Night of the Shy (Revamp)

by Raefire

Chap. 06: Rakta

CHAPTER SIX: RAKTA

“RELEASE THE PARASPRITES!”

Out of the buckets on the ground appeared a few small flying insects. They looked harmless. Cute, even. The soldiers would have laughed, if it wasn't for Spur's training. All they saw were tiny red eyes.

In seconds, they were staring at a swarm of the things.

“NOW, BLAZE!”

At the General's orders, Sergeant Blaze gave the signal – and the fire spells ripped from the waiting unicorns and seared through the magical barrier, incinerating half of the swarm as the mass of tiny creatures began to gnaw on the defensive construct, duplicating themselves as they went. Each unicorn alternated their blasts, making sure there was never a break in the stream of flames. One unicorn could rest while the other attacked. It was imperative that there never be a break in the fire. The pests simply multiplied too quickly. The minutiae of magical control from Nightmare had turned them into a ravenous mass hungry for blood. They could be handled in small groups, but if the swarm was allowed to grow too large, it was the deadliest foe on the field, capable of devouring entire cities of ponies in minutes. And they could only be stopped by music or some devastatingly destructive battle magic. Exactly the kind of bizarre creature the spirit of chaos would create... While he admittedly admired the ingenuity of the creation, General Spur still cursed Discord for bringing the foul locusts into the world.

The fireballs licked the dimmed sky with blazing light, illuminating a standoff. For every parasprite that was seared out of existence, one would avoid the fire and duplicate in its place. The swarm stayed approximately the same size, spreading out and continuing to gnash their teeth on the barrier, hungry for the meat behind it. The unicorns holding up the shield began to grimace as the pain seeped in. It started to flicker slightly. They were not going to be able to hold it up for very much longer. But fire wasn't the only trick Unicorn Company had up their horn. Now it was time to unleash them, too.

“SHRIEKERS, NOW! GROUND TROOPS, GET READY FOR HOOF-TO-HOOF COMBAT!”

The Shrieker Squad ran into position and let loose with their absolutely ear-piercing bellows, the sonic shockwaves tearing apart the parasprites not consumed by the fire. A special unit of Unicorn Company, Luna had personally trained them to have a mastery of sound on top of the other basic battle spells, though they could not detonate the air as with the ancient pony tongue. Their screams also hit the perfect frequencies that terrorized their enemy. The ground troops smirked as they heard the Diamond Dogs howling in pain. Some of the armoured bulldogs were even on their knees, holding their heads.

Nightmare Shy frowned, her eyes glowing red. “PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER, YOU CANINE COWARDS! REMEMBER WHO ELSE WILL NOT BE LIVING IF YOU FAIL ME HERE! NOW GET YOURSELVES UP AND PREPARE TO ATTACK!” Terrified, somehow the pitiful bulldogs managed to get themselves back into their formations. The corrupted mare snorted. “That's better.”

Unfortunately, more accustomed to the shrieks as they were, the ears of the waiting Canterlot troops were starting to feel the pain, too. The Shrieker Squad could not be used for very much longer.

The barrier flickered massively. What few parasprites were left continued to chew on the defense.

Then, with a cry of pained exhaustion from its creators, the barrier fell.

The parasprites screamed in, splitting into multiple swarms and tearing into the crowd of hoofsoldiers. One poor soldier was lifted off the ground and hurled through the air, screaming as he fell to his doom. Some of the unicorns who'd been holding the barrier up joined their fellow Guards with their fire spells, and with one last attack from them and Shrieker Squad, they finally eradicated the bloodthirsty bugs – but not before more than a few unlucky soldiers had met their grisly end at the tiny beasts' jaws.

The survivors barely had time to recover before the Diamond Dog soldiers plowed into their ranks.

“I'm all ready to go, Mom! All my bags are packed – oh no, did I pack Gummi by accident? Nope! Here he is! Anyways, I'm all ready to go and spread smiles and happiness in Ponyville, Fillydelphia–”

“Pinkamena, we talked about this before, my sweetheart – We need you to stay here a few more years.”

“What? But Mom! You said when I was old enough I'd be able to go out on my own and see–”

“No, Pinkamena. The farm is losing money. We cannot afford to lose production with you gone right–”

“But you promised! YOU PINKIE PROMISED!”

“Pinkamena! Lower your voice right now!”

“No! No, NO, NO! YOU! PINKIE! PROMISED!”

“PINKAMENA! Calm yourself, young lady! You know full well your mother and I are trying to provide for this family. We just need you to stay here until the bits come start to come in again. Your sisters –”

“My sisters? Oh...Oh, I get it, Dad... Oh, I get it... You and Mom just want me to stay here and keep partying with my sisters so they don't see that all they're doing every day is pushing STUPID rocks around a STUPID field! And then they won't want to leave this STUPID farm when they get to be my age! Well, TOO BAD! I haven't been off this farm since I was BORN! I've earned my right to leave and see the rest of Equestria! And there is nothing you can do to stop me! YOU PINKIE PROMISED!”

“Young lady, you take one step near that door – OW!”

“Pinkie! Why did you just hit Daddy? Why are all of you yelling?”

“Because THEY broke a Pinkie Promise, Inkie! And NOPONY breaks a Pinkie Promise! I'm going out into this world to spread smiles and parties everywhere I go – and I don't need a family that breaks their promises to do it! Have fun being the parents of only TWO daughters! I'm NEVER coming back!”

Pinkie sat up and sighed, rubbing her temple as the memory faded. She still couldn't believe just how much of an idiot she'd been. And now she faced the reality of knowing that she might not get the chance to see them ever again. She hadn't even taken a picture of her family when she'd stormed out, she'd been so angry. Gummi's pre-mutated face flashed behind her eyes. Her last tie to the past had been severed, ash coating the rails of a train track somewhere between Ponyville and Appleloosa.

She knew she had her friends. She loved them. They loved her. Yet, even though that love was enough to keep her going, it still just wasn't the same love that radiated from her memories of curling up next to her mother for storytime, or the time she'd taught young Inkie and tiny Blinkie how to play pattycake. She longed to hear her mother's soothing voice again, telling her that it was going to be all right. She smirked in remembrance of her father's hearty chuckle after she and he had run giddily away from the scene of their most ultimate crime, having played a particularly good prank on the rest of the family.

The one pony in her new family who would have appreciated that prank the most would never get to enjoy pulling it off with her. The party pony had faced death before, having sat for day after day by her old Granny's side until the mare peacefully slipped away – but Dash's death was different. Granny Pie had been sick for ages, and her passing was completely expected. It had been fair. Rainbow's was more like a sick joke, something that wasn't supposed to have happened, but had anyways. It wasn't fair.

Life wasn't fair, though. She was old enough to understand that now, unlike the petulant little filly who'd stormed off in a huff. She realized why she'd hated to see anypony without a smile on their face – it reminded her of the hole she'd cut out of her own heart. The one frown she couldn't turn upside down. Every smile she drew from a pony was a way to fill that hole temporarily, and allowed her not to face what she'd done. She wondered how long after she'd left that her family had abandoned the farm and moved away. It couldn't have been too long, if what Scootaloo had told her was right. Trying to look on the bright side brought her to reasoning that if she hadn't left, she might have never left the farm. And if she'd never left the farm, she and her family would probably have been killed in Nightmare's attack.

It made her laugh.

She looked up into the mirror and quickly made sure everything was in order. Checking her saddlebag one last time, she noted all she needed was there. Standing up, Pinkie slung the saddlebag over her back and sighed. Her friends were waiting. They had their own families to save. She was going to help them do that. And if she found her own family in the process, then the journey was all for the better.

She trotted downstairs and opened the front door. “Sorry about making you wait, girls. I'm r– ”

Her friends were frozen in ice. Everything was frozen in ice. “No... No!”

Suddenly shivering, she skidded across the ice towards her frozen friends. Their faces were all twisted in horror, as if they had been caught completely by surprise. Pinkie pounded on the ice, trying to shatter it, but it was too thick. “No! Applejack! Twilight! Rarity! Hang on!” She turned around, reared back, and sent a powerful kick to the ice, just the way Applejack kicked her trees. Only it didn't work, except to bring the party pony pain in her legs like she'd never felt before. “Ow! Sonofabiscuit!”

She whirled around to run back inside and find something – but Braeburn's house wasn't there.

Instead, her blood ran cold as she gazed at the sight that was now in front of her.

Rainbow Dash, encased in ice like her friends. “Rain – Rainbow?” She peered at her blue friend's eyes.

They opened.

“EEK!” Pinkie fell on her back, terrified. “This isn't happening!”

Dash's head snapped unnaturally to the left, like she'd just cracked her neck. The ice around her face exploded away, the bits showering Pinkie on the ground as she screamed in her fright.

Dash's body moved in jerky, spastic motions, but she eventually broke out of the ice – revealing deep teeth marks on her chest, blood dried around them. She retched forward. “Oh, it's happening, Pinkie.”

The voice wasn't Rainbow Dash's.

It was Fluttershy's.

And Dash's eyes were a deep red.

“No... No!” cried Pinkie as she finally realized. “You don't have the magic to do that anymore!”

“Oh, but I do...”

Every one of Pinkie's senses curled in fright at the new voice.

She tried to move – but couldn't.

Dash's wings stretched, the sound of the bones cracking and popping jarring Pinkie's ears. The pegasus' neck elongated to twice its height with more sickly bone stretching. Her head melted, deforming and moulding. The world around the ponies melted, the water rising into tall mountains of red hot lava.

Behind Pinkie, her friends melted into large snakes of dough. They slithered over Pinkie's body, bubbling and popping in the heat, causing her to scream from the burns, before slinking their way over to Dash. There, they merged into one blob of dough. The blob flattened itself out, and slowly a tall, pony-like shape began rising out of it.

Lightning and thunder struck overhead as eyes, a mouth, a mane, and a tail sprouted from the dough.

Eventually, the shape solidified into Nightmare Shy.

“Hello, Pinkie.”

Dash was no longer there. Instead, settling the last of his facial features into place, was:

Discord.

He leaned down, sneering evilly, his eyes burning red. “Everypony ready to have some REAL fun?”

“GAH!” Pinkie woke with a start, flying up in the bed so fast she nearly did a front flip out of it. She looked around wildly – then nervously laughed at herself when she figured out where she was.

Twilight practically tore down the door, racing in with a look of utter panic. “Pinkie! Are you okay?”

“I – I'm okay, Twilight. I just had a...” She cringed as the word escaped her lips. “...nightmare.”

Flashes of light and an echoing BOOM in the very distance stuck her ears straight up. “What's that?”

Twilight sighed. “War, Pinkie. It's war. I can only hope General Spur survives it.”

“The battle isn't over yet?” asked the very confused party pony, looking out the window.

“Pinkie, it's only been about forty-five minutes since you went inside.”

“Oh.” Pinkie hung her head. “Feels like I slept a lot longer than that.”

Sliding into the room next came Rarity. “Good lord, Pinkie, what was that awful shriek all about?”

“Just a night – bad dream...”

“Oh, darling...” Without giving her friend time to react, the fashion pony hugged her tightly.

“Ah... Thanks, Rarity.”

“Can you tell us what your dream was about?” asked Twilight. “I could use a chance to do some good old-fashioned psychoanalysis for a while, instead of continually worry about the impact of this war.”

Pinkie smirked and stood up. “Thanks, girls – but... Well, I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep again for a bit, so, uh – I think I'll go head up to the hospital. See how Applejack and her family are doing.”

“Uh – okay,” said Twilight as her friend trotted past her and out the door. She looked out in the hallway to see Gilda watching the pony leave. Catching eyes with Gilda, Twilight gestured to the griffon to follow her. Gilda pointed at herself reluctantly – and upon the new Princess' indignant nod, sighed, unfurled her wings, and flew out the door after Pinkie, muttering something grumpily under her breath.

Rarity came up behind Twilight. “It was probably something having to do with her parents. I think I know why she wants to talk to Applejack. You know how much of a history those two have together.”

“Yeah... History...” The purple pony blankly watched the spectacle off in Canterlot through the window.

“With all due respect, Princess Luna... You're hiding something. I can see it in your eyes.”

A spark suddenly popped into her brain. She turned to her fashionista friend.

“Rarity... Is Prince Blueblood still awake?”

Magic energy blasts tore from the skies and exploded in the middle of the oncoming wave of Dog soldiers, sending the armoured bulldogs howling through the air at great speeds. Depending on the direction they were thrown, some slammed into the side of the mountain, some crashed into their fellow troops – and the most unfortunate ones found themselves hurled over the side of the mountain.

But the uninjured Diamond Dogs kept advancing, joining the fray of hooves, claws and swords that had engulfed the grounds outside the main Canterlot gate. From his position higher up in the city, General Spur watched his troops fight below. A Dog managed to stab one soldier in the chest – only to find his helmet ripped off and the soft tissue of his face crushed in the furious earth pony's last biting gasp. Spur cringed as the stallion and his enemy fell into the natural moat and were washed over the mountainside.

Another earth pony charged a line of Dogs in what looked like another suicide run – until several unicorns leaped behind their enemies and blasted them with blinding spells and vicious headbutts before their fellow Guard charged in and bowled them over. It did not take long for the canines to fall. The earth mare thanked her fellow unicorns and soon re-oriented her focus, barreling headlong at another pair of Dogs. She knocked the first one over, stomping on its face as she lunged at the second.

The General casually snatched an incoming spear out of the air with his armoured wing. Spinning like a top, he carefully aimed and hurled the spear back towards the enemy's lines. It screamed down and hit the mark dead-on with tremendous force, impaling three dogs in the neck through the tiny opening between their breastplates and helmets before embedding itself deep in the soil. The completely surprised Dogs choked and collapsed, crumpling onto each other, their attachment to the spear making them look like flags that had just lost all of their wind. Enraged, their compatriots threw their own spears up at the higher tower, but Spur barely exerted any energy swatting the wooden missiles away.

Another Dog cut the wings of a passing pegasi Guard. She crashed and kicked him in the chest, before grabbing his tail in her mouth and slamming her enemy back and forth on the ground several times. The Dog broke free and slashed his claws at her face, but she ducked and clipped him under the chin, sending him sprawling onto his back. She reared up and stomped the life out of the Dog, who was too petrified to move – then gasped as pain ripped through her body. She looked down to see another Dog's sword in her gut. She kicked her attacker away and fell back, stumbling as fast as she could to the back of the line. “Medics! Get her off the battlefield!” bellowed Spur, pointing. One of the special pegasi teams complied, soaring down with their stretcher in their mouths and collecting their fallen comrade as she spat up blood. Several stallion Guards beat back the Dogs trying to kill the wounded equine.

Colonel Nuntia shook her head in disgust as the medics brought the mare behind the second barrier.

Spur growled at the sight. The mare would probably live – it looked like the sword had missed her heart – but her damaged wings meant she wasn't going to return to battle. He needed all the soldiers he could get. The General sighed and squinted over at the possessed mare hidden far off in the distance.

“Come on, Nightmare.... This is pathetic.”

“Dogs getting slaughtered, Nightmare! Please intervene!” whined Rover to Nightmare Shy, dodging a white-hot blast of magic from the unicorns. “You can take all them out with one – HRGHK!”

Nightmare Shy held him up by the neck with her living mane. “I could, yes, but then what would be the point right now? Your little pals are doing quite a good job of wearing down their defenses for now.”

She dropped him. Hard. “I will wait until the time is right to attack myself. I have a very limited store of magic left. Fluttershy's special talent helps me expend very little of it to control animals, but I cannot waste anymore of it on battle, or turning dead ponies into spies to chase after ponies who should be dead. I must have enough energy left to re-absorb my child. In the meantime, send a squad to fortify the back of the line.” She sneered. “I have a... feeling that General Spur hasn't shown us his full hoof yet.”

“Y-yes, Nightmare!” complied the Dog leader, running off.

“Good dog. Spot!”

Spot rolled under a blast of fire over to the nightmare pony.

“I have a task for you. Get out of sight of the ponies and start digging. Take the last bucket.”

Realizing his mission, Spot grinned in excitement. “At once, my Nightmare!”

“Twilight had you follow me, right?”

Gilda stopped. How had she – ?

Pinkie glanced behind her. “I understand why she did it. She's worried about me. I appreciate that. But look, I need to talk to Applejack alone. Could you just wait outside the hospital for me, please?”

“Uh... Sure,” responded the griffon, freezing her pace.

“Thank you. Hopefully, I shouldn't be too long. If I am, I won't be upset if you head back.” The pink pony entered the building, deciding not to tell Gilda about the small nerve pinch she felt in her hoof.

The receptionist at the front desk instantly recognized Pinkie when she stepped in. “Hello, Miss Pie.”

“Hi. Um...”

“Your friend's family members are going to live, Miss Pie. They've got some bad burns, yes, but they're stable. Fact, they just got transferred out of intensive care a few minutes ago. Doctor had them moved into the same room as your other friends. Normally I would tell you that regular visiting hours are over – but I think everypony will understand if I make an exception for one of the Elements of Harmony.”

Pinkie smiled. “Thank you. You're very kind.”

Applejack was lying down in the overnight visitor's sofa on the side of the room by the beds holding the unconscious Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. The brown stallion with the spiky mane that Gilda had saved was parked up next to Spitfire and Zecora's beds. The joyless beat of the mechanical ventilator the little foal was hooked up to echoed off the walls. The farm pony nervously pawed at the cushions with her hoof, a look of pained worry on her face. She glanced up upon her friend appearing..

“Oh, hey there, Pinkie. Didn't think they'd let anypony else in this late.”

“Benefits of being an Element of Harmony,” replied Pinkie, flopping down beside her.

“Yeah, I suppose. Ain't gonna mean jack if we don't stop that thing.” Applejack's voice soured into venom as she studied her family members again. “I swear to Celestia and Luna, I'm gonna punch that spirit right out of Fluttershy's body if that's what it comes down to. That monster's gonna pay for this.”

“How they doin'?”

“Honestly, better than they look. Granny's got some third degree burns, but they're not over a wide area – and besides, once they heal completely, they'll look just like any other one of her millions of hide wrinkles. What I'm worried about the most is Apple Bloom's throat. Doc said it's all scorched and like on account of her screamin' for help. Girl gulped down a lot of smoke, too. They're not sure how much damage it's done to her breathing ability.” She stomped on the sofa. “ if only we had Zecora's potions!”

“They would not have helped much, Applejack.” came the soft voice across the room, surprising the jittery farm pony. “Powerful my potions may be, but never have they been for more than trivial injuries.” She suddenly giggled to herself. “Oh, dear me... I'm doing that rhyming thing again.”

“Oh, heh... Right. Almost forgot you were here, Zecora. Thought you were asleep.”

“I have never slept long,” Zecora acknowledged, flashing her trademark wise zebra smile. “A consequence of the dangerous nighttime from where I grew up.”

“From where you grew up...” muttered the pink pony, looking solemnly at the ground.

The zebra cocked her head to one side. “Pardon?”

The answer dawned on Applejack. “You're here for another reason than just to see them, aren't you?”

Pinkie knew there was no turning away. “I – I've always told everypony the story of how I got my cutie mark... But – I – I've never told anypony else just how I left the rock farm and ended up in Ponyville.”

“Uh...Well, ya' kinda mentioned it in the Forest yesterday, if I recall.”

Tears welled up in the party pony's eyes. “I ran away from them, Applejack. I was a stupid, stupid little foal! I got upset over something that was really nothing – and because of that, I ended up telling my whole family that I would never see them again!” She sobbed into her hooves. “You girls... You were my new family. And I always had Gummi around, making me remember all the good times I had... But with him dead, with Dashie dead, and seeing Twilight's parents, and you here with your family... Even though they're hurt, you still have them! I'm just reminded that I don't even know where my family is!”

“Pinkie...” The orange pony embraced her friend warmly. “C'mon, you silly filly. Cheer up. Who knows? Maybe we'll find them out there on this trek – if we ever actually get to trekkin', that is.” She felt her friend shaking. She'd been friends with Pinkie for far too long not to know what that meant. “There's somethin' else. You had a bad dream.” Pinkie averted her eyes. “C'mon... Who'd you see?”

“D...” Pinkie's voice trailed off into an incoherent mumble.

“I'm sorry? Speak up, girl.”

“Discord, okay?!” the pony suddenly snapped – quietly, but loud enough to surprise. “Discord...and – and Nightmare.” She gripped Applejack tighter. “I'm scared, Applejack. I'm scared that I don't know where my family is, and I'm scared that if we do find them – that they'll be dead like Dash!”

“Oh, sugarcube...” Applejack sighed. “Come on now. Snap out of this. You're actin' like Twilight was this mornin'! Ain't you the one who straight up told that unicorn 'I know you're stronger than this'?”

“I–”

“You think I ain't scared right now? My heart's doin' more flips than a circus pony just lookin' at Granny and Apple Bloom! I'm terrified of what'll happen if Nightmare attacks this place, or gets its demon hands on Discord! You think Rarity's not scared? That beast still has her little sister! And Luna knows where her parents are! But that don't make what we gotta do any different! We can't run away and hide in a corner! We gotta charge into this head-on! Otherwise we're just lettin' Nightmare win!”

“I – I guess I'm being silly...” smirked Pinkie, shaking her head.

“No – You're bein' Pinkie. That hyperactive friend of mine who hides most of her bigger problems behind her smile until she can't take it anymore and has tell somepony about them or she'll go insane.”

Pinkie blinked. “You really do know me too well...”

“I know my friends. I know we gotta do this together. I ain't gonna let them fall apart like we did against Discord. I hate to be the one to give the big speech again, but we gotta help each other out.”

“Sounds like you should be our leader,” contemplated the party pony.

“Oh, no. No no no... Somewhere along our travels, I'm gonna have a breakdown like the one you just had. And by that time, Twilight'll have her head screwed on straight enough to give me a pep talk so ferocious, I reckon my ears will be ringin' all the way out my boots when she's finally done with me.”

Pinkie snorted back a chuckle. “Heh... Yeah.”

“Nah, Twilight's Princess for a dang good reason.” She slowly let herself out of the hug with her slightly more cheered up friend. “I just know what it's like to feel alone, even though I know I have the love of everypony around me. I just know the right words to help keep my friends from turnin' grey.”

“Could you maybe keep her from turning grey a little quieter?” hissed the awoken Spitfire.

“Oh!” Pinkie gasped, realizing. “Sorry, Spitfire...”

“Good Luna – it's hard enough for me to sleep as it is, what with all that lightning and thunder outside.”

“I got bad news for ya', sister – that ain't lightnin'.” Applejack shook her head. “Nor thunder.”

“Huh?” Spitfire looked out at the flashes in the dark out the window. “What else could it be?”

“War...” growled Pinkie, her tone completely changing. “It's war.”

General Spur frowned. Despite their best efforts, they were getting pushed back towards the gate. His soldiers had killed more enemies, but the Dogs still had the better numbers, and were wearing them down. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the gate was breached and the Dogs poured in.

It had to end. Now. “Colonel!”

Colonel Nuntia ducked a volley of spears thrown up at the tower. “General, we're losing ground fast!”

“I know. What say we stop officiating this little game and actually help mop these canines up?”

She grinned. “Right with you, General!”

He turned to the Guards stationed inside the city – specifically, to a white unicorn with blue hair. “Major Armour! Keep an extra eye out here! These bastards can still burrow underground, remember?”

“I won't forget it, General! I just ask that you come back alive!”

Spur nodded – then unfurled his wings. “PEGASI!”

The Colonel and the other pegasi not already in the thick of it spread their wings, too.

“ATTACK!”

They all shot their wings back and blasted down onto the battlefield at very high speed. Spur went into a ferocious spin just barely off the deck, slashing out with his bladed wings. Before he'd even landed – sending out a pummeling shockwave that sent at least twenty Dogs flying backwards – at least a dozen Dogs had been caught in the weak points of their armour and dispatched through his tornado of attacks.

Colonel Nuntia followed him. A little more graceful than he was, she managed to take out about six Dogs before she hit the ground and slid on all fours, slashing at a line of enemy ankles with the hidden blades on her hooves before clapping her wings together and hurling more Dogs through the air like they were nothing more than confetti, deftly clearing out an area for her to flip back up onto her feet.

The other pegasi fanned out, braving the spears to swoop in further up the enemy's line and harass the Dogs up there. One strayed too close, and a spear to the chest halted his momentum permanently.

The Colonel soon rejoined the General in time to face the incoming retaliation. They stood back-to-back, ducking, dodging and slashing at the enemies that viciously leaped in at them from all sides.

“Just like Nightmare Moon, eh, General?” Nuntia smiled, knocking a Dog's shield away and deflecting the bulldog's arm at just the perfect time, angle and power to bash the sword through its own chest.

General Spur only grinned, while internally he laughed at her naïve ignorance.

She really had no idea.

“Prince Blueblood?”

The Prince, calmly reading a book and drinking some tea, instantly stood and bowed with grandeur as Twilight and Rarity turned the corner and entered. “Your Highness. Miss Rarity.”

“Please,” droned Twlight, setting herself down on the loveseat opposite him in the living room, “just call me Twilight. I'm still not big on the whole formal thing yet. The kids calmed down, I take it?”

“Yes. Pinkie's screams were quite terrifying, but I was able to calm them. I do fear I have pulled a bit too much off the branch by adopting all of them. But raising them will help me remember who I was.”

Rarity sat down next to him, yawning. “You won't mind if I fall asleep here, do you?”

“No. I wouldn't mind one bit, my beauty.” He smiled. She smiled back – before instantly falling asleep. There was a small, very awkward silence as Blueblood simply marveled at the snoring fashion mare.

Twilight was the first to speak up. “So... I take it you can't sleep, either?”

“I learned a very long time ago that sleep is a commodity that can only be afforded by those at peace.”

The unicorn's eyebrow raised. “How...poetic.”

“I like to think so.” He punctuated the sentence by sipping his tea. “Her Highness has a question, no?”

“I think it's pretty obvious. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna clearly knew more about the past than they were willing to tell me. I can't reach them until we find the Flame, and even if I could go to a library right now, I doubt I'd find anything on the formation of Equestria or the history of Nightmare Moon and Discord that they chose to hide from me until it was time, or whatever. But you were there, at least a thousand years ago. Is there anything you can tell me that could be useful to me?”

Blueblood's eyes sunk. He levitated his teacup back down to the table. “I cannot claim to tell you everything, for I was just a lowly soldier at at the time. But I can tell you as much as I know.”

“That I would like,” nodded Twilight.

“Talking about it for the first time in a thousand years should help ease the pain.... Alright, where to start...I'm sure you're wondering about my age. Well, my age – and General Spur's age – stems from the fact that we both have alicorn blood. I was born to an alicorn mother, the General to an alicorn father.”

“Alicorns? But–”

“This is what they didn't tell you, or write down in the history books. Back then, alicorns were as abundant as any other race of pony. Except for the Royals, the only difference was that they just happened to live longer. But then Discord killed Princess Mawu and her husband, and decided to kill all the alicorns. Why? I do not pretend to know – I mean, we all saw Discord last year. I was born after his first defeat. But by cruel fate, in my youth I bore witness to the full wrath of Nightmare Moon...”

“Laminae... Celestia, no!”

The 2nd Solar Battalion stared in stunned silence. The sprawling, towering grand alicorn city in the shadow of Canterlot was gone. Dragons circled the piles of rubble and bodies, their destructive breaths illuminating the everlasting night and extinguishing the screams of the last surviving citizens. The Great Tower that had stood for over two thousand years broke apart and fell before their very eyes.

Lt. Col. Spur bowed his head, whispering. “Goodbye, mother...”

Spark Red's horn glowed, her wings flaring in anger. “I say we charge. Right now. We've got enough force to take them. They're gonna pay for this!”

“You shall STAND. DOWN, Corporal Red!” snapped the higher-ranking pesgaus, striding over and defeating the crimson alicorn with his eyes. “This war will not be won by suicide.” He glared back at the wasted metropolis where'd he'd grown up. “Nightmare's using the same MO as Discord: Hit us where it hurts the most. Break us.” His gaze returned to his troops. “And then attack. Keep your ears up and stay frosty. For all we know, we could already be surrounded by Shadow Guards right now. ”

“Mom.... Dad.... Mi Amore...” Tears streamed down Private Blueblood's cheeks as he spotted the castles burning. “How could this happen? How could Laminae be destroyed without Princess Celestia noticing?”

“LIKE THIS!”

Blueblood was tackled by his commanding officer just in time to avoid the wall of lightning bolts that erupted from the thundercloud above. Before they could even react or flee, almost all of the three hundred and twenty-four Royal Guards had their lives shocked away faster than the blink of an eye.

“SHE'S HERE! RUN!”

The Prince tore towards Canterlot with all the speed he had. Powerful focused lightning blasted down into the ground as he fled, throwing massive chunks of land into the air around him. Rocks and soil pelted him from every angle, but he pressed on, determined to outrun the source of the dark laughter permeating the skies. The ground he was on was struck and lifted towards the atmosphere, but he leaped from falling slab of land to falling slab of land, barely skipping off each one in time before they crashed into a million pieces. Blueblood forced himself not to look behind. Survival meant forward.

Back on solid soil, the young unicorn soldier managed to catch up and keep pace with his pegasus commanding officer – which would have made him feel quite boastfully proud, if he hadn't been rather focused on staying alive. The Lt. Colonel was doing his own weaving, dodging and darting around the carnage with an almost unnatural grace. The other surviving soldiers joined them – but not for long. Sgt. Skyhammer was crushed by a falling boulder. Captain Steel Wing's magic shield proved to be no match for the far more powerful lightning. And Spark Red mistimed a dive, getting her wings and head smashed between the trunks of three trees uprooted by the enemy's devastating magic. Her horn was the only thing visible when Blueblood vaulted over the rapidly incoming logs mere seconds later. The young Private and the Lt. Colonel were the only ones left now, and they knew it. They pressed onward.

The sky crackled and shifted violently, their hidden pursuer cackling at the soldiers' horrible fates.

“THAT'S RIGHT! RUN, YOU COWARDS! RUN!”

The beginning of the road to Canterlot suddenly loomed up ahead. Instinctively, Blueblood blasted off an emergency beacon with his magic – if the torrent of lightning around hadn't been enough of a clue.

And then the wind caught them.

The powerful gust hit them both like a cement wall, picking them up and tossing them like rag dolls. Blueblood tried to teleport away – but dark magic tendrils latched onto him, sending pain through his body like nothing he'd felt before, distracting him and canceling the spell. The tendrils snagged his hooves, and he became part of a tornado as they spun him around at blinding speed – then let him go.

He cratered into the mountainside too fast to pull off any spell, rolling down the slope and crumpling on the road like a pile of bricks. The young Private spat out teeth as he tried to stand – to no avail.

And then the hooves landed. He strained his injured neck to look up.

Standing in front of him was Nightmare Moon, in all her terrifying glory. “Ah, the young Prince... Distant relation to Celestia, but still close enough that she will be mighty upset at your death.”

Feeling returned to the nerves in his horn. He again tried to teleport away – but was countered by a shock of low-voltage lightning that hit every pain receptor in his body. He screamed in agony as his electrocution went on for a staggeringly long amount of time. When it was over, he glared at the possessed Princess as his body twitched from the pain. Feeling returned again – and this time he angrily blasted a freezing spell. Nightmare Moon blocked it – and grinned. “Ooh...Feisty. Good. I LIKE IT WHEN MY FOOD IS FRESH!” she howled, her voice deepening to a demonic tone while her jaw unhinged and stretched to unnatural proportions. Her teeth formed into sharp, long fangs.

Blueblood strained, every muscle in his body trying desperately to do something before he was eaten.

Lt. Colonel Spur shocked in, the black pegasus sending out a silver-ringed sonic shockwave as he plowed into Nightmare Moon – only to knock her back a few metres and subsequently become snagged and pinned against the rock himself by the dark magic tendrils. He struggled as they slowly choked.

Nightmare Moon's face returned to normal upon seeing the face of her new victim. “Lt. Colonel Spur... I must say, this is a pleasant surprise. How many times are we going to keep meeting like this?”

Spur spit at her, growling fiercely. “Until the Princess I serve is freed from your grasp, you monster.”

“Oooh, the way you say that makes it sound so romantic! I think Princess Luna's swooning right now!”

Spur's eyes narrowed.

“What? Don't like having your secret revealed? But there's only one other pony who knows now!”

Unable to speak anymore from being choked, the pegasus just slashed his bladed wings. He caught her.

She winced, then glared at him. The tendrils choked faster. “I'm going to enjoy watching you die...”

Ancient words faintly rang out across the valley floor.

The air detonated ahead of a massive fireball that screamed in from Canterlot and slammed into Nightmare Moon, blasting her incredibly high up into the air. The fireball ducked underneath, rocketed up above the careening evil mare – then barreled down and collided with her. Nightmare Moon was sent hurtling into the ground with so much force that the impact threw up a tidal wave of dirt, debris and bodies, completely obliterating the last of the remains of Laminae into a city-sized crater.

One tall spire remained. The dragons scattered further as the fireball landed gracefully upon it. The flames died down slightly – to reveal Princess Celestia, glaring in anger, her mane, tail and wings wreathed in white-hot flame. She looked down into the crater at the crumpled form of Nightmare Moon. “THOU HAST NO POWER HERE, NIGHTMARE,” bellowed the Royal Voice. “BEGONE.”

Coughing, Nightmare Moon sneered as she slowly stood up. “Apparently I have enough power to keep you from realizing a city was being destroyed right under your nose. Wait...Still using that tired old way of talking, Celestia? Come now. Even your subjects don't speak like that anymore. And once again, you let me live? You really are pathetic, you know that? How many more battalions are you willing to lose before you give in? The alicorns are extinct now, except for you and I. You going to wait until I wipe out the pegasi, too? You know there's only one way to get rid of me. You just can't bring yourself to–”

“WE SAID BEGONE!” Tendrils of solar magic lashed out, grabbed the corrupted Princess, and threw her with powerful might. Nightmare Moon soon became but a speck disappearing into the distance.

Princess Celestia's body flamed out, her mane and tail returning to their multi-coloured grandeur. She flew back to her soldiers, hanging her head in shame. “We must ask for thy forgiveness. Thou hast shown courage beyond report in directly facing Nightmare Moon, and We have failed thee greatly.”

Prince Blueblood managed to stand up – barely. The young Private limped over to her. “Princess?”

Tears fell from Celestia's eyes as she gazed woefully at the last spire of Laminae – which promptly cracked and crumbled to the ground, almost as if it had been mocking her while she'd stood on it. “Nightmare managed to mask its movements from Our sight. Until thou sent thine emergency signal, Private Blueblood, We saw an untarnished Laminae – and now even We cannot correct such a horrible loss. We vowed to prevent the fulfillment of Discord's pledge. On that, We have failed greatly.”

The Lt. Colonel offered a comforting wing. “Princess... There is nothing you could have done about this. Just as you could not save your parents or my father from Discord. You cannot blame yourself.”

Celestia said nothing in reply. She simply faced the two stallions again, and forced a smile through her tears. “Come. Let us hasten to Canterlot. Even We cannot repair all the injuries thou hast suffered.”

“Laminae's destruction was not completely in vain. The loss of the city and the alicorns became a rallying cry that broke the stalemate. Tribes and creatures from all over Equestria who had stayed out of the conflict suddenly joined to our side. A few weeks later, the final battle was fought. The Diamond Dogs and most of the dragons defected during the fight, which led to the final sacrifice that allowed Celestia the power to banish the corrupted Luna to the moon. Our top six officers were part of that sacrifice, leaving Spur to be the acting General after the war was over. And I was so overwhelmed by everything I had seen, I drowned it all away in pride and vanity, becoming the snob Rarity met me as.”

Twilight couldn't say a thing. Her mouth just hung open in disbelief while Blueblood collected himself.

“But Celestia still considered Laminae to be one of her worst failings, second only to her not being able to save her sister from Nightmare's corruption. She always seemed a bit more hesitant in her decisions for a few hundred years. The Princess still felt haunted, and began to make a few bizarre decisions, decisions that made everypony start to wonder if she was still competent in her mental faculties. Eventually, all but her, Luna, me, the General and the Diamond Dog King – whom I fear is not amongst the living anymore – were the only ones from that time still alive. She summoned all of us to a meeting. I did not attend, for I was far too stuck up and unwilling to talk about my past at all by that point. I gather they decided to erase all history of Laminae and the alicorns from the public records, saving it only for those who 'deserved to know.' History is written or unwritten by the victors.... None of them mentioned it in public again, and the new generations naturally came to the belief that the alicorns were immortal gods. I suppose this all helped Princess Celestia regain her esteem and proudly rule again.”

Prince Blueblood sighed. “Every single battle between her and Nightmare Moon played out the same way. Celestia would always gain the upper hand quickly, but then refuse to take that final step. We lost a lot of Guards because she kept letting her go. But nopony ever blamed her for that. Would you kill your own sister? Not a lot of us would, either. We all loved Luna as our other Princess. Frankly, I think Nightmare's angrier now, because Celestia found a way to free Luna from its grasp without killing her.”

“Well, that's not very comforting...” muttered Twilight. A smirk filled her lips as her thoughts drifted. “Though on a side note, there were a few times as a foal that I really wanted to kill my older brother.”

The Prince chuckled. “I never did get to indulge in sibling rivalry, being an only child. You will have to tell me how to deal with it later on, in case the issue ever arises amongst my new sons and daughters.”

“I think you'll want to ask Applejack about that more. For about 99.89 percent of the time, my brother and I got along great. He bought me my first books on magic spells, always gave me dragonback rides around the house...” The smile suddenly erased itself from Twilight's face. “Oh no... No no no no!”

“What?” asked the Prince, immediately alarmed. “What is it?”

“My brother!” she gasped. “I totally forgot about him in all the chaos! He's a Major! He's stationed at the base in Trottingham, but he... could have easily been called back to...” Her voice faded in horror.

“Shining made his choice a long time ago.”

Twilight jumped before realizing it was her father. “Oh... Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, kiddo.” The elder Sparkle trotted over to her. “Or do I have to call you Princess Kiddo now?”

Twilight rolled her eyes – and swatted away his hoof before he could reach her mane, glaring. “Dad...”

“Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood.” The elder unicorn hopped up on the seat beside his youngest. “But as I said before, Shining made his choice long ago. His going into the military probably softened our stance, enough to be okay with it when Princess Celestia told us what she had in mind for you. Besides, that boy's specialty is defense. If he goes out, I've no doubt it will be in the act of saving a great many lives. He wouldn't have been promoted to Major so fast if he wasn't a tough sonofabiscuit.”

Twilight hugged her father, her eyes drowning in exhausted worry. “Well...I suppose he's in as much danger as we are... But it just – it feels different when it's somepony close to you... You know?”

He hugged her back, nuzzling her neck. “I do, sweetie. But don't you start doubting yourself again like this morning, just because you know your brother's mixed up in this whole mess now. I've raised two incredibly strong children. Both with enough brains, heart and courage that the readings go off the chart. If you switched places with him, I don't even think I could tell the difference anymore – except by your manes.” He reached up to softly touch her mane – ruffling it quickly before she could react.

“DAAAAD!”

He laughed. “Works every time!”

Twilight grumbled again, but this time a sly smile was creeping out as she repaired his damage. She hugged him again, but this time with a lot more force. “I love you, Dad. You're who I'm fighting for.”

“No.” Cosmic Sparkle nodded at Blueblood. “You need to fight for all the children of Equestria.”

Gilda sat on the bench outside the Appleloosa Hospital, tapping her claws in great annoyance. “Ugh... What is taking her so long? Did she fall asleep or something? Arghh! It's already been half an hour!” She had tried to go to sleep, but the constant flash of lights from the battle in Canterlot had stopped that.

Just then, she noticed a dark blue pegasus with a rather striking swept-back mane walk into the building. She scratched her head. The only pegasus she'd seen in the town was Scootaloo. Something felt off. Something smelled off. She sat up and focused herself, ready for anything that could happen.

Inside the hospital, Spitfire kept gazing at the display out the window. “That's one hell of a battle.”

Zecora shook her head. “I can only hope we're winning.”

Pinkie suddenly shot to her feet, looking poised for a fight. Applejack instantly whirled and prepared.

“...What's gotten into you two?” asked Spitfire.

“Pinkie's Sense is goin' off. Trouble's a comin'.”

“What? Why would anypony–”

The door exploded off its hinges, actually catching Pinkie off guard, its impact spinning her and the farm pony flat to the ground. A dark blue pegasus ran in, rearing up as he came through the door.

Spitfire's eyes bugged out. “FLEETFOOT?”

The stallion rammed Apple Bloom and Granny Smith's beds, knocking the fragile ponies to the ground, ripping the pulse monitor and IV needle off Granny Smith's hoof and tearing the filly's breathing tube from the ventilator. Apple Bloom's eyes flew open, and she gasped for air as the flatlined pulse monitor screeched.

“FLEETFOOT! WHAT IN THE HAY ARE YOU –”

He locked his gaze onto his fellow Wonderbolt.

His eyes were red.

“A spy for Nightmare!” cried Zecora.

Fleetfoot charged at them – but Pinkie tackled the stallion out into the hallway. “NURSE! HELP!” She turned to Applejack, who was already at her sister's side. “STAY WITH THEM! I'VE GOT THIS!”

She bit down hard on Fleetfoot's wing, snapping bone. Angered, he snapped his body back, crushing the irate party pony against the wall and causing her grip to loosen. He kicked off her chest and flew down the hallway towards the window. She recovered quickly and bolted off after him – leaping and catching his other wing as they soared out the window in a hail of shattered glass. “GILDA!”

The griffon was on the possessed Wonderbolt in a flash, screaming up from underneath, snatching the edge of the wing Pinkie was attached to in her talons and folding it over itself until the bone popped. The wounded pegasus plummeted to the ground, crashing in a spray of gravel – and then all was still.

Pinkie rolled off unharmed. Gilda hopped to her feet, shaking the tiny rocks off of her. “Is it ov–”

Fleetfoot shot his wings back and blasted forward – but faltered, then decided to simply run away.

“OH, NO YOU DON'T!” In a sudden, incredible display of gymnastic prowess, Pinkie leaped over the fleeing spy, hit the ground, rolled up into a pivot on one front hoof, spun around, planted her other front hoof on the soil and sent a devastating kick into Fleetfoot's face, twisting his neck with a SNAP. The red eyes faded, and the pony fell to the ground. “JUST BECAUSE I TOOK MYSELF AWAY FROM MY FAMILY DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TAKE MY FRIENDS' FAMILIES AWAY FROM THEM, NIGHTMARE!” the party pony raged, taking deep, heavy breaths to calm down.

Gilda's eyes widened in shock. She slowly backed away, finding herself actually terrified of the pink pony she'd just landed by. “Whoah... Okay. Glad I didn't piss you off like that the first time we met.”

All the adrenaline seemed to expel from Pinkie at once when she threw her head back and laughed. When she was done, she looked at Gilda. “That was funny. I didn't know you could be funny, Gilda.”

“And I didn't know you were capable of anger, let alone the strength to kick my head off at any time.”

Pinkie snickered. “See, there you go again... Funny. Did – I just kill a living pony?”

The smell suddenly hit them both. They both reeled, covering their noses.

“No... No you didn't,” Gilda confirmed. “Why don't you go check on the stable girl? You actually know her, and haven't just been hugged by her once. Twilight sent me after you, so I'll go back and get her.”

The pink pony nodded. “Sounds like a plan. NOPONY BUT THE AUTHORITIES TOUCHES HIM!”

The gathering crowd nodded and backed off the corpse, but mostly due to the wind carrying the funk.

As the pony and griffon wheeled about to attend to their duties, a very thin trail of smoke seeped out of Fleetfoot's nostrils, disintegrating in the light breeze that softly fluttered over the main stretch of road.

And once out of the small town, reformed itself out of the air – heading straight for Ponyville.

Sweetie Belle cowered in her cage of bones, shaking. All she wanted was to get away. To run. She didn't care to where, she would run anywhere to get away from where she was. Even the Everfree Forest seemed to feel safer after everything. The Forest didn't burn her hometown down. It didn't force her to watch a dead Wonderbolt get resurrected into a zombie and sent off to find and kill her friends. And even Everfree at its most raucous was nowhere near as loud as the racket that had been tormenting her ears for what already seemed to be an eternity. The horrible screams of death. The furious cries of battle. The constant explosions that shook the ground. The clanging of weapons and armour against each other. The young unicorn wasn't anywhere near the main part of the fighting, but that was not very comforting. Everything echoed and reflected off the mountainside, drilling more pain into her head.

She couldn't believe it. Why had the General refused the negotiation? She could be with pegasi Guards right now, flying away from all of it. Flying to wherever it was safe. Why had he said “No trade?”

She cried. She knew the Dogs watching her were laughing, but she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to be away from everything. She just wanted to live her normal life as a normal filly again.

Then, in the light of the sporadic flashes from the explosions, she saw a glint in the darkened sky.

Slowly, the glint turned into the moving shadows of a whole group of pegasi Guards. Her heart began to race – but she kept on crying in order to not let the Dogs guarding her know that they were coming.

The General hadn't thought her life was worth nothing. He had sent ponies to rescue her.

They swooped in low.

“They're here! NOW!” cried Fido.

A volley of spears from Dogs both on the ground and hidden on the mountainside flew through the air.

The pegasi fell like flies.

“NO! NO!” the foal shrieked.

The Dogs erupted into laughter again. “Aw, did little pony think we not know big ponies coming?” Fido taunted, earning another round of uproarious laughter from the soldiers. He picked up the cage, bringing her to his eye level. “Nightmare promise us Rarity, and little sister make Rarity come to us.” He set the cage down. “Watch her like hawk! I go tell Nightmare rear flank is secure for now.”

Sweetie Belle's ears dropped, her mouth hung open in shock at the sight of the ambush.

She collapsed in the fetal position on the floor of the cage. Suddenly, everything had gone starkly quiet.

The only sound she could hear was her tears returning.

The loud SLAM not only startled Twilight, her father and Prince Blueblood, but it woke Rarity.

“Oh, my stars! What was that?”

Gilda stuck her freshly unkempt head around the corner. “Your Highness. Hospital. Now. C'mon!”

“Huh?” Twilight jumped up. “What happened?”

The griffon was already heading back out the door. “Ran into a spy of Nightmare's.”

“What?!? Wait!” called the fashion pony – but the door was shut.

She looked at Blueblood and Cosmic Sparkle. “N – Nightmare already knows we're here?”

The fight was raging in the moat above. He could vaguely hear the clash of feet hidden in the muffled roar of the flowing water above. Spot knew he was headed in the right direction. He dug quite a bit further, until the sounds of the fighting were distant, then slowly changed his angle. He was careful going up. Not knowing much of Canterlot's layout made him cautious about accidentally draining any other possible streams from underneath - which would not only endanger him through possible drowning unless the puncture was plugged up fast enough, but alert any watchful pony Guards on the surface with the sudden drop in water level. Gradually, the Dog dug higher, until he finally saw light seep in. He gently burrowed out enough space for him to stick his head out and take a look around.

Delighted to find that he was behind the city walls and out of the many Guards' sights, he grabbed the bucket, brought it up out of the hole, gently and calmly set it down in a shadowed spot - and opened it.

Then quickly ducked back in his burrow and filled in the hole, beelining back down the path he'd dug.

Spot snickered. By the time the ponies realized what was there, it would be too late to follow his trail.

Private Willhaylm was the first to hear the buzzing. “What in Equestria?” He looked around the corner.

A cloud of red-eyed parasprites all turned to focus on him.

“Oh crap!” The earth pony bolted away from forward command, the bugs in hot pursuit. “MAJOR!”

Hearing the cries, Major Shining Armour turned his head in time to see Private Willhaylm scream as the parasprites swarmed him. The swarm was huge – and it noticed him. “Shrieker Squad! About face! Sergeant Blaze! I need half your squad to turn around! We've been flanked! We have been flanked!”

Joining the Major on his command, fire spells, magical blasts, and ear-splitting shrieks tore into the advancing new swarm behind the city. Innocent towers crumbled – but the size of the swarm didn't.

The many squads of Guards posted inside the city walls were caught completely unprepared and were quickly taken out before they could counter the rabid insects. One by one, the lines of defense collapsed. The unicorns ponies defending from the main towers were tired and not as numerous as they'd been at the start of the battle, their ranks having been depleted by many a Diamond Dog spear. Their attacks slowed the swarm down, but not by much – they did more damage to the buildings than they did to the parasprites. Despite the furious defense from the posted Guards and the successful teleporting away of a few patients by their Unicorn doctors, the medical stations were overrun and the wounded finished off. All the tower defenders cringed at the terrifying screams. Major Armour stopped attacking long enough to scream down at General Spur. “GENERAL! WE'VE BEEN FLANKED!”

Hearing the Major, Nightmare Shy's lips curled. “Hmm... I think it's time I indulged in a bit of... physical attacks. ALL TROOPS, FORWARD!” she bellowed, the possessed mare spreading her wings. Leading the charge, the evil being used millenia of battle knowledge to carve up the tired fraction of Guards remaining. The reinvigorated Dogs followed the corrupted pony's lead, rolling through the weakened equines. Even Rover impressed Nightmare. Leaping onto a diving pegasus, the whining and cowardly Dog suddenly turned out to be one of the most vicious of the pack, tearing his teeth into the pony's neck, leaping off and attacking an earth pony before his first victim had even hit the ground.

“General! I think it's time we got out of here!” cried Nuntia, seeing the pincers close on both sides. General Spur looked angry to do it, but agreed, deflecting a volley of spears before silently nodding.

“ALL GUARDS, RETREAT! GET YOUR FLANKS OUT OF HERE!”

Pegasi suddenly scattered into the air by the dozens. Many grabbed ahold of a fellow earth pony Guard as they did, determined to save as many of their fellow soldiers as they possibly could in the retreat. The unicorns teleported away, also bringing as many fellow earth ponies as they could with them. Not all made it out, however. One pegasus couldn't handle the weight of his passenger, and was unable to fly out of spear range. Another unicorn took a thrown sword to the head in the middle of a teleport.

A last round of terrifying screams rose from the main tower – and Major Armour suddenly appeared in front of the General and the Colonel, his knees buckling. “Major!” General Spur quickly ran to him.

“Canterlot's taken, General! We've only got a few seconds before those damned parasprites get here!”

“Then take Colonel Nuntia and get out of here, Major!” General looked up. The incoming Nightmare Shy was still too far away to hear anything quieter than yelling. “Your sister is the new Princess,” he whispered to the unicorn. “She just left Appleloosa.” He stood. “GO! YOU'VE BEEN THERE BEFORE!”

“But – General!”

The parasprites broke over the city walls like a tidal wave, heading right for them.

“Nightmare won't take me today... Come back to the Gardens in 15 minutes. THAT IS AN ORDER!”

Major Armour stopped his protesting. “Yes, Sir.” In a flash, he and Colonel Nuntia winked out of sight.

Just as the swarm reached their position.

“WHOAH!” The parasprites halted, swirling around the defiant black pegasus. The bugs slowly parted, revealing he was now surrounded by a circle of Diamond Dog spears. The circle widened a bit to allow their leader to step into it. Nightmare Shy triumphantly walked into view. “Wow... The first battle and already I have the illustrious General Spur trapped at spearpoint. You've gotten really rusty, General.”

“Still less corroded than you, Nightmare.”

The corrupted pony mockingly blanched. “Well... Certainly haven't lost the attitude, I see.” She smiled. “Did you and Luna have fun catching up with each other after she was finally 'freed' from my grasp?”

“Go to Tartarus.”

“Hrm... I just might, actually.”

“I already told you. It's not here, Nightmare. You won this battle for nothing.”

Nightmare Shy looked back, snorting. “Break his wings.”

The General cringed, but didn't make a noise louder than a grunt when Spot and Rover did their deed.

“Drag him to the Royal Gardens. We'll see who's telling the truth.”

Twilight recoiled from the smell. “Augh...”

“Guy's been dead for a day and a half, I'd say,” said Gilda – making the Appleloosan coroner frown. The unicorn looked at him for a second opinion. He nodded in agreement, still looking quite annoyed.

Twilight nodded, waving her hoof. “Please, take it away already...” She focused on Gilda as the coroner loaded the body up and left. “How did it know what room Apple Bloom and Granny Smith were in?”

“It didn't.” Everypony turned to Applejack, walking over with Pinkie and one of the doctors from the hospital. “Crazed thing knocked the receptionist down and stole her clipboard with the patient list on it.” She growled, watching the disappearing hearse. “So... Nightmare still has enough magic left to turn ponies into zombies now. Wonderful. I'd go out and kill it right now if Fluttershy weren't its hostage.”

“Are they okay?” asked Twilight, looking at her friend.

“Yeah. Nurse got to them in time... But no doubt Nightmare knows exactly where we are now.”

“Everypony else in this town who can't or won't fight has left already, for the most part,” Pinkie chimed in. “I say we do the same with everypony we came here with. It's just not safe anymore, Twilight.”

“Pinkie's talkin' sense, for once,” nodded Applejack. “Blueblood's kids... Your parents... I'm willing to risk movin' Granny and Apple Bloom now. Spitfire, Zecora and that other pony wanted out yesterday.”

“The problem is, where do we take them?” Pinkie lowered her head. “I can't think of any other places that Fluttershy wouldn't also know about! And if Fluttershy knows about it, then Nightmare does!”

Twilight's face suddenly lit up. “I know! Encyclopedia 241, pages 457, paragraph 26! A small town way, way out past Dodge Junction, just before the old dunes the ancient Sand Mantas used to roam! I think it had a hospital... Oh, what was its name... AHA! Newgate! That's what it was called! Newgate!”

Applejack blinked. “We've sold apples to every town in the west, but even I ain't heard of Newgate...”

“Then it's probably the best place to hide, for now. It should be just off the train tracks. We can drop everypony else off there, then our little group can finally start looking for the Flame around the dunes.”

With a flash, an armoured unicorn and pegasus teleported onto the streets. Twilight immediately recognized the two, racing over to them. “Shining!” She embraced her older brother. “Are you okay?”

“We're fine, but Nightmare's captured Canterlot. Still has that little foal. And now General Spur. I don't know what was going through his crazy head, but he told me to come back for him in fifteen minutes.”

“What? Is he crazy? Nightmare will just kill him!”

“Yeah, well, he said Nightmare wouldn't take him today. Interpret that as you will, Sis. But I'm following his orders. Even if you order me not to go back there, I'm not leaving him behind.”

Twilight sighed. She looked at the doctor with them, who hadn't said a word. “Doctor... Could you give me an estimate on how long it would it take to load all the patients safely on the train?”

“Uh...Thirty minutes, probably.”

“Well... At least say hi to Mom and Dad before you go back for him, Major. And that's an order.”

Shining smiled, hugging his younger sibling closer. “Of course, Sis.”

“AH!” Thrown against a statue by Fido, General Spur grimaced in pain. Blood trickled down his jaw.

“STOP IT!” cried Sweetie Belle. “Why are you doing this?”

Nightmare Shy kicked him in the gut again, furious. “WHERE IS DISCORD'S STATUE?” she roared.

“I don't know! I came back here to make sure it was out of the city by the time you and your army got here! When I arrived, I learned it was missing already!” He grunted from another kick to the face – then started laughing. And continued laughing. He laughed so long that Fido began to get nervous.

“What's so funny, General?”

“So that's why Princess Luna took so long to get to you after you killed Princess Celestia...” The General laughed uproariously some more. “She was making sure you wouldn't be able to get to him.”

Enraged, Nightmare Shy kicked him again, sending the armoured black stallion crashing through a hedge. She barreled after him and punched him in face a few more times, all to Sweetie Belle's protests.

“What's wrong, Nightmare? Is the demon embarrassed that it just got outsmarted by a dead pony?”

She picked up the General by his armour. “I will be reunited with my child, General... No matter what it takes, I will find him. And when I do... I promise, you will be the first to die...” She straightened up, and brushed herself off. “I'm going to keep the Element of Generosity's sister for the time being. Your hunch was right. I would have killed her if the trade had been agreed to. You're one smart stallion.”

Sweetie Belled gasped in horror upon hearing the revelation. She turned her eyes to the beaten General.

His eyes told her he'd tried everything, and he wouldn't give up on her. She understood, but it still hurt.

“ALL TROOPS THAT ARE NOT STAYING IN THE CITY, MOVE OUT!”

Sweetie Belle screamed and shook her cage in protest as the column of Dogs and parasprites marched back down until they faded from view. Minutes passed as the General listened to his own breathing.

A bright flash of light, and Major Armour appeared. He blasted the guarding Dogs with a knockout spell before they could react, then bolted over to his commanding officer. “General!”

General Spur grinned. “I said fifteen minutes, not seventeen, Major.”

The Major rolled his eyes. “Twilight and the others are leaving for some tiny frontier town way, way off the map that even I've never heard of. Let's get you back to Appleloosa before that train takes off.”

“Oh, joy...” Spur grumbled. “Another train ride.”

“General Spur! Oh my stars, what happened to you?” asked Rarity, at the train station with Twilight.

“Courtesy of Nightmare Shy and her Dog minions. Discord's statue wasn't there, Twilight. Princess Luna moved it somewhere before coming after Nightmare in Ponyville. Outwitted by the dead... Ha!”

“What about Sweetie Belle! Don't tell me that monster still has her!” Rarity cried.

The General looked down. “I'm sorry, Rarity... I tried. We really tried. But we couldn't get close to her.”

“I see... Thank you, General.” Rarity got a comforting hoof from her friend as they boarded the train.

The nurse ponies lifted the bruised warrior's stretcher and trotted up the ramp of the medical car.

“Everypony loaded up?” called Braeburn, who'd elected to stay behind and defend his town.

“Eeyup!” called Big Mac from the passenger car.

“We're all loaded here, Mayor!” called the nurse ponies.

“Goodbye, all of you! The Buffalo and I will try to stay alive if Nightmare attacks this place!”

With that, the train got underway, the engine car now one of the modern coal-powered steam engines.

Reaching their underground homes, the surviving Dogs collapsed in exhaustion. “We must have rest!”

Nightmare Shy shook her possessed mane. “Yes, even I agree with you, Spot. Let us rest for now.”

“Where we go now, Nightmare?” asked Rover. “Where we find statue if ponies not even know?”

“I don't know, Rover...” Nightmare Shy looked up as a wisp of smoke waded through the tunnel and entered her eye. “But I do know that the ponies are definitely in Appleloosa now. Let's try there next.”

“What we do with captured pony?” asked Fido, looking at the cowering Sweetie Belle.

“Put in her the castle's dungeon and leave her there. Make sure she's fed just enough to survive.”

“They'll come back for me!” Sweetie Belle yelled. “You'll see! They'll come back for me!”

“Good... I'm counting on it.” Nightmare Shy scowled. “Take her away so I don't 'accidentally' eat her.”

The train ride seemed to take forever. Twilight passed the time by lifting rocks off the ground and throwing them at the track switches after the train had passed them, trying to cover up all their tracks.

“You really think Nightmare's gonna take the train, Twilight?”

“Huh? Oh, hi, Spike. Well, I think I'm honestly just bored now. This has become quite fun, and helps me with my magical accuracy. Now that I'm a soldier, I need to do everything I can to keep myself fit.”

“Why don't you get some rest? You really look like you need it now.”

Twilight looked at her concerned assistant, and studied herself in the reflection of the car. And all she saw were bruises on her cheeks and heavy bags under her eyes. “Oh, wow... Yeah, I think I could do with some rest. Just... Before I go inside, how did you and my parents end up back in Ponyville?”

“Your mom decided to circle back and see if there were any ponies who'd hidden to rescue.”

“Oh. That simple, eh?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Spike held out his little claw. “C'mon, Twilight. Sleep already.”

The unicorn smiled at the dragon who was essentially her son. “Alright, Spike. You win.”

Hours later, she awoke upon feeling the train come to a complete stop. “Uh... Are we there?”

“I don't know,” Pinkie replied, rubbing her eyes and yawning along with her waking friends. “Let's go see.”

Stepping out onto the ground, all the ponies stopped and gasped at the sight that lay before them. The station was on top of a high cliff. A small town flanked by a few small farms was situated on another cliff below them, connected to the train station by an extremely tall municipal elevator build into the side of the cliff face. But beyond the higher cliff face was the real, truly breathtaking sight: Sand dunes stretched as far as the eye could see, with dozens of extraordinarily massive ancient ruins sticking out of them in random places. Even in the permanently tinted skies, the sight was undeniably impressive.

“Look at all those ancient ruins...” Twilight's eyes were practically sparkling themselves. “My stars!”

“Wow... And we're gonna hike across that?” asked Gilda. “I'm in!”

As if on cue, the door to the municipal elevator opened. An elder brown stallion with grey sideburns and a wide-brimmed hat strolled up the party. “Greetings! We don't get many visitors to Newgate, so allow me to welcome you here! Most ponies think I'm the mayor, but I'm really not! I'm just a humble farmer who's happy to welcome you all to our tiny town! Name's Ochre Pie, official greeter of visit–”

“DADDY?” Pinkie gasped.

The world froze as the ponies locked eyes on each other.

END CHAPTER SIX