Azeroth's Skies

Chapters

Displacement Sickness
A New Friend in Goldshire
Stormwind Highs and Lows
Strength and Guile
Training Days
We are now departing Stormwind City...
A Rough Day in Elwynn Forest
Disordered Travels
Buried Deep
Explanations and Examinations
Into the Deadmines, Part I: Descent
Into the Deadmines, Part II: Fall
Letters (Act I Epilogue)
Seven (Act II Prologue)
Sign Here
Sign There
We are sailing...
Valiance Keep, Part I
Valiance Keep, Part II
Borean Tundra, Part I
Borean Tundra, Part II
Aftermath
Onward To Star's Rest
Against the Blue
A Friend in Need
Azjol-Nerub, Part I - The Upper Kingdom
Azjol-Nerub, Part II - The Hunter and the Spider
Azjol-Nerub, Part III - The Traitor King
The Wrathgate Beckons
Out of Time
The City of Mages
Violet Hold, Part I: Jailbreak
Violet Hold, Part II: Cakewalk
Last Days in Dalaran
Wintergarde: Prelude to Naxxramas
Naxxramas, Part I: Breach
Naxxramas, Part II: Arachnophobia
Naxxramas, Part III: Flee and Flight
Three Days
Bereft (Act I Prologue)
Pets, Magic and a whole lot of Light

Displacement Sickness

No. Nononononononono. How can this be happening again? I wasn’t even anywhere near the mirror!

Twilight’s eyes were glued to her hands as she flexed the five appendages (What had they called them? Fingers?) attached to each one. Her gaze moved down her body, and she realised that things were different this time.

For one, the clothes she’d found herself wearing initially last time had been bookish, but flashy; still very her, though, and suited to going to high school in. This time, she was garbed in some kind of light, white cloth shirt, with a simple set of beige pants and brown boots to match. It was the kind of outfit she could imagine Rarity having a breakdown over.

Looking further, she could see that the differences were not restricted to her clothing. Last time, she had emerged through the portal as a teenager, and, as she was a young adult back in Equestria, had found this rather odd. This time, she felt a little older than before; it was hard to place, but there were definitely areas of her human body that had changed.

She pushed herself up off the ground, unsteady and off-balance. It took a few seconds of careful breathing and mental effort to resist the urge to fall back down on the four legs again, but she managed to stand on her two feet just fine.

She grimaced as remembered the first time she had stood on two legs, and how long it had taken to properly get used to it then.

Okay, so I’m human again. Breathe, Twilight. It’s going to be fine. I just have to get to the school again and wait until the portal... unless this isn't the same world—

It was only now that the Equestrian princess took a good look at her surroundings and realised that something else was different this time.

She wasn’t alone.

There were a few trees in the vicinity, deciduous firs that were just beginning to lose their leaves for the autumn. And slumped against one of them was a figure with a huge head of bubblegum pink hair…

Pinkie!

She staggered over to her friend and knelt down beside her. Pinkie wore the same kind of clothes that Twilight had on, and her head was buried in her knees. She was out cold, or at least asleep.

Twilight took her by the shoulder and shook her gently.

“Hurr… Gahh… Cinnamonchocolatefrostycupcakes!” Pinkie bolted upright. Okay, only asleep. “Woah, everything’s blurry! Hey, Twilight! What’s going on?”

Well, she’s okay. That’s a relief. But I’d better explain this carefully to her; it’s going to be a huge shock that she’s become human.

The resemblance to the mirror-verse Pinkie was there, but this one – her one – was older, with a few other minor differences too. The poofy pink hair was unchanged, however.

“Listen, Pinkie, please stay calm, but something’s happened to us.” Twilight began. “I know it’s going to be hard to accept, but—”

“Ooh, look at that cloud!” Pinkie cried, leaping up and sending the other girl sprawling onto her backside. “It’s shaped like a donut!”

Wuh? “Pinkie, focus! Wait… how are you standing up so easily? Don’t you—”

“Woah, Twilight!” The princess found herself interrupted again as Pinkie leapt back right into her face just as she had been about to stand up. “You’re human! I mean I’m guessing that you are because of how you described them after you came back from the other world, and I can’t be sure because I haven’t seen one myself before, but— OMIGOSH!” She looked down at her own hands, then down at her legs and feet.

“I’m human too? How awesome is this!”

“I wouldn’t say ‘awesome’…” Twilight muttered back. “How are you finding it so easy to walk around like that?” She can’t have done it before.

Pinkie shrugged and gave a wide grin, showing lots of clean white teeth. “I dunno.”

It’s mindboggling, just how can— No. Figuring out the enigma wrapped in cotton candy that was Pinkie Pie would have to wait for another day.

“As for what happened, I’d have to posit that it has something to do with the cyclone we were dealing with.”

“That’d make sense.” Pinkie agreed. “It was all like woosh, woosh—” She made accompanying gestures with her hands. “And we were all like ZZZZZZZAP! And then everything just went dark after that.”

“That’s all I can remember too.” Which didn’t give them much of a place to start looking for a way back home. Twilight swept her gaze around the small area of forest again. It was mostly flat ground and the going was steady, but the trees prevented her from seeing much of the land beyond. “I don’t recognise this area from when I went through the mirror.”

“Oh yeah, that was a school! So if we’re here…” Pinkie jumped around topics in her sentences so fast sometimes it was hard to keep up; even for Twilight. “Do you think the others are nearby?”

“I was thinking the same.” Twilight nodded. “I just hope they’re having the same lack of trouble you had with being human—”

She was interrupted by a loud, echoing and above all familiar screech.

“Orrrrrrr maybe not.”

They found Rarity in the next clearing over. She clearly hadn’t tried standing up yet, and indeed seemed a little too preoccupied with something else. Like with Pinkie, Twilight easily saw recognised her friend’s features translated over to the mirror-world Rarity, but again there were the same differences; her skin was still fairly pale, but not as light as it had been with the previous human-Rarity. Again, she seemed a little older.

The classic pout that Rarity scrunched her face into whenever she was sad or stressed was unmistakeable, of course.

“Rarity! We heard you scream!”

“Oh, Twilight, Pinkie, thank goodness you’re here!” She wailed as they entered the clearing. “It’s terrible!”

I hope everyone else doesn't react like this… Maybe Pinkie was the exception and not the rule.

“Yes, we’re human.” Twilight bent down and laid a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I know it seems bad, Rarity, but it could be worse.”

“No, not that, my dear! Becoming “human” as you say is unfortunate, yes, but the cause of my despair is something far more drastic!”

“Ooh, ooh, the fact that we got sucked into another world and we don’t know how to get home?”

“Pinkie…”

“Ooh, or is it that we can’t even be sure that we’re in the same world Twilight went to before and it could be someplace much worse?”

“Pinkie…!”

“Oh, oh, I know! It must be that everyone we know probably thinks we’re dead because we got caught up in a deadly dangerous cyclone of—”

“PINKIE!”

“What? Just laying it all out there for her.”

Twilight shook her head and sighed. She loved Pinkie, but the bearer of laughter could be extraordinarily insensitive sometimes.

“Those are all very bad, darling.” Rarity cut back in. She seemed little phased by Pinkie’s random tirade. “But I’m thinking of a much more immediate disaster!” She pointed down at the clothes she had no doubted appeared in, not at all dissimilar from Twilight’s or Pinkie’s. “Just look at these!”

And I did call it…

“This is an absolute fashion nightmare! Hopefully no-pony will see me in these rags…”

“I doubt you’ll have to worry about that.” Twilight said, as kindly as she could. She was eager to get back on to more important matters. “Have you tried walking yet?” She asked.

The fashionista raised an eyebrow.

“I assume you mean walking in the manner that you are currently doing so.” She replied. “in which case, no.”

“In which case you should probably try it. The others are probably scattered across this forest, and we need to hurry and find them.”

“It’s not very difficult!” Pinkie piped up happily.

“Unless you’d rather stay in the dirt, anyway…”

That did the trick.

“Good heavens, yes!” Rarity shot up, as if realising for the first time that she was sitting down in the great outdoors. She almost immediately went down again, but the princess had expected this, and caught her by the shoulders; her legs wobbled but she stayed upright. “Thank you, my dear.” She said to Twilight, then shot a glare at Pinkie, who was off in her own little world sniffing some nearby flowers. “And it isn’t as easy as it looks.”

“Give it some practice and you’ll be walking around just fine soon enough.” Twilight said, slowly letting go of the bearer of generosity as her footing and balance became steadier.

“In seriousness, though…” Rarity muttered, forcing her friend to lean in to hear her properly. “Are we truly lost with no idea where we are?”

“At the moment, I’m afraid so.” Twilight replied carefully. “But there’s always hope. We could still be in the mirror-world, or the Princesses might have some way of retrieving us, or at least finding us. We’ll just have to keep going until we know more.”

It wasn’t the most enthusing of team talks she had ever given, but Rarity nodded in return all the same. “Very well then, Twilight. I trust your judgment and your assessment of the situation. Come along now, Pinkie!” She called out in the direction that they had last seen the bubblegum-haired girl, who had popped out of sight. “We’re going to go find the others.”

“Okey-dokey-lokey!” The cheerful response floated over the wind as Pinkie bounced back into sight.

Twilight felt a little better having spoken to Rarity. Remaining calm was indeed the best approach, and they didn’t appear to be in immediate danger, which was always something good to count on. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too difficult to get the rest of the band back together.

As it was, they found Applejack and Fluttershy together, which simplified things considerably.

Both shared the style of clothes they wore with the others, and Twilight decided to assume that Rainbow, when they found her, would have the same. Both also appeared a little older, again, than their mirror counterparts – which was somewhat more noticeable with Fluttershy, though she was of course the oldest of the group. Applejack was a little more tanned, and Fluttershy a little paler.
Both were awake and conscious, and the two groups actually ran into each other instead of the one being static.

“Applejack! Fluttershy!” Twilight had rounded a tree and spotted the two about to head onto a track. Her shouted elicited a squeak from the meeker of the two, and got both of their attentions.

“Twilight, why, is that you?” Applejack called back, and the princess nodded. The two made their way back towards the others. “I reckon this is just about the strangest thing I ever seen. What on earth happened to us, hon?”

“We think the cyclone sent us to another world. We’ve all become human, just like what happened to me with that mirror in the Crystal Empire.”

“Oh, my…”

“How’s that now?”

“Well, I have a few theories as to how we arrived here, and—"

“I would suggest saving the science for when we find Rainbow Dash.” Rarity interrupted. “She may want to know, and if you say it now you might only have to repeat yourself later.”

Twilight was forced to admit to herself that it would probably save them some time.

“Somethin’ else, Twi… Why are y’all walkin’ ‘round so funny like?”

Of course, without the benefit of Twilight’s experience of humanity, both AJ and Fluttershy had been hobbling around on all fours. Or trying to, at least.

“…We’re not. This is how humans walk.”

AJ studied her three upright friends with a deep frown on her face. “Hmm. I was wonderin’ why I was findin’ it so hard to move ‘round. That explains that.”

“It’s quite disconcerting at first, I assure you.” Rarity offered.

The apple-farmer hobbled over to the closest tree and, with some care, leveraged herself up to imitate the others. Like Rarity, she was wobbly at first, but after a few minutes it was fair to say that she was already the lighter of the two on her feet.

Fluttershy was a different story. The time it took Applejack to become accustomed to her new legs was the time it took the others to convince the timid girl to prop herself up fully on her knees. Eventually, with kind words and encouragement, the others managed to coax her up all the way, but when they finally decided to move on and search for Rainbow Dash she still needed to keep an arm around Pinkie Pie for balance.

Twilight watched them walk ahead with some satisfaction, but also concern. I suppose I should be thankful we haven’t had any more trouble yet. We know so little about this world… What if it’s not as peaceful as Equestria, or even the mirror-world? Or what if this place is a sort of Everfree Forest? I just hope Rainbow’s okay…

Finding Rainbow confirmed that the entire group had received the same clothes when they had changed worlds and were older than Twilight remembered their mirror-world counterparts being, but that train of thought was not the first to run through her brain upon seeing Ponyville’s finest flyer with her head buried deep into her newfound knees.

Unlike Rarity, indeed, Dash looked truly despondent, though her mood seemed to spike upwards when her friends found her, as she joined in enthusiastically with the massive group hug initiated by Pinkie Pie.

It didn’t take too long to find everyone again. Things are looking up!

They quickly found out what was wrong with Rainbow, though.

“Twilight, you were human for a while, right?” She asked hurriedly as Twilight explained what they knew for certain, as she had done for each of the others. “Okay; how do they fly?”

“Huh?”

“Fly? Come on, you know, what I do all the time?” She cried, flapping her hands like wings for emphasis. “You must know how; you had your wings going through the mirror, didn’t you?”

“Um, no, sorry Rainbow.” The princess spluttered hastily. “I don’t know how to break this to you but humans… can’t fly.”

The bearer of the element of loyalty took another good look at her human body, especially on her back where one might expect to find wings, and, upon finding nothing, promptly burst into tears.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Five minutes later and Dash was in the same position around AJ’s shoulder as Fluttershy was holding onto Pinkie, albeit more from a despairing lack of will to get good at the situation forced by her biological grounding than actual competence.

“Do you think she’ll ever cheer up?” Rarity whispered worriedly to Twilight as the two walked slightly ahead of the others. “I mean, this could really hit her hard… She is what she is because of flying…”

“I don’t know, but I really hope so. I remember how I felt when I thought I might lose all ability to do magic…” And how I might feel again, if we are trapped here…

“Well, at least I can’t be robbed of my skills as an artiste, even if I have to wear such tacky clothing!”

“No.” The princess smiled. “You can’t lose that.”

Our magic, our flying… Our talents. They aren’t all that define us, anyway. Even if we lose them, we haven’t lost ourselves.

They pressed on through the trees until they were able to find a suitable log to rest atop; walking was becoming easier, and they were all able to do it unaided now by the time they stopped.

The grumble of Pinkie’s stomach as they sat down reminded them of one of their most immediate problems.

“Okay girls, this isn’t going to be an easy situation for any of us, so I think we need to stick to a number of priorities.” Twilight shifted easily into leader mode, and the others assented, though Rainbow with only half-hearted enthusiasm.

“First, we need the basics. Food, water – supplies – and shelter, which may be made easier by the second priority…

“Getting to know the local area and its inhabitants! The faster we do this, the faster we can succeed at our first priority, and that will allow us to concentrate more quickly on…

“Getting home!” She finished. If only I had a blackboard for all this… She had to resist the urge to ask if the others had been taking notes.

Rainbow had a hand up now.

“So why isn’t getting home our first priority? Seems like we can skip the others if we work on that early enough.”

It was a legitimate question.

“In theory, yes, but we have no idea how we got here other than that it had something to do with the cyclone, and we can’t replicate those conditions in an attempt to get back anyway. It might be that we are in the mirror-world, and we could be back home tomorrow, but I really don’t know. Until we know more, we have to focus on the short-term, which is covered by our main priorities.”

Applejack nodded, and the others assented also.

“Sounds like a plan!” Pinkie cried. “Ooh, I’ll have to start planning a ‘New World-warming’ party! It’ll be fantastic! Where to start…”

Only Rainbow remained lacking in enthusiasm – which, ironically, put her about level with Fluttershy at expressing it. “But… My wings…”

“C’mon, sugarcube.” AJ pulled her in for a tight hug. “Twi’ll have us home in no time flat! Just think of it like a challenge until we get back.”

Dash responded with a reluctant smile.

“Y-yea... I’m sure everything’ll be just fine…”

With something resembling a plan set, they tried to get their bearings, but doing so in a completely foreign environment turned out to be a nigh-on impossible task. They were at least able to work out that, all in all, they had only covered a mile in the hour or so they had been walking around… but that was all they could deduce.

It was still light out, but having no idea what time it had been when they arrived, they couldn’t guess how long they had left before it got dark. And that would be disastrous.

As they were getting increasingly hungry, Applejack proposed that they try something that she knew Twilight would be opposed to.

The Pinkie Sense.

“But it’s completely illogical, unscientific…” Twilight complained as they backed up to give the bearer of laughter some room. She stood still in the centre of their circle, eyes closed and apparently concentrating hard.

“Just let her do her thing.” AJ whispered back.

Without warning, Pinkie jumped suddenly into motion, beginning to spin and twirl rapidly on the spot, making strange beeps and whistling sounds.

“Oh, here we go again…” Twilight sighed quietly.

At last, Pinkie came to a stop, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again.

“Nope, sorry! Got nothing!”

“Aha!” Twilight felt vindicated while a few of the others groaned. Pinkie shrugged.

“Well, I got something, but I don’t know what it means. New body means new Pinkie sensations, right? Besides, I’d just say we should follow that smoke-trail to some kind of village or whatever there is over there!”

She pointed through the trees to where they could just about see, down a gently sloping hill, the sight of a rustic brick chimney spewing a faint cloud of smog. It was all they could make out, but it was enough.

More groans ensued.

“And why,” Twilight muttered through gritted teeth. “Did you decide not to mention this before?”

Pinkie shrugged again and smiled happily.

“Oh, I hope there’s some food there…” Fluttershy’s stomach rumbled loudly as if to illustrate her point, and she blushed.

They got a short distance closer – close enough for Applejack to take a good sniff of whatever was drifting downwind.

“Smells like bakin’ to me, now that I know what I’m lookin’ for.”

“So there is food there! Well, what are we waiting for, ladies?”

“I hope they have sweet things too!”

“Race ya, Applejack!” Some of Dash’s spirit seemed to have returned at this positive turn of events.

“Oh, it’s on now!”

“Do be careful, girls…”

Despite the urge to hurry, they all looked back to Twilight. She smiled, and nodded.

“Let’s go!”

Looks like we might be able to scratch priorities one and two off of my mental blackboard if we can get help at this little village. Twilight mused as they ran for the first time on their new, hopefully temporary legs. I wonder what it’s called…?

Had she dodged left around an obstructing tree and looked far towards a stone path, she might have caught a glimpse of a road sign answering that very question.

Goldshire.

Author's Note

Alt Titles; "Changes", "We're not in Kansas anymore"

Not the most exciting of chapters, I'll admit, but a necessary one. Next time, Azeroth will feature more prominently!

Expect Chapter 3 in a couple of days; perhaps Sunday night at the earliest. Fingers crossed!

A New Friend in Goldshire

They probably could have handled running, but going down a hill with the extra momentum behind them turned out to be too much. Dash and AJ tumbled over in seconds as soon as the ground shifted into a downwards slope; Rarity and Pinkie only had time to slow down because they were quite so far behind.

Twilight hurried to catch up and slid down the hill at a more measured pace, Fluttershy in her wake. “Are you girls okay?” She asked worriedly.

“Yeah… We’re fine.” Rainbow groaned as the two got to their feet and dusted themselves off. They looked dazed, but otherwise unharmed, having come to a halt just short of hitting a big, goods-laden cart.

Their position gave them a good chance to look around the village, at what appeared to be the main, cobbled stone square. A large building – probably an inn – proved to be the source of the smoke, with a slightly smaller building with a giant bellows outside of it appearing to be a blacksmith’s opposite it. A few brick houses stretched here and there beyond their sight.

“Hey!” They all froze in their tracks. “What are you doing nosying round my cart… my cart?!”

They turned to find that the voice belonged to a human man who had just come out of the inn. He hurried across the square towards them, looking a little indignant.

“Oh, horseapples.”

“What do we do?”

“Just stay calm, girls. I’ll handle this.” Twilight straightened up and raised her voice back up. “I’m sorry, we didn’t realise that this was your cart. We just came out of the forest and missed the path.”

The man had grey hair with a matching moustache and short goatee-like beard. He looked weighted down by the years and was running to fat. He chewed a small leaf, twisting and moving it around his mouth as he made his way towards them.

He squinted at them, as if having trouble seeing them properly. “I haven’t seen you folks here in these parts before. Anyone from Goldshire would know to stay out of Elwynn Forest right now. Who are you… are you?”

“I’m Prin—“ Twilight caught herself with a cough before she gave her full title, realising as she had in the mirror-world before that it would be risky to give it out to people she didn’t know in another universe. “Sorry… I’m Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends,” she said as she pointed to her friends in turn. “Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.”

“Excellent to make your acquaintance.”

“Howdy.”

“‘Sup.”

“Hiya!”

Fluttershy made a little noise that half sounded like she was trying to say hello; the other half coming out as barely more than a squeak.

The man raised an eyebrow.

“Those are some very strange names. Where did you come from?”

That question stumped them for a second. Twilight quickly tried to work out something believable to say; not an easy task, given that they didn’t know the area at all. It probably wasn’t the best idea for a few of the others to try to make up for such hesitation by all answering it all at once.

“We… fell out of the sky!”

“We got hungry, and…”

“There was this great big… animal, and—”

“We appeared in the forest…” Applejack never had been much good at spinning a story.

Twilight hadn’t thought it possible for someone to raise their eyebrow so far above their eye, but this man was apparently capable of going even higher judging by his reaction. His gaze darted across each girl – fixing on their hair (Pinkie and Rainbow’s in particular) as he frowned deeply, as if trying – and failing – to decide what to make of then.

She realised, as their stories became increasingly out of hand, that she had to act fast – they couldn’t afford to make a bad impression on the first person they happened to meet this world. But perhaps the damage was done.

“Sorry about my friends.” She interrupted their babbling hastily. “I’m afraid we’ve all got amnesia, and we’re a bit confused. We can’t remember very much other than that we were hit on the head very hard. We’re looking for some food and shelter. Would you be able to help us?”

The man just looked at them for a moment, as if trying to process all of the information at once had slowed him down. He certainly seemed to be thinking very hard about something, that was for sure. Finally, he nodded. “Alright. Come with me… with me.” He trudged off towards the inn again, and after a moment’s hesitation Twilight motioned for the others to follow.

“Amnesia? Really?” Rainbow Dash whispered incredulously as the man disappeared from view.

“I don’t think he would have accepted anything else.” Twilight replied. “Let’s just hope we can trust him.”

But what else can we do?

The inn was cosy and warm, not that it had been cold outside anyway. A door led to a backroom and a separate step of steps went upstairs. A fireplace sat in the corner and a number of benches and stools were laid out across the room in front of the bar.
Another man came up to the group as the first called him over. He had to be the innkeeper, or at least it was a reasonable assumption given the way he was polishing a glass. He looked somewhat younger than the cart-owner.

“Hello again, Remy. What’ll it be?” He asked.

“Some water, cheese and bread for these ladies please, Mr. Farley.”

The innkeeper nodded, but frowned.

“You got the gold to pay for that?” He shot over his shoulder as he went out into the back.

“Put it on Mr. Trias’s tab. He owes me.”

“What have you got on Trias?” The innkeeper’s voice came faint through the wall. He sounded genuinely curious.

“Never mind that… mind that. Just do it.” Remy, their apparent new friend, turned back to the girls. “Take your seats, ladies. I’ll be back in a minute. I just need to check on my stall… my stall.” With that, he disappeared out of the door.

They did so, and looked around. The inn appeared to be empty apart from them, or at least this main room was. It looked safe for them to speak candidly.

“We agreein’ on amnesia then?” AJ asked, breaking the silence first.

Twilight nodded. “I can’t think of anything better. Can you?”

A pause, then the others all shook their heads.

“Nah. Best if I leave all the talkin’ to everyone else then. Don’t wanna slip up.” The element of honesty decided.

“Sorry, Applejack. I know lying isn’t easy for you. Maybe once we know more about this world we can come clean, but…”

“Naw, it’s all right Twi. I know it’s necessary an’ all. We’re all gonna have to make sacrifices to get through this.”

Twilight smiled in return.

“Ooh, ooh!” Pinkie cut in, and pulled the others close to her – which meant pulling Twilight, Applejack and Rarity uncomfortably across the table. “A tender moment always calls for a group hug!”

The innkeeper, Farley, returned just as they pulled apart, carrying a board laden with a large block of cheese, some freshly baked bread and two pitchers of water, and plates that he handed around.

“Dig in, ladies.” He said as he planted it in the middle of them. “I expect Mr. Remy will be back soon. He’s always in a hurry.”

They thanked him and got to eating. It wasn’t too much between the six of them, and they weren’t full by the time they finished, but at least it took their minds and stomachs off the topic of hunger for a little while.

“Cheese might not be sweet, but it’s still deeeeeliiiiiiicious!” Pinkie opined as she consumed the last of her share.

The inn door banged open and Remy walked back in, still chewing a leaf.

“Sorry about that. I had to make sure that my stock was okay… was okay. As I reckon Mr. Farley will have told you, my name is Remy. They call me Remy Two-Times; I don’t know why… know why.” Ah, but I’m beginning to be able to make some guesses. Twilight thought.

He pulled up another seat and sat at the end of the table. It was only now that they noticed the smell of sweat and something else – probably the leaf – coming off of him; Rarity recoiled a little as he leaned forward, but fortunately he didn’t notice. “Now, lemme get this straight.

“You say you’ve all got amnesia. Now, I don’t know if that’s true,” he said, holding up a gnarled hand to forestall Twilight’s objections as she opened her mouth to speak. “But I do know that I don’t really care. You certainly seem confused or mighty stupid for wandering around the forest at the moment with all the wild animals, gnolls and all the Defias bandits running around.” Twilight had to glare Rainbow down at that remark as she seemed tempted to take offence. “Either way, I see an opportunity for a friend of mine, one that could benefit you as well. And me, as my friend’ll owe me big time. So if you’re really as lost and confused as you say… I’m bettin’ you don’t have any gold on you, do ya?”

They all looked at each other, knowing that he was right. Twilight nodded slowly.
“Well then, I’ve got an opportunity in the big ol’ city of Stormwind for you.”

First “Goldshire” and “Elwynn Forest”, now “Stormwind”. At least we’re getting some information about this world. Twilight catalogued it away in her brain for the future. They don’t sound like anything I remember from researching in the mirror-world, though…

There was a moment’s silence as the six mulled this over.

“We’re listening.” Rainbow said.

“What kind of opportunity?” Rarity asked.

“‘fraid there’s only one way way to get gold in this place, and that’s work. Well, legally anyway. Best we don’t talk about that other stuff… other stuff.”

He trailed off as a sound grew closer outside the inn. The door swung open again and two figures, one male and one clearly female, clanked into the bar. They were decked out in full metal plate armour, all shining silver and blue. They had swords holstered at their hips and shields on their backs. Both wore blue tabards etched with what appeared to be a stylised golden lion covering their chests and abdomens. They carried crested helmets at their waists and stared at Remy and the gathering with suspicion and a small amount of hostility.

“Hope you’re not up to anything illegal, Remy.” One of them, the woman, said in a loud voice.

Illegal? Is this man a criminal?

The man with grey hair shook his head quickly in response.

“Not at all, officers! Just discussing business with my new friends… new friends. We were just leaving.”

The two armoured figures seemed tempted to stop them, but ultimately moved out of the way to let them pass as they piled their plates and stood.

“Stay out of trouble, Remy.” The woman from before called after them as they left.

“Of course! Wouldn’t dream of any trouble… any trouble.” He checked around as if to make sure there were no more of the same group around, then looked back to the girls. “Sorry. You make just one mistake and the guard follow you around for the rest of your life…”

Oh, okay. Former criminal. That’s so much better.

“I like following people around! It’s so much fun getting to know what everyone’s doing!” Pinkie giggled, and Remy looked at her strangely.

“Right… Well, like I said, it’s just a little job in the city. If I know my friend, it won’t be too hard and the pay should be reasonable. Are you interested?”

Twilight looked to the others. “What do you think, girls?”

Applejack and Pinkie nodded immediately. Rarity looked a little reluctant, and Fluttershy seemed unsure, but both assented also. Rainbow, however, came right up to Twilight, close enough to whisper in her ear.

“I still think we need to work on getting home ASAP. This just sounds like a distraction.”

“It’s either this or we wander around a forest and starve without any money.” Twilight pointed out darkly, but her expression softened when she saw Rainbow’s face. She put a comforting hand around her friend’s shoulder and pulled her closer. “I’m sorry. I know it’s really hard for you without your wings. But we have to make the best of this, and I promise we’ll do everything to get back as soon as possible.”

Rainbow Dash drew back and grinned weakly, clearly swallowing a lump in her throat.

What choice do we really have?

“All right.” The former pony Princess said, turning back to Remy with as much of a smile as she could manage on her face. “We’re in.”

Remy took them out of the village, but not the way they had come from. If that way had been south, and they had gone north into Goldshire, they had started heading northeast now.

“We’ll stick to the path here; don’t wanna risk any bandit attacks.” He told them as they walked down the paved-stone road. “It’ll only take about to twenty minutes to get to Stormwind… to Stormwind.”

They continued on for a little while, passing dense foliage on both sides, broken up at one point by a quaint little cottage.

“So… this Stormwind place.” Applejack broke the silence. “Is it a big town?” Wonder if it can hold up to Canterlot.

Remy looked surprised.

“Hmm? Oh, Stormwind’s no town, oh no no. It’s a city, biggest one around as far as I know, except maybe Ironforge in the north. Capital of humanity, and of the whole Alliance.”

“Right…”

Ironforge? The Alliance? Twilight was beginning to grow concerned. Oh, there’s so much we need to learn about this world. We’re going to have to be so very careful that we don’t make a mistake and pay for it… I need to find some books to read about this world ASAP!

“Sounds like one big happy family! I can’t wait to meet everyone and throw the biggest party ever!” Pinkie jumped around happily. She really had adapted well to her new form.

“…Is she always like that?”

“No. Usually she’s bouncier.”

Their first sight of the city walls took their collective breath away.

It was partly just how the brick seemed to shine in the light. It had the appearance to be marble, but it simply couldn’t have been – the material still had that effect though. Blue cloth banners hung from the walls, proudly displaying the image of the same stylised lion as before in gold trim. Openings were built into the wall, from which men kept a constant vigil.

Two massive wooden gates sat open under an arch flanked by two tall spires, and a glinting white rock lion stood sentinel on either side of the portal.

All they could see beyond was more shining stone.

Their guide chuckled at their initial reaction. “Yep, that happens to a lot of people when they first see the city. Come now, let’s get inside… get inside.”

A few people were ahead of them, and a steady stream of people were making their way out towards them, carefully watched by four guards – two on either side – equipped similarly to the two they had seen in the inn.

“Be prepared for a lot of attention.” Remy warned them quietly as they approached the gates.

“Why?”

“Haven’t you noticed? Your hair stands out… stands out.”

True, they certainly were getting a lot of stares. Heads were turning as they walked past, and the people doing so weren’t exactly being very subtle about it. Most of the people around them appeared to have shades of black, brown, or blonde hair, with the occasional red. Not pink, purple, or rainbow. Pinkie didn’t even seem to notice the attention, or at least hid it well; Fluttershy, in contrast, turned bright red as soon as she realised it.

No matter how curious the guards were, thought, they didn’t try to challenge the group. They made it all the way across an inner bridge, flanked on both sides by a series of giant statues, to get to the inner city.

The statues were unmissable, and all adorned by a large plaque at their base. Twilight’s attention was drawn to two in particular, one of a short, bearded male, the other clearly of a lanky female with a bow and a quiver of arrows, holding a hawk up to the skies.

She approached the latter, splitting off from the group, and quickly read the plaque.

‘Ranger Captain Alleria Windrunner. Renowned Troll Hunter of Quel'Thalas. Lead Scout and Intelligence Agent for the Alliance Expedition that marched into the orc homeworld of Draenor. Presumed deceased.’ The rest was a quote, and she stopped reading there. So much information. There are clearly lots of races in this world. She thought, staring up at the woman’s distinctive, pointy ears and hawkish face. She’s not human, and nor is that short man. And what about trolls, and orcs? I really am going to need a book… Most importantly, the plaque had talked about other worlds. Maybe they can travel between them here? Maybe getting back will be that easy? She didn’t quite dare to hope.

They were stopped at last in front of another statue, and were given their biggest surprise yet.

“You’d better not be bringing any trouble into my city, Remy.” an imposing man with flaming hair thundered as he approached them, riding a…

IS THAT A PONY?

“No trouble, General Johnathon, sir. No trouble at all. Just on our way to see Mr. Trias about some cheese.” Remy said. The general’s eyes narrowed at the name, but he said nothing else. The girls simply gawked at the grey p- no, it had to be a horse, it was far too big to be one like them. It served – happily, apparently – as a mount for the bearded man in plate armour atop it.

Their eyes didn’t leave the horse even as they rounded a corner and made their way into the city proper. They didn’t notice the general staring equally as hard back at them.

Remy was asking them something, but what they had just seen had given them too much to think about. Too many implications.

They can’t just be beasts here…

What kind of world is this?

Author's Note

And there's chapter 3. Incidentally, for anyone reading this story, what's your opinion on chapter length? I've been trying to keep them to 3-4k so far (less than I'd usually do a chapter for some of my other stories, but I am churning these out faster than normal) and stopping at places where chapters seem to end naturally, but would you prefer, say, two chapters put together into one at 6k+ words?

Thanks for all the favourites, likes and comments so far! :)

Expect chapter 4 no later than Wednesday night, with any luck. Perhaps earlier, but I've got some uni work to do as well.

Next time; Stormwind! The Mane Six get some work and a place to stay. There'll also be the first hints at their character classes, too... Any guesses as to what they'll each end up as? :3

Stormwind Highs and Lows

They didn’t have to walk much further into what Remy termed the “Trade District” before he pointed at a shop and walked them towards it. It looked well-kept, from the outside at least. A hanging sign from the upper floor depicted a stylised image of a piece of cheese, and indeed looking through the windows they could see a wide variety of cheese on display.

So, they gathered, it was a cheese shop.

The rather large sign above the door was also bit of a giveaway.

“Mr. Trias is one of the most honest men in Stormwind I know… I know.” Remy told them as they approached the door. “Well, mostly honest.”

“What—”

“Just let me do the talking to begin with.”

He led them inside, and they were immediately assailed by the smell and taste in the air of the various products on offer. It was mostly pleasing to the senses, but there were a few brands that were more pungent than the rest. The shop itself was clean and tidy, if a little plain.

“Remy?” said a female voice, and a blonde-haired woman emerged from the staircase at the side of the room. Like many of the others they had seen so far in this world, her eyes darted between them rapidly, especially around their hair.

“Afternoon, Elaine.” he replied. “Can you fetch Elling, please?”

She nodded slowly and ascended the stairs again. They didn’t have to wait too long until she came back down, followed by a man that could only be Elling Trias.

His sharp black hair contrasted deeply with Elaine’s, although he wore a similar outfit that was probably some kind of uniform. Most striking about him was the eye patch he wore which completely eclipsed his right eye. He stared at them through the remaining one, his expression too blank to meaningfully interpret, but again, the lingering gaze at their hair…

“What’s this, then, Remy?” he spoke after a short silence. Twilight coughed uncomfortably.

“These are some girls I just met, who might be the answer to the little problem you told me about. I think it’s best if we have a little chat, Elling. I’ll explain everything.”

Trias frowned, and then nodded at last. Remy walked away from the girls and past him, up the stairs, as he turned to his wife. “Elaine, could you—”

“Of course.” she said briskly, and swept towards the girls. “Are any of you hungry?”

Well, we didn’t exactly fill ourselves up at the inn before…

“I’m always up for some food!” Pinkie yelled, bouncing up to the front of the group. “I’m Pinkie Pie, it’s great to meet you!”

“I can’t say no if it’s free’n’all.” Applejack agreed.

“I hope you like cheese, then…”

“I asked you about it on the offhand chance, Remy. I didn’t expect you to bring so many in…”

“It’s not just that, Elling. You’re just lucky I was able to give them that excuse, and that it’s true. I was thinking about… other things… when I brought them to you… to you.”

“…such as?”

Remy shifted uncomfortably, and Trias sighed.

“The guard won’t leave me alone, Elling, they won’t let any of my shipments get into Goldshire without a thorough check. Bad for business, it is. Real bad. But you and your connections, you could get me some breathing room.”

“I could… but why should I?”

“Because.” Now Remy smiled, and smiled deeply indeed. “Because these girls aren’t normal… aren’t normal. Just wait until you hear their names, and, I mean, just look at their hair.”

“I’ve seen stranger, ‘specially with all these draenei running around Stormwind nowadays.”

“Sure, but this is different. They just wandered out of Elwynn Forest like it was nothing. Completely oblivious, like.”

That was quite unusual, Trias had to admit.

“They claim they’ve got amnesia, but I’m not sure about that. Certainly don’t seem to know much about Stormwind, or anything, really. Could just be stupid, but I don’t know.

“I know you watch out for Stormwind’s safety still, Elling, even if you have retired. This could be a big find… big find. These girls could be very important…”

“…”

“And if they are…”

“You’ll be rewarded, fine. As you want. But I need some time to confirm what you’ve said to me. Give me a month or two.”

Remy gave him a look, and he sighed again.

“Fine. I’ll let Farley know to give you access to my tab at the inn for the time being. Happy?”

“It’ll do. And you won’t regret it.” Remy promised him, smiling as he moved towards the staircase again.

“I’d better not.” Trias grumbled, checking his watch as he moved to follow the older man. “And you’d better not blow it all on booze this time. I’ll be watching it carefully.”

The two men came back downstairs to find the shop floor empty, the door closed and a sign placed over the door saying much the same. Elaine had closed up the shop and taken the six into the back room.

“I’d best be off then… off then.” Remy held out his hand for Trias to shake.

“Not going to say goodbye?” Trias raised an eyebrow quizzically as he took the proffered hand. Remy shrugged.

“’s not like I know ‘em. Have fun, Elling. I’ll warn you now…” he added, a wry smile on his face as he walked out the door. “They’re crazy.” He let the door swing to and started to head back down the street out of the city.

Trias watched him go, shaking his head. Great… Just what have I gotten myself into now…

Some time later, Trias was pacing back and forth in the dining room, munching on a chunk of Stormwind Brie-encrusted bread. It was normally his favourite place in his shop-home, besides the basement on a delivery day. It was normally a calm place, soothing even. It felt great to relax in a chair by the fire after a hard day’s work.

Now, however, he had six young women as guests of his establishment, and he hadn’t a clue what to make of them.

They ranged from extreme to extreme, extroverted to introverted, reserved to explosive , always smiling to perpetually scowling. And the names…

Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie?

He’d never heard anything like it before – and he’d had a very interesting career.

“Let me get this straight, then,” he addressed the six, now sat around his dining table, finishing off the leftovers of the Trias’s morning meal. Elaine always made extra, bless her. “You’ve got amnesia. You don’t know where you came from, or anything about Stormwind, or Azeroth, or anything like that?”

“Pretty much.” one of the six replied; Twilight Sparkle, that was her name. “So Azeroth is this planet’s name?”

He could only sigh in response.

It was the kind of story one would tell if they had something to hide, and yet, who didn’t? Trias certainly knew that better than most.
He had nothing to base suspicion on but the sheer absurdity of their story, and their strange appearances. Remy was right, curse him. Better that they are somewhere I can keep an eye on them, really.

“All right. You’re lucky Remy brought you to me, really, as he’s right. I do have an offer to make you.”

The six looked at each other, and then Twilight answered again. She seemed to be the leader of the group. “We’re listening.”

“My son, Ben, has been training to take over some of the duties of the shop, and become, like me, a master of cheese.”

Across the table, Rainbow Dash stifled a giggle at the title. Trias chose to ignore it.

“However, just yesterday in fact, he departed for some experience of how other races in the Alliance conduct their cheesemaking. There’s a conference in Kharanos going on right now with some interesting theories about the apparent magical traits of some variations on the traditional Dalaran sharp and…” He babbled on for a little while before realising that he was close to losing half the group’s attention entirely.

“Anyway, he’s gone for a month, and at the worst possible time. Cheese is big in Stormwind right now, and Elaine and I are finding it hard to keep up with the trade demand on the shop floor and the like. What’s more, we have a warehouse at the edge of the city that we just stashed a large shipment of various cheeses in. While I would normally have my son do it, or a family friend, we need someone to watch over it… and we’re having trouble finding anyone.”

“…and that’s where we come in?” Twilight guessed correctly, brushing a strand of lavender hair out of her eyes. Trias nodded.

“Right. Since there’s so many of you I think we can use that to our advantage, too. I’d need someone to help watch the shop floor during opening hours, one to watch the warehouse or maybe two if you want to avoid getting bored, and maybe one more on standby.”

“That sounds well-organised.” Twilight nodded approvingly.

“Ooh, ooh, I’d be great at helping out with the shop! I used to work at a bakery back home!” Another of the six, Pinkie Pie, spoke up, literally bouncing up and down on her seat. It was mildly fascinating that anyone could have so much energy…

But, wait. Don’t they have amnesia?

“And you can remember that?”

Twilight’s eyes widened considerably. There was a pause, as if some of the six – perhaps the more switched on – were drawing hushed breaths.

“Yep!” Pinkie shrugged happily.

Remy was right, they’re definitely crazy. I’ll have to watch them carefully indeed. But, back to the matter at hand.

“I’d pay you all for the time you put in, and you’d be welcome to stay here and eat and drink for free; I’m guessing you don’t have anywhere else to go.” He was assuming, but assuming correctly, proven so by their swift nods. The money spent on their lodging and wages should be made up by the good season anyway. And if Remy’s right, we could be doing Stormwind more good than a little gold would demonstrate anyway. “Anyone not on duty would be free to do what they want, of course.

“So, ladies… are you interested?”

They all looked at Twilight, and she looked round at them, looking each in the eyes.

Yep, definitely the leader.

At last, she turned back to look him in the eye too.

“Mr. Trias…” she grinned. “Thank you. I believe we have a deal.”

“Call me Elling. And thank you.”

“So… we’re definitely doing this, then?”

“I didn’t say so for nothing, Rainbow.” Twilight said levelly as she rearranged her pillow. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us to get to know this world better. We’ve already fulfilled two of our three objectives! We can start looking for a way home straight away!”

“Yeah, I suppose…”

“Come on, dear.” Rarity yawned as she spoke. The day had taxed her more than the likes of AJ and Dash and Pinkie (who had surprising reserves of energy), that was clear.

They had been forced to split up into two rooms by the simple lack of space available in the upstairs bedroom, the one apparently belonging to the Trias’s son. So, Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy had gone upstairs for now, leaving the remaining three in the dining room for the evening, curled up on chairs and across a sofa with soft spare pillows and itchy blankets.

They planned on swapping over each night.

“Have a little positivity. If we keep this rate of progress up—”

“We’ll be home in no time, I get it.” Rainbow sighed as she leaned back into her own pillow. “I just really miss my wings…”

“And I miss Sweetie Belle, and Opal...” Rarity joined in after a moment.

“And I miss Spike.” Twilight finished. “And my family, Princess Celestia and everyone else. It’s them not being within reach that hurts. But we’ll get through it, and we’ll get back to them. I promise.

“Better get some sleep, girls. We start work early tomorrow…”

And so they did. Trias had them up for breakfast at six; early for Rainbow Dash to function properly, though the others, for various reasons, were accustomed to limited rest. Twilight and Rarity worked late nights and often got up early the next day; Pinkie had invariably started early to bake the day’s goods. Fluttershy was used to waking up to care for the troubles of some animal or another, while Applejack rose at the first light of dawn, if not before then, to get a good handle on the day’s chores.

The master of cheese took Applejack and Rarity off early to his warehouse at the edge of the city, promising to be back soon. Pinkie had enthusiastically volunteered to staff the shop floor first, and that mean checking the shelves and counters for any spoiled food, and replacing what needed to be replaced. Rainbow went first on standby, which meant that she could go straight back to sleep for a few more hours.

That left Twilight and Fluttershy.

“Your time’s yours for a few hours, girls. I’d make the most of it.” Elaine told the two as she tied her apron behind her and washed her hands. She was a terse woman, but not unkind.

They thanked her, and headed outside. It was still a little dark outside, but the sun was clearly starting to rise in the sky. Traders up and down the street were starting to lay out their wares. The day was on the cusp of truly beginning.

“I don’t really know where to start, to be honest… Shall we go take a look around while we can, then?”

“Um, okay…”

The two friends passed through the Trade District quickly; they had no money to spend, after all. They took the western path out, and arrived at…

“A canal system, huh?” Twilight bent down at the edge of the water-feature to examine it, as Fluttershy looked around worriedly at their empty surroundings – it was much too early for anyone to really be wandering the streets. “I wonder where they source the water from. I thought I smelled the ocean before, but it can’t just be from there. Fascinating…”

They walked on a little further, over the bridge and down another street, until they finally came to a useful sign post.

“Mage Quarter… this way. That sounds interesting. Sounds like magic is a key part of this world. I think we ought to check it out. What do you think, Fluttershy… Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy wasn’t paying attention; she was too busy staring at the sign above the first.

“The Park…” She muttered quietly, then suddenly, manically, grabbed the other girl by the shoulders.

“Gah!”

“Twilight!” She half-screeched, half-hissed. “You don’t think they’ve got animals at this park, do you?”

Well, logic suggests…

“Uh… probably?”

Fluttershy released Twilight, who rubbed her shoulders gently. The gentle girl took a deep breath… and then promptly took off running in the direction of the park.”

“I’M COMING MY FRIEEEEEEENDS~”

“Fluttershy…!” Twilight called after her, but it was futile; she was long gone. The former princess sighed and made her own way towards the Mage Quarter. I’ll never catch her now, anyway… Maybe this way leads all the way through?
Before long, she had walked through a tunnel and into the district itself. Shops boasting reagents for spells and all kinds of herbs, potions, and equipment lined the streets. Twilight passed by them slowly, drinking in as much knowledge as she could.

She found herself behind a group of three women, probably about her age (though it was hard to tell) – one was blond and the others were redheads, though one had lighter red hair than the other. Their pace was slow enough that Twilight herself had to decrease her speed, and managed to eavesdrop on their conversation quite effectively; although, at the volume at which they were talking, it was rather hard not to.

“If we reverse the Essence flows perhaps we can alter the polarity.”

“I suppose that could work, if we had twenty people to cast it with.”

“The magical wards at that point should be supported enough by the energy flux to contain the entity.”

“The resultant energies could collapse though, and that could cause the energy flux to give you a migraine for weeks.”

“Always so negative. The chances of that happening are between zero and none!”

Hang on, Twilight suddenly realised, they’re talking about…

She couldn’t help herself.

“Excuse me!” She jumped forward, inserting herself into their conversation. They turned to look at her, surprised by the interruption. “But are you by any chance talking about an essence-binding energy-capture spell?”

The three looked surprised. “We… are.” The lighter-redhead replied cautiously. Twilight was suddenly aware of their deep scrutiny; not of her hair this time, but her clothes. “But what would you know anything about that?”

“Well.” Twilight grinned, happy to have a chance to display her knowledge. “I know that you don’t need twenty people to cast it with to ensure stability if you arrange the wards in a quadratic pattern; you’d only need four. The risk of energy collapse is a problem, yes, and the results would be much worse than a simple migraine. But you could avoid that by decelerating the rate of casting and thus the energy drain, and so you’d spread the problem out over a much longer and much less dangerous period of…” She trailed off as their stares became piercing. “…Sorry. I shouldn’t have interrupted. I’ll be on my way.”

She turned to go quickly, but a hurried shout from one of the girls stopped her.

“Wait!” They cried, and she turned back. “We hadn’t thought of that before, but…”

“You’re almost certainly right!”

“She’s definitely right!” The last girl corrected. “That explains everything!”

“But, how could you possibly know that? We’ve never seen you at any of Malin’s lessons before… which family do you come from?”

“Uh…” She wracked her brains for a good excuse, but was saved the trouble as another of the girls pulled impatiently at the first’s shoulder.

“Never mind that, we’ll be late for Malin’s lesson! You!” She barked, jabbing a finger at Twilight and causing her to jump a little. “You’re amazing!”

Twilight blushed, hard, but before she could reply she was grabbed by the arm by the blonde.

“You’re coming with us to meet Archmage Malin, new BFF!” She giggled, and the other two swiftly joined her in dragging the lavender-haired woman through the streets of the Mage Quarter.

Still blushing, Twilight had no idea what to think as she was pulled away.

Fluttershy found the entrance to the park without too much trouble. Breathless, she paused to catch it before heading inside through the tunnel.

Oops, she thought as she looked back and realised that Twilight was nowhere to be found. I guess I ran too fast and got away from her. But the animals…

She was a little worried about being on her own, but found strength in the knowledge that she would get to make some new friends soon enough. She missed Angel and the others already. I hope they’re being looked after.

She followed the spiralling path up and came to the edge of a raised platform, where, to her delight, sat a wondrous gathering of animals around a large, odd-looking cat of a species she didn’t recognise. Flanking the cat were two people, a male and a female – but they clearly weren’t human; at least not like any she’d seen yet. The pointy ears and bright glowing eyes gave that away, and they were much taller besides.

They seemed to have such an excellent connection with nature, though. She watched them scatter seeds and another little treats to the squirrels, the cats, the dogs and the little birds arrayed around them. She desperately wanted to join them up on the platform.
Fluttershy took another step forward…

…and tripped, landing hard, face-first on the brick of the platform and knocking herself out.

She came to moments later, dazed and confused, but quickly realised what she had just done.

Her fall had spooked all of the little creatures, who had backed away and retreated up trees and other high places. The two non-humans were shouting at her in a language she couldn’t understand.

Worst of all, the cat growled at her and changed, right in front of her eyes, into another of the tall not-humans, who joined the others in angrily remonstrating with her.

With no idea what to make of any of this, and shamed by the disruption she had accidentally caused, Fluttershy hurriedly fled back the way she had come, tears stinging her face as they leapt from her eyes.

Author's Note

There's chapter 4, and I'm sure you can now guess, as most have have already, that Twilight's class is going to be Mage! But Fluttershy won't be a Druid, I'm afraid... so where could she end up instead? Keep those guesses coming!

Sorry about the delay in this one, btw; I've had and will continue to have have for the next week and a bit a significant amount of university work to do. I'll do my best to get chapter 5 out to you over the weekend if I can.

Also, thanks for all the comments and favourites so far! :)

Strength and Guile

Applejack wandered through the streets, drinking in the sights and sounds as she drifted around the districts and canals. She didn’t much like the big city. Stormwind reminded her of Canterlot, and she had always felt the latter to be stuffy and enclosed. Still, she could smell a host of familiar scents – manure, mostly – that told her that there were farms nearby, probably even in Elwynn Forest
.
She figured she’d kill some time with a little exploring of their new environment until she had to work at the shop. Watching over the warehouse had been boring and entirely uneventful, save for Rarity’s ability to yammer away incessantly about anything and everything, which had just been annoying.

Trees lined the canals, and she quickly realised that several were apple trees. The apples were ripe and fresh for picking, and a number had indeed fallen from the tree already. She picked one of those up and bit deep enjoying the juicy flesh of the fruit and stripping it to the core.

Not as good as an Apple Family apple, but passable.

It brought her thoughts back to her family, to stoic Big Mac, to venerable ol’ Granny Smith and energetic young Apple Bloom.

Barely more than a day had gone by since she had been with them before. And now I migh’ never seem ‘em again…

She grimaced and made the mental effort to push such thoughts from her mind.

It was clear how hard being swept away from home to a strange land was hitting her friends after only a day had passed; one merely had to look at Rainbow Dash to see that. They needed someone to be a rock, and Applejack knew that was her job.

No matter how much she missed and would miss her family, she couldn’t do anything for them now, while her friends were family too – in their own way –and shecould protect them here.

The ‘Dwarven District’ was closest to the warehouse, but she didn’t dally there long. It was incredibly industrial, choking black smoke filling the air. She thought about returning to the Trade District from there, but with an hour to spare she decided to look around the ‘Old Town’ .

It seemed to be the cornerstone around which the rest of the city had been built; as if the name wasn’t enough of a giveaway, the buildings and even the pavement were different. She could almost smell the history instilled in the area… or maybe that was just the sewage system.

Rounding a corner, she came upon the scene of an accident. A wooden cart had gone off the road and had lost a wheel. A man – the owner, she presumed – knelt nearby, looking frantic and muttering quickly to himself.

“No no no… If I don’t get this to the shop in time I’m going to get the sack!”

Applejack glanced down at him sympathetically as she approached. He looked very young – she didn’t know much about humans, but she had a keen eye, and the contrasts between him and the scarred, weathered Trias were obvious.

Looking carefully, she managed to spot the tall clocktower in the middle of the city from where she was, and weighed up her remaining time. Eh, yeah, won’t take me too long.

“Howdy, stranger.” she called over and he looked up. “Need a lil’ help?”

The man looked at her doubtfully. “Sorry miss, but I’m not sure you can. I need someone to lift this cart up so I can fit the wheel back on.”

She smiled tightly. “Pretty sure I can lift that for ya.”

Part of her wanted to snap back at him or just turn and walk away, but a greater part felt the need to prove him wrong.

And now I’ve gone and said I will, too. The Element of Honesty can’t let herself become a liar, no siree…

Realising that he had nothing to lose, the man shrugged and moved back to let her try.

She gripped the underside of the cart with both hands and pushed hard. Her new body had certain advantages – she wouldn’t have had the dexterity to do the same with her hooves.

She exerted more than enough force to send the cart upwards, to the great surprise of the man. He gawped at her for a moment as she strained against the mass of the cart and the force of gravity pulling it down.

“Uh… you gonna fit that wheel or what?”

“Oh! Right…” Applejack’s words jogged him back into alertness, and he scurried to fit the wheel back into place and secure it so that the cart would roll again. Her arms were starting to hurt a little by the time he had finished, but compared to half the chores she’d had to do on the farm, it was nothing.

“Y’see? Wasn’t all that difficult.”

The man flushed red with embarrassment and didn’t meet her gaze. “I must apologise, miss. I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”

“’s alright. Jus’ make sure you take kind folk seriously from now on.” She smiled politely and started to walk away.

“W-wait a second, miss!” the man shouted as he ran up to her, and she turned her attention back to him. “With strength like that, you must be a warrior, for sure! Who trained you, if I may ask?”

“Me? A warrior?” Applejack cocked her head to one side. A shock of her bright blonde hair slipped in front of her eyes and she pushed it aside. Gonna sound like Rarity now, but I really need to get m’hair sorted out... ‘s just too messy. Keeps gettin' in the way. “Nah, I’m no warrior. Got all my strength from doin’ work on the farm, ‘s all. Only times I ever really had to fight were whenever the timber wolves got a might bit rowdy or…” she trailed off as she realised that might have been giving a bit too much information.

“Well, that would explain the country accent. Westfall, no doubt.” The man nodded self-assuredly, sparing her the need to reply – and lie – then held his hand out. “My name’s Jonas Anthony.”

“Name’s Applejack.” She hesitated, then shook the offered appendage tentatively. He probably took her reluctance as a result of his earlier doubts, and paled slightly, but she bore no grudge – in truth it came down to the fact that barely a day before she hadn’t even had hands to shake with…

Guess this is just one o’ their customs.

“I do feel bad about earlier.” Jonas said. “If you aren’t trained as a warrior now, how would you feel about learning? I’m apprenticed to one of the trainers in this district, and there’s an open spot now that one of his students has dropped out.”

He looked hopeful, but the farm girl wasn’t too keen on the idea. Sure, it sounds good for some physical activity and all, but why would I need to know how to fight proper?

She tried to let him down gently. “I dunno, I…”

“I mean, I understand if you’re too busy...”

“Uh…” Darn it, I just can’t lie! “Not really, but…”

“Great! We train each day at dawn at the barracks just over there.” He motioned over to an imposing white-slab building. “I really have to get going now or I’ll be in such trouble, but I’ll see you there!” Without allowing her another word, he grabbed the cart and hurried off, leaving Applejack to stare after him in confusion.

She sighed and began making her way back to the cheese shop. "Great… just what have I gotten m’self into now?

Rarity had taken a different route back from the warehouse than Applejack; not because she didn’t want to spend time with the girl, but because the bearer of honesty had been insistent on taking the path through the “Old Town”, and one sniff deep through her nose and into the back of her throat had told the fashionista all she needed to know about that part of the city.

No – it would be much better to stay in the areas built up with such shiny marble and with streets cobbled from such elegant stone. Architecture and city-planning was obviously one of Twilight’s (many) areas of expertise, but that didn’t mean she had a monopoly over it. Rarity enjoyed it because it was an art form, an appreciation of beauty in itself, while Twilight would focus on the numbers and the technical aspects for their own sakes.

The importance of suiting clothes to one’s environment – aesthetically, but practically – was one of the tenets she had clung to since her earliest days as an apprentice.

One thing she had to say in favour of being human was that they all seemed to wear so much clothing. As a pony, dresses were for formal occasions only, and most would remain unclothed outside of those situations. But humans… everyone in the city was wearing something, from the working clothes worn by the Trias’s, to the heavy, sweaty armour paraded by the guards... to the filthy, disgusting rags that she found herself forced to wear now.

My first wages are without a doubt going to be spent on more appropriate attire for one of my bearing. Or perhaps a needle and some thread… I’m sure that even such dire an ensemble as this would not be too far beyond my skills.

She looked down at her hoo- her hands, and realised that she was certainly lucky, compared to Rainbow Dash, at least. It would take her some adjustment, but she would still be able to work wonders with these new, dexterous tools. They would hopefully compensate for the lack of unicorn magic that had allowed her to work before – even if she missed the familiar presence of her horn upon her head.

But Rainbow… she practically lived for flying. And even Twilight, who was trying so hard to be strong, to be the leader, would no doubt take the loss of her horn much harder once the situation began to normalise.

So I must do my utmost not to break down group morale. Rarity resolved. I will just have to make this sad situation work for me until we are able to go home.

Applejack had clearly had the same idea, and Pinkie Pie was… Pinkie Pie. It’s almost impossible to tell what that poor girl is thinking at any one time.

Which just left Fluttershy. The bearer of kindness had a lot of inner strength, that much could not be denied, but she would still need help in the days to come.

Her disparate movement through the city eventually took her within sight of an archway that was larger and more opulent than any she had seen before, protected by four guards with gold trim lining their otherwise standard blue-silver armour. She looked around and spotted a signpost pointing towards it that simply stated “Royal Keep”.

At last! She smiled. High society! I wonder if their ruler is as marvellous as Princess Celestia?

She started towards the looming entrance before stopping herself. Look at me… She glanced down at herself and sighed. I cannot possibly enter such a place looking as terrible at this!

It would be embarrassing. Keeping her eyes glued to the floor, she began to head back to the cheese shop.

She had barely gone ten meters however but her ears caught the sound of a snooty, pretentious voice up ahead.

‘Cultured’ would have been the very polite way of putting it.

I can’t let anyone of class see me like this, no matter how shallow they are!

Making a snap decision, she darted into a nearby alley… and almost immediately regretted it when she had to crouch behind a bin to avoid being seen.

The owner of the voice came into view, and she was just as Rarity had suspected; thin but evidently well-fed, dainty but with a nasty, pointed expression that told all about her personality. She was accompanied by a bored, rough-looking man with a sheathed sword who Rarity assumed was her guard, and an old butler who appeared very put-upon.

“What a complete waste of time! Tiffany and Cartier never have any jewels worthy of my attention! I don’t even know why I expect anything from them. Buying those diamond shoes was a mistake – I doubt they’re even real diamonds! Father had best demand that cashier be sacked, too!”

“I’m sure he will, m’lady…”

“And this fashionable bag? Does anyone at the bag shop even know the meaning of the word ‘fashionable’?”

I’m very sure that you yourself do not. Rarity thought dryly.

“…”

“And this dress? It was obviously so yesterday! Why did you allow me to buy it?! When I make an obvious mistake you are meant to stop me, you fools!”

“Yes, m’lady… Sorry m’lady…”

“In fact – throw them in the trash where they belong!”

“At once, m’lady…” Three boxes – presumably containing the dress, the shoes and the bag – were tossed clear of the woman’s shopping. They skidded across the ground and came to a halt just in front of Rarity’s hiding place.

“Now come along, Gerald. I don’t want to be late for the gala held by House Lescovar today!”

“Yes, m’lady…” The lady strutted off, followed by her tired retainers. Rarity waited for their footsteps to fade out entirely before making a move.

She hesitantly pried the first open, taking care to avoid letting it get stained by the filthy alley ground.

A quick appraisal of the flashy blue dress left her very impressed, and scornful of the girl’s idiocy. Whoever had made this certainly knew their stuff – it was good work, on par with hers back home.

The hand bag she checked next was also up to her standards, and really, who didn’t love to accessorise? She didn’t know whether it would be up to the latest trends, having nothing else to compare to, but the lady’s dismissal of it suggested to her that it was actually worth having.

She felt much the same about the shoes, and she was able to confirm that the diamonds were genuine; spending most of her life working with gems had given her a keen eye for such things. Better still, they came with a matching necklace that sparkled as much as her eyes did – even more of an opportunity to accessorise!

In fact, with all of these, I might even be able to make it into that gathering of nobles.

She looked out of the alley and eyed the archway nervously. I don’t want to get into trouble in this city, but how difficult can it be to convince a few guards?

It will mean getting dressed in this alley, though…

She weighed up her options, but it was the dress in the end that convinced her to bite the bullet and get on with it.

I’ll feel better wearing this than I will these rags… but I should keep them anyway for actual work.

She looked around to make sure that the coast was clear, then quickly set about changing.

Rarity could hardly believe it had been so easy.

All she had had to do was adopt the mannerisms of the stereotypical upperclasswomen, mimicking the brat who had gone in before her, and the guards had practically fallen over themselves to accommodate her and direct her to the gala.

She felt sorry for them – it was clear that most of the people comprising the high society of this city did not treat them very well.

She introduced herself as Lady Rarity, staying as light on the details as possible, and luckily it had paid off. She was shown through to the keep, and led down hallways and corridors, marveling at the paintings of various nobles displayed in bright blue, silver and gold.

Her luck continued when they arrived at the gala – it was clearly a grand occasion. Hundreds were in attendance, and nobody would notice one more if she played the part correctly.

And how could she not? True, she would not normally be seen as welcome by the nobles of this world, but she had attended numerous parties hosted by Canterlot’s elite. If no-one realised, everything would be fine.

Merely being there was not enough of course; she just had to admire the fashions being modeled so that she could work out the trends. Equally, she couldn’t make herself too obvious or she would risk discovery. She edged around the room, keeping a careful eye out for the glitziest designs, and would only engage in conversation if she caught the beginnings of one between two or more – with a quick smile at all parties, they would assume that she was a mutual friend of one of the others.

She managed to keep this up for nearly an hour, dancing back and forth, only talking when it came to something she understood. Gossip was an excellent currency, and by the end she was repeating the juiciest bits – those that had garnered the greatest reaction –that she had heard over the other side of the room, even if she didn’t actually understand what she was saying.

“King Wrynn hasn’t been seen for months…”

“Lady Prestor’s the power behind the throne now…”

And so on. It was all going swimmingly, and she was beginning to think she was in the clear, but...

“And who might you be, m’lady?”

Her eyes darting around, Rarity realised that she was being addressed by a man, and he was alone. More to the point, he was positively dashing. Blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a strong, developed build… She felt her cheeks flush crimson red as he approached.

But he’s human, not a stallion… this body has a mind of its own.

“Good day, I am Lady Rarity, daughter of House Erlgadin.” She bowed at the level that was deemed appropriate, and he reciprocated. The noble house she had named apparently didn’t frequent such gatherings very often; the perfect cover for her own lack of nobility.

“An Erlgadin at a formal event? That’s a rarity.” he quipped, and gave a warm smile. “Baron Lukas, of the Castervals.” It was a house she hadn’t heard mentioned yet in the room, but just nodded in response; what else could she do? “I was just admiring your hair, such an intriguing colour for a human like us.”

“I suppose that I’m just lucky.” she replied carefully.

“Your attire also marks you out as one with excellent taste. Black diamonds are in with blue this season.”

Her heart swelled at the compliment, but she hid it well. “I have a certain expertise with fine gems, and of course one mustn’t be out of step with the times.”

“Quite so.” He looked around carefully, and then leaned in conspiratorially. “In truth, I despise these gatherings. I have a set of arcane crystals that my family purchased at the last closed house auction, currently secured in a nearby cloakroom. Would you do me the favour of examining them?”

She had no idea what an arcane crystal was, but realised that the time was pressing on and she had to be back at the shop soon. This diversion might just give her the opening to slip away.

“I would be delighted to help if I can.”

He smiled and led her away from the main gaggle, out a side door and into the corridor.

He took her up a flight of stairs and through another two rooms, and she began to grow slightly concerned. Just as she began to feel that apprehension, however, he stopped in front of an unmarked, treated wooden door.

“After you, m’lady.” He gestured politely, and she walked into the room. There was no light here, the windows shrouded in thick, dark curtains, and she couldn't make out anything in it.

Just as she turned to watch the baron enter, the door slammed shut.

The time it took for her to realise she had been tricked was the same amount of time it took for her to reach the door and start banging hard on it.

“Baron Lukas Casterval, what is the meaning of this?!”

Five seconds later, she had her answer. A single light illuminated the room, not bright enough to do so completely, so it still left many shadows filling the room, but still bright enough that she could see.

“Hello, Miss Rarity.”

I recognise that voice…

She turned around to find Elling Trias sitting at a small wooden table in the centre of the room, an empty chair opposite him.

“Please, take a seat.”

“For the record ,” Trias said, keeping his voice very level. Razor-sharp level. “There is no House Casterval. Any true member of the Stormwind nobility would know that.”

Rarity could hear her heart beating inside her chest. Her lips had gone incredibly dry but she had at least managed to avoid breaking into a sweat. She kept her breathing as measured as possible; hyperventilating now would do no good.

“Up until then, you were doing very well. Keeping yourself out of the way, finding out as much as possible… You’ve got the makings of an excellent spy, Miss Rarity. Or perhaps a thief, if you planned on playing a very long game.

She suddenly realised that Elling Trias was a very dangerous man, and that he had probably not received his eye patch in a mere cheese-slicing accident.

“Normally, this is the point where I would ask you who sent you, what you learned, and so on – you refuse to give up, so we take… further measures.” But I haven’t got anything to say... “After that, it gets nasty.” She had to fight the urge to grip the edges of the chair.

He paused, letting it sink in. It was impossible for her not to tremble a little.

At last, he spoke again, and this time he was facing her. “But that won’t be necessary. I know you’re not a spy.

“A real spy wouldn’t bother looking around a noble gala for information, because these galas are an echo chamber. Information here is not new, and seldom is it correct, anyway. A real spy would have known to make the effort to infiltrate the military.”

She let out a breath that she hadn’t realised she was holding as he opened the curtain, filling the dark room with light, before continuing.

“You could just be stupid, but I don’t think that’s true. You showed quite some skill in going about today… you’ve almost certainly done it before, or you are at least used to mingling with the upper classes.”

He ended there, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

“So, what now?” she asked at last, feeling that he meant her to speak next.

Trias was staring intently at her, and she held the stare.

“Miss Rarity… I have work of a kind that you might be uniquely suited to. Tell me, did you hear anyone in that gaggle of fools below speak of SI7?”

Author's Note

I'm incredibly sorry for the delay. IRL has just consumed everything recently! Also, Tyranids. omnomnomnonom.

This chapter resolves everyone's class assignments. Next time we have a training montage!

Training Days

Days passed, and a routine began to emerge.

The six would get up early each day and would follow a set work rota; two in the cheese shop, two at the warehouse and two with time to spare. The work was easy and a little boring, and they either took to it well or they didn’t. But, without much else to do aside from enjoying what facilities the city had to offer, their free time would be spent either with each other, or off with those they had met in their full first day in the city.

At first, it had been out of mere curiosity, obligation or boredom for some, but the visits – in truth, the training – quickly became something they all enjoyed.

Barely a minute had passed after Archmage Malin gave Twilight written permission to enter the library in Stormwind keep before she was racing off through the crowded canals to reach it. His only instruction for her was to go and read up as much as she wanted that day, and she planned on doing just that.

She handed the signed paper to the guards at the main archway, who checked it carefully before letting her through and pointing the way. What felt like mere moments later she was standing inside the library itself, gazing up at bookshelves stacked high, at the sound of quills scratching on fresh parchment as others sought to learn.

I’m… home!

She decided to begin at world history, and found the newest edition of a general account that she could. The cover advertised that it was ‘updated to include the history of our allies and the recent expedition into Outland’.

It took her a day to get through all of it, and though by the end she could comfortably say that she now had a general idea about Azeroth, she was still left with more questions than answers.

It didn’t help that the book was written for a scholar in the library, and assumed a certain level of basic – or sometimes even specialist – knowledge about many subjects that she as a newcomer simply didn’t have. So, to solve this, she branched out, one area at a time.

Delving into a thesis on world politics, she learned more about the history of the Alliance, from its early beginnings between the humans of Lordaeron and the high elves of Quel’thalas to its current formation including the dwarves, gnomes, night elves and the newly-inducted draenei of another world. She wondered if perhaps these blue-skinned aliens might be able to help them get home, but their travels had taken place across space, not between alternate universes as she still assumed her group had done. True, we must have also travelled through space - this place isn't anything like Equestria, not like Canterlot High was... but we have transformed into humans like I did before, so we must have also crossed into another universe! Unless it's the magic that matters... maybe the magic of the mirror and the magic of the storm are connected somehow?

Putting aside those theories for now, she turned to various atlases to build up a picture of the world, on scales both large and small – the continents, Kalimdor, the Eastern Kingdoms and the frozen tundra of Northrend. She pored over volumes with many different accounts of the borders claimed and controlled by each nation or by none.

One thing Twilight found no matter what she looked to as a source were mentions of the “Horde”.

The writers and scholars in the texts she consulted had a great deal to say about the Horde – which, like the Alliance, had gone through several iterations throughout Azeroth’s history. Some were filled with fear, others with loathing. None had a kind word to say.

Twilight frowned as she perused a work with a particularly vicious account of the aftermath of a battle in the Second War, wherein a group of orcs – who seemed to make up a permanent fixture of the ‘Horde’ much as the humans seemed to hold together the Alliance – brutalised and desecrated the corpses of their fallen enemies. She had learned a lot of skills as a librarian, and that included being able to spot bias in literature from a mile away. The condemnation was too swift, too all-encompassing to be entirely accurate. There might be some truth to it all, but much had been lost in myth and hate.

She couldn’t believe that the orcs, trolls and other members of the Horde were all evil as the books suggested – especially upon reading that they had been instrumental in saving the world from an extraplanar threat only barely addressed by the writers, as if even the mention of them conjured dread.

Indeed, she could see patterns of absence in the accounts, months, even years in the timeline where surely something must have happened but had not been recounted. If it was censorship, she could possibly understand it. Even Princess Celestia had been forced to withhold information from her citizens, even from Twilight, when it has been necessary to do so.

Ultimately, the most disturbing trend she found running throughout Azeroth’s history was one of conflict. Violence, whether just or unjust, was present almost everywhere, from pitched battles to assasinations to the ultimate desecration of the dead being forced to rise and serve evil masters.

She was no stranger to having to fight when it was the right thing to do, and sure, she had read about the wars that had plagued Equestria once upon a time, but this was different. More... widespread.

She could see it even in the magic that Archmage Malin was kind enough to teach her. Magic in Equestria was generally about making the mundane easier or accomplishing feats that would be impossible without it. There were spells of levitation, transformation… the most skilled or powerful unicorn wizards could teleport or hurl bolts of energy from their horns. Using magic to kill? Almost unthinkable.

And yet here in Azeroth, for every spell with a mundane application, there was another meant for combat. Incantations to burn, to freeze, to pummel with magical force…

She was reluctant to learn them, but did so out of courtesy to her host. She found to her surprise that they came naturally to her. They even felt good.

It didn’t help that she missed using her unicorn magic. Its absence felt like a blow to her head, never quite going away – except when she used Azerothian magic, waving her hands to perform their intricate casting methods, which gave such a rush of power when cast…

At least she could still rely on the magic of friendship, but would the rest of this conflict-ridden world be receptive to it? She knew that friendship conquered all in the end but would the six of them alone be enough to spread it? They would still be best off getting back home, she decided, and fast…. before Azeroth has too much of an impact on us.

“Really, we cannae thank ye enough, Miss Fluttershy. Yer amazing wit’ these animals - Ye’ve really turned their behaviour around, ‘specially this big ole lug here.”

The element of kindness blushed at the praise. “Ohh, I can’t take the credit. He’s such a sweetheart, really! He just needed some exercise and positive reinforcement, that’s all!”

“Well, ye’ve still done us a huge favour. Mebbe you’d like to come down to the range wit’ us, have a look at some o’ our kit as a treat?”

“Oh, well…” Fluttershy stammered. She hadn’t the slightest idea what a range was, or what it was that the dwarves wanted to show her, but to refuse – especially when she still had a lot of free time and not much to do with it. “I wouldn’t want to get in your way or anything…”

“Nonsense! Ye’d be a welcome guest!”

“Oh… I guess if you insist…”

“I assumed that this would be your favourite part.” Grayson said as he watched Rainbow heft one of the wooden two-handed training hammers experimentally.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“I’ve had trainees with your personality before, Recruit Dash. Brash, full of energy – energy given an outlet through the use of a weapon.”
She shrugged. “Sounds like you’ve got me all figured out. You been doing this a while, then?”

He nodded. “More than twenty years. I’ve trained over two hundred paladins now in service to the light and to the Alliance.”

“That’s a lot of time, but not a lot of paladins.” she noted.

“True, but paladins aren’t merely soldiers. We are guardians as well as avengers, and healers as well as warriors. The light is generous in its blessings, and the power it gives can be used in a number of ways.”

“Sounds cool.” she replied, then took a big swing at one of the dummies with the weapon.

Unfortunately, she had misjudged the weight of the weapon. The force of the heavy end of the hammer pulled her down with it, and she ended up sprawled over the floor, having completely missed her target.

Grayson tried – and failed – to supress a grin as he helped her up. “I take it you’ve never actually used a weapon like this before, then?”

Rainbow blushed. “Well, once or twice, but not like this.”

He assumed that she was referring to the exact dimensions of the hammer, but little did he know that he was wrong. She, of course, meant that the last time she had wielded a mace had been when she had had hooves instead of hands.

“First, you’ll want to have the correct grip.” He pointed out where her hands ought to rest on the weapon and she adjusted them accordingly. “Then, you’ll need to know how to swing properly. Yes, the more force you put into your attack, the harder you will hit – but you will also become more vulnerable to the enemy if you fight so aggressively, even if you don’t end up on the floor.”

“Right, correct grip, swing more carefully.” She nodded. “Got it.”

“Remember also that fighting defensively in general is often the best approach to begin with.” He went on. “A hammer may not be as quick for parrying as a lighter sword, but it is still possible to control the fight with its reach and power – especially if you are attempting to stall so that an enemy’s weakness presents itself, or until help arrives against a superior foe.

“But, I’m getting ahead of myself now. You must master the basics first!”

“Eh, shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.” Rainbow said, drawing on some of her characteristic bluster.

“Oh, really?” Grayson raised an eyebrow, smirking at her confidence. “Well, try again!”

Rarity frowned as she watched Trias sink a set of poison-coated daggers into the centre-mass of a training dummy. “I don’t know… this all seems rather… violent behaviour for a lady of elegance such as I to be indulging in.”

Their host in the city had turned out to be quite dangerous after all, but he’d still been nice to her. He hadn’t threatened her into accepting his offer to work with this ‘SI7’, but equally she was reluctant to refuse – she’d been caught spying on nobility, and they could probably do a lot worse to her than this.

Besides, what Trias had asked her to do didn’t involve much in the way of active work – just to observe and examine everything carefully. Plus, the salary he’s offered will fund such glorious designs!

Pulling them clear, the man shrugged. “Agents of SI7 must be prepared to defend themselves at all times. As an infiltrator, you wouldn’t normally be called upon to do any kind of wetwork, but we don’t live in an ideal world. Besides, we don’t need to teach you how to work your natural charm – you’ve proved that you can do that already.”

Well, she’d always known how to defend herself, especially after being friends with Twilight had meant that they had started to attract trouble like moths to the flame. This doesn’t seem too different…

“Now, you try…”

He casually tossed the daggers at her, raising an eyebrow as she screeched indignantly, fumbling to catch them.

“You realise they’re not actually poisoned, right? And they’re not real daggers, either.”

Rarity made a face but didn’t rise to the bait. She held the blunt instruments in a firm grip, trying to mimic Trias’s style.

“Close enough. Now, pounce!”

“The power to heal minor wounds is one of the most basic duties that clerics are called upon to perform, but you will find few tasks as necessary or rewarding…”

Pinkie fidgeted as her teacher droned on, struggling to pay attention. Her new robes were a tight but good fit – it was still difficult to get used to such reserved clothing having spent the majority of her life as a pony who rarely wore threads at all. Still, it made up for not having a coat of fur anymore!

Plus, they let me pick the colour! It’s a shame I couldn’t get pink, but this white and blue brings out my eyes! I think.

It was her first day actually getting to learn some of the “spells” that priests could use, and she was incredibly excited. Magic had always been Twilight’s thing, a unicorn thing, but any human could do it here if they had the potential – and apparently, she had that potential!

They’d had a few days of choir singing and “quiet reflection” interspersed together. She’d loved the former but found the latter almost unbearable. Sitting still for too long just wasn’t something a Pinkie Pie could do!

The nice man, Benedictus, was unfortunately very busy; he seemed to be in charge of everyone else. She would’ve preferred him to be her teacher, but it couldn’t be helped.

“So, to conclude; focus your positive thoughts onto the area you want to heal and pray to the light. Request, plead, but do not demand. Let the power of the light fill you and allow you to mend the wound.”

She didn’t really understand what he meant by the light – sure, she’d sung about it, and tried to think about it, and nodded vigorously whenever it was mentioned, but when they started talking about it in such dreary terms she couldn’t help but switch off.

She got the point in the end though. The light would let her cure the sick, heal the injured, make people’s lives better.

Her parties, her laughter, it was all in the name of helping people feel better, giving them the strength to get through the next day.

“Are you ready to try?” She was asked.

“Okey-dokey-lokey!”

“…indeed. Very well. Normally we would look for an injured volunteer, but Sister Aphelia cut herself on a broken metal bucket while mopping the cathedral floor this morning.”

“Oh no!”

“It is not a serious injury, but should prove something of a challenge for you to begin with.” He beckoned to a young brunette standing in the doorway, and she entered hesitantly to the sight of Pinkie grinning happily at her. “It may take an hour or so for you to invoke the power of the light, but it will become easier the more often you do it. Good luck!”

The trainer departed, hoping to relax in front of the fire with a cup of silverbloom tea for a while. He was interrupted barely five minutes later as the unfortunate Sister Aphelia came running.

“Father! Father! My cut! She healed it almost immediately! She made me laugh, I felt warm and it was gone!”

He examined the wound – or rather, where it had been, and found that she spoke the truth.

Perhaps I will have to increase the pace of her training.

“I can tell that meditation doesn’t come easily to you.” Grayson observed.

Rainbow opened an eye. “I’ll say.”

They were into the fourth hour of meditation that day and she was bored. Very bored. She didn’t regret agreeing to Grayson’s request to train as a Paladin – she had enjoyed the few hours of weapon training she had received so far – but the lack of activity inherent in this task was starting to grate.

Sitting still wasn’t a problem for her like it was for Pinkie, but sitting still and just thinking was a different matter entirely.

It didn’t help that the priests occupying the other half of the cathedral insisted on keeping every available fireplace lit, so the heat dispersed around the very well-insulated building and made it nearly as warm as a sauna. It took a lot of effort just to avoid falling to sleep.

“You sure this is necessary?” she asked, and the veteran paladin smiled.

“Absolutely. Contemplation on the three virtues of the light is a necessary part of wielding its power.”

She sighed and forced her eyes shut. “If you say so.”

“Nae, little lass, the bolt goes in tha other end of tha crossbow.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you mean like this?”

“Nae, Fluttershy. The other end, not the other way around. Tha’s it. Now, carefully take aim at the target and pull the—”

THUDUNK

“…”

“OMIGOSH, I’m so sorry! You said aim, then pull the trigger! I got it mixed up!”

“Aye.”

“…”

“Mebbe we’d better skip letting ye test out a gun, aye.”

Applejack clutched tightly at the training sword and shield she’d been given as she stared down at her assigned sparring partner for the session. He was shorter than her, short and stocky, and seemed to be having trouble holding himself upright against the weight of his armaments.

She was having no such difficulty. She was sure now that her earth pony strength, honed by years working on the family farm, had transferred over in turn to her human form.

“Listen in!” She tensed at the instructor’s command and got into the defensive, guarding stance that had been one of the first things her class had learned. She’d picked it up right away – it reminded her of how she’d once stood to take a timberwolf charge back home. Only, of course, one two legs instead of four. “Attacking partners at the ready… SPAR!”

On the command, her partner came running at her, raising his sword at a high angle to swipe down. She tensed as he came within two feet, and then charged forward as he closed in, her shield raised in opposition to his falling sword.

It jarred off with a heavy impact, sending him reeling, but Applejack wasn’t finished yet. She carried on pushing in the same motion, ramming him straight in the chest and pitching him off his feet.

The sound of a blown whistle signalled the end of the round, and she relaxed, offering a hand down to her dazed opponent, pulling him up as he accepted it with a weak smile.

The instructor came up to her as she took a swig from a bottle of water, clapping her on the shoulder. “Well done, Miss Applejack! If you want to take a break while I get the rest of the class up to your level, feel free. You’re a natural at this.”

“Heh, thanks, but no thanks. Nothin’ wrong with even more practice!”

It hurt more and more each day to be apart from her family, but she wasn’t alone in this new world, and there was enough to distract her attention most of the time.

Case in point, this training. Sure, she hadn’t been a warrior back home, but maybe it was something to consider? Certainly seems like I’m good at this stuff, anyway.

“Listen in!”

She grinned as she realised that it was her turn to attack now, and she grinned down at her partner as he nervously adopted his own defensive stance. ‘f only Big Mac could see this!

Trias sat in the middle of the room, his eyes sweeping across the shadows. “I can see you.” he called out casually.

“How?!” Rarity cried, her face becoming visible out of the darkness she had been covered by. The black leather gear she had to wear was making the task of staying stealthy difficult, but Trias seemed to have unnaturally keen eyesight. And it was chafing, too, and while black was in this season… it was still a fashion disaster. Better than the rags, though.

“Oh, I couldn’t. But are you really going to do that if someone you’re tailing outright declares that he can see the spy in the room?”

“I suppose not.”

Trias nodded. “Good. Then we try again.”

Rarity sighed and tiptoed back into the shadows.

“So this,” The dwarf stretch his legs out of the kneeling position he had adopted and beckoned Fluttershy closer to the metal contraption with a blue crystal in the centre. “This is your standard Freezing trap. Effective for almost a minute against most prey!”

“’Trap’?” she gasped, horrified. “Oh those poor little creatures!”

“Och, dinnae worry.” The dwarf chuckled. “It does nae harm whatever’s unlucky enough to get caught. It jus’ holds ‘em in place for a while so you can tame ‘em safely!”

“Oh.” she replied. “That’s not too bad. What about that one? She pointed to another trap nearby with a glowing red gem embedded in the centre.

“That ‘un?” He laughed heartily. “Oh, that just explodes if it gets touched! BOOM!”

He laughed for almost a minute before realising that Fluttershy had passed out flat on the floor.

Author's Note

Sorry for the huge delay! I've been busy at work recently, and I'm probably only going to get busier, especially once I'm back at uni - but I'll update again when I can! I've had some writer's block to deal with too, which didn't exactly help.

This ended up being a kind of transitional chapter, and it's not my best work by far, but I hope you've enjoyed it nonetheless!

Next time, we're moving things along as the six's month in Stormwind comes to an end... and they decide to go on a trip into the nearby countryside.

Alt Title: We're gonna need a montage

We are now departing Stormwind City...

The weeks finally turned into a month, and Twilight’s efforts to find them a way home were still for naught. She’d more than scratched the surface of what the Stormwind library had to offer, and was beginning to come to the conclusion that if there was a way to travel across the dimensions, it wouldn’t be found within the static confines of a city. All of the data she had gathered pointed to the fact that Azeroth was an incredibly large world, teeming with a diverse variety of species and friendly and not-so-friendly beings. As much as she would prefer the task ahead to have been easy, she suspected that the only way forward again would be to throw themselves into the unknown.

It’s weird. She thought as she carefully shut the cover of the last of the large stack of books she had assigned herself for the evening, and then yawned as she gazed up at the clock on the wall to confirm that the library was only five minutes from closing. The guard would be around soon to lock the building up. I can’t think of this place as ‘the unknown’ anymore, not after a month of living here. It’s too… familiar now.

What made the thought of moving on a little easier was that their obligation to Elling Trias was also coming to an end. His son would be returning any day now, and their work would be done. Trias had offered to put them up for a little while until they found alternative accommodation, but Twilight was reluctant to accept – their presence must have already drained away much of the profit the cheese maker would have made from their work.

The streets were quiet as she began the fifteen minute walk back to the trade district, the sun long-since having disappeared from the sky to be replaced by the stars shining in the darkness. The trade district would still be fairly busy, but no-one lingered outside in the canals at this time for long.

I’ll discuss it with the girls tomorrow. We’ll figure this out together.

Trias and his wife, as it happened, were out the next night at a special event, which gave the six an excellent opportunity to sit down and talk in private. The recent rising success of the cheese shop had not gone unnoticed by Stormwind’s elite, apparently, and the couple had been invited to an audience with Prince Anduin Wrynn himself, bringing with them samples of their product.

“They’ve only given permission for the two of us to attend.” He explained to a disappointed Rarity as he put on his coat to depart. “Besides, it’ll be a long, low-key affair. You’d probably find it boring.”

The rest agreed, though Rarity had to bite her tongue as she found herself still compelled to beg to go along. To be in the presence of the highest royalty in the land…!

Then the six were alone at last. They sat around the big dining room table and made themselves comfortable, while Pinkie distributed the food that the Trias’s had left them as snacks for the night – most of which consisted, unsurprisingly, of some kind of cheese or another.

They uncorked a bottle of wine, too. Twilight found herself appreciating the odd glass or two, though they’d all early on learned the dangers of overindulgence in the fruity liquid after Rainbow had entered a pub out of curiosity and had disappeared for a half a day before staggering back into the shop, blind drunk, at three in the morning. She’d been lucky to survive the Trias Matriarch’s wrath after that.

Alcohol hadn’t been something they’d ever had back in Equestria – it was a very exotic substance, brought over by the Horses of Saddle Arabia. It was enjoyable, but it was an example of the things – of the dangers – that they had to learn about first-hand.

She took a sip, rolling the wine around the inside of her mouth for a moment, before clearing her throat. The others fell silent to listen to her.

“Okay, girls. You all know why we’re having this meeting tonight.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said. “It’s been a month. Have you found anything about getting home?”

The princess suppressed a wince at Rainbow’s directness, but then it always had been an obvious part of her character. “I know that’s what you’re eager for me to say, Rainbow, but I’m afraid not.”

She watched her friend’s face fall, and saw similar looks of disappointment mirrored across the faces of her friends. Except Pinkie Pie, of course, who was preoccupied hunting an errant piece of cheese on the floor.

Twilight attempted to salvage the situation. “I’m sorry. But that’s not to say I haven’t made any progress. It’s clear that there’s magic in this world – I’ve started learning some myself – and from what I’ve read I’m certain that there are very powerful magical forces out there that can bend reality and perhaps even time. Perhaps one of them will be able to help us?”

Applejack smiled faintly. “So what yer sayin’ is that there’s still hope?”

“Exactly. But I don’t think they’re going to come to us.”

“What d’ya mean?”

“I think that we’re not going to get anywhere if we sit around in this city, as nice and as safe as it is to live in.” She stared around at her friends, who looked back at her with uncertainty. “I’m saying we need to get out into the world, no matter what risks we’re going to face.”

There was a pause while the others thought through the idea.

Applejack spoke first. “If you think it’s our best way forward sugarcube then I’ll all for it. Heh, honestly, I was gettin’ a bit sick o’ the city anyhow. And my friends in the Old Town were sayin’ that I should think about getting’ some experience in the field.”

Twilight nodded appreciatively, but her gaze lingered on the weapons belt the former farmer had at her side. Indeed, several of her friends had started such instruments of violence – she’d seen Rainbow heft around a heavy war hammer, and had even caught Fluttershy carefully putting away a crossbow, though the girl had looked incredibly afraid of the weapon as she had done so.

She hadn’t said anything – she could tell that her friends were enjoying the time that they spent off training with those they had met in the city, from Rainbow’s chatting about the Light with Pinkie Pie, to Applejack talking about how exciting her daily sparring had been, to Fluttershy’s gushing about the animals she had seen that day. Only Rarity never spoke about what she did outside of the shop, but that was a mystery for another day…

She now looked to Rarity, having had a feeling that the fashionista would be the most difficult to convince.

Rarity bit her lip uncomfortably and sighed. “You know how I feel about ‘roughing it’, Twilight, but if you are convinced that this is what we must do, then you have my support.”

“Leastways you won’t have much to pack this time, eh?” Applejack grinned, patting her on the back.

“Thanks, Rarity.” The princess smiled. She moved her gaze around the table. “Pinkie?”

“Taking the party on the road? Hmm…” Pinkie raised a hand to her chin. “Okey-dokey!”

At least we can rely on Pinkie always staying the same!

“Fluttershy?” Twilight carried on gently. “What about you?”

The lilac-haired woman shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, um.., I’m not keen on the danger, but I’m not going to be left behind… I’ll go with you. Maybe I’ll find an animal companion of my own?”

Applejack pulled her into a hug from one side and Pinkie Pie glomped her from the other.

“It’s gonna be fine, Fluttershy. We’re gonna look after each other, mmkay?”

“…Thanks…” She blushed nervously.

And, lastly, Rainbow Dash…

Rainbow threw her hands up in the air. “Hey, you’re the boss. If you think this is the way we get home, I’m not going to argue with that! Applejack’s right. We’ve been cooped up in this city too long as it is. And I’ve always enjoyed a bit of camping.”

“We’re all agreed, then!” Twilight smiled broadly. “Thank you, girls.”

“Don’t sweat it, sugarcube. I’m guessin’ you’ve already got some kind of plan of action, eh?”

“Sort of. I don’t think we should start off by looking for anything powerful enough to get us home. Instead, it might be better to go on a smaller expedition just to make sure we’re used to what our new bodies can do, and so we can get some first-hand experience of the world outside this city.”

The others all slowly nodded, though she noticed the hint of impatience that remained etched into Rainbow’s gaze. Still, satisfied, Twilight reached down into her bag and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. “I made a copy of a map I found in the Stormwind library. It’s of the area surrounding the city to the south and the east. I think if we head south…”

Their scheming continued into the night, and they had only just finished and climbed into bed when Trias returned. The next morning, on their last planned day of work, Twilight told him what they intended to do.

“I can’t say I advise it.” he said, his brow creasing as he frowned. “There’s been trouble in that area recently, with the Defias in particular. But if it’s what you want to do then I won’t stand in your way. You’d certainly be safer in a group of six, at least.”

“Maybe we can help!” Twilight said brightly.

He looked thoughtful. “Maybe. Just make sure you prepare properly for it. Get enough supplies for two days at least, even if you manage to make it to each stop before dark. And you’ve all made some friends in the city, haven’t you? Make sure you let them know that you’re heading out.”

“Of course!”

He nodded. “I have to say, it’ll be odd not having you around, even if my son is coming back in a couple of days. You’ve been very good at raising the profile of my business, I have to say.”

“Glad we could help!” She turned to go, having lots to organise.

“Oh, could you tell Rarity that I’d like to speak to her when you get a chance, please?”

Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker examined the war hammer that Rainbow was holding out to him, an eyebrow raised in intrigue.

“You’re sure about this?”

Rainbow nodded sadly. “I don’t want to waste your time. My friends are leaving the city for a while, and I have to go with them. You’d be better off finding someone else to wield this weapon. I’ll bring the armour over in an hour or so – it was a bit much to carry in one go.”

Grayson didn’t reach out to take the hammer. He fixed her with a steely gaze. “Haven’t you enjoyed your time training at the cathedral?”

Rainbow looked horrified. “Of course I have! Swinging at the dummies or blocking blows with a shield has been a blast! Even that meditation stuff was quiet relaxing once I got used to it. But I can’t stay here, I have to leave. I can’t keep training with you.”

The veteran paladin still didn’t take the hammer, and at last Rainbow lowered it back to her side. “But why would that stop you from being a paladin?”

Now Rainbow was confused. “You said that it takes years to train to be a paladin!”

“For most, yes. The most basic recruits.” Grayson replied. “But I think you’ve already learned many of the lessons I’ve been trying to teach you, even if your approach is a little unorthodox. About the importance of the virtues of compassion, tenacity, respect. About loyalty, in particular.” he said. “Now what you must do is find your own way to connect these things to the light, and you will be able to wield it as a true paladin.”

“So what you’re saying is…” Rainbow tried to piece together everything from his rapid delivery. “That I’ve still got a way to go?”

“A way, yes. But not a long one. And I think that this journey you have spoken about with your friends is the perfect way for you to find your connection with the light. In your own way.

“Keep the hammer, and the armour. I suspect your friends will be the key to your path towards enlightenment.” She turned, following his gaze over her shoulder to the sight of Pinkie Pie giving Archbishop Benedictus a big goodbye hug. “Look after them, and let them be your guides.”

Watching Pinkie prance around the bemused Archbishop, Rainbow decided that she did understand what her teacher meant. She reached back and slipped the hammer back into the clasps on her back.

“Thanks.”

“So, you’ve found yourself a little fieldwork, have you?” The greying archmage studied her carefully from across the table.

“Yes, sir. I believe it’s a good opportunity for me to practice the skills I’ve already learned, and get some first-hand experience of the surrounding area.”

“And maybe trigger some of the memories locked away inside your head, eh?”

The amnesia cover story. She hated lying, but she couldn’t tell the truth. “I can only hope, sir.”

Malin leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together. “Miss Sparkle, I am normally loathe to permit any of my mages studying at this tower to travel without the clearest of guidelines, no matter how naturally gifted they are.

“But you are not officially one of my pupils, even if I have been teaching you. As such, there is nothing I can do to stop you. And, I admit, in your particular case, it will likely do you a great deal of good.”

“So… I can go?”

“…So long as you tell me all about what you have learned and what you got up to on your trip once you get back.”

“Deal! I’ll go say goodbye to Suzanne and the others right away!”

“Good, you can…” he trailed off. “Ah, Emmy!”

Twilight turned to find a blonde-haried woman wearing a set of robes that matched the Archmage’s standing behind her.

“I don’t believe you two have met. Emmy, this is Twilight Sparkle, she’s been studying at the tower for the last month. Twilight, this is Emmy, my daughter.”

Twilight smiled. “It’s very nice to meet you, Emmy!”

The other woman returned the smile just as broadly, shaking her hand vigorously. “Likewise.”

Having spent one final night in Stormwind City, they set off early the next morning, as the sun rose above the clouds and a light mist that had lingered over the city throughout the night finally dissipated. They bid their goodbyes to the Trias family and departed the city, attracting a handful of curious stares along the way.

The plan was to travel south, following the road through the forest until they reached Elwynn’s border. From there, they would enter the Westfall plains, an area of arid farmland said to be the breadbasket of the whole kingdom. They would then carry on due south until they reached Sentinel Hill, a stone tower jutting into the sky that was apparently the point of Stormwind’s control over the whole area.

Twilight knew that it wouldn’t be that simple – there were bound to be distractions and diversions along the way. She expected them, perhaps even hoped for them. Every experience would give her more information about this unknown world, more things to use their advantage as they sought to get on top of it – and ultimately get home.
And, after all, how many friends did I make in Equestria as a result of chance encounters?

Each had a lunch packed by Elaine – a loaf of bread, some fruit, and, of course, some cheese. They all had one or two canteens full of water as well – thought they would be passing several water sources on their way south, it never hurt to be prepared.

Applejack and Rainbow had split the task of carrying the group’s tent between them. Twilight had been reluctant to allow it, as the two were already carrying their weapons and armour – especially Applejack, who was wearing a chest plate, greaves and carrying a metal sword and shield that she had apparently been given – but eventually acceded, as the two didn’t appear to be having any problems with the arrangement.

“Haven’t had a workout like this since I was last on tha farm!” Applejack declared cheerfully, while at the back of the group, Fluttershy looked drained with just her light pack and light crossbow.

Instead of going via Goldshire, the group went down the road for about ten minutes and then turned south. According to the map, they would eventually meet the road again and could save a good hour by doing so, landing them at their first stopover at Westbrook Garrison well before nightfall. Civilians were apparently welcome at the garrison for one night as guests, which suited them fine.

As an idea, it seemed to be working rather well, until about an hour after they set off, when something leapt out of the bushes and tried to kill them.

Their only warning was the slightest rustling of the bushes before the wolf appeared, jaws wide open.

It was just enough for Rarity, its target – she stepped out of the way with a grace borne of years of dancing as a pony.

The wolf kept coming, changing its target in one fluid motion to Pinkie, now the closest of the group, as Twilight suddenly realised what was happening and their collective cries of shock pierced the silence of nature.

But now Applejack was moving; dropping the tent and her pack to pick up speed, she charged back into the middle of the group to protect her friends.

She’d done much the same before as a pony, saving her little sister from a timberwolf by using a galloping attack. Now, she was slower, but had other advantages.

Shield first, she collided with the wolf, delivering it a glancing blow to the side and parrying a return swipe from a dirty front paw with her blade.

The group huddled closer behind Applejack, and the wolf’s eyes narrowed, sensing it had lost all advantage from the element of surprise. To their amazement, it howled and kept coming.

“Oh, don’t hurt him!” Fluttershy yelped as she saw Applejack’s sword arm rise up again.

Applejack grimaced but obeyed, pushing forward with her shield again, but the wolf was too clever to fall for that twice. It darted to the side at the last moment and delivered a painful slash to her unprotected forearm.

“Yeeeowch!” she cried, and now lashed out with her sword. “Git BACK!” She caught the wolf on the flank as it tried to hurry away, enough to graze and bruise but not to really wound. It circled them, looking for an opportunity, as a small stream of crimson began to trail from Applejack’s arm.

Twilight tried to think strategically. We need a way to slow it down, or stop it completely. Then maybe we can get away… Think, Twilight!

Wait, I’ve got it!

As the wolf rushed in again and Applejack tensed to receive it, Twilight raised a hand and muttered a word of power.

She wasn’t sure it would work, but now was as good a time as any to try this new Azerothian magic in the field!

The air in the woods suddenly, momentarily, turned cold as her spell resolved. The wild animal suddenly found itself unable to move, its feet frozen to the ground. No matter how much it pulled and strained, it couldn’t get free.

Rarity noticed Twilight’s outstretched hand and put two and two together. “Well done, darling! You’ve stopped that menace in its tracks!”

The wolf whimpered as Rainbow advanced upon it, intent on stopping it if it were to try to attack again, but Fluttershy beat her to it.

She tackled the wolf across the ground just as the spell ended and it was freed. The momentum of her jump carried them out of sight beyond the trees and shrubbery.

“Fluttershy!” The others hurried after them, fearing the worst.

The sight of Fluttershy cheerfully rubbing the wolf’s exposed belly as it happily howled and licked her face was not what they had expected to see, but it equally wasn’t a surprise.
“Guess we should’ve seen that coming.” Rainbow voiced their collective thought as they let out a sigh of relief.

“Sweetheart, you mustn’t play in the mud like that! And you don’t know where that animal has been!” Rarity said disdainfully.

“Oh, but he’s just the best!” she gushed, scratching the wolf behind its ears. “I think he wants to come with us!”

“Great.” Rainbow grumbled.

Twilight felt her breathing slow to normal, not having realised that she’d had so much adrenaline pumping around in her system during the minutes before. I guess we can be happy – we survived our first little scrape!

“Weird that it was fighting alone. E’ry’time we fought timberwolves back on the farm, they was always in a pack.” Applejack pointed out, watching the tamed wolf as she sheathed her sword and shield on her back.

“Maybe it’s something to do with the forest.” Twilight pondered as she watched Fluttershy rolling around on the floor with her new companion happily. “Or maybe it doesn’t have a pack.”

“I really oughta see to this.” Applejack realised, examining her lacerated arm. Blood was still welling out of arm. “Startin’ to feel a lil’ woozy, ‘f I’m honest.”

Twilight went to reach into the reach into her bag for the first aid kit she’d packed, but Pinkie beat her to it. “Ooh, ooh, let me!”

She coughed, clearing her throat dramatically and twirled around… only to miss the root by her feet and fall flat on her face.

Applejack chuckled. “Oh, Pinkie, yer so clumsy. Huh, wait…”

“Ta da!”

Applejack stared at her limb in amazement. “Ya… Ya healed it!”

“Yeppers! You’re welcome!” Pinkie giggled, giving her a hug.

Twilight watched the scene and took a very deep breath, dropping the first aid kit back into the bag. Pinkie Pie is an enigma. She is an enigma, and I must not try to solve her, for the sake of my sanity. For the sake of my sanity.

Well, this has already been an eventful morning – I wonder what we’ll encounter next?

Author's Note

And they're off! Got this one out a bit faster than the gap between the last two. Hope you enjoyed it!

Edit: Swapped the chapter titles over, think I'm happier with the alt one!

Alt Title: Departure

A Rough Day in Elwynn Forest

They experienced no more trouble after the unexpected wolf attack – the woods were almost even pleasant to stroll through, even if the sun had trouble penetrating the overhead canopy at times – but it was, at least, still quite a nice day.

Fluttershy’s new pet wolf wandered lazily at her side, occasionally jetting off to paw at something it had seen in the distance.

She decided to name him (having quickly ascertained his gender) Wilder, after one of the friends she had met in Stormwind City in the Dwarven District. Now tamed, he was happy and playful, a far cry from his behaviour before.

They were back onto the road down from Goldshire after just over an hour, and were happy to discover a sign pointing down a south-west path to the Westbrook Garrison, their destination. They took a break for lunch, clustered around the nearby trees, munching on the cool cheese sandwiches and sweet apples they had been given.

They resumed their journey after a short time, when Twilight judged it to be midday, and started down the road towards the Garrison. The cobbled stone was not all that pleasant to walk down but it was better than the variable ground they would otherwise have to walk over.

“Hey, look! Someone’s coming up the road!” Rainbow suddenly pointed and they all looked ahead, where, indeed, a man had appeared from over the horizon.

“Robbed me for all I’m worth!”

It was obvious that the man was extremely distressed, but his near-complete state of undress, wearing only a shirt and some undergarments as he was, that gave earlier evidence than his speech). He was also quite clearly dazed and confused - he nearly walked straight into Pinkie Pie without seeing her.

“Disgusting animals!” the man babbled, too worked up to be able to offer them a coherent response. “The ‘gnoll king’ indeed! I’ll be taking this up with the Stormwind guard! Hogger and his hyena scum will not be allowed to get away with this! They will not have the last laugh!”

“Sir, wait-” Twilight tried, but the man was already staggering along the road, cursing and ranting away as he went, leaving the girls stunned into silence for a moment.

“He was weird.”

“Wonder what he was on ‘bout?”

Twilight looked around, as far out into the forest as she could, but the trees were too thickly packed to give her much insight. The woods were as quiet as ever, the only exception being the rapidly fading buzz of the angry man’s voice.

“Elling warned me about bandits when we left. Maybe he was attacked?”

Fluttershy shivered at the thought, but Rainbow was unworried. “Chill out, it’s no big deal. They wouldn’t dare attack a big group like ours!”

It wasn’t ironclad logic, but it did make them all feel a little safer.

“Let’s hope you’re right. We’d best keep going.”

The road south turned out to be empty, safe and quiet – they saw not a single soul on the way down, and only the occasional deer or wolf through the trees.

At least that was the way it stayed until they came to a small wooden bridge crossing a slow flowing river.

They were about to step across when Wilder tensed up and barked, eyes darting around as he swept his gaze to their right. The reason for his sudden agitation became obvious when two tall figures came sloping out from the shadows at the side of the bridge.

They had brown fur and tiny, angry eyes, powerful-looking teeth and expressions that took cackling to the point of a grimace. They glared angrily at the party as they approached.

And yet…

The creatures were animalistic, sure, but the predator’s cunning in their eyes and the way they held themselves spoke to Twilight of more than just feral intelligence.

“You… on our land! Get out! Leave!” one of them barked, proving her right. They can speak Common! She’d read about the language ubiquitous throughout Azeroth that she and her friends had all suddenly found themselves able to speak – either that or perhaps Common was exactly the same as Equestrian anyway.

Wait… Hyena-like features, aggressive towards those they feel are encroaching on their territory… these must be the gnolls that the man from before was talking about!

Maybe I can reason with them...

She raised her hands up high as a non-threatening gesture and took a slow, conciliatory movement forward, but Rainbow stepped up first.

“Hey, buster! We’re on the road, and last time I checked, the roads are public property!”

Technically Stormwind owns the roads around here. Twilight thought, then focused onto the immediate problem. Rainbow needs to calm down. These gnolls already seem pretty angry. At this rate, they might just attack us!

Indeed, the gnolls were tensing up. Their well-muscled bodies were marred by a crisscross of scars and cuts that had become infected and had never quite healed. Rainbow clapped a second hand onto her hammer threateningly.

“Rainbow, I think we should back off.” Twilight whispered hurriedly, tugging at her friend’s arm. “This could escalate into some serious violence!”

Rainbow looked at her, eyes narrowed, pupils wide from the adrenaline rush she was experiencing from the tense situation.

“So?”

With a bestial roar, the gnolls threw themselves at the group, teeth bared and clawed hands whirling their poorly maintained weapons.

Rarity backed off immediately, hissing something derogatory about the filthy brutes. Rainbow stood her ground in front of Twilight and Pinkie as the gnolls charged, joined shortly after by Applejack, shield to the fore.

Fluttershy screamed, and Wilder, seeing his mistress’s distress, snarled and slunk away into a nearby bush.

The gnolls came in swinging wildly. The first’s mace met Applejack’s shield, while Rainbow blocked the second’s rusty hatchet with the thick pole of her hammer.

Neither of their enemies had the skill of the weapons masters of Stormwind, that was for sure. But it quickly became apparent that what they lacked in finesse, they made up for in sheer brutality.

Even as their weapons were blocked the gnolls continued to attack, snapping for the girl’s throats or trying to claw open their bellies. Rainbow was more than quick enough to avoid the surprise lunge, easily ducking it, and the second’s attack bounced cleanly off Applejack’s chest plate.

Yet still they kept coming, swinging or biting or ripping, all while chittering a high-pitched screech, and it took all the girl’s skill to avoid the pain coming their way.

“Hey!” Rainbow groaned through gritted teeth, engaged in a test of strength having once again locked weapons with her opponent. She looked back at the group as the gnoll slowly started to win. “A little help here, guys?”

Everyone in the rear group was stunned by fear, or paralysed by indecision - except Pinkie, who twirled her way forward and stretched out her hand. “Don’t worry girls! Look what they taught me to do!”

It seemed that nothing had happened, but when the gnoll swung for Rainbow again its weapon went nowhere near her. It collided mid-air with a near-invisible barrier, which shimmered for a moment upon the contact, leaving the gnoll open for Rainbow to beat it away with a heavy swing to the side.

“Pinkie!” Twilight gaped, barely able to form a coherent sentence. “Y-you… you just shielded Rainbow with magic!”

“Yep!” Pinkie beamed. “Neat, huh? And so sparkly!”

While that was going on, Applejack was having problems of her own. Her gnoll was faster than Rainbow’s, and hit harder. She had little opportunity to counterattack as it slowly pushed her back up towards a tree.

Darn it, if this fella keeps forcing me back I’m finished! She thought as she sidestepped another attack. I gotta think o’ something fast!

Help came, however, in the form of Wilder. The wolf picked his moment carefully, leaping out at last to land a powerful bite at the gnoll’s shoulder. Blood sprayed from the wound and the gnoll cried out in pain, immediately shifting its attention away from Applejack to the smaller target.

Big mistake.

She lashed out with a heavy kick to its chest, and then followed up with a strike from the pommel of her sword to its ugly face.

Bruised, bleeding and outnumbered two to one, the gnoll saw sense, yelped and ran away.

“Yeah, tha’s right! You get outta here!” Applejack shouted after it. She nodded to Wilder. “Thanks. Yer not so bad after all.” He barked playfully, and she chuckled.

Rainbow was doing much better against her foe, but it refused to quit. No matter how many times its blows careened off of Rainbow, it stubbornly chose not to learn its lesson, allowing her to score hits with impunity. She smiled, clearly enjoying the fight.

Twilight had had enough of her toying with it.

“That’s enough, Rainbow!” She started forward. “It’s beaten, let’s just go!”

“Coulda fooled me, the way that it’s still swinging!” Rainbow shot back, and then to her surprise the gnoll was very suddenly not where she expected it to be.

It had heard Twilight speak, seen her move away from the protective weight of numbers of the group, and had come to the not very difficult conclusion that she would be an easier target.

Twilight froze as it came at her. She barely heard the shouts and screams of her friends, urging her to get away, as the gnoll closed the final few feet and raised its axe to deliver a blow that would surely end her life…

Then Rainbow appeared out of nowhere, fast as ever. She shoulder-barged the gnoll so hard it was sent sprawling to the floor.

Then, before Twilight could stop her, before she could even beg her to stop, Rainbow brought her hammer down on its filthy skull.

They walked on through the forest, careful now to keep to the road and avoid straying into the trees. Nobody spoke – each of the friends was more than a little unnerved by the little skirmish they had just been through.

“So, the map says we can jus’ keep followin’ the road until we take a right at a sign and go to the garrison, right Twi?” Applejack asked eventually, more to break the silence than anything else. She looked over at Twilight when there was no reply. “Twi?”

“Huh?”

“You okay?”

“Oh, sorry… I’m just a little distracted. Yes, that’s the way we need to go.”

Applejack nodded, and Twilight withdrew into the private war her thoughts were waging inside her head.

Rainbow killed that gnoll. She killed it. It was a living breathing thing, it was clearly sentient, sapient, and she bashed its brains out onto the floor.

She couldn’t look at one of her best friends without feeling a little sick. One of her best friends.

Killings, whether murder or in self-defence, had been rare in Equestria. Even when they had fought villains together as the Elements of Harmony, the intent had been to reform, to deny, or at worst, to contain.

Never like this. Never to kill.

Never such open, gory bloodshed.

Oh, Celestia, has this world already started getting to us?

They came to the sign at last, a clear left turn down a path leading to where they could just about spot a large, blocky stone building through the woods.

The sign should have said “Westbrook Garrison”, but had been smeared over with a gooey brown substance that Twilight didn’t even want to speculate the identity of. Instead, very simply, the sign read “GnOl land”.

So spelling isn’t their strong point. But at least we've made it to our destination!

“Look over there.” Rarity said, pointing into the woods in the direction away from the garrison.

Twilight looked, and could just about see the signs of primitive habitation. Poorly erected tents, barely worthy of being called ‘shelters’. Dim, recently lit fires.

“Wanna bet that’s where all gnolls live?” Rainbow said. Twilight grimaced at the glint of excitement in her friend’s eye.

“Would be surprised if it ain’t.” Applejack agreed.

Rainbow looked up at the sky. “We’ve got a while until the sun sets. Think we should go teach em a lesson? Maybe even find that “Hogger” the guy mentioned?”

The two nodded to each other, and set off, determined, into the treeline.

“Girls!” cried Twilight. “We can’t just—”

Wilder barked enthusiastically and followed them. Fluttershy hurried after him, too concerned about his safety to be worried about the danger.

And then there were three.

“It seems we have no choice.” Rarity said, as Pinkie Pie proceeded to bounce after the others.

Twilight stared at the fashionista, exasperated. “Rarity, not you too?!”

“I’m no more keen about this idea than you are, dear.” she replied. “But we can hardly stop them, and it would be better if we kept an eye on them. Besides, maybe we can talk this “Gnoll King” down?”

The encounter earlier that day didn’t inspire much hope in Twilight about that possibility, but what else could they do? We certainly can’t just let AJ and Rainbow charge in alone…

Sighing, she nodded. “All right. Let’s do this.”

They had the advantage of being in such a big group, six plus a fairly large wolf. A mass attack likely would have given them some trouble, but the gnolls were either not that smart, or each individual gnoll simply did not want to be the one to make the first move. Either way, they passed into the centre of the makeshift encampment unmolested, save for the dark glares and raised hackles of the inhabitants.

The gnoll that got away earlier ran this way. It must have warned all of its friends about us. Twilight realised belatedly. She turned her head back the way they had come, and found it blocked by a few of the gnolls. They weren’t acting aggressively, but the point was clear.

And cut off ahead, too. She could hear the rushing river to the east of them, straight in the direction they were heading, and from its depth earlier she doubted that they could easily cross it, especially while attempting to escape.

There was no way out. They were committed, now.

Applejack had clocked it too. “We gots no trouble with y’all unless ya want to make some.” she shouted to the watching crowd. “We jus’ want to see yer boss.”

“Yeah, get him out here!” Rainbow brandished her hammer again. Twilight couldn’t help but wince every time she did it, couldn’t help but see the image of it descending in her mind’s eye… “Unless he’s too scared to face us!”

More chitters and murmurs, then, suddenly, a sharp bark stunned everyone into silence.

A huge gnoll, taller than any they had yet seen, swaggered out of cover ahead of them. It had the most scars of any of them, and more trophies clattering around its neck than would probably be wise.

It was immediately clear that this was Hogger, and they could tell why the agitated victim had been so distressed.

Talking this through won’t be easy. If only we had the elements of harmony…

“You have one chance.” Hogger spat, throwing down an ultimatum. “Leave my forest now! Or I kill you!”

“Look, uh, Mr. Hogger.” Twilight started, drawing his attention. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you! My friends and I were hoping to talk to you today about your actions, and the problems you’ve caused some people in this forest, and whether we could negotiate a way forward that would benefit us all. What do you think?”

He stared incredulously at her for a moment before breaking out into a deep, reverberating laugh.

“You like mocking Hogger?” he snarled as he finished. “Long words… kind words?”

“I’m just saying, there’s no need to go round having your friends attacking people!” Twilight pressed. “We can find a peaceful solution to whatever’s making you do this!”
“You not know what gnoll is? We live to fight! We live to kill! Leave or we kill you, ugly mage!” He spat again, this time directly at her, though it fell well short.

Silence, calm for a moment in the forest. And then…

“All right, that’s enough of the diplomacy!” Rainbow yelled as she barrelled forwards. “No-one insults my friend and gets away with it!”

Rainbow’s haste nearly cost her dearly. She went straight in with a mighty swing to the giant gnoll’s chest, but…

Hogger caught her hammer with a single paw, jarring her arm painfully and catching her completely off-balance. So off-balance that she stood transfixed as his axe descended towards her head…

CLANG

The dirge of the grisly metal weapon bouncing off Applejack’s shield echoed across the forest. Rainbow staggered back, clutching her hammer tightly as Hogger let go, concentrating his might on the new challenger who had just charged in.

“C’mon, you overgrown hyena! Try pickin’ on someone who can take it!” she taunted. Hogger growled and swiped for her throat with his now free hand. She parried the strike with her sword and exerted enough force through her shield to knock his axe away and push him back.

“T-thanks AJ.” Rainbow spluttered as she recovered from the blow that had briefly knocked her senseless,

A furious howl signalled Wilder’s entrance into the combat, having snuck away from Fluttershy early on to flank their foe. He went in low, striking for the gnoll’s leather-protected legs. Hogger yelped in surprise and swung wildly, clattering against Applejack’s unyielding defence.

The vicious gnoll suddenly seemed to realise that three on one weren’t particularly good odds for his survival. “Get them!” he bayed loudly, calling for help from his closest minions.

Three of the braver ones answered his call, bounding towards the fray with guttural war cries.

“We can’t allow them to be boxed in!” Twilight gasped, seeing the danger. “Pinkie, you keep them safe!” She didn’t know how Pinkie’s newfound magic worked, but trusted that she would be able to use it to protect the others somehow.

“On it!” Pinkie bounced up and down and clapped her hands. Another shimmering shield appeared to stave off one of Hogger’s swipes towards Rainbow, although this one dissipated immediately; evidently the gnoll king was much stronger than his subjects.

Twilight looked around for Fluttershy, confused by her friend’s sudden absence from view, then heard a chattering of teeth and whimpering from below. She looked down to find the woman cowering beside her legs. “Fluttershy…”

Her friend shivered, on the verge of tears, and gazed up at Twilight, mortified and overwhelmed at the situation. “I’m s-so s-sorry Twilight… I’m just so… helpless. “

“It’s okay.” the mage comforted her. “Just stay next to me, okay? Rarity, we need to keep those other gnolls off their backs!”

Rarity straightened up and frowned at the oncoming trio. “I am not suited to this combat that Applejack and Rainbow Dash have become so fond of, darling, but leave one of them to me.”

“All right.” Twilight replied, surprised. She had expected having to ask Rarity to stay back, but the fashionista seemed confident that she could be of help.

Wait, where’s she gone? Where Rarity had stood seconds before now only shadows remained. Never mind, I have to help the others! She had to trust that Rarity knew what she was doing.

Looking back at the oncoming gnolls, she picked one out, the closest to the fight, and concentrated. Drawing on arcane energies, she muttered a delicate incantation, one of the first she had learned under Malin’s tutelage. It had quickly become one of her favourites, as it caused no lasting harm.

She finished the spell a heartbeat later and extended a hand out towards the chosen gnoll. Another moment, and it was no longer a gnoll, but a very confused rabbit, hopping along and chewing on the grass.

The second of the creatures made it a few more steps before stopping dead in its tracks, falling to its knees with its head hung. It was alive, but stunned, incapacitated.

Wha-? How did Rarity do that? She saw her purple-haired friend appear momentarily out of the shadows cast by the trees and wink before fading out of sight once more.
Never mind that now. All of her friends’ new abilities were mysteries to be solved another day. There’s still one gnoll to deal with…

But they had taken too long in removing the first two from the fight, and the last was too close now. She desperately ran through the spells she had learned, but few ones could be used without having a negative impact on her friends, too, and those that could…

Malin had said that she possessed a high level of innate magical power – not surprising, really, given her past. She could weave together a bolt of arcane force to assault her foes, much like she had at times in Equestria, but…

She had spent years upon years practicing those spells in Equestria. She wasn’t sure she could regulate this magic, drawn from the ley-lines of Azeroth, in the same way.

Her spells could go beyond hurting and outright kill the creature. But if I do nothing, my friends could be hurt…

She watched Applejack and Rainbow trading blows with Hogger as the last gnoll minion drew within striking distance. It felt like time had slowed down as she hesitated, frozen by her moral dilemma.

Then Applejack solved it for her, though not in a way she liked.

The blonde noticed the smaller gnoll coming for her at the last moment and shifted her stance ever so slightly as she blocked another of Hogger’s wide cleaves. In the same motion, she lashed out with her sword to the side, cutting a deep wound into the other savage’s throat.

And then, without even a pause to contemplate her actions, she threw herself back into the ebb and flow of the combat.

Twilight clapped her hands to her mouth to suppress her gasp at the sight of the body falling to the floor, and choked back some vomit as it quickly bled out from such a grievous wound.

Not again!

Meanwhile, Hogger was slowing, tiring. His experiences of brawling with the other gnolls and denizens of Elwynn Forest had left him a dangerous fighter, to be sure, but he could not penetrate Applejack’s resolute defence; whatever damage he caused, Pinkie Pie simply healed off anyway. Rainbow and Wilder kept up a constant flurry of blows and cuts, bruising and injuring him whenever he let down his guard in an attempt to overwhelm the armoured warrior, backing off whenever he turned his attention to them.

After giving it one last go, battering himself futilely against Applejack’s shield, he decided that discretion was the better part of valour and tried to flee…

…which gave her the opportunity she had been waiting for. She rushed forward, bashing him hard in the back with her heavy shield and sending him stumbling to the floor.

She then raised her sword high above his neck, a surge of adrenaline pumping throughout her body.

“Applejack, no!” Twilight cried, half-begging. “Don’t do it!”

“Hold your blade, adventurer!” A sharp voice cut across the chittering of the nearby gnolls and Twilight’s panicked plea. Applejack wavered mid-strike, bringing her sword safely down to the side of the sprawling gnoll’s head.

Everybody turned to the source of the noise, and the boom of light and sound moments before, to find…

“General Marcus Jonathon!” Twilight gasped, remembering the human knight from their first day in Azeroth, mounted on his horse.

The soldier nodded at the recognition as he rode past, flanked by two men garbed in the purple of Stormwind’s mages – evidently the source of the teleport.

Jonathon came to a halt mere feet away from Hogger, glaring down at the growling ruffian in contempt.

“This beast leads the Riverpaw gnoll gang and may be the key to ending gnoll aggression in Elwynn.” He bent down in the saddle slightly as he addressed Applejack. “To kill him would be a temporary salve for the greater issue, at best.”

Applejack nodded, and sheathed her blade, but Rainbow stepped forward instead.

“He can’t be allowed to get away with what he and his gang have done!” she cried. “That isn’t justice!”

“Quite right.” The general agreed as he straightened up again, gesturing to the mages, who moved forward. “We’re taking him into custody in the name of King Varian Wrynn.”
Hogger let out a low moan. The casters chanted briefly, weaving a web of rainbow energy that solidified into a pair of heavy looking manacles that they manipulated onto his wrists, then used to drag him into a standing position.

Rainbow was satisfied and backed down. “All right.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Finally, a solution that doesn’t involve killing! Somebody understands!
A month, even a day ago, she couldn’t have imagined a possible scenario where she would ever have such a thought. And certainly not where it was her friends doing the killing.

“Your efforts are appreciated, friends.” The general was saying. “You have stopped a great menace to Elwynn Forest this day. I will ensure that the King himself hears of your good deeds.” He turned to one of the mages. "Take us to the Stockades, Andromath.”

The three men and the bound gnoll disappeared in another bright aura of light, leaving the six ladies and the wolf alone in the clearing. There were no more chittering onlookers or keen-eyed opportunists.

They would have no more trouble from the Riverpaw gnolls, and, hopefully, nor would the people of Elwynn Forest.

That was a victory – their first in this world, she supposed. But all Twilight could think about as they trudged across the field to the garrison was that, after the events of the day, she wasn’t so sure she knew two of her best friends anymore.

Author's Note

Sorry about the delay, but quite a long one to make up for it! Enjoy!

Disordered Travels

It was midday by the time they were finally underway once more, restocked with supplies and laden with better quality camping equipment.

The six had stayed the night before in Westbrook Garrison, treated to a hero’s welcome by the platoon of guardsmen who called it home. They had heard of the defeat of Hogger and were happy to help in any way they could.

So they left, well-rested and with bellies full, and passed the border into the south-western territory, as the thick trees of the Elwynn Forest gave way to the vast, rolling plains of Westfall. From what Twilight had read it had once been the breadbasket of the kingdom, helping to feed the southern Alliance throughout the first war and its aftermath. She was aware of the recent events that had devastated the area, having read the most recently updated editions and from chatter with Archmage Malin, but that didn’t quite prepare her for the dichotomy between reality and expectation; the abandoned farms, the dust clouds bleaching the environment clean with their suction and the fields littered not with crops but with a multitude of sinister scarecrows that they decided to give a wide berth to.

Twilight kept a close eye on Rainbow Dash and Applejack as they travelled. She had read accounts of certain guardsponies – the relative few who had been forced to kill, or worse, who had chosen to kill, and had been forever changed by the experience.

Stress from such events could be long-lasting and not immediately obvious – not until months or years after the event. But still…

She’d expected some kind of negative reaction from the two. Ponies killing other living things was so uncountenanced that in all their adventures she hadn’t even considered it as a possibility until two of her best friends had spilled gnoll blood. Surely they would feel something about it.

And yet they seemed unchanged. If anything, more confident, more sure of themselves than they had been at any point since arriving in Azeroth.

And that worried the mage even more.

The thrill of combat, the love of violence, bloodlust… Ponies with affinity for such had been thankfully rare in Equestria. Even amongst those who joined the Royal Guard most took the oath to serve and protect, not because it gave them an outlet for physical aggression and more... Or at least not only for such martial appeal.

But what if it had nothing to do with their pony selves? What if it were something inherent to Azeroth, something that could stir anger and conflict in the soul? And if it has already begun to affect Rainbow and Applejack, are we all at risk?

Too many hypotheses. Too many questions. Not enough answers.

She was shaken from her thoughts by the feeling of something landing on her head. Reaching her hand to her hair, she felt the droplet of water as it was joined by another, and another, and another.

Looking up at the ominous dark cloud above them, Twilight immediately had the feeling that not only was it was going to rain, it was going to rain hard.

The wind was picking up too, which wasn’t a good sign. “We need to set up shelter, now!” she cried over it, though she was worried that their flimsy tents would do little good if the weather turned into a storm.

“Look o’er there! There’s a cabin!” Applejack cried from up ahead, pointing over a slight ridge in the terrain. They followed her gaze as soon as they caught up, and sure enough a building came into view. It was rickety-looking, but made of brick and mortar. “We can use it instead!”

The rain turned from a slight pitter-patter around them to a sudden torrent, and they doubled it in with cries of alarm to the cover of the hut.

Fortunately the door was unbolted, and the six piled into the tiny house. The first room was fairly spacious, and curiously empty, without a piece of furniture to be found – and only a few cracked, albeit not shattered, windows and a sturdier door leading to a side room for features.

“I certainly regret not packing that umbrella.” Rarity examined her freshly wet hair remorsefully. “A pity.”

“Not like camping out wouldn’ta ruined your hair anyway.” Applejack pointed out dryly.

They had been prepared to stop for the night soon anyway, unlikely as it was that they would reach Sentinel Hill from the garrison in one day. A roof over the heads, even in the form of a house as small, dusty and generally unkempt as this, was infinitely preferable to sleeping out under the stars.

They took a look around the place before doing anything else and confirmed that it was uninhabited, and that there was nothing dangerous on the premises. They had to be cautious in this world, after all.

The sun faded and the darkness rolled in as they settled down for the night, the rain a constant drumbeat. Sometimes intensifying, sometimes fading out, but never quite ceasing.

Outside, not far from their shelter, something stirred in a pit in the ground.

Its bestial intelligence took note of the lack of the light in the sky, that burning, shining light. It took note of the signs that the building, but not of the mundane kind.

The smell of human flesh, and the allure of magical energy.

It took slow, painstaking steps towards these draws, compelled by a dark instinct it barely understood.

No… it didn’t have the capacity to understand.

All it really knew was that it was so, so hungry.

“I can’t be entirely sure, not until we regain the light, but I think we’re here.” Twilight pointed Fluttershy to a small grey dot on the map, barely big enough for her to pick out with a pencil. “Which means that if we get started early enough tomorrow, we’ll easily make it to Sentinel Hill by the afternoon.”

“It’s almost a shame we brought all that camping equipment if we’re not going to get a chance to use it.” Her friend noted, absent-mindedly scratching Wilder behind his ear. “Oh… not that I would want to be out in this storm.”

Knock. Knock.

Two blasts of percussion rang out across the room, snapping them all to awareness and causing Fluttershy to jump in fright and hide behind Rarity.

“Did… anyone else hear that?” She asked hesitantly.

“Wh-whuzzgoinon.” Rainbow spluttered, stumbling out of her sleeping bag and looking towards the door.

Knock. Knock.

The sound repeated, like a booming echo across the empty room – only a room like this was far too small for such acoustics.

Unnoticed by all, the usually aggressive and lively wolf at Fluttershy’s side buried his head in his fur, deeply distressed by whoever was outside.

“Maybe it was the storm?” Rarity wondered, a tad hopeful. “Perhaps we imagined it?”

“We imagined it twice?”

Knock. Knock.

“Okay, so we definitely didn’t imagine it then.” Twilight shrugged. Oh well. There’s surely no need to worry. We might just have to explain why we’re in here if it’s the owner, and if they’re a traveller like us instead, then it would be rude to keep them out…

Knock. Knock.

“Someone’s definitely at the door.” Rainbow, the closest, stifled a yawn as she moved forward to remove the bolt. “Let’s let ‘em in so I can go back to sleep.”

Another two knocks. Heavy, pounding strikes on the creaky wooden door.

Wilder’s reaction was the first thing that hinted to Twilight that something was wrong as she finally noticed him. He was clearly unhappy at the thought of letting whoever was outside in – terrified, even.

She moved around to the right-side window and angled herself so that she could look out and see who it was…

…and then clapped her hands to her mouth in shock.

“Rainbow, stop!” she cried. “Don’t let it in!”

Rainbow looked at her strangely, confused, her hand only an inch from the bolt. “What? That storm’s terrible, and there’s no other shelter for miles around. We can’t just leave them outside. It might even be the owner!” she said indignantly, vocalising Twilight’s previous notion.

An inhuman wail cut off Twilight’s explanation, soliciting a round of screams from the girls. A gust of wind sailed in through the tiny gap in the window and blew out the candles they had managed to light, plunging the room into gloom.

Groping in the dark as their eyes slowly adjusted, Twilight carefully guided Rainbow over to the window.

“W-w-what is that?” Rainbow gaped in disbelief, her stomach churning at the figure standing outside. It had been human once, but its skin had desiccated and sloughed away in places, showing bone and greying, putrid organs. Nothing shone in its cold, dead eyes except a consuming hunger.

It lurched forward and began assaulting the door, eager to break inside and feast on living flesh.

“Oh, Celestia, it’s an undead!” Twilight shouted, struggling to make herself heard over the raging storm as the body of rotting flesh battered itself against the flimsy door and the two desperately trying to hold it in place. “I read a little about them in the Library.”

“Maybe we can talk it through? I bet I can make it laugh!” Pinkie offered hopefully, but the mage shook her head.

“No, it’s just a mindless husk! There’s no brain to negotiate with! Giggling at the ghosties won’t work this time!”

“Did them books say any about how to stop ‘em?” Applejack gritted her teeth as the door rattled again; the ghoul slowly gaining the upper hand in the test of strength against the warrior and the paladin.

“No! All the authors were terrified of them. They’re carriers of horrible diseases, and if they infect you, you can end up like them!”

“Other room!” Applejack roared, motioning with her shoulder towards the lounge. Rarity pulled Fluttershy through, and she in turn dragged the still-mewling Wilder. Twilight hurried after them as Pinkie skipped with her, supposedly without a care in the world. But Twilight knew the bearer of laughter well enough to spot the wobbling of her toes, the trembles running across her shoulders and the slightest of straightness to her bouncy pink hair to know that she was just as terrified as the rest of them.

Applejack and Rainbow followed them through, slamming shut the lounge door and bolting it roughly, but it was lighter than the first, and would last nowhere near as long.

A sharp, sudden CRACK, punctuated by the return of the pit-pat, pit-pat of rain to their ears, signalled to them that the beast was inside.

A pause. Then the pounding began anew, but this time there was nowhere else to go. Applejack and Rainbow pushed against it again, but they were still being overpowered by the brute outside.

Rainbow grunted, exhaling out the pain of the strain on her limbs. “So… now you won’t mind us using our weapons… right?”

Twilight chose not to take the barely implicit slight as anything more than Rainbow venting away the pain. “No! But against something like this, I’m not sure it’ll matter!”

The inner door gave a final creak and exploded open under the ghoul’s assault, sending both Rainbow and Applejack flying. Applejack went straight into the far wall, landing out-cold in a heap beside the others, while Rainbow managed to right herself and end up in between her friends and the door, awake and alert.

Their hunter stalked into the room, giving the rest of the group their first look at its chittering and twitching form. Long-dried blood had congealed into dark clots gathered at the end of desiccated flesh. The sound of its ragged breathing drowned out the storm outside, and the smell of festering decay immediately filled the room at its presence.

Rainbow bravely struck out at the creature with a glancing hit. It hardly seemed to feel the impact to its insensate ribcage, and reached out to claw at her with its diseased fingers. Rainbow darted back, barely staying out of reach. Even in a human body and weighed down with armour she was still the quickest of them all.

She tried again, striking for the head, but the creature merely hissed and kept coming, a shower of hot spittle spewing from its lips.

We’re all going to die here! We’re all going to die! Twilight panicked, her mind in overdrive attempting to work out a solution that didn’t exist. What hope could there be against such an abomination?

She tried to come up with some spell to save them, but the words were fumbling in her brain as it raced in panic from outcome to horrifying outcome.

“Ain’t none of my friends gonna end up like you!” Rainbow swung again, and this time did more than just irritate the fiend. It staggered backwards, yelping and clawing at the part of its flesh where it had been struck.

But her attack was no stronger or more accurate than the first, and yet it had seemed so much more effective…

“A whole month now…” Rainbow muttered quietly, and instantly Twilight saw the source of some of her previous strength. Her anger at losing her wings, her loss of purpose, her frustration at their inability to immediately return home.

“A month without flying. Do you know how much it meant to me? I soared on my wings since I was a little filly. I loved every second of it. I thought it was what defined me…”

A month of kept secrets were spat out into the air in a moment, though no-one was around to hear them. With every word Rainbow seemed to stand a little straighter, her utterances granting her fresh resolve.

The ghoul certainly didn’t seem to much care or understand. Having recovered from being stunned, it leapt towards Rainbow once more, saliva dripping from a toxic mouth, claws outstretched to rend and tear…

It was unnaturally quick and strong, but Rainbow was suddenly quicker. Faster than she had ever moved as a human before, she smashed the ghoul in the face with her hammer, breaking brittle teeth and sending it sprawling on the floor.

“…but I was wrong.” Rainbow continued, turning to glance back at the other girls, who were huddled in the corner staring at her in amazement. “Sure, it was a part of me, but that was all. Just a part. I’m awesome, whether I can fly or not. And I’m that way because, above all, I have you guys. And I’m sorry I’ve been acting like an idiot recently. I’d forgotten what matters.”

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat as Rainbow’s eyes started to glow with a light filled with warmth, a light that lit up the room and caused the ghoul to scratch desperately at its ruined sockets, recoiling from a radiance it couldn’t even see.

It made no further move to defend itself as Rainbow brought her light-infused weapon to bear and crushed the unlife from its form.

“Rainbow Dash.” Rarity huffed testily. “We truly appreciate you defeating that monster and saving us all. But let me be very clear that if you insist on telling us the story even once more I will be forced to render you unconscious until we reach our destination.”

“Pfft, you couldn’t carry me!” Rainbow shot back.

“We would find a way.” Rarity stared her down, eyes glinting with irritation, and Rainbow decided that it was not worth calling her friends’ bluff.

“…Fine. That was the last time.” she said, but as Rarity turned away, satisfied, she added in a whisper, “For now.”

They had departed early from the hut, rising at dawn for a strong start towards Sentinel Hill. They’d stayed away from where the ghoul had fallen, sleeping in the other room, but Rainbow’s attack had scoured its darkness from the world entirely, and ashes were all that was left behind.

Following the road onward gave them some success and after a few hours later – taking breaks every hour – they had made good progress down south.

Then the road had disappeared out from under them – worn away entirely from a lack of maintenance. They encountered no-one else who could give directions either, the plains quiet and peaceful.

Eventually they came upon another farmstead, and while they took a breather Twilight pored over the map in an attempt to determine where they had ended up. It looked better maintained than any of the others they had seen, but there were no immediate signs of habitation.

“Do you think it’s abandoned like the last one?” Rarity asked no-one in particular.

“I don’t think I’d like to find out.” Fluttershy whispered.

“Let’s just get back to following the bearing then and we should find the road again.” Twilight reasoned, taking out the compass. “We must have gone too far west, so if we track south-east we should come back onto it again.”

“Oi!” Something more akin to a roar than a shout as the door behind them slammed open stopped them all in their tracks. “What d’y’all think you’re doin’ on my land?!” The burly man striding towards them was undoubtedly the owner of the fields they had stumbled across and the farmhouse he had just emerged from.

“Uh oh.”

“He looks mad…"

“Quick, Twi, you handle it!”

“I’m very sorry, sir.” Twilight quickly spoke up, hands raised, apologetic, conciliatory. “My friends and I didn’t mean to trespass. We’re heading to Sentinel Hill, and we managed to lose the road.”

“It’s right over there.” He directed bluntly, adding almost as an afterthought, "And don't call me 'sir'. Name's Saldean. This is my farm." He then took a proper look at them, taking stock of their unusual appearances where in his indignation he had previously ignored them. His eyes swept from their array of multi-coloured hair to the camping equipment they were carrying.

He spat something, either phlegm or tobacco, on the ground to his side, then fixed them with an inquisitive stare. “Pretty unusual like to see city-folk this far down south. You under contract from the king?”

“No, sir." she said before she could catch herself, and hurried to continue. "We’re just doing some travelling, and thought Westfall would be the best place to start.”

“Hmmph. Dunno why you bothered. Westfall ain’t got nothin’ to offer these days.” He picked up the rake and the spade laying on the ground and stacked them properly against the side of the shed before continuing, “If you were hopin’ for hospitality we can’t help you here. Got barely enough food for me an’ the wife, you understand?

“Whad’ya grow in these fields?” Applejack cut in, interested.

Saldean raised an eyebrow upon hearing her accent and paused, appraising Applejack again. When he answered it was with a tad less hostility in his voice. “Beans, Potatoes. Okra. All the kinds of stuff that makes a real good Westfall stew. You?”

“Apples.” She answered with pride. “Leastways… I did.”

“Hmm. Not a bad way to make a living, apples. You quit?”

“Kinda. Didn’t have much choice. We had… problems with the weather.” The six shared a knowing glance.

Saldean nodded sympathetically. “Can be a killer. We’re pretty lucky for weather in Westfall. Lots of sun. Just enough rain.”

“Good harvest prospects this year? Must be about tha’ time.”

“Nope.” The farmer looked downcast. “The crops’re gonna come out good… but with these harvest golems-” He pointed out towards the tall, foreboding figures on the horizon. “-destroying ‘em all, nothing we grow makes it to the table.”

“Harvest golems?”

“Yeah. Big machines, look like giant scarecrows. They appeared outta nowhere then went haywire and started tearing the fields up whenever our crops have grown, and killin’ us if we try to harvest ‘em first.

“Tell ya what though.” He started trudging back inside the farmhouse but paused, struck with an afterthought. “Y’all look like the tough adventuring type. Some of you, at least. If you wanna earn a meal, see if you can clear up the fields. You’d be doin’ us a big favour too.”

“Nothing we can’t handle, right AJ?” Rainbow unhooked her hammer.

“I reckon you’re right, parter. Let’s get to workin’!” Applejack nodded. Neither saw Twilight’s grimace at their enthuasiasm.

“You be careful.” Saldean cautioned as he disappeared inside. “They got quite some strength to ‘em. And they’re faster than you’d think. Bloody nightmares.”

Oh, Celestia, what have we gotten ourselves into this time?

“So I guess these are the harvest golems, then.” Twilight noted. What from a distance they had mistaken for scarecrows turned out to be moving, mechanical nightmares. From the look of their sharp metal claws they would prove to be quite deadly, too.

“Never was a big fan of them fancy-schmancy machines for farming.” Applejack muttered, no doubt recalling the incident with the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. She drew her sword and charged at one of the golems.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea.” Twilight sighed. “Shouldn’t we just leave this to the militia when they get here?”

“C’mon Twi, they’re just machines! The farmer wants us to destroy them and they’ve been attacking people!” Rainbow encouraged her, then turned and ran off to the nearest golem, adding as she went, “Plus he might feed us!”

It detected her the moment she came into its threat radius and raised a bladed hand to slice her to ribbons, but only met the head of her hammer. With a brief burst of holy light flashing through her body, the paladin suddenly had the strength to overpower it, gaining the opening she needed to cave in its chest with a heavy blow and crush its power source.

The mage frowned, still uneasy. “I don’t know… we could still get hurt!”

“Don’t you worry about that Twilight! I’ve got us all covered!” Pinkie grinned, and with a twirl and a snap of her fingers she had summoned another shield to protect Applejack from her golem’s last-ditch effort to bring her down with it as it fell.

Since the encounter with the ghoul, Rainbow had been able to call upon the power of the light entirely at will, bringing the total of magic users in the group to three. Well, all six of us had had magic before, but the earth ponies and pegasi had a different, innate kind – a connection to the earth for Applejack and Pinkie, and flight for Fluttershy and Rainbow. Now, it seemed that Rarity had lost the ability to use her magic actively – but if Pinkie and Rainbow could suddenly cast their own kind of spells using this light, whatever it was, who could yet say what kind of untapped potential the others might have? And how much more could her own powers grow if she put them to use?

She wondered for a moment about studying and quantifying the light with Pinkie and Rainbow, but promptly decided against it. She had her own magic to focus on first, to relearn, and the warm, kind light was probably as mystical as the bearer of laughter’s sixth sense and would likely defy categorisation. Which probably explains why Pinkie’s using it so naturally, she thought wryly.

There it was again. The temptation to employ the force of Azerothian magic had nagged at her since the moment she’d discovered she had similar powers to what she’d had back in Equestria. She’d thought hard about it, spurred on by the encounter with the ghoul, and had concluded that had she not been panicking, had she kept her cool and had the will to do so, she could have ended the fight in seconds with a touch of frost and an arcane volley, which would have kept Rainbow out of harm’s way entirely. Had she, or any of the others been infected, when Twilight had the potential power that could have saved them…

What made Twilight feel worse was that she couldn’t even come up with a good, rational reason not to develop her talents in this world. It was her gut feeling that cautioned her against it – something she was not accustomed to listening to.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to get involved Twilight.” Fluttershy gave her a small smile as she grimaced at the enthusiasm the others were displaying in their fights. She was grooming Wilder, holding onto his collar tightly to prevent him from rushing into the fray.

“Quite right, dear.” Rarity opined. “I for one certainly won’t be engaging in any of this barbarous behaviour. Why, just think of the damage these things could do to one’s hair! The further away we are from them the better.”

“Heads up!” Rainbow cried perhaps a little too late, as her final blow to another golem struck an oil intake valve, spurting the thick black liquid up into the air…

…where it, improbably, coated only the blue-haired seamstress from her neck to her hips.

It took Rarity all of two seconds to react to this turn of events by screaming bloody murder, drawing a pair of glinting daggers from her belt and leaping forward to help Applejack dismantle her current golem.

“…so much for staying out of it.” Twilight shook her head, though couldn’t help but be drawn to watch her friend do battle.

Rarity hadn’t taken part in the fights in Elwynn Forest, other than helping out by clubbing one of Hogger’s minions from the shadows as they had tried to intervene. Here, she was slashing and stabbing with careful precision at the delicate machinery running the golems, putting her keen eye for detail to good use. At times, she missed a strike or only delivered a glancing blow to her target, clearly not very used to what she was doing and still somewhat unsure of herself, but…

She’s fighting fairly well. Twilight realised. Too well. She knows what she’s doing, like she’s had some training. When did that happen?

I need to know more about what my friends got up to in Stormwind. I guess I should be happy at least that she’s not doing it to a living foe…

She pursed her lips and looked out across the field. There were plenty of golems still to dismantle, and while her companions were making a good dent in the problem, it would still take them a while at the rate they were going.

You can help them out. The voice whispered again.

...

How will we get home if I don’t work to improve my understanding of this magic?

All right, Twilight decided. Let’s see what I can do.

She picked out the closest unengaged golem and focused hard, drawing on strands of aether, on the natural magic that permeated the world, much as it had in Equestria. The power came to her easily, and it brought an invigorating thrill to her mind, a feeling that matched or even surpassed the way she had felt casting back home. Bringing her hands up and together, mimicking a stance she had seen Archmage Malin practice, she pulled magic out of the air for a few seconds longer before throwing her arms out, seeking to expel the energy coursing within.
The effect was immediate and spectacular. A bolt of arcane force leapt from her fingers and flew towards the golem, colliding with it in a cloud of purple and black smoke as it exploded into pieces, utterly ruined.

Her friends, though a bit shocked at the suddenness of her attacks, cheered as a stray strand of energy - borne out of her similar surprise at her success, burst above her head in a flare of violet.

She shook her head and concentrated harder, cross with herself. She couldn’t afford a rookie mistake like power incontinence now, not when dealing with such destructive magicks.

The damage she had done in a single volley was amazing.

Before she even really knew what she was doing, she was laying into the second golem with the same fervour as the first. Then a third. And a fourth.

It took them half an hour to clear the field of golems with their combined efforts. She stood and stared dumbly at the result of her attacks, the sparking, broken metal corpses a testament to her power.

The rush was incredible, capturing every ounce of her awareness into a feeling of pure completeness, replaced as it faded by a hunger for more.

“Go Twilight!” Rainbow slapping her on the back hard brought her out of her reverie, and nearly knocked her off her feet, too.

Applejack grinned approvingly. “Now tha’s what I call impressive.”

“Simply stunning, darling!”

“You could’ve done that before with the undead though. Would’ve been nice not to have had to get so close to that monster. Even if it gave me the opportunity to save us all.”

Covered in sweat, oil and muck, Rarity raised a fist threateningly behind her friend’s back, but suppressed her frustration with what looked like a supreme effort.

“I’ve def’nitely worked up an appetite, but we’ll need a break. Even Pinkie’s lookin’ pretty beat.”

“I’m fine!” There was a slight weakness to her smile that the others didn’t fail to pick up on. “Okay… maybe just a little dehydrated. Who knew making bubbles could be as much work as popping them?”

There was little that could compare to listening to Pinkie to make one smile, and Twilight found herself nodding along with the rest of them. “All right, let’s go inform the Saldeans now.”

The six began to traipse back towards the farmhouse on the other side of the field, but Twilight, stopped, turned and looked back at the devastation.

Despite herself, and despite the warm temperature, she couldn’t help but shiver.

Such power…

Author's Note

Despite my previous decision, have a new chapter!

I gave it some more thought and decided it wasn't fair on you, the readers, that I should leave this story hanging in the middle of an act. Therefore I'm going to finish this Act - another four or five chapters, I'd say - and then make a decision from there about the future of Azeroth's Skies.

Updates will be irregular and I can't promise when the next will arrive.

Hope you've enjoyed this one!

Buried Deep

She was falling.

Falling through the air.

White puffy clouds whizzed by as she fell, miles zipping by in moments. The elation she’d felt for a half second at the start was quickly replaced by confusion and fear.

The sky turned dark as if in response, the clouds turning an ugly grey.

It felt like an eternity before she hit the ground, but then she finally did.

“W-what…?”

She looked up as a shadow fell over her, a tremendous presence staring down. Aware of her.

Angry at her.

A woman?

A… monster?

The giant reached out for her, yellow-gold eyes tinted icy blue by some unholy power as its lips twisted into a snarl.

“YOUR FAULT…” it roared, and that, as well as an unsettling sense of familiarity was the last thing she knew.

Twilight awoke panting, sitting bolt upright in the space she had been provided at the Sentinel Hill inn.

A nightmare?

She’d been dreaming, and this came as a surprise to her – she’d not had one since being thrown into Azeroth.

None of them had.

That had been strange in itself, and it had taken three weeks since arriving for them to figure it out. It wasn’t the kind of thing you talked about, even between close friends. You might mention an unusual dream that you could recall with specific clarity, but the absence of dreams wasn’t that odd on its own.

But the odds of six individuals experiencing perfect, dreamless sleep for nearly twenty days? Unlikely in the extreme.

She had posited that their separation from Equestria had caused it. Their home was a world where many of the phenomena that this one considered to be natural were instead governed by powerful, physical beings, and she had yet to read of anything the same in Azeroth. There was talk of gods and devils, of beliefs that seemed to grant powers such as the light and shadow, and views held by the various races about how the tides came in, how the sun and moon rose and fell, but no hard, quantified evidence.

True, dreaming was a natural process in Equestria; even during Princess Luna’s corruption and imprisonment as Nightmare Moon, ponies had dreamed, but not with the same guidance she had offered them before, and now offered them again.

It was entirely possible that being removed from it had cut off their ability to dream, too – although now she had reason to suspect that it was only temporary, unless the nightmare had been an outlier of some kind...

…but why now, all of a sudden? What’s changed?

She had no concrete answers, no knowledge she could draw on at the moment to confirm her theory. Maybe I can find something more at the library when we return to Stormwind.

They had treated it as a symptom of their exile, and hadn’t discussed it after that first realisation. Maybe they would need to again.

She looked around the room, clutching her knees to her chest as she tried to calm her breathing. To call it an inn was stretching the truth a little; really it was more of a wooden hut; only one hall, the floor where the six had set out and tucked into their sleeping bags empty save for two tables meant for conversation. They had to leave it for refreshments and ablutions; they were handled in two separate buildings just across the way, not far from the eponymous hill itself.

The spartan accommodations echoed what they had already seen across the plains on their way to Sentinel Hill. Truly, Westfall had fallen on hard times.

Still, she couldn’t complain about shelter from the wind and chill. Rarity had raised a disapproving eyebrow upon first laying sight on the building that she had clearly been expecting to be more luxurious, but even she raised no word against it – it was certainly sturdier than the shack they had stayed in the night before.

It took her a few moments of looking around to realise that the two bags beside her were empty. She squinted around as her eyes slowly adjusted, but Applejack and Rainbow Dash were nowhere to be seen.

The others were still sound asleep, as far as she could tell, chests rising and falling in rhythmic motion with Wilder as the extra shape next to Fluttershy, so she took the utmost care in extracting herself from the warm cocoon, quickly pulled her jacket on, and then crept silently from the room to search for them.

She found them standing on the nearby hill, looking out over the plains to the west. They weren’t really hard to find; she could discern Rainbow’s hair from quite a way away even in the darkness, and it would have been hard to mistake Applejack’s tall, imposing silhouette for anyone else.

The clock on the wall of the inn had showed the time as well past the hour, going on one o’clock. She wondered what was keeping the two ahead out burning the midnight oil.

A guard materialised out of the gloom as she approached the hill, then relaxed as he recognised the woman before him as one of the new arrivals.

“Ma’am.” He saluted her courteously, then pointed up the hill at those she had already seen. “Your friends are over there.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, and he let her pass.

Word had travelled fast to Sentinel Hill of Hogger’s defeat, even with Westfall’s separation from the rest of the kingdom. While the gnoll lord had concentrated his criminal efforts on the settlements in the Elwynn Forest, the land to the west had not escaped his brutes’ thuggery, and so the six had been treated as heroes by the People’s Militia who guarded the roads, and by the marshal who commanded them, a gruff paladin named Gryan Stoutmantle who did not otherwise seem easily impressed.

They had arrived close to sundown after staying the afternoon at the Saldean farmstead. Farmer Saldean had been good on his promise, and they had left for the south with their bellies full once more – and after Rarity had had a chance to clean the dirty oil off herself with a warm bath.

Stoutmantle had greeted them, promised them a bed and breakfast the next day, and asked to speak with them in the morning regarding something he said was of great importance.

The wind blew harshly over her for a moment as she trod up the curve of the hill, her body breaking out into an involuntary shiver. It wasn’t a cold night by any means, but that didn’t matter when it came to this kind of biting chill.

She caught a snippet of their conversation as she approached, the breeze working in her favour.

“That’s all we c’n do sugarcube. Roll with the bad days’n’enjoy the good ones as they come.”

“Yeah, I know, but…”

“I say just give it more time. Ya got your paladin powers now, right?”

“Yeah… they’re awesome. They don’t make up for my wings, but I think I can cope better now.”

“But I know what you mean. Hard to think about, ain’t it?”

“Always. Do you think… the others feel it too?”

“How could they-?”

They hadn’t seen the mage coming up behind them, so Twilight quickened her step. She didn’t want to eavesdrop accidentally on her friends, nor did she want them to think she had been eavesdropping on purpose.

Applejack noticed her first, and her sudden side-glance flash of recognition caused Rainbow to start around too. “Hey, Twi. Can’t sleep neither, eh?”

“Sup, Twilight?” Rainbow wore an unreadable poker face with a familiar cocky grin splashed in the centre. She had something of a knack for concealing her worries and feelings, retreating behind a façade of coolness. It cracked sometimes, when she was flustered, angry, or really, really scared.

Twilight had half-hoped that the encounter with the ghoul might make her open up to the others, but other than boasting (half-seriously) about her prowess in combat she had been relatively quiet the day before. Restrained, even. So perhaps not.

Or perhaps so, if she was talking to Applejack here. But I can’t jump to any conclusions.

Indeed, what intrigued the mage more was Applejack’s expression. If Rainbow was good at hiding her feelings, then Applejack, the element of honesty, was terrible at it. And now, she looked… guilty?

She realised they were looking at her expectantly and hurried to reply, pushing the impression out of the forefront of her mind. “Hi girls. Yes. I actually… had a nightmare.”

They looked as surprised to hear this as she was. “Really?”

“What was it about?”

“You know…” She struggled to recall it, but it was like trying to repair a fraying blanket by pulling at it; the more she tugged, the more the strands came away, until she was left with nothing. Or at least very little. “…I can’t remember.”

Applejack scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “Then how d’ya know you had a nightmare?”

Twilight shrugged. “I remember waking up with a sweat. And I’ve just got these feelings…”

“Feelings?”

“Yes. I felt fear. But it wasn’t mine, yet… it still felt familiar.”

“That’s comforting.” Rainbow deadpanned.

“Weird that it happened right now, like.” The farmer-turned-warrior looked back out across the plains wistfully. “Maybe it jus’ means we’re gettin’ used to this place.”

“...Yeah.” Rainbow looked a bit sad at this possibility, perhaps another reminder to her of all that they were missing and how little of a plan they had to even get back, so Twilight hastened to change the subject.

“So I’m guessing neither of you had a nightmare too?”

The two shared an awkward glance. “Oh, no, we’re just… talking.”

She was about to press them further but another chill breeze interrupted her, and she rubbed at her covered arms.

“How are you both not cold out here?” she asked instead. Rainbow’s even wearing short sleeves!

They both looked at her strangely, as if the answer was obvious.

“Fields get pretty cold out, y’know, ‘specially if you have to work out at night.”

“I lived in a cloud.”

“Fair enough.” Twilight admitted, impressed despite herself at their resilience. “I do miss my coat, though…”

“Careful, hon. That guard might hear ya.”

“Even if he can, he’ll just think we’re talking about clothing. Not about… the other thing.” But she lowered her voice a little all the same. Just in case.

They all lapsed into thought. Twilight yawned. She had the urge to leave them be. It was the middle of the night, and she was tired. Exhausted even. It wasn’t like she’d had a good night’s sleep the night before, what with the ghoul attack and everything else. She’d only got out of bed to find her two friends, and they were safe and fine.

Something kept her standing there. Something in her made her plant her feet, lock her gaze and open her mouth.

Something made her say, “What’s wrong, girls?”

They looked at her, confused by the leading question from out of nowhere. “Whad’ya mean?” Applejack pled ignorance.

“Yeah?” Rainbow agreed. “We’re fine.”

“Peachy.”

Twilight shook her head, unconvinced by their tense body language and nervous facial signals. “You’re a terrible liar, Applejack. And you don’t like talking about your feelings, Rainbow Dash, so I can understand your reluctance. But this isn’t going to go away on its own. So.

“What’s wrong, girls?”

Less a question this time. More of a demand. She didn’t like to consider herself the leader of their group of friends, even if others – including her friends themselves – might. But no, she was not about to let them stew on this until it erupted into something ugly.

And truth be told she already had a pretty good idea what the problem was.

Applejack chewed her bottom lip. Rainbow played with her sleeve awkwardly. Neither would meet her eyes.

“It’s about the gnolls, isn’t it?” She pressed.

A single look they shared confirmed her fears, though she couldn’t help but feel a little vindicated at being proved right. Nopony in their right mind could take a life without it affecting them in some way.

“All right, all right.” Rainbow exclaimed, wringing her hands. “We’re not doing too great, okay?”

“We keep seein’ ‘em when we close our eyes, y’know?” Applejack muttered sadly, her stoicism slipping. “They’re jus’ there. Got a little sleep at the garrison, don’t think it had sunk in then. Didn’t sleep much after the ghoul, guess ya might’ve expected that anyway, but tonight...”

“Fighting helps.” Rainbow added. “When we were up against the ghoul, or against those machines, it was like our heads cleared right up. Nothing else mattered, just those moments. And then the rush ends, and it all comes crashing back.”

Twilight was just self-aware enough to catch the moment of recognition she felt at Rainbow mentioning feeling good in combat. Clearly it was little different for the others, and she would have do to some serious self-reflection to avoid going down the same path… She buried it for now, though – her friends weren’t done venting, and they were more important.

“You try to justify it at first.” Applejack went on. “My friends would’a got hurt if I hadn’t done it. It was self-defense.”

“But you keep thinking ‘Really? Couldn’t I have acted just a little different?’

“An’ that’s not all.” Applejack burst out. The floodgates were now open, both metaphorically and literally. “Darn it, Twi, I try to keep my mind off this an’ then all I can’t think of anything but m’family! Granny Smith, Big Mac, poor lil’ Apple Bloom…”

“Sure, you know I miss my wings, but it’s not just them.” Rainbow added miserably. “Scootaloo was really becoming like a sister to me, y’know?”

Twilight let them continue, struck into shocked silence by the way her intervention was developing. This… wasn’t what I was expecting…

“We’re trapped in an alien world with nopony we know, nopony to help us, and no way home! All that crazy stuff we did in Equestria, like with Nightmare Moon, Discord… None of it compares to this!”

Wait…

The sentry below looked up at the sudden spike in noise and was tempted briefly to investigate or perhaps caution those enough, but then decided against it. They were far enough from the living quarters of the settlement to avoid causing harm, and it would mean moving out of his comfortable post shielded from the wind; best to leave them to it.

Above, Applejack suddenly seemed to become more aware of their surroundings, and when she spoke again she made sure to watch her volume.

“What if we never see them again, Twilight?” Quieter, softer, but no calmer. I’ve never seen her so afraid. So terrified. Twilight noted, struck with much the same feeling herself. “What if we really can’t go back?”

Silence fell again as Twilight digested it all. How they felt.

How she felt, too. What she’d been holding in. What she’d been burying herself.

Hidden behind the dreams she hadn’t been able to have.

Spike…

Mom… Dad… Shiny… Celestia… Everybody.

Of course she’d missed them all. And she knew the others had missed their families too. But, belatedly, she suddenly realised that it hadn’t been enough to know. She should have been talking to them about it.

Because things fester in the dark without the light to shine on them.

Why couldn’t I see…? Even before, I thought it was about the violence… about this world…

“Oh, girls, I’m so sorry!” she moaned quietly, sinking to her knees and dragging them both down with surprising strength.

“I should have realised how you were feeling. I should have asked you sooner, encouraged you to open up. I should have opened up myself. I’ve been so blind!”

She wasn’t crying herself. It was oddly cathartic, having come to this conclusion. It explained why the two had been so determined to retreat inside over their kills.

Sad that it had so long for her to understand, but…

“Aw, sugarcube.” The warrior’s embarrassment at her friend’s distress distracted her briefly from her sorrow. She returned the hug and snaked her other arm around Rainbow, another glance shared confirming between the two that once again they felt the same. “It’s not your fault. You’re jus’ doin’ the best you can. We can’t ask for more.”

“Yeah. Sorry we kept it bottled up for so long. It was just… so hard to talk about.”

They sat huddled together for a good five minutes more, stone cold silent and uncaring of the wind or the wider world. Reflecting. Understanding. It would have looked a very odd sight to an uncomprehending observer.

“There’s nothing we can’t do together, as friends.” Twilight affirmed eventually, still holding them close. The pain was still there, a pain she, like the others, had so successfully hidden, but she felt better for recognising it now, rather than leaving it in the dark. “We’ll get back somehow. I know it.”

They felt her surety, felt it in the bond they all shared – as the elements, and as friends.

“And about the gnolls?” They stood up as she returned to the opening topic, almost as an afterthought. “I don’t have any answers for you right now. Nothing that will make you feel better. Except maybe this.

“We’ll work through it together. All of us. Don’t forget that."

“We won’t.” Applejack promised, a genuine smile back on her face once again. “Thanks, Twilight. Now go get some rest, hon. We’ll be right behind ya.”

Twilight nodded – “Don’t be long.” - and began to make her way back down the hill towards where she hoped the inn was.

I need to talk to everyone at some point tomorrow. She decided. Together, individually, somehow we’ll have to talk. We can’t go on holding it all inside.

There’s only so far you can bend before you break.

They watched her snake her way back through the darkness to the inn, and stood in silence for a few seconds after she had disappeared.
Applejack spoke first. “Guess we’d better get some rest too. Up early again tomorrow.”

“Mm.”

The blonde warrior went to start down the hill, but Rainbow’s voice kept her where she was. “Hey, AJ?”

“Yeah, partner?”

Lightning fast, Rainbow latched onto the taller girl from the side. “…I know I’m bad at saying it. But thanks.”

Applejack pulled her into a tighter hug, a content smile adorning her features. “You’re welcome, hon. And right back at ya.”

They had breakfast the next day, a casual fair provided by the jolly middle-aged woman named Heather who ran the inn, before heading off to meet the leader of the small town, Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle, in the tower atop the hill.

He was waiting for them as they filed into the main room, looking up from his paperwork and motioning them to sit at the long table with him. They took seats at each side, three apiece, as the marshal sat at the head.

Pinkie Pie dropped a scone out of her pocket and fumbled to pick it up before sitting down - fortunately the marshal was back into his paperwork and did not notice.

Twilight took a moment to examine the marshal more closely, as she hadn’t had the chance during their brief meeting at dusk the day before. He was clearly a military man, easily in his late forties or early fifties, with greying hair but still a possessing a powerful, imposing presence. He wore a full set of silver armour, which, along with the massive hammer laid out on the desk in front of him, marked him out as some kind of warrior. Or paladin, she realised, quickly noting that Rainbow had come to the same conclusion, and was now staring at the man with something approaching rapt admiration.

“Marshal Stoutmantle, thank you for the food and shelter last night. We greatly appreciate it.” She opened.

“Yeah, thanks! It went down a treat!” Pinkie Pie agreed, the scone almost spilling out of her pocket again. It probably wasn’t the most dignified display of gratitude the marshal had ever seen. Twilight supposed she had to be grateful that none of Pinkie’s confetti had seen fit to go off.
Yet.

He looked up at them again, placing his quill into an ink pot and now giving them his full attention. “You are most welcome. We are honoured by the presence of heroes such as you. Westfall as much as Elwynn can only feel relieved at having one less foe to oppose… and your actions have given the people hope, as well, which is something of a rarity in these times. But now we must talk of less positive matters.” He spoke formally, but almost too formally – as if he was trying to decide how to feel about them.

He swept his gaze over the six. “Do you know anything of the organisation going by the name of the Defias Brotherhood?”

Five heads shook. One head nodded. Stoutmantle looked to Twilight.

“I read about them in the Stormwind library.” she explained, then elaborated. “They formed out of the Stonemasons guild, builders who worked to repair Stormwind after the First War. The books said they tried to cheat the city, and were thrown out after causing unrest.

“They came to Westfall, the closest, and have been launching attacks ever since, robbing travellers and caravans that the Stormwind Guard doesn’t have the manpower to protect. The books say they aren’t considered anything more than a small group of bandits now… but we’ve been warned about them before.”

Stoutmantle coughed. “Half accurate, not that I’d expect any better from Stormwind.” Twilight went red, though he hadn’t meant to insult her. His demeanour suddenly seemed gruffer than before, as if he’d been testing the water to see how much they knew – and something in her answer had softened him. She felt calmer still after Fluttershy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Yes, they were the Stonemasons. Yes, they rebuilt Stormwind. Whether they tried to cheat the city or whether the nobles cheated them, well… I don’t know.” A hint of old anger and frustration suddenly glinted in the old paladin’s eyes. “But they came to Westfall because Stormwind abandoned us, which is why I founded the People’s Militia.”

He fixed them with a hard stare, but one borne of concern rather than dislike. “I heard what you did for old farmer Saldean. You’re good folk. Don’t see many like you coming from up north. So that’s why I recommend you pack up and go as soon as you can, before you get caught up in our trouble. Wouldn’t want to see you getting hurt down here.”

That’s the true measure of this man, Twilight registered. He’s strong, but compassionate. He cares for his people – and since we’ve helped them out he cares for us too.

She thought of the Saldeans, living in poverty, destitute, but still holding out hope for the future. She thought of the people she’d seen so far in Sentinel Hill - the guards, the townsfolk – their faces all filled with fear.

Does it always have to come down to violence here?

It reminded her of the battle to reclaim the Crystal Empire, the fight against King Sombra. They’d had to stop him with force, the heart of the empire banishing him with glorious light, although there’d been no goodness left in him to redeem, and certainly no time to search harder for it.

Only… he was a half-magical abomination filled with the hatred of thousands of years. The Defias are human, I’m guessing. Not much different from us. Other than, you know, the dimension-hopping. And we were once ponies, I suppose.

Remembering the Crystal Empire reminded her of Cadence, and Shining Armor, which led her mind to her mother, and father, and Spike, and it took a great effort not to let the flash of memory painfully express itself across her features.

Getting involved like this would be unlikely to lead them any closer to going home. Perhaps it was nothing more than an unnecessary distraction, and they would be best off on all counts by going back to Stormwind.

But what if it was my family out here like this? My friends? Could I leave them then?

And in that moment she made up her mind.

“What if we could solve your problem?”

Stoutmantle looked at Twilight with as much disbelief as each of her friends – maybe more. “You may have defeated the gnoll king, but the Brotherhood numbers in the hundreds. You would need an army… even if you could find them!”

“I’m not talking about fighting them. What if we could convince them to stand down peacefully? What if we could stop the fighting?”

Silence, as he attempted to process her meaning. Incredulity turned quickly to deep thought, and when next he spoke his voice was quieter than before, but far more intense.

“Let me be clear about the Defias. I’ve fought them for years, since they first came to Westfall, and I know what drives them. Some are greedy bandits, thugs through-and-through. But most, and certainly the higher-ups in the organisation, are motivated by something more. By the pain of what they see as Stormwind’s betrayal. By their hatred of the crown, and the government. This pain, this hatred – they’ve been festering for years in the dark. Do they really sound like people you can convince with words?”

He continued, so taken aback by her bizarre proposal that he couldn’t help but speak without restraint. “And even if you can, do you think we can be convinced? The Defias have held our realm hostage. They’ve abused, terrorised my – our – citizens, driven them off their land, turned Westfall into a land of ruin… After all that, do you really think that we can forgive them?”

“Have you ever tried?” Fluttershy spoke up quietly, startling Twilight, who had been searching for the words to say the same – only for the element of kindness, perhaps unsurprisingly, to beat her to it.

He didn’t respond for a moment, mulling it over. Again his gaze swept over them, examining, analysing, appraising.

Eventually he spoke again. “You’re not part of my People’s Militia. You’re not Stormwind soldiers. If you think you can talk them down then, well, you’re welcome to try. But let me warn you first. None of the scouts we’ve sent to scout the Deadmines have come back. And these days there are more and more whispers about what the Defias are up to. About what they’re building.”

He looked worried, truly worried for the first time since they’d met, the mask of stoicism cracking ever so slightly. The trouble in the region, the Defias insurgency - it must have been eating him up for a while. His expression still made it clear that he didn’t think that they could possibly succeed, and yet there was something else there now, too.

“The Deadmines are below the abandoned town of Moonbrook to the South-west. If you really want to try, I’ll verify your maps and give you what supplies I can spare.”

“Thank you, marshal. We’ll do the best we can.” Twilight promised, rising from her seat.

There was the slightest twinkle of hope in Gryan Stoutmantle’s eyes were previously there had been none. “Go with the light, Miss Sparkle.”

They rendezvoused outside the inn twenty minutes later, having collected their items from the inn and made arrangements to pick up the extra supplies Stoutmantle had promised in good order. Twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes was all it took for two of the group to end up fighting over something inconsequential.

Applejack had left a bread roll on top of her belongings, a leftover from breakfast she was intending to have later.

Having never tasted bread before, and drawn in by the wonderful aroma of the freshly baked good, Wilder wolfed down the whole thing before his owner could stop him.

Fluttershy had guiltily hustled him away from the scene of the crime, intending to apologise later, but Rainbow’s raucous laughter upon hearing of Applejack’s “loss” convinced the blonde that she was to blame. Cue the stronger of the two chasing the faster around Sentinel Hill like a bizarre re-enactment of their competitive running of the leaves, all to the bemusement of the guards and other locals.

“They certainly seem happier today.” Rarity noted, gazing over at the warrior and the paladin as they bobbed and weaved around the camp, Pinkie cheering them on as if it really were a race and Fluttershy looking sheepish off to the side, keeping Wilder and his bread-encrusted muzzle out of sight. “That’s a relief.”

“You noticed it before too, then?”

“Of course, darling. I have quite the eye for detail, after all.”

But now Rarity commenting on the others reminded Twilight that there was one other that she had intended to talk to about the upward trend for violence she’d noticed in the past few days. She was convinced that the chance of Fluttershy ever firing her crossbow in anger or even on purpose was zero, but Rarity...

“Hey, Rarity, on a similar subject… can I ask you about yesterday? With the golems?”

Rarity was lucky that she had turned away a moment before the question; Twilight did not spot her uncomfortable swallow. “Well…”

“And where did you get those daggers?”

Rarity coughed, embarrassed, now looking back at the mage.

“Well, even a lady can lose her composure at times. And a lady must certainly be able to defend herself, back home as much as here. You must admit that it was a rather shocking set of circumstances.”

Not untrue, though of the six Rarity would probably be the one to react worst to having her hair doused in oil. But there was still more than that. “You looked like you’d fought before.”

“Dear, I don’t have the slightest clue what you’re talking about.” Her friend smiled politely, and the mage found herself compelled to agree with that face, and the sincerity with which she spoke. Not completely deterred, though, she tried a different tack.

“What about the thing you did in Elwynn Forest? An untrained observer might conclude that you went invisible, but you just blended perfectly with the shadows, didn’t you?”

Rarity nodded sagely, as if she had been expecting this one. “Have you ever seen me walk amongst a gathering of the elite, Twilight?”

Well, there was that one time…

“When you went around the gala with Prince-?”

“Let us not mention that buffoon!” Rarity hushed Twilight quickly, panicked indignation in her voice, deep crimson flushing her cheeks. “Since then, I should have added. That experience taught me a great deal about high society. I would not be a savvy businesspony if I did not take note of the lessons fate throws my way. And the lesson I learned in that case was about finding out certain information. That itself was not a lesson, to determine the tastes and interests of one’s clientele is one of the basics of business, and one I had already known for a long time.”

“But to do that amongst the rich and the powerful, as one must to be anypony in Canterlot, I had to learn the value of being discrete. I know you sometimes lambast my flair for the dramatic…”

Twilight shrugged, but didn’t deny it.

“…but it is one thing to be the centre of attention when you can guarantee it will pay off, and another entirely to make a fool of oneself. So I had been honing my skills to be discrete when I needed to. To observe, covert, unseen and unknown, in the search for an advantage over my competitors – such as they were. And it would seem that doing so has paid off in an unexpected way now that we are here.”
The mage pondered this. True; it was quite reasonable to conclude that Rainbow’s agility and Applejack’s endurance as ponies had factored into their abilities as humans. Why wouldn’t Rarity’s skills be any different?

“I suppose you’re right.” she said at last, then adopted a reconciliatory tone, worried that she had upset her friend. “Sorry for prying, Rarity. It’s just…”

“Quite understandable, dear.” Rarity said breezily, starting to walk over to the others. Fluttershy had finally cracked and had run up to the runners to beg forgiveness for Wilder; Applejack was taking it with some red-faced embarrassment as she scolded the wolf herself, while Rainbow, far from being offended at being wrongfully accused, was only laughing harder. “We’re all a little thrown by these events. One can’t blame you for being cautious.”

“By the way, you might want to reassure the others on how this relates to our objectives. We trust you, of course, and I’m sure you’re about to explain your plan to us in greater detail, but I must admit not being absolutely clear on the connection myself...”

Twilight frowned, thrown off by the sudden change in topic. “Yes, of course.” She’d been expecting some uncertainty, and knew exactly how she would reason the diversion already. “I think we need to have a good long chat before we depart anyway. All of us together.”

“Well, then.” Her friend smiled pleasantly. “Let’s re-join the others.”

Twilight nodded, and fell in step with her friend, but couldn’t shake the feeling that the matter was far from resolved.
Impossible as it was – Rarity’s my friend, for Celestia’s sake! - she had the slightest niggling, just about small enough to ignore, that she’d been played like a fiddle.

Author's Note

And there's chapter 11! If there's one section I'd appreciate feedback on in particular it's the section where Applejack and Rainbow let out how they feel to Twilight. I'll comment later with my own thoughts about writing it but your unbiased opinions would be very much valued first.

Hope you enjoyed it and I'll start work on the next one soon! We're 2-3 chapters away now from the end of act one.

Explanations and Examinations

Twilight knew she still had to convince the others. Like before, it wasn’t enough that they blindly follow her somewhere they weren’t sure of.

She was fairly confident that they would be fine once she explained her reasoning – and it was certainly right that she do so, as she was asking them to come with her to a dangerous place.

She’d perhaps been hasty in assuming their support back in their meeting with Gryan, but she’d only been so sure because she’d also had no doubt that they could only succeed by all going together.

I need them. And I know they’ll understand that once I explain.

The six found a group of benches near the edge of town to sit quietly and undisturbed - they couldn’t allow the conversation. They were barely more than carved logs set on the group, but they were fit enough for purpose.

As different as the setup was, it still reminded the mage of their talk back in Stormwind in Trias’s house, where they had agreed with her suggestion to take to the field in the first place.

Had that really only been five days ago? It feels like so much more…

When they were all sitting down as comfortably as they could manage, she began. “Remember what we all learned back home. About friendship, trust, and our elements. I don’t think we’ve lost our elements just because we were pulled away from where we found them, and I don’t think we’ve forgotten our lessons, either.

“Okay, so this world is different from home. It’s so far removed from Equestria... It seems so violent, so cruel. But when you really think about it, just because the danger is a little different, is it really any worse?

“The rest of Azeroth might be. Those books told some terrible stories, nightmares that I hope we don’t have to face. But right here, can the Defias Brotherhood really be any worse than Sombra? Any harder to redeem than Discord? Were the bad guys we faced in Equestria any better just because they were aiming dark magic at us or turning the floor into chocolate instead of trying to kill us with swords?”

“Mmm… chocolate.” Pinkie salivated. Twilight pressed on, grinning a little despite herself.

“I didn’t find much studying portals at the tower or in the Stormwind library, so I’d like to experiment in this field a little. The Defias aren’t a magical or supernatural evil – they’re a group with a grievance that we might be able to sort out. If we can bring the light of friendship to this world, maybe it’ll grant us a way home, or maybe it’ll raise our profile enough so that we can find someone who can.

“And besides, the people here have been suffering because of the Defias – and maybe because of Stormwind too. I think we’re in a position where we can help them. Here to begin with – and then later when we’re up north again. And if we can, I think we should.

“So… what do you say?” she finished, looking imploringly at her friends.

Applejack and Rainbow shared a glance, then nodded at the same time. “Count us in, hon.”

“Yeah. Better we be up and about and doing something rather than just sitting around.”

She was thankful for their immediate support, especially as Rainbow had been the most reluctant to do anything but mope barely a week before. The two seemed to be bonding more than they already had back home, as evidenced by their early morning chat; perhaps due to the skills they had picked up being fairly martial in nature, or perhaps because of how bad they both felt about having taken lives. Either way, it was good that they had each other to lean on so closely.

She’d known from their prior conversation that she had nothing to worry about when it came to Rarity’s support, but still felt a little relieved when the fashionista added, “Of course, darling. You need only say the word.”

“Pinkie?”

“Well…” Pinkie said hesitantly, a look that Twilight couldn’t characterise spread firmly across her face, and for a moment the mage was worried that she would say no. Then… “Just kidding!” She winked and giggled, her spell broken. “Like you need to ask, of course I’m in!”

Twilight sighed, relieved. Which just leaves…

“W-we’re really doing this, then?” They all turned to the sixth member of the party, her downcast features hidden in shadow as she suddenly took a great interest in Wilder’s belly. Fluttershy had a natural tendency to fade into the background of any conversation – they tried to keep her involved as much they could, but sometimes the stronger personalities in the group drowned her out without even realising it.

But she’d learned not to go along with the crowd before, not to let those strong personalities browbeat her into something that she really didn’t want to go. She’d learned to be quietly assertive, not a doormat but not rude either. And even when she wasn’t being assertive the others knew well how to read her body language when she was reluctant to do something.

Especially as she’s got someone to look after here, now. Twilight realised, eying the wolf carefully as he reacted happily to the attention.

“Fluttershy, we don’t want to make you do something that you don’t want to do. And we won’t abandon you here. If you really don’t want us to do this, we’ll find another way to progress.”

Fluttershy said nothing for a few moments, thinking hard.

“No… you’re right.” She shook her head. “We can’t let these people down… even if the thought of going there scares me, I never allowed it to stop us before when we were back home. Like you said, we even managed to redeem Discord. I won’t let you all down now. But…

“I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to any of you, or Wilder, you know? He’s the same as Angel, and all my other animal friends. The kind of bond, I don’t know, I just can’t imagine how I would feel… hehe...” She giggled softly as he licked her face, his tongue wagging, but her laughter faded as she returned to wearing a serious, even pensive expression.

Pinkie leapt up. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy! Your auntie Pinkie Pie won’t let anything happen to you!” She punctuated her statement by wrapping the girl in a huge hug, drowning out Fluttershy’s annoyed response of I told you… I’m a year older than you.

“All right. We’ll gather our stuff and extra supplies and head southwest as soon as we can.” Twilight said, but resolved to keep a watchful eye over her friend as she noted how the girl's expression remained grim.

…another one. Rarity’s secrecy, Applejack and Rainbow’s feelings of loss and maybe shame, too, and now Fluttershy’s fears and insecurities coming to the forefront once more… It was her responsibility as quasi-or-not leader to keep them safe and healthy, both mentally and physically. Her chat with the warrior and the paladin the night before had reassured her, true, but she couldn’t help but wonder whether or not she would be able to really help solve their problems or only end up doing the equivalent of slapping a band-aid over a gaping wound.

The only one she hadn’t had to worry about so far was Pinkie – but most of the time it was impossible to know, save for the smallest of signs, exactly what was going on in her head. Still, she seemed to have coped the best overall with their changing circumstances...

Fluttershy’s was a problem they couldn’t exactly resolve without confronting the danger that had caused her to feel so concerned in the first place… or by running from it, but that wouldn’t help them get home at all. Surely it was worth a little risk?

Hmm… a little risk?

Her eyes lingered on the pink-haired woman as she bounced away to the inn.

I’ll have a word with Pinkie. Maybe she can help Fluttershy.

Anyway… She turned her watch over to the southwest where the town lay, concealed by the horizon. Moonbrook awaits.

They set off soon after with the morning breeze at their backs and the sun dipping low behind the clouds. It was still two hours until noon; Gryan had assured Twilight that their journey would not take them into the evening.

“Moonbrook is much closer to Sentinel Hill than the northern border is, and on a much more direct path. It should you take a few hours to get there, at a good speed; you’ll still have the sun to guide you, light willing.”

She was banking on that – it would be far too dangerous to search the town at night. They would make a good effort of it but head back at nightfall if nothing could be found – they could always come back earlier the next day.

Most of Westfall’s farms were further to the north, so they faced no trouble with the menacing harvest golems on their way. As a result, however, they ended up running into some of the wildlife that called the area home.

Coyotes, boars and big scavenger birds roamed the plains, hunting for scraps, wild plants and whatever else they could get to eat. The boars kept away, while the coyotes refused to go anywhere near a group of seven led in their eyes by a vicious wolf much larger than they.

Some of the buzzards they passed followed them idly for a little while, as if hopeful that they might be in for the meal of a year, but all eventually gave up and wheeled away, disappointed.

They took a break for lunch after an hour and a half, setting out a mat in a safe-looking location and feasting on the supplies from the quartermaster at the hill. Not planning on sleeping out, they’d stowed their camping gear at the inn but still had enough on them to form a windbreak. That was one of the problems with the prairie – aside from where the hills broke up the terrain, the gusts could be a huge hindrance to an impromptu picnic.

Renewed, they continued their march towards the town, now unobstructed and visible in the distance, but still roughly an hour away. Walking wasn’t something that they’d ever had much trouble with, but after a few days of it, even with their boots broken in, even freshly unencumbered and with a full night’s sleep behind them, it was still quite difficult to move over the terrain, especially for the less active of the group.

They didn’t stay too tightly packed together – the poor quality of the half-there roads, stony paths and bumpy hard soil made it easier for them to cover the distance spread apart, double file. Rainbow and Applejack fell in together at the front, with Twilight and Rarity in the middle and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie bringing up the rear.

Fluttershy fiddled awkwardly with her crossbow across her back. She had it strapped up - unloaded for safety, with the bolts stored away in her bag - and it was proving to be an annoyance on the rough ground. She still hoped that she would never have to use it - but felt that she would be doing her friends a disservice if she'd left it behind.

She had donned the set of armour that the dwarves had given her for the first time too, and was regretting having not gotten used to it earlier. It was heavy, awkward and chafed compared to the more comfortable leather tops and chaps she had been wearing all the way from Stormwind and still wore as a base layer – but the two combined to only add to her discomfort.

She envied Pinkie a little; the priest was on her last set of clean robes but they looked incredibly lightweight. Even the staff she carried was at least made of wood, without any metal parts… though she suspected that Pinkie would have no problem carrying it either.

The woman at her side kept up a running monologue on topics ranging from their surroundings, the weather, and generally anything else that crossed her mind.

Fluttershy chewed her bottom lip as she half-listened. Something kept nagging away at her. Something she’d been wanting to ask Pinkie about it for a while, but just hadn’t found the chance, or perhaps the courage.

Eventually, with the relative privacy enforced by the terrain and the serenity of the plains also standing behind her thoughts, she found that she couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Um, Pinkie…” she started awkwardly in a small voice as the pinkette paused for breath.

“What up, Fluttercup?”

“...Are you… okay? About Gummy?”

Pinkie cocked her head. “What d’ya mean?”

“It's just... I know Applejack’s worried about Winona, Rarity kept looking down and expecting to see Opalescence when we were in Stormwind, Rainbow spent an afternoon panicking because she couldn’t remember whether she fed Tank, and Twilight mentioned not being sure about whether Owlicious would stay with Spike or just go off on his own... You've not mentioned him once. Aren’t you worried about Gummy?” she burst out at last with uncharacteristic forthrightness.

“Nope!” Pinkie answered at once, fidgeting with her staff as she walked, letting it slide along the curve of one arm before catching it as it approached the side of her head. “I miss him, but I’m not worried. Might be if it were anyone else. But Gummy’s a capable gator. And he’s got the Cakes, too!”

“I suppose.” Fluttershy frowned, then a thought came to her. “Oh… I’m sorry, Pinkie. You must miss the Cakes as well.”

“Yeah. My family, too. Ma, Pa, Maud, Limestone, Marble…” she trailed off, then shook her head. “Being upset isn’t going to help me to see them again. It can’t help anything. But I can remember them, treasure those happy memories, and live for them, and just hope we’ll see each other again someday. That’s just how I think, anyway.” She gave the other girl one of her shining smiles, a radiance that she seemed to exude bodily as well as in spirit.

“You’re right, Pinkie. Thanks, I… understand, now. Sorry for judging you…”

“Aww, I’m sorry too.” The party-lover pulled her close, an arm around her shoulder, the other clutching her staff to her side. “I didn’t mean to patronise you earlier.” She’d clearly taken notice of her friend’s earlier discomfort – she certainly could be oblivious, but she wasn’t always.
“Besides, if we hadn’t come here, I never would have met all my new friends in this world, never would have become a priest, never would have thrown the best cheese party Stormwind’s ever seen! Those are good, happy things, no matter how far we are from home!”

I suppose I never would have met those nice dwarves in Stormwind, either… or Wilder.

Those big, blue eyes filled with the wideness of curiosity. That boisterous youthfulness, the energy to run circles around her and yet the awareness to sense when she was feeling down and reluctant… Yes, Wilder had the potential to be a wonderful companion. He’d already come a long way since attacking them in the forest, and she was glad to see that the others were getting used to his presence too. Like he was really becoming part of the family.

“I’m not saying the bad stuff doesn’t happen or that you should ignore it, but if you let it be all you think about then you’re just missing out, y’know?”

Pinkie’s right. Not everything has been bad here. I’ve got my friends, old and new.

“I guess.” She gave a small smile, which Pinkie happily pounced upon.

“Just gotta stay positive, right? Ooh, that reminds me!” she suddenly gasped, struck by unknown inspiration. “I need to start planning the party for when we return to Stormwind! D’ya want to help? I could use a hand getting all the ingredients ready, and…”

Fluttershy let Pinkie ramble on with her plans, her gaze slowly switching between her friend, her companion below and the plains ahead.
What the future held could be scary, could be terrifying, but she was in good hands. She just had to trust in them, keep a positive outlook, and everything would be fine. Everything would work out.

“Yes, I think I’d like that.”

They made good time in the end, coming back together as a group once the ground evened out and they found a road again. Even with the lunch break adding half an hour to their journey time they still managed to reach Moonbrook by the early afternoon.

Twilight managed five paces towards the town before Applejack stopped her. “No offense, sugarcube, but you’re gonna want to let me and Rainbow lead.”

“…Why?” Twilight asked, confused. Does it matter who goes first?

“We don’t know what might be waiting for us in that there town, and your fancy robes ain’t gonna do much if some unpleasant type decides to aim their bow at you.” Her friend pointed out kindly.

Twilight winced inwardly at having not considered the practicalities of the situation, the image of an arrow piercing a chest flashing uncomfortably through her mind. She stepped to the side to let the warrior pass first. “I… hadn’t thought of that. Lead the way.”

The first thing they had noticed about Moonbrook, even from quite a way away, was how empty it seemed. Deserted, even.

Now that they were closer, they could clarify that impression slightly. Not just deserted. Abandoned.

It wasn’t particularly large, barely more so than Goldshire in fact. A few buildings here and there, a barn, an inn. All dilapidated and forlorn.

Not a person in sight.

And yet, the most striking thing about the town – what gave the game away, arguably – was the silence.

Their footsteps were the only thing they heard as they did a quick sweep of the town. But that by itself didn’t mean that they were alone – if anything it felt like the opposite.

It was too quiet. Unnaturally so. Not a bird chirping in the rafters or trees, no creaking of rusted door hinges or splintering wood floors.

“Anyone ever get the feeling that you’re being watched?” Rainbow Dash piped up uneasily as they competed the circuit and ended up back where they started, where the pressure, the intensity of a dozen gazes, seemed to lessen somewhat.

“It’s the hairs standing up on the back of your neck, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… same feeling as we’d get back when we were ponies… like on Nightmare Night in one of them haunted houses.”

“Oh, there were definitely people observing us as we walked through.” Rarity off-handedly affirmed. “I kept a careful eye on our surroundings, but I was still unable to spot them. They must be very skilled at avoiding detection.”

“Maybe we can get Pinkie to startle them with her party cannons.” Rainbow suggested dryly.

The party-planner gasped and fell over. “Oh no! I left them all in Stormwind. Should I have brought them?”

“I think we’ll get by, Pinkie.”

Twilight looked into the town again. If she’d had no intelligence about Moonbrook from Gryan, she might have been tempted to give up on it, but the reports sent in were all very clear about it being the centre of something big. And the feeling she had… something was out of place.

Before all those who sent the reports had disappeared anyway. Could that be our fate? Am I leading us all to our doom?

No. There’s nothing we can’t take on together. If we believe that, we can do anything. Including talking down the Defias.

“There’s something very wrong about Moonbrook. We need to conduct a deeper search.” She decided.

“Should we split into two or three groups? It’ll make the search go faster.” Rainbow offered.

Twilight considered the proposal, then shook her head. “No. If we are being watched, I’d wager that’s what they want us to do. We’ll stick together for safety in numbers, and be more thorough in our searches.”

Rainbow nodded, “Right. You’re the boss.”, and the group started down the road back into town.

The mage turned to Fluttershy as they walked. “Do you think Wilder will be able to help us search?”

Fluttershy gave a small shrug. “Um… Maybe. He’s not trained for this sort of thing, and it’s not really one of his natural instincts, but I can probably get him to let us know if he finds anything interesting that we haven’t noticed. He’s very intelligent, you know… but I can’t promise anything.”

“That’s okay, I’m sure we’ll be fine if he does the best he can.”

And so they searched, building by building. Applejack entered each one first with Rainbow at the rear to provide the group the strongest all round protection against an attack. Once inside, they turned over furniture, examined walls and picked over nooks and crannies. Fluttershy led Wilder methodically around each room, the wolf. Occasionally he would become excited about something, dragging his master all over the place after a scent only he could detect, but each time the trail went cold.

Where the outsides had provided no clues, the interiors showed some evidence of past habitation. A food wrapper here, a broken bottle there – the detritus of land recently forsaken. They found little of use in the housing aside from the waste, and so turned their attention to the bigger communal buildings of the settlement.

Nothing remained of value in the inn, which appeared to have been looted of its entire contents to the point that only a few rotting pieces of furniture remained. The same could be said for the barn, which nature had reclaimed the most of all. Weeds cluttered the inside and long ivy creeped up the walls.

Next they came upon a schoolhouse, with desks overturned and papers strewn across the floor, which they pored over for a little while in the hope of discovering something useful. As intriguing a discovery as it was, it ultimately gave them nothing related to the Defias, and the others eventually had to drag Twilight away from the otherwise valuable information so that they could stay on track.

After an hour they had searched every building in Moonbrook – every building, that is, save one. An unassuming shack stood to the southwest, tucked away behind several others that they had already checked, and which they only stumbled upon by chance.

It was immediately clear that something was different about the shack. For one, although it was built from the same materials as everywhere else and appeared to be in a similar state of disrepair, the path inside was noticeably better trod.

Indeed, Wilder burst into a half-frenzied fever of interest, his tongue lolling without a care, and it was all Fluttershy could do pulling on his collar to stop him from charging inside.

Beyond that, it also appeared to have been once part of a larger structure. A casual observer might have missed it, but Rarity’s keen eye alerted her to how the surroundings stood out. What might at first have appeared to be an errant brick or stone in the ground actually turned out to be part of the foundation for something big.

It seemed that the previous building had been downsized fairly recently. Perhaps in the hope that a smaller building would prove less conspicuous to a prying eye…

“The Deadmines… that was the name of their base. If they set themselves up in an actual mine, then presumably it would have had some kind of refinery or storage area for what was pulled out of it. And when the Defias took over, they wouldn’t want to make it too obvious that they were using it without using the mine, so maybe they had this put in its place.” Twilight mused, scooping up a handful of soil and then letting it slip out of her hands again. “This could be it.”

So they gathered and stared through the open door into the small area.

“Isn’t this ‘Defias Brotherhood’ supposed to be made up of like a couple hundred guys?” Pinkie asked. “How could they have such a big party in a space like this?”

“It’s the last place we haven’t checked, even if it is so tiny. Let’s be really thorough, and then we can take a break for some food.” Twilight told them. She and Rarity started walking around the perimeter of the shack, double-checking that they hadn’t missed anything, while the others, enthusiasm renewed by the prospect of food after, got to searching inside.

“That appears to have everyone fired up. Goodness knows I myself could do with some refreshment.”

“Hmm. Anything about this seem off to you?” The mage frowned, running a hand over the filthy timbers.

“Now that you mention it – and I know this is perhaps more Applejack’s field than mine, but still – I would say the proportions off this… ahem… hut, seem rather off.”

“Right.” Twilight agreed. It looked like it stretched out another metre, a metre and a half beyond where the wall at the back ended. “It’s almost like there should be more space inside than there is. Like there’s a second, hidden-”

Before she could finish the sentence they heard Pinkie’s voice inside. “Hey you guys! I found a switch, and-”

CLICK

“-I thinkWooaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

They moved as she was still crying out, only one thought racing through both their minds.

Pinkie!

Author's Note

And there's chapter 12! Not much action in this one, I admit, but I wanted to give Pinkie and Fluttershy some coverage before the girls reached their destination. It should be made up for next time, though...

...as the Deadmines await.

Into the Deadmines, Part I: Descent

Into the Deadmines, Part 1: Descent

Pinkie was gone by the time they made it round the shack, rushing in to find the others looking terribly confused.

“She… was just there a moment ago… the wall span around, and she disappeared with it.” Fluttershy stammered.

“Let’s not panic. We heard her say something about a switch.” Twilight approached the wall and examined it carefully. At first glance it appeared unassuming, but getting close enough she could feel the slightest of draughts coming from the bottom where the wood was most rotten and degraded. She knocked at it hesitantly, then ran her hand slowly across the damp wood at waist level.

She felt the switch at last, but didn’t immediately press it. “Here,” she said, indicating it to the others, then pressed it and stood back. The door swung immediately, almost faster than she could withdraw her hand, and they were left staring at a narrow passage going down below ground level.

They quickly found Pinkie; she had tumbled through the door and all the way to the bottom, but had sustained no more than a few minor grazes in her fall. “I’m okay!” She pushed herself off the floor as they approached. “Nothing I can’t fix, anyway!”

“This must be the Deadmines.” Twilight decided. We must have stumbled over one of its entrances… But how come they didn’t they know about it? Surely one of the scouts got this far before?

“Okay girls, here’s the plan.” She gathered them around for a team talk before they pushed further into the gloom ahead. I don’t think we should try to sneak through, they’re more likely to attack us if we get caught. We’ll announce ourselves straight away and ask to see VanCleef. Then we can talk and try to convince him to stop.”

“Let us hope they are willing to talk.” Rarity murmured in response, but there was no dissent further than that.

The path opened out into a maze of caves, a vast mining of dimly lit rooms – a dimness matched only by the dust of the mining operation and the dampness of the soil and rock.

Rarity recoiled as a spray of dust fell from the ceiling above her. Fortunately the mine was stable, but there were some things that couldn’t be avoided in an environment like this.

They found mining equipment almost immediately, abandoned pickaxes and shovels littering the cave floors. Torches in brackets provided them with light; Pinkie took the first one they spotted as Twilight added to the illumination with a flame she conjured in the palm of her hand.

What they did not find however was people. No miners, no guards. Nobody. There were traces, signs of prior activity, however – everything looked recently abandoned, as if the workers had up and left not too long ago.

“Maybe they’ve done a runner?” Rainbow offered in explanation.

“Deserted, you think?” Rarity hummed sceptically.

I hope so. Implausible as the timing would be for VanCleef’s stronghold to collapse in on itself at the same time as they were coming to convince him to stand down and make peace, it was something she desperately wanted to be the case.

Occasionally they would hear a faint shuffling, sometimes a faint moan, that always seemed to be coming from up ahead but that they could never quite reach the source of.

It took them about half an hour of exploring before they made some significant progress, hitting numerous dead ends on the way. The trick was to ignore any paths that lacked torches, and knowing to do so limited their missteps significantly. Eventually they came to a bridge over two rock formations along with a track leading to a lower level. Set not far behind the bridge was a large bronze archway – the most ostentatious decoration they had seen in the mines so far, and a good sign that they were on the right track.

Walking through it they came to more caverns, these filled with more mining equipment than had been in those they had passed through previously. This section appeared more like a centre of operations, from where a foreman would organise the day to day running of the mine. I wonder whether the mines were dug out from Moonbrook into the hills we saw to the south, or whether the work started elsewhere and finished out of the town…

“Hey, hold up a sec.” Applejack brought them to a sudden halt as they were traipsing further into the mine. “D’ya’ll hear that?”

“Hear what? The dust falling down and ruining my fabulous hair?”

“…no. Listen close, it’s like a clock or somethin’.”

They listened, straining their ears – and yes, there definitely was a sound. It was faint, but noticeable – and it was coming from somewhere nearby.

A small, old mine cart sat conspicuously in the centre of the hollowed-out room. It had been easy to ignore at first, but now that they were aware of the sound apparently coming from, it stood out to them. It’s weirdly placed, almost it was just left there – but why? It’s not near any of the ore for collection; surely it should otherwise be with the rest of the carts in the corner?

And why is this mine so empty? Where is everyone?

“Hold on, I’ll take a look.” Twilight bent over the cart and peered in carefully.

She saw a jumble of metal, some shiny, some rusty. She saw some kind of grey putty-like substance. She saw a mess of wires.

And the whole thing was definitely ticking.

“Girls, try and stay calm…” Twilight said as slowly as possible, straightening up and looking back at them. “But I think this is going to explode.”

“Uh?!"

“Wha-?”

“It’s going to explode very soon.” she expanded briskly. The others stood briefly transfixed by the unexpected situation, uncertain as to whether they should flee away, run forwards, or…

“What?! Then let’s get out it out of here!” Rainbow made to pick up the small wooden cart and carry it away.

“NO! Don’t move it! It might go off!” Rainbow snapped her hand back as if it had been bitten by a snake. Twilight crouched down again and examined the device more closely. A fuse, a timer counting down, some metal almost thrown into the mix and wires leading down to what she could only assume was explosive material…

It was definitely a bomb. Improvised poorly, true, but it would throw out enough shrapnel to take care of them as was the makers’ clear intention.

The sound was getting faster, more urgent, as if it was ready to go off at any moment.

She had no time to worry about what else happen, could only hope that her action wouldn’t backfire. She raised her hand towards the device, concentrated hard, and the temperature around it plummeted. Before they could all even blink twice it had frozen, the ticking coming to a sudden, premature halt.

She barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief. Then the atmosphere of the room changed in a heartbeat; it was suddenly filled with unmistakeable, murderous intent. The shadows stretched and grew as shapes emerged from them, shapes that quickly morphed into shadows on their own, except for the little things that gave them away to the observant – the odd blending of the light at the edge of the figures, as it seemed to strive to avoid them, the pit-pat of the boots worn by someone light on their feet, the subtle hiss of the unsheathing of a rusty knife…

They had vaulted the first hurdle and found themselves immediately at the second.

“It’s an ambush!” Applejack cried, raising her shield and rushing all the way to the back of the party to face down the oncoming shadows - shadows which morphed into men and women carrying daggers and other short weapons, who wore brown leather armour and deep red bandanas.

The Defias didn’t rush them quickly, but if anything the threat they posed to the group became more pronounced as a result of their slow, methodical pacing. Like they were hunters stalking their prey.

Or maybe they were just toying with them.

“RUN! Rainbow, git to the front, now!” The warrior was saying as Twilight snapped back to reality. She looked down the passageway that Applejack was indicating, the one leading deeper into the mine, one devoid of extra shadows.

It looked like their decision had been made for them.

They ran for it down that most prominent passageway, Rainbow with her heavier armour taking point, Applejack at the rear taking repeated leaps back whenever she could afford to, the rest scattered in between. The bandits pursuing no longer had the advantage of a surprise attack, and had little hope of capitalising on their initial ambush now. The passage was too narrow for them to overwhelm her through sheer weight of numbers – they could only attack three abreast. Their daggers and knives provided them with far less reach than Applejack’s blade, her shield took care of most of the strokes that slipped past, and her armour mostly absorbed those expertly timed attacks that made it all the way through her guard and caught against her chest or arms. When she had been up against the gnolls or the ghoul she had worn a mail vest, leggings and greaves, but the night before had broken in the rest of the gear that she’d been given by her trainers, and was quickly relieved to have done so once how much of a difference it was making became apparent.

The smell hit them before they saw what was causing it as they barrelled out of the passageway and skidded to a halt in the wider, open room beyond. There, standing in front of a huge bronze gate, blocking their advance, was a creature they had never seen before. It stood far taller than all of them, even towering over Applejack. It was naked save for a belt, a loincloth and a pair of bracers, all made of some kind of thick red-dyed cloth, matched in colour by the red tattoos it sported on its arms. Muscled from head to toe, with a large sharp horn protruding out of the top of its head, it seemed like it didn’t even need the massive stone hammer it was clutching awkwardly in one thick hand. Perhaps it was merely for show.

“Uugh!” Rarity’s voice distorted as she clutched at her nose, almost turning away in disgust. “What is that beast?”

“Ogre!” Twilight grimaced, caught between catching her breath and trying not to inhale the stench. “Slow, strong… don’t get hit!”

“VanCleef pay big for your heads!” He – she assumed; she didn’t know enough about the species to distinguish genders - roared, and lumbered towards them.

Doesn’t seem big on grammar, either.

Rainbow met him in the middle, her own hammer raised defensively. His tiny black eyes tracked her and he brought his weapon down where it expected her to be, but she was too quick for him. She danced to the side and thumped him with a heavy strike across the chest, jumping back before he could retaliate – but he seemed not to have even felt the blow.

Wilder dashed forward as Fluttershy released him, joining Rainbow up close and snapping at the brute’s heels. Rarity was nowhere to be seen, but the others knew she was still with them – waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Twilight looked back. It had been a trap, a backup plan to the bomb. Applejack—

“Don’t worry ‘bout me! Focus on that thing!” The defender tilted her head, one eye still on her six opponents, the other winking at the mage to show her confidence. Looking past her, Twilight could see two of the bandits laid out on the floor, groaning and clutching their stomachs. The mage feared for a moment that her friend had been forced to wound or kill again, but no – it looked like she’d not even drawn blood.

Her strikes were more precise, more focused. She wasn’t just lashing out - she was being very careful. She wasn’t winning, but she was buying them the time they needed.

Like before in the forest, Twilight couldn’t do much from to support her against so many enemies without hindering her too. Still, she knew she could tilt the scales slightly in Applejack’s favour.

She concentrated on one of the bandits at the back that she could just about see, weaving a spell of transformation. A snap of her fingers finished the cast, and the unfortunate thief dropped to the floor, shifted temporarily – and harmlessly – into the form of a sheep.

Reassured now, however slightly, Twilight looked to Pinkie. “Can you try and split your focus between the two fights? Either could need your attention.”

“You got it boss!” Pinkie’s mock salute morphed into her pointing at Wilder – a shield erupted around him just in time to protect him from a sweeping blow from the ogre’s hammer. She spun on the spot - “Hey, AJ, what did the apple say to the apple pie? “You’ve got some crust!” Ha-ha!”

Applejack grinned as warmth flooded her - the pain she had been beginning to feel diminished, the swelling died down, the bruises faded, the cuts re-knitted. “Keep ‘em comin’, Pinkie!”

Fluttershy watched her friend and her companion battle with the ogre, trembling as she reached for her crossbow. She wasn’t sure what good it would do, but with the others all trying so hard, she felt she had to do something.

She froze as she touched the wooden stock. Remembered that awful shooting range. How she could’ve killed someone through her incompetence.

Her fist clenched.

I can’t do it. But…

She moved her hand down to her pouch and, shaking just as hard, pulled out a shimmering blue crystal.

With both the ogre and the bandits occupied, however temporarily, Twilight turned her attention to the main obstacle to their progress – the big bronze door.

We have to go forward. These are just the foot soldiers. They’re so blinded by hatred they won’t give us time to explain… We need to get Edwin VanCleef to make them stand down.

She concentrated again, teleporting through the fight in a flash of cerulean light, the spell resolving to leave her directly in front of the door.
Back home I could have teleported through the door and brought all my friends along too, but… not here.

She couldn’t see any booby traps – and now was not the time for thoroughness – so sent a small burst of power into the door through the keyhole. Not enough to set anything off or damage the door, but she could feel the resonance of the magic as it worked through the door and that would tell her all she needed to know.

She felt it bounce around inside the mechanism.

She smiled.

It isn’t locked. They must have forgotten to lock the door. Some good fortune at last!

I can open it with a simple spell. But we need to get everyone through, and we can’t have them following us! We just need to incapacitate that ogre somehow…

Rarity waited in the shadows. Waited – and watched. She saw what the others didn’t, because they were too occupied to notice – Twilight trying to get everybody’s attention, gesturing desperately at the door; Fluttershy fiddling with her pouch, something up her sleeve…

And something only her keen eyes could spot. The way the brute kept flicking his eyes up to the fight that was waging in front of him, as afraid of the blonde warrior joining the odds against him as he was hopeful for sudden reinforcements. Invested in the outcome. She pursed her lips. A thread to pick loose. A weakness to exploit.

I have the thread. Now I just need the right moment.

Rainbow felt certain she was whittling him down – at least faster than dodging and swinging at him was tiring her, anyway. Then a desperate swing caught her by surprise across the side of the face – almost more of a slap than a punch. The force of the blow threw her completely off balance and slowed her attempt to recover – making her too slow to dodge his follow-up smash. A finishing move, meant to kill. She managed to block his mace with her own, but he exerted more force in response, pinning her down. He was so intent on taking down Rainbow that he didn’t even feel Wilder’s persistent attacks.

Her eyes started to shimmer, then blaze with light as she tried to push him back, but only succeeded in retaking a knee against him. Pinkie couldn’t shield her, or even salve her wounds; the ogre was bearing down too hard on the stricken paladin – and Applejack needed her attention anyway, growing increasingly tired from holding off all of the bandits now that the polymorph had faded. They were pushing her back, back to the point where four could attack her at once, and they were inflicting increasing damage. Pinkie’s spells could mend wounds and dull pain, but they could only do so much against fatigue.

And then it all came together for them.

The ogre looked up at the exact same moment as Rainbow put her absolute all into throwing him off. As he staggered upwards, trying to focus on regaining his footing, Rarity tossed a pouch from across the room that landed directly on the ogre’s chest. It burst on impact, showering the creature from forehead to neck in a dusty black powder which inflamed the ogre’s skin on contact and blinded where it seeped into his eyes.

He staggered backwards, bawling “Why it hurt? WHY IT STING?” and the reprieve allowed Twilight the opportunity to get the attention of Rainbow and the rest. She sent her spell burrowing into the door, which glowed violet briefly before swinging open.

“Through here!” she cried as Rarity hurried past her, already having started moving before she’d even begun to speak. Rainbow was quick on the uptake, running around the stricken ogre with Pinkie bouncing along beside her.

Applejack weighed her chances, then swung her sword in a wide arc across her enemies, making some space so that she could back away to join the others. Recovering, the Defias hurried to chase after them...

…and found themselves slipping over as the lead thief triggered Fluttershy’s trap, the blue crystal exploding into a large patch of ice. The huntress scooped Wilder away from the ogre and pulled him through waiting door to the encouragement of the others. With everyone through, Rainbow and Applejack grabbed the heavy door handles and dragged them together as quickly as they could to close it behind them. Half of their pursuers had fallen on the ice and were struggling to regain their balance, while the rest were still up but moving as slowly as they possibly could to avoid joining their friends on the floor.

The last sight they had before the door slammed shut was of the half-blind and furious ogre colliding headlong with the Defias; his last ditch effort to kill the intruders thwarted by his muddled sense of direction.

They stood still for a moment, fighting to catch their breaths.

“They didn’t seem to be in a talkin’ mood.” Applejack said grimly, stretching out her exhausted muscles as Pinkie fussed over her remaining minor injuries.

“We can’t give up hope yet. It’s the leader we need to convince. We can end this through him.”

“So guys… what stops them from just pulling the door open and following us?” Rainbow pointed out.

Twilight frowned and said, “I might have a solution… if I can successfully pull off the magic required.”

She closed her eyes, pressed her hands to the door and drew upon the same forces that she had earlier used to freeze the bomb.

Water formed around her palms, water which turned to ice before it even had a chance to drip to the floor. She ramped up her effort, the intensity and energy she was putting into the spell as the ice grew across the metal, covering more and more of it and to a greater thickness.

She was drained once she had finished but the result was impressive – the frost had spread all the way over the door and the surrounding rock. They could see the door opening on the other side, people distorted into shapes by the crystalline ice.

“Will it hold out?” asked Rainbow.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

The three heavy crunches of tough flesh on ice cut Twilight off before she could reply, the sound of someone, probably the ogre judging from his silhouette, trying to break through from the other side. The ice directly above the hinges shifted and cracked slightly, but otherwise the makeshift barricade held up well.

“S’pose that answers my question.” The paladin shrugged.

“Well… we can’t turn back now. We have to press on.”

“Let’s hurry before they try to blow it up…”

And so they forged ahead.

They carried on through the mines, always taking the best-lit route. It seemed they had come to the end of the main mining area now – all the veins this far in had long since been stripped clean and now the passages simply served as way deeper into the Defias base.

The first clue they had that something was up ahead was the – the screech of metal grating on something else. Hacking. Chewing. Overpowering. It got louder as they walked further down the passage, a clear indicator that they hadn’t been mistaken in their route selection, which was confirmed when they came to another large bronze gate separating the path from a distinct room. They gathered at the edge together then carefully peered through…

…and found themselves looking at a carpenter's dream.

“…Wow.” Rainbow muttered appreciatively. Applejack whistled in awe.

How the Defias had managed to set up such a place inside a cave like this, how they’d managed to hollow out the wall so high so as to accommodate all the pieces of whatever they were making – these were mysteries, but they couldn’t doubt what they were seeing.

The mustiness of the material stored complimented the natural damp of the cave in a way that was most unpleasant. Carved timbers lined the far wall neatly while uncarved logs were stacked haphazardly, close to where they were standing.

The source of the din soon became obvious. A large figure made of metal stood at a workbench sized appropriately for it, a mechanical body spewing steam and juddering side to side occasionally. A little green head poked above its shoulders, just visible from their view behind.

“Is someone driving that thing?” Rainbow strained to see without making herself too obvious under the arch.

“He’s a goblin.” Twilight told the others, her research on Azeroth once again coming in handy. “Green skin, very short… about the height of a gnome. They’re apparently very good at making technology, very creative, but they can be a little eccentric. And greedy.”

He brought the suit’s sawblade down and began cutting into a massive log. Sparks flew up into the air.

“That suit, it’s like one of those harvest golems... but different. A machine for industrialising carpentry.” Twilight whispered.

“I think we should perhaps revise our earlier plan, Twilight.” Rarity counselled. “We should sneak past this odd green fellow and his machine. If he is not receptive to our attempts at negotiation then it will end very badly for us.”

“You’re right. I really don’t want to take that thing on as we are.” Or ever. “It’s too dangerous. We’ll get past him and try with someone who isn’t as capable of squashing us. The door’s over there.” She pointed over to the barely-visible bronze archway ahead, fortunately as open as the one they were standing under had been. “Go one at a time, try to stay out of sight.”

They skirted around the closest log and set off towards their goal.

All of the materials scattered around the room made it very unlikely that they would be spotted – and it helped that he was so intent on his work that he didn’t even glance up in their direction. Rarity was again practically invisible as she skilfully picked her way across the room, and even Fluttershy had little trouble with quietly directing Wilder to the other side.

“Can’t believe Smite made me send all the ‘jacks on leave. Can’t believe the captain agreed. Pilgrim’s Bounty? Hmph. Not even a real holiday.” the goblin was complaining. Between the sound of his own voice and the deafening rip of his machine hacking at the lumber, he had little chance of hearing them either as they slowly made their way to the door.

At least until Pinkie, the last of the group to creep through, clumsily tripped over a loose beam, fell into a hanging net and brought a massive log down next to herself.

That got his attention. The machine swung around with a clank of metal, a whirring of cogs and a hiss of steam. “Who’s there?” he screeched, his sawblade out warily, eyes darting back and forth.

He saw nothing. Not convinced, he trundled over to the fallen logs, casting his suspicious gaze all over the room.

The others held their breath in horrid anticipation. They were safe out of sight for the moment, but Pinkie…

After a tense few seconds that felt like a whole lot more, the goblin, satisfied that the sound that had alerted him had been harmless coincidence, picked the logs up, stacked them horizontally against the untouched lumber, and went about his work once more.

Overhead, clutching onto the suspended log she had dashed up to in a panic, Pinkie breathed out a quiet sigh of relief.

They carried on once Pinkie had re-joined them. The goblin was absorbed into his work again, oblivious to the fact that the group had snuck past him, but Twilight turned back briefly to muse, watching him saw into some of the material. A thought played uncomfortably on her mind.

Ore I can understand, but lumber? What do they need all this wood for? And how did they get it all in?

She had a feeling that the answers lay further inside… and that she wouldn’t like what they comprised.

The next passageway felt much longer than the first, and also made them feel like they were making much less progress compared to in the outer section of the mines. There were no deceiving dead ends, just one long path to the end. They passed by more depleted veins and evidence of the base’s critical infrastructure in the form of a series of brass pipes that ran from one wall of the cave to another – and then eventually the ceiling, before disappearing. Eventually, after a good ten minutes, they came to the next major room of the complex.

If the central mines had been dusty and the lumberyards were musty, then the third hub of the Deadmines could only be considered… hot.

Well above boiling, in fact. Considering that it was a forge, of course, this was not perhaps surprising to the group as they emerged from the cave passageway onto an overlooking balcony in a large circular room with a high ceiling. A steel ramp led down to the bottom layer where the work was carried out, dug deeper into the ground to allow the room to go so high. Goblin craftsmen worked below, the floor a hive of activity as they directed ore carted from the outer reaches of the mines into the smelting pits, and then sent that metal to be cooled and bashed into… whatever it was they were making.

First a mine, then a carpenter’s, now a forge. What do they need all this metal and wood for? Are they building something?

“Oh, this heat!” Rarity groaned, half-swooning. “Now I will definitely break out into a sweat! This is horrible!”

“’Least you aren’t wearing armour that weighs more than you do.” Applejack retorted, tugging at her mail collar.

“Hmm… Fair point.”

“They look like workers, not warriors.” Twilight eyed the goblins carefully. “I think they might be more likely to hear us out, or at least take us to VanCleef. Sheathe your weapons.”

They made their way down the ramp, boots ringing out across the metal. Not one of the goblins looked up at the sound – they had gotten used to overseers and taskmasters overseeing their work and assumed that those walking towards them were more of the same.

They had a stroke of luck just before coming off the ramp – one of the goblins was coming their way. He looked younger to Twilight than the other goblin had from their encounter at a distance; she assumed as such anyway from how his skin was less wrinkled and his eyes were… warmer?

His jaw dropped as they approached. His eyes took in their odd appearances, the fact that they were clearly not Defias, their sheathed weapons, before darting over towards where his fellow workers were, clearly weighing up whether or not to risk shouting a warning...

“W-wha, you—”

“Please, it’s okay.” Twilight hoped she could stop him from panicking too much. It wouldn’t look good if he charged over to his compatriots screaming about a bunch of evil humans. She wasn’t sure whether it would be polite to kneel or crouch so that he wouldn’t have to look up so far – or whether it would be viewed as insulting. “We’d like to talk to your boss, please. Would you take us to him?”

“Uhhh…” The goblin, still taken aback by the situation he’d found himself in, nodded slowly. It wasn’t every day that he was approached by six unfamiliar humans with brightly coloured hair and a wolf while at work. Indeed, the safest thing for him to do right now was acquiesce, and he quickly worked that out. “Yea… I guess. Come with me.”

Rainbow sidled up to Twilight as they followed the worker down into the forge proper, and whispered, “You really think this is a good idea?”

She shrugged. “Hey, he didn’t try to kill us on sight. I’d call that progress.”

The forge fell silent as they walked through, the goblins looking up from their tools at their approach, the sounds of metal beating metal ceasing in sequence. Even the pouring of the metal into the smelting pit stopped as the workers in charge took time to examine the new arrivals.

Clearly, visitors rarely came this far into the Deadmines.

“What are you all doing?” A sharp voice rang out. “Get to work, you oafs!”

“Hey, boss! Got somethin’ for ya.” The young goblin trembled as he called out to the voice’s owner, a comparatively tall goblin with a slightly darker shade of green skin, who wore a brown leather outfit with well-fitted black boots.

“What is it, Fimbleblaze? Got a lot of work to be doin’. Work you should be doin’, too.” The other goblin didn’t even look up at them as they approached, more focused on wiping his brow with one hand and holding onto the clipboard he was perusing with the other.

Fimbleblaze rung his hands awkwardly. “Sorry, Mr. Gilnid. It’s kind of important.”

Gilnid sighed. He clearly wasn’t much good at patience; or perhaps he was just regularly frustrated by those under him. “What could be more imp—” He started, but cut himself off as he looked, at last, and stared up at the party who had ended up in his forge.

“Ah. Ah. I see. Very well. Thanks, Fimbleblaze. Run along now, I’ll take care of this.”

The younger goblin positively fled, happy to be away from them. He disappeared out of sight around the back of the forge.

“So… friends.” Gilnid wore a sickly smile as he turned to address them, a smile that held no hint of warmth. Only danger. His cold, focused eyes bored into them as those of a master craftsman could - analysing, assessing, and cataloguing. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, sir,” Twilight began, hopeful that maybe things were now going their way. So focused was she on saying the right thing that she didn’t notice that all of the other goblins were deathly silent and focused, watching her and their boss with great interest. “We’d like to speak with Edwin VanCleef.”

“Oh really? The big boss is quite busy. Why d’ya want him?”

“Well, we’ve come from Stormwind,” No point lying about that now. “And we’d like to talk to him about making peace. Finding a way that we can all coexist together!”

“And have a massive party to celebrate!” Pinkie popped up behind Twilight, a wide grin across her face.

“I… see.” Gilnid sounded surprised, despite himself, and a little perturbed by Pinkie. “And you made it all this way?”

“Yes, well, we weren’t given the warmest welcome once we got into the mines,” Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “But that’s water under the bridge. We’re looking to forgive and forget, and we think a man like VanCleef would be willing to hear us out. What do you think?”

Gilnid thought for a moment, then smiled again. This time there appeared to be genuine mirth in his expression. “Hmm. Yeah, I get ya. In fact, the boss always asked us to take care of people like you if you ever came along. Gimme a minute and I’ll let him know.”

“Wow, uh... Thanks!” I almost didn’t think it’d be this easy to convince him!

“Don’t mention it. Now, you all just wait over by that platform,” He indicated a few steps near the brass door ahead, the one that led deeper into the base. “And I’ll let them know to go get you - no, a bit closer… to the right… there you go!”

“All right boys, you heard me. Get back to work! And you two, go get it ready for them!”

The goblin craftsmen jumped back to work at once, hammering, pressing, calling out work orders. The head smelter bowed to them politely, then walked over to whisper to his subordinates.

Twilight turned to her friends. “Well, that went well! I was worried for a moment there.”

Applejack cocked her head. “He did kinda seem more open to it that I was expectin’.”

“I’m so happy it’s working out for us!” Pinkie squealed and pulled the mage into a hug. “I’ll have to start planning the party straight away. Now, red and blue… oh, just think of the decorating possibilities!”

The smelting pot twisted above them, shrieking as it moved.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves, Pinkie.” Twilight patted her on the shoulder, but still smiled. “But yes, this is a good start. And now—”

“Twilight, LOOK OUT!”

The smelting pot tipped and red-hot slag poured out towards them. Rarity’s quick movement pulled the purple-haired girl out of the way, and they all recoiled towards the door as it fell, hissing where it splashed into the ground.

“Aww, you survived.” They looked back at Gilnid to find him surrounded by most of his craftsmen, all carrying tools, little chunks of metal, even rocks. “The way that floor’s slightly slanted, the slag’s gonna fall towards you eventually anyway, and you can’t get out through the door. Guess we get to kill you slowly now.” It was hard to tell whether he disappointed or pleased at his first effort failing, just for the chance to end them this way.

The slag creeped towards them, rending the metal floor of the workshop as it spread, quickly growing wide enough to trap them against the locked bronze door.

“Why?!” demanded Twilight, as she and her friends pulled back in horror.

“Y’see kids, I don’t know whether to believe you, but I know it doesn’t matter. If you’re here to kill the big boss, we lose out on all the contract money for supplying the Defias, ‘cause, without him, they’ll fold. And if you somehow convince him to stop, well, we lose out on money too. Letting you carry on is a lose-lose situation for us. Much more profitable to end you here.” His eyes glinted with greed as they reflected the metal pouring towards the party.

“You’ll destroy your own forge just to kill us?” Rainbow cried, her voice full of incredulity as she stared wide-eyed at the source of the blistering heat.

“It’ll cool eventually, and the damage ain’t something we can’t fix.” the crazed goblin cackled as the pot finished emptying. They were lucky that it had been mostly gone already when the goblins had started pouring it at them, but there was still enough now covering the floor to create a barrier between the two groups. “But not quick enough to save ya. And I’m afraid the damage you’re gonna suffer will be somewhat more… permanent. If you do survive, I’ll be happy to have the docs take a look at ya. We won’t turn away that kind of work when there’s a hefty medical bill involved… or you can always owe us, and join the Defias.”

The sudden rush of hot air was overwhelming, as was the disgusting metallic assault on their nostrils. “Not good...” Twilight grimaced, pulling her robes close to her mouth. "What can we do?"

“I might have the answer, my dear.” Rarity reached into her luscious hair – still remarkably, though not completely untouched by the grim conditions they had put found themselves – and pulled out a hairpin, which she inserted into the door. “Buy me some time and I shall have this door open so that we can move further forward!”

Just where did she learn how to do all this stuff? The floor was a more immediate problem than wondering about that, however, and if they didn’t find a way to slow its degradation then it would claim them before Rarity could finish her work.

“Can you do somethin’, Twi?”

“I might be able to slow it down…” The mage raised her hands, a series of portals appearing above her as she brought forth a freezing cascade of ice – thought it was more like a waterfall in effect, seeing as it all melted immediately the second she brought it forth – and drenched the metal.

“Any other suggestions, girls?” Twilight strained. The blizzard she was calling was at least holding the deadly flow back, but it wasn’t doing much there was just too much metal. She groaned as a cold pair of tongs painfully clipped her on the arm. “Try to keep those missiles off me! It isn’t easy to conjure a snowstorm underground, without any clouds…”

I can remove those annoyances from here… the others might not be able to attack from afar, but I can stop these goblins with my magic. They’ll learn not to betray our trust… they’ll learn…

N-no… if I stop calling this storm, the others will be in danger. What am I thinking?

Applejack was in front of her in a heartbeat later, shield raised. “I gotcha, hon.”

“Is it a suggestion to point out that I’m regretting that we tried to negotiate?” Rainbow asked quickly, also taking up a position from which she could try to batter back some of the projectiles.

“No.” the mage hissed back. “Practical suggestions?”

“Oh. Then no.”

“Fluttershy, can you do what you did before again? With the ice?” Pinkie asked.

“O-okay.” She pulled out another blue crystal, which she slowly and deliberately crushed, struggling not to let go of Wilder with her other hand. She tossed the remains into the lava where they disappeared, then chilled the metal down considerably. The effect was more immediate, more noticeable than Twilight’s methodical casting, but... “Th-that was my last one… sorry.”

"Rarity... how's it coming?"

“Working… on it.” said Rarity, through equally gritted teeth. “One lock down, only two to go, and… oops.”

“Oops?”

“Twilight?” The rogue looked up at her friend, red-faced, and held out one half of a broken hairpin. “Could you perhaps be a dear and fish out the other half of this for me? I appear to have, uh, erred.”

“…” Out pinged the cracked piece of metal in a violet flash, with so much force that it soared over the molten floor and knocked out the closest goblin.

“Uh, thank you, dear.” Rarity got back to work with a second makeshift lock-pick. “Two down!”

“Running out of room!” Applejack cried, deflecting a tossed shoe into the superheated flow. The goblins were certainly getting more creative with their improvised ranged weapons, even as they ran out of the more obvious ones.

“Can’t… keep this up.”

“Face it, you’re not gonna win, mage!” Gilnid taunted. “We’ll melt you all down just like we would any old scrap!”

"You can do it, Twilight! We believe in you!"

“And that is three!” the fashionista cried triumphantly, making a lie of his words as she pulled her hairpin free and gave the door a heavy push. “Let us proceed!”

Exhausted, Twilight let her spell drop and staggered towards the door with the others.

“NO!” Gilnid cried as they all fled into the now-open passage. In a sharp turn, the molten obstacle now benefited the girls as it stopped the goblin smiths from pursuing them. “Get some water and cool that floor down, fast! We can’t let them get away! MORE WATER, YOU IDIOTS!”

“Good job, Rarity!” Twilight praised as Applejack and Rainbow pulled the doors back together, the lead goblin screaming as they made their escape.

“A lady has many talents, Twilight. I am as always happy to be of service.” Rarity gave a quick, gracious bow as Twilight pulled a half-full skin of water out of her bag and downed what remained. The continuous spellcasting had drained her, and she was grateful for a chance to catch her breath – but even with the water she still felt nowhere as well as she had upon first setting foot into the Deadmines… barely more than an hour before.

She scanned the others as they prepared to move on again. All looked just as tired as she was, even the normally energetic Wilder. She could hear Pinkie's exhaustion in the way the pink-haired girl kept missing beats in the song she was humming to herself.

We can’t keep this up forever. I hope we reach VanCleef soon.

The door, as they had been expecting, led to another cavern passageway with no clear current function other than to be a way from getting from point A to B. Point A being the forge, and point B, well… hopefully somewhere closer to our destination.

Because if we have to go much further than this… I don’t know if we’ll make it.

Author's Note

And there's chapter 13! Quite a long one. I hope your Christmas prep is going well, however you're spending it, and I hope you enjoy this too! All comments/criticisms/assistance welcome and appreciated as ever!

I'm going to try to get chapter 14 out on Christmas Day for you. If I fail, I'll definitely have it, the epilogue to Act 1, and the prologue to Act 2, out by New Years' for you to enjoy.

Next time, the girls delve further into the base, and Gilnid isn't quite done with them yet. They'll confront the menace of the Defias Juggernaut, coming face to face with the leadership of the Defias, including Edwin VanCleef himself. Their quest into the Deadmines will come to a conclusion.

Into the Deadmines, Part II: Fall

Into the Deadmines, Part 2: Fall

The passage felt shorter than the others before, though whether it was because they were running this one or whether it was actually shorter was a question they didn’t have time to consider. Though not normally one for much physical exertion, Twilight found herself appreciating the flood of adrenaline into her system and the rest from constant spellcasting that required so much mental agility.

They soon came upon the next bronze gate, exactly the same as the others that had preceded it.

Only… it had two padlocks on it. And it was barred. And, as another of Twilight’s spells confirmed, it was locked from the other side, too.

And there was also the matter of the giant cannon that sat right next to it, unmanned save for two previously sleeping guards.

They were lucky – they hadn’t woken up from the group blundering towards them, which had given Rarity the opportunity to sneak up through the shadows and knock one unconscious, just as she had in Elwynn with one of the gnolls. Twilight repeated her polymorph trick and turned the other into a sheep that remained asleep even after transformation had occurred.

“Bet there’s something big on the other side of this door, with all of this security.” Rainbow examined the bar appreciatively, as Fluttershy gingerly carried the Defias-turned-sheep as far away from the door – and from Wilder – as she could, then came back to drag the unconscious woman away too. “AJ and I could maybe lift this off. Think you can sort the locks, Rarity?”

“Perhaps.” Rarity hummed, running her hand across one of the padlocks as she took her hairpin out of her pocket. “I will get to work immediately.”

“Let’s get this bar then, partner.” Applejack took one end of the bar, Rainbow took the other. “One, two… heave!”

With the most of the group suddenly concentrating on something, Twilight sidled over to Pinkie, the only one other than herself without an immediate task to fulfil. “Are you doing okay, Pinkie? You haven’t said much since we entered the mines…” Less than usual, anyway.

Pinkie gave her a strained grin. She still looked the same level of happy as she normally did, but also more exhausted than Twilight had seen her since she’d tried staying up all night to guard the cake on the Friendship Express. “I’m doing fine! Keeping everybody else healthy is my top priority, but I won’t forget to keep myself in tip-top condition – you don’t need to worry about that.”

Twilight scratched her head. “You know I always worry. I kinda have to.”

“Aww, and we appreciate that! But honestly, I may be a bit tired, but I’m staying positive. I got your backs, yo.”

“We’ll keep doing our best, too.” Fluttershy chimed in, back from moving the downed thieves, Wilder at her heels. The wolf was still quite subdued; Twilight realised with almost certainty that he had never been inside such an enclosed space before. For an animal with limited understanding of the situation it must be like being trapped. “I won’t pretend it’s easy for us; no, it’s definitely very hard. But I can look at you and everyone else for guidance and I feel happy making a difference however I can.”

Meanwhile, the paladin and the warrior had managed to get the bar off the door and were easing it to the ground. “Careful hon, don’t be putting your back out now… there we go.”

CLUNK went the bar as they set it down.

…

CRASH

The second sound had come from back the way they had run, up the tunnel to the forge. Voices thundered in the distance, not quite close enough to be distinguishable, but growing more so by the second.

Gilnid and his men had broken through.

“Rarity, can you have the door open before they catch up to us?” Twilight asked, weighing the options quickly.

“No.” Rarity shook her head, only now clicking off the first padlock. “We haven’t enough time. I’m not that good, dear.”

“All right, see if you can get the second one off. Applejack, think we give Rarity the time she needs again?”

The blonde scratched her head. “Maybe, hon. We’re all pretty beat, they really ain’t, and if they bring all they’ve got we’ll get swarmed. Dunno how long it’ll take her to crack this door, either.”

“All right. We need another plan.”

Twilight chewed a strand of hair that had fallen into her mouth. It was becoming a nervous habit, one she really didn’t like. “It’s risky. We don’t know if the cannon’s even ready to fire, or if it even can. Who knows how often they bother to maintain it? It might just explode in our faces...”

The sound of footsteps approaching was getting louder by the second.

“…but I don’t see any other option. Rainbow, AJ, can you swing it round to point at the door?”

“Sure.”

“You got it.”

They did so, straining hard against the heavy weight of the cannon. It span slowly, but eventually they managed to get it one-eighty degrees from its original facing so that it was now aiming at the gate.

Twilight lit a flame at her fingertips and used tried to ignite the fuse wire. For a long moment she feared that it wouldn’t catch, but then the thin rope started to smoulder, then burn. “Find cover, everyone!” she yelled, teleporting behind several rocks. “Get ready to run through once the door is down. This is going to be a close one…”

“Give it up and die, you freaks!” The goblin roared out as viciously as his vocal chords could manage as he rounded the corner, flanked by three human Defias guards. “The rest of my boys are right behind us so you’d better just...” He trailed off as they skidded to the halt, taking in how the group were all behind cover, how the cannon’s fuse was lit and almost gone…

His guards retreated behind the corner at the sight – they knew how temperamental the cannon could be. He knew, too, but he also knew that the intruders had made it all the way through the rest of the Deadmines to get to him, and that if they could do that, could’ve even killed Rhaak’zor and Sneed for all he knew, then they could definitely slip through his fingers here. Disappointed bosses meant less money – dead bosses generally meant none. He couldn’t take that risk – too much profit, too many opportunities to advance his knowledge – they were all at stake. So Gilnid threw himself at them, fuelled by greed and madness.

KABOOM

CRACK

A gasp of thick black smoke erupted out of the cannon as it blew backwards from the force of being fired, followed half a second later by the impact of the cannonball against the door. It passed through as they had hoped, the effort of doing so robbing the ball of much of its inertia – though it still had enough to soar away unseen into the cavern beyond.

The gate blew open from the impact, the durability of the metal it was made of no match for the speed and point-blank range at which the cannon was fired. It crumpled and fragmented where struck directly, shattering into shards of shrapnel that sprayed out in front of and beyond the gate. Luckily the cover they had chosen proved to be solid enough to spare them a painful end. Gilnid escaped his own death through sheer luck or providence.

“Go through! Go, go!” They rose out of cover as soon as the destructive aftermath had finished and made for the relative safety of beyond the door – their experience of the Deadmines so far had taught them that it wouldn’t be much safer, but they had a more immediate problem in the passage as Gilnid was now close enough to be a very real threat himself.

“You’ll never take my profit!” he shrieked as he swung his spiked mace at Twilight’s back, the last of the group to make a break for it. She realised late how sure his strike was, twisting and summoning a mana barrier at the last possible moment to stave off the blow. It succeeded but dissipated immediately in a violet shower from the force of his attack – and it was a trick that she couldn’t use twice.

It certainly didn’t slow the enraged goblin down in the slightest, and nor did the nova of frost that she tried afterwards. He aimed his follow-up attack at her face, just able to reach high enough to connect.

No…

But then Rarity was between them, catching the mace with one of her daggers angled upwards, so that the strike passed safely over their heads. She held her other dagger in a reverse grip and jabbed at his main hand with the butt, making him recoil backwards and loosen his grip temporarily. Though there was no lasting damage, it was still a painful, bruising manoeuvre, meant to diminish his combat effectiveness rather than cause any real harm.

“Come on, Rarity!” Twilight urged. She’d taken advantage of the chance that Rarity had given her to move away from the fight, and now stood with the others by the door. A layer of ice was already beginning to form as she channelled, intent on freezing the way through just as she had after the fight with the ogre.

Rarity tried to back away, hoping that her display of skill would dissuade the goblin from attacking further. But still he pursued them, consumed with avarice. A weak blow from his mace turned out to be a feint, as he went for her eyes with his unharmed off hand, sharp nails out to puncture, or tear.

She parried and turned away attack after attack, forced all the way back to the just-big-enough hole in the ice that Twilight was leaving her to get through. She scored the odd nick where he left her no choice but to cut or die, yet still fought primarily on the defensive.

She skipped elegantly through the remaining hole at last, confident that she could hold him off easily given the lack of space, but still Gilnid didn’t give up. He made one last desperate lunge up for her throat with his mace swapped to his off hand, the spikes easily capable of cutting into her if she allowed them to even if his arm had less power behind it than he would have liked.

It was easy to avoid. So easy. And it gave her the perfect moment, the perfect opportunity…

The perfect thread to unpick.

She lashed out with her daggers into the remaining gap, slipped past the arm that was poking through, and carved a deep X into his throat. Scarlet spewed into the air as he fell backwards and gurgled out his last breath.

Nobody spoke as Rarity quietly sheathed her daggers and looked firmly away. They were all too shocked to even breathe a sigh of relief.

“You… d-didn’t have to do that.” stuttered Twilight eventually, still casting to reinforce the barrier. The gap had disappeared completely now, the goblin’s corpse just visible through it as a dark silhouette. She kept going until it was thick enough to cover all the way up to the edge of the brass, and then stopped, taking a deep breath that did little to calm her, or relieve the splitting headache she now had.

“I believe I did.” Rarity replied frostily, still refusing to meet their eyes. “We have more pressing matters to worry about, regardless.”

We always seem to. Twilight thought sadly.

“Yeah... C’mon. Let’s see what was so important that—woah.”

Rainbow couldn’t finish her sentence, her jaw dropped as she turned and looked deeper into the cave.

They’d been so distracted that they hadn’t taken in their surroundings – and how this space differed from all the rest.

It was many times the size of any of those rooms, far bigger than all of them combined. The ceiling was obscured in darkness, too high for them to see just how high it went.

The first striking realisation concerned the purpose of it all, however. They had emerged into a wet dock, a safe harbour built in the hollowed-out cavern. They could practically taste the sea water in the air, could watch as it lapped calmly at the edge of the rocky bank that they stood upon, not a wave in sight. They could see two large gate doors in the distance at the edge of the harbour, which presumably lead out to the sea – she guessed somewhere south of Westfall - and allowed ships access in and out of the base. They’d all been down to the docks at Stormwind at least once or twice since arriving there, but this was the closest they’d gotten to such a large body of water. Torches once again provided the otherwise gloomy area with some illumination, dotted as they were in strategic places around the bay.

But what they couldn’t miss – what really took their breaths away – was what was moored in the harbour.

It was a behemoth of a ship, a black, red and silver monstrosity under construction in the bowels of the Deadmines.

Metal plates were being hammered onto the wooden top layer to give the ship added protection. Red treated timbers formed the sturdy bottom half of the ship, an unknown amount of which was submerged comfortably below the water, and it appeared to move using massive propeller wheels in place on both sides. It was positively bristling with cannon, including an unbelievably large main gun, and they could only guess at what size of crew complement it could hold.

It was amazing that the thing could even float. It was bigger by far than all the vessels they’d seen at a distance in Stormwind – a true marvel of naval and weapons engineering. Even just calling it a ‘ship’ felt like an understatement.

That explains why they needed all the materials, and how they got the lumber in… It’s like a fortress, a castle on the sea – I don’t think I ever seen anything like it. It’s incredible.

Incredibly terrifying.

She took note that several of the gun emplacements were still empty, how the construction in some areas still appeared to be in progress, judging from the scaffolding… but also how many of the armaments were in place, and how it was clearly seaworthy enough to sit in dock as it was. It was far too close to completion for her liking.

She found her voice first, before the rest of her friends. “This ship can only have been built to hurt Stormwind – destroying ships, disrupting trade, and taking revenge against those who they believe wronged them. I’m guessing VanCleef’s all the way up the top there.” She indicated what appeared to be a cabin at the summit of the ship.

“This fella,” Applejack started uncomfortably. “If he’s gonna build somethin’ like this, d’ya think he’ll be the type just to back down from just a chat?”

“If not, we’ll just have to find a way to stop this thing before they can launch it.” Twilight resolved with a shrug.

“Yeah… but can we even stop a ship this big, just us?” Rainbow asked, little trace of her usual cocksure confidence now in her tone.

“Or could we accomplish the same goal by simply ending the Brotherhood, here and now?” Rarity asked quietly.

Twilight knew exactly what she meant by that statement, and now it was her turn to be unable to look the fashionista in the eye instead of the other way around. There was a lump in the mage’s throat that had persisted since she’d watched the goblin fall by her friend’s blade, and it showed no sign of going away any time soon.

“We stick to the plan,” she said at last, marching briskly along the bank in the direction of what appeared to be a gangway up to the ship. “Let’s go.”

It wasn’t the most inspiring display of leadership the others had seen from their former princess. They shared a nervous glance - save for Rarity, who was still absorbed within her own thoughts - then followed on in silence.

“We’re under attack!” A deep voice bellowed. “Avast, ye swabs! Repel the invaders!”

They were able to make out a large figure at the top of the plank on the ship, driving a group of six pirates forwards to fight them, all of whom clutched an array of bladed and spiked weapons.

“Looks like we’ve got company.”

“We’ve taken on boys an’ girls like y’all before and we ain’t gonna back down now!” Applejack shouted at the rushing foe, waving her shield and sword threateningly to get their attention. “Yeah, that’s right, you come after me!”

The taunting worked – where a heartbeat earlier they had been running aimlessly towards them, now they came at Applejack specifically, fixated on her demise.

“We haven’t got time for this!” Twilight reminded the others. “Their reinforcements will break through my ice wall eventually. Incapacitate these guys so we can board the ship!”

She weaved arcane power for just over a second and suddenly the most dangerous-looking pirate of the bunch was replaced by a sheep. He wandering around aimlessly while his fellows kept running at them.

The rearmost brigand, a woman, staggered over a moment later, gasping for breath. Rarity appeared out of her shadow, a grim look in her eyes as she followed up her initial kidney shot with a crippling pommel strike across the back of her legs. She didn’t draw blood, but the sharp pain was more than enough to put the unlucky criminal down. She collapsed sobbing as Rarity disappeared just as quickly as she had materialised.

Applejack found herself struggling with the four Defias who reached her. The first easily patted away her first swing and pinned her arm back with his own blade; his strength was greater than hers. She punched out across her body with her shield to block all their strikes of opportunity, but took a step backwards as they continued to bear down on her. This time, she didn’t have the choke point of the narrow corridor to use to her advantage.

This time, however, she had her friends. As she fell back, Rainbow pushed forward, her unexpectedly quick movement for her armour proficiency taking the enemy by surprise. Her light-infused strike cracked the woman’s jaw straight up, though without the force to snap her neck – she was merely knocked out, her eyes rolling all the way back as she toppled over.

The brutal precision of the attack made the other attackers hesitate, giving Applejack the chance she needed. She dropped her sword, fended off an inaccurate blow from the one on her right and grappled with the other, who cried out in alarm as she swept his legs from under him and used the momentum to send him flying towards the edge of the dock.

He went straight off and into the drink, emerging a few seconds later and choking out some of the water he had accidentally swallowed. The dock was far too steep for him to climb back up – he was out of the fight.

The last remaining fighter quickly became aware of his situation – how his friends were either unconscious, soaked or had turned into a sheep. He took note of the rabid wolf charging towards him, with a mouth full of sharp teeth and who seemed hungry enough to gobble him up.

He decided that discretion was the better part of valour and fled, jumping into the water himself and saving them the trouble of pushing him in. Applejack finished the job by picking up the man-turned-sheep and throwing him in as well. The spell wore off as he hit the water but there was nothing more he could do, and joined his fellows in swimming for the far shore.

“What? How can that be all of our men on duty?!” the figure on the ship barked out in alarm, then shouted to someone else on the ship. “Go find the rest, ye incompetent landlubber!”

“Let’s keep the momentum up! Go, go!” Twilight urged them along the bank – they couldn’t afford to waste time.

The nature of the figure on the ship became clear as they approached the gangplank. He wasn’t human, a goblin or an ogre, and his appearance gave them momentary pause.

They hadn’t seen anything like his kind before. He had clearly bovine features, including hooves, yet walked upright on two legs, dressed in a thin leather top and dark blue pants. Even with their perceptions distorted by how he had the higher ground, it was obvious that he stood a good head above them, just shorter than the ogre but with a large hump to his back, covered, like the rest of him, in a layer of thick black fur which did little to hide his musculature. He had not one but instead two horns jutting out to the side above his ears, though one appeared to have broken a while before and had long since healed as a stump, and clutched a curved sword in one of his three-fingered hands.

“He’s a tauren! Strong and slow like an ogre, but much smarter!” Twilight warned. “Don’t let your guard down!”

“Afraid of getting your hands dirty?” Applejack shouted as they reached the far end of the bank. “Bet you’re not even as tough as your crew and look how quick they went down!”

“Why would anyone like getting their hands dirty, anyway?” Pinkie giggled, throwing out another bubble to shield the warrior from harm. “Unless they work on a farm or some dirt gathering business or whatever.”

“Come up here and say that to my face!” the tauren leered down at them, ignoring Pinkie’s hyperactive musings. “You’ll find out just how tough I—huh…”

He trailed off, distracted, and then reached a hand into the shadows beside him…

…and pulled a very surprised Rarity into view.

“Unhand me, you ruffian!” she screeched, squirming in his iron grip. He held her at arm’s length as she cut at him to no avail, then in one solid motion tossed her all the way down towards the bank.

She crashed down in a heap on top of Rainbow and both were left sprawled out and groaning in pain.

“Pathetic landlubber, thought I wouldn’t see ye?” he started down the ramp, quickly breaking into a running charge. “Maybe this’ll be easier than I thought!”

“Watch out, ‘ere he comes!” Applejack planted her feet and took the charge…

…badly. Even though he hadn’t had the distance to build up much momentum she still wasn’t unable to stand up to his weight. “Oof!” she grunted as she soared backwards, and she would’ve gone off the bank and into the drink had a nearby rock formation not been in the way.

She hit it with a painful crunch and fell to her knees, shaken and in pain.

Pinkie skipped over hurriedly to see what she could do, but the tauren was only just getting started. With Applejack stunned and Rainbow still recovering, he had free reign to go after the other, less armoured members of the party...

Twilight gulped as she realised that she had become his target. He could have probably deduced from her light attire alone that she was capable of using magic, but the fight a moment ago had no doubt confirmed any suspicion he might have had – and made her number one on his threat list.

She tried the polymorph spell again but he just shrugged it off; sometimes the spell failed because of caster error, or because the target was too big, or determined, to be even temporarily transmogrified. It had to be expected sometimes, but it had been her best option – and he was getting closer. She blew out freezing magic in the shape of a cone, which slowed him, but not tremendously. Then, as his blade chopped towards her she teleported past him, gone in the blink of eye.

The tauren’s eyes narrowed as he quickly assessed his options. To him, though the mage was now the furthest away, she was not only tied for being the least protected, but was also the most isolated, with none of her friends in her immediate vicinity.

She was still the best target, and she knew it too.

I can’t teleport away again, and I can’t turn him into something else. I’ll be lucky if a barrier even holds up against one attack.

I could blast him. He’s going to kill me if I don’t. And all that power… that rush of energy… Yes…

He contemptuously kicked Wilder aside as the wolf went for him, then pulled the second sword out of the scabbard at his hip and focused on Twilight once more.

…NO! She clenched her left fist and the swirl of arcane power that had been gathering there dissipated. If I kill him I’ll be no better than he is. How can I convince VanCleef that there’s a better way than fighting if I kill half his organisation to get to him? How will I be in the right?

But he’s still going to kill me. I… just need something less destructive.

Fire’s… not a good idea. But I’ve been calling water and ice all day, to freeze the doors, to slow the molten flow. I should be pretty good at moderating the output by now – I can use it to slow him down, buy time for the others. I just need to be careful.

Her thoughts flashed through her head in a second, and by the time he had taken his fifth step towards her once again, the mage had made her decision.

She raised her hand, going through the same motions as she would when calling arcane power, but focusing instead on the plane of water. A chunk of ice splintered into existence next to her palm, and as it grew and morphed into the shape of a projectile, she launched both hands forward and hurled it with all her mental might.

It smashed into him dead on, spreading frost over his body where it impacted. He grunted in discomfort but kept coming.

This time they were far enough apart that the chill made more of a difference, even if it wasn’t as concentrated or powerful as it had been in the form of a cone. She didn’t stop at one bolt, hurling a second, that battered him on the chest, then a third, which struck him dead on in the face. The spell felt easier, more fluid, with each successive cast.

“Why won’t any of you listen?” she shouted. “All we want to do is talk!”

“Funny way of showin’ it!” he retorted. “But even if ye did try to parley I wouldn’t accept it! Ol’ Smite didn’t become first mate of the Defias Juggernaut by showin’ mercy!”

She ducked under a wild slash from both reavers, tossing another bolt at him and then continuing immediately after with another chilling cone. He struggled to bring his reavers to bear, and by the time he succeeded Twilight had the strength ready to teleport out of his way again, landing this time next to Rainbow, who finally got back on her feet, and Fluttershy, who had been looking after her mewling pet. Rarity had already recovered and had disappeared from view once more.

Smite, as his name apparently was, turned, but found himself face-to-face with Applejack. Pinkie had managed to rouse her friend from her pain, and she was riled up and ready for round two with the bovine pirate.

“Ain’t nobody gets away with tryna cut up my friend!” she snarled, timing a vengeful strike perfectly as Wilder re-joined the fray, sinking his teeth into the leg that had booted him before.

“D’ah!” the tauren howled, half from pain, half from frustration; the attacks were starting to add up. “Now you’re making me angry!”

He kicked Applejack’s shield, hard – even blocking it, she still only just kept her balance against his strength – then discarded both of his swords, tossing them both at Wilder.

The surprise attack necessitated the wolf dodging back, which gave the tauren the chance to sprint over to the locked chest that had been sitting by the water’s edge since their arrival.

He stomped right through the lid, apparently not feeling the crushed wood splinters on his tough hoof, pulled the rest of the material out of the way and withdrew a mighty warhammer – far bigger and more intimidating than even the one the ogre had been wielding earlier.

“Come on!” he challenged. “Let’s see how ye deal with this!”

She had no hope of parrying such a large weapon, nor did she stand much chance blocking either, so focused on anticipating and dodging instead – a clean hit across her chest would mean the end of her fight, and perhaps her life. She suffered no such wounds from his slow and steady hits, but did take a few on the arms, wrists and one glancing blow just below her stomach that cracked her armour and left her bruised.

They suddenly had another problem to deal with. Two Defias rogues appeared out of nowhere, no doubt finally arriving from the ship after the tauren had called for help earlier. They rounded on the warrior from behind, hoping to take her out quickly and free up their boss to go after the others.

I have a clear shot from where I’m standing. I… can do this.

Emboldened by her previous success, Twilight pulled in arcane power and unleashed a blast in their direction. She held back significantly and got the result she was looking for. They didn’t explode or dissolve – they just flew backwards into the rock face but without any visible damage. Satisfied, she returned to slowing the Smite’s movements with her frost.

They had spilled over to the more open soil bank as Applejack bobbed and weaved backwards away from his dangerous hits. It gave the others much more room; Wilder pushed in to resume his attacks once more, and Rarity was there as well, hacking and slashing away to little effect against his thick hide. They also had to dodge when he, aware of his predicament, tried a whirlwind swing to take them all out, but the combination of fatigue, his wounds and Twilight’s spells were seriously reducing Smite’s combat effectiveness to the point that Pinkie no longer struggled to keep up.

Rainbow had pulled away since she had recovered from being landed on, kneeling in supplication to the light next to Fluttershy. She rose at last, eyes brimming with the power she had beseeched for, and walked steadily towards the battle.

“Get out of the way guys, this is gonna be a big one!” she warned, and they wisely retreated – the hunter whistled once to call her companion back.

“Ye think that puny weapon can beat Smite’s Mighty Hammer?” he chuckled, and prepared a two-handed, powerful slam…

…which he never got the chance to execute.

Grinning, Rainbow slung her hammer. The action caused Smite to falter. He stared at her, suspecting trickery.

The power spread from her eyes down to her fingertips, and she raised her left hand. “Taste judgment!”

A shining flare burst from her hand in the shape of a weapon and consumed the tauren from above in an explosion which briefly lit up the entire cavern, such was its radiance.

When it died down, Smite was on the floor, all the fight gone out of him. A quick check confirmed that he had only been knocked out, having been chipped away at by their attacks and finished by the light. They checked the two rogues and they were the same – Twilight’s spell had knocked them unconscious, as she had intended.

Buoyed by a fight where no lives were taken, she gestured for the group to hurry up onto the ship.

“We need to get all the way to the top. That must be where we’ll find VanCleef.” They were up the plank and all aboard, ready to run along the side of the ship. “Let’s find a way up!”

Halfway round, a pirate wearing a purple shirt burst out of a door on their left hand side. “Hey!” he shouted in alarm as they ran towards him, his hands raised in what Twilight quickly recognised as a casting motion. “Die, invaders!”

What looked like flowing water leapt from his fingertips and passed through them, and Twilight immediately had a distinct feeling of seasickness as she forced down the urge to empty her stomach. He tried to prepare another, but Rainbow was now right on top of him.

“We don’t have time for you!” she dismissed him with a swing that sent him off the side of the ship and into the water below.

“Everyone okay?” Twilight asked around the group as they kept going; there were some green faces but none among them sought to stop.
They came to a staircase leading to the upper decks, but Applejack glanced to the right first and exclaimed, “Lookie there! That scaffoldin’ looks mighty sturdy. We might be able to save some time gettin’ up to the top.”

It turned out to be a good observation, as the construction framework led them all the way to the peak without having to go through what was probably a maze of corridors inside – the Defias had to have been using it to put the finishing touches on the vessel without having to waste too much time.

Rarity scouted up ahead first as they climbed, re-joining them just before the summit to tell them to wait and listen. They had company, it seemed.

A goblin carrying a sharp, pointed spear, dressed in a red shirt, gray breeches and black boots stood conversing with two pirates in front of the cabin they had spotted earlier from the ground. What set him apart from all those they had seen before was the navy blue pirate’s hat he wore – a hat adorned with a skull and crossbones.

“Mr. Smite should’ve checked in after dealing with the intruders.” he said, peering over the edge of the ship as far as he could. I can’t see the bank from here either. Twilight mused. It must be a blind spot to here. They must not have been able to see the fight! “Get down there and find out what’s going on!”

“Aye, cap’n Greenskin sir!” The pirates hurried off into the ship as he began pacing up and down.

“Surely he won’t fight back on his own without at least hearing us out when we outnumber him seven to one…” Twilight whispered hopefully.

They waited until his underlings were long gone and he was facing away then clambered gingerly up to him.

“Ahem…” Twilight coughed awkwardly once they were all assembled. “Captain Greenskin, sir?”

“What?!” he turned, startled, his eyes darting between them, immediately assessing their numbers and the threat they posed. “Landlubbers?! How… oh, so ol’ Smite failed to deal with ye, eh?” He shook his head, raising his spear. “Nay matter. Ye won’t leave this ship alive!”

“Please, wait!” Twilight pleaded. “All we’ve wanted to do is talk to the Defias, to Edwin VanCleef, about finding a way to end this conflict without any more bloodshed. I know it sounds crazy, but have ever tried the peaceful way?”

This made Greenskin pause. “Lass,” he began, and she would’ve thought almost gently had it not been for the bloodthirsty look in his eyes. “I’m a pirate. Most of me crew have been pirates all their lives. We don’t care squat about the Defias’s vengeance – we just care ‘bout plunder and excitement. Listening to ye won’t get us that – not fighting won’t get us that, and that’s why I’ll be killin’ ye soon anyway, no matter what you have to say.

“But between you and me, Edwin ain’t gonna be talked out of his vendetta either. He lost too much to them damned nobles. He’ll haunt Stormwind for the rest of his life, and if he dies he’ll take a chunk of it with him, I don’t doubt.

“But ye… ye certainly have no hope of stopping us together!” he finished, and lunged at them.

Here we go again! Twilight despaired as he closed with them.

He darted around, laying into each of them in turn with his spear, the extra reach it granted making up for his small arms while his size made it difficult for them to land blows in return. “Stay… still!” Rainbow grunted. That he was too quick for her to handle said a lot about his speed.

“Can’t catch me, ye filthy landlubbers! Ye’ll fall before the Defias!” he mocked.

Twilight grimaced as he nicked her leg and moved on, interrupted her casting as her hand reflexively dropped down to the injury. But there was something more than just pain. I feel… dizzy. His weapon looks like it’s coated with something… poison?

He’s planning on wearing us down over time! “Get closer together!” she ordered. “Group up and make him come to us!”
But he wouldn’t just let them do that, jumping in and out around them, forcing them to defend themselves or suffer even worse damage.

Pinkie threw out shields and other sparks of holy energy whenever she could, but none held up for long or did much against his onslaught.

“Fluttershy!” Hoping for an edge, Twilight called over to the shaking woman, Wilder still by her side in a protective position. “Do you have any more crystals, of any kind?”

“N-no, I’m sorry!” she gasped in pain, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around the relatively deep scratches from the spear’s razor edge, the increased confidence she’d try to show back in the mineshaft gone in the face of the pain. “Oh, I’m just so useless! I can’t fight…”

The pirate captain sensed an opportunity. Backing away from his combat with the close-range fighters in the group, he span towards the weakest link of the group and held up his weapon like a javelin.

“If ye can’t fight, little girl, then ye’ll be the first to go!” he chuckled… and hurled his spear at Fluttershy.

Pinkie couldn’t shield her, for all the good it seemed to be doing the others against the spear anyway. The makeshift projectile flew true, straight at her neck.

Twilight had realised what he was about to do before he even began the movement for it. She ran through all the scenarios as the spear left his fingers and found no solution – no spell she could cast to stop it, nothing Pinkie could do to prevent it, no possible intervention her friends could provide.

The images flashed through her mind. She saw her friend die. She saw the spear pierce her through the neck, cutting a wound so deep that there was no hope for her survival. She watched Fluttershy fall to the ground, bleeding out...

Except in reality, she didn’t.

In reality, outside of her mind’s eye, there was a strangled yelp, then silence.

Twilight blinked and her friend was still alive, still kneeling where she was. Unharmed.

But Wilder wasn’t.

The wolf had seen the danger coming, seen the weapon soaring towards his master. He understood what it would mean if she was hit. And he’d taken the instinctive, split-second decision to do what any hunter’s companion would do.

He had leapt in the way and taken it for her.

The spear had driven in deep, all the way to his heart, matting his fur with blood. The sparkle had already gone from his eyes.

Death had been near-instantaneous.

Fluttershy squeaked, her voice lost, words failing her. She couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. She shook him gently, then roughly, trying to wake him up as if he had merely overslept.

Captain Greenskin gave them no quarter. Even without his spear – which he couldn’t find an angle to retrieve safely - he still came at them, hitting and biting and scratching. “I’ll get ye next, for sure! Don’t think ye’ve escaped just cause ye had a meatbag like that to take a spear for ye! Died like a stuck pig, hah!”

The others weren’t immobilised by shock like Fluttershy; they were just angry. Twilight found herself casting an arcane blast without restraint, determined to make the murderer pay…

N-no. I can’t… I mustn’t. I might even destroy the deck of the ship if I use that much power, and there’s no guarantee that I’ll even hit. She settled for frost again in the hope of slowing him down.

“You’ll pay for that, you monster!” Rainbow roared. She, Applejack and Rarity all went for the captain at once, seeking to grab and hold him down, but a bold leap took him above where they expected him to be, and they only succeeded in crashing into each other.

“P-Pinkie.” Over to the side of the fight, Fluttershy stuttered, eyes still unbelievably wide. “P-please. You have to h-heal him.”

“F-Fluttershy…” Pinkie stammered in response, still desperately trying to recover her own strength in between the spells she had been throwing out. “I d-don’t think I can…”

“Please!”

Pinkie tried. Tears poured down her face as she pushed her power to its limit.

“C’mon, everybody, s-smile smile s-smile, f-fill my heart up with sunshine, s-sunshine…”

Light poured from her as she burst out into song, blanketing the top of the ship in its lustre. The others felt their wounds mend, the poison’s effects diminish, and even their fatigue fade as the warmth of Pinkie’s inner magic filled them.

“All I r-really n-need’s a smile smile s-smile, f-from these h-h-happy f-friends of mine…”

But none of it touched Wilder. It flowed past him even as it embraced Fluttershy. He laid as still as he had from the moment he’d taken the spear for her.

For all she could do, for all she had done to keep them safe… Pinkie couldn’t reverse death.

Fluttershy clutched tightly to the wolf, tears streaming down faster as she realised it wasn’t working.

Pinkie stopped singing at last and fell to the deck herself. “I’m sorry…” she croaked out.

“Ye will be when I get to ye.”

“Grahhhhhhhh!” Rarity screamed in frustration at Greenskin’s words and as he deftly sidestepped her cuts, swinging round to make a dash for the group’s healer. “I would not have believed that someone could be this annoying!”

“Just lie down and accept yer fate, toots!” he retorted. “All of ye should. I can do this all day, and—”

He was cut off as Fluttershy began to scream.

It was a primal howl of pain and rage. Moving faster than the others had ever seen her move, she pulled the crossbow from the sling across her back and loaded it with a gleaming iron bolt.

Still screaming, still holding that highest note of loss, she pulled the trigger.

THUDUNK

Captain Greenskin stared at Fluttershy. He opened his mouth, confused.

He fell face-first to the floor, a bolt lodged in between his eyes.

Fluttershy paid no further heed to the goblin’s death, but did go quiet. The crossbow fell from her grip and clattered to the wooden deck as she sank back down to her companion’s body and pulled him close, weeping inconsolably.

The others gathered around them quietly.

“Sorry…” Pinkie whispered after a few moments of silence that felt like a lifetime. “You’re all healed up, but I c-can’t do anything about the poison…”

“I got it, Pinkie.” Rainbow reassured her, moving round the group and cleansing the toxin with her own light.

“Twilight… this whole trip… is it gonna be worth it?” Applejack asked, a tear leaking out of her eye.

“We’ve come this far and lost so much already—” Twilight sadly began to reply.

“—and this is where your story ends.” a voice cut her off before she could begin her next sentence.

They couldn’t see him, but he was near. The swing-doors of the cabin creaked ever so slightly, and she had a pretty good idea that he was inside.

And that he was Edwin VanCleef, leader of the Defias Brotherhood.

“So, the heroes have come for me. I’m surprised it took the fools at Sentinel Hill so long to send a party that could make it this far. Or is SI7 pulling your strings?”

Rarity visibly stiffened at that, though none of the group noticed.

VanCleef wasn’t going to give them much chance to breathe.

The longer they could keep him talking, the more strength they could recover before having to fight again. She could see that Pinkie in particular really needed the break. The wounds inflicted by the goblin had required her constant attention, and she looked close to passing out from sheer stress. She wasn’t smiling anymore, hadn’t been since Wilder had died, but wore instead a terribly neutral expression that for her was practically the equivalent of the grumpiest of frowns.

Then again, how could any of us smile at this point? After what we’ve just seen…

“Please, Edwin. We don’t want to fight. We just want to end this conflict before it goes any further.”

“You kill my forces in front of me and then talk of peace?”

“None of this had to happen.” she replied, her tone betraying her remorse. “We wanted to come in peacefully, openly, but your men have been nothing but hostile.”

“Tell me, then, mage. Why should I listen to you?”

She thought carefully for a moment before responding. “Because lasting peace isn’t something that ever just happens. You can only build it slowly, with compassion and understanding. Because fighting is the easy way out, but it takes a strong heart to put aside a weapon – put aside hatred – and create a lasting future. There is no future in the course of action you take now… but if you change it, then who knows what you might accomplish? Please…”

“You say that as if we went straight to violence. Only when the nobles refused to even negotiate with us did we begin to riot, and only once we were then thrown from the city like dogs did we form the Defias. But of course, you will not accept these truths. You are blinded by the lies you have been fed.”

There was rage in that voice, but it didn’t burn hot, like Fluttershy had when she’d buried a bolt in Greenskin’s forehead. No – his rage burned cold, the kind that had been festering for years in the darkness – the kind that inspired untold vengeance.

And it sounded infinitely more dangerous as a result.

She desperately sought something to say that would change his mind. She even thought about telling him of Equestria, of how so many problems could be resolved by being understanding of others, through the values of the Elements of Harmony… how much kinder their world had been as a result.

But the words didn’t come, and those futile thoughts faded.

Suddenly all she could think of was her friends. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, haunted by those they missed and those they had slain. Rarity, who’d barely spoken a word since she’d cut the smelter’s throat. Pinkie Pie, barely holding herself and the group up. Fluttershy, compelled to kill by the loss of a friend…

Despite the fact that they had lots of space to move around on the deck, it felt as though they were trapped in a cage with a hungry wild animal.

Fluttershy’s sobs provided a steady, constant beat in the background of their conversation. Twilight desperately hoped that the leader of the Brotherhood would consider her beneath his notice if it came to a fight, but given the way she had just put a bolt through his ship’s captain’s eyes… probably not.

“Riotin’ and all this criminal stuff you’ve done since don’t sound like the kind of stuff that well-meaning folks do.” Applejack cut in. Everyone else had moved to close ranks around Fluttershy, but the warrior stood in front of the cabin, making herself the most obvious target.

“All to achieve the end of Stormwind, and make those foolish nobles pay.”

“Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“And one wrong should not go unpunished.”

“And you’d just leave your friend to fight and die for you?” the element of loyalty demanded contemptuously.

“He was not my friend. None of the pirates are.” the voice spat dismissively. “They are tools, instruments of my vengeance. Tools can be replaced. The Defias are all that matter to me now.”

“Please… I understand how you feel.” I can tell him about when Discord corrupted everyone, how abandoned I felt! "I know what it feels like to be-"

“You don’t know. You don’t understand. You couldn’t possibly understand, unless you were there. And if you had been there, then you would stand with us now.” the disembodied voice spat with great contempt.

Something exploded elsewhere in the cavern, interrupting their heated conversation. Looking down from the ship, Twilight could see the door they had come in through, and that her ice wall had just fallen. An untold number of figures were streaming into the cavern, their destination clear.

Thinking quickly, she summoned arcane power and directed it at the scaffolding near their feet. The resulting explosion rocked the ship as the construction aid fell away, but it removed the shortcut they had taken – the Defias reinforcements would have to go all the way through the ship to get to them.

“My lieutenants were right to challenge you.” VanCleef said. “Now, you will pay for the lives you have taken, and you will not be the last of Stormwind’s lackeys to fall before our crusade.”

“Please, wait—” Twilight begged, but her pleas fell on uncaring ears.

“None may challenge the brotherhood!” he roared as he leapt through the cabin door, poised to attack.

The leader of the Defias was decked out in gilded black leather that, apart from the gold, was only a shade lighter than his shock of black hair. He wore the same red bandana as all of his underlings, and carried two vicious-looking swords in his hands.

He wasn’t as slippery as Greenskin, but for his size he was incredibly fast. He came straight at Applejack, slamming his curved swords into her as soon as they would reach. One caught on her shield and deflected, while the other slipped past and found her armour at her stomach.

She staggered back, bruised, her guard shattered as he pushed for the kill, but she was saved by Rarity pouncing into the fray. She scored glancing hits with her weapons, forcing him to dance away…

…but he gave ground too readily, a trap she fell straight into.

She advanced, thinking that she’d rattled him, and he punished her for it by coming back in with both blades. Eyes wide at the extent of his speed, she managed to stop one with both daggers but couldn’t prevent the lower of the two from biting into her leg.

She fell down on her hands and knees as her blood splattered the deck, the outlaw looming over her. He settled for kicking her out of the way, not risking the downwards slash onto her unprotected spine that Rainbow had been seeking to intercept.

The paladin turned her blocking manoeuvre into a rush, swinging back upwards before he had a chance to get his guard up. He ducked to the right and retaliated, going for her chest. Unlike with Applejack, this time his blades caught in her chainmail without much power behind them and she shrugged off the hits.

A quick prayer to the light gave her the strength to overpower him, and she wrenched his arm over her shoulder, pulling him towards the floor.

He came out of the throw into a roll, however, using the momentum to his advantage to gain some distance on her. He was back in her threat range before she’d even had time to realise that her throw hadn’t stunned him, bowling her over with a charge.

“Lapdogs, all of you!” he cried, raising a blade in a mocking salute, then found himself covered in rime as Twilight finally had the surety to launch a spell at him. “Fool,” he spat at the one who he rightly assumed was the group’s leader. “Our cause is righteous!”

“Nothing I’ve seen of the Defias so far speaks of righteousness!” she retorted angrily, launching an even larger chunk of ice. He batted it away and moved towards her with murderous intent.

She panicked, ceasing another cast and went to teleport through him, but even chilled he was too fast for that. He dropped the weapon in his left hand and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up – she stared down fearfully into his hateful eyes as he hefted his right sabre.

“I care not for peace.” he spat in her face. “I care not for the future! I will avenge the wrongs of the past!”

She saw that hatred within him, and suddenly felt sure that she’d made a terrible mistake.

She’d underestimated the depths of his anger. How long he’d had to plot his vengeance. He’s right. I can’t relate to that.

“And this is where your story ends.” he echoed his own words, and moved to run her through…

…and suddenly found Applejack’s sword coming for his neck. “Gonna take more than that to take us down!”

He let go of the mage in an effort to get clear, but found Rarity’s knives at his back. “That is not how you treat a lady.” she informed him, wincing from the pain in her leg.

“We’re not done, either.” Rainbow moved into his view, eyes shining once again.

Twilight retreated to a safe distance and looked over at Pinkie, who now stood where Rainbow had fallen, having healed her a moment before. She’d crept over while VanCleef had been distracted with Twilight, and had got the rest of the group fighting fit once more.

“I think that’s the last from me, Twilight,” she panted. “Pinkie’s all tuckered out.”

VanCleef’s eyes narrowed as they darted from three he’d injured, the three who were suddenly back into the fight, to the robe-wearing pink-haired girl, alone on the starboard side of the ship.

Lightning fast once more, he span and downed Rainbow with a punch to the jaw, then copied her throw and used it on Rarity, tossing the already-hamstrung rogue hard into the wall of the cabin. “The brotherhood will prevail!”

He’s going for Pinkie.

The priest looked like she could barely stand, barely keep herself awake, let alone shield herself or run away.

He caught Applejack’s shield as she tried to bash him with it and delivered a roundhouse kick straight to the side of her face. He landed out of it cleanly and looked up towards Pinkie with a determined expression.

He’s going to kill her. He knows she’s the one keeping us in this fight.

There was no-one left in his way as he ran at his target. Pinkie closed her eyes.

We can’t lose her. I can’t lose her!

Pinkie…

“PINKIE!”

…

A fusion of arcane and fire energy exploded at the centre of the deck. It engulfed the leader of the Brotherhood completely, missing the prone forms of the others by a hair. The arcane power blew out faster than the flame, which rose to the sky in a pillar before passing as well.

It took Twilight a moment to realise that her hand was outstretched. It took another to realise that she had been the cause of the explosion.

VanCleef lay in a heap by the side of the cabin. His arms were bent out of place, his bones shattered – whether by the force of the impact or her spell, it was impossible to determine. One of his legs seemed undamaged, but the other… he was missing everything below the knee, the wound cauterized entirely by the heat of her blast.

He glared up defiantly at Twilight as she approached, speechless. He was in too much pain to attempt standing or even sitting up. He choked out blood as he fought to force out his dying words. “Where are your values now, mage? Is this... how your quest for peace... was supposed to end?” he taunted, as she stared at him in shock.

“Vengeance comes… The brotherhood… will live…”

His body twitched, then moved no more.

His eyes were still filled with hatred, even in death.

Author's Note

And there's Chapter 14, the longest by far! (And published just before the end of Christmas Day, too!)

Now all that remains in Act 1 is the Epilogue, which I hope to have with you sometime tomorrow. Depending on how the day goes I may be able to get the Act 2 Prologue out for you at the same time; if not, it'll follow shortly after.

Incidentally, I'd appreciate all your views on something - do you think the contents of this chapter warrant an upgrade to a "T" rating for the story?

I hope you all had a merry Christmas, a happy Hearthwarming's Eve and a wonderful Winter Veil!

Letters (Act I Epilogue)

Dear Princess Celestia,

How are you doi

I hope this letter finds you well. It feels like it has been so long since I last saw you, but in truth it has been a mere two months. For us, at least. I don’t know what kind of time dilation effect may have occurred when we travelled. Travelled… ‘Flung’ would perhaps be a better word. Flung into a world nothing like Equestria. Oh, Celestia, I hope you never come to see it. Azeroth is a dark, terrible place. I’ve read about so much evil… so much pain.

I had hope. I thought we could start small, use all that we had learned, all that you had taught us, to solve a problem practically in our own backyard. And it nearly destroyed us. I thought I we could change things for the better. I haven’t entirely given up on that yet. Maybe, with time, we can. But now I’m resigned to the fact that this place will change us more than we’ll change it. It’s already started to happen, and it’s showing in all of us to varying degrees.

I don’t know about our elements… especially Fluttershy and Rarity. I think the others are holding onto theirs for now. But we’ve all become hardened. I think we have to be, just to survive. We still want to come home. We miss our families, our friends, our loved ones. I miss my parents, Shining Armor, Cadence, Spike. Oh, Spike…

But now I’m not so sure we should. Are we tainted by what we’ve seen, what we’ve done? We’ll keep searching. We’ll keep our hope alive. I pray we have more than just hope left by the time we’re done.

I miss your guidance. I miss you, my teacher, my friend.

Yours always,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

Twilight set the quill down gently, careful not to smear the table with any of the ink from the still-wet nib. She picked up the parchment and examined her handiwork.

At least my handwriting’s getting better.

She placed it back on the desk, lining it up with the others she’d already completed in that hour. The improvement between them was minor, but if she could have compared it to the first she’d written then the difference would be plain as day.

Seventy-seven. Not bad.

She didn’t know when she would stop, how many letters she would write. Maybe I won’t stop until I die.

She leaned back into the soft armchair. It was nice of Malin to have granted her the use of this pocket study. He said she’d earned it.

She didn’t really think she had.

She let the tension slip out of her muscles.

The aches and pains from the Deadmines no longer troubled her, at least not physically; a month of rest had seen to that. But sometimes she could still feel the blistering heat of the forge, the sting of Captain Greenskin’s spear, VanCleef’s choking grip as he had held her up, ready to end her. And it seemed that the harder she tried not to remember, the more those recent wounds flared up.

The minutes immediately after VanCleef had died – after she had killed him – were still a blur to her. She remembered knowing that they were still being chased, desperately searching for a way out, and spotting a large opening in the rock on the starboard side of the ship. She remembered jumping down the ship, one layer at a time, scaring a bipedal fish creature carrying a ladle half to death as they landed at the bottom… and then she was supporting Pinkie as they crossed a bridge and made their bid for freedom.

Fluttershy hadn’t wanted to leave, never mind that staying meant certain death. She’d clung to Wilder’s body like a barnacle to a rock, and it seemed that she would not be dragged away, until Applejack had solved the problem by picking up and carrying his corpse over her shoulders. The spear had slipped out as she did so, a fresh spurt of scarlet staining the sky and causing the hunter to break out into a fresh round of sobs, but Rainbow was on hand with some cloth to staunch the wound and provide the noble companion with some dignity in death.

He’d just given his life to save their friend, after all. It was the least they could have done.

They had made their way through the tunnel, still unsure whether it was even a way out, but with no other option than to hope. Rainbow had held up the limping Rarity, her leg still not fully mended from VanCleef’s savage hamstring. After a good fifteen minutes of having struggled through the narrow passage, constantly feeling like the enemy could catch up with them at any moment, they had finally burst out into the fresh air to greet the early autumn sunset.

It was only then that Twilight had become aware of the fact that they had been inside the Deadmines for a mere two hours. Two hours that had felt a lot more like two days.

Escaping the mines hadn’t meant that they were safe, and they had hurried down the hills away from the place as quickly as they could, constantly sneaking glances behind, expecting to be ambushed by vengeful rogues at any moment. Only when they reached the sanctuary of Sentinel Hill had they breathed a sigh of relief.

Gryan Stoutmantle hadn’t quite believed them when they told him their story – hadn’t quite dared to hope – but nonetheless promised to send his scouts to try to verify their claims in the morning. They experienced restless sleep that night, and more than one of them awoke with a cold sweat, or screaming, from the things they saw in their dreams.

They buried Wilder first thing the next day in a small grave on the outskirts of the town, rising at dawn to do the deed and pay their respects. Fluttershy stayed with him till the sun set once more, her eyes either on the ground by her feet or on the marking stones that indicated his sacrifice.

The reports had started flooding in during around noon, among them news that Defias outposts across the zone were collapsing by the dozen, of a mass exodus of fugitives from the Moonbrook area, and by the middle of the afternoon Gryan had been confident enough in them to sally out to the base himself with a group of guards from the People’s Militia as security. They made their way into the mines, finding evidence of the Defias’s industry, the juggernaut they had schemed over, and the broken body of VanCleef at the top.

Gryan announced their success as soon as he had returned after burying VanCleef’s body outside Moonbrook in an unmarked grave, and apologised for his reluctance to believe them in the first place. The whole town praised the heroes who had come from the north, believing that their fortunes had reversed and sure for the first time in a long while that the next dawn would bring a brighter future with it.

But the six hadn’t felt like celebrating. All they wanted more than ever was to go home.

Another scroll arrived while they waited, but it brought news of events further afield than the dusty plains. The lost king of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn, had returned, and after some turmoil and confusion in the city he had defeated a plot by some of the nobles to seize power. Lady Katrana Prestor, one of the de-facto rulers of the land in his absence, had disappeared, and there was something vague about the involvement of dragons, too. The message had promised that more troops would be sent to stabilise Westfall in the coming weeks, and to help rout the Defias from the realm.

“Wait until they find out you’ve already solved the problem!” Stoutmantle had chortled as he read the message after getting back. He promised that he would inform Stormwind of their actions, and that the newly restored king himself would know their names.

They had set off the next morning, limping slowly back towards the capital, towards the closest thing they had left to call home.

Twilight snapped out of her reminiscing with a start – I must’ve dozed off, she thought. It was quite easy to do in such a comfortable chair when the fire was so warm and the temperature outside was so low.

She realised what had awakened her – footsteps. The sound of someone deliberately approaching the door to her pocket study.

She grabbed up her letters and hurriedly set them on fire with but a thought, just as she had all the others she’d written. They burned to a crisp in an instant, and she quickly scraped the ashes into a nearby trashcan.

“'sup, Twilight?” Pinkie burst into the room, the door slamming shut over the portal after she pushed her way. “Writing your letters to the princess again?”

She had no idea how Pinkie had found out she was writing them, but she’d long since tried to give up on being surprised about anything regarding the pink-haired woman. Perhaps it was just obvious. “Yes. You know me too well. Are you okay?”

“Yep! Just wondering if you’re ready to go.”

Of course – Twilight had the afternoon off, and she’d arranged to meet up with Pinkie for tea after the priest finished a shift at the cathedral. Did I oversleep?

“Sorry, I meant to meet you outside… I lost track of time and, you know…”

“It’s 'kay. I knew you’d be in here anyway. We’re not late!”

“Good – let’s get going.” They made their way out of the room, Twilight locking it behind them, then began the long trek down the tower together.

“How’s she doing?” the mage asked as they passed through the tower’s entrance.

Pinkie didn’t need to ask for clarification as to who she was talking about. “I walked her all the way to the district today, but she was as silent as ever.” Fluttershy was spending more and more of her time in the Dwarven District. She’d withdrawn almost completely into her shell, only sitting with them in secluded silence during meals and the evenings. They thought it best to give her the space she wanted to grieve.

They had settled back into Elling Trias’s house upon their return. He and his wife were happy to have them back, especially after they heard the extent of the girls’ story, though something small did seem to be bothering him.

“Nothing,” he said when they asked him about it. “It just appears that I may owe someone a little more than I thought, now.”

They had offered the six paid employment whenever they wanted it, and free room and board too, for their assistance earlier that month had been invaluable and had greatly increased their prosperity.

Archmage Malin had also reacted positively once Twilight returned to the tower. “You have defeated a menace that posed a terrible threat to this city and the kingdom as a whole. Be rightfully proud of your actions, and know that you are always welcome in this tower, friend.”

She couldn’t work up the courage to tell him how she really felt about it.

Outside of such personal recognition, the breaking of the Brotherhood had flown under the radar of many in the city. The nobles rarely concerned themselves with the affairs of the common folk outside the keep, and those who might have benefited from the abating of bandit attacks on the roads were rather more interested in the return of King Wrynn, something which overshadowed VanCleef’s death completely – and suited Twilight just fine. She didn’t want to be a celebrity in a city that still didn’t feel like her own.

Returning her thoughts to Fluttershy, Twilight bit her lip sadly. “We just need to give her more time.”

“Yeah… still makes you wish you could do something for her though, doesn’t it?

“Mm.”

“I know!” Pinkie gasped. “Maybe I’ll throw her a mourning party to help her! She seemed to pick up a bit when I threw that “return to Stormwind party’!”

Isn't that basically a funeral? Twilight grimaced. “Maybe not the time. And the only reason she perked up was because of the wine that Rainbow gave her… You didn’t see how sick she was the next morning…”

They left the Mage District and crossed through the tunnel into the canals. They’d found a café on the southern approach to the Old Town a week before that produced the kind of sweet pastries that Pinkie rated as exceptional and brewed the perfect tea to help Twilight unwind.

“Any word from Applejack and Rainbow Dash?”

“Oh, yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a postcard. “This arrived at the house just after you left this morning.”

It was addressed to all of them in Rainbow’s shaky scrawl. “She says they’re both doing fine… They’ve gone south from Ironforge and are currently staying in an inn in Kharanos. “Lots of love and make sure you have lots of apples in for when we get back in two weeks”… that last part was Applejack. Sounds like they’re doing better.”

The two had announced that they wanted to take a trip somewhere else – to explore the world a bit more, and get their bodies used to some of the different environments of Azeroth. They’d taken the Deeprun tram north a week ago to Ironforge, capital of the Dwarven people, and were planning on hiking through the snow-capped mountains of Dun Morogh for a little while.

The mage suspected that they also wanted to keep their minds off what was bothering them, too. Keep themselves busy, and deal with it in their own time.

“Sounds too cold for me though. Don’t get me wrong, I like winter, but I’m happier living somewhere that isn’t covered in snow every day of the year. Staying warm’s so much harder when you don’t have a natural fur coat.”

“Speaking of clothes, did Rarity catch up to you about her designs?”

“Yeah! She was saying she wants us to model for them again. She’s been showing her designs around, and she’s got some positive responses; I think she said she’s talking to some property owners about renting a store for a day to drum up some interest once she’s put a few together.”

Twilight pursed her lips. Rarity was the most puzzling of her friends at present; she was the only one who had been giving the impression of complete stability from the moment they had stepped back into Stormwind – she was the only one acting as if nothing untoward had occurred – and it was that perfect image that caused the mage to doubt that she was. Even Pinkie, who was continuously proving herself to be the best adjusting of the group to their circumstances, was having her off days here and there. Twilight just couldn’t buy that Rarity could cut the throat of someone for the first time in cold blood and then walk around like everything was fine a few days later.

She wondered what they would find when the mask finally cracked, and she worried for her friend as a result.

“That’ll be good.” she said at last. “I could definitely use the distraction.”

And her own problems? The fact that every time she went to sleep she woke up only a few hours later after seeing VanCleef’s haunting visage?

She'd killed a man. She'd taken a life to save that of her friend. She'd broken the code she tried to live by, that only a few days, even a few minutes before, she'd been chastising her friends for breaking too.

And she found herself okay with that. Because I saved Pinkie. Because VanCleef was a villain, created by both the circumstances he was thrown into and by his own choices. Because he never would have been talked out of his quest for vengeance. She saw that now.

She was beginning to suspect that she had been quite naive the past few weeks. That suspicion didn't make her change in thinking, perhaps ideals, any easier, but she was coming to accept it nonetheless.

Even putting that aside, she was still yet to make any progress towards getting them to Equestria, despite devoting almost every waking moment – every moment that she wasn’t spending learning from Malin or with her friends, at least – to the problem.

Twilight knew that her friends were understanding and that they had things on their minds that they wanted to work out anyway, but she’d hoped to have some idea, some lead by now.

Maybe I’ll have some luck when I talk to the king. She’d been promised an audience with him, eventually – he had a lot of matters of state to resolve after his long absence. She wondered how far the “heroines of Westfall” card would go towards getting them and audience with some of Azeroth’s big players, the ones she’d read about in the books – who might be able to call on the kind of forces that would help get them home.

Pinkie smiled sympathetically and pulled her into a side-on hug. “Feel free to pop by the cathedral then on Wednesdays. We go see the orphans after lunch; I bet they’d appreciate some of your fireworks. They’re probably getting sick of mine by now.”

“Thanks, Pinkie. I appreciate it.” She smiled back as they came into sight of the café. Pinkie really did try hard to keep their spirits up – she made for a pretty good priest, both on the healing side and when looking after their mental well being, and she couldn’t help but feel a little better whenever they spoke. “I hope they’ve made double of those teacakes – I think I might be able to match you today!”

So things still aren’t amazing, Twilight thought as they raced each other to the door of the eatery, their feet tossing the last fallen leaves of the previous season out of their path into the canal. Our way ahead may be unclear but we still have our options. If I’m their leader… and definitely as their friend, I need to put their interests first. I swear that I’ll look after them until we get home.

And, well, at least we can appreciate how peaceful it is here right now.

Far away from the shore, a good hour from the Stormwind docks, a quintet of objects hovered over the sea. They were large, blocky, edged constructs of dark metal, structures unlike anything most of the city would have seen before – except those who were veterans of the third war. They belched great orange clouds of contagion which helped to keep them aloft in balance with the ancient magic and technology that powered them.

The civilisation that first built the structures that inspired them would have called them ziggurats. They were better known in the modern world as ‘plague spreaders’.

At some unseen command from their distant master they began to float with purpose towards the waiting city as a huge winged monstrosity of bone and ice flapped into place protectively above them.

Once, it had been a noble dragon of the blue flight, but no longer. More of its kind appeared in the sky, bearing groups of men and women in darkly coloured robes, and undead of many different kinds. All would serve. All would die.

It was time for the invasion to begin.

Author's Note

And so ends Act I!

The mane six have now been exposed to the harsh reality of Azeroth and are coming to terms with it - some better than others. Will they be able to continue to adapt when dragged into conflicts in the frozen north, with their lives and the lives of those they are bound alongside at stake?

Especially when one of those others knows them of old...

I'm putting up the Act II Prologue at the same time as this chapter, so please continue on when you can and read that too! More current news, including information about Act II, will follow in the Author's Note at the end of said Prologue.

Seven (Act II Prologue)

"All that I am: anger, cruelty, vengeance - I bestow upon you, my chosen knight. I have granted you immortality so that you may herald in a new, dark age for the Scourge."

That feels like… movement.

She opened her eyes, golden orbs veiled by blue looking up at the grey clouds slowly zipping by. Yes, we’re definitely moving.

Finally.

She sat up, her platemail clanking as she shifted, and pulled a fair amount of dusty blond hair away from her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d brushed it, or the last time she’d even cared.

She watched the dockyards go by from the front as the ship, The Kraken, left the docks and began to pick up speed. It was a cold winter’s morning, and it was only going to get colder as they got closer to the Frozen Sea.

In life, she’d always enjoyed seeing the sea. She’d taken a vacation by train a long way to the east once just to see it, and could still picture the day clearly in her mind… but it felt like such a long time ago.

A month had passed since Stormwind had come under siege from the Scourge, an attack which had delayed the departure of the Valiance Expedition to Northrend by a week. At the end of that week, just when they had been ready to launch, the emissaries of the Ebon Blade had come, delaying it further, as King Wrynn had brought the most senior knights into his war council to ensure that none of the enemies’ strengths were left unknown and none of their weaknesses were left unexploited.

The Kraken was an icebreaker, one of the first of its class of ships, and a marvel of dwarven and gnomish engineering combined with human shipbuilding. It was equipped with guns and deck defence, crewed by thirty experienced sailors, but its main mission was as a transport for the roughly one hundred soldiers who would fight for the Alliance in the Northrend campaign. It fell into formation with the four other ships, all carrying similar amounts of crew and passengers, as they slipped around contested waters and steamed north.

For the officers, men and women of the Fourth Company, Second Battalion The Goldshire Rifles, the journey brought about mixed feelings.

On the one hand, they formed the main body of a noble crusade to destroy a force that threatened the lives of all they held dear. On the other, their survival chances on the frozen continent were not particularly high… and death would not be the worst fate that could befall a mortal man in this campaign.

For the woman sitting alone at the bow, however, their departure couldn’t have come soon enough.

She had wanted to be on one of the first ships that had sailed from the port for the frozen north, but no. “We can’t risk concentrating our forces.” Thassarian had said as he’d boarded The Stormbreaker with two of their brother knights. “You’ll accompany the second wave.”

And yet the vanguard had still contained significantly more death knights than were assigned the later waves. Most of the cohort who had joined the Alliance, were, in fact going first. She just wasn’t one of them.

And that grated tremendously.

It should have meant an two weeks of sitting in Stormwind twiddling her thumbs while they waited for confirmation that the expedition had established a beachhead at the intended landing site in the Borean Tundra, or indeed if it had survived at all. She’d lasted about an hour in the city before returning to Acherus. At least there were scourge to reap in the Plaguelands.

Thirteen and a half days passed and she’d duly reported early to the Stormwind Army headquarters, then to the Third Legion headquarters, then to the Goldshire regiment headquarters, then at last to the 2 GOLDS barracks where the sergeant-at-arms had turned white as a sheet upon first catching sight of her as she strode through his door.

Three hours of running around the city picking up random deployment orders had not done wonders for her temper, and upon realising this from the way she slammed down the stack on his desk he was quick to direct her to the company and ship she needed.

She’d kept herself to herself upon finding The Kraken, and upon boarding gave the ship’s crew and passengers as wide a berth as they gave her. She'd taking up residence atop the brass eagle, removed her twin swords and their scabbards from her belt and laid down out of boredom until they were ready to go. She’d left her helmet off but was sorely tempted to put it back on just to try to lessen the stares she knew she was getting. They, too, were beginning to grate.

She had no desire whatsoever to interact with the soldiers anyway.

Once upon a time she’d have cared. Not just what they thought about her, but also about them. Their wellbeing, their hopes, their dreams. She’d once felt that way about everyone.

But then she’d died, and had risen again.

She remembered her past life, remembered everything – but could no longer summon the positivity she’d once been able to feel.

Now she felt pain, rage, hatred and hunger. These things she could control, and sate through action. Bringing death worked wonders for that.
But what she felt above all else was loss. She’d lost her life, her friends, her family. Her world.

And they no longer even mattered to her – what hurt was that she had lost them, not because of exactly what she had lost. Above all, the most important thing she’d lost along the way was herself.

She tilted her head over to the side to watch Fourth Company’s commander, a major, give his briefing to the troops assembled on the deck.
It wasn’t a bad speech, she had to give him that, and like his men he seemed competent enough. She wondered how many would survive the coming days.

She’d never been taught military tactics or martial prowess back home – why would I have ever needed them there? It was so peaceful… so warm – but as a death knight she’d found herself to be an oddly quick learner in the arts of war, and had been given ample opportunity to practice them against the Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn.

It was funny – well, odd, anyway. She hadn’t laughed out of genuine amusement for a very long time.

Back home, she’d been so… slow. Others had feared to give her the simplest of tasks, expecting that she would fail them or complicate matters for them further. Don’t want to do any more damage than you’ve already done, they would say. Nothing ever quite went as she planned, even if it all worked out in the end. Not that it always did.

Here, after coming back from the grave, everything had been so clear. First it had been his voice, urging her on, but even with him gone, the clarity remained.

By all rights she should have died her second death immediately, becoming one of the many rejects that Acherus had churned out at its prime. But somehow she’d survived.

Memories of her first trial flashed through her mind; a duel to the death with another potential acolyte, a blood elf. He’d been beating her relentlessly with the training blade when she’d stood up and exploded, channelling her fear and hurt into a wave of shadowfrost magic that flash-froze him solid. She’d picked up his blade in her other hand, and the feeling of a weapon in each had somehow felt good. Right. But not as good as when she’d shattered his body into a grisly ruin of ice, gore and bone.

And she’d gone from strength to strength thereafter, from depravity to fresh depravity.

Then… Light’s Hope. And now, a few weeks later, here she was.

Hungry for vengeance. Driven by the only emotions she could still feel.

There was no hope for redemption, but maybe she could achieve some measure of peace in the frozen north. Maybe his death would end her hunger, or salve her pain. Diminish her loss as no light could.

Or perhaps not. They probably wouldn’t even succeed. But she had no other purpose, no other recourse.

I can worry about that when the Lich King falls, she’d long since decided.

She sighed, watching the waves splash harmlessly into the side of the ship. Two weeks at full steam, and full steam they would go; they had to hurry to reinforce the expedition in the tundra before it was wiped out. It would be difficult for her to control herself that long, but she was strong enough to cope. The wait would be worth it.

The knight reached a hand into the bag containing all of her worldly possessions, feeling around for one of the few things, perhaps the only thing that still comforted her. She wasn’t wearing her gauntlets – there was no point sacrificing that much dexterity when battle couldn’t possibly loom. Just two weeks of boredom instead.

She found what she was looking for and pulled it out, careful not to squash it. She raised it up so that she could see it and sniffed. Nothing.

Her senses of smell, touch and taste were dulled by undeath, so that wasn’t too surprising. She always liked to check each time, though. Just to be certain.

She bit a large chunk out of it, rolling the baked treat around her mouth for a few seconds before swallowing.

There it was.

But was it a true sensation, or just a memory? She couldn’t be sure.

Just the slightest taste.

Just the slightest hint of blueberry.

Author's Note

And so begins Act II! As you've probably worked out, this prologue - set three weeks after the Act I epilogue - was not based around any of the Mane Six. Can you guess who this brooding death knight is?

Next time we will rejoin the Mane Six as Act II kicks off properly, and we find out more about what they've been up to since coming out of the Deadmines, and where they'll be going next.

So, a few other pieces of admin and news!

First, the update "schedule" for Act II; bit of a misleading opener, because once again there won't be a fixed update schedule. However I do intend to keep working as hard as I can to get chapters to you - at least one every two weeks - as best as I can. What I'd like to do is try to create a bit of a buffer of one or two chapters; that way I'll always be ahead and won't be rushed for time. I must therefore beg your patience as the next chapter of the story may take a little longer to come - however, once it's out I hope to have them for you with more regularity.

On the plus side, I'm also going to try to get the normal length to 5k+ words now, maybe even more, as the last two chapters have been, and try to even out the consistency a bit to avoid massive fluctuations in word count. Also before I start on Act II I'll be going back through all of the previous chapters and making minor edits to correct errors.

Second, I feel this must be said as much as possible - thank you all so much for your past, present and continuing support for this story. It would be so much harder to write without your encouragement and interest, and I hope to continue writing a story that entertains you all as much as I hope Azeroth's Skies does (and will) in the future.

Sign Here

The king wanted to see her!

Twilight hurried along the canal streets, heading for the keep looming huge in the distance. She didn’t really need to rush, still had an hour till her appointment, but didn’t want to make a bad first impression. Not when the stakes riding on a good one were so important.

A month had passed without her making any progress on the issue of getting home – not that she had been wasting that time, and there had been so much to study in the meantime… Her own magic, which was coming along in leaps and bounds according to Archmage Malin, the changes in Stormwind politics now that the king had returned, the scourge and their evil…

Twilight smiled at one of the silver plate-wearing guards as she passed him. A month ago, she would’ve seen three for every one that now walked the streets, but their presence was now much reduced.

The invasion had changed everything.

That day still lingered in her mind – not so personally as VanCleef’s fall did, but because what they had seen in the harbour had been far more horrifying.

They’d heard the echoes of a terrible voice on the wind, seen the throng of soldiers rushing towards the docks. Curious, and a little concerned, they had followed them down.

The dead being raised to fight their former comrades.

She’d joined the other mages in blasting down the flying structures and reducing the icy dragons to mere bones, while Pinkie assisted the other priests in keeping everyone alive and in the fight. It had also been her first opportunity to see the king, and while she’d been too far away to form a proper impression of him, he certainly lived up to his reputation as an imposing figurehead. He had led from the front, carving and cleaving the ghouls apart with the other warriors.

The first few minutes had been the darkest. Confusion had reigned as the defenders fought in disarray, but cohesion returned as the officers, commissioned or otherwise, had begun to take control. The arrival of the king and Lord Fordragon had given the defenders those they could rally around like living banners, and they first focused down the necromancers sustaining the undead, then the dragons and plague towers – from there, it was simply a matter of mopping up. All told, the battle at the docks had taken barely twenty minutes but the clean-up had taken a lot longer. They were at least fortunate that the Scourge had not broken into the city itself.

The raising of the dead into slavery. It was bad enough when it happened as a result of a vengeful being, cursed by disease, wandering in pain and torment – as her research had determined had happened to the poor lost soul in Westfall. Drifting dark magic found it easy to thrive in the horrors of old.

But to do it to someone? To thousands of people? That was evil. The ultimate desecration.

She pondered the nature of redemption often, these days. After VanCleef. After she’d been unable to convince him, if she had ever even stood a chance in the first place.

Could this “Lich King” be redeemed?

From what she’d read, Arthas Menethil had once been the crown prince of Lordaeron, the northernmost human kingdom on the continent, but after a disastrous expedition to Northrend had betrayed his people, killed his own father with a cursed blade, Frostmourne, and brought the undead to the realm. From there, he had returned to the north, to the frozen peak of Icecrown, and had taken up the mantle of the Lich King, lord of the Scourge. He had sat on the frozen throne for five years, which was where the books ended their tale… but was now awake and plotting ruin upon the Alliance, the Horde and all other living things across Azeroth.

He’d been a hero once. Could he be convinced to atone for his sins? Would it even be possible for him to try to balance the scales anyway?

She didn’t know, but was sure that this time she wanted herself and her friends to stay out of the problem. It wasn’t like going into a single dungeon – it was a war, across the entirety of a huge continent. Twilight had stood out on the docks, watching the first ships depart for the north, hoping that most of those on board would come back alive. She couldn’t even imagine how much worse she would have felt if her friends had been among them.

But we aren’t soldiers. They won’t bring us in on something like this, something we’re not prepared for in the slightest. They’d be mad to.

She was already imagining who they could ask to meet after Varian would offer to reward them for the Deadmines – for what else could he want to speak to her about? She had the perfect person that she wanted to talk to. Lady Jaina Proudmoore, ruler of the island nation of Theramore to the west. Gossip and the textbooks told of a moderate ruler, calm, kind and wise, who pushed for peaceful relations with the Horde and wielded powerful magic in her own right. She would be the perfect person to ask for help getting home – maybe even worthy enough for them to entrust their secret to.

Things can only look up from here.

“Pinkie, please calm down. You are going to work yourself into a frenzy.”

“I know, but it’s been so long since we’ve seen them! I’m just so excited!”

Pinkie hovered at the platform edge, desperately peering down where the tram was coming from in the hope that she would see it first. As much as she was looking forward to welcoming her friends back, Rarity had primarily decided to accompany the pink-haired woman to the tram station to ensure that she didn’t injure herself somehow. Not that she probably couldn’t just shrug off that kind of damage with a quick spell and/or a cheap laugh, but it was more about the principle of the thing – returning to find Pinkie underneath a tram probably wasn’t what Applejack and Rainbow wanted to come back to after so long away.

Two weeks had turned into three, then four as the trams had been flooded by troops and equipment being redeployed from Ironforge for the war effort. Getting a civilian pass had proved impossible, so Applejack and Rainbow had simply decided to head north to Loch Modan and extend their explorations until things had calmed down. That had been the last the others had heard for a little while, and they had just been starting to get worried when another message had come through letting them know that the two were coming back the next day.

“As am I, dear,” Rarity hummed, “But please be aware that you have been straying rather close to the platform edge in your exuberance. We would not want you to fall in as the carriages arrive, no matter how far the trams are raised above the ground.”

“I guess. Wouldn’t want to put a damper on the party later!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “How many bottles have you ordered this time?”

The smile drooped a little. “None.” she replied, stretching the word over two syllables. “Twilight wouldn’t let me after last time.”

The risk of trashing the Trias’s house this time – a feat which they had miraculously avoided previously – was too great to take the chance.

“That would perhaps be for the best.” the fashionista consoled her. “Surely we can have the same amount of fun without any liquid assistance, hm?”

“Of course! That’s what the food’s for! We— oh, look, look! Here they come!”

The tram appeared in the distance, first only visible from the two headlights, which were followed by the rest of the ugly iron vehicle appearing out of the gloom. It slowed rather dramatically as it pulled in, coming to a neat halt parallel to the platform. Each tram made a one-way trip with no stops every fifteen minutes, and there were never that many civilians heading between Stormwind and Ironforge these days anyway, so while there were a few others disembarking it wasn’t surprising that Applejack and Rainbow had their carriage to themselves.

“Rainbow Dash!! Applejack!!” Pinkie yelled, jumping up and down to attract their attention.

They heard and saw her as they emerged. Neither looked much different from the last time the others had seen them, though both appeared more tanned compared to three weeks before, even if it was more noticeable on Rainbow than the blonde, who had already been quite tanned to begin with.

Pinkie pounced on Rainbow as they made their way over, pulling her to the ground.

“Youuuuu’re baaaaack.” she sang as they toppled over.

“OW!” Rainbow as they hit the floor. “C’mon, Pinkie, I missed you too, but…”

“Howdy Pinks, Rarity, good to see ya again.” Applejack smiled, pulling them both up and into a hug, uncaring of the odd looks they were getting from onlookers nearby.

“The feeling is mutual, dear.” Rarity agreed, joining in. “It feels far longer than it has been. I trust you enjoyed yourselves?”

“Yeah, we had a good time.” Applejack replied as they began to head out of the tram station to the smoky Dwarven district beyond. “Got in some trouble ‘round Dun Morogh way – stumbled through some caves we shouldn’ta. Then there were some troggs south of the loch…"

“Yeah, trouble where I got to be awesome while fixing it! And so did AJ, I guess.”

“Thanks, partner.” the warrior said sardonically. “Truth is, we got a bit worried ‘bout you being back here once we heard what happened. Couldn’t believe it at first.”

“Indeed, it has been a trying few weeks.” Rarity agreed. “First we have an invasion of the docks by some undead warlord who wants to kill us all and make us his slaves – luckily none of us were hurt – and now it seems that everybody is rushing north to face him. I do hope that we do not get drawn into it.”

“My connection to the light is getting stronger – I think I can even heal people now like you can,” Rainbow was saying to Pinkie. “Plus I’m getting even better with this new hammer they gave me up north!” She unhooked the weapon to show them. It had much the shape as her previous one, though it looked much more ornate, if also a bit heavier for all the silver and bronze decoration. “Lord Grayson gave me permission to take it, and leave the other with the dwarves so they can pass it on again. Nothing’s gonna stand in our way now that I have it!”

“I would be careful how enthusiastically you say that.” Rarity warned her friend. “Twilight may not approve.”

“Oh, yeah.” Rainbow pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Hey, where is our beloved bookworm anyway? She made some progress yet? And how’s Fluttershy, for that matter?”

“Twilight’s got an audience with the king.” Pinkie piped back up. “He’s been super busy but finally has the time and wants to talk to her. She thinks that if she builds up the right links she can get us closer to people who might be able to get us home!”

“Now that’s good news!”

“And as for Fluttershy…” Rarity sighed and directed them to take a right at the district crossroads where they would normally turn left. “It’s probably best that you see for yourself.”

THUNK

The arrow split upon entering the target. It struck the inner edge of the second ring from the centre – still quite far from a bullseye, but still a clear improvement over her first efforts. She’d scored one bullseye so far, just the day before, but had yet to replicate the impact.

No matter. She had progressed past being pleased with hitting the target at the moment, now that only a few of her arrows missed the mark entirely, but the fact that she was making steady progress kept her happy.

A month of practice had built up her muscles, and she had gone from barely being able to draw the string on the practice bow to being able to handle it with ease. She no longer had to strain to pick up or move the practice rifles, either. She split her time between both as equally as possible, learning the techniques and drills so that she could use them safely.

To stop someone she cared about from getting hurt.

Oh, Wilder.

The thought of his death still brought a tear to her eye sometimes. She’d gotten better at keeping it to herself, keeping it controlled. She’d never lost an animal companion this way before.

Sure, some of the ones she’d been close to had died under her care, no matter how much she had tried to save them – the least she could do was ease their pain. Some had even become prey for animals bigger than themselves. Such was nature, even in Equestria.

She’d shed tears for them, but it wasn’t the same this time. This felt much worse. She hadn’t lost any of them to sadistic pirates who cared not who they killed.

She’d known the wolf for barely five days but that didn’t ease the sense of loss. He’d had so much potential, so much life ahead of him – fit, young and strong.

Now he was dead, rotting in the ground far to the south.

Looking after animals couldn’t just mean taking care of their most basic needs. She’d never take a companion into combat again, but i they were truly so threatened in a place like this, then she had to learn to protect them from the world, too.

She wondered sometimes if she should feel remorse for Greenskin’s death. But then she remembered how he’d gloated as Wilder had bled out, how he’d threatened her and her friends…

Was it unkind of her to feel nothing for his fate?

She was sorry that his choices had led him to that moment, but there was nothing else she could have done. Nothing that would’ve stopped him from killing her friends.

Time on the ranges kept her thoughts off both Wilder and the goblin. It required her to stay conscious of her position at all times, the state of the weapon she was using, how others were acting in the area too…

She drew another arrow from the quiver, but paused before nocking it, then relaxed. She knew the dwarf was coming up behind her well before he announced himself. She could hear his footsteps, hear his mail armour clinking as he moved. She smiled as she realised a moment later that he wasn’t alone.

Her situational awareness had improved quite significantly since she had started to make an effort at it. She didn’t want to be taken by surprise ever again.

“Hey, lass.” he called over as she turned around. “How’s it goin’?”

“Hello, Thorfin! Not too bad, thank you. I mamaged a few more on target today.”

The bear let out a friendly roar and charged her down into a friendly hug. She play-wrestled with him for a moment, then held her hand out and he dropped to the floor submissively.

“Still got tha’ magic touch, gal.” Thorfin observed as she got back to her feet and began petting Muzzle. “And aye, ye did. Summa the lads been commenting on how good yer gettin’. ‘s all that hard work. Think I’ve seen y’come down here near almost every day of th’last month.”

“Yes, I’ve had a lot of free time. I’m still not great though – I haven’t hit the centre for a while. Thanks again for your help with the crystals though, in case I run out…”

“Well, considerin’ yer progress’n’where you were, I think y’ve done the best y’could be expected to do.” he encouraged her. “And no worries. Always good to know how ta put ‘em together if yer low on supplies.”

“Yes…” Fluttershy grimaced. “I don’t want to run out again.”

The dwarf paused to stare out across the range, then carefully started to speak. “Listen, Flutters. We really ‘ppreciate you helpin’ out ‘round here with all our animals, an’ yer always welcome on the range when it’s open. But… y’sure yer okay?”

She wouldn’t look at him as she replied, somewhat stiffly, “Perfectly fine.”

He said nothing more on the subject. It wasn’t his first time asking the question in the last month but he never pressed her past the first ask each time. She’ll talk when she’s ready. It wasn’t the dwarven way to be nosy. Instead, he pointed down the range. “Aight then. Show me what you got.”

High above the range on an overlooking hill, Rarity pointed the hunter out to her friends. “See? She’s down there.”

“No way.” Rainbow stared down in disbelief as Fluttershy nocked an arrow, took aim and drew the string back. “Fluttershy? With a bow?”

“I kinda thought the crossbow thing was just a one-off.” Applejack muttered.

“But to draw back the string like that, you need a lot of strength. I never would’ve thought Fluttershy…”

“She’s been here getting used to it every day for the past month! Either with her dwarf friends, or some of the guards, or sometimes just alone.” Pinkie informed them.

The woman below let the tension go. The arrow whistled through the air.

It wasn’t a bullseye, but it was a hit. A good hit, in fact, on the inner ring outside the centre red.

“She’s not half bad…”

“An’ you just let her come down here and do this all day?”

“It’s not like we can stop her.” Rarity shrugged. “She isn’t hurting herself or anybody else here, and she hasn’t cut herself off completely – she still stays with us for meals. But she’s happier while she’s here, because every moment she’s focused…”

“…she’s not thinking about Wilder.” Pinkie finished for her.

“Guess it’s gonna take a while for her to heal, huh.” Applejack said sadly. “I can relate.”

“Me too.” Rainbow agreed quietly. “Still, now that we’re back I want to get her involved in the group again. I mean, it’s great that she’s found a form of exercise she enjoys, but it can’t be healthy to be spending all her time here.”

Pinkie grinned. “Sounds like a job for a party! Just leave it with me…”

Twilight stood very still as the king of Stormwind paced around in front of her. Varian Wrynn seemed full of energy – ready to burst into action at the slightest provocation. She’d seen him move in battle from a distance, and she knew that even in his lion-etched cobalt plate he was incredibly fast, not weighed down by it or his massive two-handed sword in the slightest. He cut an intimidating figure in general, standing a good foot and a half taller than her.

The throne room was imposing, too. The way it was built it seemed designed to throw people – and make it very clear who was in charge.

“Westfall was once the breadbasket of Stormwind, and the Defias have been a thorn in our side for a very long time – and the cause of much wrongdoing. You have my personal gratitude, and that of the kingdom.” the king said, looking up from scanning over Gryan Stoutmantle’s report.

She’d curtseyed to what she knew was the appropriate extent in Azeroth – she’d checked with Malin to make sure. She hoped that the king approved, but it was impossible to tell.

True, he didn’t seem exactly satisfied with the leader of the “heroes of Westfall”. He’d swung his searching gaze over her the instant she’d entered his presence – she probably wasn’t what he’d expected - but she couldn’t even hazard a guess at the impression he’d formed.

The scowl on his face certainly suggested that he was displeased.

Or maybe it had nothing to do with her? Surely the lord of the land had more important matters on his mind…

Or maybe it was just how he always looked.

“Such heroism should not go unrewarded,” the king said, “And so I am offering you…”

Yes! Never mind, I shouldn’t have worried! Her mouth opened just an inch, ready to ask her request.

“…a commission as a Knight-Lieutenant in the Stormwind Army.
…

What? Her mouth snapped shut, then slowly reopened. She hadn’t been expecting that, and it showed clearly on her face – not that he gave any reaction to her surprise.

“I am also prepared to offer the rest of your group good contracts for their mandatory service alongside you in the ranks – with good prospects for promotion, should you and they remain in the army once we kill the Lich King.”

No uncertainty there.

Wait, MANDATORY service?!

“Y-your highness, forgive me but I’m not sure I understand—” she stuttered.

“Our field units on the front line are finding it tough to make much progress.” he said bluntly. “I want to make use of those like you and your friends – those with specialist skills and powers, which I know from first-hand experience can be very effective. Trial units have shown good results and I want to expand them.”

“I… see.” She could understand the value in such an idea. But the thought of her friends being pressed into combat against so horrible a foe as the Lich King… “But, your highness, we aren’t soldiers! We have no training! We won’t stand a chance against—”

She stopped dead midsentence, her jaw clenching shut at the glare the king was giving her.

“Do you think the level of your training matters to me? I need skills and bodies right now, not tempered steel.” he hissed. “Do you dare display cowardice on the level of some horde filth, when so many of your countryman are giving themselves upon the altar of sacrifice?” the king demanded, his hands perceptibly twitching towards the blade held on the back of his armor. “Do you dare?!”

It was like being trapped in a cage with a wolf, his jaws inches from her throat. The explosion of rage had come out of nowhere…

Twilight managed to shake her head with the slightest of motions… which, to her greatest relief, seemed to pacify the king.

“Major Mattingly will provide you with all the details, and the contracts you’ll all need – if you would do my men the favour of delivering them to your friends.” he huffed, turning from her and gesturing to the approaching officer. “I expect all your signatures to be registered within the day.”

Still stunned, still quivering, she nodded. She managed to curtsey again, and allowed herself to be led away.

So much for things looking up…

“Conscripted?!”

“Yes.” Twilight replied. She’d come straight back from her audience to the house, finding most of the others gathered for dinner – only Fluttershy arrived after her, mumbling her apologies. The mage had held off dropping the bombshell until after they had all finished eating, but launched right into the issue as soon as they were done - and just before Pinkie had a chance to spring her welcome back party. “The compulsory drafting of civilian personnel into the military, most often during times of great national crisis. Those called up will serve until the end of said crisis, then have the option of leaving.

“Upon signing these contracts you’ll all become members of the Stormwind Army… and I’ve been offered a commission as an officer. Some of you have also been awarded certain ranks in recognition of the role we played in the fall of the Defias Brotherhood. The papers are all here.” she distributed them around to each individual.

“But… we’re not even soldiers!”

“I…”

“This is pretty underhanded of ‘em.”

“The army’s desperate for bodies right now.” Elling Trias commented, nibbling on a piece of gorgonzola. He’d joined them in the dining room as soon as he’d seen how urgent Twilight had been in calling the others together, correctly surmising that she had important news to share.

“And if they’re desperate for one thing even more, it’s specialist skills. Your skills have been picked up on – all of them.”

“They’re forming specialist support units attached to the main infantry and armoured units.” Twilight explained. “Each of these will vary in composition, but will generally include a mix of healers, mages and so on in two squads, plus an escort. We’re going to provide a command element to one of them.”

“How did they even get our details?” Applejack wondered, flicking through the paperwork. “Height, weight… They’ve got all our measurements! I don’t remember tellin’ anybody half this stuff.”

“More pressingly,” Rarity cut in hurriedly. “What does this mean for us?”

“We’ll be going up north.” Twilight sighed. There was a collective stillness, a silence as the others processed this information, so she elaborated. “We have a day to sort our affairs, then the day after that I report to the Darkshire Regiment headquarters in the Old Town to receive our assignment, and we’ll be given any equipment we’re going to need. The next morning, we’ll board a boat and set sail to the south coast of Northrend, and we’ll be given further taskings when we get there.”

It was very much a case of information overload for the others. They sat back and tried to process the meaning of it all as the mage looked on nervously.

“Ain’t there supposed to be some kind of training for this?” Applejack asked at last, still scrutinising the terms of her contract.

Twilight shook her head. “Normally, yes, but they intend to make an exception and waive it for the outside elements of the support units, including us. We’ll be given a little during the journey at sea, but after Westfall…”

“Don’t forget that you managed to make your way all the way into the Deadmines through a combination of skill, teamwork and luck.” Elling pointed out. “Any formal training they give you might work against that. You’ve proved you can survive under difficult circumstances – that’s enough for them.”

“What if we say ‘no’? Refuse to sign?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know.” Twilight pursed her lips. “But I don’t think it’ll be looked on well."

They all looked to Elling, who shrugged. “I don’t know either. Under Prestor, you’d be hanging from the rafters before dawn. King Wrynn might be more willing to show mercy and understanding, but his blood is still up at the moment after Stormwind was attacked. I’d expect some time in the Stockades, at least.”

“He didn’t seem like he’d take ‘no’ for an answer to me.” Twilight added, wincing at the memory of the king’s anger.

“There you go, then. Well, you may be conscripts, but you will still be paid.” the master of cheese added, having taken a glance over Applejack’s shoulder at her contract with her permission. “You’ll have a significant amount of back pay to play with when you get back, especially if it goes on for a while.”

“If what goes on for a while?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“The war.” he replied.

“…oh.” she managed, and buried her face back into the fine details of her paperwork. He gave her a sympathetic look and left the room to make a cup of tea.

It meant an interminable period of living in terrible, freezing conditions, their fates dictated as much by the quality of the orders they were given as by their own actions – if not perhaps more. It meant having to fight again… though at least the foe this time would not be a living, breathing creature.

And there was the very real possibility of death or harm, of course. It was one thing to be caught up in events while exploring – another entirely to be actively hunting for conflict.

And that was the worst they could imagine. Surely the reality of the situation would be even more fearful?

A few minutes passed in silence, then Applejack sighed and casually tossed her contract onto the table in front of her. “Well, guessin’ we don’t have much choice. An’ notwithstanding the danger’n’all, I would mind doing a bit more spelunking. Them two weeks in the hills did me an’ Dash a lotta good.”

Pinkie added to the pile. “I betcha there’ll be lots of people who need cheering up out there. We could do a lot of good.”

Rarity looked quite crestfallen, though it was easy to tell as she had always been the one to wear her heart on her sleeve. “As the others say, we do not appear to have any choice in the matter. I will greatly miss the opportunity to work practically on my designs, but such is the hand of fate at work…”

“We could run away.” A voice said – so quietly, so hesitantly, that Twilight first looked to Fluttershy, but then realised that she hadn’t spoken, and turned instead to…

“Rainbow?” she queried.

"I said... we could run away." she repeated herself.

The mage had assumed that her most athletic friend would have the least problem with their predicament. “I thought you wouldn’t be too upset about this – you’re always looking to get into the action, and you were a member of the—”

“That wasn’t the same!” Rainbow spat with a viciousness that Twilight hadn’t expected. She was at least still careful enough not to mention the ‘Wonderbolts’ in a sensitive, insecure setting. She leapt to her feet, her face flushed red. “I chose to do that! I picked a goal and I worked for it! No-one made me!”

“But… it’s not like you to talk about running away—”

“NO! But against something like this, normally I’d just fight it instead! And I’m guessing you wouldn’t want me to do something like that!” Rainbow shouted at her friend, as much as a challenge as it was a statement. The mage looked away hurriedly.

“And the rest of you!” she rounded on the others, her voice booming in the small room, making them all recoil and no doubt disturbing the neighbours – and their hosts. “We’ve barely had five minutes to think about this and you’re already raising positives?!

“Can’t you see how wrong this is? Ever since we’ve got here we’ve been just doing what he had to survive. But since when back home did we ever just put up with ‘the way things were’?

“UGH! I just—I can’t— I can’t deal with this tonight!” she cried, and burst into motion.

“Rainbow—” Twilight tried again, but her friend was already gone – out into the closed front of the shop and out through the front door into the city evening.

“Your friends have all been conscripted? I must say it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, my dear.” the archmage hummed as he dusted around the edges of the mantle, Twilight standing awkwardly by his desk. She had felt troubled enough to pay him an early evening visit – something he’d said she was welcome to do, but, with her friends in such close proximity, had never seemed necessary before.

She had wanted to follow Rainbow immediately, as difficult as catching up to her would be, but Applejack had advised against it. “Let ‘er go.” she had urged. “Gal’s got some thinkin’ to do, is all.” Twilight had reluctantly agreed.

Her friends had all gone to bed shortly thereafter, or at least split up to do their own thinking, but, filled with anxiety, she had gone to Malin for advice at a very late hour.

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. She’d expected him to at least be somewhat taken aback by her announcement. “I mean, Stormwind hasn’t operated the policy of conscription for a relatively long period of time, from what I’ve read...”

“It hasn’t needed to, in recent times. Direct threats to Stormwind itself have been few since the First War, and there were always enough volunteers to meet the need.” The archmage replied. “In this case, it was really only a matter of time until they turned to the arcanists and the clergy – and those, like you and your friends, with a track record of heroics. Lady Prestor raised the idea once or twice before, actually - always in response to some slight or aggression from the Horde. Highlord Fordragon refused the suggestion each time.”

“But the king’s word is another matter.”

“Quite. Besides, the situation is different, this time. The scars of the third war run deep, even this far south – most lost members of their families in the conflict. The threat we face is much more… grave. If you’ll pardon the dark humour.”

Twilight couldn’t help but stifle a giggle. The old mage was good at keeping her spirits up – good at keeping all of the tower’s mages inspired and enthused with their studies.

“I’m sure this must be quite unsettling for you, but I’m afraid you don’t have much choice in the matter – to try to refuse the king’s terms, which do offer more generous contracts than would normally be expected, and for you to refuse the honour of an unconditional offer for an officer’s commission… these things would not be looked on well.”

“Mr. Trias thought as much.” she said, unable to keep an element of glumness from her voice.

“Hmm…” He examined her carefully. “Are you afraid, Miss Sparkle?”

It was a rather direct question, not quite the one she had been expecting, and she had to take a second to compose a proper response.

“I… know my duty.” she said, as neutrally as she could manage. “I understand the need and I understand the stakes. And so do… my friends.” A half-truth, at best – she could only hope that Rainbow would come around.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Malin. But she couldn’t risk Rainbow’s apparent recalcitrance to become known.

“A good response, but you haven’t answered my question.” he chided gently. “I asked if you were afraid.”

She closed her eyes. Fighting a war. The undead. The terrible risk to herself and her friends. The thought of a fate worse than death.

And everything else that Malin couldn’t possibly know or even suspect. That she and her friends would die here in this world, forever cut off from their home, family and friends.

“Yes,” she said at last. “I’m… afraid.”

She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder, opening her eyes to meet his, tinged with concern, sympathy and a little… pride?

“Good.” he said. “I am glad you understand. Hold onto that fear – it will help you survive – but do not let it overcome you. What you face in the coming months will test you and your friends more, I suspect, than you have ever been tested before, but I believe you have the capacity for great wisdom, and the power and potential to do great things.”

It was quite the compliment. “…t-thank you, Archmage Malin.” she managed to stutter out. Taking praise had never been one of her stronger suits.

He smiled, then moved the conversation forward. “In any case, you may see some familiar faces in Northrend, but I am unlikely to be one of them. I am too old to be used in a combat capacity – far too past my prime. At best I might see you in Dalaran, as I believe the Council of Six have made the decision to transport the city to the north, and my skills at teleportation may be called upon at some time.

“It is also unlikely that you will see your friends from the tower for the duration of the war…” Malin sighed, snapping his fingers. A touch of violet energy slipped towards the closed door, which absorbed it and glowed briefly with borrowed power.

Three voices outside grunted together in pain.

“I expect your homework done on time!” the archmage thundered as the eavesdropping women scurried away. “I’m not sure they have the temperament for it.” he mused. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

“Of course.” Twilight fought back another smile.

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer – I’m sure you have much preparation to do and precious little time to do it in. But, there is one more thing I would like to ask you.”

“Sir?” She’d been turning to go, but paused at his tone. As much as he tried, the archmage was entirely unsuccessful in concealing the worry in his voice, and the fear in his eyes.

“My daughter, Emmy… She was also called to serve. Please, if you ever happen to meet her on those frozen plains… make sure she stays safe.”

Author's Note

Alt (original) Title: Would you sign your life away?

Sign There

What had started as a few droplets of rain turned into a steady stream over Rainbow as she made her way through the city. She was regretting rushing out without a coat, having left too quickly to grab one.

It took her barely five minutes, alternating between a hard jog and a sprint, to navigate her way through the trade district and across the canals into the cathedral district. She had a single destination in mind, and it loomed into view as she passed through the arch, lit up clearly against the black night sky.

She needed somewhere she could think.

She hurried inside the cathedral, her exposed arms protesting at the sudden change in temperature as a rush of warm air swept over her. The fires were, as usual, kept lit throughout the night, illuminating the darkest corners of the holy building all around the clock.

The attendant priest made no move to stop her as she hurried left into the paladin enclave – no doubt recognising her from her previous sessions meditating or sparring.

She paused where the inner corridor split into three passages, one to the sparring rooms, one to a quiet chamber intended for contemplation, and the last leading to the accommodation where many of the young trainees slept.

She had no business in the latter and in her haste had left her weapon behind, so found her choice made for her. She took the middle path.

The room was larger than those normally used for the same purpose. The trainees were generally expected to think upon the virtues of the light in the solitude of their own rooms, but this one existed for those without cells in which they could meditate.

She held her hands out to the fire, shivering a little as her body temperature began to pick back up.

She stood and thought for a while, basking in the heat.

It’s just so unfair…

Some time passed, enough time for her clothes to be well on their way to drying, when a loud, familiar voice suddenly rocked her out of her reverie. “Miss Rainbow Dash!”

“Lord Shadowbreaker!" She whirled around. "I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t think you would be up. I didn't want to cause a disturbance.”

The paladin was imposing even when bereft of his armour, dressed in a simple casual shirt and breeches.

And… slippers.

Dress sense aside, though, little had changed about him compared to when she had last seen him several weeks before.

“It isn’t a problem.” he shrugged. “I had an early night, and I find that my contemplation is most productive when I am awake to greet the sunrise. I assume you returned to Stormwind yesterday – did you have a safe journey?”

It couldn’t be morning already, could it? Though of course without a clock in the room she wasn’t able to tell how long she had stood there for, but it hadn’t felt that long…

“Yes – thanks for letting me keep the new hammer. My old weapon was good, but this new one just feels… even better.”

“Of course.” He thought for a moment, then commented, “It’s quite unusual to see you up this late, and in here of all places.”

She shrugged, a little reluctant to be drawn into talking about what was troubling her. “Yeah… I’ve just got some thinking to do.”

“At three in the morning? It must be important, then. I don’t suppose it would have something to do with conscription, would it?”

She whirled around, shocked that he had hit the nail on the head with so little help. “Y-you know already?”

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips that on a less kind man would have seemed more like a smirk. “A lucky guess. I have seen several of my trainees called up over the past few weeks. It does not surprise me that you are among that group.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like it.” she said. “The people are okay with it?”

He nodded. “Under Lady Prestor there would have been riots in the street. King Wrynn does not inspire the same resentment – indeed, most are simply happy to have him back. But conscription will always be a controversial policy, especially among the faint of heart.”

Rainbow clenched her fists, more than a little insulted. “I’m not scared!” she exclaimed, then clapped her hands to her mouth. Nothing he had said had been directed at her, but her reaction had given her feelings away, though once again her outburst didn’t seem to surprise him.

“I think perhaps you are.” he replied evenly. “Not of battle, mind – I would not accuse you of that after your adventures in the Deadmines. But you are scared of something else.”

The look in his eyes dared her to disagree, and she found that she couldn’t. He had a way of cutting down to the heart of any given matter and getting to the truth at hand – probably because he was used to teaching.

Grimacing, she said, “It’s just – how can something like this be fair or good if it’s forced on us like this? When we have a good chance of dying, or worse? And – I – just...”

Shadowbreaker took note of her distress, and how she wasn’t finding it easy to communicate all of her frustration. “I don’t mean to antagonise you.” he said, adopting a gentler tone. “Sometimes, though, we must recognise that we do not know everything about every given situation. And we must accept that sacrifices sometimes have to be made, as, in this case, with a certain amount of freedoms. But don’t think that you do not have a choice – you almost always do, and certainly do, in this case. If you truly think the cause for which you are being conscripted is not a good one, then you should make the choice to oppose it, the consequences be damned… but I would seek to change your mind on that.

“Humility is certainly a lesson that all paladins should learn as early as possible, though that is not to say that I think that you are overly proud. But certainty – even the most nobly held certainty - has been linked to the conflict with the scourge since they first emerged, at a terrible cost to all the races of this land.

“Allow me to explain a little history, which will hopefully allow you to understand.” He crouched into a meditative stance by the fire and motioned for her to join her. The motion of kneeling down, sinking into a relaxed position, immediately made her feel more at ease.

“I don’t know.” she said somewhat doubtfully. “I’ve never been good at learning like this.”

The elder paladin smiled. “Nevertheless, we will try. Arthas Menethil was the crown prince of Lordaeron, the bastion of human power in the north of the Eastern Kingdoms.

“He was also a paladin, renowned for his bravery, his prowess on the field of battle, and the strength of his connection to the light. The entire kingdom had such high hopes for his reign, as did those in the other human realms, including here in Stormwind.”

“A plague came to Lordaeron, a terrible sickness that raised those it claimed as mindless zombies. Arthas was amongst those who fought to contain the contagion and root out the source, coming to the major city of Stratholme when a sabotaged shipment of grain infected much of the populace. Too certain of himself, and desperate to protect the realm, he would not be dissuaded from burning the city to the ground, killing thousands of innocents in the process.

“Still convinced of his righteousness, the prince followed the source of the contagion to the frozen north, seeking to end it forever. Many of his own men’s lives were thrown away in his crusade, until he somehow came upon a terrible weapon – Frostmourne. The blade changed Arthas – he was a paladin no longer, but a death knight - a servant of the blade’s master, the Lich King.

“His first act upon returning to Lordaeron was to plunge Frostmourne through his father’s – the king’s – heart. Overnight, Lordaeron became a kingdom of the undead, and the third war began in earnest.”

Hearing of such betrayal – both familial and of those he had sworn to rule and protect - struck her harder than Shadowbreaker could have realised. She was the element of loyalty, after all, and she couldn’t imagine what could have led the prince down that path. It reminded her of Princess Luna’s banishment – though at least that story had had a happier ending, a thousand years on.

“What happened next?” she asked. She could tell he was abridging details for her benefit, but it was still keeping her hooked, in spite of her previous words. It was almost like a Daring Do novel, only so much more tragic.

“Arthas returned to the north and no more was heard of him for several years. The Scourge – the organised undead – continued their attacks under the leadership of his lieutenants. Only recently did the prince re-emerge, and we found out the truth. He has become the Lich King, and now leads a terrible force of darkness that will swallow up the world unless it is stopped.”

He fell silent. Rainbow knew from her previous lessons in the cathedral that he was expecting her to think over his words herself, and come to her own conclusion. He wouldn’t spell out the lesson for her.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard.

True to what she had expected, much of what Shadowbreaker had said went over her head; but she’d heard enough to clear away her doubts. The prince – the Lich King – had done terrible things – things that made him much like the evils they had fought in Equestria.

No. Even worse. In Equestria the villains had wanted to rule or destroy, to be sure, but only one of them had betrayed their loved ones in the process.

And she had repented, and the sisters were now together again. And she hadn't killed hundreds of thousands of people. That story had a happy ending. The way Shadowbreaker told his tale – and she had no reason to doubt his word – the Lich King relished in the destruction and suffering he caused. The scale wasn't the same.

Thoughts were rushing through her mind now, almost unnaturally so.

Rainbow knew she had strength, in Azeroth. Not the same kind of strength she had possessed back home, with her wings, her racing skills, her sonic rainboom, but a power nonetheless. A connection to the light. Not enough to make up for what she was missing, but still something good. Something pure.

They had all used their strengths to fight evil back home. They’d all had their doubts at times – their own demons to overcome.
In that respect, how was this conflict any different from their battles in Equestria?

They had an evil to punish. People to protect. Lives to save.

And that was how this expedition differed from the one that had doomed Arthas. Because he had lost sight of the last two, focusing dangerously on revenge over protection or helping people, until he had at last fallen. He had forgotten what it meant to be a paladin.

And at last it was clear to Rainbow. She knew what she had to do.

Not because she didn't have a choice. Choosing to defy the conscription wouldn’t help anyone, least of all herself or her friends. But embracing it…

Rainbow leapt to her feet. “I get it now! I know what I have to do!”

Shadowbreaker looked up and smiled again. “You do?”

“Yes! I need to get ready!” She sprinted out of the room. A few moments passed before she popped her head back round the entrance.

“Thanks so much for your help! Bye!”

Satisfied that she was now gone for good, the paladin lord reached up and sprinkled a little incense into the brazier on the mantle, then settled back into a contemplative sitting position.

“Good luck, my young friend.” he whispered. “Until next we meet.”

Twilight awoke to light gently penetrating her eyelids, the sun having slowly edged into position to shine through a gap in the blinds. She slowly opened her eyes all the way, blinking quickly to clear the brief flash, and took in the room. Both of the sleeping bags in the room – where Rarity and Applejack had been sleeping – were empty.

It’s just me… what time is it?

She looked up at the clock on the wall. Ten o’clock. It was the latest she’d laid in since moving in with the Trias family.

She got up, stretching out the aches of the evening, and began to make her way downstairs, stopping only to pick up her contract. There was no need to get changed – the shop was closed for the day with all members of the family out on business.

She was quickly able to confirm that she wasn’t alone in the house – Applejack was waiting patiently by the oven, baking some kind of apple confectionery, while Fluttershy sat at the end of the table, quietly munching on some cereal.

“Morning, Twilight!” Applejack greeted her cheerfully. Fluttershy’s eyes darted up briefly from her bowl, then dropped back down.

“Morning, Applejack, morning Fluttershy. Have you seen Rainbow this morning?”

Fluttershy continued to stare into her cereal, while Applejack looked sympathetic. “Sorry, Twi. She came back real late last night. Dunno when she’ll be up. And Pinkie and Rarity had some stuff they had to take care of – said they’d be back by lunch.”

“I see.” The mage eased herself down onto the end seat on the table two down from Fluttershy. She rolled and straightened out her contract in front of her, then flipped to the very last page

BY COMPLETING THIS CONTRACT IN FULL I, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, AGREE TO ABIDE AND BE BOUND BY ITS CLAUSES, CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS.

PLEASE SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE BELOW.

………………………………………………..

She paused, her quill hovering over the line. She’d made her decision already the night before… no, she’d made it on the walk back after her meeting with the king.

Her unease, her disease at the unfairness of the situation had quickly given way to resignation. Where else would they be able to go, probably as fugitives from the crown? What would they do, out of the city in a still unfamiliar world?

And when would another such opportunity to put themselves out there arise? The king wouldn’t even acknowledge them further if they fled from their duty, however tenuous their link to it was... save for perhaps having them hunted down. But if they could survive the conflict and come out the other side…

“All done.” she murmured, lifting the quill away and staring at the drying ink.

“Mmm, speakin’ of.” Applejack spoke up, waving her own papers at the mage. “Ye’ll be needing these I’m guessin’.”

“Oh!” The need to press her friends for their documentation – or address the consequences if they refused – had certainly been playing on the mage’s mind the night before. To have Applejack offer hers so freely came as a mighty relief, but she hesitated in taking them nonetheless. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I ain’t too happy ‘bout us all not really having a choice, but… not gonna lie, I really did enjoy bein’ out in the mountains. Think I wouldn’t mind gettin’ out there a bit. See more of the world.”

And see the world they would – Northrend was a vast continent from what she had read, a mixture of frozen tundra and snow-flooded mountains. They could be assured of quite a journey to cross it, much more than the mere few days between Stormwind and the Deadmines - unless they were ordered to hold a position close to their arrival site, which Twilight didn’t think was very likely. The brief explanation she had been given by Major Mattingly seemed to indicate that her platoon would eventually catch up with and support the frontline units, and the small amount of news that they had received suggested that the campaign had already been making great strides.

Twilight quickly checked the last page of Applejack’s contract and found that everything had been filled out correctly. She looked up to thank her again… and found Fluttershy’s contract also right in front of her.

“Um, I’ve completed it all too.” she explained, briefly catching Twilight’s eye before looking away.

“…oh!” Twilight exclaimed. She hadn’t expected convincing Fluttershy to be easy, but Rainbow had been her biggest concern, the one that she had been most worried about after the night before. It was another weight off her consciousness to have three of the six papers straight away, so much so that this time she was almost too eager to take them. Composing herself, she asked again, “Are you sure?”

Fluttershy nodded slowly, and was no more forthcoming about her reasoning than that. Twilight opened her mouth to ask something else, but the pink-haired woman beat her to it. “See you tonight, girls.” she said as she stood up, still looking off to one side. She hefted a long bag across her back and exited the room, heading out into the streets through the front of the shop.

“Def’nitely need to keep an eye on her, Twi.” Applejack commented, watching her go.

“I know.” Twilight agreed. “Do you think she’s really okay with this? I thought she would be the most reluctant…”

“I dunno what she’s thinking.” her friend shook her head. “Aside from that she’s still mournin’. Maybe she thinks this’ll help... and maybe it will. Put her so far out of her comfort zone she discovers somethin’ new. Might at least be better for her than being cooped up here, or on that range she’s at all day. Either way… We just gotta be there for her all the way.”

“Yeah… Twilight sighed.

She still found herself regretting Wilder’s death, tied inextricably to that last, mad hour in the Deadmines. They all still carried a sense of loss, of separation from their families and friends back home. But they weren’t dead. And Fluttershy had seen Wilder perish. Twilight could only try to imagine how much deeper her sensitive friend was feeling it.

Whatever she needs, we’ll be here for her. Always.

Applejack turned the oven off, opened it up and carefully removed the pie. The aroma hit Twilight almost immediately; mouth-watering, as ever. She had no doubt that it would taste as good as it smelled.

“So what’s your plan with Rainbow?”

“To be honest, I don’t really have one.” the mage admitted. “I tried coming up with some ideas. I just hope she’s calmed down and is a bit more receptive today. If not, well… we have til four o’clock.”

“Must be a first, you not havin’ a plan…”

“Oh, don’t you start as well!” But she could tell from the mirth in her friend’s voice that she wasn’t serious. A bit of banter was a sign of a good group dynamic, as far as she was concerned, as long as it didn’t go too far. “The first step has to be finding her, though. I mean, it’s not like she’s just going to come crashing through the—”

CRASH

“—door.”

Rainbow Dash burst through the door as if on cue. Her clothes and hair looked rather dishevelled and there were dark bags under her eyes. She looked almost deranged.

“R-Rainbow?”

“TWILIGHT!” she cried. “Please tell me I’m not too late!”

“Too late? Too late for what?” Twilight asked, utterly confused.

“TO GIVE YOU MY SIGNED PAPERS!” she hollered. “I’VE BEEN ALL OVER TOWN GETTING THINGS READY TO GO, BUT I JUST REALISED I NEVER ACTUALLY CAME BACK TO GIVE YOU THEM! I’M SORRY!”

Volume control went out the window whenever Rainbow was tired.

Or drunk. Though not the latter in this case; she wasn’t staggering and there was no smell of alcohol hanging around her. She was just exhausted, plain and simple.

“Oh!” Suddenly Twilight understood. “This is a little unexpected Rainbow – are you sure? What changed your mind?”

Rainbow took a deep breath. “Well, I went back to the cathedral, I talked to Lord Grayson. He told me about the Lich King, and he got me thinking about a lot of things, about what we used to go through back home… and I’m really sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have reacted like I did. Stormwind may not be my home, we may not have much of a choice, but the people here don’t deserve a fate like what they’ll get if the Lich King wins. They should be able to live without being scared of things like the undead.

“I can definitely get behind kind of thing, and if that’s what Stormwind stands for I can be loyal to it too. I want to help. I want to make a difference.”

She held out the sheath of papers, a determined smile plastered across her lips. “Take ‘em, please. I’m with you all the way.”

“Oh, Rainbow!” Twilight took the papers, then pulled her friend into a tight hug. Just like that, the rift she had feared between them had been healed, and she couldn't have been happier. With everything and everyone else she had to worry about, she hadn't wanted to agonize over a conflict with a friend too. “And I’m sorry too. I should have tried to explain things better, and I hate how short notice this was.

“But we’ll get through it, all of us together. I promise.”

Rainbow didn’t reply, and as Twilight went to move away, she realised that the paladin was leaning on her for support. She had in fact fallen asleep on her feet, and her dead weight was too much for the mage to hold up for long.

“Uh… ack… Rainbow…!”

“Guess she never came back to sleep after all.” Applejack chuckled, approaching them, carefully plucking Rainbow off of Twilight and slinging the paladin’s arm around her shoulder in preparation for carrying her upstairs. “Don’tcha worry, Twi, I’ll see she gets some rest in her before tonight. You go find Pinkie’n’Rarity.”

“Thanks, I’ll leave her to you.” Twilight raced up the stairs to get ready to go out, feeling much better than she had barely ten minutes before.

Four down…

“Remind me why we’ve never done this before?”

“Well, you said you wanted to do something different this morning! If we’d done this before then we couldn’t have done it as our different thing today!”

“I don’t entirely follow, darling, but I must say that this has to be one of your best ideas yet. Pass me another balloon, will you?”

“Oke-doke!”

“I really hope they will enjoy this. The matron was saying that the poor dears haven’t had anything remotely resembling good cheer in weeks. Some of them are new to the orphanage, too. Such terrible circumstances.”

“I’m sure they will; it’ll be the best surprise ever!”

“…I don’t think I’m too keen on the clown, however. He is a little… creepy.”

“Oh, that’s just Brother Sarno! He helped me bake all the cakes.”

“Well, if he is partially responsible for such a gastronomical masterpiece, then I suppose I can overlook the garishness of his clothes. It isn’t his fault that he’s dressed as a clown, after all.”

“Quick, grab a streamer or two. We’ve got a few more minutes until they’re due in.”

…

….

…..

“So, are you signing?”

“I believe so, yes. In fact, I will do so right now, with you as my witness. Here, let me check my bag... where’s my quill? Ah! Here we are. Done.”

“You read it all last night too?”

“Indeed. I suppose we truly do not have a choice, and I do not suspect Twilight will go against the King’s word on this. I mean, with the invasion, conscription was rather inevitable… not that I would know.”

“…yeah.”

“…oh. I’m terribly sorry, Pinkie. I didn’t mean to remind you of the business at the docks.”

“Hey, it’s okay. It is what it is. Me and Twilight both got through, didn’t we? We helped a lot of people who wouldn’t have been okay otherwise. And that’s why I’ve gotta go north with Twilight as well. Anything I can do to help…”

“That’s right. Keep your chin up!”

“Always – you know me!”

“All right then, everything’s in place. Turn off the lights, if you please! Thank you.”

…

….

…..

“I wonder what everyone else will get up to today.”

“Well, Twilight and Fluttershy were still asleep when we left…”

“They haven’t had a lay-in in a while.”

“…and Applejack’s baking with those apples she bought in Ironforge, of course…

“I’ll bet she missed that while she was away. Ooh, I hope she’s making a pie!”

“…And I cannot comment on Rainbow - I did not see her come back last night.”

“Me neither. She wasn’t in bed when I got up. Hope she’ll be okay after last night.”

“I suppose this is our last free day for a while. We should all spend it how we want to.”

“I don’t think I can imagine spending it any other way. The only way it could possibly be better is if we had more ice cream cakes on the table – oh, no, wait, we got them! Silly me.”

“How are they staying chilled, anyway?”

“I asked Twilight last night if she could enchant the cabinet with a frost spell. It’ll keep them nicely cool for up to a day!”

“Very resourceful, darling. I do miss my own magic, you know, but these hands are quite convenient also.”

“Yeah. I was never this good at tying balloons back home!”

…

….

…..

“I think they’re coming. Take a quick peek out the window…”

“Yep. They’re here.”

“All right. When they open the door…”

…

….

…..

“SURPRISE!”

Pinkie and Rarity met up with Twilight after she spent an hour wandering the streets. She'd figured that they wouldn't be out for too long, and with several hours until the nominal deadline there didn't seem much need to panic. As it happened, she'd run into them as they were coming out of the cathedral district.

They had their papers signed and ready for her. Neither said much about their reasons for signing, but were happy for Twilight to take them everything once she had ensured it was all in order, then headed off together back to the house.

With all six documents in hand she proceeded on to the Darkshire Regiment recruiting barracks in the Old Town, which Major Mattingly had pointed out to her on the city map she was now consulting. It was well hidden in and amongst the cobbled streets and old rustic houses, but she found it – a recently renovated hall flanked on either side by four strong birches - eventually.

The desk sergeant on duty inside was surprisingly sympathetic to their situation. Twilight had been expecting to receive at best a neutral reception, as the soldiers had surely been processing hundreds of similar conscription forms in the past few weeks.

Instead, she had ended up chatting to him for a good hour as he cheerfully processed everything – talking about life in the regiment and the Stormwind Army as he saw it. He then gave her the instructions she required for the morning, including the time they would all need to be there, very early as it was. It was only after she left that it occurred to her that he must have had access to their files, and so must have been able to see whatever was recorded on them about their time in Westfall.

She returned all the books she had borrowed from the library, stored any of her own copies in a neat pile in the Trias’s spare room, and then spent the rest of the afternoon saying goodbye to her friends in the Mage District.

That night they all enjoyed a good meal that evening, cooked by Elaine Trias. She insisted on giving them the night off from cooking, given that they had been helping her on a rota every day since they had returned from Westfall.

Afterwards it was time to pack. They were only able to take a few possessions each in their bags, which was really only a difficult prospect for Rarity. The others had little in the way of personal items on Azeroth anyway, but it was hard for the fashionista to leave behind all that she had been working on, her designs, the clothes she already owned and what she had been tinkering with in her spare time. She ultimately settled for a small sketchbook and a few pencils which fitted neatly with everything else – a wash kit, light underclothing and other odds and bobs. Almost everything else would be given to them by the Army.

Their weapons stayed out of their bags, slung across their backs or sheathed appropriately elsewhere. Applejack and Rarity had stuck with what they had been using since before the Deadmines. Rainbow had her replacement hammer, fresh from Ironforge, and Fluttershy had the new bow she had been practicing with for a while, having long since discarded her crossbow back at Sentinel Hill.

Pinkie had been given a small, lightweight mace blessed by one of the senior priests in the cathedral. She was quite enamoured with it, and spent the evening twirling it like a baton until Rainbow took it off her and hid it temporarily so that they could all get some sleep without holy magic and confetti bursting out from it at seemingly random intervals.

Twilight had a tall battlestaff to carry, oak wood tipped with a tigerseye in a thorium setting. It would help focus her powers, enabling her to cast stronger spells with greater control and with less fatigue. It was a gift from her friends at the tower, from Suzanne, Lisan and Janey, and from Emmy Malin, who, having suspected that Twilight would be in need of a magic weapon at some point or another, had left her contribution with the others before setting off. It had been a touching gesture, and she appreciated it a great deal, though the weight of the weapon would take a little getting used to.

They sat around talking for the rest of the evening, whiling away the hours with reminiscing once the Trias’s were out of the house, and it ended on a fairly positive note compared to the day before. Even Fluttershy found reason enough to break into a now-rare smile. They all went to bed fairly early, hoping for a good night’s sleep.

They had a lot of work to do come the dawn.

We are sailing...

The six had to be at the old town barracks at eight in the morning, so a six-thirty wake-up seemed prudent. They arrived in good time, though the effort was nearly compromised by Rarity’s stubborn insistence that she had to look presentable for the occasion.

“C’mon, c’mon!” Rainbow urged her. “We can’t be late!”

The paladin had been growing increasingly enamoured with the idea of going north by the very hour. Her rationalisation had developed to the point where she saw it as much the same as the Wonderbolts – and was now feeling a similar kind of excitement to what she had felt about flight training back home.

A soldier was waiting for them in the shade of the trees at the entrance. He took them inside, confirmed that they were who they said they were, and then asked them to follow him into the stores.

They were given their kit by a surly middle-aged man who looked like he’d been woken up especially for the occasion. He duly doled out all their items once they had signed for them and then sent them back down the hall to meet up with the same soldier from before. He took them down a few corridors, a left turn here and a right turn there until they reached a room with a sign that read, in big, bold letters: STRICTLY FEMALES ONLY.

“All right, ladies, now that you have your kit I need you to change in here. You’ve got twenty minutes.” He turned to address Twilight specifically, adopting a slightly more obedient tone. “Apologies, ma’am. The officer’s mess is currently undergoing repair work. I’m afraid you’ll have to change in here as well.”

“That’s, uh, quite all right. Thank you.” she replied.

The soldier nodded, saluted and left so that they could get ready.

She knew that military officers could expect a different, maybe even preferential sort of treatment compared to a lower-ranking soldier – and, to an extent, the lowers ranks would expect an officer to expect it. Not receiving it wouldn’t bother her, but she had to be aware of the general assumption made by the enlisted ranks.

It was a little like being made a princess all over again. She had been given a lot less responsibility by comparison in the grand scheme of the things, but it felt like she was just as far out of her comfort zone as before.

She was also aware that she would have to struggle to earn the respect of her soldiers, especially because she had no formal battlefield experience and she hadn’t been trained at Stormwind’s academy. It was one of the things the duty sergeant had warned her to expect during their chat the day before. It would likely look to the common soldier like she had been parachuted in because of her connections, not her skills. She had wondered if they would be aware of what had happened in the Deadmines, and had quickly resolved not to tell them herself – not to make a big deal out of it.

Of course, what might work in her favour was the fact that only one third of the troops newly under her command were trained soldiers. The rest would probably be like her and the other girls – recruits drafted in for their specialist skills. Hopefully she would have an easier time with them.

They all turned their attention to their new equipment. A big rucksack to carry everything in. Two sets of casual workwear. Various other small items. But the biggest one – a set of armour for each that varied depending on the role they were expected to fulfil, which had been specified in their contracts. For Applejack and Rainbow, matching platemail that was far heavier and offered far more protection than what they had worn before. For Fluttershy and Rarity, lighter wear that offered more freedom of movement at the cost of less defence. For Pinkie, a set of embroidered robes in blue and silver.

Twilight had also been given robes, but hers were somewhat more opulent. Gold replaced much of the silver in the detailing, and went much further around her garments compared to the priest’s, whose lines only extended once around her body. The mage had also been given a hooded cloak made of the same materials, an extra that swept all the way down her back.

Slipping the robe on over her undershirt to test the fit, she suddenly felt a little different. Like her magical power was greater, and she was more… fortified? It was a strange sensation, one that dissipated the moment she stripped it off again. She suspected that all the specialised gear was enchanted in some way or another.

“So what does this stripe mean? Seems like it’s all over my gear.” Applejack indicated the single chevron that adorned each of her shoulder guards and on the chest of her clothes.

“Hey, mine too!” Pinkie realised.

“I don’t have it.” said Rainbow. Neither did Fluttershy or Rarity. “What about you, Twi?”

She checked her robes. “I’ve got a bar. My contract said I would hold the rank of Second Lieutenant, so I’m guessing that’s what the symbol is for.”

“So what does that mean?”

“It’s an officer rank.” she explained. “It means I’m responsible for a platoon of around thirty soldiers.”

“What about the rest of us, though?”

“Well, let’s see. I have our first set of orders here, confirming what we’re supposed to do this morning. Maybe they’ll shed some light on the situation.”

She unfurled the parchment and they gathered around to read it.

FOR THE ATTENTION OF THE FOLLOWING:

(KNIGHT) SECOND LIEUTENANT TWILIGHT SPARKLE
LANCE-CORPORAL APPLEJACK
SISTER PINKAMENA DIANE PIE
SPECIALIST FLUTTERSHY
PRIVATE RARITY
PRIVATE RAINBOW DASH

It went on from there to detail what they were to do after receiving their equipment. They had several presentations to listen to, after which they were scheduled to board a ship and set sail that very afternoon.

“Ooh! How did they know that I have sisters? That’s a lucky guess!”

“…I think that’s your rank, Pinkie. It’s on the same level as a Lance-Corporal, like Applejack, but you’re a “Sister” because you can heal.” The contracts had said quite a few things, but they hadn’t explained a great deal. Twilight was suddenly glad for having binged on almost everything she could get her hands on the night after finding out they were getting conscripted, but there were still obvious gaps in her knowledge.

“A better question would be how exactly they know your full name…”

“Never mind that now, dears.” Rarity cut in hurriedly. “It appears that we haven’t much time before we are required again.”

They finished up changing, stowed everything else neatly into their new bags and began to file out into the corridor.

“Waiiiiit.” Rainbow said as they made their way out of the door. “If we’re different ranks, does that mean our pay is different too? How much is everyone else getting paid? Guys? Guys…?”

They ended up in the Junior’s Mess, the only place available that was fit for the delivery of such a briefing. A soldier hobbled in soon after they had taken their seats, introducing himself as Master Sergeant Darnal and confirming that he would be the one giving them their information that morning. No doubt his injury had prevented him from accompanying his regiment to the north, though despite probably being a little bitter he was also clearly trying his best to be welcoming to a group of new recruits like them.

He started off with a salute to Twilight before beginning his speech in earnest, sticking closely to the script. “Welcome ma’am, and welcome all to your initial orientation brief into the Darkshire Regiment of the Stormwind Army, prior to your deployment into the conflict in Northrend, as per the terms of your conscription agreements.

“You have all been assigned to the newly-raised Eight Platoon of the First Company, the Darkshire Regiment. Lieutenant Sparkle, ma’am, you have been assigned to command the platoon. The rest of you will serve as her command squad, and the specifics of your individual assignments will be detailed to you later on in this briefing.”

He handed Twilight a piece of paper – a list of names divided into three parts.

“The platoon is divided into a squad of eight, a squad of seven and a squad of six, plus the command squad, for a total strength of twenty-seven. The first squad is made up of regular infantry transferred from elsewhere in the regiment, led by Corporal Bandor, serving in a dedicated close protection role to the rest of the platoon.

“The second squad is comprised of seven offensive spellcasters, a mixture of mages and others recommended by their superiors across the Alliance. The third squad is comprised of defensive spellcasters, with three priests from Stormwind cathedral joined by a shaman, a paladin and a druid, again all recommended by our allies. These two squads will be detailed at the company level or above in support of operations which require them.

“The role of the platoon officer outside of such circumstances is the management of these forces and their safe delivery to the relevant and appropriate objectives. The intent behind the integration of allied forces into the Stormwind Army is to promote closer links with said allies and exploit potential advantageous tactical opportunities. A platoon sergeant has not been attached to the sub-unit owing both to the current shortage in Senior NCOs available in the Regiment as well as the unique and varied composition of the command squad in the platoon in question.”

Most of what he was saying went straight over the heads of everyone except the group’s resident mage – it was difficult to avoid fidgeting, yawning or falling asleep - but then they didn’t really need to know. Twilight, however, was taking copious amounts of notes, and hanging on to every word the Master Sergeant said.

The lack of a platoon sergeant worried her a little – they were invariably survivors with a good few years of experience in and out of combat under their belts, and she had been hoping to rely on their experience – but she would have to make do.

“Are there any questions?”

Pinkie went to raise her hand.

Rainbow poked her in the side and held up a card that read, in Twilight’s handwriting: “Pinkie, if you have a question about parties, or anything relating to parties, DO NOT ASK THAT QUESTION NOW.”

Pinkie chose not to raise her hand.

He continued on with the second part of the briefing, a history of the town of Darkshire in Duskwood, east of Westfall, and of the Darkshire Regiment – its victories, its losses, and everything in between since its founding several decades ago. The script seemed to skip a significant portion of the last five years, a gap he explained when he deviated from the text. As with all the local regions, as Stormwind forces were scaled back, sent off to fight in wars on foreign or alien shores or held stagnating in their garrisons, Duskwood had been isolated. Much like Sentinel Hill, Darkshire had been left to see to its own defences during this time, and had formed a quasi-militia, the Night Watch, to root out evil from its borders. Darkshirians had long been known as stalwart, if somewhat reclusive folk, and had survived better through the separation than the region of Westfall had.

Now that the king had returned, the borders had been better, albeit not perfectly, secured and the threats had been beaten back, the Night Watch had been brought back into the fold. Buoyed with an influx of new recruits and conscripts, a third battalion had been formed for the first time in the Regiment’s history, and now the regiment was part of the tip of the spear against the Lich King. The First Company had made it all the way into the Dragonblight in the centre of the conflict, fighting alongside the famed First Legion to secure a stronghold in the region, and Twilight’s platoon would be joining them at the first opportunity.

The last stage of the briefing concerned the immediate future – where they would be going, what they would be doing on the way. He paused to stress that this method of briefing was quite unusual, and that in the future it would be a senior officer giving Twilight alone such information – it would be up to her how much information she would then give out to her subordinates and how much to keep to herself.

What made this situation different was the lack of time they had to work with.

Upon the completion of the briefing they would be getting changed into their combat gear and heading down to the docks to meet the rest of their platoon and board the Kraken, the ship that would take them to Northrend. The journey would be two weeks at sea, during which time they would embark upon as much training as possible – conducted by the First Squad - before docking at Valiance Keep, the Alliance basecamp in Borean Tundra. There they would receive more specific orders aiming to support the campaign, which would most likely take them towards the Dragonblight to meet up with the rest of the company.

If the war hadn’t been won by then. Or lost.

One hour before the Kraken was to leave.

The weather would be remarkably pleasant for their departure. It had been raining the last few weeks on and off, but seemed to have temporarily exhausted itself the day before, just in time to give them a sunny day to enjoy. Once they were underway it would be their last for a while.

Another support platoon from a different regiment was already settled below deck, but aside from the sailors who were preparing the ship for launch Eight Platoon had the whole deck of the Kraken to themselves.

“Can you see them yet?” The men and women of First squad had maintained their discipline well for the first half an hour, but now chatter was beginning to break out. Given a degree of anonymity by their full helmets, only their fellow squad members knew who was talking at each time, and only from close range.

“No.”

“A mage, though? Just our luck we’d get stuck with a boomboy as our boss.”

“She’s not a gnome.”

“Quiet, you idiots!”

…

“Still, a mage?”

“You’d think they’d put an infanteer in charge. Whip that lot over there into shape. Just look at their drill. Disgracing the regiment…”

“I heard she went in and beat the Defias though. She can’t be all bark and no bite.”

There were murmurs of assent. Almost much every member of Stormwind’s home forces had been relieved to hear of Edwin VanCleef’s fall, not that any of them would ever admit to having been afraid of him.

“Meh. Defias ain’t got nothing on the worgen. Donovan, remember that pack leader we killed?”

“Yeah. Good times.”

“Listen to Kellas, lads. Keep it down. Remember, we want to make a good impression.”

“Sorry, skip.”

“Sorry, corporal.”

…

“Besides, if she did happen to be a gnome the correct phrase would be boomgirl.”

…

...snicker…

The second and third squads were doing their best to keep still, ordered and presentable, but they couldn’t compare with the drilled precision of the infantry veterans.

“I can’t see.” hissed a mage at the rear of the formation. On her tiptoes she barely came up to the thighs of the priest across to the right. Being a gnome didn’t help with that. “Whose clever idea was it to put me in the second rank, anyway?”

“Patience, my friend.” The draenei mage next to her whispered, his heavily accented common perfectly pitched just in the right place so that only the gnome could hear. “They will be arriving soon.”

“They’d better. I’m getting bored of standing here doing nothing.”

“Ye were standing? I could nae tell…” A dwarf priest snarked from further over to the right.

“Buzz off. You’re not that much taller than I am!”

…

“You know, I haven’t set anything on fire for a whole week.”

“Just what I wanted to hear before getting on a boat made half out of wood on a two week journey out into the vast ocean.” The priest on her immediate right muttered grimly.

“It fills you with confidence, does it not?” His night elf colleague beside him chimed in with some amusement.

“Just as much as the boat itself does.” Her twin sister added, staring dubiously at the clouds of steam the back end was emitting as the sailors prepared the engine.

…

A little more time passed. More idle chatter was quashed. Until eventually…

“They’re coming up onto the ship now, corporal.” One of the sailors who had been keeping an eye out over the starboard side informed Bandor. He nodded in thanks, and cleared his throat.

Without a platoon sergeant, the duty of bringing to platoon to the ready to greet their new commander fell to him.

“Eight platoon! Eight Platoon, ah-tehhhhhhhhnnn-shun!” To the left, eight sets of boots crashed across the deck in perfect synchronicity. A mismatch of thirteen pairs of feet across to the right eventually found themselves at attention too.

The corporal took two measured steps out to the front of the formation. He turned to the right so that he was able to look down the gantry and see the command squad as they approached.

His eyes widened as they came into view, the officer at the front in her new blue and gold robes, carrying a green tipped staff. Her deep violet hair, the pink hair of the robed priest behind her, and the rest…

His training overcame his surprise at the last moment and he snapped into a salute.

The six women – the officer and her command squad – filed onto the deck of the ship and came to a halt in front of the assembled platoon.

“Ma’am.” he barked. “It is my pleasure to welcome you and your command squad to the ranks of Eight Platoon, First Company First Battalion the Darkshire Regiment. Glory to the Alliance!”

She lowered her hand slowly, and he snapped his down fluidly in response. “Thank you, corporal.” And then, perhaps noticing the way that the first squad were straining at attention, “Uh, please, stand at ease, everyone?” They all did so; the first squad fluidly, the others much less so.

Satisfied that she’d gotten the command right, Twilight went on. “Thank you all for coming out to meet us today. My name is Second Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle and I will be your new platoon commander for the Northrend campaign.

She hesitated, taking in their faces. Trying to lock eyes with every single one of them. There was a good variety of races amongst them – mostly humans, a few night elves, a dwarf, two gnomes and two draenei too. She’d encountered members of each of them before, but it would be a good opportunity to get to know them for real. She had a stack of papers with a file for each person in her hand, and she intended on going through them as soon as she had the chance, but there was no substitute for personal experience.

They stared back, taking in her youthful look, her incredibly vibrant hair, and her jewelled battle staff. They swept over her friends, their mismatching gear and their odd appearances in general. Pinkie Pie’s off-putting upbeat smile probably drew the most stares.

Twenty-four pairs of eyes, watching, scrutinising, and judging.

There was the slightest snicker before she continued, though it was impossible to tell from where amongst the parade it had come. “I look forward to working together with you all in the months to come. We have a long journey ahead of us, but as I’m sure you know we will be quite busy during our time at sea. I’m sure you know what is at stake in the conflict we’re heading into, and I’m sure that you’ll make me, and everyone you are fighting for, proud. For my part, I hope that I can live up to the high standards you expect of an officer of the Darkshire Regiment.

“Thank you, all. Glory to the Alliance!” she finished again, affecting a more solemn repeat of the battlecry, and looked over to Corporal Bandor, which he took as a rather obvious cue.

“Platoon, ah-ten-shun!”

CLANK CRASH CLANK

“Platoon, fall, out!”

Corporal Bandor broke away from the rest of the first squad after a quick word with his second, heading straight to Twilight. He waited for her to finish as she sent off the rest of her command squad to claim their billet. One of the armoured ones – the one carrying a massive warhammer – took off her helmet as they passed, and he blanched inwardly at the shock of rainbow-coloured hair that fell free.

He waited until she acknowledged him and then hurried closer.

“Ma’am, if you’ll permit me I’ll see you to the officer’s quarters straight away."

She shifted the weight of her pack a little. It wasn’t very heavy, but it was uncomfortable.

“Yes please, corporal. That would be excellent.”

He suspected he knew the answer already, had done since she had first come up onto the ship, but it was worth asking the question anyway.

“Have you had any military training before? At all?”

She looked him straight in the eyes and answered honestly, “No.” What would have been the point of lying?

Oh, light, was what he thought at first.

Sure, if the rumours were true then she and her retinue had conquered the Deadmines. It was an impressive, laudable achievement. But looking at them here he could quite clearly see from the way they carried themselves alone that they were not well-disciplined, probably not well trained, with at least one, maybe two exceptions at the most.

“Very well, ma’am, that’s not a problem.” was what he actually said. “We have two weeks. We’ll get everybody up to scratch in time. Besides, if you were too military you might not have those specialist skills that the top brass wanted you for.”

He hadn’t survived six years in the Army by disobeying his superiors. Stormwind officers had a reputation, on the whole, for competence, bravery and heroism all the way to the top – and now the King had returned, too, and had personally backed the policy of integrating those with specialist skills. It seemed like a sound policy even to someone at the bottom of the totem pole like Bandor.

It was just the timing he was concerned about. Using conscripts was always a risk compared to trained soldiers, but a conscripted officer?

And really just two weeks to get them ready, on board a ship, before throwing them all, the men and women of his first squad included into what was possibly the biggest war in Stormwind’s - and perhaps even the Alliance’s - history?

As he led his new commander below deck he found himself desperately praying to the light that her skills, and those of all the untested, unbloodied conscripts travelling on the Kraken, would not fail them.

Four days in.

Twilight had been granted an office to use as well as her own personal cabin. It was small and cramped, but it got the job done, and at least it had a desk for her to use – there was an incredible amount of paperwork to complete. Retroactive file request forms, accommodation pro-formas to be handed over when they arrived at Valiance Keep… and everything else in between.

She’d been conducting short interviews in an attempt to get to know the members of her platoon, using their files to build a picture of their histories and then asking them questions about themselves over the course of an interview up to half an hour long. Some opened up the moment they walked through the door. In particular she’d had a very interesting conversation with a young red-haired gnome mage named Kimmy Gearfuse, which had left Twilight both impressed by her intelligence and creativity from how she had described her work in Gnomeregan…

…and aware of the need to keep a very close eye on her, given her use of the word ‘fire’ or variations thereof forty-seven times throughout their twenty minute conversation. It seemed to Twilight that she had a wannabe pyromaniac on her hands, which actually wasn’t such a bad thing. It would give her a excuse to avoid that particular school of magic herself and concentrate on her arcane prowess.

…she still couldn’t cast a fire spell without thinking about VanCleef’s charred corpse…

On the other hand, those who had been soldiers for some time were less receptive. Most were politely non-committal, like Corporal Bandor. Some, Lance-Corporal Kellas especially, bordered on the outright hostile in their responses to her questions. Hopefully it was just cabin fever, and once they were docked and on their way the air would clear.

The other army officer on board had been welcoming and generally supportive, but she, a night elf sentinel from a support platoon attached to the Lakeshire Regiment, had been fighting for the Alliance for years. There was quite the difference in their circumstances, and she of course had her own platoon to worry about – she couldn’t be expected to babysit Twilight too.

That job mostly fell to Corporal Bandor, who proved tireless in his efforts to acclimatise her to military life.

She had made quite a few mistakes, most of them small but ones that she was determined not to repeat. She’d turned up very late to their first physical training session in the ships’ hold after first getting the times wrong and then getting lost in the ship for a further. Bandor had taken her to one side after the hour had ended and made it very clear that she couldn’t afford to make such an error again. Her first drill session had been a disaster as she’d tripped over her own feet more times than she cared to remember. She doubted that such incidences inspired much confidence.

Her girls still supported her, of course, and she hoped that she was gaining ground with the healers and the other mages. First squad would hopefully just take time, once she’d gotten more used to her role and they had become more familiar with her.

Two knocks on the door. Of course – she’d been expecting one of the healers, a night elf druid named Erina Shadowshear. She glanced at the clock – one minute early. Perfect.

She straightened up in her chair and said, “Come in!”

The door swung open and revealed Erina. She was a good head taller than Twilight and had to stoop to enter the cabin.

“Ma’am.” she said as she came to attention. The specialist elements of the platoon had been getting steadily better at the military side of things, though just as Twilight had noticed about herself there was certainly still room for improvement.

“Erina, thank you for coming.” Twilight smiled. “Please, take a seat.”

“Thank you,” she said, but as she moved out of the way the door did not swing shut as it normally did. Instead, someone else joined them.
Erina’s sister, Tyrae. The spitting image of her sibling down to their bluish skin, the shape of her face and the white shine of her eyes, all save for her hair being a light lilac compared to her sisters’ teal.

“Tyrae? Do you need something” asked Twilight, confused. “Isn’t your slot later this afternoon?”

“Yes ma’am.” Tyrae hummed. “But we decided—”

“—that it would be better if we were to have our interviews in one slot.” Erina finished for her.

“I’m not sure that that’s appr—” Twilight started as the uninvited woman let the door slam.

“It is not a problem.” Erina said pleasantly.

“This way it will be easier for us all.” Tyrae agreed, sitting down on the spare chair, aligned perfectly with her sister.

“Ah – I – ” Twilight tried, fumbling for the right words to be assertive with. The twins stared at her, a look bordering on the edge of quizzical at what the problem might be.

At last, with a sigh, Twilight gave in. She reached over to the other side of the desk and slid Tyrae’s file away from the pile to rest next to Erina’s.

“All right… let’s get started.”

A week and two days in.

They had a problem. A rather severe problem that required that the ship stop dead in the middle of the ocean for about an hour while the damage was ascertained.

A problem that involved fire.

The blaze was now out, at last, but there was still a lot of smoke, and the deck was still smouldering in places. The Kraken‘s engineers were already examining the damage, while Twilight and a draenei mage were standing by ready to quench the fire again if it burst back into life. Rainbow waited behind them awkwardly in case they needed healing, being the closest one to the scene who had that kind of power.

Bandor and one of his men flanked the culprit on either side in case she did something stupid. The older corporal was resting his head on one of his hands.

“Okay, so the fire’s out.” Gearfuse spoke up nervously. “That’s good. Yay.”

“Just shut up.” hissed Kellas from the other side of the ship, positioned alongside Applejack in case the fire mage did something even more stupid. Like try to escape overboard.

“But-”

“Think ya might want to listen, hon.” Applejack warned her. “This ain’t good at all.”

Over by the stern, where the fire had started and flared up briefly before being extinguished, Twilight finished consulting with the lead engineer before leaving the draenei to watch for any further fires. She made her way quietly over to the gathering of her own soldiers, and looked at them all in turn, her eyes resting at last on the perpetrator.

“Right.” she said out loud to the assembly, to no-one in particular. “It seems the damage isn’t too severe. We should be underway again within the next two hours.”

“Well, that’s okay then, isn’t it?” Gearfuse started to say, then trailed off.

“No, it isn’t!” Twilight snapped, to the surprise of the nearby soldiers. It was the first time that they had seen her angry. “If the fire had spread we could have suffered more serious damage, causing us to be stuck out here or sunk! Why would you even start a fire here in the first place?”

“Fizzlezip bet me a day’s worth of rations that I could start a fire and put it out safely.”

“…”

“I guess I lost the bet.”

Twilight groaned. Fizzlezip, one of the platoon’s two resident warlocks, had proven to be quite the prankster over the week and a half since they had boarded the icebreaker. She would need to have a few words with him about what was harmless fun and what was going too far. It was tempting to throw the book at him too, but then he hadn’t actually made Gearfuse do it, had he?

“You could have damaged the deck, the rigging... You could have hit the engines…”

Gearfuse shifted uncomfortably.

“I knew about the engines!” she protested. “That’s why I made sure there were a bunch of barrels full of water in between the chosen fire location and the engine, and then a safe space all around all three so that—”

“…gunpowder.”

“—I could… what?”

“They were full of gunpowder. Not water.”

Gearfuse went pale. “Oh.”

Twilight sighed. “You’re to be confined to your quarters for the rest of the voyage. You’ll take your meals there and you’ll be required to have an escort if you need to leave for any time up to a maximum of ten minutes. You’re not to use any magic on this voyage again without my express permission. No fires. Is that clear?”

“Y-yes ma’am. Thank you ma’am.”

“Escort her there please, Applejack.”

The element of honesty nodded. “Boss. C’mon, let’s go.”

Kellas stared angrily after the gnome as she disappeared into the hold. “That’s it? She nearly kills us all and you give her time off? What kind of an—”

“Thank you, Lance-Corporal.” she cut him off sternly.

Kellas looked to Bandor for support but found only an unreadable, expressionless look. He managed to spit out a resentful “Ma’am” as he saluted and stalked away.

She shook her head and started to walk away, but the senior corporal stopped her. “That was a little lenient.”

“I know how dangerous that was, but she didn’t mean anything by it, and she’s got so much talent. I think we’ll need her in the days to come. She’s just a bit naïve, and we need to get her under control.”

He nodded. “Fair enough, ma’am. I’ll go talk to Kellas. He can be a bit aggressive, ma’am, but he’s an infantryman through and through, and you’ll be glad to have him on the battlefield when the shit starts to fly.”

“Thank you,” she said, then winced. “Now I need to go explain to the captain how one of my platoon nearly burned down the ship.”

Two days until they were due to arrive in the Borean Tundra.

Seven hours until Pinkie Pie’s ‘Icebreaker on the Icebreaker!’ party was scheduled to begin. She’d managed to pull in the night elf twins, one of the human priests in the third squad – she couldn’t pronounce his second name but his first was Vernor - and the draenei shaman, Yla to help her.

“I do not understand why we are doing this, Sister Pie.” The latter said as she fiddled with a pair of scissors. “It is most unusual.”

“You’ve never cut hanging decorations out of craft paper before?”

“No.”

Third squad had no specific leader, and with everyone inside it the same rank – Battle-Medic – Pinkie had fallen into something of a leadership role.

“Everyone’s been on such an edge lately… so we’re going to do something about it! What else would have the same effect?”

“If we weren’t fighting a war?” deadpanned Vernor.

“Well, yes. I suppose that would be good. But no.”

“If we all had an animal each to look after?”

“You should talk to Fluttershy! But no, Erina. The best answer to making any situation better is a party!”

The night elf twins shared a glance. “When we had parties in Darnassus we did not have anything like these streamers for decorations,” Erina said.

“The balloons are also quite interesting,” added Tyrae.

“And they can be made into such pleasing animal shapes!”

A completed balloon sausage dog flew two feet into the air, hit the ceiling and then fell back down.

“When I thought about what I’d be doing after being pulled into the army, I can honestly say that this never crossed my mind,” Vernor muttered incredulously.

“So what did you use back home for decorations?”

“…wisps, mostly. They made surprisingly good party lights.”

“Seriously, how did you get a hold of all this stuff in Stormwind?” Vernor asked.

“Trade secret.” Pinkie winked.

“And how did you fit it all in your pack?”

“Oh, I didn’t.”

“…what?”

“Trust me though, everyone, this’ll be the best party ever!”

The day of their arrival.

“Are we there yet?”

“Pinkie! That’s the thirteenth time you’ve asked that question in the last hour! CAN YOU SEE THE SHORE?!”

“Nope, but you might be able to! I have to ask, just in case!”

“Any luck, girls?” Twilight asked as she joined them at the bow. The temperature had dropped noticeably as they had one further north, and they all had their warm kit on under their battle gear.

“No luck yet, sorry, Twi.”

“Well, I’ve just spoken with the navigator again and he says we’re due to land within the next hour. Keep your eyes peeled please! I’d like to let the platoon know as soon as possible so that they can prepare to move off.”

“Aye aye, cap’n!” Pinkie struck a pose and then glued her eyes back to the horizon.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “…lieutenant.” Twilight heard her say as she walked down towards the stern. The sailors of the Kraken had long since learned to tune out their eccentricities, so long as they didn’t get in the way of the running of the ship.

She walked slowly across the deck, looking out to starboard until she reached the railing. She drummed her fingers thoughtfully on the metal as she considered her platoon now compared to their departure two weeks before.

Their military training had come along in leaps and bounds. They could all march and carry out basic (and some advanced) drill movements without embarrassing themselves. They were getting better at the physical training side, and even the most unfit among them were beginning to see massive improvements. She felt like she was getting to know them better, too – their strengths, weaknesses, their hopes and dreams.

Morale, on the other hand… that was a mixed bag.

Pinkie’s party in the hold had received a lukewarm reception overall. She’d gone about it entirely the right way – got permission all the way up to the captain of the ship, only used asked for help from the squad she was responsible for, and only when they weren’t meant to be busy with other duties. The casters and healers had in fact taken to the idea quite well, and she thought it had been an excellent opportunity to unwind after the punishing schedule of training they had been going through, and a relief from the general monotony of time spent in transit at sea.

The problem was with First squad. They’d turned up – probably because they hadn’t known the real reason – but most of them were clearly unhappy with the festivities. She supposed that, to them, it looked like the newcomers weren’t taking the idea of war seriously.

She’d need to do some serious smoothing over once they landed. It wasn’t really possible to do it on the Kraken – everyone was too close, too confined. She hoped that if given some space, some time to cool if, the less agreeable voices in the platoon would mellow out and they would all get along.

And then there was Fluttershy. The woman had practically become invisible during their journey – she dutifully turned up to everything she was required to, but didn’t socialise, and indeed only ever spoke when spoken to, and only then in the most clipped of responses. It was a continuation, or perhaps a development, of her behaviour in Stormwind, and it continued to worry the mage.

“Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow called from above, and instantly made Twilight regret walking away from the look-out post. “You’ll want to see this.”

She climbed back up to find Rainbow pointing out a beam of light in the distance that was piercing through the fog.

“That’s the keep’s lighthouse, ma’am.” A nearby sailor informed her, then turned to one of his compatriots. “Let the captain know we’ve nearly arrived. He’ll want to oversee the final approach.”

“Pinkie, Rainbow, can you let everybody below know that we’re almost there? I’ll join you momentarily.” Twilight asked, not taking her eyes from the light.

“Oke-doke!”

“On it, boss.”

They wandered off down towards the belly of the ship, and the mage took over their vigil. Land suddenly emerged from the mist, off just far enough in the distance that there would be no need. Her first impression of the continent was one of… grey. A grey sandy shore, grey tides and grey rocky cliffs. All very dull. All very foreboding.

The ship came up parallel with the shore, skirting along a narrow but deep channel to edge closer to the landing site. They had to cut their speed on the approach – the various jagged underwater rock formations made it dangerous to go through even at a slow pace, let alone at full steam.

A few minutes passed, and Twilight was starting to wonder whether it would be worth simply waiting inside the ship, but then the coastline shifted and the keep came into view, framed by the sun as it hovered above the horizon.

It was a beautiful image, and what it represented was even better. Still under construction, the founding stone of the keep had been laid barely a month before and the work had been almost completed by labourers working around the clock since. It was an example of ingenuity and resolve in the face of a foreboding and hostile land.

For the first time after everything that had happened in the Deadmines, for the first time since they had arrived in Azeroth, in fact, Twilight found that she was proud to call herself part of the Alliance. She lingered on for a moment, taking a deep breath and filling her lungs with cold ocean air, then turned away and hurried below to re-join the platoon.

Their travels in Northrend were about to begin.

Valiance Keep, Part I

It was cold. So very, very, cold.

Just how she liked it.

Mammoth-sized bones - that may have belonged to an actual mammoth - half-buried beneath the snow, dotted the landscape. A grim reminder that everything dies, someday. And the land reeked of death more often here, this far north, than anywhere else in the world.

She spotted two figures slowly advancing towards her, misshapen blobs through the sleet, which gradually took form as they approached..

One was slightly taller than the other, and both wore remnants of Alliance Expedition battlegear, a wristplate here, a greave there. She didn’t recognise them in the slightest, but given that she hadn’t bothered to learn any of the soldier’s names or identities while they had still lived… that wasn’t exactly a surprise.

Boring. She’d killed many ghouls already, on this battlefield, or another. They weren’t even worth drawing her blades for. Instead, she raised her hand and hammered them with a chill wind – one, then two, just to be sure.

She walked over and spent a few minutes grinding their bones and gristle down to dust under her armoured boots. The less that remained, the harder it would be for the Scourge to raise them again.

How many days had she been out here, now? Several, at least. It felt like a month since she had arrived on Northrend’s shores, but it couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks in reality.

Not needing to sleep, eat or rest in general did strange things to one’s perception of time.

They had proceeded east out of Valiance Keep, along the path towards the Dragonblight. Coordination, skills and morale among the company had all been high coming off of two weeks of strict training aboard the Kraken, and she had to admit to having felt, at one point, just the slightest bit of confidence in their chances of survival.

That feeling hadn’t lasted long.

Their first major engagement had led her here – or left her here, stranded without support… though support from Stormwind had obviously proven not to mean much. They’d walked straight into an ambush, right out in the open, conducted in a way that most mortal armies could not have executed. Their commander had died within minutes of the first worm bursting forth from the earth, after which the rest had folded like a wet blanket – fleeing out into the frozen wastes in all directions just as a massive blizzard had begun.

It hadn’t been her fault. She’d cut through more Scourge in the twenty minute engagement than the rest of the company put together. The soldiers had just been weak, fatally unprepared for war in the north.

She paused as the blizzard began to clear, a reprieve, and something up near a ridge ahead caught her eye. An eerie light, glinting grey against the snow; it quickly began to coalesce into the shape of a man.

Now this was interesting. The insignia on his shoulders made it clear that he was from her company, and not an older ghost from a previous battle. Weaker Scourge necromancers rarely bothered with the more difficult task of drawing out lost and vengeful souls as undead retainers, and it was far too soon for him to have emerged on his own, without time in the beyond to stew over his fate. Perhaps there was a lich nearby.

The weapon the ghostly figure bore was real, held aloft by unholy power, but everything else about him – his appearance, his armour and his flesh – they were all naught but a shade of what he had been in life.

But a shade with a weapon was a still a threat, and sufficient sport for her to derive satisfaction from his second demise.

She drew her own, Derision and Scorn, from their scabbards and began closing the distance between them.

He raised his sword and shifted into a warding stance as she stalked closer, his face locked in the rictus scream he had to have died with. The eldritch energies animating his being gave him a swiftness he could not have possessed in life.

Yet she was faster still.

One runeblade swept up to parry his defensive strike, metal striking metal with a resounding clang. It was probably unnecessary for her to defend – the poor quality metal stood little chance of penetrating her dark armour at such an angle – but it would diminish her in the long run to sacrifice proper form, even against such an inferior foe.

The other cut deep into his chest - so deep, in fact, that it passed straight through him. That alone was to be expected, given the incorporeal nature of her foe. A blade made of normal metal, iron or steel, would have done just that, and that alone, with all the effectiveness of cutting into an empty space.

But her weapons were not normal blades.

Halfway in, Derision had begun to shimmer darkly. By the time its tip was all the way out of his back, his entire frame was wreathed in black frost.

The force in his right arm evaporated as the slightest echo of his remaining humanity recoiled at the searing chill of her magic. She brought up Scorn and slashed across his shimmering throat. The imitation of a mortal wound was enough to erase his tether to the world of the living, and his weapon fell to the ground as he faded away, his torment at an end.

She took a little pleasure from the kill, and none at all in his freedom.

The wind was picking up again, and the snow flurried with it. She stood for a moment at the top of the ridge, looking down into another approaching storm.

She didn’t have many options. Attempting to return to Valiance Keep or press on alone to the Dragonlight would both be difficult. The commander alone had been in possession of the map, and she had no idea where he had fallen.

The tundra would have to come to an end, eventually. By picking one direction and sticking to it, she would eventually end up at the border, or perhaps, at worst, the sea.

For now, she was resigned to wandering, slaughtering her way across the tundra, even as the thought that she was missing out the war, missing out on her vengeance, enraged her.

There were worse ways for a death knight to spend time.

Before sorting their barracks, before stowing their kit, before anything else, their immediate task was a ceremonial march past the senior staff of Valiance Keep.

Twilight tried to stand as still as possible on the deck of the ship, but it was an impossible task. Even having all of her warmest kit on under her robes did little to stop her shivering, and she could see everyone else around her, save the dwarves, fighting – and losing – the same battle.

General Arlos, the officer in charge of the keep, would be standing on a podium close to a statue of King Wrynn, and she was to salute him as they passed. She could see the statue just beyond a building that appeared to be an inn, but there was no sign yet of the podium from the ship.

“Detail!” the keep sergeant-major cried at last. “Detaaaaaaaaiiiiil, forward march!” There was a bit of shuffling on the spot as they waited for the other platoon to clear through, then suddenly they were off at a brisk pace, down the ramp onto the cobbled pavement below.

Not many had lined the street to see them in, though she hadn’t been expecting any sort of grand welcome. Valiance Keep’s civilian population was still quite small, and the soldiers at the permanent garrison were far too busy. If anything, it eased the pressure a little.

Marching wasn’t really that hard. Indeed, it was really all about practice. But some people took to it faster than others, which showed quite clearly in the variety of drill exhibited by her Second and Third squads. She was proud at least that all were giving it their best, and prouder still that her friends had all managed to get to more than a passable level of skill. They marched directly behind her, the rest of the platoon following in their wake. She, in turn, marched behind the last squad of the other support platoon, marginally ahead as they were in seniority by several days.

Everything, from the uneven road to the docks to the habitats, either appeared hastily completed or still very much in progress. The construction teams had to have been working non-stop over the last few weeks even just to get everything to this standard. Not the walls to the north, east and west, though – they were finished and secure. Safety first, after all.

The road ahead began to twist to the right, and there was suddenly enough of a gap for her to get a good look at the top of the podium, where she saw… nobody.

The podium itself was there, but the General was absent, and no-one was there to take his place. A little wrong-footed, she swallowed hard and kept on going, throwing up the salute anyway as she passed the statue and trying not to flush with embarrassment. The road took them past a forge on their right and another icebreaker, the Stormbreaker, docked in the middle of the keep to their left, then helpfully led straight into the barracks they had been directed to on the map.

Had it been meant as some kind of slight? The general couldn’t have known about her or the other lieutenant personally. Perhaps he objected to the concept of the support platoons – maybe this was his way of making a statement. Or perhaps he was simply too busy to greet them.
Either way, she thought grimly, it isn’t the best way to mark the start our time here.

Moving in wasn't the smoothest affair, either.

The barracks complex comprised multiple small two-level buildings, with each level having two rooms - the perfect size for a normal-sized platoon. Eight Platoon specifically was to stay in block seven. It was, as with the rest of the keep, both entirely new and yet permanently damp from the northern weather, and so smelled of an odd combination of wet wood and fresh sawdust.

It was also home, for the foreseeable future, for all save Twilight, who had no choice but to take a room in the officer's quarters on the other side of the keep - even if most of the time she would be nearby anyway, watching over the platoon.

Indeed, before sorting her own dwelling, she'd gone up to the next level of the building to supervise the ordering of the rooms, taking Fluttershy and Pinkie with her.

"Didja pick out our room, Dash?" Applejack asked as they neared the door Rainbow had pointed to. "First squad pretty much ran in here after Twilight finished the briefing. Hope we don't have what they did on the boat again..."

"No sweat." Rainbow chuckled. "I was in and out with all our gear before Twilight even came through the entrance. There's not much difference between the two, I'll admit, but our one's warmer, a bit less musty and maybe a little roomier. No way did they beat me this ti—"

The door swung open and First squad piled out of the room, all still in their full armour but now lightened of their packs. Corporal Bandor wasn’t with them, but they still outnumbered the girls, seven to three.

“’ey, what gives?”

“First squad has this room. Closest to the entrance, closest to the action. First to the fray. Take the room over the other side.” Kellas huffed. The squad stood behind him, and the message in their body language couldn't have been clearer.

Move, or be moved.

A few seconds passed. Seven pairs of distrusting, contempt-filled eyes stared at three ranging from indignation to cold intensity.

It was a bit of a stand-off. Applejack and Rainbow, temperamentally, were not ones to back down from confrontation, especially when they thought they had the right of the situation.

Fluttershy, back in Ponyville and even now, would have backed down - whether it was shying away in awkward fright or wanting to avoid any form of interaction, the reasoning mattered little. Pinkie would have turned it into a joke, and defused the situation through laughter, and no small amount of confusion.

But neither were here right now.

Rarity to her credit, tried to negotiate... "Please, friends, there is no need for this—"

...and found herself undercut by Rainbow, who loudly asked, "What about all our kit?"

“We made sure to get it out for you, don’t worry.” the closest private pointed to five neatly stacked packs a little way down the hall.

"Why would you even need it, anyway?" another chimed in.

"You won't even need to fight with us between you and the enemy." a third agreed.

"And that's probably a good thing, after what we saw on the ship," one more just had to sneer.

Their armour wasn't just protection from harm - it was protection from recognition. They had no idea which individuals in the squad they were speaking to.

Rainbow made to take a step forward, her temper as quick to rise as ever. “Why, you—”

“Is there a problem here?” Twilight interrupted, appearing in the doorway, having made her rounds upstairs. Standing behind her, Corporal Bandor stared at his men and women with an eyebrow raised. They answered his gaze with blank, innocent looks.

“Ahem." Kellas cleared his throat. "No, ma’am. No problem at all.”

“…no problem, boss.” Applejack echoed. Neither of the lance-corporals looked away from each other.

Rainbow shot another glare at the men, but Twilight's presence forestalled any further escalation on her part. The mage looked down the corridor, and noticed her friend's packs outside the other room. She raised her board and quill expectantly. "I need to mark down who's in which room. First is in this one, and girls, you're in the far one - is that correct?"

"Perfectly correct, ma'am!" Kellas sounded off, quicker to the draw.

"Yeah, boss." Applejack could only say, not wanting to start another confrontation. She looked away from Kellas at last, clamped a soothing - or insistent - hand on Rainbow's shoulder, and said, "We'll get right on unpackin'."

"Thanks - I'll let Fluttershy and Pinkie know where to go." Twilight replied, satisfied, and wandered back into the entrance, making notes on her parchment as Bandor directed first into their newly-claimed bunks.

"C'mon." Applejack said to her friends, sure that she could feel the intensity of Kellas's stare still boring into her back. "Let's get settled in."

A routine quickly emerged for the newly arrived support platoons. They were the only two units from the Kraken to hold at the keep - as an infantry company was already garrisoned their, the soldiers who had arrived alongside them were immediately deployed on to objectives further north.

Free time was scarce, and opportunities for things to do with it were just as limited.

Valiance didn't have much of a civilian population, either, which didn't help. Those that had come tended not to want to stay too long or were there to be drafted. A few were kept out of the military because of the trades they bore - fishermen, smiths, trappers - and stayed apart from the soldiers in a section of the base that even had its own tavern. More were scheduled to arrive every two weeks for the foreseeable future.

Eat, fight, train, rest.

But mostly fight.

“Soldiers of Valiance, we are threatened! To the walls, to the walls!”

Assaults were a constant fact of life at Valiance Keep.

“To the walls!” The town crier called, and so they went. The officers would organise their troops in the square, and file them out squad by squad.

“To the walls!” Twilight echoed, waving her platoon out of their barracks as they shook off the haze of sleep, hastily jammed on their helmets and any other missing armour pieces and unsheathed their weapons. Her men and women had not yet had to venture beyond the walls of the keep, though it remained a possibility, if the situation were to become truly dire. Instead, Third squad concentrated on healing those in need from the rear, while First and Second squads mounted the parapet as sharpshooters against the closest Scourge and the inevitable tide of airborne creatures that accompanied them.

Each time they struggled to clear out enough ground from above for the infantry to advance and push the Scourge back to the tunnels they spewed from – a solution, but only a temporary one. It bought them roughly ten hours each time, at most. The undead never struck in a pattern. They had chosen to come at noon today, but her troops had soon learned – if they hadn’t known already – to try for sleep whenever they had the chance.

Sometimes they had to fight at dawn, as rays of sun poked through the few gaps in the northern clouds. Sometimes in the middle of the night, when the only illumination they could rely on came in the form of flares that burned bright but soon expired, and the magical light of spells.

“Good day for it, eh, ma’am?” Donovan, one of the men from First squad, and the last she was expecting to see, called out as he passed her. She smiled and followed him at a run.

They had emerged as a disorganised rabble, which was something she was still hoping to work on more with them, and a clear sign that further improvement was needed. Now that they were in the square, though, they were forming up nicely under the direction of Corporal Bandor.

She reached the front of platoon, smiling at the sight of her girls ready and resplendent beside her, and nodded to the corporal, who stepped back into rank to give her the proverbial floor. She didn't have time for much of an inspirational speech. Good, valiant men were fighting to the brink of injury or worse to give them time to get in position.

She came to "Eight platoon! We're called on once again to defend Valiance Keep! For Darkshire and Stormwind! Watch us strike!"

She'd learned that last line early on, and found it had stuck with her. It was a favourite of First squad's, and it got them - and the rest of the platoon with them - fired up, just as they needed to be. They seemed to have started passing around some of their regimental traditions. It was a good sign of acceptance on their part, and of integration in general - she only hoped it would be reciprocal, and not just one way.

Turning to the north, she led them towards the battlements and into another fight.

Five minutes passed. The walls were holding well.

It was a solid start, one of the best Rarity had seen. And she'd been careful to notice a lot, these past few weeks.

Mistakes, weaknesses, imperfections. Not passed on out of malice or spite - never those - but so that they could be smoothed over. She suspected it wasn't making her - or perhaps Twilight, who bore the brunt of correcting them - very popular, but it was necessary. Generous, even.

They all had their tasks to perform, just as she would use the correct materials for each particular dressmaking, and for the most part they did them well.

Corporal Bandor and his men and women were there to stop anything getting through to them, using blade or rifle as necessary, and if anything did climb, fly or charge its way past them, well, she, Rainbow and Applejack were Twilight’s last line of defense.

It wasn’t a very demanding task. The Stormwind soldiers below were good at their jobs, and they hadn’t yet let anything past, or even into the water, on the ground. The undead in the air could have been a problem, if not for the multitude of mages, sharpshooters, and others highly capable of fighting from a distance. Twilight herself could of course be counted among this group, regularly lobbing down bolts of frost and arcane that sparkled in the sun like gemstones as they smashed into the undead, while calling out orders for her allies to help focus their efforts.

She never used fire, though; that was something Rarity had picked up on. Not since the Deadmines.

But speaking of fire, she kept careful track of the young gnome mage, Gearfuse, on the next battlement over, wreaking havoc with a conflagration that was spreading across the dry, desiccated husks below with ease. She was invaluable, but she had to be watched. Very, very carefully, after the incident on the ship. There was a little too much glee in her eyes at the striking of the spark - more like a warlock, more like Fizzlezip, than she was like any of the other mages.

Rarity keep a close eye on Fluttershy, too, though not nearly for the same reason. Her friend was hurting, but she wasn’t lashing out… or even bottling it up, in a sense. She was as quiet as ever, but she was also channelling her grief and her pain into something more productive.

But still not very healthy.

She sat on the far side of the wall, alone in comparison to the tightly knit forces alongside her – but, then, to be alone was all she had really seemed to want since Wilder’s death. She watched the battlefield carefully, and occasionally pulled out an arrow and flung it loose at a target. Not every one of her arrows hit home, but most of those that did had the desired effect – piercing wings, splitting through skulls and bursting through the egg sacs of the Scourge’s more exotic creatures.

Hmm. Definitely worth watching, now more than ever.

Rarity looked back at Twilight as the mage brought down a blizzard from the sky. At least Twilight has held onto her confidence after that dusty debacle. Nothing will hurt her, or any of my friends, on my watch.

So she stayed in the shadows – watching, waiting and ready.

Twilight looked down over the battlefield and allowed herself a brief, small smile. They had once again weathered the Scourge’s first wave. The work of her platoon was done, for the moment. The worst of this attack was over.

Two squads of the keep’s infantry garrison charged out of the gates and over the bridge at the back of Justicar Julia Celeste, whose righteous fury on the battlefield had made her invaluable during each and every battle so far, and joined with their exhausted fellows who had first been tasked with holding the beach below.

The Scourge died in droves against the sally, and their numbers and presence on the Sands of Nasam quickly dwindled to the point that they were outside the maximum range of Twilight’s forces. As the squads below pushed on, to detonate explosive charges in the burrowed tunnels that allowed the Scourge to assault them, Twilight took a deep breath and turned away, back towards the keep.

“Well done, everyone!” she called out to the platoon as they gathered around her, her girls closest of all. “We withstood the undead again without any casualties! Great work!”

The supreme protection afforded to them by the walls of Valiance Keep – coupled with the fact that they never left those walls – had made any losses highly unlikely, and she was thankful for that. A few of her soldiers had suffered mishaps, and near misses, admittedly – some had been struck by rocks, or caught by the edge of the acid spit of a skitterer that had managed to fly too close. Pinkie and the other’s healing had sorted most of these without too much trouble, but she herself had tripped and fallen down the stairs up to the battlements on one memorable and rather embarrassing occasion. It had put her in the medical wing for two days, and led to three much quieter, but also much sketchier, battles.

It was all nothing compared to what she had seen of those who ranged out beyond the walls and weren’t so lucky.

The injured, missing limbs, sporting acid burns or grievous cuts… and four or five dead bodies, separated from the world in thick black sheets.

The keep always fell silent whenever one of these fallen heroes passed on the way to home.

They made her not want to leave the sanctuary, as much for the sake of those she was responsible for as her own, but she knew that a good portion of her platoon wouldn’t have agreed.

“Time for breakfast, then!” she offered a popular topic, and received a resounding cheer. The wall sentries looked on in jealousy – they could only have been through half their shift. The crowd began to disperse, off in the direction of the keep’s mess hall, for what would probably another inspired variation on… crab. They were in great abundance on and around the tundra’s shores, and much safer to obtain than rhino meat.

Her girls stayed close as they walked the cobbled streets without any degree of hurry, swapping stories and recounting moments from the fight before.

“Did you see that last hit, Applejack?” Rainbow had been particularly proud of her own efforts in finishing off the weakened enemies that made their way up to try to scale the walls. Her power, when used in this regard, had started to regularly take the shape of a giant two-faced hammer not unlike her own weapon. “It practically melted!”

“You’re jus’ lucky you can fight from afar no sweat.” Applejack grumbled. “Nothin’ even got close to Twilight this time. Me’n’Rarity jus’ stood there, bored.”

“I don’t know how you can say that!” Pinkie said, half a pout creeping onto her face. “I put on a special song to celebrate being back out of the hospital after such a long stay-”

“Pinkie, you were in there for less than forty-eight hours.”

“—and I was super sure you would enjoy it!”

Applejack chuckled. “’s alright Pinkie. I enjoyed your song.”

“Phew! I was really worried for a sec. I thought I’d have to come up with a whole new routine. Even though I might have already done that. On that note, I have something I need to go see to. Bye!”

She disappeared down the road in a flash of pink and a shower of sprinkles.

Twilight couldn't help but grin. Never change, Pinkie. Never change.

Fluttershy made her normal excuses and vanished off to where she normally went during the day when not called on to train or fight - wherever that was. Every attempt Twilight had made on keeping tabs on her had failed, and after the first week she had accepted that she would just have to trust her friend, and give her the space she seemed to crave.

They reached the cookhouse. Rarity and Rainbow accidentally found themselves a few spaces ahead in the queue, and, with a nod from Twilight, forged ahead.

“It has got me thinkin’, though, boss,” Applejack said, contrarily apropos of nothing, as she and the mage neared the cookhouse doors.

“Hmm?”

“Think we’re gonna be here for the rest of the war? I was expectin’ to be sent out in like a week of gettin’ here, but we’ve been here two now without a hint of us leaving. Y’can tell the troops’re getting restless, yeah?”

Twilight slowly nodded.

“So have you heard any rumours up with the high and mighty?”

Twilight pursed her lips. “No.” It wasn’t like she had much contact with the high command of the keep, even living as she did in the officer’s quarters. General Arlos had his own rooms that he seemed to never leave; Justicar Celeste, in dramatic contrast, rarely ever left the frontline, and took sleep at a premium. Apart from herself and the other support platoon lieutenant, Issha Duskwind - who was also none-the-wiser - there were four others who frequented the accommodation block; Captain Dale of the garrisoned Second Redridge Rifles and his three subordinate platoon commanders, who she only ever saw on the way to-or-from the battlefront.

“Makes you wonder,” Applejack continued as they reached for the doors of the mess hall, “Whether- hey, Twi, I think that fella wants a word with ya.”

Turning, Twilight saw that Applejack was correct. A private soldier, not one of hers, was making his way across the courtyard towards them, in quite a hurry.

She paused at the door to let him catch up, and he stopped and saluted as he approached.

“Ma’am. Corporal.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, returning the salute as Applejack nodded. “Can I help you?”

“A message for you, ma’am, from General Arlos. It’s most urgent.” the man explained, offering her a scroll affixed with a dull blue wax seal.

She took it and thanked him as he left, then looked at her friend.

“Well, this is a first.”

“No kiddin’.” If nothing else, it was the first time the elusive general had acknowledged her existence. “What’s it say?”

She broken up the seal and studied the scroll intently. “There’s a command meeting to be held at the central keep, this afternoon, at four. I’m wanted there.” She looked up, distracted for a moment as a glint of white caught her eye, then sighed. It was beginning to snow again.

“Now maybe we’ll get some answers.”

The healers of Third squad, minus the night elf twins, plus one guest, retreated to their dwellings after breakfast to relax, and recuperate. The battles inevitably taxed them the most of those who fought on the walls, and they had quickly learned to make the most of whatever rest they could get.

The topic of conversation quickly turned, as it frequently had the past few days, to the love-life of one of their members - specifically his attraction to another member of the squad.

“Just go an’ ask her, lad.” Father Stonewrought opined, stroking his beard. The old priest stood closest to the man in the spotlight, close enough that the man could smell the meat he had had for his breakfast on his breath - typically for a dwarf, he'd chosen the boar. “The worst she can say is ‘nah’.”

Vernor sighed. His crush on Erina had quickly become known to the rest of his squad, and now Second had starting making jokes about it, too. He had no idea how Sister Pie might react if she found out, but the prospect was far too embarrassing to contemplate.

“On Argus, I did not tell woman I loved of my feelings.” Arin counselled. He was the only mage among them, but he tended to stay around with Third more than Second during their downtime. “She die in demon attack. Not pretty death.”

“That’s… very sad.”

“Not worth waiting, was my meaning.”

“She might already have a partner.” he protested.

“She does not.” dismissed Ylia. She possessed a slightly firmer grasp of the common tongue when compared to her fellow draenei. She sat by the end of the bunk, brushing her hair neat and straight, taking care to avoid her horns. “Neither sister does.”

“You know this, how?”

The shaman shrugged. “They may always be together, friend, but they are capable of conversing with others.”

“Would ‘elp if y’just try talkin’ to her instead’a blushin’ an’ runnin’ off each time.”

The priest sighed, defeated. “I know…”

The great keep was by far the most opulent part of Valiance. It stood out like a sore thumb compared to how incomplete and under-construction the rest of the base was, and also distinguished itself through a total lack of the smell of sawdust which permeated everywhere else around.

It was the first time she had been summoned there, walking into the main hall and warming her hands at the fire for a moment before carefully fixing her hair and robes into as neat a place as possible.

A few minutes of waiting by the hearth later, she was called by one of the soldiers and led into another large room, which, as it quickly became apparent, was where all the planning was done. Books of strategy stacked high, resting on the shelves, and a great big map of Northrend was laid out on the long table in the centre of the room, marked in various places by bits of blue, red, silver, purple and black cloth.

She was the first of those invited to arrive, and found herself left alone with her own thoughts for a few minutes. After that time – which she had passed with a curious skim over as many of the tomes as she could manage, which, naturally for her, turned out to be quite a few – she was joined by Issha, who was perfectly, exactly, on time.

That had been Twilight’s experience of night elves, in fact. The twins she had in her platoon could be airy and flighty, but yet had never once been late for a meeting or other such engagement… which was more than she could say for certain others who had joined the platoon… which included, at times, some of her own girls.

Issha had been a soldier before, a sentinel in her people's military. It was clear in the way she carried herself, the assertiveness she spoke with and the assurance with which she walked. What exactly had prompted her to take the opportunity to transfer over to the Stormwind Army was something she never talked about.

They chatted a little while to while away the time, catching up on the events of the day – Twilight’s morning mayhem against Issha’s lunch-interrupting batch of (un)lively Scourge.

“Do be careful on your next one.” Issha cautioned at one point, “They sent a crypt lord in today. The first we’ve seen, but I am sure they will use them again now. It took a great deal of fire and radiance to kill, and it must have crushed four of our vanguard to death before Justicar Celeste managed to finish it.”

She was always happy to offer tips, hints and help, to the point it made the mage regret not trying to reach out aboard the icebreaker, even accounting for their packed shipboard training schedules.

A little… a little like Princess Cadance. Enough that her presence alone could Twilight smile, but hurt a little too.

At last, just as their conversation came to a convenient mid-point, the door creaked open and another figure eased himself into the room.

Oddly, though, for Valiance, this man was clearly not a soldier.

He wore stitched black trousers and a monocle in front of one of his black eyes, which glinted softly as it reflected the firelight. He seemed not to walk across the room so much as glide, given how little noise his boots made with every step upon the ground.

“Ah, ladies,” he murmured. His voice was surprisingly soft for his weathered appearance; melodic, almost… beguiling. “It is good that you were both able to join me here.”

“Counselor Talbot,” Issha nodded, having clearly encountered the man before. “I hope you are well.”

“As well as can be expected, my dear.” the man sighed. “This northern air does not agree with me. The price paid by those who suffer the curse of advancing age, I am afraid. And you,” he addressed Twilight, studying and appraising her for a moment, and then smiled. “I do not believe we have met, Lieutenant Sparkle. My name is Talbot. I provide counsel for General Arlos… when he chooses to listen.” He extended his worn hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she replied, taking it with her own and finding his to be surprisingly warm.

“We had best get started.” He gestured to the chairs. “I’m afraid the General is too busy to join us in person – for today, I represent him here – and Captain Dale commands the defence of the walls.”

So Arlos hasn’t been planning, this whole time? What could he be up to instead? Twilight couldn’t help but wonder. Perhaps it was not her place to question the whims of generals, but…

“I have only one matter for your attention today,” Talbot continued, and as you may have guessed, it concerns your assignments.”

He produced two wax-sealed scrolls from his pocket, cracked one open and began to read. “Second Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle, you—”

This time when the door opened, it did not ease – it burst. The sound and the force cut off the quiet counselor immediately, followed by a prolonged silence at the appearance of the armoured figure who had pushed it open. He too eased his way through the door, only in his case it was because his size prevented him from entering the room normally.

A draenei. One of her mages was also a male draenei, but he was nowhere near as imposing as the one who stood before her now. The armour aided a great deal in that impression, both in its size and the shimmering light it radiated from his shoulders and his chest plate, the illumination casting his face into a pale blue.

“Counselor Talbot,” he thundered, in exactly the kind of accent and tone Twilight had guessed he would use. It was harsh, almost guttural, but understandable nonetheless. “Why was I not called to this gathering?!”

The man’s demeanour changed in a heartbeat. “I am quite certain I had a messenger sent to you.” he said, in a way that suggested the exact opposite.

“I doubt it.” the draenei shot back. “The first troop orders for the reinforcements since the last wave, and you choose not to include me?”

“You are not part of the command structure of this base. You are not part of the Stormwind Army. You do not have the right, nor my permission, to stay, Harbinger Vurenn.”

The draenei drew himself up to his full height, a good seven feet at least. “Permission is not yours to give or take, Counselor. The General himself permitted my soldiers and I leave to remain here, and made clear that I was to attend all strategy and command meetings in an advisory capacity.”

“Then by all means,” Talbot glared, sweeping his hand out towards an empty chair at the table, “Advise.”

Twilight stared on, befuddled at the level of vitriol apparently present between the two. What bad blood could possibly exist between them, what could they be arguing over that had soured them so? Didn’t they both share the same goal, of defeating the Lich King?

Vurenn sat down, the chair creaking under his weight. Still looking at Talbot, however, Twilight was suddenly struck by the look in the man’s eyes. Where previously she had only seen kindness, or at least mildness, there was now hatred, disgust, and… hunger?

The moment passed, and she was left wondered if she had imagined it. A trick of the firelight, perhaps. The counselor shuffled his papers and cleared his throat.

“Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle,” he began again. “You are charged with leading your platoon safely to the edge of the Borean Tundra, into the Dragonblight, there to link up with Alliance forces under the overall command of Highlord Bolvar Fordragon.”

She had barely a second to process this information before the Harbinger next to her erupted out of his seat. “Preposterous, Counselor!” he exclaimed. “An entire company was lost three weeks ago, seeking to fulfill the same objective. That path—”

“—is not safe.” Talbot interrupted. “But we have received,” he continued, addressing Twilight once more, “fresh intelligence of a new route that will be. It is not our intent to throw more lives into a position where others have already been lost – not without good cause. But this information is reliable and trustworthy, and regardless, these orders come down all the way from the top."

Vurenn leaned across the table and snatched the scroll out of the man’s hands. He read them quickly, then sat back down, a frown set deeply across his face.

“You will receive a full mission brief in paper form after this meeting concludes. If you subsequently have any further questions, you may direct them to me and I shall pass them on to General Arlos for further consideration. Bearing this in mind, have you any questions now?”

She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, counselor.” She knew she would have some later, upon reading the full brief, but for now there was no point wasting his time when the answers would come with just a modicum of patience.

“Excellent.” he said, then turned his head to regard her fellow officer. “Issha Duskwind, you are charged with leading your platoon to assist the gnomes at Fizzcrank Airport, to the north, who appear to have encountered some difficulty in securing the area. Expect to encounter resistance in the form of the Scourge, the Blue Dragonflight, local wildlife, and quite possible the Horde as well.”

“Yes, counselor.” Issha acknowledged grimly.

Talbot paused, perhaps expecting another objection from Vurenn, but the draenei remained silent, and instead fixed him with a gaze full of undisguised contempt.

He stood, said, “Very well, then. That concludes our business today. You will depart in two week's time, and until then your duties shall continue as normal. Good luck with the trials ahead of you.” and hobbled from the room, without another look at the draenei. Issha smiled a friendly goodbye to Twilight, nodded at the harbinger, stood and left the room also.

Twilight moved to follow her, but found that someone blocked her way.

“A word, please, mage.” Vurenn sighed.

“Of course, harbinger.” she politely replied.

Only now did she have the opportunity to study him properly, without the counselor and the tension between them present in the room. Of all the races of the Alliance she had encountered before, the draenei seemed the furthest set apart, the most… alien. Perhaps because they had only just joined the Alliance, a year or two before. Perhaps because they were literally from another world.

And yet, no matter how different he was, there was no mistaking the concern in his eyes, set behind an unearthly glimmer in a way that was otherwise no different from any human, night elf, gnome or dwarf.

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

He clasped his hands. “You can watch your back. Yours and the soldiers you command. There is something foul afoot in this keep, but alas, I have made no progress towards uncovering it.

“General Arlos sits in seclusion somewhere inside these walls, having not addressed his men in person for weeks. I have a squad of my people, waiting at the ready to assist where they can… but our services are always refused, by Talbot or one of his proxies. And…the fate of those we send off into the wastes is often unclear, but some simply never make it to their destination… which is why I am particularly concerned for you.”

She wasn’t sure his fears were entirely justified. Certainly, she could see why he would be worried about anyone venturing outside the safety of the walls – some nights her sleep suffered from her mind playing on those very same thoughts - but the way he spoke, he seemed assured that there was something more to the misfortune of her predecessors. Something, he seemed to be driving at, linked to Talbot?

She didn’t see it. The counselor hadn’t come across any different to her than any other person she had met in this world or her own – quite personable, if anything.

She said, “I appreciate and share your concerns, and I swear that I will look out for those under my command. We’ll undertake our mission to the very best of our abilities, and I’ll make sure that we all come out of it safely. You have my word on that.”

Vurenn nodded. It wasn’t clear from his reaction whether or not he knew that she wasn’t entirely convinced. “Stay safe, mage. May the light watch over you.”

“Thank you, harbinger. The same to you.”

Valiance Keep, Part II

"There she is," Donovan smiled, proudly displaying the portrait for those around him to see. "Beauty, isn't she?"

"I don't know, Donovan," Harris mused, examining the picture before passing it on. "If I wanted to see something really beautiful, your wife..."

"Shut up, idiot." Clarke, the squad's sharpshooter, rolled her eyes as she looked at the image herself. "This true to life?"

"Yeah. Close as. Getting her to sit still was the most difficult part."

"How old is she?"

"Four years, since a month ago." Donovan beamed.

"Aww..."

"Yeah, yeah, all right, the kid's adorable. Can we please get to playin' now?"

"That depends. Has Andrews finished undoing the damage you did to the deck?"

"..."

"Nearly." Andrews spoke up. He was a man of few words, but a stalwart shield on the battlefield. Most of the time.

"You only had to shuffle it." Harris grumbled.

"And take out all the duplicates you added." Andrews replied pointedly. He reached into his bag, pulled out a hip flask and took a quick draught, to three disapproving stares.

"Stop doing that."

"The skip'll kill you..."

"If Kellas doesn't get there first."

"He and the others are still on that equipment run, and the skip was called out to see the lieutenant. You know how much she talks, and how long he'll be gone. It'll be fine."

"I still wouldn't risk it."

Andrews shrugged and took another sip. He nearly choked a second later when, as a blob-shaped mass of pink hair appeared at the window, Clarke exclaimed, "Sister!"

He hastily stowed the flask as Pinkie Pie burst through the door into the common room. The rest just tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Hi, everybody!" she giggled, "Just thought I'd come round and see how you're all doing. Here, have some candy!" She threw a handful of treats in the air that landed on the table, scattering next to the pack of cards Andrews had just put down. "Ooh, cards!"

"We're doing fine, thank you, sister." Clarke respectfully replied. "Just a little restless, and eager to know when we're on the move."

"Aww, well, I wouldn't worry too much about that." she smiled conspiratorially. "I just had a chat with Twilight, and I miiiiiight be able to say that we'll be heading out of here in about two weeks!"

"Oh! Thank you, s—"

"It's all good! Now, I can't stay! I've got to get away, and see the rest of the keep, today!"

She disappeared out the door in a flash of confetti. Clarke reached down and replaced the stool her exit had knocked over.

"Mad as a bat," the sniper sighed, "but at least she can heal properly."

There was a murmur of agreement throughout the room. Loath as they were to admit it, at least some of the other elements in the platoon weren't always half-bad at their jobs.

But would just a bit better than "half-bad" be enough, out in the frozen wastes?

Vernor shook a little as he hurried across the wide, chilly Valiance streets. Partly from the cold, and partly from his nerves.

They weren’t the most obvious nerves that he had been expecting to have, though. Sure, he was worried about leaving the keep, but, here, right now, that was at the back of his mind.

He had something else to worry about.

It’s just a drink, he told himself. I just have to ask. Just. Have. To. Ask. It doesn’t matter if she says no.

He was beginning to wonder if he would even find her in time. The keep was huge, sprawling, and practically a maze of half-finished buildings, that, outside the docks, the mustering area near the statue of King Varian, and the great keep itself, were in a state of constant, confusing, clamour and din.

And getting her alone to ask with a modicum of privacy was at least half the problem, as well – when she had a second, living, shadow that near-perfectly matched her every move.

But then he saw her as he rounded another corner, standing by the wall of one of the keep’s three armouries, staring off into space. And alone, blessedly alone. Perhaps the two had been called to two separate injuries – Third squad had found themselves serving shifts as standby medics for any and all of the mishaps that occurred on the base.

Whatever the reason, Vernor was grateful for it.

He approached her, emboldened with every step he managed to take, and called out, “Erina?”

She looked towards him and smiled pleasantly. The radiant sight gave him a feeling of happiness that he would later find himself unable to properly describe.

“I was just wondering if you w—”

Her sister appeared out of the armoury, drawn by the sound of Erina’s name.

His heart sank, and all his plans with it.

Naturally…

“Yes?” Erina prompted.

“Uh… I was just wondering if you had heard that we have our orders.” he swallowed. “Sister Pie has been spreading it around the squads, and the lieutenant has called us together tonight, probably to confirm it.”

“We had heard.” Tyrae answered for her, and he could have sworn that she wore a mischievous smirk, in contrast to her sister’s innocent smile.

“Ah—” he managed.

“Thank you for your concern,” the druid added. “We will be well prepared for what is coming.”

Vernor forced out, “That’s… great!”, and positively fled from their twinkling gaze.

Twilight gathered the platoon together in the yard at midday for their briefing. No rooms were available, and being able to point in the correct directions more easily when she needed to was at least one positive.

That was about the only one.

“We’ll be heading along the coast as much as possible, in order to limit our contact with the scourge.” She said, drawing a thin stick of wood she had scavenged as a visual aid across the map to show their planned route across the wastes. “We will only engage as a last resort. Remember, we need to be getting to the Dragonblight in one piece.”

The platoon stood in a loose half-circle around her and the board, save for Applejack, who stayed at her side. They were all used to the cold wind that always blew through the yard, after a month of stolidly suffering it, but that simply meant that none by now were foolish enough to come out without properly covering up first.

“We’ll cover the ground away from the sea when we must in this formation,” Twilight went on. “First squad will split in half, and will take the lead in a v-shape. She pointed at the sketch on the board she had made in advance, letting the ink on the page illustrate her point better than mere words ever could. "Myself and my squad will follow them, then Third, then Second squad, ultimately forming an arrow-shape.

“Corporal Bandor, I leave the division of First squad to you.” she finished, and he nodded. “Any questions on all that? Anybody?”

Harris raised a hand. “So what happens if they catch us in the rear?”

“That won’t be a likely occurrence,” she replied, failing to spot Bandor’s brow crease. “but if it does occur, First will turn and lead the other squads to protect Second at the back. We’ll form a defensive circle around Second and work on destroying them from there.” There were a few whispers, which Twilight took to mean understanding. “Anyone else?”

Kellas raised his hand, and Twilight motioned for him to speak.

“What about the Horde?” he bluntly asked.

“What about the Horde?” she echoed his question, unsure of his point.

"Your arrow formation gives us strong protection against anything from the front, but relies on the enemy being slow to reform or us having good warning of an attack," he elaborated. "The Horde aren't slow, and they won't give us any warning."

She had to admit he was right about the first part, but still felt compelled to defend the formation. It had been a tip from Captain Dale, a veteran infanteer. And besides...

"Our route takes us nowhere near the main Horde camps," she said. "They won't bother us if we don't bother them."

"What about raiding parties, then?" Kellas pressed.

"We have nothing to worry about from the Horde." Twilight reaffirmed. "We're united against the Lich King in this war, and we need them just as much as--"

"That's complete bullshit!" Kellas snarled, and Twilight saw angry agreement among the rest of First. Bandor alone kept his face straight, but even he, who she taken to be reasonable and generally friendly, didn't look very pleased.

Kellas was by far the most aggressive. She couldn't help but recoil a little as he stood to shout something else, and Applejack reflexively shifted a little in front of her friend to cover her better.

Bandor stymied the lance-corporal before he could say anything else. He sat down, bristling, and glared for the rest of the presentation.

Twilight continued on, going into greater detail, but couldn't help but wonder whether she had underestimated the platoon's hatred for the Horde. She'd thought that the Scourge would command their attention, but, clearly, old hatreds died... hard.

But she'd learned that lesson already, hadn't she?

She took heart from noticing that Second and Third hadn't looked anywhere near as incensed with her words as the career soldiers had. She thought the two draenei in the crowd might have even been giving her approving nods. Perhaps there was hope there. But the constant battles, day in, day out, and spending the rest of her time trying to get to know her soldiers on a personal level... maybe she'd missed out on an opportunity to understand their feelings on this particular matter, and wasted time that could have been spent on trying to change their minds.

She concluded the briefing, at last, and her girls came to gather around her as the other squads filed away.

Two weeks til their departure. She hoped it would be enough to have them ready.

Training. Training, training, training.

What wasn't there to like about training?

Actually doing it could be a challenge, of course, and painful, frustrating and generally difficult in the moment. But it was so very vital for success, as any form of preparation and learning was.

But if there was one thing linked to training that she liked more than training itself, it had to be planning training. It had to be her favourite of her new duties - developing her troops, making sure they were ready for what was coming. Developing them as people, too.

A little like back home, and how much she and her friends had learned from their friendship lessons of old, only now with a little more control, and little more purpose... and many more unknowns.

Today's training took the form of a friendly competition. A little exercise in brains, brawn and effort she'd cooked up, and the first to involve her fellow support platoon commander, Issha Duskwind.

"Take a breath, Miss Sparkle. I don't think I have ever seen you quite this excited." she advised with a wry smile.

Issha, of course, had been a soldier before, a sentinel in her people's military. It was clear in the way she carried herself, the assertiveness she spoke with and the assurance with which she walked. What exactly had prompted her to take the opportunity to transfer over to the Stormwind Army was something she never talked about.

Veteran though Issha might have been, and despite their lack of contact aboard the Kraken - where they had both been far too busy to socialise -Twilight had found her to be engaging, helpful and friendly.

"I wasn't excited before, I was nervous." Twilight replied, scratching a little more detail onto her plan, just enough to make it perfect. "But this... this, I'm excited about. What do you think?"

She passed the large roll of parchment over, and Issha studied it intently, keeping her expression neutral throughout. "It's bold." she said at last. "Very bold."

"Do you disapprove?"

The night elf teased her by keeping her hanging for just a moment short of what would have been cruel. "No, I approve. Most of the training plans concocted by Stormwind officers that I have read are as simple as a line in the sand, and as rigid and inflexible as a stone."

"Useful to a point, but there needs to be a bit of creativity in there as well. I've learned that much through what my friends and I have experienced, without a doubt."

"It seems you and I are of the same mind." Issha mused. "I wonder if this is what they hoped would happen in Stormwind when they first thought up the concept of the support platoons."

"Do you have any changes that you would like to make? I'd be honoured to hear your suggestions."

"Well, now that you mention it..."

“Uh… you sure this is such a good idea, Twi?” Applejack cast a dubious eye over the crowd – the gaggle – of soldiers and casters standing in the courtyard before them.

“Of course!” Twilight warmly affirmed. “We have it all figured out. Nothing can possibly go wrong, and even if it does, look, we have a risk assessment!” She waved the colourful piece of paper about in the air.

“I thought you’d said nothin’ could—” Applejack started to say, then caught herself. There was no convincing Twilight when she had that certain sparkle in her eyes, whether it was about sleepovers, reading, or training exercises, apparently. “Good luck, hon.” She nervously walked back to her group.

“Thanks, but I won’t be competing!” the mage hummed in response. It was all going so well, so far. Twenty-six people – her platoon’s total size, her aside – arranged into two groups of five and four groups of four.

Twenty–six others, on the opposite side of the square – Issha’s platoon, and their opponents for the day.

Spotting the night elf now, as she emerged from behind one of her own teams, Twilight hurried over to greet her.

“It’s almost time!” she said by way of opening the conversation, and Issha chuckled at her enthusiasm.

“Yes – week’s planning is about to pay off. Do try not to look too excited though, my friend.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Twilight shivered, almost as much from anticipation as from the ever-present chill. “But it’s all just so perfect…!”

Two platoons, fifty-two participants. Twelve teams in all, with the final scores weighted properly to account for group size.

Glory to the winning platoon, commiserations to the loser, and a whole lot of bonding and fun for all.

That was the plan, anyway. What could possibly go wrong?

The competition was relatively simple. The teams had an hour to make their way around the keep, navigating with the maps they had been provided to a series of stands that were manned by some of the off-duty or civilian personnel that the two platoon commanders had managed to persuade to help.

Each stand offered a different challenge – a test of the mind or body, and in some cases, both. One example asked the participants to solve a riddle of crossing a hypoethitical bridge with all of a number of animals – with the caveat that only one could be moved at a time, and all had to survive the trip without eating each other unsupervised. Another required that the group complete a series of press-ups – the faster each member of the group completed it, the more points they would earn.

It was Twilight’s hope - and Issha’s as well, from what she had said, having experienced some group tensions herself - that their troops would learn the importance of relying on each other, and the skills they each individually possessed. The men and women of First squad were excellent soldiers, it could not be denied, but their training had stripped them on the whole of the kind of creativity that the likes of Second possessed – the kind of creativity and spontaneity that Twilight had come to rely on Rarity and Pinkie for, while learning from their example as best she could.

And, in turn, that Second would see the value in a little extra discipline.

She wasn’t expecting them to change overnight – just hoping that she could challenge their points of view.

The teams had been not-so-randomly picked – one or two members of each squad assigned to each. The healers in Third had been fully spread out – the offensive casters and soldiers had only had to double up once or twice each, and then her girls had then been divided up to help out too. She had been glad of their enthusiasm for the plan – especially how they had been trying, with some success, to pass that feeling on to the platoon – and had gratefully accepted tips, suggestions and tweaks to the format from them.

Now, it was time to reap the rewards.

The clock ticked down, and at last it was time. She and Issha called the platoons to attention. With one last explanation for clarity, Twilight did the honours and fired a bolt of arcane into the sky to mark the start of the race. The same signal would also herald the end of the competition in two hours’ time.

They all disappeared off into the misty streets in search of their first destinations – each team had a different stand order to complete, to avoid bunching up and having to wait too long at each objective.

The two commanders then settled back to wait in the middle of the square, some conjured confectionary in hand.

On later reflection, Twilight understood that quite a lot could have gone wrong. And, as it happened, quite a lot did go wrong.

Captain Dale made sure that she and Issha understood it too, in no uncertain terms, summoning them to his office for a lecture on “soldierly conduct” and “setting a good example”.

The words “court-martial” might have also been floated at some point, too. Threatened, at least.

Not that he was implying that their behaviour was at fault, per se, but the quality of their planning, in his eyes, left some to be desired.

Perhaps it was naïve of her to have expected the career soldiers in the groups not to be competitive to the point of charging into and knocking out a blacksmith after having vaulted an active forge in their haste to reach their next objective.

Perhaps she should have foreseen that the same competitiveness would infect the casters, and that they would get so caught up in the fun that they would begin to sabotage each other – which inevitably led to cross words and then crossed spells. That nothing material caught fire was little short of a miracle, and jt was fortunate that all injuries were minimal, easily treated and confined only to the platoons, not to anyone else in Valiance.

Perhaps it would have been a good idea to have postponed the event until the afternoon, when the fog could potentially have cleared, instead of sending them out into the streets. It pooled up so much in certain areas that seeing through it was completely impossible, and led to a few accidents that, even accounting for an improper degree of recklessness, would not have happened in broad daylight.

Perhaps it was also an oversight on their part to choose the exact same signal to mark the end of the exercise as the one that warned of a Scourge attack.

Overall, they were not in a position to call the idea a success.

That night in First’s dorm was not a silent one – the conversation filled with frustration and anger, the mood bitter, and mutinous.

They kept their voices low, their whispers harsh and hushed. They had Andrews standing by the door as a silent lookout, took every precaution for security.

He and Bandor aside, none of the other six held back from expressing their feelings.

"It was an utter disgrace!"

"They embarrassed us - the platoon and the regiment!"

"We're a laughing stock to the rest of the keep!"

"I had one of those Redridge arseholes cut in line with his buddies at lunch. Told me if I wanted to go first, I'd need to learn how to read a map and win a race. I'd have broken his nose there and then if the lieutenant hadn't been behind me..."

"We'd have been better paired up with each other, instead of the other squads. That would be a real competition. What was she even thinking, putting us with them?"

"What's the point of trying, if they can't run more than a mile without having to catch their breath?"

"One of my team, that damned druid - he just became a cat and disappeared the whole two hours! When we finally found him, he'd been taking a nap!"

"If that's how they're going to act in an exercise, what are they going to be like when it's for real?"

"It goes deeper than all that." Clarke pointed out. She'd suffered the most in the chaos of the day, having been caught on the edge of a magical duel between Gearfuse and Fizzlezip, neither of whom had been on her team in the competition. An afternoon spent with the healers had cleared up most of the - mainly superficial - burns and singing, but some of the pain still lingered. "It was an awful exercise from concept to finish. We can blame Second for their performance, but we can't blame them for the idea."

Kellas nodded. "She's right. The blame for this lies all the way at the top."

Bandor's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure I like where you're going with this, Lance-Corporal."

“You can lead us, skip!” Kellas urged. “You’ve got years more combat time logged than any of us.”

It was a sentiment Kellas had expressed to him more than once when it had just been the two of them, but to voice it so brazenly in front of the others...

Bandor could see agreement plastered on the faces of his squad, and he didn't like it. “Against the Horde, maybe. But I’ve only fought the Scourge once, in Stormwind.” he protested.

“Experience is experience, no matter the foe.” his junior countered. “And it’ll be experience that wins this war – experience and courage. These conscripts will fold like a wet blanket the first time a ghoul jumps out at ‘em.”

“You don’t know that. They’ve held up fine against the bugs at the gate, so far, just like the other platoons.”

"Fighting atop a wall is nothing like being face to face with them. But you have been, skip - you'll do much better than some naive little mage who'd rather be cosied up, warm and safe, in a library than out here. I doubt what they did down in Westfall had much to do with her."

"Yeah!"

"Kellas is right, skip!"

"Maybe if you go and see Captain Dale, he could—"

Bandor stood up. "Enough." he thundered, loud enough to make the watchful Andrews jump. All patience finally exhausted at where the conversation had now escalated, he continued, "I don’t want to hear any more about this. Get into your beds and get some rest. We're covering the wall all morning tomorrow."

They obeyed, and shuffled off into their bunks. Even as he extinguished the candle and plunged the room into darkness, the fire of sedition still smouldered in them.

All it needed was a little more fuel.

More time passed. More fights at the wall. No more training disastrous exercises. Things settled back into a veneer of stability as Eight Platoon prepared for their departure.

Then, the very last day. Eighteen hours to go.

Fluttershy had chosen to sit atop a pillar by the square, which had chosen to be an excellent place to observe the everyday goings-on of the keep, giving her an excellent view of the other squads packing.

Much like Pinkie, Applejack and Twilight, she'd finished packing already. It hadn't been difficult, certainly not for her. She had little more than what she had been issued to carry; her trap crystals, quite a few spare arrows... that was all, really.

And a plain, red collar.

Some of what they had been given in Stormwind had been taken back, by the keep's garrison armoury, to lighten their load in the field. They wouldn't need all of it.

She could see First most clearly as they were the closest to her. She admired the efficiency with which they unpacked, packed and arranged their kit in straight lines of four. It was the kind of efficiency that avoided mistakes. The kind she wanted to emulate.

Their obligatory kit inspection that Twilight had to conduct passed without incident and took only five minutes. Now they waited in perfect stillness for the others to finish.

Which looked like it would take a while.

The healers weren’t that bad, just a little under-practiced. Second squad, on the other hand, were proving to be a disaster.

Fluttershy had no idea how they had even packed in the first place. There was one notable exception – the draenei mage who had assisted Twilight in putting out the ship fire – but the rest were a little too… maverick… for such an ordered drill.

Two other mages, including Gearfuse, two warlocks, a druid who transformed into a giant owl to fight - and a cat when he wanted to sleep - and a priest who was nothing at all like his counterparts in Third, or Pinkie.

Equipment and supplies flew everywhere around the square as one member of Second would misplace something or another, which would inevitably be found in the middle of another’s pack, leading just as inevitably to a fight.

This happened three times before Twilight finally had enough. Shouting louder than Fluttershy had ever expected of her, she had separated them evenly out across the square and tasked a member of First to watch and help them with each step of the kit list.

And still they struggled. Now some of their gear was broken, and had to be replaced, or preferably mended. Applejack was very good at that, had been helping the keep's armourers all week in getting everything ready – growing up on the farm had left her very capable at DIY and temporary repairs.

Gearfuse nearly set the whole square aflame, not for the first time that month.

A thoroughly productive morning.

Finally, though they appeared to be getting somewhere. The time had quickly gone by, lunch had long since passed, and Twilight was on the verge of tears at the lack of organisation displayed.

But yes, it was over. A final salute and they all cleared away, for some late food and a final few hours to themselves.

Fluttershy leaned back and stared up at the sky, content to wait for the soldiers to eat their full before heading to the mess herself. She hadn’t just readied her pack today, in truth – she’d had it good to go since the first week of their arrival, and she could safely say that she was the only one of the platoon with actual, recent experience of the land beyond the walls. She’d snuck out a few times and then back in again without being spotted.

As a tracker, it was seemingly her role to keep aware of what was around them. Not in terms of planning a way across the ground in front of them – that was Twilight’s job – but in terms of what they might encounter on the way. So she’d ranged out a good mile and a half, slipping by the beach and giving a wide berth to the camps sitting atop the auburn bluffs. They were populated by cultists, apparently - the living who had willingly sworn themselves to the Scourge, and no matter how many times the Alliance forces sallied out, there always seemed to be more of them.

She felt sorry for them. Who could say what kind of terrible experience, what trauma, had led to them throwing their lot in with the Lich King?

Far out past the cliffs she’d found something to lift her spirits; a whole host of living animals which the Scourge, for the most part, had ignored. Rhinos, a scarce people back home, seemed in abundance here.

Tracking had been something she’d needed to be good at back home. There were times when an animal had been missing - lost, confused, perhaps injured, and helpless – and it had fallen to her to find them.

Now she could use those skills here, to know all that was nearby. She would stay ahead of the platoon, keep patrolling the tundra, and inform Twilight of anything - be it beast, Horde or Scourge - that might threaten their safety.

And she wouldn't be caught out, helpless and afraid as a friend suffered and died for her, ever again.

With the inspection finished, and the platoons off on their own devices, Applejack and Rainbow had one last task to complete themselves - taking the leftover supplies back to the quartermaster.

Fortunately there wasn't much left for them to carry. Second had had so many items that they needed to have repaired or replaced - tents, water bottles, and the rest - that they had used up almost all of the spares they had been originally provided.

Unfortunately, his stores were all the way over the other side of the camp, and, somewhat encumbered as they were, it still took them a solid ten minutes to get there.

Having then successfully deposited everything but their own gear with the grumpy sergeant, they were free to head back to get some lunch. While food was only served at set times of the day, advance warning of their late finish had been passed on to the cooks by Twilight, and so a sufficient number of meals had been set aside for them all.

As they left the stores and headed off back the way they had come, a thought occurred to Rainbow. "Oh, did you get your sword fixed?"

"Yeah." Applejack replied. She'd had to use it to bat away a particularly bold spinner during one of the more recent battles at the wall - it hadn't been a great hit, and the impact against the creative's chitin had left an imperfection in her steel that could have grown had she not had it seen to. "They owed me after I helped 'em with that errand last week, so they did it quick time."

They paused, their path blocked for the moment, as a cart laden with timber made its way over the crossroads ahead, drawn by an all-too familiar looking creature.

Their eyes followed it until it was out of sight.

"Still a bit weird, isn't it?"

"Heh. Yeah."

A minute or two of walking passed before Rainbow spoke again, much more hesitantly this time.

"Are you... looking forward to going out there?"

Her friend didn't reply immediately. An answer took so long to be forthcoming that Rainbow thought that she hadn't been heard, and was just opening her mouth to repeat herself when Applejack said, "No, I'm not... and given the way that you're asking, I'm guessin' you're not too keen yourself."

Rainbow motioned for them to stop, and they ducked off to the side of the road to stand against the walls of one of the buildings. "Was it that obvious?"

Applejack chuckled. "Not sure if anyone in their right mind would be lookin' forward to goin' where we're about to, and I don't think you're crazy."

"It's not that I regret coming out here, being with you and the others, supporting Twilight... but each time we're on the walls, I look out at the kind of things we're going to come up against..."

"I know."

"And it's not like I'm afraid for myself, it's not me I'm worried about... but the others. And it's not just our friends... we'll be going out there with twenty odd near-strangers, who knows if we can trust all of them, but we have to keep them safe too, and—"

"Listen to me, Rainbow, I know."

Emerald eyes met purple, both so vibrant compared to the dark stone around them.

"We jus' gotta focus on that one thing, sugarcube. Like you said, keeping them safe. It feels like somethin' mighty big to worry about, some huge responsibility, I know.... but I think it's actually somethin' good. Somethin' to keep us goin'. Worryin' about failing ain't gonna stop us from failing. If anything, it'll just make us more likely to fail.

"So keep that chin up and jus' do whatcha always do. And you're not alone with this responsibility. Besides me, y'know Rarity feels the same bout all of us, and Flutters may be a bit distant right now, but she knows it too. And Pinkie, well, she's... Pinkie."

"Heh, yeah. Pinkie is Pinkie. Nothing to worry about there."

"I'll keep tellin' the truth, and you keep on bein' loyal. Just as you always have been. In here, out there, wherever. We'll get through this together, no matter what we gotta face."

"Yeah. Thanks, AJ."

To Applejack, the warm smile Rainbow gave her in return easily outshone the pale northern sun that barely poked through the clouds.

"Don't mention it, partner. Let's drop these bags off and get some lunch. After that, what d'ya say we spar for a bit? Think I'm still up, last time we counted."

"Just." Rainbow scoffed. "I've knocked your lead down to one, and you'd better believe I'll win again today!"

"In your dreams. You got lucky last time; it won't happen again!"

They continued on back to the barracks, laughing, joking and cheerfully ribbing each other all the way.

Borean Tundra, Part I

The Scourge attacked one final time that day, as dusk rolled in across the deep. Eight Platoon held the wall; the undead were driven back one last time, and the day was saved. They filed back into their billets, stowed their gear and collapsed into their bunks for as much rest as they could get - before the dawn, and their departure.

Dawn broke just as they departed the keep, both platoons having arisen early to conduct the very last of their preparations before then departing perfectly on time.

As mornings in Northrend went it was no worse than any of the others they had experienced, and a heavy rain during the night had hopefully put paid to the prospects of anymore for the foreseeable future. The sky was overcast, but not threatening.

“A reasonable day for a march,” Issha commented. She and Twilight stood together a little distance from their platoons, waiting for the signal from the sentries to confirm that it was safe to move. “Elune be praised.”

“Let’s hope it holds up,” Twilight said, “And that we don’t get ambushed an hour out of the gate.”

“After the defeat the new arrivals handed them an hour ago, I rather doubt it.” Two new support platoons had arrived the day before, to replace Twilight’s and Issha’s departing forces. “They will lick their wounds and be back, but not before we are safely into the tundra.”

“It certainly sounds safe.” Twilight grimaced, shivering a little in a way that was clearly not related to the cold, and which Issha did not fail to spot.

She put a lithe hand on the mage’s shoulder, and said, kindly, “Your first march is always the hardest. Look after them, and they will look after you.”

“…I just hope I can keep them all safe.” Twilight whispered.

“You will do fine.” Issha said, but before she could offer any further words of reassurance, one of the sentries came running up to them.

“Ma’ams,” he saluted. The Watch-Captain is satisfied that the threat out there is minimal. You may proceed when ready.”

They thanked him, and he made his way back off in the direction of the walls. Then the two turned to face each other again, and Issha said, “It is I who will depart first, then. Farewell, Twilight Sparkle, and may Elune watch over you.” She held out her hand.

Twilight took it, wrapping her fingers around the elf’s long, gaunt ones. “The same to you, Issha Duskwind. Until we meet again.”

They let go, and Issha walked over to her platoon, spoke briefly with them, then marched out without a backwards glance. They disappeared from sight around the corner, one-by-one, in the shadow of one of the furthest halls, and a minute later the clanking sound of their heaviest armour faded too.

Twilight lingered for a moment after the last man had passed, then re-joined her friends. “How are you all holding up?”

She’d had much less chance to keep up with them while at the keep compared to in Stormwind– staying in different quarters, constantly busy with planning, directing training, defending the wall, managing the platoon. Time for a detailed conversation had been lacking, but she knew that they understood, and was grateful for it.

“Rarin’ to go.” Applejack answered first, fixing her cloak a little tighter as it threatened to sway out in the cool tundra breeze.

“No sweat, Twi.” Rainbow, beside her, agreed. The two had been the very picture of calm and composure all month.

“Let us be away. The sooner we’re on our way, the sooner we shall be back, in the warm, and the dry.” Rarity sighed. Perhaps not being able to bring any of her few personal effects – having them stored away at the keep to be shipped back at Stormwind – was still frustrating her.

Fluttershy gave the slightest of nods, and wrapped her jerkin a little tighter around her body.

“I can’t wait to play in the snow!” Pinkie added, cueing five pairs of rolled eyes from her friends.

“Well, you’ll be getting a lot of that for the next few months, Pinkie.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile, too. “But really… thanks for sticking with me, girls. All the way across the sea, and here…”

“Of course, Twi.” replied Applejack. “We’re your best friends. What else could we’ve done? Let you come out here on your lonesome?”

“We got through this first month without a scratch,” Rainbow added. “The six of us together, and these guys—” she jerked a thumb toward the waiting platoon. “—backing us up? We’ll be fine.”

Twilight wished she shared their confidence, but her fear wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard she tried to suppress it.

But she could fake that it had, for now.

And so began their journey through the wastes of the frozen north.

The first thing they learned about Northrend while travelling through the Borean Tundra was that it was incredibly cold.

This might have seemed obvious, something they had known even before setting off…

Well, they might have known but they certainly hadn’t understood. ‘til now.

They had thought it was bad inside the walls of the Valiance Keep, even shielded as they were from the worst of the wind. This was an entirely different level of cold.

Within six hours of their departure Twilight had already had to deal with five injuries as a result of just how low the temperature had become. Three cases, admittedly, were down to individual negligence, and by the time the third man had come forward, wincing in pain, she had lost her patience and scolded him severely.

But the other two of the five had taken every proper precaution, and had still fallen victim to the chill. It didn’t bode well for the future, as the temperature would only fall further as they ventured further inland.

She had split Gearfuse and Fizzlezip out of their squad and spread them around the others, instructing them to radiate warmth with their spells.

It worked, but it was a temporary solution that they could not sustain all the time, as it was incredibly draining on the casters themselves. It also, bizarrely, resulted in at least one case of heat illness – Fizzlezip managed to overheat in a bid to ramp up his flames, and spend several hours recovering while the rest of the squad he was assigned to chilled.

Along with her friends, as Twilight herself still refused to use fire. She was grateful that they bore it with grace, though Rainbow didn’t seem to feel the cold anyway, and Fluttershy was far off in the distance most of the time, scouting their way.

The cold also played into how and when they chose to set up camp. The middle of the long, dead nights was simply too dangerous to move in – without the sun, the temperature fell well below zero. They therefore woke each day just before dawn, and put everything back out at the apex of dusk, curling up in their sleeping bags and shivering until the morning.

At least they didn’t have to worry about supplies. Normally a platoon would march with one or two beasts of burden, ones that were local to the area, which would carry enough food, water and anything else they might need to last three weeks.

Instead, their skills provided the solution. Conjuring refreshments was a simple task for even the lowliest mage, and there being four of them helped greatly in spreading the load. Indeed, Twilight sought to undertake the majority of casting, at least in part to make up for her lack of participation in warming her troops.

Thrice daily she conjured forth reams of mana buns, strudles and fritters to share out. Of course, these could only nourish, not satisfy – and for that, they turned to hunting and cooking any of the game that roamed the bleak landscape.

She never saw Fluttershy around when they did. It wasn’t something that she, or any of her friends partook of, in fact – though they did nothing to stop the soldiers, either. Attitudes and beliefs were different here, as they had already learned; deeply ingrained, and unlikely – impossible, in most cases - to change.

Game was in fact all they initially encountered as they trudged along the coast – no Scourge or Horde in sight. Whether due or despite this, depending on how eager they were for a scrap, morale among the platoon remained unchanged. She knew she had Pinkie and Third squad to thank for this, and did her best to display her gratitude. The healers did seem to be taking on some of some of Pinkie’s best traits...

...much more than the offensive spellcasters were with Twilight herself. Half were at least laid back and easy to manage, if prone to complaining and idleness – the remainder required near constant supervision.

And First squad remained obedient only to Bandor.

They had followed Issha’s platoon’s path for a little while upon leaving the keep, a walk worth twenty minutes or so of their time, before taking a right at the first crossroads they arrived at. Ahead, to the north, they had just been able to see the other support platoon approach a small farming town called Farshire, and Twilight offered her fellow commander one last far-off farewell before turning her focus to matters at hand.

From the crossroads they carried on south-west, taking care to not stray too far from the path towards the rocky cliff, or further north to the hazardous hot springs. A deep, unnatural mist surrounded the southern bluffs, and prior scouting from Valiance suggested that pirates, and worse, lurked inside.

Once, they had spotted a group of unusual creatures, basking in the midday sun and bathing themselves cautiously in the hot springs. - gorlocs, according to Twilight's notes, apparently some kind of offshoot of a species known as murlocs, which were common in the southern parts of Azeroth. A tentative request from Bandor to sally out to remove them from threatening the passage of any future platoon had been vehemently denied by Twilight. They had instead taken a careful, slow march past the creatures, who, though curious, stayed far aware from their superior numbers - as she had hoped they would.

Then the path disappeared and they had only the coast to guide them. A sort-of routine began to emerge as more time went by and nothing remotely interesting actually happened. Just snow, parched yellow grass and ice in every direction, occasionally broken up by a field of fresh, dewy green grass, which they inevitably found that animals had already migrated to, and begun to consume.

If they hadn’t been certain that they were walking parallel with the sea, they would surely have been completely lost without any kind of landmark to guide them. More often than not it was Fluttershy who confirmed that they were still on the right track, disappearing away for several hours at a time before reappearing out of the snow with a silent nod.

Days passed, and a week went by, until they finally encountered something more interesting.

Nine days, all told, when Fluttershy came to her friends with news of a village. The weather had been taking a turn for the worse – a blizzard was rolling in, greater than any they had yet experienced.

“Y’sure, hun?” Applejack asked, fighting to be heard over the wind. “Definitely a village?”

“Yes.” Fluttershy said. If Applejack was having trouble, it was nearly impossible for Fluttershy to overcome the gale, but try she did. “I didn’t get close enough to see who lives there, but there were huts, and fires.”

“It could be a trap.” Rarity suggested.

“The Scourge or the Horde?” Bandor offered. First were now patrolling up and down the line as they all took a brief pause, to consider Fluttershy’s scouting, and the Corporal had come over to join them.

Twilight pulled out the map, encasing it instantly in a transparent, thin sheet of arcane to prevent any damage to it from the weather.

“We must have come this far alongside the sea, in eight days…” she murmured, performing a few rough calculations in her head. “We should be somewhere around here, which would make this village…”

Kaskala.

Home of some of the Borean Tuskarr. A walrus-like people; resilient, slow-to-anger, embattled by the Scourge and other threats. Or so the notes she had read told her.

“The Tuskarr hold no love for any of our enemies.” Twilight said. “They might be willing to offer us better shelter, until this storm moves on.”

That was one thing about the blizzards in the tundra. They did stop. Normally long enough for the snow to settle and maybe - just maybe - melt in the morning sun, but then this was just along the coast. She had no idea what it was like further north, or north-west. Wherever Issha and her platoon were now.

“Worth a chance!” Rainbow shouted over a particularly strong gust of wind.

“No argument there.” Applejack agreed.

“Let’s warm it up!” Pinkie said, dancing around.

Bandor looked sceptical, but the increasing gale made his mind up.

“All right.” he said. “Might I suggest you and Private Dash join First at the vanguard for the approach? They might appreciate a bit of the diplomatic touch.”

She nodded, said to Applejack, "Wait for us here until we know it’s safe,” and fell in behind him towards where his squad mates were waiting, shivering in their hardy plate. Unlike the mages with their robes or druids and shamans with their leather or chain jerkins, those with the most armour had much less luxury to add or remove items of warm clothing. It was either freeze while standing still, but be able to move and fight without issue… or stay warm at rest, but overheat through exertion.

The former was sadly preferable.

“What’s the word, ma’am?” Donovan asked.

“We’re going in to ask for shelter.” she said.

“And if it’s the Horde?” Kellas asked.

She ignored him, and his tone in particular. “Come on, let’s go.” With Bandor barking orders, First formed up in a protective shell around herself and Rainbow.

“You think they’ll help us?” Rainbow asked, up close so that only Twilight could hear her.

“I hope so.” she replied.

The weather began to lift just a little as they trudged closer, revealing that Fluttershy had been correct – there was a village, and it was exactly as she had described it. It looked safe, almost a serene presence in the face of the storm. As it turned out, it was quite safe, but not at all welcoming.

The spear was the first hint. It wasn’t in the ground one second, and then, quite suddenly, it was.

It sailed through the air with a whistling shriek, pierced through the ice and impacted the ground below with a crunch, only a couple of steps from the lead man. First dropped into defensive positions in an instant as Bandor grabbed Twilight by the shoulder and hauled it to the ground, and Kellas shouted, “Contact!” at the top of his lungs.

“Wait!” Twilight managed to wheeze, the wind knocked out of her by Bandor’s plated arm. “There’s someone—”

So there was. Out from the direction of the village, what looked like a short, balding walrus-man waddled towards them, dressed in ratty furs, sealskin rags and jewellery made of bleached bone.

And judging from the look on his face, he was rather upset.

“No!” he bellowed, the high volume of his voice relative to his size catching them a little off guard. Donovan and Harris, the lead soldiers, even drew back a step, intimidated despite themselves. “You will not come here! Stay away, outsiders!”

His grasp of common was surprisingly good, though it was clearly not his mother tongue.

“Father!” another voice called out before they had a chance to reply – another Tuskarr. He emerged from the same hut as his father, and strode purposefully towards the encounter.

“What is going on…?” Rainbow Dash murmured.

“Beats me.” Clarke shrugged. First eased off their weapons and combat stances a little, surer now that violence was not immediately about to break out than they had been at the moment when the spear had hit the ground.

The son caught up with his father, who had lost all focus on the outsiders the moment his progeny had emerged from the house. A rapid conversation followed in their native tongue, through which the platoon could only stare.

It soon ended, and the two split away. The younger newcomer stayed where he was, while his elder returned to his abode - though not without a parting shot.

“Stay away, outsiders! Bringers of the God of death!”

His son shook his head and sighed, then beckoned them to come a little closer.

“I apologise for my father.” he said, his accent similarly clipped but his common far more fluent. “It is a stressful time to be the village elder, with the death god strengthening in the heart of the north, but I am afraid I cannot change his answer.”

“We haven’t even asked a question.” Twilight replied, feeling that they had lost control of the conversation before it had even begun.

The tuskarr chuckled. “You approach us at the beginning of a blizzard, heavy laden and in great numbers. What else would you be asking for?”

“We won’t cause any trouble.” Twilight pressed. “Please—”

“It is not that, and for the most part the Tuskarr are a welcoming people.” he said, then continued as he caught sight of their doubtful expressions. “But you must understand… the last two months, blue-clad warriors have approached our village, along with former vassals of the dark one. Death and misfortune followed in their wake."

He swept his hand out towards his home, lingering briefly on huts that had been ransacked, decorative bones that had been smashed to pieces, and other visible signs of damage. Something much worse than the weather had hit the place, indeed.

"Kvaldir raids. Monsters from the sea. Our village is only just starting to recover. We cannot risk it again.”

“Vassals of the dark one?” Rainbow whispered.

“The warlocks are pretty dark.”

“Somehow I don’t think they mean the warlocks.”

“Shut it!” Kellas hissed, and Bandor restored a greater semblance of order with a steely glare, before offering Twilight a suggestion. The wind was picking up again, to the point that he was shouting himself hoarse and she could barely hear him.

"Ma'am, perhaps we could offer them protection from their enemies for the night, in exchange for—"

"The last group to pass through would've promised the same!" she dismissed, and hurried to plead with the walrus-man again, but he had already turned to go.

“You may stay here tonight, if you wish. Your closeness to the village may protect you from the cold.” he said, walking back to the warmth and safety of his hut as First gazed resentfully through the gale after him. “It is all I can offer you.”

The weather that night was worse than any other so far – the coldest, most unfriendly imaginable.

None of the platoon, not even the dwarves who were accustomed to Ironforge’s harsh winters or the draenei who had crossed the stars to reach Azeroth, had ever experienced the cold like this.

It had an incredibly detrimental effect on morale, the flames of distaste fanned against the two closest targets.

The first was, unsurprisingly, the tuskarr chieftain, and by extension the tuskarr themselves, for refusing the suffering platoon shelter closer to the cove, further out from the greatest impact of the storm. Whether moving a hundred meters to the south would have made much of a difference or not, it mattered little – the sentiment was there, and the condemnation was nearly unanimous.

And the second target was Twilight herself. Though she was not universally blamed for their misfortune, criticism of her approach, tactics and everything else was no longer limited to First alone. Her refusal to use fire magic came under greatest scrutiny, and huddled around the campfires they had to fight so hard to start, the men and women of Eight platoon speculated bitterly on her reluctance to light a spark.

But still they pressed on, and the coast stretched out into the distance, the ground to the north remaining empty and white. Occasionally they found items of interest – obelisks carved of dull grey stone, or the frozen remains of the local fauna.

Still no Scourge, and still no Horde. A relief on both counts, but not to First who were growing increasingly restless with each passing day. The measured advance of the platoon, slowed by injury, illness and inexperience, did not help in this regard, but Twilight could not – would not – push them any harder.

She suspected that she would have lost some already – the least prepared – if not for the grace of the healers, and refused to increase the likelihood of that by her own actions.

Another week had passed by the time they came across another tuskarr village, a greater one, with larger fishing piers that stretched across the natural bay. They gave it a wide berth, by Twilight's order. The soldiers grumbled, and the decision did her standing with them no favours. By that point she had begun to suspect that much of First, egged on by Kellas and barely held in check by Bandor, were on an incredibly short leash and would not react well to another cautious denial of hospitality.

Better that she have their ire than it be directed at a village of peaceful Northrend natives.

Past the village and further down the coast, they came near an ominous dark structure, a little further to the north. Half-shrouded from their sight by wind, snow and shadow, it bore uncomfortable resemblance to the grim structures the Scourge had used to bomb Stormwind harbour.

Bandor immediately volunteered to take a squad and a half to investigate, and even Rainbow Dash, bored and curious, voiced her agreement, but Twilight shook her head and then stifled their protestations with a firm, “No.”

“Our mission is to reach the Dragonblight safely.” she reminded them. “Going off-plan to an unknown, probably hostile building won’t help us do that. We’ll lose time and put ourselves at greater risk of falling ill from the cold.”

Bandor nodded reluctantly, Rainbow looked crestfallen, but only Kellas, skulking at the back of the discussion, kept his oar in.

“What’s the point of coming here if we aren’t going to fight the Scourge?”

“The point,” Twilight snapped at him, fed up with his attitude and demeanour. “is that we are following orders – orders that make sense, and that will allow us to destroy the Scourge a lot more effectively than if we just attack at random, or at every opportunity. I don’t want to hear any more on this matter.”

She couldn’t have known, and would never know, two things about the exchange.

Had they actually taken the detour to the north, they would have sustained far fewer casualties in the battle that would have followed compared to the alternative that they were actually heading into.

And that this was what finally convinced Kellas to kill her.

In that dark tower, a vile presence plotted and schemed. He could see the surrounding landscape clear as day, his mage providing a view some five hundred yards in every direction.

He could see the death knight he had bewitched, forced to wander in an endless circle forever.

He could see the Alliance platoon, of Stormwind soldiers, mages and all other manner of colourful… prey.

He concentrated, and sent his commands to his waiting pawns, as the force slowly moved further into the jaws of his trap.

If he had still possessed the facial muscles necessary to do so, the lich would have smiled.

“We do it tonight.” Kellas urged. “For the good of the platoon.”

He and the rest of First were huddled around a campfire, and the warlock Wheatley, who was doing much better at keeping them warm than the fire was. He’d fallen into the role of co-conspirator with the squad, and they had taken him into their confidence as much as was possible.

“Kellas…” Bandor sighed. His protestations had by now grown so half-hearted that the Lance-Corporal was no longer the slightest bit hesitant to give voice to his anger, so long as the lieutenant’s back was turned and her friends were nowhere nearby.

“We do it tonight, and then you take over, Corporal.”

“Do you truly think I would have done better? That I will do better?”

“Yes.” Kellas said firmly, and the other squad members chimed in to agree. “You wouldn’t have led us away from shelter. You wouldn’t have cowardly refused to approach a suspected enemy position. You would have motivated—”

“Enough, please…”

“So let’s go over it one more time. We draw away her friends, one-by-one. Harris, you and I will swap with the the lance-corporal, and the paladin. We’ll make up a good excuse. The sister and the tracker will be away anyway, that we can rely on. As for the bodyguard, Clarke, take her out on my signal. We’ll have to wait for the right terrain so that you can do it from a good distance…

“Once they’re all away, or incapacitated, I’ll walk up with Wheatley. He’ll blast up a steam cloud out of the snow for cover, and then I’ll do the deed.

“Scourge attack.” He continued after the ominous pause. “That’s what you’ll say, Bandor. It’ll unite the platoon, even the rest of her squad, who’ll want revenge, and we’ll get rid of her body so there’s no way they can prove foul play.”

“We are damned if we do this, Kellas…”

“And we’re doomed if we don’t. Either way… Imagine if we do make it through to the Dragonblight, to whatever lies further north? Do you want her leading us on a real mission? At least this way we have a chance of survival."

The rest of the squad, and the warlock, nodded. Bandor looked around, unused to being subverted by those he commanded.

“I’ll play no part in the act,” he said heavily, resigned to the inevitable. “But I’ll not get in your way.”

“I’ll make the signal at the next best chance we get.” Kellas said, very much in charge. “Good luck, everyone.”

A few metres from the conspiracy, unseen by all, a shadow crept away.

Borean Tundra, Part II

The right moment did not take long to appear the next day. They had come to a vast stretch of land with only sloping white hills that seemed to be endless in the distance. There, the perfect spot; a dip in the ground, obscured from sight, and with a rocky natural ridge a reasonable distance from it providing an excellent vantage point for a sniper.

Clarke snuck away from the pack as early and as discreetly as possible, and the terrain and their formation meant that no-one in the rear squads happened to spot her. Sniper rifle in hand, she picked her way over the smooth, icy ground, ascended the ridge, and laid in wait at the top. She surveyed the land through her scope, saw the Sister, Pinkie Pie, at the back with Third squad and Fluttershy the tracker off in the very distance.

She smiled. Kellas had been quite right.

Now it was up to him to play his role and draw the bulk of the lieutenant’s protection away.

If he could, she would deal with the bodyguard, and leave the lieutenant unprotected... perhaps the only chance they would get the chance they needed to get the platoon back on track.

They were, as best as Twilight could tell, extremely close to the end of the Borean Tundra. She hadn’t taken the decision to leave the comparative safety of the coastline lightly, but equally hadn’t had much choice. It had simply ended, giving way to a freezing fjord, too wide to jump to the ice on the other side of it, and the expanse of the ocean beyond.

There were bridges, however, that Fluttershy had spotted – a series of bridges that would allow them to keep going – but they were further north than the troop had dared go before.

Hence her trepidation, but also her relief. Their journey would continue on a road in the Dragonblight, one that was at least partly patrolled and much safer than the wild wasteland. Then, to Star’s Rest, and a brief bit of respite from the constant physical exertion and the mental, emotional burdens of command.

Morale was now a fast-fraying thread. First had stopped talking to her almost entirely, and now she had to balance keeping Second entertained and safe with keeping the hard-working healers of Third on their feet.

Meanwhile, her friends had had to fend themselves while her attention was so occupied by whatever myriad problems the platoon was facing at any given time. Fluttershy still hadn’t changed since leaving Valiance Keep, and between her own duties and Fluttershy’s insistence on scouting ahead, the mage hadn’t had an opportunity to engage with her.

“Anyone see a bridge yet?” Applejack shouted.

“If this is going to turn into another game of “Can you see the shore?”, then count me out.” Rainbow chuckled.

Those two were always together, often back and forth between the various squads, and Pinkie was always with Third. Only Rarity was with Twilight constantly, but for now at least she did have the warrior and paladin at her side, too.

Oh yes, she couldn’t wait for Star’s Rest.

She shivered, rubbing her staff-holding arm with her free hand. Even with her robes and warm clothing, she still couldn’t beat the cold. The temptation to use fire was always there, but…

As an alternative, the consequences were much worse, considering all it would cure was mild discomfort.

At least the smell wasn’t bothering them anymore. A non-stop journey of several weeks meant that they inevitably all ran out of a fresh change of clothes. It had played on the minds of those who were unused to it, to First's amusement, but no-one, not even Rarity, who had sustained her disdain the longest, complained anymore.

They were all a bit pre-occupied with not starving, not sleeping, and not freezing.

Twilight was trying not to push them too hard, but was equally aware that the longer they dallied in this particularly dangerous area, the more chance they would sustain losses – to the Scourge, or just the ever-creeping cold.

Up ahead, beyond First, she spied a few ridges of rock and ice pairing off with each other, and could just about see a wide-open snowfield heading over the horizon.

Excellent – this terrain had been easily identifiable on her map. It meant that they were extremely close to the border, indeed.

“Oh, girls, we’re almost there…”

“Yeah.” Applejack agreed with a smile, which then almost immediately flipped upside down. Her eyes narrowed as, still looking ahead, she said, “Looks like Kellas wants somethin’, hon.”

The Lance-Corporal, one of his squad mates and First’s attached warlock had turned back and were walking towards them.

She hadn’t said anything about the plot to Twilight. Perhaps that was a betrayal of sorts itself, but she suspected that her friend would disbelieve, or hesitate. An accusation was easy to deny, and to offer one without evidence would only serve to discredit herself.

So Rarity had to be careful.

Of the six, Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy had always been the most trusting, the most willing to see the good in people. Fluttershy… wasn’t, anymore, but the others, even Rainbow and Applejack, to an extent, still clung to that way of looking at life. Rarity wouldn’t go so far as to say that they were wrong, or naïve, but… it was certainly dangerous in a world like this.

The mage was blissfully unaware of the peril she was in, but that just made Rarity’s job, as her protector, of even greater importance.

They would be allowed to start their attempt on Twilight’s life, but would not be permitted to finish it.

“Ma’am!” she heard Kellas call out, as soon as he came close enough to be heard.

“Corporal,” Twilight shouted back. “Is there a problem?”

“An obstacle, ma’am – a boulder – has delayed First Squad’s passage. They’ll have it shifted soon enough. In the meantime, Corporal Bandor ordered that I bring Specialist Wheatley back here for a refuel and rest, and requested that Corporal Applejack and Private Dash be moved up temporarily to shore up First while the boulder is shifted.”

He spoke without any hesitation, without a hint of what he had planned.

Twilight nodded. “Fair enough. I trust Bandor’s assessment. Rainbow, Applejack, can you move up with Anderson to First squad?”

“Y’sure about this, Twi?” Applejack asked quietly. “Seems you’re losin’ two for one if Wheatley's too weak to fight.”

“It’s okay, Applejack – Second are just behind us now.” She pointed back at the squad of mages and other casters, a good fifty metres back, happily taking advantage of the chance for a break from walking. “Besides, I’ve still got Kellas, and Rarity, plus First is more likely to be at risk while they’re getting that boulder out of the way.”

Applejack shared an uneasy glance with Rainbow Dash, but acquiesced. That the two disliked Kellas was no secret, but if Twilight was that confident that she would be fine…

“If you say so, hon.” The two armoured women followed Anderson into the snowy field ahead.

“Tired again, Wheatley?” Twilight chirped, once the others were some distance away. She began gathering arcane energy, weaving it together to conjure up some mana rolls. “Were you up late by the fires again last night?”

The warlock mumbled something and looked guilty, for more reasons than Twilight could possibly have known.

“You should know that exhausting yourself won’t help—” Twilight began rambling on, and Rarity caught Kellas rolling his eyes, which were just about visible under his helmet. Narrowed and tensed in anticipation. His hand hovered just above the hilt of his sword as if itching to draw it.

Her daggers already at the ready, Rarity stood by, waiting for him to make his decision.

-crick- -crack-

Their little steam-screen play wouldn’t help that at all, and as good a sniper as Clarke had proven herself to be, there was no chance that she would catch Rarity out.

-Crick crack crick-

If she looked very carefully, she could just about see the glint of a gun barrel, on top of the closest hill…

- Crick crack crick crick crack crick-

-Wait… what is that sound?-

Clarke cursed. One second her target had been there... and the next, she wasn't.

There was no sign of the mage’s sneaky bodyguard anywhere around her, and the success of the plan required Kellas to have a clear window to strike. She fruitlessly took a look at the scene without her scope, but that provided no further clue as to her target’s location.

Kellas wasn’t going to wait any longer, and he took his chance. His arm went up and Wheatley recognised the signal, igniting his hand with dark magic as he dropped towards the floor in an apparent faint, ready to create a concealing cloud of steam.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Just as Wheatley's hand touched the snow and the three figures disappeared in a cloud of white, the land split open, rent from below. Here, there and everywhere, in the middle of the wide-open plain, near the bridges by the fjord some length away, and close by to her, too. At the same time, the dark storm that had been cooking to the west suddenly appeared directly over their heads, spewing out snow and ice at a phenomenal rate.

The steam screen would have been unnecessary, had they know about this change of weather. Within seconds, visibility was non-existent beyond several feet, at best.

Clarke fell to the ground, startled by the rupturing ice and buffeted by the wind that came with the storm.

Fighting to stand up, desperately grasping for her weapon, she heard a noise behind her – a clanking, shuffling noise, like the sound made by a group of soldiers in heavy boots.

Her squad? They couldn’t possibly…

She swung around.

…have— oh.

Eight skeletal warriors, clad in the ruined and tortured regalia of the fallen Fourth Company, Second Goldshire Rifles, stared up the ridge at her with lidless eyes of icy blue fire.

“Oh shit.” she managed.

Within moments, the whole landscape had turned into utter chaos. First squad, Applejack and Rainbow Dash ran back towards the others – Second and Third, urged on by Pinkie Pie at the same time, ran towards them.

The first death happened in moments, too. Fizzlezip, the trickster gnome warlock, tripped as he ran, skidded sightlessly down a natural icy ramp and landed at the feet of an undead warrior. He had no time to cast, no time to think, before its sword chopped down and severed his head from his body.

The squads merged into a throng, losing sight of one ally only to find another, seconds later. With Twilight isolated and little hope of her reconnecting with the others, confusion reigned, and screams filled the air as more and more of the platoon died.

A few miles or so south-east, in the tower they had chosen to pass by, the lich noted the initial success of his trap and waited for further developments.

Several hundred yards north, a lost soul accompanying the storm looked towards the mayhem and began to follow it to its centre.

Thick, opaque steam burst from where the warlock’s hand impacted the snow, and Twilight strained to see through it, strained to keep her eyes open through the sudden onslaught of hot stinging vapour.

Spinning to her right, she saw Kellas’s figure, a black blur, shrouded by the steam, and tried to call out to him—

CRACK

—and then several things happened in rapid succession.

For Twilight herself, she found herself hitting the ground hard, as Rarity came out of nowhere from her left and bowled her over with a painful, uncontrolled tackle.

“Oof— Rarity, wha—” she started to wheeze, but stopped as the next sight really took her breath away.

The ice split open as creaking, disgusting things clawed their way out of the ground. Skeletons, geists and zombies, a host of the weaker foot soldiers of the undead.

But “weaker” was all relative, especially when it came to an ambush by a force that, at the most immediate estimate, appeared to outnumber them five-to-one, judging by the sounds of groaning, clanking and the shifting of the tortured ice, coming from all around them.

Their first act upon reaching the surface was to tear Wheatley apart, limb-from-limb. His screams filled Twilight’s ears, a horrible dirge, but there was nothing she could do to save him.

Propping herself up with her staff, which she had somehow held onto, she stammered as the screams subsided, “Wh-wh-h-how?”

“Run, Twilight!” Rarity urged, tugging hard at her sleeve. How the seamstress still had her head in this situation…

“But – Kellas!” Wheatley was doomed, but she had neither heard nor seen the Lance-Corporal die. Perhaps he was still—

“Never mind him!” Rarity cried. One of the skeletons had realised that Wheatley was dead, and had noticed the mage and the rogue. Lumbering over to them, it swung its club to deal a crushing blow. Rarity slashed twice with her glinting steel, and it lost the arm for its trouble. Not that it seemed particularly bothered. “Move!”

If she hadn’t started to drag the mage, they wouldn’t have gone anywhere at all. Twilight was transfixed in shock, and her mind was trying to process too many things. It was a good thing they did; however; not a second later did more grasping hands punch out from right below where their feet had just been.

“Twilight, please, you must snap out of it!” Rarity begged as she continued to pull her away, towards where the platoon was putting up some measure of a fight, and where they were less likely to die to a few random undead.

“Rarity, I…” she mumbled, her feet still dragging across the ground, numb and frozen.

“You are our leader, Twilight!” The other woman turned to look her deep in the eyes, and Twilight saw her friend there, for sure – not the cold-hearted killer she’d feared Rarity had become. Generous and giving, in all things – of compliments, advice and strength. “We will survive if you are there to lead us! We have done so before, you have done so before, but for that to happen-”

“Rarity—”

“-you must— aaaaargh!”

The sword came at them from behind, slicing down at Rarity’s calf – the same place she had previously been injured, back in the Deadmines.

A glancing cut, enough to draw blood, though fortunately the weapon was only rusty in the hands of the insignificant Scourge drone, not poisoned or plagued.

The winds immediately came between them, and Rarity disappeared from the mage’s sight.

Buoyed by her friend’s words, though not by her swift departure, Twilight tried to run hurriedly through her options. There was no hope of dispelling the storm. Her magic could only make it worse, make it fiercer – not lessen its effects. Directing the storm away might have been doable – if she had any clue of the extent of its reach, and a chance to concentrate on harnessing its path. As it was, she didn’t know, and she didn’t have the opportunity – not with all the Scourge around her.

Her mastery of the arcane wouldn’t help with that either, though she could muster the strength to protect herself from the undead. As if to test that, a geist clad in black leather emerged from the haze to challenge her. She blasted it with to dust with a quick, quiet word and a sweeping wave of her staff. Killing the minions alone wouldn’t do the rest of the platoon much good, though, and would only tire her out against an endless tide in the long run.

But if I use fire… to melt the sleet… a beacon in the storm…

No, I can’t… after…

But if I don’t, will I lose… everyone? My friends… I…

With a trembling hand, she reached out and clicked her fingers. A small flame ignited above her palm, far more easily than she had expected, given how long it had been.

Burning the corpses might help the others to see, and she would be so much warmer… so warm…

Burning… the corpses… Burning…

VanCleef…

NO! Horrified, she clenched her fist, and the fire blew out like a candle.

She staggered on through the blizzard, alone, afraid and with no idea what to do.

Andrews, the ever-drinking warrior, ended up back to back with the draenei healer, Yila. They faced off against a crowd of twenty Scourge that had formed a circle and surrounded them.

Neither had spoken more than three sentences to the other since they had been assigned to the platoon, and now they were going to die together.

They had mere moments before the Scourge closed in. Mindless, but still somehow able to taunt them. Cruel, and unkind.

Andrews fished his hipflask out of his waist pack, unscrewed the cap and drank about half of the remaining contents. Not much, all told – he’d been careful to ration it without hope of replenishment. He glanced over his shoulder.

“Drink, shaman?” he asked, offering her the container.

She accepted without hesitation as the Scourge closed in, and proceeded to down the rest. “Thank you,” she replied, and let loose an arc of lightning that crumbled the three undead closest to them, as Andrews cut another down with a wide swing of his sword and a battle cry, “For Darkshire!”.

Not enough to live, but a valiant way to die.

Gearfuse had never lit a larger fire. She’d never been allowed to try, had never dared to try.

But this was her moment – her chance to save the day, and prove everyone wrong. Those who had doubted her; the Tinker’s court, the Stormwind mages, Lieutenant Sparkle.

Those who had laughed, and mocked – everyone…

Here, there was no way her powers could misfire. No-one could get in the way. She had no idea where her fellows actually were, but a lot of shouting had made it clear to her that they couldn’t be anywhere nearby.

Also, it attracted a great deal of Scourge to her, which meant she had a lot of targets.

Flames sloughed uncontrollably from her fingertips at first, but she quickly gained her focus and began directing them where they needed to go with great, sweeping hand gestures, like a maestro conducting an orchestra.

A dozen skeletons burned to ash. A group of ghouls disintegrated into gooey puddles just a few yards away. The snow that tried to fall around her instead melted, then evaporated before it even hit the ground.

She began to grow confident, even sure of her survival.

It wasn’t enough to save her.

Dark tendrils – inky black things with the horrifying appearance of grasping hands – burst from the ground and bound her tight, cutting off her motions, and with their cessation so too did the fires disappear, burning out swiftly in the open, cold air.

It could have ended things there, left her chained up to be consumed by the swarm. But no – the dark intelligence had other plans.

She was dragged away, screaming into the tundra, her mouth the only part of her body not covered over.

Unnoticed, and forgotten.

There were... so many.

Twilight had lost count of how many she had killed - no, destroyed - and they had all begun to look the same. Every leering face, with no skin or jaw that she had frozen in ice; every joint-locked body she blasted to dust with her arcane power... they just kept coming, an endless, unrelenting tide of death.

She slipped over backwards on a treacherous patch of ground, avoiding by pure chance a strike that should have killed her. Gravity took her all the way down a slight incline, and she finished on her backside at the bottom of the little hill.

She pushed herself to her feet again, numb fingers pulling her hood away from her eyes, completely unable to control her ragged breathing as she leaned on her staff for support. She looked up and around, all the way in a full circle, and confirmed for herself the fact that the undead completely surrounded her.

No... I can't die here...

Overwhelmed by fatigue and pain, she closed her eyes in resignation, even as her heart begged her not to give up.

My friends... getting home... what can I...

It can't... end like... this...

Thud.

She looked up, blinking to see through the snow.

There hadn't been someone standing next to her a moment before, but now, there was.

They had to have jumped into the circle of Scourge from somewhere, perhaps down from where Twilight herself had slipped.

The figure was heavily-clad in midnight blue plate from head to toe and wore a thick brown cape across their shoulders. They bore a grim longsword in each hand, both outwardly identical to Twilight's unfamiliar gaze.

She could determine no more of the person's identity from their appearance, veiled entirely by their armour as they were, but one other thing stood out to the mage. Something that made her start backwards in fear.

Those icy blue eyes, freezing beneath the figure's helmet.

The revenant - for what word better described a being that could provoke such a chill in her? - bent its head towards her a little, enough to make her involuntarily recoil a little further away.

"Stay down," they advised, with a voice that sounded colder than the ice all around them, and leapt into action.

The fight was over before Twilight knew it, and happened far too quickly for her to keep track. She saw her saviour raise a blade, saw up-close the glinting symbols etched deeply into it, and then suddenly the very air around them had chilled to freezing. A burst of movement, the flash of blades, and the wall of undead that had surrounded them was gone.

Even as she tried to process this, things continued to change. A hand under her arm yanked her upwards before quickly letting go, her sore, frozen legs protesting at the sudden pressure of her own bodyweight. Her head wrenched to the side as she forced herself to look at her rescuer, who now appeared to be regarding her with something akin to curiosity.

The storm overhead began to diminish, ever so slightly.

"W-wh-who are y—"

"You're a lieutenant," the figure surmised, perhaps catching sight of the markings on her robes. "You have a platoon nearby."

"Ye-"

The metal helm leaned to the side, as if listening for something, then dipped with a clang, a gesture that was clearly meant to be a nod. "Still fighting. Okay. Come with me if you want to help them, then. Or don't. It's up to you," they said, then turned and stalked away through the snow, without waiting for a reply.

Twilight followed without hesitation. What else could she do in this situation? Another time, another place, her apprehension over the spectre might have made her cautious enough to stay away from them. But they had just saved her, and besides, what good would being alone in this frozen hell do for her?

Baffled and distraught though she was, her legs still worked. And she used them, one step at a time, to follow her rescuer in search of her friends.

A major pocket of resistance in the storm took shape towards the centre of the plain, as Pinkie Pie's healers collided with the remnants of First and Second. They took far too many casualties coming together.

All it took was a misstep, one error in judgment, for someone to be separated from the group.

Once alone, they didn't survive very long.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack made it through to meet Pinkie. Of First, only Donovan accompanied them. Kellas had been with Twilight and Rarity, and no-one knew where they were now. They hadn't seen Clarke when they had first walked over to Twilight, and Bandor and the rest had vanished into the storm.

The undead recoiled from Rainbow's light, but she was just one person, and they were many.

Second, too, had been lost almost to a man - only Arin stood with the group, and it was his fire and arcane magic that was giving them enough space to fight without being swamped. Erina, Yila and the dwarf paladin from Third had disappeared, too; Erina had been snatched away right in front of her Tyrae's eyes, to her sister's great distress.

Had they all been together from the start, they might have stood a greater chance of coming out victorious, and alive. But while they still had a fair few who could heal, they hadn't the means to outlast or defeat their foe.

The question was no longer about whether they could win. It wasn't even a matter of whether they could survive, any more.

It was about how much longer it would take before each remaining member of the platoon suffered a gruesome, horrible death.

Then the storm shifted to their left, and the tide turned in an instant.

Another darkling figure leapt from the icy cloud, but the difference between this new arrival and the average undead was immediately obvious. Jet cobalt armour staining the pure-white backdrop, they set to cleaving through the Scourge with reckless abandon, two grisly blades severing limbs, lopping heads and hacking through bone.

The Scourge turned their attention, as one, away from the embattled remnants of the platoon, and battering themselves instead against the whirlwind of gore at their flank.

"What in tarnation—"

Enraptured by the display of martial prowess unfolding before them, it took a strangled, half-heard cry for them to notice the second figure appear behind the first; this one much less imposing, but more familiar to them, in lighter blue robes and carrying a tall staff...

"Twilight!"

The mage threw an arcane blast to her side and vaporised a ghoul bearing down on the mysterious knight, then beckoned her friends over to her.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Applejack hauled the exhausted Pinkie Pie to her feet, and at the top of her lungs, roared, "If yer still alive, follow me!"

Those who were - barely half their starting number - obliged, desperately pushing their way along the side of the throng that was clawing to get at their rescuer. It seemed that something had come over the throng, some single-minded purpose that now threw them to oblivion.

They were worthless foes compared to the knight, who seemed untroubled by their numbers and staunchly unafraid of their presence. As the platoon came closer, close enough to get a proper glimpse, not one of them could escape being chilled by the icy pressure glowing in the figure's eyes.

"Who are they, Twi?" Rainbow called out to the mage as she passed her. Twilight could only offer a shrug, and a shake of her head under her hood, by way of reply.

"Keep going up that hill, and you'll be safe - it's only a little further!" she cried out, and then, as the last of the group passed her, called to the mystery figure, "That's everyone!"

The full weight of their losses hit Twilight like a punch to the gut. She wanted to turn around, to try to direct their saviour to range out further and try to find their lost comrades, but she knew that staying too near the knight as the Scourge attacked them would only invite disaster.

But that meant that Fluttershy, and Rarity...

No...

Noticing her hesitation, the figure rumbled, "Go! I'll join you shortly." Its voice came clearer over the din of battle than it had been before in the centre of the storm.

Twilight obeyed, turning to follow the platoon out of the killing field, hating herself more for the loss of her friends with every step she took.

One by one they staggered up the hill and made it to safety. The more of the undead that the knight killed behind them, the more the storm dissipated. By the time they had reached the top, their visibility had improved dramatically, and they could see that the ground ahead was just snow over solid rock. There was little possibility that the ordinary Scourge drudge could burrow their way through.

The sound of battle faded as they moved further and further away, and now they could see the bridge - the one that Fluttershy had originally spotted - just up ahead.

The relative safety of their new position, some distance from the storm, afforded them the opportunity to catch their breath, and as a group they slowed to a halt in the middle of the plain, waiting for their rescuer or any further stragglers.

A wailing noise drew Twilight's attention to the back of the group. The moment's reprieve had been too much for Tyrae, who had been holding herself together against the loss of her twin in the face of immediate, mortal danger. Now that the risk had momentarily abated, she had dropped to the floor, sobbing into her hands.

The remaining three healers gathered around their grieving comrade. Vernor awkwardly put an arm around her shoulder, blinking hard to stop tears from dripping down his own face.

"Ma'am!" Twilight's head snapped around again at the urgency in Donovan's shout. He had run a little further ahead of the rest of the platoon, to check that the way was clear, and she could only just see his face poking up above a ridge formed by another dip in the ground.

"Keep them all safe!" Twilight said to Applejack, and her friend nodded, directing Rainbow to stand guard with Arin over the vulnerable healers. The mage then hurried over to join Donovan, hoping against hope that what he had discovered was not more peril, nor yet more tragedy.

He'd found Bandor, and it was here - so close to the bridge - that the corporal had made his stand.

He'd done well, all things considered. A pile of broken bodies lay in a heap nearby, at least four, or five of the Scourge. A little way from where he had crawled, his platemail chest caved in by a blow from one of the hammer-wielding skeletons. His breaths were juddering and harsh, and his face was wracked with pain.

His unfocused eyes met Twilight, and her breath caught in her throat.

"Corporal Bandor - I'll get Pinkie!" She turned to Donovan, to ask him to fetch her friend or one of the other healers, anyone who could help—

"No!" Bandor rasped, yet with such vehemence that despite the dire situation she couldn't help but pause. Donovan himself shook his head as if he had already had this conversation with Bandor moments before. "I've seen enough wounds on the battlefield to know that this one is mortal."

"But maybe if they all work together—"

"Maybe they could save me, but you don't have the luxury of carrying a crippled man through the Dragonblight. Besides..." he gestured toward the festering array of corpses he had dispatched before falling. "I am likely plagued, now... and there is no cure for that. You cannot take the risk."

She couldn't pull her gaze from his, no matter how much that which she saw there horrified her. The same dimming of the eyes, just as VanCleef, before his end. "I... don't know what to say." she stammered, her vision filling with tears.

He strained his neck to look up at her sympathetically. "Sometimes you will, but it... never gets... easier.

"I failed you, ma'am. I'm sorry."

"No!" Time was precious, and she felt she had to reassure him before his passing. "You did everything you could. Without you, on the ship, in the keep, out here... if it had just been me... we wouldn't have made it this far."

Her words seemed to have the desired effect, and his pain-filled expression eased into something approaching contentment.

"Thank you for saying that," he said. "Truth be told, I've served... under worse officers than yourself. Even if the standard of your drill still leaves very much to be desired."

It was his turn to try to be kind, and it helped, just a little. But not enough.

"If I might be so bold as to make two last requests, ma'am..." he continued, his voice now so soft that she had to strain to hear him.

"Anything."

"Burn my body. Please... don't let me become one of those things..."

She winced, but nodded.

"And second, please... look after my men. Get them through this safely."

He didn't ask who had survived, which spared her the need to lie. "I will. I promise."

One last smile found its way onto Bandor's face. He closed his eyes, and breathed his last.

The rest of the platoon, her friends aside, had come up to Twilight after Bandor's passing, and she had set them about the task of carrying out the first of his final wishes. She would have liked to have extended the same mercy to the rest of their fallen, but they could not risk backtracking into the wastes, when it had cost them so much to make it through in the first place.

Erina. Yila. Gearfuse. Wheatley. Clarke. Kellas. And all the others...

Donovan took care to give the body of his leader some dignity. Arin would light the remains. Father Stonewrought, the dwarf priest, would say the rites.

As they busied themselves, she sought out her remaining friends and found them grouped together where she had left them previously, a little distance away and out of sight from where Bandor had fallen.

The three stood gazing out in the direction of the battle, at the storm that had almost dissipated entirely. Listening carefully, Twilight realised that she could still hear the howling of the undead, the smashing of bone and the crashing of frost magic.

"We were hopin' they still might make it outta there," Applejack said, but it was clear from her expression that the hope she held was diminishing with every passing second.

"Rarity s-saved me, but we w-were s-separated in t-the s-storm." Twilight stammered.

If... I'd only used fire...

Rainbow gripped her weapon tightly. "I'm going back in to find them," she declared.

Applejack put a hand on her shoulder before she had a chance to take even a single step.

"But we can't just sit here and-"

"Please, sugarcube... I can't lose you too."

This gave Rainbow pause, and she almost swayed on the spot, but did not move.

"They've gotta be alright, right...?" Pinkie whispered. The strain of keeping the rest of the platoon alive and in the fight had taken its toll on her most out of all the healers. The possibility that she had just lost two of her closest friends was not helping and she was visibly struggling to stay on her feet. "They just gotta..."

They stood there in silence for a minute. Two.

Staring out over the snowy plain before them, only a tiny portion still hidden by the storm, Twilight was confronted by the true nature of their loss and found that had no other words. No other thoughts. There was only pain. Pain and loss.

"I wouldn't... plan the funeral just yet... darlings."

And suddenly, impossibly, there they were. Rarity was moving awkwardly, supported by Fluttershy with her arm across the hunter's shoulder, and she was placing the bulk of her weight on her good leg. Fluttershy herself appeared mostly uninjured, a few scratches and bumps aside. Both girls looked drained, a little disturbed by what they had just experienced, and their faces were coloured an odd mix of blue from the cold and red from their exertions, but they were alive.

They'd come down from the north instead of across from the west, having taken a different route out of the storm, and having been hidden from view until the last moment by the sloping terrain.

Pinkie let out a whoop of glee and almost landed on the two with a hug. Rainbow brushed away a tear. There were smiles of relief all round.

"Fluttershy saved me with her traps after we were separated, darling," Rarity explained. "Then we had to go the long way around, once we noticed that the storm was stopping, and I am not the quickest with my leg in this condition."

Pinkie - in spite of her exhaustion - and Rainbow Dash rushed to heal her, their combined light quickly cleaning and binding the wound.

With one friend receiving the proper and correct attention, Twilight instead moved to comfort the other. Fluttershy stiffened, almost flinched at her touch, but relaxed into the hug after a moment or two. Applejack joined them, her plate armour awkwardly dominating the embrace, but not at all diminishing its impact.

"I'm okay," Fluttershy whispered, though it was unclear whether that statement was for their benefit, or for her own.

She wasn't. Twilight could see now, up close, that she wasn't okay. She had a haunted look in her eyes, and she couldn't stop trembling, in a way that might have been mistaken for shivering in the cold had it not been for the way her lip had quivered as she spoke.

It still went back to what had happened in the Deadmines, and Twilight kicked herself for not having helped her friend sooner. She'd given Fluttershy the space she thought she had needed, because it had been hard to approach her, hard to reconnect after what had happened, and because of everything else that had been going on.

And that hadn't been the right approach.

Maybe Fluttershy could sense her doubt, her concern. "...I'll be okay." she amended, and buried her face in Twilight's shoulder.

For now, as awful as the last hour had been, and as much as they had lost, at least there was still hope with the six of them together.

A spark of joy in this sorry situation.

A spark of joy that was about to be extinguished.

"It's you. You."

The group all turned to the source - their saviour from before. The mysterious knight had come up to join them, and from the way they were standing and the way they were shaking, something had made them very, very angry.

"You!" they repeated, raising one of their swords towards the group as if it was a finger pointed in accusation. "YOU!"

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

Author's Note

All I can say is I'm really sorry for the utter lack of updates since October 2017. It's been a really interesting couple of years, and while I won't make any promises that I may not be able to keep, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to update more in the future.

I'm really grateful for everyone's comments and feedback since I last updated. I won't reply or tag anyone directly as it's been so long, but I want to thank you - and anyone else who has read this story - for your interest, and I hope you enjoy it going forward.

Aftermath