• Published 24th May 2015
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My Little Pony Bizarre Adventures - Part 1: Ponyville Central - LateBronyWriter



One Thousand years ago, the saints Celestia and Luna drew upon the power of the Red Stone of Aja to defeat the demon Discord. Now one thousand years later the Stone is destroyed, beginning the tale of six ponies and their quest to redeem the world.

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Chapter 35-Hollyhoof Undead- Take 2

Hollyhoof Undead- Take 2:


Coming to the top of the stairs, the Captain of the Guard looks upon his tired troops as they all catch their breath. Scanning the plain and open upper floor for any sign of a break-in, or possible area where the enemy can attack, Shining Armor takes full stock of the situation in seconds; and as far as he can tell, it is not good. The upstairs offices of the building were designed to hold onto files, not hold off enemies, and the wide-open area fenced off by plate glass only serves to convey to the survivors that this building was not designed to hold off a siege. The hallways that spread out from the center room give the building a parallel aesthetic design, one that causes the troops to divide themselves into separate clusters as their nervous eyes shift back and forth for any signs of danger. Office tables have become makeshift beds for those with critical damage as battlefield medics provide what first aid they can to stabilize the injured. The glass windows resound with sporadic thumps as undead pegasi pound against them, yet the iron bars holding the frames shut show no signs of bending to their rotted strength as the corpses and infected continue to pound away.

More pressing to the stallion, however, is the condition of his men, as well as the condition of the few police officers and white-collar government agents like Zecora unused to the levels of stress and fear that they are now being exposed to. Shining watches in worry as the ponies that remain take deep calming breaths, vainly attempting to drown out the screaming and violence that seems to rage around them. ‘They look tired,’ the Captain thinks to himself as he takes note of the condition of his men, his gaze settling on his frightened sister and Zecora, both looking genuinely terrified despite their best attempts to keep their own fear from overwhelming them. ‘They all look tired,’ Shining corrects himself, ‘and from what I’ve seen, the night is just beginning.’

“Shining?” Twilight asks with a twinge of fear as she approaches her brother, “What’s going on? Are those…. things going to follow us up here?”

Shining shakes his head, clearing away any thoughts of duty and danger for the moment as he makes a sincere gesture to comfort his little sister. “Don’t worry, Twily, I placed one of my Bastion’s bubbles over the only doorway, so they’re not coming up from below. And the windows are enchanted strongly-enough to resist pegasi smashing into them, so our sides are secure. And I had already placed troops on the third floor to keep our landing zone secure, so we’re safe up here for now.”

Shining places his hoof over his sister’s shoulder, stilling her shivering body with a warm comforting embrace that instantly calms the frightened unicorn down. “But if you’ll excuse me, your handsomely good looking brother….” Shining smiles as he straightens his armor. “…still has a job to do.” Trotting over to a nearby troop Shining Armor puts on his best commander face. “Solder, status report on the double!”

“SIR! We have forty five present and accounted for here, Captain.” A nearby guard salutes. “Seven office employees brought from Canterlot to assist in the filing and investigate the charges. Five officers of the law who occupied the station previously, and the prisoner. In addition to our remaining thirty two uninfected and combat ready troops, including yourself of course.”

Shining smacks his lips as he struggles to process the fact that, out of his entire platoon of one hundred, he only has a third of them left. “Thirty two? What about Lightning Dust and her scouting squad of twenty? Shouldn’t they have made it back by now?”

The trooper doesn’t even need to respond this time, his vacant silence painting an entire picture for him. “I-I see,” Shining states. “Then it’s up to us.”

“U-Us?!” the guard shouts, “But what about our reinforcements? What about Celestia?”

“Celestia’s spotted Nightmare moon.” All the heads in the room turn to the new arrival, an orange pegasus with a dark blue mane trotting over to the group. Multiple levels of surprise cross their faces as the pegasus snaps a sharp salute to his Captain. “I had to leave in a hurry to tell you, but it’s been confirmed: Nightmare Moon has been hiding in the Crystal mines underneath Canterlot, right under our very muzzles.”

“Flash Sentry!” Shining exclaims. “About time! Is Celestia on her way? You told her about how much of the Corpse we’re holding, right?”

“Well, yes and no.” Flash says meekly. “Celestia knows about the Corpse, but I just jumped back and I had no idea what was going on till I looked out the window. And with Nightmare Moon’s location being discovered she’s trusting you to insure its delivery to Canterlot while the Princess handles Nightmare Moon.”

Shining sighs heavily as he confronts his dashed hopes. “Of course she does, now of all times when we need her most, she just had to get word of Nightmare Moon. Does she at least know our situation?”

Flash hangs his head. “No, Captain. It took me a while to jump here from Canterlot, so last time I checked, nopony else has any idea of what’s going on outside of Ponyville.”

Shining turns back to the orange pegasus. “What about scrying pools? Can we get in contact with the local barracks in Canterlot? Can you jump back and inform them of our situation?”

Flash rubs the back of his neck. “Well…… uhhhhhhhh about that………”

Shining sighs once again, his hopes getting more distant by the second. “Figures, we’re in a right death trap this time. And with Nightmare Moon appearing in Canterlot’s Crystal mines we don’t stand much of a chance of getting reinforcements any time soon.”

“Nightmare Moon in Canterlot? B-But that can’t be right!” Twilight shouts, drawing the attention of every pony in the room. “That has got to be a mistake, Princess Luna wasn’t anywhere near Canterlot! Princess Celestia’s in danger, we have to warn her!” Twilight states, her concerns now focused on the danger to her mentor rather than herself.

Now all the attention in the room is focused on the unicorn and her sudden outburst, the unicorn’s face growing red from a combination of embarrassment and nervousness. “Um, Twily?” Shining Armor asks, “I know you’re a know-it-all and all, but how would you even know that?”

“Well, um…..”

“How does she know that?” a bright yellow pegasus shouts in an accusatory tone as he points his hoof towards Twilight. “I’ll tell you how she knows that! It’s because she’s the traitor! She’s the one who lead this accursed army of the dead here! She’s in league with that witch from the moon!!”

The guard trots around the unicorn as his hoof steps signal his malevolent intentions. “How else would she know where that monster is? How else would reports of our movements leak out to our enemies? And what else is this attack but a jailbreak?!” the guard shouts as he points accusingly at the now-frightened librarian, his booming voice rallying others to his cause. “She’s working for the enemy just like the reports said!”

“Nightmare Moon… I mean Luna is not a monster!” Twilight takes to her hooves in an effort to defend herself. “She’s just trying to make up with her sister, she doesn’t want to harm anypony!”

“And she’s defending the monster!” the guard exclaims earning small mutters of agreement from the crowd as they begin to suspect Twilight Sparkle’s actions even more. “What did I tell you? She’s the traitor!”

“That’s enough, solder,” Shining says with the thinnest hint of a threat. “Stand down.”

Voices in the crowd begin to murmur along with the nameless soldier as he continues to pile more blame on the hapless purple unicorn. “I’ll bet my bottom bit this whole attack is an attempt to free her from imprisonment! We should finish her off before she has the chance to..…”

“I said ENOUGH!” the Captain of the Guard shouts with the force of a thunderclap, all other voices in the room falling silent. “Now I can understand you’re scared, Right Bolt, but I think you’ve said enough.”

“And I think…” the stallion continues, “that your judgment is impaired because the traitor just happens to be your sister! You have no right to speak in her defense, your judgment is clearly biased.”

“And I say,” Shining points his glowing horn at the guard before him, “that my shield is the only thing keeping those monsters below at bay. So I would watch what you say to a superior officer.”

“And I say,” the guard replies as he presses his forehead against the unicorn stallion in front of him, “that you’re in no position to make a decision about this matter! Twilight Sparkle is the traitor and if we don’t act now she’s going to get away!!”

“Just get rid of her!” a voice from the crowd cries. “She’s the reason for this attack! Maybe they’ll go way if we hoof her over to them!”

“The evidence is solid and this attack proves it! She has to be the traitor!”

“I say we put it to a vote!” A guard cries out. “Whether to give this traitor up to this mob or to execute her ourselves.”

The accusatory stallion nods with affirmation. “Now that’s a democratic and impartial decision. Let’s all raise our hooves and put it to a vote.” The stallion grins as he stares evilly at the cowering lavender unicorn hiding behind her brother. “If you want to make sure that this traitor doesn’t escape to pal around with her zombie friends outside, raise your……”

BBZZZZZZZZTTTTT!!

“……EEEERRRRRAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!”

In a flash of lightning the stallion’s coat ripples with static electricity, frying him from the inside out as his skeleton is illuminated for all to see. Then, in less time than it takes to blink, the light ceases leaving a singed soldier smoking from his ears as he falls unceremoniously to the floor. Everypony in the group suddenly silences themselves and backs away from the fallen stallion as his body twitches and spasms from the jolt he received.

With a cocky and self-righteous grin a light green mare steps out into the crowd, her yellow two toned mane rippling from the electricity coursing through her body. “And MY vote goes towards kicking the flank of anypony that dares to threaten a superior officer. Now who else wants to vote?” The entire crowd hushes up as each and every stallion backs away from the mare who is cracking her hooves, ready to roast her opposition. “Humph, and you call yourselves stallions.”

“Lightning Dust!” Shining Armor shouts.

“What?” The mare looks back at the smoldering stallion groaning behind her. “I left him alive! And he was going to usurp your command! That’s a charge of treason right there, I had every right to…..”

“Oh, him?” Stallion points to the stallion. “Forget him, he got what he deserved for threatening my sister and trying to usurp my command. I’m far more concerned about you! What happened to your hoof? Are you bleeding?”

Lightning looks to her bloodied bandaged hoof as if she had forgotten her own life-threatening injury. “Eh, it’s just a scratch. So what’s going on here? Where are our reinforcements?”

“They’re on standby,” Shining responds, rolling his eyes. “Apparently they haven’t gotten word that there’s an emergency. No doubt the traitor’s handiwork.”

Flash sentry trots up to the two ponies. “I can fly over there and let them know we’re in need of some backup.” The guard salutes, eager to help.

“That depends, can you ‘flash’ over there, cadet? Because anything slower than a teleport won’t reach us in time,” Shining asks skeptically, arching his eyebrow.

“Well….” The stallion’s ears fall down. “……No. I placed my marks at the royal palace so that I could inform her highness, but she’s not there right now. I could ‘flash’ over there, but the number of marks I have are limited and they need to be in a certain range. I had to place my marks at mile increments and jump from mark to mark to make it here and back, so it’s a one way trip. Plus, my marks only work once before they fade out, so I’d have to……..”

Lightning sighs heavily. “You could have just said ‘no’, Flash, we didn’t need the whole nine yards on your Stand power.”

“It’s probably better off that you can’t jump over there,” Shining continues in an attempt to brighten the trooper up. “I need you to locate the enemy who is causing the attack so we can eliminate them and stop their Stand power. Your Stand is the fastest out of our entire platoon, so place your marks and scan over the town so that we can…..”

“Taken care of, Captain,” Lightning finishes Shining Armor’s sentence with a grin. “I’ve already encountered the enemy and their Stands. And it’s just like you suspected, they want to wipe out the entire town and get the Corpse.”

Lightning gestures to a small figure obscured by the shadows behind her. “In fact, I’ve brought somepony that has already come into contact with them and can brief us on their Stand powers and abilities.”

“Really?” Shining asks, his eyes expanding in his skull. “You met another trooper that could hold their own against whoever is using this Stand power?”

Barely able to suppress her own snickering the light green pegasus nods once, placing a hoof on her mouth to suppress a fit of giggles. “Well then that’s perfect!” Shining states, “Bring him forward! I’ll be sure to give him a proper recommendation to the Princess. Heck, if his information is good he may even get a medal, or at least a promotion!”

At this the jape green pegasus can no longer hold back the torrent of laughter that has been bubbling up inside her, her laughter pouring out with an intensity that is mystifying to the stallion. Suddenly the stallion feels a gentle tug on the side of his uniform, and he turns to face the source. Facing him is practically the most adorable filly that he has ever seen, her cute red hair done up in a perfect bow and her wide-open eyes encompassing about seventy percent of her face.

“Well hello there, little filly! I’m glad to see that you’re safe and everything, but if you don’t mind could you step off to the side for a moment? Lightning Dust is about to…..”

Shining Armor’s mind reboots as he puts all the information together from years of training. That filly wasn’t there before; he did a sweep of the room, so she had to have arrived around the same time as Lightning Dust. Meaning the filly would have to have arrived with Lightning Dust. That and his subordinate’s response lead to only one solid conclusion.

“Seriously, Lightning?”

Lightning continues to smile as she snickers under her breath.

“You’re kidding, right?” Shining Armor asks.

Lightning Dust snickers even more.

“Lightning Dust, please tell me this is an elaborate joke.”

Lightning Dust begins to chortle under her breath.

“……you’re serious?”

Clearing her throat, the mare tries her best to snap a proper salute as she breaks out into an ear to ear smile. “YES SIR!”

“This… filly… came into contact with the enemy? An enemy that defeated almost half our Royal Guard? And she survived?” Shining asks curiously.

“Came into contact? Pfht! This filly fought both of them to a standstill, Captain!” Lightning continues to heap on her praise as the filly beams, puffing out her chest at word of her accomplishments “In fact, I think this little filly is about the best guard we’ve had in…. ohwhoamikidingican’ttakethisanymore BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!”

As Lightning Dust falls to her back, her hooves waving in the air from her own joke, Shining Armor takes another clear look at the yellow filly before him. With a narrow, careful gaze the unicorn looks the yellow filly square in the eyes, his discerning gaze picking the pony apart from the inside out. The room grows silent as she stallion stares down the little filly with the intensity only a Guard Captain could muster. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity for the filly under such intense scrutiny, the stallion nods affirmatively. “Alright then!” Shining says cheerfully, “I’m not the kind of pony willing to kiss a gift horse in the mouth when an enemy is knocking on our doorstep. Applesnack, can you tell us….”

“Applebloom!”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Mah name! it’s Applebloom, not Applesnack!”

Shining scratches his head. “But I thought that Twilight’s friend was Applesnack. Granted, you’re a bit younger than I figured, but you seem like a nice filly….”

Applebloom facehooves. “APPLEJACK is mah sis. She’s Twilight’s friend. Ah’m Applebloom.”

“Oh…………….. are you sure?” Shining Armor asks.

“YES.” Applebloom stares at the stallion ahead of her with a deadpan expression. “Ah’m sure mah name is Applebloom.”

“…….so you and my sister aren’t friends?”

“Yes!” Applebloom shouts. “Well… No…… Well……. Ah think we are….. but…..”

“OH in the name of Celestia just get on with it!” Zecora shouts.

“Yes get on with it!” Lightning Dust shouts.

“YEAH GET ON WITH IT!!!” the guards shout in a deafening chorus.

“But….” Shining argues.

“GET ON WITH IT, SHINY!!!” Twilight shouts. “This skit lost it’s humor ages ago!”

Sighing in defeat the stallion turns back to the filly. “Alright Applebloom, can you tell us what these two Stand users look like and what their powers are? Can you do that?”

“Well...” The filly taps her chin with her hoof as she recalls the encounter with the two villainous stallions who nearly killed her not a few minutes ago. “There’s this one guy, he’s a big bully! He’s the light brown one with a dark brown mane.” Applebloom holds her hoof up to about Shining’s back height “He’s about this big an he’s got a horrible attitude. He’s got a cutie mark of three horseshoes and has this dirty brown suit on. And even worse, he talks like a drummed-out gangster from one of those old-timey movies!”

“And……” Shining waves his hoof urging the filly on.

“Oh, right! And there was this other guy!” Applebloom continues, “He was like this voodoo priest type. He had all these fancy black clothes and talked all smart-like! He was big an blue an he had this strange title or somethin like he was a priest. An to top it off he wouldn’t stop talking about purification through death or hogwash like that.”

Shining Armor rubs the bridge of his muzzle. “I meant, what are their Stand powers? The details about their appearance are nice but what I really need to know are what their Stand powers are.”

Applebloom blinks in realization. “Oh right, well that first guy, Horseshoes er somethin controls those gaping maws er somethin. If he touches you or if any of those black mouths bite ya then a big sharp toothed maw pops out of yer skin and controls you!”

“So,” Flash rubs his chin. “That’s the guy that controls the ponies with his power. Is there a way to remove the maws? Maybe get rid of them?”

“Ah-Ah don’t know.” The filly looks at her own hooves downcast. “He said…. He said that only killing the pony would remove em…..”

“And you believed him?” Lightning Dust spits off to the side, almost hitting another of her men. “That’s bull! I removed mine!” Lighting Dust extends her injured hoof, the blood dripping down the bandage as Shining suddenly understands the origins of Lighting’s injuries.

Shining Armor rolls his eyes. “I doubt it’s a viable strategy to rip the enemy’s Stand off our bodies, Lightning,” Shining states dryly as he turns back to the filly, Applebloom. “But Lightning’s right about one thing: there must be a way to remove these sores that Horseshoes isn’t saying. So we’ll beat him unconscious and hope that does the trick, and if that doesn’t work we’ll simply force him to get rid of them. What about the other one, Applebloom?”

“That other guy was real creepy an stuff,” Applebloom continues without any hesitance. “He brought the dead back to life an he…. He brought back…..”

“He brought back some of the dead from the cemeteries,” Lightning finishes for the filly. Turning to the yellow Crusader she places a gentle wing on her back. “They’re nothing to be scared of, Captain, they’re just corpses that we can put back in the dirt. However, what is a big concern is that there seems to be no limit on the number of dead he can reanimate, and given the size of the town we’re talking a number of corpses in the thousands.”

Shining nods as the filly snuggles deeper into the light-green pegasus’ down feathers, greatly comforted by the mare’s concern. “Well at least we know who our enemies are now.” With a condescending look Shining turns back to the rest of his men. “Do you hear that? Despite your ‘democracy’, Twilight was innocent of your accusations. If you had hooved Twilight over to the monsters at our doorstep the attack would not have stopped and you would no doubt have died as well.”

Every soldier and pony looks down at their hooves as they recount their shameful actions. Shining taps his hooves impatiently. “Well, what do you have to say?”

The troops look at each other before responding in one pitiable voice, “We’re sorry, Twily.”

Shining nods. “Good. Now that we know the particulars….” Shining looks over at his men. “AND we’ve given a proper apology, we can develop a plan to take these guys out. Flash, can you use your Stand to take me and a select group to fight the enemy?”

“Sorry Captain, but that’s not going to fly.” Lightning says as she trots over to the stallion. “You aren’t going anywhere: we need you to protect the Corpse with your Bastion.” The mare looks down the flight of stairsm flinching at the sounds coming from the first floor. “That and if you leave the barrier downstairs then your barrier goes too and the entire station will be overrun.”

Shining sighs as his heroic plans to save the day are once again dashed by logic. “Lightning……. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right, I can’t leave. If the Corpse falls into enemy hooves then ……. perhaps you can engage the enemy Lightning?”

“Uhhhhhh about that, Captain Armor…..” Lighting rubs her injured hoof sorely.

“What is it, Lighting?” Shining looks down at the mare’s blood-soaked bandage. “Your hoof? I’ll admit that it looks bad but you’ve never backed down from a fight because of a little blood!”

“What? Oh my injuries?” Lighting looks down at her hoof as she continues. “Well I admit that I did lose a lot of blood, but that’s not why I’m not rushing over there to kick their flanks.” Lightning leans in looking around her with shifty eyes. “They know my Stand power, Captain, and to tell you the truth I barely made it out of there to begin with. If I lead an attack with them already knowing my ability I’ll probably be the one getting knocked on my flank.”

“B-But it has to be you, Lightning! Nopony else has the experience and technique to lead an assault.” Shining waves his hoof around the police station. “And it’s not like we have another team on standby! Look, I know that it’s dangerous but it has to be you. Zecora doesn’t have a Stand and Flash is too inexperienced to lead. ”

“And I’m just saying, Captain,” Lightning reiterates, “that going up against a pony that knows our Stand powers and their respective weaknesses is a recipe for disaster. And if these guys know my power, odds are they know the Stand abilities of our entire unit.”

“Well you’ll have to risk it, Lightning,” Shining states sternly. “There’s nopony else that can take down these enemies, and I don’t see anypony else volunteering.”

“……I’ll do it.”

All eyes in the room turn towards the small and slightly meek voice that seems to cut through the silence, to find a very tense Twilight Sparkle sitting there with her hoof raised.

“I-I-I mean we could do it. Me and my friends, that is. You said that you didn’t have another team lying around, but that’s not really true. I mean, me and my friends are more a group than a team….” The unicorn rambles trying to put her makeshift idea together. “But you said you needed a team of Stand users and, well, we’ve managed to beat down every Stand user that has tried to defeat us, so in terms of experience….”

“NO,” Shining interjects. “Absolutely not.”

“Shining! You said yourself the longer this Stand power is active then the more ponies suffer!” Twilight gestures out the window with a free hoof as she pleads with her brother. “Me and my friends may not have formal training but we have teamwork, friendship and a desire to protect the ponies we love, just like you do! We can’t afford to be divided and let our biases affect our judgment, Shining. We have to use everything at our disposal if we are to save the Corpse and the town.”

“Twi’s right!” Applebloom squeaks as she rushes over to Twilight’s side. “Ah don’t know anything about a corpse er whatever yer talking about. Ah have ta save mah sister an I don’t care what yawl say, Ah’m helpin too!”

Shining looks at his sister, her iron-fixed gaze letting him know that she is not going to budge an inch. As if seeking sound advice he glances over to Zecora, silently praying that she can back him up. “If Twilight dear is so resolved, then let her gather her friends which have been dissolved. She can then bring the fight to our enemy, and allow us to seize victory.”

Lightning nods, agreeing with Zecora's logic. “I think the paper-pusher is right this time, Captain. If her friends are capable of giving us this much trouble than they’re certainly capable of handling their own.” Lightning, despite the desperate situation, manages a cocky grin. “Plus, if your sister is half as good a fighter as you are then they’ll be able to bring these guys down before they overrun the town. And you DID say yourself that time is of the essence.”

Despite the votes of confidence for his sister, or perhaps because of them, Shining is noticeably worried. His gaze levels with his sister in his best intimidating guard stare, yet the mare stands resolute. Their eyes match as each pony tries their best to try to keep the other from making what is in their mind a dangerous mistake. Twilight, trusting in the strength and power of her friends; and Shining Armor, trying to keep his only family as far out of harm’s way as physically possible. Neither looks like they will surrender as they stare at each other, attempting to sway the other with their mere presence.

“I can do this, Shiny,” Twilight states, her voice softening. “Please.”

Shining looks at his sister as her plea echoes through the now-quiet room. Shining gives one last attempt to steer the mare away from her course of action before hanging his head in defeat. “You really don’t play fair do you, Twily.” Shining chuckles as his horn illuminates, and suddenly the mare flinches as she feels the Anti-Stand collar fall off of her neck to land on the floor with a loud clank.

Twilight rubs her sore neck as she massages warm blood back into her now-exposed coat. The mare turns back to her brother with a look of both bewilderment and thanks as Shining Armor looks warily into his sister’s eyes. “Just don’t make me regret this, okay Twily?” Shining Armor says. “No matter what, you survive, and that’s an order. Got it?”

Twilight snaps into a sharp, playful salute as she makes it clear that she has no intention of dying here. Her posture, her bearing, both give her brother an image of a responsible and capable mare that can handle herself, a mare that can defeat any obstacle thrown at her and come out on top. And, despite his own silent fears, Shining can’t help but smile as he looks at the mare before him, not as his sister that needs to be coddled, but her own pony that is every bit his equal. Shining salutes back with a smile as they share a wordless moment together, each of them ready to do their part to save the world.

‘She really has grown up,’ Shining thinks to himself as he turns to face the rest of his soldiers that are patiently awaiting his orders. “Alright, everypony!” Shining raises his booming voice to the rest of his men. “Here’s the plan!”

“Lightning.” The mare salutes as Shining places his hoof on the her shoulder. “Take what solders you can and slow down the enemy’s advance in the town proper. Protect as many of the ponies of this town as you are able, and get the ones that you can’t to safety.”

“Flash.” The orange pegasus salutes. “Help Twilight get her team together by using your Flashpoint. Once you have dropped her off to eliminate the enemy, fly as fast as your wings are able to Canterlot. Get the Princess and get reinforcements, come back as fast as you can.”

“I’ll stay behind with our vanguard to protect the Corpse and the police station while drawing the enemy’s fire.” Shining looks around the room as he taps his hoof on the ground. “Between my Bastion and the sturdy nature of the building it shouldn’t be too hard to defend this place. Besides, nopony but me knows the exact position of the Corpse, so even if we are overrun it won’t be taken.”

“Zecora, I want you on the com table.” Shining nods to the zebra mare. “Try and get in touch with any of our guards in the surrounding towns. There may be Stand agents in calling distance that can lend a helping hoof. But more importantly, try and get word to Canterlot to tell them everything that’s going on.”

Finally he turns to his sister. “Twilight…..”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Twilight smirks as she turns to Flash Sentry behind her. “I’ll get my friends and save the town. You just stay here and….”

Twilight turns to leave only to find a strong, gentle hoof on her shoulder. Turning back Twilight comes face to face with her brother and his loving, genuine face. “Go, Twilight.” Shining smiles affirmatively. “Go and change the world, don’t worry about me and the others. Your brother is a lot stronger than you know.”

Before Twilight can respond she finds herself gripped in a tight hug as Flash sentry throws Applebloom on his back. “Hold on everypony, I’m teleporting us out now!”

With no time to even respond Twilight watches tearfully as space begins to fold around her, her vision clouding in the aether as she watches her brother fade out. Unwilling to let her brother’s words go unanswered she extends her hoof and calls out, “Shiny! Wa-“

Author's Note:

To Be Continued →

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