight's spear. Impaled through neck. As the scrapped bot bore down on her weapon, Twilight let it go and swiftly rolled back to the side. The bot toppled down to the earth. Its flickering red eye grew dim and eventually went out.
“Twilight!” someone shouted.
She startled at the sound of her name.
“Where are you?”
It was King Salvator. He wildly zipped around in search of her. He'd been shot several times but seemed impervious to the pain. His gun was also missing. “Where are you?”
“Here!” Twilight shouted from the ground.
Salvator approached her and yanked her up a second time. “Did you kill that thing!?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yes,” she said, “but, it was already broken when it saw me. I just finished it off.”
“Well whatever ya did, do it again. Those bots are droppin' us like flies.”
“How come? Your men have guns too, right?”
“Yeah, but these metal bastards don't feel pain. Or fear. They'll continue to function until utterly destroyed. Bullets only work if ya hit somethin' vital.”
“Are you outnumbered?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. We're still runnin' uphill. Swimmin' against the current. My boys ain't all here yet. We aren't prepared to kill dragons and buffalo either. They just keep soakin' up our bullets!”
A new rumble arose on the mountainside. Twilight and Salvator both looked in the direction of the castle. Princess Celestia hovered in midair with her magnificent wings spread wide. She shouted orders up to her dying airforce. Under her, on the drawbridge, a fresh platoon of Helper bots marched in time to join their brethren.
Salvator knelt down on the ground and murmured something under his breath. Twilight tried to catch wind of his words. “Guide my hoof against my enemy...”
Then, the most phenomenal event in all of Canterlot happened. The right wall of the castle, beside the drawbridge, exploded. It burst with the magnitude of a supernova. Fragments of heated stone flew dozens of feet into the air. The massive blast sent rippling waves over the entire battlefield, knocking those near the impact zone off their hooves entirely. Black dust arose all around the wall, shrouding the bridge and in a haze. A single solitary figure climbed his way up the mountain of decimated stone. He stood on top of his throne of rubble and surveyed the outside world. As the smoke cleared, a collective gasp arose from every soul in the frozen arena. The figure who blew open the castle had a coat of the utmost purity – shimmering ivory. His golden locks flapped in the new winter wind.
“What in Christ's name is that!?” cried Salvator.
Twilight's jaw hung agape. The thing was over a hundred feet away from her, but she knew it wasn't natural. In fact, it outright defied nature. Never before and never again would such a creature roam the earth. Not one, not two, but three sharp red horns adorned the creature's head. They sparked dangerously with fatal concentrations of raw magical power.
“It's a... it's a tricorn...”