A Nightmare Come True

by ShadowSprint

Chapter 21

Derpy rolled over onto her side, landing on her wing sent a quick streak of pain through her body. The pegasus bolted up from her sleep, eyes twitching. The pin prickling pain slowly faded off once pressure was removed from the damaged wing. It still bothered Derpy that she was in such a state. She couldn’t be much use to Spike or Maud like this. Her being body sore and wobbling from the injuries, and her wings were just useless.

Getting up on all fours, Derpy glanced around their campsite. Dawn had broken out between the trees, sending rays of golden orange warmth bursting into the forest. The warm scent of dew and dandelions permeated the air. Crickets chirped to life, and birds started their morning songs. Almost too peaceful as it were.

Both Spike and Maud still slept in their respective “beds.” The dragon snuggled up against the log he’d been sitting on. Maud on the other hoof, had curled herself around Boulder, holding her pet like a filly would hold a stuffed animal. The earth pony appeared quite comfy holding her rock, almost cute.

The fire had long but died out, and Maud’s hornfels were neatly packed away in her satchel. Once the two were awake, they’d be ready to hit the road once more. Speaking of, Derpy wondered just how close to leaving the forest they really were. If she could, she’d just fly up and take a peek out over the trees. However, while one wing worked, the other . . .Derpy turned and tried to flap her injured wing. It moved maybe an inch in any direction. “No good. No surprise.” Derpy mumbled and slowly trotted into the forest. She didn’t intend to go far, only to see if she could spot the forest’s edge.

Sifting through the trees, the bushes, and the dirt, Derpy followed the path Spike had led them on. She moved away from their little camp and deeper into the forest. The pegasus kept her ears open for any signs of danger. First hint of a buzzing, be it bee or otherwise, she would head back.

As Derpy wandered slowly through the forest, her mind drifted from thoughts of Spike and Maud, to Doctor Hooves. Where was he? Had he been captured? Though Derpy knew the chances to be slim to none, she hoped they would run into him. Doctor Hooves always had answers. He was a scientist. He might even have a solution, a concoction that could make all their problems vanish into thin air.

When a branch smacked Derpy in the face, she stumbled backwards and almost tipped over. Wiping the leaves from her cheeks, she blinked a couple times, freeing the dust that had scattered into her eyes from the impact. “What the . . .” she began, but stopped as she pushed past the branch and stared out into open field.

All around her, the trees tapered off into short, narrow sticks protruding from the ground. The dirt path they’d been following ended only about twenty feet from where Derpy stood. Acres of prairie lay ahead, over the horizon. “W-We made it . . .” Derpy whispered. In the distance, she could just barely make out a black trail, train-tracks. If what Spike had said were true, then the Galloping Gorge shouldn’t be far off. Derpy’s heart leapt up out of her chest. A new life, a new breed of excitement filled her lungs as they were one step closer to the Crystal Empire. They were one step closer to safety!

Turning back, Derpy trotted back into the forest, which turned into a slow gallop. She still favored one of her legs, but the exhilaration from discovering where they were, masked some of the pain. She couldn’t wait to wake the others, let them know how far they’d come . . .

Derpy stopped. The campsite was practically in eyesight. Something else though had captured her attention. Something big. “Timberwolves,” she whispered to herself.

Four timberwolves were sniffing around the campsite. Their large, oak bodies circling the little clearing. Glowing, green eyes scanned the area, hunting for food. Derpy inched herself closer, just enough to see that neither Maud nor Spike had awoken. The timberwolves moved with such care, their twigged paws avoided stepping in anything that’d make even the smallest of sounds.

Derpy’s heart raced. Each second that passed by, the wolves closed their circle tighter around the campsite. Sap-like saliva dribbled out from their growling lips. The delicacies of earth pony and baby dragon lay like a feast before them. Gulping, Derpy prayed. Wake up! Please guys, wake up! You’re gonna be eaten!

Still though, neither of her companions so much as batted an eye. And the timberwolves had all but blocked her friends in. Derpy felt herself sweating. If she didn’t do something now, they’d be eaten alive. Searching the ground before her, the pegasus spotted a rather large rock. Without thinking, Derpy hobbled over to the thing and wrapped her hooves around it. Lifting the boulder up off the ground, her hind legs struggled to keep her balance. Her joints groaned in pain, and Derpy knew she couldn’t hold this thing for long.

Seeing the timberwolves snapping open their jaws, Derpy closed her eyes, spun herself around to gather up some momentum, and released the rock, letting it fly off into the distance. The force of the throw tossed Derpy onto her back. Biting her lip to stifle a cry, she opened her eyes in time as the rock hurtled down into the back of one of the timberwolves.

The wolf let out a high-pitched bark and stumbled away from the others. Twigs and leaves dropped off from his side. The other three wolves however, cocked their heads up at the instant Derpy’s rock had struck. Being out in the open, the three locked eyes with the pegasus.

“Uh-oh.” She tried to back away but stumbled over herself in the process. It didn’t matter as the three timberwolves abandoned the camp and were upon her. The fourth soon followed and within seconds, Derpy was surrounded. Each wolf barred its teeth at the pegasus, more of the thick sap hanging between their rows of sharp teeth.

When one of the timberwolves snapped at her, Derpy screamed. She scooted away from one timberwolf and bumped into the snout of another. He then barked at her and she had to crawl away from him as well. There was no where to go, no way to predict which set of jaws would sink into her first.

The timberwolf in front of Derpy opened his mouth wide, leaning in for the first taste. The other three merely lowered their heads, pushing the pegasus towards the fourth. Derpy closed her eyes. His hot, warm breath reeked of rotten meat and spoiled apples.

Derpy waited. She waited for the teeth to sink in, for the blood to soak into her fur. But, it didn’t come. Instead, a new smell drifted into the air. Something was burning. When Derpy finally opened her eyes, she spotted a thickening trail of black smoke emanating from behind the timberwolf.

Quickly, the fire climbed up the wolf’s back, until he uttered a loud howl of a scream. Bursting from the pack, the wolf leapt to the ground, rolling himself back and forth in the dirt, trying to snuff out the flame. The other three turned their attention to its source, and found Maud, holding a small black rock in her hoof.

“Morning Derpy. Are you okay?” She asked nonchalantly.

Flabbergasted, the pony could only nod as she said, “y-yeah.”

Spike peeked his head up from Maud’s back. Taking in a deep breath, the little dragon exhaled a hot blaze of yellow and green flame. The timberwolves scattered from the spot, narrowly avoiding having their leafy eyebrows burned off.

Maud used the momentary confusion to pull Derpy back up onto her hooves. “Can you run?” She asked plainly.

Derpy nodded.

“Then run.” Maud said and took off towards the edge of the forest. Skidding herself around, the pegasus galloped after her friends. The timberwolves though hadn’t given up on them. Two of the four beasts jumped in from either side, blocking their exit.

Derpy turned with Maud to run back towards the camp, but the other two timberwolves were already closing in. The one had managed to extinguish himself. His side though was now charred and flaking away.

“What do we do?” Derpy asked, spinning herself in circles, searching for a way out.

The wolves closed in much quicker on the three, eliminating the possibility of another run-around. Derpy backed up against Spike. The muzzles of the timberwolves were once more pressed to her face.

Backing tighter against both Maud and Spike, Derpy took one more step back and without realizing it, crushed her foot against Spike’s tail.

“AAhhhhhhhhhhh” Spike cried out, spewing out much larger and more powerful flame than before. The dragon’s fire breath engulfed the head of one of the timberwolves. The monster leapt back, but before he could react, the fire had ripped through his wooden skull.

Falling lifelessly into a pile of fire wood, the timberwolves numbers fell to three.

“Spike, over here.” Maud said calmly at seeing what had happened.

Before the dragon could even respond, Maud had grabbed Spike and stomped her hoof down hard on the dragon’s tail. Tears streamed from Spike’s face as Maud’s deliberate smashing of his tail sent nails of pain up through his body. “D-Don’t!” He shouted uselessly as he fired off another hot flamethrower of splintering heat.

The timberwolves couldn’t react fast enough to Maud’s attack and within seconds, two more fell into heaps of ash and sawdust.

When finally, only one remained, it thought better of pursuing this meal and abandoned the hunt. Scurrying off with its tail between its legs, Maud waited until the timberwolf had vanished from sight before gently setting Spike down.

“Are you okay Spike?” Maud asked.

“A-Am I okay?!” The dragon cried out, “Am I okay?! I’m lucky my tail didn’t fall off!” Dropping to the ground, Spike gripped his tail, a visible dent firmly pressed into his scales where Maud and Derpy had stomped on. “I could’ve done that without your help.” He said.

“I’m sorry Spike.” Derpy said, still calming down from the timberwolves’ attack. “I swear I didn’t mean it. Are you gonna be okay?”

Spike glared up at the pegasus for a moment. Then he stopped. He remembered what Derpy had been through, what she had done in Cloudsdale and in Ponyville. He looked to Maud, who’d saved them both. Guess I’m not the one who should be complaining. He finally thought to himself. Picking himself up off the ground, Spike brushed away the dirt from his tail, seeing a bruise already forming. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Maud asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

Spike nodded. Then turning to face both of the ponies, he said, “but we should get going. Who knows, that one could come back.”

As the three moved along once more, Maud glanced over at Derpy and saw the pegasus still a bit upset with what had happened. It reminded her of years back, when Pinkie had lived on the farm, before she’d gotten her cutie mark. Her dazzling sister once had been equally troubled with things. Pinkie would blame herself for even the smallest of things, simply because she was there when they’d happened. Maud couldn’t help but smile. It was no wonder her sister had spoken so highly of Derpy.

Sliding up alongside the pegasus, Maud turned to the startled Derpy and said, “Thanks Derpy. We really owe you one.”

Derpy, having apparently forgotten what it was she did, said, “Me? Wha-What’d I do? It was only an accident that I stepped on Spike’s tail. I never meant to . . .”

“Didn’t you distract the timberwolves when we were sleeping?”

Derpy went quiet, and even blushed a bit. “Y-Yeah . . . I suppose I did.”

“Then it’s because of you we’re alive. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Maud said reassuringly, “We’d be lost without you.”

“R-Really?” Derpy asked.

Maud bobbed her head once in a nod. And that was all Derpy needed. She, Derpy Hooves, was needed.

“Girls, come on! We’re practically out of the forest!” Spike called from just ahead. When Derpy and Maud both heard this, they scampered along to catch up, eager to be out of the woods.

---

Twilight huddled up in the corner closest to the projection of her friends. Heaving for breath, sweat trickling down her face, the princess had spent the last several hours rummaging through every magical spell she knew just to find one that might free of her of this prison. Nothing worked. From teleportation spells to simple messaging spells for warning Spike, nothing got out.

Twilight rolled her head to the side, staring at the projection of her friends. She couldn’t discern anything about them. Where they were, if they were hurt, or even what kept them asleep. All Twilight knew is that they weren’t waking up, and it was all her fault.

The longer she watched her friends, the harder it became. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I failed all of you. Everything that’s happened, it’s all my fault.”

How had she managed to steer everyone so far down the wrong path? How could Twilight, the Princess of Friendship, place more trust in the words of a changeling, than the pleas of a friend? Rainbow Dash had warned her, before the attack on Cloudsdale, that Fluttershy and Derpy weren’t suited for that mission. Her brother, Shining Armor, warned against the mission altogether. But I ignored them. I ignored all of them. Twilight felt herself tear up. That mission lost her Fluttershy, along with countless others.

Then of course there was Applejack. The earth pony had rushed to Twilight for help when her farm came under attack. “A-And I did nothing. Told her we couldn’t spare any soldiers . . .” Applejack’s terrified gaze returned from the back of Twilight’s mind. She saw it clear as day. Why hadn’t she helped her friend?

Eventually, Twilight’s thoughts drifted over to that of her dragon. Spike. Was he alone? Could he really be heading for the Crystal Empire? Twilight shuddered. “Please Spike . . .”

The princess’ thoughts were interrupted when the sound of hoof steps echoed in the distance. Twilight dried her eyes and sat upright. She watched as shadows danced about the cave walls, growing closer. They crawled closer and closer, via a staircase hidden behind rock. Voices echoed into Twilight’s prison and she huddled up next to her friends when the visitors finally appeared.

Daybreaker entered into the caverns with two of her Sun Flares. A delightful smile crossed over her lips when she saw Twilight shrinking away from her inside the cage. “Hello Princes Twilight. You’re looking as gaudy as ever.” She said, approaching the cage.

Twilight remained silent. She kept close to her friends, and eyed Daybreaker’s every movement.

“What’s the matter dear mare? No witty response? No threats of taking me down? Where’d all that fight in you go?”

“What do you want?” Twilight growled.

At this, Daybreaker laughed. She stepped up closer, wanting a better look at the broken princess. “I want nothing you little fool. Actually, I’ve got a present for you. Some company if you will.”

“What?!” Twilight’s head raced through her remaining friends. Had Spike been captured already? Or perhaps Cadence?

Twilight actually found herself inching closer towards Daybreaker, curious as to who it was, and to what condition they were in.

Daybreaker though, only chuckled in amusement at the princess’ sudden interest. “It’s someone you know. Royalty even, just like yourself.” Turning back to her Sun Flares, the evil alicorn commanded, “Bring her in.”

Then turning back to Twilight, she opened the cage door and glared in the princess’ direction. “Don’t you dare try anything.”

Twilight stumbled back when a Sun Flare entered the cage. Its eyeless face stared down at her. Slowly flapping its wings, specs of ash flaked off from the charcoal feathers, sprinkling onto the rock floor. Twilight couldn’t help but stare in horror at the thing. This was the closest she’d ever been with one. Its horn sparked and fizzed with magic. Its body glowed orange from the fiery veins that spiderwebbed through its body.

Then Twilight heard a second voice, and the sounds of chains clambering and clinking as some-pony was dragged into the cage with her. The Sun Flare in front of her obscured much of what was going on. But Twilight could hear the pony’s voice, could hear her cries and her curses. When finally, the princess heard the cage door slam shut again, her mouth gaped open in shock from the pony whom she now shared her prison with.

Queen Chrysalis lay sprawled out near the locked cage door, a Sun Flare using its magic to unlock her shackles. Once the chains dropped from Chrysalis’ hooves, the Sun Flare dragged them out of the cage.

Chrysalis forced herself onto all four hooves, refusing to show weakness. She scowled at the alicorn on the other side of the cage. “I swear Daybreaker, I will get out of this prison. You cannot keep me locked up in here. You will not take my kingdom from me!”

“But I already have Chrysalis.” Daybreaker said, and pacing back and forth outside the cage, to enjoy every angle of Chrysalis’ harmless fury, she said, “My Sun Flares have already begun picking apart your little changeling army.”

“W-What . . .”

Daybreaker’s smile only widened. “That’s right. Since receiving confirmation of the fall of the Crystal Empire, my Sun Flares have begun the work of tearing your precious changelings apart, limb from worthless limb.”

Chrysalis threw herself against the cage’s bars. The whole thing shook but did not give. Daybreaker cackled at the queen’s attempt at retaliation. “Don’t waste your breath! It’s too late for your army. My Sun Flares will kill them, then move to your hive, and lay waste to it. Then, this wonderful land of Equestria will all be mine.

Daybreaker delighted in watching Chrysalis. She relished the anger, the rage, and the hatred that boiled off of the changeling queen. Even more so, Chrysalis knew that she could do nothing to stop the events that were unfolding. She’d sit helplessly and watch, all for Daybreaker’s amusement.

“Now if I may . . .” Daybreaker began, “I have a kingdom to rule, and changelings to kill.” The alicorn laughed as she turned to leave, “You can fight with Twilight over who rules the dungeon.”

“Daybreaker!” Chrysalis shouted, causing the possessed Celestia to stop in her tracks. The alicorn didn’t turn, but Chrysalis knew she had the bastard’s attention. “Enjoy Equestria while you can. Because I swear to you that when I am free, the revenge that I will exact upon you will be unlike anything you have ever seen. And I give you my word, you will not survive it.”

Only the corner of Daybreaker’s grin could be seen, as she crackled the flickering embers of her mane, and vanished back up into the castle.

Chrysalis fumed with rage at being trapped in a desolate prison such as this. She’d been so close, only hoof-steps away from ruling this land when Daybreaker ripped it from her. Not only that, but the beast had the gall to strip away her army as well. Well, Chrysalis was certainly not one to sit idly by and watch her kingdom fall into ruin, not again.

Using her magic, she conjured up a powerful spell and blasted away at the prison’s bars. Her magic evaporated on impact. I will not be stopped Daybreaker. I will not. Chrysalis gazed about the cell, following the bars up to the ceiling and around the caverns. She searched for a way out, searched for a means in which to escape this hell hole. Each ticking second that passed fueled her anger, fantasies of Daybreaker’s broken neck danced in her head.

Finally, her eyes rested on her cell mate. Poor little Twilight Sparkle, curled up near the projection of her friends, watched Chrysalis intently. Chrysalis could feel the princess’ gaze boring into her, studying her, criticizing her. When the queen could take no more, she hissed at the princess, and barked, “What?! What is it?! Do you have a problem princess?!”

Twilight stirred, but not in the manner Chrysalis expected. The princess curled up near her friends and buried her head in her hooves. “It’s all your fault,” she whispered, “. . . if it wasn’t for you . . . I-I’d still have my friends.” Her voice trembled, almost on the verge of breaking down.

Chrysalis however, was not in the mood for such wasteful behavior. “Spare me the hoof pointing! You brought this all onto yourself. And now instead of standing up and doing something about it, you’re crying in the corner, waiting to be saved. How pathetic!”

Twilight gulped. She looked up and Chrysalis saw the pony glaring at her, with a hatred that she didn’t think was possible from the little pipsqueak. “What am I supposed to do? You’ve taken everything from me. Destroyed my home! Kidnapped my friends! You’ve . . . destroyed the lives of so many ponies! What am I supposed to fight back with?”

“Your soul!” Chrysalis shouted. “You fight with every damn ounce of strength that you have, because until you get what you want, nothing else matters!” Chrysalis huffed, turning back on the cell walls, she fired off another blast of magic that fizzled out upon touching the bars. “That’s why you couldn’t win against me Twilight.” Chrysalis shouted as she shot her magic again at the cell. “You couldn’t do what needed to be done! Too caught up in your precious friendship dilemmas to see what was really going on! You, Twilight Sparkle, were a lousy, sad excuse of a princess!”

“Shut-up.”

Chrysalis launched another round of her magic into the cell, only to have it splash off like water. When she heard Twilight, she turned on the princess, approaching her. “Why? Did I hit a nerve?” Her voice had yet to lower. Turning towards the shivering pony, Chrysalis slowly approached. “Can’t take the fact that I outsmarted you. That I bested you! Can’t come to terms with the fact that friendship died a slow, torturous death at your own hooves!”

“I said, shut-up.” Twilight growled. Her own emotions starting to bubble over.

Chrysalis laughed manically at Twilight’s behavior. She’d never seen such a raw, aggressive display of hatred from one of the princesses. “Or what? You’ll send another army of pegasi to their deaths?! Face it Twilight, you were responsible for more deaths in Equestria than I ever will be. Your abysmal leadership pitted you against both your friends, and your family! You are a failure.”

A vein popped in Twilight’s head. She lost control of herself and leapt into the air. Within a second, she had tackled the changeling queen. Landing on top, Twilight pummeled her hooves into Chrysalis’ face. Each strike landed a satisfying blow to the queen’s head. “Shut up!” Twilight shouted, bouncing her hoof off Chrysalis’ temple. The queen’s head bounced against the stone flooring. “Shut-up! Shut-up!” Twilight raged, closing her eyes as she beat down on the changeling like a punching bag. “It’s all your fault!”

Tears streaked Twilight’s face. Chrysalis was wrong. She was lying again. Her deception was known across Equestria. And yet, Twilight couldn’t stop her hooves from punching the queen, couldn’t stop the tears rolling down her cheeks. Visions of her friends in a solitary, dark room, broadcasted for amusement, filled Twilight’s head. This wasn’t her fault. It couldn’t have been. If Queen Chrysalis hadn’t attacked, hadn’t joined forces with Daybreaker, none of this would have happened.

I did what I could. I protected as many as possible. I . . . I tried so hard to save as many ponies as I . . . Her thoughts drifted off. Somewhere along the way, Twilight had stopped punching the queen below. Somewhere along the lines, she’d grown fatigued, and was heaving for breath. Sweat dripping down her face, Twilight looked down at the queen. Chrysalis’ nose was bloodied up, the blood smeared onto the alicorn’s own hooves. Her body shaking from the beating she just took. Twilight herself, was trembling even more.

One thing, however, stood out to Twilight. “Chrysalis . . . are you . . . crying?”

Somehow, Chrysalis hadn’t expected nor reacted to Twilight’s sudden assault. She’d been caught so off-guard that she’d fallen into a stupor. “S-So what if I am!” Chrysalis snapped back, and quickly belted Twilight across the face, sending the princess reeling.

Once freed, Chrysalis rubbed the tears out of her own eyes, and noticing the blood, frantically worked to clean herself up.

“But . . . why?”

Glaring at the princess for asking such an insipid question, she said, “What? A queen can’t mourn the loss of her subjects?!”

Taken aback, Twilight’s energy seemingly dissipated, “W-Why? I-I thought . . .”

“Well, you thought wrong!” Chrysalis shot back. A different kind of anger roused from inside the queen. Her thoughts suddenly fell onto her changelings, and what Daybreaker had said, what must be happening to them.

“Those are my changelings out there! Expanding my kingdom! They are not for her to touch!” Chrysalis turned away from the princess, staring out into the caverns. She took in a deep breath, calming herself down. Blind rage was not helpful to her. The beating had surprisingly kicked some of that out of the queen. “I will not sit in this dungeon with my tail between my legs while they are destroyed.”

---

Underneath a wall of rubble, Tremor gazed out over the Crystal Empire. He kept himself hidden, as he watched the Sun Flares drift through the city. Spraying the streets with both fire and magic, they attacked both pony and changeling indiscriminately. From his hiding place, he heard the terrified screams of ponies, ushering their fillies away from the city and to safety. He heard the agonizing cries of fellow changelings, brothers in arms, withering in a sea of fire.

Tremor himself, had been lucky to be alive. If it hadn’t been for the little throne shard amulet that hung around his neck, he’d have been blasted away a long time ago. Glancing over to his side, he stared over the motionless body of Stinger. The changeling’s body lay charred black from a direct blast of hot, magma like fire.

“Damn,” Tremor cursed. He’d known Stinger for years. And though he’d tried to save his fellow soldier, Stinger had gotten broadsided as he was crawling under some rubble. The force of the blast had hurtled the changeling like a rag doll into the uneven rock crawlway. He hadn’t moved since.

I’ll have to wait until this all calms down. My queen, I pray you are safe.

---

“We’re getting closer girls!” Spike shouted ecstatically. “The tracks will curl up past the Galloping Gorge ahead, and then it should be a straight shot to the Crystal Empire!”

Their trip since leaving the forest had gone thus far, quite peacefully. The clear, open sky was refreshing when compared to the constant overcast of the trees from before. With the knowledge and relief that the train tracks were still there for guidance, the three were able to follow the iron trail without fear of getting lost.

“Is it getting colder?” Maud asked.

“Well, we are headed north.” Spike answered back, “Though . . .I don’t think the temperature has dropped that much.”

Maud blinked, and then glanced over to Derpy who trotted close to her side. When Derpy saw the pony waiting for her input, she let off a nervous smile and said, “Well . . . I’m fine for now . . . but it is going to get colder, I think.”

“I think we’ve got a little way before we worry about that,” Spike said, walking alongside the tracks.

While the tracks didn’t go directly past the Galloping Gorge, they did circle just west of it, alongside another forest. As Spike gazed past the girls, he scanned over the forest. It was nice to know they’d have some cover to run to if things got out of control. Like the others though, he was happy to finally be out in the sunlight. Hopefully nothing needs to change that. He thought.

“What’s our plan when we get to the Crystal Empire?” Maud asked. Her mind quickly returning to rescuing her sister, and the others.

“Well, I suppose the first thing we’ll do is talk to Princess Cadence.” Spike explained. “After that though . . . it’s hard to say. I guess it’ll depend on what she says.”

Maud nodded. She hated not having an exact rescue plan in place, but she couldn’t rightly blame Spike for that. He was doing everything he could just to get them there alive.

When Maud didn’t respond, Spike turned his attention back onto the path ahead. He knew she was worried about her sister. He knew how close the Pie family was. Unfortunately, Spike couldn’t give a better answer until they spoke with Princess Cadence. It broke his heart to leave the pony hanging, but what else could he say?

Glancing over to Derpy, he found the pegasus in a similar state of silence. She probably had friends or family too that were missing.

As Spike and the other two rounded a corner, a strange looking something slowly came into view. At first, it appeared to be a clump of junk scattered off to the side of the tracks. At first, Spike didn’t know what to make of it, and considered ushering the two ponies into the woods in case it might be a trap. But as they drew closer, the clump of junk grew, and stretched out along the tracks; almost as if something had tipped over.

That’s when Spike realized what they had come across. “The train,” he whispered. Running as fast as his little dragon feet could carry him, Spike sped out past the other two. His heart pounded in his chest. No! No! No! Please don’t be . . . Spike prayed, but as he stumbled upon the twisted and cracked metal, he knew that it was.

The Friendship Express lay derailed across the side of the tracks. Windows smashed, cars flipped over and lay asunder. The smoke stacks were broken and bent. Luggage and clothing carpeted over the grass amongst the ruins. Sprinkled around the train, to Spike’s horror, were bodies. Motionless, withering, bodies. The odor of scorched cotton, and hot metal drifted through the air.

“No. What . . . But how?” Spike was at a loss for words.

When Derpy and Maud finally caught up with Spike, both stopped. Derpy shuddered when she saw the train, a chill running down her spine. She began to hyperventilate. The train, they’d made it this far, and yet . . . the changelings still came for them. “I . . . I was supposed to be on this train.” She whispered. The others looked over to her, but Derpy couldn’t remove her gaze from the wreckage. “I was gonna be placed onto this train, but . . .” and her voice trailed off.

“What should we do?” Maud asked. The sight of the carnage had terrified her as well. If the changelings were willing to do this to a mere train of innocent ponies, she could only imagine what they’d do to her sister, and the others. But then, Maud noticed something. She stepped towards the rubble, ignoring the questioning of her two friends.

She’d spotted something that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the debris. Pushing away a jagged slice of metal, Maud unearthed a dead changeling. It lay sprawled out in the grass. It’s emerald eyes lifeless and blank. Its mouth lay open, with a small pool of dried blood below. When Maud heard the slow footsteps of Spike and Derpy, she asked, “You think they fought back?”

Spike grimaced, nodding. “I-I guess.”

Upon further inspection, Maud noticed a rather unusual burn streaking across the creature’s side. Considering the damage to the train, maybe it wasn’t that strange. As she dug deeper, she unearthed body after body. Some changeling, and some pony. The bodies intertwined among the wreckage, limbs broken out in all directions.

Maud turned to comment on this disturbing discovery but found Derpy going into shock. She shouldn’t be seeing this. Walking over to the pegasus, the earth pony guided her friend away from the wreckage. Derpy said not a word as Maud steered the two away from the train and towards the forest on the other side of the tracks. “Are you alright?” She asked calmly, when they’d travelled a good distance from everything.

“I-I was going to be on that train,” Derpy repeated. Her eyes almost bulging from her head. She hadn’t anticipated this. Some of those ponies in the wreckage, she’d known. She could’ve said their names, listed off their addresses, and the contents of their daily mail. She knew those ponies. “They were loading me up . . . in Ponyville . . . I was going to be on that train. I could be . . .” Derpy teared up. She’d been an inch from death and she hadn’t known it.

“But you’re not,” Maud said. “You’re here. With us.” Maud caught Derpy’s gaze, and said, “You’re going to be okay. Spike and I will protect you, just like you’ve protected us.”

Derpy blinked out a couple of tears. “Promise?”

Maud smiled. “Pinkie Promise.”

The words brought somewhat of a smile across Derpy’s face. Something Maud was more than happy to see again. Looking back, she found Spike digging through some of the debris. It wasn’t a bad idea to look. Perhaps they’d find weapons, clothing, or food. The three had been scarce on all of those things.

“Why don’t you stay here and keep watch? Spike and I will check the train.”

“A-Are you sure? I could . . .”

“I’m sure.” Maud reassured.

When Derpy finally nodded in agreement, Maud leaned in and hugged the pegasus. Derpy had done so much for them already. Maud couldn’t imagine what the mare had gone through in Ponyville and Cloudsdale. If she needed a bit of extra support, then she would have it.

Giving one last look at Derpy, Maud headed back to Spike. “Find anything?” She asked.

“Not much. Well . . . you know . . .”

Maud only nodded.

“Is Derpy okay?”

“She’ll be fine. I placed her on guard duty.” Maud kicked over some twisted metal. She uncovered the remains of yet another changeling with the same weird burn marks. Ignoring it, she said, “I know I asked this before. But what happened to Derpy?”

Spike shuffled through a few papers that he’d discovered. They were lists of ponies supposedly on the train. “I don’t know exactly, but, she was on the mission to Cloudsdale. She was also one of the last ones to come back. Supposedly she saved Scootaloo from a bunch of changelings but . . .” and Spike spotted the young filly’s name on the sheet of paper. Glancing around, he tried to spot even the faintest signs of survivors. “she was seriously hurt and spent most of her time in the hospital. Even then, she didn’t say much. Slept most of the time she was there.”

“We have to get her to safety.”

“Yeah, and her wing isn’t getting any better. At least it doesn’t seem to bother her anymore.”

Maud nodded, and then continued to search the scattered remains in silence.

Standing watch, Derpy shuddered. “Guess I’m not much help.” Turning back, the pegasus stared out over the forest. She watched the wind blow softly through the branches of the trees. She watched the birds and small woodland animals drifting in and out amongst the leaves. Another peaceful sight next to tragedy.

It was just like Cloudsdale. Derpy thought to herself. Images of the broken ponies filled her head. The commander who lost his life, Piercing Wing, and the other soldiers, they’d laid strewn about the heavenly city just like the ponies from the train. Her heart pounded in her chest recalling the suction those monsters had on her love, on her life. Her hooves trembled at the memory, and she glanced down at her wing. How much longer could she go on like this? She was limping by as it was. Sooner or later I could . . .

A sudden rustle in the brush ahead caught the pegasus’ attention. She cocked her head back up to the forest and spotted the strangest thing. A pony stood at the edge of the trees, watching her. It stood tall, probably with the same height as Luna or Celestia. However, she couldn’t make out the color of its body. All she could see was a silhouette. Derpy’s heart pounded in her chest. Was this a survivor from the train? Or was it a changeling in disguise?

Taking a step back, Derpy jumped when the pony in the forest took a step forward. It came out into the light, but its fur didn’t change. Derpy did however see wings, and, was that a horn? But that would mean . . .

A hot blaze of fire erupted from the creature’s horn and Derpy dived out of the way at the last second as the twister of fire shot out overhead. Not good! Definitely not good! Derpy scrambled up to her hooves, watching the black, ash-like creature hover towards her.

Derpy screamed out, “H-Help!” as she galloped hard back towards the train. Her hooves beat hard against her body as another roar of flames bellowed up from behind. “Help!” She shouted again, her brain unable to keep up with the what was going on. She wished to shout something more useful, but nothing else came to mind.

Maud’s and Spike’s heads shot up at once and saw the charcoal monster closing in on Derpy. Spike, having overheard the discussion between Twilight and Chrysalis, and also Scootaloo’s account, knew exactly what that was. “S-Sun Flare . . .” he whispered.

“What?” Maud asked.

“Sun Flare!” Spike shouted, and when Derpy leapt on over to them, Spike merely added, “Run!”

Maud scooped up Spike onto her back, darting around a flipped over train car as the Sun Flare fired off another round of magically charged fire. The earth pony dodged out of the way, hurtling behind the nearest train car with Derpy. She glanced back finding Spike dazed but alright. “What do we do?” Maud asked.

Spike didn’t respond, only pointed. Maud turned in time to see a wall of metal melting. Not from fire, but instead melted from the Sun Flare passing through car like a ghost. Its black, charcoal body scalded the walls of the train car, peeling the metal back.

Forced to abandon their hiding spot, Maud galloped with Derpy back around to the other side of the car. She hurried back over, mind racing with what to do.

“Look out!” Derpy cried and shoved Maud to the side. An inferno passed between them.

“Your bag!” Spike cried out, beating out a small flame that had spread onto Maud’s satchel. She looked back in time to find some of her hornfels and other supplies dropping out of the holes burned into the pockets.

There has to be something! Maud cursed to herself. She hated this helpless feeling of running and dodging over and over. Her sister was in danger for Celestia’s sake, not to mention Derpy and Spike. She was not about to be beaten here, not when they’d traveled so far already. “How do we fight it?”

“I-I don’t know! We never figured that part out!”

Then we’ll fight fire with fire. Maud thought, and then turning to Spike, she said, “If I get close, can you breathe fire on it?”

“Y-Yeah I think so but . . . will that even work?”

Maud glanced up and saw the thing hovering down towards them, trying to cut off their escape route. “It’s worth a try.” She said.

Spike nodded and held on as Maud galloped full force towards the Sun Flare. The thing’s eyeless face seemed to mock them with how it waited. Was this a trap? Maud had no way of knowing. Please, let this work! Maud prayed and pulled up just shy of the Sun Flare.

Spike stood up on Maud’s back and with a quick inhale, he exhaled a wave of green fire onto the creature. The blaze engulfed the Sun Flare, thick black smoke billowing up from where it’d once stood. When the dragon could no longer keep his flame going, he extinguished his breath and watched with Maud and an approaching Derpy for any signs of the beast.

“D-Did it work?” Derpy carefully asked, finally joining the other two.

“I-I don’t know.” Spike said, and he leaned in on Maud’s shoulder to get a better look. The smoke had piled so thick that they couldn’t make out whether or not the creature was still standing. Just for precautionary sake though, Maud took a few steps back. If this was a trick, then she didn’t want to be face first with another blast of that fiery hell.

A glow of green eventually shone through the smoke. The three watched in horror as the Sun Flare hovered through smoke, unscathed from Spike’s blast. “N-Now what?” the dragon asked.

“Uhhh guys . . .” Derpy said, and when the two turned around, they found another Sun Flare staring at them.

“A distraction.” Maud said. The first one didn’t attack so the other could sneak up and pin them down. How had she not realized this?

“What do we do?” Sweat poured down the pegasus’ face. She’d spent so much energy running from one, she doubted she had enough strength to run from two of them.

Silence was the only response. No pony had an answer. Spike couldn’t just breathe out his fire again, not without opening themselves up to an attack from the other. Not to mention the fact that it didn’t seem to have any effect. Maud didn’t have anything up her sleeves. And if she did, she probably lost it through the new hole in her satchel. Derpy, well, she was just praying someone else had an idea.

The horns of each of the Sun flares lit up with magical energy. Both of them preparing another attack, one that would finish off the trio. Maud snuggled up close with the other two. There was nowhere to run from this. Feeling Spike clinging to her leg, and Derpy’s good wing wrapped around her back, Maud closed her eyes as the dark green magic burst out from each of the monsters’ horns.

Nothing. Maud waited. Still, nothing. No impact. No burning. No screaming. The earth pony blinked her eyes open and found the three of them surrounded in a dark blue, magical barrier. Maud took one step towards it and a voice echoed, “Stay put!”

She turned towards Derpy and Spike who both were equally confused.

“Over there!” Spike shouted and pointed at a hooded figure chasing around the Sun Flares.

Maud stared after the figure, the pony she assumed, who was deflecting the blasts of magic with spells of their own. Fire reigned down from the sky as one of the Sun Flares blasted down at the figure, while the other dodged around them.

The figure only stood and threw down some form of pellets. The pellets exploded into bursts of thick smoke. The smoke screen provided enough cover for the cloaked pony to safely evade the attacks of the two Sun Flares.

Maud, along with the others were lost in a stupor when their barrier suddenly vanished. Before anyone could so much as mention it, the cloaked pony appeared before them. “Quickly, we must go!” She said. It was certainly a she.

Lifting the three up with magic, Maud had only the opportunity to ask, “Where?”

“Away from here,” was her response. And with a loud CRACK of the pony’s magic, the four of them vanished out of the Sun Flares’ deadly reach. Gone.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! I'm terribly sorry for the delay with this chapter! The past month was a bit of a busy one for me, not to mention I ran into some writer's block and other issues with this chapter. That being said though, I have been looking forward to posting this chapter for such a long time, I'm really excited to finally have it available to you. I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story! Thank you all so much for reading!