> The Ghost Of You
>  by MadMan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Requiem 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Twilight opened her eyes, the sun had not yet risen over the treetops surrounding the derelict castle, however the sky was lightening. She blinked a few times and looked at the fire, finding it almost out. She shifted, looking for some wood to levitate towards her, but her concentration was broken by Luna sitting up beside her.

"Oh! I'm sorry Luna, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It is alright. I meant to wake at dawn anyways. We have much to do today."

Twilight nodded and tried to swallow the knot in her throat. It was only yesterday that Axion had taken over, yet it seemed like an eternity. Feelings invaded Twilight's mind as she continued her search for firewood, but was unsuccessful. She tried to distract herself by talking to Luna. Her words were quiet, as to avoid the few Black Berets sleeping nearby.

"So, what are we going to do?"

"First, we talk."

"About?"

"Last night, I asked you about Celestia. Judging by your face just now and her absence, I assume something has happened to her. Is she alright?"

Twilight walked away, heading to the doors she had squeezed through just yesterday. She sat outside, and after a moment she felt rather than heard Luna sit beside her. Eventually, words came, but they were hollow.

"She's..... Different. I went to the throne room, but Axion was sitting on the throne, and Celestia beside her. Her mane was like fire, and her eyes blazing. She..... She reminded me of Nightmare Moon, but with the sun."

Luna sighed and closed her eyes.

"I was afraid of that. I had noticed she was very distant these past few months. Others might not have noticed, but she reminded me of myself, back before I..... Turned. However, you say Axion was beside her?"

"Yes. She was occupying the throne, and Celestia was beside her."

"So, there might be hope."

"Why do you say that?"

Luna looked at the sky, closing her eyes.

"What I am about to tell you is a secret, one that nopony knows, not Celestia, not Axion, not one living soul. I would like to keep it like that way, except you. Tell nopony, ever."

"I promise."

Luna stood and stretched, spreading her wings wide and bending her neck upwards before sitting back down. One dark wing encompassed Twilight and they sat together as they liked to.

"I wonder if you remember, when you were analyzing the diary I found at Black Star's house, I mentioned I knew that Black Star was a mare?"

Twilight was silent for a moment as she thought.

"Vaguely, yes. I remember I thought it was odd, but I was so focused on the diary I forgot to ask about it later."

"Well, when they say that nopony ever laid eyes on Black Star or knew her identity, they are wrong. I knew her. I met her,and I was part of her plan. She came to me in the night, whispering soft promises of power and night eternal. By then, I was so far engrossed in my jealousy, I never thought for a moment Black Star had ulterior motives. Her plan seemed perfect."

Luna fell silent for a minute, prompting Twilight to look up at the Princess. Luna looked down and smiled grimly.

"Nightmare Moon wasn't my plan alone, nor was she me alone. Nightmare Moon was a symbiont, a conjoining of Black Star and myself. Two beings, becoming one body, with two minds inside. We thought ourselves unstoppable. Obviously, we were wrong. Celestia gathered the Elements of Harmony and used them on us. What she didn't expect was that they wouldn't work. It was painful, to be sure, but it didn't do more than inconvenience us. That was when she decided to banish us to the moon, hoping that by the time we were freed she had discovered how to defeat us. 

Celestia had no idea a simple fragmentation spell would react to the spell used to combine us, ripping us apart. Instead, we were forced to endure a thousand years of solitude, gazing down on the world that was home, and knowing that returning was a long time off. It didn't bother me as much as it did Black Star, as I was already ancient and used to the passage of time whereas she was mortal, with only a few decades under her belt. Her body was immortal, a benefit of being joined to an immortal alicorn, but her mind was still as weak as any other mortal's. She went insane after a few hundred years, babbling to herself about the endless plain of dust we were on. After about a decade of her rambling, I grew tired of her nonsense and simply went to into a long sleep, something like hibernation. 

When I woke, it was because I could feel our constraints weakening and knew we were about to return. I had long since came to terms with my crimes and Celestia's punishment, and was ready to apologize. Black Star, however, was still insane. When you saw Nightmare Moon, it was all her actions. I knew it was only a matter of time until we were defeated. I waited, for we had agreed before we joined to cast a clause into the spell that if we were weakened and only if we were weakened to the point of defeat we could split ourselves, and hopefully at least one of us could continue our plans. I thought to exploit that to my advantage, leaving Black Star to face her punishment and I would throw myself to Celestia's mercy. Only the last bit of that would come to pass, as when you used the Elements against me, Black Star vanished. 

I assume she was disintegrated, her insanity being too inharmonious to cure, where I was at peace and ready to beg forgiveness. That is why I say we might have hope against Celestia if she truly has turned, for she is still herself, Axion either in ignorance of Black Star's plans with me or unwilling to entrust herself to Celestia."

Luna fell silent at the end of her tale, and sat silently beside Twilight, listening to the sounds of the forest. Twilight sat silently, her mind still processing all the information. The silence stretched on into the morning, until Twilight broke it.

"You don't think Axion knows the process that Black Star and yourself used to become Nightmare Moon?"

Luna thought for a moment before answering, twisting her face in concentration.

"I do not believe she does. We planned the spell for a while, but when we finally sat down and made the spell and used it, the process barely took two days. Black Star stayed with me the whole time, so unless she sent a letter when I was sleeping then I highly doubt it. We stayed pretty busy, hardly stopping to eat."

"I hope not. Celestia would be.... Formidable, with the combined power of Axion, the Sun Stone, and the Amaranth."

"Indeed. However, I find that hope will rarely achieve much on its own. We must get more information before we decide anything."

Luna finished speaking with a sort of finality that Twilight found hard to follow, so she didn't. They chose to sit silently as they loved to, and listen to the sound of the forest. Before too long, the chirps of the birds and calls of waking animals was interrupted by Twilight's growling stomach, so they went back inside in search of food.

Once back inside, Twilight saw that two other ponies were awake as well. Winter was at the far side of the room, gazing out a broken window with her back to Twilight. Nightfury was poking at the remnants of the fire, looking very morose. Twilight and Luna shared a meaningful look, then Luna walked off towards Winter, and Twilight went to Nightfury. As she approached, Nightfury looked up for a moment before looking back into the ashes.

"Morning, Twilight."

"Morning, Nightfury. Sleep well?"

A flat stare was her answer. Small licks of flame were now dancing among the kindling, so Twilight stared at them, watching as Nightfury carefully manipulated the sticks and blew on the fire, encouraging it to grow. Soon the pile of smoking ashes had transformed into a warm campfire, and Nightfury sat back, bringing his gaze back to Twilight.

"We may be in more trouble than we thought."

Twilight cocked her head to one side, curious.

"How so?"

"Did you get a good look at the soldiers that attacked us?"

"Barely. I saw that they were wearing similar armor."

"The ponies were all identical. White coats, identical facial features, and all the same height and weight. Their armor was all identical as well. Sounds very similar to a certain force to me."

"What do you mean?"

"The Royal Guard."

"What? That's......"

Twilight paused as she thought. Her memories of it were vague and blurred from the adrenaline, but maybe the soldiers had all been identical.

But that doesn't mean that the Royal Guard had betrayed us. Unless.... 

"Celestia.."

"What?"

Twilight started as she realized she had whispered the last word aloud. She then remembered that she hadn't got around to telling the rest of the Black Berets why Celestia wasn't with them.

"I think I know, but I would like to wait and tell everypony at once."

"Fine, but did you notice their spells?"

"Not really. I was too busy ducking them. They seemed like very powerful kinetic force spells."

"Extremely powerful. In fact, they weren't kinetic spells at all."

"Then what were they?"

"Zero-point energy."

"That's impossible! Even I can barely cast a few zero-point spells before I'm completely worn out."

"Exactly. But I know what I saw, and what I saw was the largest concentration of zero-point energy I've ever seen."

"How can that be possible?"

Nightfury shrugged and leaned back, picking up a granola bar and biting into it, staring into the fire as he chewed. Twilight looked over and saw Luna sitting with a wing around Winter, who was crying into the Princess's shoulder. A pang stabbed her heart as she thought of what the white unicorn could be thinking.

It wasn't her fault that the soldiers had come, but I bet she feels like she could have done something to help. She must feel like it's her fault, even though it isn't. Hopefully Luna can talk to her and make her feel better, or at least not guilty.

Twilight frowned and stared into the fire, her mind puzzling over the new revelations.

Zero-point energy, identical soldiers, identical armor, and in Canterlot.... It can only be Celestia...

Twilight felt a chill run down her spine as she considered the implications. 

If Celestia has indeed become evil, and her Royal Guard as well, we just might be in some deep trouble.

Twilight continued to watch the fire dance as she thought her worried thoughts. The dawn slowly grew to morning as the sun cleared the treetops, and the other Black Berets started waking. Luna eventually finished her talk with Winter and joined Twilight by the fire, lightly chatting with the Berets around the fire as they ate breakfast. After the food was finished, Luna called to the Berets not yet around the fire.

"Berets, gather. We have things to discuss."

Once the Berets were all gathered, Luna turned her gaze to each warrior in turn, meeting their eyes for a few seconds.

"We find ourselves in an unprecedented situation. First off, I'm sure you're all wondering why Celestia isn't here. Now, I don't want any of you to jump to conclusions, but it would seem that Celestia has joined Axion, although to what capacity is as yet unknown. So it seems that Canterlot was not invaded by outside forces, but brought down from the inside. I don't know much about the forces that were utilized, but I believe that Nightfury had  a fairly good assessment of them. Nightfury, if you would?"

"Thank you, Luna. Guys, we're in some trouble. When we were ambushed in Canterlot, every single one of the soldiers used zero-point energy spells. Multiple zero-point spells. We've all used them before, so you know how strong they must be to use several of those spells fairly quickly. As for their strength, I might have a hypothesis. Think of this: They were all identical, in color and body shape. As well, their armor was all identical. I don't think I need to remind you of who that sounds very similar to. I think we can guess to what extend Celestia has betrayed us."

Nightfury fell silent, his eyes cold and hard. One of the Black Berets, a light blue unicorn named Rain, stepped forward.

"Zero-point energy spells? Are you completely sure? For a single unicorn to cast more than two or three of those is nearly impossible! Have they been magically reinforced or something?"

Luna leaned forward, answering for Nightfury.

"We don't know. All we can do right now is suspect. In a few days, we will develop a plan to find more information. Until then, we sit tight, and rest. We're going to need all our resources and energy on tap if we can even begin to hope for victory."

Tank stepped forward, his armor gently clanking.

"Victory? Princess, you make it sound as if we are at war."

"War?"

Luna stood, and Twilight felt a perceptible drop in the temperature of the air, and Luna's mane rippled like azure fire.

"Our shining capitol city has been invaded, the throne usurped. Celestia has apparently betrayed the ponies of Equestria, and turned her back on peace and justice. Us twenty one are all that we know of that stands between Axion and dominion over all of Equestria."

Luna walked over to where a corner of the wall has collapsed, and gazed out at the rising sun.

"Yes, gentlecolts, we are at war."

> The Crimson
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightfury grunted as he pushed an errant leaf away from his snout. He had been laying in the dirt for hours now, and even his impressive patience was wearing thin. The guards at the gate had been standing completely still, and even Nightfury had to admire their fortitude. Six hours, and I've yet to see a single indication that they’re ponies, not statues.

Nightfury nearly smacked himself as a belated realization came to him. Just like what we saw back at the bandit camp. Fake sentries. Well, now we have formulated a hypothesis, let’s test it!

He lifted a small rock from the dirt with a hoof and forcefully slung the projectile to a point several yards to the side of the guards. The rock hit the ground, eliciting a soft thump as it bounced. Immediately, the guards turned as one and sent a pair of spells at the exact spot the rock had landed. Bright light flashed and thunder boomed, and Nightfury had to resist the urge to swear loudly. Okay, they’re real, and quite alert. 

Nightfury looked to his side, nodding at Hawkeye, who was crouched among the trees several yards to his left. They dared not communicate in anything more, lest they be noticed. They retreated back into the woods until they deemed it safe to speak.

“That was a dangerous stunt, Nightfury. You should try to abstain from such nonsense.”

“Calm down, I just wanted to make sure they weren’t fakes. Remember the bandits in Sang-Realle?”

“Vividly. In any case, the west gate isn’t an option. It would seem that our only choice it to scale the wall.”

Nightfury sighed as Hawkeye pulled a specific spear from his quiver. It was slightly more robust than the others, and there was a hole in the shaft. Hawkeye reached into his saddlebags and produced a length of finely twisted rope, which he pulled through the hole and knotted. When he finished, the duo turned and walked back the direction they had came, towards the walls of Canterlot. Once there, They spent several hours crawling through various undergrowth searching for an unattended section of wall to scale. 

Eventually, they spotted a section of wall that butted up against a rock outcropping at the base of the mountain that seemed unguarded, on their side at least. Hawkeye balanced the spear on his hoof and took careful aim, throwing his spear over the wall with a flick, the rope following through the air like a perverted afterimage. A soft thunk from the other side of the wall told them that the spear had found a landing spot. A few tugs on the rope told them that it was secure, so Nightfury began hauling himself up, hoof over hoof. He would have preferred a simple levitation spell and avoided the fuss, but he didn’t want to alert any magicians who could detect his magic usage. Even Hawkeye using a small spell to throw his spear would have been risky. 

Nightfury climbed to the top of the wall, hauling the rope up so it wouldn’t be spotted by passerby. They hadn’t seen any guards patrolling outside the walls, but they had agreed that it would be safer if Hawkeye waited outside. If Nightfury’s only escape route was discovered, Hawkeye was to warn him with a communication spell and wait in the woods. In opposite, if Nightfury was found or captured, he was to send a message to Hawkeye, who would retreat back to the others with what information they had.

Once the rope had been coiled and set aside, Nightfury looked around carefully, making sure his ascension hadn't been spotted. The city seemed dark and silent. Deciding he was safe so far, Nightfury brushed a lock of his dark blue mane out of his face, and focused on getting down from the top of the wall. Luckily, the spear had lodged itself in the roof of a building that sat against the wall, so Nightfury was able to locate a drainpipe and lower himself to the quiet streets. If Nightfury hadn’t had years of experience in battle zones and the ensuing carnage, he might have thrown up at the scene he had somehow not spotted from his vantage point on the wall. 

Bodies lay in the street, torn and bloodied beyond recognition. The gore stretched down the street in both directions, until the street either faded from sight or turned a corner. Husbands lay over wives, mothers lay over foals, brothers over sisters, and strangers lay next to other strangers who had no one else to die with. Looking down, Nightfury looked at a stallion who had died trying to protect a mare, presumably his wife. The stallion had red hair, which clashed horribly with the blood coating him. His eyes were open and unseeing, still feared with fear and pain, even in death. It was a grisly scene, and Nightfury had to take a second to compose himself as rage clouded his thoughts. They were civilians, innocent ponies! Axion, you have a large toll to pay, and I can only hope that I can be there when it is collected. 

He began to pick his way down the strangely empty streets, carefully avoiding the bodies of the slaughtered as he noted the complete absence of guards. At first, Nightfury darted from doorway to alley, from garbage can to staircase, but after several blocks of nopony in sight, he abandoned the time consuming endeavor in favor of a cautious jog. He stopped at every intersection and carefully peeked around the corner before continuing, growing ever more suspicious at the conspicuous lack of activity. 

After half an hour of gore-choked streets and not a single living pony sighted, Nightfury was barely a stone’s throw from the castle. He climbed to the top of a house to get a better vantage point, but he saw the same sight he had from the streets.The majority of the castle was dark, except for a few windows on the lower levels that were lit from within. The front gates looked unguarded, but Nightfury knew better than to trust such a transparent ruse. He was about to climb down and try his luck at one of the unlit windows, but something made him stop and turn, staring at the castle until he realized what had caused his trepidation.

Bodies were still lining the streets, but for some reason none lay in the courtyard. The carnage stopped exactly at the line where the buildings met the grass, and not a single limb was beyond the imaginary boundary. Blood was still plentiful, however, and the majority seemed like it was smeared, as if the body that had left the blood behind had been dragged away to some unknown fate. Nightfury noticed that the blood was more plentiful in the courtyard than it was on the streets. Green grass was now stained red, the stalks reflecting ominously in the low moonlight. The pavestones that made up the path to the gates were practically indiscernible underneath the coating of smeared blood. Nightfury noticed that somehow blood had found it’s way up the trunks of the few trees that stood in the courtyard, reaching almost to head height. 

Shaking his head in wonderment of the carnage, Nightfury vacated his vantage point, creeping closer to the courtyard. He hesitated for a moment before leaving the cover of the streets for the open space ahead, but not a living soul was visible, so he continued forward. His destination was a window that he had spotted cracked a small amount. Why anypony would want this smell to drift in is beyond me.

Edging around the myriad puddles of blood, Nightfury approached the window. He managed to get to the window without stepping in any blood, much to his relief. Don’t want to be tracking any bloody hoofsteps around.

Slowly lifting his eyes to the window, Nightfury looked into the room. Finding it dark and empty, he opened the window a bit wider and pulled himself in. He found himself in an austere study. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a large desk dominated the center of the room. Making his way to the desk, Nightfury kept one eye on the door as he opened a few drawers. Peeking at a few of the papers within, Nightfury found nothing interesting until his eyes raised to the top of the desk. A few papers and quills were scattered about, but what really got his attention was the large roll situated just to the side, tied with a velvet ribbon.  Ohh. that looks important.

Nightfury carefully untied the bow and unrolled the stiff parchment, his eyes widening in the darkness. A map of Equestria and beyond lay before him. Lines, crosses, and short notes were scattered around the map, and Nightfury didn’t need but a second to see it for what it was. An invasion plan for all of Equestria and the surrounding area.... I need to get this to Luna immediately. 

Nightfury carefully rolled the map back up and clenched it on his teeth, preparing to slip back outside. He looked around the room once more, then walked back to the window. He was just about to quietly lower himself down when he heard the door behind him open. Foregoing caution, Nightfury let go and dropped to the ground, dashing over to a nearby tree and ducking behind it. Not daring to peek out, he waiting for the shouts of an alarm being raised. When none came, Nightfury forced himself to count to ten before looking around the trunk. The window he had just vacated was now closed, and candlelight was coming from within the room. Knowing he had only moments before the missing map was discovered, Nightfury took off at a dead run from his tree, galloping towards the streets he had picked his way down earlier. He vaulted bodies and slid on puddles of blood as he raced down the silent roads.

Nightfury was only a few blocks away from the spot he had crossed the wall when he saw a pony step out from an alley in front of him. The distance and the darkness made it hard to tell who it was, but Nightfury could tell that they were unarmored. Could it be a surviving citizen?

Nightfury skidded to a halt, his hooves fighting the blood on the streets for traction as he realized the horrible truth. The pony before him was a citizen, but not a survivor. It was the stallion he had noticed when he first entered the city, blood still clashing with the red mane. His eyes were glowing with a red magic, as was the rest of the body. The pony took a few unsteady steps towards Nightfury. He tried to take a few steps back, but bumped into something. Whipping around, Nightfury found himself face to face with 
another dead pony, brought to life with cursed magic. Looking around, Nightfury saw more ponies, previously dead in the streets, now standing, encompassed in a red haze. Soon, he was surrounded on all sides. Time for subtlety has passed, I think. 

Lighting up his horn, Nightfury let loose a tremendous force, knocking the ponies around him to the ground. Taking off down an alley, Nightfury ran in what he hoped was the right direction. Hoofsteps came from behind him, but he dared not look back as he ran. More ponies were rising to their feet as he passed, but years of training allowed him to race past them at a pace they could not match. He quickly left all pursuers far behind him, but more were joining the chase every second. Risking a quick look back, Nightfury saw that he was being chased by dozens of the dead. He paid for his actions nearly immediately, as he nearly ran headfirst into a wall. Skidding sideways, his side collided painfully with the brick wall, but he managed to keep running. He turned a corner, and another, desperately trying to find a way out of this morbid maze.

Nightfury galloped down alleyway after alleyway, avoiding the open streets, which were certainly filled with even more of the dead ponies who were not dead. He could no longer see the ones chasing him, but he could hear their hoofsteps. His sides burned and his lungs gasped for air, but he could not stop yet. I have to get this map to Hawkeye!

After what seemed like hours of being silently chased through Canterlot’s streets, Nightfury finally found the dead end alley he had arrived in. he desperately searched for the drainpipe he had climbed down, but to his anguish he found that he had run past it. Turning, Nightfury took only a single step before stopping. He saw the drainpipe, but he also saw the large crowd of ponies that was right beside it. From wall to wall, the alley was now choked with bodies. They all fixed him with blank, red eyes. Looking up, Nightfury saw that several pegasi had now joined the group and were now hovering above him, so levitation was out of the question, as was teleporting. I can’t risk leading them to Hawkeye.

Nightfury knew he had only one option. Closing his eyes, he grasped the map in his mouth with magic, sending it and a message to Hawkeye in one short bust. Here; take this to Luna. Don’t wait for me.

The map disappeared in a flash, and when it cleared, Nightfury saw that the ponies in front of him were now approaching, as quietly as they had been when chasing him. Nightfury decided it was the silence that bothered him the most, the calm taciturn of these unnatural stalkers. Responding to their silence with a yell of his own, Nightfury lit his horn and charged forward. "If I’m going to Hell tonight, I won’t go alone!"

A spell hit the pony directly in front, separating the head from the neck. The red glow immediately dissipated, and the body went limp. Nightfury felt an irrational surge of hope swell in his breast. They can be killed!

Diving into the mob, Nightfury let loose the full extent of his rage, reaching out with magic and hoof. Uncountable bodies piled in the narrow alley as the impressive combative prowess of a Black Beret was unleashed, but Nightfury knew he was fighting a losing battle. There were simply too many of these zombies, and only one of him, and he was already tired. It was only a matter of time until one of them got in a lucky swing, and soon enough, it happened.

He never saw it coming. All Nightfury knew was that one second he was fighting, and the next there was a bright flash and he felt himself fall, pain echoing through his skull. He waiting to feel himself being eviscerated, ripped to pieces by the enchanted soldiers. Instead, he faintly saw them standing around him calmly as the world faded to black.

> Dead Stallion Carousel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna paced restlessly across the ruined room as Twilight and the Black Berets watched quietly. It was now two days since Hawkeye and Nightfury left for Canterlot, and they had yet to return. The sun was sinking lower on the horizon, and Twilight could feel her hopes sinking with it. Nightfury and Hawkeye might be the only ones on a mission, but that didn't mean the rest of the group had been idly waiting at the castle ruins. They had been brainstorming, desperately trying to decide on a contingency for any situation. However, the ideas offered were far greater in number than the solutions, so they quickly put a stop to the depressing debates and settled to wait in silence.

The sun had all but vanished behind the trees when Luna abruptly stopped pacing, her eyes narrowing at the trees off to one side. None of the Black Berets needed spoken orders; immediately jumping up and assuming a defensive stance. Silence reigned in the ancient and crumbled hall for a crushing minute. Leaves rustled in the wind, and somewhere, a twig snapped. Luna snarled and sent invisible magic through the undergrowth, the ethereal tendrils snaking through the dead leaves and detritus, seeking the intruder.

A bird burst from the bushes, chirping madly at the unseen interloper that had forced it from it’s perch. The Black Berets jumped, then sighed in relief as one. Luna cast her magic wider, making sure that there were no other surprises. When none was found, Luna allowed herself to sink to the floor, closing her eyes but for a second.

Luna opened her eyes to see violet. Somehow, in the split second of ignoring the world around her, Twilight had snuck up on her, and was now leaning over the Princess.

“Luna? Are you okay?” Twilight gently murmured. Luna rolled her eyes in a half-hearted fashion. 

“I suppose so, dear,” Luna mumbled to the stone floor. “I just need to stretch my legs a bit. Come, let us walk.”

Luna stood, walking past the Black Berets at the entrance to the ruined castle. Continuing down the road, they were soon out of sight of the castle, but still they said not a word. Thin silence followed them, or as close a facsimile could be found in the forest. Birds chirped in the distance, wind rustled the trees, and countless nighttime creatures emerged yawning from their dens, ready to face another night in the woods. 

Luna abruptly tired of their path down the worn but clear path, and turned off into the forest. Twilight made to question her beloved, but decided to instead follow in silence. Mile after mile came and went, passing under ever more weary hooves. At length, the two mares found themselves at the edge of a pond. The water was so still and clear, Twilight could see straight to the bottom. At first she thought it couldn't be too deep, but a quick analysis of the size of the fish swimming about changed her mind. Luna made her way to the edge of the pond and sat, gazing at the halcyon water. 

Twilight lay beside Luna and spoke, her voice soft as to not disturb the tranquility of the place. “Luna, where are we?”

“I have no idea, Twilight. I simply followed my hooves, and they brought us here. Such a lovely place, too.” Luna smiled and lay down, crossing her legs in the ever so graceful way Twilight envied.

“So you have never been here before?” Twilight ventured, amazed at how such a lovely place could go unnoticed for so long.

“Never. Is it so hard to believe? Even though it is in the center of our domain, the Everfree Forest is vastly unexplored and unknown, even to us Princesses. The final battle with Nightmare Moon cost Celestia much, and such an event was bound to leave long repercussions.” Luna smiled grimly, looking at the newly risen moon. "The laws of spacial mechanics dictate that when two objects collide, there is always damage of a collateral nature."

Twilight shivered as she tried to imagine how much magic had been released to transform an enormous area so drastically.

“A lot.”

“What?”

Twilight was jerked out of her deliberations by Luna, who was now grinning.

“I know you’re trying to imagine how much magic it would take to affect such a large area, and I tell you, quite a lot indeed...”

Twilight felt another twinge run down her spine. At first, she thought it was from imagining unimaginable magics running rampant, but she looked back and noticed it was simply a mosquito biting at her back. She squinted at it, attempting to intimidate the insect into leaving, but there was no reasoning with such simple forms of life. Settling for the violent option, Twilight raised a hoof and swatted the mosquito, crushing it’s life out with a simple motion. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Luna flinch. 

“Why did you do that, Twilight?”

“Kill the mosquito? It was biting me.”

“And?”

Twilight saw Luna’s eyes narrow dangerously, and knew she had crossed some incomprehensible line. She frantically searched her mind for an acceptable answer. “It was preparing to draw sustenance from my blood, and in the process expose me to it’s saliva, which has a possibility of containing blood borne pathogens that can be quite dangerous.”

“So you kill it?” Luna’s eyes lost their narrowed look, but were still accusing Twilight uncomfortably. 

“Well, yes, it was the natural response.”

Luna grunted and looked back to the sky. Twilight felt like a physical pressure had been taken off her as the piercing blue eyes left her. 

“But does that make it right?”

Twilight was caught off guard by this statement. “I hardly see it as a matter of right or wrong. More like natural selection.”

“So does natural selection make it right?”

Twilight furrowed her brows as she thought. “Right or wrong doesn't quite compute on nature’s scale. Animals only do what is necessary to survive.”

“"Necessary? Does that word excuse immorality?”

“Immorality? I killed a mosquito. Forgive me Luna, but I fail to see how this makes any sense.”

Luna’s unexpected response was to wrap her wing around Twilight, drawing her close and planting a kiss on her muzzle. “Nor do I expect you to. I just want you to be thinking about it. It may become relevant in the near future.”

Twilight closed her eyes and pressed her head against Luna’s neck, enjoying the peaceful embrace in the moonlight. “Why must we deliberate such morbid matters?”

“I fear we need to now, lest you be unprepared for what may follow in the future. I don’t want to be unprepared, is all. I’m sure you remember the frog. That was unexpected, but necessary. It was also minor on the large scale. Imagine if it had been a pony.”

Speak not so lightly of taking life.

Twilight and Luna both jumped to their feet, startled by the loud voice that had reverberated through the air, deep and sonorous. The source was not immediately discernible, but it quickly became so. The center of the pond began to glow, and from the deep rose the shape of a stallion with his eyes closed, ethereal grey and translucent. His mane was floating about him as of weightless, and he himself stood atop the surface of the pond, not making a single ripple or otherwise disturbing the calm waters. The mares stood on the shore and stared, somehow knowing that this mysterious being meant them no trouble.

The eyes shot open. They were the same shade of grey as the rest of him, except lucid, glowing with an otherworldly pale. The voice came again, but the mouth did not move. The sound seemed to resonate from the very ground around them.

All life is sacred. Mortals are not to judge the worth of death. That is my responsibility, and mine alone.

“Who are you?”

Who? I am no who. I am unbound by your temporal laws. However, if you desire a label, you may call me the Stallion Of Still Waters.

Luna stood, tall and strong as is befitting a Princess. “I am a Princess of Equestria, immortal and divine. I would know who you are and what you mean by judging the worth of death.”

The eyes turned to Luna, and examined her closely. After a pause, the Stallion spoke again.

I see who you are. A remnant. One of the last. You judge life here in this realm. I judge the death of those going beyond.

“What does that mean, exactly?”

I guide those who die to the correct afterlife, as I have done for countless eons past and countless eons future. Every pony, animal, insect and plant eventually passes me.

Twilight suddenly felt very vulnerable about the mosquito she had just killed. The Stallion seemed to notice her discomfort, looking straight at her. To Twilight, it was if her very soul was laid bare before him.

Fear not, young Sparkle. The mosquito held no other roles in this world. It was it’s time.

“I... How did you...”

I am not pony. I operate under different parameters that you could not understand. Time holds no meaning to me, other than to orchestrate passing.

The ghostly eyes shifted from Twilight and back to Luna.

 And you, Luna, I see death heavy on your mind. Nightfury and Hawkeye, they are called.

Twilight could see Luna’s throat choke on words she wished to say, but once again, the Stallion seemed to know exactly her thoughts.

Allow me.

The Stallion began to turn without moving, floating and spinning in place until his back was to the pair. Once he was facing the opposite direction, a larger section of the pond began to glow, and a ghostly carousel began to rise in from of him. It was in all grey tones, with the striped top alternating between bone white and foggy grey. Thick chains looped across the lower edge of the top, framing a grisly scene. Around the circumference where there would ordinarily be poles supporting a various manner of mythical creatures and carriages for the young ones to ride, instead there were dead ponies. The bodies were limp, with wide, unseeing eyes and tongues hanging out of languid jaws. The poles were dark metal spikes, impaling the bodies in the middle of the back. Blood ran down the sides of those ponies, looking like nothing more than shadows in grayscale. The bodies swayed gently as they were slowly spun around as the carousel revolved. Twilight watched, horrified, and suddenly realized that no pony ever came around a second time. A pony would come past and as the carousel rotated they would be whisked out of view, never to be seen again, another dead pony taking it’s place. 

As Twilight watched, the Stallion lifted his front hooves in the air, and the carousel began to spin fast and faster, until the ragdoll dead were passing in such a blur as to be indistinguishable from the next. Wind began to blow from behind the mares, rustling their manes into a frenzy as the carousel spun. After several seconds of the whirlwind, the air calmed and the carousel slowed back to it’s previous crawl. The Stallion lowered his hooves and turned to face them again.

Nightfury has not passed by me yet. He still exists in this world.

“What about Hawkeye?”

The Stallion turned his head to one side, as if considering.

You should return. Make haste.

Without waiting on a reply, the Stallion Of Still Waters began to sink, disappearing underneath the water’s surface. Twilight and Luna stood stunned for a moment, then looked at each other. Without a word, they turned and began to run through the undergrowth back towards the ruins. Reaching the ancient road, they galloped at full pace until the castle came into view. Barreling through the entrance, the two mares found the Black berets all huddled in the middle of the room. When they recognized their Commander and Princess, they split, letting Twilight and Luna see that they had gathered around a very weary Hawkeye, who saluted and approached.

“Princess, I have bad news. Nightfury was captured in Canterlot. He was able to send me some documents, but was caught by... Something. I know not who or what. We had agreed I was to wait outside and secure our escape route. All I know is that it wasn't soldiers. The magical aura was all wrong.”

Luna furrowed her brows at the news. “What documents?”

Without speaking, Hawkeye reached into his small saddle bag and removed a roll of thick parchment. Luna unrolled it and gasped. Twilight moved closer. “What is it?”

“A map.” Luna examined the map closely.

“A map of what?”

“Invasion plans. It details planned conquests.”

“Starting where?”

Luna lowered the map and looked at Twilight, a strange expression in her eyes.

“Ponyville.”

> Don't Look Away
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The light was bright, and hurt his eyes. The darkness was absolute, and left him blind. The fires were hot, leaving the acrid smell of burnt hair. The ice was cold, his breath frosting in the air. The surface he was on was hard, leaving bruises on his back. His chains were tight, cutting into his legs. Deafening alarms randomly sounded, ringing his ears and depriving him of sleep. His cell was kept in a crushing silence, and more than once, he thought he heard voices that probably weren’t there. If there was a hell, surely it was something like this. 

Nightfury had attempted lashing out with his magic, but to his dismay, they had placed a small metal ring around his horn that seemed to siphon any magic he try to cast. He had heard rumors of such an artifact, but had yet to see one himself. Now he had been under the influence of the magic blocking device, Nightfury decided he rather disapproved. The effect was unnatural, making his instincts scream. It was different than other magic dampening fields he had experienced. They could be overloaded, outsmarted and defeated, whereas this one felt infinite, like the magic was being sucked into the dark void beyond.

Nightfury had been captive now for a week, yet it felt like so much longer. Every time he closed his eyes, another jolt of pain was sent through his body. Sometimes it was knives and needles, sometimes it was tightening his chains, but one way or another, his captors had kept him as awake as possible for several days. He was wearing down, and wasn’t sure how much longer he would last.

The small hole high in the wall to his left was now dark, so Nightfury assumed it was night. He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to the beleaguered warrior that the hole shone faintly, casting a pale shadow in the darkness. He took this as a small beacon of hope, refusing to acknowledge that any but Luna could raise the moon. 

The uplifting thought only lasted a moment, as Nightfury heard a door slam somewhere behind him. He had been purposely positioned with his back to the door, but he could always hear them coming a long way off. Sometimes, they even attempted to surprise him, sneaking another pony in behind a first who remained silent behind him until they sprung. A cute trick, not to mention completely useless. Mouth breathers, every single one.

The door directly behind him opened, then closed again quickly. Listening closely, Nightfury couldn’t hear but a single pony’s breath, so at least he wouldn’t have to deal with more than one.  

Directly above him a light flared to life, making him blink his eyes rapidly at the intrusion. A sharp pinch came from the back of his left shoulder, telling Nightfury that they had just injected him with that hellacious substance again, for all the good it would do them. Without a sound, a small white table rolled into view, propelled by light pink magic. A single syringe was the only object on the table, and Nightfury could only sneer. From behind him crawled a delicate feminine voice, oozing through the shadows to squeeze into his ears. 

“You have ten minutes to tell me where they are. When you do, I will inject the anti-venom. You know what happens if you don’t.”

Nightfury rolled his eyes and growled his answer to the pony behind.

“Bite me.”

He yelped at an abrupt pain in his neck. Turning his head as far as his restraints would allow, Nightfury could see a pastel blue mare with a pink mane pulling her head back, apparently having done just that. She fluttered her eyes at him, smirking.

“Tell me now? I promise to inject the anti-venom.”

Nightfury almost told her what she could do with the syringe, but smirked himself as he got another idea. 

“Again, bite me.”

Leaning his head to the side, Nightfury did his best not to laugh. This mare had been trying her odd combination of torture and seduction on him for the past four days, and he was almost having fun antagonizing her. Closing his eyes, Nightfury gasped aloud as he felt her teeth mark his neck. As she lifted her teeth, he felt her lips creep toward his ear, her mane brushing his cheek. Somewhat distantly, Nightfury noted that she smelled like roses.

“Please tell me. Cooperation will be... Rewarded."

Nightfury felt a tingle crawl up his spine, her soft tone implicating what rewards she promised. 

“How about you reward me now, and we’ll see where that gets you?”

The mare laughed, a delicate laugh that reminded him of the sound of rain on grass. She backed up a step so he could see into her lovely cerulean eyes. 

“I promised, didn’t I?”

Nightfury rolled his eyes again. He stifled a yawn and stared into the mare’s eyes. He could feel the first vestiges of the serum crawling in his skin, and he could tell he only had a few minutes left. Time to play hardball. 

“There you go with those promises again. One after another. How do I know you’ll deliver?”

The mare took a moment to pout before answering his question. Blinking away a faux tear, the mare turned her flank toward him. Nightfury took a moment to appreciate the view before realizing what he was supposed to be focusing on: her cutie mark. A small yellow sun floated to one side of a blooming rose while a crescent moon hovered on the other. Nightfury blinked a few times as he tried and failed to wrestle a meaning from it other than gardening.

“Alright, you got me. What’s it mean?”

Turning her flank away from him again, the mare sat in front of him. From her posture, Nightfury could tell he was in for a tale.

“It’s a rose, flourishing during the night as it awaits the sun’s promised return.  One day in elementary school, I promised a classmate I would bring her an extra book when I learned that her family was too poor to buy her one. I trimmed hedges and performed other extra chores for a few days to get the pocket change and bought it for her. When I delivered it to her, the smile on her face was so bright, I thought I’d go blind. I felt so good that I had worked so hard to fulfill a promise. I was so proud of myself, I didn’t even notice my cutie mark had appeared until I was halfway home. Kind of fitting that my name is Promise, isn’t it?”

Nightfury gritted his teeth as he felt his shoulder begin to burn. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Nightfury looked back to Promise.

“Well, that’s a cute story. I just wish I knew whether to believe that or not.”

Promise smiled and stood, taking a step closer so that her muzzle was but inches from his. Her demeanor had turned from innocent to calculating. 

“I can see it in your eyes, warrior. The serum is beginning to work. Tell me.”

“I already told you to-”

A pained yell tore through Nightfury’s sentence as the burning spread. The left side of his  shoulder, back, and neck all felt as if they were on fire. Promise leaned in and gently kissed his neck, luckily on the side that didn’t burn yet. He barely had time to savor the kiss, as the fire in his skin was quickly progressing to encompass his whole upper body. 

Nightfury closed his eyes and grimaced, hoping that his pained groan wasn’t overselling it any. He had experienced a toxin quite similar to this a few years ago. The concoction she had injected him was a watered down version of a poison used by the Zebra tribes far to the southeast. The Zebras were also far less stringent on use, as the recipe was simple and ingredients were plentiful enough. Pain he was accustomed to. 

Barely opening one eye, Nightfury peeked at Promise to see her reaction. Interestingly enough, she seemed completely disinterested, eyeing a bracelet she had around one hoof while her prisoner squirmed. Nightfury let out an groaned again, gritting his teeth and writhing against his constraints. The sound of chains rattling gained Promise's attention, but not in the way Nightfury expected. Her eyebrows narrowed, and she just glanced at him, shaking her head slightly. Confusion racking his brain, Nightfury paused in his faked pain, which made Promise react again, widening her eyes and nodding in his direction. Nightfury took this to mean keep up his act, so he continued his moaning and groaning and rattling chains. 

Glancing at the door, Promise stood and removed the bracelet from her leg. She pressed her hoof on a certain spot, and the bracelet began to glow. Promise placed the bracelet on the floor near the door, then quietly walked over to Nightfury on the table. She leaned in, lips barely brushing his ear. 

"Quiet now. This room is enchanted to alert the guards to any magic usage. That bracelet was ensorcelled earlier to record sounds, then play back those sounds. I recorded you faking pain, and now it is playing those sounds to the guards outside."

Nightfury turned his head to listen and sure enough, the bracelet was now emitting the sounds he had been making just seconds ago. Promise again pressed her lips to the side of his head.

"I want to get you out of here, but on one condition. You take me with you. I'll be back tonight if I can."

Nightfury opened his mouth, intending to ask a few of the questions that ran rampant in his head. Promise shushed his words with a hoof to his lips, delicate and gentle. More unsettled than ever, he lay his head back against the table and narrowed his eyebrows at the mare. She leaned in close again, staring into his eyes.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, and answer some questions. I promise. Now get some sleep. I've instructed the guards to let you have a few hours rest, or we'll never get any information out of you."

With a wink, Promise turned and picked up her bracelet, which silenced immediately. The door opened quietly without any visible prompting, and she left. Nightfury stared at the door for several moments after it had closed, face blank as he thought. His laid his head back on his table, glaring at the ceiling as if it held answers to the questions burdening him. Eventually, he felt his eyes drifting shut. Normally, he would have forced them open for fear of more unusual torment, but this time he trepidatiously let them close. When no alarms sounded or needles stabbed him, Nightfury forced his muscles relax and ignore the fire still sweeping through his body. He didn't plan on sleeping, but some restful meditation seemed in order. Thoughts of roses frolicked in his mind. 

An indeterminable time later, the door opened quietly. The sound was faint, but it was still enough to snap Nightfury back to full awareness. He hadn’t quite been sleeping, but was not far from it. Looking up, Nightfury saw that it was Promise who had disturbed him. She slipped through the door and gently closed it, obviously attempting to make as little noise as possible. He scowled at her, whispering in the darkness.

"This time, it's my turn to ask questions, girl."

Promise batted her eyelashes at him, moving close.

"Speak quietly, and we have time. I told the guards I wanted to see if you talk in your sleep."

"Shrewd. Right, how do I know I can trust you?"

Promise sighed and sat on the floor, her eyes drifting away from Nightfury's and back again.

"Honestly, there is nothing I can do to prove my honesty. All I can do is tell you that I am not here willingly. This mare that took over Canterlot has coerced many of Celestia's staff to work for her. For many of us, including myself, she threatens our families. She posts a guard at our loved one's residence, and she says of we try anything, they get hauled away to the dungeons, and most likely, their death."

Nightfury closed his eyes for a moment, laying his head back on the table.

"Sounds like Axion. So tell me, if we both disappear, what's to stop her from holding your family hostage or killing them?"

Promise's smile unnerved Nightfury a bit. It reminded him of Wildfire just before he revealed an especially outrageous plan.

"Because, warrior, you are going to kill me in your escape. You are proficient in appearance illusions, I assume?"

"Well, yes.  But they dissipate if the pony they are cast on is killed."

"What if the pony is already dead?"

Nightfury couldn't help but smile at Promise. He was liking the way she thought. This might actually be worth listening to.

"Spoken in true desperation. Alright, where are we going to get this donor?"

"Are you familiar with the palace dungeon layout?"

"Only the barracks."

"Well, just below us is the general population room. It's not much more than a remodeled cave. It's where they round up all the drunks and drifters all night. They don't keep a tally, they just let them all go after sunrise. We open a hole in the floor, grab a mare, quietly kill her, you cast your little illusion, then we cut a hole in the wall and levitate down and teleport from rooftop to rooftop."

Nightfury took a moment to glare at Promise.

"I am not afraid of killing, but I will not murder an innocent civilian. Why not one of the convicted? As well, there's sure to be some sort of magical surveillance or field to prevent teleporting out."

"Well then, let's hear your plan. They keep a good watch on the ones in here for the long haul. Outside, there's guards on every corner, not to mention those creepy undead things that got you. It's hell out there."

"I'll leave you behind. Not killing you will be my way of showing my thanks for your help."

"Please, you have to take me with you. I cannot live like this."

"You'll have to. I can't take you along. It'll be hard enough for me to escape alone. With you in tow it'll be nearly impossible."

"And how are you going to get out on your own? I know where and when the guards change shift."

"Fight my way out. Just take off this silly little ring and I'll show you hell."

Nightfury stared at Promise, daring her to challenge his words. After a moment, she dropped her gaze to the floor. Nightfury felt the smallest pang of regret for his harsh words, but quickly quelled it. There is no time for emotions in war.

"Fine. I didn't want to have to play this card, but I don't have a choice."

Nightfury scowled at Promise's words. 

"It better be an ace, girl."

"I know Axion's plans for Celestia and Equestria."

"Face card, but no ace. We already know a few details. I was captured taking a map to my compatriot outside the walls. The creepy undead things got me, but he got the map and got away."

"So you know locations. I know ideas, plans, politics, and reasons. And I'll only tell you after we've escaped."

Nightfury bared his teeth to the ceiling. He hated being in this position, but every scrap of intel on Axion was precious, and this mare seemed to know it. Even false information could be useful in its own way. He had to develop a plan to get them both out of there intact.

"Can't we just fake some transportation papers saying you're taking me to a more secure facility?"

"My treachery would be discovered before too long. I will not do anything to let them know I willingly went with you. At least us escaping through the wall, I could plausibly play the hostage. I will not doom my whole family to certain death just for-"

"For what? Justice? Peace? An entire nation of innocent ponies?"

Nightfury sat up as far as he could, ignoring the burning sensation his whole body still trembled with. The toxin he was injected with earlier had all but worn off, but it was still uncomfortable.

"Admit it or not, we are in the midst of civil war. I know it seems unfair, but if you really do have information vital to our success, we have to get out of here alive as soon as possible. If you do not help us, your family will be but a single drop in the ocean of blood that is soon to be swirling around our hooves. All give some, some give all. This is your some."

"My family is my whole life! They are all I have left."

Nightfury lay back on the table, the cool surface welcome to his fevered skin. His voice grew quiet.

"No, Promise, they are not. Your heart still beats. That is all you need. That's all any pony needs to change the world. Besides, you don't even know for sure Axion will kill them. If she does put them in the dungeons, we can release them when we return to remove her from the usurped throne."

The room was silent for a while. Nightfury glanced at Promise from time to time, her demeanor never changing. She sat still, eyes closed, head hung. At length, she sighed.

"Just give me a few more days with them. I won't tell them anything, I just want to do a few nice things for them. They deserve that, at least."

Nightfury mentally growled. He was very opposed to any delay of getting information to Luna, but at the same time, he was asking this mare to condemn her entire family, possibly to their death. 

"In two days, just before midnight, I am leaving. You can be here and come with me, or not. I don’t care.”

Promise only sighed and hung her head, eyes closed. Nightfury knew all too well the thoughts she must be wrestling with. He leaned towards her as far as his chains would allow him.

“Hey. I assume I will be tortured as normal in the meantime?"

Promise looked up, and Nightfury couldn't tell if it was a tear or mischief that gleamed in the corner of her eye.

"Of course. We cannot afford any suspicion. I cannot go easy on you."

Nightfury just smiled grimly. He had expected nothing less.

"Good. Just keep it interesting."

Promise offered no words, instead leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. Standing, she left the room, and Nightfury set about clearing his mind. A lot had transpired that night, and he wanted to be as mentally fortified as he could be for the coming day's torture. He was sure it would be more intense than any he had yet experienced. Promise was about to sacrifice her entire family for this his cause, and he had no doubt that she was going to get what penance she could from him before they escaped.
> Future On Hold
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Promise bowed her head as she left the castle. The weight of what was about to happen had settled on her like a mountain, and she wasn't completely sure if she could shoulder this burden. Her hooves slowly led her home, and she was barely aware of walking into the door until she realized a voice was speaking to her.

"Hello? Promise? You awake in there? I asked you a question."

Promise looked up, and saw her mother standing in the hallway behind the front door, humor on her pale green face. Her blue mane was tousled and messy, indicating she had woken up just recently.

"Oh! Hello, mother. You're up early."

"Yes, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I'd read a bit before fixing breakfast. Long day in the dungeons?"

Promise smiled as she walked past her mother and down the hall, into the small library, finding it lit with a single lantern. It was a long running joke that Promise's mother, Starlight, would tease her about her working conditions.

"I told you, I don't work in the dungeons. I work in the prison. It's not nearly as mouldy."

Promise's mother laughed lightly as she lay down on a thick cushion, cup of coffee steaming lightly beside an open book in front of her.

"Same thing, darling. I really wish they wouldn't give you such grim environments. It's bad for your health. Last thing we need is you going grey before I do."

"Oh, mother. We all know you dye your mane anyways."

Starlight gasped and feigned a pout, frowning at Promise. 

"What has the world come to when a daughter says such things to her mother! I would never!"

"Then what are the bottles of dye under the sink in the bathroom for?"

"It's... Your father's."

"Dad has a red coat, and a  brown mane. No green."

"Well, you know how he likes to paint."

"In the bath? With organic hair dye?"

Promise eyed her mother closely, and Starlight began to sputter another rebuttal before laughing.

"Okay, so you have me. I knew it was mistake, allowing you to study criminal psychology."

"And who would have thought I would have to use my craft against my own mother!"

Promise laughed with her mother as she settled down on her favorite cushion and pulled out her favorite book. Together, they read and chatted lightly until the sun rose, and Starlight went off to prepare breakfast. Before long, the whole house smelled of raisin toast, and Promise's stomache growled in protest of being teased. Promise set a bookmark to keep her place in the story and wandered into the kitchen. Her mother hummed and swayed to a tune Promise couldn't quite place, but found familiar. After a few minutes, Starlight spun around and gracefully dropped a plate piled high with toast onto the table. Promise went to grab a slice, but her hoof was gentle slapped away.

"Go get your brother, I'll go wake your father. Then we all eat."

Promise grudgingly lowered her hoof and followed her mother upstairs, turning to enter her brother's room. It was a mess, as always, and Promise stubbed her hoof against something hard and heavy. Whispering a swear, Promise rubbed her injured appendage and glared at the window, which normally lit the room with the glow of the rising sun. It was covered by a large tapestry, blocking the morning sun from entering the eastward facing window. Creeping to the bedside, Promise sat and listened carefully. After a moment, she heard both her parents talking quietly as they passed the room and went downstairs. She inhaled deeply.

"MOMMADETOASTWAKEUPWAKEUPWAKE UUUUUUUP!"

Promise beamed at the lump of blankets that hid her brother, and found it very unresponsive. Lifting a hoof, she poked the lump. It wriggled and grumbled. She poked it again and giggled.

"Get up, turd. There's food."

The lump sighed, and a small point of blue light appeared at one end, hovering off to light a lantern that sat on a nearby table. The wick sputtered before igniting, casting the room in a yellow glow that reminded Promise of the many rooms in the dungeons. Looking over, she saw that the tapestry was in fact a large white flag with a single vivid blue stripe. A music note hung in the center, and Promise was vaguely reminded of a musician on Canterlot, some unicorn DJ.

"Hey, you know the eighth notes on your flag are backwards, right?"

"That's the way her cutie mark is."

Turning back to the lump, she found her brother slightly more visible now the lamp was lit. At first, only single tuft of red mane jutted out from under the blankets, which stirred and revealed a grey unicorn colt, barely out of adolescence. Satisfied with her brother's waking, Promise walked over to the covered window.

"When did you hang this up, anyway? Your room is so gloomy now."

"A while ago. I bought it at Vinyl's concert, maybe a month before the coup. Don't touch it, it's autographed by her and Octavia."

Promise gasped as she recognized the name, the cutie mark flag, and the tune her mother had been humming in the kitchen. 

“Oh! Crimerian Overture, that’s Octavia, right?”

“Well, she’s part of the orchestra that performed it, yes.”

Promise leaned in to read the two sets of scribbles along the bottom edge of the flag. The marker had obviously been well used as parts were faint, but the words were still legible.

‘Dearest Dawn Streak, we thank you for enjoying our music. - Octavia

Dude, you rock! - DJ PON3’

Promise giggled at the thought of a DJ and a classically trained cellist performing on the same stage at the same time. The idea of a light string melody laid over a driving beat sounded fantastic in her head. She made a mental note to check out the music when... she had the chance. Shaking her head, she walked out of the room, returning to the kitchen. Her father was already sitting at the table, chewing on the toast Promise so craved. His shaggy mane fell over his face, as it tended to when he was just waking. His eyes were hollow, but the cup of coffee seemed to be helping. He barely glanced at Promise as she sat opposite him and her mother and grabbed a slice of toast. A moment later, Dawn entered the room and half sat, half fell onto the seat beside Promise, swiping a piece of toast and shoving most of it into his mouth. 

The room was silent except for the sounds of chewing for several moments. Promise chose this time to organize her thoughts and then words. Careful words. Precise words. 

“Hey. I think we should have a family day. Picnic in the park, go for lunch, something of that nature. Provided, that, you know, stuff is still there and wasn’t set on fire or looted.”

A few moments of silence were all the greeted her words at first. Swallowing a bite of toast, Promise’s father spoke up.

“I concur, provided the city is safe.”

“Oh, Glory, you know it is! There’s guards everywhere. Frankly, I like being able to look out the window and see them, patrolling or just standing there, every time of day or night. I might not approve of politicians, but the ones now in power do at least seem concerned with keeping order.”

Promise had to resist the urge to slam her head against the table at her mother’s naivety. 

“Mom, how much have you been around the city since the takeover?”

“Oh, you know. About as much as before.”

Promise toned her reaction down to just taking a bite of toast. Her mother only really left the house to go get foodstuffs or the very occasional clothes spree. 

“So, translation, not hardly at all?”

“I’ve gone to the shop on the corner three times. Other than that I stay here.”

Promise wasn’t very surprised at her mother’s deadpan rebuttal. Everypony had their own coping mechanisms in difficult times. Starlight’s was locking herself in the library to read. Promise saw no need to mention that parts of the city had been burned nearly to the ground, or that on the inside perimeter of the wall were dead things that suddenly weren’t completely dead when one got too close. A thick string of guards had been posted to make sure no civilians got into the area, but Promise had heard stories. 

Shaking her head, Promise thought quickly.

“Okay, so, right now I’m going to go brush my mane, then I’ll go out and look around and find something nice that’s still open. I’ll come back with some options before lunch. Sound good?”

Dawn yawned and shoved the remainder of his toast into his mouth.

“Sounds good. I’ll be in bed.”

Starlight and Morning Glory both looked like they were about to say something, but thought otherwise. Turning back to Promise, Starlight smiled.

“I’ll be in the library. Be careful.”

Promise’s father simply shrugged and picked up another piece of toast and a newspaper. 

“Careful out there.”

“I will.”

Promise turned to go to her bedroom, but only made it halfway across the room. Her eyes tracked over the newspaper twice before she realized what stopped her. The newspaper was dated three weeks prior.

“Newspapers not running again yet?”

Glory shrugged again, his favorite response to any question.

“They are, but full of propaganda. I’m doing the crossword.”

Promise had to laugh. Her father, one of the most stable and unshakable of ponies. It would take more than a fierce coup of an ancient country capital to break him. Her laughter followed her into her bedroom, where she retrieved the brush from it’s baffling hiding place under the bed. She turned to the mirror and began the tedious process of making herself presentable. She couldn’t explain why, but she wanted to spend the next two days with a pretty face.

> Swallowed By The Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Promise had lain on the rooftop for hours, listening to the wind and watching as the sun set, the stars rising to dance around the fresh moon. Her thoughts were grim, and her heart felt hollow. She brought her eyes down from the heavens to look over the rooftops in the direction of the Everfree Forest. It sat in the distance, vast and sorrowful. It seemed to Promise that the shadows that danced among the distant trees were darker than those inside the walls, perhaps given solidity by her fears.

Tonight was the night. Nightfury was leaving, and she was to go with him. The decision had snuck up on her, not even presenting itself as a choice. She could help, so she must. Even so, Promise couldn’t shake the feeling that she had bullied into taking her with him, but it needed to happen. There just wasn’t the time required to tell all that needed to be said, and the dungeon overseer had hinted that he had received orders to kill the dangerous prisoner if no information was obtained soon. 

Promise sighed and lay her head on the cold stone roof. She wished she could be this house, solid and uncaring of the world or those that skittered about within it. A cold and stoic existence, to be sure, but one bereft of such emotional torture. Exhaling sharply through her nose, Promise rose and stretched. Surely her family was asleep by now, or at the very least in bed to where her departure would go unnoticed. She had spent the past days being as nice as possible, helping in every way she could, talking and spending time with her family.  She tried to enjoy it, she really did, but the entire time she just couldn't ignore the fact that this might be the last time she ever saw any of them. The urge to spill had nearly overcome her several times, but each time she was able to wrestle her demons into a temporary submission. 

Flicking her head to get a few wisps of pink out of her eyes, Promise turned and made her way to one side of the building, carefully lowering herself onto the small balcony below. Upon successfully returning to her room, Promise paused for a moment to listen. No sounds were immediately present, which meant her brother wasn't quite asleep. He snored.

It was now or never, and Promise sneered at the thought of letting this opportunity pass. She could help, and she would. Creeping to the door, she eased it open, looking both ways. All doors were shut, all lights extinguished. The walk to the front door was short, but it couldn't have seemed longer. With every step, Promise saw a memory. 

That corner, where she had slipped and fallen as a filly coming out of her room, knocking out a tooth. That slightly browned spot on the floor, where she had dropped a candle and nearly set the house on fire. That painting on the wall of an anonymous hillside, the first thing she had ever bought with her own money. That first step, she had tripped over on the way up and dropped her grandmother’s vase, cracking it. The fourth step, where she had fallen going down and broken a leg.  That minuscule dent in the wall at the bottom of the stairs, where her brother had fallen down the stairs and hit his head. That rickety table by the door, which always supported a vase of flowers, but nothing else. The worn brass doorknob, unspeakably ancient and nearly as familiar as her own bed. The stone walk leading to the street, she remembered helping lay when she was so very small.

Abruptly, Promise found herself outside. It wasn't where she wanted to be, but it’s where she had to be, since between herself and the castle was outside. To her wearied eyes, it was darker than it should have been. The shadows seemed as black as ink, and pushed against the moon's glow with defiance. Any number of terrors could be hiding in wait, and Promise imagined all of them. Around every corner was a knife, and every distant light became the glowing eyes of evil.

Promise slowly creeped her way through the city towards the castle, terrified one of the guards would stop her. It wasn't until she passed the two guards at the gate to the courtyard that she remembered she worked there, and was often entering and leaving at odd hours. To them, she was allowed there, and that was the extent of their thoughts on the matter. 

The walk through the castle to her office was nearly as bad as the walk outside. The walls were closing in, and Promise dimly wondered if it was possible to die from asphyxiation from claustrophobia. The thought helped her pass the time until she reached her door, which she gladly closed and locked. She immediately realized she had left the lantern burning, and it was very low on oil, but still cast the room in a dull glow. Even if it was small and cramped, it was still somehow comfortable. A desk sat somewhere under the stack of papers and folders, and a bookshelf to one side looked as if it was about to collapse under the load of dusty tomes and more papers. It was to this shelf she moved, pushing aside a forest's worth of books to get the form she was after. Reading it one last time, Promise made her way to the desk. Heating the stamp with magic, Promise held the wax to the paper for a moment. Looking over the forged transfer papers one last time, Promise decided they looked as passably legitimate as she was likely to get them. She snuffed out the wick in the lantern and left.


-------------


Nightfury allowed himself a thin smile as he heard a door open, then close in the distance. Only one pony had any buisiness down in this pit at this hour. Sure enough, the door to his cell opened and Promise stepped through, a set of small bags over her back. He could tell there would be no last minute conspiring, as her eyes were hard and her jaw firmly set.

"I will undo your chains for a moment. You will not attempt to flee or fight. You will stand still as you are chained to your escort, after which you will be moved to another location. Understood?"

"Understood."

As soon as the chains were undone, Nightfury slowly rose and stood beside the table he had been chained to. He felt his head swing and spots flittered in his sight from laying prone so long, but he stood still as he waited for the escort to arrive. Instead, he was surprised as Promise produced a pair of thick hoof cuffs from her bag, and chained his left front leg to her right front leg. Once they were firmly attached, Promise met his eyes again.

"These cuffs have been enchanted to my vital signs. If something happens to me, you will die. Plain and simple. Understood?"

"Understood."

Clever girl.

Nightfury was led out of his cell, the small stone square he had almost came to refer to as home. He had to suppress the urge to laugh in the guards' face as he walked past them. Part of him tried to argue that this was far too easy, but another part reminded him that good luck happens and to just accept it. But still, he wanted this ring off his horn now, please. 

After several turns and several more long hallways, Nightfury closed his eyes and let the fresh night air caress his senses. A tug on his chain asked him to continue walking, but he didn't let that stop him from enjoying this moment. As he was led through the city streets, he reveled in every smell, sight, and sound. A dog barked in the distance. An upper floor window had a light shining through. A light wind carried the scent of rain, as well as a chill.

Within a few minutes of walking, Nightfury had pinpointed his location in the city. Just south of the castle, heading west. Almost to the edge of the city. Elation threatened to rear it's head within his mind, when he remembered the ones who captured him. Those... things. He looked at Promise and debated asking her, but she led the way with surety in her steps, so he tried to follow suit. 

Before long, they reached the edge of the city. Around the outer perimeter, a number of rough wooden barricades her been erected. Outside the barricades, the streets looked dirty abd dark, but he knew better. He knew what lurked in those particular shadows. For a moment, he feared Promise was going to go past the barricades into the dead zone, but she turned left and followed parrallel to them for a distance. After several blocks, he saw a torch ahead, with a single guard in the small circle of luminescence. Promise walked up to the guard, and wordlessly presented him with a piece of paper. Nightfury did his best to not appear like he was scanning his surroundings, spotting four more guards just outside the light, watching from around corners. There were most likely a few more behind him, but turning his head would be too obvious. 

After a moment, the guard returned the piece of paper and allowed them too pass. There were more barricades to either side, but thier narrow passage was clear. A short walk later, more guards stood around the exit, another wordless transaction of the piece of paper, and they were outside the city. 

They had made it. 

Canterlot was now behind them, blissful darkness shrouding crowding the duo. The rattling chain was the only sound as they walked away from the place Nightfury barely recognized as home. He saved his sigh of relief until the perimeter guards' torches were no longer visible, which seemed to take eternity. As soon as the night was the only thing visible in every direction, he tugged on the chain.

"Are we there yet?"

Promise turned and smiled gently to him.

"Yes. I do think we are far enough now."

Bending, she removed the chains from around herself first, then Nightfury's leg. Immediately, he reached up to remove the ring from his horn, only to find he couldn't. He pulled as hard as he could, but to no avail. He cast pleading eyes to Promise.

"Little help, here?"

Promise chose not to say anything, instead leaning in close. He felt her breath on his face, but remained still. He couldn't help but notice she smelled lightly of lavender. He felt her teeth gently trace the spirals on his horn until she reached the small metal ring at the base. A gentle tug and he felt his magic rush back to him in an avalanche of sensation. Nightfury closed his eyes and opened his gaze to the magic around him, seeing the world in perfect clarity.  He could see the trees off to his right, the hill they were standing on, the strands of grass waiting for sunlight to feed them, the tiny animals and insects sleeping in thier borrows and nests. Every detail was open to his scrutiny again. Including Promise. Her aura was clean and clear, the color of a fresh rose first blooming. 

"You're beautiful."

"Why, thank you."

Promise's blush was apparent even with his eyes closed, but he opened them anyways. He took only a moment to admire her delicately pink eyes before turning away.

"Let's go. It's only a few hours to sunrise, and I plan on being far away by then."

"Yes, I agree. The supervisor wakes at dawn every day and makes his rounds, and our treachery will surely be discovered. Luckily, the entire guard force was replaced when Axion moved in, and they didn't realize the high-security prison I was transferring you to doesn't exist. However, he will know, and sound the alarm. It won't..."

Promise's sentence broke, and Nightfury looked back to see her choking back a sob. He immediately knew why. 

"Let us make sure their sacrifice isn't in vain. You claim to know intricacies of Axion's war machine, so let's go put it to good use. We'll start by going to my squad's last known location."

Without waiting on her to reply, Nightfury turned off the road, heading to the Everfree Forest in the distance. It wasn't far, and they would have to wait on sunrise before attempting to navigate the woods, but he wanted to at least be in cover by dawn. 


-------------


The sun was beaming down with vengeance, baking the land underneath it's gaze, but Promise couldn't feel it. In fact, she could barely see it. The trees were thick, leaving the forest floor in eternal dusk. She understood now why Nightfury decided to stop last night after only going a few yards in. She was glad now he told her to rest while she could, for they had been walking for hours, and the ruins were nowhere to be seen. Nightfury assured her that they were going in the right direction, but he admitted to being less positive about the distance. 

"We're coming at it from a different direction, from farther off. I know we'll cross the northbound path here soon, but how soon, I am unsure."

Promise just smiled at him and focused on taking another step. She couldn't remember last time she got this much exercise. She stayed active enough to maintain her feminine figure, but not enough to build any real endurance. In opposition, Nightfury hadn't even broke a sweat yet. Every once in a while, he would attempt idle chatter, but Promise found talking to take too much energy, no matter how much she wanted to converse. He was a delightful specimen, full of knowledge and wisdom of the world. 

Another step, another fallen log, another trial to overcome. Promise was about to ask Nightfury to pause in his crusade and take a breather, when she suddenly found herself walking on cobblestone. Weeds had grown in the cracks, dense enough to almost completely hide the ancient road, but here it was.

"Ah! Right where I left it."

Promise looked up at Nightfury, who was smiling off into the distance. Following his gaze, she saw what the crumbled remains of a gate and a wall in the distance. 

"Finally! I thought we were never going to make it."

Nightfury tossed a cocky grin at Promise, and set off walking down the road.

"What, you though I was lost? Nonsense! I knew exactly where we were going."

"Exactly?"

"Well, not exactly. But, you know, close enough. We're here, and it's only just before noon. I hope there's plenty of food left, I could use a snack."

Promise's stomache answered before she could. 

"I think I could eat the castle itself. I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday."

"Well, let's hurry on. I'm sure they'll have something."

As the pair neared the castle, Promise's anxiety grew. She trusted Nightfury, and she was pretty sure he trusted her, but would the rest of them accept her? What if they didn't? They couldn't let her go, she knew too much. Worries fluttered around in her head so much, she didn't realize Nightfury had stopped walking until she bumped into him. They were just outside the castle door itself, which was cracked open, but he didn't enter. He stood still, ears cocked. 

"What's wrong?"

"Shh."

She stood silent, worries now different. There was no noise except for her own breathing. Nightfury took a cautious step forward and peeked in the door. After a moment's contemplation, he looked back at her and whispered.

"Stay here. I will return in a moment."

He quietly creeped through the door and disappeared. Promise held her breath as much as she could, not daring to make a noise. Terror lurked in every corner. What if the squad had been discovered and captured, and Axion's forces were waiting in ambush? They would both be put to death for sure. If they were lucky, immediately. If not, Promise knew all too well the gruesome tortures that would await them as traitors. She would be tortured first as Nightfury was made to watch, her pitiful screams used to heighten his anxiety to panic levels before they ever touched him. Which torture would they use? The superintendent had always been fond of-

"Oy."

"AAHH!"

Nightfury ducked and looked around, in case her screams had alerted someone or something to their presence.

"Quiet! It's me! Hush! Good gracious, you could waken the very stones with that racket."

"I'm sorry, you scared me!"

"It's okay. Let's just try to cut down on the bloodcurdling shrieks a bit."

"I'll try. Are they in there?"

"No, but they left me a note. They went to Ponyville, so that's where we're going."

"Okay. How far is that?"

"About as far as we just traveled."

Promise sat on the ground and sighed as her stomache rumbled again. It was going to be a very long day. 
> The Sinking Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna scowled at the map in front of her. She attempted to change the geographical features of the surrounding area through brute willpower, but to no avail. Her army was out in the open, and the enemy was backed up against a river. Not bad positions on their own, but when Luna considered that they were outnumbered nearly four to one by the invading horde, the situation became more grim. An army with no retreat will fight like hellions to their last, for they know retreat wasn't an option, and they weren't the surrendering type. 

Not that Luna would accept their surrender, in any case. Her army was made of farmers and villagers, given some rough armor and home made weapons and taught to stand in a straight line. They were mostly volunteers, which meant they would fight with zeal, but enthusiasm could only count for so much. The enemy were all trained soldiers, an army bred by Axion in some forgotten hole for the sole purpose of wresting control of Equestria. A single soldier could cause much damage before being brought down. No, survival was a mercy Luna could not afford to give, as much as she hated it. 

She had sought a bloodless solution, but the invaders had been adamant. A non-conditional and complete surrender. Authority figures would surrender to the jailers and be taken away, so they couldn't organize resistance. Martial law and a curfew would be instated. The stallions of age and physical ability would be conscripted into service, attacking their countrymen. Luna could not accept these terms, as much as she wanted to avoid battle. It was inevitable.

"Princess."

Luna looked up from the map. However, she forgot to drop her frustrated visage to regard her visitor, who promptly started backing towards the tent door. It was the Captain of the local guard, Captain... something or other. Luna couldn't remember his name, and honestly couldn't be bothered. She had greater concerns.

"I can come back later, if you prefer."

"No, it's fine. What is it?"

"I have the reports you asked me about."

Luna belatedly remembered his task, which he had apparently completed. She had asked him to supervise the training and drills of the various groups in the assembled militia, and report to her any exceptional individuals, to be given more important tasks.

"Very well. Report."

"Unsurprisingly, the top of my list is mostly comprised of the Elements of Harmony. They are typically proving exceptional at their tasks. Applejack is with the Heavy Armour division, where she is easily carrying armour too heavy for a stallion much larger than she. Fluttershy is with the Medic team, and has proven great knowledge of treating wounds, infections, and sickness. However, her weak flying has relegated her to the rear hospital, even if her knowledge would be useful as a field medic. Rainbow Dash has taken up with the rest of the Pegasi forces. She has progressed to their second-in-command, under Storm Surge himself. I asked him for an overview, and barely got him to stop singing her praise long enough to leave. Pinkie Pie was originally with Basic Infantry, but we decided her talents as a cook were needed far more. She manages to make these dull field foodstuffs into nutritional, tasteful meals, keeping the soldiers happy. She is an integral part in keeping this army's morale high."

Luna nodded as she absorbed this information, but suddenly noticed that the Captain had missed one.

"What of Rarity? You didn't mention her."

"Oh, she hasn't proven overwhelmingly skilled as of yet. She is with the Unicorn Archers, but is having difficulty."

"Of what sort?"

"It would seem that the spears used by the Archers are too heavy for her to cast at a satisfactory distance. Her accuracy is impressive, but only at a uselessly close range."

Luna frowned. She knew Rarity wasn't an exceptionally powerful unicorn, but she had fantastic control, a byproduct of working with precise needles and thread for years. 

"Are the Archers still at afternoon training?"

"I believe so, but not for long. I think you could make it, if you hurry."

Hurry, hurry, hurry. It seemed all Luna did these days was hurry. She wordlessly strode past the Captain, out of the tent. Outside, she took a moment to orient herself against the afternoon's setting sun then flapped her wings, taking off in a vaguely westward direction. At the edge of the camp, a row of straw dummies had been set up in the field that surrounded the army. Most had several large spears protruding from them or the ground nearby, except for one. She spotted the white unicorn standing opposite it, and altered her trajectory to quietly land behind her quarry. It took only a moment to observe the situation. 

"Darn it! These things are too heavy!"

Rarity panted as she struggled to wrap her telekinesis around the spear. Once she had managed to lift it to a satisfactory height, she attempted to throw it, but physics was winning the battle already. The spear hardly traveled anywhere at all, falling with a soft thump a tiny fraction of the way to the target.

"Difficulties?"

Rarity growled as she turned.

"Yes, and one more word and I'll bury this thing in your- Oh! Princess Luna! Forgive me, I thought it was someone else, come to mock me."

"You know you don't have to bow to me, Rarity. What seems to be the problem?"

"These blasted spears are too heavy for me to control. I am a lady, practiced in the arts of delicacy and precision. I do not have as much brute force as the others, and so they deem me inferior."

Luna said nothing, instead lifting one of the spears laying on the ground. An idea began to form in her mind. Rarity was a seamstress, used to manipulating several small needles at once with utmost care. Needles...

Luna snapped the length of the shaft in half, choosing the end without the heavy metal tip. Holding the shaft securely, Luna took another another dose of magic and shaped it into a point, holding it to the wood. Using her magic lathe, Luna spun the shaft and in seconds had whittled it down to half the previous diameter. Sharpening one end, she gave the new, much smaller spear to Rarity. 

"Try that."

Rarity took hold of the weapon, testing the weight as she turned back to her target manniken. Taking careful aim, she shoved the small spear the same way she had been attempting to do with the large spear moments before. The spear whistled slightly as it blurred across the gap, plunging half it's length into the dummy's throat. Rarity began to laugh, a hearty and very unlady-like laugh.

"HahaHAH! Lovely! Thank you so very much, Princess!"

"I've already told you, there is no need to bow. Now, go collect that spear, and have the weaponsmith make you plenty of metal-tipped ones. Make sure he doesn't make the tip very large, just enough to make it pierce. If he wants to argue, tell him to come see me."

"Yes, Princess! Thank you again!"

Rarity waved as Luna took off into the evening's glow. Confident of another small crisis avoided, she flew back to the command tent, intending to glower at her papers some more. However, she knew that would not be the case when she saw a very distinctive disheveled grey mane outside the tent flap. Landing, she walked directly up to the unicorn the mane belonged to.

"Professor. What could be so important you came outside yourself to my tent?"

"Come see."

Without any further ado, the Professor strode away in the direction of his tent. Most had been against lugging his heavy research equipment along, but Luna had a hunch that it would pay off, and she was now guessing it was about to. The Professor had scarcely been seen outside his makeshift laboratory, even taking meals in there. His eccentricities were humored, however, because of his brilliance.  If he had taken the time away from his experiments to come find her himself, it must be important. 

Following the Professor the short distance to his tent, Luna shoved the tent flap aside and nearly walked straight into the phylacteries that had been erected just inside the entrance. Carefully stepping around the case of phials, Luna sought to the back of the tent, where the Professor thrust a large beaker  into her grasp.

"Look! No, smell! The smell is important."

Luna carefully examined the liquid in the beaker. It was a clearish brown color, and when she put her nose close to the opening, she nearly dropped the beaker from the powerfully noxious fumes.

"What in the name of Tartarus is that?"

"It is a chemical I derived from common lamp oil! I refined it to a higher state of purity, and such, flammability. Observe."

Luna took a careful step back as the Professor set the large beaker down, and picked up a round bottomed bottle with a narrow mouth. Lighting a small spark, he held it above the neck. A mediocre flame appeared at the mouth, wavering and orange. Luna expected it to go out, as most fumes burn away, but this one stayed. A lamp without a wick. The Professor was talking rapidly, excited by this discovery.

"Observe! This volatile liquid evaporates very quickly, and the fumes are what actually burn. The liquid itself is quite benign..."

Luna jumped as the Professor sent another small lick of fire into the large beaker sitting behind him, but the fire simply hissed itself out of existence on the surface.

"Concentrated vapors burn quite well, but mixing with atmospheric air renders it too low of a concentration to burn."

"That is fascinating, Professor, but what use is this to us?"

The question made the Professor smile in a way that made the hair on the back of Luna's neck tickle. He lifted a small metal ball from the top of a shelf behind Luna.

"This hollow ball is filled with pressurized fumes. If the ball were heated sufficiently, the fumes inside would combust, exploding outwards in a shower of hot shrapnel!"

Luna took the ball from the Professor's grasp and examined it. Up close, she could see minute horizontal and vertical lines crossing the surface, weakening the metal so it would shatter in a more regular pattern. Suppressing her shivers at the gruesome prospect, Luna gave it back.

"Have you tested it?"

"Tested? Not this. Well, sort of. I made one out of glass, seeing what happened when the gas was compressed. I shrunk the gas to a three to one ratio, then accidentally held it too close to a candle for examination. Boom! Idea. In this metal incarnation, I figured a higher ratio was available for a more dramatic explosion. This little darling is at a six to one ratio! A detonation would sure to be exciting indeed. I wanted to show this to you, as well as ask you permission to test it in  the field behind us. If it works like planned, I could requisition a handful of competent unicorns and have a hundred of these done in a day! Quick, simple, cheap, and hopefully, devastating."

Luna thought about the request, but only for a moment. Any edge they could gain over their enemy was needed.

"I'll gave some straw dummies erected in a circle in the field. We'll put this in the middle, and see what happens."

The Professor let out a sound Luna thought would be more fitting coming from a young filly, and began dancing around the cramped space, holding the sphere like a baby.

"Yes! I thank you, liege! I will not disappoint!"

Luna quickly left. The Professor was brilliant, but he was quite mad, and his fast speech gave Luna a headache. Walking back to her tent again, Luna was almost looking forward to glaring at paper until she could raise the moon and go to bed, but alas, fate conspired against her plans. When she was close enough to the tent flap to reach out and touch it, she was hailed from above.

"Princess Luna! Sentries along the northwest report two figures coming out of the Everfree, heading this way!"

Ignoring all pretense, Luna jumped into the air, sailing past the Pegasi sentry in the direction he had indicated. She contained her hopes, surging in her mind, and told herself it might be an enemy plot. A trap or trickster, preluding a full-scale attack. However, the moment the figures were in view, Luna smiled. They were close enough to the main camp now to be lit by the torchlight, and the larger one was obviously Nightfury. Luna didn't recognize the small blue mare with him, but that was beside the matter. Nightfury was back! The Black Berets were whole again. 

The sentries on the perimeter gasped as Luna flew right past them at a perceived threat, but their protests fell on deaf ears. Luna landed directly in front of Nightfury, who smartly saluted, grinning like a fool.

"Princess Luna! Nightfury, reporting for duty."

"Welcome aboard, Beret. You were missed. Who's your friend?"

"This is Promise. She worked in the dungeons, and she has got a lot to tell you."

"Lovely! First, let's get you fed and bedded-"

"If you don't mind, Princess, we need to talk to you immediately. Food and rest can wait."

Luna noticed that Nightfury and Promise had both taken on a dour countenance, and so decided to debrief immediately. Waving down the confounded perimeter guards, Luna led the ragged duo to her tent, ushering the fussing Captain outside with orders to find Twilight Sparkle.

"Now, Nightfury, tell me. What befell you?"

"I've got a tale for you, Princess. Mind if I have a drink of water first? My throat threatens to seize."

Luna nodded her approval, and Nightfury grabbed the water bucket from beside the doorway. Forgoing all ceremony, he dunked his whole head, taking several greedy droughts. Passing the bucket to Promise, who graciously took several delicate sips, they both took seats across from Luna.

By the time Nightfury had finished speaking, Luna had to step outside to raise the moon. She came back inside and returned to her seat, settling in as comfortably as such simple accommodations allowed. She thought for a moment, then another.

"So, I am to understand that you will cooperate with us to the full extent of your knowledge, Promise?"

"Yes."

The poor girl seemed scared to death, and Luna couldn't blame her. Nightfury was a veteran soldier of the highest caliber, quite accustomed to laughing in death's face. Promise was an interrogator and sometimes secretary for the dungeons. Anyone who wished her harm was typically already chained down and watched closely by several guards. Here she was, in the command tent of a rebellious army facing incredible odds. No, Luna didn't blame her for being terrified. 

"Well, let us start simply. This army we face, what manner of creature are they? They seem to resemble ponies at a distance, but one of our scouts managed to get close enough to notice they were all completely bald, with flat black skin. They also do not seem to talk, instead barking at each other like raspy dogs."

"I fear you began with one of the questions I don't know the answer to. All I know for sure is that they make up approximately half of Axion's total standing army, and come from very far to the west."

"To the west, you say? I suppose it would be safe to assume they are somehow related to the Changelings, and most likely have powers we do not know yet."

"Unlikely. I have heard a few of the higher ranking military talk about how the unicorns are protesting having to assist certain partitions of the army, but they have no choice, as they have no magic. It didn't sound like these particular soldiers have any remarkable abilities or powers at all. Rather, they are just cheap and easy to acquire infantry."

"You say some unicorns were protesting? Rifts in camaraderie?"

"Maybe protest is a bit of an overstatement. The unicorns just weren't very happy to be working with... Them."

"From what I've seen, I don't much blame them. Very well, next question: What is this army's objective? I imagine they have a plan for after they would take Ponyville."

"Not as far as I know. Axion's current plans are mainly getting a new economic infrastructure in place. I have seen and heard about this plan, but it doesn't seem to make sense. The train line running through Ponyville is very important, much more so than it is now. I have heard talk of railway construction. I believe she aims on expanding the railway south, though the reasons are unknown to me. This is but a small group, a detachment, to simply take Ponyville, and secure the railway station."

Luna sat back and thought about this new information. A completely new economy wasn't exactly necessary, but if formulated properly, could instigate great profitability to the entire country. The current economy wasn't exactly the most powerful or most profitable, but it was stable. She tried to think of what lay to the south, of anything worth economic value, but nothing came to mind. 

"You say this is but a small detachment? Where is the rest of the army? This map clearly shows that Ponyville is the first target."

Luna pushed the map across the low table to Promise, who examined it for a minute.

"The main army has gone northeast, to Manehatten. They arrived yesterday, I believe. I think this map shows in which order these cities are expected to fall under control, not when the forces arrive."

Luna sat back, her eyes wide in disbelief. 

"You mean... There's a hostile army outside Manehatten, right now?"

"Yes."

Luna rose and walked to the door of the tent, pushing it aside but not going outside. She stood in the opening, looking out into the night sky.

"Well, there is nothing we can do for them now. Manehatten has a large police force, but they are probably overwhelmed already. We will focus here, on this little group. We will learn what we can about their strengths and tactics, and go from there. Nightfury, the other Black Berets are in a large tent on the southern edge of the encampment. You may go find them. Get some rest. Promise, the-"

"If it's all the same to you, Princess, I want to stay with him."

Luna turned to see Promise had stood next to Nightfury. Their sides were nearly touching, they were so close. Promise looked terrified again. He made her feel safe. 

"Very well. Go. Breakfast is served in the center of the camp at sunrise. Promise, after breakfast, come back here. We will continue talking."

"Yes, Princess."

After they had left, Luna sat back on her pillow. She grimaced and shoved the map away. Useless thing. Manehatten was several days march away for an army, even a small one. Civilians were in danger, and she had gone in the exact wrong direction. Not to say Ponyville wasn't important in it's own way, but it was a small town. Manehatten had a very large population. If the choice had been hundreds or hundreds of thousands, Luna would have had to let Ponyville burn. Luna probably would have thought herself into a dark rage about it, had Twilight Sparkle not finally showed up.

"Luna. I came as fast as I could."

She walked around the table to nuzzle against her lover's neck, which the Princess gratefully reciprocated. 

"Late to the party, as usual."

"What did I miss? The courier that found me knew nothing."

"Nightfury has returned, and he found a girlfriend."

"Really? He escaped? And... what?"

"He managed to seduce the interrogator, who is now working with us as an informant. She seems like a bright girl. Very useful."

Neither mare said anything for several minutes. Luna sat on her pillow by the table, with Twilight awkwardly leaning against her. Luna sensed Twilight's discomfort.

"Come. Let us retire to my bedchamber. I would like you to stay with me tonight."

"Tonight? With an enemy army just outside the door?"

"Is there a better time?"

"Alright, but we are going to sleep."


~~~~~~~~~~~~


Luna and Twilight were still awake several hours later when the alarm was raised. A courier came running to Luna's tent, stopping just outside and shouting.

"Princess Luna! The enemy is approaching! We are under attack! I repeat, they are attacking!"

Luna came shooting out of the tent and instantly took off towards the front line, disappearing into the night sky. Twilight Sparkle came stumbling out a moment later, mane a disheveled mess. She gave a quick smile to the petrified guard and immediately ran off to find the rest of the unicorn forces, supporting the front line. The guard blinked for a moment as he struggled to comprehend what he had just seen, before remembering the approaching army. He turned and ran in the direction that Luna had flown. He was a front line soldier, and the battle for Ponyville had begun. 
> The Rising
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight stood still as she surveyed the scene around her. The scent in the air made her stomache writhe, but she had long since vomited everything but the last vestiges of bile. Her throat still burned and eyes watered, but she couldn't move yet. 

She couldn't do anything except look. 

Look around. 

Look at the devastation wrought in just a few hours. 

Twilight had read plenty of history books. Books about wars, great wars, fought by armies that faded beyond vision across the horizon. Some had gone into great detail the gruesome aftermath, but even Twilight's vivid imagination hadn't been able to comprehend, very much predict, the ugly truth of a real battle. She had even been in Salam during the Imperial Griffon Army's occupation, but nothing there or in the attack that catalyzed her departure had been remotely this disgusting. 

The main thing that amazed her was the quantities of blood. It was everywhere. Barely a single patch of ground had been unsullied. It seeped and stank the entire field. It seemed every single blade of grass had been stained and had turned, instead of red, a nasty shade of rotten brown. The bare dirt had simply turned a darker brown, but stuck to her hooves like the thickest of mud. Twilight hoped the smell would wash away with the dirt, but she doubted it. Nothing this horrid would be easy to get rid of. 

"Chin up."

Twilight's dark ruminations were forcibly broken. Looking to her right, she noticed one of the battlefield surgeons had walked up beside her. His deep red coat was stained with streaks of a brighter red, and his short grey mane was disheveled and dirty. He spoke slowly in a thick, rolling accent. 

"I've seen a few too many souls lost after the battle was long over. Your first, I take it? Yes, no doubt. Ugly, isn't it?"

The doctor took a few steps forward to cast his view over the carnage. He sighed, and turned to look Twilight in the eyes.

"I've lived long enough and traveled far enough to see my fair share of battlefields, and I'll tell you one thing now: Don't let it consume you. It might seem cold and callous, but you have to push it down. Dwell on it later, when the bodies are out of sight. When it's fresh and in front of you, that's when you're at most risk. The best remedy for such ugliness is something beautiful. Go find Luna. She needs you, and you her."

Twilight wanted to say something, anything. She almost said nothing and walked away, to take the advise, but something stopped her. Something about the way the doctor had mentioned Luna.

"How did you know Luna and I were close?"

The doctor smiled, grim and thin.

"Do you not recognize me? I guess I have aged. I am the doctor who treated you in the hospital, after your wings had been clipped."

Twilight gasped as she remembered the enigma who called himself a doctor.

"You!"

"Indeed, me."

"You look so different. Older, much older."

"I was already old when you met me. I just didn't look it. The past caught up to me, with a vengeance, I suppose."

The doctor had turned to walk away, but Twilight stepped in front of him.

"One more thing: Last we met, you gave me advice, and possessed knowledge you could not have possibly known. How? Why? And what did you mean?"

The doctor merely smiled again and turned to the side, beginning to walk away again.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you, for I do not remember. Memory is a fickle beast, and likes to play games. Now farewell Twilight, there are injured to attend to."

Twilight considered chasing after the stallion and demanding more answers, but she stopped that line of thought. He was right, there were more important matters. Turning to face the opposite direction, Twilight spotted the command tents in the distance. Luna was most likely there. Twilight set off at a slow walk. Several times, she stopped to provide what assistance she could. More often than not, she had to use her hooves, as her magic was egregiously tired. She had exhausted herself in the battle. That thought caught Twilight while she was holding a bandage in place so it could be secured. No one could claim she hadn't given her all, as much as it is. 

Eventually, Twilight reached the tent. Shouldering her way through the small crowd of staff surrounding the tent, Twilight entered to find of a few within. Luna stood by the table with the map, pointing and issuing orders to a few officers nearby. When she noticed Twilight entered, Luna motioned her to come by her side. Once the orders were given and the tent emptied, Luna turned to Twilight with soft eyes.

"I am so glad to see you well. I wanted to come find you, but so much is going on at the moment."

Twilight said nothing, just gingerly rested her head on Luna's shoulder. A soft wing draped across her back, and Twilight wished more than anything she could respond in kind. As it was, she could simply stand there, resisting her tears. Her emotions threatened anarchy, but she quelled them with an iron hoof. 

Twilight would have been more than content to remain like that forever, but a subtle push from Luna straightened her up. A moment after, another officer walked on and began spouting reports. Pausing him with an upraised hoof, Luna looked down at Twilight.

"Go find the Black Berets. You are still their Commander. They should still be on the northern fringes, and I haven't yet gotten a report."

Twilight wanted to argue, to oppose leaving the tent, but Luna's eyes convinced her to go. There was still much that needed to be done. Twilight had to be strong for just a bit longer. Leaving the tent, Twilight put the rising sun to her right and set off. 

Progress to the northern side of the army took longer than it had for her to reach the command tent; casualties were heavy there. Twilight helped as she could, but she wasn't practiced in medicine, and there wasn't anything more to be done for far too many than a simply numbing spell. Easing their pain was the least she could do. After a time, Twilight spotted Tank's armour, still somehow shining in the sunlight. The Berets were all gathered in a tight group, heads lowered. Twilight sped up her walk.

As soon as she stepped to within the edges of the group, Twilight noticed what they had gathered around. Her gasp alerted them to her presence, and they respectfully cleared a path. In the center of the group, a body lie on the ground. It was one of the Berets, Rain. He was clearly dead. He was so covered in blood, it was nearly impossible to discern his pale blue coat. Looking up, Twilight recognized the faces as the same ones she had seen the day that Wildfire died. Sad, but dry and resigned. They knew the occupational hazards. 

Out of the group, Nightfury stepped forward. Looking down at Rain, he spoke. His voice wasn't shaking, but his dark blue eyes were moist.

"Tonight, we will raise a toast in his honor. Rain died nobly, as nobly as we could only aspire to. He and Wildfire will wait for us on the other side. For now, disperse. Help where you can. Soothe wounds, ease pain. Twilight, may I have a word?"

Twilight stepped forward as the rest of the group scattered among the carnage. Nightfury took one last look at Rain, then his eyes hardened as he met Twilight's gaze.

"Have you reported to Luna yet?"

"She asked me to come assess the Berets."

"One casualty, a few minor wounds."

"One too many."

"In pitched battle, luck weighs as much as skill, if not more. But to the point, I made a few observations about the enemy you might want to hear, maybe Luna will make more sense of it."

"Alright. What did you notice?"

"Well, simply put, the lack of magic the enemy had. They had no more than two or three dozen spellcasters, for over a thousand soldiers. That's far too few. They should have had at least two, maybe three hundred. Something's not right. As well, the magic that they used. Did you notice?"

Twilight thought back to the chaos of the battle. She had been far too concerned with making sure her shields were as strong as possible, protecting the unicorns around her as they doled out as much damage as they could. 

"Admittedly not. I was casting shields, I wasn't particularly concerned with much beyond that."

"They were all using strictly offensive magic, but only certain kinds. We only saw direct kinetic energy spells. No fire, no lightning, no earthquakes, no zero-point, and no protection of any kind. I believe that's part of the reason we won; we were able to kill through them a lot faster than they could kill us. We had barriers of all kinds, but they were vulnerable. Why? As well, the narrow discipline of spells utilized. Most unicorns use anything they can think of in battle, to better be unpredictable and disrupt the enemy. Magnetism, heat, you name it. As it was, we figured out what they were using pretty quickly, and after a time, dispelled our extraneous shields to strengthen the ones we needed. That would have been a perfect time to change it up, while we had a weakness, but they didn't, and it scares me. They are acting as though they wanted to lose here."

"Now that you mention it, you're right. I remember blocking mostly kinetic energy. I will relay your concerns to Luna. This might be important. I see your logic, and it is worrying."

"Thank you."

Twilight turned and walked away, eyes down but not seeing the ground. Nightfury's words had stirred her mind into action, attempting to make sense of the observations, but nothing came to mind. Another slow trip back to the tent, where Twilight found Luna amidst a throng of ponies. Not all seemed to be officers, but it seemed most of the brass was present. At some unseen prompt, the officers began yelling out numbers one by one, and it was a minute before Twilight realized they were tallying survivors.

"Thirty two."

"Twenty eight."

"Fourteen."

"One."

The voice was so soft Twilight almost didn't hear it.  She stretched her neck to see who had spoken, but the group was too closely pressed. A murmur passed through the crowd, but silenced as quickly as it started. More numbers were called out, and Twilight did the math in her head. The tally was done far too soon, and Luna finished scribbling on a piece of paper on the table. She cleared her throat and addressed the group at large. 

"One hundred and sixteen survivors, out of an army of three hundred and thirty. Nearly half are still alive, after a victory against an army nearly four times as large. That is far beyond expectations. This should be considered a crushing victory. This has shown us that Axion's forces might be numerous, but they favor quantity over quality, and we have shown them the error of their ways. Now, please, go see to your wounded and dead. Dismissed."

The crowd began to ease it's way out of the tent, and Twilight was finally able to approach Luna, who barely looked up from the documents she was writing.

"I have the report from the Black Berets."

"Good. Anything important?"

"One casualty, as well as some observations on the enemy force."

Luna looked up from her papers, sadness in her eyes.

"Yes, I heard. The lieutenant of the section they were in told me. Rain. They told me he died heroically."

"Nightfury said the same, but I never found out what happened."

"Apparently, the line in front of him fell, and he charged straight in to hold the line. By himself, he prevented them from dividing the northern quarter of our army from getting separated and surrounded. His courage rallied the soldiers around him. I wish I had a thousand more like him. You mentioned some observations?"

"Yes, Nightfury noted with some concern the lack of defensive magic in the enemy's force, as well as a very narrow field of offensive attacks, pretty much limited to direct kinetic spells."

"That has been reported from others, as well. I do not understand it. The fact they ignored all magical defense is the main reason we are still alive to discuss it. I sent a few doctors to find some of the enemy spellscasters, to see of they can discern anything from the remains."

Twilight's spine shivered at Luna's lack of emotion while discussing these morbid matters. The Princess had a sad expression, but it was muted. Luna had already turned back to her papers. Twilight suppressed the urge to feel slightly ignored, telling herself that Luna had too much on her mind. 

"You should go talk to Rarity."

"Rarity? Why, is she alright?"

"Physically, yes. Did you not hear what happened?"

"No, she was in the center, and I was with some other unicorns on the southern quarter."

Luna looked up from her papers for a moment to meet Twilight's eyes again, but this time, they weren't filled with sadness. The emotion was closer to worry, but it was hard for Twilight to tell.

"The enemy focused the majority of their attack on the center of our army, seeking to divide us in half. The Archers were in a single group in the middle, several lines back. At one point, the enemy put on a strong offensive and drove deep. They got closer to their goal than I would have liked, but in the end we stopped them. It was only later that I realized precisely how. They breached the first several lines of infantry, and were going for the Archers. Obviously, at a shorter range their ability becomes limited. The unicorns guarding the Archers were overcome by a concentrated barrage of magic, allowing the enemy to attack the Archers at head on. The entire unit was lost, even the officer and sergeant, who both insisted on fighting beside their soldiers. Rarity is the only survivor of the Archers."

Twilight's eyes widened as she abruptly understood the murmur that had passed through the assembled officers earlier.

"So she... The one..."

"Yes. According to others who were close enough to see, upon her unit being slaughtered around her, Rarity went berserk. A bloodrage, to use an old term. She killed many and caused enough disruption for more infantry to reinforce the position and reform the line. She spent the rest of the battle just behind the front lines, casting anything within reach to devastating effect. She was always such a kind and ladylike sort, I am very concerned for how she fared. I want you to go see to her, and make sure she is coping. After that, you should get some sleep. You look tired, and it's going to be a long night."

Twilight numbly nodded and left without a word. She was having a very hard time imagining Rarity in such a rage. Then again, she had proven incapable of imagining many things about war, it would seem.

A few questions later, Twilight found Rarity. A large amount of her white coat was stained red, and her typically stylish purple mane was roughed. A few small cuts were evident on her face, but overall the seamstress seemed physically unharmed. The blood must have come from elsewhere.  Rarity looked up and smiled at Twilight when she approached.

"Hello, Twilight."

Twilight started at Rarity's voice. It wasn't cold, or sad, or hoarse, or anything else Twilight had expected. Her words were perfectly even. Not quite as joyous or tremulous as normal, but not sounding like she had just survived a battle, either. It concerned Twilight even more.

"How are you?"

Rarity laughed at this, a delicate, slightly sarcastic laugh.

"Honestly, not as bad as I feared. Before the battle, I had several stallions come up to me and warn me about survivor's guilt and all, and it scared me witless. But now it's over, I don't feel any of it. The guilt, remorse, anything. I just think to myself, 'It was defense. They attacked me,' and that's all. I keep waiting on a delayed reaction, to end up shivering and sobbing in a corner, but it hasn't happened yet."

While Twilight was still attempting to formulate a response, Rarity to the ground beside her reached with her magic, lifting an object of metal and cloth into view. Turning it around, she examined it, then passed it to Twilight, who held it in her hooves. Close examination revealed it to be a backpiece of armour, the cloth being pouches designed to hang to the side, quivers for the spears the Archers used. Though it was bent as if hacked at repeatedly, the armour was clean of mud and blood. Rarity noticed Twilight's inquisitive looks.

"It was part of my sergeant's armour. I just finished cleaning it. Whispering Wind was his name. A very kind and soft-spoken stallion. He seemed too gentle and quiet, but he was a veteran of many years. At first, he just gave me some simple advice and tried to help me with the big spears, but not an inordinate amount. Then, after Luna made me the smaller projectile yesterday, he began to warm up to me. He realized I wasn't useless after all. He stood there all afternoon while I practiced with my little arrows, as he called them. We were going to do some more thorough testing today, seeing exactly what I was capable of with them. Obviously, things didn't work out. But I guess I do know what I am capable of now..."

Rarity took the armour back from Twilight and trailed off, holding the battered plate in front of her and staring at it with unblinking eyes.

"I know why you're here, Twilight. Someone sent you to make sure I wasn't going crazy. Admittedly, if you told me a month ago what would happen to me today, I would have told you I would have had a complete and irreparable breakdown. But somehow, I'm still sane. Odd, how things work out sometimes."

Twilight just sat beside her friend for a time, although she couldn't sit for long. Still so much to do, and she wanted to check on her other friends. 

"I need to go, Rarity. If you need anything at all, come find me, okay?"

Rarity smiled but didn't look away from the armour she was still holding.

"Alright, I will. I think the rest of the girls are all at our tent."

"Okay. See you later."

Twilight hadn't walked very far when Hawkeye approached her.

"Hey, Commander. Have you talked to Rarity?"

"Why, yes, just a minute ago. Why?"

"I heard of what she did. Thought I would come talk to her myself."

Understanding dawned on Twilight.

"Oh, of course. She seems alright, I suppose. I guess in a way that seems like it's not alright, but whatever."

A sudden surge of lethargy overcame Twilight and she realized all that had happened since last time she slept, more than a day ago. Twilight shook her head to regain her focus and smiled at Hawkeye, who returned the smile, albeit with a hint of concern.

"Commander, you look tired. Go get some rest, if you can. Remember, you can relegate errands to us. We're your squad, after all."

"That's okay, I was just going to check on some of my friends."

"The other Elements of Harmony? I heard they were all safe when I was trying to find Rarity. Other than that, I don't know. They'll still be safe in a few hours, you look like you're about to pass out right here in the mud. You should at least think about taking a nap."

"Heard and understood. Rarity is just around the corner there, behind that blue tent."

"Thanks."

Hawkeye turned and walked in the indicated direction. Twilight turned and began to walk to her friends' tent, but took only a few steps and tripped over her own hooves. Sighing as she lifted herself out of the mud, Twilight decided that Hawkeye was right, and she needed some sleep. No matter how horrifying the battle and the aftermath was, Twilight was pretty sure she could pass into a dreamless sleep immediately. She carefully picked her way through the camp, which was filling up as more of the injured made their way to their tents, or at least into camp. After what seemed far too long, Twilight caught sight of the black with gold trim tent that was the Black Beret's. She had decided to bunk with them when the camp was being set up, as she was their Commander. Besides, there were only two places Twilight felt safe these days: Surrounded by eighteen of the biggest and most dangerous ponies in Equestria, and with Luna, and the Princess was quite busy at the moment.

Twilight smiled and nodded to Frostbite, who stood by the entrance of the tent. He had already cleaned himself, so in the morning sun his white coat and mane made him look like a marble statue when he stood still. Twilight made a mental note to take a bath or at least pour some water on herself when she woke up. She had managed to stay fairly clean, as she hadn't been close to the front lines, but she had accumulated her fair share of filth helping out afterwards. 

Crawling into the nearest empty bedroll, Twilight had only to close her eyes and allow her mind to surrender to darkness. 
> Lot Of Leaving Left To Do
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was dark when Twilight finally opened her eyes. Looking around, she noticed that the tent was still empty, but she could hear voices outside. Twilight stood and did her best to stretch out the stiffness from sleeping on the ground, but it was a loosing battle, as always. Stepping outside, she found a few of the Black Berets sitting around a small fire, using rags and oil to clean some equipment. Hawkeye was polishing his quiver, spears on the ground beside him. Tank had one of his pauldrons, and was doing his best to work out a dent it had acquired. Bill was cleaning one of the heavy iron shoes he wore into battle, a vacant look in his eyes and he looked into the fire. Beside him sat Winter, who wasn't cleaning, but rolling a cigarette out of some rolling paper and tobacco she kept in a little pouch. As Twilight approached, Winter finished the cigarette and lit it by leaning forward into the fire. As she did, she noticed Twilight.

"Good morning, Commander. Sleep well?"

"Oh my, is it morning?"

The rest of the Berets got a small laugh at Twilight's perturbed response. It seemed not even a pitched battle could dampen their spirits.

"No, it's barely an hour after sunset."

Twilight had to smile as she sat next to Winter. The smoke from the cigarette was acrid, but not altogether unpleasant. For some reason, Twilight thought it smelled like old whiskey. Another sniff, and Twilight realized the faint aroma of burnt hair. Looking over, she saw that the tips of Winter's bangs had gotten singed when she had lit the cigarette. Twilight was about to comment on it when a messenger ran up and saluted, quite out of breath.

"Twilight Sparkle! Princess Luna requests your presence at the command tent!"

"Thank you."

Twilight returned his solute and turned to leave, but a sudden thought made her pause.

"Oh, where are the rest of the Berets?"

Hawkeye paused in his polishing and scratched his head.

"Scattered over the camp, helping where they can. Nightfury and Promise are over on the north side, helping those who might recover to continue fighting soon. Frostbite, Willow, and Red are over in the central area, trying to repair some of the wagons and other such equipment that was damaged. I think Little Bit is over on the field, helping to move our dead to the pyre. Not sure where the rest are, but they should be easy to find of you need them."

Hawkeye had risen, as had the others, anticipating Twilight's requesting all the Berets, but Twilight waved them back down.

"Alright. Just wanted to know."

Twilight walked off, heading to the big tent. She found Luna alone inside, frowning over a map. A smile danced across the Princess's delicate features when Twilight entered, and Luna immediately approached to participated in a quick hug and kiss. Twilight held the embrace not nearly as long as she desired, but there was too much to do.

"So, what's the plan?"

"That's what I'm ironing out. We're in a bad position. We camped here because Axion's army was already here and we had no choice. Now that we can move, however, I think we should. It's just the matter of where."

Twilight followed Luna to the map and followed the dark blue hoof as it stabbed several different places.

"The best place would be here. Elevation advantage, and the cliffs to our back. However, we would be too far east. If Axion's army comes from the same direction as last time, they could run right past us to Ponyville. Over by the river is also good, but it's the same problem, but to the west. The problem I'm having is that we can have either a strong position, or be in front of Ponyville. Not both. I believe that if Axion were to send another army, they would come from more or less the same direction. They can't send enough soldiers on one train to take the town, and I highly doubt they would attempt to navigate the Everfree Forest.  That leaves this road here, this one, or following the plains to the west. Either way, they would have to come through just north of here. We're right in the way where we are, but I don't like this position."

Luna sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple with a hoof.

"If only we could move Ponyville."

"What if we did?"

Luna cracked and eye and lifted an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Twilight examined the map, ideas forming in her head.

"Ponyville is a country town. Every citizen has gone camping and hiking at least once, most quite often. We could persuade them to pack up and we could leave. Axion would conquer empty buildings. The population is just low enough that as a group, we would be small enough to go wherever we wanted to, at a nice pace."

Twilight looked up and saw Luna's eyes wide, her hoof suspended in midair. After several seconds of silence, the Princess smiled.

"I think you're onto something."

Twilight beamed.

"I read a story a while back where something similar happens. That village, however, went across the lands and sea, while we shouldn't have to go nearly that far."

"Why not?"

Now it was Luna's turn to examine the map, deep in thought.

"If we're going to move, why not move somewhere we won't have to worry?"

"Where?"

"South. Zebra lands. They've always been quite protective of their borders. If Axion moved a single soldier there, it would be all-out war. I, however, am on quite good terms with King Acoreg. He is stern, but friendly. We could ask for shelter, or at least some vacant land to build a more permanent camp on."

Twilight looked at the map. It was quite a distance, and she had her doubts.

"That's a long way..."

"It is. However, the choice is either migrate or subjugation."

Twilight couldn't disagree, it was a compelling argument. The ponies of Ponyville were a hardy and strong type, and could make the journey.

"Sky Surge!"

The aide outside jumped inside at Luna's call.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Go get Mayor Mare, as well as the top lieutenants. Tell them to come here immediately."

"Yes, Princess!"

The pegasi left, barely outside the tent before flapping his wings and taking to the sky. Twilight suppressed a surge of jealousy and turned back to Luna.

"I'm going to go consult the Berets. I'll bring Nightfury back with me."

"Do that. They will be helpful."

Twilight went back to the Beret's tent to find that a few more had appeared. Nightfury sat beside Promise, both eating ravenously. Frostbite was there as well, sitting beside Hawkeye, sharpening a spear. They all looked up as Twilight approached. Nightfury was the first to speak.

"What's the verdict?"

"We're moving."

"Who? Us, or the army? And where?"

"Ponyville."

The Berets looked at each other, confused. 

"We're going to Ponyville, or the army?"

"No. Ponyville is moving."

A silence ensued, the crackling fire the only sound. Frostbite stabbed the spear into the ground next to him, turning to Twilight.

"I get it. We can't defend Ponyville where we're at, so we're just going to move somewhere defensible. Right?"

"Something like that."

"Where are we going?"

"Undecided, but probably south, to Zebra lands. Luna called a meeting to decide. I wanted to get your opinions. Know anywhere a whole village can hide?"

The Berets all turned back to each other and began debating. It seemed to Twilight they had a very good knowledge of lands that Equestria hadn't had any formal military engagements with in centuries.

"What about those caves on the coast, south of Giddia? Quite expansive."

"I don't think they're big enough. Not to mention, miserable. High tide always gets in. The highlands to the far west?"

"Too cold. If we're there for too long, winter would destroy us."

"Remember when we camped in the forest north of the capitol, whatever it was called? Not a lot of undergrowth. Whole village could camp there pretty comfortably."

"True, but it's rather close to the capitol. If the Zebras suddenly decide they don't like us anymore, we would be too easy to find. A bit further north, there's another forest. That would be a good one. I remember when we marched through, it was nice enough. As well, we could flee in any direction if need be."

A few more small statements were put forth, but Nightfury's last suggestion was soon decided on. When no one had any better ideas, Twilight bade Nightfury come with her, and they both returned to Luna's tent. Mayor Mare was already there, mane flustered and bags under her eyes. Some of the army's high ranking officials were already there, and Luna called the meeting as soon as Twilight and Nightfury entered.

"Attention, everypony. I have been studying and thinking, and I have reached a consensus. Ponyville just isn't in enough of a defensible position. If Axion sends more forces, I fear we would not be able to emerge victorious again. However, we have a plan. We can't protect  Ponyville where it's at, so we move the village. Evacuate the population, and go somewhere safe."

Stunned silence greeted the short speech. Mayor Mare was the first to gather herself.

"That... Are you suggesting that everypony who lives in Ponyville gather their things and leave?"

"Yes. We travel light. No personal artifacts. We must move quickly, and a great distance."

"A great distance? Where would we go?"

"I believe we have a few ideas."

All eyes turned to Twilight. She swallowed and walked to the front, Nightfury trailing behind. Those gathered all looked to the pair, expectant. Twilight levitated the large map from the table, holding it vertically so all could see.

"North of the Zebra capitol city, there is a forest. The trees are large, and quite spread out. As well, there isn't much undergrowth. Nightfury has been there, and he says that a village could camp in there quite well."

"Yes. It was several years ago when I was there, but I doubt much has changed. The land around there is flat, so travel would be easy. As well, if we were discovered, we could flee in any direction. To the south, there is more forest, and then a rocky desert, with many cliffs and caves to hide in. To the east, the open plains and ocean. To the north, we would eventually end up back in Equestria, but the hills and thick jungles lay that way, making attack from that direction unlikely. To the west, the mountains."

There was some quiet muttering as the gathered ponies muttered amongst each other. Mayor Mare was quiet, though, stepping forward to examine the map.

"That is a long walk. We have some elderly in the town, as well as a good number of injured and disabled from the battle."

"We also have many strong bodies. We could pull carriages."

More muttering, but this time, Mayor Mare looked much less trepidatious. Instead, she looked more sad than anything. Her voice shook just a little as she spoke.

"We will be leaving behind everything we have ever known. But I am afraid you are right. We cannot stay here. Axion sent too weak of a force the first time, and she will not make the same mistake twice. I will tell the townsfolk."

Without a further word, she left. Some of the brass followed, a few staying behind to examine the map. Luna, Twilight, and Nightfury went off to the side to convene. 

"That went better than expected."

"Let's hope preparations and evacuation go as smoothly."

Nightfury shook his head grimly.

"We have an old saying: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. We have to operate under the assumption another force is moving our way right now. We can't afford to delay. We have to begin preparations immediately."

Luna nodded. The last of the lieutenants had left, so Luna made her way to the map and examined it. She spoke without turning.

"I agree. Go get some rest, the both of you. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
> On The Run
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight hadn't bothered looking up for hours. At first, she had been watching her hooves for practical reasons, as the morning sun had been in front of them and was very bright indeed. Now, however, it was afternoon and the sun was behind them, but Twilight kept her eyes lowered. There wasn't much to see anyways. Almost three hundred weary ponies, each with packs or lashed to wagons. 

The breaking down of camp had commenced as soon as the wounded were tended to or packed into wagons, depending on the severity of their injuries. Some had healed enough to walk, light packs on their backs. Many of the wounded were still in the wagons, recuperating. A few able bodies had stayed behind to finish burning the dead, graves taking too much time to dig and cover. The creatures from Axion's army were left to rot. 

Now they were headed east. As soon as they reached the coast, they were to turn south, and travel towards the Zebra port city of Giddia, before turning west towards the capitol. The march was projected to take just over a week, and to Twilight, it might have well been forever. Eight hours in, and she was already ready to drop. The bag on her back wasn't quite as heavy as some of the others, but it was large and bulky and awkward, and Twilight hated it. 

The sun had just reached the horizon when Luna called the procession to a halt for the day. Immediately, most of the ponies groaned and as one dropped their packs where they were standing. Several pegasi immediately took to the sky, stretching their wings. They stayed low, but flew in circles, wider and wider from the camp. Once they were confident that the camp's perimeter was safe for the moment, they landed and everyone began the task of preparing for the night. No tent were erected, as it was cloudless and not so cold. Fires were started, and sleeping bags thrown around them. 

Twilight threw her sleeping bag around a fire with her friends, and Luna soon joined them. The Black Berets arranged themselves in a circle around the group, and so the night was spent. There was very little conversation, as everyone was too tired. The morning was just as quiet, but instead of being too tired, they all were saving energy for the long day ahead. 

The next several days were just as uneventful as the first. No enemies were encountered, although pegasi scouts sent to any nearby town all came back with the same report. Axion's forces had moved in and taken control. The locals were put to work, but it didn't seem as if they were slave laborers. The workdays weren't exceptionally long or harsh, and it appeared they got weekends off. Twilight wrote every scrap of information gathered on a notebook, and she and Luna spent time every evening going over any new information, adding it to what they already knew, trying to get a comprehensive understanding of what Axion's long term plans were. 

The only thing they knew for sure was that Axion was actively increasing organized industry. Manufacturing plants had appeared in nearly every town, although what they were making and why was unclear, as the plants were too well guarded for the pegasi to get too close, and wagons leaving were covered. Mining had also been noticed, great holes in the ground with a steady stream of workers going in and out. Axion was clearly trying to boost the economy, although to what end was debated. The Black Berets all agreed that she was funding a giant army to gain control of Equestria and all surrounding lands. Luna put forth the idea that the plants were manufacturing armour and weapons for Axion's existing army, upgrading their equipment  rather than try and recruit more soldiers. Twilight thought that Axion simply wanted Equestria to become the center of wealth in the known world, and gaining power by trading and political maneuvering. Pinkie Pie was of the opinion that Axion was building the largest cake in history to celebrate her domination of Equestria, but the rest of them didn't quite think that was the case. 

After a week of hard marching under the relentless sun, they reached the coast. The salty air and steady wind was a miracle to Twilight, relishing the cool breeze on her face. They reached the coast just after noon, and Luna called an early day. The camp was set, and most of the procession immediately descended onto the beach and into the waves, bathing the grime and dirt of travel away. The sentries were rotated out more often then normal, so everypony got a chance to swim and relax for the first time in too long. Brittle nerves were built back up, and that night, there was conversation and even a little merriment at dinner. They were only three days hard mach away from Giddia, which everyone had become convinced they would be allowed to visit.

The march down the coast wasn't nearly as tough as the march to it. Every night, they were allowed to bathe and soak in the waves, and the sentries only had to watch in one direction, as assault from the water seemed unlikely. The days passed, and not nearly soon enough, faint lights were seen on the horizon one night after sunset. Many wanted to stop in at the port city, but Luna was adamant. None were to witness the former city of Ponyville on the march until they reached their destination. Twilight suspected that a few of the more brash young stallions had snuck out for an evening of merriment, but she was never able to prove it. Nevertheless, the next morning the congregation packed their bags and left the city behind as they moved back west.

They had only come to the coast so that they could make the march south avoiding the thickest of the jungle that they hoped would shield them from northern invasion. It wasn't very far from the coast to the capitol, but it felt like so much further. 

Twilight was loathe to relinquish the charming beach, although it did mean that there was only a single day's march until the capitol. They had gone far to the south, officially  leaving Equestria's borders. It was the first time in her life that Twilight had been outside Equestria, and she spend several hours mentally meditating over the fact that it didn't feel any different. Sure, the weather was slightly warmer, but the difference was barely perceptible. The flora and fauna were pretty much the same, and so the matter was soon ignored. It was a difference in name only. 

Once the capital was in view, the army was called to a halt. It had been decided that they would remain outside and Luna would proceed inside, taking only Twilight with her. They met in Luna's tent, and they could only spare the time to share only a single kiss before they had to depart. They solemnly entered the city, eliciting strange looks from the zebra population, which were ignored. The central court building was easy to find, as the proud spires towered above every other building in the city. The found the Zebra Emperor, Acoreg, sitting high on his thick thrown of hewn wood. He rose and walked down to meet his guests.

"Princess Luna! It is a true joy to see you. How have you fared?"

"It was a long road, and friends were lost to Axion's forces. Pray, what news have you?"

"We have much to discuss. Let us go to privacy."

Acoreg was tall and proud, his modest golden crown dwarfed upon his head. He turned and led the pair out of the great hall, and into a well furnished sitting room, complete with fireplace and servants to bring them food or drink as desired. Twilight asked for a mere apple cider, and turned her attention back to the King, who was already discussion the situation with Luna.

"It is an intimidating prospect, to be sure. Axion moved with decisive force, and we are nervous. The Zebras do not have much by the way of military, having not needed it much for hundred of years. We have a small border patrol to the south, guarding our lands from the bandits and outlaws from the uncivilized badlands, but other than that, we are weak. If Axion were to invade in force, we would be as weeds swaying in the winds of a storm."

"It is as you say. She has numbers, yes, but they are paltry in strength. We ourselves defeated a force that outnumbered us four to one. It is truly a matter of quantity outweighing quality, and it shall be Axion's downfall."

"And what would your plan entail?"

Luna hesitated, only because the servants had arrived bearing refreshments. Luna took a sip from her glass of water, and Twilight took a drink of her cider. It was crisp and refreshing. Then it was back to the matters at hoof. 

"We seek to retake the throne. Axion is an usurper. With adequate soldiers, we could force our way back into Canterlot, and remove her."

"So you seek able bodies?"

"In mass, yes."

Acoreg took a moment to think. He had ordered a salad of incomparable quality, and he took the time to take a bite and relish it. He swallowed, and Twilight saw the first vestiges of anxiety in his eyes.

"And that, my dear, is where we must reach the walls of difference. Axion had put to us a treaty. We will trade with her to certain extents, and she will not destroy my people. I have agreed, for the time. It is a matter of survival. It is sure that she will attack us eventually, but in the meantime, I will build our armies. Us Zebras are renowned for our ambush forces, and I will put them to good use. Even now, they train, in the dense jungles to the west. However, it is not time, and they not ready. I ask you, why should I provoke a snake, whose fangs are deadly but yet still hidden?"

Luna was silent for a moment, sampling more of her water.

"For the reason that the longer time you wait, the stronger Axion will become, and all the harder to defend your land from."

King Acoreg was silent for a long time. His eyes were only for his salad, and his mind elsewhere. At great length, he spoke.

"You have a point. However, I do not grant you the benefit of doubt. I think that my troops will hold our borders, as unfamiliar as she is with our lands. I will not help you, and bring death upon mine so soon."

And so the meeting was done. Pleasantries were exchanged, but Luna could find no purchase upon the King's will. He was adamant that he could hold his lands, and that giving Luna troops would bring Axion's wrath upon his Kingdom too soon. All too soon, they were leaving the castle, winding their way out of the city and back to camp. 

That night was quite similar to the one in Giddia, several nights ago. The ponies were resigned and silent, staring into their bowls or the fire, whichever was more appetizing. The Zebras were cordial enough, some even donating spare food or fabric before furtively walking away, as if Axion herself were watching. Breaking camp in the morning was a somber affair, and all too soon, they were marching again.

Luna had intentionally not mentioned that an entire village was along with her, as well as the fact that they were going to camp in Zebra lands. The spot that had been chosen had been carefully selected for it's location, far from any cities or outposts. They were confident that they could stay there for an extended period of time before they were discovered, if they ever were.

They were miles from anything, secluded in a vast forest of ancient trees. The undergrowth was mild, so it didn't take very long to clear an area large enough for everyone. Tents were erected, fires were started, and food was prepared. Twilight sat with the rest of the Black Berets, who quietly ate their dinner. 

Many thoughts were crossing Twilight's mind, but she ignored most of them. Her whole life, everything she had known, was now turned upside down. Now, instead of worrying about late books or enigmatic experiments, she was thinking of how to take back control of Equestria, and keep those she cared about alive. 

Later, as Twilight lay down next to an already slumbering Luna, Twilight reflected on the events that had brought her to where she was. She tried to think about the future, and imagine how this could play out, but it was difficult. Axion had a strong position, that wasn't up for argument. The only thing Twilight knew for sure was that there would be much suffering before the end.

Luna's wing unfurled and wrapped around Twilight, almost as if Luna realized the conflicted nature of her lover's mind. Sleep was elusive to Twilight that night. 
> Scarlet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity begrudgingly opened her eyes. It was still dark, and very few ponies were awake yet. Looking up, Rarity guessed that it was an hour or two until dawn. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew that she couldn't. She had been lucky to get as much sleep as she had. She didn't sleep well anymore. 

Most wouldn't have been surprised. They would say that it was expected to have trouble sleeping when your home had been invaded, and other sympathetic things. But it wasn't Axion, the invasion, or even the recent retreat that the entirety of Ponyville had done. No, it was something a little more personal. 

Rarity grabbed Whispering Wind's armour from where it had spent the night, on the ground right next to her. She had cleaned it up and repaired it as much as possible, and it was quite serviceable. She liked using it. Not only was it very useful, but she felt that when she wore it, he was still there. Still whispering kind words, little pieces of advice, that in any other setting or subject, would have been very sweet. But he had been teaching her to kill, and no matter how nicely he said it, it was still a bit gruesome, however well he meant it. Rarity felt that his advice had helped keep her alive.

At least partially.

Rarity checked to make sure that all her arrows were present, then set off. The camp was still quiet, most ponies still sleeping off the long march just behind them. She noticed a few lingering eyes, but ignored them. They didn't understand. Reaching the edge of the camp, Rarity only had to share a glance with the perimeter sentry and he let her pass. She walked into the darkness. 

She walked until the camp was far out of sight. Finding a clearing that satisfied her, Rarity stopped. The arrows levitated out of her quiver and stabbed themselves into the ground to her side, all except one. That one, she leveled out and pointed ahead. A large tree stood a good distance off, barely visible in the gloom. Rarity focused on the trunk until nothing else existed. The arrow shot off into the darkness.

Thwack.

The sound of metal biting wood echoed dully through the trees, and Rarity smiled. Lifting another arrow, she repeated the process.

Thwack.

Another target down. The next one followed more quickly.

Thwack.

Now that she was sighting in, the arrows came nonstop.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.Thwack.

Seizing a moment of boldness, Rarity lifted two arrows at once, sending one off a moment before the other.

Thwack-thwack.

She paused a moment, slightly surprised that both had found the target. Her smile grew wider as she grabbed seven more arrows, sending them off in rapid succession.

Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack.

Rarity scowled. She heard only six impacts. Casting a light at the tip of her horn, she walked towards the tree, intending on finding the wayward projectile. While not being prohibitively expensive or difficult to make, they were certainly valuable, and wasting the smithy's time while he had better things to be making would be selfish on her part. 

Reaching the tree she had been aiming at, Rarity had to pause and admire her work. None of the arrows were more than head height, and only two were lower than her torso. Mostly kill shots, made in the dark at a good distance. Rarity had a small surge of pride as she continued past the tree, scanning the ground ahead. 

She found the arrow, and began walking back to her spot. She was intending on getting in as much practice as she could while the camp was stationary. There was no telling if or when they would have to move or fight again, and Rarity was going to do everything she could to protect those she cared about. 

Rarity grabbed the spears embedded in the tree as she walked past, wrenching them out of the bark with slightly more force than was strictly necessary, but she barely noticed. It was happening again. Her mind began to twist. Rarity was back at the spot she had been standing at previously, but as she looked around, she didn't see any trees. She looked in the direction that her target tree had been, but she couldn't see it. The forest around her had disappeared. 

All she could see was the battlefield, and each tree had become one of those creatures from Axion's army, except much more massive. They towered over Rarity, mouths agape to display fearsome fangs. Soft growls reached her ears, and Rarity began to tremble, feeling the first vestiges of fear. But before she was crippled by terror, Rarity remembered that she was no longer the mare she was before, and she was armed. The creatures began to charge, but they couldn't move nearly as fast as Rarity's magic.

The first spear found the creature directly in front of her in the chest. It coughed blood, thick and black, before falling. The others didn't seem to notice, but they began to when the arrows pierced their body. They had Rarity surrounded, but that just meant she could throw in every direction. The four in front, dead. Two to the right, dead. Three to the left, then another on the right. Spinning around, she sent arrows into the eyes of the four who had hoped to sneak up on her. 

Spinning around again, Rarity found herself looking up at the largest of them all. He loomed over her, saliva dripping from his curved fangs. Despite the fact that most ponies would have run away crying, Rarity hesitated only for a moment. A larger enemy meant a larger target. She hefted all the arrows she had left, and with a fearsome battle cry, sent all ten of them straight into it's throat. They ripped through flesh and bone, and the creature's eyes were wide with surprise when the head landed in front of Rarity, a moment before the body collapsed, spasming and spurting blood from the severed neck. 

The field now silent, Rarity closed her eyes and hung her head. She knew that this was a vision, a hallucination, but that didn't make it any less real to her. She kept seeing the battle, kept reliving it, over and over. Each time it grew in severity. Even though it was just a vision, Rarity didn't want to find out what would happen should she let one of them kill her. But that wasn't what scared Rarity.

Opening her eyes, Rarity summoned a magical mirror as tall as she was. The mirror showed her a mare, tall and regal. Her coat was a glossy grey of polished metal, her eyes a beautiful sky blue. Her mane and tail were billowing and voluptuous, dark purple with a wide white streak. Rarity loved her image as much as it scared her. She wondered if she looked like this to everypony else, or if this was a part of her hallucinations as well. She hoped not, she could design some excellent armour for this body. 

Dispelling the mirror, Rarity closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She felt her heartbeat slow, and felt the madness leave her head, when she opened her eyes, she was in the forest as proper. The sun was just beginning to rise, and Rarity was able to look around and see that all her arrows had been embedded in the trees around her. Two had gone so deep that they broke when she tried to remove them, but she retrieved the rest. Digging the two metal tips out of the trunks, Rarity put her backpiece on and put the arrows in the quivers. She turned and headed back to camp, leaving several slightly destroyed trees behind. 









> Who Is Right
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia hummed softly to herself as she read the missive again. She had read it four times already, and could more or less recite it in it's entirety from memory, but she needed to see the words again, and again. Ponyville had left. The entire population, gone. The train station had been left undefended, and so their goal had been achieved, but it brought up many questions. 

What game are you playing at, Twilight? A group of several hundred ponies will easily be found and dealt with. 

Still, she had to commend their defiance and ingenuity. They had defeated the small expeditionary force Axion had sent, which was somewhat surprising, but not unplanned for. Another, larger contingent had already been dispatched by the time the battle had taken place, but they arrived to a ghost town. Celestia had sent several intelligent Pegasi trackers to discern the direction of departure. While they were good at being an army, the Kritz were useless at anything else. They weren't very intelligent, strong, or tough, and they possessed next to none of their own magic. The only way they had defeated natural selection was the same way ants did: sheer numbers. Their hives often numbered in the thousands, and there were a few that Celestia thought could be over a hundred thousand strong. 

But they didn't need that kind of numbers, not in the foreseeable future, at least. Axion had emptied a few of the smaller outlying nests, to bring their total standing army to just over thirty thousand. Celestia wasn't sure precisely how Axion had commanded such unwavering loyalty form the simple-minded creatures, but she didn't truly care. She was content just to sit by and watch. It had been centuries since anything really interesting had happened, and Celestia was looking forward to seeing how this played out. 

Standing from her desk, Celestia made to retire to her bedchambers. She wanted a warm bubble bath before going to sleep. She had long ago renovated the room connecting to her chambers into a personal office, and had lauded the decision ever since. After a long day of signing papers, having a nearby bubble bath was a treasure coveted above most anything else. 

Locking the thick door behind her, Celestia sent a cloud of yellow haze towards the bathtub, which obediently began spewing steaming water. She began to delicately remove her regalia, carefully arranging it on a shelf built specifically for that purpose. She made to move towards the tub, which was nearly full, but was stopped by the mirror.

It was a glorious construction, taller than she and quite wide, trimmed in the finest gold and silver. It wasn't the pretty materials that stopped her, however. Her private quarters were quite lavish, and the mirror's extravagance did nothing more than fit in. No, it was the mare in the mirror that gave her pause. 

It was Celestia staring back at her, for sure. Her coat was the purest of white, and her eyes were still the kindest of violets. Her mane still fluttered behind her, but it was no longer the kind rainbow that had followed her. It was now orange fire, billowing and ravenous. Her tail was the same, and Celestia decided she looked quite like what she imagined what would happen if she followed the same path of Nightmare Moon. She looked like an evil rendition of herself.

The thought quite gladdened her, actually. Her appearance had been carefully chosen after Axion had approached her, offering the world on a gold platter. Celestia decided that if she were going to appear to have knelt to Axion, she might as well look the part. Axion seemed to believe it as well, which made Celestia even more proud of her ruse. While she wasn't opposing Axion, neither did Celestia fully subject herself to her. She just wanted to be nearby if things went really badly, and her interference was required. While she knew that it would be argued that pitched battles across Equestria qualified as "going badly", the larger picture was none so bleak. 

Gently lowering herself into the streaming bathtub, Celestia closed her eyes and let her mind wander freely. It was something she hadn't done in decades, if not centuries, but Axion's recent coup had given Celestia a previously unavailable amount of free time. Now that the burden of micromanaging the country was lifted, Celestia could afford to allow herself to relax. No longer did she have to occupy herself day in and day out with petty squabbles among politicians, or whether the Treasury was quite full enough, or any other problems that mortals had proved through the centuries to be unfit at governing. She could.... Unwind. 

And sure enough, her mind went straight to Twilight Sparkle. For as close as they had been for years, Twilight was still an interesting enigma to Celestia. Way back, when she had first been dispatched to Ponyville, Twilight was eternally naive, and so easy to predict. Now, however, she had learned much, and often in ways Celestia hadn't fully expected. She had always been dangerously intelligent, but now she was learning how to apply her genius intellect to the real world, to resounding effects. Celestia had let Twilight solve several problems that she could have easily dealt with herself, but instead the Princess had chosen to take a back seat, or even feign helplessness, as she did with Tirek or Discord. Twilight and her friends had shown themselves to be very resourceful, emerging victorious, if barely, on occasion. 

Even now, Twilight was still proving exceptional. Warfare was something Celestia had never prepared Twilight for, not thinking it necessary. But here they were, civil war, and Twilight was adapting and continuing. Celestia idly wondered why Twilight hadn't attempted to come after the Elements of Harmony, still locked safely in the palace. She knew where they were and how to access them, even, and Celestia would have bet many bits that Twilight would have gone after them and try to 'cure' Celestia, as the Elements had Nightmare Moon, all those years ago. 

The last time Twilight had seen Celestia had been on the night of the invasion of Canterlot. Celestia had sat beside the throne, her mane a glorious inferno, and Axion had occupied the throne. It had been Celestia's own idea for them to arrange themselves thus. Twilight had set off every alarm they had set as she barreled down the halls, giving them plenty of time to prepare. Axion had wanted to disappear, leaving Twilight to find an empty castle and have questions but no answers. Celestia had responded with an indifferent "So what? Let her see us!" 

Celestia had wondered quite often what Twilight's thoughts were, or better yet, Luna's reaction. The Princess of the Night had more experience than most at converting to evil, but that was what had lead Celestia to believe they would come after the Elements. It was now apparent that Celestia was incorrect, and such a thing was rare. Hypothesis presented themselves to Celestia, and she discarded them, one after another. The best guess was that Twilight was putting more and more trust in her Black Berets, and they had concocted a new plan, one that Celestia was anticipating greatly. The Berets were the best, never backing down, never accepting failure. However, they as well were unaccustomed to open warfare. 

Celestia backed away from the individuals concerned, and thought of Equestria as a whole. Civilians were dying in this war, to be sure, but at the same time, she had never seen the populace so united. They had joined as a single force to repel Axion's advances. They failed for the most part, but it was greatly admirable. When Axion fell, as villains invariably did, Celestia had a feeling that Equestria would be stronger than it had been in many centuries, since Nightmare Moon, at least. 

Was this the right way to unify a nation? Through warfare and death? Maybe, maybe not. As an ancient monarch, one of the oldest creatures still walking this land, Celestia thought she was more qualified than most to make that decision. 

Celestia opened an eye to notice that the bathwater had cooled off. She briefly contemplated getting out, but instead sent a small pulse of energy to her mane. It flared briefly, making it look all for the world that Celestia was bathing in flames. She caught the image in the large mirror, and decided that she would have to paint that picture. She looked quite regal. After a moment, the flames died, and the water was once again steaming hot. 

Closing her eyes again, Celestia lowered herself into the water until only her face was exposed. A smile graced her features as she relaxed, mind now chasing much less important daydreams. 
> Who Is Left
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight gazed down at the camp. It was far smaller than it had seemed when she was down there, walking around, mingling, making sure everypony was acclimatizing. They were coping as well as could be expected. Already, several of the more ambitious carpenters had began building primitive shacks. Luna had allowed this, as long as they didn't chop down any noticeably tall trees. It seemed the village would be located here for the foreseeable future. Pegasi scouts had dispersed around the region, and all had reported no pony in sight for at least a full days' march. 

The camp spread out below her in the glowing dawn, Twilight was overcome with a strong feeling of melancholy, mixed with a dull despair. It was now more than ever Twilight missed her wings. She would have loved to be able to fly up here on her own, getting the big picture without needing assistance. She had considered the spell she had used with Rarity several years ago to give herself temporary conjured wings, but it was far too risky. That whole debacle nearly ended in disaster. 

Twilight sighed and waved at Luna, who was directly below her. Twilight was perched up high, near the top of a tall tree on the perimeter of the camp. Seeing her signal, Luna spread her magnificent wings, taking off and rising quickly to hover next to Twilight. Taking the proffered hoof, Twilight held on tight as Luna gently took them both back to the ground. Touching down delicately, the pair strode off, making another round of the camp. 

"They seem to be coping quite well."

Twilight chuckled at Luna's observation as they passed a family, the parents talking sweet talk to their infants over breakfast.

"The ponies of Ponyville are a hardy type."

They continued on, occasionally stopping to offer words of comfort. Granny Smith insisted that they stay for breakfast with the Apple family. Twilight's stomache reminded her that she hadn't eaten yet, so they did. Pastries and coffee were served, and the group made delightful small talk. Applejack wasn't present, as she had offered to help the carpenters, but Big Mac and Applebloom were, and Twilight enjoyed being able to sit and see how they were doing. Big Mac was unflappable as always, and even Applebloom seemed to be taking the change of scenery well. No sooner than the food was demolished and the coffee drained, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo appeared out of nowhere and dragged Applebloom off, shouting something about Cutie Mark Crusader Carpenter Assistants. Big Mac made his excuses and left, leaving Luna and Twilight with Granny Smith. They tried to help with the dishes, but the old mare wasn't having any of it.

"Now, ah know yer havin' all that royalty stuff to be doin,' so git along with it! Don't worry about leetle old me. Gotta have somethin' to keep these old bones movin'."

"The well being of the village is our duty now. We're here to help any way we-"

"So go an' help them who need it! I'll be fine. Just make sure you come back for dinner one of these days!"

Promising to return as soon as available, Twilight and Luna left, making their way back to Luna's tent. There they kissed before separating, the Princess going into the tent and Twilight turning off. She was off to assemble the Black Berets. The village might be settling in, but there was still work to be done. There was still a war going on. 

She found them exactly where she thought they would be, sitting around their tent. They weren't idle, but studying and intermittently arguing over a map. Twilight listened for a moment before her curiosity demanded to know what they were debating.

"Morning, Berets. What's on the table?"

The Berets all turned and saluted smartly, before edging over to provide Twilight access to the circle around the map. Frostbite spoke first, pointing at the map.

"We're just discussing best places to conduct reconnaissance. We need to know exactly what Axion's up to. Canterlot's obviously off the list, too well guarded, as will be most major train stations for whatever reason, so Ponyville is off too. We're thinking Dodge City or Baltimare. They're both close. Dodge has a railway, but it's a dead end. We might be able to see of Axion plans on extending it this way any. Baltimare also has a large port, so we can check on any activity there."

Twilight shrugged. Their logic in such matters was perfect, as always.

"I can't find an argument against it. Who would be going?"

"Well, we figured that Tank, Hawkeye, Bill, and Red could go to Dodge City. Willow, Winter, and I will go to Baltimare. We could depart this afternoon, and we should both be getting to our respective location tomorrow night. A day or so recon, and be back by the end of the week."

Twilight studied the map and though quietly for a minute, but could find little argument in the plan. 

"I'll go tell Luna. Every thing we know is another step closer to ending this insurrection."

Nodding to Nightfury, Twilight left the circle and went to Luna's tent, quickly informing the Princess of the Black Beret's plan. When Luna was amicable to the idea, Twilight went back to the Black Beret's tent and told Nightfury to be off as soon as they were ready. She wasn't quite expecting the already packed bags, but she wasn't so surprised.

After seeing them off, Twilight made her way back to Luna's tent. She had some paperwork to do. Who knew a war came with so much bureaucracy? 
> PAIN
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

HUNT IN THE FOREST

SMELL

THE PURPLE

SMELL THE PURPLE

SHE WANTS ME TO FIND

FIND THE PURPLE

FIND

KILL

EAT KILL FEED DEAD

THE PURPLE

MY ONLY WISH IS HER COMMAND

HER COMMAND IS FIND THE PURPLE

A SMELL I FOUND A SMELL

PURPLE

IT SMELLS PURPLE

ANOTHER SMELL

WHAT IS THAT?

ROYAL
PRINCESS
CROWN
MOON STONE

NO STOP THAT

PURPLE

SHE WANTS THE PURPLE DEAD

DEAD KILL EAT FEED DEAD

FIND THE SMELL

THERE IT IS

I CAN SMELL HER



I'M COMING



TREE

TURN

AROUND THE TREE

THERE

PURPLE SMELL

OTHERS

OTHERS NOT PURPLE OTHERS

NOT GOOD SHE SHOULD BE ALONE FIND HER ALONE

THAT'S WHAT MISTRESS SAID

PURPLE ALONE

KILL

NOT  CROWN
DON'T KILL CROWN
DON'T KILL ANYTHING ELSE

SO HUNGRY

PURPLE

MISTRESS PUNISH ME

HURT ME I AM SO WEAK
SERVE YOU BETTER
KILL THE PURPLE

ANOTHER TREE GO AROUND

PURPLE SMELL UP TREE

WHY PURPLE UP TREE

DO NOT LIKE

CAN'T TREE

SMELL
SMELL
SMELL
SMELL 

SMELL COME DOWN TREE

GO AWAY

SMELL THAT WAY

LIGHT 

NO LIGHT 
BAD 
DON'T LIKE SEE ME KILL ME CAN'T SERVE MISTRESS

SERVE MISTRESS

DARKNESS NOW
LIKE DARKNESS
DARKNESS HIDE ME
CAN'T SEE

SERVE MISTRESS

PURPLE SMELL

GO AROUND LIGHT 


THERE  


PURPLE SMELL ALONE

TENT

PURPLE SMELL COMING FROM TENT
PURPLE SMELL IS THERE


WANT PURPLE CRAVE PURPLE SO HUNGRY FEED ME


WAIT

NOT ALONE

OTHERS
OTHERS NOT GOOD DON'T KILL OTHERS DON'T BE SEEN

THAT'S WHAT THE MISTRESS SAID

I LOVE THE MISTRESS

SHE HURTS ME GOOD

PURPLE NOT ALONE

DON'T KILL HER

WAIT

DARKNESS
HIDE IN DARKNESS
WAIT IN DARKNESS

WAIT FOR PURPLE

ALONE

BE ALONE KILL PURPLE SMELL SO GOOD




WHAT'S THAT




OTHER

WAIT

PURPLE TOO

OTHER PURPLE 

SMELL DIFFERENT BUT PURPLE

NOT ALL PURPLE

PURPLE HAIR
WHITE

WHY DIFFERENT

DON'T LIKE IT

WHY SO HARD

BUT PURPLE

KILL PURPLE

OTHER PURPLE?

BUT PURPLE

MISTRESS SAID KILL PURPLE

THIS PURPLE?

SO HUNGRY 

OTHER PURPLE NOT ALONE

NOT ALONE

OTHER

ONLY ONE

KILL?

KILL BOTH

MISTRESS SAID KILL PURPLE

NOT OTHERS

PLEASE MISTRESS OR DISPLEASE

BUT BOTH

BOTH

KILL BOTH

PAIN WORTH IT

PLEASE MISTRESS

CRAVE PURPLE

KILL BOTH AND RUN

KILL
EAT
HUNGRY




	
I'M COMING
> Nouveau Heroes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conjuring a light to fight off the evening gloom, Luna did her best to put a stone mask over her face as she surveyed the grisly scene before her.  Blood and bits of flesh were splattered everywhere on the graveled ground, as if a body were rent with an explosion. Here and there, a few larger pieces lay, giving her clues as to the pony that had once been whole. The head was mostly intact, however, and she first focused on that.

The coat had been blue, best she could tell through the blood, and a few scraps of longer hair might hint to a green mane. His one intact eye was open and bloodshot, gazing to the infinite. His mouth was open, tongue hanging out lopsided. His teeth were browned and cracked, with quite a few missing, but the ones remaining had been filed to points. Quite recently, if the gleaming white edges were anything to go by.

Looking around, Luna couldn't find anything else to go on. She sighed. An hour ago, a messenger had ran into her tent and proclaimed that Rarity and Hawkeye had been attacked. She had immediately leapt up to follow him to where they both sat unhurt, if covered in blood. After ascertaining that the blood wasn't theirs, the Princess had decided to view the scene. Nightfury had arrived and offered to assist, but so far they had only found bits of flesh and gore. 

The scene not giving any clues, Luna turned to look towards Hawkeye and Rarity, standing at the edge of the clearing. Hawkeye was standing very close, sides nearly touching, and whispering what was sure to be reassuring words into her ear, though Rarity didn't seem to need them. In fact, she simply studied the area with stoic curiosity. That unnerved Luna more than anything, so she decided to go investigate.

Hawkeye took a small step away from Rarity and saluted as the Princess approached, Rarity dipping her head in a halfhearted curtsy. Luna studied her eyes, those pretty blue eyes. They were calm. 

"Rarity, I need you to tell me exactly what happened."

"Yes, Princess. It happened so fast, there's not a lot to it. We were heading a bit deeper into the woods to get some practice in this evening before he left for Dodge City in the morning. Hawkeye has been helping me to improve my skills. As we were walking, we thought we heard something off to one side, a few twigs breaking, things like that. We stopped talking and were looking around, but we weren't spooked enough to turn around. Well, we came across this little clearing and decided that it looked like a fine place for a session. We hadn't been standing here for a few seconds when he charged out from behind a tree at us, shouting nonsense. He came straight at me, ignoring Hawkeye. The only weapons we had between us were my arrows, and they were tucked into my sling and would take too long to pull out and around. So, I reacted somewhat instinctively and grabbed hold of the rocks at our hooves. I sent them at him. It would seems I overdid it a touch. Half the ground rose up and cut him down. A perimeter sentry heard the commotion and came to us, and it was he we sent to you."

She fell quiet, so Luna looked to Hawkeye to add anything, but he just shook his head.

"It was as she said. He was mad, clear as day. I think he was sent by Axion. His gibberish sure sounded like it, but like I said, he was also quite insane."

"Could you comprehend anything?"

"Just a few disjointed words. Something about the purple mistress, and stuff like kill, eat, dead, hungry. What struck me was purple mistress. Axion isn't purple, is she?"

"No, but Twilight is. I wonder if he wasn't some kind of brainwashed assassin? If he were mentally deficient, it would be difficult to give him detailed instructions. So Axion could have conditioned him to kill any pony with purple in their coat, hoping he would go for the most purple one in sight. Unfortunately, he found you two before he made it to the camp, saw Rarity's mane and fixated on her."

The three ponies fell silent as they digested Luna's analysis. No one had any better ideas. A few others scoured the clearing, attempting to uncover any trace, any clue that had been missed, but as the night grew deeper and the stars came out to dance, they one by one admitted defeat, even Nightfury. Soon Luna, Rarity and Hawkeye were the only ones left in the forest. Luna caught those small glimpses that the pair shared when they thought she wasn't paying attention, and so made her excuses, leaving them to walk back to camp in private. They had scarcely left the carnage behind when Rarity sighed.

"Is this courage? Keeping the calm face on when you feel like your mind is trying to rip itself apart?"

Hawkeye answered, but only after a moment's quiet thought. His reply was barely above a whisper, and Rarity knew it was because there was no easy way to say it.

"Yes."

They took only a few more steps in the quiet woods.

"It must be the hardest thing to do for a Black Beret, keep strong when something like that happens."

"Indeed. It is something we had to try and teach Twilight before she was fully fit to be our Commander, but it wasn't anything like what just happened."

"What was her trail?"

"She had to kill a frog."

Rarity paused, cocking her head to one side in thought.

"Kill a frog?"

Hawkeye stopped too, stepping front of Rarity to meet her questioning gaze with a level one of his own.

"Yes. Nightfury was the one who administered it. It's something all Berets have to do. Usually we use something with more intelligent eyes, such as a rabbit or badger, if we can find one."

"That's horrid!"

"Yes, but if they can't kill then, in a peaceful and controlled environment, then how can they be expected to kill a pony or a griffin when the situation calls? How can we know that they won't fall apart? Long ago, the Berets used prisoners, ones slated for execution or exile, but the times have long moved past for such criminals to be in supply, in Equestria at least."

Rarity lowered her eyes. He spoke the truth, she knew. Still, it didn't so much to quieten her pounding heart, which had been beating itself senseless against her ribs since the incident. 

"Can you teach me your courage?"

"I would say you have shown a surprising amount already. You acquitted yourself valiantly at Ponyville, and again tonight. I don't think I can do anything more."

"I mean... Can you teach me the courage that makes the Black Berets so strong? Can you teach me to be like you, steadfast and fearless in the face of the worst possible situations? Can you teach me to stand before the jaws of Hell, and laugh?"

Hawkeye chuckled and seated himself at the base of a thick tree, waving for her to join him. Rarity lowered herself to recline against him. He was warm, and not nearly as hard as the tree. The camp's torches were barely visible through the trees, but they both wanted a few more moments alone before going into the camp, where a plethora of questions and odd stares were sure to greet them. As Rarity got comfortable, Hawkeye sighed through his nose.

"You're mistaken. It's not our courage that makes us strong, nor our muscles, nor the enormous amount of magic each of us holds."

Rarity narrowed her eyes as she contemplated Hawkeye's words. 

"Then what is it?"

"Fear."

"Fear?"

"The most driving of feelings."

Hawkeye looked away from her captivating eyes, staring deep into the shadows as if they held his memories.

"Fear allows one to leap when the gap seems too distant. It allows one to fight long past being broken, to run past time lungs are gasping. They say what we do is impossible, that we defeat enemies that are invincible. That is not true. We simply put ourselves in a situation where there is either success or death, and we fear death. It fills us with a dread that nothing on this planet can match. We fear nothing, by fearing everything."

Rarity had nothing to say. At first, the whole premise sounded silly and backwards, but the more she thought, the more it made sense. Was it not fear that had gripped her when the unknown pony came charging out of the woods with murder in his eyes? Was it not her fear that ripped him apart? What are survival instincts, if not concentrated fear?

Another idea latched onto her train of thought and followed behind it like a caboose, but she hesitated in asking.

"When... it... happened, did you notice anything about me?"

"You mean, other than reacting faster than me and in good fashion?"

"Yes, other than that. Anything... coloration-wise?"

Hawkeye narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I guess. I thought it was just a trick of the light, your swirling magic and all."

Rarity rose and stood over Hawkeye, waving with a hoof for him to remain seated.

"Did it look something like this?"

Rarity reached inside and cast a simple illusion. She didn't go for the full effect, she didn't dare, but she could at least get the colors. A dull purple glow arose and subsided, and Rarity didn't need a mirror to know it worked, she could see it in his eyes. The glossy grey coat and the royal purple with a single vivid white stripe were surely glittering prettily under the starlight. They weren't as voluptuous as when IT happened, nor was she taller and as shapely, but she was sure to look as ravishing to him as she was terrifying to herself.

Rarity closed her eyes and let the magic go, draining back to her normal hues.  She again reclined against Hawkeye, who was still speechless. At least he didn't try to pull away. After a time, he found his words.

"That's exactly what I saw. What is it?"

"I don't know. I noticed it only recently. I don't know which is the cause and which is effect, but it almost always comes with visions, flashbacks to Ponyville. It most often comes when I'm practicing alone, and really get lost in the art, but it also sometimes happens in my sleep, and I wake in a cold sweat, grey and angry. But if you did just see it back there, then it must not always be the case, as I wasn't having a flashback. I just... went into a trance, I guess the best word would be. Also, I grow a little taller, and my legs and hips get a more defined and shapely curve to them. I've been wondering what it is, exactly, or if it's all in my head. I guess not, though."

"Have you asked anyone about it?"

"No, of course not.  Until now, I've been worried that it was all in my head, and that I was going insane."

"Well, now you know you're not crazy, and I think Princess Luna would like to know about this. She might even know what's going on."

"If we hurry back now, we might catch her."

"Yes, let's go."




~~~~~




Luna was sorting some papers into a drawer when she heard a polite knock on the tent pole.

"Come in!"

She wasn't too surprised to see Rarity and Hawkeye. She had been wanting to go back to bed and get a nap in before seeing the Berets off at first light, but she had been expecting the two to have a nice long talk in the woods, and such talks often breed questions.

Hawkeye saluted sharply, and Rarity dipped into a full curtsy, which Luna waved off.

"No need for such formalities right now, my friends. What can I help you with?"

They looked at each other and Rarity nodded her head sideways, as if telling Hawkeye  to spit it out. Luna almost smiled when he did. They were a cute couple.

"Rarity has noticed something interesting. Since Ponyville, whenever she is confronted with an especially vivid flashback to the battle, she... changes."

"Changes? How so?"

Hawkeye swallowed and looked at Rarity for support, but she seemed content to let him explain.

"Her coat becomes a middling shade of grey, like polished iron, and her mane goes deep purple, with a single white streak. She also stands a bit taller and more defined. So far, she has thought it all in her head, some kind of hallucination brought on with the memories. But tonight, when we were attacked, I saw it too."

Goosebumps crawled up Luna's spine, nestling somewhere in the base of her skull.

"Rarity, can you do it at will?"

"Maybe..."

"Show me."

Hawkeye bowed his head and took a step back. Though their faces were straight, Luna could see the fear in their eyes. Rarity took a single step forward and closed her eyes for a long moment. Luna had expected her to cast an illusion, but if what she was thinking was right, it was much, much more than that. As well, if Luna's thinking was better still, Rarity was at this moment attempting to get in touch with her most base emotions, a place in her mind where her insecurities, doubts, and most importantly, fear, resided. A few moments of silence later, Luna's guesses were confirmed. There was a ripple through the air, much like a pebble being cast into a pond, and Rarity changed. 

She stood tall and regal, eye to eye with the Princess. And such eyes they were: The cold blue of a clear winter sky. Her mane and tail both grew in size and volume, shifting into the richest purple Luna could imagine. A single snow-white streak ran straight through both. Luna stepped out from behind her desk and approached slowly. She wasn't afraid, but her sense of wonder was overwhelming her. And she might have been just the slightest bit intimidated. 

Rarity no longer looked like the scared girl desperately trying to hold it together. Her gaze was level and calculating, meeting Luna's as if they were one royal meeting another. Which, as far as Luna cared, right now, they were. Hawkeye had backed a few steps further back, mouth agape as he regarded a mare he had thought he knew. Luna took a step back herself and gathered her thoughts.

"Rarity, I-"

"No, not Rarity."

The voice that came from the mouth was Rarity, but not quite Rarity. It was slightly deeper, and also seemed to be more complex and fluid. The voice of angels, if Luna had cared to think about it. Not to mention, she had just interrupted a Princess without even blinking. The mouth opened, and the beautiful voice came forth again.

"I don't want the name Rarity associated with me as I am right now. You may refer to me as Scarlet."

"Very well, Scarlet, how do you feel right now?"

Those eyes raked Luna's very soul, piercing and glowing with restrained violence.

"Calm."

"How long do you think you can stay like this?"

"As long as I desire."

"How did you bring it about? Have you done it intentionally before?"

"I have not, but as I talked with Hawkeye about it but a moment ago, I realized where it was coming from. I do not understand it, but I know what it is."

"And what is it?"

"Me."

Luna took the esoteric answer in stride. This was something she had believed to be lost for ages.

"Very well. I believe I know what is going on. Would you like to stay as Scarlet, or would you prefer to have the conversation as Rarity?"

"Scarlet will do nicely. Rarity is scared and confused, whereas I am strong."

Luna was having a few uncomfortable memories as to her speech patterns as Nightmare Moon.

"Very well. Scarlet, I believe you are a descendant of an ancient bloodline of warriors. They were thought to be all killed several years before Nightmare Moon's arrival, but it seems they survived."

Scarlet blinked, slowly, and kept her stare even with Luna.

"Go on."

"They were a secretive and highly disciplined group. I don't know nearly as much about them as I wish, but I do know that the ones who displayed aptitude for the gift trained their whole lives as warriors. I know not how they were tested, or how they trained. All I know is that they were some of the fiercest ponies ever to see the field of battle. They were small in number, but in several instances have held their own against odds any logical mind would call impossible. What we are seeing here, I cannot explain, as it is their greatest secret. They do this only in dire circumstances, and it seems to me to be some sort of amalgamation of magic and heart, for lack of a better term. They might have had their own name for it, but we always just referred to it as The Shift."

"You say they were wiped out. How could they? I feel more empowered and in control than ever before."

Luna hesitated. This was why she would have preferred Rarity over Scarlet, but then again, Scarlet was so calm that she decided to go ahead anyways.

"Nightmare Moon sent an army to their village. It was far to the west, I do not remember where exactly. She was afraid that they would not kneel to her when she revealed herself and her plans. The best option was to ambush them, in such numbers that there wasn't the slightest chance of survival. They went in under the cover of night. The fight was terrible, with most of Nightmare Moon's army decimated. Over five thousand against less than a hundred, and yet there were only a hundred survivors to bury the dead. Although, as I see here, they did not succeed after all."

Scarlet gave Luna the exact look the Princess had been dreading. The flat stare gained a grain of darkness, the pupils an eternally black portal into a realm of rage. 

"So, when you say Nightmare Moon, you mean yourself. You killed my ancestors."

Luna did her best to hold her bearing, but she suspected her knees wobbled the slightest bit, but she didn't dare break their eye contact.

"Yes."

"Past sins can be the most tenacious of demons."

"Indeed. I am glad to see that Nightmare Moon failed."

Scarlet's lips twitched upwards in what might have been a vestigial smile.

"You are just saying that because I am standing in front of you. But I thank you for the condolences."

Luna was continuously shocked by the boldness displayed by what is, deep down, a very gracious and polite pony. She hoped that Scarlet would revert to Rarity soon. This conversation was treading eggshells far too much for comfort. Hawkeye had been standing meekly behind Scarlet, but she turned her head now and regarded him in vested detachment. 

"Tell me, Hawkeye, what do you think of my current appearance?"

He was silent a long moment as he chose his words.

"I think you saved my life earlier. I am thankful. We need every edge we can get in the days ahead."

"Spoken like a warrior."

Scarlet looked back to Luna.

"I wonder if your transformation into Nightmare Moon and this are somehow similar magic? A purely academic question, to be sure, but I am curious even so."

"I know not."

"I did not expect you to."

Luna wasn't sure whether to take insult or not, but before she could think of what to say, Scarlet dipped her head.

"This form is tiring to hold."

Without another word, a ripple again shook the air, and Scarlet's form gave way to Rarity. The seamstress took a moment a open her eyes, but when she did, she immediately dropped to her knees before Luna.

"My Princess! I sincerely apologize for my behaviour! I do not know what came over me! I knew you were royalty, but for some reason I didn't care! I thought us equals! Please, I beseech mercy for-"

"Enough, Rarity. Please, I am not mad. Your transformation is a complicated thing, breaching magical and mental barriers not fully understood by the brightest minds of today. You did not insult me, you spoke to me as an equal, something long missing in my life. Do not worry."

Rarity lifted her head, and Luna could see tears slowly coalescing in the corners of her eyes. 

"Thank you, Princess."

She rose to her hooves and turned to Hawkeye, who had come closer. She buried her head against his shoulder. Luna didn't want to interrupt, but she had a question.

"May I ask, Rarity, in what way was was it tiring?"

Rarity lifted her head and narrowed her eyes.

"It's hard to explain. Mentally, somehow. Kind of like if you stare too long at a difficult puzzle you can't solve."

"I see. Well, Rarity, I have an assignment for you. As often as possible, once a day if duties permit, I would like you to go somewhere private and meditate on this state. You just did it intentionally, so concentrate on doing it more, until you can call upon it intuitively and at length if you ever have need to. As Hawkeye said, we can utilize this. I know it sounds somewhat harsh, but these are harsh days we live in."

"Yes, Princess. You make a valid point."

"Dismissed, both of you."

"Good night, Princess."

Rarity bowed and left the tent, but Hawkeye gave her a significant look and stayed. As soon as Rarity left, Luna lifted an eyebrow.

"Something on your mind, Beret?"

"Yes, Princess. I respectfully request for Rarity to begin training with the Black Berets, in hopes of eventually promoting her to one of us."

The other eyebrow shot up to join the first.

"Reasons?"

"Well, this new development is certainly fascinating, and I believe we are as much, if not more qualified than most to watch over her as she develops this gift. But I was thinking if the idea even before this. She displayed very impressive magical capabilities. She might not be the strongest, but she had proven brave and intelligent, qualities we hold most dear."

"Have you consulted the other Berets?"

"Yes. They have agreed."

"Very well. I will give the matter consideration. Expect an answer by  the time you return."

"Aye, Princess."

Hawkeye saluted and left, the tent falling into silence. Luna unceremoniously dropped to her rump and sighed a very unladylike sigh. This night had definitely been an interesting one. Just that moment, Twilight Sparkle pushed the tent flap aside and stepped in without preamble, stepping up to Luna and giving a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Good evening, Twilight."

"Good evening, my Princess. I just heard that Rarity and Hawkeye were attacked, but they are both fine. I just saw them leave. What happened?"

Luna laughed lightly.

"Come, my dear, let us retire to the bedchambers and I'll fill you in. You missed all the fun."
> Us And Them
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was just before sunrise, a time that Nightfury had always enjoyed. The moon had sunk behind the trees, so the only light available was from the stars. The forest was only a shade lighter than pitch dark, but for the Black Berets, it was enough. They thrived on the darkness. It was home. 

Their plan had changed several times since they had first put it forward to Twilight. They were originally to leave in the evening and march all night, until they realized it would put them dangerously close to populated areas just after sunrise. They had decided to leave early and march all day, arriving just after sundown. As well, instead of two separate groups going to two locations, there was one group going first to Dodge City and then Baltimare afterward, hopefully returning to the camp with something useful to report.

Nightfury had been elected by the other Berets to lead the expedition. He had planned on staying behind and helping the militia train, but Winter had insisted that of they are going on a covert recon operation, their resident covert recon expert should go.  As much as he wanted to, Nightfury couldn't argue the point, and so here he was. 

Thinking of Winter, Nightfury turned to look at her. She was by far the smallest of the Berets, but she insisted on carrying as much as the rest. Years of service had made her strong, much stronger than one of her size could be expected to be. Her legs were hard, muscles rippling with every step. Even though her load was enough to pin a normal pony to the ground, she bore it with ease. Nightfury smiled to the darkness, and turned his gaze forward. He could hear the others marching along behind him, if barely. 

Step by step, hour by hour, the small group trudged through the forest. The sun and the temperature rose. Sweat dripped down their sides and legs, but they marched on silently, stopping only to refill their waterskins at streams they crossed. Nightfury lead, with Winter behind him. After her came Bill, Red, Hawkeye, then finally Willow. While Nightfury was confident with the group's abilities, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were marching straight into the mouth of Hell. 

It was late afternoon when Willow spotted smoke in the distance. They had been following the edge of the forest, never coming out into the open, but close enough to see. Willow was taking his turn to walk the closest to the treeline, while the others followed a short distance back under the cover of shadows. Bringing the group to a halt, Nightfury crouched low and crept up to Willow's position. The smoke rose dark and thick, only a mile or two away. It was coming from roughly where Dodge City was. Nightfury forced the knot in his throat down. He  didn't want to guess the source of the smoke, he wanted to find it. The smoke seemed to be in a single column, meaning a solitary source, probably out of a chimney, as opposed to, say, several buildings on fire, which would create smoke in a more widespread pattern. 

Nightfury wordlessly went back to the group and waved for them to continue forward, but with more care. They were expecting to have to start dodging patrols soon, and it wasn't long for their expectations to materialize. The patrol was small, only ten or so of those things. They were very ugly, and Nightfury thought they looked uncomfortably like the Changelings. It had been night when the battle for Ponyville had happened, so he hadn't the best of views, but now he was able to crouch in the bushes and observe them. 

They looked quite a lot like the Changelings at first glance. Flat black coloration, blank eyes, jagged and twitchy movements. However, there were differences. There seemed to be chitin plates covering certain parts of their chest and back. The skin elsewhere was coarse. They had no manes, and their tails seemed to be more like rat's, thin and leathery. Around their mouths, there seemed to be more chitin, and they seemed to have no teeth. Their speech was whistling  and chirping, as if a bird and a grasshopper sang at the same time. None had horns, and Nightfury didn't see any others nearby, so he didn't think it likely that they would be found by magic. He held perfectly still, and knew that the rest of the Berets were doing the same. They didn't know how well the things could see or hear, and their mission was too critical to risk alerting the rest to test these ones. At least he knew their sense of smell wasn't more keen than a normal pony's, as a long march had made the group a bit rank. 

The patrol meandered along, not seeming to be in much of a hurry, or that concerned about actually finding anything. They chirped and chattered along, adn before long had passed the Berets and out of sight.  Once they were gone, Nightfury waited a few more minutes before rising out of his bush, looking around to see five ponies appear from thin air. They nodded to each other, and continued on towards the smoke. 

As per the plan, the sun was halfway below the horizon when the outskirts of Dodge City came into view. The smoke was coming from just beyond them, in the city center. The group settled down to wait until darkness. The night will shroud them while they sneak in. They wanted to know what Axion wanted with the railways. They would be useful in such times, through the movements of troops and supplies, but Axion was placing much emphasis on them, too much. She had something specific in mind.

An hour passed in silence as the sun set, and another after that in darkness. The moon was half full, casting the land in a dull grey. Nightfury rose, and the others followed suit. The time had come. The packs were discarded, covered in loose leaves to await return. They were moving quickly and weightlessly, the shadows of clouds. There were hundreds of those creatures patrolling the perimeter, but they were looking for ponies, not ghosts. Once inside the city, there were far less troops, so the ghosts materialized into ponies. They moved silently, moving ever further into the city. The smoke was still rising, close now, a dull beacon in the night. 

Very soon, the source of the smoke came into view. It was a very large, tall, square building with no windows and only one entrance that was heavily guarded, although the purpose of the entrance was somewhat misunderstood. There were probably fifty creatures and ten ponies around the doorway looking outwards, but not a single soul was going in or coming out. 

Nightfury and Willow left the group to observe the entrance while they went around the back. There was only a single perimeter sentry, slowly making the laps of the building. There were no other doors, no windows, no vents, no means of entry. Looking up, they noticed sentries spaced every so often along the rooftop, so going up there was out of the question, as the walls were completely smooth with nothing to hide behind. The Berets were good, yes, but still mortals.  The only way in for mortals was the front door. The train track ran nearby, a stone's throw from the back of the building, although the lack of cargo doors or method of moving anything from the building to a train was interesting. Nightfury nodded to Willow, and they made their way back to the other Berets, still crouching on a rooftop. 

It took a whisper from Winter to tell Nightfury that nothing had changed about the entrance. They wanted in the building, but the only way in was through a fully awake and aware regiment. Nightfury made himself smile by thinking of just walking up to them and asking nicely. He was sure they could handle a fight against ten normal unicorns, but they were to be silent and unknown. The contents of the building were to remain a mystery, it would seem. 

They left Dodge City as silently as they came, with a few answers, but just as many new questions. They hoped Baltimare would yield information, but at this point, they all doubted it. Axion's army might have seemed like a brash and undisciplined mob, but then again, the initial push had been fast and harsh. Now that they had the time, they were proving that they knew how to set up solid positions. Or, at least, those in charge did.

The packs were retrieved, and Dodge City was out of sight before the moon had completed it's journey. Dawn found them halfway to Baltimare. Sunset found them just outside. This time, there were not just one, but three columns of smoke guiding them in. There were twice the perimeter guards, but there was also twice the distance for them to be spread out. Getting in was no challenge, nor was finding the buildings. They were much the same as in Dodge, but bigger. Still flat and plain, still only a single entrance, still heavily guarded, still none in or out, still near the train tracks. More scouting found more of the same. The Berets weren't ones to leave nearly empty hooves, but they had been told to avoid a fuss, and they also weren't ones to disobey. 

They stayed inside Baltimare for two full nights, finding a nice abandoned house to stay the through the daylight. Peeking out the windows during the day revealed rare traffic. Not many ponies out and about, and those that were looked sullen and reserved. They were going where they had to, not where they wanted. Winter put forth the idea to go out. She could pass without suspicion, as she was the only one there that wasn't obnoxiously large. She wanted to try and walk past the buildings and see if any were going in or out.  Nightfury had toyed with the idea for a minute, but had to shoot it down. They couldn't risk it. 

The third night, they had to leave, disgusted. It was rare for the Black Berets to admit defeat, but it did happen. No matter how they tried to think of it as a tactical retreat, the sentiment rung hollow. They had come to get information, and they were leaving without anything solid. 

The march back to the Ponyville camp went quickly, all lost in their own thoughts. Winter looked up to realize that she had gotten to within a stone's throw of a perimeter sentry before she noticed him. He saluted the group as they silently passed into the camp. Walking through the tents, they immediately picked their way to Princess Luna's tent. She had wanted a report as soon as they returned. 

Pushing the tent flap aside, they entered and saluted sharply. The Princess looked up and returned the salute, pushing the papers she had been studying aside.

"Report."

"Princess, we have ashamedly little to report. At both locations, we found large buildings, rectangular and without exterior features. One door, no windows or ventilation vents, sentries around and on the roof. We had no quiet way in. They were practically on the train tracks, clearly meant to interact with a train in some manner. We assume they would pull a train up and load it with something, but without bay doors we can't understand in what manner or end. We can only assume that they would remove a section of wall, inferring that whatever they are making in there is large and singular. It's probably not an assembly line type factory. Maybe they are some large, purpose build carriages or trains. However, this is all conjuncture. All we know is that they had chimneys belching thick, dark smoke, hinting at smelting or metalwork."

"Very well. I wish we could know what was inside, but I agree, it would have made too much of a fuss. How did the cities themselves look?"

"We didn't stay long in Dodge, but we found a hole in Baltimare. There aren't many ponies out and about during the day, and those that were looked miserable, if determined."

"Thank you, Berets. You did well. Dismissed." 

The Black Berets saluted and left, and Luna turned back to her papers. They were material readiness reports. How many blades, how many arrows, spears, hunks of armour, the like. Very boring, but the Princess had to be sure they had enough to arm the ones left in case of attack.

A sudden thought caught Luna's attention, and she immediately summoned her magic, calling to Twilight Sparkle. The connection took a moment, and as it solidified Luna could feel drowsiness. She had woken her dear lover, but she had something to ask Nightfury, and because of her relationship with Twilight, it was far easier to contact her than anyone else. She felt Twilight yawn, followed by a twinge of adrenaline.

Luna, what is it? Something wrong?

No, Twilight. The Berets we sent to Dodge City and Baltimare are back. Have they reached the tent yet?

Actually, I can see them coming this way now. Did they not report immediately?

They did, but I realized something I forgot to ask. Can you sent Nightfury back?

Of course, love.


Luna felt the connection wither. Not a minute later, Nightfury and Twilight stepped into the tent. Twilight came to sit beside Luna, Nightfury stayed just inside the entrance and saluted.

"Princess, how may I assist you?"

"Nightfury, I realized I forgot something. Did you get a good look at the creatures?"

"Yes, actually. I apologize, in my weariness I forgot to mention. At one point we came close to a small patrol. We were hidden, so they passed us by without noticing. They appear insect-like. They are similar to the Changelings, but without the ability to change. They have hard carapaces over sections of their back, chest, and mouths. Their eyes are black and small, like beetles. They don't seem to have any magic, and we never saw any with horns or wings. Their senses don't seem to be any sharper than a pony's. Their language is odd chirping and whistles, somewhat akin to a bird's. That is all."

"Any leadership?"

"A few unicorns per a hundred."

"Thank you. Now, get some rest."

"Thank you. Good night Princess, Commander."

As soon as he was gone, Twilight sank against Luna, savoring the warmth and softness. Luna lay her head on top of Twilight in kind. 

"Luna, I have a question. Do you have any idea who we are fighting? I mean the soldiers."

"No, Twilight, I have no idea what those things are."

"Why are they a 'what' instead of a 'who'?"

"Because they must be."

"I don't understand."

"No, Twilight, I wouldn't expect you to."

Twilight lifted her head and gave Luna a suspicious gaze.

"What's your point?"

"The point is, no proper commander will ever allow that the enemy is just like 'us', and if you plan to win the war not go insane with remorse, that is how every soldier must, in the main, think."

Twilight wanted to argue. Her morality demanded that she say that they are ponies, or at least intelligent, and not creatures, not things. But her logic agreed with Luna, and told her heart to shut up. They are puppets, hollow puppets of dust. 

We were made from dust, and dust we shall return to. These things are just an obstacle to be removed.

Twilight vowed to take those words to heart. She refused to let herself drown in regret. She had a whole life with Luna to enjoy, and nothing, not even a war, was going to get in the way of that.

> Endlessly, She Said
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Axion had to resist running down the hallway. Her hunger gnawed at her insides, craving and ravenous. She felt her legs tremble and her eyes wander unfocused. She stumbled side to side, meandering down the hallway like a drunk.  The Kritz monitoring Canterlot Castle knew better than to ask if she needed assistance. In the craze brought on by her attrition, she would destroy any one of them without even noticing. They might be dull creatures, but after seeing enough of their fellows eviscerated, they are capable of learning. 

Axion grinned, teeth bared. Even though her hunger was killing her, she loved it. Sometimes, such as now, she purposefully went nearly a week without feeding, just so she could get high on the starving. She loved it, it was her little guilty pleasure. She never let any but the Kritz guards see her like this. To the public, she was invincible, unstoppable. She was beyond mortal trappings. But deep down, she was still a pony, and ponies require sustenance. 

She knew she should hate this feeling, that hunger should be rejected as a feeling that she had ascended past. And she knew that one day, she would. However, for now, she reveled in it. Even though she was on her way now to eat, she savored over drunken moment, every dandy thought. 

She slammed the door open, then just as roughly closed. The heavy bolt was shot, and a thick shield waved into existence. A green glare bounced along the walls of the room where the shield met and converged. The room was heavily secured already, just the doorway was left open so she could enter and exit. The shield she threw up was hasty and would surely break if anypony was determined enough, but she would only need a warning. Not to mention, her castle was safe enough. 

The room was black, but she could see well enough. It was large, but empty. There was no carpet on the stone floor, and no pictures gracing the cold stone walls. The only breaks in the grey expanse were four iron pegs set into the floor, near the back wall. Around these pegs were chains, not very large, but enchanted to hold the unicorn tightly and block her magic. 

She had been a beautiful young thing, long ago when Axion found her. Glittering blue eyes, graceful legs, a wispy, flowing mane. Now, though, she was graying. Her eyes were dull and sad. She had been in chains for years, so long that she had forgotten her name. Axion remembered it, but cared not for it. She was a nameless source of sustenance, barely more than a plant. She was sustained by a spell that kept her nourished and hydrated, always fresh and healthy. Axion cared for her. She could use any unicorn virgin, but she liked this one, for some reason. Another contradiction to her stoic immortality, to be done away with eventually. 

But for now, Axion was hungry.

The mare's neck, sides and back were heavily scarred. The scars were small and crescent shaped, and quite numerous. She saw Axion enter the room stumbling and lowered her head. She knew what was coming; the pain, the indignity. It was her purpose.

Axion lost her composure and ran across the room, teeth bared. She jumped and landed on the mare, biting into the nape of her neck. The skin split, and blood gushed forth. Axion's tongue darted about desperately, mopping up the mess. The blood dripped down her chin and onto the floor, but she didn't care. 

She clenched her jaw and ripped the small chunk of flesh free, spitting it to the floor. She shoved her mouth onto the hole, sucking needily. She was a starving baby suckling at her mother. She knew nothing but to drink. She was an animal, despicable and pitiful.

And she loved it. 

Before long, her crude lust was sated. She slipped off the mare, onto the floor. She was a mess, blood across her face and mane. She panted heavily, her heart racing. Although her hunger was satisfied and her head was clear, she felt a certain restlessness. She felt a pressure between her back legs, one that demanded satisfaction in it's own way. It wasn't maddening like her hunger, and could be ignored, but it was annoying. At least, it only flared when she fed. Something about climbing on top of that mare, sinking her teeth on and feeling the resistance give, being in such control, it made her aroused like nothing else. She had often though about giving the nameless mare another responsibility, not just food, but a tool for complete satisfaction, of body and heart.  But she always talked herself out of it.

But, it was growing more agitated. It had been years, centuries even, since she had last wrestled with the urge. She couldn't bring herself the satisfaction. She felt like it would be a tarnish on the memory of the pony she had loved, the pony whose ideals she carried to this day. 

The pony whose likeness she had taken, all this way and all this time, to conquer Equestria.  

Axion cast several spells in rapid succession. The first knitted the mare's skin back together, leaving only a small scar. The second mopped up all the blood off the mare and off the floor, coalescing in a ball that floated towards Axion's mouth, where it was sucked away. The third went into the mare's side. She would need sustenance after losing so much blood. 

Once the spells had done their work, Axion stepped closer to the mare. She was close enough to smell the sweat and fear on the poor girl's skin. She knew that her breath tickled the mare's ear, but she never flinched. The nameless mare was used to such torment; it wasn't even torment anymore. It was life. 

"Thank you, my dear, for indulging me again. I'll see you again soon enough."

The mare didn't say anything. She never did. However, Axion saw her eyes dart towards her face. Normally the mare never acknowledged Axion's presence. She wondered if maybe this mare was slowly regaining any of her old defiance. It hadn't done her any good back then, but it had been troublesome.

Axion tossed open the door and turned to leave, but before she stepped through the door, she turned back. 

"Remember, my dear, you're mine. 

You'll never be free. 

You're mine. 

Endlessly. "
> Not Coming Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was shining merrily over the tops of the trees, much in contrast to the ponies below. The assembly was grim and sullen, with few dry eyes. Twilight was no exception, her tears falling silently into the dirt. Looking over, she saw Luna was in a similar situation. She hated it. She felt an extreme aversion to anything that made those she cared about cry, but sometimes, there was nothing to be done for this case. Nature had made a decision, and all they could do was carry on.

Applejack said that Granny Smith passed away quietly in her sleep. The old mare's health had been declining the past few years, but the long march from Ponyville had taken it's toll. The past week had seen Granny Smith bedridden, with the other Apples gathered around. Twilight had come by a few times to talk to the wise old mare, but she had been sleeping most of the time, and too weak for much conversation the rest. 

While the news hadn't been much of a surprise, Twilight realized she wasn't ready for it nonetheless. She had known Granny Smith since her first days in Ponyville. She had always been there, stalwart, never changing, a permanent fixture on the landscape. Twilight, along with the majority of Ponyville, had gone to Granny Smith many times for advice on many matters. Her wisdom was as respected as anypony else's, Princesses included, even if the tongue delivering it was a bit less gentle.

The ceremony was simple and succinct, as befitting the mare they were commemorating. Each of the Apples got in front of the congregation and said a little piece, their voices strong but hearts heavy. Big Mac's was by far the shortest, Applejack's was longer but just as straightforward, but  Applebloom's was by far the saddest, her tiny voice echoing around the gathered crowd. Even the Black Berets were brought to tears by the child's innocent speech, and they had surely attended their fair share of funerals. 

The spot that had been chosen was under a large and ancient oak just beyond the perimeter of the camp. Twilight couldn't have thought of a better place to lay Granny Smith to rest if she had tried. The woods were peaceful, and the tree was gnarled and strong. Some songbirds chattered in the distance, but it seemed to Twilight that the immediate area had fallen silent, as if even the forest was paying it's respects. 

After the speeches, the collected ponies turned to go back to camp, leaving the relations to say their last words in private and bury the simple coffin. The hole had been dug by hoof and so it would be covered, by the sweat of the family. Instead of a gravestone, words were carved into the trunk of the tree. Upon seeing the date, Twilight was reminded that Granny Smith was the last surviving pony to have seen several important historical events. Applejack had said something about trying to document her grandmother's life over the past few weeks, but Twilight didn't know of she had finished the account in time. 

Twilight, as well as the rest of the Ponyville survivors, had been invited to dinner at the Apple tent that evening, but it was barely midday, so Twilight retired to the Black Beret's tent. She sat in the corner and tried to read, but her mind was too restless. She settled for staring at a string fluttering idly in the wind until Nightfury sat down next to her.

"It doesn't matter how many funerals I have to attend, the children's speeches always make me the saddest."

They sat in silence for a moment, as Twilight found a lump obstructing her throat. She watched the string for a few moments longer until she could work her words around it. 

"I guess I should get used to funerals." 

"I pray that you never do."

"It's war. Ponies will die."

"And you should take special care to remember every one of them. When death no longer makes you sad, then you're in trouble."

Twilight could only shake her head. She had always thought of the best soldiers as tough, emotionless warriors, unfearing and unshakable, but she was quickly learning the truth. The hardest part of war is watching those around you die, and learning to cope. The Black Berets were the last ponies in Equestria she had expected to get emotional counselling from, but now she realized that in these certain matters, they were experts. Who knows how to accept death better than a warrior?

The hours somehow passed, and Twilight rose to go to the dinner. She found that she was among the last to arrive. She found her friends at the head of a large table, already laden with food. Once everyone was seated, Applejack stood. She was trying to sound formal at first, which sounded odd to Twilight, but the country in her won out by the end. 

"We gather here tonight to remember Granny Smith. Let us not cry, 'cause Granny wasn't a sad pony. She would want every pony to share with each other their funniest and fondest memories, and smile and laugh. So how about we all tuck in, and do just that?"

The ponies all obliged. The food was as good as could be expected, and by the time the sun went down, everypony was smiling and full. The best stories had been told, the cleverest jokes laughed at, and the sharpest rebukes shared. Everyone had a dozen anecdotes at least, each more homely than the last. After sunset, everyone helped to clean up before retiring for the night, leaving just Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy sitting around a small table, sharing the last drinks. There they shared more memories, going on until the moon was halfway across the sky. Finally, drooping eyelids forced them all to separate, each going their separate ways. 

As Twilight lay her head on the pillow, she realized she wasn't as sad anymore. Granny Smith had lived a long and full life. Ponies die, and Twilight was glad that the old, cantankerous mare died peacefully and quietly. 

Twilight could only hope she got so lucky. 

> The Take Over, The Break's Over
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna tapped one hoof on the desk as she thought. She had a lot to think about. The night was quiet, nearly all ponies asleep, excepting those on sentry duty. The moon was halfway across the sky, and Luna knew she should get some sleep, but if she closed her eyes, nothing happened. She would just lay there berating herself for wasting time. Not that there was much to do until she made a decision, but she would be thinking it anyways. The decision itself was one that had been weighing on her mind for a few weeks now, but it was quickly becoming critical that a solution was found. 

They were running out of food. The forest around was green and lush, but lacking in anything resembling sustainable food. Several ponies had planted various crops on the edges of the camp, but it would be weeks, if not months, before they would be ready for a harvest of any amount. The limited provisions that had been brought with them from Ponyville were all but depleted. The reports on Luna's desk estimated two weeks before they were eating grass and bark. It would be very difficult to maintain any amount of readiness if the ponies were malnourished. 

And so Luna's hoof tapped away. The Zebras had made their position very clear, so Luna couldn't send to them for help, or move the village south the more fertile land. North was Axion, east was the desert, west was ocean. They couldn't leave, they couldn't stay. 

Luna's hoof tapped away until it was time to set the moon. Once that was done, Luna forsake her tent for a walk in the dawn gloom. Ponies were stirring, yawning and stretching their way out of their tents. Some were already preparing breakfast, though most that Luna saw were fairly sparse already. Many ponies had hungry looks in their eyes, and some were a bit skinnier than Luna would have liked. Teeth grinding together, Luna went to the Beret's tent, a gloomy black construction on the very edge of camp. Tank was taking his turn to stand watch at the entrance, armour gleaming in the dawn's low glow. He snapped to attention and saluted as the Princess approached. 

"Good morning, Princess Luna."

"As you were, Tank."

Instead of heading inside the tent, Luna unceremoniously plopped down to sit beside Tank who, for his merit, didn't seem to react like any odd had happened, barely even sparing her a glance after she sat, eyes roaming the forest around them. Luna had intended on waking Twilight up, having a sparse breakfast, and spending the morning with the Berets. They were all smart and seasoned, and would probably come up with a solution to the problem as soon as she outlined it for them. She hadn't told anyone about the results of the reports just yet, but there were a few that knew that Luna had been inquiring to the subject and were likely to make their own, probably correct, assumptions. But for now, the Princess was content to just sit there and pretend to be on watch with Tank. 

"How is the morning, Tank?

"Quiet, Princess."

"When are you to rotate the watch to somepony else?"

"After breakfast, Princess."

"Please, Tank, just 'Luna' will suffice, as I tell you all quite often."

"Aye, Pr... Luna."

Luna smiled. She knew how odd it must feel to address someone of her station with such brevity.

"So, Tank, I have a problem, and I was hoping to hear the Beret's thoughts on the matter."

"We will gladly assist you in any manner necessary. The others should be up and about any minute."

"Well, until then, I'll lay it on you to think about. We're running out of food. Foraging is very thin, and any planted crops will take far too long to grow. The Zebras have been very frank in their position of not helping us. I don't know what to do."

The warrior was silent for a minute, then another. Luna could just behind his eyes, gears were turning. Thoughts, ideas, plans, hypothesis, and guesses were popping up, circulating, sorting, being set off to the side, or dismissed. Finally, he licked his lips and looked to Luna, and she could see that he was actually slightly nervous about what he was about to say, so she preempted him.

"Speak your mind, Beret."

"Princess, what if we took some supplies from the enemy? Just north, at Dodge City. They have to have some supplies coming in from somewhere, probably by train. We go just a few miles before the town, and stop the train, take as much as we can carry, and disappear."

Luna turned the idea over in her head.

"That would put them on very high alert, and let them know we are near. They would search the area diligently."

"So we're not here to be found."

"Are you saying we move again?"

"We have to."

And there it was. The stark truth, staring Luna straight in the face. He was right. They couldn't stay. They couldn't strike at Axion in any important way from here. They couldn't feed the ponies. They had to go, or stay here to die quietly. Luna sat there and thought about it. The decision that had been haunting her, dissolved in seconds. She would wait until the rest of the Berets and Twilight could put their two bits in, but it seemed like the only plausible course of action. 

It was only a few minutes later when Nightfury and Hawkeye emerged from the tent. The others were soon after, muttering their greetings as they rubbed the sleep out of their eyes. Twilight was the last, and by the time Luna's purple lover was seen yawning into the morning sun, a campfire had been lit and some hay fries and sandwiches were distributed. Luna accepted some of the fries but declined the sandwich. She saw Violet take the watch from Tank, and as soon as he had joined them, she cleared her throat and stood, the Berets all going silent immediately. 

"Good morning, Berets. I came here to put a problem in front of you, and see what happens. To be short, We're running out of food. There's not enough around here to feed a village, and we can't get help form the Zebras, and it will take too long to grow crops. We have, as of reports I received yesterday evening, roughly two weeks of supplies left. Any ideas?"

Luna saw the same look on all their faces that she saw on Tank's, followed by the same barely discernible nervousness.

"Come on, don't be afraid to say anything. We need ideas."

"Princess, Axion's forces, up at Dodge. They are sure to have supplies being brought in on train. We could interrupt one."

Luna smiled at Hawkeye, and Tank started laughing. 

"That's what I said a few minutes ago! It'll alert the lot of them,  but then we have plenty supplies, we could just leave. It doesn't have to be a hard march like it was to get down here, but we need to go somewhere else anyways. We can't do much from here."

Luna wasn't surprised that the Berets were all over the situation. They were trained to be the best warriors and tacticians. To them, the solution was as clear as day. These kind of problems were what they were trained to solve. At least somewhat. There was once facet that they were overlooking, something that they didn't very often have to worry about.

"It seems like the obvious solution, although I have to say, what about the villagers? Are they up to this? And where will we go after? What will we do? We need a plan. We need to do something, before Axion can get an iron hoof around Equestria."

Silence. The Berets were thinking, but this was not as easy to figure out as the previous question. Luna had already thought of one possibility, but she didn't like it, though she knew the Berets would come to the same solution. 

"They're not soldiers."

Everyone turned to look at Winter, who had spoken from the back of the group. 

"None of them. They were, and still are, peaceful ponies. They would bring far more harm to themselves and their loved ones than good could be done."

She didn't say that she was speaking about the surviving Ponyville ponies. She didn't have to.

"Maybe the Zebras would shelter them? They aren't a military group, and they don't have any objectives except survive. I can't imagine King Acoreg would be so cruel as to turn them away."

Luna didn't want to agree. She didn't want to, but she had to. It was another harsh fact, a massive and impenetrable thing, right in front of her, undeniable. There were a few that she would take along, but for the most part, the villagers had no place in a war. They might protest a bit, try and argue the point, but Luna felt that they would, deep down, be grateful to leave the fighting behind. The Battle of Ponyville had scarred them all. 

Winter had broken the silence, so the other Berets found it easier to chime in. The thoughts and ideas came with more certainty. Luna sat quietly let them do what they do best, and that was solve problems.

"We should send an envoy to speak to the King as soon as possible."

"Who?"

"One of us?"

"No, definitely not. We're warriors, and that would arouse some suspicion. One of the villagers. Their pleas would be heartfelt and hard to deny."

"They'll need an escort."

"I'll go."

"Alright, Rain, go gather some gear. No reason to delay. About a week's worth should be enough. Princess, do you have any ideas as to who would be a good choice to send?"

"Twilight? You're far more familiar with the citizens of Ponyville than I am. Someone courteous, and good with words."

"My first thought is a unicorn named Lyra. She's a bit odd, but quite clever, and very nice."

"Go find her, please. Tell her to bring supplies to last a week, and bring her here as soon as possible. Let her say her goodbyes, but do not dawdle. She'll be back soon enough."

"Okay."

Luna was content to let it happen around her. It was a very refreshing process, working with the Black Berets in this kind of situation. There was a problem, a solution was found, and things immediately started happening. Back in Canterlot, it could take weeks or even months to actually get anything done, even if the solution was obvious and everypony agreed, which was very rare. War was many things, mostly bad and gruesome, but Luna couldn't deny, it was much simpler. 

> Torch Song
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Twilight got to the tent, the rest of the girls were already there. Pinkie was telling a story to Rainbow Dash that seemed to be about trying to bake a cake from grass and tree bark. Applejack was sitting quietly next to Rarity and Fluttershy, who were both quietly munching on some grass fries. They all looked up and smiled at Twilight when she walked in, and she realized how long it's been since they were all in the same place at the same time, without any pressing matters to distract them. 

"Hey, girls!"

"Heya, Twi."

"Hiiiiiii!"

"How are you guys?"

"Hunky dory!"

"Doing awesome, as usual."

Some small talk ensued, and Twilight learned more about her friend's daily lives. Rainbow Dash was still part of the Pegasi Scouts, flying the patterns, making sure no one was sneaking up on them. Fluttershy hadn't been doing much as a medic, seeing as there hadn't been much action the past few weeks. Applejack had probably been the most busy, between the carpentry work, the attemps at cultivating a crop, and the general labor. Pinkie was still in the kitchen for the camp. Most everypony was familiar with her work, and she was arguably the most popular pony in the camp. Rarity was still working on her transformations. She didn't go into much detail, and no one asked any questions. They all knew what Twilight had been up to, running the camp and making big decisions. 

All the pleasantries done with and aside, Twilight put her serious face on and brought up the real reason that they were there. Not that seeing her friends wasn't nice, but there was something important to settle. 

"So, girls, onto the real reason we're here. Yesterday myself, Luna, and the Black Berets all decided that we have to split up. The majority of the Ponyville ponies will hopefully be going south as refugees to the Zebra nation. We have a delegate on thier way now to talk to King Acoreg and hopefully figure something out. The rest of us will be going back to Equestria, going back to the fight. I'm just wondering who wants to go where. Each group will need as much help as possible."

"I'm definately going back."

"And myself as well."

Twilight wasn't surprised that Rarity and Rainbow Dash were the first to volunteer. Dash had been loving every moment of the Pegasi Scouts, and Rarity had been working very hard on developing and understanding Scarlet. No one really knew much so far, but Twilight knew what was most important: Scarlet was good in a fight. Neither did it surprise Twilight that the other volunteered to go back immediately after. 

"Just wouldn't make a whole lotta sense for us to split up. We've been through enough together before, so let's keep up the trend."

"I agree wholeheartdly. We've proven a formidable team many times in the past."

"Yeah! I wanna go back, and we can get those bad meanies who took our homes, and then we can throw a HUUUGE party and all of Equestria will be there!"

"This is gonna be awesoooommmee! Daring Do doesn't have anything on us."

"You're defiantely going to need medical attention at some point. It's going to be dangerous."

"Who else is going?"

"We're not sure yet. So far, it's us six, Princess Luna, and the Black Berets."

"It's gonna be pretty hard to take back Equestria with twenty five ponies, no matter how good they are."

"It will be, but we do have several advantages. A small group can evade detection far better than a large group, not to say a small army. As well, eighteen members will be the Black Berets, some of the most highly trained warriors in the land. Not to mention, we have Luna, and she has the Moon Stone."

"Do we have a plan?'

"Not really. Luna's meeting with Nightfury, and they're figuring something out right now. I'm going to go over and see how it's going after I talked to you girls."

"Count us in, sugarcube, no matter what."

Twilight smiled at Applejack's remark. She had expected this outcome, not that she liked it. She was glad they were coming, but at the same time, she had been slightly been hoping they would go with the rest of Ponyville. They were going back into the fire, straight into the danger, and if Twilight was sure about one thing, it was that not all of them would be coming back. She wanted her friends to be safe. Was that too much to ask?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



The only sounds in hearing were her guards' heavy tromping, and her own light steps. Kritz weren't allowed in her wing of the castle, but she kept a regiment of her Royal Guard around. There weren't many left, as most had abandoned her when she had announced her intentions to follow Axion, but enough remained. Three of them were following her now. It was endearing, the same way a puppy would follow around it's mother. She could ditch them easily enough; tell them to guard a certain doorway or flower vase and they would dutifully stand there until their shift was over. However, if any of them spotted her walking without an escort, they would silently fall in behind her. She didn't remember exactly why, but Celestia was pretty sure at some point in the past she had told them to behave as such, and it would be silly to contradict them. It's not like they weren't trying to protect their liege, even if she didn't need protecting. 

She reached the door she had been seeking. A wave of her hoof, and the guards posted up to either side, and she advanced inside alone. To an observer, she merely pushed it open with her hoof, but the tingle that ran up her leg indicated a seal, broken only to her touch. If anyone or anything else touched the door, they would be frozen in place, unable to move, until Celestia herself came along and released them. Sometimes Celestia debated putting stronger enchantments on the door, given what was inside, but it was only one of many secured doors in the castle. If one was stronger than the rest, curiosity would run rampant. This way, the door was nondescript, and no one cared what was back there. 

The room was dark. She had tempered the inferno for the conference, the glow from her fiery mane only lighting up the area directly around her. As soon as the door closed behind her, Celestia let herself smile in the glittering gloom and relaxed the control on her fire. It silently bloomed, and the room was revealed. 

Celestia began to laugh. She was in such a great mood. Axion was furious. The mare and the big unicorn had escaped, and still couldn't be found. Ponyville had repulsed the Kritz, and had left, leaving Equestrian borders. While most of the realm now bowed to Axion, there were still pockets of resistance, emboldened by the rumors of Ponyville. Some say that Twilight grew to a hundred times her size and devoured the enemy, some say that the villagers fought with the ferocity of lions. Axion had a veritable public relations machine running full tilt, spreading counter rumors and the like, but it was a tough battle. It made Celestia laugh. Axion might have enormous magical power and wisdom of centuries, but she was not accustomed to running a country. Celestia had almost given her advice a dozen times this afternoon, but had decided not to. It was incredibly entertaining to watch.

Celestia turned her eyes to the only object in the room. It was a manniken of a pony, a normal-sized one that barely came up to her chest. On the manniken was a suit of plate armor. Dust would never settle on the surface, no matter that it had been undisturbed for decades. Delicate engravings danced over the polished metal, swirling patterns that played tricks on the eye. It had been forged as a unicorn's armour, with a collared hole for a horn to project through, so Celestia had had to modify it slightly, cutting the sides of the back-piece away so her wings would have room. Now it fit her nearly perfectly, just one last modification to make. 

Celestia sat back on her haunches and lifted the neck piece with her hooves. She wanted to reserve her magic for the process she was about to perform. The enchantments on the armour were powerful and ancient, and if ruined, Celestia wasn't sure she could replicate them. Not anytime soon, at least. Metallurgy wasn't her strongest subject. 

She eyed the piece, examining the lines she had scribed on the outside, ever so carefully. A long, thin rectangle ran most of the length, right down the center. The ancients that had created this armour would shave their manes off before battle, for whatever silly reason, and so there was no cavity or slot for a mane to protrude. Celestia wasn't a fan of that. Her mane was glorious, a hellish beacon, and she wanted it visible. 

She took her time, flowing her magic in, through, around, over, and out. The metal wasn't the hard part. She could slice through the armour like a sheet of the thinnest paper, if it hadn't been enchanted. No, she was having to contest with the long dead magicians who had wrought such a masterpiece. She was attempting to defeat, outsmart, and overpower more than a dozen of the most intelligent and powerful unicorns of their era. The armour had been designed to gift the wearer with total invincibility. Celestia could take an enormous beating, being an alicorn, but she wasn't quite immortal. This armour essentially cast a shield just above skin level over the wearer's entire body, and although she hadn't tested it as thoroughly as she would have if there had been more than one set, Celestia was pretty sure it could take whatever Twilight, Luna, the Black Berets, and whoever else they had recruited could throw at her. The only downside was that if the armor was overpowered and broken, the magical backlash would definitely kill a mortal pony, and probably knock Celestia unconscious for several days. That, however, was very unlikely. 

She finished cutting the hole, faint smoke fluttering past her face. Examining her handiwork with her eyes and magic, Celestia was pleased. The slot was smooth and even, and the enchantments were still strong. Quite pleased with herself, Celestia settled the neck armour back on it's place on the manniken.

Not for the first time, Celestia wondered what Axion's reaction would be if she were to learn about some of the artifacts hidden about Canterlot Castle. The new ruler of Equestria had scarcely been anywhere but her rooms and the council chambers since she moved in. She hadn't explored the vast majority of the ancient castle. Celestia had hidden the things she had deemed too precious or dangerous for Axion to get her hooves on, but a few had been left only just out of sight, begging to be discovered. Some would help Axion's efforts immensely, though a few were cursed. Celestia's intentions had been to see how good Axion was at discerning and occasionally defeating various enchantments, but so far, nothing had happened. Celestia had been considering allowing a few Kritz to discovering something, just to see what happened, but she wasn't so desperate for entertainment yet. Axion's antics were comedic enough for the meantime. 

Celestia left the room, her guards falling in behind her. She swiftly traversed the passageways to her personal quarters, telling the guards to allow no one to intrude. They were very good at preventing unwanted disturbances, and Celestia didn't want to be disturbed. It was bubble bath time.

The water was drawn, heated, and bubbled ever so carefully. Celestia removed her royal ornaments, setting them on the fine shelf. Lowering herself into the incredibly comfortable water, Celestia closed her eyes and began to hum. Tunelessly at first, but after a few minutes, she realized that she was humming a song. An old one, long forgotten by all except herself.It was a song composed about the fall of Luna into evil ways, and the rise of the Princess Of The Sun. Equestria was brought to peace, and the realm prospered under her wise guidance. It was a sweet song, and one of her favorites. Not for the sentiments of the time, but for the simple melodies, the delicate progressions and the ethereal undertones. It was written for a large orchestra to perform, but Celestia thought it could still be an inspiring piece by a talented string quartet. A cello for the rythem lines, a full upright bass for the low tones, and two violins to duel over the lead. 

The song was dutifully finished, and Celestia lapsed into grateful silence. Her mind was calm for a time, blissfully unaware of anything but the warm water and the occasional bubble popping. However, a mind so accustomed to racing for centuries wasn't so easily quietened. Thoughts began to present themselves, slowly, like flowing molasses in a late November. 

Twilight, as always, came first, but there was no new ground to cover, so she was subsequently set off to the side. Axion came next, and there was always plenty to think of there. The little unicorn was as complicated as she was mad. There was a dragon's worth of crazy in a unicorn sized package. There was definitely a superiority complex going on, without a doubt, but there also seemed be be some sort of loathing. For herself, for Celestia, for ponies in general, who was to know? But Axion was most definately driven, at least in part, by hate. 

The next thought was of the armour. Celestia was quite proud of herself for successfully modifying it so. Very little was known about it before Celestia had acquired it, and she made sure even was less was known after that. It was one of her many little secrets, just a little fail-safe kept back in reserves, something to surprise her opponents. It was definitely the most meager of such resources, and such was the only reason she was considering using it. The rest would most likely never see an occasion where they were necessary, but the armour would be nice to have. It would save her many bruises and aches if there was to be a fight. 

Abruptly, Celestia realized that the water, while still somewhat warm, was no longer hot and steaming. She let her mane blaze hot for a moment, cracking an eye open as she did. She loved looking at herself in the mirror when she did that. For some reason, the image of fire erupting form the water around her radiated power and control, and Celestia loved it. She hadn't gotten around to painting the picture yet, but she would. 

Celestia lowered herself deeper into the water, leaving only her face exposed, letting her mind drift into serenity. She lay in the bath for some time, still humming that old song. 
> Scheherazade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna looked to the departing ponies of Ponyville as they began to move south.

If pain and suffering were bits, we'd all be rich.

She examined the faces of the ponies below her. The Black Berets weren't alone, but they were the majority. Few had elected to return to Equestria, to war. But even from the height, the Princess could see the iron in the volunteer's eyes.

But if hatred, anger, and determination were bits, we'd be richer still.

The morning was cool, with a gentle breeze raising goosebumps along Luna's spine. She turned and flew upwards, just high enough to see over the tops of the trees. The forest extended into the distance, rolling over the hills and valleys into the distance.  The sun was just peeking over the horizon, the sky just purifying the night sky into a clear blue.  Luna had considered not setting the moon, as she had continuously for a great many nights in a row now, but she decided the turmoil within Equestria was taking enough of a toll on the populace without nature itself changing around them. 

Luna tilted her wings and let the sir spill out from under them, descending to under the cover of the pre-dawn gloom that still encompassed the forest floor. Ponyville was just disappearing through the underbrush, only a few stragglers were left in sight. Landing softly, Luna looked around to their group. Herself, eighteen Black Berets, and seven others. Twenty six ponies, facing a legion, not to mention Axion herself. Luna ran down the mental dossiers on each of them.

First, there was herself, Luna, Princess of the Night and Moon, Wielder of the Moon Stone, Deity Of Darkness, Eventide Sister, The Selene Mare, Ipsa Nox Venantur, Nightmare Moon. 

Nightfury, the charming vagabond who had assumed the role of Captain of the Black Berets after Wildfire's death. His wit was as sharp as his tongue, and his fierce streak was nearly as wide as his compassionate one. 

Winter Mist, an extraordinary little mare, by far the smallest of the Black Berets, but she made up for it by being quite good at burning things, among which the self-rolled cigarettes she was never seen without. A quiet and demure girl, but one who has seen the worst the world had to offer, and through sheer force of will, emerged unscathed.

Little Bit, also known as The Big One. A simple stallion, short of word and very kind, but capable of shifting small mountains if he really put his mind to it. His magic is fearsome, as with any Black Beret, but it's his hooves his enemies fear. 

Hawkeye, now the second-in-command under Nightfury. A brave and skilled warrior, he is incredibly talented at throwing spears. He has enveloped a close relationship with Rarity. Always calm and collected under pressure.

Tank, a large and boisterous stallion, always laughing, always with a joke to tell. Never seen without his armour on or very close by. To some, he is surprisingly talented at metallurgy and metalworking, but to those who were blessed with the capability of critical thinking, it's not as surprising. Sets of armour of such quality and grandeur are very rare, especially those large enough for a Beret.

Bill, another simple stallion, who just so happens to be unnaturally large. Along with Little Bit, he can do incredible magic, but prefers to get close up and crush things with his hooves. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but loyal and courageous to a fault. Luna liked him.

Frostbite, white on white on white, with an attitude as frosty as his name, especially since the death of Rain, his close friend. He is renowned for his talent with ice, including quite a reputation for ice sculptures, Luna had been surprised to learn. 

Red, a quiet, gentle giant, built the same as Bill and Little Bit. A fan of philosophy and deep thinking, he can often be found either staring into the distance, wrestling with some life-changing conundrum with Chub, or scribbling his thoughts into a little book he keeps safe. Luna had had some quite amazing conversations over various qualities of life and death with him.  

Willow, who always showed up covered in dirt. Luna suspected he knew everything about plants there was to know. His family owned a chain of nurseries, and he was on the path to taking over the family business, had his prodigious size and aptitude for natural magic caught Wildfire's attention. 

Violet, a stallion with little imagination, but some of the best logical facilities Luna had ever seen, Twilight Sparkle included. He had an endearing inability to grasp sarcasm, metaphors, and humor, but he could also solve any problem put in front of him. His magic leaned towards a small push in the right place to topple a tower, but being a Beret, he was as strong as an ox, making him one dangerous nerd. 

Onyx, who was endowed with the darkest black coat a pony could imagine, which clashed beautifully with his green eyes. He was an expert of being sneaky, along with Nightfury, but less focused on the combat and more concentrated on not being seen at all. He was fairly talkative for a sneak, and his humor is as dark as his coat. 

Boulder got along very well with Pinkie, given that he knew everything about rocks, and she grew up on a rock farm. The two would spend hours talking about minerals, gravel, ore, promontory, and the art of turning a mountain into macadam. He could dig a tunnel faster than any mole, and was known to chew on gravel when bored. 

Scar grew up far away from most other civilization, and as such, developed into a loner. He was quite happy being quiet, off by himself. Since joining the Black Berets, however, he became a bit more open, if only to his new brothers and sister. They began calling him Scar after an accident on his first mission left him with a long stripe that ran the length of one  side, from shoulder to rump. 

Vision was a brilliant tactician, and the one who often came up with the more outlandish schemes that always seemed to work in ways no one predicted. As a youngster, he had spent his free time split between reading tomes of historical battles, and putting them to practice in a field with his friends. While the rest of the group had all been very gifted and had all applied to the Berets, it was Vision who had the strength, fortitude, and mental faculties befitting one of Equestria's elite. 

Drench was a pony who was more at home in water than on land. The Berets relied on him for pretty much anything wet. Seeing as swimming is an excellent form of exercise, he was rippled with muscle and rid of nearly all fat, leaving him with the most cut form of all the Berets, even if he wasn't necessarily the physically strongest. 

Stitch was the one who patched up the Berets when proper facilities weren't an option. He was large loud, and scary, but his hooves were gentle and his magic precise. He wasn't quite as knowledgeable as a proper doctor, but his years of operating in the field left him with an incredible ability to adapt and improvise. However, he was far too fond of puns for Luna's taste. Especially the blood-themed ones. 

Chub was hypothesized to be somehow related to Bill, as they were quite similar, although Chub was a bit more rotund. He had a similar attraction to the difficulties of profound thought, but he was much more casual than Red. His arguments were more often than not concluded with a shrug and, "But who cares, anyway?" He could be found debating the finer points of philosophy with Red, or sharing a little cigarette with Winter. 

Blackeye was a former criminal, Luna was content to leave it at that. She didn't want to look too close into it, she didn't care. Nightfury and Wildfire had vouched for him, and his pleas for a new lease on life sounded sincere. The duo had apparently sprung him out of jail after chasing a number of rumors about a unicorn with unbelievable ability. He had so far served his time with the utmost loyalty and patriotism, and Luna trusted him as much as any other Beret. 

The Black Berets now fully cataloged, Luna turned her attention off to the side, where the Elements of Harmony were gathered. Generosity, kindness, laughter, loyalty, honesty, and magic. Six incredible mares, and together, they represented the magic of Harmony itself. When they were together, anything was possible, wearing their fancy gemstones or not. 

Promise had insisted on coming as well. Luna still did not fully trust the girl. She hadn't quite supplied them with any knowledge that Luna could consider game-changing, but Nightfury trusted her, and so Luna had to take that into account. 

And that was all. That was the army that was going to attempt to push Axion off the throne, and restore balance to Equestria. Even with her Moon Stone, the Elements of Harmony, and eighteen of the most powerful warriors in the land, Luna had doubts it was possible.

Luna looked over to see the villagers had vanished among the trees. The forest was silent once more. The Berets looked around, and began to gather their things. The Elements saw them, and began to follow suit. Luna looked to the sky for a moment.

She hoped she wasn't leading these ponies to their graves.