The Fall of the Sun

by Widow Peak

V - The Devil

Somepony knocked the door. “Come in.” said Cadance from inside. Shining Armor carefully opened the door and made his way to the chair.
 
 
Much to his surprise, the princess had taken the notice of her amputation very well. At first she had reacted with a gloomy acceptance, but when Shining woke up the next morning, he found her cheerfully chatting with a nurse that was bringing them the breakfast. For the rest of the morning, Shining avoided the topic, confused yet happy to see her marefriend in such a good mood.
 
 
But then, while they were having lunch together, he started to suspect that maybe Cadance was just hiding her sadness behind a radiant smile. He was aware the princess made a good actress, and could fake emotions without much trouble.
 
 
His uneasiness only increased in the subsequent reunion with his father, the mayor of Manehattan and some other politicians, to try to cope with the sudden flow of refugees from Canterlot. Shining barely paid any attention to the meeting, until Night Light noticed it and told him to go back to the hospital if he wished.
 
 
Now Shining Armor was in front of his princess, fidgeting with his hooves, trying to find the right words. After a few seconds, he decided going straight to the point would be for the best.

“Cadance, are you alright?” he gently asked.
 
 
The alicorn raised an eyebrow. “Well, apart from the several dozen injuries of different degrees, I would say I am rather good.” she said with an amused smile.
 
 
“Yeah, it’s about that,” muttered Shining, scratching the back of his head with a hoof. “You’re not like...suppressing feelings or anything like that. Right?”
 
 
Cadance’s smile faded. She let out a sigh and stared at her bandaged body. She could see a lump of dressings and bandages right over her shoulder. Under it was what little remained of her wing.
 
 
“I can’t say I am fine, Shining,” muttered the mare. “But when Nightmare Moon found us, I thought my death was a certainty. During the fight, any hope I had left to survive faded like a candle under water. Even after she left, I was so scared I would bled to death on our way to the hospital.” A faint smile crossed her lips as she glanced at Shining. “At the end of the day, it’s just a wing. I’m still here, with you. Alive. That’s what matters.” she finished, leaning forward for a kiss, which Shining gratefully provided her.
 
 
“Well, I am glad you’re coping with it so well,” said Shining, still not entirely convinced. “I don’t think I’d be able to do the same if I lost a leg. Just, uh, remember I am here. For anything.” he said, giving her a nuzzle.
 
 
“I’ll be fine.” replied Cadance, with another of those beautiful smiles. Silence fell for a moment in the room. The captain was content with being next to the mare he loved, so it was her who broke the silence.
 
 
“Any news of Twilight?”
 
 
Shining let out a heavy sigh and leaned back on his chair. “Nothing. That filly has vanished from Equestria. Dad has sent messages to every other city we sent refugees, but so far nopony has been able to locate her.” The stallion shook his head, worried. “Where in Tartarus did she go?”
 
 
“Don’t worry,” said Cadance. “She’ll be fine.”
 
 
Shining Armor huffed. “I wish I could agree, but Twilight…Well. I think you can agree she is not the most self-sufficient mare.” Cadance smiled and nodded. “So I can’t help being a bit concerned.”
 
 
“I am sure she can manage by herself for a few days.” gently said the princess. “After all, this is Equestria. She will be safe, no matter where she is.”
 
 

 
 
Twilight dropped on the grass. It was the same place where she had gone to sleep the other night, and it was the closest thing she had to a home right them. She definitely should have made some preparations. Then again, she wasn’t expecting everypony to have fled from Ponyville because Nightmare Moon had decided to live there. It wasn’t something she could have predicted. If it wasn’t for that, she would be sleeping in an inn or something similar.
 
 
The unicorn opened one of the saddlebags and extracted an apple. It was the penultimate apple from the bunch Apple Bloom had brought her yesterday, or what felt like yesterday. The perpetual night was ruining her perfectly calibrated circadian cycle, and she wasn’t sure how long it had been since she had left Canterlot. Over a day, for sure, but by how much? Two days? Three?
 
 
Twilight took a bite of the apple, and just then two hooves covered her eyes.
 
 
“Hi Twilight!” said the chirpy voice of Pinkie Pie. “Guess who I am?”
 
 
Twilight smiled. Her voice was unmistakable. “You’re Pinkie,” she said after chewing the apple.
 
 
“Close!” she replied, removing her hooves from her face. Twilight rolled her eyes and looked back, staring into a pony that was not Pinkie Pie.
 
 
“Uh…”
 
 
“Hello Twilight,” muttered the pony, with an incredibly monotonous voice. The unicorn blinked, confused ‘She knows me?’ she wondered, trying to remember. The mare was wearing a dull purple cloak, under which peeked the armor of the Ground Guard, but she couldn’t quite place her.
 
 
“Uh…hi. I…don’t think we have met?”
 
 
“We haven’t,” confirmed the mare. “But your father told me about you.”
 
 
Twilight needed a moment to connect the dots. “You are…his successor in the Ground Guard, aren’t you?” Maud nodded. “Pleased to meet you, Captain! I’m afraid I don’t know your name.” She said, extending a hoof, which Maud tapped with hers.
 
 
“She’s Maud Pie, and she is my sister!” chirped Pinkie Pie from above. Twilight looked up and crooked and eyebrow. The bubblegum mare was perched atop of a large branch, in a precarious balance, despite the fact that she had clearly heard her voice right behind her.
 
 
“How did you find me, Captain?” asked Twilight, guessing that Maud had been sent by her father to retrieve her.
 
 
“I’m here to visit my little sister,” replied Maud. “And please, no ‘captain’. Canterlot is gone, so there is no need for a Canterlot Ground Guard.” she said in the same lifeless, plain tone. Twilight now understood what Night Light meant when he said his successor was very ‘stoic’. She had seen bricks show more emotion.
 
 
“I am so sorry,” said Twilight, her ears folding back. “I wish I could have…wait, sister?” She couldn’t possibly be referring to…
 
 
Maud nodded, silently. Pinkie, on the other hoof, leaped down from the tree, giggling, and hugged her sister. “Of course! Maud is my older sister! The oldest of four. Don’t you see the family resemblance?”
 
 
Twilight’s eyes darted between the passive expression of Maud and the massive grin of Pinkie; the flat mane and unsaturated colors of one; and the extremely curly mane and bright, unsubtle pink of the other. “…s-sure!” stammered Twilight.
 
 
“Twilight, your family is looking for you,” muttered Maud.
 
 
“What do you mean?” asked the unicorn.
 
 
“Your family doesn’t know where you are, and wants to know where you are.”
 
 
“No…but…I l-left a letter,” she replied, shaking her head. She clearly remembered asking Spike to send a letter home, so Shining and her father knew where she was going.
 
 
“Then they never received it. They are worried. It has been four days.”
 
 
“W-what?” Twilight blinked, confused. “No, it’s been like, what? Two days, at much. It hasn’t been that long!”
 
 
“No,” repeated Maud, dead serious. “It has been exactly four days and nine hours since the midnight when Nightmare Moon appeared in Canterlot.”
 
 
Twilight felt a pit open in her stomach. How was it possible? She certainly hadn’t been awake for that long. She knew she had been sleeping more than usual, but…could she have really slept for that long? The possibility was somewhat terrifying, but there wasn’t any other explanation. “So you’re here just by sheer luck,” muttered Twilight, displeased. “Hadn’t been for that, I would have no clue.” The unicorn fetched the saddlebags with her magic, which Applejack had let her keep, and extracted ink, a quill and some papers, which Lyra had gifted her. Twilight was incredibly thankful to everypony. They had all been so nice, despite being a complete stranger.
 
 
“I have to send a letter to my father,” said Twilight, unscrewing the lid of the inkwell. “Pinkie, do you know where is Spike?” She would have to reconfigure Spike’s charm. As it was right now, she could only send letters to Princess Celestia and her house. That had always been enough.
 
 
“She’s with Rarity,” replied the pink mare, still clamped to Maud.
 
 
Twilight crooked an eyebrow at that. Rarity again. With everything that had been going on, she hadn’t asked Spike. No matter, she would have the chance while she reworked the spell. “Could you please fetch him while I write a letter, please?” she asked, flattening the paper on her magic. When she got no answer, Twilight looked up and saw that Pinkie was gone, leaving Maud alone. ‘Has she even moved since she arrived?’ wondered Twilight. ‘Has she even blinked?’
 
 
“There is something you should know.”
 

“Go ahead,” said Twilight, making an inviting gesture with the quill. ‘How can I express how sorry I am to have left, and sound reasonable?’
 
 
“You want first the bad or good news?”
 
 
“Bad news,” instantly replied Twilight. She preferred to tackle many things that way. For example, she ate the broccoli first and then the rest; or did her homework before reading a book.
 
 
“Nightmare Moon almost killed Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”
 
 
The quill stopped. “…who?”
 
 
“Cadence?”
 
 
The quill went through the paper. “W-w-what?” stammered Twilight, her heart skipping a beat.
 
 
“She located her while they were descending from Canterlot, and tried to kill her. Cadance is now in the hospital of Manehattan.”
 
 
Twilight dropped the quill and the parchment, grabbed Maud by the shoulders and shook her, though the mare barely budged. “How is she? How is Cadance?! Tell me!” she screams.
 
 
“She was hit very hard,” replied Maud. “But she will recover. Her life is not at danger.”
 
 
Twilight let go of Maud and sat down, breathing heavily. She raised a hoof and wiped away a tear. “Oh thank goodness,” she whimpered, shuddering. “I-I should have been there,” she muttered, her voice breaking.
 
 
“You wouldn’t have been able to do anything,” pointed out the earth mare.
 
 
Twilight ignored Maud and just sat on the grass until she managed to calm down. She took a deep breath and looked at the other pony. “And what is the good news? That she is alive?” she asked with bitterness.
 
 
“No,” said Maud. “Your mother is alive.”
 
 
Yet again, Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Maud, dumbfounded. “W-what?” she whimpered.
 
 
“Twilight Velvet is alive,” repeated Maud, more slowly. “She wasn’t in the School when Nightmare Moon destroyed it.”
 
 
Twilight stared at Maud, unable to believe what she was saying. She looked for some sign of deception, of mockery in her eyes, but Maud was smiling, a tiny, honest smile. An indescribable feeling of relief washed over Twilight like cold water, and the realization that she had been in distress for nothing. “Thanks heavens,” she muttered, rubbing her tearful eyes. “Thank you, Maud. I…” a sob caught on her throat. “I am such an idiot. I was so…shocked, I didn’t stop to think she may not have been in the School anymore!”
 
 
“It’s okay.” said Maud. Despite herself, the stoic voice of the earth pony made Twilight let out a choked laugh.
 
 
Then, came Pinkie Pie bouncing and ruined the moment. “Maud!” she said, even more excited than normal. “You have to see this! We have visit!” Without waiting for an answer, Pinkie pushed Maud towards the center of the camp. The lead gray mare didn’t even flinch when Pinkie dragged her, leaving a groove behind her. Confused by the sudden change of mood, Twilight blinked her tears away, and followed the two sisters.
 
 
Everypony had gathered in the center of the clearing, and were looking at something Twilight couldn’t make out. Stretching her neck, she caught a glimpse of a small group of new ponies, but then somepony moved and blocked her line of sight. Flicking her tail in annoyance, the unicorn walked around the wall of ponies, trying to find an opening. In her preoccupation, she almost didn’t notice the large white pony she nearly collided with.
 
 
“Oh, I am sorry!” said Twilight immediately, still gazing at the center of the group.
 
 
“Twil-uh-apologies, miss!”
 
 
The slip didn’t go unnoticed by Twilight. The unicorn slowly turned her head, eyebrow crooked, and found herself in front of no other than Prince Blueblood.
 
 
The unicorn stared at the stallion for a second before gritting her teeth. “What  are you doing here?” hissed Twilight, letting her magic flow into her horn. “Didn’t you make my life hard enough back at the Academy?” The large unicorn stallion looked awful, with bags under his eyes, a mess of a mane, and a terrified grimace on his face, but it was definitely the same pony.
 
 
“Wait no, Twilight!” begged Blueblood, eyeing her sparkling horn with worry. “This is just a coincidence! I had no idea you were here!”
 
 
Twilight blinked and her angry grimace faded when she realized the stallion was missing a very obvious feature. “Where is your horn?” she muttered with sincere worry. Blueblood dipped his head and morosely tapped his forehead with a hoof. “What…happened to you?” whispered Twilight.
 
 
Blueblood let out a sigh and motioned a hoof to a nearby campfire, away from the large crowd of ponies. Twilight hesitated at first, but then followed him, surprised and conflicted.
 
 

 
 
The door swung open, and Shining Armor crossed the threshold, looked around, and then directed his attention to the patient on the bed. “You won’t haven happened to see a large, white stallion with blonde mane, right?”
 
 
“You mean Gleaming Lance, sir?” replied the other pony, looking up from the outdated magazine he was reading.
 
 
“No, somepony else.”
 
 
“Then no. Sorry, Captain,” replied Flash Sentry, crossing his forelegs. “Who are you looking for?”
 
 
Shining Armor let out a sigh and dragged himself to the chair, where he haphazardly dropped. “Just…a friend. He has been kind of depressed after an injury, and I am afraid he will do something stupid.” Shining paused, rubbing his temples with his hooves. “Anyways, how is the wing going?”
 
 
Sentry grimaced and glanced at the wounded wing, covered in bandages. “Pretty bad, sir. The doctor said I won’t have any permanent damage, but I am going to be here for a while, and even longer grounded.” The pony then shrugged and cracked a grin. “On the plus side, I got a pretty awesome story to tell the grandkids. Uh, sir,” he quickly added.
 
 
“Drop the formalities, Sentry,” requested Shining, waving a hoof. “But you’re right. Less than a month in the Royal Guard, and you’ve already been through a near-death experience. Not bad for a rookie.”
 
 
“Thank you, sir…uh, sorry,” he added with a sheepish smile. “But it is why I joined the Guard, after all. I was afraid that, after being promoted into the Royal Guard, I wouldn’t get the chance to actually help ponies, but it seems I was mistaken. Though next time, I’d rather do something a bit safer.”
 
 
“I hear you,” agreed Shining, nodding. “This is probably the biggest crisis Equestria has faced in years.”
 
 
“How is Trixie, by the way?”
 
 
“That mare you saved?” asked Shining. “She’s still in the hospital, somewhere. She is unscratched, for the most part. I’m actually surprised she isn’t sleeping by your bedside.”
 
 
Flash Sentry frowned. “What do you mean?”
 
 
The captain tilted his head and grinned. “What could I mean? Ponies tend to stay with the ones they care for when they are in the hospital.”
 
 
“I literally saw her for the first time the other day,”
 
 
“True,” agreed Shining. “Perhaps even your intervention in Canterlot was actually irrelevant, and she would have survived and been spotted after she shot that magic flare.” Shining raised a hoof to stop the pegasus’ protest. “That being said, in her eyes, you saved her. I’d be surprised if this was the last time you saw her.” With his word said, Shining Armor got on his hooves and walked to the door. “I’ll let you rest now, soldier.”
 
 
And with that, the captain of the royal guard left, leaving the wounded guard feeling confused and slightly concerned.
 
 

 
 
“…and that’s it,” finished Blueblood. He and Twilight Sparkle were sitting on the opposite sides of a campfire, afar from everypony else. The lavender mare considered what Blueblood had just said. She was glad somepony else could tell her the details about Canterlot, since Maud had been rather sparse with details.
 
 
Blood lifted up a hoof and absently-minded rubbed his forehead. Twilight bit her lip. She did not like Blue Blood, but she couldn’t imagine how crippling it would be to lose the horn. They did grow back, but until then, there were so many everyday things you couldn’t do anymore.
 
 
“I am very sorry about your horn,” she muttered.
 
 
He sighed and looked at her. “Why? This wasn’t your fault.”
 
 
“I know, but-”
 
 
The mutilated unicorn raised a hoof. “Forget it,” he muttered. “This was a consequence of my acts, you have nothing to do with it.” Blue Blood went quiet for a long time, with his eyes fixed on the fire. “I, uh…” he begins, hesitant. “I suppose this is as good of a chance as any to say…well, I am sorry. About everything.”
 
 
Twilight stared at Blue Blood, crooking an eyebrow. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth. “About what?”
 
 
He made a vague gesture with his hoof. “You know…everything. Everything in the School. I know I made things pretty bad for you…”
 

“Pretty bad?” she repeated. “Blue Blood, you made yourself my personal nightmare for all the years I was in the School!” she grunted. “And it didn’t matter how much you were reprimanded, punished or whatever else; the next day you would slid into the gardens of the School, where by the way you were forbidden to go, and you’d pull my mane, break my stuff, tear my homework…”
 
 
“I know, I know!” admitted Blue Blood, covering his face with his hooves. “I was just a foal, and I didn’t know what I was doing. I just…just wanted to hurt you and I don’t really know why.” The stallion huffed. “Well, I do know why. But…the question is…well. I never had the chance to apologize. And I am very sorry, truly. I am not even sure Shining Armor is aware that I used to be the personal bully of his little sister.”
 
 
Twilight frowned. “You know Shining?”
 
 
“Yes…” he muttered. “We met shortly after he was promoted to Captain. I never told him about my past.”
 
 
“You lied to him,” said Twilight, glaring him down.
 
 
“No, no!” replied Blue, shaking his head. “I have changed. Really. All this happened many years ago and…well, I am not especially proud of it. I am not proud at all. I didn’t want that getting in the way of making a friend. I didn’t learn you were his little sister until much later.”
 
 
Twilight let out a sigh and rubbed her temples. She wasn’t willing to forgive Blue Blood that fast. He had made her life Tartarus. At least, until the day he decided to steal a book from her in front of Sunset Shimmer. Blue Blood managed to escape with just half of his mane singed. Of course, he did return the next day, but that time Twilight had learned from Sunset. That was the last time Blueblood bothered her.
 
 
“You know?” said Twilight, smirking despite herself, as she remembered the expression of dread on his face when the magic blast flew right past his ear. “You tried to steal a book from me that last day, and you managed to scurry away with it. You never gave it back.”
 
 
Blue Blood frowned, trying to recall what she was talking about. “Yes, well,” he said, nodding. “After that, I wasn’t so willing to go near you-”
 
 
“Very wise.”
 
 
“-but…well,” Blue Blood rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, I ended reading the damn book, and that is how I got interested into historical novels. Honestly, Twilight, I have changed a lot since-”
 
 
There was a buzz. Both unicorns turned to the sound, and saw one of the newcomers falling face first into the ground. Maud Pie advanced purposefully towards the mare, who desperately tried to untie the bolas wrapped around her back hooves. When the captain reached her, she dug into her saddlebags and extracted a knife which, after a pause, drove into her head.
 
 

 
 
Four ponies glanced nervously at the crowd of ponies that had formed around her. They were a stallion, two mares and a little filly. All the adults with a pair of saddlebags on their back, and appeared to have just escaped from a war zone. The filly was unharmed, but the rest was covered in small wounds and scrapes.
 
 
“What on Equestria are you doing?” said the Major Mare, pushing her way through the crowd until she reached the newcomers. “Can’t you see the state they are in? Somepony bring some food and water! Right now!” There was a brief pause, in which everypony looked at each other but nopony moved. The mayor let out an exasperated huff. “Rainbow Dash, Cloudchaser, bring water from the river! Applejack, Carrot Top, food! Everypony else, step back! No need to be a nuisance to the newcomers!”
 
 
A few minutes later, the four outsiders were sitting around a campfire. Most ponies had scattered after the mayor insisted they should satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst before explaining what had happened to them, but there were still a good fifty ponies whose curiosity was greater than their patience.
 
 
Among them were Pinkie and Maud Pie. The two sisters patiently waited for Limestone Pie to finish eating. The light gray mare had seen Pinkie, and the two had actually exchanged a few words, but she hadn’t noticed Maud yet, who hadn’t made any effort to be seen.
 
 
The first to be done was a mature pegasus mare with pale yellow coat, barely a few minutes after starting. The pony ran her shaky hooves over her mane before speaking. “We have been attacked.”
 
 
A mutter of dismay raised from the ponies gathered. “Wir…we come from Gravelpit, a mining town. Some of you may know it.” said the mare in sotto voice. She had a strong waldian accent. “I was working in my shop, as always, when I heard screaming outside. When I looked out, there were mehrere…several…”
 
 
“Monsters,” finished another pony, a stallion with dark red coat and ash mane, wiping his nuzzle with his hoof. His eyes were unfocused and absent, as if his mind was still wandering over his memories. “They came from the south, from the mountains, and descended through the valley. I was in town with my brothers, when they arrived.”
 
 
“It was horrible!” whimpered Limestone Pie, rubbing her eyes. Pinkie Pie reached over and clamped her forelegs around her sister’s barrel. “They were like…ponies, but black and with bug wings.”
 

The mutters turned more intense and worried. Ponies exchanged concerned and panicked looks. “I don’t know w-what they were, but they attacked everypony they came across,” stammered the pegasus, her voice breaking. The filly that had arrived with them let out a choked sob and hugged her leg. The mare took her into her forelegs and sat the filly on her lap. “Keine Sorge, kleine Jungstute. You are safe now,” she muttered, giving her a nuzzle.
 
 
There was a horrified silence that lasted for a long, tense minute, until a voice broke it. “What about mom and dad?” whispered Pinkie Pie, tears brimming from her eyes. “They are fine, right Limestone? Right?”
 
 
The gray mare blinked and frowned slightly, then gave her sister a tiny smile and nodded. “Yes, Pinkie. By sheer luck, they were on the town and got away in a train.”
 
 
Pinkie Pie let out a relieved sigh and let go of Limestone, though an instant later she sprung back to embrace her. “I have missed you so much, Blinkie.”
 
 
Nopony said anything, although there was a slight sense of relief upon seeing the display of fraternal love. And nopony noticed the surprised look that the stallion and the other mare shared.
 
 
Then Maud, who had been in complete silence during the entire tale, spoke up. “Limestone, would you mind turning a bit?”
 
 
The pearl gray mare let out a yelp. “Maud! Oh my goodness, I didn’t see you!” Limestone made an attempt to get up, but Pinkie was still firmly clamped to her. “I am truly sorry! Let me just-”
 
 
“It’s fine.” assured Maud. “Could you just-”
 
 
“Certainly!” replied Limestone. “But I don’t know why…” The pony turned her body, exposing her side to Maud. A perfectly circular gold ore decorated her flank.
 
 
“I just wanted to check something,” replied Maud, making a dismissive gesture with her hoof. “Don’t mind me.”
 
 
“O-okay then…” muttered Limestone, visibly nervous. Pinkie took the chance to sink her face into her mane.
 
 
“Sie sind a Ground Guard, right?” asked the yellow mare, pointing at Maud. “Shouldn’t you do something?”
 
 
“I am doing something,” replied Maud, her eyes fixed on something.
 

“…what do you mean?” Confused, the pony followed her gaze and discovered it was anchored on Limestone herself. The gray mare had her eyes closed, completely focused on enjoying the embrace of her little sister. “What ist los?”
 
 
“Tell me, Limestone,” said Maud, louder than before. The pony opened her eyes and looked at her, head tilted in confusion. “Has your mark always been like that?”
 
 
“Obviously,” replied Limestone, looking down at her flank. “A gold ore. I got it after I moved to Canterlot.”
 
 
“I remembered it different.”
 
 
Limestone let out a nervous giggle. “Well, we haven’t seen each other since I left from Gravelpit. So of course you-”
 
 
“Yes we did. Don’t you remember?” interrupted Maud. “Why do you lie to me?” she added after a short pause.
 
 
Limestone opened her mouth to answer, but closed it immediately. Her breath turned shaky and shallow, and her eyes were wide open, fixed on Maud. Pinkie wasn’t hugging her anymore, and instead alternately looked to one sister and the other, clearly confused. She could feel her sister shaking on her forelegs. “Blinkie?” cautiously whispered Pinkie. “What is going o-AH!”
 
 
Limestone shoved her sister away and sprung on her hooves. She pushed the pony behind her, heading for the edge of the forest at full gallop. There was a buzz, and the mare fell face first into the ground when a set of bolas wrapped around her hind legs. Maud Pie, already on all four, purposefully made her way to her. Limestone grabbed the linen straps and desperately attempted to untie herself. Realizing she wouldn’t make it in time, she rolled and tried to drag herself away, with no success. Maud reached for a knife that the mare had tucked under one belt. Then she grabbed her mane and pulled to make her look into her face. For a second, the two ponies held each other’s gaze, one severe and unyielding, and the other desperate and begging.
 
 
“M-maud, please,” whimpered the defenseless mare. “I am your sister.”
 
 
The stone gray mare seemed to hesitate for an instant. She then blinked and her features turned adamant. “No,” she said, an instant before raising the knife and driving in into the eye of the fallen pony. The body tensed up, twitched, and then went still.
 
 
A cry raised from the ponies. One of them stood out, louder and more pained above the rest, from Pinkie Pie. Everypony else was too surprised, confused and scared to do anything, but Pinkie got on all four, tripped and fell into the dirt, with a veil of tears blinding her eyes. “Maud, M-maud, w-what have you d-d-done?” she whimpered pitifully, dragging herself towards the dead pony, her legs too shaky to hold her.
 
 
Twilight observed the scene, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Then Maud turned around and tossed the knife in front of her. Even from where she was standing, the unicorn could see it wasn’t stained with blood.
 
 
The blade was soaked in a semitransparent green liquid.
 
 
Pinkie Pie stopped on her tracks and looked at the knife. Her expression dashed through pain, surprise, bewilderment, disgust and disbelief. The clearing was in such silence when Maud spoke again, that her sotto voice was clearly heard by everypony.
 
 
“Pinkie Pie; that was not Limestone Pie, and never was. That was a changeling, mimicking her looks and voice. And if we assume everything she said was a lie, that means the only survivors from Gravelpit are those three.” Maud points to the three newcomers that were still alive, their horrified eyes fixed on the corpse.
 
 
Maud rubbed her forehead and casted a long glance over the clearing. When she located the mayor, she gestured her to come over. The two ponies exchange words for a few moments, and when the mayor turned back, she was visibly nervous. “L-listen up! I require everypony’s full attention.”
 
 
The ponies that were near the edge of the forest walked towards her, but the rest didn’t move. They were still too stunned from what had just happened to follow orders, Twilight and Blueblood included. The Mayor climbed to a trunk. She gazed upon the ponyvillians that were still present, and swallowed nervously. “C-citizens of Ponyville. As you all know, a short time ago a group of ponies arrived to the camp. They told us a village south from the Everfree Forest has been attacked by hostile creatures, and they were survivors from the attack. Maud Pie, captain of the Ground Guard of Canterlot, has discovered that one of them is actually one of the creatures that attacked the village, and has…dealt with it. Therefore, and in preparation for a possible attack, I immediately declare the state of emergency. Please, all Ground Guards step forwards and form a rank in front of the captain.”
 
 
There was a pause, before one pony left the group that had been listening to the newcomers, and made his way to Maud Pie, who he then saluted. “Captain Glinting Steel, of the Ponyville Ground Guard.” He then frowned and gave each of his subordinates a glance. After a minute, the full force was gathered: less than twenty ponies, including the captain.
 
 
Maud Pie studied the faces of the Guards for a minute, before turning her head to the larger group of ponies and speaking up. “I call forth the reservists.” She took a step forward and watched the ponies, waiting. For a few seconds, nopony moved, and Twilight began to wonder if perhaps there were no reservists in Ponyville. But then, a block of muscle covered in white fur made his way through the rest. He stopped before Maud, raised his left forehoof to his forehead, and gave a sharp nod. “Bulk Biceps, at your service.” he muttered. It was then when Twilight noticed his tiny wings.
 

A second stallion, very thin and with blue coat, walked forward too and saluted, this time with the proper hoof. Then a pink mare, with yellow mane and a lily behind her ear. Twilight didn’t know who she was, but a small choir of surprised voices was heard when stood up. A second later, the murmurs intensified when a mauve mare joined the rest of the reservists. Twilight blinked and rubbed her eyes with her hoof. ‘Cheerilee? The town’s teacher is a reservist? Go figure.’
 
 
Then a fifth pony joined the group with elegant steps. She gave her long, purple mane a toss and stood in attention. Twilight hadn’t known Rarity for very long, but it had been enough to forge an idea of her character. If she had to make a list of ponies that were likely to have military training, she would be the last. And, judging by the hushed voices, she wasn’t the only one with that opinion. Rarity ignored the commotion she had caused, attentive to the words of the captain.
 
 
Maud Pie took a few minutes to study the reservist. Twilight couldn’t see any change in her expression, but she doubted the earth mare would be satisfied. Just three mares and two stallions, plus the small garrison of the Ground Guard. “Right. Follow me. All.”
 
 
Twilight watched the ponies leave the clearing, before turning her head to Pinkie Pie. The poor mare was still silently sobbing on the same spot, her body shaking slightly every few seconds. Besides her two ponies Twilight didn’t know, plus Fluttershy. With some effort, they managed to get Pinkie on her hooves and take her to the edge of the clearing, so she could cry herself out in private.
 

Twilight let go of a breath she had not realized to be holding. She blinked and looked at Blueblood for an explanation, but he shrugged, just as clueless as she was. The unicorn stared into the fire, recalling and processing the words of the Major. ‘A village attacked, survivors, from somewhere south. Dodge Junction? Hostile creatures. Griffins? Tauros? No, the major would have mentioned them. One has infiltrated here, and Maud discovered it. What creature can infíltrate? Any skilled unicorn, but wrong answer, obviously. What else can morph, transform, mimic, change…’ Twilight’s heart skipped a beat as a name from a mythology book bloomed into her mind. “But they are a legend…” she whispered, her eyes wide open.
 
 
“Whut?” grumbled Blueblood.
 
 
“A changeling…” weakly said Twilight. Blueblood barely had any time to crook an eyebrow when the ponies screamed, and both unicorns turned around in time to see the last wisps of green-purple fire fade away from the body of the gray mare. But it wasn’t a mare anymore…
 
 
Twilight jumped into her hooves and cautiously made her way to the black creature, unable to believe her own eyes. It was like a pony, but its body was covered in shiny black chitin. From its back sprouted two translucent wings, like those from an insect, which in this individual were of a honey color. Its face was completely alien. A horn, short and swept upwards, two bleached fangs; and an eye, completely yellow and with no pupil, that stared into the infinite. The other eye socket is empty, and from it poured a greenish liquid; its blood.
 
 
The unicorn felt a nausea, but she managed to prevent throwing up. ‘It’s okay, Twilight,’ she assured herself. ‘First time seeing a dead body. Grandma’s doesn’t count. It’s okay to be a bit…overwhelmed.’ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before taking another look to the creature. She studied with fascination the joints on its natural armor and the shine of the chitin. She was so lost in her observations that she failed to notice the Mayor walking towards her.
 
 
“You!” she snapped. Twilight looked up, surprised, and took a step back. There was something sinister in those eyes. Desperation and fear. “What do you know of these creatures?”
 
 
“W-what?” stammered Twilight. “Why me?”
 
 
“Because you are the student of Princess Celestia, and if there is somepony that knows about them, it is you!” replied the Mayor.
 

Twilights stepped back. She had read about changelings in books, but she had many blanks in her knowledge. “Well, I…uh…wait, how do you know that?” asked the unicorn. She had only mentioned that to Lyra, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. ‘Actually, that is a lot of ponies.’ she realized.
 
 
“Pinkie Pie told everypony yesterday,” replied the Mayor. Twilight grimaced a bit. There was no sense on trying to hide it anymore, then. The unicorn swallowed nervously and shuffled on her hooves. She looked around, feeling very exposed. She had never liked being in the spotlight, and now she had several dozen scared ponies listening to her words.
 
 
“T-t-that creature is a changeling,” she started, failing to control her voice. She licked her lips, trying to recall what she had read. “They are a highly evolved and specialized specie of reptiles, though they resemble insects, since their skin is covered in chitin plates. They are capable of flying and using rudimentary magic. Their more striking characteristic is…their…their capability of changing their appearance to match any pony they wish; pegasus, unicorn or earth pony.” Twilight’s eyes fell on the dead changeling and her voice shattered. “T-they take the place of p-ponies for reasons that are not entirely known, though…I had always assumed those claims were…untrue. There is a particular narration about a pony that discovers his wife had been supplanted and…” Twilight blinked and shook her head. She had found the manuscript while digging in the archives, and she had always assumed it was just meant to be a scary story. It would do nothing to calm down the already terrified ponies. “S-some authors also attribute them other powers, like spitting acid or toxins, mind contr-”
 
 
“How are we supposed to fight that!?” screamed a stallion. Almost instantly, everypony lost their focus on Twilight and began talking loudly. Twilight facehooved. She could guess that instant panic was exactly the reason why the existence of changelings wasn’t common knowledge. If everypony in Equestria knew there were alien shapeshifters living among them, the executions of suspicious ponies would be very frequent.
 
 
To avoid it, the only ones that openly knew about changelings were the Royal Guard, the high officers of all military organizations, and very few civilians. Even Twilight herself wouldn’t have known about them if she hadn’t found a passage about the creatures in a book, then asked Princess Celestia about them.
 

And apparently, Ground Guard officers were aware too. Twilight wondered if her father was informed of it. It was very likely, given how Maud had been able to recognize a hidden changeling. The unicorn huffed a strand of mane off her face while she watched the fruitless attempts of the Mayor to regain control of the situation. ‘Why would they make an open attack?’ she though. She hadn’t heard of any incidents regarding changelings in her entire life, and she was certain she would have heard of it.
 
 
Regardless, that was not important. Now, Twilight needed the ponies to listen to her. She lighted up her horn and shot a magic flare to the air. Like the last time, this caused everypony to stand quiet, and Twilight quickly took the chance to speak up. ‘I should measure my words better from now on,’ though Twilight, taking a deep breath.
 
 
“Listen,” she said gently but loud enough for everypony to hear. “the changelings have never been at war with Equestria. They have always remained hidden, using their abilities to avoid a direct confrontation. Obviously they are no rival to a pony in singular combat,” she said, cringing internally as all she was saying was fully improvised and not supported in any way with the information she had about changelings. Their motifs to remain hidden could be –and probably were– completely different, but she had to make the ponies feel at least somewhat safe. Thus, she completely omitted the fact that they were very few ponies, and the changelings had already destroyed, at least, one village.
 
 
Her speech seemed to work. Some ponies looked a bit more relaxed and less terrified.
 
 
“We should go back to Ponyville. It would be the best course of action, don’t you think?” suggested the Major.
 
 
Twilight considered that option for a moment, before shaking her head. “No. Here we can watch over each other,” muttered Twilight. “In this clearing, the changelings will have a very difficult time capturing and substituting anypony, if only because we are very exposed.” The unicorn felt a chill go down her spine at the thought of Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack or Lyra being substituted without her noticing.
 
 
“And what if we are attacked?” asked a mare from behind of Twilight. The unicorn turned around and hesitated.
 
 
“I can’t leave yet, but I would heavily recommend everypony to leave Ponyville and head for a larger city. Manehattan, Trottingham, Cloudsdale, anywhere is safer than here.” Twilight raised a hoof to stop the pegasus from protesting. “I know many won’t be willing to go. Those, along with myself, will face whatever comes with hooves and teeth.”
 
 
The Major glanced over the inhabitants of her village, concern plain on her face. Twilight could guess what was going through her head. On one hoof, she wanted to tell everypony that they would be safe. On the other logic dictated Twilight’s course of action was the best.
 
 
“Anything else we should know?” weakly asked the Mayor.
 
 
Twilight gave a helpless shrug. “Suspect of anypony who behaves abnormally, but be absolutely certain they are a changeling,” The last thing Twilight wanted was to be the indirect cause of the death of any ponyvillain. Twilight hesitated a moment, before adding more in a sotto voice. “I have read a tale of a guard officer who shared his home with a changeling who had substituted his wife. I don’t know how useful this information is going to be, but...he noticed he had a harder time getting up every morning. This got worse as weeks passed, and he spent whole days almost exhausted. Then he began to have headaches and migraines that would recede when he spent time with his ‘wife’. Afterwards, he suffered from memory loss. He just couldn’t remember some chunks of the day, like he could recall entering the retrieve his armor, and leaving with it; but not actually putting it on. Nightmares occurred often, but he was unable to remember what they were about. All he could remember was a feeling of helplessness, of being devoured by something much, much larger than him. And in the morning, she would be there to comfort him,” Twilight paused and bit her lip. “In the last page, he stated he couldn’t bear with it anymore, and he was going to tell the changeling he knew what it was. T-there are no more entries after that.” Twilight looked away. “I did not know it was something that had really happened at the time.”
 
 
The unicorn fixed her eyes on the knife that Maud had used to kill the drone. The layer of dry blood shimmered under the moonlight. An idea sparkled on Twilight’s mind. “Their blood is different…” she muttered, turning to the three newcomers that were still alive. The stallion, mare and filly were sitting awkwardly by the fire pit. “You three, come here,” Twilight asked, waving a hoof, while she lighted up her horn. The stallion hesitated, but the mare shoved him forwards and the small group stopped before Twilight, uncertain. “I a-am so sorry about this, but we have to be sure,” said Twilight, unable to prevent her voice from quaking. ‘I can’t believe I am going to do this.’ She split a portion of her magic, and coalesced it into a small blade, about the size of a scalpel. It was her first time doing that kind of spell, and it was somewhat difficult. “A small cut that draws blood, to make sure you are a real pony.”
 

“It’s okay, meine Liebe,” replied the mare. She extended one of her wings, bent it in a strange angle, and rummaged inside one of her saddlebags. She then extracted a sewing needle, holding it between her feathers as if they were the fingers of a hand. Before Twilight could react, she lifted one of her forelegs and drove the needle into her flesh. A droplet of crimson blood descended towards her hoof, and when she removed the needle, Twilight could see it soaked in red.
 
 
Suddenly, Twilight felt a huge respect for that mare, who had not hesitated an instant before injuring herself with a needle.
 
 
Then the mare grabbed the stallion with her other wing, who let out a ‘hey!’ and tried to get himself loose. Quick as lightning, the needle drew a cut on his foreleg. Red blood again, though Twilight made the mental note of never messing with that pony.
 
 
“Ginger Snap too?” asked the mare, pointing to the filly. Twilight looked at her. It was a tiny earth pony filly with yellow coat and two-hued orange mane. She was clamped to the mare’s foreleg, looking around in terror. Twilight felt a knot on her throat, but nodded anyways. ‘I am sorry, little one…’
 
 
A few seconds later, the old mare was taking the crying filly away, muttering in waldian under her breath. Twilight watched them go, feeling awful, but glad there were no more changelings among them.
 
 
The unicorn let out a sigh and wiped her brow with a hoof. “Uh…a-also,” she said out loud, trying to get once again the attention of everypony. “It would be for the best if you avoided going anywhere alone. Move in couples or groups of three. It would be far harder to substitute several ponies than just one.” It would also be harder to knock them our kill them, but Twilight decided it was better if she didn’t mention that.
 
 
With nothing else to say, Twilight made her way to her usual sleeping spot, and slumped down. It suddenly struck her how much the situation had shifted. If before she was looking forwards to meet with her family, now she had an even bigger reason to get to a large city as soon as possible. But first, she had to warm Zecora. There was no way she was leaving the zebra alone in the Everfree.
 
 
Then there was Pinkie Pie. The earth mare was curled around herself, off to a side, accompanied by Fluttershy and several other ponies Twilight didn’t know. The unicorn wished she could do something to help her, but she felt like she would be intruding where she wasn’t needed.
 
 
A while later, the guards and reservists returned. Most of them, at least. Twilight noticed the massive pegasus was nowhere to be seen, and she could swear some of the professional guards were not at the clearing either. Maud and Rarity made their way straight to her. The gray mare leaned into Twilight and whispered in her ear. “Did you check the rest?”
 
 
“Yes,” whispered back Twilight.
 
 
Maud nodded and left. Twilight’s eyes followed her until she kneeled down next to Pinkie Pie, who then hugged her older sister, weeping on her shoulder. Twilight couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. She had believed her mother had died, and it had turned out the only thing separating them had been her own stupidity. Meanwhile, Maud and Pinkie had actually lost their parents and sister in a single, brutal sweep. Twilight couldn’t conceive losing most of her family like that.
 
 
“Twilight, darling?”
 
 
Twilight turned her head and looked at Rarity. She looked very different. She had her long, smooth mane done into a tail, and the eye shadow was gone. Her body was covered with a linen-padded shirt, a gambeson. On her shoulder rested a spear, and under one of the belts of the gambeson, there was a kitchen knife. Twilight shuddered at bit.
 
 
“Are you busy?” she asked. Twilight shook her head, unable to take her eyes off Rarity. It was like a completely different pony. Her visage seemed severe and strict. “Good. Would you kindly follow me into town? There is something you should see.”
 
 
“W-what is it?” asked Twilight, getting on all four.
 
 
“It’s…better if you see it with your own eyes, darling.” insisted Rarity, uneasy. That got Twilight’s attention. What could possible cause that reaction on Rarity? Figuring she had given all her information about changelings to the Mayor, and thus having no reason to stay, Twilight motioned Rarity to lead the way.
 
 
Rarity headed straight to the village, and Twilight took a moment to check the magic beacon was still in the same place. Even if the Whitetails Woods didn’t seem to re-arrange themselves, the unicorn hadn’t memorized the path to the clearing yet, and would rather be safe than sorry.
 
 
While the two mares walked, Twilight’s eyes fell upon Rarity’s figure, who was a bit ahead of her. ‘She doesn’t have a warrior body.’ Twilight mused. There were mares in the Ground Guard or even the Royal Guard, and all of them had a body that was closer to Applejack’s or Rainbow Dash’s. Maud was a perfect example. Rarity, on the over hoof, was thin, graceful and curvaceous.
 
 
Very curvaceous…and the gambeson wasn’t helping. Since it was padded, it made the rear half of her body stand out even more. Her tail swayed left and right with her hips on every step she took.
 
 
Rarity turned her head slightly, and Twilight looked away hastily.
 
 
“Darling, are you alright?”
 
 
“Y-yes!” she stammered.
 
 
Rarity smiled, understandingly. “First time seeing a dead body, I presume?” she gently asked. It wasn’t why Twilight was nervous, but it worked for her, so she nodded.
 
 
“Yes, it has been rather…striking,” muttered the white mare. “That pony didn’t hesitate an instant, despite being disguised as her sister. Poor Pinkie.”
 
 
Twilight nodded again, having nothing to add. The two ponies walked in silence for a few minutes. Despite having only been in that area once, more, Twilight recognized a few landmarks, like a particularly twisted oak tree.
 
 
“Hey Rarity,” muttered Twilight. “You knew about changelings, right?”
 
 
The mare shook her head, causing her long mane to bob up and down. “Not even remotely. But you did, right? And that mare too.”
 
 
“That’s right,” confirmed Twilight. “It seems it is a reality that is kept hidden to most ponies, to prevent some to take justice on their own hooves.” Rarity’s grimace told Twilight that she understood the reason, though she didn’t like it.
 
 
“The Princess knew it, right?”
 
 
“Yes.”
 
 
“Then why are they still-”
 
 
“-haven’t been purged?” interrupted Twilight, correctly guessing her train of thought. “No idea. I can’t see any way ponies would benefit from sharing their lives with changelings.” The lavender pony frowned at herself, for doubting her mentor. “I must be missing something…”
 
 
For the next minutes, Twilight explained Rarity everything she had told the Mayor, trying to recall any other useful detail. It was frustrating, to say the least. Twilight was used to have at least some knowledge on most matters, but the amount of information she had about changelings was…inadequate, to say the least.
 
 
Rarity told Twilight that some Guards and reservists were still on the village, trying to get hold of anything that could serve as a weapon, to distribute it among the civilians. In fact, the kitchen knife she had under the belt was from her own house. Twilight swallowed nervously. Was all that really necessary? The changelings were still far away. There was plenty of time for everypony to move somewhere safer.
 
 
When the two mares reached the edge of the forest, they walked past three stallions. Two of them were the reservists, and the third was a large red pony. Twilight only needed a second to guess that was Big Macintosh. The family resemblance with his sisters was obvious, unlike Pinkie and Maud.
 
 
The three ponies were carrying a varied assortment of weapons. A dozen spears, a set of shod hammers and wingblades, and several more kitchen knives poking from a saddlebag. Rarity and the stallions exchanged a salute, and each went on their way. Once again, Twilight was reconsidering her options. Staying, or leaving? The choice wasn’t as obvious as after drinking Zecora’s brew.
 
 
Her train of thoughts came to a halt when Rarity stopped, and Twilight walked into her. “Ah! I am sorry, Rarity!”
 
 
“No worries,” she muttered.
 
 
Twilight looked up. They were atop of a smooth, green hill, from which they could see all Ponyville. It was still a ghostly town, exactly the same as when she had arrived…four days ago? She wasn’t sure anymore. Twilight overlooked the village for a minute, and was about to ask Rarity what she was supposed to see, when she noticed something that wasn’t the same.
 
 
It was the tree, the town’s library. It was already large before, but now it dwarfed the houses around it. The roots had expanded, sundering the cobblestone streets and even some of the nearer buildings. The trunk had grown longer and wider, and from it sprouted many twisted branches in a thick tangle. The leaves had turned completely white, as if they were albino, and shimmered under the moonlight.
 
 
Twilight shuddered. Much like the crater, the transfigured tree was beautiful to behold; but also a reminder of a terrible, unbound power. Had the tree mutated from the Nightmare living inside it, or had she actively reshaped it? In any case, it was an amazing feat.
 
 

 
 
Twilight sat on the grass and let out a sigh.
 
 
The campsite was at chaos, once again. Like with Nightmare Moon’s arrival, the ponies were arguing if they should leave or stay. Twilight, with a headache that grew more intense with each passing second, decided she needed to get away from all that screaming and shouting. Perhaps in a few minutes, the ponies would have calmed down enough to see reason, and leave.
 
 
The unicorn wasn’t far from the clearing, but no voice reached her. The fresh air and the rustle of the leaves was exactly what she needed. Her headache was fading already. After thinking for a minute, she came to the conclusion that she couldn’t leave yet. If she did, she would feel like a traitor. Celestia was still alive, somewhere, and it was up to her to find her mentor.
 
 
Twilight sighed once again and opened her eyes. She was at the top of a small hill, completely bare of trees. Surrounding the slope there was a ring of all kinds of wild plants. There were some blue flowers that emanated a curious smell, sweet and bitter at the same time. ‘I think I saw them before, when I found Sweetie Belle in the forest.’
 
 
Following that line of though, Twilight remembered she had wanted to ask Sweetie what exactly was her problem with Spike. She couldn’t think of anything her assistant could have done to upset Sweetie to the point that she left the campsite.
 
 
Twilight’s ears spun when she heard hoofsteps. From the bushes emerged a brown stallion with glasses and a spear on his shoulder. He hadn’t seen Twilight yet. The pony leaned into the bushes, his head re-appearing an instant later, chewing an equisetum. The plant disappeared a in a few seconds, the pony tore another one, turned his head to the top of the hill and saw Twilight. It was obvious he didn’t expect to see anypony, because he gave a jump, lost his balance and fell into the bushes.
 
 
Twilight giggled, being reminded of a similar reaction she had not too long ago. “Y-you are not supposed to be here, you know?” he asked, getting on all four and walking up the slope.
 
 
Twilight nodded. “I know.”
 
 
He gave a nervous glance to the general direction of the camp. “Well then, what are you doing here?”
 
 
“I just needed some time away,” replied Twilight. “I was getting a headache, and I didn’t think I would add much to the ‘discussion’.”
 

The pony climbed all the way up the hill, and sat next to Twilight, looking up to the sky. Twilight followed his eyes and glanced at the heavens for the first time since the return of Nightmare. The Moon was on the center of the celestial sphere, far larger and brighter than she had ever seen it. And the stars as well. They were more numerous and clear than before, shimmering under a tapestry of indigos, blacks and purples. ‘That must be another of Nightmare’s changes,’ though Twilight, marveling at the picture before her. In any other circumstances, she would have enjoyed it, but now it only made her temper spike up.
 
 
“You know,” muttered the other pony. “I do not think Nightmare Moon is as bad on the head as most think. She made the Moon shinier, so the plants won’t die,” he added, pointing to the white shimmering orb above them.
 
 
Twilight turned her head and glared daggers at him. ”I-I am not defending her!” he quickly added. “I am just saying she is aware that a perpetual night was a bad idea, and she is not trying to get us all killed!”
 
 
Twilight huffed. ‘Celestia didn’t let us starve to death either,’ she fumed, looking back up. “At this rate, though, it will be the changelings what kill us,” muttered the unicorn, resting on the grass. At least the headache was completely gone.
 
 
“Yeah, that is true…” he replied with a nervous chuckle.
 
 
For a few minutes, silence reigned. A gentle breeze picked up, bringing the smell of burned wood from the campsite. Still no voice reached them. Twilight wondered if they had managed to reach an agreement in such a short time, though she doubted it, as even she alone couldn’t take a firm decision.
 
 
Twilight caught something on the corner of her eye, and turned her head. The stallion was wearing a large golden pendant, which he had opened. He looked inside for a second, then closed it and left it hanging from his neck. “What’s that?” she asked, unable to resist her curiosity.
 
 
The pony smiled, took off the pendant and offered it to her. Twilight took it in her magic, and opened the lid. It was a wind-up watch. The center was transparent, allowing her to see the complex system of cogs and gears that made it work. Now that it was open, she could hear the ‘tic-tic-tic’ of the mechanism. It even has a seconds hand. It was a very expensive piece. “Very nice.”
 
 
“Is it not? It even tells the day of the month.”
 

Twilight blinked and studied the watch closely. Indeed, there were two tiny windows through which she could see the current day and month. ‘I didn’t know you could do that!’ she thought, ‘I wish I had a watch like this’. Perhaps then she could adjust her sleeping hours to the old day-night cycle, and stop having the feeling of being awake at the wrong hours. “Was it a gift from somepony, or-” Twilight fell quiet when she saw the stallion was looking to the forest, with the brow furrowed and his ears shifting in attention. Twilight turned to where he was looking at, and tried to listen, but couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. “What’s wrong?”
 
 
The pony got on all hooves and gripped his spear. “Can’t you hear it?” he whispered.
 
 
Twilight stood up too. ‘There is a very faint hum…’ though Twilight. ‘Like the sound of those airships Canterlot nobility uses to travel, but it is more high-pitched and…’
 
 
It was coming closer. And there were more than once. Twilight looked up, and saw back shapes against the stars.
 
 
“Run,” muttered the stallion.
 
 
“W-what?”
 
 
“RUN! he screamed, turning around and running towards the camp. Twilight followed a second later. She had seen them. Between the trees. Many amber eyes, followed by the rest of the changelings.
 
 
Their hooves hammered rhythmically against the wet soil. The trees dashed past Twilight. She lighted up her horn to illuminate the way. ‘Don’t trip, don’t trip, don’t trip.’ she repeated like a mantra. Her heart beat wildly inside her chest. Her muscles began to hurt, but she kept pushing them. ‘Keep going, keep going’ she repeated, clenching her teeth. “If they catch you, it’s all over.’
 
 
She saw a pony through the trees. A second later, Twilight stormed into the clearing at full gallop. She dug her hooves into the dirt, and braked too hard and fell, tumbling a few times before coming to a halt. Despite the pain and the confusion, she didn’t waste a heartbeat before taking a deep breath and screaming.
 
 
“We are under attack!”
 
 
There was a pause. An instant of bewilderment. All eyes fixed on her, both confused and surprised. Twilight sat up and looked back. Everything was tranquil at the forest. For a moment, she felt both dread and relief, at the possibility that she had merely hallucinated it.
 
 
Then the changelings arrived and that hope vanished. At least a dozen of them jumped from the trees, falling onto the ponies nearby. Time seemed to slow down as Twilight watched a changeling close its jaws around the neck of an old mare. The creature stood up and turned to Twilight. Blood dripped from its maw. Paralyzed with fear, the unicorn did nothing as the changeling took a step on her direction and snarled, baring its fangs.
 
 
A gray stain slammed into the changeling, and sent it crashing into a tree. The creature collapsed on the ground and didn’t move anymore. Maud Pie gave Twilight a brief but intense look, before charging to the next changeling. She had ditched her cloak, and on her forelegs wore a set of shod hammers.
 
 
Twilight blinked. Maud had just saved her life from a changeling. But there were more. There were at least twenty changelings buzzing around the clearing. Most civilians had gathered in a single group the guards were defending, but there were still some isolated, harassed by the creatures. Over there, Applejack was struggling to keep a changeling at bay, its teeth snapping an inch from her muzzle. That sprung Twilight into action. She channeled a blast of purple flame that hit the changeling and knocked it off Applejack. The farmer took the chance to grip a fallen spear, and drive it through its neck.
 
 
Twilight didn’t have time to consider that she had just participated on killing a changeling, when she spotted another swooping towards Applejack. She tilted her head, and let loose her magic, hitting the creature on the face. It fell in a pile of limbs, emitting smoke from its mouth. The unicorn turned, and saw the guards dispatching the last changelings, with Maud dueling two at the same time. Twilight’s horn flashed, and a web of purple strings wrapped around its legs, making Maud’s task easier. Over there, Lyra struggled against another one, but was saved by Big Macintosh. Rarity took down another one and soon enough, all changelings were dead.
 
 
Unfortunately, they were not the only corpses.
 
 
The fear and confusion was still clinging to the ponies. They had defeated their enemy, but it didn’t feel like a victory. There were too many ponies fallen, both dead and injured. There was a pause before the unscathed realized they were no longer in danger, and hurried to assist those who hadn’t been so lucky. Twilight watched as if it were a dream. A medic kneeled next to a pony, and pressed a cloth against the bloody gash on her barrel. A gabble of voices, ordering and suffering filled Twilight’s ears.
 
 
The pony over there didn’t move. Her eyes were wide open in an expression of absolute terror and pain. The bite on her neck was too large. The efforts of the pony tending her were fruitless, as the mare had bled out already. It took Twilight a moment to realize that was no other than the Mayor.
 
 
“Granny?! GRANNY!”
 
 
Applejack’s torn scream raised above the rest. She was kneeling next to an old mare, the one that had been attacked first. Twilight’s heart fell, remembering Apple Bloom’s words. Big Macintosh came galloping, and tried to stop the hemorrhage with a bandage. The eldest of the apples was breathing heavily and her eyes were focusing somewhere far away. “T-this is the end of the line for m-me,” she said through ragged breaths. “I-I’ll say…hello…to pa and ma from y-you…”
 
 
The old pony closed her eyes, and her troubled breathing came to a halt. Applejack covered her mouth with her hooves, and tears brimmed on the edge of her eyes. Big Macintosh gritted his teeth and hugged his sister, while shuddering with sobs. Behind both of them, there was Apple Bloom, unable to believe or understand what she was seeing.
 
 
“Hey! Watch out!” called out a voice.
 
 
Twilight turned around. The changeling she had struck down was moving. It blinked and shook its head, then snarled at the unicorn…and was stopped by the purple magic ropes that wrapped around its legs. Twilight congratulated herself at her quick thinking. The creature tried to break loose, but Twilight had spent a lot of power in the spell, and made sure to tangle it through the holes on its legs. The changeling wasn’t going anywhere.
 
 
“Hold it still,” ordered Maud Pie, walking towards the changeling and standing just before its reach. Twilight nodded and tightened the spell, causing the changeling to fall down. It still hissed at the captain, and attempted to bite her hooves.
 
 
Maud Pie stared blankly at the changeling for a moment. “Relay this to your queen,” she muttered. The changeling stopped thrashing and looked straight at the captain. “Hello. I am captain Magnetite Maud Pie. You killed my parents. Prepare to die.”
 
 
The face of the changeling went blank for an instant, and then it formed a jarringly equine expression; a small smile, pleased and amused. When it spoke, it did it with a slick and sweet voice, that didn’t match the monster emitting it. “A challenger. How entertaining~” she cooed.
 
 
Maud’s mouth turned into an angry snarl. “I will mount your head on a pike.”
 
 
“I’ll be looking forward to you trying,” whispered the changeling, before bursting into an unnerving giggle, which Maud put to an end with her shod hammers.
 
 

 
 
Twilight was back on the forest. She had no memory of leaving the clearing, but she was no longer there. She had let her hooves follow the opposite path she had taken when escaping from the changelings, without actually being aware of it.
 
 
She hadn’t seen that stallion since their encounter at the hill. ‘Where is he?’ she wondered. Perhaps the changelings had taken him?
 
 
The unicorn was afraid, more than ever in her entire life. Not for what may happen in the immediate future, but for the insecurity of what could come next. The Nightmare, the changelings, the disappearance of Celestia…the future was grim. Every time she went to sleep, it could be the last. Who could say she would never wake up, killed by a changeling when she was the most vulnerable?
 
 
No, she couldn’t stay here. She hadn’t find Celestia, and she was well aware this would be preying on her forever; but the forest wasn’t safe anymore…
 
 
There he was. The ponies had torn him apart. He had several bite marks on his legs, and a large irregular wound from the base of his neck to the jaw line, as if somepony had dragged a stake through his flesh. The blood, pooled underneath him, was already dry. He was very clearly dead.
 
 
Twilight’s eyes fell on the watch. It was still hanging from his neck, though the lid was missing and the glass was cracked. But it did work. Tic-tic-tic.
 
 
‘I wish I had a watch like this.’
 
 
Not stopping to think about what she was doing, she wrapped the watch on her telekinesis and carefully slid the chain out of his neck. After an instant of hesitation, she put it on. The unicorn stuck for a second more, then turned around and returned to the clearing.
 
 

 
 
“Maud?”
 
 
“Humn?”
 
 
“Maud, I am scared.”
 
 
“We all are,” muttered the gray pony, nuzzling the top of her sister’s head. The two ponies had been locked in a mutual embrace since shortly after the end of the battle. Maud’s initial intention was to be there for her sister, but she hadn’t realized how much she had needed a hug herself. Together, they had cried until they ran out of tears. Then they sat there, letting each other’s company ease their pain.
 
 
A long minute of silence passed, before Pinkie spoke up again. “Maud?” she muttered. “Why did this happen?”
 
 
The captain remained quiet for a while, gently running her hoof on Pinkie’s long curtain of straight mane. “I don’t know, Pinkie. Sometimes life strikes you down. But, we have to keep going.” she muttered. “Reminds me a song we used to sing when we were fillies. Remember it?”
 
 
“M-hm,” nodded Pinkie, as she huddled against her sister’s chest. Maud tightened her embrace, and began to softly sing the tune.