> SWWC: Something Wrong With Canterlot
>  by Lighttone GryphonStar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> S1 Prologue: The Mysterious Hippogriff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twenty days before Canterlot fell...

Thousands of miles in the far north of the country, the mighty brown and black airship floated gently into a port town near the side of a massive mountain. A minotaur's voice echoed over the intercom, announcing their arrival. Among the grouping of ponies were two in particular who had come here for an important mission. They unload multiple machines much to the minotaur's annoyance as he had to stand guard. Nopony was paying him by the hour, rather he needed to empty out the space.

The two ponies couldn't care less about his anger, they only needed his transportation. The unicorn; orange with a darker orange, messy mane, and curly beard rushed over to the edge of the port's balcony. "Quibble Pants, it's incredible."

"Yes, it is, Sunburst." The pegasus placed down the last of it and paid the minotaur. After which he joined Sunburst at the edge. Both peered over the view of their destination. "This is why I brought you."

"Graviton Falls!" Sunburst admired the scene. It was the site of the largest dam in Equestria. Standing just outside of the border of the Crystal Empire, near the very top of the highest mountain in the land. So high that its silhouette blocked out half the sun's light and warmth. The only light came from the torches that tourists brought.

"According to Daring Do's notes, this was created by wendigoes, thousands of years ago, before Equestria was even founded." He pointed out that the entire dam was forged out of giant permafrost. "Made from the same kind of stuff we found in the ruins of the Giant Blue Hourglass."

"Yes, but the ones you and Rainbow Dash found were maroon red, this is blue." Sunburst pulled out a periscope and zoomed in for a closer look. "Wait a minute." He noted the strange discoloring happening all along the edges.

"Exactly, for thousands of years it was maroon red, but recently several parts of it have been changing purple, indigo and blue." Quibble Pants took a step back to it all and stood by the machines. "When I saw the other one with Rainbow Dash, I couldn't believe it, but now..."

Sunburst turned back around and found his friend covered in sweat. "You can't back out now. You brought me here because I'm the foremost expert on magic."

Quibble Pants gave a huff. "We've come so far already, I don't want to fail now."

"Don't be so negative."

"I'm not negative, I'm realistic." Quibble Pants crossed his arms.

"Really this coming from the comic nerd!" Sunburst laughed.

"They are graphic novels!!" Quibble Pants raised his voice.

Sunburst lowered his volume to match Quibble Pants'. "And that is your greatest contribution to our magical society, you write fanfiction, I'm the one with the actual power!" He pulled out dozens of blueprints in a glowing aura.

"I'm also a historian!" Quibble Pants raised his finger. "That's the most important thing."

Sunburst shrugged his shoulders. "True." He raised his finger up to his temple. "The more knowledge you have, the better... That's why Twilight is better than all of us."

"Well, truthfully the princesses aren't ready to tell Twilight. So, you're the next best thing." Quibble Pants straightened up. "Well, you and Jack Nox... the batpony."

"Oh yeah, I know him. Created a massive blaze that nearly consumed the school when we were colts." Sunburst rolled his eyes. He walked slowly over to the machines. "Where is he anyway?"

"At the top of the dam." Quibble Pants narrowed his eyes at that location. "Celestia wanted the best. And we are the best."

"Not a good assurance." Sunburst raised an eyebrow. Feeling rather worthless now, the unicorn turned the machines on. Pulling out a scanner and aiming it at the dam. "What's the magic pulse rate at this range, or do we need to get closer."

"Getting to the top should suffice." Quibble Pants cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "There shouldn't be any this close. Reports were saying the closest spike was right at the foot of the dam--" He was stopped as the scanner blared loudly. "What?!" Rushing over to Sunburst and grabbed the scanner. "It can't be going off now."

"Oh, but my machines never lie!" Sunburst sounded offended now. " We got a pattern, my friend."

"This said a two point two"

"One is the base level of a unicorn." Sunburst turned on other machines. "Right now, it's showing a magic pulse equivalent to a supercharged unicorn."

"Try again!" Quibble Pants shouted. "It just jumped to a two-point five."

"Impossible." Sunburst turned on all his machines. "That's... getting close to alicorn level."

"Are you serious?" Quibble Pants

"Yes, I'm serious!" Sunburst flicked out the wheels and pushed the machines over to the ramp. "We need to get to Jack Nox as soon as possible."

"Agreed." Quibble Pants grabbed the other of the machines. "You know he won't listen to us."

"He won't have to with these ratings!" Sunburst was now the one sweating in fear. "It's steadily growing higher."

With that final word, the two left the port. There was a rough shaking that followed which knocked the minotaur off his footing. Luckily he was caught in the arms of a tall hippogriff wrapped in the finest business suit. This was a confusing sight since despite his height being taller than the minotaur, the hippogriff barely looked frail enough to hold of his own body let alone catch such a strong and big minotaur.

"Careful, Iron Will." The hippogriff straightened the minotaur upright and exited the airship.

Iron Will's eyes widened. "Sir Night. What are you doing off the airship?" He stopped at the bouquet of flowers on the ground. "I'm sorry, someone as royal as you shouldn't have to drop stuff to pick me up."

"It's okay..." The hippogriff leaned down to grab the flowers. His bones were so old and frail that each one popped loudly as he leaned down. "Just be more careful when I'm around."

Iron Will took the flowers and placed them in the hippogriff's hand. "No, it's my fault." Just as his skin touched the hippogriff's hand, the frail creature shivered away. "Sorry."

Sir Night gave no more responses to it and turned to the sight of Quibble and Sunburst in the distance. "Keep the airship here a little longer. I wish to place these flowers on my brother's grave before we go back to base."

"I..." Iron Will was originally thoroughly annoyed with the requests of the two sent by Celestia. But this request came from someone that all of his kind respected for millennia. After everything this old hippogriff had done for his species, a few lost hours of gas were only a minor inconvenience. 'Sure, take as much time as you need, my lord."

******

Thousands of miles away in the land of the kirins. The winds kicked around the kirins' manes as they stood guard. Their resolve was good, and their stance was bold against the beating heat of the Sun.

Along an all too accurate path, a carriage surrounded by unicorn and kirin guards rode forward. Its movement was unheeded by any stones or rocks that dare attempt to stall it. Inside were four creatures: two kirins in fine uniform and two unicorns with trim clean suits devoid of any creases and seams.

The older kirin, a stallion, white in color with a black mane looked toward the yellow unicorn with a blue mane and spoke first. "I'm glad to see that your training has paid off. I’ve never seen my soldier so clean and proficient. Now my country will be ready for anything. I thank you, Comet Tail, from the bottom of my heart." He held one hand out of the carriage and sighed in relief.

“No problem, President Sable.” Comet Tail was glad. It had been so much hard work, but it paid off perfectly. He knew now they would be ready for anything.

"Indeed, honey," the slightly younger kirin noted as he placed his hand in the older kirin's free hand. At first, though, the younger kirin pulled back at the sight of the unicorn. "Sorry," he whispered under his breath.

“No, it's okay to be a little romantic?” Comet laughed.

The younger kirin turned away, wanting to hide his face. President Sable placed his fingers under the chin of the younger kirin and brought his nose to his own, making the young one smile. “Yes, this is my fiance.” President Sable spoke up. “Once peace has been brought to our land, I am planning to take this wonderful creature as my own.”

“Maybe you two, me and my coltfriend can have a double date.” Comet’s words only confused them. He waved his hand to calm them.

"Sounds fun..." The young kirin answered.

"Back onto topic, Comet Tail." President Sable interjected. "I hear this Princess Celestia wanted all the nearby countries to be ready for something. Yet we still do not know what?"

"Yes, her draconequus friend said, that something will happen this month that could affect every country around Equestria."

"Does this have to with that attack on the hippogriff capital--" He was stopped at the carriage abruptly halting its movement.

"What's going on?" The younger kirin's face filled with paleness once more.

"Don't concern yourselves." Comet held up his hands to them before looking at the unicorn beside him. "Watch over President Sable... and his future husband." The unicorn took up his sword while Comet pulled out a long gladius and leaned his head out the window.

Outside the heatwave had been replaced by a cold stickiness as a lone creature in a black coat stood in the way of the carriage. He was holding out a long katana and aiming it forward. Up in the sky, the Sun had gone pale. It not only twisted the feeling of this scene but gave a greater feeling that something was terribly wrong.

"Hmm, it's a black dragon... I think." Comet Tail looked to the guards surrounding them. "Ace, Drone, take him in, alive."

"Yes, sir. " The two guards nearest to him left the group and charged forward. The black 'dragon' pulled his katana back into his sheath as they got closer. Comet could only smile at what seemed like a perfect victory.

However, with a single draw that seemed far too fast for a dragon, the guards were cleaved in half. A coldness increased in the air as blood poured from their wounds and toward the carriage.

"Shit," On Comet's words, the others charged in. Comet pulled his head back in and hit the ceiling, "Grape Vine, get us out of here."

"Yes, sir." On that, the carriage heavily turned and raced in the other direction.

"What's happening?" President Sable questioned.

"I don't know... there is no way a dragon could move that fast." Comet concentrated magic in his horn. "Hmm.."

"What are you doing Sir Comet?" The younger kirin questioned.

"Contact spell. I need to know if this was what Discord was warning us about." He closed his eyes. However, seconds later his eyes opened and his magic faded. "What? That makes no sense?"

"What is it?"

"I can't contact Canterlot at all... nor anything in Equestria."

"Could they be blocking us?" the other unicorn commented.

"No... it's like there is nothing there." Comet waved his head back and forth in denial before pulling on a different spell. "I'll try a searching spell. I need to see if there are any more attackers coming." Comet closed his eyes once more and the outside world was revealed in his mind's eye.

He could see everything around the carriage for up to a hundred meters in a circular spread, "Damn it, your guess was correct there are magic dampeners in the area." He placed his hand on the shoulder of the unicorn beside him narrowing his sense to find the source. The unicorn matched his power and output.

However, the two felt their mind being yanked far harder than they ever felt. They shrieked in agony, feeling their magic raised far up into the sky and racing toward the source. It lay far outside of the land of the kirins, across the celestial ocean, and into the snowy north. "Is that a... hippogriff?" Comet Tail was thrown out of the spell and crashed back into his chair.

"Hold on," the other unicorn answered. "I've still got the signal..." The kirins leaned back as the unicorn's eyes started to bleed. "No, no, no, what are you?!?!" All three jumped back as the unicorn screamed in agony, twisted, and convulsed.

"Break the connection!" Comet Tail shouted.

"They... won't... let me!!" the unicorn was stopped as his head exploded.

"How could a hippogriff do such a thing?" President Sable tried to get answers.

"Hold on, President Sable. I see something else--" Comet stopped his words and his eyes popped open. "Look out." He threw his hands up and pulled a shield of magic over the president as a giant shockwave burst through and tore the carriage in half.

"Kind!" The president reached out to his fiance as the two were separated by the attack.

Comet Tail and the president's fiance were sent to the far right as the other half of the carriage was pulled into the air by a yellow aura of magic. Another 'dragon' landed between them. This one was white with two giant saws.

******
> File 1: Month 17-Part 1: Three Prong Attack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seventeen months and twenty-nine days after Canterlot fell...

"I never did find out who those 'dragons' were." Comet Tail put down the cigarette and slowly puffed smoke in the face of the therapist. This was his thirteenth visit after leaving the hospital and his boredom had reached a peak. "And that was the last thing I remember before everything went black."

The gray earth pony therapist looked at him with an expression unreadable behind her thick glasses, but he could tell she wasn't surprised by this statement at all. She had probably heard it from dozens of patients that day alone. "Yes, that's good much better than last week."

"Yeah, seventeen months of pointless work." Comet Tail crushed his cigarette and threw it perfectly into the ashtray.

The therapist made a face as if to say something else, but didn't speak up. She turned around on the chair and started fiddling with some papers. A moment later she answered: "Your file says your work was classified."

"That doesn't matter to me." Comet Tail turned away.

"It should!" The therapist urged. "You are the only survivor of that mission. The more we work, the more we can unlock those memories, you just need a bit more." She twirled her pencil around. "Maybe we could--"

"Right, Doctor Allswell?" Comet's voice was filled with a bit too much snark to care for. "Is this work going to help bring my leg back?!" Comet slapped at the metal limb with a broken gladius caked in dust strapped onto it.

"You at least can walk." The therapist tried to help him smile.

"Yeah, but I couldn't during the war." Without any hesitation, he walked over to the window and pulled it open. In the distance, the Canterlot's mountain once stood, now only a crater remained.

"That is none of your problems. The King has been good to us since the princesses's disappearance. He gave you a new leg and all of this good technology." Doctor Allswell held up her hands to the machines around the room. All were monitoring Comet Tail's actions and movements across the room.

"Right, the King is so great, yet we rarely have seen him directly." Comet's eyes wandered upward to the twisted and distorted image that was once Canterlot, now a floating fortress above the crater. "My mission failed mere days before that place appeared."

"Well, there are still ponies working on getting you back on your feet and back to fighting." The doctor held out the papers that she had been fiddling with earlier.

"What? And serve that tyrant!" Comet Tail took another puff of his cigarette. "I'd rather stick to my private business."

"There are other options. You could join the guard or even become a knight again." The therapist leaned forward over the desk.

"I said, no!!" Comet Tail rushed over and smashed his cigarette into the papers. He snickered as the ashes consumed the signature line. He didn't wait any longer, heading toward the door.

“Wait, your session is not over yet.”

Comet didn't care to finish his own answer. Instead, he opened the door and left the room, making sure to slam the door behind him. This left the therapist puzzled and confused.

Doctor Allswell leaned back and tapped out the flaming paper, finally giving her own annoyed huff. “So close…” She wrote some notes down and turned to a phone.

“State your name and rank.” The voice on the other side was quick and strong in his words.

“I am Doctor Ashley Allswell of the Raven Institut. Rank, Lieutenant Captain of the Poena Guard.”

“State your business.”

Doctor Allswell got up from her chair and stared deeply at the crater that Comet had shown so much anger toward. “I have my next report on Comet Tail for the king.”

******

The one on the other side of the line took every word to count. “Good. I’ll take the report to him once I arrive back at Nigrum Crystalli.” The yellow pegasus closed his phone up and turned back to his work. He was standing over a burning field of dying trees on the far side of the Everfree Forest, near the caves.

“Captain Iron Sentry.” A soldier walked up to him. “We found fifty rebels inside, but still no sign of it.”

“Bring forward any that are still alive.” Iron Sentry commanded, a frown on his face.

The soldier turned away and gestured to the other soldiers. Twelve ponies were brought forward. They were covered in dirt and blood, barely able to stand. Iron Sentry approached them with a scowl, keeping himself from staring directly into their eyes. Most of them were very old or broken souls. However, his eyes stopped as among them were two children. 

Iron Sentry slowly walked to the children. He leaned down and smiled at their small faces. “Tell me, were there any other children in the safe house.”

“No, sir.” The soldier behind him answered.

Iron Sentry’s face quickly frowned. “Good, good.” He rose back up and looked at the older ponies. “Now I will ask this once and only once. Where is it?!”

The older ponies shook their heads and pointed in different directions, some even pointing to themselves. None of them answered correctly. It didn’t seem to be out of some absolute loyalty but rather something else. Something that Iron Sentry could see very clearly.

He walked away from the children and looked over at each older pony. This time, he stared deep into each eye as he walked by. Once he reached the end, his hands shook to his sword. The cranks of metal in his wings echoed throughout the area. “I see, Lieutenant Outer. Remove the children.”

“Sir?”

Iron Sentry turned to the soldier with a glare. “Do as I said, a child should never see such brutality.”

Understanding the order, the children were quickly removed from the area. His kindness to them was indeed quite strange to the soldiers, but it brought less fear from them than his rage. The children saw mercy in Iron Sentry's eyes as they were pulled away. But there was also something else he dare not let even his most loyal see. It was a sign of defeat.

Iron Sentry turned away once they were out of sight and looked toward all the older ponies once more, finally speaking to them. “He gave strength and you ran from it.” The soldiers lifted strange weapons with barrels on the end. “He gave you valor and you denied it.” The soldiers aimed their weapons as the tip began to glow. “He gave you kindness and you give him hatred.” On that final word, the soldiers pulled their triggers.

The light burst outward from each weapon and the loud bangs bounced over every wall. Iron Sentry's eyes shook at every scream but kept a solid face, not letting them see him falter at all. He kept a calm stern mind and stayed ready and loyal to the kingdom he was now forced to serve. The kingdom that had enslaved them all.

"Thank you for your mercy, Flash." A soft voice echoed behind his ear, breaking his resolve for only a second. He didn't turn around as he knew only he could hear the voice.

Once the barrels stopped humming, he looked up to a tear in the ceiling. He closed his eyes at the feeling of rain pouring down. Under his breath, he whispered to the voice, “Thank you for this... Pale Mare.”

"Sir? Sir? Sir?" Another soldier ran up.

Iron Sentry's eyes popped open and faster than anypony could process, metal wings pulsed out and wrapped around the neck of the soldier. "There better be a good reason for interrupting my prayer?!" His words were pure rage.

"Sir... We found it." On those words, Iron Sentry only squeezed tighter.

"Are you sure? Where?!"

"It was exactly where Sir Night said it would be. Just beyond these plains. There are some ruins of a clocktower... and an altar with a giant crystal hand."

"Show me..." Iron Sentry finally dropped him to the ground.

The soldier led the way and the rest followed. Iron Sentry had given the command, but didn't follow until the last second. It wasn't until he felt a touch on his shoulder, that he joined them. The hand belonged to a pale mare that only he could see. Her face was covered in static and her body moving like that of a ghost.
> File 2: Month 0-Part 1: Blowing Up Ballons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours before the fall of Canterlot...

Three party experts arrived in the heart of Canterlot. Stopping at the foot of the castle, the chariot opened to reveal Pinkie Pie in the brightest of pink jester attire. She rolled out and into the hands of Pokey Pierce, wearing the finest of suits. He threw her into the air where she flipped and spun, throwing out several purple and blue smoke bombs. Landing in the arms of Cheese Sandwich, who was wearing an equally bright yellow jester outfit. The two spun around three times over before posing with Pierce ending the scene by landing his own flip on top of their arms as fireworks went off behind him.

The audience clapped and cheered upon their arrival. The three dropped down and bowed to them and each other before realizing the mistake. Turning back to the cart, Cheese facepalmed. "He forgot the sign!"

Pierce let out an embarrassed chuckle as he watched the crowd's reaction to the comedy trio. ""I did not!" He scoffed at the accusation.

"What's the big deal?" Pinkie brushed it off "You did at least remember to bring the cakes." Pinkie Pie pointed out to him.

The greyish blue pony followed her hand to the top of the chariot and the missing anniversary sign. "What?" Pierce jumped back. "They were up there with the sign after we left Ponyville."

"You sure?" Cheese rolled his eyes. "You must have just forgotten, again."

"Don't mock me!" Pierce screamed back.

"Calm down you two!" Pinkie Pie jumped between them. "I'm sure there's a perfectly fine explanation--" As if on cue, a certain laughter could be heard around them. It started within the crowd and echoed toward them. Swimming around them with fluffy cotton candy clouds, Discord appeared and landed on top of the chariot with the sign in one hand and the cake in another, only the message had been changed.

"Happy anniversary, Tia!!" The three said in confused unison.

"Discord! This is supposed to be your big day!!" A yellow glow picked him up and wiped away his sheepish smile. The four and the audience turned to see Princess Celestia landing down from the castle. "It's the tenth anniversary of your reforming." The alicorn floated him into her arms.

"Oh, I couldn't resist mocking the fact it also happened just days after your birthday!!" He wrapped around her like a snake, making her blush. "You can't hide how old you are getting." With that, she threw him aside into a bed of pink clouds.

"Okay, okay. Enough mockery on all sides." She fixed the sign and turned her attention to Pinkie Pie, Cheese, and Pierce. "Thank you three for helping with the party." The alicorn bowed to them before noting something else. "Where are the rest? I asked for everyone to attend."

"Oh!" Pinkie Pie laughed it off and pulled out a list. "Twilight will be here very soon, just need to make a quick teleport to the Castle of Friendship. Applejack has one more apple delivery and she'll be here. Fluttershy should get here first since she's carrying the tea. Rainbow Dash has invited several wonderbolts and the CMC, but Sweetie Belle couldn't make it. Spike and Rarity had several orders last night with the wonderful Coloratura so they will be arriving later in the evening. And finally, I invited my sisters. The three should arrive after Fluttershy."

"Sounds like quite a bit of chaos today..." Celestia lowered her head. "I had hoped everyone would show up as soon as possible"

"Chaos!!" Discord cheered out loud and splashed chocolate rain on Celestia. "I wouldn't have it any other way." His tail wrapped around his leg of Celestia while his claw picked up a teacup. "As long as my favorite mares can join my tea party, I am content."

"Of course, conversations with you and Fluttershy are always such a joy." Celestia tried to hide her blush as Discord floated closer.

"Is that what you're looking forward to most? Teatime with dear me and Fluttershy?" He blinked at her with giant eyelashes.

Celestia nodded. "I haven't seen her for several months."

The three party ponies watch the royalties lock eyes. Pinkie Pie didn't realize it, but both the stallions she arrived with were reaching for her hands at the sight of the soft romance happening in front of them. The pink mare jumped forward, leaving their hands empty, and glares at each other's sight.

"Well, let's get everything ready!" Pinkie Pie fired off some canons. "We brought all of the entertainment." Flipping back around, she didn't notice the two stallions hiding their hands and glares. "Come on, guys!" She grabbed their hands and pulled them into the crowds.

"Let's get this show on the road." Cheese Sandwich cheered with Pinkie.

"Yeah, party on!!" Pierce shouted. Cheese and Pierce got everything ready, but kept a watchful eye on Celestia and Discord a bit longer. Both of them couldn't help but see the obvious and wished they had the same between them and Pinkie Pie. The two stallions turned to Pinkie and watched the proud mare throw around party streamers and multi-colored pillows.

They danced with her as she moved from spot to spot, getting everything absolutely perfect. There were giant candy canes, pink and green snow machines, star blasters and so many bright lights. Cheese brought out plenty of food, many were his family's best assortments of cheeses. Pierce blew up thousands and thousands of balloons from his family's factor.

The three danced for several minutes with the crowd, waiting for everypony else to arrive. Pinkie Pie couldn't help but see how the two stallions kept eye contact with her as they danced. She was so happy to be here with them. Never did she consider anything wrong at all. "We are going to be best friends forever," she whispered to herself as the two stallions smiled.

They both heard her whispers and tried to keep a proud smile. Both wanted more from her and less from the other. Both wanted to be in her life forever and wanted to stand as strong with her as Discord and Celestia stood together. The two stallions were a mix of emotions but kept a brave front.

This wasn't just going to be a big day for Discord and Celestia. The two stallions had in their minds, bold plans. They wanted their feelings to be clear as well. Today, they were going to make their move on Pinkie Pie. They were going to break ties with the other stallion and take this bright pink mare for their own. Neither knew that they chose the same day. None knew the confrontation that was about to happen as the cheering drew to a close.

But truth be told, no pony in the whole city knew what was about to happen on this day. The moment that would change everything was just hours away and the first sign came with a new arrival at the front gate. The guards came to the attention of a strange orange pony in a white robe. "Who are you?!" They stopped him.

"My name is Nick Kray." His crooked horn slipped out of his hood and K shaped mask glowed at them. "Am I late for the party?"

The guards straightened up and their weapons dropped to the ground. Their faces were forcibly turned away. Their legs moved on their own, far away from the castle gate. "Everything awaits your will, King Kray!!" Giving their final words, the guards jumped into the moat around a castle and drowned themselves.

******
> File 3: Month 2-Part 1: Through the Shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two months into the fall of Canterlot...

The winds kicked hard against the small airship as it came to a halt. Two ponies walked over the edge and looked upon their destination. Below that was a massive crater where a majestic mountain once stood. It held the crown jewel of the country, a beautiful city named Canterlot. Known for its incredible towers, immaculate white walls, and mesmerizing golden edges.

But now, the mountain was just gone, and Canterlot...

"So this is the place, Captain Flash." The brown earth pony trained his bow at the sight of a giant black crystal floating above the crater. "Ironic, this will be my first time in such a big city." He tried to cut the tension with a laugh, but his captain wasn't smiling.

"We're not tourists, Lieutenant Timber." The yellow pegasus held up his spear. and poked the surface. Despite the seemingly solid appearance, the walls of the crystal shimmered like a pool before shooting off small magic surges from the touch. Flash backed off and narrowed his eyes.

"Not from outside anyway." The pilot laughed with Timber. He pulled a lever and the anchor shot through the crystal walls. The sounds of crushing wood echoed back and surprised them. "I'll keep it as steady as possible, but these high winds are a constant problem." 

"Fine, if you don't hear from us in an hour, leave." Flash jumped off the edge and landed on the massive chains of the anchor. Yanking on it with all his strength, he smiled. "At least the dock is still here."

"So it's as Cadance assumed." Timber jumped down softer and landed on the chain a bit more roughly.

"The Princess Cadance could sense pieces of the Canterlot within the crystal, but she wasn't sure how much of it was left." Flash corrected the naming and walked into the crystal walls, slowly. Just as it did with his spear, the pegasus passed through the solid-looking surface with ease.

"Well, any air on the other side." Timber was a bit more hesitant.

"Yes. But I can't see much." Flash's voice came through perfectly as if there was no wall at all. The surface of the crystal was actually extremely thin to the point that it felt more like moving through the surface of water. He waved his spear left and right as he made his way to the dock. "Turn on a torch."

"Why not just shoot a flare?--"

"No, any strong sources of magic would activate a violent reaction from the crystal!" Flash shouted. Checking his wings, he made another note. "Also, I can't fly in here."

"What?!" Timber flicked the mechanical torch and followed after him. As soon as he passed beyond the veil, his armor felt heavier, throwing him off guard to the point that he nearly fell off the chain.

"What happened?" Flash caught him.

"I don't know..." Timber adjusted himself. "It's like half my strength is gone."

"My flight and your strength." Flash took the torch and held it up to see where the dock was. Arriving at the edge, he was surprised to see it was in mildly perfect shape. The paint was faded and there was wear and tear but otherwise, it would be able to hold the airship with no problem. "Okay, tighten the anchor--" He was stopped as Timber shouted and cursed.

Turning around to Timber with the torch revealed the corpse of a pegasus. It had been impaled through the signpost. "How did that happen?"

"So... My assumption was right." Flash approached the corpse with a wide stance and poked the wings with his spear. "He wasn't killed by the impaling."

"What are you talking about--" He was stopped as the wings broke off so easily.

"The fall killed him." Flash dropped his wide stance and turned to the path of the dock.

"How could a pegasus die from falling?"

"Because they had no magic to catch them." Flash clapped his wings loudly at Timber. "Just as we have no magic."

"Impossible!" Timber flipped back around to the crystal walls they walked through. "Are you saying?"

"Yes, the entire crystal prevents magic." He gestured for Timber to catch up as they reached the front of the Guard Station.

There was dried blood over the walls and edges, putting both soldiers on guard when they spotted two pegasus dead, fallen the same way as the previous one. The uneasiness of each sight only assured that Flash's assumptions were real. And yet the lack of attention toward the bodies showed a greater concern. They were old and left to rot and decay as if ponies never noticed them or were too scared to go near them.

Flash pointed toward the chains holding up the gate. Timber aimed and shot them. The smell was the first thing that hit them upon opening the gate. It was so horrible and yet they couldn’t quite place why. There was fresh mud across the ground sticking to their feet. This meant that the realm inside the crystal wasn't completely separated from the outside. "So, rain still gets in here."

"Yeah, but what is the cause of the smell? Those bodies are too old." Timber walked over to some candles and flicked them on.

Moving quietly through the gateway, the two ponies made their way to another guard station. This one was much taller and had a lighthouse design. Flash hoped they would get a better sight of the city from there. However, it seems somepony else had a similar idea. They stopped at another corpse in front of the lighthouse station door.

"This one is an earth pony." Timber flipped the body over. He was relieved to see it wasn't somepony he recognized but it was still disheartening to see one of his species dead as well.

"This one is fresh." Flash poked it with his spear, showing the air was still escaping the body. "It looks like..." He leaned his torch over the corpse and pulled Timber away without warning. "It’s been ripped apart!!"

"What--" Timber stopped at the grizzly wounds that the darkness hid before. "How? Why?" He shivered at the broken arms and shredded legs.

"I have no idea..." He trained his spear at the sound of a trash can falling. "Come on, let's get inside and turn on the signal."

Opening the door revealed two more corpses. These were even fresher and seemed to be blocking the door. Turning back around Flash noted the holes and the spears nearby. "Wait, were they trying to stab him?"

"No, why would they?!" Timber's eyes trembled at the scene.

Moving further ahead they found some vents from other nearby buildings. They stopped as the vent shook loudly. Poking them only made blood seep through. A corner popped loose and dropped a unicorn horn down to their feet. It appeared as if it had been broken off and held in a bloody hand.

Flash kicked the horn out of the way. "What is going on here?"

Soon enough they reached the top, despite finding more gruesome scenes at every turn. At the top, they found a gathering of food around the giant lamp. "Looks like a refuse."

"Or a last stand." Flash pulled open the boxes. "It's fresh. Grab what we can carry." Leaning his spear against the wall, he took a bite of some bread and admired the large assortment of weapons.

"Okay, but first let's get this lighthouse up and going." Timber pulled out his tools and jumped under the thing. Luckily, he had some spare batteries. It wouldn't be enough to make a permanent light post, but enough to signal to the airship and the rest of the fleet beyond the mountain range.

"Afterwards, we can scan the city for the six and the princesses--" They were both stopped as a loud explosion shook the entire building. Flash rushed over to the window and turned toward the source of a bright light. His eyes widened as it came from the direction of the airship. "No!!" He pulled out his scope.

"What happened?!" Timber screamed from under the machine.

"Something blew up the airship!!"

Timber's heart stopped at the words. "Did Cole Stand escape?!"

"Don't know?!" Flash narrowed his eyes.

"What do you think happened?" Timber tried to rush out from under the giant lamp.

"The crystal! It must have reacted to something." Flash moved back as his mind raced on possibilities. "But there was nothing magical aboard the airship. It didn't react when we arrived, why now?!" He was stopped upon feeling something icy cold against his back.

Turning around to it, he froze at the sight of a pale mare. Flash felt so very cold in her presence that he could see his breath and even ice forming around her. She looked so familiar to him, but he couldn't get any details of her species or face as her appearance was covered in static like that of a TV screen.

"Who are you?" Flash whispered.

The pale mare didn't answer, instead, she pointed toward the doorway they came through. Her eyes turned toward him and for a moment, he thought she would attack, but she didn't. She smiled at him and opened her mouth, but no words came out. Seemingly realizing this she stopped and lowered her head. She turned her attention back to pointing at the doorway.

Flash stepped closer to her, but she backed off and pointed harder at the door. "What are you trying to show us?" Before he could get any more information, she vanished like a ghost.

"Is somepony else here?" Timber shouted from under the machine. He didn't see any of it.

"I don't know--" Flash put up his guard at the sounds of moans beyond the door. "Timber, something is outside." He slowly approached the door and leaned it open. His eyes widened to see the corpses twitching and crackling loudly. After a few moments, they sprang upward and shifted toward them. "Lieutenant, forget the light! We're leaving now!" He held up his spear as one of the bodies raced toward the door with jaws open.

******
> File 4: Month 16-Part 1: The Encounter!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The flapping of the helicopter's wings buzzed around them all as they held tight to the straps above their heads. Nine soldiers, three from each race of pony all dressed in the same attire. Purple cut tight full-body suits with blue gloves and blue boots, with blue masks and purple large-brimmed hats.

They were all gathered together with one purpose and as the sounds of blades outside altered into a hover they took in a gulp of fear almost in unison. They knew what was coming next. They all faced a screen at the front of the room.

Light from it shone over them, but a shadow broke it as quickly as it appeared. The shadow was black and always void of a face or any form of an appearance outside of a small hat brimmed differently from theirs and a single solid red circle where the left eye would be.

"Maredowells, Dos, Cinco, Siete, Nueve, Catorce, Diecisiete, Diecinueve, Veintidós, Veinticuatro," the figure called out each of their numbers. Though the voice was hidden behind static, it was female and a distinct ascent that she was trying to hide. "You nine are my best soldiers. Therefore I expect the best.” The floor opened under them; they gripped tighter to their straps. "Strich Blauer will allow us in this airspace for only a few minutes, so Uno will drop you off and leave there as soon as possible. Complete your mission and find your escape routes. Dos, Catorce, and Diecinueve will be in command until you return to base." With that, the figure saluted them.

They saluted back, and in better unison spoke, "Of course, Commander Mad Jack." The transmission ended. The three in the front nodded to their soldiers pulled up some explosives and let go of their straps. The rest followed, falling into the pitch-black night.

******

A faded pink batpony with a gray beard twitched at the booming sounds above him. Nevertheless, he walked down a hallway and looked over the experiments. Around him, several tanks filled with liquid, and each of them had ponies with tubes hooked up to them.  "What are the results?"

Another pony with files on hand followed him and spoke, "Sir, it's only been ten days. These tanks can only harvest so much."

"Do you not hear those outside?" The pink batpony pointed his metal fingers to the ceiling. "He'll be very angry if I don't deliver an ample amount to him before they stop us."

"Of course, Rhyme Right," The other ponies flipped through the files. "We have gathered about two tons of the source code."

"Only two!" Rhyme Right finally gave in to his frustrations.

"These bodies are a poor subject matter. We need better corpses."

"True, radiation level varies with each of them. Though maybe I should add you to the harvest list at the next base!"

"No, please, no!" The pony held up the files in a poor defense.

Another loud boom stopped them. Rhyme Right knew this was different from the other explosions as he pulled out his wings and finally rushed down the hallway. "They’re inside! Send out all the soldiers we have!"

"Yes, sir." The pony pressed a button on his earpiece before rushing to catch up. "Send everypony, now!"

******

Above, the Maredowells landed through three openings that had to be torn through.  The battalion split into three groups, each one taking a certain entrance and going down a certain path. The earth ponies pulled out their axes, the pegasi their long blades, and the unicorns their shurikens.

The earth pony soldiers were unheeded by the enemy guards. Chopping and bashing enemies left and right. They moved quickly through the first hallway until they reached the tanks.

Dos stood watch over them as they bashed open every tank. She held up her arm to her eyes and looked over a green screen. On it, she could see the other teams moving. The pegasi and unicorns quickly moved into place to grab their targets.

She pressed a few buttons before aiming it at the large screen in front of her. “Please, be right, Twist,” She whispered under her breath. The large screen opened four files and showed images of each. The first was a deer skull, the second was a dragon, the third was a fogged-up tank, and the final one was a faint image of an alicorn.

She couldn’t tell which alicorn it was but smiled either way. The mare pressed another button to download the file of the alicorn. Her sneers followed when discovering the file was too encrypted to open here. 

“Did you get it?” Cinco asked.

“Yeah, but I won’t be able to read it just yet.”

“Mad Jack isn’t going to like that--” Cinco was stopped as a loud explosion echoed above them. “Looks like the rest of the mares are ahead of us.”

“Yeah, looks like it,” Dos smiled and lowered her hand once the file had been taken, “We better get these ponies out of here and to our exit.”

The group moved toward their escape routes slowly yet aggressively to ensure the rescued ponies could keep up and remain safe. None knew what this twisted experiment was for, nor cared. They simply didn't want to lose a single again.

******

Further ahead of them, at the far end of the base, Rhyme Right watched through cameras. Fear grew more than anger now as his guards fell left and right. "Damn it, he'll send one of the Anti-Six now!" He shouted to the camera workers.

"Maybe this whole idea was wrong in the first place." Seeing all of this made the other pony finally break down. "We should have just called in the King--"

Rhyme Right jumped back as ashes splattered over the screen. The other pony screamed in agony before being consumed by fire and ash. Standing over his burnt corpse was an all too familiar ally. "You're early, Slice Kilm."

"Truthfully, you are lucky that he sends one of his Anti-Six!" Slice Kilm shouted out to the rest of the workers beside Rhyme Right. He swung his arm splashing ash remains everywhere to emphasize that point. He looked to Rhyme Right and questioned, “How far ahead are you?”

“I only have two tons of liquid to work with.” Rhyme Right walked over to a free screen and typed up a few files. The screen showed the image of a deer skull. Opening the file revealed a strange monolith made of permafrost and level monitors. “With the poor samples you keep bringing me, I can only harvest so much.”

“If I aim for large amounts, the locals will begin to notice the amount missing.” Slice Kilm sneered but walked forward. “What about the current stock we have?”

“What current stock?!” Rhyme Right questioned in defiance. “I may be the best blood scientist, but I can’t work with no resources.”

Slice Kilm laughed, “You're only second to Norman Nox. It’s just a shame he refuses to work for me.” He approached the screen and started typing.

“Don’t bring him into this--” Rhyme Right was stopped as Slice Kilm raised his hand to his neck.

“Either way, you have far more than enough resources.” Slice Kilm pulled up the camera feeds specifically to his monitor.

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean this,” He pulled up the scanners over the feeds.

Rhyme Right’s eyes went wide. “That’s the same radiation.” He looked over the intruders.

“Exactly--” Slice Kilm calmed his blackened flesh at the sound of another explosion and readied himself. This one was directly above them. He looked up to see three pegasi falling toward his position. Blasting flames out of his feet sent him upward to clash with them.

The three aimed their blades and swung at him. Unfortunately, he had an advantage as the edges of the weapons melted to a dull state upon touching his intense heat. They knew this just as much as he and fought their hardest before pulling their grappling hooks.

Slice Kilm refused to let them gain the upper hand. He punched the nearest one hard into a wall, making sure not to kill it. From that position he jumped to the next one, grabbed it in mid-air, and swung it around, breaking its arm before throwing it to the ground. In the same move, he caught sight of the final one. Pouncing forward, he crashed it through a window. This pegasus gave a far better fight. The two tumbled through a few rooms before landing in front of the earth pony group.

Dos jumped back at the sight of Slice Kilm as he heated the floor and melted the skin of the pegasus in place. “Catorce!” she shouted, knowing this one all too well. On instinct, she rushed forward swinging her axe toward Slice Kilm’s side.

Slice Kilm took the attack and lit the axe aflame with but a flinch. Dos dropped the weapon and jumped back. Her second attempt was to slice the flesh holding Catorce down.

Catorce finally broke free and got a stab in, tearing her blade through Slice Kilm’s shoulder. He sneered and melted the weapon all the same. "You stop with the stabbing already."

Dos jumped back and looked at her soldiers. “Cinco, go check on Catorce’s group and escape with them.” She looked to the other earth pony, “You get those rescued out of here.” They followed her orders without question as she turned her attention to Slice Kilm. Just in time as Slice Kilm blasted flames right at her.

Dos dropped into the split and stabbed him between the legs with the wooden remains of her weapon. Catorce herself was still fighting the pains of her tumble, yet she helped Dos up.

"I told you to stop!!" Slicee Kilm leaned back and yanked it out. "I am nothing but ash, there is nothing left to stab."

“What are we going to do, BB?” In the fear of battle, Catorce dropped the numbers and switched to the nicknames as she dragged her friend out of there.

“I don’t know NG.” Dos couldn’t help but answer her.

Seeing no way out, Catorce gritted her teeth and whispered, “Hand me all your bombs.”

“What?” Dos looked at her with shock. Even through their masks, they could sense each other's words. It was clear there was no way she could convince her otherwise. “Don’t do anything stupid.” She handed her what she had before charging into Slice Kilm, trying to punch him next.

While Dos fought Slice Kilm, Catorce tied up all the bombs. She looked at Dos and smiled. “Sorry about this?” She aimed her arm device at Dos. Pressing a few buttons a laser pointed to Dos. Catorce waited for the right moment. Seeing her chance as Slice Kilm shot flames out in all directions, she pressed the enter button. A vortex opened below Dos pulling her in.

Seeing what Catorce was planning she screamed, “No, don’t!!”

“Goodbye, Bon Bon!” Catorce smiled as the flames of Slice Kilm hit the explosives. A massive flame tore through the entire room.

Dos turned around and screamed, “Night Glider!!” The vortex closed before she could reach out, sealing her off from the base.

******
> File 5: Month 1-Part 1: Ballon Popping
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It started with several loud bangs. My head shook violently with the noise echoing around me. The volume forced my eyes open, but I couldn't process everything right away as everything was fuzzy. I just knew something had happened. I heard a shrill scream, as if something was tearing through the air.

"Get up, you two!" A female voice called out.

I looked up to see a pink blurry figure. I wanted to get a better view, a bright light above them forced my head back down. My eyes winced open and closed in sheer pain. "I can't see..." I managed to answer through the throbbing.

"Don't worry, I'm right here!" The pink mare placed her hand on my head. "I'm not leaving either of your sides."

"What..." I turned to see another pony beside me. The height alone was enough to tell me it was another stallion like me, but the longer I looked at the blurry shape the more confused I became.

"Please get up!" The pink blurry shape called out to the other stallion.

I tried to clear my sight yet the more I rubbed the more pain filled my body. "Is he okay?!" I tried to stand and get closer to the pink pony and the other stallion.

"I'm here. I'm here. It's going to be okay!" The pink pony repeated over and over in a sheer panic.

"We're here. We're right here!!" I reached out to her. I didn't know what told me to say we, I could barely remember anything before this moment. But I felt a great connection to these two and couldn't lay there while she cried.

"Take cover!" The pink pony shouted at me and the other stallion, helping us up. She sounded so familiar yet I couldn't figure out why. Everything before waking was a complete daze.

Getting into some shade, the pink mare stopped and took a deep breath. We were far enough from the sounds that she could relax. I noticed her trying to check on the other stallion for wounds and didn't stop her. "He'll be okay..." She slowly turned to me and shook away violently. "We... We need to get help..."

Her shaking denial shook me to my knees. "What happened?! Is our friend, okay?" I pegged for answers. Yet the blurry pink mare continued to stare back at me with horror and confusion.

"You... your body..." The pink mare shivered into my chest. "And him... His leg is shattered!"

"What?!" My scream only made her shake worst. "We're going to need to brace it together with something." I don't know where this knowledge came from, but I was glad to have it. "Find some wood and some cloth!"

"How can you say such a thing, in the state you're in!!" She screamed at me.

"Think about him and you!!" I screamed back. "I can't see well, that's better than his broken leg!!"

"But... But... That's not it... " She slowly turned away from me and searched the surrounding rubble.

I wish I could help her but my eyes. I winced in greater pain as it felt like thousands of needles tearing through my skull. "Hurry!"

"Okay, okay!" She moved across the area faster than I thought possible. Yet I didn't seem to be surprised by her cartoonish like speed. How much did I know of this mare before everything went fuzzy? I knew this much, from the warmth in my heart upon her return that I didn't want her leaving our side again.

"This is the best I could find." She presented them to me.

"Now, break the wood into two or three long pieces and compress them around the limb with the cloth." I leaned against the wall and attempted to watch her work, forcing my eyes to concentrate on shapes. "He's going to wince in pain at first--" I was stopped at his screams.

"Done!" The pink mare continued to shiver until I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Okay..." I took my other hand and pressed it against my skull, about my eyes.

"I... I can't fix those!" She jumped away from me.

"What do you mean?!" I screamed at her. "I need to see!!"

"I don't know what to do?!" the pink mare cried out.

"Nevermind!!" I turned my back against the floor and rubbed my eyes for several moments. As I did, the sounds above got louder. "What's happening out there?"

"He just showed up and boom, crash and bang!" The pink mare was so sparse on details.

"Alright, what's his name?" I took a deep breath. "Why was he here--" My eyes opened their widest as blurs turned into worse shapes. The colors faded around me. Rubbing harder and harder did to little change the fact my eyes weren't getting better.

"I don't know... Something about waiting five thousand years to complete this mission. And that the Pale Mare wouldn't stand in his way now!"

I dropped my hands at the pointless effort as nothing changed. Every attempt to fix my eyes made them worse. "Damn it, I need to get to my first aid kit." Again, the words jumped ahead of my mind. I couldn't remember my own name, yet I somehow knew about having a first aid kit. Was I some kind of nurse?

"I don't know where it is. I didn't have time to keep track of it with all the explosions..." The pink mare stopped and thought about it for a moment. "Maybe... could it be by the balloons!"

"Balloons..." Something sparked in my mind at that word. An image flashed by my head of balloons being pumped with air, the smell of cheese and the sounds of party canons. Everypony was having so much fun. Two royalties dancing around with several ponies. And two other figures that meant everything to me.

The longer I thought the more the details became clear.

There was the princess, Celestia, and she was dancing with Discord. A yellow mare was flying around them dropping flowers, Fluttershy. A rainbow echoed above from Rainbow Dash. Applejack had just left to get some more apples. The posh mare and her dragon, Rarity and Spike had still yet to arrive, something about them still being very busy. Twilight sent a message to Celestia, using Discord's breath for a change, crashing it into her face. Princess Luna arrived and laughed at their embarrassing moment.

Just before everything went blurry, another figure appeared.

I reached out to the image playing in my head. The figure's species was a complete unknown to all of them. In fact, none of them appeared to have invited him. It was an orange pony in a white robe, there was an emblem on his cloak, that of changeling wings. His K shaped mask and crooked horn poked out of the hood and looked over them all.

Another party canon fired off in the memories and I turned to the position the pink pony was standing. I longed to see her face free of the blurriness. Slowly the memories filled in the gap of her face for me. I reached out as the image became clear in my mind "Pinkie Pie..."

"... yes." She slowly turned toward me. The memories faded as a shadow stood behind her. It was the figure with the crooked horn and the K shaped mask.

"No..." I shivered and jumped forward. "Pinkie Pie--" Everything stopped as bright light consumed all.

******

A bright light decintagrated the area they stood on. King Kray dropped his hand and admired his work. A giant shattering blue crystal was unveiled in place of the three ponies. "Phase 1 complete. Removed the most unpredictable one first. One down, five to go."

He smiled in victory until a stallion shook his way out of the rubble. Narrowing his eyes, his crooked horn glowed with the same spell. "Now, you are a stubborn one." He joked as the stallion continued to pull his way free.

"Pinkie... Pinkie Pie!!" I continued to scream in great pain. I fought through the pain all over my body and tried to face him. My eyes were still so blurry, but I knew where the enemy was. "Bring her back!" I screamed.

"No." He answered so boldly.

My legs kicked forward, rushing at him with all the force I could muster. "I said, bring her back--" I was stopped as the ground crashed into me.

"Oh, It seems you were in even worse shape than you thought." The figure mocked me by walking over and kicking my arm. Much to my shock it shattered to dust. "Incredible." He picked up the remains of the limb and waved it at me. "It seems you were burned to a crisp by her canons being destroyed." He turned back to his crystal creation. "Shame, you call out to her all you like but she knew everything..."

"What are you talking about--" I was stopped as he reached down and pressed his finger against my left eye. The entire left side went completely black.

"She knew from the moment you awoke why you couldn't see a damn thing." He shoved his hand over my other eye and pelted it with black dust. "You're literally nothing but ash now..."

"Stop!!" I tried to fight through the darkness only for my other hand to fall apart as well.

"It's like you've been inside a kilm. And it's all Pinkie Pie's fault." His footsteps echoed over me. "Don't worry, I am a merciful King!" I could feel his hands press against my chest. Ash echoed as his fingers dug into my heart. My insides filled with so much heat that felt like every pour was on fire. "And with my power, you shall be restored to a greater vision than you ever were before!! Yes, you shall be the first of my Anti-Six. Slice Kilm,"

******
> File 6: Month 15-Part 1: Bone House
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

High in the skies of Cloudsdale, a door flew open, and a figure wrapped in black leather entered the house. Their body was soaked in a thick red liquid as shown with each drop on the floor and each step making a squishing sound. After dragging in a strange black bag, they slammed the door shut and threw the bag against the table.

The black leathery figure shivered at the cracking sounds of the bag but paid no mind to look inside. Their strain stopped as their eyes fell upon an orange shadow suddenly sitting above it. "Oh, you're back." The leathery figure commented on the orange shadow.

They walked past the table and over several dusty books of Daring Do and Wonderbolt Academy. Most of the house was barely lit at all. Like they needed it, for this place was so memorized. Reaching the bathroom, they didn't remove the leather suit even after turning on the shower.

Instead, they walked inside the shower room and stood still as the spraying water removed the mountains of blood, bone chippings, and even the teeth of other ponies. They gave no care for the wounds they received from the enemies. Grabbing a crystal that was sitting on the shower stand, they rubbed it over their body, healing the massive gashes and torn leather.

Once their form was returned to perfection, they stepped out and turned off the water. Walking over to the table, they cared nothing about drying off and put rubber gloves over the leather gloves they were already wearing. After making sure everything was tight, they opened the bag and removed three or four body parts.

Training their eyes tightly on the job, they placed them in a giant bowl and removed the skin, muscles, and veins. Placing each bone in a finer net bag that was sitting in the sink. The process repeated until the net bag was full. After which they stopped and turned on the sink to clean off the bones and shined them up. Drying off the bones and placing them in special line boxes with the names of their owners already printed on them.

They flinched occasionally upon pulling out bones small enough to belong to children. Otherwise, they continued until the black bag was completely empty and each special line box was filled. The meat of each victim was placed in sealed containers and moved to the fridge where more flesh awaited it.

Once their business was done, they removed the rubber gloves and threw them in the trash. Just above the can, they saw the orange shadow again. It seemed to stare at them with a mix of shame and disappointment. The leathery figure raised an eyebrow and spoke again. "Don't mock me..."

Returning to the table the leathery figure tapped a large crystal sitting in the center. A magical hologram appeared with a loading screen. They sat down and tapped their fingers on their arms until the message finally came through.

"Bone Collector?" A voice echoed on the other side of the static.

"Lord Kray..." the leathery figure lowered their head in acknowledgment of their name. "I've harvested and filled all twenty boxes."

"In a single day, that's a new record..." The voice laughed in victory. "Of course, you were always beating the record in the Wonderbolts... Almost always."

The Bone Collector looked away at those words. "I was never as good as--"

"Yes, which is why you are the best... replacement for her." the voice got louder. "Speaking of which, how many wounds did you suffer this time."

"Like it matters." Bone Collector turned away. "Of course, they would fight me to their last breath!"

"Yes, but my crystals aren't permanent fixes." The voice grumbled in annoyance. "Measure your wounds carefully."

"And if I die--" They were stopped as the voice laughed back at them.

"If it were that easy, all six of you would have committed suicide long ago." The voice prattled on much to Bone Collector's brimming rage. "The Veiled Mare, Iron Sentry, Crystal Apple, Slice Kilm, Blood Bucket, and you... Bone Collector. My most loyal six soldiers."

"Yes..." They bit their teeth.

"Your bodies will rot and decay but never die. My crystals are to keep you in peak shape, nothing more." The voice hummed in a softer and softer tone. "If I have to tell you this every day then I will, but I do so enjoy your pain."

Bone Collector shivered and twitched with each word. "You're disgusting, my Lord Kray..."

"Said the one who carves up corpses for me." The voice shivered with delight and joy. "Oh, how I wish I could have heard every scream. For now, deliver the boxes to Sir Night before the weekend's end and a new group of boxes should be at your doorstep by Monday."

"I understand, my king." The leathery figure closed its eyes until the message ended. They could feel the orange shadow hovering behind them, increasing the shivering fear they were trying to hide from their king. Feeling the touch of an all too familiar orange mare on their back made their eyes shoot open.

Seeing the arms wrapped around their neck from behind only made things even harder. They gritted their teeth at the memories of two mares, a pair of parents. Another mare so close, all of them laughing together with the orange shadow and the leathery figure's original form. A big happy family...

Bone Collector slammed their hands on the table and the shadow, the memories, and the laughter vanished. "Stop mocking me!!" They got up from the table and threw the chair at a stack of Daring Do books. Seeing the face of the author shining at them in the light made things reach a peak. "You warned me. You warned all of us. And... And." The leathery figure turned back to the orange shadow as it faded away completely. "And she paid the price."

Their eyes fell on the orange shadow fading away. With that ghost gone, Bone Collector could rest, but all they wanted to do was grimace, grumble, and panic at their own shame. "I have to be loyal to him. After all, I'm the one who trusted him."

******
> File 7: Month 14-Part 1: The Nightmares
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fourteen months after Canterlot fell, pain and agony spread in all directions. The evils of the great tyrant covered everything except for the legendary Everfree forest. This was why Strawberry Sunrise chose this place as the perfect hiding spot away from the problems plaguing Equestria. The pegasus was a farmer by trade and adored her strawberries above all else.

She didn't care about the outside world and upon finding the remains of a zebra home she began renovating. With weeks of hiding out here, she had made this place into a perfect home. While she was occasionally on edge with the cockatrices, she was at least glad to not be in the view of the tyrant.

That is until a new guess stepped into the Everfree Forest. Arriving in a twisted chariot of magic and crystals, was a nearly naked white mare covered in black veils and roman style helmet. As she stepped off the chariot, Strawberry watched from the shadows of the trees.

The pegasus was so perplexed by the sparse attire of the mare. However, she kept a blade at her guard when seeing the emblem of King Kray between the chest of the veiled mare and emblazed over her cutie mark like a twisted branding. It was truly a cold and cruel sight to see.

Veiled Mare held out her arm and smoked covered warriors exited on the train as well. They followed her directions without a word and swarmed off and out of sight. The mare herself then walked deeper into the forest and toward the abandoned zebra house that turned into a farm.

Strawberry hid herself the best she could. While she didn't want anything to happen to her precious fruits, she couldn't let herself be killed. Bidding her time and hoping this mare would leave. Instead, Veiled Mare reached down and picked up one fruit. Seeing her feast on the stock she had, sickened Strawberry to her core.

Veiled Mare left a single berry core and entered deep into the farm. Strawberry couldn't take it anymore as she hopped out from the tree and ran up behind her. She hoped the smoke soldiers were far enough away, but she had no idea about the truth. Seeing Veiled Mare reach the center of the stock made things worse. Her eyes glaring as the enemy spotted a strange sight that Strawberry wanted to keep private.

"Stop!" Strawberry screamed as Veiled Mare reached a great zap apple tree. "Don't you dare touch her!!" She rushed in and swung her sword, only for Veiled Mare to dodge under it. She turned her blade downward and attempted to stab her, this time Veiled Mare danced out of the way.

Swinging left and right at her fastest meant nothing at all, as Veiled Mare evaded every advance. The pegasus tried to take command in the sky, but even from up there, she could do nothing more than miss every stab, slash, and thrust.

Living in the Everfree Forest had kept her from losing her magic and the ability to fly. Yet that wasn't even enough as Veiled Mare didn't retaliate once. The enemy chose to simply move around the zap apple tree rather than being pushed back.

Every time Strawberry tried to redirect her, Veiled Mare would just jump clear over to the other side of the tree only for the cycle to continue again and again until she was out of energy. Reaching her limit, Strawberry crashed her sword down like a crutch. "Just... leave..." She exhaled heavily.

Veiled Mare stopped but didn't even face the pegasus. Instead, she straightened her stance and snapped her fingers. Without warning, the smoke soldiers reappeared out of nowhere. They wrapped around Strawberry and forced her to the ground. She tried to whistle for help, but the timberwolves she had been raising were presented to her feet, ripped apart.

Her eyes widened at the corpses, as she didn't even hear them yelp or scream early. Half assuming, they were hiding just like her, while she was watching Veiled Mare and the farm. The truth was far more wrong as the smokey ghosts were killing off all her defenses.

Strawberry's ears flicked at the sound of a branch breaking. Her eyes flinched to Veiled Mare taking one of the zap apples. "No, stop!! Those are not for--" She was shoved harder into the ground. "Those are... one of the last of the zap apple trees..."

"But this isn't just some ordinary zap apple tree..." Veiled Mare finally answered her with the raspiest voice. "I'm sorry... but I know the difference." She cracked open the core and revealed diamond-shaped seeds. "These are Diamond Zap Apples!" Leaning down to Strawberry and unveiling her throat, she showed the pegasus the thousands of shredded tissue. "They were bred by an alicorn, Emerald Teal, over ten thousand years ago... And as such have unique healing potential."

"How do you know that?" She winced as Veiled Mare took a bite.

"Because..." Her voice strained as blood poured forth. "This host had a beloved pony that once raised zap apples. As such, the mare had intense knowledge... on the differences between the two... And trust my host with that." She placed her other hand on the emblem of the tyrant. It glowed and stopped the bleeding.

The rasping in her voice faded ever so slightly until full sentences could form. Her body stood with more regal and elegance. "This body is not the best, nor is our King's body." Stepping forward, she gestured the smoke soldiers to move the timberwolves' bodies and any other dead they could toward the tree. "Just look how this tree reacts to death and decay." Pointing Strawberry's face toward the scene, she admired them pouring the blood over the tree. It twisting its rainbow color into variations of white, gray, and black.

"Is that all you are after..." Strawberry's eyes wandered over her other fruits. "Please, don't harm my fruits or the other trees." Tears pooled in her eyes. "You only need one tree, right?"

"No..." Veiled Mare's voice cracked and creased as the spell of the emblem faded just as quickly as it appeared. "According to Sir Night... We need three diamond zap apple trees, soaking in the blood of the dead. Once they had matured in that damned liquid the fruit produced shall serve a far greater purpose." She kneeled down in front of Strawberry. "And you are going to help us find those other two."

"No--" Strawberry was stopped as Veiled Mare climbed on top her.

Taking another bite of the zap apple in her hand to get better strength, the evil mare turned Strawberry over. "Oh yes, you will."

"Stop!" Strawberry tried to fight it as Veiled Mare's hand reached her face. "I won't speak a word--"

"Speaking won't be needed at all." Veiled Mare leaned in and whispered into her ear. "No, you'll be screaming every possible detail..."

With that, the pegasus's eyes blackened and her breath got so much worse. She started to struggle so violently that the thrashing tore up her flesh against the ground. She screamed so hard that her cheeks ripped open and coughed up blood. The pegasus hyperventilated, in between each scream, so out of control that her lungs could barely keep up. Her vocal cords cracked and her throat stretched from the force. Tears poured from her eyes and the rest of her body convulsed.

******
> File 8: Month 2-Part 2: Things Deepen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deep within the black crystal, crass and disgusting moans echoed from corpses stumbling up the light house. Flash knocked the boxes over the door and pulled Timber out from under the machine. The two grabbed what food they could carry and ran over to the window. Breaking it, they shot out a rope and used it to cross over to another building, several blocks away, hoping for safety.

The two landed and yanked the rope off to ensure they couldn't be followed. After that, they dropped to the floor and took a moment to catch their breath. "What was that?" Timber gasped.

"I don't know. The dead just started moving." Flash trained his eyes on the next entrance down in case this building wasn't safe either.

"I mean, who were you talking to?" Timber demanded.

"No one." Flash didn't know how to even word what he saw. Was the pale mare trying to warn them or was she responsible for the dead rising? He couldn't be sure, so he kept that information to himself and changed the subject. "With the light house occupied and our airship gone, we need to reach the radio towers instead."

"But that's at the center of the city." Timber stood up and tightened up their food supply. "Where did we land anyway?"

"In the beauty district." Flash pointed to a sign. "Rarity Belle and the Best Dresses in Canterlot."

"Yeah," Timber agreed, "She's one of the six great heroes."

"They went missing the same day this hell was unleashed. All six of them, along with the princesses." Flash dropped his eyes away from the decay and rot of the sign. "This must be one of her buildings."

Timber walked over to the other window of the building. "Okay, we can search for her while finding safety--" He stopped at the terrifying sight. "What the fuck?"

"Half the building is gone." Flash confirmed his fears at the sight of it. He covered his mouth at the several blood stains and dead unicorns and earth ponies at the bottom. "She's might be..."

"We can't give up hope!" Timber tried to hide his fear away. "We will find all six of them."

Their ears picked up the sounds of footsteps below in the rubble. "Too fast to be one of those undead."

"Yeah..." Timber held up his hand back to the lighthouse. "Wait, wasn't there fast movement coming from that building too." He lowered his finger. "And the vents from there connect to here."

"Which means whoever hid all that food up there might have left the same direction we did." Flash smiled and tightened the grip on his spear. "Just mere moments from us."

"Maybe!" Timber reached into the bag and pulled out another rope. Dropping it down to the fourth floor. The sounds of the rushing footsteps were louder in here. It sounded like two figures moving back and forth.

The two soldiers moved slowly to the source, hoping not to startle them. The footsteps led to a door covered in thick bolts. "Do you think you got to the other side of it?" Flash whispered.

"Maybe..." Timber put the torch down and pulled out some tools.

Flash narrowed his eyes on the vent above them. The footsteps got louder as if they knew they were there. "Careful, we have to convince them we aren't a threat." His eyes narrowed on a pocket for letters at the lower center of the door. "Hold on, I think this was originally a safe room."

He leaned down and opened the pocket. The pegasus couldn’t see much more in the room as it was covered in darkness. However, he did spot a small glow moving across the room at the same speed as the footsteps. No, these were the source of the footsteps, and the glow slowly revealed the shape of a creature. "Is that a dragon..." He stopped the creature and passed by another figure in a chair. His eyes froze at an all too familiar mane, matching the sign outside. "We need to get in there now!"

Timber leaned back in defeat. "This door's too tight."

"Then we need to break it open." Flash banged his spear against it.

""What are you doing?" Timber tried to push him away.

"Rarity is inside there, right now with another..." Flash gave another look. "A dragon." He stopped at the glowing stopped in place. The creature noticed him and held tightly to something. "He's holding a glowing object and some sort of long suitcase."

"We'll need a crowbar or a pipe." Timber trained his bow and leaned against the door. "I'll keep listening, you go find one."

Flash ran off through another doorway and searched the rubble. It was strange he thought to himself. She couldn’t have been the one with the footsteps in the vent. The mare wasn't moving at all, wasn't breathing. He waved his head back and forth in denial.

The soldier jumped back as the rubble started to move. The slow moan of a corpse reached out for him. Seeing the broken arm and torn flesh was enough for him to not hesitate. Swinging by, he chopped off the arm and stomped into the ground. The moaning continued and he stabbed the corpse three times until it stopped.

"What was that?" Timber called out.

"The undead reached here too."

"Great..." the earth pony grumbled.

Pulling back a massive rock that was holding the corpse, Flash narrowed his eyes at a bright shine. "I... I think I found a key."

"Are you sure it’s the right key.” Timber yelled back.

" We got to try something.” Flash picked it up along with the silver cloth it was tied to. Racing back to round, he stopped as another corpse moved towards them. Timber took down this one with an arrow. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, captain." Timber walked over and pulled the arrow out of the head. He made sure it stayed down by smashing the skull into the ground, splattering it. "Still strong enough to do that."

"Nevermind that, we got to help Rarity." Flash rushed over to the bolted door and the key fit easily. They entered the small room and found the glowing and the footsteps had fled back into the vents. However, the figure that appeared to look like Rarity was still in the room. The two moved slowly over and placed their hands on the chair.

The mane fell off and revealed the face of a mannequin. Worn and tattered clothes were draped over it to give the appearance of life. There was make up and dried lipstick giving a close proximity to Rarity. Neither of them could believe what they were seeing.

"What sick shit is this?!" Timber backed away in shock.

"I don't know... Where is the glowing--"

"So this is what that dragon has been hiding from me!" A new voice spoke up from behind them.

The eyes of both soldiers widened and they raced around only to be thrown back by a magical scream echoing from a stitched covered mouth. A lone mare covered in veils approached them from behind as they fell to the ground in pain.

"Who... are... you?" Flash tried to demand, but his jaw had no strength at all. His eyes got heavier and his mind dazed and dulled. He collapsed to the ground and struggled to breathe.

The emblem of a changeling was emblazed upon her cutie mark. "You'll know my name soon enough. In fact, you will all come to love and praise it." With that final phrase, the blackness of sleep claimed both soldiers. The last thing Flash saw was the dragon racing behind this Veiled Mare and cowarding in fear.
> File 9: Month 17-Part 2: Bad Images
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A purple batpony stallion and a white unicorn mare danced around the ballroom to soft music. The two held tightly to each other simply enjoying the moment, the music, and each other's scent.

A pleasing mix of sweet chalk, red lilies, bluegrass, and cool rum swung around them in their movement. The place with it being nearly empty but the two never noticed. They could have the whole place to themselves for as long as possible.

After a few more swings the two came to a stop. The mare leaned into the stallion's shoulder. Her thick glasses did little to hide her beauty from him as she giggled when his finely combed beard brushed against her nose. "Do you miss this?" She questioned.

"Of course, every minute of it..." The stallion word's drifted as he leaned his mouth into hers. "I will always desire you, Moondancer."

She hummed at the mention of her name but pulled back from his kiss. "As I desire you too, Jack Nox. But it seems our time is up."

"What...?" He could barely compute her words as a loud booming flew through his ears. The ballroom grew dark. Seeing this he gripped tighter to her. "I don't want this to end."

"But I have to go..." Her voice drifted as her image shifted back and forth before fading from sight.

The loud booming continued to increase in volume. Sounding as if it was right above him the echoes were like engines firing. He looked in all directions for the source as the ballroom darkened to pitch black.

The dream was ending.

******

In the skies above, distorted forms of zombified pegasi soldiers flew by with watchful eyes. Their bold golden armor was the only other color in the sky outside of the grayish-brown as the Sun and Moon locked in a twisted eclipse refusal to let any other color fill the sky. It had been this way for far too long and the only hope that came for the ones that once looked up was when the rain clouds covered the horrible sight.

Deep within a tavern crashing and splashing could be heard as a purple batpony fell back, laughter covering his lips. He wore a shredded brown robe under a maroon blazer only keeping his right arm out to hold his drink, keeping the rest of himself clean tightly to the warmth of his old clothing. The right hand itself also had a thick and long glove held over just as tight. The tavern was mostly empty outside of him and a cloaked warrior.

"Damn it, that loud noise broke the connection!" The batpony continued to drink.

"Are you sure it wasn't the cider instead?" The cloak warrior simply padded him on the back and refused every drink the batpony offered.

“Come on, Stone. It’s rude to let a pony drink alone.” The batpony gulped down another.

“Oro, you are never alone, Jack. As long as your connection to her is still strong.” The warrior pushed the offer away again. “Besides I’ve already had enough.” His lies were easy for the batpony to see.

“I would rather hold those hips directly rather than through the dreamscape.” Jack swiped at his hand and turned away. He took another drink and let the smooth malt cider take his pain away. There wasn’t much else they could do in this new world.

Jack laughed at the thought, new world. He didn’t care at all about the hell Equestria was going through anymore. Just wishing it would let him enjoy at least some happiness.

Jack’s ears lifted at the sounds of footsteps approaching the tavern. “They found us again?”

Stone reached for a rusted and cracked katana yet refused to remove it from its sheath. “Flash must be getting desperate.”

Jack used the rim of the cider to lift his head before breaking the glass enough to use it as a weapon. “Fucking jackass can’t let his former friend get some sleep.” The two turned toward the door.

“Wait, that…”

A blue earth pony in a fine suit and small glasses walked in. “There you two are.” He jumped out of the way from the broken glass as Jack chucked it.

“Damn it, Noteworthy. You need to be more careful. Stone nearly chopped you in half.” Jack was the only one laughing as the others knew Stone was nowhere near that aggressive, best shown by how Jack had already thrown the bottle before even seeing who it was.

“You are the ones that need to be more careful after blowing up the King’s Third Watch Tower!”

“That was his idea, “ Stone pointed to Jack.

“What? It was blocking my view of the Sun.” Jack poured another drink and raised it to the sky.

“Liar,” Noteworthy facepalmed while walking over. “The Sun has been blocked out since Canterlot fell!”

“Fine, it was blocking my view of the Moon!” Jack laughed harder knowing full well the Moon had been locked into place for just as long.

“I told him it was a bad idea.”

“Which is why I’m here.” Noteworthy stopped at the bar and placed down some cuffs. “Make this easy.”

“You’re handing me over to Flash?!” Jack jumped back and lifted his left arm in the robe, revealing a massive weapon over the arm, aiming it at Noteworthy in defiance.

“Iron Sentry just wants to have a talk.”

Jack fired the cannon, missing Noteworthy, and destroying part of the bar. "You can tell Flash Sentry that I'm not interested!" The batpony emphasized his desire by refusing to acknowledge the soldier's new title.

"I swear," the earth pony rubbed his eyes. "I'm the only one still trying to keep order around here!" He held up his hands in a surrendering motion. "Just calm down and come with me. We don't want things to go down like they did on the permafrost." His words struck right through Jack’s chest. "And since Mad Jack's army fell last month, there is only so much fighting that can be done, even by another Jack."

"I don't care what that Apple Bitch is doing." Jack sneered.

“What's the plan?” Stone stood ready.

“I turn you in and a friend of mine breaks you out during transport.”

“Won’t that make things worse?”

“It’s either that or facing Iron Sentry's firing squad.” Noteworthy moved the cuffs over Jack's hands only to stop halfway.

Jack leaned over with a cruel smile at Noteworthy being slowed by the massive weapon. “What? Haven’t got enough foreplay in since your stallion left you.” He was stopped as Noteworthy elbowed him in the gut.

“Sorry, your arm is not as big as his,” Noteworthy finally gave a laugh of his own.

“Oh, maybe someday I’ll meet this former lover of yours and ask him.” Jack shook the chains and walked closer, “I'll ask him how long it took him to pop that little ass of yours.”

“Said the stallion who hasn't fucked anything from mare to stallion to random toy in over two years.” Noteworthy pushed back.

“Okay, please stop with the sex jokes around me.” Stone pushed the two away before they killed each other.

“Fine.” Jack sat back down and got another drink.

Noteworthy pulled out a note, “Now, this is the friend. He’ll get you to safety.”

Jack took the picture and stuck it in his coat. Noteworthy looked over to Stone and pointed to the rusted katana. “You're going to need to hand that to me.”

“No,” Stone took a tight grip on the hilt yet refused to lift it from its sheath. “This stays with me.”

Noteworthy's eyes narrowed before giving up. "Fine, but if they break that stick, it's on you." He pulled out cuffs for Stone as well. "Now let's get moving, Dr. Nox--" He was stopped as the doors exploded.

Smoke spread everywhere as their ears rang from the blast. Soldiers ran inside and quickly surrounded them. "Knock, knock." A voice called out to them.

"Looks like leaving might not be an option anymore." Jack looked away in shame as a gray earth pony in spiked armor walked toward them. Her mane was once just as all gray as her fur now neon green and spiked up over the left side of her face where severe burns still stood.

"Damn it," Noteworthy whispered as the earth pony walked over to him. He bowed to her and answered, "Lieutenant Limestone. I was told that I would be the one to bring the two to Iron Sentry's airship--" He was caught off guard as Limestone punched him in the gut. The hit knocked him clear to the other side of the room.

"Plans have been changed and the monolith has been found. We can't take chances with these two. I've been ordered to give them to the zombified corp." Her soldiers charged in.

Jack knocked back the soldiers as they tackled him. He placed his hand over the metal gun over his other arm, making it glow. He lifted and aimed at Limestone. "Stand down, Limestone, I don't wish to see another pie sister fall in this war." His hesitation, laughter, and drunkenness were gone as if they were never there in the first place.

Stone huffed and gripped tightened on his rusted katana. He stood beside Jack and echoed his words. "Your sister would have given us a five-minute running start."

"Yeah, Pinkie was always far more merciful than me. I still don't know where the King vanished her to." She held up her shotgun and was ready for a fight. "And, frankly I don't fucking care." She charged in as Jack's weapon filled the room with light.

******
> File 10: Month 3-Part 1: Bleeding Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train came to a loud stop and the doors opened to a swarm of ponies exiting. They flooded into the station, pushing against the ticket checkers as they rushed off the platforms. The clacking of metal echoed through the cavernous hall as the ponies of many different races rushed to safety.

Button Mash stepped off the platform last as the sight of everything was reality-shattering. So many were wounded to the point of barely hanging on. He saw many broken and bleeding unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, and batponies. Some had broken glass in their fur, and others were twisted and misshapen bodies barely recognizable outside of their species.

Yet, the worst was the ponies in pure panic, pushing the wounded aside, trampling over the legs of children and short folks just to reach the safety of this place. After the crystal barrier faded over Canterlot, several outer cities were made into safe havens. Las Pegasus was one of them. But that wasn't the biggest reason he was here.

He had arrived with Sweetie Belle on a mission. This could be seen perfectly in her eyes as he watched her scan the room. The stallion took a step back and let her try. He didn't see any hope in the effort but didn't want her rage and annoyance anymore.

"Damn it, where is he?!" Sweetie Belle stretched up higher. "He has to be here!" She moved away from Button and climbed onto a light post. "Where is he?!?!" She screamed as her annoyance returned.

"Maybe he's just further in the city," Button tried to assure her.

"There's no way he wouldn't get healed first." Sweetie Belle turned back to him. "You heard the reports!"

"Yeah..." Button shivered away at her rage.

"A purple dragon covered in blood, gashes, and wounds... Something about a suitcase!" She jumped down and got right in his face. "That makes it sound like Spike couldn't have been in the best shape at all. And he was trapped in there for two months!"

"I know, I know... we both read the reports." He lowered his head in shame. His attempts to mend her anger only made things worse. "But how are we going to find him by standing here--" He was stopped as she grabbed him by the arm and ran deep into the crowd.

"We aren't standing, we are searching!!" Sweetie Belle screamed as she shoved some of the more aggressive ponies aside without a single care. Button tried to play it off, but all their angry faces only matched the rage in Sweetie Belle.

As they moved forward, a couple of the weaker ponies looked at him. They were pleading with their eyes, begging him to save them, but he could do nothing but stare in shock and horror. The graphic gore of it all was so hard to stomach especially as Sweetie Belle dragged him closer and closer to some of the bodies while trying to find a way to the road.

"We need to move quickly, this is just wasting time!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she pulled him towards the exit.

"But..." Button glanced over his shoulder. The wounded dropped their hands in defeat as they got further and further away. The whole scene was just heartbreaking.

"Don't worry about them!" Sweetie Belle stopped at the edge of the road and held up her hand for a taxi chariot. "Our mission is far more important... He's alive."

Button Mash raised his eyebrow and looked over the road. "Yes, he survived, but it doesn't mean that..." His eyes stopped at the horizon and the lack of a sunrise. The Sun and Moon vanished two months ago, but their light could still be seen. That light was the only hope that everypony had about the princesses still being out there.

It was still early enough in the day that they could find him and get the answers that Sweetie Belle had been desperately seeking. She left Ponyville without saying a word to her family after the chaos happened and only decided to come here when she heard the news of the escaping ponies. They made it out of there, and Spike did too. But no answers on her sister's whereabouts.

The main six were still missing. Almost all of them were presumed to be inside Canterlot when everything fell apart. Yet, they weren't among the wounded, or the dead. Sweetie Belle stomped her foot down when the annoyance of these thoughts peaked. "I need to know. I need answers!"

"And how do you know?" Button Mash stood up and waited patiently beside her.

"Know what?" Sweetie Belle glared at him.

"What if Spike doesn't have any answers, either?" Button threw up his arms. "What if he doesn't remember or doesn't want to remember?!"

"He will!!" Sweetie Belle grabbed Button by the collar. "He will give me all my answers!!"

"And if he doesn't!!" Button Mash finally fired back. His raised voice made her eyes widen.

Sweetie Belle dropped him as her hands shivered away. "He will... He must know what happened to her, right?" Her voice seemed to be pleading with him to agree.

Button bit his lip, he didn't want to lie to her. The stallion stood beside the mare through all the unknowns only to break now at all this blood and gore. His hands clenched and his eyes winced tight. "Maybe he does know..." He didn't want to say, but he didn't want to break her more than she already was.

"Maybe?" She repeated with more anger. "Maybe what?! Maybe he remembers everything?! Maybe he can tell me where my sister is and why she never came out!!" Sweetie Belle shouted back with a mix of hopeful joy and malicious anger all aimed at his maybes and more maybes. She needed answers and now.

But as the taxi finally arrived, Button Mash hesitated. His greatest fear wasn't her getting no answers, but for her to get the kind of answers that would only make her mental state even worse. He cared for her so greatly and wished for the old Sweetie Belle to return. The one that loved playing video games all night long. The one who would torture everypony with her horrible karaoke; being a mix of her beautiful voice and poor lyric memorization. The filly who would stand up to bullies and fight hard for the ideals of friendship.

But Sweetie Belle was a mare now, and one standing on the edge of an abyss. The answers she sought would either lift her up to the beautiful angels she embodies or drag her down into the darkest pit beyond his reach. All he could do was stand beside her.

"Please Spike..." He whispered under his breath as he joined her in the taxi chariot. "Give her the truth about her sister or the kindest lie..."
> File 11: Month 13-Part 1: Best Mates
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirteen months after the fall of Canterlot, the outside of Equestria had yet to be fully hit by the hellish evils within the borders. Griffinstone was the nearest country to the east and even it didn't know the truth of it all. Instead, any trade between the two countries halting was barely noticed. Rather, they just chose to increase trading with other countries like the Dragon lands.

This was the main reason that Garble was here. But he didn't care as he would give anything for more rematches with a certain griffin. The two clashed again in the capital's town square. Griffins on all sides booed at the might of Garble as he walked to the stage. They switched to cheering as his opponent arrived for another go.

Gilda jumped out with beers, muffins, and rocks for her fans. Her dragon opponent couldn't help but admire her joy in the grand entrance. His eyes hovered over her green skirt jumping around her wide hips, the sleeves bouncing over the powerful arms muscles, and her wicked sharp beak that could match any dragon's teeth.

Garble flexed back in return, bending his back all the way, showing off his long lane of spines. He threw his head up and spat fire over the feather of every griffin. Ending his show with thick reps of his arm muscles. Moving like a serpent over the chairs and the rings to the stage.

Both stopped at a table in the center of the arena as an old griffin approached. They placed their arms in position, waiting for him to press them together. "Okay, this is round thirteen. Our Gilda has six wins, tied with the opponent, Garble. After an hour's break, this final one will decide it."

"Yes!" Garble laughed as he locked his hand. Gilda winked back at him and pushed back in return.

"Okay... And go!" With that the old griffin jumped back and let the two begin.

The arm-wrestling matches between these two were always so fearsome. Garble and Gilda had no equal, except in each other's eyes. Their might grew with each passing second.

They pushed against the table as their bodies twisted. Both growled and grunted as they both pressed together. Garble held up, keeping the table in place with one claw while his other one pushed the opposite way. Gilda struggled against his might, pulling her entire upper body back, and pressing Garble's claw toward her end of the table.

The crowd gasped in amazement at the power of the two as they kept pushing. Gilda's eyes were closed, holding back a powerful roar of victory as Garble's eyes were watching the table. He couldn't help but enjoy the view of her body pushing against her tight vest, her white mane swaying across her face when frustrated.

Gilda saw her opponent staring deeply into her. She loved how much he admired her roughness, but she didn't want him to know this either. Keeping a stern face and breathing harder to push him back. She hid her own view of his impressive form.

Garble didn't let her see him smirking in return. He played back just as hard, stretching the muscles of his body. His eyes still focused on the table as the strength built between them. The cheering got louder and louder as their arms flipped back and forth between victory and loss.

With a roar, Gilda braced Garble's claw back down to the table, pushing him mere centimeters in her spot. Flames built up in Garble's mouth as he tried to hold her back and regain control. The griffin licked her beak as the taste of victory was so close.

Without warning a loud bell echoed in the back of Garble's head. Gilda's eyes widened in return as she felt his lose of concentration, unable to hear the noise echoing in his head. This single flinch was enough to break the contest for both of them and Gilda claimed victory.

The audience was left in utter shock but cheered regardless at the sheer excitement. The old griffin ref announced his granddaughter the winner. Garble had to admit defeat to her and clap at the fight they put up for the crowd. Gilda tried to laugh it off only to stop as the dragon winced from the bell noise again.

This time it was so loud that it brought him to the ground. He grabbed his chest and gasped for air. The rest of the griffins around him cheered at his triumph, not seeing or hearing what he was.

Gilda glared at her opponent and swung away from the audience with her wings. "Okay, what just happened?" She rushed over and grabbed him by the collar.

"You can't hear it!" Garble finally screamed in pain. His reaction pushed them all back, except for Gilda. The griffin sat down beside him and wrapped her claws around his head.

"What's happening?" Gilda's voice was suddenly so soft.

"If I'm the only one that can hear it then there's only one thing it could be." He broke the embrace and looked toward the border of Equestria. "The sound is a warning, aimed at the source of danger..." He pointed at the edge of the two kingdoms.

"What do you mean? Who could have sent this warning?" Gilda helped him to stand. "Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, maybe Spike."

"No, only one can send this kind of warning..." He turned toward his country's border, in the south. "The Dragon Lord."

"What?" Gilda laughed at his words, breaking the mood of everything. "That old giant monster dare to interrupt the best fighters in all the lands."

"Fighters as in plural?" Garble raised an eyebrow at her words.

"Did I stutter?" Gilda crowed at him. "That guy wants help then he better expect the full force of the best!!" She raised her claw at the audience. They cheered in return, even louder than before.

Garble growled, knowing his pride wouldn't allow him to accept any other option. She was just as stubborn as him, maybe more so. It was a part of her that he enjoyed the most. She never backed down from anything and stood her ground. But there were details that her kind was unaware of, so Garble stopped her. "Are you sure? None of the spies we've sent into Equestria have returned lately."

"Sounds like they were cannon fodder compared to us." She wrapped his claw in her, forcing him to hide his blush. "We'll rip those problems apart with these claws!!" She held their intertwined claws to the cheering voices. "I'll be damned if I let you go alone without another rematch."

"Right." His eyes softened at her words. "Let's get this over with and have another thirteen matches when we return!"

"That's the spirit!"

******
> File 12: Month 4-Part 1: Morning News
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four months after the destruction of Canterlot, a small airship arrived in the ruins and the massive crater. Hay V stuck her head out to see the giant crystal floating above it all. The massive black shape was a stark reminder of the hell that had happened not but four months ago.

Ponies had been freed not but a month ago. Yet despite news rushing far and wide, the finer details were still unknown. She had been sent here to clear away the mystery and find out what really happened to the kingdom once known as Canterlot.

She gave an inner cheer as they landed. She had planned to do the most insane, find out the real truth, and see everything firsthand. Hearing the bell on the door, she rushed over and made sure she was the first to step off. However, as the door lowered her tension reached a boiling point. Her hands shook wildly and her eyes darted over the door faster than it could move.

Jumping out, she crashed into a brown stallion with a gray mane and a five o'clock shave. Falling to the ground, he caught her hand and greeted her. "You must be Hay V. Fever."

"Yes, I want to be Equestria's greatest reporter!!" She pulled her hand back and blushed at her bold proclamation. "Sorry, I'm just so happy to be here... Calla, Calla--"

"Dr. Callaberon," He corrected his name with a bow. "And I am the head of this dig."

"Right, right?!" Hay V laughed and held out her hand to better greet him. "Thank you for this opportunity."

"But of course. After all, it's your father that's funding this dig." He shook her hand in return.

"Yeah, Papa Fever is the best." She laughed at her embarrassment.

"Well, he certainly raised quite the mare..." Dr Callaberon couldn't help lingering his eyes over her bleach blonde body, tightly grasped in a white business suit and brown pants that barely covered her large chest and ass. The only break from her perfection and clearly artificial assets was a big pair of goofy glasses. Frankly, he was secretly annoyed to be showing off his site to such a spoiled brat. At least, he had something to stare at as she ran over and bent over the crater.

Hay V knew all too well about the looks her body would get. It's why she asked her father for such perfect implants. Best to keep all eyes on her to make everypony listen. While she would be glad to have their ears, either way, she knew this world worked on three principles; honor, pride, and dignity.

"Okay, so shall we enter the dig site now, or do I need more protection." She spun around her attire.

"No, just make sure not to get too much mud on that white shirt." He laughed as he presented her to the roped elevator.

"Okay then. First report while we drop." She waved over her camera mare. Checking her red hair as they stepped onto the platform. "Start with a good shot of the crater before flipping over to me and then him." The reporter pointed out every detail, not letting her assistant get a single word in.

The camera mare simply gave her gesture and the light came on.

"As you can see we are arriving in the one place where all dread to do." She paused as the camera panned over the images of the site while imagining the soft and sad music that she would put on the post. Glad to not go live, she was ready for a long session of editing and refining to get the best emotion ever. Seeing the camera move to her, she reacted like a pro. "Hello, I'm Hay V. Fever!" Giving a wink and a small shake of her chest to the audience, making sure to not look intentional, lest she attract some stupid cancel vultures. 'This is the remains of Canterlot."

Holding out her hand up to the giant black crystal in the sky above them, the camera mare followed. The mare turned on a slow zooming feature and refined the detail the best she could. She licked her teeth and loved her work as much as her boss. With a few clicks, she prepared a slide show to splice with other shots that had gotten from the airship's multiple flybys. During the post, her boss already planned to compare them with months one, two, and three, as before and after photos.

"As you can see from these images, nothing much has changed since it replaced Canterlot in the sky..." Hay V paused for dramatic effect before dropping her hand down. "And vaporized the mountain that once held such a great and beautiful city." Waiting avidly for the camera to come back up to her, she shook her hips, wanting her audience's full attention. "But the city that once united us all, the home of princesses, Celestia and Luna, is far from gone." She presented Dr. Callaberon.

"Yes, it's true. Why just a month ago, several ponies managed to escape." He paused, assuming there would be some clips before continuing. "However, despite all efforts, most are either too scared or too damaged to remember." The stallion dropped his head in shame before smiling boldly for the camera. "Just as scans showed two months ago. Noise, vibrations, and magic can still be felt even after those that escaped." He held up a monitor to the crystal. "Even at this distance. Which means there still could be other ponies inside."

"This is Dr. Callaberon. And after many disagreements with the allies like Daring Do and the disgraced Quibble Pants, has decided to give our channel a full special episode interview. That's right, you'll be getting two full hours, no commercials, special event." She gestured the camera back to herself. "We will be here for six days to bring you the most accurate summaries possible so you know everything first--" A loud booming sound stopped her mid-sentence.

The recording light flicked off without warning and the elevator shook violently before stopping. The camera mare was tossed forward and nearly fell off the elevator. Luckily, Dr. Callaberon caught her and placed her against the wall. Hay V screamed, bringing them both to her attention and she attempted to fix her mane and readjusted her shirt and pants.

"What the fuck was that?!" Her pretty mare attitude faded and she got right in the camera mare's face. "Why did the recording stop at the best shot of me?!"

"It wasn't her." Dr. Callaberon stepped between the two and showed her the scanner. The reading was so much wilder. "I've never seen it go this high." Despite the booming fading just as quickly as it appeared, the scanner was picking up large forms of magic.

"Incredible." Hay V pointed the camera at the scanner and flicked some pictures, hoping that part of the system was still working. "These images happening on the day of my arrival is a godsend! And will boost my TV ratings even higher."

"But is that booming what cuased--" The camera mare was stopped as the elevator turned back on with even less warning. The light of the recording also flickered on just as fast. "Maam." She tried to take the camera back.

"Oh, right!" Hay V laughed and gave her the camera back. Fixing her makeup and mane, she winked back at her. "We better fix all that in post."

"Sure." The camera mare tried to smile. She held the feed over her shoulder and gestured a countdown and action sign.

"Sorry for the abrupt cut-off." Hay V fixed her glasses to look amateurish and more shaken than she really was. Aiming for sympathy points, she even adjusted her legs and leaned on the bar to make it look like she was the one that fell. "We just got an incredible surprise, just mere moments after arriving." She winked at the camera. "Perfect timing as we are here to bring you all of these moments and more."

As she covered the details, Dr. Callaberon took a step back as cold sweat poured over his face. It wasn't just the scanner that was troubling him. He needed the views and the money but living through that shaking brought out a memory he buried. Just before taking this job from Daring Do and being ready to show all of Equestria how much better he was than her, Quibble stopped him with a warning.

"Do not go there... Do not let him escape?!"

The stallion had no idea who the disgraced archaeologist and soldier were referring to. He could only guess as all his associates thought Quibble Pants had become mad since the dam incident. All, except for Daring Do, who was more afraid of Dr. Callaberon taking this job than her being denied it.

******
> File 13: Month 12-Part 1: Party Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The party kicked off with a bang as Party Favor ran around blasting off all the fireworks he could. Ignoring his lost breath as he wanted this to be the biggest party yet. It still haunted him how he sided with Starlight's conquest so easily, long ago. He couldn't let such doubts plague the minds of anypony there. Even as he failed to reach the last firework, tripping over the board of a certain white unicorn.

"Oops! Sorry about that! Didn't mean to." Party Favor tried not to complain until his face blushed at the sight of Double Diamond.

"No, it was my fault!" The white unicorn picked him up and flicked the final firework with his magic. He then turned to the confused stallion. "There you go, old friend? It looks good!" He presented the blue stallion with the incredible light show.

"Oh, uh, yeah! Looks good, alright! Haha!" He smiled and nervously waved to Double Diamond, hiding the stars in his eyes. "Thank you... Double Diamond." The blue stallion pulled his hand free harsher than he wanted to.

"You okay, Party Favor?" Double Diamond raised an eyebrow before laughing and padding him on the back.

"I'm fine. Just had an exhausting morning, that's all." Party Favor smiled as he looked towards the waterfall.

His friend pushed if off, but Double Diamond knew that Party Favor's mind was elsewhere as he too was still being plagued by his own inner doubts. But this party had to go on no matter how bad they both felt.

"Don't push yourself too hard. Afterward, I'm running this party too." Double Diamond still didn't know how he got to be in charge of this party, but he wasn't about to stop it now.

"You're right!" Party Favor dropped his hands to the board under his feet. "You could at least look the part."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Double Diamond glared at him with a smirk. He flipped the board up, spinning it three times over his head to the other side out of the way. "I was just making sure all the snow was perfect."

Party Favor shook his head with a chuckle, he was glad how easily both slid back into the flow of old conversations. They weren't even in the best of terms for the longest time after that. While Party Favor wanted so much from Double Diamond, both of their doubts about their past mistakes would often lead to them being pushed apart. Usually right after the partying ends.

"We still need to fix this town, Double Diamond." Party Favor's eyes widened and his body went numb as he realized he let his mouth slip again.

"So, what have you been up to since we last saw each other?" Double Diamond poked for answers. "You still the biggest whore in this town?!" He jabbed him in the gut.

"What?!" Party Favor's face turned even redder. "I've changed a lot of these years."

"Sure, you have!" Double Diamond winked at him, trying to get a rise of laughter until he saw the truth in his eyes. Slowly he dropped his expression and blushed back in embarrassment. "Well, I've been up to plenty too."

"Yeah, I read about your latest trophy." Party Favor tried not to sound so bitter. "They even named a mountain drift after you."

Double Diamond's smile dropped at this. "Yeah, things are moving fast for both of us."

Realizing the tension between the two was getting too thick another pony stepped in to with a plate full of muffins. The blue unicorn and white stallion stopped and took in the delicious smell.

"Double Diamond, Party Favor. How are you doing today?" Sugar Belle interjected. "Glad to you two again!"

The two ponies thanked her and took one each. Double Diamond held his close with his teeth, eyeing his friend over before taking a bite. Sugar Belle chuckled at Party Favor's lack of manners compared to him. She was one pony he would always treat with respect.

"Careful with that, you might choke on your pride!" Another voice echoed behind them as a pegasus landed and patted Party Favor on the back.

"Night Glider, you're here!" Both stallions came to attention at the sight of her uniform.

"I see you got into the wonderbolts this year!" Sugar Belle winked and gave her a muffin too.

"Just the reserves... for now!" Night Glider laughed wickedly and took the food gladly.

"You're going to do great." Party Favor smiled sheepishly and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. She pinched him back and pulled the arm off.

"I'm still mad at you!" Night Glider glared at him before flipping her gaze back to Double Diamond. "And you were supposed to wait for me at the top of the mountain."

"Yeah, well, you know how the weather is around here. I had to move fast before blizzards came in." Double Diamond tried to explain.

Night Glider slowly her disappointment and laughed with them, cheering them into louder joy. "Come on, you three, we have a party to attend." With that final word, she pulled the three into the crowds of arriving ponies.

Party Favor took a deep breath. This was just the start of his day. He was looking forward to the party and he had plans to meet his friends. But there was only one thing that was bothering him. His eyes looked out to the distant horizon beyond the snowy peaks.

******

The rest of the group left the front so fast, they didn't see the sheer size of the crowd. All of them wanted to enjoy this day, not knowing what awaited them as more arrived. Standing above them, on the cold cloud, unhindered by its lack of a surface. This lone figure was cloaked in a dark purple uniform with gold trim and a changeling symbol emblazoned on a strap on his shoulder. He had been waiting patiently, keeping hidden under the shadows cast by the falling snow. Only coming out when the village became the most active.

"King's Kray's will be complete." With that, three pairs of wings unveiled from his back. In his hand, a crown of broken unicorn horns glowed brightly as the storm around him turned into an icy gale.

******
> File 14: Month 2-Part 3: Wake Me Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash woke at the sign of a light flashing over his face. Slowly his sight cleared until he found himself on a bed, under a lit light bulb. He was surprised to see one working in this place. The place was a small, single-bed room with a tiny table, a small drawer, and a door that seemed to lead out.

His attention was mostly drawn toward the light bulb. "I guess some electricity can outlast magic."

"Flash?” Timber answered via the radio. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but where are you?” Flash questioned as he stepped off the bed.

"I don’t know..." Timber took a moment before answering. "I think we are still in the same district as before. Look out your window."

Flash followed his words and opened the window to see the ruins of the clothing shop they were just at. "They didn't take us far, just wanted to separate us." He stopped and looked back at his radio.

"This place doesn’t look familiar," Timber commented, "What does your room look like?"

Flash tilted the light bulb and grimaced at the sight of fancy clothing hanging around him. "Fancy dresses and clothes. And there's a small door here that looks like a closet."  "I think I’m another one of Rarity’s boutiques."

"How many did that mare have?!" Timber grumbled. "Hold on... I think I see you... You're bouncing that light right?"

Flash stopped and noticed another window nearby with a light bouncing at him. He replied with the same in a morse code that only both of them could understand. "Did you get that?"

Timber caught on and confirmed. "Good, you only three rooms away from me."

"Okay, let's meet up," Flash said before stepping out.

"I’ll try to make my way to you, while you search for Rarity and that dragon.”

"Dragon..." Flash thought back to the words of the one who knocked them out. "Yeah, they mentioned that there was a dragon in that room." Scanning over the room and out the window revealed no corpses in here at all, but the room stank of the horrible smell of rotting flesh. "Some might have been here recently."

"Some what?"

"Those undead..." Flash pressed his shoulder against the door. "We can't see them doesn't mean they aren't nearby."

"What could have caused all of this?" Timber stressed. "There's no magic in this city. ANd yet some building still have power."

"Maybe the barrier doesn't affect certain spells." Flash opened the door and looked left and right. "We can at least confirm that some ponies are alive."

"Yeah..." Timber urged himself to reach Flash faster.

Flash nodded. "We should meet at the first floor."

"Yeah, just found the stairs," Timber confirmed.

"Same here..." Flash couldn't help but notice this felt too easy. He couldn't even find defenses or offenses. It was like the whole building had been abandoned. "I have a feeling we should expecting danger." He found his stairs and moved down them carefully.

"Oh yeah, like the place is a ghost town." Timber had noticed the lack of obstacles on his way down. Reaching the first floor and the entrance of the building was so damn easy. This only added to their nerves as the two met back up. Seeing Flash, Timber dropped his guard. "Well, this makes no sense."

"Yeah, we were knocked out and left in an empty building." Flash looked Timber over and confirmed his concerns, "Our armor was messed with."

Timber looked at the only entrance to this building. "We were just left behind in this place." His eyes narrowed at the large lock over the inside and outside of the door. "Caged away like wild animals."

Flash smiled at the door and slide the bow of his spear through the laches. "Not caged, more like being messed with."

"Seems so." Timber agreed, taking the spear by one hand. Both of them pulled together and broke the locks with ease. Again, things were seeming far too easy. But neither of them had answers so all they could do was continue with the mission. "Where do we go next?"

"Find Spike..." Flash remembered back to that scene. "He ran off after that figure knocked us out. If any creature knows where the six and princesses are, it's him."

"And what about the one that attacked us?" Timber kept his eyes on the ground as Flash watched the sky. While both had no magic, their natural instincts kept them on course. "They appeared before without warning."

"Yeah, we'll just have to keep up a better guard." Flash continued forward. "Let's hope he's not too far off."

Both of them increased their speed, heading into the darkness. They knew another light house was out there. Hopefully, from there they would be able to contact some extra help. With their airship down, the two were completely alone, but far from out of sight.

A certain purple dragon watched them from the roof of the building. His grew in concern as they head toward the center of town. He reached out to them, wanting to plead, but was too scared to stop them. "No, I wanted to hide you from him." His whole body shivered with each footstep they took away from him. "Don't go in there. Stay away from that cursed throne."

"But they won't..." Another voice echoed behind him. A veiled mare came into view and dropped her hand under his chin. "My dear Spikey, those fools are walking right into his claws." She rubbed his cheek, but never took her eyes off the two leaving. Instead her eyes narrowed on a pale ghost following behind them. Her frown turned into rage but she kept a composure toward the slender dragon. She carefully placed a kiss on his forehead and asked. "Could you meet with the King before they arrive? And tell him that the Pale Mare has returned."

"Who is the Pale Mare?!"

Veiled Mare wrapped her hand tightly around his throat. "I said, tell the king that the Pale Mare has returned!!" With that final hateful sentence, she threw him off the side of the building and into the nearest vent, heading toward the same direction the two soldiers were going.
> File 15: Month 17-Part 3: Subtle Wait
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rain beat down over the twisted geodes that traced over each building. They bounced over several things from the crystals to the stone walls to the steel fire. It escaped down finally onto the weakened ponies hiding in fear down below. Indeed the world had changed for many, but no one so much more than Comet Tail, or at least that is how he always saw it.

Comet Tail cocked his gun and stopped by a wall. His horn glowed a small shield to keep the rain from dampening the flavor of his cigarette as he tapped his foot in annoyance. “Hurry up.”

The magic of his horn fizzled out and faded. He tapped his horn a few times before the magic returned, even weaker than before. "Shit, I can't be low already." His eyes spotted a vine growing through the building, climbing toward his magic. "No, no, not again." He shanked the branch with a knife instead of his broken gladius and it fled back into the wall. His magic returned to its normal state as if the presence alone was enough to dampen its power. "I've never seen them this far from their thrones. Luckily it was a small one."

Though his cigarette was safe for now, he didn’t mind the rain hitting his face. It felt good in some ways at least. Better to feel a chill that had been haunting him all these seventeen months. The world had changed drastically in many places and none more than the edge of Equestria's once powerful capital, Canterlot.

The mountainside was long gone and only chunks of the city could be reached before being stopped by the magic barrier. It surrounded the lord and master of their lands and if it didn't stop anypony, those strange branches would soon do the job. The princesses were gone, some believed dead, Twilight was gone, and her friends were either gone, scattered, and or fully shattered. Ally kingdoms had faded from reach long ago and Equestria itself was on its last length.

Comet Tail didn't care in the end, his failure in fighting was pointless as he spent most of the war stuck to a bed. In the end, the new ruler won and brought forth many things including very advanced technology. Comet Tail was glad this stuff gave him a way to walk again but many weren't as lucky as him.

No matter how much time had passed and who he was serving, one thing was for sure, Comet Tail had work to do and plenty of it. Even without war, he was still stuck doing guard duty. But not for the royal sectors, rather this was private work. Where before he would watch over the royal and elite now, he watched over the scum of the underworld. The only form of civilization that didn't care who was in charge.

Waiting here for what felt like far too long for his taste often made him ponder. This job was much slower than his previous job, of course. He used to be a proud, bold, best of the best soldier until Canterlot fell. Everypony lost something that day, but they didn’t get a metal leg and minor memory loss. Comet Tail couldn’t help laughing at that last part. A metal leg, he would have never considered such technology possible until it was shown to him.

He stopped as the door finally opened. Soft moans echoed from a hallway that stank of certain smells Comet Tail would rather not ponder too much on. His current employer walked out. It was a fat short stock of an earth pony with a bright pink jacket covering up most of his body, in particular his half undone pants. “Sorry, Comet. The ladies love some good action.”

“Whatever?” Comet Tail huffed and looked forward. “Let's just get moving. We are already an hour behind schedule.”

“What? You got to get back to your own mistresses.” The employer snarked and walked ahead. He stopped for a moment and looked back to Comet Tail with a small sneer. “Oh, that's right. You prefer a different breed of bitch.”

Comet Tail shrugged and kept walking, ignoring the word of his employer. This was in fact commonplace to him since he always preferred to keep his eyes on the surroundings of the world should another slip-up happen. As they got into the deeper of the rain his metal leg ached. Thoughts and memories tried to play with his feelings, but Comet Tail smashed that with a slap to the face.

“You should buy some of my drugs?” Employer’s words got through this time. “You would be surprised by the wonders they do for pain.”

“Sorry, I don’t want to dull my senses.” Comet straightened his stance and kept moving.

"No, I insist. I'll give it to you at half price."

"Huh, sounds worthless." Comet Tail stopped at the turn.

"Far from it, I have been getting a large stock serving under our gracious king." The employer smiled and took a bow.

"You work that close to him. I'm surprised he hasn't turned you into one of his zombies."

"Like Iron Sentry and Night Fright, I'm more useful alive." The Employer laughed heartily.

"Comparing yourself to those sellouts isn't something to be proud of." Once things were clear Comet Tail dropped his gun to his side.

"Said the stallion with a metal limb given to him by our benevolent ruler." The employer walked through the opening much to Comet Tail's dismay.

The outer roads were just beyond them and the employer’s chariot was in sight. Comet Tail was annoyed at his employer's recklessness but glad that they would soon get some cover.

He held up his hand as his employer got to the edge of the opening. “Hold here. I need to see if the chariot is clear too.”

“Fine…”

Comet Tail quickly moved across the road very slowly, noting everything from some bums lying on the side of the road to even the dime on the ground and cracks just before reaching the chariot. Everything seemed clear but Comet Tail still felt uneasy. The employer attempted to make a move and cross as well, but Comet Tail held his hand once more. Annoyed he did as he was told and Comet Tail continued his search.

Comet opened up the chariot and looked everything over. He scanned the chairs and the wheel, even the shag carpet. He dropped down to the road ground and looked under the chariot. There was nothing but the usual stuff. Everything seemed clear, maybe his fear was wrong.

After one final check, he grabbed the keys and placed them in their slot, and turned the trigger. The chariot kicked up some smoke but worked all the same.

“Huh, okay. It’s clear.” Comet left the door open, turned, and waved over to the employer.

The employer walked over rather slower than Comet Tail wanted. Really the longer he wasted, the more danger could be drawn, then again Comet Tail was charging by the hour, so maybe there was no concern.

The employer arrived and took the keys away from Comet Tail. “I see you taking your time admiring everything, but you won't let me.” He tapped on the top of the chariot. “It’s Noxiton Original. I was handed this by Jack Nox himself.”

“Made by a drunk and the son of a criminal, not exactly something to brag about.”

“Yeah, Jack hasn't been the same since his bitch left him.” The employer stepped into the chariot and smiled at the soft touch. “Are you getting in?”

“Once you start the chariot I’ll get in.”

“Oh, you want to hear it purr.”

“Not exactly. Just scoping out a final test--” He stopped as something vibrated in his pocket. “Hold on.” He reached into his pocket and grabbed a phone.

“Oh, everypony wants to hear it purr.” The employer turned the engine on and laughed at the loud roar it sent off. “See, good, isn’t it?”

“Right?” Comet Tail headed to the backdoor.

The employer nodded his head and closed his door. Comet Tail's ear flicked at the sound of a trigger moving as the door closed...

Without warning, Comet Tail was sent back by an explosion as the chariot and his employer went up in flames. Comet Tail hadn’t fully registered this as the first thing he felt was his body hitting the other side of the road. The next thing his body could sense was the vibrations of footsteps on the ground, racing toward him.

“Damn it, not again--” Comet barely finished his words as his eyes went blurry. The last thing he sensed before losing consciousness was sirens. He dropped his phone revealing the caller ID showing the name, Noteworthy.

******
> File 16: Month 5-Part 1: Rising Flames
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night fell with aggressive heavy clouds covering the sky without warning, and the air became thick. The light of Moon had long faded from all sight since the fall of Canterlot. However, everypony was still on edge of this night felt particularly pit black. The tension was so thick that not even the sharpest sword could cut it.

Floating just on the edge of Ponyville's sight was a single airship cloaked in a lightless void. It wasn't like a type of darkness, rather the complete lack of light at all. The entire surface of the airship was affected by the lightlessness. The hidden soldiers within the airship were completely void of all light, forced to rely on the word of their king.

Slice Kilm had long gotten used to the lack of light in his life. His eyes had long turned to ash along with his flesh. Relying of the mind of his King had become second nature some time ago. King Kray had saved him from the edges of death and the tyranny of the alicorns.

He had heard the whispers of a new prophecy coming from this town. They spoke of hope that the main six would return. Speaking of the princesses regaining their throne. All uniting against the king's power and might. But the true words of the future would be known only by his King. It was his duty to lead the forces of King Kray and save Equestria. To bring it out these dark times, marching through bloodshed and ashy flames to achieve true peace. This made him proud of his actions, even if others were not.

This resistance would not break their resolve. They had already destroyed their capital and their princesses. The main six vanished without a trace and other heroes that stood with them fell too. Ponyville would be no different even if it was his former homeland.

He gritted his exposed teeth at the thought of their destination. Ponyville had been the home of the one he loved most. Oh, how he used to do everything thing that pink mare desired. Always at her beck and call, but no more. The pink mare was gone, and now his king was the only vow in his mind. To serve and bow, to adore and praise with all his strength and might. He was but a simple soldier for the King of K.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The king's voice echoed behind him.

"My King... I can no long see such beauty." Slice Kilm stood at attention. "The void of all light is our home."

"Yes..." His voice mused deep in the ears of ifrit, fueling his desire and rage ever more. "Ever since those demonic alicorns cast me out of the light, I was left to suffer." The king's words echoed past Slice Kilm and up to the ship's edge. "I was forced to watch from the sideless as my children were morphed and defiled. Unable to stop the horrible things that came to pass." He gazed out into the night sky and the approaching the city of Ponyville. "And thus, the former home of that Pale Mare shall be the next place to suffer my vengeance."

"Yes, my King," Slice Kilm bowed his head.

The king smiled. "Tonight, the dear Pale Mare will know the same pain. All shall learn to fear the void and praise the name of the King condemned to it."

"The King of K!" Slice Kilm held up his flaming hand and his army followed. "King Kray, the King of K." Cheering it for several seconds until he dropped his hand down as if offering it to his king. King Kray never turned away from the sight of the front of the airship.

Much like the surface of the airship, Slice Kilm's sight was void of utter blackness. His eyes had long turned to ash, never remade like the rest of his form, but that didn't matter. His mind was void of everything but his King's will. At least, he hoped it was void as thinking back was too painful. Seeing the pink mare would be too painful, so better to meet the ponies that raised her and the Pale Mare they swore to with ash and flaming tears. The fire within him was still bright, though. He wanted revenge for all he had lost, from his flesh, bones and sanity.

The airship gave a loud bang and landed. The doors opened to unveil that armies to Ponyville. They marched outward and continued to chant their King's degree. "The void of all light is our home, but his grace is always with us. Behold the will of the King of K!"

Guards standing at the front Ponyville's border were shocked by the sight of the approaching forces. Yet, the greatest fear came from the one at the lead, Slice Kilm. The bleak light of the night was enough to show what had truly become of him. His body was little more than a skeleton wrapped in burnt skin and muscle tissue. His fur seared off long ago, all forms of wrinkles were more like tears straight to the bone. His mane was pure fire, like that of an ifrit of legend. His eyes had long been burned from his skull, and only blackened pits were all that were left.

Those voids of blackened eyes stared back at those guards with such rage and malice that they could barely hold up their weapons. "No one crosses us!" the first guard cried out in a wincing panic. He rushed forward, throwing his spear right at Slice Kilm's head.

The heat from his body was so intense that the spear caught flame before reaching him and cracked apart into an ash mess upon making contact. Slice Kilm listened as the guard collapsed in a full panic of screams and wails. The flaming pony silenced him by crashing his hand into his face. The guard burst in flames before quickly crumbling to ash.

With the first death claimed, Slice Kilm threw the peppered skeleton to the side and proclaim. "King Kray's will shall prevail! On this night, Ponyville burns to the ground!"
> File 17: Month 11-Part 1: Frozen Lands
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Mac walked with heavy feet through the thick snow. He was cold, tired, and hungry. The weather had not been kind to him, but it was especially cruel to his companions. He looked at his traveling companions and frowned. The smaller Strongheart had the perfect fur for the cold weather but lacked the body size. Ezekiel was far worse due to his thinner coat and the many metal weapons he insisted on taking through the journey.

The large earth pony stallion wanted to disagree with the zebra, but this was the only guide willing to take them this far. He looked up the mountain and sneered at the massive sight. The weather was becoming worse as they moved further up. Even with his large build and warm coat, he could feel the bitter chill in the air.

He was glad to have his traveling companions, but he would have preferred to do this alone. They were only doing this for their own reasons. Strongheart wanted to prove herself to her father. She wanted to show him she could be strong and was willing to fight for her family.

Ezekiel, on the other hand, was far different. He only wanted the money. He told them many times already that the yaks were a rich and proud race with plentiful resources. The yaks had their own rules and ways of doing things, and he was going to try and make a deal. If he could establish trade with them it would be a massive boon for his company.

Big Mac was more than a little skeptical, but there was no other choice. His homeland had been invaded by King Kray and his forces. He needed help fighting the invaders. He was not sure how his fellow Equestrians were going to fare alone. He had witnessed the horror from a distance. Unable to reach Ponyville before it burned to the ground.

Big Mac shook his head to clear away the thought away from the screaming memories and the endless smoke. He didn't want to think about his home being destroyed. He had to stay focused on his goal. They had no idea how long the trek would be, and it would be a long time until they found food or shelter. The large earth pony pulled out his compass. Just as he feared, it was still spinning around. He sighed heavily and shook it violently, hoping it would adjust itself.

"What are you doing?" asked Strongheart. She had seen him shaking the device, and he ignored her.

"I told you that's pointless!!" Ezekiel held up the map, fighting through his jittering teeth to get a rhyme out. "Too much metal around the abyss."

"Well, do ya have any better ideas?" Big Mac demanded. He was quickly growing impatient with the zebra.

"Just follow the path!" Ezekiel said as he pointed ahead. "We'll get there soon with a laugh!" He laughed in pain.

"Don't waste your energy!" Strongheart rubbed her hands alongside his so he didn't drop the map. "We have a long way to go."

"I am never ashamed." The zebra smiled brighter and winked at her. "Not when getting help from a dame."

Strongheart gave him a flat look, clearly not impressed with his charms. The stallion was handsome and very smooth, but she other priorities. Ezekiel just shrugged and walked ahead. She followed close behind, knowing it was a bad idea to lose sight of him. She wanted to be strong, but she also had to think clearly.

Big Mac grumbled loudly and trotted forward. This was going to be a long and dangerous journey. He wasn't sure if the weather would kill them first, or the monsters lurking around every corner. All he knew was that he was not going to give up now. The Apple clan depended on him. Applejack was still missing, Apple Bloom had left behind to gather survivors with Tender Tap. Granny Smith died in the flames that consumed Ponyville. That bastard, Caramel, was nowhere to be found. He had lost contact with Braeburn when Canterlot was destroyed and remade.

The earth pony shook his head. There was no time to think of the past. He had to worry about the present. He was not going to let Equestria be conquered. He had to keep moving forward and do what he must. He would have his vengeance, and then he would bring his sister back to her home.

"Look!!" Strongheart called out, pointing up ahead to a large shadow trenching out of the blizzard. "I see something!"

"Finally," Ezekiel huffed. "I thought I would freeze."

"Wait!" Big Mac held his hand in front of them. Much to his regret the shape wasn't a building or a structure of any kind. He could barely make out the outline of a massive creature rushing at them.

The silhouette broke away to reveal a giant monstrous yeti baboon-like creature. It rushed towards them at blinding speed. Big Mac grabbed his weapon. It was a massive war hammer made of solid iron. The weight of the thing was enough to make the average stallion buckle, but not the strongest member of the Apple Clan. Yet against this beast, a hit to the face only made it flinch away from trembling over them.

"A Bayeti!" Ezekiel pushed Strongheart out of the way.

"You know what this thing is?!" Strongheart asked.

"Yes! Bayeti are driven by sounds!" The zebra answered. "An ape-like species that lives on the mound."

Big Mac roared with little words and swung again as it passed by. This time it knocked him off his feet.

"With sound! That is how it's bound" Ezekiel reached into his satchel and pulled out a small whistle. However, the creature caught onto this and pounded the ground, causing snow to pepper their faces. This knocked the instrument out of the zebra's hand.

Strongheart was quick enough to roll out of the way, but Big Mac was unable to move out of the way in time. The yeti baboon grabbed him and threw him like a toy. It bashed him on the ground several times, each one harder than the last. He felt the bones creak beneath him, and he was sent flying. He was slammed through a tree and buried deep into the snow. He didn't get a chance to recover before the creature rushed at him again.

He could barely raise his weapon to block the monster's teeth. It was a miracle the creature ripped off his arms. He couldn't hold out forever. If he didn't do something fast he was going to die here. Panic rushed through his body. All his work to get here could be lost in an instant. Images of his family flashed by quicker than he could process. He didn't want it all to end this way. He had to do something, anything!

"Sound..." The word echoed in his head. He gritted his teeth and roared louder than he ever had before. Pushing so hard, he could have sworn he tore up his throat but it was enough. Bayeti retracted its rage for a moment. Just long enough for Ezekiel to get the whistle, roll over beside Big Mac, and blow hard. The sharp, ear-piercing noise made the beast howl with agony and cover its ears.

Big Mac rolled to his feet and smashed his hammer right into the creature's face. The combined effort only knocked it off its balance. It took another strike from Strongheart. She gave it her best tackle ever and it was just barely enough to push it off its feet. The beast's eyes widened as it began to tumble down the mountainside.

They all watched it disappear in the storm. Only then did they breathe?

"That was a close call," Ezekiel laughed. "I didn't expect it to fall."

"What kind of creature was that?" Strongheart asked, wiping the sweat from her brow. "That wasn't like any other beast I've seen before."

"That was a bayeti!!" Another voice echoed behind them. It was a loud and proud voice unlike either of them would speak at all.

All three of them turned around and saw snow departing to reveal the horrible truth. Standing mere feet from them was a giant seemingly endless wall. It was never a mountain they were charging toward but a massive barrier. The structure was made entirely of solid ice, and it seemed to stretch forever. At the top of it stood wooden walls and several cannons aimed at them. The structure was built so perfectly that the blizzard had covered their presence.

"Well done foes. We are glad you survived the beast." The proud voice chuckled at them. This brought their eyes to the source. A large yak standing near the biggest canon. "My name is Julius Ronford, and I welcome to Yakyakistan!"

"We found it?" Strongheart whispered, but the sound carried to everyone. "We found the fabled land of the Yak."

"Yup." Big Mac nodded. He could feel his heart soar with excitement. However, none of them knew the greater trails that lay ahead of them. The Yaks were a proud and very stubborn race. Finding them was only the easy part. Convincing them to help their plight, would be the true test.

******
> File 18: Month 6-Part 1: Foggy Glasses
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cart pulled and let out a gray earth pony mare with thick glasses. She had a bright smile and a big heart, ready to fix the minds of their patients. She was given her box of stuff and led inside to the front desk. "I'm the new therapist!" she boasted to the secretary.

"Name?" The secretary barely looked up from his magazine.

"I am Doctor Allswell!" The mare placed down the box and saluted the many names above the desk. She hoped one day to be considered as honorable as those names.

"Files..." The stallion gave no care to her joy, knowing it would soon be shattered by this place.

"Of course." Allswell pulled out some papers. "I was recommended here by my father and his boss--" She was stopped as he ripped the papers out of her hands and looked them over. His face seemed just as unconvinced as before. She was going to prove him wrong.

The secretary's head rose from the papers. "All right. Take it back and head up to the third floor to the right. Eighth doors to your left, Room 316." He pointed the way to the elevator.

"Yes! Thank you!" Allswell bounced away happily. However, stopping halfway, she sheepishly asked. "And who is my first patient?"

The stallion huffed in annoyance and flipped over the books. He knew full well that there were only two patients available right now. But seeing her happiness break into shyness was rather cute so he moved the pages rather slow. Reaching the names, he read carefully aloud. "There is the soldier, Comet Tail on the second floor..."

"Well, I've worked with soldiers on the front line so--" She stopped as he raised his voice.

"He's in a coma."

"Okay, then who--" She was stopped again as he spoke louder.

"And, Private Patient PPCP."

"Who?" Allswell raised an eyebrow.

"That's the code name for her..." He waved her back over. Doctor Allswell leaned down to him. "She calls herself Cenior Puddinghead."

"Puddinghead... As in Chancellor Puddinghead?!" Doctor Allswell was left completely dumbfounded by the name. "There's no way she could be the actual pony in question as that would make her over five thousand years old."

"The mare is in a crazy ward." The secretary shrugged and leaned back. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "She's in the basement. Room B12." With that final word, he leaned back and went back to his work.

Sweat beaded down the therapist's head as she looked back at the elevator. She wondered why this patient was in the basement. Why wasn't she in a regular room like Comet Tail? Wasn't she in some type of danger? Shouldn't they have better security? Soon she found herself in the elevator, staring at the buttons. the second and basement stared back at me with intensity.

Doctor Allswell wanted to prove herself, and watching over a coma patient would get her nowhere. So with a big hesitation, she pressed the basement button. The elevator opened, revealing narrow corridors and stainless steel walls. A stark contrast to the softer wooden frames above.

The halls were empty of patients, which was an eerie sign. If there were any here, then it would have been a lot more chaotic and busy halls. Instead, it was a clear path to several compacted rooms. Slowly she stepped out of the elevator. "This is where I make my mark," she whispered to herself, trying to bolster her courage.

Soon enough she reached the room, B12. The door was made of far thicker iron than the walls were. It was built like a safe, with even a massive wheel, but no number lock. She could just open the massive cage and walk right inside. "Okay, Allswell, you've come this far. You can go through with this." She pep-talked herself into pushing open the door.

She didn't expect what she saw inside. There was a small hospital bed with white sheets. There was also a metal chair and table, but most surprisingly there was no pony. No one was there. That is until she looked upward.

Somehow it defied gravity itself, in a building where no magic was even possible. It was a single pink earth pony mare with a slightly darker pink mane in a straitjacket. The patient sat on the ceiling like it was the floor and was surrounded by a flock of balloons with cheese tied to the strings.

"Are you--" Doctor Allswell was stopped as the patient screamed violently without warning. Turned from sad to a smile upon seeing her, but never saying a word right away. The therapist straightened her uniform at the surprising noise and repeated herself. "Are you patient, PPCP?"

The patient didn't answer. Instead, they looked around the room at the balloons and stinky old cheese. She rubbed the balloons and whispered and wiggled the cheese in the air. "The cheese pierces the balloons and my heart. The needle stabs my eyes and his funny hair." She tilted left and right.

"Whose funny hair?"

She stopped moving and stared Allswell in the face. Her eyes were blank and cloudy. The mare let out a shrill scream only to return to the objects and repeat the same phrase. "The cheese pierces the balloons and my heart. The needle stabs my eyes and his funny hair." She turned her head like a puppet and stared at the therapist. "The cheese pierces the balloons and my heart..." She waited as if for a reply.

"The needle stabs my eyes--" Allswell was interrupted as she screamed again. "The needle stabs your eyes and his funny hair...?" The therapist waited for a smile from the patient. "Yes. And your name, patient CCPC?"

"No!!" the patient screamed louder before dropping to the floor right in front of her.  The smile faded into a hateful glare as her bouncy mane fell to flat and deflated locks. "My name is Cenior Puddinghead!" She jumped right into the therapist's face. "And the crooked horn... The crooked horn..." She pulled back as her rage turned into fear. "The crooked horn took them... The crook horn took them!!"

******

Back on the first floor, the secretary continued to read his magazine. He gave a soft laugh at the thought of sending her down there. "Pitiful mare will be driven mad by nightfall." He was just about to flip the page until a knock was heard. "What?!"

The secretary turned around to see a purple batpony stallion with a gray mane and beard, standing before the desk. He had a black bowler hat on his head, in a tuxedo with a large silver badge on his chest. He was followed by two large stallions that seemed to be both pony and dragon in species. One hybrid was white, the other was red.

The secretary dropped the magazine. Jumping out of his chair, he straightened his back up and greeted him. "Sir... Doctor Norman Nox?!"

The old batpony. "That is correct. And I am here to see my patient, Jack Nox."

******
> File 19: Month 2-Part 4: King's Preview
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon leaving the beauty district, the two began to notice strange vines growing out of the road. Following them led to the main castle. Or rather something else standing in its place. Replacing the Second Castle of the Two Sisters was a large stadium. Its walls were made of steel, with a large, open archway leading inside. They could hear the roars of the crowd echo within.

"Where is the Castle of the Two Sisters?" Timber questioned.

"I don't know?" Flash thought back to his memories of the map. "This is the exact place it was supposed to be." His eyes jumped at a rock near the stadium. "There is the foundation stone right there... see the blue pink and teal..." The pegasus slowly stopped at the sight of half the stone just gone.

Getting closer revealed that the half next to the stadium was vaporized while any side opposite the new building was unharmed. Timber rubbed the edges to see how fine the cut was. It was so perfect that there wasn't a sharp edge at all.

"Impossible, that stone was broken off of one of the hardest minerals in the land." Flash nodded to Timber, and he agreed that this would take far more than basic magic to rip this apart.

Turning back to the stadium things started to slot into place. But neither were completely sure yet, so they both stepped inside. The building had a large field in the middle and stands circling around the sides with a few doors here and there. The inner lining shined such a bright golden that it gave off perfect light without any light source at all.

Even stranger things were despite hearing noises all around them, there was nopony inside. The entire building echoed with the sounds of a cheering crowd, yet not a single ponies was anywhere. The chairs were empty, the floors were barren and dusty and the walls were free of any smutches.

"What is going on?" Timber raised his bow with caution.

Flash just shook his head and continued deeper in until they were at the center of the stage. The sound of a door creaking open caught their attention up to the balcony. Their eyes widened to see a purple long serpentine dragon with green frills climbing up the walls.

"Wait, is that?" Timber narrowed his eyes.

"Spike!" Flash called out, but the dragon didn't acknowledge him. Instead, it rushed up the balcony with a panic and shiver. "He looks so scared."

"Considering what happened earlier, I'm not surprised--" Timber was stopped as the stage below them shook violently.

The entire stadium roared with louder cheers, but still, no pony was in sight. Instead, the floor opened up and revealed something else neither of them was ready for. Both jumped out of the way as a distortion of flesh and bone rose up from underneath.

The monster looked like an over-sized pony, but not one they had ever seen before. Its skin was a mixture of different shades and textures of white and gray. There were no hair, mane or tail on its body, only patches of fur here and there. Disjointed smaller legs and arms spread over large primary limbs. A twisted horror of faces shined their broken eyes at the two soldiers.

"What is that?!" Timber jumped up to a corner to pull out a fury of shots from his arrows.

"It has to be another zombie..." Flash moved out of the way of a limb dropping down. He winced as it ripped apart the walls. "But I don't want to know what turned it into its current state."

Timber shot an arrow into one of the monster's legs. The tip broke against its hard skin. "It's tougher than the previous zombies." The stallion jumped back, avoiding its arms swinging at him. "It has plenty of strength too."

"Let's hope it isn't fast or smart." Flash rushed behind it, and the beast followed him with its multiple eyes.

"Keep its attention while I take out each eye." Timber nodded.

"Then I'll finish it from below." Flash kept moving around the arena, leading the creature away from the other soldier.

The archer took out his entire stock of arrows. With a smirk, he aimed for the sky and yanked back. The arrows flew outward and fell downward, landing their marks. Slowly each eye was taken out. Once they were blinded, Flash moved to the other side and pulled out his spear.

"Get ready." Timber yelled.

"I have it!" Flash readied himself. "Go."

Timber leaped up, pulling an explosive charge. Flash dashed forward, sliding under as the beast met the projectile. Holding his spear up as it tore through the flesh of the beast as the explosion sent it downward. The creature landed and began to squirm until it's guts squirted outward. It was just as it appeared on the outside, several hearts, lungs, and stomachs as if dozens of ponies were smashed together to create this beast.

"Damn, that's just screwed up." Timber stared down in horror as the monster finally lay dead.

"How could any creature live with all those organs... it's impossible." Flash looked to the dragon who watched from the sidelines.

"Such glorious work!” A new voice brought their attention away from the beast's remains and back to the balcony where the curtains had parted and revealed a throne of bones and skulls. An unknown unicorn draped in shadows sat proudly on the chair with a smug grin on his face. "You have truly earned my praise." His voice sounded so familiar to both of them, yet the features that couldn't be seen beyond his K-shaped mask were completely unknown to them.

What was even stranger was Spike, clearly Spike the dragon was wrapped around the unicorn's shoulders like a pet. The creature seemed like it was in utter terror in this stallion's presence, but never left his side at all. The unicorn even patted the dragon's head accordingly, giving him affection, yet the dragon shrieked as if in pain. Especially as the hand got closer to the long suitcase Spike was holding from before, still so tightly.

"Who are you? What have you done to the castle and the town!?" Flash stepped forward with an accusatory tone.

"Why the castle is right here and the town is still thriving." He held out his hand to the cheering sounds. "Can't you hear the audience booing at your victory?"

Timber yanked an arrow out of the beast and shot it right at the figure's hand, barely missing it and moving it away from Spike. "What have you done to him?”

The unicorn didn't flinch as he moved his hand away. "Nothing really." He shrugged. "Spike is one of my most loyal subjects, isn't that right." The dragon didn't answer.

"Spike has always been a kind and good friend to the legendary main six." Flash pointed his spear. "You are neither of them. Now, answer my question. Who are you, and what have you done to this place?"

"Who am I? Who are you? And what has happened to Canterlot?" The stallion smiled. "My, that is a question of the ages, every single pony that manages to make it here asks the same thing. But we will start simply with thus, you are both Flash Sentry and Timber Spruce, correct?" He pointed them out perfectly.

"How did you know?" Timber tried to gauge.

"I know more than that, younger brother of Gloriosa Daisy, son of Tyberious Strait and Luster Lily, grandson of Typhonus Freeze." He pointed directly at Timber and detailed his entire lineage before flipping back to Flash. "Older brother of First Base, son of Bold Guardian and Steam Gust, a descendant of Flash Magus, a previous holder of the element of Loyalty."

Both of them gasped at how much he knew about them from just a glance. It was far more than either of them had told anyone outside their immediate family. They couldn't even be that clear with each other about such stuff. Yet he knew them almost personally. Even stranger was the more they heard his voice the more it felt akin to a voice they always knew.

"How do you know so much about us?" Flash demanded.

"You've know more than I ever knew?" Timber shook, in place. "My sister is the only family I have... My parents are dead."

"Oh, yes..." The unicorn narrowed his eyes on Timber. "I know even more than you could possibly want to know. I even know why you are really here, Timber. Or do you prefer Cri--" He was stopped as Flash smashed his spear.

"No, we want to know who you are. What have you done to this place?" Flash gusted his wings to show his point. "Why is there no magic in this kingdom at all? Where are the main six and the princesses?!"

The unicorn rolled his eyes at Flash and snapped his fingers. Spike crawled off his shoulder and over to a rope. This unveiled five images in different directions above the five openings to the stadium. The two were shocked to see five images of the six ponies. Rarity's image was above the opening they came from, there was another for Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy. All of them were facing the balcony where two smoke clouds appeared.

"Fine, I shall answer all three questions in one." With another snap of his fingers, two crystal prisons shined out of the two smoke clouds. Within these were the two princesses, Celestia and Luna. Another image rolled out right above the unicorn, revealing Twilight Sparkle who was the only one crossed out. "What remains of the six can be found in the five districts of this kingdom. Claim them and I'll give you back the princesses."

"What?" Flash scanned over the central image. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?"

Hearing that name made the unicorn jump out of his throne and drop his smile into a grunt. "She is beyond your reach now..." His tone dropped, and his voice crackled like a whip. "My name is Nick Kray, but you can call me King!!" He roared as his crooked horn leaned out of the shadows and glowed brightly. Their eyes slowly narrowed on the changeling emblem on his robe buckle.

The grounds around them ripped apart, sending the two soldiers falling into a deeper pit than what the beast was being held in. As the darkness surrounded them, the last thing they saw was the unicorn glaring down at them. The look of pain and hatred burning in his eyes.

The last words they heard were from Spike, not Nick Kray. "Please find my friends before he does..."

******
> File 20: Month 17-Part 4: Crackling Bones
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back during the current time, Stone and Jack Nox were tied up in the back of a moving chariot. They were given a few minutes to get used to the feeling of their chains while alone. The two were allowed to stand up, but nothing more until they arrived at their destination.

Stone looked around the small compartment before speaking. "So, where exactly are we going?"

Jack shrugged. "It's a surprise."

"That's not very helpful." Stone clenched his fists together. "They didn't need to take away my blade."

"Yeah, that dull piece of shit couldn't harm anypony." Jack laughed.

"That's not what I meant."

"Well, what did you mean?"

"Nothing..." Stone turned away and mumbled to himself.

"You make no fucking sense sometimes--" Suddenly the chariot came to a halt. The driver stepped out and walked away from them. The two prisoners leaned against the tiny window trying to see outside but couldn't gauge much. "

"Hear that?" Jack heard voices echoed throughout the vehicle.

"Yeah, but not much." Stone turned toward Jack and saw him gripping the window with his teeth. "What's going on?" He leered passed the idiocy.

"They seemed to be talking to someone." Jack pointed out while ripping a nail out to undo the chains.

"I wish I knew who." Stone groaned. Their guards returned with something else behind them. Stone's eyes slowly widened at the glare of white scales. "Is that..."

"What? Who--" Jack Nox was stopped as the guard's blood splattered through the tiny window, making them both jump back. "Shit."

"Move!" Stone covered Jack. "It looked like a dragon."

"Holy fuck... What's one doing inside the barrier?!" Jack gasped.

"Half Breed..." Stone looked back through the window and sneered at the sight. The dragon was feasting on the guards. "Not good, they had the keys."

"Can't you calm him down!" Jack argued, fidgeting around with the nail.

"I'm half dragon too, that doesn't mean I speak their language." Stone clenched his fists. "Oro, we're dead... I'm sorry Jack."

Jack shook his head. "No, this is not how the greatest fucking genius to ever exist falls!!" He screamed multiple more foul words as if shouting in defiance against their possible fate. "I knew we shouldn't have let ourselves get arrested."

"We would have escaped if your guns worked." Stone pushed back at him.

"What did you say?!" Jack growled. "You little shit! I pay you to protect me, not question my logic."

"You have no logic." The two glared at each other, only to be interrupted by the dragon roaring again. They dropped under the window, hoping he didn't spot them.

"Didn't you hear him?" Jack laughed even harder. "He's gonna kill us!"

"I think he's already killed everyone outside." Stone's eyes narrowed. "I've heard this voice before."

"Exactly, which is why he's about to come inside and kill us too!! You fucking dumbass!" Jack yelled as his face slammed into the wall.

Stone sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oro, why won't you just shut up?"

"No!"

"Why not?!"

"Because a fucking diversion requires noise!!" Jack laughed out loud.

"What does that mean--" Stone was stopped as a loud bang echoed from the opposite wall, it was too far from the half breed dragon and sounded far more direct.

The metal of the truck ripped open as Jack's metal arm entered the room and walked over to Stone. It presented him with his katana and flipped back onto Jack's shoulder. Stone deadpanned at Jack's quote, flawless plan. "You couldn't have done that sooner."

"Hey, I was hacking it from the moment the chariot stopped moving. I never expected another half breed dragon to show up." Jack raised an eyebrow. "I guess I got lucky."

"Right, your luck is just chaos under another skin." Stone broke their chains.

"You know, after all the times I saved your ass, I think you owe me a favor or two." Jack grinned.

"If anything you owe me." Stone grumbled and turned his blade to the wall behind them. Jack jumped back as it was the only thing separating them from the half breed dragon. Stone closed his eyes and concentrated. The dull edge slashed forward and cut the entire top half of the chariot off with ease.

The half breed dragon stopped his feeding and roared at the two stepping out. Smoke surrounded the three from the flames, making it impossible for either of them to get a good look at his face. Jack smirked and charged his arm up with magical light. "Time to make our exit."

A beam of magic fired off from Jack's 'gun' arm and hit the half breed dragon head on. Pushing it several feet and out of the shadows. Stone covered his eyes from the light of the laser and rushed forward.

"Did it kill him?" Jack asked and aimed his arm to the sky.

"I doubt it." Stone refused, slashing the half-breed dragon's arms and legs, before landing behind him. He stopped his fury by placing the blade on the shoulder of the dragon and winced at the sounds of the blood splatter. "Surrender and let us leave."

The dragon laughed, not a roar or a hiss, but a laugh, an all too familiar laugh that brought Stone out of his fury and into confusion. Stone jumped back to Jack, almost too slow, now, getting the legs of his pants shredded by the dragon. "Stone?"

"Oro... it can't be..." Stone jumped over to Jack's side dragged away with him in a comedic fashion.

"Stone! What's wrong with you!" Jack tried to fight him off. "I know you don't like to kill anymore, but it would be helpful to at least make sure he's completely immobilized first before running."

"It's him, it can't be." Stone repeated. "Stab him as many times as it takes and it would never kill him." All the coolness in his facade faded.

"It's just another half breed, like you." Jack rolled his eyes. "They seemed pretty common nowadays ever since I meant you."

"No, he's not just a random one..." Stone leered back as the smoke fully faded away, revealing the face of the dragon. "You don't remember him, but that is my former brother-in-arms, Abraham Fenrir."

The white half-breed stopped chasing them and smiled. He turned back to feeding on the remains of the undead soldiers. The beast admired the two escaping in vain, knowing they wouldn't get far on foot. He shined up his double metal chainsaw hand in the ashy blood of the corpses. "Yeah, Stone. I'm back from the dead. And this time, I'll split you in two!!"
> File 21: Month 10-Part 1: The Old West
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The arid desert scene was cut through with two gray as could be, earth ponies. They had come far and survived many dangers to reach this place. Many told them leaving the Las Pegasus barrier was a crazy idea, but neither of them listened. They needed to find out the truth, leaving their home behind in the process and heading into this dangerous place.

"Dodge City..." The oldest sister's deadpan voice was unfazed by the massive amount of bullet holes in the sign that read the name of the city.

"Sound like a dangerous place... Are you sure about this Maud?" the younger sister shivered behind her.

"Come on, Marble," Maud reached around and pushed her up front.

"No! You lead the way." Marble shrieked and jumped clear over her hands and landed behind her again. "You're the oldest."

"Suit yourself..." Maud sighed and took point in the front. Her sight flickered left and right before spotting a bar. "Enough DnD has told me the best place to get information is the nearest tavern."

"Okay." Marble agreed. Her eyes widened and she gulped slowly, "I've never been in one..."

"Just stay right beside me and everything will be fine, sis." Maud walked to the entrance. Her sister didn't need much insurance and she stuck to her backside like glue.

The inside was littered with shadows and smoke from a couple of long pipes. The smell of booze and tobacco filled the air, matched by the sounds of triggers popping in the air of guns empty of bullets. The entire tavern was riddled with bullet holes that would make any good target practice. The only things left untouched were the alcohol and the bartender.

It was a gray gentle stallion in a two piece suit minus the jacket. That of which was laying on the coat rack beside him covered in bullet holes. The sight sent shivers down Marble's spine. However, her sister kept a straight face. Maud took her seat and looked him over. His clean-cut brown mane showed a sense of pride for the way he kept him. But his mold green eyes showed wisdom beyond his years. He must've seen some horrible sights in his life.

Hoping this one was a reasonable stallion, Maud dropped some coins and asked. "We need two rooms and information."

"Names..." he barely looked up from his cup.

"Brace Camp." Maud lied.

"Star Shine." Her sister chirped behind her.

"Lying is a terrible habit. I would advise against it." The bartender informed her. "If you want information you will have to earn it." He gestured to himself in hopes of gaining their trust. "My name is Mudbriar and you are?" He waved back to them. Neither of them answered but gave soft smiles, well Maud attempted to smile. "Enough foreplay, the King is always listening." He lifted his sleeve and showed all the decay underneath along with the obvious bullet holes. "You need to talk to the boss before you can have anything."

"Boss?" Maud leered over to the direction and found a cowboy covered in tore clothing and darkness. His face sunk deep in cold rice with the cheapest beer in hand, half drunk. He was clearly too damn wasted to even noticed them at all. She ignored him and asked the bartender again. "Just give us the price of some rooms."

"The rooms are free!" The cowboy answered her. The two sisters faced him as he slowly lifted his head up and took another drink. "You just need to pay respect!" His voice was filled with a mix of drunkenness and spit.

"I have no intentions to be a part of your cult, Sir." Maud stood her ground and pointed to the emblem of the king over his badge.

"Yeah, I serve King Kray... He raised his beer up higher, and all the other patrons joined him in a toast. "Loyalty the King!!"

Maud jumped to a defensive stance, not realizing until now that they were surrounded by the enemies of Equestria.

"Take it back!" Marble sheepishly cried out. "He took everything from us."

All patrons jumped out of their seats, loading their guns. They only stopped as the lead cowboy finally stood up. "What did he take from you?" He raised his gun at them. "Your friends..." He slowly walked out of the shadows. "Family?" Stepping closer revealed the dark and twisted truth and shined over the cowboy's entire body. "Or maybe he ripped out your very souls."

Maud was truly caught off guard to see his real form. The shredded pieces of clothing were actaully crystalized flesh and bones. Split down the middle and crossover back and forth. "What the fuck are you?"

What could be best described as a distorted mess of crystal and earth pony stopped in front of them and placed the barrel of his gun right along their faces. Never once did he put the end to their temples. Instead, he let it fire off upward, right by Muad's ear. "My name was ripped out the same day he took my arm, leg and side of my face." He leaned to show his features still moving despite his crystallized state. "Call me the sheriff of this town, Crystal Apple."

Both sisters were pulled out of the trance with him by the ground shaking violently around them. Their eyes raced to the doorway, where outside the sky was being covered in crystalized walls. They wanted to leave, but the cowboy stood in their way.

"Give them rooms anyway." He jumped over in front of the door.

"Of course, Crystal Apple." The bartender answered him.

"No!" Maud tried to push him aside. "We're leaving."

"You can't now!" He pushed her into her sister's arms. "There are more enemies outside then there are in here. Especially now that lock down has begun."

"What lock down?!" Marble panicked.

"It only activates when somepony connected to the six poses a threat to one of his Anti-Six." Crystal Apple laughed out loud. "Now I get it... It's been so long since I last saw you two, I had forgotten." He put his gun back and held out his hand to them. "You are two of the sisters of Pinkie Pie."

"Yes, and we need to find her... at all cost."

******