> ꓘalvinbürma: The Afterdark Archives
>  by Atom Smash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Smile
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smile it's a very good day
Smile as you are taken away
Smile you will be happy today
Smile you do not get a say

But she didn't smile as she was shoved into the back of the garishly pink van by the cheerfully singing guards. No she was determined to enjoy her frown, it wouldn't be long now until it was turned upside down.
> Heartbeat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thunk thunk

Vinyl smiled as she pressed her ear against the grey chest. The rhythm was slow and relaxed, so trusting, so... alive. The warm body beneath her looked still, but it was only sleep. Living ponies were so interesting, their bodies never shut down. Even when they were asleep the machine kept ticking, their hearts beat, their stomach churned and their minds most of all. Vinyl hadn't dreamt in centuries, but she could still recall the vivid surreal creations of her resting mind.

With a sigh she lifted her head and looked down at the sleeping mare. To kill or not to kill? On one hoof Vinyl was hungry, very hungry, she could feel her fangs pierce her bottom lip as she contemplated the fate of her newest conquest. It would be so easy, one bite, and a feeble struggle. Nopony would miss a lone street musician. Vinyl's teeth extended further as she thought about it, her hoof slid up on its on accord to rest against the mare's throat, feeling the pulse, the rush of nourishment through her warm veins. Yet, Vinyl couldn't help but feel a pang where her own heart had been. It wasn't even jealousy of her guest's vitality, she really had enjoyed the young musician's company.

The music the grey mare played reminded her of her own foalhood. It wasn't the electronic beats of modern days that Vinyl herself had taken such a liking to, no they were the notes of a simpler time. A time where Vinyl had a heartbeat of her own.

With a groan she rolled out of bed, careful not to wake her guest.  "You're being stupid," she admonished herself. This wasn't the first time she felt herself falling for a mortal, and it never ended well.

However, even knowing the outcome would eventually be painful she couldn't help but look forward to the journey. She bent down and kissed the sleeping pony goodnight. Her lips merely brushing the mare's throat as she kept her fangs in check. The mare even smelled delicious and Vinyl felt herself begin to drool. "Not tonight," she whispered as she managed to pull herself away. She wrapped herself in a dark hoodie before exiting her apartment to hunt. Somepony had to die tonight, but it would not be Octavia.

> Escape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blood spurted down on Starlight's face, making it hard to see as it soaked into her mane and ran into her eyes. Good thing she didn't need sight. She could feel the doctor above her, felt his feeble attempts to pull himself off her horn, but it was no use. The length of her horn was lodged in his throat and the wound was fatal.

When he finally dropped she made sure to catch him, only one of her hooves were free, but it was all she needed. She didn't look at his face  he'd been one of the nice ones. In fact it was because he was nice that she'd been able to persuade him to unlock one of her hoofcuffs as he fed her. She'd let him and the fool had dropped his guard. When he went to relock her cuff she had struck, she'd grabbed him and pulled him against her horn. It was hardly the way a unicorn's horn was supposed to be used, but desperation breeds innovation, or maybe it just unlocks the primal instinct. 

Starlight shook her head, this was not the time for philosophy. She guided his body  to slump across her bed and began probing for the ring of keys she knew must be there. She had to hurry, someone would notice that he was missing soon. Somepony might've already heard the scream and was rushing to her room as she struggled to free herself. Bingo! She raised her hoof in triumph, the ring of silvery keys glistening despitebeing splattered with the red liquid that seemed to be everywhere.

With a trembling hoof she found the right key and raised it to her horn and that accursed ring locked upon it. Well not for long! She fumbled as she heard screaming, someone must've called the alarm! She struggled to find the keyhole but her horn was absolutely drenched in the doctor's blood. She couldn't fail now, not when she was so close to freedom! The key sank in just as the first guard rushed into the room. He took a moment to assess the situation, and died for it.

As the guard took in the terrifying image of his prisoner, covered in blood and her most recent victim, there was a click and the inhibitor ring fell to the floor. 

"Oh shi-" was all he managed to get out before Starlight hit him with a blast strong enough to disintegrate both him and the wall behind him.

More guards were peeking around the hole, too terrified to interfere as their most dangerous prisoner used her newly regained magic to casually rip apart all the cuffs and straps that had kept her tied down for years. The bed beneath her turned to splinters, splinters which were sent towards the guards who hastily took cover.

"No need to look so afraid," the unicorn chuckled at the cowering ponies. "I am very angry with you, but I think I'll be nice and let some of you live."

She let out a terrifying laugh as most of the guards turned on the spot and ran. 

"After all..." Starlight smirked as she grabbed one of the slower guards in her telekinesis. He screamed as he was lifted off the ground and squeezed with the full power of one pissed off unicorn. 

"I'll need somepony to..." there was a wet crunch as the guard turned to pulp and another as he was unceremoniously flung against the wall. "Tell Twilight Sparkle..."

Another guard, this one too frozen with fear to run gave a short shriek as she split him in half with a laser beam.

"That her nemesis has escaped." 

Her manic laughter did not serve to drown out the screams of the rest of the doctors and guards, but she kept her word, several of them lived to tell the tale, even if they were missing a few limbs.
> A Remedy for Back Pain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silver Spoon barely registered that the door was opened, it wasn't like she had any appointments left today, all she wanted was to finish her overtime at the office and go home.

"I'm busy," she mumbled, signing yet another file and reaching for the next.

It refused to budge, she tugged at it, setting down her quill so she could tug at it with both hooves. Actually, that seemed to be the problem, there was already a second hoof on the file.

It was pink. Silver blinked, her hooves weren't pink.

Realization dawned and she looked up to find the face of her best friend, frowning down at her.

"I can see that," Diamond Tiara replied, sounding both concerned and disapproving, like usual then.

"Look," Silver began, and then caught herself, there was no need to be rude. "It's nice to see you, but I really must get back to work."

The pink mare just snorted. "It's 8:30, your shift ended over two hours ago, what the hay?"

Silver groaned eloquently and squinted at the clock, it was indeed, 8:27. 

"Only almost," she shot back, not being able to think up a better retort.

"Uhuh?" Diamond replied, how was she able to be so eloquent without even speaking, it wasn't fair.

"Look, I'm just doing a bit of overtime," she rallied, feeling more assertive now, almost daring to meet her friend's eyes. "It's tax season, I have a lot more to do than other months."

But Diamond wasn't having it, with a flick of her hoof she ripped the folder away from Silver's feeble grasp and read the title.

"Hay, you can't do that, it's confidential!" Silver shot up to stop her, or at least tried to, her legs had fallen asleep and Diamond Tiara easily danced out of reach. Silver's back gave a painful twinge as she slumped back in her chair.

"Please?" she begged, "I could get in trouble."

Diamond let out a thoughtful noise, as if she seriously considered whether or not to do it, then flipped the file over so Silver could read it.

"Barnyard Bargains, Manhattan Branch," the pink mare read aloud, a very satisfied smirk on her pretty face. "That is to say my company. So your confidentiality is safe."

Just to prove the point she flipped it open and skimmed a few pages. Silver took to opportunity to rub a hoof against the small of her back, it still twinged after her lunge, or more accurately after having spent hours bent over her desk.

Perceptive as usual Diamond noticed her pain, she always did, she was good at pain, the sadist.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Diamond asked, it sounded like an accusation.

How long had she sitting there? "I took a walk on my lunch break," she eventually said after squirming a bit.

"Yeah, that was eight hours ago."

Diamond didn't look pleased. 

"You need a break."

Silver didn't reply, she knew Diamond was right, "but I have to finish the files for toda-"

She didn't get to finish as her friend cut her off.

"Shush you." She demanded, and then held up the folder. "This is all you have left today?" It was a rather thick file, Barnyard Bargains was doing quite well in the big city since Diamond took over.

Silver nodded in the affirmative.

"Then buck it." With a flick of her hoof Diamond sent the offending file to land on a nearby filing cabinet. "Technically you are working for me with that report, and the customer says you can finish it tomorrow."

"I don't work for y-" Silver protested but was cut off again.

"I said shush," the pink mare repeated herself. "Look, I get that you value your independence, I really do, but my company is hiring yours for the accounting, so if I say there's no rush then there's no need for you to work yourself into the ground just to finish it."

Silver wanted to protest but, "Thank you," she grumbled. It really had been a long day, and she knew her friend was looking out for her, even if she always did it in the most overbearing way possible.

"That's better," Diamond nodded in approval, "Now I brought you something to eat."

She turned around and Silver felt herself blushing. Diamond never changed.

"I'm really not in the mood for... you know *that kind of eating*," she mumbled. It was 'nice' of Diamond to offer, but it had been a long day and the last thing she wanted now was to fillyfool with her best 'friend'.

"Duh." Diamond rolled her eyes, turning back to face Silver with that everpresent smirk of hers and something brown in her hoof. "Yeah, you're not eating me again until you start taking better care of yourself."

A paper bag landed on Silver's desk, the smell of it was mouthwatering.

"So I brought thaifood, eat up."

The accountant didn't even have time to snark back as she dove on the bag of delicious smelling stir fry.

Diamond however was not above getting in a last snarky comment while Silver stuffed her face.

"When you've finished I'll take you home, and if you're really nice I'll give you a backrub too, it looks like you need one."

"Mffghml," Silver agreed, mouth full of rice and spices. Sometimes she was really glad to have a friend like Diamond Tiara.
> Cold
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootaloo awoke with a shiver.

Cold. 

She opened her eyes, why was it cold? Mom's embrace was always warm and she could still feel the large hooves wrapped around her just like they'd been when she fell asleep. Just like it, mom hadn't moved at all.

That was concerning, Scootaloo always used to complain that her mother snored, so why wasn't she snoring now? Something was wrong, she could feel it.

Looking up Scootaloo was surprised to see that the sun was setting, that explained why it was getting so cold. But then that meant mom had been sleeping all day. She never did that. 

"Wake up mom," Scootaloo tried, bumbing her head against her mother's cold skin. "Wake up or, or..." she tried to come up with something and then remembered what mom always used to chide her for when she fell asleep during the day. "Wake up mom, or you won't be able to sleep tonight." 

No response. 

Scootaloo was getting worried now.

She untangled herself from her mothers hooves, they felt stiff, but they didn't try to hold onto her the way they usually did.

That only made Scootaloo worry more, why wasn't mother doing the things she always did? Mom was just lying there all cold and sleeping, and none of Scootaloo's attempts to wake her had borne fruit.

Maybe mom had hit her head harder than Scootaloo had thought when they crashed into that tree? But every pegasus crashed once in a while, it hurt a bit but wasn’t that bad, the worst thing that could happen was a broken wing, which’d be okay in a few days. That’s why Scootaloo hadn’t been worried when mom went to sleep right after hitting the tree, but she was worried now when mother hadn’t woken up all day, and gotten so cold.

She'd read comics where ponies sometimes passed out when they got a hit to the head. ‘Knocked out cold’ one comic had put it, maybe that was what had happened.

She looked closely, but there were no cartoon birds circling mom's head, so that couldn't be it, probably.

Scootaloo was getting really worried now. She didn’t know what was wrong with mom and it was becoming dark. You weren't supposed to be in the forest at night, mom had told her so. But now mom was sleeping at the foot of a tree. Cold, and refusing to wake up.

Scootaloo was getting really worried now. She hoped dad was out looking for them, he must be worried,right? They'd gone flying after breakfast and hadn't come back. Oh how worried he must be. Scootaloo was worried too, she really hoped father would find them too. He could carry mom to bed so she could sleep better. It was probably because of the ground that she was so cold. Sure that must be it.

"Don't worry mom," she said to the unmoving figure, hoping to reassure her as much as herself. "I'm sure dad will come get us soon." 

Mom didn't reply, but Scootaloo felt better. Dad would come and make everything okay. It would all be okay. Soon mom would be awake and warm again.
> Patterns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

What would fit with the orange? Nothing rhymed with orange, then again Rarity had never been a pony of words.

Well, that was a lie, she was most excellent with them, as evidenced by her vast collection of resources.

What she meant was that she had never been a pony for wordplays. Flattery, deception, flirting, drama, lure, those were the kind of things she was good at. If she needed rhymes, well she had a perfectly good alicorn for those. Though no need to bother her old friend with that, not until she needed purple. Actually, nothing rhymed with purple either, did it? Rarity made a note to ask the alicorn the next time she went into that corner. She probably would't get an answer, but it was important to keep up the polite small talk, ponies couldn't help how they were made after all.

Actually, did the alicorn still have a tongue? Rarity tried to recall. No matter, it would just be another thing to ask her former friend about. She put that on the list as well. It really was a long list, which made Rarity frown, she never liked untidyness. A long list must mean she was running behind, where was she?

That's right, the orange leather…

She made a most unladylike face as she recalled the colour wheel theory. Orange went with... teal?

She wasn't sure she had any teal. A quick search around her workshop showed that there was no teal.

There was cyan, but that was a coat, not a mane, and the pony was an adult…

Rarity let out a scream of frustration. She had found the most beautiful orange leather, and there was no thread to go with it! It was most vexing, as if Karma herself was scowling down at the fashionista.

Rarity could accept, from a logical standpoint that what she was doing didn't follow conventional ethical lines, but you couldn't let that stand in the way of crafting the perfect ensemble, no?

She could dye, but that felt like cheating, no she needed natural fibre. What else would go well with that beautiful unmarked orange?

All this thinking of the alicorn in her basement gave Rarity an idea though, what if she did use purple? It felt a bit like cheating as that had been the resources original colour combination. However nature sometimes made the most beautiful of patterns. Rarity looked at herself in the mirror.

White.

White, with just a dash of saphire blue. She'd had purple once, but that was before she realised there were other resources she could... tap? Oh that wordplay made Rarity positely titter. She didn’t care if it was droll and dorkish, it sounded so perfectly vulgar, yet so accurate at the same time. Her first resource had been acquired by a tap on the head. Well, who could blame her? Fluttershy had made it so easy, and Rarity could hardly have gone to Pinkie Pie, that mare was crazy. Rarity could swear there was a distinctly metallic taste to the 'raspberry' cupcakes she'd recieved last week.

She'd had them tested for poison, of course, and both Opalescence and Sweetie Belle had yielded the most lovely of white coats. Rarity was wearing both of them right now and they complimented her own colour perfectly. Thank Celestia there had been two of them in the same shade, or there wouldn't have been enough fur.

Rarity did not like what that said about her own waistline.

Now as for Sweetie Belle's friend… The unmarked orange was flawless. Rarity loved getting her hooves on a blank flank, no mark to marr the material, only solid colour,. Perfection lay in a blank canvas, and then an artist like Rarity could pick the right thread to pull, the right to add, and take away, a dash of colour here, a splat of red there..

No red!

It never worked, it made things look untidy, and it always went away when you washed it. You had to wash it too, or it would turn an ugly brown and start to smell. Rarity had gotten used to those kinds of smells, but the stiffnes just ruined the garment. Why couldn't ponies bleed bleach instead? Anything went with white.

Wait, could that be it? White wasn't the only base colour, everything went with black too. As Miss Pommel had said before Rarity harvested her, 'You can never go wrong with a simple black dress'.

Yes, that was it, she could dye... no you couldn't dye orange, it'd bleed through. You had to bleach it first, and Rarity was all out of Bleach after making Pommel's coat match her own…

This was taking so long, she would have to settle for something complementing, like Pink or yellow. She'd already disposed of pink, that'd been the first to go, but wasn't there a bit more yellow?

The mare was long dead but the red male had yellow mane too, she tried to recall.

"Eyupp!" Rarity chuckled to herself, as she grabbed a pair of scissors. It's mane and tail had been short, but a skilled seamstress like her could work wonders even with scarce material. It ought to be enough, the orange blank flank hadn't been that big after all. 

If she got some left over she could even use it on the resources younger sibling. That unmarked yellow would be perfect for a light jacket, and Rarity had ideas for a few hidden seams. Yes, the yellow would be invisible, and she had the alicorn for the visible seams. Purple on yellow would be perfect.

Rarity shook her head, if she lost focus she’d never get anything done. Tonight's shade was orange, she chided herself as she strode down to collect from the stallion, belladonna was for tomorrow.
> Tinsel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pharynx entered the cave that he shared with the other infiltrators and could immediately tell something was off.

It wasn't just the smell of blood, though that was rarely a good sign, it wasn't even the cheerful singing. Pharynx didn't like it, but it was well known that infiltrators tended to absorb aspects of the culture they assimilated into. When you spent all day pretending to be ponies it was inevitable that you would exude the odd spontaneous musical number. Pharynx had accepted that, and he even caught himself humming that fucking Winter Wrapup tune from time to time, it was just too catchy.

No, what gave Pharynx the strong impression that he would need to crack some skulls was the decorations.

Really, there was cultural appropriation, and then there was this…

"Thorax!" he barked when he spotted his least competent sibling.

As usual the sibling in question metaphorically shat his pants at being addressed by his superior. It was pathetic, Pharynx had barely tried when he snuck up on the idiot.

"Oh, it's just you!" Thorax exclaimed, relief clear in his voice as he flittered back to the ground. "How did your patrol go?"

Pharynx ignored the barb and the pathetic attempt at small talk. His fury was directed at the mess of green and red behind the startled ling.

"What in the most brutal assrape is this?!" he asked in his sternest voice, pointing at the jumbled affront.

Thorax gave a very pony-like squeak and tried to block his brother's line of sight. As the tree in question was three times his height and he was, not to put too fine a point on it, Thorax, and was as such unsuccessful.

"Oh, that?" Thorax said, as if he'd just noticed the tree he'd been decorating. "That's an…" whatever excuse he had been about to utter died on his lips as he met Pharynx's disapproving scowl.

"Well you see, it's a pony thing. A tradition really, once every year they bring evergreens into their homes and decorate them as a celebration to-"

This time Pharynx silenced him with a slap.

"I know what a fucking Heartswarming Tree is you shitspawn! I've been infiltrating the same town as you!"

Thorax looked equal parts confused and sorry as he rubbed a hoof against the mark where Pharynx had struck. He wanted to ask what he had done wrong but didn't dare to ask, luckily Pharynx obliged.

"I don't care about the sissy tree. That's expected when I work with impressionable grubs like you."

"Then what?" Thorax's asked, looking hurt.

"It's what you decorated it with!" Pharynx spat and pointed at the glistening tubes and globes of red, white and pink strewn across the branches.

Thorax followed the pointing hoof and gulped.

"I didn't have any tinsell!" the grub tried to excuse himself, but was slapped again by Pharynx, harder this time.

"You could have used a length of chain you idiot!"

"I d-didn't think of that!" Thorax stammered, he was pretty sure his chitin had cracked where he had been hit this time. "B-b-besides, they u-use more than tinsel, coloured balls a-and-"

"I see you found those at least." Pharynx huffed angrily, pointing at the globes suspended from the branches, he titled his head, "Wait… are those testicles?"

"And eyeballs," Thorax confirmed, "Plus some other bits and pieces I could find. I put a heart on top, naturally because it’s called heart’s warming and h-heat rises...." he trailed off at the fury in his brother’s eyes.

At this Pharynx let out another huff of barely held back rage, which caused Thorax to take several steps backwards and bumping into the tree.

There was a prolonged wet slap as a length of intestines slid off its branch and fell on top of Thorax's gibbering head.

"We needed those prisoners!" Pharynx hissed through clenched teeth in what surely must have been a great feat of patience and restraint.

"N-not all of them?" his brother replied hopefully, then shrieked as Pharynx took a menacing step towards him. 

"C-come on, it's H-heartswarming!" Thorax begged as his murderous brother advanced on him. "It’s the season to be nice and jolly!"

He would have backed even farther but his rump was already backed up against the tree and Pharynx had already moved to block off any other avenue to escape. There was a glint in his eye that scared Thorax to his core.

"W-we, shouldn't fight!" he begged as Pharynx's hoof found his throat. "if we keep arguing the windigos win. It'll be very bad!"

"Then..." Pharynx hissed, almost sweetly.

His hoof slid from his brother's throat to caress against the length of intestine that decorated his neck like some macabre scarf. Thorax shivered as the fire in Pharynx's eyes went from fury to cold and calculating. 

"Then I better make sure this is the last argument we ever have."

His strong hooves moved quickly and before Thorax could react the length of entrails was wrapped around his neck and Pharynx was pulling on it hard, choking him.

He tried to fight as he struggled for breath, but it was no use. Pharynx was much stronger than him and better trained. All Thorax could do was plead with his eyes, but there was no mercy to be seen in his brother's cold gaze.

"Here's what I think of your damn tinsel," Pharynxh whispered as Thorax's attempts to fight back grew feebler and feebler.

There was a sharp crack as the tougher changeling, fed up with how long it was taking, and perhaps not enjoying squeezing the life out of his brother as much as he had imagined, snapped his neck, giving him a swift death.

With another twist and a sharp pull the head came loose in his hooves.

"Congratulations Thorax," Pharynx purred to the still face as it's severed body crumbled to the floor.

"You just became my jack-o'-lantern for Nightmare Night. Aren't pony tradition's fun?"
> HrsCk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amethyst Star returned home after another gruelling day. Working in Rarity's boutique paid well, she was the Element of Generosity after all, but mare did she have to deal with the snobbiest of customers, and it was tenfold as bad around Hearts and Hooves day.

Hour after hour of staying on her hooves, a fake smile on her lips as she pretended to know what the difference between aquamarine and cerulean was and why one absolutely fit one pony better than the other.

Ugh, it was a mystery to Amethyst why those rich mares spent so many bits on elaborate dresses and makeup just to catch a stallion. There were far easier ways to do that. 

Her stomach joined in the mental grumbling but it was going to have to wait, she'd just gotten home and fuck all if she was going to go grocery shopping before she had some time to unwind.

She kicked off her shoes, like honestly, why did ponies bother with them, just because they were shiny? Then removed her dress, oh it was a relief to be naked again, like nature intended.

She stomped into the kitchen, grabbing herself a beer and a bar of chocolate. Somepony, probably Rarity, would say those didn't go together, but those ponies obviously had never worked 9-7 in retail.

Exiting her kitchen she collapsed on the sofa, the chocolate and beer safe in her telekinesis. She popped the cap off and took a long swig, letting out a moan of pleasure.

The cold carbonated liquid was like an orgasm for her throat after the day she'd had. She took another sip, and then another, savouring every drop.

Too soon she realized she'd drained the bottle. With a sigh she put it down and opened the chocolate bar. It too helped, though not as much as the beer. She was still tense as fuck, but there was a time honoured way to deal with that.

Out of habit she looked around to make sure she was alone, which was dumb, she was in her own living room and she lived by herself, well sort of.

But she didn't want to get caught anyway, it was a habit impressed on the young mare when she was even younger. Getting off is a private matter.

Not feeling especially ashamed she slid the curtains down with her magically while her hoof moved to the carpet between her legs. It felt good and the smell of sex wafted up as her hoof got to work. The smell of swear too, her nethers having been trapped in that dreadful dress all day. Her hoof began to slide between the folds, it was wet and warm, and felt good...

Wait, what was she doing? She sat bolt upright remembering that she didn't need to do that anymore. She'd gotten something better than her hoof. She smacked herself in the forehead, only realizing afterwards that it was the hoof she'd been sliding between her legs. Great, now the smell was in her mane, oh well, she'd need a shower anyway. Especially after what she planned to do.

She wiped her now moist mane to the side and made another trip to the kitchen, grabbing another beer and a water bottle. She also took a can of baked beans, not too fancy, but as mentioned earlier she hadn't had the energy to shop for fresh produce.

Balancing all three in her magic she made her way down the rickety stair to her basement, lifted the heavy blanket she'd improvised as sound proofing, unlocked the cellar door and said hello to her dildo.

The stallion chained to the wall didn't reply, he just gave her the same tired look he'd done for the last few weeks, ever since she broke him in properly.

It wasn't like he could talk anyway, she kept him gagged at all times, just in case a neighbour would hear him scream.

She didn't need to worry when she was in the room, she had a spell for that. It was one of the first spells Amethyst had learned. Ironically she'd studied silence spells as a foal to avoid having to hear her mother having sex in the next room. She appreciated the irony that as an adult she was using it to get sex herself. The poor stallion had never heard her sneak up on him.

"I brought you some water," she unclipped his gag and held the bottle to his lips. He drank greedily despite knowing what was in store. She tried to recall if she had remembered to feed him yesterday and resolved to give him a bit extra tonight.

But first he was going to earn it.

Once the water bottle was empty she got down to business. Another nifty spell got his cock hard. She lifted her tail and turned around. The stallion let out a groan that was both protesting and eager.

"There's no cock like... mmmmm... hrsck!" She exclaimed as she sat down on her stallion, pleasantly surprised that even after a dozen times his girth was still enough to take her breath away. She'd picked him well.
> Snow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash snickered to herself as she lay in wait, her breath turning to mist in the cold morning air. This time she'd get Applejack good.

She was sprawled out on the roof of Sweet Apple acres, not an unusual spot for her to nap, although she preferred the trees to the cold tiles. This time she needed the position though, so she'd brought a warm blanket.

It had been a pain to wake up earlier than the perpetually workaholic farm ponies, but she'd managed it with the help of two alarm clocks and a pot of coffee. She still had some left in her thermos.

She unscrewed the cork and took another sip of the hot bitter liquid as she went over her plan again. It would be a simple, yet very funny prank.

The Apple family had woken up, and by the sounds of it was having breakfast. Soon they'd emerge to start the day's chores. Big Macintosh would take the front door, seeing Apple Bloom off to school and shovel away the snow that had accumulated during the night. Then he'd make a passage to all the other buildings. Granny would stay inside, taking care of the washing up and Applejack...

Applejack would emerge through the back door and head straight for the trees. That's how the farmpony always started her workday, and Rainbow would be ready to strike.

This'd be fun.

Unbeknownst to the ponies inside there was a huge frozen rain cloud hovering above their backyard. It had been put there by a mischievous and brilliant pegasus.

Okay, it was a classic prank, one the rainbow maned prankster had pulled off countless times. Which was why she had cranked it up a few notches this time, brilliant and innovative.

Not only was the cloud bigger than average, it was also the middle of winter, hence when Dash bucked it it wouldn't release a light shower of rain, no it would plomp down a massive torrent of cold and wet snow.

Rainbow was positive that she could make even Applejack squeal after being greeted by the mother of all snow storms out of nowhere. It'd be a good laugh.

Rainbow silenced her snickering when she heard the front door open. The bright voice of Apple Bloom shouted a goodbye and the deep voice of her brother grunted something monosyllabic in response. Rainbow watched the smaller pony run off and the larger grab a shovel and start clearing the path.

The queen of pranking put down her coffee and rubbed her hooves together, any second now.

The back door opened and Rainbow heard the voice of her best friend exclaiming her dismay at the cold weather.

"Oh Applejack, it's going to get so much worse," Rainbow whispered as she slid out from the blanket, took to the sky and after a lightning quick arc up in the air she slammed hooves first into the overloaded cloud.

There was a rumble of thunder, the slush of half a cloud's worth of snow and the satisfying scream from the pony below.

And then more rumbling, and yet more, the whole cloud turned to snow under the enthusiastic assault of an expert weathermare.

Only too late did Rainbow realize that maybe, just maybe she'd gone too far. This was a bit much even for a tough pony like Applejack. Rainbow didn't want her best friend to be angry at her after all.

"Heh  sorry AJ!" she called down at the pile of snow. "I got ya though!"

There was no reply.

Rainbow gulped, okay AJ would be mad.

"I said I was sorry!" This time she cupped both hooves over her mouth as she yelled.

Still no reply.

"Eh, Applejack?" Rainbow called out, getting a bit worried now that her friend wasn't emerging. There should be an angry mare sticking her head out of the snowheap now. There should be complaining about how Rainbow's pranking was going too far again.

There was no such thing.

"AJ?!" Rainbow tried again, getting more worried now, "I'll dig you out, okay?"

She had barely made a dent in the heap when the red shape of Big Macintosh appeared, shovel in hoof. He gave the mare standing on top of a massive pile of fresh snow in his backyard a really annoyed glare.

"Really RD," he huffed, "You didn't think we had enough snow already?"

Rainbow gave a nervous laugh, eyeing his shovel, it would be a really good thing if he started using that right now.

"No time to explain," she called and resumed shoveling snow off the top of the pile with her wings and hooves, "Help me dig!"

"What did you do?" Big Mac's eyes narrowed, "And where is Applejack?"

Something in her eyes must have given her away because his eyes grew wide as understanding dawned.

"Move!" He shouted before half a ton of earth pony barreled into the snowheap, shovel first.

"Granny!" He roared as he hacked away at the white mass that was slowly suffocating his sister.

"What's all them noise?" A cranky voice replied from inside the house. A wizened green muzzle could be seen through the kitchen window.

Rainbow froze, panic rising as she realized what she had just done to their beloved family member.

Luckily for her, or rather lucky for Applejack, Big Mac was not paralyzed with the same fear and guilt.

"AJ," he huffed breathlessly, his hooves working frantically as they threw shovel after shovel full of snow across his shoulder, "Trapped, beneath snow!"

"Shit!" the green mare swore as the seriousness of the situation sank in.

Normally Rainbow would have been impressed by the spryness as the ancient mare leapt through the window, grabbed one of the spare shovels and started to frantically hack away at the mound imprisoning her granddaughter. Normally, this time she was all too taken by the sheer desperation in Granny's eyes.

Rainbow just stood there and watched as the two apples did everything in their power to save their family member, to save Rainbow's best friend. Rainbow's best friend whom she'd just... just… 

A tap of a shovel knocked her out of her panicked stupor.

"Ye's dig too ya useless featherbrain!"

For a second Rainbow rubbed at her head where the shovel had struck, it was probably going to leave a bruise, then she jumped into action.

She was Rainbow "Danger" Dash and this was beneath her. She didn't panic, she saved the day! She had bucked up, yes but she could fix this. She was a fucking Wonderbolt for Celestia's sake, and this was just snow. Just a few inches of common damned snow standing between her and her best friend, as if that'd stop her.

"I'm coming AJ!" She shouted as she resumed her effort to paw at the mound beneath her. She'd already managed a sizable crater in the white matter.

It took all the combined strength of all three ponies working their flanks off to off to get Applejack out of the snow.

But by the time that they did, it was already too late.
> For Equestria!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So?" Steel Wind asked nervously once the nurse was done listening to his heart.

The nurse gave him a reassuring smile as she put away her stethoscope.

"Sounds good, if a little fast," she commented, making yet another note on her clipboard.

Gee, why could that be? Steel thought sarcastically, he would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't so scared of what came next.

"Nervous?" the nurse asked as if she could read his mind.

Come to think about it, she was probably used to this. Probably every stallion who came into her field clinic felt just as nervous as him.

"Yes," he admitted, and was at least reassured to see her smile grow softer.

"Aww, don't be," she replied, giving him a pat on the head, "I do this every day, I promise the procedure will go smoothly."

That wasn't much comfort to Steel, and the nurse could probably tell because her smile grew more sympathetic.

"Got a marefriend waiting for you when you get back home?"

Steel nodded. "Stallion actually."

"Oh that's nice," the nurse said, giving him another friendly pat, "At least you won't have to worry about siring foals."

"That's not what I was worried about," Steel began, but the nurse cut him off by pressing a hoof to his lips.

"None of that darling," she chided him, "every stallion who is drafted goes through the same procedure, and you'll be returning as a war hero. I'm sure your stallionfriend will be more than happy to have you back, missing bits or not."

Steel Wind could feel himself relax, that was good to hear.

"Every stallion?" he asked.

"Every... stallion," she reassured. "It's standard procedure for all ponies who want to join the royal guard, and we won't change that just because we have a war on our hooves."

Well that was reassuring, at least he wouldn't be alone.

Granted, he wouldn't be a he either, but at least there'd be plenty more like him.

"I guess that's okay then," he chuckled nervously.

"It's not optional," the nurse replied, giving him one last headpat before her face split into a beaming smile. "But I'm so glad you agree, it makes this much simpler."

"Well, you'll have to be prepared to do something for your country when it has done so much for you,"  Steel recited one of the slogans from the draft posters.

"Indeed," the nurse nodded and smiled.

"Now bite down on this," she said, handing him a piece of wood, "I'm afraid this will sting a little."

He dutifully put the stick between his teeth.

"Fow Ewuesfria!" he mumbled as she picked up a pair of scissors.

"For Equestria," the nurse agreed cheerfully as she lifted his tail out of the way.

***

A few minutes later Steel Emerged from the nurse's tent two stones lighter and entered the line to receive his weapons and armour.
> Genderswap in Maretime Bay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bitch Tailraiser looked up from her desk as the door to her office was slung open.

"How can I help you, Citizen?"

The pony who had just been about to blurt out what bothered him took the opportunity to catch his breath as the Sheriff leapt over her desk, gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder and offered him a glass of water.

Good old Bitch, he thought to himself as he gratefully gulped down the glass. Everyone in town knew her as a total bimbo, but darn if she wasn't the best sheriff they'd ever had.

"Now, tell me what's bothering you?"

He suddenly found himself sitting in front of the desk previously occupied by the sheriff, a sandwich in front of him.

"Hay, that was my sandwich!" a reedy voice called over from the other from the other end of the office, but was ignored. Nopony listened to Deputy Bloom, not when the Sheriff was around.

"Uhm," he mumbled, taking the proffered sandwich and giving it a polite nibble. It was a BLT, his favorite. He thanked the kind sheriff, then remembered why he had rushed over.

"I saw a...," the stallion paused for dramatic effect, "... a.... unicorn."

The last word was a whisper, but it echoed in the silence that only the U word could achieve. Well the P word was just as bad.

"Where?" Bitch asked, suddenly all serious, well even seriouser than usual, and for her that was saying a lot.

"In the alley," he replied, looking relieved to be believed so readily. This was why you came to Sheriff Bitch.

"Which one?" she followed up.

"Does it matter?" 

They both finally noticed the third occupant of the room, a young mare with a fire engine red coat, messy blonde mane and a silver star pinned to her harness.

"Like there's only two allys in the whole town," she explained when it was clear she really had their attention, "and they're both connected."

"She's right," Bitch barked, sounding impressed to have been told a new fact about the streets she spent every day patrolling. "Earning that deputy badge, Bloom." 

She shot Bloom one of her most winning smiles, but her deputy just rolled her eyes. So she turned the smile back on the stallion, he seemed to react appropriately, he even blushed. Bitch had buckets of charisma, and she knew how to use it. First though, she had an investigation to persue.

There was suddenly a notepad and pen in Bitch's hooves as she started to take his accounts of the suspected unicorn sighting.

Bloom meanwhile moved to steal her sandwich back, and huffed when she noticed all the broccoli was already gone. Citizens, they were more trouble than they were worth in her opinion.

"How long ago did you see this unicorn?", Bitch asked, pen poised.

"Well, it was about five minutes ago," the citizens explained as Bitch took notes. "Me and my marefriend Balloon were sneaking into the alley to.... it doesn't matter what we were doing," he blushed even more, "and there we saw it, bright as day, a unicorn."

"Very disturbing," Bitch noted down both the potential public indecency violation and the alleged sighting of their worst enemy. "What did it look like?"

"Well, it looked like a pony," he explained.

"It looked like a pony?" 

Now even Bitch sounded sceptical.

"Well, yeah," he admitted sheepishly.

The stallion had been surprised too, he had expected unicorns to look a lot more scary. Shouldn't they have razor tongues, spiked teeth, horns like tazers and all that? 

"Yeah, it looked almost exactly like a pony," he explained, and then pointed to his forehead, "Except for the horn, of course."

"The unicorn had a horn," Bitch noted down on the clipboard. "Anything else? Colour, clothes, weapons of any sort?"

"Well no weapons that I could see, but then again unicorns probably don't need weapons. And it had an orange coat, and a purple mane..."

"Oh come on!"

The shout was enough to disturb even Bitch from her furious note taking, she looked over at Bloom again, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not a unicorn," Sprout sighed, "It's just Sonny Starscout pulling one of his dumb stunts again. He probably thought that if ponies got ambushed by unicorns more often we'd see they really just want to be friends or something dumb like that. Because that's all he does, dumb unicorn stuff, and he likes unicorns more than earth ponies, the dumbhead.

Bitch looked over, a note of concern over the vitriol in her Deputy's voice, normally Bloom was far too lazy to achieve that level of spite.

"He's that dumb is he?" Bitch smirked, she suspected why Bloom was so grumpy, "Then why did you go on a date with him last week?"

"I..." Bloom looked increasingly flustered. She meaned forward, a hoof cupped to her mouth and hissed, "Okay, be cool, what if my dad hears about that?"

Bitch let out a chuckle and kept on teasing her deputy, "So he's called you back then?"

That only served to put Bloom in an even fouler mood. 

"I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, glowering down at her desk as if it had personally offended her.

"Uhm..."

They both looked over at the stallion in the room, having briefly forgotten that they had a job to do.

"Could we get back to the unicorn?" the stallion asked. "It might still be attacking Balloons."

"Of course!" Bitch put her hat on, "We can't leave a citizen in distress for longer than necessary. Lead the way!"

The stallion looked relieved and turned to lead them to the only alley in their small town.

Bitch was hot on his tail, as her name suggested, while Bloom dragged her hooves. She really didn't feel like meeting Sonny right now. The dumb stallion was probably banging whatshisface's marefriend right now and telling her all about horns and wings, and their surprisingly many uses.

***

"So this is where you saw the unicorn?" Bitch asked once they had crossed the street.

"Yes," Whatshisface replied, pointing into the mouth of the alley, "It's in there, or was when I ran for my life."

"And you left Balloons in there?" Bitch's tone was supportive, but there was a clear note of disapproval.

"Well," Whatshisface rubbed his neck nervously, "I expected her to run as well, but when I got out of the alley she was nowhere to be seen."

Bitch made a disapproving sound, but picked up her flashlight and shone it into the gloomy recesses of the alley. It appeared empty apart from a few dumpsters

"She doesn't seem to be there now," she commented, and then raised her voice to shout, "Anypony in there!?"

No reply. She sighed and turned to her Deputy with a declaration, and an order.

"I'm going in there, cover me."

Bloom sighed and saluted. With uncharacteristic bravery she pulled out her baton and followed her sheriff into the murky alley. Perhaps she was bolstered by the conviction that they would face nothing worse than a rebel bad boy with an unhealthy fascination for unicorns.

It seemed not even that was forthcoming. They emerged on the other side of the alley, facing the other part of the mane street without having seen anything suspicious.

So it was rather odd that Whatshisface, who had taken the much safer street route to meet them, looked like he had seen, well like he'd seen a unicorn.

"Wh-wha-what is that!" He extended a shaking hoof and pointed at the two policemares.

The policemares in question exchanged a confused look. Bloom was the first to speak.

"Two mares who will kick your plot if you keep pointing at them and wasting their time." she suggested.

Bitch was more perceptive however, and less confrontational, she noticed that Whatshisface wasn't really pointing at them, he was pointing at their hooves.

She looked down at Bloom's hooves and gasped.

"It's blood!"

"What? Where?" Bloom was instantly on edge, brandishing her baton, or rather doing her best to hide behind the thin bar of metal.

"On your hooves," Bitch pointed, and then looked at her own hooves, the bottoms of which were also soaked in red. "And on mine."

"Wha-whai-fuck!" Bloom shrieked, "It was a real unicorn after all?!"

"We don't know that yet," Bitch pointed out, attempting to restore the calm. But we're going to find out."

Resolutely she turned back to the mouth of the alley, which now had a much more sinister gloom to it.

"Deputy Bloom, are you with me?"

Bitch turned, noticing the silence, and the clear lack of any deputy. She did catch a glimpse of a blond tail as it disappeared into the door to the police station though.

"Coward!" The sheriff muttered. "You're with me right?" She asked Whatshisface.

The stallion didn't appear to be responsive however. Unlike Bloom who was brave enough to run away, he had simply frozen up in fear. Even waving her hoof in front of his glazed eyes yielded no response.

"I'll be back with hot cocoa and a blanket," Bitch promised him, and went into the alley herself.

Now knowing what to look for it wasn't hard to follow the trail of bloody hoofteps to a pool full of the stuff. She shuddered, nopony could have bled that much and still be alive.

She dipped a hoof in the stuff and licked it. The taste made her gag.

"Yup, definitely blood!" she coughed.

It didn't take her long to find the body. Bloom had been unceremoniously dragged over to one of the dumpsters and then stuffed inside like she was some sort of trash. Bitch couldn't believe that anyone could treat a fellow pony like that.

Then, the horn shaped wounds on Balloon's body told her that maybe they weren't dealing with a pony at all.

Maretime Bay was being stalked by a unicorn.
> Fireplace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack watched as the flames consumed her beloved hat. She didn't cry, not on the outside. It was just another thing she had to sacrifice to keep her family safe, what was left of it. It was just a thing, and nothing was worth more than a life.

It still hurt though.

Not wanting to look as the ancient leather blistered and rolled in it's dying throes she turned around to face the other ponies.

It wasn't just her family and her best friend, it was a fair chance that they were the last ponies alive.

They wore a sorry bunch.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were huddled together, not even so much for warmth as because they were mourning the loss of their best friend.

Scootaloo had followed Rainbow outside, and the windigos had frozen them solid.

Twilight too had died fighting them, so had Big Macintosh and Pinkie hadn't even made it over to the house.

It had all happened so fast, one minute they were having an argument, the next they were hoof deep in snow and working together against an unstoppable force of nature.

It had claimed Granny's life, even inside she had frozen. Taken away by the blistering cold of the windigos.

The rest of them would have met the same fate if they hadn't gotten the fire going. Now it was the only thing that was keeping them alive, and they were running out of things to burn.

Rarity did her best not to shiver, as she stood guard over her sister. She looked odd without her tail and mane, both shaved off to buy them another precious minute of life.

Her mane had been the last to go, though she had insisted on giving it before she allowed Applejack to burn her hat. After all, hats didn't grow back.

Applejack shuddered as she considered how optimistic that was, they had burned everything in the house. All the furniture, clothes, books, ornaments, wooden tools, anything that could burn had been used to feed the fireplace, buying them more time before the inevitable.

The only thing left to burn now was the wooden walls, and breaking them down would let the windigos in. The walls of Sweet Apple Acres, like the fire within, was what kept the windogos at bay, for now.

"Ah'm going to look upstairs again," she informed them, "see if there's anything left to burn."

She knew there wouldn't be, but she couldn't stand doing nothing, nor could she stand the pleading, desperate looks of her friends, her family now. They were all she had left.

When she came down she was met with the most wonderful feeling of heat against her coat, the fire was still alive, more than alive, it was roaring. The two ponies were standing in front of it, luxuriating in the warmth that radiated from the open flames.

"How'd you manage that?" Applejack asked, renewed hope in her voice.

Sweetie Belle didn’t reply, the young mare just stared into the fire. Applejack couldn’t blame her, the filly had been through a lot.

Rarity though spun around as if she had forgotten Applejack was in the house with them.

Her expression shocked the earth pony. Despite the heat Rarity was shaking, and she looked even more deranged than she had done when Applejack had left her with…

"Rarity..." Applejack began, finally noticing what was missing.

"Where's Apple Bloom?"
> Lämp
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Arista!"

Notum called out as soon as he noticed his sister straying out of formation.

Pharynx, flying at the head shot Notum a glare. Their leader did not like for anyling else to give orders, however Notum knew he'd be a lot more annoyed if they lost another soldier to those bewitching lights. The loss of Thorax was still fresh in their hearts, and probably the reason why Pharynx was lashing out more than usual.

"ARISTA!" their leader barked, rather more loudly than Notum had dared, they were flying over pony territory after all. "Get your weak ass back in line or I'll see if I can fit my spear up it!"

Notum winced at the not entirely empty threat, but it seemed to have little effect. Arista was still drifting away from the group, eyes fixed on the distant spot of light far below.

"Sis, for buck's sake," he hissed, but Arista just kept diving lower, slowing down.

Defying Pharynx's orders Notum broke formation too, to an angry yell from the commander in question and chased after his sister.

Arista was easy to catch up to, she was flying as if in a trance, eyes fixed on the lamplight below. He tried waving a hoof in front of her eyes, no reaction. Feeling more drastic he slapped her across the face.

"Snap out of it!"

Not even this worked, she wobbled a bit at the impact, not appearing to even feel it, and was soon back on course, heading straight for the lamp.

"It's too late, Notum."

He whipped his head around, noticing that Pharynx had flown up next to him. "We've already lost her."

Notum felt tears well up in his eyes, this couldn't be happening, not his sister!

"So get back in formation," Pharynx barked. "It's too late for her, but I'm not losing you too."

For the first time Notum could remember Pharynx's voice was tinged with something other than ill-tempered authority, sympathy.

"I know how you feel, I would've died for Thorax too, but the only thing I could've done was die next to him. You gotta let her go."

Surprising as it was, it was too little and too late. Notum showed his commander aside and raced after his sister. He could still save her. He must!

As he caught up to her again, now almost straight above the lamp, he could feel it's pull too, but the adrenaline that pumped through his body helped him resist its allure. He had one idea that might work. If he could just break her line of sight, maybe she would snap out of it.

Notum had to try. He raced ahead of Arista, stopping just in front of her and hovering still in the air, all four hooves extended to block as much of her view as possible.

Maybe it would have worked if he had thought of it earlier, but as it was she simply plowed straight into him, too far gone to notice that her brother was in her way.

They crashed to the ground in a painful tangle of hooves and wings far too close to the light, but to Notum's immense relief he heard the sweetest thing.

"N-notum?"

He felt his chest swell with relief. He wasn't sure if it was his intervention or the crash, but somehow Arista's trance was broken. If they could just get away from the light, they could join back up with the hive!

**BLAM**

A blast of lead pellets turned Arista's head to shrapnel. Notum didn't even have time to scream before the pony swung her rifle around and shot him with the other barrel.

"Stupid bucking changelings, eh?" The mare remarked as she moved back to her partner by the lamp, "You'd think they'd learned by now."

"Eyupp," the larger pony put down his own shotgun and helped her drag the two bodies and add them to the pile next by the lamp.
> Prayer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I said: Laugh!" Pinkie sang, striking a few frantic tunes on her guitar.

Applejack felt the inspiration, and managed to avoid getting her throat torn out as the nearest timber wolf pounced. She landed a solid uppercut that sent twigs flying it connected with the wooden muzzle.

Noticing that her opponent was dazed , she spun around and bucked the creature with both hooves.

"Thanks Pinkie!, she shouted as the creature designated.

Unfortunately another three took it's place. This goshdarned forest was full of the darned things.

"Anytime Fluttershy!" she called out, as they lounged for her now overextended hooves.

"I can't! They must be constructs!" the panicked voice of their druid replied.

"Well do something!" Applejack called back as two wolves pounced. Why did she have to be the party tank?

"Okay!" Fluttershy called back. She made a gesture with her hooves and a green light enveloped one of the timber wolves attacking Applejack. It sprouted leaves and branches and withon seconds it had rooted itself to the ground, unable to follow as Applejack backed away.

"Great," Applejack shouted, then howled in pain as a set of wooden teeth sank into her leg. There was just too many of them, and they fought like a pack of dogs.

"I got ya!" A voice cried from above.

A streak of rainbow shot down from the treetops and struck the creatures chewing up Applejack. 

"Taste the painbow!"

There was a small explosion of twigs as Dash got her sneak attack in, absolutely demolishing one of the wolves with a sweeping kick. She managed to kick one more as she flew past, but it did little more than dislodge a few twigs.

"I'll get them all next time!" Dash promised as she disappeared out of sight, circling back for another devastating swoop.

"Ah don't think there'll be a next time!" Applejack called after her as another wolf bit into her flank.

"Oh no you don't!"

A barrage of purple lights streaked over the struggling creatures, dealing a lot of damage to the wooden constructs, but sparing the struggling pony beneath them.

"How tough are these things?!" Twilight called out in disbelief as her blasts only managed to knock the wolves back. 

Within seconds one of them was back at attacking their friend.

Applejack's scream was cut off as the wolf scored a critical hit, its teeth sinking into her neck. It followed her down as she felt, biting and clawing to finish the job.

Pinkie moves to help but was intercepted by another wolf. It got a faceful of combat lute for its trouble, but the distraction meant Pinkie couldn't get to Applejack in time.

Fluttershy could however and there was another flash of green light and this timber wolf was rooted too. Unfortunately it did little good as it was already on top of the earth pony and only served to pin her down harder.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy cried out, horrified at what she had done as both the other wolves descended on the rooted and prone pony, making short work of her.

"APPLEJACK!"

Rainbow Dash was a blur of kicks and punches as she dove down once more. She didn't even try to stealth, taking several bites as she made short work of two of the wolves.

It wasn't fast enough though as the orange pony stopped struggling, her body falling limp.

Tears in her eyes Twilight blasted the last wolf to smithereens, doing a lot more damage now that her magic missiles weren't spread over multiple targets.

The forest fell silent as the last timber wolf was defeated.

Silent, apart from the sobbing of four mares. It was a hollow victory, they may have defeated the timber wolves, but it had cost the life of one of their number.

They all had their way to grieve.

Pinkie picked at the remains of her battle lute, managing despite the absolutely trashed stare of the instrument to produce a few somber tones.

Fluttershy curled into a ball, blaming herself for what had happened.

Rainbow Dash stomped the ground near the corpse and swore.

"Dammit AJ!" she screamed. "Why did you have to get into the middle of them like that?!"

"Because somepony had to," Twilight replied, her voice horse, but there was authority in it.

Rainbow's head snapped up, and she shot her cleric friend a glare.

"That's Rarity's job!" she snapped. "She's the one with the big armour and the defensive spells."

"I know," Twilight replied, ignoring the glare and taking a seat next to their fallen friend. "But Rarity didn't come along on this quest, so somepony had to."

"It shouldn't have been AJ," Rainbow sobbed, slumping down next to them. 

"No," Twilight agreed, "it shouldn't."

"But it was," the purple unicorn raised her eyes to the sky and smiled when she saw the sun was still up. "And next time we will all stand by her side."

"Next time?" Rainbow looked up too, incredulous.

"Next time," Twilight confirmed. "The sun is still up, and Rarity did give us a gift before she left."

Rainbow barely dared to hope as Twilight pulled a shining gemstone from her robes and placed it on Applejack's blood soaked chest.

"Sparkly," Pinkamena commented as she trotted over, her voice flat.

"It is a Sun Gem," Twilight explained, and the gem really did seem to glitter in the light of the setting sun.

"Y-you don't mean?" Fluttershy asked, uncurling just enough to show a glimmer of hope in her tear soaked face.

"I do," Twilight smiled, clasping her hooves together. "The Solar Princess will provide, and with the magic of friendship our friend will rise."

Rainbow would have rolled her eyes, not this religious crap again, Celestia was just a pony, if a stupidly powerful one. But she didn't dare not letting Twilight try, if there was just a sliver of a chance Applejack could be revived, Rainbow was willing to endure any sermon, or whatever they were called.

"Prayers," Twilight replied, as if she could read Rainbow's mind.

To be fair, she probably could too, with all the magic in her horned egghead.

"Hold my hooves and repeat after me," Twilight said, gesturing for her three living friends to form a circle around the fifth.

"Sunshine Princess who makes our day, guide my hoof and light my way."

Three voices repeated the words. To their amazement a beam of sunlight shot down from the sky, illuminating their little group.

"It's work-" Rainbow began, but was silenced as Fluttershy stuffed a wing into her mouth.

The glare the yellow pegasus gave her made Rainbow shut up. Honestly she was grateful. She'd never live it down if she fucked up something like this. Applejack's life literally depended on this prayer thing.

Ignoring the interruption Twilight continued the prayer.

"Dear Ruler over Sun and Moon, grant your little ponies this boon.
Applejack was lost far too soon.
Please, oh please spare our friend. Don't let her story end."

The beam of sunlight seamed to somehow disappear into the body between them, plunging them all into darkness.

They all held their breaths, hoping that whatever deity watched over them Princess Celestia had lived up to her hype answered their prayer.

"Owwww!"

They all wooped and cheered as Applejack coughed. Miraculously it seemed the mare was no longer dead, although her injuries weren't all healed, just the one that killed her.

"Lil' hear there Twi," the beautiful voice croaked. " Ah feel like Ah was just run over by a heard of them buffalos."

As Twilight and Fluttershy all pooled their magic together to heal Applejack's wounds the former couldn't help but stick her tongue out at their rainbow maned friend.

"I told you The Princess will provide," Twilight smirked.

Rainbow didn't snark back, she just wrapped her clerical friend up into a big hug.

"If it means I get to keep my best friend, she's definitely best Princess!"

They all chuckled. It had been a harrowing encounter, but thanks to their friends it had all turned out okay in the end.
> Calendar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What should I do with the hose?"

Sprout ground his teeth as he watched his boss strike yet another pose. It wasn't fair, the stupid pony looked just as amazing in the firefighter gear as he had done in all the others. Was it even possible to take an unflattering photo of Hitch?

"Maybe like this?" Hitch coiled the hose around his neck like a scarf.

Not seeming perfectly content with the look he unslung the hose and aimed the nozzle to stage right. As always he cut quite the striking figure.

"Yeah, this feels right," Hitch chuckled, breaking the intent look with his trademark smile. "Hay Sprout, can you do your photoshop thing and make it look like water is coming out of the hose?" he waved the nozzle around a bit, putting out an imaginary fire.

Sprout nearly swooned at the sight, Hitch looked so damned heroic, you could just imagine him being there, at the sight of a disaster, calm confident and ready to rush into the burning building only to emerge last minute covered in soot and having saved a dozen kittens, a mare hanging off his muscular neck....

"Sprout? Hay Sprout? Sproouuuut?" 

The stallion in question shook realized the stupid sexy firefighter was trying to get his attention,and immediately banished that description to a portion of his brain marked 'Do not open!'. 

that mental image away and banished it to the deepest recesses of his mind, though that area was getting quite cramped these days. It wasn't fair, not only had he not gotten his dream job, but the pony who did was just too perfect ing every single way!

"Uh... sure," he eventually mumbled. Whatever it wasn't like it would matter. Hitch would look stupid sexy no matter what pose he struck. It was so unfair.

"Awesome and....... action!" Hitch yelled, taking the pose again.

Maybe it was Sprout's mind playing tricks but he could swear that for a second soot appeared on Hitch's body, and there was the smell of burning wood in the air. He was pretty sure he wouldn't have to clip water into the frame either. Like it wasn't enough that Hitch had the dream job, shredded abs, a nice house and the loving respect of every pony in town, the bastard also had charisma so strong it bent reality.

"Well, that's July sorted out," Hitch pranced in satisfaction, whipping off the firefighter helmet and tossing out his mane. It caught the light so perfectly that Sprout reflexively took another shot.

"And August," the impossibly perfect stallion grinned, unbuttoning his shirt.

Sprout just groaned, life could be so unfair.
> Silence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a quiet night in Ponyville.

Very quiet, Sparkler had made sure of that.

Her horn glowed with a faint pink light as she lurked in the alley, no sound escaping the area as she waited for him.

She was nervous for what she was about to do, but also giddy with excitement. Tonight was the night when she would finally get her stallion.

Caramel was his name, a well endowed and very handsome earth pony, a few years older than her, but that only made him more attractive. He was beautiful and she had spent weeks admiring him from afar. A few more weeks of working up the nerve to speak with him, and then a terrible mortifying moment when her courage had failed her.

Not tonight though, this time she was back for another try, and this time it didn't matter if she dared to speak with him, her silence spell would see to that.

There he was! She spotted him walking the street in front of her alley. Just like she knew he would. Every Friday evening at 8:30 he would head to the pub to meet his friends.

He looked even more beautiful than usual as the setting sun shone through his brown mane, making it glimmer with strands of gold that matched his coat.

It was amazing the things that came to you if you were patient enough.

She was really glad about the silence spell as the first blow wasn't enough to knock him out. She had been holding back, not wanting to accidentally kill him, but she couldn't let him escape either.

Dazed, he tried to scream and stagger away from her, but her spell made sure no sound escaped. Her frying pan made sure he didn't either. Fearing he might actually manage to outrun her, she swung low shattering his knee and sending the stallion crashing to the dirt.

She really regretted having to do that, she wanted him whole after all, he couldn't rut her with that leg.

However she had learned the value of patience and resigned herself to play nurse, and be on top, until his knee had healed. She would be a kind master.

He flailed around but two more taps with the pan against his head and he fell limp on the sidewalk.

Sparkler quickly scooped him up and ran for her home. She didn't have to worry about making noise but every second risked somepony spotting them.

Sparkler ducked from alley to alley with her unconscious prey, hopefully managing the whole trek without being seen. It felt so exhilarating!

Yet she finally made it into her door and breathed out a sigh of relief, she had gotten away with it!

Not wanting to waste a second in case someone would come knocking on the door looking for him she locked it and then carried him down into the basement she had dug especially for him.

He started to come too as she was chaining him up, but she waved the pan in his face and he quickly stopped resisting, what a sweet boy. This would be even better than she had imagined. She gave him a long kiss, thanking him for everything, for coming home with her, for letting her tie him up, and for what was to come.

When they finally broke the kiss she was breathless, she could hardly wait to claim him fully as her own.

Not trusting herself to be able to keep the spell up while they made love she gagged him, and sighed in relief as she felt the spell drop from her horn. She had never had a spell active this long, and her horn was aching. It was one hundred percent worth it though.

Besides, his 'horn' was sure to distract her from that little annoyance. It was why she had picked him after all, that and his good looks.
> Not Without my Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cordial Bond was so happy as she clutched the ticket to her chest.

Not only had she won a spot in one of the new stables, something that could be all too essential if the war went any worse, but she'd get to visit it early and meet all her fellow residents.

It was supposed to be a guided tour of the facilities, so she was surprised when she showed up and there just weren't that many ponies there. She'd heard a stable could hold thousands of ponies, but only about 20 were waiting outside.

All of them were dressed in lab coats bearing the Stable-Tech logo. Probably not fellow residents then.

They greeted her friendly enough and handed her a blue jumpsuit.

"Try it on dear," an older mare said with a friendly smile.

Cordial did so, and felt to her surprise that the garment was very comfortable. It clung fairly tight to her frame but felt breathable and cozy. She noticed some of the scientists were also wearing the jumpsuit under their lab coats.

"It's really comfy," she admitted.

"That's good to hear," another scientist smiled at her, a young stallion this time. "Because you'll be wearing it all the time down there."

"That's nice," Cordial said, frowning. Something felt odd. "You mean if there really is an attack on Equestria?"

The stallion opened his mouth to reply, but the first mare beat him to it.

"Yes, that's what he meant. Don't worry, all the other residents gets one just like it."

Cordial let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "So there will be other ponies down there?"

"But of course," the science mare replied, giving Cordial another warm smile. "Would you like to meet them?"

Cordial looked around, there were only the 20 or so scientists around.

"Uhm, where are they?"

"Why down in the vaults of course."

That was a big relief for Cordial, she had been a bit unnerved ny the lack of ponies around. But if they were all down below already, that explained it.

She wondered why they were already inside though, she'd been on time hadn't she?

She looked down at her watch to confirm that yes, it was still 5 minutes u til she was supposed to arrive. The other ponies must have gotten here really early then.

She was wrenched from her thoughts as the watch on her wrist was enveloped in a blue light and slid off her hoof. She looked up to see a third scientist, a unicorn this time levitating her watch. She opened her mouth to protest but he spoke first.

"Oh, you can't be using that old thing. Here, try this instead."

He held out something that could only be called a watch if you stretched the definition to its very limit.

"Thanks, but I'll keep my own."

She made a grab for her old watch, but he levitated it out of reach.

"I mean it," she narrowed her eyes at him. "It's a gift from my best friend, he'd be very upset if I lost it."

"But this is much better," the stallion argued, holding the cumbersome device up to her leg. 

"I don't want better," she snapped, wrenching her hoof away. "I want something that connects me to my friends."

The stallion let out a huff and seemed to square up for an argument when the first mare put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Bluelight," she said, with more authority in her voice than she'd had when talking to Cordial. "There's no reason the mare can't wear both."

She took the watch from the grumpy unicorn and attached it to Cordial's left hoof. She then held out a hoof, indicating that Cordial should do the same.

"It doesn't matter which leg you wear the pipbuck on."

Pipbuck? So that's what the weird screen thingie was called.

"Why do I have to wear it at all?" Cordial asked, it looked heavy and uncomfortable.

The mare was quick to reply, holding up the pipbuck for Cordial to inspect.

"All the vault residents wear them. It's part of the system. Apart from being a watch it functions as a calendar, a map and allows us to monitor your vitals, just in case."

"So it's like a personal terminal?" 

"Pretty much."

Cordial eyed the thing with renewed interest, it was clunky for a hoof accessory, but it was still amazing they could make computers this small these days.

She held out her hoof and the mare attached the pipbuck to it. The screen lit up with a green light.

"There, I'm sure you'll learn all the functions soon enough. It has a manual function too, or if you're really not that technical," the mare smirked, "you'll find a paper manual on your nightstand."

"Thanks," Cordial eyed the numbers that danced across her screen. The mare was right, she'd need that manual. Something still weighed on her mind though.

"Why does it monitor my vitals?" she eventually asked. "Seems a bit creepy."

"Oh just for safety reasons dear, just for safety reasons," the mare assured her.

Cordial still hadn't learned her name, which was unusual for a pony as friendly as her.

"Safety?" she asked, and held out her hoof "and what's your name mrs?" 

"Professor," the mare corrected. "Professor Mendax. I oversee this stable as well as a few others on behalf of Stable-Tech."

"That's nice, but what did you mean by safety?"

"Oh nothing to worry about," the professor repeated. "Just in case a pony gets ill or hurt themselves down there. We just want to assure the safety of all our residents. Should you for example trip and hurt your leg, another resident will be able to find and help you on their map."

That seemed to make sense, Cordial could understand the prudence of it all. Still, she was getting some really uncomfortable vibes from the gathered scientists, well except for Mendax.

"Uhm, can I meet the other ponies now?" she asked, eager to see some more friendly faces.

"Of course," Professor Mendax turned to her colleagues and said; "Open it up."

One of the lab coats pressed a button and Cordial nearly jumped at the noise of something heavy moving behind her.

She spun around to see the huge metal door with the number 12 on it swing open. She eyed the space behind the huge gear shaped hole but didn't see more than a well lit corridor.

"Huh, I kinda expected a welcome party," she eventually said when nopony emerged from the opened stable. Her ears wilted, she had really been looking forward to meeting new ponies and had expected them to wait at the door, that's what she would have done.

As if she could read Cordial's mind, Mendax frowned, "Huh, they must be busy with the tour."

There were a few murmured agreements from the other scientists.

"If you hurry up and get in there you can probably catch up to them."

Cordial started moving, but stopped.

"But how can I catch up to them if I don't know the place?"

"With your map dear." Mendax almost rolled her eyes but managed to keep a friendly smile on her muzzle as she tapped the hoof Cordial's new pipbuck rested on.

"Right," Cordial nearly smacked herself in  the forehead for not realizing that.

She thanked the scientists and ran into the stable, eager to meet her new friends, and quite frankly eager to get away from the scientists.

It wasn't until the door slammed shut behind her that she realized something. Why would they need the tour if everyone had a map?

She looked back at the door behind her, it was massive, shiny and gave a very permanent expression. Cordial swallowed, feeling uneasy just to look at it, and moved away.

"Why would they lock the door if they were just here for a tour?"

There was no need for her to say that out loud but the silence was just so oppressive that she felt a desperate need to fill it.

"Seems so," she replied to herself.

That was depressing, she'd been in the stable for less than a minute and she was already talking to herself. She better hurry up and find the other residents or she'd go cuckoo.

The silence was filled with the echoing hoofteps as Cordial made it down the sloping hallway that presumably led to the heart of the stable, and the other ponies.

She trotted for what felt like hours, but was probably in reality only a minute or two before reaching another door. This one was less impressive than the massive cogwheel outside, but still substantial and made of solid steel.

What was she supposed to do, knock?

She reached out a hoof and touched the door, only to jump back in surprise as it slid open, vanishing into the ceiling to leave an open doorway into the room beyond.

And it was only a room. Cordial stared in surprise at what looked very much like her old bachelor pad, of the walls had been made of metal. There was a bed, several bookshelves, a desk with a terminal and a small kitchen.

Why was this at the very opening of the stable? Was this where some kind of gate guard was supposed to sleep? She felt the panic rising, why was the room empty? Where was everypony?

To her relief she found another door, this one lighter still, and flung it open.

Her hopes were dashed as instead of finding a welcome party she found herself in a small bathroom. There was nothing here but a toilet, a shower stall and a sink with a mirror above it. The walls were bare, white tiles around the shower stall and a plastic mat on the floor. That was it.

The only sign of life was a lone toothbrush in a glass on the sink, it was still in the plastic wrapper.

Cordial jumped as the sound of the middle door slamming back down managed to wrench her out of her horrified daydreaming.

However reality managed to be even worse, as she hurried over to bang on the now closed door it didn't open. She banged on it again, feeling really scared now. Had they locked her in?

She screamed, turned around and tried to buck the door open, succeeding only in hurting her hooves against the solid metal.

"Ow!" she swore. They really seemed to have locked her in.

She tried not to panic, taking several deep breaths before taking in the room in front of her.

The bed was a narrow single one. The dinner table featured only one chair.

That was as far as she looked, the whole cell seemed to be designed for a single pony and that just couldn't be true, it just couldn't!

This had to have been a mistake, some sort of misunderstanding. They couldn't have locked her down here by herself, could they? Even if it was a prank it was a terribly poor one.

Her panicked gaze fell on the terminal, maybe she could use that to contact the scientists? Let them know that there had been a mistake and that she wanted, no needed out!

Not bothering with sitting down she shoved the desk chair away and read the words on the green and black screen.

"Welcome, Cordial Bond, to Stable 12. The Solitary Confinement Project. You have been selected to take part in an experiment to find out how a pony would cope with being isolated for an extended period."

Feeling faint, Cordial scrolled down. How long would she have to spend cooped up here? A day, a week? She didn't know how she'd make it that long, what if it was more?

"Your Pipbuck will contain your daily schedule…" she kept scrolling, finding the tab for experiment details and froze.

"Experiment is scheduled to last indefinitely. Re-evaluation in 100 years."

500 yards above, through layers of steel and rock the scientists absolutely failed to hear her scream of horror.





Stable Experiment Log
Stable: 12
Experiment: Solitary Confinement
Experiment Moderator: Professor Mendax
Subject: Cordial Bond. Earth Pony. Female. Aged 34.
Experiment Status: Failed.
Expected Experiment Duration: Indefinite/100 years.
Experiment Lasted: 12 days.
Subject Status: Deceased.
Cause Of Death: Suicide.
> Pen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And then I'll need you to make triple copies and run off to the archives to get that file I asked for..."

Raven Inkwell did her best to keep her temper in check as the princess prattled on about all the work she was piling on top of her hapless secretary. The unrealistically unfair amount of paperwork she was piling on top of her incredibly stressed out and extremely overworked secretary.

"And then I'll need you to..." the monarch prattled on.

Raven didn't even have the time to write down the tasks she didn't have time to do. She she could feel the pen about to break in her magic as the anger rose inside her.

"It was supposed to be my day off too," she growled through gritted teeth.

If the solar monarch heard her  she didn't pay the complaint any mind. Why would she, she was the one who has demanded Raven come in to work for the 17:th day in a row. She had insisted, no demanded Raven's presense at all times, the whole day, and most of the evenings and mornings too.

Raven felt the blood begin to boil behind her ears and was surprised the paper in front of her hadn't caught fire with the way she was glaring at it. She twirled the pen in her magic, not even bothering to keep up with her insane boss's unreasonable demands.

"And then... why did you stop writing?" The imperious voice of Princess Celestia demanded, sounding quite annoyed.

Raven mumbled something unintelligible, but didn't bring the pen down at the paper, it just hovered there in her magic, bending under the pressure as the unicorn fought to repress her mounting fury.

"What was that?" the monarch demanded, moving closer to look down at her disobedient assistant with a very disapproving look on her face.

"I said," Raven forced out, doing her best not to snap the pen in half and throw it in the alicorn's stupid imperious face. "I said, I quit!"


"Quit?" Princess Celestia seemed almost taken aback by the statement, for about half a second before her scowl deepened.

"No, you most certainly are not, I have so much work I need you to do."

That did it.

The pen in Raven's magic didn't snap, the whole mare did. She spun around in her chair and jabbed the pointy writing implement upwards with all her might into the pale royal neck.

"You can consider that my letter of resignation," Raven hissed as the blood spurted out over her old desk, covering the copious amount of paperwork in the red liquid.
> Prairie Oysters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Tadaaa!”

Sunny couldn’t help but smile at the unicorn’s antics as Izzy, with great flair and enthusiasm, revealed the dish she had been working on. She was somewhat less pleased as the lid was lifted to reveal… not very much at all.

“Thanks,” she said, giving her new bestie a polite smile, which was dwarfed by the huge grin on Izzy’s face.

The plate held two tiny lumps, and a lone asparagus stalk. Well, Izzy had made it for her after all, it would be rude to decline, and she really was hungry after working on her destroyed home all day.

“Thanks,” Sunny said again, smiling a bit wider this time. Uhm, what is it?” she asked as Izzy put the plate down in front of her. “And as much as I appreciate you cooking for me, didn’t you promise to take care of Sprout?”

For some reason that statement made Izzy burst out laughing.

“Oh I took care of him alright!”

Sunny gave her friend a concerned frown, which the unicorn was quick to wave away.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be helping to rebuild your lighthouse tomorrow. I made sure he’ll be very… helpful and never act up again. Pinkie promise.”

Something About the way Izzy said that made Sunny a bit uneasy. She could really do with some help rebuilding the lighthouse though, and Sprout more than anypony deserved to do the lion’s share of the work, the lazy jerk.

“That’s good,” the earth pony decided to drop the subject and focus on the food in front of her. She could feel herself salivating at the sight, even though she didn’t know what it was she was looking at. Some weird unicorn dish she guessed, and hopefully just an appetizer.

“What is it?” she asked, spearing one of the small orbs on her fork.

“Prairie oysters,” Izzy replied with a grin.

Well that did it, Sunny loved seafood, she lived in a coastal town after all. She brought the morsel to her mouth and took a bite. She immediately frowned.

The thing tasted good, very good, but nothing like seafood. If anything it would have benefited from some salt. Instead it tasted sort of gamey, savory, could it be some kind of hard mushroom?

“This doesn’t taste like any oysters I’ve had,” Sunny commented, chewing thoughtfully.

Izzy leaned in closer, peering at Sunny with her big red eyes, a mischievous smile on her perpetually happy face.

“It’s a unicorn specialty,” She informed Sunny, “They’re not real oysters you know.”

“Okay,” Sunny was beginning to feel a bit offput by her friend’s smile. She chewed thoughtfully before replying. “So they aren’t seafood?” she asked after swallowing.

“Yeah, sorta.”

Izzy did a little dance as Sunny glared at her, which prompted the unicorn to elaborate.

“Not at all really, they are more like land… fruit.”

“Fruit?” Sunny raised an eyebrow. The small orb certainly hadn’t tasted like any fruit she ever had. The closest thing she had tried was fish, and even then it was tougher and more savory.

“Yeah,” Izzy replied, mumbling something that sounded like stallion fruit.

“Okay,” Sunny was fine with eating fruit. She speared the second orb and gobbled it up with some satisfaction. The taste really was satisfying, and Izzy’s proud smile was encouraging, if slightly creepy.

“Thanks,” she finally said after swallowing the weird fruit and sucking down the measly vegetable. “Is there any more?”

“Nope!” Izzy said, with some satisfaction.

Sunny was sort of disappointed at that. As tasty as the prairie oysters had been they had done little more than to tickle her appetite. 

“But I also made lasagna!” Izzy reached over and pulled another dish up on the table, this one smelled just as delicious as the last one, and there was a lot more of it, which pleased Sunny.

“Awesome!” the earth pony said, helping herself to a large plate of steaming tomato and pasta. “But what about the appetizer?” she asked, “Didn’t you want any?”

“Nah,” Izzy said, scooping up lasagna on her own plate, “They were just for you."

As the unicorn swallowed her first mouthful of lasagna, she got a thoughtful expression on her face. "Besides, if I really wanted some too, I could always ask Hitch. Though nah, he's way too nice for me to do that.”

That confused Sunny, what did Hitch have to do with prairie oysters, and why wouldn't he help pick them? Hitch was one of the most helpful ponies Sunny knew. What her unicorn friend said next confused her even more.

“I felt like you deserved both,” the unicorn beamed, “A gift from Sprout to you.”

“Sprout?”

Sunny was confused, how had that bastard contributed to the meal? She asked as much, which only made Izzy smile one of those knowing smiles that hinted that there was something Sunny didn’t understand yet.

“Oh well, maybe more of a gift from me to you, but Sprout definitely made his…. contribution.”

“Really?” Sunny’s ears perked up. “He willingly helped with something?”

“Weeeeeelll,” Izzy looked rather guilty, “Perhaps not exactly willingly… but I hope he tasted good.”
> The Defense Professor would have been proud
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheerilee smiled towards her students, today's subject was self defense and she'd already explained that a pony can't always count on having a weapon on them when they are attacked and decided it was time to test what the class had learned.

She looked over her students, noting who seemed eager, who seemed afraid and then looked over to her two star pupils, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Bloom. The two were both her best students and bitter rivals, each leading their own gang. She knew that picking either one would add fuel to the fire between them, but where was the harm in that?

"Diamond Tiara, can you tell me how to use a no  weapon object in this room and describe how it could be used for combat?

Cheerilee noted the gleeful smile the young mare gave Apple Bloom, who looked furious and decided to add even more fuel to their rivalry; "And be creative please," knowing all too well that Apple Bloom was more of a doer than a thinker, so Diamond got an opportunity to show her up in this one.

"Of course," Diamond replied and began to count out;"

"Number one: the desks, they are obstacles you can manipulate to control your opponent's movements, and they can also be turned over to be used as shields, you can hide beneath them and they are heavy enough to be lethal if dropped from a sufficient height."

"Very good, I believe you just earned yourself an A in defense," Cheerilee announced to her student, who beamed in return.

Apple Bloom wasn't smiling however, she was scowling, her hoof shot angrily into the air.

"Yes Apple Bloom?"

"Miss Cheerilee," the yellow mare whined, "I don't think that's fair."

"How so?" the teacher inquired, rolling her eyes. Diamond

"She didn't mention the most important use!" Apple Bloom insisted.

"Which is?" her teacher prompted, somewhat curious.

As was her use, Apple Bloom didn't respond with words but with action.

The young mare reached out, grabbed the hoof of her pink rival and pulled, hard.

The whole class went silent as Diamond's head slammed against the side of Apple Bloom's desk with an audible crack.

"That one," the earth mare exclaimed smugly from her now bloody desk as her rival slid limply to the floor.

Cheerilee smacked her lips unhappily, that was going to be tartarus to clean up, not to mention the paperwork.

"Not very creative," she eventually announced, giving Apple Bloom a disapproving glare, "that's a C at most."

Ignoring the booing of Apple Bloom's supporters, and the cries of despair of those students who had sided with the wrong horse, Cheerilee continued on with her lesson.

"As Apple so rudely demonstrated, any hard object can be used as a lethal bludgeon, so let's move on to our next item, chairs."
> Just Do It!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She knew it was dumb, but she couldn't live with herself if she didn't at least try.

The awed cheer of her classmates as she appeared to them, and threw herself off the tower was music to her ears.

Less so was the shrieks of horror as her wings failed her halfway down to the ground.

Then again, Scootaloo didn't have to worry about them.

She would never have to worry about anything ever again.

"Come on, just do it already!"

Scootaloo swallowed hard as she looked down on her chanting classmates. She really should have known better than to get herself dragged into proving that she could in fact fly.

She couldn't really, but all that she really needed to do was glide to the ground. From the top of the bell tower. While all her classmates looked on. Some of them cheering, others leering.

She looked down at the ground so far below. It looked hard, dangerous even. She was a Pegasus for Celestia's sake, she shouldn't be afraid of heights!

But she was.

And she couldn't do it.

She felt the tension leave her body. It was almost a relief to admit it.

She wouldn't risk her life for some stupid taunt. She was smarter than that.

Smarter, or too much of a coward.

As she turned around to climb down, she wondered how she'd live this down.

"See, I told you she wouldn't do it!"

Diamond's taunt hurt, but Scootaloo was used to those. Even if she did jump the pink bitch would just find something else to tease her about.

"Shuddup Tiara!"

Scootaloo felt a thin smile break her shameful grimace. At least her best friends would be there for her no matter what.

"Aww, I thought she was cooler than that!"

The drawl of Snails made Scootaloo stop in her tracks. She hadn't thought this one through at all. Maybe her friends would be okay with her backing out, but the rest of the school? She'd be teased by way more than just Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon now.

"Yeah!" came the higher pitched, and yet utterly grating voice of Snail's more annoying half, Snips. "I guess Diamond was right. She's just a chicken after all."

That stung. It did more than sting. It lit a fire inside Scootaloo, the same fire that got her to agree to this stupid bet in the first place.

"I'm no chicken." she reminded herself, turning back to the edge.

She knew it was dumb, but she couldn't live with herself if she didn't at least try.

The awed cheer of her classmates as she appeared to them, and threw herself off the tower was music to her ears.

Less so was the shrieks of horror as her wings failed her halfway down to the ground.

Then again, Scootaloo didn't have to worry about them.

She would never have to worry about anything ever again.
> Dance With Me
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Another!"

Stygian smiled as Rockhoof downed yet another glass and shattered it against the floor.

The rest of his friends were quick to echo the sentiment. Magnus, Meadowbrook, Somnambula, Starswirl all downed their drinks as fast as they could, followed by a series of crashes.

Only Mistmane left her glass intact, clinking it lightly against Stygian's. He was quite grateful for that. Gone were the days when he had tried to keep up with the rest of them, and failing miserably.

It may have taken a thousand years and the intervention of both an eldritch horror and the elements of harmony, but he finally felt like he was one of the group, a friend among equals.

It was a wonderful feeling, and worth all the hangovers in the world.

A strong elbow knocked him out of his reveries, and also nearly off his chair.

"Eh, what?" he looked up to find both Magnus and Meadowbrook grinning at him.

"I said," Magnus repeated himself, "I think that hot mare over there is checking you out Styg."

"Thanks."

Stygian hid his blush by taking a deep sip of his cider. There was no way someone would overlook all his studly friends to admire his scrawny ass, but he appreciated that Magnus was trying to cheer him up.

"No, I actually do think she's interested in you," Meadowbrook chimed in, as if she could read his thoughts. "She's been looking right at you for a while now.

Now that gave him pause. If it had been one of the guys he'd have dismissed it as an attempt to buff his confidence, but if Meadowbrook agreed, he had to check for himself.

Trying to appear nonchalant he tried to let his eyes wander the tavern, though that charade fell right as he noticed the mare by the bar.

She was indeed looking right at him, and he felt himself blush as their eyes met. Somehow she just drew him in.

The mare was by far the most attractive one Stygian had laid his eyes on, and one look was enough to tell him that she wanted him.

His blush deepened as he felt his body respond. It was so inappropriate, yet all he could do was cross his legs and hope none of his friends noticed.

But of course they did.

A slap in the back from Rockhoof would have knocked the breath out of him if he hadn't forgotten to take one since he met the mare's eyes.

It was still enough to break him out of his stupor yet again.

"Bro!" The burly stallion chuckled. "I know she's hot but keep it in your robes."

Blushing even more furiously, Stygian looked back at the mare, sure that his friend's outburst would have turned her off.

To his surprise it seemed to have done the opposite. She slipped off the bar stool and walked over to their table.

Stygian noticed every male eye in the tavern, and quite a few of the female ones, were glued to her hindquarters as they swayed sensually with every step. For sure his was, and it took real effort to look away and admire the rest of her.

She was, in a word, perfect. Everything about her had the most alluring proportions. Her silky smooth coat was a deep sensual red, matched by her long flowing mane in a deep fiery yellow.

There was something almost predatory about her as she stalked over to their table. She strode past the hulking frame of Rockhoof, the tall and distinguished Starswirl and the lean and muscular Magnus to stop right by Stygian's small frame.

"Hello," she purred in a voice like liquid honey.

Stygian tried to answer, he really did, but he was once more lost in her eyes. There was something vaguely familiar about her, though he couldn't put his hoof on what, not that he really cared. He was dumbstruck by her beauty.

To some celestial mercy she seemed to find his awkwardness endearing. With a giggle she extended a hoof, taking his in hers.

"I couldn't help but notice such a handsome stallion as yourself."

Her voice once more went straight past Stygian's brain and down his loins. He couldn't believe she really was asking her to dance with him.

"Come dance with me," she said.

He couldn't have resisted if he wanted to. And he very much didn't want to as he happily let the mare lead him away from his friends.

He barely noticed their cheering, nor just how strong she was. He was lost in the music, the sway of her body as they danced for hours.

"I think we're done dancing."

The voice broke Stygian out of his trance.

The heavenly mare was still in his sweaty hooves, looking just as perfect as when he had first seen her. That was what he noticed first.

What followed was the realization of just how long they had danced. Stygian's body ached, his hooves were sore, as was every muscle in his body. He felt exhausted, yet still blissfully happy.

He also noticed that his friends had left. He hadn't even noticed them leave, but he could appreciate them not wanting to interrupt his dance with the mare.

"I think I got your name?" he said as soon as he realized.

She gave him a smile that set his heart on fire.

"It's Succubia," she informed him. "Though the mortals knows me as Wild Rose."

"Succubia," he repeated, nodding. "That's a beautiful name." 

He felt he was missing something, but all he could really care about was the mare in his hooves and just how beautiful she was.

"Thank you, Stygian," she replied, and he could've sworn she grew even more beautiful as she said his name.

Though a little bell in his lust addled brain made him realize something.

"I never told you my name," he pointed out.

"Yes you did."

Her refusal made him pull back enough to look her in the eyes. How had he not noticed the split pupils before?

"Yes you did, Stygian," she repeated. "When you summoned me."

Summoned?

His body froze as she reached up to stroke his mane. It would have been sensual, if he couldn't feel the clawed tips of her hoof.

"You're the..." He tried to pull free of her grip.

"The succubus, yes."
Her grin was triumphant, and why wouldn't it be. She had him in her claws, and she was much stronger than he was.

"I'm glad you remember," she snickered. "After all, it's been a looong time since you let me loose on this world."

He balked at the horror of her statement. He had intended to send her back, but she had charmed him into letting her step out of the circle... how much damage could a demon have caused given centuries and a perfect disguise.

"That's right," she purred, reading the horror on his face. "I've killed thousands of stallions over the years, maybe tens of thousands. I haven't kept count."

She let out a laugh that made the blood chill in his veins.

"But I'll never forget my first."

Stygian renewed his attempts to break free of her iron grip. He had to get to his friends, to warn them. Between his arcane knowledge and their strength, they'd be able to stop her. He couldn't undo the horror she had wrought, but he had to stop her from doing any more.

"Good, you're scared of me," she commented with glee, apparently misreading the intention behind his struggles.

"You probably think I'm going to kill you too."

Her clawed hoof turned his head so their eyes met once more.

"I don't think I will," she purred, running a leathery wing across his cheek in an almost affectionate manner. "As fun as it has been to feed in peace, I'm getting bored. I think I'll let you live so you can hunt me, and I'll revel in your tears every time you turn up too late."

Stygian barely had time to comprehend her message before she lashed out.

Stygian heard his bones breaking before the searing hot pain raced up his ruined forehoof. He stared in horror at the broken limb. She had broken it like a twig, likely maiming him for life.

"Oh sorry," she giggled. "Can't make it too easy for you to hunt me down, can I?"

The empty night filled with his screams and her maniacal laughter.

When his friends found him the day after, they barely recognized the broken mess of what used to be a stallion. Stygian's horn was broken, as was both of his forehooves. His lips was missing, having been cut off, as was the bits of him that had urged him in his foolish youth to summon such a monster.

It took his friends two years to hunt her down, during which time she killed another 57 stallions. None of them would forget her grin as Twilight and Starswirl sent her back to hell, more than satisfied with the suffering she had caused.
> The Hoard of a Dragon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smolder was walking through the Zebrican city of Roam by herself.

If she was honest, she would have preferred the company of her friends, but they were all cooped up in their air conditioned hotel room.

As a dragon, Smolder was of course untouched by the hot climate. The southern continent might be a lot warmer than Equestria, but for someone who grew up bathing in lava for fun, the difference in climate was negligible.

She was just about to get bored when she was approached by one of the locals.

"My, what an exotic creature you are," the zebra stallion said as he looked her over, a pleased smile on his muzzle. "What brings you to our lands, my scaled beauty?"

The dragoness resisted rolling her eyes. She'd interacted with a lot of zebras since they were sent here by the map and she generally got along well with them. This guy however was just being straight up rude.

"The name is Smolder," she replied, stopping to show that she wasn't the slightest bit intimidated. "And lay off the racist talk. I'm a mighty Dragon, not some exotic thing for you to ogle over."

Having said her piece she strode past him. The creep looked stunned by her rebuttal, but she often had that effect on ponies that annoyed her.

And keep annoying her he did. As she strode away, he followed.

"My apologies, my fair dragon," he simpered. "I did not mean to offend you."

Smolder rolled that over. One one claw she was tempted to roast him, on the other she and her friends were here on a diplomatic mission. Being the pragmatic sort she settled on a compromise.

"Apology accepted," she said, waving her claws in a gesture of dismissal. "Now scram."

"Scram?"

The stallion seemed genuinely confused and she remembered that while all ponies spoke the same language, they had a lot of regional dialects and accents.

"Yeah, scram," she explained. "It means get lost, fuck off, and leave me alone."

"I can see you are busy," the stallion looked disappointed, but seemed to finally take the hint. "I am sorry to have bothered you."

Smolder grinned, making sure her sharp teeths were on full display.

"Apology accepted," she repeated herself.

"I merely thought to offer you some shade in this midday heat, most tourists would appreciate it."

"Again," smolder said, letting a small gout of flame slip past her lips just to reinforce the point. "I'm a Dragon, heat means fuck all to us."

The stallion looked if not intimidated, then at least like he finally regarded her with respect.

"I can see that now," he said, giving a very light bow. "It is nice to run into a fellow warrior."

"You, a warrior?" Smolder looked him over for the first time. She guessed she could see it. He was quite tall and muscular, for a pony, and he was armed. A sword hung by his side, as did a knife and the bulges beneath his cloak hinted at even more hidden gear.

"Okay, fine. Nice to meet you."

She extended a fist, which he took, and shook. Not the hoofbump she was expecting, but then again they weren’t in Equestria anymore. She returned the shake with a firm grip of her own, which seemed to please the guy immensely.

"And you as well, dragon warrior! Say, would you care to join me for a cup of tea?"

Blast it! Tea parties were Smolder's one weakness, that and frilly dresses. Well fuckit, why not, she was bored anyway. It'd still be another couple of hours before her friends had cooled off enough to do anything fun, so she might as well.

"I guess," she shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. "What's your name by the way?"

The zebra stallion smiled. "It's Muuaji."

"Muuaji?" Smolder repeated. The word rang a bell, and thanks to her language lessons back at the School of Friendship it didn't take much effort to translate. "Doesn't that mean Murderer?"

"Killer," the stallion corrected, sounding a bit miffed. "Though I prefer to see myself as a hunter. You should see my trophy collection."

Smolder's grin was genuine as she followed him back to his house. She was curious to see what beasts there were to hunt down here in Zebrica. Probably no bears or mountain lions, but definitely something fun. This might prove to be a worthwhile encounter after all.





As Muuaji busied himself in the kitchen, Smolder took the time to look around his living room. There were indeed a number of hunting trophies decorating the walls.

The heads of Lions, hyenas, a chimaera, and a even a few that Smolder didn't even recognize were on full display, as was a number of skulls, tusks and horns from various beasts. There was also quite a few weapons, bows, javelins, swords and clubs. As a Dragon, smolder didn’t really need that sort of thing, but they were cool to look at.

Clearly Muuaji wasn't all talk, he genuinely had some skills as well.

Actually, a couple of the skulls gave her pause. There was something creepy about them. Something that struck smolder as odd. She was a hunter herself, back home she ate her own game freshly flame grilled, so a few dry skulls really shouldn’t bother her, but they did. One was clearly a large bird of prey that looked eerily familiar. The other one looked insectile, and there was no mistaking that one.

"Is that a changeling skull?" she called out, never having been one to dance around a subject when direct confrontation was an option.

"Ah," Muuaji appeared in the doorway, a tray balanced on his back. "I see you found one of my most hard earned trophies."

He set the tray down on a coffee table, clearly unbothered by the fact that his guest was holding the skull of a sentient being.

"Those are shapeshifters," he explained as he poured them a cup each from the pot on the tray, adding a few herbs and spices to each drink. "Extremely hard to track down, clever too."

"I know," Smolder stated flatly. She knew she had once had the same opinions on changelings, but Ocellus had changed all of them. There was just no way she could think of them as anything less than creatures worthy of respect when one of her closest friends was not only one of them, but also one of the kindest, gentlest, most considerate creatures Smolder had ever met. The fact that some ponies still considered them monsters pissed her off.

Despite her earlier excitement, she was no longer enjoying her time with Muuaji. The changeling skull had left a sour taste in her mouth, much like the tea did when she took a swig. You'd think with all the spices the savage put into them it'd taste better.

She forced herself to swallow the bitter brew and looked around the place again. After the revelation of the changeling skull, the collection took on a far darker tone. Her eyes fell on the second skull. Having recognized one for what it was, it wasn't hard to guess the other one.

"And that's a Gryphon?" She pointed at the beaked remains.

"Yes," he confirmed, clearly missing just how upset his trophies was making her. "Strong warriors they are. I still have a few scars from that fight, and her spear is on my wall over there, place of honour."

He calls them warriors, Smolder thought. And he collects their weapons. She felt the fury of dragons stir in her chest. This savage was no hunter, he really was a killer, and one who kept the skulls of sentient beings as trophies. The changeling skull could have been an honest mistake, but this bastard knew that Gryphons were people. Sure, not the nicest people, but definitely not the sort of people it was okay to murder and use like fucking wall decorations!

"It's a nice trophy, yes?"

The smirking zebra could count himself very lucky that Smolder considered herself better than him, or she would have replied by burning his house down.

"No," she stated flatly.

Wanting very much to be done with this absolute creep she downed the rest of her tea, grimacing as it burned on the way down.

"I'm done here," she said, and tried to stand up.

"Oh I think not," Muuaji disagreed.

If Smolder could have, she would have torn that smug grin off his face with a swipe of her claw, but the bastard kept his distance.

"What's going on?!" Smolder coughed as she pushed herself up from the couch, her legs felt unnervingly wobbly, as if they struggled to take her weight. Something was very wrong!

Muuaji's grin grew downright diabolical. She tried to take a swipe at him, but he easily avoided her clumsy strike. Why was she suddenly so slow?

"I know poison is a dishonorable way to end such a worthy opponent," the shitstain of a stallion answered with a snicker. "But I think we both agree that taking you down in any other way would have been… far too messy."

Smolder could barely think, but there was one thing left to her, rage! If she was going to die, she was going to take this bastard with her!

She tried to extinguish that smug face with her flames, but all that came was a coughing fit that brought her to her knees and stained the carpet a deep crimson red.

"Why?" was all she managed to get out before she vomited another gout of blood. Her head swam and the gore stained floor rose up to meet it.

"Come now," came the mocking voice of the monstrous zebra as he stepped over her prone body. His eyes glistened with sickening avarice as he told her. "Surely you noticed the gap in my collection?."

Still snickering he pulled a dagger from beneath his cloak and bent down over her.

“I have yet to claim the skull of a dragon.”

Smolder tried to wriggle away, to do something, but her body was no longer obeying her at all. It was a horrible realization that there was nothing she could do to stop him, and even if she did, the poison would finish her off anyway.

With her last effort of defiance Smolder spat blood in his face, but that only made his face even more ghastly as he bent down and slit her throat.
> Fun in the Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There you are!"

Sweetie Belle startled as if she hadn't expected her fellow Crusaders to still be looking for her.

She stopped and waved, "Hi!" then continued walking.

"That was odd," Apple Bloom commented as she and Scootaloo hurried to catch up to her.

"Yeah," her pegasus friend agreed. "You'd think she'd be happy to finally be found."

It didn't take them long to catch up to their friend. Sweetie Belle's gait was stiff and slow, though she kept on plodding.

Not sure what to say, the two friends just kept pace with her for a minute.

"Uh Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo was the first to break the silence.

At first it seemed like her friend hadn't heard her, though she eventually nodded. "Yes. That is my name after all." She stopped and turned to look at her bewinged friend. "And you're Scootaloo."

The way she said it was odd, as if she just remembered.

"Ah think she's hit her head or sumthing," Apple Bloom chimed in. Trotting a lap around Sweetie, now that the unicorn had stopped.

Sweetie Belle regarded her with a mildly confused look on her muzzle. "Maaaaybe," she eventually replied.

The state of her definitely supported Apple Bloom's theory. The unicorn certainly looked like she'd spent several hours in a dangerous forest by herself, which fit, because that's exactly what she had done. Her usually soft coat looked rough, and her mane even moreso, and the way she moved was stiff, almost like she was in pain, or exhausted.

"Right," Apple Bloom concluded. Their friend clearly needed their help in some way.

"That's right. She's your friend Scootaloo, amd I'm your friend Apple Bloom" Apple Bloom explained while the unicorn stared between them. "We're really glad we found you."

Another blank stare.

"You've been gone in the Everfree Forest for hours," she prodded. "We got worried.

Sweetie Belle mulled this over and eventually gave them a crooked smile. "That's nice."

It didn't stop there. After a few seconds she reached out a hoof to them. "I'm Sweetie Belle, friends. I have been lost in the forest for hours."

"Yeah…" Scootaloo put a wing around her friend, ignoring how rough her coat felt against her feathers, and how cold the pony was. "We'd better take you back to your sister."

"Right, I have a sister." She smiled and nodded. "I should meet her."

"Zecora's closer," Apple Bloom said, giving Scootaloo a worried look.

Something was seriously wrong with their friend.
> Loud Opposition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence felt quite a bit of shame as she sent away the scroll with a brief flash of magic fire.

She hated calling for help, she really did, but what was her other option? Agree to their wild demands? Hardly.

Sending out her guard to deal with the uprising *was* an option, but the crystal miners had met Shining's last attempt to force them back to work with force of their own.

She still remembered the shock of seeing her well trained soldiers being beaten and captured by the mob. Hiring mercenaries would cost more than she was willing to pay, so asking her aunt for help it was.

It merely took a minute for the god-tier sorceress to arrive.

The older alicorn didn't waste any time on pleasantries.

"I read your letter," she declared, glaring down at her slightly shorter niece. Cadence fought the urge to cower, they were equals now, well almost.

"I am very disappointed in you," Celestia eventually declared. "It's been less than a year since I put you in charge of The Crystal Empire and you are already having this much trouble?"

Cadence opened her muzzle to refute, but it was true. She hung her wings and admitted defeat.

"Yes, now will you help me?"

Celestia seemed to genuinely consider denying the request, but after a tense few moments she reluctantly agreed.

"I will, we can't risk any of them spreading any ideas to my queendom. But if this happens again, I will replace you with Twilight."

Cadence bit back her resentment at that. At least Twilight was better than Celestia's usual threat, of bringing back that bitch Sunset Shimmer.

She forced herself to follow the senior ruler as she turned on the spot and strode out on the palace balcony.

The noise of the protests grated against their royal ears as they surveyed the rabble occupying every square and street surrounding the palace.

Celestia clicked her teeth in disappointment. "Is this really all? I can roast them in seconds."

Cadence didn't like the slight to her power, but decided that playing the subservient was probably her best course of action. She'd usurp her aunt eventually, better if the old hag didn't see it coming.

"We don't all have the full power of the sun, Auntie," she said, putting as much adoration in her voice as she could stomach.

"You speak true," Celestia agreed, and then everything went white.

It took Cadence several seconds to regain her vision after the blinding display.

"Fucking warn me next time!" she whined.

"Silence!" came the reply. "You are on this ice as it is, niece. Now hurry along and clean this mess up."

With another blinding flash, the alicorn of the sun was gone, leaving Cadence with a city full of charred bones and no workers to clean them up.

"Bitch," she muttered.