> Justice League (of Equestria)
>  by Kaliann25
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> League 01
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Child's play


Fluffy walls, ceiling, and floor muffled the jangling of the battered alarm clock. An orange foreleg reached out and swatted the lever to turn off the ringing. As things came into focus for its owner, a contented smile came to her face. A concept she had once thought unattainable came to mind. She was home.

The filly frowned as memories flooded back. The funeral of her parents still ached like a broken heart. With no other family, she had been consigned to an orphanage, under the care of the widow Foster. Scootaloo knew with all her heart that the headmistress loved and cared for each of her charges as if they were her own children, but there were many of them, and only one of her. She had tried making friends with the other orphans, but it seemed as though as soon as she could connect with them, they were torn away by adoption, never to be seen again. As much as she had hoped for new parents of her own, she soon came to realize there were precious few who were interested in a flightless pegasus. Eventually, she gave up, condemning herself to be alone in the middle of a crowd. She knew she would be stuck there until she was old enough to be on her own.

"Scoots! Scootaloo!" The masculine voice broke her out of her reverie. It was her new father, Bow Hothoof, standing next to the bed.

Blearily, Scootaloo groaned and covered her head with her pillow.

Bow crossed his legs and grinned. He then straightened, an as he used his wings to bring a small megaphone to his mouth, he said, sotto voce, “Maybe you need a little of motivation.” He cleared his throat and said, "OPEN YOUR EYES, DARLING! WE COUNT ON YOU, SCOOTS! COME ON! THIS DAY CANNOT START WITHOUT YOU! YOU CAN DO IT, YOU CAN DO IT! YOU’RE AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL OF US! ONLY A HOOF TO START, THE REST OF YOU WOULD COME OUT EASILY!”

Scootaloo couldn't help but to leap from her bed and greet the new day. As she gave a happy giggle, she couldn't help but wonder how her adoptive sister could complain about her parents. The two exuded parental love, and their enthusiasm and displays of affection were the highlights of Scootaloo's day. She glanced back at her night table, glimpsing the small trophy she had received upon arrival. It read:


BEST ADOPTED FILLY


She knew this is where she truly belonged.

“I’m awake, I’m awake!” said Scootaloo, stretching her wings happily. “Thank you . . . dad.” Being able to say that word felt incredible! “You were right; that was just what I needed!”

“Happy to help, Scoots!” Bow said with a smile. “Now, come on! Let’s go for the most important meal of the day!”

Scootaloo followed her father downstairs, practicing her gliding as they made their way to the dining room. Her new mother, Windy Whistles, greeted them at the table. It was already set with oatmeal, milk, orange juice, coffee and hot cocoa. Bow smiled and gave his wife a peck on the cheek. Scootaloo gave them both a quick hug.

Windy smiled sadly. She knew it would take time to establish rapport with Scootaloo. The filly still had to get accustomed to the idea of having loving parents again. The day would come, however, when the filly would give her mother a child's kiss; she just needed time.

"I hope you don't mind a simple breakfast," said the mare with a smile. She then turned back to her task, clipping an article from the morning newspaper. To nopony's surprise, it detailed Rainbow Dash's latest exploits.

“What has Rainbow been up to this time, mom?” asked the filly.

“Oh, just the usual, dear!” said Windy, as she put the article on her new album. The volume was stuffed with clippings about Equestria's first superhero, the Dash. “She stopped six bank robberies in six different cities, and saved a group of children whose school wagon was about to go over a cliff.”

“Whoa, so cool!” exclaimed the orange filly.

Rainbow Dash's first attempt at being a superhero was best left to the dustbin of history. While she was as fast as any normal pegasus could be, her ego got in the way of everything she did. As a newly-ascended metapony, she now could cover all of Equestria in two minutes at top speed. However, she now accepted her responsibilities with humility, preferring to hide behind her mask. Even if the mask never fooled anypony. 

Scootaloo spotted another article of interest.

“Mom! May I see the paper?”

“Sure dear, I already have what I need!” said Windy with a smile.

Bringing the paper in front of her, the filly moved to the gossip column. The reporter had compiled speculation from numerous ponies regarding sighting of a mysterious sixth alicorn who was skulking about the outskirts of Ponyville and within the Everfree Forest. Most ponies dismissed the stories a pure nonsense, but Scootaloo knew better.

In her alternate form, Scootaloo was the sixth alicorn. She had tried her best to practice her new powers unobserved. She was still trying to get accustomed to the new body. Its abilities were far beyond her wildest dreams. She yearned to put her powers to the test as one of Equestria's newest guardians. However, with the Dash, the Arrow, and the Canary on duty, she couldn't even find any crime worth mentioning, not even a shoplifting.

“Scootaloo!” called her mother, snapping the filly out of her daydream.

“Yes, mom?” asked Scoots.

“Today somepony will take you to school,” said Windy.

“Huh? Oh, right!” replied the orange filly with a smile.

Scootaloo sighed. She had been late to school for the past two months. She had just gotten to the point where she could do more than a maple seed glide, and she simply didn't yet have the control needed to fly fast. While she appreciated Ms. Cheerilee's patience, the filly knew she needed a better way to get to school.

“All right. Who will take me? Mom? Dad? Both?”

A cyan blur with multi-colored lightning bolts, appeared right aside Scootaloo. A gust of wind followed in its wake.

“Rainbow Dash?”

“The one and only!” said Rainbow Dash with a smirk. “You know that speed is my specialty, squirt.”

Windy smiled at her older daughter. “I’m so glad you could make it, Rainbow Dash. Do you want to have breakfast with us?”

“Please! I’m starving!” said Rainbow Dash as she disappeared into a cyan blur toward the kitchen, only to reappear with a cup, a bowl, and a spoon.

“Please, help yourself!” said Bow as he shrugged.

They all laughed and enjoyed breakfast as a family.

As the sisters walked onto the porch, Rainbow Dash said, “Come on! Hop on my back!”

Scootaloo did as bidden. Rainbow Dash glided toward the school at a leisurely pace.

“Uh, thanks for taking the time to take me to school,” said Scootaloo shyly, after a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence.

“My pleasure, Scoots; when you move like me, you have all the time in the world!” joked Rainbow Dash. “But also, I wanted to take the chance to talk with you. How do you feel, now that you’re officially a part of the family?”

Scootaloo couldn’t help but smile. “Better than ever!”

She thought back on how it all started. Half a year ago, Scootaloo was doing research on her hero, Rainbow Dash, for a school project. It was then that she got to know her idol's parents. It was an amazing weekend for the filly and the parents, even though Rainbow Dash thought she would die of embarrassment. In the end, the chromatic pegasus came to appreciate the support her parents gave and continued to give.

Scootaloo had thought that would be the end of it. However, after Scootaloo had returned to the orphanage, Windy and Bow had asked their daughter how to contact the filly's parents. When they learned the truth, they knew they had to act. First, though, they wanted to get their daughter's input.

“I don’t see why not. We’re ‘honorary sisters’ already; I'd be happy if it was official. She would fit perfectly in the family.”

The die was cast, but disaster struck as Rainbow Dash crashed into Twilight's laboratory. The parents spent many sleepless nights trying to get their daughter to recover through sheer force of will, not knowing the metamorphosis that was to come. Once their daughter was again on her own four hooves, they rushed to add the orphan to their family.

It had been two months since Scootaloo had been adopted, two months since she was finally where she truly fit in. She had a real home, a real family, a real life, and she loved every second of it.

Suddenly, Scootaloo remembered something vital.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash! I’m gonna be late again!”

The Dash smirked. “Late? Remember who you’re talking to, squirt!”

Scootaloo gulped as she held her sister’s back with all her strength. Her stomach protested violently as her mind tried to make sense of the shapeless blur that the world had become. Abruptly, the world returned to normal. They were right in front of Ponyville’s schoolhouse.

“We’re here!” announced the speedster.

“Don’t ever do it again!” complained Scootaloo as she staggered about. Suddenly, she realized something was missing. “Oh no, Rainbow Dash! I lost my saddlebag!”

“Give me half second!” replied the Dash with a smirk, disappearing into a streak of light, and reappearing before Scootaloo could even blink. Carrying the panniers, the Dash said, “Here you go. It didn’t touch the ground.”

“Thanks,” said Scootaloo, wearing the saddlebags and joining her classmates. Most of them were watching at Rainbow Dash in astonishment.

“See you later, squirt! Have fun, Scoots!” said Rainbow, disappearing in a streak of light.

The foals sighed, disappointed; they really wanted an autograph from the Dash. But then, a new streak of light surrounded them, and then, they noticed they each had a brand-new autograph.

“Oh, how lucky you are!” Rumble gushed. “Being the sister of an actual superhero! How does it feel to take a ride on the Dash’s back?”

Scootaloo glared at him. “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy!”

“Come on, you must be exaggerating!”

"Try telling that to my stomach."

The colts and fillies started to discuss among themselves how it must be to have a superhero in the family. Some thought that Scootaloo didn't appreciate how fortunate she was, while others empathized with her nausea. The chatter came to an abrupt end when Cheerilee opened to door to the schoolhouse and rang the morning bell.

As befitting her name, Cheerilee started her lesson with a positive attitude:

“Yesterday, we started to talk about the ‘Pony Wars’, the darkest chapter in the history of Equestria. During that time, our ancestors hunted down the other species nearly to the point of extinction. Under the rule of Death Ride, the first Emperor, ponies did horrible things. The worst were his two most prized warriors, his own daughter, General White Nightmare, and her husband, General Dark Moon, our Princesses’ parents. Both of them were known for their bloodthirst and their limitless cruelty.”

The sound of a soft snore cut off Cheerilee’s speech. The teacher turned, and as she suspected, it came from Diamond Tiara.

The filly was sleeping peacefully, slumped over her notebook. The teacher sighed and walked to the desk. “Diamond Tiara! Wake up, Diamond Tiara!”

The filly opened her eyes, slowly. “Huh? Oh, Miss Cheerilee!”

“Diamond Tiara,” said Cheerilee sternly. “Tell me, Diamond Tiara. Which event marked the beginning of the Pony Wars?”

Diamond Tiara yawned. “The execution of the Gryphon emperor, at the hooves of the General Dark Moon, who was still a lieutenant at that time. He ripped off the emperor's head with his own hooves.”

Cheerilee frowned. “At least you studied. But, I want to have a talk with your parents after school.” Suddenly, she shook her head, regretting what she just said. “I mean, your tutor!”

There was no secret that Diamond’s Tiara parents had been brutally murdered in front of the filly. Diamond Tiara had been crushed; it had been months before she returned to school.

It was a very different Diamond Tiara who returned to school. She still tried to hang out with the CMC and Silver Spoon, but the once-outgoing filly was now sullen and withdrawn.

At first, everypony thought she was depressed. They eventually came to realize that she was exhausted. At every opportunity she could find, she slept, even during class.

“Diamond Tiara, what are you doing at night?” asked the teacher with concern.

There was no answer. Diamond Tiara had fallen asleep again.

Cheerilee frowned. There was something seriously wrong. Somehow, she had to help the filly through this.

Central Station, Canterlot Express, last night:

“Hurry up!” shouted one of the thugs as he supervised his henchponies loading the merchandise into the train. “We don’t have too much time until you-know-who comes!”

There was no need to say more. Their bosses assured them there would be more than enough distractions to keep the Arrow and the Canary busy. But, if they actually did it, the vigilantes would be busy for only a few minutes. Those two were the worse of the worst, at least for the criminals.

Suddenly, the boss heard one of the boxes drop. It opened, revealing the contents -- thousands of bits in gems, straight from Zebrica. Blood diamonds, they called them.

“WHAT? IS THAT HIM?” asked the boss.

“No, sorry. I just slipped,” apologized the thug.

The boss picked up the maladroit by the throat and pinned him to the wall.

“Listen to me, you jackass! DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF GAME?! OUR FLANKS ARE IN DANGER! Why do you think the bosses sent us to do this here, in Canterlot? They want them to get rid of us!”

The thug paled. “I’m so sorry . . . so sorry . . .”

Finally, his boss released him, but not before kicking him in the gut a couple of times. “Pick up this mess, and hurry up!”

The thug nodded, weakly, as the boss turned his back on him, watching the door carefully.

Somepony dropped a box again.

The boss turned again, but this time, everypony was frozen in fear . . . looking at his direction.

Gulping, the boss slowly turned, to see the horrible, and strange vision. There was a silhouette of giant bat, hanging upside down, right behind him.

“Huh?” asked the thug, paling.

The bat jumped to the ground, and, with a quick backflip, took the boss by the neck. With a hiss of pneumatics and the whirring of a motor, the boss found himself hung upside down from the rafters.

Screams followed sounds of violence. Seconds later, the bat descended, with its cape spread dramatically, like wings.

The thugs attempted to escape. A fast pegasus among their number flew toward a door when a concussive blast blew the thugs about like leaves and shattered all of the lighting. The sealed room was now completely dark.

Disoriented, one of the thugs yelled, "Aren't you a unicorn? Use your magic!"

A point of light caught everypony's attention. A bat-shaped throwing blade whirled in front of the unicorn's eyes, trimming his mane. As it embedded itself in the wall, a harsh whisper said, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

As the thugs turned toward the voice, one of them yelled, "It's just a filly!"

With a shrug, the bat spat a small grenade under the speaker. He writhed in pain as it detonated under a particularly sensitive area. She said, "Who's next?"

The other thugs stared at the bat's blank eyes. They all started to speak at once.

"No, wait! Don't hurt us, missis bat! We're not harming nopony!"

"Our bosses are trying to get rid of us!"

"They set us up for the Arrow and the Canary!"

The bat said, “You shouldn’t be in this business in the first place.”

“We had no choice; we needed money, and fast!”

“And once you get into this, there’s no getting out!”

The figure mouthed a bat-shaped blade and threw it at the doorknob, destroying the mechanism.

“Get out now. Get out of this place; get out of this life. I give second chances, not thirds.”

They all escaped, except for the now-bowlegged thug, who started to recover. Seeing the new vigilante let the others escape, he began to move. He stopped when a bat-shaped blade was embedded in the floor in front of him.

“But I thought . . .”

“Relax, idiot. I just want you to tell everyone about me.”

The pony gulped. “Of course, of course! But, who are you?”

The figure smirked, with her white teeth standing out in the dark.

“I’m Batmare!”





The Arrow's lead directed him to a small room in the train station. He frowned when his night vision goggles revealed that the door had been forced. Glancing into the room, he found nopony. Cautiously, he entered. It looked as though a bomb had been detonated inside. Boxes of jewels lay open. He looked up; there was an unconscious earth pony, bound and gagged, hanging like a piñata.

The Arrow examined the boxes more closely.

“Blood diamonds, ready for sale on the black market. But, where are the others?”

“I let them leave. If we meet again, I won't be gentle,” said a whisper, behind the Arrow.

The hooded vigilante shot an arrow toward the voice. A bat-shaped blade deflected the projectile. The Arrow frowned as he grabbed the knife with his magic.

“Why a bat?”

Batmare came to the light from the vigilante's horn. “I’m afraid of them, and now, the entire underworld will share my fear.”

The Arrow’s frown got deeper. “Good fillies should be sleeping at this hour.”

“I’m not a filly. I’m Batmare.”

“I clearly see that you’re very young. This is no place for you. Go back to your mommy and daddy.”

Batmare ground her teeth but didn’t lose her nerve.

“You should thank me, Cupid. If it weren’t for me, those diamonds would be far beyond your reach. You know all too well that you and Canary are not enough.”

The Arrow sighed as he took one of his concussion arrows. “You win, thank you. But I cannot allow someone so young to throw away her life like this.”

As the Arrow readied his bow, a harsh hiss came from Batmare. A flock of bats came through the back door, covering her escape.

The hooded vigilante rushed through the door a moment later. “Come back! I'm trying to save you from this Tartarus of a life!”

Back to the present:

Diamond Tiara opened her eyes, only to realize she was in a taxi, along with her trusty Randolph.

“You’re finally awake, Little Miss.” said Randolph, worriedly.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep at school, but sometimes, I can’t help it.”

“I did warn you that this double life of yours would bring you a lot of trouble.”

Diamond Tiara nodded, with a yawn.

Randolph sighed. “But you won’t listen to me, right?”

“I listen, Randolph, but I do what I have to do.”

Randolph sighed again, but he didn’t say anything. He made a promise to his deceased masters, that he would take care of their daughter, no matter what, that he would support her, no matter what her choices were. It would be his duty and pleasure to support her if her choices led her to bring justice and honor to her parents’ memory.
> League 02
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The new heroes team up!


It was a very worried Twilight Sparkle who sat in the throne room in the Castle of Friendship. It seemed that her life had started spiraling out of control since the brutal murder of her first student, Starlight Glimmer. Never in her fillyhood had she imagined the depravity of the pony mind that she had witnessed in a few short weeks. While the Reverse Dash had been an extreme example, there was a very real criminal underworld in Equestria. It had been the actions of her fellow Element Bearer cum vigilante and her allies that had opened the princess's eyes to this unsavory aspect of Equestrian life.

With each passing day, it seemed that yet another aspect of what had been her world view was proven to be just a comfortable illusion. The latest in the string of revelations was that her brother, her number one assistant, her once-loyal companion had been lying to her. Spike, of all ponies, was the last one she would have expected to just abandon her without telling her why, but for the past two months, that had been what he had been doing.

It started innocuously enough. Spike had left a note that he had been summoned by Dragon Lord Ember to visit the Dragon Lands and explain the magic of friendship to the other dragons. It was highly irregular for someone of Ember's station to make such a request without notifying Twilight directly, but Twilight knew that it might take some time for the paperwork to catch up with the situation. After three days, however, Twilight asked Rainbow Dash to get an update from Ember. It turned out that Ember knew nothing about the situation. Concerned for Spike's well-being, Twilight asked Rainbow Dash to search for her number one assistant while she used her connections as princess to use the other resources at her disposal. Neither hide nor scale of the baby dragon could be found. It was as though he had vanished from the face of the planet.

It had been the hardest two weeks of her life. Every minute of every day, she had wondered what had become of her little brother. Had he fallen victim to yet another heretofore unknown threat? Would she see him alive again? Would there be anything left to mourn?

It finally ended when Spike returned, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Frantic, Twilight asked where he had been. He replied that he had been with Ember.

Flashback: 

“Don’t lie to me! Ember said she hasn't see you for months!”

Spike sighed, covering his right hand.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I wish I could tell you, but I can’t. I promised.”

Twilight stared at Spike’s claw. “What’s that? A ring?”

Spike was about to answer, but instead, he rushed into his room and locked the door.

Present day: 

If it weren't for the anti-changeling wards in the castle, Twilight would have sworn that Spike had been replaced by a doppelganger. Since that day, he stopped being the friend and companion she had raised from an egg. He still did the bare minimum to qualify as her number one assistant, but he had grown distant, refusing to talk with her unless absolutely necessary. Worse still, he would disappear without explanation from time to time. Sometimes, it was for a day or two. Sometimes, it was for a full week. Regardless of how Spike had changed, she had to find out what was really going on for his sake, and not just hers.

Spike had vanished again, and there was no way Twilight was going to let him go without a reasonable explanation. She sat in front of the Cutie Map, which Team Flash had modified to provide 3-D visualization of the Dash's telemetry data. When the speedster donned her uniform, it activated the system. An icon of a tri-colored lightning in a white circle travelled over the map, showing her location, speed, and direction in real time.

Twilight snapped to attention as Dash's voice came over the radio link. "Twilight! Twilight! No luck in Dragon Lands. I'm RTB."

Nervously, Twilight bit her lip before she replied. "Anything at all. Some dragon must have seen him."

“I’m sorry Twilight, but no. Ember says no one knows anything.”

Twilight sighed. She had no reason to believe this would be any different from all the other times, but that didn't make it hurt any less. What could possibly be so important that Spike would have to keep secrets from her?

“Twilight, are you okay?” asked Rainbow Dash, worriedly.

“Yes, Rainbow, sorry,” said Twilight, sighing. “I knew this would be another dead end, but I still hoped that I would be wrong.”

“I’m sorry Twi, but you’ll have to confront him directly.”

“I know, Rainbow Dash. I know."

As Twilight cut communications, somepony rang the bell at the delivery entrance.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she went to answer the door.

“Yes?”

It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders. As one, they said, “Hi Twilight!”

“Huh? Girls? What are you doing here?” asked Twilight, tilting her head.

“Twilight Time. Remember?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“We can come back tomorrow.” suggested Apple Bloom.

Twilight shook her head. “No, it’s all right. I forget, but I could use the company.”

The girls looked to each other in confusion. Twilight looked at them and smiled.

“Oh, sorry! I don’t want to burden you with my problems. Where were we?”

Scootaloo brought up the rear as they followed the princess into their practice area. As Twilight worked through the day's lessons, the impending drama was forgotten for the moment. It seemed as though they had just started when a chime announced the end of Twilight Time.

A moment later, the bell at the visitor's entrance sounded. The Crusaders trailed behind and Twilight went to answer the door.

A pair of pegasi greeted her when the door opened. "Hi, Princess Twilight!" said Windy Whistles.

Bow Hothoof added, "Is Scootaloo ready?"

“Mom? Dad?” asked Scootaloo. “You didn't have to fly all the way from Cloudsdale just to pick me up”

“What are you talking about?” asked Bow. “Every moment with you is precious.”

Scootaloo smiled gratefully and hugged them both. It felt right to have a family.

The other Crusaders and Twilight watched in satisfied silence. It had been a long time coming, and they were ecstatic that Scootaloo had a family she could truly call her own.

Suddenly, the floor began to shake like gelatin. Bow and his wife sheltered Scootaloo with their wings while the other Crusaders sought refuge under Twilight's.

Calmly, Twilight said, "It's just an earthquake. Let's go under the doorway; that should hold . . ."

As abruptly as it had started, the rumbling stopped. After a moment of silence, every window in the castle shattered. Turning, the ponies gasped as they saw creatures made of mud and algae flooding in from every window. They were as tall as Celestia, and they were homing in on the ponies.

The adults stood in shock for a fraction of a second before yelling, "Girls! Run!"

The Crusaders didn't have to be told twice. To their surprise, the creatures ignored them as they streamed past. While the adults adopted defensive postures, the creatures' objective became clear. In a cacophony of babbling, they made a beeline for Twilight.

The alicorn screamed before sending a barrage of telekinetic homing blasts. They slowed the creatures for only a moment as their bodies flowed to close the holes from the attack. A chance blast caught one in the head; that creature dropped to the floor, poleaxed.

As Twilight surveyed her handiwork, she noted that none of the other ponies had left. “What are you doing? RUN WHILE YOU CAN!” commanded Twilight.

The others obeyed, running toward the exit as fast as they could.

The creatures stopped for a moment, babbling again. They then split into two groups. One continued attacking Twilight. The other streamed toward Scootaloo with surprising speed.

“What?” asked the filly. Her parents stepped between the hoard and her, bucking away the creatures as they came. However, there were only two of them, and while two creatures immobilized them, the rest of the group mobbed Scootaloo. Desperately, her parents yelled, "Scootaloo! Run!" It was too late.

The creatures began to absorb the adult pegasi while the rest of the mob engulfed Scootaloo. The filly felt as if she were suffocating. As bad as it was for her, it must be worse for her parents. They were good as dead. No! She would not let that happen, not again! Fear gave way to anger. Anger gave way to action.

Action was sparked by a single word. “SHAZAM!”

A thunderhead, blacker than coal, coalesced inside the castle, forming over the creatures who had engulfed the pegasi. A lightning bolt struck them, reducing them to ash. Bow and Windy blinked, suddenly free as the remnants of their captors blew away. Desperately, they turned to where their daughter had been. They stared, amazed, as did everyone else in the room.

The little filly was gone. The Scootaloo in her place stood larger than life. There was no mistaking the proud orange wings, the orange fur or the purple mane and magenta tail that showed through the red body suit she wore. White boots and cape completed her ensemble. A golden lightning bolt emblazoned each flank. That was not the only change. She now had the build of an earth pony, with rock-solid muscles. She also had now sported a long, tapered horn. There was no doubt she was now an alicorn, larger than Celestia herself.

The surviving creatures stopped for a moment as they babbled among themselves. Although Scootaloo had decimated their number, the still stood more than two hundred strong. Scootaloo could feel their eyeless gaze as they stared.

“You pissed off the wrong filly.”

The creatures gave a high-pitched squeal as they charged.

Scootaloo dove into the fray, all hooves, horn, and lightning. Any creature that was not incinerated seemed to regenerate any physical damage. Once again, they had Scootaloo surrounded. With a shout of rage, she landed an uppercut on a creature that grabbed a forehoof. It dropped to the ground as its head went flying.

Eyes widening, Scootaloo changed her tactics. As she decapitated all the creatures within range, she shouted, "Twilight! Aim for the head!"

The elder alicorn finally processed what had been happening. Every book within reach became a flying guillotine.

“They’re some kind of golems. They’re not really alive!” announced Twilight.

“Not the time to worry about it!” said Scootaloo, smashing the creatures’ heads.

Both alicorns were sweating. Although they knew the creatures' weakness, there seemed to be no end to the reinforcements.

Twilight suppressed a groan as Dash's voice came over the commlink. "Twi! You're not gonna believe it! Some mud monsters are attacking the princesses! Arrow, Canary, and I are on it!"

"Kinda busy, here, Dash!"

The moment's distraction was all the creatures needed to overwhelm the elder alicorn. From the bottom of the pile, she felt a tingling. Somehow, the darkness had taken on a green glow. Suddenly, she could see again, although everything now had a green tinge.

The creatures threw themselves at the new barrier. A giant green fist punctuated a familiar voice. "Leave. My. Sister. Alone!"

Twilight gasped at the sight of her brother. He now wore a body suit with black extremities and emerald green torso. A stylized lantern in a white circle as centered on the chest. A green domino mask, white gloves, and white boots completed his outfit.

Spike held up his right fist and declared, "In the brightest day, in the blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power: GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!"

As Twilight resumed her attacks, Spike said, "Scootaloo! Aim for the head, you said?"

The orange alicorn shook her head in disbelief. "Uh, yeah!"

A green form came from Spike's ring. One became two. Two became four. Now, there were four sword-wielding, kilt-wearing incarnations of the baby dragon. In unison, they went on the offensive with the battle cry, "There can be only one!"

As heads flew, Scootaloo shouted, "We need to get these things out in the open!"

Spike nodded, and his constructs flew to the walls and morphed into giant nets. Linking with each other, they captured all of the creatures while leaving the ponies behind. Scootaloo and Twilight threw any would-be escapees into the center of the mass. Satisfied that there were no stragglers, he changed the net into a giant bird cage.

Spike flew out the window, only to be slowed by the giant mass. With the strength of Ponycules, Scootaloo gave the cage a skyward heave, launching both it and its handler.

As they flew, the mud monsters tried to break out, but Spike's will was more than a match for their brute strength.

Scootaloo flew after the baby dragon, charging her horn. She yelled, "Spike!"

“What? Do you have a plan?”

“Fly as high as you can and then drop them!”

Scootaloo watched as Spike's ascent slowed to a crawl. The green cage vanished. Once again, the creatures formed into two groups. One headed toward Scootaloo while the other went for Twilight.

Once the creatures came within range, Scootaloo released all the energy she had been hoarding. In an instant, the creatures were reduced to ash. Meanwhile, Spike summoned his version of Mjolnir and pulverized the heads of the group going toward Twilight. Not to be outdone, his sister had sent the entirety of the "Encyclopedia Equestria", repurposed as homing blades.

With the menace vanquished, Scootaloo and Spike landed in front of Twilight. The siblings hugged.

Scootaloo's parents and the remaining Crusaders exited as Spike said, "I'm sorry, Twilight. I promised I wouldn't tell."

The elder alicorn replied, "You're all right, Spike. That's all I was hoping for."

As the two broke their embrace, Scootaloo asked, "What happened to you?"

Spike shrugged, "I was recruited by some intergalactic police force. You?"

“I was chosen to be some mystical guardian. In this form, my name is Alicorn Marevel.”

“My superhero name is Green Lantern, or just Lantern.”

Twilight took a look around, frowning. “Those things seemed to have very little intelligence. They were only attracted by the power of alicorns.”

“But they attacked Scootaloo!” said Sweetie Belle.

“And her parents!” added Apple Bloom.

Marevel nodded. “Yes. The must have felt the power inside my basic form.”

“And only attacked her parents when they got directly in their way,” said Twilight. Then, she looked at Alicorn Marevel and Green Lantern. “Oh, I have so many questions for the two of you. But, for now, I’m just glad it’s over!”

The two heroes bumped claws, and hooves, and smiled at each other.

“That was fun. That was my very first real battle.” said Marevel.

Lantern winked an eye at her. “Same here. Kilowog's training sure came in handy.”

The two heroes chuckled as Twilight looked to the horizon. She could see explosions coming from Canterlot, but she knew that the Arrow, the Canary, and the Dash were more than up to the task. She tried to tell Dash about the creatures’ weakness, but the speedster answered some Batmare had come to tell them first.

Suddenly, Twilight remembered there were two other alicorns.

“Oh no! CADENCE! AND FLURRY!”

The two new heroes exchanged a look.

“Okay, we’re on it!”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you!”

Lantern turned to Alicorn Marevel. “Can you teleport us?”

Twilight interjected, "Too risky. Even I can't sense the teleportation beacon from this far away.

Marevel said, "What about you? Can your magic make something to get us there fast?"

Lantern grinned. “It’s no magic. And, yes, I can! Hal Jordan, a friend of mine, showed me this!”

A green glow came from the ring and coalesced into a jet that was shaped like a stylized arrowhead. The canopy opened, revealing a conventional pilot's seat in the front and a raised platform for a pony in the rear.

Alicorn Marevel gave a low whistle. She turned to her parents and said, "Mom, Dad, I think I'm gonna be late for supper tonight."

Finally over her initial shock, Windy Whistles glared at her daughter. "Don't you dare! I want you home by six. You owe your father and me an explanation."

Alicorn Marevel nodded and got into the rear cockpit.

Bow called to her. “Hey Scoots!”

“Yes, Dad?” asked Equestria’s mightiest mare.

“Come back safely.”

“I promise!”

A sonic boom marked their passage through the sound barrier. While far slower than the Dash, hypersonic speed was still faster than any normal pegasus could manage.





The sight within the cluttered study would have gladdened the heart of any paper recycler. Stack upon stack of paper seemed to be on every horizontal surface. No matter how fast Shining Armor worked, the pile in the "in" box never seemed to shrink. Now that all his subordinates had to go through another independent vetting process, he was stuck with all of the Guard's paperwork. The drug smuggling ring had shown that corruption within his ranks had been entrenched and widespread. Until he knew who he could trust, he had to do everything on his own.

The white unicorn tossed one final document into the "out" box. "That's it for the night! Sweet Celestia, I need a break!”

“Daddy!” called a cheery voice from his study’s entrance.

Shining looked at the alicorn filly and smiled.

“Oh, hi Flurry! What are you doing here?”

Cadence appeared behind their daughter with a smile. “She’s bored. She's been waiting for you all this time. Are you in the mood for a walk?”

Shining smiled. “Yeah, some family time. That’s precisely what I need!”

Flurry flew toward her father and hugged him. Moments later, the royal family was strolling along the streets of the Crystal Empire.

It felt good to be walking among the other denizens. The main plaza was abuzz with activity as the night market went into full swing. Everypony greeted the family with a smile. The merchants offered "their little Highness" trinkets like a fresh flower, or a small sweet. Flurry basked in the attention while her parents enjoyed their time away from their royal duties.

Cadence gave him a comforting hug. Unfortunately for Shining, after the incident with Sun Burst, they had yet to find somepony they could really trust, and both of them had to deal with all the work they used to delegate. For Shining, this meant taking on all of the military's paperwork. Rest would be a precious commodity for the royal couple until they re-established their circle of confidants.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

“Mommy?” cried Flurry, flying to her mother’s back.

Shining readied his shield as he tried to assess the threat. He scanned for falling objects and sinkholes.

The other ponies did as they had been taught, moving calmly to an open field, and leaving the streets clear for emergency personnel.

Suddenly ponyhole covers were flung into the air as mud creatures streamed from the sewers, surrounding the royal family. Shining Armor deployed his shield spell, protecting his family as he stepped forward to confront the monsters.

"Stay back!" he ordered.

The creatures ignored him and pounded on the shield with their horrid hooves. Within the magic bubble, Flurry Heart started to cry. Cadence shot her magic at them, but when one was momentarily immobilized, two streamed in to take its place.

Shining felt each blow that the creatures dealt. A spike of pain shot through his head with every strike.

Cadence called for her husband and Flurry called for her father. Shining Armor tried to fight through the creatures, but to no avail. There were simply too many of them, and dividing his attention between attack and defense was quickly becoming untenable.

The guard ponies arrive on scene, finding their efforts futile until one of them struck a creature in the head.

The creature shook before collapsing.

“Everypony! The head! Aim for the head!”

The soldiers reacted with discipline worthy of true heroes. However, there were simply too many of the creatures. With each one the fell, more took its place and forced the soldiers further from the alicorns.

From within the shield, Cadence could see that the battle was lost. She cried, "We need a miracle!"

The creatures stopped as an arrowhead-shaped shadow settled over them. A roar shortly followed. Looking up, everyone saw the large green object hovering over the fray.

“What’s that?” asked Shining.

“Let’s hope it’s on our side.

An orange alicorn dropped through the bottom of the construct, plowing through the creatures and clearing them away from the shield.

The green construct vanished, revealing a familiar draconic figure. A huzzah came from the crowd as they recognized their hero.

The dragon said, "Let's finish this, Alicorn Marevel!"

"You got it, Green Lantern!"

Alicorn Marevel darted away from the shield, allowing the soldiers to form a perimeter around the royals. As before, the creatures split their forces, with one group concentrating on the royal alicorns while the others went for Marevel.

Once more, Marevel brought lightning to bear, incinerating the group that attacked her. Cadence was more selective with her attacks, being careful to avoid her allies as her pinpoint strikes decapitated the creatures attacking her.

Stressed past the breaking point, Shining Armor collapsed, taking his shield with him. The creatures pressed their opening, only to find a new, green shield in their way. “I have you covered, Captain Armor!”

Two green constructs resolved into green swordsdragons, reducing the enemy forces as the Crystal warriors renewed their attack.

“Thanks Faust!” said one of the soldiers. “Spike the Brave and Glorious has come to save us!”

Lantern scratched his head. “What? They know who I am?”

“Is that really supposed to be a disguise?” asked Marevel, pointing to a nearby statue of Spike.

Lantern face-palmed. "I can't believe that G'nort was actually right about the mask."

As creatures continued to stream in, Cadence asked, "How long can you hold that?"

"Don't worry. After they attacked Twilight, I found I could handle them. Besides, I got a fresh charge before I came here."

“Charge?” asked Cadence.

Groaning, Shining said, “Twilie was attacked?”

“We'll talk later!” exclaimed Marevel. “Lantern, can you funnel all the creatures to me?”

“Sure!” answered Lantern. “Do you have a plan, mystical warrior?”

Marevel rolled her eyes. “DUH! DO AS I SAY! And make sure you leave only one entrance!”

Lantern nodded and created a wall around the creatures.

The creatures seemed puzzled at first, but with an alicorn in plain sight, they charged toward their objective.

Again calling on the strength of Ponycules, she held the creatures back until they were all massed in front of her. The smell of ozone filled the air as a massive lightning bolt discharged from her horn and forehooves. The creatures vanished in a cloud of ash.

“It’s over!” said Marevel.

Lantern smiled and withdrew his construct.

“Whoa, that was . . . really smart!” gasped Shining Armor as he slowly recovered his strength. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, thank the Wisdom of Saddlemon,” said Marevel, sitting on her haunches. “Huh, I’m exhausted, I swear!”

Lantern sat beside her. “Me too. But, look at the bright side! Our first real battle was a success!”

Flurry approached the pair and cuddled with Spike. He hugged her in return.

“I’m glad you’re all right.” smiled the dragon.

Cadence approached, too. “We’re grateful for this, but, can we have some answers now, please?”

The two heroes were about to answer, when the entirely of the Crystal Empire began to cheer for their hero, Spike the Brave and Glorious. They raised their voice for the latest addition to their pantheon: Alicorn Marevel.





Far from the Empire, in the deepest part of the Everfree Forest, in a spot that no pony would dare to venture, a pack of timberwolves ran in circles around a pony. He was not their prey; he was their alpha.

He was an alicorn, muscular, taller than Celestia. His mane, beard and tail were ethereal, reflecting his power, the power of nature itself. He had his eyes closed as he concentrated deeply. Finally, he opened his eyes.

The biggest timberwolf of the pack approached to the alicorn and nuzzled him.

The alicorn smiled.

“It’s all right! Everything is going according to plan. I knew they would get rid of the golems, but not quite so quickly. Don't worry, I'll get rid of those two, just like I promised."

The timberwolves howled.

“Easy, not yet, but soon.”
> League 03
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Old and new heroes


The call of the open skies was something that beckoned every pegasus, and Rainbow Dash was no exception. Before her transformation, she lived for the soothing caress of her magic stroking the wind. Her connection to the Speed Force added an entirely new dimension to the experience. It was as though she could see in color for the first time; it made something she loved even better.

She was heading home from the Dragon Lands at speeds no other Equestrian could manage. She had tuned the Speed Force's protective bubble to allow enough air flow to simulate a leisurely flight while travelling at hypersonic speed without generating a shock wave. Despite Twilight's anxiety, this was just another routine flight. As nice as it was, the sameness of these flights left her craving for something to break the monotony. Her heart raced as she imagined some real action, a fight against a foe as powerful as she. Frowning, she quashed that thought. The last time she had faced a metapony opponent, she had lost a dear friend. Worse, she had lost a part of herself; the Reverse Dash had destroyed her faith in her innate goodness. She now knew that she had a dark side, and that made her all the more wary of her emotions.

A familiar voice crackled over her commlink. “Dash! Dash! Come to Canterlot Castle! We’re under attack!”

Ruefully, Dash smiled. If the Canary were this worried, it had to be something big. She replied, “Be there in a flash, Canary!”

“Arrow and the guards are friendlies. They’re after the princess!”

The outside world smeared into a blur as the pegasus fully embraced the Speed Force.





Most ponies considered the Royal Guard to be little more than decoration. It seemed that all they did was to stand around in dress armor and attend the minor annoyances that might spoil the princess’s day. On a good day, they might even rescue a kitten from a tree.

The invaders were learning the truth the hard way. Despite their normal routine, the guard was a highly competent military force. They worked in teams to force their opponents to face the strengths of each guard. In the audience chamber, a pitched battle raged, with the Solar Princess as the prize. Unicorns blasted the invaders back with magic. Pegasi attacked with wind and weather. Earth ponies fought with spear and hoof.

A normal army would have been brought to heel by this spirited defense. This was not a normal army. They did not feel pain, confounding attempts to stun. They did not breathe, thwarting attempts to suffocate. They did not retain physical damage, negating efforts to destroy.

The world abruptly came back into focus as the Dash stopped over the castle. A quick circuit of the grounds revealed that creatures of mud and algae were streaming in from every door and window at ground level. Despite the efforts of the guards, the creatures simply streamed past the defenders, leaving the ponies trapped like insects in amber.

Dash activated the commlink and said, “Hey! What did I missed?”

A male voice cut in. “Dash! Celestia’s under attack in the audience chamber!”

In an instant, the speedster bore witness to the bedlam within. The guards had formed a defensive perimeter, but they were slowly losing ground, even with the blasts from the Solar Princess. A concussion arrow forced the invaders back from a beleaguered section of the perimeter.

Celestia snarled, “This changes nothing, Arrow.”

The Arrow replied, “Not the time, Sun Butt.”

The guard commander gasped, “Need more help!”

A cyan blur streaked back and forth, into and out of the room. With each trip, a guard who had been trapped outside appeared within. After a moment of nausea, each joined the line, allowing the perimeter to expand.

The Dash frowned when she saw the princess. The royal was sweating even more than her guard. It was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed. Dash shouted, “Everypony! Hang on! This is gonna suck!”

The pegasus moderated her speed as she flew circles around the room, generating a gentle updraft. The spellcasters in the room all switched tactics, casting anchoring spells on themselves and their allies.

The Dash unleashed the power of her magic. A cyclone trailed behind her, taking all of the creatures in its wake. Once she had ensnared the creatures from outside as well, she took them at full speed to their new home in uninhabited Ponynesia.

Satisfied with a job well done, she cruised homeward. The Arrow’s voice came over the link. “There’re even more of them now!”

In a fraction of a heartbeat, the Dash was back on scene. Despite the reinforcements she had brought, the ponies were in even more dire straits. The creatures were beginning to crest, forcing their way over the defenders.

One creature dropped down behind the defenders. It had scarcely taken a step toward the princess when a black, bat-shaped blade embedded itself half way into the creature’s head. The red crystal in the center of the blade flashed rapidly before detonating, removing the head in a spray of mud and algae. The body collapsed, completely inanimate.

A filly in soft black armor fluttered down from the skylight. Her black cape resembled bat’s wings. Each flank was emblazoned with a black bat on a steel gray circle.

In an amplified whisper, she said, “They’re not alive! Aim for the head!”

Heeding her advice, the defenders began decimating the horde. Celestia asked, “Who might you be?

“I’m Batmare.”

“You look more like Batfilly to me.”

The filly gave an irritated groan before firing her ascender.

“Where are you going?”

“Do you think you’re the only princess here?”

Celestia gave a horrified gasp. “Luna.”





In the Lunar Tower, outside the royal bedchamber, the stairwell served as chokepoint where a handful of the Lunar Guard and the Canary could keep the invaders at bay. The Canary’s hooves were dirty from climbing over the creatures to give warning, and she used her telekinesis to use her bo staff against them while the guards formed a phalanx. As with their solar brethren,they were slowly succumbing to exhaustion. Relief came in the form of a black-clad filly. In an amplified whisper, she said, “They’re not alive! Aim for the head!”

The Canary could not help but give the filly a critical look. Canary had chosen her peach-colored fur and blond mane and tail to hide her identity. The black domino mask, bodysuit and boots were fashionably hiding its gadgetry. Despite its attempts at sophistication, the Batmare outfit was positively gauche, functional, but little else.

Turning back to the battle, the Canary said, “Cover your ears. I do believe I am going to take the stairs.” The unicorn took a deep breath. Cisco’s amplifier was set to its maximum. Canary set her original scream spell to boost the amplifier's output. The scream that followed obliterated the stairs and everything on them.

The doors to the bedchamber swung open, revealing the Princess of the Night with sleep mask and fur askew. “What in Tartarus is going on!?”

The guard commander snapped to attention. “We are under attack, my liege. The filly gave us the key to victory.”

Exasperated, Batmare replied, “Anypony with half a brain could have figured it out.”

Luna eyed the filly. Her gleeful smile faded when she realized what was behind those empty eyes. “What is this secret? Who are you, filly?”

“Those are golems. Aim for the head.” Snarling, she added, “I’m no filly; I’m Batmare.”

Luna looked over the ruin of the stairway. The creatures were climbing atop each other to reach the princess. With a predatory grin, she said, “Let me show you why I earned the title Night Mare.”





Back in the audience chamber, Celestia said, “The tide is turning, but we could use more hooves.”

Dash nodded. “I’ll call for some help.” She keyed her transmitter. “Twi! You’re not gonna believe it! Some mud monsters are attacking the Princesses! Arrow, Canary, and I are on it!”

“Kinda busy here, Dash!” answered Twilight’s voice through the link.

As a new wave of monsters streamed in, the Arrow griped, “They just keep coming!”

Dash grinned. “Why don’t I just invite them all in?”

Again, the anchor spells were cast, but instead of the tropics, the creatures were brought high into the audience chamber, where the defenders had no problem picking them off. Dash easily dodged their attacks while maintaining the air cushion.

Twilight’s voice came over the commlink. “Rainbow Dash! Go for the head! That’s their weak spot!”

“I know Twi, Batmare told us a few minutes ago!”

Celestia prepared two spells. She commanded, “Dash! Down!” A powerful shield spell pinned the invaders against the skylight. With a hint of anger, she said, “Everypony, look down and cover your eyes!” The chamber went white as she brought power of the sun to bear. When it was safe to look again, the skylight had gained a new layer as the creatures had been melted to glass. With a dismissive snort, Celestia restored the feature to her liking.

As the defenders caught their breaths, the Lunar guard entered, forming a pathway to Celestia. The Solar Guard interspersed themselves in their ranks in a show of unity.

The Canary walked in and bowed to Celestia before taking a place among the guard. Finally, Luna walked in with Batmare at her side.

“You, I warned you to go home!” said the Arrow, aiming his bow at the filly.

“Shut up, Cupid!” said the Batmare, unimpressed. “You already showed you need my help.”

Luna added, “Indeed, my dark knight has shown there is much we need to discuss.”

Batmare continued. “Somepony is attacking Equestria. What I want to know is who has the power to create an insane number of golems.”

“Golems?” asked Dash.

“Creatures without intelligence, animated artificially to chase one objective,” explained Celestia, walking to Batmare, along with Canary. “This requires a lot of power and a lot of time. A simple golem is easy to make, but not something this durable.”

“And tenacious,” added Luna.

“Alicorns,” said Batmare. “From what I saw, the things were after alicorns.”

Canary looked at Dash. “Do you think . . .”

“Twilight said she was busy. She sounded like she was in trouble. Then, she called to tell me about the monsters’ weakness,” said Rainbow Dash.

“That's impossible!” said Luna. “Nopony is powerful enough to make that many! Right?”

“I’ll go for Twilight!” said Dash, disappearing in a streak of light.

“Wait! What about Cadence and Flurry Heart?” asked Canary. But Dash was already gone.

Two seconds later, the cyan speedster reappeared with a perturbed purple alicorn on her back.

“Twilight Sparkle! You’re okay!” said Celestia, relieved, as she walked to hug Twilight.

The junior princess rushed to the nearest restroom. The. vigilantes cringed at what they heard.

Stepping back into the room, Twilight glared at Dash and said, “I left my stomach in Ponyville.”

“At least you’re in one piece,” said Dash, with a shrug.

“Thank goodness you were spared the attack,” said Celestia.

Before Twilight could answer, Rainbow spoke. “She’s in one piece, not her castle.”

Twilight gave deep sigh.

“There was a lot of collateral damage. Fortunately, I had some help.”

“What kind of assistance?” asked Princess Luna.

“The same kind you had,” said Twilight, “a couple of vigilantes like Arrow, Canary, and Rainbow Dash.” Then, she turned to Batmare. “And you, I don’t know you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said the newcomer. “So, what about the Crystal Empire? Do you think they were attacked too?”

“I sent them my backup,” said Twilight. “I just hope they’re okay. I’m sure they could handle any sort of trouble up there.”

Everypony turned to Rainbow Dash.

“Okay, fine!” groaned Rainbow, as she rolled her eyes. “But, you better have something for me to eat when I come back. Speedster metabolism, remember?”

She disappeared in a streak of light, only to return a half second later.

“That was fast even for you!” said Princess Celestia, genuinely impressed.

“They were already on their way,” explained the speedster. “You are not going to believe this!”

Before they could ask her what she meant, an unfamiliar zooming was heard over the castle. Several guards rushed out to see what it was, fearing the worst. They were not disappointed.

It was a green jet, an unknown machine for the ponies. Most of them, including Batmare, Arrow and Canary, prepared to fight. But, the thing landed, and then disappeared, revealing Princess Cadence, and their former captain, Shining Armor. Trailing behind was a baby dragon they all knew, dressed in a black and green suit.

“Sorry for the delay!” said Lantern Spike happily. “But, Alicorn Marevel had to be home in time for supper, so we dropped her off.”

“Alicorn Marevel?” asked Celestia.

“Drop her home?” asked Luna.

“Yeah, today was a long day, so I’m not worried about details yet,” said Cadence. “But it’s true, we dropped her off at home, where we met her parents. Nice ponies.

“Today was weird,” sighed Shining Armor. “But, at least Flurry is safe thanks to them!”

“Glad to hear it!” said Twilight.

“The help you sent was amazing,” said Shining, winking an eye at the dragon.

“Thank you Spike,” said Twilight, hugging Lantern.

The dragon gently stroked his emerald ring. “You’re welcome. It was my duty to my family, and the Corps.”

“The Corps?” asked everypony.

Spike sighed. He couldn’t put off the explanation any longer.

“Let’s put it this way: there’s an intergalactic police force, and after finding one of them about to die, I got recruited. The ring chose me.” He showed the ring to everypony. “So, during the two weeks I disappeared, I was on Oa, the central planet of the Green Lantern Corps, training. And now, this section of the galaxy is supposed to be under my protection.”

“But, that’s not possible!” said Twilight. “Yes, I heard Spike saying he was recruited by an intergalactic police force, but he must be wrong. I mean, I’ve been watching the stars for years, and there’s no evidence that there’s life on other planets.

“Say whatever you want, but I saw them with my own eyes.”

“And, seeing the power of the ring in action, I can tell this is no magic,” said Cadence.

“All right, this is interesting, but, what about the Alicorn Marevel?” asked Celestia.

“Oh, she’s explaining the situation to her family,” said Spike. “We agreed that they deserved to know the truth before anypony.” He turned to Rainbow Dash. “Oh, Rainbow, your family is waiting for you.”

“Spike, this is important. I’ll go later!” said Rainbow.

“You better go Rainbow Dash. Spike knows what he’s talking about,” urged Twilight.

“All right, if you say so.”

And she disappeared in a streak of light.

Finally, Batmare fired her ascender through the skylight. “Very well then, it’s a relief that there are more meta-ponies, and a meta-dragon involved. This attack was only the beginning.”

Once on the roof, she jumped, extending her cape as bat wings to land softly on the roofs of Canterlot.
> League 04
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Lose ends


Crystal Empire:

One of the less glamorous aspects of military life was making things presentable for inspection. The Crystal Guard was no exception. After the battle had been won, it was up to them to remove every last bit of the mud creatures. Due to the unknown nature of the beasts, hazardous material protocols had to be observed, lest a remnant spawn another monster. Fortunately, there was no need to be stoic in this duty. Eagerly, they talked among themselves as they used their green, glowing hoof covers to locate every speck of dirt and algae not native to the Crystal Empire. Their new equipment reminded them of the treat that awaited when they had completed their task.

When they returned to their barracks, they found, as promised, that Green Lantern and Alicorn Marevel were waiting. The guards who had been in the thick of the fray were relating their latest triumph to the shift that was just getting up. Eager for news, the fresh shift crowded around the former combatants.

"I saw everything!" one of the soldiers crowed. "Spike is truly a hero of the Crystal Empire."

One of the fresh shift yawned and stretched. "Why didn't you call us out? What happened?"

The first soldier replied, "It all happened so fast! The creatures were all around their Highnesses. Prince Consort Armor bought us some time with his shield. We were barely holding the things off. Right when we thought we'd be overwhelmed, they came." Turning towards the metas, he said, "O Brave and Glorious Spike, Alicorn Marevel, tell them what happened next."

Spike groaned. "Come on, guys. I already told you twice. Besides, we're supposed to wait for the folks on clean-up duty. And, it's just 'Spike' or 'Green Lantern'. I didn't do anything special; it's my job, my duty."

The soldiers turned to Marevel. She said, "Lantern is right. The second I let any of this go to my head, you all have permission to slap me."

One of the returning soldiers said, "O Brave and Glorious Spike, tell us everything! You promised."

Marevel asked, "Is every guard here?"

"Not the ones on duty."

Marevel nodded at Lantern. In a flash of green light, he switched the on-duty guards with those who had already heard the story multiple times. Spike said, "All right, everypony, let's take this from the top."

The third time was the charm. Now that the two youngsters had rehearsed, their story flowed like water. They took great pains to point out the bravery and dedication that the Crystal Guard had shown. Carefully, they avoided any exaggeration of their own exploits. When their story came to an end, they were besieged with questions. Luckily for the heroes, Shining and Cadence came to rescue.

The Crystal Guard saluted and then stood at attention. Shining Armor spoke. "At ease, soldiers. We must take Spike and Marevel to report what has happened to the princesses in Canterlot."

Quietly, a collective groan filled the air. Cadence spoke up. "I know you all have a lot of questions for Spike and Marevel. I promise they will make time for you the next time they visit the Empire.”

The two youngsters reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Gently, Cadence said, “All right you two, let’s go.”

Two battle-hardened nannies kept Flurry Heart entertained as her parents led the metas to the guards' training yard. Two pegasus-drawn chariots stood ready to accommodate them.

“Is everypony ready?” asked Shining.

“Yes, we are, but, isn’t this transportation a bit slow?” asked Lantern.

One of the pegasi, Flash Sentry, saluted Lantern Spike. “Sir! We are the finest of the Royal Crystal Air Force, sir!”

Spike smartly returned the salute.

“The finest of the finest; that's all Shining Armor accepts. No offense, soldier, but we need something faster than a pegasus right now." Spike aimed his ring, and a hypersonic aircraft with generous seating for four sprang from his willpower. A platform lowered, allowing the ponies easy access. “Okay, we’re ready!”

“What is that thing?” asked Cadence, unsure.

“My friend Hal Jordan calls it a jet,” explained the dragon. “The ring can create anything you can imagine. As my trainer told me, the only limit is my imagination, and my will.”

“I think Cadie meant the ring,” said Shining. Looking to his wife, he said, "Don't worry, honey. After seeing how Spike handled those monsters, I'm sure we'll be just fine.”

As they settled into their seats, a disturbing thought came to mind. Alicorn Marevel said, “Hey, what time is it?”

“Ten minutes to six, why?” asked Shining, looking at a clock on the console.

“Great!” Marevel face-hoofed. “Hey Lantern, do you think you can drop me off at home?”

“Wait, what now?” asked Shining Armor.

The roar of the jet masked Spike's reply.





In the floating city of Cloudsdale, two parents lay on the roof of their house on freshly-sculpted cloud cushions, anxiously awaiting the little filly whom they knew had flown in harm's way. Scanning the horizon, they saw a tiny green dot growing ever larger. It seemed to take forever before they could see the arrowhead-shaped planform. From that point, the green craft arrived mercifully quickly.

Windy and Bow flew down to meet the jet as it hovered in front of their door. As a platform started to lower, Marevel squeezed through the opening and exclaimed, "Mom! Dad! Am I late?"

The clock chimed as she finished her question. Bow said, "You sure know how to cut things close." Turning back to the platform, the parents noticed the royal presence. They hastily bowed.

Giggling, Cadence said, "Please rise. We're here as friends."

As the stood, Windy said, "Thank you for taking care of her daughter. I hope she wasn't too much of a handful."

Shining Armor answered, "We should be thanking you."

Cadence added, "If it weren't for Spike and her, I don't know what would have happened to me, or to little Flurry."

Spike cleared his throat. "Sorry to run, but we're expected in Canterlot. We'll send Dash back as soon as we find her." With that, Spike and the royals bowed to the pegasus family. The platform raised, sealing its occupants back into the vessel. It traveled slowly for a short distance, before accelerating where its slipstream would do no damage.

After the green jet vanished in the distance, Equestria's mightiest mare turned to her parents. There was something unsettling about the way they looked at her. Nervously, she asked, "Where do I begin?'

"The beginning would be nice," said Windy. "Have you been hiding this from us all this time?"

Bow added, "What are you really?"

Nervously, Marevel replied, "I'm a pegasus filly." Her parents eyed her skeptically. "This isn't the real me; I was chosen for this job." With a hint of desperation, she jumped back and said, "Shazam!" Lightning struck.

When the spots cleared from their eyes, Bow and Windy saw their little filly curled in a ball. "Don't send me away. Don't send me away. Don't send me away."

The parents extended their wings and hugged their child. Soothingly, Windy said, "It's all right, honey. It's all right."

Bow added, "Breathe, Scootaloo. Just breathe. You're our little filly, no matter what."

As the parents gently rocked her back and forth, Windy said, "We believe you, honey. We just want to understand what happened."

Scootaloo still shivered uncontrollably. "There, there," said Bow. "Take all the time you need. We'll be here for you."

A scratchy voice brought them back to reality. "Scootaloo? You're the alicorn who helped Twilight?"

The family looked up to find their other daughter looking at them.

Bow asked, "Rainbow? When did you come here?"

The speedster shrugged. "A couple of seconds ago." Ruffling Scootaloo's mane, she continued. "That was some light show you pulled. No wonder Spike told me to hurry here."

Bow said, "It looks like this will be a long story. Why don't we go inside where it's more comfortable?"

Nervously, Windy looked around. "Thank Faust nopony else saw that."

Over milk and cookies, Scootaloo told the story of how she was taken to the old wizard, and of her accepting the mantle of champion of virtue. Her family encouraged her to add as much detail as she could. The filly ended with the statement, "And the next night, you gave me a real home."

Bow and Windy exchanged a look. They smiled widely.

“Oh, honey, do you realize what this means?”

“Yes, now we have two superhero daughters instead of one. This is a parent’s dream come true!”

"Come on, girls! This calls for a celebration!"

Scootaloo and her parents eagerly started the festivities. They stopped when they noticed that Rainbow Dash was not joining in. The speedster was looking at Scootaloo with a frown.

“What’s wrong, Rainbow?” asked her father.

“Tell me Scoots, when those things attacked, did they just go after Twilight, or did they attack you, too?”

“They came after both of us.”

“Yes, they left everypony alone except for Princess Twilight and Scootaloo,” said Windy.

Dash nodded. “Arrow, Canary, Batmare and I saw the same sort of thing in Canterlot. They ignored everypony except for Celestia and Luna.”

“Well, they attacked us too!” said Bow, thoughtful. “When we tried to protect your little sister, those monsters tried to drown us.”

“Yes, but you got directly on their way. In Canterlot, they did the same to the guards who were trying to block them.” The speedster stood for a second. Lost in thought. She then said, "I'll be right back." With that, she disappeared in a streak of light.

The rest of the family shrugged. Just as they were about to resume the celebration, Rainbow Dash returned.

“Okay, I spoke with Twilight. She agreed to give you private lessons on using alicorn magic, starting tomorrow.”

“For real?” asked Scootaloo, with a wide smile.

“Yes, for real,” said Dash. “I don’t like the idea that some old unicorn is sending you into danger, but if that is what you really want to do, I want you to be able to use all your powers like a champ. Can you do that for me? Can you learn from the best?”

“Of course!”

“Then it’s settled.” Bow smiled. “Hey Rainbow, wanna join us for dinner?”

“Yes, thanks! I’m starving after that battle!”

Somewhere underground, the next day: 

It had been an organic farmer's dream. A vast network of caverns undercut the entirety of Ponyville. Countless generation of bats had used them as both homes and as protected thoroughfares. No predator would brave the darkness deep within, and the few earth ponies who were brave enough were content to take the bounty on the floors of the cave mouths.

Recently, on intrepid soul had reached an agreement with the flying mammals. They would leave one large chamber clear in exchange for some of the fruit that the local farmers would deny them. They would still fly through as they wished, but they would leave nothing behind to be cleaned later.

The chamber itself had been extensively remodeled. It now boasted facilities for fabrication, research, and analysis that far outstripped even the most advanced university. Row upon row of crystal arrays provided the power for all of the equipment, including the quiet elevator that led to an opulent private residence.

At one workstation, a brown earth pony stallion with an hourglass Cutie Mark, and a neck with a bowtie, was hunched over a microscope. All of his elaborate equipment had revealed nothing special about his sample. He was not surprised when good old-fashioned eye power provided no further information.

“I’m sorry. It's just mud from a swamp. You can tell by the bits of organic matter in the mix.”

Diamond Tiara frowned. She had hoped that the doctor would be able to extract more information.

“Come on! There has to be something. Can’t you at least tell me where it came from? Froggy Bottom Bog? The Everfree Forest?”

The doctor shrugged. “Soggy Spot Swamp. You know, the one at the base of Mount Canter.”

“Are you sure?” asked Diamond Tiara.

“What do you expect, kid?” chuckled the earth pony. “You said that the golems you fought came from the sewers. And where do you think the sewers of Canterlot drain? It’s the only logical conclusion.”

Diamond Tiara blushed as she realized the doctor was right.

“I still have a long way to go if I want to become a good detective,” admitted the filly as she chuckled. “Okay then, I’m going to Soggy Spot to investigate.”

“Oh, I have just the thing!” said the doctor, moving from the lab table to a desk behind him. From one of the drawers he took a Batmare mask. “I just finished this diving mask. It looks exactly like your normal one, but this one has a rebreather, so you can breathe underwater for fifteen minutes without a problem. I wanted to install a bigger tank, but if I did, your mobility would be compromised.”

Diamond Tiara examined her mask and grinned. “It’s perfect! Thank you, doctor!”

“You’re welcome kid!” said the doctor, satisfied with himself. Design and fabrication of Batmare's equipment fed his passion for innovation and science, and the chance to use cutting-edge laboratory equipment was icing on the cake.

“What about my aerial transportation? Have you finished adding the weapons system?”

“Don’t push it kid. I barely have the time to make every little gadget you ask me for. It would take time to design a weapon that doesn’t compromise the transport’s speed.”

Diamond Tiara apologetically raised a forehoof. “Sorry, sorry. It's just that I’m a little concerned about running into more of those golems; I can only carry so many batarangs. You’re an invaluable help, doctor.”

“Hey, when I’m ready, I’ll let you know. Don’t worry.”

Diamond nodded to her scientist and then went to the dressing room.

“Little Miss!” Randolph called.

“Yes?”

“Shall I leave your dinner in the fridge, or would you be home by our usual suppertime?”

Diamond Tiara considered for a moment before smiling. “I’ll be early at home. I can use a good night of rest.”

The butler nodded as Diamond rushed to her transport.

Canterlot sewers: 

The preponderance of predigested product put this at the bottom of the list of Canterlot attractions. The Arrow was thankful that ventilation was generous; there was enough oxygen to keep the methane from reaching dangerous levels. As his horn lit the surroundings, he found there was no way for him to locate the golems' trail. Every piece of analytical equipment at his disposal had no way of distinguishing the mud from the creatures from any other mud in the sewer.

The Canary gagged as she swapped out yet another charcoal filter from her mask. "For Celestia's sake, Arrow. If our equipment can't identify the trail, how do you expect to see it when all of the mud looks the same?"

Arrow rolled his eyes as he gave an exasperated groan.

“I didn’t force you to join me, Canary. You’re free to go whenever you want.”

The Canary sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. It's just that I’m not used to this environment.”

“I am. This is pretty much like the dungeons I was locked in back on the island.”

They continued exploring the area for another half an hour until they found themselves at the exit, at the edge of the Soggy Spot Swamps. Stepping into the open, they spotted a familiar figure.

The Batmare turned to acknowledge them. "Huh, it's you."

“You again?” asked the Arrow angrily. “What are you doing here?”

“The same thing you are doing, Cupid,” said Batmare rolling her eyes, annoyed. “Looking for clues on the golems.”

“Kid, seriously, I don't like having you in the middle of this mess,” said Canary. “This is no life for a filly.”

“Normally, I would gladly discuss my age. I’m kind of busy right now, though,” said Batmare as she turned on the rebreather. “I found nothing in the surroundings, and the only place left is the bottom of the swamp. If you'll excuse me, it's time for me to take a look.”

“Wait!” called the Arrow, but she was already well on her way to the bottom.

Arrow and Canary stared at the swamp in silence, until Canary turned to Arrow. “Do you think she will be okay?”

“I hope not. That should convince her to give up this crazy life.”

Finally, Batmare emerged from the water, holding a green gem in her hoof.

“Bingo!”

“That’s just a gem,” said the Arrow. “I’m not sure that’s what we’re looking for.”

"Wait," said Canary. "That's no ordinary gem." As she picked it up with her magic, it began to glow. The water under the gem began to bubble. A shambling mass rose from the depth, a pale imitation of the golems who had attacked the castle. It had barely taken a step when the Arrow took off its head with his bow.

“I was wrong; this is what we’re looking for,” mumbled the Arrow.

“I have a magic detection device on my suit,” explained Batmare. “I only had to look for the strongest signature in the area.”

“Fine, now that we have it, what shall we do with it?” asked Canary

“We can try to use the residual magic to track the owner,” suggested Arrow. “But, it would require more magic than a unicorn could provide.”

Batmare nodded in agreement as she dropped the gem into a pouch on her utility harness. “I know; that’s why I’m taking this to the princess.”

Arrow grinned.

“Go on, they’ll surely enjoy unmasking you and returning you to your parents.”

Batmare ignored him and headed into the sewers. It was the quickest way back to the city.

“We’re serious; if they don’t stop you, we will!” warned Canary.

Batmare gave a grim smile. "You can't threaten someone who's already dead."
> League 05
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Family Ties


From the time of their reconciliation, there were two constants in the lives of the celestial sisters: breakfast and supper. Because one ruled the day and the other ruled the nights, these were the only times the would meet under ordinary circumstances. While the past two days had hardly been normal, there was still time for this routine.

The sun had been put to bed, and her mistress would soon retire as well. The moon and its mistress now dominated. As one supped and the other broke her fast, the sisters savored their time in their cozy private dining room. This was their sanctuary; it was warded with the best privacy spells an alicorn could manage, and the two were free to speak without fear of eavesdropping.

Celestia frowned. “It's been two days. My ponies haven't turned up anything.Have you found any clues about the attacker in the Dream Realm?”

Luna shook her head slowly. “Sorry, Tia. My duty is to the children. Dealing with all their nightmares left little time for investigation.”

Celestia sighed.

“I understand. I was just hoping you were having more luck in your realm. The Solar Guard have only found mud, and I barely get enough free time to use the restroom.

Luna nodded in agreement. “The needs of our little ponies come first. If only we knew who was behind these attacks, we come seek them out and destroy them.”

Celestia sighed.

“They’ll be back. These attacks were just probes to gauge our responses.”

The lights in the room flashed. The two sisters turned to the door, anticipating the entrance of a servant or a guard. The door stayed shut.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the lack of action. She opened the tall door with her magic. Nopony was standing behind it.

“What?” asked Celestia.

Luna pointed a forehoof to a bat-shaped shadow over the table. The two sisters stood and traced its source.

The vigilante in the bat suit hung upside from the ceiling, in front of the chandelier. Satisfied that the alicorns could see her, she released her boots from the ceiling and gracefully glided down, touching down lightly in front of the two sisters. Snapping her cape shut, she gave the sovereigns a small bow before extending a forehoof to present them with the gem she recovered from the bottom of the swamp.

Luna and Celestia stared at the filly, then to the gem, and then, back to the filly. They could feel a powerful magical aura coming from the gem.

“I just recovered this from the bottom of the Soggy Spot Swamps. You have maybe an hour to use its aura to find the pony who sent the golems,” said Batmare.

Luna frowned as she conjured a magical vault. The box would hold its contents in stasis and prevent any magic from entering or escaping.It was also keyed to the princesses; anyone else would find a nasty surprise if they tried to open it. Luna used her magic to seal the gem inside.

“Where did you say you found this?” asked the Lunar Princess as she thanked the filly with a small nod.

“Soggy Spot Swamps.”

Celestia examined the box and nodded. “Your assistance is appreciated, but it’s time for you to go back home to your parents, Batfilly. I will not have you risking your life over something adults should be handling.”

Batmare sighed tolerantly. Looking the Solar Princess straight in the eye, she said confidently, “First of all, I am Batmare. Second, we have more important things to deal with than my age.”

The Sun Princess gave a small frown.-“As much as I hate to admit this, we need the help of Arrow and Canary. They clearly are more prepared for this threat than the guard.”

“And you, little one, were you the one who found this bauble?”

Batmare nodded. “We need to get all the alicorns together and figure out our next move. I can get Arrow and Canary.”

Celestia nodded. “Indeed. We need Dash as well. You, however, need to go home and stay out of the way. I will not have your death on my conscience. Your work recovering the gem was worthy of a hero, but our collaboration ends now.”

Batmare looked to Princess Luna for support, but the lunar sister shook her head.

“We are sorry, dark knight, but your princesses have decided.You are free to leave unmolested, this time. Please use the main entrance.”

Batmare glared at the two princesses. She was not going to win this argument. With a sharp pivot, she left.

“At least Sun Butt is learning to accept our help,” mumbled Batmare as she walked the main aisle, as requested. “But I’m sick of having everypony underestimating me because of my age!”

One Lunar Guard approached and came to a stop in front of the vigilante. He gave a sharp salute and said, “Excuse me, Miss Batfilly!”

Batmare glared at him. “That's Batmare, for Faust sake! Did they send you to arrest me?”

The guard shook his head. “No, I'm here on Princess Luna’s behalf.” With a leathery wing, he proffered a scroll with an onyx seal bearing Luna’s cutie mark. As Batmare read the missive, the guard said, “Princess Luna apologizes for her sister’s behavior. Princess Celestia is unwilling to accept that we need ponies like you.”

A flash of blue light covered Batmare as she finished the scroll. Nodding, she said, “Fair enough. Thank you, soldier.”

“No, thank you. You rescued me from one of those monsters the other day. I thought I was going to die.”

Batmare smiled at the soldier and jumped out the nearest window. Her cape extended like bat wings, easing her descent.

In their private dining room, Luna smiled at her sister.

“Thank you for agreeing to let her leave without unmasking her.”

“You’re welcome. I have a feeling that she had something planned if we tried. But seriously, what sort of parents would allow this? I swear I’ll track them down when all this is over.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t you noticed, Tia?”

“Noticed what? I’ve been spending my free time trying to find out who attacked us.”

Luna took a deep breath. “She doesn’t have any parents. If you look in her eyes, you’ll see she's dead on the inside. Something must have taken them violently. This is the only thing that is keeping her going.”

Celestia didn’t say more as she frowned, thoughtful.Even if it were true, the life of a vigilante was no place for a child. Celestia swore she would deal with the Batmare after the current crisis was resolved.

Castle of Friendship, the next day:

Magic kindergarten was sounding better with each passing second. Alicorn Marevel was sweating as she looked at a green pencil surrounded by several burn marks. She had assumed that having the Element of Magic herself as her teacher would make learning magic easy. She was wrong.

Twilight sighed as she looked at her pupil. She had made the mistake of starting with alicorn-level spells. With each setback she went to progressively easier material. It was incredibly frustrating. She had no problem with spells that would take a Royal Guard years to master. Lightning was no problem. Blasting spells were child's play. Her shields would put Shining Armor's to shame. The most basic magic, though, seemed to be beyond her.

Frustrated, Alicorn Marvel asked, "Twilight, did you have this much trouble learning to fly?" Finally, after an hour of fruitless practice, it dawned on her. There was a reason Alicorn Marevel was having problems with things that unicorn foals took for granted. Unicorn foals were born with instincts for unicorn magic.  Alicorn Marevel was born a pegasus.

Twilight said, "Scootaloo, maybe we should try something else."

The orange alicorn groaned in annoyance. “Twilight, come on! I’ve told you a thousand times . . .”

Twilight smiled shyly. “I know, I know, this is nothing like pegasus magic. It's just . . .”

“No, I’m fine with that! I mean, when I'm in this form, you have to call me ‘Alicorn Marevel'! That’s my superhero name, remember?”

Twilight face-hoofed."I know; it's going to take a while to get used to. Why don't we begin at the beginning and have you feel for the unicorn portion of your magic?"

"But I don't know what that feels like."

Spike looked up from his comic book, safe in a corner of the room. "Well, if you ask me, it looks like all of her spells are for combat magic."

"Of course!" exclaimed Twilight. "That's what your new cutie mark means. What do you feel when you're about the cast lightning? That's your unicorn magic, Scootaloo!"

“Alicorn Marevel,” corrected the mare. “So, what now?”

Twilight stretched. "Let's stop for today. You've made a real breakthrough, Scoo, I mean Marevel. Now, I just need to tailor my curriculum to your native magic and your special talent.”

Alicorn Marevel nodded. “Okay then. SHAZAM!”

The filly Scootaloo displaced her heroic alter ego, and Twilight prepared some milk and cookies for Spike and her.

“Your parents should be here any minute now,” said Twilight as she looked at Scootaloo.

“I bet they’re dying to know how I did on my lessons.” Scootaloo smiled.

“They certainly are,” said Twilight, smiling back at her. “It always surprises me how much they support and love you and Rainbow Dash.”

Spike winked an eye at her. “It’s cool you’ve found the right family, Scoots.”

The orange filly blushed slightly. Suddenly, Spike burped a scroll from Princess Luna. “It’s for you, Twilight.”

Twilight grabbed the letter with her telekinesis. Her smile faded as she read.

Both Spike and Scootaloo stood.

“It's about the attack, right?” asked Spike.

Twilight nodded. “Yes. Princess Celestia is summoning all the princesses to a meeting. We’re going to combine our magic to analyze the object that created the golems.”

Spike touched his ring. “What if it’s a trap? What if the enemy gets mad and sends another bunch of golems?”

Twilight nodded; this was the part where she disagreed with her teacher. “Arrow, Canary and Rainbow Dash are going to be there as well, in case something like that happens.”

“And what about us?” asked Spike.

“Princess Celestia doesn’t want children near the castle during the meeting,” explained Twilight. “But, Princess Luna and I want your help.” She took a deep breath. “I need you to stay somewhere between Canterlot and Ponyville. If Dash, Arrow and Canary need reinforcements, you’ll be close. And, if the enemy attacks anywhere else, you’ll be able to go there while those three protect the princesses. We may need to split our forces. I'm counting on you, and so is Princess Luna.”

Spike’s and Scootaloo’s jaws dropped.

“A . . . ar . . . are you sure?” asked Spike. He never thought Twilight would actually agree to something like that.

Twilight nodded. “You two saved my life. I know you’re ready.”

“What about my parents?” asked Scootaloo.

“I'll leave them a note; they can wait here until this is over. I hope that nothing really happens, but we must be ready for any eventuality.”

The two children nodded as Twilight prepared to teleport. “I’ll go now. If something happens, take care. All right?”

The children nodded again, and she disappeared in a flash of purple light.

“Wait! How are we supposed to know what to do?” asked Scootaloo.

Spike scratched his head. “Beats me.”

“You two didn’t think about that until now? What a pair of idiots!” said a voice from the shadows of the castle.

The two of them turned toward the voice, spotting a figure in black looking at them from the upper level.

“Batmare!” said Scootaloo.

“Hi there, Scootaloser,” said the bat vigilante.

“Are you joining us?” asked Spike.

“Yes. Princess Luna casted a communications spell. She’ll what I hear; and I’ll hear what she hears. But it won’t activate until the meeting, where I’ll listen and tell you what's happening. Now, follow me! This will be the first flight of my aerial transportation and I can’t wait to try it!”

Canterlot Castle:

Twilight entered the private conference room, where Cadence, Shining Armor, Princesses Luna and Celestia, and the trio of heroes were waiting.

“Sorry for the delay.”

“It’s all right Twilight; we just arrived as well,” said Cadence with a smile.

“So, what’s the plan?” asked Shining, looking at Luna and Celestia.

“It’s simple; we’ll try to communicate with the original user of this crystal by extrapolating their residual aura. That should point us back to them.” explained the Princess of the Sun.

“But detection spells can work in both ways,” warned Shining Armor.

“And that’s why we’re all here,” said the Arrow, calmly. “If something tries to attack us, Canary, Dash, and I will send it back where it came from.”

Shining reluctantly agreed. “If something happens, let me pitch in.”

With that, he cast a shield around the four princesses.

Celestia turned to her fellow princesses. “The stage is set. Luna, when you're ready.”

Princess Luna opened her vault carefully.The green glow of the gem was visible to all in the room.

Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Twilight concentrated their power, scanning the gem. At first, they detected Canary’s signature, but soon, they found another one they didn’t recognize.

“Window spell, now!” commanded Celestia.

The others followed.





A strange metal craft that resembled a giant bat flew in a lazy racetrack pattern along the railroad tracks between Ponyville and Canterlot. The steady hum of the pulse jet engines attracted more than a few curious bystanders, but they were content to keep their distance.

Inside the jet, three pint-sized heroes waited in the cramped cabin.Scootaloo said, "Tell me it's starting."

Batmare snapped, "Quiet Scootaloser! I need to concentrate."

The other girl frowned. Batmare's attitude was uncannily familiar. She was now sure who was behind the mask, but this wasn't the time to bring it up.

A blue glow appeared over Batmare, as she announced. "They're about to start."





The window spell revealed a bucolic setting.It was a clearing in the middle of the forest with a good-sized pond. A raft made of native materials lazily drifted in the water.On the bank was a bench that had been hewn from a fallen log. A thick layer of soft moss served as a cushion, perfect for a weary pony.

The centerpiece of the site was an obvious outsider. In the midst of the oaks was a young redwood tree, perhaps a century old, towering above everything. It would have been a welcoming sight for anypony, except that its trunk was surrounded by a dozen timberwolves. These were easily twice the size of the normal Everfree variety, and they looked easily twice as mean.

The timberwolves stared back at the window with fangs bared, growling. The baritone of a stallion silenced them.

The window spell followed the redwood's trunk, up to the source of the voice.Thirty meters above the ground, there was a hammock made of vines, slung between the lowermost branches.Above it was a canopy formed by grafting branches together.Any student of engineering would have argued that such a structure could carry hardly any weight. The alicorn perch atop the canopy would disagree. He stared back at the window, seeming annoyed, as he just woke up.

The stallion was much bigger than Celestia, and he was built like an earth pony on steroids.His fur was dark brown, while his mane, tail, and beard were an ethereal, forest green. His cutie mark was a redwood tree.

Looking at the princesses, he said, "I suppose you have a good reason for disturbing my nap. The sun's at just the right angle for basking."

Coldly, Celestia said, "So, you're the one who sent the army."

The stranger shrugged. "I didn't have much choice in the matter. I needed to keep you busy, so I did. Now, if you'll excuse me, could you just leave me alone? I can’t stand ponies, and I don't want to have anything to do with them."

Luna growled. "You nearly killed a lot of good ponies."

"Not my problem, Lulu. If nopony disturbs me, I'm perfectly happy."

"If you didn't want anypony bothering you, why did you send the golems in the first place!" Luna growled. "And don't call me Lulu! That's for friends and family!"

The stranger yawned widely. "You do have a point. I did start this, but literally could not help myself. You do understand a geas, don't you, Tia?"

"I agree with my sister. Who are you to presume to be so familiar with us."

"I suppose I should introduce myself." He turned his tail toward them.

Luna snapped, "What is the meaning of this outrage!"

Sheepishly, the stranger turned back to face them. "I forgot; I'm supposed to use pony manners. Call me Forest Thing; it suits me better than Eclipse Darkness. Anyway, I am the son of the old generals, White Nightmare and Dark Moon. I'm not your friend. I'm not your enemy. I'm your younger brother."

Celestia snarled, "Well, little brother, what exactly is going on?"

"Mother and father are coming home."

"Impossible!" cried Luna. "They're trapped in the Nowhere. They should have died millennia ago."

"That's where you're wrong. The Nowhere doesn't really let you live. The Nowheredoesn't really let you die. It does allow for a couple of biological functions." The alicorn pointed to himself. "The first is obvious. If father didn't shoot blanks most of the time, we'd be up to our ears in siblings."

"What's the other?" asked Celestia.

"Let's just say mother got her wings, and father his horn before I was born."

Luna said, "They're still in the Nowhere, as you should be."

"Funny thing about that place; it doesn't like to hold innocents. I was stuck there for six years before it realized I was there. Then, I was dumped here, where a mother timberwolf took me in. I am her son, and she is my real mother. Nature is my realm now."

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Twilight.

The Forest Thing eyed her critically, taking in every nuance. He continued. "They put a spell on me. I'm forced to do everything I can to help them escape. Only then will I be free. It's taken two centuries, but I can feel my vacation calling me."

Celestia said, "What is your problem? They were bad enough as normal ponies. They're psychotic killers! Father liked to rip off their victims' heads with his bare hooves! Mother made hers suffer as long as she could before killing them. You're letting them out as alicorns?!"

"Geas, remember? Of course, they didn't force me to keep my plans secret. My next target is a little town on the edge of my domain. I think you call it 'Ponyville'."





In the strange aircraft, Batmare winced as Luna shouted out her orders. Batmare said, "Ponyville is under attack!" With that, she firewalled the throttles.
> League 06
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The heroes of Ponyville


Anypony who had played chess would have recognized the formation. The princesses were in the middle. Around them were three knights. Rows of pawns served as the outer line of defense. The situation was more complicated than what appeared at first glance, but the objective was the same: protect the princesses.

In truth, only the princesses were truly equivalent of their game counterparts. They were all-valuable, and all-powerful. Like the knights, three vigilantes, Arrow, Canary, and Dash provided additional firepower and agility, but they also could dictate tactics. Finally, while the Royal Guard were the analog for the pawns, their strength and attack potential were far greater. Most importantly, the entire ensemble could act as a single entity, bringing all their attacks to bear simultaneously.

Upon hearing news of the attack, Dash extended her wings. Multi-colored lightning bolts coursed around them. She said, "To Ponyville! Who's first!"

Luna replied, "Nay, Dash. Leave your companions. I have my knight en route."

Twilight quickly added, "I can recall you if needed. We'll want Arrow and Canary here in case this is a diversion."

The other vigilantes nodded in agreement. Arrow said, "You can practically be in two places at once; we can't."

Canary added, "We cannot leave the princesses unprotected."

In a fraction of a second, the Dash analyzed the alternatives. She nodded in assent and disappeared in a streak of light.





Batmare’s airship was already over Ponyville as the heroes scanned for trouble.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" asked Scootaloo.

Spike projected a viewscreen in front of the passengers as a green telescope scanned about outside. When the view of the border with the Everfree Forest, he gasped. "Maybe a stampede of timberwolves?"

Batmare lurched forward in shock, but she managed to level the aircraft before it crashed. "What?!"

"I think it's time to dance," said Scootaloo.

Batmare nodded. "Prepare for ejection."

Before her companions could reply, panels slid back from the canopy. Powerful springs flung the passenger seats up and to either side.

Scootaloo screamed. “AAAAAAAH, SHAZAM!”

A lightning bolt struck her as her seat rose, turning her into Equestria’s mightiest mare. She extended her wings and flew toward the Spike.

In the meantime, Spike’s ring glowed, dressing him in his uniform and granting him the power of flight.

“Hey Lantern, remind me to kill Diamond Tiara after this!” said Alicorn Marevel.

“Diamond Tiara?”

“There’s only one pony who calls me Scootaloser. I don’t need the wisdom of Saddlemon to notice that.”

Lantern shrugged and flew to Ponyville, abeam with Marevel.





It was 1800, Canterlot Standard Time. Soon, it would be time for Celestia to send the sun to bed while Luna roused the sleepy moon. This was the time for their little ponies in Ponyville to wind down their day. Businesses were closing, homemakers were cooking, and foals were finishing that last bit of homework between them and freedom.

Everything seemed normal until they felt the ground rumble. Could it really be another earthquake in just two days?

Living next the Everfree Forest had conditioned the Ponyville residents to deal with disasters, both natural and pony-made. With the Element Bearers as residents, the latter were all too common. Warily, they edged toward their homes as they kept a lookout for the source of the disturbance.

Suddenly, Bulk Biceps yelled, "STAMPEDE!"

In a carefully choreographed ballet, the residents streamed toward their homes to seek shelter until the danger had passed. Only a lucky few reached safety. The others saw the true horror of the threat, timberwolves, twice the size of the normal variety.

The beasts streamed past the ponies forcing them to stay on the streets. With speed that few could match, the formed a moving cordon, herding the ponies together. A pattern emerged from what had at first seemed random; they left only one opening in their lines, the passage to the Everfree. The pegasi who had yet to take flight were quickly grounded as the timberwolves pounced and took them in their jaws.

A cyan annoyance buzzed the attackers. The blur resolved into the Dash. "Timberwolves? That's a bit anticlimactic." Streaking off, the speedster harassed the creatures, punching here, kicking there, trying to draw their attention to her.

The wolves ignored her as they continued herding the other ponies.

Seeing that her strategy had failed, she streaked in the direction the ponies were being herded. The true objective of the movement became clear. Anything that the timberwolves had flushed was captured by animated vines waiting in the Everfree. The captured ponies each struggled at first, but their strength faded fast in the grasp of the vines. The sheer mass of ponies prevented any from turning back while the timberwolves blocked the sides and the rear. Cocoons of vines hinted at the fate that awaited.

“Dang it!” complained the Dash. “That Forest Thing knows what he’s doing.”She growled. "The hard way it is."

"The horror! The horror!" screamed Roseluck as vines captured her legs and slowly forced them apart. She fainted as another vine wrapped around her barrel. In the next instant, there as a cyan blur, and bits of vine fluttered to the ground.

The attackers didn't even notice the escaping ponies as Dash took the florist to safety in a town closer to Canterlot. Dash mused, "It's a good thing she fainted; I don't think I could have washed the stains out of my suit."

One by one, Dash took her neighbors to safety. First, it was Applejack, then Granny Smith. Somehow, they were sound asleep in the midst of all the excitement.

And went back to rescue Applejack, next Granny Smith. Strangely enough, but mares weren’t struggling at all, but sleeping peacefully. Twist and Featherweight were next, slumbering soundly.

"I don't get it!" exclaimed Dash as she continued her rescues. Giving the crowd a quick once-over, she could see those in the vicinity of the vines were all starting to collapse. As she began to nod off, she noticed a sweet smell in the air. Looking down, she could see the pollen drifting from the pink flowers on the vines.

Dash rocketed skyward, snap rolling to shake off any pollen. Once she was well above the clouds, the air again smelled clean and she snapped back to full consciousness. She took a deep breath and dove back into the fray.

To the speedster's surprise, a giant green scythe was clearing the vines. A familiar voice cackled, "Don't fear the reaper!"

Dash yelled, "Spike! Gas attack!"

“Lantern!” corrected the dragon. “It looked like you could use a number one assistant. And, I told you to lay off the beans."

Dash groaned. "Gas from the vines is putting the ponies to sleep. Can't you smell it?"

Shaking his head, Spike replied, "Automatic defenses. What about you?"

Dash's eyelids started to droop. She felt something cover her muzzle. In an instant, she was awake. Spike said, "How about a gas mask?"

Dash's eyes crossed as she looked at the green construct. She said, "Keep them busy; I'll grab the ponies."

The timberwolves were content to keep Lantern penned in. The beasts paid no mind to the ponies who seemed to just disappear when they reached the vines. Cocoon after cocoon disintegrated without eliciting a response. When the last pony was gone, the moving cordon of timberwolves formed a solid wall in front of Lantern. A distant roar served as a grim reminder that there were still plenty of the beasts in town.

In Ponyville proper, the timberwolves searched the houses, one by one. Unaffected by the flowers, they could move at their leisure. Following the beasts inside, vines would gather any stragglers who had succumbed to the flowers.

At a particularly large house, they stopped, momentarily confused by the black-clad filly waiting on the porch. She said, "Here, puppies. Want to play?"

The timberwolves growled and slowly padded toward her.

Batmare grinned as she bucked a small black ball at them. "Fetch!"

The ball struck the nearest timberwolf in the mouth and detonated. Thick black smoke streamed from the beast. The others howled in fear and retreated as the victim's head burst into flames. Unnoticed, an orange streak plowed through their ranks, reducing them to kindling.

Batmare turned to Marevel. “Good job! But you have to burn them if you don’t want them to assemble again!”

“On it!” said Marevel. Flying in circles, she generated a dust devil, picking up all the fragments. There a was a sudden flare of light as she ignited them all at once.

The surviving timberwolves surrounded the two heroes. They stood indecisively, weighing their chances against the two. A howl from the alpha prompted them to close in.

As one, the heroes sent a warning. A lightning bolt struck right in front of the alpha while a small flare landed at its paws.

The alpha howled again. The pack closed in at speed, with the ones in back jumping onto the ones in front, forming a dome over the heroes. They then collapsed in on the pair.

As darkness surrounded the two, Marevel took Batmare in her hooves and said, "Hang on!" With a titanic leap, Equestria's mightiest mare broke through the timberwolves, leaving them howling in frustration. While she circled, Batmare gave a parting shot. A metallic cloud fell onto the top of the dome. It burst into flame when another smoke bomb ignited on the dome.

Looking at the inferno, Marevel yelled, "What was that for? They couldn't hurt us!"

Batmare glared at the alicorn. "This is no filly's game, Scootaloser! Do what you want, but stay out of my way!"

Angrily, Marevel dropped Batmare onto a roof before streaking through town to assess the situation. The cyan blur was obviously her sister, evacuating ponies. The glow in the Everfree was Lantern. The inferno was collateral damage from Batmare.

The timberwolves tried to overwhelm Batmare, but she was simply too fast, too agile, too ruthless. She was tired of living in a cardboard world where she had to be careful not to do any permanent harm. Timberwolves were different. They weren't really alive. All of the anger and frustration from the murder of her parents came bubbling to the fore. The refusal of the world to take her seriously fueled her rage. Finally, she could let loose with her full strength.

Pyre after pyre ignited with each failed attack. "Who's the filly now?" taunted Batmare.

“Enough!” said Marevel, landing between the timberwolves and Batmare.

“What are you doing?!” asked Batmare.

In an orange streak, Marevel pulverized the surviving timberwolves. Transitioning to a tight barrel roll, she gathered the pieces in her slipstream and deposited them deep into the Everfree.

A cyan streak stopped by Marevel as she returned to Ponyville. "Looks like you took care of the timberwolves."

Marevel shrugged, "Batmare did most of the work; I just cleaned up the stragglers."

"Hey! There's no "i" in team! We all have our jobs to do."

“Enough for the sisterly chit-chat!” complained Batmare. “I only have a couple minutes left on my rebreather. Have you finished rescuing everypony?”

Dash smiled. “My parents were the last ones.”

“Now we have to deal with these vines.” said Batmare, worried.

“I’ll do it!” said Lantern, joining the group. “Now that everypony is safe, I can concentrate on rooting these things out.”

Dash warned, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. You have friends, remember."

Lantern scoffed. "This is just a plant. It'll just be another weeding job."

“But . . .”

"It'll be easier if I don't have to worry about accidentally hurting any of you. Besides, that'll buy you more time to check for stragglers."

Dash protested, "I can do it faster."

Batmare shook her head. "We got this; you need to support the princesses."

Dash sighed. Batmare was right. In a cyan flash, she was gone.

Lantern said, "Let me recharge that thing for you." Batmare's mask glowed green for a moment as her scrubber was refreshed. Lantern flew off, following the vines.

Once the others were gone, Marevel looked at Batmare with concern. "What were you doing? You looked like you enjoyed burning all those timberwolves."

Batmare snarled. "You have it easy; you're a full-grown alicorn. Everypony treats me like a little filly. I'll show them not to underestimate me! Now go give me top cover!" With that, Batmare activated her infrared vision and began her search.

In spite of the mess she had left behind, the most of the damage consisted of broken doors and windows. The worst of it was a wall that Marevel had collapsed onto some of the timberwolves, but that could be repaired in about a week by a qualified mason.

As Batmare turned her back to the wall a shadow came over her, along with an unmistakable stench. The night filly stopped. She turned to face the threat.

At that moment, the pieces that had been under the wall had worked themselves free and formed a giant timberwolf, four times the size of its former alpha. It glared at Batmare.

“Aw, did I play too rough?” mocked Batmare.

The wolf roared and rammed the vigilante before she could react. The impact sent the dark knight through a window. Instinctively, she performed a break fall, preventing serious injury.

The wolf advanced toward her slowly, caring only about vengeance.

As she watched the scene unfold, Marevel found her way blocked by vines. While she was immune to the flowers, she found that they could stop her in such large concentrations. She couldn't help but worry about the dark knight. After watching her decimate the timberwolves she feared the filly would lose her mind. With her lack of self-control, who knows what or who might become an innocent victim?

The timberwolf had followed Batmare inside the building. It could see that its foe was clearly hurt as it limped away. Still the filly had enough agility to dodge, but just barely. Each miss, however, was progressively closer. As it entered the final room, it saw it had the filly cornered.

With a flick of her head, Batmare threw a batarang. With a smirk, she watched as it punctured the exposed gas line. The timberwolf was practically breathing down her neck went she wrapped herself in her cape. Hidden by her flourish, a small flare bounced under the timberwolf and ignited. The small flame sparked a big flame that immolated the timberwolf. Panicked, it went through wall after wall as it ran in circles in its haste to escape. With its support undermined, the floor of the bedroom above gave way.





Sweetie Belle was sleeping peacefully, draped over her just-finished watercolor painting. Inebriated by the sweet perfume of the vines’ flowers, she dreamed that she was sunbathing on a beautiful beach, with white sand and crystal-clear waters. It was warm, very warm. No, not, warm, pretty hot. Too hot indeed. She needed air, she needed air right now.

She woke up suddenly. Somehow, she was in bed, but on the ground floor in a sea of flames.

“AAAAAAAH, HELP, PLEEEEASE!!”

A horrified Batmare turned to her.

“What have I done?” she asked, frozen in fear.

In its death-race, the wolf was still running inside the house, and accidentally kicked Sweetie Belle to the other side of the room. Her scream of pain was cut short as her body impacted the wall.

Batmare ran to action, avoiding the timberwolf, in an attempt to save her friend. Looking down, she could see head and limbs in unnatural angles. There was no way she could move Sweetie Belle without making things worse.

“No!”

A new wall collapsed, and Alicorn Marevel ran into the house. Magic lessons proved their worth as she cut out a section of the floor and repurposed it as an improvised backboard. Batmare staggered after them.

Marevel managed to locate some clear terrain where she could examine Sweetie Belle more closely.

“Is she going to be okay?” asked Batmare shyly.

Furious, Marevel turned and lifted the other vigilante with her magic.

“YOU! WHAT THE HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

“It was an accident! I didn’t think . . .”

“Blow up an entire kitchen just to kill a Timberwolf? A STUPID TIMBERWOLF?”

“Well, but I . . ."

“You haven’t changed a bit, Diamond Tiara. You don’t think of anypony but yourself.”

Batmare removed her mask. “You're right. Everypony is right. I’m a just filly . . . a filly playing with dangerous toys.”

“She lives,” said Marevel, hearing Sweetie’s heart. “But she needs help. Now. And Ponyville General is out of the question.”

Diamond Tiara nodded. “And she can’t survive a trip on your sister's back. I could take her to Canterlot General in my machine, but that's too slow.”

“What are you suggesting?” asked Marevel.

Diamond Tiara activated her transmitter. “Doctor! Doctor!”

“Kid! I heard the battle above. Are you all right?”

“Doctor, I have a dying friend in here, and the cave is closer than Canterlot General. Please, I need you to find a way to save her!”

“What?! I'm a scientist, not a medical doctor!”

“Randolph will assist you, I know by experience he’s an excellent nurse. Come on, Doctor, I know you can find a way to save her!”

A heavy sigh came over the transmitter. “All right, I’ll think of something.”

Diamond Tiara nodded and then turned to Marevel. “Help me to carry her to the transport. I promise you, the Doctor and Randolph will save her. I’ll use every resource I have to make her whole.”

“You better.”

Marevel immobilized Sweetie Belle on the backboard. Together, she and Diamond Tiara move their friend as fast as they could safely manage. This was going to be a long night.

Everfree Forest:

Green Lantern followed the vines back to their source, going deeper into the forest with each passing second.

“I have a horrible feeling of deja vu.”

The vines ended at the stem of what looked like a tulip plant the size of a fully-grown oak. There was a pony-sized cocoon made of vines in front of the stem.

Gingerly, Lantern fed claws of green energy from his ring through the cocoon. He probed until the constructs were flush against the inner wall. He pulled outward, ripping apart the bundled vines. A sleeping zebra tumbled out.

“Zecora!” he gasped.

Carefully, Lantern took Zecora inside a green force field, and held her away from the plant. As vines sought to grapple them, he countered with his own hold. Energy from his ring formed into plunder vines, entwining the plant until it was covered completely. With a roar, he ripped the entire thing from the ground. The flower screamed as he squeezed, reducing it to mush. Gathering the mess in a ball, he incinerated it. He gave a sigh of relief as ash fluttered down.

“I did it!”

The sound of heavy steps approaching made him turn.

It was another pack of timberwolves, at least two times bigger than the one that had attacked Ponyville. Behind them was their alpha. From what Spike could see, it looked like a vine monster.

At first glance, it appeared to be a mass of leafy vines in a somewhat equine shape. A closer inspection revealed an ethereal mane and beard. Once he could make out the face, Lantern realized this was a pony dressed in tunic and cape formed from vines.

Lantern gulped. “The Forest Thing, I presume.”

“Did we know each other?” asked Forest Thing yawning. “I never forget a dragon; they're foul, destructive creatures, just like you. You murdered that poor plant."

Lantern aimed his ring to the alicorn. “Don’t play games with me! I was saving Ponyville!”

The Forest Thing smiled faintly. “I know kid, I know. But, business is business, and I can't let you get in the way of my vacation. It's nothing personal, but I really needed to keep this distraction up for a while longer."

The timberwolves surrounded their alpha and Lantern. Then, they howled as one.

Green Lantern stayed between Zecora and the Forest Thing, ready.

The entire forest trembled in anticipation.

Underground:

Anxiously, the orange pegasus filly paced. Her anger had long ago burnt out, and she now concentrated on comforting her broken friend. She still could not understand why the white filly fought off the sedative just to console Diamond Tiara. Scootaloo tried not to wince as the object of her ire spoke.

“How bad it is?” asked Diamond Tiara.

Randolph shook his head slowly. “It’s going to be really difficult.”

“That bad?”

The doctor sighed. “There’s something I can do, but it’s a little extreme.”

“What?!” demanded Diamond.

“I can, you know, replace the damaged organs with some of my inventions. I can graft mechanical parts onto organic.”

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes slightly.

Groggily, she mumbled, “So, I’ll become something like a robot? A Sweetie Bot?”

The doctor shook his head. “I would say more like a Cyborg.”

The damaged filly smiled lightly. “Okay then. Sweetie Borg.”
> League 07
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Family Ties (part 2)


The Everfree seemed to tremble in anticipation as the timberwolves paced in three counter-rotating rings, isolating Lantern, Forest Thing, and the slumbering Zecora from the rest of the forest.

Anxiously, Lantern glanced at the zebra sleeping in the green energy capsule kept at his side. He shifted her a little further away, but no one else seemed to care. He gulped as he realized all eyes were on him.

With a hint of trepidation in his voice, Spike said, "What now? Are you going to use your wolves to a stallion's job, like you did in Ponyville?"

A hint of irritation flashed across the alicorn's face for a split second. He sniffed. "Using wolves? I suppose I should expect such ignorance from a crude brute of a dragon. Pity you won't have time to learn the error of your ways."

The forest alicorn extended his wings, and his horn glowed slightly.

Three vines rose from the ground, stems growing as wide as an oak's trunk as they grew to their full length. Pink bell-shaped flowers bloomed as the vines grew and twitched, scattering their poisonous pollen. The timberwolves howled happily as the Forest Thing took in the scent with a nostalgic smile.

"Can you smell it, dragon boy? It's the perfume of Morpheus, magnificent, sweet, delicious, deadly. Those who invade my domain are lucky enough to sample its charms, a final mercy. It has no effect on alicorns."

Forest Thing gave a predatory smile. "I know what it does to dragons." With a quick spell, he formed the vines into a cocoon around Lantern, with all of the flowers pointed inward. Zecora slumped to the ground.

Stoically, Forest Thing watched as the vines collapsed in around the dragon. "Soon, my friends, we will have one less pest."

Unnoticed, the vines shriveled as they grew tighter around Lantern. Suddenly, they disintegrated in a cloud of dust. With a roar, Lantern ignited the cloud in a brilliant flash.

The wolves cried in fear as they jumped away from the ball of flame.

As the flames faded, the air grew hot with the alicorn's anger. The vines on Forest Thing's costume came to life.

“Don’t ─ ever ─ use ─ fire ─ near ─ my ─ family.”

The vines wrapped around Lantern’s neck and limbs, throwing the hapless dragon into the alicorn's buck. Lantern screamed in pain as he was sent through the trunk of an old oak.

The vines dragged Lantern back to Forest Thing, pinning him spread-eagle to the ground. Another set of vines hefted a giant boulder and raised it high above the dragon.

“You’ll pay.”

The vines flung the boulder down. A sheet of green appeared under Forest Thing as green dragon's hand construct deflected the boulder. Forest Thing's hooves slipped out from under him just before the boulder came crashing down on his back.

The wolves howled at their leader’s fall, preparing to maul Lantern as the hero flew free of the vines. The boulder disintegrated into dust as Forest Thing got back on all fours.

“No! Stay back! This is a dragon!”

With a single flap of his wings, Forest Thing flew up to Lantern's altitude. With all his will power, Lantern formed a hammer as large as the alicorn and swung it onto the alicorn's back. There was no discernable effect.

“You have to be strong if you want to survive in the forest, dragon boy. This is nothing.”

Forest Thing grabbed Lantern with the vines from his costume and dragged him down to the center of the rings of timberwolves as he lightly touched down at an edge of the clearing.

The wolves howled in celebration of their leader’s feat.

Vainly, Lantern struggled to break free, but the vines dragged him millimeter by millimeter toward Forest Thing. With a smile, the alicorn said, “You’re brave, dragon boy, really brave, and strong, but I’m stronger.”

Spike shivered. Despite Forest Thing's brief show of anger, the alicorn was, for the most part, as serene as the forest, his forest.

Green razor blades sprang up from Lantern's costume, cutting him free of the vines. Forest Thing fell back as the tug of war abruptly ended. The alicorn recovered just in time to see Lantern streaking away with the still-sleeping Zecora in tow.

Before Forest Thing could give chase, an ancient female timberwolf padded up to him and gave him a nuzzle. Her body was hardened and grizzled, colored by the centuries, but she was still a strong and valued member of the pack. She still had much to teach her cub.

Forest Thing nuzzled her in return before kissing her on the forehead. He said, "I don't have a choice, mother. If I don't take care of dragon boy now, he will grow up to be a real nemesis."

With a mighty flap of his wings, Forest Thing gave chase.

Risking a quick backward glance, Lantern saw that Forest Thing was closing the gap.

“Oh, come on!”

The alicorn accelerated, giving Lantern no choice but to fight back. He flung a giant green fist toward Forest Thing. The alicorn was unimpressed. The fist flattened into an opened hand, palm down. Closer the alicorn flew, ignoring the ineffectual construct. The hand rotated to vertical with thumb, pinkie and ring finger tucked back. Forefinger raised and lowered, cutting the primary feathers off Forest Thing's right wing. The alicorn augered downward.

The crowns of several trees rose to catch the tumbling alicorn and break his fall. After giving him a moment to regrow his damage feathers, they catapulted him back in pursuit, faster than before.

Lantern risked another backward glance. If he were lucky, he had a minute before the chase ended.

Zecora's eyes fluttered open. “Young Spike!” she called.

Lantern turned to her. “Zecora! You’re awake!”

“I’ve been awake since you destroyed the flower. I couldn't help, too strong was its power.”

“It’s all right!”

“If we both use our wits, we can win in the end. Nature gives him power; to Ponyville, my friend!”

Forest Thing overshot his target as it abruptly changed direction. He pulled straight up and hovered, taking a moment to sight his quarry. It was heading for the town he had attacked. The alicorn quirked an eyebrow when he saw that the dragon had landed on top town hall and waved a hand, beckoning him.

Lantern touched down in the town plaza as Forest Thing approached. The alicorn grinned. “You decided to confront me, I see.”

Lantern replied, "You and I both know you're weaker here, away from the forest. Look, nopony was hurt, and the town is more or less in one piece. Why don't we just call it a draw?"

Calmly, Forest Thing sighed. “Against you, a change of scenery won’t make any difference, dragon boy.” Looking around, he said, “Tell me, dragon boy, what have you done with the wolves?”

“I don’t know; Marevel and Batmare took care of them. I was busy saving ponies from your vines.”

The Forest Thing scented the wind. Spike mimicked the gesture. The cheery smell of a campfire filled the air.

Forest Thing took to the air. From above, he could see smoldering piles of twigs and branches littering the town. Horrified, the alicorn touched down. "No . . ."

Lantern backpedaled. The aura he felt earlier was nothing compared to the inferno of rage now radiating from the alicorn; it was almost as though the alicorn now held the sun itself.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” shouted the alicorn as his aura intensified.

With his sight blurred by his tears, the Forest Thing concentrated his aura into a powerful beam, aimed directly at Lantern. Verdant shields were no match for the overwhelming force as the baby dragon was thrown through building after building.

Lantern breathed with difficulty as the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. He gagged as he coughed up a broken fang.

From a distance, Forest Thing slowly walked toward his foe. "You murderer. You destroyed my family. You will pay with every last drop of your blood."

Shakily, Lantern projected what looked like a bundle of parallel tubes. Gradually, they spun up before giving out a roar. A swarm of angry projectiles peppered the advancing alicorn, but they might as well have been cotton balls for all the effect they had.

Forest Thing grabbed Lantern with his magic and threw him violently against the statue of Princess Celestia. Weakly, Lantern shook his head to clear it. This time, he sent a beam of pure plasma against the alicorn. Forest Thing was not impressed.

Zecora rushed over to the fallen dragon, trying to treat his broken body. The alicorn approached at a deliberate pace. Desperately, Lantern conjured a muzzle-loading cannon.

Forest Thing stood a pace away and snorted. "Pathetic. Any last words, worm?"

Weakly, Lantern said, "Surprise." The cannon fired, covering Forest Thing's face with cake batter. Lantern encased himself in a green body cast and covered Zecora and himself in an energy bubble. They sank into the ground like a pebble on the water.

When the Forest Thing finally managed to clear the last of the batter from his face, he simply groaned in frustration. “Damn dragon.”

The timberwolves approached gently.

“This is my fault. I shouldn’t have let them convince me to ask the other packs for help,” he said to his own pack.

The wolves howled softly.

“I am so stupid! But no, no more. This is the last time I endanger any of you. I promise.”

A wolf barked inquisitively.

“Later. I’ll take care of that stupid dragon later. Now come on! Let’s go back to the forest. Civilization makes me feel unclean!”





The princesses' chariots touched down in the landing zone that the town's residents had marked with banners. The residents of Ponyville were slowly recovering on the adjacent meadow where Dash had placed them. The chariot carrying Arrow and Canary landed shortly afterward.

"Dash!" called Twilight. "What's the story? Is Ponyville still standing?"

“I don’t know.” said Dash “Batmare and Marevel stayed behind to rescue any stragglers, and Lantern went to the Everfree to root out those vines.”

“We want a detailed report when we return to Canterlot,” stated Princess Luna.

The Dash nodded.

“How long until the others come?” asked Twilight.

The Dash was about to shrug when everypony spotted the solitary figure of an alicorn crossing the sky.

Alicorn Marevel landed proudly in front of the princesses, scowling.

Princess Celestia smiled at her. “Oh, hi there! You must be the famous Alicorn Marevel we’ve heard so much about.”

Grudgingly, Marevel replied, “Yes I am. It’s an honor, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.”

“The honor is ours,” said Princess Luna, politely.

“Oh, look!” said Windy with a yawn. “Our daughters did a great job.”

Bow shook himself awake. “Oh, what you were saying, dear? I fell asleep.”

“Our daughter did great job!” repeated Windy, waving a pennant with Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark.

“Hurray! Hurray!” added Bow, waving a giant banner with Scootaloo’s and Marevel’s cutie marks.

Dash blushed furiously. Fortunately, most of the ponies were either too tired or too distracted to notice.

“Let’s go back to business!” urged Princess Celestia. “Tell us, Alicorn Marevel. Is everypony safe? Nopony was hurt?”

Marevel ground her teeth as a small lightning bolt crackled down the length of her horn.

Celestia and Luna moved backwards, preparing to fight, but Twilight simply kicked Marevel on the leg.

“Never in anger! You can harm somepony you don't intend to!”

Marevel took a deep breath, and the lighting faded away. Softly, she said to herself, "I was almost as bad as her." Turning to the others, she said, "I'm sorry. It's just that somepony was hurt, and I was too late to help. It was my friend Sweetie Belle.

Arrow quickly clamped a forehoof over Canary's mouth. As she struggled, he whispered, "Secret identity."

Canary glared at Arrow, but he held firm until she forced herself to calm down.

Marevel began, “Batmare and me took care of all the timberwolves the Forest Thing sent to Ponyville . . .”

“Timberwolves?” asked Celestia in disbelief.

“Well, he did seem to have a connection with those creatures,” remarked Luna.

“So, the timberwolves hurt my . . . I mean, they hurt that pony?” asked the Canary, despite the Arrow’s warning glare.

“No, it was the idiot of Batmare. While we were looking for anypony left behind, one of the wolves came looking for trouble, and Batmare was more than willing to grant its wish. The moron decided to blow up an entire kitchen to kill the timberwolf without checking to see if there was anypony else inside the house first. I managed get Sweetie to safety, but she needed a doctor badly.”

“My dark knight did that?” The air grew cold with Luna's anger.

“She is no knight!” shouted Marevel, stamping her hoof on the ground. “She’s a stupid filly playing with expensive and dangerous toys!”

“Where is she?! She has to answer for this,” said Princess Celestia angrily. “We warned her to stay away!”

“She took Sweetie Belle to her hideout for treatment."

Celestia glared at Marevel. "Tell me where she is."

Marevel took a moment to compose herself. Calmly, she replied, "I'm sorry, your Highness. Sweetie Belle believes Batmare should be given another chance, and I promised I would help."

"Don't be a fool! Anypony who had chosen such a dark path is beyond redemption! Can't you see what she might do?"

Solemnly Marevel nodded. "She might raise an army in opposition to you. She might go to war."

Celestia gave a triumphant smirk.

Marevel continued. "She might become Princess of the Night." The smile ran from Celestia's face to Luna's. "I made a promise to my friend, and I swear that I will do everything I can to make sure Batmare doesn't repeat that mistake."

Luna said, "She will answer to me. I had forgotten that my knight still has much to learn."

Dash groaned. "I can't leave you alone for a second, can I?"

Marevel snapped, "Hey! I had no idea she was so desperate to prove she wasn't just a filly! I never would have let her out of my sight if I had known."

There was an awkward silence as the ponies contemplated how best to deal with Batmare. Suddenly, the ground quaked like jelly, shaking them from their reverie.

The civilians watched in fear as princesses, guard, and vigilantes assumed defensive stances, prepared for the worst. A green bubble popped from the ground as if it were water. Everypony relaxed when they saw it was Zecora and Lantern.

The bubble popped, depositing the pair gently on the ground.

“Spike!!” shouted Twilight, as she drew the dragon into a gentle hug.

“Twilight, watch the ribs,” gasped her little brother.

Twilight stood back. Her face fell when she saw the blood and bruises. It dawned on her that the green body cast was not for show. “Oh no! Spike, what happened to you?”

“I met the princesses’ little brother. He’s strong, very strong. But, I took care of those vines like I promised. I . . .”

Zecora eased him down as his eyes rolled up. His suit and all his constructs faded when he fainted. Shocked, Twilight watched as Zecora performed first aid.

Princess Celestia frowned. Sharply she said, "Captain Armor, take a squad to Ponyville. Clear and secure the town. Once you are sure there are no hostiles there, cast your strongest shield around the town and hold it until I arrive."

Shining acknowledged with a salute. "By your will." He turned to Dash and asked, "Can you give me a ride to Canterlot?"

Twilight deposited him onto Dash's back. The pegasus said, "Hang on to your lunch, big guy!" The two disappeared in a streak of light."

Celestia turned to address the Ponyville residents. "My little ponies, it is not safe for you to return home at this time. There will be trains to take you to Canterlot, where you are welcome to stay at the emergency shelters until you may return."

Castle infirmary, at the next day: 

Spike opened his eyes. So far, he had categorized fifty-six distinct types of pain. Still, he counted his blessings. Between Zecora's potions and the veterinarian's expertise, he was well on his way to recovery, despite looking like a mummy.

“Hi Twilight.” said the dragon as he noticed the lavender alicorn next to his bed.

Twilight hugged him as gently as she could manage.

“You really scared me, Spike. Don’t ever do that again!”

“I was just trying to get rid of those vines. How was I supposed to know that alicorn would be there?"

“Of course he would be there! It is his forest!” protested Twilight.

“It was really close to Ponyville. I thought I was close enough to civilization to scare him away,” explained Spike.

“I get that, but why did you confront him?”

"He didn't give me a choice. I was going to escape with Zecora as soon as I killed that damned weed, but he didn't want to let me go. He kept going on about how I would become a problem if he didn't take care of me then and there. I thought he was upset the first time he tried to kill me. He really lost it when he saw what was left of all those burning timberwolves."

“For Faust sake, Spike! You don't go after somepony that powerful by yourself if you can help it. Just . . . oh, forget it. The princesses want to talk to you, to all of you.”

Spike smiled briefly. “Of course, where? The conference room?”

“No, you’re still too weak. Everypony is coming here.”

With that, Twilight opened the door with her magic. Cadence, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, the Arrow, the Dash, and the Canary filed in, followed by Scootaloo.

“Are you lost, little filly?” asked Princess Luna, gently.

“Well, I . . .”

The alicorn of the night gave a small nod and smiled. “You must be worried about Spike, but this is not the time for visits. When we finish, we will call you, all right?”

“But I . . .”

“Guards, please escort this filly to the waiting room,” asked the blue alicorn.

Two pegasus Day Guards flanked the orange filly.

“Great . . .” mumbled Scootaloo. “I really wanted to avoid this, but, SHAZAM!”

Lightning struck the orange filly, turning her into Alicorn Marevel.

“I’m sorry, but it’s exhausting to keep this form for a long time. That’s why I only use it when it’s time to fight. SHAZAM!”

Another bolt of lightning turned her back into a pegasus filly.

Luna nodded to her guards. “You are dismissed.”

They exchanged a confused look, and released the filly.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “And the list of questions only grows larger.”

Scootaloo glared at Dash. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted to see how you'd handle the situation. Pretty smooth, if you ask me!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, as Spike asked, “Okay, what happened with everypony?”

“Everypony is back home, safe,” said Princess Luna. “The damage is minimal thanks to your teamwork.”

"Except that everypony else is paying for Batmare's mistakes." Scootaloo groaned. "You received the beating that was meant for her!"

Spike groaned in pain. “Is that so?”

“You said he went mad when he saw the dead timberwolves, right? Who do you think who burned them in the first place?”

Spike replied, "I found out about that fire thing when I torched his plants."

“So, we have to respect the flora and fauna if we don’t want to unleash the beast,” said a voice on the other side of the infirmary.

The Canary turned to the filly, extending her telescopic bo staff. “Give me a reason not to beat you all the way back to Ponyville, you idiotic filly.”

Batmare sighed as she approached Canary. "For that mistake, I deserve it. I swear, I had no idea there was anypony else in that house. You can tell Miss Rarity that I will personally pay to rebuild Carousel Boutique."

Arrow held Canary back as a low growl came from her throat.

Icily, Luna said, "You will answer to me for your mistake."

Batmare turned to her patron and replied, "I swear I will do all in my power to make things right." She then shouted toward the door. "Come on in"

The door of the infirmary opened again, and Sweetie Belle entered. She smiled broadly as she practically pronked in.

“Hi everypony! Sorry I made you worry.”

Scootaloo ran to hug her friend. “Sweetie Belle, oh Sweetie Belle! You’re fine!”

It took all of Canary's willpower to not scoop up her sister in a bone-crushing hug. After Scootaloo's description, Canary was relieved that her sister was looking so well.

“How is this possible?” asked Scootaloo. “I thought the doctor said he had to replace a big portion of your body.”

Sweetie Belle smiled and walked a couple of steps backwards.

The filly made her horn glow, and her glamour melted away. The changes were now visible. It seemed as though she was more machine than mare, with metal exoskeleton on most of her body. Three of her four hooves were now metallic, as was two thirds of her barrel. And, to make things worse, one of her eyes had been replaced by a green light.

The Canary almost fainted, but the Arrow held her hoof to draw her focus. “Later!” he advised.

“At least you’re fine, Sweetie Belle . . .” mumbled Twilight, unsure what to say.

Celestia groaned. "I had hoped we could celebrate our victory at this meeting, but, given the circumstances, we should wait another day or so to let Spike recover."

Luna turned to Batmare. "You, my knight, have much to learn. When this is over, I will have much to teach."

Luna continued, "Although two of our subjects were injured, this team successfully stopped our little brother. Heroes big and small, we call on your help once more; only with your help can we stop Forest Thing before he dooms us all."
> League 08
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dreams


There was finally room to stretch. There was finally room to bundle up. Powerful analgesics had left him comfortably numb, and a little drowsy. A part of him didn't want to get up, but Spike knew he had promises to keep. He opened his eyes. Following the sliver of moonlight to the wall, he looked up at the clock. It was eleven on the dot. As he stretched, he was pleased to find that just as Celestia's personal physician had promised, the healing spells had been boosted by Zecora's potion. He was now, more or less, in one piece again.

A familiar voice exclaimed, "Spike! Finally, you're awake." The baby dragon turned to see his sister in the chair next to the bed. Bags under her eyes told of a sleepless night spent at his side. The purple alicorn continued, "How do you feel? Should I ask the nurse to give you more pain killers? How about some fresh bandages?"

Spike sat up and yawned widely as he stretched. "I'm fine, Twilight. I just need a bit of breakfast. So, what are we going to do about the Forest Thing?"

"We have a few alternatives," replied Twilight. "We wanted to get your input before we finalized our decision."

"In that case, let's go. Rainbow Dash showed me a shortcut through the kitchen."

Twilight smiled at the thought of her friend raiding Celestia's secret cake collection. Her expression turned serious as her gaze fell on Spike's ring. Casually, she said, "Say Spike, may I take a closer look at your ring? I'll only be a moment."

“Sure!” said Spike, taking off his ring.

Twilight took the ring in her magic and withdrew a small magic vault from under her chair. She deposited the rung inside and sealed the container. "There," she said. "This way, I can keep you safe until this mess is over."

Spike quirked an eyebrow. "Seriously?" He extended his right hand. His ring seemed to phase through the vault before seating itself back onto his finger. A green aura covered him, dressing him in his uniform. He said, "Twilight, I can't stop doing this any more than you can stop being a princess. You have your responsibilities to the Elements, to Equestria. I have my responsibilities to the Corps, to every being in my sector. Once a Green Lantern, always a Green Lantern."

"I know." Twilight sighed. "I just wanted you to be a hatchling while you still had the chance. Rainbow Dash wants the same thing for her sister."

Offended, Spike drew back. "You said you trusted us!"

"I do! I do. After I saw what Forest Thing did to you, I panicked! I don't want to lose anypony else the way I lost Starlight!”

“Twilight, we did what we had to do,” said Spike. “We knew the stakes when we accepted our new roles.”

Twilight sighed again. “Yes, I understand; it's the same as when my friends and I took on the Elements. I just wish you weren't thrown into all this madness.”

“Trouble will always seek us out, no matter how much we want to avoid it,” said Spike with a resigned smile.

"I know." Twilight nuzzled her brother. "You nearly died out there. Promise me you'll be more careful from now on."

“I promise!” said the dragon as he returned the gesture.

“Okay then! Come on, the others are waiting for us. We got the conference room this time.”

Spike's stomach gave an angry growl.

Twilight smiled at this. “Yes Spike, let’s get you something to eat first!”





Spike licked the last bits of sapphire dust from his fingers as he and Twilight entered the conference room. Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor were sitting around a sand table model of Equestria, moving tokens about while the vigilantes listened in on the conversation.

Dash turned to the opened door. "You couldn't convince him either, right Twi?"

Lantern said, "I made a promise when I accepted this uniform. This is my life now."

"This is my choice," added Scootaloo. "So long as I am able, this is my responsibility."

"I admire your dedication," replied Celestia with a frown. "I hate to involve children in life and death matters, but you have shown how much we need your abilities in this crisis."

Luna nodded as she shot a sideways glare at Batmare.

Batmare gave a slight nod, but she didn't look back at the Princess of the Night. They agreed to discuss the matter after the conference. The vigilante was grateful that the princess had accepted her request to meet in person. The filly felt far too vulnerable in the dream realm.

Luna stamped a hoof to get everypony's attention. "Now that everypony is here, we must focus on the matter at hoof, Forest Thing, our little brother. We need to get more information on him, but we must also defend Equestria against his attacks, even though we know they are diversions. He'll be prepared for us this time. Canary, Arrow, I know you still have a trick or two you haven't shown him." Luna looked at the other vigilantes. "I hope the same holds for the rest of you."

Grudgingly, Celestia said, "There is a role for each of us. Twilight, Cadence, and I will each protect our own castles."

Luna said, "I will stand ready to go wherever aid is needed. We have divided Equestria into territories. The rest of you will each be assigned one."

"Arrow and Canary," said Celestia, "as much as I disagree with your actions, you have proven yourselves invaluable to Canterlot. That shall be your territory." Glaring at Batmare, she continued. "As for Ponyville, you get a chance, dark knight; one chance. Do you understand?"

Nodding, Batmare replied, "I now know the monster inside me; it almost cost me two of my friends." She turned to Sweetie Belle. "That's why I need your help. Can you lend me a hoof protecting Ponyville? Can you warn me about my own stupidity?"

Sweetie Belle gave a surprisingly happy smile. "I'd be happy to. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, Batmare. Don't be too hard on yourself."

Canary snapped, "What?! You turned her into a machine, and now you're asking her to fight for you?"

"She's not a machine." Batmare sighed. "In her head and in her heart, she's still the same Sweetie Belle we know and love."

Sweetie Belle added, "Batmare just wanted to make me whole again. I convinced her to add a few extras so I could help her." Briefly, she brandished the cannon built into her right forehoof.

"I wanted to keep her safe." Batmare sighed. "But, who could say no to that face?"

Arrow placed a forehoof on Canary's withers as she tensed.

Sweetie Belle looked over to Canary. "Please, I've already forgiven her. Won't you do the same? I swear, it was just an unfortunate accident."

Canary's eyes narrowed. The smile Sweetie Belle flashed was all too familiar. Surely, there was no way she could have been recognized. There was no way that mechanical eye could actually be winking at her.

Quickly, Scootaloo spoke up. "All right, that takes care of Ponyville. What's next?"

"You reside in Cloudsdale, do you not, young Scootaloo?" asked Luna.

"Yes."

"Then, that shall be your responsibility. With the way it drifts in the wind, Alicorn Marevel can use it as an observation post and monitor all that she can see."

Scootaloo smiled proudly.

Shining smiled at Spike. “The Crystal Empire would gladly welcome its hero back. I talked things over with Cadence and Twiley, and they agreed. Besides, the troops keep asking when you'll be coming back."

Lantern blushed. “All right! Crystal Empire it is.” He looked at Twilight, who nodded sadly. Softly, he said, “So that’s really why you wanted to take the ring from me.”

Twilight sighed. “Sorry Spike, I was just being selfish. I didn't want to lose you. This is your call to make.”

“Twilight, you can always come with us!” said Lantern. “Right?”

“Celestia is right. My place is in Ponyville. But, I know you'll be in good hooves, Spike.”

“I will come home after this is over,” said the dragon. “Green Lantern’s promise.”

“Finally, Rainbow Dash,” said Celestia. “Can you cover the territory between Manehattan and Las Pegasus?”

“Sure! And I’ll be home for dinner!”

Batmare picked up a suitcase from a corner of the room and, with a twist of her neck, hefted it onto the table. She tapped the lock plate with her hoof, popping the case open. She said, "These are miniature transceivers. They'll let us communicate with each other over long distances. We'll be able to coordinate with each other and to ask for reinforcements."

Luna and Batmare watched as the others each picked up a transceiver and went to their assignments. After the doors were closed, Luna gestured for Batmare to sit. The alicorn took the seat opposite the filly's. "Now, about your behavior during the battle."

"I know I should have been more careful." Batmare sighed. "That's why I'm trying so hard to make things right."

"That part I know. What I don't is why you felt you had to destroy the timberwolves."

"Why does that matter? They're just bit of wood held together by magic."

Luna shook her head. "Nay. They are living creatures, just like their fur and blood counterparts."

"What?!"

"They are innocents. They were following orders because of a spell."

"No! They're not really alive, just like the golems!"

Luna shook her head. "My brother was raised by them."

"All this time I thought I was showing that I was not a filly without actually harming anypony."

"You're not the only junior vigilante. Why must you show you are more than your really are?"

"Nopony takes me seriously! Marevel is a full-grown alicorn! Lantern was already Hero of the Crystal Empire before he got his powers! I don't have any special powers, but I'm just as worthy as they are."

Your actions have shown that you are still a filly, my dark knight. Your actions almost cost two of your friends their lives. You still have much to learn."

Batmare nodded. “I know. You are right. You all are right. Why does everypony else have to pay for my mistakes? Marevel is right; I should have been the one to face the consequences."

"We are naught but the sum of our experiences. Your guilt will make you stronger, smarter, better. Your punishment is knowing how much your mistakes have cost. I will we keeping an eye on you from now on."

"I understand," said Batmare. "I will keep an eye on me, too."

“May I see your face, dark knight?”

Batmare hesitated. She had already trusted two of her friends with her secret. She had no doubt that Rarity would have to be informed, also. Luna would find out sooner or later; there was no stopping nightmares, or the Night Mare.

The filly removed her mask and shook you her mane. “My name is Diamond Tiara. My parents were brutally murdered in front of me. This is the only thing keeping me sane.”

The Princess of Night sighed sadly. "This is not sanity, but I will not judge. It is a pleasure to meet you, Diamond Tiara. When the two of us are alone, please, just call me 'Luna'. The path you have chosen is fraught with peril. Will you let me be your guide, your teacher?"

Diamond Tiara nodded.

Luna continued, "Then, Diamond Tiara, you are now my personal student of justice."

Deeps of the Everfree Forest:

The Forest Thing calmly lounged in his hammock, enjoying the wild fruit that he had harvested from the forest as his family sunk their claws into the ground, using them as roots to draw in sustenance from the soil. He sighed as he watched with envy. Why couldn't he be as much plant as his family?

The alicorn gave an irritated snarl as he noticed an unnatural glow in the distance. The timberwolves growled in acknowledgement of their alpha's annoyance, but he dismissed them with a wave of his hoof.

“It’s all right! Those two are my problem. Keep feeding from the earth; I’ll be back in no time!”

The timberwolves grumbled as he leapt from his hammock, but they followed his orders.

A blind pony could have homed in on the glowing crystal beacon that guided Forest Thing to the cave.

As he entered, he grumbled, "What do you want now? Haven’t you annoyed me enough for a week?”

“Don’t take that tone with us, young colt!” said an ethereal voice through the crystal. A casual observer would have sworn it was Celestia's evil twin who spoke. The voice continued, "What progress have you made?"

“Nothing has changed since my last update. We just need to wait. They think they have won because they took care of my diversion so quickly, but I had planned for that contingency. Our timetable is still on track."

"Why are you just lying around on your flank?" asked a threatening, male voice. "We gave you a job, Eclipse Darkness, one job!"

“I do not answer to that name!” said Forest Thing. "You'd think the two of you could have thought of a name that wasn't redundant."

"Enough already," said the first voice. "You are our son, and you will always be Eclipse Darkness to us." She sighed. "Now, please explain how you can be making progress by doing nothing."

"I warned you that I would have to encroach on my sisters' territory for the final phase. After the first attack, their guard is up, and that make collecting the elements needed to free you much more difficult. I need to see how they have set their defenses so I don't waste any more of my resources."

A new crystal materialized in front of Forest Thing. It identical to the one used to summon the golems in the first attack. “You have our resources to bring to the battle. Free us, child. Make your parents proud!” said the feminine voice.

Forest Thing rolled his eyes and then grabbed the crystal with his magic. He stormed off without another word.

His mother timberwolf was waiting for him at the mouth of the cave. She nuzzled him.

“Don’t worry, mother. I swear everything is going to be all right.”

The wolf howled softly.

“Yes, I’m fine, just sick of those two. Come on, let’s go back to eat!”

Ponyville, Rich manor:

“This way,” said Diamond Tiara, opening the door for Rarity and Sweetie Belle. “Randolph! Are the guests’ rooms ready?”

The butler bowed to Diamond Tiara. “Yes, little miss, and we also prepared some welcome tea.”

“Thank you. Is anypony thirsty?” asked Diamond Tiara turning to her guests.

Sweetie Belle raised a hoof, and the butler gave her a cup. Then, he offered a cup to Rarity, who reluctantly accepted.

“Thank you, Randolph. That will be all for now,” said Diamond Tiara.

The butler bowed again and retired in silence.

“Does he know how you've been spending your nights, darling?” asked Rarity, frowning.

“Of course.”

“He helped the doctor treat my wounds,” explained Sweetie Belle.

“He’s an excellent nurse,” confirmed Diamond Tiara. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know what would happen to me.”

Rarity shook her head. “I don’t like it!”

“I know I acted like a fool,” said Diamond Tiara, taking a sip of her own tea. “But don’t worry, it won’t happen again. Also, my father’s construction company will take care of your home in no time.”

“That’s not what I mean! This happened because of your caretaker, who lets you do as you please. He should be trying to get you back into a normal life, not letting you risk your life on criminal scum!”

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Canary. What I do with my life is my own business.”

Rarity sighed. “I wonder what Filthy Rich would say if he saw what his daughter has become.”

“Nothing compared with what my mother would say.”

Rarity let the subject drop. If Sweetie Belle were willing to give her friend another chance, Rarity had no choice but to support her.

Dream Realm:

Although the Dream Realm was Princess Luna's domain, she was reluctant to visibly intervene in a pony's dream. Normally, she would give a nightmare a gentle nudge, guiding the dreamer to present an effective defense. While the bulk of her work involved children, adults also benefitted from her guidance. Only the most extreme cases would prompt her to appear in a fashion that the dreamer could recognize. While what she observed this time was not the stuff of nightmares, it was ample justification for her intervention.

It was rare for a pony to dream of timberwolves. It was even rarer for such a dream to be anything but a nightmare. There was only one pony who would actually dream of being a timberwolf. Since Luna was able to finish early with the children, she slipped into this dream. As she expected, she found herself is a clearing around a crystal-clear lake with a redwood tree near one bank. This was the scene she had remembered from the window spell.

The wolves were gathered around a male, slightly bigger than the rest of them. His wood was dark, almost black. His eyes green, gleaming with intelligence.

“Forest Thing,” called Princess Luna.

The big wolf stared at her and growled.

“It would be a lot easier if you talk to me in your regular form,” noted Luna.

The wolf gave her a dismissive snort before turning to rejoin his pack.

“We need to talk,” said the blue alicorn.

Luna’s horn glowed, and the wolf was forced to transform into the male alicorn.

“How did you know this was my dream?”

“You are the only pony I know who can live among these pony-eating creatures and wishes to be one of them.”

A glance of annoyance appeared on Forest Thing’s face. “Pony-eating? How can you ponies be so ignorant? As always, you instantly despite what’s different. A timberwolf would never eat a pony. Never.”

“They attack us!”

“Because you invade our territory. Most of the time, the packs avoid contact with your kind,” explained Forest Thing. “And why I am discussing this with you?”

"Because you're a pony," said Luna. "No matter how much you wish otherwise, you'll never truly be one of them. That's why I'm here, to show you where you belong."

“I belong with my pack!” shouted Forest Thing. “If it wasn’t for the damn geas, you wouldn’t even know about my existence.”

Luna looked her in brother’s eyes, her gaze piercing his soul. “Our parents are the reason that you don’t like ponies, aren't they?”

“Obviously,” said Forest Thing. “The first being who really cared about me was the timberwolf who found me. Ponies have brought me nothing but pain.”

Luna shook her head. “Mother and father were horrible ponies. No decent pony would act like them!”

“I know it wasn’t your fault that they turned me into their pawn,” said the male alicorn angrily. “But that’s what ponies do. They use everyone and everything to reach their goals.”

“Only the worst of us do that. You cannot judge based on the actions of a very few,” insisted Luna.

“I do not. All I want is to be left alone. Is that too much to ask?” explained Forest Thing. “That is why I created these diversions. I could not care less about ponies, but the sooner our parents are free, the sooner I will never have to see another of your kind again."

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think they’ll keep their promise? From what I heard from the stories, all they care about is pony supremacy. You are much too useful for them to simply abandon.”

Forest Thing chuckled at this. “Promise? What promise? You have no idea who they really are. How old were you when they were captured? Two months? You never got to know them. They trained me to be a warrior from birth. They taught me strategy, tactics, everything they know. Unlike you and Tia, I know how they think; I am prepared to simply vanish. Once they're free they're your problem, not mine, not anymore."

Luna gave a slight shiver at that contingency. Calmly she said, "Please brother, help us. You know this isn't what you want to do. I know we can find a way to break the geas; just stop while you still can."

Forest Thing smirked at her. “Sorry, but it's much too late. This plan has been in motion for centuries; no matter what anypony does, it's only a matter of time before they're free. I'm just using the resources they provided to make sure that happens sooner rather than later.”

He turned his back on Luna and walked back to his dream pack.

“What are you planning to do?” demanded the Princess of the Night.

“This interview is over,” said Forest Thing, not even bothering to turn back.

Luna nodded coldly. “I will have my answers, dear brother.”

Forest Thing howled. The guttural, penetrating wail echoed in the dreamscape.

The timberwolves heeded the call and leapt onto the princess, forcing her to the ground. The trees came to life and bound her hooves with their root. Forest Thing hovered over his sister and growled. The timberwolves dispersed, giving him a clear shot.

"You cannot win here, sister; this is my mind." He unleashed a titanic blast from his horn, straight at her back.

To his surprise, instead of banishing the princess, the energy flowed over her and spread in all directions, dissolving the landscape wherever it touched. Casually, Luna rose to her hooves. "It may be your mind, but this is my realm."

Forest Thing focused, restoring the previous environment.

“Like I said, this is my mind. Just like in my forest, I’m the strongest here.”

Hundreds of vines emerged from the ground and entangled Luna. The ground around her turned to swamp and golems arose. The shambled over to the trapped alicorn and began forcing her down into the depths of the swamp.

Forest Thing commanded, "Leave now."

The vines and the golems suddenly froze. Luna grew to titanic proportions, her size hinting at her true power.

“Do not underestimate me in my own realm, brother.”

Forest Thing clad himself in his battle attire. He glowed with power as he focused his will. Inexorably, he forced Luna into the depths of the swamp.

“It’s over!” said Forest Thing.

Luna smiled. “Indeed.”

Forest Thing turned toward a whizzing sound. He jumped back, startled, when something struck him in the barrel and detonated with a loud bang. Concentrating, he saw a dozen arrows approaching, just before they simultaneously struck and detonated in a bright flash.

As he covered his eyes with his left wing, he returned fire with a blast of pure energy. Peeking between his primaries, he saw the bolt flying straight toward a blue-clad archer; the masked pony ignored the blast as he readied another arrow. The fool was sure to be disintegrated.

To Forest Thing's annoyance, an emerald shield appeared in front of the archer and deflected the blast away.

Sourly, he turned to the source of the shield. "I knew I recognized that shade of green. Are you ready for me to compost you again, dragon boy?"

Lantern shrugged. The baby dragon tried to hide his trepidation as Forest Thing prepared an even more powerful response. Suddenly, like a billiard ball, that alicorn was slammed away, replaced by an alicorn mare in a red body suit with white cape and boots.

Forest Thing hydroplaned on the swamp before sinking, splashing everyone else. He then rose to face his attacker.

“Who might you be?”

“The name is Marevel, Alicorn Marevel.”

Forest Thing snorted and pawed the swamp. As he started his charge, he felt yet another blow to his barrel. Electricity from the projectile arced over his body, making him stumble.

Sweetie Borg stood with her cannon forehoof leveled at the alicorn. A wisp of smoke curled from the barrel.

"Don't move a muscle."

Dash landed beside the girl. "You know, you're supposed to say that before you shoot."

“Sorry! I really wanted to try this thing!”

Forest Thing sighed. “What is this?”

“It’s a shared dream,” explained Luna. “I warned you, brother. You cannot beat me in my realm.”

Forest Thing ground his teeth, and then looked at his dream-pack.

“Destroy!”

The timberwolves multiplied like amoebas, and a dozen charged to each vigilante.

Somepony called them all.

“Hey puppies!”

The wolves turned to the voice. It came from a filly in a bat costume.

“Fetch!”

She threw a metallic sphere to the timberwolves. It multiplied just as the timberwolves had done. The creatures caught them in the air, only to be incinerated seconds later.

Forest Thing turned to Batmare as well.

The vigilante nodded.

“Yes, I was the one who killed the wolves back in Ponyville. That was my mistake; stop blaming Lantern.”

Forest Thing glared at her. “Good to know. My apologies, dragon boy.”

Batmare continued, "You never let anypony close enough to see that they're really living beings. That was your mistake. I hate you for that; I thought they were like golems."

Forest Thing charged toward the bat vigilante. One he had committed to the attack, the fired her ascender and pulled herself out of harm's way. Dash stopped him in his tracks with a super-speed tackle, releasing him as soon as he fell. Arrows, green grenades, hard rubber projectiles, and a lightning bolt hit him simultaneously.

Princess Luna walked to the stunned alicorn and said, "I do not want to hurt you, brother, but I must have my answer."

“Four. To get to the other side. One point seven, seven, two . . .”

“I didn’t ask you for the square root of pi!” said the Princess. “I’m asking what you are you up to!”

“Is not that complicated. I’m just reversing the original spell that the original Dragon Lord used to seal them. Easy to do, but it takes time. In the meantime, they gave me the resources to create more golems. Have fun.”

Luna said a word that sounded too strange in her feminine voice, unmindful of the children in the vicinity. She turned to the vigilantes.

“The time for dreams is over! Everypony wake up!”

Her horn glowed, and the heroes disappeared from sight. Luna turned to Forest Thing one last time.

“Brother please, we can help you. We’re family after all!!”

A new group of wolves materialized into the dream. “They are my true family. You mean nothing to me.”

The dream world disappeared as Forest Thing began to wake.
> League 09
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Third assault


Sweetie Belle was brought down to earth with a muffled thud. In her haste to follow Princess Luna's order, she had awoken with a start and leapt out of bed, only to be forcibly restrained by the umbilical cables that were refreshing her systems. With an annoyed huff, she detached herself and activated her floodlamps, illuminating Rarity, who dozed peacefully, oblivious behind her sleeping mask.

Sweetie Belle yelled, "Rarity! Rarity! Wake up! Wake up!"

The fashionista responded with an unladylike snore.

Frowning, Sweetie Belle activated her public address system. A loudspeaker dropped down from her barrel.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Rarity launched a flying buck toward the disturbance as she whipped off her sleeping mask. Sweetie Bell's shield spell, amplified by her cybernetic systems, was barely able to stop Rarity's hoof before it reached Sweetie's face.

As Rarity dropped to the floor in an attack stance, Sweetie Belle said, "Remind be to send Opal to wake you up next time."

Rarity said, "Don't do that, Sweetie! I'm not a morning person."

"No time for that! Forest Thing is attacking!"

“What?!”

Diamond Tiara opened the door and turned on the lights. She was wearing a lavender bathrobe, and her mane was crowded with curlers.

“Are you ready? We have a tough day ahead of us.”

“What’s going on? What are you talking about?” asked Rarity, more calmly.

"We just got out of a shared dream with Princess Luna," explained Sweetie Belle. "We tracked down Forest Thing."

“He said he's sending more golems. We better hurry,” said Diamond. “Randolph!”

The butler appeared behind his little miss, carrying a tray laden with nutrition bars.

“I was planning to serve a proper breakfast, but, given the circumstances, this will have to do,” said Diamond Tiara, taking one bar in her teeth. “Follow me!”

Each of the Belle sisters accepted a bar and ran behind the filly, eating as they went.

Diamond Tiara guided them to the living room, right in front of an old family portrait that was over the fireplace. The portrait showed Filthy and Spoiled Rich, carrying a swaddled Diamond Tiara in their hooves.

Diamond Tiara stared at the portrait for a second, and then she pressed a series of bricks. A panel beside the hearth slid away, revealing a staircase. The pink filly looked at Rarity and said, "I don't think I need to ask you to keep my lair's location a secret."

Coldly, Rarity replied, "Consider it a professional courtesy."

"Thank you. Now follow me."

The staircase led to a construction elevator. Rarity struggled to make out details of the shaft as they descended.

When the door opened at the bottom, Rarity stepped back, startled by the curtain of black that flew out of the way, revealing a pathway dimly lit by strategically placed firefly lanterns. She shivered. "Bats. Why must you have such disgusting creatures with you?"

Diamond Tiara said, "They're special in their own way. Besides, this is their home; I'm just a tenant."

Rarity grimaced. "Tenant? What does a bat do with money?"

"I pay them in fresh fruit. It's a good deal for everyone."

The filly led the Belles down the path. A lantern on her desk illuminated a remote control. Diamond Tiara pressed a button. Shutters dropped away from more powerful lights. A ponyquin with her Batmare suit was close at hand, and further away, an array of crystal panes was set in a giant frame. Colored dots twinkled in each pane. Except for the one marked "Ponyville", each pane was labelled with the name of a major metropolitan area.

“What are those?” asked Rarity.

“They're thaumatic activity monitors. We'll be able to tell exactly where the golems are by looking for unusual fluctuations in the magic field."

"That's very pretty, but what is it telling us?" asked Rarity.

Sweetie pulled a cable from behind her ear and connected it to the equipment.

“It's the same as before; they're attacking from the sewers. Canterlot, Crystal Empire, Ponyville.”

Diamond Tiara frowned. "We know those are just diversions." She shouted, "Doctor!"

The stallion appeared, yawning. “What now?”

“I need you to monitor the array. We need to know exactly where the Forest Thing is."

“The male alicorn?”

“Exactly.” said Batmare, who had just finished putting on her costume. She turned on more lights, revealing the aerial transport.

“The autopilot is set to drop you off at Luna's tower,” she said to Rarity. “Find Arrow; knowing him, he's already fighting the golems in the sewers. In the meantime, Sweetie Borg and I will take care of the menace in Ponyville.”

"Wait a minute," said Rarity. "Arrow already knows what's going on?"

"Everypony else knows; you're the only one whose identity Luna doesn't know. Now hurry!"

Rarity looked at Sweetie one last time.

“But . . .”

"I'll be fine, sis. Go! Arrow needs your help!"

As the transport's ramp lowered, Randolph entered, carrying the Canary's costume and telescopic bo staff.

As she used her magic to don her costume, Canary said, "Fine." Glaring at Batmare, she said, "If it weren't for what you did to my sister, I'd be happy to make you a proper costume. I'll still do it to stop this crime against fabulosity."

Batmare shrugged. "No offense, but while I love your dresses, your costumes are just too froufrou for me."

Canary pouted, offended by the obvious gaucherie, but she accepted the criticism

The Canary trotted into the jet as Batmare and Sweetie Borg galloped through the tunnels toward the threat.

“This is gonna be fun!” cheered Sweetie Borg. “My very first mission!”

Batmare glared at her. “Just be careful, all right? I don’t want you to hurt somepony, too.”

Sweetie Borg smiled. “Okay! I’ll be careful!”

It had taken less than five minutes to get Canary to Canterlot, but the Royal Guard and a wall of golems stood between her and Arrow. She tapped her commlink and said, "Arrow, where are you?"

"Not sure. Smells like bad cheese and worse perfume."

The doctor's voice came over the link. "Go to Rennet and Mane. There should be a ponyhole cover in front of the newsstand."

Canary rushed to the location. She used her telekinesis to remove the cover as she donned her rebreather. She dropped into the stream of golems and galloped through them. Over the din of their babbling, she could hear bow striking mud. As she homed in on the sound, she saw Arrow on the bottom rungs of a maintenance ladder. Golems were coming too quickly for him to escape. She spat out her rebreather and turned back. Her shriek destroyed the golems she had passed. With her bo staff, she cleared her way to Arrow as she decapitated golem after golem.

Once there were no golems between them, Arrow yelled, "Duck!" He shot a volley of concussion arrows over Canary's head, dispatching the stragglers.

After breathing a sigh of relief, Canary said, "How many got past you?"

“Zero. This time, Forest Thing sent them against us.”

“What?!”

“Apparently, he thought we were a bigger threat than the princesses. He must have remembered our auras from the dream. I knew it was a bad idea, but my aunt didn't give us a choice."

“I see. I just hope we can stop him before he can release his parents.”

Ponyville Outskirts, Merry Meadow:

The golem horde divided its attention between Sweetie Borg and Batmare. The unicorn yelled, "I thought they were after the alicorns!"

Batmare flung another batarang with her mouth before she replied, "You heard Twilight; they're ignoring her now."

A parabolic dish rose from a shaft telescoping from Sweetie's back. Her horn glowed, and the crystal array hidden under her exoskeleton amplified the spell, projecting a beam of destruction from the dish, undercutting several of the creatures that charged at her.

“Cool!”

Slowly, the legless creatures dragged themselves toward each other, fusing together into a larger golem.

“Sweetie, aim for the head!” said Diamond Tiara, throwing a small grenade at the creatures. The device detonated mid-air, decapitating several of the golems.

Sweetie Borg replied, “Sorry, I just wanted to see what this thing was capable of!”

“We can train on the cave later! Now I need you to focus! Please, this is no game!”

A new wave of golems approached from the swamp. Batmare mentally tallied her inventory. "They're going to run me out of ammunition." Angrily, she placed a forehoof on her ear. "Randolph! Take over for the doctor."

“On it, Little Miss.”

“I guess you have something else for me, right, kid?” asked the doctor.

“Yes. As soon as Canary is in Canterlot, send the aerial transport to our position."

"It should be there soon."

This time, the horde moved to flank the heroes. Despite fillies' best efforts, the horde slowly closed in from all directions. Batmare's ears perked at the sound of a familiar hum. She yelled, "Get ready!"

Sweetie Borg smiled as Batmare jumped onto her back. Thrust nozzles extended from her exoskeleton. A blast of compressed air boosted her jump and blew back the golems. The creatures tried to regroup. They had started the first level of a pyramid when a concussion grenade dropped in their midst. The resulting detonation bought just enough time for the heroes to enter the transport unmolested.

For several minutes, Batmare flew the transport in a lazy circle above the horde as it began to form another pyramid in an attempt to reach the aircraft. Once satisfied that no more creatures were approaching, she said, "Time to try my new toy." She firewalled the throttle as the pressed the new red button on the control panel.

The aircraft shot skyward as it was suddenly relieved of a great weight. From a safe altitude, the fillies watched as a fireball engulfed the remaining golems.

“Cool!” said Sweetie Borg.

“Yeah, I must admit, that was pretty impressive. I should give a raise to the doctor.”

Sweetie Borg smiled happily.

“That was fun!” cheered the unicorn. “Now, shall we join my sister?”

“No.”

“But . . . we destroyed all the enemies.”

Batmare nodded patiently. “Yes, but, more can come. Besides, the Arrow and Canary can let us know if they need any reinforcements.”

“Oh, right! Sorry, it's just that this superhero thing is new for me,” apologized Sweetie Borg.

Batmare sighed. “It takes time to get used to.”

Crystal Empire:

Shining Armor smiled in anticipation. Spike was not a morning person, and the white stallion had just the thing to wake up the purple laggard. He had promised to give Spike the full Crystal Guard treatment, and the Guard would be ecstatic to have their hero train alongside during their pre-dawn PT. With his telekinesis, he brought his flugelhorn to his lips; he had a special version of "Reveille" just for this occasion.

The door burst open, and Lantern ran headlong into Shining Armor. Startled, the stallion dropped the flugelhorn, firmly seating its bell on Lantern's head.

Lantern snarled as he struggled to dislodge the annoying instrument. Shining Armor quipped, "You don't look half bad as a unicorn."

The horn came off with a squelch. Lantern replied, "Golems are inbound! Send backup!"

As his brother flew off, Shining Armor cast a communications spell. He shouted, "We are under attack! Deploy and cover the sewer entrances!"

The sleeping guards quickly prepared for duty while the others flooded out to their pre-assigned duty stations. The golems were already on the streets, but there were few civilians out.

To everypony's surprise, the creatures showed no interest in the palace. Instead, they made their way toward the low-flying Lantern. The guards took advantage of the creatures' momentary inattention to dispatch as many as they could, but there were far too many for them to handle.

Lantern shouted, "Don't let them surround you!" He flew to the train station, leading the creatures away. The Guard followed, picking off the creatures from the rear.

Lantern landed with his back to the barrier. The extreme cold outside the barrier would prevent the golems from attacking from that direction. As before, he used his ring to create a funnel, but this time, he was at the end; he was now bait.

The horde flooded in, intent on their objective. A simple warp gate teleported them away to uninhabited Ponynesia before they could reach Lantern. Lantern smiled grimly. It was a bit boring, but this trap would hurt no one. All he had to do was hope that he had enough willpower to handle the entire horde.

As the minutes passed, Marevel's voice crackled over the commlink. "Hey, Lantern! Need a hoof?"

"I think we can wait things out; they're all coming for me."

"What if I speed things up a bit?"

"Sounds good. How soon can you get here?"

"Now. Brace yourself!" announced Marevel, as she showed up.

Lantern focused his willpower to its maximum. Outside the trap, the Crystal Guard had taken shelter, clearing the way for Marevel. A red and white tornado collected all the creatures and shoved them into the funnel. Minutes later, there were no more to be found.

With the threat gone, they Crystal Guard came out to welcome their heroes.

Canterlot Castle, Princesses’ personal library: 

The royal sisters were sickened by what they read. A lesser pony would have been driven insane long ago. These were records from the rule of Death Ride, the first emperor, their grandfather.

Celestia grumbled, "I can't believe the author. He actually enjoyed recording every last detail of each of father's atrocities."

Luna replied, "If you think that is bad, this one actually bragged about how mother murdered a foreign queen and then forced the princess to bury her mother before digging her own grave."

"What?!"

"No wonder Chrysalis hates ponies."

"How in the world is she still alive?"

Luna shrugged, "Apparently, mother was too busy laughing when Discord rescued the changeling."

Celestia groaned. "I can't take any more of this."

As the sisters took a break, Luna had an epiphany. "Wait a minute! The only ponies sick enough to write about these things would be our parents!"

"So, we don't have to read any more of that?"

Nodding, Luna replied, "We can ignore everything in their mouthwriting."

“You’re right!”

The two attacked their task with renewed vigor. Their parents' works were cast aside, greatly speeding the process. Finally, after three hours of hard work, they found it.

Celestia said, "This is it; the spell from the original Dragon Lord."

Luna pored over the document. "It looks easy enough. Getting the essence of your enemy seems to be tricky; you need to get close enough to get a piece of their body."

Celestia added, "The keepsake would be even tougher to find; it has to be something precious to the target."

Luna said, "In order to reverse the spell, our brother would need to reunite all of the spell components, and the original caster."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Celestia smiled. "Then he can't do it; everypony knows that the original Dragon Lord died in that battle."

Luna frowned. “Unless he can make substitutions and use descendants instead.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “What? Do you have any idea how long it would take to collect everything!?”

Luna nodded. “He said he had been working on this for centuries, plenty of time to collect everything he needs. Obviously, he saved the ones closer to us for last.”

“Like the dragons . . .”

“We must warn them about the coming danger,” said Luna.

Canterlot sewers:

Since they were able to create a bit of separation between waves of golems, Arrow was able to bait the creatures into an ambush. The Royal Guard thinned the creatures as they entered the sewers, and Arrow stood behind a chokepoint, allowing only two creatures to face him at a time. With couriers feeding him supplies through a ponyhole, Arrow could rearm while Canary fended off the creatures with her screams.

In the end, they finished all the golems in two hours.

“Is just me, or was this too easy?” asked Canary, worriedly.

“He did keep us busy for hours. Maybe that's all he wanted to do.”

“Well, he’s being forced to do all this,” grumbled Canary.

“What's your status?” asked Luna via the commlink.

“We’re done in Ponyville!” said Batmare.

“Same here in Canterlot!” said the Arrow.

“A bunch of those things intercepted me halfway to Manehattan. They were easy to dispose of,” giggled Dash.

“We took care of them in time for PT and breakfast,” said Lantern.

“I helped!” added Marevel.

“Perfect! Lantern, I need you to go to the Dragon Lands! Protect the Dragon Lord. She is Forest Thing's target.”

“On it!” answered the emerald guardian.


…


The rim of the caldera was completely covered with cheering dragons. The caldera itself was clear, except for two dragons locked in unarmed combat. The larger was a dark green brute with cobalt blue spikes and a yellow belly. The smaller was turquoise blue with dark blue spikes and a robin's egg blue belly; it was none other than the Dragon Lord herself, Ember.

Although she was dwarfed by her opponent, Ember had locked his arms and wings in a particularly painful hold. The green dragon screamed, kicking feebly. Abruptly, he stopped, going limp.

Half of the crowd groaned in disappointment as the other half cheered.

GO, GO LORD EMBER!”

“CRUSH HIM!”

“KILL, KILL! DESTROY, DESTROY!”

Ember smiled as she picked up a small boulder. She flew over her opponent and yelled, "VERDICT?"

The cheering dragons chanted, "DO IT! DO IT!"

Ember flung the boulder at her opponent's head. To every dragon's surprise, the rock disintegrated into a cloud of green dust just before it struck. A collective groan of disappointment filled the air.

Ember looked back. Hovering above her was a baby dragon in green body suit with black limb coverings and white gloves and boots.

“Are you out of your mind?!” asked Lantern. “What the hay are you thinking?”

Ember groaned. "It was pumice, Spike. His head is a lot harder than that. Why are you all dressed up?"

"I'm here to protect you; you're in grave danger."

“What?”

Lantern nodded. "A crazy alicorn called 'Forest Thing' wants to do who knows what with you."

In a mocking tone, a red dragon from the crowd said, "Do you think we're afraid of your kind, puny dragon-shaped pony?"

Lantern turned, annoyed. "Not the time, Garble. This is serious!"

“So is our tournament!” replied another dragon.

“Tournament?” asked Lantern.

Ember nodded. "If we can't talk things out, we form teams and fight it out. I set things up so that we have a tournament each month; if there are no disputes, we use it to set our combat rankings."

As the two landed, Lantern groaned, "Well, that's different."

Smiling, Ember asked, "You want to take me on? This is a great way to work out your frustrations."

"Thanks, but we have a situation. There's a really dangerous pony after you!"

"Easy, Spike!" said Ember. "We're dragons; there's no way a little pony can hurt us. Come on! Why don't you join in the fun?"

“What?!” asked Spike.

Garble yelled, "Shut up or put up, pony lover!"

Exasperated, Spike created a huge green extension of his hand and dragged Garble in front of him. "I told you Garble; this is not the time. The Dragon Lord is in danger!"

Smirking, Garble said, "We dragons are tougher than you think, pony." He pulled himself to his full height. “And you know what? You pushed me to our arena. That means you challenged me to a fight.”

Spike facepalmed. “Garble, I don’t have the time for this!”

“You should have thought of that before interrupting our tournament!” said the red dragon, flexing his muscles.

Lantern rolled his eyes. His body glowed green as he hit Garble with a double tiger claw palm strike. The red dragon flew out of the crater and crashed to the ground, unconscious. "There, I won. Now, Ember, please! That alicorn is a lot stronger than I am.

Ember put a finger on his lips. “Spike, stop worrying. I can handle any pony. We can handle any pony.”

“But Ember . . .”

“No, that’s my final word. Now leave or sit with the others. Please.”

Storm clouds gathered as Spike scowled. The skies opened up and the caldera greedily drank the rains. The crater began to tremble as hundreds of trees grew out of the now-soaked soil and charged against the dragons.

Lantern created several chainsaws with his ring, but where one tree fell, two rose to take its place.

“Forest Thing!”

The alicorn of the forest appeared between the trees. He raised an eyebrow. “Why do you always have to stand in my way, dragon boy?”

Spike stood between the alicorn and the Dragon Lord, spreading his arms. “I won’t let you touch my friends, Forest Thing.”

His anger flew toward the alicorn in a verdant blast. A wall of trees sprang up, absorbing the ire. Forest Thing made a show of yawning. "You know you're no match for me, dragon boy. Lucky for you, I'm in a hurry."

The trees moved to overwhelm Lantern. As he prepared his ring, Ember pushed him aside. "You're afraid of that?! COME ON GUYS! FIRE!"

As one, the dragons unleashed their fire breath, reducing the soggy trees to ash and exposing Forest Thing.

“I told you, Spike. We’re dragons; we’re tough,” said Ember with a grin.

Lantern was about to reply when Forest Thing surrounded himself with an overwhelming aura.

The emerald guardian gulped, but he created a wall between Ember and the alicorn.

“I won’t let you touch her, Forest Thing! I don’t care how strong you are; my friends are off limits!”

Forest Thing shrugged.

“Believe me, dragon boy. I have no intention of touching your filthy little friend here. I came for the direct descendant of the original dragon lord.”

“But . . . she’s the dragon lord,” said Lantern, concerned.

“Yes, but, she’s not even related to the original,” explained Forest Thing, turning his back to the confused dragons. “This guy, on the other hoof . . .”

More trees grew out of the ground, trapping the unconscious Garble.

Lantern gasped. “What?”

“Thank you for knocking him down for me. Have fun, dragon boy.”

Golems and more living trees appeared and attacked the dragons.

“What?” asked Ember.

“I warned you!” said Lantern, sending powerful blasts against the golems. “Aim for the heads! That’s the only way to stop them!”

Ember shouted, "Use your dragon magic!"

"This is no time for a letter!"

"No! Feel the power of earth!" The other dragons stood with arms raised. Dimly, their hands glowed. "Now strike!" As one, all the dragons, except Lantern, slammed their hands into the floor of the caldera. It quaked like jelly before it started steaming. The trees started to wilt. The ground melted, dropping everyone into a pool of lava. The dragons casually lounged around as their enemies were reduced to ash.

Forest Thing and Garble were long gone.

Lantern flew above the caldera. Tapping his commlink, he said, "I failed. Forest Thing got the descendant of the first Dragon Lord."

“You couldn’t save Ember?” asked Batmare.

“We were wrong; Ember wasn't the descendant. It was Garble, an acquaintance of mine. I should be able to track the residual ring energy on him."

"No! Come back with us; we have to outthink him, not outfight him."

Spike nodded, and after apologizing with Ember, he flew back to his friends.

Location unknown:

Garble screamed, and twitched, trying to escape the green magic aura surrounding him. The alicorn's power was far more than a fully-grown adult dragon could handle. The teenager didn't stand a chance.

The dragon faded to gray as the last of his essence was transferred into a small crystal, adding to the other spell elements that Forest Thin had been collecting over the centuries. The counter spell was finally complete.

The crystal glowed with all its power, creating a portal.

A white hoof came out of the wormhole, followed by a dark blue one.

After their hooves, the lovers followed.

The stallion looked like a male version of Luna. He was taller, more muscular, and dressed in black barding. His cutie mark was a red lightning bolt coming from a black cloud.

The mare could easily have been mistaken for Celestia. Her cruel expression and her cutie mark, a flaming axe, showed her true identity.

The princesses' parents, the lost generals, Dark Moon and White Nightmare had returned.

“Finally!” said White Nightmare, enjoying the breeze. “After all these years, we’re finally free!”

“We have to thank our son. Slow as a slug, but he managed to achieve his goal.”

They looked around, but he was nowhere to be found.

Finally, White Nightmare noticed a small rock with some words engraved on it.

With a smile, she read out loud:

“Now you’re my sisters’ problem. I’m out of here.” She giggled. “Charming, isn’t he? He actually believes we won't find him.”

“We’ll deal with him later. Right now, we need to pay our daughters a visit.”

“You’re right. He deserves a little time to enjoy himself now that he freed us for good.”

The two calmly stepped over what was left of Garble. Smiling they strode out toward Equestria. This was a day nopony would forget.
> League 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The arrival of the Lost Generals


Castle of Friendship, conference room:

This was a place where secret identities could be revealed without fear of disclosure, where heroes did not have to worry about revealing their feet of clay. Everypony and every dragon had removed their masks. This was a place where they could meet as people, not super heroes. This was a place where one baby dragon could let everypony know how badly he had failed.

“It was my fault! Dang it, all my fault!” shouted Spike, hitting the wall. “How could I be so stupid? I was supposed to protect every dragon, and I threw Garble where no one could help him.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Spikey-Wikey,” said Rarity in a comforting tone. "I dare say that Garble would test anypony's patience."

"That doesn't matter! Tomar-Re taught me to look at the full picture, but I only paid attention to what was in front of my face."

Diamond Tiara said, "It's not your fault, Spike. It's just a lot like chess; we just didn't identify the right princess. We all forgot that the title Dragon Lord is earned, not inherited."

"I should have known better! I won the last contest!" With that last declaration, Spike shot a burst from his ring.

Just as quickly a green force field intercepted the blast and circulated it along the walls, gradually converting the energy to heat. Sweetie Belle, said, "Careful, Spike! This is your home, remember?"

Spike ignored her as he sat on the floor and moped. "I could have saved him." Bitterly, he took the ring from his finger and flung it.

Blue Blood caught the ring with his magic and tossed it back at Spike. The baby dragon ignored it as it bounced off his head and landed in his lap."

“Put it on, Spike,” said the former prince. “This isn’t over yet.”

Spike glared at him. “Are you joking?! Can you imagine what would happen if Celestia and Luna went bad at the same time? Their parents are a million times worse!"

Scootaloo cuffed him on the back of the head. "You can't quit on us now, Spike. We need every pony, or dragon, we can get."

The dragon sighed. "Beware my power." The ring flew back onto his finger. "Seriously, though, you saw what Forest Thing could do. How can we even stand a chance against his parents?"

"We fight as a team," said Diamond Tiara. "We just need to figure out what weaknesses they might have."

Blue Blood said, “I have an idea. It’s simple, but it’s our best shot.”

Canterlot Castle, throne room:

The waiting was the hardest part. Celestia and Luna knew that their parents would arrive soon. Pegasus patrols had sent word of their impending arrival, and the princesses had ordered the Guard to allow them to pass. Every few minutes, another update would arrive; the escapees seemed to be in no particular hurry. The sisters could only hope that their parents would have mercy on their subjects.

After what seemed like forever, their parents entered the throne room. The much-feared explosive entrance had not come to pass. The pair had simply walked in as if they owned the place, patiently allowing the guards to get their names and announce them as they went from guard station to guard station. They did, however draw the line at the fanfare the heralds attempted to play at the entrance to the throne room; the flugelhorns didn't look quite right when worn as necklaces.

Celestia and Luna stared as their parents entered. All images of the generals had been destroyed long before either sister had reached the age of majority. What descriptions there were in the surviving literature did not do the pair justice. The sisters descended from their thrones. Luna stopped at the base of the stairs while Celestia walked up to her doppelganger, her mother.

The two white alicorns stared at each other for a moment, mirroring each other's actions. Luna moved to view the pair from the side while her father took the position across from her. As tears fell from White Nightmare, Dark Moon began to smile. Finally, the mother broke the silence. "Tia! Lulu! My foals! How I missed you."

The sisters tensed as their mother embraced them with forehooves and wings. “It’s been so long since I held you in my hooves. Look at you now! So beautiful . . . so powerful.”

"We missed watching you grow up. We missed raising you to be the mares you were meant to be," said Dark Moon calmly. "That doesn't matter anymore. Our family is finally reunited."

"We have all the time in the world," added White Nightmare as she finally released her daughters. "Only your little brother is missing, but he's earned some time alone with his pets."

“Besides, this is our moment,” said Dark Moon. “We were able to raise your little brother for a few years, and we've been talking with him over the centuries. They tore you from us before you could even talk.”

"We only got to have you for a heartbeat; we missed almost your entire lives. That will change, I promise," said White Nightmare.

Luna choked out, "Mother . . . father . . ."

Dark Moon stepped back. "You're afraid of us, aren't you?"

“Don’t be ashamed,” said Nightmare, stroking her daughters’ manes with the tip of her new wings. “This was to be expected. You grew up believing those lies the other races keep telling about us.”

Celestia sagged. "That's a relief. We thought you had hunted the other races almost to extinction.”

White Nightmare replied, "That was our biggest regret."

Luna also relaxed.

Dark Moon continued. "Your mother is right. We should have exterminated those pests when we had the chance."

The sisters drew back. The mother said, "Dear hearts, don't you understand? It's just like a garden. You have get rid of the weeds and vermin if you want it to grow up healthy."

Dark Moon laughed heartily. "It's all about survival of the fittest. We can't have inferior beings taking space away from us ponies, now can we? Besides, there's nothing that's quite as much fun as tearing your enemy's head from their neck with your bare hooves."

White Nightmare added, "That's what we wanted, a paradise for the worthy, a paradise for our little ponies. There's no room for vermin in paradise. There's no harm in enjoying your work."

"Enough about us," said Dark Moon. "Why don't you show us around and tell us what you've been doing for the last thousand years."

The sisters nodded. They still had a glimmer of hope, but, somehow, they didn't think their parents would share modern sensibilities.

The tour started in the royal guest suite, the one that Cadence and Shining Armor used when they visited. Luna was quick to point out the modern conveniences and demonstrated their operation. Thankfully, showing the controls for the toilet and the bidet were enough to get the point across.

The next stop was the private dining room. Delicacies for all three races were set on the table. Hearty oatcakes, an earth pony staple, were piled high on a platter. Freshly-roasted pistachios, a unicorn treat, were arranged in a pattern with other nuts. A tureen of ceviche, a pegasus treat, was the parents' favorite; despite their need for protein, such fresh fish was normally reserved only for the most special of occasions.

Refreshed, alicorns walked to the hall of history. Celestia and Luna took turns pointing out the stained glass windows that depicted the highlights: wendigos and unification, the fall of Lady Catrina, the capture of Tirek, the petrification of Discord, the banishment of Sombra, the banishment of Nightmare Moon, and so on.

Stopping before they reached the modern era, Dark Moon said, "Where did you put that cat's head? That must be a magnificent trophy."

Celestia replied, "She's rather attached to it. We're keeping her in Tartarus."

White Nightmare asked, "What about Discord's head? Surely, you smashed it to smithereens when you had the chance."

“We would never kill anyone. Not even him!” protested Celestia.

Frowning, Dark Moon said, "No good can come from leaving that sort of enemy alive. He's sure to attack the instant he senses weakness."

The parents listened politely as their daughters led them through the modern era. Luna concluded with, "And that brings us up to today.”

White Nightmare said, "You poor, poor dears. Relying on this 'harmony' has made you weak. Just look at all of the enemies who came to attack a second time, and how could you even let a filthy dragon live among you?"

Dark Moon added, "You don't have to kill all your enemies; you just hurt them so much that everyone else will know the price of defiance."

"I know you were too young to remember," started White Nightmare, "but your grandfather always said, 'Kill an enemy, and you'll make him a martyr. Cripple an enemy, and you'll make him an example.'"

"We still think our way works better," said Dark Moon. "Kill an enemy, and you never have to worry about him again."

The sisters shrank back, shocked by the sincerity of their parents' words.

White Nightmare moved to hug her daughters. "I know this is a lot to take in, but we'll go slowly. We'll take care of the realm while you learn the right way to rule."

"Take care of Equestria?" Celestia gulped. "You?"

"Only until you're ready," replied Dark Moon. "Our place is on the battlefield, not in the throne room."

As the family continued its walk, White Nightmare said, "We really need to get your hooves dirty. We should track down that changeling that attacked you. Then, you can let her children watch as you pull her apart piece by piece."

Suddenly the generals stopped. Their ears swiveled, and the pair then looked to a beam running across the ceiling. A dark hump was barely visible in the dim light. White Nightmare asked, "Who are you, and what are you doing here, my little pony?"

The figure dropped into the light, revealing that he was a pony in a blue hood.

Luna and Celestia gasped; this could not end well.

"Who am I? I'm just a nopony. What am I doing? I'm listening to some bigots who can't see beyond their own noses.

Dark Moon said, "So, colt, tell us what it is we don't see."

"The galloping plague, the Great Fescue Famine, the parasprite superswarm. Each of those catastrophes could have wiped all the ponies off the face of the planet. All of those were averted because our former enemies helped us in our time of need, just as we had helped them. If we had killed everyone like you wanted, there would be nopony left."

White Nightmare snorted. "I know your type, all talk. Go away; the big ponies are busy."

The figure stood his ground. "No. You will lead us to ruin."

White Nightmare laughed. "Let's see you sto. . . " Without pausing to the complete the sentence, she shot a powerful bolt of magic at the figure. In one fluid motion, he dodged to his left, raised the bow that had been covered by his cloak, and fired a single arrow, straight at White Nightmare's face.

The alicorn's reflexes had been honed by countless battles. It was child's play for her to catch the projectile, millimeters from her forehead. Smiling, she turned to her daughters. "Is this your bodyguard? I like him; he has some small skills."

A soft click drew White Nightmare's attention back to the arrow she was holding. It exploded in her face. Her eye twitched as her smile faded. Her once-pristine face was now coated in soot.

Celestia interjected, "Wait! He's my nephew! We've been trying to get him locked up in an insane asylum for months!"

Luna pointed to an ear with a forehoof and twirled the appendage in circles. "He needs help."

White Nightmare flared her wings, pushing her daughters aside. "Idiot or not, he will pay."

With a sadistic smile, the alicorn charged toward her tormentor. She had already played all of the possibilities in her mind. If he tried another arrow, she could counter with a fusillade of magic bolts. If he tried to retreat, she would stop him with a stasis spell. If he stayed still, she would spank him as if he was a foal.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. The archer seemed to be frozen in fear. Suddenly, he ducked. Once underneath his opponent, he used his magic-enhanced strength to spring upward, catching White Nightmare's hindquarters and throwing her flank over teakettle. He caught her posterior with a buck that propelled him into his aunts.

Celestia facehoofed. "Blue Blood," she groaned.

The masked vigilante smiled at her. “I told you, Auntie. Blue Blood is dead. Now, there’s only the Arrow.

Dark Moon watched with a grim smile as his wife stalked toward the vigilante. The Arrow glared back without a hint of fear.

White Nightmare lifted Arrow with her magic, raising him by his tail until they were face to face. “What do we have here? A brave little pony. Stupid, but brave.”

The Arrow didn’t answer.

"What's under that hood," asked White Nightmare.

“Not your business,” answered the Arrow coldly.

White Nightmare exchanged a look with her husband and then tore at the hood with her magic. The offending piece of cloth did not budge.

"It's enchanted to prevent any moron from removing it," said the Arrow.

"Then who takes it off for you?" countered White Nightmare.

"Someone with more brains than you."

Dark Moon chuckled. “Can you believe the nerve of this pony?”

“I know, right?” said White Nightmare, with a twisted smile. She turned to her daughters. “This is your nephew, you say?”

Celestia nodded weakly. “And my adopted son. Please don’t hurt him.”

White Nightmare’s smile grew wider, examining the vigilante minutely as the held him in a cocoon of magic. Nodding at her husband she said, "By the time we're done with him, he won't be able to see straight. This calls for droit du seigneur."

Nostalgically, Dark Moon smiled. "I thought the age of warriors had ended. We shall give him a proper initiation."

Enthusiastically, White Nightmare said, "Congratulations, colt. You are worthy of us."

The Arrow snorted. “Yeah, right!”

Nightmare’s eyes sparkled with a hint of menace. “I promise we won’t hurt you . . . too much. We just need to convince you where your loyalties should lie.”

As White Nightmare continued her examination, the Arrow gave his aunts a wink and touched behind his ear with a forehoof. Curious, the sisters repeated the gesture. To their surprise, they each found a pair of earplugs. Arrow had done more than just run into them.

Exchanging a meaningful look, the two sisters put on the earplugs.

Defiantly, the Arrow said, "You can torture me all you want. I’m used to it.”

“So much spirit! I'm going to enjoy breaking you in,” said White Nightmare with a laugh. "You'll just love working for us."

The Arrow shook his head. “I'll pass. The only reason I'm here is that I failed to stop your son. Now, I have to keep you from destroying Equestria. Fight as one!"

An ultrasonic shriek reverberated through the hall of history, reducing all the stained glass windows to dust. The generals bent over in pain as their sense of balance was destroyed.

The Arrow broke free from Nightmare's magic grip. Whipping his bow, he struck with all his might. Back, neck, and face were attacked without mercy. The alicorn reacted marginally.

Incensed, Dark Moon grabbed Arrow in his magic and drew him into his punch. Abruptly, Arrow looked to one side. Dark Moon turned his head to follow. A shadow came from his blind side and shrieked directly into his ear.

As Dark Moon screamed in pain, Canary struck the alicorn with her bo staff while Arrow went to White Nightmare. The white general directed a fusillade against the vigilantes, but both easily evaded her attacks.

White Nightmare paused as she prepared an attack that couldn't be dodged. She screamed in anger as an arrow struck her flank and discharged its full charge of electricity.

The vigilantes stood back to back for mutual protection, eyeing their opponents warily. They could see that the effects of the Canary's cry were wearing off.

Celestia and Luna stood, casting a force field between the vigilantes and their parents.

Dark Moon glared at his daughters. “Are you truly defying us?”

“Sorry father, but you are wrong; this is not the way” said Luna.

“And our nephew is right. We should fight as one.”

White Nightmare sighed dramatically. “Oh, two against four. Isn’t this a bit unfair?”

Dark Moon laughed. "It doesn't matter. These foals need a good spanking."

Arrow turned to his aunts. "Stay out of this; children shouldn't be fighting their parents." The turned back to his opponents. "Parents shouldn't be fighting their children."

"Are you out of your mind?" asked Luna.

Arrow nodded. "I went crazy on that island."

Canary added. "I'm following his lead; if he's crazy, what does that say about me?" Her expression turned serious. "Arrow is right. You should not be fighting your parents."

Reluctantly, the sisters dropped their shield. As Dark Moon prepared another magical attack, a swarm of bats flooded into the chamber, causing him to stumble into a wall.

With great annoyance, he spat out some blood. "What now? If there's another clown in costume, I swear I'll . . ."

“You swear you’ll what?” asked a voice above him

Dark Moon looked up, and, as he thought, it was another pony in costume. This one was dressed as a giant bat. On a harness near her collarbone, she held a bat-shaped blade.

The warrior sighed. “Okay, you have my attention. Why a bat?”

“What's the matter? Afraid?” mocked Batmare.

Before Dark Moon could answer, she grabbed the blade with her mouth and flung is at him. With minimal effort, the alicorn caught it with his teeth. He grinned at the filly. This would be no contest.

Batmare simply shrugged and looked Dark Moon in the mouth. The alicorn glanced down. A red light on the side of the projectile was blinking at a progressively slower rate. It turned on solidly. In a cloud of smoke, the batarang detonated.

Batmare dropped from the rafters and caught Dark Moon on the head with the edges of her hooves. She landed gracefully and then bucked him in the chin. As she transitioned to another attack, the general caught her in a foreleg bar.

He forced the leg past where it was meant to move, but she didn't make a sound. He mused, "No mare is that flexible; you're nothing but a little filly, aren't you?"

As she dropped a smoke bomb on the ground, she angrily snarled, "I'm Batmare!"

Dark Moon was unimpressed as the flung her against a wall. Before she could recover, he blasted her with multiple stun beams. Dark Moon said, "That's what happens to naughty fillies when they play too rough."

A sharp pain drew his attention. Canary struck pressure point after pressure point with her bo staff. With unexpected quickness, he clamped Canary's mouth shut between his forehooves. "Oh yeah, I forgot about you." He grabbed her in his magic and threw her against Batmare.

Grinning triumphantly, he turned to his wife. He ducked just in time to avoid the Arrow. White Nightmare had just flung him to join his cohorts.

Growling, Dark Moon said, "Why are you smiling? They shouldn't be giving us this much trouble."

"Come on honey! We were afraid that our daughters had spoiled our little ponies. We have true warriors. Once we turn them to our side, we'll have the generals for our new army."

Dark Moon raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious? I just want to hurt them!”

"Don't let your anger blind you! Can't you see they're terrified? They're not ignoring their fear; they're using it to give them strength." White Nightmare beamed. "This is priceless! These are the sorts of ponies we can use to build our future."

Batmare stood, facing them.

“Sorry, but I already have planned my future!”

With a flick of her forehoof, the filly scattered three small metal balls under the generals. The balls detonated with a bright flash, temporarily blinding the two.

White Nightmare felt something hard gripping her foreleg. "What?!" she exclaimed.

A whirring sound came closer. Batmare rode her ascender, using its speed boost to give extra power to the punch she landed on White Nightmare's nose. Almost casually, the alicorn batted her away with her other foreleg, smashing the filly against the wall. She slumped to the floor, unconscious.

In the meantime, Dark Moon smirked as a couple of Arrow's shots fell short. His smile faded when his hooves were covered in a coating of fast-drying foam. He tried to block the Canary's flying kick, only to find that his hooves were glued to the floor.

As the Canary passed, she attacked Dark Moon with yet another shriek. Arrow followed up the attack with broadheads to the alicorn's wings.

A dome of magic radiated out from Dark Moon. "I'm tired of this!" he shouted. He sent a magic blast toward Canary. Arrow intercepted the attack and fell to the ground, unconscious.

“NO, ARROW!” cried Canary.

White Nightmare caught the mare with a sleeping spell. All three vigilantes were now helpless.

Angrily, Dark Moon strode over with a dagger in his magical grip. Sharply, White Nightmare said, "Remember, Dark Moon, we need them alive."

Dark Moon said, "Don't worry; they'll live. They'll just wish they hadn't."
> League 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Fight as one!


Dark Moon smiled as he swept his wings forward, flinging his daggers at the fallen vigilantes. They were his now; they just didn't know it yet.

Suddenly, a cyan blur surrounded by multi-colored lightning bolts came to a rest in front of his victims. It resolved into a cyan pegasus sporting a blue bodysuit, sky-blue goggles, and a rainbow-hued mane.

The mare spat the daggers out of her mouth and said, "You dropped something."

White Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "And what do you want?"

"To prove a point." Dash hovered and clapped her forehooves together. There was a loud clatter as the parents' barding fell to the floor in pieces. "You said you'd leave when your daughters were ready to rule. They're ready."

Dark Moon growled, "They're too soft, too kind. To rule, they need to be ruthless and strong! They need to kill all their enemies."

"You know, technically, you two could be considered enemies? Would you really have wanted them to kill you?"

White Nightmare snorted, "Kill us? No pony is that strong, that skilled."

Dash looked down at what was left of the barding. "If I wanted you dead, we wouldn't be talking. We all want what is best for Equestria. There's no place here for conquerors."

Dark Moon said, "There are always enemies. What's there to stop the likes of us?" Dismissively, he waved at the fallen vigilantes. "Your friends showed great spirit, but they were no match."

Dash nodded to the princesses. "For anypony else, there would be your daughters. For you, it would be the metaponies." She landed and gave a warm smile.

Nightmare sighed as Moon put a hoof on her shoulder.

“What? You want me, is to ask you? Right?” asked White Nightmare.

The Dash gave the alicorn her best smile.

“Okay, what the hay is a metapony?” said White Nightmare as she rolled her eyes.

Rainbow’s smile grew wider as tiny lightning bolts coursed around her body. “Just ponies with superpowers!”

Dark Moon said, "You really expect us to believe that nonsense? Prove . . ."

In mid-speech, White Nightmare shot a powerful blast of magic at Dash. The next thing she knew, she was being body-checked into her husband.

Celestia and Luna looked on in astonishment and their parents were batted about like balls in a Newton's cradle. One would slam into the other, taking their place while the other flew off sideways. The other would then be slammed back into the first, reclaiming their original position. The process repeated fifty times in ten seconds before Dash returned to her position in front of the parents.

The speedster shrugged. "Nothing personal. Oh, who am I kidding?" In a fraction of a second, she zipped in front of the pair and slapped their faces fifty times in a second. Settling back in her previous position, Dash said, "That was for my friends!"

White Nightmare glared as the speedster. The Dash warily watched the two older alicorns as she took a sprinter's stance.

White Nightmare gestured with a forehoof. Dash accepted the invitation, charging headlong, only to bounce off the invisible shield that the alicorn had cast.

Dash laughed softly. "I didn't even see that coming! Good move, General."

Raising an eyebrow, White Nightmare said, "How can you even hope to be a protector when you refuse to use your most powerful weapon? A newborn could have predicted that trap!"

Pointing a wing at her fallen compatriots, Dash replied, "That's egghead stuff. I'm the muscle."

White Nightmare conjured three flaming axes and flung them at supersonic speed at Dash.The projectiles seemed to pass straight through to mare without leaving a mark. As the weapons embedded themselves into the stone wall, Dash chuckled. "You'll have to be a little faster than that."

The pegasus flew much closer to White Nightmare. "Maybe I should make it easier for you?"

White Nightmare launched a new attack before Dash finished talking. The alicorn frowned when the pegasus simply disappeared and tapped on the alicorn's shield from the rear. "You need to be better, 20% better."

The alicorn rage shifted, glowing white hot as her mane and tail transformed into flames. She projected a dome of flame, expanding out in an attempt to reach the impertinent pegasus. The attack disappeared in a cloud of steam.

Dash quipped, "Watch your step. You do not want to know where that water came from."

From the other side of the room, Dark Moon nodded as the formulated his strategy. "Wait, beloved!"

"What?!" asked White Nightmare.

"She can only deal with one attack at a time."

Dark Moon launched a barrage of daggers at the fallen vigilantes from one side of the room while his wife sent a column of flame from the other. Dash responded, praying her teammates would be fast enough.

At super speed, Dash dumped a bucket of water onto Batmare before flying to intercept the daggers. Batmare shook herself awake before covering the other vigilantes and herself with her cape.

When the flames cleared, the elder alicorns strained to see what remained .It looked like a dark metallic marble. The device detonated with a brilliant flash. As the two tried to clear the spots from their eyes, Dark Moon asked, "Are you sure there's only one metapony here?"

overing above the generals, Dash said, "You, of all ponies, should know that ordinary ponies can do extraordinary things."

The generals blasted at her with their horns. Dash dove out of the way, landing between the two. White Nightmare grabbed her with her magic. "Hey, what gives?" exclaimed Dash as she struggled to fly free.

Smirking, White Nightmare said, "Not so tough when you can't fly. Get her!"

Dark Moon blasted the pegasus with a powerful beam from his horn. White Nightmare screamed when the speedster dropped to the floor and the beam struck her instead. With the spell broken, Dash rocketed up high into the atrium. "Still too slow."

Snarling, White Nightmare flew up to Dash. Dark Moon followed close behind.

This time around, the generals took up positions so that Dash was not directly between them. Smirking, Dash said, "You two have already lost. Why don't you give it up and bug your kids about grandchildren?"

The generals snarled as they charged their next attack, only to be distracted by concussion arrows striking particularly painful locations.

Arrow said, "You should know you can't cast a bubble shield and fly at the same time." He then vanished in a flash of teleportation, only to reappear with a death grip on Dark Moon's hind legs.

At the same time, Batmare's grapnel caught White Nightmare's horn. The tugging distracted the alicorn enough Dash to land a solid buck between the general's wings. Both generals dropped to the ground.

White Nightmare glared at Batmare. "You'll wish your friend hadn't woken you up." As she spoke, Dark Moon dislodged Arrow and bucked him in the stomach, dropping him at Canary's hooves.

"Nephew!" exclaimed Celestia.

"Blue Blood!" whispered Canary.

Smiling, Dark Moon said, "It looks like this one already regrets it."

Blue Blood returned the grin. "It's only pain. You've already lost; you just don't know it yet." Shakily, he rose to his hooves.

Grimly, Dark Moon said, "I am going to enjoy crushing that confidence …" He looked at the other three. “… in all of you."

The general charged, smashing the Arrow into the wall and pounding Canary into the ground with a wing in passing.

Batmare tried to counter with batarangs, but the generals were ready. White Nightmare crushed hers with her magic, while Dark Moon redirected his. The batarang detonated on Arrow's face. The vigilante slumped to the floor.

“Blue Blood!” cried Celestia and Canary in the unison, running to the fallen prince.

Weakly, he opened his eyes and said, "That was unpleasant."

Celestia wiped a tear from her eye and said, "How could you even think you had a chance against alicorns?"

He replied, "If they win, then I have failed Equestria."

Gently, Canary lowered Arrow's hood, revealing his bruised and battered face. "The suit offers protection against common ruffians, not alicorns!"

Just as Arrow was about to reply, Dark Moon caught the mares in his magic and threw them aside. He approached the now-unmasked vigilante and said, "So, this is the face you were trying to hide. Now, we know your secret."

Arrow smirked. "You, and every pony in Equestria who hasn't been living under a rock."

Dark Moon’s eye twitched. “Careful, brat. I don’t have as much patience as my wife.”

Canary took a deep breath. But before she could shriek, Dark Moon caught her around the neck. He growled, "That goes double for you."

“Father, don’t do it!” begged Celestia.

“QUIET YOU!” he said, in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “The time for play is over!”

He slammed Canary onto the ground next to Arrow.

While Dark Moon was dealing with vigilantes, White Nightmare was contending with Batmare and Dash. The alicorn smirked as the pegasus flew around her shield, apparently probing for an opening as the bounced a small rubber ball on its surface.

Batmare called out, "A meter and a half diameter!"

Dash replied, "Good to know; how do I break it?"

"Before I break you?" taunted White Nightmare as she fired a tracking blast at each of her opponents. To her surprise, Dash landed a flying kick to her horn. With the alicorn's concentration broken, her shield dropped. The tracking blast homed in on Dash and struck its caster as the speedster dodged. A heartbeat later, Batmare galloped under the alicorn's belly and leapt as she cleared the mare. The second homing blast struck the alicorn's belly as it attempted to follow Batmare.

"How?!" cried White Nightmare.

Batmare smirked. "Nopony can cast through their own shield."

Dash bucked White Nightmare in the flank while Batmare detonated a glue bomb at the alicorn's hooves.

White Nightmare growled, "You little . . ."

“I warned you, the era of warriors is over! It’s time for the metaponies!” announced the Dash proudly.

“You have amazing powers, I give you that.” White Nightmare smirked. “But that isn’t nearly enough to defeat us.”

“Are you kidding me? If I was my Reverse, you two would be dead already!”

Celestia and Luna shivered at the memory.

White Nightmare replied, “Then you do understand. Power is nothing if you refuse to use it properly.”

“Enough talking!” protested the Dash, charging at White Nightmare again.

This time, Dash felt something was wrong. Her wings grew heavy with ice. She groaned, "Not again."

With gauntlets on her forehooves glowing with heat, Batmare charged White Nightmare. The filly shouted, "Dash! Retreat!"

The alicorn swatted the filly away as if she were no more than a fly. Batmare tumbled, landing in a heap next to the other vigilantes.

White Nightmare blasted as the speedster with a scattershot spell. Slowed by the cold, Dash could not dodge all of the projectiles. Each strike slowed her a little more. Finally, White Nightmare caught her is a freeze spell, encasing her in ice. The general sniffed. "You are no warrior. Without your powers, you're nothing."

As the general set the now-frozen speedster to the ground, she turned to her husband and asked, "So, is anypony left?"

Dark Moon replied, "That's everypony. These three are done for good."

White Nightmare looked over her vanquished opponents. "You fought well . . . for beginners." Nodding to her husband, she continued. "We know you acted out of loyalty to our daughters. Since you proved to be some little challenge, we offer you a reward."

Dark Moon smiled as he nodded back to his wife.

White Nightmare said, "You can join us in rebuilding the glorious pony empire, or you can suffer an ignominious death."

Batmare laughed weakly. "You fools. You are already defeated. You just don't know it yet."

Coldly, White Nightmare replied, "You have a very big mouth for such a little filly. You should know Dark Moon and I had sworn never to take another pony's life. We've changed our minds for you lot."

Arrow spoke for them all. "You cannot threaten a pony who is already dead. We all swore to protect Equestria with our lives."

Dark Moon slowly shook his head. "Such a waste. You would have made fine soldiers in our new empire."

Celestia and Luna move to intervene, but their mother teleported over and cast a lock on their horns. The elder alicorn said, "Not another word from you. They made their choice." She then froze the vigilantes and stacked them next to Dash.

Despite their best efforts, the sisters could not break free. The magic that their mother used had been lost with her, and only she knew the secret to countering it.

Dark Moon teleported the entire family outdoors, leaving the frozen heroes behind. The two generals blasted the roof, collapsing it onto those below.

As one, the sisters shouted, "No!"

White Nightmare moved to hug her daughters. "I know they were dear to you. But, you are supposed to be rulers now. Let this be lesson one. Power comes from respect. Respect comes from fear. Make an example of a few, and the rest will fall in line."

Dark Moon looked back to the castle. "What?!" he exclaimed. The roof that he had seen collapse now looked as though nothing had happened to it, except for the cupola. That piece, along the frozen heroes was being levitated outward. Above it all was an orange alicorn with the build of an earth pony. She was clad in a red body suit, white boots, and a white cape.

The alicorn set the heroes down in front of the castle before turning her attention to the generals.

"Unbelievable!" exclaimed White Nightmare. "How many of these are there?"

The generals flew up to intercept their new opponent. Once they were safely away from their daughters, Alicorn Marevel flung the cupola at them. "I think you dropped something."

As one, the generals blasted the cupola to dust. In that moment's distraction, Alicorn Marevel closed the gap between them and delivered a lightning-charged buck to each general, leaving horseshoe-shaped bruises on top of their cutie marks.

The generals crashed down from the sky, breaking their falls against a statue of their daughters.

Dark Moon growled as he launched himself skyward. With a scream of rage, he landed a widow-maker buck to his opponent's muzzle. He screamed in pain; it had been worse than bucking a brick wall.

Grinning, Marevel picked up the general with her telekinesis and dunked him in a fountain. She said, "Why don't you two surrender before you hurt yourselves any more?"

White Nightmare looked back to where the frozen heroes had been deposited. Destroying them should bring the new threat to heel. To her surprise, they were gone. In their place was a small white filly -- a small white filly with a plasma cannon aimed at her.





While Alicorn Marevel had distracted the generals, Sweetie Borg had busily melted her teammates free of their prisons. Her implants allowed her to convert her magic to infrared, and her communications dish let her deliver it in a wide beam.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I heal fast.” said Dash with a shrug. “And the ice helped with the bumps and bruises.”

“What about you?” asked the filly as she turned to Canary.

“Not that bad. I’m better than Blue Blood, at least,” said the Canary, looking at her friend. “Seriously, what were you thinking?”

The Arrow shrugged, as he tried to stand. “It doesn’t matter, let’s go and . . .”

He fell on his knees. “Dang it!”

Canary supported him from one side as Batmare went to the other. "Our job here is done; we'll just be in the way now. We've forced the generals to waste far too much energy on us. It's up to the metas now."





White Nightmare screamed in anger as she launched herself into the air, taking the statue of Celestia with her telekinesis. She smashed it to smithereens against Marevel's head.

Marevel rolled her eyes. "Everypony's a critic." She blasted the general with a bolt of lightning that forced the general into the fountain where her husband awaited. Marevel shrugged. “The strength of Ponyrcules, and the durability of Equiles.”

The generals helped each other stand. As they exited the fountain and shook themselves dry, Dark Moon grumbled, "We're a couple of idiots!"

"Why?" asked his wife.

"We should have see this earlier. Every time we think we've defeated them, they bring out somepony even stronger."

White Nightmare replied, "They're making us wear ourselves out on their weaker forces to make their reinforcements look stronger."

Hovering above the two, Marevel said, "Do you surrender?"

Sweetie Borg urged, "Come on, give up already! I have dibs on show and tell!"

White Nightmare deadpanned, "Show and tell?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Sweetie Borg said, "I want to tell my classmates all about you two."

Smiling sweetly, White Nightmare said, "Why don't you introduce me to all of your meta friends first?"

Sweetie Borg shrugged. "Well, you've already met Dash and Alicorn Marevel; that's it."

White Nightmare now sported a shark's smile. "That's all I needed to know."

A torrent of flame flew from White Nightmare's horn, straight toward Sweetie Borg. The pavement underneath turned to glass. The filly cast a regenerative shield, converting some of the incoming thermal energy to power the shield and charge the systems, but the attack was stronger and longer than anything she had encountered before. It was only a matter of time before she was overwhelmed.

Marevel flew down to help her friend, but Dark Moon intercepted her. The general said, "Not this time; this is a one-on-one match."

Marevel grinned. "En garde." Their duel began.

Meanwhile, to White Nightmare's surprise, something exploded in her face, disrupting her attack. As she blinked the stars out of her eyes, she was surprised to see miniature missile launchers retracting into Sweetie Borg's flanks. The general groaned, "I can't believe I've burned my face more times today than in all of the Dragon Wars."

As she prepared her next attack, she felt something grab her forehoof. Sweetie Borg's ascender dragged her to the filly, who demonstrated her jackhammer attachment on the general's face.

In the meantime, Marevel and Dark Moon were locked in hoof to hoof combat. The general had years of brutal combat experience on his side. He soon learned it was nothing against the experience of multiple lifetimes. As he was sent tumbling into the fountain, Marevel shouted, "Sweetie! Throw her!"

“What?!”

“DO IT!”

“Okay!” said Sweetie, taking the white alicorn between her hooves, and throwing the general into the sky.

Marevel caught White Nightmare by the mane and whipped her down onto her husband.

The generals picked themselves out of the fountain and rolled on the ground, panting heavily at their daughters' hooves.

"Why didn't Eclipse Darkness warn us about these metas?" complained Dark Moon.

Pointing to the retreating vigilantes, his wife replied, "Shut up! You know what to do."

Dark Moon extended his wings and launched himself toward the vigilantes. Somepony bucked him into the ground. Above him, Dash grinned. "Remember me?"

"Forget this!" exclaimed Dark Moon as he went skyward.

Dash stayed near the ground, countering White Nightmare's charge.

At great speed, storm cloud gathered. Sweetie Borg analyzed the structure before shouting, "Marevel! Stop him!"

Dark Moon cackled. "You're too late!"

Sweetie Belle shouted, "It's a Devastation Cloud! They used that to destroy cities!"

White Nightmare nodded, looking at her daughters. "This time, your little ponies pay the price for your insolence."

Luna looked at her mother with pity in her eyes. "You really don't understand, do you?"

White Nightmare snarled, "Your city is doomed. You have no more metas!"

Celestia said, "We have no shortage of heroes."

White Nightmare sniffed, "Nopony can help you now."

Dark Moon laughed maniacally as he jumped on the massive thunderhead that he had formed. It released a single bolt of red lightning aimed straight for the three vigilantes.

As Dash flew up toward him, he said, "NOPONY CAN SAVE YOUR FRIENDS NOW, NOT EVEN YOU!!"

The thunderhead dispersed as Dash burst through and bucked the general away. "Who said anything about a pony?"

The red lightning struck with enough energy to melt a mountain. Instead of vaporizing the vigilantes, it struck a green shield that redirected and dispersed it skyward, converting it into a spectacular light show.

White Nightmare screamed at Sweetie Borg. "You lied! You said there were no more metas!"

Lantern shouted, "Take that back! I'm not a meta; I'm just an ordinary baby dragon -- with extraordinary responsibilities."

Dark Moon frowned. "Filthy dragon! I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart piece by piece."

The general's horn began to glow. Immediately, Lantern capped it with a green marshmallow. As the general tried to clear his horn, Dash bound his wings with rope. The instant she flew clear, Marevel came crashing down on his back bouncing him on the ground.

As the general shakily rose to his hooves, Lantern formed two giant hands and slammed his wife and him together between them. When the applause ended, the two slumped to the ground.

The two warriors lay on the ground, surrounded by their daughters and the heroes.

Calmly, Luna said, "We tried to warn you before, you've lost. Please, give up before anypony else gets hurt."

Celestia added, "Warriors as skilled as yourselves must recognize when the fight is hopeless."

The parents glared at their daughters. "What is wrong with you two?!" asked White Nightmare. "All we wanted was the best for us ponies! Your so-called Hall of History is nothing but a monument to your failures. Discord. Tirek. Chrysalis. If you had killed your enemies, they never would have come back to attack you!"

“Harmony had made you weak! We were meant to rule over all species! What is wrong with trying to restore our previous glory? WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT?”

“We will not build an empire on the blood of victims,” said Celestia. “Times change, mother, father. You must change with them.”

“Or leave.” finished Luna.

“Are you actually kicking us out?” asked White Nightmare, hurt.

Celestia said, "We love you, mother, you and father both. It's what you did that we hate."

Luna added, "Your legacy is the darkest in our history. But, it was needed to start the new era."

“Era of what? Harmony?” asked Dark Moon.

“It was the Era of Harmony. Now, this is the era of the Justice League!” asserted Alicorn Marevel.

The other heroes looked at her.

“What? You don’t like the name? It sounded great in my head.”

“No, that sounds . . . pretty neat,” said Dash. “I guess it fits our little team.”

“Justice League or not, we won’t give up that easily!” said Dark Moon, extending his wings.

“As you wish!” replied Sweetie Borg, turning her forehoof into a plasma cannon. The discharged drove the generals back onto the ground.

White Nightmare said, "Not going to stop us."

“I think Arrow warned you. We will fight as one!” said the Canary, slowly limping to her friends.

Lantern trapped the generals in a giant megaphone. "All yours, my lady."

Canary moved the the mouthpiece and shrieked. It would be a long time before the generals recovered.

Batmare limped up to the group. "I'm sorry we had to do that, princesses. I know they are your parents."

“They got what they deserved, unfortunately.” Luna sighed. “We shall not rule by terror again.”

“They are a product of their era,” said Celestia. “They just don't fit in; they won't accept harmony.”

The heroes nodded in silence.

Batmare snarled, "No! I can't let it end like this! There has to be a better way!"
> League 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Future lliances, and threats



The grounds in front of Canterlot Castle were eerily quiet. The streets were strewn with rubble and pockmarked with craters. The royal sisters gave silent thanks that the Guard and the citizens had heeded their warnings to stay out of the way. The fighting was over. It was now time to clean up.

The first order of business was treating the wounded. A green bubble outlined the stasis field that kept the defeated alicorns from causing or taking any more damage. Those outside the bubble were not so fortunate. The royal sisters had their magic blocked. Batmare would be sore for weeks. Canary had a necklace of bruises on top of her other injuries. Arrow, however, was the worst of the lot. The carpet of bruises that covered his body was the least of the injuries that he had sustained.

Sweetie Borg sighed as she turned off her scanner. "Dash, you're 100% healthy, even after that beating. It looks like most of us weren't that lucky. Princesses, I don't have any idea what's wrong with you, but the scanner says you're 100% healthy, too." Gesturing to the vigilantes, Sweetie continued. "The rest of us are going to need a doctor."

Celestia said, "Why, nephew? Why did you keep goading our parents?"

Arrow shrugged from underneath the ice packs on his head. "Someone had to keep them off-balance. Look at my teammates, though. Canary and Dash are crucial to Equestria. The others are children. I'm the expendable one."

"Stop talking like that," said Celestia. "I've forgiven you many times over. I need you. Equestria needs you."

"You would not believe how much your words mean to me." He grimaced as he tried to move. "I will need to take break for a while, though."

"My personal physician will take care of you. I insist."

Luna smiled. "Now that we've settled that, what are we to do about our parents? We can't just leave them here."

Celestia sighed. "I agree. They just don't fit here. We'll have to send them back to the Nowhere, where they came from."

"You can't just give up on them," said Batmare. "There has to be something we can do."

Celestia shook her head sadly. "They're not going to change their ways. This is what they know. This is what they want. How in harmony's name could they stay here?"

Marevel asked, "What is harmony?"

Luna replied, "You should know the answer to that. It's everything and everyone fitting in together. Equestria has no place for conquerors."

Batmare exclaimed, "That's it! Maybe there's a place that needs conquerors!"

"Not on this planet," replied Celestia.

Lantern replied, "I know some people who might have an answer. Can you keep them out of trouble?

Marevel and Sweetie Borg looked at each other before nodding to Lantern. The dragon created a warp gate with his ring and flew through. The gate collapsed as soon as he passed.

The Royal Guard had established a defensive perimeter around the princesses and their guests. Cloud cushions and blankets and been procured for the defeated alicorns, who showed no signs of waking soon. A putrid smell came from within the perimeter. As the Guard turned to investigate, they found themselves outside a dome that now encapsulated their rulers. To their horror, a pack of twelve monstrous Timberwolves was inside the dome, along with a dark brown alicorn stallion with mane, beard, and tail that seemed to be made of moss.

“Brother!” Luna gasped.

“Are you coming to kill us now that we're helpless?” asked Celestia.

The Forest Thing replied with a glare at his sisters. A pulse of light from his horn washed over his sisters. The pair blinked. The pins and needles sensation from their horns was gone. They could use their magic again.

Forest Thing said, "Satisfied?"

Narrowing her eyes, Celestia said, "We know you're not here out of the goodness of your heart."

"That is true. I wanted to make sure my plan to defeat our parents worked. I forced your heroes to learn to work as a team before our parents appeared; they didn't stand a chance against those two if they acted alone. I was going to finish the two off if they failed."

"Now what?" asked Celestia.

The generals opened their eyes slightly, watching as their son displayed a hoof-sized crystal. Forest Thing said, "It's time to put them back. They deserve the Nowhere."

"Do you really think they deserve that?" asked Batmare. "They're your parents; they love you every bit as much as they love your sisters."

"Why should I believe the words of a murderer?"

"If you will not listen to my knight," said Luna, "put yourself in their situation. What would you do if you thought you were wrongly imprisoned? What would you do to see the ones you love?"

“I am no pony’s pawn,” said Forest Thing coldly.

“You really need help even more than they do,” said Celestia with a frown.

"I don't need help from any pony," said Forest Thing. "Do this, and we'll never have to see each other again."

Shakily, the generals rose to their hooves. Sweetie Borg and Alicorn Marevel stood ready to respond at the slightest hint of an attack.

Dark Moon said, "So it has come to this? What is wrong with you, son? We gave you everything you deserved."

"You treated me like a tool, a toy. I will hate you for the rest of my days."

White Nightmare asked, "What about you, my daughters? Do you really want to send us away?"

Celestia shook her head. "We finally have a chance to be a family." She looked her parents in the eye. "But I'm responsible for Equestria. I cannot put my subjects at risk for the sake of my happiness, even if it means never seeing you again."

Dark Moon said, "We could have rebuilt our empire! The world would have been ours to rule with an iron hoof!"

Marevel asked, "Why?"

Dark Moon snorted, "You're too soft! Do you not know the joy of crushing an enemy? Do you not revel in the thrill of combat?"

Marevel asked, "And what happens when there are no more enemies?"

White Nightmare sneered. "There are always enemies. We want what is best for our families. We want what is best for ponykind."

Sweetie Borg said, "You didn't answer her question. Can't you see that your daughters already have everything you wanted for them? They rule the ponies. They stopped the wars. Their subjects respect them. All they want from you is to fit into the world they have made."

Coldly, White Nightmare said, "This is no world for us; our children obviously don't care about us."

"That's where you're wrong," said Celestia. "Times change. We have to change with them or be destroyed. Mother, Father, please, can't you live in peace with us?"

"Never!" said the generals.

Batmare asked, "Is that what you two really want? Do you really want to lose all of your children? Your daughters are trying to give you a chance!"

White Nightmare said, "We could never live like that."

Forest Thing snarled, "Enough! Let's lock them away for good!"

A warp gate opened outside the bubble. Two Green Lanterns flew out, one human and one draconic. The Guard stepped back at the shorter one's request, and the pair dispelled the bubble. The draconic Lantern pointed to the generals. "Those are the two I was talking about."

The taller Lantern said, "White Nightmare, Dark Moon, I am Hal Jordan." Pointing at the shorter Lantern, he continued, "My friend Spike told me what you've been doing, and the Green Lantern Corps stands ready to back his decision. Because you have proven yourselves to be a menace to this planet, I am authorized to transport you to Oa where you will serve a life sentence in a sciencell. At Spike's request, the Guardians of the Universe have agreed to an alternate sentence. There is a planet in my sector that has been locked in war for centuries; they are on the verge of fighting themselves and their planet into oblivion. Stopping them would require more resources than the Guardians are willing to commit. The right people should be able to stop the fighting and lead both sides to prosperity. It'll be hard. It'll be ugly. It'll be messy. What will it be? Do you want to spend the rest of your lives locked away, safe in a cell? Or do you want to risk life and limb in a war zone, on your own?"

White Nightmare and Dark Moon nodded.

Dark Moon said, "We live for combat; peace would be the death of us."

White Nightmare added, "Our children want to be rid of us."

Luna said, "If you could change your ways, you'd be welcomed to stay."

Celestia added, "Don't let this be goodbye." She levitated over a jewel from her peytral. Luna did the same. "With these, you will always be able to talk with us, and we will always be able to talk with you."

The generals looked at each other before reluctantly accepting the gifts. "Your softness will lead to your ruin. Mark our words, you'll be begging for our help when thing go wrong."

Jordan encapsulated the generals in a stasis pod. He turned to Dash. "Hey, Barry says 'hi'."

Dash raised an eyebrow. "What? You know Barry?"

“Are you kidding? We formed a team together. Here, he sent you this.” He gave Dash a picture of the founding Justice League members.





"Cool!" Dash smiled. "Can you give us a minute?"

Hal nodded. Dash returned with a befuddled Photo Finish, who took a picture of the Equestrian heroes. After whisking the photographer back, Dash gave Jordan a copy of the picture.

“Here, show him I have an awesome team as well!”

“I will! See you later!” With that, the human Green Lantern created a warp gate and flew through with the two lost generals.

Once the gate collapsed, Forest Thing turned his back on his sisters and the Equestrian Justice League.

"Where are you going, brother?" asked Celestia.

“Back to my forest. I've had more than enough of ponies for a lifetime.”

The white alicorn sighed, exasperated. “Do you realize you’re one of us, right?”

“Yes, but that’s why I identify myself as a ‘thing’ instead of a pony.” explained the forest alicorn. “Stay away of my forest, and I'll stay away from you. Period.”

“Wait!” called Batmare.

“What?” asked Forest Thing angrily.

She approached to the matriarch of the Tmberwolf pack and bowed to her.

“I’m terribly sorry for what I did. I never would have killed them if I had known they were someone's children.”

Forest Thing glared at her. He raised his hoof, but a soft howl from his adoptive mother prevented him from acting further.

“You’re lucky she accepted your apologies. If it was for me, I would kill you here and now, a life for a life. Now stay away from me, if you know what is good for you.”

As the forest alicorn began his teleport, Batmare said, "And I would have deserved it."

“Seriously, what’s wrong with him?” asked Marevel.

“Leave him.” Sweetie Borg shrugged. “You heard him. He won’t bother us if we don’t bother him.”

"I guess all that's left now is to clean up this mess," said Celestia.

The others agreed. It was finally over.

Everfree Forest, two hours later: 

The crack of displaced air announced the arrival of two unicorns. Any serious scholar of Equestrian history would have been giddy in their presence; they were living legends, Star Swirl the Bearded and Stygian.

The pair appeared in a clearing. The younger unicorn said, "According to the dragon, this is the only place in the Everfree he hasn't visited that has residual ring energy."

Star Swirl snorted. "I doubt that dragon's magic is good for anything."

"Is not magic, though."

"Yeah, right." 

Stygian  sighed, and casted a scanning spell. Slowly, he turned in a circle. He turned back until he faced the direction that the signal was the strongest. Pointing at the mouth of a cave off in the distance, he said, "I guess it's over there."

Star Swirl followed as Stygian walked into the cave. The two gave a gasp at the pale husk of a dragon lying on the floor. Stygian placed an ear on the dragon's chest. Garble was alive, but barely.

As Stygian stood, he levitated a crystal over to Star Swirl. "Remind me why I can't be the one transferring some life force to him," said Stygian. "You don't have as much to spare."

"That's exactly the point. You have your whole life ahead of you; I'm nearing the end of mine. I've already had a full life. I have less to lose if something goes wrong."

"It's my spell. I should be the one taking the risk."

Shaking his head Star Swirl replied, "We already talked about this. Besides, you should have the honor of being the first caster.

Stygian acquiesced and began casting. With a soft glow, a trickle of life force went from Star Swirl, through the crystal, and into Garble. Slowly, color began to return to the dragon. Suddenly, there was a sharp crack. Stygian yelped as a massive stalactite parted his tail, breaking this concentration. A surge of energy flew from Stygian's horn, striking the crystal. Star Swirl screamed as his body faded away, seemingly drawn into the crystal. A massive burst of energy struck Garble.

Prying his tail free, Stygian vainly attempted to reverse the spell, but instead of drawing Star Swirl back, the crystal exploded.

Coughing, Stygian gasped, "Star Swirl!"

Garble stumbled to his feet. Turning to Stygian, he gasped, "Help me!"

Stygian froze in shock. The voice was his friend’s.

“Star Swirl?”

The dragon shook his head as he shouted. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU PONY!”

He extended his wings and flew away, generating a light show as he ascended.

On the floor, Stygian could only watch him leaving, voicing the first thing that came to his mind:

“Magic Storm.”

Streets of Trottenaghe:

Trixie felt neither great nor powerful. The show had to go on, regardless of how she felt. The roar of the crowds was still there as she went through her routine, but what joy there was to be had in performing was gone.

She felt hollow. A huge part of her life had been torn away. She still shivered when she thought about Starlight's funeral. It had been a closed casket affair, but she had peeked, despite the warnings. That image haunted her dreams. The worst part of all was that even if she had been there, she could have done nothing to help.

Starlight had been a villain who reformed, becoming a hero of Equestria. More importantly, she been a best friend to a vagabond showmare, to a unicorn who, before, had no friends. Trixie had changed her show to make sure that nopony forgot that. That's what friends did for each other.

Starlight had been one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, rivalling even Twilight Sparkle, prior to Twilight's ascension. Still, that had not been enough to save her life. Trixie might not be as powerful, but she would be damned if she did not do everything she could to improve and expand her magic. To do any less would be to dishonor Starlight's memory.

Lounging inside her cart, Trixie looked at the photo that stood behind a lit votive candle. "I wish I could show you everything I've learned since you've left." More quietly, she said, "I wish you weren't taken away."

A gentle tapping drew her attention. Trixie said, "The Humble and Apologetic Trixie is in mourning. She apologizes for not coming to the door."

A thump came from her doorstep, followed by silence. This had been a new routine since the funeral. Somehow, somepony had gotten wind of her quest for self-improvement, and it seemed that at each stop, somepony would deliver a grimoire to her. She had given up on trying to identify the mystery benefactor, although she suspected that somepony purple had a hoof in this.

Opening the door, she found the expected paper-wrapped bundle on the doorstep. With her telekinesis, the brought it in and closed the door.

Unwrapping the package, Trixie found that it contained an ancient tome. Reverently, she began to read. She rubbed her eyes and read again before exclaiming, "What sort of nonsense is this? Magic by saying things backward."

Embarrassed, she looked around. Nopony had heard her outburst. She said, "What's the worst that could happen? A wen tiftuo rof exirt!"

Anxiously, she trotted over to her mirror. In place of her wizard's hat and cape, she now in a red and black harlequin's costume, complete with sleigh bells on the hat. The mare face-hooved and said, "A wen snaicigam tiftuo rof exirt." Looking again in the mirror, she found that the was now clad in a white ruffled shirt with a white bow tie and a sapphire blue vest. A black tailcoat, top hat and fishnet stockings completed her outfit.

"Unbelievable! What else can Trixie do?"

Looking about her cart, she found a promising target. "Mraw rennid."

A tower of fire erupted on the tiny table.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! ERIF FFO!"

The flames vanished, revealing that her hayburger and fries were now very well done.

A smile came to Trixie's lips. "Needs work, but I think I like this new kind of magic."

Temple in the middle of nowhere:

The adventurer wrinkled her nose as she stifled another sneeze. The books never mentioned the nasty parts about being an adventurer, like the choking dust that colored her hair, fur, and clothing a uniform shade of tan. Thankfully, there was sufficient ventilation to keep the torches that lined the hallway to the altar lit. With the torch she held under a wing, Daring Do lit the lamp near the doorway. In a chain reaction, the other lamps lit in sequence, illuminating the prize.

In the middle of the room was a pedestal. Resting on the top was a hoof-sized golden statue of an alicorn with what appeared to be a severe case of cutie pox.

Daring pulled a notebook from her pocket and rested on the floor. Opening it to a bookmarked page, she said, "This has got to be the strangest inscription: 'Cursed be she who spares these bones; blessed be she who shatters stones.' What in Tartarus does this have to do with the idol?"

The pegasus cocked her head as she examined the idol from all angles. "Let's see. If we assume it's solid gold . . ." Holding a small pouch open with one forehoof, she scooped sand into it with another. She hefted the bag in her mouth, eyeing the idol again. Frowning, she scooped a bit more sand into the bag and hefted it again. Gingerly, she held the bag in one forehoof and moved the other to snatch the idol. She stopped just before her hoof touched.

Dropping the bag, she said, "Aw, forget it!" From her pouch, she removed a foil tube and bit off its cap. Using her mouth, she squeezed its contents around the base of the pedestal. She repeated the process with a second tube. In a matter of seconds, the pastes combined, foaming to seal every crack before drying, hard as granite. Daring grabbed the idol and stuffed it into her bag. The pedestal wasn't going anywhere.

The pegasus turned to the sound of one person clapping. It was the centaur-cat Ahuizotl. Behind him, blocking the doorway, were his henchcats. Ahuizotl said, "Thank you for doing all the dirty work, Daring Do. I'll be taking the idol now."

The pegasus snorted, "Just like a stallion, always waiting for some mare to do the real work for him. What next? Are you going to promise to use protection?"

Ahuizotl gestured toward his henchcats. "These are all the protection I need."

A small white kitten stepped between the two antagonists, hissing and spitting at Daring.

The adventurer groaned. "It figures you'd need a little pussy."

"Come now. Hand it over, and I'll let you go in more or less one piece."

Daring beckoned him with a forehoof. "Come and get it."

Ahuizotl roared as he charged Daring. The mare somersaulted onto her back, under the charge and bucked up, hard. With a strangled scream, the Ahuizotl went flying, right onto the altar. The pedestal snapped off under the force of the blow as he slid down the altar, onto the floor.

"Huh," quipped Daring, "I thought cats were always supposed to land on their feet."

The henchcats surrounded Daring, ready to pounce. Suddenly, a howl came from the altar, along with a green glow that filled the room. The cats retreated with their tails between their legs.

Weakly, Ahuizotl said, "Come back, you cowards! Take me with you!" Turning his attention to the adventurer, he watched in horror as her eyes took on a green tinge. A wickedly sharp, unicorn's horn sprouted from her forehead as her clothing melted away. Now, all she wore was a tiara with a star-shaped design in front and a magenta gem necklace with a matching design as its pendant. Sheer menace radiated from her gaze and from the multitude of cutie marks that now covered her fur.

“Daring Do?” asked Ahuizotl.

The mare shook her head. “Daring Do? You must be confused, young one. I am the Sorceress . . . FREE AT LAST, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Three weeks later, Manehattan:

In the wee hours of the morning, anypony would have been forgiven for thinking that this cheese factory was closed. No business would turn all the lights off at night, just to instill doubt in the minds of would-be burglars. Inside, however, a special transaction was taking place.

In a catwalk over the custom mixing vat, the factory's owner said, "I really wish you'd license that recipe to me, Cheese."

Equestria's second-leading party pony said, "No can do, Cheddam. My super-secret nacho sauce is one of the things that make my parties extra special."

Cheddam sighed. "My wife would kill me if she knew Cheese Sandwich's signature nacho sauce was made in my factory."

"Come on, I let you take home a few liters from each batch. I mean, I come the same time each month. Isn't that enough?"

A rough voice drew the pair's attention. "Hey, Swifty! I thought you said there'd be no witnesses to us blowing the wall to the bank!"

A large unicorn teleported onto the catwalk. "There won't be."

As the thug charged his horn, a bat-shaped figure dropped from the ceiling and landed onto the catwalk. A batarang struck his horn and detonated, rendering him unconscious.

The remaining thugs blasted away at the catwalk. Cheese Sandwich guided Cheddam as the two dodged the attacks as if they knew where each blast would hit. In the meantime, Batmare whittled away at the thugs with her batarangs. A simultaneous attack caught her blind side as she blocked from the other, bowling her into Cheese Sandwich and knocking him off the catwalk. He landed in the vat with a huge splash. A trail of bubbles marked his descent.

As batarangs subdued the remaining would-be robbers, Cheddam shouted, "Cheese! No!" He slammed on the emergency shutoff and drain button.

Batmare dove in after the hapless party pony, using her ascender rig to slow her descent. Reloading her ascender, she then attached the cable to the lip of vat and pulled the party pony out with her.

As the emergency shower washed away the sauce, the reason for the warning labels became obvious. The party pony's fur had somehow been bleached white, while his mane had changed from brown to a venomous green.

Batmare checked his vital signs. The stallion was alive, but just barely. The vigilante touched her earpiece and said, "Doc, get an ambulance to my location, now!"





In the hours before dawn, the dark knight spoke to the commissioner from the shadows. She said, "That should take care of those bank robbers. What about Cheese Sandwich?"

The commissioner replied, "We don't know. He broke out of the ambulance before it reached the hospital."

Meanwhile, in a side street between the factory and the hospital, a maniacal laugh filled the air as Cheese Sandwich saw his reflection in the grimy window. His face was forever frozen in a nightmarish grin. He said, "You ruined my life, Batsy. I think I'll return the favor." The laugh that followed promised madness and mayhem.