Inside Sugarcube Corner
Time Turner’s day had been going so well….Okay, that was a lie, but it wasn’t horrible. He had woken up, eaten breakfast (a nice bunch of blueberry muffins provided by the ever so talented Ditzy), went over today’s schedule, and assisted Bon Bon with preparing Lyra for the day. It was the standard routine since he’d started living in Ponyville. Honestly, even though the small town was wonderful, he missed the old days; running, fighting, problem solving, more running. He would grin when he remembered the running. Oddly, that was his favorite part. The adrenaline, the way his hearts would nearly beat out of his chest, hearing the frustrated cries of charging foes. All in all, a day in the life of a Time Charger.
Today he was returning to those roots and he hated it. Oh yeah, the exhilaration was there, but so was the dread. This wasn’t happening in some far off land, or on another planet all together. No, this was happening in Ponyville; his home. It was THEIR screams of pain and agony, not the ones of complete strangers. He had grown close to the denizens of this quiet town and he swore to Celestia to protect them. That’s what he was going to do. ‘Even if I have to kill all of these heretics myself.’
Inquisitor Time Turner’s gaze peered over the town map. He and several of the town’s officials and militia were standing around this one table, peering over the map. Sugarcube Corner hadn’t been their first choice as a base of operations, but seeing as the Town Hall was deemed unsafe, they didn’t have much of a choice. ‘On the upside, at least we have something sweet to snack on.’ He thought idly, as the sweet smells that abounded the abode assaulted his nose. His stomach rumbled. He had gone a while without eating, but that wasn't important now. He could eat later, after their victory.
The map was specially enchanted to show the troop movements and positions. At the moment, he could sigh in relief, as Ditzy’s house still sat well within the ‘safe’ zone. ‘Thank Celestia.’
“How could this happen?” Mayor Mare was pacing back and forth. Her mane was frazzled from both stress and how much she had been rubbing her head in frustration in the short time of this event. Turner had always liked her. She was a kind, reasonable mare who knew how to get her job done. She just…sometimes let the stress get to her; like now for example. Her daughter, Lady Justice, was the same, but a lot more level headed. She was currently watching the proceedings, waiting to be of assistance. “We had everything under control.”
“Apparently not,” Time Turner turned to look at the town’s head of security, Night Watch. He was a brown earth pony stallion, with a gray mane in the style of a Mohawk; Just don’t call it that. He hated the term with a passion. His cutie mark, shown on top of the black pants he wore, was a law enforcement badge. The stallion was wearing the standard light blue shirt and buckle of lawponies. Time Turner found him to be rather temperamental and hot-headed. The older pony (at least he looked older. The Time Charger had several centuries more on his part.) grit his teeth in annoyance, when the Inquisitor’s gaze fell upon him.
“Now look here,” he shot at him. “I checked and double checked every inch of this town before the celebration. Maybe we should ask the militia? Let’s hear how they screwed up.”
“HEY,” Thunderlane cried out. He was a rather young Pegasus stallion. Given his grey furcoat and white Mohawk, some could have mistaken him for Night Watch’s son. He was brash and daring, similar to the local weather manager. He had no battle experience and had only been given his current position because of his father, who was a leading official in Cloudsdale. His golden uniform was crinkled and thrown on at the last minute. He had been off duty when Nightmare Moon showed up. “My soldiers had everything under control, until that she witch showed up. Don’t go blaming us for something out of our control.” He turned to look at Vinyl Scratch, who was rubbing her head, obviously trying to stop a major headache. Nightmare Moon’s magical surge attack had definitely left its impression. “How about little miss chaos over here? How do we know she didn’t fly off the crazy end and summoned her here?”
“Oh and I just told the bitch to attack me,” Vinyl growled. While Time Turner was reluctant at first to work with the forces of chaos, over the several millennia he’d served under Celestia, he learned to respect them. Vinyl was no different, though she was at least far more sane then most chaos cultists. “That makes a lot of sense. Wait, no it doesn’t.” She pointed at Bon Bon. “Ask little miss perfect over here. She was supposed to keep daemons away with her prayers.”
“Let us stop this blame game here, follower of chaos,” Bon Bon narrowed her eyes. The time charger had always respected the priestesses of the sun. They were level headed and kind individuals…Bon Bon was an odd case though. She was a little more temperamental then the usual sun priestess. “You’re accusations hold no water when thrown at the followers of truth.”
“Gentlecolts and ladies,” Mayor Mare butted in before the argument could escalate. “We have more serious problems at hoof.”
“The mayor is right,” Time Turner touched a hoof to the right side of the map, where the dark blotches (enemy troops) were most prevalent. “The enemy seems to be trying to break through our right flank. Our forces are too strained to properly hold out the area for long. Any suggestions on how to remedy this?” The Inquisitor already had an idea, but he just wanted to hear out everypony before saying it aloud.
Night Watch worked his jaw as he thought. “We could move the squad I have outside to that area. They won’t do much good just standing out there anyways.”
Time Turner nodded. “Yes. I also suggest equipping some of the civilians with firearms and armor.”
The response was immediate.
“WHAT!” Night Watch reeled back.
“No way dude,” Priestess Vinyl Scratch was shaking her head, profusely. “I’m not sending civies out there.”
“Same,” Thunderlane said, to which Bon Bon nodded.
“Turner,” Mayor Mare spoke up. He would have been surprised by her calling him by name, instead of his title, but they were friends after all. “We don’t have to resort to that. We can always…”
“Do what?” He cut her off. “We don’t have many choices at the moment, my dear mayor. I’ve fought against the forces of darkness once before and let me tell you this. Whatever cruelty or despicable deeds you thought rogue chaos magi could do, think again. Cultists of darkness are ten times more cruel and a thousand times more efficient. They will rip your very soul from your bodies and feed it to their accursed daemons. Civilians are just fuel to them, so I think it would be proper and allow the good civilians of Ponyville the chance to fight back. Don’t you agree?”
The others were silent for a moment, before silently agreeing. “Good,” Time Turner sighed. He dreaded the action himself, but it was necessary. Just then, his acolyte, Lyra Heartstrings, came into the room. If he had one word to describe her it would be ‘strange’. But that wasn’t really anything bizarre, given that she had been raised by “domesticated” diamond dogs. “So, were you able to get any word out?”
“Not a one, master,” Lyra shook her head. “Our communications have been jammed.”
“What,” was the collective cry of everyone.
“Even our telepathic spells can’t seem to work,” Lyra shook her head in disbelief. “They have us completely and utterly cut off the from outside.”
“But what of our majesty?” Bon Bon asked. “Surely you can at least contact her, stroke her presence, something.”
Lyra shook her head. “We can’t reach her…It’s almost as if she has vanished.”
“HERESY!” Night Watch barked. “Our goddess can’t just vanish. You’re making that up.”
“Night Watch,” Bon Bon seethed. Time Turner hid back his own seething remarks, content to let the priestess handle this. “If you call Lyra a lying heretic one more time, I swear, I will throw you out the window this very instant.”
Night Watch scoffed. “I thought you priestesses were pacifists.”
“Only when it suits us,” Bon Bon’s expression darkened. Time Turner knew she wasn’t the best mare to agitate. He’d seen first hoof why that’s a bad idea.
Lady Justice put a hoof on her shoulder. “Priestess Bon Bon. Now isn’t the time to lose your head.” She sent a glare over at Night Watch, who withered under it. “Neither is it yours.”
“My daughter is right,” Mayor Mare had taken a seat, breathing in and out heavily to calm her nerves. “Now isn’t the time to lose our heads, unless you want that. Then be my guest and walk right out the door. I’m sure some cultist would be happy to help you.”
Time Turner blocked out the rest of the argument. ‘How can they block us so effectively?’ He pondered. He stared at the map, losing himself to his thoughts. He delved into his massive stockpile of memories, trying to bring something back up to the surface. ‘The last time something like this was….’ His eyes widened. “No…” he muttered softly.
“No what master?” Lyra asked. She was sitting diligently beside him.
“No, no, no…” He quickly pulled out his sonic-screwdriver. He was hoping he was wrong. With a quick press of a button and twist of the knob, the little device hummed to life. The rest of the ponies present looked over at him, curious as to what he had discovered. Turning it ever so slightly to the left, the humming grew even louder. “They…They have them.” He couldn’t believe it. He just couldn’t believe it. ‘I don’t want to believe it.’
“Have what?” Thunderlane asked.
“Zone Markers,” Inquisitor Time Turner sighed, slumping in his chair. “ZMs for short.”
“And they are?” Mayor Mare raised an eyebrow.
“During the Great War,” Time Turner tried to hide the bitterness when discussing the topic. “The alicorns were fighting a race known as the Trawsians. The Trawsians had no magic you see. They had to rely on their science in order to fight. One of their inventions was the ‘Zone Markers’. Devices designed to block any and all enemy magic or mundane means of contacting outside of the area. Obviously, they’ll have the perimeter staked out, in case any of us try and escape and get word out.”
“So, like, they’re using these ZMs to cage us,” Vinyl stated, to which Time Turner nodded. She huffed. “Nopony cages Vinyl Scratch.”
“There isn’t much we can do until we destroy those markers,” Time Turner explained. “We won’t be getting any reinforcements any time soon, since nopony outside of Ponyville knows what’s going on. And until then, the enemy can just….” Time Turner’s eyes flew open. ‘How the hay did I forget that?’ He quickly turned to the two priestesses. “For Celestia’s sake, pray!”
They looked at him in confusion, before a loud ‘pop’ and the loud sounds of clashing metal and ranting. “PRAISE NIGHTMARE MOON!”
“Horse-apples,” Time Turner swore. ‘Prayers. Why the holyflank did I forget about the prayers?’ He got out of his chair, unsheathed his power sword and touched the ancient rune on the blade. It hummed to life, emitting a soft glow.
Suddenly, the wall was smashed into wall, blowing back the assembled ponies. Time Turner was pitched to the side, thanking himself lucky it wasn’t anything more than a simple spell. Debris and dust kicked up into the air, making it hard to see.
In from the entrance came what he expected; a Nightmare soldier. He was decked out in black armor reminiscent of Celestia’s own guardsponies. The similarities ended there. While a normal guardspony radiated peace and security, a soldier of Nightmare seethed with hate and death. The time charger felt repulsed just being in the same area as one. Their aura was wicked and demented, the same for the armor. The helmet had several had the look of a rhinoceros and it’s armor was inscrolled with various sayings written in the language of darkness. The soldier was made to be intimidating, but he had faced many of his ilk before. 'Cannon fodder.'
In one of its front hooves it carried a battle axe. Raising it on high, the soldier declared “Death to the sun touched.” And raced over to end him.
Time Turner just had enough time to jump to the side, avoiding the first strike. Drawing from his centuries worth of expertise and knowledge of prior dealings with the forces of Nightmare, he knew exactly how to handle this attacker. Quickly rolling back to his feet, he took an aggressive posture. The soldier turned to him and charged. He smirked. ‘As expected.’ At the last second, right before the soldier made impact, he raised himself on his hindlegs, twirled around the blow (not as graceful as a ballerina, but it did it’s job) and lopped off the head from the shoulders. The sword cut through armor and bone like it was butter. Since it was an enchanted blade, it singed the flesh so it wouldn’t bleed.
Looking over at the others, who were busy dusting themselves off, he spoke. “Lady Justice, send word to all positions. Have their priestesses or anyone of the churches praying. It’s the only thing that can keep this from happening again.”
Lady Justice nodded. “I’m on it.” She swiftly picked up a phone and used her hoof to rotate the dial over the according numbers.
“Lyra,” Inquisitor Time Turner barked. His assistant perked her ears, ready for her orders. “Go play.”
Lyra grinned deviously. She stood up on her hind legs and howled. While Time Turner was able to fight upon his back legs, it was uncomfortable and he could only do it for a very short time. Lyra, however, had a lifetime of experience and parents who could do so easily. Igniting her horn, two magical yellow hands formed over her front hooves. Cackling like a maniac, she ran out of the hole in the wall.
“Alright,” Vinyl started after her. “Play time.”
Bon Bon quickly pulled her back. “No Vinyl. Nightmare Moon’s spell is still affecting you.”
“No it’s not, see,” Lighting up her horn, the unicorn mare smiled…only for it to short-circuit and black electric pulses ran around her horn. Vinyl’s face scrunched up in pain, before the curse stopped. She growled in frustration and stomped her hoof. Looking to the heavens, she cried with all her might. “DAMN YOU NIGHTMARE MOON!”
Time Turner sighed. ‘Hopefully Bon Bon can keep her out of trouble.’ “If you’ll excuse me, I have some markers to destroy.” With that, the time charger inquisitor was off.
Blossomforth’s golden armor chafed against her white, virgin skin as she sat on top of one of Ponyville’s many roofs. It was lighter then she thought it would be. She chalked it up to be the work of special enchantments. Even the field telephone pack, which she wore on her back, wasn’t heavy enough to bother her. As the armor was one size to large, it rattled about as Blossomforth shook in fear. Her dark pink and green mane flittered out from beneath her helmet. She clung to her spear for dear life as she tried to block out the outside world. Never before had the Pegasus donned armor, being a simple florist, and she hoped she’d never have to wear it again. The only reason she was doing now was because she was hastily conscripted into the army to help plug up the loyalist lines.
Her eyes were closed tighter then the seal to the local bank. ‘This isn’t happening. This is just a dream. This isn’t happening. This is just a dream. This isn’t…’
Blossomforth opened her eyes and looked at her companion: Cloud Kicker. The Pegasus mare was lying on the side of the slanted roof, peering over the edge. She was light purple with a blond mane. Her cutie mark, a cloud partially covering up the sun, was obscured by her much more fitting armor. Which made sense, since Cloud Kicker was second in command of Ponyville’s town militia. Cloud Kicker was everything Blossomforth wasn’t: loud, boisterous, and loved to chase some tail. She wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.
Cloud Kicker had turned her gaze from the musket she held firmly in her hooves. “Stop shaking, Blossomforth. They’re going to hear you rattling about if you keep it up.” She shot her friend an annoyed glare.
“Sorry,” Blossomforth looked away in shame. “I’m…just not used to all this.”
Cloud Kicker’s expression softened. “I’m sorry for snapping, but if we’re spotted we’re done for. You got that?”
Blossomforth nodded. She didn’t need to be told twice. Getting killed was the last thing she wanted. ‘Especially if one of those warlocks gets their hooves on me.’ She shuddered at the mere thought of them. It didn’t help that one of them was on the other side of the building. “But why did you choose a musket? Aren’t they usually loud as Tartarus?”
Cloud Kicker smirked and patted the weapon. “This one was enchanted by Bon Bon to be as silent as a sleeping babe. As long as I don’t make an arse of myself, we’ll be fine…Still a pain in the plot to reload though.” She grumbled the last part more to herself then to Blossomforth. “Still, I give credit where credit is due. Priestesses surely know their stuff…and have such nice flanks too.” She held a dreamy expression on her face.
Blossomforth rolled her eyes. “Focus, Cloud Kicker.” It was no secret Cloud Kicker was the town flirt. Okay flirt was putting it nicely and Blossomforth wasn’t going to think of any harsh terms for her friend.
“I know, I know,” Cloud Kicker went back to readying her rifle. “Fight now, sex later." The mare paused. "Of course, we could always…”
“I don’t swing that way.”
Cloud Kicker chuckled. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”
Looking over the edge, the two looked over at see a Warlock acolyte drawing some kind of large, circular symbol on the ground. His black cloak covered most of his body, except for his head. Like all Warlocks he was a unicorn. The pegasi could tell he was an acolyte by how ‘normal’ his eyes were, whereas full blown Warlocks have serpent eyes. They could see him muttering something under his breath as he worked, but they were too far away to catch any of it. There were several Nightmare Soldiers walking about, guarding the acolyte.
The duo ducked their heads back down so as not to be seen. Blossomforth huffed. Honestly, she felt it was pointless to stake out the position, but Cloud Kicker wanted to keep an eye on the acolyte. She could have left if she wanted to. ‘I’m not leaving Cloud Kicker alone like this.’ With that thought in mind, she summoned all the courage she had to stay...It honestly wasn't that much.
“Don’t go all ‘huffy’ on me,” Cloud Kicker grumbled. “We’re staking out an enemy position.”
“Then why don’t you just shoot somebody so we can leave.”
Cloud Kicker looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “Just shoot him? Right now?” She shrugged and offered the musket to her. “Fine then. You shoot him.”
Blossomforth was at a loss by the suggestion, sending fearful looks at the long ranged weapon. “Sh-shoot him?” Never in all her life had she taken somepony’s life. ‘I don’t have the heart for this kind of job.’
Cloud Kicker nodded. “Yeah, if you want us to leave, just finish him off. Easy as that.”
“Don’t ask me to do that,” Blossomforth’s eyes pleaded for her friend to shut up. “Please don’t ask me to murder somepony.”
“It’s not murder. He’s a heretic. It’s simply stamping out a nuisance.”
“How can you call it that? He’s a pony like us.”
“That sold his soul to Nightmare Moon,” Cloud Kicker clarified. Her voice carried a slightly harsh undertone.
Blossomforth winced. ‘She has a point.’ “Still…”
“Still nothing,” Cloud Kicker interrupted. “It’s either take his life, or let him take some little colt’s soul for his own uses.” She brandished her weapon and took aim. “And we’re staying. His master’s got to come around sooner or later.”
“Maybe he’s busy,” Blossomforth shuddered at what could keep a Warlock ‘busy’.
“Well he’s got to appear soon,” Cloud Kicker said. “This guy looks like he’s almost done setting up some kind of spell.”
Just then, Blossomforth heard the low ringing noise coming from the portable phone. Quick as she could, she took off the pack, opened the flap, and held the phone up to her ear. “Hello, this is Blossomforth. How can I help you?” She recited just like she would when greeting a customer.
“This is Inquisitor Time Turner,” the voice replied. “Status report.”
Blossomforth gulped and her eyes widened in fear. ‘I didn’t expect to be called by the Inquisition.’ While she had met Time Turner a few times before, she always felt nervous around him. The Inquisition were known to be ruthless in their endeavors. She quickly handed it over to her friend. “It’s for you.”
_____________________________________________________________________
Cloud Kicker sighed and lowered the rifle. ‘I have to do everything myself.’ She took the phone. “We’re somewhere over on the south side of town.”
“And what of the enemy?” Inquisitor Time Turner spoke.
Cloud Kicker honestly found the guy cute. ‘Too bad he’s dead set on Ditzy. He could have made a great lay, if he wasn’t so shy. Shy’s are great to cuddle with though.’ Getting back on topic, she peered at the group again. The nightmare cultists hadn’t made any move from their position. What really caught her eye was a strange, gray box, that pulsed with some sort of purple energy. Several enemy combatants stood watch over it. “They’re all just standing around, guarding some sort of pulsing box.”
“HA! We found it! I would kiss you if you were here now.”
“We’ll save that for the victory party.” Cloud Kicker smirked. "And a little more for the after-party." She knew that Turner was blushing. ‘He’s so easy to tease.’
“Yes…well…be glad you found that box. It’s crucial to ending this black campaign of theirs….Is there anything else to report?”
“Yeah, there’s this lone acolyte guy. He keeps drawing some weird images on the ground and muttering some stuff,” Cloud Kicker replied. “I’m waiting for his master to show…”
“KILL HIM NOW!”
Cloud Kicker pulled the phone as far away from her ear as possible. The shout was ringing in her skull. Pulling it closer, she scowled. She was lucky that the nightmare cultists were too far away to hear the shout. “Geez, do you have to shout. I’ve got this…”
Time Turner interrupted her again. “This isn’t some chaos cultist you’re dealing with. Nightmare acolytes are strong enough to summon daemons by themselves, without any help of a master.”
Cloud Kicker’s eyes widened in realization. ‘And I’ve just let the guy do his thing all this time…I’m so going to get executed.’
“So I say again. SHOOT HIM NOW!”
Not wasting another second, Cloud Kicker lined up the shot and fired. Smoke left the barrel of the musket, but the night kept it hidden. The bullet impacted the stallion’s skull, scoring a nice clean kill shot. But instead of falling down, the acolyte screamed a miserable, other-worldly cry of agony, before exploding into shadow. ‘Glad it wasn’t a gore fest. I don’t think I could stomach it.’
Cloud Kicker smirked. “Another day, another cultist.”
“YOU GOT HIM!” Blossomforth shouted in astonishment.
Cloud Kicker gave out a cry of “Wah” and jumped in fright. Quickly, she put a hoof over Blossomforth’s mouth, but it was too late. The nightmare cultists had obviously heard her friend and looked their way. Cloud Kicker’s irises shrunk to the size of pinpricks. “Oh dear.”
One of the soldiers pointed their way and shouted something. The others turned their heads and started running at them.
Cloud Kicker looked to her now shaking friend. “Run.”
__________________________________________________________________
Right outside the Ponyville spa
“FIGHT, DAMN YOU,” Thunderlane roared at his troops. He blocked another strike with the sword in his forehoof and pushed the attacker back.
The Celestial Guardsponies fought tooth and nail against the opposing soldiers of nightmare. Occasionally, from the rooftops, musketeers would take pot shots at the enemy. Most of the musketeers were pegasi, since they were the quickest of the three races and could fire from just about anywhere. Unicorns were still plentiful amongst the ranks thanks to their magic, while Earth pony musketeers were rare. It was hard to manipulate the muskets by hoof, even if they were designed with equines in mind. Time was something you couldn’t waste on the battlefield.
“VICTORY OR DEATH!”
“I think they heard you the first time,” Rarity sent him a small glare as she used her magic to send several, sharpened shards of crystals at the enemy. The shards shredded both armor and flesh alike. She stood in front of the spa, far enough from the enemy lines to not be in immediate danger. The unicorn mare wore a stylized red armor that fit her body perfectly. The shoulders held the mark of Celestia, with half the sun coming over her shoulder like a pair of proto wings. Around her were several diamond dogs, doing their best to keep any and all shadow cultists away. “Or would you rather keep yelling at them. That’s what you seem best at.”
Thunderlane had to admit, it looked incredibly sexy on her. ‘Oh how I’d love to take her out of it.’ Of course, with her last jibe, he grit his teeth in annoyance. “For the last time, I’m sorry we didn’t bring you to the meeting. We had our hooves tied.” He flapped his wings and dodged the charge of an earth pony cultis.
“That still doesn’t change the fact that you left me out,” Rarity grabbed another batch of crystals from a nearby chest. Using her expert magic, she swiftly sharpened them to a point and started her barrage anew. “I am an essential part of this town. You simply can’t keep me and my diamond dogs in the dark. That will simply not do.”
“Well I…we,” Thunderlane quickly corrected his mistake. He didn’t want to single himself out to her. ‘She’ll still think it though.’ Honestly, he didn't want the dogs in town at all, but that was out of his hooves. Most of the others hadn't seen anything wrong with letting the dogs fight. Of course, with the meeting cut short, the issue wasn't brought up at all. “The town council didn’t think the battlefield was the place for a lady such as yourself.” With a pump of his wings he jumped forward and sliced into the chest of a nearby enemy.
“While that is noble of you darling," Rarity said, which told Thunderlane he was caught up in his fib. "I simply must protest. My skills and my dogs most assuredly can handle these ruffians.” To punctuate her meaning, she used her magic to throw a couple of enemy soldiers amongst a group of diamond dogs. Needless to say, the dogs ripped them apart with their swords, spears, and claws. Smirking, she turned her eyes back to him. “I believe my point has come across.”
Thunderlane rolled his eyes. ‘Leave it to a unicorn to show off.’ Suffice it to say, he was glad the dogs were on his side. Diamond Dogs could rip through the hardest metal with ease and tear apart the biggest soldiers the Celestial Guard could muster. He was glad he had never had the need to face one in combat. Fortunately for him, the nightmare soldiers couldn’t say the same. Flying over to her side so as to get a better view of the battlefield, he peered down at her. “So why are you here anyways? Isn’t your beautigue several blocks from here?”
Rarity nodded. “Yes it is, but I simply couldn’t dare to think what those scoundrels could do here to my friends. I had to help.”
The spa twins, Aloe and Lotus Blossom, stuck their heads out the door. They were a pair of nearly identical earth pony mares, only being separated by their inverted colors: Aloe had a pink coat and blue mane, while Lotus had a blue coat and pink mane. “And we couldn’t be happier.” The twin sisters had an unusual accent, one with which they had brought from their home in the city of Stalliongrad. An arrow whizzed past their heads and into their shop, causing both mares to shout in alarm and duck inside.
Thunderlane couldn’t help but chuckle, which earned him an annoyed glare from Rarity. Before he could respond, two mares flew right smack into him. The three ponies tumbled across the ground for a short distance, before ending up in a mangled pile.
“Sorry,” a mare, he knew as Blossomforth muttered from beneath him.
Realizing he was atop of her, he blushed. “Nothing to be sorry about.” The three ponies untangled themselves. “Just watch where you’re flying next time.”
"Awww," Cloud Kicker said. "Do I have to? I rather enjoyed getting all tangled up in your big, strong legs." She sent him a half-lidded smile. "Maybe we can do it again sometime."
Thunderlane groaned. "Keep it in your armor, Cloud Kicker. Just tell me why you were in such a rush, or I'll send you back where you came from."
Cloud Kicker straightened up and saluted. “Sir, I wish to speak with Inquisitor Time Turner. I have crucial information about the enemy that he must know.”
Thunderlane nodded and returned her salute. “I’ll see that you get to him.” Dismissing the salute, Cloud Kicker then did the same. ‘I just hope it’s about those damnable…whatsits the inquisitor was talking about. I don’t think our lines are going to hold forever.’
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Apostle scowled as he viewed the battlefield from one of the taller buildings. His troops were making progress for sure, but it was slow and costly. I hoof-picked each and every one of them. I trained them, I fed them, I took care of them and this is how they repay me?' His body would have shook with rage, but he was better than that. He kept himself collected, at least on the outside.
'And how dare these...sun touched fools resist us. They should be groveling before our glorious goddess of the night. Do they not appreciate the stars above? The moon? No, they love the sun, the ball of flames you can't look at without hurting your eyes. MORONS!'
"Sir," a voice interrupted his inner monologue.
"What?" Apostle said, without turning to face the soldier.
The soldier shrunk back in fear. He found the courage to speak up. "Our forces are finding it hard to press any further. The loyalists are making it difficult for our troops to move."
"Then press harder," Apostle turned his head to send him a glare that slashed through the soldier. "Spill the blood of those who fight against Nightmare Moon."
"We...We are trying, my lord," The soldier shook like a leaf. "But, the loyalist...."
"Are not blessed by the goddess of the night," Apostle interrupted him. "We are the chosen few who serve the rightful ruler of Equestria. So tell me, why are the sun loyalists giving us such trouble?"
The soldier was silent for a moment, trying to think of something that would save his hide. "The sun fools are a tough bunch, my lord. They won't go down without a fight, but they will go down no matter what. We'll wear them down."
Apostle's face scrunched up in distaste. "That's your answer? We'll wear them down?"
"Y-y-yes," the soldier was shaking in his armor.
Apostle shook his head. "I'm sorry, I thought I trained you better than this. It is apparent I chose a bunch of sniveling, weaklings instead of soldiers worthy to carry the mark of our goddess."
"I am wor..."
He never finished the sentence, for Apostle blew his head off with a spell. "You are not." Apostle needed to tell his majesty. She would know what to do. With that, he departed from the battlefield in a mist of shadow.
“Is everyone present?” Time Turner said, grasping a curled up map in one of his hooves.
The lot of them were currently inside Berry Punch’s home, since their last place of residence was…dismantled. Berry house was one of the few remaining houses in the safe zone. Time Turner personally didn’t like dwelling in the tavern, since he hated drunkards, but this was a desperate time. He and Berry had to come to an understanding…at least for now. 'I'll use her house as a base and NOT destroy anything and she won't kill me. Sounds like a fair deal.'
Time Turner could still smell the strong stench of alcohol and a little vomit. He personally fought the urge to add to the smell, but he was able to hold back the bile.
“We’re alive if that’s what you’re asking,” Night Watch gruffly spoke up. There was a bloody bandage around his forehead, thanks to getting a nasty cut from a broadsword. Any closer and his brains would have splattered the ground. “Can’t say so for half of our forces.”
“Actually its closer to a third of our forces,” Time Turner corrected him. The time charger was a bit of a stickler to exacts.
“Oh fan-bucking tastic,” Vinyl grumbled. “Only a third. That makes me feel so much better.”
Time Turner narrowed his eyes at her. “Well, excuse me for trying to keep track of our situation.”
“There’s keeping track and then there’s being a smartflank,” Vinyl shot at him. “We get it. We’ve lost a lot of ponies. We don’t need to know how many. Not now at least.”
“She’s got a point,” Thunderlane said.
Rarity hmphed. The mare was still a little hissy from not being invited the last time. Time Turner was glad she hadn't started whining. “Let the stallion speak. Let’s not drag this meeting out. I hardly think our fellow Ponyvillians will appreciate us doing so.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Vinyl said.
Night Watch just snorted in annoyance.
“Right,” Time Turner rolled his eyes. He was used to the arguing. Ponyvillians were a stubborn lot and sometimes he just wanted to bang his head against a wall instead of dealing with them…most of them anyways. He then placed the map on the table and unfurled it. “Thanks to the efforts of Blossomforth and Cloudkicker,” he tilted his head over at the two ponies. They were standing a few hooves away from the table, but still close enough to see everything going on. “We now know the location of one of the alicorn markers.”
“And how do we know that she isn’t fibbing?” Night Watch nearly snarled out.
Everyone groaned.
“Not this again.” Bon Bon said.
“Yes,” Night Watch pounded his hoof onto the table. “This again.”
“What’s your problem, old stallion?” Cloudkicker took an offensive posture as she walked up to him. “Are you mad that I make you look lame?”
“I’m mad because you’re a Seductrite!” Night Watch hollered, getting out of his chair to face her.
“HOW DARE YOU?!!” Cloudkicker practically roared. She looked like she was one move away from tackling the older stallion. “I’m loyal to Celestia and no one else.”
“Says the town whore,” Night Watch shot at her.
“ENOUGH!” Time Turner cut in, hoping to stop the fight before it got out of control. “This is not for unsubstantial claims.”
“Unsubstantial?” Night Watch said. “This mare is the living definition of a Seductrite.”
“That is a hefty claim,” Bon Bon spoke up, narrowing her eyes at him. “If she was one of the goddess of pleasure’s pawns, I would have sensed it. Seductra has no hold on her.”
Time Turner and the others nodded. Bon Bon would have easily been able to sense something off with Cloudkicker if that was the case. She wasn’t a Priestess for nothing.
“Now,” Bon Bon pointed to his seat. “Get back into your chair, or else I’ll brand you as a heretic.”
Night Watch sent her a harsh glare. “You wouldn’t bucking dare.”
It was at that moment that Night Watch received one of Bon Bon’s infamous glares. It was only a slight narrowing of the eyes and frown, but it quickly sent shivers down his and everyone else’s spine.
Night Watch gulped, sweating up a storm. “I’ll…just sit down now.” He swiftly went back to his seat.
“You dun goofed,” Lyra held a hoof over her mouth to stifle her giggles.
Night Watch would have shot her a glare for that, if not for Bon Bon’s stare still upon him. Messing with Bon Bon was one thing. Messing with Lyra in front of Bon Bon was signing your own death warrant.
“Now then,” Time Turner thanked Celestia that the argument was done away with before it could get out of hoof. “Cloudkicker was able to locate the treacherous device here.” The Inquisitor pointed to a spot on the map. “It’s near our south-eastern position. Luckily for us, we still have enough troops to punch a gap through the line long enough to destroy it. The enemy defenses are weak in that area, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Sounds too easy,” Thunderlane gave him a skeptical look.
“They’re just as hard presses as us, darling,” Rarity spoke up. “Surely you can’t blame them for making a mistake such as this.”
“No, I can’t blame them,” Night Watch smirked. “I should be thanking them. This is perfect.”
“Precisely.” Time Turner smiled. “This mission will be of upmost importance, which is why I am putting my apprentice in charge of the attack.”
Lyra looked at him, incredulously. “Master, you can’t mean that.”
“I do,” Time Turner nodded.
“But I am only an acolyte,” Lyra pointed out. “I don’t have any experience leading others.”
“Given the nature of this mission, you won’t need much.” Time Turner told her. “Your job is to ensure the destruction of the artifact with minimal casualties. A simple seek and destroy mission. I’m aware that we’ve partaken in several before, so you have experience.”
“But I am a simple tool for Celestia’s fury,” Lyra said, nervousness creeping into her voice. “You should be the one commanding this operation. My blood rage will get the best of me.”
Time Turner narrowed his eyes. ‘She needs to learn to put more trust in herself. Our beloved Princess knows I’ve tried. Maybe this will be the day that drills it into her thick skull.’ “I can’t. I must stay here and coordinate our forces. I’m entrusting you with the success of this mission and the lives of everypony in Ponyville.
Lyra stood silent for a moment.
‘Is she going to try and back out of this?’
Thankfully for him, she straightened up on her hind legs and saluted. She gave him a wide, toothy grin that pretty much spilt her face. “You won’t regret this, master.”
“I know you won’t,” Time Turner returned the salute and then dismissed it. Lyra took to running out of the building, before he turned to the others. “Now that that is settled, I believe we can discuss our perimeter. I believe our chaos loyalists can guard this new opening, making sure the shadow cultists don’t try anything sneaky. Rarity’s dogs will start digging trenches, in case things last any longer.”
"A simply divine plan, darling." Rarity brushed her mane back in a splendid flourish.
_____________________________________________________________________
*Elsewhere in the battlefield*
Several soldiers of Nightmare Moon guarded the Alicorn Marker. Some of them were clearing the ground of bodies, both allies and enemies.
Off to the side, not far away from the precious device, two shadow guardsponies stood at attention. Actually, it was a real sloppy version of attention. Both soldiers, one mare and one stallion, lazily clung to their spears.
The stallion yawned. “Hey?”
“Yeah,” the mare lazily replied.
“Why are we here?”
The mare tapped her hoof on her chin. “That’s one of life’s greatest mysteries isn’t it? Why are we here? Are we just the product of several million years of chance or did the gods really plan ahead and create us, fooling us with what we call a timeline? I don’t know, but it keeps me up at night.”
The stallion stared at her for a moment. Neither of them could really see the other’s faces through their armor, but it was obvious he was confused by her response. “What? I meant, why are we here, guarding this thing?”
“Oh…” the mare was stunned at his response. “Ah…yeah.” She shyly looked away.
“What was that stuff you were talking about?”
“Nothing.”
“You want to talk about it.”
“No,” she quickly shook her head.
The stallion put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
Taking off his hoof from her shoulder, he scanned the place around him. “Seriously though, why are we here? We’re just guarding some stupid gray, box thing. Why aren’t we fighting on the front lines…..or better yet, why aren’t we in the old castle?”
“It’s because that stupid gray, box thing is the only thing keeping the sun goddess from barging in here, magic a blazing, with her whole damn army, and slaughtering us. Do you want that to happen?”
The stallion gulped. “No.”
“Good, so go back to lazing about and stop whining.”
“Hey, you were whining just a minute ago.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were.”
The mare got up in his face and pressed the end of her snout against his. “No, I wasn’t.”
The stallion pressed back. “Yes, you were.”
“Actually,” a third, feminine voice spoke up. “She totally was.”
“HA!” The stallion, though not seen, was smiling victoriously.
Growling in anger, the mare whirled on the other mare. “Just who do you think you…”
Her words were cut short when two, glowing hands smashed into her and her buddy’s chin, sending them flying. The pain in their jaw was almost as bad as the pain of smacking into the side of a building. As they slid down the wall, they couldn’t help but pick up what their attacker had said.
“I’M THE CONDUCTOR OF THE PAIN TRAIN!”
“It’s an inquisitor,” one of their fellows bellowed out. “Kill her.”
The two of them then watched the lime, green loyalist mare smashed the nearest Shadow Guard’s head into a bloody pulp with but a single swing of her glowing fist. Seeing the wide, manic grin on her face made them shiver in fear. Not to mention the sudden inrush of opposing soldiers that started to swarm their fellows.
The mare turned her head to look at her comrade. “So….Wanna go grab a drink?”
“….Sure.”
_____________________________________________________________________
As Lyra ran through the carnage that was once Ponyville, she couldn’t help but notice something. How alive she felt as she headed back into the thick of things. She loved to rip the limbs from her opponents, to smash them into pulp with her magical fist, to pummel them senseless. She was Celestia’s fury incarnate and she was going to enact some justice upon these traitors.
Lyra knew she had to keep her head in the game, but once she crushed that heretic’s skull, a bloodlust started to fill her. Having been raised by diamond dogs, even domesticated ones, she couldn’t help but pick up on their war craze. The first two dimwits she smacked away were lucky she found them funny, else that punch she just served them would have shattered their jaws at the least. ‘If they aren’t dead by the end of this, I gotta offer them a drink. Celestia knows that’d be for a good laugh.’
Pushing future laughs aside, she focused back on the enemy at hoof…or hands in her case. 'I love these things.‘
Lyra charged into a small group of the enemy, swinging like a mare possessed. The first fell with a blow to the back of the head, the second received a fierce uppercut that sent him flying upwards. He never got far, for Lyra grabbed hold of his tail and used him to bowl the others over.
‘Yes, yes, more enemies,’ Lyra’s grin grew savage. ‘Let them taste the fires of Tartarus.’ The savage beast inside her threatened to take hold and her mind started to cloud. Her vision became blood red. “I’z smash sum ‘eads, gud an’ propa.” She said, accidently reverting to her old diamond dog grammar.
‘Focus, Lyra,’ the last bit of her normal half spoke up. ‘Our master is counting on us.’ The blood rage was a common enough occurrence in diamond dogs, giving them an added incentive and power during battle. Some ponies had it as well and Lyra was one of them. If she let it control her, she’d be nothing more than a wild beast and that wouldn’t help her friends out in the slightest.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she barely had time to see a surge of black magic speeding towards her. Her eyes widened, and in the split second before the spell struck, a golden aura encompassed her. Lyra could feel the holy sun magic warm her body, easing the pains and aches that plagued her. Not only that, the aura stopped the blast dead in its tracks, leaving her fine and dandy. It didn’t take long for her to spot a Sun Priestess in a nearby alleyway. The mare had her eyes closed, focusing on her prayers.
Lyra smirked. ‘You can always trust a priestess to watch your back.’ The inquisitor in training soon locked her eyes on the prize she was looking for: the Zone Marker. ‘This is going to be easy.’
A sudden on let of screams behind her tipped her off that something had gone wrong. Looking back, she saw several fast-moving pegasi cutting through her troops like they were nothing but butter. They were but blurs to the naked eyes, sending limbs and heads flying in different directions.
Lyra groaned. ‘Spoke too soon.’
With a swift and nearly silent thud, one of the shadow pegasi landed not far from her front. Smiling, the stallion, dressed in what Lyra would knew as the outfit of the Shadowbolt, took a mocking posture. His suit covered most of his body, but left little to the imagination. He was quite sleek and muscular, handsome even…if you had a thing for heretics. His dark blue mane was rather spiky, reminiscent of those Neighpon comics she read from time to time.
“Well, well, well,” the stallion said “What have we here? A cute inquisitor? My eyes must be playing tricks on me.”
Lyra flushed, with both embarrassment and anger. “I’m not cute.”
“I beg to differ,” the stallion chuckled. “Now be a good mare and leave. I don’t want to mess up that cute face of yours.”
Lyra’s eyes twitched in anger and her magic pulsed over her, strengthening her fists. “I! AM NOT! CUTE!”
The stallion just laughed at her. “Sure you’re not, but if I offended you, I apologize.” The shadow Pegasus bowed. “I am Shadow Blade, commander of Nightmare Moon’s second Shadowbolt flight. May I have the honor of knowing thy name?”
Lyra tried to control the ever present anger she felt. ‘Keep it together, Lyra.’ “I am Acolyte Inquisitor Lyra Heartstrings, personal student of Inquisitor Time Turner.”
“Lyra Heartstrings,” the shadowbolt actually sighed happily. “Such a pretty name.”
“Shadow Blade,” Lyra spat out, wanting nothing more than to make this heretic miserable. “Such a slimy name. I’ll be sure to remember it so I can etch it into your grave stone.”
“Oooh, feisty, I like that in a mare.”
“Then you’re going to love me.”
“I don’t doubt it,” rearing back, Shadow Blade ignited two purple blades of energy around his forehooves.
‘How the hay can he do that?’
Seeing the confusion on her face, Shadow Blade smirked. “It’s a little trick our dark goddess gave to us of the Shadowbolt flight. Makes dicing up our enemies easier.”
“Neat tricks aren’t going to save your hide. I’m still going to pummel you.”
“Really?” Shadow Blade chuckled. “For all you know, I could get off from it.”
Lyra blushed. “Then I’ll make it a quick death.”
“I shall return the declaration. It would be a shame to scare such a fine body.”
Lyra could feel her face become hotter than the sun above. “SHUT YOUR FACE!” And just like that, she charged at the stallion, fists swinging.
Instead of taking off and avoiding her all together like she thought he would, the heretic just blocked her attacks. His quick reflexes made it look like he was having no trouble doing so. Lyra tried and tried again for the next moment, but she couldn’t land a single blow.
“I believe you’re letting your anger get the best of you,” Shadow Blade scolded her. “Didn’t they raise you better than that?”
Lyra growled dangerously. ‘Argh, I’ll break this guy if it’s the last thing I do.’
Shadow Blade yawned as he kept parrying her fists. “This is getting tiresome.” He quickly jumped back and blew a large gust of wind at her with his wings. Since Lyra was so caught up in attacking him, the sudden change caught her off-guard. The wind blew her on her back.
Lyra barely had any time to get back on her hooves, before Shadow Blade lunged at her. She’d have died from the cursed blade aimed straight at her heart, if not for the holy aura surrounding her. The blade was deflected, which gave her an opening. With a quick jab of her right fist into his gut, she knocked the wind out of the stallion. The shadowbolt rolled along the ground for a while, before righting himself.
Shadow Blade was having a hard time regaining his breath. Lyra’s punch had a lot of magic behind it and he was lucky to actually be alive. Had she put more power into it, she could have punched him in half with ease. “Good…work.”
“Thanks,” Lyra smiled, before charging him again.
Before she could land another blow, Shadow Blade recovered enough to block the first punch and fly out of range. “You’ll have to try better than that, love.”
Gritting her teeth, Lyra tried to jump at him. He wasn’t that far into the air yet, so she reasoned she got nab him. Unfortunately, he was able to quickly dodge the attack. The next thing she knew, he was holding her from behind in a rather…loving embrace. Lyra couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.
“Lovely view up here, don’t you think?” Shadow Blade gently whispered into her ear.
‘It would be lovely if you guys weren’t destroying the town.’ Lyra tried to elbow him, but the shadowbolt quickly threw her up into the air. Lyra squealed in fright, flailing her arms in a pitiful attempt at staying airborne…That is until she found out that she was floating. “What the…” She noticed the golden aura surrounding her body and smiled. “I bucking love holy magic.”
“Neat trick, angel,” Shadow Blade called over to her. “But I’m sad to say, it doesn’t help you at all.”
Lyra snorted. “Course it does. It helps me pummel the snot out of you.” With that, Lyra tipped herself forward and felt herself shoot through the air. If she wasn’t in a life and death situation, she would be howling with joy at the sensations she was feeling. She felt lighter than a feather and faster than a hawk.
Lyra and Shadow Blade clashed weapons, before pushing back against one another. The two separated and tried again…and again…and again. To the naked eyes, it was difficult to see their movements, thanks to their speed. Lyra knew that the holy magic was the only reason she was able to keep up with the shadowbolt.
‘Damn it, I need to end him soon. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.’ Lyra wasn’t used to moving at this speed. She was going to slip up soon enough.
“Impressive for a beginner,” Shadow Blade complimented through their spar. “Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”
“First time actually,” Lyra admitted. “Trust me, I’ll get better.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, angel,” Shadow Blade smirked. “You have to survive tonight first.”
Lyra didn’t say anything. Instead, she answered with a lucky blow to his shoulder. Shadow Blade reeled back, clutching the bruised area. “Had enough, heretic?”
Shadow Blade glared at her and then looked at something on the ground. “Yes, I have. BLACK ROSE!”
Arching an eyebrow, Lyra peered down at where he was looking at. ‘The priestess?....Oh no.’ Before she could act, another shadowbolt, a mare from what she could tell, flew up from behind the sun priestess. Thankfully, before the heretic could lay a hoof on the sun priestess, Cloudkicker body checked the shadowbolt.
“HA!” Cloudkicker yelled triumphantly, holding a pose in the air with her rifle. “Didn’t see that coming, now did you?”Lyra silently cheered.
Black Rose didn’t respond with words. Instead, she rushed forth and tried to make a swipe at Cloudkicker. Cloudkicker brought her musket up to defend herself, but the shadowbolt cut it with ease, twirled, and delivered a kick to her stomach. Luckily, Cloudkicker was able to dodge the next couple of swings.
“Go Cloudkicker,” Lyra cheered. “You can do it.”
“Nah, Black Rose has got this in the bag.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. ‘I forgot about him.’ She turned her head and unfortunately, this brought her snout to snout with Shadow Blade.
He grinned at her, while she just flushed red. “Did you forget about me already? I thought we had something special.”
Floating backwards, she scowled. “Of course I didn’t. I’ve been thinking of all the ways I’m going to kill you.”
Shadow Blade laughed. “You are such a joker, angel.”
“My name is Lyra!”
“I would never forget such a divine name, my angel. But how can I not call you a being of perfection when you are such?”
“STOP FLIRTING WITH ME!” Lyra charged, but Shadow Blade flew out of her range.
“You’ll have to do better than that….angel.”
_____________________________________________________________________
Blossomforth cringed as she heard Lyra’s angry wail. ‘I’ve never heard her that angry before…I’m glad I’m down here.’ She thought as she snuck her way around the carnage. Cloudkicker would have been there with her, if she hadn’t taken off to save the sun priestess.
Being a normal civilian, the sounds of war and death grated against her very being. Never in all her life had she wished to be in a situation like this, but fate seemed to have a nasty sense of humor. ‘Just stay calm and quiet,’ she told herself. This was easier said than done, since her heart was beating faster than she thought possible.
The sack she was carrying made it a tad harder to move around. Not because it was heavy, it kind of was, but because of its content. Inside, there were several metal balls with a short fuse on them. ‘I think they said they were…Handgranates. Sounds like a bat pony word.’
Since she wasn’t an expert sneaker, she was glad, for once, that everypony else was too busy fighting. It gave her the perfect opportunity to reach her goal, which she soon did.
“This is it.” Blossomforth softly said to herself, peering down at the accursed object. It was larger up close. It kind of reminded her of an exercise mat in a way, large enough so that she could lay perfectly on it. Taking out one of the handgranates, she placed it on the device. “That should do it…Or should I use more?” Honestly, she was wondering why they gave her several handgranates. Maybe it was because they just wanted to be safe, or perhaps she had to use them all. Deciding to play it safe, she placed the whole sack onto the device.
Blossomforth picked up one of the handgrantes and pull out a match from her breast pocket. Rubbing it against her helmet, the flame came to life. ‘Here it blows.’
“Hey,” she heard a gruff voice say. She looked up over to her left. Right there was one of the soldiers of Nightmare Moon. His armor was dented in several places, with a large one on his head. Blood spilled out from some of the multiple blows and a portion of his right hind leg was missing. Blood was spattering forth from the missing limb, making Blossomforth a tad queasy. He was shaking, straining himself to keep upright. “Who are you?”
“Um…the muffinmare,” Blossomforth couldn’t help but wince at her choice. ‘Stupid.’
“Oh,” the soldier said. “Well, leave some for me.” With that said, he promptly collapsed.
Blossomforth stared at him for a second, hearing his breathing stop. Sadness crept into her heart, showing on her face. “Rest in peace.” She whispered. She knew he wasn’t going anywhere good in the afterlife, but she was sure he had somepony who would miss him. Who knows, he could have turned into a nice stallion, if not for Nightmare Moon.
Focusing back on the handgranates, she lit the fuse, put the explosive in with the others, and flew as fast she could back to her lines.
_____________________________________________________________________
Lyra Heartstrings and Shadow Blade continued their dance of death. Each one took a swing, while the other blocked. Lyra couldn’t help but note that he could have finished this a while back. He was moving slower than his brethren. ‘Why? Is he just toying with me?’
“Give up, angel,” Shadow Blade said. “Serving the dark goddess is a rewarding experience.”
“I’d never turn traitor,” Lyra growled. “I’d rather die.”
Shadow Blade frowned. “It doesn’t have to be that way. I can help you.”
“Help me into your bed, you sick fuck.”
“Wow, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“You shouldn’t be surprised. She taught me much harsher words than that. Trust me. You’re just lucky I’m talking like this.”
“Like this?”
Lyra sighed, parrying a thrust of his blade. “You’z ponie not tuff like us Diamond Dogz. I’z krump ya gud an’ propa.” Truth be told, she didn’t know why she did that. It was kind of embarrassing to talk like that in front of other ponies. ‘He’s just lucky I haven’t shown him a proper WAAAGH! That’d shut him up and put him in his place…six feet under.’
Shadow Blade flew backwards, giving him some distance. The shadowbolt then broke into uproarious laughter. “A…A diamond dog? Your mother was a diamond dog.”
“Pappy too,” Lyra nodded. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re a speciest as well as a heretic.”
“Nah,” Shadow Blade shook his head. “It just makes you all the more desirable.”
Before Lyra could retort, both of them and everypony else were thrown back as a large explosion ripped the area apart. Lyra could feel the holy magic leave her, either from the caster being knocked out of concentration or dead she didn’t know.
What she did know is that she was falling at break neck speed to the ground. ‘You know, it’s times like these that I wish I knew more spells.’
For some reason, instead of the hardened earth, or the side of a building, she landed in something soft and warm. “Huh?”
“You okay, angel?” She heard Shadow Blade ask.
Looking up, she noticed him giving her a concerned gaze. Her face flushed. “L-l-let me go, heretic.”
“Is that the thanks I get for saving your cute butt?”
“Don’t make me kill you,” Lyra narrowed her eyes. Oh, she wanted to do just that, but not at this height.
Laughing, he quickly touched down to the ground and let her go. “Now then, shall we continue this pointless battle?”
Taking a battle stance, Lyra snorted. “Lets,” and just like that, she felt someone slam into her, sending her flying through a window.
_____________________________________________________________________
Shadow Blade snorted in anger. “Black Rose, was that really necessary?”
Black Rose glared at him. “You were flirting with the enemy…again. How am I supposed to be taken seriously, when my big brother is spending his time snogging some loyalist bitch, instead of watching the artifact? Which, I must remind you, THEY JUST BLEW UP!”
Shadow Blade’s eyes widened. “Oh…I was wondering what that explosion was about.”
Black Rose snarled. “Keep your head in the game, Shadow Blade. Else, Apostle will order me to take you out, permanently.” The mare ignited one of her magical blades. It hummed softly, waiting to slice into somepony’s unwilling flesh.
Shadow Blade gulped, sweating profusely. “I got you.”
“Good…Now let’s go kill some sun touched idiots.”
_____________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, in Canterlot
Farseer Anrain and Princess Celestia were both sitting on opposite sides of a small table. On top was an intricate chess game, with the black pieces belonging to deer pawns, while Celestia’s white pieces resembled her own troops. The deer had forgone his helmet, allowing Celestia to see his face clearly.
“You’ve backed me up into a corner,” Anrain grumbled. “Not many can do so.
Celestia giggled. She could see the frustration he was feeling on his face. “I’ve known you long enough to figure you out, my friend. You’re predictable.”
“I am not,” Anrain pouted.
Celestia covered her mouth with a hoof to stop herself from laughing. A pouting Anrain was something she couldn’t help but find silly. ‘And pretty cute.’
“Where is that chef of yours? I thought he was supposed to be here an hour ago.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Anrain, if you really wanted to know, why didn’t you use your foresight?”
Anrain shook his head, peering over the pieces. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“That hasn’t stopped you before,” Celestia pointed out.
“….Touché,” Anrain glared at the game.
The door opened and in walked Celestia’s head chef: Gordon Roansay. He was a tan unicorn with a blonde mane. His cutie mark was two knives crossed over one another. “Your Majesty and esteemed guest,” the stallion said. A cart with a big dish covered in a metal dome was pushed in by a pair of other minor chefs. “I bring to you, my piece de resistance, chocolate cake.”
Anrain raised an eyebrow. “Chocolate cake?”
“What?” Celestia said. “It’s chocolate cake. It’s cake with chocolate. What more can you want?...Except more cake?”
“You have a cake problem,” Anrain stated.
Celestia gasped. She narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusing hoof at him. “That’s heresy. There is no such thing as a ‘cake problem’,” She tapped her hoof against her chin. “Unless the problem is a lack of cake.”
Anrain rolled his eyes and chuckled. He just continued to peer down at the chess pieces. “She will be here soon.”
Celestia frowned. “I know.” ‘Make your move, Anrain. You’re just delaying the inevitable.’ Honestly, she didn’t care. This was much better for her, since it kept her mind off her…sister. ‘I just hope Sunset is alright. Dealing with strange ponies can be tiresome.’ She hoped that the citizens would be okay with a light extra darkness for the time being. Nightmare Moon was to return soon and she needed to catch her off guard. Without the sun above her head, her sister would immediately try and draw a portal to her realm, thus making her easy to spot.
Using his magic to lift the lid off the dish, Gordon gasped. Instead of a juicy cake, there was but one naughty mare: Twilight Sparkle. She and her dress were covered in the remains of what would have been Celestia’s breakfast.
“Twilight?” Celestia said, a subtle hurt tone filled her voice. Her lips quivered. “Why?”
Swallowing another piece she had been chewing, she smiled. “I ate it for chaos~”
Gordon’s face contorted into one of pure rage. “YOU DONKEY!” He shouted, before jumping at the mare. Twilight just teleported and laughed at the stallion, to which he gave chase.
Celestia laughed until a large sensation brushed against her mind, before disappearing quickly. Her head span in unease and discomfort.
“You felt it too,” Anrain said, phrasing it more as a statement than a question.
“I…I haven’t felt something like that for eons,” Celestia admitted. A cold chill ran up her spine. She knew where the disturbance originated. “But…Ponyville can’t have anything like that. I sense nothing wrong with it.”
Anrain furrowed his brow in thought. “Then maybe we have let ourselves be blind to our surroundings. There is something foul in Ponyville and I think we both know who could be responsible.”
Celestia sighed. “I know…I know this is to be so, but…not this soon. Not like this.”
“Celestia, you have told me time and time again that she was ready for this.”
“But…”
“Have faith,” Anrain said. “She will prevail, but she may need some assistance.”
Celestia smiled. “And some assistance she will receive.” ‘Babies, don’t worry. Momma’s coming.’
