> Black and White
>  by SeriouslyLuna
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



 "Identity. A word. A concept. It is what separates us from everypony around us. It makes us unique. It encapsulates our strengths and our weaknesses. It makes us individuals. Each of us separate beings. 
Yet we are all just a small part of something bigger. We are blood flowing through the vessels of this world. By ourselves we are a speck on the plane of time, but together we make the world. We are the world."
-Starswirl the Bearded. From 'The Understanding of Time, Vol. I'


Prologue


Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. 
But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night.
Nightmare Moon, now fully consumed by rage, fought against her sister in the black of night. She enlisted the aid of the Nightguards, the fearsome bat ponies in the fight against her sister, to whom the pegasi, the unicorns and the earth ponies were all allied. 

And so for a fortnight the first war in Equestrian history raged, and all around them the land died, deprived of their precious sunlight. Nightmare Moon, aware that she was vastly outnumbered, sought to strike a killing blow on her sister: she would take Canterlot. But the elder sister had other ideas, and before the order could be made, Nightmare Moon found herself in the Everfree Castle, transported by powerful magic. There, the sisters fought, evenly matched, deadlocked, until dawn came.
Aware that something was wrong, Nightmare Moon attempted to flee, but before she could make her escape, her sister unleashed a power they had vowed never to use: The Elements of Harmony. The unbridled power of the elements was too much for just one pony, and instead of killing the younger sister as intended, she was banished to the moon. 
From then on, the elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.

But now... it would seem history is destined to repeat itself. The darkness is gathering on the horizon once again, and Equestria is about to face the most formidable enemy they have ever seen.


Black and White




> 1: Fresh Start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


“When the sun goes down on the world we know,
when darkness covers land and sea,
What do we become, when we are alone,
Who are we, really?”


Part One: The Price of War

Chapter One: Fresh Start

The Griffon


He could still hear their taunting cries whenever he let his mind wander.

"Hey bird-brain! Want some chicken feed?"

The faces of those colts jumping in front of his eyes, appearing in the scarred, early-morning clouds outside the window, their intricacies making the alleys and streets of inner Cloudsdale.

"Hey, we're having omelette, you want some?"

Their mocking laughter filled his thoughts, blocking out everything else.

The sound of a breeze caught his attention, and he turned to find the door, which was made entirely of cloud just like everything else, ajar, and a worried eye peering through the gap. 

A soft feminine voice floated through the door, each consonant marked by that click that comes with having a beak, "Rivet, honey? ...It's almost time."

Rivet, for that was his name, turned away from his bedroom window and sighed. 

"I'm... Coming, Mom."

He stopped for a moment to look at himself in the mirror one last time before he left. 
He was smaller than a full-grown griffon had the right to be, but he was luckily still bigger than most ponies. He liked to think he was good-looking, at least for a griffon. He kept his feathers and coat well groomed, and that showed in the way that the white fur on his flank and equally white feathers cresting on his head glowed. 

He took pride in the bluish sheen to his silver feathers, but there was one thing missing, something on his flank...  A cutie mark. That one seemingly small thing that made him 'inferior' to ponies.

Downstairs, to his surprise, he found his father, a black-feathered, red-coated mountain of a griffon, standing in the living room talking curtly to his mother. There was an air of uneasiness about them, which was to be expected; in Griffon culture, no-one ever got married, as was tradition.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, his claws sinking into the floor as he was so used to, his father turned to look at him with what may have been disdain. Rivet instinctually shrunk back from his father's accusing gaze.

"Rivet. I see you haven't gotten much bigger. That's a pity, you showed so much potential as a cub. So I hear you're leaving?"

Rivet, shrugging off his initial fear, drew himself up to his full height, which admittedly wasn't very impressive, but it made him feel better. 

"Hello, father. Yes, you heard right. I'm moving to Ponyville to finish my education."

His father towered over him, his face devoid of any emotion. Without a word he turned and walked toward the open door to the house, the sounds of Cloudsdale waking up wafting in through the doorway. 

When he reached the door he turned and said in a gruff voice, "Let's go." 

Rivet hesitated, and looked helplessly toward his mother. She didn't look him in the eye, but rather chose to stare accusingly at the slowly roiling clouds that made the floor; there was rain on the way. She looked up momentarily and he saw that there were tears in her eyes.

And that was when it truly hit him. Nothing could make a griffon cry. Nothing. 
This was it. He might never see his mother again. His mother, who had been his only friend for as long as he could remember. His mother who would let him hide under her wing at night when there was a storm scheduled. His mother who could always make him feel better, no matter how much the colts and fillies had teased him.

He stared blankly at his mother, not allowing his father the satisfaction of seeing him fall apart. He ripped up a chunk of cloud and watched it dissipate in front of him. Making up his mind, he went over and hugged his mother tightly. There was a surprised grunt from his father; real griffons wouldn't be caught dead hugging their mother.

Suddenly, he felt himself ripped away and heard his mother gasp as his claws raked at her neck. His father dropped him in a graceless heap next to the door.

Standing up, he looked at his mother for the last time. Her tears had been replaced with a small trickle of blood tarnishing her feathers from where his claws had scratched her. Somehow it was worse than the tears. 
You caused this.
Unable to stand it anymore, he turned and leapt out the doorway.

His wings caught the updraft and he glided gracefully down toward the large gray mass of cloud that made the 'street' of Cloudsdale. Graceful, he thought, is not a word often used to describe griffons.
He landed on the street, his paws instantly becoming soaked from the moisture the heavy cloud was holding.
There was the slightest whump of his father landing behind him.

Without looking back, he asked "So how am I getting there?"

"Chariot."

It was a well-known fact that no ordinary flyer, be they griffon or pegasus, could simply fly as far as Ponyville. No, for that there were specially trained pegasi called 'taxis' who pulled chariots to carry all but the strongest flyers to their destination.

They flew in silence for an eternity trapped in the span of about ten minutes, Rivet quietly watched the city that he had been born and raised in slowly wake up for the last time. 
He saw Mrs. Green setting up her stalls where she sold her famous grilled leeks. There was Corkscrew, one of his old classmates, practicing his hoofball throw, he used to tease him but not the worst by far. There was Gilda, one of the few other griffons in Cloudsdale, but maybe the worst when it came to bullying.

The canopy of cloud below suddenly opened up, and the two found themselves at the edge of Cloudsdale, the rolling countryside that served as the only representation of the outside world to Rivet, was a green blur far below.

Resting on the edge of the clouds waited a small golden chariot, a pair of burly white pegasi standing next to it, chatting to each other. They glanced up at them momentarily, then carried on talking.
Together they landed next to the chariot and Rivet's father stepped forward to greet the two pegasi.

"Are you two the taxis going to Ponyville?"

The pegasi turned, pretending to see the griffons for the first time. One of them grunted a lackluster greeting, and the other ignored them.

His father squinted, his voice taking on a dangerous tone,  "I asked you a question."

The pegasus closest, the one who had attempted to greet them, smirked and said in a thick Manehattan accent, "Yeah, I heard ya. But before we start cartin' you around, we gotta talk about payment."

"You've already been paid!"

The pegasus grinned, "Yeah, but what about tips?"

All it took was a low growl, and the pegasus soon forgot about being paid and focused on not angering the griffon shaped mountain. Rivet hopped up onto the chariot's platform, not wanting to making eye contact with the two pegasi as they grudgingly hooked themselves up to the harnesses.

His father had barely even waited, or said so much as 'goodbye', just flew away once he thought
everything was sorted. That was all he ever knew of his father anyway.

As he was flown silently toward his new home, he involuntarily remembered once again the other pegasi, the ones he had gone to school with, and started playing through all of the things that they had said to him, every time they teased him. He didn't want to leave, he really didn't, but events had soon gotten out of control.

The pegasi made no attempt at small talk, and the one time he tried to talk to them, one of them just grunted and said "Flyin's hard, kid... Keep yer mouth shut."

And that was the end of it, the rest of the trip was just him, his thoughts, and the ground rushing away far below them.
Behind him he heard a rumble, and the storm started below Cloudsdale.


***


With a thump and the squeaking of wheels they landed in the center of Ponyville. Rivet hesitated, looking down at the dirt ground not two feet below him. The concept scared him; there was no way to just fall through this ground, there was solid rock underneath it, deeper than anypony knew, or had been before.

He brought one claw down hesitantly onto the grass. He put his weight down, and his claws instantly sank into the dirt. He tried to tug them out, and fell flat on his face. The taxis just snorted and flew away without so much as a word.

Rivet yanked his claw out of the ground.
Mental note: You're not supposed to dig your claws into dirt.
He had stood on clouds his entire life, was used to how malleable they were. The solidity of the ground scared him.
What if he were to fall?

It was as he watched the Taxis fly away, that he realized he was in a strange town with nowhere to go. For whatever reason they hadn't organized where he was going to live.

He had a quick look around. There was a stone well in the middle of the space that he was standing in. The houses surrounding the 'courtyard' were all wooden with thatched roofs, it would seem the citizens of Ponyville lived a simple life. On one side of the courtyard there were a couple of tables with parasols in them, a pair of ponies sat together at one of them, chatting amiably.

Seeing no other viable options, he approached them timidly. One was a light brown Earth Pony with a purple and pink mane seemingly twisted together, the other was a cyan unicorn with white streaks in her mane. 

When they noticed him, the unicorn raised an eyebrow at him, but tentatively said  "uh, hi, are you new here?"

That stopped him short, he wasn't used to ponies actually trying to talk to him. He stuttered, words failing him. The unicorn giggled, and the earth pony took her turn to raise her eyebrow.

The unicorn said "My name is Lyra, and this is BonBon. You are new here aren't you?"

At this the earth pony piped up, saying "Well, duh, we just saw him land in a taxi. Everypony knows flyers don't take taxis unless they've come a long way."

"Uh... My name's Rivet, I'm from Cloudsdale."

The unicorn stopped glaring at the earth pony and turned to him, "Oh, Cloudsdale? I think that's where Rainbow Dash is from."

"And Fluttershy." the earth pony added.

"So... I'm kind of looking for a place to stay, do you know where I should look?"

Both ponies stopped a moment and thought.

After a few seconds of staring at the table, the unicorn shrugged and said "Sorry, can't help you. Try talking to Twilight Sparkle, she'll know. She pretty much handles everything in Ponyville. Makes me wonder why we have a mayor... You'll find her in the library. It's the tree, over that way."

She pointed in its general direction, where he could see it over the top of the houses.

"A... tree? Okay, thanks. See you around."

As he was walking off, he overheard them talking, "Really, Lyra? You giggled at him? Now he's going to get the wrong idea!"

The good thing about small towns was that they were easy to navigate, and he soon found himself outside the massive tree/house that was the library. He knocked softly on the door and waited. After a surprisingly short amount of time, the door opened, and a small purple dragon stood at the door looking unamused.

Rivet shook his head a couple of times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. When the dragon stayed solid and very real, he regained his composure and said "Uh... Hi, is this where Twilight lives?"

"Yeah, what do you want?"

Taken aback, he replied "Uh... I'm new in town, I'm looking for-"

Before he could finish, a voice came from inside, saying "Spike, don't be rude. Show in our guest."

'Spike' sighed and opened the door for the griffon.


***


"I'm sorry, but I don't really know of anypony who could take you."

They sat around the kitchen table as Spike made them tea, it seemed like he was Twilight's butler or something. Twilight Sparkle herself was a smart-looking lavender unicorn who was apparently the go-to pony on everything in ponyville.

Rivet shifted slightly, scraping his claws over the table's surface in the process; these chairs were clearly not made for griffons.

"I'm not asking much, maybe even just a barn to sleep in..."

Spike perked up and said "I bet Applejack would let you stay in her barn."

Twilight gave the little dragon a condescending look, "No Spike, he's not going to sleep in a barn."

She turned to Rivet, and gave him an unsure smile, "Don't mind him. Look, I don't know where you can stay long-term, but you seem nice enough, so in the meantime, maybe you should stay here."

In the background, Spike coughed up a gout of green flame, and said "What?!" 

Rivet started to object, to say he didn't want to intrude, but she interrupted him, "Now, as for your education, you came to the right pony. Well, you sort of did. That is, I won't be teaching you, because I don't know anything about being a mechanic. That's what you said, right? Mechanic?"

He nodded hesitantly, and she continued, "Well then, I think you're in luck, just two weeks ago, the local mechanic Mjӧlna said she had been looking for an apprentice. Who knows? Maybe she's still looking."

She hopped up and said "Come on, let's go find out!"

After hesitating for a moment, Rivet got up awkwardly and followed her out of the kitchen into the main room. As they walked toward the door, there was a knock at it, and Twilight called for them to come in.

A moment later a dark navy-blue unicorn with a gray-brown mane stepped in. He was wearing a saddlebag with a little white galaxy stitched into it (he assumed this was the unicorn's cutie mark).

"Hey Twilight," he said enthusiastically, " I've got that book on-" he stopped when he saw the griffon and made an 'eep' sound, 

"Oh uh... Hey!" he said nervously.

"Hello, Andro. This is Rivet, he's from Cloudsdale. He's going to be staying here for a while." Twilight said, gesturing to Rivet.

Rivet gave the strange unicorn an unsure half-smile.

'Andro' cleared his throat and said "Well hi, it's good to meet you! The name's Andromeda, like the galaxy. So... how long are you staying?"

"Too long." Muttered Spike.

The unicorn suddenly remembered why he was there and laughed. He wrapped the saddlebag in a white sheath of magic and pulled out a thick book with some kind of star constellation on the cover, and floated it over to Spike, who grabbed it happily.

Twilight smiled warmly at her assistant and stepped outside. "Come on, these two are going to be looking through books for a while. Let's go see Mjӧlna."

He followed her out, and Andromeda called after him "Well it was nice meeting you!"

As they started to make their way across town, he heard the unicorn whisper to Spike, "Did he seem a little... uptight to you?"

He kept walking, but he heard Spike scoff and say "Yeah!"

After wandering Ponyville for a while, including going through the town square that he had landed in, the two of them eventually found themselves outside a blacksmith's building beside the river. 

Smoke billowed lazily from the chimney on the roof. The air smelled of burning metal and the sound of hammering could be heard inside.

Twilight walked straight in through the open door and Rivet followed close behind. Inside it was stifling hot, and the air was full of smoke and heat haze. Standing at an anvil beating at a red-hot piece of metal was a tan-colored earth pony with a blonde mane and a hammer held impossibly in one hoof. 

When she finally noticed them through the haze she dropped her hammer, grabbed a pair of tongs in her mouth, and deftly tossed the piece of metal into a bucket where it steamed profusely for a moment.

"Well hi Twilight, ye still having problems with that chandelier?" she asked in a thick Highland accent, wiping at her dirty face with an equally dirty cloth.

Twilight coughed from the smoke and said "Hey Mjӧlna, the chandelier's fine actually. But Rivet here's new in town, and I was wondering-" she broke off long enough to have a coughing fit before continuing, "-I was wondering if you were still looking for an apprentice."

Rivet cleared his throat, which quickly turned into a coughing fit of his own. When he recovered, he said "Uh, actually I don't know anything about being a blacksmith. I know about being a mechanic, repairs and all that."

"Well, I do both in this town actually, and to answer yer question Twilight; aye, I'm still looking fer an apprentice."

She looked him up and down and then nodded, already decided. 

"Aye, ye'll do. Meet me here at eight tomorrow morning."

And just like that, Rivet started his new life. Days passed, and he began to hone his skills in repair and forge work. A week went by, and talk of him finding his own place came back up again, and after some discussion,  Mjӧlna helped build another room onto the library, which he shared with Spike.

The weeks went by, which blurred into months, and before he knew it he had lived in Ponyville for a year. He barely thought about his old life in Cloudsdale by that time, he loved his new life, he loved having friends; despite first impressions he got along well with Spike, and Andromeda came around every other night to use Twilight's telescope, so they came to be fast friends.

He tried joining them one night, but the two unicorns just stared through that looking glass and wrote down notes and chattered in egghead to each other, so he went to sleep. He got along well with Mjӧlna too, she was a patient teacher, and although tough, a nice pony, maybe even the nicest he'd met.

He could have lived like that for the rest of his life without a complaint, but two years after he moved there, everything changed, and not just for him...



The Earth Pony.

Two years later...


'Big' Macintosh. After all these years, he still wasn't sure how he felt about that name; it was a nickname given to him by his little sister Applejack, back when he would give her ponyback rides around the farm.

He was big, he knew that, but having it as part of his name made him feel like he was all muscle, made to pull the plow and anything else that needed somepony strong. He hated the feeling of it being his identity.

"Move yer caboose!"

Granny Smith's voice rang across the yard, waking him from his daydream. He had been finding his mind wandering more and more these days. 

He stood up and ponderously made his way over toward where Granny was waiting outside the farmhouse with his younger sisters, Applejack and Applebloom.

Granny Smith was a sweet old mare who had cared for him and his two sisters for as long as he could remember. Her coat was green and wrinkled, but she still had spirit, even if her body was failing.

"What's goin' on?" he asked lazily.

Applejack was the one to answer, and said "I don't rightly know, but Twilight just came 'round an' said somethin' about an important meetin' in Canterlot."

He thought on this for a moment, if it were important then Twilight herself would go to Canterlot. If it were really important Applejack and their friends would go with her. But for all of them to be going it had to be something extremely important.

"Sounds mighty important."

"It does, we're all headin' straight to the train station now. Ye shouldn' need ta pack."

She gestured, and with an "Eeyup" from him, they all started their walk into town.

Half an hour later they found themselves waiting at the train station for Twilight and the rest of her friends. It was a particularly sunny day in Ponyville, so they had no problems with waiting outside and snacking on some Apples while they waited.

Rainbow Dash was the first to arrive, flying like a bat out of hell straight into Applejack, bowling her over. Applejack bucked the light blue pegasus off, and placed her hat firmly back on her head. 
"Whoa there, RD. What's the rush?"

Rainbow Dash stood up and shook her rainbow-colored mane, "Applejack? How long have you all been here?"

Applejack sighed and said "Ya know, not everythin's a race, RD."

"And that's where you're wrong. Everything's a race. Life is a race. The slow ponies just pretend it's not."

Before it could turn into a full-blown argument, Pinkie Pie bounced up wearing a saddlebag with muffins falling out of it.

"Hiya! Are you excited about our surprise trip to Canterlot?" she asked to nopony in particular.

She sat down and started chattering away to anypony who would listen.
They all sat and talked and ate muffins for another ten minutes before Rarity and Fluttershy turned up chatting between themselves. They all exchanged greetings then sat together and waited for Twilight.

While they were waiting the train arrived and ponies started filing out of the various cars and going their separate ways.

Another five minutes passed before Twilight showed up, Spike and Rivet following closely behind, arguing about something unimportant like they always were.

Big Macintosh watched the griffon as they approached, he had grown some since he had been there, and filled out as well. He was still short for a griffon, but he made for an imposing figure nonetheless. He didn't like him, he wasn't sure why, but something about those eyes and the way he looked at him gave him the creeps.

Twilight trotted up and sat next to the rest of her friends. She looked tired and worried, which wasn't characteristic of her at all.

She sat there muttering to herself until somepony wearing a uniform appeared out of the train and shouted "All aboard!"

Applejack, Applebloom and himself waved goodbye to Granny Smith before hopping onto the train.



***


On the train Twilight didn't break her silence, and chose to stare solemnly out the window instead.
They passed half of the trip in silence, everypony either enjoying the countryside or wondering what was so important that they were all called to Canterlot.

About halfway through their journey, an earth pony that he recognized as Roseluck, who was also from Ponyville, walked through their train car looking for something or other.

After she left, Applejack said "Golly, half-a Ponyville's headin' to Canterlot. Whatever this meetin' is, it's mighty important."
Twilight kept silent.

Rivet, who had been just about asleep the whole trip, suddenly sat bolt upright and looked out the window. He turned and looked mischievously at Rainbow Dash, "Hey Dash, I bet you can't beat me to the front of the train."

Rainbow Dash looked worried for a moment, then grinned and said "You're on!"

Without another word he opened the window and tumbled out, Rainbow Dash following closely after.

Big Macintosh sighed and shook his head, then said quietly to Applejack, "They're gunna get themselves hurt one day."

Applejack nodded, looking at the open window, "Eeyup."

Or each other.


Rivet


He had timed it perfectly. The train had been going over a bridge when he fell out the window, so he had plenty of space to catch an updraft. 

He opened his wings and floated liesurely back up behind the train car just as Rainbow Dash popped out. 

He flew above her, trying to get as close to her as possible, and was rewarded with a "Hey!" as he shot over her.

She finally caught up to him, and they flew side by side above the train, allowing a sort of warmup period. He was about to pull ahead when he noticed the front of the train disappearing into a tunnel further up the track. 

He cursed inwardly, then shouted above the wind, "Looks like things are about to get difficult!"

Rainbow Dash looked at the tunnel ahead and laughed, "You mean fun?"

She dove down and landed on the roof of one of the train cars with a clank, then she turned and grinned at him before dropping down into the space between the two carriages.

The tunnel was getting closer, so he flew down to the carriage behind the one Rainbow Dash had landed on, and swooped through the gap between the cars just as the tunnel closed in around him.

He tried the door to the carriage, but to no avail. Obviously somepony in there wanted privacy.
He poked his head up above the roof, then ducked and barely missed having his head taken off by a rock outcrop.

He waited there in the dark, counted to ten, then leaped up onto the roof and ran forward as fast as he could. He dodged another rock outcrop, then ducked down into the next gap, where he found Rainbow Dash sitting between the cars. 

He dropped down next to her, panting and covered with soot, "What's the matter... You're not scared are you?"

She shook her head furiously and insisted "Of course not!"

He smirked, "Good, you'd better get a move on, then. You wouldn't want me to win!"

She looked skeptical for a minute, then without a word, launched herself up over the top of the carriage.

The moment he got up onto the car, a hanging lantern flashed past, just missing his head. He ran forward, the extra traction in his claws meant that he caught up to the pegasus quickly, and they both ran together for a few seconds.

"Watch out!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing at a large rock outcrop further up the tunnel that was as wide as the entire train. They glanced at each other, then jumped off either side of the carriage, grabbing onto the windows.

The outcrop went by with a whoosh, and he quickly clawed his way back up onto the roof.
They ran together again, ducking and weaving through a sudden field of broken stalagtites.
Suddenly they were at the next gap, and they both dove into it as the roof lowered, and they once again barely avoided getting smeared across the top of the carriage.

They sat in the gap, filthy from all of the soot and laughing hysterically from the nerves of having nearly died at least three times. 
When they recovered from their laughing fit, they looked up at the roof of the tunnel, and Rainbow Dash asked "Well, now what?"

He thought for a moment, peeked out the side and had a look ahead, then grinned slyly at her.
He held up three of his claws, then counted down on them.
3...
2...
1...

The moment he counted down to zero, the tunnel opened out, showing clear blue sky. He launched himself up into the air and gave a carefree screech, before banking back and flying above the train once more, which turned a corner and he was treated with a magnificent view of Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria.


Big Macintosh


The trip was mostly uneventful; nopony was in the mood to talk, except Pinkie Pie of course.
They all sat in silence for a while, everypony looking out their respective windows and not wanting to mention the elephant in the room, but he noticed Rarity glancing at Twilight every now and then.

He turned and nudged Applejack, then nodded at Twilight, egging her to go and speak to her. It was always Applejack that had to speak to Twilight when she got like this.
His sister was about to get up when the entire car was plunged into darkness as they entered a tunnel. He heard her groan and sit down again with a thump. She hated the tunnels.

And so the trip continued, but in darkness.

Time is difficult to comprehend in the dark, so he was left with little choice but to sit and listen to his thoughts grinding away. He was normally pretty easygoing, but something was going on and he wasn't sure he was going to like it.
Don't worry about it, Twilight always gets worked up about things.

It didn't help him from feeling a little nervous.

With a rumble the train left the tunnel and their carriage was once again flooded with light, and they could hear an eagle scream somewhere above.
The train turned a corner and they got their first glimpse of the magestic towers that rose shining above Canterlot. It had only been a few months since he had visited last on business, but it all seemed different somehow, even though it all looked exactly the same. It felt different.

As the train slowly rolled into the station, he heard Pinkie say "Whoa! Look at all of these ponies! It's like a party, only everypony's invited! This is gonna be great!"

And indeed there were a lot of ponies, milling around, chatting, calling out over the crowd, and generally taking up space. But above it all, there was a tension buzzing through the air.

"That sure is a lotta folk." Applejack said, uncharacteristically nervous. 

He looked out at the crowd and said "Eeyup."

They all filed out of the carriage and made their slow way through the crowd.  Big Macintosh didn't feel as nervous in the crowd as the rest of them; there were certain advantages to being so big.

After a lot of pushing, and squeezing, and saying "excuse me", they finally made it through the bustle into the archway that led into the rest of the city. They walked down the short hall a bit, but stopped there to do a quick head count. 

Applejack spoke up first, saying "Aw hay, we're still missin' Rainbow Dash and Rivet."

They heard a bickering behind them, and they all turned to find the pegasus and the griffon walking alongside each other, apparently arguing over who had won their little race.

"Are you kidding me? I won by a mile!"

"You did not! You couldn't tell because I was flying above you!"

When they got closer, they looked up at the group and stopped arguing.

Applejack cocked her eyebrow at the two of them, then she asked "So... Who won?"

Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest and said "I did!"

Rivet pouted, "She did."

Applejack looked smugly at Spike, who sighed and handed her two bits.
They all kept walking together, and Spike and Rivet started arguing. Again.


***


After waiting around Canterlot for an hour or so, they heard a bell ring, summoning everypony to the throne room. They all glanced nervously around, then got up from the table they had been sitting around, leaving their drinks half finished.

They made their way to the hall, following the throng, rather than trying to push their way through. By the time they made it into the hall their hooves were sore from shuffling around the courtyard, and Big Macintosh missed being back on the farm where it was quiet.

A gasp and a murmuring washed back in a wave over the crowd, then an utter silence: The Princess had arrived.
He could just barely see her over the crowd, but when she spoke, her soft voice floated over the entire hall, and could clearly be heard by everypony.

"Hello my subjects. It warms my heart to see so many of you come to support us."

She paused, then continued, "I have ruled over you and your ancestors for over two thousand years. I know many of you by name, but too few of you personally. I would trust any one of you with my life. But I am afraid this is a dark time for us all, and we must learn to trust each other as I trust you..."

She paused again, and when she continued her voice was barely a whisper, but by some form of magic was heard by everypony in the room, "...And so, it is with great sadness that I declare that, for the second time in our history... Equestria is going to war."

The murmuring from the crowd rose to a cry of distress.
War. It was an alien concept to everypony. Who would want to kill somepony else, and why?

He could see Fluttershy crying and Rarity trying in vain to comfort her. He saw Twilight looking shocked and babbling at the ground. Strangest of all though, was Pinkie Pie, who stood rigid, a smile frozen on her face, staring blankly into the crowd.

"SILENCE!"

All sound stopped in that instant, the very air seemingly holding its breath.

Celestia spoke again, softly but with determination, "If we are to make it through this, we must do it together. There will be choices we must all make, challenges for us all to face, but if we stand together as a nation, we will succeed. But for us to win, we need soldiers, so I ask that any able-bodied mare or stallion please consider signing up for the Royal Army of Equestria. A recruiting office will be set up outside the hall, and I ask you all again to please consider. Now I have... A council to attend with my new commanders. Thank you all, and good strength."
> 2: Changing Times
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"...When the night comes for us,

What will we do or say?

Will we hide and wait for the morning come,

Or light a torch to guide the way?..."

Chapter 2: Changing Times

The Captain of the Guard


Shining Armor stood at a window and watched the citizens of Canterlot milling about aimlessly, attempting to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. None of them were sure what to do, war was such an alien concept to them. They were all innocent of any crimes, yet they were the ones that would be paying the price in the coming war.

They were his people, his subjects, and he felt a responsibility to do whatever he could. And when the Princesses came for the war council, he would tell them himself that he's stepping down as Captain of the Guard, and joining the army, where he felt he could make a difference.

He heard the door open behind him, and he turned to find Princess Luna, who looked as apprehensive as he felt, but something looked strange about her... Her hair.
Her mane, which was normally a brilliant deep blue, had turned light and completely opaque.

She greeted him awkwardly, then took her place at the round table in the middle of the large room, occupying herself with pretending to look at the map of Equestria set into the table.
He sat opposite her, placing his helmet on the table, and tried not to glance at her too often.

An awkward silence followed.

Eventually she sighed, "Look, it's the daylight okay? This is the first occasion on which I have been awake during the daytime since... since my return. My mane looks the way it should in the light of the moon. Now would you kindly stop staring? Celestia should be here soon."

And with that she went back to staring intently at the map.

Five minutes later, he was fiddling with the crest of his helmet when Princess Celestia entered, a sky blue unicorn with a white mane behind her. Celestia took a seat next to her sister, who mumbled a greeting, and the unicorn sat beside her looking nervous. 

Not ten seconds later, one of Twilight's friends walked in, a pretty white unicorn with a curled purple mane. When she saw the other unicorn, she huffed in disgust and sat next to Luna.

"Ah, there you are Rarity," Celestia greeted the newest arrival, "I understand you and miss Trixie have already met before. But where is Twilight?"

Shining Armor twitched. She meant to bring his sister into this?

Rarity cleared her throat nervously, "Um... yes, about that. She's... not coming."

He could hear the surprise in Celestia's voice when she spoke, "I thought you said you could convince her! We need Twilight."

Trixie rolled her eyes. Shining Armor spoke up before either of them could continue, "No you don't! I'll not have you dragging my little sister into this!"

Celestia looked at him sadly, "If we're to win this war we need everypony, and Twilight is one of the most intelligent ponies I've ever met. Her mind may be crucial to securing our victory."

He fumed, but before he could say anything, Rarity said "She said she doesn't want anything to do with the war. I'm sorry, I tried, your highness..."

The Princess looked solemn, "It can't be helped. Did you talk to any of the others?"

Rarity gave a weak smile and said "Oh, yes actually. I played the 'duty' card and Applejack was convinced rather quickly. She'll be at the initiation ceremony in, ooh, half an hour. Rainbow Dash asked to sign her up before I had the chance to try to convince her. She'll be there too. Pinkie... she's in a bad way. She hasn't said a word since..."

She trailed off and frowned at the table, as though it were to blame for everything.

Celestia nodded patiently, "And what of Fluttershy? We need her to lead the peace corps."

Rarity bit her lip nervously, then she said, almost defiantly, "I'm sorry Your Highness, but I couldn't ask her. War is not a place for ponies such as her. I'm afraid she's going to take it pretty badly as it is..."

The look of desperation on the Princess' face was not one Shining Armor was used to; she was a wise ruler and, if history books were anything to go by, a brilliant strategist, but here she had put all of her trust in a select few ponies, and her best laid plans were crumbling beneath her hooves.

She didn't say a word.

Shining Armor cleared his throat, and said "So what of the front lines? Where is this mysterious enemy coming from?"

Princess Luna, the quieter of the two sisters, spoke up, "They are... zebras. From the east. They conducted a naval assault on Manehattan..." she emphasized this by prodding the island on the map titled 'Manehattan', "...and they appear to have made it their base of operations. I have had no word from the citizens inside the city, but it appears to be bad."

He sat down again, and said "Zebras... why zebras?" in surprise.

"We are unsure, they have not made any effort to contact us in any way."

After a short silence, Celestia looked around, then asked him "We're still missing Cadence, do you know when she will be coming?"

He coughed nervously, thought for a moment, then said "She's not coming."

The truth of it was that he had shared with her his plans of joining the army, and they had argued. A lot. For all he knew she was still at home in tears. 

He didn't want them to ask where she was, so he instead asked "So what part do I play in this?"

Both princesses looked at him in confusion, "Well, you're Captain of the Guard. The homefront needs protection."

He closed his eyes. This was it. "No I'm not, not anymore."

Everypony in the room stopped what they were doing, and he continued "I will not sit at home in Canterlot while everypony else goes to die on somepony else's orders. I... I want to join the army."

Celestia looked shocked as she said "I can't let you do that! With no Peace Corps, and no Captain of the Guard, the homefront will fall apart!"

He sighed and gritted his teeth, "I'm sorry, I know you were relying on me, but I just can't. I'll help you find somepony else."

"It's not only that. You're royalty, you and Cadence are the heirs to the throne, if anything happens to myself or my sister, you will be needed to keep Equestria safe."

She's not making it easy. "I'm sorry, I truly am, but I don't think I would make a good ruler if I sat at home and gave orders while everypony else dies. If you want me to rule someday, I need to prove to them that I'm worthy of ruling."

He stood up again and said in a resigned voice, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a ceremony to prepare for." and walked toward the door.


Big Macintosh

30 minutes earlier...


"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Twilight Sparkle asked, looking around at her friends sadly.

They were all standing at the train station in Canterlot saying their goodbyes.
Applejack took a step forward and said "We sure as hay don't, but I know one thing; this war's gon' affect all of us whether we sign up or not. So I figured we should do our part."

She embraced her friend, said "Goodbye, Twilight. I'm gonna miss you." then turned and trotted back to stand next to Rainbow Dash, who was preoccupied with trying not to cry.

Next Rarity came forward looking worried, and said to Fluttershy "Fluttershy darling, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it on Thursday..." she sniffed, paused, then continued "...But do have fun without me. Look after Opalescence while I'm away? And... I need you to be strong for me."

Fluttershy looked distraught, "But... I've never been strong, and now you're all leaving to go to... and I won't have any friends, how am I supposed to be strong? I need you! All of you! Oh, please don't go!"

Rarity put her hoof on her shoulder, looked her in the eye and said "Fluttershy. You have always been strong, and, at times, a little scary. How many other ponies can claim that they've faced down a dragon? Or a manticore? How about a minotaur? You are stronger than you think. And... Listen, I need you to take care of Pinkie, okay? I worry about her."

Fluttershy sniffed and nodded.

Then Rarity turned apprehensively to Twilight and said "Twilight, please reconsider, the Princess is relying on you."

Twilight looked at the ground, then said, "I'm sorry, I know Celestia was relying on me, but I can't do it. I've spent all of these years studying friendship, and now they expect me to go against everything I've learned! I just can't..."

Silence hung in the air, a hundred unspoken words screaming into everypony's mind; nopony knew what they should say.

Finally Twilight looked up at her friends and simply said "Goodbye, all of you. I hope we can all see each other again someday, but I guess our paths lead in different directions."

Rivet came forward and, without a word, tentatively hugged her.

He let go, and ruffled the spines on Spike's head, still without a word, then went to stand next to Rarity. Twilight smiled sadly at them, and added "Rarity, please keep an eye on Rivet, he has a tendency to get himself into trouble."

Before anypony else could say anything, she turned abruptly and trotted onto the train. Spike quickly waved goodbye, then hurried after her. Somewhere, somepony shouted "All aboard!" in a hoarse voice.

Applebloom, struggling to hold back tears, waved, turned and headed into the train.

"Take care of the farm while we're away, Applebloom!" Applejack called after her.
From habit, Big Macintosh added an "Eeyup."

Fluttershy didn't even look up at them, just turned and walked away, sniffing to herself. They all stood and watched the train leave the station with their old life on board.

They watched until it was out of sight, then kept watching.

"Hey, Mac."

Applejack looked nervously over at her friends, then said in a hushed tone "I need ya to tell me we're doin' the right thing. Because all of... this, it feels wrong."

Looking off down the tracks, he said “What else can we do?”

After an indefinite amount of time, Applejack started, then said "Oh shoot, we'd all better get ready fer the ceremony. Come on, y'all."


Rivet


The midday sun beat down relentlessly on Rivet’s back, as he stood lost in a crowd of hundreds of other ponies, all willing to do their part for ponykind, which, as he reflected later, was what made him uncomfortable. ‘Ponykind’ did not include griffons, and looking around at the masses packed into the courtyard, he couldn’t see anything save a sea of ponies.

He started to feel the beginnings of panic rise in him, and had just started wondering what he was doing there, when Rainbow Dash nudged him and whispered “Hey, is this awesome or what? We are going to kick some zebra butt! And then we’ll all come home and be big darn heroes!”

He felt his eye twitching from nerves, but covered it up by giving her a cocky grin and saying, “Yeah, this is gonna be great!” before looking away and attempting to subtly wipe some sweat from his brow.

The crowd murmured in apprehension. The sun burned overhead. A bead of sweat rolled down Rivet’s back. And still they waited.

Just as he felt like he would have to sit down, an almost audible silence spread across the crowd, followed by more than a few gasps, and a “Whoa” from Rainbow Dash, as Princess Celestia stepped up onto the makeshift stage that had been erected earlier that day.

Now, everypony who had even visited Canterlot had seen Celestia at one time or another, but the Princess that stood in front of them all was not the same Princess they had seen walking the gardens talking with her students, this was a Warrior.

The entire crowd was in awe of the image before them, gleaming from head to hoof in golden armor, a gilded sun decorating the breastplate, and her entire body seeming to glint with the slightest movement, reflecting light such that one would think she wore the sun as armor.

The shimmering Goddess of the sun stood before them in silence, looking out over the crowd. She looked at Rivet and their eyes seemed to connect, and, despite having never met, he thought he saw a flicker of recognition cross her face.
Then just as suddenly, her face was a mask again, and she looked away.

Beside him, Rainbow Dash made a kind of fangirl giggle and said “Did you see? She looked right at me!”

The Princess stepped up, paused, seemingly for effect, and started talking in a soft voice that magically carried to everyone in that courtyard, even in the back, it sounded as though she were whispering in his ear, she said “My friends, thank you all for coming. I will not keep you long, and I will not do you the discourtesy of avoiding the truth. I understand that some of you have joined in search of fame, or glory, or perhaps you were swayed by some other such notion. I tell you to put those thoughts out of your heads as of today. This is not an adventure, this is not a vacation to Los Pegasus, this is war.  You must all be prepared to kill, to spill zebra blood so that your families can live free of oppression, but you must also be prepared to spill your own blood, for blood is the price of war. In all things, remember that, brothers and sisters. Remember the price we must all pay, but also remember why we pay this price.”

She looked out at the crowd, as if lost in memory for a second or two, then continued in a more formal voice “Now we must all prepare, war is on the horizon. I will now vacate the stage, and your new General will brief you on the events in the coming months. Thank you all again.”

And with that, she walked off the right of the stage, her armored hooves making loud clomping sounds on the hollow wood of the stage.

A moment later, a somewhat flustered looking unicorn stallion wearing a red uniform stepped up and cleared his throat. Rainbow Dash made a confused noise and whispered “Shining Armor?”

“Uh... Hello everypony, my name is Shi-... Er, General Shining Armor. I will be in charge of Their Majesties’ Royal Army... of Equestria. Over the next month, you will all receive training in combat, basic medicine (herbal and otherwise), and formations. The pegasi will receive special defensive flying training, and will train separately under the division titled ‘The Royal Equestrian Airforce’, and will provide aerial support to troops on the ground...”

He paused and pulled a scroll from his uniform, and squinted at it, “Over the next months a fleet of airships will also be manufactured, and a select few will be chosen to be their crew, and will transport supplies, weapons, and for the larger of the ships, even troops. Now, we are aware that not all of us are able to use magic, so to this end, Pegasi and Earth ponies will be trained in the use of a ‘mouth-grip’ blade.”

He put the scroll back in an unseen pocket, and put on a determined look, “You all heard the Princess, it’s going to cost a lot if we want to win this war, but I think we have what it takes. Now, you’ll all be living here for the next month before you ship out, and you live with those who you train with, get to know them, your life may just depend on them one day. I now ask that you all follow the Commanders, where you will all become familiarised with your respective barracks. Pegasi, follow Commanders Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, in the airspace above the courtyard,”

Rivet glanced over to where Rainbow Dash had been, but she was already gone, along with every pegasus pony there, slowly ascending above the crowded courtyard. 

“Earth Ponies, you will follow Commander Applejack at the west entrance,”

Half of the remaining ponies began filing out to where Applejack stood at the far side of the courtyard. It was just the unicorns left... and him. 

“And Unicorns will follow Commander Rarity and myself, by the East entrance.”

Satisfied, he stepped down off the stage and started trotting over to the East entrance where Rarity stood waiting.

Rivet, in a panic, flew quickly over to Rarity and asked “What do I do?”

Rarity looked startled and stammered “Oh, er... I, hm?”

General Shining Armor stepped over and asked “Is there a problem, Commander?”

Rivet stood completely still, wishing that he would shrink, at least a little bit, all of the unicorns staring at him quizzically.

Rarity cleared her throat not ungracefully and said “Um, no. Well yes, of a sort. This is Rivet, a friend of mine. He’s, well..." 
She gestured vaguely at him.

The General turned and looked at him, and said “Ah, of course, Rivet! I have heard of you, Twily- er... Twilight Sparkle, that is, speaks very highly of you. But uh, yes, I can see what your problem is. Well, are you particularly good at flying? If you’re half as good as Rainbow Dash you’d be much better suited for the Airforce. But... No, I think it would be best if you joined the unicorns, I doubt you could hold a sword in your beak. Er, no offense. Yes, the unicorns! You could probably hold a sword in your claws as well as we could with our magic. Well I think that settles it then! Our camp is down at the base of the mountain, so we have a way to walk.”

And just like that, they set off. Rivet spared a passing glance at the cloud of pegasi flying off over Canterlot, and flapped his wings dejectedly.


Big Macintosh

One month later...


“Nice form Mjӧlna, but try ta keep yer blade steady.”

As had become routine, Applejack’s voice rang across the training yard, providing advice and encouragement to the trainees.

Applejack was a good teacher, he reflected, even if she was a little soft on them. Over the past month they had trained in many different forms of combat, including hoof-to-hoof, blades, polearms, which he seemed to pick up the fastest, and even the use and maintenance of cannons. 

But while the training felt almost light-hearted with large communal meals every day, complete with cider and music and friendly conversations with fellow soldiers, tensions had slowly been rising as word came from the front lines. Word of the ruin that was once Manehattan, word of living war machines from over the sea. Even word that the zebra forces had started to expand out of their foothold in Manehattan. It all painted a very grim picture.

“Alright Mac, let’s see that thrust!”

He started as Applejack’s voice brought him back to reality. She stood beside him, smiling, and nodded toward the training ‘dummy’ in front of him.

He looked at the sack of straw propped up in front of him, nailed to a post for support and painted with vague black stripes, and squinted in concentration.

After a pause for thought, he tilted his head to the right, so the point of the spear in his mouth was aimed squarely at the target. Just like he’d practiced, he breathed right in, breathed right out, tensed his neck muscles, and thrust.

The tip just barely caught on the edge of the sack, and he felt the shaft ripped from between his teeth.

Beside him, a tough-looking pink mare with a lavendar and white crew-cut mane snickered around the scimitar in her mouth. 

Applejack gave her a glare and said “You focus on gettin’ that swing right, Diamond Tiara.”

Then to him, she said “Now, do ya know watcha did wrong?” 

He shook his head sullenly. 

She sighed and said “Yer thrustin’ with yer neck. Yer supposed ta tense yer neck muscles, then thrust with ya shoulders. Straight neck. Now... Try again. I know you can do it, I’ve seen you.”

She picked the spear up between her hooves, yanked it from the sack, and passed it to him. He took the spear in his mouth, and set himself to try again. Turn... breathe in... breathe out... tense... thrust.

There was an immense crack! and the burlap zebra exploded satisfyingly into a cloud of straw. He took a step back, leaving the spear embedded in the splintered wood where it pinned the remains of the striped sack to the post.

Applejack gaped for a moment, cleared her throat, and said “Well I’ll be. I knew ye had it in ya, but that was...” 

She took a step forward, bit into the shaft of the spear and tugged at it... to no avail. She stepped back again and scratched her head. “That thing’s stuck harder’n an unripe apple! Keep up the good work, Mac!”

Then she turned around and, as was traditional for that time of day, hollered “Alright folks, getchaself a trainin’ weapon, getchaself a sparrin’ pardner, and let’s get to it!”

He grabbed a wooden sword from the rack, and looked around at the other ponies, wondering who would challenge him today. Being the biggest, he was the one ponies came to when they wanted a challenge, or lost a bet. Nopony in particular caught his eye, until he saw Diamond Tiara grinning around the wooden sword in her mouth. She waved at him, then made a cutting motion across her throat; the intent of the gesture was obvious.

They both stepped into opposite sides of one of the circles of rope scattered throughout the yard, and waited for the ‘go’ from Applejack.

They stood facing each other, and everything else outside the circle stopped existing. Diamond Tiara cocked an eyebrow and smirked. He hunched his shoulders, bit into his sword, and lowered his head.

Somewhere outside the circle, a whistle blew, and Diamond Tiara took no time in charging in and swinging directly at his face.
He just barely ducked under her swing. She was playing for keeps!

She followed through with a lightning-quick blow that caught the inside of his leg and made him stumble forward. He just managed to regain his footing and leap back, before another fierce swipe just barely clipped the tip of his nose. 

He made an attempt at pressing the attack, go on the offensive, but she lithely dodged around his attacks, and thwacked him in the shoulder. She went to follow through, but he managed to block, the impact sending a jarring vibration through his teeth. 

He made another attempt at pressing the attack, but she leapt back, dodging his swing. He advanced, and swung again, but this time she stepped up and mirrored his swing, and their weapons clashed. They were both held for a second, grimacing at each other, sweat already starting to drip down through their coats. 

She glanced over his shoulder, gave a little smirk again, then slipped her head off to the side, her sword slid down the surface of his own weapon and cracked him across the face. He stumbled back again, and before he even had time to catch a breath, she was taking another swing at his face. 

He ducked, then jumped forward under her swing, and brought his shoulder solidly into her chest. Her breath left her lungs with an oof! and she took her turn to stumble back, gasping. 

Taking a step back for a breather, he became momentarily aware of the world outside their little fight, and, more specifically, all of the ponies gathered around their circle cheering them on. This behaviour wasn’t uncommon, and he remembered that Applejack even supported it sometimes, believing it helped to relieve tension.

A drop of blood ran down over his eyelid, and he wiped it off. Diamond Tiara took this as an opportunity to resume her attack, and started swinging wildly at him. He couldn’t have hope to block all of them, but the attacks, which were far more random, didn’t hit hard enough to slow him down, but what they did do was make him mad. 

He kept, blocking, every hit sending shocks through his spine, until he was seething with a rage that he never knew he had, which kind of scared him, and he started acting out of instinct. His opponent knew something was up, now that he was deftly blocking every attack she threw at him. 

She took an inevitable step forward, and that was when he struck. He brought his weapon down into her left foreleg, much the same as she had done, and started hacking at her guard. From her position, she was barely able to keep from losing all of her teeth, and she was starting to look a little worried.

“Mm yurld!”

Terrified, Diamond Tiara spat out her weapon and repeated “I yield!”

The words fell on deaf ears, and he moved in to finish it. He sweeped low, and brought her hooves out from under her, and she toppled to the ground.

He was about to bring his weapon down to smash it across her head, when he realized somepony was shouting at him. Not the crowd... there was dead silence, save for a single urgent voice... 

“I said that’s enough! She yielded, Mac!”

He turned to see his sister looking a mix of worried and angry, and she repeated, quieter, “That’s enough.”

Everypony was staring. He dropped the wooden sword and stood, in a daze. Diamond Tiara got up with the help of one of the medics, and scampered off.

He opened his mouth to say sorry, to try to explain that he didn’t know what had come over him, when a gray pegasus swooped down out of nowhere, he thought it was Derpy, but there was no way to be sure, and whispered urgently to Applejack.

Her ears perked when she heard, and she yelled “Alright, folks! The General’s callin’ a meetin’ in an hour. We just got word that the zebra forces are on the move, and you know what that means! Pack your bags, we’re shippin’ out! ”

A cheer went up, and everypony forgot about what they had just seen in the ring and trotted off chatting happily among themselves.

Big Macintosh stayed, staring blankly at the training swords lying side by side on the sand that covered the training ground. One of them had a crack running across it, and the other a smear of blood.

Behind him, Applejack cleared her throat, “Mac, what was that?”

He couldn’t look her in the eye; he could hear the disappointment in her voice, and just said “I don’ know...”

She stepped around in front of him, “That’s not good enough, Mac! That wasn’t you. Mah brother is kind. Mah brother is strong an’ soft at the same time. He ain't some ruthless soldier.”

He turned away again, “This is war, AJ. Maybe this is who I need to be.”

She walked around in front of him again, and said “Okay, I understand that, but just... promise me somethin’. This other you, this soldier... Be him, but don’t become him. Okay?”

She gave him a quick hug, and left him standing in the circle.
> 3: Dusk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


“...For the dark comes for us all,

as sure as the wind that blows,

and in the darkness of that night,

our true face is the one that shows...”



Chapter 3: Dusk



The Zebra


Dawn broke over the distant mountains, the brilliant rays of that familiar sphere illuminating the alien features of an unfamiliar world. Zeniah gave a deep sigh. She enjoyed watching the sunrise; in this land a thousand miles from home it was an old friend, an only friend.

As the world slowly came into focus, she noticed, as she did every morning, the vibrant colors. The deep blue of the mountains, capped with white, the brilliant greens of the fields, rippling in a gentle breeze. They were colors more suited to gemstones, or garments for the rich. The grass should be pale gold, touched by the sun, mountains were meant to be gray or even black, and the white was unheard of, as if they were crowned with solid clouds.
It felt wrong, but at the same time it felt right, it felt alive.

She took another deep breath, feeling the chill in her lungs. She shivered despite the cloak covering her back and head. She missed the heavy warmth of the air back home.

A month. For a month she had lived in ruined, crumbled houses. For a month she helped shepherd the locals, as colorful as their country, to their deaths. She had never killed anypony, but she may as well have. As much as she pretended to be just another oblivious soldier, she knew of the horrors that were inflicted to the stallions, mares, and foals in those camps. But it still paled in comparison to what waited in their homeland...

From where she sat at the edge of the camp, the sounds of an army awakening drowned out the silence. Where before there was the chirp of exotic birds and the rushing of a nearby stream, there was shouting and the clattering of steel.
There was a loud hoarse cry of “Form rank!” from the Centurion in the center of camp.

Zeniah took one last deep breath, then turned and trotted back into the camp for the morning’s marching orders.


***


Half an hour later found a hundred zebras marching in silence through a vivid green valley, breathtakingly beautiful, or it would have been; the beauty of the land was lost on the century of jaded soldiers.They were more interested in watching their hooves plod slowly through the dirt of the road.

Nopony looked up. They knew what they would see if they did: Canterlot. Even from the valley they were in, they could see the solitary mountain off to the west, jutting defiantly into the morning sky, the castle perched on the side looked all but impenetrable.

They had taken every precaution, avoiding every town, capturing any ‘pegasi’, those accursed winged ponies, before they could fly away and warn the capital of the approaching army, but the air was still heavy with tension as they left Fillydelphia.
For all they knew there could be an army waiting for them in that castle hanging in the sky. 

Each step brought them closer to what could potentially be the end to this little war, but only time would tell.


Shining Armor


Shining Armor felt tired. Not physically tired, he was in excellent shape after all of the training, but mentally he was exhausted; leading an army was hard work.
After countless hours doing drills, meeting with potential armorers, and council meetings, he felt like he was at wit’s end.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around the table at his commanders.

Rarity and Trixie were arguing. Again. Spitfire was saying something at him about... something. Rainbow Dash was fiddling with her wing, paying no attention to what was happening. Applejack was off drilling her troops, as always.

He noticed a pegasus standing timidly by the door, a messenger, judging by the saddlebag. He waved her in, and she made her way around the table, smiling nervously. 

When she reached him, she gave an awkward salute and said “General, uh... sir. I have a letter from the princess.”

She produced a scroll from her bag and held it out to him.
He looked at the scroll and asked “What’s your name?”

“Er... Cloudchaser. Sir.”

He took the letter from her and said “Thank you Cloudchaser, you’re dismissed.”

She quickly saluted again and scampered out of the room.

He read the letter to himself, not liking what he read. It wasn’t until he’d finished and looked up from the letter that he noticed that the room had fallen silent.

“Darling, you’re frowning again. It doesn’t suit you... er, sir.” Rarity said, looking concerned and just a little curious.

“We’re not ready...” he mumbled, without thinking.

Rainbow Dash, now paying full attention, asked “What did you say? Do we finally get to see some action?”

Shining Armor sighed, regained his composure, then told them. “We’ve received word of zebra forces in Fillydelphia, and making preparations to march on Canterlot.”

In unison, Rarity and Trixie exclaimed “Canterlot?”

He knew they weren’t ready, the enemy had more than likely been training their entire lives for this, whereas their own troops had barely received a month’s training. He took another look around at his commanders, at the mix of fear and determination on their faces. 

“We are by no means ready, but if we delay any longer, the zebras will reach the capital unchallenged and the war will be as good as over.”

Rainbow Dash put both hooves on the table and said “We gotta do something; if we take out even an advance party, those zebras will know we’re not just some eggheads to be pushed around, and run back to Manehattan.”

Rarity took her turn to voice her opinion and said “This may actually be a good thing, if their main forces are in Fillydelphia, we can take the chance to help some of the ponies around the Manehattan area. I... heard that one of the airships has been completed. With your permission, I could take a small crew and a cargo hold of supplies, see if there’s anypony we can help.”

She smiled to herself in a way that said ‘I feel clever’ and raised her eyebrows inquisitively at him.

A moment of contemplative silence followed before Shining Armor decided it was time to finally speak up. “You’re both right, we need to meet the attackers head on, show them that we mean business, and relieve civilians while the enemy’s distracted.”

Spitfire muttered “I wouldn’t exactly call that a plan...”

Before continuing, Shining Armor took a deep breath. “Commanders, gather your troops in the courtyard back in Canterlot. We leave tomorrow morning. And can somepony send a message to Commander Applejack as well?”

They all nodded and stood up.

As they were filing out, he called to Rarity and said “Commander Rarity, I’ll need you to stay behind.”

Rarity looked nervously at Rainbow Dash, who shrugged and trotted out after Spitfire. “Yes, General? Did I... do something wrong?”

“What? No, I said your idea was good, Commander. I just wanted to know if you’d need any help getting your crew together.”

She looked shocked for some reason, then said “Oh, er... I guess I could use a little help.”

“There’s a list of roles your crew needs to fill, I’ll just write it up for you in a moment... but there’s something else. We’ve... made contact with Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen? I believe you two... er, met... we’ll be hiring the changelings strictly as mercenary forces...”

Rarity simply nodded and said “Oh, I know.”

“..Now, before you say-... what? What do you mean you know? That’s classified information!”

She smiled sheepishly. “Well I... may have some, er... contacts. I like to be in the know. But what I don’t know is what you’re going to do with them, they’re not exactly front line material.”

He gave a wary smile. “Espionage.”


Rivet


The sword in Rivet’s claws felt strange, cold and off-balance. He squinted at the striped dummy in front of him, then thrust the blade into it. The sword cut through the sack, and sunk into the post behind it with a thunk.
He let go of it and stepped back, somehow dissatisfied. Sand trickled slowly from the hole. When it came to it- and he knew it was coming soon- would he be able to just kill a pony?

He yanked the sword out and watched the sand bleed out onto the ground.

Andromeda, who was training beside him, whispered “Look out, Blueblood’s at it again.”

From somewhere across the yard came the narcissistic drawl that belonged to their drilling instructor Prince Blueblood, “No, you’re doing it all wrong. I told you, keep the blade high. This isn’t medical training, miss Belle! I know it’s heavy! If it weren’t heavy it would be a dagger, and you have no chance of parrying with a dagger, now keep your blade up, girl! Sometimes I don’t even know why I bother with you commoners, fencing is a civilized art, I hardly expect mere peasants to possess the sophistication required for such a skill. I said keep your blade up!”

A pretty young unicorn, on the verge of tears, was struggling to keep a large sword above her head, while Blueblood watched, scowling.

On reflection, Blueblood, while a complete pain in the flank, knew what he was doing. He had won many a fencing tournament, as he was so quick to remind everyone at every chance he got, and no one could best him when it came to sparring. Rivet himself had tried on one occasion, and was awarded with many a bruise on his shoulders, legs and ego.

Rivet watched the young mare; she was seconds away from dropping the heavy blade, and he knew that meant she would be getting further public humiliation from Blueblood.
Sweat beaded the poor unicorn’s face; the heat coming from the glow around her straining horn would have been immense.

She was just about to give in, when Commander Trixie strode purposefully into the yard and shouted, “The General has received word of zebra troop movement, and we are to assemble in the courtyard in Canterlot. Well, what are you waiting for? The Great and Commanding Trixie gave you an order! Move out!”

A couple of ponies gave an excited whinny but for the most part, everyone started moving out in silence. They learned to follow Commander Trixie’s orders, not out of fear or respect, but simply because they didn’t want her to start talking about how she ‘vanquished the Ursa whatever-it-was’ or any of her other outlandish stories.

The young mare dropped the heavy sword into the dust with a thump, and smiled in relief. She started trotting toward the exit to the camp, and Andromeda hurried after her.
Rivet smiled and rolled his eyes as he sauntered after them.

He was thankful for Andromeda, he thought, as he walked alongside him, barely listening to his chatter with the young mare. If it weren’t for him, he would have felt completely alienated surrounded by unicorns.

In the first days it had seemed like he was going to be alone in the crowd, so to speak, but more recruits were arriving from all over Equestria every day, and one day he had been walking through the yard after training and Andromeda had just walked up beside him and started chatting away like they were still in Ponyville.

While having a friend there helped him from feeling like an outsider, he still felt very different. It had been a week before they had even begun training in earnest; the first week had been lessons in magically wielding weapons. 
From what he could tell, apparently it was closer to unlearning, something about the limitations of special talents and how they limited their use of magic. It all only served to remind him of his lack of a cutie mark, and he soon learned not to pay attention.

He had had difficulty following the instructors at first, seeing as every pony held their weapons in a magical field, and he held them in his claws.

He had been ready to give up and admit to being useless, when one day General Shining Armor told him “Telekinesis is nothing but claws that you can’t see or feel. Imagine that picking something up with your claw is just like magic, but you can see what’s holding it.”

At first he thought it was dumb advice, and had many more embarrassing fumbles and slips, before one day, after a particularly futile attempt, he gave up and sat down, opting to watch Andromeda training instead. He wasn’t the best at it, and his movements were slower and a little clumsier than any of the others, but his slower movements allowed Rivet to watch closer. He tried imagining an invisible claw holding the sword, and, after watching him go through the movements, picked up his own sword and copied him.

After that he learned quickly, and soon he was a match for any pony there, with the possible exception of Blueblood.

He drifted back to reality, and noticed with a small amount of surprise that they were already halfway up the path that lead to Canterlot.

Beside him, Andromeda was still deep in conversation with the mare. “...Really. I’m just not cut out for being a soldier... So why are you here, if you don’t mind me asking? I mean, we’re going to have to... kill somepony, sometime. It’s inevitable, you know?”

When she replied, the mare’s voice was smooth and surprisingly high pitched, “Well... I just wanted to be a nurse. I like helping ponies and stuff. I talked to my sister about it, and she said that once we were done with training I could be a... what’s it called again? A medical? But I dunno, I’m not really that good at it, maybe I should just be a squire or something. Squire’s the one that just does stuff for Commanders, right? Maybe I could help my sister do stuff.”

Andromeda tripped on a stone jutting out of the uneven path, staggered, then quickly recovered and cleared his throat. “Come on, Sweetie Belle. ‘Not really that good?’ You were top of the class! I think you’d make a great medic. That's... medic, by the way.”

Sweetie Belle cocked an eyebrow and said “Huh?”

“Medic. Not medical.”

She rolled her eyes at his cocky grin. “What are you, a dictionary?”

“Something like that.”

She sighed and said “You’re impossible.”

They continued their banter for the rest of the trip, and Rivet found himself drifting off again, when he noticed a cloud of pegasi flying toward Canterlot. He felt a pang of loneliness as he watched them fly over.
He noticed how well-trained they all seemed, all flying together in formation. In comparison, he barely remembered he had wings, but flapped them then, and thought about how he could have been up there with them.

He felt his wing impact with something, and heard a “Hey!” from Andromeda. Sweetie Belle laughed into her hoof as Andromeda glared at him.

Rivet grinned sheepishly at him and was about to apologize, when a dropped into his mind.
He looked at his friend, his sly smile, the easiness with which he went about everything. It was all a trot through a field for him. The words of his childhood flight teacher came to mind; “Fly high, fall hard”.

As much as he hated to think about it, griffons were built to kill. He could feel it in his claws, the desire to sink them into someone’s flesh, to taste the blood on his beak. Every night, laying in his bunk, he worried. He didn’t worry that he would have to kill someone... he worried that he would enjoy it. But Andromeda... he wasn’t sure how he’d take it. He was innocent, he-

“Hey Rivet, you okay buddy?”

He jerked back to reality to find the two unicorns watching him with worried looks on their faces. He mumbled a  “Huh?”

“You just kinda drifted off on us, you look about as tired as I feel. Anyway, as long as you’re back in the land of the living, we’d better not keep the general waiting. After that we can get some shuteye.”

As they approached the archway that led into Canterlot proper, they heard an annoyingly familiar voice behind them call out “Hold on, you two!”

They turned to see Commander Trixie hurrying up to them, out of breath from having just run up the path from the training camp. They waited patiently for her to catch up, and then for her to catch her breath.

After a brief pause filled with gasping, she raised her head and said “You... you two are not going to the courtyard. You have other plans.”

Rivet’s first thought was; Hooray, secret stuff that only involves ponies.
His second thought, when Commander Trixie dismissed Sweetie Belle, simply consisted of the word 'what.'
They followed wordlessly, giving each other confused looks.


***


“This is horse manure, ma’am!”

They had stopped at a double door at the end of a hall in some part of the castle that Rivet had never seen before, and there was obviously some kind of argument happening on the other side of the doors.
Trixie glanced back at them, then tentatively opened the doors with her magic. The creak as they opened was enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room, and the occupants glanced at the newcomers.

“Well, I believe these are the last additions to your little... escapade, Commander. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other business to attend to.” Trixie said, a hint of jealousy in her voice. She waited for a second or two, then stalked out of the room without a word.

Rarity turned to look at the pair of them standing in the doorway, and scribbled something on a list floating in front of her.
The pony she had been arguing with perked up at the sight of them.

“Rivet?” she asked, her voice as familiar to him as the hammering of steel.

She trotted over, leaving Rarity to her list, and gave him a quick hug. He grinned and said “Mjӧlna, long time no see! How’ve you been?”

She shook her head, but it didn’t do anything to shake the smile off her face, “Aye, I’ve been alright. It’s all a little strange still, so it’s good ta see a friendly face.”

“So what’s going on? Why are we here? What were you arguing about?” Rivet asked, the questions cluttering his mind finally spilling out.

“Didn’t ya hear? We-” she started, but was interrupted by Rarity clearing her throat in a not unladylike manner.
Mjӧlna turned around and stood at attention, waiting for the commander to speak.

Rarity looked over her list one last time, glancing around the silent room occasionally.

It was this that drew Rivet’s attention to the other occupants of the room. Aside from Andromeda, Mjӧlna, Rarity, and himself, there was a gray pegasus stallion with slicked black hair and a cocky smile, who sat nonchalantly at the table occupying the centre of the room inspecting a hoof, a pair of blue unicorns that could only be twins stood silently near one of the large floor-to-ceiling windows, and Derpy, a wall-eyed pegasus that had worked as a mailmare back in Ponyville, who stood looking contentedly out one of the windows.

Rarity finally broke the silence, saying “Hello everypony. Er... everyone, rather. Now I’m sure you are all wondering what you are doing here when you could be listening to some marvelous speech about the greater good, or something like that. Well, you should all be proud to know that you have all been chosen for a special task. We are just waiting on one last crew member...”

She had hardly finished talking when, as if on cue, Princess Celestia walked in, once again clad in the magnificent armor that she wore when Rivet had last seen her. She had clearly just come from the courtyard. Behind her walked an earth pony guard, almost as if there was something to fear even in Canterlot.

She cast her gaze around at the group and smiled warmly at each of them, except the smile turned into more of a frown when she noticed Rivet.
Just as last time, the frown was gone within the blink of an eye, and she was back to smiling again.

Rarity, looking a little uneasy, said “Ah, your Highness, lovely to see you. We’ve been expecting you.” and gave a quick bow that managed to be both clumsy and graceful at the same time.

The Princess gave her another smile and said “Yes, I have come to give your new crew a briefing on their mission, and also to introduce the last member of said crew.”

She nodded to the guard, and he strode confidently into the centre of the room and took a seat at the table.

The rest of them all took this as a cue and sat around the table, with Celestia standing at the head. 
She gave the guard pony an inquisitive look, and said “Everyone, this is... Sue-” 

The gray stallion started snorting with laughter, earning a glare from ‘Sue’, 

”-and he is going to be in charge of tactics and infiltration where necessary.”

Andromeda’s hoof shot up, and, without waiting to be acknowledged, said “Uh, you highness, I hate to be ‘that guy’, but infiltration isn’t exactly... earth ponies’ area of expertise.”

The princess said nothing, but inclined her head toward Sue, who nodded.
A ripple of green light shot down the pony’s body, and the pure white coat of an earth pony was instantaneously replaced with the distinct mottled black and green carapace of a changeling. He allowed himself a little self-satisfied smile.

The pegasus stallion, still chortling to himself, stopped laughing, shouted in surprise, fell off his chair, and shot up into the air where he hovered breathlessly. 

After he had caught his breath, he shouted “Whoa, a changeling?! And you expect me to work with this thing?”

Rarity glared at him and said “I expect you to follow orders, Rumble. You are a soldier now, remember?”

Rumble lowered himself down into one of the chairs further from the changeling and muttered “Yes ma’am... But that doesn’t mean I trust him.”

Princess Celestia watched them with a look that was a combination of calm and amused, but she seemed... worried.
She exchanged a look with Rarity, and with that she finally spoke, “Over the past month we have been receiving word of refugees in the areas around Manehattan. The zebras are showing no remorse, they have walled up Manehattan city and have set up camps where they keep civilians. The towns in the vicinity have been bled for resources. It’s grim. But all of you can help to make a difference. The main zebra forces have moved to Fillydelphia, and our forces are to meet them head on. While they are preoccupied, you are to take an airship, the first out of production, and help the civilians in any way you can.
Rarity, I am sorry that this could not be more ceremonial, but as of today, you are no longer a commander in the Army. You are hereby promoted to Admiral of the Navy.”

Rarity beamed with pride and gave a small bow, “Thank you Princess, I will not let you down.”

Outside in the courtyard a bell started ringing. The princess glanced out the window and said “Well then, Shining Armor and the First Battalion are on the march.
If you all come with me, I shall show you to your ship and see you off. Once on board, the Admiral will show you around the ship and where you will be stationed. Come, we must not waste time.”

She turned and walked from the room, her heavy armor making each hoofstep ring through the halls of the castle.



Big Macintosh


Gathered in the courtyard, the ponies chattered excitedly among themselves. All of them wore saddlebags with a silhouette of Canterlot printed on the sides. Those bags, he reflected, contained all of their worldly possessions.
Diamond Tiara, having recovered from their bout in the ring with only a couple of bruises, was bragging to anypony that would listen about how many zebras she was going to kill.
She was still talking as Princess Celestia, clad in her armor, took the stage.

Everypony else fell into both silence and rank except her, completely oblivious to the silence around her, talking embarrassingly loudly. Silver Spoon, her friend standing at attention next to her, punched her in the shoulder and nodded toward the stage, where the Princess stood glaring at her.
Diamond Tiara turned toward the stage, then instantly stopped talking and took to cowering instead. And with good reason; the Princess’ stare looked like it could cut through steel.

Celestia kept silent for a few seconds, looking out over the crowd like she always did.
Her armor shimmered in the noonday sun bright enough that nopony could look directly at her.

Satisfied, the Princess nodded to herself, then started to speak. “Greetings everypony. The day has come at last. I will only be brief, I have prior engagements that require attending, and I am sure the General would not appreciate me stealing his thunder, so to speak.
So I will say this and be on my way: I am proud of all of you. I have made a point of watching you all train, and you are all well on the way to becoming the soldiers this nation needs.  I give you all my blessing, and I believe in you. That is all, thank you.”

She stepped off the stage without another word, and General Shining Armor took her place in the center.

He wore a set of magnificent white steel armor trimmed with purple which, true to his name, shone, dull in comparison to that of the Princess, but still a sight to behold.
His helmet didn’t cover his entire face, and did nothing to cover the look of worry, nor the sunken eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept for at least a week.

Before he started, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Hello everypony. That is to say, uh... thank you all for coming. You have all greatly improved over the past month, and I have even had the chance to train with some of you. The zebras may be better trained, but they...”

His voice trailed off mid sentence, and he stared blankly out at the crowd of recruits.

“...Okay, I’m not going to lie to you, you all deserve better than that. Things are grim. They outnumber us, they are better trained, and they are determined. I don’t know if we can win this war, but most if not all of you have families here in Canterlot, and we are going to stop them getting here. Even if we die, they are not getting to our families.
You have prepared physically, you are all capable, but now you must prepare mentally. Ask yourself; when the time comes, could you kill another pony? They will kill you without remorse. They will trample you into the ground if you hesitate. And you are the only ones that stand between the zebras and Canterlot. So you must be prepared to do what is necessary.”

He took a deep breath. His face no longer looked tired, the tension had been replaced with determination, and he started to speak louder and with more confidence.

“These are hard times. Dark times. Equestria has been at peace for a thousand years, but the sun is setting. Night is coming. So I ask you; what will you do in that night? Will you find a place to hide? Will you accept the darkness? Or will you light a torch, band together, fight against the cold and the dark?”

As he spoke, ponies started murmuring agreements, stomping in approval, and his voice rose to echo off the courtyard walls.

“The sun of peace has set, and the moon rises! We must look to ourselves for light! But don’t lose hope. Never lose hope. The dawn is coming, and we will see peace return to Equestria! We will not stop fighting until the dawn!”

The courtyard shook with stomping and cheering. In one corner, mainly populated with pegasi, some of the soldiers started shouting “Dawn!”, and before long, the entire courtyard rang with a thousand shouts.

Fighting to be heard over the uproar, Shining Armor shouted “We march for Fillydelphia! Let’s buck these tyrants out of our land!”

Still cheering and shouting, the soldiers started filing out of the courtyard toward the city’s exit.
Somewhere a bell started ringing, heralding the army’s march.


Zeniah

The next morning...


The morning was cold and damp. Heavy cloud had moved in overnight, obscuring Zeniah’s view of the sunrise. She felt miserable. Her hooves were wet.  Dew clung to her cloak as she sat looking forlornly at the gray masses of cloud obscuring her view of the beautiful valley.

The colors that had been so prominent the previous morning were all muted to a dull gray. At least she couldn’t see Canterlot. That castle still gave her a feeling as though a rock were dropped into her stomach whenever she looked up at it.
The cold air clawed at her face, and a chill wind whipped at her cloak.
How did everything change so quickly?

The cry of “Form rank!” came muffled through the dense air. She shivered, pulled her cloak closer to her, checked the unused gladius sheathed at her side, and started her walk back toward the camp.

Standing in line alongside her ‘friends’, she had difficulty paying attention to the days marching orders. The cold was starting to give her a headache. They were a day’s march from Canterlot, and everypony was starting to get nervous. There had been a lot of tension accumulating over the past week, and the weather wasn’t helping.

She was just starting to wonder if she would ever be warm again, when a shout came from outside the camp. Seconds later, the lookout galloped into view and started shouting breathlessly about ponies.
The Centurion, Darius, a hardened veteran, surly on the best of days, gave the legionnaire a hard whack across the face and said “Get a hold of yourself. What is going on?”

The soldier took a couple of deep breaths, coughing at the cold invading his lungs, and managed to pant “Equestrian forces, at the mouth of the valley, to the west. They know we’re here.”

The centurion didn’t waste any time, he turned back to the waiting soldiers and shouted “Xanthe, you are to get back to Fillydelphia and tell them of what happened here. Go! The rest of you, to arms!”

Zeniah scrambled into her tent, taking a moment to wrestle with the flap covering the entrance. She flopped inside, and quickly donned her helmet, which slipped, partly obscuring her eyes. She rechecked the gladius at her side and picked up the spear laying next to the bedroll in her teeth.
Turning, she galloped back out, the spear in her mouth knocking out the supports. The entire tent deflated behind her. She barely noticed.

She ran to the outskirts of the camp where the rest of the soldiers were forming two lines facing the west. She stumbled into position at the end of back line, and fumbled to readjust her helmet.
The clouds had closed in, engulfing them, clinging to them.

They waited in silence. Nothing moved. Somewhere down the line, somepony coughed. Still nothing moved. There was a rumble overhead, and rain pattered down into the ranks, rattling off their armor. Silence, save for the rhythmic tinkling of rain.

Somewhere behind them, a scream rang out. They whirled to look for the source of the noise and saw from the east a hundred ponies of all different color, all armored in steel, charging down the valley toward them, materializing out of the mist.
“Spears!”

As one, the soldiers all lowered their spears, ready to meet the attackers. The Equestrian natives were all too primitive to understand tactics. Zeniah felt a small flicker of confidence. Numbers meant nothing if they didn’t know how to use them.
Somepony shouted “To the west!” and her confidence was instantly shattered. 
They were attacking from both sides! 
The back row, formerly the front row, turned to face the wave of ponies coming from the west. Dread washed over Zeniah; they were closing in. This was it. She was going to die miles away from home in a damp valley and left to rot, forgotten. They were close enough now to see the rain sliding over their armor, the frenzied looks in their eyes. Or was it fear?
She would never find out.

Time slowed to a crawl and she saw the plains of her childhood, her father playing with her sister, hiding in the long grass. Her mother berating him for being ‘childish’. The smell of freshly picked lavender. The hot sun high above. Home. Safety. All gone.

The real world came back with a crash, laughter replaced with screams and whinnies.
A gray pony charged straight at her, shouting, and her spear drove in under the pony’s ribs, shattering the weak point of her armor. Blood flowed from the pony’s punctured chest, down the spear and over her mouth, and she dropped it in shock. The pony toppled and lay bleeding in front of her, gasping for air.

All around, the battle raged.

She looked up, panting, to see a zebra get tossed bodily aside by the largest pony she had ever seen. He was like something of nightmare; red, monstrous, rippling with muscle and towering over everypony else. His head snapped to look at her, and he charged, spear in his mouth.

She grabbed her gladius with her teeth and tried to tug it out of its sheath, but whether from the cold or the damp or both, it stuck. She pulled at it desperately, trying to get it to come loose. Her teeth slipped,and her head jerked up just on time to see the red pony ten feet away, running at her with his spear aimed at her heart.

She managed to just barely scramble out of the way, and his spear glanced off the side of her armor. The impact was enough to knock her off balance. The pony swung the spear around, and suddenly stars filled her vision. The impact rippled through her skull, and blinding white pain obscured every other thought. She staggered sideways, her legs gave out, and she fell into the gathering darkness.

It embraced her, pain and all, and she slept.