Medievil: Equestrian Adventure

Chapters

Chapter 1: Oh, God...Not Again
Chapter 2: Everfree Trek
Chapter 3: Enemy Within
Chapter 4: Nightmare
Chapter 5: Odyssey

Chapter 1: Oh, God...Not Again

The moon shone brightly in the night as clouds drifted over the calm and quiet town known as Ponyville. Most of the fillies had already been put to bed and the adults were settling in for their night's activities. Twilight Sparkle, renowned bearer of the Element of Magic and the protege of Princess Celestia, well known and loved in the small town, had settled down for a nice and relaxing session of reading and was enjoying the latest exploits of Daring Do. Spike was reading his comic books, a look of glee and excitement had been pasted on his face for a good hour or so.

Rainbow Dash had a bout of hearty competition with Applejack that afternoon and had settled into a pleasant nap a few hours earlier. Applejack had enough strength left to finish dinner with her family before retiring to bed. Fluttershy spent most of her day with the critters that roamed the lands near her cottage and was finishing her day by tending to a few injured mice. What the poor things were doing racing down the creek in leaf boats in the first place was beyond her, but she couldn't possibly find it within her heart to refuse them in their time of need. Pinkie Pie baked all day...as in, all day. She awoke around 7 am and had proceeded to fix up a batch of cupcakes soon afterwards. Now, as the Cakes headed home, she waited as the oven finished turning the mound of cake batter into a delectable dessert worthy of her next party. Rarity was sitting home and having a lovely chat over tea with Sapphire Shores, who had come into town for the next meeting with her favorite seamstress.

All was quiet. All was calm. All was normal in Equestria. It was not to last.

Within a mere matter of seconds the cool setting was blasted apart by a maniacal and twisted evil laugh. It was not the mere squeal of glee from a pizza boy who stole a pen from his harsh taskmaster, nor the chuckle of a large gangster that had finally cornered the fuzzy dog he secretly wished to hold down and scratch on the belly. No, it was a laugh of pure, unadulterated evil.

It seemed to ring out of the very shadows and contort with the blowing winds as it crawled across Ponyville and all of Equestria. The graveyards shook with raw, dark power as coffins were opened, tombs unsealed, and crypts broken into pieces while the former occupants arose and joined together in a sea of walking dead and out of tune moans. Such horrors even occurred at the sights of former battles, long forgotten throughout the now peace filled land of Equestria. The long dead soldiers and warriors awoke, grabbed their swords and spears, and marched off to find souls to torment as is expected of any undead soldier in such a situation.

The living guards stood their ground against the waves of angered corpses and zombies, but sooner or later were forced to make a tactical retreat and flee the scene. In most cases the majority of civilians were fortunate enough to escape unharmed, but those that were caught by the undead armies suffered a horrible death and joined the ranks of non-living. The land was put into an immediate terror, and Princess Celestia acted quickly, sending out orders to the guards in all cities and towns within Equestria's borders. Within several hours of the incident, Celestia had no choice but to find the Elements of Harmony and go to Ponyville to find her student and the other bearers.

Upon arriving in the shockingly quiet town, she found the Golden Oakes Library and advanced inside to find that the news of the sudden apocalyptic event had garnered the attention of the Element users and the Mayor.

"Princess Celestia! What's going on?" Twilight asked, running over with joy upon seeing her mentor and being filled with a sense of relief knowing she was there now. Celestia quickly and happily embraced her student for a small moment before speaking up, the other Element users and the Mayor looking on quite intently at the Alicorn.

"Somehow the dead have been reanimated and raised from the burial grounds across the land, joining in a hellish crusade against the living. The guards are doing what they can, but the living dead are fierce opponents who have a significant numbers advantage. I've come with the Elements and a special task for you all," Celestia explained.

"What do you need us to do, Princess?" Rainbow asked before Twilight could, now fully awakened with the realization that the end of the world may be on the horizon.

"I am no expert in the field of dark magic, but I have my fair share of knowledge and a collection of scrolls and books in the old castle inside the Everfree Forest that will help you get to the bottom of this while I lead the guards against these undead foes. it is vital that you figure out how this happened and even more so how to stop it. If you do not succeed, then I fear Equestria will fall very soon."

"What should I do, Princess?" Asked the Mayor, eager to receive the immense wisdom of the ruling Princess of the Sun.

"As the leader of this town you must ensure that the civilians stay safe. The guards here will do what they can with the orders given to them, but you must not let anypony out; the danger presented in this crisis is great, and we must keep everypony as safe as possible," Celestia replied and turned back to the Element users, each already wearing the necklace, or in Twilight's case, tiara, that was the artifact of their immense power.

"We're ready to make the journey through the Everfree, Princess!" Twilight confidently informed her mentor, who merely smiled in a brief moment of amusement.

"Please, allow me. After all, time is of the essence."

With that, Celestia used her great magic to transport the seven of them directly into the library inside the Castle of the Twin Sisters. Twilight's jaw immediately went agape at the sight of so many old books and scrolls and the near infinite amount of knowledge that could be syphoned from them. The rest of the mane six took a moment to take in the sight on a much different level than Twilight did as Princess Celestia gave them one last direction.

"I cannot be sure of this, but I suspect that Nightmare Moon is behind this act of dark maleficence. It would be wise to keep a sharp eye out for her at all times. She is a deadly opponent that has plagued this land since her descent from the moon several months ago. I'm surprised she has waited this long to take such a drastic move, if indeed this is her doing. I will be sure to check back in with you later; work hard my little ponies, for the fate of the living Equestria rests in your hooves," Celestia told them and teleported away, leaving them alone in the large library.

"Well...we better get started," Twilight told the others with a smile painted on her face as she trotted along and glanced at the vast plethora of books that rested on many, elegant shelves in the old, stone hall. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack began to look around, some more motivated than others, but Rainbow flew in place for a moment and looked around with a sigh.

"Ugh...I guess since the fate of Equestria rests on it..."

"Oh come on, Rainbow! This is amazing. I don't think I've ever been in any library with this many books and scrolls and tomes around to read," Twilight replied as she headed down one of the aisles.

"Yeah, lighten up Rainbow. It could always be a lot worse," Applejack reminded and smirked, obviously a reference to their interactions earlier that day. In response, Rainbow simply rolled her eyes and went to work finding anything that could be relevant or useful to the situation.

Each pony took a small portion of the library's many aisles and rows of books that related even a little bit to the uncanny, demonic, and horrifying. Twilight read through the titles with ease, passing over ones she felt by instinct were unimportant or not particularly helpful. Time was not something they had an abundance of, and having spent many a year inside the safety and refuge of a library, Twilight had garnered a bit of a knack for sensing these kinds of things.

She did pass one book, however, that made her stop in her tracks. The title simply read "Dan's Private Journal". It was not so much the title itself, however, as the oddity of finding such a work in such a particular place in the library that caught her eye and forced her to pause. Most of the books here were academic, pertaining to a particular study in the general field of dark magic and the undead, yet here was a personal journal from an entity she did not recognize. The cover was a faded chestnut color and it had seldom been opened; a well rounded layer of dust sat on it like a coat.

Perhaps out of personal curiosity or perhaps out of that same instinct, Twilight levitated the book out and peered through it. At first she only skimmed through the entries, made by one "Sir Daniel Fortesque" but soon enough she found that the stories inside were quite related to the disaster that was ravaging Equestria. Tales of zombies and undead warriors, along with the stories of battles between Sir Fortesque and enemies along the lines of demons, giant, monstrous pumpkins, a dragon, and many more left Twilight with an odd curiosity as to the owner and writer of the book. She had never even heard of Sir Daniel Fortesque before.

According to his journal, he seemed to be an undead warrior himself, but as he lived and died serving the monarchy of his homeland, Gallowmere, yet another name Twilight had never heard of, it turned out that he fought against the other undead warriors and strange creatures that attacked his home when they rose up. The cause of the paranormal proceedings in Gallowmere was caused by a sorcerer named "Zarok". Twilight was beginning to think that this was a purely fictional work, after all, the events described were so crazy that she would have discarded it as soon as she began to skim through it if similar things weren't happening in Equestria. Then, she found a small, folded up note at the back of the book. She carefully unfurled it and read it aloud to herself:

"Odd discovery today, can't fathom where it came from or when it was written. (the date given inside is 1386, but that is essentially meaningless here in Equestria) Seems intriguing, and although I cannot verify anything inside as fact or fiction, given the circumstances within the text and my vast knowledge on such topics, I lean towards the former. I do very much wish to meet Sir Daniel Fortesque someday. He seems like an intriguing, if not somewhat quirky, fellow. I know of a particular spell that may very well allow such a meeting, someday, but as it stands that spell will be going into my 'unfinished spells' list. Maybe when matters become less pressing I'll find the time to work that out. Until then, keep up with your work with Celestia.
P.S. The bells that keep falling off have been moved from your dresser drawer to the wooden box on your secondary work table. Don't forget!
-Starwirl the Bearded"

Twilight's eyes went wide upon seeing whom the author of the note was. If Starswirl thought it was real, then it was probably worth a shot. None of her friends seemed to be making much progress, and Twilight was pretty sure she knew exactly the spell that Starswirl was speaking of in the note. If she was correct, it was a highly sensitive spell that had been kept largely behind the curtains from most magic wielders and learners for many centuries. In fact, it had only been completed a mere hundred years or so before Twilight was born. It could be dangerous, but Twilight had managed to study it some years ago under Celestia. She never imagined she'd end up with reason to use it, but if Sir Daniel Fortesque was a real figure and he could help Equestria, then Twilight would give it her all.

She gathered her friends around and informed them of the journal as she prepared to use the spell, searching through her memory to familiarize herself with it.

"You seriously want to try this? I mean, even if the note thing is true, sounds like a crazy fairy tale. No way it could actually happen," Rainbow tried to reason, or what passed as such for Rainbow's brash and confident character, but to no avail.

"As if we have a better lead right now? We have to at least try it. If this does turn out to be real, then all our problems will be answered...hopefully," Twilight replied as her horn began to light up with its magical glow, "Now stand back, this is going to get a little weird."

The library shook and rumbled with the power of the spell, and Twilight was feeling a strain in performing it, but knew she could manage it. Her friends took a few steps back as right side of the room began to morph. It became almost creamy, as the very fabrics of reality, so far as they could tell, melted away and were reshaped in another, stranger form. The dim colors of the hall were transformed into an even more shadowy darkness and the stones became more rigid and less refined with the architecture of the old castle.

On the other side of the room, now a lonely and dusty crypt, lay a slab with a prone figure atop it. A sign forged from pure gold was bolted to the side of the large, wooden piece and it read: "Here lies Sir Daniel Fortesque, Hero of Gallowmere"

The ponies all looked on in amazement, Rainbow in particular was stunned beyond expression, and let her mouth hang agape as Twilight became the first of them willing to approach the slab. Hesitantly, she inched her way forward; Applejack and Pinkie Pie had also worked up the nerve to approach the figure a little while Rarity and Fluttershy both lifted up a single hoof and leaned backwards.

"I-Is it...really him?" Rarity managed to inquire as Twilight, now standing directly beside the piece, leaned over it with wide eyes and perked up ears.

"It is. It's Sir Daniel Fortesque! We did it! We found him!" Twilight ran back to her friends and began jumping up in place as if she were a school-filly that had just earned an ice cream cone for good behavior. Applejack and Pinkie went back over as well, and the entire group was now a good distance from the still body.

"Super duper, Twilight! But i mean, really, is he supposed to look like that?" Pinkie asked in, what Twilight perceived as, a fake tone of amusement and disbelief.

"He does look...scary," Fluttershy told her friends and shied further away from the corpse.

"Oh, come on. I know he looks bad, but it's really him. He's a hero, and he's faced this kind of dark magic before. He can help us, we just have to show him how wrong things are around here. I'm sure he'd be willing to help us, the brave and noble warrior that he is," Twilight encouraged, recognizing that her friends didn't realize that he had been killed due to his incompetence 100 years before he managed to save Gallowmere.

"I guess, but he sure does look funny," Applejack commented, looking back at the still lifeless body on the wooden slab.

"Does this guy need a sugar rush or something? He hasn't moved since he got here," Pinkie told Twilight, bursting the bubble of joy and accomplishment she felt when she realized that Pinkie was right; Fortesque hadn't moved at all since arriving, and he showed no signs of waking any time soon.

"Well..." Twilight pondered what to say about their less than inert visitor when Fluttershy let out a scream so loud Twilight thought the yellow pegasi was on fire while watching the forests get flattened by an earthquake.

The skeletal man had finally gotten to his feet and began to slowly and unstably walk around. When he registered the screams he looked over and screamed himself, though it was a muffled scream. Out of pure instinct Rainbow sprung into action, flying past her friends and using her hind legs to attack the figure that was threatening her friends.

To the shock of Rainbow and the extreme terror of Fluttershy, the figure's head popped right off its shoulders and continued screaming all the way to the floor. The body became more sure of itself and began to run around more swiftly, though without a head to guide it, it soon found itself running into one of the bookshelves and immediately plopping to the ground thereafter. At this sight, Fluttershy weakened and finally fainted, leaving just enough time for Rarity to catch her.

The head ceased screaming as the other ponies gathered round, all looking at it intently, but not so much in a belligerent or mean spirited way.

"You're Sir Daniel Fortesque, aren't you?" Twilight asked as the bony head used the only eye it had to look at each of the colorful ponies that surrounded it.

"I am..." It replied, but again in a very muffled voice, and it was then that Twilight first took note that Fortesque was missing his lower jaw.

"Hey! He's funny!" Pinkie said with a gleeful snicker, "I like him!"

"I'm sure you're wondering what exactly you're doing here?" Twilight offered.

"...A little..."

"Well, it's really a funny thing," Twilight explained, a fake smile growing on her lips and an equally fake, but well meant and cheery, laugh bubbling in her throat, "see, out of the blue, a horde of zombies and undead warriors began popping out of nowhere and attacking the citizens of Equestria. That's, uh, where we summoned you, where we live, in Equestria," another chuckle, "Anyways, our leader, Princess Celestia, took us here and told us to find a way to stop them. Soon afterwards I came upon your journal."

Dan looked up at Twilight and then longingly over at his body, prompting Rainbow and Applejack to retrieve it for him and put back his head at Twilight's prompting.

"Err, thanks," Dan lauded the two mares and rubbed the back of his skull, squirming a little bit in his place as Twilight went on.

"So...I know it's kind of a lot to ask of you, but we know you saved your home, Gallowmere, and now we're asking you to save ours. No, not just asking, pleading. Without you, I don't think Equestria has much of a chance at all." Upon her plea, Twilight fell to two knees and humbled herself before the legendary knight, who was taken aback.

"We really could use your help, partner. You might be strange to us, but we sure won't judge you," Applejack added, also humbling herself and causing Rainbow and Pinkie to follow suit. Rarity was still looking after Fluttershy, but nodded in agreement with her friends and looked hopefully at the one eyed knight.

"Well, sir Fortesque, will you help us in our time of need?" Rarity asked from the side as her friends got up.

Dan looked at each of the ponies once, then twice, and down at himself, seemingly inspecting his own body for weaknesses or faults. He looked up and let out a sigh, then nodded with a goofy, but valiant smile,or what passed as a smile for those without a lower jaw, prompting the still conscious members of the mane six to show him their own smiles.

"Thank you, we owe you a great debt," Twilight told him with an esteemed tone.

"Yeah, well, you know, fate doesn't like giving me time off," Dan replied with what Twilight took as a sort of bashful pride. The Hero of Gallowmere went over to the part of the room that was transformed into his crypt and looked over the supplies that were pulled to Equestria with him. One short sword, one bronze shield, a few daggers, and a battle axe were the only items he could find.

"Well we'll always be thankful for your sacrifice, Sir Fortesque," Twilight told him.

"Call me Dan, everyone I work with does," Dan explained and rolled his eye, remembering his last awakening and how he banded together with Al-Zalam and Death to overcome Zarok. The tosser stewed up quite some trouble, and now he was at it again.

"Alright. Well Dan, we're in an old castle inside the Everfree Forest. The first thing we need to do is get back to Ponyville a ways outside the forest and make contact with Princess Celestia again. After that, she'll know what to do," Twilight explained.

"Got it," Dan replied and fastened his shield around his left arm.

By this time, Fluttershy had awakened and was informed on what had happened by Rarity and Applejack as the others swarmed around Dan as he finished arming himself with his tools.

"Hey, that's some arsenal you got there, I'm starting to like you a bit more," Rainbow teased lightly, poking her hoof into his bony arm for good measure, inciting a small smile from Dan.

"So, out of pure curiosity, did you really fight against and beat a dragon?" Twilight inquired with the same thirst for knowledge her friends had come to automatically associate with her character, though the part about fighting the dragon made them all look at Dan in a new light as he shrugged and affirmed with more, though slightly less than before, of a bashful unease.

"Hey! I really am liking you more, Dan!" Rainbow complimented and flew off ahead of the others as they began to exit the library. By now the spell had worn off, and Dan's Crypt faded into oblivion, urging the hero to make a small sigh as he too began to walk off into another adventure.

Just before exiting the great library though, Dan stopped suddenly and ran over to a table with many sheets of paper, a couple quill pens, and a few bottles of ink on top. He swiped the quills and the ink and hurried off after the ponies that brought him into this strange, new land. This was the start of another adventure, and it called for another few entries into his journal.

Well, as usual poor sap Fortesque can't catch a break! I finally get a few months, if even that, of a nice, peaceful slumber and I awaken all of the sudden to find a group of multi colored ponies standing around me, practically drooling. Never been one who was overly fond of ponies, but they seem on the whole kind and not so lethargic creatures, and I don't hold anything against the critters. Word around Equestria (that is, their homeland) is that some familiar sorcery shenanigans are afoot. I smell a rat, Mr. Zarok! Cor, what's an undead knight to do when a band of cutesy ponies comes begging for help? They claim that the prime suspect is a dastardly dame what goes by the name "Nightmare Moon". Can't say I'm too eager to make that one's acquaintance, sounds like she has a habit of doing in do gooders, and yet I hear she's lost the plot. Always a nifty little emotional catch with these villain types, am I right? Ah well, off to my next adventure.

Chapter 2: Everfree Trek

The Everfree Forest: Where wild animals run amok and dictators never stay for too long...all in all a bit of a decent place, if you can get past the hordes of deadly creatures around every corner

The shadows that were inherent in the Everfree Forest ran deeper than those inside the library in the old castle, and the atmosphere out in the wilderness was on a whole new level. Twilight used her horn like a torch, lighting the way for the others as the group moved along as a collective huddle. The Forest was bad enough under normal circumstances, but on a night where zombies and undead warriors were springing up, it was almost impossible not to quiver and tremble as you walked along the dark wilderness paths.

"So, uh, it might be a good idea to ask before we run into anything too bad," Applejack said with some anxiety in her voice as a small group of bats flew over her head, prompting her to grab hold of her stetson and lower it, "so how exactly do you deal with an undead zombie, Dan? I'd imagine it ain't much like anything i've ever done," she added as the howl of timberwolves broke out in the distance.

Dan looked at the ponies for a brief moment with gentle and kindhearted derision before rolling his eye, but again more in a kind, mild surprise rather than contempt, and slumping down in his posture and shrugging, "Well...nothing special...generally a good few whacks and hacks with a sword will do."

"Oh dear, isn't there a more civilized way of dealing with those disgusting grave dwellers?" Rarity asked at the howl of another timber wolf and the roar of another beast that Rarity could not identify by sound, but it was obviously more intimidating and deadlier than the timber wolf.

"Fire's a bit messy, unless we're talking about mummies; best to get rid of their bodies before they get rid of your brain...if you have one," Dan explained, using his arms to emphasize his point better by having them move to the opposite side as he added in the last part of the comment. He elaborated in such a way that made him seem both eccentric and humble, but always with a hint of grace and wisdom, and the ponies all took a small instance to inch closer to Dan during the course of the next several minutes.

"If there is a connection between what's happening here and what happened back in Gallowmere can we expect many more enemies?" Twilight asked just before coming to an abrupt halt and turning right, for the road before them had ended as a cliff.

"I sure hope not," Dan quickly replied with hints of whining in his tone, and put his hands on his face as the painful memories of foes like the Mad Axeman and The Pumpkin King came back to him. However as a result of his moment of internal, and self-induced, purgatory, he did not catch the fact that Twilight had swerved right, and almost fell of the cliff and into the dark depths below, barely being caught by Applejack and Rarity, who proceeded to swiftly pull him back onto level ground.

"Uh...thanks," Dan lauded and chuckled after taking a moment to breath deeply, assuming he was breathing, and to let his eye return to normal proportions after his near fatal accident caused it to shrink within the socket, the mere sound and sight of which made Pinkie herself begin to laugh at the most unusual scene.

"Goodness, did it take this long to leave the Everfree Forest the last time?" Fluttershy asked, her body in constant motion, always looking over her shoulders and making sure nothing could sneak up on her.

"We're probably just nervous with all that's going on; I'm sure we'll be out in no time," Twilight replied with partially feigned confidence. She herself wasn't quite sure were she was leading the group, but she at least knew they were getting farther away from the castle and closer to the edge of forest. Hopefully they would find an exit sooner rather than later.

Most of the sounds of wildlife and danger grew quieter as the party trudged along through the lush vegetation of the forest and neared a large river. The waters provided a shield of sorts from the eerie noises that infested the Everfree, and the rushing current eclipsed most of the nearby sounds that unnerved them.

"We really should go on, but I think a few minutes resting here by the river would do us some good, what do you guys think?" Twilight asked, turning to face them.

"Well I'm a complete enthusiast for getting away from this forest as soon as possible, but I could use a few minutes rest," Rarity offered and looked over at some of the others, all of whom gave a more or less similar answer. Dan looked around the river nervously, placing his hand firmly on the hilt of the short sword at his side, and gave a slow and somewhat reluctant nod.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked as most of the other ponies went over to the river for various purposes.

"Hm? Nothing...just a feeling..." Dan replied, still keeping his hand on the sword hilt as he traveled over with the others to the water's edge, leaving Twilight with a look of uncertainty on her face.

Dan went over to the reflective surface of the water and inspected himself. His jaw was still missing and his eye still doing well, a fact he was very grateful for. His armor had forgotten the small layer of dust that accumulated during his time away, which though physically was suggested to be at least a good number of weeks, was for him but a few passing seconds. Caught up in the moment, he began to assume various positions and poses by the water, nothing embarrassing per se, but goofy enough to garner a giggle or two from some of the others, breaking him from his work.

Rarity herself had to suppress her chuckle from being too loud, and chose to have a moment of reflection for herself. As imagined, wandering through an unnatural forest during a zombie apocalypse took a toll on one's mane, and while Rarity understood the gravity of the situation, she refused to allow her basic standards of living, the ones she had followed and lived by the majority of her life, to be broken, even in such a crisis. She always had a fashionable tool or two with her and did the best she could with what she had, but it her mane was a bit more roughed up than she imagined. She stared intently at her own reflection in the water, pushing back everything else to attend to her own problem.

The others were mostly done and ready to get back on the trek to Ponyville, but Rarity, Dan, and Fluttershy were finishing up with their breaks when a small, swift irritation spawned in the water. Most of them didn't register the disturbance at all, and Dan himself only barely managed to react when the huge figure burst out of the water. Rarity screamed for only a second.

Dan drew his sword and ran at the huge creature, and it was 20 feet high if it was a foot! It didn't take long for this adventure to get rolling. He swung his weapon and prepared to deal some serious damage, but all of the sudden his blade stopped moving forward and was held in place by a blue glow.

"Oh dear! Whatever did I do?" The gigantic, hulking, monster, which Dan then realized wasn't much of a giant hulk-monster, cried out with a high tone.

"I appreciate the gesture Dan, but he's no threat. In fact I am quite charmed to once again make your acquaintance," Rarity told the purple sea serpent, whose name was then revealed as Steven Magnet.

"My, my, my it's wonderful to see you all again...no...not just wonderful...fabulous! But who's he?" Magnet greeted and subsequently inquired, pointing a purple finger at Dan, who stood awkwardly and stared at the sea serpent as it conversed with the group of ponies that brought him to Equestria.

"This is Sir Daniel Fortesque, the Hero of Gallowmere. He's come to help us save Equestria," Rarity explained, but before she could entirely finish her thought Magnet's face lit up and he immediately rushed down to properly introduce himself.

"Sir Daniel Fortesque, it is an honor to meet someone with such a noble cause," Magnet told the knight, energetically shaking Dan's hand, though to Dan himself it felt more like Magnet was prying his arm off, causing a look of mild distress to come across his skull.

Magnet made sure to hold the grip on Dan for a little longer than was necessary and gave a pleasant, if not awkward, wink and bright smile to the knight after he had finished. Dan merely let his eye shrink a little in the socket and looked over to Twilight with a clear look of discomfort on his face. Twilight's only response was to give a keen smile dipped in innocence as the serpent continued his greeting gestures.

"I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're here to help us," Magnet concluded, still smiling brightly at Dan.

"Thanks..." Dan replied and slowly nodded his head a few times.

"It's great to see you again Steven, but we have important matters to attend to, do you think you could direct us to the closest route out of the Everfree Forest?" Twilight asked when the greetings finally ended.

"Oh yes, I have a favor to ask of you all! You see, up ahead one of my neighbors, Zecora, has been fighting off undead soldiers for the longest time and I came to find help, after all, I'm not much good out of the water," Magnet explained, a look of true concern coming across his face for the first time since meeting the ponies again.

"What? Zecora's in trouble? Lead the way!" Rainbow answered before Twilight could say anything, prompting Fluttershy to get closer to Pinkie and the entire group of hitch a ride on Magnet's back as he carried them off towards his valiant neighbor.

"She's up on top of that hill," Magnet informed the group as the drew closer, pointing at a relatively large hill in the distance with many figures atop it, "she told me it was some kind of ancient burial ground, and now all the dead there have risen up to attack the Everfree.

"We'll help her save the forest!" Applejack assured the serpent, a certain unexplainable power rising in her voice and demeanour.

"Remember girls, Dan's the experienced one, so just follow his lead and stick close. We can't afford to mess this up," Twilight reminded and gestured for Dan to come to the front with her hoof. The knight accepted it with a nod after a moment of the slightest hesitation, drawing his sword and fastening his shield.

"This is where you get off, thanks so much for your help!" Steven called out and flung the group up towards the hill, barely managing to get the non-flyers up high enough for the pegasi to help everyone else up to the top of the hill.

The ponies looked towards Dan, who met their gazes and charged into battle, sword high and shield out.

Zecora was using a combination of zebra magic and physical ability to stay ahead of the undead warriors and zombies, but she was tiring and was quite relieved to find the mane six and their mysterious guest coming to her aid.

Dan was the first to strike, cutting the hind leg of a nearby undead stallion who promptly fell to the ground as the dark blue goop that was his blood gushed out, causing Fluttershy's and Rarity's spirits to break completely and cause the two to make a temporary retreat. Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack gutted through the images and went to work with their own tools.

Twilight used her magic to create a rolling sphere around a group of zombies and sent them hurdling over the edge of the cliff and into the rocks in the stream below. By this time Fluttershy had completely lost it and fainted, and Rarity was too shocked to fight, forcing Applejack to look after them while Rainbow and Twilight assisted Dan.

Rainbow flew around the warriors and they stubbornly swung their swords and spears at her as she dodged every attack, stalling for time as Dan cut through their ranks, sending the undead warriors back into oblivion. While Rainbow and Dan went for the warriors, Twilight made it to Zecora and helped her stave off the zombies that wandered into the Everfree, or in the more grisly situations, had died in some awful way inside the forest, and had finally risen up after years of being forgotten.

Magic proved to be an effective weapon against their undead foes, but Rainbow could do little more than distract and deter until she got her hooves on a weapon, her choice being a rather nasty looking mace from a foreign land. Pinkie had a similar problem until she found a large shield which she used as a battering ram, knocking down the undead so Rainbow or Dan could go in for the final strike. Remarkably, with no experience fighting such opponents, the ponies prove quite effective, always able to outmaneuver the undead enemies or strike them down before they could do the same to the living. Dan was quite impressed, and naturally took down more opponents than the others, but still found the time to give aid when somepony began struggling with the fight or was worn down too much to properly continue.

The undead warriors continued to swarm, but their numbers had been significantly reduced and the battle was turning in the favor of the group when a war cry rang out that made Twilight, Rainbow, Zecora, and Dan freeze up. From the distance, in the sky, it came again and a large, ferocious figure flew down towards the hill. The undead warriors did not waver in their assault and forced Dan and Rainbow into a small retreat to gain a better position against the newest foe, an undead manticore. Twilight, Zecora, and Pinkie headed back towards Applejack and the others.

The hulking lion with bat wings and a scorpion's tale held within it's blue, reanimated eyes, extreme hatred and violent power, and lunged forward to attack, trampling several zombies in the process. It was a very large specimen, easily larger and stronger than the one the Element users had encountered during the Summer Sun Celebration. The manticore knocked back Rainbow, who actually crashed down onto the hill and rolled right off the edge, towards the river, barely able to take flight before smashing into the rocks below like the zombies Twilight had sent down. Dan managed to roll to the side and evade a paw attack that probably could have knocked his upper body right off his legs.

Dan assumed a neutral position several feet away from the beast, and held his sword and shield up, ready to attack or defend at any moment. The manticore snarled and jumped up ferociously, going in for one powerful and fatal blow, but Dan rolled forward and dodged the attack, even managing to stick his blade into the manticore's side. A vile, green slime leaked out from the gaping wound as Dan hurried out of range of the manticore's mighty tail.

Twilight felt the need to help, but the undead swarm was still going after them, and Zecora, Rainbow, Pinkie, and AJ needed her help more than Dan did, at least for the moment.

Dan did not wait for another attack, rather this time, he attacked the manticore as it turned to face him, crashing his shield into the powerful swiping paw of the beast to create an opening. As the beast retracted it's foreleg and prepared to strike with the other, Dan jumped forward onto his knees and made a clean cut near the underside of the manticore's elbow. The creature lashed out with its other paw and found Dan's shield waiting for it, but this time the power of the manticore was too much for Dan, and the undead knight was knocked to his back. He managed to roll away and get to his feet before the tail came crashing down, rupturing the very earth itself.

Another swing of the tail forced Dan to duck, which he managed to do, but when the tail lashed out again immediately afterwards, Dan wasn't able to dodge, and though he defended himself with his shield, it was splintered and throne several feet away. In order to follow up successfully and hit Dan, the creature had to sacrifice some its power, but the force of the blow from the manticore's paw was enough to throw Dan a good ways backwards, and he landed on his back with a thud, and he could not keep a hold of his sword.

The zombie ranks were finally thinned out enough for Twilight to give Dan aid, and she left the group to deal with last remnants of the small army as she transported over to Dan, grabbing him and teleported a safe distance away from the manticore just in the nick of time.

"Are you alright?" She asked as Dan fidgeted with his skull, snapping it back into place and nodding as he was pulled up.

The undead manticore was facing the two already, its eyes analyzing the prey and deducing the best mode of attack. Dan was swordless and shieldless, but still had a few tools left, and pulled out several daggers as the monster before them snarled. With no warning it dashed towards the two, claws exposed and teeth ready to tear flesh and bone apart. Twilight almost teleported them both away, but was stopped by Dan, who shoved her out of the manticore's path and waited for the perfect shot to line up. As the beast made its final lunge for Dan, the skeletal knight let fly a dagger that stuck right into the creature's eye, causing it to crash into the ground and skid on the soil a few feet.

Dan wasted no time and ran for his sword a ways off as Twilight watched the manticore pull itself up.

"Keep it down!" Dan yelled out as she snatched his sword up and ran back towards the beast with more of a hurry than when he had left it.

Twilight's horn lit up and she levitated several large rocks onto the monster. The manticore growled and resisted the large stones that fell onto it as best it could. Twilight's plan was unsuccessful, however, and the manticore did manage to get up and try to take Twilight, but the lavender unicorn was able to teleport back to her allies, who had just dispatched the last of the zombies.

"We have to get it on the ground for Dan," Twilight told the others who prepared to play their part in the battle with the undead beast.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Rainbow said before shooting up into the air.

The manticore roared out in frustration and rage before staring down the group as Applejack and Pinkie took Rarity and Fluttershy to a safer location, leaving Zecora and Twilight to stand against the beast, with Rainbow still up in the air.

Just as it pressed down on the ground to begin its pounce, the manticore was stopped by Dan, who swung his sword as hard as he could into its tail, the green blood squirting out as the sword managed to penetrate the tail about half way through before Dan was knocked back again.

Capitalizing on Dan's move, Twilight fired a magical blast at the beast that didn't do much damage, but caught its attention enough for Zecora to blow a silver mist into the manticore's face.

"How long before that stuff works?" Twilight asked nervously.

"On a living soul my potion works right away, but this is the undead, the difference is night and day," Zecora replied as the exanimate manticore largely overcame the potion that was designed to knock out and paralyze for long periods.

"No worries, cavalry's here!" Rainbow called as she finally descended with such speed that she could hardly be seen.

Rainbow's flying kick to the head made the manticore fly back into the air and land roughly at the edge of the cliff. Rainbow landed and ran towards the beast, Twilight and Zecora close behind her. The kick was devastating and probably would have demolished a living being, but the manticore still had a little life left in it, and attempted to get back up and destroy the ponies and the zebra, along with their funny looking bone man.

Before anypony could arrive to keep it down and before the creature itself could get back to its feet, Dan rushed in with his sword and stuck it through the monster's throat. It was over, the fight was finished and a good portion of the undead masses in the Everfree Forest had been defeated, heck just maybe the entire undead army in the forest had been eradicated. It was a great relief to all involved.

"Your help is much appreciated indeed, please allow me to look after those in need," Zecora thanked Twilight after she introduced Sir Dan and the group dumped the body of the massive creature over the edge and into the rocks below. Twilight in turn thanked Zecora for taking in Fluttershy and Rarity, with Pinkie opting to stay with them as well to greet them when they awoke and were feeling better.

With that, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, and Dan once again headed back towards Ponyville, continuing in their grand quest to find Princess Celestia and stop the evil force that was destroying Equestria.

...
The group was worn out and tired, save for Sir Dan, who didn't really feel fatigue as much since being reanimated, but sweet victory was within their reach as the border of the Everfree Forest appeared within their lines of sight.

"Phew, I'm starting to think we should've just taken it easy today Rainbow," Applejack commented before yawning.

"You mean yesterday," Twilight corrected as the first rays of the sun came up and bled into the first few trees of the forest, also yawning after completing her statement.

"You guys tired? Pfft, I could go another trip through the Everfree!" Rainbow bragged playfully.

"Yeah, 'cause you take so many naps a day you get twice the amount of sleep anypony else does!" Applejack replied with a very similar tone; Twilight chose not to say anything else to them, but did smile at the antics of her friends. She did, however, want to talk with Dan, who was running his fingers over the break in his shield.

"Hey, Dan, can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm? Sure," Dan replied, turning his focus from his tool and to his ally.

"Well, you took a beating last night nopony could have, and we really thank you for being so noble, but...you still have a limit right? If you're hurt enough, will you...die twice like the manticore?"

Dan's view went from Twilight's concerned face down to his own body, a few new scuff marks sitting as badges of honor on his knight's armor.

"I suppose so...I'd prefer not to, though. I tried dying once...it didn't turn out so well," Dan replied motioning to his body and what he had become.

"Well then that makes you even more of a hero. Anyone can do something for others if there's no risk in it for that person, but to help others with the potential to lose everything is the mark of a real hero," Twilight complimented with a bright smile, to which Dan let a smile of his own, though not really a big one, come across his face.

At last the darkness of the Everfree Forest was behind them as the four stepped out into the light of Celestia's bright, morning sun and prepared for the next leg of this grand adventure of theirs.

"Thank you for being a hero, Dan...thank you for being a friend," Twilight told the knight as they saw Big Mac and Applebloom run out to greet the group from Sweet Apple Acres.

Well this quest started up lively, so to say. It was actually filled with a lot of dead people...ponies...whatever. After leaving the old, abandoned castle in the old, dark, woods we trekked through many a bush, stream, and animal droppings to finally arrive at a river. I used to think Gallowmere had some crazy critters, but after meeting a certain purple sea serpent (who i couldn't help but feel had a fancy for me, to which I am flattered but far from amused), I can safely say Gallowmere has nothing on this place; it's crazy here! Anyways, soon after we were carried off to an old graveyard where a zebra friend of theirs was giving a bunch of undead underlings the ol' what for. (This one definitely has Zarok written all over it) We joined in and I was just a little shocked that none of the ponies threw a spanner in the works. And to top it off they've got no opposable thumbs, what nifty bunch! Fought an undead manticore who proceeded to throw me about some after a well timed string of attacks. Thank goodness for these ponies; they might hurt the peeper a bit with their bright colored coats, but they sure can take the heat away when you're rubbing the dirt out of your teeth. Ended up sticking the manticore through like a pig at the butchers. Thankfully no one was interested in trying that particular cut of meat, the smell alone was so appalling I darn near fell into the river. That would've been fun...anyways, eager to see what happens next on this pony-filled adventure.

Chapter 3: Enemy Within

Ponyville: That's Ponyville, not to be confused with Pony Bill, who was largely renowned for his generous spirit, catchy sayings, and colossal muzzle

"Sis! Twilight!" Applebloom ran out and yelled in great relief as several familiar faces, as well as a new, rather unusual one, travelled towards the farm.

Applejack embraced her siblings as the neared and Twilight introduced the visitor, "Big Mac, Applebloom, this is Sir Daniel Fortesque, from Gallowmere, a land far, far away. He's come to help us with the situation."

"Say, what is goin' on? Big Mac won't tell me nothing!" Applebloom whined, looking at the group with eyes that would melt a gentle heart.

"That's something you don't need to worry about, Applebloom, now go on inside and fix up some refreshments for us with Granny Smith, we're plum near ready to drop down in exhaustion," Applejack told her sister, who with a look of disappointment, began to walk off before turning around, the disappointment gone from her face, replaced with a curious suspicion.

"Say...do you have a cutie mark?" She asked Dan, hoof on her chin and eyes squinted in analysis of the strange hero who helped her sister.

"A cutie what?" Dan asked, looking at the other ponies for help as Applebloom drew nearer to him.

"No Applebloom, he don't. They don't got cutie marks where he's from," Applejack explained.

"Hey! That makes you a blank flank, like me!" Applebloom shouted in delight, slapping Dan in the upper thigh and smiling, eliciting a look of surprise from Dan after the slap.

"Now, now, you'll get time to learn about Dan later, go on and help Granny get us those refreshments," Applejack again told her sister, who this time happily skipped away humming a jolly tune.

"She doesn't know what's going on," Twilight stated, looking for confirmation, but too sure of the answer to actually ask.

"Nope," Big Mac confirmed. The large stallion had been looking Dan over since his arrival and looked as though he was finally ready to make a judgement on Dan.

"What's up Big Mac?" AJ asked, seeing the look in his eye, a look that betrayed calculations and quiet thought.

"Does he seem," Macintosh began, trailing off and lowering his whisper, "a bit under nourished?"

Dan was able to hear the comment, though aside from the whisper Big Mac made not attempt to keep it from from him, and looked down at himself, then quickly looking back up with a shrug.

"He's OK Big Mac, a little odd, but he's willing to help us out and he sure knows his way around a zombie infested battlefield," Applejack affirmed Dan's position to her brother as the group began to walk down slowly to the farm. Now sure that the stranger was confirmed to be trustworthy, Macintosh let the facade go and let his face express the worry caused by stressful incident.

"Glad to have you back, sis. You've been gone too long."

"But it's only been one night, what'da mean we've been gone too long?" Applejack questioned, causing the eldest Apple child to sigh.

"Not too long after y'all left a group of zombies headed towards Ponyville. The zombies managed to whittle down the Ponyville guards until only a hoof's full remained, but that's when the metal ones showed up," Big Mac answered, hanging his head down in the memory of the previous night.

"Metal ones?" Rainbow repeated, unsure of what Big Mac meant.

"They were big, tough, black metal creatures...they kinda looked like him," Big Mac elaborated and motioned his head towards Dan, who gulped in reply upon realizing what exactly the metal men might be.

"What did the metal men do?" Twilight pried.

"Since the guards were almost wiped out they didn't have no trouble taking over Ponyville. They took most of the remaining townsfolk hostage and posted some odd war machines along the border of town. Only the lucky ones like me escaped."

"Aw man! Ponyville was captured by metal monsters during a zombie apocalypse? How could this get any worse?" Rainbow asked in frustration and annoyance, but was soon snapped out of those feelings by the others, each giving her a certain stare that made her a bit uneasy.

"So they captured Ponyville but haven't tried to expand their control beyond that?" Twilight asked for confirmation as the farm house became a mere stone's throw away.

"That's the only upside to all this," Big Mac responded.

"Well, you're the expert on all this stuff Dan, these metal guys sound familiar?" Rainbow asked as they all looked over to the foreign knight.

"They sound like Boiler guards," Dan replied, a frown forming on his jaw.

"Boiler guards?" Rainbow echoed before Twilight spoke up:

"And I take it that's pretty bad news?"

Dan let a melancholy nod roll as Applebloom came bursting from the door.

"Come on inside everypony, apple cider's ready!"

The inside of the farm was quaint and charming; Granny Smith had shown true Apple Family hospitality to the visitors, especially upon learning that they had a guest among their ranks. While the food and beverages were excellent, the attention and care given to little details like the lighting of the room and the presentation of the house as a whole spoke volumes about the owners. Of course the ponies were quite used to all this, though even they noticed the changes brought on by the looming zombie apocalypse, but Dan was pleasantly surprised by the show, especially given the circumstances of his arrival. And they didn't much judge him by the way he looked either. Dan decided he could bear to spend a while with them, but of course, there were some negatives.

"Say, Mister, why aren't ya drinking the cider? Ain't ya had cider before? It's super delicious!" Applebloom encouraged Dan to take part of the refreshing meal, but the knight kindly, and perhaps a bit sheepishly, declined. That did little to stop Applebloom, however.

"Here," She told him as she grabbed a large cup of cider with her hoof, "it's great!" Despite the mild and largely unenergetic physical refusal by Dan, the filly took him by surprise, hoisting the cup to his jaw and pouring it down, a large frown forming as the delectable beverage splashed through Dan's armor and onto the chair and floor below.

Dan looked down at the sticky cider drip from the upper portions of his hidden ribcage and sighed. Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith held looks of annoyance and embarrassment.

"Sorry about that Mister...I only wanted you to enjoy yourself more," Applebloom apologized and began wiping up the cider with a rag as Applejack went to retrieve the mop. Big Mac took Dan out back to wash out the cider; Twilight followed close behind while Rainbow talked with Applebloom and Granny Smith, who, to her knowledge, did not know the full extent of the crisis.

As Dan began to apply the water from one of several large, wooden barrels out back, Twilight emerged from the house, wasting no time in her approach.

"Dan, we've got to free Ponyville. Besides rescuing all the citizens, it's our only way of quickly contacting Princess Celestia. So how do we deal with these boiler guards?"

"Never get too close and be ready to duck and cover," Dan replied, almost as if he wasn't actually paying attention to Twilight and was merely saying the first thing that came to his mind. Twilight didn't care, or at least didn't notice, and continued her planning and smiling when Big Mac came back with a bar of soap for Dan.

"Hey, Big Mac, how many ponies were able to escape the boiler guards?" She asked as Dan gladly retrieved the soap, reaching down his armor to get to the stickiness.

"Not too many, why?" The stallion responded and moved closer to Twilight, giving Dan more space to do what he was doing.

"Well I was just thinking it over, and I think we can retake Ponyville, but I have to ask, did the boiler guards erect anything along the perimeter except the war machines?"

"I don't think so, been watching 'em from a distance now and again, and last time I checked there wasn't no wall or nothing."

"Good, that means it'll be simple," Twilight responded with a tad more glee than Dan thought appropriate, but he still acted as though the biggest problem in the world was the cider in his armor and on his bones.

Big Mac gave a look of confusion, prompting Twilight to explain her plan in detail:

"OK, since the boiler guards have put up war machines, they obviously want to keep Ponyville in their position for some reason. Since they haven't tried taking over anywhere else, even relatively easy to conquer places like Sweet Apple Acres, they should have most or all of their power invested in keeping Ponyville under their rule. With the knowledge Dan has about the guards and the element of surprise, I think we can take it from them. We'll have to send someone in to disable the war machines to make an opening for everypony else," Twilight elaborated and Dan's head perked up at the noticeable difference between 'someone' and 'everypony else'. Looks like he had been drafted.

"Once the war machines are down, the rest of us and come in and attack them knowing any weaknesses they have. Our problem is that we'll probably have fewer forces and will probably have less weaponry. Still, I think we can do it, and if you can help me find the ponies that were able to get away from the boiler guards then I know we'll have a chance. The bottom line is that we've got to take Ponyville back, and I need your help to do it, what do you say?"

Big Mac looked at Twilight with the same expression he had looked Dan over with. An expression of deep thought and calculation, measuring the validity and truth in Twilight's words. His eyes never batted and his lips never moved until he had made his decision.

"Eeyup," He answered with a smile.

"Great! Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy should be back from the Everfree sooner or later, but it'll take a lot of work to track everypony else down I'd imagine. We should get started right away. I'll go tell Rainbow the plan and then I'll be right back to join you," Twilight told him and began to head back into the barn, stopping just as she opened the door. She looked at Dan and smiled with a sly expression, "Don't you have to get going, Dan?"

Dan rubbed his skull with his hands for a second and walked off with a posture that clearly told anyone who could see him that he was doing what he was of his own will, but was not particularly pleased of it.

...

The plan was so simple, yet the reality was so very far from it. Firstly these boiler guards were not exactly as Dan had remembered them. Some of these guards were better armed than their Gallowmere counter parts, quite literally actually, for this new breed of metal militia had four arms, two regular and two new attachments: one a sword-like cutting device, the other an electrified flail of some sort. In addition, other guards could not perform limited acts of flight, thanks to thruster-like augmentations to their natural physiology.

The good news was that the war machines were relatively few and far between, only about seven or so around the perimeter of the town. Though it was not a large force of guards per se, the enemy numbers were easily large enough to crush Dan and a ragtag group of ponies if they were not careful.

The captive ponies were held in several different make shift prisons around the town, including locations such as the Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville General Hospital, and the Town Hall, so several guards were posted there at all times. Dan knew the old boiler guards well enough to know they would harm innocents if given the order, but were they smart enough to do so of their own free will in order to stop him? Probably not...but these were not the same boiler guards. These were stronger, faster, and if chances had it, smarter boiler guards.

His approach was as silent as could be, and he timed his arrival to coincide with two guards passing each other, leaving a blind spot behind both of them, and allowing Dan to jump into a nearby bush patch. Point Fortesque. Dan vigilantly maneuvered through the town, almost making it to the first war machine when two guards met and struck up a conversation.

"The pony captives are clamoring for food and water. Shall we give it to them?" One of the four armed guards asked the other, one of the more familiar models, a surprising amount of emotion, but not of any particular kind, wrapped around his words.

"Give them food and water, but keep them restrained inside the prisons. We've just received orders to shift the war machines to augment the strategy and to make ready for more when they arrive."

"When will that be?"

"We should receive them by the end of the day, but there are no promises. We must keep watch and be ready, it is highly unlikely that the ponies will retaliate given the circumstances, but we can never be too careful."

"Understood, I'll have the men shift war machine positions as soon as the captives are attended to."

"Very good."

The two guards went off to attend to their duties and left the war machines as unprotected as they'd ever be. Now was Dan's chance. He crept to the closest machine and inspected it for weaknesses. It was a metal, catapult like device, and it had plenty of ammunition waiting to be used on the ground near it. This was definitely a planned invasion, and whoever sent these guards was probably the same one who brought about the zombie apocalypse.

Dan equipped his axe and began hacking away at the joints, doing as much damage as quickly as he could to the machines in the hope that they would fall apart or seize up when moved or fired.

"You there! Stop!" A four armed guard called out, aiming his long range weapon at Dan and exciting the electricity in his flail arm. Dan threw the axe at the guard, who though upgraded, was still not able to effectively dodge the attack and was momentarily stopped as the axe cut open his side, the flames crackling as they were exposed to the cool, late morning air.

Dan's axe returned to him like a boomerang and he retrieved it just in time to jump out of the way of the swing of the electrified flail. The guard did not give up so easily, and fired his long range weapon at Dan, the knight being able to evade only barely. Another throw of the axe caught the guard across the face and allowed Dan to take cover behind the war machine when the next bullet was fired. The bullets continued to fly and the next time Dan threw the axe it was shot down mid way between him and the guard.

Dan pulled out a few more daggers and prepared to make an opening when the guard began to make a loud alarm noise, giving away Dan's plot and putting the pressure on the skeletal hero.

Before any more guards could arrive on the scene Dan was able to puncture a few good holes into the guard who found him out with the daggers and used his cracked shield to block the close range flame attack as he went in for the final blow with his axe. Though the guard was now incapacitated and the first war machine was damaged enough for him to move on to the next one, his shield was now totally worthless and it burned up as Dan hurried off to evade detection.

Though he managed to evade sighting from any of the other guards, the enemy knew full well there was trouble afoot, and began locking down the prisons, shutting all the captives in with a few guards while the majority combed through the streets. An order was given to immediately reposition the war machines and the large weapons began to move into more tactically appropriate locations. When the guards attempted to move the seventh, damaged war machine and found that it had been sabotaged, another order was given:

"Three guards or more at every war machine! The intruder is trying to spread our ranks thin; keep organized!"

Dan had found himself in a nice little hiding place quite near another war machine. He sat quietly and nervously within a mound of pony apparel near Carousel Boutique, the accessories having been dumped to make room for more prisoners. Though it was not a colossal heap of clothes the many colors helped Dan blend in nicely and several guards passed right in front of him without noticing his presence.

He waited for the right opportunity to present itself and it was about to, the three guards near the catapult had been distracted by a strange noise on the opposite side of the war machine. Dan didn't know what it was, nor did he care, for he found an excellent chance to escape, as no other guards were nearby at the moment.

Just as he prepared to leave the mound something grabbed him swiftly from within the mound, causing him to jump right out and begin to scream, though he luckily was able to cover himself and prevent the noise from escaping. In response a light blueish-green unicorn pony shushed him and dragged him angrily back into the mound of clothes before the three guards could notice him, the distraction now over.

"Hey! What's the big deal," She asked in a mildly angry whisper, eyebrows arched, "are you trying to get us caught?"

Dan stared at her with a similarly angry expression before replying a few seconds later, "You're the one who almost scared me out of my armor!"

"You were about to go blow our cover!"

"When did you even get here?" Dan asked, the animosity between the two beginning to die down.

"I've been here since these guys showed up. The real question is..." She trailed off after having finally given Dan a good look over, her mouth opening up wide. Dan observed her reaction and slowly inched back a bit before the unicorn almost violently grabbed him by the shoulders and brought him forward in a hug.

"I'm Lyra Heartstrings and you are the first living human I've ever met," She exclaimed in a loud whisper, "this is great! I have so many questions!"

"Wh-What...what happened?" Dan asked, staring blankly at the clothes stacked atop Lyra, who was still clutching his armor like a filly with a stuffed animal.

"OK, so if you only have one eye, what do you put in the other socket?" She eagerly inquired as Dan continued to look dumbfounded.

Dan took the situation in almost numbly, answering her question despite being totally lost as to the sudden mood swing the unicorn exhibited, "Foreign magical genies."

"No! Way! That is TOO COOL!" Lyra exclaimed, still refusing to let go of Dan until he forced her arms off of him.

"Hey, what's your name anyways mister human?" Lyra questioned before Dan could do anything else. Most ponies he had met he didn't mind...but this one was something else.

"I'm Sir Daniel Fortesque, here on a noble quest to save Gallo-Equestria!" Dan told her with a commanding tone and heroic presence, managing to correct himself in time so that the statement's impact was not lost, doing his best to take control of the interaction and get back to the task at hand.

"Sir Daniel Fortesque, here on a noble quest to save Gallo-Equestria, it's an honor to meet you, and if you need anything, I'd be more than happy to help you out. Oh, and you know, when you get back to the other humans you can build me up a bit in reputation, huh? Make them want to come visit Equestria too?" Lyra happily responded, now allowing Dan to speak and more or less proceed as he pleased.

Dan sighed and smacked his skull with the palm of his bony hand, bringing the conversation to an end: "Well, since you're offering, think you could distract the boiler guards out there for me?" Dan smiled and pointed backwards, towards the three guards protecting the weapon of war.

"Sure thing Mr. Sir Daniel Fortesque, here on a-"

"Just go!" Dan interrupted and drew his sword as Lyra nodded and jumped out.

"Catch the saboteur!" The boiler guards called out as the fired they bullets and chased Lyra away from the now unprotected weapon of war. Finally something was going right.

This time, Dan formulated a plan to take out multiple weapons in one fell swoop. There were six siege weapons to destroy in total. Four were to his right, the last one to his left side. He took aim and fired at the farthest one down to the right, crushing it with one strike.

The guards from the nearest of the siege engines came running to stop Dan, who had gathered up the explosive barrels for the war weapon, and rolled them down at the angry guards, most of whom were not able to get away from the explosives and were destroyed with a loud bang. With little time left before more came after him, Dan aimed and fired the weapon again, this time destroying the one to his left. Three down, four to go.

At first the guards were not eager to destroy their own war machine, but now that Dan had dealt them serious damages, the single war machine was no longer a concern, and they fired multiple rounds at the machine and nearby it. Dan took off running and cut the corner behind the Boutique, leading the guards away from the war weapons as the one he had used against them was blown to smithereens. Only three left.

Dan was, to put it a certain way, experienced with running, and the boiler guards were slower than him by nature, so after a few minutes he had almost completely lost them. He was going to turn the next corner and disappear again when it hit him. Or rather, when she hit him.

"Oof!" Dan cried as Lyra's body ran itself his, throwing him up into the air and causing him to land on his back.

"Hey, mister human, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up! Can you help me out?" She asked him as he struggled to get to his feet. The guards who chased her were still a ways off but not giving up, and the ones Dan was escaping from were closer still, and just as determined to catch the trouble maker and the pony with him.

"Come on!" Dan grabbed Lyra by the hoof for a moment as he ran off, leading her towards the outer limits of town, the two groups of guards merging as they gave chase.

"Can you use magic?" Dan asked as the pair ran for their lives, the buildings becoming more scarce as the open country got closer with each passing second.

"Of course I can!"

"Move that barrel onto the road after we pass it!" Dan told her, drawing a dagger.

Lyra did as she was told and moved the indicated storage container onto the road as they ran past it, the guards still a ways behind. Within several seconds they too were passing the barrel and Dan threw the dagger, oil leaking out along the ground and making most of the guards slip and tumble onto the ground and into each other. Within seconds their own heat caused the oil to ignite and the majority of the group was caught in the ensuing inferno.

"Thanks for help!" Dan called out as he swerved right and headed back into town while Lyra looked at him longingly and continued heading straight, soon afterwards halting to a stop and watching Dan go back into town to finish his job.

...

Dan had snuck back in behind one of the three remaining war machines and frowned upon seeing that reinforcements had arrived. He actually managed to take out a sizable portion of the guards, but somehow they got back up while he was distracted. Somewhere, someone was plotting something big, and Dan had a feeling the zombie apocalypse was just the beginning of it all.

The good news, however, was that the reinforcements did not bring extra war engines with them. Yet, with so many guards surrounding the war machines, his mission seemed completely hopeless, and he was worried that Twilight was leading the others into a massacre. Dan began to panic as he ran through every idea for destroying the machines that came to mind, but they were all suicidal or too dependent on luck to work.

The guards were being vigilant and were ready for Dan to appear again. The one eyed knight had no alternative, and no reasonable plan that could work, and he almost gave up. He almost let himself walk away. Almost.

Before he did so, the boiler guards started murmuring amongst one another. There, on a hill outside town stood the force. It was too late, Twilight was going to walk the force right into a trap and get them killed. Dan's eye went wide and he shook his head, covering it with his hands as the orders went out:

"Prepare to charge and fire siege engines!"

From the hill, Twilight gave a shout of her own, leading all five of her friends, Zecora, Big Mac, Mr. Cake, Lyra, Bulk Biceps, Thunderlane, and a few others into battle, storming down towards the boiler guards.

Dan motioned from behind the mass of guards for them to stop and run, desperately jumping up and down to warn them, but then stood still as Twilight, with the help of Rarity, Lyra, and, Dan though, Zecora created a force field around the 20-30 charging ponies, blocking all three war machine attacks.

Rainbow and Thunderlane took to the skies, racing up and coming down hard to weaken one of the war machines and drawing some of the boiler guard fire. Twilight used her magic for ranged blasts and to shield herself and the group from attacks. The earth ponies largely drew the boiler guard attacks and laid traps for the charging enemies, most of whom ran right through and were captured or incapacitated.

Dan shook himself and joined in the fight from behind, racing over and attacking the guards manning the war machines. With the assistance of Rainbow Dash, Dan managed to gain control of one of the war machines and fired at the other two, successfully destroying them, then breaking the one he had used to finish the job.

Now the only problem was the boiler guard forces, and they were a big problem, already having taken down several pony attackers while the losses to their numbers didn't seem so significant. Fluttershy and a couple others tended to the wounded while the rest of the ponies were fighting the guards, with Dan doing his part to divide their ranks and make the guards deal with him at their backsides.

Realizing the next best move, Twilight called out to Rainbow high above her, "Dash! Free the captives!"

Rainbow nodded and raced down to the Golden Oaks Library, crashing through the door and rallying the detainees. Dan ran over to aid Rainbow, who was struggling to deal with the four guards stationed at the library, watching over the bound and gagged ponies. Dan was able seize a fallen guard's weaponized arm and used it to great effect while Rainbow flailed away at them simultaneously.

Soon enough the library hostages were freed and the able bodied ponies joined in the fight while the boiler guards were running out of numbers and ammunition. Dan and Rainbow repeated their tactic again at the hospital, and by the time those ponies joined in the guards were almost extinct, only a select few remaining in the fight. The next part was not one Dan was looking forward to.

Though he was relieved that Twilight and the others managed to pull it off, and very proud to have helped the ponies retake their town and stopped many minions of evil at the same time, loss was unavoidable. In total, 19 ponies had given their lives to retake Ponyville and several more were injured in the process; they weren't the concern, however. The 19 deceased should be honored as heroes, dying to save their town and prevent any more evil from occurring, but instead they had to have their bodies desecrated. In the wake of a zombie apocalypse, fresh corpses were the worst kind of danger waiting to happen.

Dan attended to the task alone as Twilight regrouped with her "assistant dragon, Spike" and sent a message to Princess Celestia, who arrived soon afterwards. When it was all said and done, Dan was quite overwhelmed, and very glad to have a chance to stop and take things slowly for a while.

...

The ponies gathered around the skeletal knight as he stood bashfully in front of town hall. Princess Celestia smiled warmly as Dan met her gaze. She went over to him and stood by him in silence for a moment, then addressed the citizens of Ponyville.

"These are times of great peril and torment, and with all that had happened I was blinded to the conquest of a town at the doorstep of the capitol. I am truly sorry for allowing this to happen, but were it not for the actions of this individual," she told them and pointed with her hoof to Dan, "Ponyville might still be in the captivity of these boiler guards and all of Equestria in certain danger. So join me in thanking Sir Daniel Fortesque for coming to Equestria and joining my student and the Elements of Harmony wielders in a quest to stop this apocalyptic event and save the land from ruin."

The ponies stomped their hooves on the ground with tremendous power, shaking the ground and making Dan shrug and scratch the side of his head in an awkward and humble pride. Before Dan could say anything, Lyra pounced at him from behind, tackling him to the ground and encasing him in another hug, making everypony giggle, even Celestia herself, though she did her best to hide it.

"We will begin to make changes to prevent this from happening again my little ponies, and we will pray that Sir Daniel and the Elements have a quick and safe journey to end this crisis." With that, Celestia stepped away and let the mass of ponies divulge into conversation, going over to speak with Twilight and Dan, who had just wrestled himself free from Lyra.

"I am quite glad you decided to aid us, Sir Daniel, and am relieved that someone of your skill and experience will be going with the Element users. We're all counting on you," Celestia told the knight, who bowed in respect and smiled brightly in confidence.

"We won't let you down, Princess," Dan told the ruer of Equestria with more stern confidence than Twilight had ever seen him display, evoking a second or two of pure dumbfounded observance from the lavender unicorn.

"And I am quite proud of you, Twilight, for taking the initiative to recapture Ponyville and save the citizens. A job well done; keep up this intelligent and wise way of thinking as your quest proceeds," Celestia complimented and advised her student, who hugged her teacher for a small moment and nodded in affirmation.

"Now, as far as the wicked magic that has caused this disaster, I still suspect Nightmare Moon to be the culprit, and after having done a little research of my own, I think I'll have a lead on her for you all shortly. You must be cautious upon confronting her, and be wary of her magic, for though you have faced great trials, she is in another league entirely. Until then, enjoy a small period of rest. You should be ready to go to Nightmare Moon tomorrow night, perhaps a little later."

What an adventurer has to go through sometimes! Though I was able to enjoy a brief tour of the Apple Family abode, I was soon enough shanghaied into a simple yet grueling plot to recapture Ponyville from the boiler guard invaders, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle's big mouth.(And shall I mention the stain of searing cider?) Twilight's nice enough, and she had good reason to send me in alone at first, but I thought I'd at least be asked about it. Kind of hurt my pride, really. Then, she ran off sharpish with Big Macintosh to gather up a rag tag army for the battle. I made my way into the poor, enslaved town and found it a place abounding with flowers, sunshine, and the horrid smell of pony BO. Oh, and then there were the slave driving boiler guards, and just my luck, the boiler buffoons made some improvements. Ugh...another spit to the face of Fortesque. But wait, it gets better! Met the most annoying nutter in a mound of clothes. Lyra, a name quite soothing but a character rather off the deep end...did like the blouse wrapped around her neck though, matched her coat nicely. (I was, unfortunately, stuck with a pair of high heels digging into the neck for a while. It'll be a bit before this kink comes out.) Well, ended up cleverly inhibiting the boiler forces until the cavalry arrived, although seeing a cavalry without men atop the steeds was a new sight. Makes me wonder what in the world has happened to life as I know it. In the end the prancing ponies put up a powerful offensive in the perilous plight. A job well done. Princess Celestia thanks me for my efforts, and will be sending us off for Nightmare Moon soon enough. With any luck, she'll be cooperative and have a change of heart in these tumultous times, but with any shred of cold, hard logic,the same logic which has never once not haunted me in some way, she'll be waiting to zap us into oblivion. Oh well.

Chapter 4: Nightmare

Nightmare Lair: It's a little known fact that Nightmare Moon is actually quite recognized for her highly rated evil lairs, and has won many awards from Villain's Monthly Magazine for her lair designs

While Princess Celestia finalized the preparations to take the mane six and Dan to Nightmare Moon, the group had some time to themselves, each spending it in a different way.

Rainbow spent her time resting and keeping herself prepared by patrolling the skies above Ponyville. Applejack spent the time with her family, leaving the farm in Big Mac's hooves entirely and preparing to leave for the quest she was going to take to find Nightmare Moon and end the disastrous events that had scorned Equestria for the past several days. Pinkie was hard at work keeping morale at a satisfactory level, and though the recapturing of the town did aid her efforts greatly, she was constantly doing something to make the citizens feel better and safer. Fluttershy looked after the animals and prepared them to the best of her ability for her absence and the ensuing trouble that might occur during the crisis (and they returned the favor, doing their best to help her through the coming trouble); ever the selfless pony, she also spent the little time she had left in the currently understaffed hospital, caring for those injured in the brief occupation. Twilight was going through the library and spending her time with Spike in preparation of her own for the upcoming confrontation, picking out useful spells and planning out options of escape or attack in case the situation escalated too quickly.

Rarity used the time she had to be with her sister, striking up an interesting conversation with young Sweetie Belle, who was as oblivious to the zombie apocalypse as Applebloom, but well acquainted with the boiler guard exploits, having been taken captive in the town hall. They were talking out in the country, not too far from the shops and establishments, but well enough out of the way to be considered "outside of town".

"Well, in any event, I'm quite relieved to know that you're safe after what happened...I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," Rarity told her sister, finishing up the topic of Sweetie Belle's time in captivity as the evening began to take shape, an orange hue lighting up the sky.

"I guess you were on a mission for the Princess, so it's okay, but I still don't want you to leave Ponyville again. What if the metal men come back?"

"Don't worry dear, the Equestrian Guards may be stretched thin, but they sent reinforcements into town a few hours ago, and besides, this time we'll be ready for them," Rarity assured.

"But I thought we were prepared last time. Didn't a wave of zombies attack the town before the metal men?" Sweetie asked nonchalantly, and making her older sister's eyes go wide at the remark.

"What? Who in Equestria told you a thing like that?" Rarity questioned, trying to sound as if it was completely false and like a concerned mother at the same time.

"It's all over town, Rarity. Ponies are talking...and us fillies are scared...like...really scared," Sweetie answered and hugged her sister close, and Rarity, having accepted her sister's deep perception of the situation, returned the affection and did her best to sooth the young unicorn.

"You don't have to worry about the metal men from coming back and you certainly don't have to worry about any zombies coming to eat your brain."

"What? Eat my brain?" Sweetie asked in alarm, being confused, disgusted, and fearful all at once.

"Erm, never mind about that dear, none of it matters, because my friends and I are going to stop it all. We're going to confront the villain who's done all this and make peace again."

"And you'll come back okay, and before anything else bad happens?"

"Of course we will, because we've faced tough foes before and won, and we have an expert to help us defeat the zombie threat. He's done it before in his homeland, and has come to help us do it in ours," Rarity told her sister about Dan, unsure if Sweetie knew him as well as some other ponies had gotten to.

"That's him, isn't it?" Sweetie inquired as the armored figure of Sir Dan came into view from the horizon.

Dan had been spending his time poking around the supplies and equipment the boiler guards brought with them. He was able to find another shield, a better, silver one, and also found a longbow with a decent supply of arrows. He was becoming more and more suspicious of the events behind the catastrophe, and met with Princess Celestia briefly to discuss the possibility of another person from Gallowmere being brought to Equestria. Celestia noted that while she did sense a great spell being used to bring Dan to the land, she did not feel anything like it since, or even before, she dropped off the Element users at the library.

"That's right, he's the one who helped us save the town, too. Would you like to meet him?"

Sweetie Belle looked at the knight for a moment and watched him act before looking up at her sister and smiling brightly. Rarity called Dan over, and upon seeing Sweetie Belle, the dashing hero of Gallowmere put on his best smile.

"Sweetie Belle, this is Sir Daniel Fortesque," Rarity introduced the skeletal visitor with a smile. Dan waved back, still smiling merrily.

"Hello there."

Sweetie Belle was a bit taken aback by the contrast of a figure that outwardly was strange and imposing, but acted so kind and goofy. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Dan replied, putting on a courtly mannerism and bowing before Sweetie Belle as if she were a Queen, causing the filly to laugh and move closer towards Dan, causing the Gallowmerean figure to smile a bit wider.

"Where are you from? I've never seen anyone like you before," Sweetie asked the figure, peering closely at the sword by his side.

"I'm from a far off land called Gallowmere."

"What's it like, does everyone look like you there?"

"Erm, not exactly, I had...an accident...a while back," Dan explained and shrugged, smiling, trying not to say too much or scare the young unicorn who had taken an interest in him.

"Yeah, i guess that's kind of obvious," Sweetie told him as if he had just told her that stallions end up having relationships with mares.

"What do you mean?" Dan asked quickly, and perhaps a little bit distraughtly, as if it weren't as obvious as it actually was.

"Well just look at you...you don't exactly have normal looking feet," Sweetie told him, trying to be gentle about the remark, yet saying with no hesitation whatsoever.

Dan peered down at his feet. The Fortesque family had a few well known characteristics, among a particular brand of general cowardice and being prone to sea sickness, they were also plagued by a slightly larger than normal foot size.

"Well...something like that," Dan replied with an awkward chuckle.

"So you're an expert zombie killer? That's so cool..." Sweetie Belle was acting more like her old self with each passing minute, much to the delight of Rarity, who continued to silently watch the interaction between the two.

"I've dealt with a few zombies in my day, no big deal," Dan told her proudly, posing in a heroic manner, head lifted towards the sky nobly.

"So you aren't afraid at all," She asked, prompting Dan to shake his head in a negative reply as she went on, "Not even a little afraid that some massive horde of zombies will surround you, tear all your limbs away, drag you around and trample you as you desperately try to escape their evil clutches knowing that you're totally doomed and will meet a terrifying and wretched fate," She went on, Dan's expression becoming quite unnerved now, and his posture falling into a protective slouch, "Not even a little, teensy bit?"

Dan looked around for a moment as the stars began to show in the sky, turning back to Sweetie Belle thereafter and shaking his head again in a much more unsure but still clear reply, not that Sweetie really noticed. Rarity, on the other hoof, was rendered aghast by her sister's language and forced her way into the conversation immediately.

"Sweetie Belle! Why don't you and Scootaloo go and get ready to spend the night with the Apples now, it's getting dark after all," Rarity suggested in more of a command than an actual suggestion.

"Huh? Oh, yeah...OK...well, nice meeting you Dan, see you later," She bade farewell to Daniel and went over to her sister for another hug, "Hurry back Rarity, we'll be waiting for you to save Equestria." Sweetie scampered off towards town and left the visiting hero alone with Rarity, who quickly seized the opportunity to make amends for her sibling's behavior.

"I'm quite sorry about that, she just gets a bit carried away sometimes," she told him with a giggle, "fillies say the darndest things."

Dan looked away for a moment, almost as if he were on stage and now looking out at the audience, a brief look of sardonic bewilderment and just as brief legitimate annoyance on his face. Rarity continued to stare at him with a coy smile. Dan immediately dropped the issue, if it could even be called that, and went about his business after telling Rarity that Princess Celestia was going to take them to Nightmare Moon one hour after the moon rose.

Dan continued upon his own little adventure in the country outskirts of Ponyville, retrieving the map he had obtained from the boiler guard supply station. As it happens, the boiler guard commanders took a few special supply crates out of town and set them in a secret cache only shown by the map Dan now possessed. He wasn't sure what he would find, but it was a relatively simple journey and not very far off from where Rarity and Sweetie Belle were talking before he came along.

He found the small river he was looking for and followed it down a ways. After arriving at the six stones arranged in the pattern shown on the map, he lifted up one to find the hole that took him underground. He did not know the specifications of the chance discovery of the cavern, but he had to admit it was an excellent place for hiding valuables. The sound of the river running on the other side of a foot or two of dirt made Dan a bit anxious, but he felt better when he found three black crates tightly sealed and sitting alone in near complete darkness; a single torch was the only source of light in the confined supply cache.

He unsheathed his short sword and used it to pry open the first box. It contained mostly spare parts for the boiler guards, a sort of mechanical medical kit. Nothing special, really, but it would probably be best to destroy it, or maybe see if the ponies could salvage it in any way, for Dan could not.

The second crate was a bit easier to break into, and as expected, wasn't particularly helpful. It held ammunition for the guards, no doubt a secret reserve stash for emergencies. Perhaps if Dan was able to use their upgrades as some sort of weapon the ammunition would be useful, but it was really almost, if not more, worthless to him, and probably the ponies as well, than the spare parts.

Lucky number three was next. Inside lay a collection of instructions written out to the highest ranked guard. This invasion had been planned for longer than Dan had ever imagined. He snatched up several of the instructions, eager to show them to Celestia and see what she could make of them; Dan was unable to determine whom they were written by. The best find, however, was tucked away with the various written instructions. It was a Star Rune Key, but where it belonged was a total mystery. There was no mention of it in any of the written texts, and no accompanying letter or instructions with the rune itself. Dan was definitely going to be keeping that.

With all three crates checked out, Dan exited with the valuables, sealing the cache back up and hurrying back to Ponyville. Once there he informed a guard captain of the cache and handed him the map. With that out of the way, he was off to the library to rejoin the others and the Princess.

...

The plan had been set and the group was making the final leg of the journey to Nightmare Moon. Celestia had uncovered her lair with a specific spell that made little sense to Dan, but fortunately, he had no reason or desire to learn the finer mechanics of advanced spells. In any case, it had been revealed that the villain was housing in a labyrinth of caverns under the mountain borders of the frozen north. Celestia noted that the caverns were once in the service of a particular villain of the lost Crystal Empire, some dark king of some sort.

The train could only take them so far, and the ponies had brought along a few winter items in case the layout of the caves was affected by the nearby freeze. Dan opted to go without any such winter garb, perhaps at his own misfortune.

The entrance to her cavern citadel began with a long climb upwards. Rainbow and Fluttershy flew ahead of the group and scouted out the area, even helping the others up to ledges to rest periodically. It wasn't a fast moving process, but they were getting close as the darkness of night was coming to a climax and dark, storm clouds gathered overhead.

"How close are we Rainbow?" Twilight asked in a slightly quieted tone, not wanting to start any kind of avalanche or similar disaster.

"There's an opening into one of the caves a good 30 more feet or so, you guys are almost there," Fluttershy sweetly responded before Rainbow could make a crack or comment about the group being slow.

"OK, everypony remember, we're sticking together and we won't nothing happen to each other as long as we all do our part," Applejack encouraged as Rainbow shot a discreet look towards Rarity and Fluttershy.

"That's right, we're a team and we can do anything if we stick together," Twilight added as she wiped away a drop of sweat from her brow.

"Let's go!" Pinkie happily shouted, breaking the 'no loud noises' rule and attracting annoyed and angered looks from the others. She smiled bashfully and tried again in a whisper-shout, getting an approving nod from Twilight and a wink from Rarity.

"Umm, Sir Dan, are you doing okay?" Fluttershy asked in gentle concern as she descended down to where Dan was set in place, a good 9 feet or so below everypony else.

Dan shook his head as he struggled to maintain on his grip of the frozen mountainside. The ponies made it look so easy, and Dan's only saving grace was the rope tied to each non-pegasi member of the team. He tried grabbing into the ice, but his bony hands weren't so adept at it. His grip slipped and he scrambled to get it back, but wound up knocking his skull into the sheet of ice before him with a thud.

"Oh my, I wish you'd told me you had gotten to the thick sheet of ice, I would have carried you up like everypony else," Fluttershy told him as she grabbed onto one arm while Rainbow flew down to grab the other, after all, Dan was quite a different weight than the average pony. They let him down right behind the others and he thanked them, continuing along after a brief moment to rub his throbbing head.

The rest of the trip up was spent in silence. The wind picked up and the atmosphere of the mountain became grim as a deeper chill set in. Rainbow made it to the entrance first, with Fluttershy arriving soon after with Twilight and Pinkie. They stared down the dark path and Twilight lit up her horn as Rarity, Applejack, and Dan climbed up a few seconds later.

The path was not very wide and the walls were ridden with frost patches and sharp rocks that protruded as festering wounds. The cool air of the mountain was replaced by the damp ambience of the caverns. And so they continued in that fashion, lost in the dark void in the mountain, wandering the lone path, always on edge for the great enemy that lurked within the shadows that surrounded them.

Finally they came to a fork in the path, and none knew which path was the wiser choice.

"Well, we have to pick...right or left?" Twilight asked after no one said anything.

"Well, you're leading, so you pick one," Applejack replied.

"Well, fine then...left," Twilight chose and began to tread down the left path, which seemed to be less dark, but more frost coated the walls and the ground was beginning to get more slippery. No distinguishable noises, save the ones they were making, could be heard.

The ponies had already put on their Elements and Dan's sword and silver shield were ready. They inched along as the path began to get slimmer and slimmer, to the point where everyone was having a little difficulty moving about. By the time Dan, being at the very end of the single filed group, could barely see his own skeletal arms in front of him, Twilight let out a screech and disappeared, Fluttershy following suit, then Pinkie and Rainbow, and it was apparent that they had fallen into a pit. Rarity managed to keep her ground, as did Applejack and naturally Dan as well.

Their fallen comrades were now out of sight, and thankfully, Rarity was able to light her horn, though it was not a big a light as Twilight's.

"Well this is a bit of a problem," The elegant unicorn anxiously noted as they realized the gap was quite large. Still, they weren't ready to commit to jumping, for it could be that the others had landed in some sort of trap...or maybe even worse than that.

"Well, I think I can make the jump, don't know about you two though," Applejack said, measuring the gap before them.

Dan scratched the side of his head and looked at Rarity with unease, who gave a similar look back.

"Well, let me go see what I can find. I'll be back in a sec," AJ told them and directed them back a little so she could get a sort of running start. With a narrow look in her eye and a loud exhale through her nose, Applejack made the leap and landed firmly on the other side, smiling proudly at the other two after doing so, and heading off a ways into the darkness.

"So much for sticking together..." Dan mused, procuring an agreeing nod from Rarity.

After a moment away Applejack felt her way back into the small light Rarity was producing from the other side of the breach, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Well, near as I can tell, there's a whole bunch more tunnels in that direction, so I don't know what we're gonna do now," She told the other two and looked back down the path with uncertainty.

"We haven't gotten any sign of the others, and I'm sure Rainbow and Fluttershy would have flown back up if they could. I think we better take one of the tunnels up ahead," Rarity replied.

"Don't suppose you know a flying spell?" Dan asked Rarity as he looked down the dark drop.

"Maybe y'all don't need one," Applejack spoke up after a moment of thought, and went back into the darkness for a few seconds. She came back with a large crystal shard of some kind.

"Rarity," the earth pony said after tossing it over, "can you use your magic to stick into the wall?"

"Well, let's see," She responded and levitated the crystal up, shoving it into the frosted wall and gnashing her teeth together, finally managing to pry the shard into the stone wall.

"Great! Now just use this to swing across," Applejack replied and threw the end of her lasso around the shard, pulling on it to make sure it would stay in place. Then she swung the other end over to Dan, who caught it and grabbed a hold of Rarity, shocked at just how heavy she was and nearly dropping her.

Quickly regaining his bearings, he held her with one arm and swung across the chasm with the other. He managed to get Rarity to the other side with no trouble, but his own body hit the other side and he was caught and helped up by Applejack, and Rarity, a couple seconds later.

Applejack grabbed her lasso and put it away in her saddlebag, following Rarity and Dan into the next part of the cave; she wasn't kidding when she said many passages awaited them on the other side.

The group looked at themselves with uneasiness and took the nearest path, which wound downwards, almost like a staircase. After a good half a minute of that, they reached a bottom and found a large, somewhat frozen floor at the end of a small transitionary path.

Rarity took one step forward and nearly slid all the way down, being caught by Applejack and Dan. The knight motioned for silence and caution, taking a step forward. He steadied himself and took another, promptly sliding all the way down the path and falling off and into the bottom of the chamber, a dark figure standing at the other end and facing away from the Gallowmerean knight.

The two sat in the middle of the "inner chamber" which was naturally lowered into the ground, while the "outer chamber" where Rarity and Applejack remained sat at the same level as the end of the staircase, and formed a circle around the inner chamber.

"So you've come to join your companions have you?" Nightmare Moon taunted and laughed before actually facing Dan, her expression then becoming one of shock and disbelief before evolving into a hate filled glance of disdain.

"Dan! Watch out!" Rainbow called out from above, she and the others having been trapped in a magic-proof, metal cage that sat imbedded in the rock after their fall.

"So...it's you...I never imagined you'd actually come here," Nightmare Moon noted and stepped towards Dan, who raised his shield and sword and looked overwhelmed.

Nightmare Moon fired several blasts of her magic at Dan, who rolled forward to block the first and used his shield to avoid injury from the second and third ones. She was a powerful foe, and even blocking two of her attacks nearly threw Dan to the ground. Dan ran around her, trying to avoid the many blasts she launched at him, only blocking when he was unable to dodge or evade. While Nightmare Moon continued the assault and gradually grew annoyed over the situation, Rarity and Applejack did their best to quickly but quietly free their friends from the cage, which sat to the right of the path into the chamber.

"Cease your struggle weak one, and give in to my power!" Nightmare Moon shouted as Applejack and Rarity began to work on the cage.

When switching direction jumping around the blasts grew to be too predictable, Dan had no choice but to mount some kind of offensive to buy the ponies more time. With a sudden stop in the middle of one last mad dash, Dan took a few steps forward and jumped into a roll and swung his sword at the villain, who flew up into the air to avoid the strike, sending another blast down at Dan. Dan promptly dove forward again and staggered back as the blast turned to blue flame upon impact, searing the ground around it.

While avoiding another volley of attacks Dan sheathed his sword and drew his last few daggers, throwing them each with speed and a mild level of power, but all were blocked and bounced away by the magic dome Nightmare Moon erected around herself.

"Fool! You cannot defeat me alone," She mocked and swooped down, knocking him down and leaving him vulnerable for one last magic attack. Nightmare Moon laughed as her horn ran with power and a blast was shot down as the dazed knight.

Just before it hit him, the magic blast was knocked away by a more familiar purple one. Dan had succeeded, though just barely. Twilight and the other former captives escaped the cage and the group gathered around the ledge, watching Nightmare Moon's look of slight bewilderment from above. Dan was able to get to his feet again when the villain smirked and lit up her eyes with a dark glow.

"Windigos of the mountain, I command thee!" At the utterance of their master's command several windigo spirits rushed speedily through the cavern walls and lunged for the ponies while Nightmare Moon turned her attention back to Dan.

Twilight managed to assemble a magic shield to protect the group, but the power of the spirits left the inner chamber below sealed off by thick ice covers. Dan was on his own for now.

Rainbow daringly flew up and met one of the creatures head on, crashing down onto the ground again with a chill running deep in her body. Fluttershy hurried over to attend to Rainbow as Twilight fired a shot into the face of another windigo, and it was off set, but far from beaten by the attack. At the same time, another windigo lunged at Twilight from behind, and Applejack was barely able to lasso her friend away in time.

Twilight gave a quick thanks and fired several more magical blasts at the creatures, angering them further. Two of the three creatures phased into the ground and trapped their opponent's hooves in an ice trap, leaving the third free to charge down at them. Twilight used a spell to generate heat and drive the two windigos away, freeing them, but she was unable to create a shield in time, yelling for everypony to get away.

All of them were able to get away fast enough except Rarity, who was partially frozen in place by the power of the windigo. Applejack worked on freeing her as Twilight continued to attack the windigos, with Pinkie planting her party canon in the ground and helping. Upon firing the cannon at one of the creatures it immediately recoiled from whatever magical upgrade Zecora had given to it during Pinkie's stay Rarity and Fluttershy in the Everfree.

Rainbow whipped herself back into action, flying up into a dog fight with the windigos, being careful not to ram into them like last time and doing her best to lead them into an attack from Twilight or Pinkie, who sustained their long range attacks; Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were ready to support their friends if the need arose. For now, it seemed as if the ponies were actually winning.

Dan could barely keep up the dodging as Nightmare Moon maintained the offensive. Another particularly nasty blast forced Dan to bring his shield up and absorb the magic, but he took the power of the blast, and was launched back a good few feet. Nightmare Moon flew up and dashed down, throwing another magic blast down onto Dan, who blocked with the shield again. Dan remained in place, though he was compressed into the cracking rock, and completely stomped through it when Nightmare Moon landed on his shield, sending him crashing through to another floor below the inner chamber.

Another mocking laugh later, Nightmare Moon descended into the shadows below, unsure of where Dan had gone and hidden. She calmly but carefully walked around, firing random blasts into random locations in the chance of hitting Dan or at least forcing him to reveal himself. The process continued for a minute or two before Dan pounced out from behind her and cut her open with a clean slice near where her wing attached to her body, causing her cry out in pain and sheer amazement that he was able to do such a thing.

Empowered by pain, Nightmare Moon shot Dan back and pinned him against the floor with her magic. Blood dripped from her side and splattered onto the floor as she breathed in and out more with her mouth than nose. Dan struggled to get up but it was futile and a horrified look come across his face as Nightmare Moon's eyes turned white and her horn lit up with a tremendous amount of power. She was no longer concerned with killing him; she was going to completely vaporize him.

She let her grip on him go just as she began to fire, allowing him to get free in exchange for added power in the blast. Dan's silver shield was metal and much stronger than his previous, but it shattered from the force of her blast and he was rocketed into the ground and then back up again, flipping over and rolling around several times. His vision became blurry and all sound distorted as a loud ringing noise blared in his long dead eardrums.

When he actually managed to remember who he was and what he was doing, Nightmare Moon was standing over him, smiling wickedly and preparing another, game ending attack. His sword was out of reach and she had completely overpowered him. She had won, and for the second time in his adventures, Dan faced the reality of an impending death.

"And to think a prophecy was forged of such a failed warrior...cease existence; join the dust," She spitefully taunted and glared with utter malice at the knight.

And the very second before she let the last magic attack go, her eyes went wide, her horn began to sear itself, and her scream rang out as a backfired blast shot her onto the floor a foot or two away, and blood ran from her nose and one of her eyes. Dan seized the chance, rolling over to his sword and grasping it nervously before speedily turning to face the villain, but she was still on the ground, completely still.

"Unthinkable...of all the times to suffer such a fate..." She mumbled to herself and looked at Dan with pure amazement, as if he had sprouted angel wings and had destroyed the sun itself.

Dan kept himself ready for a moment more before giving in and stumbling down onto the ground as well, still keeping his sword ready.

"Never before have my emotions forced me to fail a spell....how could a wound from such a weak creature force my failure...it is impossible!" Dan smiled weakly at the comment and tried to get back onto his feet, failing however, and falling right back down.

Nightmare Moon panted in both pain and frustration as she was able to tear herself off the floor and stand up again, ready to continue the fight,blood still dripping from her face and side, "Very well...let us see if you can actually defeat me!"

The mane six were feeling the effects of fatigue set in as the windigos continued their barrage of attacks, always shying away when their doom became close to reality. Slowly they wore down the ponies, especially Twilight, who was about ready to drop in exhaustion.

In a combined effort, the spirits managed to completely trap both Fluttershy and Applejack in thick, ice slabs, though Twilight was able to shield herself and Pinkie, while Rarity was snatched by Rainbow. When she was set down, Rarity did her best to thaw the other two while the remaining three fended off the windigos as long as they could. The magic blasts and cannon shots were skillfully evaded by the ice spirits and the three once again combined efforts, creating a collective swarm that circled the group overhead.

After several vain attempts to stop them, one of the windigos shot down and possessed Rarity while she was off guard helping AJ and Fluttershy. Twilight caught sight of the move and created another shield as the now possessed Rarity fired several icy blasts at them.

Rainbow continued the dogfight, but without the support of Pinkie and Twilight, was quickly caught between the two windigos and frozen in a block of ice that fell to the ground with a loud crash. Twilight felt her legs burn as the power it took to keep the spell active took its toll, and Pinkie looked worried now that it was only them two.

"Twilight?" She called out nervously as the attacks rained down and the shield's light flickered.

"Pinkie...I'm sorry!" Twilight screamed with tears running down her face as the windigo spirits overpowered her, shattering her magical shield and knocking her down. The third windigo left Rarity's body frozen as it came out and circled the final two with its brethren.

In one last attempt, Pinkie grabbed Twilight's near unconscious body and drew close to their frozen friends. She shut her eyes and bowed her head as a white, frost orb enveloped the entire area where the windigos circled overhead. The winds howled and visibility dropped to zero as the windigos went in for the final blow.

The ground rumbled and the stone walls split open at the enormous power being released. In the final seconds almost all sound ceased and the only sound that could be heard was the heartbeat of each pony, thumping nervously as the battle's climax came. In an instant it was over, and the ice coatings that blocked off Nightmare Moon and Dan splintered and broke. The windigos cried out in a horrified howl and burnt up, their physical forms having been corrupted by the power of the Elements. The ice that trapped Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Rarity had seemingly ceased to exist, and they were thawed out without any indication of having ever been trapped.

Twilight had been renewed, to a degree, and stood up slowly after realizing the battle was over. The ponies were all hurt on some level, but the windigos were no more, and all that remained now was to go help Dan fight Nightmare Moon, a task far easier said than done.

...

Dan and Nightmare Moon circled around each other, carefully keeping within the established rhythm of the pre-battle ritual. Both were surprisingly worn down in a relatively short amount of battle time. His shield was gone, but Dan kept his sword ready to strike.

Finally Nightmare Moon made the first move and fired a magical blast that Dan was able to duck under, allowing himself to get closer. Several more fired blasts caused Dan to jump to the side and bring his only available tool, his sword, up to block, and it surprisingly held together and was not shot away from his hand after blocking the blast. She was getting weaker, but then again, he was almost ready to fall down himself.

Never-the-less, he charged towards her with his sword held high and brought it down fiercely, barely missing his mark as NIghtmare Moon jumped back a ways. At this point he figured that she was too weak to use anything more advanced than a simple magic blast, because she fired another shot at him, and once more he blocked with his sword.

Now she was on the evasive, flying in short spurts away from him and doing her best to avoid his sword. After a moment of the sword strategy proved futile, he drew his new longbow and fired several arrows at the villain, who was not able to dodge the last two, which struck her in the left, front hoof and the upper chest, near her neck.

She fell to her knees and looked down at the ground in confusion and pain. She wondered exactly how this pitiful creature had defeated her in battle and avoided death as many times as he did. He held another arrow back, ready to let it fly before speaking up.

"Do you yield?" he asked, shaking, but holding the arrow stiffly in place.

"Yield...me...yield?" Nightmare Moon asked before letting out a genuine, hearty laugh and using a surprise spell to knock Dan back onto the ground and spread blue flame all around him. "You have underestimated me, fool."

Although she grimaced thereafter, she was still strong enough to end it all and prepared to do so with a small, concentrated blast aimed at his skull, but then another voice rang out.

"Stop right there, Nightmare Moon! Don't you dare attack him!" Rainbow Dash commanded as the mane six descended into the pit with them, surrounding her and forcing her grunt and remove the blue flames of her magic.

"If you're behind this spell of undead reanimation then you have to stop it, now!" Twilight told the villain who quietly laughed at the comment as she pulled out the arrows.

"I have done no such thing, and I do not know who has," She retorted flatly, seemingly not very worried about the situation.

"We have the Elements, we can stop you once and for all!" Rarity spoke up in an act of boldness that surprised Dan a little as he was helped up by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"Clearly, but that would be futile, especially with what I can give you."

"And what exactly could you give us?" Applejack asked, eyeing Nightmare Moon as if trying to decipher whether any of her words where a lie or the truth.

"I can lend you help against these undead creatures. After all, I am in relative danger as well, especially if you and Celestia's forces fail. I can be a great help to you, didn't I match your so called expert and nearly defeat him?"

"How do you know about Dan?" Rainbow questioned impatiently and in annoyance.

"Hmph. Either Celestia likes keeping things from you, or she really hasn't heard of the prophecy."

"What prophecy? What are you talking about?" Twilight demanded and got closer to the villain, lighting up her horn as if in a challenge, to which Nightmare Moon smiled and licked her lips.

"Such things should be seen, not heard. Follow me," Nightmare Moon told the ponies and Dan, who followed her down an adjacent tunnel and into a small room with little light in it at all.

Using her magic, she ignited a small, hovering cloud-like object and it began to shine brightly before displaying many images.

A new voice was heard running through their heads as images of Equestria as it was long ago flashed into view.

And it shall be in days long away, that one shall come to this new land that will decide its fate for many centuries, and his exploits will help lead Equestria into the final battle many centuries after that. This figure alone will be responsible for the deaths of many or the long lives of all. This figure alone holds the power to alter the course of destiny, if he so chooses. This figure will become a defender and hero of another realm before coming here and bestowing upon us judgement.

At that moment, a new vision popped into sight. It was a statue. A statue of Sir Daniel Fortesque, to be exact. He was standing tall, and his sword was stuck into the ground. On the right side, the side with his eye, ponies frolicked in the sun and pranced happily around as peace was known by all. On the left side, the one without an eye, the land was dark and ash filled the air, and the statue itself was cracked and chipped in many places; death and destruction accompanied the corpses of ponies on that side.

If he succeeds, then his choice will become reality, and if he fails, then the opposition of his choice will come to pass. Good or evil, living or dead, all hail Sir Daniel Fortesque, keeper of Equestria's fate. Hail! Hail! Hail!

With that, the visions ended, and the ponies all grew quiet, and looked to Dan, who stood motionlessly and stared off into space. Nightmare Moon let them all do as the pleased for a moment before speaking up.

"Well, now do you understand the immense opportunities and dangers of the situation? I almost killed him and brought about the fate of Equestria for the next many centuries. If I were to join you, then I could aid you in your quest...but of course I would require a few things in return."

They all remained quiet for a moment before Twilight took it upon herself to speak up: "And what exactly do you want?"

"In exchange for aiding you, I must have your word that the Elements of Harmony will not be used against at any time, present or future. In addition, I want at least half the spoils of this war for myself. Do we have an agreement?"

"I don't know if I can make that deal with you...you need to talk with Princess Celestia and work things-" Twilight told her, but was interrupted.

"No. Celestia is not here, you are. Make a decision, and do hurry, before I summon something else to fight you."

Twilight looked stunned and sought help in her friends, none of whom could give any. She looked back at Nightmare Moon, who was impatiently awaiting the reply. Before she said anything, Dan went over and nodded to her, looking over to the villain who relished in Twilight's reply.

"We have a deal. No Elements and half the spoils of the war, but if you go back on this deal, then all bets are off, and we will use the Elements on you!"

"Fair enough, now...let us go and see Celestia. I would very much love to see her face upon catching sight of me..."

Despite all the training, all the mighty battle simulations, with all the gloriously fake blood splattered across the old, rusty armor they give you back in Knights Training 101 back in Gallowmere, I could have never been well enough prepared for what I heard today. Evidently these ponies have some sort of lingering system of prophecies and what not, a whole family trade of psychics and fortune tellers if you will, that predict all the crazy things that go on in this land, and I was slated to be some kind of national hero that changed their future. Mum always said you could fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but being singled out as a legendary figure from another world? Whomever created this was clearly intoxicated or made a living as a comedian. You'd think that in a land like this, clearer and better laws would be put into place to weed out those types...but then they'd probably like being weeded out. Well this is all crazy, and you can go ahead and shoot out my other eye if I'm not completely lost with all this. Whatever happened to the days when it was as simple as being reanimated, going through waves of crazy opponents and supernatural opposition, and finally stopping mad sorcerers with excessive egos and fashion problems? I tell you the times are a changing. Nightmare Moon isn't the culprit, it turns out, and doesn't know who was behind it. My theory stands; Fortesque one, Equestrian Royalty zilch. We await our next move now that the cad has swindled her way into our merry band. Cor, what a mad day!

Chapter 5: Odyssey

There have been a few legendary journeys throughout Equestrian history, but this is one you Odyssey... ha ha ha...get it? Odyssey? Ought'a see? Bwa ha ha ha

The addition of Nightmare Moon to the group was an uneasy one, to say the least. Having grown up with stories of the villainous pony and how terrible she was, the mane six couldn't bring themselves to feel anything akin to ease around her, and for what it was worth, neither could Dan. She was a different kind of villain than he was used to, and he had to admit, all in all, she seemed to be even trickier and dastardly than the cads he was used to dealing with.

The Princess of the sun was put into a very sudden and justified upheaval. The Canterlot throne room fell into deadly silence when Celestia laid eyes upon the dark figure of Nightmare Moon, walking in confidently with the mane six and Sir Dan. Celestia silently sent away all the guards around her and had the large doors shut when the group of eight made it inside.

"What is the meaning of this? Why is she here?" Celestia demanded,knowing something was wrong, and striding forward to meet the group. Her empowered eyes never leaving the figure of the dark alicorn. Before Twilight could say anything to her teacher the villain smirked and walked up, pushing the others aside to face the ruling Princess.

"Calm yourself Celestia, for I have not come to you with intent to destroy, but to aide you. We face the same problem, and I can be a valuable ally in the quest to defeat the dark sorcery that has caused the dead to rise."

Celestia still refused to remove Nightmare Moon from her line of sight and replied with some difficulty in keeping calm, "You could very well be behind this, and if you have deceived them I will see to it that your punishment is more severe this time."

"You try to teach me lessons by sending me away, as if I were a child; do you honestly think that banishing me for a time will reform me, or make me miss you and this land? I would sooner spend a thousand years on the moon than mere hours in the life I once lived. You shall tremble and fall to my power eventually...but not now. I cannot afford to defeat you now."

"If you are so endangered by the dark magic causing these catastrophes then why have you waited until now to do something about them?" The Solar Princess fiercely inquired as the mane six followed the lead of Daniel, giving the two space and staying as quiet as possible.

"Endangered? I was not endangered, and had planned on letting you resolve this on your own, but when your servants and the prophesied one came looking for me, I had no choice but to get involved," Nightmare Moon explained, catching Celestia's eyebrows raise at the mention of the prophecy. Celestia looked over cautiously at Dan and the mane six before responding.

"You know I cannot allow you to do as you please, even if you help us, don't you? You're too dangerous and untrustworthy to be left to your dark whims," Celestia clarified, going up to her even closer than before yet seeming a little calmer.

"Fear not...as it happens I already attempted to dispose of them, and yet here I stand, humbled as the loser of our battle."

At this Celestia backed down and stared for the briefest of moments at the others, both extremely proud and surprised at hearing their great accomplishment. She breathed in deeply and thought about the possible consequences that Nightmare Moon could bring about, but also realized that she was right. They would fare much better with somepony of Nightmare Moon's abilities helping them.

"Very well, so long as you never stray from Twilight and the others, and always obey my orders...then you will be allowed to aid us, and we are grateful for your help," Celestia told her, having a bit of difficulty in actually thanking her.

"Of course I have already agreed to the terms that the Elements of Harmony not be used against me and that I shall inherit half the spoils of the war, but I shall agree to these terms as well, so long as mine stand."

"...So be it then," Was all Celestia could reply and turned around in order to go and find the guard captains she was speaking with when Nightmare Moon stopped her.

"Celestia!"

The Princess of the sun stopped short and looked back at her, almost as if the villain didn't really exist, and was only a figment of the royal's imagination, or some bad memory of long ago.

"What would you have us do next?" Nightmare Moon asked, almost trying to engage in a form of witty banter with the situation.

"I will inform you when I have a plan, until that time I suggest you see the medical staff; none of you look very well."

"We intend to," Nightmare Moon quickly responded, "but afterwards may I suggest we take a journey?"

"What are you trying to get at? What is it exactly that you want?" Celestia finally asked.

"Very well. It is my belief that Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Empire may know something about this evil spell, and how to stop it. I can arrange a meeting with her and find out. Of course since I am untrustworthy they must accompany me," She explained, earning another annoyed sigh from the Princess before her response.

"Then go with Dan, Twilight, and the other Elements, and find out what you can. If Chrysalis is behind this, defeat her and break the enchantment, and if she knows whom it was that cast the spell, find out and report back to me," Celestia told them, then specifically faced Twilight before speaking again, "And be sure that the Changelings are not angered or provoked to act against us if they are innocent in all this. The last thing we need is to upset them too."

"I understand Princess," Twilight replied and smiled gently, a little off set when Celestia's expression remained the same detached look until she walked off, leaving the group alone.

At that, Twilight headed off to find a doctor with most of the others, leaving behind only Dan and Nightmare Moon in the throne room to do as they pleased. Dan didn't seem to mind when she looked back, and though Twilight was sure he wasn't making any kind of face, it almost seemed to her that he was encouraging the others off so he could be alone with the villain.

Nightmare Moon, meanwhile, walked slowly around the hall and inspected the stain-glass windows, admiring, in a sense, the beautiful architecture and the general atmosphere of the throne room. She stopped completely in front of the window that depicted her banishment.

"To think that a mere few days ago I had intended to come here and burn these walls down...to crush the throne and tear down the peace of this land..."

Nightmare Moon stood in silence a few seconds more and used her magic to shatter the window and watch the shards fall all around her. Dan immediately stepped back, not quite in fear or anxiety, but more out of a natural reaction to the shattering. Nightmare Moon observed his actions and snickered.

"Not a fan of window art?" She asked mockingly.

"Not a fan of flying glass shards- still have one good eye," Dan replied as Nightmare Moon headed out and passed him by, turning to look back at him before closing the doors behind her. After another look at the strange knight, she followed the trail left behind by the mane six, leaving Dan to the confines of the room.

...

Changeling lands could be summed up in one word alone: barren. The only consolation to the group was that they were able to use magic to teleport fairly close to the changeling hive. The surrounding area was all sand and stone and few clouds adorned the peach colored skies. The air was warm and dry and morale was crushed the instant they arrived.

After a few seconds to take everything in and look around, Rainbow was the first to speak up, directing her words towards Nightmare Moon, "So where exactly is this nest supposed to be?"

"It is close by, hidden behind those mountains," the dark alicorn replied and pointed with her hoof into the distance. The mountains weren't very high, but they were comprised entirely of large rocks and would be bothersome to traverse across.

Before anyone could say anything else, Nightmare Moon took the first steps towards the nest, prompting the conversation to be made on the move.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Fluttershy asked Twilight, who in turn directed her glance at the villain; Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes at the question and gave a snort.

"Regardless of how you feel, this must be done. I don't know many others evil or powerful enough to take such an action against the world. Besides, the changelings will not attack me for merely entering their lands."

"And what about us?" Applejack asked, eyebrow raised at the idea of entering the changeling home with an evil alicorn and a foreign warrior.

"You will not be accepted into the hive with any such favor. I would advise the rest of you to stay hidden from their unfriendly eyes while I get the information we need."

"And how do we know you won't just plot something out with their Queen and betray us?" Rainbow asked with a serious expression.

"I suppose you don't. You'll have to place your trust in me and my faithfulness to our agreement," Nightmare Moon answered and eyed the jewelry around the necks of Twilight's friends.

The grim and scorching sun batted down on them and the light and periodic winds did little to alleviate the fatigue caused by the trip, but when they finally did reach the top of the stone ridden mountain a fantastic new sight came into view. The mountains surrounded a flat, sandy plain with only one feature: a large hole that caved into the darkness below. Dan's eye went wide and the mane six all paused. Nightmare Moon had seen the sight before and headed on unimpaired by the unique oddity of the changeling lifestyle.

"That's a mighty deep hole..." Applejack commented as the group moved slower at the beckoning of Nightmare Moon, who eyed every inch of the hole while creeping forward.

"What's the problem?" Twilight asked the alicorn, who remained quiet and watched the darkness of the pit stare back at her.

"Nightmare Moon?" Pinkie mimicked Twilight's call for attention.

Rarity and Fluttershy looked down the hole, trying to figure out what was making the villain behave in such a way, but they could find nothing more than shadows and obscure blackness. Rainbow was more or less waiting the problem out and keeping quiet as the villain stared down the pit without moving her eyes.

"No guards. We should hear the sounds of guards chattering amongst themselves below us...but all is still and peaceful," Nightmare Moon explained, still not taking her eyes away from the hole.

"Is it a trap?" Dan asked, spinning around to look for any enemies that could be surrounding them while they talked, but Nightmare Moon shook her head and leaned in closer to the hive entrance. Twilight bit her lip and moved over to Rarity, whispering something in her ear and causing the white unicorn to look back with mild concern, but none of the others took notice of their exchange.

Finally Nightmare Moon spoke up: "I don't like this...something is wrong in this hive, but we still might find valuable information here, so I suggest that most of you keep close to the exit. I would like Dan to accompany me down, however." The Alicorn of Shadows eyed the one eyed knight in a manner that none of the ponies liked very much. Dan himself looked over with the mildest concern and intrigue, but Twilight immediately shot down the idea.

"No, I'm going too," She spoke in a near command.

Nightmare Moon's eyes widened a bit at the words. "As you wish, but the larger the group is the more likely we are to get caught; the rest of you keep quiet and out of trouble up here. With any luck this should go quickly and we will have what we came for."

Most of the others did not look pleased, but after a loud and indignant sigh from Rainbow Dash, they all relented and watched the alicorn lead Twilight and Dan down into the maw of the changeling hive. Their allies and the cad called Nightmare Moon disappeared into the Changeling pit without another word.

A vile smell immediately filled their nostrils and a damp atmosphere surrounded them as they descended. The beige sand and brown dirt were lost and a black, organic material of some kind replaced it. The walls were filled with holes and crevices and the path they entered into split up into nine different directions within one minute's worth of travel.

"Well, where to?" Twilight asked as the group halted at a fork in the path.

"Normally I wouldn't be as hesitant to choose, but with the lack of any normality in this hive the choice becomes much more difficult. Any of these paths can take us to the Queen, but some will get us there sooner than others, and the number of changelings we should encounter also varies depending on the direction we take."

"Any lucky guesses?" Dan asked, having drawn his sword already and keeping it at his side.

"I think our best bet lies on this path," Nightmare Moon told the other two and walked on, "it goes down into the Well, and passes by the egg chamber, but it can get us to the Queen faster than most other routes."

"The Well?" Twilight parroted back.

"The Well is the place where sick or injured changelings are taken to heal. It is not very heavily guarded, and any changelings being healed will not be awakened very easily," Nightmare Moon explained, walking down the twisted path and making a sharp left turn into a large crevice when the path melded into the wall.

A few steps into the crevice and a changeling cry of indistinguishable location and meaning rang out at them, but no creatures approached them. If Dan had to guess the emotion behind the cry, he would say it was either agony or rage. Silence once more abounded as the group treaded down the crevice, past a few openings, but no changelings could be seen yet. Finally a crunch under his foot made Dan jump back a bit and look down in surprise as a changeling corpse lay in stillness below him. Twilight shivered and Nightmare Moon's expression became a bit colder than normal. She lit the path with her horn as all semblance of light quickly became extinguished.

Their journey through the hive continued on uninterrupted for a moment more, then Nightmare Moon gave a whispering command: "Stop!"

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked looking up ahead as Dan watched the rear.

"A typical changeling trap," Nightmare Moon responded, "yet not one to be tampered with. It is important that in this next area you do not touch the liquid on the floor." With that she began to make her way forward in the thin corridor.

"What is it?" Dan asked, scratching his head at the sight of the greenish-gray slime that coated the floor in puddles and pools.

"An organic material like that which makes up the structure of these caverns, but designed specifically for trapping invaders. It is not only extremely sticky, but acidic and venomous as well."

Nightmare Moon carved a path through the goop ridden trail and within a few minutes had gotten out of the trap zone. Twilight took a while longer, but also made it out with no problem. Dan was able to get more than half way in when a loud cry rang out through the passageway, forcing him to seize up and stiffen.

"What was that?" Twilight questioned with concern.

Nightmare Moon gave no answer, but called out to the concerned foreigner: "Sir Dan! You must hurry!"

Dan hopped across the pools and did his best to speed up his exit as another cry was let loose and the ground at the beginning of the path split and splintered as something traversed beneath it. The creature grew closer to Dan as the skeletal knight made one last jump, landing in front of Nightmare Moon and Twilight, both having readied spells to deal with the attacking beast.

A shadowy head rose from the ground and large mandibles reached for Dan's leg, and having caught it, the creature threw him down. Nightmare Moon was the first to fire her magical blast, but the attack seemed to be negated by some strange force. Twilight followed up but the result was the same. Dan struggled to keep away from the beast and stuck his sword at it multiple times before it burrowed back under the ground and retreated.

"Well done Sir Daniel, but be wary. Those are the burrowing predators of these deserts known to the Changelings as 'Sand Dragons' and they are not to be taken lightly," The dark alicorn complimented and warned, then headed off into the darkness again now that the immediate threat was gone.

"Are they immune to magic or something? Our attacks didn't work at all!" Twilight inquired as the three walked deeper into the darkness of the Hive.

"They dwell in mysterious caverns deep within the lands of this world and many are protected against pony magic, yes. Be thankful the attacker we just faced was not fully grown." Nightmare Moon's words caused Twilight to cease walking for a moment as she contemplated the dangers Sand Dragons possessed.

"Not fully grown?" Dan questioned as Twilight rushed forward a bit to catch up.

"So what happens if you or I come upon one alone?" Twilight questioned as the path took an immediate plunge through another, smaller hole with some kind of changeling webbing around the perimeter.

"Then you pray you can successfully attack it. If not, you flee, and even then you probably won't make it."

The cold logic and absence of any emotion from the advice gave Twilight chills and made her look over at Dan, more thankful than ever that he had agreed to help them.

"We're approaching The Well...be mindful of what you do," NIghtmare Moon cautioned as she lead the other two through another, smaller still, hole with webbing around the perimeter.

There was only one path for them to take, and it was surrounded by darkness and neon green sacs of some sort that adorned the walls like blood vessels. The air was colder in this part of the Hive and in the distance another changeling shriek sounded out, and was abruptly stopped by what sounded like a wound that made the throat fill up with blood, distorting the cry. After that, their own breathing was the only sound that could be heard.

Nightmare Moon lead on and traversed a great distance into The Well when they came upon the center of the facility. It was a room with many more green sacs on the walls than there were in the halls, and inside the sacs rested many prone changelings. Dan put his hand to his face and slightly recoiled while Twilight's eyes shriveled up at the sight. The most striking object in the room, however, was the large pit filled with the familiar green substance in the sacs.

"The Well is a place of mystery and magic, but it is especially dangerous to those not of changeling physiology. Mind your actions around the pit; fall in, and you won't come out...not the same way you were before you fell in."

Dan began to wonder how the alicorn could waltz in the Hive so easily, especially knowing how dangerous it was, but another Sand Dragon like rumbling disturbed him out of his thoughts.

"Watch yourselves! This foe is beyond you!"

The villain's warning was rendered mute when mandibles several times larger than those before broke through the ground and knocked her down; a small trail of blood began to run down the alicorn's face as the Sand Dragon revealed itself fully.

It was massive, a dark brown in color, and it's four eyes were blood red. It had two massive arms and two equally massive legs, and on the whole, the creature was easily the height of the Golden Oaks Library, probably a little bigger. Embellished upon it's back were eight orange pods of unknown purpose.

Twilight instinctively shot a magic blast at it's chest, but the creature hardly seemed to notice the attack. It's attack cry was not as masculine or as long as Dan expected, but it's short, high pitched, cry had terrifying impact upon their ears and instilled a certain level of fear in his heart regardless.

Dan tried his longbow, but the arrows wouldn't stick in the Sand Dragon's tough exterior. In contrast, one mighty swing of the creature's arm knocked Dan back into the wall, cracking it in several places. The skeletal knight proceeded to fall on top of the semi-recovered Nightmare Moon.

Twilight jumped forward, eyes wide and heart racing, as the creature struck again. She zig-zagged her way to her companions and was able to take Dan's sword with her magic as the creature's foot came down to crush her. Twilight held the sword up like it was a torch in the middle of a sea of darkness, and closed her eyes as the Sand Dragon's foot drew nearer to her.

She was plunged down, through the ground, but not much farther, as the sword at least was able to pierce through the creature's defenses, however slightly, causing it to lift its foot. Unsure if she could meet another attack like that, Twilight rolled away, keeping the sword close, and attempted to get behind the massive foe, where perhaps it was weaker.

She charged forward and recalled a similarly daring feat when she and some of her friends encountered the Hydra at Froggy Bottom Bog. Time seemed to slow as her mouth opened and her own battle cry left her lips. The creature didn't seem very affected by the sword wound, but Twilight had faced fierce opponents before, and she wasn't ready to give up.

By the time she managed to get behind it Dan and Nightmare Moon had risen and both did what they could, however measly, to distract the Sand Dragon while Twilight attacked from the rear. The arrows bounced off repeatedly and the magical blasts seemed to evaporate when they touched the Sand Dragon's exterior, but the monster was aggravated enough to stomp its good foot in front of them and knock them down before turning back to Twilight.

However the unicorn was swift, and as the Sand Dragon turned around, Twilight hurled the sword into one of the eight orange pods and the creature howled in pain at the strike. Twilight retracted the sword just before the creature burrowed down into the ground. Once under the protection of the desert floor, it lashed out against the world itself and pieces of the ceiling fell and the ground splintered around the ponies and their knight ally.

"We have to get out of here!" Twilight called out as Dan and Nightmare Moon rushed over, avoiding the failing stalactites.

"It will not let us leave now; we fight it and slay it, or we die!" Nightmare Moon shouted back, using her magic to illuminate the floor and reveal the exact location of the beast below them.

Upon realizing it had been spotted, the Sand Dragon burst through the floor in front of the three opponents and hit Dan so that he flew back and almost fell into the pit of The Well, barely being caught by Nightmare Moon's magic as the alicorn flew to the side to avoid the attack.

At that same time, Twilight took a bold move and plunged the sword into the lower left eye of the beast and gasped as it shook it's head, throwing the sword far behind it and trapping its prey without their only useful weapon.

A silent rage possessed the Sand Dragon and it stood still for a moment, letting Twilight and the the others get closer together before it bolted it's mandibles forward and aimed to snap Twilight in half. The unicorn was able to teleport behind the creature in time, but as soon as she vanished, the Dragon fixated on Dan and within a couple of seconds held the skeletal warrior within its massive jaws and snapped his body in two.

Nightmare Moon used her magic to create a flash that blinded the creature and forced an illusion of infinite darkness upon it, taking away its ability to see its prey. The villain acted quickly and grabbed both parts of Dan, who was wide eyed at the unfortunate wound, and even more unfortunately, was unable to properly control his lower half. Perhaps it was too great a feat, or maybe something about Equestria made it so that he could not move any part of his body without being attached to the rest of him, but no matter the case, he was rendered more than a little immobile.

"Dan! Are you okay?" Twilight called out in the fear that their foreign hero had been slain, but an uneasy nod from the Gallowmerean legend reassured Twilight.

She brought the sword up to her side and readied herself as NIghtmare Moon explained the creature's loss of sight. As long as they were careful, they could defeat the Sand Dragon with no further problems. As if that was going to be the case...

Nightmare Moon set Dan down and joined Twilight as the creature slowly maneuvered itself to face them. It's sight was gone, but though its hearing was not particularly grand, it could still determine where its meal was. Twilight ran over and Nightmare Moon took flight, intending to end the threat before it could attack them again.

Twilight got into position and stood her ground while the creature made its decision to attack. Nightmare Moon cast a spell from above and the sword grew several times in size, and though it put a greater strain on Twilight, she was able to stick it into the beast's upper chest, near the shoulder, and send the behemoth to its back, after which it quickly wormed its way into the ground again.

"It worked, but it was not enough! Prepare yourself Twilight Sparkle; we are almost finished!" The dark alicorn called as she descended and more rock debris fell from the cavern ceiling.

Twilight put the hilt of the now massive sword on the ground and let some of her energy be diverted from maintaining her grip on it. She wiped away a drop of sweat from her face and looked to Dan, who was lying in wait with his longbow, just in case. A tremendous shaking interrupted her thoughts and before she could react the creature appeared in front of her.

Oddly, its back was turned, but Twilight was too focused on attacking to notice that one of the orange pods was opening. The sword came within inches of striking down the Sand Dragon, but from the pod came a foul, heavy gas that contaminated Twilight's air and rendered her immobile; the sword dropped to the ground and returned to its original size.

Dan fired several arrows at the creature's wounded eye, allowing Nightmare Moon some time to get Twilight out of harm's way. As she escaped with the unicorn, Dan was left unable to evade the pouncing attack of the massive creature, and the knight was knocked unconscious and his longbow was rendered asunder.

The Sand Dragon took a moment to try and figure out the whereabouts of Nightmare Moon and Twilight, using its nose to sense the odor of the gas it sprayed onto Twilight as a tracer. It burrowed into the ground again and swiftly breached the surface, one of its mandibles struck Nightmare Moon in the face and forced her back a couple of steps. She regained composure in time to dash over and avoid a nasty attack with the crushing jaws of the monster before her.

Before the creature could act again Nightmare Moon's eyes went white with power and she teleported behind it. She grabbed a hold of several loose stalactites and brought them raining down on the Sand Dragon's body, forcing it away from Twilight and Dan, all while giving the alicorn a perfect opportunity to attack again; it was an opportunity she did not waste. While its head was facing her, she attacked it mentally, corrupting its thoughts and leaving it further dazed. To her surprise it was completely effective, giving her a brilliant idea. Originally she had planned on leaving it stunned just long enough to maneuver around again, and maybe get Twilight back into the fight, but now she could end it all, and she was going to.

Summoning her vast power, the villainous alicorn grabbed the sword, bringing it to her frontside and empowering it. The sword grew in size again, but rather than simply plunging it into the dazed monster's body again, she teleported it so that the blade was immersed in the green substance of The Well. After it was coated Nightmare Moon teleported it above the creature as it began to stir and recover.

"Face the wrath of confronting the Ruler of Night!"

With those words the villain bored the sword into the top orange pod, poisoning the natural chemical make up of the Sand Dragon and causing it great pain as the other pods soon began to be diluted with the power of The Well. It stumbled around and fell to its knees, clawing at the ground and growling in fury and immense pain.

Nightmare Moon's first action was to revive Twilight, using her magic to excite the impaired brain activity of Twilight's mind. She slowly came to and found Nightmare Moon over by Dan, attending to his injury and doing her best to forge the two pieces into one again.

She saw the massive creature as it's only good left eye began to turn green and it's skin began to shrink, ripping open in various places and exposing the weaker muscles and flesh. She couldn't move or react to anything that went on after she was poisoned, but she did see everything. One of the last things she remembered before coming to and regaining control again was Nightmare Moon's final attacks. It took her a moment to realize that it was kind of a cruel fate. The Sand Dragon was only acting on impulse, yet it was being mutated for it's troubles. Still...she supposed it was better the Sand Dragon than her or her allies.

"You did it..." She remarked as she sat down near Dan and began to aide the alicorn in repairing Dan, who had been woken only a moment ago.

"It had to be done. Truthfully I am astonished the confusion spell worked. Had it not, we might have ended up as Sand Dragon food."

Twilight only looked back at the alicorn with a flustered respect and admiration. She did pull them through, and while Twilight still wouldn't willfully trust her with her life...she would trust her with a lot of other things by this point. Nightmare Moon was earning trust and respect, and was showing that she was committed to ending the magical curse upon the land just as much as the Mane Six and Dan were.

Meanwhile, Dan was trying to control himself while the two ponies literally seared his bones back together, reconnecting his lower spine with a crude forging spell. He was glad things turned out okay, but rather disheartened to realize that they still hadn't found any changelings to speak to, and thus, their work was far from done.

In all, the time to regroup and rest up took a good 15 minutes, but by the end of it, all three adventurers were ready to begin their trek again. The Sand Dragon had gone prone and was struggling to breath as a purplish slime oozed from its mouth and the rotting pods in its back, all while more of its skin had torn off and only one eye remained partially unchanged by The Well's healing substance.

They traveled down the path once more as the atmosphere of battle left them and the mood became eerie and abandoned once more. The usual darkness of the changeling tunnels became familiar again as the green glow of The Well became more scarce. The musky smell of the tunnels was present, but another, fouler smell was haunting the air.

"We are close to the Egg Chamber," Nightmare Moon announced as several holes in the wall acted as windows of sorts, showing many a yellow eggs glistening in some sort of mucus a floor or two below their path.

Dan was a little disgusted by the sight, but more than that the smell, and yet what he noticed most was the discontent look on Nightmare Moon's face.

"What do you think happened down here for them to abandon their eggs like this?" Twilight asked the alicorn, who now looked down at the glimmering embryos with some disdain.

"Something very wrong happened here...I only hope there are still changelings left to speak with."

"They're not all dead, right?" Dan asked the villain for a change.

"I can't say unless we find out what's been going on. If Queen Chrysalis has been killed then this might end up being a waste of time and effort. Without her the other changelings would soon enough fall into anarchy and remain without guidance forever."

Within another moment the path lowered them and opened up into a large, flat room. The walls were adorned with bones and other odd trinkets, but those seemed to be natural decor. What concerned the group was the mass of corpses scattered across the room, even going so far down they were even littered before the throne. If the Queen was alive, she was without her throne and likely in the absence of much company.

Author's Note

I am SOOO SORRY this took so long to get out! Things have been picking up and school will start again soon, but I am resolved to finish this tale, as I am enjoying it, and am touched by the love this story has seen. Please bear with me as I continue to write and put out more. :)

Also, I am being the naughty writer and leaving this one on a cliff hanger, and that means we don't get an entry into Dan's Journal just yet. (Hope you guys are liking those, and the puns at the top too. I'm not too great, and if they bug or annoy you, I'm sorry, feel free to skip past them. The only reason I put them in is to emulate Medievil and get the same feel of it in.)

If you like this, I encourage (and let's be serious here...beg...) you to check out some of my other work. It would mean a lot to me and I thank you for reaching this far with one of my stories. :D
-TBK