Stars in the Shadow of Night

by Melody Song

Save The Young and Old

Shadowstar's head snapped up as he heard the cry. It came from the red farmhouse in the distance. Sandbar watched him frantically.

"What do we do?"

Shadowstar glanced over at the battle, then back at the barn. He could now see the soldiers hovering around it. Only changelings and dragons seemed to be there, no pony soldiers had become aware yet. There was no time to properly think, he needed to act. Now.

"Head up there and scout it out, wait for me before doing anything." Shadowstar directed Sandbar, who nodded and raced off.

Shadowstar took a breath, then flapped his wings to give himself an extra boost, before rushing into the fray.

"Tempest! Pharynx!" Shadowstar called, dodging creatures as he searched for the two. "Guys, I need you!"

"What's going on?"

Pharynx's voice suddenly spoke from behind Shadowstar, and he yelped, turning around. Pharynx and Tempest were standing directly behind him. Tempest's broken horn was glowing with a crackling aura, creating a thin shield of what looked like electricity around the two. Shadowstar's suspicions on what it was was confirmed as a dragon lunged at them, only to be shocked by the shield and flung backwards.

"There you two are, come with me, we need to get one of the medics, now." Shadowstar ordered

The two creatures, due to being soldiers at heart, operated on instinct. They didn't question Shadowstar's command, following him through the fight. Tempest dropped her shield, and the three made their way through the battle, separating fighting creatures and grappling with attackers as they went.

Eventually, they reached Thorax and Ocellus, who were hunkered down behind an overturned wagon. A few injured creatures were near them, all having been bandaged up by the two. Shadowstar stepped past the creatures.

"Thorax, come with me." he ordered

"W-What? Okay..." Thorax grabbed his supplies and joined Pharynx and Tempest. "What's going on?"

"Thorax! I got a blow to my should-what's going on?" Ember walked over, rubbing her shoulder.

"Thorax can heal you on the way, we'll probably need you too, let's go." Shadowstar said, turning and rushing away, leading them.

"Shadowstar, slow down! Where are we going?!" Ember called out, flying after him, the others behind her.

"Dragon, griffon, and changeling soldiers are attacking that farm, it's where all the foals and elders are." Shadowstar explained.

"You could've led with that!" Ember snarled, zooming ahead.

"I second that." Tempest added, following the dragoness. Pharynx nodded and sped up, Thorax fast behind. Shadowstar took off and followed them.

Soon, they reached the area of the apple orchard near the barn. Sandbar was waiting for them.

"What did you see?" Shadowstar asked

"They haven't gotten in yet, the barn's been boarded up from the inside, probably the foals helping to protect themselves." Sandbar told him. Shadowstar nodded.

"Got it. Ember, Tempest, Pharynx, try to drive them away from the barn if you can, but if they get in, focus on protecting the foals and eldery ponies." Shadowstar told them.

"And what'll you three be doing?" Tempest asked

Shadowstar looked back at the barn. "I'll be finding a way to help them all escape. Thorax, you're with me, so you can help if any of the ponies are injured. You too Sandbar."

"Okay Shadowstar." Thorax said, looking at the barn. "I hope they're all okay in there... it looks so scary..." he murmured, glowing pink briefly as he shared love and concern for ponies he didn't even know.

"They'll be okay, as long as we can get to them before those soldiers can, come on." Shadowstar told him, not noticing how Thorax's wings began to sparkle. No one noticed.

"Tempest, Ember, let's go." Pharynx said, slinking forward. "On my signal?"

"Go ahead." Tempest allowed

"Three... two... now!" Pharynx whispered, and the three of them burst from out of the undergrowth.

The three warriors charged the soldiers, grabbing some and dragging them away from the barn. They quickly lost the element of surprise, but it didn't matter. Their job was to be the diversion, and it was working. While they got the attention of the creatures, Shadowstar, Sandbar, and Thorax snuck around the back of the barn.

"S-So how do you plan on us getting in?" Thorax asked

"Like this. Stand back." Shadowstar lit up his horn, and with a blast, a small hole big enough for himself, Sandbar, and Thorax to fit through had been made in the barn. "Come on."

Thorax cautiously followed Shadowstar through the hole. Sandbar followed a bit more quickly. Shadowstar entered the barn and lit up his horn.

"Hello? Is anypony here? We're not here to harm you, we're here to help, come out, please." Shadowstar encouraged.

The light from Shadowstar's horn illuminated the dark barn, and soon, a foal stepped into the open. She had a yellow coat and red mane, with a pink bow in it. Shadowstar stepped closer, kneeling down.

"Hello, who are you?"

"A-Ah'm Apple Bloom." she told him.

"My name's Shadowstar, and this is Thorax." Shadowstar gestured to the changeling, who yelped slightly and hid behind him. "We're here to help get you out of here before those griffon, changeling, and dragon soldiers break in. And Thorax can help if any of you are injured."

Apple Bloom eyed him warily. "Alright... wait, Sandbar?"

"Yes, it's me." Sandbar stepped closer. "Nice to see you again Apple Bloom."

"Wait... yer tha Resistance!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, smiling now, then glanced back behind her. "It's okay ya'll, they're friends!"

At this, many foals and a few elderly ponies came out from behind crates and farm equipment. Shadowstar noticed that they'd piled some of the heavier farming tools in front of the door, likely the reason the soldiers hadn't simply broken down the door.

"How are you going to help us?" an orange pegasus filly asked.

"You see that hole in the side of the barn? It's how we got in, and you're getting out." Shadowstar explained.

"Sorry we had to blast a hole in your barn Apple Bloom..." Sandbar apologized.

"It's fine. S'long as it helps us escape. Besides, Big Mac's wrecked it worse before." Apple Bloom dismissed it. Shadowstar figured this was an inside joke, based on Sandbar's chuckle, and dismissed it.

"Alright, now, we have to hurry, a few of our friends are distracting the soldiers that are trying to break in, but they won't be able to for lo-"

CRASH!

Shadowstar's eyes widened. "They're here! To the escape hole, now!"

"Let's go ya'll!" Apple Bloom led the herd of foals to the tunnel.

"Sandbar, Thorax, help them!" Shadowstar ordered, jumping away from the crowd and sinking into a battle position, horn igniting.

Sandbar and Thorax quickly moved through the crowd, scooping up younger foals and carrying them. Thorax slipped ahead and ducked down, going through the hole and waiting on the other side. Sandbar encouraged the others to go through, the older foals first, then the elderly ponies. Thorax helped them all out of the hole.

"Where do we go now?" a unicorn filly with a white coat and purple-pink mane asked him.

"I-I'm not sure, I'm not the one who makes the decisions..." Thorax looked around frantically. He knew he couldn't wait for Shadowstar, he would probably be holding off the soldiers if they broke in. "Okay, Tempest, Pharynx, and Ember are distracting the soldiers on the other side of the barn, they've probably taken out most of them by now... that's less for Shadowstar to deal with and less to follow us..."

"I don't mean to rush yah sonny, but yah might wanna put a little jump in yer giddie'up." an elderly green earth pony mare told him.

"S-Sorry, uh... flee into the trees, but don't go far, wait at the edge and only go deeper if necessary." Thorax told them, and they nodded.

"Thorax!" Sandbar poked his head through, holding out a small filly. "Come on, we've still got to get the young foals out."

Thorax nodded and leaned over, picking the filly up by the back of her neck and pulling her the rest of the way through the hole, setting her beside him. Sandbar blinked at him as he shoved another foal through.

"What? It's how we pick up changeling nymphs." Thorax explained, nipping up the next foal.

"Uh, okay, as long as it works." Sandbar held out another filly. "Here, last one, be very careful, she's my sister."

Thorax nodded and reached for her, but just as he was about to, the barn's roof cracked. Sandbar yelped and ducked back inside, clutching his sister.

"Sandbar! Shadowstar!" Thorax cried, knowing the two were still inside. Then, the roof caved in. Thorax yelled and tried to use his magic to pull away the larger planks of wood. He teared up, falling onto his haunches. "I'm not strong enough..."

"Lucky for you, you're not alone." Smolder spoke from behind him, and he whipped around.

The dragoness smiled and flew over, grabbing one of the planks and dragging it away from the wreckage. Gallus, Gilda, and Gabby followed her, helping to remove the wood from where their trapped friends were. Ocellus raced up, and Thorax glanced over.

"Where do you think can I help?" Ocellus asked.

"The ponies fled to the orchard, they might need help." Thorax suggested, and she nodded, racing off.

Thorax helped Smolder, Gallus, Gilda, and Gabby as best he could. Eventually, they uncovered the two.

"Sandbar? Sandy!" Gallus reached down and pulled out the coughing earth pony. Sandbar opened his eyes and pressed against Gallus, still holding his sister.

"I'm okay Gal." he assured him. Gallus breathed a sigh of relief and took off towards the trees, holding him.

Shadowstar emerged next, horn still glowing. The others pulled him out fully as the changeling, griffon, and dragon soldiers closed in. Tempest, Pharynx, and Ember raced over, and the fight began.

"This isn't the answer! You know I'm right!" Shadowstar called loudly.

"Seems like a pretty good answer to me!" one of the dragons said, slashing at him. Shadowstar ducked and blasted at them.

"It's not!"

"You're not winning this argument, Shadowstar, just fight." Tempest said, blasting another dragon.

One of the changelings tackled Pharynx, who bit them in the shoulder and tossed them off. Gilda stabbed a dragon in the side with her sword. Ember used her own sword to drive back a griffon, who had appeared to have lost his weapon. Pharynx fired his crossbow to scare a couple of his kind away. Soon enough, the soldiers had been driven off.

"Curse that Resistance..." a griffon muttered as the soldiers left. Though a couple of his fellows seemed to be contemplating the group's action.

"Good work everyone." Shadowstar said, smiling at the group as Thorax weaved through them, checking for injuries. He smiled at the medic. "Especially you Thorax."

"M-Me?!" Thorax blinked at him as Gallus, Ocellus, and Sandbar returned with the ponies.

"Yes, you." Shadowstar smiled at him. "You recognized when it was time to take charge and make decisions on your own when deciding what to tell the ponies to do. I may be in charge, but I'm glad none of you have grown too reliant on my being there to make decisions for you."

Thorax smiled, then blushed as Ember gave him a one-armed hug.

"Nice job Thor." she said, smiling at him.

"Th-Thanks." Thorax blushed.

"Yah did it! Ya saved us!" Apple Bloom ran up to them, the unicorn and pegasus fillies behind her. "Go Resistance!"

Shadowstar smiled at them. "We were happy to help, little one."

"Well we thank ya anyway." Apple Bloom bowed to him. "Good luck to ya."

"You don't want us to stay and help you rebuild the barn?" Gabby offered. Smolder, Ember, Tempest, and Pharynx all shook their heads no rapidly.

"Yes, we'd be glad to help." Ocellus added.

"Me too!" Thorax agreed, and the two dragons stopped protesting.

"Nah, it's fine. Bet ya'll have yer own camp to get back to." Apple Bloom turned back to the group. "Besides, we have enough ponies here to do the rebuilding."

Sure enough, the foals had begun sifting through the wreck. The pegasus filly snickered and buzzed her wings, grabbing a toolbox and shoving it into a pink earth pony filly's hooves.

"Here Diamond Tiara, you can set up the framework." she giggled, and the filly groaned in disgust, dragging the toolbox away.

"And no getting Silver or your butler to do it for you!" the unicorn filly joined in, she and the pegasus filly running after her, laughing.

"Bye! I'm sure I'll see ya'll later!" Apple Bloom ran after the fillies. "Good luck!"

Shadowstar smiled at them, then looked up at the sky. "Seems like Aunt Celestia's lowering the sun. Probably time to head back to base camp."

"Yes sir." Pharynx and Tempest chorused, smirking as he blushed sheepishly.

"You two do that on purpose."

"Maybe." Tempest smirked, and Shadowstar sighed, shaking his head, though he smiled.

"Come on guys, let's go home."