Darkness' Embrace

Chapters

Darkness' Shadow
Home Revisited
Captured!
Saved by the Hoof
Shattered Memories
Taking Sides
Proving Her Worth
Doubting Ditzy
Forgotten Friendship

Darkness' Shadow

Chapter 1

Darkness’ Shadow

“Sleep well, Tia. We shall see thou on the ‘morrow.”

“Take care, Luna. I look forward to seeing your beautiful sky.”

The two ponies smiled at each other before the larger white one headed inside. Princess Luna watched her sister head into the castle, then turned around, facing the sky. Princess Celestia had already set the sun before she retired for the night; now all that was left was for Luna to raise the moon and dot the sky with stars.

She had missed this part of her life while imprisoned on the moon. Luna took pride in making the sky just perfect. The moon had to glow a certain way, the stars needed to be arranged to form the constellations that ponies used when travelling at night. A lesser being might simply throw stars around at random and call it finished, but not Luna. She knew exactly where each star should be, and took her time placing each one precisely where it should go.

All in all, it was an hour after Celestia had left that Luna finally finished creating the night sky. She took a step back, admiring her handiwork. Her gaze gradually fell upon Canterlot itself. Though the sun had only gone down a short while ago, the city was mostly dark. Ponies of all walks of life were either sleeping or preparing to sleep, save for the guards patrolling the streets.

There was some commotion in the city below, and Luna turned to look. A fair number of ponies, dressed up in their finest, were leaving the theatre. Among them a few ponies were carrying instruments - a flute here, a bass cello there – and Luna assumed that a concert or perhaps an opera had only just ended.

The princess stood on her balcony watching the crowds disperse until the streets below were quiet once more. She gave a sigh. All over Equestria, ponies are sleeping. They never take time to admire my hard work! Luna shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head. No, no. Those kinds of thoughts are what corrupted me before. I will not be consumed by jealousy again.

Opening her eyes, Luna looked over the silent city once more before heading inside the castle.

From the bushes far below, a cloaked figure watched in silence. A grin spread across her face as Princess Luna finally went back inside Canterlot Castle. The mare poked her head out of her hiding spot and glanced down the streets. The guard patrolling was not here at the moment; by her calculations, she had another three minutes before he returned.

She swiveled her head towards Canterlot Castle’s main gate. Four guards stood before it, each one meticulously keeping an eye on the path to the door and some of the surrounding area.

Exactly as they should be. The mare thought to herself. Completely oblivious to any danger. She cast her gaze down the side of the castle. In ten seconds, a guard should come around the corner, and the west wing of the castle grounds would be free of any preying eyes. Silently, the cloaked mare counted off the seconds until the guard arrived, precisely on schedule. She held her breath as he passed by the shrub in which she hid, but he made no move towards her.

Another smile formed on her face as she silently slipped out of her hiding spot and, hugging the wall of the castle, slipped around the corner. She heard no one call out for her to stop, so she assumed everything had gone according to plan.

Quietly, she walked along the wall until reaching a stain glassed window near the back. The mare took a few deep breaths; from this point on, if she were caught before obtaining her goal, she’d be punished severely. Slinking around Canterlot Castle might get her a warning or a fine, but nothing long-lasting. She shook her head and stepped back from the wall. Levitating a small rock with her magic, the Unicorn launched it at the window, reveling in the sound of the glass shattering.

Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of hoofbeats. Guards were rushing towards her location. With a nimble jump, the Unicorn leapt over the window sill and landed inside. She looked around for a moment, noting the position of Celestia’s throne and the main gates to the room. The mare quickly trotted through the room, to a tiny door just past the throne.

She readied a spell, preparing to pick the lock, but was surprised to find it unlocked. Rolling her eyes she continued through the long hallway beyond. Her ears perked up at the sound of more approaching guards, but a quick glance around revealed no hiding spots. Snorting, the mare readied herself for a fight as three guards came bounding into the hall.

“Halt in the name of Princess Celes-!” he never got the chance to finish his command as he soon found a knife lodged in his throat. Blood gurgled from his mouth as he sank to the floor, already dying. The other two Unicorn guards watched their comrade for a moment, and then drew their own weapons with their magic.

The mare simply smiled for a moment, then charged the two Unicorns. They each swung their swords, but the mare ducked just before they hit, and the swords bounced off each other. The mare leapt between the two guards and kicked with her hind legs as she passed, hitting both in the face. She landed behind them and grabbed the dead guard’s sword with her own magic. She spun in space, swinging the sword in a wide arc. One of the guards saw her attack and leapt backwards, but his buddy wasn’t as lucky. The sword cut through half of his neck, and some blood landed on the mare’s cloak as it spurted from the severed vein.

The mare paused for a moment, bringing her sword up to her mouth and licking the blood off. She eyed the third guard, grinning. The guard, realizing he was outmatched, turned and fled, crying out for help.

The mare dropped the sword and resumed her mission. She took off back down the hall, away from the throne room. The linoleum tiles echoed her hooves as she ran, but she had no time to be stealthy by this point.

Left, right, second right, then straight to the target. She thought, running through the map of the castle in her mind. The tiles gave way to a red carpet, and the mare slowed as she reached the end of the hall. She paused, wondering if she had made a wrong turn somewhere, but there, against the back wall, was what she was seeking.

It was a very ornate door, coloured in purple and pink and inset with a number of jewels, and had a small sun sitting in the middle. To each side stood a statue of a Unicorn, and above the door was a carving of a winged Unicorn, which was probably intended to be Celestia herself.

The mare walked up to the door, inspecting it. The sun had a hole in its center, and after a moment’s deliberation, she reasoned it must be for a Unicorn horn. Hesitantly, she slid her own horn into the hole, but as expected, nothing happened.

“Only my sister and I are capable of opening that door.” The sudden sound of Luna’s voice made the mare shriek, and she quickly pulled her horn out of the door and turned to face her. Curiously, the Princess of the Night was alone, but considering how angry she was, she might not need any help.

“Then you wouldn’t mind opening it for me?”

“Ha, thou art a curious mare. Hast thou come to offer thy services as a jester? Thou makes an odd first impression, killing two guards.” Luna said coolly, readying a number of battle spells.

“I never joke, Luna dearest.” The mare said, her voice dropping several octaves. She felt her face contort into a more sinister glare as she readied a number of her own spells.

Wait, what’s happening to me?

Luna’s eyes widened, and a few of her carefully crafted spells fell apart as she lost her focus.

“That…that voice! It can’t be!” she stammered.

“Oh, but it is. I’ve missed you, fair Luna.” The mare said, her voice considerably more stallion-like by this point. She flicked her head and Luna was engulfed by fire.

Why can’t I control my body?

Luna yelled out as she doused her burning body and formed a giant sword out of magic. She swung it at the mare, not caring about the windows and walls she ruined in her attack as the sword cut through them effortlessly.

The mare called up a shield, made out of her own magic, which Luna’s mage sword bounced off of harmlessly.

“No!” Luna yelled. “You cannot hope to stand against me! I will not fall for your tricks again!”

The mare groaned; deflecting Luna’s sword had not been easy and had drained her magic considerably, but she couldn’t appear weak now. She looked up as Luna tried swinging her mage sword again, slashing through the other wall this time.

The mare got an idea, and jumped backwards, gasping as Luna’s mage sword passed right in front of her. Luna, her horn glowing with a curious blue aura, swung the sword a third time. The mare closed her eyes, calling up the shield again, and braced herself.

She didn’t have the magical reserves to completely block Luna’s attack this time, but she didn’t want to. The shield protected her as the attack sent her sprawling, flying through the air. She crashed against a wall that Luna had not cut through all the way and crumpled onto the floor. With a groan, the mare climbed back to her feet, but she knew she didn’t have the energy reserves to take another hit.

CRASH!

Both Luna and the mare turned to look. The ornate door had been cut in two by Luna’s last attack, and now rested on the floor. Beyond sat a single chest on a pedestal. Luna gave a small gasp and released her mental grip on her sword, which dissipated back into ether, and leapt for the chest.

The mare, thinking quickly, hefted a piece of the door with her magic and smashed it into Luna. The Princess was knocked off course and came to rest on the floor. The mare leapt over Luna and knocked the chest off its pedestal.

As it hit the ground, the chest opened, revealing its treasures.

“The Elements of Harmony.” She said, levitating the star-studded tiara and inspecting it.

“No! Put it down!” Luna said, climbing to her feet. “You can’t even use it!”

The mare turned to look at Luna, still smiling in an unsettling way.

“Use it? What ever gave you the idea I was going to do that?” she said as she lifted the tiara into the air, aiming the star down, and then sent it hurtling towards the floor.

The star shattered, and Luna felt a surge of magic emanating from the broken Element.

“Sister…help me…” the Princess whispered as she fell into darkness.

The sun slowly crept down over the horizon as Twilight walked home, an extremely drowsy Spike perched on her back. Around her, a bright pink pony hopped around excitedly, the day’s activities seemingly having no effect on her energy levels; but then, very little ever seemed to dampen Pinkie’s mood.

“OMIGOSH that was so much fun! Do you think she was surprised? I think she was surprised! It wasn’t easy keeping it a secret from her. But I did, ‘cause Pinkie knows how to keep a secret!” Pinkie Pie spoke at her usual accelerated tempo, and no matter how long Twilight watched, she never seemed to take a breath. Idly, Twilight wondered if Pinkie could somehow breath and speak at the same time.

“Yes, Pinkie, I think Rainbow was very surprised. I don’t think she was expecting a member of the Wonderbolts to be at her birthday party.” Twilight spoke softly and nodded her head towards the napping baby dragon. Pinkie glanced at Spike, who opened an eye sleepily and looked around. Pinkie seemed to get the hint, since she clapped a hoof over her mouth.

“Oh, good, we’re finally home.” The tiny purple dragon mumbled as he slid off Twilight’s back and wandered inside the library where the two of them lived. Pinkie giggled as she watched the door close behind Spike.

“Well, thanks for walking Spike home with me, Pinkie. We both had lots of fun today.”

“Sure thing, Twilight! I can’t wait for tomorrow to come! It’s gonna be so much fun!” Humming to herself happily, Pinkie trotted back down the street to Sugarcube Corner. Giving a small chuckle, Twilight walked inside her house.

Once inside, Twilight shut the door behind her – quietly, of course – and headed to her desk. It was late, and Ponyville was, for the most part, quiet. The only sounds the purple Unicorn could hear were those of the nocturnal animals around Ponyville just starting their day, and the snores of a soundly sleeping Spike in the next room. Still, this was the time Twilight liked best; fewer distractions to take time away from her studies. With a final glance outside, Twilight turned away from the window and opened the book resting on her desk.

Twilight awoke with a snort, the candle on her desk having long since burned out. With a sleepy mumble, she cast a tiny spell that lit up her horn enough to see by. She looked down at her study notes, which were surprisingly empty. She groaned and shook her head slowly. The party must have worn me out more than I thought, she thought. With a dejected sigh, Twilight rolled up her scrolls, closed her books and headed for her bedroom.

Without warning, a sharp sudden jolt coursed through Twilight’s head. The abruptness of it caught her off guard, and she screamed in a mixture of pain and surprise. She fell to the ground as the pain subsided, still groaning and breathing heavily.

“Twilight? Is everything ok?” the baby dragon asked, appearing at Twilight’s side. Twilight raised her head to meet Spike’s worried gaze. Though he had been peacefully asleep, her loyal assistant had genuine concern for Twilight in his eyes.

“Yes, yes I think so, Spike.” Twilight said, shakily climbing to her feet. She flashed Spike a smile, though she didn’t feel quite so confident. Bringing a hoof to her head, she rubbed it slowly while trying to puzzle out what happened.

Just then, a stream of light poured in through the windows, lighting the house.

“Huh? It can’t be morning already.” Spike said, walking to the front door. He opened it and poked his head out for a moment before excitedly yelling, “Twilight! Come look!”

Despite the lingering pain in her head, Twilight walked over to Spike.

“What is it, Spike?” She asked, poking her head outside. Her mouth hung open as she took in the sight that the dragon had noticed.

The light wasn’t the morning sun. Canterlot Castle was engulfed in a pillar of light, stretching up and disappearing into the sky above. Ponies from all over Ponyville were walking out into the street, murmuring amongst themselves as they looked at the bizarre sight.

Suddenly, a thin band of black appeared on the horizon, steadily growing larger as it seemed to draw nearer to the town. One could make out tiny sparks of light jumping out from it, razing the countryside as it engulfed everything in its path. Twilight barely had time to register this before she realized it was dangerously close to Ponyville.

Screams rose from the town as other ponies noticed what Twilight had. The ground began rumbling and shaking as the black void edged closer to Ponyville. Ponies and Unicorns began running, fleeing Ponyville in blind terror. Pegasus after Pegasus took to the skies, some flying away, thinking only for themselves, with the rest staying behind, directing the flightless to the quickest and safest ways out of town.

“Twilight! We’ve gotta go! Now!” Spike’s voice broke through Twilight’s thoughts, and she picked up the tiny dragon with her magic, sitting him on her back before taking off at a run away from the black void approaching the town.

A scream from behind her grabbed Twilight’s attention, and she turned back in time to see a light green pony get swallowed by the void. Her anguished cries ended as soon as she was immersed in the bizarre blackness. Twilight gasped; she hadn’t realized how fast the black band was moving.

“Twilight! Look out!” Spike yelled. Twilight turned her head back around, but didn’t have enough time to react. She collided with another panicked pony, sending all three of them crashing to the ground.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” the timid voice spoke up, despite the apparent danger. Twilight looked up into Fluttershy’s concerned gaze. “Oh, Twilight! What’s happening?”

“Girls, we don’t have time for this!” Spike yelled before Twilight could respond. He motioned behind them at the already far-too-close blackness. Twilight scrambled back to her hooves, but the black void was nearly at the three of them and she knew they had no chance of escaping it at this point. Terror and panic filled her mind and she found herself unable to cast a spell, to teleport to safety somewhere.

A bolt of lightning shot out from the blackness and Fluttershy squeaked. Twilight reached over to grab both Spike and Fluttershy in a comforting hug. Another bolt of lightning, another squeak from Fluttershy, only this time Twilight felt a surge of magic flow through her body. Fluttershy buried her head into Twilight’s mane as Spike buried his own into her chest. Twilight closed her eyes as she felt the familiar release that came with casting a spell, and a voice – her voice? – was shouting something.

“Angel Wings!”

Time seemed to slow as the words died, drowned out by the incessant noise of multiple lightning bolts being shot out by the black void. Twilight felt something sprout from her back. She turned her head and noticed a pair of wings growing, and they slowly wrapped themselves around Fluttershy, Spike, and herself. No sooner had the three been enveloped then Twilight’s panic and fear simply vanished. Twilight sagged as apathy overtook her, and she watched, completely uninterested as the black void inched closer.

The wings Twilight now sported enveloped the three completely, leaving nothing exposed, yet Twilight could still somehow see through them. She felt the black void touch her wings and nothing happened. She had a brief sensation of being pushed, which gave way. She sensed, rather than saw, the black void go around her, passing over as if she didn’t exist. However, as the void touched Fluttershy and Spike she saw it engulf them as the poor Unicorn from earlier had been. Twilight wanted to cry out, to reach over and grab her friends, but found she could neither move nor speak. The strange apathy from earlier remained, and even as Fluttershy and Spike vanished from sight entirely, she felt nothing.

Once the void enveloped her, a glint of light caught Twilight’s eye, and she turned to look. There, off in the distance, about where Canterlot should be, the beam of light she had spotted earlier still stood. She watched it as the pillar of light slowly shrank until Twilight was plunged into complete darkness and silence. There was no sound, save for her steady breathing.

Twilight hung there immersed in nothing for what seemed like hours. Slowly, light started to trickle through. But from where? some rational part of her mind asked. Eventually, painstakingly slowly, dim light filled the world again. Her wings unfurled, and Twilight felt the familiar sensation of the ground under her hooves. The magical wings chose that moment to dissipate, blinking off into magical residue, visible even to those without magic, which hung in the air for a moment before disappearing from sight entirely.

Twilight looked around groggily, blinking in the dim light. She took a step forward and immediately collapsed. Twilight had a dim sensation of immense pain, and incredible fatigue. Whatever that spell was that she had cast, it had drained her completely, in both magical energy and physical strength. Twilight closed her eyes as unconsciousness won the battle and she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

Home Revisited

Chapter 2

Home Revisited

Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes, looking at her surroundings. The ground was soft and wet, most likely the result of a recent rain. A peculiar smell hung in the air, but she couldn’t recognize it. Wearily, she rose to her feet, her head pounding and her muscles screaming in protest. Mud stuck to her stomach and legs, but she ignored it for the moment. Twilight swung her head left and right, but could not spot any trace of her friends.

“Spike?” Twilight croaked. She cleared her throat and licked her lips. Dimly, Twilight took note of her overbearing thirst and hunger. Clearing her throat again, Twilight tried calling out once more. “Fluttershy? Where are you?” Twilight waited, silently counting to ten. There was no response; the street was as deserted as it had been before she woke.

Images of the black thing from before raced through her mind: the green Unicorn being swallowed, Twilight’s strange spell, Fluttershy and Spike being swallowed as well regardless of the protection. She paused, furrowing her brow. The spell had been cast around all three of us. Why weren’t they protected? she thought to herself. Shaking her head, Twilight looked around again, trying to find some hint of life.

Twilight gaped as she took in her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, there was destruction. Nearly half of the houses in Ponyville were gone, stripped down to their foundation, and what was remaining was being held together by prayer. Whole trees were uprooted; gardens once filled with flowers were now little more than dirt. Unusually, however, Twilight noticed that all the roads seemed to be cleared of any debris. She shook her head in confusion, though a sharp pain in her neck told her she probably shouldn’t do that too often.

“What the hay happened here?” Twilight glanced around slowly, being careful not to strain her neck again. Most of Ponyville was still recognizable; the light coming from the full moon above made it rather easy to see – Wait a minute. Full moon? Twilight abruptly halted her scan of the town and looked up. The full moon hung above the town, perched directly overhead.

“But, but that can’t be right! It was only a crescent moon last night!” Panic began rising in her voice once again. Twilight closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and slowly. “Ok, ok, calm down. I have to find my friends, and then we can go look for Princess Celestia, and find a way to fix this.” With that, Twilight set out for the center of town, or at least what remained of it.

Ponyville was eerily quiet at Twilight passed through silently. There was no sound, save that of the cool wind blowing constantly and the soft clop clop clop of Twilight’s hooves. She looked around as she walked, noting how the entirety of town seemed to be falling apart. There wasn’t a single building she could see without some damage done to it. Many houses were missing doors or windows, some roofs had collapsed in on themselves, gaping holes dotted other houses, the insides clearly visible, although many homes were barren of any furniture.

Twilight poked her nose into one of the houses that still had a few tables and chairs in it. They were covered in a thick layer of dust, as was the floor. She looked up and could see the moon through a giant hole in the ceiling. Curiousity got the better of her and Twilight walked inside the house, if it could even be called such a thing.

The air inside the house was stale and just as dusty as the sparse furnishings that had been left behind, for some reason. Paintings and framed pictures still hung the wall, though some had fallen over, and Twilight stepped over the glass carefully. The kitchen was in a state of turmoil, some old rotted thing still sitting on the table. At some point in time it was probably a carrot or maybe even an apple, but now it was just a stinky brown mush.

Snorting, Twilight left the kitchen and resumed exploring the run-down house. A few more chairs, a discoloured couch, a few decomposing books – magazines and gossip tabloids, if the faded covers were any hint to go by. Twilight came across an old staircase heading up, but she was uncertain if she trusted the rotten stairs in front of her to hold her weight. Hesitantly she began to climb up; despite loud groans and a sickening crunch about halfway up, the stairs miraculously didn’t collapse.

Twilight let out her breath as she reached the top, unaware she had been holding it the entire time. A gentle breeze caught her attention, and she wandered down the hall. A door was hanging half open, broken off one of its hinges, and couldn’t close quite properly. Twilight nudged the door open, wincing as this tiny movement was all it took for the door to break off entirely, crashing onto the floor loudly.

The sound spooked a number of birds that had been resting inside, and they caw’d in indignation as they took flight. Stepping into the room beyond, Twilight gawked in shock. The room wasn’t there. The wall where the doorway was was the only one still standing; Twilight had a perfect view of the rest of the broken town, courtesy of whatever had destroyed the house. A strange smell wafted around her, and Twilight wrinkled her nose in disgust.

The fluttering of a bird landing in front of her caught her attention, and Twilight finally looked at the floor. She felt her stomach lurch and bile rise to her throat; there, not two feet from her lay a dead pony. What little flesh remained bore the unmistakable signs of severe burns, and Twilight could see a few bones through particularly burned skin. It had been left to rot for Celestia knows how long, and the birds Twilight had spooked earlier had returned and were relishing in their meal.

Twilight felt a wave of nausea overcome her, and she tried in vain to hold back, but the smell continued stinging her nose and she retched, emptying her stomach of its contents right beside the dead pony.

Gasping for air, Twilight inhaled sharply and nearly hurled again, taking in big gulps of air tainted by rotting flesh. Holding back her revulsion she bolted from the house, running down the stairs and out the door, tears stinging her eyes the entire time.

She ran for some time, dashing through the decaying streets, turning left and right at random, unsure where she was heading. She just wanted to get away. She eventually found herself in front of Town Hall, or at least what remained. Only a few pieces of the frame were left standing; the rest of the building was in shambles around the central support. It was here that Twilight finally stopped running, trying hard not to sob and throw up again. She leaned against one of the support beams that had been left standing, catching her breath and keeping her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

I’m going to open my eyes and everything will be back to normal. This is all just a horrible, horrible nightmare. Fearing what she might see, Twilight cracked one eye open and wailed. The same devastated town stood before her. With a heavy heart, Twilight stood up straight, glancing around the broken city, searching for some sign of life.

A flash of colour and movement amidst the fallen wreckage caught her eye. Twilight stepped over the broken wood gingerly, only to come across a piece of fabric fluttering in the breeze. It was trapped beneath a supporting beam. It seemed to have been there quite some time, as the lettering was faded and difficult to make out. Twilight stared at the fabric for a moment, glancing between it and the timbers of Town Hall.

“This isn’t right,” Twilight mused. “Why’s everything look so old?” Inhaling sharply, Twilight’s mind raced as she started piecing together what was so wrong with the town. The unicorn surveyed the remains of Town Hall, noting how faded the colouring was. The magazines in the house she explored were the same, and the decay of the pony, from what she could recall without vomiting again, lent credence to the theory. The sections of wood were in various stages of decay and rot, and paint was beginning to peel. Looking out over the ruins of Ponyville, Twilight only found more of the same. It was as if Ponyville had simply been abandoned and left to weather the elements on its own. Twilight shook her head, refusing to believe her eyes.

“No, no, no. This can’t be right. I couldn’t have jumped through time…could I? But…” she surveyed the town once more. “But it looks like Ponyville’s been a ghost town for at least a couple of years.” She raised a hoof to her head, rubbing it slightly, feeling the start of a headache. “What is going on here?!”

A sudden dizziness made Twilight’s knees weak, and she unsteadily began climbing down, getting off the unsafe pile of broken wood. Once at the ground the unicorn slumped over, the lightheadedness and headache only intensifying. Twilight wobbled around unevenly, groaning slightly as she collapsed to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain as her head throbbed.

Twilight blinked as she rose to her feet slowly, yawning and stretching broadly. She smacked her lips and gave another yawn. “Mm, I don’t even remember falling asleep.” Twilight looked around sleepily, the surrounding area still covered in darkness. The purple unicorn glanced up and gave a small gasp. She blinked and rubbed her eyes and opened them again, but the scene remained unchanged. The full moon still hung in the sky, as if it had never moved.

Twilight’s jaw dropped as she tried to process this. “But, but that isn’t right!” A feeling of queasiness swept over the unicorn, and she clenched her eyes shut, muttering “No, no. Don’t pass out again.” Twilight took a couple of deep breaths, steadying her nerves until the nausea faded. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked around, mumbling to herself. “Moon hanging above us. Strange lights from Canterlot. That bizarre black thing that swallowed everypony else.” Twilight shook her head. “None of it makes sense!”

Looking around the destroyed Ponyville, however, doubt continued to creep into Twilight’s mind, a slew of unanswered questions forming with each passing second. Tears welled up in her eyes once more, dropping to the ground below as she simply stood where she was. The sounds of hoofbeats getting louder made Twilight’s ears perk up, and she looked around for the source, blinking away the last of her tears.

Rounding a corner, Twilight could now make out the sounds of metal scraping against metal along with the steady pulse of hooves. Peering through the darkness, Twilight could just make out a small group of ponies; the moonlight glinted off their armour, and Twilight sighed in relief as she recognized the colours of the royal guard.

“Guards! Guards!” Twilight called out as she ran towards them, her heart and her thoughts racing. If the guards are here, then maybe Princess Celestia knows what’s going on. Maybe she can help me. Maybe she’s been looking for me. As Twilight neared the guards, a few of them noticed her, and began backing up, their faces contorted in fear and confusion.

Twilight skidded to a stop, panting for breath as she eyed the guards. There were five of them, and all but one had all manner of dents and scrapes in his armour. Of what little skin was showing Twilight could just make out a few old scars and bruises. One guard was missing an ear, lobbed off some time ago from the looks of it. The one guard whose armour contained no defects was visibly younger than the others, which Twilight took to assume he hadn’t yet been in any serious fights. She also noted that they wore more armour than she could recall; very little was left unguarded, save for their hooves, the Pegasi’s wings, and for the unicorns, their horns poking out the top of their helmets. Each one clanked noisily with every move.

The youngest guard was the first to speak. “Ah, my Lady, please, we are just beginning our rounds.” He was rudely cut off by the guard missing an ear.

“Silence, cadet. Speak only when spoken to.” Bowing his head, the young cadet backed up a few paces. Missing Ear turned back to Twilight. “Forgive him, my Lady. He has yet to learn proper deference.” Twilight nodded uncertainly, eying the group of guards. With a deep inhale, Twilight broke the silence that had fallen.

“Guards. What’s happened here? What happened to Ponyville?” her voice died out, the question unanswered. The unusual glances the guards were exchanging with each other made Twilight uneasy. A flash of colour to her left caught Twilight’s eye, but, glancing that way, she could see nothing. Finally one of the unicorns spoke hesitantly.

“Uh, you destroyed it, my Lady, several years ago. Can’t you remem…” a blur of movement passed between Twilight and the guards. The unicorn stopped midsentence, his mouth hanging open. For a moment time seemed to stand still, until Twilight could just make out a few drops of blood dripping from the unicorn’s mouth. The guard’s body twitched slightly and he pitched to the side, falling over. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Without another word the other guards snapped to action. They formed a tight circle around Twilight, facing away. Twilight only noted the guard’s actions dimly, her gaze still focused on the dead unicorn, his eyes still horrifically open, facing upwards at her. A pool of blood was slowly growing from the unicorn’s body.

A sharp yell to her right forced Twilight’s gaze from the dead guard. Looking over, she gasped in terror. One of the Pegasus guards was missing a wing, a still-bleeding stump sticking from his side. Glancing down, Twilight spotted the missing wing, severed from its body. Beside it lay a very large knife, the blade sticking down into the ground. Bile began to rise in her throat; the horror of the scene was beginning to make her knees weak. Another cry came from behind her. Dreading what she might find, yet unable to not look, the purple unicorn turned around. The cadet had pulled a large sword from its scabbard, clenching the hilt between his teeth, and was viciously fighting another pony.

This other pony engaged in battle with the young cadet wore all black, with only his – hers? – eyes showing. Twilight could see neither horn nor wings, yet he moved effortlessly, going hoof-to-hoof with the surprisingly adept cadet. The pony was using a knife not unlike the one laying in the ground behind her, yet was deflecting each of the cadet’s blows with ease, despite the incredible size difference between the two weapons.

All around her, Twilight became aware of other ponies joining the fight. Some were garbed like the first pony she saw fighting the cadet, others wore armour similar to the guards,’ though it didn’t seem to fit them that well.

Twilight felt her feet leave the ground. Looking up, she spotted two Pegasi attempting to carry her away. She gave a shriek and flailed her limbs uselessly. Below her, the other Pegasus guard took to the wing. He flew up, pulling his sword from his scabbard, and sliced it through the air. Twilight and her would-be kidnappers fell to the ground in a heap, both Pegasi now wingless. They cried out in equal parts pain and alarm, but not for long; the Pegasus guard swooped down low, his sword swinging, and Twilight’s kidnappers fell silent.

Climbing to her feet and stepping away, Twilight surveyed the scene. The Pegasus guard with two functioning wings was flying above, attacking any other Pegasi that got too close. The one missing a wing was leaping around, using his one good wing for a little extra lift, though Twilight could see it hurt him with every flap. The other unicorn guard was swinging a number of swords and knives around, all supported by his magic. He didn’t seem to be hitting anything, though; the other ponies fighting him were wisely keeping their distance and merely deflecting his attacks. The cadet was backed up against a wall, three other ponies closing in on him. At some point in the battle, he had lost his weapon and was cowering in fear. A few trickles of blood were running down his face and armour. Twilight felt her features harden in anger.

“NO!” her voice pierced the air as a blast of magic erupted from her horn. The three ponies ganging up on the cadet were brushed aside harmlessly. The cadet looked up, relief clearly showing. A flash of movement to her left forced Twilight to whirl on her hooves, ready to fight. Yet there was nothing there ready to face her. Twilight let her guard down a moment, looking around in confusion.

The attack came from her right, a solid kick to her side. Twilight cried out as she heard something snap – a rib, perhaps? – and she fell to the ground. The sounds of fighting were beginning to subside. Twilight quickly climbed back to her feet, despite her pain, and looked around. The cadet was at her side, sword in mouth, blood dripping from the blade. Another blaze of movement and Twilight glanced towards it, ready for another sneak attack.

She froze in horror as she looked over in time to see the unicorn guard fall to the ground, a sword sticking out of his back, the armour having been forcibly removed at some point. The Earth Pony lording over him gave a flick of his neck, and the unicorn’s horn went flying off, landing at Twilight’s feet. The unicorn gave a shriek of panic; another flick of the Earth Pony’s neck and the unicorn dropped, blood spurting from his neck.

Twilight stared at the detached horn lying before her, shock and revulsion freezing her in place. Time seemed to slow down as she looked around blankly. One-Winged Pegasus gave a moan of pain and fell to the ground, blood spurting from several wounds; above, the other Pegasus gave a cry as both of his wings were cut off mid-flight. He plummeted to the ground and was quickly surrounded.

Her attention diverted, Twilight never noticed the Earth Pony, the same one that had killed the unicorn guard, come up in front of her and deliver a firm kick to her face. Twilight dropped like a stone, her head swimming. She looked up in time to see the pony do the same to the cadet still standing beside her; he, too, fell to the ground. Above, a Pegasus wearing all black descended on herself and the cadet. Twilight wearily tried climbing to her feet, but only managed to put her weight on her front hooves before another kick to her side rolled her onto her back.

Battered and beaten, Twilight could only lay there in pain, awaiting her fate. Out the corner of her eye, she could see the cadet, his chest rising as he breathed. Twilight raised her head, making a final attempt at a spell. A Pegasus quickly dashed over and gave Twilight a gentle kick to the head. Twilight gave a final groan and collapsed, blacking out.

Captured!

Chapter 3

Captured!

The smell of smoke filled the mare’s nostrils. She snorted in a vain effort to clear her nose, but more smoke flowed in as quickly as it was expelled. With a humorless chuckle, she cast a spell; a bubble formed around her, protecting her from the smoke and ash floating amid the air. A yell to her left caught her attention, and the Unicorn turned to look. A pony – and a rather strapping specimen, she thought – had found a pick-axe and was running at her, the axe clenched between his teeth. His eyes were quite feral; there was no doubt he intended to kill. The Unicorn’s horn glowed again, and the protective bubble around her shimmered a moment. The axe-wielding pony swung his head, but the axe bounced off the bubble harmlessly. Momentarily stunned, the pony took a tentative step backwards; the mare seized her chance, grabbing the axe away from him with her magic and swung it once. She turned away, the axe having found new lodging in the stallion’s skull.

“Pity,” she murmured, “he would have made an excellent guard, so willing to fight.” A scream pierced the air, and the Unicorn scanned the surrounding area, no easy task considering the amount of smoke. Through the haze, she could see a number of other ponies running around, blinded by the constant smog. A flash of light penetrated the smoke, and with it, a gust of wind blew the smoke clear. As the mare looked up, she glared at the pony walking towards her…

Twilight awoke with a start, her mind swimming. With antagonizing slowness, Twilight felt her mind waking up, the memories of her impromptu fight returning to her. Her jaw ached where she’d been kicked, along with her side. Twilight glanced down over her body, noting the bruising around her middle. She wiggled a little, testing her strength and her side. A stab of pain shot through her system, and the Unicorn opted to not move unless she had to.

The ground suddenly jostled beneath her, and she gave a groan of agony as her side became agitated. Looking up, Twilight noticed the bars surrounding her, and the two ponies – one Pegasus, one Earth Pony – pulling her along. “A cage…then I’m trapped?” she thought to herself. The grim memory of the final stages of the fight came back to her. Twilight recalled the Unicorn’s horn come flying off, and she immediately reached up to feel her own head. Or at least she tried to; besides the brief movement irritating her side again, all four feet had been tied together. The bound pony looked down, struggling with her binds for a moment before giving up.

Movement from outside the cage caught her attention, and the trussed up Unicorn craned her neck over to see. A number of ponies were walking alongside her cage, most garbed in armour of some sort. They clanked when they moved, the ones who were limping even more so. Nearly every pony carried a weapon of some sort. Some carried swords, some opted for smaller knives, and still others decided on spears. They spoke to each other in hushed voices, barely audible. Every pony seemed worn out and fatigued; their faces devoid of any joy or pleasure. A few glanced at Twilight warily as they noticed her shuffling around in her cage.

Suddenly stricken with fear, Twilight’s mind raced as she tried to think of an escape. She closed her eyes, felt the familiar build-up of magic. “A quick teleport out of here, a little unbinding and I can try to find my friends.” A smile formed on her face as she felt it move to her horn – still there, thank Celestia – and planned to release it. There was a flash of magical light, and then pain wracked Twilight’s body. The spell fizzled out into nothing as she let out a guttural scream.

The cart stopped moving, and a few ponies escorting her turned to look. The pain receded as quickly as it had come, and Twilight lay back, panting. A neon green pony walked up to the cage, a devilish smirk on his snout.

“I wouldn’t try that again, dear Unicorn.” He spat. “We’ve taken the necessary precautions to ensure you won’t escape us.” He motioned to his neck, and Twilight looked down to her own. Bouncing against her chest was a bizarre red gemstone set into a rather plain chain. The gem was rather crude and jagged, yet it glowed with a strange inner light. As she examined it, the neon green pony drew closer to her. “Do try to save your strength, darling. You’re certainly going to need it.” With a mirthless chuckle, the stallion stepped back from the cage and, giving a nod to Twilight’s escorts, the entire group of ponies began walking once more. A tear run down Twilight’s cheek as she laid her head on the floor of the cage.

“Alright, we’re here. Bring her around.” The gruff voice – that of the green pony she’d spoken to earlier – brought Twilight out of her thoughts. She glanced around, noting that far fewer of the ponies she’d seen earlier were missing, or perhaps they were simply hiding behind the trees.

“Wait, trees? When did we enter the forest?” Twilight mused to herself. A sound behind her caused her to jump, and Twilight swung her head around. The rear of the cage had opened up, and three ponies were pointing very sharp-looking swords at her, staring at Twilight expectantly. The neon green pony came up beside the cage and smacked the bars with his hoof.

“Alright Purple Pain, on your feet. C’mon, c’mon, we don’t want to be late, do we?” He sneered, almost as if laughing at some personal joke. Twilight glanced down, noting that the ropes around her feet were gone. She hadn’t even noticed anyone cut them loose. Her face must have given away her thoughts, for the green stallion spoke up again. “I cut them off while you were snoozing. Thought you’d enjoy walking on your own.”

With a curt nod, Twilight stepped out of the cage. The three guards moved quickly, two of them flanking her with the third a few feet behind. The green pony walked ahead of her. Twilight dragged her feet, only to give a yelp when the pony behind her poked his sword against her rump.

“No slowing down, Princess Pain. We have a schedule to keep.” Twilight glared at the green pony ahead of her as she matched his pace. Inhaling deeply, Twilight’s mind raced as she glanced all around. They were in the middle of a forest, but beyond that, she knew nothing else about where they were. Besides the four guards immediately around her, several other ponies also kept speed with her, all as armoured as her own personal entourage. “Too many to fight one-by-one. Perhaps I can just try defending myself.”

Her mind made up, Twilight concentrated as best she could while still moving. She drew in another breath as she felt the ever-familiar tingle of magic work its way through her body, concentrating on her horn. “Shield” swam though Twilight’s mind and she released the spell, only for the same light to flash everywhere, then the pain returned. Twilight fell to the ground, crying out in agony as her spell once again dissipated into nothing. The pain dwindled, and Twilight weakly looked up at the green pony, standing over her triumphantly.

“I had hoped you’d learned from your earlier attempt. Seems our little Princess is a tad thick-headed.” He sneered again, and the Unicorn felt anger well up inside her. Before she could get back to her feet, the pony turned around again and resumed his march. Another sword in the rear startled Twilight to her feet, and she reluctantly followed in silence.

The group walked for roughly fifteen minutes – or was it twenty? Thirty, perhaps? The moon, visible through breaks in the trees, never seemed to move from its position in the sky, and as such Twilight had a hard time divining what time it was. The sounds of hushed voices and whispers met her ears, and she glanced around. Make-shift buildings had been constructed amidst the trees; some were made of clay, others of tightly packed sticks and mud. A few unlucky ponies had to be content with little more than a blanket draped over a low-hanging branch, lying in the mud. All around, Twilight could feel wary eyes looking at her from cracks in walls and around trees.

The five of them stopped walking, and Twilight looked ahead. The green pony was talking with another pony, a grey Pegasus with a yellow mane, but his head was obscured by the rather ornate helmet he wore. The two of them spoke in hushed tones, though Twilight strained desperately to hear what they were saying. Eventually they stopped, and the grey Pegasus looked over at Twilight, peering at her from behind his helmet’s eye slits. There was a long silence as the Pegasus slowly walked back and forth, eying Twilight suspiciously.

“Bring her to the stockade. Let’s see if this will help our cause any.” The Pegasus spoke - a mare, not a stallion as Twilight first suspected – yet there was something strangely familiar about her voice. She didn’t have long to think about it, however, since her guards started leading Twilight through the make-shift town to an area that appeared to be the center.

A large flat rock, roughly five meters across Twilight ventured, was sitting in a clearing. The surface seemed to be covered in water of some kind, yet it neither flowed nor reflected the moonlight above. And sitting in the middle of the rock was a…

A guillotine. Twilight recognized it from her history texts. The blade glimmered, bouncing the moon’s light off it, and there was the same strange water on it. “No, not water. Blood.” Some rational part of Twilight’s mind managed to put the pieces together. Twilight felt her jaw drop open and she began struggling against the guards.

“No! No! Don’t kill me! I haven’t done anything wrong!” tears streamed down Twilight’s face as the guards overpowered her and forced her into the guillotine. A crowd had formed; most of the ponies wore expressions of concern or smugness. Twilight grunted as she felt ropes being tied around her hooves, forcing her to lay still, the blade hanging ominously above her neck.

“Off with her head!”

“Don’t show that pony any mercy!”

“She never showed any others mercy! Don’t give her any credit!”

The voices rose from the crowd, all of them crying out for Twilight’s blood. The din died down as a pink pony climbed atop the rock, wearing the same armour as every other pony here, standing off to the side of Twilight.

“Ponies! It has finally happened! We’ve captured the dreaded Purple Princess! And now, we’ll end her reign of terror over us all!” A cheer went up from the crowd, yet Twilight only stared at the exuberant announcer as best she could.

“Pinkie?” at the sound of her voice, the pink pony turned to look at Twilight. The two stared for a while, and then the pink pony glanced up and nodded to someone behind Twilight. Time seemed to slow down; Twilight heard the snap as the rope holding the blade up was released, heard the sound of the blade rubbing against the wooden frame as it fell, and braced herself, clenching her eyes shut.

Saved by the Hoof

Chapter 4

Saved by the Hoof

The crowd was ecstatic, most crying out for joy as the pink pony nodded to the pony behind Twilight. Time seemed to slow down; Twilight heard the snap as the rope holding the blade up was released, heard the sound of the blade rubbing against the wooden frame as it fell. Through it all, however, the terrified purple unicorn kept her gaze on the pink pony. After she had nodded, the pony had turned back towards Twilight, and the two shared a long gaze. Twilight inhaled and shut her eyes, blinking away a final tear, resigning herself to the blade that was screaming towards her neck.

TWANG!

The sound of metal on metal reverberated throughout the forest clearing, the crowd suddenly silent. The seconds ticked by in dead silence as Twilight simply lay there, too petrified to move. She kept her eyes tightly shut, listening to her own breathing, feeling the steady pounding of her heart in her chest. Finally, curiousity won out over her fear and she cracked an eye open.

The crowd simply stood around the sacrificial rock, mumbling to themselves in hushed voices. A glint of light from Twilight’s right caught her gaze, and she glanced upwards. A Pegasus, the same grey one from earlier, hovered above Twilight. Her armoured hooves were splayed out, two of them holding up the guillotine blade, mere millimeters from Twilight’s neck. Flapping her wings, the Pegasus raised the blade slightly, and gave a nod. Twilight gave a sharp cry of alarm as she was whisked backwards, out from under the absurdly sharp edge.

With a sigh, the Pegasus pulled her hooves free, and the blade dropped down, chopping nothing. Twilight simply stood back, staring at the blade stupidly, casting her gaze between it and her Pegasus savior. The quiet was broken moments later by the pink pony.

“Commander! What are you doing?! You would spare this filthy unicorn’s life?!” as she spoke, the pink pony drew closer to the Pegasus, who had landed and simply stood where she was.

“Yes, I would.” The Pegasus’ voice was calm and unwavering, as if the pink pony didn’t intimidate her. She also seemed to stare at Twilight, not looking at the pink pony; of course, the helmet covering her face made it difficult to tell exactly which way she was looking. The enraged mare pointed a hoof at Twilight.

“Need I remind you who this unicorn is? The scourge of Equestria, second in command after our precious Queen?” the pink pony’s voice rose a couple octaves, nearly shrieking by the end. The Pegasus shook her head.

“Do you truly believe that, Captain Pie?” she turned to look at the Captain. “I won’t deny there are similar physical features, but I hardly doubt we could have captured our Princess so easily. From what I hear, she put up a rather pathetic fight back in the ruins.”

“SO?! We just got lucky enough to catch her when she’s weakened! I can’t believe you’d put a unicorn’s life above your own! Even if you would, I can’t believe you’d choose to save THIS unicorn out of all of them!” Captain Pie stepped closer to the commander, nearly yelling into her face.

“I won’t have you kill an innocent pony, Captain. I don’t think this particular unicorn is the one we’re after.” The Pegasus’ voice rose, filling every corner of the clearing. The soft mumbles of the crowd escalated to a loud commotion. Twilight could only hear snippets of conversation, most of which disagreed with the Pegasus’ opinion.

“Then you are a softhearted fool, my dear. Unicorns all over have given us much to fear.” One voice, all too familiar, floated over the others. The din died down and the crowd parted, allowing a cloaked pony to climb upon the rock. Twilight stared at her as she flicked her head, letting the cloak fall back. The all-too-familiar pattern of black and white stripes broke though Twilight’s stupor, and she smiled at a friendly face.

“Zecora! Am I ever glad to see you!” with a relieved sigh, Twilight took a step towards the zebra. Zecora snorted, backing up an equal distance from Twilight. Confused, the unicorn stopped where she was. Another snort, and Zecora turned her attention back to the grey Pegasus.

“You defend this witch, knowing what she has done? How she has turned unicorn against all, and banished the sun?” dramatically, Zecora pointed at Twilight with a hoof. “A dark purple unicorn with two-toned hair. It’s none other than Twilight Sparkle; she stands right there!” the crowd began shouting words of affirmation as Zecora continued, motioning to the guillotine. “We can end this war right here and now! Off with her head! Need I tell you how?” the zebra’s eyes flashed dangerously, anger and spite clearly audible in her voice. Twilight shrank back from Zecora, tears welling up in her eyes again. The three ponies began to argue amongst themselves, quibbling over Twilight’s fate. Inhaling deeply, Twilight managed to speak up, interrupting the group.

“What are you all talking about? What’s going on here?” the ponies on the rock with her all turned to look at Twilight. There was a long silence as every pony in the clearing stopped talking, instead choosing to stare at Twilight. The purple unicorn suddenly felt very self-conscious. Captain Pie was the first to speak.

“Feigning ignorance won’t save your flank. I’m appalled you would even try such a transparent trick.” As she spoke, Captain Pie took off her helmet. Twilight gave a small gasp as the pink pony’s face was revealed. It was Pinkie, but there was something off about her. Her mane, ever messy and poofy, was instead cut incredibly short, and what little was there was straight and tidy. Her face was set in a grim line, as if she didn’t even remember how to smile. Half of her left ear was missing, seemingly ripped off, and she bore a distinctive scar just under her right eye, meeting the side of her mouth. She looked at Twilight coolly, staring at the unicorn pointedly; her eyes, which had always seemed full of life, were dull and distant. She didn’t so much stare at Twilight as she did stare through her. Twilight’s shock only lasted a moment before she opened her mouth to speak.

“Pinkie, what happened to you? Last I saw, you…”

“The name is Captain Pinkamina Diane Pie, unicorn, and don’t you forget it!” the pink pony cut Twilight off with a hoof, loudly interjecting. “And another thing! Where do you get off talking like you know me? I don’t consort with unicorns these days. None of us do.” As she spoke, Pinkamina motioned to the crowd, and Twilight turned to look at the mass of ponies.

Nearly every pony in attendance wore some sort of armour, ranging from full body armour to opting instead to wearing merely a helmet or leg coverings. Their fur colourings were as varied as always, but the colours weren’t as vibrant; muted, almost. Some of the Pegasus were hovering above, with the rest of the Pegasi and the Earth Ponies all confined to the ground. Those closest to the rock were muttering to themselves regarding the argument between the Commander and the Captain; everypony behind them was glaring at Twilight.

“Wait a minute…” a thought flashed through Twilight’s mind, and she quickly scanned the crowd again. “Where are all the unicorns?” she mused aloud. A strange grunt from Captain Pie caught her attention, and Twilight turned to look. The pink pony’s forehead was scrunched up, and she eyed Twilight suspiciously.

“You really don’t know, do you?” the Captain asked slowly, her voice gentler and softer than it had been. Clearing her throat, Captain Pie moved a step closer to the lavender unicorn in front of her. “What’s your name, unicorn?”

“Twilight Sparkle.” A murmur ebbed through the crowd as Twilight’s voice died out.

“It is Twilight!”

“Kill her now, while you can!”

“She doesn’t seem all that bad…”

The voices wafted over, the threats and confusion mingling into an incomprehensive din. The crowd continued bickering among themselves for a few minutes, with Twilight’s embarrassment only growing. The Pegasus Commander stepped forward and spoke up, her voice ringing out and silencing everyone present.

“I think it would be most beneficial for everyone involved if this unicorn were to undergo a series of tests.” The Pegasus’ voice was calm, unreadable, though Twilight noted she was not as warm or accepting as she was earlier. The Pegasus turned back and nodded to Twilight. “If you’ll follow me, Miss Sparkle.” The Pegasus trotted off, and, with a not-so-gentle nudge from the guard beside her, Twilight followed. The crowd parted as the trio of ponies walked through, a number of whom were sneering at Twilight. The purple unicorn bowed her head, too ashamed to look at anyone as she walked past.

Captain Pie snorted as the lavender unicorn scampered after the Commander, and she muttered to herself in frustration. “How dare that mare overstep my authority to save that witch. She even admitted to being Twilight Sparkle! What more do you want?!” A few ponies near her turned to look, and Pinkamina quickly turned away, uncomfortable with the fact that she let her emotions get out of hoof. “General Star, front and center!”

A neon green pony scrambled onto the rock, standing in front of Captain Pie. “Ma’am?”

“I want you to take a small compliment and keep an eye on our…guest. Be sure that she does not begin any trouble or escape us, understood?” General Star nodded, and quickly ran off. Captain Pie turned and addressed the crowd. “All right, everypony! Back to business as usual! C’mon, don’t make me say it twice!” The crowd grumbled as they began to disperse, and soon the clearing was empty, save the few patrolling guards. Captain Pie shot a forlorn look at the guillotine before donning her helmet again and heading to her sleeping quarters. There were plans to lay, and she needed to start working on them immediately.

“Do quit fussing, dear. My job is hard enough without naughty ponies making it worse.” The voice was chiding, yet also gentle and motherly. Twilight winced as the nurse scrubbed harder, partly from the abrasive cloth digging into her skin, but mostly from being treated as a young filly again. The grey Pegasus stood off to the side, keeping her gaze on Twilight the entire time, though staying silent. Finally, the abuse to Twilight’s side ended, and the nurse moved around, inspecting the rest of Twilight’s body. “Hmm, we don’t typically allow jewelry on our patients.” The nurse fumbled with the necklace hung around Twilight’s neck, and the Pegasus made a warning grunt. Startled, the white Earth Pony jumped back from Twilight, the necklace falling back against her chest.

“No. Standing orders are for the Unicorn to wear her dampener at all times. No exceptions.” The Pegasus seemed to sigh at Twilight, though any facial movements she made were obscured by the all-encompassing helmet she wore. A knock at the slab of wood meant to stand in for a door caught everyone’s attention, and the Commander walked over briskly and peered around it. From her viewpoint, Twilight could not see who was standing on the other side. The Commander turned to the nurse, muttered “Leave the necklace on,” and trotted out, speaking in hushed whispers.

The nurse turned back to Twilight, a little less nervous now that the overbearing Pegasus was gone, and resumed her vicious scrubbing. Twilight stared at the necklace, watching the light glint off the bright red gemstone imbedded in it.

“A magical dampener. No wonder I can’t use any spells. But I thought they were hard to make.” Twilight murmured to herself, not expecting an answer.

“Oh, yeah. They’re very difficult. Our resident Unicorn is quite skilled, though. She makes all of our charms for us. And hexes, as it appears. Didn’t know she could make anything so ghastly.” The nurse hummed to herself as she pulled out a roll of gauze and began wrapping it around Twilight’s hoof and stomach. “My, you’re quite lucky nothing was seriously broken. I heard about the fight you put up against our colts. Getting away with just a fractured rib and a few bruises, you must be quite the skilled fighter.”

Twilight hung her head, avoiding looking at the nurse. Flashes of the fight raced through her mind, and she felt bile rising to her throat again as the image of the broken horn came back to her. The Unicorn blinked away a tear and gagged, managing to quell her queasy stomach. Something the nurse had said suddenly caught Twilight’s attention, and she cleared her throat.

“Wait, you have a Unicorn living here? I thought Pinki…er, I mean, Captain Pie said there were no Unicorns here.” The nurse, satisfied with her work on Twilight, took a few steps back and sat on her haunches, looking right at the bright purple Unicorn.

“Mmhmm, just the one. She’s rather distrusted around here, considering what every other Unicorn is doing. Quite sad, really. I recall when Unicorns, Pegasi and Earth Ponies lived together peacefully. Of course, that was before…” the nurse’s voice trailed off. She turned her head, staring at the wall wistfully before sighing and looking back at Twilight. “Well, you know. No sense dwelling on the past, I suppose.”

“What happened? Why is everypony fighting? What happened to Ponyville?” the questions fell from Twilight’s mouth as fast as she could form the words, and the nurse eyed Twilight questionably.

“Do you seriously not know? It happened about two years ago, now. That’s when…”

The door-slab crashed to the ground, startling both mares, and the commander walked in, standing on the slat of wood. Behind him stood a nervous-looking red Pegasus colt, quite young too, as his armour was ill-fitting. The colt would adjust his helmet every so often, only to have it fall forward, blocking his view. The commander pointed at Twilight and motioned for her to follow. Twilight glanced from the nurse to the commander before meekly falling into step behind the grey Pegasus. The red colt took up position behind Twilight and the three walked in silence.

As they walked, exiting the hospital, Twilight’s mind was awash with questions. Where am I? What happened two years ago? Where is Princess Celestia? Why doesn’t Pinkie remember me? The necklace bouncing against her chest caused her to look down, and for a brief moment, the bright red jewel reminded her of Rarity; the fashionista would never have made such a tacky necklace, and a smile crept onto Twilight’s face. She could almost hear the mare’s horrified screams.

“Oh, Twilight! Who dared put that horrid thing around your neck? No no no no no, it clashes with your fur, your mane, even your eyes. I wouldn’t wish this on anypony! Nopony is deserving of such a crime against fabulousity!”

A wistful sigh escaped Twilight’s mouth, and the grey Pegasus glanced backwards.

“You ok, Unicorn? Not gonna fall over on me, are you?” her gruffness was gone, replaced with genuine concern about Twilight. Twilight shook her head, and the Pegasus nodded. “Alright, we’re almost there anyway. Do try to stay on your own four feet, ok?”

The three came to stop outside a peculiar shack; it was set apart from the other make-shift houses, and various jewels hung in the singular window set in the front wall. Inside, Twilight could just make out soft voices. The colt behind her made a few estranged noises, but a sharp look from the commander and he was silent again. The commander knocked on the door – an actual door this time – and someone responded from inside.

“Yes? Who is it? Announce yourselves!” the voice was feminine, and there was something oddly familiar about it. Try as she might, Twilight couldn’t put a name to the speaker, though she was absolutely certain she’d heard it before; perhaps from overhearing someone in Ponyville.

“Commander Doo, Private Bolt, and the prisoner, Twilight Sparkle. Or so she claims.” Commander Doo muttered under her breath.

“The prisoner? Another Unicorn? Come in, come in, please!” the door swung open, a soft glow surrounding it; the mysterious unicorn was probably using her magic, Twilight reasoned. The grey Pegasus walked in, and a nudge from Bolt urged Twilight in as well, the tiny Pegasus right behind her.

Shattered Memories

Chapter 6

Shattered Memories

Captain Pie tapped her hoof against the ground impatiently. She was still fuming over being embarrassed in front of the community earlier, and by her own subordinate, no less. The Unicorn they had captured looked nearly identical to that vile tyrant Twilight Sparkle, and even shared the same name.

However, there were a few things Pinkamena was forced to agree on, albeit reluctantly. Reports of Twilight’s capture said her fighting skills were amateurish, as if she’d never been in a real fight. She used only a single basic offensive spell, a simple beam of energy that knocked opponents away, but did no lasting damage. She wore neither her bespelled armour, nor carried a weapon. And to top it all off, she begged for her life, insisting she was innocent.

Pinkamena frowned, her anger forgotten as she mulled everything over. She balanced a quill pen on her hoof, idly tossing it in the air as she leaned over the desk, trying to puzzle through it all.

“Purple Unicorn. Mane’s the same. Name’s the same. Can’t fight. Expects mercy from us.” Pinkamena slammed her hooves on the desk, upsetting the files atop it. “It doesn’t add up! None of it does!”

A knock at the door snapped the Captain from her thoughts, and she sighed, taking a moment to calm down a little before speaking up.

“Yes? Come in.”

Pinkamena’s bad mood came back in full force once the door opened, showing that sniveling busybody, Commander Derpy, or whatever her name was; Captain Pie was never all that good with names. She glared at the wall-eyed Pegasus as she entered, her gaze shifting to the Unicorn trailing behind her.

As Pinkamena looked at the Unicorn, she felt her features soften. Twilight, if that was even her real name, looked absolutely sullen. She stared at the ground, unable or unwilling to look up. Twilight walked to the center of the room, dragging her feet along the ground listlessly. Once there, she simply slumped over, sitting on her haunches. She wrapped her tail around her legs, hugging it closely. Eyeing her, the pink pony seemed to think her purple fur was just a touch duller than it was an hour ago.

Somewhere, deep inside her, Pinkamena felt sorry for the mare. She wasn’t exactly sure why, but something inside her was urging her to go hug Twilight. Cheer her up. Make her happy. Turn that sad frown upside-down. Pinkamena shook her head, unsure where these bizarre thoughts were coming from. The Commander’s voice broke the Captain out of her thoughts.

“Sir!” Ditzy gave a salute. “I have the prisoner with me. Miss Rarity believes she poses no threat to us, and I share her opinion.”

“When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you, Commander.” The Captain growled as she walked over to Twilight, pacing around the Unicorn and coming to stop in front of her.

“Look at me, Unicorn.”

Twilight didn’t move.

“I said look at me!”

Slowly, half-heartedly, Twilight raised her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she gazed past Pinkamena, not staring at anything in particular. Every movement she made seemed deliberate, lackluster. That irritating voice chirped in Pinkamena’s ear again: Hug her, tell her everything’s going to be ok. The pink pony shook her head slightly.

“What is your name?” The Unicorn made no movement to answer. Sighing, Pinkamena took a different tack.

“Where were you born?” Again, the lavender Unicorn stayed silent. Pinkamena could feel a headache coming on.

“Why did you kill…?”

“I didn’t kill anypony!” Twilight finally spoke up, her voice harsh. Flames danced in her eyes, her sorrow fueling her rage. The moment passed quickly, however, as Twilight fell silent again, mumbling to herself. “I didn’t kill her…couldn’t be me…why would I ever?” The Unicorn rocked on her haunches slightly, staring at the ground.

Confused, Pinkamena turned to Ditzy, who shook her head and moved closer, whispering into her Captain’s ear.

“She’s been like this ever since she saw Fluttershy’s memorial. She’s taking it pretty hard.”

Pinkamena frowned, turning her attention back to Twilight. Regret? Denial? Temporary madness? Any of those excuses could explain the Unicorn’s actions two years ago, but why manifest now?

“Is it true?”

Twilight’s voice startled both Ditzy and Pinkamena, both of whom turned to look at the pitiable Unicorn. No one spoke for a time, so Twilight opted to speak again.

“Is it true? Did I really kill Fluttershy? Am...am I a murderer?”

The pink pony stared at the Unicorn before her. The mane was the same, down to the pink highlights, and she was almost certain her fur was the exact same shade of lavender. Yet there was still something off about her. Try as she might, Pinkamena simply couldn’t match the sad excuse for a pony in front of her to the one she remembered fighting two years prior.

“A purple Unicorn killed Fluttershy. She and you look very much alike. That can’t be coincidence. Out of the corner of her eye, Pinkamena caught Ditzy shooting her a dirty look. She sighed before continuing.

“It might have been another Unicorn. It might not have been. You still insist your name is Twilight Sparkle?” The Unicorn nodded. “So did the Unicorn that destroyed Ponyville.”

Twilight looked back at the ground, pawing at it absent-mindedly. She seemed to be lost in thought, though Pinkamena couldn’t be sure. The silence dragged out uncomfortably long, and Pinkamena grew more and more restless. “Where can I find her?”

The question shocked Pinkamena, who took a moment to register what the Unicorn had asked.

“Wait, what? Why would you want to know that?” The pink pony asked incredulously.

Twilight stared straight ahead, her eyes flashing dangerously.

“So I can stop her from tarnishing my good name. So I can exact my revenge for Fluttershy.” Twilight spoke calmly, in a low voice. Her eye twitched slightly as she spoke, and it was obvious even to Captain Pie that the Unicorn was not thinking rationally. Her conscience urged her to intervene, and Pinkamena stepped forward, easily placing herself between Twilight and the door.

“Are you crazy? You’d never get within a hundred feet of her! We’re talking about a Unicorn that never goes anywhere without her own personal guards, sworn to protect her to their deaths. If she’s not in her personal chambers, she’s wearing her protective armour, created, bespelled, and given to her by the Queen. And even with all that, she rarely ventures outside to begin with. She prefers to spend most of her time indoors, talking and planning with the Queen. And even before you could get close enough to her, you’d have to fight your way past the legion of guards protecting both her and the Queen, and their slaves.” Pinkamena huffed, the long spiel winding her.

Twilight looked down, the shock of Pinkamena’s words finally beginning to sink in. The fire in the Unicorn’s eyes slowly died, and she slumped over once more. Pinkamena felt a twang of guilt as she watched the lavender pony simply sit there, her listless manner returning.

Commander Ditzy trotted over and gently ran a hoof along Twilight’s back. She flinched from the physical contact, but made no other movements. Ditzy turned to look at her Captain, frowning tersely. Pinkamena quickly looked down at the ground, avoiding the Pegasus’ gaze and becoming fascinated with her own hooves.

As the door slammed shut behind them, Pinkamena was left alone with her thoughts once more.

Twilight kept her head low, allowing Ditzy to lead her through the streets of the make-shift town. If they can even be called streets, Ditzy thought wryly. In truth, they were little more than well-worn dirt paths that cut between officer’s tents. A few ponies insisted on naming them all the same; the names were only adhered to by any ponies that were not fighting, the ones that stayed within the ‘city’ all the time; the doctors and nurses, armor-crafters, weapon-makers, and farmers. They claimed it made the town easier to navigate, but Ditzy didn’t see how. Perhaps for Earth Ponies it helped, but as a Pegasus, she preferred to fly, remembering the lay of the land; a task made impossible in this heavily forested villa.

Ditzy sighed, closing her eyes; for a fleeting moment, she could feel the sun’s warmth on her back, the rush of the wind blowing her mane back as she flew through Ponyville, the sound of tinkling laughter rising from the ground…

No.

Ditzy forced her eyes open, blinking away a tear that had pushed itself out. She glanced behind herself, making sure Twilight was still following her. The Unicorn seemed, for lack of a better term, crushed. She dragged her hooves, barely lifting them off the ground. She would be very easy to track, even for a novice hunter. Twilight only glanced up every so often to ensure she was still tailing Ditzy. Ditzy caught her eye once, and was dismayed; the Unicorn seemed so distant, so withdrawn. If she took notice of Ditzy’s comforting smile, she gave no outward appearance.

It wasn’t long before they had reached Ditzy’s quarters. They walked in, Ditzy shutting the door behind them. She motioned to the back room, and Twilight slowly ambled her way in. Ditzy paused a moment to take off her armor and helmet, placing them on an old dressmaker’s mannequin.

Her armor removed, Ditzy took another moment to stretch her wings and shake out her mane. The armor was made for a Pegasus, so her wings were left unencumbered and free, allowing her as much agility as when it was off; all the same, there was undoubtedly a larger sense of freedom just from having the armor off. Ditzy thought about it, but couldn’t fathom why she felt better with her armor off. This was war; shouldn’t she feel safer with the armor on?

Shaking her head, Ditzy headed into the back room after Twilight. She nearly bumped into the lavender Unicorn, whom had stopped in the middle of the (admittedly small) bedroom. She had lifted her head, and was glancing around in what might be called confusion, though her expression still bore the sign of depression.

“One bed.” Twilight mumbled, though Ditzy had to strain both her ears and her mind in order to comprehend the jumble of sounds. “No couch.”

“Oh, yes. You can sleep in my bed tonight, Twilight. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept on the ground.” Ditzy smiled, not entirely forcing herself.

“Not right. Not mine.” More mumbles, her words blending into each other.

“You need a decent sleep more than I do, Twilight.” Ditzy lowered her voice, talking in soothing tones. “I won’t be sleeping for a while yet, anyways. I’ve got reports to sift through, got to…” Ditzy stopped, not sure if she should mention how many ponies had died in the last week. Just seeing Fluttershy’s grave had made her near-catatonic; hearing any more might send the poor thing over the edge. Ditzy cleared her throat. “Got to rearrange troops to account for injured ponies. I’ll be busy for a few hours still.”

Twilight nodded slowly, though Ditzy wasn’t sure if she fully understood. A nudge from Ditzy’s snout urged Twilight forward, and the purple pony finally crawled into bed, falling asleep as soon as she lay down. With a wistful sigh, Ditzy fluttered over, pulling the blanket over Twilight and tucking her in. The gray Pegasus hovered above Twilight, watching her as she slept. Twilight moaned and fidgeted in her sleep, twitching sporadically; whatever was plaguing her mind was plaguing her dreams as well.

Ditzy eventually left the room, silently closing the door behind her. She flitted over to her desk and landed behind it, reading over a number of reports one of her subordinates had brought over earlier. The usual problems came up in a few of them; they had lost another twelve ponies in the last two days. Ditzy sighed as she pulled out her list of squad members, and delved into them, figuring out the best way to rearrange the members to give the greatest advantages. Then after that, there was dealing with food rations, and reminders to check up on those select few in the infirmary.

The hours ticked by slowly as Ditzy arranged and rearranged her troops, until finally she came to a decision she liked. She filed the new group standing away, to be given out at the next meeting, and yawned. She shook her head lightly and headed into the back room, remembering only after she opened the door that Twilight was still using it.

Silently, Ditzy poked her head through the door, straining to see Twilight in the dim light. As it was, only her horn was visible, poking out over the top of the pillow. Twilight mumbled in her sleep again, and Ditzy realized that she smiling. A sense of nostalgia flowed over her again, and she found herself thinking back a few years. The memories came back, and tears welled up in her eyes. Ditzy turned to look at Twilight’s horn; the dim light glinted off it. She blinked away a tear, whispering into the darkness.

“Dinky...where are you?”

Taking Sides

Chapter 7

Taking Sides

Twilight ran into her room, slamming the door shut. With a despondent cry, she flung herself on the bed, burying her head in her pillow. A few minutes passed as she sobbed, muffled by the soft down of her pillow. Eventually, she found she had no tears left, and she looked up from her pillow. Twilight crawled along the bed, wrapping her hooves around her stuffed doll, Smarty Pants.

“Oh, Smarty, it’s not fair! I studied so hard! You helped me, too!” the young filly wailed.

“Is everything ok, Twilie?” A small gasp escaped Twilight’s mouth as she turned to the smiling face of Shining Armour. Her ears flattened against her head as she turned back, too ashamed to face her brother. Another gasp escaped her as she felt Shining’s hoof gently rubbing her back. “Hey now, little sis. What’s wrong?” Concern filled his voice, and Twilight felt more tears stinging her eyes.

“I...I failed the test!” Somehow, she had found her voice. “I was supposed to hatch an egg, but I couldn’t! No matter how hard I focused, it wouldn’t hatch! It just wouldn’t hatch!” She managed to choke out around sobs. “I didn’t get in! I’m not gifted enough!” Her voice got higher and higher, reaching octaves normally reserved for opera singers.

Twilight felt Shining pull her closer, embracing her in a tight hug. She sniffled, burying her head into his chest. The two siblings lay on the bed for a time, Twilight still sobbing into her brother’s fur.

Eventually, Twilight pushed her brother away, wiping a few errant tears from her cheeks.

“What am I going to do now?”

“I don’t know. But whatever you choose, I’ll be there to help you through it.” His ear flicked, and he turned to look at the door. “Mom’s calling. Dinner’s ready.” Shining climbed off the bed and started to walk out. He paused in the doorway, turning to look back. “You sure you’re okay, Twilie? I’m always here if you need it.”

Twilight merely nodded, only half-listening anyways. Satisfied with this, Shining left. Twilight listened to the clopping of his hooves as he walked downstairs. She gripped Smarty Pants again, resting her head against the dolls’ and looked out the window.

“Always here...” She murmured softly.

Twilight groaned as she rolled out of bed. With a yawn, she rubbed her head, looking around the dim room. She furrowed her brow, wondering why there was no light streaming in; she could have woken up before Celestia raised the sun, or perhaps the Pegasi had planned for a thunderstorm today, or maybe Spike had simply drawn the blinds shut. Shaking her head, Twilight turned to walk down the steps; even if she couldn’t see them, she knew her own house well enough to be able to find them in pitch-black darkness. Seven steps from the foot of her bed, or roughly one-and-one-third-pony-lengths then turn to the right and watch for the first stair. Sleep still bogging down her mind, Twilight counted out her steps, only to stop abruptly at four when her nose smashed into a wall; a wall that should still be four steps away.

Twilight unceremoniously fell backwards onto her rump, her mind reeling in bewilderment. She rubbed her nose gingerly; it hurt, but didn’t seem damaged otherwise. She blinked again and again, but this did nothing to brighten the room up any. Sighing at her own foolishness, Twilight snorted, lighting her horn to better see in the darkness.

At least, she tried. An all-too-familiar jolt of electricity coursed through her body, and the Unicorn was brought to her knees once more, crying out in pain. She ceased trying to light her horn, and the torrent of power ceased. All at once, memories of what had transpired the day before came rushing back to her, memories that she had hoped just seconds earlier were merely the result of a terrible nightmare.

Images of Pinkie, Ditzy, and even Fluttershy’s grave flashed through Twilight’s mind, and she blinked away a few tears, feeling the warm liquid running down her muzzle. She shook her head, trying to sort her cluttered thoughts, but only came up more confused – and slightly dizzy.

How could Fluttershy be dead? Why isn’t Pinkie happy? When did Rarity go blind? What happened to Ponyville? The questions raced through Twilight’s mind, taunting her with their unsolved mysteries. One particular annoying thought kept bubbling to the top of her mind, despite her best efforts to ignore it: Did I really do it? Is it all my fault?

The sound of hoofsteps and hushed voices caught her attention, and Twilight swiveled her head, pushing the unsolved questions to the back of her mind for now. She vaguely recalled a door somewhere, and inched towards the wall. She kept herself rubbing against the wall as she walked along its length, searching for the door. As she neared it, the voices became clearer.

“…my dear Pinkamena, I already told you, she’s of no threat to us.”

“And I told you, I don’t see any reason to trust her implicitly just yet. I’m not putting this entire community at risk on one Unicorn’s word. The necklace stays on, and that’s final.” Pinkie – No, Pinkamena, Twilight chastised herself – snorted and slammed her hoof on the ground. “I give you far too much leeway as it is already, Lady Rarity. I’m not budging on this issue unless you can prove that that Unicorn we picked up is not the same Twilight Sparkle we’re fighting.”

To her surprise, the door in front of Twilight swung open quite suddenly, an irate Pinkamena standing on the other side. She glared at Twilight quite fiercely.

“Enjoying the conversation? It isn’t polite to eavesdrop, you know.”

Twilight shrank back from this slanted version of the Pinkie she knew so well from Ponyville; there was clearly anger in her eyes, something which Twilight couldn’t remember seeing Pinkie ever express, save for that time Discord influenced her. A thought struck Twilight, yet as she tried to think on it further the pushy pink pony stepped closer, bringing her nose to meet Twilights, nearly touching.

“It’s common courtesy to answer when asked a question.”

Twilight nervously took a step back, pulling herself away from the irate pony.

“Uh, I…sorry. I didn’t mean to…I was just…” Twilight stammered, unable to think straight.

A grey Pegasus stepped between the two of them, and it took Twilight a few moments to recognize Ditzy; the grey mailmare had never looked so stern before, not even when reprimanding her daughter. Twilight vaguely recalled being led around yesterday by a grey Pegasus, but couldn’t recall being introduced to her.

“Captain, please. Don’t torment the mare. She’s had a rough couple of days.”

Pinkamena glared at her underling, and Twilight thought for a few minutes the two might come to blows.

Eventually, finally, the two officers backed away from each other, Ditzy nudging Twilight back into the bedroom. Pinkamena turned her back on her Commander, heading for the door.

“Fine, enlist her if you must. But the necklace stays on.” The captain paused at the door, glancing backwards. “And she’s your responsibility, Commander. You’re liable for anything she does.” With that, the pink pony trotted out, slamming the door behind her.

No one in the hut dared to speak for a time, until finally Rarity broke the uneasy silence.

“Well, dearie, I had hoped to give you your magic back, but it seems our dear Captain Pie would rather you be an Earth Pony for a little longer.” Her voice was light and airy, as if she were trying to diffuse the whole situation by herself. Twilight could only stare ahead blankly; the necklace bouncing against her chest suddenly felt like a hundred tonnes.

“Don’t feel so bad, dearie,” Rarity continued. “Just try to stay out of trouble, and I’m sure dear Pinkamena would allow me to remove that ghastly hex on you quick as can be.” Rarity laughed, a tinkling sort-of-giggle that made Twilight uneasy, though exactly why she couldn’t say. Ditzy walked up to Rarity, her head hung low.

“I appreciate your coming over here, Lady Rarity, but as I said, the Captain is not one to change her mind quickly.”

Rarity nodded sagely, closing her eyes, lost in her own thoughts.

“Yes, I know, Miss Ditzy. Pinkamena was never all that sociable before this horrid war began anyways. I shouldn’t think being forced to fight would make her more approachable.” The white mare sighed dejectedly. The room fell eerily quiet again, and although Twilight had a thousand questions she wanted to ask, she found herself unable to speak.

The silence was broken once more, this time by Ditzy clearing her throat.

“Well, I have taken up enough of your time as it is, Lady Rarity. I am sorry to have called you over here for nothing.”

“Oh, think nothing of it. I am quite pleased to see Twilight again. Glad to see you out of bed, dearie. You slept for nearly fourteen hours, you realize? We were getting quite worried about you, Miss Ditzy and I.” Rarity smiled at Twilight, and again a sense of queasiness made the lavender Unicorn shudder. “Well, I should be getting back to my duties. Ta-ta for now, dearies!” And with that, Rarity turned and trotted out, leaving Twilight alone with Ditzy.

“Well, Miss Sparkle, was it?” Ditzy asked as she turned to face Twilight. At her nod, Ditzy continued, “Well, I don’t mind taking care of you for another few days, but eventually you’re going to have to earn your meals.” Twilight must have looked confused or frightened, since Ditzy’s hardened features softened and she spoke a little gentler. “Nothing comes for free, you realize. I’m sure we can get you a job, once we figure out something you’re good at.”

“M…magic. I’m good at magic.”

Ditzy shook her head sadly.

“That necklace makes you functionally identical to an Earth Pony, Miss Sparkle. Although, I do admit, having another Unicorn around to help Lady Rarity with her enchantments would be a boon to us.” Ditzy said. “Now, as for what you can do right now…”

The wall-eyed Pegasus began eyeing Twilight, walking around her slowly and making soft ‘hmm’ sounds to herself.

“Slender body, dainty hooves…you have the look of a scholar about you, not a warrior.” It was a statement, not a question. Still, Ditzy was staring straight at Twilight, as if she expected an answer regardless.

“Uh, yes. I’m the…” Twilight stopped, wondering what she should say. Everypony here seemed to hate her, or at least another pony with her name. Still, even if Rarity knew her, no one else seemed to recognize her as anyone other than the destroyer of Ponyville. Even so, Ditzy was waiting for an answer.

“I’m a researcher. I study old and new spells and try to integrate them into daily living.” Twilight said, a hint of pride in her voice. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Twilight heard Applejack’s voice chiding her, Twilight, a lie of omission is still a lie.

Ditzy shook her head.

“Like I said, Captain Pie won’t let you take off your inhibitor. As a Unicorn, you’re fairly useless to us.” The words stung Twilight, and Ditzy, realizing her harsh tone, frowned. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant, without your spells, you aren’t much help, are you?” Twilight shook her head, partly in answer, partly to try to get rid of the tears welling up in her eyes.

“OK, then, that settles it. Our only chance is to teach you to fight.” Twilight looked up at Ditzy, a strange smile on her face. “I mean it. You can’t loaf around waiting for Captain Pie to change her mind, and unless you start proving your loyalty, she’s not likely to anytime soon. I figure the best way to make friends with her is to show that you’re willing to fight for our cause.”

With this, Ditzy walked over to the table, motioning for Twilight to follow. As she neared, Ditzy swept her hoof over the table, knocking all the papers and folders onto the floor. Twilight’s eye twitched, a little miffed that the Pegasus would make such a mess of the room. Ditzy picked up a number of papers off the floor with her mouth, setting them back on the table.

“Here, I’ll sign you up for basic training. We’ll teach you the basics of fighting; swordplay, guarding, evasion, all of it.” She looked up. “Of course, without your magic, you’ll have to learn with the Earth Ponies. They have different lessons from the Pegasus recruits, after all. Flight adds a new level to one’s fighting techniques. But it isn’t always an advantage…” Ditzy’s voice trailed off as she glanced down, staring at her hooves for a time.

“Swords? How am I supposed to use a sword?” Twilight asked.

“With your mouth, just like Earth Ponies do. I know you Unicorns are used to using your magic for everything, but that won’t be an option for you for a while.” Or ever again, the cynical part of Twilight’s mind suggested, finishing Ditzy’s sentence.

Twilight brought a hoof up, rubbing the amulet hung around her neck. It hummed under her touch, and she reluctantly pulled her hoof away. No doubt it would shock me again if I tried taking it off.

Twilight sighed, turning her thoughts in another direction. Some mare out there was using her name, frightening all these other ponies, killing anyone who crossed her. Without her magic, Twilight couldn’t hope to stand against any opponent as she was now. Ditzy was right; she was a scholar, not a fighter. An image of Fluttershy forced its way into Twilight’s mind, and she blinked away a tear. She thought back to the previous day, finding Fluttershy’s statue, and felt her features harden. With a determined grunt, Twilight looked up, staring Ditzy in the eye.

“I’m in.”

Proving Her Worth

Chapter 8

Proving Her Worth

Twilight snorted at the brown Earth Pony across from her. She growled low in her throat, and her opponent did the same. Her foe leapt, turning his head to the left and bringing his sword blade towards Twilight. She ducked and twisted her head, feeling the vibration in her teeth as the two weapons met. It rattled her, and she unconsciously clenched down tighter, keeping a better grip on the hilt. The brown pony jumped over Twilight, who waited a half-second, then kicked her hind legs, feeling a grim sort of satisfaction as she felt her kick connect with the pony’s unprotected stomach.

Twilight allowed herself a moment of pride before she turned around, swinging her full weight on one hoof. The brown Earth Pony had already recovered, though Twilight noted he was favouring his left side. She also took another moment to chide herself for allowing her pride to show; that time could have been better spent attacking.

Her inner monologue had taken her mind off the battle; a fact that did not go unmissed by her adversary. With a strangled grunt, he hopped to the right, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Twilight barely had time to react, and she felt her whole head shake as their blades connected once more. This time, however, her sword came flying out of her mouth, landing with a clink on the ground. Twilight made a move towards it, but quickly found her rival’s sword at her neck.

“Enough!”

The voice was masculine, strong, and powerful. The sword at her neck lowered, and Twilight meekly got back to her feet, turning to face her trainer, Rock Solid. The aged black Earth Pony walked into the sparring ring and nodded towards Twilight and Dirt Streak, another recruit-in-training.

“You were a little slow recovering, Dirt. Do yourself a favour in the future and try not jumping over your enemy. Twilight showed exactly why that’s a poor idea. Still, impressive swordplay.” He grunted and turned towards Twilight. “And you. I saw that smug smile. In the heat of battle, you will never have an opportunity to think back. There will be moments when you can catch your breath and plan ahead, but never think about what you could have done. Always think about what you will do, and what is happening right now.” Rock Solid paused a moment. “Now, answer me this: why did you lose your grip on your sword?”

“I…it wasn’t properly aligned?” Twilight ventured a guess, to which Rock Solid gave her a firm slap on the shoulder.

“No. You were biting on it too hard. Don’t worry about keeping your sword in perfect alignment all the time. Your sword must become an extension of your self; it must move with as much grace and finesse as your own legs. This means it must be easily maneuverable, which can only happen if you keep a light bite on it. Too much, and you risk chipping a tooth when your opponent lands a hit, or perhaps breaking your entire jaw. Consider yourself lucky that these wooden practice swords are less firm than a real metal blade.”

Twilight and Dirt nodded, and Rock dismissed them, calling forth two other recruits. He barked at them to fight, and Twilight watched intently.

It was some time later that Twilight finally dragged herself into Ditzy’s little house. Of course, without the movement of the sun, it was difficult to tell the passage of time. To her best guess, Twilight had been here for two weeks, but found it problematic getting a straight answer out of anyone else. Since this war started, and the moon froze in place in the sky, ponies everywhere abandoned their old methods of keeping time. Without the passage of the sun, terms like day and week no longer had meaning, the season never changed, and the moon itself never went through its phases.

Twilight hated it.

The near-constant darkness was difficult to adjust to after the bright days she remembered. Worse than that, however, was the military training she was undergoing. She hated having to learn how to fight, and despised the thought that she might be forced to kill another pony. It didn’t help that nopony in this entire encampment would give her a straight answer as to what happened.

The epitaph on Fluttershy’s statue mentioned Nightmare Moon. Try as she might, Twilight couldn’t figure out how she came back.

Princess Luna had been purged of the dark forces controlling her by the Elements, so it couldn’t be her again, could it? She thought to herself. Twilight sighed, shaking her head. No matter how many times she thought about it, she simply couldn’t come up with an answer.

Engrossed in her thoughts, Twilight didn’t notice Ditzy exit their shared bedroom until they bumped into one another.

“Oh, Twilight. Finished with your training already?” Ditzy sounded surprised.

Twilight nodded.

“Yes, Dit…er, I mean, Aye Commander.” Twilight groaned inwardly; the strict militaristic jargon seemed to clash with what she remembered of the ponies from Ponyville. Ditzy smiled softly.

“Hey, neither of us is on duty. You can call me ‘Ditzy’ here.” A glint of light caught Twilight’s eye, and she looked up at her friend. Ditzy was wearing her full set of armour, save for her helmet, which she had tucked under a wing. She must have looked confused, since Ditzy continued talking.

“I’ve gotten new orders. I leave immediately with a small group of Pegasi.” Ditzy frowned. “I can’t say any more than that. I am sorry, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded in response.

“I understand, Ditzy. Do you know when you’ll be back?”

Ditzy shook her head.

“Sorry. That’s also classified. You can handle living on your own for a few days, right?” She asked, her voice full of concern.

“I’ll be fine, Ditzy. Just, be sure to come back to me, ok?” Twilight forced a smile. Ditzy returned it, though Twilight thought it was just a little forced, too.

“Of course I will.”

Twilight groaned as she woke, slid out of the bed and shuffled around the room. A sudden sharp pain in her hoof told her she had found her armour, which she had shed before sleeping. With a heavy sigh, Twilight bent over and began the arduous task of putting her armour on.

“This would be so much easier if I had my magic.” She muttered to the empty house.

Twilight walked to the door, where her helmet and boots lay. She slipped into the reinforced shoes and awkwardly put her helmet on. Pinkamena had gracefully allowed Twilight to obtain a helmet modified for her horn; rather than a crude hole cut in the top, the armour-crafter had designed her helmet with an extended crest with a small hollow section where her horn would sit. Twilight thought it looked stupid, but all she had to do was recall her first day here, seeing another Unicorn’s horn chopped off right in front of her, and she was grateful for the extra protection for her own.

Her armour on, Twilight moved to the next item on her list: food. The rumbling in her stomach told her she had overslept, and she quickened her pace towards the mess hall.

By the time she arrived, the mess hall was still fairly busy. It was loud and noisy as Earth Ponies and Pegasi spoke and told stories. Twilight even swore she heard laughter every now and again. She walked over to the counter, received her rations and sat at a table that was mostly deserted; she had tried speaking to others, and the helmet did a fair job at hiding her horn, but news travelled fast, and not everypony was eager to befriend a Unicorn.

Twilight dug into her meal, if it could even be called as such. It was tough to chew and nearly flavourless. Ditzy had said that food rations were running low and they were forced to scavenge in the forest for edible mushrooms and grass. The stew-like mush in front of her was the result of taking everything they gathered and mixing it into a fine paste so that they could distribute it evenly and fairly. Idly, Twilight wondered if there was some way to start a farm of some sort here in the camp.

“Somepony, help!” The shrill voice cut through the chatter, and everypony quieted down to search for the speaker. Twilight looked around, her curiousity piqued, and spotted a Pegasus crawling in through the door nearest her. He was badly beaten, with pieces of his armour missing, revealing his bloodied hide. His left wing was bent at a funny angle, and Twilight assumed it was broken.

Belatedly realizing that she was closest, Twilight sprung from her seat and skidded to a stop in front of the wounded Pegasus.

“Hey, hey, calm down. What’s wrong? What happened?” Twilight was dimly aware of a few other ponies crowding around her and the injured Pegasus, but she pushed those distractions to the back of her mind. Somepony passed along a cup of water, which Twilight took and awkwardly balanced it in her hooves. The Pegasus took a few staggered gulps then pushed the cup away.

“Am…ambushed by Unicorns. We had no warning. My wing got broken in the fight. I don’t think the others got away.” His face fell. “Please, send some help! We were heading to the Canterlot ruins, along the mountain. Com…Commander Ditzy was…” the Pegasus never finished his sentence, blacking out from his wounds. He collapsed on the ground, and Twilight was rudely shoved aside by a doctor who had just arrived. He got to work tending to the Pegasus’ wounds, and eventually carted him away.

None of this Twilight really registered, however, as her mind was occupied by the soldier’s last words. Ditzy is in trouble?

“You want to do what?!”

Twilight stood firm, not even blinking as Pinkamena continued to yell.

“Completely out of the question! The Unicorns don’t take hostages. They’re dead. And even if they might be alive, there’s no way I’d send a measly recruit along with the others. I will miss Commander Doo, but we have to move on. I want this idea of a rescue to die right here and now!” The Captain punctuated her words by slamming her hooves on the table.

“Yes, sir.” Twilight sighed.

“Now, you’ll have to move in with the other recruits. I tolerated you staying with Ditzy because she requested it, but now that she’s dead, I’ll have to promote some other pony to her position, and I doubt they’ll want a roommate. You can stay in her hut until I find a suitable replacement. Dismissed.” Pinkamena waved a hoof, which Twilight took as a sign to leave.

Twilight walked through the camp briskly, already fighting back tears. She managed to hold them back, but once the door of the hut slammed shut behind her, the tears flowed freely. Twilight sank to the ground, convulsing and shaking as she tried not to sob out loud.

After a few minutes, Twilight shakily stood up, dragging her hooves over the floor as she wandered around the room. In the back of her mind, she knew she was late for her training, but she didn’t feel like going anywhere, having to look other ponies in the eye. Twilight found herself at Ditzy’s desk, still laden with a few papers that she had been reading before she left.

Twilight glared at the paper, her sadness mutating into hatred. She wasn’t sure what she was angry at, just that she was angry. Through tearful eyes, Twilight slammed her hooves on the table and made a large sweeping motion, clearing it of its contents and causing them to flutter onto the ground. Twilight glanced at the scattered papers and growled at them. Uncertain what to do next, Twilight turned around and kicked the table. A small smile formed on her mouth as she heard the table splinter and shatter under her hooves.

TWANG!

Her smile dissipated, reforming into a frown.

“What was that?” She asked the wall. “That wasn’t wood…”

Slowly, Twilight turned around. The desk lay upside-down in two pieces, one of the legs broken off at the base. Curiously, Twilight noted the leg was hollow. Her eyes widened as she located the source of the mysterious sound. There, resting on the ground, lay a sword. Not a wooden practice sword as she was training with, but a real metal one.

Twilight’s face contorted into one of confusion as she looked around, trying to figure out where the blade came from. Her gaze fell on the remnants of the table, and two tiny metal hooks on the underside.

“Even in her home, Ditzy was prepared for trouble.” Twilight said softly. Both sadness and rage forgotten, Twilight looked at the sword again as a plan began to form in her mind. “She saved my life…I owe her that much.”

Twilight ran through the thick underbrush as fast as her legs would go; only pausing to get her bearings as best she could. The sword, safely in the scabbard she had found in the false leg of the table, bounced against her side as she ran. She risked a glance behind her, but could only make out the dim lights of the camp far behind her.

Escaping the camp had been trouble-free; very few ponies bothered to look at her unless they had to. That fact also made it easy to simply walk out with the sword in plain view. Twilight felt a pang of guilt as she thought about Rarity, the only Unicorn in the camp again, but she pushed the feeling aside for the moment.

Up ahead, Twilight could see a break in the trees, and she headed towards it with single-minded determination.

Finally the trees parted, and Twilight found herself in a wide open field. The moon hung above, as unmoving as it ever was, with a fair number of stars dotting the sky. Twilight slowed to a trot, looking around to try to get her bearings. It was the first time she’d been outside the forest since her capture, and Twilight frowned as she realized no one had ever told her what forest they were even hiding in.

Still, Twilight scanned her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. The forest stretched out behind her; everywhere else she looked she saw only dark silhouettes of far-off buildings and distant mountains. The moon simply didn’t give off enough light to see by.

“Argh! How can I find my way around if I can’t even see?!” Twilight stamped the ground in frustration. With a heavy sigh, Twilight looked around again. “Forest and mountains. That could be anywhere in Equestria!”

A glimmer of light far to her left caught Twilight’s eye, and she focused on it. Deciding that she had nowhere else to go, she started off for it.

It wasn’t until she had been walking for some time that Twilight realized the light could be one of Nightmare Moon’s soldiers. This possibility was helped along by the fact that the light Twilight was chasing seemed to be moving as well, though whoever it was didn’t seem to be aware of Twilight, despite how close they were. Twilight kept low to the ground, nearly dragging herself along as she continued approaching it.

The glowing object vanished suddenly, and Twilight perked her head up, trying to locate it again. Through the haze, she could just make out a building not too far ahead. Cautiously, she approached it, thinking it looked somewhat familiar…

“Oh my…” she whispered softly as she got close enough to the structure to make out finer details. A few broken birdhouses still hung from the tree, but most had fallen to the ground from disrepair. There were remnants of a tiny bridge that crossed a small creek, but it too had collapsed, and whoever had appropriated the location had ‘fixed’ the issue by placing a simple wooden board over the stream of water. As for the building itself…

It was Fluttershy’s cottage.

There was no doubt in Twilight’s mind. The grass-grown roof may have been brown and long dead, and a number of the windows were boarded up, but it was otherwise unchanged. Forgetting about the light she was chasing earlier, Twilight crossed the ‘bridge’ and went up to the door, her mind awash with memories.

As she neared it, Twilight heard a voice. A single voice, female, coming from inside the cabin. Recalling the war she had inadvertently found herself in, Twilight dove to the ground, deciding that marching in through the front door would be a poor idea. Instead, she crawled along on her stomach to the window nearest her, which, fortunately for her, was one of the few not boarded up.

As silently as she could, Twilight raised herself up and peeked inside. The inside of the cottage was barren of most of its furnishings, though there was a blanket and a pillow lying in the center of the room. A tiny candle sat beside them, burning steadily. Twilight guessed that the candle was the light she had been following.

As Twilight surveyed the room, the candle suddenly flew up and out of sight. Twilight was shocked initially, but it quickly came back into view, the soft glow of Unicorn magic keeping it aloft. A cloaked figure came into view, the cloak hiding any trace of their appearance, though the combination of the floating candle and the soft glow from underneath the hood gave away that the mysterious pony was a Unicorn.

It, or rather she, since Twilight could hear the cloaked pony mumbling to herself, paced around the room rather anxiously. Twilight strained her ears, but couldn’t make out more than a few words.

“Got to be soon…can’t wait much longer…but I can’t find her…”

Without warning, the pony stopped her rambling and turned to the window, staring straight at Twilight. She took a few steps towards the window, and then gave an insane giggle, raising a hoof to point at Twilight.

“She’s here! She’s found me!” She yelled, and Twilight shrank back from the window. Moments later the door flew open, the cloaked pony standing in the archway. She giggled again. “It’s you! You’re here! You can help me!” The pony paused, and then spoke again. “Unless you’re her! You won’t help me! You’ll try to kill me! Not if I can kill you first!”

With a yelp of fear, Twilight jumped back, keeping her distance from the mad mare. The crazy Unicorn levitated a small knife out of her robes, keeping the blade pointed at Twilight. The knife flew towards Twilight, who hopped to the right, avoiding being skewered by it, and broke out into a run. She leapt over the river in one bound and continued running, not looking back. Behind her, Twilight could still hear the senseless mare yelling after her.

“Go on then, run away! Coward! You’d best hope I find her before you do!”

Twilight kept running until she reached the boundaries of Ponyville, where she slowed to a trot. She looked behind her, scanning for the mad mare, but could find no trace of her. Giving a sigh of relief, Twilight turned around, taking in the sights of the destroyed city.

“Back in Ponyville.” She murmured softly. “It feels like it was so long ago.”

Twilight walked through the town slowly and cautiously, keeping an ear open for any voices. She recalled her first time coming through here, and was afraid of a repeat performance. Twilight looked up at the mountain before her; even though it was dark, in her mind Twilight could see the twisting train tracks as they traversed the tricky trail.

Eventually she reached the fragments of Ponyville’s Train Station, and Twilight was surprised to find the broken heap of a train still in the station. Curiousity got the better of her, and she quickly ran up to it, her hooves echoing on the wooden platform. The engine itself had seen better days, judging from the amount of grime on it. A quick survey told her that even if the train were operational, the state of the tracks would make driving it a virtual impossibility.

Twilight walked further down, poking her nose into one of the passenger cars. A number of the windows had been broken, and anything not nailed down was gone. There was a thick layer of dust everywhere, and Twilight guessed that it had been a while since anypony was here.

Twilight backed away from the dilapidated train, turning her gaze back to the mountain where Canterlot once sat. She followed the tracks with her eyes until they faded into the darkness, and she began to wonder if this plan was doomed to failure.

With a determined snort, Twilight shook her head, dispelling those pesky doubts, and began following the decaying train tracks up the mountain.

Twilight’s hooves hurt. She was tired of walking, tired of moving. She was covered in sweat and desperately wanted something to eat and drink. She wanted to do nothing more than teleport back to her library, eat a meal fit for Princess Celestia, and wake up from this constant nightmare.

She was broken out of her self-pity by the sound of voices coming from just around the bend. Twilight crept alongside the mountain, relying on it to keep her hidden.

Soon the speakers came into view, and Twilight hugged the mountainside as closely as she could. There were a group of four similarly armoured ponies, two Unicorns and two Pegasi, and they were surrounding a group of Pegasi wearing the armour of Twilight’s camp. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Ditzy, beaten and bloodied, but alive. Twilight looked over the other Pegasi with her. There were seven ponies lying together, but it seemed like only four were still alive: Ditzy, a green one, a blue one, and a red one.

One of the Unicorns trotted over, grabbed the red Pegasus and dragged him over to his cohort. The Pegasus tried to kick at them, but one of the other Pegasi flew down, pinning the struggling pony to the ground. Both Unicorns lowered their horns to the Pegasus and concentrated. Their horns glowed for a moment, and the Pegasus stopped struggling. The Unicorns pulled back as their Pegasus flew off to join his buddy in the sky. The red Pegasus climbed to his feet, not flying, and Twilight noted his wing was broken. He stared at the two Unicorns.

“Who do you serve?” One of the Unicorns asked.

“Nightmare Moon, in all Her glory.” Replied the Pegasus, his voice monotonous. The two Unicorns nodded, and the Pegasus walked over, grabbing the blue Pegasus and dragging them over to the two Unicorns.

“What? NO! Lemme go! You’re not doing that creepy mind trick on me!” The Pegasus yelled, and Twilight felt her jaw drop as she recognized the voice.

“Rainbow Dash?” she said, awestruck.

Twilight clapped a hoof over her mouth, but it was too late. All the ponies gathered turned in her direction and the two Unicorns stepped towards her.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” One of them commanded. The other nodded his head, and the red Pegasus galloped towards Twilight. She gave a shriek and leapt to the side, only to realize she was now exposed. She turned to look at the two Unicorns, both of whom had very disturbing smiles.

“Heh, a tiny recruit. This should be over quickly enough.” Grinning sadistically, the first Unicorn charged at Twilight, levitating his sword from its scabbard.

TWANG!

The sound of two blades meeting and bouncing off each other reverberated in the still air. Twilight didn’t even recall drawing her own sword; her body was moving of its own volition. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Ditzy looking at her, but had her attention drawn back to the Unicorn confronting her.

The Unicorn glared as he increased his attacks.

TWANG! CRANG! STLING!

Again and again, the Unicorn’s sword swiped at Twilight, and time after time, her own blade was there to meet it and deflect the attack. She twisted her head and spun the blade around, manipulating the hilt with her tongue as effortlessly as she once manipulated objects with her magic. Some part of her knew she couldn’t keep it up, and already she could feel her reflexes slowing. The long climb had physically exhausted her, while the Unicorn had his magic to aid in his fight.

STKING!

Twilight felt some of her teeth rattle against the hilt as the sword was knocked free of her mouth. She watched it fly through the air and come to rest beside the red Pegasus, who simply stood to the side, watching with dead eyes. Twilight turned back towards the Unicorn, who smirked at her and lunged with his sword.

Twilight shrieked and dove to her left, scrambling to recover her sword. She felt the Unicorn’s weapon connect with her armour and winced as it threw her off balance, falling to the ground. She looked up in time to see the red Pegasus kick her sword over the edge of the cliff and gave a despondent wail.

Twilight climbed back to her feet and whirled to face the Unicorn again, though she was visibly shaken.

“Aw, not gonna attack me head on, little pony?” the Unicorn teased. Twilight didn’t have time to answer, as her opponent began swinging his sword madly. Twilight ducked and twisted her body to evade, but she didn’t move fast enough and gave a cry of pain as the sword sank through her armour, cutting into the joint between her chest and her leg. She jumped back, tears welling in her eyes from the pain; her leg felt like it was on fire, and it was only then she realized the sword was still stuck in her.

“Hey! Give that back!” the Unicorn snarled, advancing towards Twilight. She tried to run, but the pain shot through her leg and forced her to her knees. She looked up at the Unicorn as he bit down on the hilt of his own sword and pulled. Twilight gave a sharp cry of pain, but the sword remained stuck in her. The Unicorn’s expression was as confused as Twilight’s, and he pulled again, harder.

Again, another anguished cry from Twilight, but the sword remained trapped. Frustrated, the Unicorn let go of his sword and kicked it with his hoof. Twilight bit back on her scream even as she felt the sword rub against one of her bones. The Unicorn grabbed his sword and gave it another yank, hoping this time it would come loose. Twilight gritted her teeth as the blade finally exited her flesh, and watched with sadistic glee as the Unicorn fell onto his back, his own momentum throwing him over.

Her pleasure was short lived, however, as her magical dampener started sparking. Twilight convulsed as bolts of electricity coursed through her body, her muscles seizing. I’m not even trying to cast a spell! She thought frenetically as another shock jolted her.

Then, with a loud POP, the shots of pain stopped. Twilight gasped for breath, trying to understand what happened. A flash of movement caught her eye, and she looked up in time to see both Unicorns’ swords headed straight for her. Twilight closed her eyes, bracing for the end.

If only I could make a shield…

BOMPH! BOMPH!

What was that? Twilight cracked open an eye, then both eyes wide in shock. Around her, encasing her in a tight little bubble was a magical dome. She stared past it at the two Unicorns, who were eying Twilight with suspicion and wonder. Twilight turned her gaze over to Ditzy, Rainbow, and the third Pegasus, all of whom were eying her with confusion.

Another flash of movement and one of the Unicorns had Rainbow in his grasp, his sword at her throat.

“Alright, drop the shield or this one dies!” he demanded. Twilight glared at him, and a strange calmness descended on her. She ignored the burning sensation in her leg where the sword was buried moments ago and dropped her shield. The Unicorn next to Twilight made a move to strike her, holding his sword in his mouth, but never got that far.

His sword bounced off another shield Twilight blinked into existence millimeters from her hide, and the suddenness of it caused him to lose his balance. She glanced at him and grabbed his sword, wrenching it from his mouth in one clean pull. She smirked as she spotted a few teeth come out with it, and the Unicorn brought a hoof up to his mouth, yelping in pain.

Twilight turned her gaze to Rainbow, who had a few drops of blood seeping out from under the blade pressed against her neck.

“One more step, and she dies.” The Unicorn demanded, though Twilight could see the fear in his eyes. Twilight stopped moving, though she kept her gaze pointedly on Rainbow. The Unicorn smirked, lowering his blade. “Good, we have an understanding.”

“Not exactly…” Twilight murmured. Before he had a chance to react, Twilight focused, and her stolen sword flew at the Unicorn. He had no time to react before the blade dug itself deep into his chest. Twilight tilted her head, and the hilt of the sword broke off, leaving the blade in his body. A brush of wind, and Twilight ducked as the two Pegasi flew over her. She focused her attention on them, trapping both of them in a glowing white sphere, suspended in the air.

The two Pegasi flew into the bubbles, trying to break them. Twilight tilted her head again and the bubbles smashed against the mountainside. The Pegasi trapped within bounced around within the bubbles, crashing into each other and eventually collapsing at the bottom, both unconscious. Twilight blinked and the bubble vanished, sending both Pegasi falling onto the ground beside Ditzy.

Twilight glanced to her right in time to see the other Unicorn lunge for her. She glared and ducked feeling the Unicorn pass over her. She waited a half-second, and then kicked with her hind legs, grinning as she felt them connect. She whirled on her left hind leg, ready to face her opponent. The Unicorn scrambled to his feet and spun to face Twilight, his face contorted into one of rage. He charged at Twilight, screaming something obscene.

Twilight ducked again, bringing her head up beneath his. Her head rattled against her helmet, and she heard the Unicorn cry out in pain. She rolled over to her left, landing on her feet. The Unicorn was distracted by his painful jaw, and Twilight took the opportunity presented to her. She leapt forward, spinning in the air to land on her front hooves and bucked with her hind ones. She felt her feet connect with his face, heard an audible crack.

Twilight slowly turned around again, ready to fight some more, but it was not needed. The Unicorn was out cold, blood pooling around his broken jaw. She looked up at the other Unicorn, whimpering in pain as he tried, unsuccessfully, to remove the blade still stuck in him. The two Pegasi were unconscious, piled together next to Ditzy. The red Pegasus stood off to the side, not moving, though he was still alive.

Finally, Twilight turned her attention to Ditzy, Rainbow, and the third Pegasus. They were staring at her with mixed expressions of shock and panic. Twilight felt her features soften as she stepped towards them.

“Ditzy, I…” That was as much as Twilight said before she felt her strength drain. She tried to force herself to continue speaking, but eventually gave up and sank into unconsciousness.

Doubting Ditzy

Chapter 9

Doubting Ditzy

‘Ponyville. A rather recent town to have sprung up, though already a bustling community. It was probably best known for the sprawling apple fields, known to the locals as Sweet Apple Acres. The town had been built not long after the Apple family had planted their roots and began tiling the land at the request and generousity of Princess Celestia.’

Twilight scoffed as she tossed the pamphlet into a nearby trash bin then pulled her hood back over her face, covering her head and horn once more.

“Generousity of Princess Celestia. As if.” She muttered to herself. Twilight glanced back up the mountain, back at Canterlot. Back at her family. With a dejected sigh, the young mare turned back down the street, already bustling with busy ponies, and continued walking.

No one in town seemed to notice the young Unicorn as she trotted through town, though the cloak she wore did a good job at hiding both her gender and race. Twilight deftly weaved through the crowds as best she could without being stepped on or bumped into, a skill one learned easily in Canterlot, though here in Ponyville there were far fewer ponies, so it was easier to dodge them.

“It isn’t fair!” A shrill voice cut through the idle chatter of ponies on their way to work, and Twilight paused, looking around for the source. She quickly found a pair of Unicorn mares walking through the middle of the road. One was bright pink and her purple mane resembled a beehive; the other was a pure white filly with a similarly purple mane, though this one was curlier.

Twilight watched them as they walked; the filly looked about her age, but she walked rather strangely. Every step was hesitant, uncertain. She hovered her foot in the air back and forth a few times before finally placing it down. Twilight peered closer and spotted tiny white sticks on her hooves, held on by a bright orange bracer. Twilight gave a small gasp as she realized the filly was blind.

“Rarity, sweetheart, you know much worse could have happened. You were very lucky.” The older mare said, walking a bit too fast for the smaller one. She stopped some distance away before realizing the filly wasn’t right beside her. She turned around and looked at the filly pityingly.

“You call being made blind lucky?!” the filly whined. “I can’t see a thing! I have to wear these stupid canes just to walk!” her complaints were cut off as she started to cry, sobbing loudly. Passing ponies slowed to look, but none of them bothered to stop.

Twilight frowned. Even the filly’s mother seemed uncertain of what she should do. Twilight huffed and marched across the roadway, not caring if she got in somepony’s way. However, once she was a few steps away from the blind Unicorn Twilight ran straight into a bright yellow Pegasus filly, lanky and tall with a bright pink mane. She cried out in surprise and shock, dropping all her belongings.

“Oh my gosh, I am so so sorry!” Twilight said, forgetting about the blind filly for a moment and helping the Pegasus pick up her things.

“Um, no…it was my fault. I shouldn’t have been walking there…” she said in a voice so quiet that Twilight had to strain her ears to hear her.

“Who’s there?” The white filly spoke up, reminding Twilight of why she had stormed across the street without looking in the first place. Both Twilight and the Pegasus turned to look at the blind Unicorn, who had not yet moved. The Pegasus left her stuff on the ground and rushed to the filly’s side.

“Oh, Rarity! I’m so happy to see you again!” the Pegasus sobbed. “I was so afraid for you!”

“Fluttershy, is that you?” Rarity asked, her useless eyes darting around. “I can’t see a thing!”

Twilight awkwardly stood nearby, pawing the ground with one of her hooves. The two fillies seemed to be friends, considering how they were talking and crying over the Unicorn’s blindness. Twilight just felt like she was intruding. She couldn’t even recall what had compelled her to walk over here in the first place.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The Pegasus said, walking back to Twilight and nervously grabbing her bags that Twilight was still holding on to. Twilight smiled at the Pegasus, but she hid her face behind her mane, avoiding Twilight’s gaze.

“Fluttershy? Is somepony there with you?” Rarity asked.

“Oh, uh, I’m Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight said after a moment’s hesitation. Rarity managed a smile, though it was almost certainly forced, seeing as her face was still wet with tears. The older mare walked over, placing a hoof on Rarity’s back. She flinched from the sudden contact, and Twilight frowned; Rarity’s mother wasn’t dealing with her child’s blindness very well.

“Well, I am sorry to have met you like this, Ms. Sparkle,” Rarity said, her voice retaining none of the sadness from moments earlier, “but I must be off. I have a…new life to get started on.” With that, Rarity began her awkward walk down the road, her mother again walking too fast for her. Fluttershy picked up the rest of her things and bade Twilight a curt farewell, heading the opposite direction from Rarity.

Twilight frowned as she watched Rarity walk away. She was obviously new to being blind and was not taking it well. Twilight looked backwards, first noticing Fluttershy as she hugged the side of the road, trying to draw little attention to herself, then up the mountain where Canterlot stood. Twilight knew she had to get more distance, but still, something about Rarity was nagging at her. The purple Unicorn stood there for a few minutes before remembering something she’d read.

“Hey, Rarity!” She called out. Ahead, the blind filly stopped, half-turning backwards to ‘look’ at Twilight. Twilight ran up to Rarity, her mind already racing.

“Yes? What is it…Twilight, correct?” Rarity asked. Twilight huffed as she looked Rarity in the face, knowing she couldn’t look back.

“How would you like to see again?”

Twilight blinked slowly, giving a soft moan of pain as she woke. She strained to lift her head up, but decided keeping it on the pillow was best, laying her head back down and shutting her eyes once more.

Wait. Pillow?

With a snort Twilight snapped awake, her dream already quickly fading. Twilight ignored the pain in her head that was yelling at her to lie down and looked around. The head of the bed was pushed against the wall and a small table sat beside it. There was nothing on top of the table besides the amulet that once rested around Twilight’s neck. There was a dark green curtain surrounding the bed and table, blocking off any view beyond, though Twilight could hear a few hoofsteps from beyond, clacking against the wooden floor.

The air had an odd metallic scent to it which Twilight eventually recognized as old blood. She frowned somewhat, dismayed at how easily she accepted the fact that she smelled blood, and yet felt nothing else. Another tentative sniff also brought with it the smell of iodine and fresh gauze.

It took Twilight a few moments to register that the necklace was off, and her breathing quickened a bit as she brought a hoof to her chest, feeling for the cold metal. Unable to find the jewel, Twilight ceased looking around the room and tried casting a spell.

There was the familiar build-up of magic deep within her, then a slight pushing sensation as she urged the magic to her horn, forming the spell. ‘Light’ ran through Twilight’s mind as she willed a ball of magelight to form. The bed and curtain were bathed in a purple glow as the ball of light floated out of Twilight’s horn and rested against the ceiling. She let out her breath, unaware she’d been holding it in, and a wide smile formed on her mouth.

“My magic’s back,” Twilight whispered to herself, and unable to keep her happiness bottled up, broke out into giddy laughter. “My magic’s back!” Twilight repeated, a bit louder.

The sound of the curtain being pulled back caught her attention and Twilight turned to look, still with an amicable grin on her face. Twilight’s grin grew even wider as Ditzy trotted next to the bed. Ditzy wore no armour, though she was heavily bandaged. Her right wing was wrapped entirely in white gauze, and her left front leg was up in a sling. The Pegasus sported an eye patch and she had more bandages covering her stomach. She was badly hurt, but alive.

Ditzy glanced up at the ceiling where the magelight still burned and smirked.

“I see you wasted no time in testing your magic,” she teased. Twilight blushed a little and, with a nod of her head, dispelled the glowing ball. Ditzy smiled as she sat down, wincing in pain. Twilight peered over the edge of the bed and noted that both of Ditzy’s hind legs were dressed as well, though not as bad as her front hoof.

“What happened? Where are we? Why is my -” Twilight began, but Ditzy raised her one good hoof to silence her.

“We’re back at camp, in the infirmary. Your magical dampener failed. We don’t know why. And…” Ditzy fell silent for a moment. “…you saved me, Twilight. Me and the few members of my team that weren’t killed.” Ditzy looked away from Twilight as she spoke, though she quickly turned back to look at the Unicorn. “Forgive me, Twilight. I’m not used to showing emotion these days.”

Twilight’s gaze fell on Ditzy’s injuries, her face forming into a frown. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ditzy’s soft laughter.

“I look bad, but I’ll heal soon enough.” Ditzy said, flapping her good wing lazily.

“You should have died out there!”

The new speaker startled both mares; Twilight awkwardly shifted to look at the very angry pink Earth Pony standing at the foot of the bed. Captain Pie was glaring at the two; curiously, she wasn’t wearing much of her armour, giving Twilight a better look at her physique. Pinkamena was stockier than Twilight remembered, her legs and chest much more muscled. Her once-messy mane was straight and a much duller shade of pink, and it was cut far shorter, barely reaching past her ears. Twilight thought she saw a few old scars, but Pinkamena’s pink fur, coupled with the dim light, made it impossible to tell at this distance.

“What was that, Captain?” Ditzy asked.

“You should have died, Commander.” Pinkamena repeated. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, Miss Do, I’m glad to see you’re back safe and sound. But this unicorn,” she hissed, opening her eyes again and glaring at Twilight, “may have jeopardized our entire operation with her little stunt! Or she could have run right to her fellow unicorns. I find it rather suspicious that your magical dampener failed when it did. That’s awfully convenient.” The Captain wasn’t even trying to keep her tone neutral.

Ditzy stood up, unable to keep her anger out of her voice.

“If she was working for the Queen, then why’d she come back? Why’d she save me and my command?”

“Simple. The Queen needs a mole on the inside. And saving you is just her way of allaying our suspicions.”

“Then why send a Unicorn? Why not an Earth Pony or a Pegasus? At least we’d be less suspicious of one of those.”

“Exactly! We’d welcome a Unicorn more readily as a possibility they might have inside info we can use against her. Allow her to sit in on delicate meetings, find out where our troops are deployed, give us false information on the Queen’s army, and lead us all into a huge trap!” Pinkamena was nearly shouting by the end.

“Captain! Commander!”

The three mares all turned at the new voice, a timid-looking white Earth Pony wearing a nurse’s cap. She was pushing a cart laden with bandages, scalpels, and syringes, and was glaring at Pinkamena and Ditzy, though she was still clearly intimidated by the former.

“Miss Pie, I’ll ask you not to raise your voice. Other ponies are trying to rest and recover. And you,” she continued, turning to Ditzy, “you should not be out of bed and walking around with a broken leg.”

With a snort, Pinkamena nodded at the nurse and turned back to Twilight and Ditzy.

“Commander Do, I wish you a speedy recovery. Celestia knows we need as many ponies to help us as we can. As for the unicorn, I want her gone.” Twilight was taken aback by how blunt she was. “I don’t trust her. She disobeyed my orders and is a constant threat to us.” The pink pony pointed a hoof at Twilight. “I want her out of my army.”

“No,” Ditzy said simply, “you said it yourself. We need as many ponies on our side as we can get. She may not have inside information to help us fight the Queen, but a Unicorn fighting for us can still be a great boon.” Ditzy motioned to her injured wing. “Lady Rarity cannot continue supplying us with our healing charms on her own. She’s falling behind as it is. At the very least, Twilight can help us there.”

Pinkamena turned to Twilight and narrowed her gaze, the Unicorn flattening her ears against her head.

“Fine,” Pinkamena grumbled, “but she’s in your regiment, Commander. Anything she does is your responsibility,” the Captain paused for a moment, “and your fault.”

“Bu-but Captain!” Ditzy protested, “with all due respect, she’s a Unicorn. I train Pegasi.”

Pinkamena shook her head, though her twisted smile was still plainly visible.

“Well, we’re somewhat lacking in Unicorn teachers, and you are the only pony in this entire camp who’d vouch for her. Unless she’d rather run back to the Queen?” she finished, turning to Twilight.

“N-no.” Twilight managed to find her voice. “No, please. I don’t want to leave...” she broke off, uncertain of what to say next. Thoughts of Rarity and Pinkie back in the Ponyville she remembered so fondly raced through her mind; Twilight refused to believe that whatever was going on now was the truth, and something within her told her that staying was the only way to get to the bottom of this mystery.

“I won’t leave my friends.” Twilight said softly.

Pinkamena was silent for a while before stomping the ground.

“Fine! But you’re not that injured. A fractured rib and a few cuts don’t grant you the right to slack off on your training. Get out of this bed and give it to somepony who needs it.” She glanced at Ditzy. “I suppose you’ll still want her in your cabin?” Ditzy nodded. “Then she can move there.” Pinkamena spun around and marched out quickly.

Ditzy stood there shaking her head for a time before turning to Twilight.

“Alright, you heard her. Painful though it must be, we should get you to my barracks.” Ditzy winced as she raised herself up on the bed, nudging Twilight.

“Oh, Dit-Commander Do, please don’t strain yourself. I can get there myself.” Twilight said quickly, climbing out of bed and shakily standing. Her shoulder ached where the sword had cut into her, and the abrupt standing motion gave her a slight headache, but Twilight shook her head slightly, willing herself to ignore these minor problems.

Ditzy gave a soft chuckle as she slowly walked beside Twilight, leaning on the Unicorn for support.

“Oh, Twilight? What’re you going to do with that?” Ditzy asked as Twilight levitated the magical dampener over.

“I’m not sure. Maybe I can find a way to replicate its effects without binding them to a jewel that a Unicorn has to wear. Fashion some sort of portable jammer your troops can carry around with them.” Twilight frowned even as she spoke; a month ago the very thought of robbing another Unicorn of their magic would have sent her into a deep depression, and yet she found herself at war. All the same, there was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, but it left as quickly as it came as the two left the infirmary.

The two walked in silence, with Twilight taking the brunt of Ditzy’s weight as the Pegasus faltered in her steps.

“You know,” Twilight said, if only to break the uncomfortable silence, “you didn’t have to come with me. I know my way around camp well enough to find my way back.”

Ditzy laughed, a tinkling sort of laughter that reminded Twilight of Pinkie after she played one of her harmless pranks.

“And leave my friend to wander through a Unicorn-free zone with her magic back? I’ve got to protect you from some overzealous warrior from jumping to conclusions.” Her tone was light, despite the gravity of the situation.

Regardless of this, Twilight still managed a smile.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on me.”

“Isn’t that what friends do?”

“What am I going to do now?”

“Always here...” She murmured softly.

“Pity,” Twilight sighed, “he would have made an excellent guard, so willing to fight.” A scream startled her, and the unicorn scanned the surrounding area, no easy task considering the amount of smoke. Through the haze, she could see a number of other ponies running around, blinded by the constant smog. A flash of light penetrated the smoke, and with it, a gust of wind blew the smoke clear. As the mare looked up, she glared at the pony walking towards her…

Twilight woke up suddenly, drenched in sweat. Twilight was dimly aware of somepony’s horrified screaming; it was only after she took a deep breath and the shrieks stopped that Twilight realized she was the one yelling. She panted for breath for a few moments, forcing herself to calm down.

Twilight waited for her eyes to adjust to the ambient light, though it was hardly much different than having her eyes closed, before glancing around the room. Ditzy’s bedroll was rolled up and laid against the back wall; that wasn’t surprising, considering the Pegasus was still recovering in the infirmary. With luck, she’d be well enough to come back to the hut by tomorrow. Twilight sighed, laying back in the bed and tried not to think about how hard the mattress was.

A rock would be softer than this thing, she thought sarcastically. The Unicorn closed her eyes and tried going back to sleep, but the damp blanket, mixed with the cool air, made her shiver and she sighed as she kicked off her blanket and rolled out of bed. She groaned as she cast a magelight spell, illuminating the dark room with an unnatural glow. Ditzy’s injuries were severe enough that a doctor might be needed to tend to her, but Twilight was healing quite quickly. Her shoulder was already nearly healed, though the cut was still visible; she frowned, knowing that a scar was likely to form, considering how deep the wound was.

Though she still felt physically fatigued, her frazzled nerves told her that she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep any time soon. With a heavy sigh Twilight left the bedroom, the ball of light following her, and examined the other room. It was still in disarray from her unfortunate outburst; if anypony had looked around after Twilight left, they hadn’t bothered to clean up. With another sigh Twilight levitated the splintered remains of the table and stacked them neatly against the wall.

She moved on to the scattered papers, though there was some hesitation. Twilight knew that these likely contained sensitive information and that she shouldn’t read them, but on the other hoof…

“How can I sort them properly if I don’t know what’s written?” she asked the empty room. Twilight fidgeted uncomfortably, staring at the stack of papers that rested in the middle of the floor. If the army was anything like Celestia’s guard the papers would need to be sorted and filed away properly, but that also meant they probably wouldn’t look kindly on somepony like her looking at what is possibly top-secret information.

“Alright, I’ll just read enough of them to sort them appropriately.” Twilight reasoned. “I just won’t read anything in great detail.” Her mind thusly made up, Twilight began sorting through the files, separating them as best she could.

Personnel Listings, Death Notices, 'Twilight Sparkle’ Evaluation, Patrol Routes and Plannings...

Wait, what? Twilight’s thoughts paused, the various papers and files falling to the floor as she lost focus on the levitation spell. She swallowed nervously as she stood over one of the files and carefully read the tag on it again.

‘Twilight Sparkle’ Evaluation. She hadn’t misread it. Curiousity burned within her; she had to know what was written, but it was almost certainly never intended for her eyes. Her hoof trembled as she held the document up, forgetting about her magic for the moment.

The paper was surprisingly dull, being more of a catalogue of Twilight’s actions and movements since her arrival, all written in Ditzy’s steady script. She had been keeping track of Twilight’s fighting progress, how well she seemed to be adapting to life in the army, even how many other ponies she was talking to (a section that was sadly empty save for Ditzy, Pinkamena, Rarity, and Rock Solid).

The last section of the evaluation, however, made Twilight raise her eyebrows in shock.

‘Twilight Sparkle,’ if that is indeed her name, seems driven to make friends, though very few in camp seem ready to approach her or sustain a conversation if they can help it. I suspect this may be in part related to her name; rumours are hard to quell, and the name ‘Twilight’ is bound to associate a few unwanted stigmas on her. I find it highly unlikely, therefore, that any sensible Unicorn would willingly take on such a name, considering the bad air surrounding it.

It is my belief that ‘Twilight Sparkle’ is suffering from a form of amnesia. She heard the name and mistakenly took it as her own, lacking any other roots. Her lack of fighting prowess is further evidence that her mind is damaged. Her amnesia may well be magical in nature, since I have been unable to locate any old wounds, nor has she exhibited any other physical signs of previous head trauma that often accompany brain damaged ponies.

I shall continue to monitor her to see if I can figure out who she used to be, and hopefully restore her memory. I believe it to be best if I continue to act as her confidant, at least until such time that she either remembers her old life or begins reaching out to others…

Twilight let the paper fall to the floor, not wanting to read any more. She slumped on the ground, covering her head with her forehooves and clenched her eyes shut.

“No, no…it’s not true…Ditzy is my friend…She would never…” A lump formed in Twilight’s throat and she stopped speaking. She twitched slightly, trying not to cry. Her efforts seemed to be in vain, for when she lifted her head up tears were already streaming down her face. “No…please, Celestia, don’t let it be true…” she mumbled, as much to hear somepony speak as to center her thoughts.

“It isn’t true!” she shouted, half mad. “Ditzy isn’t…Fluttershy can’t be…” Her horn began to spark as her emotions grew fiercer. “I’m not a murderer! I haven’t lost my memory!” Twilight’s body began to glow a soft purple. “This can’t be real! Rarity isn’t blind! My whole life cannot have been some lie!” Had her eyes been open, Twilight would have seen a large bubble pop into existence around her. “I refuse to believe any of this! It’s not possible!” Twilight’s eyes flew open as she stomped the ground in frustration.

It was only then that she noticed the bubble around her, felt the familiar surge of magic flowing to her horn, and sensed the imminent release of magic. With a gasp Twilight tried to reign in her emotions, gain control of her magic, but it was too late. The spell, having lost its focus, blasted out of her horn, floated to the roof of the room, and promptly shattered upon contact with the solid surface. Twilight and the house were consumed by a purple explosion.

Forgotten Friendship

Author's Note: Many thanks to Bronymaster for helping me with a few trouble areas.

Chapter 5

Forgotten Friendship

The trio stepped into the dimly lit room, and Twilight waited a few moments for her eyes to adjust. What little light there was streamed in through the tiny window; the light danced on the opposite wall, reflecting off the gemstones hanging in the window. Twilight looked around the room, noting a sparse amount of furniture. A table with a few scraps of uneaten food sat in the corner, a rather long couch with only one arm sat against the front wall, and a tiny table with some tiny gems at the couch’s head. A door set into the back wall was tightly shut, and behind it she could make out the sounds of someone shuffling around. There was a misty feel to the room, and a moment of searching revealed incense burning in the corner.

The door in the back swung open, and the mysterious Unicorn trotted out. She stayed against the back wall, shrouded in darkness, and gave a curt nod.

“Hello, Miss Ditzy. Always a pleasure to see you again.” There was a brief pause before she spoke up again. “Ah, little Blitz. My, how you’ve grown!” The Pegasus colt snorted.

“My name is Lightning. Not Blitz.”

“Tut-tut, one shouldn’t be ashamed of their namesake, dearie. Your mother chose your name with pride, and that is precisely how you should take it.” As she spoke, the Unicorn stepped out of the shadows, into the small beam of light coming from the window. Twilight stared, dumbfounded; it was Rarity. She held herself with a modicum of pride, despite the mud and sweat matting her fur down. The Unicorn clattered as she walked, and Twilight noticed the odd dress she wore; not so much a dress as it was a haphazard spider web of crisscrossing bronze chains, inset with various coloured gems where two strands met. She wore an unusual circlet with a large diamond in place of her horn. Peering closer, Twilight could just make out the Unicorn’s horn inside the diamond, and she mused for a time as to how anypony could even consider jamming their horn inside a large rock.

“And this must be…” Rarity’s voice trailed off, and the group fell into an uneasy silence. Twilight got the sensation that Rarity was staring right at her, though the dim light made it difficult to tell where she was looking. A few minutes passed before Commander Doo stepped forward.

“This is the prisoner, Twilight Spar…” A rude gesture from Rarity silenced the Pegasus, and the group fell into silence again.

“Twilight, dear? Is that...is that really you?” Rarity seemed to whisper reverently. And there seemed to be something wrong with the way her eyes moved. Now that Twilight could make them out properly, they seemed to be trying to look at her, but were looking off slightly to the left.

Twilight was about to answer, when there came a sudden large crash from outside, followed by a lot of muffled cursing. Twilight, startled by the sudden loud noise, jumped in surprise. Commander Doo walked over to the door and nudged it open, poking her head outside.

“What is going on out here? I swear, Hooves, if you’re still following me, I’m going to kick you again.” The statement was greeted by silence as nopony answered. “Private Bolt, I need you with me. I’m sure the Unicorn here won’t try anything while we’re gone.” Lightning only nodded solemnly as he followed his Commander out the make-shift doorway.

Now alone in the room with Rarity, Twilight took the time to take a better look at her friend. Her mane was unkempt and unruly, sticking out from under that bizarre circlet haphazardly. Peering closely, as well as one could considering the dim lighting, Twilight noticed Rarity’s mane had a... duller tone to it. It didn’t look the once-vivid purple it had once been. It looked more...pale blue? Her mane seemed greasy, as if it hadn’t been washed in a long time. And her coat....her once lustrous coat was a dull gray and looked very unkempt; covered in mud as it was, Twilight thought her assessment that Rarity could use a good washing was quite correct.

Twilight turned her gaze to Rarity’s dress. The fashionista had always had an eye for the hottest trends and fashions, but even Twilight’s untrained eye could tell this conglomeration of chains and jewels was the furthest one could be from the height of fashion. Twilight followed the chains, which all seemed to converge on the circlet on Rarity’s brow. The diamond covering her horn seemed to glow softly, and it took Twilight a few moments to realize it was the same glow signifying a Unicorn was using their magic.

Finally, Twilight’s gaze fell on Rarity’s eyes. She had followed the sound of Commander Doo and Lightning leaving, her head pointed towards the door, but her eyes were looking too far to the left, staring straight at the barren wall. The colour in her irises was...milky, like those of-

Twilight gasped as she came to the realization. At the sound of her voice, Rarity turned back to Twilight, though her eyes still weren’t looking directly at her.

“Is something the matter, dear?” There was something peculiar about her voice, something that Twilight couldn’t quite place. However, currently her mind was occupied with other matters.

“Rarity, are you…are you blind?” Twilight asked in a voice that was barely audible. Rarity simply nodded, then frowned.

“You asked that the first time we met, Twilight. You were just as impertinent then, too.” Rarity huffed, becoming very interested in the wall; a gesture that was somewhat diminished due to her blindness.

Twilight stood there, unsure of what to do or say. She had read many books on dealing with disabled ponies, but it is one thing to read about it in a book, and another to deal with it right in front of you. Especially when it was one of your best friends.

The two stood there in relative silence, but something Rarity had said plagued Twilight’s mind.

“Wait, Rarity...the first time we spoke, you could see. You could see fine just last week when we had a picnic together. You even complained about my plain dress and offered to ‘fix it up for me.’ What happened to you?”

Rarity snorted, and Twilight mused momentarily on how unladylike it was.

“Twilight, I’ve been blind since I was a filly. I was blind when we met, I was blind a week ago, and I’m still blind now. And we’ve never gone on a picnic together; I may be blind, but I still remember everything I’ve done.” Rarity snorted again, glowering at the floor. “As if I would have any reason to go on a picnic with you, anyways…” Rarity sniffled, a tear running down her cheek.

Rarity shook her head and frowned, bringing herself out of her thoughts. She looked in Twilight’s general direction, her features taking on a look of confusion.

“Why would I complain about your dress? I cannot see colours, and designing clothes is best left to one who isn’t blind.” There was a definite bitter edge to her voice.

“But, but…” Twilight stammered, her thoughts becoming jumbled. “But your shop, my birthday present…” Twilight rubbed her head, trying to discern why her memories and Rarity’s didn’t mesh. “Designing clothes is what you do, Rarity. It’s part of who you are.”

Rarity scoffed, her voice taking on an air of authority.

“No, I’m quite certain you’re mistaken, Twilight. My skill lies in enchantments. I enchanted that spell block on your necklace now, and I enchanted my dress so I can ‘see.’” Rarity paused a moment and sat down on her couch. She turned her head, not-quite-looking at Twilight, and continued. “I can’t actually see the way you can. You see this jewel on my horn?” Twilight nodded, but she didn’t think Rarity even noticed. Rarity continued talking, regardless. “It’s for telling me when I am close to bumping into other people or objects, and telling me how far away they are.” Twilight was not very surprised by this. Many similar things had been made to help blind ponies in the past, though she was surprised that Rarity had cast the spell on it herself.

Rarity continued, though. “Then my dress performs another purpose for me. Half of it is enchanted to help me sense the small, precise objects needed to perform my...jewel crafting. The other half of my dress is able to tell me exactly who is nearby me, so I can identify others correctly. Twilight’s ears perked up, her studious nature taking over.

“Wait, magical identification? How? I’ve toyed with the idea in the past, but I’ve never been able to perfect it.”

Rarity chortled, and Twilight again thought how unlike Rarity it was.

“Everypony has a magical aura to them, dear. This aura is unique to each individual pony, and I’ve found a way to sense it. Unicorns have the strongest auras, and I think it’s because we can use magic that these auras seem to grow more powerful for us. The next would be Pegasi, and of course Earth Ponies have the weakest auras. I think these auras are representative of a pony’s skill with magic, but I can’t say that for certain.” Rarity sighed, levitating a drink off the table and sipping from it delicately.

“Of course, these auras may be unique to each pony, but they tell me nothing about the identity. I’m reliant on my memory, remembering which aura goes with which pony, and most of the time I get it right. Earth Ponies have always given me trouble; their weaker auras mean I generally have to rely on my other senses, though there have been exceptions.” Rarity sighed again, a tad more wistfully this time. “A pity I don’t have any other Unicorns around these days. Their auras were so much easier to read, and they could help me attune new crystals to help me ‘see’ better.”

The fashionista’s last statement broke though Twilight’s thoughts, and she found her mind swimming with unanswered questions.

“Rarity, what happened? Why is everypony at war? What happened with the Unicorns?” Her voice was filled with urgency. Her voice was filled with fear. Rarity frowned, her face scrunching up in thought.

“Do...do you not remember, dear? I realize it was a few years ago, but...” Her voice trailed off.

Twilight suddenly heard shouting and voices being raised outside, reminding her of how little time they might have before Ditzy and Blitz came back. Reluctantly, Twilight changed topics, her thoughts turning to the odd way Pinkie was behaving.

“Rarity, what happened to Pinkie? Why isn’t she happy?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Twilight? We’re at war, and that’s hardly any reason to be happy. Besides, from what I’ve heard, Pinkamina was never all that cheerful before the war began.”

Twilight scowled as she rubbed her head in confusion. Nothing she was hearing made much sense to her; Rarity being blind as a filly, Pinkie always unhappy. Everything she’d heard clashed with her memories; not to mention the ruins of Ponyville that still lingered in her mind. Her thoughts turned to her other friends; Applejack and Rainbow were both strong ponies. They were probably fighting in the ranks somewhere, drafted onto one side of the war or the other. Twilight yearned to know what happened to them; however, before she could ask, Ditzy marched back into the room. Trailing behind her was another pony Twilight couldn’t place.

“Miss Rarity, I do apologize for the interruption. I hope the prisoner did not give you much trouble.” Blitz entered the room last, looking quite smug with himself. Rarity nodded slightly.

“No, it was quite nice to see an old friend; I do have so few these days.”

Ditzy snorted, looking quite perturbed.

“So, this Unicorn is an ally of yours? But she bears a striking resemblance to the Princess,” Ditzy took a moment to spit on the ground before continuing, “You are absolutely certain she is no threat to us?”

Rarity nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Believe me, I do not believe this Unicorn is any threat to us.” Rarity turned her head, hiding a smile behind her hoof. Ditzy either didn’t see this, or chose to ignore it; Twilight wasn’t certain.

Ditzy instead chose to turn to the unfamiliar pony she had escorted in.

“There, now go make yourself useful and report to the Captain that our resident Unicorn finds the prisoner, Twilight Sparkle, safe and not a threat.” Ditzy turned towards Twilight and smiled. “You may even get that necklace off, if you’re lucky.” Snorting, Ditzy turned back towards the strange pony. Her vision narrowed, her normally mismatching eyes straightening themselves out to glare at the pony. “And another thing. Don’t ever let me catch you spying on me again. If I do, you’ll be in the infirmary for a month. Understood?”

The pony nodded quickly, and with a brief salute, quickly exited the tiny hut. Ditzy turned back to Twilight, her eyes returning to their normal state, which was admittedly abnormal for any other pony. She smiled again, though Twilight got the sense that it was forced.

“If you’ll follow me, Miss Sparkle, we’ll need to meet with Captain Pie so we can get you acquainted with our villa.” Motioning for Twilight to follow, Ditzy headed outside. Twilight took a few steps, but paused and turned back to Rarity.

“Wait, Rarity. Do you know anything about Fluttershy?” Twilight’s thoughts were consumed by her timid friend. This war-like world would have no place for her, and Twilight yearned to know what had happened. Rarity’s eye twitched, and she frowned.

“What? Why would you ask about her?!” There was an undercurrent of anger in Rarity’s voice, but Twilight chose to ignore it for the moment.

“Please, Rarity, it’s important. Where is she? Is she here?” Twilight began to yell, unable to keep the urgency out of her voice. Ditzy poked her head back in the room, wondering what the yelling was about. There was a brief pause as Rarity closed her eyes, lost in thought.

“…yes. She’s here. I visit her a couple times a week.” Rarity opened her eyes. “Why do you want to know if she’s here? What more can…?” Rarity brought a hoof to her mouth, silencing herself. A few moments passed before she lowered it and resumed speaking. “Did you want to see her?” Twilight nodded.

“Yes, please. I have to see her immediately.”

There was another lull, until Rarity finally turned, speaking to Ditzy.

“Commander Doo, could you be a dear and take our guest to see Fluttershy? It shouldn’t be too far out of your way.”

Ditzy stepped into the room, concern plastered on her face.

“Are you sure that’s wise, Miss Rarity?”

“Yes. Perhaps it will help her.” She spoke plainly, without emotion, completely opposite from a few minutes before. Ditzy nodded slowly.

“Of course. If you’ll follow me, Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight walked out after Ditzy, a small smile on her lips. The scene was odd, but perhaps seeing her friend would help her puzzle out what had just happened.

The door slammed shut behind Twilight, and Rarity sat on the couch, lost in her thoughts. Eventually, she stood up and walked into the back room. A number of jewels lay strewn about, in various stages of being prepared. They ranged from crude jagged rocks, recently pulled from the ground, to the final stages of being inset into bracers and necklaces. A couple glowed softly, the aftermath of spells being placed on them.

Rarity walked past her workstation to her bed. With a sigh, she levitated her dress and circlet off, letting them drop on the floor where she stood. She hated this part, fumbling around in the darkness trying to find her bed. She was always careful to stand exactly three feet from the bed, with it on her left, but it never seemed to get any easier.

Rarity gave a more relaxed sigh as she snuggled under the thin piece of fabric that was meant to be a blanket. As she lay there, she found her thoughts returning to the Unicorn. Was that truly the same Twilight Sparkle she met three years ago? The auras were eerily similar, but there was something different about this Unicorn. Rarity frowned, rubbing her temples as she tried to figure out what was changed.

She hadn’t lied exactly; Unicorns were easiest for her to remember, and she remembered Twilight Sparkle quite well. Her aura had been immensely strong, as had the Twilight Sparkle she just met. But there was still something fundamentally different about the two. Why didn’t Twilight remember meeting before? Granted, it was three years ago, but still, considering what had happened to the poor thing she should remember.

“It was three years ago. Could a pony change so much in three years?” She asked the darkness, and as usual, the darkness gave no answer.

Ditzy led Twilight through so many twists and turns that she was hopelessly lost. Twilight didn’t even realize how large the encampment was until now, although it seemed in this area that the ‘houses’ were spaced out a little more. The number of guards around made Twilight think that this was where the higher-ranked ponies were.

“Captain Pie’s quarters are just down there, though Miss Fluttershy is down this way. You’ll want to see your Pegasus friend first, I take it?” Ditzy spoke up, startling Twilight slightly. Her voice was calm and gentle, the way a mother would speak to a crying child. Twilight nodded, her anxiousness growing.

Ditzy nodded back and resumed walking.

They came to a small garden in the center of the officer’s tents, a small wooden fence surrounding it. There was one break in the fence, clearly meant to be the entrance for Earth Ponies, and it was here that Ditzy stopped. She motioned inside the garden.

“Your friend’s in there. I’ll leave the two of you alone.” With that, Ditzy took up a stance outside the gate. Shrugging, Twilight walked in.

The garden was quite barren. Save for a few trees and a smattering of flowers, there was little else. As Twilight neared the center, a great stone statue came into view. From a distance, she couldn’t quite make out what it was, but she smiled as she heard birdsong.

“Even now, Fluttershy still cares for animals. It’s comforting to know that hasn’t changed.” Twilight muttered under her breath.

As Twilight neared the statue, the birdsong stopped. She looked up in time to see a few colourful birds take flight. Twilight frowned as she thought perhaps she frightened Fluttershy again, as she had when they first met. However, looking around the garden, she found no sight of the bright yellow Pegasus. Twilight sat down, looking around in confusion. Ditzy said Fluttershy would be here, but, other than herself, the garden was devoid of life.

A chirping sound caught her ear, and Twilight searched for the bird. She soon found it atop the statue, perching on one of the wings. Wait, wings? Dread welling up within her, Twilight turned her gaze to the statue.

It was a carving of Fluttershy. She was lying on the ground, various animals surrounding her. Her wings were open, stretching towards the sky. Her face held the expression of peace and tranquility, that joyous smile forever captured in stone. Angel Bunny was there as well, sitting atop Fluttershy’s head.

Twilight lowered her gaze to the statue’s base. A plaque was attached, and she trotted closer to read it, fear rising inside her.

Erected in loving memory of Fluttershy

May her spirit fly as freely as her kindness

Killed on day two of Nightmare Moon’s revival

By the tyrant Twilight Sparkle

“No…please, Celestia, no. Don’t let it be true.” Twilight’s voice cracked, and she simply stood there, staring at the statue blankly through tear-filled eyes.

A set of hoofsteps was heard behind her, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was the mix of sadness, loneliness, and emptiness that resided within her. It felt as if her mind had a switch, and someone had flicked it off. She felt nothing. Cared for nothing. Only the statue before her and the thoughts of loneliness filled her mind. Her life, her dreams, her friends, and the joy of living, were all crushed in that single moment of realization. Her friend was dead, and nothing she did would bring her back.

After a time, Ditzy nudged Twilight to her hooves, and escorted her away, leaving the sad memorial that was all that was left of Fluttershy behind.