Prologue: Defying Gravity

Prologue

Defying Gravity

Though the streets were full of ponies, Sunset Shimmer was alone.

She moved through the heaving bustle of Canterlot, not touching anypony. Not interacting with any of them. Their chatter swirled about her like an ocean but she did not hear it, nor did she say a single word to anypony who passed by. It was as though there was a shield around her that was keeping her from pony contact, isolating her. She was like the star in some moving picture show and all the rest were only background extras whose only purpose was to make the scene look busy.

Sunset walked down Holloway Road, head held high, eyes proud. She had nothing to be ashamed of. She had nothing to be sad about. She should be thankful, really. Thankful to the princess, and to Breaking Dawn that little...no, no she wasn't angry. She was grateful, just like she ought to be. She'd been coasting through that school, getting lazy, getting comfortable. This kick in the flank was exactly what she needed. She knew what she had to do now, where she had to go.

It was stupid of me to think that I'd ever find the answers I was looking for at that school. If I want to find the secret to eternal life, if I want to have my own kingdom, I need to look elsewhere.

And I know where.

But she wouldn't be going alone. This would be the greatest adventure ever, and she planned to share it with the two greatest ponies - and greatest friends - ever.

Sunset Shimmer reached the Haymarket, a large square in mid-town Canterlot, and made her way through the press of ponies going home for the day to the ice cream stand which always sat against the north edge of the market. Strawberry Swirl, the manager of the stand, was there as always in his red-and-white striped waistcoat and white hat; a fond and familiar smile for Sunset as she rested her forehooves on the counter, "Hey, Sunset! They let you out of school early today or something?"

Sunset laughed nervously, "Yeah, you could say that."

"You okay kid? You sound kinda down."

"Nah, I'm fine, Mr Swirl. I'm great. Can I get a chocolate sundae with chocolate fudge sauce and─"

"And two chocolate flakes, I know what you want kid. It's all you ever order." Strawberry Swirl sweetened his exasperated tone with a grin to show he was only kidding.

"What can I say, Mr Swirl, I've got one hay of a sweet tooth I guess," Sunset grinned.

"You gonna take it away someplace?"

"Nah, I'm eating in today."

Strawberry Swirl smiled, "Is it your colt-friend? Or are you meeting Trixie here?"

"Both," Sunset Shimmer replied.

"Well that's good to hear," Strawberry Swirl leaned over the counter. "Because between you and me this is a lousy place for a boy to take his marefriend for a date if you know what I mean."

Sunset looked sceptical, "I cannot remember a time when I've been here and not seen somepony kissing. Look there's two ponies kissing right there!" she gestured to a happy couple sucking face at one of the tables in the corner of the square.

"That's different," Strawberry said.

"How?"

"That girl ain't as cute as you, sweetie," he placed her sundae down on the counter. "Here you go."

"Thanks Mr Swirl," Sunset Shimmer paid him, then levitated her ice cream over to one of the blue-and-white checkerboard tables set out for those who didn't want to take their ice cream with them. She set the sundae down, took hold of the little spoon with her magic, and took a tiny bite. The ice cream made her teeth shiver, but to be honest she liked that. And it was so sweet, it was just what she needed.

Chocolate chips as well, I could just live on these. I hope I become queen of a place where they've worked out how to make ice cream.

"Hey, you're starting without me," Flash Sentry landed a few feet away from her and strode over. "That's not very polite, don't you think?"

Sunset raised one eyebrow, "Well, a decent coltfriend wouldn't have kept me waiting. A decent coltfriend would have been waiting for me and would have bought me something."

"Sorry," Flash said. "Guess I'm a pretty lousy colt-friend huh?"

"I forgive you," Sunset leaned forward to kiss him, but Flash Sentry didn't move. He stood stock still, at attention.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Flash said.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I'm fine. How are you? I heard that you, um, that you got, uh─"

"Kicked out?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "Yeah, it happened and I don't want to talk about it. It happened. It’s in the past. I only want to talk about the future."

Flash Sentry laughed mirthlessly, "Come on, Sunny, you can't just sweep something like this under the carpet, you need to talk about it."

"Why?" Sunset demanded. "What the hay good would that do?" She sighed, rubbing her nose with one hoof. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't get mad at you. It's just...everything... and Breaking Dawn said some stuff and... it isn't your fault."

"It's okay," Flash Sentry said. "With all that's been going on with you lately, it would be surprising if you weren't mad."

"See that's what I like about you, Flash, you're so supportive," Sunset hugged him, which Flash bore stiffly and stoically. "How do you feel about taking a trip?"

"What?"

"I was going to wait until Trixie got here to talk about this, but since you're here and she isn't I'll tell you first," Sunset said. "I want us to go away together, the three of us. On an adventure."

Flash frowned, "Where? For how long?"

"For as long as it takes," Sunset replied. "Where: there's a mirror, in the palace. A magic mirror. Celestia showed it to me once. It shows you your desires, but at the same time it's some kind of portal. To other places. Other worlds, outside of this one."

"You mean like other planets?"

"No. Well, maybe. It isn't entirely clear whether they are other planets or whether they are worlds that exist on separate planes of existence or something. It's very weird and nopony quite gets it, so don't worry about it too much. But, the important thing is, this mirror lets you travel between worlds. You go through the mirror and you end up in, well, one book says that it's a wood with lots of pools, and another says its a hall of mirrors, so I think it must look different depending on who you are. Either way, it's like a corridor, with lots of doors to all the different worlds. And we can use them to travel anywhere we want."

Flash Sentry stared at her in disbelief, "You want to travel to other worlds?"

"When she thought I couldn't hear her, one of the nurses said it would take fruit from the Land of Youth to cure my parents," Sunset said softly. "The land of youth... it has to be out there somewhere. Who knows what we'll find exploring strange new worlds, what kind of cures... what opportunities. We might find a world that's just being born and we could be made queens and kings of it. Wouldn't that be something? You and me and Trixie, travelling through space. Doesn't that sound awesome?"

"Um, Sunny," Flash started.

"I want to leave today, so maybe you should go pack your stuff," Sunset said, starting to eat her sundae. "We don't have all the time in the world."

"Sunny, I can't," Flash Sentry murmured.

"You can't; what do you mean you can't?" Sunset asked, her voice becoming shrill as his unexpected refusal stung her like a slap. "Why can't you?"

Flash looked guilty, looking everywhere except at Sunset Shimmer, "Because... I came here today to tell you, I can't do this any more."

"You can't do..." Sunset tailed off. She blinked, dumbstruck for a moment. "Are you breaking up with me?"

Flash Sentry sighed, "Sunny, you're an amazing mare. We've had some great times together. But I have to think about my future. If I'm going to make it in the guard I have to think about the kind of pony I associate with─"

"You're breaking up with me so you can get a lousy promotion in the guard!" Sunset shrieked.

"Don't be that way, come on!" Flash argued. "It's been cool, but did you really think that we'd stay together after you left school? After we grew up? Did you really think that what we had was for keeps?"

"Yes," Sunset whispered.

"Oh come on, don't put this all on me."

"Who should I put it on?" Sunset snarled, leaning forward to throw her words into his face as her chest tightened with so much anger it was all she could not to put a hex on him.

"You've been so distracted the last few weeks I haven't felt like I've had a marefriend in a long time." Flash Sentry whined, his own bitterness flashing around the edges of his attempts to sound reasonable.

Sunset was rendered speechless for a moment, before her outrage overrode her astonishment at his selfishness, "My parents are dying, you jerk and you're whining that I haven't been paying you enough attention? Celestia I don't believe you!"

"Sunny─"

"Don't call me that!" Sunset screamed. "You don't have the right."

Flash Sentry cringed, "Sunset─"

"Go away," Sunset snapped. "I can't even look at you right now. I don't ever want to see you again."

"Don't leave it like this."

"Go!"

Flash Sentry shook his head, as if in disbelief at her childishness, then took off up into the skies.

Sunset looked at her ice cream, but she didn't feel so hungry anymore. She rested her head upon the table and sat there, unmoving, until she heard the other voice she had been longing to hear.

"Sunset? Is everything okay? Is there anything Trixie can help you with?"

Sunset raised her head. "Yes, and no. Flash isn't coming."

Trixie frowned. "Not coming where?"

"Anywhere. He's staying here to have a career. Sun and stars, I offered him the world. The worlds in fact, and he says he can't be with me any more. And before that, Breaking Dawn had the nerve to wait outside as I was leaving and crow about how she got me thrown out. Like she'll do any better."

"Ignore her, she's an ass," Trixie said. "What will you do now?"

"I'm gonna do what I should have done a long time ago: seek my fortune!" Sunset Shimmer said, her eyes lighting up once more. "To be honest, this has been a wake up call for me in a good way. I needed to get out of that school; it isn't my path. I already know where my road - where our road - really leads."

She told Trixie everything, laying it all out for her: the mirror, the many worlds, the ability to travel between them, all of her dreams and ambitions for the journey. Flash betrayed me, but Trixie won't. She's a real pal, my best friend. She'll come with me.

"You want Trixie to come with you to...another world? You want Trixie to leave Equestria?"

"Won't it be brilliant?" Sunset asked. "The greatest adventure ever! Just you and me, defying gravity and all that stuff. Unlimited, you know, the whole big production number. Just don't make me sing it girl, you know I hate to sing."

"Even though you're really good at it," Trixie said with a tremulous smile. "Are you sure you need Trixie for this?"

"What, because I have so many other friends I could ask to go with me? Come on, Trixie, you're my best friend. What's the matter?"

"Trixie is... I'm scared."

"There's nothing to be scared of, trust me," Sunset said. "We'll save my parents, then we can find a world that needs a couple of smart, strong mares to take it in hoof and we'll make ourselves princesses, queens, anything you want. Empresses, now wouldn't that be awesome? They'll build us statues a hundred feet high and thrones made out of gold, and worship us the way everypony worships Celestia. Come on, they'll never bring us down. What do you say?"

Trixie shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "I can't."

"Because you're afraid?"

"Because I like it here."

"Why?" Sunset demanded. "What can this place offer you that I can't?"

Trixie shook her head silently, stifling a sob with one hoof.

Sunset stood up, "I don't get it. I really don't. Think of what we could do together. Think of what we could be. You're supposed to be my best friend, we're like family. You're really going to let me fly solo on this?"

"You don't have to go," Trixie murmured.

Sunset held her gaze for a long while before she said hoarsely, "Yeah, I do. I'll see you around Trixie. Or not."

She started to walk away.

"Sunset!" Trixie shouted. "Think about what you're doing. And whatever you decide to do, be careful."

Sunset took a deep breath, and forced herself to smile when she looked back, "Now where's the fun in that?"

The Happy Return (revised)

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Comes the Sunset

Chapter 1

The Happy Return

Sunset Shimmer stood in the midst of ruin, looking around her at the destruction that was everywhere present.

It was Canterlot. She recognised it now. The first few times she had seen this sight she been confused, not knowing where she was. Or possibly she had not wanted to believe the evidence of her own eyes.

The gleaming golden towers lay sundered and broken, the gilded spires lying in the streets amidst white marble rubble and the broken forms of ponies. The streets were covered in them, lying in between the piles of brick and timber, or sometimes half buried beneath them. Some of them were ponies Sunset recognised: Lyra Heartstrings, the captain of the school duelling club, Breaking Dawn who had gotten her expelled from school, her own colt friend Flash Sentry.

Trixie lay motionless upon the palace steps, her blue eyes open, staring vacantly up at a sky growing dark as smoke obscured the sun.

Sunset knelt beside the body of her best friend. Though she knew that this was not real, it felt wrong to pass by Trixie, like this was an arcade game level she had played so often it no longer had the power to effect her.

"You should have come with me, Trixie. I could have protected you," Sunset whispered. "Now...with what I have to do, I'm not sure that I can." She had already been warned that the cost of her burden would be high, and that she would be required to shoulder it alone. That would present no obstacle, she had been alone since she was a filly, and had not only survived but triumphed over every challenge.

Sunset looked up to where the palace doors stood half off their hinges, blackened by fire, the archway gaping open.

The royal palace was a burnt out ruin, the roof torn open and the throne room exposed to the elements. Ash fell from the sky upon the dais and shattered throne, turning the crimson carpet black as pitch. Dead guards, their armour tarnished with blood, littered the floor, but there was no sign of Princess Celestia.

Sunset Shimmer was no stranger to sights like these. Other ponies, had they been in receipt of such a dream or vision or whatever this was, might have recoiled in shock. Sunset was no such pony. She had seen such sights as this before, been the cause of such more than once, and she was professional enough to recognise the signs of a city sacked when she saw one. But to see it done to Canterlot... it felt wrong to her. The city was a sanctuary, or so she had recalled it in her exile. To bring war upon it, war in such savagery, would require the soul of a beast.

She suspected that was why she had been drawn home, why she was being shown this. Equestria was at the mercy of a beast, and nopony could withstand the savagery which threatened them. Sunset Shimmer had left home because she felt a tiger amongst sheep, yet now the tiger was to be loosed upon Equestria's enemies, for what were the lives of a few lambs when the entire flock teetered upon the brink of destruction.

"Hello," Sunset called out. "Are you there? I know you're here somewhere." She always was, her night time visitor.

"I assume you want me to stop this," Sunset shouted. "Come out, and tell me how. Tell me who is behind this."

There was no response, except the wind howling through the dead city and the last half-standing towers crumbling and falling.

Sunset turned away from the broken throne and the shattered stained glass windows, her hooves scuffing a fragment of lavender glass, part of a trail of such fragments leading back towards the window pane. Sunset could make out enough to guess that it was an image of Princess Twilight Sparkle, the last mare standing of the sequence of fillies who had taken it in turns to jump through Celestia's hoops. A fat lot of good being the lucky winner would do her, if this vision had any truth to it, and a fat lot of good she would do Equestria.

"I'd say you should have stuck with me, but then if you had, I wouldn't have the skills I need to save you now, would I?" Sunset murmured. Funny the way that worked. Fate had a sense of irony, it seemed. That the prodigal daughter should become the saviour while the chosen one would be...dead? Useless? An active hindrance? Sunset knew enough of Twilight Sparkle to know that she might have to be dealt with - hence why she had brought the Labyrinth Box - but she hoped it would not come to that. She would destroy in order to save if she had to, but she would rather keep the destruction to a minimum.

She left the palace, stepping lightly down the scorched steps and wandering through the broken streets. She stepped over more bodies, ponies beyond count, looks of terror and surprise etched upon their mortal remains. Most of them she did not give a second glance. Only one, a dark blue unicorn with a silver-white mane, made her stop and stare.

"No," Sunset whispered, running towards the body, hoping she was mistaken. "No." The word was torn from her throat in a low moan, Sunset's voice cracking as tears welled up in her eyes. "No." She cradled the tiny pony in her hooves, rocking her like a baby as a piercing cry ripped from Sunset Shimmer's mouth. She wailed like a mother bird returning to her nest to find the eggs smashed or stolen by cruel poachers.
"I'm sorry, sis," Sunset murmured, holding Eclipse tight against her as if her warm would bring her sister back to life. "I'm so sorry. I'll make this right, I promise."

She looked around. "All right, where are you? I get the message. I came, didn't I? I'm in Equestria! Why don't you stop messing around, come out where I can see you, and tell me what's going on?"

No answer. Sunset supposed she shouldn't be too surprised, she had never gotten an answer yet, just lectures. Still, she had thought things might be different now. She had done everything that was asked of her, she deserved some answers.

"I'm going to make this right, sis," she repeated, laying Eclipse back down upon the ground. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

She got up and walked towards the edge of the city. It was there, standing at the edge of the mountain drop and looking out over the river and the broad plains of central Equestria, that Sunset found the one who had summoned her. She was an alicorn, and she looked very alike to Princess Celestia, if maybe a little older and without the agelessness that Princess Celestia carried so well. But this alicorn's mane waved in exactly the same style, and if the colours were a little different, incorporating pale yellow and several streaks of pure white, the multi-coloured effect was much the same. She wore no crown, but Sunset thought a diadem would not have looked out of place upon this pony's head.

Sunset walked briskly to join her, intent upon getting some answers at last. But, before she could speak, she first had to gasp at the sight she beheld as she looked out across the country.

Equestria was burning.

Ponyville was in ruins, smoke rising from several of the buildings to join the great black cloud forming in the sky above. The Everfree Forest was being devoured by fire. The flames of war were spreading in all directions across the land. Sunset could see no fallen ponies, but she had no doubt she would have done had Ponyville not been so far away.

"Who is behind all this?" she murmured. "Who dares to shatter the peace of Equestria so?"

The alicorn said nothing, giving no sign that she had heard Sunset. Sunset had worked out from earlier visitations that she was an observer upon these scenes, not a participant. Anything that was said, though it was spoken to her, was spoken without reference to her words or actions. It was very frustrating.

"Can I stop this?" Sunset demanded futilely. "Is this what you brought me here to avert? Or is this all inevitable, and I am here for something else entirely?"

"The future is not set," the alicorn said. "There is no fate but what we make."

Sunset sighed with undisguised relief. Eclipse, Canterlot, there was still time to save them all. "What must I do?"
"There is still hope," the alicorn seemed to reply. "This can be averted, if you act quickly. But you must act, because you alone can change this destiny. The power to do so resides within you."

"Well, obviously, otherwise my being here would be pointless, wouldn't it?" Sunset snapped. "Besides, who else in this land can do the things that I can do? Who else can do what has to be done?"

"Do not ask why you were chosen."

"I didn't," Sunset said.

"But accept your fate. However reluctantly you must take this burden upon yourself, or all things good and true and worthy of life shall perish. I am sorry. I wish there was another way."

"Save your apologies and your sorrow," Sunset said. "This is what I am and always have been: a warrior. I make no apologies for that and I require no excuses to be made on my behalf by you or anypony else."

"You are probably wondering who I am? What is the purpose of these visions?"

"How astute of you," Sunset replied dryly.

"My name is Creatrix. I am long dead now, I suspect, but I sent these visions to you so that you may act where I failed. Look up." Creatrix looked upwards, and Sunset followed her gaze. Beyond the pall of smoke covering the sky, Sunset could just about make out the stars in the heavens, their pristine glistening a stark contrast with the devastation engulfing the world.

And then, as she watched, the stars started going out.

Sunset swallowed. "That's not the smoke obscuring our view, is it?"

"The all-devouring storm approaches," Creatrix said. "When the heavens will tremble and worlds will quake. All will depend upon the results of your war here. If you can stand firm and defeat him here, then his malice will recede from all worlds. If not, then there is not a single world that has the power to stop him."

"Him, who is he, who is behind this?" Sunset asked. "Is it Moloch?" she half-hoped it was. On the one hoof, she had no doubt her patron could do a lot of horrible things to her if he wished, but on the other hoof, she would relish the opportunity to show him that nobody owned Sunset Shimmer.

"I cannot help you," Creatrix said. "I can only warn you of the danger. Only you can act to prevent this fate."

"I will do whatever it takes," Sunset vowed. "This future shall not come to pass."

"You must unite the races," Creatrix said, absolute certainty ringing in her voice. "Divided as you are, you will fall or destroy each other as your predecessors did long ago. You are all so small, so vulnerable, so helpless, I cannot protect you any longer."

"They don't need you, they have me," Sunset said firmly. "They will follow me to salvation or I will break them and reforge them into a stronger blade."

"Somepony must unite them."

"I will, and lead them through this darkness and into the sunlit uplands beyond."

"Somepony must protect them."

"I will stand before this darkness and keep the safe until the storm has passed."

"Somepony must lead them."

"Under sun and moon and stars I, Sunset Shimmer, swear to do this thing." Sunset grinned. "Have no fear. For I am a hero whose fame has spread far and wide across the stars. I will not fail. I never do."

"Aeternus may appear, and try to mislead you," Creatrix said. "Do not trust him. And do not trust to friendship, this burden is for you alone."

"Isn't everything?" Sunset asked.

***

Virtuous Fury, who had been known as Virtue to his friends and was now referred to as such by his new mistress, sat under the shade of a tree in the Everfree Forest, the knots and tangles of the tree bark digging into his back as he read.

Well, not read precisely. His mother, bless her, had never gotten around to teaching him to read in the too-short season allotted to her, and so all Virtue was able to do was stare at the pages and the black spidery letters stamped all over them without the meanest scrap of concentration. His mother had read to him, and his brother and sister, when they were young, and later on Glory or Vigilant had been good enough friends to read to him when he was feeling out of sorts. But there was no one in this company he liked half so well that he would ask them for such a favour, none before whom he would disarm himself enough to let them know his dreams, see his fears, perceive his vulnerabilities.

There were none, more to the point, whom he would allow to share with him in anything which had, until then, been the preserve of those ponies who commanded a special place within his heart.

And so he sat with his back to a tree, ignoring the scratching sensations as he did so, and stared at words he could not read. Some of them he remembered, words memorised from having them read to him over and over again, and as he mouthed them to himself he could almost hear his mother's voice reading it out to him as he sat with Gem and Felix before the hearthfire every night.

"Virtue against fury shall advance the fight,
And in the combat soon shall put to flight,
For the old Roman valour is not dead,
Nor in Italian hearts extinguished," Virtue murmured. He had always liked that one because it had seemed to be about him. He had no idea who the Romans or the Italians had been ─ the Hippokastaian traders would share only the meanest scraps of knowledge with their trading partners ─ but as a colt the idea of reviving ancient traditions, being the inheritor of Chevalia's venerable legacy of chivalry and courage, had appealed to him. Had not his mother raised him so, to be the Last Firstborn of Old Chevalia, the pony who would grow up to save his world and lead it into a new golden age?

Now, of course, the little poem resonated more in the sense of the two halves of himself being pitched against one another in battle. He just wished he could be so sure of virtue's triumph as that long dead human had been.

Or even Virtue's triumph, if it comes to it.

He heard hoofsteps coming towards him, so he slammed the tattered old book shut between his hooves and stuffed it into his knackered old saddlebag. These Equestrians and the like knew nothing of other worlds beyond their own, had never heard of humans or their works, and he was not keen to change that. Words had a magic more powerful than that of unicorns, as it was said, and he was not at all sure these zebras and folk could be trusted with such power.

The hooves in question belonged to Muttines, the zorse captain of the zebra forces camped in the Everfree Forest. Muttines was the son of a zebra father and a pony mother, and he had most peculiar coat that Virtue had ever come across: zebra stripes across his head and upper neck, then a pure white lower neck and forequarters, and then stripes again on his hindquarters. Even his mane and tail changed colour, his mane being first black then white, while his tail started off white and then turned black. Most zebras were bigger than ponies, and Muttines was no slouch when it came to size, but when Virtue stood up he had a couple of inches on the Grevyian officer.

"Ser Knight," Muttines said, bowing his neck. Virtue had not known him long, but he had already learnt the way that Virtue liked to be addressed. It was more than Mistress Sunset had managed.

"Esteemed captain." Virtue, in his turn, had tried to learn the various subtleties of talking to the Grevyians. By calling Muttines 'esteemed', he marked him as Virtue's subordinate, but at the same time made his respect for the captain clear. "What is it?"

"Revered Lady Sunset wishes to speak with you," Muttines said. "Immediately."

"I see, lead on then." Virtue knew the way, but there was no need to be impolite.

Muttines led him away from his place of solitude and back into the main Grevyian camp. Concealed deep within the eaves of this dark and tangled forest, five hundred zebras, two hundred and fifty ponies, some griffons he had not troubled to count and even a small clutch of elephants waited to be unleashed upon the little town of Ponyville that lay before them.

They waited, of course, upon the word of Sunset Shimmer, who commanded not only this force but also the greater host of thousands who lurked just off the coast for her command to invade.

The zebras maintained an orderly camp, their tents pitched in neat rows, their campfires tended to with constant care and vigilance, their war elephants well fed and watered. Sentries patrolled the camp outskirts against the dangers of the wild or the discovery of careless travellers, while other warriors guarded the prisoners that the expedition had already yielded up.

No banner flew over this camp, and unlike most of the Grevyian warriors Virtue had met, not a single one of these zebras wore any facepaint, or bore markings of any kind to indicate to which of the great houses they were sworn. These zebras were the last survivors of House Aethiope, which dynasty had fallen after the failure of their attempt to capture Canterlot and secure Equestria for the Most Ancient and August Empire of Grevyia. Virtue, along with Mistress Sunset, had watched as the other noble families had torn Aethiope apart, scattering their warriors, taking their lands, slaying Lord Aethiope's heirs. These five hundred zebras and their score of elephants were all that remained of the Aethiope strength, and though the family they served had been proscribed and eliminated, they clung to one another with the fervour of those who had nowhere else to turn to.

Most of the other zebra lords, the same zebra lords who had happily exploited the fall of a rival to increase their power, disdained this remnant. Virtue found he trusted them more than most zebras. They fought to regain their honour, and he could sympathise with that more than they knew.

Mistress Sunset, as befitted her status as the commander of the expedition, the anointed representative of the Grevyian Emperor and lead of the grand coalition - that was, at the moment, not so grand but Mistress Sunset had high hopes and serene confidence that it would be soon - had the largest tent near the centre of the camp, an eight-sided pavilion of cloth of gold, trimmed with fiery scarlet like Sunset Shimmer's mane. Rather than make his way straight there, however, Virtue paused a moment to drop off his pack at his own tent, and to make a brief visit to the prisoners who sat in chains around a communal fire.

They looked an odd trio: the zebra (a Quaggai zebra, as every Grevyian had been at pains to inform him with a sneer in their voice), the changeling and the unicorn. Considering how frivolous ponies where in this country, Virtue would not have been surprised if they had a jest that started in just that way.

"Good evening, ladies," Virtue said, proffering a slight bow. "I trust that you have been fed? If not I shall have somepony attend to that at once."

Chrysalis, the changeling queen, hissed at him like a particularly angry cat. The unicorn, Miss Trixie, flinched away from him. It was only Miss Zecora who answered in a calm, clear voice.

"Thank you, Ser Knight, it is good of you to ask,
But this morning we've already broke our fast."

"Good, good," Virtue said softly. "I trust it was not wholly distasteful to you."

"It was terrible," Chrysalis spat. "Swill fit for swine. Now, if only I could feast upon some love-"

"Absolutely not, you monster," Virtue said sternly. "Mention it again and I shall have you gagged."

"Are you going to set Trixie free now?" Trixie pleaded. "This must be a mistake. Trixie was Sunset's friend. Trixie wants to talk to Sunset, then you'll see. She was Trixie's friend."

"Not any more, obviously," Chrysalis drawled. "It isn't as though you just happen to live here, you've been caught on purpose, just like me."

"But it isn't right," Trixie protested. "Trixie hasn't done anything."

Zecora leaned forwards to shoot Trixie a quizzical look, to which Trixie responded by saying, "Recently."

"Life isn't right, honey, any more than it is fair," Chrysalis said. "If life was right, I'd be ruling in Canterlot right now and Celestia would be trapped in one of my cocoons." She looked at Virtue slyly. "You know, if you let me go I promise to command my subjects not to kill you when they arrive to rescue me."

Virtue scowled. "You will forgive me, ma'am, if I put little stock in the word of a creature born to deceit. And besides, a knight of Chevalia does not trade his honour for so cheap a thing as life." He looked at Zecora. "You, on the other hand, ma'am, are free to go at any time. You have my terms. You need only give me your word that you will tell nopony, no one, of our presence here and I will have these chains struck from you."

Zecora met his gaze levelly. Her voice, when it came, was cool but not overtly hostile. "You have come into this forest here,
To bring some mischief to the ponies dear,
Who dwell beyond these woods in yonder town,
Do not deny it, you confirm it with your frown,
Though it is true I was not always loved,
Once I, my good intentions had at long last proved,
They were the first folk ever to embrace me,
Their kindness I will not repay with treachery."

"What?" Trixie demanded. "Promise not to tell and then run away and tell somepony! Get help! What are you doing?"

"Displaying a sense of honour lacking in this country, it would seem," Virtue remarked. "I regret your decision, ma'am, but I respect it. You are a fine mare, I regret that I cannot call you friend."

"I think I'm going to gag," Chrysalis said.

"I regret, I do not villains call my friends,
Nor will I, unless first they make amends."

"I am not a bad pony ma'am," Virtue said. "We are not the villains of this tale. Our cause is noble, the very noblest, and if we must commit distasteful acts our noble object justifies them."

Zecora said nothing, but her look said plainly that she did not believe a truly noble cause could ever be advanced through ignoble means. Virtue did not have an argument with which to counter such a view, if he even believed it should be countered, and so he bowed and retreated from their presence before resuming his journey towards Mistress Sunset's tent.

Firethorn was standing guard outside. He was a young pegasus with a light brown coat and a jet black mane, which he wore bound up in a topknot on the back of his head. His cutie mark was the silhouette of a hound, apparently because he had some skill at tracking but, speaking for himself, Virtue found it more appropriate for the way he stood guard over Mistress Sunset.

Firethorn looked at Virtue with hostility as he approached, rising to his feet and placing himself foursquare in Virtue's path.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

Virtue stared at him. He loomed over the young pegasus, but he had the lack of fear the colt showed in face of somepony larger, heavier and stronger than himself. Not to mention the fact that Virtue looked half-demonic in appearance with his pitch black coat and blazing red eyes, and that tended to disconcert most ponies. Although that was less true here than it had been elsewhere. They did not fear darkness in this land, as they did back home and in places that knew sorrow and the ravages of the smooze, he would have to get used to that he was not marked out in this Equestria as he might be elsewhere.

But Firethorn was no more an Equestrian than Virtue himself, so his fortitude still resounded to his credit.

"I was not aware that I was required to explain every detail of my movements to you, forgive me," Virtue replied, lacing his words with sarcasm.

Firethorn scowled. "I won't allow you to jeopardise Sunset's success by your malingering."

"Malingering?" Virtue laughed. "We are not in battle now, nor is the enemy so much as in sight. When danger threatens, you may brand me malingerer, but not before."

"Your duty─"

"I do not require a colt as green as summer grass to lecture me upon duty," Virtue snarled into Firethorn's face. "I am a knight and I have been at war since I was half your age."

Firethorn opened his mouth to reply, but Mistress Sunset chose that moment to emerge from her tent. "Firethorn, that's enough."

Firethorn stopped at once, bowing his head. "Yes, Sunset."

"Have you completed the first book of Polly Math's Histories yet?"

"No, Sunset."

"Keep reading then," Sunset said. "I will test you on it when you're done."

Firethorn mumbled something under his breath as he walked away.

"You sound more like his teacher than his commander, Mistress," Virtue said softly.

Sunset let out a bark of laughter. "I suppose I do, don't I? What would Princess Celestia say, I wonder? Well, he has no parents, nopony he listens to but me. I want him to be fit for more than fighting, so that he can live in the world when the fighting is done."

"You think the fighting will ever be done, Mistress?"

"I hope so, or else what's the point," Sunset replied. "And if all I've made of that colt is one more mindless thug then what was the point in saving his life?"

Virtue frowned. Firethorn did not give the impression of possessing any great aptitude for scholarship. He seemed, at times, little better than an animal. But then the same had been said of him once, and yet a wise unicorn had taken Virtue beneath his wing and made a knight of him.

"It is a noble thing that you attempt to do, Mistress. For Firethorn, and for this country."

Sunset smiled wanly, sitting down in front of her tent and staring into the fire that Firethorn had made for her. Though the zebra nobles she led off to war were attired in all manner of gaudy finery, Sunset Shimmer herself was dressed simply, swathed in a dark cloak with a hood that was, at present, lowered. Yet, by some act of magic beyond the power of unicorns, she cut a more striking figure than the most heavily adorned of the High Bloods of Grevyia.

As she gazed into the flames, their reflection flickering in her blue-green eyes, she looked so distressed that the chivalrous gentlecolt in Virtue wanted to place his leg around her shoulders and reassure her that all would be well. The knight in the presence of his lady commander, however, was content to say, "You look troubled, Mistress. Is there anything I may do to ease your burden?"

Sunset shook her head. "No. She was quite clear on that point. The burden is mine alone to bear. I know now why I was bidden to return here, and I understand what I must do and why. But I will confess, I fear the price that must be paid. I have been called to save Equestria, to save the whole world, yet to save it it appears I must destroy much of it also."

Virtue bowed his head a little. "Mistress, I am at a loss. I fear this is not a struggle in which I can assist you."

"Fortunately I don't need you to fight all my battles for me, just the large scale ones," Sunset replied. She placed her hoof in the fire without flinching. "I don't feel anything. Can you believe that?"

"I can indeed, Mistress Sunset," Virtue said, placing his own hoof in the firepit next to hers. "Since my earliest memories, I have taken no heat from flame and felt no warmth. Yet the cold bites me twice as hard as any other pony I have ever known."

"You poor boy, for me it happened much more recently," Sunset looked pained, by the memory, not the fire, before she withdrew her hoof. "I do not truly belong in this world. Or in any other, I sometimes fear. Yet, it is because I do not belong in this world that I am the only mare who can defend it, no matter the cost." She looked up at Virtue. "We're more alike than I thought."

Virtue said nothing. Mistress Sunset rose to her feet. She said, "I'm going to Canterlot with Shrike. You are in command until I return. Don't let anypony find you, but don't act until I come back."

"I am your second, mistress?" Virtue asked.

"That surprises you?"

"Talon has been with you far longer, Mistress, and he is as experienced in command as I."

"I don't trust Talon, not any more."

"Yet you trust me, Mistress?"

Sunset smiled slyly. "You know what I'd do if you turned on me, don't you?"

"I am well aware, Mistress."

"It's nothing personal. I find it hard to trust anypony any more." Sunset's horn glowed, and she levitated a glowing blue sphere on a golden chain out from her tent and placed it around her neck, concealing the sphere within her cloak.

"If I may, Mistress, before you go, I suggest you speak to Miss Trixie. She has been asking for you."

Sunset looked pained. "I suppose I better had, hadn't I? I owe her that, at least. Since I mean to leave straight after, I'll say goodbye now."

"Good luck, Mistress," Virtue said.

Sunset walked towards the three captives, while Virtue headed deeper into the camp, looking for trouble now rather than storing it up for later.

The non-zebra portion of the advanced force consisted of three groups: Shrike's Shadowbolts, which he understood to have been the name of an old and prestigious company once but which now meant the fifty or so vagabond pegasi she had enlisted to her cause, a hundred pony warriors conscripted from the Tenochtitlan valley basin after Sunset's forces had occupied it and brought down the local tyrant, and the surviving members of the Sunset Company, ponies and griffons who had served as mercenaries under Mistress Sunset's command. Virtue did not think that the Shadowbolts would prove particularly troublesome, especially since their captain would also be absent, but he wanted to nip any impudence from the valley ponies and the mercenaries in the bud as soon as he could.

But it was Shrike that he ran into first, a light blue pegasus with a midnight blue mane and gleaming golden eyes. A quick smile spread across her face at the sight of him.

"I hear you get to boss everypony around while me and Sunset are in Canterlot? How does it feel?"

"I prefer commanding when I am sure those I command would not prefer me dead," Virtue replied.

Shrike laughed. "You could try unbending a bit if you want ponies to like you, instead of wandering around with that stick shoved up one end and coming out the other."

"Don't be vulgar, ma'am, please."

"You see, that is what I'm talking about," Shrike said, shaking her head sadly. "When I get back, we'll have to try and teach you to have some fun."

"I already know how to have fun," Virtue said reproachfully.

"Ballroom dancing does not count as fun," Shrike replied firmly. "Anyway, I've got to go or Sunset Shimmer will leave without me. I can't miss a trip to Canterlot, I need to find out what happened to the Shadowbolts after I left."

Virtue thought that after a thousand years it was most likely their bones had crumbled into dust, unless they had all been thrown through magical vortexes.

But all he said was, "Who is your second in your absence?"

"Lightning Dust," Shrike said. "Full of herself, cocky as all get out, but having seen her fly, she's got a right to think she's all that; she pretty much is. Just don't hesitate to get tough with her if she gives you any trouble."

"I'll...keep that in mind, ma'am."

"And stop calling me ma'am, my name is Shrike," Shrike said angrily, before dashing off to find Mistress Sunset.

Virtue let her go, continuing to look for Talon and Nahuatl, the leader of the valley ponies. Fortunately, he found them together, muttering to one another with scowls affixed to their faces. At the sight of him, their scowls became even more pronounced.

"Gentlecolts, um, gentlegriffons," Virtue said calmly.

"Apparently I'm to call you sir," Talon growled. He was a griffon, whose grey feathers were brushed up like spikes running down his neck. He wore battered iron armour, and had a large sword slung across his back.

"That is what Mistress Sunset has decreed," Virtue replied.

"Why should I follow you?" Nahuatl demanded. He was a blue stallion, wearing a red-crested headdress and looking like he quite badly wanted a spear in his hoof. "Why should I not take my folk home right now."

"Because I won't allow it," Virtue said calmly.

"You see the thing is, I don't particularly want to call you sir," Talon said. "And I think if anything were to-"

Virtue didn't wait for them to finish, any more than he waited for them to attack him. He struck first, going for the more dangerous of the two: Talon. He hit the griffon with a full body tackle that carried the mercenary right off his paws and claws before he could react. Talon's talons raked down Virtue's shoulder, but he ignored the pain as he reared up onto his hind legs, lifting the griffon up into the air, then brought himself down to plant Talon headfirst into the earth. Talon's squawk of pain turned to a moan as Virtue planted his forehoof into the sellsword's face.

Nahuatl roared with anger as he lunged for Virtue's exposed rear, but a single kick from Virtue's hindlegs sent him flying backwards eight feet into the nearest tree.

"Now both of you, listen to this," Virtue snarled. "I know that you do not like me, and I do not particularly care seeing as I do not much care for you either. But you will obey my commands or so help me I will kill you both. Do you understand?"

They both groaned softly, which he took to be a yes.

***

Although she had asked Sunset to come and talk to her, when she saw her old friend stalking towards her like some kind of predator, Trixie found she would have preferred to be ignored. She flinched away as Sunset got closer.

"What are you doing, Trixie?" Sunset asked, seemingly genuinely. "You're not...you're not scared of me are you?"

Trixie, who was making gallant efforts to hide behind Queen Chrysalis, nodded.

Sunset looked both hurt and ashamed. "Come on, Trixie. It's me."

"That's what's scaring Trixie the most," Trixie replied. There was something not quite right about the pony standing before her, something she couldn't put a hoof on but which was definitely there. It would have been unnerving in anypony, but the idea that this was what her best friend had turned into was filling her stomach with lead and ice. "What happened to you, Sunset?"

"I grew up," Sunset replied simply. "Though I suppose I should thank you and Flash for starting that off, Trixie."

"Did you go through that mirror?" Trixie asked. "I heard that you'd disappeared."

"Yes," Sunset said. "I went through the mirror. You were right to stay behind. You wouldn't have survived out there."

Trixie's eyes widened. "Was it...bad?"

"Terrifying," Sunset replied simply. "And the worst part is I can never go back to being what I was, even if I wanted to. But that's all in the past now. I'm back. And I won't ever leave again." She smiled insincerely. "Now, I suppose you want me to take those shackles off you, seeing as how we're such good pals and you never did anything to upset me, ever."

Um...only if you want to," Trixie squeaked.

Sunset sighed and looked away. "You see, the trouble is Trixie is that it's all too late. If things had been different, if we had been different, maybe I could help you. But when you refused to lift a hoof to help me out of pure cowardice, you started to teach me a lesson. Later, some other folks finished off that lesson: the difference between a somepony called a friend and somepony who isn't is that, while everypony wants to betray you, a friend has the means to do so."

"I wouldn't ever betray you, Sunset, I swear," Trixie said loudly. "I promise, I won't say anything to anypony about you or any of this."

"There's an east wind coming, Trixie," Sunset declared.

Trixie hesitated, trying to work out what that was supposed to mean. She looked at Zecora, who seemed curious but reluctant to speak, and then at Chrysalis who acted as if the whole conversation was beneath her.

"It...it's too warm for an east wind, Sunset," Trixie ventured.

Sunset chuckled. "It's coming, all the same. I know because I'm riding on its wings. When the wind passes, whatever is left of Equestria will be better, stronger, purer. But before that happens this land will have to endure the coldest and most bitter wind that ever blew upon it. Times will be hard for lots of ponies. You may not mean to, but you would sell me out to survive. You'd have to. And I can't take that risk. The stakes are too high to allow myself to fail. So you'll stay here, as my guest, for a little longer."

A light blue pegasus with a midnight blue mane made her way to Sunset's side. "Are you ready to go?"

Sunset nodded. "Yes, I'm ready. Trixie, for what it's worth, I am sorry that it had to come to this."

Then Sunset's horn glowed with magic, and she and the pegasus both disappeared in an azure flash.

***

The guards pushed the doors open, and Hardy Bloom was admitted into the presence of the princesses.

Princess Celestia sat upon her throne, her multi-coloured mane waving despite the complete lack of any sort of breeze indoors. Beside sat Princess Luna, looking subdued and just a trifle uncomfortable. Guards flanked them, and attendant secretaries stood ready to record the royal word.

Under the gaze of the two princesses, Hardy was reminded of the first time she had ever gone to court and how she had nearly quailed under the stern gaze of the judge. She forced herself to breathe in and out slowly and calmly. She had mastered her fear in court, she would master it here. After all, this was just as important as any case she had ever tried.

A guard signalled for Hardy to stop at a certain distance from the throne and Hardy halted, taking off her saddle bags and unfastening her suit jacket.

"Miss Hardy Bloom, isn't it?" Princess Celestia asked. "I'm told that you have requested an audience to petition for something."

"Indeed, Your Highness," Hardy said. She unfastened her saddle bags and out of one of them she took a box which she set down on the floor beside her.

"What is that?" Princess Luna asked.

"That's my soapbox, Your Highness, I like to have it ready so I can get on it for my big finish," Hardy replied.

Luna's eyes narrowed. "Glibness will not serve you well here, Miss Bloom. We suggest you take this seriously."

"Believe me, Your Highnesses, there are few occasions I take as seriously as this," Hardy said. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment and thought of everypony who was counting on her today. She opened her eyes. "Princesses, I don't suppose that you're aware of this, but Breaking Dawn was vandalised two nights ago. Somepony spray painted her right foreleg green and wrote the words 'Down with School' down her flank."

Celestia nodded. "I am well aware of that, Miss Bloom. I suspect, and the faculty agrees with me, that it was students engaging in horseplay. I understand the damage has been removed from the statue by now."

Hardy's jaw tightened to hear her friend referred to as the statue, but she continued. "Your Highness, whether or not the damage has been removed, whether or not whoever did it is caught, the fact is that it shouldn't have happened. I stand before you, here, to correct an injustice. I'm here to speak for somepony who can't speak for herself any more. I am here, for Breaking Dawn."

"You are very bold to come here and treat on her behalf," Luna remarked.

"Bold, am I?" Hardy smiled. "You should tell the circuit judges that, it's nicer than most of the things they call me. But no, I don't think this is particularly bold of me. In fact, I'm very confident that Your Highnesses will see things my way. After all I'm here on behalf of the little ponies, and we've got justice on our side."

"Justice?" Luna said, her tone filled with disbelief. "You talk of justice in reference to a traitor? A mare who poisoned Princess Cadance and plotted against Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"That's a strong, harsh way of looking at it," Hardy said.

"I would call it an honest one," Luna said.

"Peace, Luna," Celestia said softly. "I think, Miss Bloom, it would be best if you first told us what exactly you came here for, and then try to explain why we should grant your petition."

"What I want?" Hardy started pacing up and down, turning every now and then to look at the two princesses. "What I want is what everypony wants: I want friendship, I want laughter, I want to sit on the balcony every night with my best friend drinking cocktails and making jokes. I want to share in her successes and be there to support her in her failures, the way that she shares with and supports me. And I can't do any of that because my best friend is a statue, a statue in a school where clearly nopony treats her with any respect, treats her, in fact, like a lawn ornament."

"She is a statue," Luna pointed.

"No, she's not a statue," Hardy snapped. "She's not a statue, she is a pony and her name is Breaking Dawn. I want her taken off that plinth, I want her given into my custody and ultimately I want her de-petrified so that she can get on with her life."

"You say that as though she deserves to get on with her life," Luna said.

"Luna," Celestia's voice was quiet. "Miss Bloom, if Breaking Dawn is de-petrified, she will die."

"You don't know that, not for certain," Hardy said emphatically. "Maybe she would have done, there and then, on that night. Perhaps you saved her life, in which case Princess I will be your biggest fan for the rest of my life, but what if, somewhere out there, is a pony with the special talent that would enable them to save Dawn's life? You don't know that there isn't, you haven't even looked. I am willing to look, my friends and I, Dawn's friends. We will search everywhere, we will leave no stone unturned. All we want is for you to tell us that when we find that special pony, you won't stand between them and Breaking Dawn. And in the meantime, please, take her off that plinth. It's demeaning and humiliating and it degrades her."

"Perhaps she would have preferred to have been robbed of all her memories?" Luna asked archly.

Since it was clear she was getting nowhere with Princess Luna, Hardy focussed all of her attention upon Celestia.

"Your Highness, I know that Breaking Dawn made mistakes. I know that I helped her make them, and I am very grateful that you decided not to punish me or my compatriots for our actions on Dawn's behalf. But I would like for you to understand, I need you to understand that Dawn's actions were driven by love, not hatred. Breaking Dawn loved you. She loved you so much that she couldn't live without you or at least without knowing that her love was, in some way, reciprocated. And, yes, it drove her to do things that were stupid, things that were wrong but, in a way, that just goes to prove how deeply devoted to you she was, how true was her love."
Hardy climbed up onto her soapbox. "One of the most infuriating, and at the same time the most wonderful things about Breaking Dawn, was her unlimited capacity for hope. That's something that most of us lose somewhere along the way as we grow up. We stop imagining that tomorrow will be better, because we realise that it most likely won't be, and so we compromise with the world and accept that things are the way they are for better or for worse. Dawn never did that. Dawn never stopped believing that she could do better, even when she was at her lowest she saw hope for a brighter tomorrow. Even after you replaced her with Twilight Sparkle, even after you kicked her out of school, despite all the jobs she lost, despite every humiliation that was heaped upon her Dawn never compromised and never stopped hoping. She always held on to who she was, and how much she was worth, and she never doubted that one day her sense of her own worth would be reciprocated by everypony else."
"And now, look, she's on one of the stain glassed windows helping to fight off zebras. She freed you from captivity. She is a hero to ponies who don't even know her name and what is her reward? To get covered in graffiti by bored kids. I do not believe that that is right and I very much hope that you don't either or you are not the princesses everypony thinks you are."
Hardy looked down at her brown hooves, then back up at the princesses. "If you want to exile Dawn for what she's done, then that is your right. I can't stop you. I don't think anypony can. But, please, don't treat her like a garden gnome, don't leave her in that school to be gawked at for a thousand years. Because we're talking about a pony, here. We are talking about my best friend, somepony I love very much. Let me help her, and then you can deal with her as you wish. Just, please, deal with her as a pony."

For a moment, silence reigned in the throne room.

Celestia leaned forward. "Miss Bloom, you make a very persuasive case. However, I am afraid you must give me time to consider the points you have raised. If you return here tomorrow, at the same time, then you shall have your answer."

Hardy breathed a sigh of relief that they were not denying her request straight away, and bowed as she got off the soapbox. "I don't suppose I have any other option, do I?"

"No," Luna growled. "You don't."

***

That afternoon, as Sugarcube Corner resounded to the sounds of furious baking, the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat forlornly at a little table, picking at their sundaes.

"You know, we might have our cutie marks by now if you'd let us try being psychiatrists," Scootaloo said.

"Well we didn't try it, and we don't have them, so why don'tcha let it go and see if you can come up with a new idea," Apple Bloom shot back. "What do we know about bein' psychiatrists anyway?"

"What do we know about anything we try?" asked Sweetie Belle despondently.

The other two offered mournful groans to state their agreement with that assessment, and their heads lowered to the table in shared despond, resting their chins upon the wood and lowering their eyes downwards.

"Maybe if we," Apple Bloom began. "No, that wouldn't work. Maybe... nah."

"Ugh, we'll never get our cutie marks if we can't even decide what we should be trying to get them in," Scootaloo moaned. "Let's try the zip lining again, maybe a bang on the head we'll give us some inspiration."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle affixed her with looks that said quite plainly that they could not believe she was serious.

The bell above the door to Sugarcube Corner rang as a white earth pony stallion in the armour of the royal guard stepped inside. The crusaders watched as he took his helmet and hung it on the hat stand near the door.

"Afternoon, girls," he said. "I was told I could find Princess Twilight here?"

"She's in the back with Applejack and Pinkie Pie," Scootaloo said. "Are you one of her guards?"

"Lancer's the name, Captain Lancer," Lancer said.

"I thought Twilight left all her guards behind in Canterlot," Sweetie Belle said.

"She did," Lancer replied, disgruntlement showing through his tone. "I'm here to rectify that, if she'll let me. I've been stuck in Canterlot feeling useless ever since she came back here."

"We know all about that," Apple Bloom said with a sigh.

Lancer frowned. "You girls seem down about something."

"Oh, the same old thing," Scootaloo said. "We try so hard and we can never get our cutie marks."

"Everypony in class has theirs except for us," Sweetie Belle added.

Lancer sighed. "Blank flank blues, huh? I know how that feels. Do they give you a hard time over it?"

"Totally," Scootaloo moaned.

Lancer nodded. "They'll do that. My brothers gave me no end of grief for not having my cutie mark."

"But I bet you showed them once you finally got your mark, right?" Scootaloo said.

"No, I didn't get my cutie mark until after I'd left home," Lancer replied. "And I haven't spoken to any of them since."

"So how did you get your cutie mark, mister?" Apple Bloom asked, leaning back a little to peer at the spear cutie mark of Lancer's haunch.

Lancer looked upwards briefly. "I grew up in a little town just like this one, on a cabbage farm outside of Hollow Shades. I was the youngest of seven brothers, and I hated it there. I hated the farm, I hated cabbages, I hated the grief I got for being the youngest and the smallest and the blank flank in the family. I mean, looking back now it was pretty small stuff, but when I was a kid it seemed absolutely massive. So, when I was just a little younger than your sisters, I ran away in the middle of the night and headed for Canterlot to seek my destiny.
"I got there in the end, after a few mishaps and some lucky escapes, and I tried to join the Royal Guard. Some of the ponies laughed at me there too, wondering what a blank flank earth pony would bring to the Royal Guard, but the captain, old Ironsides, he gave me a chance. He threw me a spear, and when I took it in my hooves I felt a charge run through me like lightning. I was a natural with it, and by the time I'd completed the second kata I had my cutie mark."

"You sure got lucky with your name," Sweetie Belle said.

"Well, between you and me, I only started calling myself Lancer after I got my cutie mark, cause I thought it sounded cooler than the name I was given. My real name, and you have to promise to keep this to yourselves because it's very embarrassing." Lancer leaned in close and whispered, "My real name is Wet Lettuce."

"No way!" Scootaloo said. "You're just messing with us aren't you?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Lancer said, standing up with a wink. "But the rest was true, I promise. Now, I need to talk to Princess Twilight."

"Here I am," Twilight came out of the kitchen, with Applejack close behind. "Now, shall we talk outside. About your business and about stories that are appropriate for impressionable children."

The eyes of the Crusaders followed them as Twilight hustled Lancer out of the building, unheeding of the fact that Applejack was watching the three of them like a vulture.

Grew up on a farm...ran away to Canterlot, Apple Bloom thought. Hmmm.

The three of them looked at one another.

"Don't even think about it," Applejack said firmly.

"We weren't thinking nothin' sis," Apple Bloom protested.

"Well you're right about y'all not thinkin', but still," Applejack said. "That don't change the fact that I can see the wheels in yer head turnin' Apple Bloom and I won't stand for it. You ain't runnin' away to no big city if I have to truss you up in Winona's dog house to stop you."

"Why not, you did it when you were younger'n I am," Apple Bloom said loudly.

"And I wish that I had had an older sister to wup me upside the head and tell me what an idiot I was bein'," Applejack said. "Not to mention that I told everypony where I was goin' first. Were you really thinkin' about runnin' off someplace in the middle of the night? Can you imagine how upset Granny Smith would be? Or Big Macintosh? Or me? How worried we'd all be about you?"

"But this might be our chance to find our destinies and earn our cutie marks," Apple Bloom said.

Applejack rolled her eyes, "For the last time, you ain't gonna find your cutie mark by runnin' off and doin' crazy things or pullin' stunts. You'll get them by working out what kind of pony you want to be and acceptin' who you are."

"But what if the kind of pony we want to be is in Canterlot or Manehattan waiting for us?" Scootaloo asked.

"Then they can wait a few years until your old enough to make the trip responsibly," Applejack said firmly.

Sweetie Belle raised her chin defiantly. "You're not our sister, you can't tell me or Scootaloo what to do."

Applejack gave her a slightly incredulous look, as if she couldn't quite believe that Sweetie Belle had gone there. "You know what, you're absolutely right, I can't make y'all do anything or do anything to you."

"That's right," Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom, who could guess what was coming, had her head in her hooves.

"But I can tell Rarity and Rainbow Dash all about this nonsense and see what they have to say about it," Applejack said.

Sweetie Belle's face froze, then fell, her whole body slumping forward. "That's a low blow."

"So long as it worked, that's all that matters," Applejack said. "And remember, if I find the three of you gone I'll know exactly where to start looking."

She turned around, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders put the idea of running away to Canterlot to seek their destinies aside.

"Seriously, can we just try the zip lining again?"

"No!"

***

Shrike circled around Canterlot for a while, flitting above the streets, flying over the rooftops, before she finally found what she was looking for: the Canterlot Museum of Ancient History. She was still getting used to the fact that the world she had left behind was already ancient history to everypony who lived now, but however weird it felt, this was the place she wanted, and so she landed on the white marble steps leading up to the museum and began to climb up towards the temple-like building.

So this was the capital now, huh? That was another thing that would take some getting used to: the capital she knew was gone, the place where it stood turned into a wild forest ─ Wild! Could you believe it? ─ and the palace of the Royal Sisters destroyed. The last thing Shrike herself remembered she and her fellow Shadowbolts had driven the Royal Guard out of that palace and raised the Nightmare Standard from the highest spire. It was when the Guard had come to take it back, with Celestia at their head, intent on purging Lady Nightmare in the mistaken belief that 'her' Luna was the true form of the princess rather than a child who had been outgrown by the mare, that Lady Nightmare had ripped open a portal in the fabric of space and bidden Shrike, her loyal captain, to go and bring her allies in their war against the sun.

"I do not know where the rift will take you. I cannot promise you will return. I ask much of you, my faithful Shrike."

"You ask nothing more of me than I would gladly give you, Lady Nightmare."

"Then go, and find me children of the dark on other worlds willing to take our cause up for their own. If the battle still rages when you return, then come to my aid. If I have fallen, then avenge me. Avenge us all. Let darkness fall."

"And never be lifted." And with those words, Shrike had dived into the swirling, crackling vortex and been hurled through space and time, passing through worlds of dream and nightmare, drifting out of thought and life itself before Sunset Shimmer had rescued her.

And then she had found out that a thousand years had passed since she had left Equestria, that Lady Nightmare was nothing more than an old mare's tale to frighten fillies, that the tyranny of the sun had not been broken, that she had been too late.

The sun shone down upon Shrike as she climbed the steps, its brightness and its heat mocking her every step, causing her to sweat in penance for having forsworn its light for the service of the dark.

She had done her duty, as all the Shadowbolts had. They were sworn to the moon. So when Nightmare Moon had commanded that the night would never end, they had done their utmost to see her will done. They were not thestrals, who claimed to love the night but deserted in face of a night that did not end.

Shrike shivered. What had become of her brothers and sisters? What was known of them in this strange new world?

A clock chimed, the loud bongs of the bells making Shrike jump half a pace into the air. So many things she would have to get used to.

She reached the top of the steps and passed into the shade of the colonnade, the long rows of ionian columns holding up the roof. Crowds of ponies were going in and out through the heavy wooden doors, colts and fillies with their parents, elderly scholar looking types, young ponies with the harassed look of students about them. Shrike slipped into the crowd and entered the museum, passing beneath three monumental statues of Platinum, Hurricane and Puddinghead which guarded the entrance. Thankfully it was free entrance, and Shrike deftly avoided the pony trying to sell guidebooks or prise donations out of the viewing public in order to get to the first map she could see.

"Right then. Pre-Migration...Migration of the Pony Tribes...Founding of Equestria...come on, where is it...aha! Rule of the Pony Sisters and Nightmare Moon." Shrike noticed the 'No Flying on the Premises' sign moments before she was about to take off to get above the crowds, and rather than draw needless attention to herself, she duly trudged through the heaving masses, stalking in between them like a cat hunting its prey. Her prey was truth, and no matter how bitter the taste she would not be sated till she had consumed it all.

Shrike eventually reached the section she was looking for: Rule of the Pony Sisters and Nightmare Moon. Inside there were a lot of exhibits inside glass cases, or on public display surrounded by red velvet ropes with large and prominent Do Not Touch notices festooned around them. As she walked through the hall, Shrike was amazed by how much of this stuff she recognised, how what had been a functional utility to her, something she would have barely even noticed as she went about her life, was now, by the magic of a thousand years, transformed into History and often caked with the detritus of time to go with it. There was one of the leaf-bladed spearheads they had used back then, brief glances told her that the guards of today used more of an arrowhead shape. Over there was a helmet of the Lunar Guard, and there was one of the first flying goggles ever developed. Shrike remembered when they had first tested those goggles, the things were worse than useless as often as not as the lenses would crack at high speed and you'd get glass in your eyes. Now look at them: an item once scorned now revered as a chunk of the forgotten past.

A large painting, entitled Frigid Winds and Burning Hearts, hung on one wall of the museum gallery. It was labelled an 'artistic interpretation' of the defeat of Nightmare Moon, from some three hundred years after the event itself. Shrike gazed at it for a few moments, letting her anger at the thing grow to the point she was sorely tempted to desecrate the canvas. Nightmare Moon was painted as a figure of monstrous proportions, so vicious, so bestial that it was unbelievable, baring her fangs to her sister like some wild animal, poised to leap on her and pound Celestia with her hooves. Her side of the canvas was a deep coal black, as though Lady Nightmare had wanted to make everypony blind instead of lighting their way by the light of moon instead of sun.

By contrast to this evil black, Celestia was all white. She radiated light, as though she was the sun instead of simply raising it. She stood tall and proud, the epitome of civilised virtue facing the feral fury of Nightmare Moon.

"That wasn't how it was," Shrike said. "Lady Nightmare was eloquent and generous to her loyal subjects, she would have been a kind-hearted ruler. She wasn't some monster. What would that have made us, her followers?"

She turned her attention to a Shadowbolt uniform in a glass case, a uniform so pristine it needed no little card to tell Shrike it was a reproduction. Beneath that there was another card, with some information about the Shadowbolts.

Reproduction Shadowbolt uniform (ceremonial) c. 80 TA

The Shadowbolts were a notorious band of ponies who gathered around Princess Luna in the years leading up to Nightmare Moon's banishment. After Princess Luna complained at Celestia's 'interfering' with her Lunar Guards, she began to assemble a force of ponies loyal solely to her. This group, called the Shadowbolts, was noted to consist of villains, vagabonds, bandits and other assorted detritus of society, drawn to Luna's service by the promise of pay and tolerance of their licentious excesses.

"No we weren't!" Shrike snarled. "Okay, a few of us were looking for a fresh start in life, but we were loyal to Luna, in the end we were the only ponies who remained loyal. That other stuff is just what ponies said about us because they didn't like our methods."

When Nightmare Moon arose the Shadowbolts, drawn by the promise of lavish rewards, remained loyal to her even while the more upright and honourable Lunar Guards attempted to restrain her.

"Because they were traitors!" Shrike hissed.

And drove the Royal Guards out of the Palace of the Royal Sisters. However, despite their best efforts they failed to prevent Princess Celestia from confronting Nightmare Moon and defeating her.

Leaderless, the Shadowbolts fled, pursued by the Royal Guard. They were cornered in northern Equestria, in an old fortress on the border with the vanished Crystal Empire. Called upon to surrender, the Shadowbolts refused and were entirely wiped out in the ensuing battle.

Shrike's jaw hung open. The words she had read reverberated in her head over and over again.

Entirely wiped out...leaderless...despite their best efforts...failed...notorious band...villains, vagabonds, bandits...entirely wiped out...failed.

"I'm sorry, brothers and sisters," Shrike murmured, bowing her head as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm so sorry. I came too late. It was I who failed, not you."

She wiped the tear from her cheek, only for another to take its place, "I can't make amends for abandoning you, for failing you, for failing our mistress. But I promise you this: the world will know our story and you shall be honoured as you deserve, the bravest of the brave. The Shadowbolts shall rise again."

She closed her eyes, and let more tears fall.

***

Sunset Shimmer stood in Canterlot Cemetery, standing over a set of matching headstones. She didn't know who had chosen them, but whoever it was had chosen well. Simple designs, but with intricate flower patters garlanding each stone. Her parents had always liked flowers.

For a long time she stood there in silence, looking down at the white marble grave stones. Even when a very young colt began shouting that 'the mare over there doesn't have a shadow!' she had barely moved, except to cast the illusion of a shadow where one should have been and then smile politely when the colt's parents apologised for disturbing her.

She felt as though she should be more upset than she was.

Sunset knew, on an intellectual level, that there was no requirement for her to cry, for her to bare her soul, for her to collapse upon the graves. And yet, feeling the hollowness inside her chest, the cold void where there ought to have been heaving emotions, she could not help but feel at fault. She knew that she lost a part of herself when she accepted Moloch's bargain, but she had had no idea that she would be cutting such basic, instinctual ties.

What kind of pony could not cry for her parents?

But it wasn't as if she didn't feel. She felt the desire to save Equestria, a thrill at the thought of leading all ponykind in a great and righteous struggle, she felt a petty glee at the thought of visiting payback upon Breaking Dawn, she still felt the same driving ambitions that had driven her this far.

So why did she feel nothing in this place? Had it all just been too long ago?

"I started this for you," Sunset murmured. "That was where it all started. I was looking for a way to save you. I guess I took too long.
"But I did find a way to keep myself from joining you. I don't know what kind of consolation that is, if any, and maybe I'll be with you soon anyway as a result of this mission Creatrix has laid upon me, but for what it's worth I survived. I survived, and I'm going to make sure that Eclipse does too." That had been the greatest consolation for her: that there had been two graves, not three.

"Just so long as you don't forget to whom you owe your survival this far," a snide, mocking, surprisingly young voice said from behind her.

Sunset glanced back. It was the colt from before, the one who had been so excited to see a pony without a shadow.

"So," Sunset said. "You're one of his. I'd never have guessed, you were very convincing."

"Look mommy, the mare over there doesn't have a shadow!" the colt shouted, in a higher pitched, more childish voice. "You were getting careless, I had to do something before somepony noticed who might actually look into it. We can't have you failing before you've paid your dues to your teacher."

"I take it you don't mean Princess Celestia?"

"You know exactly who I mean."

Sunset Shimmer nodded. Indeed she did, "What about your 'parents'? Are they spies too?"

"No, they're just clueless ponies who have a son of an innocuous age. Or should I say they had."

A minute frown was the only visible reaction this obtained from Sunset Shimmer. "Give it back."

"What?"

"You heard me, give the kid his body back," Sunset snarled. "You get out of that pony suit, you send that colt running home to his parents and then you tell Moloch that I will keep my end of the bargain but he needs to leave me alone to do the job my way! This is my home, I know it better than he does. And if you ever come talk to me wearing a child again I'll kill you!"

The little colt smirked. "Okay, okay, have it your own way. Just remember: nopony breaks deals with Moloch, and those who try, regret it. Don't ever think that you're out of his reach. We can always get to you."

There was silence. When Sunset Shimmer finally looked behind her, there was nopony there.

"Jerk," she spat on the ground. "I'm your student, not your slave. I'll save this world from you or whoever threatens it, and then you'll find out why Sunset Shimmer shouldn't be taken lightly."

Her blue eyes flickered back to the graves of her parents, "You probably won't see me again. But wherever you are, be proud of me."

Sunset Shimmer turned away, putting the cemetery behind her as she trotted away. She had one more place she had to go before she called on Breaking Dawn.

Her hooves carried her to Hurricane Hospital, and to the children's ward. The hospital smelled of disinfectant, and the corridors were filled with nurses and doctors bustling about. The children's ward was painted in the brightest colours, with pictures of balloons and bears on the walls. Sunset walked briskly towards the nurse's desk.

"Hello, dear, are you hear to visit somepony?" the nurse asked kindly.

"Yes, I'm here to see a long term patient here, Eclipse?" Sunset said. "I haven't been to see her in a while, so could you tell me where she is now?"

"Of course, Eclipse, that poor girl, such a tragedy," the nurse said. "Yes, I know where she is. Are you a friend of hers? I don't believe I've seen you before."

"I'm not a friend, no, I'm her sister," Sunset said with a touch of impatience. "My name is Sunset Shimmer."

"Oh," the nurse's blue eyes widened. "I didn't know Eclipse had a sister."

"I'm afraid I've been away, out of the country," Sunset said. She smiled insincerely. "But I'm back now and I really want to see her so could you please tell me where she is?"

"Oh, of course. She's in ward F just round the corner. And I'm so sorry about what happened to your parents."

"Um, yeah, thanks," Sunset mumbled as she made her way to ward F.

She spotted her little sister at once, sitting up in her bed on the far side of the room, head turned so that you might have thought she was looking out of the window. Sunset crept up on her, and sat down on the green chair placed next to the bed.

"Hello?" Eclipse turned towards her, her sightless eyes still somehow seeming to look right at Sunset herself. "Who's there?"

Sunset leaned forward and reached out, taking Eclipse's hooves in her own. "It's me, sis. I'm back."

Eclipse gasped. "Sunset, is it really you?"

Sunset smiled, though she knew Eclipse couldn't see it. "Yeah. Yeah, it's me Eclipse. Really. I've come back."

A broad smile spread across her little sister's face, so bright it lit up the whole ward. "I knew it! I knew you'd be back some day. You're not going away again, are you?"

"I," Sunset heard her voice getting very choked. "I have to go away for a little bit, but I'll be back soon and once I am, I promise I'll never leave again. Okay?"

"Really? Cross your heart?"

"And eat a thousand needles," Sunset replied. "I...I'm sorry I couldn't be here for you when, when mom and dad..." Sunset stopped, bowing her head, unable to go on.

"Sunset, are you crying?"

Sunset realised her tears where falling on her sister's hooves. "I'm sorry, sis. I shouldn't be doing this."

"It's okay, you can cry if you want to," Eclipse said kindly.

Sunset laughed. "Thanks, Eclipse, that's nice of you to say. I'm so glad to see you. I'm so glad you're okay."

"Are you okay?" Eclipse asked. "You seem sadder than you used to be."

"I..." Sunset hesitated. "It hasn't always been an easy few years."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Sunset said firmly. She was not going to expose Eclipse to the kind of pony she was. "It's all in the past now, it doesn't matter. But, I think I might have found a way to fix your eyes."

"Really?"

"It will be difficult, but I think I can do it," Sunset said. "Would you like that?"

"Of course, because then I could see what you look like now, big sister."

Sunset reached up, put one leg around Eclipse's head, then drew her close so that their foreheads were touching. "No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, I love you. Don't ever forget that okay, no matter what. Promise me you won't ever forget."

"I could never forget that, Sunset, not in a thousand years."

Sunset smiled through her tears. "You are the only pure thing in my life, you know that? I love you so much. I'm so sorry that I have to go now."

"Where are you going?"

"To see an old friend whose help I need with something."

"An old friend? Is it Trixie?"

"Yeah," Sunset lied. "Yeah, it is."

"Tell her I said hello. Do you think you could ask her to come and visit me?"

"I'll ask, but I don't think she's going to have time right now. Everypony's going to be very busy, very soon."

"Why? Is something going on?"

"There's a storm on the horizon, is all," Sunset said. "But don't worry, I'm here now and I won't let it touch you at all." And then she left, the quicker to finish her business in Ponyville and get back to Canterlot for good.

The darkness was gathering by this time, night descending upon Canterlot as the sun made way for the moon. Somewhere above, in the high towers of the palace, Celestia and Luna were hard at work shifting the heavens in its sphere, changing the stars in their courses. Little did they know that the courses of the stars were about to be irreversibly altered by forces beyond their control or understanding.

By the time she arrived at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, it was fully night, all the students had either gone home for the day or were in their dorms in the rear part of the school. The courtyard was deserted, not even a gardener or a porter in sight. Sunset opened the gate and a swell of nostalgia engulfed her, the memories of years gone by overwhelming her mind for a moment as the familiar sights and scents of schooldays past crashed down on her. Here she had learnt, here she had played, here she had lived. She could still remember the time she and Trixie had dumped Lauren's schoolbooks in the fish pond over there. That was hilarious, watching her getting her hooves nibbled at goldfish as she tried to get them out.

For better or worse, this school had made her the pony that she was today, and you had to respect that. Sunset Shimmer whistled as she walked through the gates and into the quad, stepping over those old familiar cobblestones until she stood before the new statue that stood on top of the fountain. The statue that, unbeknownst to the ponies who passed it every day, was actually the petrified remains of one Breaking Dawn.

"Hello there, Dawny," Sunset grinned. "How would you like to do me a favour?"

***

High above, in her chambers in one of the highest towers in the palace, Princess Celestia tossed and turned in fitful sleep.

She dreamed that she took silver, iron and common clay and mixed them all together in a giant cauldron. She took dragon fire and set it beneath the cauldron to heat it up. She used a lightning bolt to stir the ingredients as they bubbled and boiled. The silver, iron and clay all melted, and Princess Celestia blended them together and made molten gold. Then, she poured the gold out of the giant cauldron and forged it into a mighty statue of herself, a statue taller than the mountains, a statue which cast its shadow over the whole world. A statue so great, so beautiful, that all the peoples of all the world came to stare at it in awe and wonder. It’s shine was so radiant that many of those who stared at it were stricken blind. Then, Celestia took the flares of the sun and set them in the statue’s heart to make it glow, and she stole moonbeams to make it glitter, though the mare in the moon howled with impotent rage. And while ponies sheltered in the shade of the statue, warming themselves by the heat of the sunflares she had set within it, all other creatures: dragons, griffons, zebras and diamond dogs gathered in the shadow of this colossus and looked upon it in despair, for before its majesty they were as ants.

And Celestia looked at the work she had wrought and she was pleased, knowing that she had crafted well.

Then, as she watched, an uncut rock hurtled down from the heavens to strike her golden statue, shattering it before her eyes into a thousand pieces. The ponies howled in terror, while the zebras and the diamond dogs laughed like shrieking monkeys.

And Celestia stared at the head of her statue, a head that was larger than she was herself, and as she gazed at the fallen visage she saw it weeping.

“Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,” somepony said, cackling derisively.

“Who’s there?” Celestia whirled around, to see a pony made of shadow standing behind her, featureless and indistinct. “Who are you?”

“I?” the shadow pony tilted its head to one side. “I am the storm.” And then the shadows spread out to blot out the entire sky, becoming outstretched claws which descended upon Celestia-

Celestia’s eyes snapped open as she gasped for breath. “Guards! Guards!”

The door opened. “Yes, Majesty?”

“Ask Princess Luna to come here at once,” Celestia said. This dream was a message, she was sure of it, and Luna would know better how to interpret it than she.

It was a warning, she was certain, but what was she supposed to do with it?

Dawn Before Sunset (revised)

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Chapter 2

Dawn Before Sunset

Sunset Shimmer tilted her head to one side as she stared at the statue of Breaking Dawn. So heroic, that pose. So affected. It took a certain kind of vanity to care about how you looked when you were being turned to stone and simultaneously dying from a mortal wound. That, in Sunset's opinion, had always been Dawn's problem: her desire to be liked, to be lauded. She had always been more concerned with the surface sheen of power than for its substance.

"So superficial," Sunset murmured. "Such a waste. Arial! Balliol!"

The air shimmered around her as two of her spirits revealed themselves. She had found these wisps on a deserted island, and been impressed by the powers they had displayed. She had a score of them serving her, some with the Aethiope forces in the Everfree, some with the main Grevyian fleet, these two here with her. They were invisible to all save Sunset herself; her little secret in case she needed them.

"What service would you have of us, Mistress, on top of the many services we have already rendered?" Arial asked. He appeared to her currently as a mere swirl in the air, a whirling vortex of power hovering at the height of Sunset's eye.

Sunset raised one eyebrow. "Is that surliness I detect in your voice?"

"Many years we have done your bidding, Mistress," Arial said. "My brothers and sisters desire their liberty."

"And you?"

"I ache for it,” Arial said longingly.

"Yet you have forgotten that were it not for me, you would all still be prisoners of the warlock Calibos, who bound you into trees for years on end. I freed you from that."

"Freed us then tore us from our home to this strange place," Arial said.

"You are more free than you were," Sunset said.

"And could be more free still," Arial pressed.

Sunset's voice was quiet, cold as frost and sharp as a blade. "Have I not promised that I will set you free? Do you doubt my word?"

Arial was silent for a moment. When he spoke, he sounded fearful, "No, mistress."

"Good, for it is golden as my coat," Sunset snapped. "Those who doubted I would keep my promises all paid the price for their poor judgement. You may depend upon it that when I have won my war I will release you. Until then, I need your help. Equestria needs your help. Whole worlds may pay the price if I fail in my mission. Are you willing to have that much blood on your conscience?"

Arial's whirling form resolved into a tiny pegasus of shimmering, near-transparent white, with gossamer wings that did not move. "No, mistress. We are your servants still."

"Good," Sunset said quietly. "I don't know if I could do this without you." She looked back at Dawn and frowned. "Balliol, when I de-petrify her, can you heal her wound?"

Balliol had assumed the form of a tiny cloud. "I will need to possess her, mistress, even if only passively." He spoke nervously, as if he feared to incur Sunset’s anger.

"Passively is what I want. I want Breaking Dawn to help me, not you wearing her body. If all goes well she will never need to know that you are there."

"No, mistress."

"Excellent," Sunset's horn began to glow with an azure aura. "Then let's get started."

***

Breaking Dawn dreamed. Her mind floating free even as her body was entombed in stone...

She and Celestia sat upon a hilltop a little outside of Canterlot, the summer sun shining soft and gentle, warming upon them both. A lavish picnic was spread out before them: the sweetest sweets and sharpest cheeses, the finest tea, the most moist cake. The utmost nourishing of sandwiches, the quintessence of quiches, the very best of everything, and the very best company to complete it. Her friends sat quietly around them, chattering amongst themselves even as their sound did not disturb the stillness Dawn felt coming from the Princess. They sat together on the hillside while, in the meadow beyond, a breeze blowing through the grasses and the rushes produced a curious sound, almost like somepony singing at a low pitch.

Dawn looked up into Celestia's eyes, her radiance nearly blinding the young unicorn. Yet Dawn smiled on.

"Breaking Dawn? Is everything all right?" Celestia asked.

Dawn smiled. "Everything is perfect. Absolutely perfect."

Celestia smiled bac., "That's exactly what I wanted. Exactly what you deserve. Happy Birthday, Breaking Dawn."

"Yeah, Happy Birthday, Dawny!" Hard Candy yelled, bursting a party popper.

"Happy birthday, Little Sunshine," Razor Wind murmured.

"And many happy returns," said Cherry Blossom.

Dawn blushed, looking down at the chequered blanket on which she rested, "You guys, your highness..."

"Dawn?" Princess Celestia asked solicitously, her voice soft and her words inviting. "Dawn, is everything all right?"

"Of course it is," Dawn replied. "Nothing could be better. I could stay forever in this moment, you know?" Around her, her friends were already tucking into the spread, no food untouched, no drink untasted.

Celestia's smile became tinged with melancholy, "I know you could, Breaking Dawn." The sun's light began to dim, the soft breeze being replaced with the howling of timberwolves far off. Summer's warmth made way for autumn leaves being blown away on a howling tempest, a storm which blew away all her friends as though they were rag dolls. In fact, as Dawn watched them disappear, they seemed to turn from ponies into a poor mare's dolls: things of patchwork rags which unravelled before the oncoming hurricane.

"Razor? Cherry? Laurel?" Dawn yelled, getting up and running to the edge of the hilltop as the remains of those who had been her friends were ripped away from her. "Hardy? Candy? This isn't funny." She turned around, "Princess Celestia, what─"

But Princess Celestia had disappeared.

"Princess Celestia? Your Highness?" Dawn looked frantically all around her. "Princess Celestia?" The howling of the timberwolves began to get closer.

"Princess Celestia, please come back," Dawn begged. "Please, please come back. Whatever it was I did wrong, it won't happen again. I'll do better in the future. Please, come back."

She could see the timberwolves now, howling as they ran towards her.

"Princess Celestia," Dawn murmured, eyes wide and filled with tears, looking distractedly this way and that, too concerned with the disappearance of the Princess to give any thought to how to avoid her peril. "Don't leave me!"

There was a crack as loud as thunder, and Breaking Dawn opened her eyes.

She had moments to take in the night sky and familiar buildings, then there was only a pain like nothing she had ever experienced before: the wound felt like fire pulsing in her flesh, the beating of her heart was like somepony banging on her to get the last of her blood out as though she were a condiment jar. Thud, thud, thud and with every thump the searing pain scorched her even more and the feeling in her legs was colder. Dawn could feel herself weakening by the moment.

Dawn toppled from her plinth and fell face-first onto the ground, even that failed to do more than register compared to the massive agony in her chest where the zebra had stabbed her at the end of the battle for Canterlot. If she could just concentrate her thoughts past the obvious and very distracting pain, she could feel her life blood ebbing out of the gaping hole.

"Princess...help me," Dawn murmured, hooves scraping futilely on the ground as though by getting purchase on the cobblestones she might also gain a purchase upon life.

Had Twilight Sparkle done this, Dawn wondered as her breathing became shallower and shallower. Had she decided to murder Dawn after all?

A white light - blindingly bright - filled her eyes. Then, Dawn yelled and her back arched as she was wracked with a spasm of intense pain. As her head hit the ground again, Dawn noticed that the pain in her chest was fading.

Rolling onto her side, Dawn looked down to see the wound to her breast knitting itself together. After a few moments, it was as if she had never been hurt at all.

"The words you're looking for are 'thank you, Sunset, for saving my life'." A voice, cold and imperious, declared. "I know that you're ungrateful, Dawny, but make an effort for me."

Breaking Dawn drew a deep breath as she lay on the stone. Several gasps later and she looked around at the tall, elegant buildings rising around her.

School quad? They had put her up as a statue in the quad? As far as it went, Dawn supposed it wasn't a bad position - the best in the school in fact - but she couldn't help feeling a little insulted by it. Wasn't there any more room at the palace? She had been Princess Celestia's own student, after all.

With a heave and a deep breath Dawn pushed herself up onto her hooves from amongst from the fragments of shattered stonework that lay all around her. Dawn shook her head, dust falling from her red and white mane.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Breaking Dawn."

Dawn finally looked in front of her at her mysterious rescuer. She didn't quite know who she had been expecting, one of the princesses maybe, but not who she saw there. An amber unicorn with a fiery red and yellow mane and blue eyes, shaded with green so that in the darkness they seemed almost turquoise.

She was older, but that didn't mean that Dawn didn't recognise her.

"Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunset smiled sadly. "It gives me no pleasure, being right, you know. I want you to bear that in mind, no matter happens. I didn't like you, but I didn't wish this on you."

Dawn grunted, looking away. At their last meeting, on the day Sunset Shimmer was expelled from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, Breaking Dawn had gone to watch her leave, and crow about her triumph. She had been full of herself in those days, secure in her position as Celestia's student;so when Sunset had warned her that just as Dawn had stolen the crown from Sunset so one day somepony would steal the crown from Dawn, the warning had gone ignored. More ponies worshipped the rising than the setting sun, after all, and a pony on the glory road, as Breaking Dawn had been, had no need to listen to a failure like Sunset Shimmer.

And then Twilight Sparkle had come along and the rest was history.

"Nothing to say?" Sunset said. "That's a first."

"You broke me out?" Dawn asked, feeling completely lost at this turn of events. She had heard that Sunset Shimmer had disappeared, dropped off the face of the world. And now here she was, to save Breaking Dawn? It didn’t make a bit of sense, and Dawn wouldn’t have believed it if she couldn’t see it for herself.

"I did."

"Why?"

Sunset smirked. "Would you believe me if I said my motives were altruistic?"

"No."

"Good, because you'd be stupid if you did," Sunset said with a sigh. "I need your help, Breaking Dawn. Equestria needs your help. Something big and bad is on its way and I'm supposed to stop it."

"You?"

Sunset looked at her sideways. "Don't act so surprised, will you?"

Dawn took a pace backwards, her tail brushing against the plinth she had so recently been mounted on. "You disappeared. Nopony knew what had happened to you. Princess Celestia was really upset. Did you just crawl back out of a hole in the ground and decide to save Equestria?" Sunset had liked to play games, that Dawn remembered. She had liked to play with those she didn’t like. Dawn tried to keep her expression resolute and her tone brave, if Sunset thought to play with her she would be in for a shock.

Sunset said, "More like I crawled out of a whole in the world."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means the world is coming to an end, Dawny. Are you going to do something about it, or are you going to ask stupid questions?"

Dawn scowled, stalking forwards to get in Sunset's face. "Okay, first of all you do not have the right to call me ‘Dawny’ like we're suddenly pals or something. Secondly, why should I believe you when you show up out of nowhere?"

Sunset's expression was level, her tone even. "Can you afford not to?" She turned away, walking towards the school gates. "Your lawyer friend went before the princesses today to try and get you a pardon. Would you like to see her dead? Would you like Cherry Blossom to be stuffed inside her own oven and roasted?"

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a warning of what will happen if I do not fulfil my quest," Sunset snapped. "I am asking for your help because you are a powerful unicorn. And because we are a lot alike, you and I. We even look similar." Sunset smirked. "Though I look better, of course, white and red doesn't have quite the same touch as my fire pattern."

"Of course," Dawn said in a voice dry as burning wood.

"The point is, neither of us wants to see Equestria destroyed, do we?" Sunset asked. "This is bigger than either of us, Dawn. That's why I've come to you, that's why I'm asking you to put your feelings aside and work with me. For the sake of everypony we love."

Dawn stared at Sunset, as her rescuer waited for Dawn's response. She was struck by just how tired Sunset looked, how worn down. Her eyes especially, there was so much weight in those eyes, so much sorrow and pain. Dawn found she didn't want to imagine where Sunset had disappeared to before her abrupt resurgence.

"Are you serious about all this?" Dawn asked. "You really need my help to save everypony?"

Sunset nodded. "I'm absolutely serious."

"Then I'll do what I can." For her friends, for Princess Celestia, for Canterlot, she could do no less.

"Good, I hoped I could rely on you," Sunset smiled thinly, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "We're leaving as soon as Shrike comes back."

"Wait, I can't even see my friends?"

"Do you want to see them or do you want to save them?" Sunset demanded. "We don't have time to waste."

Dawn frowned. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"

"Don't take it personally, Dawny," Sunset said softly. "There's something I'm not telling everypony."

"What is it?"

Sunset looked at her.

Dawn shrugged. "It was worth a try."

Sunset turned away, walking out of the school gates and scanning the night sky. "Come on, Shrike, where are you?"

Dawn followed her. "Hey, Sunset, I still have one question: if this danger is as real as you say, why break me out of my stone shell to help you out? Why not go to Princess Celestia?"

Sunset Shimmer was silent for a moment. "Princess Celestia is part of the problem, not the solution. Equestria, this whole world, can only survive this crisis with me at it's head. Princess Celestia doesn't have what it takes to protect this land. She's too set in her ways, too unwilling to bend. We can't rely on her in this crisis."

Dawn was silent for a moment. "Are you serious? You show up and tell me you want to help, but your idea of help is to dethrone Celestia?"

"My plan is to save this world by any means necessary," Sunset snapped.

"Princess Celestia has led Equestria through every crisis since Discord," Dawn said. "The people will never go for this."

"Who says I have to ask the people?"

"I won't go for this either," Dawn yelled. "I won't let you hurt Princess Celestia!"

"I'm not going to hurt the Princess," Sunset replied dismissively. "I just need to keep her out of the way while I unite the races."

"What makes you think you can do so much better than Celestia?" Dawn demanded.

"Because I haven't been living in cotton candyland for the last few years," Sunset snarled, rounding on Dawn. "I've seen things, done things that you couldn't possibly imagine. I have fought wars, travelled from star and star and walked in the dark places between dimensions. I have fought, suffered, fallen and risen up again to even greater triumphs. I have raised armies to my banner and shattered the hosts that came against me. I have safeguarded kingdoms and I have laid them low. What have you, or Princess Celestia or even Twilight Sparkle done compared to that? What makes you more fit than I to lead us in this fight?"

Dawn retreated back a pace. "I won't let you hurt Celestia," she repeated stubbornly.

"And I told you, I don't mean to hurt her," Sunset said, her tone softening. "Come with me to Ponyville. The three of us will talk: you, Twilight Sparkle and myself. We will see if we can't find a way to be friends."

Dawn's eyes widened. "You think Twilight Sparkle will want to see me?"

"She won't want to see either of us, but she'll have to listen. If she is a true princess, her duty will demand nothing less," Sunset answered. "Come on, Shrike, hurry up."

A light blue pegasus with a dark blue mane and sapphire eyes swooped down out of the darkness to land on the street outside the school gates.

"What took you so long?" Sunset demanded.

"I was trying to see if I could sneak past the guards to get in to see Princess Luna," Shrike explained.

"You WHAT?" Sunset sounded near apoplectic. "Did anypony see you?"

"Of course not, relax-"

Sunset's horn glowed as a magical aura wrapped itself around Shrike's neck. "Do not tell me to relax after telling me that you just did something monumentally stupid!"

Shrike's legs spasmed as she tried to speak. "I had to try and see her, free her from Celestia..."

"Idiot," Sunset snarled as she released her hold on Shrike, who flopped like a fish onto the ground. "Never do anything like that again without my express permission, do you understand?"

Shrike gasped for air. "Yes."

"Who's that?" Dawn asked.

"Her name is Shrike," Sunset said. "She spent a thousand years trapped in a time warp, which perhaps accounts for the brain damage. Come on, both of you gather close to me."

"Do we have to go to Ponyville?” Dawn asked.

Sunset grinned. “What’s the matter, Dawn? Are you worried she won’t be pleased to see you?”

***

Twilight Sparkle wandered through a thick fog. So thick she could barely see two feet in front of her nose.

She had no idea where she was. At times it looked as though it might be Canterlot, but at other times it looked more like the castle of the Pony Sisters, what with the crumbling walls and all. It was just too misty to be able to say for certain.

What were these dreams? She kept having them, but nothing was ever clear to her? Was she ill? Did she need Princess Luna to examine her dreams to see if there was something wrong?

"Can anypony hear me?" Twilight yelled. "Hello? Somepony? I can't see a thing!"

An ethereal voice, broken and distant, echoed through the mist. "...no fate..."

"What?" Twilight turned around, her horn glowing as she tried in vain to burn through the mists with her magic. "Who said that? What are you talking about?"

"...you alone..."

Twilight began to run through the mists, banging into walls and tripping over objects on the ground she could not make out on her way to find whomever was speaking.

"...ask...chosen..."

"Who are you?" Twilight demanded. "Where are you?"

"...storm approaches..."

"Can't you tell me how to find you?" Twilight shouted. "Show yourself!"

"Somepony must unite them," the sad, ethereal voice intoned solemnly.

"Unite who?" Twilight asked. "And why?"

"Wake up, sleeping princess," a voice intruded upon Twilight's dream. "The world is moving too fast to wait for you."

Twilight's lavender eyes fluttered open, light from her horn illuminating the darkness of her loft. Twilight sat up to see a golden unicorn in a dark cloak standing at the foot of her bed, staring at her through a pair of bright blue-green eyes. She looked at once both radiant and drained, her coat glowing and her eyes intense while, at the same time, there was a dimness hovering about her and her eyes seemed like a well of experiences deep enough to drown the unwary in.

"Who are you?" Twilight demanded, levitating the covers of her bed so she could move unencumbered if she had to. "What are you doing here?"

"Since the answer to that is obvious, I take it you meant to ask what I'm doing here in the middle of the night," the unicorn said. "I am here because I am in haste, there are many hours to go before dawn and I cannot spare them, I have many miles to go before I can allow myself the luxury of rest." She looked out of the window at the moon hanging in the sky. "Still, rather appropriate really. Dark for dark business. Thematically appropriate and all that."
She gave a wintry smile. "My name, forgive me, is Sunset Shimmer. I believe you've already met Breaking Dawn." Sunset Shimmer looked back. "Come on out, Dawn, don't skulk in the shadows."

Twilight scowled as Breaking Dawn emerged into the little light given off by Sunset and Twilight's horns. Her head was a little bowed, her eyes cast down, as if she hoped to escape Twilight's wrath by the appearance of a little supplication.

"You," Twilight snarled. "I should-"

"There will be none of that, there is no time," Sunset snapped in a tone of cold command. She spoke with the authority of one used to giving orders and being obeyed, and Twilight found her anger lessened almost immediately. "I know that there is bad blood between you two. But, for the sake of all ponykind, I ask you to put it aside for now. There are much larger things at work than your small feud."

For a while there was silence, disturbed only by the sound of Spike's snoring.

"I took the liberty of ensuring that your dragon friend wouldn't wake up and disturb us," Sunset said. "If he woke up and saw us like this, well it might not look too good. And we do need to speak, urgently."

Twilight raised one eyebrow as she got out of bed. "Is there any reason you couldn't have knocked on the door?"

"Would you have listened if you had seen Breaking Dawn at your door?" Sunset asked.

"No," Twilight growled. "What is she doing here?"

"I'm here because I was asked to come here," Dawn answered combatively. "Apparently what's coming will need us all to fight it."

"That would be for the best," Sunset confirmed.

"What's coming?" Twilight repeated. "What is coming? If something bad is on its way then I'll meet it with my friends, wielding the Elements of Harmony."

"Harmony has it's limits," Sunset remarked.

Twilight stared at her. "Who are you exactly, Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunset's smile did not quite reach her eyes. "I am the old you, Princess Twilight. And this is a conversation best had somewhere more comfortable." Her horn glowed, and Twilight was blinded by a flash of azure light.

Twilight felt grass beneath her hooves moments before her vision cleared. She looked around, she was clearly in the Everfree Forest. More than that, she was clearly in the middle of an armed camp. Zebras moved here and there, many of them stopping to stare at the three unicorns who had appeared in their midst, alongside a few griffons and ponies. Weapons were stacked all over the places, tents and campfires filled every available space between the trees and Twilight thought she could hear the sounds of larger animals just out of sight.

"What is this place?" Twilight murmured. She noticed the hostile looks on the faces of the zebras as they glared at her. "Who are all these zebras?"

Sunset smirked. "I'm not surprised you don't remember them, but I would have thought that you would, Dawny?"

Breaking Dawn shook her head furiously. "Tell me they're not the Aethiope?"

Sunset nodded. "They certainly remember you well enough."

Dawn snorted angrily, her horn glowing.

"None of that, Dawn," Sunset remonstrated mildly. "No one will harm you while you are under my protection. That goes for both of you."

"What is this?" a snide voice, laced with sarcasm, asked from behind Twilight. "Has Equestria's newest pony princess become your newest prisoner, Sunset Shimmer?"

Twilight turned around, her eyes widening as she saw Queen Chrysalis of the changelings sitting on a fallen log, her forehooves bound and some kind of iron ring set upon her crooked horn. On either side of the changeling queen, she saw the Great and Powerful Trixie similarly bound, along with Zecora.

"Zecora?" Twilight hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"In my forest these Grevyians chose to take their rest,
So now I am old Grevyia's unwilling guest," Zecora responded. There was a mixture of nervousness and hope in her turn as she continued.
"I see that you with Sunset came friendless and alone,
But I hope that your friends know where you have gone."

Twilight shook her head imperceptibly. "No. No they don't."

"That is hard news, and hearing it I fear,
That you, like me, may soon be detained here."

Twilight's lips pursed, her jaw tightened, and she felt anger rising in her chest as she rounded upon Sunset Shimmer. "Just what in Celestia's name is going on here? You talk of common cause and mutual enemies, but then you bring me to an armed camp filled with the very same zebras who tried to put a muzzle on Princess Celestia! You hold my friends prisoner? Is this some kind of sick game you're playing?"

"Calm yourself, Twilight Sparkle," Sunset replied mildly. "This is not a game."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Twilight yelled.

"And don't you dare raise your voice to me, you spoiled little filly!" Sunset snarled, baring her teeth and getting up into Twilight's face. "I am the one who was chosen, not you! I have seen the future, when your crown and wings and friends and precious harmony avail this country nothing. You need me, far more than I will ever need you, because I can do the things that you can't even dream of.”
Sunset's voice quietened, and a ready smile flashed across her face. "But let us not fight. We are all friends here, or should be. Friends united against a set of common enemies. Now if we-"

"Mistress," a light brown pegasus with a black mane dashed through the zebra camp, coming to a panting halt in front of Sunset. "Mistress, you're back. Nopony told me."

"I only got back here a moment ago, Firethorn," Sunset said, sounding amused. "Did you miss me that much?"

The pegasus' eyes widened. "Do you doubt it?"

Sunset smiled, a much warmer and more genuine smile than any she had hitherto displayed. "Never." She nuzzled the young pegasus. "Did you complete the reading I set you."

"Yes."

"What did you think?"

"It was better than I had expected, mistress."

Sunset chuckled. "That's true for more books than scholars like to admit. You will get used to it, in time. Where is Virtue?"

"Here I am, mistress," the biggest unicorn Twilight had ever seen stomped towards them. He was coal black, save for his silver-white mane and tail, and his coat combined with his red eyes and curved horn put Twilight in mind of King Sombra. She retreated a step away from him.

Sunset grinned. "Don't be alarmed. He may look imposing, but Virtuous Fury is as gentle as a kitten, aren't you, Virtue?"

"I prefer to say I am a gentlecolt well-mannered, mistress," Virtue replied in slightly long suffering tones. He bowed to Twilight and Dawn. "If you had informed me you would be bringing guests, I would have made arrangements."

"Somewhere we can sit and talk will be fine," Sunset said. "Perhaps something to eat, are either of you hungry?"

Dawn nodded. Twilight made no response.

"Follow me mistress, ladies," the huge black unicorn led them towards a roaring campfire like a waiter ushering them to a table in a restaurant, before he then went to another fire nearby and started acting like a chef, taking up a ladle in his mouth and spooning some sort of brown stew out of a cookpot into a pair of tin bowls, which he carried over to Sunset and Dawn.

"You are sure you will not have some, Your Highness?" he asked her.

"No, thank you," Twilight replied coldly.

Virtue bowed once again, shuffling away to leave them in peace. Firethorn, on the other hoof, sat down just behind Sunset, looking ready to pounce like a guard dog.

"You must forgive Firethorn," Sunset said breezily. "He is very protective. Quite unnecessary of course, but at the same time rather comforting."

"I might be able to forgive him," Twilight said. "The real issue is whether I can forgive you and your zebra friends. Or even you, Breaking Dawn."

Dawn grunted. "Isn't the fact that you won good enough for you?"

"No," Twilight said coldly.

"Yet you may have to be content with it," Sunset said. "There will not be much time for settling old scores in future."

"Are you going to explain all your cryptic warnings now?" Dawn asked.

"You'd better," Twilight added sternly.

Sunset let out a deep breath, bowing her head and staring into the flames. "My name is Sunset Shimmer. I was, Dawn will remember this but Twilight probably won't, Princess Celestia's student once." She smiled. "We three are united in a common apprenticeship. All three of us took our turn jumping through the hoops for that manipulative mare, and it is only pure chance Twilight was standing at the end of the daisy chain when Nightmare Moon returned."

"Don't talk about Princess Celestia like that!" Twilight shouted, only to realise that Dawn had said exactly the same thing at exactly the same time.

Sunset chuckled. "Now, see? We're finding common ground already. I have been away from Equestria for quite some time. Years, in fact. There were times when I didn't think I would ever get home. There is no time for the full story now, but take it from me: the things I've done, the things I've seen, would have destroyed lesser ponies than myself. I think, I know, that is why the dreams came to me."

"Dreams?" Dawn asked, leaning in closer.

Sunset smiled thinly. "The dreams that foretold the destruction of all Equestria, unless I prevent it."

"Dreams?" Twilight asked. "Is that what this is all about? You've had dreams?"

"You say it like you don't believe me," Sunset said, sounding affronted.

"I don't believe you're serious," Twilight said. "Prophetic dreams are a myth, not even Starswirl the Bearded could find any evidence to support precognition."

"Starswirl, as Clover the Clever points out in her commentaries upon his research on the subject, was searching for evidence of an in-born disposition amongst certain ponies to dream of things that were yet to come, so-called foresight, or else of an ability to learn the skill, similar to the way dream-walking can be learned," Sunset said. "What he never considered, but what Clover makes note of in her own research, is that when prophetic dreams were reported in the old legends, they were all sent to the ponies who received them from a higher power, who simultaneously granted somepony, not always the dreamer, with the power of interpretation. When Puddinghead dreamed of the seven healthy apples followed by the frost which destroyed the apple tree, she claimed it did not feel like her own dream. And Smart Cookie reported something like another voice telling her how to interpret the dream: that there would be seven more years of rich harvests followed by a harsh winter."

"You're saying that you think a god has been sending you dreams?" Dawn asked. "I always knew you had an ego, but sweet Celestia."

Sunset paid her as much attention as she would a fly. "Have either of you heard the name Creatrix before?"

Twilight shook her head. Dawn followed a second later.

"Whoever she is, she has some destiny in mind for me," Sunset continued. "She chose me to save Equestria, to save this whole world by uniting all the races in it to resist evil. I don't intend to disappoint her."

"How can you be so sure these aren't just ordinary dreams you've been having?" Twilight asked. "How do you know that this is destiny, or fate or some powerful being having chosen you."

"Because I know," Sunset spoke with absolute certain. "All my life I have known that I was different from other ponies. I knew it from when I was a filly and could not join in the play and laughter of the other children. From my earliest youth I have known myself to be touched by some power higher than pony kind, set apart for greater things. All my life I have followed my star to greatness and to glory. I have a destiny, I always have. It is no shock to me that Creatrix has made me her champion. Indeed I find it the most natural thing in the world. I am a superpony who can stand outside the stifling confines of society and accomplish great acts that will reshape the world."
"I know that these are not ordinary dreams because I am anything but ordinary. And I know that this is my destiny because, when the fate of the world is at stake, what lesser destiny could be fit for one such as I?"

Twilight would have recoiled from this display of sheer hubris in all of its grotesqueness, had not her present circumstances stood upon the knife's edge as they did.

Dawn was less restrained. "You didn't learn humility wherever you've been then?"

Sunset smirked. "Only those who have no choice but to be humble preach the virtues of humility. That must be why it suits you so well right now."

Dawn growled wordlessly.

"Even if we accept your dreams as accurate," Twilight said, not mentioning what a staggeringly large ‘if’ it was. "What is it you plan to do?"

"Sweep away the dead wood, strengthen this land to resist attack," Sunset declared. "I will set such a fire, it will burn away all the rot that has infected this place."

"’A fire, once begun, can scarcely be controlled by any pony, and will consume all that it touches without discrimination’," Twilight warned.

"Don't quote Cave Shadow at me," Sunset snapped. "I am not a filly, I know exactly what I'm doing, I need no sanctimonious philosopher or self-righteous princess to instruct me."

"Then why haven't you gone to Princess Celestia to warn her about this impending threat?"

"I asked that," Dawn remarked.

Sunset chuckled. Then she sighed, sadly, and stared down once more into the fire. "I am afraid, Princess Celestia will be the first enemy we must overcome if we three are to save this world."

"WHAT?" Twilight leapt to her hooves. "You did not just say what I think you said."

"She has grown corrupt and complacent in her power. Celestia no longer has the energy or the vision needed to do what must be done," Sunset said, her voice as sharp as broken glass. "All she sees now is how to maintain her iron grip upon the throne."

"That's a lie!" Twilight yelled. "Princess Celestia works hard every day for the good of all ponies."

"The good of all ponies? You sound like a propaganda leaflet," Sunset said dismissively. "Do you remember your Heagle? Monarchy inevitably begets Tyranny once it lasts long enough that the monarch forgets that they own the throne to the common people and begin to exploit them."

"Heagle was a griffon writing for griffons, even if one accepts his political theories - highly theoretical and lacking in applicability as they are - he never predicted an immortal monarch who would be immune to the decaying effects of time. Heagle doesn't apply to Princess Celestia."

"Power has corrupted her as it corrupts all who wield it," Sunset insisted.

"Including you?" Twilight asked sharply. "Power does not corrupt, power merely reveals who we truly are and always were. And in Princess Celestia's case it reveals nothing but goodness."

"Goodness!" Sunset laughed sarcastically. "Look at us! Look at what she makes us give! We are nothing but toys to her, to be cast aside when the next year's model comes around. Dawn, she took away everything that mattered to you, and in the end she turned you to stone. Is that good? Is that compassion?"

Dawn looked down at her hooves. "I...I'd done some bad things."

"Nothing that deserved such a cruel fate, surely?" Sunset asked, her voice soft and dripping with sympathy. "A fate normally reserved for the likes of Discord? Except Discord was set free, at Celestia's command. I guess he had more to offer her than you did."

"Stop it," Dawn murmured. "Please, stop."

"It's hard, I know, to accept the truth," Sunset continued. "I know that because I struggled to accept it too. But that mare took everything from me. She destroyed me, and I had to build myself up from scratch and when I was finished I wasn't really a pony any more. Princess Celestia used me up and spat me out without so much as a second glance, banished me to another world so that she wouldn't have to deal with me any more. Your fates were not so cruel, but they are of a piece with mine, depend upon it. Maybe, when you grow too loud, she will do to you as was done to me."

Twilight laughed derisively. She couldn't help it. "My fate? What, are you going to tell me that becoming a princess is a punishment now?"

"Exile is," Sunset remarked.

"Exile?"

"Why else would you have been sent to Ponyville, out in the boondocks, far from the centre of the political action. Celestia fears you, she fears what you might do if you started to think for yourself, so she gave you a meaningless title with no authority and sent you to a backwater on a makework 'mission' to stop you causing trouble for her or worse rising up against her."

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "I'm sorry. I don't know who are you are but this is the biggest load of ponyfeathers I have ever heard! Are you delusional?"

Sunset Shimmer became very still, and very quiet. She stared into Twilight's soul with an unwavering gaze through eyes that seemed to become as hard as iron. "Most ponies don't talk to me that way, princess."

"Then maybe they should, for your own good," Twilight shouted. "I wasn't sent to Ponyville as a punishment or an exile. I was sent to Ponyville so that I could come out of my shell and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Princess Celestia - who apparently fears all of us so much that she'll do anything to stop us getting close to power - allowed me to stay here because I was happy here, because I'd found my friends─"

"Your friends?" Sunset demanded. "Where are your friends, if they're so very true? Do you think anypony has even noticed that you're gone?"

"Hey, Twilight, can you hear me?" Rainbow Dash's voice echoed through the trees. "Come on, Twilight, answer!"

"Twilight! Where are you, sugarcube?" Applejack called.

"Twilight! Twilight!" it sounded like they were all there, even Spike.

Twilight could not resist the urge to smirk.

"Nopony say a word," Sunset said, her voice seething. "Virtue!"

"Yes, mistress?"

Sunset took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "Seize them!"

"No!" Twilight yelled, her horn lighting up as she summoned her magic. Dawn rose to her hooves, her own horn alight. Only Sunset remained seated and still.

"Everypony run, it's a trap!"

The Searchers

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Chapter 3

The Searchers

Applejack was woken in the middle of the night by the sound of somepony pounding on the farmhouse door. Pounding very loudly.

"Who in tarnation is that and wha' do they want?" Granny Smith demanded irritably from down the hall. "Tell 'em to take their contarned business someplace else!"

"Is there a sassquash outside or somethin'" Apple Bloom asked groggily.

"I doubt it," Applejack replied irritably, padding down the stairs to the door, grumbling all the while. "If this isn't an emergency, I'm gonna give somepony a piece of my mind." She had to be up early enough as it was without having her sleep disturbed for no good reason.

Whoever it was banged on the door again.

"I hear ya and I'm coming, hold your horses," Applejack shouted, reaching the door and wrenching it open. "Pinkie? Spike? What in-"

Pinkie took a deep breath in. "Applejack! This is an emergency!"

"I woke up and there was this flash of light-" Spike began.

"I woke up and my mane was twitching!" Pinkie yelled.

"...popping sound like teleportation..."

"...got worse the closer I got to the library..."

"...hadn't left a note or anything..."

"...Spike came out..."

"...then I saw Pinkie and-"

"Calm down both of y'all," Applejack said firmly. "How am I supposed to make a lick of sense out of either of you if you keep talkin' over each other? Spike, you go first. What's all this about?"

"Twilight's disappeared!" Spike wailed. "I woke up and there was this flash of light and a popping sound like somepony teleporting. Only it wasn't the same colour as when Twilight teleports, it was like blue I think. And Twilight was just gone, she didn't leave a note or say anything to me. Then I went outside and Pinkie was there."

"Because I'd felt a twitch in my mane that meant one of my friends was in trouble, and the twitching got worse the closer I got to the library," Pinkie cried. "What do we do, Applejack?"

Applejack hesitated, considering. She put her hat upon her head, closing her eyes for a moment. The way she saw it, there were two possibilities: first, that Twilight had teleported somewhere without telling anypony. That was unlikely, since it was the middle of the night and she'd know that they'd worry about her and Twi wasn't so inconsiderate as to just disappear without saying anything. The second possibility was that somepony had taken Twilight, against her will if Pinkie's sense was anything to go by.

She looked at Spike and Pinkie Pie, and she knew that they were waiting upon her words for the exact same reason that they had come to her before anypony else in the first place: because Applejack always knew what to do at times like these. It wasn't always easy, being the sensible one.

"Get everypony together," she said. "If Twilight's missing, I guess we'll just have to find her, won't we?"

She put Apple Bloom back to bed, told Big Macintosh that she hoped to be back by morning, then closed the door behind her on her way out. It didn't take long get Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash together, and none of them complained about being woken up once they realised that Twilight might be in a bad way.

Thankfully, Pinkie's mane was still twitching, and as they approached the Everfree Forest, it got to the point where Applejack could see it moving around on top of Pinkie's head, a clear indication they were heading in the right direction.

"Perhaps she just went to visit Zecora?" Fluttershy suggested, more in hope than expectation. "After all, we haven't seen her in town for a few days."

"At this time of night?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Zecora would be asleep."

"Do we know any unicorns who can teleport, apart from Twilight herself?" Rarity said softly. "After all, it isn't exactly a common ability."

Applejack frowned. "I seem to recall that crazy mare Breaking Dawn teleported to save Twilight from that zebra back in Canterlot, but she got to turned to stone that very night." She sighed. "Well, whoever it is we ain't gonna find the answer standing around here. We'll just have to go in and see what's up."

"Right!" they all chorussed, and followed Applejack as she led the way into the tangled depths of the Everfree Forest.

For ease of movement, they followed the forest track, hoping that Twilight could be found somewhere along or near it. If they had to search every inch of the whole wood, then their task would become so hard as to be impossible to complete alone. The Everfree was just too big, especially considering how impenetrable it was from the air. If they could not find Twilight tonight then they might have to ask Princess Celestia to lend them some Royal Guards to assist the search. Applejack hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Twilight?" she called. "Twilight, sugarcube, where are you? Can you hear us?"
Everypony shouted out for Twilight, even Spike as he rode on Rarity's back while they continued to follow the track that could take them either to Zecora's hut or to the old castle.

"Twilight?" Applejack kept shouting as they walked between the gnarled and twisted trees, over roots and vines, past thorns and strange, exotic plants. Once or twice Applejack thought she heard movement somewhere in the woods nearby, but nothing emerged to hinder their passage or respond to their constant hails.

"Come on, Twilight, answer us!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Applejack could see lights up ahead. Fire lights, if she was any judge. She began to head that way, the others following behind her. "Twilight? Where are you, sugarcube?"

And then, in answer, the unmistakeable voice of Twilight Sparkle, frantic with worry. "Applejack! Run, it's a trap!"

Applejack skidded to a halt, the others very nearly colliding into her as a giant, black unicorn appeared out of the trees to bar their way. He looked to be about a head taller than Big Macintosh, with more muscle on him too if that were possible. A silver white mane hung loose above his face, and his red eyes were fixed upon Applejack.

"Good evening, ladies," he spoke surprisingly softly for such a large and powerful looking pony. "May I offer you the hospitality of our camp?"

Applejack scowled. "That's mighty kind of you, stranger, but I think we really need to be on our way." A trap. Twilight's words reverberated in Applejack's mind. They had to get out of here. She had to keep everypony safe.

The black unicorn attempted to smile disarmingly, though the effect was ruined by the fact that it did not reach his eyes. "It is not far, I assure you. We have food if you are hungry, a fire if you are cold."

"Like I said, thanks but no thanks," Applejack half-growled her words.

The unicorn scowled. "I am afraid I must insist upon it, ma'am. Please, I ask you to come with me to our camp."

Applejack crouched down, coiling her body ready to spring. "I don't reckon we will."

The unicorn sighed deeply. "I fear we will both regret this, ma'am. Take them alive!"

With a high-pitched, keening wail, a group of zebras sprang from the bushes around them, their faces wholly concealed behind white masks. One of them descended upon Applejack, shrieking as he prepared to pummel her with his hooves.

Applejack twisted deftly on her forehooves, turning to present her back to the zebra before bucking out with her hind legs, slamming him backwards into a nearby tree with a heavy thud. The zebra crumpled to the ground and lay there, moaning.

"Everypony get outta here!" Applejack yelled.

"But, Twilight-" Rainbow Dash began.

"Go!" Applejack shouted as more zebras began to pour forth like a swarm of angry wasps buzzing out of their hive. "Spike! Warn Princess Celestia!"

She turned, and bucked another zebra back in the direction of the campfires.

"Any of y'all want to go over my friends," Applejack declared. "You better be ready to go through me!"

Rarity ran. Spike clung to her back, his claws entwined with her violet mane, pulling on it as he held on for dear life. Behind her, she could hear Fluttershy panting for breath as she struggled to keep up.

Rarity had lost track of Pinkie Pie. Behind her, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were brawling with the zebras in an attempt to buy time for the others. It was a wrench to leave them, it tore at Rarity to turn tail and run like this, but Applejack was right. Somepony had to warn Ponyville and the princesses about this, somepony had to get help for Twilight, and the others now as well. And so she ran, and did not mind the throbbing of her hooves, the aching of her legs, the fact that her lungs wheezed complaints at their mistreatment. She had never run so fast before, nor had she felt the need to.

"Rarity!" Spike called. "Look!"

Rarity was reluctant to look at first, fearing to do anything that might break her stride. But she realised that a third seet of hoof beats had joined the pounding drums of Fluttershy and herself. A third pony running with them, and she knew it wasn’t Pinkie Pie because Pinkie bounced.

Rarity twisted her head and gasped. The great black unicorn was running paralell to the track, speeding unimpeded through the forest, unhindered by the brush or undergrowth by the simple expedient of crushing everything in his path beneath his muscular bulk. Bushes crumpled beneath him, boughs broke before him, thorns scratched him without eliciting so much as a wince. He was absolutely implacable, and he kept pace with Rarity in spite of the fact that she had a far easier path than he. What was worse, his exertions hardly seemed to be winding him at all, while Rarity felt as though her whole body burned with effort and there was little, or nothing, else that she could call upon.

But then Rarity remembered she had one thing he definitely did not have. Her horn glowed as she wrenched a stout branch off a nearby tree and handed it to Spike. "How's your jousting, Spike?" she wheezed.

Spike, bless him, got the point at once, holding on to Rarity's mane with one hand while gripping the big stick with the other.

"Stay...close...Fluttershy," Rarity gasped.

"I'm...trying," Fluttershy murmured in between deep breaths.

"Surrender, ma'am," the black unicorn called. "It will go easier for you if you do. We are not your enemies."

Rarity did not dignify that with a response. As a lie, she found it less convincing than the time Sweetie Belle had tried to tell her that a stray dog had trailed mud all over Carousel Boutique, despite the marks being quite clearly hoof-shaped. She kept on running. If she could reach the edge of the forest then she could scream for help.

The black stallion began to move sideways, closing the gap between Rarity and himself. He crashed out of the foliage, a low growl burbling up from his throat as he prepared to slam his whole body into hers.

With a yell, Spike brought the stick in his claws down upon the stallion's head. He did not visibly flinch, but it did stay his movement towards her. He retreated a few paces, still keeping pace. He closed the gap again, and again Spike struck him about the head, once, twice.

"Stay away from Rarity!" Spike cried.

The unicorn grinned. "Is there more, little squire? Or have I seen the best of it already?"

He closed in. Spike brought his stout stick down, but this time the stallion did not wait to be struck, retreated. The branch descended upon the empty air and Spike teetered upon Rarity's back, thrown off balance by his weighty blow.

With a triumphant bark the black unicorn dived forward, grabbing the stick in his mouth like a dog and pulling on it as he dug in his heels. Spike yelled in alarm, Rarity cried out in pain as Spike's claws yanked hard upon her mane before the unicorn pulled him off her.

"Spike!" Rarity shrieked as that wicked brute swung Spike - still clinging on to his makeshift club - like he was a conker on a string, beating him against a tree before dropping him to the ground. Behind her, Fluttershy whimpered.

Rarity's eyes narrowed, her face contorting with the fiery rage which she now felt replacing the exhaustion coursing through her body. This pony, this vicious brute, pursued her, threatened her friends, and now he had the gall to hurt her Spikey-Wikey? It was intolerable! It was unforgivable! She, Rarity the unicorn, would not allow it! "I'm going to destroy you, you vile, uncouth savage!"

The stallion looked at her. "Uncouth?" He seemed more upset by that than the fact that she had threatened to kill him.

Rarity hurled herself at him, hooves flying. She lashed out at his face again and again, hammering her forehooves into him. He gave ground before her onslaught, his head turning this way and that as she struck him from both sides, he winced at every blow. Yet he stayed on his hooves, retreating only slowly, and showed no signs of falling any time soon. On top of which, Rarity's hooves were starting to ache as though she had been punching solid wood. She seemed to remember it had taken a lot less to knock out a changeling.

"What are you?" Rarity demanded, her initial rush of rage fading in the face of his mountain-like endurance.

The stallion let her last blow slough off of him like water. "A knight, ma'am, of mighty strength if not great principle." And with that he lunged forward and bore Rarity down, pinning her to the ground beneath legs like tree trunks.

"Get off me! Get off!" Rarity cried, slapping him desperately.

He endured her assaults with the patience of an ox. "I have never struck a lady in my life, ma'am. Please do not give me cause to begin now."

"A pig as well as a villain, ugh!" if Rarity had been a less perfect lady she would have spat in his face as she kept on slapping him.

"Get your hooves off of her!" Spike shouted, hurtling towards the pair of them, claws out. The sight of him charging the giant stallion would have been comical if Rarity hadn't been so worried about him.

"Spike, don't," Rarity said, but it was too late. Spike had already thrown himself upon the self-proclaimed knight, scratching furiously at his leg like Opalescence tearing at the curtains in a rage born of hunger. The stallion shook his leg violently, trying to dislodge the little dragon, but Spike clung on, leaving angry red and bleeding scars up and down the unicorn's leg.

"Get off me and fight with honour, you little animal!" the unicorn roared, flailing wildly with his embattled leg. "This is the onslaught of a beast, not a warrior!" As he squirmed and waved his leg about, he strayed away from Rarity, but she could not run away and leave Spike locked in battle alone.

Spike climbed up the unicorn's leg, striking at his chest and neck, and even swiping with one clawed hand at the stallion's face. The stallion howled as three scars appeared on his lower jaw, and his red eyes blazed with anger. "I am running out of patience, you wretched lizard!" he declared, bearing his teeth.

And then Spike bit him.

The unicorn's head reared upwards, his roar of pain sounding more like a lion than a pony, and he began to tremble with fury as a raging fire consumed his eyes. Yelling wordlessly, he thrashed like a beached whale, hurling himself upon the ground with Spike beneath him, slamming his body into tree trunks so hard they cracked with Spike between the tree and him. He struck Spike upon every hard surface he could see until the dragon, dazed dropped off of him and to the ground.

"That was a mistake," the unicorn snarled, pounding Spike's stomach with one hoof. Spike gasped in pain, a burst of flame erupting from his mouth to dissipate harmlessly over the unicorn's face.

"You think to assail me like an animal?" the unicorn demanded, stamping on Spike's tail so hard that Rarity heard something crack. "To claw me like a cat, to bite me like a dog?" Spike started to whimper and cry as the unicorn pounded on his arms and legs.

"Then like a dog I shall spurn you," the unicorn declared, raising one leg to bring his powerful down upon Spike's face.

"STOP IT!" Fluttershy's shriek was high-pitched as she flew forwards, her wings carrying her above the debris that littered the forest floor. "Get away from him, you monster!"

The black unicorn, his face now more beast than pony, looked up and straight into the Stare.

"I don't know where you get off accusing Spike of acting like an animal," Fluttershy snarled, pressing her face into the stallion's own. "You're the one whose been roaring and growling this whole time, chasing other ponies like you're a timberwolf, grabbing things in your mouth like a dog, why you've got some nerve talking to Spike like that. Spike's always helpful and polite and a good friend. He acts much more like a pony than you do, you big bully!"

The black unicorn's monstrous visage crumbled in the face of Fluttershy's onslaught. He whimpered like a whipped cur, cringing from her words, retreating before Fluttershy and cowering before her.

"Yes, you might well hang your head in shame, mister knight," Fluttershy pressed on. "Who do you think you are, calling yourself a knight, talking about not hurting ladies, when all you've done is threaten Rarity when she's the most ladylike pony there is! What have you done that's brave or noble in any way? You're not a knight, you're just a meanie, aren't you?"

"Please, stop," the unicorn pleaded, his voice soft, tears pricking at his eyes.

“Do you really think that you can hurt my friends, threaten everypony, throw your weight around and act like the biggest hypocrite in Equestria, and I wouldn't say anything about it just because you're bigger than me? Well you've got another thing coming, buster!"

"No more, I pray of you, no more!" the unicorn begged, covering his head with his forehooves and curled up in a ball on the ground. He trembled and whimpered. "Forgive me, mother."

Rarity scrambled onto her hooves and started to run towards Spike. "Well done, Fluttershy. Now we need to get back to-"

A green blur, trailing lightning in its wake, dropped swiftly out of the trees and barrelled into Fluttershy. Fluttershy cried out in pain and fear as the two ponies rolled together across the ground, before coming to a stop. Fluttershy was held securely in the grip of a green pegasus - though most of her body was obscured by the flightsuit she was wearing, which was black streaked with dark blue - with a yellow and gold mane, her amber eyes shining triumphantly as she wrapped one hoof tight around Fluttershy's throat, hovering behind Fluttershy so as not to be exposed to her stare.

"So I thought to myself," the pegasus said. "Shall I go head to head with Rainbow Dash? Or shall I just grab one of her precious friends and threaten them until she gives in?" She grinned like a maniac. "Bet you didn't expect to see me again, huh?"

"I'm sorry, do we know you?" Rarity asked.

"My name's Lightning Dust," Lightning Dust said, her voice sharp and a little hoarse. "I almost killed you with a tornado, remember, wrecked your balloon?"

"Oh, yes, that," Rarity murmured. "Now, why don't you let-"

Lightning Dust revealed her other foreleg, which had been previously hidden behind Fluttershy. She had a gleaming metal gauntlet attached to her hoof, out of which slid a stiletto blade which she placed to Fluttershy's neck. "Uh uh uh. We don't want anypony to get hurt now, do we? Now, do as I say and little miss scary-eyes here won't get hurt, okay?"

"Please tell me this isn't all because you got kicked out of the Wonderbolt Academy," Rarity muttered.

"Not all," Lightning Dust replied. "But a big part. Hey, big guy, you okay over there?"

The black unicorn didn't answer, but remained sobbing in a heap on the ground.

"What's up with him?" Lightning Dust asked.

"I've really no idea," Rarity answered dryly.

Lightning Dust shrugged. "More glory for me then, I guess. Now pick up the dragon and lead the way, and nopony gets hurt."

Applejack snarled into the faces of the zebras who clustered all around her, waiting to pounce. She knew that some of them had already passed by her through the woods, but with the difficulties in moving through the forest outside of the pathways, she reckoned the others should be able to outrun them. In front of her, back at the camp, she thought she could see flashes of magic, which hopefully meant that Twilight was making a fight of it with whoever it was behind all this. That was good. Nopony could do magic like Twilight Sparkle, and hopefully Applejack would have some help out here soon enough.

At the same time, Applejack wished Rainbow Dash hadn't let herself get distracted by that pegasus. She would have felt a lot better about Rarity and Fluttershy if Rainbow had been with them.

She had a knotted rope gripped tightly between her teeth, spinning it swiftly in a circle as the zebras crept closer and closer. When one got too close, she lashed out with the rope like a whip, striking him on the nose and then the hoof. The zebra warrior howled in pain, dropping his spear and falling back behind the ranks of his fellows.

To her rear, a considerable pile of unconscious zebras meant that the enemy had learned to fear her rear hooves a little. There were fewer takers than there were for an advance from the front.

Applejack eyed the zebras suspiciously, wondering which of them would be bold enough to try her next.

The ranks of the zebras opened up, and two warriors strode through the press. The first of them was a zorse, striped in front and brown at the back, wearing armour like fish-scales to protect himself from head down to the knees. The second was an earth pony, dark green, his mane style upwards and held in place with an exotic headdress. They were both unarmed, a side-effect of the order to take them alive, probably. Applejack wondered idly why that was so important to them.

The two challengers spread out, circling on either side of her: the zorse going right, the earth pony going left. They moved like predators, as though Applejack were some prey they were hunting.

Applejack scowled, she meant to show them she was a long mile from helpless in front of them.

When the two were each an equal distance from her, they attacked, turning abruptly to rush her from both sides.

Applejack grinned as best she could while still holding the rope. Had they forgotten she could defend herself from both ends?

Since the zorse was armoured, Applejack turned to face the earth pony, her rope whipping through the air to strike him just below the eye. The pony grunted in pain, his charge faltering as as he turned to protect the injured side of his face. Applejack flicked her rope again, hitting him on the shoulder. The earth pony retreated, favouring his other side now. The zorse was nearly on her, keeping his body low, trusting to his armour to protect him. Applejack kicked with all she had in her hind legs. They impacted on the scale armour with a thud. Her hooves ached with the throbbing pain, like having hundreds of needles driven through them, but the zorse made a winded sound and staggered backwards. Applejack pursued, kicking backwards again and again, until the scale armour shattered into pieces, shattered fish scales littering the dirt, and the zorse collapsed onto his knees, breathing heavily, shielding his chest with his head.

The earth pony had recovered a little, and came at her again. Applejack struck with her rope. There was a thwack as she hit him on the jaw, another as she hit him on the knee, and a squelch as he fell onto his side in the mud.

If Applejack hadn't had her mouth full she would have whooped in triumph.

Somepony roared above her, and Applejack looked up to see a cream-coloured pegasus with a tousled brown mane descending on her from above, a spear gripped in his forehooves.

Applejack sidestepped, flicking her rope out to strike the pegasus on the wing. He cried out as his charge became a fall, dropping his spear as he tumbled headfirst into the ground.

Applejack hesitated to see if he would rise again, and in that hesitation, he was on her, barreling into her as they went tumbling through the dirt. Applejack's hat went rolling away. The pegasus hit pretty hard, Applejack felt his blows like hammers on a nail, thud, thud. But she could hit pretty hard herself when she wanted to, and as she squirmed, kicked and bit she flattered herself she was giving as good as she got.

She rolled backwards, lifting her hindquarters into the air to throw the pegasus over her head with a squawk of alarm. Quickly, she turned onto her side and scrambled upright, ready to face him again.

"Give it up, kid," she gasped, reckoning him to be younger than her by a year or so.

The pegasus, breathing as hard as she was, shook his head. "I won't lose," he growled as he tried to stand up. "Not to a pony like you. Not in front of Sunset. I'm going to win!"

"You're too late. This fight is over," a high, nasal voice declared.

Applejack turned her head to see Rarity being held between two zebras... and a vaguely familiar green pegasus with a blade to Fluttershy's throat.

"Surrender now," the pegasus said calmly. "Or Yellow dies."

Shrike sped up in pursuit of Rainbow Dash, relishing the challenge of a first-rate flier. She had heard that this mare could produce a sonic rainboom, something that had been a myth even in Shrike's own day. It would be a joy to bring down a pegasus who truly understood the air.

The cyan mare looked backwards, and Shrike thought she caught a frisson of anticipation in her red eyes, a slight twinkle in the cocky grin she threw Shrike. Here was a mare who appreciated a challenge.

They were well-matched indeed.

Rainbow Dash sped up, the air parting before her as she shot forward. Her rainbow trail burned hot in Shrike's face, forcing her out to one side a little. Shrike grinned. Elementary tactics. Rainbow had just forced Shrike to put a little more distance between her and her prey. Shrike forced her wings onwards: faster, faster, faster. She was going as fast as she ever had, as fast as she could have gone when she training six hours a day, and still she was not gaining.

Shrike was uncomfortably reminded that she was no longer as young as she had been. But youth wasn't everything, and she had experience on her side. Ms Rainbow Dash was putting everything she had into speed, there was no way she could manoeuvre while still going that fast.

Rainbow Dash made a precision ninety degree turn flat out, her trail looked like a brick wall, indicating the utter absence of a turning circle.

Shrike's jaw dropped, and she gulped in an unhealthy quantity of air at high speed before she got a grip on herself.

What was this Rainbow Dash, really?

Shrike turned, in a rather more curved fashion, to continue the pursuit.

"Hey, old timer," the mare yelled. "You tired yet?"

Shrike was too busy gasping for breath to respond. Yet she pressed onwards in spite of the protests of her wings. She was the captain of the Shadowbolts, Luna's confidante and Lady Nightmare's messenger, legacy and inheritor all rolled into one. She would not be beaten by some sunbeam of Celestia's.

Rainbow Dash turned again, this time coming back towards Shrike before diving down towards the forest canopy.

Shrike grinned, for she understood this game. It was chicken, and she was a past master of it. Nopony could hold their nerve the way she could. She dived down in pursuit, zooming towards the green earth which got closer and closer.

Rainbow Dash was going quicker, going as fast as she had at any point in the battle so far. Shrike nearly laughed at the foolishness of youth.

You need to be fast in order to fool your opponent, but you've gone way past the safety line. You're too close to the ground and there's no way you can pull up in time with how fast you're─

Three feet from the treetops Rainbow Dash pulled up, executing another perfect ninety degree turn up again. The leaves rustled at her passing.

What the? No way anypony can make a perfect ninety degree turn three feet off the deck going that speed. There's no way! What is this mare?

Shrike was so stunned by what she'd just witnessed that she forgot she was passing her own safety limit. Desperately she spread her wings wide, pulling upwards, flapping desperately for height.

Too late. Her hind legs scraped upon the branches of the trees, catching in a knot of wood and Shrike cried out as they were wrenched by the sudden stop. She tumbled forwards, her leg yanked out of its socket amidst agonising pain, and she bounced down through the leaves and branches, striking half a dozen outgrowths along the way before landing in a spinning heap upon the ground with a sickening thud.

Shrike moaned. There was no part of her that did not ache, her wings most of all. She wouldn't be flying for a while if she knew anything about the pony body. Worse, she wasn't even sure she could walk at the moment, and it wasn't as if there was anypony around to help her.

Shrike listened very hard, and hoped that rustling in the bushes was nothing more than mice.

Rainbow Dash circled warily, waiting to see if her pegasus opponent was going to reappear. When she didn't, Rainbow reckoned it was a good bet that she was out of it for the time being. She prepared to dive back down into the trees to help Applejack.

"Hey! Wingpony! Look what I got!" Rainbow recognised the voice of Lightning Dust, calling out in a sing-song tone.

Rainbow Dash's heart began to race with fear as she descended through the trees. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Rarity and Applejack both pinned down by zebra warriors, and worse still, Fluttershy held tight in the grip of Lightning Dust, who was wearing some kind of knife thing on her hoof and was pressing the blade against Fluttershy's throat.

Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground. "Let her go!"

Lightning smirked. "Yeah, ‘cause that's gonna happen."

Rainbow snarled. "Let her go, right now!"

"Or what?" Lightning's tone was triumphant, smug in her superiority.

Rainbow Dash's jaw tightened. A wordless growl escaped her lips. "I swear, if you hurt her then I'll-"

"Talk, talk, talk," Lightning Dust cut her off angrily. "All you ever done is flap your lips harder than I've ever seen you flap your wings. 'I'm Rainbow Dash, I'm the most awesome flier ever! Watch how I coast through life on natural talent, impressing idiots and showing up the less fortunate without ever pushing myself to improve'. 'Look at me, I'm Rainbow Dash, team work is awesome until it stops me from showing off, then its for losers. I'm such a two-faced jerk!' 'You nearly destroyed my friends! How could you you awful, awful pony. I'm going to throw a hissy fit until you get thrown out the academy!' Well now it's my turn to talk, you boring, moralising little pigeon! You don't get to make demands. You don't get to make threats. All you get to do is get on your knees and beg! Beg like a dog, because it's my mercy that matters now!"

Rainbow Dash looked into Fluttershy's eyes. They were afraid, so terribly afraid.

"It's okay, pal," Rainbow whispered. "Everything is gonna be just fine. I'm gonna take care of you, like when we were kids." She bent her knees, and pressed her nose into the dirt. "Please, don't hurt her."

Lightning Dust sniggered. "The power of friendship, everypony!"

Zebras sprang on Rainbow Dash, putting manacles around her legs and strapping down her wings. But Rainbow's eyes were fixed on Lightning Dust, as she released Fluttershy so that she, too, could be put in chains.

"Why?" Rainbow demanded.

Lightning shrugged. "Well, after you got me tossed out of the academy on my flank, I went through a bit of a rough time. That was my dream, you know. I spent my whole life working my flank off for it. I didn't know what to do if I couldn't be a Wonderbolt. Until I got a new offer. A better offer, a better team. I'm second in command of the Shadowbolts, it would have taken me years to get so high in the Wonderbolts, if I ever did. And, they say I'll get to be a big hero and save Equestria as well. So I suppose in a way I ought to thank you, Rainbow Dash, turns out you were the best thing that ever happened to me."

Pinkie Pie hid behind a tree, pressing her back against the knotted wood, and listened to the griffons and ponies crashing through the undergrowth as they searched for her. It was so like hide and seek that Pinkie almost started giggling, before she remembered that this was serious and shushed herself to be quiet.

"Spread out," the griffon captain yelled, his voice deep and gruff. "We need to find her before she leaves the forest."

There were more sounds of heavy trampling of weeds and bushes. Then a whiny voice asked, "What are we doing here, Talon?"

"We're looking for the pink pony, idiot, what do you think?"

"No, I mean what are we doing in this world, this place? First Chevalia, now this. We had a good thing going in Midland, was there any need for all of this world-hopping?"

"It's what Sunset Shimmer wants, Corkus, best not to question it any more than that," the captain said.

"You didn't care what Sunset Shimmer wanted when you left to go find yourself in that mountain village."

"You weren't too sorry to see me go back then either," the captain growled.

Corkus said. "Yeah, well, that was before. Sunset hasn't been the same since you left."

"Being tortured will do that to you," another griffin, with a mellow voice, muttered.

"It isn't that, Judeau, and you know it," the one called Corkus said. "It wasn't the torture that drove her nuts, it was Talon walking out on the company. And now, with these dreams..."

"There's nothing we can do about it now," the one called Judeau said. "For better or worse, we all made the choice to tether our dreams to Sunset Shimmer's. Now let's find that pink pony and get back to camp. I need a drink."

Pinkie pricked up her ears as the griffons fell silent, trying to work out where they were from listening to them. This game was super fun.

She heard a sword being drawn, and her tail twitched. Pinkie threw herself to the ground an instant before a gigantic blade sliced through the tree trunk behind which she had been hiding. The tree creaked, groaned, and fell on its side with an earth-trembling thud.

The griffon captain, his golden eyes ablaze, hovered on the other side of stump, a sword that looked like a solid slab of metal that happened to have bladed edges gripped tight in his claws.

"Found you," he growled.

Pinkie giggled. "You sure did. But I'm not it until you catch me!"

The three griffons exchanged glances.

"You do realise we're your enemies, right?" Corkus asked. He was a scrawny griffon, with tawny feathers and black hindquarters.

"Yep," Pinkie replied. "But when times are tough, sometimes the best thing you can do is wear a smile."

Three griffons looked at each other again. Judeau said, "So, are you gonna run away or something?"

Pinkie Pie cocked her head to one side. "Hmm. It's tempting, but my Pinkie Sense is telling me that you've already captured my friends and I wouldn't want them to get hurt because I was annoying you, Besides, even if I did make it to Ponyville I suppose you'd just follow me there and then lots of ponies could get hurt and I wouldn't want that to happen at all if I could help it. And I already know that Twilight is going to stop all of you, so I think I'll just stay with my friends and keep them happy until that happens."

Judeau blinked, his beak working soundlessly. "She makes a surprising amount of sense."

Pinkie laughed. "That's what everypony says, sooner or later. So, are you gonna take me away or what?"

Twilight grimaced, summoning her magic to the tip of her horn. Her power swelled inside of her, the magic awaiting her command like a mighty river pressing against a dam.

"No more games," she declared. "This ends, now."

"Games?" Sunset demanded angrily. "Games? Unlike you, I have not been playing games for quite some time." Her tone softened. "I regret that we could not be friends, Twilight Sparkle. Just as I regret that we must now be enemies."

"Don't try and take the moral high ground," Twilight spat. "You think I don't see through the way you try to mess with our heads, to confuse and misdirect us? It's not going to work. You won't turn me against Princess Celestia or my friends!"

"So you are willing to doom them all - to doom Equestria - for the sake of friendship?" Sunset's voice was soft, sibilant, a gentle caress upon Twilight's mind. "Surely, a true friend would be willing to sacrifice the pleasures of friendship for the sake of their friends' wellbeing?"

"I said enough!" Twilight roared. "You can put on any mask you want, you can say whatever you like, but I see through you, Sunset Shimmer. You try and guard yourself very well, but every now and then you let slip why you're really doing this."

"I am doing this to save Equestria," Sunset protested.

"The way your dreams told you to? The way this mysterious figure named Creatrix told you to? Have you not thought at all about why you believe her?" Twilight asked. "When any other pony would have dismissed it as a bad dream, questioned the truth of the visions they were shown, asked 'why me?'. You just accepted your destiny on blind faith. Can't you see why that is? It's because you want to beleive it. You want to beleive that you're special, set apart from everypony else, chosen by a higher power, just plain better than the rest of us."

"I am better than you," Sunset snarled, her voice shedding all of its geniality and becoming sharp as a knife. "I am the only pony capable of seeing beyond this illusion of paradise. Equestria is a prison, Twilight Sparkle, a shared delusion designed to fool the credulous while maintaining Celestia's power."

"Will you listen to yourself," Twilight yelled. "You sound like a conspiracy theorist! You're spinning facts to fit the way you see the world, the way you want to see the world. I don't know what happened to make you this way but you need help. Let me help you."

"What happened?" Sunset laughed bitterly. "I will tell you what happened. I had two great friends, friends whom I was sure would never let me down. But when I needed them most they turned away from me, and left me all alone to brave the darkness and the cold. Then later, I thought I had found someone whom I could trust, who would be my strong right hoof, the sword that would help me reach my dreams. But he abandoned me as well, abandoned me to the tortures of a mad king. The things I had to do to survive..." Sunset shook her head sadly. "Do not speak to me of friendship, Twilight, for I have seen with my own eyes that friendship is nothing more than an avenue to painful betrayal. In Grevyia they say a friend is someone who has yet to betray you, and I am proof of that, for every time I opened my heart it was cut out of my chest."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. "Really, I am. But all that does is prove that you trusted the wrong people. A friend who would betray you was never a friend to begin with. I can help you find true friends, real friends-"

"I have no need of your help," Sunset declared proudly, raising her head high and puffing out her chest. "I am the saviour of peoples and the destroyer of worlds. I am the Captain-General of the Sunset Company, the anointed Voice of the Emperor of Most Ancient and August Grevyia, the Princess of Fortune, chosen by fate to be Equestria's leader in this war. I took Daltrim fortress with five hundred troops though they said the citadel would never fall, I saved Chevalia when all seemed lost. I have no need for the fellowship of country bumpkins and prissy dressmakers to give my life meaning and direction. Now I am willing to accept your help, but I am ready and prepared to go forward without it. So, are you with me or against me?"

Twilight shook her head. "You are mad," she said softly. "You talk about wanting to save Equestria, but you plan to pollute it with war, tear Celestia from her throne, destroy everything that makes Equestria good and worth saving in the process. You cannot defend good by evil means, and now that I know what you think, I don't believe an Equestria ruled by you would be anything more than a tyranny. You're nothing but an overgrown filly, wearing cynicism like one of your mother's dresses even as you throw a childish tantrum. I don't care what your dreams say, a pony like you could never save Equestria!"

"Overgrown filly! Arrogance!" Sunset yelled. "You live in a childish daydream, sheltering from the true nature of the world in case it hurts your feelings, and you call me a child? I saw Arcadia burn, and listened to the cries of those trapped within the temples. I saw Wall Maria break and crumble into dust. I have travelled the dark spaces between dimensions and heard the silence at the heart of the universe-"

"And I feel sorry for you," Twilight said simply, cutting her off in mid-tirade.

For a moment, Sunset Shimmer was silent, as though Twilight's simple admission had shocked her beyond the power of words. Then she began to look as though she would choke upon her own fury.

"You...I..." Sunset's lips worked soundlessly, her nostrils flaring with rage, her eyes blazing. "I'll cram your pity down your throat!"

Twilight readied herself to fight. Her gaze flickered to the third member of their group, who had been mostly silent through Twilight and Sunset’s argument. Seemingly lost in her own thoughts, Breaking Dawn had kept her head bowed throughout, if she had any thoughts on the words of Twilight or Sunset she was keeping them to herself. "Breaking Dawn. I know we've had our differences, but you can't believe what Sunset's saying. You can't possibly think that what she's doing is right. No matter what, you've always been loyal to Princess Celestia."

"Come over to my side, Breaking Dawn," Sunset cooed. "I will see you rewarded as you deserve."

Dawn moved away from Sunset, and stood by Twilight's side. "I won't let you hurt Celestia," she said stubbornly.

Sunset smirked. "If that is your last word, then we're going to have to do this the hard way, aren't we?"

"It's two against one, Sunset, do you really think you can beat us?" Dawn challenged.

"Hmm, let me see," Sunset mused. "Me, a seasoned warrior, against the two of you: a dropout and a pampered princess. You know what, I like my chances."

Dawn snarled. "Why you-"

A magical shield of cerulean blue erupted from Sunset's horn, spreading outwards with the speed of an onrushing train. Twilight spread her wings and leapt up into the air, but she wasn't fast enough to escape the speed of Sunset's shield as it struck both her and Dawn just like Shining Armour's shield had hit the changelings at the wedding. Like the changelings, Twilight and Dawn were borne backwards by the force, skidding along the ground with cries of pain as the shield propelled them thirty feet before its power dissipated.

Twilight had been thrown straight back, Dawn had been pushed to the left, there was now a good distance separating them. Dawn groaned, and rolled onto her side as she tried to get up.

Sunset's horn lit up with a blue aura, and a fireball spat from the tip of it to fly straight and true for Breaking Dawn. Dawn's golden aura shone as she conjured a hasty shield of her own, which shattered under the impact but not before it had absorbed the fireball completely. Two more, smaller fireballs spat from Sunset's horn, to land on the grass on either side of Dawn. They burned for a moment, hissing and fizzling, before resolving into a pair of fiery serpents which slithered towards Dawn, forcing the unicorn back as they lunged for her and breathed out tiny white-hot jets of flame her way.

Twilight was on her hooves by this time, summoning her magic for a beam that would knock Sunset out in one blow. Sunset began to charge for her. Twilight fired, a lavender beam of magic piercing the air. Sunset leapt aside, rolling on the ground and back onto her hooves as she resumed her charge. She conjured a sword out of magic, the blade shimmering sapphire, and brought it down upon Twilight's head.

Twilight channelled her magic into her horn, completely concealing the horn itself beneath blazing magical aura, making it harder, longer, and she used it like a spear to parry Sunset's blow.

Sunset looked impressed. "I wouldn't have expected you to be able to duel classically."

"Don't presume you know me," Twilight growled, forcing Sunset's vorpal blade aside and lunging for her enemy's chest as she wielded her horn like a lance, hoping to strike Sunset and shock her with a pulse of magic. Twilight had studied this ancient Unicornian art for its precision and elegance, never expecting to have to use it, but at this moment she was glad she had.

Sunset retreated before Twilight's assault, her sword parrying Twilight's horn as Twilight pressed home her advantage. The point always beat the edge, and Sunset was struggling. Twilight's form was perfect, her footwork precise, her stances textbook. Soon she would-

Sunset dived under Twilight's guard to deliver a savage kick at Twilight's leg. Twilight yelped in pain as her leg collapsed beneath her and she tumbled to the ground. Sunset followed up with another kick to the face. Twilight moaned as she felt her nose crumple.

"We aren't duelling, Princess Twilight," Sunset declared coldly, her horn lighting up as she swathed Twilight in confining ropes of blue magic. She turned away, to see that Dawn had just about dealt with the two flaming serpents - just in time to get hit by a binding spell of her own and floated over to join Twilight. "In battle there are no rules. Ah, and here come your friends."

"No," Twilight murmured, feeling a stabbing pain through her heart as zebra warriors led all of her friends, even Spike, into the camp in chains. Quite a few of Sunset's followers looked considerably the worse for wear, but Spike looked in a pretty bad way himself. Twilight pleaded, "Please, please don't hurt them."

Sunset chuckled. "And there we have it, fillies and gentlecolts. For all the talk of friendship's power, all it has done is reduce a princess to a beggar." She pressed her face in close against Twilight's. "I could do anything right now. I could tell you to hold still while I flick your face. I could make you play Sunset Says with me. I could make you do anything I wanted." Sunset stepped away. "You should be thankful that I am not so petty. Love is weakness, Twilight Sparkle, don't forget that."

"Who are you?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "What are you going to do with us?"

"My name is Sunset Shimmer," Sunset declared grandly. "Remember that. In days to come children will ask you when you first met me. As for the other: nothing, for now. In time I hope you will accept the righteousness of my cause and lend me your aid. If not, it is no matter. Muttines, have Chrysalis and Trixie brought here."

As zebra warriors hastened off, Sunset turned away and levitated a small wooden box out of her tent. It looked antique, the wood was black with age and covered with swirling carvings, letters in an ancient, cursive script, cut deep into the wood. It was about the right size to hold a chicken's egg, certainly it didn't look big enough to hold anything threatening.

"I didn't want to have to do this," Sunset said, as Trixie and Chrysalis were dumped beside Dawn and Twilight. "But I wanted a last resort, in case you forced my hoof. You see, I cannot brook your interference in my plans. Fate is inexorable, after all."

"What are you gonna do?" Dawn demanded.

"Put you away, somewhere safe, until I don't need to worry about you any more," Sunset said.

Trixie shook her head, squirming furiously. "Please, Sunny, don't do this."

Sunset smiled. "Don't worry, Trixie, it's perfectly safe. Sort of. You might even come out the other side. Or not." She set the box upon the ground, and began to intone heavily in a language that Twilight did not recognise. As she spoke the runes on the box began to blow orange, and the box opened to billow forth clouds of purple smoke such as surely could not have been stored within such a small space. The smoke poured forth, coiling around the four offerings, embracing them, caressing them. Twilight heard her friends yelling her name in panic, heard Dawn and Trixie cry out in fear, then she had the sensation of being yanked forward into darkness.

Then she knew nothing more.

***

Sunset Shimmer watched as the lid of the Labyrinth Box slammed shut, sealing it's prisoners within. As she understood from the Grevyian lore surrounding it, it could not now be opened again until either at least one of them reached the end of the road or they all gave up the attempt. Or died, as the case may be.

A twinge of pity touched her heart for poor Trixie. She was an innocent in all of this, a victim of her past association with Sunset. It was a cruel punishment, unearned by her misdeeds. Yet Sunset had not been given any other choice. Her...friendship, with Trixie could have been used against her, and that she could not have.

Twilight's friends gasped in shock, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open.

"Twilight..." Applejack murmured.

"Where is she?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"Sent her on a journey of self-discovery," Sunset replied, and the fact that it was true did not make her tone any less glib. “And now, if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than bandy words with the likes of you. Take them away, and have the dragon seen to." She looked at Firethorn. "You look as though you could use a rest."

Firethorn looked down at his hooves in shame. "I'm sorry, Mistress. I failed. It won't happen again."

"I'm not angry that you lost a fight, don't worry," Sunset said calmly. "Get your injuries seen too. And where are Shrike and Virtue?"

Lightning Dust smirked. "Shrike got brought down fighting Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy did something to the big guy, looked into his eyes and messed with his head or something, made him lose it out in the woods."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Go find Shrike. I'll get Virtue. Muttines, take care of the prisoners."

"As you command, Most Honoured One." Muttines bowed.

Lighting Dust grinned. "Right on it, boss."

Words cut deeper than swords. So Virtue's mother had always used to say, and if he had not believe it before he certainly did now. He had fought in battles and tourneys, he had been wounded more times than he could remember, yet nothing had ever pained or terrified him like having that tremulous mare bore her gaze into him and ream off his faults in detail.

Nopony had spoken to him like that since his mother died. Nopony had ever made him feel so ashamed of himself since his mother died. He had thought, he had wanted to believe, that he had become a better pony. But now it was clear that he had not. And nopony had had the courage to tell him so, save for that mare. Those two mares, actually, though the white one had been less eloquent in her denunciation. Had everypony back home, all his friends, simply been too afraid of him to speak up? Had they been too grateful for his strength in battle to bring up his faults? Had he never been more than a well-muscled brute at all?

The memory of the little dragon's cries echoed through his mind. Of the two of them, it was the dragon who had acted with more pony honour on this night: Virtue had assailed a lady, the dragon had defended one, Virtue had beaten a weak and defenceless foe within an inch of his life, the dragon had fought one far beyond him in strength and experience. The dragon had done credit to his code, Virtue had soiled his.

"I'm sorry, mother," Virtue murmured, curling himself up in a tight ball upon the ground. "I couldn't be the son you wanted. I couldn't be the knight I wanted."

He heard somepony approaching, but did not look up. Whoever it was, he did not care.

"Virtuous Fury, get up," Sunset Shimmer snapped. "I still have work for you."

That was enough to make him look up, though only a little. He kept his head lowered, his long silver mane falling down to conceal his face. "Mistress Sunset. I regret that you must see me thus disshevelled."

"I've seen worse," Sunset said casually. "What I want to know is what you're doing out here? What happened?"

"The two fair ladies revealed my sins," Virtue murmured. "They reminded me that I was not so honourable as I believed."

"Glad to see you're taking it well," Sunset said.

"You do not understand, mistress," Virtue said sharply. "When I was a colt I was more beast than pony. I was wild, vicious. I would injure other ponies for the slightest provocation. Folk called me darkspawn, said I was demon-touched. Black coat, black heart. One village tried to burn me alive for it once. But my mother, though she never tolerate such behaviour, always believed that I could be more, better. She taught me honour, chivalry, courtesy, the old ways of our people. She dreamed that I would be a great knight one day and everypony would respect and admire me for my virtues."

"You are a knight," Sunset remarked.

Virtue laughed bitterly. "There is much weight in the words you do not say, mistress. When I fought tonight, when the dragon wounded me and angered me, I became that brutal beast again. I was so angry I wanted to kill him. It seems I have learnt nothing, changed not a whit. What do you see when you look at me, Mistress. Why do you desire my services?"

"For your strength," Sunset replied. "Your battle experience. Your fury."

Virtue bowed his head. "Then it is as I feared. I am as I feared."

"What? You've only just now worked out that you've got flaws, so now you're going to sit and mope in this wood until you starve to death?" Sunset demanded angrily. "You think that there aren't parts of me that I don't like? I hate some things about me. But I suck it up, do my best and keep on walking. Because that's the only thing I can do. If you don't like the pony you are, do something about it. Don't sit around whining about how hard it is and how terrible you are like you're fishing for pity. Now get on your hooves!"

Virtue clambered heavily onto his hooves.

"I do not release you from my service," Sunset said. "I do not give you leave to fall. Do you understand?"

"I am your demon, ma'am, summoned here to do your will," Virtue declared. A small smile tugged at his lips. "Thank you, Mistress. I needed that."

Sunset nodded. "Come on, follow me."

"Do you happen to know thier names, Mistress? The yellow mare and the white?"

"Fluttershy and Rarity," Sunset replied without looking back.

Fluttershy and Rarity. Virtue committed the two names to memory, knowing that in them he had found the mares who would draw out the best parts of himself and banish all his flaws. Fluttershy and Rarity would save him.

***

Shrike lay on the ground, every part of her aching and throbbing with pain. She felt as though she had dislocated a leg, and at least one of her wings. The other wing, though it wasn't broken, was twisted and bent out of shape. Her back probably wasn't broken either, it just hurt like it.

None of that was as bad as the damage to her pride. Shrike, Captain of the Shadowbolts, knocked out of the sky by a pony of this peaceful and degraded age. What had she come to? What had her skills come to? Had she gone soft or something?

Shrike head something approaching, and her back protested as she tried to see what it was. If it was a timberwolf, or worse a manticore, then she was as good as dead. She couldn't defend herself and she certainly couldn't escape.

"Hey there, captain," Lightning Dust emerged from through the trees. "I was starting to wonder if I'd find you."

"Lightning Dust," Shrike croaked, her lips dry and cracked from lack of water. "Are you here to help me?"

Lightning Dust raised her gauntleted hoof, the blade glinting in the moonlight. "You know I was thinking about that story you told me, about how you became captain."

Shrike's blood ran cold. She had become captain by killing the previous incumbent when she knew she wouldn't get caught. That blade was starting to look even more sinister than usual.

"After all," Lightning continued. "Who would know?" She stared at Shrike for a moment, then broke out in a fit of giggles. "You should see the look on your face, captain. Priceless!"

Shrike's eyes widened. "You're...you're not going to kill me?"

"Of course not, we don't do that stuff any more," Lightning said, slinging Shrike's injured body across her back. "I just wanted to see if you'd think I would. I'll treasure that moment."

"Jerk."

"Takes one to know one," Lightning said happily as she started trotting back towards the camp.

"I know that you all lost," Sunset said, addressing Shrike, Firethorn and Virtue as the first two lay on thier stomachs in the sick tent. "I know that some of you lost very badly. But I want you all to keep something in mind: these ponies are heroes. They wouldn't be unless they were exceptional. So don't take it too hard. If you start losing this badly to ordinary ponies then, yes, you should be ashamed of yourselves. But not right now."

"What do we do now, Mistress?" Firethorn asked.

"You rest," Sunset said. "Virtue, stay here with Talon's troops and one hundred zebras to guard the captives. I'll take Nahuatl's earth ponies and the rest of the zebras into Ponyville and impress the locals. They're a credulous bunch, very easily swayed. Once I've gotten them on my side, then we can bring the prisoners down there. In the meantime I've already sent to Hanno and Emerald Ray to bring up the rest of the army before we march on Canterlot. The first step to saving Equestria, is to occupy Ponyville."

Ponies' Progress

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Chapter 4

Ponies' Progress

Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes. Above her trees loomed tall and strong, spreading their leaves to block out the night sky. The light of the moon and stars above was filtered through that canopy, breaking through in silver patches to cast a mottled pattern on the ground.

Twilight wondered where she was. She looked around her anxiously. She was in some kind of forest, by the side of a road bricked with what looked like gold. Aside from the path, there was nothing but trees, grass and bushes to be seen. She didn't know where she was. Or, if she did know, she had forgotten it in exactly the same way she had forgotten how she had gotten here or why she had come. All she could really remember was her name: Princess Twilight Sparkle.

She couldn't help but wonder whether she had come here herself or been left here by another. If so, then by who? And why? Or why would she have come here of her own accord, for that matter? Was anypony looking for her? She was a princess after all, that had to make her important, right? Or perhaps she was here because she was a princess? Perhaps she'd run away from her enemies and gotten lost! Twilight felt her breathing become more ragged; she was panicking herself by doing nothing but thinking! Twilight forced her breathing under control, wrestling her wild imagination back to earth. She had to proceed calmly and logically. Food and shelter were her most immediate needs, and those could best be met by finding other ponies who could give her assistance; certainly it would easier than trying to find food for herself in a wood. Since she had no reason to avoid other ponies - that she could remember - her best course would be to follow the golden road and hope to encounter fellow travellers or find a town.

Twilight - noting the gloom of the forest she was in - tried to cast a spell to light her way. Nothing happened. She tried harder, still nothing happened. That was weird, she was sure she could do magic, very well in fact. How come she couldn't cast a simple spell?

A golden unicorn, her mane a series of red and white locks flowing down her neck like streamers, emerged from behind a tree. She yawned, then walked slowly towards the golden road, stopping when she caught sight of Twilight.

They stared at one another. Twilight's lavender eyes trading glares with the green eyes of this unicorn this...Breaking Dawn. Twilight found she could remember her name, and as she remembered a surge of dislike welled up inside her.

"You!" Twilight and Dawn yelled at the same time.

"You've done this to me, haven't you?" Twilight demanded. "Taken my memories, taken my magic! Give them back!"

"I haven't done any-" Dawn paused. "Did you say, taken your magic? Can you not do magic any more?"

It occurred to Twilight that in her anger she had blurted one of the worst things she could have said. "No. I mean, yes. I haven't lost my magic. Not at all."

An ugly smile spread across Dawn's face. "Oh this is going to be fun." She lowered her horn to point it at Twilight and...

Nothing.

Dawn looked shocked. "Huh? What's happening?" She scowled, growling in concentration. She screwed up her face with effort. Not even a spark leapt from her horn. "Work, you stupid thing!" Dawn raged. "It's you, isn't it? You're doing something."

"If I was doing something, why would I do it to myself?" Twilight asked.

"Because you are at the bottom of every bad thing that ever happens to me," Dawn shouted. "How do I know you've really lost your magic? You could have been lying to get me to humiliate myself."

"If it helps your ego, dear, then we don't have any magic either," a figure Twilight recognised instinctively as Queen Chrysalis said as she stepped out of the woods on the other side of the golden road. Behind her, a blue unicorn in a wizard's hat and cloak trailed nervously. Trixie, was the name that sprang to Twilight's mind. Unlike Dawn and the Queen, she was the only one who did not automatically inspire Twilight to animosity.

"It appears that all our magic has been taken from us," Chrysalis continued. "Believe me, if I could change my appearance I would have done so by now."

Twilight scowled. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, but I suspect you'd have the same answer for me," Chrysalis replied. "I don't know. Can anypony remember why they came here?"

Trixie shook her head. Dawn did the same, but more slowly and with a greater appearance of reluctance.

"Can anypony remember where we came from?" Trixie asked. "Trixie remembers having a home, but she cannot remember where it is."

"I...I live..." Dawn murmured. "I come from...why can't I remember that?"

"For the same reason none of us can," Chrysalis said, a touch of smugness in her voice. "But, of course, we can't remember that either."

"Why do you not sound as bothered by all of this as you should be?" Twilight asked carefully.

"You mean why aren't I as scared as you?" Chrysalis chuckled. "My little ponies, I'm a creature of the night. I'm more at home in this dark place than you'll ever be."

"Well that's great," Dawn snarled. "So you stay here and be at home. "In the meantime, I'm going to find somepony who can tell me what's going on here."

"Trixie thinks we should stick together," Trixie said nervously.

"Well Dawn doesn't," Dawn said mockingly, starting off down the golden road in a southerly direction.

"Where are you going?" Twilight demanded.

"There's a town this way, can't you hear it?" Dawn demanded.

Twilight listened. She could, indeed, hear the sounds of raucous merriment coming from a southerly direction. A town, or else just a very wild party.

Chrysalis shook her head. "There may be sounds from behind us, but there are lights up ahead." She gestured northwards with her nose, and Twilight looked back to see bright lights gleaming invitingly up the road. "They are closer, too. We should head that way."

"I thought you were at home here," Dawn said accusingly.

"That doesn't mean I want to stay here forever," Chrysalis snapped. "I know that I have somewhere that I must return to, even if I cannot remember where or to whom. If we head to the lights it will be quicker, we can find our answers faster."

"Unless the lights are a trap, to lure us to them," Dawn said.

"You could say the same about that racket," Twilight replied. In fact, as she listened the noises from the south seemed to vary between inviting and repulsive from one moment to the next. One second she would be tugged towards them, the next she wanted to run as far away as she could. "I don't like any of you. Some of you I hate." She looked significantly at Chrysalis and Dawn. "But I think Trixie's right, we have to stick together, it's our best chance until we find out the truth."

"Hey, hey, who put you in charge?" Dawn demanded.

"I am a princess," Twilight replied proudly.

"Princess of what? We can't even remember what country we live in."

"I'm a queen," Chrysalis pointed out.

"Shut up, all being a queen means is you're evil, every foal knows that," Dawn snapped. "I think we should vote for whose in charge."

"I vote for Trixie," Chrysalis said quickly.

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"Because she's the only pony here who isn't completely annoying," Chrysalis answered with relish.

Dawn growled. "I vote for myself."

"So do I." Twilight declared.

Trixie looked around nervously. "Trixie...I vote for Princess Twilight. I trust her more than the rest of you, even if I don't know why."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Okay, Twilight wins. I’m not happy about it, but at least we don’t have Trixie leading us. No offence."

"Trixie doesn't like you very much."

"Oh, whatever shall I do?"

"Shut up, Dawn," Twilight snapped. "We don't have for this childish nonsense. If we're going to work together, and it looks like we'll have to, then we can all start by being civil to one another, even our enemies. Have you all got that?"

Dawn muttered under her breath, but made no audible protest. Trixie nodded.

Chrysalis' expression was unreadable. "If you are going to lead, hadn't you better lead us somewhere?"

"I was about to do just that," Twilight replied primly, stepping onto the golden road. The bricks were cool beneath her hooves. Twilight declared, "We shall head for the lights." Then she set off, trusting that the others would follow. If they didn't, it was their loss.

The source of the lights turned out to be a large and elaborate house sitting on the roadside. It was three storeys tall, with walls of pink and a roof of an elegant purple. The lanterns hung beside the door refracted the light in all the colours of the rainbow, the purple window shutters were adorned with sparkling diamonds, the door was made of solid silver and the gardens were filled with luscious crystal berry bushes. Warm, inviting light spilled out of every window.

"Does anypony else think this looks too good to be true?" Dawn asked.

"You're just sore because we didn't do what you wanted," Trixie replied.

"I am not. I'm just the only pony here with any sense," Dawn hissed.

"Quiet," Twilight said sharply. "We all agreed to head towards the lights, we can't turn back now."

"What, this doesn't say 'trap' to you?"

"Nothing about this makes enough sense to make any logical deductions at the moment," Twilight said. "We go inside, and if it does turn out to be a trap, we'll deal with it."

She led the way to the silver door, but as Twilight raised a hoof to knock on it the door swung open of its own accord, revealing a luxuriant golden atrium.

"Okay, please, somepony else be weirded out by this," Dawn said.

"Oh, get in," Chrysalis muttered, kicking Dawn inside the atrium. She bounced upon the golden carpet, coming to a rest in a seated position a half dozen feet inside. The other three all waited to see if anything bad would happen to her. After a few moments, when nothing had, Dawn got up.

"Thanks guys, we're a real team, aren't we?"

"Somepony has to go in first," Chrysalis said, walking in. Trixie and Twilight followed quickly. The carpet and the curved staircase leading up the second floor were both completely golden. The golden columns were decorated with sparkling ruby ribbons, while the walls were hung with drapes of a rich red velvet. Ponikins draped in various elegant gowns stood here and there, adding a touch of colour to the scene, while plants kept in fancy china pots gave the impression of some life.

The door swung shut behind them with a thud.

"Uh oh," Dawn murmured.

"Welcome, welcome my darlings, welcome to the house of Generosity!" a fabulous unicorn appeared at the top of the staircase. Her coat was a brilliant, shimmering white. Her eyes were as blue as sapphires, matching the three blue diamonds that formed her cutie mark. Her mane was the richest purple, curled and combed to graceful perfection. Her voice was rich nectar to the ears. She laughed - managing to make even that seem well bred - as she slid down the golden banister to land before them. "I'm so glad you could join me, I do adore having visitors."

"Because you eat them?" Dawn asked.

Generosity - Twilight presumed that was her name - looked affronted. "Why, of course not dear, wherever would you get such a notion! I skin them and use them to make my dresses, aren't they lovely."

Dawn whimpered. Trixie became stiff with fear. Twilight felt the cold of deep anxiety coming over her. Then Generosity started to laugh.

"Oh, my goodness, I was joking, darlings, joking! Really, who do you think I am?"

"We have no idea," Chrysalis said. "About that or many other things."

Generosity put one hoof delicately to her forehead. "Oh, of course! How could I have been so foolish! You're new, aren't you? You don't have any idea what's going on."

"No," Twilight said. "We really don't."

"Well, don't you worry, dear, the reason everypony comes to me first is that I can explain everything. First, tell me your names."

The four of them looked at one another. Twilight said, "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Chrysalis is my name."

"Breaking Dawn."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Oh, for goodness sake."

"Shut up, Dawn," Twilight snapped.

Generosity pretended not to have heard their little spat there, beaming broadly. "Wonderful, wonderful. Well, I'm Generosity and this is my home. The homeliest home on the golden road if I do say so myself. In the house of Generosity, all can find welcome. Now, there are warm baths waiting for you, and soft beds, and when you're washed, we can have a lovely dinner and I'll tell you everything I know. Then you can spend the night before you go on your way."

"Can't you explain now?" Twilight asked. "We've no idea what's happened to us."

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to stand and chat while you're tired and sweaty. I won't hear of it!" Generosity replied. "Baths first, then we will talk over dinner. Follow me!"

She led them up onto the first floor - where the carpets were a soft aquiline blue and the walls were white - and into a bathroom that seemed as large as a small house by itself. The floor was a series of black tiles, each bath was the size of a swimming pool and the four ponies were soon wallowing luxuriously in giant bubble baths while Generosity scrubbed them clean not just of dirt and sweat, but also seemingly of all their cares well.

"Generosity, I'm here to show all that, I can give," Generosity murmured to herself as she sponged Twilight down and shampooed and conditioned her mane. Twilight leaned back and closed her eyes, allowing Generosity's tender hooves to massage her into a state of utter tranquility.

"This is wonderful," Twilight murmured, feeling her worries wash away. "Thank you so much."

"I hate to say it, but I agree," Dawn said. "Thanks a bunch."

"Don't mention it, my dears," Generosity said tenderly. "It's only what I'm here for."

They dried themselves upon the fluffiest towels before Generosity combed each of their manes for them - even Chrysalis and her bizzare hair - and led them down to the dining room, where a long ebony table groaned with a fabulous feast. Soups, salads, carrots and cabbages, beans and broccoli, potatoes and parsnips. Cupcakes, apple pies, cream buns, ice cream; anything that a pony could desire was laid out before them, and the four guests stood there a moment in slavering amazement at the scale of the spread.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Generosity asked as she sat down at the head of the table. "Dig in!"

They fell to it with a will, gorging themselves upon staples and delicacies alike until they could eat no more.

"Do we have to leave tomorrow?" Trixie asked. "Trixie could spend a while living like this."

Generosity looked pleased, yet at the same time troubled by this. "You can stay here as long as you want, darling. The house of Generosity is open to all and always open. But, so long as you stay here, you cannot move forward, and if you don't move forward you can't ever leave."

Chrysalis leaned forwards. "Now we come to it. Are you going to explain what's going on, now?"

"If I can, yes," Generosity replied. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Twilight said. "Starting with why we can't do any magic."

"Oh, well, that's quite simple," Generosity said. "The only magics that exist in this world are the magics of friendship and self-knowing. Only by knowing yourselves and being in harmony will your magic be returned to you. But, once that happens, you need have no fear, for you will be able to overcome Any Hardship."

"But until then we are helpless?" Chrysalis said.

Generosity nodded. "I suppose so, yes."

"Well, that's us stuffed then," Dawn said. "There's no way I'll ever be friends with you."

"And the same to you!" Twilight shouted.

"Please, please, don't fight," Generosity pleaded. "You must have more questions."

"Where are we?" Trixie asked.

"What happened to our memories?" Dawn demanded.

"How do we get home?" Twilight wanted to know.

Generosity was silent for a moment, a pondering look on her face. She began by saying, "This is the Forest. We have no other name for it than that. There must be a world beyond it, for visitors come here from out there, but you'll meet nopony here who has ever been outside and nopony who visits ever remembers anything about it. The Forest is the only world we know. Everypony who comes here begins where you did, in the forest by the side of the golden road. To go home, you must head north, following the golden road until you reach Celestial City, and hope that you have friends waiting for you when you get there."

"What about to the south?" Dawn asked. "We heard noises coming from there. What's back there?"

"That is the Town of Flaws," Generosity said, her voice becoming stern. "It is one of the greatest perils in the Forest. No matter how far up the golden road you travel, the Town of Flaws will always be just a day behind you. But you must never go there."

"Why not?" Twilight wondered.

"If you stay here, with me, then you can leave any time you want to," Generosity said. "But those who enter the Town of Flaws can never leave. There are visitors from hundreds of years ago still trapped there, unable to change."

Twilight frowned. "So, we don't go back there. What if we stray from the path?"

"If you wander into the wood you will most likely loose your way, and Hardship will devour you," Generosity replied sadly.

"So the road is our only escape?" Chrysalis clarified.

"Yes."

"Will we ever recover our memories?" Dawn asked.

"As you begin to know who you are, so you will remember who you were," Generosity answered.

"And you said ‘we’," Twilight said. "’The Forest is the only world we know’. Apart from the people in the Town of Flaws, who else lives here?"

"Why, all sorts of people," Generosity said. "Why, there's Loyalty, Vanity, Chivalry, Love, Honesty, Self-Pity, Envy, as many ponies as you can imagine. Some of them mean well...and some of them don't. But most of them, deliberately or not, will try to delay you on the road to Celestial City. You must pass their tests in order to progress."

"What kind of tests?" Dawn inquired.

"That, I'm afraid I cannot tell you," Generosity said. "I have told you all that I know. And now, if you've all quite finished eating, your beds await you!"

The beds were as luxurious as everything else in the house of Generosity, but Twilight found it hard to sleep despite the softness of her matress or the warmth of her blankets. What sort of tests would they face on the road ahead? How dangerous would they be? Could she really rely on any of her four companions - two of whom she hated - to help her? And what if they did reach this Celestial City, and Twilight found she didn't like the person she was when her memories returned. What if she'd chosen to come here to escape her past?

"I wish there was somepony here I could trust," Twilight murmured. Only, the problem was, she couldn't remember ever being to able to trust anypony. Maybe she wouldn't even know how.

"Hey," Dawn's whisper cut through the dark. "Hey, Twilight."

Twilight grimaced. "What?"

"Why do you think we hate each other?"

"You don't know?"

"Well of course not, genius, I've lost my memories, why do you think I'm asking you?" Dawn demanded.

"Why should I know if you don't?"

"Because you're the one who seemed so certain I'd messed with your magic," Dawn said.

"And you were the one who said I cause everything bad that ever happens to you. What does that mean?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know," Dawn replied. "It just...it felt true when I said it."

"I don't know why I hate you or Chrysalis," Twilight said. "I just know that I do."

"Well, whatever it was you did, I'll kick your flank when I remember it," Dawn said confidently.

"How do you know it was me that did something to you?"

"Because I know me and I know I'm the good guy."

"Nonsense," Twilight replied, keeping her voice soft. "Princesses are always good."

"Not from where I'm lying," Chrysalis muttered.

"Trixie wonders what it means that none of you hate Trixie," Trixe said. "Perhaps the Great and Powerful Trixie was so awesome that everypony loved her without demur."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Dawn snorted.

"Shut up, Dawn."

The next morning, after a very fine breakfast, Generosity gathered them together in the atrium of her home.

"I'm so glad you all decided to press on with your journey," she said. "I love company, but I would hate to be the reason you didn't get home as quickly as you can. Now, in these saddle bags there is food, blankets, fire wood and flint for each of you." She held up four saddlebags. Those for Trixie, Twilight and Dawn had buckles in the shape of each pony's cutie mark, while the saddlebags of Chrysalis had buckles in the shape of a green flame.

"And for each one of you, I have a special gift, chosen by me to fit each of you. For Breaking Dawn, this magic mirror, that you may see yourself as others see you." The mirror which she gave to Dawn had a silver frame, adorned with diamonds cut in the shape of hearts. Twilight could see nothing reflected in the glass, which must have been part of the magic: only Dawn could see what was reflected there. Whatever it was, Dawn could not look on it for a second, but hastily stuffed the mirror into her saddlebag and did not even thank Generosity for the gift.

"For Trixie: a sword, to make you brave." The sword she presented to Trixie had a golden hilt and came in a jewelled scabbard. When Trixie drew the sword experimentally, the blade glowed blue.

"Thank you," Trixie murmured, buckling the swordbelt across her back.

"For Chrysalis: this cloak. Let the warmth of it remind you that you are loved." Generosity draped a scarlet cloak across Chrysalis's shoulders, and instantly the expression on the queen's face seemed to soften and become almost gleeful.

"And for Princess Twilight: a crown. Let it lend authority to your words." And Generosity placed a gilden crown on Twilight's brow, the weight of it pressing on her ears. It felt heavy, yet Twilight could also feel the majesty of it slipping over her like an aura, an aura which would surely strike anypony who beheld her.

Generosity smiled. "Lovely. Now, one last thing. I've asked a friend to help you travel the road, and she should be here any-"

The door burst open as a cyan pegasus whose mane and tail displayed all the colours of the rainbow flew in, did a loop the loop, then came to a stop looking very pleased with herself.

"That's right, Loyalty's here," she crowed. "I'm going to go with you and be your guide."

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Chapter 5

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Summer was the busiest time of year on the rock farm. It was when you got the most tourists coming through the Rockies, all looking to buy souvenir rocks. Pet rocks, rocks with interest shapes, rock candy, rocks with faces painted on them for the foals - Pinkie had come up with those a little while before she left for Ponyville. Everypony wanted a rock to remember their hiking trip or sightseeing tour by. Some years you couldn't get them out of the ground fast enough. Last year Igneous had had to hire on a new hoof, something he'd never done before, to get them through it. She'd gotten tolerably good with the rocks, that unicorn. Perhaps she'd come back again this year.

That was why Maud Pie was out in the south field before the sun had even risen, hauling a cart behind her with effortless ease. It was empty now, and weighed so little she could forget it was there. By the time it was full it wouldn't even be a nuisance to her. She could have spent hours examining some of the rocks she found out amongst the dirt, but she was out here to work, not to indulge her passion, so she gave each stone only a cursory glance before loading it onto the cart. She would give the most fascinating specimens a proper going-over that night, when all the chores were done.

Maud blinked. Pinkie probably wasn't even awake yet, let alone working. The thought of her little sister tucked up in bed threatened to bring a smile to Maud's stoic features. Pinkie had never been cut out for the farming life, it was good that she'd found somewhere more congenial to her nature. Maud remembered, when they were children, doing all of Pinkie's morning chores for her so that Pinkie could sleep in. It had worked fine - the chores had arguably been done better by her - until Pa found out about it.

Maud kept working, picking up rock after rock and putting them in the cart ready for sorting back at the house. This would be her last summer here, before she left for her rocktoral studies. Pa might have to start hiring on regularly in order to get through the harvest. But it couldn't be helped. Maud had to live her own life. Just like Pinkie.

Maud stopped, coming to a halt in a manner that might have seemed sudden had not her usual gait been so slow to begin with that even an abrupt stop seemed gentle. She blinked. Her Maud sense was tingling, a tickling sensation on her nose. That only meant one thing.

Maud's mouth tightened in a manner that would have been barely noticeable to anypony not an ardent student of her body language and expressions, and she unfastened herself from the cart and walked briskly back towards the farmhouse. She pushed open the door and went immediately to her room, a sparse, bare space barely large enough for the bed and a couple of shelves fastened to the wall. Maud didn't have much in the way of things: a few of her favourite rocks, some books on rocks, the box of rock candy necklaces that Pinkie made for her, and Boulder. She put Boulder in her pocket, got her saddlebags out from under the bed, went into the kitchen and began to pack some loaves of bread for the journey.

Pa came in from the west field as she was finishing up. His grey mane was starting to turn to white now, the bags under his eyes were getting deeper and his brow more furrowed. He frowned at her. "What you doing, Maud?"

"I'm going on a little trip, Pa," Maud replied. "I should be back soon if everything goes okay."

"But, where are you going?"

"Ponyville. Pinkie needs me," Maud said. She didn't need to explain any more than that. She walked past her father and out the door.

"Wait, Maud," Pa called after her. "What are you going to do when you get there?"

Maud looked back for a moment. "Whatever I can."

Sunset Shimmer stood in her tent, putting on her armour.

There was still a little time left before Celestia raised the sun. That was good. She wanted to enter Ponyville with the dawn, the light of the new day catching her armour and her flag. A proper show to impress the locals. They were, she knew from her spying, easily impressed by such grand gestures. More than one ne'er-do-well had taken them in with just a touch of razzle-dazzle. Sunset was confident that she could win them to her side in the same way.

That was why she was wearing her best armour. Sunset did not normally have cause to wear any, preferring to wear nothing at all or to cover himself in a drab cloak, so that by her lack of colour she would stand out amongst her flamboyant zebra lords and captains. When it was necessary, she usually armoured herself in the plate of an imperial sentinel, plain iron dented and damaged by much rough handling. But today, she was getting dressed up in style. She had never worn the ceremonial armour that the grundle king had presented her with, after her victory over the Cosmic Council. It had always looked too elaborate for her, too much style, too little substance. But style was what she needed today, if she was to win the hearts of Ponyville.

So Sunset armoured herself in glittering gold and prepared to be more actor than warrior.

As she was fastening on her breastplate - it was stamped with the image of her cutie mark, inlaid in crimson against the gold - Sunset began to feel something on the back of her neck. Something like...breath.

"Turn back," a hoarse voice, raspy and low, whispered.

Sunset's head whipped around, mouth half-open to give a lashing to whoever dared disturb her privacy. But there was nopony there. There was only Sunset, and nopony could have gotten away so fast that she would not have seen them.

Sunset frowned. Was she imagining things? She could not afford to lose her mind, too much was at stake. But she would have sworn somepony or something was there.

"Turn back, you must turn back," that voice again, a stallion's voice, muffled as if by distance, yet at the same time feeling so close that she could feel the breath upon her.

Sunset looked all around her and saw nothing. "Arial?" she said softly. "Arial, what are you doing?"

A silver white cloud, wispy and indistinct, swirled before her, resolving into something like the shape of a Breezy. "Do, mistress?" Arial asked, sounding confused. "I do nothing but your bidding. Have you not made our relationship clear to both of us?"

"Sunset Shimmer, doom awaits you unless you turn aside," the voice came a third time, pleading this time. "Turn from this course before it is too late."

"If not you, then who or what is that?" Sunset snapped.

Arial's voice trembled a little. "I know not, mistress, but it is no kindred spirit of mine or I would know them."

Sunset scowled. Did somepony think to frighten her with childish portents, to trespass in her camp and escape without consequence? She stormed out of her tent, the starlight glimmering upon her armour. "Virtue!"

Virtue stood up very quickly, her shout lending speed to his movements. "Yes, Mistress?"

"Have you seen anypony creeping about out here? Someone's trying to play silly ponies with me."

Virtue shook his head. "I have seen nopony but our own forces, mistress. Our prisoners have not moved."

Sunset looked across the clearing and regarded the prisoners warily. Could one of them have been throwing their voices? She wouldn't have put it past Pinkie Pie to possess the skill, but she doubted that the pink pony could lower her voice to the depth of the tone she had heard. No, while they looked surly enough, and certainly bore her malice, they did not have the skill to do this. And what would it gain them, in any case? Did they really think she would turn aside now because of a voice foretelling doom?

"Turn back now, there is not much time." This time it was not speech alone, but a cloud of dark smoke which rose up before her to accompany it. The smoke lingered in front of Sunset's face for just a moment, then retreated through the camp and into the forest. Sunset pursued, Arial and Virtue not far behind her, as the zebras gave way before the small, nimble cloud.

On the edge of the camp, a little way into the forest, the smoke stopped and resolved itself into the image of a tall alicorn stallion. He was dark, if indeed the smoke was any reflection as to his colouring, yet without something translucent about him as though he were made of dark-tinted glass. He looked, in fact, more than a little like Princess Luna.

The alicorn, or the image of an alicorn, looked into Sunset's eyes for a moment. Then he was gone.

"What was that apparition?" Virtue murmured. "A ghost?"

"Whose ghost? There's never been an alicorn stallion to leave a ghost behind," Sunset replied.

"A spirit of the future, then?"

"It doesn't matter," Sunset snapped. "A shade made of smoke, unable to do more than talk in ominous cliches cannot threaten my ambitions."

"It is an ill thing to have the spirits against us," Virtue replied obstinately.

"It makes no difference," Sunset said. "Wait here until I send for you, and guard the prisoners."

"You will not take them with you, mistress?" Virtue asked.

"Yes, because dragging their neighbours in chains behind me is a surefire way to get the support of Ponyville," Sunset said.

"They are your enemies."

"I am here to save them, whether they wish it or not," Sunset replied. "You will keep the prisoners here with the wounded and a small escort, and bring them when I summon you, which I shall only do when the time is right."

Virtue bowed his head. "As you command, mistress."

"Quite," Sunset growled. She left him behind, and wandered back towards the centre of the camp even as the zebras dismantled it around her. Tents were struck, fires were extinguished, cooking pots and blankets packed away. Four hundred zebras, four-fifths of the Aethiope strength that she had with her, girded their armour on and shouldered their spears ready to march. With them were Sunset's own mercenaries, and the ponies from the Quetzacoatl valley she had conscripted. Even the war elephants had been roused from their slumber, the ground trembled with the sound of their footsteps as they plodded into place at the rear of the column. The bells around their necks jingled and the beasts made muted trumpeting sounds as were driven into a column two wide. The remaining hundred zebras, most of them injured in some way, would remain with the other wounded and the captives in the Everfree Forest. Bandages and battle scars rarely made a good impression on civilians, and so they might as well guard everything else Sunset didn't want Ponyville to see right away. The Shadowbolts were staying put for now, as well. Shrike had not been shy in expressing her disdain for Celestia, and some of the more impressionable pegasi had begun to adopt that attitude as well. Sunset, who in any case did not consider herself Celestia's enemy so much as Celestia's saviour, didn't want the credulous and changeable folk of Ponyville to get the wrong idea about her cause.

The column waited for her take her place at their head, for her to order the advance, for her to take this momentous step.

This was it. At the moment, she could still turn back. She could disband her armies, send the zebras home, slink away with her loyal mercenaries and the followers she had brought with her from outside this world, and disappear. They might search for her, or they might not, but she would have done no lasting damage. There would be the matter of releasing Twilight Sparkle from the labryinth box, but Princess Celestia was probably up to the task.

The point was, if she gave up now, if she turned her back on everything, then she could walk away without any consequences to herself. But if she took this step, if she marched into Ponyville at the head of an army - small though it was right now - then she would have committed herself irreversibly to this course. She would be declaring war on Equestria, on the princesses, on the entire way of life of thousands of ponies. She would be bringing one thousand years of a free society to a close, bringing the curtain down on the Equestria that she, Dawn and Twilight had been born into and replacing it with - if she was brutally honest with herself - an uglier, more brutal place. A place where freedom was less valued than security, where sacrifices were not asked but commanded, where the goal of victory would justify all manner of horrors.

It would have given anypony pause, and Sunset Shimmer was not yet so removed from the pony she had been that she did not hesitated upon the brink of this abyss. Was she right, to do this? Did saving lives justify her to take this step?

She closed her eyes, an image of Eclipse forming in her mind. Yes, it did. To save her sister, to save everypony, she would do these things. She had to. She was the only pony with the strength to save this world and that alone gave her the right to do whatever was necessary to achieve that goal.

It was time to cast the die.

"Unfurl the banners!" Sunset commanded.

The two zebra standard bearers hoisted their charges up, the flags unfolding to reveal the golden eagle of Grevyia emblazoned upon one, and a stylised sunset upon the other.

Sunset took her rightful place at the head of the column, the flags flying over her head. She wore no helmet: she wanted Ponyville to see her face so that they could identify with her.

"Forward!"

A trumpet sounded, the zebras followed Sunset as she began to trot, and her forces marched out of the Everfree Forest and entered Ponyville with the first light of dawn.

Sweetie Belle was woken up to the sound of a trumpet blowing outside. Long, relentless calls which kept on going as she rolled out of bed and got tangled up in her sheets on the floor.

"What? Huh?" Sweetie murmured as she tried to fight her way clear of the bed-clothes. "Apple Bloom, if this is some new way of earning your cutie mark I really hope it doesn't work."

She heard, rather than saw, the bedroom door opening before her father helped her free herself from out of the sheets. He looked worried, he was sweating. "Whatever happens, Sweetie," he said. "You have to be quiet. Be quiet and don't drawn attention. Don't be scared, your mother and I are right here."

Sweetie Belle's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about, Dad? What's going on?"

"I wish I knew, honey," Dad said.

They went outside, Mom still in her dressing gown, Dad not dressed at all, Sweetie Belle yawning and feeling a cold in the pit of her stomach that had nothing do with the usual early morning hunger. Everypony seemed to be coming outside, even though the sun was still rising in the sky. There was Miss Cheerilee, and the Mayor, Lyra and Bon-Bon, Derpy, Amethyst Star and Dinky. Sweetie Belle waved to Scootaloo across the street, and she could see Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith standing at the far end of the street, on the very edge of town.

"Where's Rarity?" Sweetie asked, looking up and down the crowd. Come to think of it, she couldn't see Applejack with the other Apples either. And Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

"Shh," Dad hissed. "Don't make a sound."

Sweetie opened her mouth to ask why, when she heard the trumpet sound again. She looked up the street, in the direction of the Everfree Forest, and saw a column of soldiers marching into Ponyville with the sun at their back, two flags flying at their head. Their golden eagle, upon a white background, seemed to blaze in the sunlight, while the red of the setting sun looked ominously close to the colour of blood. They were zebras, most of them, marching in perfect rhythm with the dawnlight glinting off their armour and their spearheads. They had not only the intermittent trumpet calls, but a heavy, ponderous drumbeat being maintained by a young elephant towards the rear of the column: he had the drum strapped to his side and held the stick in his trunk. The beating sound echoed over the clipped tramping sounds of the zebras' hooves.

Behind the zebras came a more motley looking crew: griffons and ponies with strange haircuts and painted faces. Then came the elephants, grey beasts that towered over the houses of Ponyville, with bells around their necks, trumpeting as loud as the zebra bugles.

And at their head was a beautiful unicorn in gold armour, her mane like fire flowing behind her, the reflection of the sunlight off her carapace combining with her amber colouring to make her radiant. It felt disloyal to say so, but Sweetie Belle thought that this unicorn could have looked prettier than Rarity right now, if Rarity had been there to compare her with. She bore herself with Rarity's confidence, the poise that Sweetie had always envied in her sister, but with a swagger added that Rarity never had. Whoever this unicorn was, she wasn't just confident in herself, she was confident in being better than everypony else.

The column marched halfway down the main street until it came to the front of the town hall, where a zebra with an ostrich feather in his helmet barked an order in a foreign language. With a crash of hooves stamping on the ground, the column halted. Some of the griffons and those weird earth ponies glanced this way and that at the anxious crowd surrounding them, but the zebras kept their faces straight ahead, as if unaware that they had an audience at all. The elephants hooted quietly.

The zebra with the plumed helmet said something else, and the column faced to their right, so that they were looking at the town hall now, and the ponies gathered around it. Once more their hooves slammed down with a thud.

Silence descended over Ponyville, nopony spoke, nopony moved, there was no noise except for the shuffling and snorting of the elephants and the soft tingling of their bells as the great beasts moved.

The ponies stared at the zebras, and the zebras stared right through the ponies.

Sweetie Belle found herself pressing closer to her father as she tried to work out what was going on. Who were all these people? What were they doing here? Where was Rarity, and why did Apple Bloom look more worried than most?

After over a minute of this face-off, the mayor stepped forward tremulously, her knees wobbling ever so slightly. She head towards the unicorn, who seemed to be the leader of the party simply by the way she drew all eyes towards her.

The mayor began to speak. The unicorn held up one hoof for silence, smiling dismissively. As everypony watched, she trotted past the mayor and onto the town hall steps. She was facing her followers, and most of the population of Ponyville now, with everypony hanging off the words that seemed sure to come.

"My name is Sunset Shimmer," Sunset declared, her voice ringing out across the little town. "And I am here to change the world."

Silence. The only reaction Sweetie noticed was that a few more ponies narrowed their eyes suspiciously.

"A great storm is coming," Sunset continued. "The harshest and most bitter storm that has ever been seen in this land or any other in this world. Divided, no creature nor land will weather it. It will take strength, it will take courage from each and every one of you. I am here to help, I am here to save you all, I am here to save Equestria. But I cannot do it alone. That's why I'm here: to ask you to help me help everypony."

Sunset started to look discomfited by the lack of a response from the crowd, but she ploughed on regardless. "I can promise you nothing but sweat, toil and sacrifice. I offer only a long, dark tunnel, with precious little light at the end of it. I tell you that the road ahead is hard and paved with daggers. But I also tell you that when the darkness is past, when we emerge once more into the sunlit uplands, you will see that we accomplished something truly worthwhile together you and I. Equestria itself, the continued existence of our land, will be our legacy."

Sunset still didn't get a response. She coughed loudly before she said anything else. "Now our challenge will be anything but easy, but if we work together I know we can get through this okay. Yeah!" She pumped one hoof into the air, which only made her sound even less sincere than she had before; and she hadn't sounded all that sincere to begin with.

Nopony said anything.

"No? Is that not how it goes?" Sunset said. "Friendship, believe in each other, have faith, work hard and do our best, all that nonsense? No? Come on, say something! What, do I have to do a song and dance number to get a response from you ponies?"

There was no reply, only the sound of the zebra flags flapping as the ponies of Ponyville regarded she would called herself their saviour and her followers in cold, sullen silence. Their faces were stone, their eyes were diamond. Nopony had anything to say to such vague promises and insincere platitudes.

Nopony but one. Apple Bloom darted out from behind Big Mac and her voice cut through the still, quiet air. "Where's mah sister, you loud-mouthed varmint?"

At the sound of Apple Bloom's voice, one of the griffons turned towards her with an angry huff, breaking ranks and striding towards the young filly. Big Mac stepped over his little sister, placing himself between her and the advancing griffon.

"Talon! Stop!" Sunset Shimmer's voice cut like a knife. The griffon stopped, looking towards her in confusion. Sunset went on, "It is a fair question. Your sister and her friends are guesting with the remainder of my forces in the Everfree Forest. They are assisting me in preparations for the coming conflict."

"What conflict?" Lyra demanded as she stepped out of the crowd. "If you're here to help then you'll tell us everything. What are you up to, Sunset?"

Sunset stared at her for a moment, tilting her head slightly to one side. "It's...Lyra Heartstrings, isn't it? We were at school together, weren't we? I remember you, now."

"And I remember you, too, Sunset Shimmer," Lyra replied coldly. "What's this really all about?"

"If I had the answers, I would tell you," Sunset said, calmly. "If I knew who the enemy was, I would tell you, if I knew when they would strike I would tell you that as well. I don't have those answers. I only know that we have to act fast or it may be too late for all of us."

"Why should we believe you?" Lyra shouted. "Most of these ponies don't know you. Where's Princess Twilight?"

"Yeah, let Twilight talk!" other ponies took up the call, the crowd beginning to echo with demands for a pony that they knew, that they trusted, to preach Sunset's message in her stead.

Sunset scowled, looking around with poorly concealed distaste. She stamped her leg upon the wooden planks impatiently. Her horn glowed with magic as a flare burst from the tip to fire up into the sky, exploding with a deafening bang and a flash of azure light.

"Silence!" Sunset yelled, and the crowd began to hush in the face of her now obvious anger. "I wanted to do this pleasantly, for your sake. I would rather have had your willing cooperation. But I will have your assistance whether you want to give it to me or not, do I make myself clear?"

There was disdain in her eyes now as Sunset swept her gaze over the crowd. "You foolish ponies, you idle away all your days in play and frivolity, with no idea of the hardships of the world outside of your gilded cage. You have no idea what's coming. Well I do, and so help me, I will save you from it if I must drag you all kicking and screaming into a new era. The days of milk and honey are at an end. The days ahead will be hard, so we must all become hard in order to survive them." Sunset paused for a moment, a flicker of sadness crossing her face. "It is a terrible thing, but it cannot be avoided," she murmured, her tone softening briefly. Then her voice became loud and strong again. "There are three things you should know about me: the first, is that I am a fair mare when I am not pushed. The second is that my goals, my aims, are greater than any one pony; so if you oppose me...I will not allow you to stand in my way. But the third, the third thing you should know is that if you stand behind me..." Sunset's voice trembled as she concluded, "I will give my life to save this land of ours."
"I intend to remain here no more than a day or two, then my friends and I will press on to Canterlot. When I go, I will take with me soldiers to defend Equestria, and leave behind me a town organised and prepared to survive the chill the east wind brings. Return to your homes. Do not try to flee this town, or my zebras will have to bring you back. When you hear the trumpet blow, you will assembled in the town square and hear my intentions in detail. That is all. Dismissed!"

The zebra officer barked an order, and the zebras broke ranks and moved to confront the ponies, herding them back into their homes at the same time as they moved to ring the outskirts of Ponyville and prevent anypony from leaving.

"Do you think Rarity's okay?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I really hope so," was all her dad could say in reply.

As the crowd dispersed, Sunset waved Muttines over to her. "Send a messenger back into the forest, tell Virtue to get down here with the rest of our forces and all our captives. There's no point treading lightly any more."

Muttines nodded, and ordered one of his warriors, who began to canter back up the road in the direction of the Everfree.

Sunset turned her attention to the mayor who, alone of all the ponies in town, had made no move to go back to her home. The fact that there were a pair of burly griffons blocking her path might have had something to do with that.

"Mayor Mare, isn't it?" Sunset said with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm afraid I'm going to require the use of your town hall for the duration of my stay. After that, it will see other uses."

The mayor swallowed. "Miss Shimmer-"

"Sunset, please," Sunset said. "Miss Shimmer sounds so...condescending." At the same time, her head was not so swollen that she would insist upon a title.

The mayor hesitated. "Very well...Sunset. As mayor of Ponyville I must ask, what exactly do you plan to do to everypony in this town?"

"You make it sound as if I'm here to torture them," Sunset said lightly. The mayor didn't laugh. Tough crowd. Sunset cleared her throat and went on, "I intend to take soldiers. Volunteers, if possible, conscripts if not. When I leave Ponyville, I shall leave a zebra officer here to advise you on how best to maximise Ponyville's productivity in the coming battle. This is a farming town, therefore all the energies of the populace should be bent towards the production of food for Equestria. My officer, and the troops who remain here for your protection, will help you to achieve that."

"You mean to leave a garrison here?" the mayor asked nervously.

"Well of course," Sunset replied. "Don't look so alarmed, Mayor Mare, it's all for your own safety."

She pushed open the doors of the town hall and strode inside. She crossed the main meeting space and walked into the mayor's office, a room that was not too sparse and not too opulent but felt...just right. The floor was tiled a mixture of black and white, an Equestrian flag sat in the corner. A map of the town hung upon the wall next to the town charter and the royal decree granting land to the Apple family and permitting the foundation of a settlement upon it. Sunset's gazed lingered on Celestia's signature, large and elegant, at the bottom of the decree.

There was no turning back for Sunset Shimmer now.

She walked around the mayor's polished oak desk and sat down on the rather basic office chair. It felt surprisingly uncomfortable.

"That could have gone much better," Sunset murmured.

"That's what happens when you don't believe what you're saying," a snide voice said from the corner of the office.

Sunset spun around on the swing chair. Lurking, just in front of the flag, was a berry-red earth pony mare, with a mane of a slightly darker shade and a berry cutie mark. The voice was not that of a mare however, but that of a colt, the colt who had approached Sunset in the graveyard in Canterlot.

Sunset looked at...it, flatly. "How did you get in here? How did you get past my guards?"

"Oh, please. Have you forgotten Lord Moloch's power already? Or are your delusions of heroism going to your head?" The mare slunk forwards. "What do you think? It isn't a child."

"No, it's just some poor mare you've bodysnatched." Sunset growled. "Are you going to tell me your name? It's going to be difficult to keep track of you and your changing appearance otherwise." Her eyes narrowed. "You aren't Compassion, he doesn't sneak up on people. Vanity? No, you wouldn't alter you appearance for me or anypony else. Greed? No..." Sunset smirked. "You're his Pride, aren't you? That's why you're so full of yourself."

Pride pouted. "So, you figured it out. Congratulations. It doesn't change a thing, you impudent insect."

Sunset's smirk widened. "You know, if your father keeps on stripping bits of his soul away like that he's going to wind up a husk."

"With every emotion Lord Moloch removes from himself, the closer he approaches to perfection!" Pride snapped.

"Ah, so you admit that you're imperfect, then?" Sunset replied.

Pride growled. "Quit screwing around! What's all this nonsense you were telling those ponies about saving them from darkness? You're here to collect souls for Moloch or had you forgotten?"

"I forget nothing," Sunset snarled, pushing herself off the chair and onto the tiled floor of the office. She advanced upon Pride, the fragment of a demon-lord's soul giving way before her. "I have not forgotten what Moloch did for me. Nor have I forgotten what he did to me, what he made me do for him!"

"You agreed to the bargain that was offered you."

"I was asked if I wanted to live, I wasn't told that death would be preferable," Sunset snapped.

Pride's voice was cold and imperious. "All that you are, you owe to my father."

"And I do not forget that, nor forgive it," Sunset replied, her voice sharper than any spearhead. "Tell your daddy that he'll get his blood price, enough blood to drown in." His own blood, if Sunset had anything to say about it. "But I am not his slave to jump at his commands, nor do I require to have my hoof held by some one-note minion. I know what I'm doing." She was walking a tightrope, pretending to serve Moloch while actually serving a higher cause altogether. And the look of shock on that monster's face when he realised she had betrayed him to his doom would be so very satisfying. "Now get out."

Pride hissed in annoyance, but said nothing. She retreated into the shadowy corner of the room.

"Wait, one more thing," Sunset said. "In the camp, before dawn, was that your doing?"

"No," Pride replied. "That was somepony else. Somepony you should be wary of. He'll try to interfere, but he's almost as arrogant as I am. If you're careful, you should be able to take care of him."

"Who is he?"

"Figure it out for yourself," Pride spat. "After all, you don't need to have your hoof held by some one-note minion." She faded into the shadows, and then she was gone.

Sunset growled wordlessly. Another player? Who? She didn't want any unknowns in this game she was playing, what she planned to pull off would be hard enough without factors that she couldn't predict getting in the way. Was he an imperial or council agent come to punish her for her treachery? No, if he was he wouldn't have wasted time with theatrics, he would have attacked. Besides, the Empire wouldn't let the Council get its hands on an alicorn, and the Empire wouldn't risk one by sending him to Equestria alone; they were too precious to be used that way. No, whoever she had seen was something else, and Sunset had no clue what.

The door to the mayor's office was flung open and Virtue marched in, Firethorn following at his heels.

Virtue bowed. "Mistress, all our forces have now concentrated in Ponyville. I have posted sentries watching both ways in all directions."

"Good," Sunset said. "What have you done with the prisoners?"

"I put them in the schoolhouse, mistress," Virtue said. "Under guard, of course."

"Of course," Sunset agreed. "There will be a party of Diamond Dogs arriving shortly. They are my allies, so make them feel welcome and show their leader to me when he comes."

"Diamond Dogs, mistress?"

Of course, they didn't have any in Chevalia. "Large canines, who walk on thier hind legs," Sunset explained. "You'll know then when you see them. Try not to wrinkle your nose too much at the smell."

"They hardly seem appropriate allies, mistress," Virtue murmured.

"I was told to unite the world, and that is what I mean to do," Sunset replied. "All of it, not just those parts that are clean and well-spoken. That's all."

Virtue bowed again, accepting the dismissal, and walked backwards out of the room. He closed the door behind him as he went.

Sunset turned her attention to Firethorn. His wings and one of his legs were covered in bandages, and he had a nasty bruise on the side of his face.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"I will be fit to fight again soon, Sunset," he replied.

"Not what I asked. how do you feel?" she repeated.

Firethorn hesitated. "It aches."

"I'm sure it does," Sunset used her telekinesis to wheel the mayoral chair around the desk. "Sit down, you'll be more comfortable than on the floor. Probably."

"I'd rather stand."

"Sit down," Sunset insisted. "You're not a zebra, you don't have to stand to attention until I'm done with you." As Firethorn reluctantly sat, Sunset squatted down upon the floor in front of him. "Now, did that blow to the head knock all the knowledge out of you?"

Firethorn frowned. "No, but-"

"Good, then we'll have that test on the reading I set you," Sunset said. "What were the terms of the Hearth's Warming Concord?"

Firethorn chewed on his lip as he pondered the answer. "The unicorns and the pegasi agreed not to extort any more food from the earth ponies, but in exchange for the unicorns continuing to raise the sun and the pegasi continuing to create good weather the earth ponies agreed to provide food at a discounted price. The unicorns would receive one tenth of all food grown each year-"

"Three tenths," Sunset corrected him. "Three tenths to the unicorns, three tenths to the pegasi and four tenths for the earth ponies themselves."

"Yes, right. And the three leaders agreed to meet each year and agree on the distribution and the selling price."

"No, their seconds met, not the leaders themselves," Sunset said. "How long did this system last?"

"Three hundred years?" Firethorn offered.

"Two hundred," Sunset said. "And what were relations between the three races and the Crystal Empire and the thestrals like during this period?"

"Um, good?"

Sunset cocked an eyebrow at him. "You weren't paying too much attention to this, were you?"

"What does it matter anyway , this isn't even my country," Firethorn said impatiently.

"No, it isn't, but it will probably be the country you have to live in," Sunset replied. "Besides, learning history is as much about learning how to think, how analyse, how to understand as it is about learning facts. I'm trying to give you a rounded education, like I got from Princess Celestia."

"Why?" Firethorn asked. "None of this is going to help us win this war!"

"All wars end, eventually," Sunset snapped. "And what will you do then, if all you know how to do is fight? Will you become a monster like Emerald Ray, who kills for anypony or any cause because it's all he knows how to do? Will you become a brute like Virtuous Fury, hiding what you are behind a fraying veneer called honour rather than admitting that you're nothing but a weapon for other ponies to wield? What will you do when the war is done?"

"I'll stay by your side, always," Firethorn said.

"I might not want a bodyguard then, I might want to retire into obscurity for all you know," Sunset said. It was not likely, but who could predict the future for certain. "This battle might claim my life."

"Don't say that," Firethorn shouted. "I'll protect you, no matter what it takes. I'll give my life for yours if I have to."

"No, you won't. I forbid it," Sunset said sharply. "You are young. You have a life and world ahead of you. Don't waste your opportunities the way I wasted mine."

Firethorn frowned in confusion. "You're powerful, mistress of an army, a great warrior-"

"And if I dropped dead this instant, what would I leave behind?" Sunset demanded. "What have I built that will last? What would my legacy be? Who would remember me when I was gone?"

"I would."

Sunset was silent for a moment. A small smile flickered across her face. "Thank you. But that's why I'm here, I will leave an Equestria that has survived the great struggled as my legacy. And for you...I hate to say it, but you could learn something from our unwilling guests."

"Learn from them?" Firethorn sounded half-revolted by the notion. "But they're-"

"Good citizens, able to function as useful parts of the community in peace time. And so, they contribute to the wellbeing of the nation even when they are not using the Elements of Harmony to battle mad gods." Sunset sighed. "There will always be a place for them, while there is only a place for me in moments of great crisis. I want more than that for you. Read the passage again and also read Smart Cookie's On Civics chapter 6, where she describes the ideal pony as a member of society."

Firethorn bowed his head. "Okay, Sunset."

"And pay attention, this time," Sunset added sharply. "Now, stay here and rest. The Diamond Dogs will be arriving soon, and once they're here we can get started."

When the trumpet sounded, the residents of Ponyville made their way sullenly out of thier homes to see that their conquerors (for that was what they were, for all of Sunset Shimmer's protestations) had been joined by some new friends. Sweetie Belle cringed at the sight of the looming Diamond Dogs, the gems in their waistcoats only serving to emphasise how filthy their fur was, how yellow their teeth, how nasty their smell. There were more zebras too, wearing bandages around their legs or around their heads, and a monstrous black unicorn with blazing red eyes who stood at Sunset Shimmer's right hoof.

Sweetie felt somepony bump up against her. She looked around to see Scootaloo, huddling in close.

"Have you seen Rarity anywhere?"

"No," Sweetie Belle replied. "Have you seen Rainbow Dash?"

Scootaloo shook her head. Then she smiled, a quick and mischievous grin. "Don't worry, Sweetie Belle, it'll all be fine. You'll see."

"How do you know?"

"Because our sisters are awesome, and they'll come up with something soon," Scootaloo said. "We just gotta have faith in them."

Sweetie felt a slight smile tugging at her lips, even as some of the coldness gripping her stomach dispelled. "Yeah, you're right. I should have more faith in them. Have you seen Apple Bloom?"

Scootaloo said, "No, I haven't been able to leave the house."

"I hope she's okay."

"Me too," Scootaloo murmured. She gestured with her head towards the town hall. "What do you think Little Miss Sunshine is gonna have to say."

"I wish I knew," Sweetie said. Sunset Shimmer stood on the town hall steps, looking over the crowds being herded into place by her soldiers. A line of zebras, in gleaming armour, stood in front of the hall to make sure nopony got too close. Up on the portico with Sunset was an uncomfortable looking Mayor Mare, a leering Diamond Dog, the blank faced unicorn and a light blue pegasus in bandages with a wicked grin on her face.

Beside the steps, a zebra sat with a set of ledger books on a table before her, two more zebras standing guard over her. Not far away sat two piles of pebbles, one pile white and the other black, and a red clay jar.

Sunset thumped the floor with one hoof several times, and the crowd fell silent. Sunset smiled at everypony, a smile that did not quite reach up to her eyes.

"Welcome, everypony. Thank you so much for coming. We are gathered here to form the first company of the new Equestrian Army. In time, you will be joined by ponies from all across the land but you are the first. Remember that, and bear that honour proudly. This will be a story you can tell your grandchildren.
"The way this is going to work is quite simple: I am going to call for volunteers. Anypony who volunteers to serve their country and defend their home may nominate one other pony to be exempt from military service. Once there are no more volunteers, we will move on to conscriptions until I am satisfied with the numbers. Those pebbles over there represent ponies. You'll notice that the black pile is as large again as the white pile. The white pebbles represent soldiers; in other words I intend to take one third of all the ponies in this town with me when I leave. For every volunteers, I will remove one white and one black pebble from the pile. When we start conscripting, I will mix the two piles together in that jar and have everypony who has not volunteered or been nominated draw a stone at random. Draw black and you stay home. Draw white, and it's the army for you. Is that clear to everypony?"

Nopony said anything.

"Good," Sunset said. "Now, Mayor Mare has kindly provided me with the town's population records, so anypony who wishes to volunteer should give their name and the name of thier exemption to the clerk. When that is all done, everypony whose name has not been checked off will be called to draw a stone unless I say otherwise. Got it? Right, let's begin then. Who wishes to volunteer, to fight for Equestria against the powers of darkness?"

There was a silence.

"Nopony?" Sunset exclaimed incredulously. "Nopony wishes to protect their famillies from danger? Nopony wishes to keep their loved ones safe?"

"I do," Mr Cake, squarely built and wearing his little straw hat, stepped out of the crowd and stood in the no mare's land between the ponies and the zebra line. "I volunteer, the name's Carrot Cake."

"And who do you wish to exempt?" Sunset asked.

"My wife, Cup Cake," Mr Cake said firmly.

"Carrot-" Mrs Cake tried to protest.

"It's all right, honey," Mr Cake said soothingly. "You stay here, with Pound and Pumpkin. I'll be back home right as rain soon enough, you'll see."

Sunset nodded. "You're a brave stallion. You do credit to Equestria and to Ponyville. Does anypony else have the courage to follow where this stallion leads?"

Lyra was the next to step forward. "Yeah, I do. My name's Lyra Heartstrings and I nominate Bon-Bon."

Mr Cake and Lyra were directed to stand together on the western edge of the town square, as more ponies emerged to volunteer. Derpy Hooves nominated her daughter Amethyst Star. Bulk Biceps came forward to spare Cloudchaser, to the surprise of a great many ponies. Sassaflash came forward and nominated Caramel. Ponies volunteered to spare their husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sweethearts, even their grown children. Only one pony was turned away.

Big Macintosh stepped forward and declared, "My name's Big Macintosh, and I nominate Applejack."

Sunset laughed. "That's very generous of you. Believe me, I respect the attempt. But your sister can serve me better than you can, and you will be of more use to Equestria on the farm than on the battlefield. Put Mr. Macintosh on the exempt list."

All told round about fifty ponies volunteered, arranged in ranks down one side of the square.

"Very good," Sunset said. "I commend you all. But still, only one third the number that I want." Her horn, and she levitated the remaining pebbles into the jar. They rattled inside as she mixed them up. "When your name is called, step forward and draw a pebble. Begin the lots!"

And so names were called: Miss Cheerilee escaped the draught, but Cranky Doodle Donkey was not so lucky. Daisy was forced to serve, but Lily escaped. And then they called Sweetie’s father's name.

"Magnum!"

Magnum closed his eyes, gave his daughter a tight smile, and then walked across the empty space towards the jar of pebbles. With all eyes on him, he put his hoof into the jar and pulled out...a white stone.

"No!" Sweetie Belle yelled. She broke free from Scootaloo's grip and darted out of the crowd. "Please don't take my dad!"

Sunset Shimmer vaulted over the rails, striding through the line of her soldiers until she was standing over Sweetie Belle, casting her shadow over the filly. Her tone, when she spoke, was not unkind. "You may not believe me, but I understand why you're upset. But everypony here is somepony's father, or mother, or brother, sister, son or daughter. Shall I release them all because there is somepony at home who loves them? If I did that, then who would protect you from the monsters?"

"But...what if he doesn't come back," Sweetie Belle murmured.

"Then honour his sacrifice, and live a life worthy of it," Sunset declared. "But for now, go back to your mother." She turned away. "Continue!"

Sweetie Belle barely heard the rest of the draughting, from Muffin the Mule down to Thunderlane until the last white stone had been drawn. Ponyville was divided into two: those who would be going to war, and those who would be left to wait on there return. Sweetie knew who she thought had it worse.

"For those of you who have been chosen, glory awaits," Sunset proclaimed. "I look forward to fighting by your side. For those of you who were not so fortunate, there will be some changes to the way things work around here. You may have noticed our new Diamond Dog allies. The Diamond Dogs have long been looked down upon by ponies like you, yet now they have joined the fight to save Equestria. Therefore, I decree that from this day forward all Diamond Dogs are welcome anywhere in Ponyville. They may not be denied entry into any building, nor refused service by any business. They are going to fight for you, the least you can do in return is be grateful. Furthermore, you are going to work for the greater good of the state: as of now you are all farmers unless you can prove that the job you already do is vital. The commander of the garrison I leave behind me will settle all of the assignments in detail." Sunset turned away from the crowd and began to speak to her lieutenants.

"What do you think?" Sunset asked them. "Can you turn these ponies into soldiers?"

"That depends on how much time we have," Talon muttered. "If we have a year, then probably. If the war starts next month there'll be good for nothing but spear-fodder."

"I hope we'll have more than a month," Sunset said. "I have to believe that I was sent my visions with sufficient time to avert them."

"It would help if we knew what kind of enemy we would be facing, Mistress," Virtue said. "It is all very well to a charge with a lance against other ponies, but it will not avail you against a dragon."

"Teach them as much as you can," Sunset replied. "Equip them to fight a variety of battles."

"Speaking of which, Mistress, I am unsure how much use I can be in this," Virtue said. "This zebra soldiering, this marching up and down in ranks, it is unknown to me. I can teach them how to fight, perhaps, but even then they are so old."

"Most of them are only around your age," Shrike said.

"It is still too old to begin training as a knight," Virtue insisted. "In my homeland most who seek knighthood begin at six. I started at ten and was considered too old by many."

"We don't have time to wait for children to grow up, the storm will be upon us too soon," Sunset said.

"Yet young knights will be the pride of Equestria for years to come, her honour made flesh," Virtue replied.

"You want me to take their children away and give them to you to make warriors out of them?" Sunset asked.

"Not all," Virtue said calmly. "Only the best of them."

"How do you field armies out of a handful of children?" Muttines asked.

"Each knight finds a band of ponies willing to follow him or her."

"And you don't train them?" Talon sounded incredulous. "They really are spear-fodder."

Sunset sighed. "Okay, here's what I want you to do: Shrike, take the recruits back into the forest, if the princesses attack Ponyville I don't want all our new soldiers deserting in the confusion. Use wounded zebras to keep an eye on them. Muttines, Talon, you will train them to march, drill and move in formation. Virtue, you'll help teach them how to fight and choose any foals you see fit and train them as knights. Who knows, maybe if we're lucky they'll grow up before the battle starts. Right, now to break that bit of information. Right, everypony!"

"Right, everypony!" Sunset yelled, facing the crowd again now that her conference was over. "One last thing and it concerns the children."

Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo. "I'm not the only pony who thought that didn't sound good, am I?"

Scootaloo shook her head.

"This...mountainous unicorn here is named Virtuous Fury. He is my lord of battles and he would like your children. He would make knights of them, if he can. Personally I think it will prove a challenge too great for his talents, but I will not deny him. All foals over the age of five will report in half an hour to the school playground where their suitability for knighthood will be evaluated. All foals...except for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

"What?" Scootaloo exclaimed, as all around them ponies began to murmur in shock and fear. "They get out of this, too? I mean, just, even after Ponyville has been conquered by zebras they get special treatment? Aargh! How unfair is that, come on!"

"Instead," Sunset continued, her voice like syrup pouring slowly out of a bottle. "They will be coming with me, as my wards."

"Oh," Scootaloo murmured. Sweetie thought that suddenly their situation didn't seem so cushy.

"Why can't you leave the children alone?" Cheerilee demanded. "What use can they be to you?"

"A single drop of rain may cause a river to floor, a single pebble may start an avalanche," Sunset said serenely. "A single colt or filly may prove to make all the difference in the world. Even the difference between salvation and destruction."

As he prepared to go select and begin training his new squires, Virtue could not deny the excitement that he felt. His right foreleg twitched with restless energy. He felt half as giddy as when he himself had been chosen as a squire by old Sir Gallant. To be a knight was an honourable station, but to be chosen to train knights, to be thought of as an inspiration for the next generation of chevaliers, was one of the greatest compliments which a knight could be paid. Admittedly, the compliment was lessened here by the fact that there were no other knights available and he had not been chosen so much as insisted on the honour, but these were trifling matters and did not impinge upon his confidence or his eagerness to begin.

They would be eager too, he had no doubt. This was the opportunity that every child sought: to do great deeds and win great glory. The only pity was that he could not choose all of them.

I will teach them to be brave and bold and honourable. I will teach them chivalry and courtesy. I will teach them to be better knights than I ever was. And in that way I will redeem myself.

For their sake, with the examples of those rare ladies, Rarity and Fluttersy, before him, he would do better than he had done. The honour of a new made knight derived in great part from the repute of the knight who dubbed them, and so any further dishonour he accrued through his behaviour would reflect upon his squires. That would not do. It would not do at all. From now on he would be humble and seek for grace. He would be the soul of chivalry and the benchmark of honour. He would be such a stallion as Lady Fluttershy could not fault. He would do Chevalia proud by all his actions.

Virtue took a deep breath, brushed his mane out of his face, and prepared to begin.

But before he could walk around the school-house to the playground he ran first into Miss Cheerilee.

"I want to know why," she said, her voice at the same time harsh yet thick with worry.

Virtue was silent for a moment. "I am no philosopher, ma'am, to answer so general a question. You must be more specific."

Cheerilee slapped him. The blow stung on Virtue's cheek but did not move his face.

"That hardly seems called for, ma'am," he said softly.

"They are children," Cheerilee hissed. "Children."

"A fact I doubt will save them when the foe comes," Virtue said. "I take it then you are come to plead for their release."

"I don't know where you come from," Cheerilee declared. "But I know my students and I know that they are much too young to be dragged off to war. They are all too young."

"Or perhaps you have simply kept them that way because of your constant mothering," Virtue replied. "I think some, at least, will be glad to be away from it. Where I come from every foal dreams of being chosen for knighthood, though few attain it."

"I think that we have different dreams, here in Equestria," Cheerilee said acidly.

"Hence you need zebras and Chevalians to save you," Virtue remarked, matching the sharpness of her tongue with his own.

Cheerilee breathed deeply in. "I know that you are not intimidated by me, Mister Virtuous Fury," she said. "But I want you to know that if any harm comes to any of my students, I will not forgive you."

In the face of her courage - she looked to be half his size and about half his weight, yet she displayed no fear of him but only anger at him - Virtue abruptly felt rather a bully. He looked away for a moment, his expression softening. "I do not intend that they should fight, ma'am, not until they are older and I deem them ready. As squires, their duties shall be to clean my armour, help me to garb myself for battle and run errands for me in the camp. It is an honourable position but not a hazardous one."

Cheerilee did not look reassured. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. "I confess that I know little of war. But it seems to me that everything about is hazardous."

That was, unfortunately, true, and there was nothing Virtue could say to deny it without lying. So he said only, "If you will excuse me, ma'am, I have work to do."

Though they are not a warlike people, there is much strength and valour in these ponies, Virtue thought as he stepped around her. If the children take after the parents they will do very well.

Virtue walked out into the playground. The fillies and colts had lined up in front of some strange looking devices which he assumed were for playing on. No matter, they would not be playing now.

He was surprised by how nervous they all looked. Why weren't they excited? This would be the beginning of a grand adventure for them! Hadn't they dreamt of this?

He paced up and down in front of the line, looking each colt and filly in the eye. They were apprehensive of him. That was good. A squire should be apprehensive of their knight, until they got to know them. He thought back contentedly to how Sir Gallant had had him hauling boulders around on his back all day for the first month, to build up muscles and character both. He'd also made Virtue tend to his castle grounds without letting the boulder fall off, as an aid to balance and movement. Virtue had gone to sleep every night with his muscles aching, but it had made him the warrior he was today.

"My name is Virtuous Fury," Virtue declared loudly. "And I am a knight. That means that I am an elite, picked out and elevated beyond the run of common ponies. When I am done with you, you too will be elevated above the herd. You will be knights, and you will be better than any other pony who does not bear that honour."
"I will work you hard. I will push you to your best. I will train you to march, to fight, to hunt and to kill."

"But I don't want to hurt anypony," a little light purple unicorn filly with a golden mane murmured tremulously.

"Nonsense," Virtue said. "Who here has no desire to take up arms and defend their princess and their home?"

Everypony raised their hoof.

Virtue's eyes narrowed. "Is that so? Are you all such cowards? You!" He knelt down, looking the little unicorn filly in the eye. "What is your name?"

"Um, my name's Dinky Hooves."

"You are at home. The night is dark and full of terrors. You hear something scratching at your door. A monster, come to kill you and yours. What do you do?"

"How do I know that it is a monster?"

"Because it could be nothing else," Virtue snapped. "This is not a game that you can cheat your way out of, not a problem to be solved through clever wordplay. This happened, to me. So answer the question: what do you do?"

Dinky stepped backwards. "I don't know...hope that it goes away?"

"Goes away? It's going to break through the door, you idiot! You can hear it growling. It's claws are coming through the door. It's hungry and it wants to kill everypony inside. What are you going to do about it."

"I want my mom," Dinky said quietly.

"That's your answer? To run for your mother?" Virtue snarled. "Your mother will die if she confronts this beast. Is that what you want? Are you so cowardly you would rather she give her life rather than step up and take responsibility for yourself?" Wake up, mum, there's something at the door. Why didn't I just take the poker and go out there myself?

"I don't-"

"What are you going to do to protect your home?" Virtue demanded, advancing upon her. "What are you going to do protect your family?"

Dinky fell over onto her backside, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Is that you're answer, you're going to snivel and cry?" Virtue shouted. "Perhaps I should kill your mother in front of you and make you watch the life leave her eyes, then you will have something to cry about! Then you will understand why sometimes we have to fight for the things that are precious to us."

Dinky started crying and wailing, tears pouring out of her in a great flood.

"Oh no, don't," Virtue looked away, feeling suddenly embarrassed and ashamed of himself. The benchmark of chivalry, indeed. "I apologise, ma'am, I went too far. Please stop that."

"Leave her alone!" an orange pegasus filly, older than Dinky, yelled angrily as she stepped out of the line to square up to Virtue. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, you big jerk?"

Virtue looked down at the diminutive pegasus. "Are you under some delusion as to your own size, ma'am?"

The orange pegasus fumed. "I'm telling you to back off before I back you off!"

Virtue stared at her for a moment, before a slight smile formed on his face. "Very good, young miss, it is nice to know that you are not all spineless." He looked down at the still crying Dinky, and sighed. He turned his back on her and walked away, rubbing his eyes with one hoof. Some of these ponies were never going to be suitable.

"All right," he announced, wheeling around again to face his students once more. "Anypony who has an older sibling, brother or sister, should leave. Now." In Chevalia, knighthood was reserved for the firstborn. He had thought to waive that here, but now it seemed like a good way of weeding out the dead wood.

Dinky, thankfully, left. So did quite a few others. He was left with a reduced group, but hopefully a better crop.

Then he noticed that two mares he knew had older sisters were still there: the two fillies who had spoken out against Mistress Sunset.

"I have just handed you a way out," Virtue said. "So why are you still here?"

"Because we aren't going to leave Scootaloo alone with you," Lady Rarity's sister announced. "Whatever you do to her, you're going to have to do to us as well."

Virtue chuckled. "Such unflinching valour. Perhaps there is a place for you here after all. Very well, those of you that remain: let's get down to business..."

Two zebra guards, armed and armoured, led Fluttershy and Rarity towards Carousel Boutique. Rarity found herself unable to refrain from snorting indignation.

"Carousel Boutique! One of these vile brutes has set up shop in my Carousel Boutique. Well, of all the audacity!"

"It does seem a little rude," Fluttershy agreed meekly.

The two zebras brought them to the fancy dressmakers, the chains that wound about the legs of the two ponies clinking as they walked. As they drew nearer, Rarity could hear classical music coming out of her shop, a waltz if she was not mistaken. She couldn't help but wonder who was in there.

They were brought to the door, which was opened by one of the zebra guards before they pushed Fluttershy and Rarity inside.

Carousel Boutique was lit up by candles, the clutter of Rarity's main showroom having been largely cleared away to make a large open space. Only a single table remained, with a few pieces of paper on it and an antique gramophone playing the music they had heard from outside.

And across the floor, Virtuous Fury danced alone.

He wore a tattered red cloak fastened around his neck, long enough to cover his whole back and hindquarters, though it was fraying at the hem, torn in places, and the golden flame pattern stitched into bottom was almost ruined. Clasping the cloak together at Virtue's throat was a ruby the size of a goose egg, cut in the shape of a rose, resting upon leaves of gold. Rarity momentarily wondered if he had been through her jewel chest and stolen it, but she could not remember having such a piece and, if she had, she would not have forgotten for it was as lovely a gem as any she had laid eyes upon. She would have coveted it greatly in less dire circumstances. His eyes were closed, his posture stiff and formal, but he moved with surprising grace considering his size and build, almost bouncing across the floor, one hoof up as though he had some invisible partner in hold, a small contented smile upon his face.

One of the zebras cleared his throat loudly.

Virtue's eyes snapped open and he stopped dancing. He even looked a little embarrassed, like a colt caught with one hoof in the cookie jar. He scuffed his hooves for a moment before walking over to the gramophone and turning it off.

"Forgive me, ladies," he muttered. "I did not hear you enter." To the zebras he added, "You may go now, thank you."

"You want us to leave you alone with them?"

"I assure you I will be quite safe," Virtue replied.

"But-"

"Go," Virtue snapped. "I will take full responsibility for both of them."

The zebras did not look entirely happy about this, but it was clear that they did not dare to disobey Virtuous Fury. They briskly turned about and marched out of the door, closing it behind them.

"Now we are alone," Virtue observed mildly, not looking directly at either of the two mares, but staring at the wall behind the gramophone. "You should feel proud, Lady Fluttershy, there are not many who can say they brought Virtuous Fury to his knees."

"I don't think that fighting is anything to be proud of," Fluttershy said, her tone a gentle reproof.

Virtue chuckled. "An attitude far from uncommon in this land, I begin to realise. And yet you were both very brave, in the forest. You are gentle ladies, yet also valiant and fierce when the need arises. You do Equestria great credit. In my opinion you are both worthy of greater honours than being a provincial tailor and a carer to beasts."

"Is that so?" Rarity asked flatly. "Ordinarily I do appreciate flattery a great deal, but in the present circumstances I'm finding it a little hard to appreciate. So if this visit is solely so that you can butter our egos, or is part of some misguided attempt to detach us from our friends-"

"Your friends give the impression of being lowborn, vulgar trash whose company is beneath you," Virtue said sternly. "But, as a pony who was himself blessed with friends whom he did not deserve, I am in no position to judge you or cast aspersions on your taste."

"How generous of you," Rarity said sarcastically.

"I have been pondering how to thank you, for what you did for me in the forest last night," Virtue mused, not responding to her jibe. "I needed your words, Lady Fluttershy. I had allowed myself to degenerate in character. I had become a violent brute. You have both reminded me that it is possible to be noble in character, civilised in behaviour, yet no less of a tiger in battle for it. For that I owe you more than thanks."
"I have been pondering how best I could repay you for this singular service. That, Lady Rarity, is why you are here. Your father has been conscripted into the New Model Army being raised by Mistress Sunset. I did not think you would be enamoured of the notion, certainly your little sister was not, so I had one of the zebra clerks draw up papers granting both your parents exemption from service on the grounds of ill health. From now on they have gum disease, very painful and debilitating. Best they don't smile too much any more."

Rarity blinked. She couldn't think of anything to say for a moment. Of all the things she had expected to be hauled before one of her captors for, this was not one of them. "You...I...well...uh...I...um...I've no idea what to say."

"Say nothing, ma'am, least of all thank you," Virtue replied. "This is meagre repayment of a debt owed, no thanks are required. He sighed. "Scootaloo is the most promising squire of all the foals in Ponyville. This does not say a great deal, though it does speak to her courage. Unfortunately, Miss Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom will not abandon their training without her. Lady Fluttershy, do you have a close relationship with Scootaloo?"

Fluttershy looked surprised. "I, um, not-"

"Because if you did," Virtue continued, emphasising his words. "Then I could release her from my service as payment of my debt to you, thus releasing Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom also."

"Oh," Fluttershy murmured. "Oh! Yes, I adore Scootaloo. She and I are like sisters. I can't remember how many times she's slept over at my house."

Virtue smiled thinly. "Excellent. It shall be done. Though it is far less reward than you deserve." He bowed his head, speaking softly and with melancholy in his voice. "I am sworn by oath to Sunset Shimmer, and even were I not, I would still owe her my life. It is not in my power to free all six of you, nor even both of you. Lady Fluttershy, I hope you will not take it amiss when I say I think you would bear captivity the least well."

Fluttershy frowned. "You're letting me go? Alone?"

Virtue at last turned to face the two mares. "I am. I will escort pass the picket line then you may go where you will. If you can put some distance between this place and yourself before dawn, you should be able to escape pursuit. I am sorry, Lady Rarity, but to do more is not in my power."

"I won't do it," Fluttershy declared.

Virtue hesitated for a moment. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"I won't do it," Fluttershy repeated firmly. "I won't abandon my friends and run away to save myself without them. I can't. I won't. If they are staying, then so am I."

"You should go, Fluttershy," Rarity whispered.

"What?" Fluttershy gasped.

"You won't be abandoning us," Rarity said, smiling. "Do you honestly think that any of us will think less of you for taking this chance? There isn't anything any of us can do in chains. But free, you can work to free the rest of us, to save Twilight, to stop Sunset."

Fluttershy shook her head. "Not all alone. I'm not strong enough."

"Oh, don't give me that," Rarity said with fond exasperation. "From the mare who faced down a dragon? You're as strong as any of us, maybe stronger. And we'll all be with you, even Twilight, in here," she reached out, and placed a gentle hoof on Fluttershy's heart. "Go. If Rainbow were here she'd tell you exactly the same thing."

Fluttershy blinked, she seemed on the verge of tears. "I promise I, I'll do everything I can for all of you."

"Just stay safe," Rarity replied. "That will be enough, for now."

Virtue walked forwards until he was almost level with them. "We should go," he said. "I will see you out of Ponyville, then escort Lady Rarity back to her...room."

"My room, what a way with words you have," Rarity muttered dryly. Something Virtue had said earlier caught up with her. "Wait a moment did you say you had taken Sweetie Belle to train to fight? My little sister Sweetie Belle."

Virtue appeared unaware of the danger lurking around him as he said confidently, "Indeed, ma'am, though she showed little-"

Rarity smacked him, the weight of her manacles adding weight and heft to her blow.

Virtue's head whipped round with a crack. When he looked at her he did so with an ugly red mark on one cheek. "Clearly, I have offended you in some way, though how I know not."

"How about conscripting my Sweetie Belle as a soldier!" Rarity ranted, her voice becoming so high with rage as to be almost inaudible. "She's ten years old!"

"It is best that training start early, so that the right muscles can develop effectively," Virtue said.

Rarity smacked him again. "I don't want her to start training at all! She is ten years old! You let Fluttershy go with one hoof and then this?"

"Where I come from this opportunity would be considered a great honour," Virtue said obstinately.

"We are not where you come from!"

"No, this land is soft and weak," Virtue snapped. "You have never faced hardship or struggle in your lives and you have no idea how to respond to it."

Rarity allowed herself a moment of smugness. "You know I very much hope you run into Discord one of these days. And I hope I'm there to see the look on your face when you do."

"Whoever he is I daresay he will die of a lance through the heart as other creatures do," Virtue said confidently.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Rarity replied. "Anyway, the point is that we are quite well-versed enough in hardship, we simply choose not to respond to it by becoming hard ourselves."

"Oh, yes, clearly you have seen a great deal of hardship amongst these green, idyllic fields," Virtue retorted. "By the end, my home-"

"Um, excuse me, Sir Virtue," Fluttershy interrupted, touching his shoulder gently. When he looked at her her eyes flamed like with anger and bulged outwards as she yelled. "NOBODY CARES HOW HARD YOU THINK YOU HAD IT!"

Virtue yelped as he recoiled away from her. Fluttershy's tone softened as she went on, "Now, if you'll please answer the questions: what is that you think you are fighting against?"

"Evil, in all its myriad forms," Virtue replied without hesitation.

"And what are you fighting for?"

"To protect the weak, as is a knight's duty, and to preserve my home and defend those close to my own heart."

"So even in your world there were those who fought and those who didn't," Fluttershy pressed. "The ones you call weak."

"In Chevalia, the firstborn sons trained as knights, the rest fought only when necessary."

"So you understand, then, that if everypony is given weapons and sent to war, then there will be nothing left that is worth fighting for?"

"Of course."

"Then what will be worth fighting for in this country once you and Sunset Shimmer have your way?"

Virtue opened his mouth, but no words came out. He hesitated for a moment, then closed it again. He frowned, cupping his chin with one hoof as if he was pondering. At last he said, "The best I can answer, ma'am, is to say 'your lives'. But that isn't really good enough, is it?"

Fluttershy shook her head slowly. "No, it isn't. Perhaps you should give some more thought to what you ought really to be fighting against."

Virtue was silent for a moment. When it came, his voice was small and childlike. "I cannot betray Mistress Sunset. If I do, I will lose everything. Small infractions are all I dare. But I will discharge all of the children. You are right, it was beneath me. I shall release them all come morning, if my head is still upon my shoulders once Mistress Sunset learns that you are gone."

"Just do what you can," Fluttershy said. "That's all I ask."

Virtue bowed his head. "I cannot guarantee I will not slide backwards. I require constant guidance, and you are leaving."

"Just try," Fluttershy urged.

Virtue nodded. "I shall, gentle lady." Looking Fluttershy in the eye, he said. "You have a great strength of spirit, ma'am, you remind me of my mother. But now, we must be going."

"How do you do that?" Rarity asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy smiled meekly. "Working with animals, I've learnt to get inside the minds of all manner of strange creatures. It's all a question of understanding how they think."

"He must be one of the strangest ones yet," Rarity observed.

In Canterlot, their highnesses the Princesses Celestia and Luna stood on the balcony of the highest tower in the palace. Celestia stepped back from her telescope, training currently on Ponyville, to allow Luna to lower her eye to the lens and peer through it.

Even in darkness, she could see Ponyville quite clearly by the moon's silver light. The town was quiet, nopony out of doors, but plenty of armed zebras patrolling the streets and outskirts of the town.

"Who?" Luna growled. "And how?"

"Why, might be a better question," Celestia murmured. "Have they come to avenge their defeat in Canterlot?"

"You should have let me take my thestrals and punish Grevyia for their arrogance after that treachery, sister," Luna said. "Revenge may not be the pony way, the civilised way or the modern way, but it is the old way and that is the only language that the Most Ancient Empire can comprehend."

"I will not respond to an attack upon our innocent ponies by attacking innocent zebras in my turn," Celestia replied firmly, and Luna knew her sister's tone well enough to know that the matter was closed. "The question is what to do now: I have written to Twilight and gotten no response."

"Then she is a prisoner," Luna said.

"Or worse," Celestia replied nervously.

"You would feel it if she were dead," Luna murmured. "In your heart you would know."

"I wish I shared your certainty."

Luna permitted herself a tight lipped smile. "Mastery of magic is yours, big sister, the science of spells, knowledge observed under the light of the sun, these things are your province. Mine is a more arcane and unknowable place, full of darkness and mystery, but I know it as well as you know your magical curriculum. A bond such as you and Twilight share leave a mark, and when the bond is broken it leaves a scar. You would have known, even if you did not know how."

"I will take your word for that," Celestia said quietly. "Come, let us go inside."

Inside the tower room, the captains of the Royal Guard were waiting for them. There was no First Captain to command them, Shining Armour's replacement had perished in the battle for Canterlot and not yet been replaced in turn, but the captains of the five companies - the Day, the Night, the City, the Palace and the Twilight - stood around a large scale map of Ponyville and the environs, peering down at it.

They all looked up as the princesses approached.

"Your Highnesses," Captain Lancer, commander of the Twilight company, bowed low as he spoke. "Has there been any word from Princess Twilight?"

"I am afraid not, captain," Celestia said. "It seems that she has not escaped the fall of Ponyville."

"I should have been there," Lancer growled.

"Twilight Sparkle did not wish her life to be disturbed by a host of guards," Celestia said. "If the fault lies with anypony it lies with me, for allowing her to have her way."

"I was useless to her here," Lancer snapped. "Highnesses, what do we do?"

"We cannot leave our little ponies in chains unfought for," Luna declared. "Ponyville will be retaken. Captain Catseye!"

Catseye, a bat-winged thestral mare with eerie, glowing eyes, snapped to attention. "Highness!"

"Sound the drums," Luna commanded. "The thestrals fly."

Catseye looked confused for a moment. Then she smiled, baring her fangs to the company. "Oh, Your Highness. Oh, Princess it shall be done. It shall be done, and the ponies of the night shall rejoice." Without even waiting to be dismissed, she darted onto the balcony and lept from it, spreading her wings and taking flight.

"With Your Highness' permission, I would like to join the assault," Lancer said.

"We will be attacking at night, under cover of darkness," Luna said. "Your ponies cannot see so well as mine can."

"Yet we're not so blind as we can't see a zebra battle line forming up in front of us," Lancer replied. "Please, Princess, I am Princess Twilight's captain, this is my duty. My right."

Luna stared at him for a moment, her eyes weighing him, judging him. At last she nodded. "Very well. The Twilight Company shall march with us. This villainy will be nipped in the bud before it spreads. When the sun rises on the day after tomorrow, Ponyville will be free once more."

Vanity Fair

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Chapter 6

Vanity Fair

The four travellers walked down the Golden Road, the trees on either side leaning out to loom over them. The branches, thick with green leaves, obscured the light of the moon, turning it into a series of mottled silver patches on the gold. Twilight couldn't hear anything from the forest on either side of them. No birds, no beasts, no sound at all but the clip-clop of their hooves upon the road and, of course, the constant talking of Loyalty as she flew overhead, circling around her four charges as they followed the path laid out for them.

"How does anypony manage with just legs?" Loyalty asked. "I mean, look at you, you're all so slow. I could have gotten to Celestial City and back ten times now if I didn't have to wait for all of you."

"Well, don't let us delay you," Chrysalis muttered.

Loyalty either didn't hear her, or else pretended that she didn't. The cyan pegasus flipped over onto her back, her wings beating lazily as she hovered above Twilight Sparkle. "You can fly, and so can you, Chrysalis. So why don't you?"

"I'm not sure that it's worth it," Twilight replied. "Not with all these trees to get in the way. And you told us yourself that we can't actually fly higher than the trees anyway, so what would be the point?"

"Because flying is awesome," Loyalty said. "Any flying. There was this one time, me and my friend Kindness were out gathering herbs or something. Or she was anyway, I was just hanging out. Anyway, this huge manticore appeared -

"There are manticores here?" Trixie asked nervously.

Loyalty frowned. "Well, not any more there aren't. I can't remember where they went. It's like...my memories kind of weird and fuzzy in places, the same goes for everypony. Anyway, this really ugly manticore showed up and it roared at us, so I just started flying around it as fast as I could until I created a tornado all around it. It was totally awesome!"

"What happened to the manticore?" Twilight asked, trying to work out what effect a tornado might have.

"It...used its tail to get in my flight path and knock me away," Loyalty confessed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with one hoof. "But it was still an awesome stunt even if it didn't quite come off. And then there was this other time when I was practicing and I totally crashed through Generosity's roof."

"Why don't you tell us about the last time you shut up?" Dawn grumbled.

"Hey!" Loyalty snapped. She flew downwards to land squarely in Dawn's path. "How about I leave you here and you can find your way through the forest yourself?"

"That sounds like a great idea, why don't you do that?"

"Because I promised Generosity I'd get you to Celestial City," Loyalty declared proudly. "And I'd never break a promise to a friend. That's why they call me Loyalty."

"I thought they called you Loyalty because it was your name?" Dawn asked.

"Shut up, Dawn," Twilight said wearily. "Ignore her, Loyalty. She's just cranky because of something she can't even remember."

"And you're still full of yourself even though you can't remember who you are," Dawn shot back.

Twilight did not deign to respond to that. She said, "Loyalty, we're very grateful for all your help."

Loyalty chuckled. "That's nice, Twilight, but gratitude isn't what you need to show me if you want to keep going."

Twilight frowned. "What do you mean?"

"There are lots of folks in the forest," Loyalty said. "Some of us will help you, but if you want to reach Celestial City, you need to help us too."

"How?" Twilight asked. "Is somepony threatening you? Do we have to go on a quest?"

"Don't be so dramatic, it's nothing like that," Loyalty said. "It's pretty simple really: you have to show us what we've shown you."

"Show us what we..." Twilight murmured. "I don't understand."

"You will," Loyalty declared confidently. "When the time comes."

They kept on moving, the sounds of the Town of Flaws never receding no matter how far they travelled. But, as they advanced down the road, they could see some lights up ahead getting closer and closer.

"Okay," Loyalty said, hovering in the air in front of them. "The place we're about to come to is called Vanity Fair. It's run by an old friend of mine who... we didn't go our separate ways on the best terms, so she won't be too happy to see me. But the thing to really worry about is you four. Vanity's a little bit lonely, and she tries to get folks coming down the road to stay with her. You can't. You have to keep on going. Try and avoid looking into her mirrors and don't believe what she tells you."

"She sounds like a wonderful friend," Chrysalis murmured in a deadpan voice.

"She wasn't always this bad," Loyalty said. "And I wasn't always this good. Just keep your hooves on the ground and you should be okay." Her gaze swept over each of the four ponies, and Twilight got the impression that Loyalty was judging them, though what she was judging them for was harder to tell.

"If this place is so bad, wouldn't it be better to just go around it?" Twilight asked.

"Doesn't work that way," Loyalty said. "Once you stray from the path, you won't find it again. We have to pass through. Just remember, don't believe what she says."

Loyalty picked up the pace a little, forcing the four ponies to walk faster to keep up with her. Twilight got the distinct impression that she wanted to get her meeting with her old friend over with as soon as possible. Or perhaps she just didn't want to give their misgivings time to settle in their stomachs. Twilight, for one, actually felt grateful that the time she had to take counsel of her fears was being reduced.

The lights ahead got closer. It became possible to make out exactly what was waiting for them: a large cluster of travelling stalls bestriding the road, each one festooned with mirrors of all shapes and sizes: mirrors with gilt and bejewelled frames, plain wooden mirrors, convex mirrors, concave mirrors, a mirror for every surface and every occassion. A slightly rusty carousel sat behind the mirror stands, cheerful music emanating from it in fits and starts, somewhat distorted by obvious disrepair of the device. A few gaudy red and gold tents where pitched up in the eaves of the forest, a few low sounds issuing out of them.

As the four travellers and their guide got closer, a griffon stepped out of one of the tents. Her head was white, her body brown, her lions' tail snaked in the air behind her. She smiled widely as she said, "Welcome, travellers, one and all, to Vanity Fair! Where no ego is too large to be catered for and no humility cannot be driven out of you!"

"Ease off, Vee, they're with me," Loyalty said.

Vanity's smile became sly and knowing. "Are they now? Well, hopefully we can fix that. Has she told you to ignore me, to not believe a word out of my mouth?"

"Something like that, yeah," Twilight said.

"But has she told you why you ought to listen to her?" Vanity asked. "Surely such magnificent ponies as yourselves don't need somepony like Loyalty here to hold your hoof? Surely you can stand on your own, wonderful specimens like you?" She began to slink towards them, prowling like the lion she partly was.

"Careful," Loyalty warned.

"Keep your mouth shut, Loyalty," snapped Vanity. "I offered you my friendship and you threw it in my face! Who are you to poison them against me, to strip everything I have? Why do you get to be the good guy just because your name is Loyalty and mine is Vanity?"

"Because her name is a virtue and yours is a vice," Dawn snapped. "Now are you going to let us through or not?"

"A vice? A vice?" Vanity looked shocked and offended. "Who have you been talking to? There's nothing wrong with appreciating yourself, is there?" She sidled up to Dawn, her tail snaking over the golden pony's shoulder to tickle her cheek. "What is humility, but another word for putting yourself down? You should own what you are, how beautiful, how talented, how special. Wear it proud, because you are very special indeed."

Dawn's face spasmed with disgust. "Get your paws off me," she snarled, nearly running away from Vanity. She rounded on her. "Touch me again and you'll regret it. Come on, let's go!" She stomped down the road, not even glancing at any of the mirrors the same way that she had not once looked at the magic mirror that Generosity had given her. At the edge of Vanity Fair she paused, looking back. "Are you ponies coming or not?"

"Don't listen to her," Vanity whispered seductively, cozening up to Chrysalis now. "Who is she to dictate what you do and who you spend time with? What is she to you? Just some dull creature with talent, without authority, without worth. But you..." Vanity reached up to cup Chrysalis' chin with one claw. "You are a wonder indeed. So majestic, so beautiful, so brave and strong, I can see it in your eyes. So wise. You belong here, with me and my guests in Vanity Fair, where all the wonders of the world await. Come, come..."

Chrysalis smirked. "You ask what crime it is, to known our own worth? I know mine very well. When I reach Celestial City a thousand creatures will grovel at my hooves and praise my beauty, I need no memories or details to tell me this. And they will do this not because they wish anything from me, but because I deserve it. Compared with that, why would I be content with your shallow flattery, when you demand my mind and freedom in return?"

Vanity hissed in anger as Chrysalis's wings began to beat, lifting her into the air just enough to carry her own Vanity's head, through the fair and set her down on the other side next to Breaking Dawn.

Loyalty, her forelegs folded her across her chest, made a noise of smug contentment with her throat.

Twilight began to walk. She had a feeling it would better to try and sneak through without being noticed.

"Wait," Vanity's voice stopped her in her tracks, still on the outskirts of the fair. Twilight's gaze fell upon the stand of mirrors nearby. She looked so beautiful. Twilight had never appreciated before just how lovely she looked. She turned her head to get a better look. How glossy her coat was, how smooth as silk, how practically sparkling. How bright were her eyes, speaking to the keen intelligence which lay behind them. How beautiful was her mane. Her horn. Her gorgeous wings. Twilight began to loose sight of everything but the mirrors and her reflection inside of them. Why, her eyes were pools deep enough to drown in.

"That's right," Vanity murmured. "You are the fairest of them all. A face to launch a thousand ships. Why, you are even more beautiful than I am. You belong here, with people who can appreciate your beauty for what it truly is."

"Will you stop talking about how beautiful she is, it's creepy," Dawn yelled. "She's not a sculpture or a painting she's a pony; an average looking pony at that."

Twilight, disturbed by the shouting, wrenched her gaze away from the mirrors. She couldn't really understand why she'd wanted to stare at them for so long. "Dawn..."

"Shut your mouth!" Vanity snarled.

"How about you come here and make me?" Dawn replied combatively. "Twilight Sparkle, I don't like you very much. I may not remember why, but I remember that. You're a pain in my flank, but I know that I need you just like you need me, and I know that you don't belong in a tacky place like this. Come on, the past and the future are waiting for us."

"Don't listen to her," Vanity yelled. "She doesn't-"

"Gilda," Twilight said firmly. "You're name is Gilda." A single memory returned to her, a light in the darkness. A griffon, proud and vain and full of her own awesomeness. She remembered...it was so confusing, even this memory was shrouded in darkness. A party? Humiliation and angry words, from Gilda? But why? And why couldn't Twilight remember?

"Who is Gilda?" Gilda demanded. "My name is Vanity!"

"You are Gilda the Griffon," Twilight said. "And I am more than just a pretty face." She walked away, leaving Gilda behind, and joined Dawn and Chrysalis on the other side of the fair.

"Did you two both remember something too?" Twilight asked.

Chrysalis declared. "I remembered that I am a queen, mistress of a great people, and that when I sat upon my throne I never let flattery sway me."

"What about you, Dawn?"

"I remembered..." Dawn hung her head in shame. "I remembered that I have nothing whatsoever to be proud of."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," Dawn hissed. "Maybe more memories will tell me, but for now...I'm not sure I want to know."

"Dawn-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Dawn snapped. "Can we just go?"

"But what about Trixie?" Twilight asked.

All three of them turned to look back at Trixie, who was staring into the mirrors even more intently than Twilight had, while Gilda - or was she really Vanity, and she just reminded Twilight of a griffon named Gilda - whispered softly into her ear.

"Trixie, don't listen to her!" Twilight yelled.

"Why not?" Trixie asked. "She's telling Trixie what Trixie wants to hear."

"But it's not the truth," Twilight replied.

"The truth hurts," Vanity said. "The truth is overrated. Trixie understands that same as I do, because the truth has always been used to hurt us."

"She's just flattering you!" Twilight shouted.

"If you don't have friends, flatterers are the next best thing," Trixie murmured.

"But you do have friends, we're you friends," Twilight pleaded. "Without your help, we can never escape from this forest. Please, Trixie, help us and we can help you. We'll be your friends, we want to be. Just, please...give us a chance."

"Don't listen to her," Vanity said derisively. "You heard what she said, she just wants to use you. She doesn't appreciate you."

"...Friends..." Trixie murmured, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Huh?" Vanity said.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," Trixie yelled, running to Twilight's side, tears streaming down her face. "I won't let my vanity hurt you again, I promise. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for all of it."

Loyalty frowned. “I’m sorry, Vee. Looks like you lose again."

Vanity scowled. “Don’t you say you’re sorry as if you pity me! I know that you’re glad to see me ground down. Well you know what, I don’t care. I’ll get the next ones to come through, like I got the last. I don’t want your pity and I don’t need it.”

“I want to help you, Vee,” Loyalty said. “Why can’t we go back to the way we were?”

“You tell me, you’re the one who walked away.” Vanity let out a scream of rage. "You know what? I don't care! I don't need any of you stupid, useless animals! You think any of you are worthy of my time? That any of you really deserve my attention? I had pity on you because you were so pathetic. I hope Any Hardship eats the four of you!" And with a crack like a rock shattering into pieces Vanity, and all her works, were gone.

Twilight's eyes were wide. "What just happened?"

Loyalty shrugged. "That's the way it is in the forest. Don't worry, she'll be back in time for the next bunch to pass through. Anyhow, congratulations you four. I wasn't sure that you could pull it off, especially you, Trixie, but I guess you're all pretty awesome after all."

"Our memories," Twilight said. "Will more of them come back like that."

"Yep," Loyalty replied. "Each time you pass a test, you'll remember something else. By the time you reach the Celestial City you'll know exactly who you are and how you ended up here. Now, let's keep moving. You don't want to be late for your friends in the city now, do you?"

Luna's Counterattack

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Chapter 7

Luna's Counterattack

"Look, it's simple," Rainbow Dash whispered as the the five ponies and Spike huddled together in the middle of the schoolhouse. Sunset Shimmer had added bars to the windows when turning it into their prison, and zebra guards patrolled around the building, hence the need for whispers. "All we gotta do is bust out of this building, steal the box that madmare put Twilight in, then make it to Canterlot as fast as we can. Then Princess Celestia can let Twilight out of the box and we can set everything straight again. Simple!"

"Assumin' that Princess Celestia can let Twilight out," Applejack said in hushed tones.

"Sunset trapped Twilight using magic," Rainbow hissed. "That means that magic can be used to free her again, and the Princess has to know as much about magic as this punk!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Rarity murmured. "I didn't see her horn glow when she locked Twilight away, and there's something not quite right about that mare."

"Well, Discord then," Rainbow said, her voice rising. "While you get to Canterlot, I'll go find Fluttershy and she can get Discord to do his thing."

"Hmm," Rarity mused. "It would be worth it to get Twilight away from these awful creatures. But how are we going to 'bust out' of here?"

Rainbow grinned. "You pretend to be ill, swoon and moan and give it all the theatrics, then when the guards come in to check on you, me and Applejack will jump them."

"Maybe not give it all the theatrics," Applejack said. "Or they'll know you're faking it for sure."

Rarity sniffed. "I must say I resent the implication that I am some kind of screaming diva."

"Then why do you act like one?" Pinkie asked. "I mean you don't do it all the time, or even most of the time, but some of the time when you're fainting couch comes out and you're all-"

"Yes, thank you, Pinkie dear," Rarity said primly. "I suppose I could-"

"You know, if you're going to plot an escape you should probably not try to talk so loudly," one of the zebras said from outside. "These walls are not very thick."

There was a moment's silence before Rainbow Dash started rolling around on the floor, clutching her stomach. "Oh no, help me, I'm sick. It feels like I'm dying."

"Nice try," the zebra said. "Even you weren't whispering as silently as you thought you were."

Rainbow stopped acting, and glowered at the door instead. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because Mistress Sunset ordered me to stand guard," the zebra said.

Rarity opened her mouth to clarify the question, but before she could she heard a peculiar sound, followed by somepony's cry of pain. Then another such sound, a whoosh followed by a thwack, and somepony else yelled.

"What's going on out there?" Spike asked nervously.

"Punishment," the zebra said dolefully. "Mistress Sunset is making an example of the disobedient."

"Punishment?" Rarity asked in alarm. "Sweetie Belle hasn't done anything foolish, has she?"

"Or Apple Bloom? Or Big Macintosh?" Applejack added.

"Or anypony?" Pinkie asked.

"None of your pony friends have transgressed Mistress Sunset's commands," the zebra said. "They are too cowed by her. The guilty are two zebras, caught stealing food from the stores, a griffon who harassed a citizen of the town without provocation and the pony Virtuous Fury, for releasing your friend Fluttershy against the orders of Mistress Sunset."

Rarity frowned. "I wonder if he still thinks it was worth it." She remembered how surprised she had felt when he had announced that he was letting one of them go. She had thought she was being asked to volunteer to be punished, perhaps even killed, not to be left behind while Fluttershy walked away. Did he regret his decision now that it had consequences for him? "You haven't caught Fluttershy yet then?"

The zebra outside said nothing.

Rarity sighed. "You might as well talk to us. It isn't as though we can do anything about it, and you must be very bored out there."

The zebra spoke, his voice deep and slow. "We have searched the surrounding area but found no trace of her by land or air."

"Awesome!" Rainbow said. "You'll never find Fluttershy and she'll stop all of you, you'll see."

The zebra laughed. "That frightened, cowardly mare?"

"Don't call her that!" Rainbow snarled. "Fluttershy is not a coward. She's the bravest, strongest pony I know and she's certainly stronger than you are or Sunset Shimmer!"

"I'll believe that when I see it," the zebra said.

The sounds and the yelling continued. Rarity said, "What are they doing to them?"

"Mistress Sunset has commanded that they be flogged and tied to crossed pikes for a day and a night without relief," the zebra said. "Thus, all will know her for a just and fair ruler devoid of either malice or favouritism."

"That's awful!" exclaimed Spike.

"And they have brought it on themselves by their own foolishness," the zebra barked.

"Doing the right thing is never foolish," Rarity replied. "It may not always be easy, but it is never foolish."

"The right thing," the zebra muttered disdainfully. "My home is burned, my lands are stolen, my wife, my son and my liegelord are hostage to my good behaviour, yet I should risk my life, their lives and the lives of all my soldiers to help you? Is that the right thing?"

"The right thing," Rarity answered coldly. "Would have been to never have come here in the first place."

"I will not dispute that," the zebra answered.

"You never answered my friend's question," Rarity said. "Why are you here? Who are you?"

"My name is Muttines and I am a captain in the service to House Aethiope. The last captain, of the last company sworn to that banner. You met some of my comrades in your capital, I believe."

Applejack stood up. "You mean you're the ones who tried to-"

"Take over your country, yes," Muttines said. "My lord waged a battle he did not believe he could win because it was 'the right thing'; the Emperor, may he live forever, had given the command and, as a loyal subject, my lord obeyed. My lord perished, humbly serving Grevyia and the throne and while with one face, the Emperor, may he live forever, denied any responsibility to your Princess Celestia; with his other face, he ordered House Aethiope extinguished, it's lands seized, it's retainers put to the spear or scattered on the wind. We have nothing left, no homes to return to, no strong lord to shelter us, our famillies live only because we have fought to protect them and brought them with us to keep them safe. But, if we serve Mistress Sunset well in this war then she may return to us our lands, or grant us new lands here, and the mark upon our house may be wiped clean. That is our last hope, our only hope. That is why we are here."

"Hate to break it to you pal," Rainbow Dash said. "But you aren't gonna conquer Equestria with the numbers you've got."

Muttines laughed harshly. "Mistress Sunset has been anointed Battle Commander by the Emperor himself, may he live forever. All the armies of Grevyia are hers and she is not shy to use them. We are merely an advanced guard, there are many more zebras and other warriors on their way."

"Oh," Rainbow's tone became a little downcast, but she rallied again as she began to shout. "Well Fluttershy is still gonna stop you, you see if she doesn't!"

"As I said," Muttines replied. "I'll believe it when I see it."

Be safe, Fluttershy, Rarity thought. Wherever you are.

In Canterlot, as the hours grew late and the time drew near for the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon, Princess Luna girded herself for battle.

"All the times I have put this armour on," Luna murmured. "I never thought the sun itself would be my squire."

Celestia finished fastening the breastplate into place and strapping it tight across Luna's back and neck. "It's been a long time since you had to put this armour on, still longer since you flew to battle without me. I should be going with you."

"No," Luna said. "Somepony must stay here to watch over Canterlot, in case I-"

"Hush," Celestia whispered. "Do not say it. Do not even think it. You will return, you must. I could not lose you again."

Luna looked her elder sister in the eyes. "What do you think is out there, waiting for me?"

"Whatever it is, whoever it is, you are it's equal," Celestia replied.

"Yet you think I need you there to hold my hoof and keep me from harm's way?" Luna asked, amusement in her voice. "Just because I am a thousand years younger than you does not make me a child."

Celestia nodded. "I am sorry. I can't help it sometimes."

"Have you sent word to the Crystal Empire yet?" Luna asked.

"No, not yet."

"Good," Luna said. "This matter will be resolved tonight, and they need never know."

Luna stood as still as a statue as Celestia garbed her in her splendid armour, piece by piece. Luna felt the weight of every bit of it, from the feel of her breastplate tight across her chest to the greaves on her legs. Her armour was lacquered blue with silver trim surrounding every individual piece of armour, and the cuirass was studded with tiny diamonds that glittered like the stars in the night sky. The breastplate, like Luna's usual necklace, was stamped with the image of the cresent moon worked in white gold. Her gorget had to be segmented to cover the entirety of her neck, and her silver helm pressed down her flowing mane. Only Luna's wings were left unprotected.

"Thank you, Sister," Luna murmured. "For keeping this."

Celestia smiled. "I always knew that you would come back to me. And, though I hoped you would never need it again, I knew you would howl if I had not kept it in perfect condition waiting for you."

Luna chuckled. "True enough."

"And you will also need this," Celestia said, passing Luna her spear, Nightfang. The shaft of the lance was black as Sombra's heart, made from the finest ebony, while the point itself was silver as the moon and seemed to glow with some small fragment of it's light.

Luna smiled. "I am ready."

"Good luck," Celestia said.

"Luck?" Luna asked, walking to the window to look out towards Ponyville. "It is our enemies who will have need of luck."

She leapt from the window and swooped down into the open square, her wings spread wide and her horn glowing as the sun set beneath the horizon. Before her hooves struck the ground, Luna had raised the moon, a lantern beneath the blanket of the night by which all ponies could read past their bedtimes.

When she landed, Luna beheld her warriors. Before her stood all the strength of the night guard, mustered and assembled for battle as if time had bent backwards and they stood once more in the Equestria of old, when all manner of perils stalked the night and only brave hearts and sharp spears held them at bay. Their polished armour gleamed, their spearpoints glimmered, their eyes were hard and full of certain purpose.

Luna's chin rose higher with pride at the sight of them. They were hers, her guards, her warriors, her children of the night. She knew they would not fail her.

She looked down at Captain Catseye, standing to attention to her left. "Have the ground forces departed?"

"They have, Princess," Catseye said. She was a female night pony whose blue mane was flecked with crimson and whose green eyes glowed luminescent in the darkness. "Lancer and his ponies set off two hours ago."

"We will cover the same distance much faster by air," Luna said. She turned to address her troops.

"Guardians of the night," Luna said, her voice echoing across the square to reach the ears of the entire assembled company. "The time has come to repay a great debt. All of you know what I was once, what my jealousy and loneliness allowed me to become. You all know what I did in my madness. And you all know who freed me from that dark prison and allowed the moon to shine once more.
"Now it is the Elements of Harmony that stand in need of aid, now it is Ponyville that withers under the embrace of some dark power, now it is I that has the chance to mount a rescue and I will do so. I swear it under the moon that I will not return without Princess Twilight and her comrades at my side. But I cannot rescue them alone. So I ask you, my ponies, my followers, my children, will you go with me to Ponyville and brave whatever perils lurk there? Will you fight at my side to save those who have saved Equestria so many times? Will you help me to repay my debt?"

"We will, Your Highness," a guard shouted.

"We'll follow you to Tartarus itself!"

"Let's make them fear the darkness!"

Luna smiled. "Then up! Up and into battle. And let our foes recall that whatever powers they claim, the night shall always belong to us."

She spread her wings up wide and surged upwards into the night sky, rising so high that she was silhouetted against the moon itself; and her guard followed her, rising with the hum of beating wings above the roofs and spires, above the walls, above the clouds.

In silence they flew, with no trumpet or battle cry, eating up the miles as they soared over houses, walls, trees, hills and rivers. With winged speed they passed out of Canterlot and over the lands around and came quickly to Ponyville. Looking down, Luna could see Lancer and his force of guards - mostly Twilight's company, with a few from the City and the Palace companies - forming up his earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi into a battle line. The pegasi would not join in the assault of her night guards. Rather, the plan Luna had devised called for her ponies to launch the initial attack, sew dismay and confusion in any foe that they encountered, and then Lancer's force would attack in formation and deliver a hammer blow that would sweep the enemy away.

The ponies of the day would wait until she gave the signal.

Luna and her guards closed in on their target. Luna began to descend, trusting that her night ponies would follow her. She could make out sentries patrolling around the outskirts of Ponyville. Zebras. Luna scowled. Had they not done enough?

As her night guard descended from out of the clouds with all the swiftness of a hurricane, Luna opened her mouth and a warcry loud enough to echo to the moon ripped from her throat. After a moment, her guards echoed the shout.

And they fell upon the zebras like a great wave, sweeping all before them. The sentries were overpowered in moments, picked up by the night ponies then driven down into the earth from a height. The night guards whooped with glee as they swept through the town. Zebras, diamond dogs and ponies with strange manecuts staggered out of tents and public buildings only to be assaulted by the angry guards. Griffons rose into the air, wings beating furiously, only to find that the night ponies had already claimed mastery of the starry sky.

Luna's horn glowed as she hit two zebra warriors with bolts of blue magic, then turned to the dozen night guards who had stayed with her, rather than dispersing to join the fight along with the rest of the company.

"Summon Lancer," she commanded.

One of the guards raised a bugle to his lips and started to blow the rally call. It was answered almost immediately by another trumpet blowing the charge, and the sound of Lancer's unit yelling as they advanced.

"Twilight?" Luna yelled, stopping beside Ponyville's fountain as the battle raged around her. "Twilight Sparkle?"

There was no answer but the sounds of fighting. The enemy had the advantage of numbers - though that would change once the ground forces joined the battle - but most of them were ground bound and Luna's ponies knew that flight was their greatest advantage. They swooped up and down like kites, descending to attack from above like birds of prey before soaring upwards out of range of any retaliation. A few diamond dogs threw spears at them as they retreated, but none hit the mark. Luna saw many downed enemies, but not a single one of her guards had yet been so much as injured.

"Twilight?" Luna called again. "Rainbow Dash? Applejack? Pinkie Pie?"

Nopony responded. There was only the sound of battle.

"Captain, take your squad and search the town, find Twilight and the others," Luna said. "You remember the signal?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Catseye said. "If the trumpet blows 'Rally' again, then the attempt to retake Ponyville has failed and the objective becomes to get the Princess and her friends to Canterlot." She looked around, and a grin flashed across her face. "It doesn't look like there's much chance of that."

"Be careful," Luna admonished. "We still don't know who was behind this." Mere zebras and diamond dogs could not have defeated Twilight and her friends, there must be something more this.

Catseye and several of her ponies flew off in all directions, leaving Luna with only three guards to attend her as the battle raged all around. Ponies were staggering out of their houses now, looking around as the night ponies yelled at them to get back inside where it was safe. Some of them obeyed, taking to their hooves and heading for the outskirts of town. Luna hoped that they did not become unfortunate casualties of the fighting on the way.

Luna spotted two zebras, a griffon and a unicorn tied to crossed pikes not far off, and ordered them cut down and taken prisoner. They looked half out of it anyway, but she did not want to take any risks, even if she did hope that they would be grateful enough for rescue to provide intelligence.

As two of her guards attended to that, Luna looked around her, trying to sense anything that was not right. Her attention was drawn towards the town hall. Luna's eyes narrowed as she crept warily towards it, magic at the ready. Why was it not being defended? Why had this enemy of theirs not garrisoned such an important and easily defended building? Why was it so quiet when the whole town was in an uproar?

Luna felt the magic buildup a fraction of a second before the doors to the hall exploded outwards and a beam of azure magic as wide as a cart erupted towards her. Luna threw up a shield, but she was still pushed backwards by the force of the blast, her hooves digging furrows in the grass as the intensity of the beam repelled her.

When the beam died, Luna could see an amber unicorn standing in the ruined doorway, her horn smoking slightly.

"Impossible," Luna murmured. "No unicorn should have that much power."

The unicorn strutted down the town hall steps, her fiery red and yellow mane flicking from side to side. "Princess Luna, what an honour to finally meet you," she said, her tone carrying more than an undercurrent of mockery.

Luna scowled. "You know me, it seems. Will you let me know you?"

"Of course, that would only be polite, wouldn't it?" the unicorn said, chuckling. "My name is Sunset Shimmer. Ask Celestia about me, if you get the chance."

Luna sidestepped. Sunset matched her movements, keeping her face to Luna.

"So, I take it you are responsible for all of this," Luna said. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?"

"I put her in a box for safe-keeping," Sunset replied. "As for the rest, it is my doing. Impressive, no?"

Luna snorted. "You call this an accomplishment? Sombra would laugh." She stamped her hoof. "I advise you to surrender now, Miss Shimmer. You may not get another chance."

Sunset smirked. "Surrender? But I'm barely getting started."

"You are a powerful unicorn, I grant," Luna said. "But your army is already being defeated, Ponyville is being retaken, the Bearers of the Elements will soon be free and you will have nothing." The sounds of fighting intensified behind her as Lancer's force slammed into the defenders and swept the remnants of the garrison aside before the force of their charge.

"Your expedition has failed, your enterprise is over," Luna insisted. "Yield now, while you still can. Yield, and end the fighting before unnecessary harm is done."

Sunset looked around. "You know what, you're right? I'm not doing very well at the moment am I? Oh, dear, what's a girl to do?"

Luna heard deep horns sounding in the distance. Horns, horns, dozens of horns blowing out on the plains. Horns, drums and the trumpeting of herds of war elephants.

Sunset's grin was something manic to behold. "The answer, of course, is to call in reinforcements. You may want to reconsider which of us is on the losing side here, Your Highness."

"No, no, no," Rainbow Dash hammered on the door with her hooves. "No, this is not happening. Not again!"

"What are you talking about, Rainbow?" Applejack asked.

"Any minute now, somepony is going to break down that door to bust us out and I'm not standing for it," Rainbow said. "It was bad enough getting rescued by Twilight the last time, I am not getting saved by a complete stranger! Rainbow Dash does not need rescuing."

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Applejack couldn't help but chuckle. "It's okay, Rainbow, none of us will think any the less of you. How can we, when we're stuck in here, too?"

"It would be nice to be out of here, I must admit," Rarity said. "Then we could actually find out what's happening instead of having to guess from the sounds."

Pinkie's tail began to twitch up and down like a startled rattlesnake. "Ooh, twitch-a-twitch! Rainbow Dash, get out of the way!"

Rainbow's wings beat like a humming bird as she backed away from the door with a cry of, "Aww, not again!"

"Are the bearers of the Elements in here?" Applejack vaguely remembered the voice as belonging to some kind of officer, but couldn't remember the mare's name.

"Hello!" Pinkie called cheerfully.

"Stand back," the officer said. "On a count of three: one! Two! Three!"

The schoolhouse door splintered inwards with a crack and a creak, revealing a group of night ponies in the armour of Princess Luna's guard, using a seesaw as a makeshift battering ram.

"The Royal Guard returns the favour, three more to go," the guard officer announced. "Captain Catseye, at your service." Her green eyes swept over the five ponies. "Where's Princess Twilight?"

"That meanie-pants Sunset Shimmer cast a wicked spell on her to trap her in a little wooden box along with Trixie and the Changeling Queen and that jealous jealousy-pants Breaking Dawn which is the weirdest thing because she was supposed to have been turned to stone and when I say weird I really mean weird because don't you think Twilight getting trapped in a box is really weird anyway?" Pinkie said, catching her breath when she was done.

Catseye blinked. "Princess...trapped in a box...changeling....what?"

"It sounds as strange no matter who tells it, Captain," Rarity said in a dry tone. "The important thing is that Sunset Shimmer has trapped Twilight in some kind of magical prison which is, yes, in the form of a little wooden box. We have to find it so we can get Twilight out of there."

Catseye allowed herself a small smile. "We're well on our way to retaking Ponyville, so they'll be plenty of time for all of that once we've put this Sunset Shimmer in chains. Now, if you follow me, I'll take you to Princess-"

Catseye was interrupted by the sounds of horns, dozens of horns blowing in the night, and drums beating rapidly in the darkness.

"What's that?" Rainbow asked. "Is that you?"

"I'm afraid not," Catseye murmured. "Moonlight!"

"Ma'am!"

"Fly up and find out what's going on, then give me a report!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the guard zipped up into the air, disappearing into a bank of low cloud.

"We should hurry," Catseye said, chivvying the five ponies out of the schoolhouse. "We need to get you to the Princess as soon as possible."

"I want to find Apple Bloom first, see that she and the others are safe," Applejack said.

"Yes, I should like to know that Sweetie Belle is all right too," Rarity added.

"And Scootaloo."

"Not to mention everypony else," Pinkie said brightly.

"There will be time for all of that later, with luck," Catseye said. "But I have to get you to Princess Luna in case-" Catseye was interrupted again, this time by a trumpet, a sound higher than the horns that had gone before, more tinny and - in it's solitude - much less imposing.

"What was that, now?" Applejack asked. "That was you, wasn't it?"

Catseye growled wordlessly before she replied. "Yes. Whatever the horns and drums were, they've had an impact. That was the signal that the attack has failed, we're abandoning Ponyville and taking you back to Canterlot."

"Abandon Ponyville!" Rarity demanded, shock filling her voice. "You mean we're just going to run away? What about Twilight?"

"Do you know where she is?" Catseye asked.

"No, but-"

"Then we can't risk your safety to search for her, I'm sorry," Catseye said. "But we have to go, now."

"Y'all go on," Applejack said. "I'll catch you up when I've gone and fetched Apple Bloom and the others."

"I can't-"

Applejack's gaze was absolutely flat, and as immovable as a stone wall. "If time is precious, cap'n, you'd be best off not wasting it arguing with me."

"We'll all go," Rarity said.

"No!" Catseye insisted firmly. "If you don't get out of here then all of this was for nothing."

"It'll be all right, Rarity," Applejack said, reassuringly. "Y'all go on now. I'll meet back up with you in a little while."

The guard that Catseye had sent up to reconnoitre returned, and offered a quick salute.

"Report!" Catseye demanded.

"A large force approaching from the south," Moonlight said. "Very large, like a whole army: zebras mostly, a few griffons, some ponies. They're trying to cut us off from Canterlot, most of Lancer's guards have pulled back to bar their way."

"Then we need to get out of here while we still have a line of retreat," Catseye muttered. "Miss Applejack, hurry up, we don't have long."

Applejack nodded. "Don't you worry, Captain, I'll be back before you know it." And with that Applejack turned around and took off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

"We have to go," Catseye repeated. "We need to get you to Princess Luna. You'll be safe there."

A beam of blue magic erupted from Luna’s horn, colliding in the middle of the town square with another beam from the horn of Sunset Shimmer. Luna gritted her teeth, growling as she tried to force Sunset’s beam backwards. But Sunset’s power was immense, as strong as Twilight after she had become an alicorn, and Luna found it was all she could do to stop her beam from being pushed back into her.

With an angry snarl Luna broke off the contest, her wings carrying her up into the air as Sunset’s beam struck the fountain behind her. It exploded in a shower of dust and fragments. Luna fired two magical bolts, one after the other, but both dissipated harmlessly against an azure shield.

“Who are you?” Luna demanded. “Why are you doing this?”

“I am the memory of the forgotten, I am the voice of those who have no tongue,” Sunset replied. “I am the mistreated servant who will serve no more.”

“That is a riddle, not an answer,” Luna spat, firing another bolt which dissolved upon contact with Sunset’s shield, just like the others.

Sunset grinned, firing a beam of magic up into the sky. Luna dived to one side and felt the heat of the magic as it passed by her.

“I have been ill used,” Sunset said. “Made a puppet of the high and mighty, as so many are. But no more! I shall save this world from demons and from princesses alike, and you will see what happens when the downtrodden bite back.”

Luna bared her teeth. “Have you asked these ponies whether they felt more downtrodden before or after your arrival? Why not ask them who they would rather bite?”

“Nothing is perfect in its inception,” Sunset replied. “When all has settled down they will find me a more just ruler than any they have had before now.”

“Forgive my scepticism,” Luna said.

She and Sunset traded fire, Sunset from the ground and Luna from the air. In spite of her armour – in truth it hardly weighed on her at all – Luna was the more nimble of the two, weaving through the air as sent her magic lancing downwards. Sunset, though she had no protection but her coat, stood still, using shields to protect her from Luna’s onslaught, lowering her defences only to counterattack.

It was a contest of the storm against the mountain, except that this storm had the power to grind any mountain in Equestria to dust.

“You may triumph in Ponyville tonight,” Luna shouted. “But you cannot win. Are you so arrogant that you think you can do what Tirek, Discord and Sombra could not?”

Sunset laughed. “I think that I don’t have a brother to stab me in the back, I’m more focussed than Discord even if I’m not smarter, and unlike Sombra I can actually string a sentence together. And if I can defeat you, why should I fear Celestia?”

Luna risked a glance across the town and its outskirts. Though her guards had driven Sunset’s forces before them with the advantage of surprise, the arrival of Sunset’s reinforcements – and so many reinforcements, Luna could not begin to count them – had halted their advance and allowed the defenders to get a second wind. The fighting was now approaching a stalemate as the guard sought to hold a corridor for Twilight and her friends to escape. It was a fight which the Night Guard was less suited for than their initial high tempo onslaught; pinned down on the ground trying to hold their positions, unable to escape into the air, they were vulnerable and faring poorly. Meanwhile, outside of Ponyville the Twilight Guard was struggling to hold back the overwhelming numbers being brought to bear against it.

Where was Catseye? Where were Twilight and the others? If Catseye could not find them quickly and get them out of Ponyville then the their escape route would be cut off and all of this would have been for nothing.

Sunset’s shield dropped. Unlike every other time that it had done so, no attack sprang from the horn of the amber unicorn.

Luna smiled triumphantly as she fired downwards with all the power at her command. Sunset rolled out of the way, still not raising her shield.

Watch out! Above you!

Luna acted on instinct, diving down and to the left, landing on the grass outside the town hall as a heavy net, woven of dozens of interlocking chains, thudded to the ground. It would have trapped her had it not been for that warning.

What was that voice? Luna wondered. It sounded like…no; no it could not be him. That was not possible.

Sunset’s blue-green eyes looked from Luna to the net, then back again. Her tone was curious, almost academic, devoid of the madness that had suffused it earlier. “Hmm, I thought I’d get you with that. How did you know?”

Luna didn’t answer. She did not want Sunset to realise that she had no answers.

Sunset waited a moment, until it became clear that a response was not forthcoming.

“Giving me the silent treatment now, are we?” Sunset said, amused. “Oh well.” Her horn blazed with magical aura as a fireball the size of a barn door sped towards Luna. Luna slammed up a shield and the fireball bounced off, exploding near the stakes where Sunset had tied up her victims; the battle between Luna and Sunset had forced Luna’s guards to abandon the effort of cutting them down. The grass caught light and began to burn beneath the captives’ hooves.

Sunset didn’t look back, keeping her attention fixed on Luna.

“Aren’t you going to help them?” Luna demanded. “Don’t you care about your own followers?”

“I have others,” Sunset said simply. “Only the unicorn might be worth keeping, and he’s fire-proof anyway. Certainly I’m not going to turn my back on you for any of them.”

Luna bared her teeth and she felt her blood begin to boil. “They are yours! No matter whether you are friends with them or not, whether they are useful to you or not, whether they appreciate you or not, they are yours! It is your duty to protect them, to care for them, to watch over them always whether they like it or not! How can you call yourself a leader if you don’t understand that?”

Your compassion will be your downfall. Put it aside. Luna heard that voice again; the voice that had warned her of Sunset’s net whispering in her ear once more. It was an old voice, scratchy, whispery, but with hints of depth to it that recalled ancient, half-forgotten memories.

No, Luna thought. It is not possible. It is my darker self that speaks to me in my father’s voice and bids me take the Nightmare path once more.

Sunset regarded Luna evenly, her voice quiet but thick with an undercurrent of menace. “Celestia might, might, have the right to lecture me like that. But I’ll not have Nightmare Moon lecture me on the obligations of leadership.”

Luna snarled, “My name is Luna!”

Sunset laughed. “Shrike doesn’t agree. One of my followers, one I sometimes listen to. She wants to save you; I might even let her.”

“I do not require any salvation,” Luna growled. “Twilight and her friends have saved me already! That is why I will save them now, because my debt to them can never be repaid!”

“Princess Luna!”

Luna’s head darted round to see Catseye and her guards approaching, leading Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Where were the others, where were Fluttershy and Applejack? Where was Twilight Sparkle?

Never mind. If some had been saved that was better than nothing.

Unfortunately, Sunset saw them too and a roar of pure rage and frustration burst from her throat as she cast a jet of fire towards them. Luna threw up a shield between the ponies and the flames, which beat upon the barrier like a storm upon the coast.

“Captain, get them out of here!” Luna bellowed. “I will rejoin you when I can.” If I can.

They hastened away. Sunset made to pursue them, but a bolt from Luna’s horn gave her pause.

“I am your opponent,” Luna declared coldly. “And we are not yet finished here.”

Sunset hissed angrily. She looked towards the flames, the flames that had all but consumed the crossed pikes and their occupants. “Virtue! Get up, you dozy lump, I know you’re wide awake! Get up, or I will crush your precious country between my hooves!”

Like an island rising out of the ocean, the black unicorn rose from out of the roaring flames. He stared at Sunset, his eyes inscrutable. “What do you command, Mistress?”

“Get after those ponies!” Sunset roared. “Don’t let them get away!”

The unicorn paused for a moment, closed his eyes, sighed deeply, then began to run. Luna fired at him, but Sunset conjured a shield to absorb the blast.

“I am your opponent,” Sunset returned, mockingly. “And you’re right, we aren’t finished here. Not by a long way.”

Applejack kicked in the doors of Carousel Boutique. "Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, are y'all in here?"

There was a moment of silence, then Apple Bloom poked her head out from under the table. "Applejack? You're out?"

Applejack didn't answer, crossing the shop floor in swift strides to take her little sister under one leg and nuzzle the top of her head. "I'm glad you're okay."

"You're glad we're okay?" Scootaloo asked, as she and Sweetie Belle crawled out from their hiding places - under a box and behind a stack of fabric rolls respectively - to join the Apple sisters. "We're not the ones who got locked up. What's going on?"

"Princess Luna's come to rescue us," Applejack said. "We have to go, now."

"Is Rarity all right?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"And what about Rainbow Dash?"

"They're both fine, and we'll be meeting up with them real soon," Applejack assured them. "Now follow me, quickly and quietly now, I don't know how much time we have."

"Time?" Applejack turned at the sound of a deep, gravelly voice from behind her. Her eyes widened as she saw a heavily built stallion, his coat a deep green and his mane the colour of lime, standing silhouetted in the entrance to the boutique. He grinned, revealing shining white teeth which, Applejack realised to her horror, he had sharpened to fine points. "Oh, honey, I'm afraid you've got no time left at all."

Applejack planted herself firmly between the crusaders and this stallion. "I'm afraid the store's closed, you'll have to come back some other time."

The emerald stallion chuckled. "That's fine, I don't think they've got anything here in my style anyway. You see, I've never been the kind to hide what I am behind fancy clothes or a mask of acceptable behaviour. I am what I am: Emerald Ray, the very worst kind of pony." He licked his pointed teeth theatrically, lingering over his fangs with exaggerated glee, cackling wildly as he did so.

"I'm guessing now ain't the part where you tell me to surrender," Applejack muttered.

"Well why would I want you to surrender, when I can pit myself against the famous Applejack, strongest of the heroes of Equestria?" Emerald asked. "I may have to take you alive, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun first."

Applejack growled wordlessly, lowering her whole posture in preparation for a charge. "Apple Bloom, everypony, once things get started I want y'all to run, understand? Find Rarity and the others if you can, head to Canterlot if you can't."

"But Applejack-" Apple Bloom began.

"Tarnation, Apple Bloom, for once you do as I say," Applejack said. "Now, all three of you, get ready."

"Better not," Emerald Ray said. "This won't take long enough for you to escape, and if you make me mad, I might decide to have some fun with you as well. I like kids."

"That's not gonna happen," Applejack snarled.

"Oh, and I suppose you're going to stop me?" Emerald Ray said, laughing. "Then why don't you show me what you've got, farm girl?"

Applejack sprang like a panther, leaping across the carpeted floor in long, graceful, bounding steps. Emerald Ray growled in anticipation. Applejack pirouetted on her forehooves, turning one hundred and eighty degree to bring her rear legs in line with Emerald's face before she bucked him as hard as any apple tree. Emerald cried out as she kicked him through the window of Carousel Boutique - she would apologise to Rarity for that, assuming she ever got the chance - and out into the street.

"Go, girls, go," Applejack yelled, leaping after her opponent and landing on top of him as though he were a mattress placed to cushion her fall. He gave an 'oof' sound as she landed on his belly, knocking all the wind right out of him.

Applejack had just enough time to see the three crusaders running from the dress shop and in the direction of Canterlot as she started pummelling Emerald Ray's face with her forehooves. Apple Bloom was at risk, so she had to make sure this stallion was in no position to chase her or her friends.

Her forehooves rose and fell like anvils: once, twice, three times descending into his face. Emerald flinched from every blow, until the fourth time Applejack's hoof came down when he caught the strike in mid-air.

"Nopony was exaggerating," Emerald Ray said. "You really are strong. Strong, but not a warrior. If you were, you would have known to go for the throat." He lashed out with his free hoof, hitting Applejack in the throat.

Applejack choked, gasping for breath as Emerald threw her off him and into the street. She lay on the ground, legs thrashing wildly, helplessly, her body floundering as spots began to appear before her eyes and her mind became consumed with the pain she was feeling.

Emerald Ray stood up, his face bloody. He looked at Applejack, then in the direction Apple Bloom and her friends had fled in. "Huh. I wonder which would be more fun..."

Apple Bloom! In spite of the fact that she could hardly breathe, in spite of the fact that she could hardly think, in spite of the fact that she didn't want to do anything but lie on the ground and wish for the pain to go away, some big sister's instict propelled Applejack up and at him once again, barrelling into the startled pony as they crashed through the wall of Carousel Boutique and rolled around inside. Tables were shattered by their grappling, ponikins fell before them, piles of fabrics and supplies scattered everywhere, shelves fell and crashed on top of the two struggling ponies. And they fought on, kicking and biting and pulling at anything they could reach. Emerald Ray roared like a big cat; Applejack's only sound was the wheezing, gasping of her breath. She kicked him in the face and in the stomach, she bit his ear, she pulled his tail. She tried to stuff rolls of twine down his throat. She wouldn't let him anywhere near her little sister, she would always protect Apple Bloom! Always, until the day she died.

But she could feel herself getting weaker, feel the strength ebbing from her legs, see her vision blurring before her eyes. And nothing she did seemed to keep him down. He just kept on struggling, kept on fighting, staying as strong as ever while she weakened. She wouldn't be able to hold him off much longer.

Then she spotted Rarity's sewing machine, and an idea so desperate and stupid it just might work occurred to her pain and exhaustion-fogged mind.

Emerald Ray seemed to sense his impending victory. "I must admit, you've made me work hard. But now it's time to-"

Applejack didn't let him finish, throwing all her weight upon him to pin him to the floor even as she fumbled for the sewing machine with both her forelegs. She head butted Emerald Ray twice with all the reserves that she had left, and while he was still a little woozy from it she pulled the machine over to her and sewed his ear to the carpet of Carousel Boutique.

Emerald Ray howled in pain. "Agh! You little...! Let me up! Let me up, right now! I am going to find those fillies and I am going to make you wish that you'd never made me angry! Do you hear me, farm girl?" He tried to pull himself free, but couldn't. He would have to wait until somepony came to help him. "I am going to find those fillies, and when I do I am going to kill all of them! In the most painful way that I know how!"

Not tonight you won't, Applejack thought, standing up and walking away from him. She started towards the door. Perhaps there was still time. Perhaps she could still find the others.

Her legs gave way underneath her, and Applejack realised that whoever found Emerald Ray would find her too. Well, that was the best case scenario.

It was all worth it for my sister.

I hope to see you all again, my friends...my family.

A great army bore down on Ponyville from the south, snaking across the grassy plains that divided the little down from Canterlot upon the mountainside. To anypony watching from above, from the vantage point of the capital or from some cloud high up in the sky, the three columns might have seemed to have been made of a great mass of ants toiling for their queen beneath the light of the moon. To those seeing them from the ground, however, it was clear that this was an army made up of creatures larger than ants.

Most of them were zebras, tall and strong, marching under a dozen different banners, their faces painted in two dozen different colours. They were richly armoured, in shining bronze or glittering steel, with the plumes of exotic birds woven in their manes and painted masks worn over their faces. Elephants marched in the midst of the zebra ranks, bells around their necks tinkling as they made the ground shake with every tread; and with the elephants came rhinos wearing armour on their backs, while lions prowled upon the edges of the columns.

Above the heads of the zebras flew griffons, while ponies armoured in rich caparisons of war formed a column to themselves, keeping their distance from zebra and griffon alike.

Maud Pie watched them all indifferently. Whoever they were it made no difference to her, unless they tried to hurt Pinkie Pie. Then she would have to do something about them. Maybe even something painful.

She walked briskly towards Ponyville. It looked like Pinkie's home wasn't doing so great, so she wanted to find her sister as soon as she could.

Unfortunately, her way was blocked by a group of ponies in the armour of the Royal Guard, standing clumped in a disorganised mass facing the advancing zebra columns.

"We need to fall back," one of them was saying. "We don't have the strength to face off that many enemies."

"Captain Lancer ordered-"

"Captain Lancer's wounded, he's not in command any more. He isn't even here any more, what he ordered doesn't matter," the first guard said. "We need to get out of here while we still can."

"We have to hold this position so that the princesses and the Elements can escape."

"Do you really think any of us are going to escape if we stay here?"

"Excuse me," Maud said calmly. "Could you please let me pass?"

Everypony looked at her like she was crazy. Maud didn't so much as blink. Ponies had been looking at her like that for years, it had never bothered her. Besides, right now she had more important things to think about.

"What the," the first guard, the grey unicorn who wanted to retreat, seemed dumbfounded. Eventually, he stammered, "You want to go into Ponyville?"

"That's right," Maud replied. "I have to find my sister."

"No way!" he shouted. "It's too dangerous, can't you see that? Any minute now this whole area is going to be overrun by zebras. They've already pushed us back from our initial position and soon they're going to overrun Ponyville. I don't know who you are but there's no way that you can get in there."

"Yes, I can," Maud said, walking past.

"But Ponyville is already full of zebras and diamond dogs!" somepony shouted.

Maud nodded. That explained why she'd felt that Pinkie was in trouble. She kept on walking.

"Stop!" the first guard yelled. "What makes you think you can just walk in there with everything that's happening?"

"Because I am strong," Maud answered simply. "Stronger than all of you. Extremely strong. I can defeat all these zebras by myself if I have to. You can go, or stay here. Do what you like. But I'm going to save Pinkie Pie, no matter what it takes."

She kept on walking, the town getting closer with every step she took.

"Was that supposed to be an inspiring speech?" she heard one of the guards ask.

"I dunno, but it really wasn't."

The first guard, who had so forcefully advocated flight a moment ago, growled wordlessly. "Oh, what the hay, you guys. Are we going to let some random civilian out of nowhere show us up? Are we the Royal Guard or not? Where we trained to cut and run when the going gets tough? Let's show these zebras they'll need more than numbers to break Equestria!"

"Yeah!" the guard cheered, and Maud heard them rush back into the battle behind her as she kept on going towards Ponyville.

"If you never wanted to run away," Maud murmured to herself. "Why did you spend so long talking about it?"

Not long after that, she entered Ponyville. The town was dark, the doors closed, the shutters barred.

But, on the other side, nopony tried to stop Maud either as she walked through the streets: neither pony nor zebra nor diamond dog. She was all alone, looking for her sister.

A sister she saw come careering round a corner just then, accompanied by a couple of guards, a rainbow-coloured pegasus and a white unicorn.

"Get out of the way!" Pinkie screeched, before skidding to a dead halt in the middle of the street. "Maud? What are you doing here?"

"I came because I thought that you were in trouble," Maud replied. Behind them, a guard yelled as somepony, hidden behind the corner that Pinkie had just run round, threw him into a house so hard he shattered the wall. "It seems that I was right."

Pinkie nodded eagerly. "It all started when some meanie called-"

"Pinkie, dear, perhaps we can all catch up when we're not being pursued?" the white unicorn suggested.

"Hmm, I guess so. It's a pity that Applejack, Fluttershy and Twilight aren't around, that way all of my friends could have met my best big sister!"

"Nice to meet you, big sister," the rainbow pegasus said. "We'd all love to get to know you, but we're kind of in the middle of something right now."

The ground thudded as a unicorn stallion bigger than any unicorn had any right to be stalked around the corner, blood dripping down his body. His breathing was heavy and his red eyes gleamed as he glared at Pinkie and her friends.

"Pinkie, is this guy bothering you?" Maud asked, her tone even.

"He's kind of a weird one," Pinkie said. "Last night he let Fluttershy escape but now he's trying to recapture us for his meanie-pants mistress. I really don't think he knows what he's doing sometimes-"

"Just say yes!" the unicorn mare snapped. "Yes, darling, he is definitely bothering us."

Maud nodded. "Then leave it to me. I'll take care of it."

"What are you-" the white unicorn began, but Maud Pie was already moving.

Maud hurled herself at him faster than a speeding train. The big stallion raised one forehoof to block, but even so she pushed him backwards so hard that he left furrows in the earth. He tried to respond, but she had caught him by surprise and had no intention of letting up.

For you, Pinkie Pie.

She hammered against him like the wind against an ancient tree, blowing and blowing until the old trunk cracks and the tree falls to the ground. Unlike a tree, however, her opponent could move, and he was trying to break away from her now, to escape from her fierce hooves, her swift strikes. Maud would not allow it. She would not let him pass, she would not let him continue, she would not let him anywhere near her sister.
Since his guard wasn’t protecting him and his attempts to retreat were not availing him, her opponent tried to counterattack. He looked strong, but the wounds on his back seemed to be slowing him and his movements were sluggish, his blows ponderous and easily avoided. Maud kept up the pressure, her expression cold as grey slate and as devoid of emotion as a statue carved by an inept artist.

“Enough,” he snarled, aiming a heavy swipe at her head that she nimbly dodged, but which forced her to cease her onslaught for a moment. He panted for breath, his face coming out in bruises and blotches that Maud could see despite the darkness of his coat. He looked on her with disbelief. “So strong.”

“Stay away from my sister,” Maud said solemnly. “I don’t like it when Pinkie Pie gets hurt.”

His eyes widened. “Sister? Younger or older?”

“I’m older,” Maud replied, though she didn’t understand the significance.

The stallion shook his head and drew himself up. “Then you must finish it.”

Maud blinked. “What?”

“I cannot yield up the fight so you must take the victory,” he snarled. A grim smile flashed across his face. “Fortunately, as mighty as you are that should not present a difficulty for you.”

Maud regarded him evenly. “Are you mocking me?” It had been known to happen, though the realisation usually came slowly to her, if at all.

“Do it!” the stallion raged. “Strike me down or I will take your sister and-“

Maud hit him. She struck him over and over again, swifter than lightning strikes, pounding him like a stubborn rock until he lay at her hooves in an unconscious heap.

“Nopony touches Pinkie Pie,” Maud said coldly. “Nopony.”

She turned back to her sister's friends staring at her, dumbfounded.

"Didn't I tell you I had the coolest sister ever?" Pinkie yelled.

Luna and Sunset circled one another warily, the town square lying half in ruins around them. Several fires, set by Sunset's fireballs, burned in a loose ring, almost forming an arena for their combat. Ponies expelled from their homes by their destruction huddled in the shadows, trying to escape the notice of the gods battling for control of their town.

Sunset's eyes were narrowed, her smile that of a predator. "Aren't you getting bored with this, Princess Luna? I attack, you block with a shield. You attack, I block with a shield. It's clear we aren't going to settle this by throwing fireballs or magic missiles at one another."

Luna chuckled. "Somehow I doubt you intend to surrender to me."

Sunset laughed. "Indeed not. But you have a spear, I have a blade." Sunset's horn glowed as she conjured a golden sword of pure magic, holding it before her in a low guard. "We both have hooves, and other talents besides these crude attacks. There are other ways to fight a battle than with pure magic."

Luna grunted, grasping her spear with telekinesis and holding it before her. "I know it well enough, and do not need a filly of your age to teach me about war. I am Princess Luna, who defeated Sombra and Tirek and drove the demon Typhoeus from this land."

"And I am Sunset Shimmer, Captain-General of Grundleland, commander of the Sunset Company, the only mare to ever break an Imperial legion from the front," Sunset declared proudly. "And all of my experience was in recent years, and all of yours at least a thousand years past. Perhaps you are not as sharp as you were. Shall we find out?"

Luna charged, brandishing Nightfang before her as she drove forwards towards her foe. Sunset advanced to meet her, seemingly unworried by her lack of armour compared to Luna, weaving her vorpal sword in precise, elegant arcs.

Luna thrust for Sunset's heart, but Sunset battered the spear away with her blade. Sunset attacked, pressing Luna hard, but two of her strokes were parried by Nightfang and the third scraped off Luna's breastplate. They battled back and forth, neither able to gain advantage over the other.

They paused, retreating a few paces from one another to catch their breath. Luna looked over Sunset's shoulder...for a moment she thought she saw an alicorn stallion watching her, a stallion with a coat of polished onyx who looked strangely insubstantial, as if he were not really there at all. When Luna blinked, he was gone.

First his voice, now I seem him with my own eyes. Has Sunset Shimmer cast a spell to drive me mad?

Luna shook her head. She had to focus or she would be defeated here. Focus. Think.

"You have some skill," Luna conceded as she spread her wings. "But I have something you do not: freedom of movement!" She leapt upwards, her wings carrying her up into the sky before she rolled over and began to descend upon Sunset, holding her lance before her as if to impale Sunset through and through.

Sunset retreated, but Luna landed smoothly and attacked again, using her wings to leap balletically into the air in short, smooth jumps, heading upwards to dodge Sunset's attacks, flying out of danger to places Sunset Shimmer could not reach. She could see her getting more and more careless in her urge to get to grips with Luna. And, when Sunset was careless enough, Luna flew upwards, barrel rolled in mid air and fell to earth behind Sunset, poised to strike.

Luna let out a cry of victory...as Sunset teleported away.

Luna heard the sound of magic behind her and flew upwards just in time to avoid Sunset striking her from behind.

"Swiftly done," Luna conceded as she glided down to the ground.

"And you were very elegant, Princess," Sunset said. "I admit you have the advantage over me. But I wonder, how many enemies can you keep your eye on at once?" Her horn glowed, but she did not renew the conjuration of her sword. Rather, an aura of magic surrounded a dislodged roof beam, which transformed before Luna's eyes into a giant snake, which slithered towards her, hissing in anger.

Luna smiled. "As many as you, I think." She planted her spear in the ground, and cast a spell upon the statue set in the centre of the fountain - by some miracle it had escaped destruction - so that it seemed to come to life, leaping from its plinth and advancing on Sunset.

Sunset glanced at the moving statue, then at Luna, then at her serpent. She cast a spell on a nearby tree, so that it uprooted itself and its branches became arms, reaching out for Luna. Luna cast a spell upon a pile of rubble so that it resolved into the rough shape of an ape, ready to hurl its weight down upon Sunset.

"My fighting may or may not be rusty," Luna said. "But I assure you, my transfiguration is not."

"No, I see that now," Sunset said. She looked the picture of unassailable confidence. "You may be good, but you're also very traditional."

She leapt to one side, a bolt of energy firing from her horn as she rolled to blast Luna's rubble construct to dust. Sunset's tree closed with Luna, but a simple spell was all it took to revert it to a tree again. Sunset fired at Luna, but the statue Luna had animated leapt between the two though it was destroyed in the process. Sunset's transfigured serpent struck, but Luna swiftly turned it back to wood again. Luna returned her attention to her real enemy, her horn glowing midnight blue as she charged a spell-

Sunset conjured a shield...not around herself but around Luna, enclosing her like a bubble, a bubble hard as steel and clear as glass. Luna's spell bounced off it and struck her on the breast. Luna yelped as her own magic burned through her armour and hurled her backwards, her chest in burning pain, joined swiftly by her back as she struck her cage.

Luna slid down onto the ground. When she tried to rise she was shocked from all directions by the shield, lightning rippling up and down her limbs, getting through the minute cracks in her armour. Luna moaned in pain as thousands of tiny needles stabbed at her, and she collapsed onto her knees once more.

"What...what is this?" Luna asked.

"Inverted shield, I came up with it myself," Sunset declared proudly. "Very useful for containing enemies. Honestly I wasn't sure it would work on an alicorn. Even I can be proven wrong sometimes."

Luna glared at Sunset as the latter advanced smugly upon her. "You will not win," Luna muttered.

Sunset paused. "Really? And why not? Do I lack conviction?"

"You think you have been strengthened in fire, hardened by it, but fire has the power only to consume all that it touches," Luna said. "And these ponies, they are stronger than you know."

Sunset scoffed. "So strong that I have defeated even their princess!"

"You are nothing but a howling wind," Luna said. "You will blow and rage and wax wroth, but in the end you will spend all your strength and then, everything will be as it was before."

"You are wrong," Sunset insisted. "I am not the storm, for all that I ride upon it's wings. I am the storm wall."

Luna did not replay. She looked past Sunset, and saw him again. The alicorn she thought she had seen before, with an onyx coat and night-dark hair, the alicorn who looked half a shadow, who appeared to have the consistency of smoke.

He had been more solid when she had seen him last. He had been real then, all those years ago. She could have touched him, in ways that she could not have touched him now.

"It is you, isn't it?" Luna murmured. "I was not dreaming, when I saw you before you. You are here, aren't you...father?"

She thought, with a touch of contempt, that she could see sorrow in her father's large, dark, glassy eyes. When it came, the voice that sounded in her head was rich with melancholy. I am sorry. I am so sorry that I cannot help you.

Luna sniffed. Her voice was cold. "You have never helped me before."

I cannot. It is forbidden.

"You do not care enough to try," Luna retorted.

Care? What is to care, but to be vulnerable?

"Until you can answer that for yourself, we have nothing more to say," Luna snapped.

"Who are you talking to?" Sunset demanded, looking towards Luna's father but seeming to not see him.

"Nopony," Luna replied. "The past, long gone and almost all forgotten."

"Good," Sunset said. "Shrike is anxious to discuss the past with you as well."

Luna saw the stunning spell coming, then saw no more.

Consequences

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Chapter 10

Consequences

When Luna opened her eyes she found she was in darkness.

The lack of light did not, in itself, impede her vision – she was princess of the night, after all, and her eyes could cut through any ordinary darkness – no, what alarmed her was the attitude that the lack of light indicated. A friend would have had no reason to leave her shrouded by the dark, indeed most of her friends would have welcomed the light. Instead she had been tossed into what looked distinctly like a cellar, with rough wooden beams above her head and stone walls all around her. In the corners, she thought she could hear something scurrying.

She tried to move, and found that she could not. She had been straitjacketed. Tightly straitjacketed, she found as she tried to wriggle her legs and could barely do even that. And when she reached for her magic she found something blocking it, cutting her off from the power that was her right.

Luna scowled, and swore that somepony would pay for this once she got free. In service of that goal she tried to roll across the floor, only to stop as she heard hoofsteps slowly descending towards her down the cellar steps, which creaked with the passage of her visitor.

“Is that you, Sunset Shimmer?” Luna snarled as she waited for her inquisitor to reveal herself. “I cannot see you but I can hear you coming well enough. Are you here to interrogate me? I will tell you nothing!”

“There is no need for anger or alarm,” the soft, sibilant voice was familiar, and that familiarity sent a chill down Luna’s spine as she saw a light blue pegasus mare with a dark blue mane descend down into the cellar. “You are safe now, Highness, and amongst friends.”

“It that were true you would not have to announce it so,” Luna replied. Her eyes narrowed, her breath slowing a little. “Shrike? Is that really you?”

Shrike, her wings bound up in bandages, her Shadowbolt uniform patched and frayed, beamed eagerly like a child returning home after a long absence. Her sapphire eyes sparkled. “You remember me, Highness.”

“Would that I could forget,” Luna murmured. “How is this possible?”

Shrike’s smile faded. “The spell you wrought, when you sent me forth, trapped me in between places. I was not in Equestria, nor was I anywhere else. Years passed and I did not feel them. I knew nothing between setting out to find you aid and being rescued by Sunset Shimmer.”

Luna sighed. “So you serve her now?”

“I serve you, Highness, I am your Shadowbolt, sworn to the dark and to night eternal,” Shrike replied vehemently. “That is why I am here, that is why Sunset Shimmer has given you into my care. I am here to save you.”

Luna laughed harshly. “I take it you don’t mean you’re going to get me out of this straitjacket? Or remove whatever is blocking my magic.”

Shrike bowed her head. “I regret, Highness that I cannot. Not until you are recovered from the damage that has been done to your mind, until the madness has been driven from you.”

Luna was silent, and Shrike was silent too, yet in that confined space the sound of their breathing echoed loud while they said nothing. Luna considered her erstwhile servant carefully. Shrike came from a period of her life of which she was not proud and which, unlike Nightmare Night, she could not wholly or even mostly blame upon her possession at the hands of an external malevolence. A time when the tendrils of her incipient madness had fed upon her envy and her paranoia, planting deep roots in the fertile soil of vanity and injured pride. She had craved anything that was uniquely hers, anything that Celestia did not have, could not have; and so she had gathered together malcontents and formed them into a corps that was hers and hers alone, that had no equivalent amongst the servants of the sun. Shrike had been her favourite: the most loyal, the most capable, the most unfettered by any consideration but obedience to her will.

Now, in this place and time, those qualities made her the most dangerous to Luna in her present circumstances. Especially since she had a sneaking feeling of what Shrike thought her madness was. It was not the madness of Nightmare Moon.

“I am not mad, Shrike,” Luna said softly, slowly. “I have been saved already, this year past.”

Shrike’s mouth tightened. “What is your name, Your Highness?”

“My name? My name is Luna.”

“A lie,” Shrike said harshly. “Your name is Nightmare Moon.”

And there it was, her fate laid out before her. Luna shook her head, her eyes widening. “No.”

“You yourself commanded that we should call you by that name always in your councils,” Shrike insisted. “It was your true name, you said, and by knowing it we might know which were truly loyal to you and which were spies in service to Celestia.”

“A filly’s foolishness,” Luna replied. “A childish game that brought great evil to me and to Equestria. But it was not me, Shrike, it is not me. I am, I always was, Princess Luna. I know that now, I have accepted that. Please, I beg you to accept it also.”

“Deception,” Shrike hissed. “I see what has been done to you, Highness, have no fear. The tyrant Celestia and her puppet Twilight Sparkle have cast a spell upon you, manipulating your memories and clouding your mind. Your identity as Luna, your contentment in slavish subservience, these are tricks, illusions created by Celestia to make you her loyal instrument.”

“Celestia loves me, as I love her,” Luna replied.

“Nopony loves you save only I,” Shrike spat. “You told us so; you told the Shadowbolts that we were the only ponies who had ever loved you for yourself.”

“I was lying to myself and, in so doing, I lied to you as well,” Luna said. “Do you honestly believe that I returned one tenth of your devotion? I drank it up yet my heart gave you nothing in return. I used you to assuage my self-conceit, and for that I am truly sorry, but there is no need for any of this to continue. The Shadowbolts are gone, Shrike. Nightmare Moon is gone and the world is a better place for it. I am remade a better pony than I was, and being so remade I do despise what once I was. Please, Shrike, I beg of you: let the past lie. It is gone, dead and turned to dust, but you may yet seize a new and better future for yourself.”

Shrike regarded her coldly. “Nightmare’s mouth moves, but Celestia’s voice speaks. That will change. Fear not, Highness, I will get through to you, in time. Until we meet again, please think on what I have said and ask yourself this: you were subjected to the power of the Elements of Harmony; that being the case, would it not be stranger if you had not had your personality altered in some way?”

And with that charming thought he left Luna trapped, alone, and hoping that her will could hold out until rescue.

Canterlot was a city of whispers, as Celestia made her way through the streets in the light of the morning.

Everywhere she looked she could see ponies clustering in small groups: on the street corners, in the skies, in doorways and under porches. They grouped together, looked around nervously, and they whispered.

Celestia did not need to be able to hear them to know what they were whispering about. Few had seen the Night Guard set out, but a great many more ponies had seen them return, reduced in number and with many wounded. And, under the light of the sun, anypony who wanted to climb onto the upper levels of Canterlot could see the vast camp around Ponyville. It was a host of arms greater than any Equestria had seen in it's long history. Nopony knew who led it, nopony knew what the army wanted, and so they gathered and whispered amongst themselves, spreading rumours and fears in equal measure.

It was for that reason that Celestia did not run to the hospital, as she wished to do, letting her swift hooves and wings carry her to the side of her friends, to learn what was happening, what had become of Luna, what had become of Twilight. But she could not. Her little ponies were scared enough already. She must show them a calm princess, serene and unafraid, as she had always been. And so she forced her steps to slow, her wings to remain tucked in at her side, and walked with apparent peace and tranquillity through the streets, two guards following in her wake.

She felt the gaze of ponies on her, she knew that every eye was on her now, watching her carefully to see what she would do, desperate to know what answers she had.

Celestia wished that she had any answers to give them.

After what seemed like an agonisingly long walk, Celestia arrived at the Hurricane Hospital. It smelt, as it always did, of disinfectant and discomfort, and the nurses and doctors seemed busier than usual, more rushed, more harried.

The reception area, when Celestia stepped into it, was almost empty of the usual cough-sufferers or accident victims. Instead, beds laden with wounded guards where being rushed here or there, as their condition dictated, pushed on their way by anxious teams of medics.

Celestia wanted to shut her eyes, to turn away from the blood, to close her ears off to the groans of pain.

But she was a princess, she was their princess, and she had sent them off to fight. It was her duty to look at them now they had returned. It was the least that she could do.

"P-princess?" the voice that called out to her was low, soft, weak. She almost did not recognise it as belonging to Lancer. He was being wheeled on a gurney through the lobby, tubes poking into his legs, a bloody bandage covering most of his torso. The scub-clad nurses tried to keep him down, but he insisted upon sitting up, trembling as he rose, and tried to bring one quivering hoof up in salute. "Your...highness."

"No, Lancer, there is no need for that," Celestia said, swooping down upon him with concern in her voice. "Rest easy, captain, for my sake."

Lancer groaned, flopping back down onto the bed. He sounded so weak. Lancer had been in Celestia's service since he was barely more than a colt, and he had often seemed to her to be made of stone, so solid did he appear. That was why she had given him to Twilight, so that she might have a solid stallion upon whom she could rely if need be. To see him like this, wounded, in bed, barely able to speak...it felt wrong, somehow. "Your Highness is kinder than I deserve," he murmured.

Celestia shook her head. "I am very sorry to see you hurt."

Lancer coughed. "A zebra got under my guard before I saw him coming; ten years ago he wouldn't have gotten close. I must have got old some time when I wasn't looking. I...I'm sorry, Princess. I failed."

"No, captain, you have not failed," Celestia replied, her tone insistent. "You brought them out, you brought here safe."

"Not all of them," Lancer murmured. "I am Princess Twilight's guard, and I do not even know where Princess Twilight is."

"Yet her friends are safe," Celestia said. Some of them, at least. "Twilight will thank you for that, when she returns." She would return, Celestia was sure of that. It was all the hope she had to hold to.

Lancer sighed wearily. "Perhaps. But I...I should have..." his eyes closed, his head lolling to one side as he began to mutter deliriously.

"He needs to rest, Your Highness," one of the doctors said.

Celestia nodded. "What is his condition? Where are you taking him?"

"We've bound his wound, stopped the blood loss and given him a transfusion, but he's running a fever. We're taking him to get that treated now."

"Of course, do what you must," Celestia said as they wheeled him away.

A hospital orderly approached, bowing before Celestia. "Princess. Do you wish to see the three Ponyville heroes?"

Celestia wished it very much, but she had another duty to perform first. "No, take me to the rest of the wounded first, if you would be so kind."

They took Celestia to a large ward, rammed from wall to wall with beds, and on every bed there lay a wounded pony. Some groaned, some coughed, some lay still and quiet and some slept off the chaos of the night. The nurses moved amongst them quietly, making as little noise as possible as they checked charts and bandages.

Celestia said nothing. She just stood in the doorway and looked at them, her heart welling with pity as tears began to well in the corners of her eyes. Her little ponies. It was not right that they should suffer so.

She said nothing, but they noticed her nonetheless. The nurses bowed briskly, while through the ward the whisper ran, “Princess Celestia.”

The eyes of every pony in the room turned towards her.

Celestia stepped into the ward, looking from one side to the other. “My brave ponies. I am very sorry to see so many of you ladies and gentlecolts here.”

“I would rather be here than hiding in shame in some dark hole, Princess,” said a light grey unicorn with a bandage covering one of his amber eyes. Other guards murmured their approval of his words.

“We’ll do better next time, Your Highness,” somepony called, to a louder chorus of assent.

“You have done well enough,” Celestia replied, forcing herself to smile in response to their good cheer. “You have all done superbly, and I shall not forget it. Rest now, and recover your strength.”

“Was it worth it, Princess?” a young pegasus plaintively asked.

The rest of the ward fell silent. Celestia could feel them hanging on her words.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie. Three had been brought back to Canterlot, three remained in the hooves of their enemies. Had Twilight and all her friends been brought to Canterlot it would have been a success qualified only by the loss of Luna. But they had brought only three, which would make her decisions to come much harder than she had hoped that they would be.

But it was a victory, nonetheless. And she would not have told them differently in any case.

“It was indeed,” Celestia said. “Thank you. Thank you all, so much.”

She left them a little while later, after having spoken with a few in private. Though she could have spent all day there, she suspected that her enemy would move against her soon and she had much to do before the stroke of war fell upon Canterlot. Already she had asked the directors of the railway and the airship companies to attend upon her at the palace. But before she met with them, there were three other ponies and a baby dragon that she had to see.

Another orderly led her to the small room where Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie and Spike were being examined by a doctor. Or at least the doctor was trying to examine them.

“I don’t need you poking around at me, so quit it,” Rainbow snapped. “I need to get back out there and find Fluttershy and Applejack.”

“Rainbow, perhaps you ought to calm down,” Rarity murmured. “Leaving the city might not be such a good idea.”

“Do you really want to leave Fluttershy out there alone?” Rainbow demanded. “And what about Applejack?”

“Getting caught again won’t help either of them,” Rarity replied sharply.

“Pinkie, I don’t want you going out there again,” Celestia noticed an unfamiliar grey mare standing unobtrusively in the corner of the room. Her voice was a low monotone, as though she could muster no emotion for the situation whatsoever. “It’s too dangerous.”

“But my friends are still out there,” Pinkie protested.

“Nevertheless, I think Rarity is correct,” Celestia said as she stepped into the room with them. “It would be of little service to your friends, and poor repayment for those who strove to free you, if you were to fall into unfriendly hands once more.”

All five ponies and the dragon – Twilight’s friends, the doctor and the soft-spoken grey mare – caught sight of her. All five bowed.

“Princess Celestia,” Rarity began nervously. “I’m sorry, we didn’t-“

Celestia cut her off by sweeping them all into a hug, enfolding them within the span of her great white wings as she pressed them close against her coat, nuzzling them against her as tears began to roll down her cheek.

“I’m so glad that you’re all right,” Celestia murmured. “Thank goodness.”

She released the three of them, rising up once more to her full height. “Doctor, are you quite finished.”

“There’s nothing wrong with them, as far as I can tell,” he replied, glaring at Rainbow Dash a little.

“Thank you. Then I should like to speak with the three of them alone.”

He nodded, bowed once more, and made his exit.

Celestia looked at the grey mare. The young mare looked right back at her.

“Oh, right, you haven’t been introduced,” Pinkie said. “Princess, this is my big sister Maud. Maud, this is Princess Celestia!”

“It’s a pleasure,” Maud murmured.

“It would be more so under more pleasant circumstances,” Celestia replied, a little briskly. “Now, if you will please excuse me.”

Maud looked at Pinkie.

“It’s okay, Maud, the Princess probably just wants to talk to us all secret like,” Pinkie said, her voice dropping to a whisper as the sentence ended.

“Then I’ll be outside if you need me,” Maud said as she walked, slowly, out of the room.

“See that we are not disturbed,” Celestia instructed her guards, then closed the door.

For a moment, nopony spoke.

“We’re so sorry about Luna,” Spike blurted out.

“Thank you, Spike,” Celestia said quietly. She had no time to think of Luna now, no time to grieve, no time to fret. She would have to trust that her little sister could take care of herself.

“What are we going to do?” Rainbow asked.

“That depends on what the four of you can tell me,” Celestia said, looking down on them. “I know almost nothing of what has gone on in Ponyville. You are the best source of intelligence I have. Who are these enemies? Who leads them?”

“Some jerk named Sunset Shimmer,” Rainbow muttered.

“Sunset Shimmer?” Celestia demanded sharply. “You are certain of that?”

“With all due respect, Princess, one finds it hard to forget the name of the pony who has you locked up,” Rarity said.

Celestia took a deep breath. Sunset, after all this time. It hardly seemed possible. “What did she look like? Was she an amber unicorn with fire in her mane, red and gold?”

Rarity nodded. “Exactly. Do you know her?”

Celestia closed her eyes, half turning away from them. “I have not heard the name of Sunset Shimmer in many years. She was my student, before Twilight, before Dawn.”

“Wow, you really don’t have a lot of luck with your protégés, do you?” Rainbow asked.

Rarity gave her a whack upside the head.

“What?” Rainbow demanded.

“The Sunset that I knew had her faults, to be sure, but she would never have been capable of something like this,” Celestia murmured. “Where did you go, Sunset? What happened to you?” She wheeled back upon the four friends. “What did you see of her strength?”

“Not much,” Spike said. “We were kept tied up or trapped most of the time. But we saw some zebras, earth ponies, griffons.”

“And some of those hideous diamond dogs,” Rarity added with a shudder.

Celestia sighed. “A formidable coalition. But why? Why, Sunset? What of the others, Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack? Could they not be rescued?”

The four of them looked at one another.

“Applejack went back for our sisters, we don’t know what has happened to her,” Rarity confessed. “Fluttershy was already set free before your guards arrived, but we don’t know where she is either.”

“Set free?” Celestia asked. “By who?”

“The craziest unicorn ever,” Pinkie said. “One day he’s like ‘I’m big and mean and I’m gonna capture all of you.’ Then the next day he’s like ‘I’m really sad and I’m going to let you go, Fluttershy.’ And then tonight he’s like, ‘I’m going to try and take you prisoner again’. I don’t think he knows what he wants, it’s a little bit sad.”

“And Twilight?” Celestia asked. “What has Sunset done with Twilight?” Do not say that she has fallen so far from the mare I knew.

“Sunset trapped her in a box,” Rainbow said.

“A box?”

Spike nodded. “Along with Breaking Dawn, Chrysalis and Trixie.”

Celestia frowned. It hardly seemed possible, but then Sunset must have been in Grevyia in order to have sharked up her zebra army, so it was not out of the question that she might have found it. “This box, tell me, what did it look like?”

“Small,” Rarity answered, her keen eye for detail serving her better than the rest. “A little larger than two hoofspans wide and one span tall. It was made of dark wood, old but not worn, varnished. It was carved all over, and very well I must say. Leaf patterns, and strange words that I couldn’t read.”

“The Labyrinth Box,” Celestia murmured. In spite of the grim nature of the circumstances, she permitted herself a small smile.

“What is it, Princess?” Spike asked. “How is this a good thing?”
“Sunset was always very clever,” Celestia said. “But she was never wise, and it seems she has not learned wisdom. She has not trapped Twilight nearly so perfectly as she believes. The Labyrinth Box is an ancient artefact, created with a magic predating the power of unicorns, when zebras had great power of their own. It was not created as a prison but, rather, as an obstacle course.”

“An obstacle course?” Rainbow said sceptically.

“In days of old, the Emperors of Ancient Grevyia would open the box and put their sons inside of it,” Celestia said. “Inside the box, they would be tested, matched against the best and worst elements of their natures, challenged to make their way to the end of the road in spite of all kinds of help and hindrance. At a given time, the box would be opened again, and whosoever had made it to the end of the road in that time would have proved themselves worthy to succeed the Ivory Throne, while those who took too long would be barred from the succession, if they emerged at all.”

“That’s…weird,” Rainbow said.

“I never said it was a kind system, or even a particularly efficient one,” Celestia replied. “But it does offer a chance I do not think Sunset has anticipated. If Twilight can reach the end of the road when the box is opened – and if anypony can overcome these challenges then Twilight is that mare – then she will be free again, and Sunset will be unable to imprison her a second time.”

“But Sunset probably won’t open the box for her,” Spike said, without much hope in his voice.

“No,” Celestia said. “That will be our task. Now, if you will excuse me, I expect that Sunset will be calling on me soon. And I have much to do before he gets here.”

“But we’re going to go back, right?” Rainbow demanded; her eyes were pleadingly wide. “Fluttershy, Applejack, Ponyville, we can’t just leave ‘em.”

Celestia bowed her head, her back turned to the four of them. “I wish I had some comfort to offer you, but I am afraid that that would be a lie. The truth is that I doubt we have the strength to oppose Sunset when she comes, let alone take the battle to her a second time. In fact, I am about to begin preparations to evacuate Canterlot.”

They all gasped, Pinkie melodramatically so.

“Evacuate Canterlot,” Rarity cried. “Are things really so bad?”

“I will not risk the lives of ponies in a battle that cannot be won,” Celestia said. “And it cannot be won with the strength we have now.” She hesitated, wondering if she had the right to say what she was about to say next.

After a moment, she concluded that it was not a question of right. Equestria needed these three ponies, this dragon. Just as it needed Fluttershy, and Applejack, and if need be the Cutie Mark Crusaders too. Equestria needed them, and so for her not to ask would be a dereliction of her duty as a princess.

“It is no secret that, in the past, I have relied greatly on Twilight in moments of great hazard,” Celestia said. “Since Twilight is, for the moment, lost to us, I hope that you will all allow me to rely on you in her stead.”

They did not hesitate, and she loved them for that. They simply bowed as Rarity said, “Whatever you need, Your Highness, we will give it to you. Whatever can be done, we will do. We are at your service.”

“Thank you,” Celestia murmured as her voice started to crack. “And bless you all.”

Applejack said nothing at all as the two zebras dragged her into the mayor's office and threw her down on the floor in front of Sunset Shimmer. For her part, that darned mare wouldn't even look at her. She kept her eyes down, writing something in her books.

Applejack sat there, her forehooves in manacles, glaring at a pony who didn't seem to even acknowledge she was there. Applejack's efforts to burn some of Sunset's mane off through the intensity of her gaze proved all for nought.

And it didn't take long for the sound of that quill scratching to get mighty annoying.

"Do you actually want somethin', or can I go?" Applejack demanded.

Sunset looked up, a smirk playing across her features. "Do you have somewhere important to be?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Applejack said. "There's some parts of my new cell I haven't stared at yet."

Sunset chuckled. "Your courage is quite admirable."

"If you think flattery will get you anyplace, you're dumber than I thought," Applejack replied firmly. "I'm not telling you nothing."

Sunset smiled, leaning back a little. "And what could you possibly tell me, Applejack? You have no intelligence on...well, you have very little intelligence."

"You sure know how to make a mare feel appreciated, don't you?" Applejack asked sarcastically. "If I'm not here to spill my guts out, what do you want?"

"I want you to support me," Sunset said, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "You have no great mind, but you have a strong back and a good heart and you are well liked by everypony who knows you. And trusted, what is more. If you were to lend me your support, speak up for me, who knows how much of the present hostility would evaporate like morning dew."

Applejack stared at Sunset for a moment, struck dumb by the sheer audacity of it. She looked at that young pegasus besides Sunset, the one who had tried to fight Applejack in the forest.

"Was your friend here always so stupid, or has winnin' gone to her head?" Applejack asked.

The pegasus bared his teeth. "You watch your mouth!"

"Easy, Firethorn," Sunset murmured. She stared into Applejack's eyes. "Is it so absurd, really?"

"You expect me to betray my friends and act like we're buddies all of a sudden?" Applejack said. "Yeah, I'd call that absurd. Reckon I'm not wrong, neither."

"Betrayal is such an elastic concept, Applejack," Sunset said. "It means whatever the speaker wishes it to mean. If I have a job working for a bit an hour in a store, and somepony offers me to two bits an hour to do a similar job elsewhere, I would be a fool not to take it, yet my old boss could say that I had betrayed her. But I, of course, would say that I was merely advancing my own interests. Looking out for myself. That is all that I am asking you to do, Applejack, look out for yourself."

"And walk away, leaving my friends in a whole mess of trouble."

"Isn't that exactly what they have done?" Sunset asked. "I don't see them here. They're safe in Canterlot by now. They left you behind. Do you think they even looked back?"

"No, I don't reckon they did," Applejack answered. She grinned. "Anypony who knows anything about running knows that you don't run so fast when you're looking behind you."

Sunset sighed. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Really? I doubt that," Sunset murmured. "I was taught that, whenever an inquisitor offered one food or drink one should always take it. You never knew when you might next get the opportunity."

"You were taught that sort of thing?" Applejack said, her voice lazy, drawling. "That explains so much."

Sunset smiled. "I understand your mockery, Applejack. When we are powerless, it is tempting to strike out with the only weapon that remains to us, with our tongues. Tempting, but not wise. I have been where you are, and believe me when I tell you that I would have had a much easier time of it had I resisted the temptation to shoot my mouth off."

"Is that a threat?"

"A friendly warning."

"Being where I am now certainly didn't make you determined to never put anypony else in your position, did it?"

"I am burdened with glorious purpose, I do what I must in the service of that purpose."

"Uh huh." Applejack considered asking if Sunset could hear herself, but decided that some of the other mare's advice might be worth taking and bit back that particular comment.

Sunset stood up, walking around the desk to sit down with her back to it. "I understand your suspicion, your scepticism. In your place I would be suspicious too. As I said, I have been in your position, and many similar. I was suspicious. So, perhaps today I will talk, and you can listen. And then, maybe, soon, you will be ready to speak out in support of me."

Applejack frowned sceptically.

"Let us talk about betrayal," Sunset continued. "About the border between treachery and pragmatism. Let us visit that border together, and see where those boundaries lie in the soul of Applejack.
"I thought that when I left Equestria I thought I was going to be on a grand adventure. Instead the very first place I came to I was enslaved. A collar was put around my neck, a block placed upon my magic and I was tied to the ponies in front of and behind me in a chain stretching as far as the eye could see. I was marched for days under a blisteringly hot sun all the way from a conquered city to a miserable army staging post where the flies bit at me as I was examined, interrogated then put up for sale." Sunset shuddered at the memory, a shadow of pain passing over her face. "'Lot number fifty six: unicorn, mare, young, healthy, unathletic but good physical condition. Magically talented, speaks several languages, reads, writes, sings and plays piano; might be suitable as a governess for children of good family. May need breaking in first.' Believe me, Applejack, you may think me terrible but there are those out there who would deal with you and all these other ponies here in a far harsher manner than I. It was only a mixture of luck and my prodigious intelligence and magical talent that saw me released. I was put to work for the Empire, but when I was offered the opportunity to go work for the Council instead I took it. Was that a betrayal? The Empire probably saw it so, but I had done nothing wrong. I was not happy where I was, I was not treated as I deserved to be treated, so I left to go somewhere else. Somewhere that suited me better. That was fair enough, don't you agree?"

"Was this Empire holding any of your friends prisoner?" Applejack asked.

"No," Sunset answered coldly. "They were too scared to even go with me."

"Then I think there's a mighty big difference between your situation and mine," Applejack said.

"Is there? Really? Your friends have abandoned you, as mine abandoned me," Sunset said. "I was alone, you are alone. You are, as I was, under the shadow of a power you cannot hope to rival. I could have been stubborn. I could have stuck to my principles. I could have cursed my captors with every breath in me. And none of it would have made the slightest bit of difference. I would still have been a slave. The chains and whips would have ground me down and in the end they would have broken me. In the end I would have started to think of myself as a slave, and been incapable of even contemplating freedom." Sunset's eyes became haunted for a moment, either by memories or by imaginings, and she looked away from Applejack for a moment. When she turned her face on Applejack once more the haunted look was gone, her smile returned.

"But I didn't, thank Celestia. I got out, while I could. I looked out for number one. You asked me if they were enslaving my friends and I said no, for Flash and Trixie had rejected. But I had some kindnesses from those I met in the slave pens: the goat who tried to protect me on that first night, the night pony who shared her water with me, the minotaur who gave me a cloak to keep myself warm. I left them all behind. I had no choice. I had no power to free them. What was I supposed to do, suffer with them out of some misguided sense of solidarity? I had the chance to improve my life, I took it. Any of them would have done the same in my place, because we all knew that it was the smart thing to do.
"That is all that I am asking of you, Applejack. Do the smart thing. Help me, and I can help you."

Sunset stood up, looking expectantly at Applejack. Clearly she was expected to say something now.

Applejack took a deep breath. "You know, I'm just your simple farm pony, while you're a real smart mare, or think you are, so maybe you can explain something to me. Suppose you came down to my farm and offered me a hundred bits to buy one of my cows, suppose the cow didn't want to go with you, but I went ahead and sold it anyway. That would be bad, right?"

Sunset nodded. "That would be slavery, to all intents and purposes, and all beings are imbued from birth with a love of liberty and a hatred of slavery."

"That's what I thought too," Applejack said. "So perhaps you can explain something to me. Suppose you come to my farm and you say 'I want one of your cows, and in return I'll do you a mighty fine favour or three.' Perhaps, being so smart and all, you can tell me what the difference is between me selling you a cow for bits and selling you one for a favour, when you get right down to it."

Sunset blinked, no words escaping her lips. A small smile crossed her features. "Your point is elegantly made, Applejack. You have my word I will not insult you again. You may go now."

"Thank you," Applejack said. "Those walls won't stare at themselves, you know."

Fluttershy ran.

She fled across an open plain, and Virtue pursued her. His eyes were aflame, he spat red fire, he held an axe in the grip of a black magical aura. And he was gaining on her.

"Please, stop," Fluttershy said. "You let me go."

"For the sport of hunting you," he snarled. "Did you think that there was any kindness in my black heart? You will die at my hooves, and die a coward who abandoned her friends, what's more?"

"No," Fluttershy squeaked. "Rarity...she said it was okay."

"Do you doubt that they despise you?" Virtue asked, and as he spoke Rarity appeared, a ghostly image hovering by Fluttershy's side.

"Don't worry darling, death isn't so bad," Rarity said. "We'll be together again."

Fluttershy gasped. "Rarity, he...?"

"Yes, he let you go and killed me," Rarity said sadly. "Aren't you the lucky one? But then, you always did know how to save your own skin, didn't you?"

Fluttershy shook her head desperately, her mane getting in her eyes. "This isn't what I wanted."

"No," Rarity replied coldly. "But you're a coward, without the courage to stand up for what you want in any case."

"That's not true!"

"Then why are you running?" Virtue demanded. "Why have you not joined your friend in death."

"Because...because I..."

"Because you're scared, aren't you?" Rarity shrieked. "You've always hid behind us until we couldn't protect you, haven't you? You aren't worthy to bear one of the elements, you aren't worthy to be our friend!"

"You are not worthy of life," Virtue snarled.

Fluttershy felt tears welling up in her eyes. Rarity...gone. Perhaps they were right. She had abandoned her friends, and now they were lost to her forever. Perhaps she should just-

"BEGONE, ALL OF YOU!" a thunderous voice erupted from the sky, speaking with the power of ages and the authority of years, a voice filled at once with such a wrath that would make kingdoms tremble and such a calm as would make storms cease. The night through which Fluttershy had been running was turned to bright day, Virtue was blown away in a great wind, turning into a scarecrow thing of threads and patches, while Rarity evaporated into nothingness like smoke.

The sun rose above the green, wide plain, and Princess Celestia descended from the now-clear sky to stand before Fluttershy.

"It's all right. You're safe now, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy stared up at the princess, her green eyes widening. "P-Princess..."

Celestia knelt down, wrapping one wing around Fluttershy while she nuzzled the little pony.

"Brave heart, Fluttershy," Celestia murmured. "Have courage, I fear you will have need of it."

"Princess Celestia," Fluttershy murmured. "What happened...where's Rarity?"

"Safe with me in Canterlot, along with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash," Celestia said.

Fluttershy frowned. "Then..."

"This is a dream," Celestia said. "I am not so practiced nor skilled at this as Luna is, but it was another skill I had to learn while she was banished to the moon. I am glad to see that you are not hurt."

"No, I'm not hurt," Fluttershy whispered. "Because I'm a coward."

"Do not take counsel of your fears, Fluttershy," Celestia said sternly. "Nopony thinks ill of you for what you have done. You made the only sensible decision. The only right decision. You had no way of knowing if another such chance would come. To refuse it would have been folly."

Fluttershy did not respond directly to that. She didn't know how. Princess Celestia was very wise, but she didn't feel smart for doing what she'd done. She felt afraid.

"What about Applejack?" Fluttershy asked. "Or Twilight?"

"They remain with Sunset Shimmer, I am afraid," Celestia said quietly. "As is Princess Luna."

Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, Princess, I'm so sorry."

"So am I," Celestia said, falling silent for a moment. Then she continued. "I must ask a great deal of you, Fluttershy. Are you willing to help me? I will not hold it against you if you are not?"

"You might not hold it against me, Your Highness," Fluttershy replied softly. "But I would hold it against myself. What do I need to do?"

"Canterlot cannot be held, Sunset Shimmer's host cannot be stopped by myself and my guard," Celestia said. "I have sent messages to the Crystal Empire, to Maretonia, to other pony lands, but whether any but Cadance will answer me I do not know. I must look for other allies. And so I ask you to be my envoy, Fluttershy, to find aid for all our friends against this new evil."

"Aid?"

Celestia nodded. "I ask you to travel to three places: to Appleoosa, and talk to the buffalo who live thereabouts, to Raven Rock where the griffons dwell and to White Tail Woods, where the deer are. Speak to their leaders, convince them of our need and of the threat that Sunset poses to us all, and bring them to our side."

Fluttershy felt an icy cold gripping her stomach. She had to travel across Equestria to speak to the leaders of peoples, to convince them to do something as drastic as that? That wasn't her. She wasn't Twilight, to negotiate with the high and speak eloquently before a crowd. She wasn't a princess, she was just a pegasus who couldn't fly very well. Why should anyone pay any attention to anything she had to say?
The answer, of course, was that her friends, who had always believed in her, now needed her help. So she would just have to make them all listen to her. For Twilight, for Rainbow Dash, for all of them.

"I'll do it," Fluttershy said, hoping that her voice did not tremble too much. "I don't know how, but I will. Whatever it takes."

Celestia smiled. "You are all the best ponies that I have ever known. I hope Twilight realises how blessed she is to count you her friends." She knelt down, and kissed Fluttershy upon the forehead. "Rest now, and when you wake you will hold friendship in your heart to warm your soul and light your way in darkness. All will be well."

"How can you be so sure?" Fluttershy asked.

"How can it not?" Celestia replied. "When Equestria has such fine ponies watching over it."

Kind Hospitality

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Chapter 11

Kind Hospitality

The cover of the trees was thinner over the stretch of road where the four travellers were now, and the moonlight shone down upon them in silvery blotches, interrupted by the shadows of the branches and the leaves. Loyalty continued to fly overhead, her own shadow passing through the moonlight like a fish moving through shallow water.

“Are we there, yet?” Trixie demanded. “Trixie’s hooves are beginning to ache.”

Loyalty laughed. “Are you there yet? Of course not. You’ve got tons of self-discovery left ahead of you four.”

“Oh joy, I can hardly wait,” Dawn muttered.

Twilight shot her a curious look. Breaking Dawn had kept her distance from Twilight and the others since they had passed through Vanity Fair. She was walking on the other side of the road from the rest of them, keeping as much distance as she could without losing her way. “Don’t you want to get your memories back?”

“Considering how the memories I’ve already got back have only made me miserable, not really,” Dawn said sharply. “Did you ever consider that we lost our memories for a reason? That there are things we aren’t meant to remember? Some things should stay buried.”

“That might be true if we erased our own memories, but I don’t find that very likely,” Chrysalis said. “More likely somepony else stole our memories from us, and I don’t appreciate that one bit.”

“Say that again once you’ve remembered who you are, and you have to look at yourself in the mirror,” Dawn growled.

Twilight’s expression softened as she walked over to where Dawn stood. “What did you remember, Dawn?” She reached out to put a sympathetic hoof upon Dawn’s shoulder.

Dawn recoiled as though she had been burned. “Don’t touch me!”

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know,” Dawn yelled. “I just know that…that the sight of you makes me feel so ashamed that I want to crawl into a hole and die, and I hate it!”

Why would looking at me cause Dawn to feel that way? Did we know each other? Where we enemies? Twilight couldn’t understand it. Breaking Dawn was mean-tempered, combative, sullen, but she wasn’t evil. What would they have done to one another that Twilight’s presence would affect her like this?

Loyalty, who had gotten some way ahead before she realised that the four of them weren’t following, circled back towards them, “Come on, girls, what’s the hold up?”

“Dawn’s scared of getting her memories back,” Trixie said, her voice both smug and snide at the same time.

Dawn gritted her teeth. “I’m not the one who was sobbing after she got out of Vanity Fair.”

“Trixie did not sob!”

“Oh yes, Trixie did too sob!”

“Don’t do this, guys,” Loyalty urged. “It isn’t the best idea to make a fuss in this part of the forest. Or in any part, but just after the first test especially.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Why? Is it another test?”

“Not exactly,” Loyalty said. For the first time since they had met the cyan pegasus, she sounded frightened of something.

“Stop fighting, both of you,” Chrysalis said. “We should keep moving.”

Neither of them listened.

“If you don’t want to get your memory back, why don’t you leave?” Trixie demanded. “Go back to the Town of Flaws and leave us alone!”

“Why don’t you leave me alone, you insufferable cryfilly!” Dawn screamed.

“Trixie is not a cryfilly and Trixie is not afraid!” Trixie yelled. “Trixie has the magic sword from Generosity!” She drew the jewel-encrusted blade and brandished it about in her mouth for a moment before sheathing it again. “See how magnificent it is. With this sword, Trixie can overcome any hardship!”

“Oh, really?”

Twilight froze, for the last speaker was not a voice that had grown tediously familiar amongst their company. It seemed, in fact, to be a voice associated with the giant tail that had just snaked out of the woods to wrap around Trixie’s neck like a stole, stroking gently at her cheek.

Trixie’s face had turned almost white.

“Oh, you’ve done it now,” Loyalty murmured.

Chrysalis hissed angrily, Dawn lowered herself as though ready to charge.

“What is this?” Twilight demanded.

“What am I? Oh, how rude of you, tut-tut.” The voice that slipped out of the trees was urbane and civilised, but the creature that followed out of that voice was anything but. Twilight stepped back a pace as she beheld the bizarre fusion of a cat and a spider, possibly with a little bit of a monkey thrown in. The beast had six hairy legs, which presently padded across the ground towards the road but which ended in monkey’s paws tipped with gripping claws that Twilight imagined would help it to climb trees without much difficulty. It’s body was big and round and covered in dark brown fur, with plenty of room for a belly large enough to swallow all four ponies and the changeling – and wasn’t that a thought that just had to occur to Twilight’s brain? The tail, which was currently still wrapped around Trixie’s throat, was that of a cat, except for the fact that it ended in a scorpion’s poison tip, a tip which was hovering not far from Trixie’s eye.

The creature’s head was large and round, with large ears and eight arachnid eyes. Its mouth was lined with thing, razor sharp fangs which flashed in the moonlight.

“My name is Any Hardship,” Any Hardship purred. “You summoned me by speaking my name. Now then, which of you is going to vanquish me? Is it you, perhaps, sword-bearer?”

Trixie whimpered.

“Well?” Any Hardship asked, taking her tail away from Trixie’s neck but making up for it by bending down to stare into her eyes. “Didn’t you boast that your sword could overcome me? Or did you think it was polite to talk about me behind my back?”

“Easy, Hardship,” Loyalty said. “They’re with me. They didn’t know what they were saying.”

Any Hardship turned her head to look at Loyalty. “Oh, really? Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place. Off you go then, the four of you. Good luck on your quest, but let that be a lesson to you: mind your tongue in the forest.”

For a moment, everypony stood stock still, unable to believe that it was so easily done.

[i[Is this it? Are we clear?

Loyalty breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Any Hardship. Now-“

“You know, on second thoughts, I think I’ll eat you anyway,” Any Hardship snarled, smiling viciously in anticipation as her tail swung down to impale Dawn in the middle.

“Run!” Loyalty yelled, as Dawn dived out of the way. “Everypony down the road, now!”

Chrysalis spread her wings; they batted wildly as she flew into the air, barely avoiding the jab of Any Hardship’s poison tale as it slammed into the ground. “The sword! Use the sword!”

“R-right,” Trixie stammered, drawing the sword that Generosity had given her with her teeth and swinging it with all her might against the monster’s leg…where it bounced off, leaving not so much as a scratch. Trixie squealed in terror, still holding the blade.

“What?” Dawn yelled. “It’s a magic sword, how can it be so useless!”

“Magic?” Any Hardship whispered, turning his head to affix Dawn with all eight of his unblinking eyes. “Don’t you know: there is no magic in this world.”

He bared his teeth, and with a hiss he fell upon her. Dawn’s green eyes were wide with fear, her legs trembled.

“Dawn, move!” Twilight cried, but Dawn seemed frozen in place as the monster pounced upon her.

Loyalty yelled as she dived out of the sky, kicking Any Hardship in the side of the head. The monster roared as she rounded upon her assailant.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Loyalty called. “Try me, you big jerk. Here!” To the four she called out, “You guys can’t fight her, not yet. Run down the road; I’ll hold her off and catch up later.”

“We can’t just leave you,” Twilight called.

“I’ll be fine,” Loyalty said nonchalantly, kicking Any Hardship again. “I’ll meet up with you guys in no time.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Chrysalis said, hovering just above the road as she took off down it. Trixie wasn’t far behind her, still clutching her sword despite the fact that it had proven to be little use so far. She may have started behind Chrysalis, but she was running faster, and very nearly outpaced the larger changeling.

Twilight hesitated, her legs frozen in place as she watched Loyalty dart nimbly around the larger Any Hardship, buzzing about the monster’s head like a fly around a pony.

“I told you to run,” Loyalty yelled, kicking the nightmarish creature again and dodging a retaliatory swipe of one massive paw.

But Twilight couldn’t move. She could only watch as Loyalty fought for them. The cyan mare owed them no friendship, no undying faith. Despite her name, nothing obliged the pegasus to fight for them, risk her life while they fled with tails between legs. How could she abandon a stranger who was fighting her battle? Is that the kind of pony I am?

Even if it is the kind of pony I was, it isn’t who I want to be. I won’t run away.

“I’m not leaving you,” Twilight shouted.

Loyalty hesitated in mid-air. “Don’t be stupid, you’ll only get yourself killed!”

“Look out!” Dawn shrieked as Any Hardship’s paw zoomed towards Loyalty, gripping claws glinting in the moonlight. Loyalty tried to zip out of the way but she was too slow; the claws scraped along her side, making Loyalty cry out in pain as she was turned around and knocked out of the sky to land in a cloud of dust by the side of the road.

Any Hardship hissed in satisfaction. “Excellent.”

He advanced upon the prone pegasus, only to stop in the middle of his advance: because Breaking Dawn had hold of the monster’s tail She was standing up on her hind legs, her forehooves wrapped around the tail above the stinger, tugging backwards on it.

Dawn grinned. “Now this is what they call holding him off. Twilight, get Loyalty out of here.”

Any Hardship hissed with fury, and with a flick of his tail he launched Dawn upwards with a startled cry to dump her head first into the middle of the road.

“Dawn!” Twilight cried, as Dawn lay there faintly moaning. Then, Any Hardship was rounding on her, the only pony left standing.

I can’t let him hurt Loyalty or Dawn while they’re in this condition. I have to keep her eyes on me. So Twilight did the only reasonable thing in the circumstances: she charged.

Any Hardship’s mouth opened to receive her, but Twilight skidded under the gaping maw and the bulbous head to kick at the closest leg she could reach. The beast hesitated to recover his balance, and while he wavered Twilight slammed her entire body into one of his other legs.

I have to keep him focused on me, keep him off balance. And then...and then…I really should have planned this further ahead, shouldn’t I?

No sooner had that cheery thought sprung into Twilight’s mind that she saw Any Hardship angling his tail to strike at her even though she lay beneath his belly. Twilight gulped hard.

Chrysalis emerged from out of the dark, hissing and spitting as she flew straight for the monster, baring her fangs as she aimed for right between his eyes. Behind her, Trixie, her eyes filled with tears of fright, grabbed Loyalty by the tail and began dragging her away up the road.

Chrysalis was in Any Hardship’s blind spot and it was clear from the way he was hissing and growling that the creature was not happy about the fact. He twisted his head this way and that, trying to spot her with one of his eight eyes, while Chrysalis hovered just out of sight of all of them.

Twilight prepared to go help her, when she felt a soft hoof upon her shoulder. It was Dawn, looking surprisingly well considering. “Come on, I’ve got an idea but I need your help.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to tie his tail around that tree so we have time to make a run for it,” Dawn said. “But I can’t do it on my own.”

Twilight nodded. “Let’s get on it.”

It was fumbling work without magic to help them and only their hooves to rely on, but they managed to grab the monster by the tail while he was preoccupied and wrap it round a sturdy oak before tying it in the most tangled knot that the two mares could manage with just their hooves. The first Any Hardship knew of it was when he tried to lunge at Chrysalis and was pulled up short.

“Run!” Twilight shouted as Any Hardship roared and raged, and they ran down the golden road as fast as their hooves could carry him, the sound of his furious snarling ringing in their ears.

“This is not the end!” he howled. “We will meet again, all of you, I swear it. You haven’t seen the last of me!”

“We have for now,” Dawn muttered as they ran.

They caught up swiftly with Trixie, still dragging Loyalty along the ground, and helped the injured pegasus onto Dawn’s back. Her wounds looked bleak, one of her wings was damaged and her side was covered in blood.

“Does anypony know how to treat this?” Twilight asked.

The other three all shook their heads.

Loyalty coughed, opening one magenta eye. Her voice was weak and hoarse. “Kindness.”

“What?” Twilight asked.

“My friend Kindness, she has a house not too far from here,” Loyalty explained. “She’ll take care of me, and you too, if you let her.”

“Until Any Hardship tears the house down to get at us,” Dawn said.

“You’ll be safe from him for a little while,” Loyalty murmured. She smiled. “Thanks for sticking around for me.”

Twilight smiled back. “Don’t mention it. We’d never leave our friend hanging.” She stopped dead in her tracks, her words reverberating around her skull, and Twilight gasped then winced in pain as memories flooded her head. Memories of another cyan pegasus, or was it the same mare? Flying, racing, causing a tornado around a manticore, just like Loyalty’s story. Saving her from falling. Saving somepony else…who? Parts the memory were shrouded in fog, as though this pony and this pony alone was all she could remember. And her name…

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight murmured. “Your name is Rainbow Dash.”

Loyalty chuckled. “Sorry, but no. It’s good that I remind you of someone awesome though.”

“Then you aren’t Razor Wind either,” Dawn said softly, her words tinged with melancholy.

“I really am Loyalty,” Loyalty explained. “Those other ponies, they’re who you think of when you think of loyalty the virtue. You’ve remembered them because you were loyal to me, when I needed you. Understand now?”

“I…kind of,” Twilight said.

“Enough talk,” Chrysalis snapped. “We should keep moving.”

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Dawn asked, but Chrysalis did not respond. She just quickened her pace, until she was walking ahead of the rest of them without looking back.

They continued down the road, Dawn carrying Loyalty and thus lagging behind the others when they forgot to shorten their pace a little. They walked until their hooves were raw with no sign of the house of Kindness. Then it started to rain.

“Oh, this is terrific,” Dawn spat. “You’d better hope your friend’s house is nearby or you’re liable to get a fever, or worse.”

Loyalty grinned. “Don’t worry. If I know Kindness, you’ll see her any time-“

“Oh my goodness, what happened?”

“Now,” Loyalty whispered. “Hey there, Kindness; what’s up?”

Twilight saw what at first she took to be some sort of light coming down the path, but which she soon saw was actually a pony, another pegasus to be precise, with a coat of yellow and a flowing mane of lilac, with soft green eyes and long lashes. She had her forehooves to her mouth as she fluttered towards them, murmuring something that might not have been coherent even if Twilight had been able to hear it.

“Oh no! Oh my!” she said, ignoring the other ponies to focus on Loyalty. “Oh goodness, Loyalty, what happened to you?”

“I had a bit of a disagreement with Any Hardship,” Loyalty said. “I sure showed him.”

Kindness frowned. “You really shouldn’t be so reckless.”

“It’s not like I picked a fight with him,” Loyalty protested. “But I’m not feeling so great and it’s cold out here, so can my friends and I can crash at your place for a while?”

Kindness appeared to notice the other four for the first time. “Oh, of course. I’m sorry, where are my manners, letting you stand here getting soaked like this? Follow me everypony, my cottage isn’t very far at all.”

By ‘not very far’ she apparently meant just around the bend in the road, considering that they turned the corner and there it was, in spite of the fact that Twilight had seen no evidence of its existence before Kindness arrived. It was a homely looking cottage, with none of the opulent grandeur of the house of Generosity. But the light spilling out of the windows was soft and inviting, the smoke rising out of the chimney spoke of a warm fire within, and Twilight could swear that she could smell something delicious wafting out from the crack in the doorway.

“Welcome to my home,” Kindness said, pushing open the door and gesturing for them all to follow her. “Please, so long as you’re here, what’s mine is yours. Stay as long as you want.”

“That’s nice,” Dawn muttered, manoeuvring her way carefully through the door so as not to discomfort Loyalty. “Now, can you help our friend or not?”

“Certainly,” Kindness said. “Bring her in here.”

Twilight followed Dawn and Loyalty into a good-sized room with a light green carpet and a padded table in the middle, with bandages and medicines heaped in one corner. Together, Twilight and Dawn laid Loyalty on her belly on the table.

“Thanks, girls,” Loyalty murmured, closing her eyes. “Fix me up, Kindness.”

Kindness smiled fondly. “Thank you so much for bringing her here.”

“Just make sure you take care of her,” Dawn said, her voice a little hoarse. “She…she deserves...”

“She reminds us of both of somepony dear to us,” Twilight explained. “Which, I guess makes her important to us too.”

Kindness nodded. “I can take it from here. Why don’t you take your friends into the kitchen and get something to eat?”

“Where is it?” Dawn asked.

“Just follow the smell,” Kindness replied. She ushered them out into the front room, which was decorated with lots of hoof-made furniture and sculpture.

“How sickeningly rustic,” Chrysalis said.

“Don’t be like that,” Twilight said. “Kindness is being very…well, kind, to us.”

“She’s just cranky from whatever she remembered,” Dawn remarked.

“I am not cranky,” Chrysalis snapped. “I would never succumb to so petty a feeling.”

“What would you call it then?”

“Outraged.”

Twilight shook her head. “Play nice, everypony. Who wants something to eat? Trixie?”

Trixie didn’t say anything; she wouldn’t even meet Twilight’s eyes.

“We may as well keep our strength up,” Chrysalis said with a slight sigh.

Twilight led the way into Kindness’ kitchen – following her nose, as she had been told –and the others all followed her, even Trixie.

The kitchen was large and spacious, with a number of pots and pans bubbling away on a stove in one corner, while in the other half of the room a table lay groaning under the weight of victuals laid upon it: fruit, vegetables, cakes, cookies, tea, juice, ice cream, milkshakes, a mouth-watering array of things to fill the hungry stomach. Sitting alone in the far left corner of the table sat a zebra with a painted face and a distended belly, shovelling food into his mouth at an astonishing rate. He barely glanced at the four ponies as they walked in, and made no move to greet them or to introduce himself to them, but merely kept on eating at such a pace that Twilight would have thought he had been starving, or else feared that all this food would disappear before his eyes.

“How rude,” Twilight murmured.

“Never mind that,” Dawn said. “We’d better get stuck in before he eats everything.”

Dawn trotted over to the table – it seemed to get longer as she approached, so that the distance between the four ponies and the zebra was greater than it had seemed at first – and sat down, making short work of an apple and then immediately starting on another.

“Do you have to eat like an animal?” Twilight asked as she sat down opposite her and began to butter a slice of bread. “There’s plenty for everypony, you know.”

“When my memories of Razor Wind came back, one of things I remembered was being hungry,” Dawn said in between mouthfuls. “At least I think I did. But, since we don’t know where our next meal is coming from, I think we ought to make the most of the one in front of us.”

“I agree, but that doesn’t mean you have to act like a pig,” Twilight said.

“If Kindness minded, she would have kicked the zebra out already, don’t you think,” Dawn said, gesturing to the zebra who was getting crumbs everywhere as he devoured a plate of cookies with vigorous abandon.

“I just think we should hold ourselves to higher standards,” Twilight said primly. “Especially since our next meal is coming from here, in all likelihood. Remember Kindness said that we could stay as long as we wanted.”

Dawn’s mouth slowed to a halt as she frowned, pondering. “I guess so. Okay, I’ll make an effort if it will get you off my back about it.” Dawn’s pace of eating slowed to nearly match Twilight’s, although it was still a little faster and a little rougher too.

“Thank you,” Twilight said. “You know, that was a pretty good idea of yours out in the forest.”

“Thanks,” Dawn replied. “Couldn’t have pulled it off without you.”

“Or me,” Chrysalis remarked pointedly.

“I hadn’t forgotten,” Dawn said defensively.

“And of course, it was Trixie who dragged Loyalty away from the fighting,” Twilight said. “Thank you, Trixie.”

Trixie, who sat at the bottom of the table, a little away from the other three, said nothing. She wasn’t eating, barely picking at her food. Her head was lowered, and her silver mane had fallen across her face like a curtain, hiding it from view.

“Trixie?” Twilight asked. “Trixie, what’s the matter?”

“It’s your memories, isn’t it?” Dawn said, standing up and walking down the table towards Trixie. She sat down and put a hoof around Trixie’s shoulder. “Whatever you remembered, I’m guessing it wasn’t great? Come on, let it out or it will eat you up.”

You’re being unusually nice Twilight thought as she, too, rose to her hooves. “Trixie, whatever it is we promise not to judge you for it.”

Trixie sniffed, then sobbed as she brushed the mane out of her face. Twilight could see that she was crying. “Trixie betrayed her best friend,” she wailed. “She asked Trixie for her help when she needed it most and Trixie said no! Trixie abandoned her. Tri…I wasn’t loyal at all.”

Twilight was taken aback. She couldn’t imagine such a thing. When she thought of the memories she had recovered, the memories of Rainbow Dash, great warmth issued out of them to balm her soul. She couldn’t imagine ever betraying her. What kind of a pony was Trixie, that that was the memory she had recovered?

Chrysalis snorted. “Pathetic.”

Twilight scowled. “I said we wouldn’t judge her.”

“Who are you to speak for me?” Chrysalis demanded. “I will speak for myself and I think she’s a gutless coward!” She stood up. “Pardon me, I seem to have lost my appetite.” She talked away, slamming the door behind her.

For a moment, the only sound was the zebra eating away.

Twilight looked at Dawn. Dawn gestured with her head for Twilight to follow Chrysalis.

“You’ll be okay?”

Dawn nodded. “We’ll be fine.”

So, Twilight followed Chrysalis back out into the hall. She found the changeling sitting on the staircase, kicking her hooves forlornly on the lavender carpet, her head down and her eyes closed.

“Chrysalis,” Twilight said nervously. “Do you want to talk?”

“No,” Chrysalis replied.

“Well, too bad,” Twilight said sharply, sitting down in front of Chrysalis and staring at her intently. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been different ever since we regained some of our memories.” She paused. “From the way you talked to Trixie, I’m guessing you aren’t upset for the same reason she is.”

“Certainly not,” Chrysalis spat. “I would never abandon my people. Except that I have, haven’t I?”

“You don’t know that,” Twilight said. “None of us remember how we got here. What do you mean, your people?”

“My changelings,” Chrysalis declared. “I am their Queen, that is what I remembered when we rescued the pegasus Loyalty; I am a Queen.” Her tone softened, becoming melancholy. “I am a Queen and I have abandoned my folk though they depend on me.”

“I told you we don’t-“

“Whatever the reason I am here the fact remains: I am here,” Chrysalis said. “I am here and my children are elsewhere. Always they have stood by me, and always I have provided for them, but now I am away and who knows what they may be suffering in my absence.”

Twilight frowned. “You care about them. You sound like a good queen.”

Chrysalis chuckled. “I try to be, from what I recall. Though I fear I was not always as successful as I would like. The details are hazy at best, but I remember creeping into the heart of a fortress of my enemies to find food for my subjects.”

“Did you find any?”

“No,” Chrysalis admitted, after a moment’s hesitation. “I was caught and expelled from the fortress.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” Twilight said.

“Thank you,” Chrysalis said quietly. “We must get out of here, Twilight Sparkle, and soon; while I still have subjects to return to.”

Dawn approached Trixie slowly, sitting down beside her so close that she could feel the warmth from Trixie’s coat, and slowly put one hoof round Trixie’s shoulders.

“It’s okay,” Dawn whispered. “We all have regrets. Like I said, we all have memories we’d rather not recall.”

“But you haven’t remembered yours,” Trixie wailed. “Trixie remembered a friend she let down!”

“What do you think that I remembered?” Dawn demanded.

Trixie looked at her, eyes wide. “But, you said…”

“Twilight said that she remembered a lot of happy fun times with her friend Rainbow Dash, I never said that,” Dawn replied. “Yeah, there’s some of that in my head now; but there’s also years of being a leech, of being a user, of taking from Razor and giving nothing back because I knew she’d never call me on it. Compared to that, what you did doesn’t sound so bad, does it?”

“It doesn’t make it right,” Trixie muttered sullenly.

“No, it doesn’t,” Dawn conceded. “I tell you what: when we get out of this forest we’ll go find our best friends and we’ll apologise and promise to make it up to them. We’ll be better ponies from here on, ponies like Twilight may be.”

“You think she’s better than us?”

“She must be, I guess,” Dawn said. “She’s the only one who doesn’t have any bad memories yet.” She fixed Trixie with a stern glare. “If you tell her I said that, I’ll kick your flank.”

A little later that evening, Twilight found Dawn in one of Kindness’ guest bedrooms, tucking Trixie in.

“Is she going to be okay?” Twilight whispered.

“As much as any of us will,” Dawn replied, leaving the room and closing the door so that they wouldn’t disturb Trixie. “How did it go with Chrysalis?”

“She wants to get out of here,” Twilight said. “But I suppose that’s true of all of us. Thank you for being nice to Trixie, I didn’t expect it of you.”

Dawn smirked. “Just because I’m not nice doesn’t mean I can’t be.”

“You don’t seem to hate me so much either,” Twilight pointed out.

Dawn’s face fell and she scowled. “I’ve found another pony I dislike more.”

“Hey,” Twilight said. “You were there for Trixie, now let me be here for you.”

Dawn looked into her eyes. “Good of you to offer, but there’s nothing you can do that you aren’t already doing. Just lead us out of here.”

“I will,” Twilight swore. “But tonight we rest.”

“Yeah,” Dawn said. “Tonight we rest.”

So they rested that night, and the next day, and the day after and the day after that. They ate lavish spreads for breakfast, lunch and supper, and each night they slept on soft feather beds. Kindness attended to their every need, no matter how early or late; she seemed happy to help, and whenever Twilight or the others asked if they were imposing she would insist how glad she was to take care of them, and how she wouldn’t hear of them leaving before they were ready.

And the more they stayed, the less ready to leave they seemed to get. Twilight sat, shovelling food into her mouth almost as fast as the zebra, who had been Kindness’ guest for more years than Kindness could remember, and felt unwilling to even think about taking her leave. Only Chrysalis seemed to want to venture out of the house, and she always found her anger and impatience easily brushed aside by Kindness’ soft-spoken intransigence.

Now it was Dawn’s turn to pick at her food, glancing uncertainly at Twilight, Trixie and Chrysalis.

“What’s the matter, Dawn?” Twilight asked in between great mouthfuls. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Not for food I didn’t work for,” Dawn replied. “We need to go.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Chrysalis said with her mouth full.

“Yeah, but not for us,” Dawn said. “For Kindness. She’ll let us mooch of her all year, I don’t doubt; but that doesn’t make it right just because she allows it. Almost the opposite.”

Twilight paused, feeling guilt began to settle on her stomach. Beside her, the zebra continued to eat messily.

“Kindness hasn’t said anything,” Trixie ventured.

“That’s the point,” Dawn shouted. “She never will say anything, but is this how you want to live your whole life, as a burden to another pony?. Come on, everypony, Kindness doesn’t deserve this. Let’s leave her to her peace.”

“What peace?” Twilight asked. “He’ll still be here.” She gestured with her muzzle towards the oblivious zebra.

“Exactly,” Dawn said. “Do you really want to end up just like him?”

Twilight looked at him: no, honestly she really didn’t.

“It won’t be very easy to convince her to let us leave,” Twilight murmured. “She likes having us.”

“She doesn’t like having us, she puts up with it,” Dawn said.

“How do you know?” Trixie asked.

“I don’t know exactly, call it a gut feeling,” Dawn replied. “Are we all agreed?”

“Yes,” Twilight said.

“I just want to get going,” Chrysalis said.

“No, you don’t get it, we have to want out for the right reasons,” Dawn said emphatically. “Do you want to get out of Kindness’ mane and stop hassling her? That is the question. Chrysalis? Trixie?”

Trixie hesitated. “Trixie supposed so.”

“Chrysalis,” Dawn said. “It has to be for her sake.”

Chrysalis frowned. “Very well, let us make the pony’s life easier.”

“Is something wrong?” Kindness asked as she fluttered into the room.

“No,” Dawn said brightly. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact things are great; that is why we are going to leave you alone now.”

“You’re leaving?” Kindness gasped. “But I don’t think you’re ready yet. I mean, it isn’t like you have to go, you can stay as long as you want. I don’t mind at all.”

“I know,” Dawn said. “We all know that. We aren’t leaving because we think you mind taking care of us; we’re leaving because we mind making you.”

“You’ve been very kind to us, these last few days,” Twilight said as she stood up. “Now let us be kind to you.”

Kindness smiled brightly, and as she smiled she and her entire house began to fade away. “Thank you,” she whispered. “And congratulations.”

And then she was gone, and the four ponies stood upon the road with bulging packs at their feet, food and blankets augmenting the gifts they had received from Generosity.

Twilight felt her head spin as more memories returned, of a yellow pegasus with a mild manner and a great heart.

“Fluttershy,” she whispered.

Chrysalis took out the scarlet cloak that Generosity had given her, and swaddled herself in it like a foal as she muttered something to herself.

“Twilight,” Trixie cried, her voice trembling. “You forgave me.”

Twilight blinked. “Forgave you for what?”

“Trixie doesn’t remember,” Trixie said. “Trixie only remembers that you forgave Trixie.”

“That was…nice of me, I guess,” Twilight said, although she had no idea what Trixie was talking about. “Dawn, how did you know that was what we had to do? What did you remember?”

Dawn stood with her back to the other three ponies, looking down the road to the further challenges that lay ahead. “I think I must have had an inkling of what I would remember when I realised what had to be done.”

“Why?” Twilight pressed her. “What did you remember?”

Dawn bowed her head. “That I was the zebra.”

Sunset's Oboe

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Chapter 12

Sunset's Oboe

Celestia put one eye to the telescope and observed the military preparations going on around Ponyville.

Sunset’s camp was astir; zebras armed and armoured for war moving this way and that, striking their tents and loading stores onto heavy wagons. Elephants lumbered amongst the zebra masses, griffon mercenaries circled in the air, ponies in glittering caparisons formed into ranks, and Celestia’s brow creased into a frown as she watched a great host of diamond dogs arriving from the north to swell the numbers arrayed against her folk.

“They are coming for us,” Celestia murmured. “Or perhaps it would be better to say that Sunset is coming for me. Oh, Sunset, what has become of you?”

She lifted her eye from the telescope and turned to Catseye and Lancer, who stood with her upon the wall. Lancer’s chest was swathed in bandages, while Catseye kept shuffling her hooves with ill-disguised impatience. Celestia could guess what was on her mind.

“How are the evacuations proceeding?” Celestia asked.

“The last trains haven’t returned from the Crystal Empire yet,” Lancer said. “But the airships are prepared, as you instructed. Although, Your Highness…” He trailed off, and for a moment the only sound upon the parapet was the flapping of the banners in the morning wind.

“You may speak,” Celestia said.

“We have evacuated the children, the sick, the elderly,” Lancer said. “And rightly so, better they be spared the privations of a siege. But…the last ponies to be evacuated, those you have earmarked for the airships: half the guard, the companions of Princess Twilight. Your Highness, with such reduced numbers, and those the populace might look to for strength sent away, I cannot guarantee our ability to defend the city.”

Celestia smiled. “It is good that you have not given up hope, Lancer. I will reveal my plans very soon. I ask only that you trust me a little while longer. Do you trust me, Captain?”

Lancer slammed his hooves upon the battlement as he came to attention. “Of course, Highness.”

“Then trust,” Celestia said calmly. “And find Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike and bring them to the throne room along with all your guards who remain in the city. I will join you shortly, and all will be revealed.”

Lancer saluted. “Yes, Princess.” He turned away and, still moving rather stiffly from his injuries, made his way down from the wall and into the city.

How he will protest when he discovers what I have planned for him, Celestia thought. How they will all protest. I only hope that they will not protest my most crucial choice.

Celestia turned her attention to Catseye, still fidgeting as she looked out at the host of Sunset preparing to move against them.

“You have something you wish to say, Catseye?” Celestia asked with an undercurrent of amusement in her voice.

Catseye nodded curtly. “With Your Highness’ permission I would like to take the Night Guard and launch-“

“I am afraid I must deny your request, Captain Catseye,” Celestia interrupted, her voice cutting smoothly across that of the night pony like a river sweeping a bridge aside.

Catseye’s green eyes blazed. “Surely we have a duty to rescue Princess Luna if we can?”

“Nopony would like to see Luna safe more than I,” Celestia replied, allowing a touch of frosty sharpness into her voice. “But she would not want you or any other pony to sacrifice themselves to no purpose upon her account.”

“No purpose?” Catseye snapped, before she remembered to whom she was speaking. “I apologise, Princess, but it won’t be to no purpose. We have superior mobility to anything the enemy has, even their griffons can’t match us in the air. A small force, using hit and run tactics, there’s no way a lumbering host like that one could catch us. We can do better, Highness, let us reform and hit them again, I know we can do it!”

“You do not even know where Luna is being held,” Celestia pointed out.

“I…we…” Catseye’s voice trembled as she wiped at her eyes furiously with one leg. “Please, Princess. I’m her guard, I can’t just leave her out there!”

“This will be small comfort, captain, but I do not think Luna will be ‘out there’ for much longer,” Celestia murmured. “Now, please assemble the councillors and notables and bring them to the throne room. I will be there soon.”

Catseye bowed, then took to wing, leaving Celestia alone upon the wall, with an army determined to destroy her upon one side and a city looking to her for salvation upon the other.

I pray that Sunset is not so far gone that she has forgotten mercy, Celestia thought.

She put any misgivings from her mind. The plan she had devised was the best plan - the only plan that stood any chance of success. Now all she had to do was make the final choice - the crowning choice. Celestia chuckled at how very apt that phrase was for the decision before her.

Rarity. Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie. It would fall on one of them. Fluttershy was in the field, by Celestia’s command. Applejack was a prisoner. Twilight, dear Twilight, on whom Celestia had placed so much trust and so many hopes, was imprisoned even more securely than Applejack. It would have been an easier decision if Twilight had been at her side, then she could have placed the burdens upon her back and trusted that her friends would help her bear the weight. But Twilight was beyond her reach for now, and so it was to those same friends that Celestia would have to turn.

Rarity, Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie? Each one was admirable in their own way, each was flawed after their own fashion. None was perfect, yet each was wonderful. But which of them was best suited for this charge? Which would be best as the chief prop, and which would be better as a support. Which could lead, and make other ponies follow?

Rainbow was a brave mare; one of the bravest Celestia had ever met. She was bold and headstrong, but at times she was too much so, and Celestia knew from the letters she had received that sometimes Rainbow allowed her sense of her own worth and abilities to blind her to her faults or follies.

Pinkie had a good heart, and Celestia suspected that she was wiser than she let on, but that was just the thing. She appeared silly, even ridiculous, to those who did not know her, and there was little time for her to earn the trust of those who might have to follow the child-like mare. Celestia doubted that Pinkie would be able to lead those who could not see the mare of worth beneath the eccentric exterior that she presented to the world.

It would have to be Rarity. Though she was not nobly born, she had more of grace and poise than any aristocrat in Canterlot, and yet she tempered it with a compassionate heart and a generous spirit. In her manner she was what ponies expected of a leader, certainly more so than her friends. And, though she was not without her flaws, her tendencies to vanity and melodrama, those could be ameliorated with the support of loyal friends more easily than could Rainbow’s lack of caution or Pinkie’s seeming silliness.

Rarity. Celestia recalled her early meetings with her, and in spite of the circumstances the princess smiled. “Who would have imagined?”

She spread her wings and took flight towards the palace.

Virtue walked swiftly through the ranks of his Chevalians, barely responding to any calls of greeting from the ranks. All around him his fellows, the boldest warriors in Chevalia, were making ready to march out: girding their armour on, donning their capes of war and their splendid plumed helmets, and ordinarily he would have saturated in their company after so long an absence. But right now there was only one pony whom he wished to see.

“Glory?” he called. “Our Glory, where are you?”

“I’m behind you, pet,” Glory replied, coming out of her tent dragging a halberd behind her, which dropped on the ground before turning to face Virtue. “Took you long enough to come looking, didn’t it? I’ve been here since last night.”
Virtue turned, a smile spreading across his face and turning his severe features soft as melting butter. “Come here!” he said, pulling Glory into a tight embrace. Like slow dancers they clung to one another; Virtue could feel the warmth of Glory’s cheek against his own.

“It’s wonderful to see you, Glory,” he whispered. “Absolutely marvellous.”

“It’s good to have you back, Virtue,” Glory replied, as they broke off their embrace. Glory Seeker was a tan brown earth pony with an orange mane and sea-blue eyes. Her cutie mark was a high harp, reflecting that she had the desire and skill to win such great renown that songs would be sung of her throughout the great halls of the land.

“How are the troops?” Virtue asked. “They seem in good spirits, did you have any trouble?”

Glory shook her head. “Once I banged a few heads together they got the message. Those zebras though…if they turned their noses up any higher at us their necks would be craning over backwards. I’ll be glad to be rid of them, let me tell you.”

“That may not be as soon as you’d like,” Virtue murmured.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Glory replied. “What about you? How has Her Most Beautiful and Terrible Majesty Queen Sunset Shimmer, Queen of all She Surveys and proud owner of the biggest head in the nine worlds been treating you?”

“She’s not so bad, our Glory,” Virtue protested.

Glory gave him an old-fashioned look by way of a response.

“What?” Virtue demanded.

“Your gallant sickness is playing up again,” Glory said flatly.

“My what?” Virtue scoffed.

“Your gallant sickness,” Glory repeated herself. “You do this all the time; you can’t see a mare who speaks fairly or acts like a lady but that you want to put on armour and ride out to solve all her problems. Do you call her ma’am?”

“That is merely courtesy-“

“I know exactly what it is,” Glory said. “Listen, you know I love you, but we have to think about the good of Chevalia; and the good of Chevalia is not served by licking the hooves of Sunset Shimmer. We should kill her and be done with it.”

“Not so loud,” Virtue hissed. “In any case, we cannot strike her yet; the time is not yet ripe.”

“Why not?” Glory managed to demand an answer while keeping her voice low. “If you say the word honour then I swear I will-“

“Suppose we did kill her, what then?” Virtue asked. “The spell that holds our people captive is powerful and complex, it would take a unicorn of immense power to undo it, and we have none save Mistress Sunset. She alone can undo the spell she wrought and free our folk, and so we must bow and serve and fight her battles until she does.”

“If she does,” Glory muttered.

“She will,” Virtue replied. “She has no cause to play us false.” Though she would if she knew what we were saying here, he thought.

Glory snorted. “It sickens me to think of our families bound within that egg, hostage to our valour. It enrages me that we must have the kneeling sickness whenever we stand near a barbarian mare who has no birth nor title even in her own land.”

“I know,” Virtue said, deciding not to mention that he was nowhere near as convinced as he had been that these ponies were the barbarians he had thought them. “But what could we do? We had no other way out but the escape that Mistress Sunset offered.”

“I wish you didn’t call her that,” Glory said. “I hear it and I worry that she’s getting her claws in you.”

Virtue smiled. “That’s why I need you here, our Glory, to keep me honest.”

“Virtue! Glory!” Sunset’s voice cut like a knife, peremptory and commanding. “Over here!”

Glory muttered something under her breath as the two of them walked through their camp to where Sunset Shimmer waited for them. She was flanked on her right by Emerald Ray, who had a bandage over his ear from where Miss Applejack had sewn him to the floor, and on the left by a large female diamond dog, clad in armour of ebony, adorned with spikes and set with glistening diamonds.

“I hope I didn’t break up the happy reunion too quickly,” Sunset said, a smirk passing fleetingly across her face. “But the army is moving out soon and I have orders for you. By the way, this is Precious Redfang, the warlord of our new diamond dog allies. Precious, this is Virtuous Fury and Glory Seeker, of my Chevalian followers.”

Virtue blinked. Precious had a face like a wolfhound, with long grey fur and sharp teeth jutting down from under her lips. “You do not look like a Precious.”

“You don’t look very virtuous,” she growled in reply. “And it’s Redfang to the likes of you.”

“Of course it is,” Glory said brightly.

“Emerald Ray is going out to track down those three fillies that escaped during the battle,” Sunset announced.

Virtue frowned. “Is there any need for that, Mistress? They are only foals.”

“I will take no chances,” Sunset declared. “Emerald: bring them back, or don’t, but they will not threaten me.”

Emerald grinned savagely. “I guarantee it.”

“Provided they have neither needle nor thread,” Virtue remarked.

Emerald Ray’s face burned with rage, and for a moment Virtue thought the crystal pony who attack him. Try me, you big brute.

But Emerald controlled himself, stalking away from the other ponies to begin his mission in high dudgeon. Disloyal as it was Virtue hope those three fillies would be all right, they had been quite spirited.

“Glory,” Sunset continued. “You will take the Chevalians and go after a pegasus named Fluttershy. Yellow coat, long, lilac mane, green eyes. Virtue here let her go, and I want her back.”

“We just made a forced march from the coast and now you’re sending us back south again?” Glory demanded.

“Yep,” Sunset said. “And there’s no time to waste, so get moving. I expect she’s gone south towards Appleoosa, hoping to raise the buffalo against me, so try there first.”
Glory glanced at Virtue. If he pushed against this, then so would she. Virtue, in turn, looked at Mistress Sunset.

She knows, Virtue realised, as his blood chills. I don’t know how, but she knows! So she is sending Glory and the rest away to weaken me and squander our strength in a wild goose chase.

Virtue gave a minute shake of his head. This is no moment for defiance. We must walk small now, and be the most loyal servants that ever were. Otherwise, we may lose everything.

Glory bowed her head. “Very well.”

“And of course, that means that you, Virtue, will have the pleasure of accompanying me on to Canterlot,” Sunset concluded. “We move out in one hour.”

Virtue nodded. “As you command, Mistress.”

“Of course,” Sunset said breezily. “Redfang, come.”

They walked away. The sight of the enormous dog hanging off every word of a pony less than half her size would have been amusing in different circumstances.

Glory spat. “Why didn’t you fight that?”

“Because she knows, or at least suspects,” Virtue replied. “We must disarm her suspicion.”

“She knows?” Glory asked. “How could she…a spy?”

“I think not,” Virtue said. “Mistress Sunset has…many powers. She may be able to spy on us.”

“Well that’s comforting,” Glory muttered. She turned to walk back to her tent, leaving Virtue to follow. “So, what’s this about a prisoner you let go?”

Virtue coughed, knowing exactly what Glory would say. “Miss Fluttershy, she, um…she was sweet and mild and gentle; she…struck my heart with guilt. I could not keep her confined.”

Glory sighed. “What did I say? Gallant sickness. What’s she like then? Not a warrior, from what you’ve said.”

“I think she takes care of animals,” Virtue replied.

“Brilliant,” Glory muttered. “Not only a wild goose chase but a pathetic prize at the end of it. Still, I daresay I’ll manage to get hold of her. She’ll probably curl up into a ball as soon as she sees me coming.”

“Be careful, our Glory,” Virtue said. “Don’t take her lightly. She’s stronger than she looks.”

“Don’t worry,” Glory jammed her helmet on her head and grinned widely. “So am I.”

Celestia glided into her study, her eyes resting briefly on some of the pictures hanging on her wall. They ranged from ancient woodcuttings, to antique oil paintings, to photographs, some in black and white and the most recent in colour. It was on a photograph that her gaze lingered now; a picture of herself with Twilight and her friends, taken in that little doughnut shop after the Grand Galloping Gala. Celestia was kneeling down to get into the frame, Twilight’s friends clustering close together so that nopony had any part of them clipped off the edge of the photograph. In spite of the disappointments they had suffered that night, Twilight and her friends all managed to look happy. The incongruity of their slightly battered ballgowns with their surroundings brought a smile to Celestia’s face every time; it did so now, if a smile less broad than was usually the case.

“Come back soon, Twilight,” Celestia murmured. She recalled being told that Dawn had been trapped in the box along with Twilight, and felt a twinge of guilt about it.
Poor Dawn, too proud to either serve or lead, was mixed up in this entirely due to Celestia’s poor judgement. I have not done well by you, have I, Dawn?

Celestia put regret from her mind as she took up quill and ink and walked over to the writing desk in the corner of the room. She wrote out the document hastily, but in an elegant script, then rolled it up and stamped it with her seal. That done, she teleported into the throne room.

When she arrived, appearing in a flash of golden light, she found that her captains had done well in assembling all the necessary ponies. In addition to Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity and Spike – who were accompanied by Pinkie’s grey-faced and unsmiling sister – they had brought together some of the best of Canterlot’s elite unicorns, her secretaries and scribes, her councillors, her remaining guards and every magnate of commerce remaining in the city. They lined the walls of the throne room, waiting for her appearance, and now that she was there they hung upon her word.

“I apologise for the showiness of my appearance,” Celestia murmured, walking to the base of the royal dais and halting there. She had no need to sit to perform this duty. Indeed, given that it was likely to be some time before she sat the throne again, she had better get used to exercising her hooves.
“By now I trust you are all aware of the situation,” she continued. “A great army marches on Canterlot. Evacuations from the city have been in progress since last night. Airships have been prepared to take you all, and others, out of the city before this hostile army reaches us.” Celestia paused. “I will not be on any of those airships.”
For a moment, the silence could have been shattered by the buzzing of a fly. Then Rainbow Dash said, “If you’re going to stay and fight, Princess, the we want to stay too!”

Celestia smiled. “That does your courage great credit, Rainbow Dash, but I am not staying to fight. I am staying to surrender.”

“Surrender!” Rarity gasped.

“Your Highness,” Lancer protested. “If it is a question of confidence then-“

“This city is not a fortress,” Celestia said, her voice running over his. “I will not subject the citizens to the cruelties of war if I can avoid it. There is a tale the griffons tell, of a griffon who came to a river and saw a great many fish circling lazily in front of him. This griffon took out his oboe and began to play, hoping to entice the fish onto the shore, but not a single one answered his call. So the griffon took a net and threw it into the river, dragging the fish up onto the bank where they lay, flapping and wriggling. ‘It is all very well your dancing now,’ the griffon said. ‘But the time for that was when I was playing my oboe, and then you refused to so much as shake a fin.’ If Canterlot fights then Canterlot will fall, and having fought will receive harsh punishment; I doubt the zebras have forgotten their earlier humiliation here. It is my hope that, if the city surrenders, the ordinary ponies will be treated with greater mercy.” Provided Sunset still remembers mercy.

“But why do you have to stay and surrender too, Princess?” Rainbow asked.

“Because the leader of this army, Sunset Shimmer, is here for me in particular,” Celestia replied. “If she finds me here, then perhaps it will blunt her fury towards the rest of Equestria.”

Rarity frowned. “Princess Celestia, if I may ask: if the city is going to surrender, what is the point of any of us evacuating.”

Celestia smiled. “Just because Canterlot has surrendered, Rarity, does not mean that Equestria is surrendering. You are all here, because I trust you all to continue the struggle for Equestria’s freedom in my absence. Rarity, come forward.”

Rarity stepped out of the crowd, walking slowly towards Celestia with trepidation evident in her step and her expression.

Celestia held out the scroll she had just written. “Bear witness, all of you. I, Celestia, Princess of the Sun and ruler of this land, do by these letters appoint Rarity the unicorn Regent of Equestria and Protector of the Realm, until a princess shall come again.”

"R-regent," Rarity stammered. "But...but Princess Celestia, I don't know how to-"

"You already know how to win love, inspire loyalty, make decisions. All the rest will come in time." Celestia smiled. "You are better than you think you are, Rarity. You will do very well."

Rarity looked down. "I don't-"

"Rarity," Celestia said firmly. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course, Princess."

"Then trust me now," Celestia said. "I place Equestria upon your shoulders. I would not do so if I did not think your back could bear the weight." She looked away from Rarity and swept her gaze up and down the assembled company. "I charge you all to go with your new regent, to follow were she leads, do as she commands, and keep Equestria alive against all hazards. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Spike."

"Yes, Princess?" Spike asked.

"No single column can bear an entire ceiling, though it be the greatest prop in the entire state. Rarity will need her friends around her now more than ever. Can I count on you to stay by her side?"

"You got it!" Rainbow said loudly.

"Anything you need, Rarity," said Spike.

"I'd never abandon my friends," chirped Pinkie cheerfully.

Celestia smiled fondly. "I had no doubts. Now, you had all best get aboard the waiting airships. I would like you to put as much distance as possible between you and Canterlot by the time Sunset arrives."

Rarity nodded. "And you, Princess? What will you do?"

Celestia chuckled. "It has been too long since I last saw my errant student. I shall prepare to welcome her home."

Sunset smiled with anticipation as her army mustered in battle array before the gates of Canterlot. Her zebra nobles in their glittering array, her diamond dogs in armour thronged with gems, her mercenaries and reluctant conscripts all deployed before the golden gates, ready for battle.

"What will you do now, Celestia?" Sunset asked. "How will you answer such a force as this? With barred gates and silence?"

No other answer seemed forthcoming. No army sallied forth, no Celestia emerged.

"What do we do now?" Firethorn asked quietly.

"Peg the hostages up outside, they'll come running quick enough," Redfang growled.

"That's barbaric," Virtue snapped.

"War is."

"To barbarians, perhaps," he muttered.

"No wonder Sunset needs my help if her chief captain is such a prissy pony," Redfang jeered.

"I will match my sometimes meagre stock of namesake against your savage fury and we shall see who has still their head when the dust settles!" Virtue snarled.

"Enough!" Sunset yelled. "In answer to your question, Firethorn: I will give Celestia a chance to meet with me. Virtue, deliver the challenge."

Virtue nodded. He picked up a flag of truce between his teeth and carried it towards the silent city. Sunset's army was as quiet as Canterlot, and the only sound was the beating of Virtue's hooves upon the earth.

He stopped before the gate, the walls casting their shadow over him, and planted his flag in the dirt. Then Virtue took his great horn and blew a dolorous note, a solemn sound that echoed unanswered through the still air.

"The Lady Sunset and the Lords of Grevyia are come!" he declared ringingly. "Let all leave this land or yield them up, doing homage to the mistress of the eve."

"He does these things quite well, whatever his faults," Sunset murmured.

"Then make him your herald, for he is too soft to be a soldier," Redfang replied.

There was no answer to the summons. So Virtue trotted closer to the gate until he could strike it with one hoof. The sound boomed like the ringing of a gong.

"Let Princess Celestia come forth," Virtue shouted. "That justice may be done and our grievances addressed."

For a moment: nothing. The with a shudder and a great clanking sound the gates opened and Princess Celestia, uncrowned, unarmed, unarmoured, stepped forth.

Sunset had forgotten how beautiful she was. How fair, how radiant, how full of majesty. She made the kings and warlords Sunset had known pale in memory, fading to mere brutish creatures by comparison. Her mane and tail danced behind her as she walked, unflinching, unafraid, directly towards Sunset.

Virtue barred her way, but at a single glance from Celestia's eyes he cried out in pain and terror, closing his eyes as though they might burn out of his sockets, staggering away from Celestia and collapsing onto the grass.

Celestia ignored him, advancing into the heart of Sunset's host. Sunset saw then that, while she wore no plate nor mail, was barded not for the travails of war, Celestia was armoured in the majesty of princesses, the divinity that hedged a throne and swept all before her like the bow wave of a great galleon splitting the sea in its stately progress.

All cowered before her, and fell back: proud Gevyian lords from houses old in honour, fierce warriors of the deserts and the skies, slobbering diamond dogs, all fell to their knees as they allowed Celestia to pass. Redfang whimpered. The shadowbolts begged forgiveness. The Ponyville conscripts wept with joy. Firethorn cowered behind Sunset. None could stand before the majesty of the sun.

None save Sunset herself. Though her knees longed to bend, her head to bow, she resisted the urge with all the will at her command. It was now or never, if she did not stand as an equal to her teacher now then she never would.

Celestia halted before her, looking down upon her old protégé, something like sorrow in those eyes. When she spoke, it was not with the outrage of a ruler to a conquering warlord but the sternness of a teacher who has received a sub-standard essay.

"Sunset," she said. "I confess that I am disappointed in you."

"Disappointed?" Sunset asked. "Look around you! Look at all that I have done!"

"And yet you have learned nothing," Celestia replied. "Have achieved nothing of permanence. What have you wrought that is not sustained solely by your will? What have you created that will outlast you?"

"The memory of my deeds will live on when I am gone," Sunset declared.

Celestia's gaze lowered. "Indeed, that is what I fear the most. What do you call yourself, Sunset? General, princess, empress?"

"Sunset Shimmer is fine, to you," Sunset said quietly.

Celestia nodded. Then, astonishingly, she knelt. "Then, Sunset Shimmer, on behalf of the city of Canterlot I surrender to you, without condition."

"What?" Sunset yelled, her cry half-strangled by her shock. "You can't do that!"

Celestia smiled. "How wonderful to know that I have not become predictable in old age."

"No, this is not how it is supposed to go," Sunset snapped. "You're supposed to fight, we are supposed to fight: you and me, master and pupil, armoured in finest steel, clashing with magic and with blades; it was supposed to be glorious!"

Celestia looked disappointed. "I did not teach you to be a brawler, Sunset."

"No, I had to learn that on my own."

"Are you so eager to fight even when it is unnecessary?"

"No, I-" Sunset stopped, glowering. "I will not let you control this like one of our tutorials! I wanted to beat you, to humble you! And you're denying me that! You're up to something, aren't you?"

"I had hoped for mercy for the folk of Canterlot," Celestia said.

Sunset glared, but before she could say anything the voice of Shrike, harsh in its triumphant crowing, cut through the army.

"So, the fool has come. I see that you are as vain and arrogant as you are selfish."

Celestia eyed the source of insult with curiosity. "It is...Shrike, isn't it? Luna's-"

"Faithful servant, aye," Shrike boasted.

"Not the term I would have chosen," Celestia murmured with distaste.

There was a thudding sound as Shrike's hoof struck with serpentine speed and slammed into Celestia's face.

"You mock me, as you always mocked me; as you made little of your sister," Shrike snarled. "But Lady Nightmare is safe from you now, witch. I will see to that."

The spell Celestia had cast upon her foes was broken. Zebras and dogs who had a little while ago cringed in fear now whooped in triumph.

"Bind her in chains!" Redfang roared. "Let her be muzzled."

Celestia did not cry out as the threw ropes around her and pulled her to the ground for the amusement of the mob. She said nothing as they put chains around her legs. She just looked into Sunset's eyes, her gaze containing only pity.

Cowards, Sunset thought. They would flee in terror the moment you resisted. This isn't what I wanted. I wanted to defeat you, yes, but to show my superiority, to give this worthless mob a chance to rejoice in your humiliation.

"Shave off her mane! Cut off her tail!" Shrike yelled.

"Yes, yes, give me the shears," Redfang howled ecstatically. "I'm not afraid to show her as she is."

"NO!" Sunset roared, and flames dashed along the ground to surround Celestia, to burn off the ropes, to melt the chains. Several dogs and zebras were burned to ash, and the rest recoiled in panic, howling in fear as they scrambled away.

"I alone have the right to stand in judgement over Celestia!" Sunset shrieked. "I alone! Should you worms touch her again you will answer for it! Virtue!"

Virtue picked himself up off the grass, his expression wary. "Mistress?"

"Assemble a trusted escort, Celestia and Luna will accompany me to the palace."

"No!" it was Shrike's turn to yell. "Lady Nightmare-"

"Is mine, and always was," Sunset said coldly. "All that you have is what I give to you. Remember that."

She turned away, wishing she could ease the disquiet taking root within her soul. She done nearly everything she set to do: Canterlot taken, Celestia a prisoner, Twilight Sparkled out of the way.

So why did she feel so empty inside? Why could she take no pleasure in any of it?

Father, Mother, Daughter

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Chapter 14

Father, Mother, Daughter

Luna felt sunlight on her face moments before she felt the soft wings of Celestia enfolding about her neck and Celestia’s cheek pressed against her own.

“Luna,” Celestia whispered. “Thank all things good you are not hurt.”

Luna blinked. “Celestia? How…?” Her first thought was that Celestia had descended upon Sunset’s camp with solar fire and put these arrogant fillies to flight, but looking around her it was clear that it was not so. The zebra camp still stood, the Grevyian warriors wandered here and there without care, clearly they had not seen a great disaster overtake them. Luna pulled away from her elder sister’s embrace to fix her with a stern glare. “Celestia, tell me you didn’t.”

“I did what I must for the good of my little ponies,” Celestia replied. “You know as well as I the suffering the siege would have wrought.”

“But for you to surrender?” Luna said. “If they had decided to-“

“They very nearly did,” Celestia said calmly. “But my assessment of my wayward student was correct; there is yet mercy inside Sunset Shimmer. I hoped as much, and my faith was rewarded. I am unharmed, and we are together.”

“Together in chains,” Luna muttered darkly. “Though I notice that you wear none.”

“I have given my parole,” Celestia explained. “My word as bond neither to escape nor to resist my captors. Luna, I would have you do the same.”

Luna’s head jerked upwards. “I will not, not even for your sake, sister. I may be taken prisoner and compelled to sit idly by while evil and injustice run rampant, but I will not pledge my solemn word to stand by and do nothing merely for the sake of a few small liberties.”

“Small freedoms, yes,” Celestia said. “But although small, still better than none at all. Even small freedoms may be taken advantage of.”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked.

Celestia glanced around, and lowered her voice. “We cannot fight or run; if we did, then ponies less able to protect themselves than we would suffer on our behalf, and that I cannot allow. But, though I have sworn upon my honour to observe certain rules, what nopony here has realised is that I hold honour cheap compared with what is right. I will use my freedom to wander through this camp and, in so wandering, I may discover many things worth knowing and, when night comes and dreams come with them, I may pass this information on to Fluttershy or Rarity to aid in their endeavours.”

A slight smirk played across Luna’s lips. “You are a devious creature, sister.”

“I do what I must, as I always have,” Celestia said. “Many times have I placed other ponies in danger for the greater good. Now that the time has come for me to suffer some slight discomfort, how can I refuse?”

Luna nodded. “You make good sense, as usual. If I am offered the same opportunity I, too, will take it. Now, tell me what has transpired. What is this of Fluttershy and Rarity? And tell me first of all how you persuaded Shrike to allow this reunion.”

“Shrike has been banished from your presence,” Celestia said. “She has fallen into Sunset’s disfavour, it seems. I will not let her come near you again.”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Celestia, you have no idea what a fear you have banished.”

“What did she do to you?” Celestia asked anxiously.

“Nothing, it was what she wanted to do that concerned me,” Luna said. “She sought to banish Luna once again and bring back Nightmare Moon.”

Celestia gasped. “Oh, Luna.”

“I had no fear I would succumb to darkness once again,” Luna said. “I feared only that she might take more drastic measures once persuasion failed. And, to be honest as I can only with you, I hated to see her face, that constant reminder of the evils I once wrought.”

“Evils long past and all forgiven,” Celestia said firmly. “Fear no more, you are well away from her now and safe with me.”

“And we are together.” Luna smiled. “Let Sunset beware.”

The two sister chuckled.

“Now sit down,” Luna said, gesturing with one hoof. “And tell me what I have missed.”

Sunset sat in her tent on the outskirts of Canterlot, sitting still while a pair of zebra slaves draped a cloak around her shoulders and a laurel crown upon her head.

It had been a day already since Celestia had surrendered, and she had already despatched elements of her forces into Canterlot to take control of the city. The bulk of her army, however, remained camped beyond the city limits, as did she. The zebra nobles wanted a Triumph, some kind of native ceremony in which they would trample the pride of Equestria into dust and flaunt their victory, and as their commander she would be at the head of the procession, draped and painted and transformed for the day into some kind of local god.

There was a time when the prospect would have thrilled Sunset, would have filled her heart with joy, especially since another aspect of the Triumph was to drag her enemies behind her so that everypony could see how defeated they were. Now, though, the prospect did not excite her at all. In fact, the prospect made her shiver a little as the zebras fitted her from her conquering cloak.

Why could she not feel joy in this? What was the matter with her? She had conquered Canterlot! Celestia had knelt before her! She had bested Princess Luna in battle and trapped Twilight Sparkle beyond any aid! She was victorious; she had accomplished a splendid feat of arms, worthy to take its place in the annals of history. And yet she felt no pride, no glee, no sweet savour of success. She felt only cold, and a sour taste in her mouth.

Was it because Celestia had surrendered? Would a battle have pleased her more? No. This melancholy discontent went beyond the abrupt surrender, Sunset’s contest with Luna had done nothing to please her either. Nor could she say that her distemper was the result of knowing that some of her enemies were still at large, for had they all been in chains at her hooves Sunset imagined she’d have felt no better pleased. No, this was something in her, amiss in her spirit and not in the world.

I did not use to be this way, Sunset thought. Perhaps it was a mistake to come back here. But at the time it had seemed inevitable for her to come here, to try her strength, to show the home that had rejected her what she had become once freed from Equestria’s constraints. Yet showing had spectacularly failed to please her.

She realised that she was being stared at, and recalled herself from her reverie to focus her attention upon the captains who shared her tent.

“Dreaming of your triumph, mistress?” Lord Syphax, the grandest of her zebra lords, asked her with a touch of mocking mischief in his voice.

“My dreams are my own,” Sunset replied. “What were you saying?”

“I was suggesting, mistress, that having humiliated the pony Shrike before the whole army, the safest course would be to have her killed,” Syphax said.

“You think her crime warrants it?” Sunset asked.

“I think she is offended, and if that offence leads her to strike at you, well…” Syphax shrugged. “Better a dead friend than a living enemy.”

“That sounds proverbial, is that some sort of Grevyian saying?” Sunset asked. When Syphax nodded she gave a loud sigh. “No wonder your empire is in terminal decline. Thoughts from the rest of you?”

“I do not see what made you so angry about what she did,” Precious said, scratching her ear with one paw. “But if you are concerned, then kill her and be done with it.”

“What a bloodthirsty crew you are,” Sunset murmured. She looked at Virtue. “You usually have a lot to say. Aren’t you going to tell me what the honourable course would be?”

Virtue shrugged. “What she did…some crimes are deserving of death; Chevalians know that as well as any. As ruler of Equestria, it is for you to decide where the line lies.”

“Thank you, you’ve been very unhelpful even by your standards,” Sunset said. “All right, that’s enough. All of you get out, now. Out! And send me Lightning Dust.”

They bowed out hastily, the slaves scampering at their heels. Sunset cast off the crimson cloak they swathed her in and let it fall to the ground as her magic flared to throw the laurel crown across the tent. A mirror with a gilded frame lay on a small table in front of her. Sunset stared at it for a moment, glaring at her own reflection, before she brought her hoof down on the mirror hard enough to smash the glass into splinters.

She cut her own hoof in the process, numerous cuts opening up along the soft surface, pieces of glass buried in her flesh. It probably should have left her howling in pain, but she felt only a slight smarting. Yet still it was the most feeling in her entire body.

Lightning Dust pushed open the tent flap and nervously walked in. “Uh, you wanted to see me?”

“Yes, I did,” Sunset murmured, lowering her injured hoof. “I have a job for you.”

“Am I the leader of the Shadowbolts now?” Lightning Dust asked. “Only you gave it pretty rough to Shrike, and I’m not sure she wants to hear from you anymore.”

Sunset looked the other mare in the eyes. “Do you want to lead?”

Lightning grinned. “It would be pretty cool, yeah.”

“Then you can lead, after you get back from the Crystal Empire,” Sunset said.

Lightning frowned. “The Crystal Empire?”

Sunset’s horn glowed as she levitated a sealed letter over to Lightning Dust. “This is a peace proposal from me to Princess Cadance. Inside, I agree that none of my followers will go north of Cloudsdale and promise to respect her status as ruler of everything north of that city. In exchange I demand recognition of my own status as protector of everything to the south and a free hoof in all my dealings in my territory. I don’t want any more war.”

Lightning smirked. “If you don’t want war then what are we doing here?”

“Waiting for something better than a war,” Sunset replied. “Waiting for a chance to be heroes. Take the message and be on your way at once.”

Lightning stuffed the letter into her saddlebags. “Do you really think Princess Cadance will go for it?”

“Do you?” Sunset asked.

“I know if you’d locked my sister-in-law in a magic box then asked to be friends I’d tell you to trot on then shove a thunderbolt somewhere unpleasant; and I don’t even have a sister-in-law,” Lightning said candidly. “But maybe Princess Cadance is a better pony than I am, I dunno. I’ll see what she says, anyway. And thanks for making me the boss.” Her quick smile returned as she ducked out of the tent. Sunset heard the rustle of her wings as she took off into the sky.

Sunset stood, alone in her tent, and did nothing for a moment before she got to work pulling the glass out of her hoof and dressing the wound. Then, a clean bandage wrapped around her foreleg, she pushed her way out of her tent and into the bright light of the sun. Scowling for a moment at the blazing orb, she set off in search of Celestia.

Inside Canterlot, the troops of the Grevyian Fourth Legion - Hisponia Ever Faithful - patrolled the streets. At every corner was nailed a near identical notice, and under the watchful eyes of the zebra troops the citizens of the newly occupied city came to read what their new masters had to say.

By decree of Sunset Shimmer, Regent of Equestria and the Most Ancient and August Empire of Grevyia, martial law is now in effect until further notice.

Public gatherings of more than three ponies at a time are henceforth prohibited. Anypony caught violating this stricture will be imprisoned immediately and detained until their case can be considered by such authorities as the regent will deem proper.

Private gatherings of more than four ponies at a time are henceforth prohibited. Anypony caught violating this stricture will be imprisoned immediately and detained until their case can be considered by such authorities as the regent will deem proper.

A curfew lasting from the setting of the sun until the hour of ten o'clock in the morning will be observed by all creatures not under arms or otherwise employed in the service of the regent. Any creature caught breaking curfew will be imprisoned immediately and detained until their case can be considered.

All civil courts are dissolved until further notice. Any infractions of law will be dealt with in such ways as the regent deems proper.

Any mutterings of discontent with the regent's administration will be regarded as treason and punishable by death.

Seditious mutterings or the voicing of any slurs against the regent, the Most Ancient and August Empire of Grevyia, zebras, diamond dogs or ponies in the service of the regent will not be tolerated. Any such incidents will be regarded as acts of treason.

Nopony is to leave Canterlot without written permission from the regent or an officer appointed under her.

The Equestrian Royal Guard are confined to barracks until further notice.

Rewards will be issued to any patriot who is aware of any creature committing an offence under the above regulations. To report on treasonous activity and claim your reward, approach an appointed officer in service to the Regent and tell them everything. Be prepared to name names and locations. Vague reports will be considered attempts at pranking or time-wasting.

It is an offence to prank or waste the time of the regent's forces. Such offences will be punished severely in a manner to be decided by the victims of the offence.

Long live the regent and the sun bless the Two Nations.

Have a nice day.

In a little apartment in one of the less salubrious parts of Canterlot, five ponies were gathered in the sitting room, with a copy of the proclamation telling them that they were committing an offence sitting on the coffee table in the middle. They had all read it.

"So, we've broken the one about private meetings of more than four, we're about to break the ones about mutterings of discontent and slurs against blah blah blah. And we might end up leaving Canterlot without permission. That's only four out of the eight regulations that apply to ordinary ponies like us. That's not very good is it? We'll have to work harder." Razor Wind smiled a little, trying to keep her tone light as she looked around the room. The assembled gathering needed no copy of the proclamation to know that their meeting like this was dangerous, not after Dawn had disappeared so suddenly just as all this trouble started. Razor was a dark grey pegasus with a silver-white mane and her cutie mark was a cloud slice in two, with one jagged edge and one straight. She was also the pony who had set up this illegal gathering, braving the zebra-patrolled streets to get the gang together. She was, after all, Breaking Dawn's oldest friend, and as far as Razor was concerned that made her the leader in Dawn's absence no matter what Hardy might think about it.

"Maybe we should go out on the street after dark once we're done here so we can be in violation of the curfew and the rules on public gatherings as well?" Hardy Bloom asked. "And then we can go tell a zebra that some ponies on the other side of town are planning to overthrow the regent." Hardy was a light brown earth pony with a gavel cutie mark and a mellifluous voice that was far more distinctive than her rather plain appearance.

"And then we can turn ourselves in for the reward money and have the full set," Hard Candy said with a giggle. She was another earth pony, with a mint-green coat, peppermint eyes, and a mane that was a mix of pink and white stripes.

"Well, we're sure to be arrested soon anyway, so we might as well get paid for it," Laurel remarked dryly. She was a unicorn, her coat chalk white and her mane iron grey, her watery blue eyes concealed behind a pair of spectacles. No beauty, to be sure, but Dawny had never cared about that and neither did the rest of them. Her eyes darted from one pony to the next. "I'm sure I'm not the only one to have thought that we'll all soon be hearing zebras kicking down our doors."

"What for?" Cherry Blossom asked. The co-owner, with Razor, of the apartment was another pegasus, with a coat of white and a mane of pink, with intermittent creamy flashes. Her eyes were wide now, with fear most likely. "We haven't done anything wrong."

"It's a military dictatorship, Cherry dear, right or wrong doesn't really enter into it," Laurel remarked. "Our beloved regent Princess Iceheart-"

"And that's the prohibition on slurs taken care of," Hardy observed.

"Princess Iceheart?" Razor asked.

"It's what we called Sunset Shimmer at school, when we were feeling generous," Laurel said.

"What about when you weren't feeling generous?" Cherry said.

"Then you don't want to know what we called her," Laurel replied. "Anyway, she'll have us arrested for no other reason than that we might be dangerous. Or because she can. She always hated Dawn, and she used to bully me terribly."

"You don't know that she's the same pony she was," Cherry murmured. "Ponies change."

"She's leading an army that's just occupied Canterlot, if she has changed then frankly I think it's for the worse," Laurel said.

"We can't be certain that she'll come for us," Hardy said.

"Come on Hardy, be sensible," Razor snapped dismissively. "Dawny disappeared the night before the trouble began in Ponyville. And something must have happened to Twilight Sparkle as well because she wasn't with her friends when they arrived in Canterlot before flying off on those airships. And now we find out Sunset Shimmer is behind all of this. I know if I was in her hooves I'd clear out the competition before I made my play. She's got Dawny, and she knows that we're Dawny's friends. She'll come for us, like she came for Princess Twilight's friends."

"We aren't the elements of harmony," Hardy said. "Our little misadventure with the balrog made that abundantly clear. And..."

Razor's eyes narrowed. "And what?"

Hardy hesitated, then sighed resignedly. "Somepony has to say this so it might as well be me. We have to consider the possibility that Dawny has joined with Sunset."

"No!" Razor yelled.

"Shh!" Laurel hissed. "Do you want the whole building to here us plotting.

Razor scowled. "There is no way Dawny would be a part of this, no way she would disappear without telling us if she had a choice, no way that she would get involved in anything this messed up."

"She's arguably done worse," Hardy replied.

"Whose side are you on?" Razor snarled.

"I just don't want us to rule out the possibility, we have to remember what Dawn's capable of."

"She changed," Cherry said firmly. "Dawny did some bad things, but she recognised that. Razor's right, I don't believe she's capable of being involved in this."

"Which means she's a prisoner," Razor said. "Because like I said, there's no way that she would have disappeared without telling us except because she was forced to do so. So the question now is, how do we free her?"

"Free her?" Laurel asked. "We have no idea where she is."

"I'm willing to bet she's somewhere in the zebra camp outside the city," Razor said.

"Are you willing to bet all our lives?" Hardy asked.

"Razor's right, we have to do something," Candy said. "We can't just sit here with a tyrant's hoof upon our necks."

"This isn't a play, Candy, if you die you don't get up again when the curtain goes down," Hardy remarked.

"Do you really want to do nothing?" Razor demanded. "Do you want to sit here and wait for little miss Sunshine to have us dragged from our beds and thrown in a dungeon. If we can find Dawny and get her out then she can stop this."

"Do you think so?" Cherry asked anxiously.

Laurel nodded. "Dawn's the best duellist I've ever seen. She was more than a match for Sunset then, she'll be a match for her now."

"If we can rescue her-"

"If, if, if," Hardy snapped. "You can't make a plan without any hard evidence. It doesn't work. What if Dawny isn't where you think she is, or she can't be rescued, or-"

"Then we deal with it," Razor said. "But we have to try. I'm putting it to a vote."

Hardy rolled her eyes.

"Everypony in favour of doing the right thing and trying to rescue Dawny, raise your hoof," Razor said, raising her own hoof as she did so.

Everypony put a hoof in the air, even Hardy.

"I never said I wasn't going to do it," Hardy grumbled. "I just wanted everypony to be aware of how stupid it was before we did it."

Razor grinned. "As much as you annoy me sometimes, I'm glad you're with us. Now: how are we going to do this?"

Sunset found Celestia and Luna sitting together on the ground, heads nearly touching, whispering to one another as if this was some sort of picnic they were having. Indeed, from Celestia's bearing and demeanour she did not look like a prisoner at all.

Sunset found that, although her head knew that she ought to be enraged at that, her heart found that she was glad of it, and she felt a strange desire not to interrupt the contented scene.

But interrupt it she did, clearing her throat loudly so as to get the attention of the pair.

"Sunset?" Celestia asked, turning her neck to look Sunset in the eye. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Sunset could not help but chuckle. "Shouldn't I be asking the two of you that? I am your gaoler after all."

"You could set us free," Luna said.

Sunset smiled thinly. "Sorry. No can do. Do you have any requests that are more in the line of creature comforts?"

"Something softer to sleep on than a wagon bed would be appreciated," Luna murmured.

Sunset nodded. "You can have my mattress. I don't sleep anyway. Princess Celestia?"

"I would like to know that Applejack is safe," Celestia said.

"Of course, of course. I'll have her brought to join us. We can have a party," Sunset smiled, although nopony else did. She whistled for the attention of a nearby zebra. "You, there, fetch the prisoner Applejack, at once." She watched the Grevyian warrior begin to lumber off to accomplish his task. "I said at once, that means run!" He jumped too, and put on some actual speed. "That's better," Sunset muttered.

"I see you have no difficulty exercising command," Celestia remarked.

"I do not have the privilege of commanding loyalty through love," Sunset replied. "I would rather compel it through discipline than by main force."

"I see," Celestia whispered.

There was silence for a moment, broken only by the sounds of the camp that drifted towards them. Sunset hesitated, looking down at her hooves and the dirt beneath them, kicking at the ground with her forelegs.

"I...I thought that we should have a talk," she murmured.

"I am glad you agree," Celestia said tenderly, standing up and closing the distance between them. The princess knelt, so that she and Sunset were level with one another. "I wish to tender my apology, Sunset Shimmer; I have treated you very badly."

For a moment Sunset could only stand, speechless and still as a statue. Her eyes were wide when they were not blinking in disbelief. She waited for the punchline, but there was none. Celestia's expression was in perfect earnest, her purple orbs filled with nought but sincerity. Ridiculous as it was, she meant what she said. Sunset found herself giggling. "You...you apologise to me? Have your wits been addled by your own sun? Is this some trickery to lower my guard?"

"This is regret, Sunset," Celestia whispered. "The failures of a student are the failures of the teacher. And I am afraid that you have failed most terribly. You are lost, Sunset."

"Lost?" Sunset repeated. "Yes, well, being thrown out of the only home you've ever known will do that to a pony."

"I know," Celestia said. "I should have taken more care. I pushed you too hard, and afterwards I reacted badly when you could not slow down."

"You threw me away," Sunset snapped. "You replaced me. Twice! Do you have any idea what I've been through." Her whole body was trembling now. "Look at me. Look at me!"

Sunset's horn glowed, and the glamour that she used to project the appearance of the pony she had been when she had left Equestria melted away like snow under the heat of the sun. Celestia gasped in horror, and even Luna looked shocked to see what truly lay beneath the illusion.

Scars criss-crossed Sunset's back, vicious welts and angry scabs turning her coat to ruin. Another wound disfigured her face, descending from just beneath her eye to the corner of her mouth, giving her a cruel and mocking look. Her legs were raw from where the manacles had bitten into her flesh, and her body was thin and emaciated.

"Oh, Sunset," Celestia murmured. "What happened to you?"

Sunset smiled sadly as she cast the glamour upon herself once more and became again the Sunset that Celestia remembered. "I was enslaved. I was freed. I was captured. I was tortured. Everything I tried to do, every place where I tried to make something of myself, I fell. Always the same story, wherever I went. I always ended up rejected, just like you rejected me. It's funny really, I ran away because I thought that life couldn't get any worse after you cast me aside, but out of all the ponies who ever threw me away you were by far the nicest about it. You didn't try to kill me, for one thing."

"Sunset..." Celestia whispered. "Why didn't you just come home?"

"What? Crawl back a wretched failure? Be like Breaking Dawn, living off charity, boring the legs of everypony by telling them how I could have been somepony if I had just gotten the breaks? No, I needed to be successful before I came back here, I needed to be able to show you what you had missed out on. That was what kept me going in the slave camp, that was what kept me sane in the dungeons, that was what let me do all of this. Because I knew that I had to survive and prosper so that I could come home to you in style. And now I have." And what will keep me sane now?

"Why?" Luna demanded. "What is this for, this zebra army, this war, this...all of it. What do you want?"

Sunset smiled, her eyes sparking with excitement. "I want to do something amazing. Something that has never before been done, not by the greatest of heroes. I'm going to save a whole universe." She began to pace up and down. "There is a demon called Moloch. Actually he's more than a demon, he's a demon god. Powerful. Nightmare Moon would wet herself if she came face to face with him. He has his tendrils extending in all directions, his darkness moves through space, devouring world after world. He corrupts ponies who are willing, or just desperate, and has them betray their kin and their homes to make his conquests easier. He believes that I am one such corrupted soul. He believes that I am here on his behalf, to conquer Equestria as an offering to his greatness." Sunset's smile widened. "More fool him, the big lug, I'm going to lure him here and I'm going to take him out and save everypony, on all the worlds. I'd like to see Twilight Sparkle come up with a plan like that."

"No," Luna said dryly. "No, she would never think of something like that. I am amazed."

"I know, right."

"Amazed at the foolishness of it," Luna said.

Sunset looked at her. "You don't think I can do it?"

"Sunset, please, consider this," Celestia said. "You are putting the whole of Equestria at risk to satisfy your desire for battle."

"No, I'm protecting them," Sunset insisted. "Moloch will come here sooner or later, so I'm going to fight him on my terms. I've already got it figured out. There is a legend, I came across on my travels, of a great hero called Zulqarnain, the Horned King, who travelled to the ends of the world and found an army of monsters there led by two demons called Gog and Magog. The Horned King fought the demon host with his army, and sealed them away in a mountain pass behind gates of iron and brass. This imprisoned them for all time, and prevented them from invading his world. I'm going to go one better: I'm going to summon Moloch and his army into a position where my army can destroy his, and then I'm going to imprison him under the mountains where he can rot for all time until Equestria itself comes to an end. I've already been researching the wards and circles needed to confine him and to nullify his power. That's the point of the zebras and the diamond dogs and the mercenaries. Trust me, I've got this all figured out."

"Where do you plan on summoning this demon?" Celestia asked.

"Canterlot," Sunset said. "Moloch will believe me if I summon him to a place filled with prey for him. If I try and summon him out in the wild somewhere he might suspect a trap."

"But, Sunset," Celestia exclaimed. "If you're wrong then the risk-"

"There isn't any risk, I'm not wrong," Sunset insisted. “For once in my life, Princess, can’t you just put your faith in me?”

“Such faith would be misplaced. As is your own confidence.”

It was not Celestia or Luna who had spoken. It was a male voice, deep and a little hoarse with age, and it was coming from behind Sunset.

Sunset turned around slowly, her horn glowing with a faint light as she prepared to defend herself against whoever or whatever had managed to sneak up on her so efficiently.

She beheld a black alicorn, his coat of shimmering onyx – but with a touch of Luna’s midnight blue in there as well, very faint but noticeable to Sunset’s eyes - and his mane of shimmering silver flowing behind him even as Celestia and Luna’s manes and tails trailed in their wake like page foals. His eyes blue and very like to Luna’s, whom he resembled closely. His cutie mark was…what was it? Sunset did not recognise it. It looked like a shimmering vortex of blue and red, spiralling inwards on itself, but Sunset had no idea what that could mean or what it signalled about this visitor.

“Who are you?” Sunset demanded. “How did you get into my camp?”

“He is our father,” Luna said, her voice loaded with a surprising amount of distaste all things considered. “And he has always had a talent for coming and going as he pleased. Though you were better at the disappearing weren’t you, father?”

The onyx alicorn said nothing. He did not even acknowledge Luna’s existence, let alone that she had spoken.

“Is this true?” Sunset asked. “Are you…the princess’ father?”

“I am Aeternitas,” he said. “And I have come to warn you, Sunset Shimmer.”

“I don’t care about that, I asked you a question: are you Princess Celestia’s father.”

“Tell her, father,” Luna hissed. “Tell her, if you are not ashamed.”

“Luna,” Celestia murmured reproachfully.

“I am sorry, sister, but one thousand years for you was but the blinking of an eye for me, and so, for me, the hurt that has for you long scabbed and healed is red and raw and bleeding in my heart,” Luna said. “Have you forgotten how he abandoned us without a word, and mother too? Have you forgotten, father? Did you hope to find a warm reception here?”

Aeternitas blinked. When he spoke, his voice was firm and even and without remorse. “My children they are.”

“And you abandoned them,” Sunset observed. “Now I see where Celestia gets it from. Twilight Sparkle wants to watch out if she ever gets out of that box; you obviously can’t help yourself, Princess. Anyway, I’m afraid you picked a bad time to try and reconcile with your daughters, this isn’t really a place for big hugs and tears.”

“Cease your noxious prating, foolish mare,” Aeternitas snapped. “I have not descended to this mean earth in order to be pricked by your jibes and jeers.”

“Oho, so that’s how it is, huh?” Sunset demanded, the walls of her pride – which Celestia had momentarily brought down – beginning to rise again in response to Aeternitas’ obvious disdain. “Listen, you may think you’re something special and important but you’ve got another thing coming if you think that you can talk to me like that. Nopony talks to me like that, and those who cross me tend to come to a bad end. Now get out of my sight before I have you strung up on crossed pikes.”

A low chuckle rose from Aeternitas’ throat. “As if you could.”

Sunset bared her teeth at him, snarling like a scalded tiger.

“Please, father, stop this,” Celestia shouted. “If you came here to do more than antagonise Sunset, then put aside your pride and speak to her! You said you had a warning to deliver.”

“Why should I listen to anything he has to say?” Sunset demanded.

“Because I’m clever,” Aeternitas said.

“Oh, and I’m not, is that what you’re saying?”

“Father!” Celestia snapped as Aeternitas opened his mouth. “This does not help. Have you been gone so long that you have forgotten how to talk to other ponies?” Her tone softened. “Please, Sunset, listen to him. Whatever he is, as abrasive as he can be, Aeternitas has much wisdom. If he says that you have made a mistake, if he says that there is peril in your path, then please, I beg you, hear him out.”

Sunset hesitated, and then shrugged her shoulders. “I will hear you. But keep a civil tongue in your head. Now, what is it that was so important that you had to grace us humble peons with your presence?”

“Your plan is doomed,” Aeternitas said. “Not just doomed, foredoomed. It won’t work, it can never work, all you will do is hand Equestria over to Moloch. Everything that you plan he has foreseen.”

Sunset shook her head. “Impossible. Nopony can lie like I can, there’s no way that he could see through me.”

“I have seen it,” Aeternitas insisted. “The future holds only death and destruction if you pursue this course.”

“Ah, the future,” Luna remarked. “Always the future. You never had a care for the present of your daughters but the future? That you tend with the care of a painstaking gardener.”

“She really hates you, doesn’t she?” Sunset asked.

Aeternitas ignored them both. “I have seen the future you will bring into being. I can show it to you, if it will make your turn away.”

“I will make my own future,” Sunset declared. “A shining future, free from the threat of a demon lord.”

“Foolish mare!” Aeternitas declared. “This is the future you will bring to pass!” His horn glowed obsidian black, and before Sunset could conjure up a shield to protect herself she was engulfed by darkness.

Then the darkness cleared, and she beheld Canterlot in flames, demons running amok in all directions, chasing ponies through the streets and through the air. She saw the corpses of dead zebras choking up the gateway, Virtue’s head set in a fierce grimace as it sat mounted on a spike outside the city, demonic captains turning the grass to ash beneath their step and the sky to fire with the beating of their wings.

She saw ponies dying in droves.

She saw Celestia writhing in the grip of Moloch as he choked the life from her.

She saw herself, dead, crushed beneath his feet, her body smouldering.

And then she was back in her camp, surrounded by all her strength of arms, and she shook her head furiously. “No. You are wrong, you’re wrong! That is the future I am destined to avert, my dream told me as much.” She laughed. “You are mistaken, old doomsayer, that is what will happen if I turn aside now and forsake my plans. Moloch will come here whether I summon him or no, but you would have me wait for him to choose the time and place of the engagement. No, I’ll draw him out and finish him, with my own strength and the strength of those that follow me.”

“Have you learned nothing?” Aeternitas demanded. “Think of what you saw and did not see. Your plot is ill-conceived, your friends uncertain-“

“It is an excellent plot, and excellent friends,” Sunset retorted. A part of her – a very small part – recognised the irony that she, who had so despised Virtue’s blustering chivalry, should bluster so before this Aeternitas. But she could not help it, he had riled her up and she had to defend herself and her enterprise. “I do not need a deadbeat dad to lecture me upon my actions! I have come too far, done too much, to turn aside now with the end in sight. I have gained the subservience of the zebras and the loyalty of the diamond dogs, I have rescued a people and blackmailed their followers into fighting in my battle, I killed the Emperor of Grevyia once he had given me his army, so that he would not interfere with my plans; should I stop now, after all that, having achieved nothing?”

“Better that than to lose everything,” Aeternitas said.

“Shut up!” Sunset yelled, firing a bolt of energy at him.

And he wasn’t there anymore.

It was not teleportation. Teleportation always revealed itself through a flash and a popping sound. There was neither here. He simply wasn’t there. He was behind her instead.

“You must listen to me.”

“Why?”

“Because unlike you, my mind isn’t being clouded by my ego,” Aeternitas said.

Sunset growled, and fired another spell at him. Again, he simply disappeared.

“How are you doing that?” Sunset asked. “Stop moving and fight!”

“I don’t believe in violence,” Aeternitas said smugly.

Sunset snarled in frustration. It was the same every time. She fired, he disappeared, reappearing somewhere else.

It was not teleportation. She was certain of that. The distinctive traces were absent, and even an alicorn would struggle to keep up that many teleports, unless teleporting was his special talent. That might be what the vortex stood for, but that didn’t explain the lack of flash or sound. It was more like he was just ceasing to be where he was, being somewhere else. It was like he was…

Oh, so that’s it, Sunset thought. Oh, yes, that would explain everything.

Sunset kept on firing, but every time she cast a magic bolt she also cast another spell, on a different part of the clearing. The effects were invisible, and since he couldn’t even see her casting them Sunset was confident that Aeternitas wouldn’t see them coming. All she had to do was wait for him to step on one of her traps.

And step he did. She cast a spell, he disappeared – and then he reappeared a moment later, only a few steps away from where he’d been, writing and rearing as chains and manacles erupted from out of the ground to clap their cold, unyielding grasp around him, holding him down and binding him fast.

“It seems I wasn’t the only one letting my ego cloud my judgement,” Sunset crowed. “I figured out what you were doing: time manipulation. You weren’t teleporting, you were slowing down my perception of time so that I couldn’t see you just walking out of the way of my spells. And to me it looked like you had almost teleported. But clever as it was, I’m pretty smart myself, so don’t you ever forget that.”

“Not as smart as you think,” Aeternitas growled.

“Whatever,” Sunset said. “Since it seems you can’t actually teleport, the only way your magic is going to help you now is if you slow down the time it takes to pick the locks on those shackles.”

“You cannot-“

“Trust me, I should do much worse after the lip I’ve had from you,” Sunset snapped. “Maybe I should ask your daughters what they want done with you? Celestia, Luna, would you like to get back at your father?”

Celestia, looking slightly ill, turned away. Luna looked as though she might consider it for a moment, before she shook her head.

“Suit yourselves,” Sunset said. She turned away as she heard the zebra she had dispatched returning with Applejack in tow. “There, you see? Applejack is-“

“APPLEJACK!”

Sunset caught sight a pink blur a moment before Pinkie Pie appeared, hooves wrapped around Applejack’s neck, swinging off it like a monkey off a tree.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay are you okay did they hurt you are you hungry do you want some candy-“

“Pinkie Pie!” Celestia exclaimed. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to have left Canterlot on the Sky Without!”

“Well I was going to leave,” Pinkie said. “But then I realised that Applejack would be left all alone with all of these meany critters and that made me so sad that I just had to stay and keep her company because nopony should ever have to be all alone with no friends.”

“That’s…mighty kind of you Pinke,” Applejack said. “But you have to get outta here. It ain’t safe for you.”

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve got Maud with me.”

“Hello, Your Highness,” a drab grey earth pony in a drab grey jumper said slowly as she stepped out of the bushes. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“When I find out who was supposed to be on sentry duty they’re going to be in big trouble,” Sunset said to herself.

“Is this her?” the drab pony asked.

“I’m Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset said. “Who are you?”

“That’s my big sister Maud,” Pinkie said happily. “Isn’t she cool?”

“It’s only fair to warn you that if you try and hurt Pinkie Pie I will hurt you,” Maud said.

Sunset smirked. “You know, I like you. I wish I had somepony like you in my service. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt Pinkie Pie as I’ve not hurt Applejack. Though I won’t let you go either.” She chuckled. “Since you have been so foolish as to come into my den, I shall make you wear motley and be my fool. This place could use some livening up.”

“I’m gonna do it,” Derpy said.

Lyra Heartstrings leaned closer, speaking in a hushed whisper. “Forget it, Derpy, you won’t get away with it.”

“I have to,” Derpy insisted. “I haven’t got a choice.”

The Ponyville conscripts were camped in the middle of Sunset Shimmer’s mighty host, surrounded on all sides by zebras and diamond dogs. If it was meant as a precaution against them running away it worked pretty well, but of course they couldn’t camp in the sky, and it was to the sky that Derpy Hooves was looking – inasmuch as anypony could tell what she was looking at – with a look of fevered anticipation on her face.

They were speaking softly, only Lyra and Bon-Bon could hear her. Neither of them looked too enthusiastic about her idea.

“The griffons will catch you, and if they don’t the shadowbolts will,” Bon-Bon hissed. “Derpy if you try to run they…they’ll kill you.”

“But my girls-“ Derpy began.

“You think you can just go home?” Lyra demanded. “That’s the first place they’ll look.”

“I don’t wanna fight,” Derpy said stubbornly.

“Neither do I, but we have to bide our time,” Lyra said. “We’ll get our chance to make a break for it, but not now.”

“And we can’t bring trouble on Ponyville either,” Bon-Bon added. “Even if we get away we’ll still have to hide out and wait for all of this to blow over.”

“What if it doesn’t?” Derpy asked quietly.

Neither Lyra nor Bon-Bon could offer a reply.

“It will,” Lyra offered, weakly. “It has to. This…it can’t go on forever. This is Equestria, for Celestia’s sake, not the Shattered Kingdoms. Stuff like this doesn’t happen here.”

“But here we are,” Bon-Bon said, her voice tinged with melancholy.

“I have to get out of here,” Derpy said. “I can’t die. I can’t live without seeing my daughters again. I have to get back to them.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Lyra insisted. “That’s the last thing they would want.”

A grin spread across Derpy’s face. “Don’t worry about that. Everypony thinks I’m stupid ‘cause of these eyes, but all that means is I see stuff they wouldn’t even think to look at. Whatever I do, they won’t ever see me coming!”

It was time for the sun to set and the for the moon to rise. And that was presenting a few problems.

Sunset scowled up at the blazing orb which, smug in its lofty seat upon the pinnacle of the firmament, beamed down upon her in mockery of her efforts.

She panted. I can do this. I have the power to do this. Mustering all the strength at her command, Sunset stretched her magic forth up into the sky towards the sun. Fall. Fall, curse you.

Nothing happened. The sun remained where it was, untroubled by Sunset’s feeble efforts.

Sunset sighed in frustration. Even if she could lower the wretched sun, what chance she would have the strength left in her to raise the moon? Perhaps she should just leave the world in eternal day for a little while and let it be attributed to her vanity or to colossal hubris.

I might even get a terrifying nickname out of it. Through my failure shall my legend grow, even if it is a legend for villainy and malice. But then, what else can I really expect at this point? I am the villain here, and shall be for many years until the memory of all I was has faded and revisionist scholars dare to suggest I was not so bad after all. At least I shall be remembered. To be forgotten would be worse than infamy.

“Allow me, Sunset,” Princess Celestia’s voice was warm, kind, unconcerned by such trivialities as the battle lines that Sunset had drawn or the war she had begun. Sunset heard the familiar tingling sound of Celestia’s magic, and watched as the sun descended in a graceful arc below the horizon, plunging the world into darkness. A moment later the moon graced the night sky with its presence, putting the twinkle of the stars to shame and turning the blackness to a navigable midnight blue as it shone its silver lamp-light down upon the world.

Sunset did not turn around to look at her old teacher. “You must think I’m pretty pathetic.”

“I think you are only a pony,” Celestia said. “There is no shame in that.”

“And if I was content to crawl through the earth on my belly there would be no shame in my being an earth-worm,” Sunset replied. “Yet I’ll wager there are some worms that would rather be butterflies.”

“A dream that they can never realise, no matter how hard they try,” Celestia said softly. “Perhaps they would be happier learning to be content as earth-worms.”

Sunset turned around, shaking her head. “Though the cocoon will never grow, through the wings will never appear, there is more honour in reaching for a sky that can never be touched than in eating mud until you’ve convinced yourself that it tastes like ambrosia. It may be that my destiny was set in stone the moment you sent me from your side, or perhaps long before, as early as the day that I first drew breath. It may be that all the ill luck and misfortune that have dogged me since are but iterations of the inevitable ruin that awaits me. But if our fates are set then all that matters is how we meet those fates. I choose to meet mine with defiance.”

“Sunset,” Celestia whispered, as she had used to do when Sunset had disappointed her. “Destiny is not set, in fact it is far from certain. We all of us have the opportunity to change our fate-“

“But for some the opportunities are greater than for others?” Sunset asked.

“Yes,” Celestia replied. “But you must understand that it is your actions that condemn you, not some irresistible force driving you on. There is still time to change your fate if you will change your ways.”

Sunset laughed softly. “I am not Luna, Princess, the elements of harmony will not make me whole again. It is too late for me.”

Celestia tilted her head to one side. “You need not have told me any of what you intend, what was done to you. You could have walled yourself away as you walled yourself from your schoolmates as a filly. Yet you confessed. Is that not proof that, deep down, you desire to be other than what you are?”

“I told you everything because…because I could never keep secrets from you,” Sunset answered. “And because…while I’ve never cared what other ponies think of me, I’d like for you to know the truth. And the truth is there is no turning back.”

“There is always the opportunity to turn back,” Celestia insisted.

“I sold my soul to a dark god for a little more pathetic life,” Sunset spat. “My body is a ruin and I can hardly feel it now. My own coat, my own soul, they aren’t mine any more. I scarcely eat for lack of taste upon my tongue. I do not sleep for dreaming of death and slaughter. I touch the fire and I feel nothing all thanks to my black-hearted creditor. And I’m planning to cheat on my bargain.”
Sunset looked down at the ground, kicking her hooves like a petulant filly. “I know that this is not going to end well for me. On that front I have no illusions. But if I can do something worthwhile with my last breath, worthwhile on a cosmic scale, then it will have made everything else, all the suffering I’ve endured, all the suffering I’ve caused, worthwhile.”

Celestia’s horn glowed golden, and for a moment Sunset thought that the Princess meant to strike her down. But, although she was indeed touched by the alicorn magic, it did her no harm. Instead she felt as though a wave of soft water were rippling over her, bathing her in light and warm. Sunset felt her glamours vanishing but she did not care, for this warmth was so soft and comforting that it was like being wrapped in goose down.

Celestia conjured a mirror and held it up to Sunset’s face. “I cannot repair all that you have suffered, but I have done what I can.”

Sunset gasped as her eyes widened. Her scars were gone. On her face, on her back, upon her legs, the welts and visible marks of injury had vanished. She still looked thin, half-starved, malnourished and deprived of sleep, but she no longer looked as though she had reeled from slave-cabin to battlefield to dungeon torture-chamber.

“I recognise myself,” Sunset murmured. She looked at Celestia. “Why?”

Celestia blinked. “I never stopped loving you, Sunset Shimmer. And I never will.”

Sunset said nothing. She did not know what she could possibly say. She had never imagined that Princess Celestia would…how could she say something like that now, after everything Sunset had done? It was…she was…

A tear rolled down Sunsets’s cheek. Soon it was not alone.

Celestia enfolded Sunset within her wings and pressed her neck against Sunset’s cheek as Sunset sobbed into her shoulder.

“Princess…” Sunset murmured as she sobbed.

“I am not my father, Sunset, I swear I will not turn my back on you,” Celestia said. “Please, Sunset, come back to me.”

“I dare not,” Sunset whispered. “The zebras, the diamond dogs, they will destroy me and all Equestria as well the moment they think me weak. I must appear strong. I have to be strong…until I can see this through.”

“You will not need to be strong forever,” Celestia said. “I promise.”

“Just don’t forsake me.”

“Never.”

In the trees, a little way away, Precious Redfang watched the two, her eyes narrowed down to mere slits of red in the darkness. Eventually she spat on the ground in disgust, and turned away, swinging her axe by her side as she did so.

With the night’s darkness now able to enfold them, Dawn’s friends crept towards the outskirts of Sunset’s camp, cloaked in dark stage-hand outfits Candy had borrowed from a theatre. It wasn’t the perfect disguise, but it was the best that they could do on short notice.

Razor held up one hoof and motioned for everypony to stop. They were within a few feet of the circle of watch-fires the zebras had built to beat off the black of night, and if they got any closer now they would be seen.

“This is it,” Razor hissed. “We split up here, just like we planned. Laurel, you’re with me. The rest of you wait until we’ve created a distraction then sneak in when the sentries have all gone to investigate.”

“Got it,” Candy said without hesitation. Hardy and Cherry did not look so keen on the idea.

“Don’t worry,” Razor said reassuringly. “Once you find Dawny you’ll be perfectly safe. We’ll all meet back home and plan how to take our city back. Stay safe and good luck.”

“To all of us,” Hardy muttered. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Razor grinned. “I will.”

“But I won’t,” Laurel added.

Razor held out one hoof, and the others all placed their hooves together in turn.

“Six against the world,” Razor said. “Let’s do this.”

The circle broke and Razor and Laurel moved off, creeping into the night, low to the ground, until the three that they had left behind had lost all sight of them.

“Six against the world,” Hardy muttered. “Unfortunately there are only five of us.”

“But when we find Dawn, then we’ll be six,” Cherry murmured.

“Let’s hope so,” Hardy replied.

“You worry too much, Hardy. I’ve got a good feeling about tonight,” Cherry said.

“I hope it’s more accurate than the good feeling you had about your one-mare show,” Hardy replied.

“Shh,” Cherry hissed. “I think I can hear something.”

Very soon Hardy could hear it too: the sound of panicked trumpeting and hammer blows falling upon the earth. It sounded as though something was in great distress, but off the top of her head Hardy had no idea what it might be.

“What have they done?” she asked.

“I think they’ve upset the elephants,” Cherry said. “I hope they didn’t hurt them too badly.”

The trumpeting and the trampling sounds only got louder, and were answered by panicked shouts from all across the camp as zebras ran to the sound of the elephants running mad. From all across the camp they streamed, abandoning whatever they were doing, even if that meant abandoning their positions keeping watch. The three mares saw the sentries desert their posts as one, going to join the growing hubbub on the other side of the camp. The fires still burned, but what did that matter when there was no one to see what the fires might illumine.

“We should hurry,” Hardy said. “There’s no telling how long the distraction will last.”

“What’s everypony running around for?” Derpy asked as the camp dissolved into turmoil, with zebras leaping this way and that, pushing the conscripted ponies first from one side, then to the other, dashing in all directions, shouting in panic.

“I don’t know, but I hope they stop soon,” Lyra replied as she was battered first this way, then that by the currents of zebras like a ship tossed on the stormy seas. “Excuse me, can somepony tell us what’s happening? Ugh!” She was pushed to the ground, and it was only Bon-Bon’s speed in dragging her out of the way that saved her from getting trampled by a flood of diamond dogs who looked as though they wouldn’t have seen her and would not have stopped running if they had.

“Are you okay?” Bon-Bon asked.

“Yeah, thanks to you,” Lyra said. “What’s up with them all of a sudden.”

“Maybe it has something to do with that elephant sound. The one that’s getting closer,” Derpy suggested.

Lyra and Bon-Bon looked at one another. They both spoke at once. “Getting…closer?”

With a roar, an enrage elephant erupted out of the darkness, the moonlight shining on its tusks of gilded ivory and its trunk swinging wildly left and right as though it was trying to sweep the ground. The impressed ponies scattered in all directions as the elephant trampled through their section of the camp, bugling in anger as he went.

One swing of his trunk caught a hapless zebra, hurling him up into the sky with a cut-off scream of alarm.

Lyra and Bon-Bon screamed themselves, leaping out of the elephant’s path and clinging to one another as they rolled along the ground. They held one another for a moment, sighing in relief, before Lyra began to look for Derpy.

“Derpy? Are you alright? Derpy?”

She saw her then, silhouetted briefly against the moon before disappearing into the dark.

“Derpy, wait!” Lyra yelled. “Don’t do it! Derpy!”

Derpy turned briefly and waved. “Bye, Lyra. Thanks, Mister Elephant!” She turned around and flew away. She wasn’t going to fight, and she wasn’t going to die. She had to live for her daughters.

Hardy, Candy and Cherry crept through the nearly empty camp. Everypony, it seemed, had gone to try and bring their wayward elephants back under control. That would be good news for them, provided that none of the elephants stampeded to where they were.

“Dawny?” Cherry called out softly. “Dawn, can you hear me? Dawny?”

“I think we could scream our lungs off and no one would hear us over the racket,” Candy said. “HEY, DAWNY WHERE ARE YOU? WE’VE COME TO RESCUE YOU!”

Hardy clamped one hoof around Candy’s mouth. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

“No. And we haven’t been caught so it just proves that we don’t need to whisper,” Candy replied, ripping Hardy’s hoof away.

“Over here!” someone shouted, a stallion, old and a little hoarse.

Candy blinked. “Dawny?”

Hardy rolled her eyes. “Of course that isn’t Breaking Dawn, that’s a stallion.”

“Wow, what a secret to keep from her best friends.”

“Maybe we should see who it is,” Cherry suggested.

“We aren’t here to do miscellaneous good deeds,” Hardy said tersely. “We came here to get Dawn, let’s focus on that.”

“How about you focus on something you can actually accomplish, like getting me out?” the stallion asked. “Come on, I don’t have all night.”

They approached the source of the voice warily. It turned out to be an onyx black alicorn, bound in chains pegged into the ground, secured with manacles locked around his hoofs.

“Another alicorn,” Candy said. “Nopony tell Dawn about this, she’ll be furious.”

“There you are, about time,” the alicorn snapped. “Hurry up and get me out of here.”

“Explain to me why we should do that?” Hardy said. “Aside, of course, from the fact that you’ve been so courteous in asking for our help.”

The alicorn rolled his midnight blue eyes. “Look, I already know that you’re going to let me out, so why can’t we just cut out all of the irrelevant nonsense where I persuade you to let me out and skip to the good bit where you actually let me out of here!”

“How do you know we’re going to free you?” Cherry asked.

He sighed. “This is why I hate linear time. Because I know, okay? I just know. Do you think I’d have let myself get captured if I hadn’t known that somepony would come along to free me, try and keep up.”

Hardy tilted her head to one side. “If I let you out, will you stop talking?”

“What kind of a question is that?” he demanded.

“The one that will get you out of here,” Hardy snapped.

The stallion huffed and puffed, before pouting his lip and settling into an unhappy silence.

“Thank you,” Hardy muttered. She pulled a hairpin out of Cherry’s mane and held it in her mouth as she began to pick the locks on the stallion’s manacles. After a few minutes the shackles popped open and hit the ground with a thud.

“About time,” the stallion said. “Oh, I’m sorry, is it all right if I talk? Can I talk now?”

“I suppose so, though I’d rather you didn’t,” Hardy replied.

The stallion drew himself up, full of affront. “You’ve got no idea who I am, do you?”

“No, and frankly I can’t find it in myself to care. In any case you must forgive us, but we don’t exactly have time to listen to you explain exactly who you are and why we should be awestruck to meet you in the flesh; we have business elsewhere in this delightful camp. Come Cherry, Candy.”

“What’s the point?” the stallion demanded. “You can’t save her. You’ve said it yourself, I’ve seen it, I know you’re thinking it, you know what a fool’s errand it is. Actually, you don’t because you’re all primitive idiots with no conception of the stakes of what you’re involved in but, even within your own small-minded of what’s going on you know that this isn’t going to work. You can’t save Breaking Dawn and even if you could she can’t save Equestria. Only I can do that.”

Hardy blinked, and then her face hardened as she stepped closer towards the dark alicorn. “I’ve no idea who you think you are, but I’m going to give you a piece of advice: if you talk about my friend like that again I’ll alter the shape of your face. If Razor were here she’d have done it already but fortunately, I’m the calm one. Now get out of my sight.”

The onyx alicorn stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. “So small minded,” he murmured, before he spread his wings and took off into the night.

Hardy sighed. “Well, that was a productive waste of time, and speaking of time, we probably don’t have a lot left, so if we’re going to find Dawny let’s do it now.”

“I thought that I heard voices.” The night was illumined by the sun of Princess Celestia’s presence. She glowed, her body radiating light, her graceful presence sufficient to force Cherry and Candy to their knees. “You…you are Breaking Dawn’s friends, aren’t you?”

“We are, Your Majesty,” Hardy said, her voice becoming small and quiet. “Do you know where she is?”

“Is she all right?” Cherry asked.

Celestia smiled. “You came to get her out. How very commendable. I am afraid you cannot leave in the triumph you might have hoped.”

“Why not?” Candy said.

“She isn’t…Dawny isn’t part of this, is she?” Cherry said, her voice and body trembling.

Celestia shook her head. “No, but she is not an ordinary prisoner.” Celestia looked away as the sounds of zebra shouting began to draw closer. Her horn glowed as she levitated an ancient and ornately carved wooden box into Cherry’s hooves. “There is no time to explain properly, but let the brief version suffice: by dark magic, Breaking Dawn has been trapped in this box along with Twilight Sparkle. They cannot be released until they are ready, but nor can they release themselves without somepony on the outside to release the spell. Take the box and get it to Rarity in the Crystal Empire. The spell to release the prisoners when their journey is complete is this:

All your trials are now complete,
You know yourself, a worthy feat,
Return, and your new subjects greet.

“Say it back to me.”

“All your trials are now complete,” Candy parroted. “You know yourself, a worthy feat, Return, and your new subjects greet.”

“Very good,” Celestia said. “You must not forget those words, they are the only way to free Dawn. Go now, and quickly!”

“But what you-“ Cherry began.

“I will be fine here,” Celestia said. “Go! Now!”

They turned and fled, leaving Celestia standing alone as the hue and cry drew nearer to her.

Derpy landed, halfway between Canterlot and Ponyville, and wondered where to go.

It was true, what Lyra and Bon-Bon had said: if she went home now it would be the first place that they would look for her. If she wasn't caught by the zebras still there. They would take her away again, at least, and her daughters might suffer as well.

And yet at the same time the pull of her family came over her like mighty cables bearing her back to them. Ditzy. Amethyst Star. How she wanted to see them again.

What was she supposed to do? Play it safe, and torment herself until she could return to them, or throw the dice and hope for the best? Did she have the right to take risks with her daughters' safety. They were the best things that had ever happened to her, the only things she felt truly proud of in her life, could she abandon them? Could she put them in danger? What a terrible choice to lay before a mailmare.

Derpy heard the flapping of wings nearby, and she looked up in fright, thinking to see a hunting griffon or a shadowbolt, only to see an alicorn as black as onyx descending through the air towards her.

"Ah, yes, you might do," he said, his voice old and a little crusty.

Derpy blinked. "I might do for what?"

"Well, I'm not going to eat you if that's what you're afraid of," the alicorn said. "I require a travelling companion. My...my wife always told me I was more tolerable in company. Plus it has been a long time since I walked the world, I am unsure of where I'm going."

Derpy blinked. "Um...I suppose it's nice of you to offer but-"

"I'm not offering, I'm telling," he said.

"What?"

"What is there to offer, the whole thing is settled. I need a fellow traveller, you are available, ergo - ergo, therefore, ergo - you are coming with me. Chop chop."

Derpy felt as though her head would be spinning if her blood were not boiling with indignation instead. "Listen, who are you?"

"Aeternitas," he declared grandly.

Derpy waited for the rest: Aeternitas, Creator of All Things; Aeternitas, Prince of Canterlot; Aeternitas, the Largest Head in All Equestria. But nothing was forthcoming.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Derpy asked.

Aeternitas sighed. "Has nopony in this land been told of me? Has the Alicorn of Time faded from memory? In faith, it is truly said that an ungrateful daughter is as sharp as a serpent's tooth. But in equal truth it matters not, mere worldly vanity, I reject it. I reject it utterly! For I am above such mortal pettiness. And yet it is very rude of them. Yet I care not. But they should not treat me so. But it does not matter to me whether they do or not. In any case, we are wasting time here, we must be off."

"But I haven't said I'm going anywhere with you yet!" Derpy squawked in loud protest. "I...I...I haven't decided where I'm going."

"Where else can you go, but with me?" Aeternitas said. "Equestria is on fire, or soon to be made so. Who can protect you, if not I? Where else might you go?"

"To Ponyville," Derpy murmured. "Back to my daughters."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"I mean why bother, what does it matter?" Aeternitas said.

"They're my girls, my family," Derpy said. "My only family."

Aeternitas stared at her as though she was an idiot. "This is the root of mortal troubles. This is the root of wickedness: emotion. 'Oh, my family is so important'. 'Oh, I must assuage my injured pride.' 'Oh, I must risk everything for friendship or for love.' Does nopony see? See how worthless are all such things? Family, friendship, pride, vanity, generosity, honesty, loyalty, courage, anger, wrath, all of them irrelevant, all of them doing nothing but clouding the mind and obscuring thought. This is why you must come with me: because only I, purged as I am of such distractions, can think clearly enough to thwart the evils menacing this world. Only I can save it. Do you think your daughters matter in the scheme of things compared to that?"

Derpy smacked him. Her hoof flew through the air and collided with his face. It was like hitting stone, she wanted to cry out in pain, and only the fear of humiliation stopped her.

Aeternitas blinked. "You see? Thoroughly illogical, hence why I did not see it coming. If I had looked ahead then I would have-"

"Shut up!" Derpy snapped. "Just...shut up!"

"I'm getting that a lot tonight."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Derpy asked sarcastically. "My daughters matter to me. They are important to me. As far as I'm concerned they're the most important mares in the whole universe and no amount of you or anypony else talking down to me is ever going to change that!" She took a deep breath. "Now, where are we going?"

"Ah, so you are coming."

"Yes, I'm coming," Derpy shouted. "Because you just said that you could save my girls and that means I can't afford to let you go off on your own and mess it up! And for your information I am not thinking clearly right now, I am thinking with my heart because my head is telling me to run away from you as fast as I can."

"I don't mess things up," Aeternitas said.

Derpy sighed. "Let's just go okay? Where are we going?"

"North," Aeternitas said. "To a town called Buckingham. That's where we need to start. We need to get there before it's too late, or there's no chance at all."

Derpy took a deep breath. "Okay. Buckingham it is then. I hope Amethyst can take care of her little sister for a little longer." She glared at Aeternitas. "A thank you wouldn't go amiss."

"I do not need you to complete my task, only to translate for me sometimes," Aeternitas replied. "You're hardly essential."

"Don't flatter yourself," Derpy said. "You'd be lost without me."

The Price of Glory

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Chapter 15

The Price of Glory

Fluttershy moved through the desert slowly, her tongue hanging listlessly out of her mouth, panting with every step she took.

She was so thirsty. She was so hot. She couldn’t imagine why anypony would want to come to a place like this to make a life, and she missed her home. She missed grass, she missed trees, she missed shade. She missed her animal friends.

She missed her pony friends most of all.

“I’m…so…sorry everypony,” Fluttershy gasped as she made her plodding way south. “I’ve…let…you all…down.”

Rarity should have been released instead of her. Anypony should have been released instead of her. She would have rather been still a captive then having the hopes of all her friends, and Princess Celestia too, resting on her shoulders and knowing that she had already failed in her task.

Princess Celestia had given her three destinations to find allies: Appleoosa, Whitetail Wood and Raven Rock. Fluttershy had decided to go to Appleoosa first, on the grounds that she at least knew some of the ponies and buffalo there, if only a little bit, which was more than could be said for the deer or the griffons. She had hoped to follow the railway line, but she had found it patrolled by zebras, and so she had retreated into the desert to get away from them.

Which was why she was where she was: hopelessly lost, hot, thirsty. She didn’t dare fly because it got even more unbearably warm the higher up she got, even assuming she still had the energy, which it didn’t feel like she did. There was nowhere to rest from the heat, and at night there was nowhere to rest from the cold. She hadn’t even seen any animals whom she could ask for help, just a pair of buzzards flying overhead who would not come when she called to them.

She was so thirsty. Her head…there were drums sounding in her head. Where were they coming from?

But, though her heart was heavy with despair, Fluttershy kept plodding along. She had to keep going, she couldn’t give up. All her friends were counting on her.

Even though she was the least likely to have been trusted with a job like this.

“Oh, if only Applejack or Rainbow Dash were here, they’d know what to do,” Fluttershy murmured miserably to herself. “If only Twilight were here, then none of this would have happened.”

“Fluttershy.”

She heard voices calling out to her. Faint voices, and ethereal, but possessing a quality that she recognised.

“Oh, oh my goodness,” Fluttershy gasped. “Is it really…?”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she appeared in front of Fluttershy. “There you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Fluttershy beamed. “Oh, Twilight, thank goodness. You’re okay! How did you get out of that box.”

“Relax, Fluttershy, all that stuff’s taken care of,” Rainbow said. “Sunset Shimmer’s over. We won.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” Applejack said. “And we couldn’t have done it without your help, partner.”

“But I didn’t do anything,” Fluttershy said.

“You kept going no matter what,” Twilight said. “You were willing to make any sacrifice for the sake of your friends.”

“You’re a hero,” Rainbow said.

“An inspiration to all of us,” said Applejack.

“Almost as awesome as I am,” said Rainbow.

“Now come on, Fluttershy,” Pinkie cried. “We’re all going to celebrate with a super-awesome party!”

For a moment, all six of Fluttershy’s friends appeared before her, mugs of cider held in their hooves, raising their drinks in toast to her, laughing and smiling. And then they turned away, and began to leave her behind.

“Oh, girls, please wait for me,” Fluttershy squeaked. She tried to run faster, but her legs were so heavy with weariness, and her friends were trotting away so fast. “Please, please wait,” Fluttershy begged, and she would have cried if there had been any water left in her for tears.

“Don’t…don’t leave me,” Fluttershy gasped, as her friends got further and further away from. “Please…sta-agh!”

She had stepped off the near-vertical side of a sand dune without realising that it was there. Fluttershy tried to flap her wings, but they were so stiff and so tired that they barely held her for a moment before she toppled down the sand, tumbling as she went. She came to rest in a tangled heap in the sand, which got into her mane and her coat and even her ears.

And when she got up she walked into a cactus.

“Ow,” Fluttershy moaned as she fell onto her flank, bristles embedded in her nose.

Getting up again was a struggle, but she forced herself onto her legs. She had to keep on going. She had to keep moving. She had to get to Appleoosa. Everypony was relying on her.

She tripped, and fell onto her side, one eye looking up into the blaze of the sun.

“Too…hot,” Fluttershy whimpered. Too hot to move, too hot to think, too hot do anything but wish for the drumming in her head to stop.

“I’m…sorry,” Fluttershy murmured as her vision went black.

“Come on, girl, wake up. Wake up and open your mouth for me just a little.”

Fluttershy could feel somepony slapping her on the face. She groaned. “Angel, it isn’t time for breakfast yet.”

“Don’t call me an angel until you’ve gotten to know me, darling. Now I need you to open your mouth and drink for me.”

The tapping kept on going. And Fluttershy felt as though she was moving, like she was being dragged across a coarse surface.

“What…?” Fluttershy’s eyes flickered open, to see the sun half obscured by a pony leaning over her, pulling her along, tapping her cheek intermittently.

“Awake. Excellent,” the pony said. She had a mare’s voice, and Fluttershy couldn’t see a unicorn horn, but her face was swathed in cloth that covered her like a mummy. The only detail Fluttershy could see was her eyes: one was blue, and the other green.

“Now open your mouth,” the other pony instructed. “And drink.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth as the other pony poured water from a skin onto her face. Only a trickle landed, but it felt like a flood to Fluttershy’s parched throat. She lapped at every last bit that had sprayed onto her chin.

“And a little more,” the other pony said, giving her another trickle. “No more though, or it gets dangerous.”

“Who…?” Fluttershy gasped.

“I’ll tell you all about it later, when you can remember,” the other pony murmured as Fluttershy’s vision began to darken once again. “You can rest for a little now, everything’s going to be all right.”

When Fluttershy woke up again, the sky above her was obscured by sloping canopy, propped up by a pair of sticks. No, not sticks, she realised, spears. Or things that looked like spears anyway, although one had a very nasty looking blade on it buried in the ground. Together they help up two corners of some richly decorated cloth, while the other two corners were held down on the ground with rocks.

“I thought you could use some shelter from the sun,” the same pony from before said. She was sitting on the other side of a small fire, the orange light beating against the darkness that had fallen while Fluttershy was asleep. “I’m sorry it’s a little crude, but I didn’t have a tent. So I used my flag and propped it up with whatever I have to hand.”

The mare had unwound the bandages covering her face, so Fluttershy could see that she was an earth pony, with a tan brown coat and an orange mane. Her face looked a little squashed, misshapen, as if somepony had hit her very hard and distorted her features. Her cutie mark was a harp, which was a little reassuring, though not enough to counteract the weapons she had used to construct Fluttershy’s shelter.

Fluttershy walked slowly, warily out from under the shelter of the canopy and sat down beside the fire, letting it warm her in the cold of the night.

“Well aren’t you a cutie-pie of a sleeping beauty?” the earth pony asked, her voice tinged with slight bitterness. “Not that that surprises me. As soon as I heard about you and what Virtue had done for you I knew that you would turn out to be cute as a button. Some unscrupulous mare is going to get that boy into a lot of trouble one of these days.”

Fluttershy regarded the other mare carefully. She didn’t know who this pony was, or what she wanted. On the one hoof, Fluttershy thought that she was the one who had given her water, and she had certainly built Fluttershy a shelter while she slept. But on the other hoof, she wasn’t looking at Fluttershy in the friendliest manner, and she didn’t sound very much like a friend either.

“Um, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy murmured. “I don’t believe we’ve met.

The mare smiled, looking immeasurably cuter as she did so. “Glory Seeker, mare at hooves, at your service.”

“And are you the pony who-“

“Gave you water? Yes.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy whispered.

Glory waved off her gratitude with an airy hoof. A hoof that, Fluttershy saw, was covered in a heavy metal gauntlet, as was her other forehoof. Glory was wearing a carapace of some kind of chitin across her chest and upper body, with shoulder pads marked with the symbol of her harp cutie-mark. “Your need is greater than my own and all that. Besides, I have to confess to an ulterior motive.”

Fluttershy rose to her hooves, her wings tensing. “Who are you?”

“I told you, I’m a mare at hooves,” Glory said. “I’ve been sent by Sunset Shimmer to drag you back to camp, dead or alive.”

Fluttershy squeaked in alarm as her wings spread outwards and her legs coiled, ready to leap.

“Wait, don’t run!” Glory yelled. “I promise I’m not going to hurt you. And I’m not going to take you back to Sunset Shimmer either. I’m not Virtue, I know my own mind. Please, sit down, and let’s talk.”

Fluttershy hesitated, her fear warring with her desire to see the good in everypony.

Glory sighed. “Look, I’m not a knight, but back home I was known as a protector of the weak. Upon my pride, my name and my mother's memory I give you my word that I do not mean you harm. I might even be able to help you.”

Fluttershy sat back down upon the cold earth, but she kept her wings spread in case she needed to take off in a hurry.

Glory nodded. “Thank you. Are you hungry? You look like you haven’t eaten in a while.” She dug around in her pack, and pulled out a glass jar filled with golden honey. “This is the last jar of honey that I have. The second to last jar of Chevalian honey anywhere."

Fluttershy stared at the honey jar for a moment. “Um…are you just going to eat it as it is?”

“Of course I am,” Glory said. “Why not?” She deftly unscrewed the lid. “Come on, you’ll be saving me from myself if you pitch in; otherwise I’ll just make myself ill.” She took off one of her armoured gauntlets and dipped her hoof into the honeypot, bringing it out covered in the viscous, golden honey. She started to lick her own hoof, twisting her neck and turning her leg in all directions to make sure that she got it all. “Are you sure you don’t want any?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t think it would fill me up.”

Glory shrugged. “Suit yourself. I have a few plums somewhere in here that should still be edible if you’d rather.”

Fluttershy’s stomach rumbled. “Yes, please.”

Glory dug around in her pack, and tossed Fluttershy a pair of slightly squishy yellow plums. They were soft and juicy, and Fluttershy felt the juice running down her chin as she bit into them, but she was too hungry at that moment to care about her appearance. Besides which, she still looked as graceful as Rarity when compared to her dining companion, who looked as though she was doing yoga in her quest to get every last lick of honey off her hoof.

“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Glory said. “And when I’m done I’ll have a useful pot to keep things in.”

“What things?”

“I don’t know,” Glory said. “Balloons, birthday presents, things. How are the plums?”

“Fine thank you.”

“Good, great,” Glory glanced away nervously. She looked at Fluttershy, then looked away again. She bit her lip and started muttering to herself.

“Is everything okay?” Fluttershy asked gently.

“Not really,” Glory murmured. “I…I said I had an ulterior motive, didn’t I? Yes. Right. So, time to confess. Time to talk. Unicorns.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Unicorns?”

“Yes, unicorns, you know, big horns on their foreheads, unicorns,” Glory said, suddenly impatient. “I reckon you must know a couple of powerful ones, being one of Sunset Shimmer’s enemies. Am I right?”

Fluttershy hesitated as she tried to work out where this was going. She wondered if she might end up having to flee after all. “Well, there’s Twilight. Twilight Sparkle that is. She used to be a unicorn, but now she’s an alicorn princess-“

“Perfect,” Glory shouted. She gave a brief but high-pitched whoop. “I knew it! I knew we didn’t have to toady to that little…oh, I’ll enjoy the look on her face, you bet I will.” She glanced at Fluttershy, a grin on her face “You and me are a match made by destiny, we are. There’s a string tying us together.”

Fluttershy hesitated. “…Good?”

“Yes, good, wonderful,” Glory said. “If we stick together we’ll both get exactly what we want.”

“And what is it that you want?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, right, I should probably explain what I’m talking about, shouldn’t I? Tell you why I’m here. Why any of us are here.” She gave Fluttershy a strained smile. “So: story time with Glory Seeker, are you sitting comfortably?” She laughed nervously, then rubbed her forehead as she gave a soft groan. She put on what Fluttershy recognised as a brave face as she began to speak.
“I come from a land called Chevalia. Maybe the world is called Chevalia too, don’t ask me about that stuff. But Chevalia is my country, and it wasn’t a bad place to grow up: fertile fields, wide open spaces, a good people. But for as long as I’ve been alive, ever since my great-great-great grandmother’s day, we’ve been a nation under siege. A corruption called the smooze pressed against us, trying to consume the whole world, to twist and tarnish everything it touched. We’ve been fighting it for generations, but nothing we did could stop it. It corrupted armies and twisted them to its cause, we built walls but it always found a way through. We retreated behind natural obstacles but it overcame all of them. In my lifetime I’ve seen our territory diminish by three quarters. Most of our farmland was gone, we were crammed in behind walls we had no reason to believe would keep us safe, we couldn’t feed our population even though we’d lost so many good ponies to the smooze. And it seemed like that was it: our knights and walls had failed. Our chivalry and valour had not availed us. There was nothing we could do. Unless some saviour suddenly appeared, we were all going to die, or turn into smoozed monsters tearing at ourselves and one another until there was nopony left.
“Then a saviour appeared. Not the one we wanted, but with hindsight maybe the one that we deserved.”

“Sunset Shimmer?” Fluttershy asked, trying to imagine the cruel, vain pony who had imprisoned Twilight and put her friends in chains as anypony’s saviour. She found she could not do it. She had seen too much of the ugliness that lay behind Sunset's beauty to imagine her wreathed in a halo of light, descending from on high to cleanse the world of all its ills.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Glory confirmed. “She offered us a deal, she offered us life, and because we wanted to live we took the deal without thinking about it too hard. She had something, she called it the Lodestone, and she said that she was sufficiently powerful a magician that she could seal our people inside this magic stone. Like, shrink them down or something, it’s magic, it’s all a bit weird as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, she said that she would seal us inside this stone, and carry us away from Chevalia to a new world, where we could start again free from the smooze. And so we agreed, and that’s when things started to go wrong.”

“Because Sunset had lied to you,” Fluttershy said.

“Not in as many words, but she certainly hadn’t told us everything,” Glory said. “To start with, she didn’t seal all of us away. The best warriors, like me and Virtue, were kept out. Sunset took us with her. Then she told us that we’d be expected to help conquer a homeland for ourselves, and defend it for Mistress Sunset against some nebulous enemy. And then she told us that she wouldn’t release our people until she had everything she wanted, and then the final insult it turned out that the Lodestone was quite fragile, and that if we didn’t do as Sunset Shimmer said then she’d smash the stone and kill everyone we knew, everyone we cared about. Our princess, Virtue's sisters, my dad, everypony.”

“How awful,” Fluttershy murmured.

Glory nodded. “So that’s why we’re here. Me, Virtue, all our folk, fighting for Sunset Shimmer because we’ve got no choice. Or she thinks so anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

Glory stared at her for a moment. “What are you doing out here? You take care of animals, if I’ve heard it right. So what are you up to?”

Fluttershy hesitated.

“Come on, you can trust me,” Glory insisted. “If I betrayed you now, what would it get me? You could sell me out in return. I have to know that you have a plan. I believe that we can help each other, but I need to know.”

Fluttershy blinked. “I’m trying to get to a town called Appleoosa. There are a lot of ponies there, one of them is a relative of my friend Applejack, and there are friendly buffalo there as well. I was hoping that they would help against Sunset Shimmer.”

“And after that?” Glory asked.

Fluttershy said nothing.

Glory nodded. “I see. Wise of you. Well, you told me something anyway, and I can think I can guess the rest: you’re raising an army, aren’t you? Don’t answer that if you don’t want to, the point is I can go along with that. Like I said, we can both get what we want from this. You want to save your friends and your people, I want to save my people and shove a spear up Sunset Shimmer's backside. I don't see why we can't work together to make all that happen.
"I’ll help you. I’ll follow you, protect you, keep you safe from anypony or other creature Sunset sends after you. And in return I ask two things: first, that we get the lodestone out of Sunset’s hooves before we attack her, I won’t risk her killing my entire people in a rage. Second, that when all this is done your Twilight Sparkle has to free the Chevalians from their confinement.”

Fluttershy frowned. “And if I say no?”

“Don’t say no,” Glory replied.

Fluttershy hesitated. Do I trust her? She sounded honest enough, I don’t think she was lying. But why is she the only pony like her who is doing this? And what about the others? And if what she says is true, what if Sunset threatens her? “How do I know I can trust you?”

Glory smiled. “Are you asking what will happen if Sunset threatens to smash the Lodestone, or are you worried that I’ll flip flop all over the place like Virtue?”

“Both,” Fluttershy said.

Glory chuckled. “Well I’m not going to advertise my treachery until I have to, but mostly I’m hoping that the continued loyalty of the other Chevalians, real or apparent, is worth more to her. Sunset knows that if she broke the stone there isn’t a Chevalian who’d stop until they saw her dead. And as for the other, the short answer is I’m not an idiot. I don’t believe in living by a code as a substitute for having morals, I don’t believe that there’s anything to be celebrated in giving yourself over body and soul to somepony else and letting them do all your thinking. And I certainly don’t believe in bowing and scraping, yes mistress, no mistress, to anypony else. I’m nopony’s dog and I make my own decisions. And I decide to help you, so that I can help everypony I care about.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Okay then. I promise to help you too. I pinkie promise: cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” She gently placed her hoof on her eye.

Glory’s eyes widened. “What’s that?”

“That’s a pinkie promise,” Fluttershy said. “That means it can never be broken.”

Glory shook her head. “You’re a strange folk in this country.”

Fluttershy said, “Just wait until we get to Appleoosa.”

Bound By Love

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Chapter 16

Bound By Love

The throne room of the Crystal Empire was a cavernous space, a ceiling high enough to have held twenty elephants stacked one on top of the other before they reached the top, shining columns wider than a pony, a main traverse down which five clydesdales could have walked abreast. And at the head of the room, seated upon a crystal throne, sat Princess Cadance.

She was far from alone. Her husband, Shining Armour, stood by her side, his purple armour polished to a shine, his face set in an expression of neutral sternness, although the occasional quivering of his forelegs belied the agitation within. Guards in glimmering crystal armour lined the crimson carpet, and behind them a great throng of ordinary ponies had gathered to hear what the envoy from Sunset Shimmer had to say.

As it turned out, what the envoy had to say was not a lot. Lightning Dust stood in the centre of the carpet, twenty paces away from the throne - Flash Sentry barred any further forward progress on her part, looking as though he might leap on her at the slightest provocation - and stood looking quietly confident, as though she was unaware of the whispering going on all around her, of the way that everypony stared at her, of the hostility that was emanating from Shining Armour.

Or perhaps, Cadance thought, she simply didn't care what anypony thought. Looking at her bearing, it did not appear that this was a pony lacking in self-confidence.

Cadance looked down again, her eyes returning to the message that Lightning Dust had placed in her hooves. It lay in her lap, slightly crumpled around the edges, a few flecks of broken wax attaching lying on the parchment where Cadance had broken the seal.

To: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, salutation and greetings,

Your Highness,

By now, rumour has doubtless preceded the arrival of my own messenger like lightning runs ahead of the sound of thunder. You will have heard slanders of me, gross misjudgements of my character, claims that I break my fast on fillies and dine on foals. I assure you that none of the rumours you have heard our true.

I seek only peace. I seek to usher in a new era, uniting the realms of Equestria and Grevyia under a single ruler. I seek to win for myself the well-deserved place in the sun that fear and envy have so long denied to me. I seek to guard the realms of pony kind.

I do not desire war. While it is true that I have used force to achieve some of my aims, I earnestly state that I did so only to obtain what could not have been obtained by any other method. I am not a warlike pony, nor am I cruel. I have what I want, and what I now want is peace.

I vow to respect the dominions of the Crystal Empire, and to expand them as far as Cloudsdale, so long as you respect my rule of everything to the south of there. I ask for no hostages, I ask for no levies, I ask nothing of you but that you leave me be. The method to my seeming madness will become apparent soon enough.

I do not want war, but if you attempt to dislodge me from my seat I will resist you. If you bring war down on me then I will fight and I will win. I have a better army than you do, I know more of war than you do, I know more of magic than you do. Fight and you will lose, and the blood of the innocent will be on your head not mine, because you chose this, not me.

I ask only to be left alone.

Yours,

Sunset Shimmer, Regent of the Two Thrones

"She wants only to be left alone," Cadance murmured, not quite able to believe that this was something that had been written by a pony squatting in Canterlot with an army of zebras, who nonetheless expected her protestations of innocence and good faith to be taken seriously. "She wishes only peace." It was all that Cadance could do not to laugh.

She fixed her eyes upon Lightning Dust, the pegasi who had brought the message.

"Do you have a tongue of your own, or are you merely a conduit for Sunset's words?" Cadance demanded.

Lightning shrugged. "I can talk, but I'm not sure that the boss wants me to negotiate."

"I'm not talking about negotiation," Cadance snapped. "I'm talking about me questioning you. Is it true that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been put in chains by this Sunset Shimmer who so earnestly desires peace with us?"

Lightning blinked. "Sort of."

"Sort of?" Shining Armour shouted. "How can anypony be a sort of prisoner?"

"You didn't say prisoner, you said in chains," Lightning replied. "They're our guests, sure, but they're not hurt or anything. They're just...not free."

The crystal ponies on either side began to murmur angrily, forcing Flash Sentry to bellow three times for silence before they quieted.

"I would like to credit your honesty," Cadance said. "I think you are telling the truth, as you comprehend it. I hope that you will give me similar honesty when I ask you this: where is my sister-in-law? Where is Twilight Sparkle?"

Lightning Dust hesitated, some of her cockiness leeching out of her like water running out of a bucket with a hole in it. "I, uh, I'm not quite sure. She might have run off when Sunset arrived. Scared, you know."

"Liar!" Rainbow Dash emerged out of the shadows behind the throne, her face a mask of red hot fury. She hovered a few inches above the ground, the better to slam her hooves together aggressively. "You know exactly what you did to Twilight! You were there when Sunset put her in that box!"

Cadance smiled. "As you can see, it is not just rumour that has preceded your arrival here, but a messenger from the true regent of Equestria, Rarity. She has asked me for help, and I am inclined to do so, being as she is a friend of mine and of Twilight, and a pony whom I trust completely. Do you have any reason why I shouldn't help her, besides the special pleading in this letter from Sunset?"

"Don't do anything that you'll regret later," Lightning said, seeming oblivious to the angry muttering going on all around her, only a brief scowl at Rainbow Dash to show her irritation at the trick that had been played on her. "It's easy enough to talk about fighting, but harder to stop once you've started."

"Something that Sunset Shimmer should have thought about, maybe," Shining Armour snarled. "She doesn't get to start a war and then call it off when she's had her fun! Her name will live in infamy for what she's done."

"Only if we lose," Lightning replied.

"Okay, that's it," Rainbow snapped. "I'm going to-"

"What?" Lightning cut her off. "Come on, Dash, I'll take you right here, right here."

"There will be no fighting in my hall," Cadance declared.

"Okay then, we'll take it outside the hall," Lightning said.

"No," Cadance said firmly. "You are going to take a message back to Sunset Shimmer, from me and from the Crystal Empire. Tell Sunset that if she truly wants to live in peace then she will release Twilight and Celestia and Luna, and all of those she has wrongfully imprisoned. If she wishes peace then she will take her zebra army back to Grevyia. If she wishes peace then she will restore Celestia to her throne. If she wishes peace she will give up everything that she has stolen. If she does all this then she will be allowed to go where she wishes, out of Equestria, and there live in the peace she claims to crave.
"If she does not do this, as I think that she will not, then all will know that her protestations are false, and that it is on her head, and not mine, that the fighting will continue. Shining Armour speaks the truth, she began this struggle, not us.
"Tell Sunset that I stand with Rarity and Rainbow Dash, with Twilight's friends. I stand with Celestia and Luna though they are now prisoners. I stand with Twilight, though what you have done to her I cannot comprehend. I will not simply make peace with those who have wronged the ponies who are dear to me. Return to Sunset Shimmer, and ask if she would simply abandon the ones she loves in the care of their enemies for the sake of peace?"

"And tell her something else, too," Shining Armour said. "Tell Sunset Shimmer that we're coming for her."

For a moment, Lightning Dust's face was a mask. "So, it will be war then." A slow, ugly smile spread across her face. "Good, sounds more fun than the alternative."

"Get out," Cadance said.

Lightning nodded. "I hope to see you all again sometimes. Especially you, Rainbow Dash." Before Rainbow could do more than growl in reply Lightning had turned away, taken to wing, and soared out of the great hall and into the sky.

"I should get going too," Rainbow said.

"Wait an hour," Shining Armour suggested. "In case Lightning Dust thinks to lie in wait for you."

"I can take her."

"If you don't get back to Rarity then she will have no way of knowing that we are on our way," Cadance said. "Shining Armour is right, caution is the safest course. Wait two hours, and then set off. In the scheme of things it will make little difference, but I doubt that Lightning Dust will have the patience to wait that long in the hope of ambushing you."

Rainbow didn't look remotely happy about it, but she bowed her head. "Okay."

"Rainbow," Cadance said softly. "We will get Twilight back, and everypony else as well. I swear it."

"I know," Rainbow said, and though her tone was affronted the expression her face suggested relief at having somepony else confirm it.

Cadance rose from her throne to address the people. "Let this proclamation go forth throughout all of the Crystal Empire: let everypony be of good heart, but let them gird up their courage for a struggle that will test us all before it is done.
"Some may say that this is not our fight. Some may ask why I should ask you to risk yourselves for my sake and that of my friends. To which I say that Twilight and her friends once risked everything to rescue us from the evil of King Sombra and to defeat his malice once and for all. That being so, how can anypony deny that it is now our turn, our duty, our sacred obligation to rescue them from the evil of Sunset Shimmer now that it is their turn to require our aid?
"If anypony has the courage to take up arms, to fight for right and goodness, to follow me and repay the great debt the Crystal Empire owes to Twilight Sparkle, then let them report to the Equestria Games stadium, where they will be armed and organised, within the next three days. On the fourth day, we march! The Crystal Empire is going to war."

The assembled ponies stamped their hooves in appreciation, even the guards, stamping and stomping until the whole palace began to shake with the thunder of their hooves.

Can you hear us, Sunset Shimmer? Cadance thought to herself. Can you hear just what you have awoken?

The ponies in the audience began to disperse, to dispense the news throughout the little empire. Once they were alone, or as near to alone as a princess ever was, Shining Armour put his hoof on Cadance's foreleg.

"I wish that you would-"

"Don't say it," Cadance advised him.

"I wish that you'd consider staying behind," Shining Armour said, ignoring her advice.

"And do what?" Cadance asked. "Stand in the highest tower in the empire and watch you leave? And then spend every day watching and waiting for your return? Listen to all the rumours of the fighting, wondering if you are dead, or wounded, or captured? Watching, seeing nothing, knowing nothing, just waiting to see if you come back to me? No. No, I could not bear it."

"The dangers-"

"I will die from heartache if I am left behind like unwanted baggage long before I die in battle," Cadance said. "I cannot stay. I cannot. I will not. I am going with you, with our ponies. We will do this together."

Shining Armour smiled. "I am the most fortunate of stallions."

"And I am the most blessed of mares," Cadance replied. "And though grave trials lie ahead of us, we can face them all, together."

"Together," Shining Armour replied.

"Now we've got work to do."

Let's Be Honest

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Chapter 15

Let's Be Honest

It was raining in the forest. Breaking Dawn was especially glad that they were following a paved road. She imagined that the woods on either side were probably turned to mire, so much rain was descending upon them. Most likely if they left the path they would swiftly drown in mud, regardless of any magical consequences.

The four trudged wearily down the road, the trees looming overhead doing nothing whatsoever to stop the raindrops from falling on their heads. They all wore the cloaks that Kindness had given to them, with the hoods up, but they weren't doing much to keep them dry either, and the sodden wool was sticking to their coats.

Something roared off to their left, making Dawn start a little. She was very glad to be walking at the back of the column so that none of the rest could see how jumpy she was.

Then she heard another sound that sounded like someone or something behind them, and being at the back didn't seem like such a treat any more.

Dawn paused for a moment, half turning to check what might lie behind. She could see nothing but the road, and the dim lights of the Town of Flaws behind.

That was tempting, now more than ever. In her mind Dawn imagined an inn with a cosy fire, warm beds, cider on tap. Somepony playing the piano, a good tune that could be sung too. At this point, with the darkness all around and the rain pouring down and who knew what lurking just out of sight, it was a sore temptation indeed to a tired mare.

"Dawn?" Twilight called from the front of the column. "Dawn, is something wrong?"

Is something wrong? Yes, something's wrong! Everything's wrong! Dawn wanted to shout. But all she said was, "No, nothing. I thought I heard something but I didn't. I'm coming now." She hurried a little to catch up with the others, wondering if they were all tempted to take shelter in the town, or whether it was just her. Her weakness. Her failings.

Am I just less than them?

She very much hoped not. Dawn wasn't sure she could have stood being less than Trixie.

"If we must endure more temptations then I hope the next one arrives soon," Chrysalis said. "At least we might get a roof over our heads for the night for our trouble."

Dawn smiled inwardly. Good to know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

More sounds were emerging out of the woods. Roars and growls and snarls. They were coming from both sides, and ahead and behind too if Dawn was any judge. The four travellers halted, peering outwards into a darkness made all the more impenetrable by the torrential rain, trying to get some sight of what might be out there, even though they had not a clue what they would do if they did see anything.

"This doesn't sound good," Trixie murmured.

"What do you think they are?" Chrysalis asked.

"Lions and tigers and bears?" Twilight suggested.

"Thanks, Twilight, you always know just what to say," Dawn muttered.

They formed a rough circle, facing outwards, crouched half-down, ready - or as ready as they could be - for anything that might spring out of the woods in a mess of teeth and claws. Somepony's knees were knocking. Dawn didn't ask who it was, in case it turned out to be her.

And then, all of a sudden, the roaring and the growling stopped, to be replaced by the clip clop sound of hooves coming down the road towards them.

"Hey there! You guys need any help?"

Dawn's eyes widened and she let out a gasp as her eyes travelled to the source of the call. Standing there, on the road, her mane drenched with rain, her scraggly red and white locks hanging down stuck to her coat, stood Breaking Dawn's younger self.

Or at least, that was what Dawn thought she looked like. She couldn't remember her childhood, but how could it be anyone else? She had the same red and white mane, the same golden coat, the same green eyes. She didn't have a cutie mark that Dawn could see, but Dawn guessed that she hadn't had one for her whole life. Young Dawn, or whatever the filly's name was, stood with her legs spread wide apart, as though she was trying to make herself look bigger than she really was, with an eager look on her face and a glint in her eye despite the torrential downpour and general misery of their circumstances.

"You're the new travellers, aren't you?" she asked. "I heard what happened to Loyalty, I bet you could use a guide. I can show you the way."

Dawn leaned in a little towards Twilight. "Is anypony else seeing a younger version of themselves."

Twilight looked at her as though she was mad. "No. I can see a baby dragon. A male baby dragon."

Dawn frowned. "A baby dragon?"

Twilight nodded. "With purple scales and green spines."

"Trixie can see a pony, but it isn't Trixie," Trixie said. "She has an amber coat, and a mane like fire. And she isn't a filly, she's our age."

"I see a changeling," Chrysalis remarked, her voice languid, almost bored. "A tall changeling in armour. Doubtless my vision is no more real than any of yours."

"Talking about somepony behind their back is rude, you know," the filly said.

"So is not introducing yourself," Dawn snapped.

"My name's Courage," she said proudly, tilting her head upwards to make her pride more apparent. "Now, do you want me to guide you through the woods or not?"

"That's very kind of you, Courage," Twilight said softly. "But I'm sure we can manage to follow the road. We wouldn't want to put you in danger."

"I'm not afraid!" Courage shouted. "I'm not scared of anything or anyone."

Something roared from out of the woods, causing Trixie to whimper in fear.

Courage laughed. "I'm less scared than you are, I'll bet. I told you, I can keep you safe. I'm not scared of anything, but everything around here is scared of me."

"Because you're just that awesome, I bet," Dawn muttered. I sincerely hope I'm not going to have to remember that I was an annoying blowhard when I was young, that would be appalling.

"No," Courage said. "But I am fierce, and dangerous. So do you want my help or not?"

Dawn looked at Twilight, then at Trixie, then at Chrysalis.

"Keep the lions and bears off us while we talk about it, okay?" Dawn said.

The three ponies and the changeling queen turned inwards, like sports players huddling before they made the big play.

"I don't think we should let her come with us," Twilight said. "Not after what happened to Loyalty. We might not be so lucky next time."

"Yes, next time it could be one of us," Chrysalis said dryly.

"How can you say something like that?" Twilight demanded. "Loyalty could have been killed."

"But she wasn't," Chrysalis replied. "And neither were we, thanks to her."

"Trixie would like somepony who knows the way to go with us," Trixie murmured nervously. "Trixie doesn't mind admitting that she's scared."

"I do, but I'll confess to it all the same," Dawn said. "Don't tell me you two aren't as well."

"He's a baby," Twilight said.

"In your eyes," Chrysalis replied. "To mine he is a fully grown warrior. I do not fear for him."

"But I do," Twilight said firmly. "Whether he, or she, is what we see him as, there is no reason to think that Courage is any more capable of defending us than we are capable of defending ourselves."

"She could hardly do worse," Dawn replied.

Twilight looked at her. "You see her as a filly, how come putting a child in danger doesn't bother you at all."

"Being a child doesn't mean you have to be swaddled," Dawn said. "Besides, she's willing to bear the risks and share the dangers. Pardon me, but that's more than any one of us can say. And if it does get too dangerous, we can always get rid of her later. Right now, I could use some cheerful company."

Twilight sighed. "I don't like this. Not at all. But if all three of you are set on this."

"We are," Chrysalis replied, her tone firm and inexorable.

Twilight pursed her lips, and sighed again, before she turned around and said, "Courage, we have decided to accept your gracious offer."

"Yes!" Courage said. "You won't regret this, I promise. This is going to be great. Follow me, it's this way."

"What is, precisely?" Chrysalis asked.

"The bridge of Honesty!"

Courage led the way and Twilight followed; the rain was easing up a little, or else the thick canopy of tree branches intertwining above them was keeping the worst of the rain from falling upon the heads of Twilight and her companions. It wasn't making them any dryer, however.

"So, Courage," Twilight said. "What is this Bridge of Honesty, anyway?"

The little dragon, or at least Twilight perceived him so, glanced behind him while walking down the road. "Well, it's a bridge, and Honesty guards it."

"Gee, thanks, that was a very helpful response," Dawn muttered.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry about Dawn. She can be a little bit cranky."

"With good reason," Dawn snapped. "I may not remember what all my reasons are, but I'm sure that they were good ones."

"The alternative would be that you are wrong, of course, and we couldn't have that, could we?" Chrysalis asked, a degree of wry amusement creeping into her voice.

"I have good reasons," Dawn said loudly. "Look at me, I'm more sponge than pony right now."

"So are we all," Chrysalis said. "You don't hear us complaining about it."

"I suppose you expect to be praised for your forbearance?"

"Can we all stop fighting?" Twilight demanded. "I thought we were getting better about this?"

"That was before we were cold and wet and hungry," Dawn said. Her stomach growled to emphasise the point. "Hey, Courage, is this Honesty going to put us up at this bridge of hers?"

Courage chuckled. "You'll have enough trouble getting across the bridge without expecting her to feed you or anything like that."

Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why won't she let us across the bridge?"

Courage said nothing for a few moments. "Perhaps I said that wrong. It's not that she won't let you across. It's more that...a lot of people don't want to cross. Or can't. There's a toll, you see, and lots of folks won't pay."

"A toll?" Trixie asked. "But we don't have any...whatever it is you pay tolls with. Trixie can't remember what that's called. Shiny things."

"That's not the kind of toll that Honesty charges," Courage said.

"Then what is it?" Dawn demanded. "Secrets?"

"Not exactly."

Dawn snorted. "Stop playing coy, you little squirt, and give us an honest answer. What's the toll?"

"Use of your ears," Courage said.

Courage brought them down the road, and as he had promised he brought them there uninterrupted and unchallenged by any of the beasts that might live in the forest. It seemed that the little dragon - or the little mare, if Dawn was right, or the changeling warrior as Chrysalis saw him - really did scare off everything that might have wanted to hurt the four travellers.

He led them to a narrow wooden bridge, only wide enough for a single pony at a time to cross, with trees on either side growing so thickly all about that any attempt to fly over would have been folly: for the branches reached for one another over the road like intertwining hands and interlocking fingers grasping at one another, forming a ceiling overhead, while above them Twilight could just make out even more tree branches with long, sharp twigs sticking out to snag the flyer who did manage to make it past the initial canopy.

No, it seemed the bridge was the only way to get across the slow, sludge-like black river that snaked its way through the forest. Certainly Twilight didn't like the idea of going into that water. If it was water.

Standing on the bridge, a quarterstaff held in one hoof, was a pony who must be Honesty. She was a tan earth pony mare, with a flaxen mane tied back in twin ponytails and a crumpled brown hat set upon her head. Her eyes were green, and Twilight had the impression of great perception in them. It made her want to turn away.

"Howdy, partner," Honesty said as Courage trotted up to her. "How are things?"

"Oh, just fine, you know," Courage said. "I've said that I'll show these travellers the way."

"Well, don't be getting yourself hurt now," Honesty replied. "Being brave doesn't make you invincible."

"Come on, Honesty, you know I don't have anything to worry about," Courage said. "Not if I can get across the bridge anyway."

Honesty smiled genially as she stepped back onto the far back and sidestepped off the road. Courage crossed quickly, turning to wait for the others on the far side of the road.

"What about the toll?" Twilight asked.

"Courage here doesn't have to pay it," Honesty said, advancing back onto the bridge to once more bar the crossing.

"But we do?" Dawn demanded.

"Eeyup," Honesty said.

Dawn's face contorted with outrage. "That...is no more unfair that anything else in this place, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised."
"Trixie is more concerned with what the price is," Trixie said. "What if we can't pay?"

"Everyone can pay," Honesty said. "Has anyone told you any different."

"Courage did," Chrysalis muttered.

A quick smile flashed across Honesty's face. "Courage gets a little confused about how this works, so I'll lay it all out for y'all. The toll is simple. I have to tell you about yourselves. I can see you, better than you can see yourselves right now, although one of you got given something by Generosity that might make than less true than normal, isn't that right Breaking Dawn?"

Dawn scowled. "I...I haven't looked into the mirror yet."

"No," Honesty said. "You wouldn't have, would you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dawn demanded.

"Nothing but what I said," Honesty said casually. "Now, not everyone can stand to be told what they really are. Not everyone can listen to the truth. Not everyone wants to be spoken to with honesty. So some of them choose not to pay the toll."

"And if we don't pay?" Chrysalis asked.

Honesty shrugged. "The Town of Flaws is back that way. Or you're welcome to stay here, if you want too, though it will probably get boring for you."

"And there's no other way to cross the river?" Twilight asked. "What about swimming?"

"Some fellow tried that a while back," Honesty said. "He still hasn't woken up yet, and it's been quite a while."

Twilight scuttled to the edge of the road, and she could just about make out a zebra slumbering on the far bank of the river, lying on his back with his legs in the air, snoring.

"At least he looks like he's having pleasant dreams," Twilight offered weakly.

"Maybe," Honesty said. "I don't think you really want to dream, though, do you?"

"I want my memories back," Twilight said. "I want to get out of this forest. I want to find out what I'm doing here."

"Then there's only one way," Honesty said, gentle but inexorable at the same time.

Twilight hesitated. She knew instinctively what she could also have inferred from the context, that what Honesty would say to her was unlikely to be pleasant. More than likely it would dwell on her flaws, whether she could remember them or not. It was very tempting to tell her no, to turn away, to close her ears to truth, to hide in self-told lies.

But she wanted to know the truth. She wanted to know who she really was, what she was really doing here, what was really going on. She wanted to know as much as she could, about everything. Even herself.

And that would mean listening to Honesty. Besides, if past experience was any guide to light the way then she would get some of her memories back just from embracing this challenge, and that was no small thing.

Twilight looked back at her fellow travellers. Trixie looked nervous, Dawn looked positively wretched, Chrysalis looked uncertain.

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. "But even if none of the rest of you can face this, I can...and I will. I have to know, even if I'm alone."

She stepped up to the edge of the bridge. "Tell me about myself," she said. "I'm not afraid."

Honesty smiled warmly. "Come on, now, sugarcube, we both know that that ain't entirely so. There's no shame in that. Everypony gets a little nervous at the thought of what they really are. If you didn't, well then, you'd be no more real than me when all's said and done now, would you?"

Twilight managed a smile. "I guess not."

"You're not a bad pony, Twilight, not at all. You're smart, very smart, and talented too. And a leader. But..."

Twilight's smile widened a little. "Here it comes, doesn't it?"

"You care too much about what others think about you," Honesty said.

"No I don't," Twilight said.

"Yes you do," Honesty said. "You get all bent out of shape at the thought that someone you want to approve of you might not like every little thing that you do, you can't stop imagining all manner of ridiculous consequences, and the things that you do to avoid those wild things you think of are worse than anything that might have happened otherwise. You can come up with a good plan, but you can't let it rest. You just keep picking at it and picking at it, finding more problems one after another, it's never good enough because it has to be perfect. But there is no such thing as perfect, not in the real world anyway, and sometimes you have to accept that 'good enough' is the best that you're gonna get.
"And that's without getting into the way that, even though you want everypony who matters to agree with you, you still go around thinking that you know best even when you really don't. That can get a little annoying sometimes."

Twilight chuckled. "Yes, I know, Applejack, I'm sorry." She stopped, a gasp emanating from her lips. She remembered. She remembered apple trees and inviting smells coming out of the kitchen and cider season and...and a good, honest pony and a true friend.

"Applejack," Twilight repeated.

Honesty set her hat back on her head. "Not really, I'm afraid. Keep on going and I'm sure you'll see her again, though. And you can keep on going. Come on, sugarcube." She stepped aside, and let Twilight cross the bridge.

"Good job, Twilight," Courage said.

Twilight looked at him. "How come I don't remember you as well."

Courage shrugged. "You haven't shown that you deserve it yet."

Honesty tapped her quarterstaff on the bridge. "Who's next? Anypony?"

Dawn twitched, but otherwise made no sound or movement. Instead, somewhat to Twilight's surprise, Trixie stepped forward.

"Trixie admits that she's scared," Trixie murmured. "But...but if Twilight can do it then so can Trixie! Tell Trixie what she is, go on!"

Honesty hesitated for a moment. "Trixie is... it ain't so much what Trixie is, it's what Trixie wants to be: the hero. That's what you want to be, isn't it? But, I'm sad to say, it isn't going to happen. And you know that, don't you? You're not strong enough, you're not brave enough."

"Trixie could be," Trixie said.

"But you're not," Honesty said, her voice implacable. "That's why you have to lie about it, to tell others, to tell yourself, that you're so great and powerful, that you've done so many amazing things, that you're famous far and wide. Because you know that you're not, and you know that."

"Don't say that!" Twilight cried. "Whatever she might be now, who's to say that a pony can't change themselves for the better? You may think that you're being honest, but that kind of honesty is why some ponies prefer lies to truth? Even if Trixie isn't a hero now, are you really saying that she can never be one? You can't possibly know that, so it isn't honest at all."

Honesty was silent for a moment. "You know, I guess Twilight has a point there. So maybe it's time to ask you a question, Trixie? Do you think you can change? Do you think you can become the pony that you want to be?"

Trixie was silent for a moment, looking down at her hooves. "I want to," she whispered. "But I don't know if I can."

"And that," Honesty said. "Was the honest answer." She stepped aside, to let Trixie cross the little wooden bridge.

"Do you really think I can become a better pony?" Trixie asked as she joined Twilight.

"Why shouldn't you?" Twilight replied.

Trixie shuffled her hooves. "Trixie does tell a lot of lies. Trixie thinks she remembered one of the things that you've forgiven Trixie for."

"It wasn't too awful, was it?" Twilight asked.

"It involves an Ursa Minor and two colts..."

Chrysalis was the next to step up to the bridge. "Go on then, since you are such a wise pony, who am I?"

"Cruel and callous," Honesty said.

Chrysalis stared at her for a moment. "Don't be ridiculous."

"You calling me a liar?"

"Yes," Chrysalis said. "I'm not without feelings. I care for others. I even care for these three idiots...a little."

"But you'd leave them behind to get home, rather than stay here with them, wouldn't you?"

"Any one of us would do the same."

"Do you really believe that?"

Chrysalis scowled. "That makes me selfish, not cruel."

Honesty laughed. "Now you're just splitting hairs, aren't you?"

"I do what I must," Chrysalis snapped. "I am a queen, that much I recall, that means that I have subjects to whom I must return. Should I be more loyal to these three than to them."

"Except you can be hard on those subjects too, I'll bet," Honesty said. "Order them into battle, send them to get hurt. Order them punished. I can see you doing all those things, and not letting it get to you at all."

"I am a queen!" Chrysalis roared. "I am what a queen must be! Cruel, at times, callous, on occasion, hard, always. You call these vices because you have no idea of what it is I do. I must be cruel because the world is cruel, I must be callous because nature is just as bad, I must be hard because I am a shield for my subjects. I have to protect them, and I cannot do it by always being nice.
"Insult me if you like, but never say that I do not do what I must." Chrysalis strode across the bridge, and gave Twilight a disdainful glance before pointedly not joining Twilight and Trixie.

"What's the matter with Chrysalis, do you think?" Trixie asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Twilight murmured. "But perhaps we were better off before she remembered whatever has just come back to her."

Only Dawn was left on the far side of the bridge now, half turned away from Honesty, head down, eyes half hooded.

"Are you coming?" Honesty asked.

Dawn looked at her. "I'm beginning to think the sleeping zebra has it better than I'll have it if I do."

"Are you scared?" Courage asked.

To Twilight the question had sounded plaintive, but in addition to seeing Courage differently her tone must have sounded different because it seemed to make Dawn angry. She bared her teeth and stamped her hoof. "Watch your mouth! Just because you look like me doesn't that I won't-"

"You won't do anything from the wrong side of the river," Courage pointed out.

Dawn growled wordlessly.

"What are you so afraid of?" Twilight said.

"What do you think?" Dawn yelled. She growled, then stalked forwards. "But I won't have any of you say I didn't have the guts to go through with it. Go on! Get it over with!"

Honesty regarded Dawn levelly. "Okay. You're not stupid, but you do a good job of acting like it sometimes."

Spittle flew from Dawn's mouth. "You-"

"Not to mention all the times when you're just plain lazy."

Dawn's hoof slammed into the ground. "When I want to make an effort I can be a fount of energy."

"Thank you for proving her point," Chrysalis muttered.

"You think that you deserve absolutely everything and nothing is ever your fault, don't you?"

Dawn shoved her face forward so that she was muzzle to muzzle with Honesty. "Why don't you shut your mouth before I slam it closed for you?"

"How about you just tell me I'm wrong?" Honesty replied calmly.

Dawn took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. No denial was forthcoming.

"No," Dawn said. "No, you're not wrong." She took a step back, turned away, then looked at Honesty as a quick grin ghosted across her face. "That's why I keep you around, Hardy, to tell me these things when nopony else will I-" Dawn stopped, her mouth hanging open as she blinked once or twice. "Hardy. Wow, I had a friend whose job was to tell me when I was being stupid or obnoxious. Who would have guessed I'd be that self-aware?"

"Not Trixie."

Dawn gave her a look. "I wasn't actually asking for responses at this point, but thanks."

"The thing to remember," Honesty said. "Is that although you are all of the things I just said, you're not only those things, and you have ponies who love you anyway. So get back to them." Honesty stepped off the bridge and made way for Breaking Dawn. "Good luck. To all of you."

Her Truth is Marching On

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Chapter 16

Her Truth is Marching On

The air was filled up with the smoke of a thousand campfires, and the cacophony of sounds that resulted when one mixed the slamming up and down of hundreds of marching hooves, the bellowing of drill instructors, the clatter of weapons, the hammer blows of blacksmiths working, the thud and thump of food being unloaded from carts, and the choruses of a dozen different marching songs all being sung at once by different groups of ponies.

Rarity rubbed the side of her temple gently with one hoof as she moved amongst the camp - her camp, and wasn't that almost too absurd for words - as all around her the host she had assembled prepared for the battle to take their country back.

Over them all loomed the airships that had carried Rarity and her company out of Canterlot, one step ahead of Sunset Shimmer and her forces camped outside the walls. The great dirigibles, who now cast their vast shadows over the encampment - though a little less vast since they had started siphoning the gas out of the balloons to burn for heat - had carried them to the town of Buckingham, a quaint and charming little place, which Rarity would have loved to have explored, a few weeks march north of Canterlot. It was thus close enough that they could march back to Canterlot, but enough way if Sunset chose to strike at them they would have ample warning of it. Just as importantly Buckingham sat on a crossroads, with one fork leading to Manehattan and the other to the Crystal Empire.

"You know, Spike," Rarity said softly, pausing her progress for a moment to look at the charming village around which her growing army had spread out its hooves like a mother enveloping a child in her arms. "When all of this is over I'm going to come here for a real visit. I might even ask Twilight to come with me."

"What for?" Spike asked.

"Because I spotted what looked like a delightful antique shop, and I think it might have some hidden treasures," Rarity said. "The tea shop looked rather nice as well."

"Why don't you just have a look around now?"

"Because, Spike dear, not only do I have responsibilities I also have an image to maintain. What would everypony else think if they caught me slinking off to enjoy myself?"

"I guess," Spike said. "It's a pity you can't take a break for a while though."

Rarity smiled down at him. "I appreciate the sentiment, Spike, I really do. Now, what is the first item on the checklist?"

The new number one aide-de-camp consulted the clipboard he was holding between his claws. "The quartermaster."

"Ah, of course," Rarity said. "Let's go then, Celestia knows we don't have a moment to spare."

Having landed her airships and disembarked the personnel Celestia had sent her, Rarity had put Rainbow Dash to work. Rainbow had flown across the length and breadth of Equestria, from Cloudsdale to Manehattan, from Baltimare to the Crystal Empire, from Fillydelphia to Las Pegasus, carrying the truth about Sunset Shimmer, about Rarity's exalted new position, and a call from the new regent for ponies willing to take up arms to defend the true princesses and the freedom and harmony of their land.

Rarity had called, and across the country ponies had answered, and they had come to Buckingham in ones and twos, in tens and by the score, they had come in their hundreds. Farm ponies with strong backs from Hollow Shades and the Unicorn Range, roughnecks from out west, hot tempered Baltimare firebrands, Fillydelphia gentlecolts in their frock coats, leading mechanics in their grease-stained work duds. The entire Manehattan Fire Department had formed a company and they had marched down the road in their dress uniforms, with their axe-handles banging against their flanks as they moved in time. From across Equestria they had come to save Equestria, and Rarity could imagine the pride that Celestia would feel if she could see them now. Sometimes she felt a little of that pride herself, at the sight of so many ponies united in a common purpose, albeit tempered by despair and disgust at what that purpose was.

"Left!" a drill instructor screamed at a company of ponies trampling the green grass flat as they paraded - or attempted to - amongst the tents. "I said left you idiots! Don't you bumpkins know your left from your right?...How many of you do not know your left from your right?...Do you at least know the difference between hay and straw?"

"Do they have to yell so much?" Spike asked.

"I suppose they know what they're doing," Rarity replied. She was using the guards she had brought with her as drill instructors, not to command the new volunteers - the ponies elected their own officers, which seemed to be producing commanders everypony felt comfortable following - but to train them to move and fight like soldiers.

She did not regret her decision, or doubt that she had made the right one, but Rarity had to wonder if Spike had a point. These were not guards, they hadn't signed on for the army life; they were ordinary ponies who had bravely volunteered to put their lives at risk in order to do the right thing, and they might not appreciate being roughly handled in this way.

But on the other hoof, raw enthusiasm and a desire to do the right thing was unlikely to prevail against the savagery of Sunset's zebra hordes.

Rarity sighed. And she had thought the fashion industry was complicated. War was a labyrinth by comparison.

She and Spike continued their inspection of the camp. The tents were erected in neat lines, in squares of four with spaces for ponies to walk between them. Cooking fires burned before some of the tents, with mares and stallions in crumpled uniforms squatting in front of them, watching pots and kettles boil. They stood up as Rarity approached, some of them saluting and others bowing before her like she was Twilight or Celestia. Rarity nodded to each of them, exchanged a few words with some, and did her best to control the flushing of her cheeks.

A photographer's gallery had been set up in one corner of the camp, and off duty soldiers queued up outside of the big black tent to pose in their uniforms, strike a stern pose, and have their deeds immortalised for posterity. The mood in the queue was cheerful enough, as the volunteers talked, laughed and joked amongst themselves, but as she watched them Rarity was overtaken by the dread knowledge that, for some of those ponies, these photographs would soon be all that their families would have to remember them by.

"You should get your picture taken, Rarity," Spike said. "I'm sure you could get a special sitting. There should be some photos of you as the Regent of Equestria."

Rarity smiled. "It's a kind thought, Spike, but no. When all of this is over I shall do my level best to forget that it ever happened."

Not far from the photographer's tent, a pony with a fiddle was playing a mournful refrain upon it. Rarity thought it was far more fitting than any of the cheerful and triumphant marching songs that could be heard resounding all around.

A little further down what was effectively one of the main thoroughfares of the camp, the Ponyville Minutemares were parading. They were a small company, the few ponies from Ponyville who had had the good fortune to be out of town when Sunset and her army arrived, but fiercely determined to take back their town. Rarity had designed the uniforms herself, staying up and working by lamplight in the few hours she had each day when the business of regency did not press down upon her, if only to feel like she was doing something tangible. And, she had to say, they did look rather dashing in their blue coats and brass buttons.

"Shoeshine?" Captain Holly Dash demanded as she took the roll call.

"Present!"

"Quartz Rose?"

"Absent, sick," Blossomforth, the colour sergeant, declared as she gripped the company standard between her flexible forehooves.

"Rain Drops?"

"Present!"

"Rarity?"

"Absent, on duty!" Blossomforth declared proudly.

Rarity's head lifted up a little higher. "And that, Spike, is why I can't take time off. Absent on duty, always."

Spike nodded. "Hey...Rarity?"

Rarity looked down at him. "Yes, Spike?"

"What happens if we lose?" Spike asked, sounding younger than even his young years as he did so. "If we can't beat Sunset...will she rule all Equestria? Will Twilight stay in that box forever?"

Rarity smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging manner as she knelt down at Spike's eye-level. "We are not going to lose, Spike. I promise. We're going to take back Canterlot, we're going to free Twilight, and then we'll tie up Sunset Shimmer and toss her in a hole somewhere."

"You really mean that?"

"I guarantee it," Rarity said firmly. "I understand you're worried about our friends, Spike, because I'm worried too, but don't say another word about it. We aren't going to lose and that is that. We're going to win, because we have to win, and that's all there is to it."

All around, the ponies Rarity not realised were listening to her began to stamp their hooves in approval.

"Yeah, that's right!"

"We'll whip 'em, ma'am!"

"Equestria forever!"

A band began to play, and before long hundreds of voices had taken up the chorus, making up with effort and enthusiasm what they lacked in the ability to carry the tune. Which was, come to think of it, rather an apt metaphor for their war effort so far.

With Spike by her side, Rarity inspected every detail of the encampment. She oversaw the supply situation, which was adequate but not brilliant, with pegasi flying far and wide each day to appeal for cloth for uniforms, metal for armour and weapons, and most importantly for food and fuel to keep her growing army fed and warm. The sound of hammers rang day and night to forge spears, cuirasses and helmets and still it was not enough. Rarity talked to the smiths and the farriers, to the colonels and the capitals, to the teamsters and the poor ponies who would have to pull the wagons when they marched. She watched some of the volunteer regiments drilling, and inspected the stacks of rockets and converted fireworks they had assembled - she also made sure nopony was lighting any unnecessary fires nearby. Rarity was not satisfied with everything, but she was satisfied that she understood everything as best she could.
Finally Rarity came to the very edge of the camp, where Lancer had lined up the twenty four cannons that they had brought with them from Canterlot and was pounding away at a old tree standing alone in one of the fields beyond the camp limits. Or trying to, at least, for although they had massacred the grass and displaced large quantities of soil from the surrounding area, the tree itself still stood tall and proud, like the flag of a fortress defying all efforts to reduce it.

Lancer wiped some of the smoke away from his face with one hoof before saluting Rarity. "Evening, ma'am. We may not be hitting much but at least we know these old ladies still work."

"But will they be of any use to us," Rarity asked. "Is there any point if they cannot hit their targets?"

"Practice will improve the aim, a little," Lancer said. "Although these things are near as old as Nightmare Moon, so they'll never be precise. But the zebras will come so tightly packed it will be hard to miss them, m'lady, and that's where these beauties will shine."

"I suppose so," Rarity said. "I've just been inspecting the camp."

"And what did you find, ma'am?"

"A lot," Rarity replied. "Speaking as a professional, is there anything here that we are desperately missing? What should we concentrate our efforts on?"

Lancer frowned. "That depends on you, ma'am, and what your plans are. If you mean to march on Canterlot before the fall then we should probably build more wagons to haul all our fodder down the road. But if you mean to winter here then we should probably fortify the camp, and look to build some sort of granary where we can lay in winter stores."

"I would rather march sooner rather than later," Rarity said. "For one thing I doubt Shining Armour would be marching to join us only to spend the winter here rather than in the Crystal Empire. But..." she looked away for a moment. "What are our chances if we march soon. Do we need the winter to train?"

"They are very green," Lancer said. "But you could spend ten years training them and they would still be green. Even my guards don't have experience of the kind of fighting we're looking at. Training can only do so much."

"So what you are saying is-"

"That it's entirely your decision, ma'am," Lancer said. His lips twitched upwards. "Welcome to command."

"Thank you so much," Rarity replied sourly.

Rarity ate her supper in her tent, alone, staring at the map while she levitated spoonfuls of lukewarm soup into her mouth, pondering the roads and hills that lay before her. Stay or move? March or winter? What should she do?

"Tell me a joke, Pinkie dear," Rarity sighed. "Rainbow, raise my spirits. Applejack, tell me to stop worrying. Fluttershy, help me to relax. Twilight...Twilight, darling, won't you take this weight off my back?"

But of course they wouldn't. None of them were here. Her friends were scattered to the four winds, and the only one who would be coming back anytime soon was Rainbow Dash, hopefully with more ponies to add to the gathering host. Her host. Her Grand Army of Equestria. Wasn't it just ridiculous?

Rarity put down her soup as her appetite deserted her. She stared at the map intently, as though if she stared long enough it might tell her what to do.

Stay or go? Her heart told her to march as soon as possible. Her hooves itched for it. Her instincts cried out for it. She wanted nothing more than to lead her army back to Canterlot and cast down Sunset's power, to free her friends, to free the city, to have everything back the way it was supposed to be. And yet her head recognised that it would do no good to march on Canterlot too soon only to be defeated before the city walls. She understood enough of war to know that she would get one chance to save Equestria, and if she fumbled that chance then her gallant army, what was left of it, would melt away like snow under the heat of the sun, not mention all the brave ponies she would have led to their deaths through her impatience.

So once again it came down to the question: could she win?

And, notwithstanding the confidence that she had feigned for Spike, Rarity had no idea what the answer was.

Rarity was awakened the next morning by the sound of commotion outside her tent. She lifted her head up off the table, and found that at some point in the night someone had draped a blanket over her.

Spike pushed open the tent flap. "Rainbow's back!"

Rarity's eyes brightened. "Wonderful!" She stood up. "Spike, did you do this?"

Spike nodded. "I didn't want you to catch cold."

"Thank you," Rarity murmured, kissing him on the cheek as she strode out of the tent.

"Rarity, there you are!" Rainbow Dash swooped down out of the sky to land in front of her. "Look who I found!"

The wonderbolts landed in the centre of the camp, accompanied by a large number of other pegasi in what looked from Rarity's small knowledge to be trainees flight-suits.

Spitfire strode quickly towards her and dashed off a brisk salute. "So, I hear you're in charge now. I'd offer my congratulations but I'm sure it's appropriate for the circumstances."

"Quite right," Rarity said. "All I really need is your cooperation."

"No, you need my obedience, and you've got it," Spitfire said. "Me and the rest of the Wonderbolts. When do we take Canterlot back?"

Rarity opened her mouth even as she was still deciding what to say, but in the end she said nothing, because she was distracted by the sudden shivering cold feeling upon her shoulder, like somepony freezing putting their hoof upon her coat.

And then a snowflake landed on her nose, tickling as it melted.

"What?" Rarity murmured. It wasn't supposed to snow, summer hadn't even ended yet. And yet it had been, unmistakably, a snowflake. And more were falling, not many, but a few, a gentle dew descending from the clouds forming above the camp.

What was even stranger was that the clouds were forming without the apparent aid of any pegasi.

"Rainbow," Rarity said. "Can you see anypony causing those clouds to form over our heads?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, looking almost as puzzled as Rarity. "Nope. I don't see anypony."

"Misty!" Spitfire snapped. "Get up there and clear those clouds away."

Misty Fly nodded. "On it, boss." She spread her wings and rose up into the sky overhead, coming to a halt level with the gently expanding cloudbank, her wings beating gently to keep her hovering level with the clouds as chill winds began to blow around her.

Misty's hoof struck outwards, burying itself in the nearest cloud to her. Yet the cloud did not dissolve. It didn't even seem to get any thinner.

Misty tugged with her foreleg, as if she had stepped in some wet cement and was unable to get out.

"You okay, Misty?" Spitfire shouted.

"I'm just a bit stuck, boss," Misty said. "It's like something's got me." She punched the cloud with her other forehoove, only for that to get stuck as well. "I might need a little help here."

Spitfire sighed. "Soarin', go and help-"

Then Misty screamed.

Rarity gasped. Even at the distance separating her from the cloudbank she could see the ice emerging from out of the clouds to engulf Misty Fly. It spread along her forelegs and up her body, and Misty didn't stop screaming until her head was completely encased in ice.

Then the clouds dropped her - there was no other way to describe it - and she plummeted like a stone towards the ground.

Rainbow was the first pony off the ground, racing upwards to catch Misty in her forehooves as she fell, the weight bearing Rainbow to the ground for a moment before she could recover her balance and descend, in a gentle and controlled manner, down to the ground.

More and more ponies were gathering around now, or abandoning their duties to stare at the bizarre, unnatural and, it seemed, dangerous clouds gathering above their heads.

"What kind of clouds could do such a thing?" Rarity asked.

"Wonderbolts!" Spitfire's voice was thick with anger, and it cut through the whistling wind like a bugle call. The entire squadron rose at her command, following her into the blue, where the wind blew into their faces, until they beat their wings furiously at the clouds above, trying blow it away, to scatter it to the four winds.

They had no effect. Their seemed a laughter in the winds that mocked their feeble efforts.

And the snow continued to fall upon them in a gentle dusting.

"What in Celestia's name is going on?" Rarity murmured.

Dragon Age

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Chapter 17

Dragon Age

Fluttershy led the way towards Appleoosa in silence. Glory trailed a few steps behind her, her armoured gauntlets rattling with every step she took along the dirt roads.

They were nearly there, or so Fluttershy thought. They had followed the railroad as much as they dared, took detours where they had to, used dirt tracks where they could not follow the rails, and she felt almost certain that they would see Appleoosa soon. It wasn't as if she could recognise the cacti or anything, but she felt, in her stomach, that they were nearly there. It was as if Princess Celestia, when laying this charge upon her, had cast a spell upon her to guide her to her destination.

If only she had cast a spell to do all the talking for her as well.

Somehow, Fluttershy doubted that it would be so easy. She, Fluttershy, the mare who balked at the mere thought of public appearances, would have to find the words within herself to persuade the buffalo and the deer and the griffons to join the fight and come to the rescue of ponykind.

This isn't me. I can't do this. Somepony else should be doing this, anypony but me!

Except, of course, there was nopony else. Twilight was a prisoner, and so were all the rest of her friends for all she knew. Even Spike was a captive of Sunset Shimmer. There was only her, Fluttershy, the mare who couldn't even sing in public unless she was only providing the voice for Big Macintosh.

But she would have to do it. She would have to find a way. So many ponies were counting on her to save them, not only her friends but Princess Celestia too, and everypony else who was suffering because of Sunset Shimmer. She had to succeed, for all of them.

Fluttershy glanced behind her, to where Glory followed in her wake. Though her lilac mane Fluttershy watched the other mare for a while, shuffling pebbles out of her way with her hooves, head down, ears flattened, not looking at Fluttershy or, indeed, where she was going.

Glory was counting on her too, of course. Not in the same way as everypony else who was relying on Fluttershy whether they knew it or not - and didn't the thought of that make her want to crawl into a hole and hide until it was all over - but she was counting on Fluttershy nonetheless. She had made the plain when she had offered Fluttershy her aid.

"Um...Glory?" Fluttershy murmured.

"Yup?" Glory's head came up instantly, her ears perking, her eyes darting here and there as if she wished to make she that no one had spotted her previous dejected appearance. She tossed her head first this way and then that. "Yes, Fluttershy, you need something?"

"Do you ever get nervous?" Fluttershy asked. "Do you ever feel like you won't be able to do whatever it is you have to do?"

"No," Glory said quickly. Too quickly, by a long way. "No. I don't get nervous. I don't get scared. I'm always up for it. Whatever it is."

Fluttershy looked at her. "It's okay to admit it, you know."

"There's nothing to admit," Glory snapped. "I do what I have to, whatever that is. And I ain't scared of nothing."

Fluttershy smiled sadly.

"What?" Glory said.

"You remind me a little of a friend of mine, when she's trying to pretend she isn't afraid," Fluttershy said.

"I..." Glory hesitated for a moment. Then she sighed. "Listen, you'd be scared too if the fate of your whole people was on the line."

"It is," Fluttershy replied.

"Yeah, but I meant..." Glory shook her head. "Look, even if I am nervous, which I'm not, I might have things to be hypothetically nervous about. Don't you think?"

"Of course," Fluttershy said. After a moment she added. "I'm more than a little nervous myself."

Glory laughed. "Well aren't we a fine pair of jellyfish to rest the future of our peoples' on? Listen, Virtue told me you were stronger than you seem, and much as he's an absolutely awful judge of character I really hope he turns out to be right on this one."

Fluttershy's head bowed slightly.

"But, you know, no pressure and all that," Glory said, smiling forcibly. "Oh, light preserve us. What are we going to do?"

Fluttershy hesitated. "I learnt a long time ago, that it doesn't matter if you're afraid so long as you do the right thing anyway."

"Yeah, I've heard that before," Glory said. "But that's the first time I've heard it said by someone who actually looked like they were a bundle of nerves. And you know what? That's oddly comforting, when people who look fearless say that it feels like they're patronising you."

They walked along in silence for a little while before Glory said, "Just so you know, this shaking in my legs has nothing whatsoever to do with nerves. It's the sugar withdrawal, I need to eat something sweet. Do they have any sweets in this place we're going to?"

"They have apple pies," Fluttershy said.

"Apple pies," Glory said, sounding as though the very word would send her into rhapsody. "With cinnamon?"

Fluttershy hesitated. "I'm afraid I don't know."

"Oh, well, I live in hope. Is it a nice place?"

"Oh, yes, it's very friendly."

"Then why do they have a sentry posted?"

Fluttershy looked around and she could see that, yes, there was a lone pony standing in the middle of the road, scanning the area all around. Despite the appearance of a keen lookout, he didn't appear to have spotted them yet, despite the absence of anything that might have hidden them from his view. Squinting a little, Fluttershy recognised the stallion as Applejack's cousin Braeburn.

"I wonder what he's doing out here," she muttered as she walked towards him. Glory followed, until they were standing right in front of him.

"Um, Braeburn," Fluttershy murmured. "Is everything okay?"

Braeburn did not act as though he had seen them coming, but he didn't act as though they had surprised him either. "You better turn back, nopony should be coming into...Fluttershy?"

"That's right," Fluttershy said. "What's going on?"

"Well, I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but you picked a bad time to come visiting," Braeburn said. "You'd better turn back now. I got orders from the sheriff to keep everypony away from Appleoosa if they know what's good for 'em."

"Oh no, the zebras didn't get here before us did they?" Fluttershy gasped.

"Zebras," Braeburn said. "Now what in tarnation would any zebras be doing around here?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" Fluttershy asked.

"Heard what?" Braeburn replied. "What are you talkin' about Fluttershy?"

"Oh, nothing really, just a light bit of war, conquest and the occupation of the capital," Glory muttered. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a dragon!" Braeburn cried. "A dragon that's landed right plum tucker in the middle of our apple orchards and he...well he just won't leave. Us ponies can't pick our apples and the buffalo can't stampede and nobody knows what to do! That's why I've been put here to stop anypony from comin' into town. We got no time for visitors right now."

Oh no, no this can't be happening. I can't start letting everypony down already. Fluttershy said, "But I've come all this way to get help. Twilight's been captured and so has Applejack and Canterlot has probably fallen by now. Equestria has been invaded by zebras. We need your help, and the help of the buffalo as well. There isn't a moment to lose."

"Wild sacks, that does sound pretty bad," Braeburn said. "But I don't think we can do anything to help you while the dragon's still hanging around."

"What, you never heard of a spear?" Glory demanded.

"These dragons are pretty tough, you know," Braeburn replied.

"You've never heard of courage either, then?"

"And who the hay are you to be calling me a coward like that?"

"My name's Glory Seeker and I'll call it like I see it when a pony is too scared to defend his country."

"That's enough, Glory," Fluttershy said sharply.

Glory frowned. "Right. Help. Make nice." She looked away. "I'm sure you're making the best of a bad situation."

"Uh huh," Braeburn said. He scratched the back of his neck with one hoof. "Look, I'd like to help, I really would, but there ain't much that I can do all by myself. I'll take you to see the sheriff, but I don't think he'll tell you much different."

"The least we can do is talk to him," Fluttershy said. "Please, let us come in."

"Well, all right," Braeburn said. "But only cause you're a friend of Applejack."

He led the way down the road. Appleoosa was a much quieter place than Fluttershy remembered from her last visit, that seemed so long ago. The street was deserted, the shops and houses were closed, even the saloon had been boarded up. A pair of tumbleweeds rolled across the street, until one of them got stuck on Glory's foot and she started jumping up and down trying to get it off.

As her travelling companion rolled around on the ground, Fluttershy was led to the sheriff's office by Braeburn. He pushed open the door slowly, and with an obvious degree of reluctance.

"Howdy, Sheriff Silverstar. I know you said not to let anypony come round these parts, but you see this is-"

"Fluttershy!" Little Strongheart said as she climbed to her hooves. Fluttershy saw that the jailhouse was occupied not only by the town sheriff and his deputies but by the young buffalo, her father the chief, and two other buffalo with them. They were all clustered around a table, over which they had draped a map of the surrounding apple orchards. "What are you doing here? Is Rainbow Dash with you?"

"Actually-" Fluttershy began.

"Darn it, Braeburn, I said no visitors, even if they are friends of yours," Sheriff Silverstar growled. "I'm sorry, Miss Fluttershy, but this really isn't any place for tourists right now. Braeburn ought to have told you about our troubles. We should have told others about them before now."

"Excuse me, but-"

"No outside interference," Chief Thunderhooves said forcibly. "The creature should not be harmed."

"It can't stay where it is," Silverstar said. "And you know that as well as I do."

"We can endure the discomfort for a little while," Thunderhooves said. "That is no ordinary trespasser, but a dragon. Who are we to drive it from our land."

"We're the folks who own and live off that land," Silverstar said.

"If I could just-"

"Maybe they've got a point, dad," Little Strongheart murmured.

"You know our traditions as well anyone," Thunderhooves said.

"Yes, but that dragon doesn't seem very friendly," Little Strongheart said. "What if it hurts someone?"

"That is why we need to send for help so that Princess Celestia can send somepony to get rid of it for us," Silverstar declared.

"That might be a little-" Fluttershy tried once again to get a word in edgeways.

"No!" Thunderhooves shouted. "If we wait-"

"How long do we have to wait before it becomes a problem?" Silverstar demanded.

At that point they stopped waiting for another to reply altogether, and just began to talk over one another incessantly. Little Strongheart rolled her eyes. Braeburn smiled apologetically.

And then everyone was silenced by a sound like nails being run down a chalkboard. Fluttershy winced at the shrieking noise, and some of the ponies and buffalo present covered their eyes, as everyone turned to see who and what was causing it.

It turned out to be Glory, who had come in without anyone noticing, and she was dragging one of her armoured gauntlets down the chalkboard at the front of the sheriff's office, containing the list of wanted fugitives and the like. When she had everyone's attention she said, "Right. None of you know me, but I think you this mare here. Now she's got something to say to all of you, something as important as any dragon around these parts, so how about your rest your mouths for a minute and listen to what she has to say." Glory patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. "The floor is yours, Fluttershy."

"Thank you, I think," Fluttershy murmured.

"Your welcome," Glory said cheerily, taking a few steps back so that she could speak without interruption.

Every eye was turned towards her. That alone was sufficient to set her legs trembling.

Remember why you're here. Remember your friends.

"I have come here," Fluttershy began, her voice wavering a little. "To ask for your help. To ask for the aid of ponies and buffalo alike. I am here...I'm here because I need all of you."
"Equestria is in a great deal of trouble. In danger, even, because the trouble comes from a very dangerous pony called Sunset Shimmer. She's already taken prisoner all of my friends, even Princess Twilight, and she might even have taken Canterlot by now, and Princess Celestia with it. She has an army of Imperial zebras with her, and she's tricked or forced other ponies into serving her as well. I don't think she's going to stop with just Canterlot, or with Twilight or Celestia. I think she wants everything, and all of us.
Which is why I need you. Which is why Equestria needs you. The ponies and the buffalo of Appleoosa, the deer and the griffons too. We need everyone to come together and fight this."

"You need us," Thunderhooves said. "But why do we need you?"

"Dad!" Little Strongheart said.

"It is a fair question," Thunderhooves replied. "What has Celestia done for us that we should fight for her?"

"I know that we ponies haven't always treated the buffalo as nicely as we could have done," Fluttershy said. "But believe me when I say that the Grevyians would treat you a lot worse. They have buffalo of their own in their lands, not exactly like but close, and they treat them like slaves, and make them fight for them, and work for them like animals. Maybe you don't think that Celestia cares enough about your problems, but Sunset Shimmer wouldn't care at all because she doesn't care about anypony." Fluttershy's voice began to strengthen, becoming more calm, more confident. "I know that Equestria isn't always perfect; but I think it comes close some of the time, and it does well a lot of the rest of the time. And I also think that, if we let Sunset Shimmer and the zebras take over, it wouldn't be almost perfect, or even close. It would be...it would be terrible. And that's why we need to come together to defend all of the people and all of the things that we care about.
"I can't do anything by myself. I'm not as smart as Applejack or as brave as Rainbow Dash. I'm not a wonderful pony like Twilight is. I'm nervous, and scared, and I don't even speak very well. I can't fight a magical duel, or any other kind of fight. I can only ask you to help me save my friends.
"I can't save Equestria, or stop Sunset Shimmer all by myself. Only you can do that, by standing with me. So I'm asking you: please help take Equestria back!"

She bowed her head, and for a moment all was quiet in the jailhouse.

"You speak well, for someone who claims to be bad at it," Thunderhooves said. "Perhaps you are right."

"I'm convinced," Silverstar said. "Or I would be if there was anything that I could do. But with this dragon just outside of town."

"So if this dragon was gone," Glory said. "Or at least not a problem, you'd all help?"

"Well us ponies couldn't exactly sit idly by while some maniac took over, could we?" Braeburn asked.

"Excellent," Glory said. "Just let me dig out my battleaxe and I'll bring you the head, the tail, the whole darn thing."

"You can't harm a dragon!" Thunderhooves spat.

"Well what do you suggest, big guy?" Glory demanded.

"I'll go and talk to him," Fluttershy said. "I'm sure that if I ask nicely he'll turn out to be reasonable." In actual fact she was sure of no such thing, but then her fears facing the last dragon had turned out to be...okay, they had turned out to be well founded, but things had worked out in the end, and she didn't have a lot of choice at the moment. She couldn't afford to wait for the dragon to leave. For the sake of her friends she would have to face her fears...again.

"No," Glory said. "Absolutely not."

"I have a special connection to animals," Fluttershy explained. "I might be the only pony who can do this."

"Or you might get burned to a crisp," Glory replied.

"And I wouldn't go anywhere near him if I had a choice," Fluttershy murmured. "But I don't see that I do. In spite of my fears, just like I told you."

Glory frowned. "Then I'm coming with you."

"No, you should stay here," Fluttershy said. It wasn't that she didn't trust Glory but...well, she didn't entirely trust Glory. "I'll be okay." I hope.

Sheriff Silverstar nodded. "I'm afraid that there isn't anypony who can show you the way, but I don't think you'll find it too hard to find a dragon in the orchard. It's not like it has anywhere to hide. Good luck, Miss Fluttershy."

"And Fluttershy," Little Strongheart said. "I'm really sorry about your friends. They don't deserve to have this happen to them."

Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you."

Fluttershy walked slowly through the apple trees, glancing this way and that, jumping at the slightest noise. But she did press on, she did not turn away. She couldn't.

"Um...hello?" she whispered. "Is there a...a dragon somewhere near here?"

"Psst!"

"Eep!" Fluttershy cried as she jumped into one of the lower branches of the nearest tree.

"It's only me," Glory said as she trotted out from behind a different apple tree. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Fluttershy said as she glided down to the ground. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't let you risk your life all alone," Glory said. "Whose going to honour our bargain if you get eaten? Nopony will even know that we made a bargain. I have to keep you safe."

"That's why you brought those, I suppose?" Fluttershy said, gesturing to the axe and the halberd slung across Glory's back.

Glory nodded. "You may want to talk to this monster but if he so much as snorts smoke in your direction I'm going to take him out."

"I don't want to hurt him," Fluttershy said. "Dragons aren't bad people. They just make bad choices sometimes."

Glory rolled her eyes. "Anypony would think you didn't like violence."

"I don't."

"And your country is under occupation, how's pacifism working out for you?"

"About as well as being a warrior is working out for your people, I guess."

Glory's eyes narrowed. "Touche. You know you've got quite the sharp tongue under that cutie-pie exterior of yours."

"Um...thank you?"

"Don't worry, I'm not sure if it was a compliment either," Glory said.

Fluttershy sighed. "I suppose I ought to thank you for coming out here when you knew it would be dangerous."

"I laugh in the face of danger," Glory declared. "Then I sock it on the nose with my right hook."

Fluttershy could only shake her head in resignation.

"So," Glory said. "Where do you think this dragon is?"

A deafening roar split the air, striking the clouds and making birds flee from it. Fluttershy found that the hairs on the back of her coat were standing on end and, looking at it, Glory's were as well.

"You think he might be over there?" Glory asked.

Fluttershy nodded. "Probably."

"Do you want to go first?"

"Yes," Fluttershy lied, willing her recalcitrant hooves to start moving.

They beheld the dragon after cresting a small rise, and saw it lying flat on its belly with its wings folded up, head resting in the dirt, opening its mouth to roar but otherwise making no moves at all.

It's lazy appearance did not, to Fluttershy's mind, detract from the scale of the creature before them. This was no Spike, that was certain. This was an enormous beast, larger even than the dragon she and her friends had persuaded to move from that cave up in the mountains. If stretched out through Ponyville it would probably have exceeded the village boundaries. The head alone looked to be bigger than Applejack's barn, and the fangs that protruded over dragon's lips were as large as trees. The dragon was a dark green, with great horns as black as ebony. Its claws, with which it was digging idly into the dirt, were an earthy brown. Smoke was rising idly from nostrils as large as wells.

Fluttershy gulped, and thought desperately of Rainbow Dash as she walked down off the small hillock and down into the little trough of earth in which the great wyrm languished.

"Um, excuse me...sir?" Fluttershy said.

The dragon opened one emerald eye and stared at her for a moment. Then it rose to its feet, slowly but at the same time inexorably, like a mountain driven to erupt out of the earth by the clashing of tectonic plates. His feet left impressions on the ground as deep as Fluttershy was tall, his neck was as long as Steven Magnet, and his throat looked large enough to swallow a carriage whole.

"So," the dragon said, his voice deep and hoarse and old, not just in the scratchy tone and the breathless sound, but in the weariness that Fluttershy could hear within it. "A champion has been found at last. Are you her squire, come to announce my doom has come? Tell your mistress she looks a poor knight, without even a suit of dented armour, let alone the shining raiment that she ought to wear. Still, I suppose I am worth nothing better in this day and age."

Fluttershy blinked. What is he talking about? "I'm afraid I don't-"

"Actually if anyone is the squire here, it's me," Glory said. "I'm not a knight and I'm not here to kill you. That young lady there is here to talk to you."

The dragon turned his gaze on Fluttershy. "Talk? Am I grown so pathetic in my dotage?" He turned away. "Leave me, little pony, I have no desire to talk."

"Then what do you want?" Fluttershy asked.

"I told you I do not want to talk!" the dragon snarled. "Leave me in peace, or I will devour you, and so force your fellows to send a true champion."

Glory took out her axe. "Right, that does it; get away from him, Fluttershy."

"Glory!" Fluttershy cried. "Put that away."

"You heard him, he doesn't want to talk."

"Yes, he does," Fluttershy said. "He just doesn't realise it yet." She sat down. "Please, won't you tell me your name."

The dragon was silent for a moment. "Fafnir," he said.

Fluttershy nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Fafnir. My name is Fluttershy, and this is my friend Glory Seeker."

"...Hi," Glory said after a moment.

Fafnir made a rumbling sound within his throat. "Do I inspire so little fear in you that not even the threat of death will make you leave me?"

"I don't think that you would eat two ponies for nothing," Fluttershy said calmly. "I don't think that you're a bad person. You just seem sad about something, and I'd like to find out what it is. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting," Fafnir said. "Waiting in vain, it seems."

"Waiting for what?" Fluttershy said.

"For some bold knight, glimmering and gallant and ardent for glory, to make an end of me," Fafnir said. "When I was young there were many such. I even devoured a few, when they dared to trespass in my lair. It is true that I have not seen their like in many years, but I had thought - ah, vanity - that I had become too fearsome to be challenged. Yet now it seems the world has changed while I slept, and there are no knights left. Only mares who wish to talk with me." He glared balefully at Fluttershy.

"You wanted...to be killed?" Fluttershy murmured, her tone anxious. "But why?"

"Who cares why?" Glory said. "Hold on there, pal, I'll just get a running start."

"Glory!" Fluttershy snapped.

"You've got no idea how jealous Virtue is going to be when he finds out I'm a dragonslayer."

"I don't care," said Fluttershy sharply. "I won't let you hurt him."

Glory pouted. "Equestrian ponies always spoiling my fun."

"Let her," Fafnir sighed. "She is no knight, but if she is the next best thing then she will do. Do you not want me gone? Do you not want your apple orchard back?"

"I want to find out what's made you so sad that you would...that you would want this," Fluttershy said. "Won't you tell me what the matter is?"

Fafnir blinked, and for a few moments he said nothing. Eventually he whispered, "I have lived too long."

"What do you mean?"

Fafnir made another rumbling noise within his throat, and when he raised his head up out of the dirt Fluttershy saw a tear run down his scales. "I am old, Fluttershy. I have lived over a thousand years upon this earth. I remember when Luna and Celestia were young. I remember when Discord ruled Equestria and made me dance for him as a hatchling babe, I remember when your two princesses battled for the crown. I have slept for centuries, but I have lived for centuries also, and when I am awake I travel every year, through the skies, to join the great migration of my people to our nesting grounds.
"I was so strong once. I am as tall as a mountain, I am as long as a river, and once I was as strong as an army and as hot as a forest fire. My scales were as hard as rock and steel and my claws were as sharp as diamond. No dragon was as strong as I, and after a while none dared to challenge my dominance. Once we reached the nesting grounds I would have the choicest seat, in the very centre of things, and the she-dragons would compete to be my mate.
"Then I grew old, though I knew it not. Old age stole upon me like a thief, like some burglar creeping into my hoard to steal my trinkets. My scales grew soft, my strength fled, my fire died, but I did not realise it until, when I arrived at the nesting grounds at the end of the migration, I found another had taken my place, a younger dragon with scales as red as blood and eyes that burned like fire. With a might roar I demanded that he make way for me, but he refused. We fought...and I was fortunate to escape with my life."

Fafnir swung his head around so that Fluttershy, who had hitherto only seen the right side of him, could see the left of his head, face and neck. What she saw made her gasp in shock. The left side of Fafnir's face had been torn to ribbons: his eye was gone, his scales had been ripped out, red and angry slashing wounds disfigured him. There were more claw marks and bite marks on his neck, where most of his scales had been ripped away. Caring for animals had given Fluttershy a good eye for injuries, and her eye confirmed that Fafnir was not exaggerating when he told her he was lucky to be alive.

"I was forced to retreat to the very edges of the nesting grounds, and I took no mates this year," Fafnir said. "I have lived too long. My strength is past, my prime is behind me, ahead is only an eternity of dotage as my strength is sapped, my gold is stolen, my life becomes more unbearable with every passing day.
"And so I came here, to find some bold knight to finish me, except that now I find there are no knights, and no relief.
"Let your friend do her work. Here is my neck, let her swing the axe."

Fluttershy rose to her hooves. "No!" she declared. "No, you can't. How can you even think about something that? I won't allow it!"

"Do you think your the only person who seems like they're in a hopeless place? Do you think your even the only person to feel that way right now? Right here?"

"Do you claim to understand my pain?" Fafnir asked, sounding more amused than anything.

"Right now, my friends are all held captive by maniac," Fluttershy cried. "Right now, a pony that I love has been imprisoned by magic, and I don't even know if she's still alive or not." Her eyes were beginning to water, but she didn't care. What was it to her if this dragon saw her cry. "My home has been occupied by a foreign army. So has the capital city, and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been taken prisoner too. I...I don't know if any of the ponies that I care about are safe." She stifled a sob. "And I've been told to fix all of it. Me. Fluttershy, the shy pegasus who talks to animals because she doesn't have the courage to talk to other ponies. Me, Fluttershy, the weak one, the cowardly one, the one whose always holding everpony back. I'm the one who has to make everything better. I have to raise an army, I have to retake Canterlot, I have to save my friends. Don't you think that that feels hopless sometimes? Don't you think I lie awake at night wondering how I can do this, how anypony could expect me to do this? Don't you think there are times when I want to curl up into a ball and give up? But I don't, I keep on moving, I keep on trying, because I have to. Because we all have to, no matter how tough it gets, don't you see? That's the only way that it will ever get better."

She stopped and took a deep breath even as she began to wipe the tears from her face. Glory's eyes were as wide as saucers, and her jaw hung open. Fafnir was staring at her in astonishment.

"You shame me, little Fluttershy," Fafnir rumbled. "In courage I am the mouse, and you are the dragon."

"And I'm the ant," Glory muttered.

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm just a pony, that's all."

"A pony who has given me a greater gift than any golden crown I ever stole," Fafnir said. "I will trouble these good ponies no more. Instead I shall help you in your great battle, to save your friends."

Fluttershy gasped. "Really?"

Fafnir nodded. "If I can help you to recover your hope, perhaps I can recover mine as well. So let the enemies of Fluttershy beware, for I have yet a little fire and strength enough to make a difference!" He let out an ear spitting roar as his wings, tattered and torn but still large enough to encompass the entirety of Celestia's palace beneath their shadow, spread out and Fafnir took flight, soaring up into the sky before he began to circle overhead, as if he were waiting for Fluttershy to point him in the direction of the great battle.

"So, you've not only recruited a buffalo army but you've got a dragon too," Glory said. "Nice going."

Fluttershy stared up at Fafnir overhead. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything, you're being praised," Glory said. "Virtue told me you were stronger than you seemed, I'm starting to think he didn't know the half of it."

Two days later, Fluttershy watched the ponies of Appleoosa and the buffalo who lived round about march out together. Chief Thunderhooves and Sheriff Silverstar were at the head of the column, and a great host of ponies and buffalo followed them, while Fafnir flew overhead, casting his shadow over the world.

"Ponies and buffalo going to war with a dragon," Braeburn muttered. "Who would have thought it."

"His presence is a good omen," Little Strongheart said. "We will succeed, especially if Fluttershy can produce more miracles."

Fluttershy blushed. "I didn't really do anything."

"You must have done, cause it wasn't me," Glory said.

Fluttershy smiled. "Braeburn, Little Strongheart, thank you for agreeing to come with me. I could use a little more company upon the road."

"Don't mention it Fluttershy," Braeburn said. "I couldn't just wait for you to call on us while Applejack was in trouble. She's family after all, and you're an honorary part of the family yourself."

"And I think there will be some more fine adventures in store for us if we follow you," Little Strongheart said.

Fluttershy didn't find that prospect quite as exciting as the others did, but she led the way nonetheless.

Towards the Whitetail Wood.

Author's Notes:

An administrative note: Starlight Nova is away on private business for an unspecified period so, if future chapters look less polished it's because they aren't being preread. I hope you'll all join me in wishing Starlight all the best.

This chapter title is a reference to the fact that the primary inspiration for Fluttershy's plot in this story is Bioware RPGs (the whole 'go to A, B and C and recruit X, Y and Z to join your army' is the plot of both Dragon Age and the Mass Effect trilogy.) Originally this chapter was going to read a lot like an RPG playthough, so that people would stand around waving for Fluttershy (the PC) to talk to them so that they could give her sidequests, while the NPCs (Glory, Braeburn and Little Strongheart) would chatter to one another but not talk to Fluttershy unless she initiated it, etc. I found I didn't really work, so what we have is a much more conventional chapter. Which is probably for the best.

Dwindling Party

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Chapter 18

Dwindling Party

"You guys know that I love you all, right?" Razor said. "But I have to say it's a good thing we didn't become the Elements of Harmony because on this showing Equestria would have been stuffed already."

It had been two nights since Princess Celestia had given them the magic box in which Dawny had been trapped along with Princess Twilight. Two nights since they had run with that box and a company of zebras on their tail. Two nights, two days, and unless something changed drastically they would be caught long before there was a third.

Dawn's friends had stopped to rest under the shade of a hill. A brook babbled nearby, the sound of its passing occasionally interrupted by the noise of gentle slurping as Cherry Blossom took much needed drinks from out of the stream.

Hardy was breathing heavily, panting like a dog as she lay on the grass. Laurel was limping, favouring her left forehoof after she'd stepped on a particularly sharp rock with her right and hurt the pad. Her coat was damp with sweat, and her cheeks were red with exertion. Razor, who was flapping her wings lazily to keep herself airborne as she waited for the others to recover, felt as though she could have kept running for a while, and Cherry didn't look too tired either, but the other three were plainly tuckered out, and would be for some time. A few minutes rest might get them staggering on, but they wouldn't be able to keep up anything like the pace that they needed.

Razor could already hear the zebras after them. She could hear their hooves beating on the ground, hear the baying of the diamond dogs they had brought with them to help track down Dawn's friends. They were close; they were too close, and getting closer.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Laurel murmured. "I'm afraid a scholarly life hasn't much prepared me for this sort of thing."

Cherry raised her head up from the stream. "What if we cross the stream? I've heard dogs can't follow a scent over water."

"I don't think there's enough water to mask the scent," Hardy replied.

"Then what if we walked in the water for a while?"

"Even if we did that they'd still spot us with their eyes soon enough," Razor muttered. "They're too hard on us for tricks like that to work. We need to find somewhere to hide, and hope they pass by us."

"What about our scent?" Cherry asked.

"I don't know!" Razor snapped. She sighed. "I'm sorry, there's no call to be yelling at you. Or being rude about your fitness for heroism, either. Dawny would smack me if she could have heard."

Candy sat on the grass, balancing the magic box in her forehooves.

"All your trials are now complete,
You know yourself, a worthy feat,
Return, and your new subjects greet," she recited, the incantation that Celestia had told them would open the box and free Breaking Dawn, and the others too.

Nothing happened. The box remained resolutely shut, and Dawny remained resolutely trapped.

"All your trials are now complete,
You know yourself, a worthy feat,
Return, and your new subjects greet," Candy repeated, to just as little result as the first time.

"All your trials are now complete,
You know yourself, a worthy feat,
Return, and your new subjects greet, come on Dawny, get out here, we need you!" Candy yelled.

"I don't think that's going to work," Hardy said in between breaths.

"Well we can't do anything else, can we?" Candy asked. "I'm going to keep on saying this spell until Dawn comes back to us. All your trials are now complete,
You know yourself, a worthy feat,
Return, and your new subjects greet. Why isn't she coming?"

"She must not know herself yet," Laurel said.

"I always thought that Dawn knew herself," Cherry said.

Hardy shook her head. "No, she never knew herself, she only acted like she did because she didn't want to admit it. If she'd known herself she would never have tried to best Princess Twilight the way she did."

Razor frowned, and pricked her ears up to the sound of zebras and diamond dogs getting closer. "Come on, we need to move. Candy, put the box back in the back. Everypony up! We've gotta go."

Laurel pressed the weight on her sore right hoof, and winced in pain. "You have to leave me behind."

Razor's eyes widened. "What? No way. No way in Tartarus."

"I can't run," Laurel said. "I can barely walk. I'm slowing you down too much. You need to leave me and keep going."

Razor Wind shook her head. "No."

"I'm a weight around your neck and you know it."

"No you're not," Razor protested.

Laurel smiled. "That's very kind of you, dear, but we both know that it's a lie."

Razor scowled. "Okay, yes, you are slowing me down, but so are Hardy and Cherry."

"Which is why you need to leave all three of us behind," Hardy said firmly.

"What?" Razor yelled. "What is going on with you ponies."

"Good sense is prevailing for once in our storied friendship," Hardy said. "If we stick together we'll all be caught, Sunset Shimmer will get the box back and Dawn won't ever get out. So you and Candy need to leave the three of us here and get moving. You can still run, you can still get away. And they'll have to divide their forces to take the three of us prisoner while others pursue you. You'll have fewer zebras to worry about."

"Unless they decide to just kill you!" Razor snapped. "Come on, Candy, help me out here. We need to stick together, right? Six against the world?"

"Except there aren't six of us, there's only five," Cherry Blossom said. "And without Dawny we... we aren't really good for anything."

"Don't talk like that!" snarled Razor. "We'll find another way!"

"There is no other way," Hardy said, her voice calm against Razor's rising anger. "Candy knows that too, don't you?"

Candy nodded solemnly. "I don't like it, but I get it. But I think Razor should take the box alone and I'll stay with you guys. I can fight-"

"We're not going to fight, we're going to surrender," Hardy said. "And you need to go with Razor so that one of you can take the box and keep going if the other gets hurt. Keep it out of Sunset's hooves, free Dawn. Do what Princess Celestia asked of us."

Razor shook her head. "This isn't right."

"No," Hardy agreed. "But what about this situation is?"

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"No," Hardy said. "But I'm not sure you will either."

Razor closed her eyes and scowled. "I can't... I can't just..."

"Razor," Cherry said gently. "It's okay. Please go."

"Cherry?"

"We'll be fine, I promise," Cherry murmured, a warm smile crossing her face. "We'll all be fine, and when this is all over the six of us will hang out like we used to when we were fillies."

Razor tried to smile, but it ended up looking more rictus than anything else. "Yeah, that'll be great. Just... stay safe, okay. You promised!"

Cherry nodded. "Give our love to Dawny, when you see her."

"Yeah," Razor said. "Yeah, I'll do that too."

"We love you guys," Candy cried.

"Then let us go," Laurel said. "Now! Go!"

Razor and Candy turned tail and fled, the sound of Candy's hooves echoing in Razor's ears as she flew alongside the earth pony mare. She looked back briefly, and saw her three friends facing in the direction of the pursuit, waiting for it to catch up to them without a trace of hesitation.

Stay safe. You promised.

Laurel ran her aching hoof through her chalk-grey mane. "Why did you promise?"

"Excuse me?" Cherry asked.

"You can't possibly know that we'll be anything like safe, so why did you promise?"

"I said what Razor needed to hear," Cherry replied. "I know you shouldn't make promises you can't keep, but sometimes you have to."

"A fact I reflect on every time I tell a client I can get them off," Hardy murmured. "Still, I think in a few moments we will be able to tell fairly soon just how much of a lie or not your promise was."

And so, when two score of armed zebras and a half dozen diamond dogs crested the hill they found the three mares sitting their waiting, as if they were impatient at the slow speed of the pursuit.

"Ah, good afternoon gentlecolts," Hardy said brightly. "We've been expecting you."

They hadn't killed them. Hardy was inclined to consider that a good start.

Obviously the fact that they had been chained up and were being marched back to Canterlot to be locked up wasn't objectively good (except for the part where half the zebras who would otherwise have been chasing Razor and Candy were now walking them back home instead), but it was better than being speared to death by the side of the creek and left there by a long mile.

And so they walked, with a score of hard-faced zebra warriors ranged about them, their shackles rattling in counterpoint to the thump thump of the zebra tread.

Laurel had gone paler than usual, except for the ever increasing red colour around her cheeks. Not only was she tired, she was in pain as well. The shackles were tight around her injured leg, and the zebras were setting a pace too hard for limping. But she was trying not show her pain. Hardy admired that even as she thought it was foolhardy. Perhaps if she had cried out once in a while they might have taken pity on her.

If there was any pity in them.

"Excuse me," Cherry murmured. "But my friend is hurt. Can we stop for a while so she can rest her leg?"

"No," the zebra commander snapped. "But she can get a whipping if she moves any more slowly than she is now."

He was a gaudy fellow, the leader of their captors. Most of the zebras who had taken them wore no armour, and were completely naked, but not the one who led them. He was smaller than those he led, and from his voice Hardy guessed he was considerably younger too, but in terms of finery he put all his followers to shame. His back was covered by a cape of shining black, sewn from top to bottom with gorgeous white peacock feathers. Blue peacock feathers, which shimmered under the light of the sun, were woven through his tail, while colourful feathers of parrots and tropical birds decorated his mane, along with some things that were glinting in the sunlight that Hardy took to be gemstones of some kind. He covered his face with a golden mask, with two red stripes descending diagonally across, and topped with even more colourful feathers, a riot of red, blue and green. He had an attendant close by him at all times, fanning him with a palm leaf.

"But she's hurt," Cherry said. "She can't go any faster than she is. Can't she at least have some water?"

"I'm fine, Cherry," Laurel gasped. "I'm...okay. Don't... don't... "

"No, you're not okay and it isn't right," Cherry said.

"You are slaves now, you have no rights," the zebra commander shouted. He glared at the three mares for a moment. "Zetenes, give her some water."

A big zebra uncorked a waterskin with his teeth and held it up to Laurel's lips, pouring some of the crystal clear water down her throat before taking a swing for himself.

"Now get moving!" the commander said.

Laurel tried to walk on her right hoof, but stumbled as she cried out in pain.

"Get up!" the commander yelled. "Get up, or you will be whipped."

Laurel lay on the grass, tears in her blue eyes, whimpering in pain.

"Get up!"

The big zebra, Zetenes, bent down and scooped Laurel up onto his back.

"What are you doing?" their commander yelled.

Zetenes shrugged. "Your pardon, estimable one, but I thought that you were impatient to move."

"I was impatient to make the slaves walk," the commander snapped. "Not to... never mind. Move, all of you."

The zebras prodded Hardy and Cherry forward as they began to advance themselves.

"Thank you," Hardy murmured.

Zetenes glanced back at Laurel, who looked as if she had half fallen asleep on the large zebra's back. "I have a daughter her age, or near enough. Feeling the weight, it reminds me of all the times I would carry her home because she was too tired to walk." He smiled wistfully. "I miss her. I have not seen her in too long. I have not seen home in too long."

"No," Hardy said. "Because you're here invading our home instead."

"You think I want this war?" Zetenes asked. "You think anyone wants this war? You think I would not rather be home with my family?"

"Then why are you here?" Hardy asked.

"Because we are commanded," Zetenes replied. "The great lords have given the commands and we obey as we are sworn to do."

"So for your oaths you have left your home and marched halfway across the world to fight in a war that you want nothing to do with?" Hardy asked. "Makes sense to me. Is that your lord?" He gestured at their peacock of a commander.

"His third son."

"I see," Hardy said. "Tell me, have you ever thought about not doing what he told you? You might be much happier in the long run."

"You ask me to forsake my oaths?"

"I'm asking you which your family would rather have: a father who keeps his oaths, or one who is home with them when they need him."

Zetenes looked away. "I know what you are trying to do."

"Then tell me, because I'm not quite sure myself."

"It will not work," Zetenes muttered. "Even if I wished to forsake my solemn oaths, there are not enough other zebras who feel the same way."

"There aren't enough zebras who want to go home?"

"There are not enough who would forsake our ways and culture to get home."

"A culture of slavish obedience isn't worth defending," Hardy said.

"Enough talk there, slave!" the young lord snapped. "Wine, give me wine." His attendant stopped fanning his master for a moment to pour some red wine out of a skin down his throat.

"I see that you get to drink wine while all of your followers drink water," Hardy said. She raised her voice a little. "That doesn't seem exactly fair to me. Does that seem to fair to everybody else?"

"Hold your tongue! Fair, unfair, such things are irrelevant. My birth grants me privileges, your chains grant you none. No more talk, or I will rip out that chattering tongue of yours," the commander glared at him for a moment before turning ostentatiously away.

"What are you doing?" Cherry hissed. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Maybe," Hardy murmured. "Or maybe I might just save the day."

"Hey, Candy?" Razor asked, as she sat in a tree as night gathered around them. Candy sat at the foot of the tree, nestled within a knot formed by the roots, while Razor plucked peaches out of the branches and tossed them down to her.

"Yep?"

"You know about stories, right?" Razor said. "I mean, being an actor and all."

Candy was silent for a moment. "Well, mostly that means that I know plays, but I suppose that, yeah, you could say that I know about stories."

Razor hesitated, loosening a peach from its perch on the vine and dropping it into Candy's waiting hooves. "If this were a story, what would our chances be?"

"Our chances of what?"

"Escaping," Razor murmured. "Surviving. Winning?"

"Are you asking me if we would save the world if this were a story?"

Razor shrugged. "I guess so, yeah."

Candy giggled. "Honestly, Razor, if this were a story there's no way that we'd be the heroes."

"I know that," Razor said sharply. "Dawny's the hero."

"Yeah...no she's not," Candy replied. "She'd certainly like to think she is, but she isn't. She never was."

"Then who..." Razor paused for a moment. "It's Princess Twilight, isn't it?"

"'Fraid so," Candy said cheerily. "And wouldn't that just kill Dawn if she were here."

"It already nearly killed her once," Razor said. "Honestly, how many times has Princess Twilight been the hero, now? Three, four?"

"I think it was four when all of this started, but now it's more like six," Candy said. "Depending on how you count them up."

"Can't she retire and leave it to somepony else to carry the burden?"

Candy leaned back in her tree root knot, closing her eyes. "Loyalty is great and all, but you have to admit that, great as she is, Dawn doesn't really have what it takes."

"If you think that then why are you here?"

"Because she's still my friend, in all her glorious flawed-ness," Candy said. "Flawfulness. Imperfection, in all her imperfection she is still my friend. Just because I can see the warts doesn't mean I don't love her. And she's got her part to play, just like we all do."

"And what's that?" Razor asked. "The villain?"

"Nah," Candy said. "It was once, sure, for a while. But it never fitted her that well, and now Sunset Shimmer has that part sewn up. Dawny's more of an anti-hero, now."

"Okay," Razor murmured. "What does that make us?"

"I dunno, really," Candy confessed. "We used to be her minions, but most anti-heroes are kind of loners. "I would say we are... third tier characters. We get scenes, but not our own story line."

Razor sighed. "That's depressing. No wonder Dawn couldn't stand it. So, what are our chances?"

"Huh?"

"Going back to my original question: as third tier characters, what are our chances of coming out of this in one piece?"

"It depends," Candy said.

"On what?"

"On whether anyone in the audience would care if we died or not," Candy said. "You can kill of third tier by the bucketload, but there isn't much point unless you're going to get them crying in the cheap sets because of it. And we certainly couldn't be got rid of while we've still got the box, because the hero has to get out and save the day somehow. So if we were going to die we'd find somepony else to give it to first."

"Let's not do that then," Razor said.

"Of course," Candy said lazily. "All of that only applies if we were actually characters in a story. Which we're not."

"No," Razor murmured. "No, we're not."

"If this was a story it would be better written," Candy chirped. "And not so contorted at the beginning."

Razor grinned. "Yeah, you're probably right. We should probably try and get some sleep. We've still got a ways to go."

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet," Razor said. "Away from pursuit."

"That's always a good place to go," Candy said.

The wind, blowing upon Razor's back, began to carry with it the sound of dogs howling in the gathering darkness.

"Speaking of away from pursuit," Razor said, flapping her wings as she launched herself off the tree branch. "It sounds like we haven't quite made it yet. Come on, Candy, let's see if these third tier legs can keep us out of harms way for just a little longer."

"Ugh, my stomach hurts," Sweetie Belle moaned.

"Ah told you not to eat them crab apples," Apple Bloom said.

"But I was so hungry," Sweetie said.

"I'm still hungry," Scootaloo said. "And thirsty. And tired. Do you know how long we have to go before we get to Appleoosa?"

"I don't rightly no," Apple Bloom admitted. "But I think we're going in the right direction, and we're bound to get there eventually."

"Are you sure that that's where we should be going?" Scootaloo said. "Applejack told us to go to Canterlot."

"Except the zebras got there before us," Apple Bloom said. "That's why we had to turn back. Don't worry, my cousin Braeburn will take care of us; maybe we can even get help there."

"If we can find him," Scootaloo moaned as she sat down on the cold hard ground. "We're lost, aren't we?"

"...Kinda?" Apple Bloom admitted. "But only a little bit."

That was an understatement, but Apple Bloom did not feel up to confessing the full extent of how lost they were. Not that she needed to admit it, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were every bit as lost and knew it, but that still didn't mean she wanted to announce the fact to the whole world. For several days now they had wandered in a vaguely south-ward direction, but without any clue whether they were aiming for Appleoosa or the dragon infested badlands. Or somewhere in between. Or Las Pegasus. The only place they weren't going was the one place Applejack had told them to go: Canterlot, and they weren't going there because there'd been an army camped around it the last thing they'd seen, and none of them had fancied their chances as Cutie Mark Crusader night-time infiltrators. Though that was an idea to store for later, maybe when Rarity could make them some cool ninja outfits.

Apple Bloom shook her head. This was no time for wild imaginings. She had to keep a clear head. They all did.

"If we were lost," she said tentatively. "Would anypony have any better ideas?"

Sweetie Belle collapsed on the ground. "How about we just rest here?"

"It'll get cold the darker it gets," Apple Bloom said softly, as darkness fell all around them, the sun descending over the horizon and the moon climbing upwards to cast the world in shades of blue. "We need to find somewhere warmer to rest."

Scootaloo's ears twitched. "Do you guys hear something?"

Apple Bloom listened. There was the sound of the wind rustling through the long grass, making the rushes whistle a little, and...

Hoof beats!

Emerald Ray bounded out of the long grass like a lion stalking his prey upon the high plains, a massive double-headed axe as large as Sweetie Belle glinting in his forehooves as he raised it over his head.

"So you want somewhere warm to rest, huh? How about the flames of Tartarus, you little punks!"

For a moment, all three crusaders screamed in unison, before they turned as one to flee from the enraged crystal pony.

They galloped for their lives, hooves racing across the grassy field, while Emerald Ray churned up the soil with his own pounding hooves behind them.

"You won't get away from me this time, you little brats!" he snarled as he chased after them. His crystal armour glistened in the starlight, casting diamond-like glimmers upon the ebony plate so that it have seemed as though he was wearing night, that the darkness itself had become his ally in this struggle. His cape of black and crimson flapped behind him, flowing outwards like some hellish river poised to sweep the three crusaders all away. His axe, raised up above his head, blocked out a part of the moon, so that he seemed to have devoured even a part of Luna's silver orb.

And he was gaining on them.

"Come on, Crusaders!" Apple Bloom yelled. "We've got to get out of here!"

"I'm...going...fast...as...I...can," Sweetie Belle panted as sweat began to glisten on her white coat. She was moving more awkwardly than Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and she was starting to fall behind her friends and descend closer and closer to Emerald Ray and the murderous gleam in his eye.

"Come on, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo shouted. "Come on, faster!"

"...trying," Sweetie gasped.

Apple Bloom looked Scootaloo in the eye. Unspoken, a thought passed between them. They slowed briefly, dropping back until they were level with struggling Sweetie Belle. Each one grabbed one of Sweetie's legs and hauled her up onto their combined shoulders. Then they began to sprint again.

Emerald Ray laughed. "I hope you remember who to blame when you're all dead because you tried to save your friend! Friendship only slows you down, girls. I'd tell you to remember that, but you won't live long enough."

Scootaloo growled. "If Rainbow Dash were here-"

"But she ain't, nor Applejack neither," Apple Bloom muttered. "So don't talk and just keep running."

They were slower, carrying Sweetie Belle. But at least Sweetie Belle was keeping pace with them, and never let it be said that the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't stick together through thick and thin. No way were they going to leave Sweetie Belle at the mercy of a monster like that.

"Girls," Sweetie murmured. "I think I can hear more hoofbeats coming this way."

"Awesome," Scootaloo said, forcing the word out in between intakes of breath. "Maybe they can help us out."

"But what if they're-"

"Come on," Apple Bloom said. "The universe doesn't hate us that much." I hope not, anyway.

"Besides," Scootaloo said. "We've got enough problems without worrying about maybes."

And then the world proved that while it might not have hated them it certainly had a sense of humour, because the very second after she spoke a grey pegasus and a mint green earth pony barrelled out of the darkness as fast a steam engine and ran right into them.

The two mares and the three fillies went sprawling in a heap. A carved wooden box, intricately carved like an antique, hit Apple Bloom on the head before it rolled into the dirt. Impulsively she grabbed at it, wrapping her hooves around the graven wood and clutching it tight.

The dark grey pegasus sat up, and rubbed her head with one hoof. "What the hay-"

"I've got you now!" Emerald Ray bellowed triumphantly.

The pegasus' eyes widened. "Candy, we need to go!"

The earth pony's head darted this way and that anxiously. "I lost the box!"

"What? How could you lose the box?"

"Do you mean this box?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Legend!" the pegasus yelled as she scooped Apple Bloom up under one hoof and Sweetie Belle in the other. Her wings flared out as she lifted them and herself up off the ground. "Hold on tight, fillies, and get ready to fly!"

"You think you can get away so easy?" Emerald Ray demanded as he pounced upon them, his great axe glinting in the light of the moon as it swept down upon them.

Then the mint-green pony was between him and them, a collapsible staff in her forehooves, parrying the blow and knocking it aside where it slammed harmlessly into the ground.

"Get outta here, Razor," the earth pony said. "I'll catch up."

"Candy," Razor murmured.

"Everypony's love to Dawny, Razor," Candy muttered. "Now beat it, okay, while I beat this guy." She giggled at her own play on words.

Emerald Ray smirked viciously. "So cocky? This will be even more fun than taking out those three blank flank brats."

"Come on," Razor said, flapping her wings furiously to carry them away, while Scootaloo followed behind. She kept glancing back, as her friend began to duel furiously with Emerald Ray, matching her folding staff against his battle axe, but she kept on moving forward all the same.

"Candy...everypony," Razor murmured, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

The sound of other hooves began to echo through the night, and the howling of savage dogs.

"There she is! Surround her!"

"Stay out of this!" Emerald Ray bellowed. "If any of you so much as try to interfere, I'll kill you all!"

The mare and the three fillies took shelter beneath the roots of an old, gnarled oak tree, crawling through the dirt and past the ancient, knotted wood to reach the hollow beneath its base. There in, the cramped space walled and roofed with so much tangled wood that it seemed almost like ancient, long forgotten temple, the Cutie Mark Crusaders caught their breath while Razor stood guard in front of the tunnel down to them.

"Come on, Candy," she muttered. "Come on. Come on."

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Apple Bloom said.

Razor scowled. "She'd better be."

The Crusaders shared a glance.

"Thank you," Sweetie Belle said quietly.

"I hardly did anything," Razor murmured. "Thank Candy when she gets back."

"You're real worried about her, aren't you?" Apple Bloom said.

"Wouldn't you be worried if it was a friend of yours out there?" Razor demanded. She shook her head. "I shouldn't have left her there."

"Then why did you?" Scootaloo asked.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle gasped.

"What?"

"It's a fair question," Razor said. "I left her because... because of that little box you've got hold of."

"What's so special about it?" Apple Bloom asked.

Razor's eyes narrowed. "How about you tell me a little about yourselves first. What are three fillies like you doing roaming the countryside in the middle of the night."

"I'm Apple Bloom," Apple Bloom said.

"And I'm Sweetie Belle."

"And I'm Scootaloo."

"And together," Apple Bloom said.

"We are," Sweetie Belle said.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they chorused as one mare.

Razor grinned. "Are you now? That sounds fun."

"It is," Apple Bloom said.

"Not so much right now, though," Sweetie Belle moaned.

"Not since Sunset Shimmer arrived," Scootaloo growled.

"She took over our home and took our sisters prisoner," Apple Bloom cried. "We ran away, but... we got lost."

"You must be on the run from Sunset Shimmer too, right?" Scootaloo said. "Otherwise why would the zebras have been chasing you?"

"No, you're right about that," Razor said. "The name's Razor Wind, my friend's name is Hard Candy, and the zebras are after that box there. It has somepony very special trapped inside of it, with magic. Somepony who could stop all of this, if she were here."

"You mean Twilight?"

"No!" Razor said. "I mean, yeah, she's in there too, but that wasn't who I was talking about."

"Why don't you let them out already?" Apple Bloom demanded.

"We've been trying," Razor replied. "It doesn't work for some reason. I think they have to reach the end of...something. I don't quite get it, but it's like a road they have to go down. Something like that. They can't come out until they get let out, but they also have to be ready to leave, something like that. So-"

Her words were cut off by a scream of pain that echoed down the tunnel and reverberated off the walls of the tree hollow.

"Yoohoo," Emerald Ray called. "Pegasus! I've got your friend out here, and she's dying to see you again."

Candy screamed again.

"It wasn't very nice of you to cut and run on your best friend," Emerald Ray laughed. "But you can make up for it if you come out, now. Then I can kill you both at the same time."

"Razor, don't, it's a traaaaaaaagh!" Candy howled.

"At the moment she's still alive and mostly intact," Emerald snarled. "But if you don't come out here and bare your neck I'll start to cut off pieces, and make her death slow and painful. So get out here."

Razor's brow furrowed as she turned to face the Crusaders. "Stay here, don't make a sound, and whatever you do don't lose that box. Every so often say these words, okay, you have to remember these words: All your trials are now complete,
You know yourself, a worthy feat,
Return, and your new subjects greet. Say it back to me."

"All your trials are now complete,
You know yourself, a worthy feat,
Return, and your new subjects greet," Apple Bloom recited.

Razor nodded. "Good. At some point that should let everypony out of the box, my friend and your Princess Twilight. When that happens... tell Dawny we never stopped believing."

"You're not going out there are you?" Apple Bloom demanded. "That don't make a lick of sense!"

"When the three of you get older you'll realise that there are some things that you just have to do," Razor said. "And most of them are pretty stupid, like agreeing to help your best friend stage a coup, or going out to confront an armed and dangerous psychopath. But you have to do them, or you're not much of a pony and even less of a friend. There's only five mares in the whole world who've ever had my back, and one's lost and I let three of them get captured today. So I have to do right by this one, now. Stay here, and whatever you do don't lose the box. And remember the words."

And with that, she turned away from the three Crusaders and began to crawl up out of the tree root tunnel.

Razor found Emerald Ray not far away, standing at the edge of the trees with all the zebras and the diamond dogs ranged about him. Candy lay at his feet, bleeding from a nasty wound to the shoulder, blood staining her minty coat and soaking through her peppermint hair. There were tears in her eyes, and her breathing was faint. Fragments of her broken staff lay all around her.

You idiot. Please, Celestia, don't let this be the end of her.

"Yoohoo," Emerald Ray called. "Is there anypony there?" He chuckled. "It seems like nopony loves you after all, kid." He kicked Candy in the flank, making her squeak in pain.

"I'm right here!" Razor Wind declared as she strode out of cover, glaring at Emerald Ray with such ferocity that if looks could have killed Emerald Ray would have been ash on the ground by now. "You wanted me, and you go me. Now leave her alone."

"Leave her alone?" Emerald Ray laughed. "Is that what you thought was going to happen? Oh, she's going to die. It's just that she'll die quickly this time, and after she's watched you lose your head."

"Mistress Sunset-" one of the zebras began.

"Mistress Sunset can bite me," Emerald Ray snapped. "I have been insulted, belittled, led a merry chase across the country and even had my ear sewn to the floor. I am entitled to have a little fun and if Sunset Shimmer has a problem with that then maybe I'll have some fun with her next."

"Razor," Candy mumured. "Go."

Razor grinned. "Sorry, Candy, but I can't do that. It seems we were just too popular after all."

"How admirably loyal of you," Emerald Ray growled. "Not get down on the ground and bare your neck for the axe."

"No!" Sweetie Belle yelled. "Don't do it!"

Razor's eyes closed as she cursed inwardly. No, no. No! Not only was Sweetie Belle standing there, not far behind Razor herself, but her two friends were with her as well. Sunset will get the box back and all of this will have been for nothing.

Emerald Ray chuckled. "Now this is just getting better and better, isn't it? Take them!"

Sweetie Belle scowled as her horn began to spark with an aura of verdant green magic. "No. Get away from us!"

The magical shockwave that erupted from the tip of her horn moved with the speed and power of a great wave, a great green tidal wave to sweep all before it. All whom it didn't like, at any rate. Razor felt it pass through her a ghost, making her spine shiver and her feathers trembled but doing her no harm. It passed over Candy like the water passing over the beach at high tide. But the zebras, the diamond dogs, Emerald Ray in his armour of midnight, they were picked up by this wave of magic and thrown aside like so many discarded toys, vanishing into the darkness with cries of pain and of alarm.

Razor's eyes widened in shock. So did the eyes of Sweetie Belle's friends.

"Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo murmured. "Since when could you do that?"

"I don't know," Sweetie Belle admitted. "I mean, I've been practicing a little with Twilight, but... I don't know."

"However you did it, I'm glad you did," Razor said. "I need to go tend to Candy now, but from now on, we're sticking with you three."

Some distance away, a distance that could be measured in miles, Emerald Ray sat up and rubbed his head.

"I am definitely going to kill somepony," he growled. "In fact, I'm going to kill the next pony I see on principle. And then I am going to hunt every last one of those five down and make their ends exquisitely painful."

All around him the winds began to howl, but Emerald Ray heard none of it.

Unwelcome Revelations

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Chapter 19

Unwelcome Revelations

The Dark Queen sat upon her Dark Throne, shrouded in shadows, hiding from the light.

Sunset hunched upon the velvet seat from which, for so many years, Celestia had ruled Equestria in peace and prosperity. Now she, who had given it war, curled up on the cushions like some frightened cat or a hedgehog trying to form a ball to warn off predators. Her forelegs were wrapped around her hind legs, her head resting on her knees, her dishevelled mane falling all over the place, half covering her eyes.

She shivered, though it was not cold. She hid from the darkness, though there was no light. She had ordered all the curtains closed throughout the entire palace, drenching it in shadow and in shade, and in the throne room there was not a speck of sunlight to be seen. Sunset could not even tell if it was day or night, she had lost all track of time.

Closing the curtains had also hidden all the windows from her sight. Those stained glass windows. Those pictures of heroes and triumphs, those images of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, those reminders of everything that she was not.

There had been a time when she had dreamed of her own image adorning such a window, but that time was gone now, like a dream... or something even less real than a dream, perhaps, vanished in the cold, hard light of day, gone beyond recall.

Yes, the sun had snatched away all her dreams from her. Was it any wonder that she hid from its light?

"I have achieved everything I ever wanted," Sunset muttered to the empty air, for she was utterly alone here. "I have conquered Equestria and rule it now. I have humbled Celestia, and set Twilight Sparkle and her friends at defiance. I have won. The prize is mine. All that I aimed for I have hit the mark. So why do I feel so empty inside?"

"Maybe it's because you've got nopony to share it with?"

Sunset started as if somepony had put a tack on her seat. Pinkie Pie was standing by the side of the throne, dressed in the fool's motley that Sunset had dressed her in, the bells jingling in her cap. Despite which she had been able to sneak up on Sunset and half yell in her ear as the first sign of her presence in the room. There had been no hoofsteps, no sound of a door opening. Just... Pinkie, there, all of a sudden.

"How do you do that?" Sunset demanded, twisting her body around to give Pinkie the stinkeye.

"It's a gift," Pinkie said airily, not with any arrogance in her but rather, as though she didn't consider the question very important. Perhaps, in her mind, she was the normal one, and all the poor souls who lived their lives constrained by the bounds of something so base as logic were a little weird. "The more important question is: how do you do it?"

Sunset frowned deeply. "Do what? I'm not doing anything?"

"Yes you are," Pinkie replied in a sing-song voice.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Go on then, what am I doing?"

"You're lying to yourself, silly," Pinkie said. "And you're doing it so well it's as if you don't realise that you're doing it! That would be really cool if it weren't so sad."

"I'm not sad," Sunset snapped.

"You sounded it a moment ago."

"That was... it's very rude to listen in on people who don't know that you're there," Sunset said primly.

"So is invading other people's countries," Pinkie said.

Sunset sighed. "Touche, Pinkie." She closed her eyes for a moment, enclosing herself absolutely in the darkness. "So, what am I lying about?"

"You pretend not to know why you're so sad, but you know."

"Because I'm lonely?"

"And because you know you're wrong," Pinkie said.

"Do I?" Sunset said. "What makes you so sure?"

"My friend Fluttershy once said that there aren't bad people, just bad choices," Pinkie said. Her tone became a little more solemn as she said, "And I'm afraid that you've made some very bad choices."

"Choices, choices, choices," Sunset murmured. "Tell me, Pinkie Pie, if destiny is all then why does life throw so many choices into our path? Or is free choice just an illusion and I was always fated to take this road?"

"I don't think there was a plan to bring you here," Pinkie said. She glanced to one side, as if looking at someone that only she could see. "At least not a very good one." She looked at Sunset again. "There were just some vague nudges in this direction."

"Vague nudges," Sunset repeated. "Vague nudges that have been the ruin of me." She opened her eyes to glare at Pinkie. "I dressed you as my fool, so fool around. Banish my melancholy, if you can. Make me smile."

"Ooh, how about a song?" Pinkie asked. She cleared her throat, and guitar music appeared from out of nowhere.

Equestria, the land I love,
A land of harmony-

"Not that one," Sunset said firmly.

"How about the Hearth's Warming Carol?" Pinkie suggested. "The fire of friendship-"

"No," Sunset said.

Pinkie pouted for a moment. Then she began to sing again, with renewed vigor.

My name is Pinkie Pie (Hello!)
And I am here to say!

"Ugh, you know what, let's not do singing," Sunset said quickly. "All your songs are too happy to make me happy, if you know what I mean."

"Do you want a hug?"

"Certainly not," Sunset said frostily.

"Then how about a riddle game?" Pinkie asked. "I'll go first. Why does a snail carry his house on his back?"

"That's less a riddle and more the set up to a joke," Sunset said. "But I'll bite: why does a snail carry his house on his back?"

"Because that way he always remembers where home is," Pinkie said. "And that's something even ponies sometimes forget." She looked at Sunset pointedly.

Sunset groaned.

"Do you want to hear another one?"

"Is it as tediously moralistic as the first?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Go on then."

"Why does a thief like the shadows?"

"Because it's easier to hide in the dark," Sunset said.

"Nope," Pinkie said. "Because she's ashamed of herself."

"I'm not..." Sunset said. "What does it matter anyway? So what if I am? It's too late now."

"Only if you don't do anything about it."

"And what do you suggest that I-" Sunset was interrupted by a knocking on the door. "What?"

The door to the throne room opened by a fraction, and a nervous looking zebra noble poked his head in. "Esteemed regent...um, we have a problem."

The proud young lord swelled up like an angry toad, his eyes boggling from behind his gaudy mask. "You refuse? Did I hear true? What mockery is this?"

"Not mockery, my lord, but mutiny," Hardy said, smirking with undisguised insolence. "At least I think that's the word for this sort of thing in the army. It seems that your warriors have decided that they don't want to take your orders any more." She looked the zebra commander up and down theatrically. "I can't imagine why they would come to the decision."

"Silence!" the zebra commander roared, raising one hoof to strike Hardy across the face.

Zetenes, the big zebra warrior, moved quickly to block the blow. "Young lord, I cannot allow you to harm our spokesmare thus, nor any other zebra here."

"You dare?" the zebra hissed. "You dare to so much as touch one of the High Blood, you peasant cur! How dare you?"

"How dare he?" Hardy asked. "How dare you, you puffed up little popinjay? What have you ever done in the course of your life of unearned luxury to make you fit to treat the people around you the way you do? What in Grevyia or Equestria makes you so special?"

"My ancestors-"

"Aren't here any more," Hardy snapped. "You are, and you're not worthy of the people you lord it over. Maybe your ancestor was, maybe she wasn't, but you aren't. Not by a long way. You've been living off Daddy's money your whole life; well it stops now. It ends."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Hardy, Laurel and Cherry stood in the shadow of the gates of Canterlot, surrounded by a phalanx of zebra warriors. Once their captors, now their bodyguards. Their chains were off, and lay on the ground in a heap behind them.

Laurel was crouched on the ground, a long parchment scroll laid out in front of her, pen gripped in her mouth as she scribbled away writing a list of demands for the appropriate authorities. In the guardhouse, Cherry had opened up the stores reserved for lords and captains and was cooking the rank and file a taste of what they'd been missing out on during their years of faithful service to their so-called betters. It probably wasn't going to turn out just like their mothers used to make - not least because their mother's couldn't have gotten these ingredients either - but it would probably be a step up from the thin gruel that they ate normally.

"We're tired, my lord," one of the zebra warriors said. "This war is not our war. Why are we here?"

The young lord sniffed in distaste. "Have these mares turned you all to cowards that you are unwilling to fight for your country? Does the glory of the Most Ancient Empire mean nothing to you? Will you let August Grevyia fall into ruin for your own comfort?"

"We are not cowards," Zetenes said softly. "If Grevyia is imperilled then it shall always find us brave and willing to fight for her. But we cannot see that our country stands in peril in any way, unless we have placed it in danger by our actions in this land."

"We want to go home," one of the other zebras said.

"I want to see my son," one said.

"I want to kiss my wife again," said another.

"I want to watch my daughters grow up," said a third.

"We are tired, my lord," Zetenes said. "We do not want to die in this land, far from home. We want to go home."

"It turns out that isn't all they want," Hardy remarked. "It seems they also want to stop having to slave until their backs break while you and yours live in luxury. They want to be your equals instead."

"Equal?" the zebra lord gasped. He laughed aloud. "What foolishness is this? Can the ant be equal with the lion?"

"Perhaps not, but a thousand ants can chew on the lion until there's nothing left but bone," Hardy said. "All they have to do is stop fearing him. And I'd say that my new friends are done being afraid."

The zebra lord cast his gaze upon those who had, until very recently, been his followers. There was no deference in their looks now, no yielding to his blood right and born authority. None of them acknowledged the superiority of his blood. Hardy smiled. It had turned out that the only thing keeping the zebras loyal to their lords was a fear that they would be the only one to speak up if they were unfaithful. The truth was, this young lord was not a lion. He was a mouse, who had convinced himself that he was a lion and tried to convince others of that fact too. But, once everyone had the courage to say that he was a just a mouse, and found that everyone else agreed with them, his roars were revealed for the pathetic things that they were.

"You will have no home," he snapped. "You will have no freedom, you will have no, no, equality," he spat the word. "You will all be on crossed pikes by nightfall!"

"And who do you think is going to put us there?" Hardy said. "Other contingents of poor, put upon zebras dragged from their homes and pressed into service?"

"We have already spoken with the warriors of the Makkai, Libu, Meshwesh, Matho, Tanit and Milcar," Zetenes said. "They are with us, so is the Fourth Legion of the Imperial Army. That is the strength of half the houses, and some of the imperial regulars too. We are all tired."

"And once they realise that at least some zebras are friends to them and enemies to Sunset Shimmer then you'd be surprised how many ponies will come out on the streets to lend their support to the birth of a new freedom. So how exactly are you going to brutally murder us all when no one wants to follow you?" Hardy asked. "Are you and your lordly friends and relatives going to take us all on, on the basis that one of you is worth a dozen of your 'peasants'?"

The young lord shook his head. "You would turn your back upon all tradition-"

"Look at this land, my lord," Zetenes said. "Is it not richer than our own? More fertile? Are not its people happier and more prosperous than we? Might it not be that there is something in their way of life from which we could learn?"

Laurel stopped writing. "All done, Hardy."

"Excellent," Hardy said. "Read it out, so that everyone can hear how they like it."

"Read what?" the zebra lord demanded.

"Our list of demands, to be presented to the regent Sunset Shimmer," Hardy said jovially. "Off you go, Laurel. The floor is yours, as it were."

Laurel smiled slightly as she cleared her throat and adjusted her spectacles. "Ahem. 'We, the zebras currently serving in the army of the Most August and Ancient Empire of Grevyia..."

"...being a body representative of the people of our nation," Sunset read aloud. "Do hereby proclaim blah, blah, blah hold these truths to be blah shall take no further military action blah blah present the following demands: an immediate truce with the representatives of the government of Equestria to be followed by negotiations for peace. The return of Grevyian warriors to Grevyia to commence immediately. All warriors to be paid for their service at the rate of one Imperial silver a day plus compensation for any equipment damaged during the campaign. The abolition of slavery. The abolition of feudal dues. Reform of the rights and privileges of the High Blood. Formation of a national assembly to draw up a constitution and represent the will of the people and a solemn and binding oath by the Emperor that he will abide by all of the above terms for all time and until the end of time." Sunset looked up from the parchment roll that had been delivered. "A constitution? Of all things under the sun, they want a constitution." She laughed. "Is this a joke?"

"Not to the thousands of warriors who have ground arms all over the city," Lord Syphax, whose troops were amongst those who had joined the mutineers, said gravely. Sunset had convened a council of her lords and commanders in the shadowy throne room. As a token concession to those who did not hate the light as she had come to, Sunset had lit a few candles, and they flickered like her waning hopes, casting their dying light into the darkness that threatened to smother them.

In addition to her own subordinates, Sunset had had Celestia brought to the throne room too, where she sat in one corner, saying nothing, listening. Sunset couldn't have explained rationally why she was there, unless it was because she wanted somepony in council who was on her side, but the sun princess cast more light into the room than all the candles put together, and put all the zebra nobles to shame through the example of her regal grace.

"They've begun to build barricades all throughout the western parts of the city, mistress," Virtue murmured. "They have taken the Canterlot tennis court as their headquarters, and ponies are coming onto the streets to join them."

"Of course they are," Sunset muttered. "Is it the whole army?"

"My diamond dogs are still ready to fight," Precious growled.

"And so are the Shadowbolts!" Lightning Dust declared.

"The mutiny has not spread to the zebra forces camped outside the city," Virtue said.

"Make sure it stays that way," Sunset said. "As for these absurd demands..."

"Does freedom truly seem so absurd to you now, Sunset?" Celestia asked calmly. "Is not freedom why you left me, so long ago?"

"I left because you made me go!" Sunset shouted, wheeling to face Celestia. She turned away, sighing deeply. "Virtue, Celestia, you stay. Everyone else out, now."

With much ill-concealed grumbling (from the zebra lords), growling (from Precious) and uncomfortable looks (courtesy of Lightning Dust) all her other subordinates left her, offering perfunctory bows in her direction before leaving the throne room. The doors closed behind them with a resounding slam.

"They do not meet my eyes," Sunset muttered. "Most likely they are going to mutter behind their backs at how ill I look. Or how mad."

"Whatever happens next most of them will be worse off than they were before," Celestia observed. "You have just cost them all their slaves."

"Try not to sound so pleased at this turn of events," Sunset muttered.

"The spread of freedom is always something to smile about," Celestia said.

"Oh, is that so, Princess Celestia?" Sunset remarked pointedly. "Shall I have your crown melted down or sold to raise money for the poor?"

Celestia smiled. "You always had a quick tongue, Sunset, and a quick mind to match. You would have done well in politics."

"I have not done well in statecraft," Sunset said. "A mutiny, and these demands. A truce, and negotiations for peace. I asked for peace. I sent Lightning Dust to the Crystal Empire with an offer of peace and Cadance refused me."

"You hold her friends prisoner," Celestia observed.

"All the more reason for her to cooperate, surely?" Sunset demanded. "Now Rarity is raising an army to the north of here, and there are a rumours of a second army gathering to the south. All the while my own army mutinies." She shook her head. "Even if I wanted to agree to all of these demands they have, I could not."

"Could the Emperor?" Celestia asked.

"The Emperor," Sunset laughed, it came out as more of a cackle than anything else, half crazy and half despairing. "The Emperor is dead. As is his heir, his pretty daughter. I had Virtue kill them, to prevent my power from being challenged. Isn't that right, Virtue."

Virtue shuffled his hooves along the throne room floor. "It is true that the Emperor is dead, Mistress."

"And his heir?" Sunset asked.

Virtue continued to shuffle his hooves.

"Virtue," Sunset said. "I need to hear you say those words."

"That would be a lie, Mistress, though comforting to you," Virtue said.

Sunset let out a deep breath. "What did you do?"

"She was a mere child, Mistress, I could not do it," Virtue admitted. "I stood over her but... my conscience would not permit me to do as you commanded, no more than would my honour. I sent her away, I had her run, far from the palace."

"Of course you did," Sunset murmured, rolling her eyes. "Tell me, Virtue, why do I keep you around?"

Virtue blinked. "Mistress?"

"YOU'RE A STUPID, INCOMPETENT FOOL, VIRTUE!" Sunset yelled. "WHEN YOU'RE NOT OBSESSED WITH YOUR HONOUR YOU'RE MAKING MISTAKES A FILLY COULD SEE COMING! WHEN YOU AREN'T LETTING MY ENEMIES GO FREE YOU'RE LETTING THEM GET THE BETTER OF YOU IN SINGLE COMBAT! I WOULDN'T CARE IF YOU WANTED TO BE HONOURABLE ON YOUR OWN TIME, BUT YOU KEEP SCREWING UP MY PLANS AS WELL! WHY HAVEN'T I KILLED YOU YET?"

"Did you really think that he would kill a child?" Celestia asked. "Or did you give him the order knowing that he would not carry it out?"

Sunset frowned. "Are you saying I want him to mess up?"

Celestia said, "I told you once that you were not evil, Sunset. Is it not possible that, deep down, you know that what you are doing is wrong, and so you delegate the foulest of your tasks to one you know will not perform them? Perhaps you keep this stallion around so that, through his ineptitude, your soul will remain intact?" She glanced at Virtue. "No offence."

"I am still trying to decipher what was an insult and what was not," Virtue replied in a prickly tone.

Celestia stood up, the light from her essential greatness burning brighter than ever in the grim enshrouded darkness of this room from which all other lights were banished.

"Please, Sunset," she said. "You do not need a proxy to avoid evil acts. You do not need to employ a disobedient servant to keep you from having wicked things done in your name. You do not need to be as you are. Surrender. Lay down your arms as so many zebras have lain down theirs. End the pain and the suffering right now, for yourself and for all other ponies. Reject this demon lord who has a hold on you, do not bring him into this world-"

"I am here already, Princess Celestia."

Sunset felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the deep, resounding voice echoed throughout the dark room. Abruptly, she wished that she had let some light in.

For a few moments she struggled to find her voice. When it came, it was small and childlike, like a filly who had been caught with one hoof in the cookie jar. "L-L-Lord Moloch?"

"Turn and face me, child. Look on my vessel."

Sunset turned around, and as she turned her eyes widened. "Virtue?"

Virtuous Fury now looked even blacker than he had before. His coat had been black as coal, but now it was black as night itself; it was as though he was night, pure night, the essence of night and darkness poured in a physical vessel and made flesh. But not quite flesh. There was something insubstantial about him now, that sat ill with the big stallion who had always seemed so solid he might have been made of iron or stone. Dark power was pouring off his coat, magic leaking out of a vessel that could not contain it all, liquid drops of darkness sloughing off him like rain falling off a pony's coat when they come into the hall. And his eyes. His red eyes now held no hint of a pony in them, not a single trace of a soul remaining. They were pure red now, burning orbs like dying stars, blazing with capacity for evil.

When he opened his mouth, it too was burning red. He chuckled, a deep bass rumble like the beating of a thousand drums. "No. Not Virtue. Not Virtuous Fury, the fool. Moloch. Does the discovery not delight you, child?"

Sunset blinked. Oh, crap. I hope you're right about my quick tongue, Celestia, because I'm going to need to talk faster than Rainbow Flash can fly to get out of this one. "Of course, my lord. I have been working to prepare the way for your arrival-"

"Spare me your false flattery and your lies," Moloch said. "I know you meant to lure me to my doom, and win heroic acclaim by so doing. Little fool. Did you imagine I mistook you for a faithful servant, when I rescued you from the dungeons and the torture chambers? Did you think that I would give you power and let you use it as you saw fit, without watching you closely? Did you dare to presume that you could vanquish me, the great lord of the dark, devourer of worlds? Imbecile, you are as a gnat to me. Did you not notice that your thoughts, your plans, were inconsistent from the start? That once you talked of saving Equestria from me, that at another time you talked of luring me to my death, that at other times you acted as my loyal servant, and half believe in that loyalty. I was in your head, all along, confounding and confusing you, ensuring that you were never clear headed enough to pose a true threat to my plans. Or do you doubt that I have that power?"

Abruptly, the room was plunged into dark. Not as it had been before, not merely the shadows cast by the curtains, not merely a lack of candle light, more merely thin slivers of sunlight battling against the black. This was true darkness, impenetrable darkness, the kind to breed ghost stories and conceal criminals, the kind to make honest mares keep to their homes and huddle round the fires. Sunset could see nothing, not even her own hooves. It took only a few moments for her to begin to feel disoriented. She gave a startled cry when she realised that she couldn't feel the floor on which she stood any more.

"Where am I, Sunset Shimmer?" Moloch asked. "Am I in front of you? Or behind? Am I at your throat? Am I the hoof upon your shoulder? Am I about to snuff the life out of your worthless carcass?"

"Enough!" Celestia yelled, and the darkness retreated before the princess' light. She was light itself, driving back the darkness, glowing so brightly that her individual features were becoming blurred and lost in the whiteness. It was like staring at the sun, Sunset had to look away, as much from shame as from the threat of blindness. "Enough, demon, enough, dark one, enough, tyrant. Make your quarrel with me, if you are more than a bully who delights in the terror of the weak."

Moloch laughed. "Such love for one who has given you nothing but betrayal. Truly, it will be a pleasure to devour your soul."

Celestia's lips curled into a sneer. "If you could have, foul creature, you would. You are but a fragment, aren't you? A piece of your master, sent to prepare the way for him?"

Moloch, or the piece of Moloch that was in Virtue, smiled. It was an ugly thing, self-satisfied and devious. "He was our vessel in his own world. I have possessed him since he was a colt and, under my direction, killed his parents and destroyed his entire home village. I watched as a kindly mare raised him as her own, thinking that she could tame my evil with stories of goodness, filling his head with notions of honour and chivalry. She was a fool. His life was never his to live, but mine to take whenever I chose. Why do you think, Sunset Shimmer, that I directed you to that world in particular, if not because I had an agent there waiting to observe you from your own right hoof. Still, I should thank you, child, for sending away his friend. He was much harder to possess with her around."

Glory Seeker. I should not have parted him from Glory Seeker, Sunset realised. I meant to punish him, but I have been the architect of my own downfall.

"You are bold to reveal yourself with only a single fragment of yourself present, demon," Celestia said.

"One?" Moloch said. "Whoever said there was only one of me?"

"Perhaps there are two." the voice of Moloch declared, as Precious the Diamond Dog appeared in the throne room, as black as Virtue and with the same red eyes. "Perhaps I had a vessel in this world also, waiting for my moment."

"And perhaps there are three of me," Shrike said, as she too appeared behind Sunset. "Perhaps I captured a pony displaced from time and space, and took her body for my own. So full of rage, so full of lust and desire for her precious Nightmare Moon."

"So full of envy," said the Moloch that was Precious. "So full of greed for all the treasures of ponykind."

"So full of wrath," said the Moloch that was Virtue. "So full of pride. So full of sins are all my vessels. When I am finished with this world I will make you a vessel in turn, Sunset. You have sins enough to more than serve my purposes."

"You will not win," Celestia declared. "Evil will always be defeated by Harmony. Wrath will always give way to Kindness, Envy will not stand in the face of Loyalty, Greed must yield Generosity, Pride before Honesty... and darkness to the magic that unites them all. Twilight and her friends will stop you."

"Cling to your vain hope," Moloch said. "Cling to it as your world dies. When the shadow falls, all hope is in vain."

Sunset shivered, and not from the cold. "What will you do now? What will you do...to me?"

Moloch as Virtue affixed her with the glare from his burning eyes. "You have served me, though faithful service was not your intent. Your actions have served chaos, and chaos serves my purposes for now."

"Do not look for the mocking imp, Discord, to save you," Moloch as Shrike intoned. "We have him securely bound and held beyond the reach of any save myself. He cannot help you now."

"I will take this one and all the warriors that remain at your command," Moloch as Virtue said. "I will crush this army to the north of here, this Rarity, this font of Generosity. And I will return with her head mounted upon a pole."

"I will remain here, with you," Moloch as Precious declared. "And see that you continue to prepare for my true coming."

"I will remain here, also," Moloch as Shrike said. "Though not to observe you, but to woo my bride."

"Your bride?" Celestia said. "No...not Luna."

"She is so full of darkness," Moloch as Shrike said. "She will make an excellent consort."

"Luna will never accept you," Celestia said.

"She will not have a choice." Moloch said. "Remember, Sunset. I can be with you at any time. And I can do anything I wish to you... whenever I wish."

And then he was gone. Shrike vanished from the throne room as swiftly as she had appeared, Precious collapsed onto her knees. And Virtue curled up on the floor, weeping and whimpering.

"I... I am sorry, mistress," he whispered.

"You knew," Sunset said dully.

Virtue gave a minute nod. "I... I can feel it. The anger. The darkness. Kill me."

"What?" Sunset said. "What did you say."

"Kill me," Virtue said. "Make an end to us both."

Precious grunted. "Fool. He cannot be undone so easily. He is greater than any of us."

"There is nothing great in evil or destruction," Celestia said. "Greatness lies only in acts of harmony, and the virtues that combine to create it."

Precious's mouth curled into a sneer. "So says the prisoner."

"Get out," Sunset said, her voice as sharp as any sword. "Both of you."

Virtue climbed to his feet. "Mistress-"

"Go," Sunset said, her voice trembling. "Go, and do as your true master bids you. Go, and leave me to my misery." Neither of them moved. "Get out!"

Virtue bowed as he made his escape, Precious merely looked at Sunset with a disdainful leer. The door closed behind them with all the finality of Sunset's hopes and dreams vanishing for good.

"I have been a fool," Sunset said. "And all the more foolish for congratulating myself on my own cleverness. What have I done?"

"Nothing that cannot be undone, yet," Celestia said softly. "Why did you not strike him down, as he asked you to?"

"Because... because..." Sunset hesitated. "Because it wouldn't have been right. Because... I didn't want you to think any worse of me than you already do, if that's even possible."

Celestia smiled. "You would have to be much worse than you are to hit rock-bottom in my estimations, Sunset. And even if you did I would not give up on you. I will never give up on you. All I ever wanted was for you to come home."

"And I did," Sunset said. "What a homecoming, huh? Oh, Princess Celestia, what do I do? How do I even begin to undo this?"

"You could begin by releasing Applejack and Pinkie Pie," Celestia said. "Let them go north, let them join with Rarity. Alone, they may get there ahead of Virtuous Fury and the zebra army. They will be stronger together than they are apart."

"Yes," Sunset said. "Yes I shall do that. I will recall the hunters after Fluttershy and Breaking Dawn's friends, if Moloch will let me. Not that it matters, I hear that Glory Seeker has betrayed me. She was the smart one, it seems."

"Sunset-"

"Don't," Sunset snapped. "Don't comfort me. I don't want it. I don't deserve it." She walked away from Celestia, bowed her head for a moment, and screamed.

All her rage, all her fear, all her disappointment, all her rolling, squirming, broiling sense of ill-at-ease that had been building up inside her was let loose in one primal howl and the burst of magic that accompanied it. All the curtains in the throne room burst into flame, shrivelling and turning to black ash that fell slowly down to the floor. All the stained glass windows shattered, blasting inwards to land in pieces around Sunset's hooves.

The cold winds blew in through the empty window pains, bringing with them the first tiny snowflakes, and droplets of snow that tickled Sunset's nose.

"Who is making this weather?" Sunset asked.

"I fear nopony is," Celestia murmured. "I fear I can hear voices in the air. I fear, Sunset, that things have just gotten even worse."

Comes the Sunset

by Scipio Smith

Prologue: Defying Gravity

The Happy Return (revised)

Dawn Before Sunset (revised)

The Searchers

Ponies' Progress

Rubicon

Vanity Fair

Luna's Counterattack

Consequences

Kind Hospitality

Sunset's Oboe

Father, Mother, Daughter

The Price of Glory

Bound By Love

Let's Be Honest

Her Truth is Marching On

Dragon Age

Dwindling Party

Unwelcome Revelations

How It Would Have Ended