Colgate’s stomach growled as she yawned loudly, stretching her sore legs. She opened her eyes and blinked in the near total darkness. Feeling her stomach growl again she groaned and rolled out of bed. The sun had not even come up yet, but with the way she felt there was no way she would be able to fall back to sleep before she had gotten something to eat.

In the darkness, without even enough strength to call up magic to light her horn, Colgate was blind save for a flickering light shining through the crack of what she assumed was the door. As she reached the light she leaned forward, intending to lean against the door for support before calling for one of the servants.

Colgate flopped through the tent flap with a resigned moan, startling the pegasi who had been standing guard. The young stallion sprang to attention as he saw Colgate feebly hanging on the tent flap, face pale in the torchlight.

“Ma’am, do you require assistance?” the guard asked, looking straight ahead. Whether out of some form of military discipline or to avoid staring at Colgate neither knew nor cared.

“Food,” Colgate croaked.

“Yes ma’am!” the guard acknowledged, rushing off as Colgate righted herself long enough to lean against a half-finished wall. Looking up, she stared at the moon, which hung high above the world, bright and beautiful and-

“Wait a minute… That can’t be right…” Colgate said out loud as she frowned at the night sky. “How is it still midnight?”

“We were wondering the same thing,” a voice replied from behind. Colgate turned to see Smart Cookie and Private Pansy approaching her, worried looks on both their faces. “Because it’s been like that for at least the last eight hours.”

“What?” Colgate looked aghast as she stared at Smart Cookie. “How is that possible?”

“Well,” Private Pansy offered, “If the unicorns are truly in danger, then it could be that-“

“Ma’am!” Pansy was cut off as the young guard returned, holding a tray of hay. “My apologies ma’am, but this was all the cooks had on short notice and you did not sound like you wanted to wait for a prepared meal.”

Colgate held up a hoof to Pansy. “Hold that thought,” she requested before grabbing as much hay off the tray as she could and shoving it into her mouth. The guard laid down the tray, looking slightly revolted as Colgate noisily shoved more and more of the food into her mouth. Private Pansy and Smart Cookie exchanged concerned looks as the chosen one dispensed with hooves and shoved her face into the hay, munching away greedily and disregarding any and all sense of decorum.

After several prolonged minutes of hedonistic debauchery Colgate let out a satisfied sigh and pushed herself back to her hoofs, wiping bits of food from her face as she did so. “Please, continue,” she urged Private Pansy with a warm smile. Pansy looked unsure, but complied.

“Um, well, I was just going to say that if the unicorn tribe is in trouble, they might not be able to raise the sun and moon properly.” Pansy looked up at the moon, her brow creased with worry. “But something like that has not happened in generations! Even during the migration from the homelands they never abandoned their duties.”

“I imagine it could also be a cry for help,” Smart Cookie added grimly. “Somethin’ like this could be seen as an act o’ war. Without days and nights, we can’t grow the crops that feed all three tribes, so we earth ponies and pegasi would have no choice, but ta come and see what was goin’ on with the unicorns.”

Private Pansy chewed her lip. “They would have to be so desperate to do something like that.” She looked at Colgate, as if looking for confirmation. Colgate just nodded.

Smart Cookie shook her head. “Well that settles it then, we don’t have a minute ta waste!” She tilted her head back and in a voice that boomed across the darkened town shouted, “Saddle up n’ move out!”

“What she said,” Private Pansy added in a much quieter voice, flying off into the camp to rally her own troops.

As Smart Cookie took off to prepare, Colgate tailed after her, fidgeting as she did so. After a short while Smart Cookie sighed and turned to the other mare. “What do you want?” she asked, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.

“Where are you going?” Colgate asked innocently.

“Ta get my things,” Smart Cookie answered shortly.

“Will that include putting on armor?” Colgate asked, failing to hide her smile. “Like knight’s armor?”

“Yes,” Smart Cookie replied, growing suspicious. “Why?”

“Well…” Colgate said, starting to blush a little bit. “Since we are going into battle and all I was thinking that maybe, since I don’t have any armor, maybe I could borrow some?”

Smart Cookie stared at Colgate incredulously. “You want ta wear full plate armor.” She looked at Colgate’s three remaining legs and the near total lack of visible muscle on them. “Do you have any idea how much that weighs?”

“Nope,” Colgate replied truthfully.

Smart Cookie smiled incredulously at the unicorn as she nodded. “Alright then,” she agreed. “How about we suit you up and if you still want ta wear it into battle by the time we arrive at the castle, then you can be my guest.”

“Cool! Thanks!” Colgate grinned. This strange eternal night- day- thing was so far turning out alright for her.

* * *

“This was a bad idea!” Colgate whined as she wiped sweat from her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time since they had started the march. The inside of the armor had already turned into a bath of her own sweat as the leather and metal held in the heat of the warm night and amplified it with her own body heat. If not for the fact that she had not worn the helmet, she was sure she would have died from heatstroke already.

“More water?” Private Pansy offered, passing Colgate a cloth sack. As Colgate gratefully took it and began to drink, Pansy patted her on the head. “I am sorry about all of this, but we are almost there now and then we will have the time to get you out of that nasty thing.”

“Good,” Colgate grouched, giving Smart Cookie, who was near the front of the small force, a venomous glare. “I won’t want to keep Smart...” Colgate hesitated.

“Cookie?” Pansy offered.

“No, no.” Colgate shook her head. “I am trying to think of something clever and mean to replace the word Cookie with.”

“Ass?” One of the pegasi guards offered.

“Hey!” Colgate glared at the guard. “Don’t you start judging me now!”

“But-”

“OK, wow!” Colgate cut her off. “If you are just going to keep insulting me, then how about you just keep your opinions to yourself, alright?”

The poor guard looked at her fellow soldiers for support, but just found rolling eyes and shaking heads. She sighed, “Yes ma’am.”

“Hold up!” Smart Cookie shouted, holding up a hoof as the force slowed to a halt behind her. Colgate looked around at the rolling countryside around her and could not help but notice the distinct lack of any sort of castle or army of undead monsters. She trotted up past the ranks, Private Pansy by her side, till she had caught up with Smart Cookie, who in turn was talking to a large stallion covered head to hoof in heavy plate armor.

“What’s going on?” Colgate asked, self-consciously trying not to slouch under the weight of her armor in the presence of the metal-clad giant. “Why did we stop?”

Smart Cookie’s mouth twitched as she tried hard to hide the edges of a smile forming on her lips at Colgate’s tired and sweaty face. “Ah, chosen one. I see you’re accommodating ta that armor well.” She covered her mouth with a hoof and made a sound more like a stifled laugh then a cough. “It looks good on you.”

Colgate’s face burned as she glared at the earth pony mare. “Bite me and my heavy metal butt,” she snarled. “Now are you going to tell me why we are stopping or not?”

Smart Cookie looked as if she was on the verge of bursting into laughter, but managed to keep herself together long enough to nod.

“And…?” Colgate asked, feeling her face burn even hotter.

Smart Cookie took a deep breath and calmed herself, though she still looked overly amused with Colgate’s situation. “Scouting,” she finally said.

“Scouting?” Colgate repeated, looking from Smart Cookie to the hulk besides her. “Who, him? Seriously?”

“Verily,” the huge pony drawled, unmoving.

Smart Cookie gave the big stallion an affectionate look and confirmed, “Sir Macintosh may not look it, but you will never find another stallion as quiet as he is.”

“Right,” Colgate said, disbelief etched on her face. “So why do we need to scout anyway? There is a castle. There are a bunch of dead ponies trying to get into it. What else do we need to know?”

Smart Cookie sighed in exasperation as the large stallion trotted off down the path. “Because we don’t know if there are any ambushes waitin’ for us on the road or what side this army is attackin’ from or if we can get close enough ta make it inside before they spot us. Heck, for all we know this army of yours might not even be there yet and we can just waltz on in, clean as you like.”

“OK, OK!” Colgate put up her hoofs in surrender. “I get it. So what do we do till he gets back?” She reached up and began fumbling for one of the straps holding the her armor in place. “Because since we’ve stopped, we might as well take a break, right?”

“Wrong,” Smart Cookie replied with a small smile. “We push on, just a bit slower. No point in wasting time if all is well. And if not, Sir Macintosh will bring us word in time to prepare.”

“Great,” Colgate muttered, letting go of the strap and falling back as the detachment set off again. From high above, the swirling clouds high above began to drizzle a light rain onto the ponies’ heads. “Just great,” Colgate repeated bitterly.

Private Pansy nudged her despondent friend and smiled. “Well, look on the bright side,” she consoled, “At least the rain will cool you and that armor can hardly be much heavier around your neck than the chains, right?” She giggled and added, “All things considered, this second trip to the castle is far more pleasant than our earlier one!”

Colgate didn’t reply, but merely gave Pansy a longsuffering look.

“Give it half an hour,” she sighed.

As if determined to prove Colgate wrong, the universe maliciously waited almost a full forty-five minutes before the drizzling rain had intensified into a downpour. The dirt roads quickly turned into rivers of mud, slowing the company’s march to a crawl. The rain filled the boots of the knights with mud and grounded the pegasi, who cursed the out-of-control weather with language colorful enough to cause poor Private Pansy to turn scarlet.

Eventually a lone figure emerged from the rain, water running down his metal plates like tiny waterfalls. He strode through the thick mud effortlessly till he had come face to face with Smart Cookie. Once again, Colgate and Pansy hurried to the front to see what Sir Macintosh had discovered.

“Very well,” Smart Cookie sighed as the great stallion bowed his head. “I cannot say that this news pleases me any, but it is as we suspected.”

“What’s up?” Colgate asked, wiping her bedraggled mane from her face as she looked at Smart Cookie, unintentionally smearing her forehead with mud as she did so. “You look sorta down. Something happen?”

“Indeed.” Smart Cookie nodded. “Sir Macintosh informs me that yer claims were not unfounded.”

Colgate craned her neck into the crook of her left foreleg and began vigorously attempting to wipe as much mud from her face as she could, pausing only briefly to reply to Smart Cookie. “What, didn’t you believe me?” She looked up at Pansy and added, “Hey, can I borrow you for a second?”

Smart Cookie rolled her eyes as Colgate wiped the mud off one of her hoofs, using a mortified Private Pansy as a makeshift towel. “It is not that I had doubted yer sincerity, Chosen One, just that I had hoped yer predictions had been less accurate.”

“Thanks,” Colgate said, wiping the mud from her face as Private Pansy rubbed at the slick mud now smeared across her body. Turning her attention back to Smart Cookie, Colgate asked, “How do you mean?”

“I mean that yer assessment of the danger posed to the Unicorns was not exaggerated,” Smart Cookie replied. “Their castle has been surrounded by the forces of the dead n’ will likely fall well before our reinforcing armies will arrive.”

Colgate took a second to register what the earth pony was saying, but as it did her face began to pale.

“Oh,” she muttered weakly, looking as if somepony had just struck her.

“Oh indeed,” Smart Cookie agreed; face setting into an expression of grim determination. “It is good that you came when ya did, as we are now the only hope for the Unicorn Tribe’s survival.”

Colgate nodded slowly. “OK so we try and bust through, then help them hold out till the reinforcements come, right?” She nodded faster. “Yeah, OK. I mean, I wanted to just get in there first and maybe try and ride things out safely, but we can do it like that.”

Smart Cookie shook her head. “I fear things are not so simple. The army surroundin’ the castle is large and fearsome and we have neither the strength, nor I fear even morale ta fight through their ranks to reach the castle without being slaughtered.”

Colgate shifted uncomfortably. “Alright so what, then? If we can’t fight them and we can’t let them just do their thing till our friends show up, then what?”

“I was hoping you might have that answer,” Smart Cookie replied dryly.

“What?” Colgate stammered, looking at Smart Cookie like she had just suggested fighting the forces of darkness with a musical number. “You’re joking, right? I mean, I doubt there is anypony here less qualified than me to come up with a plan!”

“Actually…” Pansy interjected, wiping the last of the mud from her coat. “You are the Chosen One, so isn’t it your destiny to do that? To save us from the terror of the deadites, right?”

“What?” Colgate looked appalled as Smart Cookie nodded in agreement with Private Pansy. “But that’s ridiculous!” She looked back at the guard ponies who had slowly gathered around to watch and were now also murmuring their approval. “This is insane! I don’t know the first thing about tactics!”

“But if you are fated to do something, does that even matter?” somepony asked philosophically.

“YES!” Colgate shouted at the stallion. “Because it even if some old crazy wrote down some crazy, stupid, vague thing about somepony at some point falling out of the sky, that does not mean that everything that pony does will magically turn out alright no matter what because that same vague old pony said it would!”

“But isn’t that how prophecies work?” Private Pansy asked.

“Yes, but prophecies are dumb!” Colgate snapped. “I mean, if I was so important to all of that, then why wouldn’t the army be just as focused on getting me as in getting the book back, huh? I mean, if I am supposed to be the one pony that can stop them, then why don’t I just go out there and shout, ‘Hey everypony! Look! It’s me, the Chosen One! Why don’t you come and get me and leave the castle alone long enough to let my plans in, since apparently I am the one that is going to screw up all your stupid plans?!’ I mean, really!”

There was a silence as everypony stared at Colgate, whose face suddenly went very pale.

“Oh you all suck,” she moaned as Private Pansy gave her a comforting hug.

“And there ya have it.” Smart Cookie smiled. “Truly fate has chosen a perfect instrument for its champion.” She raised her voice to address the other ponies. “You have heard the Chosen One’s plan, so do not tarry! Once the Chosen One has created her distraction, then we must move with haste ta reach the castle before the forces of darkness have had a chance ta kill her and for form their siege line.”

“Can I come up with another plan, please?” Colgate asked pleadingly.

“No time,” Smart Cookie replied. “Yer current one should work fine and will- with a bit of luck- give the castle the edge it needs to survive the siege.” She clapped Colgate on the back and gave her a warm, genuine smile. “It is a rare thing ta be able ta turn the tide of history and save the entire world with but a single life. I envy you that honor in a way.”

“You can have the honor if you want?” Colgate said quickly, but Smart Cookie simply laughed and donned her helmet.

“If the choice was mine, I would!” Smart Cookie shouted as she began to lead the company down the road. “But we all have our parts to play and that one is yours.”

Colgate worked her mouth, but no words came out. Sensing her friend’s distress, Private Pansy gave Colgate another tight hug. “It’s alright,” she cooed. “If not for you, I would have died in that horrible pit, so if you want I can stay with you now.”

Colgate looked at Pansy with tears in her eyes and nodded. “Thank you,” she choked out.

“You’re welcome,” Pansy soothed, and began to lead Colgate once more down the road to the castle and once again toward both of their deaths.

Author's Note

^ ^ ^
Picture by the amazingly talented Heather Breckel of the IDW official MLP comics team. Meet her at Bronycon and got to shake her hand and got a bad ass picture of Ash style Colgate!

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Oh my god I am so sorry this took so long! I took a week off to work on something IRL, then I was going to have this finished before I went to Bronycon, but I decided it needed a rewrite, then after I got back I had trouble getting to my editor, then she was busy...

Point is, I LIVE! The story is not dead and I promise the next chapter will be out by the end of the week after next at the latest!