Who Were They?

Inside the dark Golden Oak's library, a bright light flashed and out popped Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie still huddled together.

They looked around at their quiet surroundings to see that they are safe. "So...what now?" asked Fluttershy who did not know what to do.

"I...don't...know..." mumbled a stunned Rarity.

"Rarity?"

"I said I DON'T KNOW!" snapped the unicorn at her pegasus friend.

Pinkie and Fluttershy looked on with stunned silence.

"Applejack is lost, Rainbow Dash has been captured, Twilight needs our help and now we're the most wanted ponies in Equestria, there is nothing we can do!"

"I know..." sighed Pinkie "this whole thing has gotten dark lately." she looked down on the floor dejected.

The three mares stood in silence. All they could do now was to wait for something else to happen.

"Kage!" yelled a distant voice to him. The voice sounded familiar to him for some reason...could it be?

"Mmmm...Twilight?" he groaned as his eyes opened. His vision cleared to confirm that the one mare who loves him was standing over him with a look of concern. "What happened?"

"You inhaled a lot of smoke from the fire." Twilight explained to the dark stallion.

"Fire?"

Twilight used her hoof to point to a nearby cave entrance billowing smoke and flames. His memory slowly came back to him. "Ugh...they booby trapped the whole thing...damn it." he groaned with frustration. He slowly got back up on all fours. "And the others?"

"We're okay." responded Platinum as she finished healing Jewel. "We should've known they would rig the place to blow once they abandon it."

Kage suddenly found himself no longer in his Sombra form, he was for now a normal unicorn stallion. He turned over to the mare he hoped still loved him deep inside. "Why are you here Twi?"

"I had a feeling deep inside that you needed me." explained Twilight, she could really find the words to what brought her here.

"Even after I tried to push you away?" Kage admitted as he turned away in shame. "Even after I told you the lie that maybe my Sombra side used you to further his plans?"

"What?"

"I really do love you, and I did all of that because I really did have feelings for you, I loved you since we first met long ago." he admitted with shame. "But I felt horrible that you would fall in love with a monster like me."

Twilight walked up to him and used her hoof to force his face to hers. "I did not fall in love with a monster Kage...I fell in love with a stallion that wanted help, and if that means dealing with the consequences of such an affair, then so be it." the mare explained as her purple eyes met his dark gray ones.

"But why?"

"Because you were the first pony in my life to have shown me a better destiny for myself, and not one forced upon me all of my life."

Kage just looked on with a guilty expression. "Maybe it's best that I just move to a place far away from here where no one can find me." he started to walk off towards a random direction.

"But...we need you!" pleaded Twilight. "My friends need you! The princesses need you! The entirety of Equestria needs you!"

Kage stopped dead in his tracks at the last sentence. "What...?"

"Equestria is in danger and I have a feeling that sisterhood is behind it all." clarified Twilight with pleading eyes.

"You are asking me, the vessel of an authoritarian greedy slave driving dictator, to save Equestria?" the stallion turned around with a raised eyebrow.

"You're the only pony I know besides my friends and the princesses that can stand a chance against this threat." continued Twilight.

"And I think I know what they are up to." interrupted Platinum. Both Twilight and Kage looked on at her with confusion. Platinum levitates over to the two a singed document. "Has anyone here heard of a centaur named Tirek?"

Twilight took the document and read it. "Celestia told me stories about him, how he sucked Equestria dry of all magic until his brother betrayed him and aided the princesses in defeating him."

"Well, apparently, it was the sisterhood that lead Tirek and his brother to Equestria all those centuries ago and have been communicating with him since." explained Platinum.

"Why?" asked Kage.

"To weaken Equestria enough so that it can easily be defeated by another empire." continued Platinum. "The sisterhood love to pick and choose empires to promote and which ones to destroy, all for the sake of changing the world order, and I have a feeling that they felt Equestria has been on top long enough and that it was time for a new empire to take its place as the dominant one."

"But which ones?" wondered Twilight. "The Griffins are in a severe inflation crisis because of their miserly ways, the Minotaurs are too business focused, the Diamond Dogs has no significant military force, every other nation is a close ally that would never dare to invade us which only leaves the-"

"Caribou of the Rangifer Kingdom." completed Kage.

"Caribou? Really?" the mare just looked on with disbelief. "They're nothing but a joke among the nations of the planet that no one ever takes seriously, they just see it as an insignificant kingdom that treats its females horribly and tries to be taken seriously, and fail miserably at it."

"Which makes them a perfect candidate to be the next empire that the sisterhood support, no one would ever suspect it." answered Platinum ominously.

"But why would a misandric group of priestesses obsessed with changing the world order do business with a misogynistic kingdom obsessed with keeping females as fuck toys?" stated Kage with disbelief.

"Like I said, because no one would suspect such an alliance to happen." explained Platinum.

"And they're using Tirek to weaken Equestria enough so that the Caribou can stand a chance in succeeding." realized Twilight.

"Let's just hope it is not too late." stated a stunned Kage.

Moans and groans echoed across the landscape as hundreds of guards lay on the ground weak and injured. Many of them lost their will to live let alone fight. Standing over them, the giant centaur towered over them with smug satisfaction. "That was too easy." he mused at the sight.

He looked around at the field of soldiers for their captain only to see that he was by one of his legs. Tirek picked him up by the neck. "I thought you would give me a challenge Captain Armor."

Shining struggled as the centaur squeezed his grip around his neck.

"What...do you...want!" he said while he struggled to breathe.

"Revenge, but not against you." he dropped the captain down to the ground. "Let's just say I have some 'family business' to take care of." he chuckled. He turned around to walk away but quickly remembered something. "Oh," he looked back. "tell your wife and the princesses that you let everypony down." he chuckled again before he walked away back to his homeland.

Shining tried to drag himself after the centaur, but he no longer had the strength to do so. His magic gone, and his life force also gone. He did let everyone down.

"I'm sorry Cadance....I'm sorry...Twi..." he groaned as a tear fell from his eye.

On top of a plateau at a dessert, both Nightmare Moon and Awa still fought each other under the force field. It was a long and evenly matched battle. Both of them stared each other down, heavily breathing.

"Let me guess, you underestimated me like always?" smirked Awa. "I can see why your 'amazing' sister never gave you the respect you deserve."

"Shut up!" snarled Nightmare Moon, the words have hit a nerve.

"Forever destined to live under her shadow, where all the praise and attention from your 'loyal' subjects will all go to her." Awa kept going with a chuckle. "But I do have a feeling that by defeating me, you can claim you saved Equestria and finally gain the love of subjects that you clearly deserve!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Think about it Luna, you have finally become the sole and unchallenged ruler of Equestria with two other princesses fully subordinate to you. For once, the night shall finally rule over the land and everyone will praise you endlessly for it."

The dark alicorn's blood started to boil with rage.

"Think about it, think about how the darkness and night shall prevail!" the priestess laughed maniacally.

"YOU WANT DARKNESS?!" she boomed as dark tendrils suddenly appeared from her. "I CAN SHOW YOU DARKNESS!"

The tendrils suddenly came at Awa who was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events. "Oh shit..." she said before she was suddenly grabbed by the tendrils and was immediately squeezed.

"When I rule, I will do it in a way that makes my sister and my subjects proud, and I'll do it better!" Nightmare Moon spat as she mentally controlled the tendrils to squeeze her. "Now get ready to relive your most traumatic event!" she laughed.

Awa was suddenly electrocuted by the tendrils before being unceremoniously dropped back to the floor. The priestess slowly got back up only to see that she was smaller and with a blank flank. "What's going on?" her voice was higher as well, she has been turned into a filly.

"Hey sis." said a slightly older male voice. "It's time for your punishment."

"B-b-brother?!" Awa back away from that voice, she turned to see that her assumption was correct, there in front of her stood her older brother. "Please, no, I'm sorry."

"You should've taught twice before you told on me about sneaking out!" he snarled as a collar and leash suddenly appeared around Awa's neck.

"Brother, no!"

Nightmare Moon saw the whole the thing unfold with smug satisfaction, from her view, Awa was still an adult and her brother was not there. Everything that the priestess was experiencing was in her mind. The dark alicorn saw her reenact the sick things her older brother has done to her, Nightmare Moon felt horrible for her, but at the same time, felt satisfied that the priestess was getting what she deserved.

"Please brother, not in there again, it's too thick." Awa pleaded to her imaginary projection of her brother. She writhe on the floor in pain as if it was actually happening to her.

"What a waste..." was all Nightmare Moon said at the sight.

Awa continued to moan and groan from what she was feeling. The dark alicorn walked up to the priestess and placed a hoof on her chest to keep her still for what she will do next.

"Mommy...help..." pleaded Awa in a foalish voice.

"No one is going to help you now." responded the dark princess as her horn glowed. She shot a strong beam right between her eyes silencing the former priestess once and for all. The force field soon came down and the landscape was once again quiet.

The princess slowly returned herself back to normal without saying a word. She looked at the lifeless body before looking at the horizon at Celestia's sun hanging to the horizon. Luna gave a loud primal scream of anger in response to what just happened.

Equestria is not out of the woods yet.