The Lion's Roar

by I Am The Night

Chapter 4: Sneaking and Entering

The howls of the dying rang in his head as he ran. Everywhere he turned, a new body lay. Some were burnt, yet other punctured by spears.

A young one lay with a spear still in his back. There was nothing that could be done for him.

Explosions near and far rocked his body, distant screams were suddenly silenced forever, burning branches would collapse from their foundations and create new fires to spread. War was here.

He tripped over a dead one, her face forever screaming back. Tears and blood clashed together into one. Rain would wash it away quickly.

He struggled to get back up. He dragged dirt and blood beneath his hooves. The pain in his side was greater than ever before, and yet he pushed to lift himself.

Suddenly, something stood before him, and all he could do was look up. And the monster looked him back. Cold, unfeeling eyes dug into his soul, a buzz rang behind her. And the land around them burned.

But he was all she saw. All she wanted. All she needed.

"Traitor."

---

"That... was... exhausting."

It was late in the afternoon, and Lyon had just finished going over the practice show with his assigned guards.

They weren't awful—far from it! No wonder Celestia picked them out for him!—but Lyon felt like he had forgotten what it was like to lead such a massive group. The last time he properly did something like this was for the Summer Sun Festival about a year after he came to Ponyville. That was the work of over 50 various archers and pegasi. Granted, it all worked out in the end, but Lyon wanted nothing more to do with big groups.

Even when he said he was ready, he wasn't.

But he couldn't say the practice work alone was the cause of his exhaustion. Add onto that the twisting and turning in his bed as he tried to sleep.

And Applejack...

He hadn't seen her since last night. He even went to her room as soon as he got up in the morning, only to find nopony there. Of course, she was at the rehearsal with the others; they became last-minute bridesmaids, after all!

...

Lyon sighed. "Why couldn't I just say something?"

He wasn't entirely sure if speaking clearly would've been enough to sooth her aching heart, but he wanted to at least try. Otherwise, he risked losing her as a friend. And having a former friend hurt by his rejection, acting as his boss, wasn't exactly a good thing.

Of course, Applejack wouldn't fire him over heartache... would she?

"Oof!" Lyon yelped as a pony bumped into him from behind.

Oh, for crying out loud, again?

Unlike before, however, he was able to keep his balance and right himself, then was quick to locate the pony that ran into him, who eyed him briefly with teary eyes. Only it wasn't a stranger.

"Twilight?" he called out to her.

Twilight stood before him, her eyes puffy and red with lines of tears running down her cheeks, and occasionally, she sniffled.

"Oh... s-sorry, sir. I-I..."

But the unicorn didn't say much before she was running off again, crying her eyes out and bawling her voice to the wind.

"Twilight, wait!"

Immediately, Lyon ran after her, hoping to catch up with her, but the mare was much faster than he was—which was both surprising and not surprising—and soon vanished through the thick crowd of ponies in the downtown region. He attempted to navigate his way through the ponies, but they were either too ignorant or too squeezed in to move.

Having barely made his way through the crowd, he gave up with a frustrated sigh.

"Great, now how am I gonna..." But it wasn't long before he smacked his head, and he realized where she was headed. "Of course."

---

A couple minutes later, Lyon stormed through the doors of the living hall, immediately darting for Twilight's room. What was going on with her? Did something happen? Was she hurt?

As soon as he turned the corner to where her room stood, two royal guards kept a post on both sides of the door.

What the...? Lyon thought. They weren't there last night!

The stallion began walking up to the door. And already, he could hear his friend crying her eyes out just a few feet away.

He didn't think he ever heard her cry before. He wished he didn't have to.

Before he did anything, he eyed the two guards, glancing at them left and right. They didn't look back at or even acknowledge him.

That is, until he tried opening the door.

Suddenly, two massive wings shot in front of him, and he yelped. "Halt! Twilight Sparkle does not want visitors at this time!"

Lyon softened and placed a hoof against his chest. "Look, I'm a friend of hers. I just want to know what happened, that's all. It'll only take a second, I promise—"

"Miss Sparkle has insisted that she be alone at this moment," the guard declared as Lyon's charismatic attempt failed him. "Any and all who attempt to invade her safety will be met with lethal force, at her request!"

...

"Wait... what?"

"If you attempt to trespass, Miss Sparkle has given us authority to protect her at the cost of your life. Now step back!"

Lyon only stared at the door, then to the guards, and then back to the door.

"Y... You're joking, right?"

Judging by the spears that sit pointed against his face less than half a second later, they apparently were not joking.

"Get back, sir!"

Tail tucked briefly between his legs, Lyon did what he was told and stepped away from the door.

But the crying from inside didn't get quieter. Twilight was practically bawling, at this point, sounding to be attempting to hold in her cries, but ultimately failing.

"Twilight?" he shouted. Surely they couldn't punish him for at least talking to her, right? "Twilight, it's me, Lyon! Can I come in? What's wrong?"

She didn't answer him at all.

"Twilight?"

And still no answer, only more crying. The guards began to eye him cautiously, as if ready to strike at a moment's notice. His attempts obviously having failed, Lyon raised his hooves.

"Alright, alright, I'm... I'm going! But I'll be coming back later to check up on her! I deserve that, at least!"

The guards didn't reply to his statement, and with that, Lyon walked away, the feeling of eyes on him never leaving until he turned the corner, and even then, he felt they watched him through the walls.

And they probably very well did.

---

Lyon paced slowly through the castle, thinking silently to himself as he attempted to locate the others.

It doesn't make sense, he muttered mentally, it isn't like Twilight to say something like that. 'Kill whoever tries to talk to me'? That's crazy! She would never do something like that! Unless she said something and they misinterpreted it, maybe? That could be it. Maybe there's a word that sounds like kill. Cull? No, that's basically the same thing. Call? Maybe, but I couldn't exactly test that either, could I? Not worth the risk.

He sighed, holding up a hoof as the sun blinded him across a window for a moment.

But then she didn't even acknowledge I was there. Maybe she couldn't hear me? Maybe, but... but... I don't know.

Lyon hung his head, lost as he attempted to debunk the situation. Then he stopped.

But she called me Sir, he realized. And she looked at me like a total stranger, like she didn't know it was me. It was completely out of place for her!

Just like...

"Rude!"

"There's something off about..."

"Insecure!"

"... awful pony who doesn't even deserve..."

"Demanding!"

"... there shouldn't even be a wedding!"

"FAKE!"

"She acted like she didn't even recognize me...!"

Cadance.

Sweet Cerberus Almighty.

In an instant, Lyon was sprinting down the halls. He needed to find someone, ANYONE!

The others would be a good start! Maybe Celestia, or Luna! No, that couldn't work, Celestia is Cadance's aunt, for Her sake. She'd never listen, and there was no doubt Luna would also ignore him! But the others practically laughed at her last night and talked about her behind her back... WHILE she walked away! What were the chances they would pay attention to—

"Fwuh—" was all Lyon could muster as he turned the corner, before tripping over something in his path. He flew in the air for a brief moment before crashing to the floor.

Oh, gods, this is gonna be what I'm remembered for around here, isn't it...?

"Oohhghh..."

Wait a second... he recognized that voice!

Hopping up on all fours and turning a full 180, he was greeted with a purple drake, sitting on the ground and holding his head with dizzying groans.

"Spike!" Lyon shouted with glee as he quickly enveloped the dragon in a firm hug. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!"

Spike groaned again. "Uhhnng... Lyyoon? I think I got run over by a mongoose or something..."

It took Lyon a second to remember what just happened, and laughed awkwardly, lifting Spike onto his back. He was quick to adjust as Lyon started back down the hall at a slower pace.

"Sorry. Uh, let's get you patched up before I say anything."

"Mmhmmm... a couple gems would be goood, too..."

~~~~~~~

"Wait... so Twilight was right?" Spike asked slowly as he stuffed a red gem into his maw.

It was a few minutes later that Spike and Lyon were sitting in an isolated break room, alone and away from any ponies that could potentially listen in on them. And in this case, Lyon preferred it that way, even though he would occasionally look out the window or out the door. Can't be too careful!

"I can't say 100 percent..." Lyon replied in a disappointed tone, "... but I know she was onto something. I mean, why else would Cadance act the way she was, according to her?"

Spike grabbed another gem and twirled it softly in his claws. "Well, Shining Armor already explained that at the rehearsal today—"

"And let me guess: He immediately dismissed her claims because of how ridiculous they sounded, am I right?"

"Well... there was a little bit of yelling too..."

Lyon facehoofed himself.

"Don't you think with the way she was talking about Cadance before our little argument beforehoof, that would've raised a bit of suspicion?"

Spike scratched the side of his head for a moment before shrugging. "Well, I guess... but maybe it could've been just part of Cadance she never got to see?"

"What about the part where Twilight mentioned Cadance acting like she didn't even recognize her?"

Spike stopped mid-bite on his gem.

"Oh. Well, I guess that would make someone curious."

"And what's worse," Lyon moaned as he started pacing the room, "is that whatever's going on has apparently gotten to Twilight, as well."

"What do you mean?"

Lyon stopped in his tracks and faced him. "I bumped into... "Twilight"... earlier, and she was crying her eyes out. Something clearly happened at the rehearsal, didn't it?"

"Well," Spike answered a bit somberly, "Shining Armor got angry at Twilight and told her not to come to the wedding."

"And that's it?"

The dragon nodded.

"Then how come she didn't recognize me?"

"... Huh?"

"When she looked at me, the way she did, it was like... I don't know, it was like she didn't know who I was all of a sudden! And she called me Sir! Twilight never calls me Sir. She said it in the way you'd say it to a complete stranger. She had no idea who she was looking at!"

"Maybe her... tears made it difficult to make you out?" Spike suggested reluctantly, and he knew it was a poor excuse.

"Even if that was the case, she would've at least recognized my voice, don't you think?"

"Maybe...?"

"Oh, and get this: According to the guards, Twilight gave them strict orders to "use lethal force" against anyone trying to see her."

"Wait... what?"

"That's what I said! Does that sound like Twilight Sparkle to you?"

"I..." Spike stammered, unsure of how to process this new bit of information. "... No. It doesn't. But that doesnt make sense, why would Twilight say something like that?"

"Because maybe that wasn't Twilight at all," Lyon suggested. "Maybe it was someone, or perhaps something pretending to be her."

Spike stared at him.

"... You lost me."

"Ugh!" Lyon sighed with frustration. "This is gonna get us nowhere. We gotta talk to Twilight if we're gonna get to the bottom of this."

"But you just said—"

"I know what I said," he interjected, "but we're not gonna solve this problem unless we're face to face with her. Or "her"."

"Where is she? Or "she"?"

*-*-*-*-*

After a few minutes of navigating through the corridors, Lyon and Spike found themselves back in the living hall, taking cover behind a corner as they peered down the hall where the royal guards continued to stand by Twilight's bedroom door.

Even from the end of the hall, her cries could be heard. Lyon didn't know what to feel at the moment.

"She's been like that for an hour," he whispered to Spike.

"Really? ... Wow. I didn't think losing the best mare honor hit her that hard."

"Assuming that's actually Twilight in there, it's not losing that. From what you told me, it sounds like you guys totally bailed on her."

"I didn't bail on...!" Spike started whisper-shouting, but stopped himself, looking down the marble floor. "Oh. I guess I did."

Lyon sighed, resting a hoof on the drake's head. "Look... don't worry about it. Let's just figure out a way to get inside."

"How? Those guards look pretty tough. And if Twilight really did order them to... you know... it's probably not a good idea to just force our way in."

"Hmm..." Lyon hummed as he began inspecting the visible hall, hoping to find some form of leverage in his favor.

A ceiling vent? No, nothing. Besides, they couldn't get up there anyway. Maybe a reachable wall vent? He would've noticed something like that earlier, but there was no such thing to be found.

And then he found something, and a part of him was already regretting it.

"I think I know how to get past them."

"How?" Spike questioned.

Lyon turned around fully and pointed to the end of the hall, prompting Spike to follow his hoof. At the end of the hallway stood a large window that, when Lyon walked over to and peered through it, overlooked a large chunk of the mountain Canterlot stood upon. Just in front of the window sat a ledge that could easily be reversible, and a sigh of relief escaped Lyon.

"Oh..." Spike deadpanned. "Tell me we're not gonna..."

"We might have to. C'mon, let's head to my room. They won't see us in there."

Lyon and Spike walked casually down the hall, passing by Twilight's door. As soon as they noticed the stallion, their eyes followed him, and their grips on their spears grew tight.

There was this hint of uncertainty bubbling in his stomach, something that told him he was about to make a mistake. But how he could be sure unless he acted on it?

Two rooms down, Lyon and Spike walked into the former's bedroom chambers. On the other side of the room stood a window of the same size and shape as the one in the hall.

Lyon peered out again and noticed a similar ledge in front of him. The only difference between this ledge and the other is that this one had an extra mile sitting beneath it.

It wasn't that he hated heights... but he hated heights.

Inspecting the window frame, he noticed four bolts on its base keeping it held in place—probably for the aforementioned reason.

"Now, I can probably loosen the bolts on this window and get it open, but it'll take a few minutes," he talked quietly.

"Are you... sure this is a good idea?" asked Spike, nervousness apparent in every word.

"Well," Lyon began, "given that the wind outside, at this height, is strong enough right now to make even the most stable of earth ponies lose their balance... no. This is probably one of the worst ideas I could come up with."

"... Then why are you going through with it??"

"It's either that, or try to get through two experienced guards with spears. And I doubt any distractions would work in our favor."

"Why not just tell Celestia what you know so far?"

Lyon shook his head as he successfully removed one bolt. "If Celestia was at the rehearsal and also left Twilight there, then she probably also thinks she's crazy. That means she wouldn't listen to me either."

"Princess Celestia can be rational, if you give her a chance. I'm sure once she hears you talking about it too, she'll have to look it over!"

Pausing on the second bolt, Lyon thought about Spike's suggestion. He did have a point. If he went to Celestia and presented her with this new information, maybe she would listen to reason?

Oh... s-sorry, sir. I-I...

"If whatever's going on with Cadance has affected Twilight too... telling Celestia might put us both at risk."

"You really think so?" Spike asked with a sigh.

"Maybe. I think we're on our own for now." Lyon then paused and turned to the young drake. "Well... maybe you should head back to the others. If something happens, I don't want you getting caught in the middle."

At first, Spike thought about it. But it didn't take long for him to shake his head firmly.

"Twilight is my friend. If she is in trouble, I wanna be there to help save her."

"Are you sure? This could be dangerous."

"I'm a dragon," Spike boldly stated. "Danger is in my blood."

"You're also just a kid. If something ever happened to you..."

"Nothing will. I promise."

Lyon stared hesitantly at Spike, hoping he could somehow convince him to back down... even if he was the one that got him involved.

But he knew Spike was never one to back down easy. He saw that when Rarity had been kidnapped by Diamond Dogs. He was willing to put himself at risk to save her.

How could he deny him this chance?

"Okay. But let's be careful about this. Okay?"

"Got it."

The second bolt came loose a moment later. Two more to go.

"Anything else you can tell me about the rehearsal?" Lyon asked as he started twisting on the third bolt. "Anything strange or odd catch your eye?"

Spike tapped his chin with a single claw, humming for a moment, but ultimately, he shrugged.

"Well... Applejack was a bit off during the show."

Lyon paused, concern clear in his eyes. "Applejack?"

"Yeah. I mean, whenever she was talking to the others, she looked like her usual self, but when she was on her own, she just looked so... sad."

He paused, the faint trembles in his muscles relaxing, and he sighed—but it was anything but relief.

"Wait," Spike started, quick to notice Lyon's change in expression, "do you know why she was acting like that?"

Reluctantly, he nodded. "It's... it's a long story—"

"Tell me."

Lyon had noticed Spike stared at him with suspicion, his eyes a steady glare, and one claw curled into a brief fist. It made sense, Spike was always defensive of his friends.

He knew he couldn't keep it a secret for long, and he sighed.

"Applejack likes me."

Spike recoiled. "... Oh."

"Yeah. She told me about it last night before she went to bed."

Spike's posture softened, and his glare faded.

"I didn't know she felt that way about you." The young drake's eyes were a bit more open now.

The third bolt came undone, and Lyon moved onto the final one.

"Me neither."

"And I'm guessing... you said no? Didn't you?"

Lyon shook his head. "No. I couldn't even get a couple words out right. I guess I was just shocked. I'd been working with that mare for years, and it never clicked in my head that she felt something for me. Am I really that dense?"

"Maybe she didn't want it to be too obvious? Or make it awkward, or something?"

The stallion faintly shrugged. "I mean... Applejack is a good friend and all. But I... I... just never saw anything more than that."

Lyon stopped again, a hoof pressed against the cool glass.

"And the look on her face when I said absolutely nothing..." He stared out to the valley below Canterlot. "... If I could undo one thing in my life, it'd be seeing that."

Spike lowered his head.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's my fault, anyway."

Lyon continued to twist the bolt, much quicker and harder than before.

"As soon as we get to the bottom of all this, I'm gonna make it up to her."

"How?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "But I'll think of something."

What could he do without hurting her more?

With a final click, the last bolt was successfully removed, allowing the window to open and close at will. Lyon pushed it open until it could touch the outer wall, having to hold it on his own as the wind battered it the other way. Who knew it'd be this windy this high up?

Just before he climbed out onto the ledge, Lyon turned back to Spike, who stood behind him.

"Last chance?"

Spike shook his head again. "I'll be careful. I promise."

And there was that determined look in his eyes again. For such a young dragon, he was already growing into something more than that. Lyon didn't know whether to be proud or concerned.

"Alright." Lyon nodded and hunched down to the floor, inching towards Spike. "Hop on my back, it'll be safer."

Spike was quick to climb onto Lyon's back and adjust himself, latching onto the stallion with no intention of letting go. Lyon breathed deep a few times and tried relaxing his hooves. He felt his body tremble as the wind brushed against his mane. After a moment of howling silence, he started to feel his muscles relax, his breathing slow to a steady crawl, and his sight clearer than it had ever been.

Though, it might've been because he was responsible for a baby dragon's life as he prepared to climb on a ledge thousands of feet from certain death.

No pressure, right?

"Okay..." Lyon whispered to himself as he grabbed the sides of the window frame and carefully pulled himself upward, keeping his grip strong. One hoof at a time, he started to place himself onto the ledge, cold to the touch from wind exposure.

Lyon shivered at the contact, but pushed forward until he found himself standing entirely on all fours. There was more than enough space to support at least another half a pony, but the sheer force of the wind made him wobble at least a could times.

He felt Spike struggle to keep his grip. "Lyon, I-I—" But Lyon held a hoof against the drake and kept him in place.

"I got you. I got you."

Slowly and carefully, Lyon began trudging his way across the ledge towards Twilight's window. Attempting to work with the wind, he was able to keep a steady balance, all the while keeping Spike on his back. Despite moving slowly, it wasn't long before he approached the first window, the room between his and Twilight's.

Taking a quick peak inside, he noticed nopony was inside, and a look at the belongings indicated this was Fluttershy's room. He was sure even someone like her would kill him if she saw Spike the way he was.

Continuing forward before someone did decide to open the door, Lyon paid attention to the wind direction. Halfway towards Twilight's window, he felt it shift against him from the front, forcing him to shut his eyes as the cold air quickly dried them. He leaned against the wall for support, careful not to accidentally injure Spike in the process.

"C'mon," he grunted, "almost... there..."

Looking down at the ledge, Lyon attempted to keep his eyes wet. He felt the wall and guided himself to the window. It had to be close now. Just a few... more... feet... and...

"Aha!" he cheered as he touched the window frame. "I did... it..."

Then he noticed the bolts. Inside.

"How... did I... forget that...?" Lyon breathed, coming down from his momentary high.

He growled to himself. How did he completely forget in literally 2 minutes that these windows had bolts that took time to pull out?!

"Now, what do we do?" Spike asked.

Lyon didn't answer right away, instead looking at his surroundings for any potential way of getting through. Maybe there were vents on the outside? Or perhaps a singular lock to pick through? Or...

... Or maybe there were four bolts at the top of the window on the outside?

What in the...—Never mind, I'll take it. How am I gonna get up there?

Nearby was a large metal pipeline that extended all the way to the top of the window and lined itself across the rest of the building, only going vertical when a window was near. Tapping the pipe a few times—and careful not to be too loud doing so—Lyon realized it seemed incredibly sturdy. And to further add to his luck, there was a ledge he could climb onto.

Thank you to the weirdos that created this place.

"Spike?"

"Yeah...?"

"Hold on tight."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that."

Gripping the pole tightly on both sides, Lyon took in a deep breath and began to climb. He was lucky it wasn't winter, otherwise it would've been impossible. Even then, he began to wonder if would've been less effort to just try and barge his way in.

Then again, being stabbed to death in front of Spike probably wouldn't be the greatest idea...

"Don't look down... don't look down," he repeated as he tried looking up instead, noticing he was already halfway up. Spike was gripping his neck tightly, but not tight enough to choke him. He was lucky he was only still a baby dragon.

After a couple of excruciatingly long minutes, Lyon finally reached the top, resting on the upper ledge for just a moment to regain his strength. He panted, having not climbed the strenuously in a couple years. It were times like this he wished he was born a pegasus, then none of this would be a problem!

"Alright," Lyon sighed, "just like before. Here's to hoping the air didn't freeze them in place."

What was awkward with this particular set of bolts was that it was underneath the very ledge Lyon sat on, but luckily, he was able to reach down far enough and grab one of the bolts. To his luck, it was able to turn with ease, unaffected by the cool wind. As he continued to undo the bolts, Lyon peered out into the endless valley below the city, as it had started getting a bit... darker.

The sun was going down.

"We gotta hurry," he said to Spike as he started twisting the bolt much quicker. Within moments, it came loose, and he set it aside on the ledge before moving onto the next one.

Each individual bolt took a good minute to undo. By the time he had finally unscrewed the final bolt, the sun began to dip beneath the horizon. As soon as the bolt came out, however, the window quickly began to slide open. He snapped down to grab it before it could make a noise, but struggling to keep his balance, Lyon slipped and swung off the ledge, barely catching it by a remaining hoof.

"Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall, don't fall...!" Spike screamed into Lyon's back as the latter found himself hanging by his hooves over a mile high drop. His breathing sped up, and he felt himself sweat profusely. Just in time, he was able to stop the window falling again with a hind leg.

"Spike," he whisper-yelled to the dragon, "I need you to slide down me and jump through the window!"

"What? You're crazy!"

"That's besides the point!"

"But what if I fall?!" Fear hung on his every word.

"You won't!" Lyon shook his head and looked into the dragon's eyes. "Trust me!"

Spike was shaking, scared stiff, and wanted nothing more to stay held onto Lyon's back for comfort. But now, he knew he had no choice but to do what he was told. They'd both fall if he didn't, he knew that.

"Okay... okay... okay..."

Twisting his body until he was sitting on top of Lyon, Spike started to crawl on top of his friend, careful not to hurt him. At times, he felt his balance begin to go, but Lyon would quickly twist his own body until Spike was comfortable enough to keep moving.

Lyon felt his hooves begin to slip ever so slightly. "Spike, hurry up...!"

With no time to waste, and his breath labored out of fear, Spike took his daring leap of faith, and jumped to the window. Without much effort, he was able to grab onto the edge of the opened window and started pulling himself in as quick as he could. In his haste, his grasp slipped beneath him, and he found himself falling from the top.

At first, Lyon stopped moving, even stopped breathing for a moment, fearing that Spike had fallen onto the hard floor and hurt himself... or worse. He tried looking inside, but could see nothing due to how dark it had gotten.

"Spike...?" he whispered as quietly as he could. For several seconds, there was nothing but pure silence. "C'mon, buddy, say something..."

And soon enough, he heard something rustling near the bottom.

"Lyon?"

Using his dragon's breath as a form of faint light, Spike revealed himself, sitting in a pile of clothes that lay scattered across the floor. Enough of those clothes had been piled up to make a pretty clean fall for the dragon. Lucky too—

Lyon stopped for a second. Pure silence? But... that didn't—Gaah!

The stallion's hooves slipped from their grip on the upper ledge, but before he could fall any further, he was able to reach out and grab the window. He heard Spike gasp for a moment, only to then let out a quick sigh of relief. Without any haste, Lyon quickly pulled himself up and into the room, finding something to at least slide down on. Using the corner of the window frame, he carefully began climbing down until he reached the floor.

"You alright, Spike?" he whispered.

The dragon nodded. "Uh huh. You?"

"Yeah." Lyon sighed, relieved that his dragon friend was unharmed. Twilight would never forgive him if...

Twilight...

Lyon and Spike slowly turned their heads to something that caught their attention. It was quiet, all but the sounds of sniffles filling the silence among the howls of wind. Not a single light illuminated the vastness of Twilight's bedroom chambers.

Nothing but a single, dimmed light beneath a thick blanket on the bed cast some form of light. The source of the crying came from underneath, muffled, and yet loud enough to be clear.

"Twi...?" Spike attempted to call out quietly, but Lyon motioned him to keep quiet. The latter gently walked along the marble floor, using clothes from the pile to muffle his steps.

The closer he got to the bed, the clearer her cries became. The lump beneath the blanket shifted for a moment. The crying stopped just as long, then continued again.

Part of Lyon started to believe that beneath that blanket, harboring that faint glimmer of lavender light, his best friend was there, crying and believing that everyone had abandoned her. He wanted to tell her he was there for her, that he would never abandon her, that everything was going to be okay.

Until her voice blipped, and she started crying all over again.

Fiercely, Lyon pulled the covers away from the bed, exposing whatever lay beneath. Immediately, he and Spike found themselves humming in bewilderment at what they were looking at.

A small crystal floated in the air, emanating a faint purple hue. But the strangest thing is that it seemed to also be creating a faint hologram-esque projected of Twilight, a still image that sat in a crying stance.

"It's a... fake?" Spike whispered, more confused than concerned at the very moment. He eyed Lyon, and Lyon eyed him back.

Slowly, the stallion began reaching a hoof out towards "Twilight", curious to see what would happen—even as the voice in the back of his head screamed at him not to.

His hoof went right through "her" like she wasn't there at all, and instead he went straight for the floating crystal. The very moment it made contact with his hoof, the looping sound of Twilight's crying began to glitch out, stuttering and freezing until it simply stopped, and her projection faded, yet the glowing of the crystal remained. He held it out in front of him, observing it closely.

Slowly, his voice rose to attention. "You know what this means?"

"Uh huh..." Spike nodded his head anxiously. "Twilight was right."

"And if Twilight was right, then she's in trouble."

"And if she's in trouble..."

"So are you."

Spike and Lyon froze in place, the scales and hairs on their bodies standing on end. In the reflective material of the crystal, two figures stood behind them.

And what was that one do—WHOA—

With a fraction to spare, Lyon ducked, barely missing the swing of the axe, and... AXE?! WHERE DID THEY GET AN AXE?!

Lyon quickly grabbed Spike and jumped out of the way, turning around to reveal two familiar figures, the royal guards that stood outside. Only something looked... different about them. He was sure eyes weren't typically all green.

"We told you to "step back, sir,"" the guards spoke in perfect unison, only their vocal differences clashing together. They started walking towards the two slowly, who found themselves quickly backed up against the window.

"Lyon? What do we do?"

Lyon eyed the window, wondering if he could use it as a form of escape, only to realize the bottom was still bolted shut. But the bedroom doors were wide open, allowing an easy escape. Now to get past the two royal guards carrying spears and axes in their... magic auras?

Furrowing his eyebrows, Lyon stood his ground, waiting for the right moment. Spike glanced at him worryingly as the guards started closing in on them.

"G-Get back!" he shouted, trying to puff out his chest. "Don't come any closer...!"

"Cute. A brave fighter indeed," they responded in a sarcastic tone. "We'll make this quick."

The guard holding the axe swung it back, preparing a deathly strike. And in that same moment, Lyon sprung into action.

Before Spike could interject, he found himself flying through the air as Lyon threw him upward and over the royal guards. The axe came swinging down, but Lyon was quick enough to run and slide in between the two figures, coming out on the other side. As planned, Spike fell onto his back, and he immediately sprinted to the door.

"Spike, hang on!" he shouted as he slid across the hallway floor and twisted to the left. He started down the hall, running as fast as his hooves could carry him, and it was only seconds later that explosive green balls began flying in his direction, missing him as they exploded several feet away.

"They're shooting things at us!"

"I know! Gah!" Lyon shrieked as he barely avoided one of the projectiles, which exploded at the end of the hall, successfully shattering a window.

"But they're pegasi!"

"Well, then they're probably not actually pegasi!" A projectile exploded just feet away from them.

"THEN WHAT ARE THEY?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Lyon drifted again, turning down the hall leading to the exit doors. He heard the sound of clopping hooves echoing behind him before more projectiles started shooting at him once more. Spike ducked as one nearly clipped him, instead striking the exit doors and making a large enough hole to...

"Wait, what are youuuaaaggh!" Spike screamed as Lyon grabbed and tossed him through the hole, before flying through himself. The two rolled momentarily before coming to a stop, trying to collect their thoughts.

But Lyon didn't have that long a luxury before he lifted Spike on his back and continued sprinting. Several feet behind him, the door exploded off its hinges, the two guards emerged from the smoke and cinders, and immediately gave chase.

Along the way down the stairs, Spike couldn't help but look up to the watchtower where the Sisters would overlook Canterlot.

"W-Where's Princess Luna?!" he shrieked. "She should be up there right now! Why isn't she up there—"

"Keep it together, buddy!" Lyon panted as he darted his eyes around him, looking for some kind of exit strategy. "Let's ditch these guys first before we—"

But the stallion was unable to express the plan before he was braking against the dirt. In a matter of moments, he was surrounded.

Dozens of guards, dozens of ponies in fancy attire, stood all around him, all sporting those same green eyes as the guards. All of them eyed him and Spike with a lustful hunger that made Lyon freeze in place. He thought of jumping over them or shoving a few over, just to get through them, hoping he could somehow get the upper hoof.

But if two pegasi were able to suddenly use magic, then these ponies could do the same.

"Lyon...?" Spike's voice was low, but not yet a whisper.

Lyon tried to back up, turn left or right, but in every direction, someone was in his way. He was trapped with no way to get out, and he knew it.

And then he saw him. The stallion that attacked him yesterday, standing before him, wearing the same clothing he had been wearing then. Looking down, a sharpened hoof duster was attached to his arm. He didn't notice it the first time.

"Spike..."

Before he could say anything, several of the ponies became enveloped in an equal green magical field. Lyon held a hoof against Spike, keeping him firmly against him.

Suddenly, green beams shot from the ponies and directly at Lyon and Spike. The two groaned as they found themselves unable to move, petrified by whatever kind of spell this was.

And suddenly feeling tired.

"I... I don't feel so... good..." was all Spike could say before he fell unconscious, falling from Lyon's back.

The stallion said nothing, falling to the ground without any effort at all, and feeling weaker by the minute. His eyes grew heavy, his arms weighted to the ground. The last thing Lyon saw looking up was that same stranger standing over him.

Then it was darker than dark.

Author's Note:

The next chapter was originally part of this chapter, but I wasn't sure if it would be too long or not. When I split the chapters, this one was originally 9300+ words.

If you enjoy this story so far, don't be afraid to tell or even critique me in a comment, as well as sharing! Comments make me happy!

Comments

[Onyx Quill]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMQ-t3nGzrI

[Muramasa]

"I... I don't feel so... good..."

Mr. Lyon...

[I Am The Night]

9896050

That's actually why I wrote out that line.