Last pony standing

Twilight used the time to quickly gaze around and I was still observing the events from my hideout in the back alley. The Element-bearer had stopped their butchery for now, looking at both Sombra and the Princess, while Sombra's zombie-ponies had remained motionless, ever since he had commanded it to them. Until now only a few civilian ponies remained unharmed. The majority of the formerly large crowd surrendered and got turned into more slaves, abandoning the dead bodies of their companions that lined the streets of the otherwise beautiful village.

Then Twilight once again turned towards the King and both of them stared at each other, without saying a word. The only difference between them was their facial expression: Sombra smiled delighted, while Twilight's face was covered by disgust. Then her face lit up a little in hope, as she addressed the King:
"It seems like you weren't able to convert Fluttershy, at least."

"Yeah I'll have to admit, that I couldn't find the slightest darkness in her heart. Too much kindness and all, you know? But I will find a way to make her mine, trust me. I will focus on her conversion as soon as I am I done with you, Princess. I just need more time to come up with a way to approach her. In the end, everypony will follow my will."

It was true, there were only four of the element-bearers present, plus the Princess herself. One of the bearers was missing. I sneaked back into the alley, turning to Mrs. Feint, who softly cradled her child in her hooves. Noticing my approach she looked up at me with questioning eyes, but I put a hoof onto my lips and she nodded understanding my cue. Then I pointed in the direction, that led away from the center of Ponyville. She nodded again, and I helped her to get back on her hooves. I took a glance around the corner, making sure nopony was in sight, before the both of us silently stepped out of our sanctuary.

Luckily all the attention was focused on the argument of the Princess and the evil King at the center square so we managed to get away unnoticed. Without any further problems, we were able to make our way to the north west of the village, crossing a stream and reached a small cabin, which walls were covered by many bird houses. Its roof was moss-grown and curved, looking like a big green mushroom. Although the light was switched off, I stepped next to the front-door knocking more softly than I had at the library's door. Nothing happened. I knocked again after a moment, raising my voice:

"Miss Shy, we need your help. If you are at home, open the door, please."
Still no reaction.
"Miss Shy, we won't hurt you in any way, I promise."

.... Silence.

"Miss Shy, you are in danger, we've come to warn you about..."

"G-g- go away, no-noponie's home" I finally heard a very silent squeaking voice from the inside of the house.

"Miss Shy please, I brought along a mother and a small foal, that need your help, so please open the door." I tried to sound as soft and relaxed as I could, under these circumstances.

I then heard a gasp followed by some rumors and movement inside of the cabin. Within the door a small window got opened ajar and a white bunny with a leery face expression came into view. He looked at me, then he looked past me at Mrs. Feint and her foal, before he turned around and nodded towards the inside.

The door got opened, a moment later, by a yellow-coated Pegasus-pony, with a pink long hairstyle. However, she instantly backed off and lowered her head as soon as the door was wide open and we entered the house. Several critters jumped in front of her, as if they were trying to defend her. I saw squirrels, ferrets, mice and all of them stared at me, with determined faces. I had no doubt, that they would do their very best to defend that pony, if they needed to. However I was kinda confused by the thought, that small critters need to defend a grown mare, instead of the other way round.

"Miss Shy, do you know, what is going on in Ponyville?" I asked her, trying to not sound accusatory.

She just nodded slowly, turning her head away, to dodge my glance.

"You are in great danger. Sombra has returned-"
Hearing that name she squealed in a high-pitched tone, covering her head with her hooves, as if she could avoid the issue by not listening.

"- And he will come after you soon. We need to get the hay out of here and hide somewhere."

Looking at that yellow pony, lying on the ground, shivering, with her hooves wrapped around her head, it would have been an understatement to say that I was very disappointed. Although I knew from all the tales and legends I have heard about the element-bearers, that Fluttershy was the most timid of the six, I would have never thought she was that chicken-hearted. During all those tales, they always appeared so heroic and brave. One story was about Fluttershy, who single-hoofly defeated a grown dragon, but judging by the first impression, this tale was either an exaggerated lie, or it has been a different Fluttershy.

I wondered if it was a waste of time, coming here to ask for help, since she didn't make the impression, she's going to fight Sombra at all. A ferret was patting her head pitying, while looking up to me defiantly. On the other hoof, I have sworn to protect every pony from danger, so it was my duty to do my best to defend her, even if I had to do it all by myself.

Behind me, Mrs. Feint spoke up, with a voice as soft as Pegasi-downs:

"Miss Shy... please.."

After a moment she replied with a hesitant voice:

"I-I have a hidden basement. I store my animals food there a-and I-I sometimes hide there, when Rainbow Dash is in her prankster-mood, again," her voice trailed off ashamed.

"That is great, Miss Shy, please show us the entrance. 'He' can show up any minute now."
I avoided saying his name, since this would have made her flustered mood only worse. She nodded slowly, while the white bunny, that I have seen through the door window, pushed aside a red rectangular carpet, that had covered a wooden hatch, that was seamlessly built into the ground of the floor.

I blinked surprised, but then I opened that hatchway, by pulling up an iron-ring, that was attached to that door, revealing a set of wooden stairs leading down into a small room beneath the floorboards. The walls were made of stone bricks, and the room itself contained several burlap-bags and wooden boxes neatly organized on the opposite wall. I entered the basement first, followed by Mrs. Feint and Fluttershy, then all the remaining critters jumped down the stairs as well. The white bunny clutched a rope, that was hanging from the ceiling and the pushed-away carpet rolled back to its former position, covering the hatch perfectly. That was quite a cunning device, I thought to myself, since no unaware pony would expect a trap door under the carpet.

With everypony, and everycritter now standing inside of the dim storage basement, I cast my gaze around. The room had no source of light itself, as far as I could see, however it was illuminated by the afternoon sun, shining through the cracks of the deck boards. Tired as I was, I simply sat down next to one of that wooden boxes, leaning to the stone wall. Mrs. Feint did like me and sat down next to me.

Now I had the time to inspect that elderly mare more closely, too. She was a blue-coated mare, with a dirt blond long mane-style. I'd say she was about the Sarge's age, probably ten or fifteen years older than me. Although she was a quite beautiful mare, I couldn't say that I was physically attracted to her, but there was something about her that awed me, yet I couldn't put my hoof on it. I also wondered, why I have spotted her of all the ponies, that escaped from Canterlot. The small foal in Mrs. Feint's grasp suddenly started to cry and caught my attention. I looked at him, that poor foal being so small and fragile in a world of violence. Mrs Feint was now softly cradling him to calm him down, but I noticed an uneasy expression on his face.

"Do you have something to eat for the foal, down here, Miss Shy?" I asked whispering, careful to not make any unnecessary sounds. She turned towards the child, probably noticing what I have seen before and nodded. She then fetched some wheat bread and a bottle of milk, from two of those boxes. She handed both over to Mrs. Feint, but she wasn't able to feed her foal, since it just continued to cry.

"Hush little one, please don't cry. We are all friends here." Fluttershy spoke up with a soft voice to calm him down unsuccessfully. She then started to sing a lullaby for him, but that didn't do the trick, too.

I just watched their attempts helplessly. I just wanted to help, but I had no idea how.
Being the youngest child of my parents and having no kids on my own, I never had to deal with small foals before. Even the legendary skills of Fluttershy seemed to fail on him. Several moments passed, but none of them managed to calm him down. I just watched the two mares and the foal and without thinking I stepped near and said:

"There there little one, there is no need to cry. Uncle Flare is here to protect you..."
His ears perked up and he stopped crying, his amber eyes blinking at me now. He gazed up at me for a moment, before he reached out for me with a tiny hoof and smiled.

"He likes you."
Mrs. Feint looked at me, with her emerald eyes expressing gratitude, showing a weak smile.

It seemed like I've had the right intuition, just then, although I couldn't say that I was an expert when it comes to foal care. Besides that, I was hungry as well, since I haven't had a lunch-break today, for obvious reasons. All of us sat down on the cold stone-floor and shared the bread and the milk with each other. Mrs. Feint, soaked the bread with the milk and gave it to her foal, who ate it up eagerly. That small thing sure was hungry. Turning my head, I saw Fluttershy offering crumbles to her critter-friends.

Suddenly the door of the house burst open. King Sombra stepped inside the house, still surrounded by that black shroud of evilness. We could see him through the gaps in the plank floor. He then took some steps into the living room, while looking around, until he stood right onto the carpet, that covered the hatchway. I was never that near to him before. My heart skipped a beat as I held up my breath, to avoid any unnecessary sound. With him entering the room, a massive heaviness afflicted me and it felt like the temperature lowered by several degrees. I quickly turned my head, seeing Fluttershy staring at him, with eyes big as saucers, then fainting and falling backwards into a bag of birdseed, without making any sound. Her animal-friends rushed towards her, clinging at her body fearfully.

Mrs. Feint, who clung to her foal, leaned towards the wall making herself as small as possible. I gently embraced her with one hoof to shield her in case Sombra finds us, while putting the other on my lips again. She came closer to me, leaning her head to my chest and I could feel the racing of her heart.

Still holding my breath, I looked up at the dark King again, as he raised his voice:
"My dear Fluttershy, come out, come out!" His voice sounded playfully again, like he was a filly playing hide and seek.

If he came looking for Fluttershy, this could only mean, that he somehow defeated Princess Twilight. My heart sunk discouraged, until I reminded myself, that gloomy thoughts like those may reveal us to him.

"Come out my dear, I want to talk to you. If you don't, I'm afraid I'll have to torture your little animal-friends, until you decide to show yourself." Still this childlike innocent tone.

He walked around the house. I heard him entering the kitchen, then he climbed the stairs only to return to the ground floor a moment later. While speaking up again, I could hear a displeased sounding in his voice.

"I will catch your little bunny friend and slice open his belly, very slowly. I could use a new pair of gloves. I bet his smooth fur will warm my hooves just fine. Then I will chop off the wings of your bird friends, too. Oh this will be so much fun, so why don't you join me and we will do it together? Think of all the sweet agony we can cause."

The amount of cruelness unsettled my mind. How can a King's mind be so wicked and twisted, I wondered? What must happen to somepony to completely lose his conscience? Has he been always this vicious, or did something happen to him in the past, that made him like this?

I silently prayed to the moon, thanking it that Fluttershy got knocked out. I bet, that she couldn't stay silent, hearing the threats he delivered to her critter friends.

"Hmpf- I will get you sooner or later. You can't hide from me forever. Waiting for you to show yourself makes this game even more exciting for me." He then turned around and walked outside, slamming the door shut.

Still holding Mrs. Feint in my embrace, I waited a few more moments, before I exhaled relieved. It seemed like all of us had a close shave. However we still waited some more minutes to make sure he was indeed gone.

"That was a close one-" I exhaled whispering and let go of the trembling mare, I have held on to a second ago.

The older mare, looked at me shyly, then she jumped towards me, hugging me.

"Thank you for saving us-" she whispered relieved. I must say I was quite surprised, but it didn't feel bad, so I just didn't do anything. After a long moment, she backed off again and I could see her reddened face showing a smile.

"Mrs. Feint, you don't need to thank me-" I stammered, averting my gaze, remembering who she was.

"Please, call me Fortitude. Your name is Flare, isn't it?," she softly asked, nuzzling my hoof.

Fortitude. What a fitting name for such a brave mare. Not everypony would have stayed that collected after everything, that has happened. From what I've seen so far, she wasn't that stuck up like most of the canterlotian ponies.

"Mrs. err- Fortitude, there is something important, that I need to tell you-" I took a deep breath, while trying to appear not that distressed.
She held my hoof in a soft embrace and asked teary-eyed:

"How did he die? Feint died, didn't he? I knew it, when I saw you looking at me the first time you paced past the escapees. Your gaze was more than enough to let me know."

All I could do was nod, now having a lump, almost the same size of a corncob, in my throat. I reached out for the dog-tag in my pocket and put it in her shaking hoof. Staring at the name that was debossed to the metal, she burst into silent tears, while I just sat there lamely, not knowing what else to do. After a moment, I reached out to embrace her in my arms once again, gently pushing her against my shoulder and stroking her long dirt-blond mane. It was the least I could do for her, after all. Holding her gently in my embrace, with her head leaning against my body, the gates opened and she had the chance to let go of her sorrow. While holding the crying mature mare in my embrace, my whole body felt numb and my head was as empty as a schoolhouse during summer vacation. After a while I gulped to get rid of that corn cob in my throat and found the words to say:

"I am sorry! I am so sorry! Your husband was one of the first victims of the crystal-ponies. He bravely stepped towards them, but got cowardly murdered, by four attackers at once. I tried, but I couldn’t have saved him. He has always been a good pony, he didn't deserve such an ending. If I could swap places with him, I would be pleased to do so!"
I replied, now crying as well, remembering the first attack, remembering how my honorable superior and my best friends got slain by those damn zombie-ponies.

"No," she sniffled. "Don't say something like that. I am sure, you did everything you could."
She lifted her head and looked up into my face. Once again her emerald eyes seemed to penetrate my mind and so I turned my head away from her to dodge her gaze, before I continued:

"No! I must have tried harder! It was my duty to defend the gate, not his. I saw my friends die and ran away. I abandoned General Star Stripe, when he faced Celestia alone. Princess Luna told me to lead everypony to safety, but instead the ponies of this town got involved, too. I should have stayed there with my comrades, facing Sombra. I couldn't save the citizens. I couldn't save anypony, well how could I? I am just a useless earth-pony with no special talent. I failed both the General and the Princess. I should be dead right now, but I am still alive only because every time I was in danger someone intervened and protected me or it was pure luck that I didn't get hit. I failed everypony, who trusted me... I feel so useless..."

Suddenly my face got slapped, leaving a burning red mark on my cheek, that paralyzed me. Fortitude looked at me with a dead serious gaze, slowly lowering her hoof again.

"I am sure, you did what you could. You did as you were told to. You managed to save me, my foal and this Pegasus over there," she pointed at the still unconscious Fluttershy, leaning to the bag of birdseed with her animal-friends next to her.

"Did my husband trained you to be a crybaby? I doubt so, so pull yourself together, Private! Be a stallion and focus on the future instead of living in the past!"

I just stared at her face astonished, while touching the spot she had hit me. Her stern tone reminded me of Sergeant Feint. They certainly were a matching couple, and probably would have been good parents to their child. Remembering that this child would now be a half-orphan, made me sad again, but then I looked at her face and slowly nodded.

A moment of silence followed, while I absentmindedly rubbed my burning cheek.

Her face expression softened again and it seemed like she now was shocked by her own action.
"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!"

She lowered her head, now looking at me with an apologizing gaze, but I just shook my head slightly and smiled at her.

"It’s OK, I kinda needed that," I whispered ashamed, because of my breakdown. Of course she was right. Up until now I had hidden behind others to protect me or to do the things I was too afraid to do. I realized that it was finally time for me to represent the virtues of the army I have been a part off for so many years. Maybe I was still a Private because my superiors had noticed how weak I truly was, unable to command other ponies and thus unworthy of a higher rank.

She lowered her head and stared at the dog-tag of her husband, she had held in her hoof, for a long moment, before she put it around her neck. While she lifted her head to look at me again, the shiny metal around her neck produced a tinkling sound.

"Flare, we need to find a way to stop this madness!" she continued in a soft but resolute tone.

"I know, but how? Sombra defeated Princess Twilight, corrupted Princess Celestia and either killed or converted almost every other pony. How can we expect to win, against him, Celestia, the Knight Elements of Harmony and his growing army of zombie-ponies?" I replied, with a sour tone of desperation in my voice.

"There must be a way- There always is!" she replied stubbornly, putting two hooves together. I nodded, but wasn't quite convinced. An unpleasant silence followed, while we thought about a solution for this crisis.
After some time, the spaced out Pegasus-pony awoke, shaking her head to dismiss the remaining fog in her head.

"Wha-what happened?" she wanted to know, but instantly regretted that question, as she realized where she was.

"He is gone," I just replied. "He couldn't find us so he just left."

Of course I dropped the things Sombra had said about Fluttershy's pets, since that wouldn't have done any good.

"I wonder why he just left. Why didn't he blow up this whole cottage?" Fortitude asked aloud scratching her chin.

"I don't think that he can. He is not an alicorn, thus he lacks their raw power. He needs other ponies emotions to fuel his casts, at least it seemed to be like this when he faced Princess Sparkle. Also he mentioned something like the whole hunt is a game to him. He is such a sadistic bastard, killing others for fun!"
A sudden surge of rage was washing over me, but vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“Why did he tell Princess Sparkle his story, in the first place?. Why didn’t he just finish her off, if he was able to do it?” she continued wondering.

“You don’t understand it, do you? He somehow uses fear as a weapon. Fear is a catalyst that fuels his powers. When he encountered the Princess, she was confident and brave, so he was powerless against her at first. However, the more they talked the more I noticed her increasing confusion and lack of confidence. Without her noticing it he slowly disarmed her and I have no doubt that he overpowered her in the end, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to come here looking for you, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy gulped, while Fortitude silently listened to my explanation and the more I spoke, the bigger the ‘O’ became she had formed with her mouth.

"What happened to my friends?" Fluttershy then asked nervously.

"All your animals are OK." For now, I added in my mind. " However, it seems like all of your pony-friends have fallen for his curse. Now all of them are fighting on his side."

"Oh nooo... that's terrible," she started to cry once again.

"Fluttershy, I need to know what happened before. Why didn't you turn evil as well?"

"Evil? Gosh... I just couldn't. I-I heard a voice whispering to me in my dreams, whispering how weak and helpless I am, but I had to agree. Then that voice talked about my youth, my shyness and my friends. It said mean things, which I just refused to believe. They are good friends and would never abandon me."

"However, during the following days, my friends started to act strange. Pinkie locked herself up in her room, which is very unlikely for her, while Dashie tried to convince everypony that she is important for the sake of Equestria. It was much worse than those days during the 'Mare-do-well-incident'. Applejack on the other hoof got grumpier during that week, not leaving her relative’s side, once."

Relatives... The word echoed in my mind. My only relatives still being alive were my older brother Gold Heart and his wife. He actually got married to a beautiful crystal-mare, called Emerald Leaf and moved to Farrington, an industrial city near the griffin territory, to become a jeweler. Our parents died some years after, during a house fire, caused by a stove, which their neighbor forgot to extinguish before going to bed. I was already in the guard back then, so I was too far away and couldn't save them. They died three days before Hearths-Warming-Eve. Only one day later and my brother and I may have been able to save them, since both of us came to spend Hearths-Warming-Eve with them, the day after. I was glad that my brother was far away, so I wouldn't have to fight him in case Sombra brainwashed him, too.

A long period of silence followed where we all dwelt on our thoughts, until a whispered voice called for me:

"Flare..."

"Huh? Who is there?" I called startled. I looked around, but all I saw was the surprised faces of Fluttershy and Fortitude.

Startled Fluttershy looked up to the ceiling, expecting that Sombra has returned.
"Who-Who are you talking to?" she asked timidly, but got hushed by Fortitude.

"Flare..." that voice repeated. It was a warm soft voice. It couldn't have been one of Sombra's mind-tricks, since this was a female voice and it somehow filled my fearful heart with hope.

"Yes?" I replied lamely. What else do you say, if a body-less voice calls your name from out of the blue?

"I am Cadence, Princess of the Crystal-Empire. I am speaking to your heart, can you read me?"

"Yes."

Both Fortitude and Fluttershy stared at me, but none of them said a word. They obviously didn't hear the voice I heard. Did Sombra managed to reach out for me and drove me crazy? Was I hearing things? But it really sounded like the same voice, I got to know during our short conversations.

"Listen Flare, in the Empire, every crystal-pony feared the return of Sombra and his wrath. When he finally awoke, he stirred up the fear in everyponies heart, which allowed him to quickly gain control over them. He commanded them to obtain the Crystal-Heart for him, before I could use its magic. Then he led them to confront me, but I refused to fight my own people, so he just caged me and my husband without a fight. The more ponies fear him, the stronger he gets. You need to stop him, Flare, I beg you. Free their minds and lift the curse of all ponies."

"I can't. I don't know how!"

The white bunny looked up to me in confusion. Obviously he didn't understand why I was talking to myself, nor did Fluttershy. Fortitude, however, knew that something important was going on and asked everypony to be silent.

"The only way to affront the darkness in his heart, is to use the Crystal-Heart, again," the voice of the Princess continued to speak in my mind.

"But he corrupted the Crystal-Heart, too, I've seen it!" I cried desperately.

"No, he could never corrupt it that easily. The Crystal-Heart is a prism that channels light, hope and love. It was forged out of the love and friendship of generations of ponies. Even his coldness can not smother the warm spark that is still present, deep within the gem, that quickly. The corruption only lingers at the surface, but it will continue to sink deeper, though. However, that's why I am still alive. Avid for power, he plans to turn the jewel into a tool of his evil deeds, by becoming its new master. Sombra fears the power of the Crystal-Heart. He clearly remembered the last time it was used against him, but he also wants to possess its power. To finally corrupt it and gain control over it, he needs to expose it to despair and break the will of its current master - My will."

I gulped. After a pause, the female voice, that echoed in my mind, continued:

"-Right now he is torturing everypony I love. My subjects, my husband, my friends... He wants to make sure I'll witness their pain, their suffering. He also wants to make sure that I realize, that all hope is lost and I fear it won't take much longer, before he succeeds. While doing so he also charges the Crystal-Heart with dark emotions. If I'd give in to him, he would be able to gain control over the Crystal-Heart, which will not only multiply his current power, he will also destroy the only way to beat him. He wasn't able to corrupt me yet, since I still have faith in you, Flare!"

"In me?! Why? Shouldn't you talk to the Element of Kindness or the wife of a sergeant instead? What can I do to stop this? "

"More than you may know. Don't underestimate your own strength, Flare. Of all the remaining ponies, you are the one with the strongest will. I sense a burning courage in your heart, but currently it is covered by doubt and regret. No, I am sure that you will be the one who can stop Sombra. You are my only hope, Flare."

"But-but how?!"

"Use the Crystal-Heart." She said it, like it was the most obvious conclusion.

"But I am no unicorn, I can't control it's magic in the slightest."

"You don't need to be a unicorn nor magic to use its power. The only thing you'll need is a pure heart and good intentions. As you are now, you got all this and I am quite sure the gem will sense it, too and help you to save everypony.
My vigor is fading. I am afraid, that I can't guide you on this quest much longer. But remember, sometimes you don't need the help of ponies, to....." her voice quickly faded and I was left in a sudden silence.

"Princess? No Princess Cadence, wait! I have another question!"
I yelled hoping that she will reply once more, but she didn't. It is hard to explain, but somehow my head felt quite abandoned, when her voice was gone. Along with her tender voice, the feeling of hope and happiness vanished, too, leaving me only in confusion

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes with both hoofs. Fortitude stepped near me and rested a hoof on my shoulder, looking at me concerned.

"What happened?" she wanted to know.

"It seems like Princess Cadence got imprisoned by Sombra in the Empire. She just spoke to my heart, using her special magic ... or something. She also said, that I am the only one to stop Sombra, but she didn't tell me how. She only said, that I don't need the help of other ponies... Well except you two and your foal, nopony is left to ask for help, after all."

I laughed a sour laughter. The conversation with the Princess has just raised more questions, than answering them.

"Maybe she meant someone else. Maybe she was referring to the griffons, or the dragons, or some other race?" Fortitude suggested.

"Why would they help us? Even if we can convince them, that they might be threatened in the future, it would take quite some time to contact them and then it would take even longer for them to come here. Enough time for Sombra to ravage the land and become even stronger. No, I don't think that Cadence meant them in the first place."

"What about Zecora?" Fluttershy suggested.

"She is a pony,too, ain't she?" I just replied.

"Ohh...". Her voice indicated, that she was all at sea, just like everypony else.

Still in Fluttershy's basement, I got up and paced around in circles, thinking. Both Fluttershy and Fortitude's eyes followed me while I was wandering back and forth. Minutes or maybe hours past, I couldn't tell how long I restlessly wandered around thinking about a solution.

"Hmm.... -" then it hit me.

"Did you notice a change in the behavior of your animal-friends, too?" I turned my attention to Fluttershy.

"N-no, I-I don't think so-," she replied hesitantly.

"So it seems like animals aren't affected by Sombra's curse, or that he is just too arrogant to count them as a threat." I rubbed my chin, following my though further.

"We don't need the help of other ponies, we need the help of the animals," I came to my conclusion.

"So you are saying I should send my critter-friends into battle?" Fluttershy replied upset lifting a brow. "I won't do that, they'll get smashed..."

"No not your bunnies and ferrets and stuff, I was talking about real beasts, like those living in the Everfree Forest."

"Th-the Everfree Forest?!" Fluttershy gulped, obviously startled by the name.

"Yes and that's why we need you, Fluttershy. You are the only one, that is able to communicate with those creatures. You need to convince them, to join us in our battle."

"M-me?!" she gasped.

"Yes, you are our only hope, now. Without the help of those beasts, we can't win. If we just show up at the castle all by ourselves, Sombra will send his army to stop us."

"But-but-but it's the Everfree Forest..." her eyes grew to the size of soup plates.

"Listen, Sombra has brainwashed your friends and he has killed many innocent ponies. I doubt that he will stop now. He will hunt you and your animal-friends down, if we don't do something. The more time passes, the more powerful he gets. I can't imagine how this land will look like when he is done with it. We need to take action immediately and this is the only idea I have. I can’t force you to come. If you don’t want to help me, I will go alone."

"Do you think, that you can convince them to ally with us?" Fortitude wanted to know, lifting a brow.

"I know it is a long-shot, but aren't they threatened by Sombra as well? I can't think of another way to deal with his zombie army nor the Elements."

"O-OK, I'll do it-" Fluttershy said with a thin voice. Having no better idea, Fortitude only nodded.

*****

Knowing what I was going against, I realized, the only pony that may know a way to stop Sombra, was Cadence, since she did it once before. In case the Elements of Harmony fail to stop him, Cadence was the only pony that might can. I took another look at my beloved subjects, knowing that many of them may fall, until we were able to stop Sombra's madness. It pained me to abandon them now, but I had no other choice. I then flew north, towards the Crystal-Empire, to find some answers.

It took me quite some time, but when I finally arrived at the Empire's capital, in the freezing north of Equestria, I was quite surprised to see the city being still in a good shape. I had assumed, that it got destroyed by Sombra's wrath, but no buildings were damaged and I didn't see clues for a fight. I then reached the palace itself and landed on the balcony, that was attached to the crystalline main tower. The throne-room was empty, just as expected, but I still watched out for possible watchdogs. I then spent quite some time, looking for Cadence and Shining Armor, but they were nowhere to be found.

I figured, that both of them would be locked away somewhere in a hidden chamber, assuming they were still alive, so it wasn't that easy to find them. I then was able to locate the door that led to the dungeons below the palace, but of course the door was sealed by Sombra's black magic. To unlock it, I had to use black magic on the gate, however I refused to use it, since I didn't know if that was the reason, Tia got corrupted that easily. Dark magic has always been tricky and dangerous to use and rarely came without some sort of sacrifice.

Having an idea, I summoned the energy of my moon's dark side, the same energy Nightmare Moon had used. As a result, I was able to mimic Sombra's spell, without actually using black magic. The gateway got unlocked and I was able to proceed.

Soon I found myself stepping down a long spiral staircase, entirely made of black crystal. My steps echoed from the polished walls as I was venturing deeper into Sombra's dungeon. Finally reaching the bottom of the staircase, I saw a dim greenish light at the end of a long hallway. I managed to find Cadence, imprisoned in a grotesque looking cage, made entirely of the same black crystals as the staircase. She was whispering to herself, as I entered the room. It was a large torture chamber, filled with many diabolic machines, whose only purpose were to cause pain. The room was barely illuminated by magical lanterns, which emitted an eerie greenish light. Chains and cuffs got attached to the blank crystalline walls, and while casting my gaze around I saw a table with many strange looking tools on top of it.

I also saw Shining Armor unconscious, being shackled to a circular metal construction, that forced him to hang in midair with all of his legs spread aside. His body was covered by recent poorly healed cuts, bruises and burning stigmas. The ropes and cuffs, which got attached to each of his legs and his head, which held him dangling, were soaked and encrusted with his blood from the chafed wounds. Most likely those implements, I saw on the table earlier, were used to inflict those nasty injuries to that colt, I realized. His horn was put ‘hors-de-combat’ by black crystalline shards, to prevent him using his unicorn powers, although he didn't appear to be able to use them anyway, even without those dampening shards. I then turned my attention towards Cadence, again and stepped near her cage.

"-But remember, sometimes you don't need the help of ponies, to....," she was just muttering when I approached her. When she noticed me, she interrupted her conversation with herself and looked at me surprised.

"Luna, is this you?" she asked in a doubtful tone, blinking against the gloom of the dungeon.

"Yes, Cadence, it is me. I came to rescue you." I stepped next to her cell, glad to see her being still alive.

"This is bad..." she muttered to herself.

"Huh? Why is rescuing you a bad thing?"
I couldn't believe the things I just heard. Maybe Sombra did something to her mind and she has gone crazy, as well? She wasn't in such a good shape, too. Her mane was untidy and stained with dirt, her coat messy and pale. Her whole body seemed to be drained and feeble, however she was rather unharmed compared to her tortured husband. It appeared, that she has been imprisoned for several days now.

"You don't understand. He will need you now! Without your help, he won't make it to the castle," she cried in frustration.

"He? Who are you talking about?" I asked clueless, while I tried to burst open her prison using my magic.

"That one guard you ordered to rescue your subjects. He is still following your order and tries his best-" she explained, still in a nervous pleading tone.
"You must return to Canterlot and stand by his side. He is the key to success. You can't free me anyway, since Sombra made sure, that I won't escape."

I used my magic trying to set her free, but my magic got repelled by an invisible force. I realized that I couldn't release her. She was right, Sombra took good precautions so she wouldn't break free, without him knowing. Puzzled I stared at the gloomy surface of her cage, before I turned towards Cadence again.

"If you want to help me, free Shining Armor from that wicked thing," she pointed over at the rusty metal machine, her husband was chained to.

She still looked at me with big pleading eyes and I just nodded, then dashed over to the tortured pony. Using my magic horn, I unlocked the chains and cut through the ropes, that had bound him to this evil construction. Then I used my levitation magic to carefully put him on the ground. It appeared like some of his limbs got broken, and maybe some of the bones in his torso, too. Although badly wounded, to my relief, I noticed that he was still alive. I was going to use a healing spell on him, but Cadence called:

"No, don't waste time, you must return to Canterlot, immediately! I appreciate your help, but there are more important things to do now. Go, you don't have much time left. You will need all the strength you can muster."

"But-" I tried to reason with her.

"GO!" she repeated shouting in her pleading voice.

I was quite confused, but I nodded. Then I turned around and galloped back the way, where I came from. While leaving the chamber, I heard her sad voice saying:

"My poor Shining, what did he do to you. If everything turns out well, both of us will be free again, soon. Let's pray she will get there in time-"

While climbing the stairs and running back through the hallways, I thought about that weepy guard, I had met this morning. Somehow Cadence thought, that he possessed the power to defeat Sombra. I couldn't understand what made him so special, but the tone in her voice had left no doubt, that he was quite important to her, somehow. I quickened my pace, reaching that balcony again and jumped off into the air, flying towards Canterlot as fast as I could.