Sunken Horizons

by Goldenwing

XXX: Of Revelations

The walk out of Shaper’s domain was quiet.

His thralls escorted Twilight and Midnight to the winding stairwell at the bottom of the Spire, their eyes like dim, flickering lanterns as they moved between the scars of the ancient battle that had ended the world. Neither mare said anything, but Twilight could feel her dark passenger deep in thought. Her own thoughts felt sluggish and distant, trickling over her like water from a frozen stream. Her hooves moved of their own accord as she descended the dark, winding crystal stairs to the enchanted door of black wood, where the ebony gem affixed at its peak stared back at her impassively.

It didn’t confront her with nightmares and visions this time; it swung open silently as she approached, and clicked shut behind her with a quiet thud that echoed with a heavy finality. Twilight leaned back against it and looked out at the smothering darkness that waited just a few steps away from her flickering horn.

There was a moment, between breaths, where she felt the true terrifying weight of everything. The irreversible corruption of her own soul, the faith of her friends depending on her to make things right, Celestia’s ultimate failure, and the deal she had struck with the malevolent entity that no doubt would betray her as soon as it could. Her chest tightened as she imagined herself delivering Luna to Shaper’s throne room, watching as he ate her corruption, broke free, and then went on to consume Midnight. She saw an image of mutated crystal ponies turning on her friends, dragging them out of their rooms as they slept and enslaving them with the same dark magic that had brought Equestria to its knees. It all bore down on her at once with a dread so deep she felt the breath catch in her throat.

Then she breathed out, stood up, and started up the smooth crystal steps at a determined trot. The weight was gone, replaced with a purposeful energy.

We need a plan. She kept her eyes forward, but Midnight always lingered at the edge of her vision, appearing behind every curve. We can’t trust Shaper, and we need to be ready for him to betray us.

You were very upset when he misunderstood you.

Huh?

When he thought you were offering me to trade. You were upset. There was a deliberateness to the way she spoke.

Oh. Well, I was upset. Twilight shook her head as she tried to recover her train of thought. We know that Shaper can’t hurt us, at least when we’re well rested, but he might be able to after feeding on Luna. Maybe we could use the crystal shard Cadance left us to weaken him? But he’d be able to feel it, surely, and he’d know we were planning something.

Midnight didn’t respond for several seconds. I found it interesting that Shaper was created by his host. Intentionally.

Twilight’s brow furrowed. Yes, I suppose. I can’t imagine why he’d put himself through that. She let out a thoughtful hum, watching her reflection in the crystal as she walked. It was hard to see the bags under her eyes when they were framed with old bloodstains. Do you think there’s a fundamental difference between Shaper and other wyrds? We know that Celestia was nearly able to dominate him, so perhaps anyone strong enough could? And there seems to be other facets to his magic as well. Could we learn those ourselves?

You can’t imagine it? Midnight appeared on the steps in front of her, head cocked. Yet the threat of losing me angered you.

Twilight drew up short, looking up and meeting Midnight’s eyes. They were wide and curious. Nervous.

What are you talking about?

Shaper implied he would destroy me, Midnight said. Her lips moved as she spoke, but in a poor and ill-timed imitation of speech. And you were angry. You told him to never bring it up again.

Of course I did. Twilight walked through her with only a slight stumble, quickly returning to her brisk pace. But right now we need to—

Midnight was in front of her again. “What are we, Twilight?”

Twilight frowned, finally coming to a stop. The question took her off guard, and she answered almost without thinking, reluctant to let go of her previous thoughts. “Well, we’re friends, right? That’s how I like to think of us, at least.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Midnight huffed and began to circle her, walking first over empty air on one side, then through the reflective surface of the crystal on the other.

Twilight followed Midnight with her head for a moment before starting back up the steps. “There’s a lot on my mind right now. Can you be clearer?”

Midnight let out a low growl, hunching her shoulders and lowering her head, but didn’t stop her ghostly pacing. They climbed in silence for several seconds, the tangible buzz of consternation coming from Midnight’s mind making it difficult for Twilight to focus. Just as Twilight began to put the odd questions behind her—reasoning that Midnight would try again whenever she was ready—her thoughts were interrupted again.

“What do I mean to you?”

That was an easy one. Twilight offered a sincere smile, answering without breaking stride. “I just told you, Midnight. You’re my friend.”

“Rainbow Dash is your friend,” Midnight pressed. “Is that the same as what we are?”

Twilight’s smile widened. “Of course.”

“But it’s not the same!” Midnight appeared in front of her, appearing to slide backwards up the stairs without moving her legs. “Not even close!”

“A friend is a friend, Midnight,” Twilight said patiently.

“No matter what?” Midnight stayed squarely in the center of Twilight’s vision, forcing her to try and lean around her to see the stairs. “You forged your bond with Rainbow Dash when you faced the Nightmare together, but you only knew me when I had to fight you for control of our body! You’ve known her for a year, but we’ve been together only a month! And every time you grew frustrated or upset with her foalishness you would retreat to your home to rest, but you can’t do that with me, can you? We’re trapped together, ceaselessly!”

Twilight slowed to a stop, looking to Midnight with a cock of her head. “Midnight? Have you been studying my friendships?”

“That doesn’t matter!” Midnight snapped. “How can these partnerships be the same when so much is different between them?”

“Okay, so they aren’t exactly the same,” Twilight admitted. She paused, measuring her words carefully. “But just because every friendship is unique doesn’t mean any one is less or more important! Both of you are still my friends.”

Midnight stared back at her, her fanged, bloody mouth hanging open for several seconds. “What about best friends?”

Twilight blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Some friends are greater than others, are they not? You call many ponies friends, but it is only your five closest that you think of as best friends.” Midnight leaned in. “You say your friendship with Rainbow Dash is alike to your friendship with me. So are we best friends?”

“We are… very good friends,” Twilight said uncertainly. She resumed trotting up the stairs, stumbling only slightly as she walked through Midnight. “We don’t have time for me to explain this fully. We still haven’t come up with a plan for Shaper.”

“Shaper is a rat bound to the bottom of a pit,” Midnight said dismissively. “He isn’t going anywhere.”

“But these questions are, apparently?” Twilight asked drily, shooting an exasperated look at Midnight. “Aren’t you always saying we need to focus on what matters?”

“This does matter!” Midnight snapped.

“Does it?” Twilight demanded, quickening her pace. “Does it matter more than keeping Shaper contained? More than waking up Luna and curing the corruption?”

“It’s more important to me!”

Twilight let out a guttural groan. “We’re friends, Midnight! I’m closer to you everyday than I’ve ever been to another pony in my entire life! Isn’t that enough?!”

“No! I need to know what we are!” Midnight stomped an ethereal hoof, causing one of Twilight’s hooves to slam down against the crystal in sympathy. “I must know where we stand! Tell me!”

Twilight planted her hooves and jerked to a stop, turning back with half a mind to start running down—anything to find some peace—but Midnight was right behind her. “What do you want? What exactly do you want me to do?!”

“Answer the question!” Midnight shouted.

Twilight sucked in a deep breath, pouring all her stress and anxiety into her response. “I don’t know the answer!”

Her chest heaved as she stared down at Midnight, who stared back at her with her jaw hanging half-open. She counted to ten as she waited, eyes wide, leaning in in expectation of some other unanswerable question to be piled on top of everything else she had to deal with, but none came.

She turned sharply, starting back up the stairs, and was relieved when Midnight opted to hover next to her instead of blocking the path. Twilight wasn’t sure how long they spent in silence. She kept trying to focus on Shaper, on Luna—on anything—but her thoughts slipped away half-formed, dissolving into the fretful buzz occupying her mind and the fluttering nerves in her chest.

Finally Midnight spoke, her voice quiet and plaintive. “You can find out.”

“No, I can’t.” Twilight kept her eyes forward.

“Why not?”

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. The crystal steps were perfectly spaced apart, and her hooves moved on their own as she struggled to keep her voice steady. “I know you’re inexperienced with this kind of thing, Midnight, but some questions have answers that can’t be found through careful study. Think of all the things you’ve learned since Canterlot. Not about the past or the world, but about yourself.” She opened her eyes again, trying to keep her voice steady. “Those weren’t simple questions either, were they?”

There was another long silence. “But I found the answers.”

“Yes, you did!” Twilight snapped. “Over weeks, with days of uneventful travel where you did nothing but sit in my head and poke fun at me and insult everything in sight! You didn’t have me constantly demanding explanations of your nature while we were fighting the crystal spiders, did you?” She huffed, reining herself in again. “Everyone is depending on me, Midnight. All my friends are out there thinking, ‘Twilight will fix it,’ ‘Twilight will know what to do.’ Even I’m thinking it!” She threw her head back with a bitter laugh. “You don’t feel it, the stress, the expectations, the weight. You have your simple little world of monsters and friends and your insane confidence that you’ll always win, but I don't!”

“That’s not—” Midnight interrupted herself with a frustrated snarl. “You know our nature! You expect me to just not question it?”

Twilight worked her jaw side to side. “Question what?”

“Am I here forever? Do I have a place here?” Midnight hesitated, her next words coming out in a rush. “Do you want me?”

Twilight stopped. She turned to face Midnight fully, her anger fading. “Those are—” she grimaced, ears drooping “—really complicated questions.”

Midnight’s bloodshot eyes flicked back and forth. “But you can answer them.”

Twilight shook her head. “I can’t do that right now.”

“Then when?”

“I don’t know.”

“When will you know?”

“I don’t know that either!”

“But why not?”

“I just don’t!” Twilight snapped, her anger coming back in a sudden rush. “Why can’t you just drop this?”

“Because I need to know!” Midnight brought her hooves up to grab Twilight’s cheeks, the ethereal touch brushing over her face with a warm numbness. “I need to know right now!”

“Why right now?!” Twilight stepped back, out of reach. “You didn’t need to know yesterday, or any day before that! Why is it so important to you to get this answer right now?!”

“Because I don’t understand us anymore!” Midnight cried, and her voice echoed in Twilight’s mind with enough force to make her wince. “What are we?! I used to know! I was feared, hated, unwanted, but I was the only thing that could save you from your own feeble doubts! I had accepted that place! I was ready to face the moment that one of us would succumb to the other!” She turned away with a flick of her tail, stomping into the crystal wall and replacing Twilight’s reflection. “But then you came to accept me! You try to teach me! You defend me! When you’re offered a chance to be rid of me, you answer not with relief, but with fury!”

She turned back, fixing Twilight with a wide-eyed glare. “Shaper was the first of my kind, created by Sombra millenia ago to fill a purpose, and even now they seek to destroy one another! What happens if we stop fighting? What—are—we?!”

Twilight shook her head, looking up and spotting the top of the stairs. A slab of smooth black crystal seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction, and she could just make out the faint outline of arcane runes engraved into its surface. “None of that matters, Midnight.” She took a step forward. “We have a job to do.”

A wave of emotion struck Twilight, filling her chest with a sudden intense pain that brought her to her knees. She gasped, straightening up, and actually looked at Midnight.

Her hair was a mess, hanging down and framing her face in frayed, bloody ropes. The red stains that ran down her cheeks were glistening with fresh tears, and her fanged teeth were clenched tight enough to make her jaw shudder with every breath. Her nostrils flared and she raised a hoof as if to run or charge, then set it back down a moment later, opening her mouth only to let out a wordless growl.

“I’m sorry.” Twilight pushed herself back to her hooves, struggling to form words past the tangled waves of emotion spilling out over her connection to Midnight. “It does matter.”

Midnight squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head and turning away.

“I’ll make you a promise, okay?” Twilight licked her lips, rushing forward to pull Midnight into a hug. She felt her own hooves wrap around her shoulders, her own chest heaving with strained breath. “I can’t answer your questions right now, not with so much else on my mind. But if you can help me figure out how to deal with Shaper together, the very first moment we get to relax, we’ll sit down and find the answers. You and me. Promise?”

Midnight didn’t respond, but she didn’t break the hug. A strong shudder passed through Twilight’s body.

“Please?” Twilight’s brow furrowed, and after a moment of silence, she tried a different approach. “I can’t face Shaper on my own.”

Midnight vanished. Twilight’s hooves fell to the ground and she turned in place, searching, but she saw only plain crystal and empty shadow. The stress and pain that had brought her to her knees faded as quickly as it appeared, and for a moment, she couldn’t feel Midnight’s presence at all, and she was afraid.

When she completed the circle, she saw Midnight standing at the top of the steps. Her mane was pulled back into place and the bloodstains on her cheeks were dark and dry. The crystal rumbled as a door opened above her, letting in a flurry of snow and the warm red flickers of firelight.

You’re right. You could never face Shaper on your own. Midnight looked down with a haughty glare. There was a moment where the mask cracked, giving Twilight a glimpse of something softer underneath, and then Midnight turned away, jerking her head towards the open doorway. You need me, little flower.

Twilight blinked, taking a wary step forward. Midnight remained still, flicking her tail in the same impatient display Twilight had seen a hundred times before.

She let out a breath of relief, a small smile tugging at her lips as she passed Midnight and came out onto the windswept peak of the tower she’d begun her descent from. The crystal ponies were gone and the fur curtains were drawn back, revealing the glow of the approaching dawn to the east. The door slid shut behind her with the grinding of crystal on crystal, and Twilight saw Midnight looking out over the icy lake surrounding the city with an imperious frown.

Yes, she said, her smile widening. I really do.

---

Rainbow Dash let out a loud belch, frowning at the surreal aftertaste of blood soup that followed. It felt like she’d been nursing the same bowl for hours, taking little sips between rounds of storytelling and dancing. The crystal ponies seemed amused at her struggle; they kept proposing toasts, leaving her surrounded by smirking hunters that would watch her from the corners of their eyes as they downed the drink from hefty crystal goblets, and she’d grin back, push down the steadily increasing queasiness in her gut, and then take a little sip.

Not that she wasn’t up to the challenge! She’d made a bet with Star Trails that she’d be able to finish a full bowl before dawn, and she wasn’t going to back down.

The warmhall had been eerily silent after Twilight said her goodbyes and followed Ametrine out into the icy cold night. Every pony stood still with their eyes raised toward the ceiling, where old yak hides stretched out across bone struts served as a macabre canvas for drawings of great hunts and heroes from their past. Even the foals took part, though they couldn’t resist the urge to twitch their hooves or bump playfully into their friends with poorly concealed grins. Rainbow, Applejack, and Star Trails were left exchanging awkward looks among themselves, each unwilling to break the silence.

Finally, the sound of crystal grinding against crystal announced Ametrine’s return, and she gave a solemn nod as she smiled down over the gathered ponies. The cheers and stomping that answered her were enough to make Rainbow’s teeth chatter.

The hours passed quickly after that as the mares bounced from circle to circle, each one draping new trinkets and jewelries over their shoulders, shoving new meals into their hooves—a few of which were even vegetarian—and continuing to welcome them profusely to their little village. Calloused hunters asked after Rainbow’s and Applejack’s scars and told the stories of how they’d earned their own markings, wide-eyed foals asked endless questions about the warmer world to the south—completely unphased whenever Rainbow had to shrug and explain that she really had no clue as to how their airship worked, or how the islands floated, or why chickens laid eggs—and at one point Rainbow lost track of Star Trails only to find her an hour later, deeply engrossed in a conversation with an old mare about the stars and comparing the constellations used by the crystal ponies and the Equestrians for navigation.

But there was still that little jittery anxiety lingering in Rainbow’s wings. She couldn’t ignore it no matter how many stories she told or jokes she heard or glittering crystals were woven into her mane. Every now and then she’d have a moment to herself and she’d turn, hoping to see Twilight approaching with a bowl of soup, a fanged smile and a story about how she’d found the thing they needed to save Equestria. How long would it take her to return, she wondered? How long before she should go down after her?

Rainbow hated waiting.

Finally the celebration began to wind down. Tired foals were picked up or guided back to the little tents where they slept in circles around burning braziers while adults scrubbed at dishes with little hoof-sized balls of coarse yak fur. Many of the elders had dozed off in their seats around the glowing crystal pipes that hummed quietly in the center of the room, though some stayed up and continued to reminisce, ensuring no drink went to waste. Rainbow stood off to the side with Applejack and Star Trails near the big crystal doors that led back outside.

“This place is amazing!” Trails grinned like a filly in a candy store as she looked out over the chamber. “You know, I’ve read stories about little holdouts like this, islands that remained isolated for centuries longer than the others and developed their own unique cultures. I never thought I’d get to discover one myself!”

“Yeah, it sure is somethin’.” Applejack shook her head, a wistful look in her eye. “Reckon this is what Twilight felt like when she stumbled on my family reunion.”

“Do you think she’s okay?” Rainbow asked, glancing up to the smaller door, set halfway up into the far side of the chamber, that Twilight had been led through.

“Try and relax, RD.” Applejack draped a comforting leg over her shoulder and pulled her into a sideways hug. “Y’all’ve been strung up like a cat in a henhouse all night. Who knows when we’ll get a chance like this again, ya hear?”

Rainbow rolled her eye, but leaned into the hug. “It’d be better if we were all together.” She pursed her lips, looking towards Trails. “How long do you think Sabre’ll wait?”

Trails cocked her head. “What do you mean? She may have issues with you two, but I know she wouldn’t leave me here.”

“No, I mean, what if Twilight doesn’t show up for a week? Or a month?” Rainbow said. “How long until Sabre decides she’s wasting her time and tries to sell Luna off again?”

“Oh.” Trails grimaced, looking away and scratching at the floor. “I dunno, Dash. Sabre’s under a lot of pressure right now. She’s probably just as nervous as you are, y’know, even if she doesn’t show it.” She blinked, ears perking up. “Though it looks like we won’t have to wait.”

Rainbow followed her gaze, letting out a small gasp as she spotted Twilight standing on the balcony Ametrine had used to tell the first story of the feast. She had stepped back from the ledge, far enough that the crystal ponies, who had all either retired to their tents or were gathered towards the middle of the room, couldn’t see her.

Twilight met Rainbow’s gaze for a brief moment, her expression distant and pensive. It was a face Rainbow recognized well, the same one that the studious unicorn often wore when she was dragged away from whatever project she’d spent three days straight on and forced to attend some activity with her friends. It took concentrated effort to snap her out of that daze, and usually even then she’d only offer up a quick smile and token response, maybe a minute of conversation, before withdrawing back into her reverie.

Twilight offered a small smile. Her horn glowed, and she vanished with a quiet pop.

“Wait!” Rainbow said, too late. She flared her wings, ignoring the curious looks from the crystal ponies, and turned to Applejack. “Where’d she go?”

“Hay if I’d know, RD,” Applejack said, brow furrowing under her hat. “Maybe she’s concerned about disturbin’ the crystal ponies by showin’ back up? I kinda figured they thought she was goin’ on a one-way trip.”

“Maybe she went back to the Argo?” Trails suggested. “That would be a logical place to meet us, right?”

“Yeah! Good idea!” Rainbow jumped into the air, shoving one of the heavy crystal doors open with a grunt of effort and a few powerful wingbeats. A thin flurry of snow filtered inside, carrying the pale blue light of dawn. “I’ll go find her!”

“Whoa, RD, hold up!”

Rainbow was already out into the open air. She grinned as the cold wind nipped at her cheeks, pumping her wings and putting on speed as she angled herself toward the silhouette of the Argo. It was loitering a respectful—or perhaps cautious—distance to the east, appearing to float just above the sun as it crested the horizon and highlighted the icy landscape with meandering rivers of silver. Her pulse quickened from the sudden activity, the familiar burn of her muscles driving her on.

It took her barely thirty seconds to reach the ship, zipping up underneath it and landing lightly on top of the docked submarine. The wind tugged at her mane as she spun the wheel on the hatch and jumped inside, pulling it shut inside her and letting out a shivering breath as a last breeze of cold air swirled around her hooves.

“Twilight?” Rainbow looked up and down the hall before trotting towards the cargo hold, the floor’s metal plating rattling underhoof. She raised her voice, trying again. “Twi, you here?”

The heavy doors to the cargo hold parted before her with a hiss of steam, and Rainbow jumped inside with wings twitching, ready to fly a circuit of the hold if necessary to find her friend. There was no need, however; Twilight’s head was poking out past the curtain door of her room, watching as she approached.

“Hey, Rainbow,” she said, fangs showing with another smile. “I’m glad you came.” She held the curtain open, beckoning with a jerk of her head.

“You couldn’t have waited for me to catch up back there?” Rainbow asked, stepping into the little room. She saw Princess Luna asleep on Twilight’s bed, and an old bedroll neatly squared away on a corner of the floor currently occupied by Twilight’s weird crystal spider pet. It clicked its jaws in greeting. “What’s going on?”

“Sorry.” Twilight let the curtain fall and stepped over to her desk, horn coming to life. A few old books floated up off the tarnished tin surface and slipped into her saddlebags. Her mane seemed to glow as she plucked the jewelry the crystal ponies had given her out of her hair, setting them down in a pile along with several bracelets and necklaces. “We don’t know how the crystal ponies will react if they see us, and I didn’t want to take the risk.”

“Us?” Rainbow frowned, catching the way that Twilight stiffened briefly. “What’d you find out? Or do you want to wait for AJ first?”

Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes, shaking her head. “I don’t really think there’s time to explain it all. Not well enough, at least. But look, I think I’ve found a way to wake up Luna.” She turned to the sleeping alicorn, the lavender glow of her magic wrapping around her body. “But I have to do it myself. It’s too dangerous for you girls to go down there, almost even too dangerous for me.” She paused, pursing her lips, and looked away before saying in a quieter tone. “It shouldn’t take me long.”

“You’re leaving again?” Rainbow grabbed her shoulder, trying to catch her eye. “Twi, come on! At least tell me what you’re doing! How long will you be gone? What do we do if you don’t come back?”

Twilight looked over, meeting Rainbow’s eye for just an instant before turning away again. In that moment Rainbow saw through the calm, confident facade her friend was putting on. She seemed to sway briefly where she stood as if struggling to hold up some great weight, her eyes darting about, focused on distant, looming threats that only she could see.

She sucked in a shaky breath, closing her eyes, and when she opened them again the moment was gone.

“I’ll be back,” she said.

Her horn burst into light, and Rainbow drew her leg back with a yelp as a sudden burst of magic energy crackled against her hoof. Twilight was gone again, and this time she’d taken Luna with her.

“T-Twilight!” Rainbow called, looking around as loose papers fluttered in the wake of the teleportation. She grimaced as she turned in place, jaw clenching, that old feeling of helplessness rearing its ugly head once more.

She hated that feeling. She wished it were as easy to kill as a pony.

She trotted back out into the cargo hold, grinding her teeth and flicking her tail. She opened her mouth to call Twilight’s name again, then shut it with an angry growl. What was the point? Twilight wasn’t there anymore.

Rainbow stomped back through the cargo hold door, intending to fly back down to tell Applejack what had happened, only to draw up short as she turned a corner and came face to face with Sea Sabre.

“Rainbow Dash.” Sabre’s frown deepened ever so slightly. “I left Trails a radio for when the feast was done.”

“Sorry.” Rainbow stepped around her. “I was just leaving.”

“I heard you calling Twilight’s name,” Sabre said, stopping her in place. “Is she back?”

Rainbow considered her answer for a long moment. Her brow furrowed as she shook her head, pushing out a bitter, “No.”

She was glad that Sabre didn’t push the matter. Within a minute Rainbow had made her way back through the hatch, jumped down past the docked submarine into the open air, and settled into a steep glide down to the crystal tower.

Applejack and Star Trails were already standing outside when she landed on the outcropping of crystal that jutted out from the tower. They stood close together, near the wall, sharing the heat of their bodies and protected from the wind by the tower’s bulk.

“Did ya find her?” Applejack called, adjusting her hat with a hoof.

“I did. Not that it matters,” Rainbow growled darkly. She sat opposite Applejack and tossed her mane. “She took Luna and disappeared again!”

“Whoa, she took Luna?” Trails asked, looking between the two. “Where?”

“I dunno! Back into the Spire, I guess!” Rainbow spat. “She didn’t explain anything! She keeps talking about ‘we’ and ‘us’, but she wouldn’t tell me what she was doing!”

Applejack let out a quiet grunt. “Maybe she ain’t meanin’ the same ‘we’ y’all think she’s meanin’.”

There was a moment of silence. Rainbow’s brow furrowed, her frustration giving way to confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, she’s still got that thing in her head, don’t she? She’s even named it. What’d ya reckon the odds are that maybe it’s more in control than we think?” Applejack grimaced. “Heck, maybe it’s even taken control altogether and was only pretendin’ to be our Twi.”

“That—no. No!” Rainbow gave a forceful shake of her head. “There’s no way!”

“I mean,” Trails started slowly, “that changeling probably could’ve tricked us into thinking it was Sunfeather if we weren’t on guard already.”

Rainbow blinked, her mouth opening and closing twice before she could find her voice. “That was different! You said yourself you don’t really know Sunfeather, but Twilight’s my best friend! We would know if some changeling tried to replace her!”

“But we ain’t talkin’ about just a changeling,” Applejack said. “Truth is, sugar cube, we don’t even really know what we might be up against.”

A gust of wind blew past, stirring snow around their hooves and sending a shiver through Rainbow’s body. She didn’t know what to say. She’d been concerned before that Twilight might have been… different when they reunited, but once the moment had come all her fears had melted away. Twilight was a little different, maybe even a lot different, but she was still Twilight.

Right?

“Huh.” Trails stepped past her, head cocked as she focused on something behind her. “Is that…?”

Rainbow turned, following the unicorn’s gaze. A small dark spot was cresting the horizon, silhouetted by the sun. She raised a wing to shade her face as she squinted towards it, trying to gauge its shape.

“That looks like a ship,” Trails said. “Definitely a ship.”

“But what would a ship be doin’ all the way up here?” Applejack asked, coming up on Rainbow’s left.

They watched in confused silence for a moment as the shape grew bigger, widening out into a pair of smooth ships’ envelopes. A slender metal hull was suspended between them, pushed along by a trio of propellers placed in a triangle on the rear. A second ship began to crest the horizon behind it, but Rainbow was still focused on the first one, trying to identify the strange protrusion on its deck.

“This can’t be good,” Trails said. She raised a hoof to her ear, where a small radio headset was tucked away, half hidden by her mane. “Argo, Trails. Contact south, two ships, far.” Her horn glowed, brow furrowing in concentration, and then her eyes shot wide open. “Oh, fuck!”

“What?” Rainbow asked, looking between the unicorn and the steadily approaching airships. “What’s wrong?”

“That thing has a gun on it!” Trails shouted. She tapped her radio again, rushing through her words. “Argo, evade, evade! Armed ships, south!”

Rainbow’s pulse quickened, her wings flaring up uncertainly at the sudden distress in Trails’ voice. There was a flash of light from the first airship, and she caught a brief burst of movement, barely perceptible but for the snow flurrying in front of it.

Seconds later, an explosion erupted above her. Rainbow yelped, throwing herself to the ground and covering her head as a wave of heat washed down over her back. Chunks of crystal rained down around her, bouncing with sharp cracks and pings that made her ears ring, and a distant roll of thunder rumbled through the air.

“Rainbow, AJ, get back inside!” Trails hauled Rainbow up off the ground with a grunt, turning to help Applejack up next.

Rainbow looked up, blinking in shock at the smoke curling around a huge crack in the side of the tower above her. Black scorch marks stained the crystal, small shards glittering in the dawning light as they spiraled down around her. “What’s happening?”

“Remember that bounty on our heads?” Trails quipped, pushing her into the motion. “I don’t know how they found us, but someone’s come to collect!”

---

The sun crested the horizon. Rarity’s chest felt tight.

The ship was silent, loitering low over the quietly rippling waters of Leviathan Wakes. Rarity was crouched near the prow, layers of folded canvas soaked in saltwater stacked neatly beside her. She felt like pacing, but she felt frozen in place.

Fluttershy and Brownie were lying on their bellies behind her, the bear’s chuffing breath tickling at her tail. A dozen Wakers shuffled over the ship’s sides, clambering down the netting cast over the railing. They dropped down onto the floating wood walkways of the oceanborne city with hesitant whispers, several laden down with heavy bolt cutters, hacksaws, and tarnished metal tanks connected to short hoses. Others carried spears, rifles, and bags of makeshift firebombs, fanning out to form a protective circle around their comrades.

Pinkie Pie rolled up behind her, leaning into her side in a quick hug. Her wheels, normally stirring a loud racket wherever they went, were unusually quiet. She had full saddlebags hanging from her flanks, colorful tongues of ribbon sticking out past the closed flaps.

“Be careful, darling,” Rarity whispered. “You know you can still stay on the ship with us.”

Pinkie answered her with a small, warm smile. “We’ll get them all this time, Rares. Boop.” Her hoof tapped against the tip of Rarity’s nose. She rolled backwards towards the railing before turning, hauling herself over the edge with a quick grunt and climbing down to join the Wakers waiting below.

The ship’s engines spun up, and the wind played with Rarity’s mane. It was dawn, and that meant Philomena would be waking up soon.

Philomena. Rarity had seen the phoenix up close only once, and most of that time the mythical bird had been on the verge of death. She’d had a single glimpse of her in her prime, freshly reforged from the ashes of her own funeral pyre, majestic and proud. She’d had a chance to hold her then, to pet and admire her. She could still distinctly remember the strange sensation of touching phoenix feathers; hot like beach sand on the summer solstice, yet soothing like a cold stream. It had filled her with awe, to touch a creature so ancient and powerful, that chirped as if she were enjoying some joke, flitted through the sky with the speed and elegance of the wind, but would slow and relax when ponies came close, as if taking care not to inadvertently hurt them.

Twilight had spoken of screaming lances of fire that could boil through solid stone. The Wakers spoke of the phoenix like a demon that left only ashes in its wake. And Rarity herself had seen the light of her passage through the water, heard her chilling wail.

And now here she was looking to draw that creature’s ire, and all she had to defend herself was wet canvas.

Maybe she really was crazy.

The ship drifted over the city with the sun to its back. Now that it was day, Rarity had a much clearer view of the shattered wreckage and faded bloodstains. There were no bodies, though eddies of dark red swirled through the water, swaying on the waves.

“Alright, ponies!” Jester walked the length of the ship, casting her gaze over the ponies left to crew it. Several were on the lower levels, Rarity knew, operating the engine or watching the merchant crew being held captive. The ones on the deck were spread out around the edges with harpoon guns and spears, with one stony-faced mare behind the trio of wheels used to steer. “I’m not the type for a speech, and there’s no time for that, besides! Let’s make some noise so those poor souls on the float can get those chains cut!”

The response was immediate. The Wakers each lifted a hoof and stomped, then again, raising a rumbling racket that soon solidified into a rhythmic, metallic ringing. Barrels of improvised explosives were set alight and then pushed over the railing, splashing down into the water before detonating with muffled thumps, throwing up great gouts of reddish, salty water that rained back down on Rarity. Spears and tools were beat against the railing like drumsticks, lending a jittery, higher-pitched rattle to the cacophony that made Rarity’s ears flatten against her head while the vibrations of the stomping traveled up her hooves. Even the airship itself joined in, its engine spinning up until its buzzing propellers sent frothy waves through the water just a few meters below.

A shrill, warbling wail cut through the noise. Rarity looked down over the railing and spotted the pale white star of Philomena soaring through the water, getting brighter every second.

“She’s coming!” Rarity called, shouting to be heard over the din. Her words were taken up and echoed by the Wakers, traveling the length of the ship as they continued their stomping. Jester barked a command to the helmsmare, and the ship hummed into motion, pushed through the sky by its heavy propellers.

There was a flash of light beneath them, and a spray of water that glittered in the dawn sun as a beacon of blinding white light floated up in front of the ship, rainbows bending and twisting in its glowing halo. Rarity flinched away from the painful brightness, stepping back, and an ethereal birdsong rang through the air with enough force to make her pin her ears down against her head in fright, trying to block it out.

“Fire! Fire!” The call bounced across the ship in a dozen different voices, followed by the staccato report of muskets and the stinging acrid scent of smoke. The birdsong shifted into a piercing screech, and Rarity fell backwards as a wave of heat passed over her, making her cry out in alarm.

The light flew over her with a singing wail. Rarity cracked an eye open and looked back just in time to see one of the Wakers drop her musket and scream before the star flew straight into her and then arced back into the open sky, leaving only ashes and burning clothes in its wake.

Rarity’s heart pounded, her breath coming in quick gasps. She thought back to another night, the last time she’d felt this prickling heat that made her mane blacken and dry, when Twilight had lost herself to her corruption and unleashed her magical assault upon Altalusia. She remembered running through that burning field of smoke, stepping over dark stains that had once been ponies, and for the first time truly realized just how much devastating power Philomena wielded. And unlike on Altalusia, where she’d been confident that Twilight was still there even in the grip of her anger, this time the shrieking magic creature in the sky had no care for her nor anyone on the ship; it would kill them all and leave nothing but ashes and a sinking wreck.

What in Celestia was she doing? What had she gotten herself into? Philomena banked through the sky like a deadly shooting star, now seemingly coming straight towards her.

“Rarity!” Fluttershy stepped in front of her, blocking out the deadly light. It bloomed around her flared wings, framing her in an almost divine glow. “Rarity, the sails!”

Rarity blinked. Fluttershy’s voice was so strong, with no stutter or hesitation. “W-what?”

“The sails!” she repeated, grabbing Rarity’s cheeks and leaning in. She spoke slowly and clearly, staring into her eyes. “We need you to use your magic! Now!”

Rarity frowned, briefly confused, then flinched as Philomena flashed across the deck a second time, a pair of ponies jumping to the side with panicked shouts as the stallion standing between them vanished in a flare of heat.

A rough hoof grabbed her shoulder, and Rarity’s head was tugged to the side. She found herself face-to-face with Jester, glaring down at her with a snarl framed in ash.

“Get on your fuckin’ hooves, mare!” she shouted, pulling Rarity up off the ground. She forcefully turned her towards the ship’s right, where the killing star was spinning gracefully through the sky and back towards them. “Do what you promised or I’ll shoot you myself!”

She finished the command with a sharp slap across Rarity’s cheek, the sting of pain finally breaking through her stupor. The memory of Altalusia was replaced with the present, with the ponies on the ship around her bravely firing their weapons at a demon they knew they had no chance of defeating. A demon they’d come to face once more, with the promise that she would use her magic to help them. A promise that she had been too busy watching in stunned shock to follow through on.

A crushing wave of guilt gripped Rarity. She shook herself, the world snapping back to focus. All she had was wet canvas and a seamstress’s magic to face an ancient phoenix corrupted into a monster, but she’d done impossible things before.

The sweltering heat surrounding her was rebuffed from a cold determination from within as she pushed magic into her horn, pulling the first of the saltwater-soaked sails from her pile.

She ripped a strip of canvas free in her magic, tying it over her eyes as a makeshift blindfold. The thick fabric blocked out the terrifying images around her, but dimmed the glow of Philomena’s aura to the point that she could just make out the shape of the phoenix within, her wings spread wide as she sang a mournful song. Philomena leaned forward, beating her wings and coming in for another attack.

She was still a dozen meters away when Rarity clenched her jaw and threw the sail in her magic as far as she could. The heavy canvas wrapped around the phoenix with sputters and pops as the water soaked into the material was boiled away by the intense heat, but Philomena slowed only slightly, burning a hole through the fabric and continuing her charge.

A cry of dismay went up from the Wakers as they watched the phoenix barrel straight through the snare, but through her blindfold Rarity could see the slight dimming of Philomena’s aura, and a rush of hope swelled in her breast. She grabbed two more sails, grimacing at the difficulty of manipulating such large, heavy fabrics without the aid of her eyes, and wrapped them tight around Philomena, trying to push her away with her magic.

This time the phoenix actually staggered. A muffled, ethereal wail rang across the deck as her glow dimmed again, but Rarity could see a small ring of brighter light where the sails were already being burnt away, and she could hear the crackling of fire under the hissing steam. She grunted, grabbing two more sails, her legs shaking as a throbbing pain built at the base of her horn. Philomena was still fighting, her wings burning holes through the wrapping and sending powerful blasts of fiery hot air across the ship as she fought to close the distance.

The shouts and the heat faded into the background as Rarity poured all her focus into wrestling the phoenix to a stop. A wave of prickling numbness trickled up her legs and she clenched her jaw so hard her teeth hurt. Could she manage a seventh sail? It was difficult to tell if her vision was tunneling or not with the blindfold on and Philomena in the center of her sight, blazing wings spread like a fiery cross wailing for her surrender. Another spot of light flared up as the phoenix’s head burnt through the thick fabrics, her burning crest casting licks of fire high into the sky.

“Philomena!” Fluttershy’s strong voice raised beside her, piercing the fog of her exhaustion. She felt the pegasus’s hooves on her shoulder, giving her something to lean on. “Stop this! We can help you!”

Philomena crowed an angry response, a wave of force slamming into the ship and sending it rocking dangerously towards the side. Rarity yelped as she fell back, hooves flailing blindly as shouts of alarm were raised across the deck, and smacked her head against the hard metal.

Her ears rang as the ship rocked and swayed beneath her, spawning a wave of nausea that left her momentarily dazed, curled up in a groaning ball. Finally she found the strength to roll back onto her hooves and blearily drag her blindfold off as she struggled to catch her breath.

The Wakers clung to railings and netting as metal crates slid across the canted deck, forcing them to leap out of the way to avoid devastating impact. Many dropped their weapons or scrambled to recover them, while others ran from pony to pony, helping them up and shouting commands. Fluttershy held tight to Brownie, who had dug his long claws into the floor next to Rarity to steady himself. Jester stood by the helmsmare, holding onto a railing with both forelegs. Her hat had fallen off in the chaos, revealing the ugly, jagged stump where a horn had once been, but Rarity had no time to dwell on the grisly sight as Philomena’s furious cry, closer than ever, broke her out of her daze.

Philomena was hovering over her, licks of angry fire bursting out from her spread wings. Her light had dimmed enough for Rarity to see her clearly now, the painfully bright flying star replaced with an image of twisted majesty. Only a few drooping feathers still clung to her charred skin, her brilliant red plumage replaced with ashen hide criss-crossed with wicked scars that seemed to pulse with a sinister energy. Her beak had grown out into a grotesquely sharp hook, the tip split into two fang-like blades, while her talons had fused together into a pair of misshapen cloven hooves. But Rarity’s gaze was drawn inexorably to the corrupted phoenix’s eyes, two pure red slits of light that seemed to droop with sadness even as thick tears of boiling blood dripped from them, splattering and hissing when they struck the deck.

Rarity’s heart pounded against her chest as she scrambled back, flinching with every wave of terrible heat that washed over her. Her mind froze up in animal terror, a wild, panicked drive to escape death with no notion of how to do so.

A rod of steel slammed into Philomena’s breast, sending the phoenix falling backwards with a piercing shriek. She fell to the deck, flames bursting up around her, and Rarity took the opportunity to look back.

“You or me, demon!” Jester snarled as she dropped her spent harpoon gun and accepted a replacement from an ashen-faced Waker. “Get the fuck out of my town!”

Philomena hissed, beating her wings and leaping back up as the burning deck cracked and withered where she’d fallen. Rarity’s horn tingled, the sweltering hot air suddenly rushing past her head towards Philomena as her light flared up.

She gasped, frantically scanning the deck, and spotted her neatly stacked pile of soaked sails splayed out in a disheveled heap against an askew crate. She reached out with her magic, grabbing the whole thing and throwing it towards Philomena with a cry of effort.

The heavy canvas fell on Philomena’s shoulders with an ear-splitting hiss of steam, followed by another frustrated, ethereal shriek. She began to fight, clawing and biting at the sails, but Rarity was climbing back to her hooves and pulling the canvas tight, wincing as pain sparked up her horn.

“Fluttershy!” she called. She had lost track of the pegasus in the chaos, and didn’t dare look away to search for her. “Help!”

“Hold her down!” Fluttershy ran past Rarity from behind, her chest stained red with blood and Brownie bounding along at her side. The young bear roared as it launched itself through the spreading flames on the deck, slamming into Philomena and wrestling her down. Philomena screeched, gouts of fire bursting through little rips and seams in the strained fabric.

“Get out of the way!” Jester shouted, her harpoon gun already lined up. Two other Wakers took positions beside her with their own weapons, while another trio balanced long spears against the deck, shuffling closer with the sharp tips brandished ahead of them. “This is our chance!”

“I can talk to her!” Fluttershy yelled back, spreading her wings and jumping onto Brownie’s back.

“You can’t talk down a demon, you suicidal idiot!” Jester clenched her jaw and sat on her haunches, lifting the harpoon gun to her eye. “If you won’t move, I’ll shoot straight through you!”

“No!” Rarity leapt into motion, knocking the barbed tip of the harpoon away just as Jester pulled the trigger. It soared off the edge of the deck as both mares fell in a tangled heap.

“Wh—you bitch!” Jester grunted, struggling against Rarity’s grip. “You’re gonna kill us all!”

Rarity grimaced, straining to keep her magical hold on Philomena while weathering Jester’s hooves beating at her sides. The other mare was much stronger, and Rarity desperately wanted to try to explain why they couldn’t just kill this thing that nearly every soul aboard saw as a murderous monster that deserved only destruction, but she was already at her limit. It was all she could do but cling and grimace, watching from the corner of her eye as Brownie and Fluttershy fought with Philomena. If she could just buy enough time for Fluttershy to get the phoenix to listen, then they might make it out of this yet.

Then Jester brought her head back and smacked it into Rarity’s brow, the jagged edge of her broken horn jarring against Rarity’s and shattering her hold on her magic.

Stars popped in Rarity’s vision and her ears rang. She fell back with a cry of pain, clutching at her horn while Jester shoved her off and straightened up. Rarity was left watching, helpless, as Jester and her ponies aimed harpoon guns and spears at Fluttershy’s back, intent on killing Philomena no matter the cost.

The crack of splitting wood echoed across the deck. Although the soaked canvas had done much to dim Philomena’s light, the heat she cast off had been burning through the wooden deck unopposed, and all at once a circle of charred wood around her collapsed inwards, both Fluttershy and Brownie disappearing into the depths of the ship with a shriek as smoke and steam swirled up around her.

“Fluttershy!” Rarity reached out with a hoof, struggling to stand. The pain in her horn had spread to the rest of her body as a persistent, pounding ache. The deck was warm against her belly, and her cheeks hurt from the fires, but she forced herself to stand on shaky hooves, grunting with effort. She needed more sails. Fluttershy needed her help!

“Fuck!” Jester took a cautious step forwards, aiming her harpoon gun at the plume of smoke swirling up out of the ship, and the deck exploded beneath her.

Philomena burst up into the open air, smoldering hot and deadly-sharp splinters flying in every direction. Rarity flinched, lifting a hoof to just in time to keep the smoking shrapnel from blinding her.

By the time she lowered her leg, half the ship was ablaze. Ponies lay still or groaning all around, clutching bleeding lacerations, while others raced to bring their weapons to bear, shouting challenges. Rarity scanned the deck breathlessly, searching for Fluttershy.

Philomena’s mournful song filled the air and Rarity’s horn began to tingle. There was a brief moment where the flames stilled, leaning inwards towards the phoenix, and the world seemed to hold its breath.

A beam of brilliant light shot from the phoenix’s beak, skewering the ship lengthwise. It was followed a second later by an explosion from the rear and a crackling pop reminiscent of fireworks. The deck rocked underhoof, sending Rarity tumbling sideways into the railing hard enough to crack it. Fresh pain bloomed across her body as shouts of alarm echoed up and down the ship.

“Engine’s out! Envelope’s ablaze!” Jester’s shout was the only one she could hear clearly, her voice hoarse and scratchy. “We’re going down! Abandon ship!”

---

Rainbow hugged the crystal wall beside her, wincing as another cannon shell zipped past the tower with a shrill whistle and a rush of snow. Applejack and Star Trails crouched to either side, all three mares watching the Argo draw nearer.

“We have to be quick,” Trails said. She kept her glowing horn pointed at the ship, eyes narrowed. “Sunfeather will only give us a few moments.”

The arched crystal doors swung open beside them. Brucite Beau rushed out, a group of fur-clothed hunters following with wide eyes. “What is this?” he asked, quickly spotting the two new silhouettes in the distance. “More Equestrians?”

“They ain’t with us,” Applejack said.

The lead ship fired, the shot tearing through the sky and cracking against the side of the tower. It spiraled away with a quavering whistle, crashing through the ice below and sending up a great splash of water.

The crystal ponies all flinched away from the impact, exchanging looks between themselves. Beau stepped forward, his warm face hardening into a grizzled scowl. “This is some kind of attack? On the Shaper’s domain?”

“You should stay inside.” Trails looked away from the Argo for a brief second, her voice firm. “Those shells are dangerous!”

Beau scoffed, shaking his head. “We will not hide like elders and foals! Hunters, come! We must defend our home!” He stomped a hoof and broke into a gallop towards the moored Crystal Heart, his hunters all following with proud warcries.

“Wait!” Applejack took a step after them. “That’s the exact opposite of what she said!”

“No time, Applejack!” Trails pointed towards the Argo. The airship slowed as it came near, the stubby wings on its side rotating and its smaller propellers spinning. Its rear swung around as it stilled in the air right in front of them, the big cargo door pulling down. Flintlock waved for them from within, one hoof on the cargo hold’s control panel.

“Let’s go!” Trails ran forwards. Rainbow exchanged a quick glance with Applejack before starting after her, pumping her wings for speed. Within seconds all three mares had leapt up into the belly of the ship, the cargo door whirring shut behind them as the deck lurched beneath them.

“Welcome back,” Flint said. He beckoned with a jerk of his head. “Sabre’s in the control room.”

He broke into a trot, the three mares falling in behind him. “Who are those ponies?” Applejack asked. “More bounty hunters?”

“Doubt it.” Flint shook his head. “Bounty hunters don’t sink ships, they board ’em. Ain’t much profit in sinking a ship for anyone, really.”

Trails nodded. “If they’re shooting at us, it’s because they want us dead.”

“But who would want that?” Applejack asked. “Even Gava always wanted us alive.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rainbow said, a flicker of anger in her voice. “I’ll kill anypony that tries to hurt us.” She pretended not to see Applejack’s grimace.

The walk to the front of the ship passed quickly. The ticking of the hull was notably quicker than usual, often revving up in short bursts as the floor rocked beneath Rainbow’s hooves. She felt as if the ship itself was on edge, its mechanical pulse accelerating to match her own.

Hissing steam announced their arrival in the control room. Sunfeather stood in her usual place, her eyes narrowed and a slight sheen of sweat already on her brow as her hooves moved firmly over the controls. Sea Sabre had taken a spot just in front of her, almost touching the viewport with a spyglass raised to her eye.

“Those ships have Silverblood markings,” she said, lowering the glass and looking back towards them. She made eye contact with Rainbow for a brief moment before looking to Trails. “Get the book out. Tune us to their public band.”

“On it, boss.” Trails moved to a terminal off to one side, crouching down and pulling a hefty book out of a cupboard.

“They’ve stopped shooting,” Sunfeather said. “I’m keeping up evasive.”

“They know they can’t hit us yet.” Sabre turned back to the iron-banded glass of the viewport, narrowing her eyes. “But they overplayed their hoof opening fire right away. We’ll keep our distance.”

Rainbow took a step forward. “How did they—”

“Quiet!” Sabre snapped, glaring back at her over her shoulder. “You do not have permission to speak.”

Rainbow flinched, her ears drooping, but decided against challenging the other mare. She exchanged a look with Applejack, who shrugged back in response.

“It’s a good question, boss,” Trails said. “We’re not just in the middle of nowhere, we’re past the edge of it. How could anyone find us here?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Sabre said curtly. She marched up the stairs from the lower deck where the controls were located, frowning at the map table that occupied much of the upper deck. After a moment she reared up and grabbed a sheet of empty grid paper, dragging it over the charts of the ice sheets and northern Equestria they’d used to plot their path. “What matters is we have two armed ships closing with us. We need to handle that first.”

“Ma’am, I—”

“I told you to not speak, Rainbow Dash.” Sabre kept her focus on the paper as she placed three small coins down, one on its own and two opposite it, closer together. “If I require your opinion I will ask for it.”

“Sabre, she’s tryin’ to help,” Applejack said, taking a step closer to Rainbow’s side.

“Simmer down, Apples,” Flint chided, flicking her ear with his muzzle. “I’d rather not have t’ wrestle th’ both of ye out th’ door.”

Applejack stepped away from him with a wide-eyed frown, but Trails spoke before she could get any words out. “I’ve got the band, boss,” she said. “You want to hail them?”

“Give me the mic.” Sabre pushed off the nav table and put a hoof on Trails’s shoulder, pushing her gently aside. She grabbed a heavy microphone off the wall, flicking a switch with her other hoof. “Unknown airships, this is Argo. Identify yourselves.”

She flicked two more switches in quick succession, and static burst out of a trio of speakers set into the wall above her. Several seconds passed where nopony said anything. Rainbow glanced towards the viewport, watching as Sunfeather put the gleaming spires of the Crystal Empire between them and the other ships.

The speakers popped, emitting a tired stallion’s voice. “Argo, this is Hoplite. Kill your engines and prepare to be boarded.”

Sabre’s lips tightened. “Negative, Hoplite. This ship is under the protection of the Rich Consortium. Dock with the tower between us and we’ll send a party to negotiate on neutral ground.”

A new voice answered her, younger and energetic and filled with undisguised contempt. “We are not here to negotiate, mare. Your contract with Rich is void and I am here to claim your head. Surrender and most of your crew will be allowed to live. Resist and we will blow you out of the sky to let the ice beasts take you.”

Sabre frowned. Static buzzed from the speakers for several seconds. “Acknowledged.”

“Well,” Applejack said, “that fella’s sure got a chip on his shoulder.”

Sabre turned the radio off with a few quick motions of her hoof, then turned back to the watching ponies. “Anyone recognize that voice?”

“Whoever he is, he’s mad as Tartarus,” Flint grumbled.

“We can outrun them, can’t we?” Trails asked. “We won’t beat a gunship.”

“Not in the air, we won’t,” Sabre said. “We don’t know if they’re faster than us, but if they’ve found us here, they’ll find us wherever we run.” She sighed, rubbing at her temple. “And of course the fucking contract is gone. I’d hoped we’d have more time.”

“So we’re takin’ the fight to ‘em, right?” Flint asked.

“What? No way!” Trails protested, looking between him and Sabre. “Flint, they’ve got a cannon on that thing!”

“Flint is right,” Sabre said. She moved back to the map table, peering down at it with pursed lips. “More ships may be coming, or be waiting for us if we try to run. If we run or hide we play right into their hooves, but if we attack?” She nodded, tapping a hoof on the table. “Sunfeather, how close can you get us?”

Sunfeather glanced back. The Crystal Empire drifted across the viewport in front of her, reflecting shimmering rainbow light into the room. “How close do you need?”

“Boss?” Trails asked anxiously. “What are you planning?”

“Shock and awe.” Sabre looked to Flint. “Like we did in Maretime.”

“Maretime, eh?” Flint hummed, the corner of his lip pulling up into a smirk. “We don’t have a keg that big aboard, Sabre.”

Rainbow’s hooftips were shaking. She didn’t know what was worse: being made to sit back and do nothing as Twilight ventured the dark places of the world alone, or having to watch in silence while everyone else discussed what to do when they were threatened by bounty hunters trying to end their lives. Why did this keep happening to her? What did she do? Part of her wanted to rush out, grab her wingblades, and go fly after those ships herself. She could take them, couldn’t she? If Sunfeather could dodge their shots with the Argo, there was no way they’d be able to shoot her out of the sky.

She stiffened as Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder. She looked over, and Applejack offered up a small smile, then a quiet shake of her head.

“Here’s the plan,” Sabre said, drawing Rainbow’s attention back. “Flint, Trails, and I will grab our gear and load up in the submarine. Sunfeather, you get us above one of those ships, as close as you can, and we’ll drop right on top of them. They’ll never see it coming.”

“Wait.” Trails shook her head, eyes wide. “You want to use the sub as some kind of boarding bomb? It’s not made for that kind of impact! What if we can’t recover it, or it needs repairs?”

“We ain’t salvage divers anymore, Traily,” Flint said gruffly. “And the sub’ll just get scrapped if we’re dead.”

Sabre looked to Applejack. “Applejack, you’ve gotten good with maintenance. You’ll stay here with Sunfeather for damage control, in case we’re hit.”

Applejack nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

Rainbow straightened up as Sabre looked to her next. The other pegasus paused, looking her over and shaking her head. “You have no place in any plan of mine, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow blinked. “Sabre!” she snapped, flaring her wings. “I’m not gonna just sit back here and twiddle my hooves while you guys are fighting!”

“I know you won’t,” Sabre said sternly. “You’ll probably fly off and run wild no matter what I tell you, which is exactly why I’m not trusting the lives of my crew to your hotheaded impulses. But!” She raised a hoof, cutting off Rainbow’s next protest. “As much of a headache as you are to have under my command, you’d be a nightmare to have running rampant in my ship. So you do what you do best.” She jerked her head towards the viewport, where the two gunships were poking past the bulk of a crystal spire. “Run wild in their ship. We’ll follow once you have them distracted.”

“Y’all’re gonna send her in as a distraction?” Applejack asked indignantly. “She’ll be killed!”

“Maybe. But she is, and I cannot stress this enough, my lowest priority.” Sabre held Rainbow’s gaze as she walked around the map table and came to a stop in front of her. “It’s up to you, Rainbow. Stay here and defend the ship, or fly out and fight like you so obviously want to.” She jabbed a hoof into her chest, speaking her next words in a low growl. “Just stay away from my team.”

Rainbow glared back at her, but didn’t say anything. Sabre snorted, jerked her head at Trails and Flint, and walked past her. The hissing of the door opening announced her departure.

“Y’know,” Applejack said, glowering after her. “That mare’s really startin’ to get on my nerves.”

“Just now, huh?” Rainbow asked dryly. She took a deep breath, fighting the urge to scream. Even getting what she wanted felt like losing.

“Chin up, eh?” Flint said as he walked past her. “Meet us at the sub, Traily.”

Star Trails sighed. “This is insane,” she muttered as she started for the door. She paused by Rainbow and gave her a quick smile, pulling her radio headset out of her ear and holding it out. “Good luck, right? We’re doing this for the Princess.”

Rainbow found the will to return the smile, if a little stiffly, as she took the radio. “For the Princess.”

Applejack gave Rainbow a wan smile as Trails left. “Y’all should stay, at least until they start things off. Flyin’ out there on your own is suicide, distraction or not.”

“But she’s right, AJ.” Rainbow turned away with a shrug, sliding the radio into her ear. “This is what I wanted.”

She left before Applejack could respond, a small tinge of relief passing through her when she didn’t try to follow.

The Argo’s hull spun up around her as she glided down the hall towards the cargo hold and the ship lurched into motion. What did it matter if Sabre wanted to use her as a distraction to protect her own crew? Rainbow would show her. She’d throw herself into the fray kicking and screaming. She’d kill everyone on that ship herself if she had to. Maybe then Twilight would believe in her, or Sabre would trust her, or the rest of Equestria would finally get the message to leave her and her friends alone.

Strapping on her wingblades only took a few seconds. She went through the motions without thinking, flapping her wings and performing a few quick slashes in her cloudroom. Who was she mad at right now? The bounty hunters, her friends, or herself? The radio crackled in her ear.

“We’re loaded in the sub,” Sabre said. “Has Rainbow Dash left yet?”

“I haven’t seen her anywhere,” Sunfeather replied. “Applejack says she last saw her heading for cargo.”

“We aren’t waiting,” Sabre said. “Get us on top of that ship, Sunfeather. If Rainbow wants to sulk, let her.”

“Good copy,” Sunfeather said, the sound of the propellers growing louder as the ship began to nose up. “I’m pulling us out of the tower’s shadow and climbing.”

Rainbow’s lip curled back into a snarl. She wasn’t sulking! She turned around and lashed out with a shout, cutting a long gash in the wall of her room. Wispy cloudstuff trailed from her blade, water droplets clinging to the metal.

She gnashed her teeth and made for the door, but paused as her eye passed over the small chest tucked into the corner by her bed. It was ugly and crude, for Rainbow had never had much experience crafting with clouds, but it was hers.

She kicked it open, looking through its contents. A couple books she’d barely found time to read, cleaning supplies for her wingblades, a collection of wildly scattered bits stamped with markings from different islands—and a smooth orb of strange white stone engraved with the image of an open eye.

It was heavy for its size. She hefted it in a hoof and held it up to her face, pondering on the orb catching the light and sparkling with shimmering rainbow light.

“This will give you your vision back.” Twilight’s voice lingered in her head, hopeful and nervous. “In some ways it’ll even be an improvement from before.”

Rainbow’s other hoof came up and brushed over her eyepatch, pulling it back. She poked at her old wound with a grimace, cringing at the feeling. The eye carved into the stone was wide open and surrounded in arcane runes. It looked like it was in pain. It looked like it was angry. Everytime she looked at it she felt an echo of the moment where her own eye had been gouged out of her head with a sneering beak. She felt the fear and the shame, and it made her jaw clench and her ears flatten.

She would never be that mare again.

Bracing herself, Rainbow slid her eyepatch off, pulled her wound wide open, turned the stone eye away from her, and pressed it against her empty socket. Old pain flared up anew as tears welled in her eyes and her hooves shivered, but she wouldn’t back down. It was nothing compared to what she’d suffered before.

Rainbow screamed as the stone finally popped into place, a wave of nausea rushing through her and sending her falling onto her side with a choked sob. She could feel the magic sizzling inside her skull, burning at nerves she’d only felt once before. Her legs jerked and spasmed as she rolled onto her belly, bile surging up her throat. It wasn’t quite pain, but the intensity was almost unbearable. She gagged, vomiting her breakfast onto her floor.

It stopped all at once.

Rainbow panted, heart pounding. She blinked several times, feeling the strange sensation of the stone eye rolling around in her head. It moved with an odd, unnatural jerking that scraped at the back of her skull, irritating the scarred wound behind it.

A few seconds passed, and she realized she still couldn’t see. Nothing had changed. She’d put herself through pain for nothing. Again.

“Fuck!” Rainbow stomped her hooves as she stood on shaky legs, shaking her head at her own stupidity. She must have done something wrong! Of course it wasn’t as simple as just pushing it into her head and willing it to work! She pulled her patch back into place and cursed under her breath. What if she’d broken it somehow and wasted all of Twilight’s work? Why was she always so—

“They’re firing at us.” Sunfeather crackled into her ear, calm and focused. “Grab onto something.”

The ship suddenly jumped beneath her, the slow, steady spinning of the propellers that was always audible from the cargo hold growing to a loud, angry buzzing. Rainbow yelped as she tumbled backwards, bounced through the doorway, and spun into the open air with wisps of cloud sticking to her back.

Her wings snapped open to arrest her fall, only for the floor to rise up to meet her as the Argo nosed up and pulled into a steep climb. She gnashed her teeth and pumped her wings, slowing her fall just enough to land hard on all four hooves.

A hideous scraping sound rang through the hull an instant later. The walls rattled around her as the floor jerked to one side, a jet of steam bursting out of a pipe on the starboard wall. Rainbow staggered towards the cargo door controls, using her wings to balance as the floor rocked and swayed underhoof.

Sabre’s voice popped over the radio. “Sitrep?”

“Glancing blow,” Sunfeather responded, voice strained. “They got lucky. It won’t happen again until we’re closer.”

“Hey, whoa!” Trails said. “So it’s gonna happen again?!”

“Even a blind foal could hit an airship when it’s right on top of them,” Sunfeather shot back. “And that’s exactly where we’re going.”

“Any eyes on Rainbow Dash yet?” Sabre asked.

“Negative,” Sunfeather said. “Wait, cargo door’s opening.”

Rainbow clung to the door lever as she watched the big cargo door slowly clink open. Snow rushed into the gap and flurried around the room, carried on a shrieking wind that pulled at her feathers and sent loose sheets of paper flying out from Twilight’s room. Another sharp turn from the ship sent her smacking sideways into the wall, but she held firm, gauging the steadily widening space between the door and the hull with a narrowed eye.

Three seconds passed before she slammed the lever back into the closed position. The door froze with a mechanical clatter as gears shifted within its frame.

Rainbow pushed off the ground with a powerful flap of her wings, half flying, half crawling up the door face as it began to close again. Adrenaline rushed into her veins as she raced for the gap, every nagging worry forgotten in the brief rush of speed.

She tucked her wings in and shot out into the frigid cold, the thick door grinding shut behind her. She rolled back and spun, zipping between the twin propellers at the rear of the ship, along the underside of the envelope, and out past the nose into open air.

“I’ll be your distraction for you, Sabre!” Rainbow said. “Just don’t leave me hanging!”

“Watch yourself, Rainbow,” Sabre cautioned. “These are professionals.”

Rainbow’s grin widened as the crisp air pulling at her mane brought all her senses into stark clarity. Now there was nothing but snow and open sky between her and the ponies that would hurt her friends, and that was exactly how she liked it.

The two ships were arrayed side by side, floating over the ice lake with several dozen meters between them. Wispy white trails of snow and vapor curled off their frosted metal hulls, betraying their speed. They were similarly built, long and slender towards the front and bulging out at the rear, where a structure almost like a short castle tower jutted up towards the sky. Rigid envelopes were placed on each side with small wings lining their frame, twitching up and down in response to their pilots’ inputs. The smaller ship was open-decked, at least a dozen gunponies crouched behind thin metal panels spaced along the railing. The larger was closed off, a long metal barrel poking out from a vertical slit on its prow.

Fire belched from the cannon as she approached, the thunderous report echoing across the ice lake and off the surrounding mountains, and Rainbow turned to watch as the Argo’s propellers twisted and its wings angled, the rear fishtailing out to deftly avoid the shot. But the bullet exploded before it even hit, leaving behind a cloud of angry black smoke and peppering the ship’s hull with red-hot metal shards.

Rainbow cursed. She needed to shut that gun down, now.

She scanned the gunship, searching for an entry point. The tower was probably the ship’s control center, and it was ringed with wide windows that would’ve been easy to break through, but metal reinforcements were bolted haphazardly over the glass, leaving only a narrow band to see through. She frowned, orbiting the ship. I guess it would be too easy if the same trick worked twice.

Circling towards the front, she spotted the long barrel of the ship’s cannon jutting out from the hull. It clicked and whirred as it adjusted its angle, aiming at the zig-zagging Argo in the distance. A moment passed, then it fired, the thunderous rumble causing the air to shudder between Rainbow’s feathers as it recoiled deeper into the ship before slowly sliding back out.

Rainbow drifted closer, inspecting the point where the barrel met the hull. Rather than hard metal or glass, a ring of thick cloth protected the crew from the elements while giving the gun enough freedom to aim. She smirked as she angled herself away to get some distance. The gun crew would never see her coming.

She was a few hundred meters away when she pulled up into a big loop, beating her wings and fighting the thin air for altitude. She rolled as she reached the loop’s peak, extending one hoof in front of her and aiming her body for the gun mantlet like a bullet as she put on speed. She took in a deep breath of the crisp arctic air, furrowed her brow, and began to channel her magic.

The air gathered in front of her, focusing at the end of her outstretched leg in a little ball of high pressure. Wind tugged at her mane and roared in her ears, a swirling flurry of snow twisting around her body and fluttering in her wake. Her heart pounded and her wings ached, and the corner of her lip curled up into a cocky smile.

She’d show these ponies not to mess with Rainbow Dash.

The wind screamed in her ears as she ripped through the cloth mantlet, the pressure wave in front of her exploding into the gun compartment with an ear-splitting boom. Rainbow hurtled after it, planting her hooves and skidding across the floor as snow flurried in her wake.

She found herself in a cramped, busy room with rows of heavy shells stacked up against one wall. The center of the room was taken up by a long gun barrel mounted on sturdy rails and festooned with little mechanical attachments and trinkets, but Rainbow was more focused on the half-dozen ponies arrayed around it.

They gaped at her through a haze of gunsmoke. She flared her wings and crouched low, lips twitching up into a snarl.

“Shit!” One mare lunged for a brass bell hanging from the ceiling, rattling the chain dangling beneath it and filling the room with a deafening alarm. “We’re being boarded!”

Rainbow rocketed across the room with one flap of her wings, grabbing the back of the mare’s head and smashing her face into the wall with a grotesque crunch. The mare jerked and went still, the bell stilling above her, but other bells had taken up the call elsewhere in the ship, the ringing accompanied by the sound of slamming doors and pounding hooves.

The rest of the gun crew barely had time to react before she jumped to the side, slicing a deep gash across one mare’s chest and sinking the sharp end of her blade into another mare’s throat. Blood splashed out against Rainbow’s gnashing teeth, warm and thick.

She caught movement on her left, and dodged a wild blow with a clean step backwards before dispatching the unbalanced attacker with a powerful slash that left his foreleg hanging on by a thin string of flesh. Her hind leg lashed out, crushing the throat of a pony rearing up behind her, and her other wing sent a third pony stumbling backwards with a powerful gust of wind. Rainbow threw herself into him with a furious shout, both of her blades arcing down into his gut.

Rainbow twisted in place, fixing the last surviving gunner with a one-eyed glare as the corpses of his five comrades fell to the floor. He whimpered, turning and running out into the hall. “Help!” he called. “She’s Gifted!”

Rainbow ran after him with a wordless scream. The fleeing stallion galloped past five more ponies rushing to answer the alarm, shotguns strapped to their sides and bladed helmets on their heads.

The lead pony had just enough time to bring her gun up before Rainbow closed the gap. She shoved the barrel aside with one wing, buckshot ricocheting off the wall behind her with a deafening bang as she raked a blade through the mare’s barrel and left her to die. The stallion next in line fired wildly, but Rainbow had already taken flight, twisting mid-air and scoring a deep cut across his back that made him cry out in shock.

A pegasus rose up to meet her, jumping high with a flap of his wings and lashing out with his own blades. She dodged him easily, hacking through his wing joints and letting him bleed out on the floor. The last two ponies in the little group went down without firing a shot, each one falling victim to vicious cuts that severed limbs and sent blood spraying across the walls in long spurts.

Rainbow’s hooves settled against the blood-slicked floor, her chest heaving and her eye wide. She glanced back to the dismembered corpses behind her, the blood painting the hall in intricate patterns, and her grin widened.

“The gun’s gone silent,” Sunfeather said over the radio. “Get ready to drop, I’m bringing us in.”

“Roger that,” Sabre answered. “Send us into the bridge and get clear.”

“Wait, the crystal ponies!” Trails interjected. “Look!”

Rainbow stiffened, running to the nearest porthole and peering outside. The Crystal Heart had cast off from its moorings and soared out to meet the foreign attackers, its crew brandishing long hunting spears and carrying thick shields of bone and hide on their backs. On the open-decked ship opposite them, a dozen bounty hunters were lined up behind the railing, their guns leveled on the crystal ponies.

“No!” Rainbow gasped as the invaders opened fire, the distant staccato pop of their guns carried by the stiff arctic wind. Several crystal ponies fell and scattered, until a larger figure—she recognized Beau from the way he stood—rallied them back into line. They slung the shields off their backs and planted them down like a makeshift wall, rearing up to throw spears back at the foreigners.

Rainbow snarled as she turned away and took flight, racing deeper into the ship. The crystal ponies stood no chance fighting guns with spears and hooves, but she couldn’t leave to help them yet. As much as it pained her to leave some of the warmest ponies she knew to be gunned down, she had to make sure the cannon on this ship was silenced permanently.

The alarm bells had gone silent now. She caught sight of a tail turning a corner and zipped after it, grinning when she saw a mare sprinting for a door where two others waited, urgently beckoning and calling. Their eyes widened as Rainbow came into view, their hissed commands turning into full-throated shouts.

“Come on!” one of them called. “Run faster!”

There was nothing Rainbow loved more than a good old-fashioned race. She burst down the hall in a flurry of wind, soaring over the running mare’s head and digging her blades into the two holding the door. They fell with shocked gurgles and whimpers, clutching their wounds as Rainbow turned to face the running mare with a manic, bloodstained grin.

“What’s wrong?” she said, panting with excitement. “I thought you came here to kill us, didn’t you? Chased us past the edge of the fucking map?” She flicked a wing out, splashing fresh blood onto the shivering mare. “Well? Here I am! Where’s your weapon? Fight me!”

The mare squeaked, stumbling over onto her back as Rainbow loomed over her. “P-please.” She held out a hoof, scrambling back across the floor. “I’m j-j-just a handymare! I cook and f-fix things! I’ve never h-h-hurt anyone!”

Rainbow blinked, brow furrowing. What? This was a bounty hunting ship, wasn’t it? Why else would they be here, so far north, talking about taking Sabre’s head if not to profit off some bounty?

She stepped back and took a better look at the cowering mare. She was a mauve-coated unicorn, lacking any cutie mark and with a belt of tools around her barrel. Her cheeks and hooves were marred with black stains and her mane was tied in a tight bun. A pair of cheap goggles were tucked above her horn, little more than two circles of dirty glass held together with string and wool. She had no weapon, not even anything as simple as metal shoes for kicking. She curled up into a little ball and sniffled, quietly begging for mercy.

“But…” Rainbow shook her head as a sudden headache came over her. Of course even a bounty hunting ship would have normal working ponies on it. Mechanics and engineers, cooks and carpenters. They’d be owned and passed about like everyone else, helpless against the whims of their employers. Did this mare even want to be here?

Had she already killed other ponies like this? Innocents?

“No.” Rainbow grimaced, stepping forward and jabbing a hoof into the mare’s chest. “Y-you joined this crew on purpose! You had to! You—they’re bounty hunters! You knew the risks!” She growled, glaring down at the mare. “You chased me here! All we want is to be left alone!”

“I d-don’t even know who you are!” the mare wailed. Her eyes darted side to side as she hyperventilated. “I can’t die here! G-go away!”

Pain blossomed in Rainbow’s chest. She grunted, staggering back and looking down to the screwdriver that had been jammed between her ribs.

The unicorn mare sobbed, letting go of the makeshift weapon and scrambling back. “I’m s-sorry! I just—I can’t—”

Rainbow’s wing flashed out, sinking into the mare’s heart. She leaned in with a shivering snarl, forcing her onto her back as she gaped back in shock.

“I hate you ponies,” Rainbow hissed. The fire in her breast flared up, burning away her doubts. “You’re all dead.”

The mare’s head fell back. She blinked up at the ceiling, mouthed something Rainbow couldn’t make out, and died.

Rainbow pulled her blade out with a grunt, staggering back and feeling at the screwdriver embedded in her chest. Tears budded in her eyes, and she growled and wiped them away. What was she crying for? She’d been hurt worse before.

She grabbed the screwdriver with both hooves, clenched her jaw, and pulled. It resisted her for a moment before popping free, drawing a pained groan and a trickle of blood. It splashed into the growing puddle of its owner’s blood, rolling to a stop.

Rainbow bit her lip as she raised a hoof to the wound, wincing at the pain of breathing. It didn’t seem to be bleeding so much. She could keep going. She had to keep going.

With a pained grunt she took flight once more, speeding through the door the mare had been running to reach. She could hear gunshots and shouting above her, dulled by the hull. An open door on her right led to a narrow square stairwell, and she jumped up the steps from landing to landing, wincing with each impact.

She came to a stop at a plain metal door and leaned an ear against it. She recognized the voice speaking from the radio conversation earlier, tired but strong and carrying a stern mettle.

“The Brasher has the natives handled, my lord,” he said. “Has the security team reported back yet?”

“No, sir,” a younger mare answered. “And the gun still isn’t shooting.”

“Get that ship out of the sky, captain!” This was the angry stallion, the one that had sneeringly offered to spare the Argo’s crew in exchange for Sabre’s head. “They’re coming straight at us!”

“Sea Sabre would never risk a ram,” the captain stated. “She values her ship and crew too highly, and she knows she’d come out the worse for it. I expect she’ll try to pass over us and flee south, but we’ll keep pace and shoot her down from behind.”

“What of the boarder?” the young stallion asked. “Where did she even come from?”

“She’s most likely dead already,” the captain answered. “One mare, even GIfted, can only do so much on her own.”

Rainbow grinned at that.

Turning and lifting her hind legs, Rainbow bucked the door half off its hinges before flying inside, wings flared and ready to fight. She found herself on the bridge, several ponies seated before walls of dials, levers, and chains. Long windows were set into each square wall, the glass bolted over by metal grating. Every head in the room swiveled to face her, but she kept her glare focused on the two stallions in the middle of the room, the captain and the younger stallion she took to be his employer.

“What the—” The younger stallion shook his head and stepped forward, his brow furrowing into a smoldering glare. “You.”

“Me!” Rainbow frowned, adding after a moment. “Uh, do I know you?”

“I know you,” he growled. “Rainbow Dash. Sea Sabre’s foundling from Old Canterlot. You killed my father.”

Rainbow blinked, looking over the stallion more closely. He was a unicorn, with a pale white coat and well-groomed mane of blue swept back and braided into his beard. He wore plain brown barding over his chest and a wool coat that hung down around his legs.

He also had a sheath slung to his side. It was thin, straight, and ran the length of his body, a foot long wooden hilt extending out past his shoulder.

Rainbow grunted, squaring her stance. “Your father deserved it.”

Silverblood’s son narrowed his eyes. “He was not a kind father, but he was the only one I had. And I intended him to die on my own terms.” He spat on the ground, shaking his head. “The shareholders bicker over my inheritance while his body’s still warm, and make only a token effort into avenging his death. I’m here to do my duty as a son before I go back to claim what’s rightfully mine.”

His horn glowed white, the magic aura wrapping around his sheath. A long blade slid out of it with a quiet rasp, longer than any Rainbow had seen before. Then, with a series of barely audible snaps, it split into four pieces, each one orbiting separately around his head.

“Surrender,” he said. “I’d rather have your execution be public.”

“As if!” Rainbow scoffed. “I could take every pony in this room on my own with one hoof tied to the other! I could—” She winced as a sudden pain in her chest cut off her breath, one leg instinctively grabbing at her still bleeding wound as she nearly fell over. There was a terrifying moment where she couldn’t breathe, and then it passed, leaving only a lingering pain behind. “Ugh.”

“You’re already wounded,” Silverblood’s son said, stepping closer. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Surrender and I’ll let your shipmates flee in peace. For now.”

The radio crackled in her ear, carrying Sunfeather’s voice. She said two words, as calm and relaxed as ever.

“Bombs away.”

One of the ponies manning the control terminals looked up towards the glass, his eyes shooting wide open. He pointed and fell back, struggling to form words. “Get down! They—!”

The fore wall imploded with the screech of twisting metal and the tinkle of shattering glass as the front half of a submarine burst into the room. The pointing stallion was crushed into red paste while two other ponies fell with cries of pain, sharp chunks of flying metal digging into their flesh. Rainbow lifted a wing to protect her face from the glass shards bouncing around the room, hissing as several pieces scratched at her legs and side.

The command room was in chaos. The ponies seated towards the front lay still or moaning, some caught under rubble or bleeding from deep cuts. Those at the back had abandoned their stations to take cover behind tables and terminals, reaching for scattered weapons or picking themselves up from where they dove for cover.

There was a brief moment of silence as the dust settled, every eye focused on the submarine sitting lopsided in the middle of the room. Three ponies stood inside, clearly visible through the rounded glass viewport. Star Trails wore her dive suit, but Sea Sabre and Flintlock had donned what looked to be old combat barding, their legs, chests, and necks protected by hard plates of metal.

A little metal trinket floated up next to Trails, glowing blue with her magic. A bright yellow cord dangled beneath it, snaking across the submarine floor and all around the viewing glass.

“Rainbow,” Trails said over the radio, “Put your head down a sec.”

The viewing glass exploded off the submarine with a deafening boom, flying across the length of the room and slamming against the far wall. Sabre and Flint followed it an instant later, the latter letting out a fearsome roar as he trained the shotgun mounted at his side on the nearest pony and peppered him with buckshot. Sabre closed into melee with a single winged leap, tackling her first victim and opening him from chin to hoof with a spinning cut from her blades. Trails jumped out of the submarine after them, her javelin whistling through the air and spearing the captain through the eye before he could even shout an order.

Silverblood’s son cursed, diving out of the way of a spray of lead from Flint and scrambling for a door opposite from where Rainbow stood.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Rainbow yelled, jumping into the air after him. She grimaced at a flare of pain in her chest as she beat her left wing, the limb going limp and forcing her to land awkwardly in the middle of the fighting. It felt like some invisible giant was pushing against her side, making her wince in pain every time she breathed in, but she wouldn’t let it stop her. She ducked a kick from a crewpony, forced him back with a wild swipe of her wingblade, and staggered after her target.

He made it to the door before her, throwing it shut behind him, but she just managed to lower her head and bull rush through it, bursting out into a stairwell descending back into the belly of the ship.

Again the pain spiked in her side, piercing and insistent. She hissed, leaning against the wall for support and half-running, half-sliding down the stairs.

“All crew to the bridge!” she heard him bellowing. “They’ve taken the bridge! Bar the doors!”

Damn. If she kept her breathing shallow, it didn’t hurt as much. Rainbow breathed out and pushed off the wall, jumping down the middle of the stairwell and landing on the bottom with a sloppy flutter of her wings.

“Stop!” She tried to spin and face the stallion as he reached the bottom floor, but rather than stop and fight her he barreled straight past her, shoving her aside and disappearing into the bowels of the ship.

“Get back here!” Rainbow caught herself on the wall with a grunt of pain. Sweet Celestia, why was it getting so hard to breathe?

“Dash, where’d ye run off to?” Flint’s growly voice crackled in her ear as she tried to catch her breath.

“Down the stairs,” she hissed. “Port side. Silverblood’s son—ngh!—got away! Can’t breathe!”

“Silverblood’s son is here?” Sabre asked. “That complicates things. Are you wounded?”

“It’s fine, I’m barely even bleeding,” Rainbow said. She glanced at the door, then with a frustrated groan started climbing up the stairs. “What about the crystal ponies?”

“They boarded the other ship before I lost visual,” Sunfeather answered her, her voice popping in and out with bursts of static. “Storm’s coming in. I’m climbing above it. Good luck.”

The door at the top of the stairs slammed open as Flint barged through, quickly spotting her and walking down to meet her. He was breathing hard, blood staining his armor and his hooves. “C’mon, I got ye.”

“I’m fine,” Rainbow insisted, trying to step past him and nearly falling as another sharp pain hit her.

He caught her with one outstretched hoof, practically dragging her up the steps. “Aye, yer fine. Tartarus, all that blood in yer feathers come from somepony else? C’mon, up, int’ th’ light.”

The command room was littered with bodies. Most were crumpled in bloody corners, grimacing in the pain of their last moments and clutching patches of mangled red flesh where Flint’s shotgun had struck them. Sabre’s trail was marked by a winding path of dismembered limbs and wide-eyed corpses, while the few lucky enough to die to Trails’ javelin looked almost serene, the clean punctures through their skulls hidden under bloody manes and hats. Tables had been upended or broken to pieces, many of the dials lining the walls were cracked, and a few exposed pipes were venting pressurized steam.

Flint shoved Rainbow down against a wall, bending down to inspect her wound. “Ach. That ain’t good.” He pressed lightly against her side, making her tense up in pain.

“Watch it!” she hissed. “Look, it’s barely even bleeding! I’ll walk it off!”

“It’s barely bleedin’ cause all th’ blood’s drippin’ out inside ye.” Flint’s jaw worked side to side as he stepped back, tapping a hoof on his chin. “I reckon yer lung’s pierced. Havin’ trouble breathin’, ye said?”

Rainbow briefly considered trying to stand again, but then decided it wasn’t worth the pain. “When did you become a doctor, huh?”

“He’s no doctor, but he’s seen enough casualties to recognize a collapsed lung.” Sabre approached with a stern frown, flicking blood off her wings. “You need medical attention.”

A thrill of fear crept up Rainbow’s spine. She pursed her lips, determined not to show it. “Well let’s get back to the Argo, then. We won, right? So what if—ngh—one stallion got away, he’s got no crew left!”

Sabre and Flint exchanged a glance. “I count nine dead here,” Sabre said, looking back to Rainbow. “How many did you get?”

“Uh, I’m n-not sure.” Rainbow huffed, trying to remember. It had all happened so fast, and she’d done it all on instinct. She could barely recall anything but the splash of warm blood on her face and the adrenaline-spiked thrill of battle. “Ten, maybe? I think.”

“Yeah, this isn’t a twenty-pony ship,” Trails said. She leaned out into the stairwell next to her, peering down. “There could be ten, twenty, maybe even thirty others out there.”

Sabre nodded. “We need to move before we lose initiative. There’s only two doors out of the control tower, and if they can set up watching both of them, it’ll be impossible to push out.”

“R-right. Cool.” Rainbow grabbed an overturned table, struggling up to her hooves with a pained groan. “I can fight. Let’s go.”

“Ye need t’ relax and hold that hole shut,” Flint said, pushing her back down. He looked around the room, scanning the debris scattered over the floor. “Have they got any tape in here? Some tape’d do wonders.”

“I can stay and watch Rainbow,” Trails said, coming back into the room. “Luna knows I’m not a real fighter anyways.”

Sabre shook her head. “Negative. If we’re all getting out of this alive, we need to stick together.”

Rainbow looked up at her in confusion. A moment of silence passed before Trails said, “But… she’s helpless. Anyone could come up here and finish her off while we’re gone!”

“No they couldn’t!” Rainbow hissed, voice shaky. “I’m fine!”

“Rainbow isn’t my concern!” Sabre snapped. “You two are. All this is her fault, remember? And I’m not losing another pony to this Celestia-damned job!”

“Sabre,” Flint said quietly. “Ye wanna just leave ‘er?”

“Have you got a problem with that, soldier?” Sabre rounded on him with a stomp of her hoof. “I am giving you an order.”

Flint closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He held it for a long moment before looking down at Sabre and answering her. “She’s Jackie’s friend, Sabre. And she’s my friend, too. Ye know I can’t leave ’er.”

“If we don’t get moving soon, we’re all dead, you understand that?” Sabre stepped closer, arching her neck back to keep her glare focused on him. “Those villagers out there might buy us a bit of time, but as soon as the other ship gets here, we’ll be outnumbered over five-to-one with no reinforcements and no exit strategy. The Argo can’t pick us up and the only other pony that could possibly help us is off talking to herself on the bottom of the damn ocean! We’ll be fucked, Flint!”

Flint just shrugged. “I ain’t scared t’ die, Sabre.”

Rainbow looked back and forth between them as they argued, wincing with every breath. “Twilight will come for us. I’m sure of it! She’d never let us down!”

A sudden squeal from the front of the room cut off Sabre’s response. All eyes turned to a brass tube jutting up out of the floor and partially knocked askew by the submarine’s bulk, its end opening up into a wide horn.

“Crew of the Argo, this is Prince Argent.” The speaker shivered slightly as the stallion’s voice sounded from it. “We have you boxed in. The deal to surrender is still on the table, but if you refuse to stand down before our reinforcements arrive, you will be slaughtered where you stand.” He paused, giving his words time to sink in. “Your attack was bold and impressive, but you are far beyond a hope of victory. The goddesses themselves can’t save you now.”

“As if a goddess has ever saved anyone,” Sabre muttered, shaking her head. She looked to Rainbow, then Trails, and finally Flint.

“Boss?” Trails asked tentatively. “What’s the plan?”

Several seconds passed, the only sound the growing howling of the wind outside. Finally Sabre closed her eyes and pursed her lips. “You two can still get out. He’ll only want me and Rainbow.”

“Whoa, what?” Trails shook her head. “That’s crazy!”

“Sabre,” Flint started.

“He’s right!” Sabre growled. She began to pace, wings half-outstretched. “He’s got us cornered. There’s no reason we all have to die.” She walked up to the submarine’s scratched hull and leaned against it with a tired sigh. “Everypony dies eventually. I don’t fear it either.”

“We can’t just give up!” Rainbow shouted, trying to stand and falling back with a strained hiss. Every breath in made the pain in her side worse, but she couldn’t keep silent. “Twilight needs us! The Princess needs us! We still have a chance!”

“There is no chance,” Sabre said firmly, not looking back. “This was the best plan I had and it failed, and we can’t fight our way out. We’re done.” She added in a quieter voice. “There’s never any point to valiant last stands.” She reached for the brass horn, but Flint stepped in her way, pushing her back with his bulk.

“Flint, step aside,” she ordered. “You know I’m right.”

“Aye, yer right,” he said quietly. “But there ain’t no rush, is there? We got a few moments still.” He shrugged, laying a hoof on her shoulder. “I won’t stop ye from doin’ what needs t’ be done, but only when it needs t’ be done. ’Til then, we hold out.” He looked out the shattered window, watching the sunlight filter through the snow flurries. “Maybe Rainbow is right. ’Light could still come fer us.”

He turned and walked to a corner without looking back, training his gun on a door.

Rainbow looked from pony to pony with increasing desperation, clutching at her wound. Trails seemed to be at a loss, and Sabre was focused on something only she could see. Flint watched his door with a grim frown, still as a statue. Was this all her fault? If she hadn’t been wounded then she could’ve caught Prince Argent, or they could’ve kept moving together as soon as they cleared the command room.

And if she hadn’t gone back and killed Silverblood, none of this would even be happening.

Rainbow leaned back against the wall, muttered a prayer to Celestia, and watched the sun creep higher in the sky.

---

Ana lay on her back and watched the airships drift over her.

She was on the roof of some warehouse or other, letting the rising sun warm her belly. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been there, and she didn’t particularly care to guess.

She was empty inside. Dead. It was a familiar feeling, though not one she’d experienced for many years. A stony hardness that came after the tears dried up, that could give a frightened filly the courage to steal from a stall owner when she’d have her wings clipped or an ear cut off if she was caught. She’d learned to smile and lie and steal and fight with that feeling simmering in her gut. It’d raised her just as much as her father, and she found it almost comforting to lose herself in it again.

“He’s not even your real Dad!”

Ana played the moment over in her head again and again. It hurt her every time, but she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t do anything else.

She should’ve killed Rarity the instant she’d caught her alone. It wouldn’t have been hard. The mare was a foalish, trusting idiot. She could’ve killed her and moved on with her life barely breaking stride, killing and stealing and laughing at the hateful world with her sister by her side.

Did she even have a sister anymore? Maybe that was where she’d gone wrong. Her mind drifted back to that moment decades ago, when the griffon she would come to call her father invited her aboard his ship. She could’ve said no, couldn’t she? Life on the street was hard, but she had grown comfortable in it. She knew her place there.

“Who am I?” she asked the sky. Her voice sounded distant to her own ears. She missed the stars.

Ana closed her eyes, breathing in slow, rhythmic sighs. It was the struggle that was hurting her, the urge to live a new life without abandoning what precious little she’d gained from the old one. She could be a thief or a savior, a killer or a protector, but she couldn’t be both. Every time she tried to do something right, to act in any interest other than her own, she felt the cloying grasp of the thief pulling her back. She felt it in the deals she made, in the ponies she killed, in the callous actions and thoughtless words of her sister.

But what would happen to her if she kept going? What could she do if she refused to steal, to lie, to cheat, to kill? Her entire life, as far back as she remembered, revolved around such acts. It was all she knew, and the thought of waking up and going even just a single day without those things terrified her. She tried to imagine herself volunteering in a clinic, smiling her fanged smile at wounded ponies and reassuring them with kind words while they cringed back from her slitted eyes. It was laughable. Pitiful.

Could she really survive like that?

Could she live with herself if she went back to her old life? There would always be that doubt in the back of her head now, that shame, that knowledge that there was a mare out there who had truly given her a chance. She’d have to live knowing she’d seen an opportunity to change and consciously turned it down. As hideous a pony as she may have been before, surely to carry on in such a way now that she knew there was another option could make her nothing short of evil.

Ana had never wanted to be evil. She’d always blamed the world around her for her actions, and she just couldn’t do that anymore.

But what could she do? There were no doubt countless bounties on her head, shadows of her past that would never let her go as long as she lived. She needed a contract just to live, and no employer worth working for would hire her to live an honest and charitable life.

But then Rarity had never concerned herself with her own survival, had she? She had always done what she felt was right, even when it put her through terrible pain. Even when it was the dumbest, most self-defeating decision she could possibly make, Rarity made it without hesitation.

Damn that mare. Ana could never live up to that.

Maybe she could try.

She thought back to the Lunar Cathedral that towered over Friesland’s central square, to the statue of Princess Luna that frowned upon all who came to pray for guidance.

Rarity had known the Princess almost personally. Surely if Ana tried to follow in the kinder mare’s hoofsteps, the Princess would approve. Ana had never been a religious mare, but in that moment she found herself praying.

“Princess,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “Help me be strong. Help me be like her.” She felt like an idiot. She shivered, a few more tears tracing a path down her cheeks. “I want to do it, Princess, I just—I can’t do it alone. Please, if you’re out there, s-send me a sign. Show me you’re with me.”

She opened her eyes, wiping the wetness from her cheeks with a hoof, and slowly clambered to her hooves. She looked around, a small tendril of hope fluttering in her breast. A sign. Any sign. Even just the smallest little thing, something she could at least pretend was a sign from Luna and use as inspiration. It was so foalishly stupid, but she needed something.

Motion on the horizon caught her eye. She turned, watching as a pale white orb began to creep up into the sky. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, trying to identify it. It slid steadily higher, so slowly that at any given moment it didn’t even look like it was moving, inexorably climbing towards the sun.

Ana gasped, her legs dropping out from under her. There was no way. It was impossible.

The moon ground to a stop in front of the sun, a perfectly round circle of black ringed with a halo of shimmering sunlight, and cast Harvest into shadow.

Author's Note:

She's here.

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Comments

[Psyonicg]

Damn, this chapter kinda pog. Those coastal Twi scenes were fantastic.

[Crumple Zone]

ebic chapter, love it. moar. especially liked the moment of doubt RD had about killing noncombatants.

[Goodrock]

Another fantastic chapter.

[Gavier]

Three cliffhangers? In one chapter? That's incredibly evil and also quite impressive

[Psyonicg]

11070993
I hope you're ready for another 6 month wait. "It's not gonna be that long" he says but we're watching arcane instead of working on the next chapter rn so who knows.

[Gavier]

11071000
Please don't do that to me. My heart can barely handle the wait as it is, please don't take away my hope too

[SirAquila]

Rainbow is losing herself.
Rarity and Fluttershy are just losing... currently.
Ana is finding herself.
And Twilight and Midnight manage to be both more confused and clearer then before.

[Mathias]

Great Chapter!

[NCR Brony 256]

Please keep in mind this is my own personal opinion, but I hope that Prince Argent doesn't end up dying as a result of his pursuit of vengeance against his father's killer. From what little I can gather, he seems like a decent enough pony. I also find his reasons for pursuing the crew of the Argo are justified. After all, most people would want to see justice delivered if someone killed their parent.

I am aware he isn't a saint. He wants vengeance for a father who even he admits was a piece of shit. He brought noncombatants along without their knowledge about his plans. A lot of what he does may simply be an act so that he can gain more favorable outcomes. He even believes everything his father earned belongs to him because of blood.

However, I do think deserves some mercy. He offered the crew of the Argo (excluding Sabre and Rainbow) mercy if they surrendered, even after killing a lot of his employees. He wanted a public execution instead of some killing in a back alley. Plus, I feel he has potential to become an even more interesting character as the story progresses.

Nice writing btw Psyonicg and Goldenwing. Forgive me for my rant. Guess I'm getting too into the story. I'll be back whenever the next chapter comes out. I wonder if I'll have a long, grey beard by the time it comes out...

[Amethyst_Spark]

Finally an update yay! Thanks for your horse words, I hope the next set comes sooner than this set did.

[Arzoo]

Argh, I want to see what happens next on every perspective this time!

[MillionsBane]

Ah, I hate it when my murderblender stops blending because of so-called "sudden concerns about morality" thus sticking me with twenty to thirty less enemy casualties than I had planned on.

[TheWhisperInYourHead]

i love it

[Goldenwing]

11070993
It just makes it even better when they all come together.

11071484
Don't worry, I'm generally not the sort to introduce named characters and then immediately kill them. Prince Argent is essentially a manifestation of the consequences of Rainbow's impulsive actions, so having him pester her for a good long while is far more likely.

[Blaster M]

His horn glowed white, the magic aura wrapping around his sheath. A long blade slid out of it with a quiet rasp, longer than any Rainbow had seen before. Then, with a series of barely audible snaps, it split into four pieces, each one orbiting separately around his head.

[Booster Spice]

Uhoh. Looks like one of the Old Gods has awoken?

[Ponygood11]

The moon ground to a stop in front of the sun, a perfectly round circle of black ringed with a halo of shimmering sunlight, and cast Harvest into shadow.

This is such a powerful scene. It's... ah, I don't know how to describe it. It's so cool.

We are definitely approaching the climax now, that much is certain. But we still don't know how it'll play out, even as we get closer to it. Will Luna be successfully awakened, or will she be consumed by Shaper? Will Rarity and Fluttershy's efforts to help Philomena bear fruit, or will they suffer the consequences of their naivete? Will Rainbow manage to keep some semblance of her principles, or will she abandon them entirely and become just like Gava?

Whatever happens, it's going to be big. And it's gonna change everything-- for better or for worse.

[spoonlol]

Man RD is fucking loosing it. That comment near the beginning of how easy it is to kill a pony, only to see Rainbow mow through that crew like it was nothing was just brilliant writing. This and I imagine the next chapter will be the turning point to whether Rainbow truly starts to loose herself.

The action for this chapter was outstanding my dude. Also a great contrast of the Argo’s crew taking on massive ship with expert skill next to Rarity’s group barely holding on while fight the Phoenix (and each other).

Loved that not only is Midnight slowly becoming a more developed creature but the fact that is scares the hell out of her is really interesting to see.
Twi keeps saying “US” now so they’re literally going full Venom and Eddie and I love it. Hoping we get a scene where Twi gives Midnight the reins, so Midnight can practice talking with the others without them know it’s not Twi, that would be funny to see.

Despite all the heavy and bloody action I love that the chapter ended with Anna’s internal struggle. Seeing how the mane six are slowly changing certain individuals they interact with shows that there is still hope for this world, and that their fight to make it better isn’t hopeless like Rainbow has come to believe.

Great work as always dude

11071043
And Pinkie and Applejack are just happy to be there… kinda

[Psyonicg]

11073204

Twi keeps saying “US” now so they’re literally going full Venom and Eddie and I love it. Hoping we get a scene where Twi gives Midnight the reins, so Midnight can practice talking with the others without them know it’s not Twi, that would be funny to see.

As the official Twi co-author I am mad I didn't think of this idea first. This 100% is gonna show up. Even if I have to force gold at knifepoint.

[shadysandycity]

His horn glowed white, the magic aura wrapping around his sheath. A long blade slid out of it with a quiet rasp, longer than any Rainbow had seen before. Then, with a series of barely audible snaps, it split into four pieces, each one orbiting separately around his head.

Whoaaa, we're putting some Immortal Game into the mix
For some reason, I'm getting some pretty strong deja vu; I haven't read the other 30-odd chapters/Empty Horizons in a while, has this story introduced the concept of bladecasting prior that I've just completely forgotten about?

I was half-expecting Prince Argent to just get splatted by the dropped submarine, as a hilarious anticlimax to all the setup of him and Rainbow having all that dialogue, but I suppose that would somewhat conflict with your conservative style of writing (not a detail, or in this case character wasted). Seriously, maybe I'm going full English teacher here, but the efficiency of the prose is a great indicator for the quality of this story. Like in the scene with Rainbow encountering the mechanic; Rainbow comes to a realization in internal monologue, expresses her rationalizations in external dialogue, her contemplation gets interrupted and the murder continues while her character arc is moved along. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it even has physical consequences when it turns out she'd gotten a punctured lung from the screwdriver? No redundancy, no heavy-handedness, no sense of shift in pace, despite literally being a scene of the character stopping to have a think in the middle of her rampage. And it has both physical and narrative consequences to anchor it to the plot. It's this kind of efficiency that allows this story to have so much while keeping things moving along.

Anyway, this isn't even my favourite part of the story, but I'm gonna stop myself before this turns into a full-on dissertation. Just wanted to say stuff like this is what keeps Fimfic alive. Keep it up y'all!

[spoonlol]

11073236
c.tenor.com/eEQMloOHSG0AAAAM/simpsons-mr-burns.gif

Aww, thanks. That means a lot

[Goldenwing]

11073531
Immortal Game was definitely where I got the idea for Argent's sword, but no, this is the first time in my writing that such a weapon has appeared. In fact I think Prince Argent is only the third Gifted unicorn to show up, with the first being Star Trails and second the Sassies. They only count as one!

And really, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to write a dissertation in my comments.
😩
👉👈

[Destiny Chaser]

And a veritable force of nature makes her return, let the wicked tremble before her might...

Man, this was such a riveting chapter. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. And Rainbow Dash, oh my poor girl, how far she has fallen. Is it possible that she might lose her magic like every other pony because of her descent into hatred?

So good to have you back!

[Zubric]

Man you have me on the edge of my seat and I love it. You are awesome

[CommanderApplejack]

Aaaahhhh, I wanna see Luna!

[Femto]

Damn it, I binged this in 2 days and now I have to wait God knows how long for a new chapter. And not one, but three cliffhangers! Curse you and your incredible writing!

[YewUnicorn]

Motion on the horizon caught her eye. She turned, watching as a pale white orb began to creep up into the sky. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, trying to identify it. It slid steadily higher, so slowly that at any given moment it didn’t even look like it was moving, inexorably climbing towards the sun.

Yessss.

Ana gasped, her legs dropping out from under her. There was no way. It was impossible.

YESSS.

The moon ground to a stop in front of the sun, a perfectly round circle of black ringed with a halo of shimmering sunlight, and cast Harvest into shadow.

YEEEEEEESSSS.

"She's here."

FUCKING YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!!!

I JUST GOT FULL BODY CHILLS IM FUCKING READY.

[YewUnicorn]

11085643
I know right?!?! I was like, "Fuck, shits going down for Everybody right now!"
(Rubs hands together gleefully) hehehehehe, I'm so ready for what's next.

[JonnyM]

Next chapter when?

[hamster wizard]

Weird as it is to say, Midnight has become very human (in terms of behavior). The insecurities and lack of understanding she displayed toward these new emotions was characterized really really well.

[dkia]

Awesome chapter. I realy love it. :D

[Lexiebommel10]

One of the old gods has awakened :0

[TheCommunistDog]

Well seems like our little bat has found some hope

[zsewqthewolf]

11122503
the french revolution really and i mean REALLY love to kill people even after it they have a habit of killing people just because they picked the wrong side of a person.

and well it really dose not take a lot for people wanting to see heads roll

[zsewqthewolf]

damn things are getting wild now.

mean how many rainbows going to keep losing her self to this world, not taking that special eye twilight made is basically her saying "this is my new life now and nothing can change it"

[Teardrops]

This keeps getting better and better! Please continue this, its amazing.

[Enduring Man-Child]

I have been following this saga (beginning with the first story) for a long time now. Weeks for certain. Months maybe? I don't remember. But I couldn't wait to get caught up so I could burst into blathering fandom at one of the greatest fics I have ever read. Ever.

If you have never written or published novels you are certainly capable of doing so. I thank you that you use your talent to keep alive the GREATEST animated characters I have ever had the pleasure of following in my whole, long, cartoon-watching life. I bawled a year ahead of time when I learned the next season would be the end. I bawled again when it ended. But people like you, and the great talented fans who write these stories, make videos, and voice the characters have healed my broken heart by keeping these beloved, irreplaceable ponies alive. So long as there are people like you, and works like this, the ponies will never die. (Beside, after twenty years the 2010's nostalgia will hit and the ponies will be a big part of that).

Apparently there have been no new chapters for almost four months. I have seen great stories suddenly discontinued before. But whether or not the saga ever resumes, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this masterpiece. At least from now on if it is updated I will know about it.

Thank you again, so very much.

[repitter]

11196275

Let me disagree with you.
This work is certainly not bad, I would say even very good, but frankly speaking, it does not pull at "the best that I have read in my life".
Be kind, try to read these two fanfics and tell me what you think about them:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/368986/message-in-a-bottle
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/247031/the-mare-who-once-lived-on-the-moon

cdn.everypony.ru/storage/01/61/61/2019/03/10/2e01df1fd5.png

[PonyofEntropy]

Checking in. Enjoy the story. Hope all is well.

[Mr Lore miser]

Oh good God please don't let the story end here please finish it properly😖

[Teardrops]

More book needed!

[Mr Lore miser]

Just checking in on the story you don't understand really hope your story finishes it was actually one of the first stories that actually got me into filmfiction

[Mr Lore miser]

Just checking in on the story again still hoping for an update

[LauraLeBold]

Holy shit this story is amazing! I love this story.

[Goldenwing]

11344811
11229796
11307971
11196275
11174632
New chapter tomorrow. 19k words. Thanks for all the kind comments.

[Mr Lore miser]

11364018
Thank you for coming back and continuing this story this story is way too good and the characters way too fun not to have a proper ending so thank you for coming back to be honest this is one of the stories that actually got me into fanfiction so thank you for continuing it

[Teardrops]

11364018
Yayy! Celestia be praised a miracle has happened! Thank you soo much please keep up the story, it is riveting and still the best fic I've read!

[Mitamajr]

A sudden eclipse in a
post-apocalyptic
fantasy

Oh shit