"Another one."
Twilight Sparkle sighed, as she witnessed Emile forcefully squirm and wrangle himself free from his nightmares. She felt pity for the human; she wanted to help him, comfort him, tell him that everything was okay. She wanted to do something to make him feel better.
But, then he'd know that she was invading his privacy; observing him like this in the wee hours of the morning. Considering his moody behavior, she was quite afraid of incurring his wrath.
It's been two days since Twilight told him the news. Two days since she told him that he couldn't go home for two years. Again, she felt saddened for him; he must be so lonely, and she could not even imagine how worried sick his friends and family were.
Over the days she's had him, Emile had done nothing but stare blankly at the wall, ignoring everything around him. He barely touches the food given to him; it was like he wasn't even there. His body had shut down, and he must've been lost in an endless sea of thoughts.
She continued to observe him from the staircase, purely out of sheer curiosity. She wanted to know what he has been doing, what he was thinking, and what he was feeling. She wanted to know everything there is to know about him, and the only thing stopping her was his erratic temper.
The clocked ticked away, and when Twilight looked out of the window, the sun had already risen. Once again, time had already passed much too quickly for her liking.
She heard a groan from behind her, as well as the rustling of sheets. Twilight smiled; Spike had awoken, this time without the need for her to endlessly tell him to wake up.
He stood up and yawned; he was still sleepy. He did some stretches to get some blood flowing through him, and then proceeded to stumble his way to the stairs. His movements were sluggish at best; almost resembling one who's had too much to drink.
"Morning, Twi." he greeted with a croak. Despite his stupor and lack of balance, he's managed to get downstairs relatively unharmed.
He passed by Emile, and greeted him a good morning as well. Emile only continued to stare. Given no response, Spike shrugged and went to the kitchen.
"Might as well get some breakfast too."
She headed downstairs, trying her best to pretend like she was exhausted as well. She believed she was doing a good enough job of acting, as Emile had not confronted her about this.
"Good morning Emile!" Twilight greeted him.
"Hmm... too much pep, not enough 'bleugh'."
"Ahem. Good morning, Emile." she said again, this time with less vigor behind her words.
Strangely enough, she had gained a response from him; Emile looked in her direction. He said nothing, and just looked at her blankly.
Time passed with him just silently looking at her, and Twilight began to fidget on the spot, growing uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze he was giving her. He didn't stare at the wall anymore, but now he was staring at her.
"Does he know?"
Seconds passed, and Twilight panicked as Emile kept staring into her; devouring her with his gaze.
"HE KNOWS! HE DEFINITELY KNOWS! I'M DONE FOR!"
Her eyes darted back and forth, desperately looking for a reason to get away. As she looked to the kitchen, she saw Spike pouring some milk in a bowl of gems. He still wasn't fully wake; his bloodshot, half-lidded eyes were proof of that. Once done, he capped the bottle of milk, sat down, and proceeded to dunk his face in the bowl.
Perplexed and relieved at the same time, Twilight began to back away from Emile's bubble and towards the kitchen.
"Hey, nice talk, but... um... Spike's drowning... in his cereal right now. I think I'll just... um... save him. Give me a minute."
She flashed a nervous smile, and then bolted. She pulled Spike's head out of the bowl, properly waking him up in the process. She sighed in relief; for both Spike's safety and her own. Granted, she wasn't in any danger, but Emile's ominous and silent glare was enough to tell her otherwise.
Twilight felt nothing but silent hatred whenever she was around him; her stomach did flips, and a small bead of sweat would roll down the moment she steps a little too close to the bubble. If Twilight could describe it, Emile has an aura around him that says 'back off, or else'. Even if he was confined in a prison, Twilight wasn't willing to find out what 'or else' meant.
She prepared two bowls of oatmeal; one for her, and one for Emile. She knew humans were omnivores; capable of eating anything. While Twilight has nothing on the meat department to give him, she knew that what she had in her kitchen was sufficient to feed him; she just needs a substitute for meat to supply his body's need for protein.
She went into the living room again, levitating the bowl of oatmeal and a spoon beside her as she walked. Using her magic, she set down Emile's floating bubble to the floor and changed its shape; turning the sphere into a cube. Once again, Twilight felt goosebumps appear the closer she approached him. Gulping away her needless paranoia, she stepped forward.
"Hey... um.. I have breakfast. I hope you'll eat it this time."
She passed the food to him; the bowl of oatmeal effortlessly phasing through the cube's walls. She set the food down on the floor, right in front of where Emile was sitting. He made no action whatsoever.
"I'll be going now. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask me, okay?"
Silence.
With nothing left to do, Twilight backed away to the kitchen. Before she could, however, she spared one last look at him.
He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his head hanging low. He looked absolutely miserable.
Something tugged at her heart, as Twilight fought the urge to try and comfort him. She wanted to help him so badly; she just knew that behind that helmet was someone in despair. Someone who desperately needed help. She needed to say something; anything.
"We'll get you home. I promise."
Her form of comfort were only a few measly words, but hopefully he heard the sincerity behind it.
Nothing.
She sighed; it was like she was talking to a wall. Giving up, she turned and walked away.
"Wait."
Her eyes widened; her ears perked up in the process. She whipped around, only to find Emile in his same sitting position.
"I'm sorry... what was that?"
She half-expected that her imagination was running wild, and that he didn't actually say anything. That is, until he spoke again in a clear voice.
"Come closer." he beckoned.
Twilight's eyebrow raised at his strange request. Nonetheless, an opportunity presented itself for her to converse with him, this time without a feeling of hostility permitting the air. First things first, however...
"Okay... but you have to eat first."
This time, it was Emile's turn to look perplexed.
"You haven't been eating. Please."
A moment of pondering had passed, and Emile shrugged nonchalantly. He removed his helmet and put it down; beginning to eat the contents of the bowl. Twilight sat in front of him, waiting patiently for him to finish.
It was done fairly quickly; he put down the bowl and wasted no time to put his helmet back, masking his face again.
Twilight retrieved the bowl and put it in the sink. She returned, converted Emile's cube into a sphere, and sat down in front of him again.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Emile was in his previous sitting position, looking as stoic as ever. He was deep in thought; choosing his words carefully.
"When... you went to Earth, did you know what the date was? Did you come across any calendars?"
Twilight looked strangely at him, baffled. Out of all the questions he could ask about her and her world, he chose the one concerning her and her trip to another dimension.
"Maybe he's just curious."
Twilight decided to humor him, and began to think long and hard to find an answer for his question. In all honesty, her experience in the human world was quite literally a blur; she had no time to fuss over small details such as the date. While her world's time ran parallel with the human world, she could not remember the exact day she went in based on the human calendar.
"C'mon Twilight, think! You must have glanced at a calendar once..."
She reminisced her overnight stay in the school's library. When everyone was gone, Spike made a bed out of books for her to sleep on. Maybe he knows what the date was.
"Hey Spike!" she called out. "Do you know what date it was when we went in the portal? In human standard please."
"Umm... I think so." he called back. "When I was picking out a couple of books for the bed, there was this calendar on the counter. I think it said... the twenty-third of September."
"Do you know what year?"
"Uhh... yeah. I'm pretty sure it had 2013 at the end."
Twilight turned to Emile, happy she has an answer for him.
"There you have it! The last time we visited, it was the 23rd of September, 2013 on Earth."
She expected for him to do something, but none came. He simply just looked at her; the blank expression of the skull etched on his helmet hiding his true expressions.
"...twenty...thirteen?"
"Yup!" she replied in an exuberant manner. "And by my calculations, the portal will open again in an estimated two years, meaning you'll be returning in the year 2015!"
Again, a blank expression. Twilight gave him some time for her information to sink in, and waited for some sort of reaction from him.
Emile slowly backed away from her and sunk down in his bubble. He buried his hands to his face, and sighed heavily.
Again, she was baffled. By the looks of things, he was deeply upset about her answer.
"Hey Emile? Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.
She was given no reply. Twilight knocked on the bubble for good measure, but nothing.
"He's cut himself off again."
She turned to the kitchen, knowing it was impossible to get a word out of him in his current state. However, she was determined to find out what she had done to distress him.
Twilight mulled over her conversation with Emile whilst she absentmindedly ate her breakfast. He specifically asked for the date, and she could not come up with a reasonable conclusion to why.
"There has to be a reason. What did I say? Am I missing something?"
Her train of thought had been derailed, as an audible sound made its way to her ears - specifically someone knocking on her door. She looked down, and found that she had already finished her bowl of oatmeal. She snapped herself out of her thoughts and brought herself back to reality, wondering who could be up at this hour to knock on her door.
"Twi? You there?"
The voice was unmistakably Applejack's. With her waiting at the door, Twilight began to clean up after herself.
"I'll be there in a minute!"
Twilight placed her empty bowl in the sink, and made herself look presentable. Then, she approached the door and opened it.
"Good morning, Applejack. What brings you here?" Twilight asked.
"Hey Twi. Sorry for being a bother, but Ah'm just here to check up on ya. See if yer still alright and all." Applejack replied.
Twilight smiled at her friend's concern.
"Applejack, there's completely nothing to worry about. I assure you, I can handle myself."
"Ah know, Ah know. I just wanted to make sure."
"Well, if that's all, then-"
"Hold on a second." she interrupted. "Ah'm also s'possed to pass on a message from the princesses. Said they were going to visit you."
"What? Why?" Twilight questioned.
"Ah guess they had the same idea."
"Well, when are they coming?"
"Ah just saw them in town a few minutes ago; that's when they told me to tell you that they were coming. They stopped by Sugarcube Corner for sum' breakfast, but they should be here right about..."
A carriage led by four Royal Guards landed gracefully behind Applejack.
"...now."
The carriage door opened, revealing themselves to be Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Both stepped out and stood to full height. Twilight and Applejack approached them and bowed out of respect.
"Good morning Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. I understand you are here to discuss a few matters?"
"You are correct, Twilight Sparkle." Luna nodded. "My sister and I are here to assure ourselves of your well-being, as well as to check on your guest's status."
"Now that we are sure you are safe and sound," Celestia began. "Let's get down to business. I trust that Emile has caused no trouble?"
"Of course not. He hasn't so much uttered a word in the past two days." Twilight replied. "Although, that part's beginning to worry me."
"Worry you? How so?" Luna asked out of curiosity.
"Well, like I said. He quite literally hasn't said or done anything in the past two days. He just sits there and stares at the wall; ignoring everything."
"Hmm... that is quite worrying. Do you know the cause of this behavior?" Celestia inquired.
"It's mostly my fault, actually. Two days ago, Emile overheard of us going to the human world. He wanted to be brought to the portal we used, but I explained to him that it only opens every thirty full moon cycles. After that, he just sort of... stayed quiet."
"Ah suppose being told that you weren't gonna go home anytime soon can upset anypony, Twi. Heck, I'd be down in the dumps too if somepony told me I can't see Apple Bloom or Big Mac no more." Applejack spoke. "Just give 'im some time. He'll adjust."
"I don't think so." Twilight started. "If anything, I think I just made him worse."
Applejack, Luna and Celestia looked at each other confused, then looked at Twilight; their expressions were begging for an explanation.
"This morning, he wanted to talked to me. He asked me the date Spike and I went in the human world, and I told him that it was the 23rd of September, 2013 in human standard. I thought he'd be satisfied with that answer, but if anything, he's more miserable than before."
"Do ya know the reason?" Applejack asked.
"No, he went quiet again before I could get another word from him."
Celestia and Luna looked at each other. They both nodded, and faced Twilight.
"That settles it then. My sister and I will talk with him."
"Erm... I don't know, princess. He's been really quiet these days." Twilight protested. "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea."
"We're not going to do anything drastic, Twilight." Luna replied. "We just want to talk."
Celestia and Luna walked inside her house. Twilight and Applejack followed closely; the former had an expression of worry. Twilight knew that the princesses had no ill-intention of Emile, although it could be different on Luna's part. Both probably still resent each other, and all she needed right now was to drive a deeper wedge between what little tolerance Emile had with ponies.
Spike walked out of the kitchen with a little skip in his step. He had finished his breakfast, and he was ready to fulfill his daily duties.
"Hey Twilight! You got any- oh. G'morning princesses! Didn't expect any company today."
"Morning to you too, Spike. We're just here to visit."
Celestia and Luna approached Emile, while Spike followed behind; joining Applejack and Twilight. They knocked on his bubble's walls, capturing his attention.
"Princesses." he addressed.
"Good morning, Emile. I trust that you have been behaving yourself?"
"I'm not a child." He tilted his head, seemingly offended by Celestia's remark.
"I apologize, I wasn't implying that."
An awkward silence fell, leaving Twilight a small window of time to think.
"He willingly talks to Celestia, but not me?"
"I understand that you've been quiet these past few days, and yet here you are, willing to talk to me. Can you tell me why?" Celestia inquired.
"Simple. I don't trust purple princess over here."
"Oh, and why not?" Luna asked.
"I don't know, maybe she hasn't been watching me sleep, and maybe she hasn't been trying to act innocent."
All eyes turned to Twilight, who looked away in embarrassment.
"Dude, that's creepy." Spike commented.
"Forgive my former student; I'm sure she was only curious of you."
"Oh, I can tell by the heavy scribbling she does at almost six in the morning. It was pretty amusing; I'd wake up, then I'd pretend to go back to sleep to see what she'll do. But yeah, it's annoying and I want it to stop."
"Twilight has also told me that you've been... distraught over something."
"Has it got something to do with my sleep?"
"Uh... no. She's been worried that you've stayed silent and refused to eat these few days."
"Oh, that's much easier to explain."
"Right. Care to tell us what's been bothering you then?"
"And why do you care all of a sudden?"
"We just want to help you."
Emile scoffed, humored of the idea that these ponies act like they care for him. Celestia still continued to stare expectantly, so he decided to just go with it; he had nothing to lose anyway.
"Fine. If you're so desperate to know my dilemma, then by all means."
He sat down in his bubble and got himself comfortable; everypony and Spike sat down as well.
"Look. You probably already know the portal to Earth only opens every two years. With things going from bad to worse, I got low. I couldn't see a way out, and I pretty much ate away at myself the past few days thinking like that; just me and my worst-case scenarios. The one that bothered me the most was the idea that the portal would send me to the wrong timeline; it seemed like the most likely one to happen. I wanted to settle things once and for all, so-"
"So you asked me the date I went into Earth." Twilight finished.
"Bingo. And what do you know! It was the wrong timeline. Whoop-de-fucking-doo."
"How far off are you?" Spike asked out of curiosity. "Maybe Twilight can make a spell to send you back to your time?"
"The time on Earth runs parallel with the time here, am I right?"
"I think so."
"Then can your Twilight fast-forward that portal five centuries into the future?"
Everypony's eyes widened with surprise, confirming Emile's worst fear.
"Exactly what I thought."
Emile leaned back to lie down. He relaxed himself and sighed in a defeated manner.
"Welp, I don't know about you, but the idea of never coming home is pretty heavy on me. I think I'd like some privacy."
"You seem to be taking this well into stride." Luna pointed out.
"I'm actually distressed beyond comprehension right now, but as you can see, I'm doing a good job of keeping it together. It's REALLY gut-crunching, but the sooner I accept that I'm probably going to live in this prison indefinitely, the better it is for me."
"You know, if you can tell us the full story of how you got here, we could find a way." Twilight suggested.
"I died. How hard is it for you to understand that?" Emile retorted exasperatedly.
"There's has to be more to it, Emile. We need full details."
"You want details? Fine. After I got impaled, I found myself floating in nothing. Literally, nothing. I was floating in the dark, in a place filled with nothing. Then, there was this bright light that showed up. It disappeared, then a flash, and then I wake up in the forest. That's all there it to it."
Twilight and Applejack looked at each other; Emile's story was adding up with Rainbow Dash's sighting of a flash of light in the Everfree Forest. Luna noticed their reaction, and beckoned the entire group away from Emile to discuss privately.
"Has something come up?"
"Yes, actually. Prior to Emile's arrival, Rainbow Dash spotted a flash of light in the Everfree Forest. That's where we found him."
"At least his story's true then."
"That's not all. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, Twi and I felt this rush of energy at the same time just after the flash. Can't be a coincidence." Applejack added.
"You think his appearance has something to do with the Elements of Harmony?" Spike queried.
"Ah think so. We're the only ones connected to the Elements, and us six were the only ones to feel like we've been drained that day."
"Your right, that does sound fishy." Celestia commented. "Hmm... alright, this is what's going to happen. Luna and I will check on the Tree of Harmony; see if anything's up. As of now Twilight, I want you to do some research. See if there's been record of anomalies like this in the past. And as for the rest, I want you to keep a close eye on Emile."
All nodded in agreement. Twilight immediately dove for her books for research, while Applejack and Spike moved to accompany Emile; even though it was clear cut he didn't want any company. Celestia and Luna walked to the door, ready to venture into the Everfree to check on the Tree.
They opened the door, expecting their carriage in front of them. Not that they needed it, but rather they wanted the guards pulling it to accompany them.
Instead, they were presented with a very battered and bruised Discord.
Both princesses jumped back in surprise, catching the attention of everyone in the library; including Emile. Discord looked worse for wear; as said before, he was in immediate need of medical attention. Black and blue bruises were in places black and blue bruises shouldn't be, and he had an unreadable expression on his face.
"Discord, what happened to you?" Luna exclaimed. "You look like you've been trampled on by a stampede!"
He said nothing; seemingly oblivious to the world around him. The only response he could elicit was pointing a talon towards Twilight Sparkle.
"You... you owe me." he said, before he fell face-forward with a heavy thud.
Everyone rushed to his aid; everyone except a SPARTAN and a dragon.
"So... what the hell is this?" Emile quietly asked Spike.
"That's Discord, God of Chaos. He used to be a bad guy, but now he's good. I think."
"No, I meant why does he look like he's Frankenstein's pet."
"Who now?"
"Never mind."
Meanwhile, all three princesses and Applejack attended to Discord's injuries.
"Applejack, get Fluttershy in here!"
"On it!"
She rushed out the door to find her friend. Soon after, Twilight locked all the doors and windows, and shut the blinds tightly.
"Discord, what exactly did you do when the media was after us that day?" she asked whilst running back and forth.
He forced himself to sit up, careful not to hurt himself even more through sudden movement.
"Oh, nothing much. Just held off an entire army of rabbid reporters with my bare talon and paw. In two days. Seriously Twilight, how do you manage with this hero business?"
He winced as he tried to throw some hand signals into the mix, remembering his broken state. "They're animals, I tell you..."
"Reporters?" Luna questioned.
"Haven't you heard? Your 'friend' is the biggest gossip in Equestria right now. They really want a piece of big guy over here."
Discord turned to Emile, extending a paw to him with small difficulty.
"Hi, I'm Discord."
"Fuck off."
"Alrighty then."
Discord turned away with a blank expression; hiding his disappointment. He had hoped that the entire one-draconequus stand against an army for Emile's name was enough to get good side.
Not even a minute had passed, and Applejack returned with Fluttershy. The latter was in a nurse's uniform and had a stretcher in tow; she looked worried to death.
"WHERE'S MY BABY!?" she bellowed, her volume rivaling that of the Royal Canterlot Voice. Everypony leaned back in surprise; Spike had recovered the fastest and pointed in the general direction. Wasting no time, she had laid him on the stretcher, strapped him on and was already on their way out.
"Now don't you worry a hair on your head, I'll get you home safely."
"Fluttershy, honestly! I can take care of myself. Let me out of-"
"Shhh... no screaming. Only dreams now."
She pushed him out the door, ignoring his shouts of protest. Twilight made sure to shut the door; quickly straight after she left.
"Twilight, calm down." Celestia assured. "Nopony's after us. Here, I'll prove it."
She walked towards a window with tightly-shut blinds, and enveloped its cord with her magic. She turned to Twilight, who was waving frantically for her to cease.
"Look. I will open these blinds, and nopony will be there. Everything is alright."
She smile warmly as she opened the blinds, and multiple flashes of light filled the room. Celestia shut the blinds in an instant; her smile and posture never faltering.
"I stand corrected. It seems we are surrounded by what seems to be the entirety of Equestria's media outlet." she stated. "If we don't handle this, the situation may grow out of hoof."
"And," Luna joined in. "If the news of my arrival reaching all of Equestria has taught me anything, it's that reporters grow more rampant if we avoid them for too long."
"So, we're going with the second-best option we have. We sate the masses, and hopefully it would be enough. Does anypony have any objections?"
Emile raised his hand, but Celestia promptly ignored it.
"I don't think your vote counts, Emile." Spike whispered.
"I got the memo, dragon."
"I have a name, you know."
"I know. And I don't care."
Spike crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance.
"Spike, please write a letter that I need two platoons of guards here; one from the Royal Guard and another from the Night Guard." Celestia requested.
"Sure thing."
He grabbed a quill and a scroll of paper and started scribbling.
"Only two, sister?" Luna asked worriedly. "I don't think that's enough to hold off the number of ponies outside."
"No, it's not. But I can't leave Canterlot defenseless. Our guards will only act as security for us when we formally introduce Emile to the world. Spike, are you finished with that letter?"
"Almost there. Just need a seal of approval or a signature."
"A signature's enough."
She signed it, rolled it up and tied it with a ribbon.
"Now, I can give this to the guards that brought us here and they can send it to Canterlot. Until then, we have to keep the crowd occupied until more guards arrive so that we can start a formal introduction of Emile to the populace."
"But aren't your guards outside?" Spike questioned.
"Yes."
"Where all the reporters are?"
"Yes."
"And you have to go through them to get your letter sent?"
"Ye- oh." Celestia realized. "Dear me, I haven't thought this through."
"We'll help ya get through them, princess." Applejack said. "We can survive a couple of cameras."
"Much appreciated, Applejack."
Everyone nodded in approval, and went to the door not only to deliver a message, but to face an army of rabbid reporters; hopefully, they would restrain their cameras and incessant questions with the presence of three royals. Before they went outside, Celestia conjured with her magic five pairs of sunglasses. Two for her and Luna, and the rest for Twilight, Applejack and Spike.
"Awesome! I always wanted a pair. What are do we need these for?" Spike asked.
"These are to protect your eyes. I was almost blinded by the multitude of cameras when I returned to Canterlot after my subsequent fall from grace." Luna responded as she placed the shades onto her eyes. "Let's get this show over with."
They all stepped out of the door and shut it behind them. The sound of the closing thud of the door was soon followed by scores of clicks and flashes, as well as howls of pain.
"My eyes!"
"It burns! It burns!"
"Why aren't these working?!"
"Sunglasses, why hast thou forsaken me?!"
And thus, Emile - who had done nothing but observe - buried his face into the palm of his hand, exhaling heavily.
"Imbeciles. I'm surrounded by imbeciles."
Emile leaned back, tired from both the stress and from the idiocy called the pony.
He closed his eyes, and sleep came quickly.
Deep breaths.
"In, and out. In, and out."
Sombra sat in the Everfree, deeply meditating. His body was relaxed, and his mind was clear of pesky thoughts.
"In, and out. In, and out."
He chanted to himself in his mind; he was one with the environment. It was amazing what he could hear from his silence. Nothing but the sounds of nature filled his ears, and he felt himself free from stress and anxiety.
Days have passed since he had acquired his manticore servants. They grow restless; they have not tasted blood in days.
"Just a little more time, my pets. You will feed soon enough."
Over the course of the two days, Sombra had worked to improve his skills; he had grown rusty after so many years in the ice. He taught himself to shadow-walk once more, as well as to create dark clones of himself. It felt good to practice his dark magic again.
At this rate, he'll be back to full power in days. He smiled, as the thought of Master wiping this place of his enemies came to his mind. He was called crazy, insane - a fanatical mess. Only because he found his one, true god - the one who truly had the right to rule this world. His Master had opened his eyes and set him free, and since then Sombra had been his first and most devout follower.
He banished his stray thoughts and returned to meditating; he really shouldn't be counting his eggs before they hatch. He focused on nothing; letting the sounds of his breathing fill his ears.
"In and out. In, and out."
"..."
His ears perked up; he thought he heard something. The entire forest grew silent, and Sombra strained to hear the voice.
"..."
His eyes shot open, as he recognized the owner. It sounded old, frail... but make he made no mistake.
"Master?" he called out.
A pause, before it called out again.
"..."
The voice was projecting into Sombra's mind, just as he had always done.
"..."
"Of course, Master."
Sombra knew he referred to Ponyville, where Emile resided. He made his way through the foliage and made it to the forest edge. From there, he could see a trails of ponies walking towards Ponyville - most likely they have been lured in by the news of an otherworldy being on their planet.
In a distance, a small group of guards - both the Royal and Night Guard - were making their way to Ponyville; the pegasus guards pulling the chariots that carried their unicorn and earth pony comrades through the air.
"..."
Those words echoed in Sombra's head, and it took him a moment to realize that this was the signal. The guards will be spread thin; they could not hope to protect everyone with their numbers. It was the perfect opportunity, and he smiled wickedly as he envisioned the number of dead once this was done.
With a glow of his horn, the eight corrupted manticores leapt to his side, ready for action. Sombra had specifically tailored them for this situation; not even the alicorn princesses would know what hit them.
He faced the town, and visualized it ruined; reduced to nothing but rubble. That future was far off, but this will be the first step leading to its demise.
"On my command, you will exterminate them."
A chorus of roars was their response, and Sombra grinned like colt on Hearth's Warming morning; his eyes twinkling with delight. He anticipated a battle, and fully expected that Emile will be thrown right into the middle of it.
"Let's see why Master's chosen you, shall we?"