//------------------------------//
// Fallen  
// Story: Destiny DLC: The Gathering Light 
// by observer of dimensions 
//------------------------------//


Three days had passed since Nox-23 arrived in Equestria. Negotiations had started the second day and ended the same day as well. Right away both parties agreed that weapon technology was off the table. The exchanges they did agree on were material goods, medical advancements and blueprints for tech that would be develop when the time was right.

Nox-23’s current objective was much different. He was finishing repairs on his ship. Along with his Ghost, there was one more who was with them. One Princess Twilight Sparkle.

There had been days before the Princess had been helpful with the repairs. She may not have completely understood the mechanics, but that didn't stop her from assisting Nox-23 by using her magic to remove and replace parts, as well as use the tools in places that would be awkward or hard to get to. Now, however, the job only required one creature to handle it.

Quietly, Nox-23 worked on adjusting the right thruster components. Every once and a while he would stop due to a strange feeling passing through him. Such feeling remained unidentified ‘till he could hear soft breathing coming from just behind his right side.

"You know, it is very unprincess-like to be creeping up next to someone working on something vital and who has no more replacement parts for said something."

Nox-23 slowly turned his head to get a better look at the young princess. For her part, Twilight was being cute without intentionally trying to be cute. Her ears were drooped and head lowered all the while looking up at him with big pleading eyes. "I-I know, I just wanted to see what you were doing. I can't really see from back there." Twilight pointed back to a spot not too far away.

"Twilight..." Nox-23 said in a monotone voice. "Why are you so interested in this? This technology is way to advance for even a smart gir- mare like you to understand. heck, even I don't understand all of it! I'm just following what Ghost tells me to do."

Twilight sheepishly looked away. Sure he was right but that didn't stop her from wanting to learn something even if it is not related.

"...Twilight."

"Yes?"

“Some space, please." The exo looked at her with the best pleading look his metal face could muster.

"Oh right, sorry." Twilight backed peddled several inches away from Nox-23. Personally, Nox-23 wanted some more room, but for the love and tolerance for these small equine, he would let it go. Thinking the whole episode was over and done with, he return to his work, only to hear his Ghost appear beside him.

"I think she likes you," it spoke out loud.

Instantly Twilight's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "wha- nnooo. I-I- Nox is a friend, but I’m not attracted to him… I-I don't mean he’s bad looking… I- well, I don't even know what the standards of beauty for Exo’s are! Besides, I prefer somepony, well, more pony-like," Twilight stammered.

The Ghost chuckled while Nox-23 rolled his eyes. ‘So much like humans, these ponies were.’ He went back to finishing his task, while Twilight scolded his Ghost for the mean joke.

All of a sudden, the sky became unnaturally dark. Twilight looked up, trying to pinpoint where the shade was coming from. She had only seen the sky do this once before--when she battled Tirek and it turned blood red, not a darker shade of blue. Nox-23 and his Ghost, on the other hand, had seen this before. Something was dropping out of a jump. All eyes shifted toward a point in the sky that was becoming distorted. Within seconds of the distortion, a large ship appeared. This, too, did Nox-23 and the Ghost know. It was...

"Fallen"

Twilight's head shot up to look at the Ghost. "Fallen? Wait, you mean ‘Fallen’ as in the aliens that atta-" she suddenly paused, her eyes shrunk in realization. "Oh no, my friends!" Twilight’s horn light up with magic.

Having seen it thousands of times, Nox-23 knew what he was doing, "wait, Stop! It's too dangero-" The purple mare disappeared before he could finish.

The Ghost disappeared from sight as well, but his voice indicated that he had only linked with the interface of Nox’s neural pathways. "She'll be fine. Twilight knows how to protect herself. However, not everypony in the city can. We need to go, now!" His Ghost was right, so, for the first time since arriving on this planet, Nox-23 took a weapon into his hands. His auto rifle, Doctor Nope. A second later his helmet appeared on his head. Without any further hesitation, Nox-23 took off toward the Crystal city, and the battle that had just begun.





Twilight's Teleportation brought her to the edge of the city. It would be smarter and safer to teleport again, and, this time, to the castle. But she feared for her friends and the civilians who were out and about. Her spell may be a quick way of transportation, allowing her to cross distances in seconds, but the Fallen ship was no slowpoke. It was already closing in on the city's left side when Twilight arrived. Twilight took to the air, all the while watching the ship.

She watched as two orb like structures with cylinders attached to them rotate in their position underneath the front end of the ship. One more second of silence passed before all of Tartarus broke out.

The orbs fired into the city.




Nox-23 cursed as he saw the ship fire at the city. He had no doubt that there was already casualties. He could only hope that he could keep it low.





Twilight almost lost the ability to keep herself in the air as she watch in horror as the Fallen ship brought destruction on the peaceful city. Already, she heard screams of agony and death bellowing forth. Fire and smoke rose from the area, and all Twilight could do was stare. She watched silently as the ship began dropping bipedal creatures--nothing like Nox--and small hovering machines onto the ground. The ship then continued onward, eventually dropping more creatures, thankfully it's orbs didn't fire again.

Out of pure luck, Twilight saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see one of the bipedal creatures, one with four arms, lift up a smaller cylinder, aiming it at her. On instinct, Twilight dove just as a beam of light shot through the air toward where she had been.

She flew low to the ground, passing panicked ponies running for their lives. Her eyes watered as tears trickled down her muzzle. She couldn't do anything. She was a princess, a leader of Equestria and she was useless. She was scared.





It didn’t take long for Nox-23 to find his first victim, once he had entered the city. A lone Vandal stood in the middle of the road, looking for ponies to shoot. Unfortunately for him, he had his back toward the Guardian. Two shots to the back of the head and the Vandal fell to the ground, never knowing what hit him. Only giving himself a second to confirm the kill, Nox-23 ran forward, keeping an eye on his helmet's radar for more enemies.

Coming up to a side of a building, Nox-23 jumped onto the wall, then again using his jump boost to propel him onto the roof. It was not the tallest of buildings, but it did give him quite a view. It is there that he saw the Fallen ship, already reaching the opposite end of the city. There was nothing he could to the ship, so he tried to refocus his attention on other possible threats.

To his surprise, just as he was about to face away he saw several beams of blue light hit the Fallen ship. Most merely scratched the surface; however, a few found their way to the ship's thrusters causing them to explode. Unable to keep flying, the Fallen vessel descended rapidly, crashing just outside the city border.

"Wow, magic sure packs a punch," Ghost commented, quite surprised.

Nox-23 nodded in agreement. "Yes, but we can't slack off just because it seems like they are handling it. We… we’re probably the ones who brought the Fallen here. The Ponies need our help, and I want to repay them for their kindness." The Ghost made no reply, for there was no need. It agreed with him completely and Nox-23 knew it. There was something that bothered the Ghost, though. Something about the attack was off, but, before it could ponder more on it, screams were heard not far from their location.

Wasting not another moment, Nox-23 leaped off the building and into the fray.





Twilight Sparkle was, once again, on the ground. The fiery pain of being shot at had weighed so heavily on her mind that she landed on the ground hoping it would make her less of a target. She ran, she ran past the buildings, past the Crystal ponies, not even stopping to answer their questions on what was happening. All she wanted to do was run to safety, run to the Castle, to where her brother can protect her. She was on the homestretch now. The masses of ponies behind her. All she had to do is take a few more steps and- "Twilight?"

She stopped. She had to stop. The voice was familiar. If it had been anypony else, she would have continued on. Instead, she turned her head. "Mom? Dad?"

There were her parents, running up to her with worry in their eyes. "Mom, Dad wh-what are you doing here?" Twilight looked past her parents, alert for any danger.

Twilight's mother turned her head toward her husband, prompting him to answer. "Well, sweetie, when The Princess Celestia and Luna returned to Canterlot yesterday, they told us that Princess Cadance wanted us to come here. So we took the morning train, and… what's going on, here… and what was that thing flying over the city?"

Before Twilight could answer, another voice yelled from the Castle's entrance. "Mom, Dad, Twily, what are you doing over there? You need to come inside right now!" All three looked to see Shining Armor, along with several guards with spears, standing in the doorway.

Twilight turned back to her folks. "Come on, I'll explain on the way, but we need to do what Shining says." All three of them galloped to Shining. As a general rule, if the Captain of the royal guard tells you to do something, you do that thing.

Twilight and her parents entered the door and started up the stairs, soon to be followed by Shining and two of the many guards. Trotting up the stairs at a quick pace, Twilight's mom, Twilight Velvet, spoke up. "Okay, what's the deal? Are we under attack, or something? There are ponies out there that need help." Twilight lowered her head shamefully, which went unnoticed by her peers.

"From what Nox-23 told us about his enemies, I think these are the Fallen," Shining answered.

"Nox-23? Fallen?" Night Light, Twilight and Shining Armor’s father, replied confusedly.

This time, Twilight answered. "Nox-23 is someone who came from a different world. He, and many like him, have been fighting to save their kind against evil beings… the Fallen is one of the species they’re fighting right now."

The older family members look at each other then back at Twilight. "Is this ‘Nox-23’ the bipedal creature that has been in the news recently?" Twilight nodded somberly.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs, the group was greeted by none other than Princess Cadance. Some of Twilight's joy returned upon seeing her favorite--and only--sister-in-law. Said sister-in-law rushed forward at the sight of her family. She hugged parents-in-laws first, sharing a few words then to her husband, who was somewhat reluctant to show too much affection in front of his subordinates, before she reached Twilight, enveloping her into a tight hug.

Twilight truly wished that they could stay like this a little longer, but, alas, all good things must come to an end. They separated, and as they did, Twilight remembered something that the fear had made her forget. Her eyes shrunk to the size of pin needles and her ears flipped back to the sides of her head. "My friends! I forgot to look for my friends! They could still be out there in danger… or… or worse."

Before she could do anything, Cadance put a hoof to her chest and smiled. “They are ok," she said sweetly. "They were all near the castle when the ship appeared and they came here, hoping to find you here was well."

“Where are they now?"

Candace turned her head, motioning down the hallway to the door leading to the throne room. "They are in the secret room underneath the throne. Let’s go and meet up with them.”

Seeing that his wife was done talking, Shining headed down the hallway with everypony else in tow. By the looks of it, they were almost to safety and soon that would be true.

Unfortunately it just wasn't meant to be.

Moments after Shining had crossed an intersection in the hallway, a small oddly shaped object was thrown... right in front of Twilight's parents. The two peered at it in confusion and Shining turned his head around at the sound of the object hitting the floor. A second of silence passed before Twilight's world was turned upside down.

The object exploded in a brilliant light. Three bodies were thrown from there position as the rest stared in horror. The bodies fell with a deafening thud. In a instance Cadance was by her husband’s side, shaking him with a hoof. Whether she flew or teleported, nopony knew. Tears began to stream down her face. "Please, Shining, wake up. I-I-I don't want our foal to grow up without a father. Please, Please wake up." she cried.

Twilight Sparkle did not register what Cadance was doing or saying, neither did she register the Guards running past her. All she did was stare at the to burnt forms that were her mother and Father. She stared at their bodies as if willing them to move again. They did not. They could not. And they never would again. Twilight blinked once and then she screamed.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Her parents were dead. Her parents were dead. Her parents were dead and she couldn't do anything. She was useless when the Fallen first attacked and she was useless now. Twilight barely realized that two Fallen had entered the hallway. Both had only two arms and what looked like a Mohawks. One turn to face Cadance and Shining armor, raising it's weapon. The other faced the oncoming guards.

One of the guards threw a spear at the Fallen facing the couple. The spear penetrated the chest killing the Fallen before it could do anything. The other guard also threw his spear in an attempt to take down the remaining enemy. His spear, however, missed as the Fallen ducked. As it ducked away, it raised it's gun and fired at the guards. One of the shots found it's way to the head of the guard that attacked it. The second guard was lucky enough to get away with merely a nick to the foreleg.

Flinching slightly at the wound the guard leaped at the fallen, causing both of them to fall to the floor. The two of them struggled, trying to get the advantage over the other.

Twilight watched in silence, unable to do anything. The sounds of voices, none of them Equish, were coming from down the hallway, and they were getting louder. There was going to be more death. More innocent ponies were going to die. Cadance, the guard, her friends; all of them were going to die… unless… unless she did something. She was too scared, too frightened to do anything before, and, if she remained so, lives would be lost. Lives she could save. These Fa- monsters, it's their fault. they brought destruction and death. They needed to pay, and it was up to Twilight to do so. It was up to her to save her ponies.

Twilight demanded her body to move... so it did.

Conviction had come just in time, too. The fallen had just found a way to pry itself from the guard, kicking him away and reaching for it's weapon. Several more Fallen entered the hallway, some with four limbs, as well as some with two. They all focused on the guard, readying their weapons. The guard shrunk away the best he could. He knew it was all over.

All of a sudden, a large beam of purple light shot out toward the Fallen, knocking them back and onto the floor. Before even one of them could recover, their bodies were subjected to a great increase in gravity. Some called out in pain as their bodies were crushed.

The guard was taken by surprised by the sudden change. He swerved his head around to find the source. Princess Cadance was still next to Shining Armor crying her eyes out, oblivious to what had just happened. On the other side of him stood a mare that took him a second more than it should have for him to recognize, her horn still glowing with magical light.

She turned to face him and spoke in an authoritative tone that he had not heard from her before. "Get a Medic...Now!"




Nox-23 found the screaming to be coming from none other than a group of Crystal ponies. They were surrounded on all sides by the Fallen. Nox-23 was drawn to anger as he realized that the Fallen were making a sport out of shooting at the ponies. Some of the Dregs would fire a shot or two, purposely missing just to get their victims to scream again. Some still alive carrying wounds, some had been shot outright, and some were not so lucky. Nox-23 saw a foal, no older than ten, trying to reach his mother, only to be held back by another pony. All the while, three Captains watched from afar.

The Guardian had seen enough. Running as fast as he could, he charged at the nearest Fallen. The thudding of his boots were picked up by the Fallen's ears and it turned around, only to be shot in the face by Nox-23’s Doctor Nope. The death of one of their own drew the other Fallen's attention like a moth to a flame. Six Fallen stood between him and the ponies, but not for long.

The closest Fallen, a Dreg, opted to rush with knife in hand. As it got in range, it pulled back it's arm, now ready to strike. But Nox-23 was quicker to the punch… literally. With one power infused punch Nox-23 sent the Dreg flying as it disintegrated into nothing. The next two Fallen, also Dregs, were a bit more cautious of the Guardian, choosing their guns over melee weapons.

They fired shots at Nox-23, who was able to dodge the strong-but-slow bullets. Determining that he was close enough, Nox-23 switched out his auto rifle for The Comedian, his shotgun. He fire into the chest of the Fallen, killing it instantly. The other Dreg started backpedaling in an attempt to get away. It's efforts were futile.

The last of the group were two Vandals and one Dreg. Unfortunately for them, they were in close proximity to each other. One flick of the wrist and a grenade was thrown into the group of three. Once it hit the ground, it exploded. killing the Dreg instantly. The Vandals, being a bit tougher, survived the initial blast, but just barely. The two slinked away from the grenade as it let out a pale purple light, which would damage any who came near it. Nox-23 simply switched back to his auto rifle and finished the job his grenade started.

With the path clear to the ponies, Nox-23 quickly looked around for cover that the Equines could us. There was nothing on the streets that would provide adequate protection, seeing as any nearby buildings would be a death trap, so instead of continuing to look for cover, Nox-23 deiced to make his own. His body glowed a light purple as he readied his super ability. Once he was mere few feet away from the frightened ponies Nox-23 squatted, pounding the ground with his fists, releasing his Super. Instantly, a dark purple barrier formed around the Guardian.

Getting up he yelled. "Get into the barrier, now!” The ponies did not move at first, unsure if they could trust this biped. However, when one of the Fallen fired at the Guardian, only for the shots to stop at the barriers edge, they realized the inside the barrier was the safest place to be. They rushed forth, into the barrier. Nox-23, not wanting to get stampeded, jumped into the air. as he did, he counted the number of Ponies. He came to the number eleven. Fewer ponies than he wished there to be. Now--with the ponies inside the barrier--Nox-23 would be able to take out the Fallen without the Ponies getting hit. He only hoped he could finish in time--before the barrier disappeared.

Quickly, Nox-23 sidestep out of the way of a Captains' fire. Feeling that it would take too long to take out the Captains--who all had personal shields. He went for a much simpler and easier route. In a flash, Nox-23 switched out his rifle for his rocket launcher: the Hezen Vengeance. He proceeded to fire it at the Captains. All three tried to dodge, but it was for not. The following explosion encompassed them all, burning away their shields and their flesh.

Nox-23 did not pay much attention to the result of his attack. Instead, he turned his focus toward who would be his next target. Based off his helmet's radar, there was an enemy to his right. Once again, he switched back to his auto rifle.

Seeing a glow of light on top of a near by building Nox-23 jumped into the air, barely dodging a sniper round. He could feel the shot brush pass his left leg. Nox-23 made sure to return the gift in full. Two bodies landed on the ground, only one was a dead. The Vandal and it's executioner. Several other Fallen made themselves known to Nox-23 from the same side as the newly departed Vandal. All of them tried to avenge the death of their comrades. All of them failed.

Just as he was reloading, his helmet picked up a Fallen. A Fallen that was to close for comfort. Nox-23 swore as he turned around. He hadn't thought that there would be cloaked Fallen here. Just as he completed turning around, the Vandal jumped at him. The attack missed, however, thanks to a new addition to the Vandal's body.

A spear sticking out of it's head.

A brief moment to look around identified the owner of the spear. An orange Pegasus with blue hair, and he was not alone. Several more pegasi--along with a number of Crystal guards--appeared. Apparently, they had taken care of the Fallen in the area that Nox-23 was putting off for last.

The orange Pegasus landed in front of Nox-23 and saluted. "Lieutenant Flash Sentry of the Crystal Guard, reporting for duty!"

"Greetings, Lieutenant. I just saved a string of civvies. Will your squad be able to evacuate them?"

Flash nodded. He turned to his stallions and pointed at the ponies in the barrier. Without the need of words, the guards understood the command and rushed off to the barrier and it's occupants, who looked at the armored ponies with mixed expressions of weariness and relief.

Flash turned back to Nox-23 and spoke. "My squad was sent out to find you. We need your help."

"What can I do for you?"

Once again, Flash turned away from Nox-23, but this time to point in the direction the Fallen ship had crashed in. “We are currently pushing back the enemy, but we’re meeting heavy resistance. We’re having most trouble with some flying metal constructs. They’re small and have some kind of projectile weapon on the underside."

"Shanks. they are called shanks." Nox-23 corrected him.

" Right.. well the shanks' metal bodies are hard to pierce with our weapons. Unicorns are able to take them down, but he have very few in the Empire. From what I heard you have the weapons to deal with these foes." Flash paused for a moment to observe his surroundings. "And by the looks of it, you do. So, will you help?"

Nox-23 rose his gun into the air, pointing it to the sky. "Show me the way."




six hours had passed since Spike and the girls were told to hide in the secret area underneath the throne room. They, along with some of the castle staff, had waited patiently; or, at least, most of them were. Spike watched Rainbow Dash hover in the air above all of them. She, thanks to her position in the Wonderbolts had been ordered to guard everypony else, with a small group of Crystal Guards. Spike could tell that she was forcing herself from flying off to find Twilight. Shining had told them that he would find her and bring her back, but as time passed they became more and more worried. At one point Fluttershy began to cry in fear that something had happen to their friend. It had taken both Rarity and Applejack to calm her down. Pinkie Pie was handling it the best way she could by doing what she did best, cheering ponies up. She would find ways to amuse the castle staff with tricks and jokes, but even she would glance upward every now and then.

Everypony, and dragon, jumped at the sound of voices coming from high above. A second later the ceiling that was the throne disappeared like magic. One of the Guards gulped loudly as he readied his spear.

A second pass, then two, then a third. It had been ten seconds before a voice called out to the ponies below. "It's safe! You can all come up!" Sighs of relief spread across the room. In a flash, Rainbow shot upward, leaving the rest to climb the stairs.

A few minutes and a good exercise later, the rest of the girls and spike reached the top. There, in front of them, hovered Rainbow Dash, forelegs crossed over her chest, and a look of irritation on her face. "Took you long enough. Come on, these guys-" Rainbow paused to point at the two guards waiting by the stairs for the rest of the ponies to come up. "-told me where Twilight was. We need to see her. Now!"

Strength renewed by the curiosity of their friend's condition, the group of six ran out of the room. "Where is she, Rainbow?" Spike ask as the they ran down the hallway.

"She’s under the castle, were the Crystal Heart is. That’s where they are gathering... bodies. A pulse of horror passed through four of the ponies and Spike, making them stop In their tracks. Rainbow Dash quickly notice them and realized what she had said. Rainbow raised her forelegs and waved them frantically. "wait, no. Twilight is alive, the guard said as much."

"Rainbow, dear, please don't scare us like that. For a second there I...ne-nevermind. Rarity shook her head to rid herself of the bad thoughts in he mind.

"All right, let’s not go thinkin’ too deeply ‘bout it, right now. Whatever reason Twi’ is there for, Ah know that she’s gonna need us." Spike and the mares agreed with Applejack and continued onward, even doing their best not to pay any attention to the scorch marks on the floor or the strange new red paint in the main hallway.

Once they had stepped outside the five young mares and baby dragon were greeted with the most dreary of sights. sheet-covered bodies lined the ground. Numerous ponies were scattered about, some crying over the body of a lost one, others wandered about, soon to find out if there would be a joyful reunion or a funeral in their future. One such colt lay on top of a cloth, yelling for his mother to wake up.

None of the mares could stop themselves from crying not even Rainbow Dash. Spike, with tear streaked eyes, found two Guards nearby. The Unicorn guard was rubbing the back of his Pegasus companion who was just staring at the ground silently. Seeing nopony else, Spike walk up to them. "Excuse me, but do you know where Princess Twilight is?"

The Unicorn stared at spike for a moment before answering. "She...she’s over there, by the Crystal Heart." The Guard pointed at a figure sitting with her back towards them. A brown blanket covered her features. Spike took off toward the figure, not even taking a moment to call his friends. Only when he started hearing hoofbeats running behind him did he realize that they were following him.

Finally they reach the figure who seemed to be staring down at two sheet covered bodies in front of her. "Twi?" Spike spoke up. The head turned, revealing a purple face that belonged to none other than Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and Princess of Friendship. The five ponies and one dragon relaxed just a bit from seeing that their friend was alive, seemingly unharmed.

"They killed my Parents." Everypony gasped, "One of those monsters threw something at them... and it exploded."

"what about you brother? What about Shining Armor?" The baby dragon asked.

"He's alive. Thank the Heavens, he's alive. He was wounded in the explosion, but we are able to get him medical treatment. Cadance is with him now." Twilight turned her head away, looking at her parent's bodies once again. Her friends shared concerned glances before trotting closer to Twilight, forming a semicircle around her. Spike walked right up to her and placed a claw on her shoulder. "I-I killed them. I killed those monsters."

"Twilight, it's alright, Ah, for one, won't blame ya for takin’ a life, especially if it saved somepony's life. Ain't that right girls?" The other mares spoke murmurs of agreement.

Spike looked back at them and smiled. "See, Twilight we're here for you. We won't hate you for ki- for stopping something that was hurting ponies. You had no other choice."

Twilight's head snapped around so fast it made everyone jump. "That’s not it. I-I didn't stop there. Before I was so scared of them, I just ran here; but after they attacked, after they killed my parents, I just...I don't know. I killed the Fallen that got into the Castle, and I waited till medical help came to take care of Shiny, but after that I went out and killed more of them. I joined the Guards and fought back, taking out anything that attacked us. Even now, after it's all over, I don't feel a ping of regret or remorse for taking their lives. In fact, I'm happy. Happy they’re dead. Happy that I saved lives by taking theirs away."

They fall into silence, not one spoke a word. Instead, they moved closer to Twilight, and when they were finally right up next to her they, hugged her. They hugged her as much as they could, expressing their undying love for their friend.

They broke apart, only when a voice spoke from behind them. "I'm sorry."

There behind them was Nox-23 and his Ghost. “Wh-what are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong." Twilight said, rubbing away tears that had formed.

"As much as it is unusual, the Fallen followed us here. They don't normally do that, so I thought this place was safe, and for that, I'm sorry. We're sorry." The Ghost dipped down to the pony's eye level.

Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not your fault. Like you said it's unusual for them to do what they did. You guys had no way of knowing. I can't blame you for something you had no knowledge of, and besides, I heard you were a big help fighting them off. You could have run off, but you didn't. You risked your lives to save us, and that makes you good in my book."

Nox-23 was surprised, once again, by these ponies and their capacity to forgive. Or, at least, the ones that he had thought would hate him for sure, now. He averted his gaze, finding a spot of crystal concrete to look at. "Still, I think it is best that we leave as soon as possible. Shouldn't take any more than one or two days to finish repairs. Hopefully, it will prevent any more Fallen from coming here."

Twilight Sparkle also found a part of the ground interesting, but only for a few seconds, before raising her head up to meet Nox-23’s gaze, looking determined about something. "Nox-23, can I ask you for something?" The EXO nodded, knowing that he should return the favor for letting him stay as long as he had. Slowly, Twilight rose off of her haunches, causing the blanket to fall off of her.

"I want you to take me with you."

The first response was a surprised gasp by none other than Rarity. She was not, however, gasping at Twilight's request, as many would think. She had gasped at something else. Something that not even a pony who didn't have her eye for detail could miss.
"T-Twilight you-your hair...it's white." It was true. For, no longer did her mane or tail have the beautiful dark blue, pink and purple that she had since birth. In it's place were three shades of white, and at that moment, the Sun lowered itself toward the horizon, it's golden rays reached the young princess, giving her hair a silvery glow.